bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Problem of Recruitment for the Indian Civil Service During the Late Nineteenth Century
Authors: Spangenberg Bradford
Published: April 2006

Historians have continued to view the Indian Civil Service (i.e., the British Indian bureaucracy or the “Covenanted Civil Service”) of the late nineteenth century as a highly popular and exclusive career for university-trained men in England. This is one specific aspect of the I.C.S. mydiology which views the nineteenth century British administrators in India as a superior body of highly efficient administrators. The sources, however, do not support the notions of exdusiveness and popularity. Even in the early years of the competition system, inaugurated in 1855, the caliber and educational background of the candidates failed to reach the high expectations of the Civil Service Commissioners. In the years between 1855 and 1874, both the number of nonuniversity candidates and nonuniversity recruits increased steadily. By 1874, nonuniversity men constituted over 74 percent of the competition candidates and approximately 55 percent of the selected recruits. In the same period, the representation of the Great English universities (Oxford and Cambridge) in the competition fell dramatically. Oxbridge students took 60 percent of the available positions in 1858, but only 18 percent of those offered in 1871. A disappointed British aristocracy (i.e., ruling class) became increasingly critical and apprehensive as to the future of the service. The secretary of state for India instituted a new system of recruitment in 1876, lowering the age limit for examination to 19 in hopes that the best students from the public schools would seek admittance. According to eminent spokesmen, such as Benjamin Jowett and Lord Ripon, the Viceroy Salisbury's reforms proved unsuccessful. The better students did not enter die competition, and a majority of the candidates came from unpretentious social and educational backgrounds. Authorities introduced other devices diroughout the remainder of the century to improve recruitment, but none achieved any improvement.

The reasons for the relative unpopularity of the I.C.S. careers were legion and included a complex mixture of the following factors: arrogant criticism voiced by the aristocracy concerning alleged low social origins of the civilian recruits; the general stigma attached to any close connection with India among the British aristocracy; the several and increasing grievances of the civilians, which the aristocratic ruling class did little to ameliorate; the pressures of Indian educated elements for employment in the I.C.S.; the declining value of the rupee; the widening spheres of professional employment in England; and what may be called the “natural” disadvantages of an Indian career.
The Consequences of Indo-Pakistani War for Urdu Language and Literature: A Parting of the Ways?
Authors: Naim C. M.
Published: April 2006

In September 1965, there occurred between the armies of India and Pakistan a fierce clash which each side attributed to the aggressive designs of the other. This undeclared war lasted only a short time; first a ceasefire ordered by the United Nations, and later the pact signed at Tashkent, brought the hostilities to a formal close. It was by no means a spontaneous or unexpected flareup, the hatred and antagonism that caused it had been festering for a long time. Similarly, its effects have not been short-lived; neither have they been restricted to the area of military logistics and high diplomacy. In this paper I intend to review the consequences of that conflict for Urdu language and literature. I shall proceed by showing why it was necessary for Urdu writers, especially the poets, to respond to this war, and what sort of attitudes were displayed in the poetry written exclusively in response to it. I shall then discuss certain subsequent developments in the general area of Urdu language and literature and end by presenting my own conclusions with regard to the future.
The Szechwan Riots of 1895 and American “Missionary Diplomacy”
Authors: Paulsen George E.
Published: April 2006

China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 not only revealed to the world the weakness of the Celestial Empire, but also raised a number of critical problems for the Imperial government, none more complicated than that of protecting foreign missionaries. The missionary problem had already become a diplomatic headache in the latter part of the nineteenth century, after the Treaty Powers had forced the Chinese government to recognize the right of Christian missionaries to establish missions far in the interior of China where they were exposed to attacks by hostile Chinese. As greater numbers of missionaries penetrated the interior, antimissionary outrages occurred with disturbing and increasing frequency, bringing forth bitter complaints from the foreign community in China about the inability of the Powers to force the Imperial government to provide protection. The customary demand of the Powers when outrages occurred had been for protection of their nationals, reparations for lives lost and property destroyed, and punishment of provincial officials who had been unable or unwilling to prevent outrages. Frequently there had been a resort to “gunboat diplomacy,” when the Powers rushed naval vessels to cities where riots threatened or occurred to protect foreigners and overawe local officials.
Kuga's Commentaries on the Constitution of the Empire of Japan
Authors: Teters Barbara J.
Published: April 2006

