bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Caenorhabditis elegans PUF protein family with distinct RNA binding specificity
Authors: Stumpf Craig R. , Kimble Judith , Wickens Marvin
Published: June 2008

PUF proteins comprise a highly conserved family of sequence-specific RNA binding proteins that regulate target mRNAs via binding directly to their 3′UTRs. The Caenorhabditis elegans genome encodes several PUF proteins, which cluster into four groups based on sequence similarity; all share amino acids that interact with the RNA in the cocrystal of human Pumilio with RNA. Members of the FBF and the PUF-8/9 groups bind different but related RNA sequences. We focus here on the binding specificity of representatives of a third cluster, comprising PUF-5, -6, and -7. We performed in vivo selection experiments using the yeast three-hybrid system to identify RNA sequences that bind PUF-5 and PUF-6, and we confirmed binding to optimal sites in vitro. The consensus sequences derived from the screens are similar for PUF-5 and PUF-6 but differ from those of the FBF or PUF-8/-9 groups. Similarly, neither PUF-5 nor PUF-6 bind the recognition sites preferred by the other clusters. Mutagenesis studies confirmed the unique RNA specificity of PUF-5/-6. Using the PUF-5 consensus derived from our experiments, we searched a database of C. elegans 3′UTRs to identify potential targets of PUF-5, several of which indeed bind PUF-5. Therefore the consensus has predictive value and provides a route to finding genuine targets of these proteins.
2007 Guideline Update for Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Focus on Antiplatelet and Anticoagulant Therapies
Authors: Coons James C , Battistone Sarah
Published: June 2008

Objective:

To summarize key changes in the 2007 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline recommendations for pharmacologic therapy as they relate to antiplatelets and anticoagulants, and to evaluate the evidence from several landmark trials that was used to support the guideline updates for these agents.

Data Sources:

Literature was accessed through MEDLINE (1950–January 2008) using the search terms acute coronary syndromes, unstable angina (UA), non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), antiplatelet, and anticoagulant. All papers were cross-referenced to identify additional studies,

Study Selection and Data Extraction:

ACC/AHA guidelines, relevant original research articles, and review articles were evaluated. Studies with more than 1000 patients were the focus of the review.

Data Synthesis:

UA and NSTEMI are the most common presentations of acute coronary syndrome. The recently updated ACC/AHA guidelines for management of this condition were based on significant advances in pharmacotherapy including expanded use of drug-eluting stents, pretreatment with Clopidogrel, and newer anticoagulants such as bivalirudin and fondaparinux. Landmark trials have been published that describe advances in the use of antiplatelets and anticoagulants. According to the guidelines, unfractionated heparin (UFH) and enoxaparin are preferred options for both invasive and conservative management. Enoxaparin was noninferior to UFH for invasive management in the SYNERGY trial, although it was associated with a higher incidence of bleeding. Other alternatives for an invasive strategy per the guidelines include bivalirudin and fondaparinux. Bivalirudin (alone or with glycoprotein [GPJ llb/llla inhibitor) was compared with heparin plus GP llb/llla inhibitor in the ACUfTY trial of patients undergoing early invasive management. The bivalirudin groups were noninferior to standard of care, although bivalirudin alone was associated with less bleeding. Fondaparinux was found to be noninferior to enoxaparin and was associated with fewer bleeding events in the OASIS-5 study of patients who were not treated with an early invasive approach. Accordingly, the guidelines list fondaparinux as an alternative for a conservative strategy or in patients at increased risk of bleeding.

Conclusions:

Clinicians should be familiar with the updated 2007 ACC/AHA guidelines and the clinical trial evidence that serves as the basis for these recommendations. It is paramount for institutions to outline a preferred and consistent treatment approach. These decisions should Involve a review of established efficacy, bleeding risk, need for anticoagulant reversal, costs, and clinician familiarity with different treatment regimens.
Factors Associated With Expenditures for Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and Intermediate Care Facilities for Persons With Mental Retardation (ICF/MR) Services for Persons With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Lakin K. Charlie , Doljanac Robert , Byun Soo-Yong , Stancliffe Roger J. , Taub Sarah , Chiri Giuseppina
Published: June 2008

This article examines expenditures for a random sample of 1,421 adult Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and Intermediate Care Facility/Mental Retardation (ICF/MR) recipients in 4 states. The article documents variations in expenditures for individuals with different characteristics and service needs and, controlling for individual characteristics, by residential setting type, Medicaid program (ICF/MR or HCBS), and state. Annual average per-person Medicaid expenditures for HCBS recipients were less than those of ICF/MR residents ($61,770 and $128,275, respectively). HCBS recipients had less severe disability (intellectual, physical, health service needs) than ICF/MR residents. Controlling these differences, and for congregate settings, HCBS were less costly than ICFs/MR, but this distinction accounted for only 3.3% of variation in expenditures. Persons living with families receiving HCBS ($25,072) and in host families (including foster, companion, or shared living arrangements; $44,112) had the lowest Medicaid expenditures.
Loup y-es-tu ? 60 ans de dpartementalisation: politiques mmorielles et ambivalence de l'vnement
Authors: Priam Mylne
Published: June 2008

