bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Levels of Cd (II), Mn (II), Pb (II), Cu (II), and Zn (II) in Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) from Sicily (Italy) by Derivative Stripping Potentiometry
Authors: Licata P. , Naccari F. , Lo Turco V. , Rando R. , Di Bella G. , Dugo G.
Published: May 2010

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Mn, and Zn) in different organs (liver, kidney, muscle, lung, skin, and feathers) of buzzards (Buteo buteo), utilized as a “biological indicator” for environmental contamination, from different areas of Sicily and to investigate the relationships between birds sex, age, and weight and metal levels in these samples. All samples of common buzzards were collected at the “Recovery Center of Wild Fauna” of Palermo, through the Zooprophilactic Institute. Potentiometric stripping analysis (PSA) was used to determine the content of Cd(II), Cu(II), Mn(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) in bird tissues. For toxic metals, the highest levels of Pb were in liver and those of Cd in lung; Zn levels were higher than Cu and Mn in all tissues analyzed. The concentrations in liver, lung, kidney, and muscle could be considered as an indicative of chronic exposure to metals while the presence of metals in skin could be consequential to storing and elimination processes. The found concentrations of metals in the studied matrices required a highly sensitive method for their determination and a simple sample preparation procedure, and the proposed method was well suited for this purpose.
Robust Adaptive Stabilization of Linear Time‐Invariant Dynamic Systems by Using Fractional‐Order Holds and Multirate Sampling Controls
Authors: Alonso-Quesada S. , De la Sen M.
Published: May 2010

This paper presents a strategy for designing a robust discrete‐time adaptive controller for stabilizing linear time‐invariant (LTI) continuous‐time dynamic systems. Such systems may be unstable and noninversely stable in the worst case. A reduced‐order model is considered to design the adaptive controller. The control design is based on the discretization of the system with the use of a multirate sampling device with fast‐sampled control signal. A suitable on‐line adaptation of the multirate gains guarantees the stability of the inverse of the discretized estimated model, which is used to parameterize the adaptive controller. A dead zone is included in the parameters estimation algorithm for robustness purposes under the presence of unmodeled dynamics in the controlled dynamic system. The adaptive controller guarantees the boundedness of the system measured signal for all time. Some examples illustrate the efficacy of this control strategy.
Postdispersal Removal and Germination of Seed Dispersed by Cercopithecus nictitans in a West African Montane Forest
Authors: Chapman Hazel M. , Goldson Stephen L. , Beck Josie
Published: May 2010

Factors that determine the effectiveness of primates as seed dispersers include (i) the microsite into which they deposit seed, (ii) secondary removal of seed by other taxa and (iii) the effect of gut passage and/or spitting on subsequent seed germination. This contribution evaluated these factors in the little studied putty-nosed monkey, Cercopithecus nictitans, in a Nigerian montane forest. Field experiments showed that C. nictitans has greatly increased in its importance as a disperser of medium-sized seed (>5 mm) because other large primates have been hunted to near extinction. C. nictitans disperses seed across habitats by spitting and defaecation. Rates of secondary seed removal were high for all seed species irrespective of the presence or absence of C. nictitans faecal matter, size or microsite variables. Gut passage enhanced germination relative to hand-cleaned seed, while spitting had either no effect or decreased the germination rate.
Quality of Life in Sporadic Vestibular Schwannoma: A Review
Authors: Gouveris Haralampos T. , Mann Wolf J.
Published: May 2010

Quality of life (QoL) measures are increasingly used as outcome measures in the assessment of different treatment options in clinical practice and as endpoints in clinical trials. Methods and questionnaires currently used for QoL assessment in vestibular schwannoma (VS) patients, studies evaluating QoL before and after treatment, studies on patients managed conservatively and studies evaluating facial-nerve-function-related QoL in VS patients are reviewed. Current methodological controversial issues in QoL studies on VS patients include the lack of a planned prospective comparison between QoL values before and after treatment, a need for the inclusion of additional questions along with standard questionnaires and the need to report on both the statistical and the clinical significance of QoL data. QoL assessments merit being included in more trials along with standardized interpretation and complete reporting of results.
Mastoidectomy in the Elderly
Authors: Migirov Lela , Weissburd Sergei , Wolf Michael
Published: May 2010

Objective: To present conditions requiring mastoid surgery in elderly patients. Study Design: Retrospective. Results: Twenty-seven patients (aged 65–90 years) who underwent mastoidectomy were enrolled. The etiologies included chronic otitis media (COM) with (n = 16) or without (n = 5) cholesteatoma, otogenic meningitis and malignant otitis externa (MOE; n = 3 each). Urgent mastoidectomy was indicated for 4 intracranial complications (3 meningitis and 1 brain abscess) and 14 extracranial complications of acute/COM or MOE (7 patients with labyrinthitis and 7 patients with facial nerve, FN, paralysis). There was only partial improvement in FN function in only 1 of 7 patients with FN paralysis. Two patients lost their hearing as a result of a surgical intervention for cholesteatoma. One patient was reoperated for recurrent cholesteatoma 15 months after the initial mastoid surgery. Chronic otorrhea complicated the postoperative course in 2 patients. Conclusion: Mastoidectomy for geriatric patients is mostly urgent surgery for complications of acute/COM or MOE.
Audiological Results in a Group of Children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Mo Lingyan , Yan Fei , Liu Hui , Han Demin , Zhang Luo
Published: May 2010

