bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Radical Cystectomy in Octogenarian Patients: A Difficult Decision to Take
Authors: Garde Hector , Ciappara Marco , Galante Isabel , Fuentes Ferrer Manuel , Gómez Angel , Blazquez Jesus , Moreno Jesus
Published: February 2015

Introduction: The increasing life expectancy and the proportion of octogenarians make radical cystectomy (RC) more frequent in octogenarian patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer. Objective: To analyze overall survival and complications in our series. Material and Methods: Descriptive analysis of patients older than 80 years undergoing RC between 2000 and 2012. Surgical risk (American Society of Anesthesiologists scale, ASA), hospital stay, complications (Clavien-Dindo classification) and types of urinary diversion were evaluated. Variables were expressed in mean or medians. Overall survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate overall survival analysis was performed using the univariate Cox regression model. The null hypothesis was rejected by a type I error <0.05. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). Results: Thirty-three patients were included. Their mean age was 81.9 ± 1.8 years. There were 24 males (72.7%). The surgical risk was identified as follows: ASA II in 9 patients (27.3%), ASA III in 23 (69.7%) and ASA IV in 1 (3%). Concerning urinary diversion, 19 patients (57.6%) underwent ureteroileostomy and 14 (42.4%) bilateral cutaneous ureterostomy. Average hospital length of stay was 19 days (14-30). TNM stage was T0 in 1 patient (3%), T1 in 4 (12.1%), T2 in 11 (33.3%), T3 in 13 (39.4%), T4 in 4 (12.1%), Nx in 9 (12%), N0 in 13 (39.4%), N1 in 3 (9.1%), and N2 in 5 (15.2%). The most frequent complications were pneumonia in 6 patients (18.2%) and surgical wound infection in 6 (18.2%). Lymphadenectomy did not involve a significant increase in complications. Six patients (18.2%) died in the immediate postoperative period, 5 of whom from respiratory complications. The mean survival of the rest of the series was 24 months (range 15.1-32.8). Conclusions: Overall assessment of the patient is essential and not only the chronological age. RC is a valid option despite chronological age. In the postoperative period, there is a higher risk of complications but not higher mortality due to surgical complications.
Cardiorenal Syndrome Type 1: A Defective Regulation of Monocyte Apoptosis Induced by Proinflammatory and Proapoptotic Factors
Authors: Pastori Silvia , Virzì Grazia Maria , Brocca Alessandra , de Cal Massimo , Clementi Anna , Vescovo Giorgio , Ronco Claudio
Published: February 2015

In this study, we examined the possible immune-mediated mechanisms in cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) type 1 pathogenesis. We enrolled 40 patients with acute heart failure (AHF), 11 patients with CRS type 1 and 15 controls. Plasma from the different groups was incubated with monocytes; subsequently, cell apoptosis was evaluated by DNA fragmentation, caspase activity and cytofluorometric assay. Cytokine quantification in plasma and supernatant was performed by ELISA. Monocytes treated with CRS type 1 plasma showed significantly higher apoptosis compared with those treated with AHF and the controls (p < 0.05). Caspase-3 (CRS type 1: 2.20 ng/ml, IQR 2.06-2.33; AHF: 1.48 ng/ml, IQR 1.31-1.56; controls: 0.71 ng/ml, IQR 0.67-0.81) and caspase-8 levels (CRS type 1: 1.49 ng/ml, IQR 1.42-1.57; AHF: 0.94 ng/ml, IQR 0.84-0.98; controls: 0.56 ng/ml, IQR 0.51-0.58) in cells incubated with plasma from these patients demonstrated a significantly higher concentration. We observed a strong upregulation of plasma IL-6 and IL-18 in CRS type 1 compared with AHF and the controls (p < 0.05). Interestingly, we observed a similar concentration of TNF-α in CRS type 1 and AHF. In CRS type 1 patients, IL-6 (52.13 ng/ml, IQR 47.29-66.83) and IL-18 levels (197.75 ng/ml, IQR 120.80-265.49) in supernatant were significantly higher than in AHF patients (IL-6: 28.79 ng/ml, IQR 19.90-36.10; IL-18: 21.98 ng/ml, IQR 15.98-29.85) and controls (IL-6: 5.02 ng/ml, IQR 4.56-6.44; IL-18: 7.91 ng/ml, IQR 5.57-10.62). These findings suggest the presence of a defective regulation of monocyte apoptosis in CRS type 1 patients and the involvement of an immune-mediated mechanism in the pathophysiology of this syndrome.
Cortisol Administration Induces Sex Change from Ovary to Testis in the Protogynous Wrasse, Halichoeres trimaculatus
Authors: Nozu Ryo , Nakamura Masaru
Published: February 2015

