bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ASYMPTOTIC STATES IN COUPLED MAP LATTICES
Authors: BARAVIERA ALEXANDRE TAVARES , DISCONZI MARCELO MENDES
Published: April 2008

Coupled Map Lattices (CML) are a kind of dynamical systems that appear naturally in some contexts, like the discretization of partial differential equations, and as a simple model of coupling between nonlinear systems. The coupling creates new and rich properties, that has been the object of intense investigation during the last decades. In this work we have two goals: first we give a nontechnical introduction to the theory of invariant measures and equilibrium in dynamics (with analogies with equilibrium in statistical mechanics) because we believe that sometimes a lot of interesting problems on the interface between physics and mathematics are not being developed simply due to the lack of a common language. Our second goal is to make a small contribution to the theory of equilibrium states for CML. More specifically, we show that a certain family of Coupled Map Lattices presents different asymptotic behaviors when some parameters (including coupling) are changed. The goal is to show that we start in a configuration with infinitely many different measures and, with a slight change in coupling, get an asymptotic state with only one measure describing the dynamics of most orbits coupling. Associating a symbolic dynamics with symbols +1, 0 and -1 to the system we describe a transition characterized by an asymptotic state composed only of symbols +1 or only of symbols -1. We rigorously prove our assertions and provide numerical experiments with two goals: first, as illustration of our rigorous results and second, to motivate some conjectures concerning the problem and some of its possible variations.
A GALLERY OF OSCILLATIONS IN A RESONANT ELECTRIC CIRCUIT: HOPF-HOPF AND FOLD-FLIP INTERACTIONS
Authors: REVEL GUSTAVO , ALONSO DIEGO M. , MOIOLA JORGE L.
Published: April 2008

In this work, the dynamics of a coupled electric circuit is studied. Several bifurcation diagrams associated with the truncated normal form of the Hopf-Hopf bifurcation are presented. The bifurcation curves are obtained by numerical continuation methods. The existence of quasi-periodic solutions with two (2D torus) and three (3D torus) frequency components is shown. These, in certain way, are close (or have a tendency to end up) to chaotic motion. Furthermore, two fold-flip bifurcations are detected in the vicinity of the Hopf-Hopf bifurcation, and are classified correspondingly. The analysis is completed with time simulations, the continuation of several limit cycle bifurcations and the indication of resonance points.
NOISE-INDUCED CHAOS: A CONSEQUENCE OF LONG DETERMINISTIC TRANSIENTS
Authors: TÉL TAMÁS , LAI YING-CHENG , GRUIZ MÁRTON
Published: April 2008

We argue that transient chaos in deterministic dynamical systems is a major source of noise-induced chaos. The line of arguments is based on the fractal properties of the dynamical invariant sets responsible for transient chaos, which were not taken into account in previous works. We point out that noise-induced chaos is a weak noise phenomenon since intermediate noise strengths destroy fractality. The existence of a deterministic nonattracting chaotic set, and of chaotic transients, underlying noise-induced chaos is illustrated by examples, among others by a population dynamical model.
ON MEMORY AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMISM IN EXCITABLE CELLULAR AUTOMATA WITH DEFENSIVE INHIBITION
Authors: ALONSO-SANZ RAMÓN , ADAMATZKY ANDREW
Published: April 2008

Commonly studied cellular automata are memoryless and have fixed topology of connections between cells. However by allowing updates of links and short-term memory in cells we may potentially discover novel complex regimes of spatio-temporal dynamics. Moreover, by adding memory and dynamical topology to state update rules we somehow forge elementary but nontraditional models of neurons networks (aka neuron layers in frontal parts). In the present paper, we demonstrate how this can be done on a self-inhibitory excitable cellular automata. These automata imitate a phenomenon of inhibition caused by hight-strength stimulus: a resting cell excites if there are one or two excited neighbors, the cell remains resting otherwise. We modify the automaton by allowing cells to have few-steps memories, and create links between neighboring cells removed or generated depending on the states of the cells.
RECOVERY OF SUCCESSIVELY INDUCED DISCRETE-TIME CHAOTIC OSCILLATOR PERTURBATIONS VIA CASCADED NONLINEAR OBSERVERS
Authors: GRASSI GIUSEPPE , MILLER DAMON A.
Published: April 2008

