bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypoxia‐induced irreversible S‐phase arrest involves down‐regulation of cyclin A
Authors: Seim J. , Graff P. , Åmellem Ø. , Landsverk K. S. , Stokke T. , Pettersen E. O.
Published: November 2003

Abstract.  We have studied hypoxia‐induced cell cycle arrest in human cells where the retinoblastoma tumour suppressor protein (pRB) is either functional (T‐47D cells) or abrogated by expression of the HPV18 E7 oncoprotein (NHIK 3025 cells). All cells in S phase are immediately arrested upon exposure to extreme hypoxia. During an 18‐h extreme hypoxia regime, the cyclin A protein level is down‐regulated in cells of both types when in S‐phase, and, as we have previously shown, pRB re‐binds in the nuclei of all T‐47D cells (Åmellem et al. 1996). Hence, pRB is not necessary for the down‐regulation of cyclin A during hypoxia. However, our findings indicate that re‐oxygenation cannot release pRB from its nuclear binding following this prolonged exposure. The result is permanent S‐phase arrest even after re‐oxygenation, and this is correlated with a complete and permanent down‐regulation of cyclin A in the pRB functional T‐47D cells. In contrast, both cell cycle arrest and cyclin A down‐regulation in S phase are reversed upon re‐oxygenation in non‐pRB‐functional NHIK 3025 cells after prolonged exposure to extreme hypoxia. Our results indicate that pRB is involved in permanent S‐phase arrest and down‐regulation of cyclin A after extreme hypoxia.
Continuing education opportunities for recently qualified mental health diplomates
Authors: ROBINSON S. , TINGLE A.
Published: November 2003

While successive reports concerned with mental health services have emphasized the importance of continuing professional development for mental health nurses, there have been long‐standing concerns about the provision of appropriate courses and opportunities for attendance. Drawing from a longitudinal study of the careers of a cohort of mental health diplomates, this paper focuses on fulfilment of their continuing education plans in the early post‐qualification period. During the first 6 months, just under half the cohort had wanted to start a course but been unable to do so. For some, even at this early career stage, dissatisfaction with continuing education opportunities was cited as reason for leaving, or considering leaving, a first job. Reasons for starting courses included career progress and meeting the care‐giving needs of the immediate work situation. Diplomates may need guidance on their continuing education needs; there was much uncertainty about plans to take courses and moreover, demand for courses which they had wanted to start but been unable to do so, was not always sustained.
Perceptions on the development of a care pathway for people diagnosed with schizophrenia on acute psychiatric units
Authors: Jones A.
Published: November 2003

Policy development and practice for hospital mental health care has shifted towards a user‐focused and evidence‐based direction. Important within this policy development has been a guideline for inpatient care, particularly the establishment of an inpatient Acute Care Forum. A vehicle to both commission and develop this agenda is the implementation of a care pathway. A research study was designed to explore how a care pathway could be developed for inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Interviews with a range of health care professionals and observation of the process of care pathway development were the data‐collection tools. Analysis was driven by emergent themes across the data set. Themes were then presented as one possible interpretation of the factors to be considered for the development of a care pathway for people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Clinicians experienced many difficulties in finding and including evidence‐based practice (EBP) within a care pathway. Professions on the whole felt that there was a certain futility to psychiatric care given the paucity of evidence to support practice. This may contribute towards the poor use of hospital care as a therapeutic intervention as part of the wider spectrum of care. Difficulties arise when trying to develop a care pathway with EBP, given the paucity of knowledge on why certain interventions are only partially effective. The development of a care pathway may inform the priorities of the inpatient Acute Care Forum for people diagnosed with schizophrenia. A care pathway should not be constrained, however, to EBP and should incorporate therapeutic activities to improve the overall experience of service users. Limitations on the study and the collection of evidence supporting these conclusions conclude the paper.
A study on the experience of insomnia in a psychiatric inpatient population
Authors: COLLIER E. , SKITT G. , CUTTS H.
Published: November 2003

Complaints of insomnia among psychiatric inpatients are high. Many technical studies about insomnia are available in the literature, but few make reference to individual experience. This study examines the subjective experience of insomnia for psychiatric patients in one mental health unit. A random purposive sample of seven subjects was selected from the population of patients complaining of insomnia. Subjective experience was examined using a tape‐recorded semistructured interview. The data were analysed using Burnard's content analysis framework. Ten categories were identified: control, wants and desires, holistic, assessment, individualisms, beliefs, conflict, communication, resignation and sleep signatures. Biographical data, and data from clinical notes about sleep were also collected. Results show that the impact of insomnia should not be underestimated and that attention to this aspect of a patient's experience could have a general effect on their mental health and well‐being.
Out of the Alps: colonization of Northern Europe by East Alpine populations of the Glacier Buttercup Ranunculus glacialis L. (Ranunculaceae)
Authors: Schönswetter P. , Paun O. , Tribsch A. , Niklfeld H.
Published: November 2003

