bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Green Tick™: an example of sustainability certification of goods and services
Authors: Harris Susan M.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a sustainability certification system and label based on an independent, full life cycle assessment of conventionally produced goods from “cradle to grave”.

Design/methodology/approach

The design approach used comprised five phases: review of presently available third party environmental certification systems regarding their suitability for use as a sustainability certification tool for conventionally produced goods; identification of desirable scientific and consumer design criteria for a sustainability certification system and label; identification of key performance indicators for sustainability; description of an independent sustainability certification system based on the desirable design criteria, in particular an independent full life cycle assessment; and market trials of the sustainability label to test consumer reactions and commercial benefits of independent sustainability certification using two commercial case studies in Australia and New Zealand.

Findings

None of the third party environmental certification systems reviewed was suitable for use as a sustainability certification tool. Desirable design criteria for a sustainability certification system centred on an independent, full life cycle assessment of operations from “cradle to grave”. A total of eight safety and 12 sustainability key performance indicators were proposed to specifically assess sustainability performance. An instantly recognizable logo comprising a “Green Tick” inside a circle, reminiscent of a government “stamp of approval”, was used as a sustainability label. Market trials of certified household products and lamb meat in Australasia confirmed positive consumer reactions to the “Green Tick” label, and considerable commercial benefits for the companies that used it on their products.

Practical implications

The “Green Tick™” sustainability certification system and label addresses an identified gap in the market by providing an easily recognizable, independent, life cycle based sustainability certification of consumer products. Market trials indicated that there was measurable consumer support for independent sustainability labelling, and significant commercial benefits for companies whose products qualified for sustainability labelling.

Originality/value

The paper describes the world's first‐ever independent sustainability certification system and label. It is based on third party, full life cycle assessment of products, in accordance with the European Commission's view that sustainability labelling should be based on independent, full life cycle assessments of products. Market trials of the label in the Australasian FMCG sector indicated that consumers responded positively to an easily recognizable, independent sustainability label, and that independent sustainability certification and labelling have significant commercial potential for manufacturers of genuinely sustainable products.
Tornado risk analysis in the United States
Authors: Daneshvaran Siamak , Morden Robert E.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

Perils of tornado and hail cause large amounts of loss every year. Based on the data provided by Property Claims Services, since 1949, tornado, hail and straight‐line‐wind losses account for more than 40 percent of total natural losses in the USA. Given the high frequency of tornado and damaging hail in the continental USA, quantifying these risks will be an important advancement in pricing them for insurance/reinsurance purposes. In the absence of a realistic physical model, which would look at these perils on a cluster/outbreak basis, it is not possible to underwrite these risks effectively. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the tornado risk.

Design/methodology/approach

A tornado wind‐field model is developed based on the model used by Wen and Ang. The model is calibrated to the specifications given in the Fujita intensity scale. To estimate the tornado hazard, a historical database is generated and de‐trended using the information provided by Storm Prediction Center along with the dataset given by Grazulis. This new historical database together with a reinsurance timeframe criterion in mind was used to define outbreaks. These outbreaks are used in a Monte‐Carlo simulation process to generate a large number of outbreaks representing 35,000 years of simulated data. This event‐set is used to estimate spatial frequency contours and loss analyses.

Findings

The results focus on the spatial frequency of occurrence of tornadoes in the USA. The losses are tallied using multiple occurrences of tornado and/or hail per outbreak. The distribution of loss, both on per occurrence and on aggregate basis, are discussed.

Originality/value

This paper is believed to be the first one to use a tornado wind‐field model, outbreak model, and vulnerability models, which estimate both spatial distribution of hazard and location‐based distribution of losses. Estimation of losses due to hail is also provided.
Systemic risk in modern financial systems: analytics and policy design
Authors: Gai Prasanna , Jenkinson Nigel , Kapadia Sujit
Published: February 2007

Purpose

In recent years, the financial system has been changing rapidly. At the same time, macroeconomic volatility has fallen in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine how these developments may have affected the nature of systemic crises. The paper also aims to discuss how central banks and other financial regulators might respond to these developments with a clearer, more rigorous, operational framework for their systemic financial stability work.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes analytical models developed at the Bank of England to assess how recent developments may have affected the probability and potential impact of systemic financial crises. The results from these models help to shape the practical framework for the Bank's financial stability work.

Findings

The models suggest that financial innovation and integration, coupled with greater macroeconomic stability, have served to make systemic crises in developed countries less likely than in the past, but potentially more severe. Implementing a practical framework for financial stability work in response to this raises many formidable challenges.

Practical implications

If individuals are risk‐averse, the recent change in the profile of crises could lower welfare and would suggest that policymakers should place a higher premium on actions to monitor and mitigate systemic risk. The analysis also highlights the importance of differentiating the probability of risks from their potential impact.

