bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Historical and current status of vultures in Myanmar
Authors: HLA HTIN , SHWE NAY MYO , WIN HTUN THURA , ZAW SAO MYO , MAHOOD SIMON , EAMES JONATHAN C. , PILGRIM JOHN D. 
Published: January 2011

SummaryConcerns for the long-term survival of vulture populations on the Indian Subcontinent, owing to widespread poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac, have led to increased conservation focus on South-East Asian countries where diclofenac is not used and relict populations of vultures occur. We document here how White-rumped, Slender-billed and Red-headed Vultures have declined substantially in abundance and contracted in range in Myanmar over the last 50 years. Using a vulture restaurant method we determined that the population of vultures in Myanmar is at least 136 individuals, made up of at least: 62 White-rumped Vultures, 21 Slender-billed Vultures, 51 Himalayan Vultures and two Red-headed Vultures. The decline in the resident Gyps species is most likely due to declines in wild ungulate populations. Our population estimates are provisional and the survey covered only a proportion of the possible vulture range within Myanmar. Himalayan Vultures were not recorded in Myanmar in historical times, and possible reasons for the recent upsurge in records are discussed. Myanmar presents an opportunity of global significance for vulture conservation, due to the persistence of three Critically Endangered vulture species in a country where diclofenac is not used.
Embryotoxicity and fetotoxicity following intraperitoneal administrations of hexavalent chromium to pregnant rats
Authors: Marouani Neila , Tebourbi Olfa , Mokni Moncef , Yacoubi Mohamed Tahar , Sakly Mohsen , Benkhalifa Moncef , Ben Rhouma Khémais 
Published: January 2011

SummaryHeavy metals are omnipresent in the environment, and industrial use has greatly increased their presence in soil, water and air. Their inevitable transfer to the human food chain remains an important environmental issue as many heavy metals cause a range of toxic effects, including developmental toxicity. Administration of chromium VI (1 and 2 mg/kg as potassium dichromate) through intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection during organogenesis (days 6 to 15 of gestation) in rats revealed embryo- and fetotoxic effects. Reduced fetal weight, retarded fetal development, number of fetuses per mother and high incidences of dead fetuses and resorptions in treated mothers were also observed. Gross morphological abnormalities, such as displayed form of edema, facial defect, lack of tail, hypotrophy, severs subdermal haemorrhage patches and hypotrophy of placenta were observed in fetuses after chromium VI-treated mothers. A skeletal development of fetuses presented an incomplete ossification in nasal, cranium, abdominal or caudal bones in rats treated with 1 mg/kg of chromium, whereas rats treated with 2 mg/kg showed ossification and absence of the sacral vertebrae compared with the control. At a higher dose of chromium, histological changes were found in fetuses with atrophy of theirs vital organs. Placental histological observations revealed a pronounced morphological alteration, with atrophy of decidual cells, a degenerated of chorionic villi and hypertrophy of blood lacuna. The present study suggests a risk to the developing embryo when the mother is exposed to a high concentration of chromium VI during organogenesis.
Modeling reciprocity in social interactions with probabilistic latent space models
Authors: GIRJU ROXANA , PAUL MICHAEL J. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractReciprocity is a pervasive concept that plays an important role in governing people's behavior, judgments, and thus their social interactions. In this paper we present an analysis of the concept of reciprocity as expressed in English and a way to model it. At a larger structural level the reciprocity model will induce representations and clusters of relations between interpersonal verbs. In particular, we introduce an algorithm that semi-automatically discovers patterns encoding reciprocity based on a set of simple yet effective pronoun templates. Using the most frequently occurring patterns we queried the web and extracted 13,443 reciprocal instances, which represent a broad-coverage resource. Unsupervised clustering procedures are performed to generate meaningful semantic clusters of reciprocal instances. We also present several extensions (along with observations) to these models that incorporate meta-attributes like the verbs' affective value, identify gender differences between participants, consider the textual context of the instances, and automatically discover verbs with certain presuppositions. The pattern discovery procedure yields an accuracy of 97 per cent, while the clustering procedures – clustering with pairwise membership and clustering with transitions – indicate accuracies of 91 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively. Our affective value clustering can predict an unknown verb's affective value (positive, negative, or neutral) with 51 per cent accuracy, while it can discriminate between positive and negative values with 68 per cent accuracy. The presupposition discovery procedure yields an accuracy of 97 per cent.
An information-theoretic, vector-space-model approach to cross-language information retrieval
Authors: CHEW PETER A. , BADER BRETT W. , HELMREICH STEPHEN , ABDELALI AHMED , VERZI STEPHEN J. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIn this article, we demonstrate several novel ways in which insights from information theory (IT) and computational linguistics (CL) can be woven into a vector-space-model (VSM) approach to information retrieval (IR). Our proposals focus, essentially, on three areas: pre-processing (morphological analysis), term weighting, and alternative geometrical models to the widely used term-by-document matrix. The latter include (1) PARAFAC2 decomposition of a term-by-document-by-language tensor, and (2) eigenvalue decomposition of a term-by-term matrix (inspired by Statistical Machine Translation). We evaluate all proposals, comparing them to a ‘standard’ approach based on Latent Semantic Analysis, on a multilingual document clustering task. The evidence suggests that proper consideration of IT within IR is indeed called for: in all cases, our best results are achieved using the information-theoretic variations upon the standard approach. Furthermore, we show that different information-theoretic options can be combined for still better results. A key function of language is to encode and convey information, and contributions of IT to the field of CL can be traced back a number of decades. We think that our proposals help bring IR and CL more into line with one another. In our conclusion, we suggest that the fact that our proposals yield empirical improvements is not coincidental given that they increase the theoretical transparency of VSM approaches to IR; on the contrary, they help shed light on why aspects of these approaches work as they do.
Machine learning for query formulation in question answering
Authors: MONZ CHRISTOF 
Published: January 2011

