bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of agrin on the expression and distribution of the water channel protein aquaporin‐4 and volume regulation in cultured astrocytes
Authors: Noell Susan , Fallier‐Becker Petra , Beyer Cordian , Kröger Stephan , Mack Andreas F. , Wolburg Hartwig
Published: October 2007

Agrin is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan of the extracellular matrix and is known for organizing the postsynaptic differentiation of the neuromuscular junction. Increasing evidence also suggests roles for agrin in the developing CNS, including the formation and maintenance of the blood–brain barrier. Here we describe effects of agrin on the expression and distribution of the water channel protein aquaporin‐4 (AQP4) and on the swelling capacity of cultured astrocytes of newborn mice. If astrocytes were cultured on a substrate containing poly dl‐ornithine, anti‐AQP4 immunoreactivity was evenly and diffusely distributed. If, however, astrocytes were cultured in the presence of agrin‐conditioned medium, we observed an increase in the intensity of AQP4‐specific membrane‐associated staining. Freeze‐fracture studies revealed a clustering of orthogonal arrays of particles, representing a structural equivalent of AQP4, when exogenous agrin was present in the astrocyte cultures. Neuronal and non‐neuronal agrin isoforms (agrin A0B0 and agrin A4B8, respectively) were able to induce membrane‐associated AQP4 staining. Water transport capacity as well as the density of orthogonal arrays of intramembranous particles was increased in astrocytes cultured with the neuronal agrin isoform A4B8, but not with the endothelial and meningeal isoform A0B0. RT‐PCR demonstrated that agrin A4B8 increased the level of the M23 splice variant of AQP4 and decreased the level of the M1 splice variant of AQP4. Implications for the regulation and maintenance of the blood–brain barrier including oedema formation under pathological conditions are discussed.
Gonad morphology and type of sexuality in Parastacus defossus Faxon 1898, a burrowing, intersexed crayfish from southern Brazil (Decapoda: Parastacidae)
Authors: Noro C. , López‐Greco L. S. , Buckup L.
Published: October 2007

The aim of this study was to characterize the morphology of the reproductive system and the type of sexuality of Parastacus defossus, an intersexed, freshwater crayfish that occurs in the southeast of Brazil and Uruguay. The specimens were examined for the appearance of the genital pores, and the gonads were macroscopically analysed by size and colour. The histology of some gonads was examined. Males and females have two pairs of genital ducts: one anterior (oviduct) and one posterior (vas deferens). The gonads are located in the thorax and consist of one pair of lobules. Through macroscopic and histological analyses of the female gonads, six stages of ovarian development could be distinguished. The histological description of the testis was made only from adult males. Through analyses of the genital pores and gonads, three sexual forms were distinguished in P. defossus: intersexed females (246), intersexed males (259), and individuals with an ootestis (7). Individuals with an ootestis had a gonad that produced male and female reproductive cells simultaneously. Parastacus defossus can be classified as a partially protandric hermaphrodite species.
Marine science in the age of sail
Authors: Rice Anthony L.
Published: October 2007

Contrary to commonly expressed opinion, scientific interest in the deep ocean did not begin in the second half of the nineteenth century with the famous cruise of HMS Challenger. However, before the widespread use of steam power, any would‐be deep sea scientist had a number of difficulties to overcome. This paper explores a few of the more obvious ones that probably explain why, prior to the Challenger voyage, attempts at deep ocean science were generally small scale, uncoordinated — and largely unsuccessful!
Long‐term potential for fires in estimates of the occurrence of savannas in the tropics
Authors: Cardoso Manoel F. , Nobre Carlos A. , Lapola David M. , Oyama Marcos D. , Sampaio Gilvan
Published: October 2007

Aim  This study aims to improve the formulation and results of the Brazilian Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies Potential Vegetation Model (CPTEC‐PVM) by developing a new parameterization for the long‐term occurrence of fire in regions of potential savannas in the tropics. Compared with the relatively slow processes of carbon uptake and growth in vegetation, fast mortality and biomass consumption by fires may favour grasses and reduce tree coverage.

Location  The tropics.

Methods  For finding large‐scale relationships between fires and other environmental factors, we made two main simplifying assumptions. First, lightning is the most important source of ignition for natural fires. Second, over continental areas in the tropics, lightning is mainly related to the zonal flux of moisture transport.

Results  The parameterization of fire occurrence was built based on a simple empirical relationship, combining information on mean and intra‐annual variance of the zonal wind.

Main conclusions  The implementation of this new relationship improved the formulation and the results of the CPTEC‐PVM. As a result of this new parameter, the accuracy of the model in allocating the correct vegetation (seasonal forests) instead of savannas for large regions in India and Southeast Asia is now substantially higher than in previous studies.
Global patterns of genetic variation in plant species along vertical and horizontal gradients on mountains
Authors: Ohsawa Takafumi , Ide Yuji
Published: October 2007

Aim  To understand global patterns of genetic variation in plant species on mountains and to consider the significance of mountains for the genetic structure and evolution of plant species.

