bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic and community similarities are correlated in endemic‐rich springs of the northern Chihuahuan Desert
Authors: Sei Makiri , Lang Brian K. , Berg David J. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAim  Species diversity and genetic diversity within a taxon are intrinsic parts of global biodiversity. These two levels of biodiversity can show strong correlation due to a variety of reasons (i.e. parallel processes affecting both communities and populations, genotypes of a numerically or functionally dominant species affecting community composition, a species assemblage selecting for a particular genotype by affecting its selection regime). We examined correlations between species and genetic biodiversity in four isolated endemic‐rich spring systems in a hot desert and their potential link to environmental variables and physical isolation.Location  Chihuahuan Desert spring systems in the Pecos River basin of New Mexico and Texas, USA.Methods  We compared species richness of fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities to within‐population allelic richness of amphipods (monophyletic Gammarus spp.) and Pecos gambusia (Gambusia nobilis) using Mantel tests. We also compared pairwise community similarities with pairwise genetic identities of populations among the same groups. We tested correlations among diversity, similarity and environmental variables after controlling for the effects of spatial distances using partial Mantel tests. We partitioned genetic and species diversity into three spatial scales (i.e. individual springs, individual spring systems, the entire region) using AMOVA and partition.Results  We found strong correlations between invertebrate species richness and mosquitofish allelic richness. We found even stronger correlations of amphipod and gambusia genetic identities with fish and invertebrate community similarities; these were best explained by geographic distance rather than abiotic environmental factors. Most of the taxa and communities exhibited the largest proportion of diversity at the regional level.Main conclusions  Our results suggest that drift and migration are the mechanisms that best explain our observations, and although α‐diversity among genes and species may not be strongly correlated, the pattern of species and allelic complementarity among these groups seems to be concordant at the regional level.
Global change and carnivore body size: data are stasis
Authors: Meiri Shai , Guy Dorit , Dayan Tamar , Simberloff Daniel 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAim  Global warming and other anthropogenic changes to the environment affect many aspects of biology and have often been invoked as causing body size changes in vertebrates. Here we examine a diverse set of carnivore populations in search of patterns in body size change that could reflect global warming (in accord with Bergmann's rule).Location  Global.Methods  We used > 4400 specimens representing 22 carnivore species in 52 populations collected over the last few decades to examine whether size changed with collection date when geography and sex are accounted for. We then examined several factors related to global warming, body mass, diet, and the attributes of the different datasets, to see whether they affect the standardized slope (β) of the size versus time regression.Results  Six of 52 populations we examined show a significant effect of year of collection on body size at the 0.05 probability level. The response of size to global warming does not reflect spatial patterns of size variation, nor do diet or body mass affect tendency of populations to change in body size. Size changes are no more pronounced in populations that have been sampled more recently. However, change, where it occurs, is rapid.Main conclusions  There may be a tendency in the literature to report only cases where recent changes are prevalent. Although in our data only a minority of populations show body size changes, we may see changes accelerating in the future in response to more drastic climatic changes and other anthropogenic changes.
Elevational gradients and species richness: do methods change pattern perception?
Authors: Rowe Rebecca J. , Lidgard Scott 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTAim  Species richness patterns along elevational gradients have been documented extensively. Yet, the implications of differences in how the data are compiled are seldom explored. We investigate the effect of grain size on the richness–elevation relationship. Grain size varies among the principal methods used to collect or aggregate species occurrences: localized sites, elevational ‘bins’ and interpolation of species ranges. Assumptions of sampling and species distributions also vary among these methods. Methodology can influence the pattern that is perceived and comparability of results. We compare patterns from all three methods explicitly using the same suite of observations, based on museum records and field surveys of non‐flying small mammals. Our assessment is enhanced by comparing patterns resulting from each method for each of six adjacent mountain ranges.Location  Utah, North America.Methods  We document elevational species richness patterns using generalized linear models (GLMs), comparing the general shape of the trend as well as curvature, location and magnitude of peak richness across methods, both within and among gradients. We also introduce a new procedure to test for richness peaks using site‐based occurrences.Results  We find a general congruence of the richness–elevation relationship, depicting a hump‐shaped pattern with a second‐order polynomial GLM showing a significant fit to nearly all gradient‐methodology combinations. However, underlying characteristics of the trend may vary with grain size. As grain size coarsens, maximum species richness increases and elevation of the mode slightly decreases. Results for curvature vary, but degree of curvature tends to increase as grain size coarsens. The richness–elevation patterns are independent of sampling effects.Main conclusions  The perceived elevational diversity pattern for small mammals along these mountain ranges is not scale‐dependent. Differences in how the data are compiled are not reflected in major differences in patterns, even when local samples are neither uniformly spaced nor sampled with the same intensity. This result lends confidence to the assertion that patterns documented in similar studies with different methodologies and for which sampling is sufficiently comprehensive are good indicators of diversity. However, consistency of results from more than one compilation method may help to address issues of scale‐dependence, more so when these comparisons are made explicit.
The Kiss of Death and Cabal of Dons: Blackmail and Grooming in Georgian Oxford
Authors: ROUSSEAU GEORGE 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThis article reconstructs the case of an Oxford University don accused of sexual impropriety in mid‐eighteenth century England by an adolescent boy. It recreates the biographical and historical contexts involved in the scandal, and demonstrates what the various agendas and motivations were for the accusation, as well as explains how the case played itself out. The don's actions are shown to be far less straightforward than claimed by his adversaries. The chapter adds to the growing literature about adults and children in history.
Positive Deviance on the Ethical Continuum: Green Mountain Coffee as a Case Study in Conscientious Capitalism
Authors: GRACE NEVILLE MARY 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTIncreasingly, stories are emerging about businesses that engage in ethical behaviors above and beyond mere compliance with regulations. These positive deviations along the ethical continuum provide an opportunity to explore how some companies’ business philosophy leads them to pursue an array of outcomes beyond the bottom line. This paper presents a case study of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the leading ethical company in the United States as rated by Forbes magazine, exploring the company culture and operating philosophy from a perspective of conscientious capitalism. The three underlying assumptions of conscientious capitalism are: (1) interconnectedness between individuals, businesses, and global society; (2) wealth as a holistically understood state rather than solely a financial status; and (3) relevant time spanning multiple generations. Implications are offered for commerce, business practitioners, and educators.
Recognizing Targets: Wittgenstein's Exploration of a New Kind of Foundationalism inOn Certainty1
Authors: Brice Robert Greenleaf 
Published: December 2008

