bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Taxa–area relationship and neutral dynamics influence the diversity of fungal communities on senesced tree leaves
Authors: Feinstein Larry M. , Blackwood Christopher B. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryThis study utilized individual senesced sugar maple and beech leaves as natural sampling units within which to quantify saprotrophic fungal diversity. Quantifying communities in individual leaves allowed us to determine if fungi display a classic taxa–area relationship (species richness increasing with area). We found a significant taxa–area relationship for sugar maple leaves, but not beech leaves, consistent with Wright's species‐energy theory. This suggests that energy availability as affected plant biochemistry is a key factor regulating the scaling relationships of fungal diversity. We also compared taxa rank abundance distributions to models associated with niche or neutral theories of community assembly, and tested the influence of leaf type as an environmental niche factor controlling fungal community composition. Among rank abundance distribution models, the zero‐sum model derived from neutral theory showed the best fit to our data. Leaf type explained only 5% of the variability in community composition. Habitat (vernal pool, upland or riparian forest floor) and site of collection explained > 40%, but could be attributed to either niche or neutral processes. Hence, although niche dynamics may regulate fungal communities at the habitat scale, our evidence points towards neutral assembly of saprotrophic fungi on individual leaves, with energy availability constraining the taxa–area relationship.
A tailed PCR procedure for cost‐effective, two‐order multiplex sequencing of candidate genes in polyploid plants
Authors: Gholami Mahmood , Bekele Wubishet A. , Schondelmaier Joerg , Snowdon Rod J. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryComplex polyploid crop genomes can be recalcitrant towards conventional DNA sequencing approaches for allele mining in candidate genes for valuable traits. In the past, this has greatly complicated the transfer of knowledge on promising candidate genes from model plants to even closely related polyploid crops. Next‐generation sequencing offers diverse solutions to overcome such difficulties. Here, we present a method for multiplexed 454 sequencing in gene‐specific PCR amplicons that can simultaneously address multiple homologues of given target genes. We devised a simple two‐step PCR procedure employing a set of barcoded M13/T7 universal fusion primers that enable a cost‐effective and efficient amplification of large numbers of target gene amplicons. Sequencing‐ready amplicons are generated that can be simultaneously sequenced in pools comprising multiple amplicons from multiple genotypes. High‐depth sequencing allows resolution of the resulting sequence reads into contigs representing multiple homologous loci, with only insignificant off‐target capture of paralogues or PCR artefacts. In a case study, the procedure was tested in the complex polyploid genome of Brassica napus for a set of nine genes identified in Arabidopsis as candidates for regulation of seed development and oil content. Up to six copies of these genes were expected in B. napus. SNP discovery was performed by pooled multiplex sequencing of 30 amplicons in 20 diverse B. napus accessions with interesting trait variation for oil content, providing a basis for comparative mapping to relevant quantitative trait loci and for subsequent marker‐assisted breeding.
Amygdala response to mother
Authors: Tottenham Nim , Shapiro Mor , Telzer Eva H. , Humphreys Kathryn L. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractIn altricial species, like the human, the caregiver, very often the mother, is one of the most potent stimuli during development. The distinction between mothers and other adults is learned early in life and results in numerous behaviors in the child, most notably mother‐approach and stranger wariness. The current study examined the influence of the maternal stimulus on amygdala activity and related circuitry in 25 developing children (n = 13) and adolescents (n = 12), and how this circuitry was associated with attachment‐related behaviors. Results indicated that maternal stimuli were especially effective in recruiting activity in the left dorsal amygdala, and activity in this amygdala region showed increased functional connectivity with evaluative and motor regions during viewing of maternal stimuli. Increases in this left dorsal amygdala activity and related amygdala‐cortical functional connectivity were associated with increased mother‐approach behaviors as measured by in‐scanner behavioral responding and out‐of‐scanner child‐report. Moreover, age‐related changes in amygdala activity to strangers statistically mediated the developmentally typical decline in stranger wariness seen across this period. These results suggest that mother‐induced behaviors are enacted by maternal influence on amygdala‐cortical circuitry during childhood and adolescence.
An Oblique Epistemic Defence of Conceptual Analysis
Authors: Harper Alexander S. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis article argues, against contemporary experimentalist criticism, that conceptual analysis has epistemic value, with a structure that encourages the development of interesting hypotheses which are of the right form to be valuable in diverse areas of philosophy. The article shows, by analysis of the Gettier programme, that conceptual analysis shares the proofs and refutations form Lakatos identified in mathematics. Upon discovery of a counterexample, this structure aids the search for a replacement hypothesis. The search is guided by heuristics. The heuristics of conceptual analysis are similar to those in other interesting areas of scholarship, and so hypotheses generated by it are of the right form to be applicable to diverse areas. The article shows that the explanationist criterion in epistemology was developed and applied in this way. The epistemic value of conceptual analysis is oblique because it contributes not towards the main purpose of conceptual analysis but towards the reliable development of epistemically valuable hypotheses in philosophy and scholarship.
Burge on Perceptual Entitlement
Authors: Vahid Hamid 
Published: April 2012