Location  Global.

Methods  We review published studies.

Results  Genetic diversity within populations can vary along altitudinal gradients in one of four patterns. Eleven of 42 cited studies (26% of the total) found that populations at intermediate altitudes have greater diversity than populations at lower and higher altitudes. This is because the geographically central populations are under optimal environmental conditions, whereas the peripheral populations are in suboptimal situations. The second pattern, indicating that higher populations have less diversity than lower populations, was found in eight studies (19%). The third pattern, indicating that lower populations have lower diversity than higher populations, was found in 10 studies (24%). In 12 studies (29%), the intrapopulation genetic variation was found to be unaffected by altitude. Evidence of altitudinal differentiation was found in more than half of these studies, based on measurements of a range of variables including genome size, number of chromosomes or a range of loci using molecular markers. Furthermore, great variation has been found in phenotypes among populations at different altitudes in situ and in common garden experiments, even in cases where there was no associated variation in molecular composition. Mountains can be genetic barriers for species that are distributed at low elevations, but they can also provide pathways for species that occupy high‐elevation habitats. [Correction added after publication 9 October 2007: ‘less diversity’ changed to ‘greater diversity’ in the second sentence of the Results section of the Abstract]

Main conclusions  Genetic diversity within populations can vary along altitudinal gradients as a result of several factors. The results highlight the importance of phenotypic examinations in detecting altitudinal differences. The influence of mountain ridges on genetic differentiation varies depending, inter alia, on the elevation at which the species occurs. Based on these findings, zoning by altitudes or ridges would be helpful for the conservation of tree populations with the onset of global warming.
AUC: a misleading measure of the performance of predictive distribution models
Authors: Lobo Jorge M. , Jiménez‐Valverde Alberto , Real Raimundo
Published: October 2007

The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, known as the AUC, is currently considered to be the standard method to assess the accuracy of predictive distribution models. It avoids the supposed subjectivity in the threshold selection process, when continuous probability derived scores are converted to a binary presence–absence variable, by summarizing overall model performance over all possible thresholds. In this manuscript we review some of the features of this measure and bring into question its reliability as a comparative measure of accuracy between model results. We do not recommend using AUC for five reasons: (1) it ignores the predicted probability values and the goodness‐of‐fit of the model; (2) it summarises the test performance over regions of the ROC space in which one would rarely operate; (3) it weights omission and commission errors equally; (4) it does not give information about the spatial distribution of model errors; and, most importantly, (5) the total extent to which models are carried out highly influences the rate of well‐predicted absences and the AUC scores.
Woody cover in African savannas: the role of resources, fire and herbivory
Authors: Sankaran Mahesh , Ratnam Jayashree , Hanan Niall
Published: October 2007

Aim  To determine the functional relationships between, and the relative importance of, different driver variables (mean annual precipitation, soil properties, fire and herbivory) in regulating woody plant cover across broad environmental gradients in African savannas.

Location  Savanna grasslands of East, West and Southern Africa.

Methods  The dependence of woody cover on mean annual precipitation (MAP), soil properties (texture, nitrogen mineralization potential and total phosphorus), fire regimes, and herbivory (grazer, browser + mixed feeder, and elephant biomass) was determined for 161 savanna sites across Africa using stochastic gradient boosting, a refinement of the regression tree analysis technique.

Results  All variables were significant predictors of woody cover, collectively explaining 71% of the variance in our data set. However, their relative importance as regulators of woody cover varied. MAP was the most important predictor, followed by fire return periods, soil characteristics and herbivory regimes. Woody cover showed a strong positive dependence on MAP between 200 and 700 mm, but no dependence on MAP above this threshold when the effects of other predictors were accounted for. Fires served to reduce woody cover below rainfall‐determined levels. Woody cover showed a complex, non‐linear relationship with total soil phosphorus, and was negatively correlated with clay content. There was a strong negative dependence of woody cover on soil nitrogen (N) availability, suggesting that increased N‐deposition may cause shifts in savannas towards more grassy states. Elephants, mixed feeders and browsers had negative effects on woody cover. Grazers, on the other hand, depressed woody cover at low biomass, but favoured woody vegetation when their biomass exceeded a certain threshold.

