bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Treatment of loin pain suspected to be renal colic with papaverine hydrochloride: a prospective double‐blind randomised study
Authors: Asgari Seyed Alaeddin , Asli Mani Mohiti , Madani Ali Hamidi , Maghsoudi Parvaneh Arab , Ghanaei Mandana Mansour , Shakiba Maryam , Aval Hamidreza Baghani , Enshaei Ahmad , Farzan Alireza , Esmaeili Samaneh
Published: February 2012

Study Type – Therapy (RCT)

Level of Evidence 1b

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

Results of our study showed that intravenous papaverine hydrochloride plus suppository sodium diclofenac were more effective than diclofenac sodium suppository alone in the treatment of acute renal colic. Therefore, intravenous papaverine hydrochloride may be a beneficial supplemental therapy to relieve renal colic pain, particularly in combination with NSAIDs.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of papaverine hydrochloride combined with a diclofenac sodium suppository to relieve renal colic compared with diclofenac suppository monotherapy, as the effect of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on ureteric muscles might reduce the pain of renal colic.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective, double‐blind clinical study was performed.

In all, 550 patients aged 17–55 years with acute renal colic were randomised to two groups. Patients in one group (group A) received a diclofenac suppository (100 mg) plus saline 0.9% (placebo) and the other group (group B) received a diclofenac suppository (100 mg) plus intravenous (i.v.) papaverine hydrochloride (1.5 mg/kg up to120 mg).

Pain intensity was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) at 0, 20 and 40 min after treatment. Further analgesia was provided at the patients' request (25 mg pethidine intramuscularly).

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics (sex, age, past history of similar pains) were similar in the two groups.

There were significant differences in VAS pain scores between 0 and 20 min and 0 and 40 min in both groups (P < 0.001).

At the end of study, 71.1% of patients in group A and 90.9% of patients in group B reported pain relief and did not require pethidine, respectively.

Significantly more patients in group A required further analgesia.

CONCLUSIONS

According to our results, i.v. papaverine hydrochloride plus a diclofenac suppository were more effective than the diclofenac suppository alone for treating acute renal colic.

Therefore, i.v. papaverine hydrochloride is a beneficial supplemental therapy to relieve renal colic pain, particularly combined with non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs.
Widespread shifts in the demographic structure of subalpine forests in the Sierra Nevada, California, 1934 to 2007
Authors: Dolanc Christopher R. , Thorne James H. , Safford Hugh D.
Published: February 2012

Aim Many climate‐linked vegetation models predict major contraction of subalpine forests within the next 100 years, which would require a relatively rapid replacement of high‐elevation species by lower‐elevation species over large portions of subalpine forest. We tested this prediction by comparing empirical data from a historic data set with data collected from re‐sampled sites from 2007–09.

Location Central Sierra Nevada, CA, USA, 2300–3400 m elevation.

Methods We re‐sampled 139 undisturbed historical vegetation plots across 5500 km2originally sampled from 1929–34 in the subalpine zone of the Sierra Nevada, and compared historical with current forest structure and composition. We compared historic and modern climatic conditions using two high‐elevation climate stations nearby.

Results Subalpine forests experienced a net increase in tree stem density of 30.4%, including a 63.3% increase in small trees. Six of eight tree species showed statistically significant increases in small tree density, including species with distributions at both the upper and lower boundaries of subalpine. Increases in small tree density were partly offset by a 20% decrease in large trees. These shifts were significant throughout the landscape of our study area. Modern stand composition was indistinguishable from historical composition. Daily minimum temperature (+ 1.2°C) and precipitation (+ 15–48%) both increased during the same period.

Main conclusions Warming temperatures plus steady to increasing precipitation have led to less stressful conditions for recruitment and survival of small trees, and are probably contributing to increased mortality of large trees. Tree abundance and composition in the subalpine has not changed in the direction predicted by vegetation models linked to future climate scenarios. Our results underline the fundamental role that moisture balance plays in structuring mediterranean‐zone montane forests. Future shifts in vegetation composition and structure from these regions are likely to depend on interactions between water balance and disturbance factors like fire, insects and disease.
Species distribution models indicate contrasting late‐Quaternary histories for Southern and Northern Hemisphere bird species
Authors: Huntley Brian , Allen Judy R. M. , Barnard Phoebe , Collingham Yvonne C. , Holliday Phyllida R.
Published: February 2012

Aim  To test the following hypotheses: that Fynbos species had more extensive distributions at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), extending onto the exposed ‘Agulhas Plain’; that genetically distinct British taxa could have persisted through the LGM on adjacent areas of exposed shelf.

Location  Southern Africa; Europe.

Methods  Climatic response surfaces were fitted for 14 Fynbos and two European birds. These models were used to hindcast species distributions for palaeoclimates simulated using a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. LGM annual net primary productivity (ANPP) of two plant functional types upon which the European birds depend were simulated using a dynamic vegetation model and compared with potential LGM bird distributions.

