bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Edgar Allan Poe's Aesthetic Theory, the Insanity Debate, and the Ethically Oriented Dynamics of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Authors: Shen Dan
Published: February 2009

For over one hundred years, critics have widely regarded Edgar Allan Poe as an aesthetician of literature as a whole, which has to a great extent oriented the interpretation of his prose narratives. In this essay I revisit Poe's relevant essays and reveal that Poe's aesthetic conception of the subject matter of poetry is due to poetry's peculiar generic characteristics not shared by prose fiction. Poe makes an unequivocal distinction in prose fiction between structural design and subject matter. While putting the tale's structural design completely on a par with that of poetry, Poe treats the tale's subject matter as different in nature from that of poetry—as “antagonistical” to Beauty and often based on the ethically related, though not ethically confined, “Truth.” In this essay I argue that if some of Poe's tales convey a moral, then that moral tends to be implicit and inseparable from the structural “unity of effect,” and the tale may react or respond to the cultural context in a certain way. In Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart” we can see a characteristic interaction among a structurally unified dramatic irony, an implicit moral, and the historical “insanity defense” controversy.
Gaskell's Naturalist
Authors: Coriale Danielle
Published: February 2009

This essay situates Elizabeth Gaskell's industrial novel Mary Barton (1848) within early-Victorian discourses about natural history by studying the figure of the working-class naturalist, Job Legh. Though often regarded as a peripheral character in critical treatments of the novel, Job Legh's presence in Mary Barton suggests the possibilities and limitations that natural history presented for writers struggling to represent the turbulent social and political conditions of England during the 1840s. At times, Job's naturalist activities seem to offer a utopian alternative to the “dangerous” Chartist politics practiced by other characters in the novel. At other times, however, Job's knowledge and use of classificatory language alienates him from the working-class community in which he is embedded, a community otherwise excluded from the “republic of science.” In the latter part of this essay, I argue that Gaskell, by aligning herself with the conflicted naturalist she imagined, reveals the liminality of her own position as a novelist writing about working-class characters for an audience of middle-class readers. While Gaskell shares this liminal position with her naturalist, however, she does not share his taxonomic vision; rather, she draws on a narrative mode of natural history to develop a sympathetic account of the working classes, a mode that attends to the habits, habitats, and environmental conditions that affect the behaviors and interactions of a living thing. By situating Mary Barton within the naturalist discourses that helped produce it, this essay illustrates the limited political value of Gaskell's working-class naturalist while also suggesting the deep entanglement of novels and natural histories in Victorian Britain.
World Services in The Family International: The Administrative Organization of a Mature Religious Movement
Authors: Shepherd Gordon , Shepherd Gary
Published: February 2009

Based on staff interviews obtained at World Services---the headquarters organization of The Family International---this study offers a case study description and analysis of the administration of a mature religious movement. A conceptual framework for analysis is provided by literature on the convergence of social movement research and organizational theory. Particular attention is given to the religious framing mechanisms of prayer and prophecy that World Services officials and staff members systematically use to administer every organizational operation at every level of the organization. The unusual extent to which women and young people play active administrative roles in The Family International is also described and discussed.
A full‐color eyewear display using planar waveguides with reflection volume holograms
Authors: Mukawa Hiroshi , Akutsu Katsuyuki , Matsumura Ikuo , Nakano Satoshi , Yoshida Takuji , Kuwahara Mieko , Aiki Kazuma
Published: February 2009

Abstract— A full‐color eyewear display with over 85% see‐through transmittance with a 16° horizontal field of view was developed. Very low color crosstalk, less than 0.008 Δu′v′ uniformity, and 120% NTSC color gamut were achieved. Waveguides with two in‐ and out‐coupling reflection volume hologram elements enabled a simple configuration that has an optical engine beside the user's temples. The reflection volume hologram elements used on the waveguides realized a small thickness of 1.4 mm for each waveguide, and an out‐coupling reflection volume hologram used as an optical combiner contributed a high see‐through transmittance of 85% due to its wavelength selectivity. However, there are technical challenges in achieving a reasonable screen size and quality color images with optics that utilize holographic waveguides because holograms have large chromatic dispersions compared to conventional optical elements such as lenses and mirrors. Approaches to overcome these issues are described.
RGB‐to‐RGBW conversion with current limiting for OLED displays
Authors: Miller Michael E. , Murdoch Michael J.
Published: February 2009

Abstract— Organic‐light‐emitting‐diode (OLED) displays employing white‐light‐emitting OLEDs in combination with RGBW color filters can demand high peak currents to present images with bright, highly saturated colors. Image‐processing methods that take advantage of a very highly efficient white subpixel in addition to filtered RGB subpixels to reduce the peak current and power of these displays are described. The image‐quality impact of these algorithms are explored to develop a final image‐processing algorithm.
Motion‐adaptive alternate gamma drive for flicker‐free motion‐blur reduction in 100/120‐Hz LCD TV
Authors: Kim Taesung , Ye Bo , Vu Chung Phan , Balram Nikhil , Steemers Hugo
Published: February 2009

