bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Targeting GGTase-I Activates RHOA, Increases Macrophage Reverse Cholesterol Transport, and Reduces Atherosclerosis in Mice
Authors: Khan Omar M. , Akula Murali K. , Skålen Kristina , Karlsson Christin , Ståhlman Marcus , Young Stephen G. , Borén Jan , Bergo Martin O.
Published: January 2013

Background—

Statins have antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic effects that have been attributed to inhibition of RHO protein geranylgeranylation in inflammatory cells. The activity of protein geranylgeranyltransferase type I (GGTase-I) is widely believed to promote membrane association and activation of RHO family proteins. However, we recently showed that knockout of GGTase-I in macrophages activates RHO proteins and proinflammatory signaling pathways, leading to increased cytokine production and rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we asked whether the increased inflammatory signaling of GGTase-I–deficient macrophages would influence the development of atherosclerosis in low-density lipoprotein receptor–deficient mice.

Methods and Results—

Aortic lesions in mice lacking GGTase-I in macrophages (
Pggt1b
▵/▵) contained significantly more T lymphocytes than the lesions in controls. Surprisingly, however, mean atherosclerotic lesion area in
Pggt1b
▵/▵ mice was reduced by ≈60%. GGTase-I deficiency reduced the accumulation of cholesterol esters and phospholipids in macrophages incubated with minimally modified and acetylated low-density lipoprotein. Analyses of GGTase-I–deficient macrophages revealed upregulation of the cyclooxygenase 2–peroxisome proliferator-activated-γ pathway and increased scavenger receptor class B type I– and CD36-mediated basal and high-density lipoprotein–stimulated cholesterol efflux. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of RHOA, but not RAC1 or CDC42, normalized cholesterol efflux. The increased cholesterol efflux in cultured cells was accompanied by high levels of macrophage reverse cholesterol transport and slightly reduced plasma lipid levels in vivo.

Conclusions—

Targeting GGTase-I activates RHOA and leads to increased macrophage reverse cholesterol transport and reduced atherosclerosis development despite a significant increase in inflammation.
The variations of vertebrate-type steroid hormones in the freshwater narrow-clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) (Decapoda, Astacidae) during oocyte development
Authors: Forouzandeh Malati E. , Heidari B. , Zamani M.
Published: January 2013

In this study, the levels of 17β-oestradiol (E2) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone in the haemolymph, ovary and hepatopancreas of the freshwater narrow-clawed crayfish, Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823) were analysed in different stages of oocyte development. In recent years, the occurrence of vertebrate-type steroid hormones, E2 and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, has been reported in a few decapods, although their precise role in female reproduction is not fully elucidated. Thirty specimens of A. leptodactylus were caught at Aras Dam (Western Azerbaijan, Iran) and maintained under experimental conditions (at 25°C with a photoperiod of 14 : 10 hours light/dark) from November to March 2010. For steroid extraction, 3 ml haemolymph was withdrawn from the pericardial cavity with a syringe, and frozen at −20°C. The pieces of ovary and hepatopancreas were homogenized with phosphate buffer (pH 7.8) and, centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min at 4°C as well. It was observed that the level of E2 increased in haemolymph and ovary during vitellogenesis, and decreased in the hepatopancreas. The level of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was enhanced in haemolymph and ovary during the maturation stage. Maximum levels of E2 and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone were present in the ovary. The results point out the possible involvement of vertebrate-type steroids in the endocrine regulation of the ovarian cycle of A. leptodactylus.
Spatial distribution of Decapoda in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) based on a trawl survey
Authors: Spanò Nunziacarla , Porporato Erika M. D. , Ragonese Sergio
Published: January 2013

The spatial representation of decapod crustaceans (Crustacea, Malacostraca) of the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) is presented for the first time, together with comments on their vertical and horizontal distributions. The most relevant trawlable species were analysed using quantitative data gathered in 260 daylight lasting hauls, which covered a large portion (about 100 000 km2) of the investigated area. The index of local abundance, standardized to 1 km2, both in weight (Biomass Index), number (Density Index) and mean body weight were obtained for each species and for all species combined. A spatial representation of the Density Index was produced for all decapod crustaceans combined and for the most frequent species. In particular, the indices were transferred under a GIS system and spatial maps produced by applying the program ArcView™ 9.0. Different interpolators were tested and the most exact interpolator (IDW Inverse Distance Weighting) was chosen. Both historical (i.e., doubts about the presence or identification of the species) and spatial (i.e., differential distribution among different fishing areas) heterogeneity were detected and commented upon. Concerning the trawlable bottoms, very few species (such as Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846), Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827), Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816), Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Plesionika martia (A. Milne-Edwards, 1883)) are consistently and largely represented in the catches. A high spatial heterogeneity, likely reflecting the complex interaction between fishing pattern, hydrological features and bottom typology, was made evident.
On the Strandesia obtusata/elliptica lineage (Ostracoda, Cyprididae) in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River (Brazil), with the description of three new species
Authors: Higuti Janet , Schön Isa , Audenaert Leen , Martens Koen
Published: January 2013

