bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optical study of a-plane InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells with different well widths grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition
Authors: Ko T. S. , Lu T. C. , Wang T. C. , Chen J. R. , Gao R. C. , Lo M. H. , Kuo H. C. , Wang S. C. , Shen J. L.
Published: November 2008

a -plane InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells of different widths ranging from 3 to 12 nm grown on r-plane sapphire by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition were investigated. The peak emission intensity of the photoluminescence (PL) reveals a decreasing trend as the well width increases from 3 to 12 nm. Low temperature (9 K) time-resolved PL (TRPL) study shows that the sample with 3-nm-thick wells has the best optical property with a fastest exciton decay time of 0.57 ns. The results of cathodoluminescence and micro-PL scanning images for samples of different well widths further verify that the more uniform and stronger luminescence intensity distribution are observed for the samples of thinner quantum wells. In addition, more effective capturing of excitons due to larger localization energy Eloc and shorter radiative lifetime of localized excitons are observed in thinner well width samples in the temperature dependent TRPL.
Enhanced photon emission and absorption of single quantum dot in resonance with two modes in photonic crystal nanocavity
Authors: Ota Yasutomo , Nomura Masahiro , Kumagai Naoto , Watanabe Katsuyuki , Ishida Satomi , Iwamoto Satoshi , Arakawa Yasuhiko
Published: November 2008

We demonstrate simultaneous enhancement of photon emission and absorption of a single InGaAs self-assembled quantum dot (QD) in resonance with two modes in a photonic crystal nanocavity. The QD, whose ground and excited states are resonant, respectively, with the first and second lowest order cavity modes, is excited by cavity resonant excitation at the wavelength of the second order cavity mode and shows 180 times greater photon emission from the ground state than a bare QD. This large enhancement is attributed to a combination of Purcell effect, efficient photon extraction, and cavity resonant absorption enhancement.
Size-dependent exchange bias in half-doped manganite nanoparticles
Authors: Zhou S. M. , Shi L. , Yang H. P. , Wang Y. , He L. F. , Zhao J. Y.
Published: November 2008

Magnetic properties of the nanosized half-doped manganite of Sm0.5Ca0.5MnO3 with different particle sizes prepared by a sol-gel method are investigated. Exchange-bias phenomena are observed in the field-cooled magnetic hysteresis loops for these nanoparticles. The values of the exchange field, coercivity, remanence asymmetry, and remanent magnetization are found to depend strongly on the particle size. Particularly, as the particle size decreases, the exchange field shows a nonmonotonic variation with a maximum at ∼120 nm. These magnetic behaviors have been explained in terms of size effects on the charge ordered and antiferromagnetic manganite nanoparticles.
Isomers of the dodecylbenzene in marine sediments from the Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia, Brazil
Authors: Souza Santos V.L.C. , Raymundo C.C. , Tavares T.
Published: November 2008

Linear alkylbenzenes(LAB) have been investigated in surficial sediments from the Todos os Santos Bay, the largest on the Brazilian coast. The presence of these compounds in the environment has been related to sewage pollution because they are manufactured for the preparation of surfactants used in detergent formulations. They are usually present as an homologous series of compounds with a side chain varying from 10 to 14 carbon atoms attached to a benzene ring.

The sediment samples were collected from the intertidal area of 13 stations situated in the bay. The dried samples were solvent extracted, and after clean up and fractionation of the lipid extract by column chromatography the fraction containing the LABs were separated and identified by high resolution gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Surprisingly, only the isomers of dodecylbenzene were found. The compounds were present in all stations and the concentrations ranged from 0.063 to 50.2 mg g−1 total organic carbon. These values were considered very high compared to those cited in the literature.

It is not yet clear if the origin of these compounds in the sediments is related to detergent formulations. However, the results suggest that they possibly originated from a point source and dispersed in the bay probably due to water movements in the area.
Brazilian mangroves
Authors: Schaeffer-Novelli Y. , Cintrón-Molero G. , Soares M.L.G. , De-Rosa T.
Published: November 2008

Of Brazil’s 7408 km of coastline 6786 km contain mangrove forests, covering some 25,000 km2. Only one coastal state, Rio Grande do Sul, lacks mangrove coverage. Mangroves occur from the border with French Guiana, just above the Equator (04°30′N) to well beyond the Tropic of Capricorn, reaching 28°30′S, near Laguna (Santa Catarina State).

Because the term mangrove may be applied to various levels of observation, specifying the proper spacio-temporal scale is important to describe system behavior. In this paper we describe a nested hierarchy of organization levels constituted of patches, stands, settings, coastal segments and large marine ecosystems. Each of these describes an organization that has evolved to facilitate energy dissipation at its relevant scale, and can be related to a geographic unit.

