bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IV. An Account of the Presents received and Expenses incurred at the Wedding of Richard Polsted, of Albury, Esquire, and Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William More, of Loseley, Esquire: in a Letter
Authors: Evans John
Published: January 2012

By the kindness of James More Molyneux, Esquire, of Loseley, I am enabled to lay before the Society of Antiquaries a transcript of another of the Loseley MSS. some of which have already appeared in the eighteenth volume of the Archæologia, and a collection from which was published in 1835 by Mr. A. J. Kempe, a Fellow of this Society. It is an account of the presents received and the expenses incurred at the wedding of the daughter of Mr. (afterwards Sir William) More, of Loseley, in 1567, and will, I think, be found of considerable interest as throwing light on the wedding customs among the landed gentry of that period, the more especially as I am not aware of any similar account having hitherto been published.
VIII. Note on the Angon of Agathias
Authors: Akerman John Yonge , Lindenschmit Ludwig
Published: January 2012

In my communication “On some of the Weapons of the Celtic and Teutonic Races” read to the Society some time since, I alluded to the fact of the weapon termed “angon” by Agathias never having been found in any of the numerous graves of the Frank and Anglo-Saxon period explored in France and in this country. The subject was thought not undeserving the attention of an active and observant Fellow of the Society, and accordingly Mr. Wylie on the 20th January, 1853, communicated some remarks on this weapon, which he illustrated by a sketch of a javelin, presumed by him to represent the angon so minutely described by Agathias. This example is preserved in the Museum of Artillery in Paris, and it is represented in Mr. Wylie's remarks in the 35th volume of the Archæologia, p. 51. At the same time Dr. Collingwood Bruce noticed incidentally in his account of the Roman Wall a weapon nearly identical in shape and character with that described and represented by Mr. Wylie.
IX. Remarks on the Angon of the Franks and the Pilum of Vegetius: in a Letter
Authors: Wylie W.M.
Published: January 2012

Much has already been said on the Angon, and after the so full and interesting communication, illustrated by the able pencil of Herr Lindenschmit, with which you favoured us last season on this historic subject, any further comments may appear needless. At the risk of such an imputation, however, I shall beg permission to submit some additional gleanings, made during the past summer, of the attentive consideration of the Society.
X. Remarks on the supposed submerged City of Vineta
Authors: Major R. H.
Published: January 2012

In the year 1847 you published in the Archæologia an interesting letter addressed by a Mr. Churchman to Sir Joseph Banks, respecting the tradition of a city named Vineta, which was supposed to have been submerged on the shores of Pomerania. The circumstance that a city of such size, wealth, and commercial importance, as to have been described as “Maxima civitatum Europæ,” should have been not only obliterated from the face of the earth, but almost from the memory of man, gave me an interest in investigating the statements of early authors respecting its history and situation. My researches, however, brought under my notice so much that was either doubtful or contradictory, that I could come to no definite conclusion upon either point, and became content to lay the subject aside till more decisive evidence might chance to fall under my notice.
XII. Account of a Manuscript, by Thomas Norton, Member of Parliament for, and Remembrancer to, the City of London, relating to the ancient Duties of the Lord Mayor and Corporation
Authors: Collier J. Payne
Published: January 2012

The recent investigations respecting the Charter of the City of London, and the manner in which it has worked, may seem to give particular interest to a manuscript to which I take the liberty to direct your attention and that of the Fellows of our Society. It is entitled—

“An Exhortation or Rule, set down by Mr. Norton, some time Remembrancer of London, whereby the Lord Mayor of London is to order himself and the City.”
XIV. An Account of Excavations on the Site of Roman Buildings at Keston, near Bromley, Kent: in a Letter to Rear-Admiral W. H. Smyth, F.R.S., V.P.
Authors: Corner George R.
Published: January 2012

In the twenty-second volume of Archæologia, Mr. A. J. Kempe has given an account of some then recent discoveries, by himself and Mr. Thomas Crofton Croker, near the ancient entrenchment called Cæsar's Camp, at Holwood Hill, Keston, near Bromley, Kent. Those discoveries consisted of the foundation of a circular Roman building, supposed to be a temple or tomb, with a square tomb, and two graves, in one of which was a stone coffin, and from the other a stone coffin had been several years previously removed to Wickham Court.
XV. The Graves of the Alemanni at Oberflacht in Suabia
Authors: Wylie W.M.
Published: January 2012

It is pleasant to refer to the archæological opinions of the last century in England, when antiquarian alchymy could transpose the ornamental beads of the Saxon tomb into “Druid snake-eggs,” and throw a Roman halo round relics it was too impossible to ascribe to the Celts. Nor were matters better in France. Every sepulchral discovery was classed as Gaulish, or Gallo-Roman; and even Montfaucon could assume the ponderous belt-buckle of a Merovingian warrior to belong to female head-gear. At this time, indeed, the Saxon and Frankish periods seem to have been altogether ignored; but archæology has at length cast off such erring traditions.
V.—The Vases of Magna Graecia
Authors: Ely Talfourd
Published: January 2012

