bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus papain-like protease: Structure of a viral deubiquitinating enzyme
Authors: Ratia Kiira , Saikatendu Kumar Singh , Santarsiero Bernard D. , Barretto Naina , Baker Susan C. , Stevens Raymond C. , Mesecar Andrew D.
Published: April 2006

Replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) requires proteolytic processing of the replicase polyprotein by two viral cysteine proteases, a chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) and a papain-like protease (PLpro). These proteases are important targets for development of antiviral drugs that would inhibit viral replication and reduce mortality associated with outbreaks of SARS-CoV. In this work, we describe the 1.85-Å crystal structure of the catalytic core of SARS-CoV PLpro and show that the overall architecture adopts a fold closely resembling that of known deubiquitinating enzymes. Key features, however, distinguish PLpro from characterized deubiquitinating enzymes, including an intact zinc-binding motif, an unobstructed catalytically competent active site, and the presence of an intriguing, ubiquitin-like N-terminal domain. To gain insight into the active-site recognition of the C-terminal tail of ubiquitin and the related LXGG motif, we propose a model of PLpro in complex with ubiquitin–aldehyde that reveals well defined sites within the catalytic cleft that help to account for strict substrate-recognition motifs.
A noncoding RNA is a potential marker of cell fate during mammary gland development
Authors: Ginger Melanie R. , Shore Amy N. , Contreras Alejandro , Rijnkels Monique , Miller Jonathan , Gonzalez-Rimbau Maria F. , Rosen Jeffrey M.
Published: March 2006

PINC is a large, alternatively spliced, developmentally regulated, noncoding RNA expressed in the regressed terminal ductal lobular unit-like structures of the parous mammary gland. Previous studies have shown that this population of cells possesses not only progenitor-like qualities (the ability to proliferate and repopulate a mammary gland) and the ability to survive developmentally programmed cell death but also the inhibition of carcinogen-induced proliferation. Here we report that PINC expression is temporally and spatially regulated in response to developmental stimuli
in vivo
and that PINC RNA is localized to distinct foci in either the nucleus or the cytoplasm in a cell-cycle-specific manner. Loss-of-function experiments suggest that PINC performs dual roles in cell survival and regulation of cell-cycle progression, suggesting that PINC may contribute to the developmentally mediated changes previously observed in the terminal ductal lobular unit-like structures of the parous gland. This is one of the first reports describing the functional properties of a large, developmentally regulated, mammalian, noncoding RNA.
Spatial dynamics of receptor-mediated endocytic trafficking in budding yeast revealed by using fluorescent α-factor derivatives
Authors: Toshima Junko Y. , Toshima Jiro , Kaksonen Marko , Martin Adam C. , King David S. , Drubin David G.
Published: March 2006

Much progress defining the order and timing of endocytic internalization events has come as a result of real-time, live-cell fluorescence microscopy. Although the availability of numerous endocytic mutants makes yeast an especially valuable organism for functional analysis of endocytic dynamics, a serious limitation has been the lack of a fluorescent cargo for receptor-mediated endocytosis. We have now synthesized biologically active fluorescent mating-pheromone derivatives and demonstrated that receptor-mediated endocytosis in budding yeast occurs via the clathrin- and actin-mediated endocytosis pathway. We found that endocytic proteins first assemble into patches on the plasma membrane, and then α-factor associates with the patches. Internalization occurs next, concomitant with actin assembly at patches. Additionally, endocytic vesicles move toward early endosomes on actin cables. Early endosomes also associate with actin cables, and they actively move toward endocytic sites to capture vesicles being released from the plasma membrane. Thus, endocytic vesicle formation and capture of the newly released vesicles by early endosomes occur in a highly concerted manner, mediated by the actin cytoskeleton.
Aurora A, mitotic entry, and spindle bipolarity
Authors: Liu Quentin , Ruderman Joan V.
Published: April 2006

The kinase Aurora-A (Aur-A), which is enriched at centrosomes, is required for centrosome maturation and accurate chromosome segregation, and recent work implicates centrosomes as sites where the earliest activation of cyclin B1-cdc2 occurs. Here, we have used
Xenopus
egg extracts to investigate Aur-A's contribution to cell cycle progression and spindle morphology in the presence or absence of centrosomes. We find that addition of active Aur-A accelerates cdc2 activation and mitotic entry. Depletion of endogenous Aur-A or addition of inactive Aur-A, which lead to monopolar spindles, delays but does not block mitotic entry. These effects on timing and spindle structure do not require the presence of centrosomes or chromosomes. The catalytic domain alone of Aur-A is sufficient to restore spindle bipolarity; additional N-terminal sequences function in mitotic timing.
Processing of compound visual stimuli by children with autism and Asperger syndrome
Authors: Deruelle Christine , Rondan Cecilie , Gepner Bruno , Fagot Joël
Published: March 2006

