bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Beautiful but Strong Message of the Green Butterfly
Authors: Choi Mee-Sung
Published: June 2008

The objective of this draping project was to recreate the aesthetic movement of a butterfly in flight and to emphasize environmental harmony. The resources and materials used are important to issues of the environment. Even though the green butterfly dress is very beautiful, it sends a strong message about risk to nature and the environment. The dress focuses on creating the movement of wings, like those of a butterfly in flight, when the wearer walks in it. The skirt makes a lovely wave, like a butterfly in a fresh and open green field. Overall, the figure presents an hourglass silhouette with a fitted upper body, narrow waist, and gradually flared full skirt.
Foundations of Legislative Organization and Committee Influence
Authors: Kim Jaehoon , Rothenberg Lawrence S.
Published: June 2008

We revisit seemingly settled questions of legislative organization, specifying a more general, realistic, informational model than previously. While theorists, unlike empiricists, have commonly inferred that the floor lacks incentive to allow committee influence via gatekeeping, we find otherwise. By assuming that (1) legislators know more about the status quo than alternative proposals, and (2) committee authority is endogenously determined, we show for numerous realizations of floor-committee preference divergence that vesting committees with agenda-setting power under an open rule is preferred to either an open rule without agenda setting or a closed rule. Net of a closed rule, when committees can receive status quo payoffs from inaction, their sending a message, particularly with monopoly agenda setting, frequently transmits more information than under a pure open rule. As such, many situations exist where the floor will not want to use majoritarian mechanisms, such as discharge petitions or non-germane amendment authority, even if the committee chooses inaction. Although for different reasons than postulated by distributive theorists, gatekeeping and related features such as deference norms are sustainable equilibrium phenomena.
Patterns of Social Capital in West German Regions
Authors: Blume Lorenz , Sack Detlef
Published: June 2008

Social capital is often defined as consisting of trust and postmaterialist values on the one hand, and social networks on the other hand. This article examines how different governance modes such as networks, markets, and hierarchies are related to trust and postmaterialist values in 74 West German regions.A principle component analysis of 40 social capital indicators shows that trust and postmaterialist values do not solely combine with networks but also with preferences for markets and hierarchies. A cluster analysis identifies two dominant types of regional social capital in West German regions. These types are different from the well-known Italian patterns described by Robert Putnam in his seminal work. In the period 1995—2002, the annual economic growth in regions which have combined trust with preferences for strong markets and weak political networks was on average 1 percent higher than in regions with inverted preferences.
Regionauts: the Transformation of Cross-Border Regions in Scandinavia
Authors: Löfgren Orvar
Published: June 2008

Many cross-border regions in Europe remain more political dreamscapes than examples of strong transnational integration.The development of the Öresund region through a bridge linking Copenhagen and eastern Denmark with Southern Sweden has been seen as a model for EU region building. Drawing on a multidisciplinary project, this article uses the Öresund case as a starting point, bringing in some contrastive Scandinavian examples. The aim is to discuss how regions try to make themselves visible and attractive for investments and visitors, but above all to what extent they produce regionauts actively creating integration by different border-crossing activities and contacts. The focus is on the cultural dimensions found in everyday practices and symbolic manifestations of these transnational processes. What kind of gaps between regional rhetoric and actual mundane activities emerge? A historical perspective is used to illustrate these changing border dynamics in which cultural, political and economic asymmetries often become an energizing factor.
Mapping Corporations, Connecting Communities
Authors: Dawley Stuart , Stenning Alison , Pike Andy
Published: June 2008

In recent years, economic geographers have turned their attention to the growing geographical reach and complexity of economic networks to focus on the increasing integration of economies, the geographical organization of economic activity and the social, economic and political relationships within these networks.Within this work, particular attention has been paid to the corporation, allowing for corporate geographies to be rethought using new approaches and new methodologies. Building on these approaches, we seek to develop a holistic economic geography which embeds the globalizing corporation within a broad array of economic, social, political and cultural settings shaped by multiple social agents.We do this in the context of the European steel industry. We argue that refocusing attention on the steel industry is important for two reasons. First, the industry itself has radically changed in the last decade. Persistent global overcapacity and cycles of profitability, ongoing consolidation and privatization, the emergence of new steel regions and of more `globalized' steel producers have all altered the industry's anatomy. Second, the tools of economic geography have changed. New approaches enable us to look again at the steel industry and to rethink its corporate geographies. This article develops these arguments by using an innovative approach, integrating the narratives of two steel corporations and two European steel regions, and focusing on issues of corporate geography, financialization, government and governance, labour and community. In this way, we seek to continue the strong tradition within economic geography of conceptualizing the spatial contexts and consequences of economic change through accounts of the continuous remaking of steel geographies.
“I Have Heard Horrible Stories . . .”
Authors: Maier Shana L.
Published: June 2008

