Digital Commons Network^™

Using Data Mining For Forecasting Data Management Needs, Qingyu Zhang, Richard S. Segall

Faculty Publications

This chapter illustrates the use of data mining as a computational intelligence methodology for forecasting data management needs. Specifically, this chapter discusses the use of data mining with multidimensional databases for determining data management needs for the selected biotechnology data of forest cover data (63,377 rows and 54 attributes) and human lung cancer data set (12,600 rows of transcript sequences and 156 columns of gene types). The data mining is performed using four selected software of SAS® Enterprise MinerTM, Megaputer PolyAnalyst® 5.0, NeuralWare Predict®, and Bio- Discovery GeneSight®. The analysis and results will be used to enhance the intelligence capabilities …

Effects Of Eutrophication On Salt Marsh Root And Rhizome Biomass Accumulation, F A. Darby, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

The root:shoot ratio of grassland plants may be lower in high fertility sites than in low fertility sites as plants modify their root, rhizome and shoot morphologies (and masses) to suit prevailing nutrient availability. We conducted geographically diverse and regionally specific field sampling and measured above- and belowground plant biomasses in western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico salt marshes to determine whether there is a similar morphological response in Spartina alterniflora, the dominant salt marsh plant. Coastal nutrient addition/enrichment, which is widespread and ongoing, may lower root and rhizome biomass, belowground production and organic accumulation in this species. Higher soil …

Ocean Urea Fertilization For Carbon Credits Poses High Ecological Risks, P.M. Glibert, R. Azanza, M. Burford, K. Furuya, E. Abal, A. Al-Azri, F. Al-Yamani, P. Andersen, D.M. Anderson, J. Beardall, G.M. Berg, L. Brand, D. Bronk, J. Brookes, J.M. Burkholder, A. Cembella, W.P. Cochlan, J.L. Collier, Y. Collos, R. Diaz, M. Doblin, T. Drennen, S. Dyhrman, Y. Fukuyo, M. Furnas, J. Galloway, E. Granéli, D.V. Ha, G. Hallegraeff, J. Harrison, P.J. Harrison, C.A. Heil, K. Heimann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Yes To Nondiscrimination, No To New Forms Of Criminal Liability: A Reply To Professors Collins, Leib, And Markel, Michael M. O'Hear

Faculty Publications

This Essay responds to an article by Jennifer Collins, Ethan Leib, and Dan Markel, Punishing Family Status, 89 B.U. L. Rev. 1327 (2008). Among other things, Collins et al. offer a new normative framework for determining when and how the criminal law may appropriately be used to promote voluntary care-giving relationships. This Essay argues that their framework is misconceived in two respects. First, voluntariness does not offer a persuasive foundation for criminal enforcement of care-giving responsibilities. The voluntary assumption of responsibilities later neglected has not generally been regarded as either necessary or sufficient as a basis for criminal liability, and …

The Rhetoric Of Self-Defense, Janine Young Kim

Faculty Publications

The rhetoric of self-defense is a powerful instrument in the hands of legal actors to shape our understanding of justified violence in society. This rhetoric is based not in the legal definition of self-defense but rather in the paradigmatic situation of deadly response to deadly attack, which offers useful guidance in interpreting the law's required elements. However, the paradigm also tends to embrace claims of morality and right that threaten to expand self-defense beyond recognition to consider inappropriate values such as vengeance and punishment.

In this Article, the author argues that self-defense should be viewed not only as a moral …

Ocean Zoning And Spatial Access Privileges: Rewriting The Tragedy Of The Regulated Ocean, Josh Eagle, James N. Sanchirico, Barton H. Thompson Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pretrial Discovery Of Expert Testimony, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sepas, Climate Change, And Corporate Responsibility: The Contribution Of Local Government, Catherine J. Lacroix

Faculty Publications

Municipalities in the United States are increasingly active in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Data suggest that the physical layout of communities and the buildings they contain make significant contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and thus to climate change. One useful tool for municipalities could be the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), pioneered in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at the federal level and subsequently adopted as a policymaking guide in the State Environmental Policy Acts (SEPAs) of many states. A SEPA requires state governments - and, in six states, local governments as well - to consider the …

Money Or Nothing: The Adverse Environmental Consequences Of Uncompensated Law Use Controls, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

The conventional wisdom holds that requiring compensation for environmental land-use controls would severely limit environmental protection efforts. There are increasing reasons to question this assumption. Both economic theory and recent empirical research demonstrate that failing to compensate private landowners for the costs of environmental regulations discourages voluntary conservation efforts and can encourage the destruction of environmental resources. The lack of a compensation requirement also means that land-use regulation is underpriced as compared to other environmental protection measures for which government agencies must pay. This results in the "overconsumption" of land-use regulations relative to other environmental protection measures that could be …