A typical modes of visual processing are common in individuals with autism. In particular, and unlike typically developing children, children with autism tend to process the parts of a complex object as a priority, rather than attending to the object as a whole. This bias for local processing is likely to be due to difficulties in assembling subparts into a coherent whole, as proposed by Frith (1989) using the term “weak central coherence” or WCC. This study was aimed to better characterize the processing of complex visual stimuli by children with autism. Thirteen children with autistic spectrum disorders were individually paired with children of two control groups, one matched on verbal mental age (VMA) and one matched on chronological age (CA). Participants from the three groups were tested in two tasks. The first task involved hierarchical global/local stimuli, inspired by Navon (1977). The second task employed compound face‐like or geometrical stimuli. This task emphasized the processing of configural properties of the stimuli (i.e., spatial relationships). Children from the three groups showed a perceptual bias favouring the global dimension of the stimuli in the first task. By contrast, children with autism were deficient compared to normal children for the processing of the configural dimensions of the stimuli in the second task. These results suggest that visual cognition of children with autism is characterized by a dissociation between global and configural processing, with global processing being preserved and configural processing being altered in these children, therefore delineating the extents and limits of the WCC theory (Frith, 1989).
Autobiographical memories and views of the future: In relation to dysphoria
Authors: Dickson Joanne M. , Bates Glen W.
Published: March 2006

The present study investigated dysphoric individuals' self‐referential processing of autobiographical memories and future personal events, in relation to specificity and response latency. Dysphoric individuals (n  =  17) and nondysphoric controls (n  =  17) were selected from a larger sample based on self‐reported depression. Participants completed an autobiographical memory task (AMT) and a future event task (FET), using pleasant and unpleasant (anxiety‐relevant, depression‐relevant) emotional word cues. In response to each emotional cue, participants were required to access and write down a specific personal memory and future event, respectively. Consistent with the hypotheses, dysphoric individuals were less specific in describing pleasant and unpleasant experiences (particularly pleasant), irrespective of time condition. As expected, dysphoric individuals' specificity for distinct depression‐relevant and anxiety‐relevant experiences did not differ significantly. As predicted, all participants were less specific in describing future personal events than in recalling personal memories. As predicted, dysphoric individuals took longer to think of pleasant memories and pleasant future experiences than controls but, as expected, groups did not differ significantly on mean reaction times for past and future unpleasant experiences. Overall, the data showed a degree of consistency in participants' past and future‐oriented processing of self‐referential material. Although considerable research has investigated autobiographical memories in relation to emotional disturbance, the present findings suggest that constructing future emotional experiences is also an important aspect of mental health.
The role of explanation in categorization decisions
Authors: Stibel Jeffrey M.
Published: March 2006

Research into the role of explanation on the categorization process has yielded conflicting conclusions. Some theorists stress the importance of explanation, arguing that explanations provide a causal structure necessary to the categorization process. Others discount its significance, arguing that explanation is neither necessary nor sufficient for categorization. Experimentally, explanation has shown modest success in accounting for some categories but not others. Across three experiments, we test whether the central features of a category are the ones that capture the most explanatory structure. The objectives of the current study are threefold: to determine the importance of explanation in natural kind and artifact categorization; to understand the implications of feature correlations as they relate to explanation; and to further delineate the benefit of explanation outside of a functional role. Experiment 1 demonstrates that explanation plays a more dominant role in artifact versus natural kind categorization. Experiment 2 provides evidence that correlated features are neither necessary nor sufficient for categorization. Moreover, it demonstrates that, in the absence of correlation, people still rely on explanation for artifacts but not for natural kinds. Experiment 3 tests to what extent functional information underlies explanation in artifact categorization. We demonstrate that functional relations are not necessary for explanatory‐based categorization. Our results, coupled with previous evidence, suggest a dichotomous role for explanation‐based categorization. On the one hand, explanation is virtually ignored when categorizing biological kinds; on the other, explanation fosters artifact categorization. Implications for categorization and category‐specific disorder are considered.
Relations between the Big Five personality traits and dispositional coping in Korean Americans: Acculturation as a moderating factor
Authors: Roesch Scott C. , Wee Christian , Vaughn Allison A.
Published: March 2006