When we reflect on the grandeur, wealth, and power of the numerous representatives of Hellenic culture that caused a considerable portion of Italy to be called a greater Greece, we can hardly fail to be struck with the scanty knowledge we possess of their political and social history.
XVII.—On a votive deposit of Gold Objects found on the North-West Coast of Ireland
Authors: Evans Arthur J.
Published: January 2012

A remarkable hoard of gold objects was recently acquired by our Fellow Mr. Robert Day, of Cork, who has kindly allowed me to describe them and exhibit them to the Society. The objects were found together by a ploughman, who turned them up in sub-soiling, and the ploughshare somewhat injured the boat and bowl. The spot where the treasure was found is near the sea on the northwest coast of Ireland.
XIX.—Notes on the Church now called the Mosque of the Kalenders at Constantinople
Authors: Freshfield Edwin
Published: January 2012

This paper was read before the Society in 1881, but owing to the difficulty of getting the photographs necessary to illustrate it properly it has not been ready for publication until within the last two years.

In the year 1877 my late friend Dr. Paspati, then resident at Constantinople, published a list and a description of some then unidentified Byzantine churches in Constantinople, the majority of them being used as Mohammedan mosques. In the year 1880 I visited all of them, and among the number a building which Dr. Paspati describes as the Kalender Khane Djami, or the Mosque of the Kalenders.
Limit Theorems for Subtree Size Profiles of Increasing Trees
Authors: FUCHS MICHAEL
Published: January 2012

Simple families of increasing trees were introduced by Bergeron, Flajolet and Salvy. They include random binary search trees, random recursive trees and random plane-oriented recursive trees (PORTs) as important special cases. In this paper, we investigate the number of subtrees of size k on the fringe of some classes of increasing trees, namely generalized PORTs and d-ary increasing trees. We use a complex-analytic method to derive precise expansions of mean value and variance as well as a central limit theorem for fixed k. Moreover, we propose an elementary approach to derive limit laws when k is growing with n. Our results have consequences for the occurrence of pattern sizes on the fringe of increasing trees.
Production of porcine cloned embryos derived from cells conditionally expressing an exogenous gene using Cre-loxP
Authors: Moon JoonHo , Kim SuJin , Park HeeJung , Kang JungTaek , Park SolJi , Koo OkJae , da Torre Begona Roibas , Saadeldin Islam M. , Lee ByeongChun , Jang Goo
Published: January 2012

It is increasingly evident that conditional gene expression in pigs is necessary to make transgenic models. In this study, we investigated conditional expression in porcine fetal fibroblasts using Cre-loxP recombination, a system that has had limited application in large animals to date. Transformed fibroblasts were reprogrammed in enucleated oocytes to support further early embryonic development. Fetal fibroblasts from miniature pigs were used for transfection with a plasmid that contained a red fluorescent protein marker (pCALNL-DsRed) and a floxed neomycin-resistance gene. Cells were selected with 750 μg/ml neomycin for 2 weeks following transfection but did not express DsRed after visualization under a fluorescence microscope. Expression was achieved only after transient transfection with plasmid DNA that expressed the Cre recombinase enzyme. The cells that expressed DsRed were used for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). A total of 121 oocytes were used for SCNT and 76 cloned embryos (62.8%) were seen to have cleaved. Six blastocysts developed after SCNT and expressed DsRed. Deletion of the floxed neomycin-resistance gene was confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cloned blastocysts. This study demonstrated that Cre-loxP recombination can be conducted successfully in miniature pig fibroblasts and that the sequentially transformed cells can develop to the pre-implantation embryo stage via SCNT.
Gender differences in the developmental outcomes of children with congenital cardiac defects
Authors: Majnemer Annette , Limperopoulos Catherine , Shevell Michael , Rohlicek Charles , Rosenblatt Bernard , Tchervenkov Christo
Published: January 2012

Objective

This study compares the developmental and functional outcomes at school entry between boys and girls born with a congenital cardiac defect who required early surgical correction.

Study design

A prospective cohort of 94 children, including 49 percent boys, were followed up to 5 years of age and assessed for developmental progress. Developmental measures included Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – cognitive; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – receptive language; Peabody Developmental Motor Scale – motor; and Child Behaviour Checklist – behaviour. Measures of function included the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale and Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM).

Results

The mean scores of the boys on the WeeFIM subscales, such as self-care, mobility, cognition, were significantly lower than that of the girls. There was a trend for a greater proportion of boys to have abnormalities on neurological examination (boys 37.5 percent abnormal, girls 19.5 percent abnormal). Verbal, performance, and full scale Intellectual Quotients were 5–7 points lower in boys but did not reach significance (full scale Intellectual Quotient: boys 87.7 plus or minus 22.2; girls 93.9 plus or minus 19.3). Boys were more likely to have fine motor delays (50 percent, 82.7 plus or minus 16.5) compared with girls (28.2 percent, 87.0 plus or minus 15.8). There were no gender differences in receptive language or behavioural difficulties.