AbstractBringing the views of Grayling, Moyal‐Sharrock and Stroll together, I argue that inOn Certainty, Wittgenstein explores the possibility of a new kind of foundationalism. Distinguishing propositional language‐games from non‐propositional, actional certainty, Wittgenstein investigates a foundationalismsui generis. Although he does not forthrightly state, defend, or endorse what I am characterizing as a “new kind of foundationalism,” we must bear in mind thatOn Certaintywas a collection of first draft notes written at the end of Wittgenstein's life. The work was unprogrammatic, sometimes cryptic. Yet, his exploration into areas of knowledge, certitude and doubt suggest an identifiable direction to his thoughts.
Bildung and Decline
Authors: Cahill Kevin M. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractMy point of departure is the idea that Wittgenstein's work, especially his later work with its explicit emphasis on practices, seeks to engage a reader who is likely to come to philosophy with a certain cast of mind that includes unexamined commitments from a particular cultural context. I show how a substantial number of remarks by Wittgenstein in which he addresses cultural topics bring out the importance of the quite specific connections he saw between the philosophical problems with which he grappled and the historical cultural context in which those problems have arisen. Not only is a grasp of this aspect of his writing integral to a proper understanding of Wittgenstein as a thinker, bringing out these connections serves to put these remarks into a coherent conceptual framework. In assessing the relation of Wittgenstein's cultural concerns to his engagement with metaphysics, I show how his development of Spengler's thought is an important connecting link. Particularly important for this analysis will be my discussion of Wittgenstein's understanding and employment of the concept of a Betrachtungsform, as well as a few closely related concepts. I then offer an interpretation of what I believe to be the significance of the connection in his later thought between his philosophical activity and his views about the modern West.
Are property rights enough? Re‐evaluating a big‐bang claim1
Authors: Katz Barbara G. , Owen Joel 
Published: December 2008

AbstractWe investigate the claim made by proponents of the big‐bang strategy that the establishment of property rights in an economy in transition creates its own demand for the enforcement of laws to protect those rights. Our model contains a government engaging in activities to accomplish objectives that depend on public support for the enforcement of the rule of law and agents who interpret the level of activities of the government as indications of the government's intent to enforce the rule of law. Agents, using the level of government activities as an input to their decisions, choose whether to support the government's objectives. We establish conditions under which the level of activities chosen by the government maximizes its benefits, and simultaneously induces the constituency to support enforcement of the rule of law. These conditions provide a basis for the argument for the implementation of the big‐bang policy. When these conditions do not hold, however, we show that the level of activities that maximizes the government's benefits may have only a minor impact on support for the enforcement of the rule of law. Two characteristics play an important role in these conditions: the initial level of crime and the types of activities the government chooses to undertake. We present examples showing that the initial level of crime has the more dramatic effect on subsequent support for the rule of law.
Women's employment, children and transition An empirical analysis for Poland1
Authors: Bardasi Elena , Monfardini Chiara 
Published: December 2008

