bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Internet in Campaigns and Elections
Authors: Lilleker Darren G. , Vedel Theirry
Published: March 2013

This chapter evaluates a number of positive claims surrounding the role of the Internet in campaigns and elections. It is observed that the Internet is becoming embedded within campaigns and elections. Capturing the influence of any campaign, or isolating the impact of any specific tool or aspect of a campaign, is at best a highly complex moving target. The hypermedia campaign must allow for and expect the ‘decomposition and recomposition of messages’. The chapter recognises that, to be successful, one must both produce and join the communication ecosystem. Investigating the campaigns of Howard Dean, Segolene Royal, and Barack Obama can help explain the evolution in adaptation to such campaigns. Engagement with election campaigns is being determined by the Internet. In general, the political campaign communication has been transformed, but only to an extent.
The Internet and Democracy
Authors: Margetts Helen
Published: March 2013

This chapter deals directly and broadly with the Internet and democracy, specifically republicanism, pluralism, and cosmopolitanism, and also covers the connection between the Internet and democratic institutions such as elections, political parties, legislatures, and interest groups. Next, it investigates how the Internet has been associated with individual political behaviour and what effect this relationship might have on democratic citizenship. The Internet improves the capability of citizens to convey and receive information to and from governments. The Fifth Estate allows networked individuals to use the Internet to increase the accountability of the more traditional Estates. It is noted that as the Internet becomes increasingly intertwined with democratic life, it necessarily means that democratic citizenship relies upon digital citizenship. But as democratic life moves online, political scientists in general may find an increasing need to incorporate such methods and tools into their own research.
Digital Infrastructures, Economies, and Public Policies
Authors: Mansell Robin , Steinmueller W. Edward
Published: March 2013

This chapter explores the claims about the social and economic benefits and disadvantages of digital infrastructure investment. The differences between economists' and other social scientists' viewpoints affect the ways in which the outcomes of these industrial policy initiatives might be evaluated. The chapter concentrates on Europe and North America. The Digital Agenda is one of several pillars in the 2020 strategy. The data in support of industrial policies and regulatory measures to promote information and communications technologies (ICTs) and broadband networks appears strong. Investment in ICTs will produce productivity growth. The strategies of the large content-providing firms and the network operators affected the opportunities proposed by the availability of the Internet. There are signs that in both Europe and the United States, research has added to the realisation that ICTs are general purpose technologies, and that they are capable of contributing to extensive and pervasive changes in the economy and society.
The Emerging Field of Internet Governance
Authors: DeNardis Laura
Published: March 2013

This chapter demonstrates the significance of the emerging field of Internet governance, highlighting issues over standards, names and numbers, and net neutrality, which are unfolding in a variety of contexts around the world, including the Internet Governance Forum. It describes how technology could bias outcomes across policy arenas, such as privacy or freedom of expression. Internet governance generally refers to policy and technical coordination issues related to the exchange of information over the Internet. Governance has had immediate implications for freedom of expression online. Despite the significant public interest implications, Internet governance is largely hidden from public view. A crucial role of Internet governance research is to evaluate the implications of the tension between forces of openness and forces of enclosure, examine the implications of the privatisation of governance, and bring to public light the key issues at stake at the intersection of technical expediency and the public interest.
Violence and Nonviolence at the Heart of Hindu Ethics
Authors: Das Veena
Published: March 2013

This chapter explores how a certain anxiety around violence might be rendered as integral to the imagination of an ethical life in Hindu texts and practices. It also describes some contemporary examples of violence and non-violence, and addresses how new forms of collective life such as the imaginary of the nation can shape the expression and experience of violence. The figure of the animal is significant in understanding violence. The chapter argues that the link between sovereignty and the subjugation of violence is the dominant theme of any story of sovereignty. It is observed that Draupadi and Gandhari became the causes for the destruction of the Kshatriyas and of Krishna's dynasty, respectively. The voice of the woman becomes the voice that questions the vanities of Dharma.
Violence in Chinese Religious Traditions
Authors: Shahar Meir
Published: March 2013

This chapter argues that the category of religion eludes traditional Chinese thinking. It outlines the periods of harmony between official Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, commenting on the historical reverence for martial gods and practices of religiously sanctioned human sacrifice and self-mortification. The amorphous religious identity characteristic of China offers a convenient starting point for the analysis. Chinese clerics have been conscious of their religious distinction to the extent of competing with others. The policy has been a major source of friction between the People's Republic of China and the Catholic Church. The Chinese martial art is a multifaceted system of physical and mental self-cultivation that combines military, therapeutic, and religious goals within the same training routine. The imagination of Daoist immortality, the cosmology of the Supreme Ultimate, and the vocabulary of Buddhist enlightenment has been equally tackled to discuss the practitioner's mystical experience.
Sacrifice/Human Sacrifice in Religious Traditions
Authors: Carrasco Davíd
Published: March 2013

