bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence‐based Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis is Associated With a Six‐fold Decrease in Numbers of Symptomatic Venous Thromboembolisms in Rehabilitation Inpatients
Authors: Mayer R. Samuel , Streiff Michael B. , Hobson Deborah B. , Halpert Daniel E. , Berenholtz Sean M.
Published: December 2011

Objectives

To measure the impact of a standardized risk assessment tool and specialty‐specific, risk‐adjusted venous thromboembolism (VTE) order sets on compliance with American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines and the number of symptomatic VTE as assessed by administrative data.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Academic hospital inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Patients and Participants

All patients on the rehabilitation unit.

Methods and Interventions

Assessment of VTE risk factors and evaluated admission VTE prophylaxis orders before and after implementation of an ACCP guideline–based, specialty‐specific VTE risk assessment, and prophylaxis order set by using a standardized data collection form.

Main Outcome Measures

Discharge diagnostic codes for VTE and pulmonary embolism were tracked by ICD‐9 (International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition) discharge diagnosis codes for the 12 months before and 36 months after the intervention.

Results

Before implementation of the VTE order set, 27% of patients received VTE prophylaxis in compliance with the 2004 ACCP VTE guidelines. By following implementation of specialty‐specific, risk‐adjusted VTE order sets, compliance increased to 98%. In the year before VTE order‐set implementation, the number of VTEs per admission was 49 per 1000. By following implementation, the number of VTEs steadily decreased each year to 8 per 1000 in 2007 (χ2 = 14.985; P = .0001).

Conclusions

Implementation of a standardized VTE risk assessment tool and prophylaxis order set resulted in a substantial improvement in compliance with ACCP guidelines for VTE prophylaxis and was associated with a 6‐fold reduction in the number of symptomatic VTEs in a hospital‐based rehabilitation unit.
Staged venture capital contracting with ratchets and liquidation rights
Authors: Leisen Dietmar P.J.
Published: December 2011

This paper uses real options analysis to study later round financing in the presence of two standard venture capital contracting provisions: anti‐dilution (ratchet) and liquidation preference. We argue that such provisions can preclude financing of a positive NPV venture in the case of a large follow‐on financing relative to firm value. Liquidation preference contracting at multiples greater than one is not feasible in the later round if the financing is small relative to firm value. We highlight an interaction effect between the two provisions: increasing the liquidation multiple can help to avoid dilution and the need for the prior venture capitalist to waive ratchet provisions.
The making of a splash
Authors: Thoroddsen S. T.
Published: December 2011

The splash resulting from the impact of a drop onto a pool is a particularly beautiful manifestation of a canonical problem, where a mass of fluid breaks up into smaller pieces. Despite over a century of experimental study, the splashing mechanics have eluded full description, the details often being obscured by the very rapid motions and small length scales involved. Zhang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 690, 2012, pp. 5–15) introduce a powerful new tool to the experimental arsenal, when they apply X-ray imaging to study the fine ejecta sheets which emerge during the earliest contact of the drop. Their images reveal hidden details and complex underlying dynamics, which will directly affect the size and velocity of the splashing droplets.
Faecal microbiota composition in vegetarians: comparison with omnivores in a cohort of young women in southern India
Authors: Kabeerdoss Jayakanthan , Shobana Devi R. , Regina Mary R. , Ramakrishna Balakrishnan S.
Published: December 2011

The effect of vegetarian diets on faecal microbiota has been explored largely through culture-based techniques. The present study compared the faecal microbiota of vegetarian and omnivorous young women in southern India. Faecal samples were obtained from thirty-two lacto-vegetarian and twenty-four omnivorous young adult women from a similar social and economic background. Macronutrient intake and anthropometric data were collected. Faecal microbiota of interest was quantified by real-time PCR with SYBR Green using primers targeting 16S rRNA genes of groups, including: Clostridium coccoides group (Clostridium cluster XIVa), Roseburia spp.–Eubacterium rectale, Bacteroides–Prevotella group, Bifidobacterium genus, Lactobacillus group, Clostridium leptum group (Clostridium cluster IV), Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Ruminococcus productus–C. coccoides, Butyrivibrio, Enterococcus species and Enterobacteriaceae. The groups were matched for age, socio-economic score and anthropometric indices. Intake of energy, complex carbohydrates and Ca were significantly higher in the omnivorous group. The faecal microbiota of the omnivorous group was enriched with Clostridium cluster XIVa bacteria, specifically Roseburia–E. rectale. The relative proportions of other microbial communities were similar in both groups. The butyryl-CoA CoA-transferase gene, associated with microbial butyrate production, was present in greater amounts in the faeces of omnivores, and the levels were highly correlated with Clostridium cluster XIVa and Roseburia–E. rectale abundance and to a lesser extent with Clostridium leptum and F. prausnitzii abundance and with crude fibre intake. Omnivores had an increased relative abundance of Clostridium cluster XIVa bacteria and butyryl-CoA CoA-transferase gene compared with vegetarians, but we were unable to identify the components of the diet responsible for this difference.
Intake estimation of total and individual flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins and theaflavins, their food sources and determinants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
Authors: Knaze Viktoria , Zamora-Ros Raul , Luján-Barroso Leila , Romieu Isabelle , Scalbert Augustin , Slimani Nadia , Riboli Elio , van Rossum Caroline T. M. , Bueno-de-Mesquita H. Bas , Trichopoulou Antonia , Dilis Vardis , Tsiotas Konstantinos , Skeie Guri , Engeset Dagrun , Ramón Quirós J. , Molina Esther , Huerta José María , Crowe Francesca , Wirfäl Elisabet , Ericson Ulrika , Peeters Petra H. M. , Kaaks Rudolf , Teucher Birgit , Johansson Gerd , Johansson Ingegerd , Tumino Rosario , Boeing Heiner , Drogan Dagmar , Amiano Pilar , Mattiello Amalia , Khaw Kay-Tee , Luben Robert , Krogh Vittorio , Ardanáz Eva , Sacerdote Carlotta , Salvini Simonetta , Overvad Kim , Tjønneland Anne , Olsen Anja , Boutron-Ruault Marie-Christine , Fagherazzi Guy , Perquier Florence , González Carlos A.
Published: December 2011