Abstract— LCD motion blur is a well‐known phenomenon, and several approaches have been developed to address it. This includes very‐high‐performance approaches based on motion‐compensated frame rate conversion (MC‐FRC) and very‐low‐cost approaches based on impulsive driving. Impulsive‐driving schemes are attractive because of their low cost, but suffer from two significant issues — loss of luminance and large‐area flicker. A new impulsive‐driving approach using motion‐adaptive alternate gamma driving (MA‐AGD), which removes motion blur and preserves the original luminance level without causing large‐area flicker, is proposed.
Evaluation of motion performance on scanning‐backlight LCDs
Authors: Song Wen , Teunissen Kees , Li Xiaohua , Zhang Yuning , Heynderickx Ingrid
Published: February 2009

Abstract— The scanning‐backlight technique to improve the motion performance of LCDs is introduced. This technique, however, has some drawbacks such as double edges and color aberration, which may become visible in moving patterns. A method combining accurate measurements of temporal luminance transitions with the simulation of human‐eye tracking and spatiotemporal integration is used to model the motion‐induced profile of an edge moving on a scanning‐backlight LCD‐TV panel that exhibits the two drawbacks mentioned above. The model results are validated with a perception experiment including different refresh rates, and a high correspondence is found between the simulated apparent edge and the one that is perceived during actual motion. Apart from the motion‐induced edge blur, the perception of a moving line or square‐wave grating can also be predicted by the same method starting from the temporal impulse and frame‐sequential response curves, respectively. Motion‐induced image degradation is evaluated for both a scanning‐ and continuous‐backlight mode based on three different characteristics: edge blur, line spreading, and modulation depth of square‐wave grating. The results indicate that the scanning‐backlight mode results in better motion performance.
High‐pixel‐rate grating‐light‐valve laser projector
Authors: Kikuchi Hiroki , Hashimoto Shigeki , Tajiri Shinichiro , Hayashi Tsuneo , Sugawara Yutaka , Oka Michio , Akiyama Yoshiyuki , Nakamura Akira , Eguchi Naoya
Published: February 2009

Abstract—A high‐pixel‐rate, high‐contrast (30,000:1) wide‐color‐gamut grating‐light‐valve laser projector is reported. A new optical engine enabling high‐frame‐rate (240 Hz) scan projection is employed. Panoramic wide‐angle‐scan projection with a 64:9 aspect ratio was also developed. Speckle noise is eliminated using a simple but highly efficient technique. The optical throughput efficiency of the grating‐light‐valve laser projector is reviewed.
Incorporating ecological drivers and uncertainty into a demographic population viability analysis for the island fox
Authors: Bakker Victoria J. , Doak Daniel F. , Roemer Gary W. , Garcelon David K. , Coonan Timothy J. , Morrison Scott A. , Lynch Colleen , Ralls Katherine , Shaw Rebecca
Published: February 2009

Biometricians have made great strides in the generation of reliable estimates of demographic rates and their uncertainties from imperfect field data, but these estimates are rarely used to produce detailed predictions of the dynamics or future viability of at‐risk populations. Conversely, population viability analysis (PVA) modelers have increased the sophistication and complexity of their approaches, but most do not adequately address parameter and model uncertainties in viability assessments or include important ecological drivers. Merging the advances in these two fields could enable more defensible predictions of extinction risk and better evaluations of management options, but only if clear and interpretable PVA results can be distilled from these complex analyses and outputs. Here, we provide guidance on how to successfully conduct such a combined analysis, using the example of the endangered island fox (Urocyon littoralis), endemic to the Channel Islands of California, USA. This more rigorous demographic PVA was built by forming a close marriage between the statistical models used to estimate parameters from raw data and the details of the subsequent PVA simulation models. In particular, the use of mark–recapture analyses and other likelihood and information‐theoretic methods allowed us to carefully incorporate parameter and model uncertainty, the effects of ecological drivers, density dependence, and other complexities into our PVA. Island fox populations show effects of density dependence, predation, and El Niño events, as well as substantial unexplained temporal variation in survival rates. Accounting not only for these sources of variability, but also for uncertainty in the models and parameters used to estimate their strengths, proved important in assessing fox viability with different starting population sizes and predation levels. While incorporating ecological drivers into PVA assessments can help to predict realistic dynamics, we also show that unexplained process variance has important effects even in our extremely well‐studied system, and therefore must not be ignored in PVAs. Overall, the treatment of causal factors and uncertainties in parameter values and model structures need not result in unwieldy models or highly complex predictions, and we emphasize that future PVAs can and should include these effects when suitable data are available to support their analysis.
Community assembly and shifts in plant trait distributions across an environmental gradient in coastal California
Authors: Cornwell William K. , Ackerly David D.
Published: February 2009

Community assembly processes are thought to shape the mean, spread, and spacing of functional trait values within communities. Two broad categories of assembly processes have been proposed: first, a habitat filter that restricts the range of viable strategies and second, a partitioning of microsites and/or resources that leads to a limit to the similarity of coexisting species. The strength of both processes may be dependent on conditions at a particular site and may change along an abiotic gradient.