This chapter presents a survey of several contemporary, major definitions of sacrifice as forms of symbolic and performative violence. A modest discussion of patterns in the sacrifices of animals and their symbols in various traditions is reported. The chapter then turns to an interpretation of the more troubling topic of actual human sacrifices in various cultures. The role of emotion and aggression in sacrifice appears in a number of Greek rituals and cultural expressions. Human sacrifice has been practiced in Mesoamerica for over 1500 years. It has increased, and the amount of territory controlled in Mesoamerica has increasingly expounded, assuring a tremendous growth in tributary payments to the capital and its royal families. The Mesoamerican religious traditions did not only seek substitutes for human “debt payments” or sublimate in rituals their aggressive drives toward humans in ways that eliminated human sacrifice, as many other peoples did.
Martyrdom in Islam
Authors: Cook David
Published: March 2013

This chapter addresses the use of the mangonel, a rock or explosive lobbing device used in medieval times to bombard the walls of a city or to terrorize the inhabitants, first exploring the religious justifications that support martyrdom operations and then the strategy behind them. The use of the mangonel permits large-scale terror attacks that can possibly kill civilians. Martyrdom operations can be accomplished by anyone but there are certain categories of Muslims that are more likely to carry them out. The Palestinian martyrdom attacks had depended upon quick penetration of Israel. While the terror produced by the suicide attacks has temporarily drove foreigners away, there has been no groundswell of support among the Indonesian Muslim population for the goals of the radical Muslims. Muslim martyrology is an expression of popular sentiments, and together combines a wide range of Islamic, nationalistic, Sufi mystic, and sometimes even magical traditions.
Religious Terrorism as Performance Violence
Authors: Juergensmeyer Mark
Published: March 2013

This chapter describes religious terrorism as “performance violence,” illustrating that performance violence is planned in order to obtain tangible goals, and also to theatrically enact and communicate an imagined reality. The scenario that underlies the performance of religious terrorism is often one of cosmic war. Some religious terrorism could also be motivated by scenarios other than cosmic war. The idea of warfare involves more than an attitude; it is ultimately a world view and an assertion of power. An act of violence sends two messages at the same time: a broad message aimed at the general public and a specific communication targeted at a narrower audience. Silent terrors are those in which the audience is not directly evident. It is noted that terrorism has been conducted for a television audience around the world.
Religiously Motivated Violence in the Abortion Debate
Authors: Ingersoll Julie
Published: March 2013

This chapter, which concentrates on the North American Christian case in investigating the role of violence in the religious controversy about abortion, assesses the religiously legitimated use of violence in the extreme wing of the American pro-life movement. The legitimation of the use of violence to stop abortion finds its most public expression in an organization known as The Army of God. Mike Bray, the architect of the argument that violence can be legitimately utilized to stop abortion, has argued that there is a difference between killing a retired abortion doctor and one who continues to practice. Bray and Randall Terry are critical of contemporary Christianity, which sees God a “jolly old perennial gift giver.” In general, Christians, in the larger “pro-life” movement, believe abortion to be murder.
Religion and Violence from a Political Science Perspective
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: March 2013

This chapter presents an account for religious violence, and also evaluates institutional independence and political theology more carefully. Then, it uses these two factors to elaborate forms of religious violence: communal conflict and terrorism. Political theology and institutional independence are far from the only factors that explain religious violence, but it is proposed that they can account for communal conflict and terrorism. The analysis of Monica Duffy Toft's cases shows that nine of the twenty one religious civil wars in which religion has shaped ends have involved opposition groups with an integrationist political theology, all of them Muslim. Moreover, the analysis of the Terrorism Knowledge Base exhibits a positive link between authoritarian regimes and the site where religious terrorists work. It is noted that religious violence is least likely to occur in settings of consensual independence, which are found most commonly in religion-friendly liberal democracies.
Sacrificial Violence
Authors: Burkert Walter
Published: March 2013

This chapter investigates the sacrificial violence that is a problem of ancient religions, paying attention only to those civilizations which form the basis of Near Eastern-European tradition. The suicidal murderer regards himself as homo religiosus. Religion is committed in an arena of death, nay of killing. The shadow of death appears most noticeable when sacrifice reaches its violent peak in human sacrifice. There have been a few examples of substitution sacrifice in rituals and legends. The themes of violence and killing make tragedy. Religion admits danger, fear, and violence, while presenting rules concerning how to deal with these, one of which includes the risk and the triumph of killing.
The Construction of Evil and the Violence of Purification
Authors: Frankfurter David
Published: March 2013

This chapter explores the construction of evil and the strategies of violence in purification. Prurient fascination and righteous revulsion both recreate and repel each other, developing an anxiety of confusion that has resulted in many circumstances in community efforts to cast the subject, the symbol, of that confusion. Erotic prurience into the nature and deeds of Evil may remain as a living genre for centuries without lending itself to societies as legitimation for purge. Dramaturgy and procession can contribute to brutal but cathartic narratives of saints and monsters, martyrs, and their persecutors, into the immediate festival lives of communities. Furthermore, brutality and atrocity are recurrent characteristics of any culture, often aggravated in situations of historical stress independent of religious systems.
Mimetic Theories of Religion and Violence
Authors: Palaver Wolfgang
Published: March 2013

