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Originally published in 1979. Eric Sundquist takes four representative writers—James Fenimore Cooper, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville—and considers the way in which each grapples with the crucial issues of genealogy and authority in his works. From all four a common pattern emerges: the desire to revolt against the past is countered by the need to invoke or even repeat it. Sundquist's approach to the texts is psychoanalytic, but he does not attempt a clinical dissection of each writer; rather, he determines how personal crisis became material for engaging with larger questions of social and literary crisis

Comparison of two U.S. power-plant carbon dioxide emissions data sets

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Environmental Science & Technology 42 (2008): 5688-5693, doi:10.1021/es800221q.Estimates of fossil-fuel CO2 emissions are needed to address a variety of climate-change mitigation concerns over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. We compared two data sets that report power-plant CO2 emissions in the conterminous U.S. for 2004, the most recent year reported in both data sets. The data sets were obtained from the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s eGRID database. Conterminous U.S. total emissions computed from the data sets differed by 3.5% for total plant emissions (electricity plus useful thermal output) and 2.3% for electricity generation only. These differences are well within previous estimates of uncertainty in annual U.S. fossil-fuel emissions. However, the corresponding average absolute differences between estimates of emissions from individual power plants were much larger, 16.9% and 25.3%, respectively. By statistical analysis, we identified several potential sources of differences between EIA and eGRID estimates for individual plants. Estimates that are based partly or entirely on monitoring of stack gases (reported by eGRID only) differed significantly from estimates based on fuel consumption (as reported by EIA). Differences in accounting methods appear to explain differences in estimates for emissions from electricity generation from combined heat and power plants, and for total and electricity generation emissions from plants that burn nonconventional fuels (e.g., biomass). Our analysis suggests the need for care in utilizing emissions data from individual power plants, and the need for transparency in documenting the accounting and monitoring methods used to estimate emissions.This study was supported by the National Research Program and the Earth System Dynamics Program of the U.S. Geological Survey

Historical influence of soil and water management on sediment and carbon budgets in the United States

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Applied Geochemistry 26 (2011): S259, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.118.The documented history of US soil and water management provides a unique opportunity to examine soil and sediment C storage under conditions of changing management practices. Historical acceleration of erosion due to cultivation has been moderated by improved soil management. Increased construction of dams and locks has expanded areas of aquatic sedimentation in reservoirs and ponds. Enhanced historical sediment deposition rates have been documented in lakes and estuaries. All of these changes have an impact on terrestrial C storage and turnover. The present-day C budget associated with erosion and burial cannot be determined without quantifying the time-dependent changes due to past and present soil and water management

Investigators share improved understanding of the North American Carbon Cycle

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94828/1/eost16014.pd

Rab27a controls HIV-1 assembly by regulating plasma membrane levels of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate

During the late stages of the HIV-1 replication cycle, the viral polyprotein Pr55Gag is recruited to the plasma membrane (PM), where it binds phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) and directs HIV-1 assembly. We show that Rab27a controls the trafficking of late endosomes carrying phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase type 2 α (PI4KIIα) toward the PM of CD4+ T cells. Hence, Rab27a promotes high levels of PM phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and the localized production of PI(4,5)P2, therefore controlling Pr55Gag membrane association. Rab27a also controls PI(4,5)P2 levels at the virus-containing compartments of macrophages. By screening Rab27a effectors, we identified that Slp2a, Slp3, and Slac2b are required for the association of Pr55Gag with the PM and that Slp2a cooperates with Rab27a in the recruitment of PI4KIIα to the PM. We conclude that by directing the trafficking of PI4KIIα-positive endosomes toward the PM, Rab27a controls PI(4,5)P2 production and, consequently, HIV-1 replication.Fil: Pereyra Gerber, Federico Pehuén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; ArgentinaFil: Cabrini, Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; ArgentinaFil: Jancic, Carolina Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Paoletti, Luciana Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Banchio, Claudia Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Von Bilderling, Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Sigaut, Lorena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Microscopías Avanzadas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pietrasanta, Lia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Microscopías Avanzadas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Duette, Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; ArgentinaFil: Freed, Eric O.. National Cancer Institute at Frederick; Estados UnidosFil: Basile, Genevieve de Saint. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; FranciaFil: Moita, Catarina Ferreira. Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia; PortugalFil: Moita, Luis Ferreira. Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia; PortugalFil: Amigorena, Sebastian. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Benaroch, Philippe. Institute Curie; FranciaFil: Geffner, Jorge Raúl. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; ArgentinaFil: Ostrowski, Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; Argentin