Kuga Katsunan, regarded by his contemporaries as one of the three leading publicists of the eighteen nineties, was something of a hero to many young intellectuals who were attracted by his synthesis of liberalism and nationalism in the concept known askokumin. This effort to construct a theoretical justification for fusing the two predominant forces of modern Japan in a union in which the individual and the state would be balanced in a condition of interdependence was Katsunan's contribution to Japan's early liberal tradition. Rejecting for himself the label “liberal” in its orthodox sense of advocacy of doctrinaire individualism, Kuga was no more willing to regard himself as a “nationalist” unless that term were so defined as to include a positive affirmation of the value of the individual. He sought to develop instead a theory within which liberalism and nationalism could coexist in almost perfect balance.
The Proper Limits of Agitation: The Crisis of 1879–80 in Bombay Presidency
Authors: Tucker Richard P.
Published: April 2006

The upheavals of 1857 in India left a heightened conviction among the British rulers of what many had long believed, that the loyalty of their subjects could never be relied upon. Even after 1857 the British fear of sedition was stimulated at irregular intervals by such events as the Wahhabi trials of the eighteen sixties and the Kuka uprisings of 1869–72. British responses to nationalist challenges for decades to come were conditioned by the resulting insecurity, and nowhere was this more dramatically reinforced than in Bombay Presidency in the late eighteen seventies.

British rule in Maharashtra had been erected on the ruins of the Maratha confederation. The legacy of independent Hindu rule lived on after 1818, although civil disturbances in following years sometimes bore little relation to the change of rulers. Spasmodically from 1818 to 1857 a series of minor revolts broke out in the countryside and towns, all of which fell into traditional patterns. All were strictly local in scope, whether mutinies of sepoys against English officers or tribal and low-caste riots against village moneylenders.
The Right-Left Division of South Indian Society
Authors: Beck Brenda E. F.
Published: April 2006

What were the reasons for the development of a right-left division of South Indian castes? Why has this division become less of a focus of rivalry in modern times? This article uses observations collected in the Coimbatore region of Madras State between 1964 and 1966 to suggest that this earlier opposition expressed a fundamental economic principle: the distinction between castes who held direct or indirect rights in land and those who were primarily dependent on renumeration for specific professional services. This contrast was expressed symbolically by the use of the terms “right” and “left,” and in day-to-day activity by the opposition of instrumental to ritualistic values in the evaluation of social status. Use of the terms right and left had gradually become outmoded, due to substantial changes in economic organization. The social correlates of this earlier opposition, however, have continued to endure in certain regions. It is hypothesized that this persistence of social contrasts is related to the absence of Brahmans as an important land-owning group in such areas.
Problems of Centralization in Republican China: The Case of Ch'en Ch'eng and the Kuomintang
Authors: Gillin Donald G.
Published: April 2006

This is a study of the role played by Ch'en Ch'eng, who for almost thirty years was Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted and powerful lieutenant, in the relations between Chiang's “Central” government and the so-called tsa-parh or noncentral military forces. The study illustrates both the complexity and importance of Chiang's dealings with the tsa-parh and suggests that Ch'en had the responsibility of coopting them into Chiang's service. This was especially true with respect to militarists from Kwangtung and Kwangsi, who felt that their leadership of the Nationalist movement had been usurped by the Chekiang-Kiangsu group, led by Chiang Kai-shek. Ch'en also emerges as an advocate of fundamental social and economic reform, as well as an important proponent of resisting Japan and, therefore, the united front with the Communists, although, after 1945, he became chief-of-staff to Chiang Kai-shek and, in this capacity, directed Nationalist efforts to destroy the Communists. The article concludes by suggesting that Nationalist efforts to impose a “modern,” meaning a unitary and organically centralized, state on what traditionally had been a politically fragmented society provoked unprecedented antagonism toward the central government on the part of the provinces and prevented Chiang Kai-shek from achieving even that degree of control enjoyed by China's emperors in the past.
The Computer—Linguistic Detective of Authorship
Authors: Dreher John J.
Published: April 2006

This is a brief descriptive and explanatory paper about the use of the computer in Asian linguistic studies. Schemes for the use of autocovariance and fast Fourier transforms are presented, with their application to the question of literary structure and author identification. These results suggest that changes in the scale of resolution of the analyses could furnish the basis for the description of the human information emitter.
The Role of the Frontier in Chinese Lineage Development
Authors: Pasternak Burton
Published: April 2006

Many writers interested in Chinese culture and society have drawn attention to the uneven distribution of large, highly corporate, localized lineages in China. Many have noted the concentration of such lineages in the two southeastern provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung, but relatively few writers have attempted to offer anything like a systematic explanation for the distribution. The most recent and ambitious attempt to come to grips with the problem is found in Maurice Freedman's book,Chinese Lineage and Society. The author reviews a number of factors relevant to the emergence and persistence of strong lineages, and singles out a few which he considers to be of special importance. A relationship is suggested between rice cultivation, extensive irrigation, the exigencies of frontier life, and the emergence of large, localized, highly corporate lineages. The purpose of this paper will be to reassess the role of the frontier in the development of the Chinese lineage. We will consider the extent to which the conditions of frontier life may have functioned as a catalyst in the formation of elaborated, localized lineages in China. Freedman has suggested that the need for cooperation in opening and bringing water to wild land, and in defending life and property, stimulated a rapid development of corporate, localized lineages on the southeastern Chinese frontier.
Pūjā Associations in West Bengal
Authors: Sarma Jyotirmoyee
Published: April 2006

