bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Renoncer à l’individu, dire l’humain: Cent seize Chinois et quelques comme fable de l’intime et du partagé
Authors: Xanthos Nicolas
Published: March 2014

Le présent article se propose d’analyser la poétique du personnage dans Cent seize Chinois et quelques de Thomas Heams-Ogus. On essaie de montrer comment le roman s’emploie à construire des personnages qui soient d’abord non des individus, mais bien des êtres humains – c’est-à-dire saisis non pas dans la singularité d’une existence, mais dans ce que les existences peuvent avoir “d’intime et de partagé”. On montre ensuite comment cette distance que le roman prend d’avec la fable individualiste occasionne toutes sortes de répercussions sur sa poétique narrative: incertitudes du raconter, questionnement du sens du point final, posture herméneutique.
Le roman contemporain au détriment du personnage : introduction
Authors: Audet René , Xanthos Nicolas
Published: March 2014

Posant que le roman est par principe un discours à portée anthropologie, ce dossier sur le personnage romanesque contemporain illustre que, en dépit du fait que ne se dessine pas une anthropologie unique et cohérente dans le roman actuel, de grandes tendances se dessinent néanmoins, soutenant que l’inquiétude de l’humain dont il procède a sa spécificité. Depuis la fragilisation de l'unité de l'individu à son rapport débrayé avec le temps, jusqu'à la densification langagière du roman au point de le rendre inapte à représenter le personnage avec vraisemblance, ces pistes dégagées par les articles témoignent diversement mais explicitement des transformations de l'imaginaire anthropologique du roman contemporain.
Machinic Fu Manchu: Popular Seriality and the Logic of Spread
Authors: Mayer Ruth
Published: March 2014

This paper explores the processes of serial narration in view of the serial enactment of Fu Manchu. Its contention is that seriality is a principle rather than a technique and that this principle cannot be deduced to one author, author collective, or instigator. It gains a ‘machinic’ momentum of its own in the course of its unfolding. It is no mere circumstance that the most successful serial narratives—like the Fu Manchu narratives—were initiated in the ‘long’ 19th century with its expansionist ambitions regarding the spread of global capitalism and the modern nation state, and then were propelled by the engines of 20th-century media modernity. The Fu Manchu narratives lend themselves to an investigation of the principle of seriality because they vent the serial logic of expansion, excrescence, and spread both on a thematical and a formal level and tightly interweave structural and ideological functions. In consequence, the narratives have to be seen as serial performances or enactments, rather than representations, of the yellow peril theme. They do not so much express politico-social fears and cultural anxieties from the vantage point of an author or individual text, but work as engines in the serial machinery which generates and spreads ideological certainties.
The Poetics of Materialism in Cavendish and Milton
Authors: Hequembourg Stephen
Published: March 2014

This article discusses the attempts of Margaret Cavendish and John Milton to create a poetics of materialism that could navigate between Philip Sidney’s immaterialism on the one hand and Thomas Hobbes’s mechanistic philosophy on the other. Cavendish and Milton often incorporate depictions of Sidneian and Hobbesian extremes into their works as voices of temptation—dramatizing their appeal but ultimately rejecting them. Between Sidney’s aloof poet-god and Hobbes’s witty arranger of sense data, Cavendish and Milton open a space for a poetics of material extension and embeddedness in which the poet willingly and gladly remains “wrapped within the fold of the proposed subject.”
Spenser’s Poetics of “Transfixion” in the Allegory of Chastity
Authors: Slater Michael
Published: March 2014

Critics have frequently recognized the unsettling relation between allegory and violence in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene , perhaps especially in the Allegory of Chastity. Working within a critical trend that links this violence to rape, this paper nonetheless suggests we might shift our attention to a somewhat different trope—one that Spenser consistently employs at key moments of allegorical production. For Spenser, it is not just rape but “transfixion” more specifically that exposes the violence implicit in allegory. In the transfixions of Amoret and Malbecco the text reveals the gruesome site (and sight) of symbolic production in all its horror.
Recent Studies in the English Renaissance
Authors: Marcus Leah S.
Published: March 2014

An assessment of recent scholarly work treating the literature of the English Renaissance and some general observations on the state of the profession. A full bibliography and price list of the works received by SEL for consideration follow.
Monasticism and Idleness in Spenser’s Late Poetry
Authors: Phillips Joshua
Published: March 2014

Spenser’s late poetry—especially Colin Clouts Come Home Againe and book 6 of The Faerie Queene —represents the associated concepts of monasticism and idleness in surprisingly positive ways. This article argues that these positive representations criticize a dominant Tudor discourse of industry; help to redefine the meaning of spiritual and intellectual labor, including that of poetry itself; and emphasize the importance of empathy as a literary and human value.
Spenser’s Epithalamion and the Protestant Expression of Joy
Authors: Lambert James S.
Published: March 2014

