bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
More on the Problem and the Solution of the Optimal Shape of a Javelin
Authors: Atanacković Teodor M. , Bačlić Branislav S.
Published: June 2007

The analogy between the optimal javelin problem and the problem of determining the optimal shape of the free rotating rod has been established and employed to determine the optimal shape of the javelin via Pontryagin's maximum principle. Five distinct variational principles are constructed for boundary value problem describing optimal shape of the javelin. The first integral for this nonlinear system is found. An a priori estimate of the cross‐sectional area is obtained. The optimal shape of the javelin or free rotating rod is determined by numerical integration.
On the Cardiovascular Effects of Whole‐Body Vibration Part II. Lateral Effects: Statistical Analysis
Authors: Yue Z. , Kleinöder H. , Marées M. de , Speicher U. , Wahl P. , Mester J.
Published: June 2007

Lateral vibrations of vessels generate relative lateral motions between red blood cells and plasma. These relative motions would cause additional transport of longitudinal momentum between different layers and therefore would increase the viscosity. Particularly for arterioles, which play the major role for the total peripheral resistance (TPR), the lateral vibration would destroy the cell‐free plasma layer near the wall if the local lateral amplitude of vibration were larger than 40 μm. Thus, if the local vibration gets stronger, one would expect TPR to increase if the vessels were not dilated. In order to test the possible dilations of vessels, a special design was made as follows. Three male subjects participated in this study. Each of them carried out a series of vibration tests on each of three vibrating devices. Accelerations at three locations on the body and various cardiovascular parameters were measured simultaneously. Each vibration test was divided into two or three parts with different body modes in a way that each change of body mode would increase the transmissibility and the local amplitudes. For the majority of changes of body mode, a decrease instead of an increase of TPR was observed. Statistical analysis (ANOVA Within Within) confirmed that the observed reduction of TPR during the changes of body mode was significant (p= 0.0235). This gives indirect but clear evidences for the dilation of vessels, particularly the dilation of arterioles. Since the dilation of vessels, particularly of arterioles, is an important ability of human body to prevent the blood pressure from getting too high during strong exercises, competitions and heavy physical work, the present study suggests a potential benefit, among others, of vibration training to improve this ability.
The economic consequences of the welfare state
Authors: Mares Isabela
Published: June 2007

What are the economic and employment consequences of larger social insurance programmes? Are larger welfare states diverting resources from economic activity and distorting the investment decisions of firms? I examine theoretical and empirical research on the economic consequences of the welfare state. This review shows that the predictions of a negative relationship between higher levels of social protection and growth have not been borne out in the data. Both insurance programmes and other policies that increase investment in human capital or the overall productivity of workers generate important economic externalities that outweigh the potentially distortionary effects of higher taxes. Empirical studies also fail to uncover a consistent negative relationship between larger welfare states and the level of employment. The employment consequences of the welfare state are mediated by existing institutions and policies—such as the level of centralization of the wage bargaining system—which affect the redistribution of the costs of higher taxes among workers and firms. As a result, the employment consequences of larger welfare states are non‐linear.
Dynamic social security: A framework for directing change and extending coverage
Authors: McKinnon Roddy
Published: June 2007

The developmental path of social security organizations has typically been one of incremental but steady adaptation in order to realize improvements in organizational performance and desired social security programme outcomes. In the evolving context of ageing society and globalization, there is increasing pressure for further and more rapid adaptation. To this end, this article proposes a unifying framework for action to help all social security organizations better realize improvements in performance and desired programme outcomes. This proposed framework is called “dynamic social security”. By seeking to link social security organizations’ aspirations and actions more closely and positively with those of economies and society, the aim is to help better realize, at least, a basic level of social security for all.
Itch in the community: associations with psychosocial factors among adults
Authors: Dalgard F , Lien L , Dalen I
Published: June 2007

Background Itch is a major symptom in dermatology but is little explored epidemiologically.

Objective To describe the prevalence and the severity of itch, and to explore its relation to psychosocial factors.

Methods The design was cross‐sectional and population‐based. A total of 40 880 adults in Oslo were invited to answer a questionnaire.

Results Twenty‐seven per cent report itch. Individuals reporting itch were younger, the majority were female, were non‐Norwegian, had lower income, were more distressed, had experienced more negative life events and had poorer social support. Individuals with poor support who had experienced more negative life events reported more itch than individuals with good support (15. 6% compared to 10. 9%). The strong association with psychosocial factors was confirmed in a logistic regression.

Conclusion There is a strong association between itch and psychosocial factors in the general population.
Genetic influences on mechanically‐assessed activity level in children
Authors: Wood Alexis C. , Saudino Kimberly J. , Rogers Hannah , Asherson Philip , Kuntsi Jonna
Published: June 2007

Background:  Activity level is an important component of children's temperament, as well as being part of the core symptom domain of hyperactivity‐impulsivity within attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet it is poorly understood, due partly to limitations on parent and teacher ratings, which are typically used as measurements of these symptoms.

