bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vedic preverbs as markers of valency-changing derivations
Authors: Kulikov Leonid
Published: January 2013

The present paper offers an analysis of the transitivizing and intransitivizing preverbs (semi-bound verbal prefixes) in Vedic Sanskrit. I will argue that the (in)transitivizing force of these morphemes is weak: the passivization test shows that transitivizing preverbs only exceptionally make fundamentally intransitive verbs true transitives, whilst the only intransitivizing preverb ví has but a rather limited valency-changing capacity.
The sociology of translation and its “activist turn”
Authors: Wolf Michaela
Published: January 2013

The last few years have seen a great increase in works on what has been labeled a “sociological turn” in translation studies. This turn has particularly taught us to sharpen our “sociological eye” on the various agencies and agents involved in any translation procedure, and more specifically in the textual factors operating in the translation process. In this paper I will discuss the conditions underlying the “sociological turn” and examine both its limitations and its potential, with particular attention to the translator’s habitus as elaborated in sociology and in translation studies. My focus will be on the political factors which in recent years have contributed to molding the habitus, not least in the domain of “translation and activism,” where new codes of reference have been created for translatorial activity that also pose searching questions for Western concepts of translation and their social implications, ultimately triggering what might be called an “activist turn.”
Power in face-to-face interpreting events
Authors: Mason Ian , Ren Wen
Published: January 2013

The traditional view holds that professional interpreters should be transparent, invisible, passive, neutral, and detached, a view reiterated and reinforced in the prescribed interpreters’ codes of conduct of national and international professional organizations. Such an idealized role construct, however, is from time to time deconstructed in real-life face-to-face interpreting events. In this paper, face-to-face interpreting is seen as a three-way communicative event in which the interpreter is a co-constructor of the interaction and can therefore be a powerful figure. From the perspective of interpreting as a socially-situated activity, the paper adopts Michel Foucault’s concept of power, defining it not as the traditionally dominating force to monopolize, control, or rule, but as a kind of strategy, disposition, maneuver, tactic, or technique, functioning in a network of relations. Although interpreters often lack institutional power, they may be equipped with power within the exchange as a result of their bilingual and bicultural expertise. They may exercise this power by adopting various verbal and non-verbal strategies to negotiate, coordinate, check, and balance power relations. This can be specifically manifested in interpreters’ social action as co-interlocutors, empowerment figures, or in the adoption of a non-neutral stance. Examples are cited from authentic interpreting events to analyze interpreters’ power-at-work, focusing on their verbal and non-verbal behaviors, in particular, their positioning and gaze.
Digitalizing translation
Authors: Folaron Deborah A.
Published: January 2013

Throughout its disciplinary history, Translation Studies has critically engaged with issues intimately linked to language, culture, and society. It has problematized social categories, concepts, and historical time periods, attempting to place translation practice and theory in ever more meaningful contexts. The disciplinary reading of translation and localization technologies can be enhanced by moving beyond the observation and description of specific tools, procedures, and applications to inquire into the multiple, complex dynamics currently shaping practices of communication globally. At a time when many disciplines are in dialogue with others in order to share expertise and better understand the quickly evolving times we live in, Internet, Web, and Digital Culture Studies can serve as a complementary and useful approach for examining the roles of translation and translators in a technologically configured digital world of 24/7 communication. This article seeks to bring to Translation Studies a view from the digital world and the technologies that sustain it.
Translation crowdsourcing and user-translator motivation at Facebook and Skype
Authors: Mesipuu Marit
Published: January 2013

There is a growing trend among some internet software companies to involve users in the translation process by inviting or enabling them to shape the way the final product reads in their native languages. This is called translation crowdsourcing, and an increasing number of user-translators are willing to dedicate their spare time to contribute to such undertakings. What motivates them to do so, and how could their motivation be boosted? In order to answer these questions, this article looks at Facebook and Skype, examples of the two most common translation crowdsourcing models: open community and closed community. The first part of the article describes these two models, highlighting their principal differences and the business needs that help determine which model is adopted. The second part examines the origins of user-translator motivation and the ways that these two software companies maintain and boost motivation.
Considerations for translation rights 2.0
Authors: Sadek Gaafar
Published: January 2013

As the contours of the globalized digital information society become apparent, so does the need for a reform of translation rights within the intellectual property regime. The history of translation rights provides insights that help us understand the underlying economic and political tensions in copyright negotiations today. The various versions of agency in translation studies, which run parallel to recent interactive technologies, destabilize important notions in copyright law, such as authorship, originality, and the idea-expression dichotomy. Finally, translational ethics can perhaps contribute to redirect current dialogues on copyright and language policy towards increased interdisciplinarity and internationalism, in part, as a result of decentralizing power.
Evidence of Wild Juvenile Lake Trout Recruitment in Western Lake Michigan
Authors: Hanson S. Dale , Holey Mark E. , Treska Ted J. , Bronte Charles R. , Eggebraaten Ted H.
Published: January 2013

Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush were extirpated from Lake Michigan by the early 1950s, and as part of an effort to restore naturally reproducing populations, hatchery-reared fish have been stocked since the early 1960s. Stocked fish are marked with a fin clip to differentiate them from wild, lake-produced Lake Trout; marking error for the 2007–2010 year-classes of Lake Trout stocked by federal hatcheries averaged 3.0%. Egg deposition, emergent fry, and wild juvenile Lake Trout have previously been observed, but no sustained wild recruitment has been measured in assessment surveys or in sport and commercial fishery catches. In 2011 and 2012, we caught juvenile Lake Trout in gill-net and bottom trawl catches that were targeting Bloater Coregonus hoyi in water depths greater than 80 m. Unclipped, wild Lake Trout represented 20% of all Lake Trout caught in a southern offshore region of Lake Michigan. In northwestern Lake Michigan wild recruits represented from 10% to 27% of the 2007–2009 year-classes, and we recovered a small number of wild Lake Trout from the 2010 year-class. This is the first evidence for consecutive year-classes of naturally produced Lake Trout surviving beyond the fry stage in Lake Michigan.

Received July 13, 2012; accepted November 26, 2012
The role of government in developing the biotechnology industry: a South African perspective
Authors: Uctu Ramazan , Essop Hassan
Published: January 2013

Biotechnology has been identified as one of the key sectors for future economic growth in many countries, with South Africa being no exception. Consequently, the South African government introduced the National Biotechnology Strategy (NBS) in 2001 to modernise the government’s biotechnology institutions and to develop the biotechnology industry, given a changing political and technical environment. An important product of the NBS was the establishment of biotechnology regional innovation centres (BRICs) in 2002, which aimed to develop and commercialise the biotechnology industry. The BRICs, however, were effectively replaced by the creation of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in 2008, which also formed part of the 10-year plan of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The TIA’s aims are to develop South Africa’s ability to convert local research and development (R&D) into commercial products and services. This paper will explore recent changes in the role of the South African government in its attempts to support and develop the biotechnology industry.
How moral and social values become embedded in family firms
Authors: Sorenson Ritch L.
Published: January 2013

Research suggests that moral values are more prevalent in family than non-family firms. This paper offers a model and propositions that suggest how family values are clarified, reinforced, and socialized into firms. First, social capital within the family helps clarify and reinforce
values. Then, families socialize the business in their values through multiple family members working in the business, the founder promoting family values in the firm, or multiple family owners agreeing on and promoting values in the business.
Agonist–antagonist muscle activation during drop jumps
Authors: Arai Aya , Ishikawa Masaki , Ito Akira
Published: January 2013

Pre‐programmed and stretch‐induced muscle activities of agonist muscles can play important roles during stretch‐shortening cycle exercises. It is still not clear how the antagonist muscles function when the drop and rebound intensities are varied during drop jump (DJ) exercises. The purpose of the present study was to examine the regulation of agonist–antagonist muscle activation during DJ with different drop and rebound heights. The subjects performed DJs with two drop heights (0.2 and 0.4 m) and three different efforts (maximal rebound height, 50% effort of maximal rebound height and landing without rebound). Ankle and knee joint angles, and vertical ground reaction force together with an electromyogram of the lower leg muscles (medial gastrocnemius [MG], soleus [SOL] and tibialis anterior [TA]) were measured simultaneously during DJ. Our results clearly showed that the pre‐activation of the antagonist TA was increased with increasing rebound height. Our results further showed that the coactivations of agonist and antagonist muscles during the post‐impact 30‐ms phase were increased with increasing rebound height. These results suggested that not only the pre‐programmed agonist MG muscle activation, but also the pre‐programmed antagonist TA activation and the coactivation of the post‐impact 30‐ms phase may play important roles in the control of rebound height.
Rethinking Newton’s Principia
Authors: Saunders Simon
Published: January 2013

It is widely accepted that the notion of an inertial frame is central to Newtonian mechanics and that the correct space-time structure underlying Newton’s methods in Principia is neo-Newtonian or Galilean space-time. I argue to the contrary that inertial frames are not needed in Newton’s theory of motion, and that the right space-time structure for Newton’s Principia requires the notion of parallelism of spatial directions at different times and nothing more.
AbCD: arbitrary coverage design for sequencing-based genetic studies
Authors: Kang Jian , Huang Kuan-Chieh , Xu Zheng , Wang Yunfei , Abecasis Gonçalo R. , Li Yun
Published: January 2013