Spenser’s autobiographical marriage ode Epithalamion attempts to fuse public proclamations of joy culled from the Book of Common Prayer and the Psalter with private expressions of marital joy and sexual union. The poem simultaneously celebrates the joy of public, ordained marriage and the “private joy” of the bedchamber, but does so in specifically sacramental language that restores Protestant marriage to its sacramental status while recognizing the private, individual experience of the marital blessing. Marriage is the pinnacle of Protestant joy, Spenser’s poem seems to claim, which can only be appropriately expressed through public sacramental ordinance alongside sacred, inward experience.
Anatomies of Imagination in Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Authors: Roychoudhury Suparna
Published: March 2014

Where in the body does imagination occur? This essay reads the conflicts among heart, eye, and mind frequently portrayed in Shakespeare’s sonnets alongside Renaissance ideas of cognition, arguing that the aesthetic vitality of such quarrels is connected to the state of early modern commentaries on the imaginative faculty. The anatomical position of this faculty remained unclear, all the more so with the advent of Vesalian dissection. In the corporeal confusions of the sonnets that depict the beloved’s phantasmatic image shifting among the lover’s organs, imagination’s uncertain location spurs explorations of the body’s functional fabric and the nature of inward vision.
Naturalization in the Mirror and A Mask
Authors: Lecky Kat
Published: March 2014

This essay argues that John Milton’s A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle is an early foray into the republicanism that shapes many of the author’s later works. As he writes his first major commissioned piece for the new English President of Wales, Milton taps into the advice tradition exemplified by John Higgins’s Mirror for Magistrates to explore a form of naturalized citizenship that respects Britain’s ancient internal divisions. The writer’s vision of mobile, identitively labile citizens rejects static ideals of British identity promoted by the central Crown to embrace a politics of local affiliations and regional sovereignty.
The Rivalrous Emotions in Surrey’s “So crewell prison”
Authors: Irish Bradley J.
Published: March 2014

In “So crewell prison,” the Earl of Surrey mourns both the death of an intimate boyhood friend—the Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son and probable heir to King Henry VIII—and the loss of their shared adolescent life. Despite the poem’s obvious grief, this essay argues that “So crewell prison” is equally marked by a darker affective register: sentiments of envy, jealousy, and aggression that fester in Surrey’s memory. Informed by both early modern thinking on emotion and the findings of current research in the sciences and humanities, my analysis unpacks these ambivalent, rivalrous dynamics of “So crewell prison.”
Milton’s and Donne’s Stargazing Lovers, Sex, and the New Astronomy
Authors: Martin Catherine Gimelli
Published: March 2014

This article compares Milton’s and John Donne’s surprisingly convergent ideas on love and sex by examining how their respective lovers gaze at the stars and the divine plan(s) behind them. Both poets significantly re-sexualize the Platonic tradition spiritualized by Ficino and Anglicized by Sidney and Spenser, while conserving much of its essence. The human soul and human soulmates still descend from the heavens, light, and the love and beauty emanating from God’s chain of being, but with fully erotic needs and desires. Both poets also accept the new astronomy, yet Donne prefers love scenes that reinvent Ptolemy’s “perfect” concentric cosmos while Milton’s lovers inhabit a boundless universe.
Providence and Perspective in Philip Sidney’s Old Arcadia
Authors: Werlin Julianne
Published: March 2014

The troubling inscrutability of providence, with its apparent lapses and contradictions, was a Renaissance commonplace. But for Philip Sidney, this very inscrutability offered a narrative opportunity. In his Old Arcadia , Sidney uses the gap between the future-oriented perspective of his characters and past-tense narration to show how moral agency interacts with an overarching providence. The paradoxes of human action in a divinely plotted world are embedded—and, ultimately, resolved—within the grammar of the text.
Witnessing Power: John Elder and the Making of the Marine Compound Engine, 1850–1858
Authors: Smith Crosbie
Published: March 2014

Shipowners’ seemingly slow adoption of marine compound engines is often attributed to not appreciating the new technology’s superior economy. This article argues that this slow adoption needs to be understood alongside the challenges faced by engine builders in persuading skeptical shipowners and practical engineers that their designs were trustworthy. It explores the rich cultural contexts within which Glasgow master engineer John Elder and his associates rendered their marine compound engines credible for Liverpool’s Pacific Steam Navigation Company, the first line to deploy the new engine. Elder operated within a culture whose hallmarks were useful work, economy, and the power of direct witnessing. The article also explores the role of William McNaught, an independent consultant with a strong track record as both a practical engineer and the inventor of a steam-engine indicator. His indicator, deployed to evaluate the performance of Elder’s compound engines, stood at the center of the controversy over their economy.
Mark R. Finlay, 15 September 1960–6 October 2013
Authors: Anderson J. L.
Published: March 2014