This paper considers a cascade (series) connection of N chaotic discrete-time drive systems and N response systems, where the perturbation of the first drive system affects the dynamics of each succeeding drive system. The perturbation of the first drive system is considered as a system input. This paper develops a proposition that assures that a cascade of N response (observer) systems can achieve dead-beat synchronization (i.e. exact synchronization in finite time) between the nth drive and nth response systems, with synchronization starting from the innermost (Nth) drive-response system pair and propagating toward the outermost (first) drive-response system pair. Only a single scalar synchronizing signal connects the cascaded drive and cascaded response systems. This "propagated synchronization" enables the proposed series connection of observers to recover the initial (input) and all subsequent drive system perturbations. A potential application in communication systems is explored.
Effect of GH on human skeletal muscle lipid metabolism in GH deficiency
Authors: Trepp Roman , Flück Martin , Stettler Christoph , Boesch Chris , Ith Michael , Kreis Roland , Hoppeler Hans , Howald Hans , Schmid Jean-Paul , Diem Peter , Christ Emanuel R.
Published: April 2008

Adult-onset growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) is associated with insulin resistance and decreased exercise capacity. Intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) depend on training status, diet, and insulin sensitivity. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we studied IMCL content following physical activity (IMCL-depleted) and high-fat diet (IMCL-repleted) in 15 patients with GHD before and after 4 mo of GH replacement therapy (GHRT) and in 11 healthy control subjects. Measurements of insulin resistance and exercise capacity were performed and skeletal muscle biopsies were carried out to assess expression of mRNA of key enzymes involved in skeletal muscle lipid metabolism by real-time PCR and ultrastructure by electron microscopy. Compared with control subjects, patients with GHD showed significantly higher difference between IMCL-depleted and IMCL-repleted. GHRT resulted in an increase in skeletal muscle mRNA expression of IGF-I, hormone-sensitive lipase, and a tendency for an increase in fatty acid binding protein-3. Electron microscopy examination did not reveal significant differences after GHRT. In conclusion, variation of IMCL may be increased in patients with GHD compared with healthy control subjects. Qualitative changes within the skeletal muscle (i.e., an increase in free fatty acids availability from systemic and/or local sources) may contribute to the increase in insulin resistance and possibly to the improvement of exercise capacity after GHRT. The upregulation of IGF-I mRNA suggests a paracrine/autocrine role of IGF-I on skeletal muscle.
Regulation of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in diabetes at the transcriptional level
Authors: Feng Biao , Chen Shali , Chiu Jane , George Biju , Chakrabarti Subrata
Published: April 2008

Diabetic cardiomyopathy, structurally characterized by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and increased extracellular matrix (ECM) protein deposition, eventually leads to heart failure. We investigated the role of transcriptional coactivator p300 and its interaction with myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) in diabetes-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were exposed to variable levels of glucose. Cardiomyocytes were analyzed with respect to their size. mRNA expression of p300, MEF2A, MEF2C, atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP), brain natriuretic polypeptide (BNP), angiotensinogen (ANG), cAMP-responsive element binding protein-binding protein (CBP), and protein analysis of MEF2 were done with or without p300 blockade. We investigated the hearts of STZ-induced diabetic rats and compared them with age- and sex-matched controls after 1 and 4 mo of followup with or without treatment with p300 blocker curcumin. The results were that cardiomyocytes, exposed to 25 mM glucose for 48 h, showed cellular hypertrophy and augmented mRNA expression of ANP, BNP, and ANG, molecular markers of cardiac hypertrophy. Glucose caused a duration-dependent increase of mRNA and protein expression in MEF2A and MEF2C and transcriptional coactivator p300. Curcumin, a p300 blocker, and p300 siRNA prevented these abnormalities. Similarly, ANP, BNP, and ANG mRNA expression was significantly higher in the hearts of diabetic rats compared with the controls, in association with increased p300, MEF2A, and MEF2C expression. Treatment with p300 blocker curcumin prevented diabetes-induced upregulation of these transcripts. We concluded that data from these studies demonstrate a novel glucose-induced epigenetic mechanism regulating gene expression and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in diabetes.
Characterization of a prospective human model for study of the reproductive hormone responses to major illness
Authors: Spratt Daniel I. , Kramer Robert S. , Morton Jeremy R. , Lucas F. Lee , Becker Karen , Longcope Christopher
Published: April 2008

