bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The seismic sand curve revisited
Authors: Liner Christopher
Published: January 2008

A sand curve described [Formula: see text] ago has been in continuous use by Saudi Aramco for seismic data processing in dune areas of the Rub Al-Khali. Refraction field methods behind this sand curve have many potential uncertainties. Recent laboratory data on dry sand similar to that in Saudi Arabia allows the calculation of a new sand curve for comparison. The result is a remarkable level of agreement based on two very different kinds of measurement, giving added confidence and refinement to the venerable sand curve.
Trauma and Hemorrhage-Induced Acute Hepatic Insulin Resistance: Dominant Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α
Authors: Xu Jie , Kim Hyeong T. , Ma Yuchen , Zhao Ling , Zhai Lidong , Kokorina Natalia , Wang Ping , Messina Joseph L.
Published: January 2008

It has long been known that injury, infections, and other critical illnesses are often associated with hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Mortality of critically ill patients is greatly reduced by intensive insulin therapy, suggesting the significance of reversing or compensating for the development of acute insulin resistance. However, the development of acute injury/infection-induced insulin resistance is poorly studied, much less than the chronic diseases associated with insulin resistance, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. We previously found that insulin resistance develops acutely in the liver after trauma and hemorrhage. The present study was designed to begin to understand the first steps in the development of trauma and hemorrhage-induced acute hepatic insulin resistance in an animal model of injury and blood loss similar to traumatic or surgical injury and hemorrhage. We present novel data that indicate that hepatic insulin resistance increased dramatically with an increasing extent of hemorrhage. With increasing extent of blood loss, there were increases in serum TNF-α levels, phosphorylation of liver insulin receptor substrate-1 on serine 307, and liver c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation/phosphorylation. Exogenous TNF-α infusion increased c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation and insulin receptor substrate-1 serine 307 phosphorylation, and inhibited insulin-induced signaling in liver. Conversely, neutralizing TNF-α antibody treatment reversed many of the hemorrhage-induced changes in hepatic insulin signaling. Our data indicate that the acute development of insulin resistance after trauma and hemorrhage may have some similarities to the insulin resistance that occurs in chronic diseases. However, because so little is known about this acute insulin-resistant state, much more needs to be done before we can attain a level of understanding similar to that of chronic states of insulin resistance.
Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Pancreatic β-Cell Death Is Regulated by Interactions between Stress-Activated Protein Kinases, p38 and c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase, and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Phosphatases
Authors: Hou Ni , Torii Seiji , Saito Naoya , Hosaka Masahiro , Takeuchi Toshiyuki
Published: January 2008

Pancreatic β-cells are susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are known to be generated by high or low glucose (LG), hypoxic, or cytokine-producing conditions. When we cultured mouse β-cell-derived MIN6 cells in a LG condition, we detected a significant generation of ROS, including hydrogen peroxide, which was comparable to the ROS production in hypoxic or cytokine-treated conditions. ROS accumulation induced by the LG culture led to cell death, which was prevented by the ROS scavengers N-acetylcysteine and manganese(III)tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) porphyrin. We next investigated the mechanism of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, in ROS-induced MIN6 cell death. Activation of p38 occurred immediately after the LG culture, whereas JNK activation increased slowly 8 h later. Adenoviral p38 expression decreased MIN6 cell death, whereas the JNK expression increased it. Consistently, blocking p38 activation by inhibitors increased β-cell death, whereas JNK inhibitors decreased it. We then examined the role of MAPK phosphatases (MKPs) specific for stress-activated protein kinases in β-cell death. We found that MKP-1 presented an increase in its oxidized product after the LG culture. ROS scavengers prevented the appearance of this oxidized product and JNK activation. Thus, ROS-induced MKP inactivation causes sustained activation of JNK, which contributes to β-cell death. Adenoviral overexpression of MKP-1 and MKP-7 prevented the phosphorylation of JNK at 36 h after the LG culture, and decreased MIN6 β-cell death. We suggest that β-cell death is regulated by interactions between JNK and its specific MKPs.
Gene Expression Analyses in Cynomolgus Monkeys Provides Mechanistic Insight into High-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Reduction by Androgens in Primates
Authors: Nantermet Pascale , Harada Shun-ichi , Liu Yuan , Cheng Spring , Johnson Colena , Yu Yuanjiang , Kimme Donald , Holder Daniel , Hodor Paul , Phillips Robert , Ray William J.
Published: January 2008