Main conclusions  Our results indicate complex and contrasting relationships between woody cover, rainfall, soil properties and disturbance regimes in savannas, and suggest that future environmental changes such as altered precipitation regimes, N‐enrichment and elevated levels of CO2 are likely to have opposing, and potentially interacting, influences on the tree–grass balance in savannas.
Designing new institutions for implementing integrated disaster risk management: key elements and future directions
Authors: Gopalakrishnan Chennat , Okada Norio
Published: October 2007

The goal of integrated disaster risk management is to promote an overall improvement in the quality of safety and security in a region, city or community at disaster risk. This paper presents the case for a thorough overhaul of the institutional component of integrated disaster risk management. A review of disaster management institutions in the United States indicates significant weaknesses in their ability to contribute effectively to the implementation of integrated disaster risk management. Our analysis and findings identify eight key elements for the design of dynamic new disaster management institutions. Six specific approaches are suggested for incorporating the identified key elements in building new institutions that would have significant potential for enhancing the effective implementation of integrated disaster risk management. We have developed a possible blueprint for effective design and construction of efficient, sustainable and functional disaster management institutions.
Effects of the tsunami on fisheries and coastal livelihood: a case study of tsunami‐ravaged southern Sri Lanka
Authors: De Silva D.A.M. , Yamao Masahiro
Published: October 2007

Beyond the death toll, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 crippled many of the livelihood assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) available to assist those directly affected. Drawing on surveys of three villages in three districts in the south of Sri Lanka, this paper describes the livelihood asset building capacity of the fishing communities. Assessments are also made of the impact of the tsunami on coastal communities and the impact of government policy on rebuilding. A livelihood asset score was calculated for each village by comparing their strengths in capacity building. In all aspects of capital building, including human, social, financial, physical and natural capital, the fishing community in Tangalle was significantly ahead of the fishing communities in Hikkaduwa and Weligama. Experienced fishermen with better educational backgrounds had a significant influence on the capacity building of livelihood assets. Relocation and resettlement plans brought persistent uncertainty to fishermen in Hikkaduwa and Weligama and threatened to disrupt their community bonds and social networks.
Comparison of the expectations of residents and rescue providers of community emergency medical response after mudslide disasters
Authors: Lam Carlos , Lin Mau‐Roung , Tsai Shin‐Han , Choy Cheuk‐Sing , Chiu Wen‐Ta
Published: October 2007

The integration of community resources is critical for emergency response. A thorough understanding of a community's requirements in advance is essential. This study examines communities that suffered mudslide disasters, and discusses expectations of the emergency medical response provided to the community from the perspectives of residents and rescue groups. The questionnaire used in the study was designed to adopt the Likert Scale for quantification purposes. Its content was divided into six categories based on emergency response. Both residents and rescue providers acknowledged that finance and reimbursement were the highest priority. Public information was regarded as the least important by both groups. Significant differences existed between the groups on patient care activities and supportive activities (P = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively), which were more appreciated by residents. We conclude that residents had higher expectations of evacuation, temporary relocation, lodging, food, and sanitary management than the rescue groups.
Immediate and long‐term assistance following the bombing of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
Authors: Abdallah Saade , Heinzen Rebekah , Burnham Gilbert
Published: October 2007

On 7 August 1998 truck bombs destroyed the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.1 The response in both countries was characterised by an absence of incident command, limited pre‐hospital care, a disorganised hospital response and a lack of transportation for those injured. In the next five years USD 50 million was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to alleviate the resulting suffering, support reconstruction and strengthen disaster preparedness capacity in the two countries. These two programmes have enhanced awareness of disaster management issues, improved training capacity, built response structures and provided material resources. Their design and implementation provide lessons for future disasters in developing countries. The assistance programmes evolved very differently. In Kenya the programme largely excluded the public sector and the potential for government coordination, while the Tanzanian programme concentrated heavily on central government and regional hospital structures—largely omitting the non‐governmental or civil society sector. Excluding key stakeholders raises concerns about programme sustainability and the ability to respond effectively to future emergencies.
Information technologies and the sharing of disaster knowledge: the critical role of professional culture
Authors: Marincioni Fausto
Published: October 2007

A comparative survey of a diverse sample of 96 US and Italian emergency management agencies shows that the diffusion of new information technologies (IT) has transformed disaster communications. Although these technologies permit access to and the dissemination of massive amounts of disaster information with unprecedented speed and efficiency, barriers rooted in the various professional cultures still hinder the sharing of disaster knowledge. To be effective the available IT must be attuned to the unique settings and professional cultures of the local emergency management communities. Findings show that available technology, context, professional culture and interaction are key factors that affect the knowledge transfer process. Cultural filters appear to influence emergency managers' perceptions of their own professional roles, their vision of the applicability of technology to social issues, and their perspective on the transferability of disaster knowledge. Four cultural approaches to the application of IT to disaster communications are defined: technocentric; geographic,; anthropocentric; and ecocentric.
The impact of disasters on small business disaster planning: a case study
Authors: Flynn David T.
Published: October 2007

A major flood in 1997 forced the evacuation of Grand Forks, North Dakota and caused damage of USD 1 billion. Despite this recent disaster there is only marginal evidence of an increase in disaster recovery planning by businesses that experienced the flood. This finding is consistent with the results of other business‐related disaster research. Statistical tests of survey results from 2003 indicate that there is a significantly higher rate of disaster recovery planning in businesses started since the 1997 flood than in businesses started before the flood and still in business. Such an outcome indicates a need for public policy actions emphasizing the importance of disaster planning. Improved disaster planning is an aid to business recovery and the results demonstrate the need for more widespread efforts to improve disaster recovery planning on the part of smaller businesses, even in areas that have recently experienced disasters.
THE ETHICS OF CESAREAN SECTION ON MATERNAL REQUEST: A FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS' POSITION ON PATIENT‐CHOICE SURGERY
Authors: BERGERON VERONIQUE
Published: October 2007