This article studies in what respect departmentalization is firstly a conflictual event as much from the point of view of its claim, its reception and its development as from the point of view of its evocation. Secondly, it attempts to demonstrate that the status of France's overseas
communities helps to expose the insufficiencies of the concept of national identity and destabilizes the irreducibility of the notion of citizenship. Our ultimate objective is to determine whether, despite the statutory link established by departmentalization, the effects of its application
and the various expressions of its remembrance, overseas communities have managed to retain their specificities.
Martinique is (not) a Polynesian island: detours of French West Indian identity
Authors: Dash Michael
Published: June 2008

Sixty years after departmentalization Martinique is faced with the consequences of French-mandated modernization. In the face of such assimilationist pressures the tendency among cultural activists like the members of the Crolit movement is to invest in the ideal of a Martiniquan
specificity. As opposed to an imaginary that privileges the redemptive heartland and salvaged folklore, Edouard Glissant points to an alternative way of constructing identity that is relational and not rooted. Through his references to Easter Island he has taken the exotic elsewhere of the
Surrealists, Oceania, and imagined an exemplary space of errancy which opens Martinique out to a global relational identity beyond its tensions with metropolitan France. Utopian in its thrust, his imaginary focuses on what is missing in the current anti-assimilationist posturing and rethinks
the idea of the totemic sacred in terms of a relational sacred.
loge de la barbarie selon Gisle Pineau
Authors: Loichot Valrie
Published: June 2008

This essay focuses on the model of Tout-monde (or Whole-World) developed in Gisle Pineau's 2005 novel Fleur de Barbarie. douard Glissant's theories, as developed in Tout-monde and Trait du Tout-monde, inform our interpretation of Pineau's novel. Like Glissant's,
Pineau's Tout-monde is a totality that does not lead to totalitarianism, which establishes a series of links between international minor events that challenge the center/periphery model. However, Pineau adds to her Whole-World the crucial element of gender and sexuality absent from Glissant's
theory. The study demonstrates how Pineau builds a feminist model of totality, in which women's bodies and sexual politics play a crucial role. Pineau, for instance, constructs a network of feminist intertextual relations by entering into a transnational dialogue with Hlne Cixous's texts and
Josephine Baker's songs. Moreover, this essay shows how Pineau's novel extracts Guadeloupe from its peripheral status as Overseas Department by exoticizing the rural region of Sarthe, and by depicting Guadeloupe as a Cosmopolitan Center. Pineau calls her Tout-monde barbarie deconstructing
the word barbare before reclaiming it as a pride.
lie Stphenson: un patriote apatride
Authors: Favre Isabelle
Published: June 2008

This article examines the work of Elie Stphenson, an important cultural figure in French Guiana. The first part of this essay exposes how Stphenson's poetry subverts the word pays and how the poet denounces the negative effects of departmentalisation through a rather vigorous prose.
The second part of the article demonstrates how Stphenson's play entitled Massak offers a new and surprising interpretation of slavery, where slaves are viewed as individuals and as such, they too were faced with existential choices.
Introduction: departmentalization's continuing conundrum: locating the DOM-ROM between home and away
Authors: Murdoch Adlai
Published: June 2008

This collection of essays probes the resonances of the sixtieth anniversary of some of France's overseas colonies gaining accession to full integration into the metropole as dpartements. This event stands out in that it marks the only occasion in European colonial history where
colonies on the verge of transformation were integrated into the political structure of the former colonial power. The compound issues undergirding the ongoing departmental relationship suggest a hierarchical structure still predicated on neocolonial patterns of domination and submission,
centre and periphery. From ngritude through antillanit and crolit, the deployment of various discourses of resistance and identity has not foreclosed the large-scale displacement of French Caribbean subjects to France that followed departmentalization in 1946, resulting
in new ethnic and community concentrations and a certain creolization of the metropole itself. It is the tensions arising from these intersections of integration, migration and difference that lead us to interrogate the ways in which this process of exchange produces an increasingly pluralized
and, perhaps, polarized metropole and its problematization of French principles of universalism.
Sont-ils encore gens de Guadeloupe? Departmentalization, migration, and family dynamics
Authors: Larrier Rene
Published: June 2008

This essay studies the tensions and contradictions of the change in status from colony to dpartement d'outre-mer, especially as it affected Caribbean migrants in the hexagon. Athough they became citizens in 1848 with the abolition of slavery, in 1946 they were also henceforth,
in theory, domiens rather than colonial subjects. Were these migrants welcomed like the black Americans who travelled to Paris, treated as equal citizens or marginalized because of race? Was their relationship with the pays natal transformed? How did their children who were born
in the hexagon define themselves? And how does literature represent the new order? Despite the promises of equality, racism and discrimination persist. Gisle Pineau shows in L'Exil selon Julia how three generations of a Guadeloupean family experience the resulting citoyennet inacheve,
thus exposing the gap between the theory of equality and actual practice.
travers le miroir: La dpartementalisation, paravent de l'imprialisme culturel franais chez Ren Mnil
Authors: Gottin Katia
Published: June 2008