Androgens increase muscle mass, decrease fat mass, and reduce high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), but the relationship between body composition, lipoprotein metabolism, and androgens has not been explained. Here we treated ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys with 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or vehicle for 14 d and measured lipoprotein and triglycerides. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis revealed that DHT dose-dependently reduced the cholesterol content of large HDL particles and decreased mean HDL particle size (P < 0.01) and also tended to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol without altering other lipoprotein particles. Liver and visceral fat biopsies taken before and after DHT treatment for 1 or 14 d were analyzed by genome-wide microarrays. In liver, DHT did not alter the expression of most genes involved in cholesterol synthesis or uptake but rapidly increased small heterodimer partner (SHP) RNA, along with concomitant repression of CYP7A1, a target of SHP transcriptional repression and the rate-limiting enzyme in bile acid synthesis. DHT regulation of SHP and CYP7A1 also occurs in rats, indicating a conserved mechanism. In adipose tissue, pathway analyses suggested coordinate regulation of adipogenesis, tissue remodeling, and lipid homeostasis. Genes encoding IGF-I and β-catenin were induced, as were extracellular matrix, cell adhesion, and cytoskeletal components, whereas there was consistent down-regulation of genes involved in triacylglycerol metabolism. Interestingly, cholesterol ester transfer protein RNA was induced rapidly in monkey adipose tissue, whereas its inhibitor apolipoprotein CI was repressed. These data provide insight into the androgenic regulation of lipoprotein homeostasis and suggest that changes in adipose lipoprotein metabolism could contribute to HDL cholesterol reduction.
Low Doses of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Improve Insulin Resistance, Lipid Metabolism, and Oxidative Damage in Aging Rats
Authors: García-Fernández María , Delgado Gloria , Puche Juan Enrique , González-Barón Salvador , Castilla Cortázar Inma
Published: January 2008

GH and IGF-I concentrations decline with age. Age-related changes appear to be linked to decreases in the anabolic hormones, GH and IGF-I. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant, anabolic, and metabolic effects of the IGF-I replacement therapy, at low doses, in aging rats. Three experimental groups were included in this protocol: young healthy controls (17 wk old); untreated old (O) rats (103 wk old); and aging rats (103 wk old) treated with IGF-I during 1 month (2.25 μg IGF-I/100 g body weight−1·d−1). Compared with young controls, untreated aging rats showed a reduction of IGF-I and testosterone levels, and a decrease of serum total antioxidant status, which were corrected by IGF-I therapy. In addition, untreated O presented increased levels of serum glucose with hyperinsulinemia, cholesterol, and triglycerides, and a reduction of free fatty acid concentrations. IGF-I therapy was able to revert insulin resistance, and to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides levels increasing significantly free fatty acid concentrations. The O group showed higher oxidative damage in brain and liver tissues associated with alterations in antioxidant enzyme activities. IGF-I therapy reduced oxidative damage in brain and liver, normalizing antioxidant enzyme activities and mitochondrial dysfunction. In conclusion, low doses of IGF-I restore circulating IGF-I, improve glucose and lipid metabolism, increase testosterone levels and serum total antioxidant capability, and reduce oxidative damage in brain and liver associated with a normalization of antioxidant enzyme activities and mitochondrial function.
Differential Interactions between Th1/Th2, Th1/Th3, and Th2/Th3 Cytokines in the Regulation of Thyroperoxidase and Dual Oxidase Expression, and of Thyroglobulin Secretion in Thyrocytes in Vitro
Authors: Poncin Sylvie , Lengelé Benoit , Colin Ides M. , Gérard Anne-Catherine
Published: January 2008

Hypothyroidism, together with glandular atrophy, is the usual outcome of destructive autoimmune thyroiditis. The impairment in the thyroid function results either from cell destruction or from Th1 cytokine-induced alteration in hormonogenesis. Here, we investigated the impact of the local immune context on the thyroid function. We used two rat thyroid cell lines (PCCL3 and FRTL-5) and human thyrocytes incubated with IL-1α/interferon (IFN) γ together with IL-4, a Th2 cytokine, or with TGF-β, or IL-10, two Th3 cytokines. We first observed that IL-4 totally blocked IL-1α/interferon γ-induced alteration in dual oxidase and thyroperoxidase expression, and in thyroglobulin secretion. By contrast, TGF-β and IL-10 had no such effect. They rather repressed thyrocyte function as do Th1 cytokines. In addition, IL-4 blocked IL-10-induced repression of thyrocyte function, but not that induced by TGF-β. In conclusion, Th1 cytokine- and IL-10-induced local inhibitory actions on thyroid function can be totally overturned by Th2 cytokines. These data provide new clues about the influence of the immune context on thyrocyte function.
5-Aminoimidazole-4-Carboxamide-1-β-d-Ribofuranoside Reduces Glucose Uptake via the Inhibition of Na+/H+ Exchanger 1 in Isolated Rat Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Ségalen Coralie , Longnus Sarah L. , Baetz Delphine , Counillon Laurent , Van Obberghen Emmanuel
Published: January 2008