Methods:  We aimed to study the etiology of objectively‐measured activity level across two situations, using actigraphs. A population‐based sample of 463 7–9‐year‐old twin pairs were assessed individually both when apart undergoing laboratory‐based cognitive testing and when together during a break in testing.

Results:  Heritability of activity level was estimated as 24% during the test session and at 30% during the break in testing. Shared environmental influences accounted for 27% of the variance in activity level during the test session and 42% of activity level measured during the break. A genetic correlation of 1.0 indicated that the same genes influenced activity level across the two situations, justifying the use of a composite measure of the two situations. This produced a heritability estimate of 36%.

Conclusions:  Objectively‐measured activity level shows a moderate degree of genetic influence, with a common set of genes influencing activity level across situations. This supports the use of actigraphs as an additional source of information in studies that aim to improve phenotype definition for molecular genetic studies of activity level and ADHD.
Adolescent tobacco and cannabis use: young adult outcomes from the Ontario Child Health Study
Authors: Georgiades Katholiki , Boyle Michael H.
Published: June 2007

Background:  This study examines the longitudinal associations between adolescent tobacco and cannabis use and young adult functioning.

Methods:  Data for analysis come from the Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS), a prospective study of child health, psychiatric disorder and adolescent substance use in a general population sample that began in 1983, with follow‐ups in 1987 and 2001. The sample for analysis includes 1,282 individuals who were between the ages of 12 and 16 years during the original OCHS in 1983 or the first follow‐up in 1987 and returned for the 2001 follow‐up.

Results:  Tobacco use in adolescence and continued use in adulthood is associated with increased risk for poorer functioning across multiple domains, including physical health and life satisfaction (.62 and .66 standard units lower, respectively), depression (Odds Ratio = 3.44), personal income ($7,281 less per year) and years of education (2.29 years lower). Cannabis use is associated with a reduced set of adverse outcomes and the magnitude of the effects is weaker.

Conclusions:  The long‐term risks associated with adolescent tobacco and cannabis use speak to the importance of prevention and early intervention.
High intracellular concentrations of amyloid‐beta block nuclear translocation of phosphorylated CREB
Authors: Arvanitis D. N. , Ducatenzeiler A. , Ou J. N. , Grodstein E. , Andrews S. D. , Tendulkar S. R. , Ribeiro‐da‐Silva A. , Szyf M. , Cuello A. C.
Published: June 2007

The beta‐amyloid peptide (Aβ) is considered responsible for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the magnitude of reports describing a neurotoxic role of extracellular Aβ, the role for intracellular Aβ (iAβ) has not been elucidated. We previously demonstrated that in rat pheochromocytoma cells expression of moderate levels of Aβ results in the up‐regulation of phospho‐extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK1)/2 along with an elevation of cyclic AMP‐response element (CRE)‐regulated gene expression; however, the effect of high intracellular levels of Aβ were not examined. Towards this goal we generated constructs that endogenously produce different expression levels of iAβ in a human cell line. We show a bimodal response to Aβ in a neural human cell line. A moderate increase of endogenous Aβ up‐regulates certain cyclic AMP‐response element‐binding protein (CREB) responsive genes such as presenilin 1, presenilin 2, brain‐derived neurotrophic factor, and mRNA and protein levels by CREB activation and Synapsin 1 nuclear translocation. On the other hand, high‐loads of iAβ resulted in sustained hyper‐phosphorylation of CREB that did not translocate to the nucleus and did not stimulate activation of CRE‐regulated gene expression. Our study suggests that variations in levels of iAβ could influence signaling mechanisms that lead to phosphorylation of CREB, its nuclear translocation and CRE‐regulated genes involved in production of Aβ and synaptic plasticity in opposite directions.
Noninvasive methodology for the sampling and extraction of DNA from free‐ranging Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)
Authors: GREEN MICHELLE L. , HERZING DENISE L. , BALDWIN JOHN D.
Published: June 2007

Genetic sampling and molecular investigations are important parts of studying wild populations. However, collecting tissues from free‐ranging animals can be difficult or impractical. This study develops a sampling and extraction protocol for template DNA from faecal material collected in a marine environment from small cetaceans. DNA was extracted from faecal material of free‐ranging Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and subsequently tested for its suitability in molecular investigations by amplifying both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. The resulting mitochondrial sequences were found to closely match known S. frontalis haplotypes. Three microsatellite loci were amplified and fall within the expected size range for cetaceans. Mother and calf families previously assigned by observation were genetically confirmed using both mitochondrial haplotype and allele sharing between the mother and offspring. The protocol effectively collects and extracts dolphin DNA from faecal samples and enables species identification as well as confirmation of genetic relatedness and should be considered as a noninvasive alternative to current protocols.
Isolation and characterization of eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the endangered, endemic Chilean tree Gomortega keule (Gomortegaceae)
Authors: LANDER T. A. , BOSHIER D. H. , HARRIS S. A.
Published: June 2007