Ranunculus glacialis ssp. glacialis is an arctic‐alpine plant growing in central and southern European and Scandinavian mountain ranges and the European Arctic. In order to elucidate the taxon's migration history, we applied amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to populations from the Pyrenees, Tatra mountains and Northern Europe and included data from a previous study on Alpine accessions. Populations from the Alps and the Tatra mountains were genetically highly divergent and harboured many private AFLP fragments, indicating old vicariance. Whereas nearly all Alpine populations of R. glacialis were genetically highly variable, the Tatrean population showed only little variation. Our data suggest that the Pyrenees were colonized more recently than the separation of the Tatra from the Alps. Populations in Northern Europe, by contrast, were similar to those of the Eastern Alps but showed only little genetic variation. They harboured no private AFLP fragments and only a subset of East Alpine ones, and they exhibited no phylogeographical structure. It is very likely therefore that R. glacialis colonized Northern Europe in postglacial times from source populations in the Eastern Alps.
Population structure of Litopenaeus schmitti (Decapoda: Penaeidae) from the Brazilian coast identified using six polymorphic microsatellite loci
Authors: Maggioni R. , Rogers A. D. , Maclean N.
Published: November 2003

The population structure of the only Litopenaeus species occurring in Brazilian waters, the white shrimp L. schmitti, was surveyed by screening six microsatellite loci. High diversity (HE = 0.863; average number of alleles per locus = 37.8) was found across eight geographical locations (2°S to 27°S). Estimates of overall FST(0.0060) were low but significantly different from zero (P < 0.05). FST pairwise estimates and amova revealed a significant discontinuity around a major biogeographical boundary, near Cabo Frio, at 23°S. This separation may have been caused either by historical or on‐going hydrogeographical and/or selective factors.
Differential gene expression in two strains of the endoparasitic wasp Venturia canescens identified by cDNA‐amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis
Authors: Reineke A. , Schmidt O. , Zebitz C. P. W.
Published: November 2003

In the endoparasitic wasp Venturia canescens (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) two genetically distinct lines, which differ at the VLP1 gene locus, appear to coexist sympatrically in thelytokous as well as arrhenotokous field and laboratory strains. Both lines display quite distinct morphological, physiological and behavioural variations, such as different oviposition strategies, egg numbers and growth rates during early embryonic development. To examine whether more than one gene is affected in the two lines, we applied cDNA‐amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis to examine patterns of gene expression in ovaries of both wasp lines. We show that a number of ovarian transcripts have an altered expression pattern in either line, which was further confirmed by virtual Northern blot analysis. Sequence analysis of the cDNA‐amplified fragment length polymorphism fragments revealed that some of the respective genes are expected to be involved in regulation of protein degradation during stress responses and in signal perception/transduction. The full‐length sequence of two transcription factors (a homeodomain containing protein and a zinc finger protein) differentially expressed in both lines was obtained by RACE‐polymerase chain reaction and their putative role in regulating key developmental processes during embryogenesis is discussed.
MHC diversity in two Acrocephalus species: the outbred Great reed warbler and the inbred Seychelles warbler
Authors: Richardson DAVID. S. , Westerdahl Helena
Published: November 2003

The Great reed warbler (GRW) and the Seychelles warbler (SW) are congeners with markedly different demographic histories. The GRW is a normal outbred bird species while the SW population remains isolated and inbred after undergoing a severe population bottleneck. We examined variation at Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I exon 3 using restriction fragment length polymorphism, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing. Although genetic variation was higher in the GRW, considerable variation has been maintained in the SW. The ten exon 3 sequences found in the SW were as diverged from each other as were a random sub‐sample of the 67 sequences from the GRW. There was evidence for balancing selection in both species, and the phylogenetic analysis showing that the exon 3 sequences did not separate according to species, was consistent with transspecies evolution of the MHC.
Collembola as alternative prey sustaining spiders in arable ecosystems: prey detection within predators using molecular markers
Authors: Agustí N. , Shayler S. P. , Harwood J. D. , Vaughan I. P. , Sunderland K. D. , Symondson W. O. C.
Published: November 2003

Collembola comprise a major source of alternative prey to linyphiid spiders in arable fields, helping to sustain and retain these predators as aphid control agents within the crop. Polymerase chain reaction primers were developed for the amplification, from spider gut samples, of DNA from three of the most abundant species of Collembola in wheat crops in Europe, namelyIsotoma anglicana,Lepidocyrtus cyaneusandEntomobrya multifasciata. The primers amplified fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and were designed following alignment of comparable sequences for a range of predator and prey species. Each of the primer pairs proved to be species‐specific to a Collembola species, amplifying DNA fragments from 211 to 276 base pairs in length. Following consumption of a single collembolan, prey DNA was detectable in 100% of spiders after 24 h of digestion. We report the first use of DNA‐based techniques to detect predation by arthropods on natural populations of prey in the field. All three species of Collembola were consumed by the spiders. By comparing the ratios of the Collembola species in the field with the numbers of spiders that gave positive results for each of those species, it was possible to demonstrate that the spiders were exercising prey choice. Overall, a single target species of Collembola was eaten by 48% of spiders while a further 16% of spiders contained DNA from two different species of Collembola. Preference was particularly evident forI. anglicana, the species most frequently found in spider guts yet the least numerous of the three target species in the field.
Predicting yield loss due to interference from two weed species using early observations of relative weed leaf area
Authors: VAN ACKER R. C. , LUTMAN P. J. W. , FROUD‐WILLIAMS R. J.
Published: November 2003