Conclusions

Boys born with congenital heart disease requiring early surgical repair appear to be at enhanced risk for neuromotor impairments and activity limitations. Findings support gender differences in the pathogenesis of early brain injury following hypoxic–ischaemic insults. This has implications for neuroprotective strategies to prevent brain injury.
Introduction to the special issue on the 25th annual GULP conference
Authors: FABER WOLFGANG , LEONE NICOLA
Published: January 2012

This special issue of TPLP commemorates the 25th edition of the annual conference organized by GULP (Gruppo Ricercatori e Utenti Logic Programming), the Italian group of researchers and users of logic programming. The first event in this series was held at Genoa in 1986, one year after the foundation of the user group, continuing annually ever since. In 1994, the conference joined forces with the Spanish conference PRODE (on Declarative Programming), and in 1996 with the Portuguese APPIA (on Artificial Intelligence). This collaboration continued until 2003. Starting from 2004, the event became known as CILC (Convegno Italiano di Logica Computazionale, Italian Conference on Computational Logic), thereby broadening its topics to general computational logic, while becoming a national Italian event again. Being one of the oldest and largest national events of its kind, over the years the conference has been an important networking opportunity and catalyst for persons with different backgrounds, coming from theory and practice, and from research and industry, for exchanging their visions, achievements, and challenges in logic programming. For a more detailed historical account on GULP and its annual conferences, we refer to Rossi (2010).
The Virtual Discourses of Pamela Z
Authors: LEWIS GEORGE E.
Published: January 2012

Pamela Z is an American composer-performer and audio artist whose use of extended vocal technique and live, body-controlled electronic processing takes place in events ranging in scale from solo events in galleries to large-scale works that combine video, audio, and live musicians, singers, and actors. Her work raises important issues regarding transnationalism, Afrodiasporicism, and identity; acoustic ecologies; the articulation of race and ethnicity; and the place of women in technological media. The essay discusses several of Z's works from the late 1990s and early 2000s, in articulation with cybertheory; the aesthetics of popular and avant-garde music, voice, language, and poetics; intermedia and performance art; and contemporary technological practices.
Social support and delusional-like experiences: a nationwide population-based study
Authors: Saha S. , Scott J. , Varghese D. , McGrath J.
Published: January 2012

Background.

Population-based studies have identified that delusional-like experiences (DLEs) are common in the general population. While there is a large literature exploring the relationship between poor social support and risk of mental illness, there is a lack of empirical data examining the association of poor social support and DLEs. The aim of the study was to explore the association between social support and DLEs using a large, nationally representative community sample.

Methods.

Subjects were drawn from a national multistage probability survey of 8841 adults aged between 16 and 85 years. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to identify DLEs, common psychiatric disorders and physical disorders. Eight questions assessed various aspects of social support with spouse/partners and other family and friends. We examined the relationship between DLEs and social support using logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Results.

Of the sample, 8.4% (n = 776) positively endorsed one or more DLEs. Individuals who (a) had the least contact with friends, or (b) could not rely on or confide in spouse/partner, family or friends were significantly more likely to endorse DLEs. The associations remained significant after adjusting for a range of potential confounding factors.

Conclusions.

DLEs are associated with impoverished social support in the general population. While we cannot exclude the possibility that the presence of isolated DLEs results in a reduction of social support, we speculate that poor social support may contribute in a causal fashion to the risk of DLEs.
Estimating net community production in the Southern Ocean based on atmospheric potential oxygen and satellite ocean color data
Authors: Nevison C. D. , Keeling R. F. , Kahru M. , Manizza M. , Mitchell B. G. , Cassar N.
Published: January 2012

The seasonal cycle of atmospheric potential oxygen (APO ∼ O2 + 1.1 CO2) reflects three seasonally varying ocean processes: 1) thermal in‐ and outgassing, 2) mixed layer net community production (NCP) and 3) deep water ventilation. Previous studies have isolated the net biological seasonal signal (i.e., the sum of NCP and ventilation), after using air‐sea heat flux data to estimate the thermal signal. In this study, we resolve all three components of the APO seasonal cycle using a methodology in which the ventilation signal is estimated based on atmospheric N2O data, the thermal signal is estimated based on heat flux or atmospheric Ar/N2 data, and the production signal is inferred as a residual. The isolation of the NCP signal in APO allows for direct comparison to estimates of NCP based on satellite ocean color data, after translating the latter into an atmospheric signal using an atmospheric transport model. When applied to ocean color data using algorithms specially adapted to the Southern Ocean and APO data at three southern monitoring sites, these two independent methods converge on a similar phase and amplitude of the seasonal NCP signal in APO and yield an estimate of annual mean NCP south of 50°S of 0.8–1.2 Pg C/yr, with corresponding annual mean NPP of ∼3 Pg C/yr and a mean growing season fratio of ∼0.33. These results are supported by ocean biogeochemistry model simulations, in which air‐sea O2 and N2O fluxes are resolved into component thermal, ventilation and (for O2) NCP contributions.
Coupled fluid flow and deformation modeling of the frontal thrust region of the Kumano Basin transect, Japan: Implications for fluid pressures and decollement downstepping
Authors: Rowe Katherine T. , Screaton Elizabeth J. , Ge Shemin
Published: January 2012

