bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WHEN JAIL FAILS: AMENDING THE ASFA TO REDUCE ITS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS
Authors: Sherry Stephanie
Published: March 2010

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires states begin termination proceedings when a child resides in foster care for fifteen out of the last twenty‐two months. Many states interpret this to mean that an incarcerated parent is unfit when they leave their child in foster care just because they are separated from their children. Parents and children can still have meaningful relationships even when separated. Thus, parental unfitness should depend on many factors such as the relationship with the child, age of the child, and ability to provide support for the child—not just the time spent away from the child. This Note advocates for the amendment of ASFA to include factors courts should consider when terminating the parental rights of incarcerated parents and encouraged states to focus not on a time frame for termination, but rather consideration of circumstances relevant to each individual family. States should incorporate the factors into their state laws. Further, states should actively work with prisoners and their children to help maintain contact and if possible, reunify families after incarcerations. These services will help prevent the need for termination after a parent completes their sentence and will help to reduce recidivism.
THE DEVONIAN SUCCESSION IN NORTHERN NOVAYA ZEMLYA, ARCTIC RUSSIA: SEDIMENTOLOGY, PALAEOGEOGRAPHY AND HYDROCARBON OCCURRENCE
Authors: Guo Li , Schekoldin R. , Scott R.
Published: March 2010

The Novaya Zemlya archipelago in Arctic Russia contains an Early Mesozoic fold‐and‐thrust belt that exposes a predominantly Palaeozoic succession. At a number of localities in northern Novaya Zemlya, Devonian carbonates within this succession contain solid bitumen.

The Devonian succession was examined in two areas in northern Novaya Zemlya, one on the Barents Sea coast and one on the Kara Sea coast. On the Barents Sea coast, the Early Devonian succession comprises non‐marine and near‐shore marine siliciclastics which grade upward into shallow‐marine platform carbonates. These facies are succeeded by Middle Devonian deeper‐water mid‐outer shelf black mudstones and shales. The Late Devonian succession consists of early Frasnian continental conglomerates and sandstones, and middle‐Frasnian to Famennian shallow‐marine platform carbonates.

On the Kara Sea coast, the entire Devonian succession is dominated by shallow‐marine carbonates, with deeper‐water carbonate turbidites and shales in the late Lochkovian, marine siliciclastics in the Eifelian and non‐marine sandstones in the early Frasnian.

The Devonian palaeogeography of Novaya Zemlya is characterised by a deepwater slope‐basin in the centre and east, and a shallow‐marine carbonate platform in the south, west and north. Extensional tectonism influenced deposition of the Devonian succession, particularly during the late Givetian to early Frasnian.

Solid bitumen is confined to carbonate facies and is most abundant in Early Devonian strata, occurring mainly within syn‐tectonic fractures and associated secondary pore systems. In the mature Timan‐Pechora Basin to the south of Novaya Zemlya, Devonian strata are an important element in the petroleum system; however, in the less‐explored deep basins of the eastern Barents Shelf to the west of Novaya Zemlya, equivalent Palaeozoic strata are generally deeply buried beneath younger successions. Information from Novaya Zemlya therefore provides an important insight into the likely nature of successions and petroleum systems offshore.
Fibre types in skeletal muscle: a personal account
Authors: Schiaffino S.
Published: March 2010

Muscle performance is in part dictated by muscle fibre composition and a precise understanding of the genetic and acquired factors that determine the fibre type profile is important in sport science, but is also relevant to neuromuscular diseases and to metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. The dissection of the signalling pathways that determine or modulate the muscle fibre phenotype has thus potential clinical significance. In this brief review, I examine the evolution of the notion of muscle fibre types, discuss some aspects related to species differences, point at problems in the interpretation of transgenic and knockout models and show how in vivo transfection can be used to identify regulatory factors involved in fibre type diversification, focusing on the calcineurin‐nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway.
A Road More Traveled: Media Firms and Social Media
Authors: Ahmad‐Taylor Ty
Published: March 2010

A few words of advice to media companies hoping to maximize their exposure online: Go where your customers are. And that means … social networks. It also means that sometimes you'll have to give away your product for free.
Development and Validation of a Computer‐Administered Number Sense Scale for Fifth‐Grade Children in Taiwan
Authors: Li Mao‐Neng Fred , Yang Der‐Ching
Published: March 2010

To investigate the structure of number sense and then to assess its uses in fifth‐grade children's number sense development, a computerized number sense scale was developed and evaluated. The findings of the study indicate that the newly developed scale, with four dominant factors identified and reconfirmed, is internally consistent and substantially valid. It can be reliably used as a screening measure for a quick check of students' number sense development via online self‐assessment. Compared with our previous study, both qualitative and quantitative changes were detected in students' number sense development at different grades. The qualitative change in number sense development is manifested in different numbers of factor components produced at different grades. The quantitative change is manifested in different amounts of factor variance explained at different grades. Furthermore, among the four aspects of number sense, Taiwanese students perform best on recognizing the relative number size yet relatively worse on judging the reasonableness of computational results.
Toward a Reasoned Judicial Decision
Authors: Broiles R. David
Published: March 2010