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy-sensing enzyme that is activated by an increased AMP/ATP ratio. AMPK is now well recognized to induce glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and heart. 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) is phosphorylated to form the AMP analog ZMP, which activates AMPK. Its effects on glucose transport appear to be tissue specific. The purpose of our study was to examine the effect of AICAR on insulin-induced glucose uptake in adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. We studied isolated adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes treated or not with the AMPK activators AICAR and metformin and, subsequently, with insulin or not. Insulin action was investigated by determining deoxyglucose uptake, insulin receptor substrate-1- or -2-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity and protein kinase B (PKB) cascade using antibodies to PKB, glycogen synthase kinase-3, and Akt substrate of 160 kDa. Intracellular pH was evaluated using the fluorescent pH-sensitive dye 2′,7′-bis (2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) and Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1) activity was assessed using the NH4+ prepulse method. Our key findings are as follows. AICAR and metformin enhance insulin signaling downstream of PKB. Metformin potentiates insulin-induced glucose uptake, but surprisingly, AICAR inhibits both basal and insulin-induced glucose uptake. Moreover, we found that AICAR decreases intracellular pH, via inhibition of NHE1. In conclusion, AMPK potentiates insulin signaling downstream of PKB in isolated cardiac myocytes, consistent with findings in the heart in vivo. Furthermore, AICAR inhibits basal and insulin-induced glucose uptake in isolated cardiac myocytes via the inhibition of NHE1 and the subsequent reduction of intracellular pH. Importantly, AICAR exerts these effects in a manner independent of AMPK activation.
Genotype-Phenotype Relationship in Patients with Mutations in Thyroid Hormone Transporter MCT8
Authors: Jansen Jurgen , Friesema Edith C. H. , Kester Monique H. A. , Schwartz Charles E. , Visser Theo J.
Published: January 2008

Loss-of-function mutations in thyroid hormone transporter monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) lead to severe X-linked psychomotor retardation and elevated serum T3 levels. Most patients, for example those with mutations V235M, S448X, insI189, or delF230, cannot stand, walk, or speak. Patients with mutations L434W, L568P, and S194F, however, walk independently and/or develop some dysarthric speech. To study the relationship between mutation and phenotype, we transfected JEG3 and COS1 cells with wild-type or mutant MCT8. Expression and function of the transporter were studied by analyzing T3 and T4 uptake, T3 metabolism (by cotransfected type 3 deiodinase), Western blotting, affinity labeling with N-bromoacetyl-T3, immunocytochemistry, and quantitative RT-PCR. Wild-type MCT8 increased T3 uptake and metabolism about 5-fold compared with empty vector controls. Mutants V235M, S448X, insI189, and delF230 did not significantly increase transport. However, S194F, L568P, and L434W showed about 20, 23, and 37% of wild-type activity. RT-PCR did not show significant differences in mRNA expression between wild-type and mutant MCT8. Immunocytochemistry detected the nonfunctional mutants V235M, insI189, and delF230 mostly in the cytoplasm, whereas mutants with residual function were expressed at the plasma membrane. Mutants S194F and L434W showed high protein expression but low affinity for N-bromoacetyl-T3; L568P was detected in low amounts but showed relatively high affinity. Mutations in MCT8 cause loss of function through reduced protein expression, impaired trafficking to the plasma membrane, or reduced substrate affinity. Mutants L434W, L568P, and S194F showed significant residual transport capacity, which may underlie the more advanced psychomotor development observed in patients with these mutations.
Defederalizing Medicaid: Fair to the Poor, Fair to Taxpayers?
Authors: Cromwell Jerry , Hurdle Sylvia , Schurman Rachel
Published: January 2008

This paper explores the access and equity implications to the poor and taxpayers of further defederalizing Medicaid program administration. New data on enrollees and tax incidence indicates little horizontal, let alone vertical, equity in the system. Styles of cost control are also examined, showing a systematic bias towards providers and taxpayers at the expense of the poor in penurious states.
Physicians' Decisions to Limit Medicaid Participation: Determinants and Policy Implications
Authors: Perloff Janet D. , Kletke Phillip R. , Neckerman Kathryn M.
Published: January 2008

Although most primary care physicians participate in state Medicaid programs, they may accept all Medicaid patients, or they may choose to limit their participation. This decision allows physicians to adjust their Medicaid caseloads to a desired level, and it has important implications for the access of low-income patients to health care. Surveys of pediatricians in 1978 and 1983 indicate that the proportion of pediatricians limiting their Medicaid participation increased significantly from 26 percent to 35 percent (p > .001). In addition, in both 1978 and 1983, limited participants saw significantly fewer Medicaid patients than full participants. This paper describes a number of strategies available to federal and state policymakers for fostering full Medicaid participation. Multivariate analyses indicate that increasing reimbursement levels is an important strategy for encouraging full Medicaid participation. In addition, full participants will increase their Medicaid caseloads in response to a variety of Medicaid policy incentives, while limited participants are found to respond to fewer policy incentives. The authors conclude that caution will be needed to ensure that health care cost-containment strategies such as capitation or selective contracting do not inadvertently discourage participation among both full and limited Medicaid participants.
Housestaff Activism: The Emergence of Patient-Care Demands
Authors: Hoffman Lily M.
Published: January 2008

There have been two trends within the physician housestaff movement: increased acceptance of collective bargaining and unions, and a shift from narrower economic to broader political demands, including some involving patient care. Case studies of politically active housestaff associations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are used to examine the emergence of “patient-care” demands and their compatibility with collective bargaining frameworks. As house-staff have become principal providers of care to indigent populations in public hospitals, and economic cutbacks have endangered service as well as the positions of physicians, patient-care demands arise and become infused with demands for participation and control in decision-making. Common factors in the politicization of housestaff have been the contribution of activists of the sixties as leaders, and the impact of fiscal crisis and economic retrenchment in the seventies.

