bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Population Based Analysis Ependymoma Patients in Alberta from 1975 to 2007
Authors: Roldán Urgoiti Gloria B. , Singh Amitabh D. , Tsang Roger Y. , Nordal Robert A. , Lim Gerald , Chan Jennifer A. , Starreveld Yves P. , de Robles Paula A. , Biagioni Bradly J. , Hamilton Mark G. , Easaw Jacob C. 
Published: November 2014

AbstractBackground: Ependymomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system whose management is controversial. This population-based study of adults and children with ependymoma aims to (1) identify clinical and treatment-related factors that impact survival and (2) determine if postoperative radiotherapy (RT) can improve survival of patients with subtotal resection (STR) to levels similar to patients who had gross total resection (GTR). Methods: This retrospective population-based study evaluated 158 patients with ependymoma diagnosed between 1975-2007 in Alberta, Canada. Results: Younger patients (<7 years of age) were more likely to be diagnosed with grade III tumors compared with adults in whom grade I tumors were more common (p=0.003). Adults were more likely to have spinally located tumors compared to young children whose tumors were typically found in the brain. Overall, young children with ependymoma were more likely to die than older children or adults (p=0.001). An equivalent number of patients underwent GTR as compared with STR (48% vs 45%, respectively). Overall, older age, spinal tumor location, lower grade, and GTR were associated with improved progression free survival but only GTR was associated with significant improvement in overall survival. Median survival after STR and RT was 82 months compared with 122 months in patients who had GTR (p=0.0022). Conclusions: This is the first Canadian population-based analysis of patients with ependymoma including adults and children. Extent of resection appears to be the most important factor determining overall survival. Importantly, the addition of RT to patients initially treated with STR does not improve survival to levels similar to patients receiving GTR.
The Ontario Brain Institute: Completing the Circle
Authors: Stuss Donald T. 
Published: November 2014

AbstractThe Province of Ontario recognized the pressing need to improve the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of brain disorders. It also recognized that maximizing the existing strengths through a province-wide integrated approach was a pivotal mechanism. To achieve this, the Province established the Ontario Brain Institute. The goal of this article is to introduce the elements of the Ontario Brain Institute to the neuroscience community: the motivation for establishing it, the philosophy behind its creation, the principles guiding its development, the rapid evolution of its functional structure, the tools available to achieve its vision, and the management structure to ensure success. The singular goal of the Province and the Ontario Brain Institute is a comprehensive system that assures that basic research is embedded in the clinical system and is facilitating product development to accelerate benefits to both health and the economy of health: science with impact.
Journalists and Public Health Professionals: Challenges of a Symbiotic Relationship
Authors: Lubens Pauline 
Published: November 2014

AbstractJournalists and health professionals share a symbiotic relationship during a disease outbreak as both professions play an important role in informing the public’s perceptions and the decisions of policy makers. Although critics in the United States have focused on US reporters and media outlets whose coverage has been sensationalist and alarmist, the discussion in this article is based on the ideal—gold standard—for US journalists. Journalists perform three primary functions during times of health crises: disseminating accurate information to the public, medical professionals, and policy makers; acting as the go-between for the public and decision makers and health and science experts; and monitoring the performance of institutions responsible for the public health response. A journalist’s goal is to responsibly inform the public in order to optimize the public health goals of prevention while minimizing panic. The struggle to strike a balance between humanizing a story and protecting the dignity of patients while also capturing the severity of an epidemic is harder in the era of the 24-7 news cycle. Journalists grapple with dueling pressures: confirming that their information is correct while meeting the demand for rapid updates. Just as health care professionals triage patients, journalists triage information. The challenge going forward will be how to get ahead of the story from the onset, racing against the pace of digital dissemination of misinformation by continuing to refine the media-science relationship. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-5)
Dietary patterns and physical inactivity, two contributing factors to the double burden of malnutrition among adults in Burkina Faso, West Africa
Authors: Zeba Augustin N. , Delisle Hélène F. , Renier Genevieve 
Published: November 2014