Epidemiological studies suggest health-protective effects of flavan-3-ols and their derived compounds on chronic diseases. The present study aimed to estimate dietary flavan-3-ol, proanthocyanidin (PA) and theaflavin intakes, their food sources and potential determinants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) calibration cohort. Dietary data were collected using a standardised 24 h dietary recall software administered to 36 037 subjects aged 35–74 years. Dietary data were linked with a flavanoid food composition database compiled from the latest US Department of Agriculture and Phenol-Explorer databases and expanded to include recipes, estimations and retention factors. Total flavan-3-ol intake was the highest in UK Health-conscious men (453·6 mg/d) and women of UK General population (377·6 mg/d), while the intake was the lowest in Greece (men: 160·5 mg/d; women: 124·8 mg/d). Monomer intake was the highest in UK General population (men: 213·5 mg/d; women: 178·6 mg/d) and the lowest in Greece (men: 26·6 mg/d in men; women: 20·7 mg/d). Theaflavin intake was the highest in UK General population (men: 29·3 mg/d; women: 25·3 mg/d) and close to zero in Greece and Spain. PA intake was the highest in Asturias (men: 455·2 mg/d) and San Sebastian (women: 253 mg/d), while being the lowest in Greece (men: 134·6 mg/d; women: 101·0 mg/d). Except for the UK, non-citrus fruits (apples/pears) were the highest contributors to the total flavan-3-ol intake. Tea was the main contributor of total flavan-3-ols in the UK. Flavan-3-ol, PA and theaflavin intakes were significantly different among all assessed groups. This study showed heterogeneity in flavan-3-ol, PA and theaflavin intake throughout the EPIC countries.
The protective effect of a mix ofLactarius deterrimusandCastanea sativaextracts on streptozotocin-induced oxidative stress and pancreatic β-cell death
Authors: Grdović Nevena , Dinić Svetlana , Arambašić Jelena , Mihailović Mirjana , Uskoković Aleksandra , Marković Jelena , Poznanović Goran , Vidović Senka , Zeković Zoran , Mujić Aida , Mujić Ibrahim , Vidaković Melita
Published: December 2011

Pancreatic β-cell death or dysfunction mediated by oxidative stress underlies the development and progression of diabetes mellitus. In the present study, we tested extracts from the edible mushroomLactarius deterrimusand the chestnutCastanea sativa, as well as their mixture (MIXLd/Cs), for potential beneficial effects on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced pancreatic β-cell death. Analysis of chelating effects, reducing power and radical-scavenging assays revealed strong antioxidant effects of theC. sativaextract and MIXLd/Cs, while theL. deterrimusextract displayed a weak to moderate effect. The antioxidative effect of the chestnut extract corresponds with the high content of phenolics and flavonoids identified by HPLC analysis. In contrast, the mushroom extract contains relatively small amounts of phenols and flavonoids. However, both extracts, and especially their combination MIXLd/Cs, increased cell viability after the STZ treatment as a result of a significant reduction of DNA damage and improved redox status. The chestnut extract and MIXLd/Cssignificantly lowered the STZ-induced increases in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, while the mushroom extract had no impact on the activities of these antioxidant enzymes. However, theL. deterrimusextract exhibited good NO-scavenging activity. Different mechanisms that underlie antioxidant effects of the mushroom and chestnut extracts were discussed. When combined as in the MIXLd/Cs, the extracts exhibited diverse but synergistic actions that ultimately exerted beneficial and protective effects against STZ-induced pancreatic β-cell death.
Nursing the Fatherland? Hohenzollern State Building and the Hidden Transcript of Political Resistance in Hanoverian Female Charity during the Second German Empire
Authors: Heinzen Jasper M.
Published: December 2011

In summer 1866 the Austro-Prussian struggle for supremacy in Germany erupted into open conflict. King Georg V of Hanover sided with other governments loyal to the German Confederation against Prussia, but after initially defeating Prussian forces at Langensalza, he was forced to capitulate. Two days after the battle, on June 29, 1866, the widow of the Hanoverian general Sir Georg Julius von Hartmann told her daughter in no uncertain terms how she felt about the Prussian government and its allies. In her opinion they were nothing more than “robber states” that cloaked their disregard for the Ten Commandments in sanctimonious public displays of piety. “These Protestant Jesuits,” she continued, “offend me more than the Catholic ones. You know that I amGermanwith all my heart and love my Germany, but I cannot consider them genuine Germans anymore because they only want to make Germany Prussian.”
Hakoah Vienna and the International Nature of Interwar Austrian Sports
Authors: Bowman William D.
Published: December 2011

