bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gaussian process modeling of large‐scale terrain
Authors: Vasudevan Shrihari , Ramos Fabio , Nettleton Eric , Durrant‐Whyte Hugh
Published: September 2009

Building a model of large‐scale terrain that can adequately handle uncertainty and incompleteness in a statistically sound way is a challenging problem. This work proposes the use of Gaussian processes as models of large‐scale terrain. The proposed model naturally provides a multiresolution representation of space, incorporates and handles uncertainties aptly, and copes with incompleteness of sensory information. Gaussian process regression techniques are applied to estimate and interpolate (to fill gaps in occluded areas) elevation information across the field. The estimates obtained are the best linear unbiased estimates for the data under consideration. A single nonstationary (neural network) Gaussian process is shown to be powerful enough to model large and complex terrain, effectively handling issues relating to discontinuous data. A local approximation method based on a “moving window” methodology and implemented using k‐dimensional (KD)‐trees is also proposed. This enables the approach to handle extremely large data sets, thereby completely addressing its scalability issues. Experiments are performed on large‐scale data sets taken from real mining applications. These data sets include sparse mine planning data, which are representative of a global positioning system–based survey, as well as dense laser scanner data taken at different mine sites. Further, extensive statistical performance evaluation and benchmarking of the technique has been performed through cross‐validation experiments. They conclude that for dense and/or flat data, the proposed approach will perform very competitively with grid‐based approaches using standard interpolation techniques and triangulated irregular networks using triangle‐based interpolation techniques; for sparse and/or complex data, however, it would significantly outperform them. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bayesian inference for the stereotype regression model: Application to a case–control study of prostate cancer
Authors: Ahn Jaeil , Mukherjee Bhramar , Banerjee Mousumi , Cooney Kathleen A.
Published: September 2009

The stereotype regression model for categorical outcomes, proposed by Anderson (J. Roy. Statist. Soc. B.1984;46:1–30) is nested between the baseline‐category logits and adjacent category logits model with proportional odds structure. The stereotype model is more parsimonious than the ordinary baseline‐category (or multinomial logistic) model due to a product representation of the log‐odds‐ratios in terms of a common parameter corresponding to each predictor and category‐specific scores. The model could be used for both ordered and unordered outcomes. For ordered outcomes, the stereotype model allows more flexibility than the popular proportional odds model in capturing highly subjective ordinal scaling which does not result from categorization of a single latent variable, but are inherently multi‐dimensional in nature. As pointed out by Greenland (Statist. Med.1994;13:1665–1677), an additional advantage of the stereotype model is that it provides unbiased and valid inference under outcome‐stratified sampling as in case–control studies. In addition, for matched case–control studies, the stereotype model is amenable to classical conditional likelihood principle, whereas there is no reduction due to sufficiency under the proportional odds model. In spite of these attractive features, the model has been applied less, as there are issues with maximum likelihood estimation and likelihood‐based testing approaches due to non‐linearity and lack of identifiability of the parameters. We present comprehensive Bayesian inference and model comparison procedure for this class of models as an alternative to the classical frequentist approach. We illustrate our methodology by analyzing data from The Flint Men's Health Study, a case–control study of prostate cancer in African‐American men aged 40–79 years. We use clinical staging of prostate cancer in terms of Tumors, Nodes and Metastasis as the categorical response of interest. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Understanding software maintenance and evolution by analyzing individual changes: a literature review
Authors: Benestad Hans Christian , Anda Bente , Arisholm Erik
Published: September 2009

Understanding, managing and reducing costs and risks inherent in change are key challenges of software maintenance and evolution, addressed in empirical studies with many different research approaches. Change‐based studies analyze data that describes the individual changes made to software systems. This approach can be effective in order to discover cost and risk factors that are hidden at more aggregated levels. However, it is not trivial to derive appropriate measures of individual changes for specific measurement goals. The purpose of this review is to improve change‐based studies by (1) summarizing how attributes of changes have been measured to reach specific study goals and (2) describing current achievements and challenges, leading to a guide for future change‐based studies. Thirty‐four papers conformed to the inclusion criteria. Forty‐three attributes of changes were identified, and classified according to a conceptual model developed for the purpose of this classification. The goal of each study was to either characterize the evolution process, to assess causal factors of cost and risk, or to predict costs and risks. Effective accumulation of knowledge across change‐based studies requires precise definitions of attributes and measures of change. We recommend that new change‐based studies base such definitions on the proposed conceptual model. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of Z‐scores to select a fetal biometric reference curve
Authors: Sananes N. , Guigue V. , Kohler M. , Bouffet N. , Cancellier M. , Hornecker F. , Hunsinger M. C. , Kohler A. , Mager C. , Neumann M. , Schmerber E. , Tanghe M. , Nisand I. , Favre R.
Published: September 2009

Objective

Fetal biometric data are a major part of prenatal ultrasound screening in the general population. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of choice of reference curve on the quality of screening for growth abnormalities, using a statistical tool based on Z‐scores.

