Confused History Research Articles

The first appearance of Troodon in the Upper Cretaceous site of Danek Bonebed, and a reevaluation of troodontid quantitative tooth morphotypes

The systematic position of the small theropod dinosaur Troodon has had a confusing history and has been identified at different times as a lizard, a pachycephalosaurid, and a coelurosaurid. Troodon is now most commonly considered as a sister taxon to Dromeaosauridae, within Maniraptora. This study records the first evidence of Troodon in the Danek bonebed, an organic-rich member of the upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation. A single tooth (UALVP 55489) was recovered during the 2012 dig season, and it is exceptionally well-preserved. Its discovery prompted a reevaluation of variation within troodontid teeth in Alberta; it is compared here with 110 troodontid teeth from the Dinosaur Park, Horseshoe Canyon, and Wapiti formations. The results show that no distinctive morphotypes can be separated, in contrast to the results of other studies. This suggests that either troodontid teeth are not sufficiently different for identifying different species or that only one troodontid taxon is present in the Campanian of Alberta.

Daniel H. Bays. A New History of Christianity in China.

This compact volume presents a survey of the history of Christianity in China from the seventh century to the present. Over eight chapters, Daniel H. Bays traces the growth of the churches whose presence has waxed and waned over the centuries. The author is a specialist in the history of Protestant churches in China in the late Imperial and Republican periods, subjects that are treated at considerable length. Out of the confused history of rival churches, as well as the different indigenous adaptations of the Christian message, Bays offers an insightful overview with several informative personal asides. The history of Christianity in China, insofar as scholars can demonstrate, can be traced back to the Tang dynasty. Archeological evidence uncovered at Xi'an a thousand years afterward provides the starting point for this study, a historical parenthesis in which Nestorian priests were warmly received in China and founded monasteries before their presence disappeared from the historical record. Bays detects a more visible Christian presence starting in the late sixteenth century with the arrival of Jesuits, and later Franciscan and Dominican friars. Here again he brackets a period, the age of the Catholic monopoly in China, which lasted through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries until a dispute between the papacy and the Qing dynasty led to the proscription of Christianity.

Nurse prescribing in primary care in Spain: legal framework, historical characteristics and relationship to perceived professional identity

To identify the extent of nurse prescription and determine specific medications and/or health-care supplies routinely prescribed by primary care nurses in Spain in a changing legal context. To explore nurse perceptions of legalized nurse prescription’s relationship to professional identity. Although the Spanish public has similar confidence in nurses and physicians, professional identity remains a concern for nurses. Nurse prescription has a confusing history in Spain but is increasingly common elsewhere, and may enhance nursing’s professional profile. A cross-sectional survey reporting the occurrence of nurse prescription in one province in Spain and primary care nurses’ perceptions of nurse prescription and professional identity in this province. The response rate was 69.6% (87 nurses). Frequent nurse-prescribed medications were vaccinations (63.1%), topical antiseptics (60.7%) and antipyretics(44.8%); health-care supplies included supplies for diabetes (51.8%), wound care dressings (44.2%) and incontinence (26.7%). Respondents indicated that nurse prescription positively contributes to the profession and to its development.Conclusion Nurse prescribing exists in primary care in Spain, and formal legalization is in progress but awaits a consensus formulary. Nurses indicated that full legalization would increase professional autonomy and contribute positively to the profession, as an example of how policy can have an impact on practice.Implications for nursing management Spain’s experience with inconclusive shifts in the legal status of nurse prescribing may contribute to the discussion in countries where this professional practice is not yet established.

Phylogeny of the Asian Hedyotis–Oldenlandia complex (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae): Evidence for high levels of polyphyly and the parallel evolution of diplophragmous capsules

Generic delimitation in the Hedyotis–Oldenlandia complex has a long taxonomically confused history because of the controversy of lumping or splitting these two taxa. Previous morphological and phylogenetic studies with a paucity of Asian taxa suggested that Hedyotis should include only Asian species characterized by diplophragmous capsules. In order to test the reliability of this conclusion, assess the phylogenetic value of capsular characters, and evaluate generic circumscriptions in this complex, a phylogenetic study based on expanded inclusion of 63 Asian species was performed using two nuclear regions and eight plastid regions with parsimony and likelihood analyses. The results show that the Hedyotis–Oldenlandia complex is a highly polyphyletic group. Hedyotis should only include most Asian species with erect, robust herbs or shrubs and diplophragmous capsules. Oldenlandia s. str. consists primarily of African species, including the type O. corymbosa, that are characterized by small herbs, paniculate or corymbose inflorescences, inserted styles and stamens, and loculicidally dehiscent capsules. Dimetia, Scleromitrion and Thecagonum are proposed to be resurrected to accommodate three newly resolved clades. Morphological character optimizations indicate that the diplophragmous capsule evolved independently twice within this complex. Plant habit, stipule shape, and capsular dehiscent pattern are of great value in generic circumscriptions.

