bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Structure Repair of a Compacted Vertisol with Wet‐Dry Cycles and Crops
Authors: Pillai U. P. , McGarry D. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractWe hypothesized that the four rotation crops: wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Merr.], lablab [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet] and mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] differ in their ability to repair soil structure. The study was conducted on a Typic Haplustert, Queensland, Australia, locally termed a Black Earth and considered a prime cropping soil. Large (0.5‐m depth by 0.3‐m diam.) soil cores, collected from compacted wheel furrows in an irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) field, were subjected to three, six, or nine wet‐dry cycles that simulated local flood irrigation practices. After each cycle, soil profiles were sampled for clod bulk density, image analysis of soil structure, and evapotranspiration. Generally, all crops improved soil structure over the initial field condition but lablab and mung bean gave improvements to greater depths and more rapidly than wheat and sorghum. Mung bean and lablab caused up to a threefold increase in clod porosity in the 0.1‐ to 0.4‐m soil layer after only three wet‐dry cycles, whereas sorghum required nine wet‐dry cycles to increase clod porosity in only the 0.2‐ to 0.3‐m layer, and wheat gave no improvement even after nine wet‐dry cycles. Image analysis of soil structure showed that lablab and mung bean rapidly (by three wet‐dry cycles) produced smaller peds with more interconnected pore space than wheat and sorghum. By nine wet‐dry cycles, sorghum achieved deep cracking of the soil but the material between the cracks remained large and dense. Evapotranspiration was double under lablab and mung bean compared with wheat and sorghum. Our results indicate greater cycles of wetting and drying under lablab and mung bean than wheat and sorghum that have led to rapid repair of soil compaction.
Heavy Metal Release from Soils in Batch pHstat Experiments
Authors: Schwarz Andreas , Wilcke Wolfgang , Zech Wolfgang , Stýk Jan 
Published: July 2010

AbstractIn Slovakia H+ input into soils is increasing because alkaline dust emissions have been reduced since 1990. Our objectives were to examine (i) the metal release in H+ buffer reactions of Slovak soils and (ii) the impact of the proton buffering on heavy metal partitioning. We used 10 soils (pH 7.4–3.6) in a batch pHstat experiment. Released ions were adsorbed to an ion‐exchange resin, while pH was kept constant. After reaction times of 10 min, 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 96 h, soil and ion‐exchange resin were separated and ions were extracted from the resin. After 0, 4, and 96 h, we determined metal concentrations in seven fractions. On average, the total release after 96 h (in percentage of the total concentration) decreased in the order: Cd (74) > Pb (59) > Cu (29) > Zn (22) > Ni (17) > Cr (3.1), while the initial release rate into solution decreased in the order: Cd > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Cr. After 48 h, only the Cr release rate was lower than that of Cd. Particularly in less acid soils, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd released by the dissolution of oxides were adsorbed onto the soil matrix, explaining the slower decrease of the Pb and Cu release rates. The percentages of weakly bound heavy metals decreased more markedly during the titration than those of metals bound to Fe oxides. Increased H+ inputs into Slovak soils will cause enhanced metal release into soil solution.
Angiotensin I–Converting Enzyme Type 2 (ACE2) Gene Therapy Improves Glycemic Control in Diabetic Mice
Authors: Bindom Sharell M. , Hans Chetan P. , Xia Huijing , Boulares A. Hamid , Lazartigues Eric 
Published: July 2010

OBJECTIVE
Several clinical studies have shown the benefits of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade in the development of diabetes, and a local RAS has been identified in pancreatic islets. Angiotensin I–converting enzyme (ACE)2, a new component of the RAS, has been identified in the pancreas, but its role in β-cell function remains unknown. Using 8- and 16-week-old obese db/db mice, we examined the ability of ACE2 to alter pancreatic β-cell function and thereby modulate hyperglycemia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Both db/db and nondiabetic lean control (db/m) mice were infected with an adenovirus expressing human ACE2 (Ad-hACE2-eGFP) or the control virus (Ad-eGFP) via injection into the pancreas. Glycemia and β-cell function were assessed 1 week later at the peak of viral expression.

