bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of rates and timing of nitrogen fertilizer on disease control by fungicides in winter wheat. 2. Crop growth and disease development
Authors: OLESEN J. E. , JØRGENSEN L. N. , PETERSEN J. , MORTENSEN J. V.
Published: May 2003

Data from a two-factorial experiment carried out during 3 years were used to analyse the effects of crop nitrogen (N) status on disease development, and the effects of N supply and disease on light interception (IPAR) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). The factors in the experiment comprised seven strategies of N fertilizer application including different N rates and timing of application, and five doses of fungicide application for control of the leaf diseases powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis) and septoria leaf spot (Septoria tritici). Light interception was estimated from weekly measurements of crop spectral reflectance. The increase of crop dry matter was mainly affected by N fertilizer and disease through effects on IPAR. Early N application increased IPAR and thus dry matter growth more than later N application. A split N strategy may ensure both high N uptake and high growth rates of the crop. Only septoria leaf spot significantly reduced RUE. Septoria leaf spot was found to be up to nine times more detrimental to grain yield than powdery mildew for similar severity levels. Fungicide applications may therefore be reduced in cases of low powdery mildew severity combined with low crop susceptibility to this disease. This low susceptibility was found to be obtainable with split N application strategies, as the severity of both powdery mildew and septoria leaf spot increased with increasing leaf N concentration. A similar but smaller correlation was obtained between disease severity and canopy size. Measurements of canopy size using spectral reflectance may be used as a simple indicator of general crop susceptibility to disease, whereas measurements of leaf N concentration may be used as input into decision support systems for fungicide application.
Cytochemical studies of the neuromuscular systems of the diporpa and juvenile stages of Eudiplozoon nipponicum (Monogenea: Diplozoidae)
Authors: ZURAWSKI T. H. , MOUSLEY A. , MAULE A. G. , GELNAR M. , HALTON D. W.
Published: May 2003

Using indirect immuno- and enzyme-cytochemical techniques, interfaced with confocal scanning laser microscopy and standard optical microscopy, neuronal pathways have been demonstrated in whole-mount preparations of the unpaired diporpae and freshly paired juvenile stages of Eudiplozoon nipponicum (Monogenea: Diplozoidae). All 3 main classes of neuronal mediators, cholinergic, aminergic and peptidergic, were identified throughout both central and peripheral elements of a well-differentiated orthogonal nervous system. Neural mapping revealed considerable overlap and similarity in staining of the nervous systems of the diporpa and adult worm. The main differences in the diporpa relate to the innervation of the temporary ventral sucker and dorsal papilla, structures which are unique to the larva and which enable fusion between worms but then disappear. Branches from the longitudinal nerve cords innervate these structures and appear to be involved in the process of somatic fusion, probably giving rise to the inter-specimen connections that later link the 2 central nervous systems in paired adult parasites. In the hindbody, there is extensive haptoral innervation associated with the developing clamps and small central hooks. Reactive neuronal components were found associated with the early stages of clamp development prior to connections being made with the extrinsic adductor muscle bundles. The muscle systems of the diporpa and juvenile stages comprise a lattice-like arrangement of circular, longitudinal and diagonal fibres that make up the body wall, together with buccal suckers, haptoral clamps and associated adductor muscles, and the transient ventral sucker. All have obvious importance to diporpae when they migrate over the gill and undertake body contact, torsion and fusion during the process of pairing. Behaviour during the pairing of diporpae is described.
Mating interactions of Schistosoma haematobium and S. intercalatum with their hybrid offspring
Authors: WEBSTER B. L. , SOUTHGATE V. R.
Published: May 2003

Experiments were designed to study the mating behaviour between the Schistosoma haematobium [male ]×S. intercalatum [female] hybrid and the 2 parental species S. haematobium and S. intercalatum. Individual worms were identified by electrophoretic analysis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which was characteristic for each isolate. Analysis of the data obtained showed that both heterospecific and homospecific pairs formed between the hybrids and S. haematobium and S. intercalatum. S. haematobium and the hybrid are better than S. intercalatum in forming pairs, and S. haematobium showed a greater homospecific mate preference compared with the hybrid. Analysis of the data using the Mantel-Haenszel test suggests that mating competition does exist between the schistosomes, with the hybrid being dominant over both the parental species and S. haematobium being dominant over S. intercalatum. The hybrid males showed a greater ability than S. intercalatum and S. haematobium males in taking away S. haematobium and S. intercalatum females from their homospecific males when introduced into a pre-established S. haematobium or S. intercalatum infection. They were able to take females from S. intercalatum homospecific pairs more easily compared with females from S. haematobium homospecific pairs. The significance of the results is discussed in relation to the epidemiological changes of schistosomiasis in Cameroon, where hybridization between S. haematobium and S. intercalatum has taken place, with S. haematobium and the hybrid managing to replace the endemic S. intercalatum over the last 30 years.
Vaccination of mice against experimental Neospora caninum infection using NcSAG1- and NcSRS2-based recombinant antigens and DNA vaccines
Authors: CANNAS A. , NAGULESWARAN A. , MÜLLER N. , EPERON S. , GOTTSTEIN B. , HEMPHILL A.
Published: May 2003