Objective: To enrich clinical information of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Methods: Forty-eight infants and young children with severely abnormal auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) along with preserved distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and/or cochlear microphonics (CMs) were included in this retrospective study. Click ABRs, CMs, DPOAEs, behavioral thresholds and tympanograms were established. Results: Audiological information of 88 ears (40 cases were bilateral and 8 unilateral) that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Most of the ears (68.2%) had absent click ABRs at the maximum presentation level of 100 dB nHL, while other ears had repeatable wave V with lowest thresholds of 80 dB nHL. Behavioral hearing of 23 cases ranged from mild (n = 1), moderate (n = 2) to severe and profound loss (n = 20). CMs were present in all ears in spite of those with middle ear pathology, while DPOAEs were present only in 40% of the affected ears. Conclusion: Diverse results of audiological assessments are shown in this group of children. Concurrent pathologies may make auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder undetected. Absent or severely abnormal ABR along with present CMs are the most reliable measures for detecting this disorder at this stage.
Bronchoscopic Advances: On the Way to the Cells
Authors: Thiberville Luc , Salaün Mathieu
Published: May 2010

In the past 15 years, new endoscopic methods have been developed in order to improve the detection of early bronchial cancers, with autofluorescence bronchoscopy being the leading technique. However, autofluorescence bronchoscopy is hampered by the low specificity of the fluorescence defect which ranges from 25 to 50%, and its limitation to the proximal bronchial tree from which arise only half of the lung cancers that are currently diagnosed. To overcome these limitations, other techniques emerge including video/autofluorescence bronchoscopy, narrow band imaging, optical coherence tomography, and ‘endomicroscopy’ using confocal fluorescent laser microscopy. These emerging techniques provide new insight into bronchology, extending the field of exploration from the proximal bronchus down to the most distal part of the lungs, and from macroscopy to in vivo cellular imaging. In the near future, they may enable in vivo, minimally invasive, ‘pathological grade’ evaluation of abnormal bronchial or parenchymal lung tissue. Whereas promising pioneer work has recently been published, careful assessment is required before these methods find a place in the evaluation strategy of early lung cancer and other lung diseases.
A Computationally Efficient Method for Nonparametric Modeling of Neural Spiking Activity with Point Processes
Authors: Coleman Todd P. , Sarma Sridevi S.
Published: May 2010

Point-process models have been shown to be useful in characterizing neural spiking activity as a function of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Most point-process models of neural activity are parametric, as they are often efficiently computable. However, if the actual point process does not lie in the assumed parametric class of functions, misleading inferences can arise. Nonparametric methods are attractive due to fewer assumptions, but computation in general grows with the size of the data. We propose a computationally efficient method for nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation when the conditional intensity function, which characterizes the point process in its entirety, is assumed to be a Lipschitz continuous function but otherwise arbitrary. We show that by exploiting much structure, the problem becomes efficiently solvable. We next demonstrate a model selection procedure to estimate the Lipshitz parameter from data, akin to the minimum description length principle and demonstrate consistency of our estimator under appropriate assumptions. Finally, we illustrate the effectiveness of our method with simulated neural spiking data, goldfish retinal ganglion neural data, and activity recorded in CA1 hippocampal neurons from an awake behaving rat. For the simulated data set, our method uncovers a more compact representation of the conditional intensity function when it exists. For the goldfish and rat neural data sets, we show that our nonparametric method gives a superior absolute goodness-of-fit measure used for point processes than the most common parametric and splines-based approaches.
Modeling Stereopsis via Markov Random Field
Authors: Ming Yansheng , Hu Zhanyi
Published: May 2010

Markov random field (MRF) and belief propagation have given birth to stereo vision algorithms with top performance. This article explores their biological plausibility. First, an MRF model guided by physiological and psychophysical facts was designed. Typically an MRF-based stereo vision algorithm employs a likelihood function that reflects the local similarity of two regions and a potential function that models the continuity constraint. In our model, the likelihood function is constructed on the basis of the disparity energy model because complex cells are considered as front-end disparity encoders in the visual pathway. Our likelihood function is also relevant to several psychological findings. The potential function in our model is constrained by the psychological finding that the strength of the cooperative interaction minimizing relative disparity decreases as the separation between stimuli increases. Our model is tested on three kinds of stereo images. In simulations on images with repetitive patterns, we demonstrate that our model could account for the human depth percepts that were previously explained by the second-order mechanism. In simulations on random dot stereograms and natural scene images, we demonstrate that false matches introduced by the disparity energy model can be reliably removed using our model. A comparison with the coarse-to-fine model shows that our model is able to compute the absolute disparity of small objects with larger relative disparity. We also relate our model to several physiological findings. The hypothesized neurons of the model are selective for absolute disparity and have facilitative extra receptive field. There are plenty of such neurons in the visual cortex. In conclusion, we think that stereopsis can be implemented by neural networks resembling MRF.
How Synaptic Release Probability Shapes Neuronal Transmission: Information-Theoretic Analysis in a Cerebellar Granule Cell
Authors: Arleo Angelo , Nieus Thierry , Bezzi Michele , D'Errico Anna , D'Angelo Egidio , Coenen Olivier J.-M. D.
Published: May 2010