This study explores rape victim advocates' perceptions of the revictimization of rape victims by the police and medical system. Most of the previous research on revictimization focuses on either victims or members of the criminal justice, legal, medical, or mental health systems. The current study provides a more complete picture of victims' possible revictimization by the police and medical system through in-depth interviews with 47 rape victim advocates in four states who had direct experience with police or medical professionals. Rape victim advocates describe the power wielded by the police and medical system to revictimize rape victims and their own role in attempting to mitigate this revictimization.
Reformulating the hazard ratio to enhance communication with clinical investigators
Authors: Moser Barry K , McCann Melinda H
Published: June 2008

Background: Clinical trials with time to event outcomes are often designed utilizing the Cox [1] proportional hazard model with a hazard ratio parameter Δ.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that a Cox proportional hazard model with a hazard ratio parameter is equivalent to a Cox proportional hazard model with a parameter equal to the probability that a patient given one treatment will have an event earlier than if the same patient were given a different treatment. This probability will subsequently be referred to as θ. Clinically interesting differences between the treatment arms are easier for researchers to quantify in terms of θ in situations where they have a difficult time with the hazard ratio, allowing better communication between the statistician and the researcher.

Methods: The problem and its solution are demonstrated mathematically. The utility of the Cox proportional hazard model in terms of θ is illustrated through a Lymphoma clinical trial example.

Results: The Cox proportional hazard model with parameter θ is shown to be equivalent to the Cox proportional hazard model with a hazard ratio parameter Δ. A table of typical hazard ratios Δ is presented with their equivalent θ values. In the appendix the mathematical derivations are developed and an unbiased estimate of θ is provided using Gehan's [2] generalization of the Wilcoxon statistic.

Limitations: The equivalence of the Cox proportional hazard model in terms of the probability θ and the hazard ratio Δ is established only for continuous failure times with a single binary covariate. Conditions under which approximate equivalence holds with multiple covariates are discussed in the Appendix.

Conclusions: The probability θ provides a natural parameterization for the Cox proportional hazard model, affords a tool to conceptualize treatment differences, and provides a method to improve communication between statisticians and researchers. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 248—252. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Overcoming challenges in designing and implementing a phase II randomized controlled trial using a presurgical model to test a dietary intervention in prostate cancer
Authors: Demark-Wahnefried Wendy , George Stephen L , Switzer Boyd R , Snyder Denise C , Madden John F , Polascik Thomas J , Ruffin Mack T , Vollmer Robin T
Published: June 2008

Background: The time between the diagnosis of cancer and a planned definitive surgical procedure offers a strong and direct approach for assessing the impact of interventions (including lifestyle interventions) on the biology of the target tissue and the tumor. Despite the many strengths of presurgical models, there are practical issues and challenges that arise when using this approach.

Purpose:/Methods We recently completed an NIH-funded phase II trial that utilized a presurgical model in testing the comparative effects of flaxseed supplementation and/or dietary fat restriction on the biology and biomarkers associated with prostatic carcinoma. Herein, we report the rationale for our original design, discuss modifications in strategy, and relay experiences in implementing this trial related to the following topics: (1) subject accrual; (2) subject retention; (3) intervention delivery; and (4) retrieval and completion rates regarding the collection of paraffin-embedded and fresh frozen prostate tissue, blood, urine, ejaculate, anthropometric measures and survey data.

Results: This trial achieved its accrual target, i.e., a racially-representative (70% white, 30% minority) sample of 161 participants, low rates of attrition (7%); and collection rates that exceeded 90% for almost all biospecimens and survey data. While the experience gained from pilot studies was invaluable in designing this trial, the complexity introduced by the collection of several biospecimens, inclusion of a team of pathologists (to provide validated readings), and shifts in practice patterns related to prostatectomy, made it necessary to revise our protocol; lessons from our experiences are offered within this article.

Conclusions: While our experience specifically relates to the implementation of a presurgical model-based trial in prostate cancer aimed at testing flaxseed-supplemented and fat-restricted diets, many of the lessons learned have broad application to trials that utilize a presurgical model or dietary modification within various cancer populations. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 262—272. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Designing phase II studies in cancer with time-to-event endpoints
Authors: Owzar Kouros , Jung Sin-Ho
Published: June 2008

Background: The primary clinical endpoint in many phase II studies in cancer is a time-to-event outcome subject to potential censoring. The decision in favor of abandoning or continuing investigation of the protocol regimen is typically based on the amount of statistical evidence suggesting an improvement compared to a given historical control. The primary statistical endpoint would typically be the median of the time-to-event distribution of the clinical endpoint. For the purpose of sample size or power calculations, software implementing parametric and nonparametric median tests, is freely available. The main assumptions are those of Exponential survival and a Uniform right-censoring mechanism.

Purpose: The performance of the parametric and nonparametric methods is compared to that of using a binomial endpoint based on dichotomizing the event time at a clinically relevant landmark. As sufficient details on the various methods and related designs for phase II clinical design with survival endpoints are provided, this article should also serve as a comparative reference on these three methods for designing phase II studies in cancer with time-to-event endpoints.

Methods: The statistical performance, by virtue of considering the type I and II error rates, of the three methods is compared by carrying out a comprehensive simulation study.

