bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Can lay community health workers be trained to use diagnostics to distinguish and treat malaria and pneumonia in children? Lessons from rural Uganda
Authors: Mukanga D. , Babirye R. , Peterson S. , Pariyo G. W. , Ojiambo G. , Tibenderana J. K. , Nsubuga P. , Kallander K.
Published: July 2011

Objective  To determine the competence of community health workers (CHWs) to correctly assess, classify and treat malaria and pneumonia among under‐five children after training.

Methods  Consultations of 182 under‐fives by 14 CHWs in Iganga district, Uganda, were observed using standardised checklists. Each CHW saw 13 febrile children. Two paediatricians observed CHWs’ assessment, classification and prescription of treatment, while a laboratory scientist assessed CHW use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The validity of CHWs’ use of RDTs to detect malaria and respiratory timers to diagnose pneumonia was estimated using a laboratory scientist’s RDT repeat reading and a paediatrician’s repeat count of the respiratory rate, respectively.

Results  From the 182 consultations, overall CHWs’ performance was adequate in taking history (97%), use (following procedures prior to reading result) of timers (96%) and use of RDTs (96%), but inadequate in classification (87%). Breath readings (classified as fast or normal) were 85% in agreement with the paediatrician (κ = 0.665, P < 0.001). All RDT readings were in agreement with those obtained by the laboratory scientist. Ninety‐six per cent (85/89) of children with a positive RDT were prescribed an antimalarial drug, 40% (4/10) with fast breathing (gold standard) were prescribed an antibiotic and 91% (48/53) with both were prescribed both medicines.

Conclusion  Community health workers can be trained to use RDTs and timers to assess and manage malaria and pneumonia in children. We recommend integration of these diagnostics into community case management of fever. CHWs require enhanced practice in counting respiratory rates and simple job aides to enable them make a classification without thinking deeply about several assessment results.
Examining catastrophic health expenditures at variable thresholds using household consumption expenditure diaries
Authors: Onoka Chima A. , Onwujekwe Obinna E. , Hanson Kara , Uzochukwu Benjamin S.
Published: July 2011

Objective  Using uniform thresholds and a set of variable threshold levels, this study examined the incidence of catastrophe amongst households of different socio‐economic status (SES) quintiles.

Methods  A household diary was used to collect illness and household consumption expenditure data from 1128 households over 1 month. Catastrophic health expenditure was examined based on uniform threshold levels of non‐food expenditure and a novel set of variable thresholds in which the levels for various SES groups were weighted by the ratio of household expenditure on food.

Results  A total of 167 households (14.8%) experienced catastrophe at a non‐food expenditure threshold of 40%, with 22.6% and 7.6% of the poorest and richest household quintiles experiencing catastrophe. For the first set of variable scenarios, the thresholds for the poorest and richest household quintiles were 5% and 29.6% and levels of catastrophe were 44.7% and 12.0%, respectively, while the overall level was 36.5%. In the second scenario, the thresholds were 6.8% and 40%, and the levels of catastrophe were 42.5% and 7.6%, respectively, while the overall level was 32.0%.

Conclusions  High levels of catastrophic expenditure exist in Nigeria. Use of variable thresholds to measure catastrophe led to higher overall and disaggregated levels of catastrophe. Such a measure is argued to be more appropriate for the examination of catastrophe.
Weed discrimination using ultrasonic sensors
Authors: ANDÚJAR D , ESCOLÀ A , DORADO J , FERNÁNDEZ‐QUINTANILLA C
Published: July 2011

Andújar D, Escolà A, Dorado J & Fernández‐Quintanilla C (2011). Weed discrimination using ultrasonic sensors. Weed Research51, 543–547.

A new approach is described for automatic discrimination between grasses and broad‐leaved weeds, based on their heights. An ultrasonic sensor was mounted on the front of a tractor, pointing vertically down in the inter‐row area, with a control system georeferencing and registering the echoes reflected by the ground or by the various leaf layers. Static measurements were taken at locations with different densities of grasses (Sorghum halepense) and broad‐leaved weeds (Xanthium strumarium and Datura spp.). The sensor readings permitted the discrimination of pure stands of grasses (up to 81% success) and pure stands of broad‐leaved weeds (up to 99% success). Moreover, canonical discriminant analysis revealed that the ultrasonic data could separate three groups of assemblages: pure stands of broad‐leaved weeds (lower height), pure stands of grasses (higher height) and mixed stands of broad‐leaved and grass weeds (medium height). Dynamic measurements confirmed the potential of this system to detect weed infestations. This technique offers significant promise for the development of real‐time spatially selective weed control techniques, either as the sole weed detection system or in combination with other detection tools.
Fresh frozen plasma quality: relation to age and gender of blood donors
Authors: Madla W. , Alt T. , Jungk H. , Bux J.
Published: July 2011

Background  In view of demographic changes, it is becoming increasingly necessary to make allowance for the fact that older individuals in good health are generally more willing to donate blood and hence they should be allowed to do so irrespective of an upper age limit. In this respect, evidence has to be produced that there is neither an age‐related increase in risks to the donor nor any influence on the safety and efficacy of the blood components. It was therefore of interest to examine the quality of therapeutic plasma in relation to a donor’s age and also a donor’s gender in view of the preferred use of male donor plasma for reducing the risk of transfusion related acute lung injury.