Water Marketing As An Adaptive Response To The Threat Of Climate Change, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Demographic changes and existing water use patterns have placed tremendous pressures upon water supplies, particularly in the West. Global climate change will exacerbate pressures on water resources. The gradual warming of the atmosphere is certain to change the distribution and availability of water supplies, with potentially severe consequences for freshwater supplies. While climate change will have a significant impact on water resources through changes in the timing and volume of precipitation, altered evaporation rates, and the like, the precise nature, magnitude, timing, and distribution of such climate-induced changes are unknown. This uncertainty complicates the task of water managers who are …

Anti-Conservation Incentives, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Several recent empirical studies have indicated that the Endangered Specifies Act (ESA) discourages species conservation on private land. This is because the law encourages landowners to shoot, shovel and shut up before federal authorities discover the species are present or may move onto the land. Most worrisome, the studies suggest that the net effect of the ESA on private land could be negative. Habitat loss and fragmentation represent the greatest threat to endangered species because private land is indispensable to environmental conservation.

Responsibility Status Of The Psychopath: On Moral Reasoning And Rational Self-Governance, Paul J. Litton

Faculty Publications

This article does not aim to describe the opposing views and argue for one over the other. Rather, I propose to deflate the debate as far as possible, attempting to reduce the area of disagreement. Meaningful disagreement exists only if there are, or could be, agents who have an undiminished capacity for practical reasoning or rational self-governance, yet truly are incapable of moral reasoning. However, I suggest that the capacity for rational self-governance entails the capacity to comprehend and act on moral considerations; thus, to the extent that an individual truly is incapable of grasping moral reasons, we should expect …

Factors Influencing The Distribution Of Overwintered Bullfrog Tadpoles (Rana Catesbeiana) In Two Small Ponds, S. E. Hargis, M.-K. Harr, C. J. Henderson, W. J. Kim, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Diet And Sexual Dimorphism Of The Desert Iguana, Dipsosaurus Dorsalis, From Sonora, Mexico, C. J. Dibble, Geoffrey R. Smith, J. A. Lemos-Espinal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Multiple Yy1 And Ctcf Binding Sites In Imprinting Control Regions, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

Known imprinting control regions (ICRs) contain unusual tandem arrays of DNA-binding sites for transcription factors, including YY1 for the Peg3, Gnas and Xist/Tsix domains and CTCF for the H19/Igf2 domain. These multiple DNA-binding sites are known to be the only functionally shared and evolutionarily selected feature among these ICRs. However, it is not well understood why the imprinting control regions tend to maintain a high density of a particular transcription factor-binding site. We hypothesize that the multiplicity associated with the YY1 and CTCF binding sites may be designed for attracting and maintaining the relatively high levels of YY1 and CTCF …

Beaf Regulates Cell-Cycle Genes Through The Controlled Deposition Of H3k9 Methylation Marks Into Its Conserved Dual-Core Binding Sites., Eldon Emberly, Roxane Blattes, Bernd Schuettengruber, Magali Hennion, Nan Jiang, Craig M. Hart, Emmanuel Käs, Olivier Cuvier

Faculty Publications

Chromatin insulators/boundary elements share the ability to insulate a transgene from its chromosomal context by blocking promiscuous enhancer-promoter interactions and heterochromatin spreading. Several insulating factors target different DNA consensus sequences, defining distinct subfamilies of insulators. Whether each of these families and factors might possess unique cellular functions is of particular interest. Here, we combined chromatin immunoprecipitations and computational approaches to break down the binding signature of the Drosophila boundary element-associated factor (BEAF) subfamily. We identify a dual-core BEAF binding signature at 1,720 sites genome-wide, defined by five to six BEAF binding motifs bracketing 200 bp AT-rich nuclease-resistant spacers. Dual-cores are …

Description Of The Larva Of Pselaphophus Atriventris (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Pselaphini) With Notes On Its Life History And A List Of Described Pselaphine Immature Stages, Christopher E. Carlton, Richard A.B. Leschen

Faculty Publications

Approximately 8,900 species of the staphylinid beetle subfamily Pselaphinae have been described, based on adults, but the larvae of only 18 species and 14 genera have been described in sufficient detail for systematic study. The larva of Pselaphophus atriventris (Westwood) (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Pselaphini) is described herein based on a series collected in a pasture habitat in New Zealand. Larvae are distinguished from other described larvae of pselaphines based on the following combination of characters: antennal segment two bearing two trifid setiform sensoria and labrum with irregularly arranged short spines and setiferous tubercles. It is most similar to the larva of …