Hakoah Vienna was the most important Jewish sports organization in interwar Austria. Indeed, Hakoah, which means strength or power in Hebrew, was one of the most significant sports clubs on the continent of Europe during that period. This article examines the early history of Hakoah, its rise to international fame, and its demise in 1938 at the hands of the Nazis and their sympathizers in Austria.
‘A Railway to the Moon’: The post-histories of a Sri Lankan railway line
Authors: THIRANAGAMA SHARIKA
Published: December 2011

This paper takes as its subject the 1905 opening and 1990 closure of the Northern Railway Line, the major Sri Lankan railway which ran the length of the island from south to north. It argues that it can been seen as a social compact in which the life of the individual, the community, and the state became integrally intertwined. It focuses on two dimensions of what the Northern Railway Line enabled in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon): first, a physical and symbolic representation of stateness, and, secondly, the pursuit of mundane everyday life. These are embedded within Sri Lanka's landscapes and histories of colonial and post-colonial rule, and the ethnic conflict, riots, and war which inextricably shaped the railway's journeys and passengers. Railways are more often thought of as large-scale, high-tech artefacts rather than the smaller everyday technologies that are the themes of other papers in this special issue. However, this paper highlights the ways in which railways also make particular kinds of everyday life possible and how, in being woven into routine daily and weekly journeys, the Northern Railway Line came to intertwine the changing circumstances and histories of its mainly Tamil passengers within an increasingly ethnicized national landscape. In the aftermath of its closure, the railway has now come to symbolize a desire for a return to the normalcy of the past, an aspiration to an everyday experience that younger generations have never had, and which has, in consequence, become a potent force.

. . . the Northern Railway Line to be opened tomorrow would be a great boon to the Jaffnese in and out of Jaffna. . . it has become possible to travel to Jaffna in a single day. . . At last the railway which was characterized as a ‘tantalising vision’ by a previous Governor and ‘a railway to the moon’, by a quondam Colonial Secretary, has become a fait accompli.1

This line has been completely destroyed between Vavuniya and Kankesanthurai (KKS) a track length of 160km. . . The Northern Railway Line is the main line connecting Colombo with Jaffna. . . the third largest town in Sri Lanka prior to the conflict and the Northern Railway Line was in high demand from both passengers and freight. There is a great sentiment amongst the people of the north for restoration.2
If Money Talks, What Does It Say? Varieties of Capitalism and Business Financing of Parties
Authors: McMenamin Iain
Published: December 2011

Do business contributions to political parties convey different messages in different countries, and, if so, why? This article presents a pioneering cross-national study of firm behavior in political finance. It argues that motivations for contributions to parties are either ideological or pragmatic. The author infers motivation by quantitatively relating the payments of 960 firms to various political parties in Australia, Canada, and Germany over periods of between seven and seventeen years. In coordinated market economy Germany, a small number of firms made ideological payments; in liberal market economy Australia and Canada, large numbers of firms made pragmatic payments. Australia's left-right party system creates an awareness of policy risk, which motivated ideological payments, but in Canada's unusually nonideological party system no ideological bias in business financing of politics was found. The statistical analysis is supplemented by a qualitative investigation of discrete and reciprocal exchanges between businesses and political parties.
Microsporidial infections due toEncephalitozoon intestinalisin non-HIV-infected patients with chronic diarrhoea
Authors: YAKOOB J. , ABBAS Z. , BEG M. ASIM , JAFRI W. , NAZ S. , KHALID A. , KHAN R.
Published: December 2011

We determined the prevalence of microsporidiaEnterocytozoon(Ent.)bieneusiandEncephalitozoon(E.)intestinalisinfection in patients with chronic diarrhoea and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 330 stool samples were examined from 171 (52%) patients with chronic diarrhoea, 18 (5%) with HCC while 141 (43%) were controls. Stool microscopy, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with species-specific primers forEnt. bieneusiandE. intestinalisand sequencing were carried out. Microsporidia were found by trichrome staining in 11/330 (3%) andE. intestinalisby PCR in 13/330 (4%) whileEnt. bieneusiwas not detected. PCR forE. intestinaliswas positive in 8/171 (5%) stool samples from patients with chronic diarrhoea, 2/141 (1·4%) samples from healthy controls and in 3/18 (17%) samples from patients with HCC. In the chronic diarrhoea group,E. intestinaliswas positive in 4/171 (2·3%) (P=0·69) stool samples compared to 2/18 (11%) (P=0·06) in the HCC group and 2/141 (1·4%) from healthy controls.E. intestinalisinfection was significantly associated with chronic diarrhoea and HCC in these patients who were negative for HIV. Stool examination with trichrome or species-specific PCR for microsporidia may help establish the cause of chronic diarrhoea.
Direct and indirect effects of plant litter on a seed–pathogen interaction inBromus tectorumseed banks
Authors: Beckstead Julie , Miller Lauren E. , Connolly Brian M.
Published: December 2011