Originality/value

The paper will be of interest to academics interested in systemic risk, central bankers, financial regulators, and financial market participants.
System dynamics study of the Japanese automotive industry closed loop supply chain
Authors: Kumar Sameer , Yamaoka Teruyuki
Published: February 2007

Purpose

A major challenge the car industry currently faces worldwide is how to implement an effective reverse (also called closed loop) supply chain design while manufacturing environmental friendly cars from limited available resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between reduce, reuse and disposal in the Japanese car market with base scenario analysis using the car consumption data and forecast.

Design/methodology/approach

The system dynamics (SD) modeling analyzes the closed loop supply chain design for the Japanese car industry. Relationships between reduce, reuse, recycle and disposal are explored with base scenario analysis using the car consumption data and forecast. The SD model is subjected to extreme conditions test for structural validity. Dynamic analysis of different market scenarios for the Japanese car industry's reverse supply chain is conducted.

Findings

Japanese ELV regulation will trigger the growth of used car export rate to emerging countries. Without additional tax on used car export, manufacturers in Japan tend to export used cars. Imposing tax on used car export will place some control on such export and improve economic opportunities for remanufacturers, recyclers, government, manufacturers and consumers in Japan.

Practical implications

The used car export option in Japanese reverse supply chain may cause the emerging countries (importing used cars) not able to sustain this activity. The Japanese government and manufacturers should take initiative to create or support the reverse logistics facilities in export countries. Issues pertaining to how product components can be recycled, reused, or remanufactured should be factored in the product design phase to reduce the cost of products and raw materials.

Originality/value

The dynamic model of the Japanese car market provides an experimental simulation tool, which can be used to forecast the relationship between reduce, reuse, recycle, disposal and how various logistics elements will be impacted by government regulations on a long‐term basis.
Manufacturing best practices: implementation success factors and performance
Authors: Ungan Mustafa C.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the pre adoption decision factors that have an influence on the implementation success of manufacturing best practices (MBP). This study also investigates whether successful implementation of best practices leads to operational performance improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey research based on 55 MBP was conducted. Regression analysis was employed to test the proposed relationships.

Findings

Codification, compatibility and innovativeness of organizational culture were found to have an impact on implementation success. On the other hand, complexity, absorptive capacity, external support and the existence of champion were not emerged as the determinants of implementation. It was also found that successful implementation would lead to operational performance improvement.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size is a limitation to this study.

Practical implications

Knowing the significant determinants of implementation success, practitioners will make a better selection among competing MBP. Also, practitioners will also be able to utilize their resources better, because they will know what they should look for in each benchmarking visit. A positive significant relationship between the implementation success and performance indicated that benchmarking is an effective technique.

Originality/value

This study is the first to explore pre adoption factors that may have an influence on the implementation of MBP. Davies and Kochhar reported that studies of relationships between MBP and performance in the area of manufacturing are limited. Therefore, this work also made a contribution to this under researched area.
Children and business: pluralistic ethics of marketers
Authors: Bergadaà Michelle
Published: February 2007

Purpose

Marketers have increased decision‐making responsibility when they work either directly or indirectly with children and adolescents; a vulnerable sector of the population. These young consumers are the target of much‐criticised practices. The objective of this paper is to lay the foundations of a code of ethics for the marketing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the stakes for marketers are outlined, in addition to an overview of the epistemological and historic foundations of the marketing discipline; materialism, pragmatic utilitarianism and liberalist individialism.

Findings

Finds that each of these concepts is subject to allegations of suspicious and outright immoral marketing practices.

Originality/value

The paper gives food for thought on morality, professional deontology, ethics and individual decision‐making responsibility. This code of ethics is designed to serve as a pragmatic paradigm and it is destined for marketers who are both decision‐makers and social stakeholders.
Leadership development needs of managers who supervise foreign nurses
Authors: Sherman Rose O.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This concept paper seeks to outline evidenced‐based findings about the current experiences, best practices and leadership development needs of nurse leaders who work with foreign nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was used to collect data for this project. A convenience sample of ten nursing leaders from different geographic areas in the USA was telephone interviewed to obtain information for this project.

Practical implications

Recommendations are made about the type of educational programming that leaders who receive foreign nurses in their work environments will need to facilitate a successful transition.