This chapter concentrates on the mimetic theory of Rene Girard in evaluating foundational myths of violence. It shows Girard's notion of the scapegoating mechanism, whereby a substitute victim absorbs the mimetic animosities of the entire group and thereby promotes peace, as applicable to the disturbing tendency to direct violence outward toward exogenous groups. According to Girard, competition is the main source of human violence. His explanation, that violence has its roots in competition or mimetic rivalry, contributes to Thomas Hobbes, who also highlighted this cause of violence at the beginning of the modern era. The Abrahamic solidarity with the victim easily becomes an aggressive weapon if taking the side of the victim is not connected with the forgiveness of persecutors. Girard interprets the imitation of Christ in the context of rivalries prohibited in the tenth commandment of the First Testament.
Divergent Modes of Religiosity and Armed Struggle
Authors: Whitehouse Harvey , McQuinn Brian
Published: March 2013

This chapter investigates one of the most powerful mechanisms by which groups may be formed, inspired, and coordinated—ritual—which may be defined as normative behavior with an irretrievably opaque causal structure. The divergent modes of religiosity (DMR) theory is applied to armed groups engaged in civil conflicts, some of which explicitly incorporate “religious” traditions while others vehemently repudiate supernatural beliefs of any kind. It is argued that the DMR theory can be extended to explain recurrent features of ritual traditions which lack many or all beliefs typically marked “religious.” Unlike many religions, rebel groups tend to display the predictions of only one mode, although this may be an effect of small sample size. It is believed that the DMR theory can possibly clarify broad patterns in intergroup violence and the dynamics of contemporary civil wars.
Variability in Arabinoxylan, Xylanase Activity, and Xylanase Inhibitor Levels in Hard Spring Wheat
Authors: Mendis Mihiri , Ohm Jae‐Bom , Delcour Jan A. , Gebruers Kurt , Meinhardt Steven , Simsek Senay
Published: March 2013

Arabinoxylans (AX), xylanase, and xylanase inhibitors have an important role in many cereal food processing applications. The effects of genotype, growing location, and their interaction (G × L) on AX, apparent xylanase activity, and apparent xylanase inhibition activity of Triticum aestivum xylanase inhibitor (TAXI) and xylanase inhibiting protein (XIP) were investigated for six hard red and six hard white spring wheat genotypes grown at three locations. Difference in total AX level among genotypes was not determined to a significant level by genotype. Instead, variability in total AX content was largely dependent on G × L. However, total AX content was significantly different between the two wheat classes. For bran xylanase activity, 25% of the variability could be attributed to G × L interaction. Moreover, there was significant difference between the bran xylanase activities in the two wheat classes. Bran TAXI activity and XIP activity were significantly different among genotypes. Genotype contributed 72% to the variability in TAXI activity and 39% in XIP. However, no significant difference was observed among the two wheat classes for TAXI or XIP activity. These results indicate that TAXI might be a stable parameter in segregating wheat genotypes with varying xylanase activity.
Evolution of the temporal persistence of immune protection
Authors: Garnier Romain , Boulinier Thierry , Gandon Sylvain
Published: March 2013

The evolution of resistance to parasites has been the focus of numerous theoretical studies and several mechanisms, ranging from innate to acquired immune responses, have been considered. Life-history theory predicts that long-lived species should invest more resources into maintenance and immunity than short-lived species. Here, we provide further theoretical and empirical support for this hypothesis. First, an analysis of the evolution of the persistence of immune protection in a theoretical framework accounting for maternal transfer of immunity reveals that longer-lived hosts are expected to invest in more persistent intragenerational and transgenerational immune responses. Controlling for phylogenetic structure and for the confounding effect of catabolic activity, we further showed that immunoglobulin half-life and longevity are positively correlated in mammal species. Our study confirms that persistence of immunity has evolved as part of elaborate anti-parasitic defence strategies.
Leslie Eleazer Orgel. 12 January 1927 — 27 October 2007
Authors: Dunitz Jack D. , Joyce Gerald F.
Published: March 2013

Leslie Eleazer Orgel was a theoretical chemist and investigator of the origins of life who made deep and lasting contributions to both of these scientific areas. He was born in London, UK, on 12 January 1927, the second of three children of Simon and Deborah (Gnivisch) Orgel. His elder brother, Nevill, was born on 2 July 1922 and died on 28 December 1957. His younger sister, Delia, was born on 19 June 1933 and currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. Leslie Orgel died on 27 October 2007 in San Diego, California, from pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Alice (Levinson) Orgel, by his three children, Vivienne (b. 4 April 1955), Richard (b. 29 November 1956) and Robert (b. 25 June 1968), and by five grandchildren.
Morpho-elasticity of intestinal villi
Authors: Balbi V. , Ciarletta P.
Published: March 2013