Results of coupled fluid flow and deformation modeling illustrate the influence of frontal thrust slip on excess pore pressures and decollement downstepping in the Kumano Basin transect, offshore Japan. Although permeable trench sediments and a buried sandstone layer provide potential fluid escape pathways, the numerical modeling suggests that excess pore pressure could build beneath the frontal thrust within hemipelagic clay of the Shikoku Basin facies. Simulated excess pore pressures range between 45% and 77% of the overburden weight 3 km landward of the deformation front, and are very sensitive to the permeability of the Shikoku Basin clay and the coefficient of friction of the fault zone. Excess pore pressures increase as the fault coefficient of friction is increased, suggesting that volume change due to shear within the footwall sediments is an important contributor to excess pore pressures. Raising the coefficient of friction also increases shear within the sediments beneath the fault zone, suggesting downward migration of the decollement zone. This shearing focuses in the weaker Shikoku Basin clays rather than an underlying turbidite unit, suggesting that lithologic differences play an important role in controlling deformation location.
Simulated midlatitude summer nighttime anomaly in realistic geomagnetic fields
Authors: Ren Zhipeng , Wan Weixing , Liu Libo , Le Huijun , He Maosheng
Published: January 2012

In the present work, using the three‐dimensional theoretical ionospheric model of the Earth in Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIME3D‐IGGCAS), we simulate the temporal‐spatial distribution of the midlatitude summer nighttime anomaly (MSNA) and the influences of thermospheric meridional and zonal winds on the formation of MSNA. MSNA mainly appears in three distinct regions, the East Asian region, the northern Atlantic‐Europe region and the South Pacific region. MSNA in the South Pacific region is obviously stronger than that in the other two regions. In these three regions, MSNA not only occurs in local summer, but also often occurs in Equinox. Through lifting up or lowering the F region ionization, thermospheric winds mainly drive the formation of MSNA. In the East Asian region and the northern Atlantic‐Europe region, MSNA are mainly driven by the thermospheric meridional wind, and the influence of the thermospheric zonal wind can be neglected. However, although MSNA in the South Pacific region (or Weddell Sea Anomaly) are mainly driven by the thermospheric meridional wind, the thermospheric zonal wind also plays an important role in the formation of MSNA.
Interannual variations of Atlantic tropical instability waves
Authors: Perez Renellys C. , Lumpkin Rick , Johns William E. , Foltz Gregory R. , Hormann Verena
Published: January 2012

Observations are used to develop metrics for interannual tropical instability wave (TIW) variability in the Atlantic and to relate that variability to larger scale processes. The analysis is partitioned into different latitude bands to distinguish between off‐equatorial (5°S, 2°N, and 5°N) and near‐equatorial (2°S and 0°) TIWs. TIW metrics based on sea surface temperature (SST) and sea level anomaly (SLA) fluctuations are compared against interannual anomalies of SST in the cold tongue region. To examine the role of barotropic shear instabilities in modulating the intensity of a TIW season, wind stress and near‐surface current indices are developed in regions where the shear between the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and the northern branch of the South Equatorial Current (nSEC) and between the nSEC and the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) are expected to be largest. Good agreement is found between the SST and SLA TIW metrics along the off‐equatorial latitude bands, and interannual variations of both metrics can largely be attributed to barotropic shear instabilities. In particular, years with low (high) TIW variance along the off‐equatorial latitude bands are associated with anomalously warm (cold) SSTs in the cold tongue region, weak (strong) wind stress divergence and curl in the EUC‐nSEC region, and weak (strong) zonal current shear in the nSEC‐NECC region. In contrast, in the near‐equatorial latitude bands, poor agreement is found between interannual TIW activity based on the SST and SLA metrics, and near‐equatorial TIW variability cannot be explained by the large‐scale SST, wind stress divergence and curl, and current shear indices.
A Database for TSSs of Human MicroRNAs
Authors: Bhattacharyya Malay , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra
Published: January 2012

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogeneous non-coding RNAs of about 22nt length. These short RNAs regulate the expression of mRNAs by hybridizing with their 3'-UTRs or by translational repression. They have been shown to take crucial roles in many biological processes. Many of the current studies are focused over how mature miRNAs regulate mRNAs, even though there is very limited knowledge about their transcriptional loci. Primary miRNAs (pri-miRs) are first transcribed from the DNA, followed by the formation of precursor miRNA (pre-miR) by endonucleases activity, which finally produces mature miRNAs. Unfortunately, the identification of the loci of pri-miRs, and the associated information about transcription start sites (TSSs) and promoters is still in progress. This information, even though limited, may be useful for further study on the regulation of miRNAs. In this paper, we provide a novel database of miRNA TSSs (miRT) that might be a valuable resource for advanced research on miRNA regulation.
Involvement of PGE2 and the cAMP signalling pathway in the up-regulation of COX-2 and mPGES-1 expression in LPS-activated macrophages
Authors: Díaz-Muñoz Manuel D. , Osma-García Inés C. , Fresno Manuel , Iñiguez Miguel A.
Published: January 2012