RESULTS
In 8-week-old db/db mice, Ad-hACE2-eGFP significantly improved fasting glycemia, enhanced intraperitoneal glucose tolerance, increased islet insulin content and β-cell proliferation, and reduced β-cell apoptosis compared with Ad-eGFP. ACE2 overexpression had no effect on insulin sensitivity in comparison with Ad-eGFP treatment in diabetic mice. Angiotensin-(1–7) receptor blockade by d-Ala7–Ang-(1-7) prevented the ACE2-mediated improvements in intraperitoneal glucose tolerance, glycemia, and islet function and also impaired insulin sensitivity in both Ad-hACE2-eGFP– and Ad-eGFP–treated db/db mice. d-Ala7–Ang-(1-7) had no effect on db/m mice. In 16-week-old diabetic mice, Ad-hACE2-eGFP treatment improved fasting blood glucose but had no effect on any of the other parameters.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings identify ACE2 as a novel target for the prevention of β-cell dysfunction and apoptosis occurring in type 2 diabetes.
Genetic Link Between Obesity and MMP14-Dependent Adipogenic Collagen Turnover
Authors: Chun Tae-Hwa , Inoue Mayumi , Morisaki Hiroko , Yamanaka Itaru , Miyamoto Yoshihiro , Okamura Tomonori , Sato-Kusubata Kaori , Weiss Stephen J. 
Published: July 2010

OBJECTIVE
In white adipose tissue, adipocytes and adipocyte precursor cells are enmeshed in a dense network of type I collagen fibrils. The fate of this pericellular collagenous web in diet-induced obesity, however, is unknown. This study seeks to identify the genetic underpinnings of proteolytic collagen turnover and their association with obesity progression in mice and humans.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The hydrolysis and degradation of type I collagen at early stages of high-fat diet feeding was assessed in wild-type or MMP14 (MT1-MMP)-haploinsufficient mice using immunofluorescent staining and scanning electron microscopy. The impact of MMP14-dependent collagenolysis on adipose tissue function was interrogated by transcriptome profiling with cDNA microarrays. Genetic associations between MMP14 gene common variants and obesity or diabetes traits were examined in a Japanese cohort (n = 3,653).

RESULTS
In adult mice, type I collagen fibers were cleaved rapidly in situ during a high-fat diet challenge. By contrast, in MMP14 haploinsufficient mice, animals placed on a high-fat diet were unable to remodel fat pad collagen architecture and display blunted weight gain. Moreover, transcriptional programs linking type I collagen turnover with adipogenesis or lipogenesis were disrupted by the associated decrease in collagen turnover. Consistent with a key role played by MMP14 in regulating high-fat diet–induced metabolic programs, human MMP14 gene polymorphisms located in proximity to the enzyme's catalytic domain were closely associated with human obesity and diabetes traits.

CONCLUSIONS
Together, these findings demonstrate that the MMP14 gene, encoding the dominant pericellular collagenase operative in vivo, directs obesogenic collagen turnover and is linked to human obesity traits.
Brutal Honesty? The Uses of Gore in Tribal-Warrior and Gangbanger Autobiography
Authors: Brumble H. David 
Published: July 2010

Abstract:Gangbanger autobiography brims with gore: bones broken, flesh cut, blood flowing. This can best be understood in cross-cultural terms. Gangbanger and warrior-tribe autobiographers have identical reasons for dwelling upon gore. Such passages help to establish and maintain status by convincing hearers of the bravery of those who face such terrors. Warriors and gangbangers describe gore in considerable detail and with detached objectivity; warriors and gangbangers alike, audiences understand, are thoroughly inured to pain—both suffered and inflicted. The gore also works to establish warrior claims to authenticity and special knowledge. Precisely because accounts of gore are important to warrior status, there is a powerful incentive to exaggerate. Like warrior tribes, street gangs have evolved means—not always effective—of authenticating such claims.
Liberia as American Diaspora: The Transnational Scope of American Identity in the Mid-nineteenth Century
Authors: Douglass-Chin Richard 
Published: July 2010