Villi are ubiquitous structures in the intestine of all vertebrates, originating from the embryonic development of the epithelial mucosa. Their morphogenesis has similar stages in living organisms but different forming mechanisms. In this work, we model the emergence of the bi-dimensional undulated patterns in the intestinal mucosa from which villi start to elongate. The embryonic mucosa is modelled as a growing thick-walled cylinder, and its mechanical behaviour is described using an hyperelastic constitutive model, which also accounts for the anisotropic characteristics of the reinforcing fibres at the microstructural level. The occurrence of surface undulations is investigated using a linear stability analysis based on the theory of incremental deformations superimposed on a finite deformation. The Stroh formulation of the incremental boundary value problem is derived, and a numerical solution procedure is implemented for calculating the growth thresholds of instability. The numerical results are finally discussed with respect to different growth and materials properties. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the emergence of intestinal villi in embryos is triggered by a differential growth between the mucosa and the mesenchymal tissues. The proposed model quantifies how both the geometrical and the mechanical properties of the mucosa drive the formation of previllous structures in embryos.
A discrete model of energy-conserved wave function collapse
Authors: Gao Shan
Published: March 2013

Energy non-conservation is a serious problem of dynamical collapse theories. In this paper, we propose a discrete model of energy-conserved wave function collapse. It is shown that the model is consistent with existing experiments and our macroscopic experience.
Reduced neural sensitivity to social stimuli in infants at risk for autism
Authors: Lloyd-Fox S. , Blasi A. , Elwell C. E. , Charman T. , Murphy D. , Johnson M. H.
Published: March 2013

In the hope of discovering early markers of autism, attention has recently turned to the study of infants at risk owing to being the younger siblings of children with autism. Because the condition is highly heritable, later-born siblings of diagnosed children are at substantially higher risk for developing autism or the broader autism phenotype than the general population. Currently, there are no strong predictors of autism in early infancy and diagnosis is not reliable until around 3 years of age. Because indicators of brain functioning may be sensitive predictors, and atypical social interactions are characteristic of the syndrome, we examined whether temporal lobe specialization for processing visual and auditory social stimuli during infancy differs in infants at risk. In a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study, infants aged 4–6 months at risk for autism showed less selective neural responses to social stimuli (auditory and visual) than low-risk controls. These group differences could not be attributed to overall levels of attention, developmental stage or chronological age. Our results provide the first demonstration of specific differences in localizable brain function within the first 6 months of life in a group of infants at risk for autism. Further, these differences closely resemble known patterns of neural atypicality in children and adults with autism. Future work will determine whether these differences in infant neural responses to social stimuli predict either later autism or the broader autism phenotype frequently seen in unaffected family members.
Communal breeding promotes a matrilineal social system where husband and wife live apart
Authors: Wu Jia-Jia , He Qiao-Qiao , Deng Ling-Ling , Wang Shi-Chang , Mace Ruth , Ji Ting , Tao Yi
Published: March 2013

The matrilineal Mosuo of southwest China live in large communal houses where brothers and sisters of three generations live together, and adult males walk to visit their wives only at night; hence males do not reside with their own offspring. This duolocal residence with ‘walking’ or ‘visiting’ marriage is described in only a handful of matrilineal peasant societies. Benefits to women of living with matrilineal kin, who cooperate with child-care, are clear. But why any kinship system can evolve where males invest more in their sister's offspring than their own is a puzzle for evolutionary anthropologists. Here, we present a new hypothesis for a matrilineal bias in male investment. We argue that, when household resources are communal, relatedness to the whole household matters more than relatedness to individual offspring. We use an inclusive fitness model to show that the more sisters (and other closely related females) co-reside, the more effort males should spend working on their sister's farm and less on their wife's farm. The model shows that paternity uncertainty may be a cause of lower overall work rates in males, but it is not likely to be the cause of a matrilineal bias. The bias in work effort towards working on their natal farm, and thus the duolocal residence and ‘visiting marriage’ system, can be understood as maximizing inclusive fitness in circumstances where female kin breed communally.
Manipulated into giving: when parasitism drives apparent or incidental altruism
Authors: Doncaster C. Patrick , Jackson Adam , Watson Richard A.
Published: March 2013

Altruistic acts involve the actor donating fitness to beneficiaries at net cost to itself. In contrast, parasitic acts involve the actor extracting benefit from others at net cost to the donors. Both behaviours may have the same direct net-cost transferral of fitness from donor to beneficiary; the key difference between parasitism and altruism is thus who drives the interaction. Identifying the evolutionary driver is not always straightforward in practice, yet it is crucial in determining the conditions necessary to sustain such fitness exchange. Here, we put classical ecological competition into a novel game-theoretic framework in order to distinguish altruism from parasitism. The distinction depends on the type of interaction that beneficiaries have among themselves. When this is not costly, net-cost transferrals of fitness from the donor are strongly altruistic, and sustained only by indirect benefits to the donor from assortative mixing. When the interaction among beneficiaries is costly, however, net-cost transferrals of fitness from the donor are sustainable without assortative mixing. The donor is then forced into apparent or incidental altruism driven by parasitism from the beneficiary. We consider various scenarios in which direct and indirect fitness consequences of strong altruism may have different evolutionary drivers.
Elaborate horns in a giant rhinoceros beetle incur negligible aerodynamic costs
Authors: McCullough Erin L. , Tobalske Bret W.
Published: March 2013