Originality/value

The legal, ethical and human resource issues that surround the international recruitment of nurses have received widespread coverage in the media and nursing literature. Although organizations which do foreign recruitment invest significant resources, little has been written about the challenges in the transition of foreign nurses into healthcare practice environments outside their countries of origin. The literature suggests that the successful transition of foreign nurses into the healthcare environment of another country requires supportive leadership but this does not always occur.
Role of aggregation conditions in structure, stability, and toxicity of intermediates in the Aβ fibril formation pathway
Authors: Lee Sungmun , Fernandez Erik J. , Good Theresa A.
Published: February 2007

β‐amyloid peptide (Aβ) is one of the main protein components of senile plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ readily aggregates to forms fibrils and other aggregated species that have been shown to be toxic in a number of studies. In particular, soluble oligomeric forms are closely related to neurotoxicity. However, the relationship between neurotoxicity and the size of Aβ aggregates or oligomers is still under investigation. In this article, we show that different Aβ incubation conditions in vitro can affect the rate of Aβ fibril formation, the conformation and stability of intermediates in the aggregation pathway, and toxicity of aggregated species formed. When gently agitated, Aβ aggregates faster than Aβ prepared under quiescent conditions, forming fibrils. The morphology of fibrils formed at the end of aggregation with or without agitation, as observed in electron micrographs, is somewhat different. Interestingly, intermediates or oligomers formed during Aβ aggregation differ greatly under agitated and quiescent conditions. Unfolding studies in guanidine hydrochloride indicate that fibrils formed under quiescent conditions are more stable to unfolding in detergent than aggregation associated oligomers or Aβ fibrils formed with agitation. In addition, Aβ fibrils formed under quiescent conditions were less toxic to differentiated SH‐SY5Y cells than the Aβ aggregation associated oligomers or fibrils formed with agitation. These results highlight differences between Aβ aggregation intermediates formed under different conditions and provide insight into the structure and stability of toxic Aβ oligomers.
Cooperative hydrogen bonding in amyloid formation
Authors: Tsemekhman Kiril , Goldschmidt Lukasz , Eisenberg David , Baker David
Published: February 2007

Amyloid diseases, including Alzheimer's and prion diseases, are each associated with unbranched protein fibrils. Each fibril is made of a particular protein, yet they share common properties. One such property is nucleation‐dependent fibril growth. Monomers of amyloid‐forming proteins can remain in dissolved form for long periods, before rapidly assembly into fibrils. The lag before growth has been attributed to slow kinetics of formation of a nucleus, on which other molecules can deposit to form the fibril. We have explored the energetics of fibril formation, based on the known molecular structure of a fibril‐forming peptide from the yeast prion, Sup35, using both classical and quantum (density functional theory) methods. We find that the energetics of fibril formation for the first three layers are cooperative using both methods. This cooperativity is consistent with the observation that formation of amyloid fibrils involves slow nucleation and faster growth.
Mutation of interfaces in domain‐swapped human βB2‐crystallin
Authors: Smith Myron A. , Bateman Orval A. , Jaenicke Rainer , Slingsby Christine
Published: February 2007

The superfamily of eye lens βγ‐crystallins is highly modularized, with Greek key motifs being used to form symmetric domains. Sequences of monomeric γ‐crystallins and oligomeric β‐crystallins fold into two domains that pair about a further conserved symmetric interface. Conservation of this assembly interface by domain swapping is the device adopted by family member βB2‐crystallin to form a solution dimer. However, the βB1‐crystallin solution dimer is formed from an interface used by the domain‐swapped dimer to form a tetramer in the crystal lattice. Comparison of these two structures indicated an intriguing relationship between linker conformation, interface ion pair networks, and higher assembly. Here the X‐ray structure of recombinant human βB2‐crystallin showed that domain swapping was determined by the sequence and not assembly conditions. The solution characteristics of mutants that were designed to alter an ion pair network at a higher assembly interface and a mutant that changed a proline showed they remained dimeric. X‐ray crystallography showed that the dimeric mutants did not reverse domain swapping. Thus, the sequence of βB2‐crystallin appears well optimized for domain swapping. However, a charge‐reversal mutation to the conserved domain‐pairing interface showed drastic changes to solution behavior. It appears that the higher assembly of the βγ‐crystallin domains has exploited symmetry to create diversity while avoiding aggregation. These are desirable attributes for proteins that have to exist at very high concentration for a very long time.
Very‐broad‐scale assessment of human impacts on river condition
Authors: NORRIS RICHARD H. , LINKE SIMON , PROSSER IAN , YOUNG WILLIAM J. , LISTON PETER , BAUER NICHOLAS , SLOANE NERIDA , DYER FIONA , THOMS MARTIN
Published: February 2007

1. Management of whole rivers and river catchments requires a comprehensive set of information about river condition and use, both existing and historical, and the links between them at regional, state or national scales. This paper outlines a new approach to the assessment of river condition, using a small team was able to assess 210 000 km of rivers across more than 3 million km2 of Australia in little more than a year.

2. The approach was driven by a hierarchical model of river function, which assumed that broad‐scale catchment characteristics affect local hydrology, habitat features, water quality and, ultimately, aquatic biota. The model provided the basis for selecting important ecologically relevant features that indices should represent. For each reach of each river we derived a biological index and an environmental index based on measures quantifying catchment and hydrological condition, and habitat and water quality condition. Data came from existing state and national databases, satellite images, site measurements and process models.

