bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GR as a geometric theory of gravity — II
Authors: Cheng Ta-Pei
Published: February 2010

The mathematical realization of equivalence principle (EP) is the principle of general covariance. General relativity (GR) equations must be covariant with respect to general coordinate transformations. To go from special relativity (SR) to GR equations, one replaces ordinary by covariant derivatives. The SR equation of motion turns into the geodesic equation. The Einstein equation, as the relativistic gravitation field equation, relates the energy momentum tensor to the Einstein curvature tensor. The Einstein equation in the space exterior to a spherical source is solved to obtain the Schwarzschild solution. The solutions of Einstein equation that satisfy the cosmological principle is the Robertson-Walker spacetime. The relation of the cosmological Friedmann equations to the Einstein field equation is explicated. The compatibility of the cosmological-constant term with the mathematical structure of Einstein equation and the interpretation of this term as the vacuum energy tensor are discussed.
Private prisons and the democratic deficit
Authors: Aman, Jr Alfred C
Published: February 2010

This chapter describes the case of prison privatization in the United States. Prisons offer an interesting insight into debates over which coercive aspects of the state should be kept within government hands, and thus shed some light on the outsourcing of military functions. They also present a slightly more developed example of administrative oversight of outsourced functions. The chapter argues that the question of what is and is not ‘inherently governmental’ is a decision that must be made democratically, through an open political process that meets standards of transparency and accountability set in place by legislatures and overseen by courts. A new kind of administrative law thus may need to be created to respond to the democratic deficit associated with modern privatization.
Police informants
Authors: Ross Jacqueline
Published: February 2010

This chapter considers the circumstances in which a state can use private informants in criminal investigations. Informants raise concerns of abuse and lack of accountability similar to those posed by PMSCs, it is argued that the unique nature of informants as criminal insiders (that is, members of a criminal enterprise) makes delegation to them of investigative functions particularly troubling. Criminal insiders recruited as informants often remain in place in their targeted organizations and continue to participate in crimes in order to provide investigators with information about the organization's activities. In doing so, informants may purchase and sell contraband undercover, or participate in other offences with their criminal associates.
Intelligence services
Authors: Chesterman Simon
Published: February 2010

This chapter surveys the manner in which US intelligence functions have been outsourced in collection activities such as electronic surveillance, rendition, and interrogation, as well as the growing reliance on private actors for analysis. The different incentives that exist for private and public employees call for wariness in determining whether and to what extent intelligence functions should be outsourced. The simplest way of containing some of the accountability-related problems would be to forbid certain activities from being delegated or outsourced to private actors at all. A determination of which activities to forbid, however, is far from simple. In the United States, this question is framed in the language of ‘inherently governmental’ functions: those to be carried out by government employees only. There is, however, great uncertainty over the meaning of the term and little prospect of intelligence agencies adopting a robust definition of ‘inherently governmental’ functions.
4 Fighting Talk
Authors: Butterfield Ardis
Published: February 2010

uses the vituperative mid‐century ballade exchange between Philippe de Vitry and Jehan de le Mote, in which Philippe accuses Jean, a Hainuyer working for Edward III, of being an English traitor, as a focus for a broader consideration of the language of invective and ‘national’ identity in the period. After a section discussing nation through the eyes of Deschamps and also its university and trading connotations, the chapter turns to Deschamps's famous ballade extolling Chaucer as a ‘grant translateur’. It argues that it participates in this larger cross‐channel dialogue, and that it is a subtle articulation of praise and insult, playing on the witty, mutually condemning admiration (or mutually congratulatory contempt) of the Vitry‐Mote exchange. Deschamps registers a new sense of the impact of war on the cultural meanings of French for both insular and continental writers.
5 Exchanging Terms
Authors: Butterfield Ardis
Published: February 2010

This chapter investigates the language of diplomacy in more detail, looking at evidence from Froissart's Chroniques of his views on language and language use, and at the role language played in the battles for supremacy between English and French diplomats, lords, and kings. We see from a broad range of writing how potential linguistic misunderstandings are used as a subtle means of exerting diplomatic leverage on both sides of the Channel. The literary form of the envoy, revived by poets working in diplomatic roles, records a sensitivity to the role of language in cross‐cultural exchange. Two of Chaucer's major narratives, the Knight's Tale and Troilus and Criseyde, are saturated with this language of negotiation and represent subtle accounts of the tensions involved in fraternal relationships caught up in war.
7 Lingua franca: The International Language of Love
Authors: Butterfield Ardis
Published: February 2010