We sampled environmental variables and plant communities in 44 plots across the varied topography of a coastal California landscape. We characterized 14 leaf, stem, and root traits for 54 woody plant species, including detailed intraspecific data for two traits with the goal of understanding the connection between traits and assembly processes in a variety of environmental conditions.

We examined the within‐community mean, range, variance, kurtosis, and other measures of spacing of trait values. In this landscape, there was a topographically mediated gradient in water availability. Across this gradient we observed strong shifts in both the plot‐level mean trait values and the variation in trait values within communities. Trends in trait means with the environment were due largely to species turnover, with intraspecific shifts playing a smaller role. Traits associated with a vertical partitioning of light showed a greater range and variance on the wet soils, while nitrogen per area, which is associated with water use efficiency, showed a greater spread on the dry soils.

We found strong nonrandom patterns in the trait distributions consistent with expectations based on trait‐mediated community assembly. There was a significant reduction in the range of six out of 11 leaf and stem functional trait values relative to a null model. For specific leaf area (SLA) we found a significant even spacing of trait values relative to the null model. For seed size we found a more platykurtic distribution than expected. These results suggest that both a habitat filter and a limit to the similarity of coexisting species can simultaneously shape the distribution of traits and the assembly of local plant communities.
Environmental controls on the distribution of wildfire at multiple spatial scales
Authors: Parisien Marc-André , Moritz Max A.
Published: February 2009

Despite its widespread occurrence globally, wildfire preferentially occupies an environmental middle ground and is significantly less prevalent in biomes characterized by environmental extremes (e.g., tundra, rain forests, and deserts). We evaluated the biophysical “environmental space” of wildfire from regional to subcontinental extents, with methods widely used for modeling habitat distributions. This approach is particularly suitable for the biogeographic study of wildfire, because it simultaneously considers patterns in multiple factors controlling wildfire suitability over large areas. We used the Maxent and boosted regression tree algorithms to assess wildfire–environment relationships for three levels of complexity (in terms of inclusion of variables) at three spatial scales: the conterminous United States, the state of California, and five wildfire‐prone ecoregions of California. The resulting models were projected geographically to obtain spatial predictions of wildfire suitability and were also applied to other regions to assess their generality and spatial transferability. Predictions of the potential range of wildfire had high classification accuracy; they also highlighted areas where wildfires had not recently been observed, indicating the potential (or past) suitability of these areas. The models identified several key variables that were not suspected to be important in the large‐scale control of wildfires, but which might indirectly affect control by influencing the presence of flammable vegetation. Models transferred to different areas were useful only when they overlapped appreciably with the target area's environmental space. This approach should allow exploration of the potential shifts in wildfire range in a changing climate, the potential for restoration of wildfire where it has been “extirpated,” and, conversely, the “invasiveness” of wildfire after changes in plant species composition. Our study demonstrates that habitat distribution models and related concepts can be used to characterize environmental controls on a natural disturbance process, but also that future work is needed to refine our understanding of the direct causal factors controlling wildfire at multiple spatial scales.
The effect of fire frequency on local cembra pine populations
Authors: Genries A. , Mercier L. , Lavoie M. , Muller S. D. , Radakovitch O. , Carcaillet C.
Published: February 2009

It has been predicted that global climate change will lead to increasing drought in the Alps during the 21st century, as well as an increased fire risk, fires being currently rare in these mountains. Herein we describe fire frequency reconstruction using high‐resolution analyses of macroscopic sedimentary charcoal, pollen, and plant macrofossils. Sediments were sampled from a subalpine pond within the dry western French Alps. Results show that the early‐Holocene expansion of Pinus cembra (7200 calibrated years BP) occurred in Acer/Alnus incana/Betula woodlands, which were affected by fires with moderate mean fire‐free intervals (MFFI = 173 ± 61 yr [mean ± SE]). Superposed Epoch Analyses show that the abundance of P. cembra macroremains decreased significantly after burning, although they never disappeared entirely. Statistics suggest that fires spread through cembra pine communities; they were not stand‐replacing fires but mainly surface fires, probably killing nonreproductive pines. An increase in fire frequency occurred 6740 years ago, when four fires appear to have occurred within 140 years. These fires may have been associated with a regional drought and could have affected the composition of the subalpine forest by depleting the local P. cembra population in the short term. The predicted increase in drought in the future could, therefore, affect the cembra pine ecosystem in the Alps if fire frequency is reduced to intervals of less than 80 years.
Clonal diversity alters the infection dynamics of a malaria parasite (Plasmodium mexicanum) in its vertebrate host
Authors: Vardo-Zalik Anne M. , Schall Jos. J.
Published: February 2009