We redescribe Strandesia tolimensis Roessler, 1990, originally described from Colombia, and describe three new species, Strandesia lansactohai n. sp., S. velhoi n. sp. and S. nupelia n. sp. from lakes, channels and rivers in the alluvial valley of the upper Paraná River. Mainly valve morphology and shape and size of the attachment of the caudal ramus are used to characterize these species, as other soft parts are uninformative. All populations studied here are parthenogenetic, so male morphologies are not available.

Sequences of the mitochondrial COI-gene are used to construct a phylogeny, as well as a genetic network of specimens, and in both analyses the four species are well-supported. In addition, we also delimit the four species with genetic distances using Birky’s K/θ method and conclude that it supports the identity of the species under consideration.
Keep Research Weird: Psychoanalytic Techniques and Fieldwork in the Study of Religion
Authors: Seitz John C.
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Contemporary ethnographic fieldwork in the study of religion has made a relational turn. Research in this field is often explicitly conceived as a relationship between scholars and those they seek to understand. Knowledge is inter-subjective, the field agrees, and the only reasonable way to move forward is in open acknowledgement of this through attentiveness to the relational character of research. This paper aims to augment this relational turn by considering and addressing the risks it entails. Drawing on research experience among Catholics in Boston, it identifies normalization as a potential liability entailed in the relational understanding of research. Opportunities for enriched understanding may not emerge if researchers prioritize smooth relations with those they get to know. The paper explores the possibility that clinical psychoanalytic techniques of listening, while likely to make research relationships “weird,” may be an asset in the search for understanding in the ethnographic study of religion.
Complicating Myth: A Review of Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions
Authors: Ullucci Daniel C.
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Bruce Lincoln’s recent work, Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions is a collection of previously published essays on theory and myth. The collection has great pedagogical value for introducing graduate and advanced undergraduate students to the critical study of religion. This review takes up one common refrain in the essays, the role and work of religious experts, and suggests ways in which Lincoln’s work can be clarified and expanded by the cognitive theory of Harvey Whitehouse.
Regimes of Truth: Review of Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars
Authors: Albinus Lars
Published: January 2013

Abstract

In this review of Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars, I shall not so much focus on the concrete analyses, but rather discuss implications of a more theoretical and philosophical nature. First, I shall deal with Lincoln’s method by grasping (if not recasting) it as a sort of discourse analysis. Secondly, I shall critically go through some of the cases by paying a special attention to his distinction between ‘truth’ and ‘regimes of truth’ as well as the concomitant reference to empirical criteria. Thirdly, and finally, I shall I challenge his stance on “weak comparison” and argue for the complementary value of various universalizing theories in the study of religion.
Religion, Myth and Ideology
Authors: Junginger Horst
Published: January 2013

Abstract

The thirteen articles collected in Bruce Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars are a persuasive plea for an appropriate contextualization of religious phenomena in their mundane circumstances. Starting with the well-known Theses on Method that structure the book in methodological regard, each of the following texts is divided in a thorough historical research introduced or accompanied by extensive theoretical considerations. Particularly the case studies addressing problems of the Old Norse and Old Iranian history of religions are in-depth examinations of their own. Lincoln’s general interest is directed towards the analytical differentiation between the objects of the academic study of religion and their scholarly investigation. Only on the basis of a reflected distinction between both, the study of religion will achieve a deeper understanding of the attractiveness of religions and myths along with their capacity to adapt themselves to changing worldly conditions.
Review of Lincoln’s Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars
Authors: Arvidsson Stefan
Published: January 2013

Abstract

For the last decades, Bruce Lincoln has been a leading scholar within the field of the history of religions. His philological skills, historical accuracy and innovations on a concrete “low-theoretical” level as well as his critical approach toward theology and discourse of the religious elites and overall ethical commitment has been widely estimated. This review article aims to uncover some of the prerequisites for the ideology criticism that has been the hallmark of Lincoln’s work and to discuss some alternative tracks to continue that tradition of scholarship.
Reflections on the Reflections of Messrs. Junginger, Arvidsson, Albinus, and Ullucci
Authors: Lincoln Bruce
Published: January 2013