However, the emergence and resolution of these issues has differed, depending upon legal, political, historical, and organizational variations. In general, patient-care issues are supported by housestaff when they dovetail with housestaff interests. However, physician interests can diverge from those of patients, as in the case of manpower redistribution. On the whole, wages and benefits have done better than educational or patient-care demands. Educational demands have met with counterattack, and patient care, limited by the traditional scope of collective bargaining, has had to evolve indirectly, and has been hurt by long-term economic trends. Finally, national housestaff organization is limited by the wide-ranging politics and ideas of diverse regional organizations which represent different types of training institutions and career orientations.
The Clinical Context of Technology Assessment
Authors: Smits Helen L.
Published: January 2008

One important aspect of the evaluation of a new medical technology is the clinical context in which the technology will be used. This context includes the disease to be diagnosed or treated, alternative methods of diagnosis or treatment, and the epidemiology of both the illness itself and health services. This paper presents a simple clinical paradigm of use in assessing new technologies.
Competitive Bidding as a Cost-Containment Strategy for Indigent Medical Care: The Implementation Experience in Arizona
Authors: Hillman Diane G. , Christianson Jon B.
Published: January 2008

The State of Arizona recently instituted a competitive bidding process, in order to establish a health services delivery system for indigents and to determine capitated reimbursement levels for providers in that system. This article describes the implementation of that bidding process, and identifies factors which had a significant impact on the implementation experience. Implementation of competitive bidding in Arizona encountered problems which appear to be common to the implementation of innovative public programs. It also uncovered political liabilities that suggest that effective implementation of competitive bidding for indigent medical care contracts in other environments will be difficult, even if technical implementation problems can be overcome.
Immigrant Workers: Health, Law, and Public Policy
Authors: Guttmacher Sally
Published: January 2008

Immigrant workers are a large segment of the lower echelon of the U.S. labor force, and as many as 3.6 to 6 million of these workers and their families are living in the U.S. illegally. This paper examines who the recent immigrants are; explains why their current situation in the U.S. is an important public health matter; discusses the ethical and policy issues stemming from their health needs and from illegal status; and concludes with a brief look at some implications of the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration and Reform Act, currently before Congress. The paper suggests that the illegal status of undocumented workers intensifies their health risks; that the immigrants' responsibility for budget shortfalls in public services is not as clearcut as frequently assumed; and that legislation aimed at regulating the status of immigrant workers in the U.S. is unlikely to solve many of the central problems.
Wnt/Notch signalling and information processing during development
Authors: Hayward Penelope , Kalmar Tibor , Martinez Arias Alfonso
Published: January 2008

The Wnt and Notch signalling pathways represent two major channels of communication used by animal cells to control their identities and behaviour during development. A number of reports indicate that their activities are closely intertwined during embryonic development. Here, we review the evidence for this relationship and suggest that Wnt and Notch (`Wntch') signalling act as components of an integrated device that, rather than defining the fate of a cell, determines the probability that a cell will adopt that fate.
Development of the renal glomerulus: good neighbors and good fences
Authors: Quaggin Susan E. , Kreidberg Jordan A.
Published: January 2008

The glomerulus of the mammalian kidney is an intricate structure that contains an unusual filtration barrier that retains higher molecular weight proteins and blood cells in the circulation. Recent studies have changed our conception of the glomerulus from a relatively static structure to a dynamic one, whose integrity depends on signaling between the three major cell lineages: podocytes, endothelial and mesangial cells. Research into the signaling pathways that control glomerular development and then maintain glomerular integrity and function has recently identified several genes, such as the nephrin and Wilms' tumor 1 genes, that are mutated in human kidney disease.
Logic of Wg and Dpp induction of distal and medial fates in theDrosophilaleg
Authors: Estella Carlos , Mann Richard S.
Published: January 2008

Drosophila leg development requires the cooperation of two secreted signals, Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Wingless (Wg), to form the proximodistal (PD) axis. Wg and Dpp are also required to pattern the dorsoventral (DV) axis of the leg. Here, we show that Distalless(Dll) and dachshund (dac), genes expressed at different positions along the PD axis, are activated by Wg signaling and repressed by Brinker (Brk), a transcriptional repressor in the Dpp pathway. The levels of both Brk and Wg determine which of these PD genes is activated. Surprisingly, Brk does not play a role in DV axis specification in the leg,suggesting that Dpp uses two distinct mechanisms for generating the PD and DV axes. Based on these results, we present a model for how Dpp and Wg, which are present as dorsal and ventral gradients, respectively, induce nearly circular domains of gene expression along the PD axis.
Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of Tungsten(VI) as Its 6-Chloro-3-hydroxy-2-(2′-thienyl)-4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran Complex
Authors: Agnihotri Rajesh , Agnihotri Nivedita , Mehta Jaswant Ram
Published: January 2008