In the Indian Hindu society of today voluntary associations form for the purpose of sponsoring annual religious ceremonies or pūjās. These associations are organized by young men who collect funds from their neighbors and friends, install images for worship in temporary shelters on open land on the ceremonial days, and employ priests to perform the religious rituals. Such associations may be composed of men of any caste, and although they observe religious ceremonies, they also provide many secular diversions. These associations devoted to religious ceremonies have proliferated since India gained her Independence. They seem to exemplify the changes that have come into Hindu society with the assurance of the preservation of the traditional culture by the new government. They also indicate the greater awareness of the larger community beyond the range of the family, due to enhanced mobility of the population and the trend toward urban dwelling.
Missionary Archives in England for East and Southeast Asia: 1968: A Report
Authors: McCutcheon James
Published: April 2006

English repositories are gradually organizing and indexing their large holdings of missionary material under the guidance of trained archivists. The general practice is not to bind their manuscripts, but to place them in boxes arranged chronologically by country or, where missionary activity has been intense, by mission station within the country. Each box contains an index for material in that box. The larger societies have files on individual missionaries and the London Missionary Society has a painting or photograph of each individual it sent into the field. Gradually, comprehensive indexes to the whole archive are being prepared and registered with the National Register of Archives (Quality House, Quality Court, London W.C. 2). The National Register is mimeographing these guides, but in limited quantity.
The Transformations of Messianic Revolt and the Founding of the Ming Dynasty
Authors: Dardess John W.
Published: April 2006

Abstracts

The late Yuan popular rebellions began in 1351 when two independent White Lotus Societies, in north and south China, both purveying a chiliastic Buddo-Manichean ideology, recruited to their cause a following of socially miscellaneous elements who called themselves Red Turbans, and provoked an empire-wide attack upon the landlords and the local officials. One key to the failure of the rebels to rise above the rioting phase lay in their inability to gain massive and sustained peasant support. The result was that the landlord gentry, leading peasant militia (i-ping), were able to contain and suppress these riots by 1353–54 in cooperation with the Yuan bureaucracy. However, when the Yuan Chancellor Toghto was for political reasons cashiered in January 1355, the dynasty lost control of the pacification process. In these circumstances, new leadership emerged from both of the original rebel organizations, and stepping into the control vacuum left by the Yuan, pressed an entirely new policy of cooperation with the landlord gentry and theiri-ping. The main leaders in this were Ch'en Yu-liang and the future Ming founder, Chu Yuan-chang. Chu's victory over Ch'en, his chief rival, is due largely to the tighter centralization of his embryonic imperial regime.
The Japanese Labor Movement, 1912–1919: Suzuki Bunji and the Yūaikai
Authors: Large Stephen S.
Published: April 2006

Abstracts

The Yuaikai (Friendly Society) was the only large, national labor organization in 1912–1919 Japan. Its founder, Suzuky Bunji, an intellectual and Christian humanist, believed that cooperation between labor and management was the key to developing the Yuaikai into a true labor union movement in a day when organized labor was held in suspicion. Accordingly, Suzuki organized the Yuaikai workers into potential unions and tried to persuade business and government to accept a moderate union movement. Suzuki's gradualist tactice resulted in expansion of the Yuaikai. By 1917, after two trips to the United States, Suzuki had become the symbol of Japanese organized labor at home and abroad. But Suzuki's moderate approach to reform was jolted by repression of the Yuaikai in 1917–1918 by business and government and his moderate leadership in the Yuaikai was challenged by militant workers who resented intellectual domination of their movement and by radical university graduates who sought to turn the Yuaikai into a revolutionary organization. These two groups conspired to turn the Yuaikai into the relatively militant Sodomei (General Federation) in 1919 and to reduce Suzuki's power in the movement but their revalry for power greatly undermined the capacity of the Sodomei to build further on the institutional foundations laid for organized labor by Suzuki Bunji.
Adoption and Samurai Mobility in Tokugawa Japan
Authors: Moore Ray A.
Published: April 2006