Sexually selected ornaments and weapons are among nature's most extravagant morphologies. Both ornaments and weapons improve a male's reproductive success; yet, unlike ornaments that need only attract females, weapons must be robust and functional structures because they are frequently tested during male–male combat. Consequently, weapons are expected to be particularly costly to bear. Here, we tested the aerodynamic costs of horns in the giant rhinoceros beetle,Trypoxylus dichotomus. We predicted that the long, forked head horn would have three main effects on flight performance: increased body mass, an anterior shift in the centre of mass and increased body drag. We found that the horns were surprisingly lightweight, and therefore had a trivial effect on the male beetles' total mass and mass distribution. Furthermore, because beetles typically fly at slow speeds and high body angles, horns had little effect on total body drag. Together, the weight and the drag of horns increased the overall force required to fly by less than 3 per cent, even in the largest males. Because low-cost structures are expected to be highly evolutionarily labile, the fact that horns incur very minor flight costs may have permitted both the elaboration and diversification of rhinoceros beetle horns.
Arsenite Elicits Anomalous Sulfur Starvation Responses in Barley
Authors: Reid Rob , Gridley Kate , Kawamata Yuta , Zhu Yongguan
Published: March 2013

Treatment of barley (Hordeum vulgare) seedlings with arsenite (AsIII) rapidly induced physiological and transcriptional changes characteristic of sulfur deficiency, even in plants replete with sulfur. AsIII and sulfur deficiency induced 5- to 20-fold increases in the three genes responsible for sulfate reduction. Both treatments also caused up-regulation of a sulfate transporter, but only in the case of sulfur deficiency was there an increase in sulfate influx. Longer-term changes included reduction in transfer of sulfur from roots to shoots and an increase in root growth relative to shoot growth. Genes involved in complexation and compartmentation of arsenic were up-regulated by AsIII, but not by sulfur deficiency. The rate at which arsenic accumulated appeared to be controlled by the rate of thiol synthesis. Over a range of AsIII concentrations and growth periods, the ratio of thiols to arsenic was always close to 3:1, which is consistent with the formation of a stable complex between three glutathione molecules per AsIII. The greater toxicity of arsenic under sulfur-limiting conditions is likely to be due to an intensification of sulfur deficiency as a result of thiol synthesis, rather than to a direct toxicity to metabolism. Because influx of AsIII was nearly 20-fold faster than the rate of synthesis of thiols, it is questionable whether this complexation strategy can be effective in preventing arsenic toxicity, unless arsenic uptake becomes limited by diffusive resistances in the rhizosphere.
An RNA Virus-Encoded Zinc-Finger Protein Acts as a Plant Transcription Factor and Induces a Regulator of Cell Size and Proliferation in Two Tobacco Species
Authors: Lukhovitskaya Nina I. , Solovieva Anna D. , Boddeti Santosh K. , Thaduri Srinivas , Solovyev Andrey G. , Savenkov Eugene I.
Published: March 2013

Plant viruses cause a variety of diseases in susceptible hosts. The disease symptoms often include leaf malformations and other developmental abnormalities, suggesting that viruses can affect plant development. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying virus interference with plant morphogenesis. Here, we show that a C-4 type zinc-finger (ZF) protein, p12, encoded by a carlavirus (chrysanthemum virus B) can induce cell proliferation, which results in hyperplasia and severe leaf malformation. We demonstrate that the p12 protein activates expression of a regulator of cell size and proliferation, designated upp-L (upregulated by p12), which encodes a transcription factor of the basic/helix-loop-helix family sufficient to cause hyperplasia. The induction of upp-L requires translocation of the p12 protein into the nucleus and ZF-dependent specific interaction with the conserved regulatory region in the upp-L promoter. Our results establish the role of the p12 protein in modulation of host cell morphogenesis. It is likely that other members of the conserved C-4 type ZF family of viral proteins instigate reprogramming of plant development by mimicking eukaryotic transcriptional activators.
FLYING SAUCER1 Is a Transmembrane RING E3 Ubiquitin Ligase That Regulates the Degree of Pectin Methylesterification inArabidopsisSeed Mucilage
Authors: Voiniciuc Cătălin , Dean Gillian H. , Griffiths Jonathan S. , Kirchsteiger Kerstin , Hwang Yeen Ting , Gillett Alan , Dow Graham , Western Tamara L. , Estelle Mark , Haughn George W.
Published: March 2013