Abstract

The author responds to the reviews of Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars (Chicago, 2012) that appear in this issue by Horst Junginger, Stefan Arvidsson, Lars Albinus, and Daniel Ullucci, each of which focuses on different aspects of his work, which he suggests emerged in a rough chronological sequence. Three of these—a concern for the political, ideological, and discursive aspects of religion—he considers justified and complementary to each other, although there is occasional disjuncture and tension between the last two. He rejects the fourth suggestion, however, i.e. that he ought now turn attention to cognitive theory, a line of inquiry he dismisses as trendy, timid, and toothless.
John the Baptist and Jesus the Baptist: A Narrative Critical Approach
Authors: Taylor Joan E. , Adinolfi Federico
Published: January 2013

Narrative criticism is not usually employed as a means of exploring historical knowledge. However, in this article it is argued that narrative patterns can be indicative of history masked by overt rhetoric. In the narrative of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee the Gospel of Mark includes the persistent presence of water, often in combination with wilderness places and crowds. This pattern replicates the same features associated with John the Baptist, creating a narrative template for Jesus continuing John’s baptism, which Mark knew to be concerned with ritual purity, and yet explicit mention of Jesus’ baptizing is avoided. Mark focuses instead on Jesus as the promised immerser in Holy Spirit, proven by his healings and exorcisms, in which purification flows outwards from him. Mark points to a historical scenario in which Jesus’ healings and exorcisms are understandable within the same purity framework that governed water immersions: they were remedies for the most stubborn cases of people who, because of their chronic ailments and disabilities, were unable to obtain the inner purity that was normally established by repentance and forgiveness of sins. Jesus then fulfils John’s prediction and continues John’s work.
Beyond the “Keystone” CoPs: The Ecology of Institutional Governance in Conservation Treaty Regimes
Authors: Bowman Michael
Published: January 2013

Abstract

The effectiveness of conservation treaty regimes plainly depends heavily on the extent to which they are informed by developing scientific understanding of the principles which govern the operation of biological systems and natural processes generally. As a result, the “ecosystem approach” has become a crucial element in the substantive conservation policies which underpin such regimes. There is an emerging view, however, that the principles which determine the essential robustness, stability and productivity of biological systems may actually be applicable to complex systems of any kind, including those of an institutional character. Accordingly, it may be instructive to have regard to such principles when devising the institutional arrangements which indisputably represent another crucial element of regime effectiveness. This article explores the relevance of such matters in relation to the structures, attributes and commitments with which such arrangements will need to be invested if their respective regimes are to flourish.
Delegate Preparation and Participation in Conferences of the Parties to Environmental Treaties
Authors: Goodwin Edward J.
Published: January 2013

Abstract

Little research has been conducted into the way delegations prepare for, and then participate in, plenary meetings under multi-lateral environmental agreements – a key administrative stage in the on-going development of international environmental regimes and law. Using the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as the main example, this paper explores the external rules that shape the ‘internal modalities’ of states and their delegations as they undertake these stages. Other insights into delegate preparation and participation are sought from published accounts and internet based resources.
Non-Compliance – a Pivotal or Secondary Function of CoP Governance?
Authors: Davies Peter G.G.
Published: January 2013

Abstract

This article seeks to assess the extent to which Conferences of the Parties (CoPs) of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), rather than other treaty bodies established within MEA regimes, have played and continue to play a role in the establishing and operation of compliance systems and techniques. The roles of plenary bodies of a number of earlier MEAs adopted in the 1970s provide the particular focus of discussion (CITES, RAMSAR, the CMS Convention, LRTAP and the Berne Convention). Discussion will focus on the given plenary body’s role in the following areas: clarification of compliance by means of the interpretation of primary rules; the monitoring and verification process; establishing reporting requirements and improving reporting by parties; the facilitation of compliance by means of capacity-building and funding; the establishment and development of non-compliance procedures and mechanisms without an express treaty basis; and, finally, determining the consequences of non-compliance.
UNFCCC REDD+ COP Decisions: The Cumulative Effect on Forest Related Law Processes
Authors: Lesniewska Feja
Published: January 2013

Abstract

International law development theories fail to determine the legal nature and effect of decisions made by treaty bodies. An example that demonstrates this is the ongoing evolution of a mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). REDD+ was incorporated into the UNFCCC negotiating agenda on further implementation by the Bali Action Plan in 2007. Although using classical interpretation of the making of international law there is no REDD+ legal agreement, REDD+ has permeated many areas of law in a number of ways, from the international to the local level. This article examines the cumulative effect that REDD+ is having on related forest law and policy making, as well as indigenous peoples and human rights. It concludes with consideration of the potential linking role that REDD+ safeguards could have, and the problems with this approach.
Governing the Environment without CoPs – The Case of Water
Authors: Cullet Philippe
Published: January 2013