Queule (Gomortega keule) is an endangered, Chilean tree in the endemic, monotypic family Gomortegaceae. Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and characterized for this species. The number of alleles per locus ranged from four to 12 and the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.2 to 1.0. These microsatellite markers will be valuable tools for population genetics studies and conservation planning.
Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers in the endangered Nothotsuga longibracteata (Pinaceae)
Authors: QIU YINGJUN , KANG MING , NING ZULIN , ZENG SHAOHUA , HUANG HONGWEN
Published: June 2007

Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from an AC‐enriched genomic library of Nothotsuga longibracteata. The average allele number of these microsatellites was 8.3 per locus, ranging from two to 13. The ranges of observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.03–0.97 and 0.09–0.88, respectively. These polymorphic markers provide useful tools for the study of evolutionary history and conservation genetics of N. longibracteata.
safum: statistical analysis of SSCP fingerprints using PCA projections, dendrograms and diversity estimators
Authors: ZEMB O. , HAEGEMAN B. , DELGENES J. P. , LEBARON P. , GODON J. J.
Published: June 2007

The program safum provides a smart interface to import, visualize and compare fingerprinting profiles, especially on capillary electrophoresis single strand conformation polymorphism data, in conjunction with basic statistical analysis tools. It includes principal component analysis, two‐ or three‐dimensional representations, dendrograms based on Euclidean distance, and easily exportable files for subsequent applications. safum is useful for the analysis of spatial or temporal sequences of microbial community fingerprints obtained with an ABI prism sequencer.
A THEORY OF UNWINDING OF CROSS‐SHAREHOLDING UNDER MANAGERIAL ENTRENCHMENT
Authors: Isagawa Nobuyuki
Published: June 2007

In this article I examine corporate strategies regarding cross‐shareholding and the unwinding of cross‐shareholding, and I present a rationale for corporate managers to unwind cross‐shareholding from the perspective of managerial entrenchment. Although cross‐shareholding enhances managerial entrenchment, the increased agency costs associated with managerial opportunism increase the incentives for a hostile takeover. To avoid a takeover, managers have to unwind cross‐shareholdings. The unwinding of cross‐shareholdings implies that managers will relinquish their entrenchment and thus will act to increase shareholders' wealth in the future. The model proposed here explains why cross‐shareholdings among Japanese firms declined during the 1990s, a decade during which the cost of takeovers decreased because of financial market deregulation.
The Elementary Types of Government
Authors: Crick Bernard
Published: June 2007

IN TRYING TO ACHIEVE THE SIMPLICITY OF, IN SOME SENSE, scientific statements one must either, in the counsels of the wise, be very laboured or very brief. I want to be very brief and to use an essay as an essay, an attempt to try something out or on before a learned audience, or a timely speculation (that is, in time to be stopped) about whether a possible future voyage is worth undertaking, not an account of actual discovery.
Industrialists in Politics Russia in 1905
Authors: Menasha Louis
Published: June 2007

IN A SENSE RUSSIAN INDUSTRIALISTS WERE MUCH CLOSER TO THE vital centre of the Revolution of 1905 than any of the intelligentsia opposition; their workers, after all, were out on strike; and it was their private interests which were most directly and most seriously touched by the disturbances. Traditionally passive on political issues, Russian businessmen were catapulted into the ranks of the liberal opposition by the strike movement which rocked Russian industrial centies in 1905. The labour crisis goaded business men into examining government policy towards labour and capital; business groups then broadened their perspective and considered Russian society and the economy as a whole; finally, they injected political terms into the issues and echoed the pleas for constitutional reform and the extension of civil liberties so long championed by the libecal intelligentsia.
Technical Change: Political Options and Imperatives
Authors: Williams Roger
Published: June 2007

By The Standards of The Solar System, Where are found the only comparable bodies of whose existence we have certain knowledge, the earth is not a large planet. For most of recorded history, on the other hand, it has certainly seemed so to its inhabitants, and only in recent decades has a different perception come to prevail, as instanced, for example, by the much-remarked Ward-Dubos book of 1972, Only One Earth — The Care and Maintenance of a Small Planet. In 1872 Phileas Fogg needed almost eighty days to go around the world, in 1961 Yuri Gagarin managed the feat in little more than eighty minutes, and nowadays less intrepid travellers than these think nothing of accomplishing the task using commercial aircraft in comfortably less than eighty hours. Photographic images and, in general, data of unlimited complexity meanwhile circle the globe virtually instantaneously. The technologies here are those of transport and communications but in most other areas of human activity too the twentieth century has seen similar technological strides.
Montesquieu and the Modern Experience
Authors: Manent Pierre
Published: June 2007

The First Chapter of Book xx of L'esprzt Des Lois, entitled simply Du Commerce, begins by contrasting the Old and the New, that is virtue and moral purity on the one hand and commerce on the other:

Commerce heals us of our critical prejudices and it is an almost general rule that wherever good mannen are to be found there we find commerce and that wherever there is commera, there are good manners ( . . .). Commerce has helped knowledge of the customs of all the nations to spread everywhere; they have been compared and the comparisons have been very rewardag. It can be said that the laws governing commerce improve customs, yet it can also be said that thew same laws can cause them to deteriorate. Commerce corrupts moral purity. This was Plato's complaint; but it polishes and softens behaviour, as we see daily.
The European Elections of 1994 and the Future of the European Union
Authors: Pinder John
Published: June 2007