Mark Finlay died unexpectedly on 6 October 2013. Mark earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at Iowa State University, completing his dissertation titled “Science, Practice, and Politics: German Agricultural Experiment Stations in the Nineteenth Century” in 1992. That year Mark was appointed assistant professor history at Armstrong Atlantic State University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1998 and full professor in 2005. In 1999 Mark received the prestigious Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award, presented to one professor among Georgia’s twelve four-year colleges and universities. Mark’s most significant scholarly achievement was the publication of Growing American Rubber: Strategic Plants and the Politics of National Security (Rutgers University Press, 2009). He authored over 18 articles and book chapters, including work in press at the time of his death. Contributions in Mark’s memory may be made to the Mark R. Finlay Visiting Lecture Series at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Toxic Legacy: The Environmental Impact of the Manufactured Gas Industry in the United States
Authors: Tarr Joel A.
Published: March 2014

The manufactured gas industry provided cities in the United States with energy for light and power during much of the period from approximately 1850 to 1950. This article explores the history of the effects of this industry on air, land, and water environments; it also examines attempts by the courts and municipal and state governments to regulate gas-waste pollution and the industry’s response. The article concludes by exploring the heritage of badly contaminated sites that the manufactured gas industry left to the nation after it was replaced by natural gas after World War II.
The Great American Hall of Wonders , Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., 15 July 2011–8 January 2012
Authors: Segal Howard P.
Published: March 2014

The Great American Hall of Wonders was a bold and imaginative effort to illuminate nineteenth-century American society, culture, and values. It attempted to make some original connections among art, science, and technology as well as to revive some ideas about these that are familiar to American historians of technology but not to the general public. Presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition did not travel to any other museum. The exhibition featured 161 objects arranged within six sections: the buffalo, California’s giant sequoia trees, Niagara Falls, clocks, guns, and railroads. It explored the period from 1826, when former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died, until 1876, when Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition—the nation’s first official world’s fair—drew huge crowds. Exhibition organizer Claire Perry’s excellent accompanying catalog goes well beyond the exhibition itself.
Spellbinding and Crooning: Sound Amplification, Radio, and Political Rhetoric in International Comparative Perspective, 1900–1945
Authors: Wijfjes Huub
Published: March 2014

This article researches in an interdisciplinary way the relationship of sound technology and political culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. It sketches the different strategies that politicians—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, and Dutch prime minister Hendrikus Colijn—found for the challenges that sound amplification and radio created for their rhetoric and presentation. Taking their different political styles into account, the article demonstrates that the interconnected technologies of sound amplification and radio forced a transition from a spellbinding style based on atmosphere and pathos in a virtual environment to “political crooning” that created artificial intimacy in despatialized simultaneity. Roosevelt and Colijn created the best examples of this political crooning, while Churchill and Hitler encountered problems in this respect. Churchill’s radio successes profited from the special circumstances during the first period of World War II. Hitler’s speeches were integrated into a radio regime trying to shape, with dictatorial powers, a national socialistic community of listeners.
Panoramic Visions: Denise Blake Oleksijczuk, The First Panoramas ; Erkki Huhtamo, Illusions in Motion
Authors: McAleer John
Published: March 2014

This essay reviews two recent publications—Denise Blake Oleksijczuk’s The First Panoramas and Erkki Huhtamo’s Illusions in Motion —which deal with the rich visual and cultural history of panoramas. The essay assesses the respective contributions of these books to the history of this phenomenon. Beginning with Robert Barker’s panoramic paintings of Edinburgh and London, which were displayed on a cylindrical surface in London in 1792, panoramas offered a remarkable visual experience for spectators. This essay reflects on the popularity of this phenomenon, and the ways in which the history and impact of panoramas is discussed and interpreted in the work of Oleksijczuk and Huhtamo.
Producers, Users, and the Actors Between: Chikako Takeshita, The Global Biopolitics of the IUD ; Heather Munro Prescott, The Morning After
Authors: Hogan Andrew J.
Published: March 2014

Amid ongoing debates concerning religious exemptions from the birth control mandate of the U.S. Affordable Care Act, and age restrictions for over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptives, historical accounts that broaden our perspective on the regulation and uptake of reproductive technologies are welcome resources. The books reviewed here offer an excellent overview of the various points of fracture that have shaped the postwar social and political histories of contraceptive technologies. Together, they provide a rich understanding of how the issue of birth control became wrapped up in the larger, and increasingly militant, debate over abortion in America during the 1980s and 1990s. Studies examining medical technologies offer a valuable opportunity to explore the role of state actors, regulators, and corporations in both promoting and slowing uptake. These contributions both do an excellent job of further complicating our sometimes overly dichotomous producer-consumer model for analyzing the marketing and uptake of new technologies.
Tomorrow’s House: Solar Housing in 1940s America
Authors: Barber Daniel A.
Published: March 2014