With critical illness, serum testosterone levels fall markedly, whereas estrogen levels rise. Although animal studies suggest adaptive advantages, no prospective model has been available for studies in humans. We hypothesized that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery would provide such a model by eliciting the same reproductive hormone and other endocrine responses as reported with major nonsurgical illnesses. We further hypothesized that those responses would occur consistently in all CABG patients with predictable time courses, providing reliable windows for prospective studies. In 17 men undergoing CABG, serum levels of reproductive hormones, cortisol, thyroid hormones, and IGF-I were measured before and for up to 5 wk after surgery. Changes in serum levels of reproductive and other hormones were similar to those reported in nonsurgical critically ill patients. Time course for onset, duration, and recovery of reproductive hormone changes were consistent among all patients. A window for studying the testosterone and estrogen responses was established as the first 5 days following CABG. Practical use of this model was demonstrated by evaluating, in another seven men, changes in gonadotroph responsiveness to GnRH following CABG. Finally, to determine whether our findings in CABG could be extended to other surgeries, we demonstrated similar endocrine responses in 12 men following abdominal aortic aneurysm resection. We conclude that patients undergoing CABG surgery provide a useful human model for the prospective evaluation of the reproductive axis responses to acute illness. Other major surgeries are likely to also be suitable for these studies.
Desensitization of gonadotropin responses to kisspeptin in the female rat: analyses of LH and FSH secretion at different developmental and metabolic states
Authors: Roa J. , Vigo E. , García-Galiano D. , Castellano J. M. , Navarro V. M. , Pineda R. , Diéguez C. , Aguilar E. , Pinilla L. , Tena-Sempere M.
Published: April 2008

Kisspeptins have emerged as potent elicitors of gonadotropin secretion and, therefore, putative targets for pharmacological intervention. In this context, desensitization of gonadotropin responses to continuous administration of kisspeptins has begun to be characterized, but information so far available is mostly restricted to LH responses in males, whereas the similar phenomenon in females, of obvious therapeutic interest, remains virtually unexplored. We report herein LH and FSH responses to continuous intracerebral administration of kisspeptin in female rats at different developmental and metabolic states. Infusion of kisspeptin-10 to adult female rats induced a transient elevation in serum LH concentrations, followed by a precipitous drop and normalization of LH levels thereafter. Elevation of LH after kisspeptin infusion was prolonged in underfed animals; a phenomenon mimicked by leptin administration. Conversely, FSH levels were persistently heightened along continuous kisspeptin infusion, but duration of this response was shortened by undernutrition. In pubertal females, LH and FSH levels remained elevated at the end of a 7-day infusion of kisspeptin; responses whose magnitude was augmented by subnutrition but not mimicked by leptin. In all settings, terminal gonadotropin-releasing hormone responses were fully preserved, suggesting that eventual desensitization must occur upstream from the pituitary. In summary, our current data document the pharmacological consequences of continuous administration of kisspeptin to female rats, with remarkable differences being detected between LH and FSH responses, in different developmental and metabolic states. These observations of potential pharmacological interest might help also to delineate the physiological roles of kisspeptins in the dynamic regulation of gonadotropin secretion in the female.
Corticofugal Projection Inhibits the Auditory Thalamus Through the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus
Authors: Zhang Zhuo , Liu Chun-Hua , Yu Yan-Qin , Fujimoto Kenji , Chan Ying-Shing , He Jufang
Published: April 2008

Electrical stimulation of the auditory cortex (AC) causes both facilitatory and inhibitory effects on the medial geniculate body (MGB). The purpose of this study was to identify the corticofugal inhibitory pathway to the MGB. We assessed two potential circuits: 1) the cortico-colliculo-thalamic circuit and 2) cortico-reticulo-thalamic one. We compared intracellular responses of MGB neurons to electrical stimulation of the AC following bilateral ablation of the inferior colliculi (IC) or thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) in anesthetized guinea pigs. Cortical stimulation with intact TRN could cause strong inhibitory effects on the MGB neurons. The corticofugal inhibition remained effective after bilateral IC ablation, but it was minimized after the TRN was lesioned with kainic acid. Synchronized TRN neuronal activity and MGB inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were observed with multiple recordings. The results suggest that corticofugal inhibition traverses the corticoreticulothalamic pathway, indicating that the colliculi-geniculate inhibitory pathway is probably only for feedforward inhibition.
Home Non-Invasive Mechanical Ventilation and Long-Term Oxygen Therapy in Stable Hypercapnic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: Comparison of Costs
Authors: Clini Enrico M. , Magni Giovanna , Crisafulli Ernesto , Viaggi Stefano , Ambrosino Nicolino
Published: April 2008