We expect that the framework presented here will be useful for the study of mangrove ecosystem health, assessment of ecosystem pathology, and the development of models for the management and conservation of this resource.
The large lake ecosystems of northern Canada
Authors: Evans M.S.
Published: November 2008

The Great Lakes of northern Canada are relatively understudied ecosystems in comparison to the better-investigated Laurentian Great Lakes. This chain of lakes extends north from Lake Winnipeg (a shallow prairie lake) to Wollaston Lake and Lake Athabasca (moderately deep arboreal lakes) to Great Slave Lake (a deep subarctic lake) to Great Bear Lake (a deep lake located in the Arctic Circle). Many of these lakes have experienced minor localized anthropogenic impacts. Impacts include mining and fishing in the north and agricultural and urban impacts in the south. While most of these lakes are located in the relatively undeveloped regions of Canada, the northward migration of natural resource-based industries such as forestry, mining, agriculture and oil and gas operations may potentially affect their ecosystem health. Research programs are required to better understand the natural features of these ecosystems to further protect them from anthropogenically driven change. Long-term monitoring programs are also required to protect fish, water quality and other ecosystem features. An emerging problem is meeting northern community concerns with environmental protection while providing the economic base for an increasingly modern lifestyle.
Trace element bioavailability in Lake Baikal
Authors: Grosheva E.I. , Voronskaya G.N. , Pastukhove M.V.
Published: November 2008

Nuclear physical methods of analysis were used for the determination of some trace elements in the ecosystem of Lake Baikal (water, bottom sediments and the water organisms, phytoplankton, zooplankton, zoobenthos and fish). Our observations suggest that the health status of the Lake Baikal is good and bioavailability of toxic elements is very low.
A preliminary bioassessment of Lake Baikal sediment toxicity in the vicinity of a pulp and paper mill
Authors: Munawar M. , Munawar I.F. , Sergeant D. , Wenghofer C.
Published: November 2008

The chemical and toxicological information given in this short communication is based on two sediment samples of limited amount taken from Lake Baikal. The samples received detailed chemical assessment since information about Lake Baikal sediments is scarce. The sediments were tested for sediment bound toxicity by liquid phase (Microtox) and solid phase (Hyalella) assays. The organic and inorganic chemical analyses were carried out with current technology followed in Canada, which may be useful for comparisons with other aquatic ecosystems. A wide range of organic compounds such as organochlorine pesticides, chlorinated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans, coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons comprised the suite of compounds analysed for environmental levels. Generally, the full scan for high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry electron impact analysis showed somewhat similar profiles for both the near-shore and off-shore stations. However, organic analysis indicated the near-shore station to be relatively more contaminated than the off-shore station. These chemical results were not supported by the Microtox and Hyalella bioassay experiments. The bioassays suggested that the near-shore and off-shore sediment samples were non-toxic. The necessity of performing both chemical as well as biological evaluations with a battery of assays is once again emphasized for ecosystem health assessment.
Biological and chemical monitoring after pilot remediations in the delta of the rivers Rhine and Meuse
Authors: den Besten P.J. , Postma J.F. , Wegener J.W.M. , Keidel H. , Klink A. , Mol J. , van de Guchte C.
Published: November 2008

Two pilot projects were carried out to investigate the effects of sediment remediation. One project was situated in a groyne section of the Nieuwe Merwede, a watercourse in the Rhine delta. The second was situated in a creek named Spijkerboor, which receives water from the river Meuse. For both sites it was concluded earlier that sediment pollution posed a high risk to the ecosystem. The remediations consisted of partial excavation of the contaminated sediments, followed by application of a clean layer of sandy material on top of the remaining contaminated sediment. Before and at various times after the remediation, the following investigations were carried out: physical–chemical analyses of sediment, benthic community structure observations, bioaccumulation measurements and sediment bioassays. After the remediation, a new silty sediment top layer was formed with lower contaminant levels exhibiting a lower toxicity. In the remediated site in the Nieuwe Merwede, chironomids, oligochaetes and nematodes reappeared within 3–7 months at normal densities, while in the Spijkerboor recolonization by chironomids and nematodes proceeded more slowly. After 2 years, in both the remediated sites chironomids and nematodes were present in densities much higher than before the remediation. Bivalves showed a low recolonization rate in both sites. In non-remediated, polluted reference sites also a lower sediment toxicity and a nearly comparable recovery of the benthic community was observed, probably the result of natural sedimentation of material with lower contaminant levels. Because of the natural improvement of sediment quality, the net effects of remediation were negligible in the Spijkboor. For the Nieuwe Merwede, after 2 years still lower contaminant levels were observed in the remediated site compared to the non-remediated site, resulting in lower bioaccumulation in oligochaetes. However, the contaminant levels in sediment and biota still do not meet all environmental quality objectives. Based on the outcame of this study it is recommended that the priority for remedial action is made dependent on the rate of natural covering with sediments from the rivers Rhine and Meuse.
Biomonitoring for effective management of wastewater discharges and the health of the river environment
Authors: Dickens C.W.S. , Graham P.M.
Published: November 2008