In the years surrounding World War II, solar house heating was seen by many American architects, journal editors, and policymakers as a necessary component of the expansion into suburbia. As the technological and financial aspects of home ownership came to take on broad social implications, design strategies of architectural modernism—including the expansive use of glass, the open plan and façade, and the flexible roof line—were seen as a means to construct suburbs that were responsive to anticipated concerns over materials allocations, over energy-resource scarcity, and over the economic challenges to postwar growth. As this article demonstrates, experiments in passive solar house design were a prominent means for envisioning the suburbs as an opportunity for new kinds of building and new ways of living. The article documents these developments and places them in the context of related efforts to think about the future.
Cybernetic Futures: Stanislaw Lem, Summa Technologiae
Authors: Pickering Andrew
Published: March 2014

This essay reviews the English translation of Stanislaw Lem’s book on the philosophy of technology, Summa Technologiae , first published in Polish in 1961. The Summa is a distinctive work of scientific futurology, and the review explores connections between Lem’s thought and the cybernetics of Ross Ashby, Stafford Beer, and Gordon Pask, including Lem’s discussions of the inevitability of life, the distribution of life across the universe, evolution as design, different forms of intelligence, biological computing, virtual realities, synthetic worlds, and the arts. The science fiction for which Lem is best known can be read as an alternative expression of his philosophy. Lem differed from contemporary cyberneticians in his absolute rejection of all things mystical and spiritual.
When Technology Became Language: The Origins of the Linguistic Conception of Computer Programming, 1950–1960
Authors: Nofre David , Priestley Mark , Alberts Gerard
Published: March 2014

Language is one of the central metaphors around which the discipline of computer science has been built. The language metaphor entered modern computing as part of a cybernetic discourse, but during the second half of the 1950s acquired a more abstract meaning, closely related to the formal languages of logic and linguistics. The article argues that this transformation was related to the appearance of the commercial computer in the mid-1950s. Managers of computing installations and specialists on computer programming in academic computer centers, confronted with an increasing variety of machines, called for the creation of “common” or “universal languages” to enable the migration of computer code from machine to machine. Finally, the article shows how the idea of a universal language was a decisive step in the emergence of programming languages, in the recognition of computer programming as a proper field of knowledge, and eventually in the way we think of the computer.
Counseling About IUDs: A Mixed‐Methods Analysis
Authors: Dehlendorf Christine , Tharayil Mithu , Anderson Nora , Gbenedio Kessy , Wittman Allen , Steinauer Jody
Published: March 2014

Context

IUDs are infrequently used in the United States. Assessing how counseling about this method is delivered can help identify barriers to IUD use that might be overcome by improving services.

Methods

A sample of 342 family planning visits at six clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009–2012 were audio‐recorded, and patients completed surveys both before and after their visits. Descriptive quantitative analyses of counseling were performed, and correlates of IUDs’ being mentioned during counseling were investigated using logistic regression. Qualitative analyses investigated the counseling women received about IUDs generally (in a subset of 42 visits), as well as counseling for women who already had an IUD in place (13 visits) or who felt their provider inappropriately expressed a preference for IUDs (five visits).

Results

IUDs were mentioned in 75% of visits. Patient‐initiated mention of IUDs was more likely in visits by women aged 35 or older than in those by women younger than 20 (odds ratio, 6.4); provider‐initiated discussion of this method was less common if the provider was older than 55 than if he or she was younger than 46 (0.3). Providers more often discussed potential adverse effects of IUD use than benefits; counseling often was noninteractive and did not address how patient preferences related to characteristics of IUDs. Counseling was frequently fragmented by the need for return visits or referral elsewhere for insertion.

Conclusions

IUD counseling may be improved by enhancing comprehensiveness and patient‐centeredness, and by decreasing fragmentation of care.
La juventud y sus límites operativos
Authors: Alaminos Chica Antonio
Published: March 2014

Los estudios de juventud representan una labor muy significativa en la investigación en Ciencias Sociales. Tanto en esfuerzos presupuestarios como académicos. No obstante, la revisión de la mayoría de estos estudios refleja una notable inconsistencia conceptual. Esta fragilidad conceptual permite un empleo ideológico, donde la elaboración de científica de categorías se sustituye por los prejuicios culturales del científico.
Biomass equations for birch in Finland
Authors: Repola Jaakko
Published: March 2014

Biomass equations were compiled for the above- and below-ground tree components of birch (Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh.). The equations were based on 127 sample trees in 24 birch stands located on mineral soil sites. The study material consisted of 20 temporary plots and ten plots from four thinning experiments with different thinning intensities (unthinned, moderately and heavily thinned plots). The equations were estimated for the following individual tree components: stem wood, stem bark, living and dead branches, foliage, stump, and roots. In the data analysis, a multivariate procedure was applied in order to take into account the statistical dependency among the equations. Three multivariate variance component models were constructed for the above-ground biomass components, and one for the below-ground biomass components. The multivariate model (1) was mainly based on tree diameter and height, and in the multivariate models (2) and (3) additional commonly measured tree variables were used. The equations provided logical biomass predictions for a number of tree components, and were comparable with other functions used in Finland and Sweden. The applied statistical method generated equations that gave more reliable biomass estimates than the equations presented earlier. Furthermore, the structure of the multivariate models enables more flexible application of the equations, especially for research purposes.
Differences in growth and wood properties between narrow and normal crowned types of Norway spruce grown at narrow spacing in Southern Finland
Authors: Zubizarreta Gerendiain Ane , Peltola Heli , Pulkkinen Pertti , Ikonen Veli-Pekka , Jaatinen Raimo
Published: March 2014

