Morphometric analysis of corpus callosum in relation to brain size in fetuses of South Indian population

Background: The corpus callosum (CC) comprises axons connecting the cortices of the two cerebral hemispheres and is the principal white matter fiber bundle in the brain Morphological characteristics of fetal corpus callosum are of value from embryologic and diagnostic points of view. Knowledge of fetal callosal size is an essential prerequisite for the study of its changes during infancy and childhood. Methods: The study included twenty four formalin fixed fetuses ranging from 25 to 40 weeks obtained from department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College. The measurements taken were; frontal pole to occipital pole, anterior most point to posterior most point of CC, frontal pole of brain to anterior most point of CC, occipital pole of brain to posterior most point of CC, anterior edge of splenium to superior most point of superior colliculus and thickness of body of CC.Results: Spearman’s correlation test was used to determine the correlation between different parameters. A strong positive correlation was found between the length and gestational age (r=0.69), between thickness and gestational age (r=0.4) and between length and thickness of corpus callosum (r=0.5).Conclusions: Length and thickness of corpus callosum was found to increase proportionally to gestational age but it was not statistically significant. The growth of CC was proportional to the growth of brain. The precise anatomical knowledge regarding the morphology and growth of corpus callosum will provide baseline data for the diagnosis and assessment of progression of a disease affecting it.

Correlation of placental histomorphology with doppler velocimetry in preeclampsia and IUGR and their perinatal outcome

Background: Though numerous placental ischemic changes are described in relation to placental insufficiency, universally accepted criteria are unavailable till date leading to under or over reporting. Present study is an attempt to define standardized grading system for placental dysmorphology and correlate it with Doppler changes. The objective was to study placental histomorphology in preeclampsia and IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction), to correlate the placental histomorphology with multivessel Doppler findings and their perinatal outcome in preeclampsia and IUGR.Methods: Prospective study was done over 2 years, 64 antenatal women with preeclampsia and/or IUGR were recruited, their multivessel Doppler measurements were recorded and placental histomorphological changes were studied post-delivery which were graded as either low or high grade placentas considering degree and number of ischemic changes observed.Results: Out of 64 cases, 33 (51.5%) cases had low grade changes and 31 (48.5%) had high grade changes. Out of 33 patients with low grade placentas 24 (73%) had normal Doppler, 20 (65%) out of 31 high grade placenta had abnormal Doppler. Placental histomorphology correlated well with Doppler abnormality (Coefficient of Kappa test). Syncytial knots>50%, presence of hypermature villi, infarcts, fibrin deposits were significantly associated with abnormal Doppler. High grade placenta group had significantly poor perinatal outcome (Chi square test).Conclusions: We formulated a grading system of placental dysmorphology in preeclampsia and IUGR which correlated well with clinical Doppler abnormality and perinatal outcome. Further studies are warranted to develop preventive strategies aimed at specific high grade placental changes seen in pregnancies with abnormal Doppler and develop strategies to improve perinatal outcome.

Constructing experimental indicators for Open Access documents

The ongoing paradigm change in the scholarly publication system ('science is turning to e-science') makes it necessary to construct alternative evaluation criteria/metrics which appropriately take into account the unique characteristics of electronic publications and other research output in digital formats. Today, major parts of scholarly Open Access (OA) publications and the self-archiving area are not well covered in the traditional citation and indexing databases. The growing share and importance of freely accessible research output demands new approaches/metrics for measuring and for evaluating of these new types of scientific publications. In this paper we propose a simple quantitative method which establishes indicators by measuring the access/download pattern of OA documents and other web entities of a single web server. The experimental indicators (search engine, backlink and direct access indicator) are constructed based on standard local web usage data. This new type of web-based indicator is developed to model the specific demand for better study/evaluation of the accessibility, visibility and interlinking of open accessible documents. We conclude that e-science will need new stable e-indicators.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

1967 Ursinus College Commencement Program

This Ursinus College Commencement program from 1967 contains the list of speakers and order of events for the day.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/commencement_programs/1093/thumbnail.jp

Towards customised sovereignty: West Nordic societies in the new great power rivalry

Two factors historically played a decisive role in the West Nordic region’s affairs: its strategic location and small societies’ long struggle for independence. The current power balance shift challenges the progress of Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland towards strengthening their independence and sovereignty. The research suggests a theoretical contemplation of the West Nordic region’s shifting practices of sovereignty in current affairs with Russia and China amid the US’ patronage. Drawing on the model of Patron-Client relations, the article considers the US as a patron state for the West Nordic region, whereas Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland are discussed as clients. The Kingdom of Denmark is regarded as a junior patron due to its intermediate position in relations with the US on the one hand and the Faroe Islands and Greenland on the other. Russia and China are addressed as patron adversaries. The research enquires as to whether any of the two US opponents advertise themselves as alternative patrons for the West Nordic region and what explains the weak or alarmist US reactions to Russia and China initiatives in the region. Special focus is on the comparison of the three great powers’ behaviour in the region. Major findings raise the discussion of customisation of sovereignty and its consequences for future relations in the West Nordic and globall

Shakespeare\u27s treatment of love : the mature tragedies

The machinery of criticism has been extensively applied to those plays in the Shakespeare canon often referred to as the mature tragediess Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Antony and Cleopatra, One seeking enlightenment in veritably any area of interest will find the means in the varied approaches which have proliferated through four hundred years of Shakespeare criticism. New and valid interpretations testify to a continuing need for insight into Shakespeare\u27s arts nevertheless,. the word supererogatory must surely have occurred to even the moat resilient seeker after Shakespearean truth. A spate of learned articles and scholarly tomes inundate, and the burden is not lessened by the additional weight of the new critical semantics . Wandering through the maze of archetypes, architectonics, and abstruse analytical modes, one questing after a cogent discussion of Shakespeare\u27s treatment of romantic love and marriage in the mature tragedies (King has been excluded from this study, because the marriages in Lear do not fit into the plan of this paper) will find little material

Are there new models of computation? Reply to Wegner and Eberbach

Wegner and Eberbach[Weg04b] have argued that there are fundamental limitations to Turing Machines as a foundation of computability and that these can be overcome by so-called superTuring models such as interaction machines, the [pi]calculus and the $-calculus. In this paper we contest Weger and Eberbach claims

The earliest sources on Martin Seidel: author of "Origo et fundamenta religionis christianae"

El tratado clandestino Origo et fundamenta religionis christianae ataca los fundamentos del cristianismo y propone una religión natural. Pese a que todas las copias manuscritas que lo conservan datan del siglo XVIII, se encuentran suficientes indicios que señalan al silesio Martin Seidel como su autor y documentan la existencia del texto a finales del siglo XVI o principios del XVII. Las primeras fuentes sobre Seidel lo vinculan con los antitrinitarios de Heidelberg (1570), los unitarios polacos (1580) y los “cripto-socinianos” de Altdorf (1610). En este artículo valoro dichas fuentes y corrijo a la luz de las mismas algunas afirmaciones de la crítica reciente sobre Seidel y su Origo.The clandestine manuscript "Origo et fundamenta religionis christianae" attacks the foundations of Christianity and proposes a natural religion. Although all preserved copies date back to the 18th century, there is enough evidence pointing at the authorship of Silesian Martin Seidel, and documenting the existence of the text in the late 16th or early 17th century. The earliest sources on Seidel associate him with the Heidelberg Anti-Trinitarians (1570), the Polish Unitarians (1580) and the Socinian community at Altdorf (1610). In this paper I examine these sources and correct in light of them some assertions made by recent scholarship on Seidel and his "Origo"