Ecological and evolutionary theory predicts that genetic diversity of microparasites within infected hosts will influence the parasite replication rate, parasitemia, transmission strategy, and virulence. We manipulated clonal diversity (number of genotypes) of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium mexicanum, in its natural lizard host and measured important features of the infection dynamics, the first such study for any natural Plasmodium–host association. Hosts harboring either a single P. mexicanum clone or various combinations of clones (scored via three microsatellite markers) were established. Production of asexually replicating stages (meronts) and maximal meront parasitemia did not differ by clonal diversity, nor did timing of first production of transmission stages (gametocytes). However, mean rate of gametocyte increase and maximal gametocyte parasitemia were greater for hosts with mixed‐clone infections. Characteristics of infections were more variable in hosts with mixed‐clone infections than with single‐clone infections except for first production of gametocytes. One or more of the parasite reproductive traits were extreme in 20 of 52 hosts with mixed‐clone infections. This was not associated with specific clones, but diversity itself. The overall pattern from studies of clonal diversity for human, rodent, and now reptile malaria parasites confirms that the genetic diversity of infections in the vertebrate host is of central importance for the ecology of Plasmodium.
A link between water availability and nesting success mediated by predator–prey interactions in the Arctic
Authors: Lecomte Nicolas , Gauthier Gilles , Giroux Jean-François
Published: February 2009

Although water availability is primarily seen as a factor affecting food availability (a bottom‐up process), we examined its effect on predator–prey interactions through an influence on prey behavior (a top‐down process). We documented a link between water availability, predation risk, and reproductive success in a goose species (Chen caerulescens atlantica) inhabiting an Arctic environment where water is not considered a limited commodity. To reach water sources during incubation recesses, geese nesting in mesic tundra (low water availability) must move almost four times as far from their nest than those nesting in wetlands, which reduced their ability to defend their nest against predators and led to a higher predation rate. Nesting success was improved in high rainfall years due to increased water availability, and more so for geese nesting in the low water availability habitat. Likewise, nesting success was improved in years where the potential for evaporative water loss (measured by the atmospheric water vapor pressure) was low, presumably because females had to leave their nest less often to drink. Females from water‐supplemented nests traveled a shorter distance to drink, and their nesting success was enhanced by 20% compared to the control. This shows that water availability and rainfall can have a strong effect on predator–prey dynamics and that changes in precipitation brought by climate change could have an impact on some Arctic species through a top‐down effect.
Does interspecific competition affect offspring provisioning
Authors: Marshall Dustin J. , Keough Michael J.
Published: February 2009

Offspring size is one of the most well‐studied life‐history traits, yet it is remarkable that few field studies have examined the manner in which the relationship between offspring size and performance (and thus, optimal offspring size) is affected by the local environment. Furthermore, while offspring size appears to be plastic in a range of organisms, few studies have linked changes in offspring size to changes in the relationship between offspring size and performance in the field. Interspecific competition is a major ecological force in both terrestrial and marine environments, but we have little understanding of its role in shaping selection on offspring size. Here we examine the effect of interspecific competition on the relationship between offspring size and performance in the field for the marine bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata along the south coast of Australia. Both interspecific competition and offspring size had strong effects on the post‐metamorphic performance of offspring in the field, but importantly, they acted independently. While interspecific competition did not affect the offspring size–performance relationship, mothers experiencing competition still produced larger offspring than mothers that did not experience competition. Because larger offspring are more dispersive in this species, increasing offspring size may represent a maternal strategy whereby mothers produce more dispersive offspring when they experience high competition themselves. This study shows that, while offspring size is plastic in this species, post‐metamorphic factors alone may not determine the size of offspring that mothers produce.
Community‐level density dependence: an example from a shallow coral assemblage
Authors: Tanner Jason E. , Hughes Terence P. , Connell Joseph H.
Published: February 2009

While density dependence is a popular topic of research in population ecology, it has received much less attention at the community level. Using 27 years of data from Heron Island, on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, we develop a matrix model of coral community dynamics that shows that community‐level density dependence does occur and that it is fairly common, being found in 38% of the model parameters for which it was tested. In particular, colonization of free space (through either recruitment or growth of existing colonies) was nearly always density dependent. There were no consistent patterns in the results for mortality, persistence, or species interactions. Most transitions were found to be dependent on the cover of the incoming species group, with only a few dependent on that of the outgoing species group. In addition, few of the transitions representing species interactions were dependent on the amount of free space present, suggesting that the cover of other species does not influence encounters.