AbstractThis article empirically investigates how the transition to a market economy affected the relationship between motherhood and labour force outcomes in Poland. We estimate different probit models on two panel datasets covering a three‐year period before the reform (1987–1989) and a three‐year period afterwards (1994–1996). Contrary to a priori expectations, our findings indicate that during transition young children were much less of a deterrent to the employment probability of their mother than they were before transition.
Strengthening the social relationships of mothers with learning difficulties
Authors: McConnell David , Dalziel Allison , Llewellyn Gwynnyth , Laidlaw Kathryn , Hindmarsh Gabrielle 
Published: December 2008

Accessible summary

Many mothers with learning difficulties want help with meeting people and making friends, and ‘getting out and about’ in their community.
We worked with mothers with learning difficulties and family support workers to create a programme, the ASLP, to help mothers achieve their goals to get out and about in the community.
This programme involves mothers meeting, talking and learning together over a 12‐week period. Mothers also receive one to one support to work on their individual goals.
We tested the programme with 32 mothers and most mothers achieved their goals and now feel better about themselves and more confident about being in the community.
This programme is now available for other service workers to use to support mothers with learning difficulties in their communities.

SummaryMothers with learning difficulties are often isolated within their local communities. They also report low levels of social support. Social disconnection is associated with high levels of stress and poorer mental health, and in turn, adverse parenting and child outcomes. In the study reported here, a multi‐site, intervention group only, repeated measures research design was employed to determine the efficacy of a group‐based, adult‐learning programme designed to strengthen the social relationships and improve the psychological wellbeing of mothers with learning difficulties. Thirty‐two mothers with learning difficulties completed the programme across six sites in Australia. The effects of the programme on perceived social support and psychological wellbeing were substantially greater than established benchmarks for parent‐training and family support programmes. These promising findings warrant further investigation, ideally employing a randomised‐controlled trial design.
Development of the fetal ilium – challenging concepts of bipedality
Authors: Cunningham Craig A. , Black Sue M. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractMacroradiographs of 30 human fetal and neonatal ilia were analysed to investigate the early pattern of trabecular bone organization prior to the influences of direct weight‐bearing locomotion. Consistent and well‐defined patterns of internal organization were identified within the fetal and neonatal ilium, which correspond with previously recognized regions that have been attributed directly to forces associated with bipedal locomotion. This study proposes that patterns previously attributed to weight‐bearing locomotive responses are present in the earliest stages of the development of this bone. It is suggested that the rudimentary scaffold seen in the fetal and neonatal ilium could indicate a predetermined template upon which locomotive influences may be superimposed and perhaps reinforced at a later age. Alternatively, this early pattern may mimic the adult form due to the effects of in‐utero limb movement activity even though it is not weight bearing. This is a preliminary study that will be supported in a further communication with three‐dimensional micro‐computed trabecular analysis.
Mate plugging via genital mutilation in nephilid spiders: an evolutionary hypothesis
Authors: Kuntner M. , Kralj‐Fišer S. , Schneider J. M. , Li D. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractNephilid spiders are known for gigantic females and tiny males. Such extreme sexual dimorphism and male‐biased sex ratios result in fierce male–male competition for mates. Intense sperm competition may be responsible for behaviors such as mate guarding, mate binding, opportunistic mating, genital mutilation, mating plugs and male castration (eunuchs). We studied the mating biology of two phylogenetically, behaviorally and morphologically distinct south‐east Asian nephilid spider species (Herennia multipuncta, Nephila pilipes) in nature and in the laboratory. Specifically, we established the frequencies and effectiveness of plugging (a plug is part of the male copulatory organ), and tested for male and female copulatory organ reuse. Both in nature and in the laboratory, plug frequencies were higher in H. multipuncta (75–80% females plugged) compared with N. pilipes (45–47.4%), but the differences were not significant. Plugs were single and effective (no remating) in H. multipuncta but multiple and ineffective (remating possible) in N. pilipes. In Herennia, the males plugged when the female was aggressive and in Nephila plugging was more likely when mating with previously mated and larger females. Further differences in sexual biology are complete palpal removal and higher sexual aggressiveness in Herennia (sexual cannibalism recorded for the first time), and mate binding in Nephila. Thus, we propose the following evolutionary hypothesis: nephilid plugging was ancestrally successful and enabled males to monopolize females, but plugging became ineffective in the phylogenetically derived Nephila. If the evolution of nephilid sexual mechanisms is driven by sexual conflict, then the male mechanism to monopolize females prevailed in a part of the phylogeny, but the female resistance to evade monopolization ultimately won the arms race.
Shotgun proteomics implicates extracellular matrix proteins and protease systems in neuronal development induced by astrocyte cholinergic stimulation
Authors: Moore Nadia H. , Costa Lucio G. , Shaffer Scott A. , Goodlett David R. , Guizzetti Marina 
Published: December 2008

