bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE MULTIMODAL TREATMENT OF CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA – ANALYSIS BASED ON A SINGLE CENTER EXPERIENCE
Authors: Neagos Horatiu Ciprian , Graur Florin , Neagos Otilia Elena , Dumitrascu Dinu Iuliu , Mihaileanu Florin , Vlad Liviu
Published: April 2015

The hilar and intrahepatic location represents the most frequent positioning of cholangiocarcinoma. Late diagnosis, tumour resection - as the sole method of radical treatment require a multimodal approach of this form of malignancy.Material and methods. The paper is based on a retrospective study conducted on a series of 56 patients diagnosed with hilar and peripheral cholangiocarcinoma admitted and treated in the 3rd Surgical Clinic Cluj-Napoca between September 2004 - December 2010. The series included patients treated with radical or palliative surgical treatment, or patients who underwent minimally invasive treatment of biliary endoscopic or percutaneous drainage followed or not by surgery. We analyzed the data on the postoperative morbidity and mortality, surgical re-interventions, the percentage of patients who received curative resection with radical intention or palliative treatment.Conclusions. Cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive form of cancer and commonly diagnosed late. The cholangiocarcinoma resectability results are comparable to those in literature and may be improved by increasing the number of tumor resections with negative resection margins. The main goal of the palliative procedures is the improvement and remission of the obstructive jaundice, in most cases being successful. The multimodality of the cholangiocarcinoma treatment is a reality, but also a goal in the group of patients studied, the number of patients in which the sequential treatment biliary drainage – surgical treatment were applied being still low.
Unusual Skin Metastasis in a Patient with Recurrent Micropapillary Serous Ovarian Carcinoma – A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Achimaş-Cadariu Patriciu , Vlad Cătălin , Fetica Bogdan , Zgaia Armeana , Cainap Calin
Published: April 2015

The presence of skin metastasis in ovarian cancer patients is uncommon and related with poor prognosis. We report a 49-year-old patient with recurrent ovarian cancer presented with extensive skin metastasis on the anterior chest (including bilateral breast skin), lower abdomen, vulva and the upper part of the lower limbs at 21 months after initial diagnosis of ovarian cancer. The skin biopsy revealed metastasis of adenocarcinoma in the dermis. The patient underwent  palliative chemotherapy and she died after 2 months of the diagnosis of the skin metastasis. It is the first case of skin metastasis from a micropapillary serous ovarian carcinoma published in Romania.
Upper altitudinal and southern geographic range extensions for Cruziohyla craspedopus (Anura: Hylidae) (Funkhouser, 1957) in Ecuador
Authors: Núñez Darwin , Riera-Vite Trotsky , Orellana Flavio , Brito Jorge
Published: April 2015

We report the southernmost record of Cruziohyla craspedopus in Ecuador. An adult female was collected in the province of Zamora Chinchipe in southern Ecuador in the Cordillera del Condor. This record increases the previously reported altitudinal range for the species by 468 m and extends the distribution by 105 km to the south.
Submicronic etched features of silicon with high aspect ratio obtained by cryogenic plasma deep-etching through perforated polymer thin films
Authors: Vital A. , Boufnichel M. , Dussart R. , Gosset N. , Lefaucheux P. , Sinturel C. , Tillocher T. , Vayer M.
Published: April 2015

We report the preparation of nanomasks for silicon plasma etching, which is not based on full top-down approaches such as conventional lithographic process. We used laterally phase separated polymers thin films (30 to 100 nm thick) obtained from immiscible polymer blends of poly(styrene) PS and poly(lactide) PLA, PS being the major component, spin-coated onto silicon substrates. Despite the high incompatibility of the two polymers, submicronic domains were obtained in the film. The selective extraction of the minor component (PLA) led to the formation of a perforated layer of PS at the top of the silicon substrate, and was used as a mask for the selective etching of the silicon. For that purpose, we used a cryogenic etching process where the silicon substrate was cooled at a cryogenic temperature (∼ -120°C) and exposed to a monocyclic SF6/O2 plasma. It was possible to etch anisotropic profiles with vertical sidewalls and minimal defects. Etched feature with an aspect ratio of 7 were obtained in these conditions. We determined that the selectivity of etching (Si/PS) was 11:1, with a silicon etching rate of 0.8 µm/min. The selectivity of these masks was further increased when using the inorganic replicas of the polymer template (50:1) or with chemical modifications of the PS by RuO4 (80:1), allowing for increased aspect ratio etched features (up to 20 in the latter case). Optimized etching processes (such as STiGer process) were also used in order to improve the reproducibility and robustness of the method.
Incorporation of Cd1-xMgx Te as an Electron Reflector for Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Cells
Authors: Swanson Drew E. , Abbas Ali , Munshi Amit H. , Drayton Jennifer A. , Raguse John M. , Geisthardt Russell M. , Sites James R. , Sampath Walajabad S.
Published: April 2015

The addition of a CdMgTe (CMT) layer at the back of a CdTe solar cell should improve its performance by reflecting both photoelectrons and forward-current electrons away from the rear surface. Higher collection of photoelectrons will increase the cell’s current, and reduction of forward current will increase its voltage. To achieve electron reflection, conformal CMT layers were deposited at the back of CdTe cells, and a variety of measurements including performance curves, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were performed. Oxidation of magnesium in the CMT layer was addressed by adding a CdTe capping layer. MgCl2 passivation was substituted for CdCl2 in some cases, but little difference was seen.
Lucius’ Lucid Dream
Authors: Roubekas Nickolas P.
Published: April 2015

