bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Body mass estimation in Early Miocene native South American ungulates: a predictive equation based on 3D landmarks
Authors: Cassini G. H. , Vizcaíno S. F. , Bargo M. S. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractSouth American native ungulates include extinct taxa that evolved within the geographical context given by the isolation of South America during most of the Cenozoic. The ungulates (orders Notoungulata, Litopterna and Astrapotheria) of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) are particularly interesting for paleobiological studies due to their diversity, richness and quality of preservation of the specimens. The body mass estimation of extinct species is one of the basic biological attributes for paleobiological reconstructions. The most common way to estimate body mass from fossils is using linear regression. Here, we used geometric morphometric techniques in order to estimate their body mass. We used regressions based on centroid size of 3D craniomandibular landmark configurations, including extant ungulates (their size and ecological relatives). Cases were weighted to maximize the taxonomic evenness. A broad body size range was recorded. The highest predictive power is obtained with those functions derived from the highest taxonomic and ecological diversity. The highest taxonomic richness corresponds to masses below 100 kg. Among Notoungulata, typotheres (Hegetotheriidae + Interatheriidae) vary from 1 to less than 10 kg, while the smaller toxodontid reached 100 kg and the larger 500 kg. Litoptern proterotheriid body masses vary from 10 to 50 kg, and macraucheniids surpass 100 kg. The astrapotheres (Astrapotheria) reached (or even surpassed) 1000 kg, being the only megamammal in the Santacrucian ungulate assemblage.
Introduction: Why People Do Not Accept Evolution: Using Protistan Diversity to Promote Evolution Literacy
Authors: Paz‐y‐Miño‐C. Guillermo , Espinosa Avelina 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTThe controversy evolution vs. creationism is inherent to the incompatibility between scientific rationalism/empiricism and the belief in supernatural causation. To test this hypothesis, we conceptualized a Cartesian landscape where the dependent variable acceptance of evolution was plotted as function of three factors, each represented by an index (value range 0 to 3): Religiosity Index (RI), Science Index (SI), and Evolution Index (EI). The indexes summarized an individual's personal religious convictions, familiarity with the processes and forces of change in organisms (= concept of evolution), and understanding the essence of science (= method to explore reality). We compared and contrasted acceptance of evolution among four populations of variable educational attainment: 244 professors of New England, United States (93% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 50 protistologists from 25 countries (70% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 62 educators of prospective teachers (83% Ph.D./doctorate holders), and 827 college students. The New England faculty held the highest acceptance of evolution position (RI = 0.49; SI = 2.49; EI = 2.49), followed by the protistologists (RI = 0.46; SI = 2.30; EI = 2.48), the educators of prospective teachers (RI = 0.83; SI = 1.96; EI = 1.96), and the students (RI = 0.89; SI = 1.80; EI = 1.60); therefore, the data supported our hypothesis. Proper science education, public outreach and robust debate over the controversy “evolution versus creationism” should suffice to improve society's evolution literacy, and qualified scholars ought to lead this mission.
Reversible Cytotoxic Edema in TPN‐Related Hepatic Encephalopathy
Authors: Zuccoli Giulio , Sreedher Gayathri 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTHepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an uncommon complication of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Cytotoxic edema has not been reported in children with TPN‐related HE. We describe a case of TPN‐related HE presenting with diffuse cytotoxic edema which reversed after liver transplantation.
Effect of intercrops on thrips species composition and population abundance on French beans in Kenya
Authors: Nyasani J. O. , Meyhöfer R. , Subramanian S. , Poehling H.‐M. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe study aimed at determining thrips species composition and thrips population density on French bean planted as a sole crop and as an intercrop with either sunflower, Irish potato, or baby corn, in various combinations. Field experiments were conducted in two seasons to examine: (1) thrips population development and thrips species composition over time, (2) effect of intercrops on thrips population density and natural enemies, and (3) effect of intercrops on French bean yield. The experiments were conducted at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Embu, Kenya in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The thrips population on French beans increased with time. It showed a peak at the flowering stage then started declining when the crops were nearing senescence. French beans hosted four thrips species, Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom), Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), and Hydatothrips aldolfifriderici (Karny) (all Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in order of decreasing abundance. The main thrips species on Irish potato and sunflower was F. schultzei. Baby corn hosted only Frankliniella williamsi (Hood) and Thrips pusillus (Bagnall). A monocrop of French bean hosted more thrips than a French bean intercrop mix. Thrips natural enemies such as Orius spp. and Ceranisus spp. were recorded in all crop plants but in especially high numbers on French bean and baby corn, respectively. Plots with French bean alone had about 1.4 times higher yields compared to intercropped plots of French bean with sunflower and French bean with baby corn. However, the percentage of pods that could get rejected on the market due to thrips damage was highest on plots with French bean alone (68 and 63%) and lowest on plots with French bean and baby corn (35 and 37%) in the first and second seasons, respectively. This study showed that a complex of thrips is found in the field and its composition varies with crop stage and species. Intercropping French bean with other crops compromises on French bean yield but reduces damage to the French bean pods, thereby enhancing marketable yield.
Population genetic structure of a specialist leafhopper on Zea: likely anthropogenic and ecological determinants of gene flow
Authors: Medina Raul F. , Reyna Steven M. , Bernal Julio S. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractCorn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis DeLong & Wolcott (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a specialist herbivore on the genus Zea (Poaceae). The genera Dalbulus and Zea evolved in central Mexico. We sought to determine whether population genetic structuring is prevalent in corn leafhoppers inhabiting three of its host plants: (1) the highland species perennial teosinte (Zea diploperennis Iltis, Doebley & Guzman), (2) the mid‐ to lowland‐species Balsas teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis Iltis & Doebley), and (3) the ubiquitous domesticated maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.). We used amplified fragment length polymorphisms to detect population structuring and genetic differentiation among corn leafhoppers on the three host plants in western‐central and ‐northern Mexico. Our results showed that corn leafhopper in Mexico is composed of at least two genetically discrete populations: an ‘Itinerant’ population associated with the annual hosts maize and Balsas teosinte, which appears to be widely distributed in Mexico, and a ‘Las Joyas’ population restricted to perennial teosinte and confined to a small mountain range (Sierra de Manantlán) in western‐central Mexico. Our results further suggested that population structuring is not due to isolation by distance or landscape features: Las Joyas and Itinerant corn leafhopper populations are genetically distinct despite their geographic proximity (ca. 4 km), whereas Itinerant corn leafhoppers separated by hundreds of kilometers (>800 km), mountain ranges, and a maritime corridor (Sea of Cortez) are not genetically distinct. Based on our results and on published ethnohistorical and archaeological data, we propose pre‐Columbian and modern scenarios, including likely ecological and anthropogenic influences, in which the observed genetic population structuring of corn leafhopper could have originated and could be maintained. Also, we hypothesize that after evolving on the lowland Balsas teosinte, corn leafhopper expanded its host range to include maize and then the highland perennial teosinte, following the domestication and spread of maize within the last 9 000 years.
Continuous low‐dose oral contraceptive in the treatment of colorectal endometriosis evaluated by rectal endoscopic ultrasonography
Authors: FERRARI STEFANO , PERSICO PAOLA , DI PUPPO FRANCESCA , VIGANO PAOLA , TANDOI IACOPO , GARAVAGLIA ELISABETTA , GIARDINA PAOLO , MEZZI GIANNI , CANDIANI MASSIMO 
Published: January 2012