Background: A cost analysis of nocturnal non-invasive ventilation (NNV) in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients would be helpful in decision making, when the balance between the increased demand and the availability of resources should be checked. Objectives: Based on data from the Italian trial in stable hypercapnic COPD patients, this study compares the cost of care associated with the use of NNV when added to the usual long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) with the cost of care of LTOT regimen alone. Methods: Cost was calculated in 77 of 90 patients included into that trial. Analysis included drug therapy, hospitalisations due to acute exacerbation, oxygen and ventilator equipments. An estimation of charges was made according to the national sources of cost for drugs and hospital admissions and the actualised reimbursement for the home care provided to both oxygen and ventilator users. The cost/day comparison was made between the individual patients in the 2 groups (NNV + LTOT, n = 35; LTOT, n = 42). Results: The mean cost of drugs and oxygen was similar in both groups, whereas the cost of hospitalisation tended to be lower in NNV + LTOT compared to LTOT alone (8.25 ±10.29 vs. 12.50 ± 20.28 EUR/patient/day, p < 0.05). Inclusion of the ventilator equipment increased the total cost to 23.73 EUR/day in the NNV + LTOT compared to 21.42 EUR/day in the LTOT group (not significant). Conclusions: The present report suggests that long-term management with addition of non-invasive ventilation does not increase costs compared with the usual LTOT regimen: the hospital-related costs were reduced when using the ventilator in these hypercapnic COPD patients.
Children with Specific Language Impairment Also Show Impairment of Music-syntactic Processing
Authors: Jentschke Sebastian , Koelsch Stefan , Sallat Stephan , Friederici Angela D.
Published: April 2008

Both language and music consist of sequences that are structured according to syntactic regularities. We used two specific event-related brain potential (ERP) components to investigate music-syntactic processing in children: the ERAN (early right anterior negativity) and the N5. The neural resources underlying these processes have been posited to overlap with those involved in the processing of linguistic syntax. Thus, we expected children with specific language impairment (SLI, which is characterized by deficient processing of linguistic syntax) to demonstrate difficulties with music-syntactic processing. Such difficulties were indeed observed in the neural correlates of music-syntactic processing: neither an ERAN nor an N5 was elicited in children with SLI, whereas both components were evoked in age-matched control children with typical language development. Moreover, the amplitudes of ERAN and N5 were correlated with subtests of a language development test. These data provide evidence for a strong interrelation between the language and the music processing system, thereby setting the ground for possible effects of musical training in SLI therapy.
Differential Lateralization for Words and Faces: Category or Psychophysics?
Authors: Mercure Evelyne , Dick Frederic , Halit Hanife , Kaufman Jordy , Johnson Mark H.
Published: April 2008

This set of three experiments assessed the influence of different psychophysical factors on the lateralization of the N170 event-related potential (ERP) component to words and faces. In all experiments, words elicited a left-lateralized N170, whereas faces elicited a right-lateralized or nonlateralized N170 depending on presentation conditions. Experiment 1 showed that lateralization for words (but not for faces) was influenced by spatial frequency. Experiment 2 showed that stimulus presentation time influenced N170 lateralization independently of spatial frequency composition. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that stimulus size and resolution did not influence N170 lateralization, but did influence N170 amplitude, albeit differentially for words and faces. These findings suggest that differential lateralization for words and faces, at least as measured by the N170, is influenced by spatial frequency (words), stimulus presentation time, and category.
On Verbal/Nonverbal Modality Dependence of Left and Right Inferior Prefrontal Activation during Performance of Flanker Interference Task
Authors: Morimoto Hiroki M. , Hirose Satoshi , Chikazoe Junichi , Jimura Koji , Asari Tomoki , Yamashita Ken-ichiro , Miyashita Yasushi , Konishi Seiki
Published: April 2008

One of the most prevailing views on the functional localization of human cognition is the hemispheric specialization, wherein the left and right hemispheres are implicated primarily in verbal and nonverbal functions, respectively. Cognitive control is known to involve the lateral prefrontal cortex. However, it remains unclear whether the hemispheric specialization in the lateral prefrontal cortex can be observed in cognitive control per se, independent of sensory aspects of stimulus materials. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we tested whether the verbal/nonverbal hemispheric specialization applies to the lateral prefrontal activation by investigating interference suppression, the ability to filter out irrelevant information in the environment. The flanker task was employed using a compound stimulus that contained a target and a flanker. The flanked stimulus was either a color word flanked by a colored patch or a colored patch flanked by a color word, which allowed us to manipulate the modality of the presented flanker stimulus from which interference originates, keeping the total stimulus modality balanced. The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) showed prominent Modality-by-Hemisphere interaction in interference suppression, the left IFG being activated when a word flanker (plus a patch target) was presented and the right IFG being activated when a patch flanker (plus a word target) was presented. These results suggest that the verbal/nonverbal hemispheric specialization in the IFG can be explained by cognitive control processes per se, independent of sensory aspects of presented materials.
Feedforward and Recurrent Processing in Scene Segmentation: Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Scholte H. Steven , Jolij Jacob , Fahrenfort Johannes J. , Lamme Victor A. F.
Published: April 2008