Experiments were conducted on linseed (Linum usiãissimumL.) and autumn‐sown field bean (Vicia fahaL.) to test how well the relative leaf area‐based yield loss prediction model of Kropff & Spitters could estimate yield loss due to interference fromStellaria mediaL. (common chick‐weed) or barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) alone or a combination of bothS. media and barley. Damage coefficients were calculated for all comparisons. Generally, the model provided a better estimate of yield loss due to interference from barley than fromS. mediabecause of both the variability in crop yield response stemming fromS. media'splasticity and the generally minor crop yield response toS. mediainterference. The addition to the model of a parameter accounting for asymptotic yield loss was, generally, not warranted for eitherS. mediaor barley in the single‐weed species data sets. When bothS. mediaand barley were present as weed species in the crop, the model that fitted the data best for six out of 10 data sets was the one in which a separate damage coefficient was included for both species. There was no evidence that the presence ofS. mediainfluenced damage coefficient values for barley. However, in the presence of barley a parameter accounting for asymptotic yield loss was warranted forS. mediain the two‐weed species model. The combination of the addition of this parameter and the presence or barley affected the values of the damage coefficients forS. mediain the two‐weed species compared with the single‐weed species models. Consequently, it was shown for these two weed species that two‐weed species yield loss prediction models parameterized using data from single‐weed species experiments generally resulted in different estimates of yield loss in comparison with models parameterized using data from two‐weed species experiments.
Effects of isoproturon on photosynthesis in susceptible and resistant biotypes of Phalaris minor and wheat
Authors: SINGH S. , KIRKWOOD R. C. , MARSHALL G.
Published: November 2003

Wheat (cv. WH‐147) and five biotypes of Phalaris minor Retz. (KR‐1, H‐4, K‐2, H‐2 and J‐1) were treated with isoproturon in controlled environmental conditions to assess their level of resistance. Resistance of P. minor to isoproturon was found in the order of KR‐1 > H‐4 > K‐2 > H‐2 = J‐1. Compared with the susceptible (S) biotype (H‐2), the resistant (R) biotypes (KR‐1. H‐4 and K‐2) of P. minor required 13.0, 4.5 and 2.7 times higher doses of isoproturon for a 50% reduction in growth (GR50) and 2.4 times that of the S biotype (H‐2) by wheat. The corresponding figures for KR‐1, H‐4, K‐2 biotypes and wheat were 18, 4.1, 2.4 and 4.6 times based on dry weight reduction. The effect of isoproturon on photosynthesis was studied in vitro using five biotypes of P. minor and in viro with wheat. KR‐1 (R) and H‐2 (S) biotypes of P. minor. Under in vitro treatment conditions isoproturon inhibited the photosynthesis of all five P. minor biotypes, whereas in vivo the recovery was greater in the R biotype than in the wheat and the S biotype. Effects on chlorophyll fluorescence were also measured in wheat and the KR‐1 (R) and H‐2 (S) biotypes of P. minor. A 4‐h treatment of excised leaves incubaled in isoproluron solution (0.025 and 0.05 mm concentration) resulted in a decreased fluorescence coefficient (Fv Fm ratio in which Fv= variable fluorescence (Fm ‐ Fo): Fm= the maximum fluorescence and Fo= initial fiuorescence) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and both biotypes of P. Minor. The recovery was, however, greater in the R biotype than in wheat and it was completely recovered within 24 h. No recovery was recorded in the case of the S biotype of P. minor and a greater recovery time was required for wheat than the R biotype. The higher dose required for growth inhibition in the R biotype and rapid recovery of oxygen evolution and fluorescence coeflicient under in viro conditions together with the absence of selectivity in vitro suggests that the target site was unaffected. It can be conjectured that resistance to isoproturon is most probably because of enhanced metabolism or sequestration of isoproturon, resulting in decreased target site delivery.
Modelling crop:weed interactions in wheat with ALMANAC
Authors: DEBAEKE P. , CAUSSANEL J. P. , KINIRY J. R. , KAFIZ B. , MONDRAGON G.
Published: November 2003