AbstractA population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the northern neighbourhoods of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), to examine the relationship of nutritional deficiencies and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) with lifestyle in adults. We randomly selected 330 households stratified by income tertile. In each income stratum, 110 individuals aged 25–60 years and having lived in Ouagadougou for at least 6 months were randomly selected. We performed anthropometric, dietary intake and physical activity measurements, and blood sample collection. Cluster analysis of dietary intake identified two dietary patterns: ‘urban’ (29 % of subjects) and ‘traditional’ (71 %). The ‘urban’ cluster exhibited a higher intake of fat and sugar, whereas a higher intake of plant protein, complex carbohydrate and fibre was observed in the ‘traditional’ pattern. Female sex, low income and lack of education were associated with the ‘traditional’ cluster, as well as Fe and vitamin A deficiency. CMRF prevalence (abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia) was similar in both clusters. Subjects in the ‘traditional’ cluster spent more time in physical activity and had less sedentary time than those in the ‘urban’ cluster. ‘Traditional’ dietary pattern, low income, female sex and sedentary time were significant contributing factors to the double burden of malnutrition. The rapid nutrition transition is reflected in this co-occurrence of CMRF and nutritional deficiencies. This stresses the need for prevention strategies addressing both ends of the nutrition spectrum.
Epistemic inclination and factualization: a synchronic and diachronic study on the semantic gradience of factuality
Authors: TANTUCCI VITTORIO 
Published: November 2014

abstractThis paper proposes a gradient redefinition of the notion of factuality, here intended as a dynamic continuum unfolding through several epistemic levels. In this respect, the speaker/writer’s increasing certainty upon the realization of an event or situation is here as factualization. Factualization is a conceptual phenomenon determined by an embodied mechanism (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 1999; Lakoff, 1987, 2003; Grush, 2004; Gallese & Lakoff, 2005) of cyclic acquisition and control with respect to a new proposition P. Being a form of subjectification (Traugott, 1989, 1995, 2003, 2010, 2012; Traugott & Dasher, 2002), factualization occurs as the semasiological reanalysis of an epistemic construction. Drawing on Langacker’s (1991, 2008, 2009) notion of the ‘epistemic control cycle’ (see also Kan, Teubner-Rhodes, Drummey, Nutile, Krupa, & Novick, 2013, on cognitive control), I claim and demonstrate that epistemic predicates originally conveying weak certainty towards a proposition P diachronically develop an increasingly factual meaning conveying more and more frequently a subjected form of certainty. This phenomenon is first shown through a qualitative and quantitative corpus analysis from the BNC,1which provides a measurable account of the various degrees of polysemy of the three epistemic predicatesI think,I believe, andI reckon. In addition, I discuss the results of a diachronic corpus survey from the diaCoris on the factualization process of(Io) penso‘I think’ in Modern Italian during the last 150 years, showing how the contemporary usage of(Io) pensois notably more oriented towards absolute factuality than it was 150 years earlier.
Storms in a lagoon: Flooding history during the last 1200 years derived from geological and historical archives of Schokland (Noordoostpolder, the Netherlands)
Authors: van den Biggelaar D.F.A.M. , Kluiving S.J. , van Balen R.T. , Kasse C. , Troelstra S.R. , Prins M.A. 
Published: November 2014