Methods

The biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) were measured in 9699 ultrasound scans during the second trimester (20–24 weeks of gestation) and 8100 scans during the third trimester (30–34 weeks of gestation). These biometric data were all transformed retrospectively into Z‐scores, calculated using five reference curves: those published by Snijders and Nicolaides (1994), Chitty et al. (1994), Kurmanavicius et al. (1999) and Salomon et al. (2006), and curves used at our ultrasound unit generated from a sample of the local population. The Z‐score distribution was compared with the expected normal distribution by calculation of the mean and SD, and using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. The sensitivity and specificity of each reference curve were calculated to determine the capacity of these curves to identify fetuses with measurements < 5th percentile or > 95th percentile for each parameter.

Results

Most of the distribution curves determined from the Z‐scores of the measurements taken differed significantly from a non‐skewed standard normal curve (mean of 0 and SD of 1). In our population, the Chitty reference curves gave the best results for identifying fetuses with abnormal (< 5th percentile or > 95th percentile) BPD (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 97.24%), HC (sensitivity, 96.07%; specificity, 98.89%) and FL (sensitivity, 96.46%; specificity, 98.80%). The best reference for AC was the Salomon curve (sensitivity, 72.25%; specificity, 99.64%).

Conclusions

Checking for good concordance between the study population and chosen reference data is a key initial step in quality control. Z‐scores are a simple tool for evaluating the performance of each reference curve for a given population in order to optimize the sensitivity and specificity of screening for fetal growth abnormalities. Copyright © 2009 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Molecular beacons and related probes for intracellular RNA imaging
Authors: Santangelo Philip J.
Published: September 2009

Accurately imaging endogenous or non‐engineered RNA in live cells is not an easy task. Ideally, a probe and imaging strategy will have the following properties: (1) functional probes will be delivered to the desired cellular compartment, (2) they will achieve the correct level of affinity to bind target RNA efficiently but not inhibit their function, (3) be sensitive enough to allow for the accurate detection of the cellular RNA population, and (4) allow for the tracking of RNA through biogenesis, transport, translation, and degradation pathways. In this review, the capabilities of current nucleic acid‐based probes and strategies used to image native RNA are discussed and analyzed, and probe and strategy recommendations for new users are given. The review is concluded by addressing topics for future research, all in the hope of achieving the ideal RNA imaging probe and strategy. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2010 2 11–19

This article is categorized under:

Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology
Morphological Analysis of the Carpal Tunnel
Authors: Pacek Corey A. , Tang Jie , Goitz Robert J. , Kaufmann Robert A. , Li Zong-Ming
Published: September 2009

Although carpal tunnel release is one of the most commonly performed procedures in the USA, the morphology of the carpal tunnel as determined previously in the literature has been questioned. Previous methodology has been questioned for accuracy by recent studies. The purpose of this study was to perform a morphological analysis of the carpal tunnel and correlate carpal tunnel and hand dimensions. The carpal tunnels of ten cadaveric specimens were emptied of their contents and a silicone cast of the carpal tunnel was then created. This cast was then digitized, and the dimensions of the carpal tunnel were calculated. These dimensions were compared with the measured hand dimensions of the specimens. The width, depth, tilt angle, length, cross-sectional area, and volume of the carpal tunnel were 19.2 ± 1.7 mm, 8.3 ± 0.9 mm, 14.8 ± 7.8°, 12.7 ± 2.5 mm, 134.9 ± 23.6 mm2, and 1,737 ± 542 mm3, respectively. Width, depth, and cross-sectional area did not change significantly along the length of the carpal tunnel, but tilt angle did. The width of the palm strongly correlates with the width of the carpal tunnel. Other dimensional correlations did not reach statistical significance. The carpal tunnel is of uniform dimension along its length. The long axis of the carpal tunnel in cross-section rotates volarly from the radial side of the hand increasingly with distal progression along the carpal tunnel. Based on our analysis of ten cadaveric specimens, the width of the carpal tunnel may be estimated by the width of the palm using the equation: WidthCT = 1:285 +0:236 × Widthpalm.
Cytotoxicity Effects of Different Surfactant Molecules Conjugated to Carbon Nanotubes on Human Astrocytoma Cells
Authors: Dong Lifeng , Witkowski Colette M , Craig Michael M , Greenwade Molly M , Joseph Katherine L
Published: September 2009

Phase contrast and epifluorescence microscopy were utilized to monitor morphological changes in human astrocytoma cells during a time-course exposure to single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) conjugates with different surfactants and to investigate sub-cellular distribution of the nanotube conjugates, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that cytotoxicity of the nanotube/surfactant conjugates is related to the toxicity of surfactant molecules attached on the nanotube surfaces. Both sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) are toxic to cells. Exposure to CNT/SDS conjugates (0.5 mg/mL) for less than 5 min caused changes in cell morphology resulting in a distinctly spherical shape compared to untreated cells. In contrast, sodium cholate (SC) and CNT/SC did not affect cell morphology, proliferation, or growth. These data indicate that SC is an environmentally friendly surfactant for the purification and dispersion of SWCNTs. Epifluorescence microscopy analysis of CNT/DNA conjugates revealed distribution in the cytoplasm of cells and did not show adverse effects on cell morphology, proliferation, or viability during a 72-h incubation. These observations suggest that the SWCNTs could be used as non-viral vectors for diagnostic and therapeutic molecules across the blood–brain barrier to the brain and the central nervous system.
Multi-axial correction system in the treatment of radial club hand
Authors: Bhat Suneel B. , Kamath Atul F. , Sehgal Kriti , Horn B. David , Hosalkar Harish S.
Published: September 2009

