Bush peas: a rapid radiation with no support for monophyly of Pultenaea (Fabaceae : Mirbelieae)

Phylogenetic hypotheses are presented for Pultenaea based on cpDNA (trnL-F and ndhF) and nrDNA ( ITS) sequence data. Pultenaea, as it is currently circumscribed, comprises six strongly supported lineages whose relationships with each other and 18 closely related genera are weak or conflicting among datasets. The lack of resolution among the six Pultenaea clades and their relatives appears to be the result of a rapid radiation, which is evident in molecular data from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes. The molecular data provide no support for the monophyly of Pultenaea as it currently stands. Given these results, Pultenaea could split into many smaller genera. We prefer the taxonomically stable alternative of subsuming all 19 genera currently recognised in Pultenaea sensu lato (= the Mirbelia group) into an expanded concept of Pultenaea that would comprise similar to 470 species.

Finite-temperature correlations and density profiles of an inhomogeneous interacting one-dimensional Bose gas

We calculate the density profiles and density correlation functions of the one-dimensional Bose gas in a harmonic trap, using the exact finite-temperature solutions for the uniform case, and applying a local density approximation. The results are valid for a trapping potential that is slowly varying relative to a correlation length. They allow a direct experimental test of the transition from the weak-coupling Gross-Pitaevskii regime to the strong-coupling, fermionic Tonks-Girardeau regime. We also calculate the average two-particle correlation which characterizes the bulk properties of the sample, and find that it can be well approximated by the value of the local pair correlation in the trap center.

A model of migrants' remittances with human capital investment and intrafamilial transfers

This study analyzes data on migrants' remittances using a two-period theory of intergenerational transfers based on an informal, intrafamilial loan arrangement using weak altruism, a behavior between strong altruism and pure self-interest. The model provides an integrated theory of migrants' remittances, human capital investment decisions, and intrafamilial transfers applicable to low-income countries with no official pension schemes and imperfect capital markets. Propositions, derived from the theory, are tested, re-analyzing original survey data on remittances of Pacific island migrants in Sydney. When weak altruism and strong altruism yield opposite predictions, the econometric results tend to confirm the former hypothesis and invalidate the latter.

Temporal and spatial distribution of anurans in the Pampa Region (Santa Maria, RS).

The present study aimed to determine the richness, occurrence constancy, reproductive modes. standard of abundance distribution, season of vocalization and to test correlation among climatic variables and activity of vocalization of anurans in a region of the Pampa Biome, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State. During the period of Novernber/2001 to October/2002 monthly collections were carried out utilizing the `survey at breeding site` method and examination of specimens kept in the Colecao Herpetologica do Setor de Zoologia da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (ZUFSM). Tire Occurrence of 25 species of anurans was recorded. The anurofauna recorded represents 30% of the species known to Occur in Rio Grande do Sul, and comprises species generally associated with grasslands in this state and neighboring countries. Four reproductive modes were recorded: mode 1 (14 species: 58.3%) mode 11 and 30 (9 species` 37.5%) and mode 24 (1 species; 4.2%). The low diversification of reproductive modes is likely related to the homogeneity of the grassland habitat. Most species were constant or accessory in the Study area and the species abundance distribution patterns fit in the Broken Stick and Log-normal models. characterized by homogeneity of species abundance distribution. Most species showed great plasticity in habitat. but few were plastic in vocalization sites use. There was a weak positive correlation between species richness and precipitation. There was also a weak positive correlation between the abundance of species calling activity and maximum average temperatures. These correlations indicated that, in the study area. the abundance of calling males is more affected by the temperature, and species richness is more affected by precipitation, despite the fact that significantly higher species richness occurs during the hottest period of the year. These results showed that the climatological variables examined were not enough to explain the seasonal occurrence of species, thus the influence of other environmental variables merit to be tested in future studies.

