Scapular development from the neonatal period to skeletal maturity: A preliminary study

An understanding of the basic growth rates and patterns of development for each element of the human skeleton is important for a thorough understanding and interpretation of data in all areas of skeletal research. Yet surprisingly little is known about the detailed ontogenetic development of many bones, including the scapula. With the intention of describing the changes that accompany postnatal ontogeny in the scapula and algorithms to predict sub‐adult age at death, this communication examines the development of the scapula through nine measurements (3 from the glenoidal area, 4 from the body and 2 related to the spinous process) by polynomial regression. Data were collected from 31 of the individuals that comprise the Scheuer Collection, which is housed at the University of Dundee (Scotland). Four of the derived mathematical curves (scapular length, infra‐ and suprascapular height and spine length) displayed linear growth, whilst three (maximum length of the glenoid mass, acromial width and scapular width) were best expressed by a second‐degree polynomial and two (maximum and middle diameter of the glenoidal surface) by a third‐degree polynomial. All single measurements proved useful in the prediction of age at death, although derived indices proved to be of limited value. In particular, scapular width, suprascapular height and acromial width showed reliable levels of age prediction until late adolescent years. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Demographics of Dystopia: The Muslim City in Asia’s Future

This essay argues that UN projected population growth will not only lead to more Muslims in Asia’s cities in a purely numerical sense, but also to more Muslim cities in a proportional and cultural sense through the continuation of existing trajectories of ‘de-cosmopolitanization’. Urban life will be deeply affected by this increasing shift from cities that are not merely majority Muslim, but are also increasingly Muslim in moral, social or political terms. Inevitably such changes will affect the lives of urban citizens, none more so than women. The essay then asks whether population growth will allow these cities to maintain their ‘globalizing’ trajectory of increasing interconnection. Having framed its analysis around the ‘hard’ outcomes of demographic change, the analysis then turns to ‘soft’ outcomes by tackling the question of the likely contours of the increasingly divergent versions of Islam produced by the competitive religious economies of the modern Asian city.     

基于行业差异的欧盟旅游与经济增长关系研究

作为旅游经济领域内的热点问题,旅游发展和经济增长间的关系在学界一直未能形成较为统一的结论。鉴于将旅游业作为单一行业来研究其和整体经济间关系可能是分歧产生的重要原因,本文使用异质面板协整技术实证检验了欧盟4个核心旅游行业与经济增长之间的关系。研究结果表明,欧盟各旅游行业与经济增长之间均存在长期协整关系;进一步格兰杰检验的结果揭示了欧盟航空、住宿和旅行社等3个核心旅游行业与经济增长之间存在双向因果关系,但影响程度各异。住宿业与航空、旅行社和餐饮业间表现为显著的双向促进发展关系。     

Smart Growth Policy Choice: A Resource Dependency and Local Governance Explanation

Smart growth is a planning and land use policy objective that generally focuses on where development should occur and how best to protect natural resources. What explains the adoption of smart growth policy by local government? This study focuses on a cooperative intergovernmental program that seeks to enhance local government abilities to work toward achieving state goals on sustainability. Extant research suggests that local interest group preferences shape policy decisions. However, much of the evidence on the influence of local interest groups on smart growth policy is presented within the coercive intergovernmental context. This article argues that resource dependency influences local decisions in pursuing a smart growth agenda when state incentives are provided. The findings suggest that fiscal capacity and the characteristics of local governing institutions are significant predictors in the decision to take part in an intergovernmental program. Business and neighborhood interest groups have a significant effect on policy adoption, as do local characteristics depending on the smart growth functional area.     

制度视域下的“包容性增长”

＂包容性增长＂立足的是近几年发展观的变革,是一种发展模式认识上的提炼和升华。在过去几十年里,中国在经济增长上取得了全球瞩目的成就,GDP增长迅猛,但公共产品的供给方面却明显滞后,不平等现象也在增加。作为全球经济发动机和模板,中国实现复兴面临的下一个挑战就是需要成为包容性增长的模板和先锋,没有包容性增长就不会有和谐社会。     

关于推进化隆县绿色发展的思考

转变发展方式已成为青海省突破发展瓶颈,实现经济起飞的关键。化隆县要立足实际,顺势而为,充分发挥比较优势和后发优势,加快转变发展方式,实现绿色发展,在更高层次上实现经济、社会、生态的可持续发展。     

科学发展观视角的农业发展方式转变

转变农业发展方式与实践科学发展观是内在统一的,以科学发展观为统领是转变农业发展方式的灵魂。从科学发展观视角看,关键是在转变上下功夫,通过转变农业发展方式,实现农业又好又快发展,实现以人为本,统筹兼顾,推进农业协调发展     

“The Roman Giant”: Overgrowth Syndrome in Skeletal Remains from the Imperial Age

A very tall skeleton was found during archaeological excavations in the territory of Fidenae, an administrative centre of the Roman territorial organization, situated along the Via Salaria about 7 km north of Rome (Italy). The individual was a young male, dated back to the Imperial Age (3^rd century AD), presenting a very tall but normally proportioned stature, estimated around 202 cm. The long bones showed incomplete epiphyseal union; therefore, the stature would probably have been taller, if he had lived longer. In this work, the metric data are compared with those from the Roman Imperial Age population, and differential diagnosis is discussed. The skeletal evidence is characteristic of a form of gigantism, a rare growth disease that may be linked to different syndromes. The most common etiology is associated with a dysfunction of the pituitary gland, which causes overproduction of the growth hormone (hGH) during childhood. This endocrine disorder stimulates cartilaginous activity at the growth plate, delaying epiphyseal fusion and resulting in increased bone length. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Baselines for δ15N values of cereals retrieved from archaeological excavations

This paper describes an experiment to provide baselines for the δ¹⁵N values of prehistoric cereals. Emmer wheat and barley were grown in tubs filled with two different substrates and placed in a cage to protect them from birds and cats. The experiment lasted three years. Values obtained in this way may serve in cases where no experimental farms of long standing with unmanured fields can provide them. The results are in line with the values obtained at such farms, as well as with values presented for ethnographic cases in the literature.     

Government institutions and the dynamics of urban growth in China

Economic growth in China in recent decades has largely rested on the dynamism of its cities. High economic growth has coincided with measures aimed at improving the efficiency of local governments and with a mounting political drive to curb corruption. Yet the connection between government institutions and urban growth in China remains poorly understood. This paper is the first to look into the link between government efficiency and corruption, on the one hand, and urban growth in China, on the other hand and to assess what is the role of institutions relative to more traditional factors for economic growth in Chinese cities. Using panel data for 283 cities over the period between 2003 and 2014, the results show that the urban growth in China is a consequence of a combination of favorable human capital, innovation, density, local conditions, foreign direct investment, and city‐level government institutions. Both government quality—especially for those cities with the best governments—and the fight against corruption at the city level have a direct effect on urban growth. Measures to tackle corruption at the provincial level matter in a more indirect way, by raising or lowering the returns of other growth‐inducing factors.