Background

Radial club hand is a well-recognized congenital malformation characterized by hypoplasia of bone and soft tissue on the radial aspect of the forearm and hand. The modalities of treatment have traditionally varied from stretching casts with soft-tissue procedures to the use of multiple corrective osteotomies. These osteotomies can be stabilized by a variety of methods, including external fixators that allow the possibility of gradual distraction with neohistiogenesis. This current study outlines the usage of one such device (multi-axial correction system [MAC]) in the management of deformity associated with severe radial club hand.

Methods

Three consecutive cases of unilateral or bilateral severe (Bayne type IV) congenital radial club hand were corrected using MAC fixation in the last 5 years. This is a retrospective review of all three cases. Data parameters included: patient demographics, presentation findings, degree of deformity, amount of correction/lengthening, length of procedure, length of treatment, and associated complications. The surgical technique is described in detail for the benefit of the readership.

Results

The three patients with severe congenital radial club hand had a total of four limb involvements that underwent correction using osteotomies and usage of the MAC device for external fixation. All three patients underwent successful correction of deformity with the restoration of alignment, lengthening of forearm for improvement of function, and stabilization of the wrist (mean duration, mean lengthening, mean time to consolidation). The MAC system was well tolerated in all patients and associated complications were limited.

Conclusion

The MAC fixator seems to be a good alternative modality of stabilization and correction for severe congenital radial club hand deformities. Its usage is fairly simple and it provides the ease of application of a mono-lateral fixator with far superior three-dimensional control, like the circular external fixator. We recommend that clinicians should add this modality to their armamentarium for the deformity correction of severe radial club hand and others in general.
Transgene Stacking and Coordinated Expression of Plant Defensins Confer Fungal Resistance in Rice
Authors: Jha Sanjay , Chattoo Bharat Bhushan
Published: September 2009

Transgenic rice with cleavable chimeric polyprotein and single-protein gene constructs placed under the control of single maize ubiquitin promoter were generated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. The polyprotein precursor consists of a leader peptide and two different antimicrobial proteins (AMPs), Dm-AMP1 and Rs-AFP2, from the seeds of Dahlia merckii and Raphanus sativus, respectively. These genes were linked by a 16 amino acid Ib-AMP linker peptide region isolated from the seeds of Impatiens balsamina. Average expression of Dm-AMP1 and Rs-AFP2 was 8.35 ± 0.56 and 8.1 ± 0.6 2 g/mg of total soluble proteins in the leaf extracts of transgenic plants. Plants transformed with polyprotein construct showed significantly improved disease resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani by 90% and 79%, respectively, as compared to untransformed plants. The plants transformed with polyprotein construct were more resistant to M. oryzae compared to plants transformed with control single-gene constructs of Dm-AMP1 and Rs-AFP2. The chimeric polyprotein was cleaved and present in equimolar concentration in transgenic rice and the individual AMPs were secreted into the extracellular space. The results of in vitro, in planta, and microscopic analyses suggest that chimeric polyprotein expression has the potential to provide broad-spectrum disease resistance in rice.
Gene networks involved in apoptosis induced by hyperthermia in human lymphoma U937 cells
Authors: Furusawa Yukihiro , Tabuchi Yoshiaki , Takasaki Ichiro , Wada Shigehito , Ohtsuka Kenzo , Kondo Takashi
Published: September 2009

To define the molecular mechanisms that mediate hyperthermia‐induced apoptosis, we performed microarray and computational gene expression analyses. U937 cells, a human myelomonocytic lymphoma cell line, were treated with hyperthermia at 42 °C for 90 min and cultured at 37 °C. Apoptotic cells (∼15%) were seen 6 h after hyperthermic treatment, and elevated expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) including Hsp27, Hsp40, and Hsp70 was detected, following the activation of heat shock factor‐1. Of the 54,675 probe sets analyzed, 1334 were upregulated and 4214 were downregulated by >2.0‐fold in the cells treated with hyperthermia. A non‐hierarchical gene clustering algorithm, K‐means clustering, demonstrated 10 gene clusters. The gene network U1 or U2 that was obtained from up‐regulated genes in cluster I or IX contained HSPA1B, DNAJB1, HSPH1, and TXN or PML, LYN, and DUSP1, and were mainly associated with cellular compromise, and cellular function and maintenance or death, and cancer, respectively. In the decreased gene cluster II, the gene network D1 including CCNE1 and CEBPE was associated with the cell cycle and cellular growth and proliferation. These findings will provide a basis for understanding the detailed molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by hyperthermia at 42 °C in cells.
Effects of colchicine or demecolcine on cytoplasmic protrusions and assisted enucleation of golden hamster oocytes
Authors: Wang Lingyan , Jiang Han , Su Li , Tang Bo , Li Dexue , Li Ziyi
Published: September 2009

