The Work of Judicial Councils

Published in the American Political Science Review simultaneously with the Indiana Law Journal, by arrangement

Development of the Maypole (Hoop/Column) deployable reflector concept for large space systems applications

The conceptual design, performance projections, and materials development for the maypole (hoop/column) reflector concept are summarized. Factors influencing configuration choices are discussed along with quad aperture/feed characteristics and antenna requirements based on missions

Deciphering the relative contributions of multiple functions within plant-microbe symbioses

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/09-1858.1For microbial symbioses with plants, such as mycorrhizas, we typically quantify either the net effects of one partner on another or a single function a symbiont provides. However, many microbial symbioses provide multiple functions to plants that vary based on the microbial species or functional group, plant species, and environment. Here we quantified the relative contributions of multiple functions provided by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to symbiont-mediated changes in plant biomass. We used two published data sets, one that measured multiple functions (pathogen protection and nutrient uptake) on a single plant and one that measured a single function (pathogen protection) on multiple plants. Using structural equation modeling, we observed strong variation in the functional pathways by which AM fungi altered plant growth; changes in plant biomass were associated with different functions (and different AM fungal functional groups) for the different plant species. Utilizing this methodology across multiple partners and environments will allow researchers to gauge the relative importance of functions they isolate and, perhaps more importantly, those they did not consider. This baseline information is essential for establishing the specific mechanisms by which microbial symbioses influence plant diversity and to more effectively utilize these organisms in agriculture, restoration and conservation

Southwest Pacific subtropics responded to last deglacial warming with changes in shallow water sources

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 29 (2014): 595–611, doi:10.1002/2013PA002584.This study examined sources of mixed layer and shallow subsurface waters in the subtropical Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, across the last deglaciation (~30–5 ka). δ18O and δ13C from planktonic foraminifera Globgerinoides bulloides and Globorotalia inflata in four sediment cores were used to reconstruct surface mixed layer thickness, δ18O of seawater (δ18OSW) and differentiate between high- and low-latitude water provenance. During the last glaciation, depleted planktonic δ18OSW and enriched δ13C (−0.4–0.1‰) indicate surface waters had Southern Ocean sources. A rapid δ13C depletion of ~1‰ in G. bulloides between 20 and 19 ka indicates an early, permanent shift in source to a more distal tropical component, likely with an equatorial Pacific contribution that persisted into the Holocene. At 18 ka, a smaller but similar shift in G. inflata δ13C depletion of ~0.3‰ suggests that deeper subsurface waters had a delayed reaction to changing conditions during the deglaciation. This contrasts with the isotopic records from nearby Hawke Bay, to the east of the North Island of New Zealand, which exhibited several changes in thermocline depth indicating switches between distal subtropical and proximal subantarctic influences during the early deglaciation ending only after the Antarctic Cold Reversal. Our results identify the midlatitude subtropics, such as the area around the North Island of New Zealand, as a key region to decipher high- versus low-latitude influences in Southern Hemisphere shallow water masses.Funding for this project came from NSF OCE-0823487 and 0823549-03.2014-12-1

"It was then that I thought 'whaat? This is not my Dad”: the implications of the ‘still the same person’ narrative for children and young people who have a parent with dementia

This research used auto/biographical interviews to explore the experiences of 19, 8 to 31 year olds who had a parent with dementia. Thematic analysis revealed challenges occasioned by the master narrative that people with dementia are ‘still’ the same person they were prior to the onset of their condition. While this notion is – rightly – at the heart of person-centered care in dementia services, the ‘still’ discourse conflicts with the experiences of young people. Their accounts suggest that the construction of their parent as the same person is not helpful and that, furthermore, expectations that they will behave and feel towards that parent as they did before are a source of distress in what is already a challenging situation. This paper highlights the need to equip young people with support that acknowledges that their parent may well be drastically different to the Mum or Dad they previously ‘knew