This chapter develops the argument of Chapter 5 by comparing groups of ballades, written in both English, French and Anglo‐French, on the continent and on the island, specifically composed in the ‘international’ language of love. Reading across and between Machaut, Froissart, Chaucer, Gower, and Graunson, teaches us to move on from the notion of source and ‘original’, or impersonal intertextuality, towards a much more flexible sense of love poetry as a deeply and multiply layered linguistic process, that passes from a large area of mutual self‐reference up through to examples of individual retorts and ripostes. Such a process cannot be easily characterized as ‘English’ or ‘French’: instead, poets are working with a much less rigid notion of linguistic — and literary — difference.
The Library (as) Book: The Fantasy of the Total Text
Authors: Too Yun Lee
Published: February 2010

Chapter 4 looks at the phenomenon of a single work that calls itself a library. It considers the Library of Apollodorus as a work that plays on seeming to be a full and complete text while actually containing conspicuous absences to which it consciously draws the reader's attention. It is a mythological compendium that offers moments of recognition that there are other narrative traditions than the present one. It becomes apparent that this Library is, as all other libraries, anything but a complete one.
The Library of Universal History: Diodorus Siculus and Literary Cosmopolitanism
Authors: Too Yun Lee
Published: February 2010

Chapter 5 considers another book that calls itself a library, the Library of History of Diodorus Siculus. Here the book has a particular world view, which demonstrates that the library may have a particular function in the world. Diodorus espouses a cosmopolitanism that sees all history and all mankind as inextricably linked, with harmony as the ideal and enmity as a non‐ideal. This is the substance of his narrative. At the centre of this cosmopolitan paradigm is Rome, which accepts everyone into itself and governs other nations peacefully. The Library of History is a work that draws together humanity and its experiences of justice and injustice, kindness and cruelty, as the inhabitants of a single, ‘civic’ community.
Picture Libraries: Statues among the Books
Authors: Too Yun Lee
Published: February 2010

Walk into an ancient library and you will see it adorned with artwork, statues, and paintings. Chapter 7 reads the relationship between art and text, seeing it as something that might effect psychological change in the viewer, connecting him with the past and serving as an aid to memory. Art also articulates the wealth that the library represents.
Is the European Court of Human Rights an Alternative to Investor-State Arbitration?
Authors: Kriebaum Ursula
Published: February 2010

This chapter discusses to what extent the EctHR can replace or complement international arbitration bodies, and under what conditions investors can and should file their claim at the ECtHR rather than at the traditional bodies for the settlement of investment disputes. The analysis focuses on a variety of indicators concerning jurisdiction and merits. By means of its judicial protection of property rights and ‘possessions’, the ECtHR already operates as one among many other European bodies responsible for the settlement of investment disputes. Resorting to the ECtHR can also entail significant disadvantages for investors, such as the lack of protection of indirect damages, the procedural requirement to first exhaust local remedies, and the risk of an only partial compensation. The chapter concludes that the ECtHR is no real alternative, but rather a remedy of second and last resort complement to traditional arbitral investment tribunals for investors.
Balancing Property Rights and Human Rights in Expropriation
Authors: Waincymer Jeff
Published: February 2010

This chapter concentrates on the protection of property rights through expropriation norms and the way the articulation and adjudication of these may impact upon human rights goals. The purpose of this chapter is two-fold: firstly to consider whether anti-expropriation norms are a barrier to human rights promotion through their content, application, or even the regulatory chill effects that might flow from expansive indirect takings norms; and secondly, to consider to what extent the development of comprehensive and balanced tests at the interface of potentially conflicting international governance regimes places great responsibility on adjudicators to expand upon the more open-ended norms that typically arise from treaty negotiations. A subsidiary question is whether the traditionally private field of international arbitration is as well suited to perform this function as a more permanent body such as the Appellate Body of the WTO or a body with broad public international law expertise such as the International Court of Justice.
‘Proportional’ by What Measure(s)? Balancing Investor Interests and Human Rights by Way of Applying the Proportionality Principle in Investor-State Arbitration
Authors: Krommendijk Jasper , Morijn John
Published: February 2010

This chapter explores the possibility of applying the proportionality principle, which is currently used by the ECtHR in its jurisprudence, in investor-state arbitration and, particularly, in expropriation-related claims. It argues that when States' obligations flowing from international investment treaties and human rights law come into tension, the application of the ‘proportionality test’ in the course of investor-state arbitration concerning expropriation may represent one of the routes through which a balancing of human rights protection imperatives and investor interests can take place. The complexity of this interplay relates to the fact that interests on both sides of the balance have human rights aspects. By virtue of ‘double proportionality’ testing, investor-state arbitration practice may be merging investment and human rights law proportionality standards — a development that is to be encouraged.
The Human Right to Water Versus Investor Rights: Double-Dilemma or Pseudo-Conflict?
Authors: Thielbörger Pierre
Published: February 2010

