bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
German Idealism
Authors: Redding Paul
Published: September 2011

Politically, idealism would eventually be replaced by “materialism” in Karl Marx's transformation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's “absolute idealism,” while philosophically idealism was replaced by various anti-idealist doctrines in the twentieth century. But idealism still has its advocates, one recent supporter, in claiming “idealism as modernism,” essentially reinstating Friedrich Schlegel's assessment. For such a view, idealist philosophy, like the French Revolution and modern literature, is grounded in the characteristically modern idea of human freedom. This article discusses some of the implications for political thought to be found in three leading idealists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Hegel. It examines Kant's “idealist” philosophy and its consequences for political theory, his transformation of the natural law and social contract traditions, Fichte's application of the “Wissenschaftslehre” to political philosophy and his views on intersubjective recognition, Hegel and the logical foundations of political philosophy, the will and its right, ethical life and the structure of the modern state, and Hegel's political solution of constitutional monarchy.
The Marxian Tradition
Authors: Carver Terrell
Published: September 2011

Karl Marx (1818–1883) and his sometime collaborator and long-term friend, Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), are rightly regarded as the founders of a highly significant tradition in the history of political philosophy. However, this was never their aim at the time of writing. Their relationship to politics as activists, and their broad political orientations as socialists, were both clear from the early stages of their careers. The Marxian tradition, established as such in Marx's later lifetime, was certainly one of political thought and action, but the reception of these ideas and selected texts into the mainstream and canon of the Anglophone history of political philosophy was largely a post-World War II development. The portmanteau term Marxism occludes a number of contextually crucial distinctions that bear on philosophical and other interpretative issues connected with the Marxian tradition. In general terms, the Marxian tradition contributes to the history of political philosophy by highlighting economic activity, social class, exploitation, the state, ideology, historical progress, revolutionary change, and a “good society” that is socialist or communist in character.
Political Philosophy and the Idea of a Social Science
Authors: Lassman Peter
Published: September 2011

It appears that the first recognizably modern understanding of the term “social science” was developed during the French Revolution. From its origins, the search for a science of politics modelled upon the perceived success of the natural sciences has been shaped at least as much by political objectives as by pure intellectual curiosity. From their first appearance, the concepts of a social science or of moral or political science were used interchangeably. There can be no doubt that the emergence of the social sciences has had a transformative effect upon the language and style of modern political philosophy. From its origins in ancient Greece, political philosophy has sought the foundations of political order. The major and most influential philosophy of science was, and to a large extent still is, positivism in its various formulations. The origins of this philosophy are associated primarily with Auguste Comte and, in England with some qualification, John Stuart Mill.
Contemporary Anglo-American Political Philosophy
Authors: Klosko George
Published: September 2011

According to a now familiar narrative, in the middle of the twentieth century, political philosophy was “dead,” but it has since been resurrected in a new form. Credit for the death certificate is given to Peter Laslett, who bemoaned the absence of major philosophers writing in English, like the tradition of thinkers from Thomas Hobbes to Bernard Bosanquet. According to many theorists, responsibility for the revival of political philosophy belongs to John Rawls. One of Rawls's most important contributions is the method of “reflective equilibrium.” In A Theory of Justice (1971), Rawls attempts to reconcile freedom and equality in a principled way, offering an account of “justice as fairness.” Three years after publication of Theory, Rawls's Harvard colleague Robert Nozick published Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), which is, after Theory, probably the most celebrated and widely discussed work in political philosophy in recent decades. This article explores contemporary Anglo-American political philosophy, the evolution of Rawls's thought, communitarianism, feminism and liberalism, multiculturalism, and global justice.
Political Philosophy in a Globalizing World
Authors: Nardin Terry
Published: September 2011

Political philosophy in a globalizing world is not confined to thinking about globalization. “Globalization” is identified with economic trends such as the internationalization of commerce and finance, cultural trends such as the spread of English, and political trends such as the erosion of state sovereignty and the emergence of transnational policy networks. If globalization means increasing interdependence—moral, economic, and ecological—it invites reflection on how this interdependence is affecting the study of political philosophy. Subsequent debates over the role of great powers, the threat or advantages of empire, the role of the United Nations, and the lessons of the European Union have continued the line of inquiry begun by Immanuel Kant. With globalization, however, debate has moved away from confederation to focus on the idea of constitutionalism without the state. Contra Karl Marx, the point of philosophy is to understand the world, not to change it. Political philosophy in this sense is only one part of “political thought,” most of which in any society is politics itself under another name.
The Social Contract (Contract of Government)
Authors: Sommerville Johann
Published: September 2011

