bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Harmonic functions and ends of graphs
Authors: Picardello Massimo A. , Woess Wolfgang
Published: July 2011

In this note we discuss extensions of results [5], where transient random walks are considered, whose transition matrix is compatible with a tree-structure of the underlying discrete state space. Notation is generally as in [5], with the exception that instead of a tree T we consider an arbitrary graph Γ, which is locally finite, connected, and whose vertex set S is infinite. The edge set E is unoriented, there are no multiple edges. We consider a transition operator P, given by a stochastic matrix (p(u, v))u, v ∈ S, which gives rise to a transient Markov chain (“random walk”), related to the graph structure by:

(i) if p(u, v)>0 then [u, v] ∈ E,

(ii) there is an M>0 such that p(k)(u, v)>0 for some k=k(u, v)≦M whenever [u, v]∈E (“uniform irreducibility”).
Hypercyclic and mixing operator semigroups
Authors: Shkarin Stanislav
Published: June 2011

We describe a class of topological vector spaces admitting a mixing uniformly continuous operator group$\smash{\{T_t\}_{t\in\mathbb{C}^n}}$with holomorphic dependence on the parametert. This result builds on those existing in the literature. We also describe a class of topological vector spaces admitting no supercyclic strongly continuous operator semigroups$\smash{\{T_t\}_{t\geq0}}$.
Identification of research gaps from evidence-based guidelines: A pilot study in cystic fibrosis
Authors: Robinson Karen A. , Saldanha Ian J. , McKoy Naomi A.
Published: June 2011

Objectives: Evidence-based guideline committees are multidisciplinary and explicitly consider the existing evidence. They are thus in an ideal position to identify research gaps. However, gaps have not been systematically identified through guidelines. We pilot tested a method to systematically identify and classify gaps from evidence-based guidelines.

Methods: We reviewed all evidence-based guidelines published by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We identified research gaps as topics for which there was insufficient evidence (recommendations were not made or consensus recommendations were made) and topics specified as needing further research. We characterized gaps using a standard framework and classified them by type of management issue, specificity of target population, and age of target population.

Results: We identified sixty-two research gaps in five guidelines (mean = 12.4/guidelines document). While thirteen gaps were topics specified as needing further research, most (n = 49) were topics with insufficient evidence. Of these forty-nine, recommendations were not made for twenty-two topics while consensus recommendations were made for twenty-seven topics. Most gaps were issues of comparative effectiveness (44/62), addressed the general cystic fibrosis population (40/62), and were specific to infants (33/62). Relevant comparisons and outcomes were explicitly stated for only 7 percent and 16 percent of gaps respectively.

Conclusions: Almost 80 percent of the gaps were not topics identified as future research needs in the guidelines documents but rather were topics with insufficient evidence for making recommendations. Although we used cystic fibrosis in the United States as an example, the method we developed could be applied in other settings, including other countries and for different diseases.
Interactions between health technology assessment, coverage, and regulatory processes: Emerging issues, goals, and opportunities
Authors: Henshall Chris , Mardhani-Bayne Logan , Frønsdal Katrine B. , Klemp Marianne
Published: June 2011

Background: The relationship between regulatory approval on the one hand and health technology assessment (HTA) and coverage on the other is receiving growing attention. Those responsible for regulatory approval, HTA, and coverage have different missions and their information requirements reflect these. There is nonetheless an increasingly popular view that improved communication and coordination between these functions could allow them all to be undertaken effectively with a lower overall burden of evidence requirements, thus speeding patient access to new products and reducing unnecessary barriers to innovation. This study summarizes the main points emerging from a recent discussion of this topic at the HTAi Policy Forum.

Results and Conclusions: After considering the roles of the various bodies, stakeholder perspectives and some current practical initiatives, those present at the Forum meeting discussed possible goals and challenges for improved interactions—in general and at specific stages of the product development life cycle. Opportunities for progress were seen in: continuing the dialogue to promote understanding and interaction between the different bodies and stakeholders; working to align scientific advice for manufacturers on the design and data requirements of pre- and post-marketing evaluation of products (specifically phase 2/3 and phase 4 trials for drugs); and extending the current dialogue to include discussion of product development to address unmet health needs.
Beyond syntactic priming: Evidence for activation of alternative syntactic structures
Authors: VASILYEVA MARINA , WATERFALL HEIDI
Published: June 2011

Priming methodology was previously used to investigate children's ability to represent abstract syntactic forms. Existing evidence indicates that following exposure to a particular syntactic structure (such as the passive voice), English-speaking children increase their production of that structure with new lexical items. In the present work, we utilize priming methodology to explore whether exposure to passive primes may increase children's production of sentences that have a different structure but share a similar purpose in discourse. We report three studies, two involving English- and Russian-speaking children, and a third involving Russian-speaking adults. Unlike English, Russian offers a variety of syntactic forms that emphasize the patient of a transitive action, thus fulfilling the discourse function of the passive. We found that English speakers increased the use of the particular syntactic form presented in the prime, whereas Russian speakers increased their production of several different syntactic forms used to emphasize the patient of the action.
Music in the Imaginary Worlds of the Greek Nation: Greek Art Music during the Nineteenth-Century's fin de siécle (1880s–1910s)
Authors: Siopsi Anastasia
Published: June 2011

This essay analyzes ways in which music becomes attached to the growing demand for national culture by the Greek middle class since the last decades of the nineteenth century.