Integrating Phylogenetic And Population Genetic Analyses Of Multiple Loci To Test Species Divergence Hypotheses In Passerina Buntings, Matt D. Carling, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of DNA sequence data from 10 nuclear loci were used to test species divergence hypotheses within Passerina buntings, with special focus on a strongly supported, but controversial, sister relationship between Passerina amoena and P. caerulea inferred from a previous mitochondrial study. Here, a maximum-likelihood analysis of a concatenated 10-locus data set, as well as minimize-deep-coalescences and maximum-likelihood analyses of the locus-specific gene trees, recovered the traditional sister relationship between P. amoena and P. cyanea. In addition, a more recent divergence time estimate between P. amoena and P. cyanea than between P. amoena and P. caerulea …

Non-Beneficial Pediatric Research And The Best Interest Standard: A Reconciliation, Paul J. Litton

Faculty Publications

Federal efforts beginning in the 1990's have successfully increased pediatric research to improve medical care for all children. Since 1997, the FDA has requested 800 pediatric studies involving 45,000 children. Much of this research is "non-beneficial"; that is, it exposes pediatric subjects to risk even though these children will not benefit from participating in the research. Non-beneficial pediatric research (NBPR) seems, by definition, contrary to the best interests of pediatric subjects, which is why one state supreme court has essentially prohibited it. It also appears that the only plausible rationale for this research is utilitarian, as it risks some children …

Optimization Of 12 Chiral Analytes With 8 Polymeric Surfactants, Eugene Billiot, Fereshteh Billiot, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

This manuscript discusses the results of studies that were performed to determine optimum capillary electrophoresis (CE) conditions for the enantiomeric resolution of twelve chiral analytes with eight amino acid based polymeric surfactants. The parameters that were optimized include pH, buffer type, and concentration of surfactant. The results indicated that the optimum conditions for enantiomeric separations with the amino acid based polymeric surfactants examined in this study using CE were analyte dependent, not surfactant dependent. In other words, the optimum conditions for a particular analyte were the same for all the amino acid based polymeric surfactants examined in this study. The …

Entry Approach Into Pristine Ice-Sealed Lakes-Lake Vida, East Antarctica, A Model Ecosystem, Peter T. Doran, Christian H. Fritsen, Alison E. Murray, Fabien Kenig, Chris P. Mckay, Jay D. Kyne

Faculty Publications

Ice-sealed lakes, potentially home to novel microbiota and microbial processes, can provide a window into isolated and geologically ancient systems. These habitats are earth analogs for extraterrestrial systems that have yet to be sampled, though potentially harbor, or have harbored life at some time during their past. They are also small-scale models of the numerous sub-glacial lake systems, which have been identified across Antarctica and in Iceland. Methods are needed to sample these ecosystems with environmental stewardship in mind, in which human impact on the ecosystem is mitigated before and during sampling. This report describes an entry and sampling approach …

Dna Inhibits Catalysis By The Carboxyltransferase Subunit Of Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase: Implications For Active Site Communication, Brian K. Benson, Glen Meades, Anne Grove, Grover L. Waldrop

Faculty Publications

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyzes the first committed step in the synthesis of long-chain fatty acids. The crystal structure of the Escherichia coli carboxyltransferase component of ACC revealed an α2b 2 subunit composition with two active sites and, most importantly, a unique zinc domain in each ab pair that is absent in the eukaryotic enzyme. We show here that carboxyltransferase binds DNA. Half-maximal saturation of different single-stranded or double-stranded DNA constructs is seen at 0.5-1.0 μM, and binding is cooperative and nonspecific. The substrates (malonyl-CoA and biocytin) inhibit DNA:carboxyltransferase complex formation. More significantly, single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA, and heparin inhibit the …

Temperature And Vegetation Effects On Soil Organic Carbon Quality Along A Forested Mean Annual Temperature Gradient In North America, Cinzia Fissore, Christian P. Giardina, Randall K. Kolka, Carl C. Trettin, Gary M. King, Martin F. Jurgensen, Christopher D. Barton, S. Douglas Mcdowell

Faculty Publications

Both climate and plant species are hypothesized to influence soil organic carbon (SOC) quality, but accurate prediction of how SOC process rates respond to global change will require an improved understanding of how SOC quality varies with mean annual temperature (MAT) and forest type. We investigated SOC quality in paired hardwood and pine stands growing in coarse textured soils located along a 22 °C gradient in MAT. To do this, we conducted 80-day incubation experiments at 10 and 30 °C to quantify SOC decomposition rates, which we used to kinetically define SOC quality. We used these experiments to test the …

Central And Peripheral Administration Of Kisspeptin Activates Gonadotropin But Not Somatotropin Secretion In Prepubertal Gilts, Clay A. Lents, Neely L. Heidorn, C. Richard Barb, J. Joe Ford

