bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of power line-related mortality on the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres in a part of its range, with an emphasis on electrocution
Authors: BOSHOFF ANDRÉ F. , MINNIE JOHAN C. , TAMBLING CRAIG J. , MICHAEL MICHAEL D. 
Published: July 2011

SummaryThe global population of the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres, a threatened southern African endemic, is known to be impacted by electrocutions and collisions on power line infrastructure, but to date this impact has not been estimated or quantified. Using data in a national database from the period prior to our study, conducted in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, we estimated a mean annual mortality rate from power line-related mortality of around 14 vultures per year. After applying an adjusted rate based on the results of a landowner survey, this estimate increased to around 80 vultures per year (i.e. a 5.7 fold increase). For a number of reasons, the estimated mean annual mortality rate is considered to under-represent the true situation, and must therefore be considered a minimum value. A simple model was constructed and run to investigate the potential impact of the mortality rate from electrocution on the study population. It distinguishes between vulture subpopulations in areas of high and low electrocution threat, and a migratory subpopulation that moves between these two areas. The model, simulated over 50 years and applying a constant theoretical maximum annual growth rate of 2%, indicates positive growth of the population in those areas where the electrocution threat from power lines is low, whereas the population in those areas where this threat is high is predicted to crash to extinction, from electrocution mortality alone, within a 20–35 year period. The regional population is predicted to show positive growth over the 50 year period. However, for a number of reasons that relate to the nature of certain parameters used in the model, the simulations must be considered to be conservative, at best. In addition, other unnatural mortality factors (notably inadvertent poisoning, drowning in high-walled farm reservoirs, harvesting for the traditional medicine trade, local food shortage), which are additive to power line-related mortality have not been taken into account. Management recommendations aimed at obtaining an improved estimate of the mean annual mortality rate from power lines, and at ameliorating the impact of electrocutions on the regional Cape Vulture population, are briefly mentioned. These address the former by documenting ways to improve the quantity and quality of the field data, and the latter by identifying areas where urgnt action needs to be taken to reduce or avoid the electrocution of vultures, by mitigating extant ‘unsafe’ power line infrastructure, and by ensuring that that only ‘safe’ infrastructure is used for new power lines.
Chronic total occlusion by stent fracture in Kawasaki disease: is recanalisation possible?
Authors: Kim Gi-Beom , Kim Hyo-Soo , Choi Jung-Yun 
Published: July 2011

AbstractDespite various medications for Kawasaki disease, a small number of children have been undergoing interventions for severe coronary artery complications. Transcatheter intervention is a feasible alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting in a patient with chronic totally occluded lesion after Kawasaki disease, even by stent fracture.
Pushing back the frontiers or still running around the same circles? ‘Interpretative archaeoastronomy’ thirty years on
Authors: Ruggles Clive L. N. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThis personal perspective on the development of archaeoastronomy over the last thirty years focuses on interpretative and methodological issues, picking up for example from the debate between Schaefer and Aveni at Oxford VII. How far we have actually progressed in the last three decades? Are we at last starting to achieve the correct fusion between the social science questions that our discipline addresses and the ‘hard science’ methods that are often involved in tackling them? In this paper I argue that the need for our hypotheses to be solidly grounded in social theory, which has rightly been recognised by most archaeoastronomers in recent years, is not an excuse for avoiding the need to be scientifically rigorous in assessing them against the actual evidence. I conclude that identifying robust methodologies for weighing together the different types of data with which the cultural astronomer is faced in different sitations, so as to infer the ‘best’ interpretation, remains at once the most challenging and the most pressing issue facing our ‘interdiscipline’ in the future.
Sub-tropical astronomy in the southern Andes: the ceque system in Socaire, Atacama, northern Chile
Authors: Moyano Ricardo 
Published: July 2011

AbstractSky observation in sub-tropical Andean areas, part of ancient Collasuyu, during the Inca empire (ca. 1470 A.D.) was characterized by the combined use of geographical, social, psychological and natural elements of theentorno(environment or landscape). From a phenomenological perspective, it would be understood as: the place (point of observation), the path (line or relation), the horizon (calendrical marker) and the zenith/anti-zenith (vertical projection) as an expression of ‘dwelling or living in the world’. I present results obtained from a spatio-temporal analysis of mountain worship which took place at the Atacama Indian community of Socaire, northern Chile (23° 35′ 28″S, 67° 52′ 36″W, 3274m AMSL). These indicate the existence of an animistic relationship between astronomical observations, the worship of mountains, and agricultural practices. The psychological phenomena of pareidolia, apophenia and hierophany also contribute to explain the mimetolith of the ‘Hand of God’ (formed by the Tumisa, Lausa, Chiliques, Ipira and Miñiques mountains) and the social categories of space and time in Socaire: ‘above, here, and down’; ‘right and left’; ‘female and male’; ‘noon and midnight’; ‘north and south’; and ‘visible and invisible’ (as complementary opposites oryanantin).
Can nature align? The enigma of Moxos' Lagoons—astronomy and landscape in south-western Amazonia
Authors: Belmonte Juan Antonio , Barba F. Josep 
Published: July 2011