Abstract:The issue of nineteenth-century African-American exploration in Africa raises a number of questions: can we compare the discursive patterns of these black American narratives of exploration to contemporaneous nineteenth-century white chronicles of the American west? What can narrative patterns tell us about the ways in which Americans, both black and white, perceived themselves and others in the various landscapes they gradually came to occupy? Are there ways in which the nineteenth-century chronicles of African Americans Benjamin Anderson, James Sims, and George Seymour in Liberia can shed light on the turbulent state of affairs in Liberia and other parts of Africa both then and now?
Rapid quantification of cryoconite: granule geometry and in situ supraglacial extents, using examples from Svalbard and Greenland
Authors: Irvine-Fynn Tristram D.L. , Bridge Jonathan W. , Hodson Andrew J. 
Published: July 2010

AbstractSupraglacial dust (cryoconite) is an important but poorly understood component of the glacial system. There is a lack of primary data on cryoconite form, extent and dynamics. Here we present a suite of rapid, low-cost methodologies for quantification of granule geometry and supraglacial cryoconite coverage using image data captured by commercially available digital cameras. We develop robust, transferable protocols for analysis of (1) cryoconite granule geometry (major axis, Feret diameter, circularity); (2) centimetre–metre scale supraglacial extent (m2cryoconite m−2surface); and (3) temporal change in supraglacial extent at hourly intervals over several days. Image-processing methodologies were developed using the public domain software ImageJ. Manual (supervised) controls were used to estimate sources of error, and measurements then automated using simple scripting tools (macros). Fully automated processing successfully identified ∼90% of a sample of isolated granules ranging between 2.5 and 39.2 mm, with uncertainties of <20%. Particle sphericity (inferred from circularity) decreased as particle size increased. Supraglacial cryoconite extent was obtained with a mean uncertainty of 37% and 22% for data from field sites in Greenland and Svalbard, respectively. These methods will facilitate acquisition and analysis of datasets for cryoconite across a range of spatial scales, supporting research into cryoconite impacts on supraglacial hydrological connections, nutrient and carbon cycling, and initiation of primary succession in deglaciating environments.
Recent shrinkage and hydrological response of Hailuogou glacier, a monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga, China
Authors: Liu Qiao , Liu Shiyin , Zhang Yong , Wang Xin , Zhang Yingsong , Guo Wanqin , Xu Junli 
Published: July 2010

AbstractTemperate glaciers are more sensitive to climate changes than polar or continental glaciers, and can drive remarkable runoff variation in local water catchments. Here we present recent glacier shrinkage and runoff change for Hailuogou glacier, a typical monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga (Minya Konga), China. The surface area of Hailuogou glacier has decreased by 3.5% (0.92 km2) between 1966 (aerial photographs) and 2007 (ASTER images). Flow measurements at a stream gauge about 500 m down-glacier commencing in 1994 display a remarkable increase in annual runoff (mostly during July–September) since 1999. Annual runoff over the same period in a nonglacierized but forested subcatchment (9.17 km2) did not experience significant change. By separating the daily rainfall component from the daily total discharge, monthly catchment water-balance series were calculated for the period 1994–2005, which shows an increasing trend of glacier storage loss. We concluded that air-temperature rise (with a trend of +0.2°C (10 a)−1between 1988 and 2005, recorded at nearby weather stations) has had an increased effect on glacier mass loss and river runoff change during the past 20 years.
Phylogeography of the Japanese common sedge, Carex conica complex (Cyperaceae), based on chloroplast DNA sequence data and chromosomal variation
Authors: Yano Okihito , Ikeda Hiroshi , Hoshino Takuji 
Published: July 2010

