Common neuroanatomical regions are associated with both states of anorexia nervosa (AN) and autistic characteristics, but restoration of body mass index (BMI) has been associated with decreased presentation of autistic characteristics in some individuals with AN. This study aims to examine neuroanatomical correlates associated with autistic characteristics in those with acute anorexia nervosa (ac-AN) and those previously diagnosed with AN but whose weight has been restored (WR). In total, 183 individuals (healthy controls [HCs] = 67; n[ac-AN] = 68; n[WR] = 48) from the Brain imaging of Emotion And Cognition of adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa (BEACON) study were included, with autistic characteristics determined in both ac-AN and WR individuals (n = 116). To further examine BMI, ac-AN and WR group associations were compared. Random forest regression (RFR) models examined whether autistic characteristics and morphology of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) were able to predict future levels of social anhedonia and alexithymia. Group-wise differences were identified within the volume and surface area of the MFG and OFC, which were unrelated to BMI. Autistic characteristics were inversely associated with MFG and ACC volume, with differences in associations between ac-AN and WR groups seen in the surface area of the MFG. RFR models identified moderate-to-weak performance and found that autistic characteristics were not important predictive features in a priori and exploratory models. Findings suggest that the presence of autistic characteristics in those with ac-AN are associated with the volume of the MFG and are unrelated to BMI restoration.

A diverse near-shore marine fauna existed during the early Miocene in what is today an arid inland region about 90 km south of the Caribbean coast of northern Venezuela, a poorly known area geologically and paleontologically. The fossil locality consists of more than 100 m of section exposed in an area of about 1 km2. We report the discovery of 20 molluscan species, one crab (Portunus oblongus), at least three sharks (Hemipristis serra and Carcharhinus spp.), one turtle (“Podocnemis” venezuelensis), one crocodile (Crocodylidae), two whales (Odontoceti) and a three dimensional cast of the mesocarp or endocarp of a palm fruit. Several taxa are reported for the first time in Venezuela or in northern South America. The fauna indicates, or at least is consistent with, an early Miocene age for the locality, and a near-shore and shallow water marine depositional environment. We suggest that the earliest mammal previously reported from Venezuela, the pyrothere Proticia venezuelensis, was collected in Miocene rocks of the Castillo Formation instead of Eocene rocks of the Trujillo Formation.

The present study examined the mode of action of a patented Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast hydrolysate product (YHP) on the fermentation of bovine rumen in vitro. Three experiments were conducted. Fresh fluid from rumen-cannulated dairy cows was used as an inoculum to ferment a mixture of grass silage and concentrate feed with or without YHP. The first two experiments were batch fermentations of 12–24 h duration while the third experiment was a semi-continuous fermentation of six days. Production of gas, concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), microbial cell density and pH were measured from the fermentation medium as a function of time. In experiment 1, YHP dose-dependently stimulated the production of gas, and increased the density of microbial cells and concentration of SCFAs. Experiment 2 studied the effect of YHP on the ruminal fermentation using three ratios of concentrate feed to grass silage (25:75, 50:50, and 75:25). Both YHP and the elevated proportion of concentrate in the feed mixture significantly increased the production of gas, microbial populations and SCFAs, including propionic acid, by the ruminal microbiota. In experiment 3, YHP increased the concentration and relative proportion of propionic acid in the fermentation medium. YHP stimulated the rate of microbial fermentation of bovine ruminal microbiota, indicated by the effects on gas and SCFA production and microbial mass in these experiments. In particular, YHP increased the production of propionic acid. These results, which were likely due to modulation of microbial community by YHP, suggest that YHP enhances bovine ruminal fermentation and may thus improve the performance of these animals.