In modern Greece of that period, the predominant notions of ‘historic continuity’ and ‘Hellenism’, or ‘Greekness’, interpret Greek history as an uninterrupted evolution from the classical past to Byzantium. In terms of music, continuity was believed to be found from ancient Greek music to Byzantine hymns and folk songs. This theory, supported by important scholars and composers both in Greece and abroad, placed tradition in a privileged position both in composition and reception of music; composers incorporated rhythms, scales and the character of Greek folk songs and Byzantine hymns in their works and the middle-class audience was eager to accept folkloristic styles and the embodiment of tradition in art music because they reflected the notion of ‘national’. Musically, the theory of ‘historic continuity’ was strengthened by the links between German romanticism and attitudes to ancient culture. Moreover, German models, or the organic romantic perception of music, influenced representatives of the so-called National School of Music; the consequence was a growing alienation from Italian music in terms of offering aesthetic standards to composition and reception.
Composers, Trends and the Question of Nationality in Nineteenth-Century Musical Greece
Authors: Xanthoudakis Haris
Published: June 2011

The question of a European-type local music was raised in modern Greece as early as during the first years of its independent life, and within the context of a rapid Occidentalizing and modernizing process. The earliest Greek professional musicians to serve this social, as well as ideological, need came from the Ionian Islands, but soon other parts of the national territory saw the birth of some important composers who added specific German, French or Russian components to the basically Italianate flavour of the Ionian musical tradition. In their respective works the main trends of nineteenth-century European music found their Greek way, although a sparse use of local folk elements was only gradually, hesitantly, and – in any case – partially accepted by a middle-class public, willing to keep its distance from its own Ottoman past. It was mainly for that reason that a Herderian-type musical nationalism, although already visible around 1850, had to wait until the end of the century before obtaining its clear and definite shape, and before occupying the central Greek musical scene during the early years of the new age.
The Birth of Music Criticism in Greece: The Case of the Historian Konstantinos Paparrigopoulos
Authors: Kourbana Stella
Published: June 2011

The birth of music criticism in Greece is connected with the creation of the Greek state and the consequent reception of opera in Athens, its capital. In the newly formed Greek society, opera was not only considered as a cultural fact, but also as the principal symbol of the European lifestyle, which stood as a model for the new citizens of the European community. The young Konstantinos Paparrigopoulos, before becoming the principal founder of the Greek nationalist historiography, published a number of music reviews on the opera performances in Athens in 1840, eager to contribute to the musical cultivation of his compatriots. According to his opinion, opera, thanks to its aesthetic quality, but mainly because of its universal influence (which goes beyond nations and classes) was the appropriate means to ‘mould’ the musical taste of the Greek nation. Paparrigopoulos’ insistence on Italian opera as the vehicle which could introduce the Greeks to the musical profile of European civilization is significant for his ideas on the cultural identity of his nation. In these early writings of the future historian we can distinguish the main topics of his later theory.
From Popular to Esoteric: Nikolaos Mantzaros and the Development of his Career as a Composer
Authors: Kardamis Kostas
Published: June 2011

Nikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros (1795–1872) was a noble from Corfu and is better known today as the composer of the Greek national anthem. However, recent research has proved his importance as a teacher and as one of the most learned composers of his generation, renowned, in Italy and France as well as Greece.

The aim of this article is to present Mantzaros’ developing relationship as dilettante composer to the emerging European nineteenth-century music and aesthetics, as featured through his existing works and writings. In his early works (1815–27) Mantzaros demonstrates a remarkable creative assimilation of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century operatic idioms, whereas his aristocratic social status allowed him an eclectic relationship with music in general. From the late 1820s, Mantzaros also began setting Greek poetry to music, in this way offering a viable solution to the demand for ‘national music’.

From the mid-1830s onwards, Mantzaros’ already existing interest in Romantic idealism was broadened, affecting his work and thoughts. He stopped composing opera-related works and demonstrated a dual attitude towards music. On the one hand he continued composing popular music for the needs of his social circle, but on the other he developed an esoteric creative relationship with music. The latter led him as early as the 1840s to denounce the ‘extremities of Romanticism’ and to seek the musical expression of the sublime through the creative use of ‘the noble art of counterpoint’. This way he attempted to propose a re-evaluation of nineteenth-century trends through an eclectic neoclassicism, without neglecting the importance of subjective inspiration and genius.
Ima Hogg and an Experiment in Audience Education: The Rice Lectureship in Music (1923–33)
Authors: BAILEY WALTER B.
Published: July 2011