The current study examined the individual and joint effects of the Big Five personality traits and acculturation on coping styles. Using the proposed framework of McCrae (2001), the relations among these variables were evaluated at the intracultural level to exploit previously unexplored within‐culture variability for an unstudied Asian American group (Korean Americans). This approach emphasizes the unique expression of specific personality traits in a single culture. A community sample of Korean Americans completed measures of the Five‐Factor Model of Personality (NEO‐PI‐R; Costa & McCrae, 1992), coping (Brief COPE; Carver, 1997), and acculturation (SL‐ASIA; Suinn, Ahuna, & Khoo, 1992). The results primarily showed statistically significant relations between the Big Five personality traits and coping. Neuroticism was positively related to indices of emotion‐focused coping (emotional support) and avoidance (substance abuse, behavioural disengagement, venting, self‐blame); Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness were positively related to indices of problem‐focused (active coping, planning) and emotion‐focused coping (positive reframing, humour, acceptance); and Agreeableness was positively associated with active coping and humour. Acculturation was only significantly (and positively) associated with venting. Significant Acculturation×Big Five personality traits interactions were found, however. For individuals high in acculturation, both Neuroticism and Openness were positively related to indices of avoidance coping. Moreover, for individuals low in acculturation, a negative relationship was found between Conscientiousness and venting. These results show that there is considerable within‐culture variation for the dimensions of the Five‐Factor Model of Personality, coping styles, and acculturation in this largely bicultural sample. Moreover, the amount of variation and its directionality among the target study variables is similar to that typically found in Caucasian American samples. Finally, the stronger relations found between the dimensions of personality and coping styles (relative to the relations found between acculturation and coping styles) suggests that personality traits rather than acculturation may be more important clinically when profiling patients and developing treatment plans.
Perspectives on Cultural Capital and the Neighbourhood
Authors: Bridge Gary
Published: March 2006

Neighbourhoods have long been analysed in terms of the impacts of economic or social capital. This paper argues for the significance of the impact of cultural capital on neighbourhood change. It compares the ideas of lifestyle cultural capital as an asset in urban competitiveness, or a participatory tool in neighbourhood regeneration, with Pierre Bourdieu's idea of cultural capital applied in the neighbourhood context. Using the examples of gentrification in several cities, the paper suggests how, rather than being a uniformly productive asset (as the lifestyle and regeneration approaches imply), the various forms of cultural capital might consolidate or dissipate to produce contrasting neighbourhood trajectories and a range of interneighbourhood and intraneighbourhood social distinctions and divisions.
Women, Neighbourhoods and Everyday Life
Authors: Vaiou Dina , Lykogianni Rouli
Published: March 2006

The paper discusses everyday life in urban neighbourhoods from a feminist perspective. It aims to engage theoretically and through reference to research in progress with everyday life as a concept which brings to the foreground of enquiry the richness and variety of everyday experience and helps to approach urban life and urban development as 'peopled and gendered' processes. Everyday life is connected to places where women and men live, work, consume, relate to others, forge identities, cope with or challenge routine, habit and established codes of conduct-i.e. neighbourhoods, understood as one important urban spatiality, among many. In the context of geographical debate on space/place, the paper approaches neighbourhoods not as bounded places (although this is not absent from the urban experience), but rather as particular constellations of social relations, with local and supralocal determinants, meeting and weaving together at a particular locus. In such constellations of relations, the intersecting patterns of everyday life of different women determine individual and collective identities and contribute to develop strategies which organise the everyday both as adaptation and recurrent small decisions and as particular practices and general priorities. In turn, adaptations and challenges are determined by urban spatialities and temporalities.
Governance and Social Capital in Urban Regeneration: A Comparison between Bristol and Naples
Authors: Cento Bull Anna , Jones Bryn
Published: March 2006

In several countries, urban regeneration programmes have become associated with wider policy changes to the governance and social improvement of local communities. These developments have become central to policy implementation in the UK where regeneration planning attempts to use 'social capital' from local networks and associations in new systems of governance connecting central government agencies, local councils and local voluntary and community groups. This article reports on comparative research aimed at assessing whether the new approaches significantly influence democracy and transparency and, correspondingly, responsiveness to power relations and conflicts, and the needs and interests of the previously excluded and often disadvantaged groups. The analysis derives from a contrast between Bristol, a propitious case for the new governance in the UK, and the Italian city of Naples. Similar and problematic developments are identified in both cases despite the pursuit of a radically different 'dirigiste' strategy by the Naples council. The findings suggest that more autonomous local government and greater civil society participation may still be needed to meet local expectations.
'Breaking Segregation'—Rhetorical Construct or Effective Policy? The Case of the Metropolitan Development Initiative in Sweden
Authors: Andersson Roger
Published: March 2006

This paper aims to summarise the experiences of the Swedish 'big city policy' (officially labelled the Metropolitan Development Initiative) and to judge the potential for achieving the MDI's overall goal to 'break segregation'. This state initiative was launched in 1999 with the two aims to promote economic growth and to break socioeconomic, ethnic and discriminatory segregation. The two aims have in practice been weakly connected and the paper will concentrate on describing and analysing the second goal. It draws upon a couple of EUfunded projects, the UGIS and Restate projects, and also makes use of some of the many local and national evaluation reports that have been produced by independent researchers as well as by staff expertise at the Swedish Board of Integration. The paper concludes that the ambitious aim to 'break segregation' has not been reached and attempts to explain why this is the case. It is, however, important to clarify that the initiative has not been a waste of public money and that it contains many positive elements and outcomes.
The Suburban 'Community Question'
Authors: Lupi Tineke , Musterd Sako
Published: March 2006