In texture segregation, an example of scene segmentation, we can discern two different processes: texture boundary detection and subsequent surface segregation [Lamme, V. A. F., Rodriguez-Rodriguez, V., & Spekreijse, H. Separate processing dynamics for texture elements, boundaries and surfaces in primary visual cortex of the macaque monkey. Cerebral Cortex, 9, 406–413, 1999]. Neural correlates of texture boundary detection have been found in monkey V1 [Sillito, A. M., Grieve, K. L., Jones, H. E., Cudeiro, J., & Davis, J. Visual cortical mechanisms detecting focal orientation discontinuities. Nature, 378, 492–496, 1995; Grosof, D. H., Shapley, R. M., & Hawken, M. J. Macaque-V1 neurons can signal illusory contours. Nature, 365, 550–552, 1993], but whether surface segregation occurs in monkey V1 [Rossi, A. F., Desimone, R., & Ungerleider, L. G. Contextual modulation in primary visual cortex of macaques. Journal of Neuroscience, 21, 1698–1709, 2001; Lamme, V. A. F. The neurophysiology of figure ground segregation in primary visual-cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 15, 1605–1615, 1995], and whether boundary detection or surface segregation signals can also be measured in human V1, is more controversial [Kastner, S., De Weerd, P., & Ungerleider, L. G. Texture segregation in the human visual cortex: A functional MRI study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 83, 2453–2457, 2000]. Here we present electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging data that have been recorded with a paradigm that makes it possible to differentiate between boundary detection and scene segmentation in humans. In this way, we were able to show with EEG that neural correlates of texture boundary detection are first present in the early visual cortex around 92 msec and then spread toward the parietal and temporal lobes. Correlates of surface segregation first appear in temporal areas (around 112 msec) and from there appear to spread to parietal, and back to occipital areas. After 208 msec, correlates of surface segregation and boundary detection also appear in more frontal areas. Blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging results show correlates of boundary detection and surface segregation in all early visual areas including V1. We conclude that texture boundaries are detected in a feedforward fashion and are represented at increasing latencies in higher visual areas. Surface segregation, on the other hand, is represented in “reverse hierarchical” fashion and seems to arise from feedback signals toward early visual areas such as V1.
The Influence of “Blind” Distractors on Eye Movement Trajectories in Visual Hemifield Defects
Authors: Van der Stigchel Stefan , van Zoest Wieske , Theeuwes Jan , Barton Jason J. S.
Published: April 2008

There is evidence that some visual information in blind regions may still be processed in patients with hemifield defects after cerebral lesions (“blindsight”). We tested the hypothesis that, in the absence of retinogeniculostriate processing, residual retinotectal processing may still be detected as modifications of saccades to seen targets by irrelevant distractors in the blind hemifield. Six patients were presented with distractors in the blind and intact portions of their visual field and participants were instructed to make eye movements to targets in the intact field. Eye movements were recorded to determine if blind-field distractors caused deviation in saccadic trajectories. No deviation was found in one patient with an optic chiasm lesion, which affect both retinotectal and retinogeniculostriate pathways. In five patients with lesions of the optic radiations or the striate cortex, the results were mixed, with two of the five patients showing significant deviations of saccadic trajectory away from the “blind” distractor. In a second experiment, two of the five patients were tested with the target and the distractor more closely aligned. Both patients showed a “global effect,” in that saccades deviated toward the distractor, but the effect was stronger in the patient who also showed significant trajectory deviation in the first experiment. Although our study confirms that distractor effects on saccadic trajectory can occur in patients with damage to the retinogeniculostriate visual pathway but preserved retinotectal projections, there remain questions regarding what additional factors are required for these effects to manifest themselves in a given patient.
Fluvastatin Treatment and Withdrawal: Effects on Endothelial Function
Authors: Westphal Sabine , Abletshauser Claudia , Luley Claus
Published: April 2008