In Book 11 of Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses the protagonist, Lucius, transformed into an ass due to misusage of witchcraft encounters Isis through a dream while sleeping at a remote beach in central Greece. This incident results in the retransformation of Lucius into a man and his subsequent dedication to Isis. However, the information we have from the text regarding both what preceded and followed Lucius’ dream suggest that, instead of arguing that Lucius had a mystical experience that led to his conversion, it could be well argued that what he experienced was a lucid dream, i.e., an altered state of consciousness. This article suggests that such alterations of human consciousness may lead to religious conversion when the subject that has such experiences believes that supernatural agents may provide a solution to her/his problems.
Fatores associados à imunização contra Hepatite B entre trabalhadores da Estratégia Saúde da Família
Authors: Martins Andréa Maria Eleutério de Barros Lima , Costa Fernanda Marques da , Ferreira Raquel Conceição , Santos Neto Pedro Eleutério dos , Magalhaes Tatiana Almeida de , Sá Maria Aparecida Barbosa de , Pordeus Isabela Almeida
Published: April 2015

Estudo transversal conduzido entre trabalhadores da Estratégia Saúde da Família de Montes Claros. Objetivo: investigar o relato de vacinação contra Hepatite B, a verificação da imunização e os fatores associados às dosagens de anti-HBs. Método: coletaram-se amostras de sangue daqueles que relataram ter recebido uma ou mais doses da vacina. Avaliou-se a associação da dosagem de anti-HBs com condições sociodemográficas, ocupacionais e comportamentais. As associações foram verificadas pelos testes Mann Whitney e Kruskal Wallis e correlação de Spermann seguida pela regressão linear, utilizou-se o SPSS® 17.0. Resultados: dentre os 761 entrevistados, 504 (66,1%) foram vacinados, 52,5% tomaram três doses, 30,4% verificaram a imunização. Dos 397 avaliados quanto à dosagem de anti-HBs, 16,4% estavam imunes. Conclusão: constatou-se que o maior tempo de trabalho foi associado a níveis mais elevados de anti-HBs, enquanto os níveis de tabagismo foram inversamente associados ao anti-HBs. Há necessidade de campanhas de vacinação entre esses trabalhadores.
Adesão das pessoas com diabetes mellitus ao autocuidado com os pés
Authors: Rezende Neta Dinah Sá , Silva Ana Roberta Vilarouca da , Silva Grazielle Roberta Freitas da
Published: April 2015

Objetivo: analisar o autocuidado de pacientes com diabetes mellitus tipo 2 na Estratégia Saúde da Família, em Teresina-PI. Método: pesquisa transversal selecionou, por amostragem probabilística simples, 331 pessoas com diabetes mellitus. A coleta de dados aconteceu de agosto a dezembro de 2012, com uso de questionário de atividades de autocuidado com o diabetes e instrumento estruturado para registro de informações socioeconômicas e orientações recebidas pelo profissional enfermeiro. Resultados: os dados revelaram que os pacientes têm baixa adesão à automonitorização glicêmica, à prática de exercícios físicos e cuidados com os pés, porém com boa aderência ao uso da medicação. Apenas 38,7% da amostra examinavam os pés de cinco a sete dias na semana. Houve associação estatisticamente signifi cativa entre as atividades de autocuidado com os pés e as orientações do enfermeiro (p < 0,05). Conclusão: conclui-se que há necessidade de sensibilização no concernente ao desenvolvimento de habilidades para o autocuidado.
Prevenção e manejo não farmacológico da dor no recém-nascido
Authors: Motta Giordana de Cássia Pinheiro da , Cunha Maria Luzia Chollopetz da
Published: April 2015

Objetivo: apresentar os principais métodos não farmacológicos de alívio da dor no recém-nascido disponíveis para utilização na Unidade de Tratamento Intensivo Neonatal. Método: pesquisa bibliográfica do tipo exploratória nas bases de dados online MEDLINE, LILACS e SciELO, no período de 2004 a 2013. Resultados: uma variedade de intervenções não farmacológicas se mostra efetiva, apresentando baixo risco para os neonatos e baixo custo operacional, sendo as mais discutidas na literatura: uso de glicose/sacarose via oral, sucção não nutritiva, amamentação, contato pele a pele, contenção facilitada e enrolamento. Conclusão: é importante que a equipe de saúde conheça os métodos para melhor utilizá-los no dia a dia da Unidade de Tratamento Intensivo Neonatal, garantindo um cuidado qualificado e humanizado ao recém-nascido.
Articulando perspectivas teóricas para analisar a informática em saúde no Brasil
Authors: Fornazin Marcelo , Joia Luiz Antonio
Published: April 2015