The management of wastewater effluents in South Africa has to date been based on physico-chemical standards although recently the assimilative capacity of the receiving stream has been included but not widely implemented. Very few assessments of the success of these management practices in protecting the downstream aquatic environment have been done. Bioassessments using benthic macro invertebrates were conducted up and down stream of a number of wastewater works to measure the degree of impact that the works were having on the stream ecosystems. A significant deterioration in the benthic invertebrate fauna downstream of most of the wastewater works was observed. This was particularly noticeable where the receiving stream was of good quality while there was little change in poor quality receiving streams. This was confirmed using ordination techniques. The ordination diagrams displayed how community composition varied with important environmental variables although some of these may be surrogates for other unmeasured variables. It was revealed that river flow and the dilution of the effluent were the most important of the measured variables explaining the variability in the biota. Escherichia coli and soluble phosphorus were also shown to be important with suspended solids also significant. Most of the wastewater works, in the month prior to the biological investigation, had complied with their permit requirements. The exceptions, found on infrequent occasions at different works, were soluble phosphorus, chlorine, E. coli and conductivity. One permit requirement that was consistently ignored was a statement forming part of the effluent standards permit system which states that the effluent should not contain constituents that are poisonous or injurious to animal (including aquatic) life. No systems for monitoring this criterion were in place. Despite the general compliance with regulations governing wastewater treatment a lack of adequate effluent dilution appeared to be the major cause of degradation of the downstream biota. These wastewater works are found in a region that does not have an abundant supply of water for dilution so treatment of the effluent to a condition that is not injurious to aquatic life becomes a necessity. Thus it appears that the physico-chemical standards used to characterise and manage wastewater treatment in South Africa are inadequate to protect the downstream environment in the vicinity below many wastewater works.
The role of physical biotopes in determining the conservation status and flow requirements of British rivers
Authors: Padmore C.L.
Published: November 2008

This paper examines the practical use of physical biotopes as the basic component of instream physical habitat. These are identified by dominant flow type as a particular combination of substrate and hydraulic parameters will have a characteristic surface flow type. Eleven rivers representing a range of geomorphological features and physical biotopes were selected, and depth, velocity, and substrate data were collected at metre intervals in subjectively-spaced transects. Flow type was recorded at each sample “cell” and transects classified on the basis of dominant flow type. Combined hydraulic indices were calculated in order to characterise more completely a particular biotope and to facilitate comparisons among different discharges and sites.

The subjective classification of flow types was tested statistically by discriminant analysis and units were shown to be hydraulically discrete in terms of Froude number and other combined hydraulic indices. Identification of physical biotopes by flow types has been incorporated into the Environment Agency’s (formerly National Rivers Authority) River Habitat Survey (RHS). The RHS is based on 500 m reaches selected randomly within a stratified selection from a national grid, to characterise the physical features of rivers in England and Wales, and to provide an objective method for assessing habitat quality.

Biotope mapping at different flows was undertaken to establish how the biotope sequence differs among sites and with increasing discharge. Threshold discharges at which biotopes change are related to flow duration data to predict annual patterns of biotope ‘patchiness’ and ‘diversity’. Flows may then be manipulated to maintain ‘natural’ or ‘desirable’ biotopes. Sustainable management of aquatic systems and their biota would require flow management of critical reaches or biotopes, at key life-stages of target organisms.
Assessment of the alterations of the aquatic environment downstream from a polluted tributary of the river Po (Italy)
Authors: Viganò L. , Barbiero G. , Buffagni A. , Mingazzini M. , Pagnotta R.
Published: November 2008

A comprehensive evaluation of the results of many recent and ongoing studies has been performed in an attempt to assess which stressors are acting and what alterations could be derived for the aquatic organisms of the river Po downstream from one of its tributaries, the river Lambro. With this aim in view, this stretch of the river Po was compared with the immediate upper reach which is characterized by an overall good quality. The comparison was based on four categories of indicators, that is, watershed stress, physical-habitat alteration, and in particular chemical exposure and biological responses both of which were thoroughly examined. The reach located downstream of the river Lambro was found to be contaminated by a complex mixture of pollutants that were detected at low/moderate concentration values. This makes the area representative of what can be considered as a ‘grey’ level of pollution, that is the most frequent condition of watercourses worldwide. Nevertheless, the effects derived from such moderate/low levels of contamination for aquatic life are difficult to assess. Most of the indicators were found to be changed downstream of the river Lambro and different kinds of alterations were observed in both resident species and laboratory-test organisms. Although more information is necessary to understand less evident impairments as, for example, of the fish community, it can be concluded that a continuous interaction between chronic toxicity and trophic enrichment is the process that characterizes this riverine environment and affects the community. On the grounds of these findings, some suggestions are also proposed pertaining to ‘grey’ areas and their investigation.
A comparative bioassessment of sediment toxicity in lentic and lotic ecosystems of the North American Great Lakes
Authors: Munawar M. , Dermott R. , McCarthy L.H. , Munawar S.F. , van Stam H.A.
Published: November 2008