Abstract:This article is concerned with the question of the nature of the epistemic liaison between experience and belief. The problem, often known as the problem of nondoxastic justification, is to see how a causal transition between experience and belief could assume a normative dimension, that is, how perceptual experience serves to justify beliefs about the world. Currently a number of theories have been proposed to resolve this problem. The article considers a particular solution offered by Tyler Burge which, among other things, introduces a new type of positive epistemic status or warrant, namely, entitlement. It contends that Burge's notion of entitlement cannot be of any help in resolving the problem of nondoxastic justification. Burge's account is compared and contrasted with other, similar, approaches to the problem of nondoxastic justification.
Modeling, Truth, and Philosophy
Authors: Teller Paul 
Published: April 2012

AbstractKnowledge requires truth, and truth, we suppose, involves unflawed representation. Science does not provide knowledge in this sense but rather provides models, representations that are limited in their accuracy, precision, or, most often, both. Truth as we usually think of it is an idealization, one that serves wonderfully in most ordinary applications, but one that can terribly mislead for certain issues in philosophy. This article sketches how this happens for five important issues, thereby showing how philosophical method must take into account the idealized nature of our familiar conception of truth.
Art, Ethics, and Critical Pluralism
Authors: Thomson‐Jones Katherine 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThose who have views about the relation between aesthetic and ethical value often also have views about the nature of art criticism. Yet no one has paid much attention to the compatibility of views in one debate with views in the other. This is worrying in light of a tension between two popular kinds of view: namely, between critical pluralism and any view in the art and ethics debate that presupposes an invariant relation between aesthetic value and ethical value. Specifically, the tension with invariance arises insofar as critical pluralism accommodates the aesthetic value of interpretive richness, including the aesthetic value of ethically conflicted interpretive richness. Given this tension, a shift of focus is needed in the art and ethics debate; from specifying the criteria for the aesthetic relevance of a work's ethical qualities to defending the fundamental nature of the aesthetic‐ethical value relation.
Semantic and Moral Luck
Authors: Barceló Aspeitia Axel Arturo 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThe similarities between the philosophical debates surrounding assessment sensitivity and moral luck run so deep that one can easily adapt almost any argument from one debate, change some terms, adapt the examples, and end up with an argument relevant to the other. This article takesBrianRosebury's strategy for resisting moral luck in “MoralResponsibility and ‘MoralLuck' ” (1995) and turns it into a strategy for resisting assessment sensitivity. The article shows that one ofBernardWilliams's examples motivating moral luck is very similar to one of the examplesJohnMacFarlane uses to motivate the assessment sensitivity of epistemic modals, and in particular the assessment sensitivity of the auxiliary verb “might.” This means that, ifRosebury is right and we do not actually need moral luck to explainWilliams's example, we may not need assessment sensitivity to account for the semantic behaviour of the epistemic modal verb “might” either.
Metaphilosophy in the Systems of Metatheories
Authors: Brutian Georg 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis article discusses the essence and form of various types of metatheory, paying special attention to metaphilosophy. It suggests the idea of the metatheoretical model—a completely new approach in philosophical discussion—and considers this concept with regard to the Platonic model and the Rhodian model. These models permit two different systems of metatheoretical construction. The paradigms of modern science allow the formation of metatheories that help further the development of logical, mathematical, and similar sciences. The Rhodian model allows the discovery of methods that are helpful in building certain types of theory, as well as suggesting and examining theories that have special metatheoretical features and revealing their common features and differences with regard to other theories. The article discusses the complicated problem of the interrelation between philosophy and metaphilosophy and shows that metaphilosophy is also philosophy, not in the sense that metaphilosophy is a special part of philosophy but rather in the sense that metaphilosophy is a special kind of functioning of philosophy itself.
Fixed and Random Effects in Classical and Bayesian Regression*
Authors: Rendon Silvio R. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractThis paper proposes a common and tractable framework for analyzing fixed and random effects models, in particular constant‐slope variable‐intercept designs. It is shown that, regardless of whether effects (i) are treated as parameters or as an error term, (ii) are estimated in different stages of a hierarchical model, or whether (iii) correlation between effects and regressors is allowed, when the same prior information on idiosyncratic parameters is introduced into all estimation methods, the resulting common slope estimator is also the same across methods. These results are illustrated using the Grünfeld investment data with different prior distributions. Random effects estimates are shown to be more efficient than fixed effects estimates. This efficiency gain, however, comes at the cost of neglecting information obtained in the computation of the prior unknown variance of idiosyncratic parameters.
Retirement Choices in Italy: What an Option Value Model Tells Us*
Authors: Belloni Michele , Alessie Rob 
Published: April 2012