Steroid hormones have been shown to play important roles in triggering sex change. However, the upstream mechanism that regulates the secretion of sex steroid hormones controlling sex change is not yet known. Cortisol, the primary glucocorticoid in teleost fish, is known to exhibit anti-stress action and is involved in many physiological functions, including regulation of steroidogenesis. Therefore, cortisol could be one of the candidate factors involved in the onset of sex change. In this study, we investigated the role of cortisol in sex change in the three-spot wrasse, Halichoeres trimaculatus, by prolonged administration of cortisol. Our results showed that gonads of all individuals treated with cortisol (1,000 µg/g diet) for 6 weeks contained spermatogenic germ cells. One of them exhibited matured testes with an ovarian cavity, indicating sex change. Additionally, the plasma estradiol-17β level in the cortisol treatment group was significantly lower than in the control group suggesting that cortisol plays a direct and/or indirect role in the regulation of estrogen production. These data imply that cortisol might be involved in the regulation of steroidogenesis by causing a decrease in the estrogen level, leading to the onset of sex change.
Resection of Single Metachronous Liver Metastases from Breast Cancer Stage I-II Yield Excellent Overall and Disease-Free Survival. Single Center Experience and Review of the Literature
Authors: Vertriest Céline , Berardi Giammauro , Tomassini Federico , Vanden Broucke Rudy , Depypere Herman , Cocquyt Véronique , Denys Hannelore , Van Belle Simon , Troisi Roberto I.
Published: February 2015

Purpose: Improved survival after liver resection for breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) has been proven; however, there is still controversy on predictive factors influencing outcomes. The analysis of factors related to primary and metastatic cancer eventually influencing long-term outcomes and a review of the literature are presented in this report. Methods: Twenty-seven patients diagnosed with metachronous BCLM between 1996 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who had a minimum disease-free interval between primary tumor and liver metastasis of 12 months, no more than 3 liver lesions, no macroscopic extra-hepatic disease and in which systemic therapy showed a good response were included. Results:  Twenty-two patients (82%) were initially diagnosed with a stage I-II disease. Twelve patients presented with multiple liver metastases. The 5 years overall survival (OS) rate was 78%, while the 5 years disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 36%. Initial tumor stage III-IV at first diagnosis and number of metastases >1 was significantly associated with a shorter DFS at multivariate analysis (p = 0.03 and p = 0.04 respectively). Patients with multiple lesions had a median DFS of 15 months compared to 47 months in patients with a single lesion (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Resection of single BCLM from primary stage I-II cancer offers very good long-term survival rates and a low morbidity.
Survival Benefit of the Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Among Older Patients
Authors: Hess Paul L. , Al-Khatib Sana M. , Han Joo Y. , Edwards Rex , Bardy Gust H. , Bigger J. Thomas , Buxton Alfred , Cappato Riccardo , Dorian Paul , Hallstrom Al , Kadish Alan H. , Kudenchuk Peter J. , Lee Kerry L. , Mark Daniel B. , Moss Arthur J. , Steinman Richard , Inoue Lurdes Y.T. , Sanders Gillian
Published: February 2015

Background—

The impact of patient age on the risks of death or rehospitalization after primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement is uncertain.

Methods and Results—

Data from 5 major ICD trials were merged: the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial I (MADIT-I), the Multicenter UnSustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT), the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial II (MADIT-II), the Defibrillators in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Evaluation Trial (DEFINITE), and the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT). Median age at enrollment was 62 (interquartile range 53–70) years. Compared with their younger counterparts, older patients had a greater burden of comorbid illness. In unadjusted exploratory analyses, ICD recipients were less likely to die than nonrecipients in all age groups: among patients aged <55 years: hazard ratio 0.48, 95% posterior credible interval 0.33 to 0.69; among patients aged 55 to 64 years: hazard ratio 0.69, 95% posterior credible interval 0.53 to 0.90; among patients aged 65 to 74 years: hazard ratio 0.67, 95% posterior credible interval, 0.53 to 0.85; and among patients aged ≥75 years: hazard ratio 0.54, 95% posterior credible interval 0.37 to 0.78. Sample sizes were limited among patients aged ≥75 years. In adjusted Bayesian–Weibull modeling, point estimates indicate ICD efficacy persists but is attenuated with increasing age. There was evidence of an interaction between age and ICD treatment on survival (two-sided posterior tail probability of no interaction <0.01). Using an adjusted Bayesian logistic regression model, there was no evidence of an interaction between age and ICD treatment on rehospitalization (two-sided posterior tail probability of no interaction 0.44).

Conclusions—

In this analysis, the survival benefit of the ICD exists but is attenuated with increasing age. The latter finding may be because of the higher burden of comorbid illness, competing causes of death, or limited sample size of older patients. There was no evidence that age modifies the association between ICD treatment and rehospitalization.
Effect of Seasonal and Monthly Variation in Weather and Air Pollution Factors on Stroke Incidence in Seoul, Korea
Authors: Han Myung-Hoon , Yi Hyeong-Joong , Kim Young-Soo , Kim Young-Seo
Published: February 2015

Background and Purpose—

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether seasonal and monthly variations in stroke incidence exist and whether they are related to meteorologic and air pollution parameters under similar weather and environmental conditions in selected areas of Seongdong district, Seoul, South Korea.