NcSAG1 and NcSRS2, the two major immunodominant tachyzoite surface antigens of the apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum, were investigated for their potential as vaccine candidates in mice. Recombinant recNcSRS2 and recNcSAG1 were expressed in Escherichia coli as poly-histidine-tagged fusion proteins. Separate groups of mice were immunized with purified recNcSAG1, recNcSRS2, or a combination of both, and were then challenged with N. caninum tachyzoites. Subsequent experiments included intramuscular vaccination of mice with the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3 containing either NcSRS2 or NcSAG1 cDNA inserts, followed by a single booster with the corresponding recombinant antigens. Immunization with a crude somatic antigen (NC1-extract) was included in the experiments. Following challenge, the presence of the parasite in the different organs was assessed by a N. caninum-specific PCR, while the parasite burden in infected brain tissue was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunization of mice employing individual recombinant antigens, or combined recNcSAG1/recNcSRS2, resulted in a lower degree of protection against cerebral infection, when compared to combined DNA/recombinant antigen vaccination. Serological analysis showed that this protective effect was associated with the occurrence of antibodies directed against native parasite antigens in those animals receiving combined DNA/recombinant antigen vaccination. Conversely, mice immunized with recombinant antigens alone generated antibodies recognizing only the recombinant antigens. Mice experiencing clinical signs such as walking disorders, rounded back, apathy and paralysis were observed only in the untreated positive control groups, but never in the vaccinated groups. Our results suggest that a combined DNA/recombinant antigen-vaccine, based on NcSAG1 and NcSRS2, respectively, exhibited a highly significant protective effect against experimentally induced cerebral neosporosis in mice.
Efficacy comparison of intravenous artelinate and artesunate in Plasmodium berghei-infected Sprague-Dawley rats
Authors: LI Q. G. , SI Y. Z. , LEE P. , WONG E. , XIE L. H. , KYLE D. E. , DOW G. S.
Published: May 2003

This paper reports the comparative antimalarial efficacy of intravenous artelinate and artesunate in rats. Prior to efficacy experiments, a Plasmodium berghei–Sprague-Dawley rat model of malaria was developed, in which the clearance effects of intravenous drugs could be readily compared. In efficacy experiments, groups of P. berghei-infected rats were given 3 daily intravenous treatments of artelinate or artesunate at molar equivalent dose rates (total of 0–191·2 μmoles/kg). Artelinate was superior to artesunate in terms of clearance (100% clearance dose of 95·6 μmoles/kg (40 mg/kg) versus 191·2 μmoles/kg for AS (73·4 mg/kg)) and parasite clearance time (1·7±0·5 days for AL versus 2·7±0·5 days for AS at a dose rate of 191·2 μmoles/kg, P<0·01). No frank clinical toxicity was observed, though both artesunate and artelinate induced dose-related vascular necrosis at the site of injection. The necrosis was less severe and reversible when the drugs were administered via femoral, rather than tail/foot veins. The data suggest that the P. berghei–7-week-old Sprague-Dawley rat model of malaria is reproducible and useful for assessing the efficacy of antimalarials and that artelinate is at least as potent, and safe, as artesunate, the leading clinical treatment for severe malaria.
Habitat overlap and gastrointestinal parasitism in sympatric African bovids
Authors: EZENWA V. O.
Published: May 2003

Gastrointestinal parasite infections are widespread among wild ungulates. Because many of these parasites infect multiple host species, inter-specific interactions among hosts potentially play an important role in parasite transmission dynamics in ungulate communities. In this study, the effects of inter-specific contact on parasitism rates in 11 sympatric African bovids was examined using habitat overlap among species as a measure of cross-species contact rates. Across individual hosts, strongyle nematode abundance increased with increasing numbers of bovid species occupying a habitat. Furthermore, comparative analyses show a positive association between strongyle prevalence and level of habitat overlap across taxa. These findings suggest that among sympatric bovids, contact between species contributes significantly to the transmission of generalist nematode parasites. For a more host-specific parasite group, coccidia, parasite abundance and individual probability of infection declined in hosts living in bovid rich habitats. This pattern may reflect enhanced inter-specific competition among parasites in these areas. Finally, similar to strongyle abundance, individual parasite richness also increased among hosts occupying habitats with higher numbers of bovid species. No association between habitat overlap and parasite richness was detected at higher taxonomic scales, however, which suggests that contact between host species may not contribute to parasite colonization of new host taxa.
Effects of experimental Schistocephalus solidus infections on growth, morphology and sexual development of female three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus
Authors: BARBER I. , SVENSSON P. A.
Published: May 2003