Summary: Recent advances in sequencing technologies have revolutionized genetic studies. Although high-coverage sequencing can uncover most variants present in the sequenced sample, low-coverage sequencing is appealing for its cost effectiveness. Here, we present AbCD (arbitrary coverage design) to aid the design of sequencing-based studies. AbCD is a user-friendly interface providing pre-estimated effective sample sizes, specific to each minor allele frequency category, for designs with arbitrary coverage (0.5–30×) and sample size (20–10 000), and for four major ethnic groups (Europeans, Africans, Asians and African Americans). In addition, we also present two software tools: ShotGun and DesignPlanner, which were used to generate the estimates behind AbCD. ShotGun is a flexible short-read simulator for arbitrary user-specified read length and average depth, allowing cycle-specific sequencing error rates and realistic read depth distributions. DesignPlanner is a full pipeline that uses ShotGun to generate sequence data and performs initial SNP discovery, uses our previously presented linkage disequilibrium-aware method to call genotypes, and, finally, provides minor allele frequency-specific effective sample sizes. ShotGun plus DesignPlanner can accommodate effective sample size estimate for any combination of high-depth and low-depth data (for example, whole-genome low-depth plus exonic high-depth) or combination of sequence and genotype data [for example, whole-exome sequencing plus genotyping from existing Genomewide Association Study (GWAS)].

Availability and implementation: AbCD, including its downloadable terminal interface and web-based interface, and the associated tools ShotGun and DesignPlanner, including documentation, examples and executables, are available at http://www.unc.edu/∼yunmli/AbCD.html.

Contact:  yunli@med.unc.edu
Modification of Tobacco rattle virus RNA1 to Serve as a VIGS Vector Reveals That the 29K Movement Protein Is an RNA Silencing Suppressor of the Virus
Authors: Deng Xianbao , Kelloniemi Jani , Haikonen Tuuli , Vuorinen Anssi L. , Elomaa Paula , Teeri Teemu H. , Valkonen Jari P. T.
Published: January 2013

Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) has a bipartite, positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and is widely used for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in plants. RNA1 of TRV that lacks the gene for the cysteine-rich 16K silencing-suppression protein infects plants systemically in the absence of RNA2. Here, we attempted to engineer RNA1 for use as a VIGS vector by inserting heterologous gene fragments to replace 16K. The RNA1 vector systemically silenced the phytoene desaturase (PDS) gene, although less efficiently than when the original VIGS vector system was used, which consists of wild-type RNA1 and engineered RNA2 carrying the heterologous gene. Infectious RNA1 mutants with a dysfunctional 16K suppressed silencing and enhanced transgene expression in green fluorescent protein-transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana following inoculation by agroinfiltration, unlike mutants that also lacked 29K, a movement protein (MP) gene. The 30K MP gene of Tobacco mosaic virus complemented in cis the movement defect but not the silencing suppression functions of TRV 29K. Silencing suppression by 29K occurred in the context of RNA1 replication but not in an agroinfiltration assay which tested 29K alone for suppression of sense-mediated silencing. Both 29K and 16K were needed to avoid necrotic symptoms in RNA1-infected N. benthamiana. The results shed new light on virulence factors of TRV.
Resource convergence and resource power: towards new concepts for material efficiency
Authors: Vasara Petri , Rouhiainen Juulia , Lehtinen Hannele
Published: January 2013

Material efficiency is not a panacea, but it lies at the intersection of many problems of global sustainability. Reducing the usage of a single material in a value chain may require ingenuity and wide cooperation, but conceptually it is not a problem. When the problem stretches to several resources in changing circumstances, we have to understand the linkages between resources and the power, and the influence of each resource in decision-making in different settings. In this paper, we concisely go from the time dimension to a very short history of resource thinking, and then introduce our resource convergence concept. Using text mining on a sample of articles linking different resources, we show in a ‘visual literature review’ how resource convergence emerges from unrelated texts. To demonstrate one new method under the resource convergence umbrella, we use a case example with our Resource Power Index method. In our opinion, mastering complexity will be the key to solving the challenges we are facing, and mastering resource convergence and translating it into material efficiency is one of the central problems. What we show in this paper is a core framework and some details of the direction we see as worth pursuing.
Material efficiency in Dutch packaging policy
Authors: Worrell Ernst , van Sluisveld Mariësse A. E
Published: January 2013

Packaging materials are one of the largest contributors to municipal solid waste generation. In this paper, we evaluate the material impacts of packaging policy in The Netherlands, focusing on the role of material efficiency (or waste prevention). Since 1991, five different policies have been implemented to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. The analysis shows that Dutch packaging policies helped to reduce the total packaging volume until 1999. After 2000, packaging consumption increased more rapidly than the baseline, suggesting that policy measures were not effective. Generally, we see limited attention to material efficiency to reduce packaging material use. For this purpose, we tried to gain more insight in recent activities on material efficiency, by building a database of packaging prevention initiatives. We identified 131 alterations to packaging implemented in the period 2005–2010, of which weight reduction was the predominant approach. More appropriate packaging policy is needed to increase the effectiveness of policies, with special attention to material efficiency.
Energy and materials conservation: applying pioneering research and techniques to current non-energy materials conservation issues
Authors: Hannon Bruce
Published: January 2013