The Cape genus <i>Micranthus</i> (Iridaceae: Crocoideae), nomenclature and taxonomy

The genus Micranthus (Pers.) Eckl., has traditionally been treated as comprising three species, all with virtually identical, bilaterally symmetric, deep or pale blue to white flowers arranged in crowded, 2-ranked spikes and with divided style branches, but differing in their foliage. Examination of plants in the field and herbarium shows that there are four additional species. M. filifolius Goldblatt J.C.Manning, from the Caledon District of the southwestern Western Cape, has up to six, filiform leaves, the blades of at least the lowermost terete and cross-shaped in section, and usually pale blue-mauve flowers. M. simplex Goldblatt J.C.Manning from high elevations on Zebrakop, Piketberg, has the smallest flowers in the genus, white but tinged lilac as they age, linear leaves up to 1.5 mm wide, and undivided style branches. M. cruciatus Goldblatt J.C.Manning, from the northern Cedarberg and Bokkeveld Mtns, has up to four leaves, the lower with linear or terete blades with heavily thickened margins and central vein and relatively large flowers, unusual in having the style dividing at the mouth of the perianth tube into particularly long branches, these deeply divided as is typical of the genus. M. thereianthoides Goldblatt J.C.Manning, from the Paardeberg south of Malmesbury, is unique in the genus in having flowers with an elongate perianth tube. We also document the occurrence of large populations of putative hybrids at some sites. We provide a complete revision of Micranthus with original observations on leaf anatomy, pollen morphology and reproductive biology and discuss its confused taxonomic and nomenclatural history and that of the three common species of the genus, known for over 150 years. In so doing, we neotypify Gladiolus alopecuroides L. (1756) [= Micranthus alopecuroides (L.) Eckl. (1827)], type of the genus, and choose lectotypes for M. plantagineus Eckl. var. junceus Baker (1892) and Gladiolus fistulosus Jacq. Now with seven species, Micranthus remains endemic to the Cape flora region, extending from its extreme northern limit in the Bokkeveld Mtns south-eastwards to Port Elizabeth. We also deal with the genera Paulomagnusia Kuntze and Beilia Kuntze with which Micranthus has sometimes been associated, although both are nomenclatural synonyms of Thereianthus G.J.Lewis, a genus close allied to Micranthus.

How many lookalikes has Marionina argentea (Michaelsen, 1889) (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae)? Three new species described from morphological evidence

Marionina argentea (Michaelsen, 1889) is a taxon recorded throughout the Holarctic, from the warmer areas of the Mediterranean to all around the Arctic Ocean. However, following an in-depth and extensive comparative study (more than 100 specimens examined as permanent mounts, originating from the Mediterranean to Sweden), three species new to science have turned out to be hidden and confounded under its name. All of them are widely distributed in Europe. Marionina mendax sp. n. is mainly characterized by its large chaetal size, the coarse granulation of coelomocytes and the small penial bulbs. Marionina deminuta sp. n., in addition to its smaller body size and peculiar variation in the position of the genital organs (shifted cephalad by one segment in most specimens), consistently deviates from M. argentea sensu stricto in the pattern of the clitellum, the shape of the nephridia, and the relative size of the penial bulbs. Marionina mimula sp. n. differs from all the above species by having a posteriorly indented brain, a lumbricilline arrangement of the dorsal vessel, and a rosette of gland cells surrounding the spermathecal pore. The confused history and different interpretations of the diagnosis of M. argentea are reviewed and discussed. An interim revision of the morphological boundaries of the nominal species is proposed, pending re-examination of the type series of Enchytraeus argenteusMichaelsen, 1889.

