bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary origins of metabolic compartmentalization in eukaryotes
Authors: Martin William
Published: February 2010

Many genes in eukaryotes are acquisitions from the free-living antecedents of chloroplasts and mitochondria. But there is no evolutionary ‘homing device’ that automatically directs the protein product of a transferred gene back to the organelle of its provenance. Instead, the products of genes acquired from endosymbionts can explore all targeting possibilities within the cell. They often replace pre-existing host genes, or even whole pathways. But the transfer of an enzymatic pathway from one compartment to another poses severe problems: over evolutionary time, the enzymes of the pathway acquire their targeting signals for the new compartment individually, not in unison. Until the whole pathway is established in the new compartment, newly routed individual enzymes are useless, and their genes will be lost through mutation. Here it is suggested that pathways attain novel compartmentation variants via a ‘minor mistargeting’ mechanism. If protein targeting in eukaryotic cells possesses enough imperfection such that small amounts of entire pathways continuously enter novel compartments, selectable units of biochemical function would exist in new compartments, and the genes could become selected. Dual-targeting of proteins is indeed very common within eukaryotic cells, suggesting that targeting variation required for this minor mistargeting mechanism to operate exists in nature.
Schistosoma mansoniantigens modulate the allergic response in a murine model of ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation
Authors: Cardoso L S , Oliveira S C , Góes A M , Oliveira R R , Pacífico L G , Marinho F V , Fonseca C T , Cardoso F C , Carvalho E M , Araujo M I
Published: February 2010

Schistosoma mansoni infection has been associated with protection against allergies. The mechanisms underlying this association may involve regulatory cells and cytokines. We evaluated the immune response induced by the S. mansoni antigens Sm22·6, PIII and Sm29 in a murine model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation. BALB/c mice were sensitized with subcutaneously injected OVA-alum and challenged with aerolized OVA. Mice were given three doses of the different S. mansoni antigens. Lung histopathology, cellularity of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and eosinophil peroxidase activity in lung were evaluated. Immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels in serum and cytokines in BAL were also measured. Additionally, we evaluated the frequency of CD4+forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)+ T cells in cultures stimulated with OVA and the expression of interleukin (IL)-10 by these cells. The number of total cells and eosinophils in BAL and the levels of OVA-specific IgE were reduced in the immunized mice. Also, the levels of IL-4 and IL-5 in the BAL of mice immunized with PIII and Sm22·6 were decreased, while the levels of IL-10 were higher in mice immunized with Sm22·6 compared to the non-immunized mice. The frequency of CD4+FoxP3+ T cells was higher in the groups of mice who received Sm22·6, Sm29 and PIII, being the expression of IL-10 by these cells only higher in mice immunized with Sm22·6. We concluded that the S. mansoni antigens used in this study are able to down-modulate allergic inflammatory mediators in a murine model of airway inflammation and that the CD4+FoxP3+ T cells, even in the absence of IL-10 expression, might play an important role in this process.
Being a generalist herbivore in a diverse world: how do diets from different grasslands influence food plant selection and fitness of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus?
Authors: FRANZKE ALEXANDRA , UNSICKER SYBILLE B. , SPECHT JULIANE , KÖHLER GÜNTER , WEISSER WOLFGANG W.
Published: February 2010

1. Generalist insect herbivores occupy a variety of habitats that differ in food plant composition. Dietary mixing has been proposed as a possibility for generalists to overcome nutritional deficiencies of single plant species, but only a few studies have investigated herbivore feeding and fitness for diets that resemble natural scenarios. We studied feeding behaviour, survival, and reproduction of the generalist grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus raised on food plants of four typical habitats.

2. Grasshopper diet consisted of grasses (92.5%), legumes (6.7%) and, in small quantities, other forbs (0.8%). Diet selection differed between the four food plant mixtures, and depended on grasshopper sex and developmental stage. There was no correlation between the relative abundance of plant species in the field and the fraction of these species in the grasshopper diet.

3. Grasshoppers survived on average for 40.4 ± 1.0 days before maturity, grew 106.8 mg until maturity moult, and females laid 4.1 ± 0.4 egg pods, each of which contained 8.5 ± 0.4 eggs. However, despite the differences in feeding behaviour, grasshopper fitness was the same in all of the four food plant mixtures. While the digestibility of ingested food was similar in the four different treatments, indices indicated differences in the conversion efficiency to body mass.

4. Our results show that C. parallelus is a plastic feeder with no fixed preferences in diet composition. The results emphasise that generalist herbivores can counteract putative quality deficiencies of single food plants by selective dietary mixing.
Impact of intraguild predation on parasitoid foraging behaviour
Authors: MARTINOU ANGELIKI F. , RAYMOND BENJAMIN , MILONAS PANAGIOTIS G. , WRIGHT DENIS J.
Published: February 2010

1. Trophic interactions between predators and parasitoids can be described as intraguild predation (IGP) and are often asymmetric. Parasitoids (typically the IG prey) may respond to the threat of IGP by mitigating the predation risk for their offspring.