A hybrid boundary integral/slender body algorithm for modelling flagellar cell motility is presented. The algorithm uses the boundary element method to represent the ‘wedge-shaped’ head of the human sperm cell and a slender body theory representation of the flagellum. The head morphology is specified carefully due to its significant effect on the force and torque balance and hence movement of the free-swimming cell. The technique is used to investigate the mechanisms for the accumulation of human spermatozoa near surfaces. Sperm swimming in an infinite fluid, and near a plane boundary, with prescribed planar and three-dimensional flagellar waveforms are simulated. Both planar and ‘elliptical helicoid’ beating cells are predicted to accumulate at distances of approximately 8.5–22 μm from surfaces, for flagellar beating with angular wavenumber of 3π to 4π. Planar beating cells with wavenumber of approximately 2.4π or greater are predicted to accumulate at a finite distance, while cells with wavenumber of approximately 2π or less are predicted to escape from the surface, likely due to the breakdown of the stable swimming configuration. In the stable swimming trajectory the cell has a small angle of inclination away from the surface, no greater than approximately 0.5°. The trapping effect need not depend on specialized non-planar components of the flagellar beat but rather is a consequence of force and torque balance and the physical effect of the image systems in a no-slip plane boundary. The effect is relatively weak, so that a cell initially one body length from the surface and inclined at an angle of 4°–6° towards the surface will not be trapped but will rather be deflected from the surface. Cells performing rolling motility, where the flagellum sweeps out a ‘conical envelope’, are predicted to align with the surface provided that they approach with sufficiently steep angle. However simulation of cells swimming against a surface in such a configuration is not possible in the present framework. Simulated human sperm cells performing a planar beat with inclination between the beat plane and the plane-of-flattening of the head were not predicted to glide along surfaces, as has been observed in mouse sperm. Instead, cells initially with the head approximately 1.5–3 μm from the surface were predicted to turn away and escape. The simulation model was also used to examine rolling motility due to elliptical helicoid flagellar beating. The head was found to rotate by approximately 240° over one beat cycle and due to the time-varying torques associated with the flagellar beat was found to exhibit ‘looping’ as has been observed in cells swimming against coverslips.

Optimal imaging protocols for cochlear implantation have yet to be determined. Pre-operative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans are used to assess cochlear anatomy and patency, to delineate surgical access, and to aid in choice of side for implantation. However, opinion still differs as to which modality provides more information in pre-operative assessment, or if, indeed, a combination of the two is superior.

The first 88 patients on the Irish National Cochlear Implant Programme (NCIP) were retrospectively studied to determine the accuracy of pre-operative CT and MRI in predicting abnormalities at the time of surgery. Correlation with surgical findings was determined in three separate groups of patients (those who had CT only, those who had MRI only, and those who had both CT and MRI performed).

Of the 24 patients that had both CT and MRI performed, both modalities had a 79 per cent correlation with surgical findings. CT and MRI reports concurred in 75 per cent of cases. Specificity and negative predictive value were high (86 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively). CT alone (47 cases) correlated with surgery in 39 cases (83 per cent); MRI alone (17 cases) correlated in 15 cases (88 per cent).

The findings of this study suggest that CT and MRI are effective at predicting normal inner ear anatomy, and thus at predicting the patient and the cochlea most suitable for implantation. Both modalities are useful in determining the side of implantation, thus avoiding potential surgical difficulties in cases of unilateral abnormalities. There was no significant difference between the ability of MRI and CT to detect abnormalities at the time of surgery. In this series the combination of CT and MRI has not been shown to be superior to either modality used alone, although anecdotal evidence to the contrary was noted.

Setting out to “shatter the myth” that links Islam to political violence, to women, and to global economic development requires not only a thorough knowledge of the realities themselves that have suffered the alleged distortion, but also a solid grasp of the false images or misleading assumptions that stand in need of correction. A work such as this one, which announces rectification of blinkered, poorly informed, or prejudiced views as its chief intention, takes its shape in large measure from the assertions it chooses for its targets. In this case, Bruce Lawrence is returning to a key aspect of the theme treated in a wide comparative framework in his notable 1989 book, Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age, and he has selected a rather broad facade against which to launch his rebuttal.

In an era of instantaneous communication and ubiquitous media the global public is regularlyinvited to witness history in the making, as the expression goes, through newspaper accounts andbroadcasts of events marked with special significance. In the Middle East and elsewhere, history issaid to record the fate of nations that at times is unfolding before our eyes and ears, with theaccuracy of claims resting on evidence to be observed or recovered in period documents andartifacts. What emerges supposedly is a narrative whose eventual uncertainties can be attributedto information gaps, inadequate archives, and difficulties in identifying or authenticating sources.

