bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Breaking the age–metallicity degeneracy: The metallicity distribution and star formation history of the Large Magellanic Cloud
Authors: Cole Andrew A. , Grocholski Aaron J. , Geisler Doug , Sarajedini Ata , Smith Verne V. , Tolstoy Eline 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe have obtained metallicities from near-infrared calcium triplet spectroscopy for nearly a thousand red giants in 28 fields spanning a range of radial distances from the center of the bar to near the tidal radius. We have used these data to investigate the radius-metallicity and age-metallicity relations. A powerful application of these data is in conjunction with the analysis of deep HST color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Most of the power in determining a robust star-formation history from a CMD comes from the main-sequence turnoff and subgiant branches. The age-metallicity degeneracy that results is largely broken by the red giant branch color, but theoretical model RGB colors remain uncertain. By incorporating the observed metallicity distribution function into the modelling process, a star-formation history with massively increased precision and accuracy can be derived. We incorporate the observed metallicity distribution of the LMC bar into a maximum-likelihood analysis of the bar CMD, and present a new star formation history and age–metallicity relation for the bar. The bar is certainly younger than the disk as a whole, and the most reliable estimates of its age are in the 5–6 Gyr range, when the mean gas abundance of the LMC had already increased to [Fe/H] ≳ −0.6. There is no obvious metallicity gradient among the old stars in the LMC disk out to a distance of 8–10 kpc, but the bar is more metal-rich than the disk by ≈0.1–0.2 dex. This is likely to be the result of the bar's younger average age. In both disk and bar, 95% of the red giants are more metal-rich than [Fe/H] = −1.2.
The WFI Hα spectroscopic survey of the Magellanic Clouds: Be stars in SMC open clusters
Authors: Martayan Christophe , Baade Dietrich , Fabregat Juan 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAt low metallicity, B-type stars show lower loss of mass and, therefore, angular momentum so that it is expected that there are more Be stars in the Magellanic Clouds than in the Milky Way. However, till now, searches for Be stars were only performed in a very small number of open clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. Using the ESO/WFI in its slitless spectroscopic mode, we performed a Hα survey of the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud. Eight million low-resolution spectra centered on Hα were obtained. For their automatic analysis, we developed the ALBUM code. Here, we present the observations, the method to exploit the data and first results for 84 open clusters in the SMC. In particular, cross-correlating our catalogs with OGLE positional and photometric data, we classified more than 4000 stars and were able to find the B and Be stars in them. We show the evolution of the rates of Be stars as functions of area density, metallicity, spectral type, and age.
The optically bright post-AGB population of the LMC
Authors: van Aarle Els , van Winckel Hans , Evans Tom Lloyd , Wood Peter R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe detected variety in chemistry and circumstellar shell morphology of the limited sample of Galactic post-AGB stars is so large, that there is no consensus yet on how individual objects are linked by evolutionary channels. The evaluation is complicated by the fact that the distances and hence luminosities of these objects are poorly known. In this contribution we report on our project to overcome this problem by focusing on a significant sample of post-AGB stars with known distances: those in the LMC. Via cross-correlation of the infrared SAGE-SPITZER catalogue with optical catalogues we selected a sample of 322 LMC post-AGB candidates based on their position in the various colour-colour diagrams. We determined the fundamental properties of 82 of them, using low resolution optical spectra that we obtained at Siding Spring and SAAO. We selected a subsample to be studied at high spectral resolution in order to obtain accurate abundances of a wide range of species. This will allow us to connect the theoretical predictions with the obtained surface chemistry at a given luminosity and metallicity. By this, we want to constrain important structure parameters of the evolutionary models. Preliminary results of the selection process are presented.
The population of Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae
Authors: Stanghellini Letizia 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIn this review we address the progress that has been made toward the understanding of Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae (PNe) and their evolution since the last Magellanic Cloud Symposium. Planetary nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds are the key probes of stellar and circumstellar evolution, both for their known distances and relative vicinity, and for their broad metallicity range A selection of recent results is presented, including the HST study of PNe and their central stars, the study of the population of Magellanic Cloud PNe based on abundance analysis, the recent Spitzer analysis of their dust contents, and the use of Magellanic Cloud PNe to constrain the distance scale of Galactic PNe.