Results  Fynbos birds' potential LGM distributions mostly extended southwards onto the exposed Agulhas Plain and were consistently more extensive than at present. This contrasts with conventional expectations for temperate species based upon Northern Hemisphere evidence. North‐west European taxa potentially had LGM ranges on exposed shelf and ice‐free areas to the west and south‐west of the British Isles ice sheet. This is consistent with available genetic evidence, supporting the long‐standing hypothesis that these taxa persisted through the LGM in this region. In both regions, results allow the generation of new testable hypotheses about species evolution and palaeobiogeography.

Main conclusions  Bird species found today in the Fynbos probably had more extensive ranges under glacial conditions, with the potential ranges of many species extending onto the Agulhas Plain. Bird taxa restricted today to the British Isles probably survived the LGM with limited distributions on exposed shelf and ice‐free areas south‐west of the British Isles ice sheet. Areas of shelf exposed under glacial conditions are likely to have been important components of glacial distributions of species in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The contrasting history of Northern and Southern Hemisphere species has important conservation implications, especially in relation to conserving intra‐specific genetic diversity.
ANALYSIS OF POVERTY AND EFFICIENCY: AN EARNINGS FRONTIER APPROACH
Authors: Chattopadhyay Somnath
Published: February 2012

The paper introduces the concept of an earnings frontier in explaining monthly consumption expenditure (a proxy for income) in terms of human capital and endowments of a household. Individuals who translate their potential earning into actual earnings enjoy a fully efficient position. In contrast, individuals who earn less than their potential earnings suffer from some kind of earnings inefficiency. The paper estimates an earnings frontier using the Corrected Ordinary Least Square (COLS) method and classifies households in terms of efficiency scores. Splitting the sample into an efficient and an inefficient part based on the estimated frontier and a bench mark efficiency score, the status of poverty in the two parts (groups) is studied. The poverty gap between the groups is then decomposed into a characteristics effect and a coefficients effect using the familiar Oaxaca decomposition methodology. The paper also tries to establish a link between the notion of efficiency and the coefficients effect in the Oaxaca decomposition methodology. The results obtained are interpreted in light of the poor but efficient hypothesis.
DYNAMIC STOCK RETURN–VOLUME RELATION: EVIDENCE FROM EMERGING ASIAN MARKETS
Authors: Lin Hsin‐Yi
Published: February 2012

This paper empirically examines the dynamic stock return–volume relations for six emerging Asian markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Evidence is found that trading volume Granger causes stock return in quantiles and the causal effects of volume are heterogeneous across quantiles. This shows that volume carries some information to the return and could be interpreted in light of theoretical models. In addition, we find that there is bi‐directional causality between stock return and trading volume in most of the markets. The finding indicates that those Asian emerging markets with different institutions and information flows than more mature markets have present similar causal effects on the stock return–volume relation. Furthermore, the cross‐country evidence shows that the US market helps to predict the returns of the emerging Asian markets.
The Impact of Risk Management Standards on Patient Safety: The Determinants of MRSA Infections in Acute NHS Hospitals, 2001–08*
Authors: Fenn Paul , Gray Alastair , Rickman Neil , Rivero‐Arias Oliver , Vencappa Dev
Published: February 2012

We study a key part of National Health Service (NHS) policy to ensure high‐quality health care: failure to supply such care cost the NHS £787m in clinical negligence payouts during 2009–10. The NHS uses risk management standards to incentivize care, and we examine their effects on methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Using a specially assembled data set, our GMM results suggest that improvements in the risk management standards attained by some hospitals are correlated with reductions in their MRSA infection rates. Moreover, the exogeneity of this relationship cannot be rejected for higher risk management levels, suggesting attainment of higher standards was instrumental in reducing infection rates.
Development and use of guideline‐derived quality indicators for community lymphoedema
Authors: Herberger K. , Heyer A.K. , Blome C. , Sandner A. , Altheide F. , Lader‐Holtorf M. , Augustin M.
Published: February 2012

Background  Treatment of lymphoedema is complex and needs specific skills. There are no standards for the evaluation of quality of care.

Objective  Development and application of indicators for the measurement of quality of care in lymphoedema.

Methods  In a three‐step process including a national Delphi expert consensus, quality indicators were derived from national and international guidelines. In a cross‐sectional study involving a large spectrum of care providers, the quality of lymphoedema care in the community was assessed by transforming the indicators to one unweighted quality index (QI).

Results  A total of 12 quality indicators were identified and applied to n = 348 patients with lymphoedema and lipolymphoedema of any origin in the metropolitan area of Hamburg (90.8% female, mean age 57, SD 14.5 years). On average, 55% of the quality indicators were met, and 64.8% of the patients were satisfied with lymphoedema care. There was a significant correlation between QI and satisfaction.

Conclusions  The quality indicators and the QI are feasible and valid for the evaluation of quality of care. They can support optimizing lymphoedema care.
Neonatal intensive care practices and the influence on skin condition
Authors: Visscher M.O. , Taylor T. , Narendran V.
Published: February 2012

Background  Premature skin has a thinner epidermis with a poorly formed stratum corneum (SC) barrier compared to full term skin. Poor skin integrity increases the risk of exposure to irritants and infectious agents. Interventions that facilitate skin maturation are essential.