An extractive spectrophotometric method was developed for the trace determination of tungsten in an acidic medium. A yellow-colored 1:3 complex of tungsten(VI) and 6-chloro-3-hydroxy-2-(2′-thienyl)-4-oxo-4H-1-benzopyran (CHTB), prepared in 0.16–0.32 mol dm−3 hydrochloric acid medium, was quantitatively extracted into chloroform. The complex had a maximum absorbance at 417–423 nm. The method obeyed Beer’s law in the range of 0–3.0 μg cm−3 WVI; the correlation coefficient was r=0.9902. The molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity of the complex were 4.05×104 dm3 mol−1 cm−1 and 0.0045 μg of WVI cm−2, respectively, at 420 nm. Various metals, including Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Nb, Ta, Mo, U, Zr, Th, Ce, Re, and various platinum metals did not interfere in the extraction, and this procedure was satisfactorily applied to the analysis of tungsten in various synthetic, technical and natural samples, including reverberatory flue dust and water.
Beyond switches: Rotaxane- and catenane-based synthetic molecular motors
Authors: Kay Euan R. , Leigh David A.
Published: January 2008

Nature uses molecular motors and machines in virtually every significant biological process, but learning how to design and assemble simpler artificial structures that function through controlled molecular-level motion is a major challenge for contemporary physical science. The established engineering principles of the macroscopic world can offer little more than inspiration to the molecular engineer who creates devices for an environment where everything is constantly moving and being buffeted by other atoms and molecules. Rather, experimental designs for working molecular machines must follow principles derived from chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and nonequilibrium statistical physics. The remarkable characteristics of interlocked molecules make them particularly useful for investigating the control of motion at the molecular level. Yet, the vast majority of synthetic molecular machines studied to date are simple two-state switches. Here we outline recent developments from our laboratory that demonstrate more complex molecular machine functions. This new generation of synthetic molecular machines can move continuously and progressively away from equilibrium, and they may be considered true prototypical molecular motors. The examples discussed exemplify two, fundamentally different, "Brownian ratchet" mechanisms previously developed in theoretical statistical physics and realized experimentally in molecular-level devices for the first time in these systems.
Transport of pesticides via macropores (IUPAC Technical Report)
Authors: Kördel Werner , Egli Hans , Klein Michael
Published: January 2008

This report provides an overview of the transport of solutes via macropores focusing on the practical relevance of the phenomenon. After a description of matrix flow and preferential flow in soil, information related to macropores, including their formation and measurement techniques, is briefly presented. Then, the influence of experimental conditions and of environmental and agricultural factors and pesticide properties is discussed, based on a statistical evaluation of all published studies offering sufficient quantitative information. Most of the analyzed parameters do not significantly influence the experimental pesticide losses. The groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) index turned out to be the most important compound property to describe substance losses through macropore flow. In a third section, tools for modeling pesticide transport through macropores are presented and critically evaluated. Results of the computer model MACRO, which is also used in the EU pesticide registration process, are compared with experimental losses. For five out of seven investigated pesticides (A-D, F), the simulated losses are in agreement with the experimental data. However, for two compounds with very low K
OC values, MACRO overestimated the losses. Finally, the significance of pesticide transport via macropores for contamination of ground and surface water is assessed. Losses caused by macropore transport may considerably exceed losses caused by matrix transport at a specific site. Therefore, a site-specific assessment of pesticide leaching is needed.
Chemists and "the public": IUPAC's role in achieving mutual understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
Authors: Mahaffy Peter , Ashmore Anthony , Bucat Bob , Do Choon , Rosborough Megan
Published: January 2008

This report informs IUPAC's efforts to enhance the public understanding of and appreciation for chemistry by evaluating IUPAC's mandate, strengths, and weaknesses, and providing insights from a substantial review of the relevant science communication literature. It summarizes the recommendations of an IUPAC project whose overall goal is to provide a framework that will bring the same level of intellectual rigor to IUPAC's science communication activities as to its scientific activities. This implies that careful attention must be paid to the terminology used to describe these activities, to clear articulation of goals and motives for public understanding of chemistry initiatives, and to inclusion of rigorous evaluations of outcomes from the outset in the design of projects on the public understanding of chemistry. Informed by our analysis of best practices for science communication, this report provides the following conclusions and recommendations: 1. IUPAC has an important role to play in enhancing public understanding of chemistry. 2. Public understanding of chemistry activities aimed at supporting teachers and students within the formal school system are more effective than those aimed at the general public. 3. IUPAC's primary targeted public should be IUPAC chemists and educators, and IUPAC's most important role is to help them understand and work with a variety of other publics. 4. It is proposed that IUPAC's niche be to focus on activities that indirectly enhance public understanding, such as: (a) Helping scientists identify and understand their publics. (b) Influencing international organizations. (c) Supporting science education systems, particularly in countries in transition. (d) Supporting scientists and educators by communicating relevant findings from IUPAC projects, conferences, and activities at an appropriate level. (e) Supporting national chemical societies and other organizations. 5. Recommendations are presented for steps to be undertaken by IUPAC to implement these recommendations and to develop a clearer strategy for public understanding of chemistry initiatives and activities.
Les Collections byzantines de XVI discours de Grégoire de Nazianze
Authors: Somers-Auwers Véronique
Published: January 2008