In recent years, the medical establishment has been speaking in favor of women's autonomy in childbirth by advocating cesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR). This paper offers to look at the ethical dimension of CDMR through a feminist critique of the medicalization of childbirth and its influence on present‐day medical ethics. I claim that the medicalization of childbirth reflects a sexist bias with regard to conceptions of the body and needs to be used with caution when applied to women's reproductive health. I then use this perspective to critically analyze the position of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) on the ethics of decision‐making in patient‐choice surgery. I claim that informed consent cannot be meaningfully exercised unless women are made aware of the sexist underpinnings of the medical model of childbirth and its influence on the ethical reasoning of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. I also express concern about the effects of normalizing patient‐choice cesarean sections on the choices available to pregnant women using as examples the institutional rules on mandatory cesarean sections for women with a previous cesarean delivery or breech presentation. I conclude with a call for more research into the real cost of convenience in CDMR, particularly as our increasingly strained publicly funded healthcare system would greatly benefit from the de‐medicalization of normal body functions rather than an increased dependence on costly surgical technology.
GENDER‐BASED DISPARITIES EAST/WEST: RETHINKING THE BURDEN OF CARE IN THE UNITED STATES AND TAIWAN
Authors: TONG ROSEMARIE
Published: October 2007

When feminist bioethicists express concerns about health‐related gender disparities, they raise considerations about justice and gender that traditional bioethicists have either not raised or raised somewhat weakly. In this article, I first provide a feminist analysis of long‐term healthcare by and for women in the United States and women in Taiwan. Next, I make the case that, on average, elderly US and Taiwanese women fare less well in long‐term care contexts than do elderly US and Taiwanese men. Finally, I explore some suggested practical remedies to reduce gender disparities in long‐term care contexts.
IS SEX‐SELECTIVE ABORTION MORALLY JUSTIFIED AND SHOULD IT BE PROHIBITED?
Authors: ROGERS WENDY , BALLANTYNE ANGELA , DRAPER HEATHER
Published: October 2007

In this paper we argue that sex‐selective abortion (SSA) cannot be morally justified and that it should be prohibited. We present two main arguments against SSA. First, we present reasons why the decision for a woman to seek SSA in cultures with strong son‐preference cannot be regarded as autonomous on either a narrow or a broad account of autonomy. Second, we identify serious harms associated with SSA including perpetuation of discrimination against women, disruption to social and familial networks, and increased violence against women. For these reasons, SSA should be prohibited by law, and such laws should be enforced. Finally, we describe additional strategies for decreasing son‐preference. Some of these strategies rely upon highlighting the disadvantages of women becoming scarce, such as lack of brides and daughters‐in‐law to care for elderly parents. We should, however, be cautious not to perpetuate the view that the purpose of women is to be the consorts for, and carers of, men, and the providers of children. Arguments against SSA should be located within a concerted effort to ensure greater, deeper social and cultural equality between the sexes.
597. TULIPA SPRENGERI
Authors: Wilford Richard , Fay Michael F.
Published: October 2007

Summary The distinctive Tulipa sprengeri Baker (Liliaceae) is illustrated and described. Its history, classification and cultivation requirements are discussed, including the results of recent research at Kew that establishes its position within the genus.
Robust Inference in Conditionally Linear Nonlinear Regression Models
Authors: PAIGE ROBERT L. , FERNANDO P. HARSHINI
Published: October 2007

Abstract. We consider robust methods of likelihood and frequentist inference for the nonlinear parameter, sayα, in conditionally linear nonlinear regression models. We derive closed‐form expressions for robust conditional, marginal, profile and modified profile likelihood functions forαunder elliptically contoured data distributions. Next, we develop robust exact‐F confidence intervals forαand consider robust Fieller intervals for ratios of regression parameters in linear models. Several well‐known examples are considered and Monte Carlo simulation results are presented.
Defining the OE hearg: a preliminary archaeological and topographic examination of hearg place names and their hinterlands
Authors: Semple Sarah
Published: October 2007

The OE term hearg is interpreted variously as ‘pagan temple’, ‘hilltop sanctuary’ and even ‘idol’. It is a rare survival in the English place‐name record. When it can be identified, the place name is commonly considered to refer to a location of pre‐Christian religious activity, specifically a pagan Anglo‐Saxon temple. Taking inspiration from the extensive and methodologically well‐advanced studies in Scandinavia, which have successfully related place‐name evidence for cultic and religious sites with the archaeology and topography of these localities, this paper adopts and uses a similar methodology to investigate the archaeological and topographic character of a selection of hearg locations. The traditional interpretations of the place name are questioned and evidence is presented that these sites are characterized by long‐lived, localized cult practice spanning the late prehistoric to early historic periods, but with activity reaching a zenith in the late Iron Age to Romano‐British eras, rather than the fifth to seventh centuries AD.
Defining paganism in the Carolingian world
Authors: Palmer James
Published: October 2007