Objective  The objective was to examine the effects of prematurity and time from birth on SC maturation and to identify factors that impact skin condition.

Methods  A retrospective review was conducted among 130 NICU patients. Skin regions were evaluated for erythema, rash, integrity and function. The effects of gestational age, time from birth, stool exposure, nutrition and diagnosis were examined.

Results  Three groups emerged: (i) premature and <38 weeks adjusted age; (ii) premature and >38 weeks adjusted age; and (iii) full term. Surprisingly, the premature infants exhibited lower perineal irritation and greater SC integrity (lower transepidermal water loss) than full terms (P < 0.05). Group 2 had a longer time before the first skin‐stool contact. Chest skin pH showed maturational changes for Group 1 (P < 0.05) but did not change for premature Group 2 who was older at enrollment. Erythema was lower for infants using elemental formulas or total parenteral nutrition.

Conclusions  Premature infants with early stool contact and high exposure, full term infants, and patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia or trisomy 21 are at high risk for skin compromise and may benefit from prophylactic interventions to minimize compromise. Low stool exposure and greater time before the first stool contact appear to be protective against skin compromise.
Cutaneous sarcoidosis in southern Taiwan: clinicopathologic study of a series with high proportions of lesions confined to the face and angiolupoid variant
Authors: Wu M.C. , Lee J.Y.‐Y.
Published: February 2012

Background  Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown aetiology. Our clinical experience suggests that facial involvement and the angiolupoid variant appear more common in our patients compared with series reported from the western countries.

Objective  To characterize the clinicopathologic features of cutaneous sarcoidosis diagnosed in our department and to compare our data with those in the literature.

Methods  We conducted a clinicopathologic review of biopsy‐proved cases of cutaneous sarcoidosis diagnosed during January 2002–December 2010.

Results  Our study consisted of 37 patients, ages 26–84 years (mean 54.3 years), of whom 84% were females. Systemic involvement was detected in 73%, affecting the lung in 57%, lymph nodes in 65% and eyes in 43%. Most skin lesions were the papulonodular type (70%) and confined to the face (54%). The angiolupoid variant, while rare in Europe and America, was the most common variant (38%) in our series and often associated with eye involvement. The histology was characterized by infiltration of naked sarcoidal granulomas, mostly (86%) mixed with variable amounts of tuberculoid granulomas in the dermis and/or the subcutis. Other findings included fibrinoid necrosis (23%), foreign bodies (16%), osteoclast‐like cells (14%) and granuloma annulare‐like and necrobiosis lipoidica‐like features.

Conclusion  The present series of cutaneous sarcoidosis was characterized by a marked female predominance and by high proportions of facial involvement and the angiolupoid variant. Angiolupoid sarcoidosis was often associated with eye involvement. A complete dermatologic examination and biopsy of suspicious skin lesions should be routinely performed to facilitate early diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
Skin signs in diabetes mellitus
Authors: Behm B. , Schreml S. , Landthaler M. , Babilas P.
Published: February 2012

Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disorder with continuously increasing prevalence. Blood vessels, nerves, eyes, kidneys and skin are affected, which causes both an enormous financial burden and a reduced quality of life of the affected patients. Long‐standing diabetes may impair skin homeostasis resulting in skin manifestations in at least one third of all diabetics. The skin involvement may be the first presenting sign of diabetes, thus the respective skin signs should lead to diabetes focused diagnostic. Besides, the skin signs may be considered as a marker for the course of the disease or for the success of therapeutic interventions.
Models of ice‐sheet hydrogeologic interactions: a review
Authors: PERSON M. , BENSE V. , COHEN D. , BANERJEE A.
Published: February 2012

This study reviews the state‐of‐the‐art and promising pathways to advance hydrologic models of groundwater flow systems and related transport processes in response to transient glacial loading. We also discuss the utility of hydrologic and geochemical data sets as a means of providing ground truth for these models. The paleohydrologic models presented herein should be used as analogues to assess high‐level nuclear waste repository stability in response to future episodes of glaciations in countries such as Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland. The next generation of fully coupled ice‐sheet‐aquifer models may also be of use in assessing rates of ice sheet denudation on Greenland and Antarctica in response to global warming. However, significant uncertainty exists in paleoclimatic forcing, paleohydrologic boundary conditions, and effective basin‐scale petrophysical parameters. Thus, model results must be viewed with some caution. Model results from studies reviewed herein suggest that during the last glacial maximum, recharge rates across glaciated basin margins increased by as much as 2–6 times modern levels. Paleohydrologic models predict that as ice sheets overran sedimentary basin margins, glacial melt water penetrated to depths of up to hundreds of meters. Recent ice‐sheet models that incorporated the effects of groundwater flow suggest that the presence of a 1–10 mm film of water at the glacial bed can increase basal ice sliding rates by up to 4 orders of magnitude. No firm theoretical basis exists for coupling ice sheet and subsurface hydrogeologic models nor the effects of permafrost on hydraulic conductivity. These issues could be resolved, to some degree, by additional careful experimental studies. Analysis of fluid pressures and flow rates beneath modern ice sheets using geochemical tracers would help to reduce the uncertainty regarding suitable hydrogeologic boundary conditions, parameterization of poromechanical coupling, and transport processes. Glacial geologists should work closely with modelers to provide better constraints on model boundary conditions.
Glaciation and regional groundwater flow in the Fennoscandian shield
Authors: PROVOST A. M. , VOSS C. I. , NEUZIL C. E.
Published: February 2012