This chapter recalls that the human right to water is still not clearly accepted as a binding human right in international law. This absence of a clear legal status makes the settlement of important legal investment disputes in the field of water privatization even more difficult. In detailed case studies, the chapter holds that the notion of the right to water shows only little advantage for the states in the arbitral settlement of these disputes; if so, the advantages occur only in indirect and subtle ways. States must therefore take care of the protection and promotion of the right to water themselves, namely before water disputes even arise. They must try to include references to the right to water in the concession contracts with the investors — and thereby make the right part of the applicable law — in order to ensure stable water prices and high water quality.
2 The Financial Crisis of 2007–8 and its Macroeconomic Consequences1
Authors: Stiglitz Joseph E.
Published: February 2010

The global financial crisis is distinctive in its origins, its magnitude, and its consequences. This chapter examines the failures that led to the crisis and, in particular, the important role played by information and incentives problems. On the basis of this diagnosis, the author provides recommendations on how to reform financial regulation to prevent future crises. The crisis provides an excellent case study in the economics of information. Stiglitz illustrates how the models—those used explicitly by or implicit in the mind of both regulators and market participants—ignored the imperfections and asymmetries of information. Since incentives mattered, distorted incentives at both the individual and organizational level led to distorted behavior. These distorted incentives included executive compensation systems in banks and conflict of interest in rating agencies. Additional problems were caused by the repeal of Glass‐Steagall, moral hazard, the use of complexity to reduce competition and increase profit margins, as well as moral hazard problems created by securitization.
3 Sub‐Prime Finance: Yes, We are Still in Kansas1
Authors: Caprio, Jr. Gerard
Published: February 2010

Caprio Jr. argues that many of the features of the crisis are disturbingly familiar: they reflect “universal constants” of financial market behavior, particularly incentive systems that are conducive to excessive risk‐taking and lax oversight by markets and supervisors alike. In the author's view, one of the major mistakes that authorities made was putting their faith in a static set of rules, ignoring the dynamics of the regulatory game—that is, the fact that any static set of rules will end up inducing innovations designed to evade the same rules. According to Caprio, the goal of regulation should be a financial system that takes prudent risks in supplying a large volume of useful financial services efficiently, to the broadest part of society, and with the least corruption.
8 The Role of Policy and Banking Supervision in the Light of the Credit Crisis
Authors: Persaud Avinash D.
Published: February 2010

Persaud provides in his chapter complementary analysis on the design of banking regulation and supervision in the light of the credit crisis. In the author's view, two fundamental flaws in financial regulation led to the biggest crisis of modern times. The first was to put market evaluations of risk at the heart of financial regulation, through external ratings and risk measures derived from market prices. The essential problem is that market prices may improperly evaluate risk in the presence of market failures. The second flaw was to assume that common standards, such as value‐accounting and risk measures are good and that diversity is bad, thus underestimating the advantages different players have to assume different risks.
13 Regulation of the Financial Sector in Developing Countries: Lessons from the 2008 Financial Crisis
Authors: Reddy Y. V.
Published: February 2010

Reddy highlights several broad issues which need to be kept in view while considering changes in the regulatory structures of developing economies. During a crisis, whatever has to be done must be done promptly, comprehensively, and effectively to bring stability. But in rewriting regulatory structures, some broader issues need to be considered. Most developing economies recognize the continuing need for reforms in their financial sectors. However, the crisis of 2008 raises doubts as to the efficacy of known and existing models of financial sectors in the advanced economies, particularly the Anglo Saxon one. Thus, in the future, reforms in the financial sector may have to be cognizant of the evolving understanding of the subject, and hence gradualism commends itself.
3 Forces of Nature
Authors: Giudice Gian Francesco
Published: February 2010

A remarkable result of modern science has been to show that not only all forms of matter can be ascribed to a few fundamental elements, but also all natural phenomena, in their variety and complexity, can be reduced to four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, weak, and strong interactions. This chapter describes the nature of these forces. The gravitational force, first identified by Newton, is understood today in terms of Einstein's general relativity. This theory interprets gravity as the effect of the distortion of space and time caused by any form of mass or energy. Electromagnetism unifies electric and magnetic phenomena into a simple theory. This chapter recounts the discovery of the weak force through beta radioactivity, the neutrino, and Fermi's theory. It presents the story of the discovery of the strong force that binds together protons and neutrons inside the atomic nucleus.
9 Dealing with Naturalness
Authors: Giudice Gian Francesco
Published: February 2010

The naturalness problem is regarded by most physicists as one of the primary motivations for expecting new particles or new phenomena in zeptospace. This conceptual problem arises from the existence of a large ratio between the weak and the Planck lengths, in spite of the natural tendency of virtual particles to erase any difference between the two lengths. This chapter explains the problem, starting from a discussion of the hierarchy between weak and gravitational forces and then elucidating the meaning of virtual particles. Finally, the role of symmetries in the naturalness problem is introduced.
GOSemSim: an R package for measuring semantic similarity among GO terms and gene products
Authors: Yu Guangchuang , Li Fei , Qin Yide , Bo Xiaochen , Wu Yibo , Wang Shengqi
Published: February 2010

Summary: The semantic comparisons of Gene Ontology (GO) annotations provide quantitative ways to compute similarities between genes and gene groups, and have became important basis for many bioinformatics analysis approaches. GOSemSim is an R package for semantic similarity computation among GO terms, sets of GO terms, gene products and gene clusters. Four information content (IC)- and a graph-based methods are implemented in the GOSemSim package, multiple species including human, rat, mouse, fly and yeast are also supported. The functions provided by the GOSemSim offer flexibility for applications, and can be easily integrated into high-throughput analysis pipelines.