Social-contract theories flourished in Europe in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, had roots extending far further back, and continue to be influential today. John Rawls revived one type of contract theory in the mid-twentieth century, while another featured in the work of Robert Nozick. One kind of theory centers on a real or hypothetical contract between individuals to establish a political society—a contract of society. Another focuses on a contract between the society or people, on the one hand, and the ruler or government, on the other—a contract of government. In the heyday of theorizing about the social contract, it was the contract of government that received most attention. When people joined together to form political societies, they proceeded, authority must at first have been in the hands of the whole community, since no one had any greater right to exercise it than anyone else. Some contractualists have used the social contract to cast light on what must always and everywhere be true about states. They include Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Rawls.
Domination and Slavery
Authors: Boxill Bernard
Published: September 2011

In what way, and by how much, is the working man better off than the slave? Frederick Douglass argued that the difference might not be great. The slaveholders, he claimed, had succeeded in making the laboring white man “almost” as much a slave as the “black slave himself.” But some contemporary philosophical discussions go much further, suggesting that essentially the laboring white man and the black slave were both enslaved. For example, this is the clear implication of Philip Pettit's discussion of domination, freedom, and slavery in his book Republicanism (1997). Pettit calls a person's freedom “republican freedom,” marking it off from negative and positive liberty. As if to confirm that the republican tradition was right to equate domination and slavery, Pettit describes them as both characteristically condemning their victims to lives of fear, deference, flattery, and slyness. Since the most important and reliable of the strategies to deaden the slaves' imagination is to compel them to live in constant fear, there would be no difference between slavery and mere domination if domination per se made people fearful.
Republicanism
Authors: Dagger Richard
Published: September 2011

Republicanism is an ancient tradition of political thought that has enjoyed a remarkable revival in recent years. Aristotle and Polybius are the two Greek thinkers most often associated with republicanism. As with liberalism, conservatism, and other enduring political traditions, there is considerable disagreement as to exactly what republicanism is. Whether republicanism itself is an adequate or distinctive political philosophy is the subject of a broader controversy. Whether John Adams, Thomas Paine, Montesquieu, or any other modern thinker really was a classical republican, or even a republican at all, is not a settled matter. Republicans have generally opposed monarchy and favored representative government, but there is also reason to be cautious here—and reason to look more closely at the definition of republicanism before turning to its history. How does a republic differ from a democracy? If a democracy maintains its respect for the rule of law, then it is a democratic republic; if not, it may be a populist, majoritarian, or plebiscitarian form of democracy, but it cannot be a republic.
Feminism
Authors: Hirschmann Nancy J.
Published: September 2011

The topic of feminism within the history of political philosophy and political theory might seem to be quite ambiguous. Feminists interested in the history of political philosophy did not urge the abandonment of the canon at all, but were instead protesting the way in which political philosophy was studied. They thus advocated “opening up” the canon, rather than its abolishment. There have been at least five ways in which this “opening” of the canon has been developed by feminists in the history of political philosophy. All of them do not only demonstrate that the history of political philosophy is important to feminism; they also demonstrate that feminism is important to the history of political philosophy. A two-tiered structure of freedom, with some conceptualizations of freedom designated for men and the wealthy, and other conceptualizations designated for laborers and women, shows that class and gender were important dimensions to be explored when examining the history of political philosophy. One way in which feminism has opened up the canon is its relevance to contemporary politics.
Animal Rights and Political Theory
Authors: Franklin Julian
Published: September 2011

In the ancient world, the idea that killing animals for food is wrong arose mainly from belief in a deep continuity between the animal and human psyche. The underlying thought is that the victimization of an animal is sinful and dehumanizing. Among the Greeks, orphic ritual and mysticism mixed with philosophy prescribe a vegetarian diet as a condition of self-purification. Perhaps the major extant work on vegetarianism dating from classical antiquity is On Abstinence from Animal Flesh by the neo-Platonist Porphyry, the student and biographer of Plotinus, himself a vegetarian. Peter Singer's immensely popular book Animal Liberation (1975) almost immediately generated a new movement for animal rights as distinct from a program limited to animal welfare, animal protection, and prevention of cruelty. This article explores the link between animal rights and political theory, focusing on the views of such thinkers as John Wesley, Bernard Mandeville, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, Tom Regan, Immanuel Kant, Christine M. Korsgaard, and Charles Hartshorne.
Persistence
Authors: Balashov Yuri
Published: September 2011

Regardless of whether the future or past are real, there is also the question of what objects are. What is it for an object to persist in time? At one time, one is short and at another time tall. Is something a four-dimensional object with different temporal parts? Or is there a wholly present three-dimensional entity that changes properties? This chapter gives a survey of this problem, updating three positions on it to the relativistic context, and providing the reader with a solid base from which to evaluate the positions. It notes that people recognize the problem of persistence as being primarily about parthood and location, and also sketches views known as three-dimensionalism (3Dism) or endurantism, and four-dimensionalism (4Dism) or perdurantism.
Time and Chance Propensities
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: September 2011