A review‐article of Julius Stone, Legal System and Lawyers' Reasonings, Stanford, University Press

Herbert Wechsler, Principles, Politics and Fundamental Law, Harvard University Press

H. L. A. Hart, The Concept of Law, Oxford University Press

Richard A. Wasserstrom, The Judicial Decision, Toward a Theory of Legal Justification, Stanford University Press

Judith N. Shklar, Legalism, Harvard University Press
Philosophies in America
Authors: Reck Andrew J.
Published: March 2010

A review‐article of Loren Baritz, City On a Hill, A History of Ideas and Myths in America, John Wiley and Sons

C. Wright Mills, Sociology and Pragmatism, Paine‐Whitman Publishers

Roderick M. Chisholm, Herbert Feigl, William K. Frankena, John Passmore, Manley Thompson, Philosophy, Prentice‐Hall

Max Black, Philosophy in America, Cornell University Press
Works By and About Gabriel Marcel
Authors: Wenning Gerald G.
Published: March 2010

The bibliography of any contemporary philosopher is destined to be incomplete before it is ever published and the following is no exception. One guiding principle has been used throughout in the preparation of this bibliography: to provide readers with a guide which, though not exhaustive, does provide a good starting point for the serious study of the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel. Those works which contain comprehensive bibliographies to a certain date are listed as such. Roger Troisfontaines' De l'existence à l'être, for example, contains an exhaustive bibliography of Marcel's works to the date of its publication and this fact is noted in the entry below. It is always best to read a philosopher in his original language. For the convenience of the English‐speaking reader however, the more important works of Gabriel Marcel are listed in the translation whenever possible. The books and articles written about Gabriel Marcel must obviously be listed in the language in which they appear in print.
THE PAINS OF R‐GEORGE, ROBOT
Authors: Harrison Frank R.
Published: March 2010

In this essay I wish to raise the question of whether it is meaningful to say that a certain sort of robot is in pain. This is, of course, not an empirical question. There exists no robot of the sort I shall describe. But, I shall argue, if such a robot did in fact exist, it would be meaningful to say it is in pain.
CIRCULARITY AND INCONSISTENCY IN KUHN'S DEFENSE OF HIS RELATIVISM
Authors: III Harmon R. Holcomb
Published: March 2010

For more than a century, it has been a standard ploy to argue against relativism on the grounds of self‐referential incoherence (e.g., “if the relativists say that beliefs have no objective validity then that belief itself has none,” etc.). This paper determines the particular form this sort of charge takes when applied to a problematic passage in which Kuhn defends his relativistic theory of science by applying that theory to the debate between his critics and himself. If Kuhn were to give up relativism with respect to facts and truth but retain it with respect to the strength of reasons, a pair of dilemmas charging circularity and inconsistency could be circumvented.
TWO APPARENT PARADOXES ABOUT JUSTICE AND THE SEVERITY OF PUNISHMENT
Authors: Smilansky Saul
Published: March 2010

The idea of Mitigation incorporates the conviction that though the amount or severity of punishment is primarily to be determined by reference to the General Aim, yet Justice requires that those who have special difficulties to face in keeping the law which they have broken should be punished less.
SPLIT‐BRAINS AND SINGULAR PERSONHOOD
Authors: Greenwood John D.
Published: March 2010

In this paper it is argued that the experimental data on commissurotomy patients provide no grounds for denying the singular personhood of commissurotomy patients. This is because, contrary to most philosophical accounts, there is no “unity of consciousness” discriminating condition for singular personhood that is violated in the case of commissurotomy patients, and because no contradictions arise when singular personhood is ascribed to commissurotomy patients.
Does the Argument from Realization Generalize? Responses to Kim
Authors: Gillett Carl , Rives Bradley
Published: March 2010

By quantifying over properties we cannot create new properties any more than by quantifying over individuals we can create new individuals. Someone murdered Jones, and the murderer is either Smith or Jones or Wang. That “someone,” who murdered Jones, is not a person in addition to Smith, Jones, and Wang, and it would be absurd to posit a disjunctive person, Smith‐or‐Jones‐or‐Wang, with whom to identify the murderer. The same goes for second‐order properties and their realizers. (Kim 1997a, 201)
A Modified Footplate for the Kerrison Rongeur
Authors: Mitha Alim P. , Ahmad Mohamed S. , Cohen Sarah J. , Lieberman Janet S. , Udengaard Martin R. , Slocum Alexander H. , Coumans Jean-Valery C. E.
Published: March 2010