Pectins are complex polysaccharides that form the gel matrix of the primary cell wall and are abundant in the middle lamella that holds plant cells together. Their degree of methylesterification (DM) impacts wall strength and cell adhesion since unesterified pectin regions can cross-link via Ca2+ ions to form stronger gels. Here, we characterize flying saucer1 (fly1), a novel Arabidopsis thaliana seed coat mutant, which displays primary wall detachment, reduced mucilage extrusion, and increased mucilage adherence. These defects appear to result from a lower DM in mucilage and are enhanced by the addition of Ca2+ or completely rescued using alkaline Ca2+ chelators. FLY1 encodes a transmembrane protein with a RING-H2 domain that has in vitro E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. FLY1 is orthologous to TRANSMEMBRANE UBIQUITIN LIGASE1, a Golgi-localized E3 ligase involved in the quality control of membrane proteins in yeast. However, FLY1–yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusions are localized in punctae that are predominantly distinct from the Golgi and the trans-Golgi network/early endosome in the seed coat epidermis. Wortmannin treatment, which induces the fusion of late endosomes in plants, resulted in enlarged FLY1-YFP bodies. We propose that FLY1 regulates the DM of pectin in mucilage, potentially by recycling pectin methylesterase enzymes in the endomembrane system of seed coat epidermal cells.
PROTEIN S-ACYL TRANSFERASE10 Is Critical for Development and Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis
Authors: Zhou Liang-Zi , Li Sha , Feng Qiang-Nan , Zhang Yu-Ling , Zhao Xinying , Zeng Yong-lun , Wang Hao , Jiang Liwen , Zhang Yan
Published: March 2013

Protein S-acylation, commonly known as palmitoylation, is a reversible posttranslational modification that catalyzes the addition of a saturated lipid group, often palmitate, to the sulfhydryl group of a Cys. Palmitoylation regulates enzyme activity, protein stability, subcellular localization, and intracellular sorting. Many plant proteins are palmitoylated. However, little is known about protein S-acyl transferases (PATs), which catalyze palmitoylation. Here, we report that the tonoplast-localized PAT10 is critical for development and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. PAT10 loss of function resulted in pleiotropic growth defects, including smaller leaves, dwarfism, and sterility. In addition, pat10 mutants are hypersensitive to salt stresses. We further show that PAT10 regulates the tonoplast localization of several calcineurin B–like proteins (CBLs), including CBL2, CBL3, and CBL6, whose membrane association also depends on palmitoylation. Introducing a C192S mutation within the highly conserved catalytic motif of PAT10 failed to complement pat10 mutants, indicating that PAT10 functions through protein palmitoylation. We propose that PAT10-mediated palmitoylation is critical for vacuolar function by regulating membrane association or the activities of tonoplast proteins.
Advances in X-ray diffraction contrast tomography: flexibility in the setup geometry and application to multiphase materials
Authors: Reischig Péter , King Andrew , Nervo Laura , Viganó Nicola , Guilhem Yoann , Palenstijn Willem Jan , Batenburg K. Joost , Preuss Michael , Ludwig Wolfgang
Published: March 2013

Diffraction contrast tomography is a near-field diffraction-based imaging technique that provides high-resolution grain maps of polycrystalline materials simultaneously with the orientation and average elastic strain tensor components of the individual grains with an accuracy of a few times 10−4. Recent improvements that have been introduced into the data analysis are described. The ability to process data from arbitrary detector positions allows for optimization of the experimental setup for higher spatial or strain resolution, including high Bragg angles (0 < 2θ < 180°). The geometry refinement, grain indexing and strain analysis are based on Friedel pairs of diffraction spots and can handle thousands of grains in single- or multiphase materials. The grain reconstruction is performed with a simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique using three-dimensional oblique angle projections and GPU acceleration. The improvements are demonstrated with the following experimental examples: (1) uranium oxide mapped at high spatial resolution (300 nm voxel size); (2) combined grain mapping and section topography at high Bragg angles of an Al–Li alloy; (3) ferrite and austenite crystals in a dual-phase steel; (4) grain mapping and elastic strains of a commercially pure titanium sample containing 1755 grains.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of liquid phases in disordered mesopores usingin situsmall-angle scattering
Authors: Gommes Cedric J.
Published: March 2013

Small-angle scattering of X-rays (SAXS) or neutrons is one of the few experimental methods currently available for thein situanalysis of phenomena in mesoporous materials at the mesoscopic scale. In the case of disordered mesoporous materials, however, the main difficulty of the method lies in the data analysis. A stochastic model is presented, which enables one to reconstruct the three-dimensional nanostructure of liquids confined in disordered mesopores starting from small-angle scattering data. This so-called plurigaussian model is a multi-phase generalization of clipped Gaussian random field models. Its potential is illustrated through the synchrotron SAXS analysis of a gel permeated with a critical nitrobenzene/hexane solution that is progressively cooled below its consolute temperature. The reconstruction brings to light a wetting transition whereby the nanostructure of the pore-filling liquids passes from wetting layers that uniformly cover the solid phase of the gel to plugs that locally occlude the pores. Using the plurigaussian model, the dewetting phenomenon is analyzed quantitatively at the nanometre scale in terms of changing specific interface areas, contact angle and specific length of the triple line.
PDFgetX3: a rapid and highly automatable program for processing powder diffraction data into total scattering pair distribution functions
Authors: Juhás P. , Davis T. , Farrow C. L. , Billinge S. J. L.
Published: March 2013