Regional‐scale groundwater flow modeling of the Fennoscandian shield suggests that groundwater flow can be strongly affected by future climate change and glaciation. We considered variable‐density groundwater flow in a 1500‐km‐long and approximately 10‐km‐deep cross‐section through southern Sweden. Groundwater flow and shield brine transport in the cross‐sectional model were analyzed under projected surface conditions for the next 140 ka. Simulations suggest that blockage of recharge and discharge by low‐permeability permafrost or cold‐based ice causes sinking of brine and consequent freshening of near‐surface water in areas of natural discharge. Although recharge of basal meltwater is limited by the requirement that water pressure at the base of the ice sheet not exceed the pressure exerted by the weight of the ice, warm‐based ice with basal melting creates a potential for groundwater recharge rates much larger than those of present, ice‐free conditions. In the simulations, regional‐scale redistribution of recharged water by subsurface flow is minor over the duration of a glacial advance (approximately 10 ka). During glacial retreat, significant upward flow of groundwater may occur below the ice sheet owing to pressure release. If the mechanical loading efficiency of the rocks is high, both subsurface penetration of meltwater during glacial advance and up‐flow during glacial retreat are reduced because of loading‐induced pressure changes. The maximum rate of groundwater discharge in the simulations occurs at the receding ice margin, and some discharge occurs below incursive postglacial seas. Recharge of basal meltwater could decrease the concentration of dissolved solids significantly below present‐day levels at depths of up to several kilometers and may bring oxygenated conditions to an otherwise reducing chemical environment for periods exceeding 10 ka.
Plant science in forest canopies – the first 30 years of advances and challenges (1980–2010)
Authors: Lowman Margaret D. , Schowalter Timothy D.
Published: February 2012

As an emerging subdiscipline of forest biology, canopy science has undergone a transition from observational, ‘oh‐wow’ exploration to a more hypothesis‐driven, experimental arena for rigorous field biology. Although efforts to explore forest canopies have occurred for a century, the new tools to access the treetops during the past 30 yr facilitated not only widespread exploration but also new discoveries about the complexity and global effects of this so‐called ‘eighth continent of the planet’. The forest canopy is the engine that fixes solar energy in carbohydrates to power interactions among forest components that, in turn, affect regional and global climate, biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem services. Climate change, biodiversity conservation, fresh water conservation, ecosystem productivity, and carbon sequestration represent important components of forest research that benefit from access to the canopy for rigorous study. Although some canopy variables can be observed or measured from the ground, vertical and horizontal variation in environmental conditions and processes within the canopy that determine canopy–atmosphere and canopy–forest floor interactions are best measured within the canopy. Canopy science has matured into a cutting‐edge subset of forest research, and the treetops also serve as social and economic drivers for sustainable communities, fostering science education and ecotourism. This interdisciplinary context of forest canopy science has inspired innovative new approaches to environmental stewardship, involving diverse stakeholders.

ContentsSummary12I.Introduction12II.History of canopy access13III.Consequences of whole‐tree approaches to forest science15IV.Canopy communities – their inhabitants, environment, and processes16V.The role of forest canopies in providing ecosystem services21VI.Using canopy science as a ‘hook’ to inspire forest conservation21VII.Conclusions –‘black boxes’ in canopy science that remain22Acknowledgements23References24
Farnesol: antinociceptive effect and histopathological analysis of the striatum and hippocampus of mice
Authors: de Oliveira Júnior Walter Mendes , Benedito Rubens Batista , Pereira Wendel Batista , de Arruda Torres Paula , Ramos Carlos Alberto Fernandes , Costa Jéssica Pereira , da Rocha Tomé Adriana , de Sousa Damião Pergentino , de Freitas Rivelilson Mendes , de Fatima Formiga Melo Diniz Margareth , de Almeida Reinaldo Nóbrega
Published: February 2012

Farnesol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, has been shown to have antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory properties. Recent studies have found that antioxidant compounds may exert a certain protective effect against neurotoxicity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antinociceptive activity of farnesol (FAR) and its neurotoxic effects on the brains of adult mice. In this study, two mouse models of analgesia were used to evaluate FAR at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, injected intraperitoneally (i.p.). In the acetic acid–induced writhing test, a significant decrease was found in the number of contortions in the FAR‐treated mice at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg. FAR was also found to inhibit the licking response in the injected paw at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg (i.p.) in the first (0–5 min) and second phases (15–30 min) of the formalin test. To evaluate neurotoxic effects, Swiss mice were treated with 0.9% saline (i.p., control group), 0.05 Tween 80 dissolved in 0.9% saline (i.p., vehicle group), and FAR 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg, i.p. Following treatment, all groups were observed for 72 h. In the FAR 200‐mg group, 16% of the animals suffered brain injury that affected 12% of the area of the hippocampus. No lesions were found in the hippocampal and striatal regions of the brain in any of the animals treated with the 50 and 100 mg/kg doses of FAR. In conclusion, FAR exerts an antinociceptive effect with no significant neurotoxicity in the brains of adult mice.
Crop size as an index of chick provisioning in the Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Authors: RENDÓN MIGUEL A. , GARRIDO ARACELI , GUERRERO JOSÉ C. , RENDÓN‐MARTOS MANUEL , AMAT JUAN A.
Published: February 2012