Abstract

CoPs have played a key role in governing the environment. Yet, CoPs have only provided the institutional framework for governing issues falling under existing treaty regimes. They have not been able to go beyond the regimes they govern. In the case of water, the absence of a well-developed treaty regime has opened the door to new non-governmental institutions taking the lead. This happens to coincide in part with the framework proposed by global administrative law that sees governance as a set of largely non-hierarchical relationships where states are not necessarily dominant. This article critically analyses the contribution that global administrative law makes to our understanding of environmental stewardship, and looks at ongoing institutional reforms in the water sector that are not based on CoPs being the main actor.
Evolution of Lightning Activity and Storm Charge Relative to Dual-Doppler Analysis of a High-Precipitation Supercell Storm
Authors: Calhoun Kristin M. , MacGorman Donald R. , Ziegler Conrad L. , Biggerstaff Michael I.
Published: January 2013

A high-precipitation tornadic supercell storm was observed on 29–30 May 2004 during the Thunderstorm Electrification and Lightning Experiment. Observational systems included the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array, mobile balloon-borne soundings, and two mobile C-band radars. The spatial distribution and evolution of lightning are related to storm kinematics and microphysics, specifically through regions of microphysical charging and the location and geometry of those charge regions. Lightning flashes near the core of this storm were extraordinarily frequent, but tended to be of shorter duration and smaller horizontal extent than typical flashes elsewhere. This is hypothesized to be due to the charge being in many small pockets, with opposite polarities of charge close together in adjoining pockets. Thus, each polarity of lightning leader could propagate only a relatively short distance before reaching regions of unfavorable electric potential. In the anvil, however, lightning extended tens of kilometers from the reflectivity cores in roughly horizontal layers, consistent with the charge spreading through the anvil in broad sheets. The strong, consistent updraft of this high-precipitation supercell storm combined with the large hydrometeor concentrations to produce the extremely high flash rates observed during the analysis period. The strength and size of the updraft also contributed to unique lightning characteristics such as the transient hole of reduced lightning density and discharges in the overshooting top.
Precarious Philippines
Authors: Ofreneo Rene E.
Published: January 2013

This article outlines two realities about the Philippine labor market: the continuing expansion of the large informal economy and the continuing “flexibilization” of work in the narrow organized sector of the economy. The first is a consequence of the uneven development of the economy and its weak capacity to create stable jobs for a growing population. This expansion is reflected in the chain of urban and rural poor colonies mushrooming all over the archipelago. On the other hand, the flexibilization phenomenon in the formal labor market is manifested in various forms of flexible hiring arrangements, primarily through the service contracting modality. Flexibilization has generated fierce legal debates, especially regarding the so-called management prerogative of firms to outsource jobs held by regular workers. The article contends that social protection for the “precariat” in both the formal and informal sectors requires not only the passage of protective labor laws but also, and more importantly, an overhaul of the neoliberal and crisis-ridden economic policy regime that has been in place for nearly four decades.
Quantification of Patient Migration in Bed
Authors: Kotowski Susan E. , Davis Kermit G. , Wiggermann Neal , Williamson Rachel
Published: January 2013

Objective:

The study objective was to quantify the movement of hospital bed occupants relative to the bed in typical bed articulations.

Background:

Movement of a patient in bed results in two common adverse events: (a) increase in shear and friction forces between the patient and bed, which are extrinsic pressure ulcer risk factors, and (b) musculoskeletal injuries to nurses, resulting from repositioning patients who have migrated down in bed.

Method:

The study involved 12 participants who lay supine in three hospital beds, which were articulated to common positions. Body movement relative to the bed was quantified with the use of motion capture. Cumulative movement, net displacement, and torso compression (shoulder to trochanter distance) were calculated for different bed types and bed movements.

Results:

Bed design and bed movement had a significant effect on most of the dependent variables. Bed design (e.g., type) influenced cumulative movement by up to 115%, net displacement by up to 70%, and torso compression by about 20%. Bed movement (e.g., knee elevation) reduced cumulative migration by up to 35%.

Conclusion:

The quantification of patient migration provides a metric for evaluating the interaction between body and bed surfaces. Overall, the measures were sensitive to design changes in bed frames, bed articulations, and mattress inflation.