In academic debates on neighbourhoods and social cohesion, there has been ample attention paid to processes in old urban residential districts as well as in the massive housing estates built from the 1960s until the 1980s. Newly developed suburban districts have always been in question, maybe even more so than inner-city areas, yet they have never had a prominent place on the research agenda. This article focuses on what we actually know about social cohesion and territorial ties in newly built suburban settlements, and is based on a literature survey and two recent empirical studies carried out in the Netherlands. Paraphrasing the 'classic community question', which referred to urban contexts, this paper's focus is on whether social cohesion in suburban areas is indeed causing a 'suburban community question'.
The Challenge of Radical Islam in Tajikistan: Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami
Authors: Karagiannis Emmanuel
Published: March 2006

Islam is by far the dominant religious faith in Tajikistan. At the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century Arab armies led by Qutayba Ibn Muslim conquered the region of Sogdiana, which included the northern part of present-day Tajikistan. The Arab invaders converted the local population to Islam and since then the Muslim faith has become an integral part of the Tajik culture. According to Tajikistan's State Committee on Religious Affairs, 97% of the Tajik population is currently Muslim and is served by 3224 mosques, 19 medresses (Muslim theological schools) and an Islamic university. An estimated 30–40% of the rural population and 5–10% of the urban population regularly follow Muslim practices or attend mosques.
A Recurrent Tragedy: Ethnic Cleansing as a Tool of State Building in the Yugoslav Multinational Setting
Authors: Mulaj Klejda
Published: March 2006

Ethnic cleansing, with its severe repercussions of millions of refugees and internally displaced people in addition to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the massive destruction of property, has necessitated the study of this phenomenon with a view to understanding its causes in order to find ways to prevent its recurrence or alleviate its consequences. “Ethnic cleansing” is not what lawyers call “a term of art,”i.e.it lacks legal definition and also a body of case law. For the purposes of this paper “ethnic cleansing” is taken to mean a systematic policy designed by and pursued under the leadership of a nation or ethnic community or with its consent, with a view to removing—by means of force and/or intimidation—a population deemed “undesirable” because of its ethnic, national or religious origin. Although ethnic cleansing can be a gradual, low-intensity process, carried out incrementally over a long period of time, the following analysis concentrates mainly on large-scale cases of ethnic cleansing, that is, cases in which the number of uprooted people is upwards of tens of thousands.
Contingent Nationalist Dominance: Intra-Serb Challenges to the Serb Democratic Party
Authors: Caspersen Nina
Published: March 2006

‘Only unity saves the Serbs’ is the famous call for unity in the Serb nationalist doctrine, but even though this doctrine enjoyed widespread ideological adherence, disunity has been a dominant characteristic of Bosnian Serb politics since the first multiparty elections in 1990. In this context of intra-Serb rivalry, the dominance of the Serb Democratic Party (Sprska demokratska stranka, SDS) has nevertheless been an almost constant feature. The SDS was founded in July 1990, under the leadership of Radovan Karadžić, and in a nationalist landslide in the elections four months later, the party secured around 85% of the Serb vote. Following the marginalisation of the competing non-ethnic parties the SDS enjoyed a largely monolithic status in the Serb community, but after the outbreak of war, and an initial closing of ranks, Serb opposition parties soon emerged. Such competition intensified after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, when the SDS's ability to use repressive powers against competitors was significantly reduced. Despite this persistent competition, the SDS has remained the dominant political force among the Serbs in Bosnia and until 1997 its control was close to being absolute. This dominance was decisive for the development of conflict and war in Bosnia, but analysis of the conditions that allowed the SDS to achieve and maintain its dominance is nevertheless lacking. In this article, the dynamics of intra-Serb party competition in Bosnia will be analysed and the following questions will be sought answered: What was the basis of the SDS's continued dominance? What resources were decisive in the party competition? How did the ethnification of politics affect these dynamics? How did the existence of intra-ethnic challengers affect the SDS's position?
The Islamisation of the Meglen Vlachs (Megleno-Romanians): The Village of Nânti (Nótia) and the “Nântinets” in Present-Day Turkey
Authors: Kahl Thede
Published: March 2006

The main objective of the research project “Self-Identification of Meglen Vlachs” was to compare the contemporary state of Meglen Vlach culture and identity in their different settlement areas. Fieldwork sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Meglen Vlach communities in Romania, Greece, Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia was able to identify the settlement areas of the Meglen Vlachs in Turkey. The paper represents a summary of the most important findings in Turkey.
Education(al) research and education policy making: is conflict inevitable?†
Authors: Whitty Geoff
Published: March 2006