Results: The parametric method may fail to control the type I error rate if the underlying survival distribution is not Exponential, while the nonparametric method may fail to control the type I error rate as the sample sizes for phase II studies are typically small. Both of these methods may be sensitive to the distribution of the censoring variable.

Limitations: The results provided in this article are mostly discussed in the framework of specific examples and by using specific implementations of the tests. As such the results may not be universally generalizable. The recommended method has some drawbacks if patients are censored before the landmark of interest.

Conclusion: A method that should be considered for the purpose of the statistical design and decision rule for phase II studies in cancer is the employment of a binomial endpoint based on dichotomizing the event time at a clinically relevant landmark. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 209—221. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Validity of diabetes self-reports in the Women's Health Initiative: comparison with medication inventories and fasting glucose measurements
Authors: Margolis Karen L , Lihong Qi  , Brzyski Robert , Bonds Denise E , Howard Barbara V , Kempainen Sarah , Simin Liu  , Robinson Jennifer G , Safford Monika M , Tinker Lesley T , Phillips Lawrence S
Published: June 2008

Objective: Although diabetes is conveniently assessed by self-report, few validation studies have been performed. Therefore, we studied whether self-report of prevalent and incident diabetes in Women's Health Initiative (WHI) participants was concordant with other diagnostic evidence of diabetes.

Study Design and Setting: A total of 161 808 postmenopausal women aged 50—79 were enrolled at 40 clinical centers in the U.S. in 1993—1998 and followed prospectively. At baseline, prevalent medication treated diabetes was defined as a self-report of physician diagnosis and treatment with insulin or oral antidiabetic drugs. During followup, incident treated diabetes was defined as a self-report of a new physician diagnosis of diabetes treated with insulin or oral drugs. Diabetes self-reports were compared with medication inventories and fasting glucose levels at baseline and during follow-up.

Results: At baseline, self-reported treated diabetes was concordant with the medication inventory in 79% of clinical trial, and 77% of observational study participants. Self-reported incident treated diabetes was concordant with the medication inventory in 78% between baseline and Year 1 in the clinical trials, in 62% between Year 1 and Year 3 in the clinical trials, and in 72% between baseline and Year 3 in the observational study. Over similar periods, 99.9% of those who did not report treated diabetes had no oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin in the medication inventory. At baseline, about 3% not reporting diabetes had fasting glucose >126 mg/dl, and 88% of these subjects subsequently reported treated diabetes during 6.9 years of follow-up.

Limitations: Incident self-reported diabetes treated by lifestyle alone was not determined in WHI. Medication inventories may have been incomplete and fasting glucose may have been lowered by treatment; therefore, concordance with self-reported treatment or fasting glucose ≥ 126 may have been underestimated.

Conclusion: In the WHI, self-reported prevalent and incident diabetes was consistent with medication inventories, and a high proportion of those with undiagnosed diabetes subsequently reported diabetes treatment. Self-reports of `treated diabetes' are sufficiently accurate to allow use in epidemiologic studies. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 240—247. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Bayesian adaptive design for targeted therapy development in lung cancer — a step toward personalized medicine
Authors: Xian Zhou  , Suyu Liu  , Kim Edward S , Herbst Roy S , Lee J Jack
Published: June 2008

Background: With the advancement in biomedicine, many biologically targeted therapies have been developed. These targeted agents, however, may not work for everyone. Biomarker profiles can be used to identify effective targeted therapies. Our goals are to characterize the molecular signature of individual tumors, offer the best-fit targeted therapies to patients in a study, and identify promising agents for future development.

Methods: We propose an outcome-based adaptive randomization trial design for patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer. All patients have baseline biopsy samples taken for biomarker assessment prior to randomization to treatments. The primary endpoint of this study is the disease control rate at 8 weeks after randomization. The Bayesian probit model is used to characterize the disease control rate. Patients are adaptively randomized to one of four treatments with the randomization rate based on the updated disease control rate from the accumulated data in the trial. For each biomarker profile, high-performing treatments have higher randomization rates, and vice versa. An early stopping rule is implemented to suspend low-performing treatments from randomization.

Results: Based on extensive simulation studies, with a total of 200 evaluable patients, our trial has desirable operating characteristics to: (1) identify effective agents with a high probability; (2) suspend ineffective agents; and (3) treat more patients with effective agents that correspond to their biomarker profiles. Our trial design continues to update and refine the estimates as the trial progresses.

Limitations: This biomarker-based trial requires biopsible tumors and a two-week turn around time for biomarker profiling before randomization. Additionally, in order to learn from the interim data and adjust the randomization rate accordingly, the outcome-based adaptive randomization design is applicable only for trials when the endpoint can be assessed in a relative short period of time.