Use of the Kerrison rongeur for bone removal in spinal surgery is associated with dural tears and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. We report a modification of the Kerrison rongeur footplate designed to reduce the risk of dural tears. A novel footplate was designed by incorporating the following parameters: (1) tapering the footplate to deflect soft tissue downward during positioning of the rongeur underneath the bone, and (2) making the footplate longer and wider than the cutting element to prevent soft tissue from entering into the cutting surface. Stereolithography models of the modified footplate were made and tested in a cadaver. A stainless steel modified footplate was then incorporated into an existing Kerrison rongeur as a working prototype, and tested in 20 laminectomy cases to clinically validate its design. The modified footplate prevented soft tissue from entering the cutting surface of the Kerrison rongeur in the manner intended by its design. No dural tears or CSF leaks were encountered in any instance. Potential soft tissue compression caused by an increase in footplate dimensions was not a significant issue in the rongeur size tested. This modification, however, might not be practical in rongeurs larger than 3 mm. The risk of dural tears and cerebrospinal fluid leaks in spinal surgery may be reduced by this footplate modification of the Kerrison rongeur. Soft tissue compression may limit the incorporation of this modification to rongeurs of 3 mm or smaller. The promising results warrant further tests with a wider range of sizes.
Supervisory Feed-Forward Control for Real-Time Topping Cycle CHP Operation
Authors: Cho Heejin , Luck Rogelio , Chamra Louay M.
Published: March 2010

This paper presents an energy dispatch algorithm for real-time topping cycle cooling, heating, and power (CHP) operation for buildings with the objective of minimizing the operational cost, primary energy consumption (PEC), or carbon dioxide emission (CDE). The algorithm features a supervisory feed-forward control for real-time CHP operation using short-term weather forecasting. The advantages of the proposed control scheme for CHP operation are (a) relatively simple and efficient implementation allowing realistic real-time operation, (b) optimized CHP operation with respect to operational cost, PEC, or CDE, and (c) increased site-energy consumption resulting in less dependence on the electric grid. In the feed-forward portion of the control scheme, short-term electric, cooling, and heating loads are predicted using the U.S. Department of Energy benchmark small office building model. The results are encouraging regarding the potential saving of operational cost, PEC, and CDE from using the control system for a CHP system with electric and thermal energy storages.
Valved Heat Engine Working on Modified Atkinson Cycle
Authors: Ramesh C. V.
Published: March 2010

There is immense scope for the development of heat engines that can directly convert solar and biochemical renewable sources of thermal energy to high-grade energy. Regenerative Stirling cycle heat engine with its performance criteria of highest thermal efficiency and high mean effective pressure is theoretically the best engine for small capacity reciprocating heat engine. However, the practical Stirling engine performance is far from the ideal. As an alternative, practical heat engines based on thermodynamic cycles (without regeneration) other than the Stirling cycle have been suggested. This paper deals with a new concept in the design of reciprocating heat engine working on modified Atkinson cycle. In the Atkinson cycle, expansion ratio being higher than compression ratio, the thermal efficiency is better than that of the standard Otto cycle. Heat engine design based on the suggested modified Atkinson cycle can be an alternative to the practical Stirling engine. In the conceptual mechanical design of the engine suggested here, apart from utilizing the principle of Atkinson cycle for achieving higher thermal efficiency, the mechanical configuration of the reciprocating engine ensures a high degree of inertial force balancing. This can result in reduced vibrations in the mountings of the power units.
Entropy Generation Minimization in a Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Authors: Sciacovelli Adriano , Verda Vittorio
Published: March 2010

The aim of the paper is to investigate possible design modifications in tubular solid oxide fuel cell geometry to increase its performance. The analysis of the cell performances is conducted on the basis of the entropy generation. The use of this technique makes it possible to identify the phenomena provoking the main irreversibilities, understand their causes and propose changes in the system design and operation. The different contributions to the entropy generation are analyzed in order to develop new geometries that increase the fuel cell efficiency. To achieve this purpose, a CFD model of the cell is used. The model includes energy equation, fluid dynamics in the channels and in porous media, current transfer, chemical reactions, and electrochemistry. The geometrical parameters of the fuel cell are modified to minimize the overall entropy generation.
Performance and Control of Liquid-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone Separators
Authors: Mathiravedu Rajkumar S. , Wang Shoubo , Mohan Ram S. , Shoham Ovadia , Marrelli Jack D.
Published: March 2010

The feasibility of using liquid-liquid cylindrical cyclone (LLCC©) as a free-water knockout device for bulk separation of oil-water mixtures in the field strongly depends on the implementation of control systems due to its compactness, less residence time, and possible inlet flow variations. In this investigation, the LLCC control dynamics have been studied extensively both theoretically and experimentally. A linear model has been developed for the first time for LLCC separators equipped with underflow watercut control, which enables simulation of the system dynamic behavior. A unique “direct” control strategy is developed and implemented, capable of obtaining clear water in the underflow line and maintaining maximum underflow rate. Dedicated control system simulations are conducted using MATLAB/SIMULINK® software to simulate the real system dynamic behavior. Detailed experimental investigations are conducted to evaluate the system sensitivity and dynamic behavior of the proposed control strategy. The results demonstrate that the proposed control system is capable of controlling the underflow watercut around its set point by obtaining maximum free-water knockout for a wide range of flow conditions, namely, inlet water concentration of 40% to 95% and inlet mixture velocity of 0.2 m/s to 1.5 m/s.
Potential of Industrial Solid Wastes as Energy Sources and Gaseous Emissions Evaluation in a Pilot Scale Burner (ES2008-54355)
Authors: Floriani Silvia L. , Virmond Elaine , Luiz Danielle B. , Althoff Christine A. , José Humberto J. , Moreira Regina F. P. M.
Published: March 2010