Generations of scholars have looked for evidence of ‘paganism’ in continental sources from the eighth and ninth centuries. This paper surveys some of the key problems in defining and conceptualizing the available literary evidence for such a project. Part one argues for a return to the sources to help escape the intellectual baggage created by discussions of ‘pan‐Germanic paganism’, interpretatio Romana and, more recently, folk practices. From the perspective of the sources’ producers, paganism needs to be understood as a category of difference employed to provide a better definition of Christianity itself. In part two this line of thought is pursued through a brief study of the ways in which classical learning framed not only Carolingian attitudes to paganism, but also related strategies of moralizing.
An abbot between two cultures: Maiolus of Cluny considers the Muslims of La Garde‐Freinet
Authors: Bruce Scott G.
Published: October 2007

In July 972, Muslim raiders from the citadel of Fraxinetum (modern La Garde‐Freinet) abducted Abbot Maiolus of Cluny and his entourage as they crossed the Great Saint Bernard Pass (Mons Iovis) in the western Alps. This article analyses a little‐known letter that Maiolus sent to his Cluniac brethren to secure payment for his release. Interwoven with biblical passages drawn from the Book of Samuel and the Psalter, the abbot's ransom letter provides the rare opportunity to examine how one of the most influential Christian leaders of the tenth century perceived his Muslim captors and their religion.
Establishing Connections, Restoring Relationships: Exploring the Historiography of Nursing in Britain
Authors: Sweet Helen
Published: October 2007

This paper provides a comparative historiographical framework within which to reconsider the history of nursing. It asks why nursing has remained largely sidelined within the history of medicine, while the latter has gained mainstream respectability in the wider field of historical research. Gender historians are challenged to look at the under‐explored aspects of nursing's history such as pre‐Nightingale nurses and nursing, and the multiple and international meanings of race, class and gender as experienced by this unique cohort of women and men. The paper draws upon key texts in the history of nursing and of medicine and includes a discussion about use of imagery within significant publications and what this says about intended readerships. It concludes that, unlike medicine, nursing professionals have to some extent hijacked the history of nursing, while the subject has been further hampered by Florence Nightingale's legacy and the subsequent emphasis on the professionalisation of nursing.
‘To Women in the Year 2000’: Norwegian Historians of Women, c.1900–c.1960
Authors: Blom Ida
Published: October 2007

The lives and writings of three women who during the first half of the twentieth century wrote books on women's history are the subject of this article. Ragna Nielsen, a teacher and an amateur historian, in 1904 published her account of women's lives during the first part of the nineteenth century, stressing the sad consequences of patriarchal attitudes, but also the importance of women's contribution to the maintenance of a national identity. Anna Caspari Agerholt and Mimi Sverdrup Lunden, both with masters' degrees in history, belonged to the next generation. Agerholt is mainly remembered for her impressive book of 1927 on the Norwegian women's movement, while Lunden's books of 1942 and 1948 on women's work were important contributions to social history. The writings of these three women's historians are related to dominant positions within Norwegian historiography of their times, highlighting how they helped change central concepts by adding gender to class analysis and to the process of constructing a national identity, stressing the importance of voluntary organisations to the formation of politics and widening the concept of work.
Gender, Work and Fears of a ‘Hybrid Race’ in 1920s New Zealand
Authors: Brookes Barbara
Published: October 2007

The 1929 New Zealand Committee of Inquiry into the Employment of Maori on Market Gardens affords insight into the ways in which masculine fears of racial degradation through miscegenation – of a ‘hybrid’ Chinese/Maori race – operated within a hierarchy of race, gender and Iwi (tribal) interests. The participation of Maori men in national politics contributed to a new articulation of ‘National Manhood’, in which Maori men and white men combined to express fears about women's work and sexuality and young women's potential to undermine a fragile and contested hierarchy of racial purity. Maori women, silenced in the cacophony of voices lamenting their plight, were at the centre of debates between Maori men, Pakeha (white New Zealander) employers, Chinese market gardeners, Anglican and Methodist interests and Pakeha women's groups. I argue that the Inquiry was about commerce, both in a business and a sexual sense. As a historical episode, it also serves to complicate the picture of New Zealand as a historically bicultural society, made up only of Maori and Pakeha, by signalling the importance of the Chinese in debates about national belonging.
Citizenship and Female Catholic Militancy in 1920s Spain
Authors: Blasco Herranz Inmaculada
Published: October 2007