Advocates of the propensity interpretation conceive of probabilities as dispositions or tendencies inherent in certain physical situations that cause a particular pattern of outcomes. This chapter argues that the propensity interpretation of probabilities is implicitly connected to the assumption of an unreal future. Thinking that an unreal future is untenable in light of relativity theory, it argues that the intuitive “boost ” propensities get by this connection is illegitimate. Once sanitized of the connection, the chapter claims that propensities lose much of their appeal.
Time and Modality
Authors: Meyer Ulrich
Published: September 2011

This chapter discusses modal logic: the logic of possibility and necessity. After a brief review of modal logic in the second section, the third section presents basic results of propositional tense logic. The fourth section develops a system of quantified tense logic. With these technical preliminaries out of the way, the fifth section explains why tense logic ultimately fails as a linguistic theory of verb tense. The sixth section presents the main objection to tense primitivism: that tense logic has insufficient expressive resources to serve as a metaphysical theory of time. The seventh section argues that the tense primitivist can overcome these problems by treating times as maximally consistent sets of sentences. The eighth section discusses a key difference between time and modality: the lack of a temporal analogue of actualism.
Presentism
Authors: Mozersky M. Joshua
Published: September 2011

Is there more to the world than the present moment? This question is one of the most basic one can ask about time. This chapter discusses presentism: the doctrine that everything is present—that, and only that, which is present exists—reviewing a quite different attack on presentism. Called the “truth-maker” or “grounding” objection, the idea is that the presentist's temporally impoverished resources are insufficient to allow him or her to say that statements about the past or future are truth-evaluable. So the presentist faces a quandary: the claim is true, yet there is nothing that makes it so.
Partisans, Watchdogs, and Entertainers
Authors: Brown Katherine Ann , Gitlin Todd
Published: September 2011

This chapter investigates the evolution of the American media from the colonial period to modern times. It argues that the standard tribute to the democratic uses of journalism is a misrepresentation of the actual news media and their role in daily life. The chapter then moves on to study the changing form of the newspaper in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the role newspaper partisanship and sensationalism played during the political and social development of America. It also discusses media independence and its role as a watchdog during the twentieth century.
The News Industry
Authors: Graber Doris A. , Holyk Gregory G.
Published: September 2011

This chapter takes a look at the news industry. The first section outlines the main political functions and structure of news industries, one of which is the Federal Communications Commission. It then examines the adaptations and challenges for the news industry in the twenty-first century, and considers the consequences for the news industry and for American politics. The next section emphasizes the important changes made in the news industry climate, which include the transfer towards soft interpretive news. The chapter ends with a discussion of the future challenges for the news industry.
What's News
Authors: Just Marion R.
Published: September 2011

This chapter looks at the emerging collaboration between the audience and established media institutions in order to produce news from inaccessible or war-torn locations, and shows that citizens are not only contributing to the news content and comments, but are also taking on the roles of editorial and distribution. It outlines the transformation of news values over time, studying the impact of new media on the press's democratic function, and stresses that the future research in media and public opinion would need news credibility. The chapter also considers the Internet as a way to change the status of the news industry.
Exposure Measures and Content Analysis in Media Effects Studies
Authors: Jerit Jennifer , Barabas Jason
Published: September 2011

This chapter looks at how media exposure has been studied. It focuses on the criticisms of media use measures as well as the primary alternative to this approach, which is the inclusion of media content into the empirical analyses of public opinion data. The chapter also discusses several practical considerations about content analysis and the analytical challenges that are connected to the estimation of causal effects of media messages on public opinion.
Public–Elite Interactions
Authors: Chong Dennis , Druckman James N.
Published: September 2011

This chapter pinpoints the most pressing problems in research on the effect of elite rhetoric on public opinion. It discusses the empirical and theoretical issues in four particular realms, namely the elite strategies of communications, the implications of political communications research on democratic theory, the conceptualization of communication effects, and the conditions that guide elite influence. The chapter offers a personal perspective on each of these realms, as well as examples and key questions that deserve further study.
Democracy and the Concept of Public Opinion
Authors: Gunnell John G.
Published: September 2011

This chapter is concerned with the intellectual history of how the term ‘public opinion’ entered into the discourse of political and social science during the nineteenth century, studying how the concept it referred to was basically changed during the early years of the twentieth century. It notes that public opinion came from the origins of the American vision of democracy and identifies the changes which the term ‘public opinion’ went through over the years.
Representative Sampling and Survey Non‐Response
Authors: Berinsky Adam J.
Published: September 2011