A nerve cell receives multiple inputs from upstream neurons by way of its synapses. Neuron processing functions are thus influenced by changes in the biophysical properties of the synapse, such as long-term potentiation (LTP) or depression (LTD). This observation has opened new perspectives on the biophysical basis of learning and memory, but its quantitative impact on the information transmission of a neuron remains partially elucidated. One major obstacle is the high dimensionality of the neuronal input-output space, which makes it unfeasible to perform a thorough computational analysis of a neuron with multiple synaptic inputs. In this work, information theory was employed to characterize the information transmission of a cerebellar granule cell over a region of its excitatory input space following synaptic changes. Granule cells have a small dendritic tree (on average, they receive only four mossy fiber afferents), which greatly bounds the input combinatorial space, reducing the complexity of information-theoretic calculations. Numerical simulations and LTP experiments quantified how changes in neurotransmitter release probability (p) modulated information transmission of a cerebellar granule cell. Numerical simulations showed that p shaped the neurotransmission landscape in unexpected ways. As p increased, the optimality of the information transmission of most stimuli did not increase strictly monotonically; instead it reached a plateau at intermediate p levels. Furthermore, our results showed that the spatiotemporal characteristics of the inputs determine the effect of p on neurotransmission, thus permitting the selection of distinctive preferred stimuli for different p values. These selective mechanisms may have important consequences on the encoding of cerebellar mossy fiber inputs and the plasticity and computation at the next circuit stage, including the parallel fiber–Purkinje cell synapses.
A Self-Determination Approach to Justifying Indigenous Peoples' Participation in International Law and Policy Making
Authors: Charters Claire
Published: May 2010

This paper defends the legitimacy-positive impact of a “contextual-participation approach” to indigenous peoples' participation in international law-making. It argues that indigenous peoples' participation should be substantial where the issue being negotiated at the international level is of considerable interest to indigenous peoples and indigenous peoples have not consented to state representation. The “contextual-participation approach” to indigenous peoples' participation realises the justice in indigenous peoples' claims to remedial efforts to recognise their, mostly lost and historical, sovereignty, and to contemporary and evolving legal, and largely democratic, understandings of self-determination, as expressed, for example, in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, it balances indigenous peoples' self-determination entitlements to full participation in international law making, as unjustifiably excluded sovereigns, with contemporary political realities.
Joining Forces or Reinventing the Wheel? The EU and the Protection of National Minorities
Authors: Guliyeva Gulara
Published: May 2010

This article explores a model of minority protection that the European Union (EU) could adopt. The discussion first assesses the possibility for the EU to join forces with the Council of Europe through internalising, or even acceding to, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM). This would provide numerous benefits, such as provision of consistent benchmarks of minority protection when applied to candidate States in the accession process to the EU, availability of mechanisms to resolve remaining issues relating to minorities within the EU post-accession and elimination of double standards between 'new' and 'old' Member States. Yet these developments are politically sensitive and prone to create procedural difficulties. The alternative option of an EU regime of minority protection is discussed next, focusing on the impact EU law may have on minority rights in Member States. Based on this analysis, the article concludes that an attempt by the EU to develop a coherent system of minority protection may result in reinventing the wheel. Therefore, it is suggested that the EU may be better placed to encourage candidate countries and Member States' implementation of the FCNM.
Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Woman
Authors: Berkowitz Dana , Manohar Namita N. , Tinkler Justine E.
Published: May 2010

The authors describe a pedagogical exercise that conveys the multilayered properties of gender to undergraduate students. They propose a simulation that demonstrates the social constructiveness of gender, maintaining that gender should be conceptualized and portrayed as a process, system of stratification, and social structure. The authors begin by detailing the theoretical premises that guide their conceptualization of gender. Next, they move to the simulation exercise they use to demonstrate their conceptualization, furnishing detailed instructions to successfully implement the exercise and providing suggestions to guide class discussions emerging thereof. The authors conclude by detailing the results of an assessment showing the learning gained through the exercise. This article addresses the lacunae in the sociology of gender, created in particular by the limited nature of scholarship on the teaching of gender as a social construction.
The Sanskritized Body
Authors: Coorlawala Uttara Asha
Published: May 2010

As Bharatanatyam dancers across the world talk about what they do through listservs, websites, and performance publicity—in academia's world dance courses and amidst international cultural diplomats—I keep re-encountering the Orientalist representation of a “pan Indian transhistorical” devadāsī. Her history is a linear deterioration of aesthetic quality and personal agency, from temple to courts and from courts to streets and to (deserved) abandonment from where the dancer and the dance must be rescued (see Hanna 1993; Banerji 1983).

The lifestyle of the sadir dancers of the early twentieth century was extensively researched by Amrit Srinivasan (1979–81) and documented in her ethnographic dissertation at Cambridge University 1984 and in subsequent articles.2 The devadāsī was selected for her talent. She was highly trained in dance, texts, and music, and she performed temple rituals. Her freedom from household responsibilities (grhastya) was made possible by the largesse of a patron, and bhakti theology legitimized “both the housewife and god's wife as parallel life-possibilities” both for women and for those men who could afford to support both kinds of liaisons. Temples frequently reimbursed devadāsī-s with bourses and land donations.