Availability: GOSemSim is released under the GNU General Public License within Bioconductor project, and freely available at http://bioconductor.org/packages/2.6/bioc/html/GOSemSim.html

Contact:  boxc@bmi.ac.cn; sqwang@bmi.ac.cn

Supplementary information: Supplementary information is available at Bioinformatics online.
Accelerated similarity searching and clustering of large compound sets by geometric embedding and locality sensitive hashing
Authors: Cao Yiqun , Jiang Tao , Girke Thomas
Published: February 2010

Motivation: Similarity searching and clustering of chemical compounds by structural similarities are important computational approaches for identifying drug-like small molecules. Most algorithms available for these tasks are limited by their speed and scalability, and cannot handle today's large compound databases with several million entries.

Results: In this article, we introduce a new algorithm for accelerated similarity searching and clustering of very large compound sets using embedding and indexing (EI) techniques. First, we present EI-Search as a general purpose similarity search method for finding objects with similar features in large databases and apply it here to searching and clustering of large compound sets. The method embeds the compounds in a high-dimensional Euclidean space and searches this space using an efficient index-aware nearest neighbor search method based on locality sensitive hashing (LSH). Second, to cluster large compound sets, we introduce the EI-Clustering algorithm that combines the EI-Search method with Jarvis–Patrick clustering. Both methods were tested on three large datasets with sizes ranging from about 260 000 to over 19 million compounds. In comparison to sequential search methods, the EI-Search method was 40–200 times faster, while maintaining comparable recall rates. The EI-Clustering method allowed us to significantly reduce the CPU time required to cluster these large compound libraries from several months to only a few days.

Availability: Software implementations and online services have been developed based on the methods introduced in this study. The online services provide access to the generated clustering results and ultra-fast similarity searching of the PubChem Compound database with subsecond response time.

Contact:  thomas.girke@ucr.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Ethanol Extract from Ampelopsis sinica Root Exerts Anti‐Hepatitis B Virus Activity via Inhibition of p53 Pathway In Vitro
Authors: Pang Ran , Tao Jun-Yan , Zhang Shu-Ling , Chen Ke-Li , Zhao Lei , Yue Xin , Wang Yue-Feng , Ye Pian , Zhu Ying , Wu Jian-Guo
Published: February 2010

Ampelopsis sinica root is widely used in Chinese folk medicine for treating liver disorders caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The present study was performed in order to investigate the anti‐HBV activity and mechanisms of the ethanol extract from A. sinica root (EASR) in vitro. The antiviral activity of EASR was examined by detecting the levels of HBsAg, HBeAg and extracellular HBV DNAs in stable HBV‐producing human hepatoblastoma HepG2 2.2.15 cells. We found that EASR effectively suppressed the secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg from HepG2 2.2.15 cells in a dose‐dependent manner, and it also suppressed the amount of extracellular HBV DNA. After EASR treatment, the percentage of apoptotic cells was found to be significantly higher than that of control by flow cytometric analysis. A luciferase reporter gene assay was used to determine the effects of EASR on the activities of HBV promoters and intracellular signaling pathways. The results showed that EASR selectively inhibited the activities of HBV promoters (Cp, S1p and Fp) and the p53 signaling pathway in HepG2 cells significantly. These data indicate that EASR exerts anti‐HBV effects via inhibition of HBV promoters and the p53‐associated signaling pathway, which helps to elucidate the mechanism underlying the potential therapeutic value of EASR.
Integrative analysis of the melanoma transcriptome
Authors: Berger Michael F. , Levin Joshua Z. , Vijayendran Krishna , Sivachenko Andrey , Adiconis Xian , Maguire Jared , Johnson Laura A. , Robinson James , Verhaak Roel G. , Sougnez Carrie , Onofrio Robert C. , Ziaugra Liuda , Cibulskis Kristian , Laine Elisabeth , Barretina Jordi , Winckler Wendy , Fisher David E. , Getz Gad , Meyerson Matthew , Jaffe David B. , Gabriel Stacey B. , Lander Eric S. , Dummer Reinhard , Gnirke Andreas , Nusbaum Chad , Garraway Levi A.
Published: February 2010