AbstractUsing Italian data, we estimate an option value model to quantify the effect of financial incentives on retirement choices. As far as we know, this is the first empirical study to estimate the conditional multiple‐years model put forward byStock and Wise (1990). This implies that we account for dynamic self‐selection bias. We also present an extended version of this model in which the marginal value of leisure is random. For the female sample, the model is able to predict almost perfectly the age‐specific hazard rates. For the male sample, we obtain a good fit. Dynamic self‐selection results in a downward bias in the estimate of the marginal utility of leisure. We perform a simulation study to gauge the effects of a dramatic pension reform. Underestimation of the value of leisure translates into sizeable over‐prediction of the impact of reform. Due to lack of data, results for males should be interpreted with caution since we are not able to fully correct for dynamic self‐selection bias.
Knowledge, perceptions and behaviours about skin cancer and sun protection among secondary school students from Central Italy
Authors: Suppa M. , Cazzaniga S. , Fargnoli M.C. , Naldi L. , Peris K. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractBackground  Although sun exposure is a strong risk factor for skin cancer, tanning is very popular among adolescents. Awareness of skin cancer and sun exposure might influence sun protective behaviours in this population.Objectives  To investigate the awareness of skin cancer and sun‐safe practices among Italian adolescents.Methods  A questionnaire about knowledge of skin cancer, perceived severity of sun rays/skin cancer and behaviour toward sun protection was administered to 1204 secondary school students. Predictors of these three components were assessed by case‐control analyses considering different combinations of answers. Multiple logistic regression models were used to this scope.Results  The majority of participants had heard of skin cancer in the past (97.0%), correctly identified possible causes (58.6%) and names (64.2%) of skin cancers and judged appropriately the perceived danger of sunrays (70.2%) and skin cancer (80.6%). Nonetheless, students’ behaviour was poor: only 13.5% stated to always use sun‐safe practices and 39.1% never used any. Independent predictors of proper knowledge were: Lyceum school, and family or TV/media as information source; of appropriate perceived severity: Lyceum school, a darker skin type, and dermatologists as information source; of acceptable behaviour: female sex, a darker skin type, and dermatologists or general practitioners (GPs) as information source.Conclusions  Despite a fairly good knowledge about skin cancer and sun exposure, students’ behaviour was unsatisfactory. Knowledge is not sufficient to produce a positive behaviour, as determinants of these two aspects are different. Dermatologists and GPs should be considered as key‐figures for future multicomponent intervention strategies in this field.
Current Features of the European Union Regime for Export Control of Dual‐Use Goods*
Authors: MICARA ANNA GIULIA 
Published: April 2012