Conclusion: Bayesian adaptive randomization trial design is a smart, novel, and ethical design. In conjunction with an early stopping rule, it can be used to efficiently identify effective agents, eliminate ineffective ones, and match effective treatments with patients' biomarker profiles. The proposed design is suitable for the development of targeted therapies and provides a rational design for personalized medicine. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 181—193. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Addressing the challenges of a cross-national investigation: lessons from the Pittsburgh-Pisa study of treatment-relevant phenotypes of unipolar depression
Authors: Frank Ellen , Cassano Giovanni B , Rucci Paola , Fagiolini Andrea , Maggi Luca , Kraemer Helena C , Kupfer David J , Pollock Bruce , Bies Robert , Nimgaonkar Vishwajit , Pilkonis Paul , Shear M Katherine , Thompson Wesley K , Grochocinski Victoria J , Scocco Paolo , Buttenfield Joan , Forgione Rocco Nicola
Published: June 2008

Background: To date, no cross-national RCT has addressed the mechanisms underlying the relative success of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions for depression. A multi-site clinical trial that includes psychotherapy as one of the treatments presents numerous challenges related to cross-site consistency and communication.

Purpose: This report describes how those challenges were met in the study ``Depression: The Search for Treatment Relevant Phenotypes'', being carried out at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pisa, Italy.

Methods: Implementing the study required the investigators to address methodological and practical challenges related to the different requirements of the two Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), psychotherapy training, independent evaluator training, patient recruitment, development of common tools for data entry, quality control and generation of weekly reports of patient progress as well as establishing a similar clinical and research framework in two countries with substantially different health care systems.

Results: By having bilingual investigators and staff members who spent time at one another's sites, making use of frequent conference-call staff meetings and being flexible within the bounds of the sometimes contradictory requirements of the IRBs, the investigators were able to meet the human subjects protection requirements of both institutions, surmount language barriers to consistent therapist and evaluator training and develop common tools for study management. As a result, recruitment goals were met at both sites and retention rates were high. One instance of inconsistent implementation of the protocol was corrected within the first year.

Limitations: This study was conducted in two Western cultures by researchers with long-standing collaboration. Our findings may not be generalizable to other countries or research settings.

Conclusions: The implementation of a cross-national protocol and the adoption and maintenance of common procedures is possible when investigators are aware of the challenges this may present and are proactive in trying to address them. Clinical Trials 2008; 5: 253—261. http://ctj.sagepub.com
Origin and Early Evolution of Angiosperms
Authors: Soltis Douglas E. , Bell Charles D. , Kim Sangtae , Soltis Pamela S.
Published: June 2008

Contributions from paleobotany, phylogenetics, genomics, developmental biology, and developmental genetics have yielded tremendous insight into Darwin's “abominable mystery”—the origin and rapid diversification of the angiosperms. Analyses of morphological and molecular data reveal a revised “anthophyte clade” consisting of the fossils glossopterids, Pentoxylon, Bennettitales, and Caytonia as sister to angiosperms. Molecular estimates of the age of crown group angiosperms have converged on 140–180 million years ago (Ma), older than the oldest fossils (132 Ma), suggesting that older fossils remain to be discovered. Whether the first angiosperms were forest shrubs (dark‐and‐disturbed hypothesis) or aquatic herbs (wet‐and‐wild hypothesis) remains unclear. The near‐basal phylogenetic position of Nymphaeales (water lilies), which may include the well‐known fossil Archaefructus, certainly indicates that the aquatic habit arose early. After initial, early “experiments,” angiosperms radiated rapidly (≤5 million years [Myr]), yielding the five lineages of Mesangiospermae (magnoliids and Chloranthaceae as sisters to a clade of monocots and eudicots + Ceratophyllaceae). This radiation ultimately produced approximately 97% of all angiosperm species. Updated estimates of divergence times across the angiosperms conducted using nonparametric rate smoothing, with one or multiple fossils, were older than previous reports, whereas estimates using PATHd8 were typically younger. Virtually all angiosperm genomes show evidence of whole‐genome duplication, indicating that polyploidy may have been an important catalyst in angiosperm evolution. Although the flower is the central feature of the angiosperms, its origin and subsequent diversification remain major questions. Variation in spatial expression of floral regulators may control major differences in floral morphology between basal angiosperms and eudicot models.
Viviparity‐driven Conflict
Authors: Zeh Jeanne A. , Zeh David W.
Published: June 2008

Equipped with Mendel's laws and only rudimentary knowledge of genes and genomes, the architects of the Modern Synthesis provided key insights into the dynamics of gene frequency change within populations. Extension of population genetic models to speciation identified Dobzhansky–Muller incompatibilities (negative epistatic interactions between genes from isolated populations) as the primary cause of hybrid inviability and sterility, a view consistent with empirical findings on the genetics of reproductive isolation inDrosophila. Although speciation models have become increasingly mathematically sophisticated, many remain based on an overly static concept of the genome, grounded in Mendelian genetics and devoid of potentially important biological details. A unifying theory of speciation therefore remains elusive, with debate over the relative importance of natural selection, sexual selection, sexual conflict, genetic drift, and selfish genetic elements in the evolution of reproductive isolation. Drawing on recent findings in molecular genetics and comparative genomics, we revisit, update, and extend the theory that reproductive mode plays a crucial role in shaping the speciation process. By providing a direct conduit for manipulation of the mother's physiology by genes expressed in the embryo, viviparity creates a postfertilization arena for genomic conflicts absent in species that lay eggs. In polyandrous species, viviparity‐driven conflict (VDC) is likely to generate perpetual antagonistic coevolution between genes expressed during embryonic development and those involved in maternal reproductive physiology, thereby accelerating the rate at which postzygotic isolation evolves between populations. Moreover, in mammals and flowering plants, VDC has favored the evolution of genomic imprinting and a central role for epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of antagonistic patterns of gene expression by maternally and paternally inherited genomes. VDC can account for the rapid rate at which mammals and viviparous fishes lose their ability to hybridize; the key role of the triploid endosperm in postzygotic reproductive isolation in flowering plants; and the kinds of traits, genes, and gene regulatory systems most critical to the evolution of postzygotic reproductive isolation in live‐bearing species.
Interactions between Interactions
Authors: Møller Anders Pape
Published: June 2008