To establish experimental protocols for cloning golden hamsters, optimal concentrations of colchicine and demecolcine were determined for inducing cytoplasmic protrusion (containing chromosomes) and assisting enucleation of their oocytes. Denuded oocytes at different ages were treated with 2.5–10 μg/ml of colchicine for 1–4 h or 0.02–0.6 μg/ml of demecolcine for 15–60 min. Cytoplasmic protrusions of oocytes were removed with a micromanipulation pipette. The results show that: 1) at 13.5–18 h post‐hCG injection, ∼90% of oocytes treated for with 10 μg/ml of colchicine formed cytoplasmic protrusions, and in some oocytes enucleation occurred; 2) when treated with 0.4 μg/ml of demecolcine for 1 h, cytoplasmic protrusions 13.5–18 h post‐hCG treatment were present in almost all oocytes; 3) after the protrusions induced by either treatment had been removed, the assisted enucleation rate was >80%, whereas it was ∼32% with blind enucleation.
Genistein induces G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cells via activation of DNA damage checkpoint pathways
Authors: Ouyang Gaoliang , Yao Luming , Ruan Kai , Song Gang , Mao Yubin , Bao Shideng
Published: September 2009

Genistein is a major isoflavonoid in dietary soybean, commonly consumed in Asia. Genistein exerts inhibitory effects on the proliferation of various cancer cells and plays an important role in cancer prevention. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of genistein on human ovarian cancer cells are still little known. We show that exposure of human ovarian cancer HO‐8910 cells to genistein induces DNA damage, and triggers G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis. Furthermore, we also found that checkpoint proteins ATM and ATR are phosphorylated and activated in the cells treated with genistein. It is also shown that genistein increases the phosphorylation and activation of Chk1 and Chk2, which results in the phosphorylation and inactivation of phosphatases Cdc25C and Cdc25A, and thereby the phosphorylation and inactivation of Cdc2 which arrests cells in G2/M phase. Moreover, genistein enhances the phosphorylation and activation of p53, while decreases the ratio of Bcl‐2/Bax and Bcl‐xL/Bax and the level of phosphorylated Akt, which result in cells undergoing apoptosis. These results demonstrate that genistein‐activated ATM‐Chk2‐Cdc25 and ATR‐Chk1‐Cdc25 DNA damage checkpoint pathways can arrest ovarian cancer cells in G2/M phase, and induce apoptosis while the cellular DNA damage is too serious to be repaired. Thus, the antiproliferative, DNA damage‐inducing and pro‐apoptotic activities of genistein are probably responsible for its genotoxic effects on human ovarian cancer HO‐8910 cells.
Predicting pain and disability in patients with hand fractures: Comparing pain anxiety, anxiety sensitivity and pain catastrophizing
Authors: Keogh Edmund , Book Katrin , Thomas James , Giddins Grey , Eccleston Christopher
Published: September 2009

There is a range of anxiety‐related constructs associated with pain and pain‐related disability. Those most often examined are pain catastrophizing, pain anxiety and anxiety sensitivity. All three are conceptualized to be important in the development and maintenance of chronic pain, and are included within fear avoidance models. Surprisingly these constructs are not routinely examined together, and when they are, have been investigated in healthy individuals using experimental techniques or patients with chronic conditions. Although these constructs are also thought to be important in acute clinical pain, they tend not to been examined together in the same study. The focus of the current research was therefore to examine these three anxiety‐related constructs in an acute pain setting, and examine their relative influence on both pain and pain‐related functional disability. Participants were 82 patients with a hand fracture, recruited from a fracture clinic at a general hospital. They completed a battery of measures related to anxiety, pain and disability. Once controlling for injury‐related variables, catastrophizing was found to predict current pain, pain‐related anxiety predicted task‐related pain, whereas anxiety sensitivity was (negatively) associated with disability. These findings are discussed in light of the relative role that these anxiety‐related constructs have in pain and disability, as well as implications for future research.
The Breeding-Back of the Aurochs
Authors: Heck Heinz
Published: September 2009

Every lover of nature regrets that man has exterminated so many kinds of animals or that these have lost their means of living and become extinct through changes brought about on the earth's surface to meet Man's increasing needs.
Man and the Zebra
Authors: Menzies J. I.
Published: September 2009

The African fauna has been subjected to pressure from two far distant sources. In the north the well armed Moors and Arabs have long ruled the land, and it is in this region that the faunal population has been most seriously depleted. The Atlantic Ass, depicted in Roman mosaics, disappeared long ago, the Rufous Gazelle and Bubal Hartebeeste have likewise vanished.
Jungle Tales of a Grandfather
Authors: Lushington P. M.
Published: September 2009

I could fill a book with stories about that dear fellow, the Indian elephant, had he not been immortalized by Rudyard Kipling's famous story of that little upstart “Toomai”. The Times has also written about him, and Mr. Craven Hill, F.Z.S., has told stories of his sense of fun.
Report on a Visit to East Africa
Authors: Caldwell Keith
Published: September 2009