726. PRIMULA MELANANTHA

Primula melanantha (Franch.) C. M. Hu, a taxon known from a single location in the south-west of Sichuan Province of China and with a long and confused taxonomic history, is described and illustrated. Its relationships with other members of subsection Maximowiczii of section Crystallophlomis are discussed, new keys are provided, and factors relevant to its successful cultivation are described.

Dangers of ‘Adaptation’

Dangers of ‘Adaptation’

Phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of the genus Phytoseiulus (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Kanouh, M., Tixier, M.-S., Okassa, M. & Kreiter, S. (2010). Phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of the genus Phytoseiulus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) —Zoologica Scripta, 39, 450–461. The taxonomy of the genus Phytoseiulus (sub-family Amblyseiinae), has a tumultuous and confused history. This genus currently contains four species, but in previous revisions it contained five, sometimes grouped in two genera. There are no thorough phylogenetic analyses available for the group, analyses against which taxonomic and evolutionary hypotheses could be tested. The present study aims to apply morphological and molecular data to determine phylogenetic relationships among the four species presently included in this genus plus Afroseiulus robertsi, which was previously included in this genus. The new analyses show that the species of the genus Phytoseiulus do not constitute a monophyletic group. A delineation between (i) P. macropilis, P. persimilis, P. fragariae and (ii) P. longipes and A. robertsi is observed. Biogeographic data sets showed that the Neotropical and Afrotropical regions contain the highest diversity of species of Phytoseiulus and of their host plants. Consequently, the western part of Gondwana is hypothesized to be the probable centre of origin for this taxon.

In vitro and in vivo germination of Cyclamen alpinum seeds

Cyclamen trochopteranthum O.Schwarz has a confusing history, having been identified in the last part of the 19^{th} century and described as Cyclamen alpinum Sprenger. It remained known as C. alpinum until 1975, when it was described as C. trochopteranthum by Otto Schwarz. Cyclamen trochopteranthum is a species distributed in the south-western part of Turkey, but the C. trochopteranthum described in 1975 is today describe again as Cyclamen alpinum. The seeds of this species were collected from red pine forests in the Gökbel-Dalyan area on May 3-7 and stored with and without capsules in incubators at 20 °C. Among the seeds that were sown 5-6 months later (October-November), the germination rate was 35% at 15 °C and 47% at 20 °C in October. Germination increased to 80% at 15 °C and 87% at 20 °C in November. The highest germination rate was observed in December (95%) and these seeds had been stored for 8 months. Seeds that were stored for 8 months (using different storage methods) were subjected to in vitro and in vivo germination tests at 15 °C and 20 °C. Seed storage method (in capsules and out of capsules) did not have a significant effect on in vitro germination in Murashige-Skoog medium, but storing seeds in capsules had a significant effect on germination on filter paper and in vivo (mixtures of peat, perlite, and sand). In darkness at 15 and 20 °C high germination rates were obtained, both in vitro and in vivo (in vitro at 15 and 20 °C, max. 95%; in vivo at 15 °C, max. 73%; at 20 °C, max. 93%); however, at 15 °C germination was faster (after the first 20 days at 15 °C, max. 95%; at 20 °C, 73%). The highest germination rate was obtained after 8-9 months of storage (in vitro average, 94%; in vivo average, 83%). A mixture of peat + perlite + sand in equal parts was a suitable in vivo germination medium (93% germination) for C. alpinum.

Charles Darwin, The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex, edited and with an introduction by James Moore Adrian Desmond, London, Penguin Books, 2004, pp. lxvi, 791, illus. £9.99 (paperback 0-140-43631-6).

Charles Darwin, The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex, edited and with an introduction by James Moore Adrian Desmond, London, Penguin Books, 2004, pp. lxvi, 791, illus. £9.99 (paperback 0-140-43631-6).

Arousal and Activation in a Continuous Performance Task

Abstract: The concepts of arousal and activation have had a confused history in Psychophysiology, and there is no widely accepted consensus on their usefulness in the field. This study aimed to explore whether these concepts could be separated in terms of their effects on the phasic Orienting Response (OR) and behavioral performance. We defined arousal at a particular time to be the energetic state at that time, reflected in electrodermal activity and measured by skin conductance level. Task-related activation was defined as the change in arousal from a resting baseline to the task situation. A continuous performance task was used with normal children. The magnitude of the mean phasic OR elicited by target stimuli was dependent on arousal, but not on task-related activation. Two performance measures (mean reaction time and number of errors) improved with increasing activation, but not with arousal. These data suggest the value of conceptualizing arousal and activation as separable aspects of the energetics of physiological and behavioral responding in future studies of attention, cognition, and emotion.