Global studies of transcript structure and abundance in cancer cells enable the systematic discovery of aberrations that contribute to carcinogenesis, including gene fusions, alternative splice isoforms, and somatic mutations. We developed a systematic approach to characterize the spectrum of cancer-associated mRNA alterations through integration of transcriptomic and structural genomic data, and we applied this approach to generate new insights into melanoma biology. Using paired-end massively parallel sequencing of cDNA (RNA-seq) together with analyses of high-resolution chromosomal copy number data, we identified 11 novel melanoma gene fusions produced by underlying genomic rearrangements, as well as 12 novel readthrough transcripts. We mapped these chimeric transcripts to base-pair resolution and traced them to their genomic origins using matched chromosomal copy number information. We also used these data to discover and validate base-pair mutations that accumulated in these melanomas, revealing a surprisingly high rate of somatic mutation and lending support to the notion that point mutations constitute the major driver of melanoma progression. Taken together, these results may indicate new avenues for target discovery in melanoma, while also providing a template for large-scale transcriptome studies across many tumor types.
A Support Group for Families who have Children in Care: an Evaluative Case Study
Authors: O'Connor Pat
Published: February 2010

This article evaluates an attempt to establish a support group for parents and relatives whose children are in care in one health board in Ireland. It uses a qualitative methodology, drawing on a group evaluation session, supplemented by individual interviews with the members of that group. The paper shows that it was successful in so far as it provided members with a forum where they felt accepted, where their rights as parents were validated, their self‐esteem enhanced and informal access provided to senior social workers. Finally, the paper suggests ways in which the therapeutic potential of such groups could be enhanced and more needy parents attracted into them.
Human Arm protein lost in epithelial cancers, on chromosome X 1 (ALEX1) gene is transcriptionally regulated by CREB and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling
Authors: Iseki Hiroyoshi , Takeda Akihiko , Andoh Toshiwo , Takahashi Norio , Kurochkin Igor V. , Yarmishyn Aliaksandr , Shimada Hideaki , Okazaki Yasushi , Koyama Isamu
Published: February 2010

The aberrant activation of Wnt signaling is a key process in colorectal tumorigenesis. Canonical Wnt signaling controls transcription of target genes via β‐catenin and T‐cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor family transcription factor complex. Arm protein lost in epithelial cancers, on chromosome X 1 (ALEX1) is a novel member of the Armadillo family which has two Armadillo repeats as opposed to more than six repeats in the classical Armadillo family members. Here we examine cis‐regulatory elements and trans‐acting factors involved in the transcriptional regulation of the ALEX1 gene. Site‐directed mutations of a cyclic AMP response element (CRE) and an E‐box impaired the basal activity of human ALEX1 promoter in colorectal and pancreatic cancer cell lines. Moreover, overexpression of CRE‐binding protein (CREB) increased the ALEX1 promoter activity in these cell lines, whereas knockdown of CREB expression decreased the expression level of ALEX1 mRNA. Interestingly, luciferase reporter analysis and quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR demonstrated that the ALEX1 promoter was up‐regulated in a CRE‐dependent manner by continuous activation of Wnt/β‐catenin signaling induced by a glycogen synthase kinase‐3 inhibitor and overexpression of β‐catenin. These results indicate that the CRE and E‐box sites are essential cis‐regulatory elements for ALEX1 promoter activity, and ALEX1 expression is regulated by CREB and Wntk/β‐catenin signaling. (Cancer Sci 2010)
Ecoregion and land‐use influence invertebrate and detritus transport from headwater streams
Authors: BINCKLEY CHRISTOPHER A. , WIPFLI MARK S. , MEDHURST R. BRUCE , POLIVKA KARL , HESSBURG PAUL , BRION SALTER R. , KILL JOSHUA Y.
Published: February 2010

Summary1. Habitats are often connected by fluxes of energy and nutrients across their boundaries. For example, headwater streams are linked to surrounding riparian vegetation through invertebrate and leaf litter inputs, and there is evidence that consumers in downstream habitats are subsidised by resources flowing from headwater systems. However, the strength of these linkages and the manner in which potential headwater subsidies vary along climatic and disturbance gradients are unknown.

2. We quantified the downstream transport of invertebrates, organic matter and inorganic sediment from 60 fishless headwater streams in the Wenatchee River Basin located on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range in Washington, U.S.A. Streams were classified into four groups (eachn = 15) based on their position within two ecological subregions (wet and dry) and the extent of past timber harvest and road development (logged and unlogged).

3. Time and ecoregion were significant for all response variables as transport varied across sampling periods, and dry ecoregion streams displayed significantly higher mean values. Logged sites also generally showed higher mean transport, but only inorganic sediment transport was significantly higher in logged sites. Both ecoregion and land‐use interacted significantly with time depending on the response variable. Differences among stream categories were driven by relatively low levels of transport in unlogged drainages of the wet ecoregion. Interestingly, unlogged dry ecoregion streams showed comparable transport rates to logged sites in the wet ecoregion. Dominance by deciduous riparian vegetation in all but unlogged streams in the wet ecoregion is a primary hypothesised mechanism determining transport dynamics in our study streams.