Ao longo dos últimos trinta anos, o Brasil vem desenvolvendo sistemas de informação em saúde (SIS). Porém, ainda hoje, esses SIS são fragmentados e tentativas de integrá-los fracassaram. A situação atual leva a questionamentos tais como: quais as barreiras existentes à utilização das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC) na saúde? Quais são as consequências causadas à sociedade brasileira por tal situação? Em linha com isso, este ensaio articula duas escolas de pensamento – (a) TIC em países em desenvolvimento e (b) informação e informática em saúde –, de forma a propor um modelo para analisar a informatização da saúde no Brasil. Tal modelo considera a informática em saúde como uma política pública que objetiva desenvolver e aplicar TIC para atender às necessidades de saúde da sociedade, definindo atributos de qualidade para tal política, quais sejam: democratização, eficácia, preservação e sinergia. Além disso, o modelo permite analisar a trajetória dessa política pública por meio dos atores a ela associados – políticos, burocratas e sociedade civil –, os quais interagem em espaços influenciados por elementos como sistemas e padrões prévios, bem como com outras políticas públicas relacionadas.
Fatores que influenciam o acesso aos serviços de saúde na visão de profissionais e usuários de uma unidade básica de referência
Authors: Viegas Anna Paula Bise , Carmo Rose Ferraz , Luz Zélia Maria Profeta da
Published: April 2015

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o acesso de usuários de uma Unidade Básica de Referência (UBR) aos serviços de saúde de um município da região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 15 profissionais de saúde e aplicado questionário semiestruturado a 38 usuários. As entrevistas abordaram características do atendimento local, da equipe de saúde, dos usuários e da rede prestadora de serviços de saúde. Os questionários abordaram características sociodemográficas e de saúde dos usuários. A análise dos resultados das entrevistas e questionários foi apresentada com base nas dimensões estrutural (financiamento, cobertura), relacional (compreensão do processo saúde-doença) e operacional (organização dos serviços). Na dimensão estrutural, verificou-se que o subfinanciamento do sistema de saúde constitui uma dificuldade para o acesso aos serviços de saúde e para a implantação da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF); na dimensão relacional, a ausência de alinhamento sobre a estrutura e os fluxos de funcionamento do sistema de saúde impacta negativamente na relação do profissional com o usuário; e na dimensão operacional, profissionais de saúde e usuários relataram importantes lacunas tais como cobertura da ESF, marcação de consulta, acolhimento, barreiras geográficas, referência e contrarreferência. As informações obtidas neste trabalho são importantes para compreender os fatores que influenciam o acesso aos serviços de saúde da população estudada e colaborar para o desenvolvimento de estratégias voltadas para melhoria do acesso.
Panorama da coleta seletiva com catadores no município de Maputo, Moçambique: desafıos e perspectivas
Authors: Buque Lina Ivette Bartolomeu , Ribeiro Helena
Published: April 2015

Em Maputo, a coleta seletiva ocorre de forma restrita, majoritariamente como resultado de iniciativas não governamentais ou individuais. Este estudo apresenta um panorama desses projetos e enfatiza iniciativas em parceria com o município. O objetivo foi analisar experiências de coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos domiciliares em parcerias com organizações de catadores em Maputo, Moçambique, a fim de avaliar suas perspectivas. Foram realizadas pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais e entrevistas qualitativas semiestruturadas com: representante da Direção Municipal de Saúde e Salubridade do Município de Maputo; coordenadores administrativos de quatro organizações de catadores (Recicla, Fertiliza, Amor e Pagalata). Além disso, foram feitas visitas técnicas aos galpões/usinas de triagem e estações de coleta dessas organizações. As iniciativas, embora, em conjunto, desviem menos de 1% dos resíduos sólidos urbanos produzidos no município, foram avaliadas positivamente em aspectos de formação de capital social e econômico. A pesquisa também demonstrou que um problema para a coleta seletiva e a reciclagem em Moçambique é a carência de um mercado local e um parque reciclador que utilize e transforme materiais recicláveis em produtos reciclados. Nesse sentido, faz-se necessário definir um marco legal de serviço municipal de coleta seletiva com a participação dos catadores e munícipes.
Sinergismo en la respuesta inmune en ratones BALB/c//BIOULA con parasitosis combinadas: Syphacia obvelata y Leishmania mexicana
Authors: De Jesús Rosa , Pavón Wilmer
Published: April 2015

Introducción: los ratones balb/c//bioula son usados en experimentos en los que se estudian parásitos de las especies Lehismania mexicana, determinando concentraciones de IgG. En estudios previos se determinó que los ratones parasitados con Syphacia obvelata presentan altas titulaciones de IgG. El objetivo del trabajo fue determinar si existe sinergismo en la respuesta inmunológica de ratones balb/c//bioula con parasitosis combinada.

Materiales y métodos: los animales se distribuyeron como Grupo a, sin parásitos; Grupo b, parasitados con Syphacia obvelata; Grupo c, con Leishmania mexicana y Grupo d, con parasitosis combinada. Durante dos meses se realizaron curvas de crecimiento, diagnóstico coproparasitológico, valoración hematológica y titulación de anticuerpos mediante elisa.

Resultados: en las curvas de crecimiento se observó que los ratones con parasitosis combinadas presentaron la menor ganancia de peso y de talla; la mayor cantidad de huevos y parásitos adultos de Syphacia obvelata; en los parámetros hematológicos, presentaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en los valores hallados, y al valorar la concentración de IgG, se observó que la mayor cantidad de unidades de IgG se presentaron igualmente para los sueros de los ratones con parasitosis combinadas.