The bioavailability of sediment bound contaminants in lentic (Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario) and lotic (Detroit River connecting Lakes St. Clair and Erie) environments were assessed by a battery of multi-trophic tests using laboratory grown organisms. Hamilton Harbour is a hyper-eutrophic and highly contaminated environment due to extensive urban and industrial growth, while the Detroit River has been implicated as a major source of contaminants to Lake Erie. An array of sites across Hamilton Harbour and the Detroit River were selected, including the mouth of the Rouge River as well as the Trenton Channel—the contaminated western arm of the Detroit River. Multi-trophic acute assays were conducted using Daphnia magna, Hyalella azteca, Diporeia hoyi, and Lumbriculus variegatus. While the tests were consistent in determining the most toxic hot spots, variability existed in the sensitivities of test organisms to discriminate among less contaminated sites. The most toxic sediment in the Detroit River was at the mouth of the Rouge River, while the site in Windermere Basin in Hamilton harbour was found to be deleterious. The results indicated that the toxicity in a lotic ecosystem such as the Detroit River was caused by both the bottom sediments and the mobile seston component which contributed to the water-borne toxicity. Conversely, lentic and undisturbed ecosystems such as Hamilton Harbour contain much of their toxic component in the bottom sediments and not in the overlying water column. The multi-trophic battery of test approach adopted in our study appears to be effective in detecting and discriminating differential sensitivities of sediment bound contaminants in both lentic and lotic ecosystems. This battery of tests approach needs continued modification, development, and improvement to keep the assays up-to-date, sensitive, cost effective and adaptable in discriminating complex mixtures of sediment bound contaminants found in natural ecosystems.
Review of emerging issues in sediment treatment
Authors: Murphy T.P. , Lawson A. , Kumagai M. , Babin J.
Published: November 2008

Sediment treatment options include dredging, physical and chemical capping, and in situ sediment treatment. In our studies, in situ sediment treatment has been used to oxidize sediment sulphides, control eutrophication and bioremediate organic contaminants. Sediment contamination of various types was studied in 22 sites from six countries in North America, Europe and Asia. In Hong Kong, field testing of sediment treatment oxidized 99% of sulphide and controlled odours. In Lake Biwa, Japan, where excess nutrients in sediments enhanced growth of toxin producing algae, sediment treatment with calcium nitrate blocked growth of these algae. Oxidation of sulphide in Lake Biwa sediments precipitated > 80% of the porewater phosphorus. Oxidation of sulphides and addition of nutrients biodegraded more than half of the organic contaminants in Hamilton Harbour, Canada. The biotreatability of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons is very site specific and is faster in sites with higher concentrations of oil.
In situ dust detection in fusion devices
Authors: Ratynskaia S , Castaldo C , Giovannozzi E , Rudakov D , Morfill G , Horanyi M , Yu J H , Maddaluno G
Published: November 2008

Diagnostics for monitoring dust in tokamaks during plasma discharges, both established and currently being developed, are discussed with a focus on the range of dust parameters they can detect. Visible imaging can currently be used for dust particles bigger than a few µm and velocities below 1 km s−1. The dust impact ionization phenomenon can be used for the detection of particles with velocities above a few km s−1. Laser light scattering gives an insight into the amount of sub-micron dust. Aerogels, light porous materials, allow capturing of dust particles without destroying them and determining their velocity. Other methods include the microbalance technique and electrostatic dust detectors. A recent suggestion to use the effects of dust on collective scattering for diagnostic purposes is also discussed.
Rankprop: a web server for protein remote homology detection
Authors: Melvin Iain , Weston Jason , Leslie Christina , Noble William Stafford
Published: November 2008

Summary: We present a large-scale implementation of the Rankprop protein homology ranking algorithm in the form of an openly accessible web server. We use the NRDB40 PSI-BLAST all-versus-all protein similarity network of 1.1 million proteins to construct the graph for the Rankprop algorithm, whereas previously, results were only reported for a database of 108 000 proteins. We also describe two algorithmic improvements to the original algorithm, including propagation from multiple homologs of the query and better normalization of ranking scores, that lead to higher accuracy and to scores with a probabilistic interpretation.

Availability: The Rankprop web server and source code are available at http://rankprop.gs.washington.edu

Contact:  iain@nec-labs.com; noble@gs.washington.edu
Family Finance: Value Creation and the Democratization of Cross-Border Governance
Authors: Kobrak Christopher
Published: November 2008

As Mira Wilkins has argued, there is a curious disconnect between business and financial history (Wilkins 2004). Whereas business history literature has rediscovered the importance of family business in many countries and in many sectors of contemporary commercial life, for example, little has been written about family banking as an alternative to joint-stock, management-run financial institutions. This lacuna is odd for many reasons. First, family banking is one of the best-known examples of family business in history. Second, family banks once played a much greater role in international investment banking than it does today. Third, some family financial institutions are still active (dominant) in certain market segments and countries. This paper will focus on how, when and why family banking lost its position in international (multinational) banking during the first few decades of the twentieth century. Although political upheaval and a widespread movement to reduce the power of private financial institutions undermined their businesses, family banks suffered, too, from America's maturing as a financial center. I will argue that this shift is connected with the increased importance of American markets and financial regulations, which, in the 1930s, deliberately steered financial transactions away from private dealings and toward transparent impersonal exchanges and capital markets with new forms of aggregated capital and individual investors, in which private banks were ill-suited to manage or at the least for which they had no special competitive edge. Using concepts drawn from an earlier paper on family businesses and relying mostly on secondary sources, this paper will further argue that in markets or market segments, such as Leveraged Buyouts, where uncertainty forms a greater part of the transactional environment, family banking still plays a significant role.
The multiple disguises of spiders: web colour and decorations, body colour and movement
Authors: Théry Marc , Casas Jérôme
Published: November 2008