Dancers today persist in maintaining that dancers had no “technique” since they danced only for God, that they knew nothing of music or theory, performed in a vulgar manner, and that contemporary dancers are much more beautiful, intelligent, and better trained.
Issues in Dance Reconstruction:Karaṇasas Dance Texts in a Cross-cultural Context
Authors: Royo Alessandra Lopez y
Published: May 2010

TheNāṭyaśāstrais a Sanskrit work on drama, dance, and music of uncertain date, which has acquired the status ofUr-text of Indian classical dance. It was in the twentieth century, through the modernization process of bharatanatyam, that theNāṭyaśāstraand its related texts came to be regarded as setting out the grammar of Indian dance classicism (Coorlawala 1994; Meduri 1996; O'Shea 2001).

Chapter 4 of theNāṭyaśāstradeals specifically with dance, here distinct from acting, and describes the 108 dance units—Karaṇas—of thetāṇḍavadance of Śiva and their combinations, dance phrases namedaṇgahāras(NS 1988–89, 4, w. 1–245). This particular chapter of theNāṭyaśāstrahas attracted attention ever since Naidu, Naidu, and Pantulu published its translation into English,Tānḍavalakṇaṣam, in 1936. Since then there have been other translations of theNāṭyaśāstra, among which the two volumes by Manmohan Ghosh, in 1951 and 1956 respectively, and different interpretations of theKaraṇasof chapter 4. Readings have drawn on the iconography of theKaraṇasas found at the temples at Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, and Chidambaram in southern India. Thekaranareliefs on the walls of Kumbakonam and Chidambaram have been identified by inscriptions found on eachkaraṇaslab, that give the Sanskrit name of thekaraṇaas recorded in theNāṭyaśāstra.
Dance as Cultural Understanding: Ideas, Policy, and Practice
Authors: Sporton Gregory
Published: May 2010

In the first few moments of Parallel Passions, the program devised for Mavin Khoo Dance and toured extensively around Britain in the fall of 2003, the halflight atmosphere creates difficulties in distinguishing among dancers (Fig. 1). Bodies, genders, technical backgrounds, and ethnicity become subsumed for a few short moments to a greater purpose that is unconcerned with the trappings of identity, and the viewer begins to wonder optimistically how this will evolve. The effect is not sustained, however, and another evening of worthy crosscultural experiments in dance forms unfolds. Being momentarily surprised in this way helped to develop some interesting ideas. What remains in memory are those extraordinary moments where the project of Modern Britain seemed suddenly to have shape and be given expression. The eclectic mix of the dancers and their heritages, cultural and professional, was abandoned as a preoccupation. This allowed, albeit momentarily, a protean practice to peep through the layers of cultural ritual. The embrace of ballet and bharatanatyam cited in the promotional literature became momentarily irrelevant. But then, as if recalling the essence of the project and its obligation to teach lessons about sympathy and tolerance through the arts, a touring show financed by six different funding sources remembered itself and resorted to comparing and contrasting, later abandoning seriousness altogether for a light-hearted jazzbased club number. During a ponderous second half the dancers looked to be willing a connection that would not come, and then it was over.
Swaying to an Indian Beat…Dola Goes My Diasporic Heart: Exploring Hindi Film Dance
Authors: Shresthova Sangita
Published: May 2010

Today, Bollywood dance has become a term used by film professionals, amateur performers, and audiences to refer to dances choreographed to Hindi film songs. The question of what Bollywood dance is, however, remains debated in both movement and text. In classes, Bollywood dance movement varies in quality and style from song to song, instructor to instructor, and choreographer to choreographer. Costume choices, facial expressions, gestures (as interpretations of sung lyrics), “jhatkas and matkas” (percussive “emphasizing] … pelvic movement”) (Kabir 2001, 189), wrist whirls, and turns, all set to film music could be identified as essential ingredients of “Bollywood dance.” Yet, this definition only begins to skim the surface of what constitutes Indian film dance, as Hindi films make up approximately one-third out of the more than eight hundred films produced in India every year (Nandy 1995). Popular films produced by language-specific regional cinemas include song and dances that often retain a degree of regional specificity. While it is important to recognize the similarities shared by these dance traditions, it is also necessary to acknowledge the definitional slippage underlying the collo quial use of the term “Bollywood Dance.” For the sake of clarity, I limit the term “Bollywood dance” to a description of choreography inspired by Hindi films. This includes combinations taught in dance classes and performed on stages. I use “Hindi film dance” to refer to song and dance sequences contained in the films themselves.
Total Masala Slammer/Heartbreak No. 5: A Case of Mistaken Identity for the Indian Classical Dancer?
Authors: Athreya Preethi
Published: May 2010

Total Masala Slammer/Heartbreak no. 5, conceived and directed by Belgian director Michel Laub and visual artist Marina Abramovic, has been described as a European American Indian multimedia theater project combining dance, theater, video projection, art installation, and music. Laub and Abramovic draw on vastly mixed references to deal with themes of race and multiculturalism. A recurrent theme is women and their abuse in different cultural perspectives. Laub and Abramovic are fascinated by two extremes of Indian culture: on the one side the purity of classical Indian dance and art, kathak; on the other, the triviality of soap operas and kitschy TV serials produced by Bollywood (Archa Theatre 2001). Laub's theater is said to play with the conventions of theatrical representation, constantly bringing the rehearsal process onto the stage. Less interested in trained actors than in forceful personalities, Laub looks for a fusion of the autobiographical details of his performers with fictional situations. So, what happens when Michel Laub, a postmodernist with a tendency to parody order, system, and signification, collaborates with Kumudini Lakhia, a traditional reformist for whom art is about poetry, wonder, simplicity, and dignity?