The relationship between research and policy and practice in education is a long‐standing issue in many countries. Focusing on the UK Government, which is responsible for education in England, this paper looks at the criticisms of education research that have been made in recent years by government and related non‐departmental public bodies and stakeholders. It then looks in more detail at specific examples of the use that has—and has not—been made of research in developing policy. But rather than produce a balance sheet of pluses and minuses in policy makers' use of evidence, the paper emphasises the realities of the policy making process and the difficulties in establishing consistently and exclusively evidence‐based policy. At the same time, it argues that researchers should beware of allowing their work to be shaped entirely by the Government's call for research that is directly useful to policy by always prioritising applied or practice‐based approaches. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for BERA to promote all types of education research—regardless of its utility for policy makers—and, as part of this, for the education research community to ensure that appropriate quality criteria are available for all approaches.
Researching classrooms: complexity and chaos
Authors: Radford Mike
Published: March 2006

This article presents a critical review of complexity theory in relation to educational research. The ‘analytical reductionist’ approach is one in which the educational researcher seeks to reduce complex wholes to particular factors and to identify correlations between them and desirable outcomes. Complexity theory shows how this approach in social research is both unreliable within its own terms of reference and misdirected. Complexity theory is characterised by a number of features. These include recognition that educational systems contain multiple variables. These connect in non‐linear and dynamic ways, i.e. where factors are seen to interact in a causal relationship the effects do not necessarily relate proportionally to the cause, and few factors may interact with many and many may interact with few. The crucial point of focus is on (a) the nature of the connections that are products of previous interactions reaching into the particular history of the organisation, and (b) the constitutive nature of relationships between interacting factors. Three broad conclusions emerge. The first is that contrary to the promise of reductionist analytical methodologies, research cannot deliver the specific kinds of information that are expected to inform policy and practice. The primary role of educational research becomes one of providing descriptions and explanations that provide a broader perspective on development in which decisions are primarily situation‐specific. The second is to recognise that school improvement (a) rests on problematic assumptions about desirable outcomes and (b) is dependent on multiple interacting variables and is thus likely to be local and temporary. The third conclusion is that, rather than seeking to understand schools in terms of factor analysis, research needs to look at the nature of information flow and its constitutive impact on clusters of possible causes and effects.
Developing an understanding of young children's learning through play: the place of observation, interaction and reflection
Authors: Broadhead Pat
Published: March 2006

Pupil observation and educator—pupil discourse have recognised relevance within early years practitioners' repertoires, with long traditions of practice in England and elsewhere. Observation is now enshrined within the Foundation Stage Curriculum for 3–5 year‐olds (England) (soon to become part of the Early Years Foundation Stage for Birth‐5) and is advocated in fulfilling the Foundation Stage Profiling (assessment) requirements for individual children. This article begins by drawing on research by the author and on related research and theory to illustrate some complexities in learning processes in young children. The research has led to the development of an observation‐interpretation tool—the Social Play Continuum. The Continuum, a tool to support the formative dimensions of observation, details progression in learning whilst the broader research has illustrated factors impacting on progression. An example of researcher—pupil dialogue is then analysed to consider the related dilemmas and potential of discourse within formative assessment. The article considers whether current policy development and documentation sufficiently recognise and encompass learning complexities and learner potential in young children.
Re‐engaging disaffected youth through physical activity programmes
Authors: Sandford Rachel A. , Armour Kathleen M. , Warmington Paul C.
Published: March 2006

It is a cherished belief within physical education and sport communities that participation in sport/physical activity has the potential to offer young people a range of physical, psychological and social benefits. More recently in the UK, this belief has become prominent in government policies that, among other things, are seeking to re‐engage disaffected young people in order to increase their life chances and minimise the impact of anti‐social behaviours upon others. Yet, the link between physical activity interventions and developing pro‐social behaviours is not straightforward, and there is a lack of credible research evidence to support many of the claims made for physical activity to or to inform decisions about effective intervention design. This paper reviews key literature, focusing particularly on disaffected young people and physical activity interventions in the school context, and identifies six key issues that, we would argue, warrant consideration when planning physical activity programmes to re‐engage disaffected young people. In particular, it is argued that the unprecedented levels of public and private funding available for physical activity related programmes in the UK, and the high expectations placed upon them to deliver specific measurable outcomes, mean that the need for credible monitoring and evaluation is pressing.
Measuring effectiveness in school sex education—methodological dilemmas in researching an intervention involving young mothers
Authors: Kidger Judi
Published: March 2006