La tradition manuscrite des Discours de Grégoire de Nazianze antérieure à 1550 se répartit en plusieurs catégories de témoins: les collections complètes (une bonne centaine de témoins, parfois partiellement conservés); les collections de XVI, dites liturgiques, qui rassemblent une sélection de seize Discours «lus (à dates fixes)» (355 témoins); des collections de Discours «non lus (à date fixe)», c'est-à-dire ceux qui ne sont pas repris dans la collection précédente (53 témoins); les «collections de XVI complétées», où la collection «liturgique» est suivie d'un nombre variable de «non lus» (94 témoins); les recueils hagiographico-homilétiques, comme les homéliaires, ménologes, miscellanées, etc…, où certains Discours du Théologien sont transmis en compagnie de pièces d'autres auteurs (680 témoins); enfin, 169 fragments, restes trop peu fournis pour qu'on sache de quelle catégorie ils relèvent.
M. MELLUSO, La schiavitù nell'età giustinianea. Disciplina giuridica e rilevanza sociale
Authors: Goria Fausto
Published: January 2008

Per una lettura del presente volume si deve anzitutto tener presente che, come afferma esplicitamente l'A. (p.12), esso è nato come tesi di laurea; si tratta quindi di un'opera redatta quando l'A. non aveva neanche ancora iniziato il percorso di dottorato di ricerca. Questo fatto può spiegare la presenza di numerose ingenuità, affermazioni avventate, ambigue o inesatte, nonché un'impostazione del lavoro che sarebbe eccessivamente ambiziosa anche per uno studioso con qualche anno di esperienza in più. Il libro infatti si propone non solo di analizzare la legislazione giustinianea in tema di schiavitù, ma anche di individuare i profili nuovi che i passi degli antichi giuristi assumono tramite il loro inserimento nel Digesto; di accertare inoltre l'impatto dei testi legislativi nella realtà sociale, al fine di verificare “se siano effettivamente stati i fattori socio-economici la principale causa del declino a quest'epoca della schiavitù, al di là dell'evoluzione legislativa subita e dell'influenza esercitata dai princìpi cristiani” (p.11).
H. CONDYLIS-BASSOUKOS, Stéphanitès kai Ichnélatès, traduction grecque (XIe siècle) du livre Kalīla wa-Dimna d'Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (VIIIe siècle). Étude lexicologique et littéraire
Authors: Gutas Dimitri
Published: January 2008

Graeco-Arabic studies, or the study of the translations of classical Greek works into Arabic during the early ‘Abbāsid caliphate of the Arabs (ca. 750–1000), is a field that is well known; it has been cultivated, with significant results for the study of medieval Islamic civilization, for more than a century and a half now. What is less well known is the opposite trend of translations from Arabic into (Byzantine) Greek, which began after the Photian renaissance — as a direct result, I have claimed, of the Graeco-Arabic translation movement — and is of comparable significance for the study of Byzantine civilization. For reasons that it might be interesting to investigate at some point, Byzantinists have shied away from Arabo-Greek studies, to the great detriment of a deepened study of Byzantine writings, especially the scientific literature. The book by Dr. Hélène Condylis under review here, a study of the Greek translation of the famous Arabic book of fables Kalīla wa-Dimna (originally of Indian provenance), finally breaks open this unduly neglected area and makes a most impressive first contribution to Arabo-Greek studies that will, in years to come, be considered as pioneering.
Foreign Portfolio Investors and Financial Sector Stability in Asia
Authors: Lee Jeong Yeon
Published: January 2008

A careful review of the Asian crisis in 1997 reveals that despite widespread denunciation, hedge funds and other portfolio investors played only a minor role in the making of the crisis. To maintain financial sector stability, therefore, governments should focus on avoiding inconsistent policies rather than try to identify a “bad” class of investors and limit their activities.
Malaysia Ten Years After the Asian Financial Crisis
Authors: Ping Lee Poh , Yean Tham Siew
Published: January 2008

Malaysia experienced economic and political turmoil from the Asian financial crisis, though not as severely as its neighbors, Indonesia and Thailand. This article considers the impact of the crisis on the Malaysian economy, Malaysian Chinese business, and the Malaysian political system.
Singapore's Political Economy, 1997–2007: Strategizing Economic Assurance for Globalization
Authors: Chong Alan
Published: January 2008

Singapore's reaction to the Asian financial crisis suggests that while there were signs of deepening liberalization, there was little evidence of a profound retreat from the developmental state paradigm. The crisis generated an obsession with “globalization compatibility”: aggressive externalization of private and state-led economic activities and a gradualist strategy for building economic community abroad.
Taiwan's Developmental State: After the Economic and Political Turmoil
Authors: Wu Yu-Shan
Published: January 2008

Taiwan was a typical Capitalist Developmental State (CDS) from the 1960s through the 1980s. In this article the effects of the Asian Financial Crisis and the two political shocks that it sandwiched are assessed. We find that Taiwan's CDS structure has been seriously undermined for political, not for economic, reasons.
“Whistleblower” or “Renegade”: Definitional Contests in an Official Inquiry
Authors: Nichols Lawrence T.
Published: January 2008