2. We used a system with a facultative predatorMacrolophus caliginosus, the parasitoidAphidius colemani, and their shared prey, the aphidMyzus persicae. We examined the functional responses of the parasitoid in the presence/absence of the predator on two host plants (aubergine and sweet pepper) with differing IGP risk.

3. Estimated model parameters such as parasitoid handling time increased on both plants where the predator was present, but impact of the predator varied with plant species. The predator, which could feed herbivorously on aubergine, had a reduced impact on parasitoid foraging on that plant. IG predator presence could reduce the searching effort of the IG prey depending on the plant, and on likely predation risk.

4. The results are discussed with regard to individual parasitoid's foraging behaviour and population stability; it is suggested that the presence of the predator can contribute to the stabilisation of host–parasitoid dynamics
The effects of water‐level manipulation on the benthic invertebrates of a managed reservoir
Authors: McEWEN DANIEL C. , BUTLER MALCOLM G.
Published: February 2010

1. Reservoir creation and management can enhance many ecological services provided by freshwater ecosystems, but may alter the natural conditions to which aquatic biota have adapted. Benthic macroinvertebrates often reflect environmental conditions, and this community may be particularly susceptible to water‐level changes that alter sediment exposure, temperature regime, wave‐induced sediment redistribution and basal productivity.

2. Using a before–after control–impact experimental design, we assessed changes in macroinvertebrate community structure corresponding with changes in water‐level management in two lentic systems in the Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, U.S.A. Littoral zone (depths 1–5 m) benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages were sampled in Rainy Lake (control system) and Namakan Reservoir (impact system) in 1984–85, and again in 2004–05 following a change in water‐level management that began in January 2000. The new regime reduced the magnitude of winter drawdown in Namakan Reservoir from 2.5 to 1.5 m, and allowed the reservoir to fill to capacity in late May, a month earlier than under the prior regime. Rainy Lake water levels were not altered substantially.

3. We found changes in macroinvertebrate community structure in Namakan Reservoir relative to Rainy Lake at 1–2 m depths but not at 3–5 m depths. These shallower depths would have been most directly affected by changes in sediment exposure and ice formation.

4. In 2004–05, Namakan Reservoir benthos showed lower overall abundance, more large‐bodied taxa and an increase in non‐insect invertebrates relative to 1984–85, without corresponding changes in Rainy Lake.

5. Changes in the benthic community in Namakan may reflect cooler water in spring and early summer as well as lower resource availability (both autochthonous production and allochthonous inputs) under the new regime.
Characterizing the pigment composition of a variable warning signal of Parasemia plantaginis larvae
Authors: Lindstedt Carita , Morehouse Nathan , Pakkanen Hannu , Casas Jérôme , Christides Jean‐Philippe , Kemppainen Kimmo , Lindström Leena , Mappes Johanna
Published: February 2010

1. Aposematic animals advertise their defences to predators via warning signals that often are bright colours combined with black patterns. Predation is assumed to select for large pattern elements and conspicuousness of warning signals because this enhances avoidance learning of predators. However, conspicuousness of the colour pattern can vary among individuals of aposematic species, suggesting that warning signal expression may be constrained by opposing selection pressures. If effective warning signals are costly to produce, variation in signal expression may be maintained via physiological trade‐offs. To understand the costs of signalling that might underlay both physiological and ecological trade‐offs, it is crucial to identify the pigments involved in aposematic traits, how they or their precursors are acquired and how their production and/or deposition interact with other physiological processes.

2. We characterized the pigments responsible for the genetically and phenotypically variable orange‐black warning signal of the hairy larvae of an Arctiid moth, Parasemia plantaginis. We tested orange and black coloured hairs for the presence of six candidate pigment types using high‐performance liquid chromatography, spectral and solubility analyses.

3. After excluding the presence of carotenoids, ommochromes, pterins and pheomelanins in orange hairs, our results suggest that tiger moth larvae produce their orange warning signal by depositing both diet‐derived flavonoids and trace levels of synthesized eumelanin in their hairs. The nearby black hairs are coloured by eumelanin.

4. In light of previous studies, we conclude that although a large orange patch increases the 1larvae’s antipredator efficacy, variation in the size of orange patches within a population can be driven by scarcity of flavonoids in diet. However, traces of eumelanin found in the orange hairs of the larvae may also play a significant role in the maintenance of the signal pattern on poor quality diets.