Conclusiones: los resultados de las curvas de crecimiento, las pruebas hematológicas y la titulación de IgG permitieron concluir que existe sinergismo en la respuesta de los ratones al encontrarse parasitados con Syphacia obvelata y Leishmania mexicana. Esto puede conducir a resultados falsos positivos cuando el investigador experimente con Lehismania mexicana y los ratones se encuentren parasitados con Syphacia obvelata.
Impacto de la caudofagia y descolmille en el bienestar animal en porcinos de engorde
Authors: Rodríguez Lourdes Elvira
Published: April 2015

En la actualidad, los sistemas de producción porcina tecnificados incluyen varias prácticas de manejo dolorosas, que son realizadas desde tempranas edades y que pueden repercutir a lo largo de la vida productiva de los porcinos. Muchas de estas ejercen un impacto negativo en los elementos que hacen parte del bienestar animal, aun cuando las justifiquen desde el punto de vista productivo. De acuerdo con lo anterior, son muchos los casos que se presentan a nivel de granja, para este particular, se plantea el caso de cerdos de engorde que tienen serios problemas, dado a que varios de ellos evidencian lesiones de cola, hocico y dientes, encontrándose puntos críticos en las diferentes etapas productivas. Conforme a este caso, con la presente reflexión se pretende realizar un análisis de las posibles causas que han generado estos problemas y con base en ello proponer soluciones que incluyan elementos que mitiguen el impacto negativo que han generado en el bienestar animal de dicha granja. Por tal motivo, en este documento se parte del siguiente cuestionamiento base: ¿las prácticas de manejo como el descole y el descolmille inadecuado y la falta de un ambiente apropiado al sistema están generando los problemas de caudofagia y lesiones en dientes y colmillos de cerdos en etapa de engorde?
La tendencia mundial es la intensificación… ¿y el bienestar?
Authors: Amores Mária José
Published: April 2015

Actualmente, la producción de alimentos enfrenta grandes retos: un mercado de consumidores con un crecimiento incesante, una diversificación de los gustos de los demandantes, un incremento de las zonas de producción de biocombustibles que compiten con la producción de alimentos, una aceleración en la tasa de deforestación en zonas sensibles y un aumento indiscriminado de las emisiones de metano (entre otros contaminantes directos e indirectos) a la atmósfera, el agua y los suelos, por parte de la actividad ganadera en general, una brecha cada vez mayor entre quienes tienen y pueden pagar por alimentos de calidad y quienes apenas llegan a cubrir una sola comida de baja calidad nutricional en el día. En este escenario global, la producción animal y el bienestar se enfrentan al reto de masificar la producción de alimentos con base en la intensificación con el uso de dietas ricas en grano, confinamiento parcial o total y genética especializada para incrementar la producción, pero, contradictoriamente, se traducen en acidosis ruminal, alta prevalencia de cojeras y problemas de comportamiento y adaptación. El propósito de este artículo es hacer una revisión general de la perspectiva de producción pecuaria, específicamente de ganadería bovina en Ecuador, desde el punto de vista económico, social, ambiental y del bienestar animal, considerando que la modificación de cualquier sistema productivo responde al consumidor; a la final, él se convierte en el eje decidor sobre el cual se debe trabajar para la consecución de alimentos éticos: socialmente responsables, ambientalmente sostenibles y con bienestar animal.
Colangiocarcinoma intrahépatico en hembra de la raza Springer Spaniel
Authors: Rincón Gennyffer , Albarracín Javier Hernado , Duarte Luz Zoraya
Published: April 2015

El Colangiocarcinoma o CGC es un tumor primario intrahépatico que se caracteriza por generar clínicamente signos inespecíficos de difícil aproximación diagnóstica, la citología dirigida con ecografía o laparotomía exploratoria, facilitan su análisis, pero con el agravante de que el crecimiento tumoral en la mayoría de los casos está comprometiendo en un 60% aproximadamente el tejido hepático. El diagnóstico histopatológico permite determinar el origen primario del tumor como herramienta para su identificación y pronóstico del curso de la enfermedad. Los hallazgos clínicos no indicaron insuficiencia hepática, pero sí se evidenció hipoproteinemia y ecográficamente irregularidad de la silueta hepática para el presente caso.
Douglass Houghton, Michigan's First State Geologist
Authors: Merk George
Published: April 2015

In 1830, Houghton, only 20 years old and a recent graduate of New York's Rensselaer Scientific School, arrived in the Michigan Territory at the request of its territorial leaders and patrons of science.

He won a reputation as a competent naturalist while serving on the Schoolcraft Expeditions along the shores of Lake Superior and to the Mississippi River in 1831 and 1832. It was at this time that he discovered the true location of the Keweenawan copper deposits and the value of the mineral lands (owned by the Chippewa Indians) west of the meridian of Marquette. This knowledge enabled him to propose that the government of the Michigan Territory relinquish to Ohio its claim to the "Toledo Strip" and in lieu receive the Chippewa lands and attain statehood in January, 1837.