The naturally occurring fungal seed pathogen,Pyrenophora semeniperda, reduces the seed bank ofBromus tectorumbut the role of plant litter in this seed–pathogen interaction is unexplored. To investigate the direct and indirect effects of litter on this interaction, we first collected field seed-bank samples from low and highBromuslitter patches. From these data, we explored the relationship between litter depth, seed-bank density and seed mortality fromP. semeniperda. Second, we manipulated the fungal stages (conidial spores and mycelium) in/on the litter through sterilization techniques, to measure the direct effect of litter on seed death. Third, for indirect effects, we manipulated litter levels and held seed density and inoculum constant to determine whetherBromuslitter could modify the seed zone microsites to favour disease. We found that seed-bank samples from high-litter patches contained higher field-killed seed densities compared with low-litter patches, although the percent difference of disease between litter patch types varied among sites and years (e.g. 80% to 46%). In testing the direct effects of litter on the seed–pathogen interaction, we found that litter can act as a direct inoculum source for the pathogen in the early summer but decreases in disease transmission by the following spring when the litter naturally is in contact with seeds. Investigating indirect effects, we found four times as many pathogen-killed seeds in high-litter treatments as compared with low-litter treatments when inoculum loads and seed densities were held constant. In addition, we found that litter influences the seed–pathogen interaction through density-dependent disease transmission. Our findings demonstrate the ecological importance of litter in semi-arid environments as it influences disease levels of a seed pathogen by direct and indirect means.
OIL PRICE SHOCKS, FIRM UNCERTAINTY, AND INVESTMENT
Authors: Lee Kiseok , Kang Wensheng , Ratti Ronald A.
Published: December 2011

This paper seeks to answer the following questions: Do oil price shocks affect firms' investment decisions? Do oil price shocks affect investment decisions differentially depending on firm-specific uncertainty? Over what time horizon do oil price shocks affect high-uncertainty firms? Is the intensity of the oil price shock important, or just its existence? It is found that oil price shocks depress firms' investment decisions, and do so differentially by depressing investment more for more uncertain firms. Oil shocks affect investment for at least the first and second year after the shock. In the short term, the mere existence of a shock drives most of the effect. In the long term, the intensity of the oil shock is also important. Bloom, Bond, and Van Reenan's result [Review of Economic Studies 74, 391–415 (2007)] regarding responsiveness to demand shocks being eroded at more uncertain firms for data on U.K. firms is replicated using data on U.S. firms and persists after oil shocks are considered.
Voting Rights for Non-Citizens: The European Multilevel and the US Federal Constitutional Systems Compared
Authors: Fabbrini Federico
Published: December 2011

Voting rights – Citizens and aliens – European multilevel architecture – US federal system – Comparative methodology – Different regulatory models for non-citizens suffrage at the state level in Europe – Impact of supranational law – Challenges and tensions – Analogous dynamics in the US constitutional experience – Recent European legal and jurisprudential developments in comparative perspective – What future prospects for citizenship and democracy in Europe?
Detecting and attributing nonlinear anthropogenic regional warming in southeastern Australia
Authors: Jones Roger N.
Published: December 2011

Nonlinear anthropogenic warming is detected and attributed as a series of step changes in observed and simulated climate for southeastern Australia (SEA). A stationary period of 1910–1967 and non‐stationary period of 1968–2010 was established using statistically significant step‐changes (pH0 < 0.01) in the relationship between observed minimum (Tmin) and maximum (Tmax) temperature (0.6°C in 1968) and Tmax and rainfall (P; 0.7°C in 1997). Regressions between these pairings during stationary conditions were used to determine how Tmin and Tmax would have evolved under non‐stationary conditions. Assuming these relationships remain constant, the resulting residuals were attributed to anthropogenic regional warming. This warming was initiated as step changes in 1968 forTmin (0.7°C) and 1973 for Tmax (0.5°C), coinciding with step changes in zonal (24–44°S) and southern hemisphere mean air temperatures (Tav). A step change in 1997 in Tmax (0.8°C) coincided with a statistically significant step change in global mean air temperature of 0.3°C. This analysis was repeated using regionally averaged output from eleven climate model simulations. Regional warming in all models commenced with step changes in Tmin ranging from 0.4 to 0.7°C between 1964 and 2003. Tmax underwent step changes ranging from 0.7 to 1.1°C simultaneously or within several decades. Further step changes, combined with rising trends, were simulated under increasing radiative forcing to 2100. This highlights limitations in the current use of the signal‐to‐noise model that considers anthropogenic climate change as a monotonic curve. The identification of multiple step changes in a changing climate provides important information for planning adaptation.
On the nature of the variability of the Martian thermospheric mass density: Results from electron reflectometry with Mars Global Surveyor
Authors: England Scott L. , Lillis Robert J.
Published: December 2011