3. All indices were calculated as deviation from a reference condition, were range‐standardised and were divided into equivalent bands of condition. Amalgamation of index components and of sub‐indices was determined by consideration of their ecological effects; for example, general degradation might be additive, but toxic effects of one component would override all others.

4. Several internal and external validation methods were employed, with the all‐important validation of the final assessments undertaken by comparison with a similar index based on locally measured data.

5. The environmental assessment classified 14% of reaches as largely unmodified, 67% as moderately modified and 19% as substantially modified by human impacts. The biological assessment based on site assessments and modelled data using invertebrates indicated that 70% of reaches were equivalent to reference condition and that 30% were significantly impaired. Catchment disturbance, elevated sediment and nutrient loads, and habitat degradation all contributed to these results. These impacts have all occurred during the last 200 years (post‐European settlement).

6. Partly as a result of the assessments of this study the Australian Government has begun to adopt a more environmentally sustainable approach to broad‐scale water management.
Coupling microscale vegetation–soil water and macroscale vegetation–precipitation feedbacks in semiarid ecosystems
Authors: DEKKER STEFAN C. , RIETKERK MAX , BIERKENS MARC F. P.
Published: February 2007

At macroscale, land–atmosphere exchange of energy and water in semiarid zones such as the Sahel constitutes a strong positive feedback between vegetation density and precipitation. At microscale, however, additional positive feedbacks between hydrology and vegetation such as increase of infiltration due to increase of vegetation, have been reported and have a large impact on vegetation distribution and spatial pattern formation. If both macroscale and microscale positive feedbacks are present in the same region, it is reasonable to assume that these feedback mechanisms are connected. In this study, we develop and analyse a soil‐vegetation‐atmosphere model coupling large‐scale evapotranspiration–precipitation feedback with a model of microscale vegetation–hydrology feedback to study the integration of these nonlinearities at disparate scales. From our results, two important conclusions can be drawn: (1) it is important to account for spatially explicit vegetation dynamics at the microscale in climate models (the strength of the precipitation feedback increased up to 35% by accounting for these microscale dynamics); (2) studies on resilience of ecosystems to climate change should always be cast within a framework of possible large‐scale atmospheric feedback mechanism (substantial changes in vegetation resilience resulted from incorporating macroscale precipitation feedback). Analysis of full‐coupled modelling shows that both type of feedbacks markedly influence each other and that they should both be accounted for in climate change models.
Prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) protein expression in normal and neoplastic tissues and its sensitivity and specificity in prostate adenocarcinoma: an immunohistochemical study using mutiple tumour tissue microarray technique
Authors: Mhawech‐Fauceglia P , Zhang S , Terracciano L , Sauter G , Chadhuri A , Herrmann F R , Penetrante R
Published: February 2007

Aims:  To determine prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression in normal tissues and in 3161 benign and malignant tumours and subsequently to define its sensitivity and specificity in prostatic adenocarcinoma (PaC).

Methods and results:  Multiple tissue microarray sections were stained with a monoclonal antibody to PSMA. PaC was positive in 93/141 cases (66.0%) with various staining patterns including cytoplasmic, apical, apical/cytoplasmic and cytoplasmic with membranous accentuation. Of 2174 various tumour types, 154 expressed PSMA, including 59/346 (17.0%) urothelial carcinomas of the bladder (UBC). In those tumours, the staining pattern was always cytoplasmic. All 846 benign tumours were negative for PSMA. The sensitivity and specificity of PSMA in distinguishing PaC from any other type of malignancy is 65.9% and 94.5%, respectively. Furthermore, its sensitivity and specificity in differentiating PaC from urothelial cancer is 65.9% and 82.9%, respectively.

Conclusions:  Despite its expression by subsets of various types of malignancies, PSMA is still considered to be fairly sensitive and highly specific for PaC.
Spatial distribution and differential expression of the PBAN receptor in tissues of adult Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Rafaeli A. , Bober R. , Becker L. , Choi M.‐Y. , Fuerst E.‐J. , Jurenka R.
Published: February 2007

