bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent approaches to the prioritization of candidate disease genes
Authors: Doncheva Nadezhda T. , Kacprowski Tim , Albrecht Mario
Published: June 2012

Many efforts are still devoted to the discovery of genes involved with specific phenotypes, in particular, diseases. High‐throughput techniques are thus applied frequently to detect dozens or even hundreds of candidate genes. However, the experimental validation of many candidates is often an expensive and time‐consuming task. Therefore, a great variety of computational approaches has been developed to support the identification of the most promising candidates for follow‐up studies. The biomedical knowledge already available about the disease of interest and related genes is commonly exploited to find new gene–disease associations and to prioritize candidates. In this review, we highlight recent methodological advances in this research field of candidate gene prioritization. We focus on approaches that use network information and integrate heterogeneous data sources. Furthermore, we discuss current benchmarking procedures for evaluating and comparing different prioritization methods. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2012. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1177

This article is categorized under:

Analytical and Computational Methods > Computational Methods

Laboratory Methods and Technologies > Genetic/Genomic Methods

Translational, Genomic, and Systems Medicine > Translational Medicine
Barium Peroxide: a Simple Test Case for First‐Principles Investigations on the Temperature Dependence of Solid‐State Vibrational Frequencies
Authors: Stoffel Ralf Peter , Dronskowski Richard
Published: June 2012

The vibrational properties of barium peroxide, BaO2, were investigated by phonon calculations based on density‐functional theory and the ab initio force‐constant method. In order to reproduce the correct wavenumber of the peroxide vibration at finite temperatures, its volume dependence together with the calculated volume expansion was taken into account. Using this approximation we found a quantitative agreement of the calculated value with experimental data observed by Raman spectroscopy.
The [Au(CH3SO3)4]– Anion in the Crystal Structures of M[Au(CH3SO3)4] (M = Li, Na, Rb)
Authors: Logemann Christian , Wickleder Mathias S.
Published: June 2012

The reactions of Au(OH)3, M2CO3 (M = Li, Na, Rb), and methanesulfonic acid at elevated temperatures in sealed glass ampoules lead to single crystals of M[Au(CH3SO3)4] (M = Li, Na, Rb). In the crystal structures of Li[Au(CH3SO3)4] (tetragonal, I$\bar{4}$, Z = 2,a = 938.64(2) pm, c = 917.01(3) pm, V = 807.93(4) Å3) and Rb[Au(CH3SO3)4] (tetragonal, P$\bar{4}$21c, Z = 2, a = 946.7(1) pm,c = 889.9(1) pm, V = 797.6(2) Å3) the complex aurate anions are linked by the M+ ions in three dimensions. Contrastingly, in the structure of Na[Au(CH3SO3)4] (triclinic, P$\bar{4}$, Z = 1, a = 540.04(2) pm,b = 863.75(2) pm, c = 973.29(3) pm, α = 72.694(2)°, β = 75.605(2)°, γ = 77.687(2)°, V = 415.05(2) Å3) the complex anions are connected into layers that are further connected by weak hydrogen bonds. The thermal decomposition of Li[Au(CH3SO3)4] was monitored up to 500 °C and leads in a multi‐step process to elemental gold and Li2SO4.
Camel‐Related Injuries: Prospective Study of 212 Patients
Authors: Abu‐Zidan Fikri M. , Hefny Ashraf F. , Eid Hani O. , Bashir Masoud O. , Branicki Frank J.
Published: June 2012

Background

Camel‐related injuries have been less well studied than other animal‐related injuries. We aimed to study prospectively the incidence, mechanism, distribution of injury, and outcome of patients admitted to hospital with camel‐related injuries in Al‐Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Methods

All patients who were admitted to Al‐Ain Hospital with a camel‐related injury were prospectively studied during the period of October 2001 to January 2010. Patient’s demography, time of injury, mechanism of injury, and distribution and severity of injury were studied.

Results

A total of 212 patients, all male, with a median age of 28 years (5–89 years) were studied. The estimated incidence of hospitalized camel‐related injured patients in Al‐Ain City was 6.88 per 100,000 population per year. Camel kicks were most common (36.8 %) followed by a fall from a camel (26.4 %) and camel bites (25.0 %). Camel kicks and falling from a camel were more common during the hot month of August, and camel bites were more common during the rutting season (November to February). Patients with a kick‐related injury had a significantly higher rate of maxillofacial fractures compared with other mechanisms. Spinal injuries occurred significantly more often in vehicle occupants who collided with camels compared with other mechanisms (3/7 compared with 7/205, p = 0.0022, Fisher’s exact test). Twelve patients (5.7 %) were admitted to the intensive care unit. The mean hospital stay was 8.6 days (1–103 days). Two patients died (overall mortality 1 %).