I reached Nairobi on 29th December, 1950, and left on 4th May, 1951, after covering about 4,000 miles. With the exception of a visit to Dar-es-Salaam the whole of my time was spent in Kenya.
Notes on Zebras: The Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra zebra)
Authors: Bigalke R.
Published: September 2009

The Mountain Zebra National Park.—The Mountain Zebra National Park was established with six Cape Mountain Zebras (only one of these a mare) on the 2nd July, 1937, by Proclamation No. 112 of 1937.
Other Zebras
Authors: Steyn T. J.
Published: September 2009

Although scattered and greatly reduced in numbers, Hartmann's Zebras (form(s) of Mountain Zebra) still seem to occur over practically the whole mountainous coastal region of South-West Africa, west of the Namib, from the Orange River in the south to beyond the Cunene in the north.
The International Union for the Protection of Nature: Technical Meeting, the Hague 19th–22nd September, 1951
Authors: Boyle Valerie
Published: September 2009

On 19th September there assembled at The Hague some 130 people of many nationalities with a common interest in problems of nature protection. Through the courtesy of the Netherlands authorities the meeting was held in the Rolzaal, an upper chamber of the fine old thirteenth century Ridderzaal, or Knights' Hall, in the centre of the Binnenhof.
The Fauna of Jubaland
Authors: Ward John N. , Sorrell David S.
Published: September 2009

The object of these notes is to give a record of the wild life living in the Lower Juba area of Somalia, and to assist visitors to Jubaland in finding the haunts of the various animals described. The writers do not presume to lay down the methods of identifying these animals because more knowledgeable authors have already done this elsewhere.

The Lower Juba is that area which was the Administrative District of Kismayu under the recent British occupation. It extends from Ghesgud to Dujuma on the left bank of the Juba River, and contains all the land between the right bank of the river and the Kenya border from Ras Ciamboni to Dif, lying south of a line Dif-Dujuma (see map).
Jungle Tales of a Grandfather
Authors: Lushington P. M.
Published: September 2009

I have not been without experience of this beautiful beast for, when living at Coimbatore, I had a youngster living in my back verandah in amity with my cats and dogs for a short period but the time came when I had to go to camp and I felt that I must part with him. So off he went to the zoo and I heard no more of him.
I.U.P.N. Second General Assembly
Authors: Smith G. F. Herbert
Published: September 2009

The second session of the General Assembly of the International Union for the Protection of Nature was held in the Institut de Sociologie, Leopold Park, Brussels, from 18th to 23rd October, 1950, the first having been held two years previously at Fontainebleau, immediately after the establishment of I.U.P.N. The United Kingdom was represented by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith (Leader), Miss P. Barelay-Smith, Dr. John Berry, Captain Keith Caldwell, Mr. A. B. Duncan, Dr. F. C. Fraser, and Dr. J. Ramsbottom. Thirty-four countries and twelve international organizations were represented. The President and Secretary-General were Dr. Ch. J. Bernard and Mr. J. P. Harroy who hold corresponding offices in the Union.
The Balance of Nature
Authors: Pitman C. R. S.
Published: September 2009

The balance of nature is an expression which is apt to be loosely invoked for all manner of purposes, but where wild life is concerned it is often used as an argument to prevent any alteration to an existing state of affairs. Man, however, in actual fact is ceaselessly upsetting the equilibrium of nature and almost every action of his upsets a natural balance, for instance, to mention but a few—developing agriculture, planting forests, cutting out forests, draining swamps, constructing dams and reservoirs, building great airfields or making new roads and railways. All this change is unavoidable and inevitable and no one can foresee the effect it is likely to have on the local wild life; sometimes the results are indeed remarkable. But the narrower interpretation of upsetting the balance of nature refers mainly to a situation in which there is for a variety of purposes the deliberate intent to alter the status of wild life, may be by the introduction of an exotic species, maybe by the elimination of a species already present. Such drastic changes can, though not necessarily, be fraught with considerable danger to the other species, and introductions into a favourable environment where natural enemies are absent or do not develop may result in the unimpeded and disastrous multiplication of the introduced species, such as the well-known examples of the rabbit in Australia, and the English sparrow in the U.S.A. So far my remarks have related to what can be termed an artificial alteration of nature's balance, oblivious of the fact that nature is not static and that nature itself is in a never-ceasing state of change. When I refer to nature not only do I mean the climate, the physical features, the forests, the vegetation and the wild life, but I include primitive man who always was and is, where he still occurs, part of nature. Primitive man filled his own little niche in the order of things, and with his primitive weapons and implements had little lasting effect on the zoological and botanical world around him.
Wild Life in Seychelles
Authors: Foster-Vesey-FitzGerald Desmond
Published: September 2009