Methods—

From January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2013, 3001 consecutive stroke events were registered in residents of selected areas of Seongdong district, Seoul, South Korea. The authors calculated the stroke attack rate per 100 000 people per month and the relative risk of stroke incidence associated with meteorologic and air pollution parameters. We also analyzed odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval for seasonal and monthly stroke incidence.

Results—

The incidence of stroke in September was significantly higher (odds ratio, 1.233; 95% confidence interval, 1.042–1.468) compared with January. The seasonal ischemic stroke incidence in summer (odds ratio, 1.183; 95% confidence interval, 1.056–1.345) was significantly higher than in winter, whereas the seasonal incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage relative to winter was not significant. The mean temperature was positively correlated with ischemic stroke (relative risk, 1.006;
P
=0.003), and nitrogen dioxide (relative risk, 1.262;
P
=0.001) showed a strong positive correlation with intracerebral hemorrhage incidence among the older age group.

Conclusions—

We demonstrated distinct patterns of seasonal and monthly variation in the incidence of stroke and its subtypes through consideration of the meteorologic and air pollution parameters. We therefore expect that these findings may enhance our understanding of the relationships between stroke and weather and pollutants.
Using Standard First-Pass Perfusion Computed Tomographic Data to Evaluate Collateral Flow in Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Chen Hui , Wu Bing , Liu Nan , Wintermark Max , Su Zihua , Li Ying , Hu Jun , Zhang Yongwei , Zhang Weiwei , Zhu Guangming
Published: February 2015

Background and Purpose—

The study aims to determine whether volume transfer constant (K
trans
) maps calculated from first-pass perfusion computed tomographic data are a biomarker of cerebral collateral circulation and predict the clinical outcome in acute ischemic stroke caused by proximal arterial occlusion.

Methods—

Consecutive patients with acute occlusion of the middle cerebral artery who received endovascular treatment were enrolled. Digital subtraction angiography, computed tomographic angiography with maximum intensity projection, and K
trans
maps were used to assess their collateral circulation. Agreement between different methods was evaluated using the χ
2
tests. The correlations of various radiological and clinical outcomes with the collateral flow score, as determined from K
trans
maps, were calculated.

Results—

Seventy-five patients were included, comprising 39 women and 36 men, with a mean age of 65.3±14.6 years. Collateral flow score on K
trans
maps had the highest correlation with digital subtraction angiography (κ=0.8101;
P
=0.9796). Twenty-five patients had poor collateral circulation on K
trans
maps, 25 had intermediate collateral flow, 20 had good collateral flow, and 5 had excellent collateral flow. Better collateral circulation was associated with better clinical outcome (
P
<0.0001).

Conclusions—

K
trans
maps extracted from standard first-pass perfusion computed tomography are correlated with collateral circulation status after acute proximal arterial occlusion and predictive of outcome.
A Neurocomputational Model of Automatic Sequence Production
Authors: Helie Sebastien , Roeder Jessica L. , Vucovich Lauren , Rünger Dennis , Ashby F. Gregory
Published: February 2015

Most behaviors unfold in time and include a sequence of submovements or cognitive activities. In addition, most behaviors are automatic and repeated daily throughout life. Yet, relatively little is known about the neurobiology of automatic sequence production. Past research suggests a gradual transfer from the associative striatum to the sensorimotor striatum, but a number of more recent studies challenge this role of the BG in automatic sequence production. In this article, we propose a new neurocomputational model of automatic sequence production in which the main role of the BG is to train cortical–cortical connections within the premotor areas that are responsible for automatic sequence production. The new model is used to simulate four different data sets from human and nonhuman animals, including (1) behavioral data (e.g., RTs), (2) electrophysiology data (e.g., single-neuron recordings), (3) macrostructure data (e.g., TMS), and (4) neurological circuit data (e.g., inactivation studies). We conclude with a comparison of the new model with existing models of automatic sequence production and discuss a possible new role for the BG in automaticity and its implication for Parkinson's disease.
Social Norms Shift Behavioral and Neural Responses to Foods
Authors: Nook Erik C. , Zaki Jamil
Published: February 2015

Obesity contributes to 2.8 million deaths annually, making interventions to promote healthy eating critical. Although preliminary research suggests that social norms influence eating behavior, the underlying psychological and neural mechanisms of such conformity remain unexplored. We used fMRI to investigate whether group norms shift individuals' preferences for foods at both behavioral and neural levels. Hungry participants rated how much they wanted to eat a series of healthy and unhealthy foods and, after each trial, saw ratings that ostensibly represented their peers' preferences. This feedback was manipulated such that peers appeared to prefer each food more than, less than, or as much as participants themselves. After a delay, participants rerated each food. Participants' second ratings shifted to resemble group norms. Initial consensus, as compared to disagreement, with peers produced activity in the nucleus accumbens, a region associated with reward prediction errors. Furthermore, the strength of this activity predicted the extent to which participants' ratings conformed to peer ratings, suggesting that the value associated with consensus drives social influence. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC), a region associated with value computation, initially responded more strongly to unhealthy, as compared to healthy, foods. However, this effect was “overwritten” by group norms. After individuals learned their peers' preferences, vMPFC responses tracked the popularity, but not the healthfulness, of foods. Furthermore, changes in vMPFC activity tracked social influence over behavioral ratings. These data provide evidence that group norms can shift food preferences, supporting the use of norms-based interventions to promote healthy eating.
Disability and the Social Politics of “Natural” Disaster
Authors: Belser Julia Watts
Published: February 2015