Fluvastatin lowers lipids and protects endothelial function. This study investigated how 2 preparations of fluvastatin would affect endothelial function after treatment and early after its discontinuation. Twenty-seven patients received 80 mg extended-release fluvastatin every day, 40 mg immediate-release fluvastatin twice a day, or placebo for 5 weeks. Fasting lipids and flow-mediated dilation were measured at baseline and after each treatment period. In 21 patients, flow-mediated vasodilation was also measured 24 hours after discontinuation of therapy. Both forms of fluvastatin improved flow-mediated vasodilation (extended release: P < .037 and immediate release: P < .001). However, this improvement occurred preferentially in patients with low baseline flow-mediated vasodilation (<5%). Twenty-four hours after treatment discontinuation, the flow-mediated vasodilation deteriorated again to baseline (extended release and immediate release: P < .001). Fluvastatin improved flow-mediated vasodilation only in patients with low baseline values. Twenty-four hours after discontinuation, the flow-mediated vasodilation deteriorated again, surprisingly irrespective of prior improvement.
Cardiorenal Anemia Syndrome: Do Erythropoietin and Iron Therapy Have a Place in the Treatment of Heart Failure?
Authors: Pagourelias Efstathios D. , Koumaras Charalambos , Kakafika Anna I. , Tziomalos Konstantinos , Zorou Paraskevi G. , Athyros Vasilios G. , Karagiannis Asterios
Published: April 2008

The cardiorenal anemia syndrome in congestive heart failure (CHF) is an independent risk factor for vascular morbidity and mortality. Several factors play a role in the pathogenesis of anemia in CHF, including inflammation, impaired renal function, use of certain antihypertensive or cardioprotective agents, and gastrointestinal or urinary losses of essential hemopoietic factors. Several trials evaluated the effects of administering erythropoietin (EPO) and/or iron to patients with CHF. Even though most of them were uncontrolled studies, their results suggest that EPO treatment might be beneficial in CHF. Nevertheless, more studies are needed and certain issues should be resolved, particularly the optimal hemoglobin level, before EPO can become part of the treatment of patients with CHF.
Migration Patterns and Occupational Specialisations of Kolkata Chinese
Authors: Liang Jennifer
Published: April 2008

This article examines the history and experiences of the Chinese Indian community in Kolkata based on extensive interviews of the members of the community. The migration of the Chinese to the Indian city, it suggests, took place in three distinct phases: the nineteenth century, when skilled workers from China came to the city seeking better employment opportunities; the early twentieth century, when social unrest and Japanese invasion brought Chinese refugees to Kolkata; and, the post-1945 period, when civil war between the Guomindang and the Communists triggered the flow of a third wave of Chinese immigrants. The article also outlines some of the main economic specialisations of the Chinese immigrants as they became residents of Kolkata, including carpentry, shoemaking, tannery and hairdressing.
Still Guest People
Authors: Oxfeld Ellen
Published: April 2008

This article is based on fieldwork conducted during the 1980s in a community of Hakka Chinese who had found a profitable niche in Kolkata's leather industry. It examines the way Kolkata's ethnic economy, in which different caste, language and religious groups each inhabit different economic niches, furthered the Hakka's continued identification of themselves as ‘guest people’. The Hakka distinguished between themselves and a variety of others, not only other Indian groups, but also the Cantonese and Hubeinese Chinese.
Chinese Indians in Fire
Authors: Banerjee Payal
Published: April 2008

This article utilises the representation of the Chinese characters in the film Fire (1996) as a strategic site from which to examine the institutional marginalisation of India's Chinese minority community since the Sino-Indian war of 1962. Through a close examination of diplomatic documents and white papers exchanged between the governments of China and India during the 1960s, publications of the Indian government on the Sino-Indian war as well as newspaper articles and film reviews on Fire, this article delineates how the film's dehistoricised approach in representing Chinese minority voices and their criticisms against Indian society results in obscuring the legacy of the oppression of the Chinese community in India and in reiterating the state's nationalist construction of the Chinese Indians as treacherous, back-stabbing and irrational ‘others’.
Performing Other-Wise
Authors: Basu Abhishek
Published: April 2008

‘Death-Defying China’ is a thrilling account of the Bengali globetrotter Ramnath Biswas's travels through China on a bicycle in 1931. Biswas's descriptions of the tumultuous period of Chinese history, marked by civil wars and the Japanese occupation, are based on his interactions with diverse groups of Chinese people. This paper focuses on his encounters with the supporters of Chinese Communists, his experiences as a foreigner and his attempts to understand India and himself through his experiences in China.
Introductory Notes to a Course on Chinese Sources of India–China	Relations
Authors: Ray Haraprasad
Published: April 2008