Knowledge of Mars' thermospheric mass density is important for understanding the current state and evolution of the Martian atmosphere, and for spacecraft such as the upcoming MAVEN mission that will fly through this region on every orbit. Global‐scale atmospheric models have been shown thus far to do an inconsistent job of matching the mass density observations at these altitudes, especially on the nightside. Thus, there is a clear need for a data‐driven estimate of the mass density in this region. Given the wide range of conditions and locations over which this must be defined, the data set of thermospheric mass densities derived from energy and angular distributions of super‐thermal electrons measured by the MAG/ER experiment on Mars Global Surveyor, spanning 4 full Martian years, is an extremely valuable resource. Here we present an empirical model of the thermospheric density structure of this data set. Using this new model, we assess the global‐scale response of the thermosphere to dust storms in the lower atmosphere and show that this varies with both latitude and dust opacity. Further, we examine the short‐term variability of the thermospheric density and show that it exhibits a repeatable behavior with latitude and season that is indicative of atmospheric wave activity seen in the lower thermosphere. This short‐term variability is consistently highest in the southern hemisphere, peaking around perihelion, which may have significant implications for studies of atmospheric escape.
Bias Correction in Logarithmic Regression and Comparison with Weighted Regression for Nonlinear Models
Authors: Zeng Wei Sheng , Tang Shou Zheng
Published: December 2011

Non-linear models with heteroscedasticity are commonly used in ecological and forestry modeling, and logarithmic regression and weighted regression are usually employed to estimate the parameters. Using the single-tree biomass data of three large samples, the bias correction in logarithmic regression for non-linear models was studied and comparison between logarithmic regression and weighted regression was discussed in this paper. Firstly, the imminent cause producing bias in logarithmic regression was analyzed, and a new correction factor was presented with which three commonly used bias correction factors were examined together, and the results showed that the correction factors presented here and derived by Baskerville (1972) should be recommended, which could insure the corrected model to be asymptotically consistent with that fitted by weighted regression. Secondly, the fitting results of weighted regression for non-linear models, using the weight function based on residual errors of the model estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) and the general weight function (w=1/ƒ(x)2) presented by Zeng (1998) respectively, were compared with each other that showed two weight functions worked well and the general function was more applicable. It was suggested that the best way to fit non-linear models with heteroscedasticity would be using weighted regression, and if the total relative error of the estimates from the model fitted by the general weight function was more than a special allowance such as ±3%, a better weight function based on residual errors of the model fitted by OLS should be used in weighted regression.
Occlusion Issues in Early Renaissance Art
Authors: Gillam Barbara
Published: December 2011

Early Renaissance painters innovatively attempted to depict realistic three-dimensional scenes. A major problem was to produce the impression of overlap for surfaces that occlude one another in the scene but are adjoined in the picture plane. Much has been written about perspective in art but little about occlusion. Here I examine some of the strategies for depicting occlusion used by early Renaissance painters in relation to ecological considerations and perceptual research. Perceived surface overlap is often achieved by implementing the principle that an occluding surface occludes anything behind it, so that occlusion perception is enhanced by a lack of relationship of occluding contour to occluded contours. Some well-known figure-ground principles are also commonly used to stratify adjoined figures. Global factors that assist this stratification include the placement of figures on a ground plane, a high viewpoint, and figure grouping. Artists of this period seem to have differed on whether to occlude faces and heads, often carefully avoiding doing so. Halos were either eliminated selectively or placed oddly to avoid such occlusions. Finally, I argue that the marked intransitivity in occlusion by architecture in the paintings of Duccio can be related to the issue of perceptual versus cognitive influences on the visual impact of paintings.
Negative effects of exotic pine invasion on macroinvertebrate communities in southern Brazil coastal ponds
Authors: Stenert Cristina , Bacca Roberta C. , Moraes Aline B. , de Ávila Arthur C. , Maltchik Leonardo
Published: December 2011

Exotic pine invasion influences native wetland assemblages by changing environmental conditions such as hydrological regime and physicochemical characteristics. The expansion of cultivated pine has been a concern in southern Brazil and its impacts on aquatic biodiversity are poorly known. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) pine invasion decreases aquatic macroinvertebrate richness and abundance, modifying composition and macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups in ponds; and (2) β-diversity between natural and pine ponds is determined mainly by species nestedness. Five ponds in native grassland and five in a pine-planted matrix were sampled seven times from 2007 to 2009. The pine ponds had reduced macroinvertebrate richness and abundance, and different taxa and functional feeding groups. Comparing ponds in natural and cultivated pine areas, β-diversity as determined by nestedness did not differ from the value resulting from the turnover. Reduction of surface in ponds in pine areas may be one of the main causes for the lower macroinvertebrate richness and abundance because many taxa do not have adaptations to tolerate or escape the dry phase. Our results suggest that pine invasion has a negative impact on macroinvertebrate structure in southern Brazil coastal ponds.
Impediments to prescribed fire across agency, landscape and manager: an example from northern California
Authors: Quinn-Davidson Lenya N. , Varner J. Morgan
Published: December 2011