Conclusions

Understanding the biomechanisms and patterns of injury and correlating them with the behavior of the camel is important for identification and prevention of camel‐related injuries.
Resident Training in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: Role of the Porcine Model
Authors: La Torre Marco , Caruso Carlo
Published: June 2012

Background

Laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCRS) is an effective option for the treatment of various colorectal conditions. However, its implementation in surgical practice is still limited, and there are no clear guidelines for residency training requirements or evaluation of the level of expertise. The aim of this study was to assess the level of practical expertise of senior residents regarding LCRS in an animal porcine model.

Methods

At the Department of Biosciences of Rome, Tecnopolo of Castel Romano, 50 senior residents underwent training sessions on a porcine model under the direction of attending laparoscopic surgeons. A total of 20 residents underwent box trainer preparation before starting the surgical procedure on the animal model; and a group of 6 repeated the course 3 months after the first session.

Results

Overall, 90 % of the residents needed help during the surgical procedures, and only 9 residents (18 %) showed a high level of confidence when performing the surgery. Video‐trainer preparation helped residents increase their laparoscopic ability (p = 0.04). Residents who attended two training courses showed significant improvement regarding the duration of the procedures, rate of complications, and the need of a tutor.

Conclusions

The study demonstrated that the experience of senior surgical residents in regard to performing LCRS is less than ideal. A national training program should carefully consider the present quality of training in Italy and attempt to develop and integrate alternative methods for teaching laparoscopic surgery, perhaps by having an animal model laboratory.
The Dividend Initiation Decision of Newly Public Firms: Some Evidence on Signaling with Dividends
Authors: Kale Jayant R. , Kini Omesh , Payne Janet D.
Published: June 2012

We track the dividend initiation (DI) decisions from a sample of 6,588 firms that went public during the period 1979–2005 and find that 873 of them initiated dividends. Our primary objective is to determine whether information signaling can explain the DI decision. We find that variables suggested by the dividend-signaling models of John and Williams (1985) and Allen, Bernardo, and Welch (2000) are significant determinants of the DI decision and the associated announcement-period stock price effect. We also find support for the residual, agency, tax, clientele, transaction costs, catering, and life-cycle explanations of dividend policy.
Repurchases, Reputation, and Returns
Authors: Bonaimé Alice Adams
Published: June 2012

This paper examines whether a firm’s reputation is a determinant of repurchase completion rates (the ratio of actual to announced repurchases) and whether the stock market discounts announcements made by less reputable firms. Prior completion rates are positively correlated with current completion rates and announcement returns, suggesting consistency in repurchases and implying a reputational effect. Further, a nascent literature regarding accelerated share repurchases (ASRs) finds them to be more credible than open market repurchases. I show that the probability of announcing an ASR is greater for firms likely to be concerned about reputation because of low past completion rates.
Volatility Trading: What Is the Role of the Long-Run Volatility Component?
Authors: Zhou Guofu , Zhu Yingzi
Published: June 2012

We study an investor’s asset allocation problem with a recursive utility and with tradable volatility that follows a 2-factor stochastic volatility model. Consistent with previous findings under the additive utility, we show that the investor can benefit substantially from volatility trading due to hedging demand. Unlike existing studies, we find that the impact of elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS) on investment decisions is of 1st-order importance. Moreover, the investor can incur significant economic losses due to model and/or parameter misspecifications where the EIS better captures the investor’s attitude toward risk than the risk aversion parameter.
I.—An Experiment in Marine Fish Cultivation: I. Introduction
Authors: Gross F.
Published: June 2012

In 1942 an experiment was started in order to test the possibility of increasing the fertility of a small sea-loch by the addition of nitrate and phosphate fertilizers, with the view of improving the growth rate and yield of fish. It was based on the well-established fact that the phytoplankton organisms are the main producers of organic matter and therefore represent the main source of food supply in the sea, and that nitrogen and phosphorus compounds are among the important factors controlling and limiting plankton production. It was thought that the addition of readily available plant nutrients would result in an increase of plankton production and thus of the food supply of the bottom-living animals which are fed upon by fish. An increase of the bottom fauna might then result in an improved growth rate of the fish population. Normally most marine fish require about four years to reach marketable size, and the object of our experiment was to find out whether the addition of fertilizers would lead to a shortening of that period and to an improvement of the yield in fish per unit area.
IV.—An Experiment in Marine Fish Cultivation: IV. The Bottom Fauna and the Food of Flatfishes in a Fertilized Sea-loch (Loch Craiglin)
Authors: Raymont J. E. G.
Published: June 2012

The density of the animal population in any area of the sea bottom must be closely related to the food supply available. An increase in food may be expected to lead to more rapid growth and to more prolific breeding, and a consequent increase in the number of animals sustained on a given area of the bottom.