During the 1920s, in a bid to elevate musical taste in Houston, Texas, arts patron Ima Hogg anonymously underwrote a series of public lectures on music at the Rice Institute, now Rice University. A trained musician who had spent considerable time in New York and Europe, Hogg recommended potential lecturers for the series, and her collaborator, the music-loving president of the Institute, Edgar Odell Lovett, worked to engage them. Not all of Hogg's candidates were available, and Lovett used his own contacts to supplement them. The resulting slate of lecturers was a diverse mix of musicians and scholars: Maurice Ravel, Arthur Honegger, Nadia Boulanger, John Powell, Harold Morris, George Birkhoff, and Henry Hadow. Their lectures survive in printed form in a scholarly journal published by Rice; they provide some of the most important statements about music by their authors. Hogg's patronage was made possible by an increase in her family's wealth, but her goal of public enlightenment was inspired by her family's tradition of public service (her father had been the governor of Texas) and by her longtime involvement in women's music clubs. Her model for the lectures may have been the didactic music club meeting; Lovett's was the university extension lecture directed toward a community audience. This article details and contextualizes Hogg's patronage in light of contemporary views of women's involvement in the support of music.
Ocean margins: The missing term in oceanic element budgets?
Authors: Jeandel Catherine , Peucker‐Ehrenbrink Bernhard , Jones Morgan T. , Pearce Christopher R. , Oelkers Eric H. , Godderis Yves , Lacan François , Aumont Olivier , Arsouze Thomas
Published: June 2011

The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is a function of many interrelated processes in atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, biological, and human realms. Constraining the contributions of these realms to global carbon budgets hinges on knowledge of the ocean's role in carbon cycling, which in turn depends on the ocean's chemical state and biological activity. Both are dependent on element and nutrient inputs from continental sources—the more elements that reach the ocean in a form readily consumable by life, the more productive micro‐organisms that form the foundation of the ocean's food supply can be. Thus, on a fundamental level it is important to know how and where continental inputs reach the ocean. Fluxes traditionally considered in seawater element budgets are dissolved river inputs, dissolution of atmospheric dust, hydrothermal inputs, diffusive fluxes from deep‐sea sediments, and submarine groundwater discharge. Interestingly, though most of the marine element budgets include a provision for small contributions from dust dissolution [Jickells et al., 2005], the dissolution of solids deposited along the ocean margins is usually ignored. Yet recent studies show that sediments on continental slopes and shelves contribute significantly to the dissolved elements found in seawater. Tracing and understanding these contributions will help scientists to get a better picture of ocean circulation, biological productivity, and carbon cycling.
Leon Knopoff (1926–2011)
Authors: Davis Paul , Jackson David , Gilbert Freeman
Published: June 2011

Leon Knopoff died at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on 20 January 2011 at the age of 85. A man of wide‐ranging talents, he had the rare distinction of being simultaneously a professor of physics, a professor of geophysics, and a research musicologist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As an undergraduate he studied electrical engineering and obtained his Ph.D. in physics and mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1949. He was recruited to the Institute of Geophysics (now the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics) at UCLA in 1950 by Louis Slichter, where he became a professor of geophysics in 1957 and of geophysics and physics in 1961. He became a research musicologist in the UCLA Institute of Ethnomusicology soon after it was formed in 1960. Other appointments included faculty positions at Miami University in Ohio (1948–1950) and Caltech (1962–1963) and visiting appointments at Cambridge, Karlsruhe, Harvard, Santiago, Trieste, and Venice.
Earlier Arctic snowmelt does not increase carbon sequestration
Authors: Tretkoff Ernie
Published: June 2011

Snow has been melting earlier in the spring in the Arctic in recent years, and this earlier melting is predicted to persist as the Arctic continues to warm. Some studies have suggested that earlier snowmelt, which can lead to longer growing seasons and increased photosynthetic activity, could help Arctic ecosystems sequester more carbon dioxide (CO2), thus helping to slow global warming. To determine whether this is indeed the case, Humphreys and Lafleur measured CO2 exchange between the tundra and the atmosphere at two sites in central Canada from 2004 to 2010. One site was a wet sedge meadow; the other was mixed upland tundra. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL047339, 2011)
Speciation & the origin of communities
Authors: Desjardins-Proulx Philippe
Published: June 2011

Patterns of biodiversity predicted by the neutral theory rely on a simple phenomenological model of speciation. To further investigate the effect of speciation on neutral biodiversity, we define the metacommunity as a system of populations exchanging migrants and use this framework to study allopatric & parapatric speciation. We find that with realistic mutation rates, our metacommunity model driven by neutral processes cannot support more than a few species. Adding natural selection in the population genetics of speciation increases the number of species in the metacommunity but the level of diversity found in Barro Colorado Island is difficult to reach.
Extensions of the Poincaré group
Authors: Antoniadis Ignatios , Brink Lars , Savvidy George
Published: July 2011

We construct an extension of the Poincaré group which involves a mixture of internal and space-time supersymmetries. The resulting group is an extension of the superPoincaré group with infinitely many generators which carry internal and space-time indices. It is a closed algebra since all Jacobi identities are satisfied and it has, therefore, explicit matrix representations. We investigate the massless case and construct the irreducible representations of the extended symmetry. They are divided into two sets, longitudinal and transversal representations. The transversal representations involve an infinite series of integer and half-integer helicities. Finally, we suggest an extension of the conformal group along the same line.
Effect of dietary energy intake on erythrocytic antioxidant defence in growing lambs fed a wheat straw-based diet
Authors: Singh Vijay Kumar , Pattanaik Ashok Kumar , Sharma Kusumakar , Saini Mohini
Published: June 2011