Though the need for prescribed fire is widely recognised, its use remains subject to a range of operational and social constraints. Research has focussed on identifying these constraints, yet past efforts have focussed disproportionately on single agencies and geographic regions. We examined constraints on prescribed fire by surveying a wide variety of organisations (including six state and federal agencies and several tribes, non-governmental organisations and timber companies) in northern California, a fire-prone region of the western United States. Across the region, prescribed burning annually covered only 38% of the area needed to fulfil land-management objectives, and 66% of managers indicated dissatisfaction with levels of prescribed fire activity. The highest-ranked impediments were narrow burn window, regulations, lack of adequate personnel and environmental laws. Impediment ratings differed among entities, with legal and social impediments of greater concern in the private sector than in the public, and economic impediments of greater concern in the state and private sectors than in the federal. Comparisons with the south-eastern United States, where similar research has taken place, point to important regional constraints on prescribed fire activity. These findings suggest further need for research spanning geographic and ownership boundaries, as prescribed fire impediments can vary by context.
Safe storage and effective monitoring of CO
2
in depleted gas fields
Authors: Jenkins Charles R. , Cook Peter J. , Ennis-King Jonathan , Undershultz James , Boreham Chris , Dance Tess , de Caritat Patrice , Etheridge David M. , Freifeld Barry M. , Hortle Allison , Kirste Dirk , Paterson Lincoln , Pevzner Roman , Schacht Ulrike , Sharma Sandeep , Stalker Linda , Urosevic Milovan
Published: December 2011

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital to reduce CO
2
emissions to the atmosphere, potentially providing 20% of the needed reductions in global emissions. Research and demonstration projects are important to increase scientific understanding of CCS, and making processes and results widely available helps to reduce public concerns, which may otherwise block this technology. The Otway Project has provided verification of the underlying science of CO
2
storage in a depleted gas field, and shows that the support of all stakeholders can be earned and retained. Quantitative verification of long-term storage has been demonstrated. A direct measurement of storage efficiency has been made, confirming that CO
2
storage in depleted gas fields can be safe and effective, and that these structures could store globally significant amounts of CO
2
.
Label-free Raman observation of cytochrome c dynamics during apoptosis
Authors: Okada Masaya , Smith Nicholas Isaac , Palonpon Almar Flotildes , Endo Hiromi , Kawata Satoshi , Sodeoka Mikiko , Fujita Katsumasa
Published: December 2011

We performed label-free observation of molecular dynamics in apoptotic cells by Raman microscopy. Dynamic changes in cytochrome c distribution at the Raman band of 750 cm
-1
were observed after adding an apoptosis inducer to the cells. The comparison of mitochondria fluorescence images and Raman images of cytochrome c confirmed that changes in cytochrome c distribution can be distinguished as release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. Our observation also revealed that the redox state of cytochrome c was maintained during the release from the mitochondria. Monitoring mitochondrial membrane potential with JC-1 dye confirmed that the observed cytochrome c release was associated with apoptosis.
Gene order and chromosome dynamics coordinate spatiotemporal gene expression during the bacterial growth cycle
Authors: Sobetzko Patrick , Travers Andrew , Muskhelishvili Georgi
Published: December 2011

In
Escherichia coli
crosstalk between DNA supercoiling, nucleoid-associated proteins and major RNA polymerase σ initiation factors regulates growth phase-dependent gene transcription. We show that the highly conserved spatial ordering of relevant genes along the chromosomal replichores largely corresponds both to their temporal expression patterns during growth and to an inferred gradient of DNA superhelical density from the origin to the terminus. Genes implicated in similar functions are related mainly
in trans
across the chromosomal replichores, whereas DNA-binding transcriptional regulators interact predominantly with targets
in cis
along the replichores. We also demonstrate that macrodomains (the individual structural partitions of the chromosome) are regulated differently. We infer that spatial and temporal variation of DNA superhelicity during the growth cycle coordinates oxygen and nutrient availability with global chromosome structure, thus providing a mechanistic insight into how the organization of a complete bacterial chromosome encodes a spatiotemporal program integrating DNA replication and global gene expression.
Unusual macrocyclic lactone sex pheromone of
Parcoblatta lata
, a primary food source of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker
Authors: Eliyahu Dorit , Nojima Satoshi , Santangelo Richard G. , Carpenter Shannon , Webster Francis X. , Kiemle David J. , Gemeno Cesar , Leal Walter S. , Schal Coby
Published: December 2011

Wood cockroaches in the genus
Parcoblatta
, comprising 12 species endemic to North America, are highly abundant in southeastern pine forests and represent an important prey of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker,
Picoides borealis
. The broad wood cockroach,
Parcoblatta lata
, is among the largest and most abundant of the wood cockroaches, constituting >50% of the biomass of the woodpecker's diet. Because reproduction in red-cockaded woodpeckers is affected dramatically by seasonal and spatial changes in arthropod availability, monitoring
P. lata
populations could serve as a useful index of habitat suitability for woodpecker conservation and forest management efforts. Female
P. lata
emit a volatile, long-distance sex pheromone, which, once identified and synthesized, could be deployed for monitoring cockroach populations. We describe here the identification, synthesis, and confirmation of the chemical structure of this pheromone as (4
Z
,11
Z
)-oxacyclotrideca-4,11-dien-2-one [= (3
Z
,10
Z
)-dodecadienolide; herein referred to as “parcoblattalactone”]. This macrocyclic lactone is a previously unidentified natural product and a previously unknown pheromonal structure for cockroaches, highlighting the great chemical diversity that characterizes olfactory communication in cockroaches: Each long-range sex pheromone identified to date from different genera belongs to a different chemical class. Parcoblattalactone was biologically active in electrophysiological assays and attracted not only
P. lata
but also several other
Parcoblatta
species in pine forests, underscoring its utility in monitoring several endemic wood cockroach species in red-cockaded woodpecker habitats.
Centromere-tethered Mps1 pombe homolog (Mph1) kinase is a sufficient marker for recruitment of the spindle checkpoint protein Bub1, but not Mad1
Authors: Ito Daisuke , Saito Yu , Matsumoto Tomohiro
Published: December 2011