Parametric change in the grammatical encoding of indirect objects in Brazilian Portuguese

This paper examines the syntax of indirect objects (IO) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). Adopting a comparative perspective we propose that BP differs from European Portuguese (EP) in the grammatical encoding of IO. In EP ditransitive contexts, IO is found in two configurations - one projected by a (low) applicative head and another one involving a lexical/true preposition. We propose that the former property is contingent upon the presence of dative Case marking: namely, the morpheme `a` that introduces IO (a-DP), whose corresponding clitic pronoun is `lhe/lhes`. In contrast, important changes in the pronominal system, coupled with the increase in the use of the preposition `para` are taken as evidence for the loss of the low applicative construction in BP. Thus only the configuration with the lexical/true preposition is found in (Standard) BP. We argue that the innovative properties of IO in BP are due to the loss of the (3rd person) dative clitic and the preposition `a` as dative Case markers. Under this view, we further account for the realization of IO as a DP/weak pronoun, found in dialects of the central region of Brazil, which points to a similarity with the English Double Object Construction. Finally we show that the connection between the morphological expression of the dative Case and the expression of parameters supports a view of syntactic change according to which parametric variation is determined in the lexicon, in terms of the formal features of functional heads.

Prevalence of Acne Vulgaris in Patients with Down Syndrome

Background/Objective: Acne vulgaris exhibits a worldwide prevalence of up to 95% among adolescents. On the other hand, Down syndrome is an autosomal chromosomal disorder with associated dermatoses and a tendency to obesity. There are no data on its association with acne. Our aim was to detect the prevalence of acne, its forms and associated factors in Down syndrome. Method: A cross-sectional study including 89 subjects aged 10-28 years from Associacao de Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais-Sao Paulo to verify acne, metabolic and hormonal disorders by interview, clinical and laboratory examinations. Results: We evaluated 49 (55%) males and 40 (45%) females. A weak agreement between self-estimation for acne and examination result was detected. The overall prevalence of acne was 70.8%: 83.7% in males and 55% in females. The prevalence of acne in the age groups 10-17 and 18-28 was 62 and 78.7%, respectively. Facial comedonal acne was mostly detected. The prevalence of obesity was 40%, that of metabolic disorders 7% and that of hyperandrogenism (in females) 15%. Except for gender, no other factor evaluated correlated with acne. Conclusion: A low prevalence of acne in Down syndrome, a predominance in males aged 18-28 and a facial comedonal form were detected. An association with obesity, metabolic disorders or hyperandrogenemia was not assessed. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

Influence of ovariectomy and masticatory hypofunction on mandibular bone remodeling

Introduction: This study was designed to examine the effect of masticatory hypofunction and estrogen deficiency on mandible bone mass and compare this site with spine and femoral bone. Methods: Twenty-four rats were ovariectomized (OVX) or Sham-operated (Sham) and analyzed after feeding with hard diet (Hard) or soft diet (Soft). They were divided into four groups: (GI)Sham-Hard; (GII)OVX-Hard; (GIII)Sham-Soft and (GIV)OVX-Soft. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in the spine and femur in the baseline and at the end of the study, and Delta BMD (final BMD - baseline BMD) was calculated. In mandible bone, BMD and histomorphometry were analyzed at the end of the experiment. Results: Sham rats showed higher spine (GI: 13.5%vs GII: 0.74%, P < 0.01; GIII: 10.67%vs GIV: -4.36%, P < 0.001) and femur Delta BMD (GI: 14.43%vs GII: 4.42%, P < 0.01; GIII: 10.58%vs GIV: 0.49%, P < 0.001) than OVX, but no difference was observed in mandible BMD among these groups (P > 0.05). Soft-diet groups showed decreased mandible BMD compared with hard-diet groups (GIV vs GII, P < 0.01; GIII vs GI, P < 0.01). Similarly, mandibular condyle histomorphometry showed that soft-diet groups presented a significant decrease in trabecular thickness and volume (GIV vs GII, P < 0.05; GIII vs GI, P < 0.01) compared with hard diet. Conclusion: Our results suggest that mandibular bone loss resulted from decreased of mechanical loading during mastication, and was not affect by estrogen depletion.