In recent years there has been increased interest in the so called narrow crowned Norway spruce (Picea abies f. pendula), which is a rare mutant of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karsten), as a suitable wood raw material source for pulp and paper production. This is because it is less sensitive to competition than the normal crowned Norway spruce, and thus, could be more productive especially at dense spacing. In the above context, we investigated how the growth and yield (such as height, diameter, stem volume and ring width) in addition to wood density traits and fibre properties (such as wood density, fibre length and width, cell wall thickness and fibre coarseness) were affected in trees from 9 full-sib families representing narrow crowned Norway spruce grown at narrow spacing of 1 m 1 m in Southern Finland. For comparison, we used normal crowned Norway spruce trees from 6 breeding regions. We found that, compared to growth and yield traits, wood density traits and fibre properties showed, on average, lower phenotypic variations. In addition, these variations were smaller for narrow crowned families than for normal crowned genetic entries. Narrow crowned families also showed, on average, higher growth and yield and fibre length, but lower wood density. Moreover, the phenotypic correlations between growth, yield, wood density traits and fibre properties, ranged, on average, from moderate (narrow crowned) to high (normal crowned). As a whole, the growth and wood properties of narrow crowned families were found to be less sensitive to tree competition than the normal crowned genetic entries used as a comparison.
Microsites before and after restoration in managed Picea abies stands in southern Finland: effects of fire and partial cutting with dead wood creation
Authors: Lilja-Rothsten Saara , Chantal Michelle , Peterson Chris , Kuuluvainen Timo , Vanha-Majamaa Ilkka , Puttonen Pasi
Published: March 2014

Different types of microsites, e.g. CWD (coarse woody debris), mounds, and uprooting pits, are important for tree regeneration and biodiversity. However, microsite diversity is greatly reduced in managed stands. We studied how restoration treatments changed microsite distribution in mature managed Picea abies stands. Four cutting treatments were used: uncut, low-CWD (5 m ha of down retention trees, DRT, and 50 m ha of standing retention trees), intermediate-CWD (as previous but leaving 30 m ha of DRT), and high-CWD (as previous but with 60 m ha of DRT). Timber harvested from stands ranged from 108â168 m ha. Half of the stands were burned, and half remained unburned. Sampling was stratified into upland and paludified biotopes within each stand. The pre-treatment microsite distributions were dominated by level ground in both biotopes; mounds and microsites on or next to CWD or a stump were slightly more abundant in the paludified than in the upland biotopes. Microsites were more diverse after cutting, with and without fire. The cutting treatment increased the relative abundances of microsites on or next to CWD. Fire consumed small diameter dead wood and flattened mounds. Microsites were more diverse in paludified than in upland biotopes. The results demonstrate that microsite diversity can rapidly be restored to structurally impoverished managed Picea stands despite a large portion of wood volume being harvested.3â13â13â13â13â1
The accuracy of manually recorded time study data for harvester operation shown via simulator screen
Authors: Nuutinen Yrjö , Väätäinen Kari , Heinonen Jaakko , Asikainen Antti , Röser Dominik
Published: March 2014

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of work experience on the accuracy and variation of observers recording the operation time of a harvester. A simulated thinning operation using a harvester, shown as video via a television screen in laboratory conditions, was observed by 20 inexperienced students and 10 experienced work study researchers. All the observers timed the different work elements of the harvester work with special fieldwork timers. The duration of different work elements measured by the human observers were compared to the corresponding recordings by the harvesterâs automated data collector. Although the inexperienced students made more measurement mistakes than the experienced researchers, the differences in measurement error averages were not statistically significant between the groups. However, the variances of tree specific errors were significantly higher in the measurements done by the students. As inexperienced recorders, the students were not able to properly record short work elements, which lasted a maximum of 4 seconds. Due to systematic measurement errors, there was a large variation in the timing structures of the work elements among all observers. Observersâ skills and experience seems to affect measurement accuracy and thus the derived results, especially in intensive time studies. Therefore, the recorder should receive detailed training and practical experience in timing of different work elements of forest operations. In the future, with the use of automated data collectors time studies with large, detailed and accurate data will be implemented. However, due to the varying timing conditions in the forest, manual data collection is still required because of its greater flexibility.
Preparing emission reporting from forests: use of National Forest Inventories in European countries
Authors: Cienciala Emil , Tomppo Erkki , Snorrason Arnor , Broadmeadow Mark , Colin Antoine , Dunger Karsten , Exnerova Zuzana , Lasserre Bruno , Petersson Hans , Priwitzer Tibor , Sanchez Gerardo , Ståhl Göran
Published: March 2014