The aim of this article is to offer a new interpretation of the role of women in the Catholic movement in 1920s Spain. It responds to historical analyses that view this mobilisation as the product of clerical manipulation and that consider its feminist aspects to be flawed. The new interpretation presented here is based on a notion of citizenship understood as both a process and as a form of identity construction, and which was configured historically as a result of the incorporation of modern ideas of women, the nation and religion. As a result, this analysis examines the relationship between Catholicism and modernity in greater complexity than the dichotomous views frequently encountered in Spanish historiography.
The Advent of the Secret Ballot in Britain and France, 1789–1914: From Public Assembly to Private Compartment
Authors: CROOK MALCOLM , CROOK TOM
Published: October 2007

These days the secret ballot is taken for granted and it is often seen as the natural complement of universal, democratic suffrage. Its emergence, however, was just as contested and varied as the franchise and raised similar issues concerning the nature and practice of citizenship. This article focuses on the emergence of the secret ballot in Britain and France, two countries with a long history of parliamentary and local elections. In Britain, the secret ballot was introduced in 1872, while in France, which introduced universal male suffrage in 1848, it was as late as 1913 before envelope and polling booth rendered the vote completely secure. This study documents the varied polling practices employed in both countries prior to the onset of the secret ballot. It also highlights the contentious nature of polling reform. For some, the secret ballot was regarded as a means of safeguarding electoral independence and eliminating corruption. Others, including radicals, argued quite the opposite: that secret voting was an affront to honourable, public‐spirited citizenship. In the end, full secrecy was achieved as part of the broader process of domesticating and disciplining the exercise of a mass franchise.
John T. McNaughton and Vietnam: The Early Years as Assistant Secretary of Defense, 1964–1965
Authors: HARRISON BENJAMIN T. , MOSHER CHRISTOPHER L.
Published: October 2007

John T. McNaughton is one of the least understood of the major American officials involved in formulating US policy towards the Vietnam War. This article uses a newly discovered journal by McNaughton as well as his private papers to examine the reasons for his opposition to the Vietnam War and to suggest that his perceived image as a ‘hawk’ is inaccurate.
‘King of the Sea’: The Prince of Wales and the Stuart Monarchy, 1648–1649
Authors: KELSEY SEAN
Published: October 2007

From their outset, the prince of Wales played a politically and symbolically significant part in the English civil wars. But from mid‐1646, with Charles I in the hands of his enemies, primary responsibility for the military and diplomatic aspirations of the House of Stuart devolved almost entirely upon the king's eldest son. Indeed, this essential fact was central to the king's own strategic thinking because he had persuaded himself that his opponents must seek an accommodation with him as long as his successor was at large. The threat posed by the prince became violent reality in 1648 when he commissioned a string of mutinies and rebellions across England and Wales and briefly reasserted royal dominion of the seas. Although his martial and maritime escapades came to nothing, they nevertheless gave the prince his first opportunity to wield the instruments of sovereign power in the exercise of an authority independent of his father's. The second civil war also sharpened the contrast between the prince's freedom of action and the king's hapless captivity. The fortunes of the Stuart monarchy had hit rock bottom, but in the eyes of at least some royalists, an obvious solution had also begun to suggest itself.
Limits of Diplomatic Influence: Brazil versus Britain and the United States, 1886–1894
Authors: SMITH JOSEPH
Published: October 2007

This article uses events in Brazil at the close of the nineteenth century as a case study to investigate how nations on the ‘periphery’ contested the efforts of the great powers to control their behaviour. The article concentrates on Brazil's diplomatic relations with Britain and the United States. It examines the failure of the foreign office to negotiate a commercial treaty to match the reciprocity arrangement concluded between Brazil and the United States in 1891. The set‐back is seen as a reflection of the limits of Britain's diplomatic influence and ability to halt the rising economic influence of the United States, but it also illustrates Brazil's success in pursuing an independent foreign economic policy. This is further illustrated by the Brazilian Naval Revolt (1893–4) during which the representatives of the foreign powers have been usually depicted as exercising a superior role in directing events. This article uses evidence from Brazilian diplomatic archives to argue that the most significant factor in determining the outcome of the revolt was the combination of firmness and skilful diplomacy shown by the Brazilian government of Floriano Peixoto rather than the activities of the foreign powers, including Britain and the United States.
Competent Production Supervisors
Authors: CAMUFFO ARNALDO , GERLI FABRIZIO
Published: October 2007

While the manufacturing sector is vanishing in most European and North American regions, northeast Italian firms have successfully contrasted global competition thanks to superior manufacturing capabilities grounded, among other things, on people's competencies. Applying nonparametric statistical analysis on data from 212 behavioral event and 44 repertory grid interviews, the research presented in this note investigates the nature of these competencies for production supervisors in northeast Italian firms. We identify four threshold and nine distinctive competencies and offer insights on the relationship between these competencies and northeast Italian firms’ manufacturing capability. We also suggest how to use competency tools to design skill development policies in industrial clusters and implement effective human resource management practices in small and medium‐sized enterprises.
Delivering Skills: Apprenticeship Program Sponsorship and Transition from Training
Authors: BILGINSOY CIHAN
Published: October 2007