The research of the Energy Research Group (ERG) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through the 1970s and early 1980s has recurring bouts of popularity. That research traced the flow of various energy types from nature to the final product or service, using modified economic input–output analysis. That information allowed for a comparison of alternative uses of products and services that delivered the same demand. The goal of the study was to identify the energy-conserving potential of the alternatives. Interest in that research has risen and fallen with the price of energy through three cycles now, with the current interest also encompassing materials conservation. Although the specific numerical results of this work are dated, the process by which the analysis was conducted creates, at least, a suggestion for future analysis in the arena of materials research. A review of the ERG history, including techniques pioneered for investigating the potential for energy conservation and some of the ancillary lessons learned along the way, may be of some use to those working on issues of materials conservation today. In the coming years, the most relevant research will include assessment of the socio-economic–ecological impact of technological materials conservation policies.
Specific surface area and pore‐size distribution in clays and shales
Authors: Kuila Utpalendu , Prasad Manika
Published: January 2013

One of the biggest challenges in estimating the elastic, transport and storage properties of shales has been a lack of understanding of their complete pore structure. The shale matrix is predominantly composed of micropores (pores less than 2 nm diameter) and mesopores (pores with 2–50 nm diameter). These small pores in the shale matrix are mainly associated with clay minerals and organic matter and comprehending the controls of these clays and organic matter on the pore‐size distribution is critical to understand the shale pore network. Historically, mercury intrusion techniques are used for pore‐size analysis of conventional reservoirs. However, for unconventional shale reservoirs, very high pressures (> 414 MPa (60 000 psi)) would be required for mercury to access the full pore structure, which has potential pitfalls. Current instrumental limitations do not allow reliable measurement of significant portions of the total pore volume in shales. Nitrogen gas‐adsorption techniques can be used to characterize materials dominated by micro‐ and mesopores (2–50 nm). A limitation of this technique is that it fails to measure large pores (diameter >200 nm). We use a nitrogen gas‐adsorption technique to study the micro‐ and mesopores in shales and clays and compare the results from conventional mercury porosimetry techniques.

Our results on pure clay minerals and natural shales show that (i) they have a multiscale pore structure at different dimensions (ii) fine mesopores, with a characteristic 3 nm pore size obtained with N2 gas‐adsorption are associated with an illite‐smectite group of clays but not with kaolinite; (iii) compaction results in a decrease of pore volume and a reduction of pore size in the ‘inter‐aggregate’ macropores of the illite‐smectite clays while the fine ‘intra‐tachoid’ mesopores are shielded from compaction; (iv) for natural shales, mineralogy controls the pore‐size distributions for shales and the presence of micropores and fine mesopores in natural shales can be correlated with the dominance of the illite‐smectite type of clays in the rock. Our assessment of incompressible 3 nm sized pores associated with illite‐smectite clays provides an important building block for their mineral modulus.
Static and dynamic behaviour of compacted sand and clay: Comparison between measurements in Triaxial and Oedometric test systems
Authors: Bhuiyan M. H. , Holt R. M. , Larsen I. , Stenebråten J.F.
Published: January 2013

In rock mechanics and rock physics, like in many other branches of research, it is important to compare results obtained in different kinds of apparatus that are meant to measure the same properties. Differences may in general be due to differences in samples, or in test procedures. Here we compare uniaxial compaction experiments in oedometric and triaxial tests systems, using brine‐saturated samples made from pure kaolinite or from Ottawa sand. Small differences in sample manufacturing or in initial loading of the specimens were found to cause significant differences in static behaviour and in ultrasonic velocities during the tests. The influence of differences in sample geometry (wide and thin samples in the oedometer versus long and slim samples in the triaxial set‐up) and the influence of different boundary conditions caused by the confining medium (steel in the oedometer, thin soft sleeve in the triaxial system) were studied, amongst others with the use of discrete particle modelling. Although the boundary conditions may have an influence, the most significant sources of discrepancy in our experiments were associated with the manufacturing and preparation of the samples to be tested. The test data show that the drained static compaction modulus for sand is close to its dynamic counterpart, while for kaolinite, the dynamic modulus is significantly larger than the static one.
Sensitivity of flow and elastic properties to fabric heterogeneity in carbonates
Authors: Sharma Ravi , Prasad Manika , Batzle Mike , Vega Sandra
Published: January 2013