5. The goal of the future studies will be to test the condition dependence of pigment deposition in aposematic colour patterns by directly manipulating relevant nutritional parameters such as dietary flavonoid or nitrogen content (i.e. amino acid content).
Knowledge of disease and adherence in adult patients with haemophilia
Authors: LINDVALL K. , COLSTRUP L. , LOOGNA K. , WOLLTER IM. , GRÖNHAUG S.
Published: February 2010

Summary.  Patients with moderate and severe haemophilia are evaluated on a regular basis at their haemophilia centres but patients with mild haemophilia are seen less often because of fewer problems related to their disease. The needs of patients with milder forms of haemophilia, however, are often underestimated, both by the patient and staff at healthcare facilities. This study evaluated the knowledge of disease and adherence to treatment among patients with severe, moderate and mild haemophilia. This was a prospective multicentre study performed in Haemophilia Centres in Scandinavia. A total of 413 (67%) of 612 patients aged >25 years with mild, moderate and severe haemophilia completed a self‐administered questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 49.7 years (range 25–87 years). Of the 413 respondents, 150 had a mild, 86 had a moderate and 177 had a severe form of haemophilia. A total of 22 (5%) patients did not know the severity of their disease, and 230 (56%) patients knew the effect of factor concentrate in the blood. Of the 413 respondents, 53 (13%) of the cohort never treated a haemorrhage. Patients with mild haemophilia, P ≤ 0.001, were the least likely to treat a haemorrhage. The relative number of patients who were afraid of virus transmission by factor concentrate was about similar in the three groups, 27% of those with severe haemophilia, 26% with moderate and 24% with mild haemophilia. This study shows that the amount of knowledge among haemophilia patients about their disease and treatment is somewhat limited, and demonstrates the importance of continually providing information about haemophilia and treatment, especially to patients with a mild form of the disease.
Devising a best practice approach to prophylaxis in boys with severe haemophilia: evaluation of current treatment strategies
Authors: CARCAO M. , CHAMBOST H. , LJUNG R.
Published: February 2010

Summary.  Data from prospective studies clearly demonstrate the efficacy of prophylactic treatment of haemophilia in reducing joint‐ or life‐threatening bleeding and the associated consequences for quality of life. Debate remains, however, regarding the optimal implementation of prophylaxis. Our aim in this review was to identify a best practice approach to factor replacement prophylaxis in boys with haemophilia. We evaluate prophylactic treatment regimens currently used in Swedish, Canadian and French centres and highlight key issues, including the optimal age for starting prophylaxis, the optimal treatment dosage/schedule and patient compliance.
Assessing risk factors: prevention of inhibitors in haemophilia
Authors: CHAMBOST H.
Published: February 2010

Summary.  The formation of antibodies against factor VIII or factor IX that inhibit replacement therapy is currently the most serious treatment‐related complication faced by patients with haemophilia. This review highlights non‐modifiable and modifiable risk factors that determine the development of these antibodies. The non‐modifiable risk factors include patient genotype for haemophilia, immunogenotype, ethnicity and positive family history. Age, intensity of treatment and the type of clotting factor administered are identified as modifiable risk factors. These risk factors are likely to be identified more accurately in forthcoming prospective randomized controlled trials and current patient registries. Through a more complete picture of a patient’s overall risk profile, individually tailored treatment schedules might be developed that could minimize the incidence of inhibitor formation and thus maximize therapeutic benefit.
Molecular characterization of two novel milk proteins in the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans morsitans)
Authors: Yang G. , Attardo G. M. , Lohs C. , Aksoy S.
Published: February 2010

Purpose: Milk proteins are an essential component of viviparous reproduction in the tsetse fly. Milk proteins are synthesized in and secreted from the milk gland tissue and constitute 50% of the secretions from which the intrauterine larva derives its nourishment. To understand milk protein function and regulation during viviparous reproduction, milk proteins need to be identified and characterized.

Methods: Two putative unknown secretory proteins (GmmMGP2 and GmmMGP3) were selected by bioinformatic analysis of tissue specific tsetse cDNA libraries. RT‐PCR analysis was performed to verify their milk gland/fat body specific expression profile. Detailed characterization of developmental and tissue specific expression of these proteins was performed by northern blot analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Functional analysis of the milk gland proteins during the tsetse gonotrophic cycle was performed using RNA interference (RNAi).

Results: The predicted proteins from gmmmgp2 and gmmmgp3 are small ∼22 kD and contain a high proportion of hydrophobic amino acids and potential phosphorylation sites. Expression of both genes is tissue specific to the secretory cells of the milk gland. Transcript abundance for both genes increases over the course of intrauterine larval development and parallels that of gmmmgp, a well characterized milk protein gene considered to be the major milk protein. Phenotypic analysis of flies after RNA interference treatment revealed a significant effect upon fecundity in the gmmmgp2 knockdown flies, but not the gmmmgp3 flies. Knockdown of gmmmgp2 resulted in disruption of ovulation and consequent oocyte accumulation and degradation. Gmmmgp2 knockdown also had a significant impact on fly mortality.