Study Design and Methods  Citrate‐phosphate‐dextrose (CPD) units of whole blood taken in each case from 50 blood donors (30 men and 20 women) of three age groups (cohort 1 = 69–71 years, cohort 2 = 66–68 years and cohort 3 = 50–52 years) were filtered, centrifuged and then separated into the relevant blood components. The plasma samples were assessed for international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen, factor V (FV), factor VIII (FVIII), antithrombin (AT), protein S and plasminogen.

Results  While aPTT showed only slight age‐related differences of no significance, the INR levels of cohort 1 were significantly higher than those of cohorts 2 and 3. However, in terms of gender, this applied to male donors only. The differences in INR are demonstrated by lower FV levels of male cohort 1 donors, although this is not statistically significant in comparison with the other two age groups and with female donors. Female donors of all cohorts, however, exhibited noticeably lower aPTT levels than male donors. Lower INR and aPTT values in women could be a sign of a lower dilution affected by CPD anticoagulant as compared to male plasma. An increase in FVIII levels was also apparent with increasing age (P < 0·05), particularly in male donor plasma. The fibrinogen levels suggest a slight, though insignificant, age‐related increase and no significant gender‐dependent effect. The plasma levels of AT and plasminogen were unremarkable. The plasma of female cohort 3 donors exhibited a protein S concentration that was slightly lower by comparison. Compared with the other two cohorts, cohort 1 plasma levels were similarly above or below the normal range derived from cohort 3 (central 95% range) for all parameters tested.

Conclusion  International Normalized Ratio, aPTT, FVIII, FV, fibrinogen and protein S, as quality indicators for the efficacy of therapeutic plasma, revealed a moderate correlation with age and gender. Compared with the usual reference ranges, the differences were not significant enough to identify any relevant imbalance between procoagulating, anticoagulating and fibrinolytic factors that might influence product quality where the increasing age of the donors or the preference of male donor plasma was concerned.
Estimation of genetic parameters and response to selection for a continuous trait subject to culling before testing
Authors: Árnason T. , Albertsdóttir E. , Fikse W.F. , Eriksson S. , Sigurdsson Á.
Published: July 2011

The consequences of assuming a zero environmental covariance between a binary trait ‘test‐status’ and a continuous trait on the estimates of genetic parameters by restricted maximum likelihood and Gibbs sampling and on response from genetic selection when the true environmental covariance deviates from zero were studied. Data were simulated for two traits (one that culling was based on and a continuous trait) using the following true parameters, on the underlying scale: h2 = 0.4; rA = 0.5; rE = 0.5, 0.0 or −0.5. The selection on the continuous trait was applied to five subsequent generations where 25 sires and 500 dams produced 1500 offspring per generation. Mass selection was applied in the analysis of the effect on estimation of genetic parameters. Estimated breeding values were used in the study of the effect of genetic selection on response and accuracy. The culling frequency was either 0.5 or 0.8 within each generation. Each of 10 replicates included 7500 records on ‘test‐status’ and 9600 animals in the pedigree file. Results from bivariate analysis showed unbiased estimates of variance components and genetic parameters when true rE = 0.0. For rE = 0.5, variance components (13–19% bias) and especially (50–80%) were underestimated for the continuous trait, while heritability estimates were unbiased. For rE = −0.5, heritability estimates of test‐status were unbiased, while genetic variance and heritability of the continuous trait together with were overestimated (25–50%). The bias was larger for the higher culling frequency. Culling always reduced genetic progress from selection, but the genetic progress was found to be robust to the use of wrong parameter values of the true environmental correlation between test‐status and the continuous trait. Use of a bivariate linear‐linear model reduced bias in genetic evaluations, when data were subject to culling.
The relationship between heterosis and genetic distances based on RAPD and AFLP markers in carrot
Authors: Jagosz Barbara
Published: July 2011

With 6 tables

The aim of this study was to estimate the correlation between heterosis in carrot hybrids and the genetic distances of their parents. The experimental material consisted of 15 inbred lines and 34 hybrids. The yield traits (total and marketable yield), as well as quality characters (carotenes, dry matter, total sugar, monosaccharides and nitrates), were evaluated. Heterosis was computed using two measurements of mid‐ and high‐parent heterosis. Genetic distances among lines were calculated using the RAPD and AFLP techniques. Significant heterosis was found for both total and marketable yield. The content of quality compounds for hybrids usually had mid‐parent values. Significant correlations were found between molecular distances among lines, measured using RAPD markers, and heterosis of crosses for total yield, and among divergences of parents measured using AFLP markers and heterosis for marketable yield. This appears to contribute towards the carrot hybrid yield prediction by estimation of the genetic distances between parents. This research was undertaken because the possibility of heterosis prediction would allow for the reduction of costs and quicker identification of superior carrot hybrids.
Investigation into Association and Expression of PLCz and COX‐2 as Candidate Genes for Boar Sperm Quality and Fertility
Authors: Kaewmala K , Uddin MJ , Cinar MU , Große‐Brinkhaus C , Jonas E , Tesfaye D , Phatsara C , Tholen E , Looft C , Schellander K
Published: July 2011