When Michigan became a state, Houghton was appointed Michigan's first State Geologist. Among his accomplishments, in this state largely covered by forests and glacial sediment, was not only to discover and map the basin structure of the sedimentary rocks of the eastern half of Michigan's Northern Peninsula and all the Southern Peninsula, but also to develop a valid theory concerning the formation, structure, and position of Michigan's copper-bearing rocks. In 1843, this theory was presented to the Association of American Geologists, of which he was a founder. But Houghton was never able to complete his geological work: at age 36 he drowned in Lake Superior when a sudden winter storm capsized his boat.

His untimely death, and the fact that young Michigan had little money for publishing scientific reports, helps to explain why Houghton's geological work has not received the national recognition it deserves.
Peale's 1799 Theory of the Earth
Authors: Yochelson Ellis
Published: April 2015

In 1799, as an outgrowth of his museum in Philadelphia and in conjunction with his interest in public education, C. W. Peale gave a series of lectures. Most were on animals, particularly birds, but the first part of his first lecture included a theory of the earth, hitherto unpublished. Peale suggested that attraction and repulsion by electricity generated by the sun resulted in a varying orbit and speed of rotation for the earth. This electric charge was responsible for the Deluge of Noah. The subsequent changes in the Earth's orbit explained the seemingly long life spans of the early generations mentioned in the bible.
The First International Polar Year (1882-1883) and International Geophysical Cooperation
Authors: Schröder W.
Published: April 2015

As a part of the historiography of individual scientific disciplines, the present paper provides a brief history of the development of Polar geophysics. Among important factors are expeditions and international cooperation (Magnetic Association of Göttingen; First International Polar Year, Berlin Atmospheric Programme, etc,). The history of observations and scientific expeditions is reviewed. The sources of data, beginning with the 18th century, as well as the scientists and institutions involved in these programs are noted.
The Schlagintweit Collections
Authors: Armitage G.
Published: April 2015

This article outlines the significance of some of the discoveries in natural science made in India and the Himalayas by the Schlagintweit brothers, who were eminent nineteenth century scientists and explorers employed by the East India Company to carry out survey work. The mainly natural history subject matter covers zoology, botany, geology, surveying and ethnography. The article also describes how various specimens were collected and transported to the United Kingdom their investigation by scientists and their eventual places of custody in various institutions. Although there are specimens collected by the Schlagintweits in German institutions, the present work concentrates on the collections that were originally housed in the India Museum of the East India Company before its dispersal in 1879.

The paper was written whilst working at the India Office Library and Records, London, which is a department of the British Library, and the notes refer mainly to material held there.
Edward Orton: Pioneer in Petroleum Geology
Authors: Miller Keith
Published: April 2015

Petroleum geology had its beginning in the nineteenth century. One of its leading adherents was Edward Orton of New York and Ohio. He left to that science an important body of writing, especially on the oil fields of the Cincinnati Arch province. His thought included an elaboration of the anticlinal theory. One of his classic works was The Trenton Limestone as a Source of Petoleum and Inflammable Gas in Ohio and Indiana (1889). That treatise and others too placed Orton in the forefront of petroleum geology in its formative period.
Geochemistry in the Geological Survey of Canada 1842-1952
Authors: Boyle R.
Published: April 2015

The Geological Survey of Canada, the oldest scientific organization in the nation, was founded in 1842, at a time when major changes were taking place in the sciences of geology, chemistry and biology. Geochemistry was not yet recognized as a science in North America, although the word had been coined and the field outlined in 1838 by C. F. Schönbein, the Swiss chemist.

Thomas Sterry Hunt (1826-1892) was appointed chemist and mineralogist to the Geological Survey in 1847 by Sir William Logan, first director of the Survey. For the next 25 years Hunt carried out geochemical research on most aspects of the science and added materially to the establishment of various geological principles. Sterry Hunt has been called the "Father of Chemical Geology, or Geochemistry, in North America."

Following Hunt, many able men, including B. J. Harrington, F. D. Adams, G. C. Hoffman, and R. A. A. Johnston occupied the position of chemist and mineralogist to the Survey during the period 1872-1922. They were followed by E. Poitevin and H. V. Ellsworth who served from 1922 until 1952.

H. V. Ellsworth laid the foundations of 20th Century geochemistry in the Geological Survey. His extensive studies of the distribution of rare elements (e.g., Li, Zr, Nb, U, Th, etc.) in Canadian minerals and rocks, and his studies of geochronology employing uranium-lead methods, had universal significance in geochemistry.
Edward Hitchcock's Promising Astronomical Career
Authors: Marché II Jordan
Published: April 2015

Edward Hitchcock's observations of the Great Comet of 1811, the partial solar eclipse of 17 September 1811, and others for determining his latitude and longitude, marked the development of a mature research program in theoretical and practical astronomy which he pursued vigorously for more than two years until his health failed. Hitchcock's results were communicated to astronomer John Farrar of Harvard College and extracts were published in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This paper compares Hitchcock's comet sightings with those of Farrar himself. Although astronomy did not become Hitchcock's final career choice, the mental skills which he perfected through instrumental observation and mathematical reduction were to be of service throughout his later professional life as an earth scientist.
Darwin and the Seeing Eye: Iconography and Meaning in The Beagle Years
Authors: Stoddart David
Published: April 2015