Conclusions: This work identifies two novel genes, the proteins of which appear to function in response to intrauterine larvigenesis in tsetse. These proteins may be nutritional components of the milk secretions provided to the larva from the mother. Phenotypic data from knockdown of gmmmgp2 suggests that this protein may also have a regulatory function given the defect in ovulation observed in knockdown flies. Further analysis of these genes will be important (in conjunction with other milk proteins) for identification of transcriptional regulation mechanisms that direct milk gland/pregnancy specific gene expression.
Fra proteins influencing filament integrity, diazotrophy and localization of septal protein SepJ in the heterocyst‐forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp.
Authors: Merino‐Puerto Victoria , Mariscal Vicente , Mullineaux Conrad W. , Herrero Antonia , Flores Enrique
Published: February 2010

Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is a filamentous cyanobacterium that can fix N2 in differentiated cells called heterocysts, which exchange nutritional and regulatory compounds with the neighbouring photosynthetic vegetative cells. The cells in the filament appear to be joined by some protein structures, of which SepJ (FraG) that is located at the cell poles in the intercellular septa and is needed for filament integrity seems to be a component. Other known proteins required for filament integrity include FraC and FraH. Whereas fraC (alr2392) was constitutively expressed as an operon together with two downstream genes, alr2393 (fraD) and alr2394 (fraE), fraH (alr1603) was induced under nitrogen deprivation. Single mutants of these genes showed filament fragmentation under nitrogen deprivation and did not grow diazotrophically, although they formed heterocysts. The fraC and fraD mutants showed an impaired localization of SepJ at the intercellular septa and were hampered in the intercellular transfer of the fluorescent probe calcein. As shown with GFP fusions, FraC and FraD are also located at the intercellular septa. Therefore, at least three different proteins, SepJ, FraC and FraD, influence the architecture and function of the intercellular septa in the Anabaena filaments.
Nuclear factor‐κB activation predicts an unfavourable outcome in human upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Yeh Hsin‐Chih , Huang Chun‐Hsiung , Yang Sheau‐Fang , Li Ching‐Chia , Chang Lin‐Li , Lin Hui‐Hui , Ke Hung‐Lung , Wei Yu‐Ching , Wu Wen‐Jeng
Published: February 2010

OBJECTIVE

To examine the hypothesis that nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB), a transcription factor involved in anti‐apoptosis, invasion, and angiogenesis, plays a role in the carcinogenesis of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT‐UC) and has prognostic value for survival.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In all, 90 patients with UUT‐UC [mean (range) age, 64.5 (24–84) years] who underwent surgery at our institution from January 1991 to December 2005 were included. Clinicopathological data were collected retrospectively. We performed immunohistochemical staining for NF‐κB (p65) on paraffin‐embedded sections of the tumour and corresponding normal tissues. The association between survival and potential prognostic factors was examined.

RESULTS

The median follow‐up was 40 months. In all, 55 patients (61.1%) with UUT‐UC overexpressed cytoplasmic NF‐κB, and nuclear immunoreactivity for NF‐κB was detected in 24 patients (26.7%). On univariate analysis, significant prognostic factors for survival were tumour location, stage, grade, lymph node involvement, and nuclear NF‐κB expression. On multivariate analysis, nuclear NF‐κB positivity was an independent predictor for disease‐specific survival [Cox regression hazard ratio (HR) 2.87; P= 0.025] and overall survival (HR 2.24; P= 0.037).

CONCLUSION

These results imply a role for nuclear NF‐κB expression in the tumorigenesis of UUT‐UC. Nuclear NF‐κB may serve as a useful independent molecular marker to predict outcome and may represent a promising therapeutic target for patients with UUT‐UC.
International validation of the prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion in patients treated with radical cystectomy
Authors: Shariat Shahrokh F. , Svatek Robert S. , Tilki Derya , Skinner Eila , Karakiewicz Pierre I. , Capitanio Umberto , Bastian Patrick J. , Volkmer Bjoern G. , Kassouf Wassim , Novara Giacomo , Fritsche Hans‐Martin , Izawa Jonathan I. , Ficarra Vincenzo , Lerner Seth P. , Sagalowsky Arthur I. , Schoenberg Mark P. , Kamat Ashish M. , Dinney Colin P. , Lotan Yair , Marberger Michael J. , Fradet Yves
Published: February 2010

Study Type – Prognosis (retrospective cohort) Level of Evidence 2b

OBJECTIVE

To externally validate the prognostic value of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in a large international cohort of patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We collected data from 4257 patients treated with RC and pelvic lymphadenectomy for UCB, without neoadjuvant chemotherapy, at 12 centres. LVI was defined as presence of nests of tumour cells within an endothelium‐lined space.