• Premise of the study: Genetic and chromosomal variations in plants are often reflected in the geographical distribution patterns. Therefore, identifying such phylogeographical patterns on population is important for understanding the process of plant diversification and speciation, and analyzing both molecular and cytological aspects is necessary.• Methods: We investigated the phylogeographic pattern and genetic diversity of the widespread Japanese sedge, Carex conica complex, based on chloroplast DNA haplotypes and chromosomal variations.• Key results: Sixteen distinct haplotypes were detected from 258 individuals in the C. conica complex inferred from the cpDNA sequences of intergenic spacer (IGS) between atpB and rbcL, IGS between trnT and trnL, trnL intron, and IGS between trnL and trnF. Most haplotypes showed distinct geographical structures. Phylogenetic analyses revealed two major clades, clades I and II, among 16 haplotypes of the complex. The haplotypes of clade I were mainly found in eastern Japan, while most haplotypes of clade II were found in western Japan. Four intraspecific aneuploids of 2n = 32, 34, 36, and 38, with forming normal bivalents in meiotic divisions, were also found in the complex. The geographical distribution of these intraspecific aneuploids corresponded well with those of the haplotypes.• Conclusions: Our results suggest that the genetic diversity and chromosomal variations in the C. conica complex may have originated from contractions and expansions of geographical ranges affected by Quaternary climatic oscillations.
Molecular phylogeny, character evolution, and biogeography of the grammitid fern genus Lellingeria (Polypodiaceae)
Authors: Labiak Paulo H. , Sundue Michael , Rouhan Germinal 
Published: July 2010

• Premise of the study: The recognition of monophyletic genera for groups that have high levels of homoplastic morphological characters and/or conflicting results obtained by different studies can be difficult. Such is the case in the grammitid ferns, a clade within the Polypodiaceae. In this study, we aim to resolve relationships among four clades of grammitid ferns, which have been previously recovered either as a polytomy or with conflicting topologies, with the goal of circumscribing monophyletic genera.• Methods: The sampling included 89 specimens representing 61 species, and sequences were obtained for two genes (atpB and rbcL) and four intergenic spacers (atpB‐rbcL, rps4‐trnS, trnG‐trnR, and trnL‐trnF), resulting in a matrix of 5091 characters. The combined data set was analyzed using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods. Ninety‐six morphological characters were optimized onto the generated trees, using the parsimony method.• Key results: Lellingeria is composed of two main clades, the L. myosuroides and the Lellingeria s.s. clades, which together are sister to Melpomene. Sister to all three of these is a clade with two species of the polyphyletic genus Terpsichore. In the L. myosuroides clade, several dispersal events occurred between the neotropics, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, whereas Lellingeria s.s. is restricted to the neotropics, with about 60% of its diversity in the Andes.• Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that Lellingeria is monophyletic, with two clades that are easily characterized morphologically and biogeographically. Morphological characters describing the indument are the most important to define the clades within the ingroup. A small clade, previously considered in Terpsichore, should be recognized as a new genus.
Placing the woody tropical genera of Polygonaceae: A hypothesis of character evolution and phylogeny
Authors: Burke Janelle M. , Sanchez Adriana , Kron Kathleen , Luckow Melissa 
Published: July 2010

• Premise of the study: Taxonomic groups have often been recognized on the basis of geographic distinctions rather than accurately representing evolutionary relationships. This has been particularly true for temperate and tropical members from the same family. Polygonaceae exemplifies this problem, wherein the woody tropical genera were segregated from temperate members of the family and placed in the subfamily Polygonoideae as two tribes: Triplarideae and Coccolobeae. Modern phylogenetic studies, especially when inferred from many lines of evidence, can elucidate more probable hypotheses of relationships. This study builds on previous work in the family and aims to test the traditional classification of the tropical woody taxa, which have been understudied and undersampled compared to their temperate relatives.• Methods: A phylogenetic study was undertaken with expanded sampling of the tropical genera with data from five plastid markers (psbA‐trnH, psaI‐accD, matK, ndhF, and rbcL), nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) and morphology.• Key results: Results support the placement of nine of 12 genera of the Triplarideae and Coccolobeae within Eriogonoideae, in which these genera form a paraphyletic assemblage giving rise to Eriogoneae. The remaining woody tropical genera excluded from Eriogonoideae occur in the paleotropics.• Conclusions: Traditional characters used to delimit Coccolobeae and Triplarideae are not useful for defining monophyletic groups. The six‐tepal condition is derived from the five‐tepal condition, and unisexual flowers have arisen multiple times in different sexual systems. Ruminate endosperm has arisen multiple times in the family, suggesting this character is highly plastic.
The Mean Width of Circumscribed Random Polytopes
Authors: Böröczky Károly J. , Schneider Rolf 
Published: July 2010