Pancratium centrale (= Mizonia contrails): A Rare Central African Species Discovered in Ethiopia

The confused history of the rare species Pancratium centrale (A. Chev.) Traub ( = Mizonia centralis A. Chev.) is presented. The relationship between the genera Mizonia and Pancratium is discussed, and the reduction of the former is supported. The species has so far been collected in only three disjunct localities, in Cameroon, Chad, and the Central African Republic. It has not been recorded for 60 years, until found recently in Ethiopia about 1400 km ENE of the nearest locality in Central Africa. The species description is emended and an illustration provided based on the new material.

Molecular Identity of Species and Isolates of Internal Pore Fungi Antrodia spp. and Oligoporus placenta

Summary Antrodia vaillantii (DC.: Fr.) Ryv., A. serialis (Fr.) Donk, A. sinuosa (Fr.) P. Karsten, A. xantha (Fr.: Fr.) Ryv. and Oligoporus placenta (Fr.) Gilb.& Ryv. form a group of internal brown-rot fungi (‘Porenschwämme’), which are associated with decay of coniferous woodwork in buildings and timber in ground contact. The fungi have similar occurrence, biology, fruit bodies and mycelia. Their nomenclature has a confusing history and is still not uniform. For a better understanding of the domestic pore fungi and for a reliable species differentiation and identification of isolates, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Isolates from decayed wood and from culture collections were used. The ITS sequences characteristic of A. vaillantii, A. serialis,A. sinuosa, A. xantha and O. placenta were obtained and deposited in the international databases. The ITS size ranges from 636 to 668 bp. Intraspecific variation was low. A dendrogram was performed for the phylogenetic relationship. Some isolates obtained mislabelled were named correctly according to the ITS sequence. The sequences contribute to our collection of ITS data from internal wood decay fungi made to characterize fungi in culture.

Late-onset schizophrenia and very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis

The classification of schizophrenia-like and paranoid disorders in elderly people has a long and somewhat confusing history which can largely be blamed for the currently uncertain nosological position of such patients. To Kraepelin, dementia praecox was fundamentally a disorder of emotion and volition, while paraphrenia was characterized by hallucinations and delusions without deterioration or disturbance of affective response, and paranoia involved the insidious development of a permanent delusional system which resulted from internal causes and was accompanied by perfect preservation of orderly thinking, acting and will. However, by the eighth edition of his textbook in 1913, Kraepelin was expressing serious doubts about the assumptions on which his conception of dementia praecox had been based. In some cases, a complete and lasting recovery was seen and the relationship between onset and early adult life was not absolute. Indeed, Bleuler had introduced the term ‘schizophrenia’ in order to get away from the concept of the disorder as an adolescent mental deterioration.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an unusual polyposis syndrome that has enjoyed a rich and somewhat confusing history. Mucocutaneous pigmentation and diffuse gastrointestinal hamartomas are the hallmark features of this autosomal dominant inherited condition. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is now also recognized as a cancer predisposition syndrome. In this review, we highlight the historical aspects of PJS polyposis with special emphasis on its extraintestinal manifestations, particularly genital tract tumors. A PJS management scheme for clinicians is included.

Reappraisal of the type species of Polysiphonia (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta)

The genus Polysiphonia Greville, nom. cons., has had a long and confused nomenclatural history. At present, Polysiphonia has a wide circumscription, including at least 200 species, but it is heterogeneous in many vegetative and reproductive developmental features. Central to any re-evaluation of the genus is a detailed examination of the type species of Polysiphonia, P. urceolata (Lightfoot ex Dillwyn) Greville, which is conspecific with P. stricta (Dillwyn) Greville. We here report on the vegetative and reproductive morphology of P. stricta, including P. urceolata, based on type and other material from the British Isles. Thalli consist of prostrate and erect ecorticate axes with four pericentral cells, attached by unicellular rhizoids remaining in open connection with pericentral cells. Prostrate axes lack vegetative trichoblasts ; trichoblasts occur seasonally on erect axes. Branch initials are cut off from the subapical cell at intervals of four or five segments in dichotomous and alternating pairs rather than being formed from each axial cell in the spiral pattern typical of most species of Polysiphonia. Spermatangial branch initials, which are trichoblast homologues, are produced directly from each axial cell at the tips of erect branches, not subtended by trichoblasts, and have two- to five-celled sterile tips when mature. The mature carpogonial branch is four-celled with a two-celled first sterile group and a one-celled second sterile group. Following presumed fertilization, direct fusion apparently takes place between carpogonium and auxiliary cell; mature cystocarps are usually urceolate. Tetrasporangia are formed from the third pericentral cell, in straight series, and have two pre-sporangial cover cells. Previous accounts of a third, post-sporangial cover cell could not be substantiated. P. stricta and a small group of other Polysiphonia species differ in several important respects from most members of the genus, which have rhizoids cut off from pericentral cells by a cell division, abundant trichoblasts, spirally arranged tetrasporangia and a post-sporangial cover cell. The branching pattern of P. stricta highlights the difficulties of distinguishing between the tribes Polysiphonieae and Pterosiphonieae.

Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia: case report and review of the literature.

Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia: case report and review of the literature.

Toward a Phylogenetic Classification of the Ephemeroptera (Insecta): a Commentary on Systematics

Higher classifications of Ephemeroptera formulated in light of phylogenetic hypotheses have been essentially evolutionary in that they have incorporated paraphyletic taxa. The term “paraphyletic” has had a confused history because systematists have applied it to different concepts; for Ephemeroptera, it has denoted one type of nonpolyphyletic grouping. Such paraphyletic taxa were used so that large degrees of character (presumably adaptive) differentiation could be expressed, but resulting classifications lack any means of consistently expressing such gaps, and their ability to express genealogy is compromised. Phylogenetic classifications are now strongly advocated. Not only can the increasing number of phylogenetic hypotheses based on cladistic analysis be objectively expressed, but many traditional taxa and categories can be conserved by employing sequencing conventions. The philosophy and history of competing classificatory systems are discussed. A phylogenetic methodology is employed when possible in proposed revisions of the higher taxa of Ephemeroptera. New cladistic data are presented and previous data reviewed. Major lineages formerly part of the paraphyletic family Siphlonuridae are classified as families within several higher taxa to express phylogeny and at the same time maintain other traditional family units. Assignment of superfamilies within the new suborder Pisciforma (new infraorder Arenata [Acanthametropodidae, Ametropodidae, Analetrididae, Metretopodidae, Pseudironidae] and new infraorder Imprimata [Ameletidae, Ameletopsidae, Baetidae, Metamoniidae, Rallidentidae, Siphlaenigmatidae, Siphlonuridae]) awaits additional cladistic analysis. Considerable evidence is available, however, for the new suborder Rectracheata (new infraorder Vetulata [Oniscigastridae], new infraorder Lanceolata [Leptophlebioidea, Behningioidea, Ephemeroidea], and infraorder Pannota, new status [Caenoidea, Neoephemeroidea, Baetiscoidea]), and new suborder Setisura (Coloburiscidae, Isonychiidae, Oligoneuriidae, Heptageniidae). A new revision of Ephemeroidea serves as a prima facie example of phylogenetic classification in the order. Changes in Ephemeroidea include the removal of Behningiidae, the addition of the new fossil family Australiphemeridae, incorporation of the former Euthyplociidae and the new fossil subfamily Pristiplociinae in Polymitarcyidae, and the incorporation of Pentageniinae and Palingeniinae (formerly Palingeniidae) and the new subfamily Hexageniinae in Ephemeridae. Derivations are expressed mainly by sequencing of taxa recognized at the subfamily rank. Phylogenetic systematics is shown to have predictive and heuristic value for interpreting comparative biology, inferring adaptive evolution and biogeography, and also to have an important function in paleontological and ecological analyses.

The toxonomic status of Rhodococcus equi

The species Corynebacterium equi was proposed for strains isolated from foals suffering from purulent pneumonia. The taxon has had a confused history and is currently listed under both Corynebacterium and Rhodococcus in the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names. Data from modern taxonomic studies indicate that Corynebacterium equi Magnusson 1923 should be reduced to a synonym of Rhodococcus equi (Magnusson) Goodfellow and Alderson 1980. Rhodococcus equi has repeatedly been shown to be a good species on the basis of chemical, molecular biological, numerical phenetic and serological data. Improved methods are needed to differentiate Rhodococcus equi from closely related species of Rhodococcus.