Abstracts

Historians have overstated the role of adoption as a channel of upward social mobility for poor but bright young samurai in Tokugawa Japan. An analysis of family histories and public service records of fourhanshows that adoption helped to preserve both samurai lineages and the political system of daimyo rule. It also created opportunities for younger sons to remain in the elite class under a system of primogeniture. Adoption in the middle and upper (shi) ranks of the class was normally between related families of roughly the same social status. Where status differences were involved, the adopted son usually represented a higher status than the adopting family. The few records available for lower ranks (sotsu) reveal some marriage and adoption with commoners, but none with the higher ranks of the samurai class. In sum, adoption clearly supported the system of hereditary status, but rarely provided opportunities for poor but bright samurai to get ahead in society.
The Theme of the Neglected Wife in the Poetry of Ts'ao Chih
Authors: Roy David T.
Published: April 2006

Scholars are agreed that the most significant literary development of the O Chien-an period, which coincided with the collapse of the Eastern Han empire, was the rise of the five word poem to a position of dominance in the field of Chinese poetry. Ts'ao Chih (A.D. 192–232) probably made the greatest individual contribution to the emergence of this verse form. It is my purpose to discuss the way in which he made use of a particular theme, that of the neglected wife, in his five word poetry.

The theme of the neglected wife is a very old one. It is only one variation of what might be called the sexual allegory for the relationship between minister and ruler. As such, its origins can be traced to the earliest Chinese literature. As Hellmut Wilhelm has remarked: “According to the symbolism of the Book of Changes, the official stands to the ruler in the relationship of Yin to Yang. Love affairs are therefore frequently used to symbolize a ruler-official relationship.” Although the love songs in the Shih ching probably originated in folk tradition, the accepted Confucian interpretation made the woman typify the minister and the lover the prince.
Rabindranath Tagore—“The Greatest of The Bāuls of Bengal”
Authors: Dimock Edward C.
Published: April 2006

When Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 andwas thereby rocketed into international prominence, the literary and theological worlds were afflicted with a rash of speculation as to whether or not his ideas were basically Christian. “The God of Gitanjali is no impersonal, imperturbable absolute of Hindu philosophy, but…whether He be explicitly Christ or not, He is at least a Christ-like God, and the experience of His suppliant and lover is one with the deepest core of all Christian experience.” “The ideas of Rabindranath, like those of so many thinkers of modern India, have often been quite wrongly assigned to Indian sources.” “In Rabindranath we get a glimpse of what the Christianity of India will be like….”
Sun Yat-sen, Yang Ch'ü-yün, and the Early Revolutionary Movement in China
Authors: Hsüeh Chün-Tu
Published: April 2006

Sun Yat-sen is well known as the founder of the Hsing-chung hui (Revive China Society), but few realize the significant role played by Yang Ch'ü-yün who, for almost five years, was the first chairman of that revolutionary organization. According to one source, it was Yang who insisted on the establishment of a republican government in what is now known as the “first revolutionary attempt of Sun Yat-sen.” This article is a study of the interplay of their leadership and the Chinese revolutionary movement from 1895 to 1900.
The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple
Authors: Stein Burton
Published: April 2006

The economic importance of Hindu temples in medieval South India has been commented upon by most students of South Indian history. Without exception, the temple is seen to have had a central place in the dominantly agrarian economy of South India prior to the extension of British control in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, beyond recognition of the significant economic functions of medieval South Indian temples, little attention has been given to the matter.
The Deserts of Asia
Authors: Cressey George B.
Published: April 2006

More than one third of Asia is dry. From the Red Sea almost to the Pacific are a series of deserts and semideserts, the product of continentality, mountain patterns, and atmospheric circulation. Two areas of extreme aridity are present in die Rub al Khali of southern Arabia and the Takla Makan of western China, both essentially rainless and lifeless. Elsewhere, aridity fades off into subhumid lands with marginal potentials for settlement.
The Initial British Impact on India: A Case Study of the Benares Region
Authors: Cohn Bernard S.
Published: April 2006

The British administrative frontier in India had widely differing effects on the political and social structures of the regions into which it moved from the middle of the eighteenth century until the middle of the nineteenth century. It is impossible to generalize on the impact of the administration, because the regions into which it moved differed in their political and social structures, and because British administration and ideas about administration, both in India and in Great Britain, changed markedly throughout this hundred year period.
Fluidization of nanoagglomerates in a rotating fluidized bed
Authors: Quevedo Jose , Pfeffer Robert , Shen Yueyang , Dave Rajesh , Nakamura Hideya , Watano Satoru
Published: April 2006