The stories we tell about crisis and catastrophe often intensify structural violence, augmenting existing dynamics of racism, sexism, classism, and ableism. Disaster stories often reinforce cultural narratives of suffering womanhood and tragic stories of disability to portray people with disabilities—especially women—as “natural” and “inevitable” victims of a harsh new world. Examining both contemporary rhetoric in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and classical rabbinic Jewish narrative, I argue that tales of communities in crisis commonly depoliticize disaster. By inscribing the disabled body with a narrative of “natural” vulnerabilities and inevitable suffering, conventional disaster discourse obscures the political significance of structural inequalities that render people with disabilities more at risk in disaster. Bringing together disability studies scholarship and Jewish feminist ethics, I challenge the discursive tendency to portray disabled individuals as symbols of suffering—and to focus on the pathos of an individual in distress instead of critiquing social inequality. I advocate a constructive, redemptive storytelling that illuminates and critiques social and political exclusion, that underscores the agency and dignity of people in crisis, that valorizes the disability justice movement’s call for interdependence in community, and that captures the artistry and resiliency of disabled lives.
Context influences spatial frames of reference in bonobos (Pan paniscus)
Authors: Rosati Alexandra G.
Published: February 2015

Primates must solve complex spatial problems when foraging, such as finding patchy resources and navigating between different locations. However, the nature of the cognitive representations supporting these types of behaviors is currently unclear. In humans, there has been great debate concerning the relative importance of egocentric representations (which are viewer-dependent) versus allocentric representations (which are based on aspects of the external environment). Comparative studies of nonhuman apes can illuminate which aspects of human spatial cognition are shared with other primates, versus which aspects are unique to our lineage. The current studies therefore examined spatial cognitive development in one of our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) across contexts. The first study assessed how younger bonobos encode locations in a place-response task in which apes first learn that one of two locations is consistently baited with a reward, and then must approach the two locations from a flipped perspective. The second study examined how a larger age sample of bonobos responded to a spatial relations task in which they first experience that one location is baited, and then can generalize this learning to a new set of targets. Results indicated that while bonobos exhibited a predominantly allocentric strategy in the first study, they consistently exhibited an egocentric strategy in the second. Together, these results show that bonobos can use both strategies to encode spatial information, and illuminate the complementary contributions to cognition made by egocentric and allocentric representations.
The influence of testosterone on cognitive performance in bonobos and chimpanzees
Authors: Wobber Victoria , Herrmann Esther
Published: February 2015

Levels of the steroid hormone testosterone have been found to impact diverse features of cognition from spatial memory to decision-making regarding risk, both in humans and other animals. However less is known about whether closely-related species differ in their testosterone-cognition relationships in line with pressures shaping each species’ cognitive evolution. We therefore examined relationships between testosterone and cognition in two-closely related species that differ markedly in their social behaviour, cognition, and patterns of testosterone production: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented individuals of both species with a battery of 16 cognitive tasks and determined whether performance on these tasks correlated with average testosterone level. We found that among male chimpanzees, high levels of testosterone correlated with higher performance in numerous tasks, including tasks assessing spatial cognition and physical cognitive abilities more broadly. Meanwhile, in male bonobos we found no correlations between testosterone and performance on the cognitive tasks, and found no correlations in females of either species. Building on prior comparative research, these results suggest that bonobos and chimpanzees differ critically in the proximate mechanisms influencing their cognitive capacities, and that in particular the role of testosterone in shaping behaviour and cognition differs dramatically between the two species.
Bonobos and chimpanzees exploit helpful but not prohibitive gestures
Authors: MacLean Evan L. , Hare Brian
Published: February 2015

Previous research has shown that chimpanzees exploit the behavior of humans and conspecifics more readily in a competitive than a cooperative context. However, it is unknown whether bonobos, who outperform chimpanzees in some cooperative tasks, also show greater cognitive flexibility in competitive contexts. Here we tested the cooperative-competitive hypothesis further by comparing bonobos and chimpanzees in a series of tasks where a human gesture indicated the correct (cooperative) or incorrect (competitive) choice. A human either pointed cooperatively to the object a subject should choose, or competitively to the object subjects should avoid choosing. In contrast to previous research, subjects were most skilled at choosing the correct location when the communicator was cooperative and there were no major differences between bonobos and chimpanzees. Analysis of gaze direction revealed that in some cases subjects visually followed the direction of the experimenter’s gesture despite choosing incorrectly, dissociating gesture following from gesture comprehension. This supports the hypothesis that, unlike human children, nonhuman apes respond to the direction of social gestures more readily than they understand the communicative intentions underlying them. We evaluate these findings in regard to previous studies comparing the cooperative and communicative skills of bonobos and chimpanzees.
Prolonged maximal sexual swelling in wild bonobos facilitates affiliative interactions between females
Authors: Ryu Heungjin , Hill David A. , Furuichi Takeshi
Published: February 2015