ALMANAC is a dynamic model for plant growth, water balance and soil nitrogen dynamics that can simulate on a daily basis two or more competing species. The simulation of competition for light is based on Beer's law, allowing a different extinction coefficient (k) for each species. Light is partitioned between species based on k‐values, leaf area index and plant heights. Total hiomass is simulated with radiation use efficiency and grain yield with a harvest index approach, sensitive to water stress. The model simulates competition for water and nutrients based on each species current rooting zone and demand by each species. The effect of crop management on the competition issue can he simulated. The model was evaluated in Dijon (France) using 4 years of experimental data on wheat:oat mixtures, differing in oat (Avena sativa L.) densities, the period of oat emergence, the date of weed suppression by herbicides and the wheat (Triticun aestivum L.) genotype. Additional data on oilseed rape (Brassica nupus L.) and vetch (Vilcia sauiva L.) competition in spring wheat were also used. The wheat grain yield was reasonably simulated with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.10‐0.35 t ha‐1. Corresponding values for oats were 0.10‐0.55 t ha‐1. The competitiveness of oats, oilseed rape and vetch was correctly simulated. The model appears as a reasonable tool for estimating damage thresholds in integrated weed control programmes.
Evaluation of a new combined SpO2/PtcCO2 sensor in anaesthetized paediatric patients
Authors: Dullenkopf Alexander , Bernardo Stefano Di , Berger Felix , Fasnacht Margrit , Gerber Andreas C. , Weiss Markus
Published: November 2003

Background The recently introduced TOSCA monitor (Linde Medical Sensors AG, Basel, Switzerland) combines pulse oximetry (SpO2) and transcutaneous PCO2 (PtcCO2) monitoring in a single ear sensor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate accuracy of the TOSCA monitor to estimate SaO2 and PaCO2 in anaesthetized children.

Methods With approval of the hospital ethical committee and after obtaining informed parental consent, the TOSCA sensor was attached to one ear lobe of anaesthetized children in whom arterial access was established for cardiac catheterization or invasive blood pressure monitoring. SpO and PtcCO2 as well as SpO and PECO2 values from the anaesthesia monitoring (AS5; Datex‐Ohmeda, Helsinki, Finland) were compared with SaO2 and PaCO2 values from arterial blood gas analysis. Corresponding data were compared using Bland Altman bias analysis.

Results A total of 111 blood samples were taken from 60 children (median age: 4.41 years; 0.35–16.13 years). SaO2 values ranged from 63 to 100% (median: 98.7%), PaCO2 ranged from 3.8 to 7.3 kPa (median: 4.6 kPa). Mean difference (±2 sd) between PaCO2 and PtcCO2 was –0.035 kPa (±0.74 kPa), between PaCO2 and PECO2 0.002 kPa (0.73 kPa), respectively (1 kPa = 7.3 mmHg). Bias and precision between SaO2 and SpO was –0.63% (±2.77%) and 0.13% (±4.52%) between SaO2 and SpO.

Conclusions In anaesthetized children, the TOSCA ear sensor allows estimation of SaO2 and PaCO2, comparable in accuracy to endtidal capnometry and finger pulse oximetry. This makes the TOSCA monitor a helpful add‐on to respiratory monitoring in anaesthetized children, in situations, in which endtidal capnometry is unreliable or difficult to establish.
The Culture of Affluence: Psychological Costs of Material Wealth
Authors: Luthar Suniya S.
Published: November 2003

Children of affluence are generally presumed to be at low risk. However, recent studies have suggested problems in several domains—notably, substance use, anxiety, and depression—and 2 sets of potential causes: pressures to achieve and isolation from parents. Recognizing the limited awareness of these issues, the objectives in this paper are to collate evidence on the nature of problems among the wealthy and their likely causes. The first half of the paper is focused on disturbances among affluent children and the second half is focused on characteristics of their families and neighborhoods. Widespread negative sentiments toward the rich are then discussed, and the paper concludes with suggestions for future work with families at the upper end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
The Effect of Prior Practice on Memory Reactivation and Generalization
Authors: Hayne Harlene , Barr Rachel , Herbert Jane
Published: November 2003

Three experiments examined the effect of practice on memory performance by 18‐month‐old infants. Infants were tested using an imitation paradigm; an adult demonstrated a series of actions with objects and infants were given the opportunity to reproduce those actions following a delay. Some infants practiced the target actions before the retention interval (practice) and some did not (no practice). In Experiment 1, a reminder treatment alleviated forgetting by infants who practiced but failed to alleviate forgetting by infants who did not practice. In Experiments 2A and 2B, infants who practiced generalized to novel test stimuli after a 24‐hr delay, whereas infants without practice did not. Results suggest practice influences the accessibility and generality of infants' memories.
A Longitudinal Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Indirect and Physical Aggression: Evidence of Two Factors Over Time?
Authors: Vaillancourt Tracy , Brendgen Mara , Boivin Michel , Tremblay Richard E.
Published: November 2003