We examine the current status of greenhouse gas inventories of the sector Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), in European countries, with specific focus on the utilization of National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs. LULUCF inventory is an integral part of the reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. The analysis is based on two questionnaires prepared by the COST Action E43 âHarmonisation of National Forest Inventories in Europeâ, which were answered by greenhouse gas reporting experts in European countries. The following major conclusions can be drawn from the analysis: 1) definitions used to obtain carbon pool change estimates vary widely among countries and are not directly comparable 2) NFIs play a key role for LULUCF greenhouse gas estimation and reporting under UNFCCC, and provide the fundamental data needed for the estimation of carbon stock changes covering not only living biomass, but increasingly also deadwood, litter and soil compartments. The study highlights the effects of adopting different definitions for two major reporting processes, namely UNFCCC and FAO, and exemplifies the effect of different tree diameter thresholds on carbon stock change estimates for Finland. The results demonstrate that more effort is needed to harmonize forest inventory estimates for the purpose of making the estimates of forest carbon pool changes comparable. This effort should lead to a better utilization of the data from the European NFI programs and improve the European greenhouse gas reporting.
Distributions of tracheid cross-sectional dimensions in different parts of Norway spruce stems
Authors: Havimo Mikko , Rikala Juha , Sirviö Jari , Sipi Marketta
Published: March 2014

Distributions of three cross-sectional dimensions: radial and tangential tracheid width, and cell wall thickness in different timber assortments of Norway spruce were investigated. Wood samples from a mature stand were measured with SilviScan. In the analysis, virtual trees were constructed from measurement data, and divided into three assortments: whole stem, top pulpwood and sawmill chips. Average values and distributions of the properties were calculated for all assortments, and distributions divided into earlywood and latewood across the whole tree assortment. There was considerable variation within latewood in all three cross-sectional dimensions, but variation in earlywood was slight in radial width and cell wall thickness. In earlywood, tangential tracheid width showed considerable internal variation, and the difference between earlywood and latewood in tangential width was small. Within-assortment variation of all three properties was larger than between assortments. We may conclude that only a moderate difference in pulp properties can be achieved by sorting raw material into sawmill chips and top pulpwood. Pulp fractionation into earlywood and latewood seems to be a more efficient method, since it gives classes with small within-class variation and distinct average properties. However, it should be kept in mind that the results are valid only in mature stands, where growth rate variation and juvenile wood content are small.
Facilitation of forest landscape restoration on abandoned swidden fallows in Laos using mixed-species planting and biochar application
Authors: - Sovu , Tigabu Mulualem , Savadogo Patrice , Odén Per
Published: March 2014

The cessation of swidden cultivation and the increasing trend of abandonment of swidden fallows have created an opportunity for forest landscape restoration. However, ways need to be found to improve the poor soil fertility at these sites with affordable materials and to generate short-term socio-economic benefits for small-scale swidden fallow holders. This study assessed the feasibility of using mixed-planting of eight native species and application of rice husk biochar as soil amendment measure at a site in Laos. The effect of biochar application was compared against addition of inorganic (NPK) fertilizer and the control. The establishment and growth of the planted seedlings was then monitored for four years. The addition of rice husk biochar and NPK fertilizer did not significantly (p = 0.578) improve the survival rate of planted seedlings, which ranged from 72% to 91% (depending on the species) compared to the control. No significant growth responses to the soil amendments were observed for most of the species during the first year after planting compared to the control. The biochar effect was, however, more evident at the fourth year for diameter (p < 0.01) and height (p < 0.01) of sapling for all species; particularly its effect was more vivid on the diameter of slow-growing species. The results indicate that the species tested in the mixed-planting showed marked growth variation while application of rice husk biochar boosted their growth. Thus, planting mixed-species in swidden fallows has potential to provide continuous supplies of wood from different species to diversify the livelihood of swidden field owners, while maintaining ecosystem services.
Histochemical and geometric alterations of sapwood in coastal Douglas-fir following mechanical damage during commercial thinning
Authors: Kiser Jim
Published: March 2014