Carbonate rocks are heterogeneous at various levels from deposition to diagenesis. Any existing depositional heterogeneity becomes more complex when carbonate rocks are in contact with polar fluids. Our experiments on carbonate rocks show that change in textural heterogeneity leads to heterogeneity in the distribution of storage and flow properties that may govern changes in saturation patterns. This would be akin to any carbonate reservoir with a mix of heterogeneous and homogeneous facies within a formation and their control on saturation distribution in response to a standard imbibition process. Associated with the saturation pattern heterogeneities, the resultant elastic property distributions also change. We quantify this heterogeneity and its effects on flow and seismic properties based on a few textural extremes of fabric heterogeneity in samples that can exist in any typical carbonate reservoir system. Our measurements show that textural heterogeneity can lead to anisotropy in permeability and in acoustic velocities. Permeability anisotropy measurements varied between 40% and 100% while acoustic velocity anisotropy measurements varied between 8% and 30% with lower values for homogeneous samples respectively. Under similar conditions of the saturation experiment (spontaneous imbibition at the benchtop and undrained pressure imbibition at 1000 psi), the imbibing brine replaced 97% of the pore volume in a homogeneous sample (porosity 20% and permeability 2.6 mD) compared to 80% pore volume in a heterogeneous sample (porosity 29% and permeability 23.4 mD). Furthermore, after pressure saturation, a change of +79% in the bulk modulus and ‐11% in the shear modulus is observed for homogeneous samples in comparison to +34% in the bulk modulus and −1% in the shear modulus for heterogeneous samples, with respect to the dry state moduli values of the samples. We also examined the uncertainties associated with Gassmann models of elastic properties due to variations in fluid saturations.

Our results provide significant information on the saturation and, with it, modulus variations that are often ignored during fluid substitution modelling in time‐lapse seismic studies in carbonate reservoirs. We show that the bulk modulus could vary by 45% and the shear modulus by 10% between homogeneous and heterogeneous patches of a reservoir after a water flooding sequence for secondary recovery. Our findings demonstrate the need to incorporate and couple such fabric‐controlled saturation heterogeneities in reservoir simulation and in seismic fluid substitution models.
New species of Simulium (Nevermannia) from Korea, with reference to its allied species in the S. vernum species group (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Korea and Japan
Authors: Kim Sam‐Kyu
Published: January 2013

The larvae and pupae of a new species, Simulium (Nevermannia) immaculatum sp. nov., are described from Korea. Descriptions are supplemented with photographs of larvae and pupae and habitat information. The new species can be distinguished from other Asian members of the S. vernum group by the cephalic plate and thorax of the pupa devoid of tubercles, 4 pupal gill filaments lying close together, larva with postgenal cleft shorter than postgenal bridge, spot under ocellus absent, and rectal papillae with three simple lobes with single digit‐like small secondary lobule basally.
Circadian Misalignment, Reward‐Related Brain Function, and Adolescent Alcohol Involvement
Authors: Hasler Brant P. , Clark Duncan B.
Published: January 2013

Background

Developmental changes in sleep and circadian rhythms that occur during adolescence may contribute to reward‐related brain dysfunction, and consequently increase the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs).

Methods

This review (i) describes marked changes in circadian rhythms, reward‐related behavior and brain function, and alcohol involvement that occur during adolescence, (ii) offers evidence that these parallel developmental changes are associated, and (iii) posits a conceptual model by which misalignment between sleep–wake timing and endogenous circadian timing may increase the risk of adolescent AUDs by altering reward‐related brain function.

Results

The timing of sleep shifts later throughout adolescence, in part due to developmental changes in endogenous circadian rhythms, which tend to become more delayed. This tendency for delayed sleep and circadian rhythms is at odds with early school start times during secondary education, leading to misalignment between many adolescents' sleep–wake schedules and their internal circadian timing. Circadian misalignment is associated with increased alcohol use and other risk‐taking behaviors, as well as sleep loss and sleep disturbance. Growing evidence indicates that circadian rhythms modulate the reward system, suggesting that circadian misalignment may impact adolescent alcohol involvement by altering reward‐related brain function. Neurocognitive function is also subject to sleep and circadian influence, and thus circadian misalignment may also impair inhibitory control and other cognitive processes relevant to alcohol use. Specifically, circadian misalignment may further exacerbate the cortical–subcortical imbalance within the reward circuit, an imbalance thought to explain increased risk‐taking and sensation‐seeking during adolescence. Adolescent alcohol use is highly contextualized, however, and thus studies testing this model will also need to consider factors that may influence both circadian misalignment and alcohol use.