The use of naturally infected hosts in studies attempting to identify parasite-induced changes in host biology is problematical because it does not eliminate the possibility that infection may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of host trait variation. In addition, uncontrolled concomitant infections may confound results. In this study we experimentally infected individual laboratory-bred female three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus L. with the pseudophyllidean cestode Schistocephalus solidus [Müller], and compared the morphology and growth patterns of infected females with sham-exposed controls over a 16-week period. Fish were fed a ration of 8% body weight per day. Non-invasive image analysis techniques allowed the growth of individual plerocercoids to be tracked in vivo throughout the course of infection, and patterns of host and parasite growth were determined. Females that developed infections diverged morphometrically from unexposed control females and exposed-uninfected females at 6 weeks post-infection, with the width of the body at the pectoral fins giving the earliest indication of infection success. When including the plerocercoid, infected females gained weight more quickly than controls, but when plerocercoid weight was removed this trend was reversed. There was no effect of infection on the increase in fish length. Plerocercoids grew at different rates in individual hosts, and exhibited measurable sustained weight increases of up to 10% per day. Final estimates of plerocercoid weight from morphometric analysis prior to autopsy were accurate to within +/−17% of actual plerocercoid weight. At autopsy, infected female sticklebacks had significantly lower perivisceral fat reserves but had developed significantly larger ovaries than controls. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies examining natural infections, and the value of utilizing experimental infections to examine ecological aspects of host–parasite interactions is discussed.
Light and electron microscopic study of the myxosporean, Henneguya friderici n. sp. from the Amazonian teleostean fish, Leporinus friderici
Authors: CASAL G. , MATOS E. , AZEVEDO C.
Published: May 2003

A new histozoic species of myxosporean was found to infect the gill filaments, gut, kidney and liver of the freshwater teleost Leporinus friderici, collected from the estuarine region of the Amazon, near the city of Belém, Brazil. The plasmodia show asynchronous development, at any one time composed of mature spores and all sporogonic stages. The ellipsoidal spore body, measuring 10·4 μm long and 5·7 μm wide, consists of 2 equal shell valves adhering together along the straight suture line. Each valve has a caudal process measuring 23·3 μm in length. There are 2 symmetric polar capsules, without intercapsular appendix, measuring 5·0 μm×2·1 μm, and each has a polar filament with 7–8 coils. In general, ultrastructural details of sporoblast and spore development are in agreement with previously described myxosporeans. Some ultrastructural aspects such as cellular alterations of the pericyte in the different organs infected and characterization of the sporoplasmosomes during the sporoplasm maturation are described. This parasite was studied under light and electron microscope and compared with others species of the genus Henneguya, considering also host specificity. From our observations we propose the creation of a new species, Henneguya friderici n. sp.
Immunoparasitological parameters of the intestinal phase of trichinellosis in rats
Authors: NUÑEZ G. G. , COSTANTINO S. N. , VENTURIELLO S. M.
Published: May 2003

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed in order to detect coproantigens (CAgs), coproantibodies (CAbs) and faecal immune complexes (FIC) in rats experimentally infected with Trichinella spiralis. The usefulness of these assays was compared to that of a conventional ELISA for detection of serum antibodies (Abs) to muscle larvae excretory–secretory products (ML–ESP). The ELISA for CAgs was the first parameter to give a positive result but the detection was limited only to day 2 p.i. CAbs against ML–ESP and adult worm excretory–secretory products (AW–ESP) was first positive on day 4 p.i. Anti-ML–ESP remained positive until day 12 p.i. while CAbs against AW–ESP remained positive throughout the study period. Specific IgE and IgA were found. FIC were detected between days 2 and 8 p.i. Serum Abs began to appear on day 10 p.i. Therefore, the ELISA for CAbs was a suitable assay for the detection of the enteral and early phases of the infection.
A Predator's Dilemma: prey choice and parasite susceptibility in three-spined sticklebacks
Authors: MAZZI D. , BAKKER T. C. M.
Published: May 2003

The acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis is transmitted by a suitable intermediate host such as the amphipod Gammarus pulex to its definitive fish host. Parasite-induced alterations in both appearance and behaviour concur to render infected gammarids more vulnerable to predation, thus promoting parasite transmission. Experimental infection of laboratory bred full- and half-sib groups of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) provided evidence that the parasite imposes a survival cost proportional to the severity of infection on its final host. Variation among sibships in the susceptibility to infection was consistent. When given a choice, fish consumed significantly more infected than uninfected prey. Overall, more resistant fish did not prey upon infected gammarids more often than did relatively susceptible fish. Only fish with a relatively high physical condition properly adjusted prey selection to the extent of their parasite susceptibility, thus exploiting the enhanced profitability of infected prey.
Why Does the World Trade Organization Appear Neoliberal? The Puzzle of the High Incidence of Guilty Verdicts in WTO Adjudication
Authors: Iida Keisuke
Published: May 2003

The dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization tends to give verdicts for the plaintiff much more often than verdicts for the defendant. Simple logic suggests that this is a puzzle: it is not immediately obvious why defendants do not settle out of court if they are likely to be found guilty. I argue that there are three alternative explanations for this puzzle: imperfect enforcement, asymmetric information, and domestic constraints. By examining three major WTO cases, I find the domestic constraints explanation the most persuasive.
Social Democracy, Unions, and Pension Politics in Germany and Sweden
Authors: Anderson Karen M. , Meyer Traute
Published: May 2003

This article investigates the politics of reforming mature, pay-as-you-go pensions in the context of austerity. In both
Sweden and Germany the Social Democratic party leadership advocated reform in response to similar financial and
demographic pressures, but the Swedish reform was more successful in correcting perceived program weaknesses and in defending social democratic values. To explain this difference in outcomes, we focus on policy legacies and the organizational and political capacities of labor movements. We argue that existing pension policies in Germany were more constraining than in Sweden, narrowing the range of politically feasible strategies. By contrast, in Sweden, existing pension policy provided opportunities for turning vices into virtues and financing the transition to a new system. In addition, the narrow interests of German unions and the absence of institutionalized cooperation with the Social Democratic Party hindered reform. By contrast, the Swedish Social Democrats' bargaining position in pension reform negotiations with non-socialist parties was formulated with blue collar union interests in mind. The encompassing interests of Swedish unions and their close links with the Social Democrats facilitated a reform compromise.
Executive Agencies in Government: The Impact of Bureaucratic Networks on Policy Outcomes
Authors: Gains Francesca
Published: May 2003

The creation of agencies is a growing feature of contemporary governance yet key questions about agency autonomy and their influence on policy making remain unanswered. This article operationalises a policy network approach to explore the impact of agentification in three British government departments. It argues that the transfer of resources from departments to agencies created differing power-dependent networks between minister, department and agency. The networks have had both intended and unintended impacts on policy outcomes. Agencies have input to policymaking, the network's level of integration affects how well policies are delivered, networks have developed policy preferences and acted to impede further institutional change. These findings assist in understanding the nature of agencies' autonomy, the diversity of their impact on the policy process, and provide insights for other forms of alternative service delivery.
Enforcement Styles Among Environmental Protection Officials in China
Authors: Lo Carlos W. H. , Fryxell Gerald E.
Published: May 2003

Researchers examining regulatory enforcement have found that enforcement styles tend to be contextually determined in Western countries, which has resulted in a divergence in regulatory approach at both the national and local levels. Given the dearth of regulation research in non-democratic regimes, this paper makes an initial attempt to fill the gap by studying the impact of regional variations in regulatory enforcement in China. Accordingly, the effects of external support and organizational factors on the preferences for enforcement styles of environmental officials in three Chinese regions were examined. It was found that the strength of these influences on enforcement style dimensions is more variable than was anticipated. Generally, the patterns of relationships for Guangzhou and Chengdu were similar, while those for Dalian appear to reflect its unique environmental, economic and political conditions. Public support appears to promote several dimensions of enforcement style (i.e., education, prioritization, coercion) in Guangzhou and Chengdu; however, in Dalian the influence of government was greater than that of public support. The effects of internal factors were even more variable and probably reflect unique characteristics and priorities within each agency. Overall, the results suggest that caution is warranted when interpreting current findings about China that have used samples from a single region and that enforcement agency directors in nondemocratic regimes must take into account a complex array of contextual factors in attempting to promote a particular style of enforcement.
A different kind of war? September 11 and the United States' Afghan War
Authors: McInnes Colin
Published: May 2003

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the US response have been widely described as heralding a new kind of war. For over a decade previous to 11 September, however, a body of literature had developed arguing that during the 1990s a new kind of warfare had begun to emerge for the West. This article examines whether 11 September and its immediate aftermath – the US campaign in Afghanistan – confirmed these trends, or whether it really did constitute a different kind of war. It does so through a four-part framework: that during the 1990s wars were localised; that the enemy was not a state but a regime or individual leader; that civilian deaths should be minimised; and that wars were fought on behalf of the West by professionals, but that the risks to these forces should also be minimised.
The importance of international learning
Authors: Knopf Jeffrey W.
Published: May 2003