The Airway Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis: A Complex Fungal and Bacterial Community—Implications for Therapeutic Management

International audienceBackground Given the polymicrobial nature of pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), it is essential to enhance our knowledge on the composition of the microbial community to improve patient management. In this study, we developed a pyrosequencing approach to extensively explore the diversity and dynamics of fungal and prokaryotic populations in CF lower airways. Methodology and Principal Findings Fungi and bacteria diversity in eight sputum samples collected from four adult CF patients was investigated using conventional microbiological culturing and high-throughput pyrosequencing approach targeting the ITS2 locus and the 16S rDNA gene. The unveiled microbial community structure was compared to the clinical profile of the CF patients. Pyrosequencing confirmed recently reported bacterial diversity and observed complex fungal communities, in which more than 60% of the species or genera were not detected by cultures. Strikingly, the diversity and species richness of fungal and bacterial communities was significantly lower in patients with decreased lung function and poor clinical status. Values of Chao1 richness estimator were statistically correlated with values of the Shwachman-Kulczycki score, body mass index, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p = 0.046, 0.047, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively for fungal Chao1 indices, and p = 0.010, 0.047, 0.002, and 0.0003, respectively for bacterial Chao1 values). Phylogenetic analysis showed high molecular diversities at the sub-species level for the main fungal and bacterial taxa identified in the present study. Anaerobes were isolated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was more likely to be observed in association with Candida albicans than with Aspergillus fumigatus

Genome-Wide Local Ancestry Approach Identifies Genes and Variants Associated with Chemotherapeutic Susceptibility in African Americans

Chemotherapeutic agents are used in the treatment of many cancers, yet variable resistance and toxicities among individuals limit successful outcomes. Several studies have indicated outcome differences associated with ancestry among patients with various cancer types. Using both traditional SNP-based and newly developed gene-based genome-wide approaches, we investigated the genetics of chemotherapeutic susceptibility in lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from 83 African Americans, a population for which there is a disparity in the number of genome-wide studies performed. To account for population structure in this admixed population, we incorporated local ancestry information into our association model. We tested over 2 million SNPs and identified 325, 176, 240, and 190 SNPs that were suggestively associated with cytarabine-, 5′-deoxyfluorouridine (5′-DFUR)-, carboplatin-, and cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity, respectively (p≤10−4). Importantly, some of these variants are found only in populations of African descent. We also show that cisplatin-susceptibility SNPs are enriched for carboplatin-susceptibility SNPs. Using a gene-based genome-wide association approach, we identified 26, 11, 20, and 41 suggestive candidate genes for association with cytarabine-, 5′-DFUR-, carboplatin-, and cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity, respectively (p≤10−3). Fourteen of these genes showed evidence of association with their respective chemotherapeutic phenotypes in the Yoruba from Ibadan, Nigeria (p<0.05), including TP53I11, COPS5 and GAS8, which are known to be involved in tumorigenesis. Although our results require further study, we have identified variants and genes associated with chemotherapeutic susceptibility in African Americans by using an approach that incorporates local ancestry information

Reducing vehicle-miles traveled: an argument for land use as a policy lever

Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) has become an important goal for improving environmental outcomes and reducing the costs of travel and infrastructure. One way to accomplish such reductions could be to enact policies that foster more compact development. However, while it is accepted that compact development is associated with lower VMT, there remain disagreements about the efficacy of this policy lever. One issue casting doubt on the power of compact development relates to travelers' exposure to density. A conventional view holds that many travelers' neighborhoods are "locked in place" because change in established neighborhoods is slow. Additionally, conventional explanations of the effect of denser development focus on travelers' own neighborhoods, or on the metro area as a whole, failing to isolate the effect of densifying nodes near, but outside of, the travelers' neighborhoods. This study employs housing and travel data from the Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., where policies aimed at encouraging compact development have been in place since the mid-1990s. Findings suggest that 1) in established neighborhood, incremental change often results in exposure to substantially higher density, and 2) that even where localized density is constant, increases in density at intentional nodes or other areas near, but outside of, a traveler's own neighborhood, has a strong effect on VMT. The findings tend to undermine some of the key doubts about using land use as a policy lever for VMT reduction.PhDCommittee Chair: Ross, Catherine; Committee Member: Botchwey, Nisha; Committee Member: Elliott, Michael; Committee Member: Guensler, Randall; Committee Member: Rogers, Joe