Evidence of Magellanic-like moderate redshift H i-rich galaxies
Authors: Lawton Brandon , Churchill Christopher W. , York Brian A. , Ellison Sara L. , Snow Theodore P. , Johnson Rachel A. , Ryan Sean G. , Benn Chris R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe present equivalent width measurements and limits of six diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs, λ 4428, λ 5705, λ 5780, λ 5797, λ 6284, and λ 6613) in seven damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs) over the redshift range 0.091 ≤ z ≤ 0.524, sampling 20.3 ≤ log N(Hi) ≤ 21.7. Based upon the Galactic DIB–N(H i) relation, the λ 6284 DIB equivalent width upper limits in four of the seven DLAs are a factor of 4–10 times below the λ 6284 DIB equivalent widths observed in the Galaxy, but are not inconsistent with those present in the Magellanic Clouds. Assuming the Galactic DIB–E(B − V) relation, we determine reddening upper limits for the DLAs in our sample. Based upon the E(B − V) limits, the gas-to-dust ratios, N(H i)/E(B − V), of the four aforementioned DLAs are at least ~5 times higher than that of the Galactic ISM and are more consistent with the Large Magellanic Cloud. The ratios of two other DLAs are at least a factor of a few times higher. The best constraints on reddening derive from the upper limits for the λ 5780 and λ 6284 DIBs, which yield E(B − V) ≤ 0.08 mag for four of the seven DLAs and are more consistent with the Magellanic Clouds rather than the Galaxy. Our results suggest that, in DLAs, quantities related to dust, such as reddening and metallicity, appear to have a greater impact on DIB strengths than does H i gas abundance. The molecules responsible for the DIBs in DLA selected sightlines are underabundant relative to sightlines in the Galaxy of similarly high N(H i). Using DIBs to study the ISM of DLAs provide evidence that at least some population of DLAs are more Magellanic-like than Galactic-like.
6 Politics and Aesthetics
Authors: Rotman Andy 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
Chapter 6 discusses the aesthetics and erotics of prasāda and how these help to explain the compelling power that prasāda exerts, both in objects and in people, and its apparent naturalism. The seemingly automatic and spontaneous nature of prasāda-initiated giving has important implications for a sociology of prasāda and, perhaps, the politics behind it. The chapter also considers the various connections between giving, karmic status, and social status, and the insights this might offer into the prestige economy of Buddhism. Lastly, the chapter considers the stages of faith in the Buddhist path and how the discourse of prasāda may have been a refuge for the dispossessed.
Artefacts and biases affecting the evaluation of scoring functions on decoy sets for protein structure prediction
Authors: Handl Julia , Knowles Joshua , Lovell Simon C. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractMotivation: Decoy datasets, consisting of a solved protein structure and numerous alternative native-like structures, are in common use for the evaluation of scoring functions in protein structure prediction. Several pitfalls with the use of these datasets have been identified in the literature, as well as useful guidelines for generating more effective decoy datasets. We contribute to this ongoing discussion an empirical assessment of several decoy datasets commonly used in experimental studies.Results: We find that artefacts and sampling issues in the large majority of these data make it trivial to discriminate the native structure. This underlines that evaluation based on the rank/z-score of the native is a weak test of scoring function performance. Moreover, sampling biases present in the way decoy sets are generated or used can strongly affect other types of evaluation measures such as the correlation between score and root mean squared deviation (RMSD) to the native. We demonstrate how, depending on type of bias and evaluation context, sampling biases may lead to both over- or under-estimation of the quality of scoring terms, functions or methods.Availability: Links to the software and data used in this study are available at http://dbkgroup.org/handl/decoy_sets.Contact: simon.lovell@manchester.ac.ukSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
DASher: a stand-alone protein sequence client for DAS, the Distributed Annotation System
Authors: Messina David N. , Sonnhammer Erik L. L. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractSummary: The rise in biological sequence data has led to a proliferation of separate, specialized databases. While there is great value in having many independent annotations, it is critical that there be a way to integrate them in one combined view. The Distributed Annotation System (DAS) was developed for that very purpose. There are currently no DAS clients that are open source, specialized for aggregating and comparing protein sequence annotation, and that can run as a self-contained application outside of a web browser. The speed, flexibility and extensibility that come with a stand-alone application motivated us to create DASher, an open-source Java DAS client. Given a UniProt sequence identifier, DASher automatically queries DAS-supporting servers worldwide for any information on that sequence and then displays the annotations in an interactive viewer for easy comparison. DASher is a fast, Java-based DAS client optimized for viewing protein sequence annotation and compliant with the latest DAS protocol specification 1.53E.Availability: DASher is available for direct use and download at http://dasher.sbc.su.se including examples and source code under the GPLv3 licence. Java version 6 or higher is required.Contact: erik.sonnhammer@sbc.su.seSupplementary information: Supplementary data and all figures in color are available at Bioinformatics online.
