Influences from early accounting literature on contemporary research

This study explored the citation of pre-1960 literature in a body of contemporary accounting research. In a database of nearly 11,000 citations from 428 source articles, 117 pre-1960 accounting citations were identified. From the set of 413 nonhistorical articles, forty pre-1960 accounting citations were found. This study also examined the breadth of coverage of these citations and their distribution among journals. The results showed that many pre-1960 accounting documents traditionally considered important were not cited. This result may be useful to accounting historians by helping them to identify early research traditions that are in danger of being forgotten by nonhistorians

Use of historical data in accounting research: The case of the American Sugar Refining Company

In 1908, the American Sugar Refining Company (ASR) reversed its long-held policy of secrecy as to its financial condition and performance. Prior work, applying contemporary capital market methods to ASR security price data of that period, has suggested a value to ASR shareholders of this policy reversal. This paper examines the historical record of that time and presents additional evidence on this matter, particularly in terms of identifying potentially confounding events occurring during the period under study. The results of this analysis suggest a difficulty in attributing observed abnormal returns to ASR\u27s secrecy policy reversal on the basis of the results obtained from applying capital markets methods. This analysis is useful for scholars interested in applying modern capital market methods to historical data. It highlights the significance of the possible effects of contemporaneous historical events, focuses attention on the importance of a deep understanding of the historical period studied, and suggests a value in combining historical and empirical-markets methods to gain a richer understanding of the events and conditions in the time period under study

The extrinsic proteins of Photosystem II

In this review we examine the structure and function of the extrinsic proteins of Photosystem II. These proteins include PsbO, present in all oxygenic organisms, the PsbP and PsbQ proteins, which are found in higher plants and eukaryotic algae, and the PsbU, PsbV, CyanoQ, and CyanoP proteins, which are found in the cyanobacteria. These proteins serve to optimize oxygen evolution at physiological calcium and chloride concentrations. They also shield the Mn 4CaO 5 cluster from exogenous reductants. Numerous biochemical, genetic and structural studies have been used to probe the structure and function of these proteins within the photosystem. We will discuss the most recent proposed functional roles for these components, their structures (as deduced from biochemical and X-ray crystallographic studies) and the locations of their proposed binding domains within the Photosystem II complex. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosystem II. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Coupled biogeochemical cycles : eutrophication and hypoxia in temperate estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9 (2011): 18–26, doi:10.1890/100008.Nutrient fluxes to coastal areas have risen in recent decades, leading to widespread hypoxia and other ecological damage, particularly from nitrogen (N). Several factors make N more limiting in estuaries and coastal waters than in lakes: desorption (release) of phosphorus (P) bound to clay as salinity increases, lack of planktonic N fixation in most coastal ecosystems, and flux of relatively P-rich, N-poor waters from coastal oceans into estuaries. During eutrophication, biogeochemical feedbacks further increase the supply of N and P, but decrease availability of silica – conditions that can favor the formation and persistence of harmful algal blooms. Given sufficient N inputs, estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems can be driven to P limitation. This switch contributes to greater far-field N pollution; that is, the N moves further and contributes to eutrophication at greater distances. The physical oceanography (extent of stratification, residence time, and so forth) of coastal systems determines their sensitivity to hypoxia, and recent changes in physics have made some ecosystems more sensitive to hypoxia. Coastal hypoxia contributes to ocean acidification, which harms calcifying organisms such as mollusks and some crustaceans.Funding was supplied in part by NOAA through the Coastal Hypoxia Research Program, by the NSF through the Biocomplexity Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles competition, and by DR Atkinson through an endowment given to Cornell University

Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary : case study of a highly eutrophic coastal bay system

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2007. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecological Applications 17 (2007): S3–S16, doi:10.1890/05-0800.1.The Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary is classified here as a highly eutrophic estuary based on application of NOAA’s National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment model. Because it is shallow, poorly flushed, and bordered by highly developed watershed areas, the estuary is particularly susceptible to the effects of nutrient loading. Most of this load (~50%) is from surface water inflow, but substantial fractions also originate from atmospheric deposition (~39%), and direct groundwater discharges (~11%). No point source inputs of nutrients exist in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Since 1980, all treated wastewater from the Ocean County Utilities Authority's regional wastewater treatment system has been discharged 1.6 km offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Eutrophy causes problems in this system, including excessive micro- and macroalgal growth, harmful algal blooms (HABs), altered benthic invertebrate communities, impacted harvestable fisheries, and loss of essential habitat (i.e., seagrass and shellfish beds). Similar problems are evident in other shallow lagoonal estuaries of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. To effectively address nutrient enrichment problems in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary, it is important to determine the nutrient loading levels that produce observable impacts in the system. It is also vital to continually monitor and assess priority indicators of water quality change and estuarine health. In addition, the application of a new generation of innovative models using web-based tools (e.g., NLOAD) will enable researchers and decision-makers to more successfully manage nutrient loads from the watershed. Finally, the implementation of stormwater retrofit projects should have beneficial effects on the system.Financial support of the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program and Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve is gratefully acknowledged