A programme of research on learning in international relations began developing in the 1980s. However, learning research has not realised its potential. This article seeks to stimulate new work on learning by analysing why learning is important in international relations and outlining a research focus that reflects this assessment of learning's significance. The research so far has mostly treated learning as a foreign policy phenomenon, but this fails to capture one of the major reasons for interest in learning. Learning matters in part because of long-standing debates about whether it is possible to make progress in reducing the amount of armed conflict in world politics. For such progress to occur, it is likely that some form of learning would have to take place. However, learning by just a single state will often not be sufficient to change the quality of international outcomes. There thus needs to be research specifically on the possibility of shared learning by two or more states, a research focus this article will label ‘international learning’. A few illustrative examples will demonstrate the feasibility of doing research on shared, cross-national learning.
Sarajevo, February 1994: the first Russia-NATO crisis of the post-Cold War era
Authors: Headley Jim
Published: May 2003

This article analyses the Russian reaction to the Sarajevo crisis of February 1994 when NATO threatened air strikes in response to the market-place mortar explosion. I argue that Russia's shift to a realist great-power policy led to a crisis with the West as Russia sought to demonstrate its great power credentials, protect what it saw as specific Russian interests in the Balkans, and limit the role of NATO in conflict resolution, while Western leaders aimed to demonstrate NATO credibility and its new post-Cold War role as peace-keeper/peace-maker. This was the first major East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War, and Russian responses and actions foreshadowed its reactions to the Kosovo crisis.
The moral politics of foreign aid
Authors: Hattori Tomohisa
Published: May 2003

In what sense can foreign aid be understood as a moral practice? Is there any empirical substance to this claim? This article reconceptualises a type of foreign aid in which this claim is most plausible – grants by multilateral aid agencies – as a contemporary form of beneficence, a trans-historical phenomenon. Drawing on Aristotelian virtue ethics, it identifies such donations as a moral practice with deep roots in Western history. This analysis substantiates a view of the relations between states that goes beyond the simple notion of reciprocity emphasised by neoliberals. It concludes with the political implications of identifying donor states with moral distinction.
Societal security and social psychology
Authors: Theiler Tobias
Published: May 2003

The concept of societal security as developed by the Copenhagen school has three underlying weaknesses: a tendency to reify societies as independent social agents, a use of too vague a definition of ‘identity’, and a failure to demonstrate sufficiently that social security matters to individuals. This article shows that applying social identity theory to the societal security concept helps remedy these weaknesses and closes the theoretical gaps that the Copenhagen school has left open. It enables us to treat ‘society’ as an independent variable without reifying it as an independent agent. It also suggests a much sharper definition of identity, and a rationale for the Copenhagen school's claim that individuals have a psychological need to achieve societal security by protecting their group boundaries. Social identity theory thus supports the societal security concept in its central assumptions while giving it stronger theoretical foundations and greater analytical clout.
Strategy and slaughter
Authors: Shaw Martin
Published: May 2003

Colin Gray's ‘Clausewitz Rules, OK’ was the one contribution
to the Interregnum special issue of this Review that engaged the problem
of modern war in general. Issues of war and peace were represented only patchily in a volume aiming to reflect on the ‘post-Cold War’ decade, but put together before ‘9/11’ brought it to an abrupt end. The Balkans didn't play a large part in William Wallace's account of Europe; unstable Asian great-power rivalries and local wars, which could make Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter's ‘Pacific Century’ anything but pacific were barely noted; while Caroline Thomas wrote about the Third World without mentioning Africa's wars. The Middle East, Rwanda and genocide were not covered. Bruce Cumings' wise reflections on the military bases of American liberalism, a brief discussion of the ‘new interventionism’ by Geoffrey Hawthorn, and dutiful mentions of Kosovo across the chapters, hardly compensated for these omissions.
What is the context? A reply to the Gray-Johnston debate on strategic culture
Authors: Poore Stuart
Published: May 2003

Can cultural analysis tell us anything significant about strategic outcomes? This question has provided the focus for strategic culture research since it was first introduced as a concept by Jack Snyder in 1977.
Nearly 25 years on, we appear no closer to establishing a consensus on what strategic culture is and what it can tell us. In terms of theory and methodology, the concept of strategic culture remains underexplored. As Colin Gray notes, ‘any scholarly work on strategic culture is granted importance because of its rarity’.
Hence the recent debate in RIS between Gray and Alastair Iain Johnston should be seen
as significant.
In praise of strategy
Authors: Gray Colin S.
Published: May 2003

It is rarely sensible to reply to an unsympathetic review. If I could not persuade in
150,000+ words, it is not likely that a thousand or two by way of rebuttal will
accomplish much. However, since two generations of editorial command of this
excellent official organ of ours have invited me to break my rule of never writing an
apparently whingeing response, here goes.
English as a Chinese language
Authors: Yajun Jiang
Published: May 2003

Some observations on the possible indigenization of English in mainland China. China boasts the largest English-learning population in the world. ‘It seems there are more people learning to speak English in China than there are English speakers in the whole of the United States’. Over 200 million children, about 20% of the total in the world, are learning English in schools, and about 13 million young people at university. The Chinese government has decided to offer English as a compulsory course nationwide from the third year at primary school. While schools in rural areas are trying to find qualified English teachers, those in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai have begun to do so as soon as the children start school at the age of six.
China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish?
Authors: Qiang Niu , Wolff Martin
Published: May 2003