AbstractResearch on question answering dates back to the 1960s but has more recently been revisited as part of TREC's evaluation campaigns, where question answering is addressed as a subarea of information retrieval that focuses on specific answers to a user's information need. Whereas document retrieval systems aim to return the documents that are most relevant to a user's query, question answering systems aim to return actual answers to a users question. Despite this difference, question answering systems rely on information retrieval components to identify documents that contain an answer to a user's question. The computationally more expensive answer extraction methods are then applied only to this subset of documents that are likely to contain an answer. As information retrieval methods are used to filter the documents in the collection, the performance of this component is critical as documents that are not retrieved are not analyzed by the answer extraction component. The formulation of queries that are used for retrieving those documents has a strong impact on the effectiveness of the retrieval component. In this paper, we focus on predicting the importance of terms from the original question. We use model tree machine learning techniques in order to assign weights to query terms according to their usefulness for identifying documents that contain an answer. Term weights are learned by inspecting a large number of query formulation variations and their respective accuracy in identifying documents containing an answer. Several linguistic features are used for building the models, including part-of-speech tags, degree of connectivity in the dependency parse tree of the question, and ontological information. All of these features are extracted automatically by using several natural language processing tools. Incorporating the learned weights into a state-of-the-art retrieval system results in statistically significant improvements in identifying answer-bearing documents.
Collective action for watershed management: field experiments in Colombia and Kenya
Authors: CARDENAS JUAN CAMILO , RODRIGUEZ LUZ ANGELA , JOHNSON NANCY 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTThe collective action problem around water use and management involves solving both the problems of provision and appropriation. Cooperation in the provision can be affected by the rival nature of appropriation and the asymmetries in access. We report the results of two field experiments conducted in Colombia and Kenya. Theirrigation gamewas used to explore the provision and appropriation decisions under asymmetric or sequential appropriation, complemented by avoluntary contribution mechanismexperiment which looks at provision decisions under symmetric appropriation. The overall results were consistent with the patterns of previous studies: the zero contribution hypotheses is rejected whereas the most effective institution to increase cooperation was face-to-face communication, although we find that communication works much more effectively in Colombia than in Kenya. We also find that the asymmetric appropriation did reduce cooperation, though the magnitude of the social loss and the effectiveness of alternative institutional options varied across sites.
Assessing lifetime diet: reproducibility of a self-administered, non-quantitative FFQ
Authors: Hosking Diane , Danthiir Vanessa , Nettelbeck Ted , Wilson Carlene 
Published: January 2011