Twenty-four Muzaffarnagari lambs (~8 months, 26.56 ± 2.04 kg), consisting 12 each of male and female, were used for ascertaining the effect of dietary energy restriction on the erythrocytic antioxidant defence including lipid peroxidation. The lambs, allotted randomly into three equal groups, were fed on wheat straw-based diets to provide 100, 80 and 70% of calculated metabolisable energy (ME) requirements. Bodyweight gain and feed intake were recorded. Blood samples were collected at the start and thereafter at 60-day intervals during 180 days of experimental duration and analysed for malonyl dialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and total thiol groups in addition to catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione S-transferase. Dietary treatments imparted significant (P < 0.001) effects on feed intake and average daily gain. The haemoglobin and haematocrit contents in blood reduced significantly (P < 0.001) on reduction in dietary energy levels. The dietary alterations elicited no change in the activities of SOD, catalase and glutathione S-transferase, but reduced activities of GSH-Px (P < 0.001) and GSH (P = 0.133) were evident on feeding the diet with 70% ME. Concentrations of total thiols decreased (P < 0.001) with reduced energy level. Both the energy-restricted groups exhibited a significant (P < 0.001) increase in MDA, indicative of increased lipid peroxidation. It was concluded that long-term energy malnutrition on a wheat straw-based diet reduces the erythrocytic antioxidant defence in growing lambs.
Morphological traits in Portuguese Bordaleira de Entre Douro e Minho sheep: divergence of the breed
Authors: Cerqueira J. O. L. , Feás X. , Iglesias A. , Pacheco L. F. , Araújo J. P. P.
Published: June 2011

Production of the autochthonous Portuguese sheep breed Bordaleira de Entre Douro e Minho (BEDM) is directly associated with the concept of sustainable agriculture. This concept focuses on the adaptation of animal populations to adverse environmental conditions, high biological efficiency and traditional management. Native BEDM sheep can be divided into the following two types on the basis of their geographic location in Portugal and how they are managed: the Várzea, which is found mainly in the lower Entre Douro e Minho region, and the Mountain type, which traditionally prefers common areas. In the present work, we analysed records of liveweight, 15 body measurements and eight indexes of the BEDM sheep, to explore the ability to distinguish different characteristics between BEDM sheep populations. The records that were obtained and analysed by principal component analysis for 412 BEDM sheep (68 males and 344 females) included the following: heights at withers (HW), at back (HB), at rump (HR) and at chest (HC); lengths of trunk (LT), of rump (LR), of head (LH) and of perineum (LP); widths of head (WH), of chest (WC), of biiliac (WBIIL) and of biischiatic (WBIIS); perimeters of the shin (PS), thorax (PT), and abdomen (PA); and finally indexes such as cephalic index (CI), thoracic index (TI), pelvic index (PI), body index (BI), relative chest depth index (RDCI), lateral corporal index (LCI), relative shin thickness index (RTSI) and dactyl–thoracic index (DTI). The Várzea BEDM was morphologically superior to the Mountain variety, with this superiority more evident in females. Height measurements, especially HW in adult females, provided an excellent measurement reference for biometrical breed studies. Functional index values confirmed the BEDM Mountain variety’s appropriateness for mountainous regions. Relationships among body measurements suggested that the breed standard needed to be updated. The research presented here was used by the Portuguese Ministery to split BEDM into two new breeds; the traditional variety called Várzea now represents the new BEDM breed, whereas the Mountain variety represents the new Churra do Minho breed.
Effects of seasonality and ambient temperature on genetic parameters for production and reproductive traits in pigs
Authors: Lewis Craig R. G. , Bunter Kim L.
Published: June 2011