Pheromone‐biosynthesis‐activating neuropeptide (PBAN) regulates sex pheromone production in many female moths. PBAN‐like peptides, with common FXPRLamide C‐terminals are found in other insect groups where they have other functions. The ubiquity and multifunctional nature of the pyrokinin/PBAN family of peptides suggests that the PBAN receptor proteins could also be present in a variety of insect tissues with alternative functions from that of sex pheromone biosynthesis. Previously we showed the presence of the PBAN‐R in Helicoverpa armigera at the protein level. In the present study we confirm the similarities between the two Helicoverpa species: armigera and zea by (1) demonstrating the presence of the receptor protein in Sf9 cells, cloned to express the HezPBAN receptor, as compared with the endogenous receptor protein, previously shown in H. armigera pheromone glands, and (2) by identifying the nucleotide sequence of the PBAN‐R from mRNA of H. armigera pheromone glands. Sequences of the two Helicoverpa spp. are 98% identical with most changes taking place in the 3′‐end. We demonstrate the spatial distribution of the PBAN receptor protein in membranes of H. armigera brain (Br), thoracic ganglion (TG) and ventral nerve cord (VNC). We also demonstrate the presence and differential expression of the PBAN receptor gene (using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcription–quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, respectively) in the neural tissues (Br, TG and VNC) of adult H. armigera female moths as compared with its presence in pheromone glands. Surprisingly, the gene for the PBAN receptor is also detected in the male tissue homologous to the female pheromone gland, the aedeagus, although the protein is undetectable and PBAN does not induce physiological (pheromone production) or cellular (cyclic‐adenosine monophosphate production) responses in this tissue. Our findings indicate that PBAN or PBAN‐like receptors are present in the neural tissues and may represent a neurotransmitter‐like function for PBAN‐like peptides. In addition, the surprising discovery of the presence of the gene encoding the PBAN receptor in the male homologous tissue, but its absence at the protein level, launches opportunities for studying molecular regulation pathways and the evolution of these G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
Assessing and predicting the relative ecological impacts of disturbance on habitats with different sensitivities
Authors: HIDDINK J. G. , JENNINGS S. , KAISER M. J.
Published: February 2007

Methods for assessing habitat sensitivity to human impacts are needed to gauge the sustainability of existing impacts, develop spatial management plans and support meaningful environmental impact assessments. These methods should be quantitative, validated, repeatable and applicable at the scales of impact and management.

Existing methods for assessing the sensitivity of marine habitats to human impacts have tended to rely on expert judgement and/or scoring systems. They are neither validated, quantitative nor repeatable.

We have developed a method that meets the criteria for assessing the sensitivity of seabed habitats to physical disturbance, and delineating and mapping habitat sensitivity at large spatial scales (>105 km2). The method assumes that sensitivity is related to the recovery time of production or biomass, as predicted using a size‐based model that takes account of the effects of natural disturbance.

As trawling disturbance is a major and widespread direct human impact on shelf seas, this was used as an example of anthropogenic physical disturbance. We mapped habitat sensitivity to trawling in 9‐km2 boxes across an area of 125 000 km2 in the North Sea.

Habitat sensitivities varied widely, and a trawling frequency of 5 year−1 in the least‐sensitive habitat had the same ecological effect as a trawling frequency of 0·3 year−1 in the most‐sensitive habitat (based on production). When trawling effort was held constant but redirected to the least‐sensitive habitats, the existing impacts on production and biomass were reduced by 36% and 25%, respectively.

Synthesis and applications. The method described in this paper enables managers to predict the implications of changing patterns of human impact on seabed habitats when establishing spatial management plans. In the context of fisheries management, this will support the identification and selection of fishing grounds that minimize the adverse ecological effects of fishing; the selection of closed areas (both representative and highly sensitive); the comparison of management options that might reduce the overall environmental impacts of fishing; and any future steps towards the application of environmental impact assessment in advance of fishery development.
Bacterial colonization in respiratory secretions from acute and recurrent wheezing infants and children
Authors: Nagayama Yoko , Tsubaki Toshikazu , Nakayama Shigeru , Sawada Kyoko , Taguchi Kazuko , Toba Tsuyosi , Kohno Yoichi
Published: February 2007

Lower respiratory tract infection in childhood often results in airway obstruction, characterized by wheezing. However, contribution of bacterial colonization to the wheezy state in children remains unclear. Wheezing and non‐wheezing children requiring hospitalization were classified into three groups: (i) wheezing children having a past history of recurrent wheezing; (ii) wheezing children without such history; and (iii) non‐wheezing children as control subjects. Respiratory secretions as sputum were analyzed microscopically, and cultured. Cultured pathogenic bacterial species in sputum were categorized into two subgroups according to their amounts, i.e., dominant and non‐dominant amounts of colonies. Incidence of bacterial colonization and wheezing were assessed. Hospitalized children were mainly 1‐ to 2‐yr old, and rapidly decreased in number for older ages. Children in the three groups belonged to different clinical entities. Children in the recurrent wheezing group were highly sensitized to mite allergens, and still required hospitalization after 2 yr of age. Incidence of bacterial colonization was similar between the three groups. Dominant and non‐dominant amounts of bacterial colonization were 170/997 (17.1%) and 170/997 (17.1%), respectively, in the recurrent wheezing group; 28/146 (19.2%) and 35/146 (24.0%), respectively, in the acute wheezing group; and 15/56 (26.8%) and 7/56 (12.5%), respectively, in the non‐wheezing group. Regardless of the presence of wheezing, bacterial colonization commonly occurred at a young age in the three groups. In recurrent wheezing children, boys (122/611, 20.0%) carried non‐dominant amounts of bacteria more frequently than girls (48/386, 12.4%) (p < 0.01). Boys showed predominant wheezing and susceptibility to bacterial colonization. Assessment of bacterial colonization allowed us to characterize asthma onset and outgrowth in childhood.
Rapid population divergence in thermal reaction norms for an invading species: breaking the temperature–size rule
Authors: KINGSOLVER J. G. , MASSIE K. R. , RAGLAND G. J. , SMITH M. H.
Published: February 2007