Many open‐shop contractors in the U.S. construction sector sponsor training cooperatively in unilateral multi‐employer apprenticeship programs. Their proponents view these coordinated efforts as an alternative to the training organized jointly by a union and signatory contactors. This paper uses a new data set to compare the performance of these program types in terms of the transition probabilities and durations of apprentices. It shows that in open‐shop multiple‐employer programs: (1) the completion rate is higher but still lags behind that of the union‐management programs; (2) quitters leave training before substantial build‐up of skills; (3) graduates complete requirements at a faster pace. While these results are disconcerting in view of the skilled labor shortage in construction, they are consistent with the open‐shop sector's preference to rely extensively on semi‐skilled workers.
Measuring the Union–Nonunion Wage Gap Using Propensity Score Matching
Authors: EREN OZKAN
Published: October 2007

This paper examines the union wage effect among private sector wage and salary workers using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data. We estimate the average union premium by utilizing semi (non) parametric matching techniques, as well as by linear regression model. Our analysis reveals: (1) conditioning linearly on covariates understates the union wage effect. In addition, matching results under the alternative support conditions indicate that selection on unobservables has at most a modest impact on average. (2) Log wage estimations lead to an overstatement of the union wage effect. Solving these problems yields the union membership premium as 21.5 percent.
Early stress and chronic methylphenidate cross‐sensitize dopaminergic responses in the adolescent medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens
Authors: Jezierski Grzegorz , Zehle Stefanie , Bock Joerg , Braun Katharina , Gruss Michael
Published: October 2007

Methylphenidate (MP) is widely used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. However, basic research has been mainly focused on MP treatment in adult, behaviorally normal rodents. Here we analyzed MP‐evoked changes of dopamine (DA) release in the limbic system of juvenile rodents with hyperactive and attention deficit‐like symptoms. Using dual probe in vivo microdialysis, DA levels were quantified in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens of juvenile and adolescent degus (Octodon degus). Acute stress‐ and acute MP‐evoked dopaminergic responses in normal juvenile and adolescent animals were compared with (i) animals showing symptoms of hyperactivity and attention deficits induced by early life stress, i.e. repeated parental separation during the first 3 weeks of life, and (ii) animals chronically treated with MP during pre‐adolescence. Our main results revealed that (i) early life stress and (ii) chronic MP treatment during pre‐adolescence cross‐sensitize limbic dopaminergic functions in adolescent animals. Furthermore, we demonstrated a unique pattern of acute MP‐evoked DA release in the juvenile compared with the adolescent medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Our findings that the functional maturation of dopaminergic limbic function is significantly altered by early life experience, i.e. repeated parental separation and chronic MP treatment, allow novel insights into the etiology of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and into the long‐term consequences of MP treatment on brain development.
Adenosine A2A receptors are required for normal BDNF levels and BDNF‐induced potentiation of synaptic transmission in the mouse hippocampus
Authors: Tebano M. T. , Martire A. , Potenza R. L. , Grò C. , Pepponi R. , Armida M. , Domenici M. R. , Schwarzschild M. A. , Chen J. F. , Popoli P.
Published: October 2007

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of neurotrophin family, enhances synaptic transmission and regulates neuronal proliferation and survival. Both BDNF and its tyrosine kinase receptors (TrkB) are highly expressed in the hippocampus, where an interaction with adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs) has been recently reported. In the present paper, we evaluated the role of A2ARs in mediating functional effects of BDNF in hippocampus using A2AR knock‐out (KO) mice. In hippocampal slices from WT mice, application of BDNF (10 ng/mL) increased the slope of excitatory post‐synaptic field potentials (fEPSPs), an index of synaptic facilitation. This increase of fEPSP slope was abolished by the selective A2A antagonist ZM 241385. Similarly, genetic deletion of the A2ARs abolished BDNF‐induced increase of the fEPSP slope in slices from A2AR KO mice The reduced functional ability of BDNF in A2AR KO mice was correlated with the reduction in hippocampal BDNF levels. In agreement, the pharmacological blockade of A2Rs by systemic ZM 241385 significantly reduced BDNF levels in the hippocampus of normal mice. These results indicate that the tonic activation of A2ARs is required for BDNF‐induced potentiation of synaptic transmission and for sustaining a normal BDNF tone in the hippocampus.
Differential regulation of the NMDA receptor by acute and sub‐chronic phencyclidine administration in the developing rat
Authors: Anastasio Noelle C. , Johnson Kenneth M.
Published: October 2007