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether indirect aggression was distinct from physical aggression across developmental periods. Participants were 3,089 Canadian children aged 4 to 7 years (Time 1), 6 to 9 years (Time 2), and 8 to 11 years (Time 3). Confirmatory factor analysis using an accelerated longitudinal design confirmed a 2‐factor model that was stable across cohorts, time, and sex. The longitudinal predictive links between indirect and physical aggression were also examined in a path analysis. Findings did not support the notion that maturation is associated with changes in the ways children aggress but rather suggest that children are consistent in the type of aggression they use over time, whether it be indirect or physical.
False Belief Reasoning and the Acquisition of Relative Clause Sentences
Authors: Smith Mark , Apperly Ian , White Victoria
Published: November 2003

Perner (1991) has claimed that the linguistic structures and reasoning tasks mastered by 4‐year‐olds share a requirement to handle metarepresentation. In contrast, de Villiers (2000) has argued that they share a requirement to handle misrepresentation. In the current study, a correlation is observed between success on false belief tasks and the acquisition of relative clause sentences. This correlation is not predicted by de Villiers's account because such sentences do not require the handling of misrepresentation, but it is consistent with Perner's account because such sentences do require the handling of metarepresentation. It is proposed that only an account that integrates the accounts of both de Villiers and Perner can explain extant data on language and cognition in 4‐year‐olds.
Acculturation, Substance Use, and Deviant Behavior: Examining Separation and Family Conflict as Mediators
Authors: McQueen Amy , Greg Getz J. , Bray James H.
Published: November 2003

This longitudinal study examined how separation and family conflict mediated the effects of two acculturation variables (English language use and generational status) on substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use) and deviant behavior outcomes in a Mexican American high school age sample. Structural equation modeling indicated that separation was a significant mediator of the relationship between acculturation and alcohol use, tobacco use, and deviant behavior. Family conflict mediated the effects of acculturation on marijuana use and deviant behavior. Model comparisons across gender groups suggested that generational status was an influential acculturation measure for females but not males. Additionally, English language use maintained a direct effect on marijuana use among females, whereas this relationship was mediated by separation for males.
Childhood Roots of Adulthood Hostility: Family Factors as Predictors of Cognitive and Affective Hostility
Authors: Keltikangas‐järvinen Liisa , Heinonen Kati
Published: November 2003

Childhood predictors of adulthood hostility was examined in a population‐based sample of 1,004 children and their parents. Parents' Type A behavior, their life satisfaction, family's socioeconomic level, and maternal reports of children's Type A behavior were obtained for 6‐, 9‐, and 12‐year‐old participants. Hostility was self‐evaluated by these participants 15 years later. Results revealed that childhood environment in terms of parental Type A behavior and life dissatisfaction as well as children's own Type A behavior predicted their adulthood hostility. The findings identified childhood environments that either promoted or protected against hostility. Results underline the need to consider the conjoint effects of various factors because the same characteristics play different roles in different contexts.
An Apple is More Than Just a Fruit: Cross‐Classification in Children's Concepts
Authors: Nguyen Simone P. , Murphy Gregory L.
Published: November 2003

This research explored children's use of multiple forms of conceptual organization. Experiments 1 and 2 examined script (e.g., breakfast foods), taxonomic (e.g., fruits), and evaluative (e.g., junk foods) categories. The results showed that 4‐ and 7‐year‐olds categorized foods into all 3 categories, and 3‐year‐olds used both taxonomic and script categories. Experiment 3 found that 4‐ and 7‐year‐olds can cross‐classify items, that is, classify a single food into both taxonomic and script categories. Experiments 4 and 5 showed that 7‐year‐olds and to some degree 4‐year‐olds can selectively use categories to make inductive inferences about foods. The results reveal that children do not rely solely on one form of categorization but are flexible in the types of categories they form and use.
The Development of Subjective Group Dynamics: Children's Judgments of Normative and Deviant In‐Group and Out‐Group Individuals
Authors: Abrams Dominic , Rutland Adam , Cameron Lindsey
Published: November 2003

A developmental model of subjective group dynamics suggests that social identity is sustained first by intergroup biases and later by intragroup biases. In this study 476 English children 5 to 11 years old evaluated the English and German soccer teams, and judged in‐group or out‐group members whose attitudes toward the teams was normative versus antinormative. Children of all ages expressed intergroup bias. Differential evaluation against in‐group deviants and in favor of out‐group deviants strengthened with age. Understanding of targets' relative acceptability (differential inclusion) among in‐group and out‐group members mediated the effects of age and intergroup bias on intragroup bias. Identification with the in‐group moderated the effects only among older children.
Can Parents and Teachers Provide a Reliable and Valid Report of Behavioral Inhibition?
Authors: Bishop Gillian , Spence Susan H. , Mcdonald Casey
Published: November 2003

Reliability and validity of parent and teacher report of behavioral inhibition (BI) was examined among children aged 3 to 5 years. Confirmatory factor analysis supported 6 correlated factors reflecting specific BI contexts, each loading on a single, higher order factor of BI. Internal consistency was acceptable, with moderate stability over 1 year and strong correlation with a brief inhibition subscale from a temperament questionnaire. Children who were rated by mothers and teachers as high BI took longer to initiate contact with a stranger, spoke less often and for shorter periods, and required more prompting to elicit speech compared with low‐BI peers in a simulated stranger interaction task. Father report of BI was significantly associated with mean duration of speech and eye gaze.
WTO Exceptions as Insurance
Authors: Fischer Ronald D. , Prusa Thomas J.
Published: November 2003