This chapter aims to determine whether opinion polls can accurately measure the political preferences of the US population, defining survey non-response and differentiating between unit non-response and item non-response where information is usually missing on certain respondents. Next, it discusses the latest trends in response rates and the causes of non-response on surveys, and also describes the threats posed by non-response on the representativeness of surveys, as well as the different available methods for dealing with non-response.
Instrument Design
Authors: Bishop George Franklin
Published: September 2011

This chapter focuses on instrument design, their effects, how they occur, and how they can be dealt with, beginning with the effects of question design on the attitudes, subjective judgments, and opinions of the respondents. It then studies how the actual wording and content of survey questions change the conclusions that researchers would draw with regards to public opinion. The next section centres on how the context and order in which both the questions and response alternatives are presented can impact the results. The final part of the chapter considers how various question-design effects can be understood as part of a more basic cognitive-psychological model of the question-and-answer process.
Political Cognition and Public Opinion
Authors: Taber Charles S.
Published: September 2011

This chapter serves as a review of the cognitive approach to public opinion research. The first part provides a summary of the general architecture and processes of cognition, and is followed by a discussion on political evaluations and the automaticity feature of public opinion. The chapter also covers belief structures and attitude persistence, and even identifies the various contents of public opinion.
Connecting the Social and Biological Bases of Public Opinion
Authors: Funk Carolyn L.
Published: September 2011

This chapter reviews the current knowledge on the biological bases of public opinion, as well as the key antecedents of political and social attitudes, briefly describing the primary methodological approaches that are used. Next, it examines the possible genetic influences on public opinion, including attitude position and ideology.
The Contours of Black Public Opinion
Authors: Harris Fredrick C.
Published: September 2011

This chapter analyzes black public opinion, starting with a review of the genealogy of its study, which, it shows, developed from scholarly and popular studies during the 1960s and 1970s. It then studies the trends in black and white partisanship and political ideology, before focusing on the nature of black political beliefs in black public opinion. The chapter also takes a look at the debates on the interpretation of the role of black nationalism in black opinion. It ends with a discussion on the emerging variability of black identity after Barack Obama's election as president of the United States and explains how this may change one's understanding of the role of linked fate in black political behaviour.
Asian‐American Public Opinion
Authors: Junn Jane , Lee Taeku , Ramakrishnan S. Karthick , Wong Janelle
Published: September 2011

This chapter studies the implications of the socioeconomic and demographic factors on public opinion among Asian Americans. The first part reviews the present social science research on Asian-American political attitudes, and then discusses the outlines of Asian-American political partisanship and attitudes on some relevant political issues. It ends with a study of the observations on the challenges of gathering opinion data among Asian Americans and a discussion of research strategies, and also refers to some data taken from the 2008 National Asian-American Survey.
A Vine With Many Branches
Authors: Barbeau Aimee E. , Robinson Carin , Wilcox Clyde
Published: September 2011

This chapter reviews the basic models of public opinion and religion, examining some of the most usual ways that religion has been measured and conceptualized. It then emphasizes some complicated effects of religion on public attitudes, ending with some possible directions for future research.
Class Differences in Social and Political Attitudes in the United States
Authors: McCall Leslie , Manza Jeff
Published: September 2011

This chapter takes a look at class differences in political and social attitudes in the United States. The first section briefly describes some of the modern and classical controversies with regards to class differences in public opinion. Next, the chapter considers some of the definitional issues that have hindered work in this area, and offers some descriptive examples of variation in political and social attitudes across the different specifications of class. It ends with a summary of the current status of research, and possible directions that it may take in future.
Knowledge, Sophistication, and Issue Publics
Authors: Hutchings Vincent , Piston Spencer
Published: September 2011

This chapter investigates the level of political information in America. It begins with a review of relevant research, in which it shows that American citizens have surprisingly low levels of general knowledge when compared to political elites or to citizens from other Western countries. The chapter then discusses how the current measures of refining political knowledge may be improved, and reviews literature on ideological sophistication. The next section studies scholars' contention that Americans are not only ignorant but also not ideologically sophisticated. Finally, the chapter discusses research on issue publics.
Race, Public Opinion, the Media
Authors: Lee Taeku , Willcoxon Nicole
Published: September 2011

This chapter is concerned with race, media, and public opinion. It first reviews the available literature on media and race in non-electoral and electoral contexts, in order to determine whether racial considerations still play an important, and sometimes defining, role in shaping public opinion. Next, the chapter discusses the recent trends in the scholarship, especially those in ‘cognitive’ and ‘contextual’ turns in research. Finally, it addresses the gaps in the current knowledge, and future directions.
Public Opinion, the Media, and War
Authors: Mueller John
Published: September 2011