Industrially, many solid wastes can be classified as biomass and their usage reduces disposal costs. In this work, seven wastes from textile and food industries were characterized chemically and physically and the gaseous emissions resulting from the combustion of three of them (textile residues 3, TR3; coffee grounds; and a mixture of meat processing industry wastewater sludge and saw dust (1:9) in weight, SS1) in a pilot scale cyclone type combustor were measured. Their potential for utilization as energy sources was assessed by comparing the emissions to current legislation. Chemical properties showed that the volatile matter values of all biomass were high, which indicate that the solids burn rapidly. Some biomass presented high levels of sulfur and consequently high levels of SO2 emission when burned. The lower heating values ranged from 6.44 MJ kg−1 (dry and ash free, daf) to 22.93 MJ kg−1 (daf) and thermogravimetric analysis of the biomasses showed ignition temperatures and maximum burning rates, which were compared with other papers’ data. Four combustion tests were carried out in a cyclone type combustor and CO, CO2, NOx, CxHy, and SO2 were measured. Moisture content and particulate matter were also measured during the combustion tests and showed effective combustion conditions. Volatile organic compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and their content values were expressed as total organic carbon (TOC), being all TOC emissions below the limits imposed by the regulations taken as reference. Gaseous emissions were compared with limits imposed by Brazilian and international current legislations, what showed that the usage of these biomasses as energy sources is possible; however, gas treatment would be required, especially if the solid presents high levels of sulfur and chlorine.
Exergetic Analysis and Assessment of Industrial Furnaces
Authors: Caliskan Hakan , Hepbasli Arif
Published: March 2010

This study presents exergy analysis of a natural gas-fired radiant tube-heating furnace. In the analysis, actual data over a test period of 3 h were used. Exergy efficiencies, destructions, losses, and entropy generation of the furnace were determined. For an average furnace temperature of 666.6°C, average exergy efficiency value was calculated to be 9.6%. The exergy destruction rate was obtained to be 5.34 kW while exergy rates of the flue gases, exergy losses, and exergy steel were 12.53 kW, 44.28 kW, and 6.6 kW, respectively. On the other hand, the exergy rate of the product (steel) was found to be between 4.61 kW and 9.88 kW over the 15 min test periods, and it reached a maximum rate at the end of the second hour.
Enabling Technology for Microvascular Stenting in Ophthalmic Surgery
Authors: Wei Wei , Popplewell Claire , Chang Stanley , Fine Howard F. , Simaan Nabil
Published: March 2010

Microstenting is a potentially revolutionary approach to surgical treatment of microvascular retinal disorders that do not resolve using pharmaceutical treatment. This article presents a novel device called a stent deployment unit (SDU) that aims at enabling microstent placement in ophthalmic surgery. The clinical motivation for this work is highlighted in context of microvascular retinal surgery. The proposed SDU is designed for intraocular adjustment of the approach angle and the position of the stent with respect to the retina. The feasibility of this device is experimentally evaluated on chick chorioallantoic membranes and on agar vascular models. Experiments show dependency on the approach angle with respect to the vasculature and on the mobility of the vasculature. Successful placement of stents was achieved in both experimental media. To the best of our knowledge, this pioneering work is the first to demonstrate successful stent deployment in a scale suitable for retinal surgery. We believe that this technique has the promise of enabling effective vascular treatments for blinding conditions such as central and branch retinal vein occlusion.
Precision laser micromachining of trenches in GaN on sapphire
Authors: Mak G. Y. , Lam E. Y. , Choi H. W.
Published: March 2010

Trench formation for device isolation on GaN light-emitting diode (LED) wafers via nanosecond ultraviolet laser micromachining is demonstrated. Trenches with smooth sidewalls and flat bottom surfaces are produced. Unlike wafer scribing with laser beams, the formation of trenches requires that the incident fluence is sufficient for laser ablation of GaN, yet low enough to prevent ablation of the sapphire substrate. Owing to the dissimilar ablation thresholds between GaN and sapphire, the etch process terminates automatically at the GaN/sapphire interface. The effect of the following parameters on the trench properties and quality has been investigated: focus offset, pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, scan speed, and the number of scan passes. It was found that optimal focus offset and pulse energy, a high pulse repetition rate, and single cycle of slow scanning are the key factors for obtaining a trench with tapered sidewall and smooth bottom surface, which is suitable for the laying of interconnects conformally across the trench for device interconnection. This technique has been successfully applied to the rapid prototyping of interconnected LED arrays on a single chip, where metal interconnects run continuously across the micromachined trenches to connect the individual LED devices.
Molecular beam epitaxy of GaNAs alloys with high As content for potential photoanode applications in hydrogen production
Authors: Novikov S. V. , Staddon C. R. , Foxon C. T. , Yu K. M. , Broesler R. , Hawkridge M. , Liliental-Weber Z. , Walukiewicz W. , Denlinger J. , Demchenko I.
Published: March 2010