When these results were combined into a model of community dynamics, it was found that density dependence resulted in a moderate increase in coral cover, which was spread over most species groups. The dynamics of the density‐dependent assemblage were also a lot noisier than those of an assemblage without density dependence. Sensitivity analysis indicated that it was density dependence in the colonization probabilities, particularly of encrusting acroporids, bushyAcroporaand staghornAcropora, which had the main influence on the model, although persistence of free space was also important. Transitions representing mortality were only of minor importance, and those representing species interactions were of no importance.
Grass competition suppresses savanna tree growth across multiple demographic stages
Authors: Riginos Corinna
Published: February 2009

Savanna ecosystems, defined by the codominance of trees and grasses, cover one‐fifth of the world's land surface and are of great socioeconomic and biological importance. Yet, the fundamental question of how trees and grasses coexist to maintain the savanna state remains poorly understood. Many models have been put forward to explain tree–grass coexistence, but nearly all have assumed that grasses do not limit tree growth and demography beyond the sapling stage. This assumption, however, has rarely been tested. Here I show that grass can strongly suppress the growth of trees. I removed grass around trees of three size classes in an Acacia drepanolobium savanna in Laikipia, Kenya. For even the largest trees, grass removal led to a doubling in growth and a doubling in the probability of transitioning to the next size class over two years. These results suggest that grass competition in productive (nutrient‐rich) savannas may limit tree growth as much as herbivory and fire (the main factors thought to determine tree demography within a rainfall region) and should be incorporated into savanna models if tree–grass coexistence and savanna dynamics are to be understood.
Maintenance of terrestrial nutrient loss signatures during in‐stream transport
Authors: Brookshire E. N. J. , Valett H. M. , Gerber S.
Published: February 2009

Small streams account for the majority of channel length in river basins worldwide and are the primary conveyors of terrestrial nutrients to rivers and ultimately the oceans. The controls of stream nutrient fluxes, however, are debated. Classical models emphasize that nutrient transport in streams integrates nutrient cycling in the terrestrial watershed while others argue that in‐stream processes control nutrient flux. Recent studies have shown that in‐stream cycling can be important in determining downstream nutrient fluxes, but results have not been reconciled with mass–balance calculations at the small‐watershed scale. Here we use a simple analytical framework to assess nutrient cycling in streams and show that, under most conditions, longitudinally static nutrient concentrations reflect in‐stream biotic balance between uptake and regeneration and groundwater inputs. Using measures of nutrient concentrations in small streams across four biomes, we provide evidence for generality of biogeochemical steady state (inputs = outputs) in stream ecosystems: overall, longitudinal profiles were flat for nitrogen and phosphorus and were similar in concentration to soil and ground waters. Deviation from flat longitudinal profiles was associated with seasonal or successional biomass growth and small groundwater inputs relative to in‐stream sink strength. We conclude that streams tend strongly toward nutrient balance, allowing use of their chemistry as an integrated measure of terrestrial nutrient losses.
An ecological risk assessment for triclosan in the terrestrial environment
Authors: Reiss Richard , Lewis Gavin , Griffin John
Published: February 2009

Triclosan (2,4,4′-trichloro-2′-hydroxydiphenyl ether) is a broad-spectrum bactericide used throughout North America and Europe for a variety of antimicrobial functions. This paper addresses the risk to terrestrial organisms from several potential exposure pathways: Exposure experienced by earthworms, terrestrial plants, and soil microorganisms as the result of the use of sewage sludge containing triclosan as an agricultural soil amendment; secondary exposure by birds and mammals from consumption of earthworms that have been exposed to triclosan in soil; and secondary exposure by birds and mammals from consumption of fish exposed to triclosan as the result of wastewater treatment discharges. The assessment found satisfactory margins of safety for plants, earthworms, birds, fish, mammals, and soil microorganisms. The lowest margins of safety were for nontarget plants (100 for the typical scenario and 8 for the upper-bound scenario). However, these margins of safety are still above the European Union (EU) recommended fivefold assessment value for nontarget plants and are based on cucumber results from a vegetative vigor study conducted in quartz sand that is of limited relevance for risk assessment. In a pre-emergence study conducted in a more relevant soil (sandy loam), cucumbers showed no response to triclosan at the highest dose tested (1,000 μg/kg). A recent study provides limited field measurements of soil and earthworm concentrations. While that study finds higher soil and earthworm concentrations than were estimated in the present study, even these higher concentrations do not indicate significant risks.
Effect-directed analysis of sediment-associated algal toxicants at selected hot spots in the River Elbe basin with a special focus on bioaccessibility
Authors: Schwab Katrin , Altenburger Rolf , Varel Urte Lübcke-von , Streck GEORG , Brack Werner
Published: February 2009