The tiny British colony of Seychelles lies in the midst of the Indian Ocean 900 miles east of Africa. The Islands are unique in being the only oceanic islands composed of continental rocks. They are fragments of a lost continent, a fact reflected in their possession of a whole group of archaic legless amphibians which have only survived as rare relics in the outside world. But besides these obscure creatures which are only of interest to the specialist, there are several other endemic species both of animals and plants, that have happily survived till the present time.
The Protection of the Agrimi: Further Notes
Authors: Farmar Hugh
Published: September 2009

After my report was in print I received Bulletin No. 6 of the Commission de la Chasse en Montagne dated the 21st July, 1952. This bulletin contains a very interesting section on the game of Greece and, in particular, a report by M. Georges Livas on the Cretan wild goat and the goats on the island of Ghyaros (Ghiura), in the Northern Sporades, and on the island of Antimilos.
The Whaling Convention
Authors: Bertram G. C. L.
Published: September 2009

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in 1946. It is one of the better examples of healthy international co-operation. This brief article endeavours to give some indication of the scope of the Convention itself and of the Commission which meets annually. For further information it is most convenient to look first at the articles and notes which appear from time to time in the Polar Record and in Norsk Hvalfangst Tidende. The latter journal in its issue for July, 1952, sets out the Convention and its Schedules in full.
The Fauna of Tristan da Cunha
Authors: Elliott H. F. I.
Published: September 2009

The Faunal List of Tristan is thus so far as at present known made up as follows:—

For a small group of islands inhabited by people of European stock for over 125 years, the record of only one species rendered extinct (and that survived by an almost indistinguishable cousin) is better than average and should be easily maintained provided—

(a) the idea of properly “farming” birds is firmly inculcated into the islanders. Abstention from exploitation of scarcer species should be easy so long as the adequate provisioning of the island can be maintained.
Status of the Three Asiatic Rhinoceros
Authors: Shebbeare E. O.
Published: September 2009

I will begin by admitting how slight is my own first-hand knowledge of the three species except for the great one-horned rhinoceros with which I am, or was, fairly familiar during the thirty years that I spent in Bengal and Assam. Although the little two-horned rhinoceros was still said to exist in the Chittagong forests, while I was there at intervals between 1923 and 1930 I never saw even the tracks of this species until I went to Malaya in 1938. Even there, although I got to know its haunts reasonably well, I only caught two fleeting glimpses of the animal itself. As for the third species, the smaller onehorned rhinoceros, I have never even seen its tracks.
Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia: The Nyika Plateau and its Faunistic Significance
Authors: Benson C. W.
Published: September 2009

There has this year been correspondence in the London Times about the possibility of creating a national park out of part of the Nyika Plateau; notably the letter from the Secretary of the Fauna Preservation Society, published on 6th April, 1953, and that from Sir George Stapledon on 10th April. The information below consists of a general account of the plateau and some more specialized notes, derived mainly from knowledge of the birds, with a view to indicating the faunistic isolation of the area.
Uganda: Extracts from the Report of the Uganda National Parks for the Year 1952, the First Report
Authors: Dreschfield R.
Published: September 2009

I think at this preliminary stage it would be appropriate if we set out the principles which will govern us in managing the National Parks on behalf of the public of the Protectorate. We, the Trustees, are not a tourist agency nor are we hotel keepers or a bus company. Our duty is to preserve the areas which have been set aside as National Parks as sanctuaries for wild life and as areas which in perpetuity can be preserved for the recreation primarily of the people of Uganda. The facilities which we may grant to tourists who wish to visit the Parks will be secondary to our main function. It should, however, be borne in mind that while these facilities are secondary they are important, as the tourist industry provides directly some of the revenue necessary for running the Parks and also brings money into the country and so provides revenue for the Protectorate Government, thus assisting it in making grants towards the upkeep of the Parks.
The Canadian Wildlife Service—its Functions and Scope
Authors: Lewis Harrison F.
Published: September 2009

The Canadian Wildlife Service is a Division of the National Parks Branch, Department of Resources and Development. It deals with wild life questions coining within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government of Canada, except certain matters handled by the National Museum and some other matters closely related to Indian Affairs. Its responsibilities may be grouped in the following items:—

To advise the National Parks Service and to co-operate with it in dealing with fish and wild life problems in the National Parks of Canada.
Field Research on British Bats
Authors: Blackmore Michael
Published: September 2009

Comparatively little work has been done to ascertain the distribution and habits of British bats. Much of the data in standard works on mammals is scanty and some of the more detailed accounts of habits appear to have been based on behaviour in captivity, which may vary considerably from that of bats in their natural environment.
The Seals of the Falkland Islands and Dependencies
Authors: Laws R. M.
Published: September 2009

The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey has established and maintained a number of antarctic bases since 1945. They are located on the Graham Land peninsula, in the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands, and at South Georgia; over the years a great deal of general information about the various species of seals has accumulated. I have spent a total of thirty-six months in the Dependencies between 1948 and 1951 and some weeks in the Falkland Islands, occupied with a special study of the elephant seal, although opportunities were taken for work on other species. As a result we now have a fairly comprehensive picture of the status of the various pinniped species in this sector of the southern oceans.
Game Preservation in Nyasaland
Authors: Mitchell B. L.
Published: September 2009