Defining and therefore evaluating the effectiveness of school sex education is problematic because of its location at the site of struggle between competing discourses. Those discourses—summarised here as ‘moralistic’, ‘harm reductionist’ and ‘empowering’—each emphasise a different conceptualisation of sex education's intended outcomes. The challenges that these discursive tensions present for research are examined by drawing on a study investigating the effectiveness of involving young mothers in school sex education. Through a discussion of some of the study's findings, the value of adopting a multi‐method approach as a way of managing different understandings of effectiveness is explored. The article concludes that research in the area of sex education needs to make use of complex study designs, which take into consideration these contested understandings regarding its purpose.
Psychosocial work conditions, unemployment, and leisure-time physical activity: A population-based study
Authors: Mohammad Ali Sadiq , Lindström Martin
Published: March 2006

Objective: To investigate the association between psychosocial work conditions and unemployment, and low leisure-time physical activity. Design/setting/participants/measurements: The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with a 59% participation rate. A total of 5,180 persons aged 18—64 years who belonged to the workforce and the unemployed were included in this study. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work and unemployment, and low leisure-time physical activity. Psychosocial conditions at work were defined according to the Karasek—Theorell demand—control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive, and job strain categories. The multivariate analyses included age, country of birth, education, economic stress, and social participation. Results: In total, 16.1% of men and 14.8% of women had low leisure-time physical activity. The job strain (high demands/low control) and unemployed categories had significantly higher odds ratios of low leisure-time physical activity among both men and women compared with the relaxed (low demands/high control) reference category. However, the significant differences between the job strain, the unemployed, and the relaxed categories disappeared in the multivariate models. Conclusions: Respondents with job strain or unemployment have significantly higher odds ratios of low leisure-time physical activity than the relaxed category. However, after adjustments for education in particular the differences disappear. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the association between psychosocial work conditions, which are often dependent on education, and leisure-time physical activity may be interesting to study in more detail.
Mortality in relation to employment status during different levels of unemployment
Authors: Åhs Annika M.H. , Westerling Ragnar
Published: March 2006

Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate whether the risk for total and cause-specific mortality was related to employment status, and whether mortality in different non-employed groups differed during high and low levels of unemployment. Methods: Structured interviews were used from the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions in 1984—89 and 1992—97, including women and men aged 18 to 64, classified as unemployed (n=2,067), retired or on temporary disability pension (n=2,674), economically inactive for other reasons (n=1,373), and employed (n=38,293). Data were linked to death certificates, as registered in the Cause of Death Register. Cox proportional hazards models were performed for the mortality risk up until eight and a half years following the interview. Results: Being unemployed (OR=1.43), retired, or on temporary disability pension (OR=2.28) or being economically inactive for other reasons (OR=1.63) was related to a risk for total mortality, after considering the level of unemployment, sociodemographic factors and longstanding illness. The risk of death due to external causes was excessive among the unemployed and among those retired or on temporary disability pension, and resulted to a large extent from suicide. The interaction between employment status and level of unemployment was not significant. Conclusions: The level of unemployment seems to have no major influence on the mortality risk. Future interventions for the non-employed groups should focus on preventing avoidable mortality, such as injury and suicide.
Comparing Distances in Mental Images Constructed from Visual Experience or Verbal Descriptions: The Impact of Survey versus Route Perspective
Authors: Péruch Patrick , Chabanne Vanessa , Nesa Marie-Pascale , Thinus-Blanc Catherine , Denis Michel
Published: March 2006

Mental images constructed after visual examination of a spatial configuration or after processing a verbal description of that configuration have been shown to share similar properties, in particular the capacity to preserve metric information contained in the configuration represented. In the present study, we investigated the properties of mental images constructed under learning conditions resulting from the combination of a visual or a verbal mode of acquisition and a survey or route perspective. Participants memorized a virtual environment (a garden containing six objects) under one of four learning conditions: (a) viewing a map of the garden (visual–survey); (b) viewing a video presentation of a journey along the path around the garden (visual–route); (c) listening to a verbal description of the map of the garden (verbal–survey); and (d) listening to a verbal description of the journey around the garden (verbal–route). The participants were then invited to compare the distances separating objects in the garden mentally. Experiment 1, where the pairs of distances to be compared had a common starting point, revealed that the frequency of correct responses was higher, and response times were shorter when participants had learned about the environment visually rather than by a verbal description. The conditions involving a survey perspective resulted in a higher frequency of correct responses and shorter response times than those involving a route perspective. Lastly, a symbolic distance effect was obtained in the first three conditions, in that the greater the difference between the two distances being compared, the higher the frequency of correct responses, and the shorter the response times. Experiment 2, where the pairs of distances had different starting points, replicated these results, although longer response times revealed that the comparison process was more costly. Taken together, these findings support the view that mental spatial representations derived from different sources and adopting different perspectives contain genuine metric properties, except when the verbal modality and the route perspective are combined during learning.
Age of acquisition persists as the main factor in picture naming when cumulative word frequency and frequency trajectory are controlled
Authors: Pérez Miguel A.
Published: March 2006