Ecological interactions such as those between predators and prey, parasites and hosts, and pollinators and plants are usually studied on their own while neglecting that one category of interactions can have dramatic effects on another. Such interactions between interactions will have both ecological and evolutionary effects because the actions of one party will influence interactions among other parties, thereby eventually causing feedback on the first party. Examples of such interactions include the effects of predators and parasites on the evolution of host sexual selection, the effects of parasites and predators on the evolution of virulence, and the effects of parasites and predators on the evolution of pollinator mutualisms. Such interactions among interactions will generally prevent simple cases of coevolution, because any single case of interaction between two parties may be affected by an entire range of additional interacting factors. These phenomena will have implications not only for how ecologists and evolutionary biologists empirically study interactions but also on how such interactions are modeled.
Phenotypic Plasticity, Costs of Phenotypes, and Costs of Plasticity
Authors: Callahan Hilary S. , Maughan Heather , Steiner Ulrich K.
Published: June 2008

Why are some traits constitutive and others inducible? The termcostsoften appears in work addressing this issue but may be ambiguously defined. This review distinguishes two conceptually distinct types of costs: phenotypic costs and plasticity costs. Phenotypic costs are assessed from patterns of covariation, typically between a focal trait and a separate trait relevant to fitness. Plasticity costs, separable from phenotypic costs, are gauged by comparing the fitness of genotypes with equivalent phenotypes within two environments but differing in plasticity and fitness. Subtleties associated with both types of costs are illustrated by a body of work addressing predator‐induced plasticity. Such subtleties, and potential interplay between the two types of costs, have also been addressed, often in studies involving genetic model organisms. In some instances, investigators have pinpointed the mechanistic basis of plasticity. In this vein, microbial work is especially illuminating and has three additional strengths. First, information about the machinery underlying plasticity—such as structural and regulatory genes, sensory proteins, and biochemical pathways—helps link population‐level studies with underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms. Second, microbial studies involve many generations, large populations, and replication. Finally, empirical estimation of key parameters (e.g., mutation rates) is tractable. Together, these allow for rigorous investigation of gene interactions, drift, mutation, and selection—all potential factors influencing the maintenance or loss of inducible traits along with phenotypic and plasticity costs. Messages emerging from microbial work can guide future efforts to understand the evolution of plastic traits in diverse organisms.
Maternal Effects as Generators of Evolutionary Change
Authors: Badyaev Alexander V.
Published: June 2008

Despite being a center of debate in biology for centuries, the connection between the generation of novel adaptive variation and its inheritance remains a contentious issue. In evolutionary and behavioral ecology, assigning natural and sexual selection a creative and anticipatory role unmasks the need to explicitly consider the link between a trait's functional importance and its inheritance and results in confusion about selection as an adaptive modifier of development versus selection as a passive filter of already produced forms. In developmental genetics, an emphasis on regulatory versus coding aspects of molecular evolutionary change overlooks the fundamental question of the origination of an inherited developmental toolkit and assignment of its regulatory functions. Because maternal effects, by definition, combine developmental induction of functionally important changes and their inheritance, they bridge the origin and evolution of organismal adaptability, at least on short time scales. The explosion of empirical studies of maternal effects raises a question—are maternal effects ubiquitous but short‐term adjusters and fine‐tuners of an evolved form with only secondary importance for evolutionary change? Or are they a particularly clear example of a stage in a continuum of inheritance systems that accumulates, internalizes, and passes on the most consistent and adaptive organism–environment interactions? Here I place recent empirical studies of avian maternal effects into the evolutionary framework of variation, selection, and inheritance to examine whether maternal effects provide a window into evolutionary processes.
Hidden Reaction Norms, Cryptic Genetic Variation, and Evolvability
Authors: Schlichting Carl D.
Published: June 2008

There is reason to suspect that hidden reaction norms (variation that is phenotypically expressed only after changes in internal or external environmental conditions) may store an evolutionarily significant pool of cryptic genetic variation upon which selection may act. I review mechanisms that may hide variation and the processes that can release this variation. I discuss the potential significance of cryptic genetic variation and elaborate on an example where the release of such variation initiated the evolution of the genetic architecture of multicellular organisms.
Up Front
Authors: Cornish Matt
Published: June 2008