Contents

Phospholipase C zeta (PLCz) and cyclooxygenase isoenzyme type 2 (COX‐2) are important in spermatogenesis, but their effect has not yet confirmed in pigs. Therefore, this study was aimed to analyse their association with sperm quality and fertility and to identify the mRNA and protein expression in boars reproductive tissues. DNA samples from 231 Pietrain (PI) and 109 Pietrain × Hampshire (PIHA) pigs with records of sperm quality [sperm concentration (SCON), motility, semen volume, plasma droplet and abnormal spermatozoa rate] and fertility (non‐return rate and number of piglet born alive) traits were available. A SNP in non‐coding region of PLCz g.158 A > C was associated with SCON (p < 0.05) in PIHA population while the polymorphism of COX‐2 g.68 G > A in 3′ UTR was not associated with any traits. For mRNA and protein expression study, a total of six boars were divided into two groups with G‐I and G‐II, where G‐I was characterized for relatively better sperm quality. Both genes expressed higher in reproductive tissues compared with non‐reproductive tissues. Phospholipase C zeta mRNA expressed higher in testis (p < 0.01), all parts of epididymis and spermatozoa from G‐I, while COX‐2 expressed higher in testis (p < 0.05), head and body of epididymis (p < 0.01), and spermatozoa from G‐II boar. Both proteins were localized in Leydig cells and spermatozoa. These results might shed light on roles of these genes in spermatogenesis as candidate for boar sperm quality and fertility, but still the lack of association across populations should be considered.
Factors involved in recovery from schizophrenia: A qualitative study of Thai mental health nurses
Authors: Kaewprom Chettha , Curtis Janette , Deane Frank P.
Published: July 2011

Recovery‐oriented services increasingly are being called for around the world. These services do not just consider recovery from mental illness as symptom remission, but as individuals' ability to redefine their self and to “live well”, even with enduring symptoms. However, little is known about the views of Thai nurses regarding the conceptualization of recovery. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that explored the perspectives of 24 Thai nurses regarding schizophrenia and recovery. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nurses who were providing care for persons who were living with schizophrenia in both hospital and community settings. A thematic analysis identified the personal and environmental factors that were related to recovery. Illness acceptance, hope, and adherence to treatment were viewed as the facilitators of recovery, while a low level of self‐responsibility and illness‐related factors were barriers. Environmental factors, such as the presence of a supportive environment and accessibility to mental health services, were described as facilitators, while stigma towards mental health illness and fragmented health services were barriers. The implications of these results in promoting recovery‐oriented mental health services in Thailand are discussed.
PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY COMPARING CELL BLOCK METHOD AND CONVENTIONAL SMEAR METHOD FOR PANCREATIC JUICE CYTOLOGY
Authors: NODA YUTAKA , FUJITA NAOTAKA , KOBAYASHI GO , ITO KEI , HORAGUCHI JUN , OBANA TAKASHI , KOSHITA SHINSUKE , KANNO YOSHIHIDE , YAMASHITA YASUNOBU , KATO YUHEI , OGAWA TAKAHISA , TSUCHIYA TAKASHI , OIKAWA MASAYA , SAWAI TAKASHI , KANNO HIROYUKI , KUROSE AKIRA
Published: July 2011

Aim:  To elucidate the diagnostic efficacy of the cell block (CB) method by comparing it with that of conventional smear cytology for pancreatic juice obtained by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in a randomized controlled trial fashion.

Methods:  A total of 170 patients with pancreatic lesions suspicious of being malignant who underwent pancreatic juice collection without giving secretin under ERCP were enrolled in this study. After sampling, the pancreatic juice was randomized to the CB method (n = 85) or to smear cytology (n = 85). CB sections were subjected to hematoxylin‐eosin, periodic acid Schiff–Alcian blue, and immunohistochemical stains. Both Papanicolaou stain and Giemsa stain were used for smear cytology.

Results:  The final diagnosis was malignancy in 54 patients: pancreatic cancer, 45; intraductal papillary‐mucinous carcinoma, six; and endocrine tumor, three. The number of patients with a cytological borderline malignancy in the CB group (3.5%) was significantly smaller than that in the smear group (27.1%) (P < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of the CB method and that of smear cytology were 76.5% (65/85) and 74.1% (63/85), respectively (P = 0.72), and their respective sensitivities were 50% (14/28) and 38.5% (10/26) (P = 0.39). The sensitivity of the CB method (88.9%) was better than that of smear cytology (42.9%) for invasive ductal carcinoma in the pancreas head (P = 0.048).

Conclusions:  The CB method using immunostaining for pancreatic juice cytology showed a much lower rate of equivocal borderline malignancy and a tendency for a higher diagnostic yield compared with smear cytology. Its diagnostic sensitivity, however, was not satisfactory except for pancreatic‐head cancer.
OVERVIEW OF UPCOMING ADVANCES IN COLONOSCOPY
Authors: CHENG WU BIN , MOSER MICHAEL AJ , KANAGARATNAM SIVARUBAN , ZHANG WEN JUN
Published: July 2011