The amount of food available to the “basic” bottom fauna, consisting of plankton, detritus and bottom microflora (cf. Hunt, 1925), depends upon the amounts of plant nutrients in the water, which limit photosynthetic activity in the presence of sufficient light. The addition of fertilizers to an enclosed area like Loch Craiglin (Orr, 1947) might be expected to lead to a greater food supply, and thus to a greater density of the bottom fauna.
Life and Times of James Hutton
Authors: Macgregor Murray
Published: June 2012

The debt which Scotland, and the world with it, owes to the genius of James Hutton cannot easily be measured. His Theory of the Earth, published in two octavo volumes in 1795, has long been universally recognised as one of the great classics of science. Not only did it open up new worlds to research and speculation, but the principles it established revolutionised in course of time the whole trend of scientific thought. When we think, however, of Hutton's amazing achievement—amazing in its originality and its grandeur of conception—it is well to remember not only the profound and far-reaching influence which he exerted, but also the long years of patient observation and sustained reflection which went to the building of his immortal Theory. We should remember not only the Hutton of established and enduring fame, but also the alert and questing spirit who sought so long and so courageously for a key to the mysteries of the earth on which he lived, who dared to look backward into an illimitable past and forward into an incalculable future, and who, on the evidence wrested from the solid rocks, reached the startling and heretical conclusion—as, indeed, in his day it was—that in the operations of nature we find “no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end”.
The Adventures of an Hypothesis.
Authors: Kendall James
Published: June 2012

In the year 1815 an anonymous article appeared in Thomas Thomson's Annals of Philosophy (1) entitled “On the Relation between the Specific Gravities of Bodies in their Gaseous State and the Weights of their Atoms “. Its introductory paragraph illustrates the hesitancy of the writer in its exposition: “The author of the following essay submits it to the public with the greatest diffidence; for although he has taken the utmost pains to arrive at the truth, yet he has not that confidence in his abilities as an experimentalist as to induce him to dictate to others far superior to himself in chemical acquirements and fame. He trusts, however, that its importance will be seen, and that some one will undertake to examine it, and thus verify or refute its conclusions. If these should be proved erroneous, still new facts may be brought to light, or old ones better established, by the investigation; but if they should be verified, a new and interesting light will be thrown upon the whole science of chemistry.”
II.—Note on the Evolutionary History of the Paired Fins of Elasmobranchs
Authors: Miller A. E. , Kerr John Graham
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The subjoined Note summarises an investigation into the skeleton of the pectoral fin of a common Selachian—Acanthias vulgaris—with the object of determining whether, and if so, to what extent it shows any vestige of the archipterygial type of structure. To this end careful examination was made of five hundred random embryos, and the result demonstrated the general occurrence of vestigial post-axial rays at the tip of the fin. The suggestion that such rays—stated by Braus to occur in a specimen of the embryo of Centrophorus—are to be regarded as a mere casual variation without evolutionary significance is thus shown to be devoid of weight, and the pectoral fin skeleton of Selachians established definitely in line with that of Pleuracanthus and Ceratodus.
III.—A Genetical Basis for the Classification of Strains of Phytophthora infestans
Authors: Black William
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The inter-relationships of ten strains of blight (Phytophthora infestans) and four major genes, R1, R2, R3 and R4, controlling resistance to the disease in potato foliage are examined. The complete differential host series for this material numbers sixteen, and is capable of differentiating sixteen strains of the pathogen. The reactions exhibited by the series form a concise statement of the various relationships and provide a genetical basis for the systematic classification of strains. This classification affords a means of calculating the segregation-ratios to be expected from the mating of any pair of genotypes when infected with any strain or group of strains of the parasite.

Each strain, being adapted to a particular Solanum genotype, is more prolific on it than on any other. This genotype is regarded as the natural host of the strain in question. Specialisation, of the parasite appears to progress in stages in certain directions determined by the genetic constitution of the various hosts.
VII.—Mollusca Orcadensia
Authors: Rendall Robert
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

This paper brings together from all available sources records of marine mollusca indigenous to Orkney, together with notes on their local distribution. Besides incorporating the results of recent research it includes a brief account of work done in the islands by earlier conchologists. For convenience of reference the list of species follows the nomenclature and systematic arrangement used by the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland in Winckworth's revised list of the British Marine Mollusca. The small section on local collecting grounds may prove useful to future workers. A commentary seeks to relate the molluscan fauna of the islands to a wider context of distribution and draws attention to the seemingly characteristic western influence present in Orkney waters. A brief note is added on the non-marine mollusca of the islands.
VIII.—The Tracheal System in Larval Tabanidæ, with special reference to Tabanus bisignatus Jaennike
Authors: Whitten Joan M.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The larval tracheal system of Tabanus bisignatus is described and compared with the previous descriptions of Hœmatopota pluvialis by Cameron (1934) and of Tabanus, Chrysops and Hexatoma by Stammer (1924). Omissions in these descriptions are pointed out, and possible homologies of the tracheæ are discussed in terms of the generalized dipteran larval pattern deduced by the author from comparative studies of the tracheal system in certain larval Diptera (Whitten 1955). Attention is drawn to departures from this generalized pattern—departures which may be characteristic of family or of intra-familial segregates.
X. The Scottish Home Department's Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen
Authors: Lucas C. E.
Published: June 2012