The temperature–size rule is a common pattern of phenotypic plasticity in which higher temperature during development results in a smaller adult body size (i.e. a thermal reaction norm with negative slope). Examples and exceptions to the rule are known in multiple groups of organisms, but rapid population differentiation in the temperature–size rule has not been explored. Here we examine the genetic and parental contributions to population differentiation in thermal reaction norms for size, development time and survival in the Cabbage White Butterfly Pieris rapae, for two geographical populations that have likely diverged within the past 150 years. We used split‐sibship experiments with two temperature treatments (warm and cool) for P. rapae from Chapel Hill, NC, and from Seattle, WA. Mixed‐effect model analyses demonstrate significant genetic differences between NC and WA populations for adult size and for thermal reaction norms for size. Mean adult mass was 12–24% greater in NC than in WA populations for both temperature treatments; mean size was unaffected or decreased with temperature (the temperature–size rule) for the WA population, but size increased with temperature for the NC population. Our study shows that the temperature–size rule and related thermal reaction norms can evolve rapidly within species in natural field conditions. Rapid evolutionary divergence argues against the existence of a simple, general mechanistic constraint as the underlying cause of the temperature–size rule.
Immunotherapy against metastatic renal cell carcinoma with mature dendritic cells
Authors: Matsumoto Akihiko , Haraguchi Kyoko , Takahashi Tsuyoshi , Azuma Takeshi , Kanda Yoshinobu , Tomita Kyoichi , Kurokawa Mineo , Ogawa Seishi , Takahashi Koki , Chiba Shigeru , Kitamura Tadaichi
Published: February 2007

Objective:  We performed a clinical trial of immunotherapy using autologous mature dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with autologous tumor lysate, for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Methods:  Patients with refractory metastatic RCC were enrolled in the study. All of them received interferon (IFN)‐α treatment after nephrectomy and were followed over 3 months prior to this study. Autologous monocyte‐derived immature DC were pulsed with lysate from autologous primary tumor as the antigen and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) as immunomodulator, and cultured in the presence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β, and prostaglandin (PG)E2 to generate mature DC. Mature DC were injected intradermally near bilateral inguinal lymph nodes of the patients. A delayed‐type hypersensitivity (DTH) test and enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay were performed to evaluate the immunological response. After 4 months from first injection, the clinical effect was evaluated by diagnostic imaging.

Results:  The treatments were well tolerated without significant toxicity by the patients who were an average of 65.7 years old and had multiple metastases in the lung and other organs. One of the two patients developed a positive DTH reaction to tumor lysate and the other patient only to KLH. The patient with a positive DTH reaction to tumor lysate had stable disease in the clinical evaluation.

Conclusions:  We confirmed the safety of DC therapy in this clinical trial. The DTH test revealed that the DC therapy induced immunological response to RCC. On the other hand, it was necessary to reconsider the patient selection criteria.
Population‐based screening for prostate cancer by measuring total serum prostate‐specific antigen in Iran
Authors: Hosseini Seyyed Yousof , Moharramzadeh Massood , Ghadian Ali Reza , Hooshyar Hassan , Lashay Ali Reza , Safarinejad Mohammah Reza
Published: February 2007

Objective:  To report the results from an Iranian large population‐based randomized study of screening using prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) to detect prostate cancer.

Materials and Methods:  A total of 3758 Iranian men older than 40 years were mass checked by PSA‐based screening. Men with an abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE) and serum total PSA level of greater than 4 ng/mL, underwent transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)‐guided extended prostate biopsy.

Results:  The PSA value (mean ± standard deviation, SD) in all men without prostate cancer was 1.6 ± 1.1 ng/mL and in those with cancer 18 ± 44.8 ng/mL (P = 0.001). PSA values increased with age. In those aged 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and ≥70 years, the mean ± SD PSA values were 1.3 ± 0.7, 1.4 ± 0.8, 1.8 ± 1 and 2.2 ± 1.6 ng/mL, respectively. Among the screened men, 323 (8.6%) had a serum PSA concentration greater than 4 ng/mL. Of patients who underwent prostate biopsy (230, 71.2%), 129 (positive predictive value, 56.1%) had prostate cancer. Additionally, nine cancers were detected among 16 patients with PSA of less than 4 ng/mL who had a doubtful DRE finding. The overall cancer detection rate was 3.6%; 1.4% at 40–49, 1.6% at 50–59, 4.2% at 60–69 and 12.9% at ≥70 years. Conventional systematic sextant biopsies, which accounted for six of the 10 cores in our biopsy scheme, detected 98 (71%) of the cancers.