RESULTS

LVI was detected in 1407 patients (33.1%); the proportion of LVI increased with advancing stage, higher grade, soft‐tissue surgical margin involvement, and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001 for all). In standard multivariate models, LVI was associated with both disease recurrence (hazard ratio 1.43, P < 0.001) and cancer‐specific mortality (1.45, P < 0.001). In the entire cohort, adding LVI to a base model that included standard features improved only minimally its predictive accuracy for both recurrence and cancer‐specific mortality (by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively). In 3122 patients with negative lymph nodes, LVI remained independently associated with and improved the predictive accuracy of the standard predictors for recurrence (hazard ratio 1.68, P < 0.001; +2.3%) and cancer‐specific mortality (1.70, P < 0.001; +2.4%). By contrast, in 1071 node‐positive patients, LVI only marginally improved the prediction of cancer‐specific recurrence (hazard ratio 1.20, P < 0.001; +0.2%) and survival (1.23, P < 0.001; +0.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

LVI is strongly associated with clinical outcome in node‐negative patients treated with RC. The assessment of LVI might help to identify patients who could benefit from adjuvant therapy after RC. After confirmation in different populations, LVI should be included in the staging of UCB.
Independent predictive roles of eotaxin Ala23Thr, paraoxonase 2 Ser311Cys and β3‐adrenergic receptor Trp64Arg polymorphisms on cardiac disease in Type 2 Diabetes—an 8‐year prospective cohort analysis of 1297 patients
Authors: Wang Y. , Luk A. O. Y. , Ma R. C. W. , So W. Y. , Tam C. H. T. , Ng M. C. Y. , Yang X. , Baum L. , Lam V. , Tong P. C. Y. , Chan J. C. N.
Published: February 2010

Diabet. Med. 27, 376–383 (2010)

Aims  To examine the independent and joint effects of multiple genetic variants on a cardiac end‐point in an 8‐year prospective study of a Chinese diabetic cohort.

Methods  Seventy‐seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 53 candidate genes for inflammation, thrombosis, vascular tone regulation and lipid metabolism were genotyped in 1297 Chinese patients with no prior history of coronary heart disease (CHD) or heart failure at baseline. Cardiac end‐point was defined by the occurrence of CHD and/or heart failure.

Results  In Cox regression model, after adjustment for baseline confounding variables including age, sex, smoking status, duration of diabetes, glycaemic control, lipid levels, waist circumference, blood pressure, albuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate, genetic variants, including Ala/Ala of SCYA11 (eotaxin) Ala23Thr, Cys/Cys or Cys/Ser of PON2 (paraoxonase 2) Ser311Cys and Arg/Arg of ADRB3 (β3‐adrenergic receptor) Trp64Arg, were independently associated with incident cardiac end‐point, with respective hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.70 (1.10–2.61, P = 0.037), 1.42 (1.08–1.88, P = 0.013) and 3.84 (1.18–12.50, P = 0.025). Analysis of the joint effect of the risk alleles showed significant increased risk of the cardiac end‐point with increasing number of risk alleles (P < 0.001). The adjusted risk for the cardiac end‐point was 4.11 (P = 0.002) for patients carrying four risk alleles compared with those carrying one or no risk allele.

Conclusions  The independent risk conferred by genetic variants encoding pathways such as inflammation and lipid metabolism, not adequately reflected by conventional biomarkers, may identify high‐risk individuals for intensified control of modifiable risk factors.
Three Educational Scenarios for the Future: lessons from the sociology of knowledge
Authors: YOUNG MICHAEL , MULLER JOHAN
Published: February 2010

This article draws on social realist approaches in the sociology of knowledge and in light of them constructs three scenarios for the future of education in the next decades. The primary focus of the article is on one of the most crucial questions facing educational policy makers — the relationship between school and everyday or common sense knowledge. The different possibilities for how the school/non‐school knowledge boundaries might be approached are expressed in three scenarios —‘boundaries treated as given’, ‘a boundary‐less world’ and the idea of ‘boundary maintenance as a condition for boundary crossing’. The curriculum implications of each are explored and the article makes the case for the third scenario. The factors likely to make one or other scenario dominate educational policy in the next 20–30 years are also considered.
Global Knowledge‐based Policy in Fragmented Societies: the case of curriculum reform in French‐speaking Belgium
Authors: MANGEZ ERIC
Published: February 2010

This article examines the relationship between knowledge and policy in French‐speaking Belgium. It starts by describing Belgium as a consociational democracy, i.e. a society that is largely organised around integrated pillars of society (Catholic, secular), each of which provides a wide range of services (educational, training, health, health insurance, social care, family planning, leisure) to ‘its’ people. This special political‐institutional arrangement has profound implications for the way knowledge circulates (or not) and the way it is used (or not) both within pillars and across the policy community. We argue that consociational democracies are not likely to generate knowledge‐driven policy communities. Since knowledge could threaten the peace, some things are better left unknown: the co‐existence of distinct communities requires a form of discretion (Mangez, 2009).