AbstractFlevoland (central Netherlands) is an area of long-term discontinuous deposition that has been reclaimed from the Zuiderzee in the 20th century. Before the reclamation, the Zuiderzee had been in a phase of enlargement, threatening inhabitants on the islands and the shores, since the Medieval Period. During this phase, a surficial clay cover was deposited on the island of Schokland (World Heritage Site: Noordoostpolder, northern Flevoland). We have studied the clay sequence in order to reconstruct the island’s flooding history during the last 1200 years. The depositional history of the youngest clay deposit on Schokland is inferred from a literature study, analyses of a digital elevation model, six coring transects, three new14C accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates and laboratory analyses. The laboratory analyses include thermogravimetric analysis, grain-size end-member modelling (unmixing grain-size distributions), foraminifera, bivalves and ostracods. The geological data were combined with information from historical archives. Together, the results show that a combination of embankments and proximity to the coastline determined the sedimentation history and spatial distribution pattern of the sediment. The results also indicate that sedimentary remains of Late Holocene storm events are still present in the clay deposit on Schokland.
Late Palaeozoic to Early Cenozoic geological evolution of the northwestern German North Sea (Entenschnabel): New results and insights
Authors: Arfai Jashar , Jähne Fabian , Lutz Rüdiger , Franke Dieter , Gaedicke Christoph , Kley Jonas 
Published: November 2014

AbstractThe results of a detailed seismic mapping campaign of 13 horizons in the northwestern German North Sea, covering Late Permian to Palaeogene sedimentary successions, are presented. Based on the interpretation of four 3D and two 2D seismic surveys, thickness and depth maps of prominent stratigraphic units were constructed. These maps provide an overview of key structural elements, the sedimentation and erosion, and give insights into the evolution of the German Central Graben. The base of the Zechstein Group reaches a maximum depth of 7800 m within the German Central Graben. Lateral thickness variations in the Zechstein reflect the extensive mobilisation of Zechstein salt. Complex rift-related structures, with the Central Graben as the main structural element, were found not later than the Early Triassic. Up to 3000-m thick Triassic sediments are preserved in the eastern German Central Graben of which 1800 m consist of Keuper sediments. The Lower Buntsandstein unit shows increasing thicknesses towards the southeastern study area, likely related to distinct lateral subsidence. As a consequence of uplift of the North Sea Dome, Middle Jurassic sediments were eroded in large parts of the northwestern German North Sea and are only preserved in the German Central Graben. The NNW–SSE oriented John Basin is another important structural element, which shows maximum subsidence during the Late Jurassic. In most parts of the study area Lower Cretaceous sediments are absent due to either erosion or non-deposition. Lower Cretaceous deposits are preserved in the Outer Rough Basin in the northwest and within the German Central Graben. Upper Cretaceous sediments are found at depths between 1500 and 3600 m, reaching a maximum thickness of approximately 1600 m on the Schillgrund High. Contraction and inversion of pre-existing Mesozoic faults during the Late Cretaceous is distinct at the Schillgrund Fault, i.e. the eastern border fault of the Central Graben. The Palaeogene is predominantly a period of strong basin subsidence. Within 37 Myrs, up to 1400 m of Palaeogene sediments were deposited in the northwesternmost part of the study area. Detailed mapping of salt structures enables a reconstruction of halokinetic movements over time and a deciphering of the influence of the Zechstein salt on the sedimentary evolution during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Increasing sediment thicknesses in rim-synclines indicate that most of the salt structures in the German Central Graben had their main growth phase during the Late Jurassic.
Early Middle Pleistocene drainage in southern central England
Authors: Belshaw R.K. , Gibbard P.L. , Murton J.B. , Murton D.K. 
Published: November 2014