Conclusions:  The Iranian male population develops prostate cancer quite commonly if their serum PSA levels are greater than 4.0 ng/mL. In this study, 65.9% of the detected cancers were clinically significant. The conventional systematic sextant technique may be inappropriate for detection of all prostate cancers. The results need to be confirmed in other randomized trials.
Associations between renal sodium‐citrate cotransporter (hNaDC‐1) gene polymorphism and urinary citrate excretion in recurrent renal calcium stone formers and normal controls
Authors: Okamoto Naohiko , Aruga Seiji , Matsuzaki Shoji , Takahashi Satoru , Matsushita Kazuo , Kitamura Tadaichi
Published: February 2007

Purpose:  Urinary citrate is a potent inhibitor of renal stone formation. Its excretion is regulated by Na+/dicarboxylate cotransporter‐1 (NaDC‐1), which is expressed on the apical membrane of renal proximal tubules. Many patients with calcium urolithiasis exhibit hypocitraturia, however, the mechanisms are not perfectly understood. We examined whether or not the I550V polymorphism in human NaDC‐1 gene (hNaDC‐1) influenced urinary citrate excretion.

Materials and methods:  I550V polymorphism was investigated in 105 patients with recurrent renal calcium stone formation (RSF) and 107 age‐matched healthy volunteers with non‐renal stone formation (NSF), using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and two 24‐h urine samples.

Results:  Overall and in the RSF groups, subjects with a BB (homozygous for the digested Bcl‐I allele) genotype exhibited a significantly lower urinary citrate excretion level than subjects with a bb (homozygous for the undigested allele) genotype. Genotype distributions between subjects with hypocitraturia and normocitraturia were significantly different, with the BB genotype being more frequently observed in subjects with hypocitraturia – both overall and in each of the RSF and NSF groups. Although the BB genotype was observed more frequently in the RSF group than in the NSF group, no statistical differences among the distributions of the three genotypes (BB, Bb [heterozygous] and bb) were observed between the RSF and NSF groups.

Conclusion:  These results suggest that the B allele of I550V polymorphism of hNaDC‐1 may be associated with a reduction in urinary citrate excretion and contribute to hypocitraturia in recurrent renal stone formers.
Evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging‐based prostate‐specific antigen density of the prostate in the diagnosis of prostate cancer
Authors: Hoshii Tatsuhiko , Nishiyama Tsutomu , Toyabe Shinichi , Akazawa Kohei , Komatsu Shuichi , Kaneko Masaaki , Hara Noboru , Takahashi Kota
Published: February 2007

Objectives:  We evaluated prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) density of the prostatic volume (PSAD) estimated using transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS; TRUS‐based PSAD), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; MRI‐based PSAD), and PSA density of the transition zone (TZ) volume (PSATZD) estimated using MRI (MRI‐based PSATZD) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods:  One hundred and twenty patients, who were suspected to have PCa based on PSA, ranged between 4.1 and 20.0 ng/mL were enrolled in this study.

Results:  The prostatic volume estimated using TRUS was smaller than the volume estimated using MRI by 11.4% in the patients with PSA levels ranging 4.1–20.0 ng/mL, 7.2% in those 4.1–10.0 ng/mL, and 15.7% in those 10.1–20.0 ng/mL, respectively. PSA levels were correlated with the prostatic volume estimated using TRUS and MRI, and TZ volume estimated using MRI in the patients without PCa; however, the level was not correlated with them in the patients with PCa. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of MRI‐based PSAD was higher than that of TRUS‐based PSAD; however, there was no statistical difference. Stepwise logistic regression analysis for the prediction of PCa by using PSA‐related parameters confirmed that MRI‐based PSATZD was the most significant predictor in patients with PSA levels in the range of 4.1–20.0 ng/mL (P < 0.001), the range of 4.1–10.0 ng/mL (P = 0.002), and the range of 10.1–20.0 ng/mL (P < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusions:  The prostatic volume estimated using TRUS was smaller than the volume estimated using MRI. MRI‐based PSATZD is the most significant predictor in the four parameters.
Church, State, Resistance1
Authors: Nancy Jean‐Luc
Published: February 2007

This article problematizes a separation of Church and State that is nevertheless identified as constitutive of politics. Democracy has come to manifest a tension between the ‘autonomy’ of the political and a ‘heteronomy’ that, exceeding rationalist or social contractarian accounts of our co‐existence, is here presented as an irreducible affect of our being together. Autonomy, it is argued, resists heteronomy through all representations of democracy; yet, by contrast, heteronomy resists autonomy, and does so with the force of this affect. So if civil religion is impossible – and if we know only too well where its realizations lead: by default, to republican celebration, or by excess, to fascism – then we must take up again, and from scratch, the question of the affect according to which we co‐exist.
Sovereignty, Exception, and Norm
Authors: Norris Andrew
Published: February 2007