Abstract Objective. Limited attention has been focused on the medical treatment of bowel endometriosis. This study evaluates the efficacy of administration of a continuous low‐dose oral contraceptive in treating pain and other symptoms associated with colorectal endometriotic nodules, as evaluated by rectal endoscopic ultrasonography. Design. Prospective observational study. Setting. Academic Department of San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit. Population. Symptomatic women of reproductive age (n=26) with colorectal nodules infiltrating at least the bowel muscularis propria and without a stenosis >50%. In 31% of the patients, endoscopic ultrasonography permitted diagnosis of nodules located more than 10 cm from the anal rim. Methods. Patients received a continuous low‐dose oral contraceptive containing 15 μg ethinylestradiol and 60 μg gestodene for 12 months. Subjective symptoms were prospectively evaluated, and nodule volumes were monitored using endoscopic ultrasonography. Main outcome measures. Nodule measurements were performed at baseline and after 12 months of treatment. Symptoms at the start and after 12 months were evaluated. Results. A significant improvement in the intensity of all the considered symptoms (dysmenorrhea, non‐menstrual pelvic pain, deep dyspareunia and painful defecation) was seen when evaluated by a visual analog scale. A reduction in terms of both diameter (mean reduction 26%) and volume of the nodules (mean reduction 62%) was observed after a 12 month period. Conclusions. A continuous low‐dose oral contraceptive therapy may reduce bowel endometriosis‐associated symptoms. In addition, this therapy induces a significant volumetric reduction of colorectal plaques when evaluated by endoscopic ultrasonography.
Annular hypopigmented mycosis fungoides: a novel ringed variant
Authors: Uhlenhake Elizabeth E. , Mehregan Darius M. 
Published: January 2012

Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides (MF) is a relatively uncommon variant of cutaneous lymphoma that is mostly seen in darker skin types. We present a novel and unique clinical presentation in an African‐American female patient, consisting of regular hypopigmented annular rings in areas of normal skin and in more typical hypopigmented patches of MF. The lesions appeared diffusely on all extremities, anterior chest and back. Histopathologic examination showed an atypical lymphocytic infiltrate at the dermal–epidermal junction with epidermotropism and few Pautrier's collections. The patient was otherwise healthy and improved with narrowband ultraviolet (UV)‐B. This case represents a presentation of a most unusual variant of hypopigmented MF, for which we propose the name ‘annular hypopigmented MF’.Uhlenhake EE, Mehregan DM. Annular hypopigmented mycosis fungoides: a novel ringed variant.
Within‐Visit Variability of Blood Pressure and All‐Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Among US Adults
Authors: Muntner Paul , Levitan Emily B. , Reynolds Kristi , Mann Devin M. , Tonelli Marcello , Oparil Suzanne , Shimbo Daichi 
Published: January 2012

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012;14:165–171. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The association between within‐visit variability of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and all‐cause and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality was examined using the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey (n=15,317). Three SBP and DBP readings were taken by physicians during a single medical evaluation. Within‐visit variability for each participant was defined using the standard deviation of SBP and DBP across these measurements. Mortality was assessed over 14 years (n=3848 and n=1684 deaths from all causes and CVD, respectively). After age, sex, and race‐ethnicity adjustment, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for all‐cause mortality associated with the 4 highest quintiles of within‐visit standard deviation of SBP (2.00–2.99 mm Hg, 3.00–3.99 mm Hg, 4.00–5.29 mm Hg, and ≥5.30 mm Hg) compared with participants in the lowest quintile of within‐visit standard deviation of SBP (<2.0 mm Hg) were 1.04 (0.87–1.26), 1.09 (0.92–1.29), 1.06 (0.88–1.28), and 1.13 (0.95–1.33), respectively (P=.136). The analogous hazard ratios for CVD mortality were 0.95 (0.69–1.32), 0.96 (0.67–1.36), 0.95 (0.74–1.23), and 1.04 (0.80–1.35), respectively (P=.566). No association with mortality was present after further adjustment and when modeling within‐visit standard deviation of SBP as a continuous variable. Standard deviation of DBP was not associated with mortality.
Urinary Leukotriene E4 Concentrations as a Potential Marker of Inflammation in Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Im Hof M. , Schnyder M. , Hartnack S. , Stanke‐Labesque F. , Luckschander N. , Burgener I.A. 
Published: January 2012