Editorial research for this issue was made possible with generous support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding and Theatre Communications Group.
Hungarian and Independent
Authors: Tompa Andrea
Published: June 2008

Retracing the movements of Hungarian theater over the past ten years, Andrea Tompa details the rise of Hungary's two most influential independent and contemporary theater directors, Árpád Schilling and Béla Pintér. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, an emergent, internationally prominent Hungarian theater scene took shape: Tompa chronicles the rise of the independent theater movement in the context of the work of other influential directors, such as Viktor Bodó, János Mohácsi, Balázs Kovalik, and Sándor Zsótér, whose daring, performative approaches exploded the psychological-realism tradition. Schilling and Pintér are the heirs: Schilling, praised for the founding of his company Krétakör, whose constant, chameleonic reinvention resists stasis; Pintér, for the theatrical incorporation of Hungarian folk tradition and the resultant questioning of the parameters of identity.
Mono-cyclopropanated Fullerene Dimer C120O and Its Application in a Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell
Authors: Weber Lars , Sensfuss Steffi , Ritter Uwe , Scharff Peter
Published: June 2008

Mono-cyclopropanated C120O was prepared to obtain soluble, longish electron acceptor opening the possibility to make organic photoactive layers of supra-molecular and anisotropic order. The C120O derivative was characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and thermogravimetric analyses, and applied as electron acceptor in a bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cell. The C120O derivative is appraised to be a valuable electron acceptor.
Preparation of Plywood-like Fe3BO5 Nanorods by a Facile Hydrothermal Method at Low Temperature
Authors: Qi Haiping , Chen Qianwang
Published: June 2008

Single-crystal plywood-like vonsenite (Fe3BO5) nanorods were prepared through a facile hydrothermal method at 140 °C for 40 h with K4Fe(CN)6 and NaBH4 as starting materials. The Fe3BO5 nanorods, which are composed of 5 to 7 nanobelts, have a diameter of about 250 nm and length ranging from 7 to 15 μm. The nanorods are identified to grow along the [001] direction. On the basis of the results, the formation process of the Fe3BO5 nanorods is discussed. The magnetic measurement indicates that TN=140 K.
Oxidation States of Antimony and Arsenic in Marine Ferromanganese Oxides Related to Their Fractionation in Oxic Marine Environment
Authors: Kashiwabara Teruhiko , Mitsunobu Satoshi , Das Anirban , Itai Takaaki , Tanimizu Masaharu , Takahashi Yoshio
Published: June 2008

Oxidation states of Sb and As in marine ferromanganese oxides determined by X-ray absorption near-edge structure showed that both As and Sb are pentavalent in the ferromanganese oxides. The concentration ratios of As/Sb in the ferromanganese oxides are similar to those in seawater. There results are consistent with the fact that As and Sb behave similarly, especially under oxic conditions as suggested from other studies in soil–water and river–sediment systems.
Stabilization of DNA Multiassembly by Addition of a Phosphate Group at the 5′-Sticky End
Authors: Tanaka Aya , Matsuo Yasutaka , Niikura Kenichi , Ijiro Kuniharu
Published: June 2008

The effect of 5′-phosphorylation at nicks on DNA stabilization was measured through the formation of DNA multiassemblies consisting of 40-mer half-sliding complementary oligonucleotides, which had overlapping complementary 20-mer base sequences. 5′-Phosphorylated oligonucleotides formed longer DNA multiassemblies than 5′-hydroxylated ones. This result indicated that the 5′-phosphorylated sticky ends contribute to the stabilization of the DNA association due to the hydrogen bonds between 3′-hydroxy groups and 5′-phosphate groups at the nick positions.
Spin-crossover Transition Coupled with Another Solid–Solid Phase Transition for Iron(II) Thiocyanate Complexes Chelated with Alkylated N-(Di-2-pyridylmethylene)anilines
Authors: Oso Yuya , Kanatsuki Daisuke , Saito Shuichi , Nogami Takashi , Ishida Takayuki
Published: June 2008

We have prepared spin-crossover [FeL2(NCS)2] complexes chelated with alkylated N-(di-2-pyridylmethylene)anilines. The wider irreversible thermal loop across room temperature was observed with the longer alkyl chain introduced (ΔTC = ca. 90 K for a n-C16H33 derivative). Pressurization prohibits the solid–solid phase transition, leading to the reversible spin crossover.
Hydrothermal Synthesis of GdVO4:Ho3+ Nanorods with a Novel White-light Emission
Authors: Su Yiguo , Li Guangshe , Chen Xiaobo , Liu Junjie , Li Liping
Published: June 2008

A novel white-light phosphor GdVO4:Ho3+ was prepared via a simple hydrothermal reaction route. Under ultraviolet excitation, the as-prepared nanocrystals showed a broad band emission and sharp lines, which are associated with the oxygen vacancies around V4+ ions and the typical f–f transitions of Ho3+ ions, respectively. The coexistence of broad emission and sharp lines results in the bright white light with a quantum yield of 28%.
Miniaturization of Nanofibers Composed of Melamine-appended Perylene Bisimides and Cyanurates
Authors: Seki Tomohiro , Yagai Shiki , Karatsu Takashi , Kitamura Akihide
Published: June 2008