Scotland's vital interest in the fisheries needs no stressing. Nor does her interest in marine research, for which reference to the pioneer work of Edward Forbes and the voyages of the Challenger and the Scotia alone are sufficient testimonial. Both in England and in Scotland many Commissions have been set up to try to deal with one fisheries problem or another. The setting up of the Board of British White Herring Fisheries in 1808 may be said to have been the beginning of a new phase; as a result Scotland has one of the best series of fishery statistics, those for the “cured” herring fishery, available to-day—and statistics are the foundation of fisheries research! Apart from this, perhaps Scottish fishery research, as distinct from marine research, may be said to have begun in 1836 when a Dr Knox “was asked, in order to solve a fishery problem in the Firth of Forth, to investigate whether the sprat and the herring were different species or not; and further, in 1842, Mr Henry Goodsir was employed to gain some definite information about the growth, food and habits of the herring. This was just one of many contemporary problems; a later one, of course, concerned the influence of the developing trawl fishery upon the conventional method of lining for demersal fish such as cod and haddock. The duties of this Board were the supervision of the fisheries (of which herring was the principal), the “branding” of herring and “cran” measures, securing the observation of the few international fisheries regulations of that time, guarding the territorial limits from the encroachment of foreign fishermen, and supplying to the Scottish Meteorological Society information about weather conditions in the fisheries.
XXII.—Studies on Flowering-Plant Growth and Organogenesis. II. The Modification of Sex Expression in Cannabis ativa by Carbon Monoxide
Authors: Heslop-Harrison J. , Heslop-Harrison Y.
Published: June 2012

Synopis

Brief exposure in the young stage to carbon monoxide in concentration c. 1 per cent modifies subsequent sex expression in male plants of the dioecious Cannabis sativa (hemp), inducing the formation of intersexual or even functionally female flowers. The effect is registered in flower primordia of a particular age; older ones are already sexually committed, and younger ones apparently recover from treatment to pursue the genetically established path of ontogeny. Grafting experiments show that the stimulus is retained in the apex even when it is transferred to an untreated plant before the flower primordia have begun differentiation.

The effect of carbon monoxide in modifying sex expression is similar to that induced by auxin administration, and it is possible that the basic function of the gas at the effective concentrations is to upset auxin metabolism in treated tissues, perhaps by inhibiting enzyme systems normally responsible for regulating endogenous auxin levels.
IX.—The Biology of the Euphausiid Crustacean, Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars).
Authors: Mauchline J.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Analyses of winter and summer vertical migrations of Meganyctiphanes norvegica are given and the differences in behaviour pointed out. A vertical layering of size classes, larger specimens occurring deeper than smaller ones, is shown to exist during the day and night.

Four potential methods of feeding were found. The inter-relationships between vertical migration, feeding method used, and type of food eaten are discussed.

The relationship of carapace length to total length was found to depend on the state of maturity of M. norvegica.

M. norvegica matures at the age of 1 year, transference of the spermatophores taking place in January-February, the eggs being laid in March-April. The larvae take 2–3 months to reach adolescence and little growth in size takes place in the winter when the gonads are maturing. An age of 3 years may be attained but most only survive 1½—2 years.

The distribution within the Clyde Sea throughout the year is described. Most of the population were found to move to the North-east Arran Area for egg-laying.

A 24-hr. and annual periodicity of luminescence is described and correlated with the period of swarming of this species prior to spermatophore transference.
XII.—The Metabolism of Sodium Bromosulphthalein in the Fowl
Authors: Campbell J. G.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Evidence is presented that, in fowls, as in a number of mammals, intravenously administered sodium bromosulphthalein is excreted by the liver into the bile in several forms. These metabolites are not glucuronides, esters or sulphates, and in the fowl do not have the chromatographic mobilities or other characteristics of any of the amino acids described as conjugating with BSP in mammals. In all, three forms of BSP are detectable in fowl bile after administration of the dye, one, with the highest Rf. is unchanged BSP, the others are associated with ninhydrin positive material, and have lower Rf. values. Conjugation has been studied in young chickens and in adults, and the effects of sex hormones, cortisone and liver damage have been assessed. It is shown that a proportion of the injected BSP may be retained for some time in the liver as a colourless form, so that only prolonged alkaline hydrolysis of liver extract and homogenate results in its liberation as a detectable coloured form. The significance of this, and the effect of sex hormones in influencing the amount of conjugation and thus possibly affecting the rate of liver clearance of BSP is discussed, and evidence is presented that there exists an apparent inverse relationship between the amount of œstrogen as assessed by BSP liver-clearance test and the relative proportions of the two BSP conjugates in the bile. Also direct relationship may exist between the amount of œstrogen and the proportion of colourless BSP found in the liver.
XV.—Observations on the Life Cycle and Immature Stages of Culicoides circumscriptus Kieff. (Diptera, Ceratopogonidæ).
Authors: Becker P.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The immature stages of C. circumscriptus Kieff. are found in the mud of most Scottish salt marshes. The life cycle has been studied by means of laboratory cultures and by observation and periodic sampling at a salt marsh near Dumbarton. Data are given concerning the life cycle in the laboratory and out of doors. In the field there are two generations a year.