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and food‐responsive diarrhea (FRD) are chronic enteropathies of dogs (CCE) that currently can only be differentiated by their response to treatment after exclusion of other diseases. In humans, increased urinary concentrations of leukotriene E4 (LTE4) have been associated with activeIBD.ObjectivesTo evaluate urinaryLTE4 concentrations in dogs withIBD,FRD, and healthy controls, and to assess correlation of urinaryLTE4 concentrations with the canineIBDactivity index (CIBDAI) scores.AnimalsEighteen dogs withIBD, 19 dogs withFRD, and 23 healthy control dogs.MethodsIn this prospective study, urine was collected andCIBDAIscores were calculated in client‐owned dogs withIBDand those withFRD. Quantification ofLTE4 in urine was performed by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry and corrected to creatinine.ResultsUrinaryLTE4 concentrations were highest in dogs withIBD(median 85.2 pg/mg creatinine [10th–90th percentiles 10.9–372.6]) followed by those withFRD(median 31.2 pg/mg creatinine [10th–90th percentiles 6.2–114.5]) and control dogs (median 21.1 pg/mg creatinine [10th–90th percentiles 9.1–86.5]). UrinaryLTE4 concentrations were higher in dogs withIBDthan in control dogs (P = .011), but no significant difference betweenIBDandFRDwas found. No correlation was found between urinaryLTE4 concentrations andCIBDAI.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThe higher urinaryLTE4 concentrations in dogs withIBDsuggest that cysteinyl leukotriene pathway activation might be a component of the inflammatory process in canineIBD. Furthermore, urinaryLTE4 concentrations are of potential use as a marker of inflammation in dogs withCCE.
Reproductive Effects of Prolonged Experimentally Induced Hypothyroidism in Bitches
Authors: Panciera D.L. , Purswell B.J. , Kolster K.A. , Werre S.R. , Trout S.W. 
Published: January 2012

BackgroundHypothyroidism has detrimental effects on reproduction in females of many species. Studies of hypothyroidism in bitches are limited and results conflicting.HypothesisHypothyroidism interferes with reproductive function and health of offspring in bitches.AnimalsA total of 9 healthy mixed‐breed bitches (control) and 9 mixed breed bitches with hypothyroidism induced by radioactive iodine administration.MethodsDogs in both groups were bred 20.9 ± 4.0 and 56 ± 7.6 weeks after radioiodine administration in the hypothyroid group and again after levothyroxine was administered for 37 ± 14 weeks to hypothyroid dogs. Measures of the estrus cycle, fertility, gestation, whelping, and pup health were evaluated at each breeding. Comparisons were made between hypothyroid and control dogs as well as within groups between times.ResultsPregnancy was documented in all dogs in both groups at the 1st breeding, 4/8 and 6/6 untreated hypothyroid and control dogs, respectively, at the 2nd breeding, and 6/6 and 5/6 treated hypothyroid and control dogs, respectively, at the 3rd breeding. Periparturient mortality was higher and birth weight was lower in pups born to untreated hypothyroid dogs compared with control dogs or treated hypothyroid dogs. There was no difference in interestrus interval, gestation duration, breeding behavior, interval between birth of pups, or serum progesterone concentrations at any breeding between or within groups. Resolution of hypothyroidism reversed the detrimental effects of thyroid hormone deficiency on reproduction.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceHypothyroidism causes reversible periparturient mortality and low birth weight in offspring. Further investigation is necessary to determine if fertility is affected.
Braiding via geometric Lie algebra actions
Authors: Cautis Sabin , Kamnitzer Joel 
Published: January 2012

AbstractWe introduce the idea of a geometric categorical Lie algebra action on derived categories of coherent sheaves. The main result is that such an action induces an action of the braid group associated to the Lie algebra. The same proof shows that strong categorical actions in the sense of Khovanov–Lauda and Rouquier also lead to braid group actions. As an example, we construct an action of Artin’s braid group on derived categories of coherent sheaves on cotangent bundles to partial flag varieties.
Efficiently exploiting memory level parallelism on asymmetric coupled cores in the dark silicon era
Authors: Patsilaras George , Choudhary Niket K. , Tuck James 
Published: January 2012