The paper formalizes the notion that GATT exceptions such as antidumping and escape clause actions can act as insurance for import competing sectors affected by adverse price shocks. The authors use a general‐equilibrium model with several import competing sectors and assume incomplete markets so that agents cannot contract insurance. It is shown that sector‐specific contingent protection measures are superior to uniform contingent tariffs as an insurance mechanism. A tax‐cum‐subsidy policy (i.e., taxing all sectors in order to subsidize the shocked sector) also improves welfare and is superior to contingent protection.
A Theory of International Strategic Alliance
Authors: Chen Zhiqi
Published: November 2003

As an alternative to exporting, a firm can enter a foreign market by forging a strategic alliance with its foreign counterpart. The alliance eliminates transportation costs and duplications in product distribution networks. At the same time, strategic alliance lessens competition between the firms so that it leads to smaller outputs and higher prices. The degree of lessening of competition depends on the firms’ ability to commit to output levels. In the case where the firms can credibly commit to output levels, the alliance effectively becomes a cartel, restoring prices to the monopoly level. On the other hand, if such commitment is not credible or not possible, prices will be lower than the monopoly level but will still be higher than that if firms had exported to each other's market directly. The welfare effects of the strategic alliance are in general ambiguous.
Devaluations and Consumption Smoothing
Authors: Bergin Paul R.
Published: November 2003

The paper considers the effect of a nominal exchange rate devaluation on the current account, using an intertemporal model that highlights the interaction between leisure and consumption. An analytical solution demonstrates that household behavior may differ markedly from the simple consumption smoothing emphasized in most previous literature. This distinction has special significance for demand shocks, in which output rises through a rise in labor input and hence a fall in leisure. In particular, consumption tends to move closely with increased output in this context, so a devaluation tends not to improve the current account. This result may cast doubt on the effectiveness of competitive devaluations.
Conditions for Factor Price Equalization in the Integrated World Economy Model
Authors: Qi Ling
Published: November 2003

The lens condition proposed by Deardorff in 1994 has been argued not to be sufficient for factor price equalization in general. This paper shows that the lens condition is necessary and sufficient both in the two‐factor case and in the three‐good case. The results imply that two is the largest number of factors for the lens condition to guarantee factor price equalization when the number of goods and that of countries are arbitrary. A sufficient condition for factor price equalization is also given in the case where the number of goods, that of countries, and that of factors are all arbitrary.
Social network as a moderator in the relation between trauma exposure and trauma reaction: A survey among UN soldiers and relief workers
Authors: Kaspersen Marianne , Matthiesen Stig Berge , Götestam K. Gunnar
Published: November 2003

Social network as a moderator between trauma exposure and post‐trauma symptomatology was studied. Two samples – relief workers and UN soldiers – were assessed on trauma exposure, social network and three dependent measures related to post‐trauma reactions. Regression analysis and interaction plots were used to determine the presence of interaction effects between trauma exposure and social network. All four network variables moderated the relationship between trauma exposure and post‐trauma reactions among relief workers, while among UN soldiers only two such buffer effects were found. Furthermore, among UN soldiers one of these interaction effects was reversed, indicating social support to be important for those low on trauma exposure, while among relief workers support was important in the high‐exposure condition. The results indicate a difference with respect to the importance of social network as a moderator between groups exposed to different kinds of war trauma. Differences in motivational systems may also exist. However, further research will have to establish this.
A strict response criterion yields a mirror effect in the novelty paradigm
Authors: Åberg Carola S. , Nilsson Lars‐Göran
Published: November 2003

According to the novelty/encoding hypothesis (NEH; Tulving & Kroll, 1995), efficacy of encoding information into long‐term memory depends on the movelty of the information. Recognition accuracy is higher for novel than for previously familiarized material. This novelty effect is not a mirror effect: the superiority of novel over familiar items is not found in the hit rates but only in the false‐alarm rates. The main result in the present replication study was that novel hit rates were higher than familiar ones when the most confident responses were examined separately, and thus a mirror effect could be demonstrated for these data, for both the low‐ and the high‐frequency words. Similarly, the word‐frequency effect on hits was stronger when a stricter response criterion was applied. It was concluded that the novelty effect and the word‐frequency effect are more similar to one another than has hitherto been thought.
Oxygen accelerates the accumulation of mutations during the senescence and immortalization of murine cells in culture
Authors: Busuttil Rita A. , Rubio Miguel , Dollé Martijn E. T. , Campisi Judith , Vijg Jan
Published: November 2003