Strongly influenced by Lyell's Principles of Geology, Darwin during the Beagle voyage developed a highly theoretical geology based on premises of continental uplift and oceanic subsidence. From the beginning he used his theoretical interpretations to validate and select his field observations. These he interpreted and communicated largely in the form of profile diagrams, of South American shorelines, Andean tectonic structures, and coral reef development. His published works from the voyage are very sparsely illustrated, except for profile diagrams, and contain remarkably few maps. Of the latter all are derivative except one. The one exception is his 1842 map of the distribution of coral reefs, which he uses as a theoretical argument to delineate areas of elevation and subsidence in the oceans, implicitly illustrating the formal logical analogy between the nature of theory and the nature of maps. The illustrations in general illustrate the contrast between Darwin's verbal facility in describing landscapes and evoking mood, and his general inability to translate his images into visual representations.
G. G. Simpson as Sam Magruder: Concession to the Ineluctable
Authors: Laporte Léo
Published: April 2015

In a posthumously published work of science fiction (The Dechronization of Sam Magruder, St. Martin's Press, 1996) the American paleontologist George G. Simpson (1902-1984) tells the story of Sam Magruder, a "chronologist" living in 2162 A.D, who was experimenting on the "quantum theory of time-motion" when he suffers a "time-slip" that puts him back in the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico. Helplessly lost in time and with no hope of returning to the present, Magruder ekes out a primitive existence for some years until a fatal accident befalls him. Before his death Magruder manages to chisel out his experience and philosophy of life on eight rock slabs that are recovered many millions of years later; and so his story becomes known and discussed by several Everyman characters.

Simpson spins a reasonably engaging tale, but its main interest is the degree to which Magruder's philosophy of life may reflect Simpson's own feelings toward the end of his life. Always more comfortable in expressing his views in writing than in speaking, Simpson appears to use this work of science fiction to reveal his own, mostly melancholy, views about life's meaning and purpose, the importance of adapting to the here-and-now, and how historical contingency controls subsequent outcomes. Is Simpson speaking for himself when Magruder declares "My real purpose in engraving these slabs is a search for comprehension … I am exploring my own nature"?
Adam Sedgwick and Mrs. Skinner
Authors: Friedman Gerald
Published: April 2015

Adam Sedgwick's (1785-1873) letters between 1846 and 1855 addressed to Mrs. Skinner, wife of the Rev. George Skinner of King's College, Cambridge, reveal a welcome and much appreciated friendship. Sedgwick was between 61 and 71 years old at the time and in poor health. During this time his delayed Cambrian geology was published, and he apparently felt frustrated by his workload and/or still felt victimized under Roderick Murchison's (1792-1871) blows. No wonder he complains to Mrs. Skinner "Tantalus had no easy time of it; but he was a blessed man compared to me."
Some Eminent Newtonians and Providential Geophysics at the Turn of the Seventeenth Century
Authors: Force James
Published: April 2015

At the end of the Seventeenth Century, geophysical speculations among such eminent Newtonian natural philosophers as William Whiston, Edmond Halley, and John Keill concerning the moral fabric of the post-Fall geophysical system, the earth's place in the Newtonian framework of the heavens, and what counts as evidence in geophysical theorizing reflect a definite rejection of the dominant Seventeenth Century Earth Theorist, Thomas Burnet. All three Newtonians are confident that the earth's fabric is not morally corrupt, that, like Newton's heaven, the earth is providentially designed, and that knowledge of its structure ought to be firmly rooted in empirical observation. Nevertheless, there is a major disagreement between Whiston and Keill about how to interpret the Bible. Whiston accepts revealed scripture, properly interpreted by the Newtonian exegete, as compatible with Newtonian science. Keill alone among the Newtonians is convinced that there are some aspects of the Bible which no amount of "scientific" interpreting will square with science. In such cases, for Keill, the Biblical view must always prevail. In the views of neither man, however, is there room for any sort of warfare between the new science and the old religion. Either revelation is completely accepted when an apparent dispute arises as with Keill or a complete correlation is simply assumed as with Whiston.
Heinrich Wettstein (1880), A Swiss Forerunner of Global Mobilism
Authors: Carozzi Albert
Published: April 2015

Heinrich Wettstein (1831-1895) from Switzerland should be considered a forerunner of global mobilism. His 1880 book "Die Strömungen des Festen, Flussigen und Gasförmigen und ihre Bedeutung für Geologie, Astronomie, Klimatologie und Meteorologie" presented the hypothesis of westward displacement and deformation of continents under the effect of the sun's gravitational pull. According to Wettstein, mountain ranges are formed when westward creeping sedimentary sequences encounter and override obstacles on the upper surface of a rigid substratum. However, formation of mountains with related earthquakes and volcanism is only a temporary and secondary effect of a larger generalized westward creeping of the continents themselves over a similar rigid substratum. Such large-scale displacements, deformations, temporary separations, and junctions of continents across fixed climatic belts are demonstrated, said Wettstein, by variations of superposed fossil faunas and floras and by their dispersal patterns. Although the force assumed by Wettstein was subsequently demonstrated to be negligible, he broke the strait jacket of the contraction theory with a grandiose and early vision of global mobilism.
Time-Space Patterns: The Natural Laws of Geology
Authors: Rogers Ralph
Published: April 2015