The authors have succeeded in growing GaN1−xAsx alloys over a large composition range (0<x<0.8) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The enhanced incorporation of As was achieved by growing the films with high As2 flux at low (as low as 100 °C) growth temperatures, which is much below the normal GaN growth temperature range. Using x-ray and transmission electron microscopy, they found that the GaNAs alloys with high As content x>0.17 are amorphous. Optical absorption measurements together with x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy results reveal a continuous gradual decrease in band gap from ∼3.4 to <1 eV with increasing As content. The energy gap reaches its minimum of ∼0.8 eV at x∼0.8. The composition dependence of the band gap of the crystalline GaN1−xAsx alloys follows the prediction of the band anticrossing model (BAC). However, our measured band gap of amorphous GaN1−xAsx with 0.3<x<0.8 are larger than that predicted by BAC. The results seem to indicate that for this composition range the amorphous GaN1−xAsx alloys have short-range ordering that resembles random crystalline GaN1−xAsx alloys. They have demonstrated the possibility of the growth of amorphous GaN1−xAsx layers with variable As content on glass substrates.
Highly conductive indium zinc oxide prepared by reactive magnetron cosputtering technique using indium and zinc metallic targets
Authors: Tsai T. K. , Chen H. C. , Lee J. H. , Huang Y. Y. , Fang J. S.
Published: March 2010

Zn-doped In2O3 film is frequently deposited from an oxide target; but the use of metallic target is increasingly expected as preparing the film with comparable properties. This work aimed to prepare a highly conductive and transparent Zn-doped In2O3 thin film on Corning Eagle2000 glass substrate by magnetron cosputtering method using indium and zinc targets. Structural characterization was performed using x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The film had an amorphous structure when the film was prepared on an unheated substrate, but had an In2O3 polycrystalline structure when the film was deposited on 150 and 300 °C substrates. The electrical properties of the film were greatly affected by annealing; the Zn-doped In2O3 film had a low resistivity of 6.1×10−4 Ω cm and an average transmittance of 81.7% when the film was deposited without substrate heating and followed a 600 °C annealing.
Structural Basis of Preexisting Immunity to the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Virus
Authors: Xu Rui , Ekiert Damian C. , Krause Jens C. , Hai Rong , Crowe James E. , Wilson Ian A.
Published: March 2010

Swine Flu Neutralized

The 2009 H1N1 flu virus had an unusually low infection rate in elderly people. An antibody isolated from survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic was recently shown to cross-neutralize 2009 H1N1 viruses.

Xu
et al.

(p.
357
, published online 25 March) report crystal structures of the virus envelope protein, hemagglutinin (HA) from 2009 H1N1 and of 1918 H1 HA in complex with a neutralizing antibody that cross-reacts with both pandemic viruses. These studies reveal an epitope that is conserved in the pandemic viruses, but divergent in other known H1 HAs, from the 1930s to the present. This antigenic similarity explains the age-related immunity to the 2009 H1N1 influenza.
Role of an Expanded Inositol Transporter Repertoire in Cryptococcus neoformans Sexual Reproduction and Virulence
Authors: Xue Chaoyang , Liu Tongbao , Chen Lydia , Li Wenjun , Liu Iris , Kronstad James W. , Seyfang Andreas , Heitman Joseph
Published: March 2010

Cryptococcus neoformans
and
Cryptococcus gattii
are globally distributed human fungal pathogens and the leading causes of fungal meningitis. Recent studies reveal that
myo
-inositol is an important factor for fungal sexual reproduction. That
C. neoformans
can utilize
myo
-inositol as a sole carbon source and the existence of abundant inositol in the human central nervous system suggest that inositol is important for
Cryptococcus
development and virulence. In accord with this central importance of inositol, an expanded
myo
-inositol transporter (
ITR
) gene family has been identified in
Cryptococcus
. This gene family contains two phylogenetically distinct groups, with a total of 10 or more members in
C. neoformans
and at least six members in the sibling species
C. gattii
. These inositol transporter genes are differentially expressed under inositol-inducing conditions based on quantitative real-time PCR analyses. Expression of
ITR
genes in a
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
itr1 itr2
mutant lacking inositol transport can complement the slow-growth phenotype of this strain, confirming that
ITR
genes are
bona fide
inositol transporters. Gene mutagenesis studies reveal that the Itr1 and Itr1A transporters are important for
myo
-inositol stimulation of mating and that functional redundancies among the
myo
-inositol transporters likely exist. Deletion of the inositol 1-phosphate synthase gene
INO1
in an
itr1
or
itr1a
mutant background compromised virulence in a murine inhalation model, indicating the importance of inositol sensing and acquisition for fungal infectivity. Our study provides a platform for further understanding the roles of inositol in fungal physiology and virulence.