In Total Masala Slammer, unrequited love is “performed” in different performance traditions of kathak and bharatanatyam, Bollywood soap opera, and German theater. Actors, sometimes wearing period costumes, read out excerpts from a book with exaggerated melodrama or affected irreverence. Audition videos are screened, and there is much dancing—contemporary dance, cabaret, kathak, and bharatanatyam. It has a deliberately fragmented piece-by-piece approach with actors seated on stage, taking turns to perform their acts.
Algebra Progress Monitoring and Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Foegen Anne
Published: May 2010

Competence in algebra is linked to access to higher education, employment in better-paying jobs, and, increasingly, the ability to earn a high school diploma. For many students with learning disabilities, developing proficiency in algebra represents a challenging, but necessary goal. Teachers of students with learning disabilities need access to assessment tools and instructional strategies that support algebra learning. This article reports research on a group of measures designed to monitor student progress in algebra and highlights findings specific to students with disabilities. In addition, evidence-based instructional strategies for algebra are summarized. Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed for both progress monitoring assessment tools and algebra instructional practices.
Phylogeny and classification of Pinus
Authors: Gernandt David S. , López Gretel Geada , García Sol Ortiz , Liston Aaron
Published: May 2010

We used chloroplast DNA sequences from matK and rbcL to infer the phylogeny for 101 of the approximately 111 species of Pinus (Pinaceae). At the level of subsection and above, the cpDNA tree is congruent with phylogenies based on nuclear DNA with one notable exception: cpDNA sequences from subsect. Contortae are sister to all other North American hard pines rather than occupying a more derived position in the same clade. We used the cpDNA tree plus evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA and morphology to propose a new classification for the genus. The molecular phylogenies are symmetrical at the deepest branches of the genus, allowing for the delineation of two subgenera, each with two sections that form sister groups. Within sections, clades were slightly asymmetric and sometimes ambiguously resolved. To accomodate ambiguity in some interrelationships, avoid the creation of new ranks, and retain traditional names, we recognised up to three monophyletic subsections per section. Subgenus Pinus (the diploxylon, or hard pines) is divided into the predominantly Eurasian and Mediterranean section Pinus, composed of subsections Pinus and Pinaster, and the strictly North American section Trifoliae, composed of subsections Australes, Ponderosae, and Contortae. Subgenus Strobus (the haploxylon, or soft pines) is divided into the strictly North American section Parrya, composed of subsections Cembroides, Nelsoniae, and Balfourianae, and the Eurasian and North American section Quinquefoliae, composed of subsections Gerardianae, Krempfianae, and Strobus. Mapping of ten morphological and distributional characters indicates that two were diagnostic for infrageneric taxa: the number of vascular bundles per leaf distinguishes subgenus Pinus from subgenus Strobus, and a terminal­positioned umbo on the ovulate cone scale is diagnostic of subsect. Strobus.
Comparison of AFLPs with other markers for phylogenetic inference in wild tomatoes [Solanum L. section Lycopersicon (Mill.) Wettst.]
Authors: Spooner David M. , Peralta Iris E. , Knapp Sandra
Published: May 2010

Wild tomatoes (Solanum section Lycopersicon) are native to western South America. The delimitation and relationships of tomato species have differed widely depending upon whether morphological or biological species concepts are considered more important. Molecular data from mitochondrial, nuclear, and chloroplast DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), nuclear microsatellites, isozymes, and gene sequences of internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS; multiple­copy), the single­copy nuclear encoded Granule­bound Starch Synthase gene (GBSSI or waxy), and morphology, have been used to examine hypotheses of species relationships. This study is a companion to the previous GBSSI gene sequence study and to the morphological study of relationships of all ten wild tomato species (including the recently described S. galapagense), with a concentration on the most widespread and variable species S. peruvianum s. l. These new AFLP data are largely concordant with the GBSSI and morphological data and in general support the species outlined in the latest treatment by C. M. Rick, but demonstrate the distinct nature of northern and southern Peruvian populations of S. peruvianum, and suggest that their taxonomy needs revision. Solanum ochranthum is supported as sister to wild tomatoes, and S. habrochaites and S. pennellii reside in a basal polytomy in the tomato clade.
Two new species of the genus Isoetes L. (Isoetaceae­Lycopsida) from India
Authors: Shukla Pradeep Kumar , Srivastava Gopal Krishna , Shukla Santosh Kumar , Rajagopal P. K.
Published: May 2010