Histochemical and geometric alterations to sapwood in mechanically damaged Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirbel] Franco) trees were quantified 14 years after thinning. Discoloration and decay were measured in felled damaged and undamaged trees. Compartmentalized walls were identified and measured macroscopically. Sapwood to heartwood ratio was measured incrementally along the boles. Results showed a distinct reaction zone forming at the time of injury. Compartmentalized walls 1â3 were less distinct and heavily resinous streaking was evident in extant tissues, particularly in the axial direction. Post-damaged sapwood was burl-like for 4â6 years and tracheids contained resin-filled lumina. Damaged wood volumes were modeled by multiple regression. Wound depth, wound area, and diameter inside bark (DIB) accounted for 73% of the discolored volume (p = 0.02). DIB alone accounted for just over 55% of the response. Post-damaged sapwood averaged 15 mm (SE = 2.3 mm) greater in width on the side opposite the damage along the length of the boards. Wound area explained just over 65% of this response (p = 0.003). Sapwood area was not significantly different between damaged and control trees (p = 0.56). Results indicate that wounded Douglas-fir trees may slow conversion of sapwood to heartwood on the bole side opposite the wound, possibly as a response to maintain sapwood area necessary for physiological maintenance of the existing crown. About 19% of the lower bole volume in damaged trees was affected by discoloration and secondarily by structural changes. Reduction in value of the lower log can be as high as 19% by conventional bucking practices. Alternatives are presented to reduce the value loss to between 2.5% to 3.5%.
Mapping biomass variables with a multi-source forest inventory technique
Authors: Tuominen Sakari , Eerikäinen Kalle , Schibalski Anett , Haakana Markus , Lehtonen Aleksi
Published: March 2014

Map form information on forest biomass is required for estimating bioenergy potentials and monitoring carbon stocks. In Finland, the growing stock of forests is monitored using multi-source forest inventory, where variables are estimated in the form of thematic maps and area statistics by combining information of field measurements, satellite images and other digital map data. In this study, we used the multi-source forest inventory methodology for estimating forest biomass characteristics. The biomass variables were estimated for national forest inventory field plots on the basis of measured tree variables. The plot-level biomass estimates were used as reference data for satellite image interpretation. The estimates produced by satellite image interpretation were tested by cross-validation. The results indicate that the method for producing biomass maps on the basis of biomass models and satellite image interpretation is operationally feasible. Furthermore, the accuracy of the estimates of biomass variables is similar or even higher than that of traditional growing stock volume estimates. The technique presented here can be applied, for example, in estimating biomass resources or in the inventory of greenhouse gases.
Gap-phase dynamics in the old-growth forest of Lom, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Bottero Alessandra , Garbarino Matteo , Dukic Vojislav , Govedar Zoran , Lingua Emanuele , Nagel Thomas , Motta Renzo
Published: March 2014

We investigated forest canopy gaps in the mixed beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), silver fir (Abies alba Miller), and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) old-growth forest of Lom in the Dinaric Mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Gap size, age, gap fraction, gapmaker characteristics and the structure and composition of gapfillers were documented to investigate gap dynamics. The percentages of forest area in canopy and expanded gaps were 19% and 41%, respectively. The median canopy gap size was 77 m, and ranged from 11 to 708 m. Although there were many single tree-fall gaps, the majority had multiple gapmakers that were often in different stages of decay, suggesting gap expansion is important at the study site. Of the gapmakers recorded, 14% were uprooted stems, 60% snapped stems, and 26% were standing dead trees. Dendroecological analysis suggests that gap formation varied in time. The density of gapfillers was not correlated to gap size, and the species composition of gapfillers varied between seedling, sapling, and tree life stages. The results suggest that gaps are mainly formed by endogenous senescence of single canopy trees. Exogenous disturbance agents, most likely related to wind and snow, act mainly as secondary agents in breaking weakened trees and in expanding previously established gaps. Although the findings are partially consistent with other studies of gap disturbance processes in similar old-growth forests in central Europe, the observed gap dynamic places the Lom core area at the end of a gradient that ranges from forests controlled by very small-scale processes to those where large, stand replacing disturbances predominate.22
Tree regeneration in artificial canopy gaps established for restoring natural structural variability in a Scots pine stand
Authors: Rouvinen Seppo , Kouki Jari
Published: March 2014

In Finland and elsewhere in Europe, many protected forest areas include also stands that were previously managed and that lack several naturally occurringÂ stand characteristics. In these areas, ecosystem restoration can be used to facilitate and accelerate the formation of structural and habitat features resembling those of natural forests. For example, by creating small gaps it could be possible to diversify forest structure and tree species composition and to produce dead wood while still maintaining mostly continous canopy coverage. We examined experimentally the effects of artificial gap formation on post-disturbance tree regeneration in the gaps in a young protected, but formerly commercially managed pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) dominated forest. In the experimental sites, gap size and the portion of girdled trees out of all treated trees (girdled and felled trees combined) in the gaps varied. Natural and artificial (direct seeding of silver birch Betula pendula Roth) tree regeneration and development was monitored both on disturbed (scarified soil patches) and undisturbed forest floor during three growing seasons. Results show that gaps can be valuable in diversifying stand structure but to be successful and rapid, tree regeneration needs disturbed forest floor. Pine regenerated numerously, but birch had clearly lower regeneration, especially on small-sized gaps. In conclusion, increasing tree diversity in young pine-dominated forests seems to be difficult when only small artificial gaps are used. But even small gaps can be used to create and maintain diverse cohort structure of the dominant species and thus they can contribute to restoration goals.
Thinning effects on jack pine and black spruce photosynthesis in eastern boreal forests of Canada
Authors: Goudiaby Venceslas , Brais Suzanne , Grenier Yvon , Berninger Frank
Published: March 2014