AbstractAstrocytes play an important role in neuronal development through the release of soluble factors that affect neuronal maturation. Shotgun proteomics followed by gene ontology analysis was used in this study to identify proteins present in the conditioned medium of primary rat astrocytes. One hundred and thirty three secreted proteins were identified, the majority of which were never before reported to be produced by astrocytes. Extracellular proteins were classified based on their biological and molecular functions; most of the identified proteins were involved in neuronal development. Semi‐quantitative proteomic analysis was carried out to identify changes in the levels of proteins released by astrocytes after stimulation with the cholinergic agonist carbachol, as we have previously reported that carbachol‐treated astrocytes elicit neuritogenesis in hippocampal neurons through the release of soluble factors. Carbachol up‐regulated secretion of 15 proteins and down‐regulated the release of 17 proteins. Changes in the levels of four proteins involved in neuronal differentiation (thrombospondin‐1, fibronectin, plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1, and plasminogen activator urokinase) were verified by western blot or ELISA. In conclusion, this study identified a large number of proteins involved in neuronal development in the astrocyte secretome and implicated extracellular matrix proteins and protease systems in neuronal development induced by astrocyte cholinergic stimulation.
DIDS protects against neuronal injury by blocking Toll‐like receptor 2 activated‐mechanisms
Authors: Yao Hang , Felfly Hady , Wang Juan , Zhou Dan , Haddad Gabriel G. 
Published: December 2008

AbstractUsing an in vitro ischemia model (ischemic solution; IS model) that induces penumbral cell death, we examined the effect of 4,4′‐diisothio‐cyanostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid (DIDS) on cell injury/death and underlying molecular mechanisms. Propidium iodide (PI) uptake was used to quantify cell death in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. A 24‐h IS exposure caused a fivefold increase in mean PI fluorescence intensity. DIDS, dose‐dependently (1–4000 μM), reduced the IS‐induced PI uptake in hippocampal CA1 neurons with an IC50 of 26 μM. This protective effect of DIDS was reversible and effective even 6 h following the onset of IS treatment. Gene expression profiling studies indicated that among ∼46 000 transcripts tested, the most significantly up‐regulated gene by IS was interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) which was also the most significantly down‐regulated gene when DIDS was added to the IS‐treated slices. The addition of a recombinant IL‐1 receptor antagonist (100 μg/mL) or neutralizing IL‐1β antibody significantly attenuated the IS‐induced cell death, indicating that the up‐regulation of IL‐1β with IS treatment contributed to the IS‐induced cell death. Toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2), another gene that was significantly up‐regulated by IS and suppressed by DIDS, was studied to determine whether it was related to the IL‐1β up‐regulation. Indeed, this was the case as the IS‐induced IL‐1β up‐regulation was abolished in TLR2−/− mouse brain slices. Furthermore, the IS‐induced cell death was significantly reduced in TLR2−/− when compared with that in wild‐type slices, indicating that TLR2 is functionally upstream of IL‐1β in this IS model. We conclude that (i) IS up‐regulates TLR2 expression and augments TLR2 signaling, causing over‐expression of IL‐1β which leads to cell death and (ii) DIDS blocks IS‐induced neuronal injury, at least partially, by suppressing the TLR2 pathway.
Null model of biotic homogenization: a test with the European freshwater fish fauna
Authors: Leprieur F. , Beauchard O. , Hugueny B. , Grenouillet G. , Brosse S. 
Published: December 2008

ABSTRACTIn recent years, there has been growing concern about how species invasions and extinctions could change the distinctiveness of formerly disparate fauna and flora, a process called biotic homogenization. In the present study, a null model of biotic of homogenization was developed and applied to the European freshwater fish fauna. We found that non‐native fish species led to the greatest homogenization in south‐western Europe and greatest differentiation in north‐eastern Europe. Comparing these observed patterns to those expected by our null model empirically demonstrated that biotic homogenization is a non‐random ecological pattern, providing evidence for previous assumptions. The place of origin of non‐native species was also considered by distinguishing between exotic (originating from outside Europe) and translocated species (originating from within Europe). We showed that exotic and translocated species generated distinct geographical patterns of biotic homogenization across Europe because of their contrasting effects on the changes in community similarity among river basins. Translocated species promoted homogenization among basins, whereas exotic species tended to decrease their compositional similarity. Quantifying the individual effect of exotic and translocated species is therefore an absolute prerequisite to accurately assess the spatial dynamics of biotic homogenization.