Benthic algae are the dominant primary producers in many rivers and may be at risk of being affected by sediment-associated toxicants. Toxicity as well as bioaccessibility should be considered for the identification of major toxicants affecting benthic algae. Thus, effect-directed analysis (EDA) combining biotesting, fractionation, and chemical analysis was combined with both exhaustive and bioaccessibility-directed extraction to identify the major toxicants in sediments at three industrial sites in the Elbe River basin (Bitterfeld, Most, and Přelouč). Exhaustive accelerated solvent extraction was used together with bioaccessibility-directed extraction with TENAX® in aqueous suspension. Growth inhibition of the green alga Scenedesmus vacuolatus identified polycyclic aromatic compounds as important algal toxicants at all three sites, while in Bitterfeld and Přelouč additional toxicants, such as N-phenyl-2-naphthylamine and 7H-benzo[de]anthracen-7-one, played an important role. Confirmation of the identified compounds was based on the index of confirmation quality (ICQ) comparing the effect of an artificial mixture to that of the original sample. The results suggest a successful confirmation of identified toxicants for most fractions with ICQ values between 0.5 and 2. The bioaccessibility of toxicants decreased in the order Přelouč > Bitterfeld > Most as determined by the investigation of TENAX samples. Similar total concentrations of toxicants in Přelouč and Most sediment result in bioaccessible concentrations in Přelouč that exceed those in Most by a factor of 10 to 20. The extraction with TENAX with a subsequent EDA proved to be a powerful tool for prioritizing contaminants and contaminated sites with respect to the hazard of sediment-associated toxicants to green algae.
Palaeobiogeography of early planktonic foraminifera
Authors: Hudson Wendy , Hart Malcolm B. , Smart Christopher W.
Published: February 2009

Over the last 50 years, our knowledge of early planktonic foraminifera has changed markedly. In 1958 Grigelis described “Globigerina oxfordiana” from the Upper Jurassic of Lithuania and this has, subsequently, become identified as one of the most geographically widespread of Jurassic planktonic taxa. There is a danger in that many authors identify any planktonic foraminiferid from the Jurassic as this taxon, rather than consider the alternative species described in the literature. In the period from 1967 to 1973, however, Dr W. Fuchs (Austria) identified a number of new taxa from the Triassic and Jurassic of Austria and the Jurassic of Poland and claimed that the history of planktonic foraminifera began in the Triassic. Following a long re-investigation of all his material in the Geologische Bundesanstalt in Vienna by the authors it appears that one of his new genera, Praegubkinella, was probably the ancestor of Conoglobigerina in the Toarcian (Early Jurassic). The first conoglobigerinids have been described from Toarcian – Aalenian – Bajocian strata in Central and Eastern Europe (including parts of the Former Soviet Union). The palaeobiogeography of Conoglobigerina and other related genera such as Globuligerina, Haeuslerina and Compactogerina are discussed and the problems yet to be resolved (e.g., records of “planktonic” taxa in the Triassic/Jurassic offshore N.W. Australia) are documented. The distribution (and evolution) of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera appear to be related to sea level highstands and continental fragmentation, especially in the earliest Cretaceous.
Biogeographical affinities of Late Cretaceous continental tetrapods of Europe: a review
Authors: Pereda-Suberbiola Xabier
Published: February 2009

The continental tetrapod assemblages from the Santonian-Maastrichtian of Europe consist of dinosaurs (theropods: Abelisauroidea, Alvarezsauridae, Dromaeosauridae, ?Oviraptorosauria, ?Troodontidae, and birds: Enantiornithes, basal Ornithurae; sauropods: Titanosauria; ankylosaurs: Nodosauridae; ornithopods: Hadrosauridae, Rhabdodontidae; and neoceratopsians), pterosaurs (Azhdarchidae), crocodyliforms (eusuchians: Alligatoroidea, Gavialoidea, ?Hylaeochampsidae; sebecosuchian-like ziphosuchians; and, probably, basal neosuchians), choristoderes (?Champsosauridae), squamates (lacertilians: Iguanidae s.l., Paramacellodidae, Polyglyphanodontinae, Varanoidea; snakes: Madtsoiidae; possible amphisbaenians), turtles (cryptodires: Chelydroidea, Kallokibotionidae, Solemydidae; pleurodires: Bothremydidae, Dortokidae), lissamphibians (Albanerpetontidae; anurans: Discoglossidae, Palaeobatrachidae; caudates: Batrachosauroididae, Salamandridae), and mammals (multituberculates: Kogaionidae, ?“Paracimexomys group”; marsupials: Herpetotheriidae; eutherians: “Zhelestidae”).

The palaeobiogeographical affinities of the Late Cretaceous continental tetrapods of Europe are complex. The faunas are commonly considered to show a mixed pattern resulting from the addition of “Asiamerican” and Gondwanan forms to European taxa. Albanerpetontids, both paramacellodid and polyglyphonodontine lizards, and hadrosaurid dinosaurs are taxa with Palaeolaurasian (or, in some case, even Neopangean) affinities. Other forms, such as paleobatrachid and batrachosauroidid lissamphibians, solemydid turtles, alligatoroid crocodyliforms, and nodosaurid dinosaurs can be considered as Euramerican taxa. Kallokibotionid and dortokid turtles, rhabdodontid dinosaurs and kogaionid mammals are endemic to Europe. The Gondwanan taxa have been regarded as African immigrants that reached southern Europe via the Mediterranean Tethyan sill. Abelisaurid and titanosaurid dinosaurs, trematochampsid crocodyliforms, podocnemidid and bothremydid turtles, and boid and madtsoiid snakes constitute the basic pattern of the so-called “Eurogondwanan fauna”. However, the validity of some of these taxa is a disputed matter (Titanosauridae, Trematochampsidae), and the presence of other taxa in the Late Cretaceous of Europe is based on controversial data (Boidae, Podocnemididae). Only Abelisauroidea, Madtsoiidae and Bothremydidae (and, yet for confirming, Sebecosuchia) provide evidence of interchanges between Africa and Europe. At least abelisauroids might have reached Europe before the Late Cretaceous. In conclusion, most of the continental tetrapod taxa from the latest Cretaceous of Europe show affinities with those of northern Hemisphere landmasses. Latest Cretaceous trans-Tethyan dispersal events between Africa and Europe remain poorly documented.
Thermodynamically Coupled Transport in Simple Catalytic Reactions
Authors: Demirel Yasar
Published: February 2009