The spindle checkpoint delays the onset of anaphase until all of the chromosomes properly achieve bipolar attachment to the spindle. It has been shown that unattached kinetochores are the site that emits a signal for activation of the checkpoint. Although the components of the checkpoint such as Bub1, Mad1 and Mad2 selectively accumulate at unattached kinetochores, the answer to how they recognize unattached kinetochores has remained elusive. Mps1 pombe homolog (Mph1) kinase has been shown to function upstream of most of the components of the checkpoint and thus it is thought to recognize unattached kinetochores by itself and recruit other components. In this study we have expressed a fusion protein of Mph1 and Ndc80 (a kinetochore protein of the outer plate) and shown that the fusion protein arrests cell cycle progression in a spindle-checkpoint\x{2013}dependent manner in fission yeast. When expression of Mad2 is turned off, the cells grow normally with Mph1 constitutively localized at centromeres/kinetochores. Under this condition, Bub1 can be found with Mph1 throughout the cell cycle, indicating that localization of Mph1 at centromeres/kinetochores is sufficient to recruit Bub1. In contrast, Mad1 is found to transiently localize at kinetochores, which are presumably unattached to the spindle, but soon it dissociates from kinetochores. We propose that Mph1 is a sufficient marker for recruitment of Bub1. Mad1, in contrast, requires an additional condition/component for stable association with kinetochores.
Critical role for protein kinase A in the acquisition of gregarious behavior in the desert locust
Authors: Ott Swidbert R. , Verlinden Heleen , Rogers Stephen M. , Brighton Caroline H. , Quah Pei Shan , Vleugels Rut K. , Verdonck Rik , Vanden Broeck Jozef
Published: December 2011

The mechanisms that integrate genetic and environmental information to coordinate the expression of complex phenotypes are little understood. We investigated the role of two protein kinases (PKs) in the population density-dependent transition to gregarious behavior that underlies swarm formation in desert locusts: theforaginggene product, a cGMP-dependent PK (PKG) implicated in switching between alternative group-related behaviors in several animal species; and cAMP-dependent PK (PKA), a signal transduction protein with a preeminent role in different forms of learning. Solitarious locusts acquire key behavioral characters of the swarming gregarious phase within just 1 to 4 h of forced crowding. Injecting the PKA inhibitor KT5720 before crowding prevented this transition, whereas injecting KT5823, an inhibitor of PKG, did not. Neither drug altered the behavior of long-term gregarious locusts. RNAi againstforagingeffectively reduced its expression in the central nervous system, but this did not prevent gregarization upon crowding. By contrast, solitarious locusts with an RNAi-induced reduction in PKA catalytic subunit C1 expression behaved less gregariously after crowding, and RNAi against the inhibitory R1 subunit promoted more extensive gregarization following a brief crowding period. A central role of PKA is congruent with the recent discovery that serotonin mediates gregarization in locusts and with findings in vertebrates that similarly implicate PKA in the capacity to cope with adverse life events. Our results show that PKA has been coopted into effecting the wide-ranging transformation from solitarious to gregarious behavior, with PKA-mediated behavioral plasticity resulting in an environmentally driven reorganization of a complex phenotype.
Constraints on continental crustal mass loss via chemical weathering using lithium and its isotopes
Authors: Liu Xiao-Ming , Rudnick Roberta L.
Published: December 2011

Chemical weathering, as well as physical erosion, changes the composition and shapes the surface of the continental crust. However, the amount of continental material that has been lost over Earth’s history due to chemical weathering is poorly constrained. Using a mass balance model for lithium inputs and outputs from the continental crust, we find that the mass of continental crust that has been lost due to chemical weathering is at least 15% of the original mass of the juvenile continental crust, and may be as high as 60%, with a best estimate of approximately 45%. Our results suggest that chemical weathering and subsequent subduction of soluble elements have major impacts on both the mass and the compositional evolution of the continental crust.
Decision versus compromise for animal groups in motion
Authors: Leonard Naomi E. , Shen Tian , Nabet Benjamin , Scardovi Luca , Couzin Iain D. , Levin Simon A.
Published: December 2011

Previously, we showed using a computational agent-based model that a group of animals moving together can make a collective decision on direction of motion, even if there is a conflict between the directional preferences of two small subgroups of “informed” individuals and the remaining “uninformed” individuals have no directional preference. The model requires no explicit signaling or identification of informed individuals; individuals merely adjust their steering in response to socially acquired information on relative motion of neighbors. In this paper, we show how the dynamics of this system can be modeled analytically, and we derive a testable result that adding uninformed individuals improves stability of collective decision making. We first present a continuous-time dynamic model and prove a necessary and sufficient condition for stable convergence to a collective decision in this model. The stability of the decision, which corresponds to most of the group moving in one of two alternative preferred directions, depends explicitly on the magnitude of the difference in preferred directions; for a difference above a threshold the decision is stable and below that same threshold the decision is unstable. Given qualitative agreement with the results of the previous simulation study, we proceed to explore analytically the subtle but important role of the uninformed individuals in the continuous-time model. Significantly, we show that the likelihood of a collective decision increases with increasing numbers of uninformed individuals.
Tripartite organization of centromeric chromatin in budding yeast
Authors: Krassovsky Kristina , Henikoff Jorja G. , Henikoff Steven
Published: December 2011