This study examined the effects of season on genetic parameters for production and reproductive traits and quantified within contemporary group effects of temperature on these traits using linear and plateau-linear regression models. From 2003 onwards, data were available on ~60 000 gilts for the routinely recorded production traits (BF: back fat; LADG: lifetime average daily gain) and ~45 000 litters for the sow reproductive traits (TB: total born; NBA: number born alive; BWT: average piglet birthweight). A subset of gilts were also recorded for test period daily gain (TADG), daily feed intake (ADI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) and, later, as sows (n ~2000) for average daily lactation feed intake (LADI). Least-squares means for some production and reproductive traits significantly differed between seasons: summer and winter means were 2.28 ± 0.017 vs 2.54 ± 0.011 kg/day for ADI, 2.80 ± 0.022 vs 3.21 ± 0.011 kg/kg for FCR, and 1.61 ± 0.02 vs 1.54 ± 0.02 kg for BWT. However, some statistically significant differences (due to large n) were biologically insignificant. Trait variation also differed between seasons, but heritability estimates did not significantly differ from each other. Heritabilities were (summer vs winter): BF: 0.43 ± 0.03 vs 0.41 ± 0.02; LADG: 0.18 ± 0.02 vs 0.16 ± 0.02; TADG: 0.12 ± 0.10 vs 0.08 ± 0.06; ADI: 0.37 ± 0.15 vs 0.22 ± 0.07; FCR: 0.14 ± 0.11 vs 0.17 ± 0.06; TB: 0.09 ± 0.01 vs 0.10 ± 0.01; NBA: 0.06 ± 0.01 vs 0.07 ± 0.01 and BWT: 0.37 ± 0.03 vs 0.32 ± 0.04. Genetic correlations between the same trait recorded in different seasons were generally very high (>0.70), with the exception of TB, where the genetic correlation between spring and autumn was 0.65 ± 0.09, suggesting a genetic component to the effect of seasonal infertility on litter size. Regression models demonstrated that two selection lines had different responses to increasing temperature, despite concurrent selection in the same environment. Plateau-linear models were generally better than linear models for describing changes to production traits with temperature. Based on maximum temperature at the end of performance testing, the estimated temperature thresholds above which lifetime growth performance was compromised were 25.5 and 32.5°C in the two lines. There were only small linear relationships between reproductive traits and temperature. Overall, the ongoing acclimatisation to the thermal environment and the partial confounding of contemporary group with temperature variables (season explained 62% of variation in average daily temperature) are potentially contributing factors to the lack of major differences in heritability estimates between seasons, and the relatively small regression coefficients for the effects of temperature on performance. Nevertheless, temperature can be demonstrated to affect phenotypic outcomes within contemporary groups using commercial data.
Products of conjugacy classes and fixed point spaces
Authors: Guralnick Robert , Malle Gunter
Published: June 2011

We prove several results on products of conjugacy classes in finite simple groups. The first result is that for any finite nonabelian simple groups, there exists a triple of conjugate elements with product11which generate the group. This result and other ideas are used to solve a 1966 conjecture of Peter Neumann about the existence of elements in an irreducible linear group with small fixed space. We also show that there always exist two conjugacy classes in a finite nonabelian simple group whose product contains every nontrivial element of the group. We use this to show that every element in a nonabelian finite simple group can be written as a product of tworrth powers for any prime powerrr(in particular, a product of two squares answering a conjecture of Larsen, Shalev and Tiep).
Molecular data resolves relationships within Heteroceridae (Coleoptera: Dryopoidea)
Authors: KING JONAS G. , STARR JULIAN R. , LAGO PAUL K.
Published: June 2011

Although most authors have recognized five or fewer genera in the Heteroceridae, the most recent revision divided the heterocerids into 19 genera. Under this system most males can be identified to genus level based on genital morphology, but clearly females cannot be identified to genus level by this method. We conducted the first phylogenetic analysis of the family using separate and combined 28S and EF‐1α sequence data, with the specific aim of testing generic limits and determining whether former family classifications are natural. We found that Tropicus Pacheco forms a strongly supported sister group to all other Heteroceridae. Augyles s.l. Schiödte (monophyly unresolved) is nested between Tropicus and a large terminal clade of four monophyletic species groups of Heterocerus s.l. Fabricius, which is consistent with trends in morphology and geography. The synonymy of North American Lapsus tristis (Mannerheim) and European Heterocerus fenestratus Thunberg is supported. Tests comparing tree topologies, along with strong evidence that many of the proposed genera are polyphyletic, indicate that the more recent generic circumscriptions are generally unnatural, with the exception of Tropicus, which forms a highly supported clade in all our analyses. We propose that the traditional classification of heterocerids, consisting of the four genera Augyles, Heterocerus, Micilus Mulsant & Ray and Elythomerus Waterhouse, plus Tropicus, is the most appropriate for the family. Molecular dating analyses suggest that vicariance played a major role in diversification, with the major clades of Heteroceridae corresponding to continental distributions and an apparent radiation of Heterocerus s.l. in the early Palaeogene period. Behavioural evidence suggesting a possible role for sexual selection during heterocerid evolution is discussed.
Virtual dissection using phase‐contrast X‐ray synchrotron microtomography: reducing the gap between fossils and extant species
Authors: PERREAU MICHEL , TAFFOREAU PAUL
Published: June 2011

Fossils provide excellent opportunities for bringing to light evolutionary trends, and testing phylogenetic hypotheses. However, the difficulty in accessing internal structures limits the provision of accurate descriptions, and thus limits the comparison of fossil specimens with extant fauna. The virtual dissection of amber fossils by propagation phase‐contrast X‐ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC‐SRµCT) allows incomparable possibilities for the visualization of genital structures, which are of prime importance in assessing the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships in many groups of insects. The method is illustrated on one new species of Coleoptera Leiodidae Anemadini in Baltic amber: Nemadus microtomographicussp.n.
The Neotropical social wasp Mischocyttarus ‘alfkenii’ Ducke (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) is a pair of ethospecies
Authors: O'CONNOR TIMOTHY K. , STARR CHRISTOPHER K. , CAMERON SYDNEY A.
Published: June 2011