The Roman town of Forum Novum lies in the Sabine hills to the northeast of Rome. Its study forms part of the British School at Rome's Tiber Valley Project, a collaborative research initiative which studies the Tiber valley as the hinterland of Rome, tracing the impact of Rome's development on the history of its settlement, economy, and cultural identity from 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1300 (Patterson and Millett 1999; Patterson et al. 2000) (fig. 1). The project draws on the extensive work carried out in this area to produce a new, material-based history of the valley. While the project seeks to re-evaluate past survey material, a vital contrast is provided by the development of new field projects to fill the gaps in settlement knowledge. Three main lacunae have been identified: the study of urban centres; the dearth of data from the E bank of the Tiber; and the poor understanding of the late-antique and early Mediaeval landscape. Forum Novum offers an opportunity to address all these lacunae.

Urbanism forms a key research theme for the Tiber Valley Project. In marked contrast to the intensity of archaeological work on rural settlement in this area, there has been little systematic research on towns. Study has tended to concentrate on the excavation of monumental structures or, more rarely, the investigation of single and exceptional towns such as Ostia and Rome itself. Surprisingly little is known of the organization of the smaller towns and knowledge of their history is based largely on the epigraphic and documentary evidence.

Postoperative renal impairment is a recognized complication of infrarenal aortic cross-clamping. Fenoldopam, a selective dopamine agonist, may increase renal blood flow and decrease tubular oxygen consumption. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of fenoldopam (0.1 μg kg−1 min−1) on renal blood flow and renal tubular function in anaesthetized dogs that have undergone aortic cross clamping. Eight labrador dogs were selected to receive either saline or fenoldopam (0.1 μg kg−1 min−1) intravenously. Arterial pressure, heart rate, renal blood flow, urinary output, fractional excretion of sodium, creatinine clearance and lithium clearance were measured (a) prior to infusions of saline or fenoldopam (b) 1 h after commencing the infusion (c) during a 90 min period of infrarenal aortic cross-clamping with concurrent infusion of fenoldopam or saline and (d) for 1 h after simultaneous aortic declamping and discontinuation of the infusions. There was no haemodynamic instability upon commencing the infusion of fenoldopam (0.1 μg kg−1 min−1). Creatinine clearance (2.03±0.5–2.45±0.3 mL min−1 kg−1 (mean±SD)), urine output (0.23±0.16–0.35±0.23 mL min−1 (mean±SD)), and fractional excretion of sodium (0.7±0.52–1.3±0.73% (mean±SD)) increased (P < 0.05), following commencement of the fenoldopam infusion. Fractional excretion of sodium (1.2±0.7% (mean±SD)) and urine output (0.36±0.21 mL min−1 (mean±SD)) were maintained during the aortic cross-clamp period (P < 0.05). Renal blood flow increased when the fenoldopam infusion was commenced (145±43.3–161±39.2 mL min−1 (mean±SD)) and remained greater than baseline during the aortic cross-clamping period (152±44 mL min−1 (mean±SD)), although these increases did not reach statistical significance. The most striking abnormalities observed by electron microscopy were marked disruption of the microvillus brush border in proximal tubules, vacuolation and separation of epithelial cells on basolateral infolds. The changes were similar in the two groups. In conclusion fenoldopam (0.1 μg kg−1 min−1) may have renoprotective effects which persist during infrarenal aortic cross clamping.

Schwannomas of the head and neck are uncommon tumours that arise from any peripheral, cranial or autonomic nerve. Twenty-five to 45 per cent of extracranial schwannomas occur in the head and neck region and thus are usually in the domain of the otolaryngologist. They usually present insidiously and thus are often diagnosed incorrectly or after lengthy delays, however, better imaging and cytological techniques have lessened this to some degree more recently. For benign lesions conservative surgical excision is the treatment of choice bearing in mind possible vagal or sympathetic chain injury. Malignant schwannomas are best treated with wide excision where possible. The role of adjuvant therapy remains uncertain and irrespective of treatment modality prognosis is poor with an overall survival of 15 per cent. However, recent advances in ras oncogene inhibitors may hold hope for the future.