Conclusions

This review highlights growing evidence supporting a path by which circadian misalignment may disrupt reward mechanisms, which may in turn accelerate the transition from alcohol use to AUDs in vulnerable adolescents.
The impact of Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) vent. on community characteristics in the forest and forest–savannah transition ecosystems of Ghana
Authors: Bosu Paul P. , Apetorgbor Mary M. , Nkrumah Elvis E. , Bandoh Kwabena P.
Published: January 2013

Following its introduction in the late 1960s, Broussonetia papyrifera L. Vent. Moraceae (paper mulberry) has emerged as a major exotic invasive species in Ghana's forest ecosystems. This study was carried out to assess the effects of B. papyrifera invasion on community composition in forest and forest–savannah transition ecosystems. Comparative and removal experiments were conducted in paired B. papyrifera invaded versus uninvaded plots. In the comparative assessment, species composition was found to be similar in both invaded and uninvaded plots. However, relative per cent cover of resident species and guilds including Chromolaena odorata, indigenous broadleaves and indigenous grasses were significantly lower in invaded plots. Seven months after B. papyrifera was experimentally removed from invaded stands, cover by indigenous broadleaves increased by 35%, as against only 5% in control plots at the forest site. However, at the transition site, the increase in per cent cover of indigenous broadleaves (18%) was not significantly different from control (2.5%) plots. We conclude that B. papyrifera has the capacity to reduce the abundance of indigenous broadleaf species, although its removal is more likely to favour regeneration in a forest than a forest–savannah transition ecosystem.
PACCRETA: Clinical situations at high risk of Placenta ACCRETA/Percreta: impact of diagnostic methods and management on maternal morbidity
Authors: Kayem Gilles , Deneux‐Tharaux Catherine , Sentilhes Loic ,   The PACCRETA group
Published: January 2013

Background

No population‐based study has assessed the prevalence of placenta accreta, the predictive value of prenatal diagnostic examinations, the maternal morbidity associated with its management, or its psychological effects. Moreover, the technical resources necessary for the safest delivery of women at risk have not been clearly identified.

Objectives

The primary objectives are to identify individual risk factors, as well as factors associated with types of management and with the healthcare facilities for postpartum hemorrhage. Secondary objectives are to (i) determine the prevalence of placenta accreta among women at risk; (ii) assess the predictive value of ultrasound and MRI for the diagnosis of placenta accreta in this population; (iii) evaluate psychological impact and physical complications; and (iv) report maternal physical complications during the year after delivery.

Design

Population‐based prospective observational study of pregnant women with a placenta inserted at a uterine scar.

Setting

A total of 182 centers in eight French regions, with 270 000 deliveries annually.

Methods

We expect to include 620 women at risk of placenta accreta in two years, of whom approximately 120 (20%) will have placenta accreta.

Main outcome measures

The primary outcome measure is severe maternal hemorrhage; secondary outcome measures are maternal morbidity and deaths, predictive value of ultrasound and MRI, and psychological evaluations at 6 and 12 months.

Conclusion

This study will be the first prospective population‐based study to include women at risk of placenta accreta and to investigate incidence, prenatal detection, type of management, morbidity and maternal psychological consequences.
Electrohysterographic evaluation of preterm contractions in a patient with a unicornuate uterus
Authors: van 't Hooft Janneke , Rabotti Chiara , Oei S.Guid
Published: January 2013

Women with Müllerian anomalies are at increased risk of preterm labor. The analysis of parameters derived by the electrohysterogram such as its conduction velocity are promising for preterm delivery prediction. However, an electrohysterogram has never been measured in Müllerian anomalies. A multiparous woman with a unicornuate uterus presented at 28 weeks of gestation with preterm contractions. Three electrohysterogram recordings were performed between 28 and 30 weeks of gestation, 4 weeks before delivery. The conduction velocity values were in line with previous literature and differed significantly (p < 0.001) showing an increase between the first and last two recordings. The parameters derived from the electrohysterogram such as conduction velocity and power density spectrum peak frequency are promising ones to follow the evolution of pregnancy towards labor, and to distinguish between productive and unproductive uterine contractions, in the case of a unicornuate uterus as well as one that is normally developed.
Polluted Air or Policy Advance in Hong Kong‐Guangdong?
Authors: Jo Caroline Y. , White Lynn
Published: January 2013

The Pearl River Delta, after pell‐mell industrialization, suffers air pollution. Two‐thirds of the pollutants come from Hong Kong–owned factories in Guangdong. Direct 2011 medical costs in Hong Kong are reliably estimated at US$513 million, and annual excess Hong Kong deaths from air pollution exceed 3,000. Dirty air hurts quality of life, recruitment of professionals, tourism, and other desiderata—including government legitimacy. This article surveys the relevant politics, medicine, economics, and air chemistry, recommending cap‐and‐trade policies that are acceptable where markets now rule in both “systems” of Hong Kong‐Guangdong. It stresses the need for official enforcement of caps. Although local governments have cooperated to establish air‐monitoring stations, they have yet to leverage Hong Kong's expertise in regulation and Guangdong's potential for manufacture of air‐cleansing equipment. They need a regional emissions trading scheme (ETS). With Beijing's plans to have a nationwide ETS by 2015, this severe problem could be solved sooner rather than later.
Memory, Nation, and National Commemoration of War Dead: A Study ofJapanese Public Opinion on theYasukuni Controversy
Authors: Fukuoka Kazuya
Published: January 2013