4. Understanding the quantity and variation of headwater subsidies across climate and disturbance gradients is needed to appreciate the significance of ecological linkages between headwaters and associated downstream habitats. This will enable the accurate assessment of resource management impacts on stream ecosystems. Predicting the consequences of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on headwater stream transport rates will require knowledge of how both local and regional factors influence these potential subsidies. Our results suggest that resources transported from headwater streams reflect both the meso‐scale land‐use surrounding these areas and the constraints imposed by the ecoregion in which they are embedded.
Warmer and richer? Predicting the impact of climate warming on species richness in small temperate waterbodies
Authors: ROSSET VÉRONIQUE , LEHMANN ANTHONY , OERTLI BEAT
Published: February 2010

Climate change is expected to affect communities worldwide. Many studies focus on responses at the regional level and show an increase in species richness. However, less is known about the consequences of climate change at the local scale (in ecosystems). Small waterbodies, such as ponds, could play an important role for the assessment of the impact of future changes in climate at the local level. We evaluated here the potential changes due to climate warming in the species richness for various groups (plants, snails, beetles, dragonflies, amphibians) across 113 lowland and high altitude ponds in Switzerland. We modelled the relationships between species richness and environmental variables (including temperature) and predicted species richness changes for the end of the century (2090–2100; using the A2 IPCC scenario). Temperature rise could significantly increase pond species richness. For the five taxonomic groups pooled, species richness would potentially increase from 41 to 75 (+83%) in lowland ponds. In presently species‐poor high altitude ponds, the potential increase would be particularly marked, with a proportional increase (+150%; from 14 to 35 species) almost double that in lowland areas. A strong increase in species richness also resulted from models including changes in additional variables, such as landuse or water quality. Future reductions in water quality (e.g. increase in nutrients) may limit the predicted increase in lowland species richness or, conversely, result in a greater increase in species richness in high altitude areas. Nutrient enrichment is shown to affect the taxonomic groups differentially, with plant species richness the most negatively influenced. Climate warming could therefore affect species richness of temperate ponds not only regionally, but also at the local, within ecosystems‐scale; species richness could increase markedly in temperate regions, and especially so at higher altitude.
Reconsidering off‐task: a comparative study of PDA‐mediated activities in four classrooms
Authors: Mifsud L. , Mørch A.I.
Published: February 2010

Mobile technology is ubiquitous and diverse and permeates many aspects of daily life at home, during leisure activities, and in public spaces. The study presented here is of two sixth grade classes in Michigan, USA and two seventh grade classes in Norway. The students and the teachers in these four classrooms were equipped with mobile technologies (PDAs). We found that the students' PDA‐mediated actions in the classroom were not exclusively used for the tasks and activities set by the teacher, but that the students also used the PDAs on their own initiative – so‐called ‘off‐task’ activities. We analyze the findings by reconsidering off‐task activities from a sociocultural perspective.
Larval food quality affects adult (but not larval) immune gene expression independent of effects on general condition
Authors: FELLOUS SIMON , LAZZARO BRIAN P.
Published: February 2010

The potential effect of larval condition on adult immunity in holometabolous insects is rarely considered. We show here that larval food composition can impact adult immunity independent from effects on general condition of the animal. Rather, our data indicate a plastic allocation of resources to immunity in high‐protein environments. Specifically, we found that increasing the nutritional yeast (protein) available to larval Drosophila melanogaster increased the adult’s constitutive transcription of two genes encoding defensive antimicrobial peptides. Adult dry weight was not significantly affected by larval food composition, while adult fat content decreased when larval yeast increased. Larval immune activity was unaffected by alterations of larval diet, indicating a lack of covariation in this trait across life‐stages. We conclude that the nutritional environment of insect larvae can affect adult immunity by influencing plastic allocation of resources. These influences are less predictable than constraints linked to general condition would be.
Climatic niche and neutral genetic diversity of the six Iberian pine species: a retrospective and prospective view
Authors: SOTO A. , ROBLEDO‐ARNUNCIO J. J. , GONZÁLEZ‐MARTÍNEZ S. C. , SMOUSE P. E. , ALÍA R.
Published: February 2010