This article highlights the consequences of the policy of assimilation applied in the French West Indies after the law of dpartementalisation was voted in 1946 in France. A reading of Ren Mnil's poetic and political works, demonstrates how assimilation amplifies the Antillean's
estrangement within their cultural practices and everyday life. Faced with the impossibility of creating their own identity, the Antilleans mimic traditions and habits of the mtropole, consequently denying their own traditions and habits. Indeed, after centuries of colonisation, Antillean
society becomes once again entangled in the antagonisms that founded it. Through several texts, Mnil insists on the need, nowadays, for the Antillean subject to build specific traditions for Antillean society rather than mimicking Metropolitan France or looking for foundations of a mythological
identity in the past. By arguing for economic and politic autonomy in the French West Indies, Mnil denounces the dangerous aftermaths of the law of dpartementalisation.
La Dpartementalisation: Les DOM-ROM entre postcolonial et postcontact
Authors: Laronde Michel
Published: June 2008

At the origin of the Assimilation Law of the four old colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana and Reunion, passed on March 19, 1946, is a demand for the assimilation to France that dates back to the seventeenth-century. The ideological content of the concept of assimilation is analyzed
in the speech delivered during the aftermath of World War II by Aim Csaire, the deputy from Martinique, before the French Constituent Assembly in his March 12 1946 report. A paradigm for the concept is constructed with terms present in the speech such as integration, equalization, standardization,
unification. The terms show the evolution of Csaire's thinking and allow us to clarify political and symbolic aspects of the demand for the departmentalization which are quite specific to the French Caribbean. It reflects a postcontact mentality that is in contrast with the postcolonial
mentality being born at the time, in the nineteen-forties, and which expanded throughout the Francophone world in the nineteen-fifties. At the end of the essay, this postcontact mentality is highlighted through a parallel drawn between today's DOM-ROMs in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean
and the two French dpartements of the island of Corsica.
Beyond departmentalization: feminist Black Atlantic reformulations of outremer in Daniel Maximin's L'Isol soleil
Authors: Donadey Anne
Published: June 2008

This article argues that in his 1981 novelL'Isol soleil, Daniel Maximin implicitly decentres the issue of the 1946 departmentalization law through staging multiple criss-crossings of the Black Atlantic. He is primarily interested in including French-Guadeloupean relations in a broader mapping out of the rhizomatic character of Guadeloupean culture. Because Maximin's rewriting of Guadeloupean history positions it in relation not just to France, but also to other parts of what Paul Gilroy has called the Black Atlantic, this article first outlines the similarities and differences between Maximin's and Gilroy's projects. It then investigates one strand in Maximin's Black Atlantic connections, his rewriting of recent Black Panther history. His focus is on the lives and deaths of George and Jonathan Jackson as filtered through the lens of Angela Davis'sAutobiography,a major intertext in his novel. It is argued that, through his focus on female narrators, including Angela Davis, Maximin prophetically adds an important feminist facet to Gilroy's subsequent theorization of the Black Atlantic. Maximin's vision of Guadeloupean history and culture goes beyond both Francocentric departmentalization and masculinist versions of the Black Atlantic.
Fort-de-France les statues ne meurent pas1
Authors: Dominique Anny
Published: June 2008

First, the acts of vandalism that have been perpetrated against the statues of Empress Josphine, Victor Schoelcher and Thodaure Baude in Fort-de-France, then the bust of Mahatma Gandhi offered by the Government of the Republic of India to the City of Fort-de-France, and finally the
project of renovation of the park la Savane in Fort-de-France are the three parameters that sustain this analysis on the various strategies used to remember and reclaim a forgotten and suppressed history and criticize the power of an imposed official French colonial History in the city
of Fort-de-France. This article contends that the mutilations and degradations committed against theses statues as well as the addition of new statues in Fort-de-France constitute an historical discourse that reshapes them as significant political places of memory. These lieux de mmoire
in turn create a constructive dialogue between an official History and concealed local histories, and fill in the holes of a colonial memory.
Development of wooden block shear wall – Improvement of stiffness by utilizing elements of densified wood
Authors: Hassel Ivón , Berard Pierre , Komatsu Kohei
Published: June 2008

The objective of this research was to study the performance of a wooden block shear wall which utilizes compressed wood as a connecting element in place of the traditional metal connectors. The compressed wood was made by compressing Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) to a compression ratio of 63% without fixation treatment. The connecting elements, namely diamond keys (DKs), recover their radial compressed dimension when absorbing moisture. The expansion of the wood causes a tighter fit of the wood blocks, thereby improving the system stiffness. DKs work as fuses by absorbing most of the stress and damage. This allows the structure to be readjusted and reused after earthquakes. The wooden blocks are made of glued-laminated timber based on European red pine (Pinus sylvestris). The behavior of the wall was studied by means of a finite element method (FEM) and full-scale shear tests. The material properties were found by performing mechanical tests, using digital image analysis, and strain gauges to measure the strain. The stiffness of the wall and how it is affected by the DKs are described. The FEM provided predictions which are in agreement with experimental results of wood block wall systems. The addition of DKs increased the stiffness by up to 2.5-fold. Future improvement of FEM will include accounting for the contribution of vertical connectors and out-of-plane forces.
Resistance of Trichoderma harzianum to the biocide tebuconazol – Proposed biodegradation pathways
Authors: Obanda Diana N. , Shupe Todd F. , Catallo W. James
Published: June 2008