PDFgetX3is a new software application for converting X-ray powder diffraction data to an atomic pair distribution function (PDF).PDFgetX3has been designed for ease of use, speed and automated operation. The software can readily process hundreds of X-ray patterns within a few seconds and is thus useful for high-throughput PDF studies that measure numerous data sets as a function of time, temperature or other environmental parameters. In comparison to the preceding programs,PDFgetX3requires fewer inputs and less user experience and it can be readily adopted by novice users. The live-plotting interactive feature allows the user to assess the effects of calculation parameters and select their optimum values.PDFgetX3uses anad hocdata correction method, where the slowly changing structure-independent signal is filtered out to obtain coherent X-ray intensities that contain structure information. The output fromPDFgetX3has been verified by processing experimental PDFs from inorganic, organic and nanosized samples and comparing them with their counterparts from a previous established software. In spite of the different algorithm, the obtained PDFs were nearly identical and yielded highly similar results when used in structure refinement.PDFgetX3is written in the Python language and features a well documented reusable code base. The software can be used either as a standalone application or as a library of PDF processing functions that can be called from other Python scripts. The software is free for open academic research but requires paid license for commercial use.
Hydrogen-bonded and π-interaction assembly in two 8-alkoxycarbonyl-1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-enium chloride salts
Authors: Mesto E. , Quaranta E.
Published: March 2013

The crystal structures of 8-phenoxycarbonyl-1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-enium chloride, C16H21N2O2+·Cl−, (I), and 8-methoxycarbonyl-1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-enium chloride monohydrate, C11H19N2O2+·Cl−·H2O, (II), recently reported by Carafa, Mesto & Quaranta [Eur. J. Org. Chem.(2011), pp. 2458–2465], are analysed and discussed with a focus on crystal interaction assembly. Both compounds crystallize in the space groupP21/c. The crystal packings are characterized by dimers linked through π–π stacking interactions and intermolecular nonclassical hydrogen bonds, respectively. Additional intermolecular C—H...Cl interactions [in (I) and (II)] and classical O—H...Cl hydrogen bonds [in (II)] are also evident and contribute to generating three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded networks.
Analogy to a Chinese knot in an ion-pair copper(II)–neodymium(III) complex based on a hexadentate Schiff base condensation product of 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and glycylglycine
Authors: Xu Li-Qing , Lu Li-Ping , Zhu Miao-Li
Published: March 2013

Self-assembly of CuCl2, NdCl3, 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and glycylglycine yields the ion-pair copper(II)–neodymium(III) complex, poly[[decaaquabis[μ3-2-({2-[(5-bromo-2-oxidobenzylidene)amino]acetyl}azanidyl)acetato]bis[μ2-2-({2-[(5-bromo-2-oxidobenzylidene)amino]acetyl}azanidyl)acetato]tetracopper(II)dineodymium(III)] bis{[2-({2-[(5-bromo-2-oxidobenzylidene)amino]acetyl}azanidyl)acetato]cuprate(II)} tetradecahydrate], {[Cu4Nd2(C11H8BrN2O4)4(H2O)10][Cu(C11H8BrN2O4)]2·14H2O}n. The anion is planar and mononuclear, showing an approximately square-planar coordination of the metal atom, while the cation is a hexanuclear centrosymmetric transition metal–lanthanide (Cu–Nd) heterometallic complex, with the independent copper cations in square-planar and square-pyramidal coordinations. The asymmetric unit comprises one half of this cation, one anion and seven solvent water molecules. The positions of the six metal centres in the cation reproduce a Chinese knot arrangement. The dipeptidic Schiff base releases three H atoms and can act as a tetradentate, a pentadentate or a hexadentate ligand. Longer interactions between the pentadentate ligands and the Jahn–Teller CuIIcation link the hexanuclear aggregates into cationic chains in the [010] direction in which 14- and 22-membered subloops occur. Extensive hydrogen bonding in three dimensions involves both the coordinated and the solvent water molecules.
Beyond Authenticity? Humanism, Posthumanism and New Organization Development
Authors: Bryant Melanie , Wolfram Cox Julie
Published: March 2013

In recent debates, the relevance of traditional objectivist organization development (OD) approaches has been questioned in terms of their appropriateness for contemporary organizations. A newODhas emerged wherein change is viewed as a socially constructed process and where there are multiple rather than singular authentic possibilities. We explore these possibilities by drawing on employees' discussions of how they manage conflicting interpretations of organizational change. Using the example of emotional labour, we compare traditional and newODapproaches in terms of how they view authenticity and then discuss posthumanist analysis, in which authenticity (or lack thereof) is no longer of focal concern. In particular, under traditionalOD, where authenticity can be ‘discovered’, the need to negotiate multiplicity and to downplay ‘negative’ responses is a problem to be addressed. Under newODsuch multiplicity becomes data for dialogue and discussion of future potentials. In contrast, a posthumanist analysis, while relational, neither reframes nor tempers authenticity but decentres the very notion of autonomy on which authenticity is based. The social constructionism of newODis recast and implications for theory and intervention are discussed.
Pigment Epithelium‐Derived Factor as a New Predictor of Mortality Among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Treated With Hemodialysis
Authors: Terawaki Hiroyuki , Yamagishi Sho‐ichi , Funakoshi Yoichi , Matsuyama Yukie , Terada Tomoyoshi , Nakayama Keisuke , Ogura Makoto , Hosoya Tatsuo , Ito Sadayoshi , Era Seiichi , Nakayama Masaaki
Published: March 2013