Although colonoscopy is a very commonly carried out procedure, it is not without its problems, including a risk of perforation and significant patient discomfort, especially associated with looping formation. Furthermore, looping formation may prevent a complete colonoscopy from being carried out in certain patients. The conventional colonoscope has not changed very much since its original introduction. We review promising technologies that are being promoted as a way to address the problems with current colonoscopy. There are some methods to prevent looping formation, including overtube, variable stiffness, computer‐guided scopes, Aer‐O‐Scope™, magnetic endoscopic imaging and the capsule endoscope. In recent years, with the progress of microelectromechanical and microelectronic technologies, many biomedical and robotic researchers are developing autonomous endoscopes with miniaturization of size and integration functionality that represent state of the art of the micro‐robotic endoscope. The initial results by using aforementioned methods seem promising; however, there are some conflicting reports of clinical trials with the overtube colonoscope, the computer‐guided scope and the variable stiffness colonoscope. There are also some limitations in the use of the Aer‐o‐scope and the capsule endoscope. The autonomous endoscope is based on a self‐propelling property that is able to avoid looping completely. This novel technology could potentially become the next generation endoscope; however, there are still critical techniques to be approached in order to develop the effective and efficient novel endoscope.
Dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors and preservation of pancreatic islet‐cell function: a critical appraisal of the evidence
Authors: van Genugten R. E. , van Raalte D. H. , Diamant M.
Published: July 2011

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) develops as a consequence of progressive β‐cell dysfunction in the presence of insulin resistance. None of the currently‐available T2DM therapies is able to change the course of the disease by halting the relentless decline in pancreatic islet cell function. Recently, dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)‐4 inhibitors, or incretin enhancers, have been introduced in the treatment of T2DM. This class of glucose‐lowering agents enhances endogenous glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) levels by blocking the incretin‐degrading enzyme DPP‐4. DPP‐4 inhibitors may restore the deranged islet‐cell balance in T2DM, by stimulating meal‐related insulin secretion and by decreasing postprandial glucagon levels. Moreover, in rodent studies, DPP‐4 inhibitors demonstrated beneficial effects on (functional) β‐cell mass and pancreatic insulin content. Studies in humans with T2DM have indicated improvement of islet‐cell function, both in the fasted state and under postprandial conditions and these beneficial effects were sustained in studies with a duration up to 2 years. However, there is at present no evidence in humans to suggest that DPP‐4 inhibitors have durable effects on β‐cell function after cessation of therapy. Long‐term, large‐sized trials using an active blood glucose lowering comparator followed by a sufficiently long washout period after discontinuation of the study drug are needed to assess whether DPP‐4 inhibitors may durably preserve pancreatic islet‐cell function in patients with T2DM.
Colour Doppler and microbubble contrast agent ultrasonography do not improve cancer detection rate in transrectal systematic prostate biopsy sampling
Authors: Taverna Gianluigi , Morandi Giovanni , Seveso Mauro , Giusti Guido , Benetti Alessio , Colombo Piergiuseppe , Minuti Francesco , Grizzi Fabio , Graziotti Pierpaolo
Published: July 2011

Study Type – Diagnosis (RCT)

Level of Evidence 1b

What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Transrectal gray‐scale ultrasonography guided prostate biopsy sampling is the method for diagnosing prostate cancer (PC) in patients with an increased prostate specific antigen level and/or abnormal digital rectal examination. Several imaging strategies have been proposed to optimize the diagnostic value of biopsy sampling, although at the first biopsy nearly 10–30% of PC still remains undiagnosed.

This study compares the PC detection rate when employing Colour Doppler ultransongraphy with or without the injection of SonoVueTM microbubble contrast agent, versus the transrectal ultrasongraphy‐guided systematic biopsy sampling. The limited accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and the additional cost of using the contrast agent do not justify its routine application in PC detection.

OBJECTIVE

• To compare prostate cancer (PC) detection rate employing colour Doppler ultrasonography with or without SonoVueTM contrast agent with transrectal ultrasonography‐guided systematic biopsy sampling.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• A total of 300 patients with negative digital rectal examination and transrectal grey‐scale ultrasonography, with PSA values ranging between 2.5 and 9.9 ng/mL, were randomized into three groups: 100 patients (group A) underwent transrectal ultrasonography‐guided systematic bioptic sampling; 100 patients (group B) underwent colour Doppler ultrasonography, and 100 patients (group C) underwent colour Doppler ultrasonography before and during the injection of SonoVueTM.

• Contrast‐enhanced targeted biopsies were sampled into hypervascularized areas of peripheral, transitional, apical or anterior prostate zones.

• All the patients included in Groups B and C underwent a further 13 systematic prostate biopsies. The cancer detection rate was calculated for each group.

RESULTS

• In 88 (29.3%) patients a histological diagnosis of PC was made, whereas 22 (7.4%) patients were diagnosed with high‐grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or atypical small acinar proliferation.

• No significant differences were found among the three groups for cancer detection rate (P= 0.329).

• Additionally, low sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of colour Doppler with or without SonoVueTM contrast agent were found.

CONCLUSIONS

• Prostate cancer detection rate does not significantly improve with the use of colour Doppler ultrasonography with or without SonoVueTM.