IMPORTANCE
Cryptococcus neoformans
is an AIDS-associated human fungal pathogen that causes over 1 million cases of meningitis annually and is the leading cause of fungal meningitis in immunosuppressed patients. The initial cryptococcal infection is caused predominantly via inhalation of sexual spores or desiccated yeast cells from the environment. How this fungus completes its sexual cycle and produces infectious spores in nature and why it frequently infects the central nervous system to cause fatal meningitis are critical questions that remain to be understood. In this study, we demonstrate that inositol acquisition is important not only for fungal sexual reproduction but also for fungal virulence. We identified an expanded inositol transporter gene family that contains over 10 members, important for both fungal sexual reproduction and virulence. Our work contributes to our understanding of how fungi respond to the environmental inositol availability and its impact on sexual reproduction and virulence.
Identification of ecological structure and species relationships along an oceanographic gradient in the Gulf of Maine using multivariate analysis with bootstrapping
Authors: Jordaan Adrian , Chen Yong , Townsend David W. , Sherman Sally
Published: March 2010

Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a fundamental understanding of ecosystem boundaries and interspecies interactions. We report a delineation of fish and invertebrate data collected by trawl survey along the Maine, USA, coast. Principal components analysis (PCA) reduced the multidimensionality of the data and created new variables from correlations among species. Bootstrapped PCA was employed to assess PCA structure using eigenvalue variation and species associations using eigenvector variation. A general linear model related structure of fish community identified in PCA to depth, temperature, longitude, and interactions among these variables. Generally, alongshore and onshore–offshore assemblage patterns related to oceanographic gradients, with seasonal variation. PCA-created variables act as indicators of biodiversity and are related to the scale of observation, allowing for multiple scales to be integrated if data are available. Species targeted and gear used along with spatial extent and sampling density must be considered when management zonation is to be undertaken but would allow boundaries to follow biological and physical gradients rather than relying on the typical political and economic variables, avoiding ecologically deleterious spatial patterns in fishing pressure or other instances of de facto zoning. Regardless, this study describes some contributing factors causing division of species assemblages that should be considered.
Parvicapsula minibicornis infections in gill and kidney and the premature mortality of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from Cultus Lake, British Columbia
Authors: Bradford Michael J. , Lovy Jan , Patterson David A. , Speare David J. , Bennett William R. , Stobbart Allen R. , Tovey Christine P.
Published: March 2010

In recent years, large losses of migrating adult sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) from the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada, have resulted in reductions in catches and productivity. We investigated patterns of mortality and the occurrence of the myxosporean parasite Parvicapsula minibicornis in adult sockeye salmon from Cultus Lake, tributary to the Fraser River. Using data from a captive broodstock program, we found that early migrants to Cultus Lake had less severe P. minibicornis infections and were more likely to survive to maturity than those fish that arrived later after they had presumably held in the warmer Fraser River. We found P. minibicornis in kidneys and gills of spawners. In some fish, significant histopathology in the gills that included severe inflammation and hyperplasia of the gill lamellae was observed; the severity of the disease was correlated with the severity of P. minibicornis infections. Kidney and gill pathologies were more prevalent and more severe in fish that died before spawning compared with those that matured successfully. Gill disease associated with P. minibicornis infections had not been previously identified in Fraser River sockeye salmon, and its role in the loss of spawners needs further investigation.
Development of models to predict Pinus radiata productivity throughout New Zealand
Authors: Watt Michael S. , Palmer David J. , Kimberley Mark O. , Höck Barbara K. , Payn Tim W. , Lowe David J.
Published: March 2010

Development of spatial surfaces describing variation in productivity across broad landscapes at a fine resolution would be of considerable use to forest managers as decision support tools to optimize productivity. In New Zealand, the two most widely used indices to quantify productivity of Pinus radiata D. Don are Site Index and 300 Index. Using an extensive national data set comprising a comprehensive set of national extent maps, multiple regression models and spatial surfaces of these indices for P. radiata were constructed. The final models accounted for 64% and 53%, respectively, of the variance in Site Index and 300 Index. For Site Index, variables included in the final model in order of importance were mean annual air temperature, fractional mean annual available root-zone water storage, mean annual windspeed, length and slope factor, categories describing Land Environments of New Zealand (LENZ), and major soil parent material. The variables included in the final model of 300 Index in order of importance included the degree of ground frost during autumn, fractional mean annual available root-zone water storage, categories describing LENZ, vegetation classification, foliar nitrogen, taxonomic soil order, and major soil parent material. These results highlight the utility of thematic spatial layers as driving variables in the development of productivity models.
How does a tree species influence litter decomposition? Separating the relative contribution of litter quality, litter mixing, and forest floor conditions
Authors: Laganière Jérôme , Paré David , Bradley Robert L.
Published: March 2010

Litter quality is often considered the main driver of decomposition rate. The objective of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of two other tree-driven mechanisms, litter mixing and forest floor conditions, to foliar litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics for trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) and black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) using a microcosm approach. Results based on mixed linear models show that the greater influence over these processes was obtained through litter quality followed by forest floor conditions and litter mixing. Specifically, the results indicate that significantly more C and nutrients were mineralized (i) from aspen than from spruce litter, (ii) from spruce litter in mixture with aspen litter than from spruce litter applied singly, and (iii) from litter incubated on forest floor from the aspen stand rather than from the spruce stand, except for nutrients in the spruce litter. Collectively, our results show that the litter and forest floor material from aspen both favour decomposition and nutrient mineralization processes. Hence, we provide evidence that the effect of tree species on litter decomposition may not only be caused by the properties of its litter but also, indirectly, by the specific conditions and the decomposer community that tree species develop in their forest floor.
Age-related patterns of forest complexity and carbon storage in pine and aspen–birch ecosystems of northern Minnesota, USA
Authors: Bradford John B. , Kastendick Douglas N.
Published: March 2010