A discussion of the sociolinguistic risks faced by the People's Republic of China in rapidly
opening up to Western influences in both economic and linguistic terms. The writers argue against
what they consider a currently over-enthusiastic adoption of English in which ‘a Westernised
China … might more aptly, if ruefully, be referred to as “Chingland”.’
Hong Kong English: A stillborn variety?
Authors: Pang Terence T. T.
Published: May 2003

For a distinctive variety of English to subsist and be acknowledged in Hong Kong, localization is not enough. Indigenization through general acceptance is also necessary, but will not easily be forthcoming, regardless of the claims and assertions of linguists in Hong Kong or elsewhere regarding the existence of a distinctive ‘Hong Kong English’. In addition, Hong Kong teachers of English will not accept or adopt distinctive local usages in their classrooms, regardless of the everyday use of such usages. The sociolinguistic situation is increasingly triglossic, in terms of the three languages Cantonese, Putonghua, and English, each of which has distinct functions in terms of Hong Kong, mainland China, and the world at large. A dominant ideology of linguistic purism impels people to seek outside standards with regard to both English and Putonghua, and to deny that there is a viable local variety of English, despite the length of time that the language has been used in Hong Kong.
English as an Asian language
Authors: McArthur Tom
Published: May 2003

This article discusses the current role of English not only as a world but as an Asian language. Beginning with a consideration of the views of Graddol (1997) on the role of English in Asia, especially in relation to Chinese, it discusses the situation of English in the various parts of the continent: Central, West, South, and East, noting that the language plays a distinct role in each. It also notes the vast and increasing influence of the language despite the fewness of its native speakers in the world's largest continent, drawing attention to the disproportionate influence of three small indigenous communities of more or less native-speakers: the Anglo-Indians, the East Indians, and many Filipinos. It then considers a range of countries throughout the continent, concluding with comments on Singapore and East Asia, and the vast numbers of users of English in China and India alone.
Camfranglais: A novel slang in Cameroon schools
Authors: Kouega Jean-Paul
Published: May 2003

Camfranglais is a newly created language, a composite slang used by secondary school pupils in Cameroon, West Africa. It draws its lexicon from French, English, West African Pidgin, various Cameroonian indigenous languages, Latin, and Spanish. Secondary school pupils use it among themselves to exclude outsiders while talking about such matters of adolescent interest as food, drinks, money, sex, and physical looks. There are four sections: language in the Cameroon educational system; Camfranglais defined; an analysis of a sample Camfranglais text; and the semantic domains of Camfranglais. There is a glossary of the terms cited.
Is Malawi guilty of spoiling the Queen's language?
Authors: Kamwendo Gregory
Published: May 2003

The present study reports on the history and current circumstances of the English language in Malawi (formerly the British protectorate of Nyasaland), where the standard of English, in terms both of teaching and use, has been in decline since the time of Dr Hastings Banda, the first president (who insisted on high standards in English and education). The study also describes and analyses Malawi's currently rising appetite for English in an environment in which the language is more or less synonymous with education itself.
Idiomaticity and the non-native speaker
Authors: Prodromou Luke
Published: May 2003

In this article, I describe the puzzle of idiomaticity in native and non-native uses of English: why are idioms so resistant to acquisition, even by advanced leaners and users of English? I identify the main cause of this problem in the “idiomatic paradox”, whereby the very reasons which make idiomaticity so natural and necessary in native-speaker discourse are precisely the reasons non-native speakers find them so elusive. I look at some of the implications of of the idiomatic paradox for language teaching and the use of English as a Lingua Franca.
An experience of teaching in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Martin Assunta
Published: May 2003

The article discusses seven months as a teacher at a university for women in the UAE. It describes difficulties encountered while teaching English, especially in relation to the kinds of cultural and social constraints experienced by most students in the Gulf nations and particularly women. Although young women are encouraged to pursue higher education and are enthusiastic about the opportunities that are now available, there is little familial or cultural support for their endeavors. In addition, role models of women who have succeeded professionally in a field requiring higher education are extremely rare. Women are expected to marry at a young age and to produce children as quickly as is physically possible. An employment situation that necessitates women working side by side with male colleagues is generally unacceptable. The segregation of men and women is deeply embedded in this Arabic culture and, despite the best efforts of educators and more progressive families, the majority of young women succumb to the cultural and social expectations of their families and their communities.
The impact of English in Greece
Authors: Oikonomidis Agapios
Published: May 2003

This article provides an illustrated account of the extent to which elements of the English language have become commonplace in Greek, particularly in magazine and other texts, and particularly where Greek has long had a powerful influence on English and other Western European languages, especially in adding to their academic, medical, and technological lexicon. English now appears to be paying Greek back in kind and in full – across a wide range of registers. The illustrative material that accompanies the article helps demonstrate the extent to which present-day Greek has absorbed lexical material from English.
The China syndrome
Authors: McArthur Tom
Published: May 2003