Perineal sexual skin swelling in relation to menstrual cycle occurs in a variety of primate taxa. However, sexual swelling with exaggerated size and colour is found only in some Old World monkeys and the two Pan species. Although several hypotheses have been proposed (e.g., reliable indicator hypothesis and graded signal hypothesis), it seems unlikely that a single explanation can account for the significance of the sexual swelling in all of these species. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) provide an excellent opportunity for studying sexual swelling since they have the most prolonged maximal swelling periods among primates. In this study we propose a new hypothesis that sexual swelling in female bonobos increases their attractiveness to other females and thereby facilitates affiliative social interaction with them. We found that free-ranging female bonobos with maximal sexual swelling engaged in affiliative social interactions with other females, including genito-genital rubbing, staying in close proximity and grooming, more frequently than females without maximal swelling. These tendencies suggest that females with maximal swelling were attractive to other females. The results also suggest that the benefits of maximal swelling might vary among females depending on their life-history stage. In particular, young females may get more benefits from prolonged maximal swelling through increased grooming reciprocity and staying in close proximity to other females. Thus our study supported the hypothesis that one function of prolonged maximal swelling in bonobos is to increase attractiveness to other females, thereby enhancing affiliative relationships between females in a male-philopatric social system.
Preference or paradigm? Bonobos show no evidence of other-regard in the standard prosocial choice task
Authors: Tan Jingzhi , Kwetuenda Suzy , Hare Brian
Published: February 2015

Bonobos are the only ape species, other than humans, that have demonstrated prosocial behaviors toward groupmates and strangers. However, bonobos have not been tested in the most frequently used test of prosociality in animals. The current study tested the other-regarding preferences of bonobos in two experiments using the prosocial choice task. In the first experiment subjects preferred a food option that would benefit both themselves and another bonobo. This preference was likely the result of a location bias developed in the pretest since they showed the same preference in the non-social control condition within test sessions. A second experiment was designed to help subjects overcome this bias that might interfere with their social choices. Bonobos again did not prefer to choose the prosocial option. However, results suggest constraints of this paradigm in revealing social preferences. In discussing our results we consider why bonobos show robust prosocial preferences in other paradigms but not here. While others have suggested that such contradictory results might suggest interesting motivational or cognitive differences between humans and non-humans, we propose that the current ‘standard’ paradigm has failed validation due to three methodological constraints. Across the dozens of studies completed few have demonstrated that non-human subjects understand the causal properties of the apparatus, non-social biases quickly develop in inadequately counterbalanced pretests that typically explain subjects’ choices in the test, and even human children found this choice task too cognitively demanding to consistently show prosocial preferences. We suggest it is time to consider switching to a variety of more powerful and valid measures.
Relationship quality in captive bonobo groups
Authors: Stevens Jeroen M.G. , de Groot Evelien , Staes Nicky
Published: February 2015

We use Principal Component Analyses (PCA) to describe components of social relationship quality in bonobos. We find a three component structure, with the first two components, labelled Value and Compatibility, closely matching the theoretical constructs as well as components reported for chimpanzees and other primates. The third component differed but was abandoned based on Parallel Analysis. Among bonobos, female–female dyads have higher Value and Compatibility. Relationships between males are characterised by low Value and Compatibility. Dyads that had been housed together for a longer time and maternally related ones also have more valuable relationships, while individuals close in rank have low compatibility. The results confirm the strong bonds among female bonobos, but for the first time can describe how they differ qualitatively from close bonds reported for captive chimpanzee females. We suggest future studies should also include Parallel Analysis to more accurately describe the number of components in relationship quality.
Religious Symbolism and the Human Mind
Authors: Salazar Carles
Published: February 2015

The purpose of this paper is to assess Durkheim’s approach to religion and the validity of the time-honoured principle of the social determination of mental representations. The thesis to be defended is that Durkheim was essentially right in understanding religious ritual as a symbolic language. But he was wrong both in his social deterministic theory of mental representations and in his definition of religion as an exclusively social phenomenon. As current evolutionary sciences have amply demonstrated, human mental architecture has been shaped by a long evolutionary process and cannot be easily reconfigured through cultural indoctrination. Two consequences can be derived from this. First, religious ideas can successfully colonise human minds thanks to their ability to parasitize on biologically evolved human cognitive structures. Second, due to their counterintuitive properties, this colonisation can only succeed if those ideas are culturally transmitted through a special language.
Should Reproductive Medicine Be Harmonized within Europe?
Authors: Flatscher-Thöni Magdalena , Voithofer Caroline
Published: February 2015