Forest managers are seeking strategies to create stands that can adapt to new climatic conditions and simultaneously help mitigate increases in atmospheric CO2. Adaptation strategies often focus on enhancing resilience by maximizing forest complexity in terms of species composition and size structure, while mitigation involves sustaining carbon storage and sequestration. Altered stand age is a fundamental consequence of forest management, and stand age is a powerful predictor of ecosystem structure and function in even-aged stands. However, the relationship between stand age and either complexity or carbon storage and sequestration, especially trade-offs between the two, are not well characterized. We quantified these relationships in clearcut-origin, unmanaged pine and aspen chronosequences ranging from <10 to >130 years in northern Minnesota. Complexity generally increased with age, although compositional complexity changed more over time in aspen forests and structural complexity changed more over time in pine stands. Although individual carbon pools displayed various relationships with stand age, total carbon storage increased with age, whereas carbon sequestration, inferred from changes in storage, decreased sharply with age. These results illustrate the carbon and complexity consequences of varying forest harvest rotation length to favor younger or older forests and provide insight into trade-offs between these potentially conflicting management objectives.
Identification protocol for sixArmillariaspecies from northeastern North America
Authors: McLaughlin J. A. , Hsiang T.
Published: March 2010

DNA sequences (~3 kb long) extending from the intergenic spacer 1 (IGS1) region to the 18S gene were obtained for isolates of Armillaria ostoyae , Armillaria calvescens , Armillaria gallica , and Armillaria sinapina . Additional investigation of 16 A. ostoyae, 11 Armillaria gemina , 21 A. calvescens, 18 A. gallica, and 15 A. sinapina isolates produced 117 sequences spanning the 3′ end of the IGS1 through the 5S gene and into the 5′ end of the IGS2 region. Additional sequences spanning the 3′ IGS2 to 5′ 18S gene region were obtained for two A. ostoyae, three A. gemina, two A. calvescens, two A. gallica, and three A. sinapina isolates. This is the first report of complete IGS2 sequences from Armillaria spp. A species identification protocol involving species-specific primers and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was devised based on species-specific polymorphisms. The protocol successfully identified all 16 A. ostoyae, 11 A. gemina, three of three Armillaria mellea , 18 A. gallica, 14 of 15 A. sinapina (11/12 diploid and 3/3 haploid), and 14 of 21 A. calvescens (13/15 diploid and 1/6 haploid) isolates included in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this success rate has not been matched by other methods.
A simple Bayesian Belief Network for estimating the proportion of old-forest stands in the Clay Belt of Ontario using the provincial forest inventory
Authors: Cyr D. , Gauthier S. , Etheridge D.A. , Kayahara G.J. , Bergeron Y.
Published: March 2010

The differences between boreal forest landscapes produced by natural disturbance regimes and landscapes produced by harvesting are important and increasingly well documented. To continue harvesting operations while maintaining biodiversity and other ecosystem services, government policies and certification processes are pushing for practices that preserve landscape features within their range of natural variability. One major shortcoming in the implementation of such a strategy is the lack of complete spatial or temporal information about these landscape features, such as the proportion of old stands, which are believed to act as a coarse filter for conservation if they remain representative enough of natural conditions. The objective of this study was to quantify the proportion of old stands in a very large landscape by combining fragmentary knowledge from two different sources, i.e., a provincial forest inventory and existing fire history reconstructions using a Bayesian Belief Network. This study was conducted over a 6.5 Mha landscape located within the Clay Belt of the province of Ontario, Canada, and suggests that more than 72.4% of this area is occupied by stands where no fire occurred during the last 150 years. The implications for management and potential for future research are discussed.
ABOUT THE GENE FAMILIES SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN A RECENT MODEL OF GENOME EVOLUTION
Authors: GABETTA ESTER , REGAZZINI EUGENIO
Published: March 2010

We analyze a class of probability distributions for family sizes in a duplication, loss and change (DLC) model of genome evolution, recently introduced by Tiuryn, Wójtowicz and Rudnicki. After providing expressions for the generating functions of the density p and of the right-tail Q of the above distributions, we obtain closed forms for p and Q in terms of Gauss hypergeometric functions. Then, by resorting to the literature about special functions and their approximations, we provide an asymptotic expression for Q, which depends on parameters connected with the strengths of duplication and change. This shows that the DLC model yields a rich statistical model for the size distribution, whose elements are characterized by a composition of a power component with a negative exponential one. We also study the limiting distributions, as the parameters are made arbitrarily close to points of the boundary of their natural domain. In addition to the geometric distribution and to the unit mass at 1, the limiting class contains the distributions with the "longest" tails in the DLC model. A characterization of these probability laws is given.
MANIA: A GENE NETWORK REVERSE ALGORITHM FOR COMPOUNDS MODE-OF-ACTION AND GENES INTERACTIONS INFERENCE
Authors: LAI DARONG , LU HONGTAO , LAURIA MARIO , DI BERNARDO DIGEO , NARDINI CHRISTINE
Published: March 2010