As a result of the broken nature of much of Nyasaland and the diversity of its climate there is a correspondingly wide range of vegetation offering very varied habitats to wild life. From an alpine zone, containing giant lobelias on the Nyika Plateau and mountain grasslands with residual patches of broadleaved evergreen forest, occurring over all the plateaux above about 6,000 feet, the country drops into the Brachystegia woodland. This in its many forms covers most of the main watersheds of the country. The alluvial soils lying along the larger rivers on the plain of Lake Nyasa and down the Shire valley are characterized by mixtures of Acacia and Combretum species growing in grass which is long and intensely thick. Copaifera mopane woodland covers parts of the floor of the Shire valley, whilst on the poor sandy soils of the Lower Shire there are a number of patches of deciduous forests and thickets, some of which are virtually impenetrable except along paths made by the larger game animals. The only approach to open plains is found in the region of Lake Chilwa.
An Expedition to the Tana River, Kenya Colony
Authors: Percy H. E. , Percy R. C. , Ridley M. W.
Published: September 2009

Our expedition to the Tana was a prelude to five months spent collecting birds and other small vertebrates of various kinds in Kenya and Uganda.
Sea Pollution: British Call for Action by all Maritime Countries
Authors: Boyle C. L.
Published: September 2009

To secure international action to stop oil pollution of the sea the British Government has invited some forty other maritime countries to send representatives to a conference in London in April. For years the pollution by oil of coastal waters and of the shores of Britain and other countries has been an expensive nuisance to humanity and has led to the lingering and horrible death of countless sea birds. It has now become intolerable. It is true that since 1922 discharge of oil within three miles of the coast has been legally prohibited and that in 1926 shipowners of many countries voluntarily adopted a 50-mile limit. Unfortunately little success has rewarded these efforts.
Rare Animals at Woburn: The Preservation Work of the Late Duke of Bedford
Authors: Whitehead G. Kenneth
Published: September 2009

With the tragic death, through a shooting accident, of the 12th Duke of Bedford on the 9th October, 1953, the Fauna Preservation Society has lost one of its most able members, for not only was he keenly interested in anything connected with the preservation of wild life, but at Woburn he was also actively engaged in preserving certain species of ruminants that might otherwise have been lost to mankind for ever.
The Deer of Epping Forest
Authors: Buxton Anthony
Published: September 2009

My home was on the edge of Epping Forest and my father, the late Edward North Buxton, was a very active verderer of that forest for practically the whole of his life. He was moreover in the forefront of the fight to save the forest as an open space for the public. From very early days I was constantly in the forest and at once began to take an interest in its deer.
The Guanaco
Authors: de La Tour G. Dennler
Published: September 2009

In South America there are many animals, such as chinchillas, coypus and armadillos, which have no near relatives elsewhere. Among them are the South American camelidae, which are not true camels but only camel-like. They have no hump, their ears are proportionately long and their tails short and bushy, but their slender build and long necks remind one of camels. Like camels, they walk on two toes or phalanges, on the last one, as do all artiodactyles, and also on the penultimate one, so that they seem to be rather digitigrades than unguligrades. Behind their relatively long claws, below the second phalange, there is a kind of little cushion which serves as a callous sole.
Wild Life in Kenya: A Consideration of Animals and Their Habitats
Authors: Foster-Vesey-Fitzgerald Desmond
Published: September 2009

It is encouraging to report that, except for some forms of less than specific rank, no animal of East Africa has become extinct and most species are still abundant. There is still time to save the interesting fauna in its natural habitat, provided reserves are chosen wisely.
The Mijeti
Authors: Hayes G. D.
Published: September 2009

The Mijeti Non-Shooting Area, in the north-west corner of the Chikwawa district of Nyasaland, comprises some 150–200 square miles of very broken and stony hill country clothed mostly with rather poor Brachystegia scrub, though small areas of bettergrown Brachystegia and Pterocarpus are to be found. The grass on the hills is seldom higher than about 3 feet, but in the dambos it often reaches a height of 8 to 10 feet. These “dambos” are open grassy glades which may be quite dry for half the year but which, owing to the high water-table during the rains, are almost treeless.
Reptiles and Amphibians in Britain
Authors: Leutscher Alfred
Published: September 2009

In Britain there are three snakes, three lizards, three frogs (two of them introduced), two toads and three newts. This poor list, only fourteen species, can be explained by the intense cold of a past Ice Age, during which it is doubtful whether any of these cold-blooded creatures survived. If not, they must have returned after the melting of the snows and glaciers. During the great thaw Britain was for some thousands of years still connected with the Continent. Then, as the sea-level rose and a certain amount of earth-sinking took place, much of the land became waterlogged. Finally, about 8,000 years ago, the last land bridge was severed, the sea cut through to form the Straits of Dover, and Britain became an island. It should be noted that all our species are found also on the Continent, and that they diminish in numbers and species as one travels north. Ireland has the poorest supply, since it was the first to break away.
Bats in the Bishop's Stortford Area
Authors: Hayden J. , Kirkby P.
Published: September 2009