AbstractThe fluvial sequences of the Milton and the Letchworth formations in the south Midlands of England and neighbouring regions represent at least two pre-existing rivers, the Milton and Brigstock streams, underlying Middle Pleistocene glacial sediments. The Milton Formation includes sand sourced from the Midlands bedrock. This implies that both streams were aligned in a northwest to southeast direction. This direction parallels the contemporaneous courses of the rivers Thames and Trent, the former turning towards the east and northeast to enter the North Sea. Their alignments indicate that the Milton and Letchworth streams formed left-bank tributaries of the Thames, joining the river in Hertfordshire and Essex, as illustrated in the article. This reconstruction has important implications for the interpretation of the proto-Soar river of the south Midlands, represented by the Baginton Formation. Although originally thought to represent a late Middle Pleistocene line, this southwest to northeast aligned system was reinterpreted as the headwaters of a pre-Anglian ‘Bytham river’, a1ligned towards East Anglia. However, recent work has shown that this river could not have existed in the pre-Anglian since there is no link between the Midlands and East Anglian spreads. Recent re-recognition that the Baginton Formation deposits do represent a later, post-Anglian drainage line is reinforced by the identification of the Milton and Letchworth streams, whose catchments occupied the area later drained by the proto-Soar. Overall, the main drainage alignment in southern England during the pre-Anglian period was dominated by northwest–southeast-draining consequent rivers adjusted to the regional geological dip. After widespread drainage disruption caused by the Anglian glaciation, northeast–southwest-orientated subsequent streams eroded frost-susceptible clay bedrock under periglacial and permafrost conditions, and beheaded the courses of some of the older consequent streams.
Impacts of climate change on maize and winter wheat yields in China from 1961 to 2010 based on provincial data
Authors: CHEN C. , ZHOU G. S. , PANG Y. M. 
Published: November 2014

SUMMARYThe impacts of climate change on maize and winter wheat yields in China from 1961 to 2010 were studied in the current paper, based on provincial data. The results indicated that rising average temperatures resulted in decreased maize yield in most of the study regions, and reduced maize production at a national scale by c. 3·4% relative to the average from 1961 to 2010. Moreover, the warming resulted in a decrease of winter wheat yield in the Huang-Huai-Hai and southwest regions and led to an overall loss in production of c. 5·8% at a national scale. The decrease of diurnal temperature range (DTR) affected maize yield adversely in the west and central regions, but a beneficial DTR effect was observed in the other provinces. The changes in DTR resulted in increased maize production at a national scale by c. 0·6%. However, the generally decreasing trends for DTR resulted in an increasing winter wheat yield in the northwest and south regions but a decreasing yield in the other provinces, and the production of winter wheat at a national scale was reduced by c. 2·9% because of changes in DTR. Changes in precipitation increased maize and winter wheat yields in some provinces but reduced crop yield in others. There was no significant effect of precipitation on maize production at a national scale, but the contribution of precipitation change reached c. 1·6% for winter wheat production.
A case of nasal chromoblastomycosis causing epistaxis
Authors: Penjor D , Khizuan A K , Chong A W , Wong K T 
Published: November 2014

AbstractBackground:Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue that most commonly affects the feet and lower limbs. It is rare for this infection to occur on the face, and it is exceptionally rare for it to involve the nose and sinuses. This paper reports a rare case of nasal chromoblastomycosis in a 50-year-old Malaysian male.Case report:The patient, who was a rubber plantation worker in the southern state of Johor, presented to the ENT clinic with a history of epistaxis. He did not recall any history of injury to the nose. Nasal endoscopy showed a pale yellowish lesion at the inferior edge of the left middle turbinate. Histology revealed that this was a case of chromoblastomycosis.Conclusion:Chromoblastomycosis of the nasal cavity is very rare and can be mistaken for other granulomatous conditions in the nose. It progresses very slowly over many years. Our patient was managed conservatively, as he was not keen on undergoing surgical intervention. Lesion size remained the same at five months' follow up, with no recurrence of epistaxis.
Urbanisation by subtraction: the afterlife of camps in northern Uganda
Authors: Whyte Susan Reynolds , Babiiha Sulayman , Mukyala Rebecca , Meinert Lotte 
Published: November 2014