This chapter tries to determine who or what eventually decides the policy agenda in case of war, concluding which kinds of facts are the ones that are relevant to the process. It studies the framing of issues and the priming and setting of the agendas for public discussion, and notes that the public can be rather selective about the facts of war which it is ready to accept. The chapter also considers the impact of visual information and the role of media during times of war.
The Media, Public Opinion, and Terrorism
Authors: Nacos Brigitte L. , Bloch‐Elkon Yaeli
Published: September 2011

This chapter studies the links between public opinion, terrorism, and media. It discusses counterterrorism, specifically how the responses to terrorism become a part of the propaganda and demand schemes of governments and terrorists, and looks at how the media puts up with them. The chapter then reviews and evaluates the important literature of different research strains in four categories on media and terrorism.
The role of the international prototype of the kilogram after redefinition of the International System of Units
Authors: Davis R. S.
Published: September 2011

Since 1889, the international prototype of the kilogram has served to define the unit of mass in what is now known as the International System of Units (SI). This definition, which continues to serve mass metrology well, is an anachronism for twenty-first century physics. Indeed, the kilogram will no doubt be redefined in terms of a physical constant, such as the Planck constant. As a practical matter, linking the quantum world to the macroscopic world of mass metrology has, and remains, challenging although great progress has been made. The international prototype or, more likely, a modern ensemble of reference standards, may yet have a role to play for some time after redefinition, as described in this paper.
Metrology and microscopic picture of the integer quantum Hall effect
Authors: Weis J. , von Klitzing K.
Published: September 2011

Since 1990, the integer quantum Hall effect has provided the electrical resistance standard, and there has been a firm belief that the measured quantum Hall resistances are described only by fundamental physical constants—the elementary charge
e
and the Planck constant
h
. The metrological application seems not to rely on detailed knowledge of the microscopic picture of the quantum Hall effect; however, technical guidelines are recommended to confirm the quality of the sample to confirm the exactness of the measured resistance value. In this paper, we give our present understanding of the microscopic picture, derived from systematic scanning force microscopy investigations on GaAs/(AlGa)As quantum Hall samples, and relate these to the technical guidelines.
The RNA origin of transfer RNA aminoacylation and beyond
Authors: Suga Hiroaki , Hayashi Gosuke , Terasaka Naohiro
Published: September 2011

Aminoacylation of tRNA is an essential event in the translation system. Although in the modern system protein enzymes play the sole role in tRNA aminoacylation, in the primitive translation system RNA molecules could have catalysed aminoacylation onto tRNA or tRNA-like molecules. Even though such RNA enzymes so far are not identified from known organisms,
in vitro
selection has generated such RNA catalysts from a pool of random RNA sequences. Among them, a set of RNA sequences, referred to as flexizymes (Fxs), discovered in our laboratory are able to charge amino acids onto tRNAs. Significantly, Fxs allow us to charge a wide variety of amino acids, including those that are non-proteinogenic, onto tRNAs bearing any desired anticodons, and thus enable us to reprogramme the genetic code at our will. This article summarizes the evolutionary history of Fxs and also the most recent advances in manipulating a translation system by integration with Fxs.
Ribonuclease P
Authors: Altman Sidney
Published: September 2011

The gene coding for the RNA subunit of ribonuclease P (RNase P) is essential in all free-living organisms. The RNA subunit, itself, is an enzyme and, from its evolutionary tree, we can infer that it is a very ancient molecule. The specificity of this enzyme is that it cleaves other RNA molecules at the junction of single-stranded and the 5′ end of double-stranded regions of RNA. One can speculate that this molecule was very useful in an ancient world in cleaving long pieces of RNA, which must have contained hairpin regions in it, into shorter molecules with the capability of different functions from the longer parent. Today, the specificity of the enzyme can be used in designing drug therapies.
Differential expression of genes characterizing myofibre phenotype
Authors: Nierobisz L. S. , Sporer K. R. B. , Strasburg G. M. , Reed K. M. , Velleman S. G. , Ashwell C. M. , Felts J. V. , Mozdziak P. E.
Published: September 2011