Not everyone interested in English needs to give much thought to Chinese. This statement is so true that it borders on the banal, and a similarly true and banal statement might be: Many people involved with Chinese don't need to give much thought to English.
Distribution of anuran species among montane streams in south-eastern Brazil
Authors: Cabral Eterovick Paula
Published: May 2003

The composition of anuran assemblages was studied in 16 streams at the Serra do Cipó, south-eastern Brazil, in which 26 anuran species were found. Volume and isolation level of stream sections of 150 m were estimated; tadpoles, adult anurans, and potential tadpole predators were searched for over 16 consecutive months. Stream size, isolation, richness and diversity of tadpole predators, and some additional physical and biotic variables were measured and related to anuran species richness. Smaller streams tended to shelter more anuran species than larger ones, but neither stream size nor stream isolation explained variations in anuran species richness. Anuran species richness tended to increase with tadpole predator diversity. Tadpole species richness was influenced by predator species richness, and was highest when there were seven types of tadpole predators present. The distribution of few anuran species could be clearly related to particular physical and biotic variables. The behavioural flexibility of anurans and the similarity among streams may have contributed to this pattern.
The response of tropical tree seedlings to nutrient supply: meta-analysis for understanding a changing tropical landscape
Authors: Lawrence Deborah
Published: May 2003

Current literature on the response of tropical tree seedlings to fertilization was analysed. Fertilization effects on biomass accumulation, relative growth rate and tissue nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were examined for seedlings grown under relatively high light. Higher light conditions in gaps are expected as human disturbance expands in tropical landscapes. Two questions were asked: (1) Does nutrient addition enhance growth or result in nutrient accumulation in the tissues of tropical tree seedlings grown in pots under high light? (2) Are these responses conditional on their adaptations to light availability, seed mass or growth form? Most of the species (73% of light-demanding and 60% of shade-tolerant) demonstrated a positive growth response to fertilization. The magnitude of the response of light-demanding species was more than twice that of shade-tolerant species. A higher proportion of shade-tolerant species accumulated nutrients in their tissues (up to 95% for P), but over half the light-demanding species did so as well. For both types of species, a higher percentage accumulated P than N. Responses in growth and in P accumulation were negatively correlated with seed mass. Shrubs responded more than trees in biomass accumulation, but there was a trend toward greater response by trees in relative growth rate and N and P accumulation. The results suggest that variation in nutrient availability could affect the structure of tropical forests regenerating from large-scale disturbance. In fertile sites, competitive exclusion may occur within the light-demanding species, resulting in a decline in local tree diversity. Depending on the effects of human disturbance on nutrient availability, loss of tree diversity at a local scale may compound diversity loss due to habitat destruction at the landscape scale.
Successional and mature stands in an upper Andean rain forest transect of Venezuela: do leaf characteristics of woody species differ?
Authors: Schneider Julio V. , Zipp Daniela , Gaviria Juan , Zizka Georg
Published: May 2003

Changes in morphological and anatomical leaf characteristics
of woody plant species along an altitudinal gradient as well as between a late-successional and
mature upper montane rain forest were examined. For leaf size, the Raunkiaer-Webb classification
system was applied. The mature-forest transect comprised eight plots of 0.1 ha between 2300 and
3300 m asl, the successional-forest transect, four plots between 2400 and 2750 m asl. The latter
comprised structurally heterogeneous vegetation patches. For each plot the proportions of leaf
size classes and of the different categories of leaf shape, margin, and apex were calculated.
Leaf size and the proportion of drip-tips decreased with increasing elevation. Serrate leaf
margins were more prominent at higher elevations. Stomatal density, leaf thickness and related
anatomical characteristics did not show significant trends. Differences between the mature and
successional forest plots were generally slight. The advanced age of the successional forest
probably led to a convergent development of leaf characteristics.
Interactions between ants, fruits and seeds in a restinga forest in south-eastern Brazil
Authors: Passos Luciana , Oliveira Paulo S.
Published: May 2003