PG (prostaglandin) E2 plays an important role in the modulation of the immune response and the inflammatory process. In the present study, we describe a PGE2 positive feedback for COX (cyclo-oxygenase)-2 and mPGES-1 [microsomal PGES (PGE synthase)-1] expression in the macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. Our results show that PGE2 induces COX-2 and mPGES-1 expression, an effect mimicked by dbcAMP (dibutyryl-cAMP) or forskolin. Furthermore, the cAMP signalling pathway co-operates with LPS (lipopolysaccharide) in the induction of COX-2 and mPGES-1 transcriptional activation. Analysis of the involvement of PGE receptors [EPs (E-prostanoids)] showed that incubation with EP2 agonists up-regulated both COX2 and mPGES-1 mRNA levels. Moreover, EP2 receptor overexpression enhanced the transcriptional activation of COX2 and mPGES-1 promoters. This induction was repressed by the PKA (protein kinase A) inhibitor H89. Activation of the PGE2/EP2/PKA signalling pathway induced the phosphorylation of CREB [CRE (cAMP-response element)-binding protein] in macrophages and stimulated the specific binding of this transcription factor to COX2 and mPGES-1 promoters. Deletion or mutation of potential CRE sites in both promoters diminished their transcriptional activity. In summary, the results of the present study demonstrate that activation of PKA/CREB signalling through the EP2 receptor by PGE2 plays a key role in the expression of COX-2 and mPGES-1 in activated macrophages.
Cord blood stem-cell-derived dendritic cells generate potent antigen-specific immune responses and anti-tumour effects
Authors: Chang Ming-Cheng , Lee Chien-Nan , Chen Yu-Li , Chiang Ying-Cheng , Sun Wei-Zen , Hu Yu-Hao , Chen Chi-An , Cheng Wen-Fang
Published: January 2012

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether CBSCs [(umbilical) cord blood stem cells] can be a new source of DCs (dendritic cells), which can generate more potent antigen-specific immune responses and anti-tumour effects. CBSCs and PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) were collected, cultured and differentiated into DCs. Surface markers, secreting cytokines, antigen-presentation activity, antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity and cytotoxic killing effects induced by these two DC origins were evaluated and compared. CBSCs were expanded ~17-fold by ex vivo culture. The expression of surface markers in CBSC-derived DCs were higher than those in PBMC-derived DCs treated with LPS (lipopolysaccharide). The CBSC-derived DCs mainly secreted IL (interleukin)-6, IL-10 and TNF (tumour necrosis factor)-α, whereas PBMC-derived DCs mainly secreted IL-5 and IFN (interferon)-γ. The CBSC-derived DCs had better antigen-presentation abilities when stimulated with LPS or TNF-α, induced higher numbers of IFN-γ-secreting antigen-specific CD8+ T-cells, as assessed using an ELISpot (enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot) assay, and stimulated more potent antigen-specific CTL (cytotoxic T-cell) activities (P<0.01, one-way ANOVA). CBSC-derived DCs had quicker and greater ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) and Akt phosphorylation, and weaker p38 phosphorylation, than PBMC-derived DCs when stimulated with LPS. In conclusion, CBSC-derived DCs have the ability to induce stronger antigen-specific immunity and more potent anti-tumour effects and therefore could be a good source of DCs for use in DC-based cancer vaccines and immunotherapy.
Active transcription and essential role of RNA polymerase II at the centromere during mitosis
Authors: Chan F. Lyn , Marshall Owen J. , Saffery Richard , Won Kim Bo , Earle Elizabeth , Choo K. H. Andy , Wong Lee H.
Published: January 2012

Transcription of the centromeric regions has been reported to occur in G1 and S phase in different species. Here, we investigate whether transcription also occurs and plays a functional role at the mammalian centromere during mitosis. We show the presence of actively transcribing RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and its associated transcription factors, coupled with the production of centromere satellite transcripts at the mitotic kinetochore. Specific inhibition of RNAPII activity during mitosis leads to a decrease in centromeric α-satellite transcription and a concomitant increase in anaphase-lagging cells, with the lagging chromosomes showing reduced centromere protein C binding. These findings demonstrate an essential role of RNAPII in the transcription of α-satellite DNA, binding of centromere protein C, and the proper functioning of the mitotic kinetochore.
Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorphMassospondylus
Authors: Reisz Robert R. , Evans David C. , Roberts Eric M. , Sues Hans-Dieter , Yates Adam M.
Published: January 2012