In captivity the female lays a single large batch of eggs which adhere to the substrate by means of structures on the chorion. The eggs and the manner of oviposition and hatching are described. Descriptions of the larvae, supplementing those of previous authors are given. The first instar differs from older larvae in possessing a retractable prothoracic proleg, and is more sluggish in its movements, probably remaining near the oviposition site until the first ecdysis. Before pupation the larva comes to the surface. This is necessary for successful pupation, enabling the pupa to breathe and to form the buoyancy space. The pupa buries itself in the mud emerging only under flooded conditions to float on the surface or prior to ecdysis.
I.—Genetics of Gametes. I. A Quantitative Analysis of Five Characteristics of Rabbit Spermatozoa
Authors: Beatty R. A. , Napier R. A. N.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Information is presented on some ways in which spermatozoa vary within a mammalian species, and on the relative importance of non-genetic factors affecting this variation. The work is basic to current researches in this laboratory on the genetics of mammalian spermatozoa. Five characteristics of rabbit spermatozoa were examined in permanent nigrosin-eosin preparations: the incidence of stained spermatozoa and the incidence of spermatozoa lacking the acrosomal cap, both related to the fertility of semen; the length, breadth and area of the spermatozoan head. Various factors have been studied that potentially affect these characteristics, with emphasis on variation attributable to technique and observation. The effects of the factors have been recorded in quantitative form and, in the light of the present work, suggestions have been made for the design of future experiments. Experimental and statistical procedures are described. Observations on variation due to biological causes include a separation of the variance between the males of a litter from the variance between the litter means. It has also been shown that the average length of the spermatozoan head in the vas deferens remains virtually unchanged in the ejaculate. Mensuration characteristics (length, breadth and area) are better adapted to objective analysis than are enumeration characteristics (proportions of abnormal spermatozoa).
III.—Genetics of Gametes. III. Strain Differences in Spermatozoa from Eight Inbred Strains of Mice
Authors: Beatty R. A. , Sharma K. N.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

In animals, the expression of genetic factors has been studied mainly after fertilization, in the embryo or the adult. The study of genetic effects on the gametes themselves has been called the genetics of gametes. As evidence of such genetic effects on gametes, numerous differences have been found in the characteristics of spermatozoa from eight inbred strains of mice. The spermatozoan characteristics studied are mainly dimensional, but also relate to the physiological maturation of spermatozoa and possibly to semen fertility. The dimensional characteristics of spermatozoa are insulated, to an unusual degree, from the effects of environmental and other factors. The genetics of gametes can be regarded as the study of the genetics of the carriers of genes from one generation to the next; this has relevance to general genetics, and also to experiments for controlling the transmission of hereditary factors from parent to offspring.
IV.—Genetics of Gametes. IV. The Phenotype of Mouse Spermatozoa in Four Inbred Strains and their F1 Crosses
Authors: Sharma K. N.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The expression of heritable variation in mammals is usually studied among the attributes of the adult; for example, in the body weight, milk yield, or colour of the pelt. A relatively new subject of study is that of heritable variation in the characteristics of gametes. It is of particular interest, because such variation in gametes may affect their fertility, which in turn might have repercussions on both fundamental and applied genetics. Current research is directed mainly to surveying the ways in which spermatozoa are subject to genetic influences. In the present work, heritable variations in the spermatozoa of mice are demonstrated, in the form of differences between inbred strains. The results are in virtually complete agreement with those of a previous study. It has also been found that variation in first generation crosses made from the pure strains can be largely accounted for by a blending inheritance of the characteristics of the parental types, together with an effect of heterosis. This appears to be the first demonstration in gametes of the phenomenon of heterosis, which is nearly but not quite the same as “hybrid vigour”.
VII.—Some Observations on the Development of the Nasal Capsule of the Chondrocranium inCamelus dromedarius
Authors: Kanan C. V.
Published: June 2012

Several investigators have contributed to our knowledge of the development of the chondrocranium in various mammals, amongst whom Decker (1883), Gaupp (1900), Noordenbos (1905), Fawcett (1905) and Voit (1909) are the most outstanding. No attempt has as yet been made to study the chondrocranium of the camel however, due without doubt to lack of suitable material.

Development of the nasal capsule in ungulates generally has been studied in detail only by a few workers. Strum (1937), for instance, investigated the fully developed chondrocranium of Bos, while Decker (1883) and Wincza (1896) give accounts of the primordial skull of Ovis only at a particular stage in development.