Agglomerates of nanoparticles were fluidized in a rotating fluidized bed (RFB) system at different rotating speeds corresponding to 10, 20, 30 and 40 times the gravity force (9.8 m/s2). The powders, fumed silica Aerosil® R974, Aerosil® R972 and Aeroxide® TiO2 P25, with a primary particle size of 12, 16 and 21 nm, respectively, form micron sized nanoagglomerates having a very low bulk density of around 30 kg/m3 for the fumed silicas, and a somewhat higher bulk density of about 90 kg/m3 for Aeroxide® TiO2 P25. Their fluidization behaviors are described by the fluidized bed expansion, pressure drop and minimum fluidization velocity (Umf). It was found that the fumed silica agglomerates expanded considerably while the TiO2 agglomerates showed very little bed expansion. The minimum fluidization velocities for Aerosil® R974 and R972 ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 m/s and from 0.13 to 0.20 m/s for Aeroxide® TiO2 P25; Umf increased at higher rotating speeds for all powders. At gas velocities above Umf, the fluidized bed pressure drop of fumed silica agglomerates was higher than theoretically estimated by mathematical models found in the literature. Thus, it is believed that for these light particles additional tangential momentum effects may increase the bed pressure drop and a revised model is proposed. In addition, the agglomerate size and external void fraction of the bed are predicted by using a fractal analysis coupled with a modified Richardson‐Zaki equation for data obtained with Aerosil® R972. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Preparation of LiMn2O4 powders via spray pyrolysis and fluidized bed hybrid system
Authors: Taniguchi Izumi , Matsuda Keigo , Furubayashi Hiroki , Nakajima Shinya
Published: April 2006

A novel technique has been developed to directly produce fine ceramic powders from liquid solution using a spray pyrolysis and fluidized bed hybrid system. Using this technique, the preparation of lithium manganese oxides LiMn2O4, which are the most promising cathode materials for lithium‐ion batteries, has been carried out for various superficial gas velocities U0 = 0.30‐0.91 m/s, static bed heights Ls = 50‐150 mm, and medium particle sizes dpm,g = 294‐498 μm. The resulting powders had spherical nanostructured particles that comprised primary particles with a few tens of nanometer in size, and they exhibited a pure cubic spinel structure without any impurities in the XRD patterns. Moreover, the as‐prepared powders showed better crystallinity and smaller specific surface area than those by conventional spray pyrolysis. The effects of process parameters on powder properties, such as specific surface area and crystallinity, were investigated for a wide range of superficial gas velocities and static bed heights. An as‐prepared sample was used as cathode active materials for lithium‐ion batteries and the cell performance has been investigated. Test experiments in the electrochemical cell Li/1M LiClO4 in PC/LiMn2O4 demonstrated that the sample prepared by the present technique was superior to that by the conventional spray pyrolysis and solid‐state reaction method. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Learning and knowledge networks in interdisciplinary collaborations
Authors: Haythornthwaite Caroline
Published: April 2006

Interdisciplinary collaboration has become of particular interest as science and social science research increasingly crosses traditional boundaries, raising issues about what kinds of information and knowledge exchange occurs, and thus what to support. Research on interdisciplinarity, learning, and knowledge management suggest the benefits of collaboration are achieved when individuals pool knowledge toward a common goal. Yet, it is not sufficient to say that knowledge exchange must take place; instead, we need to ask what kinds of exchanges form the basis of collaboration in these groups. To explore this, members of three distributed, interdisciplinary teams (one science and two social science teams) were asked what they learned from the five to eight others with whom they worked most closely, and what they thought those others learned from them. Results show the exchange of factual knowledge to be only one of a number of learning exchanges that support the team. Important exchanges also include learning the process of doing something, learning about methods, engaging jointly in research, learning about technology, generating new ideas, socialization into the profession, accessing a network of contacts, and administration work. Distributions of these relations show that there is more sharing of similar than different kinds knowledge, suggesting that knowledge may flow across disciplinary boundaries along lines of practice.
Effects of continuous and intermittent exposure to RF fields with a wide range of SARs on cell growth, survival, and cell cycle distribution
Authors: Takashima Yoshio , Hirose Hideki , Koyama Shin , Suzuki Yukihisa , Taki Masao , Miyakoshi Junji
Published: April 2006