Fleshy diaspores (fruits, seeds) comprise a large portion of the litter on the floor of tropical forests, and interactions involving litter-foraging ants and diaspores are common in these areas. In this study, the interactions between ants and non-myrmecochorous diaspores (i.e. not adapted to dispersal by ants) were surveyed along a 1.4-km transect in a restinga forest (sandy soil) on the coast of south-eastern Brazil. During 2 y of monthly samplings, 562 interactions involving 48 ant species and 44 species of diaspore (0.02–11.10 g) were recorded.
Ant–diaspore associations involved a considerable part of the ground-dwelling ant community. Large ponerine ants individually removed the diaspores up to 13 m, whereas small ants (myrmicines) normally recruited workers and consumed the diaspore on the spot. Ant-derived benefits to diaspores of non-myrmecochorous plants included secondary dispersal (small to medium-sized diaspores), and increased germination success after seed cleaning by ants. Large ponerine ants such as Odontomachus chelifer and Pachycondyla striata were the main seed vectors. Seedlings of three species were associated with nests of O. chelifer. The results indicate that ants play an important role in fruit/seed biology in the restinga forest.
Animal dispersal of two secondary-vegetation herbs into the evergreen rain forest of south-eastern Mexico
Authors: Castillo-Flores Aida A. , Calvo-Irabién Luz Maria
Published: May 2003

Rain forests at Los Tuxtlas are islands surrounded by anthropogenic vegetation containing invasive species. Epizoochory is an important dispersal syndrome among invasive species but ecological studies are scant. In order to evaluate the movement of epizoochore diaspores into the mature forest, we selected two abundant secondary herbs with contrasting diaspore morphology, and five dispersers with different pelage type. We used stuffed mammals as a dummy and passed them through patches of these two plant species, counting the number of adhered diaspores. For dispersal into the forest, diaspores were manually adhered to dispersers, these were pulled along 100-m forest transects, counting the number of diaspores remaining at distance intervals. We observed the highest amount of detachment in the first 20 m of the forest edge. For Desmodium incanum diaspores with sticky hairs, adhesion to dispersers showed no differences among pelage types, therefore dispersal is determined mainly by diaspore detachment. Dispersers with long pelage (Didelphis marsupialis, Nasua narica and Procyon lotor) move diaspores for shorter distances, while dispersers with short pelage (Silvilagus floridanus and Philander opossum) are more likely to move diaspores for longer distances. In Pavonia schiedeana more diaspores (seeds with spines and hooks) were attached and remained attached on dispersers with long and thick pelage. Mean distance travelled for P. schiedeana diaspores varied between 11 and 2700 m. In D. incanum the distance travelled did not exceed 500 m. Based on comparisons between dispersal patterns and on ecological data of these two plant species and their potential dispersers, P. schiedeana has a higher probability of invading the forest and finding suitable habitats for establishment than D. incanum.
Relationship of nematode communities to human demographics and environment in agricultural fields and fallow lands in Senegal
Authors: Cadet Patrice , Pate Emmanuelle , Thioulouse Jean
Published: May 2003

One hundred and nine soil samples were collected in 69 different localities along two transects, one North-South, about 900 km in length, and the other East-West (750 km in length), across Senegal and Gambia. The first transect followed a rainfall gradient and the second a human density gradient. The relationship between carbon content, C/N ratio and soil type on the abundance and species distribution of the nematodes along the transects was studied. Results showed that short-term fallows did not influence the specific structure of the communities, when compared with the nematode communities of fields located in the immediate vicinity, where Scutellonema cavenessi and Tylenchorhynchus gladiolatus were the dominant species. The expected negative influence of human disturbance on nematode occurrence seemed to be compensated by greater crop diversity, mainly near the towns. Less-disturbed areas also maintained a high diversity, but were characterized by the presence of particular species such as Xiphinema spp. Soil type was the most important factor affecting the species composition of the nematode community. As a result, nematode communities followed a distribution in areas, corresponding to the successive soil types, but did not change in relation to the human or climatic gradients. At a large scale, the study of plant-parasitic nematodes can give both different and complementary information on the ecological trends of an area to that of free-living nematodes.
Morphological correlates of fire-induced tree mortality in a central Amazonian forest
Authors: Barlow Jos , Lagan Bernard O. , Peres Carlos A.
Published: May 2003

Tree characteristics were recorded from 2829 standing trees in 24 0.25-ha terra firme forest plots in central Amazonia, 3 y after a surface fire had swept through the study area. Sixteen of the plots were within forest that burnt for the first time at the end of the 1997-98 El Niño (ENSO) event, and the remaining eight plots were within unburnt primary forest. In order to investigate the morphological correlates of tree mortality, we measured tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and bark thickness, and recorded burn height, bark roughness and the presence of latex, resin and buttress roots. Leaf litter depth was also recorded at the base of all trees in the unburnt forest. Using logistic regression models, tree mortality was best explained by the burn height, although dbh and the presence of buttresses were also important. Buttressed trees were associated with deeper leaf litter accumulation at their bases and higher char heights than trees without buttresses. Moreover, trees surviving the fire had significantly thicker bark than living trees in unburnt forest plots, indicating that thin-barked trees are more prone to selective mortality induced by heat stress. Latex did not appear to have had any significant effects on mortality, though resins were less abundant amongst the live trees in the burnt forest than in the unburnt controls. Levels of fire-mediated tree mortality in this study are compared with those in other Amazonian forest regions in light of historical factors affecting tree resistance to fires.