Recently, however, globalisation has led to changes in this long‐standing state of affairs: elites are now seeking more knowledge about systems and joint regulation is on the rise. In the education sector, several policy issues, including curriculum issues, have been subject to new joint regulation. In the second part of the article, we take curriculum reform as a case study to investigate these changes. Although all school networks from both pillars are now obliged to follow common guidelines (influenced by globalisation), they are still responsible for transposing them to their individual curriculum programmes. Lexico‐statistical analysis reveals that when they transpose these common guidelines to their own curricula, each network reasserts its own values and cultural references (including its own view of the role of knowledge).
The French Curricular Exception and the Troubles of Education and Internationalisation: will it be enough to ‘rearrange the deckchairs’?
Authors: GAUTHIER ROGER‐FRANÇOIS , LE GOUVELLO MARGAUX
Published: February 2010

The history of education in France, with its inherited link between the Republic and the religion of knowledge, produces a specific form of educational functioning, consubstantial to a tradition of selection and a symptomatic lack of what elsewhere is called a curriculum. While the recent introduction of the ‘common grounding of knowledge and skills for the end of Compulsory Education’ (‘socle commun’) in the French Law of 2006 eventually opened the door both to the teaching of ‘skills’ and to the idea of a curriculum, and potentially created a revolution in powers and knowledge, one can wonder to what extent it was not a drop on a waterproof system. The question is also to see what was the impact of international influences in these developments. In this article, we analyse the reality and the ambiguities over the opening up of French educational policy towards international concerns, both in relation to the reception of PISA in France and to the decisions which led to the common grounding. This analysis allows us to raise key questions about what could be the potential consequences of a possible change of curricular policy.
Competences for Learning to Learn and Active Citizenship: different currencies or two sides of the same coin?
Authors: HOSKINS BRYONY , CRICK RUTH DEAKIN
Published: February 2010

In the context of the European Union Framework of Key Competences and the need to develop indicators for European Union member states to measure progress made towards the ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘greater social cohesion’ both the learning to learn and the active citizenship competences have been highlighted. However, what have yet to be discussed are the links and the overlaps between these two competences. Based on the development of research projects on these two fields, this article will compare the two sets of competences, both qualitatively and quantitatively. It will describe how the values and dispositions that motivate and inform active citizenship and learning to learn are related to each other, both empirically and theoretically. Both these competences are tools for empowering individuals and giving them the motivation and autonomy to control their own lives beyond the social circumstances in which they find themselves. In the case of active citizenship, the ability to be able to participate in society and voice their concerns, ensure their rights and the rights of others. In the case of learning to learn to be able to participate in work and everyday life by being empowered to learn and update the constantly changing competences required to successfully manage your life plans. When measuring both these competences then certain values relating positively towards democracy and human rights are common in their development.
Forced displacement and women's security in Colombia
Authors: Meertens Donny
Published: February 2010

In the protracted Colombian conflict, assistance to internally displaced persons has developed in the context of contradictory political processes. The Colombian government's launching of a transitional justice process in the midst of armed conflict has generated a complex situation displaying both conflict and post‐conflict characteristics. The progressive Constitutional Court rulings on internal displacement, in particular the gender‐sensitive Auto 092, constitute an attempt to bring together humanitarian interventions and transitional justice measures in a rights‐based framework. However, the national government is reluctant to adopt them fully and local realities still hamper their integrated implementation. Displaced women, therefore, remain in an especially vulnerable position. This paper argues that gender‐sensitive humanitarian interventions must take into account all of these complexities of scale and political process in order to make legal frameworks more effective at the local level. In these contexts, interventions should pay particular attention to strategies that contribute to transforming pre‐existing gender regimes.
Livelihoods and protection in situations of protracted conflict
Authors: Jaspars Susanne , O'Callaghan Sorcha
Published: February 2010

This paper presents the findings from research on livelihoods–protection linkages from the perspective of conflict‐affected populations as well as agency analysis and action. The aim of the research is to understand how greater complementarity between humanitarian protection and livelihoods approaches might reduce the risks facing conflict‐affected populations. The findings show that the causes of risks to livelihoods and protection are often the same, and that community responses are intimately connected, providing good rationale for linking operational approaches. There are four main ways in which this can be done. First, by targeting those confronting the greatest risks. Second, by addressing the causes of risks through advocacy and capacity‐building. Third, by implementing livelihoods interventions that minimise the need to adopt unsafe livelihood strategies and that address humanitarian consequences. Fourth, by making sure that livelihoods programming does not pose additional risks.
Between protest, revenge and material interests: a phenomenological analysis of looting in the Somali war
Authors: Bakonyi Jutta
Published: February 2010

This paper examines practices of looting in the Somali war.1 Rather than being inspired primarily by economic objectives, lootings are complex and ambiguous social activities, which are embedded in daily practices and the political rhetoric of the war. In Somalia, looting activities have been driven by a broad range of motives, including military‐strategic considerations and/or desire to revenge past atrocities and (perceived) injustices, as well as economic interests. Furthermore, the organisational structure, the performance of actions and the main targets of looters have differed widely. Based on an empirical analysis of different waves and phases of looting in the context of war and state decay in Somalia, the paper identifies five types of looting. Beyond a state‐centred conceptualisation of order, the study reveals that looting is not an expression of political chaos, but rather is patterned by and rooted in local moral universes, which have been fundamentally transformed during the course of the violent conflicts in the country since the end of the 1970s.
Psychosocial Hazards in UK Universities: Adopting a Risk Assessment Approach
Authors: Kinman Gail , Court Stephen
Published: February 2010