This paper addresses the interpretive dynamics of official inquiries. Beginning with an ideal‐typical sketch of congressional investigations, the discussion traces a portrayal of public problems by a committee of the House of Representatives. This leads to the analysis of a hearing in which committee factions struggled to define an Air Force administrator as a “whistleblower” or a “renegade.” The hearing is understood as a “certification ceremony” that rhetorically transformed staff discoveries into allegedly definitive evidence. It is concluded that the paper's conceptual approach can be applied to diverse inquiries that combine documentary research with interrogation of witnesses to generate authoritative findings.
Postcards from the Edge of the Color Line: Images of African Americans in Popular Culture, 1893–1917
Authors: Mellinger Wayne Martin
Published: January 2008

This paper examines visual representations of African Americans on postcards from 1893 to World War I. Caricatures of African Americans found on these popular cultural artifacts frequently employ the visual metaphor of other‐as‐beast. To map the discursive features of this form of racist ideology, attention is paid to the icono‐graphic and linguistic strategies employed to depict African Americans as physically, intellectually, and temperamentally distinct and inferior. While no oppositional readings to this racist discourse were located in the flip‐side messages of the senders, resistance was located in the contemporaneous popular culture of African Americans.
Undercover Drug‐Use Evasion Tactics: Excuses and Neutralization
Authors: Jacobs Bruce A.
Published: January 2008

Although research has examined the corruptive influences of undercover drug operations on agents (Girodo 1991 b; Manning and Reddlinger 1977, 1978), it has not examined the processes by which these influences can be neutralized. In this paper, I address these neutralization processes through a typology of routine and non‐routine drug‐use evasion tactics. Routine tactics involve excuses based on greed, business constraints, and role obligations (occupational, legal, and interpersonal). Nonroutine tactics involve two components: reverse accusation and simulation. Discussion focuses on excuses where I provide a dramaturgical interpretation that accentuates their deceptive and fraudulent nature, unlike traditional interpretations (e.g., Scott and Lyman 1968) which highlight their role as a reparative technique and aligning action (Margolin 1990). Data were drawn from ethnographic interviews with 35 light undercover narcotics agents located in a moderate‐sized midwestern municipality.
Self Presentation through Appearance: A Manipulative vs. a Dramaturgical Approach
Authors: Tseëlon Efrat
Published: January 2008

The sincerity of self presentation through personal appearance was examined through contrasting an interactionist interpretation of Goffman's dramaturgy with an “impression management” approach.

“Impression management” position treats dramatization and conscious attention to one's performance as analogous to insincerity. In contrast, a dramaturgical interactionist position regards dramatization as the control of the style of performance, and as irrelevant to issues of sincerity.

Analysis of forty accounts (open‐ended questionnaires) of British women highlighted the over simplification inherent in the impression management position, and provided support for a dramaturgical interactionist alternative.
Communities of Practice in Sociolinguistic Description
Authors: Mallinson Christine , Childs Becky
Published: January 2008

In this paper, we examine the identities of eight women who share similar demographic profiles but exhibit different language practices. These middle-aged and older women belong to two social groups, which, we argue, constitute two communities of practice within a small black Appalachian community in the Southern United States. From interview data, we analyze six diagnostic sociolinguistic variables (third singular -s absence, copula absence, rhoticity, consonant cluster reduction, habitual be) and also examine productions of /u/ and /o/. The groups differ significantly in their use of the morphosyntactic and syntactic variables and in their vowel productions, but not the consonantal features. Combining our quantitative findings with qualitative data, we suggest language is one of several vehicles the women use to transmit symbolic messages to others and thereby construct identities for themselves and their groups, whose members adhere to different language ideologies, religious norms, notions of feminine decorum, and educational standards.
Contradictions in Gendered Discourses
Authors: Sunderland Jane
Published: January 2008

In this largely theoretical paper, I look at contradictions as these may be experienced by feminist readers of sexist jokes, and at ways active readers may deal with these. Drawing on the notions of interpellation (e.g. Althusser, 1998) and focalisation (Genette, 1972; Montgomery, 2000), I start with ways of reading the text in question – a set of sexist jokes. Then, drawing on the rather diverse theoretical notions of reader response(s), discourse(s), irony, double voicing and post-feminism, I look at ways of articulating feminist readings of the set of jokes. I propose four ‘alternative reading positions’ for feminists; in this way, the paper also contributes, modestly, to a theory of reading. I conclude by examining the implications of the study for everyday practice and for feminism itself.
Can the term “genderlect” be saved?
Authors: Motschenbacher Heiko
Published: January 2008

This article is an attempt to reclaim the term “genderlect” as a valuable sociolinguistic concept. It shows that “genderlect” in its traditional sense as a variety according to speaker sex is just as much a myth as are early sociolinguistic theorisations of “women’s/men’s language”. From a postmodernist perspective, genderlects must be seen as stereotypical resources for gendered stylisation practices that are not to be equalled with how women and men actually speak. This is illustrated by using material from a comprehensive study on linguistic gender stylisation in advertising discourse. Moreover, it is suggested that the strictly binary genderlect concept is abandoned and replaced by another one that sees genderlects as heavily context-dependent, community-based and therefore infinite in number. A postmodernist genderlect concept should be able to deal with hegemonic as well as subversive gender styles and at the same time acknowledge that what is generally judged to be hegemonic in one context might be subversive in another (or vice versa).
Legal transformations in Spanish: an ‘audiencia’ in Chile
Authors: Gibbons John
Published: January 2008