Accordingly, this investigation is an attempt to describe for the first time, as far as the author can determine, the nasal capsule of the chondrocranium inCamelus dromedarius.
IX,—A Gravity Survey of the Sanquhar Coalfield
Authors: McLean Adam C.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

In the Sanquhar district a bsain of relatively light Upper Carboniferous rocks (relative density 2·54) overlies a denser basement of Ordovician greywackes (relative density 2·72). A gravity survey over the area with coverage of approximately one station per square kilometre, increasing to a station spacing of 100 yards along certain traverses in critical localities, shows a close relation between the Bouguer anomalies and the known geology. A local gravity low over the Carboniferous outcrop is superimposed on a steep regional gradient decreasing south-eastwards. The trend of this gradient is parallel to the strike of the Ordovician rocks, but its exact relationship to the basement structure is not clear. The residual Bouguer anomalies reflect the structure of the Carboniferous rocks; in the south-eastern part of the basin they agree closely with the calculated effect produced by the known thicknesses, structure, and density contrast. Westwards from Kirkconnel, however, there is an increasing discrepancy between the observed and the theoretical anomalies, a discrepancy which indicates the presence of an additional mass of light rock concealed under the known Coal Measures. It is inferred that this material consists of older Carboniferous strata, thickest under the present-day valley of the Nith but concealed by overstep of the overlying Coal Measures against the flanks of the basin. These hidden rocks thin gradually to the south-east across a shallow monocline with north-east trend and south-east of Kirkconnel are truncated by a large fault trending east-north-east. Both the monocline and the fault appear to affect the Westphalian strata to a lesser degree than the base of the Carboniferous rocks.

The stratigraphical significance of the concealed strata is that they evince the existence of a pre-Westphalian basin, trending north-west-south-east, which antecedes the later Hercynian fold, and also suggest that pre-Hercynian movements took place along a fault, near Kirkconnel which, trends north-east-south-west across the basin.
XII.—Electron Microscopy of the Epithelial Cells of the Mid-gut and Hepatic Cæca of Blatta Orientalis
Authors: Threadgold L. T. , Gresson R. A. R.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Electron micrographs of the anterior part of the mid-gut and hepatic cæca of Blatta orientalis Linn, show epithelial cells in both secretory and absorptive cycles. The epithelial cells possess microvilli and their lateral margins are provided with irregularly shaped projections that interdigitate with neighbouring cells. Vacuole-like structures were observed in association with the mitochondria of absorptive and degenerating cells. These vacuoles, it is suggested, represent degeneration products. Bundles of saccules and associated groups of vacuoles and vesicles represent the Golgi rods and granules of light microscopy. Epithelial cells engaged in absorption differ from those in which the elaboration of secretion is taking place, in the arrangement of the Golgi saccules and vacuoles, in the size of the Golgi vacuoles, in the distribution of the mitochondria, and in the possession of a less extensive endoplasmic reticulum.
XV.—Hermaphroditism in the Herring (Clupea harengus L.)
Authors: Holliday F. G. T.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Four specimens of hermaphrodite herring are described. In three, the male portion of the gonad was at a later stage of development than the female; in the fourth both portions were fully mature and eggs and sperm were being shed together. The additional muscle block characteristic of the cloacal region of the male herring was present, but much reduced, in the two hermaphrodite fish which were examined for this character. The time difference in the maturation rates of the male and female portions is discussed in relation to the pituitary control of gametogenesis.
XVI.—A Partial Analysis ofDrosophilaLarval Hæmolymph
Authors: Begg Michael , Cruickshank William J.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Physical and chemical methods of analysis suitable for volumes ofDrosophilahæmolymph under I μl. are described. The osmotic pressure of hæmolymph is equivalent to 1·05 per cent NaCl. The pH is 6·6·6·7. Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−and PO3−4occur in concentrations of 56·5, 40·2, 8, 20·8, 42·2 and 2·8 mM/1. Probably the only sugar present is trehalose. A rough analysis for amino-acids indicates that they contribute an amount to the osmotic pressure equivalent to about 0·4 per cent NaCl. These results are discussed in relation to tissue culture.
XVIII.—The Large Neurones and Interstitial Material of Fasciola hepatica L.
Authors: Gresson R. A. R. , Threadgold L. T.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Two kinds of large neurones were studied in histological preparations and electron micrographs of the parenchyma of the anterior region of the body, the pharynx and the oral and ventral suckers of Fasciola hepatica. These are called the α and β neurones. The latter are larger than the α cells and vary in structure. An interstitial system composed of amorphous material of medium electron density was observed in the parenchyma, the suckers and the pharynx. Invaginations of the plasma membrane containing interstitial material extend into the β neurones and are often continuous with the nuclear envelope. It is suggested that the β cells are neuro-secretory in function and that they may be derived from the α neurones.
XIX.—Morphology and Histology of the Males of Acanthobonellia.
Authors: DattaGupta A. K. , Menon P. K. B.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Morphology and histology of the males of Acanthobonellia miyajimai (Ikeda) and Acanthobonellia vulgaris Menon and DattaGupta have been described. The males of the two species are large and look alike in all respects. Ciliated epithelium, subepidermal glands and two to four seminal vesicles are characteristics of these worms. The alimentary canal is in the form of a chain of vesicles which appear to be a common feature of Acanthobonellia, Acanthohamingia or Ikedella. Anatomical features have been described and figured.
XXI.—The External Anatomy ofAllenopithecus
Authors: Osman Hill W. C.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The previous history ofAllenopithecusis summarized and a new description provided based on freshly dead cadavers of an adult male and female and of a male stillborn infant. Analysis of details of body proportions and external anatomy confirm the apartness ofAllenopithecusfromCercopithecusand indicate a transitional status towards the macaques. Striking departures from cercopithecine features occur in the face, ear, extremities, in the presence, in the female, of a catamenial swelling and in the approximation or confluence, in the male, of the ischial callosities.
IV.— Biological Effects of Water Utilization by Hydro-electric Schemes in Relation to Fisheries, with Special Reference to Scotland
Authors: Elder Hugh Y.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Literature is reviewed in relation to particular Scottish problems. The individuality of water bodies and methods of harnessing available power necessitates individual treatment. Some general conclusions can, however, be drawn.