To examine the biological effects of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields in vitro, we have examined the fundamental cellular responses, such as cell growth, survival, and cell cycle distribution, following exposure to a wide range of specific absorption rates (SAR). Furthermore, we compared the effects of continuous and intermittent exposure at high SARs. An RF electromagnetic field exposure unit operating at a frequency of 2.45 GHz was used to expose cells to SARs from 0.05 to 1500 W/kg. When cells were exposed to a continuous RF field at SARs from 0.05 to 100 W/kg for 2 h, cellular growth rate, survival, and cell cycle distribution were not affected. At 200 W/kg, the cell growth rate was suppressed and cell survival decreased. When the cells were exposed to an intermittent RF field at 300 W/kgpk, 900 W/kgpk and 1500 W/kgpk (100 W/kgmean), no significant differences were observed between these conditions and intermittent wave exposure at 100 W/kg. When cells were exposed to a SAR of 50 W/kg for 2 h, the temperature of the medium around cells rose to 39.1 °C, 100 W/kg exposure increased the temperature to 41.0 °C, and 200 W/kg exposure increased the temperature to 44.1 °C. Exposure to RF radiation results in heating of the medium, and the thermal effect depends on the mean SAR. Hence, these results suggest that the proliferation disorder is caused by the thermal effect. Bioelectromagnetics 27:392–400, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
What keeps cells in tissues behaving normally in the face of myriad mutations?
Authors: Rubin Harry
Published: April 2006

The use of a reporter gene in transgenic mice indicates that there are many local mutations and large genomic rearrangements per somatic cell that accumulate with age at different rates per organ and without visible effects. Dissociation of the cells for monolayer culture brings out great heterogeneity of size and loss of function among cells that presumably reflect genetic and epigenetic differences among the cells, but are masked in organized tissue. The regulatory power of a mass of contiguous normal cells is expressed in its capacity to normalize the appearance and growth behavior of solitary homophilic neoplastic cells, and to redirect differentiation of solitary heterophilic stem‐like cells. Intimate contact between the interacting cells is required to induce these changes. The normalization of the neoplastic phenotype does not require gap junctional communication between cells, though transdifferentiation might. These varied relationships are manifestations of the unifying biological principle of “order in the large over heterogeneity in the small”. BioEssays 28: 515–524, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The power of regeneration and the stem‐cell kingdom: freshwater planarians (Platyhelminthes)
Authors: Saló Emili
Published: April 2006

The great powers of regeneration shown by freshwater planarians, capable of regenerating a complete organism from any tiny body fragment, have attracted the interest of scientists throughout history. In 1814, Dalyell concluded that planarians could “almost be called immortal under the edge of the knife”. Equally impressive is the developmental plasticity of these platyhelminthes, including continuous growth and fission (asexual reproduction) in well‐fed organisms, and shrinkage (degrowth) during prolonged starvation. The source of their morphological plasticity and regenerative capability is a stable population of totipotent stem cells—“neoblasts”; this is the only cell type in the adult that has mitotic activity and differentiates into all cell types. This cellular feature is unique to planarians in the Bilateria clade. Over the last fifteen years, molecular studies have begun to reveal the role of developmental genes in regeneration, although it would be premature to propose a molecular model for planarian regeneration. Genomic and proteomic data are essential in answering some of the fundamental questions concerning this remarkable morphological plasticity. Such information should also pave the way to understanding the genetic pathways associated with metazoan somatic stem‐cell regulation and pattern formation. BioEssays 28: 546–559, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cloning and expression of a Melanocarpus albomyces steryl esterase gene in Pichia pastoris and Trichoderma reesei
Authors: Kontkanen Hanna , Reinikainen Tapani , Saloheimo Markku
Published: April 2006

The ste1 gene encoding a steryl esterase was isolated from the thermophilic fungus Melanocarpus albomyces. The gene has one intron, and it encodes a protein consisting of 576 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of the steryl esterase was shown to be related to lipases and other esterases such as carboxylesterases. Formation of mature protein requires post‐translational removal of a putative 18‐amino‐acid signal sequence and a 13‐residue propeptide at the N‐terminus. The intronless version of the Melanocarpus albomyces ste1 gene was expressed in Pichia pastoris under the inducible AOX1 promoter. The production level was low, and a large proportion of the total activity yield was found to be present intracellularly. However, the fact that steryl esterase activity was produced by P. pastoris cells carrying the expression cassette confirmed that the correct gene had been cloned. The ste1 gene was subsequently expressed in T. reesei under the inducible cbh1 promoter, and a clearly higher production level was obtained. About 60% of the total activity was bound to the fungal mycelium or to solid components of the culture medium, or existed as aggregates. Triton X‐100 was successfully used to recover this activity. The heterologous production system in T. reesei provides a means of producing M. albomyces steryl esterase STE1 reliably in large scale for future studies. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Predicting and explaining the propensity to bid in online auctions: a comparison of two action‐theoretical models
Authors: Bosnjak Michael , Obermeier Dirk , Tuten Tracy L.
Published: April 2006