AbstractFor a given convex body K in ℝd, a random polytope K(n) is defined (essentially) as the intersection of n independent closed halfspaces containing K and having an isotropic and (in a specified sense) uniform distribution. We prove upper and lower bounds of optimal orders for the difference of the mean widths of K(n) and K as n tends to infinity. For a simplicial polytope P, a precise asymptotic formula for the difference of the mean widths of P(n) and P is obtained.
The Case for Community Reimbursement Upon Divorce for A Spouse's Education
Authors: Means T. S. 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
The dissolution of a marriage generally requires the division of community property. The issue addressed in this paper is how to treat the situation in which one spouse (the student) obtains an educational degree financed with community funds and leaves the marriage with the potential for enhanced earnings. The other spouse (the working spouse) leaves the marriage having helped finance the student spouse's degree, but has no return of future income from the community funds. The courts, in general, have been reluctant to view an educational degree as community property subject to division. Some states do allow for the community funds to be reimbursed for the cost of the educational degree. This paper develops a method for deriving the correct level of compensation. If compensation is restricted to just the reimbursement of costs then the level of compensation will be below the correct level. Using the implied internal rate of return as a rate of reinvesting funds will also yield a level of compensation below the correct level. Using an interest higher than the internal rate can provide the correct level of compensation but may be inadmissable in court.
Case studies in MBA strategic management curriculum development from Australian universities
Authors: O'Shannassy Tim , Kemp Sharon , Booth Chris 
Published: July 2010

AbstractIn recent years the Business Council of Australia (BCA) has drawn attention to the importance of the availability of a well-trained supply of employees for the Australian workplace. Specifically the BCA highlighted the benefits of a quality education imparting skills in the areas of collaboration, teamwork and leadership all of which greatly assist the effective practice of creativity, innovation and strategy. This paper makes a useful contribution to teaching practice in several ways. The paper links comments from the BCA to a significant and ongoing debate in the strategy literature on the best approaches to teaching the practice of strategy. The paper then demonstrates, with case studies from the RMIT University MBA and the Central Queensland University MBA programs, different approaches to how this can be done. This is followed by a critical discussion of the literature and case studies. Suggestions are made for future research and teaching practice.
Effect of polyethylene glycol on phase and morphology of calcium carbonate
Authors: Xu Xiaoyun , Zhao Yan , Lai Qiongyu , Hao Yanjing 
Published: July 2010

AbstractCalcium carbonate (CaCO3) with different phases and morphologies were prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with different molecular weight and concentrations on the phase and morphology of CaCO3 was studied. The results showed that aragonite was the only phase in the solution without PEG, while calcite phase could be obtained by the use of PEG as the additive. The possible crystallization mechanism for the formation of CaCO3 polymorphs in the presence of different PEG was also discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
Preparation and characterization of exfoliated layered double hydroxide/silicone rubber nanocomposites
Authors: Pradhan Bratati , Srivastava Suneel Kumar , Ananthakrishnan Rajakumar , Saxena Anubhav 
Published: July 2010

AbstractSilicone rubber (SR)/Mg–Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared by the solution intercalation of SR crosslinked by a platinum‐catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction into the galleries of dodecyl sulfate intercalated layered double hydroxide (DS–LDH). X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the formation of exfoliated structures of organomodified LDH layers in the SR matrix. The tensile strength and elongation at break of SR/DS–LDH (5 wt %) were maximally improved by 53 and 38%, respectively, in comparison with those of the neat polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the thermal degradation temperature of the exfoliated SR/DS–LDH (1 wt %) nanocomposites at 50% weight loss was 20°C higher than that of pure SR. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis data confirmed that the melting temperature of the nanocomposites increased at lower filler loadings (1, 3, and 5 wt %), whereas it decreased at a higher filler loading (8 wt %). The relative improvements in the solvent‐uptake resistance behavior of the SR/DS–LDH nanocomposites were also observed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011