TheYasukuniShrine inTokyo is arguably one of the most controversiallieux de mémoire(sites of memory) in Asia. While the literature on theYasukuni controversy has been growing, not much has been explored on the nature ofJapanese public reactions to it. This study delves intoJapanese public opinion during theKoizumi premiership (2001–2006) and reveals relatively coherent and structural, yet changing, public opinion on (1) the officialYasukuni visits by Prime MinisterKoizumi, (2) the idea of building an alternative nonreligious national memorial, and (3) the anti‐Japanese riots inChina (and their ramifications on the understanding about theYasukuni issue). Overall, the study highlights the observable gaps between Prime MinisterKoizumi'sYasukuni policies and the underlying public perceptions of them, which also calls into question the conventional elite‐led model of public opinion formation.
The feral horse foot. PartB: radiographic, gross visual and histopathological parameters of foot health in 100Australian feral horses
Authors: Hampson BA , de Laat MA , Mills PC , Walsh DM , Pollitt CC
Published: January 2013

Background

It has been proposed that the feral horse foot is a benchmark model for foot health in horses. However, the foot health of feral horses has not been formally investigated.

Objectives

To investigate the foot health ofAustralian feral horses and determine if foot health is affected by environmental factors, such as substrate properties and distance travelled.

Methods

Twenty adult feral horses from five populations (n= 100) were investigated. Populations were selected on the basis of substrate hardness and the amount of travel typical for the population. Feet were radiographed and photographed, and digital images were surveyed by two experienced assessors blinded to each other's assessment and to the population origin. Lamellar samples from 15 feet from three populations were investigated histologically for evidence of laminitis.

Results

There was a total of 377 gross foot abnormalities identified in 100 left forefeet. There were no abnormalities detected in three of the feet surveyed. Each population had a comparable prevalence of foot abnormalities, although the type and severity of abnormality varied among populations. Of the three populations surveyed by histopathology, the prevalence of chronic laminitis ranged between 40% and 93%.

Conclusions

Foot health appeared to be affected by the environment inhabited by the horses. The observed chronic laminitis may be attributable to either nutritional or traumatic causes. Given the overwhelming evidence of suboptimal foot health, it may not be appropriate for the feral horse foot to be the benchmark model for equine foot health.
High‐resolution remote sensing data improves models of species richness
Authors: Camathias Linda , Bergamini Ariel , Küchler Meinrad , Stofer Silvia , Baltensweiler Andri
Published: January 2013

Question

Can predictors derived from air‐ and space‐borne high‐resolution remote sensing data improve models of species richness commonly built using coarser‐scaled environmental variables?

Location

Switzerland, covering 41 244 km2 of Central Europe.

Methods

We applied linear regressions to model species richness of woody species, herbs, edaphic bryophytes and epiphytic lichens in Swiss forests. We included high‐resolution predictors derived from digital height models and from satellite spectral images. Coarser‐scaled predictors characterizing climatic and topographic conditions were also included, as were soil properties and geology. We applied hierarchical partitioning to regression models to investigate the independent contribution of each predictor set to species richness models.

Results

Predictors derived from high‐resolution remote sensing data substantially improved the species richness models (increase 14–55% of R2). However, coarse‐scaled climatic and topographic predictors still explained a high proportion of the variance in the species richness data in all models, independently of other predictors commonly used. The importance of the remotely sensed variables was strongly dependent on the biogeographic region considered. The species richness models of smaller organisms of the forest floor (herbs and edaphic bryophytes) benefited greatly from adding high‐resolution topographic predictors, indicating the importance of microtopographic heterogeneity for these groups. Both epiphytic lichens and herbs responded strongly to indicators of structural properties of the forest stand.

Conclusions

High‐resolution remote sensing data is a proxy for micro‐environmental structures and variation in these structures. Our results show that predictors derived from such data can improve species richness models considerably, especially in regions with low climatic and/or topographic variation. High‐resolution remote sensing variables excellently complement coarser‐scaled predictors, as they are available over large areas at low cost.
Evaluation of mobile assessment in a learning management system
Authors: Bogdanović Zorica , Barać Dušan , Jovanić Branislav , Popović Snežana , Radenković Božidar
Published: January 2013

This article discusses the problem of using and delivering educational content from the Moodle learning management system to mobile devices. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the students' habits, motivations and technical possibilities in order to incorporate mobile‐learning activities in the e‐learning process. A mobile quiz has been chosen as an activity to be delivered on mobile devices. The developed mobile quiz application was integrated into Moodle. The application interface was tailored to various types of mobile devices aiming to foster mainstreaming of mobile technologies in e‐learning. For the purposes of the evaluation, an experiment was conducted within the e‐learning system at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, the University of Belgrade. Data were obtained from the students who attended e‐learning courses in the area of e‐business. Research findings have shown that integration of the mobile quiz application into Moodle improves students' results and increases satisfaction and motivation for using mobile devices in their learning process.
A Critical Examination of Mindblindness as a Metaphor for Autism
Authors: Dinishak Janette , Akhtar Nameera
Published: January 2013