Two new, primitive quillwort species, I. udupiensis and I. divyadarshanii, are described from peninsular India. Cytologically both species are diploid and unique for India in having 22 chromosomes without fragments. Megaspores of both species are monomorphic, whereas in the previously described species, they are di­to polymorphic. Isoetes udupiensis is unique in having deltoid­shaped megaspores and dominant microspory. The similarity in morphology of both species to sub­genus Euphyllum and to the remaining Indian species of subgenus Isoetes, suggests that they may be connecting links between primitive and derived forms within the genus in India.
Lectotypification of Othonna sibirica L. and Cineraria glauca L. (Asteraceae)
Authors: Nordenstam Bertil , Illarionova Irina
Published: May 2010

Two Linnaean names, Othonna sibirica and Cineraria glauca, for species of Asteraceae tribe Senecioneae are lectotypified. The lectotype of the former name is a specimen in the Linnaean Herbarium in Stockholm (S), and the lectotype of the latter is a plate published by Gmelin in 1752, cited by Linnaeus. Both species belong now to the genus Ligularia Cass., as L. sibirica (L.) Cass. and L. glauca (L.) O. Hoffm., respectively.
Publication of the combination Spergularia diandra (Caryophyllaceae): discovery of an earlier indelible autographic label
Authors: Rabeler Richard K.
Published: May 2010

The name Spergularia diandra, representing a plant native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Africa eastward to central Asia and introduced sparingly to North America, was validly published via an autographic label distributed in 1851, predating other commonly seen citations of this combination.
Molecular phylogeny of Trichostomoideae (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta) based on nrITS sequence data
Authors: Werner Olaf , María Ros Rosa , Grundmann Michael
Published: May 2010

Bayesian analysis of an alignment of 83 nrITS sequences belonging to 66 taxa of Pottiaceae revealed representatives of subfamily Trichostomoideae in a well supported monophyletic lineage. Two robust clades within Trichostomoideae include species of Tortella and Weissia, respectively. Eucladium verticillatum is part of Trichostomoideae, and Anoectangium, Gymnostomum, Hymenostylium, and Tuerckheimia form a robust basal clade. Affinities of Hyophila and Leptobarbula to Trichostomoideae are unclear. Within Trichostomoideae, Pleurochaete squarrosa is resolved in Tortella while Trichostomum tenuirostris, Pseudosymblepharis, and Chionoloma are placed as a separate genus or part of a broadly defined Tortella. The type species of Trichostomum, T. brachydontium, is nested in Weissia together with T. brittonianum, T. crispulum, and T. jamaicensis. Trichostomum unguiculatum and W. ayresii are resolved as closely related and separate from the rest of the Weissia clade. The genus Astomum, erected for cleistocarpous species of Weissia, is also nested within Weissia. Genetic divergence between selected accessions of Weissia controversa and Astomum is sometimes smaller than between accessions of Weissia controversa.
A molecular and morphological recircumscription of Brachytheciastrum (Brachytheciaceae, Bryopsida)
Authors: Vanderpoorten Alain , Ignatov Michael S. , Huttunen Sanna , Goffinet Bernard
Published: May 2010

ITS, rps4, and atpB-rbcL sequences were used to test recent taxonomic rearrangements in the moss genus Brachytheciastrum. A starting phylogenetic hypothesis of Brachytheciaceae was used to subsample representative genera of each subfamily to obtain a robust backbone phylogeny and circumscribe Brachytheciastrum within the family. The strongly supported monophyletic Brachytheciastrum clade includes B. bellicum Vanderpoorten, Ignatov, Huttunen & Goffinet, comb. nov., B. collinum, B. dieckei, B. falcatulum, B. fendleri Vanderpoorten, Ignatov, Huttunen & Goffinet, comb. nov., B. leibergii, B. olympicum Vanderpoorten, Ignatov, Huttunen & Goffinet, comb. nov., B. trachypodium, and B. velutinum. No morphological synapomorphy was found for Brachytheciastrum due to the high uncertainty associated with the reconstruction of character states at the ancestor node of the genus. The revised circumscription of Brachytheciastrum has several consequences for the taxonomy of Brachytheciaceae. New infrafamilial rearrangements and combinations are discussed.
Organellar inheritance in the allopolyploid moss Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum
Authors: Jankowiak Kamila , Rybarczyk Agnieszka , Wyatt Robert , Odrzykoski Ireneusz , Pacak Andrzej , Szweykowska-Kulinska Zofia
Published: May 2010

Earlier isozyme studies have proved that the moss Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum is an allopolyploid species whose progenitors are the haploid species R. magnifolium and R. gracile. A sequence comparison of chloroplast tRNALeu (UAA) and tRNAGly (UCC) gene introns, as well as mitochondrial fragments of nad5 and nad4 gene introns and exons in all three species reveals that the nucleotide sequences studied are almost identical in R. magnifolium and R. pseudopunctatum but differ in R. gracile. Both chloroplasts and mitochondria of R. pseudopunctatum were therefore probably inherited from one parent: R. magnifolium. To our knowledge, this is the first report of uniparental transmission of organelles in mosses.
Untangling Gloxinieae (Gesneriaceae). I. Phylogenetic patterns and generic boundaries inferred from nuclear, chloroplast, and morphological cladistic datasets
Authors: Roalson Eric H. , Boggan John K. , Skog Laurence E. , Zimmer Elizabeth A.
Published: May 2010