Skeletal muscle is composed of metabolically heterogeneous myofibres that exhibit high plasticity at both the morphological and transcriptional levels. The objective of this study was to employ microarray analysis to elucidate the differential gene expression between the tonic‐‘red’ anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle, the phasic‐‘white’ posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD) and ‘mixed’‐phenotype biceps femoris (BF) in 1‐week‐and 19‐week‐old male turkeys. A total of 170 differentially expressed genes were identified in the muscle samples analysed (P < 0.05). Gene GO analysis software was utilized to identify top gene networks and metabolic pathways involving differentially expressed genes. Quantitative real‐time PCR for selected genes (BAT2D, CLU, EGFR and LEPROT) was utilized to validate the microarray data. The largest differences were observed between ALD and PLD muscles, in which 32 genes were over‐expressed and 82 genes were under‐expressed in ALD1‐PLD1 comparison, and 70 genes were over‐expressed and 70 under‐expressed in ALD19‐PLD19 comparison. The largest number of genes over‐expressed in ALD muscles, as compared to other muscles, code for extracellular matrix proteins such as dystroglycan and collagen. The gene analysis revealed that phenotypically ‘red’ BF muscle has high expression of glycolytic genes usually associated with the ‘white’ muscle phenotype. Muscle‐specific differences were observed in expression levels of genes coding for proteins involved in mRNA processing and translation regulation, proteosomal degradation, apoptosis and insulin resistance. The current findings may have large implications in muscle‐type‐related disorders and improvement of muscle quality in agricultural species.
Deciphering the oxygen isotope composition of nitrous oxide produced by nitrification
Authors: Snider David M. , Venkiteswaran Jason J. , Schiff Sherry L. , Spoelstra John
Published: September 2011

The ability to use δ18O values of nitrous oxide (N2O) to apportion environmental emissions is currently hindered by a poor understanding of the controls on δ18O–N2O from nitrification (hydroxylamine oxidation to N2O and nitrite reduction to N2O). In this study fertilized agricultural soils and unfertilized temperate forest soils were aerobically incubated with different 18O/16O waters, and conceptual and mathematical models were developed to systematically explain the δ18O–N2O formed by nitrification. Modeling exercises used a set of defined input parameters to emulate the measured soil δ18O–N2O data (Monte Carlo approach). The Monte Carlo simulations implied that abiotic oxygen (O) exchange between nitrite (NO2−) and H2O is important in all soils, but that biological, enzyme‐controlled O‐exchange does not occur during the reduction of NO2− to N2O (nitrifier‐denitrification). Similarly, the results of the model simulations indicated that N2O consumption is not characteristic of aerobic N2O formation. The results of this study and a synthesis of the published literature data indicate that δ18O–N2O formed in aerobic environments is constrained between +13‰ and +35‰ relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW). N2O formed via hydroxylamine oxidation and nitrifier‐denitrification cannot be separated using δ18O unless 18O tracers are employed. The natural range of nitrifier δ18O–N2O is discussed and explained in terms of our conceptual model, and the major and minor controls that define aerobically produced δ18O–N2O are identified. Despite the highly complex nature of δ18O–N2O produced by nitrification this δ18O range is narrow. As a result, in many situations δ18O values may be used in conjunction with δ15N–N2O data to apportion nitrifier‐ and denitrifier‐derived N2O. However, when biological O‐exchange during denitrification is high and N2O consumption is low, there may be too much overlap in δ18O values to distinguish N2O formed by these pathways.
Looking for reference genes for real‐time quantitative PCR experiments in Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)
Authors: Majerowicz D. , Alves‐Bezerra M. , Logullo R. , Fonseca‐de‐Souza A. L. , Meyer‐Fernandes J. R. , Braz G. R. C. , Gondim K. C.
Published: September 2011

Quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) has become one of the most used techniques to measure gene expression. However, normalization of gene expression data against reference genes is essential, although these are usually used without any kind of validation. The expression of seven genes was compared in organs of Rhodnius prolixus under diverse conditions, using published software to test gene expression stability. Rp18S and elongation factor 1 (RpEF ‐1) were the most reliable genes for normalization in qPCR when gene expression in different organs was compared. Moreover, both genes were found to be the best references when transcript levels were compared in the posterior midgut of insects infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. Rp18S was also the best reference gene in the fat bodies of unfed and fed insects. By contrast, RpEF‐1 was found to be the best reference gene for comparison between posterior midguts, and RpMIP or RpActin should be used to compare gene expression in the ovaries. Although Rp18S is indicated here as the best reference in most cases, reports from the literature show that it is difficult to find an optimum reference gene. Nevertheless, validation of candidate genes to be taken as references is important when new experimental conditions are tested to avoid incorrect data interpretation.
Species traits and their non‐additive interactions control the water economy of bryophyte cushions
Authors: Michel Pascale , Lee William G. , During Heinjo J. , Cornelissen Johannes H. C.
Published: September 2011

1. Ecological processes in mixed‐species assemblages are not always an additive function of those in monocultures. In areas with high ground cover of bryophytes, renowned for their considerable water retention capacity, non‐additive interactions in mixed‐species cushions could play a key role in the ecosystem water economy.

2. We investigated mixture effects on external water loss in natural cushions with different species pairs of mosses and liverworts and the underlying mechanism of any non‐additivity through shoot characteristics and canopy traits.