Wood preservatives are moving from metal-based to totally organic chemical systems. A major problem with organic biocides is biodegradation by wood-inhabiting but non-decaying microorganisms during the long service expected from treated wood. While data for triazoles suggest good efficacy against a wide range of basidiomycete fungi, this class of preservatives are less effective against the ascomycetes (soft-rot fungi, molds, and stains). The objective of this study was to examine the biotransformation of tebuconazol as one of the triazoles by the mold Trichoderma harzianum. After inoculation for 21 days, 68% of the tebuconazol was degraded in vitro. MS and IR analysis of isolated metabolites indicated that the major pathway is cleavage of the triazole ring on tebuconazol. Additionally, oxidation reactions occurred on the tert-butyl moiety. The oxidation products are subsequently metabolized by acetylation. Biotransformation resulting in non-toxic degradates is one of the mechanisms employed by this fungus in tolerating tebuconazol.
Complexin-I-deficient sperm are subfertile due to a defect in zona pellucida penetration
Authors: Zhao Longmei , Reim Kerstin , Miller David J
Published: June 2008

Upon adhesion to the zona pellucida, sperm undergo regulated exocytosis of the acrosome. Although it is necessary for sperm to penetrate the zona pellucida and fertilize an egg, the acrosomal membrane fusion process is poorly understood. Complexins I and II are small, cytosolic proteins that bind to a complex of proteins termed the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor complex to regulate synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Complexin-II-deficient mice are fertile but the fertility of sperm from complexin-I-deficient male mice is unclear because the mice have ataxia and cannot mate. Here, we show that the genes encoding complexins I and II are expressed in primary spermatocytes and spermatids. Complexin proteins were found in/near the developing acrosome in spermatids and in or around the acrosome of mature sperm. Cell fractionation demonstrated that complexins I and II were predominantly found in the cytosolic fraction. Furthermore, sperm from complexin-I-deficient mice had normal morphology, number, and only small differences in motility, as assessed by computer-assisted semen analysis. Complexin-I-deficient sperm capacitated normally and bound to the zona pellucida. But when sperm from complexin-I-deficient mice were inseminated into females, a defect in fertility was observed, in concordance with previous data showing that in vitro fertilization rate was also reduced. If the zona pellucida was removed prior to in vitro fertilization, fertility was normal, demonstrating that zona pellucida penetration was defective, a step requiring acrosomal exocytosis. Therefore, complexin-I-deficient sperm are subfertile due to faulty zona pellucida penetration.
Bacterial infection of endometrial stromal cells influences bovine herpesvirus 4 immediate early gene activation: a new insight into bacterial and viral interaction for uterine disease
Authors: Donofrio Gaetano , Ravanetti Lara , Cavirani Sandro , Herath Shan , Capocefalo Antonio , Sheldon Iain Martin
Published: June 2008

Experimental infection with the γ-herpesvirus bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) rarely establishes disease, yet BoHV-4 is commonly associated with uterine disease in cattle. Uterine disease involves co-infection with bacteria such as Escherichia coli, which stimulate the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by endometrial cells. BoHV-4 replication depends on immediate early 2 (IE2) gene transactivation and, in the present study, PGE2, E. coli or its lipopolysaccharide upregulated the IE2 gene promoter in uterine cells. Bacterial co-infection is important for BoHV-4 uterine disease.
Monozygotic twinning associated with assisted reproductive technologies: a review
Authors: Aston K I , Peterson C M , Carrell D T
Published: June 2008

Twin birth rates have increased markedly in developed countries since the 1970s for two primary reasons: increasing maternal age and the advent and increasing use of fertility treatments. In addition, monozygotic (MZ) twin pregnancies have been reported to occur at a significantly higher rate following assisted reproductive technologies (ART) procedures compared with the natural incidence. Twin pregnancies are of concern due to a dramatically increased risk of associated complications. Monozygotic twin pregnancies carry a 10–20% risk of twin–twin transfusion syndrome, and monoamniotic monochorionic twins are additionally at risk for cord entanglement. While the mechanisms and contributory factors for dizygotic twinning are well established, very little is known about the mechanisms involved in MZ twinning or the factors that contribute to its occurrence. In this review, we will discuss a number of potential mechanisms involved in MZ twinning and explore factors that may be contributing to the increased incidence of ART-associated MZ twins. An improved understanding of the factors that contribute to increased MZ twinning associated with ART will help to elucidate the poorly understood mechanisms involved in the process and will further aid in reducing the overall incidence of multiple pregnancies with their associated risks following ART procedures.
Surgical aspects of pediatric liver transplantation. Living donor liver transplant program in Hungary
Authors: Kóbori László , Máthé Zoltán , Fazakas János , Gerlei Zsuzsanna , Doros Attila , Fehérvári Imre , Sárváry Enikő , Hartmann Erika , Németh Andrea , Mándli Tamás , Tóth Szabolcs , Szőnyi László , Korponay Zsuzsanna , Kiss Mátyás , Görög Dénes , Járay Jenő
Published: June 2008