Between The European Elections of June 1989 and those of June 1994, the voters had to digest an extraordinary diet of change. The cold war ended, leading to the unification of Germany and replacing one monolithic security problem by a diversity of problems, including, most agonizingly, Bosnia. The Soviet Union disintegrated. Recession brought unemployment above 10 per cent for the European Union as a whole. Many were bemused by the complexity of the Maastricht Treaty and the political conflicts engendered by some of its major elements. Foremost among these was the project for the single currency, promoted by France in order to anchor Germany yet more firmly in the Union. The idea of a ‘common defence’ as a backbone for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) also had this motivation.
Debating the Quality of Life: Social Democracy during the 1980s
Authors: de Beus Jos , Koelble Thomas
Published: June 2007

Social Democratic Parties Across Europe Face adjustment problems. Given the electoral decline of almost every social democratic party, it is tempting for social scientists to pronounce such political parties as either in decay or even a thing of the past. There is little doubt that social democratic parties are searching for new concepts, ideas and policies. At the heart of the attempt to regain the political initiative is the debate over how to react not only to the challenges from the new social movements but also to the re-invigorated attack by liberals and conservatives on central social democratic policies: the welfare state and socioeconomicequality.
Labour and the Unions: After the Brighton Conference
Authors: Lovenduski Joni , Norris Pippa
Published: June 2007

A Discussion of Last Autumn's Debate over Candidate selection in the British Labour Party and a consideration of the party's links with the trade unions may seem inappropriately provincial in an international journal of comparative politics. However, when viewed as an example of the continued search for political relevance by socialist parties in opposition, the issues raised by Labour's struggle to modernize take on more general interest. During long periods in the wilderness parties characteristically try to revive their fortunes by reforming organizational structures, ideological platforms and electoral strategies. For Labour, this started under the leadership of Neil Kinnock and continued with John Smith. The party has moved cautiously towards the centre ground, streamlined its election machine, modernized its communication strategy, and produced a more unified and moderate image. Labour's reforms of its relationship with the union movement are clearly part of this general attempt to reverse its electoral fortunes.
The Anglo-Irish Joint Declaration: Towards a Lasting Peace?
Authors: Arthur Paul
Published: June 2007

‘Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Man’ . . . in This Case two men, in the unlikely figures of the British Prime Minister, John Major, and the Irish Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. Neither is a charismatic personality and each presides over a government with more than its fair share of problems. Yet with one leap they have agreed on an issue which removes them from the mundane realities of domestic politics and offers them a place in the sun. Already the Irish Council of the European Movement has awarded Mr Reynolds (alongside the SDLP leader, John Hume ) its ‘Man of the Year’ award. Can a Nobel Peace Prize be far behind? The Prime Minister has not been slow to exploit the huge potential in the peace process. He informed the Commons on the day that the Joint Declaration was signed, 15 December 1993, that when he met the Taoiseach at Downing Street ‘two years ago, we both agreed on the need to work together to try to bring about peace in Northern Ireland and in the Republic . . . we both knew that, after 25 years of killing, we had to make it a personal priority both to seek a permanent end to violence and to establish the basis for a comprehensive and lasting political settlement’.
S. E. Finer: A Memoir
Authors: Finer Catherine Jones
Published: June 2007

It Was An Honour To Be Invited To contribute to this special issue, yet I hesitated to take up the invitation. A learned journal is no place for expressions of wifely tribute, had such ever been my style, and I am not a political scientist. In the end, however, it was precisely the lack of specialist qualification which persuaded me. Sam's influence and appeal, as both scholar and teacher, were after all never confined to the realms of political science per se – any more than were his sources of reference and inspiration.
Sammy Finer – Scholar and Human Being: A Pupil Remembers
Authors: Gould Julius
Published: June 2007

By Any Standards Sammy Finer's Career Was one of the utmost distinction. It was also an outstanding (and outstandingly merited) case of social mobility. He was but seven years-old when he first declared his ambition to be a university teacher, inspired by the example of his brother Herman at the LSE. He was indeed to make his way in a world that was entirely novel and, despite Herman's example, was bound to be in some respects am alien one. Seldom can a childhood ambition have been so fully attained – least of all in a milieu like that of Oxford, whose pathways are only slowly and reluctantly revealed to the newcomer.
New and Old Perspectives on Government
Authors: Ionescu Ghiţa
Published: June 2007

There Was Something Odd About The Order in which S. E. Finer published on so many unrelated subjects. This must have had something to do with the gifts of penetration, precision, concision and clarity manifested in his way of writing, as well as, from a different point of view, with his innate talents as a conversationalist, let alone a teacher. (Be it recalled in passing that he was the most brilliant English-speaking teacher of politics in his generation.) Hence his facility and success in tackling any subject.
On Horseback for How Much Longer?
Authors: Williams Roger
Published: June 2007