The medical as well as societal developments in reproductive medicine and respectively artificial reproductive technologies have challenged lawmakers, courts, politicians, medical experts and society itself over the last decades. Challenges can be seen in cross-border reproductive care, equal access to reproductive care, social freezing, disposal of embryos, multiple implantation, homosexual parenthood or surrogacy. Since different regulatory regimes have been enacted throughout Europe (e.g. liberal system in Spain, restrictive system in Austria) to accommodate, limit and regulate reproductive issues, we are analysing the question, if reproductive medicine should be harmonized within Europe. Therefore we are not only discussing already existing approaches e.g. self-regulation, or minimal standards of safety and quality, but we are also scrutinizing the role of high courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and international declarations and conventions. Concluding we are briefly sketching aspects of a proposal for a potential harmonisation of reproductive medicine in Europe.
терминологияисториографическая и терминология реальная
Authors: Горский Антон А.
Published: February 2015

“The Political Development of Medieval Rus’: Historians’ Terminology and That of the Sources”, by Anton A. Gorskii, Moscow State University. The article argues that artificial terms (“tribes”/plemena, “principalities”/ kniazhestva and “appanages”/udely) long used by scholars misrepresent the nature of political developments in Medieval Rus’ and should be replaced by terminology from the sources that reflects the evolution of the territorial-political structure (the Byzantine Σκλαβηνία/ Σκλαβυνία/slavinii and the Old Russian zemli and volosti).
War and the Economy in the Reign of Vasilii II
Authors: Langer Lawrence N.
Published: February 2015

This article examines some of the economic dimensions of war in the reign of Vasilii II and argues that Rus’, much like England during the Wars of the Roses, suffered economic stagnation and perhaps even a depression. The combination of war, plague, and famine in Rus’ resulted in a decline in population and strained economic resources evidenced by abandoned agrarian lands, the burden of the Mongol tribute and princely debts, debased silver coinage, and the cessation of urban expansion, Moscow being the major exception. Moscow, like London, prospered, but most of England and northeastern Rus’ did not. Pillage, ransom, and territorial aggrandizement were some of the means Moscow employed to augment its acquisition of silver beyond that supplied by the fur trade. Immunity charters were offered to retain and to attract peasant settlers in an effort to stabilize agriculture and with it a taxable population. The relative prosperity of the eras of Ivan III and Vasilii III should not obscure the economic contraction that occurred in the late fourteenth and first half of the fifteenth centuries.
Ivan IV’s Reconciliation with the “Devil in a Skirt”
Authors: Kleimola Ann M.
Published: February 2015

A re-examination of Ivan IV’s donations to support his aunt Evfrosin’ia Staritskaia’s household (obikhod) and convent after he forced her to take religious vows in 1563 sheds new light on both the Russian elite diet and commemoration practices in the second half of the 16th century.
Around the Origins of Bagpipes: Relevant Hypotheses and Evidences
Authors: Calvo-Sotelo Javier Campos
Published: February 2015

This article addresses the complex question of the origins of bagpipes. One of the major problems is to determine the defining features of the instrument, as the denomination includes a broad and heterogeneous family. We propose an explanatory typology based on only three main profiles, interrelated but substantially different: circular breathing (initial and polygenetic), the addition of an external pipe bag (documented in some early civilizations), and the medieval one, which leads to the modern European bagpipe (with bag, one or more drones and the morphology that has survived to the present). Attention is also paid to the intense social symbolism that has surrounded the instrument since ancient times. The study reveals that bagpipes had a marginal position in Greco-Roman culture, associated with livestock and beggars; but in the medieval world their roles and contexts expanded unstoppably.
Roholtiella, gen. nov. (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria)—a tapering and branching cyanobacteria of the family Nostocaceae
Authors: Bohunická Markéta , Pietrasiak Nicole , Johansen Jeffrey R. , Gómez Esther Berrendero , Hauer Tomáš , Gaysina Lira A. , Lukešová Alena
Published: February 2015

A total of 16 strains phylogenetically placed within the Nostocaceae were found to possess morphological features of the Rivulariaceae and Tolypothrichaceae (tapering trichomes and single false branching, respectively) in addition to their typical Nostocacean features (production of arthrospores in series). These strains formed a strongly supported clade separate from other strains that are phylogenetically and morphologically close. We describe four new species within the genus Roholtiella gen. nov. The four species include three distinguishable morphotypes. Roholtiella mojaviensis and R. edaphica are morphologically distinct from each other and from the other two species, R. fluviatilis and R. bashkiriorum. Roholtiella fluviatilis and R. bashkiriorum are cryptic species with respect to each other. All four species are easily distinguished based on the sequence of the 16S-23S ITS regions, in particular the flanking regions to the conserved Box-B and V3 helices. The species are further established by the elevated p-distance between species that is much reduced among strains within the same species. Calochaete cimrmanii, a recently described tapering species from tropical biomes, is the most likely sister taxon to Roholtiella.
A revised delimitation of the rattan genus Calamus (Arecaceae)
Authors: Baker William J
Published: February 2015