Neurodegeneration induced by the NMDA receptor antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP), has been used to model the pathogenesis of schizophrenia in the developing rat. Acute and sub‐chronic administration of PCP in perinatal rats results in different patterns of neurodegeneration. The potential role of an alteration in the membrane expression of NMDA receptors in PCP‐induced degeneration is unknown. Acute PCP treatment on postnatal day 7 increased membrane levels of both NMDA receptor subunit 1 (NR1) and NMDA receptor subunit 2B (NR2B) proteins in the frontal cortex; conversely, NR1 and NR2B protein levels in the endoplasmic reticulum fraction were decreased. Acute PCP administration also resulted in increased membrane cortical protein levels of post‐synaptic density‐95, as well as the activation of calpain, which paralleled the observed increase in membrane expression of NR1 and NR2B. Further, administration of the calpain inhibitor, MDL28170, prevented PCP‐induced up‐regulation of NR1 and NR2B. On the other hand, sub‐chronic PCP treatment on postnatal days 7, 9 and 11 caused an increase in NR1 and NR2A expression, which was accompanied by an increase in both NR1 and NR2A in the endoplasmic reticulum fraction. Sub‐chronic PCP administration did not alter levels of post‐synaptic density‐95 and had no effect on activation of calpain. These data suggest that increased trafficking accounts for up‐regulation of cortical NR1/NR2B subunits following acute PCP administration, while increased protein synthesis likely accounts for the increased expression of NR1/NR2A following sub‐chronic PCP treatment of the developing rat. These results are discussed in the context of the differential neurodegeneration caused by acute and subchronic PCP administration in the developing rat brain.
Specificity proteins Sp1 and Sp3 interact with the rat GTP Cyclohydrolase I proximal promoter to regulate transcription
Authors: Chandran Nitya Sarath , Vunnava Prashanthi , Wu Yanning , Kapatos Gregory
Published: October 2007

The role of the proximal promoter GC‐box in regulating basal and cAMP‐dependent GTP Cyclohydrolase I gene transcription was investigated using a variety of cell lines and techniques. These studies show that the GC‐box is composed of a triad of cis‐elements that in vitro bind specificity proteins Sp1 and Sp3. Sp1 and Sp3 were found associated with the native proximal promoter in PC12 cells but were not recruited to the promoter during cAMP‐dependent transcription. Studies using Drosophila SL2 cells showed that Sp3 occupies two sites within the GC‐box and enhances transcription when acting alone and synergistically when combined with nuclear factor‐Y (NF‐Y) and CCAAT/Enhancer‐Binding Protein (C/EBP)β, cognate binding proteins for the adjacent cAMP response element (CRE) and CCAAT‐box cAMP response elements. In contrast, Sp1 bound only one site within the GC‐box and did not enhance transcription unless combined with NF‐Y and C/EBPβ. Studies in SL2 cells also showed that Sp1 and Sp3 do not co‐occupy the GC‐box, and accordingly Sp1 competes for Sp3 binding to repress Sp3‐dependent transcription. In PC12 cells, complete mutation of the GC‐box reduced basal but not cAMP‐dependent transcription, resulting in an overall increase in the cAMP response and demonstrating that formation of this enhanceosome does not require Sp1 or Sp3. Experiments in which the GC‐box was replaced with a Gal4 element and the promoter challenged with Gal4 fusion proteins support this conclusion and a role for Sp3 in maintaining high levels of basal transcription in PC12 cells. Equivalent amounts of Sp1 and Sp3 were found associated with the native proximal promoter in PC12 and Rat2 cells, which differ 10‐fold in basal transcription. Similar levels of methylation of CpG dinucleotides located within the GC‐box were also observed in these two cells lines. These results suggest that Sp1 and Sp3 bound to the GC‐box might help to preserve an open chromatin configuration at the proximal promoter in cells which constitutively express low levels of GTP Cyclohydrolase I.
The glucocorticoid receptor is a co‐regulator of the orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1
Authors: Carpentier Rodolphe , Sacchetti Paola , Ségard Pascaline , Staels Bart , Lefebvre Philippe
Published: October 2007

Nurr1 (NR4A2) is an atypical nuclear receptor (NR) because of its inability to bind a ligand and to activate transcription following canonical NR rules. An affinity chromatography‐based screen identified the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as an interactant of Nurr1. The co‐localization of these two NRs in the hippocampus and the substantia nigra, as well as their involvement in similar neurological processes led us to investigate the functional consequences of such a physical interaction. GR interfered with Nurr1 transcriptional activity, and Nurr1 association to GR confers glucocorticoid regulation to this orphan receptor. The N‐terminal domain of Nurr1 interacts directly with GR, whereas several domains of GR can associate to Nurr1. The GR‐mediated increase in Nurr1 transcriptional activity requires the N‐terminal domain of GR, but not a functional DNA binding domain. Finally, SMRT and SRC2, two co‐regulators of GR, modulated the transcriptional activity of the Nurr1‐GR complex, but not that of Nurr1 alone. Our results therefore establish GR as a transcriptional regulator of Nurr1, and open new opportunities in the pharmacological regulation of Nurr1 by glucocorticoids in the CNS.