In the winter of 1951–52 a few members of the Bishop's Stortford College Natural History Society decided to make a particular study of the bats frequenting the local countryside, both during the period of hibernation and in the active season.
Wild Life in Tanganyika: A Consideration of Animals and their Habitats
Authors: Foster-Vesey-FitzGerald Desmond
Published: September 2009

A study of the vegetation map of Tanganyika, Gillman, 1949, reveals three main plant associations. In the northern division the predominating vegetation is bush and thicket, wooded grassland and grassland. Here much Acacia country and scenery reminiscent of Kenya will be found. The other divisions are the western and south-eastern where the familiar catena—woodland, wooded grassland, valley grassland—is repeatedly represented.
Uganda
Authors: Tokwara J.
Published: September 2009

In a foreword to the report Mr. R. Dreschfield, the Chairman, writes: “There has been steady and thorough work in the field of game preservation. The wardens have got to know their areas, have set up ranger posts, have practically stopped poaching, and have carried on considerable research into the game. This is our most important work and the work to which we, as trustees, are by law committed. The long title to the Ordinance which is the fount of our existence reads: ‘An Ordinance to provide for the Establishment of National Parks for the purpose of preserving Wild Animal Life, Wild Vegetation, and providing for other matters incidental thereto.’ Necessary, therefore, as it is to provide transport, accommodation, and observation facilities within the parks, we and the public must remember that these activities are only incidental to our main purpose.
The Eider Duck and the Spoonbill in the Netherlands
Authors: van Oordt G. J.
Published: September 2009

The first record of the eider breeding in the Netherlands was a report in 1906 by the German ornithologist, O. Leege. He gave the site as the island of Vlieland, north-east of Texel. Few further such observations were made until 1925 when I myself estimated the total number of breeding females on Viieland as ten, chiefly in the western part. Since then protective measures have been taken. A keeper has regularly visited the reserved area, eggs have been protected from herring gulls as far as possible, and when a breeding bird has accidentally been flushed, her eggs have been covered up with down.
Nature Protection in the Sudan: A Tribute to the Work of Major W. R. Barker, O.B.E.
Authors: Forbes Arthur
Published: September 2009

Major Barker spent nearly twenty years of his life in the Game Preservation Department of the Sudan. During the last fifteen years he worked single-handed with only a clerk to help him. The Sudan is nearly a million square miles in area, and in Major Barker's days the methods of communication were road, rail, and river only. Yet he managed during his service to create two national parks and ten game reserves, to bring the game laws up to date in such a form that they could be easily enforced, and to leave game preservation throughout most of the country in an excellent state.
Wild Life in Arabia
Authors: Foster-Vesey-Fitzgerald Desmond
Published: September 2009

Open plains, scorching and shadeless during the summer, windswept and freezing during the winter night, present a hard environment indeed. The surprising fact is that any form of wild life has been able to exist in such utterly waterless places. Yet up to the beginning of the present century an interesting assemblage of animals existed in the Arabian desert. Even when modern rifles came into general use the species held their own in the vast spaces to a very satisfactory extent. But the last decade has witnessed the advent of a shocking predator, namely the “Mighty Jeep”. It cannot be long now before motorized hunting parties will sweep Arabia's fauna into uttermost corners, where a subsequent drought will whiten its bones.
The Kruger National Park
Authors: Stevenson-Hamilton J.
Published: September 2009

The Kruger National Park, together with the less known national parks of the Union of South Africa, is governed by a Board of ten unpaid Trustees, ultimately responsible to the Minister of Lands. This Board maintains a considerable bureaucratic staff under a paid secretary, with offices in Pretoria. Attached to it are various salaried scientific experts, zoologists, botanists, and others, with such personal staffs as may be found necessary.
Wild Life in Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Sorrell D. S.
Published: September 2009

During 1950 and early 1951 I was fortunate enough to be able to study and observe the state of wild life in South Ethiopia, a privilege that few Europeans can claim in recent years. The area concerned lies north of the Kenya border and stretches from Lake Rudolf in the west, eastwards some 500 miles to Dolo and beyond into the Bale-Ogaden territory, including the Provincesof Sidamo-Borana and Gamu-Gofa (but excluding North Sidamo and the Omo River).
A Criticism
Authors: Cansdale G. S.
Published: September 2009

To those unaware of the position in the Gold Coast the first reaction to the above report is probably one of satisfaction that a game department has at last been established and that work has started, but a careful examination of the report raises a number of doubts as to the value of the work that has been done. It is perhaps worth while commenting on the Report in the light of personal knowledge, and after detailed discussion with other officers interested in game, who know the areas concerned.
The Supposed “Tiger-Cat” of Queensland
Authors: Burton Maurice
Published: September 2009

The evidence for the existence of a large marsupial “tigercat” in Queensland, Australia, is meagre, and this, together with an absence of tangible relics, makes for a lack of credence. On the other hand, one may go further and suggest that even this little evidence has been accorded an unjustified obscurity. There is, therefore, this much excuse for returning to it, if only to bring the few fragments together for those who may wish to reflect on them.