Traditional Scientific Literature Research Articles

Surgical Blog: An Important Supplement to Traditional Scientific Literature

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Edinburg, TX; University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

Assessing the role of off‐take and source–sink dynamics in the extinction of the amphidromous New Zealand grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus)

Abstract Some extinctions have obvious drivers (e.g. over‐harvesting), while others can be less obvious and arise from multiple interacting factors. The extinction of the New Zealand grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus) has been blamed on over‐fishing and predation by introduced trout, but these explanations fail to account for the species disappearance from isolated, uninvaded rivers. We investigated if source–sink dynamics, facilitated by P. oxyrhynchus's amphidromous dispersal habit, could account for the species’ rapid extinction. We created a database of P. oxyrhynchus sightings by surveying newspapers dating back to 1839, along with a review of traditional scientific literature. We used this database to update P. oxyrhynchus's known distribution map and inform sighting models to predict P. oxyrhynchus's extinction date. Finally, we implemented a meta‐population model to explore how source–sink dynamics could interact with off‐take (over‐fishing or predation) to drive extinction. Prototroctes oxyrhynchus was found across New Zealand, except the north of the North Island. Based on sightings methods, the earliest predicted extinction date was 1924, although the species may have persisted until 1972, later than previous estimates have suggested. In the absence of source–sink dynamics, relatively high levels of off‐take were sustainable (up to 30% per generation). When the species was modelled as a panmictic meta‐population including 5% sink habitats, the sustainable off‐take rate was reduced to as low as 5% per generation. Prototroctes oxyrhynchus was a widespread, abundant species that underwent rapid declines and ultimately went extinct. Previous attempts to explain this extinction have failed to account for the species extinction from isolated, pristine rivers. Our modelling shows that treating the species as a panmictic metapopulation and including source–sink dynamics rapidly increases the probability of extinction. We suggest that source–sink dynamics may be an important aspect of the population dynamics of amphidromous species and should be considered when managing taxa with similar dispersal habits.

Traumatic cricket-related fatalities in Australia: a historical review of media reports.

To undertake a historical review of direct trauma-related deaths in Australian cricket, both organised and informal.We conducted an extensive search of digitised print media (three databases) and traditional scientific literature (two databases) for on-field cricket incidents in Australia that resulted in deaths during the period 1858-2016. Main outcomes and measures: Numbers of cricket-related deaths by decade; type of cricket match (organised match or training, or informal play); site of fatal injury (eg, head, chest); activity at the time of the incident (eg, batting, fielding, watching).174 relevant deaths were identified. The number peaked in the 1930s (33 fatalities), with five deaths in the past 30 years. There were 83 deaths in organised settings, and 91 deaths in informal play (at school, 31; backyard, street or beach cricket, 60). Of the 72 deaths in organised settings for which the activity of the deceased was reported, 45 were batsmen, 11 were fielders, six were wicketkeepers, one a bowler, and three were umpires. Of the 45 batsmen, 26 died of injuries resulting from a blow by a ball to the head, 13 of blows to the chest, three of peritonitis, at least two of vertebral artery dissection, and one of tetanus. None of the five cricket-related deaths over the past 30 years were caused by head injuries.There appears to have been a substantial decline in the number of cricket-related deaths in recent years, probably linked with the widespread use of helmets by batsmen and close-in fielders.

Discovery of misleading graph titles at many places of the traditional scientific literature

This paper emphasizes the urgent need of making use of well-defined self-explanatory graph title in representing a graph in graph drawing. A lot of misleading graph titles, none of which is in accordance with the traditional convention in regard to assignment of title to a graph, has been found to prevail at many places of the traditional scientific literature. With a view to ensuring quality graphing, urgent need of getting rid of those misleading graph titles with simultaneous incorporation of self-explanatory ones (following traditional convention in the said context) has also been emphasized.

The applicability of the ecology of knowledge in health and environment and its permeability in the scientific literature

A new epistemology makes it imperative for different knowledge to be incorporated in order to understand and interact with the complex problems that affect humanity, especially those associated with health and the environment. The study aims to explore the applicability of the ecology of knowledge in the midst of traditional scientific literature, focusing on participatory approaches to questions of health and the environment. The methodology involved a bibliographic review of an international scientific database, with the inclusion of 170 papers that were classified by their participatory approaches as: timely; multi-tool; and ongoing/cyclic. Although timely and multi-tool approaches may be effective in terms of aggregating popular knowledge, which is systematically marginalized by traditional science, it is in the ongoing/cyclic approaches that a higher level of potential dialogue is achieved, since it is possible to identify aspects inherent to more symmetric participation processes, with the prospect of empowerment of the social actors and legitimate incorporation of subjectivity and diversity. This corresponds to the premise that promoting global cognitive justice is indispensable for achieving global social justice.

The rate of growth in scientific publication and the decline in coverage provided by Science Citation Index

The growth rate of scientific publication has been studied from 1907 to 2007 using available data from a number of literature databases, including Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Traditional scientific publishing, that is publication in peer-reviewed journals, is still increasing although there are big differences between fields. There are no indications that the growth rate has decreased in the last 50 years. At the same time publication using new channels, for example conference proceedings, open archives and home pages, is growing fast. The growth rate for SCI up to 2007 is smaller than for comparable databases. This means that SCI was covering a decreasing part of the traditional scientific literature. There are also clear indications that the coverage by SCI is especially low in some of the scientific areas with the highest growth rate, including computer science and engineering sciences. The role of conference proceedings, open access archives and publications published on the net is increasing, especially in scientific fields with high growth rates, but this has only partially been reflected in the databases. The new publication channels challenge the use of the big databases in measurements of scientific productivity or output and of the growth rate of science. Because of the declining coverage and this challenge it is problematic that SCI has been used and is used as the dominant source for science indicators based on publication and citation numbers. The limited data available for social sciences show that the growth rate in SSCI was remarkably low and indicate that the coverage by SSCI was declining over time. National Science Indicators from Thomson Reuters is based solely on SCI, SSCI and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). Therefore the declining coverage of the citation databases problematizes the use of this source.

RECENT ADVANCES IN THE APPLICATION OF IN VITRO SYSTEMS TO PLANT IMPROVEMENT

The horticultural industry was instrumental in the early development and exploitation of genetic techniques over a century ago. This review will describe recent advances in a range of in vitro methods and their application to plant breeding, with especial emphasis on horticultural crops. These methods include improvements in the efficiency of haploid breeding techniques in many fruit and vegetable species using either microspore-derived or ovule-derived plants. Significant molecular information is now available to supplement these essentially empirical approaches and this may enable the more predictable application of these technologies in previously intransigent crops. Similarly there are now improved techniques for isolation of somatic hybrids, by application of either in vitro fertilisation or the culture of excised ovules from interspecific crosses. In addition to examples taken from the traditional scientific literature, emphasis will also be given to the use of patent databases as a valuable source of information on recent novel technologies developed in the commercial world.

Who invented the laser: An analysis of the early patents

ABSTRACT: The laser and the transistor are two of the most important inventions of the 20th century. Basic agreement exists that Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley invented the transistor. Inventorship priority over the laser has been contested. By mobilizing patent and patent-related sources, traditional scientific literature, published commentaries, interviews with several of the surviving principals, and the Townes papers in the Library of Congress, we are able to suggest an invention priority for the laser that we believe improves on previous scholarship. We conclude that there is no single inventor of the laser, but that the most fundamental U.S. contributions were made by Townes, Schawlow, and Bloembergen. We believe the logic used here for deciding invention priority, which includes a careful study of patent claims, may be useful in other cases where inventorship is of interest.