Considerable work published on chemical reaction-diffusion systems investigates mainly mathematically coupled nonlinear differential equations. This study presents the modeling of a simple elementary chemical reaction with thermodynamically and mathematically coupled heat and mass transport with external mass and heat transfer resistances. The thermodynamic coupling refers that a flow occurs without or against its primary thermodynamic driving force, which may be a gradient of temperature or chemical potential. The modeling is based on the linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics approach and phenomenological equations by assuming that the system is in the vicinity of global equilibrium. This approach does not need detailed coupling mechanisms. The modeling equations contain the cross coefficients controlling the coupling between heat and mass flows in terms of transport coefficients and surface conditions. These coefficients need to be determined for rigorous analysis of chemical reaction systems with thermodynamically coupled transport phenomena. Some representative numerical solutions of the modeling equations are presented to display the effect of coupling on concentration and temperatures in time and space for simple exothermic catalytic reactions.
Letter: Are Stocks the Best Investment for the Long Run?
Authors: Bodie Zvi
Published: February 2009

Even if you have a long time horizon, Brad Delong's advice to invest in stocks only makes sense if you are tolerant of risk, according to Zvi Bodie.
A simple goal seeking navigation method for a mobile robot using human sense, fuzzy logic and reinforcement learning
Authors: Boubertakh Hamid , Tadjine Mohamed , Glorennec Pierre-Yves , Labiod Salim
Published: February 2009

This paper proposes a new fuzzy logic-based navigation method for a mobile robot moving in an unknown environment. This method allows the robot obstacles avoidance and goal seeking without being stuck in local minima. A simple Fuzzy controller is constructed based on the human sense and a fuzzy reinforcement learning algorithm is used to fine tune the fuzzy rule base parameters. The advantages of the proposed method are its simplicity, its easy implementation for industrial applications, and the robot joins its objective despite the environment complexity. Some simulation results of the proposed method and a comparison with previous works are provided.
Electrodes for transcutaneous (surface) electrical stimulation
Authors: Keller Thierry , Kuhn Andreas
Published: February 2009

In therapeutic and functional applications transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) is still the most frequently applied technique for muscle and nerve activation despite the huge efforts made to improve implantable technologies. Stimulation electrodes play the important role in interfacing the tissue with the stimulation unit. Between the electrode and the excitable tissue there are a number of obstacles in form of tissue resistivities and permittivities that can only be circumvented by magnetic fields but not by electric fields and currents. However, the generation of magnetic fields needed for the activation of excitable tissues in the human body requires large and bulky equipment. TES devices on the other hand can be built cheap, small and light weight. The weak part in TES is the electrode that cannot be brought close enough to the excitable tissue and has to fulfill a number of requirements to be able to act as efficient as possible. The present review article summarizes the most important factors that influence efficient TES, presents and discusses currently used electrode materials, designs and configurations, and points out findings that have been obtained through modeling, simulation and testing.
Rowing with FES
Authors: Davoodi Rahman
Published: February 2009

People with spinal cord injury (SCI) need to increase their level of physical activity to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but their exercise options are very limited. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) assisted indoor rowing has been developed as a total body exercise option that combines the exercise of the innervated upper body with the exercise of the electrically stimulated leg muscles in a natural manner. An existing indoor rowing machine was modified for use by the paraplegic users and two types of FES controllers were developed to control the level of stimulation to the paralyzed leg muscles. Manual FES controller was operated by the users thumb presses on the two control buttons on the handlebar, was easy to implement and operate, and has been the most widely used form of control in FES rowing. Automatic FES controllers produced rowing movement comparable to manual control strategy but did not require the user's thumb presses, could be used by the users with higher level of SCI, and could potentially be used to control more leg muscles to further increase the intensity and cardiovascular training effects of FES rowing exercise.
Some characteristics of drivers having caused traffic accidents
Authors: Djuric Predrag , Miladinov-Mikov Marica
Published: February 2009