A májátültetés jelenti a gyermekkori végstádiumú májbetegségek egyetlen kezelési módját. A split, majd az ezt követően kifejlesztett élő donoros májátültetés ma már rutinbeavatkozásnak számít, és a gyermekkori átültetések alapját jelentik. Az átlagos Kaplan–Meier-féle meghatározás szerinti 1, illetve 5 éves túlélés 80–90% feletti. A donormáj splittelése során két májbetegen segíthetünk. A bal oldali laterális szegmenteket általában gyermekeknek, a nagyobb jobb oldalt felnőtteknek ültetjük át. Természetesen többféle kombináció jön szóba attól függően, hogy élő donoros vagy split-, vagy redukált májátültetésről van szó. Az átültetéshez szükséges májszövet mennyisége a testsúly minimum 1%-át jelenti. A hazai több mint 340 májátültetés során 27 gyermek (14 parciális graft) májátültetéséről számolhatunk be, és elindult az élődonor-program is. Az alkalmazott technikák eredményeit és szövődményeit is figyelembe véve elmondható, hogy megfelelően szigorú kivizsgálási protokollok betartásával, a sebészi, aneszteziológiai és intenzív osztályos kezelés megfelelő szintű fejlesztésével a hazai átültetések eredményei nemzetközi szintre emelkedtek. Az utolsó 5 év átlagos túlélése 80% feletti volt.
AMP-activated protein kinase agonist dose dependently improves function and reduces apoptosis in glucotoxic β-cells without changing triglyceride levels
Authors: Nyblom Hanna K , Sargsyan Ernest , Bergsten Peter
Published: June 2008

Prolonged hyperglycaemia leads to impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and apoptosis in insulin-producing β-cells. The detrimental effects have been connected with glucose-induced lipid accumulation in the β-cell. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) agonist, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR), promotes utilization of nutrient stores for energy production. It was tested how impaired GSIS and elevated apoptosis observed in insulinoma (INS)-1E cells after prolonged culture at 27 mM glucose were affected by the inclusion of 0.3 or 1 mM AICAR during culture. Glucose-induced impairment of insulin release was reverted by the inclusion of 0.3 but not 1 mM AICAR, which did not affect insulin content. The glucose-induced rise in triglyceride (TG) content observed in the cells cultured at 27 mM glucose was not altered by the inclusion of either 0.3 or 1 mM AICAR. Inclusion of 1 but not 0.3 mM AICAR during culture induced phosphorylation of AMPK and its downstream target acyl-CoA carboxylase. Phosphorylation was paralleled by reduced number of apoptotic cells and lowered expression of pro-apoptotic C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). In conclusion, AICAR dose dependently improves β-cell function and reduces apoptosis in β-cells exposed to prolonged hyperglycaemia without changing TG levels.
Physiological manipulation of cellular activity tunes protein and ultrastructural profiles in a neuroendocrine cell
Authors: van Herp François , van Bakel Nick H M , Coenen Anton J M , Sergeant Kjell , Devreese Bart , Martens Gerard J M
Published: June 2008

To study in vivo the dynamics of the biosynthetic and secretory processes in a neuroendocrine cell, we use the proopiomelanocortin-producing intermediate pituitary melanotrope cells of Xenopus laevis. The activity of these cells can be simply manipulated by adapting the animal to a white or a black background, resulting in inactive and hyperactive cells respectively. Here, we applied differential display proteomics and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to examine the changes in architecture accompanying the gradual transition of the inactive to the hyperactive melanotrope cells. The proteomic analysis showed differential expression of neuroendocrine secretory proteins, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident chaperones, and housekeeping and metabolic proteins. The FESEM study revealed changes in the ultrastructure of the ER and Golgi and the number of secretory granules. We conclude that activation of neuroendocrine cells tunes their molecular machineries and organelles to become professional secretors.
Performance of a fibre-reinforced sand at large shear strains
Authors: Consoli N. C. , Casagrande M. D. T. , Coop M. R.
Published: June 2008

The aim of this research was to study the behaviour of polypropylene-fibre-reinforced sand under large shear strains. The experimental study consisted of ring shear tests on a sand, with and without randomly distributed fibrous reinforcement. The behaviour of the fibre-reinforced sand mixtures was investigated at large distortional strains, examining the effects of fibre length, fibre content, effective normal stress, and relative density. The effects of reinforcement were found to be more pronounced for longer fibres, higher fibre contents and denser fibre-reinforced sand composites. The results showed the great potential of this kind of fibre reinforcement, because the increase of strength does not deteriorate even at very large strains. The fibres were exhumed after testing and it was found that they had both extended and broken at all normal stresses and for all initial fibre lengths studied, and that the fibre performance depended on the shear displacement that had occurred.
Variation of suction pressure during caisson installation in sand
Authors: Tran M. N. , Randolph M. F.
Published: June 2008