After being fed by their parents, Greater Flamingo chicks store food in their crops, which protrude outwards. We allocated the crop profiles of chicks to four categories to assess the relationship between body mass and crop profile variation, and so determine whether crop size can be used as an accurate index of the amount of food ingested, and to determine the timing and frequency of provisioning. We registered changes in body mass and crop fullness in eight chicks captured with turgid crops and kept in captivity until constant mass was achieved. The meal mass ingested by the chicks during each parental feeding was around 18% of net chick mass and varied greatly with crop profile. Mean transition times between the four crop profile categories ranged from 6 to 14 h. Between 1998 and 2009, 34% of chicks caught for ringing in a breeding colony had empty crops. From crop profiles recorded during the handling of chicks, it was estimated that approximately one‐third of the chicks were fed in the evening and another third during the night. Our results have implications for the estimation of body condition indexes because body mass should be free of the influence of the mass of the food in the crop.
Reproducibility of assessing rib cage mobility from computed tomography images
Authors: Mueller Gabi , Perret Claudio , Michel Franz , Berger Markus , Hopman Maria T. E.
Published: February 2012

Background

Rib cage mobility decreases in various health conditions, for example neuromuscular diseases. A decrease in rib cage mobility reduces respiratory function and therefore increases the risk of respiratory complications. To evaluate the effects of interventions aiming at increasing rib cage mobility, changes should be calculated from measurements before and after such interventions. Therefore, an accurate and easy to perform method is needed.

Objective

To assess rib cage mobility using computed tomography (CT).

Methods

We analysed single‐image CT scans of the chest to assess its reproducibility at maximal inspiration and expiration in ten able‐bodied individuals and ten subjects with tetraplegia. CT scans were taken twice in the supine position, with a repositioning of subjects in‐between. At maximal inspiration and expiration, two images at the fourth and ninth vertebral body were recorded. Intra‐costal areas, anterior–posterior distances from the sternum to the vertebral body as well as transversal distances of the chest were measured manually by three independent testers, each of them analysing all data twice. Intra‐class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland and Altman plots were calculated for intra‐subject reproducibility at maximal inspiration and expiration as well as for intra‐ and inter‐tester reproducibility.

Results

Mean differences between the two intra‐subject measurements expressed as percentage of their mean were 2·3 ± 1·3% in able‐bodied individuals and 2·1 ± 1·3% in subjects with tetraplegia. All ICCs were above 0·95 and thus showed very high reproducibility.

Conclusion

Assessing rib cage mobility by analysing CT scans of the chest is a simple and highly reproducible method.
Reinterpretation of Dracochela deprehendor (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) as a stem‐group pseudoscorpion
Authors: JUDSON MARK L. I.
Published: February 2012

Abstract:  The middle Devonian (Givetian–Eifelian) pseudoscorpion Dracochela deprehendor Schawaller, Shear and Bonamo is redescribed from the type material and an additional palpal fragment. Dracochela differs from extant pseudoscorpions in having numerous spinules on the leg tarsi, the femur at least as long as the patella on the posterior legs, the stem of the arolia thick, most blades of the serrulae only weakly fused and in lacking a spinneret on the chelicera. The blades of the cheliceral rallum are shown to have been arranged in two rows, as in most Heterosphyronida. The cheliceral serrulae are compared with analogous structures in other arachnids (Notostigmata, Opiliones, Palpigradi, Schizomida and Scorpiones), and it is concluded that the panctenal state (all lamellae attached to finger) is plesiomorphic relative to the hemictenal state (apical lamellae raised), which has evolved independently in Heterosphyronida and Neobisioidea. The trichobothriotaxy of the chela of Dracochela is shown to be similar to that of the extant family Pseudotyrannochthoniidae. The growth of the chelal fingers followed the same pattern as that seen in modern pseudoscorpions, with most of the increase in length occurring at the base of the fingers. The family Dracochelidae Schawaller, Shear and Bonamo is treated as a plesion and assigned to the stem‐group of Pseudoscorpiones. The ordinal name Chelonethi Thorell is restricted to crown‐group pseudoscorpions, and the superordinal name Pseudoscorpiones Latreille is adopted for the total‐group (i.e. stem‐group plus Chelonethi).
The original composition of the pro‐ostracum of an early Sinemurian belemnite from Belgium deduced from mode of fossilization and ultrastructure
Authors: DOGUZHAEVA LARISA A.
Published: February 2012