AbstractIn this essay we present a tentative archaeoastronomical analysis of the Moxos' Lagoons, a controversial and huge geographical network in the landscape of the Bolivian Amazon. In the late 1990s, a preliminary analysis of the orientation of a comprehensive and statistically significant number of lagoons showed that only human action could explain the peculiarities of their geometry, and especially their orientation according to a main axis aligned to an azimuth of 50° and its complementary angle. Since then, there has been an open debate on how these orientations could have been determined in practice. The absence of distinctive geographical features on the horizon strongly suggests that this peculiar pattern must have an astronomical justification. This short report presents a first approximation to the problem, suggesting that the lagoons could have been deliberately orientated in accordance with certain stellar positions which may have marked selected moments in the local climatic or economic cycle, a fact that could be corroborated by ethnohistoric references. The implications for new ethnographical research in the region are self-evident.
Cosmogony and prophecy: Maya Era Day cosmology in the context of the 2012 prophecy
Authors: Callaway Carl D. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe Maya 2012 prophecy foretells events that will occur at the close of the current Maya ‘era’ and at the end of the 13th BˈAKTUN period of the Maya calendar. This paper explores the mythic and astronomical events that occurred previously at the start of the Maya era in 3114 BC corresponding to the close of the first 13-BˈAKTUN period. These two 13-BˈAKTUN Period Endings, separated by a span of approximately 5125 years, are like two bookends on a single shelf that inextricably link ancient Maya conceptions of time, mythic history and prophecy. The following presentation will demonstrate how in this case, the past is very much prologue. Mythic events and godly actions recorded at the beginning of the era directly parallel those actions that will occur at the end of the era. In addition, new insights will be shared into how ancient Maya scribes linked Era Day events to temple dedications and architecture to reflect the sun's daily solar trek—a journey charted and revered by ancient peoples from all corners of the Americas.
Ancestors and the sun: astronomy, architecture and culture at Chaco Canyon
Authors: Munro Andrew M. , Malville J. McKim 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThree architectural traditions with astronomical associations have been identified among the ‘Great Houses’ and ‘Great Kivas’ of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Great Houses and one Great Kiva built during the height of construction activity (AD 1020–1100), the Bonito Phase, include front-facing south-southeast (SSE) orientations, and cardinal north-south and/or east-west (NS/EW) alignments. We present ethnographic material supporting our previous proposal that the SSE orientation is probably linked to migration traditions and ancestor veneration. We also confirm that a majority of Late Bonito Phase Great Houses (built after A.D. 1100) exhibit a third astronomical tradition: five of the principal in-canyon Great Houses built at that time were positioned at or near observing locations that could have functioned as solstice calendrical stations. Through use of these locations for public ceremonies, the Chacoan elite could demonstrate astronomical knowledge and ritual power. These findings provide support for Van Dyke's hypothesis that construction during this period was intended to reinvigorate a faltering system. One ‘Chaco halo’ Great House, Bis sa'ani, incorporates all three traditions. We suggest that temporal analysis of these traditions improves understanding of migration paths and shifting balances of power and social dominance among ancestral Pueblo culture groups.
Astronomically aligned religious structures on Raiatea and Raivavae and the Matariki festival of 1770 on Easter Island
Authors: Edwards Edmundo 
Published: July 2011

AbstractEastern Polynesian astronomy was practiced by navigators and astronomer-priests who were in charge of adjusting the lunar calendar and their annual ritual cycle of activities known as ‘The Work of the Gods’. The festivity known in Polynesia as Matariki, Matali'i or Matari'i was related to the heliacal and acronical rising and setting of the Pleiades. A study of 75 marae on the island of Raivavae, Austral Islands and of 7 marae in the island of Raiatea, Society Islands shows that there are alignments towards important star positions associated with this ritual cycle. Their use as observatories has not been documented and therefore these alignments could have served solely ritual purposes. On Easter Island all information regarding the Matariki festival coincides with the arrival of a Spanish expedition in 1770.
The sun and fifteen doorways of Phnom Rung
Authors: Komonjinda Siramas 
Published: July 2011