Carl Schmitt's Political Theology is the locus classicus of contemporary discussions of sovereignty. I argue that Schmitt's conception of sovereignty is excessively metaphysical and that it posits an incoherent 'sovereign’ ability to decide what shall count as normal. Schmitt follows and radicalizes the late Bodin's claims – themselves the product of a political theology, namely, Bodin 's conversion to Judaism – regarding the necessity of an indivisible and absolute sovereignty. In each, the relation between the executive and the other parts of government is reduced to what Schmitt describes as an ‘either/or.’ This move is a disastrous mistake. The question is not whether exceptions and emergencies such as terrorist attacks are real, but to what extent the executive branch can rightly claim a monopoly on the ability to determine whether an exception exists, and whether its resulting actions will be permanently unchecked and unregulated. Recent work by Bruce Ackerman is a better guide in these matters than the metaphysics of either Schmitt or Bodin.
The Normality of the Exception in Democracy's Empire
Authors: Fitzpatrick Peter , Joyce Richard
Published: February 2007

The motif is one of inversion. In its received mode, the exception – the exceptional decision suspending the normal legal order – generates both the sovereign and the law. Here, on the contrary, the exception is found to be of the ‘normal’ law and, thus endowed, law goes to constitute the sovereign. This normality of the exception is then matched with the sovereign claim of democracy's empire. That empire is thence shown to have an oxymoronic quality, democracy and its constituent law being conducive to empire yet ultimately opposed to it. The empire of the United States of America provides a ‘case’.
Post‐Apartheid Social Movements and the Quest for the Elusive ‘New’ South Africa
Authors: Madlingozi Tshepo
Published: February 2007

The South African Constitution guarantees justiciable socio‐economic rights such as the rights to access to housing; to sufficient food and water; to social security and health care services. This ‘transformative constitution’ is meant to help rid the country of legacies of apartheid such as huge economic inequalities and entrenched poverty. The government's embrace of neoliberalism has, however, meant that these legacies have not only remained largely untreated but have also become entrenched. Poor communities have started organizing themselves in order to challenge the government's neoliberal policies as well as marginalization from structures of governance. This paper evaluates the nature of these 'social movements’ as well as their impact on democracy and development.
Social Identity, Organizational Identity and Corporate Identity: Towards an Integrated Understanding of Processes, Patternings and Products
Authors: Cornelissen Joep P. , Haslam S. Alexander , Balmer John M. T.
Published: February 2007

This paper provides an overview of previous work that has explored issues of social, organizational and corporate identity. Differences in the form and focus of research into these three topics are noted. Social identity work generally examines issues of cognitive process and structure; organizational identity research tends to address the patterning of shared meanings; studies of corporate identity tend to focus on products that communicate a specific image. Nonetheless, across these areas there is general consensus that collective identities are (a) made viable by their positivity and distinctiveness, (b) fluid, (c) a basis for shared perceptions and action, (d) strategically created and managed, (e) qualitatively different from individual identities and (f) the basis for material outcomes and products. This paper calls for greater cross‐fertilization of the three identity literatures and discusses requirements for the integration of micro‐ and macro‐level analyses.
Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention
Authors: Blackwell Lisa S. , Trzesniewski Kali H. , Dweck Carol Sorich
Published: February 2007

Two studies explored the role of implicit theories of intelligence in adolescents' mathematics achievement. In Study 1 with 373 7th graders, the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over the two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory) predicted a flat trajectory. A mediational model including learning goals, positive beliefs about effort, and causal attributions and strategies was tested. In Study 2, an intervention teaching an incremental theory to 7th graders (N=48) promoted positive change in classroom motivation, compared with a control group (N=43). Simultaneously, students in the control group displayed a continuing downward trajectory in grades, while this decline was reversed for students in the experimental group.
Cognitive and Parenting Pathways in the Transmission of Antisocial Behavior From Parents to Adolescents
Authors: Dogan Shannon J. , Conger Rand D. , Kim Kee Jeong , Masyn Katherine E.
Published: February 2007

This study examined the role of adolescent perceptions of parental behavior and disrupted parenting in the continuity of antisocial behavior across generations. Participants included 430 adolescents and their biological parents assessed during the period from the 9th to 12th grades (9th grade age in years: M=15.09, SD=0.43). Structural equation modeling provided support for the mediating role of adolescent perceptions and disrupted parenting in the familial transmission of antisocial behavior. Furthermore, the results were consistent across parent and adolescent gender. The findings extend previous research by suggesting a significant role for adolescent perceptions of parents' activities in the development and growth of antisocial behavior. Results also support significant stability in antisocial tendencies over the course of adolescence.