AbstractObjectiveTo demonstrate test–retest reliability (reproducibility) of a new self-administered lifetime diet questionnaire, with a focus on foods relevant to cognitive health in older age.DesignThe reproducibility of dietary recall over four or five life periods was assessed by administering the questionnaire at two time points to an older cohort. The period between questionnaire administrations was 7 weeks. Polychoric correlations measured the association between recall at time 1 and time 2 and the weightedκstatistic measured the level of recall agreement for food groups across the two administrations of the questionnaire.SettingAdelaide, South Australia.SubjectsFifty-two cognitively healthy, older-age, community-dwelling adults completed the Lifetime Diet Questionnaire; mean age 81·8 (sd4·4) years, range 70–90 years.ResultsThe questionnaire showed very good reproducibility in this sample with a mean polychoric correlation coefficient of 0·81 between administration at time 1 and time 2, and an average weightedκof 0·49 for the level of recall agreement between food groups.ConclusionsThe demonstrated reliability of this lifetime diet questionnaire makes it a useful tool to assess potential relationships between long-term dietary intake and later-age cognitive outcomes.
Expression and Deposition of Fibrous Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Cardiac Valves during Chick Development
Authors: Tan Hong , Junor Lorain , Price Robert L. , Norris Russell A. , Potts Jay D. , Goodwin Richard L. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractExtracellular matrix (ECM) plays essential signaling and structural roles required for the proper function of cardiac valves. Cardiac valves initially form as jelly-like cushions, which must adapt to withstand the increased circulation hemodynamics associated with fetal development and birth. This increased biomechanical stability of the developing valves is largely imparted by ECM proteins, which form a highly organized fibrous meshwork. Since heart valve defects contribute to most congenital heart diseases, understanding valve development will provide insight into the pathogenesis of various congenital valve anomalies. Thus, the goal of this study is to describe the spatiotemporal deposition of fibrous ECM proteins during cardiac valve development. Chick embryonic and fetal atrioventricular and semilunar valves were examined by light, confocal, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our data demonstrate that fibrous ECM proteins are deposited when the leaflets are adopting an elongated and compacted phenotype. A general pattern of increased fibrotic ECM deposition was detected in valve tissues. Also, each ECM protein examined displayed a unique pattern of organization, suggesting that regulation of fibrous protein deposition is complex and likely involves both genetic and mechanical factors. In addition, the TEM study revealed the presence of membrane protrusions from valvular endocardium, indicating a potential mechanism for mechanical force transduction.
A discrete choice experiment investigating preferences for funding drugs used to treat orphan diseases: an exploratory study
Authors: Mentzakis Emmanouil , Stefanowska Patricia , Hurley Jeremiah 
Published: January 2011

AbstractPolicy debate about funding criteria for drugs used to treat rare, orphan diseases is gaining prominence. This study presents evidence from a discrete choice experiment using a convenience sample of university students to investigate individual preferences regarding public funding for drugs used to treat rare diseases and common diseases. This pilot study finds that: other things equal, the respondents do not prefer to have the government spend more for drugs used to treat rare diseases; that respondents are not willing to pay more per life year gained for a rare disease than a common disease; and that respondents weigh relevant attributes of the coverage decisions (e.g. costs, disease severity and treatment effectiveness) similarly for both rare and common diseases. The results confirm the importance of severity and treatment effectiveness in preferences for public funding. Although this is the first study of its kind, the results send a cautionary message regarding the special treatment of orphan drugs in coverage decision-making.
The foundation is solid, if you know where to look: comment on Felin and Foss
Authors: PENTLAND BRIAN T. 
Published: January 2011

Abstract:This paper offers an alternative to the view of the routines literature provided by T. Felin and N. J. Foss, ‘The Endogenous Origins of Experience, Routines and Organizational Capabilities: The Poverty of Stimulus’, published by theJournal of Institutional Economics. The emphasis here is on practice-based theories of organizational routines that are grounded in close, ethnographic observation of real routines. While this literature may be unfamiliar to some readers, it is relevant here because it specifically contradicts the core assertions made by Felin and Foss. Further, this literature provides a clear theoretical foundation for subsequent research on problems such as stability and change in routines, the nature of capabilities and dynamic capabilities, and complex ecologies of routines.
Fluid inclusions in Irish granite quartz: monitors of fluids trapped in the onshore Irish Massif
Authors: Conliffe J. , Feely M. 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTFluid inclusion studies of granite quartz provide an opportunity to study fluid flow associated with igneous activity and post-emplacement fluid processes. This study presents new fluid inclusion data from the late Caledonian Donegal granites and Newry granodiorite, and the Tertiary Mourne Mountains granite in Ireland, which identify three distinct fluids. Aqueous-carbonic fluids (Type 1) have been recorded in late Caledonian granites with a significant mantle component (Newry granodiorite and the Ardara and Thorr granites in Donegal). These fluids represent late-magmatic fluids trapped at high temperatures (up to 575°C), and the ultimate source of these carbonic fluids is linked to sub-lithospheric processes during the Caledonian orogeny. The dominant fluid type (Type 2) in late Caledonian granites is a H2O+NaCl±KCl fluid which may be related to thermal convection cells around granite bodies and/or to regional scale influx of surface derived fluids at the end of the Caledonian orogeny. High salinity NaCl–CaCl2 fluids (Type 3) overprint quartz in the Ardara granite in Donegal, and in the Newry granodiorite, and are interpreted to represent basinal brines, sourced in overlying sedimentary basins, which circulated through the crystalline basement during a period of crustal extension (possibly during the Carboniferous or the Triassic). Fluid inclusion studies of the Tertiary Mourne Mountains granites have identified only Type 2 fluids related to thermal convection cells, consistent with stable isotope evidence, which indicates that this younger granite is unaffected by regional-scale fluid influxes.
Crystallographic and online spectral evidence for role of conformational change and conserved water in cytochrome oxidase proton pump
Authors: Liu Jian , Qin Ling , Ferguson-Miller Shelagh 
Published: January 2011