Development of a DNA Barcoding System for Seagrasses: Successful but Not Simple

Seagrasses, a unique group of submerged flowering plants, profoundly influence the physical, chemical and biological environments of coastal waters through their high primary productivity and nutrient recycling ability. They provide habitat for aquatic life, alter water flow, stabilize the ground and mitigate the impact of nutrient pollution. at the coast region. Although on a global scale seagrasses represent less than 0.1% of the angiosperm taxa, the taxonomical ambiguity in delineating seagrass species is high. Thus, the taxonomy of several genera is unsolved. While seagrasses are capable of performing both, sexual and asexual reproduction, vegetative reproduction is common and sexual progenies are always short lived and epimeral in nature. This makes species differentiation often difficult, especially for non-taxonomists since the flower as a distinct morphological trait is missing. Our goal is to develop a DNA barcoding system assisting also non-taxonomists to identify regional seagrass species. The results will be corroborated by publicly available sequence data. The main focus is on the 14 described seagrass species of India, supplemented with seagrasses from temperate regions. According to the recommendations of the Consortium for the Barcoding of Life (CBOL) rbcL and matK were used in this study. After optimization of the DNA extraction method from preserved seagrass material, the respective sequences were amplified from all species analyzed. Tree- and character-based approaches demonstrate that the rbcL sequence fragment is capable of resolving up to family and genus level. Only matK sequences were reliable in resolving species and partially the ecotype level. Additionally, a plastidic gene spacer was included in the analysis to confirm the identification level. Although the analysis of these three loci solved several nodes, a few complexes remained unsolved, even when constructing a combined tree for all three loci. Our approaches contribute to the understanding of the morphological plasticity of seagrasses versus genetic differentiation

Complementary feeding: a Global Network cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Inadequate and inappropriate complementary feeding are major factors contributing to excess morbidity and mortality in young children in low resource settings. Animal source foods in particular are cited as essential to achieve micronutrient requirements. The efficacy of the recommendation for regular meat consumption, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Methods/Design: A cluster randomized efficacy trial was designed to test the hypothesis that 12 months of daily intake of beef added as a complementary food would result in greater linear growth velocity than a micronutrient fortified equi-caloric rice-soy cereal supplement. The study is being conducted in 4 sites of the Global Network for Women\u27s and Children\u27s Health Research located in Guatemala, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia in communities with toddler stunting rates of at least 20%. Five clusters per country were randomized to each of the food arms, with 30 infants in each cluster. The daily meat or cereal supplement was delivered to the home by community coordinators, starting when the infants were 6 months of age and continuing through 18 months. All participating mothers received nutrition education messages to enhance complementary feeding practices delivered by study coordinators and through posters at the local health center. Outcome measures, obtained at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months by a separate assessment team, included anthropometry, dietary variety and diversity scores, biomarkers of iron, zinc and Vitamin B(12) status (18 months), neurocognitive development (12 and 18 months), and incidence of infectious morbidity throughout the trial. The trial was supervised by a trial steering committee, and an independent data monitoring committee provided oversight for the safety and conduct of the trial. Discussion: Findings from this trial will test the efficacy of daily intake of meat commencing at age 6 months and, if beneficial, will provide a strong rationale for global efforts to enhance local supplies of meat as a complementary food for young children

Ezrin Mediates Tethering of the γ-Aminobutyric Acid Transporter GAT1 to Actin Filaments Via a C-Terminal PDZ-Interacting Domain

A high density of neurotransmitter transporters on axons and presynaptic boutons is required for the efficient clearance of neurotransmitters from the synapse. Therefore, regulators of transporter trafficking (insertion, retrieval, and confinement) can play an important role in maintaining the transporter density necessary for effective function. We determined the interactions that confine GAT1 at the membrane by investigating the lateral mobility of GAT1-yellow fluorescent protein-8 (YFP8) expressed in neuroblastoma 2a cells. Through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we found that a significant fraction (~50%) of membrane-localized GAT1 is immobile on the time scale investigated (~150 s). The mobility of the transporter can be increased by depolymerizing actin or by interrupting the GAT1 postsynaptic density 95/Discs large/zona occludens 1 (PDZ)-interacting domain. Microtubule depolymerization, in contrast, does not affect GAT1 membrane mobility. We also identified ezrin as a major GAT1 adaptor to actin. Förster resonance energy transfer suggests that GAT1-YFP8 and cyan fluorescent (CFP) tagged ezrin (ezrin-CFP) exist within a complex that has a Förster resonance energy transfer efficiency of 19% ± 2%. This interaction can be diminished by disrupting the actin cytoskeleton. In addition, the disruption of actin results in a >3-fold increase in γ-aminobutyric acid uptake, apparently via a mechanism distinct from the PDZ-interacting protein. Our data reveal that actin confines GAT1 to the plasma membrane via ezrin, and this interaction is mediated through the PDZ-interacting domain of GAT1