ABSTRACTAs peace returns to northern Uganda, a unique arithmetic of development is evident in the former Internally Displaced Persons camps. Small trading centres whose populations multiplied as they became camps now envision futures as Town Boards. Subtraction is necessary: the displaced people and the dead buried in the camps are being returned to their rural villages. Urban planners have produced meticulous drawings that envisage the division of land into plots for development. Donors are making additions in the form of new market buildings and water supplies. Yet this arithmetic must reckon with new problems as time passes. The article is based primarily on fieldwork in Awach, a former IDP camp now slated for status as a Town Board. In analysing material from interviews with landowners, ‘remainders’ who stayed behind after the camp closed, local leaders and officials, we emphasise the paradoxes, tensions and conflicts of this special path to development.
Legacies of a nationwide crackdown in Zimbabwe:Operation Chikorokoza Chaperain gold mining communities
Authors: Spiegel Samuel J. 
Published: November 2014

ABSTRACTAlthough conflict in Zimbabwe's diamond mining sector has recently received much international scrutiny, very little research has examined conflict in Zimbabwe's gold mining sector. This article analyses how a nationwide crackdown calledOperation Chikorokoza Chapera(‘No More Illegal Mining’) affected – and ‘disciplined’ – livelihoods in profound ways in both licensed and unlicensed gold mining regions. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2006 and 2013 with artisanal miners in the Insiza, Umzingwani and Kadoma areas as well as miners who crossed the border to Mozambique, the study reveals how a highly politicised crackdown led to uneven consequences. The analysis highlights both structural and physical violence, with more than 25,000 miners and traders arrested between 2006 and 2009 and more than 9,000 still imprisoned in 2013. Situating the crackdown within evolving political and economic interests, the study contributes to an understanding of how simplified discourses on ‘eradicating illegal mining’ mislead and mask power dynamics, while policing activities transform patterns of resource control. The study also emphasises that conceptualisations of the crackdown's legacy should carefully consider the agency of artisanal miners' associations, which, in some cases, have been actively seeking to resist coercive policies and rebuild livelihoods in the aftermath ofOperation Chikorokoza Chapera.
Formalising urban informality: micro-enterprise and the regulation of liquor in Cape Town
Authors: Charman Andrew , Herrick Clare , Petersen Leif 
Published: November 2014

ABSTRACTIn early 2012, South Africa's Western Cape Province enacted new alcohol control legislation amid mounting concern with the costs of alcohol-related harms. This has focused on urban shebeen closure to control the informal, unlicensed trade and the harms it generates through crime, violence and injury. In contrast to policy discourse, this paper contends that rather than existingoutside regulation, the city's shebeeners embrace multiple (self and collective) regulatory strategies to manage the inherent risks of their own informality. Drawing on novel empirical data including a ‘business census’ and interviews with the police and liquor traders across four Cape Town case study sites, the paper adds new depth to contemporary engagements with the appropriate and equitable regulation of the South African informal liquor trade.
Catch-and-release angling as a management tool for freshwater fish conservation in India
Authors: Gupta Nishikant , Nautiyal Prakash , Borgohain Atul , Sivakumar K. , Mathur Vinod B. , Chadwick Michael A. 
Published: November 2014

AbstractMahseer are popularly regarded by anglers as the king of freshwater fishes, and are valued across the Himalayan and South-east Asian regions. In India, mahseer are important game fish. Mahseer populations and their habitats face a range of anthropogenic threats, however, including unregulated fishing and habitat fragmentation as a result of hydro-development projects. Catch-and-release angling for mahseer attracts both national and international anglers and could provide information about rivers while generating revenue for regional economies. In this context, we evaluated catch-and-release angling records from rivers that flow within two Indian reserves (the Ramganga and Jia Bharali Rivers in Corbett and Nameri Tiger Reserves, respectively). Golden mahseer Tor putitora in the Ramganga and golden and chocolate mahseer Neolissochilus hexagonolepis in the Jia Bharali were the most frequently caught fish species. Catch data suggested these game fish populations are probably not negatively affected by angling activities. Interviews with stakeholders highlighted support for catch-and-release angling, mainly because of its perceived economic benefits. The data obtained in this research could potentially assist with both fish conservation and the protection of associated aquatic ecosystems.