AbstractExport control of dual‐use goods and technologies is a crucial element of the security policies of countries that are exporters of technology, aimed at avoiding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. One of the main features of the EU regime of export control is that it poses challenges in terms of the EU competence that refers to the common commercial policy and to the security policy. Indeed, this article analyzes the developments concerning the EU competence in this field and how the different nature of the competences has influenced the EU export control regime. Moving from the origins of the Community regime for export control, mainly in the context of the completion of the internal market in the early 1990s, particular attention will be devoted to the limits of Regulation 1334/2000 setting up a Community regime for the export control, and of subsequent Regulation 428/2009.
Two strawberry miR159 family members display developmental‐specific expression patterns in the fruit receptacle and cooperatively regulate Fa‐GAMYB
Authors: Csukasi Fabiana , Donaire Livia , Casañal Ana , Martínez‐Priego Llúcia , Botella Miguel A. , Medina‐Escobar Nieves , Llave César , Valpuesta Victoriano 
Published: April 2012

Summary
We have reported previously that the gibberellin (GA) content in strawberry receptacle is high, peaking at specific stages, pointing to a role of this hormone in fruit development. In Arabidopsis, miR159 levels are dependent on GA concentration. This prompted us to investigate the role of two members of the miR159 family and their putative strawberry target gene, GAMYB, in relation to changes in GA content during the course of fruit development.
The highest expression level of the two Fa‐MIR159 genes was in the fruit’s receptacle tissue, with dramatic changes observed throughout development. The lowest levels of total mature miR159 (a and b) were observed during the white stage of receptacle development, which was concurrent with the highest expression of Fa‐GAMYB. A functional interaction between miR159 and Fa‐GAMYB has been demonstrated in receptacle tissue.
The application of bioactive GA (i.e. GA3) to strawberry plants caused the down‐regulated expression of Fa‐MIR159a, but the expression of Fa‐MIR159b was not affected significantly. Clear discrepancies between Fa‐MIR159b and mature Fa‐miR159b levels were indicative of post‐transcriptional regulation of Fa‐MIR159b gene expression.
We propose that Fa‐miR159a and Fa‐miR159b interact with Fa‐GAMYB during the course of strawberry receptacle development, and that they act in a cooperative fashion to respond, in part, to changes in GA endogenous levels.
Increased intrathoracic pressure affects cerebral oxygenation following cardiac surgery
Authors: Pedersen Lars M. , Nielsen Jonas , Østergaard Morten , Nygård Eigil , Nielsen Henning B. 
Published: April 2012

SummaryBackgroundCerebral oximetry reflects circulatory stability during surgery. We evaluated whether frontal lobe oxygenation is influenced by a transient increase in intrathoracic pressure as induced by a lung recruitment manoeuvre.MethodsIntrathoracic pressure was increased to 40 cm H2O for 20 s immediately after cardiac surgery in ten patients (age 64 ± 10 year, mean ± SD) with frontal lobe oxygenation assessed by near‐infrared spectroscopy and cardiac output by thermodilution.ResultsThe lung recruitment manoeuvre increased arterial O2 pressure (from 29 ± 15 to 40 ± 12 kPa) with a decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (from 69 ± 7 to 55 ± 11 mmHg), cardiac output (from 5·4 ± 0·6 to 5·0 ± 0·7 l min−1) and frontal lobe oxygenation (from 68 ± 9 to 60 ± 13%; all P<0·05). A reduction in MAP by more than 15 mmHg caused cerebral desaturation by 10%, the lowest cerebral oxygenation (44%) was with a reduction in MAP by 24 mmHg, and according to multiple linear regression, only MAP predicted cerebral deoxygenation (P = 0·03). Following the lung recruitment manoeuvre, hemodynamic variables and frontal lobe oxygenation were restored.ConclusionsA lung recruitment manoeuvre decreases frontal lobe oxygenation when MAP is low suggesting that with increased intrathoracic pressure, arterial pressure should be kept within the limits of cerebral autoregulation.
VEGF and MMP‐9: biomarkers for canine lymphoma
Authors: Aresu L. , Aricò A. , Comazzi S. , Gelain M. E. , Riondato F. , Mortarino M. , Morello E. , Stefanello D. , Castagnaro M. 
Published: April 2012

AbstractVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and 9 are useful biomarkers in human lymphoma. During cancerogenesis, transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) stimulates VEGF and MMPs production. VEGF and TGF‐β plasma levels were tested by ELISA, MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 by gelatine zymography in 37 dogs with lymphoma, 13 of which were also monitored during chemotherapy. Ten healthy dogs served as control. Lymphoma dogs showed higher act‐MMP‐9 (P < 0.01) and VEGF (P < 0.05), and lower TGF‐β than controls, and a positive correlation between act‐MMP‐9 and VEGF (P < 0.001). Act‐MMP‐9 and VEGF were significantly higher in T‐cell lymphomas, and in stage V compared with stages III–IV disease, regardless of immunophenotype. VEGF was higher in high‐grade compared with low‐grade T‐cell lymphomas. No correlation was found between cytokines levels at presentation and outcome. During chemotherapy, act‐MMP‐9 and VEGF decreased in B‐cell lymphomas (P < 0.01), suggesting a possible predictive role in this group of dogs.
Vitamin D levels in pregnant women booking for antenatal care in Far North Queensland
Authors: Bendall Alexa , de Costa Caroline , Woods Cindy , Howat Paul 
Published: April 2012

Serum concentrations of vitamin D were measured in pregnant women booking for antenatal care in Cairns Base Hospital, Queensland. Of 116 women, none was found to be vitamin D deficient. With a threshold of 50 nmol/L, no woman demonstrated vitamin D insufficiency; with a threshold of 75 nmol/L, 6.9% would have mild insufficiency. Further investigation into vitamin D concentrations of women living in northern Australia is required before recommendations are made for universal vitamin D screening of all pregnant women in Australia.
Aeromedical transfer of women at risk of preterm delivery in remote and rural Western Australia: Why are there no births in flight?
Authors: AKL Natalie , Coghlan Edwina A. , Nathan Elizabeth A. , Langford Stephen A. , Newnham John P. 
Published: April 2012

ObjectiveFor more than three decades, women at imminent risk of preterm birth (PTB) in Western Australia have been transferred by small aircraft over long distances to the single tertiary level perinatal centre in Perth, with no known case of birth during the flight. We aimed to review recent experience to understand how aircraft travel may delay PTB.Design and settingRetrospective observational study of 500 consecutive Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) transfers of women at risk of preterm labour to the tertiary referral centre, from September 2007 to December 31, 2009.Main outcome measuresIn‐flight delivery, complications associated with transfer and factors associated with delay in preterm delivery.ResultsThere were no in‐flight deliveries or serious complications associated with the aeromedical transfer of these patients. In a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, clinical factors in the presentation that were associated with a shorter time from landing to subsequent delivery included cervical dilatation ≥4 cm, ruptured membranes, gestational age > 32 weeks and nulliparity. The aircraft reaching an ambient altitude > 14,000 feet, or cabin altitude above zero (sea level), was associated with a delay in time from landing to delivery for women who were not in spontaneous preterm labour.ConclusionsOur findings add to a 30‐year experience that women at risk of preterm labour do not deliver during aeromedical transfer. Ambient and cabin altitude of the aircraft were associated with an extension in the time to delivery after arrival. The mechanisms underpinning this effect warrant further investigation.