The extensive Early Jurassic continental strata of southern Africa have yielded an exceptional record of dinosaurs that includes scores of partial to complete skeletons of the sauropodomorphMassospondylus, ranging from embryos to large adults. In 1976 an incomplete egg clutch including in ovo embryos of this dinosaur, the oldest known example in the fossil record, was collected from a road-cut talus, but its exact provenance was uncertain. An excavation program at the site started in 2006 has yielded multiple in situ egg clutches, documenting the oldest known dinosaurian nesting site, predating other similar sites by more than 100 million years. The presence of numerous clutches of eggs, some of which contain embryonic remains, in at least four distinct horizons within a small area, provides the earliest known evidence of complex reproductive behavior including site fidelity and colonial nesting in a terrestrial vertebrate. Thus, fossil and sedimentological evidence from this nesting site provides empirical data on reproductive strategies in early dinosaurs. A temporally calibrated optimization of dinosaurian reproductive biology not only demonstrates the primary significance of theMassospondylusnesting site, but also provides additional insights into the initial stages of the evolutionary history of dinosaurs, including evidence that deposition of eggs in a tightly organized single layer in a nest evolved independently from brooding.
Evolution of functional specialization and division of labor
Authors: Rueffler Claus , Hermisson Joachim , Wagner Günter P.
Published: January 2012

Division of labor among functionally specialized modules occurs at all levels of biological organization in both animals and plants. Well-known examples include the evolution of specialized enzymes after gene duplication, the evolution of specialized cell types, limb diversification in arthropods, and the evolution of specialized colony members in many taxa of marine invertebrates and social insects. Here, we identify conditions favoring the evolution of division of labor by means of a general mathematical model. Our starting point is the assumption that modules contribute to two different biological tasks and that the potential of modules to contribute to these tasks is traded off. Our results are phrased in terms of properties of performance functions that map the phenotype of modules to measures of performance. We show that division of labor is favored by three factors: positional effects that predispose modules for one of the tasks, accelerating performance functions, and synergistic interactions between modules. If modules can be lost or damaged, selection for robustness can counteract selection for functional specialization. To illustrate our theory we apply it to the evolution of specialized enzymes coded by duplicated genes.
In vivoassessment of the effect of controlled high- and low-frequency mechanical loading on peri-implant bone healing
Authors: Zhang Xiaolei , Vandamme Katleen , Torcasio Antonia , Ogawa Toru , van Lenthe G. Harry , Naert Ignace , Duyck Joke
Published: January 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of controlled high- (HF) and low-frequency (LF) mechanical loading on peri-implant bone healing. Custom-made titanium implants were inserted in both tibiae of 69 adult Wistar rats. For every animal, one implant was loaded by compression through the axis of tibia (test), whereas the other one was unloaded (control). The test implants were randomly distributed among four groups receiving different loading regimes, which were determined byex vivocalibration. Within the HF (40 Hz) or LF (2 Hz) loading category, the magnitudes were chosen as low- (LM) and high-magnitude (HM), respectively, leading to constant strain rate amplitudes for the two frequency groups. This resulted in the four loading regimes: (i) HF-LM (40 Hz–0.5 N); (ii) HF-HM (40 Hz–1 N); (iii) LF-LM (2 Hz–10 N); and (iv) LF-HM (2 Hz–20 N) loading. Loading was performed five times per week and lasted for one or four weeks. Tissue samples were processed for histology and histomorphometry (bone-to-implant contact, BIC; and peri-implant bone fraction, BF) at the cortical and medullar level. Data were analysed statistically with ANOVA and pairedt-tests with the significance level set at 0.05. For the one-week experiments, an increased BF adjacent to the implant surface at the cortical level was exclusively induced by the LF-HM loading regime (2 Hz–20 N). Four weeks of loading resulted in a significant effect on BIC (and not on BF) in case of HF-LM loading (40 Hz–0.5 N) and LF-HM loading (2 Hz–20 N): BIC at the cortical level significantly increased under both loading regimes, whereas BIC at the medullar level was positively influenced only in case of HF-LM loading. Mechanical loading at both HF and LF affects osseointegration and peri-implant BF. Higher loading magnitudes (and accompanying elevated tissue strains) are required under LF loading to provoke a positive peri-implant bone response, compared with HF loading. A sustained period of loading at HF is needed to result in an overall enhanced osseointegration.
Effector-Mediated Suppression of Chitin-Triggered Immunity by Magnaporthe oryzae Is Necessary for Rice Blast Disease
Authors: Mentlak Thomas A. , Kombrink Anja , Shinya Tomonori , Ryder Lauren S. , Otomo Ippei , Saitoh Hiromasa , Terauchi Ryohei , Nishizawa Yoko , Shibuya Naoto , Thomma Bart P.H.J. , Talbot Nicholas J.
Published: January 2012