In Trinidad, West Indies, wasps matching the description of Mischocyttarus alfkenii build two readily distinguishable nest forms, differing both in architecture (excentric versus centric petiole) and colour (yellowish grey‐brown versus reddish medium brown). Analysis of two mitochondrial genes (16S and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) in excentric‐ and centric‐form M. ‘alfkenii’ consistently segregates individuals from the two nest forms, with genetic divergences comparable with those observed among other species in the genus. Geometric morphometric analysis of wing venation likewise recovers consistent differences between nest forms. Integrating behavioural, genetic and morphometric evidence corroborates the hypothesis that the two nest forms correspond to distinct species of recent common ancestry. Notes accompanying the description of M. alfkenii indicate that the name belongs to the species in which the nest has an excentric petiole and paler carton. The other species is described as Mischocyttarus baconisp.n.
Molecular phylogenetics of Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea), based on multiple nuclear genes, and implications for classification
Authors: SHARANOWSKI BARBARA J. , DOWLING ASHLEY P. G. , SHARKEY MICHAEL J.
Published: June 2011

This study examined subfamilial relationships within Braconidae, using 4 kb of sequence data for 139 taxa. Genetic sampling included previously used markers for phylogenetic studies of Braconidae (28S and 18S rDNA) as well as new nuclear protein‐coding genes (CAD and ACC). Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference of the concatenated dataset recovered a robust phylogeny, particularly for early divergences within the family. This study focused primarily on non‐cyclostome subfamilies, but the monophyly of the cyclostome complex was strongly supported. There was evidence supporting an independent clade, termed the aphidioid complex, as sister to the cyclostome complex of subfamilies. Maxfischeria was removed from Helconinae and placed within its own subfamily within the aphidioid complex. Most relationships within the cyclostome complex were poorly supported, probably because of lower taxonomic sampling within this group. Similar to other studies, there was strong support for the alysioid subcomplex containing Gnamptodontinae, Alysiinae, Opiinae and Exothecinae. Cenocoeliinae was recovered as sister to all other subfamilies within the euphoroid complex. Planitorus and Mannokeraia, previously placed in Betylobraconinae and Masoninae, respectively, were moved to the Euphorinae, and may share a close affiliation with Neoneurinae. Neoneurinae and Ecnomiinae were placed as tribes within Euphorinae. A sister relationship between the microgastroid and sigalphoid complexes was also recovered. The helconoid complex included a well‐supported lineage that is parasitic on lepidopteran larvae (macrocentroid subcomplex). Helconini was raised to subfamily status, and was recovered as sister to the macrocentroid subcomplex. Blacinae was demoted to tribal status and placed within the newly circumscribed subfamily Brachistinae, which also contains the tribes Diospilini, Brulleiini and Brachistini, all formerly in Helconinae.
A new species of the Cretaceous genus Prioriphora (Diptera: Phoridae) in French amber
Authors: SOLÓRZANO KRAEMER MÓNICA M. , PERRICHOT VINCENT , BROWN BRIAN V. , TAFFOREAU PAUL , SORIANO CARMEN
Published: June 2011

Prioriphora is an extinct genus of phorid flies that has been described from the Upper Cretaceous amber of Canada, Siberia and the U.S.A. Here, we present the first record of this genus in amber from south‐western France, with a description of Prioriphora schroederhohenwarthi Solórzano Kraemer & Perrichot sp.n. The holotype and two paratypes were studied using traditional light microscopy and propagation phase‐contrast X‐ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC‐SRµCT), rendering high‐resolution three‐dimensional models for critical examination. A key to the nine species of Prioriphora is provided, and the diversity and ecology of the prioriphorine grade during the Cretaceous is briefly discussed.
Scalp vein thrombosis mimicking giant cell arteritis relapse
Authors: Audia S. , Falvo N. , Leguy‐Seguin V. , Berthier S. , Martin L. , Bonnotte B. , Lorcerie B.
Published: June 2011

Scalp vein thrombosis is an unusual complication during giant cell arteritis. Revealed by headache, it can be misdiagnosed as a disease relapse. An ultrasound scan should rapidly be performed to make the diagnosis, avoiding inappropriate treatment escalation.
Smooth muscle myopathy as an underrecognized manifestation of active systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Ngian G. S. , Naidoo P. , Morand E. F. , Hoi A. Y.
Published: June 2011

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease with protean manifestations. We here present a case of unexplained diarrhoea and abdominal pain in a patient with SLE. Investigations revealed dilatation of stomach, small bowel and colonic wall, biliary and pancreatic ducts, renal collecting systems and ureters as well as thoracic aorta and major pulmonary arteries, as manifestations of a smooth muscle myopathy that was responsive to immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporin A.
Oncology workforce issues: the challenge of the outpatient clinic
Authors: Okera M. , Baker N. A. , Hayward A. M. , Selva‐Nayagam S.
Published: June 2011