Application:

Documentation of the cumulative movement, net displacement, and torso compression provides hospital bed designers quantifiable measures for reducing migration and potentially shear and friction forces when designing bed frames, bed articulations, and mattresses. Optimization of these metrics may ultimately have an impact on patient and caregiver health.
Patient perspectives and the risk of compulsory admission: The Amsterdam Study of Acute Psychiatry V
Authors: van der Post Louk FM , Peen Jaap , Visch Irene , Mulder Cornelis L , Beekman Aartjan TF , Dekker Jack JM
Published: January 2013

Objective:

Compulsory admission to a psychiatric hospital is associated with a three- to fourfold increase in the risk of another compulsory admission. Given the rising numbers of civil detentions in the Netherlands and other European countries, it is important to understand the mechanism behind this association. Our aim is to study the links between opinions about prior psychiatric treatment, insight, service engagement and the risk of (new) civil detentions.

Methods:

We took a random sample of 252 from the 2,682 patients consecutively coming into contact with two psychiatric emergency teams in Amsterdam between September 2004 and September 2006. We recorded socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and information about prior involuntary admissions. We interviewed the patients using the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (Verona-EU), the Birchwood Insight Scale and the Service Engagement Scale. During a two-year follow-up period we noted their use of mental health care facilities.

Results:

Patients with a satisfactory score on the Verona-EU had significantly lower odds for civil detentions during follow-up compared to patients with a dissatisfactory score on this scale (OR = 0.3). Level of insight did not influence the risk of detention during follow-up. Furthermore, of the 131 patients admitted involuntarily the year before, one-third looked back on their involuntary admission with unambiguous satisfaction.

Conclusion:

More satisfaction with prior treatment seems to reduce the risk of civil detention remarkably. Low levels of satisfaction seem to be mainly dependent on a history of previous involuntary admission. These findings seem to open up a new perspective for diminishing the risk of (new) civil detention by trying to enhance satisfaction with treatment, especially for patients under detention.
The Work of Middle Managers
Authors: Sharma Garima , Good Darren
Published: January 2013

Corporate social initiatives are well positioned to generate virtuousness through and within organizations. Yet they are embedded in multiple and potentially contradictory institutional demands of profit and social logics, which must be addressed to sustain the initiative. Generatively addressing this perceived contradiction requires intentional and purposeful work by institutional actors. In this article, we posit that middle managers are crucial actors in performing this work and maintaining the hybridity of logics. We build on theories of institutional work and on sensemaking–sensegiving to describe the middle manager’s process of meeting competing demands of the initiative. We then propose a conceptual model and illustrate the posited relationships with data from the field. This describes how middle managers act on behalf of the organization and create virtuous human systems through sustenance of corporate social initiatives. We highlight various capacities required for this work and propose ways in which organizations can enable these capacities.
An Update of Murrayan Needs
Authors: Xu Xiaoyan , Mellor David , Xu Yangang , Duan Liqiong
Published: January 2013

Much research work on motives has been based on the taxonomy of psychogenic needs originally proposed by Murray and his colleagues in 1938. However, many of these needs have received little attention, and some of them may be less relevant now than they were 70 years ago. Two studies were conducted to investigate current motives. In Study 1, we used the Striving Assessment to elicit the personal strivings of 255 undergraduate university students. Murray’s taxonomy was unable to account for 50% of the 2,937 strivings. These strivings were thematically groups into 11 new categories and combined with 7 Murrayan needs to form the Comprehensive Motivation Coding System (CMCS). In Study 2, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories produced by 143 undergraduate student participants were coded by these two systems. Murray’s system was unable to fully account for 42% of motives identified in the TAT stories, but the CMCS was able to account for 89%. These findings suggest that Murrayan needs may not adequately describe contemporary motivations and that the CMCS has the potential to do so. However, due to the limited demographics of our sample, further investigations are needed.
The Experience of Becoming a Therapist in a Foreign Culture
Authors: Barreto Yane Karine
Published: January 2013

This phenomenological study explores the experience of becoming a therapist in a foreign culture. The purpose is to better understand the issues adjusting to a new culture and give voice to the lived experience of immigrant therapists. Few studies explore the experience of foreign therapists. Most focus on the experience of mainstream mental health professionals dealing with populations from specific cultural backgrounds. A total of eight therapists, who emigrated from another country to the United States, were asked to describe situations when practicing was challenging because of cultural differences. The descriptive phenomenological psychological approach was used to analyze the collected protocol. The findings focused on four main themes: (a) facing cultural shock and threats on identity, (b) adjusting professionally to a different culture, (c) developing a new identity, and (d) counseling across cultures. These experiences both challenged their professional identity and also developed competencies. The experiences also turned out to be beneficial for the therapist–client relationship and for the client. Not sharing the same culture as clients was not always a limitation, and sometimes an advantage for their professional development and performance.
Gender, Race, and Justifications for Group Exclusion
Authors: Ispa-Landa Simone
Published: January 2013