The centromere is the genetic locus that organizes the proteinaceous kinetochore and is responsible for attachment of the chromosome to the spindle at mitosis and meiosis. In most eukaryotes, the centromere consists of highly repetitive DNA sequences that are occupied by nucleosomes containing the CenH3 histone variant, whereas in budding yeast, a ∼120-bp centromere DNA element (CDE) that is sufficient for centromere function is occupied by a single right-handed histone variant CenH3 (Cse4) nucleosome. However, these in vivo observations are inconsistent with in vitro evidence for left-handed octameric CenH3 nucleosomes. To help resolve these inconsistencies, we characterized yeast centromeric chromatin at single base-pair resolution. Intact particles containing both Cse4 and H2A are precisely protected from micrococcal nuclease over the entire CDE of all 16 yeast centromeres in both solubilized chromatin and the insoluble kinetochore. Small DNA-binding proteins protect CDEI and CDEIII and delimit the centromeric nucleosome to the ∼80-bp CDEII, only enough for a single DNA wrap. As expected for a tripartite organization of centromeric chromatin, loss of Cbf1 protein, which binds to CDEI, both reduces the size of the centromere-protected region and shifts its location toward CDEIII. Surprisingly, Cse4 overproduction caused genome-wide misincorporation of nonfunctional CenH3-containing nucleosomes that protect ∼135 base pairs and are preferentially enriched at sites of high nucleosome turnover. Our detection of two forms of CenH3 nucleosomes in the yeast genome, a singly wrapped particle at the functional centromere and octamer-sized particles on chromosome arms, reconcile seemingly conflicting in vivo and in vitro observations.
Simulating Effects of Nonintrogressive Hybridization with a Stocked Hatchery Strain of Rainbow Trout on the Sustainability and Recovery of Naturalized Steelhead Populations in Minnesota Waters of Lake Superior
Authors: Page Kevin S. , Negus Mary T. , Ward Matthew C. , Close Tracy L.
Published: December 2011

A model was developed to explore the impacts of nonintrogressive hybridization with a stocked hatchery strain of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Kamloops strain [KAM]) on the sustainability and recovery of naturalized steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout) populations in Minnesota tributaries of Lake Superior. The model was used to assess the extinction risk of Lake Superior steelhead over a 50-year period based on multiple KAM stocking scenarios, initial population sizes, and levels of assortative mating. No extinctions occurred in simulated steelhead populations regardless of initial size after a one-time introduction of KAM; however, the risk of extinction due to nonintrogressive hybridization increased dramatically for scenarios involving annual stocking of KAM. The level of assortative mating among KAM and steelhead greatly influenced the risk of steelhead population decline or extinction for all scenarios. Results of the model support the contention that nonintrogressive hybridization could be an impediment to the sustainability and recovery of the steelhead population in Lake Superior.

Received June 14, 2010; accepted July 20, 2011
Hybridization between Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout in the Upper Snake River Basin, Wyoming
Authors: Kovach Ryan P. , Eby Lisa A. , Corsi Matthew P.
Published: December 2011

Human-induced hybridization between fish populations and species is a major threat to aquatic biodiversity worldwide and is particularly relevant to management of the subspecies of cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii. The upper Snake River basin in Wyoming contains one of the largest remaining populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout O. clarkii bouvieri, a subspecies of special concern throughout its range; however, little is known about levels of hybridization between Yellowstone cutthroat trout and exotic rainbow trout O. mykiss or about the overall genetic population structure for this river basin. There is concern that the Gros Ventre River is a source of hybridization for the Snake River basin. We sampled across the upper Snake River basin to estimate levels of hybridization and population structure and to describe hybrid zone structure and spatial patterns of hybridization throughout the basin. We used this information to help resolve whether the Gros Ventre River was acting as a potential source of hybridization for the upper Snake River basin. We found that Yellowstone cutthroat trout genotypes dominated the river system, but hybridization was detected at low levels in all populations. The Gros Ventre River contained the highest levels of hybridization (population and individual) and displayed evidence of ongoing hybridization between parental genotypes. Levels of hybridization decreased as a function of distance from the Gros Ventre River, suggesting that this population is acting as a source of rainbow trout genes. These patterns were evident despite the fact that levels of genetic connectivity appeared to be higher than those observed in other cutthroat trout populations (global genetic differentiation index F  ST = 0.04), and we did not find evidence for genetic isolation by distance. Management actions aimed at reducing the presence of highly hybridized cutthroat trout or rainbow trout individuals in the Gros Ventre River will help to maintain the upper Snake River basin as an important conservation area.

Received August 30, 2010; accepted August 9, 2011