Diverse functions have been assigned to the visual appearance of webs, spiders and web decorations, including prey attraction, predator deterrence and camouflage. Here, we review the pertinent literature, focusing on potential camouflage and mimicry. Webs are often difficult to detect in a heterogeneous visual environment. Static and dynamic web distortions are used to escape visual detection by prey, although particular silk may also attract prey. Recent work using physiological models of vision taking into account visual environments rarely supports the hypothesis of spider camouflage by decorations, but most often the prey attraction and predator confusion hypotheses. Similarly, visual modelling shows that spider coloration is effective in attracting prey but not in conveying camouflage. Camouflage through colour change might be used by particular crab spiders to hide from predator or prey on flowers of different coloration. However, results obtained on a non-cryptic crab spider suggest that an alternative function of pigmentation may be to avoid UV photodamage through the transparent cuticle. Numerous species are clearly efficient locomotory mimics of ants, particularly in the eyes of their predators. We close our paper by highlighting gaps in our knowledge.
Contrasting coloration in terrestrial mammals
Authors: Caro Tim
Published: November 2008

Here I survey, collate and synthesize contrasting coloration in 5000 species of terrestrial mammals focusing on black and white pelage. After briefly reviewing alternative functional hypotheses for coloration in mammals, I examine nine colour patterns and combinations on different areas of the body and for each mammalian taxon to try to identify the most likely evolutionary drivers of contrasting coloration. Aposematism and perhaps conspecific signalling are the most consistent explanations for black and white pelage in mammals; background matching may explain white pelage. Evidence for contrasting coloration is being involved in crypsis through pattern blending, disruptive coloration or serving other functions, such as signalling dominance, lures, reducing eye glare or in temperature regulation has barely moved beyond anecdotal stages of investigation. Sexual dichromatism is limited in this taxon and its basis is unclear. Astonishingly, the functional significance of pelage coloration in most large charismatic black and white mammals that were new to science 150 years ago still remains a mystery.
Thr92Ala polymorphism in the type 2 deiodinase is not associated with T4 dose in athyroid patients or patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis
Authors: Heemstra K. A. , Hoftijzer H. C. , Van Der Deure W. M. , Peeters R. P. , Fliers E. , Appelhof B. C. , Wiersinga W. M. , Corssmit E. P. M. , Visser T. J. , Smit J. W. A.
Published: November 2008

Objective  The type 2 deiodinase (D2)‐Thr92Ala polymorphism has been associated with decreased D2 activity in some in vitro experiments but not in others. So far no association between the D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism and serum thyroid hormone levels has been observed in humans, but in a recent study in athyroid patients, it was suggested that patients homozygous for the Ala92 allele needed higher T4 doses to achieve TSH suppression.

We studied the association between the D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism with thyroid hormone levels and T4 dosage, in patients treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and in a group of patients treated for Hashimoto thyroiditis.

Design  Cross‐sectional study.

Patients  We studied 154 patients with DTC treated with TSH suppressive thyroid hormone replacement therapy for longer than 3 years and 141 patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis treated for at least 6 months with T4.

Measurements  In all patients, serum levels of TSH, free T4, T3 and reverse T3 were measured and genotypes of the D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism were determined by Taqman assay. Univariate regression analysis was performed to determine the relation between T4 dosages and the D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism corrected for age, gender, BMI and serum TSH levels.

Results  Both in DTC patients and Hashimoto patients, no association was observed between serum thyroid hormone levels or T4 dosages in presence of the D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism. Categorization of DTC patients according to degree of TSH suppression did not change these results.

Conclusion  The D2‐Thr92Ala polymorphism is not associated with thyroid hormone levels or T4 dose in patients treated for DTC or Hashimoto thyroiditis.
Transcription factor NtcB specifically controls the nitrate assimilation genes in the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002
Authors: Sakamoto Toshio , Inoue‐Sakamoto Kaori , Persson Søren , Bryant Donald A.
Published: November 2008

The ntcA and ntcB genes, encoding cAMP‐receptor‐protein (CRP) type and LysR type transcriptional regulators, respectively, were isolated from the transformable marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 to study the inactivation of these genes by interposon mutagenesis. The ntcA gene could not be disrupted in this cyanobacterial strain, indicating that the ntcA gene is essential for cell growth on either urea or nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. The ntcB mutant cells grew very slowly on nitrate or nitrite as the sole nitrogen source but could grow on urea at the same rate as wild‐type cells. The consumption of nitrate and nitrite was barely detectable in the ntcB mutant cells, indicating that nitrate and nitrite use was impaired in the ntcB mutant. In wild‐type cells, mRNA levels for the three genes required for nitrate assimilation, nrtP (nitrate permease), narB (nitrate reductase) and nirA (nitrite reductase), increased when cells were shifted to nitrate growth conditions, but no increase in transcription of these genes occurred in the ntcB mutant. The mRNA level of ntcA was nearly identical in the wild‐type and ntcB mutant cells. These results demonstrate that NtcB specifically controls the transcription of the three genes for nitrate assimilation in this marine cyanobacterium.
Morphology of four plagiogrammacean diatoms; Dimeregramma minor var. nana, Neofragilaria nicobarica, Plagiogramma atomus and Psammogramma vigoensis gen. et sp. nov., and their phylogenetic relationship inferred from partial large subunit rDNA
Authors: Sato Shinya , Watanabe Tsuyoshi , Crawford Richard M. , Kooistra Wiebe H.C.F. , Medlin Linda K.
Published: November 2008