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a relational approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program ( n = 38).1 Suburban students ( n = 7) and Diversify coordinators ( n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’’ and ‘‘loud’’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the current study extends previous research on black girls’ ‘‘loudness,’’ identifies processes of racialization and gendering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated settings.
The Quest for Colonial Style in French West Africa
Authors: Bigon Liora , Sinou Alain
Published: January 2013

Marché Kermel and Marché Sandaga were established at the beginning of the twentieth century in the contemporary heart of colonial Dakar, Senegal, the capital of French West Africa (AOF). In terms of general size and building techniques—both are based on prefabricated iron—they evoke the great covered markets and similar structures erected in France and other European countries in the late nineteenth century. Yet, in matters of style, each constitutes a unique and outstanding monument in Dakar as well as in French West Africa. Relying on primary and secondary sources and on fieldwork, we would like to trace the stylistic origins of these markets, hardly known in the relevant literature, and to analyze their meaning against the background of the colonial situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Moving from a transplanted fin-de-siècle neo-Moorish toward an imagined neo-Sudanese, we bring to the fore each paradox, on the theoretical and physical levels.
An Evaluation of a Handheld Indirect Calorimeter Against a Standard Calorimeter in Obese and Nonobese Adults
Authors: Frankenfield David C. , Coleman Abigail
Published: January 2013

Background: Handheld indirect calorimetry has the potential to allow simple and inexpensive measurement of resting metabolic rate in spontaneously breathing people. However, validation work on these devices is contradictory. The purpose of the current study was to determine the bias and level of agreement of oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate as measured by a handheld indirect calorimeter against a standard open‐circuit indirect calorimetry cart. Materials and Methods: One hundred community‐living, spontaneously breathing, ambulatory nonobese and obese adults were studied in single sessions by a single investigator. Sequential measurements were undertaken using the handheld indirect calorimeter and the standard metabolic cart. Measurement sequence was varied randomly. Results: The mean value for oxygen consumption and metabolic rate of the 2 devices was not significantly different. However, agreement between the 2 devices was only 43% in nonobese and obese participants, and there was proportional and fixed bias, with the handheld calorimeter tending to produce a higher value for oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate. Limits of agreement for resting metabolic rate between the 2 calorimeters were −240 to +300 kcal/d. Conclusions: Measurements of resting metabolic rate by the handheld indirect calorimeter tested in this study are not equivalent to measurements by standard indirect calorimetry.
The Dark Side of Structural Holes
Authors: Bizzi Lorenzo
Published: January 2013

While previous research has investigated structural hole positions through single-level models, describing their positive effects, this article elaborates a multilevel model and supports an antithetical position, revealing a dark side of structural holes. Although individual-level structural holes are supposed to exercise positive effects, it is theorized that group-level mean and group-level variance in structural hole positions are negatively associated with individual outcomes. The argument that justifies the aforementioned negative association is that the individualistic, competitive, manipulative and power-oriented behaviors of employees occupying structural hole positions may be beneficial when considering independent individuals, but, instead, they create frictions and problems when it comes to group functioning and group climate. This article provides evidence that group composition variables exercise a constraining effect on individuals, making them perceive less autonomy, and negatively affect satisfaction and performance. Findings provide support for the multilevel nature of networks and for the opposite causal mechanisms activated by structural holes at different levels of analysis.
Getting Everyone on Board
Authors: Zhang Xin-an , Li Ning , Ullrich Johannes , van Dick Rolf
Published: January 2013

Drawing on the principles of upper echelons theory and team leadership research and using 101 subsidiary top management teams (TMTs), our study revealed that subsidiary CEO transformational leadership that was focused evenly on every TMT member increased team effectiveness and firm performance, whereas leadership that differentiated among individual members decreased both outcomes. By differentiating the amount of individual consideration and intellectual stimulation across TMT members, CEOs unintentionally disrupted the team’s dynamics (team potency), ultimately reducing team effectiveness and subsidiary firm performance ratings. Furthermore, CEO gender and moral inconsistency across executives served as moderators of the detrimental effects of differentiated leadership on the outcomes. The negative effect of differentiated leadership behavior was stronger among female CEOs and those who failed to consistently exhibit moral behaviors that might justify differentiation in transformational leadership.
Neighborhood Diversity
Authors: Lucio Joanna D. , Auer Jennifer C. , Johnston Erik W.
Published: January 2013

The goals and purposes of neighborhood diversity have changed over the past several decades, yielding multiple approaches by municipalities to achieve diversity. This article examines applications of diversity as it has related to neighborhood and land use policies. Specifically, it compares the diversity goals in the municipal housing plans of ten cities in one southwest region to different dimensions of diversity in the literature. Our findings indicate that approaching diversity by planning for physical diversity far outweighs the planning language devoted to social outcomes.
Opening Pandora’s box? Inclusive institutions and the onset of internal conflict in oil-rich countries
Authors: Wegenast Tim
Published: January 2013