It Was In 1962 In The Man on horseback, A Book which has long since become a classic, that S. E. Finer drew attention to a class of country in which the government was repeatedly subject to the interference of its armed forces: the military, he noted ‘as an independent political force, constitutes a distinct and peculiar political phenomenon’. Beginning from the political strengths and weaknesses of the military, his analysis addressed the disposition of the military to intervene in politics and its opportunities for doing so, and he brought out the different forms such intervention could take and the different levels to which it could be pressed. In effect, he also turned on its head a prevailing if tacit assumption. Given their ‘vastly superior organization’ and their arms, it seemed to him that ‘Instead of asking why the military engage in politics, we Ought surely ask why they ever do otherwise’.
Finer’s Sixth Constitution: The Continuing Debate on a Written Document for Britain
Authors: Parry Geraint
Published: June 2007

It is a Recurrent Theme of Comments on Sammy Finer's writing that, like his talk, it dazzled. Perhaps, as he himself said of his Compurutiue Government text compared to his own lectures, the written version might be ‘less picturesque and Mediterranean’ but it could still enliven the most apparently dull topics within political science. Thus it may seem curious to draw attention to a work of his which betrays fewer of these qualities. The work is Five constitutions published in 1979.
Reshaping the Health-Care State
Authors: Moran Michael
Published: June 2007

Health Care Has Been Called ‘The World's Most successful industry’. That success is long-standing. In every nation for which we have reliable long-term evidence the proportion of Gross National Product devoted to health care is much higher than was the cast a generation ago. The state has been central to that expansion. In all advanced industrial nations it regulates health care industries; in many it pays most of the cost of care; and in some it directly employs those who do the caring. In the 1980s, however, most countries tried to slow down the growth of health care spending, or even to cut it absolutely. The ‘health care state’ is as a consequence being reshaped across the advanced capitalist world: its power structures are changing; the conditions under which it funds and delivers services are being altered; and its relations with the ‘consumers’ of care are being transformed.
The Crisis in the EMS
Authors: Busch Andreas
Published: June 2007

After a Period of Stability of More Than Five Years, the European Monetary System (EMS) was forced into a series of realignments of the participating currencies' central rates in the months after September 1992. Following renewed turmoil on the currency markets in July 1993, on 2 August 1993 the ministers and central bank governors of the Community decided ‘to widen temporarily the obligatory marginal intervention thresholds of the participants in the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System to ± 15 per cent around the bilateral central rates’. Although this measure was repeatedly emphasized as being ‘of limited duration’, as was the determination of some ministers to reach Monetary Union, these events have been designated as the ‘death’ of the EMS or its ‘breakdown’, and the Bank of International Settlements in its latest Annual Report called it ‘the most significant and far-reaching currency market crisis since the breakdown of the Bretton-Woods-system’.
An Essay on Inconsistency in Politics
Authors: Garnett Mark A.
Published: June 2007

It is no Accident That Almost Every Major British political leader in the post-war period has been troubled by the question of consistency. As Harold Macmillan recognized when he identified his greatest fear as ‘events’, politicians are liable to be driven off their chosen courses when they least expect problems. Macmillan seems to have been referring to events outside his control, and in the increasingly interdependent world since 1945 the number of these events has greatly increased. Technological advances bring crises in far off places promptly into the cabinet room; instant responses from Downing Street are now possible, and the media expects them. If this were not enough, cabinet ministers are faced with the potential events which might be brought into existence by their policy decisions. Ministers can scarcely plan several moves ahead when their next action might cause a major upheaval, yet such foresight is demanded by commentators, supporters and opponents. In an atmosphere of economic difficulty the margin of error becomes tighter; initiatives are more likely to fail, and the cost of persevering with dubious policies becomes greater. Nowadays, if a politician wishes to hold to a unwavering line on every important issue his career is likely to be spectacular — and short. Perhaps only a highly-skilled follower of Machiavelli could escape from this predicament, by gaining a reputation for consistency without deserving it.
Effects of fires on butterfly assemblages in lowland dipterocarp forest in East Kalimantan
Authors: HIROWATARI Toshiya , MAKIHARA Hiroshi ,   SUGIARTO
Published: June 2007

The post‐fire butterfly fauna in lowland dipterocarp forest of the Bukit Soeharto Education Forest (BSEF), East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was assessed during the period November 1998–April 2000 by means of consecutive Malaise trap samples, with supplementary field observations for March–April 1999. A total of 514 butterflies belonging to 61 species and representing six families were caught in the traps. Melanitis leda (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), Charaxes bernardus (Nymphalidae: Charaxinae), and Danaus genutia (Nymphalidae: Danainae) were the species most frequently caught (60, 52 and 47 individuals, respectively), representing 31% of the total. These three species are generalists and “disturbance indicators” for tropical rainforest, being characteristic of disturbed or secondary forests, being distributed widely, and having larvae that feed on a wide range of host plants. In contrast, other species, such as Trogonoptera brookiana and Troides amphrysus, were recorded before the fires but were not recorded again afterwards. The pre‐ and post‐fire butterfly fauna of East Kalimantan were compared on the basis of butterfly specimens deposited in the Tropical Rain Forest Research Center that were collected in and around the Bukit Soeharto Education Forest before the fires (1988–1995). On the basis of the post‐fire survey, based on Malaise trap samples and field observations, only 43% of the butterfly species (not including Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae) were confirmed to have persisted. The data suggest that refugia that are not affected by fire are necessary for the conservation of specialist butterflies, as well as many other forms of wildlife.
New subgenus of the genus Schizoprymnus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Japan, having a unique abdominal carapace structure
Authors: BELOKOBYLSKIJ Sergey A. , MAETO Kaoru
Published: June 2007