Quaternary climatic fluctuations have left contrasting historical footprints on the neutral genetic diversity patterns of existing populations of different tree species. We should expect the demography, and consequently the neutral genetic structure, of taxa less tolerant to particular climatic extremes to be more sensitive to long‐term climate fluctuations. We explore this hypothesis here by sampling all six pine species found in the Iberian Peninsula (2464 individuals, 105 populations), using a common set of chloroplast microsatellite markers, and by looking at the association between neutral genetic diversity and species‐specific climatic requirements. We found large variation in neutral genetic diversity and structure among Iberian pines, with cold‐enduring mountain species (Pinus uncinata, P. sylvestris and P. nigra) showing substantially greater diversity than thermophilous taxa (P. pinea and P. halepensis). Within species, we observed a significant positive correlation between population genetic diversity and summer precipitation for some of the mountain pines. The observed pattern is consistent with the hypotheses that: (i) more thermophilous species have been subjected to stronger demographic fluctuations in the past, as a consequence of their maladaptation to recurrent glacial cold stages; and (ii) altitudinal migrations have allowed the maintenance of large effective population sizes and genetic variation in cold‐tolerant species, especially in more humid regions. In the light of these results and hypotheses, we discuss some potential genetic consequences of impending climate change.
X‐linked and autosomal recessive Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia: genotypic‐dental phenotypic findings
Authors: Clauss F , Chassaing N , Smahi A , Vincent MC , Calvas P , Molla M , Lesot H , Alembik Y , Hadj‐Rabia S , Bodemer C , Manière MC , Schmittbuhl M
Published: February 2010

Clauss F, Chassaing N, Smahi A, Vincent MC, Calvas P, Molla M, Lesot H, Alembik Y, Hadj‐Rabia S, Bodemer C, Manière MC, Schmittbuhl M. X‐linked and autosomal recessive Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia: genotypic‐dental phenotypic findings.

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is characterized by abnormal development of ectodermal structures and its molecular etiology corresponds to mutations of EDA‐EDAR genes. The aim of this study was first to investigate the genotype and dental phenotype associated with HED and second, to explore possible correlations between dental features and molecular defects. A total of 27 patients from 24 unrelated families exhibiting clinical signs of HED (22 XLHED males, 5 autosomal recessive forms) were retrospectively included. In the sample, 25 different mutations on EDA and EDAR genes were detected; 10 were not previously described. EDA and EDAR mutations corresponded respectively to 80.0% and 20.0% of the mutations. The dental phenotype analysis revealed a mean number of primary and permanent missing teeth ranging respectively from 14.5 (4–20) to 22.5 (10–28); the majority of the patients exhibited dysmorphic teeth. Overall, no differential expression in the degree of oligodontia according to either the mutated gene, the mutated functional sub‐domains, or the mutation type, could be observed. Nevertheless, the furin group exhibited severe phenotypes unobserved in the TNF group. Significant differences in the number of some primary missing teeth (incisor and canine) related to EDA‐EDAR genes defects were detected for the first time between XLHED and autosomal recessive HED, suggesting differential local effects of EDA‐EDAR genes during odontogenesis. The present genotypic‐phenotypic findings may add to the knowledge of the consequences of the molecular dysfunction of EDA‐NF‐kB in odontogenesis, and could be helpful in genetic counseling to distinguish autosomal forms from other HED syndromes.
Mass releases of Trichogramma ostriniae increase maize production in DPR Korea
Authors: Zhang F. , Babendreier D. , Wang Z.‐Y. , Il K. S. , Zheng L. , Pyon Y. C. , Bai S.‐X. , Song K. , Ri J. O. , Grossrieder M. , Kuhlmann U.
Published: February 2010

Field‐scale experiments were conducted in 2005 and 2006 on three cooperative farms in DPR Korea to evaluate the potential of Trichogramma ostriniae releases to reduce tunnel damage of maize plants caused by the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, and increase grain maize production. When released three times against the first generation of the pest at nominal densities of about 150 000 parasitoids/ha each and another two times against the second generation (in total 750 000 parasitoids/ha), significant effects on all assessed parameters were obtained. In the release plots, a mean parasitism rate of 61% was found, significantly different from the 21.8% found in non‐release (control) plots. Furthermore, the number of larvae was significantly reduced in release plots compared to control plots by 63.5% over all farms and both study years. Feeding tunnels caused by the Asian corn borer were reduced in length in the release plots by 64.1%. Finally, we found that fresh yield of maize ears was significantly higher in the release plots compared to control plots. For all farms and both years, the increase in fresh yield was 28.2%. In this paper we are for the first time presenting data in an international journal on the effect of Trichogramma releases on maize production in DPRK. Although T. ostriniae releases at high host densities observed in the present study were not able to completely suppress damage by the Asian corn borer, the yield increase of more than 1 ton/ha indicate that T. ostriniae releases may contribute significantly to stabilize the country’s maize production as well as support community efforts to avoid reversion into a food emergency situation.
Tolerance of adzuki bean to preplant‐incorporated, pre‐emergence, and post‐emergence herbicides in Ontario, Canada
Authors: STEWART CHRISTIE L. , NURSE ROBERT E. , GILLARD CHRIS , SIKKEMA PETER H.
Published: February 2010