There is a small literature on the transformations that occur in transcripts in legal English (Eades 1996; Walker 1990), but little on what happens in languages other than English. This is an important issue for Roman/Continental law systems, which rely in their decision making largely upon written transcripts of oral evidence. This study examines the linguistic consequences of the transcription process, based upon Spanish language tape recordings of oral submissions, and the written ‘declaraciones’ (statements) that emerge, in a labour court in Santiago de Chile. It reveals far-reaching consequences for the language of the evidence, particularly because of the greater planning and editing potential of writing. There are tendencies to move to more complex syntactic structures, to use more passive type structures thereby colouring blame attribution, to use more technical language, and to edit material, both unnecessary redundancies and substantive facts. These findings support current changes to the Chilean justice system, which replace this type of interview with open court hearings.
High Fidelity or Chinese Whispers? Cult Symbols and Ritual Transmission in the Bronze Age Aegean
Authors: Briault Camilla
Published: January 2008

The reproduction of ritual practices has long been a concern of social anthropology, but has been largely neglected in archaeology, where the time-depth is potentially better suited to investigating the mechanisms behind ritual stability and change. This paper proposes a quantitative methodology for exploring the long-term transmission of ritual practices, using material from the Bronze Age Aegean as a case study. It is argued that through charting the distributions of three materialized cult symbols (the double-axe, horns of consecration and composite double-axe/horns of consecration), it is possible to document the spatial and temporal spread of ritual practice, and, crucially, to identify changes in ritual between periods and between regions. Patterns in the symbols’ uptake, deployment and transformation indicate that they played a significant role in the transmission process, and it is suggested that analogous transmission mechanisms might be traced in other prehistoric ritual systems using a similarly

quantitative approach.
Editor's Introduction
Authors: Strachan Robert
Published: January 2008

An introduction to the new peer-reviewed journal for research on the history of popular music.
Concepções de saúde e itinerário terapêutico adotado por adultos de um município de pequeno porte
Authors: Merino Maria de Fátima Garcia Lopes , Marcon Sônia Silva
Published: January 2008

Estudo descritivo desenvolvido com o objetivo de identificar as concepções de saúde e o itinerário terapêutico adotado por indivíduos adultos em um município de pequeno porte. Os dados foram coletados no mês de julho de 2006 por meio de entrevista semi-estrutrada junto a 29 indivíduos. Constatou-se que os homens referem menos problemas patológicos do que as mulheres e que estas, em sua maioria, iniciam a busca pela solução de problemas de saúde mais precocemente e no sistema formal de saúde. Conclui-se que existem diferenças entre os sexos na maneira de reconhecer a doença e buscar soluções e isto precisa ser considerado pelo sistema de saúde, de forma a facilitar o acesso dos indivíduos respeitando suas particularidades e individualidades.
Concepções da equipe de saúde da família sobre as visitas domiciliares
Authors: Sakata Karen Namie , Almeida Maria Cecília Puntel de , Alvarenga Ariane de Melo , Craco Priscila Frederico , Pereira Maria José Bistafa
Published: January 2008

Entendendo as visitas domiciliares enquanto tecnologia de interação no cuidado à saúde da família, o objetivo foi compreender as concepções da equipe de Saúde da Família sobre as visitas. Utilizou-se abordagem qualitativa e a entrevista semi-estruturada foi o instrumento de coleta de dados. Foram entrevistados dezenove profissionais de duas equipes de Saúde de Família de um município do interior paulista. Os resultados mostraram que as visitas são atividades potenciais para o cuidado à família, mais humano e acolhedor, permitindo o vínculo, laços de confiança e conhecer o usuário no seu ambiente familiar. Apreende-se que as visitas ora são compreendidas como acompanhamento da saúde, ora como fiscalização. Dificuldades existiram como pouco tempo disponível e impotência da equipe frente aos problemas.
Compreendendo o significado da dor torácica isquêmica de pacientes admitidos na sala de emergência
Authors: Araújo Rachel Damaceno de , Marques Isaac Rosa
Published: January 2008

Os profissionais de enfermagem que atuam em serviços de emergência constantemente deparam-se com pacientes com dor torácica por isquemia. Este estudo objetivou compreender o significado deste tipo dor para o paciente durante a sua permanência na sala de emergência. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem qualitativa realizado com dez pacientes admitidos em um serviço de emergência de um hospital privado localizado na zona sul da cidade de São Paulo. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevista semi-estruturada e analisados segundo a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Da análise decorreram os seguintes eixos temáticos: significado da dor torácica e sentimento no momento dos sintomas. Como resultados, pôde-se observar que o medo da morte, a preocupação com familiares são os significados mais importantes. Concluiu-se que os pacientes acometidos de dor torácica isquêmica necessitam apoio por parte da equipe de enfermagem no sentido de amenizar estes sentimentos.