• Although no collateral effects have been highlighted, the combined use of colour Doppler ultrasonography and SonoVueTM determines adjunctive costs and increases the mean time for taking a single prostate biopsy.
Antarctic silverfish: life strategies of a key species in the high‐Antarctic ecosystem
Authors: La Mesa Mario , Eastman Joseph T
Published: July 2011

Among the endemic notothenioid fish of Antarctica, the Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) is the only species in which all developmental stages live throughout the water column. It is widely distributed in the shelf waters around the continent, inhabiting both open waters and areas of pack ice at depths from 0 to 900 m. In successfully occupying this habitat, it evolved a suite of specific biological, ecological and physiological adaptations to the environmental conditions in the cold and highly seasonal Antarctic waters. Specialization for the pelagic environment evolved over millions of years enabled life under unusual environmental constraints and colonization of the pelagic realm of the Antarctic continental shelf. A sudden change of environmental conditions driven by the current rapid climate change could negatively affect this weak equilibrium, with a catastrophic cascade effecting higher trophic levels. Indeed, as both adults and early life stages of the Antarctic silverfish appear to be strongly dependent on sea‐ice, this species would be especially sensitive to climatic or oceanic changes that reduce the extent of sea‐ice cover or the timing of formation of coastal polynyas.
THE NEW MILITARY MEDICAL ETHICS: LEGACIES OF THE GULF WARS AND THE WAR ON TERROR
Authors: MILES STEVEN H.
Published: July 2011

United States military medical ethics evolved during its involvement in two recent wars, Gulf War I (1990–1991) and the War on Terror (2001–). Norms of conduct for military clinicians with regard to the treatment of prisoners of war and the administration of non‐therapeutic bioactive agents to soldiers were set aside because of the sense of being in a ‘new kind of war’. Concurrently, the use of radioactive metal in weaponry and the ability to measure the health consequences of trade embargos on vulnerable civilians occasioned new concerns about the health effects of war on soldiers, their offspring, and civilians living on battlefields. Civilian medical societies and medical ethicists fitfully engaged the evolving nature of the medical ethics issues and policy changes during these wars. Medical codes of professionalism have not been substantively updated and procedures for accountability for new kinds of abuses of medical ethics are not established. Looking to the future, medicine and medical ethics have not articulated a vision for an ongoing military‐civilian dialogue to ensure that standards of medical ethics do not evolve simply in accord with military exigency.
THE EFFECTS OF ABANDONMENT OPTIONS ON INVESTMENT TIMING AND INTENSITY
Authors: Wong Kit Pong
Published: July 2011

This paper examines how the presence of an abandonment option affects the timing and intensity of a firm’s investment. We develop a continuous‐time model wherein a firm is endowed with a perpetual option to invest in a project at any time by incurring an investment cost at that instant. The amount of the investment cost is directly related to the intensity of investment that is endogenously chosen by the firm at the investment instant. The project generates a stream of stochastic revenue flows with a concomitant stream of constant cost flows, both of which increase with the investment intensity. We show that allowing the firm to make an irreversible decision to abandon the project does not affect the firm’s optimal investment intensity if the investment cost is totally reversible. Otherwise, the option to abandon the project induces the firm to choose a lower level of investment intensity. Furthermore, we show that the presence of the abandonment option pushes down the firm’s optimal investment trigger, thereby hastening the undertaking of the project.
Wittgenstein on Simile as the “Best Thing” in Philosophy1
Authors: Erden Yasemin J.
Published: July 2011

In a remark written sometime between 1933 and 1943, Wittgenstein suggests that philosophy ought really to be written as one “writes a poem.” Around this time he also talks of simile as the “best thing” in philosophy. In this paper I consider what it would mean to take such claims seriously. Through examining newly discovered material from the (unpublished) Skinner manuscripts (MSS), I offer an analysis of Wittgenstein's approach to literary techniques (broadly conceived) and see how this impacts on his conception of philosophy.
Applicant reactions and faking in real‐life personnel selection
Authors: HONKANIEMI LAURA , TOLVANEN ASKO , FELDT TARU
Published: July 2011

Honkaniemi, L., Tolvanen, A. & Feldt, T. (2011). Applicant reactions and faking in real‐life personnel selection. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 376–381.

Faking may affect hiring decisions in personnel selection. All the antecedents of faking are still not known. The present study investigates the association between applicants’ reactions about the selection procedure and their tendency to fake. The subjects (N = 180) were real‐life applicants for a fire and rescue personnel school. After completing the selection process, the applicants filled out a questionnaire about their test reactions (Chan, Schmitt, Sacco & DeSohon, 1998b) and a faking scale, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (Paulhus, 1991). The results based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) indicated that the more positive reactions applicant had about the selection procedure the more impression management they had. The applicant reactions were not associated with self‐deception.
Evaluation of mycophenolate mofetil as a steroid‐sparing agent in pemphigus: a randomized, prospective study
Authors: Ioannides D. , Apalla Z. , Lazaridou E. , Rigopoulos D.
Published: July 2011

Background  Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been lately proposed as one of the most promising steroid‐sparing agent in pemphigus.

Objective  To compare effectiveness and adverse events of two different therapeutic protocols for pemphigus: methylprednisolone alone vs. the combination of methylprednisolone and Mycophenolate mofetil.

Methods  A randomized prospective non‐blinded trial was performed in a tertiary care medical centre. Forty‐seven of 52 initially evaluated patients with newly diagnosed pemphigus vulgaris or pemphigus foliaceous that had not previously been treated with systemic corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs were randomly assigned to treatment with either methylprednisolone (prednisone equivalent, 1 mg/kg) or methylprednisolone plus mycophenolate mofetil (3 g/day, 1.5 g twice daily). Patients were followed up for clinical outcome based on time required until the achievement of control of disease activity, induction of partial and complete remissions on or off minimal therapy, total amount of corticosteroids administered, frequency of relapses and development of side‐effects and complications.