Weed management options for adzuki‐bean growers in Ontario, Canada are limited due to few herbicide registrations. Four field trials were conducted at three locations in south‐western Ontario in 2007 and 2008 to determine the tolerance of adzuki bean to several preplant‐incorporated (PPI), pre‐emergence (PRE), and post‐emergence (POST) herbicides. All the herbicides were applied at the doses registered for use in soybean. The application of pendimethalin, cloransulam‐methyl, and halosulfuron‐methyl (PPI), flumetsulam, cloransulam‐methyl, and halosulfuron‐methyl (PRE), and acifluorfen and fomesafen (POST) caused ≤15% crop injury; however, the injury was transient and did not reduce the adzuki bean yield. The POST application of cloransulam‐methyl and imazethapyr caused ≤23% crop injury and reduced the biomass by ≤50%, but did not reduce the plant height or crop yield. Metribuzin, flumetsulam, atrazine, and pyroxasulfone (PPI), metribuzin, linuron, pyroxasulfone, and atrazine (PRE), and bentazon, imazethapyr plus bentazon, halosulfuron‐methyl, and thifensulfuron‐methyl (POST) caused ≤61% crop injury. These treatments reduced the biomass, plant height, and crop yield. Based on these results, pendimethalin, cloransulam‐methyl, and halosulfuron‐methyl applied PPI, flumetsulam, cloransulam‐methyl, and halosulfuron‐methyl applied PRE, and acifluorfen and fomesafen applied POST might be potential weed management options for weed management in adzuki bean. Cloransulam‐methyl and imazethapyr applied POST will need further evaluation due to phytotoxicity concerns. Metribuzin, flumetsulam, atrazine, and pyroxasulfone applied PPI, metribuzin, linuron, atrazine, and pyroxasulfone applied PRE, and bentazon, imazethapyr plus bentazon, halosulfuron‐methyl, and thifensulfuron‐methyl applied POST did not have an adequate margin of safety.
Litter‐mediated allelopathic effects of kudzu (Pueraria montana) onBidens pilosaandLolium perenneand its persistence in soil
Authors: RASHID MD. HARUN , ASAEDA TAKASHI , UDDIN MD. NAZIM
Published: February 2010

This study investigated the allelopathic effects of kudzu litter on the seed germination and early growth ofBidens pilosaandLolium perenne. The bioassays, with various concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g L−1) of aqueous kudzu litter leachate, significantly affected the germination percentages and radicle growth of both species. These parameters decreased progressively when the seedlings were exposed to increasing concentrations of leachate. The root and shoot length, dry weight, and chlorophyll concentration of theB. pilosaandL. perenneseedlings also were significantly affected when they were grown in leachate‐amended soil. However, the chlorophyll fluorescence values of the seedlings subjected to different concentrations of aqueous kudzu litter leachate indicated that the mere presence of leachate in the soil was not stressful for the plants. The seedlings of both species were under stressful conditions only when they were grown in the soil that was treated with higher concentrations of leachate (30, 40, or 50 g L−1). A 6 week decomposition study of the kudzu litter in soil was conducted to observe the retention of phenolic content in the soil. The results showed that, although the concentration of dissolved organic carbon decreased with increasing decomposition, the phenolic concentration was not significantly affected when the observation period ended. This suggests that the phytotoxic properties of kudzu litter remain stable in soil systems for a considerable amount of time after incorporation into the soil.
A Critical Examination of the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership
Authors: Lindebaum Dirk , Cartwright Susan
Published: February 2010

abstract

The buoyant research interest in the constructs emotional intelligence (EI) and transformational leadership (TFL) is a testament to the crucial role of emotional skills at work. EI is often described as an antecedent of TFL, and several empirical studies report a positive relationship between these variables. On closer inspection, however, there may be methodological factors, such as common method variance, that potentially undermine the validity of findings. Using a multi‐rater assessment (N = 227), this study sought to overcome the problem of method variance, whilst at the same time evaluate its potential presence by comparing same‐source and non‐same‐source data. Findings suggest that, when using a strong methodological design, no relationship between EI and TFL is found. Thus, these findings renew the demand for scientific rigour in the design of studies to enhance their validity. The theoretical ramifications of this study are such that management scholars need to re‐conceptualize the relationship between EI and TFL.
The Underpricing of Initial Public Offerings at the Berlin Stock Exchange, 1870–96
Authors: Burhop Carsten
Published: February 2010

In this article, we evaluate underpricing of initial public offerings at the Berlin Stock Exchange between 1870 and 1896. In contrast to modern data, first-day returns were extraordinary low and averaged less than 5%, even during the speculative period of the early 1870s. Moreover, standard underpricing theories based on asymmetric information, signalling mechanisms or litigation risk cannot explain underpricing. In contrast to modern markets, underpricing was higher during hot issue markets. Finally, we show that cash-flow relevant information contained in the corporate charter was readily factored in the first market price. Thus, the historical capital market differed from today’s market, but seems to have been efficient.