A new subgenus of the genus Schizoprymnus Foerster is described and figured from Honshu, Japan. The subgenus, Ibarakius subgen. nov., comprises three species, S. (I.) gotoi sp. nov. (type species), S. (I.) kaizawus sp. nov., and S. (I.) honshuensis sp. nov. A pair of long, curved posteroventral processes on the carapace is unique to Ibarakius subgen. nov. The variability of frontal protuberances and sutures of the carapace in the brachistine genera Triaspis Haliday and Schizoprymnus Foerster is discussed.
Occurrence and density of Halobates micans (Hemiptera: Gerridae) in the eastern South Indian Ocean
Authors: IKAWA Terumi , ONODERA Shinobu , OKABE Hidehiko , HOSHIZAKI Sugihiko , CHENG Lanna
Published: June 2007

Two species of ocean skaters, Halobates germanus and Halobates micans, live in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean. From December 1992 to December 1993, Halobates was intensively sampled in the easternmost region of the South Indian Ocean (13–18.5°S, 114–121E°), from which there have been a small number of records of Halobates. No H. germanus was caught, but a total of 1190 H. micans were collected, with densities estimated at 13 900–28 100 individuals/km2. This suggests that H. micans lives in the study area at high densities comparable to those in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. We also discuss the possible effects of ocean currents and winds on the geographic distributions of the two Halobates species in the eastern South Indian Ocean.
Attitudes Toward Problem Drinkers, Revisited: Patient‐Therapist Factors Contributing to the Differential Treatment of Patients with Alcohol Problems
Authors: Hanna Eleanor Z.
Published: June 2007

Although there are many treatment alternatives open to people with drinking problems, health professionals still exhibit negative attitudes towards alcoholics. In a previous study, the author demonstrated that those patients who were self‐labeled alcoholics were treated in a less preferential manner than those who did not identify as such. This study used both overt and unobtrusive measures to determine whether negative attitudes of intake interviewers towards problem drinkers were elicited by the patient's self‐label as an alcoholic or by other variables related to perceived treatment outcome. Pre‐ and post interview data on patient liability, doctor's eagerness to work with the patient, interview content, treatment disposition, and patient compliance were collected from first‐time patients, and from their interviewers, in the walk‐in psychiatry and alcohol treatment units of a large, urban teaching hospital. The results elucidate how stereotypes interact with patient characteristics to influence both professional behavior and patient compliance.
Hand Movement Speed and Accuracy in Detoxified Alcoholics
Authors: York James L. , Biederman Irving
Published: June 2007

Detoxified alcoholics (n= 192) were found to be 9.3% slower than age matched controls (n= 112) with regard to the composite speed (movement time, MT) with which they were able to strike targets of various sizes and distances with a hand‐held stylus at onset of a light stimulus (Fitts's Task). Females (n= 102) were 8% slower than males (n= 202), and blacks (n= 103) about 15.6% slower than whites (n= 201). Gender was the only significant factor with regard to errors (target misses), with women committing 28% fewer errors than men. Women, in contrast to men, appear to trade speed for accuracy in this task. Favorable socioeconomic/medical status and target misses were directly related to movement speed. Thus, when the MT data were corrected for Lifestyle variables, the significance of the alcohol effects on MT disappeared, but gender differences persisted. The alcohol effect became statistically Significant, the ethnic group differences remained statistically significant, and the gender effect became insignificant when MT scores were corrected for accuracy of performance (target misses). The slope of the linear function relating MT to target difficulty was similar for all subgroups. Prior knowledge of the direction of movement was found to affect MT performance more in white than in black subjects. With regard to reaction times, ethnic group and alcohol use effects remained statistically significant after corrections for lifestyle and errors were made, with values for blacks about 5% slower than values for whites, and values for alcoholics about 4.6% slower than those for controls. Prior knowledge of the direction of movement significantly improved (shortened) reaction time in all subgroups (14%‐19%).
Effect of Short‐Term Ethanol Feeding on Rat Testes as Assessed by 31P NMR Spectroscopy, 1H NMR Imaging, and Biochemical Methods
Authors: Farghali Hassan , Williams Donald S. , Gavaler Judith , Thiel David H. Van
Published: June 2007