The creation of impoundments and the raising of lake levels are considered in terms of the effects on agriculture, rare plant and animal species, lake plankton production, introductions and the growth of fish.

The consequences of fluctuating lake levels are reviewed with reference to the productivity of shallow water communities, bottom animals and the growth and reproduction of fish.

Pollution, changes in temperature and chemical factors, and alterations in the volume and stability of rivers are considered.

Anadromous fish conservation measures include guarantee of minimum river flow, provision of freshets, construction of fish passes, erection of smolt screens, passage of smolts through turbines, creation of artificial spawning gravels, use of hatcheries and the opening up of previously unutilized natural spawning gravels.

In general, hydro-electric schemes have a depressing effect on biological productivity. This effect may be lessened through the application of gained knowledge and experience. Fundamental research into this branch of applied ecology is needed.
VI.—The Tardigrada of the Scottish Lake Survey described as new species by James Murray
Authors: van der Land J.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

James Murray published in the years 1905–1913 nineteen papers describing about one-sixth of all known species of Tardigrada; an important part was based on the collections of the Lake Survey (1904–1906) and a part of his collections is still present in the Royal Scottish Museum but the rest of his material could not be traced.

The present paper reviews all the new species described by James Murray from the Lake Survey and for each species the type locality is fixed, some complementary descriptions are given and wherever possible lectotypes have been selected.
VIII.—Electron Microscopic Study and Amino Acid Analysis on Human Aortic Elastin
Authors: Serafini-Fracassini A. , Tristram G. R.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Human aortic elastin, purified by autoclaving and alkaline extraction, has been resolved by ultrasonic treatment into individual filaments, which appear, in the electron microscope, to be of constant diameter (25 Å) with junction points at fairly regular intervals (1300)Å.

Amino acid analyses on fœtal, normal and old adult elastin showed that the desmosine(s) content remains constant at 3 residues per 105g. of protein which is equivalent to 1100 Å intervals between successive residues, assuming that these are evenly spaced along the polypeptide chain(s). On the other hand the amino acid composition was found to change with age. Thus the aspartic acid and glutamic acid contents increase from 3 and 19 to 11 and 27 residues respectively; histidine and methionine, which are both absent from fœtal elastin are present in small but definite amounts (2 and 3 residues respectively) in older elastins. The lysine content is 9 residues in fœtal elastin and 6 residues in older elastin. Probably the most remarkable feature of this protein is the high content of non-polar amino acids; of 1100 residues in 105g. protein about 1000 (including glycine and proline) have hydrophobic side chains.
XL—On the Binding of Acetic Acid by Proteins
Authors: Candlish J. K. , Tristram G. R.
Published: June 2012

Organic acids are working solvents for a number of proteins, notably the collagens. The mechanism of solubilization can be assumed, as a first hypothesis, to consist of a weakening of salt bonds such that chain-chain interactions are lessened and dispersion can occur. However, this cannot be exclusively true since, in the case of the collagen, it has been pointed out (Gustavson 1956) that this protein is soluble in acetic acid (pK=4·76 at 25°C.) and citric acid (pK1 = 3·13; pK2=476; pK3=6·39, at 25°) but not in hydrochloric or mineral acids of equivalent or greater hydrogen ion concentration. The hydrogen ion is thus not the dominant solubilising factor. The same author suggested that the unionized organic acids were bound by peptide bonds of proteins in such a way as to wedge apart the associated chains.
XV.—The metabolism of DNA in the liver during precocious induction of metamorphosis inRana catesbeiana
Authors: Campbell Ailsa M. , Corrance Martita H. , Davidson J. N. , Keir H. M.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

Studies have been made on the incorporation of [8H]-deoxythymidine into the DNA of the livers ofRana catesbeianatadpoles. When metamorphosis was induced with tri-iodothyronine, the specific activity of the nuclear DNA rose 5 days after administration of the hormone. In contrast, the specific activity of the DNA from the mitochondrial fraction rose grave–2 days after hormone administration.

In order to determine whether thein vivochange was due to alterations in the pool sizes of the DNA precursors,in vitrostudies on DNA polymerase were carried out. It was found that under conditions where the enzyme activity was not limited by availability of template or substrates, there was a rise in the DNA polymerase activity in crude cell extracts from the tadpole liver. Fractionation of the cell components showed that little of this increment in activity appeared to be located in the nucleus, but that a large percentage alteration in activity occurred in the mitochondrial and cell sap fractions.