Plants use pattern recognition receptors to defend themselves from microbial pathogens. These receptors recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and activate signaling pathways that lead to immunity. In rice (Oryza sativa), the chitin elicitor binding protein (CEBiP) recognizes chitin oligosaccharides released from the cell walls of fungal pathogens. Here, we show that the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae overcomes this first line of plant defense by secreting an effector protein, Secreted LysM Protein1 (Slp1), during invasion of new rice cells. We demonstrate that Slp1 accumulates at the interface between the fungal cell wall and the rice plasma membrane, can bind to chitin, and is able to suppress chitin-induced plant immune responses, including generation of reactive oxygen species and plant defense gene expression. Furthermore, we show that Slp1 competes with CEBiP for binding of chitin oligosaccharides. Slp1 is required by M. oryzae for full virulence and exerts a significant effect on tissue invasion and disease lesion expansion. By contrast, gene silencing of CEBiP in rice allows M. oryzae to cause rice blast disease in the absence of Slp1. We propose that Slp1 sequesters chitin oligosaccharides to prevent PAMP-triggered immunity in rice, thereby facilitating rapid spread of the fungus within host tissue.
Assessing advanced cancer pain in older adults with dementia at the end‐of‐life
Authors: Monroe Todd , Carter Michael , Feldt Karen , Tolley Betsey , Cowan Ronald L.
Published: January 2012

Monroe T., Carter M., Feldt K., Tolley B. & Cowan R.L. (2012) Assessing advanced cancer pain in older adults with dementia at the end‐of‐life. Journal of Advanced Nursing68(9), 2070–2078.

Aim.  To assess advanced cancer pain in older adults with dementia at the end‐of‐life.

Background.  Self‐report is the gold standard for pain assessment; however, people with Alzheimer’s disease may lose the ability to report pain. Biochemical and neuropathological changes occur in Alzheimer’s disease that impairs the affective, sensory, and motor pain processing regions of the brain. Because people with severe Alzheimer’s disease may lose the ability to report their sensory and emotional response to pain verbally, external motor displays of pain, such as grimacing, have been suggested for use in people with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Design.  Between groups cross sectional study.

Method.  Retrospective chart audits of people with Alzheimer’s disease in nine nursing homes in the US in 2009. Participants were nursing home residents (n = 48) with mild to very severe dementia, pain and cognitive measures were collected during the final 3 months of life. The primary outcome variable was the Discomfort Behaviour Scale score (a measure of observed pain behaviour) and the main predictor variable was the Cognitive Performance Scale score (a measure of Alzheimer’s disease severity). Medication administration (opioid, non‐narcotic, and psychotropic medications) recorded over the final 2 weeks of life was collected as a covariate of interest.

Results.  Alzheimer’s disease severity was negatively associated with pain behaviours. Post hoc procedures showed that this difference was due to the difference in pain behaviours between individuals with moderate and very severe Alzheimer’s disease. Total amount of opioid analgesic, total number of doses of non‐narcotic medications, and psychotropic medications administered over the last 2 weeks of life were not statistically significantly correlated with pain behaviour. An inverse correlation was found between cognitive ability (Cognitive Performance Scale score) and total amount of opioid medication indicating that individuals with severe Alzheimer’s disease received less opioid.

Conclusion.  Because people with worsening Alzheimer’s disease have fewer pain behaviours, assessing pain using behavioural indicators can be a challenge. Improving methods to assess for pain in people with Alzheimer’s disease is of critical public health importance. Moreover, future studies are urgently needed to further examine the sensory, emotional, and behavioural responses to pain in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Disentangling the effects of breakdown of self‐incompatibility and transition to selfing in North American Arabidopsis lyrata
Authors: HAUDRY ANNABELLE , ZHA HONG GUANG , STIFT MARC , MABLE BARBARA K.
Published: January 2012

A breakdown of self‐incompatibility (SI) followed by a shift to selfing is commonly observed in the evolution of flowering plants. Both are expected to reduce the levels of heterozygosity and genetic diversity. However, breakdown of SI should most strongly affect the region of the SI locus (S‐locus) because of the relaxation of balancing selection that operates on a functional S‐locus, and a potential selective sweep. In contrast, a transition to selfing should affect the whole genome. We set out to disentangle the effects of breakdown of SI and transition to selfing on the level and distribution of genetic diversity in North American populations of Arabidopsis lyrata. Specifically, we compared sequence diversity of loci linked and unlinked to the S‐locus for populations ranging from complete selfing to fully outcrossing. Regardless of linkage to the S‐locus, heterozygosity and genetic diversity increased with population outcrossing rate. High heterozygosity of self‐compatible individuals in outcrossing populations suggests that SI is not the only factor preventing the evolution of self‐fertilization in those populations. There was a strong loss of diversity in selfing populations, which was more pronounced at the S‐locus. In addition, selfing populations showed an accumulation of derived mutations at the S‐locus. Our results provide evidence that beyond the genome‐wide consequences of the population bottleneck associated with the shift to selfing, the S‐locus of A. lyrata shows a specific signal either reflecting the relaxation of balancing selection or positive selection.
Expression of a bacterial, phenylpropanoid‐metabolizing enzyme in tobacco reveals essential roles of phenolic precursors in normal leaf development and growth
Authors: Merali Zara , Mayer Melinda J. , Parker Mary L. , Michael Anthony J. , Smith Andrew C. , Waldron Keith W.
Published: January 2012

Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum cv XHFD 8) were genetically modified to express a bacterial 4‐hydroxycinnamoyl‐CoA hydratase/lyase (HCHL) enzyme which is active with intermediates of the phenylpropanoid pathway. We have previously shown that HCHL expression in tobacco stem resulted in various pleiotropic effects, indicative of a reduction in the carbon flux through the phenylpropanoid pathway, accompanied by an abnormal phenotype. Here, we report that in addition to the reduction in lignin and phenolic biosynthesis, HCHL expression also resulted in several gross morphological changes in poorly lignified tissue, such as abnormal mesophyll and palisade. The effect of HCHL expression was also noted in lignin‐free single cells, with suspension cultures displaying an altered shape and different growth patterns. Poorly/non‐lignified cell walls also exhibited a greater ease of alkaline extractability of simple phenolics and increased levels of incorporation of vanillin and vanillic acid. However, HCHL expression had no significant effect on the cell wall carbohydrate chemistry of these tissues. Evidence from this study suggests that changes in the transgenic lines result from a reduction in phenolic intermediates which have an essential role in maintaining structural integrity of low‐lignin or lignin‐deprived cell walls. These results emphasize the importance of the intermediates and products of phenylpropanoid pathway in modulating aspects of normal growth and development of tobacco. Analysis of these transgenic plants also shows the plasticity of the lignification process and reveals the potential to bioengineer plants with reduced phenolics (without deleterious effects) which could enhance the bioconversion of lignocellulose for industrial applications.
Genetic inactivation of the p66 isoform of ShcA is neuroprotective in a murine model of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Su Kimmy G. , Savino Costanza , Marracci Gail , Chaudhary Priya , Yu Xiaolin , Morris Brooke , Galipeau Danielle , Giorgio Marco , Forte Michael , Bourdette Dennis
Published: January 2012

Although multiple sclerosis (MS) has traditionally been considered to be an inflammatory disease, recent evidence has brought neurodegeneration into the spotlight, suggesting that accumulated damage and loss of axons is critical to disease progression and the associated irreversible disability. Proposed mechanisms of axonal degeneration in MS posit cytosolic and subsequent mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, accumulation of pathologic reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to cell death. In this context, the role of the p66 isoform of ShcA protein (p66) may be significant. The ShcA isoform is uniquely targeted to the mitochondrial intermembrane space in response to elevated oxidative stress, and serves as a redox enzyme amplifying ROS generation in a positive feedforward loop that eventually mediates cell death by activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Consequently, we tested the hypothesis that genetic inactivation of p66 would reduce axonal injury in a murine model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). As predicted, the p66‐knockout (p66‐KO) mice developed typical signs of EAE, but had less severe clinical impairment and paralysis than wild‐type (WT) mice. Histologic examination of spinal cords and optic nerves showed significant axonal protection in the p66‐KO tissue, despite similar levels of inflammation. Furthermore, cultured p66‐KO neurons treated with agents implicated in MS neurodegenerative pathways showed greater viability than WT neurons. These results confirm the critical role of ROS‐mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in the axonal loss that accompanies EAE, and identify p66 as a new pharmacologic target for MS neuroprotective therapeutics.
Capital gains tax, supply‐driven trading and ownership structure: direct evidence of the lock‐in effect
Authors: Hanlon Dean , Pinder Sean
Published: January 2012

This study investigates the effect of differential capital gains tax rates on investor trading and share prices in a unique market setting that facilitates the resolution of conflicting prior evidence of holding period tax incentives. In particular, we examine whether the concessionary tax treatment of long‐term capital gains increases the supply of shares that qualify for long‐term status, thereby causing downward price pressure. We find evidence of abnormal seller‐initiated trading following the 12‐month anniversary of listing for IPO firms that appreciate in price (‘winners’) and report no such evidence for firms that decline in price (‘losers’). Consistent with the tax concessions being greater for individual than institutional investors, we report that abnormal seller‐initiated trading is mitigated by higher levels of ownership by institutional investors. We also report limited evidence, for winners, of declining share prices upon qualifying for long‐term tax status.
Merger Cycles: A Frequency Domain Approach*
Authors: Kastrinaki Zafeira , Stoneman Paul
Published: January 2012

Using frequency domain techniques, a cycle of 6‐year duration at the aggregate level and coherent sectoral cycles of average 5‐year duration are found in UK merger activity between 1969 and 2005. It is shown that business and capital market cycles jointly are causal for the merger cycle but the capital market cycle alone is not, suggesting that merger cycles may reflect disequilibria and/or market mis‐valuation. Although the possibility of disequilibrium or strong behavioural influences will complicate social evaluation, no reason is found to advise against the current UK policy stance upon mergers.
The Gendered Reading of Conditionality in Antipoverty Programmes: Unintended Effects on Mexican Rural Households' Interactions with Public Health Institutions
Authors: DELGADO ODRA ANGÉLICA SAUCEDO
Published: January 2012

This paper argues that there is an implicit morality in state social policies that govern access to social protection. It presents some selected findings from a case study carried out in 2007 in a rural community in Michoacan, Mexico and, using a qualitative approach, examines how the moral discourses of obligation and sanction implicitly embedded in the notion of conditionality have gendered the interaction of rural poor households with state health institutions.