31P Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and 1H NMR imaging were used to examine the effect of short‐term ethanol feeding on the rat testis. Weanling rats were pair‐fed for 10 weeks either on ethanol containing liquid diet (36% ethanol of total calories) or a diet in which dextrimaltose was isocalorically substituted for the ethanol of the alcohol‐containing diet. In vivo 31P NMR of the testes was used to determine the intratesticular pH and the relative concentrations of various phosphorus‐containing metabolites. The integrity of the blood‐testes barrier was evaluated using 1H NMR imaging following a gadolinium diethylene tetramine pentacetic acid derlvative (Gd‐DTPA) administration as a vascular contrast agent. After the completion of NMR studies, the testis and the liver were freezeclamped to allow for the assay of their adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate (ATP) contents. Serum was assayed for its content of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alcohol and testosterone. Ethanol feeding resulted in the following: (a) a reduction in the body weight (p < 0.05), (b) a reduction in the testicular phosphodiesters (PDE) PDE/ATP ratio (p < 0.05), (c) an increased change in the testis image intensity difference between pre‐ and post‐iv Gd‐DTPA images, (c) a reduction in the testicular and hepatic content of ATP, and (d) increased serum levels of AST and ALT. Therefore, using NMR Spectroscopy and imaging, it has been possible to demonstrate that the metabolic alterations which occur in the testes in response to short‐term ethanol feeding within the present experimental protocol precede the reduction in the serum testosterone level produced by ethanol and is associated with an early disruption of the blood testes barrier.
Effects of Long Durations of Ethanol Treatment during Aging on Dendritic Plasticity in Fischer 344 Rats
Authors: Pentney R. J. , Quackenbush L. J.
Published: June 2007

Twelve‐month‐old Fischer 344 rats were fed a liquid diet containing 35% ethanol until they were 18 or 24 months old. Pair‐fed and chowfed control rats were matched to each ethanol‐fed rat for concurrent treatment. Cerebellar Purkinje cell networks were measured in half of the rats at the end of the ethanol treatment and in the remaining rats after a subsequent 2‐m‐onth recovery period. Chronic ethanol consumption resulted in significant elongation of terminal segments in the networks, and the unpaired terminal segments were the predominant sites of this growth. An increase in the duration of ethanol consumption from 24 to 48 weeks caused significantly greater segment elongation in the ethanol‐fed rats in spite of the fact that circulating blood levels of ethanol declined markedly with the increased duration of treatment. During the same period of time, a pattern of terminal segment regression followed by terminal segment regrowth characterized age‐induced changes in these networks. Thus the effects of long‐term ethanol consumption were distinct from effects of concurrent aging processes in the Purkinje cell networks. There were significant interactions between the diets and the longer duration of treatment, such that as segments elongated in the ethanol‐fed rats, they shortened in the pair‐fed rats, and between the diets and the recovery period, such that as segments elongated during recovery in the pair‐fed rats, they shortened in the ethanol‐fed rats. These results demonstrated a direct relationship between the duration of chronic ethanol consumption during aging and the extent of dendritic elongation in surviving dendritic networks, supporting the current interpretation that the dendritic growth described here represents a compensatory response to damage of the neuropil in the Purkinje cell microenvironment.
Ethanol Has No Effect on CAMP‐Dependent Protein Kinase‐, Protein Kinase C‐, or Ca2+‐Calmodulin‐Dependent Protein Kinase II‐Stimulated Phosphorylation of Highly Purified Substrates in Vitro
Authors: Machu Tina K. , Olsen Richard W. , Browning Michael D.
Published: June 2007

The actions of ethanol on kinase stimulated phosphorylation were examined using highly purified protein kinases and a variety of purified substrates. Ethanol (25‐200 mm) failed to alter the phos phorylation of histone Ila and histone Ills by CAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC), respectively. Moreover, ethanol (25‐200 mm) did not affect the phosphorylation of synapsin I by Ca2+‐celmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CAM kinase 11). Finally, neither PKA nor PKC stimulated phosphorylation of the GABAa receptor (GABAA‐R) was modulated by ethanol at any con centration of ethanol tested. These results suggest that ethanol, in pharmacological concentrations, has no direct actions on the ability of these kinases to catalyze the phosphorylation of specific substrate proteins. In particular, ethanol does not appear to directly influence GABAA‐R phorphorylation by either PKA or PKC.
Low Density Lipoprotein Derivatization by Acetaldehyde Affects Lysine Residues and the B/E Receptor Binding Affinity
Authors: Kervinen Kari , Savolainen Markku J. , Tikkanen Matti J. , Kesälniemi Y. Antero
Published: June 2007

Acetaldehyde (AcA), the first metabolite in ethanol oxidation, forms covalent adducts with the free amino groups of various proteins. in this study, we examined how acetaldehyde modification affects the chemical and biological properties of the atherogenic low density lipoprotein (LDL). AcA modification did not alter the protein end lipid composition of LDL, but the AcA concentration used in the incubation correlated strongly with the electrophoretic mobility of acetaidehyde‐treated LDL (AcA‐LDL) (r = 0.97, p<0.001) and the percentage of the free amino groups in AcA‐LDL (r = ‐0.90, p < 0.01). Amino acid analysis of AcA‐LDL showed that iysine was the predominant residue in LDL modified by AcA. Assays with monoclonal antibodies (MB47, 2b, 4G3, and C1.1) directed against different epitopes of the LDL apoprotein B suggested that AcA modification reduced the lmmu‐nological recognition of the LDL receptor binding region and its vicinity. Also, the binding affinity of AcA‐LDL to B/E receptors cor related negatively with the percentage of modified iysine residues in AcA‐LDL (r = ‐0.96, p < 0.001). The results suggest that AcA derivatizes the lysine residues of LDL, and thus decreases the B/E receptor binding affinity of LDL. However, major changes in LDL receptor binding were produced only with nonphysiologicaiiy high concentrations of AcA, and, therefore, the role of the present findings in vivo remains uncertain.