Miniaturization of nanofibers formed from melamine-appended perylene bisimides and cyanurates are achieved by elongating the linker moieties between perylene bisimide core and melamine moieties. The resulting nanofibers gelate aliphatic solvents with low concentrations and the resulting gels are optically transparent, which are advantageous for photonic devices because no scattering of visible light takes place.
Preparation, Characterization, and Field-effect Transistor Performance of Benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bisthiazole Derivatives
Authors: Mamada Masashi , Nishida Jun-ichi , Tokito Shizuo , Yamashita Yoshiro
Published: June 2008

Benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bisthiazole (BBT) derivatives were newly synthesized, and the crystal structure, optical and electrochemical properties were investigated. They were applied for organic field-effect transistors (OFET) as n-channel semiconductors. Although their thin films have relatively rough surface, the devices showed high-performance OFET characteristics. The thin film of 2 exhibited the electron mobility of 0.24 cm2 V−1 s−1.
Bis(1-methylimidazole) Complex of Iron(III) Oxypyriporphyrin Adopting an Intermediate-spin State
Authors: Eguchi Hajime , Ohgo Yoshiki , Ikezaki Akira , Neya Saburo , Nakamura Mikio
Published: June 2008

Bis(1-methylimidazole) complex of iron(III) oxypyriporphyrin adopts an essentially pure intermediate-spin (S=3⁄2) state at 298 K, which is the first example of the iron(III) porphyrinoid adopting the S=3⁄2 in spite of the bis-coordination of imidazole ligand.
Stereocontrolled Total Synthesis of (−)-Gleenol Using Claisen Rearrangement of Sterically Congested Dihydropyran
Authors: Nakazaki Atsuo , Era Tomohiro , Kobayashi Susumu
Published: June 2008

A stereocontrolled total synthesis of enantiomerically pure (−)-gleenol using an improved substrate to construct the spiro[4.5]decane through Claisen rearrangement has been achieved. The most striking feature of this synthesis is that the rearrangement of sterically congested dihydropyran, bearing all requisite substituents with proper stereochemistry, afforded the fully functionalized spiro[4.5]decane in a single step.
A New Amphiphilic and Thermoresponsive Polysilsesquioxane Having Alkoxyethylamide Group
Authors: Matsuoka Tomonori , Yamamoto Shin-ichi , Moriya Osamu
Published: June 2008

The polysilsesquioxanes (PSQ) having alkoxyethylamide groups were prepared from the silane coupling reagents, prepared by addition reaction of alkoxyethylamines to (3-isocyanatopropyl)triethoxysilane, by condensation under acidic conditions. In the obtained PSQs, those having bis(methoxyethyl)amide or bis(ethoxyethyl)amide group showed reversible thermoresponsive phase separation in an aqueous solution. The PSQs formed by the co-condensation of such silane coupling reagents, the feed mole ratio of which were changed, also showed the thermoresponsive aggregation at the temperatures reflected with the ratios of alkoxyethyl groups.
Integrated Care Pathway for Acute Coronary Syndromes: Does It Help?
Authors: Levelt Eylem , Thwaites Barnaby , Yadegarfar Ghasem
Published: June 2008

The use of integrated care pathways (ICPs) to enhance quality and consistency of patient care has increased in the last decade. In two closely related studies, we first assessed the benefit of a new ICP for acute coronary syndrome in our district hospital, and secondly assessed the impact of ICPs in UK coronary care units, correlating with data from the Myocardial Infarction National Audit Programme, MINAP. The new local ICP produced statistically improved admission medication, with the chance of correctly prescribing aspirin increasing by 63% ( P < 0.002), and borderline increase for clopidogrel of 28% ( P > 0.10), and enoxaparin of 21% ( P > 0.06), in a completed audit cycle study totalling 100 patients. A national telephone survey showed that of 210 UK coronary care units, only 40% had an ICP in place, and this made no difference to either door-to-needle time for thrombolysis or to rates of discharge medication with aspirin, beta-blockers or statins.

While these results fail to raise enthusiasm for implementing an ICP, other potential benefits of their use may be important such as optimizing data collection, improving consistency of care and unifying the different clinical teams in planning the care of the patient.
Midwife–led Maternity Assessment
Authors: Evans Katy , Reading Sandra , Fox Robert
Published: June 2008

A system of midwife-led care supported by six integrated care documents was developed at Taunton & Somerset Hospital according to Trust guidance on ICPs. An audit at 12 months showed that >50% of women can be Cared for by midwives alone. Sample documents for antepartum haemorrhage and suspected pre-eclampsia are presented.
HIV and Pregnancy
Authors: Siassakos Dimitris , Evans Katy , Fitzgerald Mark , Kassab Ahmed , Currie Jane , Fox Robert
Published: June 2008