The aim of this study was to address the effect of objective age of acquisition (AoA) on picture-naming latencies when different measures of frequency (cumulative and adult word frequency) and frequency trajectory are taken into account. A total of 80 Spanish participants named a set of 178 pictures. Several multiple regression analyses assessed the influence of AoA, word frequency, frequency trajectory, object familiarity, name agreement, image agreement, image variability, name length, and orthographic neighbourhood density on naming times. The results revealed that AoA is the main predictor of picture-naming times. Cumulative frequency and adult word frequency (written or spoken) appeared as important factors in picture naming, but frequency trajectory and object familiarity did not. Other significant variables were image agreement, image variability, and neighbourhood density. These results (a) provide additional evidence of the predictive power of AoA in naming times independent of word-frequency and (b) suggest that image variability and neighbourhood density should also be taken into account in models of lexical production.
Why does placing the question before an arithmetic word problem improve performance? A situation model account
Authors: Thevenot Catherine , Devidal Michel , Barrouillet Pierre , Fayol Michel
Published: March 2006

The aim of this paper is to investigate the controversial issue of the nature of the representation constructed by individuals to solve arithmetic word problems. More precisely, we consider the relevance of two different theories: the situation or mental model theory (Johnson-Laird, 1983; Reusser, 1989) and the schema theory (Kintsch & Greeno, 1985; Riley, Greeno, & Heller, 1983). Fourth-graders who differed in their mathematical skills were presented with problems that varied in difficulty and with the question either before or after the text. We obtained the classic effect of the position of the question, with better performance when the question was presented prior to the text. In addition, this effect was more marked in the case of children who had poorer mathematical skills and in the case of more difficult problems. We argue that this pattern of results is compatible only with the situation or mental model theory, and not with the schema theory.
Benchmarking scientific journals from the submitting author's viewpoint
Authors: Björk Bo‐Christer , Holmström Jonas
Published: April 2006

Authors of scholarly papers to a large extent base the decision on where to submit their manuscripts on the prestige of journals, taking little account of other possible factors. Information concerning such factors is in fact often not available. This paper argues for the establishment of methods for benchmarking scientific journals, taking into account a wider range of journal performance parameters than is currently available. A model for how prospective authors determine the value of submitting to a particular journal is presented. The model includes eight factors that influence an author's decision and 21 other underlying factors. The model is a qualitative one. The method proposes to benchmark groups of journals by application of the factors. Initial testing of the method has been undertaken in one discipline.
Finite Bruck loops
Authors: Aschbacher Michael , Kinyon Michael , Phillips J.
Published: March 2006

Bruck loops are Bol loops satisfying the automorphic inverse property. We prove a structure theorem for finite Bruck loops

X
X

, showing that

X
X

is essentially the direct product of a Bruck loop of odd order with a

2
2

-element Bruck loop. The former class of loops is well understood. We identify the minimal obstructions to the conjecture that all finite

2
2

-element Bruck loops are

2
2

-loops, leaving open the question of whether such obstructions actually exist.
Besov spaces with non-doubling measures
Authors: Deng Donggao , Han Yongsheng , Yang Dachun
Published: March 2006

Suppose that

μ
\mu

is a Radon measure on

R

d

,

{\mathbb R}^d,

which may be non-doubling. The only condition on

μ
\mu

is the growth condition, namely, there is a constant

C
0

>
0

C_0>0

such that for all

x
∈

s
u
p
p

(
μ
)

x\in {\rm {\,supp\,}}(\mu )

and

r
>
0
,

r>0,

\[

μ
(
B
(
x
,
r
)
)
≤

C
0

r
n

,

\mu (B(x, r))\le C_0r^n,

\]
where

0
>
n
≤
d
.

0>n\leq d.

In this paper, the authors establish a theory of Besov spaces

B
˙

p
q

s

(
μ
)

\dot B^s_{pq}(\mu )

for

1
≤
p
,
q
≤
∞

1\le p, q\le \infty

and

|

s

|

>
θ

|s|>\theta

, where

θ
>
0

\theta >0

is a real number which depends on the non-doubling measure

μ
\mu

,

C
0

C_0

,

n
n

and

d
d

. The method used to define these spaces is new even for the classical case. As applications, the lifting properties of these spaces by using the Riesz potential operators and the dual spaces are obtained.
A structure theorem for the elementary unimodular vector group
Authors: Jose Selby , Rao Ravi
Published: March 2006

Given a pair of vectors

v
,
w
∈

R

r
+
1

v,w\in R^{r+1}

with

⟨
v
,
w
⟩
=
v
⋅

w
T

=
1

\langle v,w\rangle =v\cdot w^T=1

, A. Suslin constructed a matrix

S
r

(
v
,
w
)
∈
S

l

2
r

(
R
)

S_r(v,w)\in Sl_{2^r}(R)

. We study the subgroup

S
U

m
r

(
R
)

SUm_r(R)

generated by these matrices, and its (elementary) subgroup

E
U

m
r

(
R
)