A marine araphid pennate diatom obtained from sand grains sampled at two sites at Vigo, Spain is described as Psammogramma vigoensis S. Sato et Medlin, a member of the family Plagiogrammaceae, based on observations of frustule fine structure. The species possesses elongated valves with apical pore fields and parallel rows of striae oriented perpendicular to the apical axis. Valve poroids are occluded by perforated rotae. There is a weak sternum along the apical axis and rimoportulae are absent. Detailed observations of Dimeregramma minor var. nana (Gregory) Ralfs, Neofragilaria nicobarica Desikachary, Prasad et Prema and Plagiogramma atomus Greville, were also undertaken. Based on morphological features, the transfer of Neofragilaria nicobarica from the Fragilariaceae to the Plagiogrammaceae is proposed. Partial large subunit rDNA phylogeny also supported inclusion of both Psammogramma and Neofragilaria in Plagiogrammaceae.
WORD ORDER VARIATION, VERB MOVEMENT, AND ECONOMY PRINCIPLES
Authors: Wilder Chris , Ćavar Damir
Published: November 2008

Abstract. In Chomsky's Minimalist framework, word order variation reflects different movement options arising from interaction between parametrized morphological properties of functional items and invariant economy principles. In the simplest case, languages vary in whether a given movement (e. g. V‐to‐I‐raising) feeds PF (French) or not (English). We consider more complex cases involving language‐internal word order differences due to construction‐specific movement‐Germanic Verb‐Second, Last Resort Verb fronting in Croatian‐showing how they can be explained using the concept of Early Altruism latent in Chomsky's model. We further propose that (i) not only morphological, but also purely phonological properties of lexical items can trigger movement (clitics in Croatian); (ii) both finite and non‐finite verbs raise to C in LF; (iii) English do‐support is not a Last Resortoperation: instead English ‘simple’ tenses are basically periphrastic, composed of a main verb and a‐sometimes abstract‐auxiliary.
Stating the Production of Scales: Centrally Orchestrated Regionalism, Regionally Orchestrated Centralism
Authors: HARRISON JOHN
Published: November 2008

Under the banner of the new regionalism, the past decade has witnessed a revival of academic and political interest in the region as a strategic site for economic activity and scale for socially integrating civil society. What remains unclear, however, are the ‘actual mechanisms’ that connect this new politics of economic development with transitions in the regulation and governance of contemporary capitalism and its territorial form. This article seeks further connection by distinguishing between the processes ofcentrally orchestrated regionalismandregionally orchestrated centralismin the production of regions. While sympathetic to the general tenor of the new regionalism, this article presents an account of England's unique new regionalist policy experiment to pose searching questions relating to the future direction of the new regionalism. Arguing that the new regionalism remains a fruitful avenue for unravelling the processes involved in the production of spatial scale(s), the article concludes that uncovering the politically charged processes involved in the production of subnational space remains an urgent task for urban and regional scholars.

Ces dix dernières années ont vu renaître, sous la bannière du nouveau régionalisme, un intérêt intellectuel et politique pour la région en tant que lieu stratégique pour l'activitééconomique et échelon viable pour une société civile intégrée socialement. Les “mécanismes concrets” qui relient ce nouvel espace politique de développement économique à des formes transitoires de régulation et de gouvernance du capitalisme contemporain et à sa forme territoriale restent toutefois mal définis. Il s'agit ici de chercher un autre lien en distinguant, dans la production des régions, les processus derégionalisme orchestré au plan centralet decentralisme orchestré au plan régional. Bien qu'en accord avec la teneur générale du nouveau régionalisme, cet article rend compte de l'expérience anglaise unique de politique régionaliste afin de formuler des questions de recherche sur l'orientation future du nouveau régionalisme. En soutenant que ce dernier reste une voie productive pour dénouer les processus entrant dans la production d'un ou plusieurs échelons spatiaux, ce travail conclut que dévoiler les processus, délicats au plan politique, qui sont impliqués dans la production d'un espace infranational doit demeurer une priorité absolue pour les acteurs de la recherche urbaine et régionale.
Investigation of matrix metalloproteinase‐1 −1607 1G/2G polymorphism in a Turkish population with periodontitis
Authors: Ustun Kemal , Alptekin Nilgün Özlem , Hakki Sema S. , Hakki Erdogan E.
Published: November 2008

Aim: Matrix metalloproteinase‐1 (MMP‐1) is a proteolytic enzyme that degrades extracellular matrix and plays a fundamental role during destruction of periodontal tissues. The aim of this study was to examine the association between MMP‐1 −1607 1G/2G polymorphism and chronic periodontitis susceptibility in a Turkish population.