It is well‐recognized that cancer prevalence is increasing and will continue to do so over the coming years. Adaptation of cancer services to this reality, however, has been slow. The oncology workforce, already short‐staffed, will be overburdened if change does not occur in a timely manner. The results of this study seek to highlight the current workings of oncology outpatient clinics at this hospital, and to identify areas of deficiencies that need to be addressed. By presenting a portrait of our outpatient clinics, it is hoped that a discussion surrounding workforce issues can be actively engaged, as this is crucial in order to succeed in providing quality care for our cancer patients, and simultaneously to support and mentor our invaluable medical and allied health staff.
Barth and the Evangelicals – Engaging with Barth: Contemporary Evangelical Critiques – Edited by David Gibson and Daniel Strange
Authors: Teck Ngern Timothy Lim
Published: June 2011

This review examines twelve conservative evangelical responses to David Gibson and Daniel Strange's Engaging with Barth. Witten in a charitable spirit that gives deference to Barth, the essayists remained uncomfortable with the prospect of rehabilitating Barth's radical neo‐orthodoxy for contemporary evangelical theology. In the article, I summarize the authors' critiques to Barth's exegetical, historical, and theological program, and locate their contributions pertaining to the reading of Barth's dogmatics. The review concludes with a possibility of interrogating the pneumatological‐underpinnings in Barth's theology as a constructive reworking of Barth's trinitarian theology for evangelical theology. There are ‘spaces’ for evangelicals to mine from the Barthian legacy, albeit via the medium of turning Barth's proposals on its head.
Terminus: Ethnographic Terminalia
Authors: CAMPBELL CRAIG
Published: June 2011

“Terminus” reflects on the curatorial impetus behind the 2010 Ethnographic Terminalia show, held in New Orleans.
Ethnographic Terminalia 2010: New Orleans—27 Works
Authors: HENNESSY KATE , MCDONALD FIONA P. , SMITH TRUDI LYNN , TAKARAGAWA STEPHANIE
Published: June 2011

The projects presented in Ethnographic Terminalia 2010: New Orleans—27 Works contextualize each work within the 2010 exhibition installed in New Orleans at the Du Mois Gallery. The summary of each project in this article captures the methodology of research that informs the conversation between art and anthropology, as well as demonstrating the full scope of the exhibition that includes works from film to photography, material culture, installation, and participatory works. Artists' bios are coupled with their own commentary on the nuanced details of how the projects relate to the discourses of art and anthropology. This article is also used to situate the curatorial goals of the Ethnographic Terminalia collective to move beyond the exhibition catalog in order to archive the project in an alternative form.
Detailed Investigations on the Solid Cell Culture and Antimicrobial Activities of the Iranian Arnebia euchroma
Authors: Haghbeen K. , Pourmolaei S. , Mareftjo M. J. , Mousavi A. , Akbari Noghabi K. , Hosseini Shirazi F. , Meshkat A.
Published: June 2011

In pursuit of strong
shikalkin‐producing cell lines, seeds of the
Iranian Arnebia euchroma were
collected from Dena altitudes in the central
Zagross. Chemical analysis showed that the dried
root of the plant contained about 8.5% (w/w)
shikalkin pigment. The root explants of the
young plantlets, obtained from the germinated
seeds, were used for establishing callus. Then,
parameters effective on proliferation and
pigment production of the resulting calli were
studied in detail. Accordingly, two modified
media called mLS and mM9 were optimized for
propagation and pigment production,
respectively. Using these media, the biomass of
the A.euchroma calli was
increased to 600%, and the pigment production
reached to a maximum of 16.3 mg per gram
of the wet biomass in a period of a subculture
(21 days). Parallel to these experiments, the
antimicrobial activity of shikalkin pigment was
examined on some fungi and Gram‐positive and
Gram‐negative bacteria. Results indicated that the
pigment was almost ineffective on fungi and Gram‐negative bacteria, but it was meaningfully
effective against Micrococcus
luteus.
Phrenic Artery Hemorrhage after Percutaneous Portal Vein Stenting to Treat Cavernous Transformation Following Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Case Report
Authors: Huang Qiang , Lu Ningning , Zhai Renyou
Published: June 2011

Cavernous transformation is a condition which has an acutely developing harmful effect over intestinal circulation compromising the patients' life before development of portal hypertension and its results. We present the case of phrenic artery hemorrhage after successful percutaneous portal vein stenting to treat cavernous transformation following LDLT. The patient survived the hazard complication with prompt surgery. Three factors may be related to the rare complication in the case were analyzed, including affluent new vessels around the diaphragm related to LDLT procedure, high puncture site allowing the diaphragm been injured, and anticoagulation given before the puncture and soon after the procedure. Cautions should be taken for the interventional procedures in this extreme condition. Cavernous transformation is a condition which has an acutely developing harmful effect over intestinal circulation compromising the patients' life before development of portal hypertension and its results (see the work of Harmanci and Bayraktar (2007)). It is even worse when this happens in a patient after LDLT (living donor liver transplantation). Herein we have presented a case of phrenic artery hemorrhage after successful percutaneous portal vein stenting to treat cavernous transformation following LDLT. The patient survived the hazard complication with prompt surgery.
Comparison of Staging Systems of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Sirivatanauksorn Yongyut , Tovikkai Chutwichai
Published: June 2011