Results  The two groups were similar in terms of demographics and baseline disease characteristics. There was no difference between groups in any of the variables used to measure response to treatment or total amount of corticosteroids administered. Side‐effects did not differ significantly.

Conclusion  Combination treatment with corticosteroids and mycophenolate mofetil, 3 g/day, offers no advantage over monotherapy treatment with corticosteroids in patients with pemphigus.
Dimerization of the DYT6 dystonia protein, THAP1, requires residues within the coiled‐coil domain
Authors: Sengel Cem , Gavarini Sophie , Sharma Nutan , Ozelius Laurie J. , Bragg D. Cristopher
Published: July 2011

J. Neurochem. (2011) 118, 1087–1100.

Thanatos‐associated [THAP] domain‐containing apoptosis‐associated protein 1 (THAP1) is a DNA‐binding protein that has been recently associated with DYT6 dystonia, a hereditary movement disorder involving sustained, involuntary muscle contractions. A large number of dystonia‐related mutations have been identified in THAP1 in diverse patient populations worldwide. Previous reports have suggested that THAP1 oligomerizes with itself via a C‐terminal coiled‐coil domain, raising the possibility that DYT6 mutations in this region might affect this interaction. In this study, we examined the ability of wild‐type THAP1 to bind itself and the effects on this interaction of the following disease mutations: C54Y, F81L, ΔF132, T142A, I149T, Q154fs180X, and A166T. The results confirmed that wild‐type THAP1 associated with itself and most of the DYT6 mutants tested, except for the Q154fs180X variant, which loses most of the coiled‐coil domain because of a frameshift at position 154. However, deletion of C‐terminal residues after position 166 produced a truncated variant of THAP1 that was able to bind the wild‐type protein. The interaction of THAP1 with itself therefore required residues within a 13‐amino acid region (aa 154–166) of the coiled‐coil domain. Further inspection of this sequence revealed elements highly consistent with previous descriptions of leucine zippers, which serve as dimerization domains in other transcription factor families. Based on this similarity, a structural model was generated to predict how hydrophobic residues in this region may mediate dimerization. These observations offer additional insight into the role of the coiled‐coil domain in THAP1, which may facilitate future analyses of DYT6 mutations in this region.
Temporal retinal sensitivity in mesopic adaptation
Authors: Matesanz Beatriz M , Issolio Luis , Arranz Isabel , de la Rosa Cristina , Menéndez José A , Mar Santiago , Aparicio Juan A
Published: July 2011

Citation information: Matesanz BM, Issolio L, Arranz I, de la Rosa C, Menéndez JA, Mar S & Aparicio JA. Temporal retinal sensitivity in mesopic adaptation. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2011, 31, 615–624. doi: 10.1111/j.1475‐1313.2011.00859.x

Purpose:  Night driving is a complex visual task with important ramifications for driver and pedestrian safety. It is usually performed under mesopic or scotopic conditions and frequently, in the presence of transient glare sources that can adapt parts of the central retina. The objective of this work was to analyze the time response of adaptation for the central 15° of the retina when part of it is exposed to transient or steady mesopic adapting fields.

Methods:  Absolute visual thresholds and luminance thresholds when viewing steady and transient adaptation fields were measured for three observers, at temporal retinal eccentricities of 0°–14.5° in steps of 2.9° (subsequently described as 0°, 3°, 6°, 9°, 12° and 15°) using a two‐channel Maxwellian view optical system. The adaptation field and stimulus subtended 1.05° and 0.45° respectively. The transient adaptation field was presented with a stimulus onset asymmetry (SOA) of 300 ms. Time course adaptation curves were also measured at 0°, 6° and 9°.

Results:  The absolute dark adaptation threshold (threshold measured at dark adaptation conditions or ) decreases in peripheral retina due to an increasing rod contribution. Luminance thresholds vs eccentricity curves for transient () and steady () mesopic adaptation fields intersect across the first 15° of the peripheral retina.

Conclusions:  While the fovea shows higher sensitivity than the areas of peripheral retina investigated in this study, the speed of adaptation, measured from the visibility loss, is greater for retinal regions between 6° and 9° than for the fovea or retinal eccentricities beyond 9°.
Opportunity and Educational Outcomes in Australia*
Authors: LE ANH T. , MILLER PAUL W. , SLUTSKE WENDY S. , MARTIN NICHOLAS G.
Published: July 2011

Despite the well‐documented advantages of additional years of education, many Australians still leave school before completing Year 12, and less than one‐half of high‐school graduates complete tertiary studies. The reasons for this have been the subject of considerable research, with one of the primary aims being to investigate the role of inequality of opportunity as a determinant of educational attainment. Where inequality of opportunity adversely affects educational outcomes, appropriate policy intervention may be able to increase both efficiency and equity (