A series of model tests was conducted in a geotechnical centrifuge to investigate the variation of suction pressure during caisson installation in dense sand. The tests were carried out for caissons of different size and surcharge (or effective weight). Finite element (FE) simulations were also conducted to study and explain the experimental results. Data from two field installations and other model tests were investigated, and compared with the results from the centrifuge model tests. The suction pressure was observed to increase relatively linearly with embedment depth, following a distinct slope that is related to establishing a critical hydraulic gradient along the inner caisson wall. The total driving force (weight plus pressure differential) required for suction installation is significantly reduced compared with the force required to install the caisson by jacking. When a larger surcharge was used, the required suction pressure decreased for a given penetration depth, but the total force increased. By contrast, the initial caisson penetration depth did not appear to have any effect on the required suction pressure. The overall behaviour and the pressure variation with depth were similar for caissons of different sizes, and wall thickness. Subsequent FE analyses appeared to explain this observation well, and a consistent pattern of behaviour was established for all the model and field data.
Rate effects on the vertical uplift capacity of footings founded in clay
Authors: Lehane B. M. , Gaudin C. , Richards D. J. , Rattley M. J.
Published: June 2008

This paper describes results from a series of uplift tests performed in a drum centrifuge on shallow square footings founded on clay and sand, with an overlying sand backfill. The test series investigated footings of various widths loaded at displacement rates extending over five orders of magnitude. Additional tests were performed to examine the influence on uplift capacity of the direction of load inclination. The uplift tests performed on footings founded on sand enabled estimations to be made of the suction that developed at the base of the footings founded on clay. It is shown that the suction mobilised at very fast rates may be assessed using existing undrained bearing capacity approaches and a (rate corrected) operational undrained strength similar to that measured in triaxial extension. The uplift rates required to reach fully undrained conditions are almost two orders of magnitude higher than those for footings loaded in compression, and the upward footing displacements required to generate maximum resistance can be up to 10% of the footing width. These findings have important implications for shallow foundations such as those used to support high-voltage electricity transmission line support structures.
Impact of multidirectional shaking on liquefaction potential of level sand deposits
Authors: Su D. , Li X. S.
Published: June 2008

Multidirectional shearing, as induced by multidirectional shaking, involves variations not only in shear magnitude but also in shear direction, and in general involves deformations non-coaxial with the stress. Experimental results on saturated sand specimens using a biaxial simple shear device suggest that loading involving changes of direction may introduce significant reduction in the liquefaction resistance of cohesionless soil. However, centrifuge test results indicate that biaxial shaking has only limited impact on the liquefaction potential of level sand deposits. From numerical analysis, using a fully coupled ground response procedure (SUMDES) incorporating a comprehensive constitutive model for sand, and a theoretical study on the basis of the theory of plasticity, it was found that the in situ k0 condition, and the fact that the mobilised shear stress under earthquake tends to decrease as the excess pore pressure builds up, abate the effect of multidirectional shearing on level ground response.
Creating multifunctional landscapes: how can the field of ecology inform the design of the landscape?
Authors: Lovell Sarah Taylor , Johnston Douglas M
Published: June 2008

The opportunity exists to improve intensively managed landscapes (urban and agricultural areas dominated by human activities) through greater engagement of ecologists in the process of ecological landscape design. This approach encourages exploration of multifunctional solutions to meet the needs of growing populations in many areas around the world, while minimizing the negative impacts of human activities on the environment. This is achieved by incorporating theoretical and applied principles from the fields of landscape ecology, agroecology, and ecological design. Multifunctional landscapes can be designed to provide a range of environmental, social, and economic functions, while considering the interests of landowners and users. Here, we propose a process for designing multifunctional landscapes, guided by ecological principles in the following steps: (1) defining the project site and landscape context, (2) analyzing landscape structure and function, (3) master planning using an ecosystem approach, (4) designing sites to highlight ecological functions, and (5) monitoring ecological functions. The development of a framework for ecological design of landscapes demonstrates the importance of a multi‐scale approach for connecting sites to their surroundings, the benefits of a multifunctional design for sustainability, and the value of involving ecologists throughout the entire design process. The ecological design approach is explored for the University of Illinois Field Research Station.
Tropical turmoil: a biodiversity tragedy in progress
Authors: Bradshaw Corey JA , Sodhi Navjot S , Brook Barry W
Published: June 2008

All is not well for biodiversity in the tropics. Despite recent debate over the extent of future tropical extinctions and the effectiveness of reserve systems, the continued disappearance of habitat, soaring human population, and loss of vital ecosystem services demand immediate action. This crisis is worrying, given that tropical regions support over two‐thirds of all known species and are populated by some of the world's poorest people, who have little recourse to lower environmental‐impact lifestyles. Recent evidence has shown that – in addition to unabated rates of forest loss – coastal development, overexploitation of wildlife, catchment modification, and habitat conversion are threatening human well‐being. We argue that the recent technical debate about likely extinctions masks the real issue – that, to prevent further loss of irreplaceable tropical biodiversity, we must err on the side of caution. We need to avoid inadvertently supporting political agendas that assume low future extinction rates, because this will result in further destruction of tropical biodiversity.
The role of extensional tectonics in shaping Cenozoic New-Caledonia
Authors: Lagabrielle Yves , Chauvet Alain
Published: June 2008