Many staging systems of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were established; however, there is no consensus on which is proper in predicting prognosis. This study aims to evaluate various commonly used staging systems of HCC. Patients who underwent surgery during 2001–2007 were included. All patient data were retrospectively staged using six staging systems, that are American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM), Okuda staging, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI), and Japan Integrated Staging (JIS). Child-Pugh classification was also evaluated. The staging systems were compared by mean of overall and disease-free survival. Total of 99 patient data were enrolled in the analyses. All staging systems except Okuda were significant in determining overall survival in univariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, TNM and Child-Pugh demonstrated better predictive power for overall survival. In terms of disease-free survival, univariate analyses revealed that TNM, CLIP, BCLC, CUPI, and JIS were significant, and TNM was the best predictive staging system in multivariate analyses. In our study, TNM and Child-Pugh are the representative systems in predicting survival of HCC patients who undergo surgical resection. Moreover, they are practical and easily assessable in clinical practice.
Relationships between GPP, Satellite Measures of Greenness and Canopy Water Content with Soil Moisture in Mediterranean-Climate Grassland and Oak Savanna
Authors: Liu Shishi , Chadwick Oliver A. , Roberts Dar A. , Still Chris J.
Published: June 2011

We investigated the impact of soil moisture on gross primary production (GPP), chlorophyll content, and canopy water content represented by remotely sensed vegetation indices (VIs) in an open grassland and an oak savanna in California. We found for the annual grassland that GPP late in the growing season was controlled by the declining soil moisture, but there was a 10–20-day lag in the response of GPP to soil moisture. However, during the early and middle part of the growing season, solar radiation accounted for most of the variation in GPP. In the oak savanna, the grass understory exhibited a similar response, but oak trees were not sensitive to soil moisture in the upper 50 cm of the soil profile. Furthermore, while we found most VIs to be more or less related to soil moisture, the Visible Atmospherically Resistance Index (VARI) was the most sensitive to the change of soil moisture.
Neurotoxicity Caused by the Treatment with Platinum Analogues
Authors: Amptoulach Sousana , Tsavaris Nicolas
Published: June 2011

Platinum agents (cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin) are a class of chemotherapy agents that have a broad spectrum of activity against several solid tumors. Toxicity to the peripheral nervous system is the major dose-limiting toxicity of at least some of the platinum drugs of clinical interest. Among the platinum compounds in clinical use, cisplatin is the most neurotoxic, inducing mainly sensory neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities. Carboplatin is generally considered to be less neurotoxic than cisplatin, but it is associated with a higher risk of neurological dysfunction if administered at high dose or in combination with agents considered to be neurotoxic. Oxaliplatin induces two types of peripheral neuropathy, acute and chronic. The incidence of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy is related to various risk factors such as treatment schedule, cumulative dose, and time of infusion. To date, several neuroprotective agents including thiol compounds, vitamin E, various anticonvulsants, calcium-magnesium infusions, and other nonpharmacological strategies have been tested for their ability to prevent platinum-induced neurotoxicity with controversial results. Further studies on the prevention and treatment of neurotoxicity of platinum analogues are warranted.
Dysthymia and Apathy: Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Ishizaki Junko , Mimura Masaru
Published: June 2011

Dysthymia is a depressive mood disorder characterized by chronic and persistent but mild depression. It is often difficult to be distinguished from major depression, specifically in its partially remitted state because “loss of interest” or “apathy” tends to prevail both in dysthymia, and remitted depression. Apathy may also occur in various psychiatric and neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, stroke, Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Huntington's disease, and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. It is symptomatologically important that apathy is related to, but different from, major depression from the viewpoint of its causes and treatment. Antidepressants, especially noradrenergic agents, are useful for depression-related apathy. However, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be less effective for apathy in depressed elderly patients and have even been reported to worsen apathy. Dopaminergic agonists seem to be effective for apathy. Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors, methylphenidate, atypical antipsychotics, nicergoline, and cilostazol are another choice. Medication choice should be determined according to the background and underlying etiology of the targeting disease.
Electroacupuncture-Induced Cholinergic Nerve Activation Enhances the Hypoglycemic Effect of Exogenous Insulin in a Rat Model of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes
Authors: Lee Yu-Chen , Li Te-Mao , Tzeng Chung-Yuh , Cheng Yu-Wen , Chen Ying-I , Ho Wai-Jane , Lin Jaung Geng , Chang Shih-Liang
Published: June 2011

The aim of this study is to explore the mechanisms by which electroacupuncture (EA) enhances the hypoglycemic effect of exogenous insulin in a streptozotocin- (STZ-) diabetic rats. Animals in the EA group were anesthetized and subjected to the insulin challenge test (ICT) and EA for 60 minutes. In the control group, rats were subjected to the same treatment with the exception of EA stimulation. Blood samples were drawn to measure changes in plasma glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), and insulin levels. Western blot was used to assay proteins involved in insulin signaling. Furthermore, atropine, hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), and Eserine were used to explore the relationship between EA and cholinergic nerve activation during ICT. EA augmented the blood glucose-lowering effects of EA by activating the cholinergic nerves in STZ rats that had been exposed to exogenous insulin. This phenomenon may be related to enhancement of insulin signaling rather than to changes in FFA concentration.