A decrease in the average diameter of commercially harvested tree species in the Eastern boreal forest of Canada has led to a decrease in availability of quality wood for the forest industry. Commercial thinning has been proposed as a means to increase stem diameter growth. However, little is known about physiological responses underlying species responses to thinning. We assessed the effect of canopy opening on the photosynthetic response of mature jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) trees. Two years after thinning and for each species, light response curves and the diurnal course of photosynthesis were characterized from measurements taken in a completely randomized block experiment on current-year and one-year-old needles of 12 trees from stands subjected to different levels of canopy opening. Soil water content, air and soil temperatures, and needle N concentration were not affected by thinning for either species. However, light availability increased with basal area removed and could explain the significantly positive relationship between thinning intensity and diurnal course of photosynthesis for one-year-old needles of jack pine. Black spruce photosynthesis did not respond to increases in light. Light-saturated rate of net photosynthesis (A), photosynthetic efficiency (Î±), light compensation point (LCP), and diurnal respiration (R) did not vary with thinning for either of the species. Jack pine and black spruce responses to thinning should be interpreted in light of species autecology.maxd
Polymorphisms in the TLR3 gene are associated with risk for type 1 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Assmann Taís Silveira , Brondani Letícia de Almeida , Bauer Andrea Carla , Canani Luis Henrique , Crispim Daisy
Published: March 2014

Introduction

Viral pathogens seem to play a role in triggering the autoimmune destruction that leads to the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) has been shown to recognize double-stranded RNA, a molecular signature of most viruses. It is expressed at high levels in pancreatic β-cells and immune cells, suggesting a role for it in the pathogenesis of T1DM. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whetherTLR3polymorphisms are associated with T1DM.

Methods

Frequencies of theTLR3rs11721827, rs13126816, rs5743313, rs7668666, and rs3775291 polymorphisms were analyzed in 449 T1DM patients and in 507 nondiabetic subjects. Haplotypes constructed from the combination of these polymorphisms were inferred using a Bayesian statistical method.

Results

The rs3775291 and rs13126816 polymorphisms were associated with T1DM, and the strongest association was observed for the additive model (odds ratio (OR)=2.3, 95% CI 1.3–4.2 and OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.3–3.1 respectively). In the same way, the frequency of T1DM was higher as more risk alleles of the five polymorphisms were present (P-trend=0.001). Moreover, in T1DM patients, the minor alleles of the rs5743313 and rs117221827 polymorphisms were associated with an early age at diagnosis and worse glycemic control.

Conclusion

TheTLR3rs3775291 and rs13126816 polymorphisms are associated with risk for T1DM, while the rs5743313 and rs11721827 polymorphisms are associated with age at T1DM diagnosis and poor glycemic control. The number of risk alleles of the fiveTLR3polymorphisms in the haplotypes seems to influence the risk for T1DM, suggesting that these polymorphisms might interact in the susceptibility for the disease.
Lymphocytic profiling in thyroid cancer provides clues for failure of tumor immunity
Authors: Imam Shahnawaz , Paparodis Rodis , Sharma Deepak , Jaume Juan Carlos
Published: March 2014

Thyroid cancers are usually surrounded by a significant number of immune-reactive cells. Tumor-associated lymphocytes as well as background lymphocytic thyroiditis are frequently mentioned in pathology reports of patients who have undergone surgery for thyroid cancer. The nature of this lymphocytic reaction is not well understood. The fact that cancer can survive in this adverse microenvironment is indicative of immune regulation. We characterized the lymphocytic infiltration that accompanies thyroid cancer and compared it with that present in thyroid autoimmunity. We found that double-negative (DN) T cells were significantly more abundant in thyroid cancer than in thyroid autoimmunity. Although FOXP3+regulatory T cells were also present, DN T cells were the dominant cell type, associated with thyroid cancer. Furthermore, upon stimulation, the DN T cells associated with cancer remained unchanged, while the few (<5%) DN T cells associated with thyroid autoimmunity increased in numbers (>20%). CD25 expression on DN T cells remained unchanged after stimulation, which indicates that the increase in the absolute number of DN T cells in thyroid autoimmunity was at the expense of inactivation of single-positive T cells. We concluded that in the setting of thyroid cancer, DN T cells appear to suppress tumor immunity. In contrast, in thyroid autoimmunity, DN T cells were barely present and only increased at the expense of inactivated, single-positive T cells upon induction. Together, these findings indicate that thyroid cancer-associated DN T cells might regulate proliferation and effector function of T cells and thereby contribute to tumor tolerance and active avoidance of tumor immunity.