All available phylogenetic evidence indicates that the rattan genus Calamus, the largest of all palm (Arecaceae) genera, is non-monophyletic and that the four remaining genera of subtribe Calaminae (Calameae: Calamoideae), Ceratolobus, Daemonorops, Pogonotium and Retispatha, are nested within it. This issue has not yet been adequately addressed in palm classifications, with recent authors preferring to wait for further phylogenetic evidence before revising the limits of the genera. Here, an alternative solution is proposed that is both pragmatic and phylogenetically robust. An expanded Calamus is recognised into which Ceratolobus, Daemonorops, Pogonotium and Retispatha are subsumed. This broad generic concept, which includes ca. 520 species, has practical advantages as it is more clearly defined by morphological and anatomical characters, and resolves potential biases introduced to recent eco-evolutionary research on palms by the non-monophyly of critical genera. Future phylogenetic research may yet provide an alternative means of delimiting these genera, but the broad sense Calamus proposed here is a justifiable alternative that can be adopted immediately. Nomenclatural synopses transferring currently accepted species of Ceratolobus, Daemonorops and Pogonotium to Calamus are provided, including 70 new combinations and 12 replacement names.
Review of the genus Mansonella Faust, 1929 sensu lato (Nematoda: Onchocercidae), with descriptions of a new subgenus and a new subspecies
Authors: BAIN ODILE , MUTAFCHIEV YASEN , JUNKER KERSTIN , GUERRERO RICARDO , MARTIN CORALIE , LEFOULON EMILIE , UNI SHIGEHIKO
Published: February 2015

Based on material deposited in museum collections, twelve species within Mansonella sensu lato were examined and their descriptions amended. Based on additional morphological details, the erection of the new monotypic subgenus Filyamagutia Bain & Uni for M. (F.) akitensis (Uni, 1983), and the new combination M. (Pseudolitomosa) musasabi (Yamaguti, 1941) Bain & Uni are proposed. A new subspecies, M. (Tetrapetalonema) atelensis amazonae Bain & Guerrero is described and a key to the seven subgenera of Mansonella is provided. Furthermore, the elevation of Sandnema to full genus rank comprising the two species S. digitatum (Chandler, 1929) n. comb. and S. sunci (Sandground, 1933) n. comb., is proposed. Host and geographic records for the species of Mansonella and Sandnema are included.
A new East-Asian species in the Chrysoperla carnea-group of cryptic lacewing species (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) based on distinct larval morphology and a unique courtship song
Authors: HENRY CHARLES S. , BROOKS STEPHEN J. , JOHNSON JAMES B. , HARUYAMA NAOTO , DUELLI PETER , MOCHIZUKI ATSUSHI
Published: February 2015

Larval morphology and substrate-borne vibrational courtship songs have been hypothesized to distinguish and isolate Chrysoperla ‘nipponensis-B’ from true ‘Type A’ Chrysoperla nipponensis (Okamoto), both of which occur sympatrically in eastern Asia. Here, we formally describe C. ‘nipponensis-B’ as Chrysoperla nigrocapitata sp.n., based on populations sampled throughout Japan and at two sites in South Korea. Behavioral playback experiments show that males and females of each species reject the duetting songs of non-conspecifics, supporting the existence in nature of strong premating reproductive isolation between the two species. Detailed morphological analysis substantiates that the adults of the two species are nearly identical. However, the dorsum of the larval head of C. nigrocapitata is usually darkly and heavily pigmented, in striking contrast to the condition seen in C. nipponensis; if available, it is probably the best trait for distinguishing the two species morphologically. Other aspects of life history, ecology, geographic distribution, and molecular systematics of the new species are briefly considered.
A new species of Samba s. str. (Hymenoptera: Melittidae) from the Turkana Basin, Kenya with observations on the function of the metatibial spur in females
Authors: PACKER LAURENCE , MARTINS DINO J.
Published: February 2015

The third known species of the Afrotropical subgenus Samba s. str. is described based upon eight females. This is the northernmost and also the most arid habitat record for the genus. Images are provided of the habitus and diagnostic features for the species as well as the subgenus and some notes on floral hosts and habitat are provided. The species is added to a morphology—based phylogeny for the genus and results of barcoding of some species of the genus are presented. Some unusual morphological features of the subgenus are discussed, in particular, the function of the remarkable metatibial spurs of the female is recorded as assisting with removal of pollen from a floral host.
The Role of Tropical–Extratropical Interaction and Synoptic Variability in Maintaining the South Pacific Convergence Zone in CMIP5 Models
Authors: Niznik Mattie , Lintner Benjamin R. , Matthews Adrian J. , Widlansky Matthew J.
Published: February 2015