New-Caledonia island consists of an ultramafic nappe thrusted over a continental and arc-derived basement as the result of the closure of a back-arc basin during the upper Eocene. The morphology of New-Caledonia is mostly characterized by its elongated shape and rectilinear coastline. Indeed, the western and eastern edges of the island are delineated by N140 trending normal faults that are well imaged on seismic lines. Major tectonic lineaments onland, including the scarps corresponding to the main boundary of the ultramafic nappe, also trend N140 suggesting a morphotectonic control by faults having similar kinematics (longitudinal flexure-fault of previous authors). We provide detailed observations from some of these scarps demonstrating indeed that these are not erosional features in origin. We explore the possibility that such surfaces do represent major tectonic limits that accommodated extension and significant tectonic thinning of both the peridotite nappe and its basement. Remnants of a complex extensional fault zone, 200 m wide, are still preserved along the western scarp of the Mont Dore mountain, close to Nouméa city. The deformed zone is composed of an early shallow dipping detachment fault, some decimeters thick, offset by a group of late high angle normal faults and is bounded by cataclastic breccias that progressively pass into the fractured host peridotite. The late high angle fault zones have been the site of important syn-tectonic fluid circulation and are underlined by cm-thick silica infills bearing vertical striae. Typical morphology of the main scarps with break of slope is related to the combination of high angle normal faults and low angle detachment. Similar shallow dipping detachment surfaces have been observed along the east coast of southern New-Caledonia as well as within the ultramafic nappe itself and its basement. This study confirms that N140 oriented, large fault zones, with pure-normal to transtensional component of displacement, controlled the morphotectonic evolution of New-Caledonia at the regional scale, after the obduction of ophiolite nappe at the end of the Eocene. Such a fact has to be taken into account when attempting to reconstruct the post-obduction evolution of the island and more particularly when considering the development and distribution of the Ni-rich lateritic surfaces.
THE INDIVIDUAL- AND SOCIAL-ORIENTED CHINESE BICULTURAL SELF: A SUBCULTURAL ANALYSIS CONTRASTING MAINLAND CHINESE AND TAIWANESE
Authors: Lu Luo , Kao Shu-Fang , Chang Ting-Ting , Wu Hsin-Pei , Jin Zhang
Published: June 2008

The previously proposed and tested bicultural self theory (Lu, 2007a; Lu & Yang, 2006) was further extended to mainland Chinese in the People's Republic of China, and potential subcultural differences across the Chinese strait were explored. Results indicated that mainland
Chinese generally endorsed various aspects of the individual-oriented self more strongly, but the two groups across the strait were not different in their overall endorsement of the social-oriented self. As social orientation is rooted in traditional Chinese conceptualization of the self and
the individual orientation is brought in with modern Western influences, this pattern of differentiation was understood in the context of both common heritage and differing phases of societal modernization in mainland China and Taiwan. In addition, a brief version (24 items) of the “Individual-
and Social-oriented Self” scale (ISS; Lu, 2007a, 2007b) was successfully constructed, and its reliability and validity mirrored its original full version of 40 items.
GENDER EFFECTS ON SPECTATORS' ATTITUDES TOWARD WNBA BASKETBALL
Authors: McCabe Catherine
Published: June 2008

The primary objective for this research was to apply the concepts of multifactorial gender identity theory and test the effects of gender on spectators' attitudes towards women's professional basketball. The sample consisted of 466 women and 107 men. Results show that expressive traits and egalitarian gender-role attitudes extend our understanding of the relationship between gender and spectators' affect for women's professional basketball. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical contributions, and recommendations for future research are proposed.
AN EVALUATION OF TEACHERS' VIEWS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' PRACTICE OF DEMOCRATIC VALUES
Authors: Genç Salih Zeki
Published: June 2008

The purpose of the study was to evaluate teachers’ views about the level of practice of democratic values by primary school principals. Participants were 300 primary school teachers from four different regions of Turkey. The data were collected through a questionnaire, and analyzed
by using t test and ANOVA tests. Results indicate that gender, educational level, and membership of a union make a difference in terms of practicing democratic values. Furthermore, some meaningful differences were noted in the subdimension of the questionnaire depending on the teachers'
professional experience and on the present number of students as variables.
Blood Cell Morphology and Plasma Biochemistry of Captive Mauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) and Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833)
Authors: Metin K. , Koca Y. Başimoğlu , Kiral F. Kargin , Koca S. , Türkozan O.
Published: June 2008

Morphological characteristics of peripheral blood cells, micronucleated erythrocyte counts and plasma biochemistry profile were examined in fourteen healthy captive Mauremys caspica and in twenty-three Mauremys rivulata. The size of erythrocyte cells were 19.07 × 11.68 μm and 19.76 × 11.44 μm for M. caspica and M. rivulata, respectively. Nucleus sizes were 6.50 × 5.30 μm for M. caspica and 6.79 × 5.45 μm for M. rivulata. The micronucleated erythrocyte (MNE) values were 0.0008 and 0.0037 for the males and females of M. caspica, respectively. The MNE values were 0.0002 for male and female M. rivulata. We found sex-dependent differences only in the Ca value in the blood biochemistry profile for healthy M. caspica. Sex-dependent differences were found only in albumin and P values in the blood biochemistry profile for healthy M. rivulata. No significant differences were found between males of both species in question with respect to plasma biochemistry values. However, only plasma total protein and Ca content levels differed significantly between the females of the two species.
Preventive Effects of Flavonoids on Alloxan-Induced Diabetes Mellitus in Rats
Authors: Lukačínová A. , Mojžiš J. , Beňačka R. , Keller J. , Maguth T. , Kurila P. , Vaško L. , Rácz O. , Ništiar F.
Published: June 2008