Testing different methods of incorporating climate data into the assessment of US West Coast sablefish
Authors: Schirripa Michael J. , Goodyear C. Phillip , Methot Richard M. 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
Schirripa, M. J., Goodyear, C. P., and Methot, R. M. 2009. Testing different methods of incorporating climate data into the assessment of US West Coast sablefish. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1605–1613. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate different methods of including environmental variability directly into stock assessments and to demonstrate how this inclusion affects the estimation of recruitment parameters, stock status, and the conservation benchmarks used to manage a stock. Variations on two methods of incorporating environmental effects were tested. The first method (“model” method) utilizes a structural change in the stock–recruitment function to adjust the annual expected number of recruits by a value, either positive or negative, equal to that year's anomaly in the environmental variable. The second method (“data” method) allows for observation error in the environmental data and uses the time-series as an index to tune the vector of estimates of annual recruitment deviations. Simulation techniques were utilized to produce datasets of known quantities that were subsequently analysed with a widely used stock assessment platform. Under the circumstances simulated in this study, neither method could be said to have performed significantly better than the other in all situations. Because the two approaches handle years of missing data differently, the best approach is dictated by the available data, rather than a more appropriate method.
Chlamydia trachomatis detection in cervical PreservCyt specimens from an Irish urban female population
Authors: Keegan H. , Ryan F. , Malkin A. , Griffin M. , Lambkin H. 
Published: March 2009

Objective:  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cervical Chlamydia trachomatis infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in urban women undergoing routine cervical cytological screening and to investigate the relationship with age, cytology, smoking status and concurrent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.Methods:  A total of 996 women (age range 16–69 years) attending general practitioners for routine liquid‐based cervical smear screening in the Dublin area were recruited in the study of prevalence of C. trachomatis. Informed consent was obtained and liquid‐based cytology (LBC) specimens were sent for cytological screening. DNA was extracted from residual LBC and tested for C. trachomatis by PCR using the highly sensitive C. trachomatis plasmid (CTP) primers and for HPV infection using the MY09/11 primers directed to the HPV L1 gene in a multiplex format.Results:  The overall prevalence of C. trachomatis was 5.4%. Prevalence was highest in the <25 years age group (10%). Coinfection with HPV and C. trachomatis occurred in 1% of the screening population. A higher rate of smoking was observed in women positive for C. trachomatis, HPV infections or those with abnormal cervical cytology. Chlamydia trachomatis infection was not associated with abnormal cytology.Conclusions:  Women (5.4%) presenting for routine cervical screening are infected with C. trachomatis. Opportunistic screening for C. trachomatis from PreservCyt sample taken at the time of cervical cytological screening may be a possible strategy to screen for C. trachomatis in the Irish female population.
Structure and stability in exploited marine fish communities: quantifying critical transitions
Authors: PETRIE BRIAN , FRANK KENNETH T. , SHACKELL NANCY L. , LEGGETT WILLIAM C. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractCorrelations between time series of the abundance of predator and prey fish species in heavily exploited western North Atlantic marine fisheries vary temporally but are generally positive in southern, warmer waters and negative in northern, colder ones. The correlations provide an index of trophic structure and dynamics. We construct a framework to quantify critical thresholds between states in which the predator–prey correlations are positive or negative. We do so by developing a quantitative model of the distribution of the correlations between predator (15 species) and prey (8 species) functional groups based on the annual predator depletion rates and bottom temperatures (or alternatively species richness). The model accounts for 58% of the variance of the correlations with a root mean square error of 0.3. This index of trophic structure indicates that warmer, species‐rich, southern fish populations resist transformation from positive to negative predator–prey correlations at exploitation rates that can be double those in the colder, relatively species‐poor, northern areas. The model can be used to set limits for exploitation rates that preserve the functional relationships between predator–prey groups in emerging fisheries, and to assess the potential for and measures required to achieve recovery of degraded fish communities.
Expression of c‐MET, low‐molecular‐weight cytokeratin, matrix metalloproteinases‐1 and ‐2 in spinal chordoma
Authors: Naka Takahiko , Boltze Carsten , Samii Amir , Samii Madjid , Herold Christian , Ostertag Helmut , Iwamoto Yukihide , Oda Yoshinao , Tsuneyoshi Masazumi , Kuester Doerthe , Roessner Albert 
Published: March 2009

Aims:  In skull base chordoma, c‐MET expression has been reported to correlate with younger patient age and favourable prognosis; however, it also contributes to tumour invasiveness, especially in recurrent lesions, suggesting variable roles for c‐MET according to clinical status. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of c‐MET expression in spinal chordoma, which affects patients who are 10–20 years older than those with skull base chordoma.Methods and results:  Using immunohistochemical techniques, the expression of c‐MET and its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was investigated in 34 primary spinal chordomas and compared with other clinicopathological parameters. Expression of c‐MET and HGF was observed in 85.3 and 21.7% of lesions, respectively. c‐MET expression correlated with the expression of an epithelial marker, low‐molecular‐weight cytokeratin (CAM5.2). Lesions with higher c‐MET expression showed significantly stronger expression of proteinases, including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐1 and MMP‐2. However, c‐MET expression was not associated with patient age, proliferative ability estimated by MIB‐1 labelling index, or prognosis.Conclusions:  c‐MET expression was observed in most spinal chordomas and correlated with the expression of CAM5.2, suggesting a relationship to an epithelial phenotype.