Pigment epithelium‐derived factor (PEDF) plays a protective role against atherosclerosis. Although serum PEDF level is increased in patients undergoing regular hemodialysis (HD), the pathophysiological role of PEDF in HD patients is unknown. We measured serum PEDF levels in 74 HD patients, and the association between serum PEDF and adverse events such as all‐cause death and cardiovascular accident was evaluated prospectively. During the follow up of 45.4 ± 25.1 months, 24 patients (32.4%) experienced cardiovascular accident and 18 (24.3%) died. Significantly higher incidences of all‐cause mortality and cardiovascular accident were observed in the lower PEDF group than in the higher PEDF group. After adjusting for propensity score calculated from multiple confounding factors (age, gender, systolic blood pressure, history of previous cardiovascular disease, level of carbonyl content, albumin, hemoglobin, total cholesterol, creatinine, C‐reactive protein, dialysis vintage, Kt/V‐urea and history of diabetes), lower predialytic PEDF was a significant risk factor for all‐cause mortality (relative hazard = 6.060, standard error = 0.68467, P = 0.0085). Lower levels of predialytic PEDF was associated with an increased risk of mortality.
Effect of Lipid Physical State of Palm Derivatives on β‐Carotene Bleaching
Authors: Calligaris Sonia , Manzocco Lara , Da Pieve Sara , Arrighetti Gianmichele , Cristina Nicoli Maria
Published: March 2013

This research was addressed to study the effect of lipid physical state on bleaching kinetics of β‐carotene. To this aim, β‐carotene was added to palm oil and palm stearin and the samples were stored at increasing temperatures allowing different degree of crystallization. Phase transition properties of palm derivatives were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and synchrotron X‐ray diffraction, whereas β‐carotene bleaching kinetics were followed by measuring color changes. Bleaching proceeded at comparable rate in palm oil and palm stearin containing systems stored at 20 and −18 °C, whereas the color changes showed a maximum rate at 4 °C in palm stearin samples and at −7 °C in palm oil systems. Arrhenius plot clearly highlighted deviations from the linearity underlining the crucial role of lipid physical properties in determining the bleaching rate. The location and the compartmentalization of β‐carotene in the fat lattice could affect its chemical stability.
Effect of Cover Brine Type on the Quality of Meat from Herring Marinades
Authors: Szymczak Mariusz , Szymczak Barbara , Koronkiewicz Anna , Felisiak Katarzyna , Bednarek Mateusz
Published: March 2013

Effects of vinegar, oil, and sour cream brines on meat quality of 4 popular cold marinades from herring were investigated in the study. Cover brine type affected the composition and nutritive value of meat as well as the sensory and microbiological quality of marinated herring. Qualitative differences resulted from cover brine penetration into meat, and from diffusion of components from meat to vinegar brine. Compared to oil and sour cream, vinegar brine contributed to increased concentrations of salt and acetic acid, hardness, color brightness of marinades meat and to increased microbial contamination of meat. Furthermore, vinegar caused nitrogen losses to 15%, including valuable products of protein hydrolysis, enzymes, and total volatile bases. The rolling up of fillets reduced diffusion even by 50%. In turn, oil and sour cream were causing mainly a higher fat content and overall sensory evaluation of the marinades.
Population‐based survey of the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in school children in Philadelphia (费城学龄儿童1型与2型糖尿病患病率基于人口的调查)
Authors: Lipman Terri H. , Ratcliffe Sarah J. , Cooper Rhona , Levitt Katz Lorraine E.
Published: March 2013

Background

Population‐based (PB) registries of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children have been essential in determining the geographic, racial, and temporal patterns of the disease. There is a paucity of PB data on the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in youth.

Methods

The prevalence of diabetes in children was determined using a PB survey of the 628 schools in Philadelphia. Data obtained included type of diabetes, date of birth, race, gender, date of diagnosis, diabetes treatment, and most recent height and weight.

Results

The survey was completed by nurses at 510 schools (81% of schools) representing 252,896 children (70% of children in Philadelphia). Prevalence (per 1000) was computed. The survey identified 492 cases (355 T1DM, 88 T2DM, 49 type unknown). The overall prevalence of T1DM was 1.58 (0.73 White, 0.56 African American, 0.50 Hispanic); of T2DM was 0.35 (0.03 White, 0.28 African American, 0.05 Hispanic). Mean age at diagnosis was 8.6 and 11.9 years for T1DM and T2DM, respectively. The prevalence of T1DM was higher in boys‐ T2DM was higher in girls. Of children with T2DM, 25% were treated with insulin. BMI was ≥95th percentile in 20% of children weighed (10% of T1DM, 57% of T2DM).

Conclusions

Although the Philadelphia Pediatric Diabetes Registry is the longest ongoing US registry of its kind, these are the first PB diabetes prevalence data of children in Philadelphia. PB studies in schools are able to capture children with diabetes who are diagnosed and treated in a variety of settings.