3. Species mixtures in bryophyte cushions had both additive and non‐additive effects on the water economy, and these interactions were dependent on the composition of species assemblages and on plant tissue mass. Non‐additivity of species mixtures was positive, resulting in the improvement of water retention.

4. Our results suggest advantages for bryophyte species to grow smaller and denser when in mixtures. They appear to alter the surface exchange area to converge in size with their neighbours, thus controlling boundary‐layer properties and evaporation to reduce water loss.

5. Synthesis. A shift in bryophyte assemblages thus may influence ecohydrological processes of various ecosystems that cannot be simply predicted from the water economy of the component species when in monospecific cushions. In contrast to vascular plants, bryophytes do not compete for water but share it, and trait plasticity amongst bryophyte mixtures acts as a critical physical strategy in the community water economy.
Evaluation of an ELISA for canine leishmaniasis immunodiagnostic using recombinant proteins
Authors: De SOUZA C. M. , SILVA E. D. , ANO BOM A. P. D. , BASTOS R. C. , NASCIMENTO H. J. , Da SILVA JUNIOR J. G.
Published: September 2011

The present work describes the isolation and purification of twoLeishmania chagasi(= syn.Leishmania infantum) recombinant proteins, rLci2B and rLci1A, and their use in the development of an immunoassay for the diagnostic of canine leishmaniasis. After protein expression and cell disruption, rLci2B was purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography followed by size exclusion chromatography, whereas rLci1A, expressed as an inclusion body, was treated with urea and purified by anion‐exchange chromatography. Homogeneities were ascertained by denaturing gel electrophoresis (MWrLci2B = 46 370; MWrLci1A = 88 400), isoelectric focusing (pIrLci2B = 5·91; pIrLci1A = 6·01) and Western blot. An indirect ELISA was developed using the purified antigens rLci2B and rLci1A and a leishmaniasis canine serum panel (n = 256). The ELISA showed 100% sensitivity and 95% specificity for rLci2B and 96% sensitivity and 92% specificity for rLci1A. The purified proteins did not present cross‐reactivity with sera from dogs infected withTrypanosoma caninum, Babesia canisandEhrlichia canis. Cross‐reaction was verified with sera from dogs infected withLeishmania brasiliensis(11·7% for rLci2B and 2·9% for rLci1A). Based on ELISA results, it is suggested the use of rLci2B and rLci1A as antigens in an alternative serological assay for diagnostic of canine leishmania.
TLR2 and TLR4 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic cystic echinococcosis and its relationship with IL‐10
Authors: SHAN J.‐Y. , JI W.‐Z. , LI H.‐T. , TUXUN T. , LIN R.‐Y. , WEN H.
Published: September 2011

This study aims at relating Toll‐like receptors (TLR) and human systemic cytokines in patients with chronic cystic echinococcosis (CE). By real‐time fluorescent quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction, we measured the expression level of TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and using ELISA, we detected the cytokines IFN‐γ, IL‐12p70, IL‐10, IL‐4 and IL‐17A from 34 chronic CE cases (four patients with biliary leakage; four patients with secondary location including three in lung and one in bone) and 22 healthy controls (HC). TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expression were significantly higher in the CE group (P < 0·05); levels of serum IL‐10, IL‐4 and IL‐12p70 in patients with CE were significantly higher than those in controls (P < 0·05). There were no differences in IFN‐γ and IL‐17A levels between the CE group and the HC group (P > 0·05). In the patients with CE, positive correlations were noted between the expression of TLR2 and the serum level of IL‐10, as well as between the expression of TLR4 and the serum level of IL‐10. Our findings supported the hypothesis that during chronic CE infection, altered TLR expression might be involved in the cytokine modulation, which allowed the parasite to escape host immunosurveillance and promoted chronic infection.
Optogenetics: potentials for addiction research
Authors: Cao Zhen Fang Huang , Burdakov Denis , Sarnyai Zoltán
Published: September 2011

Research on the biology of addiction has advanced significantly over the last 50 years expanding our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying reward, reinforcement and craving. Novel experimental approaches and techniques have provided an ever increasing armory of tools to dissect behavioral processes, neural networks and molecular mechanisms. The ultimate goal is to reintegrate this knowledge into a coherent, mechanistic framework of addiction to help identify new treatment. This can be greatly facilitated by using tools that allow, with great spatial and temporal specificity, to link molecular changes with altered activation of neural circuits and behavior. Such specificity can now be achieved by using optogenetic tools. Our review describes the general principles of optogenetics and its use to understand the links between neural activity and behavior. We also provide an overview of recent studies using optogenetic tools in addiction and consider some outstanding questions of addiction research that are particularly amenable for optogenetic approaches.
Climate change (elevated CO2, elevated temperature and moderate drought) triggers the antioxidant enzymes' response of grapevine cv. Tempranillo, avoiding oxidative damage
Authors: Salazar‐Parra Carolina , Aguirreolea Jone , Sánchez‐Díaz Manuel , Irigoyen Juan José , Morales Fermín
Published: September 2011