Tribe Gloxinieae has been estimated to include 22 genera and approximately 290 species. This study presents maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer regions sequences, the chloroplast DNA trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer region sequences, a morphological cladistic dataset, and combined analyses of these datasets. These analyses suggest that the genera Gloxinia, Phinaea, and (possibly) Diastema are polyphyletic; Kohleria is paraphyletic in relation to Capanea; Bellonia and Pheidonocarpa should be considered members of tribe Gesnerieae; and Lembocarpus is a member of tribe Episcieae. Furthermore, the historically recognized genus Seemannia, now included in Gloxinia, appears to form a strongly supported monophyletic group; several Gloxinia species from southern Brazil appear to be most closely related to Goyazia; Capanea, Kohleria, Pearcea s. l., and Diastema vexans appear to form a strongly supported clade; and Diastema, Monopyle, Phinaea (in part), and a few Gloxinia species (Gloxinia dodsonii, G. lindeniana, and G. racemosa) form a clade. Classification issues and generic boundaries of these lineages are discussed in detail.
Further disintegration of Scrophulariaceae
Authors: Oxelman Bengt , Kornhall Per , Olmstead Richard G. , Bremer Birgitta
Published: May 2010

A phylogenetic study of plastid DNA sequences (ndhF,trnL/F, andrps16) in Lamiales is presented. In particular, the inclusiveness of Scrophulariaceae sensu APG II is elaborated. Scrophulariaceae in this sense are mainly a southern hemisphere group, which includes Hemimerideae (includingAlonsoa, with a few South Americanspecies), Myoporeae, the Central American Leucophylleae (includingCapraria),Androya, Aptosimeae, Buddlejeae, Teedieae (includingOftia,Dermatobotrys, andFreylinia), Manuleeae, and chiefly Northern temperate Scrophularieae (includingVerbascumandOreosolen).CamptolomaandPhygeliusgroup with Buddlejeae and Teedieae, but without being well resolved to any of these two groups.Antherothamnusisstrongly supported as sister taxon to Scrophularieae. African Stilbaceae are shown to include Bowkerieae andCharadrophila. There is moderate support for a clade of putative Asian origin and including Phrymaceae,Paulownia,Rehmannia,Mazus,Lancea, and chiefly parasitic Orobanchaceae, to whichBrandisiais shown to belong. A novel, strongly supported, clade of taxa earlier assigned to Scrophulariaceae was found. The clade includesStemodiopsis,Torenia,Micranthemumand probablyPicriaand has unclear relationships to the restof Lamiales. This clade possibly represents the tribe Lindernieae, diagnosed by geniculate anterior filaments, usually with a basal swelling.
Chaenothecopsis in a molecular phylogeny based on nuclear rDNA ITS and LSU sequences
Authors: Tibell Leif , Vinuesa Maria
Published: May 2010

Bayesian inference analyses of nuclear LSU rDNA sequences showed Verrucariales and Eurotiales to form the sistergroup of Mycocaliciales. A more detailed analysis of ITS rDNA sequences showed Sphinctrinaceae to be embedded in Mycocaliciaceae. Mycocaliciales contain two major lineages. Intron occurrence and phylogeny was partly congruent with the ITS‐based phylogeny. Chaenothecopsis is paraphyletic with respect to Phaeocalicium, Mycocalicium, Sphinctrina and Stenocybe. Some morphological features traditionally used for characterising Chaenothecopsis and other genera in Mycocaliciales, such as ascus apex structure and stalk anatomy, were found to be homoplasious, while others, such as spore septation, intron distribution and nutritional biology, were consistent with major clades in the analysis. Within the two major clades of Mycocaliciales some subclades are strongly supported and well characterized by anatomical, nutritional and intron features.
Towards a digital African Flora
Authors: Kirkup Don , Malcolm Patricia , Christian Graham , Paton Alan
Published: May 2010

Modern approaches to Flora writing are increasingly being built around database technology. Databases allow for great flexibility in the range of questions that can be asked of the Flora, and consequently greatly enhance the utility of the Flora in the core roles of identification of species and nomenclatural queries. There are, however, few examples where existing floristic works have been converted into database format, so that much of our legacy of floristic texts still rests in the form of the printed page. In this paper we address the problem of the digitisation of legacy texts (see www. kew. org/efloras/). We describe a method that we used to create an online database of the Flora Zambesiaca for identification and nomenclatural queries. We assert that the method we used can be generalised to cope with most standard taxonomic formats. We conclude that on a costbenefit basis Flora digitisation compares very favourably to other digitisation approaches, such as specimen databasing and interactive key construction, and could be used with good effect to direct digitisation in these other areas.
A review of the typification ofMetasequoia glyptostroboides(Taxodiaceae)
Authors: Ma Jinshuang , Barringer Kerry , Clemants Steve
Published: May 2010

A review is presented of the original material cited in the protologue ofMetasequoia glyptostroboides. It is determined that there were two syntypes and seven paratypes. One of the syntypes is designated as lectotype.
Revised lectotypification of Cuscuta epithymum (L.) L. (Convolvulaceae)
Authors: García Miguel A. , Cafferty Steve
Published: May 2010