Abstract: The pro‐ostracum of the early Sinemurian belemniteNannobelusfrom the Belgian Province of Luxembourg is preserved as a thin, irregularly mineralized (phosphatized and pyritized), finely laminated structure, which is situated dorsally between the calcified rostrum and phragmocone. It has a median field with a criss‐cross pattern of bluntly pointed, curved growth lines and fine longitudinal ridges, as well as two lateral fields characterized by a fine ornament of closely spaced, longitudinal striae, each lateral field showing a narrow anterior belt‐like portion, the width of which equals about one‐third of that of the median field. Their posterior portion is remarkably asymmetrical, because its free margin (which does not about the median field) curves ventrally and the interspace between striae gradually increases here. The striation of the lateral field is formed by the longitudinally exposed narrow portions of succeeding, overlapping sublayers of the pro‐ostracum. Additionally, an internal sublayer with a silicified, honeycomb‐like structure is demonstrated in the pro‐ostracum. Based on microlamination that is comparable to that of the chitinous gladius in extant squids and on the irregular mineralization (unlike the rest of the shell), the pro‐ostracum is considered to have been originally mainly organic, containing an intermediate cartilaginous sublayer with a typical honeycomb‐like structure. The cartilaginous sublayer supposedly provided protection of the pro‐ostracum against fractures which might have resulted from regular contractions together with the muscular mantle during jet‐propulsion. Ultrastructural and chemical data onNannobelusfavour the interpretation of the pro‐ostracum as a novelty of the skeleton in coleoids rather than as a dorsal projection of the phragmocone wall.
Antitumoural hydroxyapatite nanoparticles‐mediated hepatoma‐targeted trans‐arterial embolization gene therapy: in vitro and in vivo studies
Authors: Li Gaopeng , Ye Lu , Pan Jingsheng , Long Miaoyun , Zhao Zizhuo , Yang Haiyun , Tian Jing , Wen Yanling , Dong Shengli , Guan Jian , Luo Baoming
Published: February 2012

Background/Aims

Absence of curative treatment creates urgent need for new strategies for unresectable hepatoma. Based on former discoveries of good liver cell compatibility, safety and tumour‐specific inhibition of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAP), this work tries to make nHAP serve as gene vector in the hepatoma‐targeted trans‐arterial embolization (TAE) gene therapy to elevate and synergize the therapeutic efficacy of TAE and target gene therapy.

Method

Following dosage and ratio optimization, polypolex formed by surface modified nHAP and p53 expressing plasmid was applied in vitro for human hepatoma HePG2 cell, and then in vivo for rabbit hepatic VX2 tumour by injection of polypolex/lipodoil emulsion to the hepatic artery in a tumour‐target manner.

Results

In vitro, the polypolex transfected only about 5% HepG2 cells, but can elevate the inhibition of its growth and apoptosis in a much more degree while keeping safe to the normal hepatocyte line, L02. In vivo, the emulsion, with better dispersion than the polypolex and more specific tumour‐target than lipiodol, mediated specific 4% p53 expression and antitumoural nanoparticle retention in the target tumour site, also significantly reduced tumour growth and prolonged the animal survival times more than the lipiodol (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In all, this new treatment based on nHAP can enhance therapeutic effect of HCC safely both in vitro and in vivo.
Early Numerical Competencies of Students with Different Forms of Mathematics Difficulty
Authors: Namkung Jessica M. , Fuchs Lynn S.
Published: February 2012

The purpose of the study was to examine differences in early numerical competencies, as well as subtraction skill, as a function of children's mathematics difficulty (MD) status: computational difficulty (CD), word problem‐solving difficulty (PD), concurrent difficulty (CDPD), or neither difficulty (i.e., typically developing; TYP). Based on measures of addition and word‐problem skill, second grade students (N= 332) were classified in terms of MD status. Then, students were assessed on three early numerical competency measures (Number Line Estimation, Number Sets Test, and Counting Knowledge) as well as a measure of subtraction. On Number Line Estimation and Number Sets Test, students with CD and those with PD scored comparably, but both outperformed students with CDPD. On Counting Knowledge‐Double First, students with CDPD scored lower than the three contrasting groups. On subtraction, students with CD outperformed those with PD, and students with PD and those with CDPD performed comparably. Findings are discussed in terms of differential performance as a function of difficulty status and implications for understanding and teaching subtypes of MD.
Peer‐Mediated Instruction in Inclusive Secondary Social Studies Learning: Direct and Indirect Learning Effects
Authors: Scruggs Thomas E. , Mastropieri Margo A. , Marshak Lisa
Published: February 2012

Ten inclusive middle school social studies classes, including 133 general education students, and 24 students with mild disabilities (21 with learning disabilities and 3 with emotional disabilities), were assigned at random to a traditional instruction condition, or an experimental condition involving classwide peer tutoring with specialized materials and parent training. After 18 weeks of instruction, posttest data revealed that students in the experimental condition gained significantly more than students in the traditional instruction condition. These effects were observed on content included in the tutoring intervention, as well as on related content that was taught but not included in the tutoring intervention. Results are discussed within the context of recent research on inclusive secondary content area instruction.
Instructing Struggling Older Readers: A Selective Meta‐Analysis of Intervention Research
Authors: Flynn Lindsay J. , Zheng Xinhua , Swanson H. Lee
Published: February 2012