Both Hall (1859) and Wilson (1965) discovered patterns that have changed the way that we think about geology and the way that we see the world, by focusing our attention on new interrelationships. The patterns involve time-space relations rather than functional relations between variables, but are used in the same way as the classic natural laws of physics and chemistry. These patterns have been used to make predictions, indicate important parameters to quantify and identify new types of questions to ask.
Reaction of British Colonies in America to the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake - A Comparison to the European Response
Authors: Carozzi Marguerite
Published: April 2015

The Lisbon earthquake produced split reactions among some European naturalist-theologians such as Elie Bertrand and William Stukeley. As preachers, they referred to the wrath of God, as naturalists, they discussed natural causes of earthquakes. Bertrand gave a summary of current theories on earthquakes but remained skeptical and preferred to record related events in Switzerland. Stukeley proposed a theory according to which earthquakes were caused by electricity. John Michell, Woodwardian Professor at the University of Cambridge, referred only to natural causes, relying on the notion of subterraneous fires. He explained that, according to his observation of anticlines, combustible matter lied deeply buried and pent up in flat countries, whereas in mountains strata containing such material occurred close to the surface so that vapors could easily escape through the vents of volcanoes. The reaction to the Lisbon earthquake in newspaper articles, earthquake-sermons and pamphlets printed in the New World appears unanimous: earthquakes are caused by God, although he may act through natural causes. Benjamin Franklin did not formulate any theory and John Winthrop seemed unable to separate science from religion in his lecture on earthquakes, although he emphasized natural causes, as generally accepted in Europe. An anonymously published article on agitations of the sea and related earthquakes in November 1755 proposed an alternative to fire and vapors for countries without volcanic activity. The author, Dr. John Perkins, physician in Boston, proposed that earthquakes may be caused by settling of land in mountains. He argued that the upper parts of lands consist of harder and less pliable material than the lower parts which are yielding and water-soaked. Underground waters carry away parts of this lower substance and the resulting caverns collapse when the overlying heavier material sinks into the lower one. Displacement of this material may spread toward the ocean thus transmitting earthquakes of great intensity to the ocean basin; alternatively the spreading may be stopped by an obstacle and cause the rising of coastal areas. Perkins found alleged proofs of such raised areas in Pine-Plain and Hampstedt-Plain on Long Island. His contribution is important and should be included among the early earthquake theories presented in the British colonies of America.
History of Sedimentologic Concepts Applied to Northern Appalachian Piedmont Metasediments
Authors: Gore Pamela
Published: April 2015

The northern Appalachian Piedmont is underlain by metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks. The sedimentary origin of many of these rocks was established during the late 1800's. Other rocks, particularly the massive inclusion-bearing metasediments (diamictites), were considered to be xenolithic granites until the 1940's or later.

Relict sedimentary textures and structures are preserved in some Piedmonst metasediments despite sillimanite-grade metamorphism. Few sedimentary structures, other than bedding, were reported until the early 1960's, when graded bedding and sequences of sedimentary structures resembling the Bouma Cycle, characteristic of turbidity current deposits, were reported front metagraywackes in the Maryland Piedmont. The metagraywackes are now interpreted as submarine fan deposits. Few of the metasediments have been studied from a sedimentologic viewpoint. Most of our knowledge of the sedimentary structures and depositional environments has been contributed by igneous and metamorphic petrologists, primarily George W. Fisher and Clifford A. Hopson. Sedimentologists (Juergen Reinhardt and Gregory S. Gohn) working in the Piedmont have dealt primarily with lower metamorphic grade carbonate rocks in the western and northwestern Piedmont.
Early Oil and Gas Exploration to 1879 in Western Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Authors: Pees Samuel
Published: April 2015

Although lacking the major activity and success of nearby areas in the Pennsylvania shallow oil and gas region, western Crawford County had an early start in exploration. Oil was first encountered in 1819 while deepening a salt well to 300 feet in Beaver Township. After the Drake well of 1859, drilling for oil spread into western Crawford County in 1861. Some of the early drilling sites were in Beaver Township where hydrocarbon shows in the early salt well attested to the presence of petroleum and gas.

The period from 1861 to 1879 saw an estimated 21 wells drilled in western Crawford County, but the number may have been somewhat higher. Thirteen oil wells are located on the 1880 base map used for this study and plotted from field and literature research. Two or three small oil and gas pools were found by this early drilling, but none of them were developed to significant proportions. Gallons of dark green oil were collected from some wells and gas blew the tools out of one hole. Another well at first was thought to have enough gas to light a village.