Metaphor—describing one thing in terms of another—is a common tool used to grasp what is unknown. Perhaps because we do not understand a lot about autism, many metaphors appear in both scientific and nonscientific descriptions of autism. The metaphor of mindblindness is especially pervasive in the scientific literature. We discuss three limitations of this metaphor: It obscures the fact that both autistic and non autistic individuals contribute to the social and communicative difficulties between them, it carries strong negative connotations, and it may impede the recognition that some autistic behaviors are meaningful and adaptive. Researchers should be mindful of the potential consequences of metaphors.
On‐ground habitat restoration: Interview with Nancy Pallin
Authors: Pallin Nancy , McDonald Tein
Published: January 2013

Nancy Pallin has been involved in bush regeneration practice for over 25 years as well as being involved in conservation advocacy. Her main work, helping to establish the Ku‐ring‐gai Flying‐Fox Reserve and coordinating its ecological restoration, draws on an ability to interpret nature to others and inspire collective action
Concordance ofMRIlesions andEEGfocal slowing in children with nonsyndromic epilepsy
Authors: Noh Byoungho H. , Berg Anne T. , Nordli Douglas R.
Published: January 2013

Purpose

To investigate the significance of electroencephalography (EEG) focal slowing in children with epilepsy and to determine the correlation between focal slowing and focal lesions on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods

We reviewed 5,149EEGand 22,543MRIreports for children who visited our institution from 2000 to 2010. Patients with nonsyndromic epilepsy (n = 253) were divided into groups with: focal slowing without any interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) (group 1); focalIEDs without focal slowing (group 2); focal slowing and focalIED(group 3); and normal findings (group 4). Focal slowing andMRIlesions were categorized by location, side, and depth.

Key Findings

We foundMRIabnormalities in 59% of subjects in group 1, 56% in group 2, 74% in group 3, and 27% in group 4 (p < 0.0001). Cortical malformation (CM) was the most common pathology in groups with focal slowing. Focal slowing often correlated with the laterality of theMRIlesion (61–70%), but the location was concordant in only 40%. The associated lesions rarely were exclusively confined to the centrum semiovale (18%).

Significance

Focal slowing in children with epilepsy is highly associated with focal structural lesions onMRI, most commonlyCM, and usually involves multiple layers. Focal slowing, as well as focal interictal epileptiform activity, is an important and usefulEEGindicator of a brain structural abnormality in children with nonsyndromic epilepsy.
A conceptual framework for predicting temperate ecosystem sensitivity to human impacts on fire regimes
Authors: McWethy D. B. , Higuera P. E. , Whitlock C. , Veblen T. T. , Bowman D. M. J. S. , Cary G. J. , Haberle S. G. , Keane R. E. , Maxwell B. D. , McGlone M. S. , Perry G. L. W. , Wilmshurst J. M. , Holz A. , Tepley A. J.
Published: January 2013

Aim

The increased incidence of large fires around much of the world in recent decades raises questions about human and non‐human drivers of fire and the likelihood of increased fire activity in the future. The purpose of this paper is to outline a conceptual framework for examining where human‐set fires and feedbacks are likely to be most pronounced in temperate forests world‐wide and to establish and test a methodology for evaluating this framework using palaeoecological records.

Location

Tasmania, north‐western USA, southern South America and New Zealand.

Methods

We outline a conceptual framework for predicting the sensitivity of ecosystems to human impacts on fire regimes and then use a circum‐Pacific comparison of existing historical reconstructions of fire, climate, human settlement and vegetation to evaluate this approach.

Results

Previous research investigating important controls on fire activity shows that the sensitivity of temperate ecosystems to human‐set fires is modulated by the frequency of natural fire occurrence, fuel moisture and fuel type and availability. Palaeoecological data from four temperate regions suggest that the effects of anthropogenic burning are greatest where fire is naturally rare, vegetation is poorly adapted to fire and fuel biomass is abundant and contiguous. Alternatively, where fire activity is naturally high and vegetation is well adapted to fire, evidence of human influence on fire and vegetation is less obvious.

Main conclusions

Palaeofire records suggest that the most dynamic and persistent ecosystem transitions occur where human activities increase landscape flammability through fire–vegetation feedbacks. Rapid forest transitions in biomass‐rich ecosystems such as New Zealand and areas of Tasmania and southern South America illustrate how landscapes experiencing few fires can shift past tipping points to become fire‐prone landscapes with new alternative stable state communities. Comparisons of palaeoecological data from different regions with similar biophysical gradients but different human settlement histories can provide new opportunities for understanding ecosystem vulnerability to fire–climate–human interactions.