Understanding the complexity of the cellular machinery represents a grand challenge in molecular biology. To contribute to the deconvolution of this complexity, a novel inference algorithm based on linear ordinary differential equations is proposed, based solely on high-throughput gene expression data. The algorithm can infer (i) gene–gene interactions from steady state expression profiles and (ii) mode-of-action of the components that can trigger changes in the system. Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can identify both information with high performances, thus overcoming the limitation of current algorithms that can infer reliably only one.
Tafazzin knockdown causes hypertrophy of neonatal ventricular myocytes
Authors: He Quan
Published: March 2010

Mutation of the mitochondrial protein tafazzin causes dilated cardiomyopathy in Barth syndrome. We employed an adenovirus as a vector to transfer tafazzin small hairpin RNA (shRNA) into neonatal ventricular myocytes (NVMs) to investigate the effects of tafazzin knockdown. The tafazzin shRNA adenovirus consistently knocked down tafazzin mRNA and lowered cardiolipin while significantly decreasing the production of ATP by the mitochondria. The phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase and mitochondrial density were both increased in tafazzin knockdown NVMs compared with scrambled shRNA controls. When we tested whether tafazzin knockdown causes hypertrophy in vitro, we found that the surface area of NVMs infected with tafazzin shRNA adenovirus was significantly increased, as were the protein synthesis and expression of the hypertrophic marker gene, brain natriuretic peptide. Taken together, our data support the concept that a decreased tafazzin expression causes cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro.
Effects of adiponectin deficiency on structural and metabolic remodeling in mice subjected to pressure overload
Authors: O'Shea Karen M. , Chess David J. , Khairallah Ramzi J. , Rastogi Sharad , Hecker Peter A. , Sabbah Hani N. , Walsh Kenneth , Stanley William C.
Published: March 2010

Recent data suggest adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, affects development of heart failure in response to hypertension. Severe short-term pressure overload [1–3 wk of transverse aortic constriction (TAC)] in adiponectin−/− mice causes greater left ventricle (LV) hypertrophy than in wild-type (WT) mice, but conflicting results are reported regarding LV remodeling, with either increased or decreased LV end diastolic volume compared with WT mice. Here we assessed the effects of prolonged TAC on LV hypertrophy and remodeling. WT and adiponectin−/− mice were subjected to TAC and maintained for 6 wk. Regardless of strain, TAC induced similar LV hypertrophy (∼70%) and upregulation of mRNA for heart failure marker genes. However, LV chamber size was dramatically different, with classic LV dilation in WT TAC mice but concentric LV hypertrophy in adiponectin−/− mice. LV end diastolic and systolic volumes were lower and ejection fraction higher in adiponectin−/− TAC mice compared with WT, indicating that adiponectin deletion prevented LV remodeling and deterioration in systolic function. The activities of marker enzymes of mitochondrial oxidative capacity were reduced in WT TAC mice by ∼35%, whereas enzyme activities were maintained at sham levels in adiponectin−/− TAC mice. In conclusion, in WT mice, long-term pressure overload caused dilated LV hypertrophy accompanied by decreased activity of mitochondrial oxidative enzymes. Although adiponectin deletion did not affect LV hypertrophy, it prevented LV chamber remodeling and preserved mitochondrial oxidative capacity, suggesting that adiponectin plays a permissive role in mediating changes in cardiac structure and metabolism in response to pressure overload.
Effects of exercise training on dendritic morphology in the cardiorespiratory and locomotor centers of the mature rat brain
Authors: Nelson Amanda J. , Juraska Janice M. , Ragan Brian G. , Iwamoto Gary A.
Published: March 2010

It has been shown that dendritic branching in neural cardiorespiratory and locomotor centers can be attenuated with exercise training (ET) initiated immediately after weaning. The purpose of this study was to determine whether neuroplastic changes occur within cardiorespiratory and locomotor centers due to ET after maturation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (21 days old, n = 28) were individually housed in standard cages. At 91 days of age, animals were divided into two groups: untrained (UN; n = 14) and trained (TR; n = 14). The TR group exercised spontaneously for 50 days on running wheels. ET indexes were obtained, including maximal O2 consumption, percent body fat, resting heart rate, and heart weight-to-body weight ratios. The brain was processed with a modified Golgi-Cox procedure. Impregnated neurons from the periaqueductal gray (PAG), posterior hypothalamic area (PH), nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS), cuneiform nucleus (CnF), rostral ventrolateral medulla, nucleus cuneatus, and cerebral cortex were examined. Neurons were traced and analyzed using the Sholl concentric ring analysis of dendritic branching. The mean total number of dendritic intersections with the concentric rings per neuron per animal were compared between UN and TR groups. There were significant differences between UN and TR groups in the PH, PAG, CnF, and NTS in the total number of intersections per animal. In some areas, the effect size was smaller when ET was initiated in mature animals, possibly related to their relatively reduced activity levels. In conclusion, the adult rat brain remains dynamic and adapts to chronic ET. However, some brain areas appear to be more affected if ET is initiated in early postnatal development.