Oxidative damage is a causal factor in aging and cancer, but it is still not clear how DNA damage, the cellular responses to such damage and its conversion to mutations by misrepair or misreplication contribute to these processes. Using transgenic mice carrying a lacZ mutation reporter, we have previously shown that mutations increase with age in most organs and tissues in vivo. It has also been previously shown that mouse cells respond to oxidative stress, typical of standard culture conditions, by undergoing cellular senescence. To understand better the consequences of oxidative stress, we cultured mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) from lacZ mice under physiological oxygen tension (3%) or the high oxygen tension (20%) associated with standard culture, and determined the frequency and spectrum of mutations. Upon primary culture, the mutation frequency was found to increase approximately three‐fold relative to the embryo. The majority of mutations were genome rearrangements. Subsequent culture in 20% oxygen resulted in senescence, followed by spontaneous immortalization. Immortalization was accompanied by an additional three‐fold increase in mutations, most of which were G:C to T:A transversions, a signature mutation of oxidative DNA damage. In 3% oxygen, by contrast, MEFs did not senesce and the mutation frequency and spectrum remained similar to primary cultures. These findings demonstrate for the first time the impact of oxidative stress on the genomic integrity of murine cells during senescence and immortalization.
RENAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE SYMPOSIUM: A System of Quality Management in Dialysis
Authors: Van Der Sande Frank M. , Kooman Jeroen P. , Ikenroth Laurie J. , Gommers Evelien P. , Leunissen Karel M. L.
Published: November 2003

Because of changes in legislation, dialysis may now be performed in all hospitals in The Netherlands, which could affect the quality of the therapy. Therefore a system of quality management in health care, and especially in dialysis, was developed. In this article the implementation and evaluation of such a system is described.
RENAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE SYMPOSIUM: Effective Diffusion Volume Flow Rates (Qe) for Urea, Creatinine, and Inorganic Phosphorous (Qeu, Qecr, QeiP) During Hemodialysis
Authors: Gotch Frank A. , Panlilio Froilan , Sergeyeva Olga , Rosales Laura , Folden Tom , Kaysen George , Levin Nathan
Published: November 2003

In vivo solute clearances can be estimated from dialyzer blood (Qb) and dialysate (Qd) flow rates and a solute‐ and dialyzer‐specific overall permeability membrane area product (KoA). However, these calculations require knowledge of the flow rate of the effective solute distribution volume in the flowing bloodstream (Qe) in order to calculate in vivo clearances and KoAs. We have determined Qe for urea, creatinine, and inorganic phosphorus from changes in concentrations across the blood compartment and mass balance between the blood and dialysate streams. We made four serial measurements over one dialysis in 23 patients and found that Qeu equals the total blood water flow rate, Qecr equals the plasma water flow rate plus 61% of red cell water flow rate, and QeiP is limited to the plasma water flow rate. Equations are derived to calculate Qe for each of these solutes from Qb and hematocrit and in vivo KoAs for each solute were calculated.
RENAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE SYMPOSIUM: Temperature Control by the Blood Temperature Monitor
Authors: Schneditz Daniel , Ronco Claudio , Levin Nathan
Published: November 2003

The rationale of temperature control during hemodialysis (HD) is to prevent heat accumulation, which increases body temperature and enhances hypotensive susceptibility. Treatments where thermal energy is neither delivered nor removed from the patient through the extracorporeal circulation (so‐called extracorporeal thermoneutral treatments) lead to a marked increase in body temperature and to considerable heat accumulation during HD. Since this accumulation of heat cannot be explained by increased heat production, it must be related to reduced heat dissipation through the body surface. Peripheral vasoconstriction, and cutaneous vasoconstriction in particular, compensating for the ultrafiltration‐induced decrease in blood volume is considered an important component in this setting. Therefore, to maintain temperature homeostasis, thermal energy has to be cleared from the patient by the extracorporeal system because cutaneous clearance of thermal energy is compromised intradialytically. The focus on dialysate temperature alone does not properly address the problem of controlled extracorporeal heat removal because dialysate temperature is only one of the variables involved in that process. These difficulties can be addressed by changing from the control of dialysate temperature to control of body temperature. Control of body temperature and temperature homeostasis is achievable by the physiologic feedback control system realized in the temperature control mode (T‐mode) of the blood temperature monitor (BTM). The delivery of isothermic dialysis, that is, dialysis where body temperature is controlled to remain constant during the treatment, has impressively improved hemodynamic stability in hypotension prone patients.
Influence of Seed Mixture and Hydrological Regime on the Establishment of a Diverse Grassland Sward at a Site with High Phosphorus Availability
Authors: Gilbert Joanne C. , Gowing David J.G. , Bullock Richard J.
Published: November 2003