Alcohol, Acetaldehyde, Lipoproteins, Proteins, Arteriosclerosis.
Increased Oxidation of Dimethylnitrosamine in Pericentral Microsomes after Pyrazole Induction of Cytochrome P‐4502El
Authors: Dicker Elisa , Cederbaum Arthur I.
Published: June 2007

The cytochrome P‐45011El (CYPPE1) isozyme activates several tox ins and procarcinogens. Recent studies employing immunohisto‐chemical and immunoanalysis techniques have shown that this iso zyme is predominantly localized In the pericentral zone of the liver acinus. Experiments were conducted to evaluate whether micro somes isolated from the pericentral region of the liver display ele vated catalytic activity towards effective substrates for CYP2E1 such as dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) as compared with periportal micro somes. Rats were treated with pyrazole to induce CYP2E1 and hepatocytes prepared from penportal or pericentral zones of the livers by the digitonin‐collagenare procedure. Microsomes isolated from these hepatocytes had similar total P‐450 contents; however, the microsomes from the pericentral hepatocytes displayed an in creased DMSO binding spectrum suggesting an increased content of CYP2E1. Low Km DMN demethylase activity (but not high Km activity) as well as the oxidation of aniline and p‐nitrophenol were 2‐to 3‐fold higher in pericentral compared to periportal microsomes. The oxidation of DMN by both microsomal preparations, as well as the increased rates obtained with the pericentral microsomes, was sensitive to inhibition by carbon monoxide as well as to other CYP2E1 substrates such as ethanol, pyrezole, or 4‐methylpyrazole. Antl‐CYP2E1 IgG inhibited the oxidation of DMN by both microsomal preparations 75% to 85% and prevented most of the increase found with the pericentral microsomes. Oxidation of aniline and p‐nitro phenol was elevated in pericentral hepatocytes compared with per iportal hepatocytes to the same extent as in the isolated microsomes. these results show that microsomes isolated from the pericentral region of the liver are more reactive in oxidizing effective Substrates for the CYP2E1 isozyme, including the potent procarcinogen, DMN, and suggest that the pericentral toxicity associated with a variety of liver toxins known to be activated by P‐450 may relate to the en hanced catalytic activity of CYP2E1 in this zone of the liver.
Effects of Chronic Ethanol Exposure on Cardiac Receptor‐Adenylyl Cyclase Coupling: Studies in Cultured Embryonic Chick Myocytes and Ethanol Fed Rats
Authors: Blumenthal Roger S. , Flinn Ian W. , Proske Orm , Jackson Donald G. , Tena Rowena G. , Mitchell Mack C. , Feldman Arthur M.
Published: June 2007

Ethanol effects in the brain appear to be mediated at least in part by an alteration In receptor‐effector coupling via guanine nucleotide‐binding regulatory proteins (G proteins). To test the hypothesis that a similar pathway participates in the cardlotoxic effects of ethanol, we assessed the effects of chronic ethanol on two commonly used experimental models: embryonic chick myocytes in culture and ven tricular myocardium from chronically fed rats. Ethanol had no effect on either the function or quantity of G proteins as assessed by effector‐stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity and the levels of ADP‐ribosylation substrates. In contrast, effector‐stimulated adenylyl cy clase activity was significantly altered in the liver of ethanol‐fed rats. These results suggest that receptor‐effector coupling via G proteins in our two cardiac models is insensitive to ethanol and that ethanol effects may be species or organ specific.
Use of the TWEAK Test in Screening for Alcoholism/ Heavy Drinking in Three Populations
Authors: Chan Arthur W. K. , Pristach Edward A. , Welte John W. , Russell Marcia
Published: June 2007

TWEAK is an acronym for Tolerance (T1 number of drinks to feel high; T2, number of drinks one can hold), Worry about drinking, Eye‐opener (morning drinking), Amnesia (blackouts), and Cut down on drinking (K/C). In this study, two versions (T1 and T2) of the TWEAK were part of a questionnaire used to detect alcoholism or heavy alcohol intake in three populations, namely, alcoholics in treatment, patients in two outpatient clinics, and the general population. Similar to the CAGE and the 10‐item brief MAST, the TWEAK identified most known alcoholics, but the TWEAK had a higher sensitivity and specificity than the CAGE and B‐MAST in detecting alcoholism/heavy drinking in the clinical and general populations. Different cut‐off values for tolerance (T1 and T2) are recommended for screening different populations.