This article synthesizes the experimental literature on reading interventions for upper elementary and middle school students identified with reading disabilities on norm‐referenced reading measures. Ten studies (12 independent samples) yielded 70 effect sizes on norm‐referenced reading measures with an aggregated mean of 0.41 (SE= .04) in favor of the experimental condition. Moderate effect sizes emerged on norm‐referenced measures of word identification (M= 0.41), decoding (M= 0.43), and comprehension (M= 0.73) and low effect sizes for fluency (M=–.29). Intervention outcomes did not significantly vary as a function of the reading skills measured, type of reading instruction, and/or variations in sample characteristics. Studies yielding low and relatively moderate effect sizes shared a number of instructional components. Overall, the magnitude of the results for experimental reading intervention studies for students with reading disabilities in the middle school age range was small to moderate. Implications of the study were discussed.
Extending Curriculum‐based Assessment to Early Writing
Authors: Parker David C. , Burns Matthew K. , McMaster Kristen L. , Shapiro Edward S.
Published: February 2012

Early writing interventions can help students develop the writing skills they need to experience positive educational and postsecondary outcomes, but effective intervention requires instructionally relevant assessment data. Shapiro's curriculum‐based assessment (CBA) model integrates related yet distinct CBA approaches into a model that informs intervention. Extending this model to early writing poses challenges only recently addressed by research. On the basis of a review of relevant early writing research, this article outlines an instructionally relevant assessment model for early writing. Within the proposed model, the instructional hierarchy is suggested to directly connect early writing assessment with intervention. A discussion of potential limitations as well as future directions for research is included.
New Equation for Prediction of Reverse Remodeling after Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Authors: Hotta Viviane Tiemi , Filho Martino Martinelli , Mathias Wilson , Vieira Marcelo L. C.
Published: February 2012

Objectives: To integrate data from two‐dimensional echocardiography (2D ECHO), three‐dimensional echocardiography (3D ECHO), and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for prediction of left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling (LVRR) after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). It was also compared the evaluation of cardiac dyssynchrony by TDI and 3D ECHO. Methods: Twenty‐four consecutive patients with heart failure, sinus rhythm, QRS ≥ 120 msec, functional class III or IV and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 0.35 underwent CRT. 2D ECHO, 3D ECHO with systolic dyssynchrony index (SDI) analysis, and TDI were performed before, 3 and 6 months after CRT. Cardiac dyssynchrony analyses by TDI and SDI were compared with the Pearson's correlation test. Before CRT, a univariate analysis of baseline characteristics was performed for the construction of a logistic regression model to identify the best predictors of LVRR. Results: After 3 months of CRT, there was a moderate correlation between TDI and SDI (r = 0.52). At other time points, there was no strong correlation. Nine of twenty‐four (38%) patients presented with LVRR 6 months after CRT. After logistic regression analysis, SDI (SDI > 11%) was the only independent factor in the prediction of LVRR 6 months of CRT (sensitivity = 0.89 and specificity = 0.73). After construction of receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, an equation was established to predict LVRR: LVRR =−0.4LVDD (mm) + 0.5LVEF (%) + 1.1SDI (%), with responders presenting values >0 (sensitivity = 0.67 and specificity = 0.87). Conclusions: In this study, there was no strong correlation between TDI and SDI. An equation is proposed for the prediction of LVRR after CRT. Although larger trials are needed to validate these findings, this equation may be useful to candidates for CRT. (Echocardiography 2012;29:678‐687)
Nonparametric Lower Bounds for Species Richness and Shared Species Richness under Sampling without Replacement
Authors: Chao Anne , Lin Chih‐Wei
Published: February 2012

Summary A number of species richness estimators have been developed under the model that individuals (or sampling units) are sampled with replacement. However, if sampling is done without replacement so that no sampled unit can be repeatedly observed, then the traditional estimators for sampling with replacement tend to overestimate richness for relatively high‐sampling fractions (ratio of sample size to the total number of sampling units) and do not converge to the true species richness when the sampling fraction approaches one. Based on abundance data or replicated incidence data, we propose a nonparametric lower bound for species richness in a single community and also a lower bound for the number of species shared by multiple communities. Our proposed lower bounds are derived under very general sampling models. They are universally valid for all types of species abundance distributions and species detection probabilities. For abundance data, individuals’ detectabilities are allowed to be heterogeneous among species. For replicated incidence data, the selected sampling units (e.g., quadrats) need not be fully censused and species can be spatially aggregated. All bounds converge correctly to the true parameters when the sampling fraction approaches one. Real data sets are used for illustration. We also test the proposed bounds by using subsamples generated from large real surveys or censuses, and their performance is compared with that of some previous estimators.
Introduction to General and Generalized Linear Models by MADSEN, H. and TYREGOD, P.
Authors: Demétrio Clarice G. B.
Published: February 2012

Introduction to General and Generalized Linear Models

(H. Madsen and P. Tyregod)               Clarice Demétrio

Sample Sizes for Clinical Trials

(S. A. Julious)               Janet Wittes

Learning and Inference in Computational Systems Biology.