Introduction. Traffic accidents are caused by road, vehicle and human factors, the latter one causing, either by itself or associated with other factors, more than 90% of car accidents. There are three types of human errors: errors in perception, attention and memory. Material and Methods. The study included thirty healthy drivers, aged 28-40, with 500 km driven per a week, who had caused at least one traffic accident, but not being intoxicated by alcohol or drugs during the accident. The same number of controls were included. Both the cases and controls were interviewed. Results. We found no difference regarding the marital status, education, conflicts with family members or problems at work, frequency of using the car, speed and habit of fastening seat belts among car drivers who had caused traffic accidents and those who had not. However, we did find significant differences in the frequency of alcohol consumption in general and before driving. Discussion. Car drivers who had caused traffic accidents used alcohol regularly in greater percentage than those drivers who had not caused any accident - i.e. not a single control claimed to use alcohol regularly. A statistically significant difference was also recorded in alcohol consumption immediately before driving. Such results had been expected, bearing in mind the influence of alcohol on the time needed by drivers to react in emergency. Conclusion. Alcohol consumption is an important factor causing traffic accidents. Since drivers included in our study did not cause a road accident after consuming alcohol, we have found that alcohol consumption, both regular and just before driving, is an important cause of traffic accidents.
Postpartal hysterectomy performed the consequence of chronic myometritis
Authors: Jovanovic Bozidar , Petrovic Aleksandar , Petrovic Bratislav
Published: February 2009

Introduction. As a diffuse chronic inflammation, myometritis is very rere and usually follows after postpartal placenta remains or postabortion infections, but it can be also associated with endometrial or ascendent infection. Chronic myometritis is often followed by profuse bleeding, though in most cases it cannot be recognized as it is asymptomatic. Histologically, that chronic process is characterized by the presence of fibriosis within the muscles and mononuclear cells (lymphoplasmocytic and histiocytic) infiltration. Case report. A 24 old woman's second child was delivered per vias naturalis but the next day the profuse bleeding occured which would not stop even after repeated curretages and suspecting a case of placenta accreta and uterus atony, subtotal hysterectomy was performed. Histologically, the disappearance of the regular arrangement of the smooth muscles and stroma could be seen with the devastation of myometrium due to the diffuse reduction of its smooth muscle bundles and cells, as well as their atrophy, necrobiosis and apoptosis with the minimal preservation of the muscle bundles and little cell groups of the myometrium, an abundant presence of the fibrocollagene and myxoid transformed connective tissue, group cells similar to the mesenchymal tissue and adipocytes. Discussion It was not possible to find this variant of the changes on the myometrium in the available literature. The present case is about the clinically unknown asymptomatic myometritis, possibly developed in the postpartal period of the previous pregnancy. It is our opinion that it is most probably an autoagressive process directed towards the smooth muscle cells of the myometrium, as shown by their reduction and inflammatory cells composition, which plays an important role in the immune reactions (lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophilis, histocytes). Conclusion. A subtotal hysterectomy was performed on a woman, 24 years old, who gave birth to her second child and had profuse postpartal bleeding in sprite of repeated curettages. On the basis of this uterus atony, there is the clinically non-manifested chronic myometritis. The chronic inflammation resulted in a subtotal reduction of myometrium muscle mass, its replacement sclerosis, the multiplication of adipocytes, mesenchymal cells, histoicytes, lymphomonocytes and dissection of muscle fascicles.
Shared and/or separate representations of animate/inanimate categories: An ERP study
Authors: Kovic Vanja , Plunkett Kim , Westermann Gert
Published: February 2009

This paper presents an ERP experiment examining the underlying nature of semantic representation of animate and inanimate objects. Time-locking ERP signatures to the onset of visual stimuli we found topological similarities in animate and inanimate object processing. Moreover, when mapping more general to more specific representation (auditory to visual stimuli) we found no difference between animates and in animates in the N400 amplitude either. This study provides further evidence for the theory of unitary semantic organization, but no support for the feature-based prediction of segregated conceptual organization. Surprisingly, it was also found that the P600 component, which has been thus far mostly related to syntactic processing to be a sensitive index of conceptual processing. The most apparent difference regarding P600 component was found between animate and inanimate matches, whereby animate matches elicited more positive ERP signatures in comparison to inanimate matches.
Recognition of briefly presented familiar and unfamiliar faces
Authors: Veres-Injac Bozana , Persike Malte
Published: February 2009

Early processing stages in the perception of familiar and unfamiliar faces were studied in four experiments by varying the type of available facial information in a four alternative forced choice recognition task. Both reaction time and recognition accuracy served as dependent measures. The observed data revealed an asymmetry in processing familiar and unfamiliar faces. A markedly weak inversion effect and strong blurring effect suggest a limited usage of spatial relations within early processing stages of unfamiliar faces. Recognition performance for whole familiar faces did not deteriorate due to blurring or the presentation of isolated internal features, suggesting a low level of representation for featural properties of familiar faces. Based on the data we propose that recognition of familiar faces relies much more on spatial relations among features, particularly internal features, than on featural characteristics. In contrast, recognition of unfamiliar faces resorts mainly to featural information.