The original lectotype for the name Cuscuta europaea var. epithymum L. was based on a specimen from LINN that is not original material. The sole extant original element for the name is deposited in the Burser herbarium in UPS. The previous lectotype is here superseded with the designation of the Burser specimen. Comments on the valid publication of the combination C. epithymum (L.) L. are also included.
Replacement names for three Swedish species of Hieracium (Asteraceae)
Authors: Tyler Torbjörn
Published: May 2010

Three replacement names for species of Hieracium based on material from Sweden are provided.
Nomenclatural problems in Pleurozia (Pleuroziaceae): the lectotypification of Pleurozia Dumort., Jungermannia sphagnoides Schwägr., Pleurozia sphagnoides Dumort., P. purpurea Lindb., Mnium jungermannia L. and Jungermannia undulata L. (Hepaticae)
Authors: Grolle Riclef , Long DavidG. , McNeill John
Published: May 2010

A review is presented of nomenclatural problems in the genus Pleurozia Dumort. including the typification of five binomials relevant to the study of the genus. It is shown that the first lectotypification of Pleurozia by P. sphagnoides Dumort. 1874 can be maintained and that this preserves traditional usage of Pleurozia. The earlier Jungermannia sphagnoides Schwägr. 1814 is shown to be nomenclaturally independent and is newly lectotypified confirming its application to a species of the unrelated genus Schistochila. A new lectotype for Pleurozia purpurea Lindb. 1877 was found necessary, and this is designated from the previously overlooked herbarium of John Lightfoot (K). Mnium jungermannia L. is a heterogeneous element, in the past considered by some to include Pleurozia purpurea ; it is lectotypified by a Dillenian illustration, supported by an epitype from Dillenius’s herbarium that belongs to Scapania undulata (L.) Dumort. Mnium jungermannia and all names based on it, none of which are in current use, therefore become synonyms of S. undulata. Jungermannia undulata L. [≡ Scapania undulata (L.) Dumort.], also typified by a Dillenian illustration, is further stabilised in its current application by designation of an epitype in Dillenius’s herbarium.
Phylogenetic relationships of Stereocaulaceae based on simultaneous analysis of beta‐tubulin, GAPDH and SSU rDNA sequences
Authors: Myllys Leena , Högnabba Filip , Lohtander Katileena , Thell Arne , Stenroos Soili , Hyvönen Jaakko
Published: May 2010

The phylogenetic relationships of the lichenised ascomycete family Stereocaulaceae were investigated with partial beta‐tubulin, partial glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and SSU rDNA sequence data. Due to the marked length variation in the SSU rDNA sequences, the analyses were performed with direct optimization. The combined analysis of the beta‐tubulin, GAPDH and SSU rDNA sequences as well as the separate analyses of beta‐tubulin and GAPDH data recognized the monophyletic group comprising Lepraria, Muhria and Stereocaulon. In the combined analysis Stereocaulon tornense appears as a basal taxon in the Stereocaulon clade, suggesting that the crustose growth form and the absence of cephalodia are primitive features within the genus. Muhria is nested in Stereocaulon and groups with the crustose S. cumulatum and S. leucophaeopsis. The genus Lepraria is monophyletic if Leproloma is included, but species that were represented by several specimens in our study, i.e., Lepraria jackii and Leproloma membranaceum, do not appear as monophyletic entities. The genus Pilophorus is included in Cladoniaceae. Combined analysis of the three datasets clearly led to an increase in support values compared to the separate analyses, showing high support for the monophyly of families Cladoniaceae and Stereocaulaceae and for the sistergroup relation for the two families. The relationships between higher groupings did not reach high support values probably due to the incongruencies among the three datasets.
Bat pollination in the NE Brazilian endemic Mimosa lewisii: an unusual case and first report for the genus
Authors: Vogel Stefan , Lopes Ariadna Valentina , Machado Isabel Cristina
Published: May 2010

Mimosa lewisii (Section Batocaulon), a shrub of the NE‐Brazilian Caatinga, presents huge (pseudo‐)racemes that form a separate storey overtopping the foliage. Racemes persist, developing intermittently pedunculate capitula over a period of more than one year. The brush‐type, whitish flower heads are nocturnal in anthesis and active only a single night. Florets are relatively large and stout for the genus, hermaphroditic, with stiff filaments and style, and converge towards the periphery of the raceme. When expanding at dusk, the heads produce large nectar drops (up to 173 μl per head), that averages 25–29% sucrose. Production starts sequentially among florets of a capitulum. The drops are freely exposed, held between the filaments. The glossophagine bat Lonchophylla mordax was observed as the only legitimate visitor; hummingbirds exploited worn capitula at daytime, but did not pollinate. The bats lapped the nectar while hovering without apparently putting out their tongues. Pollen transmission was by the snout and probably by touching neighbouring flower heads with the wings. The blossoms, of a genus predominantly entomophilous, reveal habitual adaptation to bat pollination in most of their features. Small size (14 mm in diam.) and lack of a perceptible scent suggest that an evolutionary shift towards chiropterophily is still incomplete. A brief survey of the known distribution of bat pollination in Mimosaceae is appended.