(N. D. Lawrence, M. Girolami, M. Rattray and G. Sanguinetti)               Ernst Wit

Brief Reports by the Editor

Applied Probability, 2nd edition.

(K. Lange)

Regression Estimators: A Comparative Study, 2nd edition.

(M. H. J. Gruber)

Common Statistical Methods for Clinical Research with SAS Examples, 3rd edition.

(G. A. Walker and J. Shostak)
Enduring Inequities, Imagined Futures—Circulating Policy Discourses and Dilemmas in the Anthropology of Education
Authors: MCCARTY TERESA L.
Published: February 2012

This article is a slightly revised version of the CAE Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in New Orleans, LA on November 20, 2010. The address inaugurated a CAE program change in which a full evening session was devoted to the talk, including commentaries by Hugh Mehan and Sofia Villenas, and followed by a lively discussion among all those present. [anthropology of education policy, education equity, crisis narratives, “culture of poverty”]
Difference Matters: Embodiment of and Discourse on Difference at an Urban Public High School
Authors: CHIKKATUR ANITA
Published: February 2012

This article examines how students and teachers at an urban public high school embodied and understood various social categories of difference. Although ascriptions and experiences of racial and gender identities varied, these identities were often viewed as biological in origin and static in nature. The complexities and contradictions evident in the everyday conversations about difference at the school might serve as effective starting points for discussions about the social construction of difference. [race and gender, everyday discourse about difference, high school, race as a biological category]
Composing Sound Identity in Taiko Drumming
Authors: POWELL KIMBERLY A.
Published: February 2012

Although sociocultural theories emphasize the mutually constitutive nature of persons, activity, and environment, little attention has been paid to environmental features organized across sensory dimensions. I examine sound as a dimension of learning and practice, an organizing presence that connects the sonic with the social. This ethnographic study of taiko drumming underscores an acoustemological sense of knowing that configures the practice and performance of taiko as an Asian American soundscape of (re)composed cultural identity. [music, Japanese American, Asian American, identity, race]
Influence of Flux on Morphology and Luminescence Properties of Phosphors: A Case Study on Y1.55Ti2O7:0.45Eu3+
Authors: Dai Pengpeng , Zhang Xintong , Sun Panpan , Yang Jikai , Wang Lingling , Yan Shili , Liu Yichun
Published: February 2012

A series of Y1.55Ti2O7:0.45Eu3+ phosphors with orange‐red emission under near ultraviolet excitation were prepared in solid‐state reaction with NH4Cl, NH4F, H3BO3, LiF, and NaF as flux, respectively. Comparative studies showed that flux could not only modify the morphology and grain size, but have a significant influence on the spatial distribution of Eu3+ activator across the Y2Ti2O7 host. NaF flux, the best one among the five flux materials, helped the phosphor particles to have a sphere‐like morphology, micrometer‐level grain size as well as uniform spatial distribution of activator, and enhanced the photoluminescence of Y1.55Ti2O7:0.45Eu3+ phosphor by a factor of about 16 at an optimal amount. Other fluxes also exhibited positive effect on photoluminescence of the phosphor in a sequence of NH4Cl < NH4F < H3BO3 < LiF, and influenced the morphology, grain size, activator spatial distribution of the phosphor particles in varied extents. The influence of these flux materials on phosphor grain growth was discussed by the Ostwald ripening mechanism, with consideration of the melting point, boiling point (or decomposition temperature), as well as reactivity of the flux materials. In addition, the influence of flux on photoluminescence intensity and lifetime of Y1.55Ti2O7:0.45Eu3+ was also discussed.
Geographic pattern of host‐associated differentiation in the cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus
Authors: Barman Apurba K. , Parajulee Megha N. , Sansone Christopher G. , Suh Charles P. C. , Medina Raul F.
Published: February 2012

Host‐associated differentiation (HAD) is the occurrence of genetically distinct, host‐associated lineages. Most of the cases of HAD in phytophagous insects have been documented in specialist insects inhabiting feral ecosystems or in generalist parthenogens in agroecosystems. Herein we report HAD in the cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae), a native, generalist, non‐parthenogenetic insect feeding on native wild hosts [horsemint, Monarda punctata L. (Lamiaceae) and woolly croton, Croton capitatus Michx. (Euphorbiaceae)] and on cotton [Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae)] in the USA. Examination of genome‐wide genetic variation with AFLP markers and Bayesian analyses of P. seriatus associated with three different host plant species at five locations in Texas revealed a geographic pattern of HAD. The geographic pattern of HAD corresponded with differences in precipitation among the locations studied. In three locations, two distinct lineages of P. seriatus were found in association with horsemint and cotton/woolly croton, whereas in two other locations, populations associated with the different host plants studied were panmictic. We suggest that precipitation differences among locations translate into heterogeneity in vegetation distribution, composition, and phenology, which altogether may contribute to the observed geographic pattern of HAD.