Material and Methods: A total of 180 subjects were enrolled in this study. All the subjects received a periodontal examination including full‐mouth clinical attachment loss measurements, probing depths, plaque index scores, gingival index scores and radiographic bone loss ratios. Three groups formed according to periodontal conditions were healthy, moderate periodontitis and severe periodontitis groups. MMP‐1 −1607 1G/2G gene promoter polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

Results: Analysis of the polymorphism showed no differences in distribution of the MMP‐1 −1607 1G/2G polymorphism among healthy, moderate periodontitis and severe periodontitis groups (p>0.05). When the groups were further stratified by smoking status, we found no significant differences in genotype distributions, allele frequencies and carriage rates among any groups either (p>0.05).

Conclusions: On the basis of the results, no significant association is found for the MMP‐1 −1607 1G/2G polymorphism with susceptibility to periodontitis. Moreover, smoking status did not seem to affect this result.
South Korea‐U.S. Relations in Turbulent Waters
Authors: Joo Seung‐Ho
Published: November 2008

This research examines the nature and sources of South Korea‐U.S. political frictions in recent years. It begins with a brief discussion of the evolution of ROK‐U.S. relations, focusing on the G.W. Bush administration. It then discusses the salient issues dividing the two allies. This is followed by an examination of diverging goals, interests, perception and attitudes as sources of tension and distrust in ROK‐U.S. relations. Finally, it concludes with an assessment of the current state of ROK‐U.S. relations. Diverging approaches to North Korea's nuclear issue, Roh's assertive and independent postures, anti‐American sentiment in South Korea, and Bush's abrasive and self‐centered behavior all led to distrust, tension, and awkwardness in ROK‐U.S. relations. Frictions in ROK‐U.S. relations are also ascribable to emotionalism and simplistic approaches on both sides. The ROK needs to assert itself defending its own national interest vis‐à‐vis the U.S., but should not confuse aspirations (equality) with political reality. The Bush administration should realize that “soft power” is often more persuasive and effective than hard power and that even the global superpower cannot manage international affairs alone without cooperation and support from interested states. North Korea's nuclear issue will test the ROK‐U.S. alliance. It would be prudent for the U.S. and the ROK to get their acts together on North Korea and coordinate their policies at the six‐party negotiation table. The U.S. and the ROK relations are now undergoing a transitional period, and it will take a lot of imagination, patience, and efforts on both sides to sustain friendship and the alliance.
The spindle pole body and postmeiotic mitosis in Auricularia fuscosuccinea
Authors: McLaughlin David J.
Published: November 2008

Basidia of Auricularia fuscosuccinea were examined with the transmission electron microscope. The spindle pole body (SPB) at meiotic prophase I, interphase II, and prophase of postmeiotic mitosis consisted of two globular elements connected by a middle piece and was associated with a two-layered, intranuclear structure, the intranuclear element (IE). The SPB was laterally positioned on the nuclear envelope before the nucleus migrated into the well-developed sterigma. It was laterally or subapically positioned during this migration and the globular elements had greatly enlarged since interphase II. Microtubules were not clearly associated with the SPB at interphase II or early in migration to the sterigma. A mitotic division was initiated toward the apical end of the sterigma on which basidiospore development had apparently begun. The nucleus migrated into the spore at metaphase–anaphase with one of the ellipsoidal SPBs and its associated astral microtubules at the leading end of the nucleus. The nucleus contained two fibrillar nucleoli at interphase II and granular nucleoli during mitosis. The role of the SPB and IE and the implications of the results for evolution within auricularioid fungi are discussed.
Two new Hypoxylon species from Gabon
Authors: Rogers Jack D.
Published: November 2008

Two new Hypoxylon species are described from Gabon. Hypoxylon atroroseum sp. nov. has rose-colored stromata with black papillate ostioles originating from depressed discs. Hypoxylon musceum sp. nov. has minute green stromata with umbilicate ostioles.
Phosphorus budget and productivity of an experimental lake during the initial three years of cage aquaculture
Authors: Bristow Corben E. , Morin Antoine , Hesslein Ray H. , Podemski Cheryl L.
Published: November 2008

An experiment was conducted at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA; Ontario, Canada) to investigate the effect of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) cage aquaculture on the phosphorus budget and productivity of a small Precambrian Shield lake during the first three years of fish farming. Annual inputs of phosphorus to the experimental lake from aquaculture waste (67–100 kg) exceeded combined annual inputs from inflows and direct atmospheric deposition (4–18 kg). Compared with a reference lake, hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentrations in the aquaculture lake decreased by 36% and hypolimnetic ammonium and total phosphorus increased by 120% and 35%, respectively. However, compared with an epilimnion-fertilized lake, hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen in the aquaculture lake was 255% greater and epilimnetic suspended carbon and chlorophyll a was lower by 64% and 85%, respectively. Epilimnetic suspended carbon and hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentrations during aquaculture were more similar to concentrations measured in a hypolimnion-fertilized lake. Although the experimental lake remained oligotrophic during the initial three years of aquaculture, hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen decreased each year and hypolimnetic ammonium and total phosphorus increased each year, which suggests that the lake did not reach a steady state.
Stabilization of the phosphatic wastes using high calcium ash in Jordan
Authors: Abdel Hadi Nafeth Abdel Rahman M.
Published: November 2008