EUm_r(R)

generated by the matrices

S
r

(

e
1

ε
,

e
1

ε

T

−
1

)

S_r(e_1\varepsilon ,e_1\varepsilon ^{T^{-1}})

, for

ε
∈

E

r
+
1

(
R
)

\varepsilon \in E_{r+1}(R)

. The basic calculus for

E
U

m
r

(
R
)

EUm_r(R)

is developed via a key lemma, and a fundamental property of Suslin matrices is derived.
Quillen stratification for Hochschild cohomology of blocks
Authors: Pakianathan Jonathan , Witherspoon Sarah
Published: March 2006

We decompose the maximal ideal spectrum of the Hochschild cohomology ring of a block of a finite group into a disjoint union of subvarieties corresponding to elementary abelian

p
p

-subgroups of a defect group. These subvarieties are described in terms of group cohomological varieties and the Alperin-Broué correspondence on blocks. Our description leads in particular to a homeomorphism between the Hochschild variety of the principal block and the group cohomological variety. The proofs require a result of Stephen F. Siegel, given in the Appendix, which states that nilpotency in Hochschild cohomology is detected on elementary abelian

p
p

-subgroups.
Commutative ideal theory without finiteness conditions: Completely irreducible ideals
Authors: Fuchs Laszlo , Heinzer William , Olberding Bruce
Published: March 2006

An ideal of a ring is completely irreducible if it is not the intersection of any set of proper overideals. We investigate the structure of completely irrreducible ideals in a commutative ring without finiteness conditions. It is known that every ideal of a ring is an intersection of completely irreducible ideals. We characterize in several ways those ideals that admit a representation as an irredundant intersection of completely irreducible ideals, and we study the question of uniqueness of such representations. We characterize those commutative rings in which every ideal is an irredundant intersection of completely irreducible ideals.
An infinitary extension of the Graham–Rothschild Parameter Sets Theorem
Authors: Carlson Timothy , Hindman Neil , Strauss Dona
Published: March 2006

The Graham-Rothschild Parameter Sets Theorem is one of the most powerful results of Ramsey Theory. (The Hales-Jewett Theorem is its most trivial instance.) Using the algebra of

β
S

\beta S

, the Stone-Čech compactification of a discrete semigroup, we derive an infinitary extension of the Graham-Rothschild Parameter Sets Theorem. Even the simplest finite instance of this extension is a significant extension of the original. The original theorem says that whenever

k
>
m

k>m

in

N

\mathbb {N}

and the

k
k

-parameter words are colored with finitely many colors, there exist a color and an

m
m

-parameter word

w
w

with the property that whenever a

k
k

-parameter word of length

m
m

is substituted in

w
w

, the result is in the specified color. The “simplest finite instance” referred to above is that, given finite colorings of the

k
k

-parameter words for each

k
>
m

k>m

, there is one

m
m

-parameter word which works for each

k
k

. Some additional Ramsey Theoretic consequences are derived. We also observe that, unlike any other Ramsey Theoretic result of which we are aware, central sets are not necessarily good enough for even the

k
=
1

k=1

and

m
=
2

m=2

version of the Graham-Rothschild Parameter Sets Theorem.
Coisotropic and polar actions on compact irreducible Hermitian symmetric spaces
Authors: Biliotti Leonardo
Published: March 2006

We obtain the full classification of coisotropic and polar isometric actions of compact Lie groups on irreducible Hermitian symmetric spaces.
Quantum cohomology and 𝑆¹-actions with isolated fixed points
Authors: Gonzalez Eduardo
Published: March 2006

This paper studies symplectic manifolds that admit semi-free circle actions with isolated fixed points. We prove, using results on the Seidel element, that the (small) quantum cohomology of a

2
n

2n

-dimensional manifold of this type is isomorphic to the (small) quantum cohomology of a product of

n
n

copies of

P

1

\mathbb {P}^1

. This generalizes a result due to Tolman and Weitsman.
The parameterized Steiner problem and the singular Plateau problem via energy
Authors: Mese Chikako , Yamada Sumio
Published: March 2006

The Steiner problem is the problem of finding the shortest network connecting a given set of points. By the singular Plateau Problem, we will mean the problem of finding an area-minimizing surface (or a set of surfaces adjoined so that it is homeomorphic to a 2-complex) spanning a graph. In this paper, we study the parametric versions of the Steiner problem and the singular Plateau problem by a variational method using a modified energy functional for maps. The main results are that the solutions of our one- and two-dimensional variational problems yield length and area minimizing maps respectively, i.e. we provide new methods to solve the Steiner and singular Plateau problems by the use of energy functionals. Furthermore, we show that these solutions satisfy a natural balancing condition along its singular sets. The key issue involved in the two-dimensional problem is the understanding of the moduli space of conformal structures on a 2-complex.