A possible interpretation of these results is that an increase in the mitochondrial DNA polymerase is one of the early effects of thyroid hormone. This possibility is discussed in relation to the other known effects of thyroid hormones in tadpoles, with particular reference to nucleic acid metabolism and also to mitochondrial hyperplasia.
Symposium on Anti-lymphocytic Antibody: Introduction
Authors: Woodruff Michael
Published: June 2012

Classical immunology grew out of the observation that patients who recovered from certain infectious diseases like plague and smallpox rarely contracted the same disease again. The early development of the subject was largely stimulated by the fact that many patients died during the initial attack, and the consequent need for developing methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
XVII.—Quantitative Evolution. VII. The Diatoms
Authors: Small James
Published: June 2012

A Summary of the facts with numerical details omitted can be given as follows. In the diatoms—

1. Species-lifetimes have been alternatively short or long.

2. The main ratios of shorts to longs, or evanescents to permanents, e/p, are 3:1 for Centrales, 10:6 for Fragilariaceæ, 7:9 for allogamous Pennales. These ratios or nearest approaches to these ratios occur in the above three groups, (a) in each group as a whole; (b) in species-arising in each group per geological subperiod; and (c) in heterogeneous genera in each genus as a whole and in each genus per subperiod. A derivative 1:3 ratio also occurs in some pennate genera. There are some significant and understandable exceptions.
XXI.—Degenerative and Regenerative Changes at the Site of Trauma after Experimental Crush Injury of Peripheral Nerves
Authors: Bacsich P. , Wyburn G. M.
Published: June 2012

The main interest in the healing of an injured nerve centres, naturally, on the regeneration of the axon. As the birthplace of the new fibres the central stump has attracted and received considerable attention, and the histology of the peripheral stump has been very fully investigated, particularly by Cajal (1928), and more recently by Young (1942), Weddell and Glees (1941), and Holmes and Young (1942). In contrast to our accurate knowledge of conditions in the central and peripheral stumps, there are scant records of the progress of repair at the injured region when the lesion results in the total destruction of the nerve fibres.

In the course of experiments on rabbit sciatic nerves designed to test the effect of interference with the blood supply on the regeneration of injured nerve (Bacsich and Wyburn, 1945aand 1945b) total degeneration was accomplished by a severe crush with artery forceps. This gave us an opportunity to study the early histological changes in the crushed areas of these nerves.
XXIV.—The Use of Rats for Pressor Assays of Pituitary Extracts, with a Note on Response to Histamine and Adrenaline
Authors: Landgrebe F. W. , Macaulay M. H. I. , Waring H.
Published: June 2012

Intravenous injection of posterior lobe pituitary extracts into spinal or anæsthetised mammals has several effects. One is to elevate blood pressure. Two animal preparations are commonly used for the biological assay of this activity. Most American workers seem to favour a dog deeply anæsthetised with chloretone or chloralose. 10 per cent, accuracy is claimed. We have no experience of this preparation. There have been very few tracings published and those that we have seen do not inspire confidence. This apart, a method employing dogs is unlikely to find favour in this country because of the difficulty of obtaining, feeding, and housing suitable animals. Most workers in this country use the spinal cat. As originally described by Dale and Laidlaw (1912), the method employing this preparation was insensitive and open to grave errors. Hogben et al. (1924), after intensive study, showed that it could be sensitive, reliable, and susceptible of good discrimination. The Hogben procedure has been generally adopted.
XXVI.—Situs Inversus Viscerum in a White Rat (Mus norvegicus)
Authors: Gresson R. A. R. , Linn I. J.
Published: June 2012

Congenital transposition of the viscera has frequently been recorded in man. Figures relating to its incidence are quoted by O'Farrell (1941) and by Kean (1942), and the possible causes of reversal of symmetry are discussed by Cockayne (1939). A case of situs inversus viscerum in the cat is described by Wragg (1939), and one case was observed in the mouse by Grüneberg (1943). So far as the writers are aware this condition has not previously been recorded in the rat.
XXV.—Observations on the Birthcoats and Skins of Several Breeds and Crosses of British Sheep
Authors: Fraser A. S. , Hamada M. K. O.
Published: June 2012

Synopsis

The birthcoats of both coarse and fine-fleeced sheep can be separated into different types of fibres. Each type of fibre is formed by a particular type of follicle. The ratios of the different types of follicles are the same in all the breeds of British sheep studied, and therefore variation of the follicle population can be excluded as a factor in the evolution of the British types of fleeces. Some birthcoats are coarse, others are fine, and some birthcoats are short, others long. The two differences are independent both developmentally and genetically. In the few lambs studied, the coarse type is dominant over the fine type, and the short type is dominant over the long type. It is suggested that the Down shortwool fleece evolved along a different route from that which gave rise to the Merino shortwool fleece.