Crystal structures in both oxidized and reduced forms are reported for two bacterial cytochrome
c
oxidase mutants that define the D and K proton paths, showing conformational change in response to reduction and the loss of strategic waters that can account for inhibition of proton transfer. In the oxidized state both mutants of the
Rhodobacter sphaeroides
enzyme, D132A and K362M, show overall structures similar to wild type, indicating no long-range effects of mutation. In the reduced state, the mutants show an altered conformation similar to that seen in reduced wild type, confirming this reproducible, reversible response to reduction. In the strongly inhibited D132A mutant, positions of residues and waters in the D pathway are unaffected except in the entry region close to the mutation, where a chloride ion replaces the missing carboxyl and a 2-Å shift in N207 results in loss of its associated water. In K362M, the methionine occupies the same position as the original lysine, but K362- and T359-associated waters in the wild-type structure are missing, likely accounting for the severe inhibition. Spectra of oxidized frozen crystals taken during X-ray radiation show metal center reduction, but indicate development of a strained configuration that only relaxes to a native form upon annealing. Resistance of the frozen crystal to structural change clarifies why the oxidized conformation is observable and supports the conclusion that the reduced conformation has functional significance. A mechanism is described that explains the conformational change and the incomplete response of the D-path mutant.
Populations of the three major backbone conformations in 19 amino acid dipeptides
Authors: Grdadolnik Joze , Mohacek-Grosev Vlasta , Baldwin Robert L. , Avbelj Franc 
Published: January 2011

The amide III region of the peptide infrared and Raman spectra has been used to determine the relative populations of the three major backbone conformations (
P
II
, β, and
α

R

) in 19 amino acid dipeptides. The results provide a benchmark for force field or other methods of predicting backbone conformations in flexible peptides. There are three resolvable backbone bands in the amide III region. The major population is either
P
II
or β for all dipeptides except Gly, whereas the
α

R

population is measurable but always minor (≤ 10%) for 18 dipeptides. (The Gly φ,ψ map is complex and so is the interpretation of the amide III bands of Gly.) There are substantial differences in the relative β and
P
II
populations among the 19 dipeptides. The band frequencies have been assigned as
P
II
, 1,317–1,306 cm
-1
;
α

R

, 1,304–1,294 cm
-1
; and β, 1,294–1,270 cm
-1
. The three bands were measured by both attenuated total reflection spectroscopy and by Raman spectroscopy. Consistent results, both for band frequency and relative population, were obtained by both spectroscopic methods. The β and
P
II
bands were assigned from the dependence of the
3
J
(
H

N

,
H

α

) coupling constant (known for all 19 dipeptides) on the relative β population. The
P
II
band assignment agrees with one made earlier from Raman optical activity data. The temperature dependences of the relative β and
P
II
populations fit the standard model with Boltzmann-weighted energies for alanine and leucine between 30 and 60 °C.
Models of the Translation Process
Authors: Lörscher Wolfgang 
Published: January 2011

Abstract
Within translation theory, various models have been developed which claim to adequately comprehend and reflect the process of translation. Some of these models will be outlined and critically observed. The result of this critical review is that none of the suggested models is able to offer a psychologically valid reconstruction of the process of translation. Instead, the models offer idealized schematic arrangements showing the interrelations among those components which are, in all likelihood, involved in the process.
A Cognitive Approach to Source Text Difficulty in Translation1
Authors: Campbell Stuart 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThe notion of "difficulty" is of practical relevance to many of the stakeholders in the business of training and accrediting translators. This article proposes that difficulty can be tackled in terms of source text, translation task, and translator competence. Focussing on text difficulty, a case study is reported that shows that the source text can be an independent source of translation difficulty and that a substantial proportion of the items can be equally difficult to translate into typologically different languages. The study also highlights possible reasons for text difficulty at the level of lexis, and suggests that difficulty can be interpreted in cognitive terms, with the support of models of working memory and of language comprehension and production.
CAT Tools in an Academic Environment
Authors: Kenny Dorothy 
Published: January 2011

AbstractMany universities have now incorporated commercially available translators ' workbench-style systems into their translator-training programmes. But, when it comes to computer-aided translation (CAT), the university's role need not be confined to teaching students how to operate some third party's system; rather new CAT tools open up whole new areas of research. For example, experience of Trados'sTranslator's Workbenchsuggests that workbench features such as automatic terminology recognition and translation memories stand to bring about fundamental changes in the way terminology is recorded and texts are authored. State-of-the-art CAT tools can also make a contribution to Descriptive Translation Studies and translation pedagogy.