Photosynthetic carbon fixation (AN) and photosynthetic electron transport rate (ETR) are affected by different environmental stress factors, such as those associated with climate change. Under stress conditions, it can be generated an electron excess that cannot be consumed, which can react with O2, producing reactive oxygen species. This work was aimed to evaluate the influence of climate change (elevated CO2, elevated temperature and moderate drought) on the antioxidant status of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cv. Tempranillo leaves, from veraison to ripeness. The lowest ratios between electrons generated (ETR) and consumed (AN + respiration + photorespiration) were observed in plants treated with elevated CO2 and elevated temperature. In partially irrigated plants under current ambient conditions, electrons not consumed seemed to be diverted to alternative ways. Oxidative damage to chlorophylls and carotenoids was not observed. However, these plants had increases in thiobarbituric acid reacting substances, an indication of lipid peroxidation. These increases matched well with an early rise of H2O2 and antioxidant enzyme activities, superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6). Enzymatic activities were maintained high until ripeness. In conclusion, plants grown under current ambient conditions and moderate drought were less efficient to cope with oxidative damage than well‐irrigated plants, and more interestingly, plants grown under moderate drought but treated with elevated CO2 and elevated temperature were not affected by oxidative damage, mainly because of higher rates of electrons consumed in photosynthetic carbon fixation.
Use of consensus sequences and genetic networks to identify members of the Bemisia tabaci cryptic species complex in Egypt and Syria
Authors: Ahmed M. Z. , De Barro P. J. , Olleka A. , Ren S.‐X. , Mandour N. S. , Greeff J. M. , Qiu B.‐L.
Published: September 2011

The sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), is a cryptic species complex composed of at least 24 different morphologically indistinguishable species. The considerable differences in the pest status across the complex, and the ability of some to develop resistance to, insecticides make awareness of their identity critical in terms of developing effective control measures. Previously, phylogenetic reconstructions have been used to identify different B. tabaci, but this approach is no longer necessary because of the existence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase one consensus sequences for each of the known species. We therefore use these consensus sequences to determine the identities of the members of the complex in Syria and Egypt and then used genetic networks to reveal the pattern of their genetic relatedness to other haplotypes in the species to which they were assigned. The results showed the presence of three species in Syria, AsiaII 1, Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (this equates to the global invader known commonly as the B biotype) and Mediterranean (this equates to the global invader known commonly as the Q biotype). Egypt was shown to have two cryptic species, Middle East–Asia Minor 1 and Mediterranean. In Syria, Middle East–Asia Minor 1 was found around Damascus only (south‐west Syria), while Mediterranean was found throughout Aleppo (northern Syria) and Hama (north central Syria). AsiaII 1 was found around Hims (south central Syria) and Damascus (south‐western Syria). In Egypt, Mediterranean was found in Cairo and Ismailia (central Upper Egypt), while Middle East–Asia Minor 1 was found in the remaining all parts of Upper Egypt, Suez, North Sinai, Port Said, Dakahila, Behera and Alexandria which cover the main agricultural zone of Egypt. Genetic relatedness of Syrian and Egyptian populations with each other and with rest of world is also discussed.
Spatial Analysis of Avocado Sunblotch Disease in an Avocado Germplasm Collection
Authors: Schnell Raymond John , Tondo Cecile Lorraine , Kuhn David Norton , Winterstein Michael Carl , Ayala‐Silva Tomas , Moore John Michael
Published: September 2011

Avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd) causes an important disease of avocado, Persea americana. Symptoms of avocado sunblotch were first observed in the avocado germplasm collection at the National Germplasm Repository in Miami in the early 1980s; however, the extent of infection was unknown. An ASBVd‐specific reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) protocol was developed in 1996 and used to screen every tree in the collection. Surveys in 1996 and 2000 found that although 23 newly infected trees were detected, the proportion of ASBVd‐positive accessions remained unchanged at 19%. However, in a 2009 survey, 50 newly infected trees were detected for an overall infection rate of 21%. Results of spatial analyses indicate that for the older plantings, the effective range of spread increased more than threefold during the 13 year span, while in the newer plantings, the pattern of infection indicates a reintroduction of the viroid rather than natural spread. Despite strict sanitization procedures in field and greenhouse operations, ASBVd infections have increased in the USDA collection. Although genetic diversity in the collection would be reduced, eliminating all ASBVd‐positive plants may be necessary to ensure that other accessions in the collection do not become infected.