Behrman & Taubman, 1989

). In this article, we use information on twins to assess the role of family background (or environment) in determining educational attainment in Australia, and to assess the changes in this role over recent decades. Our best estimate is that environmental diversity accounts for as little as 8 per cent of the variance in educational outcomes. Moreover, in the face of rather substantial changes in the arrangements for financing tertiary education in Australia, the influence of common family background on educational outcomes has not changed.
A specimen of Curculioninae (Curculionidae, Coleoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous, Araripe Basin, north‐eastern Brazil
Authors: SANTOS MÁRCIA FERNANDES DE AQUINO , MERMUDES JOSÉ RICARDO M. , FONSECA VERA MARIA MEDINA DA
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  A specimen of Curculionidae (Curculioninae) is described as Arariperhinus monnei gen. et sp. nov. The specimen is preserved on a laminated limestone sample of the Crato Formation (Santana Group), Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian), and was collected from a quarry near Nova Olinda, Chapada do Araripe, State of Ceará, Brazil. The genus is placed in the subfamily Curculioninae because of its strongly convex body and relatively slender rostrum, but mainly by its rounded eyes and lack of a prosternal sulcus and tibial spurs. The very prominent eyes in lateral view, a cylindrical rostrum and a straight posterior margin of ventrite II are strong indications that this fossil belongs to the tribe Anthonomini. However, the claws, which would resolve the exact placement of this fossil, are poorly preserved. Arariperhinus monnei gen. et sp. nov. is distinguishable by the combination of several characters and the first record of the family Curculionidae in the Santana Group; it is the oldest record of a member of the subfamily Curculioninae.
Tithonia oxfordiana, a new irregular echinoid associated with Jurassic seep deposits in south‐east France
Authors: GAILLARD CHRISTIAN , NÉRAUDEAU DIDIER , THIERRY JACQUES
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  The infaunal irregular echinoid, Tithonia oxfordiana, is described and compared to congeneric species previously described from Upper Jurassic and lowermost Cretaceous strata. This new species characterizes a monospecific echinoid assemblage, which occurs only in some places where deep‐marine middle Oxfordian deposits are exposed in south‐east France. Specimens are closely packed and clearly concentrated at the top of small carbonate chemoherms; a close connection of the echinoids with the emission of reduced chemicals, which were oxidized by chemoautotrophic bacteria, is highly probable. Based on general test shape and plate architecture, T. oxfordiana probably was a deposit feeder on chemosynthetic organic matter produced by such bacteria. In view of the fact that T. oxfordiana is the sole species of the Jurassic genus Tithonia known from Oxfordian strata, it is postulated that chemoherms possibly acted as refugia for these peculiar echinoids, which have an episodic record between the Callovian and Valanginian.
Bennettitalean leaf cuticle fragments (here Anomozamites and Pterophyllum) can be used interchangeably in stomatal frequency‐based palaeo‐CO2 reconstructions
Authors: STEINTHORSDOTTIR MARGRET , BACON KAREN L. , POPA MIHAI E. , BOCHNER LAURA , McELWAIN JENNIFER C.
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  Bennettites are an abundant and frequently well‐preserved component of many Mesozoic fossil floras, often playing an important ecological role in flood plain vegetation communities. During a recent study focusing on stomatal indices of Triassic–Jurassic fossil plants, it became evident that the leaf fragments of two bennettite genera Anomozamites Schimper (1870) emend. Harris (1969) and Pterophyllum Brongniart (1825) display a significant overlap of leaf shape as well as cuticular characters. Owing to the preference of recognition of single taxa (ideally species) for the stomatal method, we use a database of 70 leaf fragments of Anomozamites and Pterophyllum compressions from five isotaphonomic Late Triassic sedimentary beds of Astartekløft in East Greenland to test whether leaf and cuticle fragments of the two genera can be separated using a range of quantitative and qualitative morphological and statistical analyses. None of the observed characters – including stomatal frequencies – could be applied to separate the fragments of the two genera into well‐defined groups. Our results therefore indicate that fragmented material and dispersed cuticles cannot be utilized to distinguish between Anomozamites or Pterophyllum at the genus level, but that instead these cuticle fragments may be used interchangeably as stomatal proxies. Classification of fossil leaves into either of these genera is thus only possible given adequate preservation of macro‐morphology and is not possible based solely on cuticle morphology. We suggest that this large inter‐ and intra‐generic morphological variation in both leaf and cuticle traits within Anomozamites and Pterophyllum may be related to the bennettites’ role as understory plants, experiencing a range of micro‐environmental conditions, perhaps depending mainly on sun exposure. Based on the results obtained in this study, we conclude that Anomozamites and Pterophyllum cuticle fragments can be employed interchangeably in palaeo [CO2] reconstructions based on the stomatal method, thus potentially annexing a plethora of bennettitalean fossil plant material as CO2 proxies, including dispersed cuticles.
The fossil record of Limopsis (Bivalvia: Limopsidae) in Antarctica and the southern high latitudes
Authors: WHITTLE ROWAN J. , LINSE KATRIN , GRIFFITHS HUW J.