The literature on the willingness to bid and the actual bidding behaviour of consumers in online auctions is currently dominated by approaches based on the economic decision‐making and information processing paradigm and are primarily focused on what influences auction outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, no serious attempts have been undertaken to stringently test and compare existing models derived from an action‐theoretical perspective to predict and explain consumers´ propensity to use online auctions as well as their actual usage. Two theoretical models seem most promising in this context: The Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen I, 1985, 1991) and a derivative of the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein M and Ajzen I, 1975) tailored towards using computer technologies, the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis FD, 1989). In both theories, intentions play a central role in predicting behaviour. The models differ in their descriptions of the factors that determine behavioural intentions. In the Theory of Planned Behaviour, attitudes towards the behaviour, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms are assumed to influence intentions. In contrast, the Technology Acceptance Model suggests that intentions and attitudes are influenced by the perceived usefulness of a certain technological tool to improve shopping productivity (e.g. by enabling the consumer to obtain a better price or save time) and the tools´ perceived ease of use. In principle, both theories can be used to predict and explain technology‐dependent consumer behaviour, but which one is more suited to online auctions? We compared both theories in terms of their predictive power and their practical utility. Although both models explain the propensity to bid in online auctions very well, the Technology Acceptance Model provides more specific recommendations for facilitating the use of online auctions.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Emerging perspectives on customer relationships, interactions and loyalty in Irish retail financial services
Authors: O'Loughlin Deirdre , Szmigin Isabelle
Published: April 2006

This paper presents the key findings in relation to current consumer perspectives on the role of relationships, the nature of loyalty and types of customer interaction from an in‐depth qualitative consumer study of Irish retail banking.

Although the literature proposes that the RM approach is particularly applicable to the financial services sector, the research findings identify key supply and demand‐related changes within Irish financial services and raise questions as to the appropriateness of general RM theory to the current nature of interaction between consumers and their financial suppliers.

Key customer factors such as low involvement, apathy and dissatisfaction have resulted in much apparent customer loyalty actually being spurious. More important for customers in this study was how convenient the bank was for their lifestyle.

In an age in which increased depersonalisation and automation impact upon the nature of consumer‐supplier interaction and service delivery, it would appear that the concepts of relationship and loyalty need to be fundamentally re‐examined and their role and relevance within current retail financial services re‐appraised.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Social meanings in Christmas consumption: an exploratory study of UK celebrants' consumption rituals
Authors: McKechnie Sally , Tynan Caroline
Published: April 2006

Although much has been written about the celebration of Christmas from a variety of perspectives, limited attention has been paid in the consumer behaviour literature to understanding the behaviours of consumers surrounding this event. Apart from insights gained from prior work on consumption rituals and meanings of festivities, our knowledge of meaning creation through Christmas consumption is partial, and written mainly from a North American perspective. Since consumer behaviour is shaped by cultural and social contexts, understanding the relationship between consumption objects and the social meanings that consumers ascribe to them is a research imperative. This paper explores the ways in which the British Christmas is consumed as a shared consumption experience, by bringing together two different approaches taken by consumer researchers and sociologists to analysing social consumption patterns. These are drawn from structuralist and post‐structuralist thinking. The findings of an exploratory qualitative study are used to demonstrate how an enhanced understanding of consumption meanings associated with this particular cultural context can lead to new insights into how consumers create social meanings through special, as well as ordinary, behaviours.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Getting hammered? ‥‥ students coping with alcohol
Authors: Piacentini Maria G. , Banister Emma N.
Published: April 2006

This research draws on identity and coping theories to develop an understanding of the ways in which students with differing stances towards alcohol (both drinkers and light/non‐drinkers) deal with alcohol‐dominated social situations. We report findings from two studies, the first based on the stories of 160 students and the second based on in‐depth interviews with eight students. Our research found that many undergraduates view alcohol as playing a central role in ‘student life’, with excessive drinking being the norm. However, there is a significant group who are not comfortable with this view, nor do they ascribe to it. Choosing not to engage with the stereotypical student image presents a very real set of problems, stresses and barriers and the students discussed the various coping strategies they had in place to deal with these problems. We discuss the implications of these findings and the challenges for public policy in this area.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Correlation between glucocorticoid receptor binding parameters, blood pressure, and body mass index in a healthy human population
Authors: Elaković Ivana , Perišić Tatjana , Čanković‐Kadijević Milče , Matić Gordana
Published: April 2006