Abstract Three experiments were undertaken to investigate the influence of seed mixture on the establishment of a target grassland community on a site with high available phosphorus. In the first experiment autumn‐ and spring‐sown commercial seed mixtures were compared with seed harvested from a nature reserve with respect to their ability to produce an inundation grassland community similar to that described by the British National Vegetation Classification (NVC) as Agrostis stolonifera–Alopecurus geniculatus grassland (MG13). In the second experiment the composition and sowing rate of a commercial seed mixture were altered to investigate whether these factors were significant in the establishment of a sward similar to MG13. Similarly, in the third experiment the composition of a commercial seed mixture designed to achieve an alternative community, Cynosurus cristatus–Caltha palustris grassland (NVC code MG8), was sown. The vegetation resulting from each of these treatments was monitored with permanent quadrats for a 3‐year period, and the hydrological regime of each quadrat location was modeled and quantified. The results showed that seed mixture, timing of sowing, and seeding rate had an initial effect on the vegetation that established. However, by the third year of monitoring there were no significant differences between these treatments, and hydrological regime had become the most important factor in determining the distribution of species. The vegetation was less diverse than predicted from germination tests and decreased in diversity over the monitoring period. It is suggested that this may be a result of the hydrological regime being unsuitable for several of the sown species or due to the extremely high available phosphorus concentration in the soil. This study highlights the need to understand the soil and hydrological conditions of a site before choosing a target community and designing a seed mixture.
Terrestrial Arthropods as Indicators of Ecological Restoration Success in Coastal Sage Scrub (California, U.S.A.)
Authors: Longcore Travis
Published: November 2003

Abstract Ecological restoration enjoys widespread use as a technique to mitigate for environmental damage. Success of a restoration project often is evaluated on the basis of plant cover only. Recovery of a native arthropod fauna is also important to achieve conservation goals. I sampled arthropod communities by pitfall trapping in undisturbed, disturbed, and restored coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California. I evaluated arthropod community composition, diversity, and abundance using summary statistics, cluster analysis, and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and investigated influence of vegetation on arthropod communities with multiple regression analysis. Arthropod diversity at undisturbed and disturbed sites was greater than at sites that were 5 and 15 years following restoration ( p < 0.05). Number of arthropod species was not significantly different among undisturbed, disturbed, and restored sites, and two restoration sites had significantly more individuals than other sites. Vegetation at disturbed and undisturbed sites differed significantly; older restorations did not differ significantly from undisturbed sites in diversity, percent cover, or structural complexity. In multiple regression models, arthropod species richness and diversity was negatively related to vegetation height but positively related to structural complexity at intermediate heights. Exotic arthropod species were negatively associated with overall arthropod diversity, with abundance of the earwig Forficula auricularia best predicting diversity at comparison (not restored) sites (r2 = 0.29), and abundance of the spider Dysdera crocata and the ant Linepithema humile predicting diversity at all sites combined (r2 = 0.48). Native scavengers were less abundant at restored sites than all other sites and, with a notable exception, native predators were less abundant as well. DCA of all species separated restored sites from all other sites on the first axis, which was highly correlated with arthropod diversity and exotic arthropod species abundance. Lower taxonomic levels showed similar but weaker patterns, with example families not discriminating between site histories. Vegetation characteristics did not differ significantly between the newly restored site and disturbed sites, or between mature restoration sites and undisturbed sites. In contrast, arthropod communities at all restored sites were, as a group, significantly different from both disturbed and undisturbed sites. As found in other studies of other restoration sites, arthropod communities are less diverse and have altered guild structure. If restoration is to be successful as compensatory mitigation, restoration success standards must be expanded to include arthropods.
Nutrient Mineralization and Leaf Litter Preference by the Earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on Iron Ore Mine Wastes
Authors: Ganihar S. R.
Published: November 2003

Abstract The effects of the earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Muller) on the rate of mineralization of cattle dung‐amended iron (Fe2+) ore mine wastes and its preference for partially decomposed leaf litter with contrasting chemical composition were studied in pot trials. The growth and survival rates of earthworms showed significant positive correlations with percent of organic matter. During 96 days of exposure, the earthworms significantly increased exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+, PO43− and NH4‐N. Iron ore mine wastes amended with 5–10% organic matter supported earthworm fauna better than mine wastes amended with 0–3% organic matter. The leaf litter preference shown by the earthworm was, in descending order, Phyllanthus reticulatus, Tamarindus indica, Anacardium occidentale, Casuarina equisetifolia, Acacia auriculiformis, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. A significant positive correlation was observed between the survival and growth rates of earthworms and the nutrient contents of partially decomposed leaf litter. The first three plant species were significantly richer in nutrients, mainly organic carbon, calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, than the other two plant species. Acacia auriculiformis and E. camaldulensis litter were preferred less because of their high lignin and polyphenolic compounds, despite being rich in other macronutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. It is concluded that the introduction of P. corethrurus to cattle dung‐amended (5–10%) iron ore mine wastes or revegetation of the sites with P. reticulatus, T. indica, and A. occidentale plant species should be attempted before earthworm introduction. The litter from these species acts as a source of food for earthworms, thereby hastening the process of restoration of abandoned iron ore mines of Goa, India.