Israel C. White discussed the petroleum geology of western Crawford County in "The Geology of Erie and Crawford Counties," Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Report of Progress, 1879, published in 1881. One of his major contributions was the tracing of the petroliferous Upper Devonian Venango Third sand from wells in the oil region near Titusville into the mapped area where it also became an objective for drilling. White's stratigraphic nomenclature is compared with current usage, which still contains much of his terminology.
The Beginnings of A Geological Naturalist: Desmarest, The PrintedWord, and Nature
Authors: Taylor Kenneth
Published: April 2015

Nicolas Desmarest (1725-1815), one of the great pioneering field naturalists of the eighteenth century, began to pursue geological field work only in the later 1750s, Well past the age of 30. Until that time, the patterns of Desmarest's scientific interests and thinking resembled those of a scholarWhose range of experienceWas defined mostly by books. In this essay I attempt to characterize Desmarest's intellectual orientations, prior to his conversion into an investigative naturalist. Before his first efforts in active field research, Desmarest became committed to an empiricist epistemology of a phenomenalist type, emphasizing know ledge of natural regularities in a fashion parallel to views expressed in the early volumes of Histoire Naturelle, by Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte du Buffon (1707-1788). Through his close linksWith antiquarian scholars, Desmarest formed critical mental habits regarding use of historical and archeological evidence in interpretations of the past. These early scholarly experiences helped shape his approach to work as a field geologist. I suggest also that Desmarest's employment as a government analyst of practical and industrial arts, at the very time he began active scientific field work, contributed to his rapid and successful embrace of empirical procedures in science.

Let us consult nature herself, who ordinarily leaves recognizable marks of her operations, even if she likes most often to cloak them in disguise, to hide them from minds unfamiliar with her tricks, or heedless in following their solution.

Nicolas Desmarest, Dissertation sur l'ancienne jonction de l'Angleterre à la France, 1753
British Geology in the Early Nineteenth Century: A Conglomerate with a Female Matrix
Authors: Kölbl-Ebert Martina
Published: April 2015

During the first half of the nineteenth century—in addition to mining engineers or land surveyors, who used geological knowledge for their profession—a large group of non-professional scientists still existed in British geology. For these people with enough money, time, and leisure to study, travel, and publish, geology was more or less a private interest. In scientific circles such as the Geological Society of London serious workers and dilettantes were found together. The establishment of geology at British universities was at its beginning or still ahead in the future. Because of the informal character of this important part of early British geology, women were not excluded from participation. They were not yet opponents in the competition for jobs, but were welcomed as fellow-enthusiasts. More so, wives, daughters, and sisters or even non-related female acquaintances at that time were an integral part of the infrastructure of scientific work. As a result, there have been many female contributors to geology in the early nineteenth-century in the United Kingdom, forming a framework of assistants, secretaries, collectors, painters, and field geologists to the leading figures in the geological sciences, thereby adding to, and shaping their work.

… some of the ladies were very blue1and well-informed, reading Mrs. Somerville, and frequenting the Royal Institution.2

W. M. Thackeray: Vanity Fair, 1847
Mary Elizabeth Barber, Some Early South African Geologists, and the Discoveries of Diamonds
Authors: Cohen Alan
Published: April 2015

The second generation of those Britons who had emigrated to the Cape Colony of South Africa in 18201 included a number of people who had transcended the basic requirements of establishing a subsistence among the relatively inhospitable social, economic, and agricultural climate of their new homeland. They became interested in the scientific study of the nature of their surroundings and in their spare time became keen amateur natural historians, geologists, archaeologists, and ethnologists. Those more intrepid amongst them sought to explore the unknown interior and in the process discovered the vast mineral wealth of the country, in particular diamonds, gold, and coal.

This article seeks to show how one small group of people based around Grahamstown in the Eastern Province of the colony were involved in some of these discoveries, and especially the early discovery of diamonds in the Transvaal. Most of the group were connected in some way with Mary Elizabeth Barber (1818-1899), the daughter of a British gentleman sheep-farmer who arrived in South Africa in 1820. She became a well-known contemporary artist, poet, and natural historian, corresponding with several leading British scientists such as Sir Joseph Hooker and Charles Darwin. Her scientific papers were published, amongst others, by the Linnean Society of London, the Entomological Society of London, and the South African Philosophical Society.
The Romantic Cave? The Scientific and Poetic Quests for Subterranean Spaces in Britain
Authors: Sommer Marianne
Published: April 2015

In the ‘Golden Age’ of geology and Romanticism in Britain, the cave was constructed as a cultural space that served the young science as territory for new insights into prehistory and as icon of scientific enlightenment. However, British caves had a history in folklore that predated the onset of geological exploration, and some had long been inhabited by monsters or fairies. Moreover, antiquaries, fossil hunters, and even tourists shared the established geologists' interest in the underground. Conceiving of the cave as a many-layered political space, this article argues that several groups competed in the quest for this ‘new’ territory, among them those who strove for the power to read the past. The Romantic poets, building on literary, religious, and folkloristic traditions, turned the cave into a source for individual as well as societal change, exploring it as the realm of the ‘subconscious’. Questioning whether such an object as the Romantic cave existed, this article is interested in how different visitors experienced the underground—whether they shared the aesthetics of the sublime—and in how caves were constructed to serve alternative purposes.
Edwin Bradford Hall: Devonian Sponge Collector Extraordinaire
Authors: Hernick Linda
Published: April 2015

James Hall (1811-1898), second State Paleontologist of New York, is considered by many to be the "Father of American Paleontology." However, Hall could never have achieved this stature without his legion of amateurs. Among the most dedicated and prolific of these was Edwin Bradford Hall (1825-1908). His collection of 5,500 Devonian glass sponges, the largest collection in the world, provided James Hall with the material to write his massive 1898 monograph on these problematical fossils.