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  Limopsis is one of the most speciose and widespread bivalve genera in the Southern Ocean at the present day. However, the fossil record of the genus is poorly known from the southern high latitudes. Here, we review the fossil record in this region to help understand the evolutionary origins of the genus. Limopsis infericola sp. nov. and additional specimens of a previously described species are added to the fossil record of Antarctica. The globally distributed limopsid clade had its earliest occurrences in the Early Cretaceous of Europe and New Zealand, then radiated during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, 70.6–65.5 Ma). Fossil evidence shows that the genus underwent a second, Cenozoic, radiation related to the isolation of Antarctica and the onset of cooling in the southern hemisphere. The genus has persisted in Antarctica for the last 50 myr, adapting to extreme changes in the environmental conditions, including surviving the last glacial maximum in marine refugia.
Environmental control on the biogeographical distribution of Desmanella (Soricomorpha, Mammalia) in the Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: GARCÍA‐ALIX ANTONIO , FURIÓ MARC , MINWER‐BARAKAT RAEF , MARTÍN SUÁREZ ELVIRA , FREUDENTHAL MATTHIJS
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  This paper reports the first record of Desmanella (Mammalia, Soricomorpha) from the Granada Basin in southern Iberian Peninsula, which represents its south‐westernmost occurrence in all Eurasia. It is a controversial taxon whose systematic assignment has been discussed for a long time. This genus belongs to the family Talpidae, a group of insectivores that include extant moles, shrew moles and desmans. Desmanella was very abundant in the late Miocene and early Pliocene of Eurasia, including several basins of northern Iberian Peninsula, but it has not been found until now in southern Iberia. Previous studies have shown that the faunal record and the climatic conditions during the Neogene in the Granada Basin were different from other areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The particular distribution of Desmanella supports the hypothesis that specific climatic features (wetter than neighbouring areas) prevailed in the Granada Basin during the late Turolian (late Miocene).
Pronemouridae fam. nov. (Insecta: Plecoptera), the stem group of nemouridae and notonemouridae, from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China
Authors: YUSHUANG LIU , SINITSHENKOVA NINA D. , DONG REN , CHUNGKUN SHIH
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  A new family, Pronemouridae fam. nov., with a new genus, Pronemoura gen. nov., and five new species of fossil stoneflies are described from Daohugou village (Middle Jurassic), Inner Mongolia, China: P. shii sp. nov., P. angustithorax sp. nov., P. longialata sp. nov., P. minuta sp. nov. and P. peculiaris sp. nov. Wing venation of pronemourinids presents some or considerable variety in the fore and hind wings of the same or different individuals. Pronemourinidae, retaining plesiomorphic characters (short, multisegmented cerci and CuA with forks), should be treated as the stem group of Nemouridae and Notonemouridae. Based on fossil data, we propose a model in which the extant plecopterid distribution began in the Early Cretaceous. Nemouridae and Notonemouridae must have occurred in Asia and begun to migrate from here by at least the Early Cretaceous.
Oldest known Dicoelosia and Epitomyonia, deep water brachiopods from the Beiguoshan Formation (Middle Katian, Upper Ordovician), Shaanxi, north China
Authors: JIN JISUO , RONG JIAYU , ZHAN RENBIN
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  A diverse brachiopod fauna from a relatively deep water carbonate facies of the Upper Ordovician Beiguoshan Formation (uppermost Caradoc – lower Ashgill, middle Katian) is characterized by small shells and contains the oldest known Dicoelosia and Epitomyonia, two diagnostic taxa of deep water brachiopod palaeocommunities during the Late Ordovician and Silurian. Three new species are recognized: Dicoelosia cordiformis sp. nov., Dicoelosia perbrevis sp. nov. and Epitomyonia fui sp. nov. These pioneer forms of the family Dicoelosiidae show a relatively high degree of morphological plasticity. The shells of Dicoelosia from the Beiguoshan Formation range from the typical slender‐lobed form with a concavoconvex profile to the strongly equibiconvex, fat‐lobed morphotype that was not known previously until the late Silurian. The Beiguoshan dicoelosiids point to an important attribute of the deep water brachiopods: small generalists with high morphological plasticity, which make them ideal candidates as progenitors for the evolution of shallow water brachiopod faunas in shelf and platform depositional environments.
Taxonomic and phylogenetic reassessment of the early neotheropod dinosaur Camposaurus arizonensis from the Late Triassic of North America
Authors: EZCURRA MARTIN D. , BRUSATTE STEPHEN L.
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  Camposaurus arizonensis, a small theropod dinosaur from the early–middle Norian of Arizona (USA), is widely considered the oldest known neotheropod. However, despite its importance, Camposaurus is the subject of taxonomic and phylogenetic uncertainty and is often considered a nomen dubium, largely because of a fragmentary holotype. We here reassess the holotype of Camposaurus and identify two autapomorphies: the posterior edge of the tibial articular surface for the fibula offset as a sharp and prominent ridge and the absence of an anteriorly expanded medial condyle of the astragalus. We therefore consider Camposaurus to be a valid and diagnostic taxon of basal theropod dinosaur. For the first time, we include Camposaurus in a phylogenetic analysis, which confirms its neotheropod placement and recovers it as a close relative of Coelophysis rhodesiensis within Coelophysoidea sensu stricto. The position of Camposaurus as the oldest neotheropod provides an important calibration point, but necessitates long ghost lineages, indicating that our knowledge of the early evolutionary history of theropod dinosaurs is still patchy. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analysis recovers a polytomy at the base of Neotheropoda, as most parsimonious trees disagree in recovering a monophyletic or paraphyletic ‘traditional’ Coelophysoidea. This suggests that basal theropod phylogeny remains in a state of flux, and the monophyly of ‘traditional’ Coelophysoidea remains an open question.