AbstractPhnom Rung was a Khmer-style Hindu temple complex. It was built in sandstone and laterite on the rim of an extinct volcano between the 10th and 13th centuries. At the beginning, the sanctuary was built as a dedication to Shiva. Following the abandonment of Phnom Rung (which was unrecorded) the sanctuary fell into ruin, and it was not until 1971 that it was restored using anastylosis. Phnom Rung Historical Park, along with the other temples Phimai and Muang Tum, have been on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage since 2004.Walking from the eastern side (front) to the western side of Phnom Rung takes the visitor through 15 doorways—those of the inner cloisters, the annex, the principal tower, and the inner sanctum. The centers of these doorways are perfectly aligned, with an azimuth of 84.5°. Every year thousands of people from Thailand and around the world travel to Phnom Rung to see the sun rising through its all of its 15 doorways. This event happens only twice a year, at the beginning of April and the beginning of September. Sunsets can also be seen through the doorways, in March and October. Each pair of sunrise-sunset events is separated by one lunar month.The possible meaning of this event has been investigated by both archaeologists and astronomers. Nothing is recorded about sunrise or sunset among the inscriptions at the site. Another issue is that the many and various structures remain within the complex, showing that constructions in this area spanned several centuries. However, it seems that the overall layout did have a significance, both astronomical and religious.
Astronomical aspects of Kreisgrabenanlagen (Neolithic circular ditch systems)— an interdisciplinary approach
Authors: Zotti Georg , Neubauer Wolfgang 
Published: July 2011

AbstractSince the 1980s, the entrances of a certain form of monumental Neolithic enclosure (Kreisgrabenanlage, KGA) have been discussed in relation to solstice or lunistice directions. In our current project we analyze astronomical orientations in more than 30 KGAs in Lower Austria, and combine virtual reconstructions based on previous magnetic surveys with horizon surveys and astronomical simulation software.
Astronomy, culture and landscape in the Early Iron Age in the Ebro Basin
Authors: Gutiérrez Manuel Pérez , Fons Jordi Diloli , Castaño David Bea , Seuma Samuel Sardà 
Published: July 2011

AbstractArchaeological excavations carried out at Turó del Calvari (Tarragona, Spain) have revealed a protohistoric building interpreted as one of the earliest enclosures of power operating during the Early Iron Age in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The structure is exceptional in several respects: the techniques of construction, the materials used, and the topographic situation. The building is perfectly integrated in the landscape and has an exquisite geometrical design, with measurement units based on the Iberian foot. The intended beauty in having used the golden ratio in its construction and an orientation that is both stellar and solar demonstrates the existence at that time of a complete series of mechanisms of representation and territorial control. This was based on the use of rituals and feasts as elements of political cohesion by an emergent elite within a process that reproduced a scaled-down Mediterranean cultural system in an indigenous space.
Traditional rites and their celestial alignments in parts of south-eastern Nigeria
Authors: Urama J. O. , Eze-Uzomaka P. I. , Opata C. C. , Chami F. A. , Obatala J. K. 
Published: July 2011

AbstractPreliminary investigations at two archaeological sites in south-eastern Nigeria are presented. These sites are the ancient stone circle in Ikom and the crescent shape of an ancient iron slag heap at Lejja, Nsukka. Here, we discuss the celestial alignments of these objects, and other traditional rites in this part of Nigeria, that seem to suggest some possible astronomical connections.
Portal to the heritage of astronomy
Authors: Schultz Rüdiger 
Published: July 2011

AbstractFollowing the Starlight meeting held in La Palma in November 2009, members of the IAU Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage and the Starlight Initative are working together, with the approval of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, to produce a new integrated web site for the UNESCO–IAU Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative that will act as a Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy. As such, the portal will be the bridge between the Initiative, the scientific community, National Commissions and experts, and the general public.
Closing remarks
Authors: Broda Johanna 
Published: July 2011

AbstractThe purpose of this invited commentary is to present some general closing remarks on the global content of the ‘Oxford IX’ International Symposium on Archaeoastronomy, taking into account how we evaluate the course archaeoastronomy has taken over the past few years. It is significant that the interdisciplinary field of archaeoastronomy has already, by common consent, changed its name into ‘astronomy in culture’ (or ‘cultural astronomy’). This happened several years ago, although it is still the case that the cultural aspect (cosmovision, or vision of the world) is not always taken sufficiently into account. The keynote presentations by Ruggles, Iwaniszewski and McCluskey addressed fundamental issues of method and theoretical concepts that should guide archaeoastronomical studies. The rest of the sessions as well as the posters were dedicated to case studies from different cultural regions of the world. This commentary synthesizes several common themes that were addressed in the many interesting papers from all over the world that were presented in the meeting. Finally I take up the proposition of Gary Urton that future efforts should be concentrated on the study of the production and maintenance of systems of knowledge in complex state societies as well as in more egalitarian rural communities. In my opinion it is an urgent task to begin discourse about the history of pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, a discipline of which the history of science and astronomy forms a fundamental part. The ‘Oxford’ International Conferences are a key forum for exchange and encounter regarding comparative studies with other ancient civilizations as well as indigenous traditions from all over the world.
BioSharing - standards, policies and communication in bioscience
Authors: Sansone Susanna-Assunta 
Published: July 2011