Drawing on the findings of a recent national survey, this article examines the extent to which higher education institutions in the United Kingdom meet the minimum standards recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the management of work‐related stressors. A comparison is also made between the average weekly working hours reported in the current survey with those found in two previous studies of the higher education sector (1998 and 2004). A sample of 9,740 academic and academic‐related employees working in higher education institutions in the UK completed a measure of seven job‐related stressors (or psychosocial hazards) (that is, demands, control, support from colleagues and managers, interpersonal relationships, role clarity and involvement in organisational change). With one exception (job control), levels of job‐related stressors in the higher education sector exceeded the benchmarks stipulated by the HSE. Stressors relating to change, role, job demands and managerial support were particularly high. Recommendations made by the HSE for interim and longer‐term targets to be achieved for the management of each stressor category are provided. Findings also revealed that average working hours remain high in the sector, with many employees continuing to exceed the weekly limit set by the UK Working Time Directive. The utility of the HSE approach in higher education institutions and ways in which the sector might work towards meeting the HSE management standards and consequently enhance employee well‐being are considered.
Inbreeding and density‐dependent population growth in a small, isolated lion population
Authors: Trinkel M. , Funston P. , Hofmeyr M. , Hofmeyr D. , Dell S. , Packer C. , Slotow R.
Published: February 2010

In South Africa, more than 30 small, enclosed game reserves have reintroduced lions over the last two decades, which now house more than 500 individuals. There is a high risk of inbreeding in these fragmented, fenced and isolated populations, which may be compounded by a lack of management guidelines. A population of 11 founder lionsPanthera leowas reintroduced to Madikwe Game Reserve in 1995, and this population has in turn become a source for reestablishing other populations. Only four lineages were reintroduced, founder males were related to founder females, and since 1997, only one male lineage maintained tenure for >9 years, resulting in breeding with direct relatives. Interventionist management to limit lion population growth and inbreeding in Madikwe has taken the form of translocating, trophy hunting and culling of mainly sub adult lions. Despite this management, inbreeding started 5 years after reintroduction. Reproductive performance and thus population growth in Madikwe were dependent on the overall lion population density. When lion density was low, females first gave birth at a significantly younger age and produced larger litters, resulting in a high population growth rate, which decreased significantly when lion density in the park reached carrying capacity, that is, 61 lions. This might have profound consequences for future reestablishment of lion populations when restocking new reserves: our study illustrates the need for founder populations of reintroduced endangered predator species to be as large and genetically diverse as possible, and thereafter new genetic material should be supplemented. The development of such management guidelines is becoming very important as large predator populations become increasingly fragmented and managed as metapopulations.
Analysing consumers' ‘activism’ in response to rising prices
Authors: Barda Constantia , Sardianou Eleni
Published: February 2010

The purpose of this paper was to compose the profile of active consumers in Greece during a period of rising prices taking into account shifts in their consumption. A survey was conducted from 1 September 2008 to 21 November 2008 to collect the primary data source for the study. Questionnaires were administered to 200 consumers. To our knowledge this was the first attempt to offer insight into the characteristics of the Greek consumer in a period of economic crisis. For this purpose, econometric analysis was employed. Empirical results suggested that high‐income groups spend more for food commodities and are less likely to be active consumers. It was concluded that consumers have reduced spending for some basic and semi‐luxury products like fruits, meat, alcohol, sweets and coffee, and entertainment activities. The main factor which affected the reaction to price increases, as expected, was the monthly private income. Twenty per cent of the consumers are members of a national consumer movement organization, and support their actions against rising prices. Women, who research the market before purchasing a product, are more likely than men to participate in economic boycotts. By examining the profile of non‐active consumers and the reasons for their behaviour, we are able to propose a policy for the activation of the Greek consumer movement, which is necessary for the consumers' resistance to rising prices. Taking into consideration that Greek consumers face increased prices for food commodities and services, a policy framework to activate consumers is among the main prerequisites for maintaining consumers' well being. We suggest that the Greek Consumer Protection Institutes should regain consumers' confidence and focus on the dissemination of information about organized economic boycotts.
The profile of the green consumer in Greece
Authors: Abeliotis Konstadinos , Koniari Christina , Sardianou Eleni
Published: February 2010

Sustainable consumption is one of the major goals of the affluent European societies in their quest for sustainable development. A key player in sustainable consumption is the sustainable or green consumer. The aim of this study was to examine the profile of the Greek green consumer based on the study and empirical analysis of engagement in selected 3R (reduce – reuse – recycle) activities. In addition, the attitudes on certain issues related to sustainable consumption of the consumers were examined and analysed.

Empirical analysis is based on the use of a cross‐section data set. An extensive survey of 300 Greek consumers via a questionnaire was carried out in the first trimester of 2008. The sampled households were located in five of the main and most representative regions of Athens, with respect to the socioeconomic characteristics (sex, age, income group, education level) of their residents. Respondents were asked to answer questions examining the 3R concept on daily issues such as solid waste generation and water and energy consumption.