Individual differences in motivated social cognition: The case of self-serving information processing

Three experiments examined the hypothesis that people show consistency in motivated social cognitive processing across self-serving domains. Consistent with this hypothesis, Experiment 1 revealed that people who rated a task at which they succeeded as more important than a task at which they failed also cheated on a series of math problems, but only when they could rationalize their cheating as unintentional. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that a self-report measure of self-deception did not predict this rationalized cheating. Experiment 3 replicated Experiments 1 and 2 and ruled out several alternative explanations. These experiments suggest that people who show motivated processing in ego-protective domains also show motivated processing in extrinsic domains. These experiments also introduce a new measurement procedure for differentiating between intentional versus rationalized cheating.

Idiopathic spinal epidural hematoma in patients with sudden paraplegia: A case report

Introduction. Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) represents 0.3-0.9% of spinal epidural space-occupying lesions, and most surgeons advocate aggressive and early surgical intervention. In. this paper we describe a patient with SEH with sudden paraplegia. Case report. This 30-year-old man had experienced one prior episode of sudden dorsal pain two days before the current admission and while he waited medical attendance, his legs suddenly became weak, and immediately afterwards, he became completely paraplegic in minutes. The patient had complete paraplegia, analgesia below the T4 level and urinary retention. He had no anticoagulant agent and no coagulopathic disease. He was submitted to computerized tomography that demonstrated a dorsally located epidural hematoma extending from the T3 to the T6 level with spinal cord compression. A laminectomy from T3 to T7 was performed four hours after the onset of the symptom. In postoperative time the patient presented the partial sensorial recovery and motor force grade II. The patient was directed to a neurorehabilitation program and in the last medical evaluation he presented recovery for motor grade III-IV without pain. Conclusion. The SHE is rare, with severe neurological consequences for patients and early surgical treatment persist as essential for motor recovery.

Portuguese version of the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98: reliability and validity

Objective To assess the validity and the reliability of the Portuguese version of the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98). Methods The scale was translated into Portuguese and back-translated into English. After assessing its face validity, five diagnostic groups (n = 64; delirium, depression, dementia, schizophrenia and others) were evaluated by two independent researchers blinded to the diagnosis. Diagnosis and severity of delirium as measured by the DRS-R-98 were compared to clinical diagnosis, Mini-Mental State Exam, Confusion Assessment Method, and Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI). Results Mean and rnedian DRS-R-98 total scores significantly distinguished delirium from the other groups (p < 0.001). Inter-rater reliability (ICC between 0.9 and 1) and internal consistency (alpha = 0.91) were very high. DRS-R-98 severity scores correlated highly with the CGI. Mean DRS-R-98 severity scores during delirium differed significantly (p < 0.01) from the post-treatment values. The area under the curve established by ROC analysis was 0.99 and using the cut-off Value of 20 the scale showed sensitivity and specificity of 92.6% and 94.6%, respectively. Conclusion The Portuguese version of the DRS-R-98 is a valid and reliable measure of delirium that distinguishes delirium from other disorders and is sensitive to change in delirium severity, which may be of great value for longitudinal studies. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Family advocacy roles and highly dependent residents in nursing homes

A developing critique has questioned the practical utility of user rights policy initiatives for highly dependent residents of nursing homes. This paper seeks to extend this critique to the advocacy roles that families have been accorded within the policy initiatives, The discussion is based on a qualitative research study of family participation in six aged care units, The paper argues that the capacity of families to act as advocates for highly dependent nursing home residents is is limited by the their weak position within the organisations and the complexity of their relations with staff It questions both the applicability and the appropriateness of rights models which do not take sufficient account of the structure and meaning of care.