AbstractResearch communities, funding agencies, and journals participate in the development of reporting standards for the bioscience domain to ensure that shared experiments are reported with enough information to be comprehensible and (in principle) reproducible, compared or integrated (Field, Sansone et al., Science, 2009). Similar trends exist in both the regulatory arena and commercial science.Proliferation of standards is a positive sign of stakeholders’ engagement, but how much do we know about these standards? Which ones are mature and stable enough to use or recommend? Which tools and databases implement which standard? Etc...The BioSharing catalogue (www.biosharing.org) aims to1. centralize community-developed bioscience standards, linking to policies, other portals, open access resources and lists of tools and databases implementing the standards;1.1 The International Society for Biocuration (ISB) and the BioSharing initiative have produced BioDBcore, a community-defined, uniform system for describing these bio-resources, in particular, indicating in a consistent manner which community-defined standards (minimal information checklists, terminologies and exchange formats) they implement(www.biodbcore.org).2. develop and maintain a set of criteria for assessing the usability and popularity of the standards, also the interoperability and relations among them;3. foster interoperability, addressing overlaps and duplication of efforts that hamper their wider uptake and interfere with the creation of standards-compliant systems.
Old and new findings on lipopolysaccharide-binding protein: a soluble pattern-recognition molecule
Authors: Schumann Ralf R. 
Published: July 2011

LBP [LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-binding protein] was discovered approximately 25 years ago. Since then, substantial progress has been made towards our understanding of its function in health and disease. Furthermore, the discovery of a large protein family sharing functional and structural attributes has helped in our knowledge. Still, key questions are unresolved, and here an overview on the old and new findings on LBP is given. LBP is an acute-phase protein of the liver, but is also synthesized in other cells of the organism. While LBP is named after the ability to bind to LPS of Gram-negative bacteria, it also can recognize other bacterial compounds, such as lipopeptides. It has been shown that LBP is needed to combat infections; however, the main mechanism of action is still not clear. New findings on natural genetic variations of LBP leading to functional consequences may help in further elucidating the mechanism of LBP and its role in innate immunity and disease.
Hyperprolinemic larvae of the drosophilid fly,
Chymomyza costata
, survive cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen
Authors: Koštál Vladimír , Zahradníčková Helena , Šimek Petr 
Published: July 2011

The larva of the drosophilid fly,
Chymomyza costata
, is probably the most complex metazoan organism that can survive submergence in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) in a fully hydrated state. We examined the associations between the physiological and biochemical parameters of differently acclimated larvae and their freeze tolerance. Entering diapause is an essential and sufficient prerequisite for attaining high levels of survival in liquid nitrogen (23% survival to adult stage), although cold acclimation further improves this capacity (62% survival). Profiling of 61 different metabolites identified proline as a prominent compound whose concentration increased from 20 to 147 mM during diapause transition and subsequent cold acclimation. This study provides direct evidence for the essential role of proline in high freeze tolerance. We increased the levels of proline in the larval tissues by feeding larvae proline-augmented diets and found that this simple treatment dramatically improved their freeze tolerance. Cell and tissue survival following exposure to liquid nitrogen was evident in proline-fed nondiapause larvae, and survival to adult stage increased from 0% to 36% in proline-fed diapause-destined larvae. A significant statistical correlation was found between the whole-body concentration of proline, either natural or artificial, and survival to the adult stage in liquid nitrogen for diapause larvae. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis suggested that high proline levels, in combination with a relatively low content of osmotically active water and freeze dehydration, increased the propensity of the remaining unfrozen water to undergo a glass-like transition (vitrification) and thus facilitated the prevention of cryoinjury.
Lessons from the long-term management plan for northern hake: could the economic assessment have accepted it?
Authors: Da Rocha José-María , Gutiérrez María-José 
Published: July 2011

Abstract
Da Rocha, J-M., and Gutiérrez, M-J. 2011. Lessons from the long-term management plan for northern hake: could the economic assessment have accepted it? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1937–1941. An economic working group was convened by the EU's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) in 2007 to evaluate the potential economic consequences of the long-term management plan for the northern hake (Merluccius merluccius) stock. An analysis of all the scenarios proposed by the biological assessment using the Economic Interpretation of ACFM Advice (EIAA) model showed that F at the status quo level was the best policy for both yield and profits, in terms of net present values. This result is counter-intuitive because it seems to suggest that effort costs do not influence economic indicators, whereas it is widely accepted that including costs negatively affects economic indicators. A dynamic age-structured model is applied to northern hake and shows that the optimal fishing mortality that maximizes the net present value of profits is <Fmax. The reason why the EIAA analysis was biased towards scenarios with F > Fmax is also shown.