Empirical results are based on the estimation of regression models. Econometric models are estimated for each question explaining engagement in 3R activities. Empirical results suggest that sociodemographic characteristics do specify engagement in 3R related activities. In particular, age and income are the most influential factors that determine this engagement.

In addition, our study reveals that four out of five Greek consumers identify global climate change as the most important issue of our time. However, only one in five of the respondents are willing to change their lifestyle in order to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of our everyday activities; compared with men, women are more willing to do so. One in two consumers report that eco‐friendly products are more expensive than standard ones. However, when questioned as to whether they would pay a higher price for products with less environmental impact, almost four out of five responded favourably.
Do consumers act in a sustainable way using their refrigerator? The influence of consumer real life behaviour on the energy consumption of cooling appliances
Authors: Geppert Jasmin , Stamminger Rainer
Published: February 2010

Over recent decades, energy savings and resource conservation have become increasingly important issues for debate, and this includes the residential sector. Since the introduction of the European Energy Label, the energy consumption of appliances has decreased drastically. Additionally, a number of guidelines have been published to assist the consumer in adopting more energy‐saving behaviours. Refrigerators and freezers in particular are covered by these recommendations because they are large energy consumers in domestic households. In order to understand the influence of consumers' real life circumstances and their behaviour in relation to the energy consumption of refrigerators, a web‐based survey was carried out. A total of 1011 participants in four European countries completed a questionnaire to allow the researchers to gain information about refrigerator characteristics and consumer behaviour in relation to refrigerator use. As well as demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of the participants, data were collected on refrigerator configuration and specification, ambient conditions (ambient temperature, position near any heat sources), and consumer behaviours such as shopping frequency, loading of the refrigerator, door opening and food consumption. The study has shown that recommendations on energy efficient usage are not always observed. A major finding of the present study is that for 25% of refrigerators, correct operation is not ensured as these appliances are operated outside the temperature ranges specified according to their climatic classes. This suggests a lack of consumer information on this topic. Consequently, guidelines and recommendations will have to be revised and their dissemination to be improved in order to ensure the sustainable and safe use of domestic refrigerators.
Manual dishwashing habits: an empirical analysis of UK consumers
Authors: Berkholz Petra , Stamminger Rainer , Wnuk Gabi , Owens Jeremy , Bernarde Simone
Published: February 2010

This study presents an overview of the washing up behaviour of consumers in the UK. Peoples' individual attitudes were observed as were the amount of water and energy used, the time taken and the cleaning performance. Additionally, manual dishwashing was compared with the use of automatic dishwashers. Participants were recruited to represent all geographic regions of the UK as well as forming a representative cross‐section of the population. Each of the 150 participants washed a full load of soiled tableware based on the standard EN 50242 ‘Electric Dishwashers for Household Use – Methods for Measuring the Performance’. For comparison, the best selling dishwasher in the UK in 2007 was tested under the same conditions as those in the consumer trial. Additionally, consumers who owned a full‐size dishwasher were asked to load it to the point when they decided that the dishwasher was full.

The study shows that these consumers, on average, used 49 l of water and 1.7 kWh of energy, whereas the dishwasher used 13 l of water and 1.3 kWh of energy on average for the same amount of dishes under the conditions tested. Statistical analysis showed that these differences are significant. The dishes washed by hand were found to be slightly less clean than dishes washed in a dishwasher. For washing a full dishwasher load by hand, the participants needed, on average, 60 min, while they only took 9 min on average to load and unload the same amount of dishes in a dishwasher. The average participants were able to fill almost the full load into the dishwasher (96% of the items as used in a test following EN 50242).
Residual Stresses in Beams (With and Without Prior History) Numerically Assessed by the Crack Compliance Method
Authors: Urriolagoitia‐Sosa G. , Urriolagoitia‐Calderón G. , Sandoval‐Pineda J. M. , Hernández‐Gómez L. H. , Merchán‐Cruz E. A. , Rodríguez‐Cañizo R. G. , Beltrán‐Fernández J. A.
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  This work assesses the Crack Compliance Method (CCM) by the Finite Element Method (FEM). The CCM is a very powerful method that is based on Fracture Mechanics Theory. Its experimental application and set up is validated by this work. The numerical assessment of the CCM is performed on bending beams with and without prior straining history, to determine the best position and orientation of strain gauges, as well as the optimum number of readings. The prior straining history condition, in the analyzed components, is induced by an axial pulling before the beam is bent. Three levels of preloading are considered: low, medium and high (which are related to the yield strain of the simulated material); Isotropic and Kinematic hardening rules are also considered. Additionally, an experimental evaluation is also presented by introducing a new supporting system to cut a slot in the beams. The results obtained in this work, provide a quantitative demonstration of the effect of hardening strain on the distribution of the residual stress in beams. In the same manner, the theoretical formulation of the CCM has been evaluated validating the application of this method for the determination of residual stress fields in mechanical components.