The aim of the present study was the evaluation of possible protective effects of quercetin and chrysin in experimental alloxan-induced diabetes in rats. Alloxan was injected at a single dose of 60 mg/kg (into the tail vein) for diabetes induction. Quercetin (50 and 100 mg/kg; orally) and chrysin (50 and 100 mg/kg; orally) were administered daily for 3 days prior and 7 days after alloxan injection. Alloxan induced a significant increase of glycaemia (p < 0.001) in comparison with control animals. Quercetin at both doses prevented serum glucose elevation (p < 0.001). However, the protective effect of chrysin was weaker and surprisingly, most prominent at the lower dose (p < 0.05; p < 0.01). On the other hand, glycosuria was increased in all groups of animals receiving alloxan. We suggest that the protective effect of the used flavonoids in experimental diabetes mellitus may be related to their antioxidative/chelatory properties. Increased glycosuria indicated that inhibition of renal glucose reabsorption may also play a role in the hypoglycaemic effect of both flavonoids.
Impact of Cannabinoid Receptor Ligands on Sensitisation to Methamphetamine Effects on Rat Locomotor Behaviour
Authors: Landa L. , Šlais K. , Šulcová A.
Published: June 2008

The repeated administration of various drugs of abuse may lead to a gradually increased behavioural response to these substances, particularly an increase in locomotion and stereotypies may occur. This phenomenon is well known and described as behavioural sensitisation. An increased response to the drug tested, elicited by previous repeated administration of another drug is recognised as cross-sensitisation. Based on our earlier experiences with studies on mice, which confirmed sensitisation to methamphetamine and described cross-sensitisation to methamphetamine after pre-treatment with cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist, we focused the present study on the use of another typical laboratory animal - the rat. A biological validity of the sensitisation phenomenon was expected to be enhanced if the results of both mouse and rat studies were conformable. Similar investigation in rats brought very similar results to those described earlier in mice. However, at least some interspecies differences were noted in the rat susceptibility to the development of sensitisation to methamphetamine effects. Comparing to mice, it was more demanding to titrate a dose of methamphetamine producing behavioural sensitisation. Furthermore, we were not able to provoke cross-sensitisation by repeated administration of cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist methanandamide and similarly, we did not demonstrate the suppression of cross-sensitisation in rats that were repeatedly given combined pre-treatment with cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist AM 251 and methamphetamine. Finally, unlike mice, an alternative behavioural change was registered after repeated methamphetamine treatment instead: the occurrence of stereotypic behaviour (nose rubbing).
Effect of Gonadotropins during Hot Summer Season Given at Different Times after Weaning on Selected Reproductive Indicators of the Sow
Authors: Franek S. P. , Bilkei G.
Published: June 2008

The experiment was performed on a large indoor herd during a hot season period in Alföld, Hungary. The post-weaning sows (F1 and F2 of Large White × Landrace mated to Duroc boars (mean parity 3.4 +/-0.7 SD; mean body condition 3.01 +/-0.3 SD, previous lactation length of 28.3 +/-1.5 d) were divided into four groups of similar body condition, lactation length and parity and were treated as follows: Group 1: sows (n = 420) were injected subcutaneously with 400 I.U. of Gonadotropinum sericum (pregnant mare serum gonadotropin, PMSG [eCG]) and 200 I.U. of Gonadotropinum chorionicum (human choriongonadotropin, HCG [hCG]) one day after weaning. Group 2: sows (n = 405) received subcutaneously 4 ml of saline injection one day after weaning. Group 3: sows (n = 425), purposely chosen from among animals that did not show heat within 7 days after weaning, were treated on day 7 post-weaning with PMSG and HCG as the animals in group 1. Group 4: sows (n = 415) purposely chosen from among animals that did not show heat within 7 days after weaning, were treated on day 7 post-weaning as group 2. Sows expressing oestrus, sows ovulating after treatment, treatment to oestrus intervals and follicular sizes were evaluated. The number of sows expressing oestrus, sows ovulating, and treatment to oestrus intervals differed between the groups (group 1 vs. 2: P < 0.05, group 3 vs. 4: P < 0.01). The sows treated with PMSG and HCG on day 7 post-weaning (group 3) had smaller (P < 0.05) follicular diameters compared to the sows that were treated one day after weaning. Group 4 sows had a smaller follicular diameter (3.6 +/- 0.6 mm) compared to group 1 (P < 0.001) and 3 (P < 0.01). The present results show that the gonadotropin treatment one day after weaning or in the case of anoestrus 7 days after weaning overrides the negative effects of the hot summer season and effectively prevents seasonal infertility of the breeding sow.