The South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) is simulated as too zonal a feature in the current generation of climate models, including those in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). This zonal bias induces errors in tropical convective heating, with subsequent effects on global circulation. The SPCZ structure, particularly in the subtropics, is governed by the tropical–extratropical interaction between transient synoptic systems and the mean background state. In this study, analysis of synoptic variability in the simulated subtropical SPCZ reveals that the basic mechanism of tropical–extratropical interaction is generally well simulated, with storms approaching the SPCZ along comparable trajectories to observations. However, there is a broad spread in mean precipitation and its variability across the CMIP5 ensemble. Intermodel spread appears to relate to a biased background state in which the synoptic waves propagate. In particular, the region of mean negative zonal stretching deformation or “storm graveyard” in the upper troposphere is displaced in CMIP5 models to the northeast of its position in reanalysis data, albeit with pronounced (≈25°) intermodel longitudinal spread. Precipitation along the eastern edge of the SPCZ shifts in accordance with a storm graveyard shift, and in general models with stronger storm graveyards show higher precipitation variability. Building on prior SPCZ research, it is suggested that SPCZs simulated by CMIP5 models are not simply too zonal; rather, in models the subtropical SPCZ manifests a diagonal tilt similar to observations while SST biases force an overly zonal tropical SPCZ, resulting in a more discontinuous SPCZ than observed.
Adjoint-Free Variational Data Assimilation into a Regional Wave Model
Authors: Panteleev Gleb , Yaremchuk Max , Rogers W. Erick
Published: February 2015

A variational data assimilation algorithm is developed for the ocean wave prediction model [Wave Model (WAM)]. The algorithm employs the adjoint-free technique and was tested in a series of data assimilation experiments with synthetic observations in the Chukchi Sea region from various platforms. The types of considered observations are directional spectra estimated from point measurements by stationary buoys, significant wave height (SWH) observations by coastal high-frequency radars (HFRs) within a geographic sector, and SWH from satellite altimeter along a geographic track. Numerical experiments demonstrate computational feasibility and robustness of the adjoint-free variational algorithm with the regional configuration of WAM. The largest improvement of the model forecast skill is provided by assimilating HFR data (the most numerous among the considered types). Assimilating observations of the wave spectrum from a moored platform provides only moderate improvement of the skill, which disappears after 3 h of running WAM in the forecast mode, whereas skill improvement provided by HFRs is shown to persist up to 9 h. Space-borne observations, being the least numerous, do not have a significant impact on the forecast skill but appear to have a noticeable effect when assimilated in combination with other types of data. In particular, when spectral data from a single mooring are used, the satellite data are found to be the most beneficial as a supplemental data type, suggesting the importance of spatial coverage of the domain by observations.
User-perceived utility of the Daily Experiences of Pleasure, Productivity, and Restoration Profile
Authors: Atler Karen E.
Published: February 2015

Background.

Awareness of the relationship between everyday occupations and subjective experience could help clients make changes that promote health.

Purpose.

This study evaluated user-perceived utility of the Daily Experiences of Pleasure, Productivity, and Restoration Profile (PPR Profile), a time-use survey designed to uncover users’ experiences of pleasure, productivity, and restoration and to promote awareness of how these experiences are related to daily occupations.

Method.

Eighteen participants completed the PPR Profile on 2 days within 1 week and were subsequently interviewed. Content analysis was used to uncover themes.

Findings.

Analysis revealed that completion of the PPR Profile requires time and energy, completion more than once is useful, and the PPR Profile contributes to awareness. Four subthemes of awareness were identified: awareness of the here and now, insights into one’s occupations, context matters, and what is and what might be.

Implications.

Results support the utility of the PPR Profile to promote users’ awareness of their occupations and related subjective experiences. This awareness may encourage positive change. Further research is recommended to continue to evaluate the PPR Profile’s clinical utility.
Advancing conceptualization and measurement of psychological capital as a collective construct
Authors: Dawkins Sarah , Martin Angela , Scott Jenn , Sanderson Kristy
Published: February 2015

Psychological capital (PsyCap) has been conceptualized as an individual-level construct concerned with an employee’s state of positive psychological development. However, research has now started to examine PsyCap as a collective phenomenon. Although positive associations between team-level PsyCap and team-level functioning have been demonstrated empirically, there has been limited synopsis regarding the theoretical and measurement foundations of PsyCap at higher levels of analysis. This conceptual article extends collective PsyCap scholarship by applying a multilevel-multireferent framework to explore alternate conceptualizations of collective PsyCap. The framework furthers understanding of PsyCap at higher levels by exploring unique antecedents and emergent processes relating to five proposed forms of collective PsyCap. A series of testable propositions pertaining to the antecedent network of collective PsyCap are offered to guide empirical multilevel PsyCap research.
A review of interactive narrative systems and technologies: a training perspective
Authors: Luo Linbo , Cai Wentong , Zhou Suiping , Lees Michael , Yin Haiyan
Published: February 2015

As an emerging form of digital entertainment, the interactive narrative has attracted great attention from researchers over the past decade. Recently, there has been an emerging trend to apply interactive narratives to training and simulation. An interactive narrative system allows players to proactively interact with simulated entities in a virtual world and have the ability to alter the progression of a storyline. In simulation-based training, the use of an interactive narrative system enables the possibility to offer engaging, diverse and personalized narratives or scenarios for different training purposes. This paper provides a review of interactive narrative systems and technologies from a training perspective. Specifically, we first propose a set of key requirements in developing interactive narrative systems for simulation-based training. Then we review nine representative existing systems with respect to their system architectures, features and related mechanisms. To examine their applicability to training, we investigate and compare the reviewed systems based on the functionalities and modules that support the proposed requirements. Furthermore, we discuss some open research issues on the future development of interactive narrative technologies for training applications.