Extracting high memory-level parallelism (MLP) is essential for speeding up single-threaded applications which are memory bound. At the same time, the projected amount of dark silicon (the fraction of the chip powered off) on a chip is growing. Hence, Asymmetric Multicore Processors (AMP) offer a unique opportunity to integrate many types of cores, each powered at different times, in order to optimize for different regions of execution. In this work, we quantify the potential for exploiting core customization to speedup programs during regions of high MLP. Based on a careful design space exploration, we discover that an AMP that includes a narrow and fast specialized core has the potential to efficiently exploit MLP.
Using the results of our analysis, we design an AMP with both an MLP and ILP specialized core, and we propose a hardware-level, application steering mechanism called Symbiotic Core Execution (SCE). SCE detects MLP phases by monitoring the L2 miss rate of the application, and it uses that information to steer the application to the best core. Interestingly, we show that L2 miss rates are important for deciding when an MLP region begins and when it ends. As a program runs, its execution migrates to a core customized for MLP during regions of high MLP; when the region ends, it is re-scheduled on the core that fits the application characteristics.

Compared to a monolithic core optimized for both modes of operation, our AMP design provides a harmonic mean performance improvement of 5.3% and 6.6% for SPEC2000 and SPEC2006, respectively, with a maximum speedup of 14.5%. For the same study, it achieves a 18.3% and 21.1% energy delay
2
reduction for SPEC2000 and SPEC2006, respectively. Our findings yield an important message for designing AMPs with specialized cores: core customization enables efficient exploitation of MLP, and application steering mechanisms for MLP are simple to implement and effective.
Polyhedral parallelization of binary code
Authors: Pradelle Benoit , Ketterlin Alain , Clauss Philippe 
Published: January 2012

Many automatic software parallelization systems have been proposed in the past decades, but most of them are dedicated to source-to-source transformations. This paper shows that parallelizing executable programs is feasible, even if they require complex transformations, and in effect decouples parallelization from compilation, for example, for closed-source or legacy software, where binary code is the only available representation.
We propose an automatic parallelizer, which is able to perform advanced parallelization on binary code. It first parses the binary code and extracts high-level information. From this information, a C program is generated. This program captures only a subset of the program semantics, namely, loops and memory accesses. This C program is then parallelized using existing, state-of-the-art parallelizers, including advanced polyhedral parallelizers. The original program semantics is then re-injected, and the transformed parallel loop nests are recompiled by a standard C compiler.
We show on the PolyBench benchmark suite that our system successfully detects and parallelizes almost all the loop nests from the binary code, using a recent polyhedral loop parallelizer as a backend. The paper ends by elaborating a strategy to parallelize more complex programs, such as those containing non-linear accesses to memory, and provides a few example case-studies.
ReNIC
Authors: Dong Yaozu , Chen Yu , Pan Zhenhao , Dai Jinquan , Jiang Yunhong 
Published: January 2012

Virtualization is gaining popularity in cloud computing and has become the key enabling technology in cloud infrastructure. By replicating the virtual server state to multiple independent platforms, virtualization improves the reliability and availability of cloud systems. Unfortunately, existing Virtual Machine (VM) replication solutions were designed only for software virtualized I/O, which suffers from large performance and scalability overheads. Although hardware-assisted I/O virtualization (such as SR-IOV) can achieve close to native performance and very good scalability, they cannot be properly replicated across different physical machines due to architectural limitations (such as lack of efficient device state read/write, buffering outbound packets, etc.).
In this paper, we address those architectural limitations, by proposing ReNIC, an architectural extension to SR-IOV I/O virtualization for efficient I/O replications. We have extended Xen hypervisor and the Remus rapid checkpoint solution to support this new architectural extension. We developed a system simulator on multi-core systems to extensively evaluate ReNIC. The experimental results demonstrate that ReNIC achieves up to 54% CPU usage reduction, compared to software based I/O virtualization at runtime, and up to 16.2% performance advantage over software based I/O virtualization in rapid checkpoint. During migration, ReNIC reduces service shutdown time by about 50%, compared to device emulation and paravirtualized I/O, and over 71% compared to teaming driver.