These notes with short bibliographies to the lectures deal with the wide panorama of Chinese civilization and India–China relations. They are arranged lecture-wise to be followed by full-length papers at a later date. The first five lectures which form the background are followed by dynasty-wise analyses of the topics in the next five. We hope these notes and their bibliographies will acquaint the budding Sinologists as well as generalists with the vast dimensions of China study and help the concerned scholars prepare for the gallimaufry that is the India–China interface.
Clinical Profile of the Overweight Child in the New Millennium
Authors: Carvalho Ryan , Johnson Elizabeth , Kozlosky Merel , Scheimann Ann O.
Published: April 2008

Background In conjunction with the rising prevalence of obesity during the past several decades, the clinical profile of the obese child has changed. Hypothesis. Environmental influences and eating practices have had an impact on the presence of medical morbidities among obese children.

Design Retrospective chart review of data collected from 90 children entering into a pediatric weight management program was performed. Fisher's exact tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare outcomes between subpopulations.

Results There was greater elevation in systolic blood pressure among children who ate in front of the television ( P = .03) and a greater degree of fast-food consumption among children with more than 3 medical morbidities ( P = .02). Breast-feeding did not have a protective effect on the degree of obesity ( P = .02).

Conclusion Aggressive assessment for symptoms should be an important part of evaluating the overweight child. Environmental influences and social feeding practices can counteract the protective effects of breast-feeding in infancy.
Xenophobia
Authors: Yakushko Oksana
Published: April 2008

The current xenophobic cultural environment in the United States makes it imperative that psychologists understand the nature of xenophobia and recognize its consequences. This article explores sociological, social psychological, and multicultural research to examine the causes of negative attitudes toward immigrants. Xenophobia is presented as a concept descriptive of a socially observable phenomenon. Historical and contemporary expressions of xenophobia in the United States are examined and compared with cross-cultural scholarship on negative attitudes toward immigrants. Last, suggestions are provided for how counseling psychologists can integrate an understanding of xenophobia into their clinical practice, training, research, and public policy advocacy.
Israel's 1948 War of Independence as a Total War
Authors: Naor Moshe
Published: April 2008

This article deals with the civic and social aspects of the 1948 Israeli-Arab War. The study suggests that in light of the goals and the substantive changes wrought by the war, the 1948 War was a conflict that can be defined as a total war. The paper focuses on mobilization of the pre-State Jewish community (Yishuv) in Palestine and the Israeli war effort. It presents a general framework that enables one to examine the totality of the conflict in the course of discussing the war perspective of Israeli leadership. The research investigates the character of economic and social mobilization, including the harnessing of pre- State social resources on behalf of the war effort and the mobilization of human resources for military service and essential work. Additional traits that underscore the totality of the war are also addressed, including the experience of the civilian population at the home front, and the far-reaching consequences of the war.
Suez 1956: A European Intervention?
Authors: Dietl Ralph
Published: April 2008

This article does not analyse events in the Middle East. It is concerned with the structural background of the Suez Crisis. The Cold War bargain of 1949-50, and thus the Western bloc architecture, was challenged in 1956 and 1962-63. The Suez Crisis and the SKYBOLT Affair are classic examples of intra-bloc conflict. This article focuses on inter-allied conflict during the Suez Crisis. The crisis year 1956 witnessed a European challenge to the bipolar order of the Cold War. It is the hypothesis of this article that the mystique of the Suez Crisis unravels, if the events are interpreted as a clash of conflicting world views. The article attempts to enhance our understanding of the crisis by exploring the impact of the formation of a European core on the transatlantic pluralistic security community. The article will thus re-evaluate the architectural debate within the Western partial system. It is the aim to shed new light on the almost unexplored European foreign-policy co-operation within the Western European Union (WEU) in the crisis year 1956.
Scientific and “Radical” Ethnomethodology
Authors: Arminen Ilkka
Published: April 2008

Ethnomethodology has been torn between scientific and “radical” aspirations insofar as it moves discoursive practices from resources to the topic of the study. Scientific ethnomethodology, such as conversation analysis, studies discoursive praxis as its topic and resource. Standard scientific criteria are accepted to assess the merits of its findings. “Radical” ethnomethodology addresses mundane reasoning exclusively as its topic without recourse to standardized science. I will show that insofar as “radical” ethnomethodology succeeds in bracketing everyday resources, it loses its phenomenon with the very technical skills it uses for this task. This reconsideration enables the development of ethnomethodological social science.
Rural Grassroots Files From the Collectivization Era
Authors: Xing Long  , Ma Weiqiang
Published: April 2008