Satellite observation and climate system model simulation of the St. Lawrence Island polynya

The St. Lawrence Island polynya (SLIP) is a commonly occurring winter phenomenon in the Bering Sea, in which dense saline water produced during new ice formation is thought to flow northward through the Bering Strait to help maintain the Arctic Ocean halocline. Winter darkness and inclement weather conditions have made continuous in situ and remote observation of this polynya difficult. However, imagery acquired from the European Space Agency ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has allowed observation of the St. Lawrence Island polynya using both the imagery and derived ice displacement products. With the development of ARCSyM, a high resolution regional model of the Arctic atmosphere/sea ice system, simulation of the SLIP in a climate model is now possible. Intercomparisons between remotely sensed products and simulations can lead to additional insight into the SLIP formation process. Low resolution SAR, SSM/I and AVHRR infrared imagery for the St. Lawrence Island region are compared with the results of a model simulation for the period of 24-27 February 1992. The imagery illustrates a polynya event (polynya opening). With the northerly winds strong and consistent over several days, the coupled model captures the SLIP event with moderate accuracy. However, the introduction of a stability dependent atmosphere-ice drag coefficient, which allows feedbacks between atmospheric stability, open water, and air-ice drag, produces a more accurate simulation of the SLIP in comparison to satellite imagery. Model experiments show that the polynya event is forced primarily by changes in atmospheric circulation followed by persistent favorable conditions: ocean surface currents are found to have a small but positive impact on the simulation which is enhanced when wind forcing is weak or variable.

A peptide-binding motif for I-A(g7), the class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule of NOD and Biozzi AB/H mice

The class II major histocompatibility complex molecule I-A(g7) is strongly linked to the development of spontaneous insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in non obese diabetic mice and to the induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Biozzi AB/H mice. Structurally, it resembles the HLA-DQ molecules associated with human IDDM, in having a non-Asp residue at position 57 in its beta chain. To identify the requirements for peptide binding to I-A(g7) and thereby potentially pathogenic T cell epitopes, we analyzed a known I-A(g7)-restricted T cell epitope, hen egg white lysozyme (HEL) amino acids 9-27. NH2- and COOH-terminal truncations demonstrated that the minimal epitope for activation of the T cell hybridoma 2D12.1 was M12-R21 and the minimum sequence for direct binding to purified I-A(g7) M12-Y20/K13-R21. Alanine (A) scanning revealed two primary anchors for binding at relative positions (p) 6 (L) and 9 (Y) in the HEL epitope. The critical role of both anchors was demonstrated by incorporating L and Y in poly(A) backbones at the same relative positions as in the HEL epitope. Well-tolerated, weakly tolerated, and nontolerated residues were identified by analyzing the binding of peptides containing multiple substitutions at individual positions. Optimally, p6 was a large, hydrophobic residue (L, I, V, M), whereas p9 was aromatic and hydrophobic (Y or F) or positively charged (K, R). Specific residues were not tolerated at these and some other positions. A motif for binding to I-A(g7) deduced from analysis of the model HEL epitope was present in 27/30 (90%) of peptides reported to be I-A(g7)-restricted T cell epitopes or eluted from I-A(g7). Scanning a set of overlapping peptides encompassing human proinsulin revealed the motif in 6/6 good binders (sensitivity = 100%) and 4/13 weak or non-binders (specificity = 70%). This motif should facilitate identification of autoantigenic epitopes relevant to the pathogenesis and immunotherapy of IDDM.

Gas-surface interactions in the thermal and sub-thermal regime: A molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the interaction of low-energy Ar atoms with the Ni(001) surface, Angular scattering distributions, in and out of the plane of incidence, are investigated as a function of incident energy, angles of incidence, crystallographic orientation of the incident beam and surface temperature. The results show a clear transition to the structure scattering regime at around 2 eV. However, at lower energies, two sub-regimes are revealed by the simulations, Far energies up to 250 meV, scattering is mainly diffuse, and significant trapping on the surface is observed, At energies above this level, lobular patterns start to form and trapping decreases with the increase in energy, Generally, there is a weak temperature dependence, but variations in the angle of incidence and/or changes in the crystallographic direction, generate significant changes in the scattering patterns.

The formal representation of process system modelling assumptions and their implications

In order to analyse the effect of modelling assumptions in a formal, rigorous way, a syntax of modelling assumptions has been defined. The syntax of modelling assumptions enables us to represent modelling assumptions as transformations acting on the set of model equations. The notion of syntactical correctness and semantical consistency of sets of modelling assumptions is defined and methods for checking them are described. It is shown on a simple example how different modelling assumptions act on the model equations and their effect on the differential index of the resulted model is also indicated.