A significant amount of phosphatic waste and phosphatic overburden soils are stockpiled in the Al-Rusaifa area of Jordan. Research was completed on stabilizing this waste by mixing it with limy ash that was produced by the direct combustion of bituminous limestone. Doing so minimizes the environmental impact of the huge amount of phosphatic waste, and produces a product that can be used in various construction projects like earth works, pavement works, production of masonry blocks and curbstones. A variety of laboratory tests were completed to determine the suitability of the stabilized waste for these different uses. The S2 ash was produced by the direct combustion of bituminous limestone at 950 °C while the S3 ash was produced at 525 °C. Tests showed that the unconfined compressive strength of the parent phosphatic waste was raised from 1.5 kg/cm2 to 28.8 kg/cm2 for the S2 and to 22.4 kg/cm2 for the S3 ash treated samples. The new results were obtained despite a decrease in the maximum dry density to 1.47 g/cm3 when compared to 1.89 g/cm3 of the original untreated phosphatic waste. The soaked California bearing ratio was raised from 2.4% to 120%. The tests confirmed the suitability of the stabilized waste for a variety of construction applications.
QUATERNIONIC CONNECTIONS, INDUCED HOLOMORPHIC STRUCTURES AND A VANISHING THEOREM
Authors: DAVID LIANA
Published: November 2008

We classify the holomorphic structures of the tangent vertical bundle Θ of the twistor fibration of a quaternionic manifold (M, Q) of dimension 4n ≥ 8. In particular, we show that any self-dual quaternionic connection D of (M, Q) induces an holomorphic structure [Formula: see text] on Θ. We construct a Penrose transform which identifies solutions of the Penrose operator PD on (M, Q) defined by D with the space of [Formula: see text]-holomorphic purely imaginary sections of Θ. We prove that the tensor powers Θs (for any s ∈ ℕ\{0}) have no global non-trivial [Formula: see text]-holomorphic sections, when (M, Q) is compact and has a compatible quaternionic-Kähler metric of negative (respectively, zero) scalar curvature and the quaternionic connection D is closed (respectively, closed but not exact).
LHC's ATLAS AND CMS DETECTORS
Authors: SPIROPULU MARIA , STAPNES STEINAR
Published: November 2008

We describe the design of the ATLAS and CMS detectors as they are being prepared to commence data-taking at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The very high energy proton–proton collisions are meant to dissect matter and space–time itself into its primary elements and generators. The detectors by synthesizing the information from the debris of the collisions are reconstituting the interactions that took place. LHC's ATLAS and CMS experiments (and not only these) are at the closest point of answering in the lab some of the most puzzling fundamental observations in nature today.
THE "TOP PRIORITY" AT THE LHC
Authors: HAN TAO
Published: November 2008

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) will be a top-quark factory. With 80 million pairs of top quarks and an additional 34 million single tops produced annually at the designed high luminosity, the properties of this particle will be studied to a great accuracy. The fact that the top quark is the heaviest elementary particle in the Standard Model with a mass right at the electroweak scale makes it tempting to contemplate its role in electroweak symmetry breaking, as well as its potential as a window to unknown new physics at the TeV scale. We summarize the expectations for top-quark physics at the LHC, and outline new physics scenarios in which the top quark is crucially involved.
Brief Report: Increased Apoptosis in Advanced Atherosclerotic Lesions of
Apoe
−/−
Mice Lacking Macrophage Bcl-2
Authors: Thorp Edward , Li Yankun , Bao Liping , Yao Pin Mei , Kuriakose George , Rong James , Fisher Edward A. , Tabas Ira
Published: November 2008

Objective—

Macrophage apoptosis plays important roles in atherosclerosis. Bcl-2 is a key cell survival molecule, but its role in macrophage apoptosis in atherosclerosis is not known. The goal herein was to determine the effect of macrophage-targeted deletion of Bcl-2 on macrophage apoptosis in atherosclerotic lesions of
Apoe
−/−
mice.

Methods and Results—

Bcl2
flox
-LysMCre

mice were created as a model of macrophage Bcl-2 deficiency. Macrophages from these mice were more susceptible to apoptosis than those from control

Bcl2
WT
-LysMCre

mice. The mice were bred onto the
Apoe
−/−
background and fed a Western-type diet for 4 or 10 weeks. Apoptotic cells were equally very rare in the lesions of both groups of the 4-week-diet mice, and there was no difference in lesion area. However,

Bcl2
flox
-LysMCre;Apoe

−/−
plaques from the 10-week-diet protocol had a 40% to 45% increase in apoptotic cells and, in female mice, a ≈25% increase in plaque necrosis (
P
<0.05) compared with

Bcl2
WT
-LysMCre

lesions.

Conclusions—

Macrophage Bcl-2 plays a protective role against macrophage apoptosis specifically in advanced atherosclerotic lesions of
Apoe
−/−
mice.