Faculty Publications

It is well established that kisspeptin signaling is necessary for the onset of puberty in laboratory animals. However, the role that kisspeptin may have in regulating puberty in large domestic animals is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that either central or peripheral infusion of kisspeptin would stimulate gonadotropin and GH secretion in prepubertal gilts. In experiment 1, prepubertal gilts were fitted with i.c.v. cannula and indwelling jugular catheters. Animals were randomly assigned to receive 0, 10, or 100 μg kisspeptin in saline. In experiment 2, prepubertal gilts, fitted with indwelling jugular catheters, randomly received 0, 1, 2.5, or 5 mg …

Phonotaxis To Amphibian Vocalizations In Culex Territans (Diptera: Culicidae), Kristen Bartlett-Healy, Wayne Crans, Randy Gaugler

Faculty Publications

Culex territans Walker (Diptera: Culicidae) acquires bloodmeals from amphibian hosts. Females overwinter as inseminated adults and exit diapause in New Jersey when spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) are calling. We tested the hypothesis that Cx. territans uses amphibian vocalizations as a long-distance attractant. Two thirds of females oriented toward sound across all experiments. Females allowed to orient toward or away from a frog call, bird song, live frog, or control (a plugged in compact disc player) exhibited positive phonotaxis only to the frog call. Females exhibited positive phonotaxis to calls of P. crucifer, Hyla versicolor (northern gray tree frog), Bufo americanus …

The Termite Menace In New Orleans: Did They Cause The Floodwalls To Tumble?, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Uncovering A Macrophage Transcriptional Program By Integrating Evidence From Motif Scanning And Expression Dynamics, Stephen A. Ramsey, Sandy L. Klemm, Daniel E. Zak, Kathleen A. Kennedy, Vesteinn Thorsson, Bin Li, Mark Gilchrist, Elizabeth S. Gold, Carrie D. Johnson, Vladimir Litvak, Garnet Navarro, Jared C. Roach, Carrie M. Rosenberger, Alistair G. Rust, Natalya Yudkovsky, Alan Aderem, Ilya Shmulevich

Faculty Publications

Macrophages are versatile immune cells that can detect a variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns through their Toll-like receptors (TLRs). In response to microbial challenge, the TLR-stimulated macrophage undergoes an activation program controlled by a dynamically inducible transcriptional regulatory network. Mapping a complex mammalian transcriptional network poses significant challenges and requires the integration of multiple experimental data types. In this work, we inferred a transcriptional network underlying TLR-stimulated murine macrophage activation. Microarray-based expression profiling and transcription factor binding site motif scanning were used to infer a network of associations between transcription factor genes and clusters of co-expressed target genes. The time-lagged …

Strategies For Commercialization Of Cryopreserved Fish Semen, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Initial success in sperm cryopreservation occurred at about the same time for aquatic species and livestock. However, in the 50 plus years since then cryopreserved sperm of livestock has grown into a billion-dollar global industry, while cryopreserved sperm of aquatic species remains a research activity with little commercial application despite work in more than 90 species and more than 200 published reports. Most research work has focused on large-bodied culture and sport fishes, such as salmon, trout, carp, and catfish, and mollusks such as commercially important oyster and abalone species. However, only a few studies have addressed sperm cryopreservation in …

Berberine Improves Glucose Metabolism Through Induction Of Glycolysis, Jun Yin, Zhanguo Gao, Dong Liu, Zhijun Liu, Jianping Ye

Faculty Publications

Berberine, a botanical alkaloid used to control blood glucose in type 2 diabetes in China, has recently been reported to activate AMPK. However, it is not clear how AMPK is activated by berberine. In this study, activity and action mechanism of berberine were investigated in vivo and in vitro. In dietary obese rats, berberine increased insulin sensitivity after 5-wk administration. Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR were decreased by 46 and 48%, respectively, in the rats. In cell lines including 3T3-L1 adipocytes, L6 myotubes, C 2C12 myotubes, and H4IIE hepatocytes, berberine was found to increase glucose consumption, 2-deoxyglucose uptake, and to a …

Methods For Pollen Evaluation And Influence Of Gibberellic Acid On Potato Crossing, Roberto Fritsche Neto, Arione Da Silva Pereira, Maria Do Carmo Bassols Raseira, Giovani Olegário Da Silva, Velci Queiroz De Souza

Faculty Publications

The aims of this work were to compare evaluation methods of pollen quality and to evaluate the influence of giberellic acid (GA3) on the efficiency of crossing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes. Both studies were carried out at Embrapa Clima Temperado headquarters, Pelotas-RS. The first study was accomplished in the Plant Breeding Laboratory, in the spring of 2003 and autumn-winter of 2004. The carmin propionic and the pollen fertility of two agar, sugar and boro media (culture medium 1 and culture medium 2) were evaluated, using five potato genotypes. The second study was carried out at greenhouse, in the autumn-winter …