Correlation between the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) number and affinity for the ligand, as well as the relationship between these equilibrium binding parameters and body mass index, blood pressure, and age were examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of healthy human subjects. It was found that the only statistically significant correlation was that between the GR number per cell and equilibrium dissociation constant, Kd (r = 0.84, p < 0.0001). This observation implies the existence of a compensatory mechanism providing for lower GR affinity in individuals that have more receptor sites in circulating mononuclear cells and vice versa. This compensatory phenomenon together with considerable interindividual variation (GR number per cell ranging from 1391 to 15133, CV = 58.62%; and Kd from 2.5 to 98.6 nM, CV = 80.87%), reflects plasticity of the glucocorticoid system. The results pose the question of whether this compensatory mechanism observed in healthy human subjects persists in pathophysiological states associated with glucocorticoid hormone actions and suggest that tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids could be better predicted by the sign and magnitude of the correlation between the two receptor equilibrium binding parameters than by each of them separately. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of resveratrol on surgery‐induced peritoneal adhesions in an experimental model
Authors: Sogutlu Gokhan , Karabulut Aysun Bay , Ara Cengiz , Cinpolat Ozgur , Isik Burak , Piskin Turgut , Celik Onder
Published: April 2006

Adhesion formation is a common cause of complications following surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resveratrol on intra‐abdominal adhesion prevention in a rat model. Twenty one Wistar‐Albino rats weighing 200–250 g were assigned to three groups, of 7 rats each. After a midline laparotomy was performed, a 1 cm area of the ceacum was abraded in two of the groups. They were then given either resveratrol (Group 1), or saline (Group 2) intraperitoneally. Group 3 rats (sham operation) received no treatment, without the serosal damage. On the 14th day, the rats were killed and the adhesion score was determined according to Mazuji's adhesion grade scale. The tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured. The mean Mazuji's adhesion grade in the resveratrol group was 1.0 ± 0.0, in the saline group 2.57 ± 1.51, and zero in the sham operated group (p < 0.05 between the resveratrol group and saline group comparison). The levels of MDA and NO in the resveratrol group were significantly lower than those of the saline group (p < 0.001). The level of GSH in the resveratrol group was significantly higher than in the saline and sham operated groups (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Introduction of resveratrol into the peritoneal cavity at the time of surgery reduced adhesion formation effectively in this model. Resveratrol probably acts through reduction of lipid peroxidation products. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lateral components in the cone terminals of the rabbit retina: Horizontal cell origin and glutamate receptor expression
Authors: Deng Qiudong , Wang Ling , Dong Wei , He Shigang
Published: April 2006

We examined the identities of horizontal cell (HC) lateral components in cone terminals and the expression of glutamate receptors on the tips of HC dendrites. We injected A‐type horizontal cells (AHCs) with neurobiotin and demonstrated that neurobiotin labeled completely all AHCs within a patch of retina. We converted neurobiotin by using diaminobenzidine and considered labeled processes to be from AHCs and unlabeled processes to be from B‐type horizontal cells (BHCs). Three possible combinations of HC dendrites could exist in cone pedicles: both lateral components originating from AHCs, both from BHCs, or one from an AHC and the other from a BHC. EM observations revealed that a majority of cone terminals contained about equal numbers of lateral components originating from each of the two types of HCs and that each of the three possible combinations was present in equal numbers. Localization of different types of glutamate receptors on HC dendritic tips showed that 55% of AHC dendritic tips expressed AMPA receptors and 30% expressed kainate receptors, whereas, in the case of BHCs, 22% of dendritic tips expressed AMPA receptors and 33% expressed kainate receptors. This study suggests that cone photoreceptors feed the light signal equally into networks of AHCs and BHCs and that differential expression of AMPA/kainate receptors by different HCs could account for different functions. J. Comp. Neurol. 496:698–705, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Developmental pattern of CB1cannabinoid receptor immunoreactivity in brain regions important to zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) song learning and control
Authors: Soderstrom Ken , Tian Qiyu
Published: April 2006

Zebra finches learn song during distinct developmental stages, making them an important species for studying mechanisms underlying vocal development. Distinct interconnected forebrain regions have been identified as important to specific features of zebra finch vocal learning and production. Because prior experiments have demonstrated that late postnatal exposure to cannabinoid agonists alters zebra finch song learning, we have sought to identify brain regions likely involved in it. By using an affinity‐purified polyclonal antibody directed against the zebra finch CB1cannabinoid receptor, we have studied staining patterns in groups of males at 25, 50, 75, and >100 days of age (adults). A general waxing and waning of staining intensity were observed over this developmental period. Distinct staining of song‐related brain regions was also noted. Early establishment of staining patterns within rostral telencephalic song regions [area X and lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (lMAN)] suggests a role in auditory learning. Later establishment and maintenance in adulthood of small somata and neuropil staining within regions of rostral telencephalon [HVC and robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA)] are consistent with a vocal motor role for cannabinoid signaling. Our results provide insight into brain regions likely responsible for cannabinoid‐altered vocal learning and add to accumulating evidence supporting an important role for cannabinoid signaling in CNS development. J. Comp. Neurol. 496:739–758, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.