HIV is becoming more prevalent in the UK, and is being increasingly detected in asymptomatic women during antenatal screening. Taunton & Somerset Hospital wrote an ICP document for the management of HIV in pregnancy according to their Trust policy, and it is presented here.
Thrombolysis in Acute Ischaemic Stroke Pathway
Authors: Chew Samuel , Kausar Shahid A , Sturman Steve
Published: June 2008

Thrombolysis of appropriate and selected patients presenting with an acute ischaemic stroke within 3 h of onset with recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (alteplase, r-TPA) can be implemented safely, reduce long-term disability, and is recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence and the Department of Health's National Stroke Strategy. We have developed an integrated and comprehensive pathway in order to achieve the above aims, which also provide guidelines for nursing in the peri-acute period and management of complications arising from the ischaemic stroke itself, from thrombolysis or from concomitant hyperglycaemia.
Book Reviews
Authors: Reinsch Paul N , Coyne Michael
Published: June 2008

Film's Musical Moments, Ian Conrich and Estella Tincknell (eds), (2006) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 226pp., ISBN 9780748623457 (pbk), $30; ISBN 9780748623440 (hbk), $80

Once Upon a Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti Westerns,
Howard Hughes, (2006) London: I.B. Tauris, xxii 266pp., ISBN 185043896X (pbk), 12.99

The Art of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West: A Critical Appreciation, John Fawell, (2005) Jefferson, NC: McFarland, vii 215pp., ISBN 0786420928 (pbk), $35.00

100 Westerns
(BFI Screen Guides), Edward Buscombe, (2006) London: British Film Institute, xv 248pp., ISBN 1844571114 (hbk), 45.00; ISBN 1844571122 (pbk), 12.00

The Rough Guide to Westerns, Paul Simpson, (2006) London: Rough Guides (Penguin), vii 293pp., ISBN 13: 9781843536499, ISBN 10: 1843536498
(pbk), 9.99
Festivals
Authors: Lumholdt Jan , Palmer Liza , Palmer Tim , Stephens Liz
Published: June 2008

A thoroughly vital old boy Jan Lumholdt among auteurs and rock stars in an as always stable Berlin landscape

La Vie en Richmond VCU French Film Festival, 2830 March 2008 A report by Liza Palmer and Tim Palmer

Brooklyn Arts Council Gallery: screening of shorts
by Brooklyn-based film-makers as part of The Lack of Desire 17 January to 11 April 2008 A report by Liz Stephens
The good collusion defeats the Lone Ranger
Authors: Holland Andrea
Published: June 2008

We all collaborate from birth, in learning language for instance, in learning to play, and, of course, as writers. This paper discusses collaborative practice, how creative writers work with each other, including composite authorship as collaboration, as well as collaborative projects with visual and/or sound artists to generate material outside of conventional forms. Various questions are explored; what issues emerge in creative collaboration, especially cross-arts? How might one's voice, or aesthetics, affect creative text? How might this kind of creativity be a social process?

I will utilize examples from my own writing (mostly poetry) with visual/sound artists (e.g. short films) and from established collaborative partnerships. The paper addresses the concept and practicalities of collaboration, the issues and processes, and gives a brief discussion of theoretical ideas around these issues.
In the Café Flaubert
Authors: Francis Mary Anne
Published: June 2008

Developing my long-held contention that an artist might write art-theory differently from non-artist theorists, this paper offers an instantiation of one possible approach. First and foremost, it proposes that an artist's art-theory might utilize their understanding of aesthetic
form and functioning to conceive of writing as another art-form, now taking place in words and referencing the structures associated with that medium.

With a nod to Plato's dialogues, the text adopts the format of a fictional conversation offered as reportage, which takes place between
the artist-writer and a philosopher an expert on the subject of truth regimes. The artist consults him in order to progress a project. What ensues puts the artist-writer's preference for a realist approach to writing (representation as reflection) into play with the academic's overview of
this and other truth regimes. Introduced to Richard Rorty's pragmatism and hence the idea of truth as use-value, the artist is initially bewildered, only later realizing that it takes her project in a new direction.

Given that the text's departure from the form of conventional art-theory
is embodied (not just represented), the issues that it raises are implicit, but include: the (dis)advantages of fictional dialogue as theory. (On the one hand both the reader and the writer imaginatively inhabit different points of view more readily than happens with non-fictional prose. On
the other hand, fictional dialogue may indulge unreliable spokespersons for particular theoretical positions.) Another point for debate concerns the recourse to the Renaissance pedagogic concept of teaching through delight. (While aesthetic pleasure-in-the-text is a spur for both the writer
and the reader, the sensuous dimensions of dramatic embodiment may offer a distraction from more substantial issues.)

As much as this text is an instance of a writing-as-an-art-form as theory, it also proposes, reciprocally, that theory may be found outside non-fictional, non-aesthetic
academic discourse. When this is the oblique logic of the writing's form, it is also explicitly elaborated in the article, as Drer's woodcut The Draughtsman and the Lute is seen to comprise observations about the conditions of representation that re-appear in the picture that is the
fictional discussion in the Caf Flaubert.