The literature on institutional determinants of intra-state violence commonly asserts that the presence of multiple political parties reduces the conflict potential within countries. By co-opting oppositional groups into an institutionalized political arena, dissidents would prefer parliamentary means over violent rebellion in order to pursue their goals. The present article shows that this proposition does not necessarily hold true for resource-abundant states. In the presence of vast natural resources such as oil, countries exhibiting numerous non-competitive parties are actually more susceptible to internal conflict. Logit models that employ different estimation techniques and alternative operationalizations are shown to corroborate the proposed claim.
Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee (SRPC) Paper
Authors: Andersson Håkan , Rehm Sabine , Stanislaus Dinesh , Wood Charles E.
Published: January 2013

Hormonally mediated effects on the female reproductive system may manifest as pathologic changes of endocrine-responsive organs and altered reproductive function. Identification of these effects requires proper assessment, which may include investigative studies to profile female reproductive hormones. Here, we briefly describe normal hormonal patterns across the estrous or menstrual cycle and provide general guidance on measuring female reproductive hormones and characterizing hormonal disturbances in nonclinical toxicity studies. Although species used in standard toxicity studies share basic features of reproductive endocrinology, there are important species differences that affect both study design and interpretation of results. Diagnosing female reproductive hormone disturbances can be complicated by many factors, including estrous/menstrual cyclicity, diurnal variation, and age- and stress-related factors. Thus, female reproductive hormonal measurements should not generally be included in first-tier toxicity studies of standard design with groups of unsynchronized intact female animals. Rather, appropriately designed and statistically powered investigative studies are recommended in order to properly identify ovarian and/or pituitary hormone changes and bridge these effects to mechanistic evaluations and safety assessments. This article is intended to provide general considerations and approaches for these types of targeted studies.
Mechanistic Insights from the NTP Studies of Chromium
Authors: Witt Kristine L. , Stout Matthew D. , Herbert Ronald A. , Travlos Gregory S. , Kissling Grace E. , Collins Bradley J. , Hooth Michelle J.
Published: January 2013

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a contaminant of water and soil and is a human lung carcinogen. Trivalent chromium (Cr(III)), a proposed essential element, is ingested by humans in the diet and in dietary supplements such as chromium picolinate (CP). The National Toxicology Program (NTP) demonstrated that Cr(VI) is also carcinogenic in rodents when administered in drinking water as sodium dichromate dihydrate (SDD), inducing neoplasms of the oral cavity and small intestine in rats and mice, respectively. In contrast, there was no definitive evidence of toxicity or carcinogenicity following exposure to Cr(III) administered in feed as CP monohydrate (CPM). Cr(VI) readily enters cells via nonspecific anion channels, in contrast to Cr(III), which cannot easily pass through the cell membrane. Extracellular reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III), which occurs primarily in the stomach, is considered a mechanism of detoxification, while intracellular reduction is thought to be a mechanism of genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Tissue distribution studies in additional groups of male rats and female mice demonstrated higher Cr concentrations in tissues following exposure to Cr(VI) compared to controls and Cr(III) exposure at a similar external dose, indicating that some of the Cr(VI) escaped gastric reduction and was distributed systemically. The multiple potential pathways of Cr-induced genotoxicity will be discussed.
Nature via Nurture: Effect of Diet on Health, Obesity, and Safety Assessment
Authors: Keenan Kevin P. , Wallig Matthew A. , Haschek Wanda M.
Published: January 2013

Food is not only vital for the health and well-being of any living being, but it is a potential source of harmful chemicals, both natural and man-made. Further complicating this is the fact that most nutrients themselves are potentially toxic when consumed in excess. Deficiencies in some of these same nutrients may cause effects that resemble toxicosis or enhance the toxic potential of other nutrients or exogenous chemicals and drugs. This review discusses some of the nutritional and metabolic mechanisms involved and the implications of excess and deficiency in macronutrients and micronutrients in toxicologic pathology. In addition, we review the adverse effects of ad libitum (AL) overfeeding on metabolic, endocrine, renal, and cardiac diseases, and many cancers and the healthful effects of moderate dietary restriction (DR) in modulating obesity and controlling spontaneous and induced diseases of laboratory animals used in toxicology and carcinogenicity studies for human safety assessment.
Xenobiotic Perturbation of ER Stress and the Unfolded Protein Response
Authors: Lafleur Marc A. , Stevens James L. , Lawrence Jeffrey W.
Published: January 2013