Validation of a perceptions of care adjective checklist
Authors: Redshaw Maggie , Martin Colin R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  This study describes the psychometric characteristics, validity and reliability of the revised version of the perceptions of care adjective checklist (PCACL‐R) with women who had recently given birth. Data were collected from a national survey of women's experiences of maternity care (n = 2960).Methods  Internal consistency, predictive validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to the data.Results  Confirmatory factor analysis revealed an excellent fit to a bi‐dimensional structure entirely consistent with the negative and positive valencing of adjectives in the measure, supporting the use of the instrument as a two subscale tool comprising positive and negative subscales. The PCACL‐R revealed good convergent validity against measures of satisfaction with care and excellent divergent validity characteristics assessed against duration of labour. Discriminant validity was assessed against measures of area‐based maternal deprivation, partner status and type of delivery. These analyses revealed commendable discriminant validity of the PCACL‐R. Internal consistency characteristics of the positive and negative subscales of the PCACL‐R were acceptable. The predictive validity of the PCACL‐R was also found to be excellent.Conclusion  The PCACL‐R is consequently recommended as a valid, reliable, respondent acceptable and easy to administer instrument to assess women's experiences of their care during labour and childbirth. The measurement characteristics of the PCACL‐R suggest that the tool could be incorporated into both clinical and research contexts with confidence. The checklist terms used are applicable to other phases of maternity care and indeed to a wide range of health care contexts. Exploratory use in with other user groups is recommended.
Knowledge about cervical cancer screening among family physicians: cross‐sectional survey
Authors: Del Refugio Gonzalez‐Losa Maria , Gongora‐Marfil Glendy K. , Puerto‐Solis Marylin 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  Cervical cancer (CC) is an important public health problem worldwide. In Mexico, there has been a National Cervical Cancer Screening Program (NCCSP) since 1974. Mexican Social Security Institute attended Mexican workers and family physicians are responsible of the primary care of patients.Objective  To evaluate knowledge about the aetiology and prevention of CC among family physicians working in Yucatan, Mexico, at Mexican Social Security Institute.Methods  A questionnaire was applied to 187 family doctors. Self‐administer questionnaire with 10 item previously used by ours and other researchers, was used for the evaluation. Each correctly answered item was given a point. The maximum grade was 10 and the minimum 0.Results  The knowledge mean was 6.93 points. Fewer than 50% knew what to do with women who are human papillomavirus (HPV) positive without a precancerous cervical lesion and the appropriate age range for Pap smears. A total of 61.1% identified CC as an important health problem in Mexico; however, 95.1% identified CC as a preventive cause of deaths among Mexican women and recognized that HPV is the main CC aetiological agent, and 90.3% mentioned the Pap smear as the main method of diagnosis of CC.Conclusion  The family doctors need to have an adequate knowledge of the practical elements of the NCCSP to give an efficient attention to their patients.
Mirror, mirror on the wall: placebo effects that exist only in the eye of the beholder
Authors: Kelley John M. , Boulos Patrick R. , Rubin Peter A.D. , Kaptchuk Ted J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractRationale The extent to which placebo effects can be driven exclusively by subjective impressions of improvement in the absence of any independent corroboration is unclear.Methods Thirty‐six self‐referred patients were treated with a light therapy device intended to rejuvenate facial skin. At each of eight weekly treatments, participants' facial skin was exposed for 40 seconds to pulses of multispectral LED‐generated light in the range of 588 nm wavelength at 0.1 J cm−2. Outcomes were assessed by participants as well as by the treating doctor and by blinded, expert raters.Results Patients reported robust and statistically significant improvements in seven facial features at the conclusion of the 8‐week treatment regimen as well as at 1‐month follow‐up (for all comparisons,P ≤ 0.003, mediand = 1.14). In sharp contrast, both the treating doctor and blinded, expert raters were unable to detect any improvement whatsoever (for all comparisons,P > 0.05). Moreover, effect sizes were close to zero and in theoppositedirection from improvement (mediand = −0.06 for doctor ratings; and for observer ratings, there was only a 46% success rate at identifying post‐treatment as compared with pre‐treatment photographs).Conclusion The robust placebo responses documented in this trial were confined to the subjective impressions of the patients. Neither the treating doctor nor blinded, expert raters could detect any improvement. Thus, patients can perceive improvement in medical interventions in the absence of any independent corroboration that improvement has occurred. This result is used a heuristic to more clearly define the components of the placebo response.