Molecular Genetics of T Cell Development

T cell development is guided by a complex set of transcription factors that act recursively, in different combinations, at each of the developmental choice points from T-lineage specification to peripheral T cell specialization. This review describes the modes of action of the major T-lineage-defining transcription factors and the signal pathways that activate them during intrathymic differentiation from pluripotent precursors. Roles of Notch and its effector RBPSuh (CSL), GATA-3, E2A/HEB and Id proteins, c-Myb, TCF-1, and members of the Runx, Ets, and Ikaros families are critical. Less known transcription factors that are newly recognized as being required for T cell development at particular checkpoints are also described. The transcriptional regulation of T cell development is contrasted with that of B cell development, in terms of their different degrees of overlap with the stem-cell program and the different roles of key transcription factors in gene regulatory networks leading to lineage commitment

'It would be easier if she’d died’: young people with parents with dementia articulating inadmissible stories

In the U.K. context where the emphasis is (quite rightly) on living well with dementia, on positivity and enabling approaches, it can be difficult for researchers to investigate and report negative experiences. Failing to re-present perceptions and experiences as they are lived, however, does a serious disservice to the research endeavor and can prevent policy and service development and positive change. In this article, we present some stories told by participants in an Alzheimer’s Society (United Kingdom) Funded project uniquely investigating the perceptions and experiences of children and young people who have a parent with dementia. Sometimes the stories were not easy to hear, especially when they challenged dominant master narratives around dementia. We discuss our view that when the young people we spoke with told us how things were for them, we were ethically bound to respect and disseminate their accounts

Determining a minimum detection threshold in terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis

Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis is a common technique used to characterize soil microbial diversity. The fidelity of this technique in accurately reporting diversity has not been thoroughly evaluated. Here we determine if rare fungal species can be reliably detected by T-RFLP analysis. Spores from three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species were each mixed at a range of concentrations (1%, 10%, 50%, and 100%) with Glomus irregulare to establish a minimum detection threshold. T-RFLP analysis was capable of detecting diagnostic peaks of rare taxa at concentrations as low as 1%. The relative proportion of the target taxa in the sample and DNA concentration influenced peak detection reliability. However, low concentrations produced small, inconsistent electropherogram peaks contributing to difficulty in differentiating true peaks from signal noise. The results of this experiment suggest T-RFLP is a reproducible and high fidelity procedure, which requires careful data interpretation in order to accurately characterize sample diversity

A 6-kb promoter fragment mimics in transgenic mice the prostate-specific and androgen-regulated expression of the endogenous prostate-specific antigen gene in humans

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a kallikrein-like serine protease, which is almost exclusively synthesized in the luminal epithelial cells of the human prostate. PSA expression is androgen regulated. Previously, we characterized in vitro the proximal promoter, and a strong enhancer region, approximately 4 kb upstream of the PSA gene. Both regions are needed for high, androgen-regulated activity of the PSA promoter in LNCaP cells. The goal of the present study is the in vivo characterization of the PSA promoter. Three transgenic mouse lines carrying the Escherichia coli LacZ gene, driven by the 632-bp proximal PSA promoter, and three lines with LacZ, driven by the 6-kb PSA promoter, were generated. Expression of the LacZ reporter gene was analyzed in a large series of tissues. Transgene expression could not be demonstrated in any of the transgenic animals carrying the proximal PSA promoter. All three lines carrying the 6-kb PSA promoter showed lateral prostate-specific beta-galactosidase activity. Transgene expression was undetectable until 8 weeks after birth. Upon castration, beta-galactosidase activity rapidly declined. It could be restored by subsequent androgen administration. A search for mouse PSA-related kallikrein genes expressed in the prostate led to the identification of mGK22, which was previously demonstrated to be expressed in the submandibular salivary gland. Therefore, the 6-kb PSA-LacZ transgene followed the expression pattern of the PSA gene in humans, which is almost completely prostate-specific, rather than that of mGK22 in mice. In conclusion, the 6-kb promoter fragment appears to contain most, if not all, information for androgen regulation and prostate specificity of the PSA gene