The proper folding, assembly, and maintenance of cellular proteins is a highly regulated process and is critical for cellular homeostasis. Multiple cellular compartments have adapted their own systems to ensure proper protein folding, and quality control mechanisms are in place to manage stress due to the accumulation of unfolded proteins. When the accumulation of unfolded proteins exceeds the capacity to restore homeostasis, these systems can result in a cell death response. Unfolded protein accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) leads to ER stress with activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) governed by the activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), inositol requiring enzyme-1 (IRE1), and PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) signaling pathways. Many xenobiotics have been shown to influence ER stress and UPR signaling with either pro-survival or pro-death features. The ultimate outcome is dependent on many factors including the mechanism of action of the xenobiotic, concentration of xenobiotic, duration of exposure (acute vs. chronic), cell type affected, nutrient levels, oxidative stress, state of differentiation, and others. Assessing perturbations in activation or inhibition of ER stress and UPR signaling pathways are likely to be informative parameters to measure when analyzing mechanisms of action of xenobiotic-induced toxicity.
Evaluating Political Signals
Authors: Terman Jessica
Published: January 2013

The bureaucratic response literature has focused on the quantity and timing of agency outputs in response to political signals. This focus on quantity rather than more qualitative measures such as the content and character of response has made it difficult to fully understand the causes and conditions under which response occurs in relation to a given signal. In the context of minority preference purchasing policy in the State of Florida, this study examines the relationship between political signals and the content and character of bureaucratic response—what is referred to here as the nature of bureaucratic response. A theory is developed and supported through interview and archival data to suggest that bureaucratic actors evaluate signals and policymaker intentions in determining if and how to respond. The article also provides one of the first in-depth examinations of the inner workings of minority preference purchasing.
Exploring methods and techniques for the analysis of senses of place and migration
Authors: Mendoza Cristóbal , Morén-Alegret Ricard
Published: January 2013

The debate on ‘sense of place’ has been widespread in geography since the mid-1970s, yet with few exceptions the analytical potential of this concept has not been fully realized as far as the study of migration movements is concerned. A major reason for this has been methodology, or specifically the difficulties in capturing and evaluating the relevance of ‘place’ for migration processes. From a multidisciplinary standpoint, the article assesses the potential of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and also identifies several conflicting aspects that arise when analysing senses of places and international migration, such as ‘scale’, ‘representation’, ‘sensibilities’ and ‘consciousness’.
Pagan places
Authors: Saunders Robert A.
Published: January 2013

Focused on religiogeographic practices in contemporary western paganism (neopaganism), this paper aims to fill a gap in the existing literature through a critical assessment of how neopagans imagine, delimitate, and interact with space, place, and territory. Employing a novel categorization of religious space along four overlapping geographies (numinous, poetic, social, and political), this essay addresses the need for geographers to produce publicly relevant studies that analyze religiously rooted ideologies and define cultural interpretations of places, terrains, and landscapes. Furthermore, I put forth a tentative research agenda for subsequent studies of how neopagans conceive of and interact with real and imagined geographies.
Rural geography I
Authors: McDonagh John
Published: January 2013

Rural areas are increasingly thought of in terms of opportunity, as engines of growth in a world of economic uncertainty, they are being challenged in terms of their role in providing safe and secure food supplies, and they are being lauded and criticized in terms of climate change and mitigation. The multiple scales of these discussions, and the intensity and increased volume of rural debate that has emerged, see rural geographers occupy an interesting space in terms of conceptualizations, engagement and understanding of rural livelihoods and rural sustainability. Through the lens of agriculture and related spheres, the principal issues pertaining to agriculture as a sectoral activity and an instrument of rural and regional development, this report explores rural geographers’ critique of agriculture and small-scale farming in sustainable rural futures and the changing expectations and contradictions that currently abound.
Exploring the associations between standards for service delivery (organisational culture), co-worker support, self-efficacy, job satisfaction and customer orientation in the real estate industry
Authors: Gountas Sandra , Gountas John , Mavondo Felix T
Published: January 2013

The study examines the effects of organisational and individual factors of real estate agents on customer orientation. The organisational factors included are standards for service delivery (culture), supervisor support and co-worker support. The individual factors examined are self-efficacy and job satisfaction. The sample comprises 108 employees in the real estate industry. The moderating effects of job satisfaction and co-worker support between standards for service delivery and customer orientation and self-efficacy on the relationship between co-worker support and customer orientation offer new insights into the antecedents of customer orientation in a high-pressure selling-oriented industry, which have implications for staff selection and training and work organisation. This paper presents an original contribution to understanding the effects of individual and organisational characteristics on customer orientation.