Since its establishment, the Chinese Social History Research Center of Shanxi University has attached great importance to the work of collecting, sorting, collating, and systematizing historical materials. Using these materials, it has undertaken research projects on such subjects as water conservancy, Shanxi merchants, and yangge. This article provides a brief introduction to the files, which consist of more than 6,000 volumes (or about a million items) collected by the center on rural grassroots units including communes, brigades, and production teams.
Deliberating Competence
Authors: Chilvers Jason
Published: April 2008

The “participatory turn” cutting across technical approaches for appraising environment, risk, science, and technology has been accompanied by intense debates over the desired nature, extent, and quality of public engagement in science. Burgeoning work evaluating the effectiveness of such processes and the social study of science in society more generally is notable, however, for lacking systematic understanding of the very actors shaping these new forms science-society interaction. This paper addresses this lacuna by drawing on United Kingdom based in-depth empirical research that made space for participatory appraisal experts to reflect on effective practice and novel questions of competence, expertise, and citizen-specialist relations within analytic-deliberative processes. Emerging practitioner principles warn that existing participatory models have not sufficiently considered constructivist perspectives on knowledge, analysis, and deliberation. Effective participatory appraisal under uncertainty needs to guard against the “technocracy of participation” by opening up to diversity, difference, antagonism, and uncertainties/indeterminacies.
Using Union Status or Marital Status to Study the Living Arrangements of Elderly People
Authors: De Vos Susan , Schwartzman Luisa Farah
Published: April 2008

The authors reflect on the use of marital status to study the living arrangements of elderly people (aged 60 years and older) in a comparative perspective. Traditionally, relevant studies have differentiated by marital status and assumed that married people lived together and that unmarried people did not live with partners. However, marital status is a social construct, whereas union status is the residential one, and although marriage is universal, it is different in different places and at different times. Using fairly recent census data from nine countries around the world, the authors examined how well marital status helps indicate union status. They found reason to believe that marital status has been a good indicator of union status in some places at certain times but that it is not always so.
From Networks to Hierarchies: The Construction of a Subcontracting Regime in the Irish Telecommunications Industry
Authors: MacKenzie Robert
Published: April 2008

The perceived displacement of bureaucracy by external market relationships through the use of subcontracting has brought about an increase in interest in inter-organizational relations. The development of such relationships can be a protracted process, characterized by tensions and contradictions. The article traces the development of subcontracting within Eircom, the Irish telecommunications provider, from its relatively ad hoc origins in the mid-1990s to the development of a far more sophisticated contracting regime by 2003. The article explores the relationship between internal and external organizational changes associated with the construction of the subcontracting regime and the development of inter-organizational relationships. The subcontracting regime was transformed from a reliance on a series of decentralized local networks of suppliers to a highly centralized arrangement that bore increasing semblance to a unitary hierarchy. The transactions costs implications of such developments are considered throughout. The dynamics of change in this case reflect an incremental learning process as the organization adapted to changes in its environment and the emergent limitations of existing practices. Trust played an important role in the mediation of the subcontract relationships; however, the development of trust-based relationships was not a linear process.
Temporal Gene Expression Profiling Indicates Early Up-regulation of Interleukin-6 in Isoproterenol-induced Myocardial Necrosis in Rat
Authors: Mikaelian Igor , Coluccio Denise , Morgan Kevin T. , Johnson Teona , Ryan Amber L. , Rasmussen Erik , Nicklaus Rosemary , Kanwal Charu , Hilton Holly , Frank Karl , Fritzky Luke , Wheeldon Eric B.
Published: April 2008

Gene expression was evaluated in the myocardium of male Wistar rats after a single subcutaneous administration of 0.5 mg of isoproterenol, a β-adrenergic agonist that causes acute tachycardia with subsequent myocardial necrosis. Histology of the heart, clinical chemistry, and hematology were evaluated at 9 time points (0.5 hours to 14 days postinjection). Myocardial gene expression was evaluated at 4 time points (1 hour to 3 days). Contraction bands and loss of cross-striation were identified on phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin-stained sections 0.5 hours postdosing. Plasma troponin I elevation was detected at 0.5 hours, peaked at 3 hours, and returned to baseline values at 3 days postdosing. Interleukin 6 (Il6) expression spiked at 1 to 3 hours and was followed by a short-lived, time-dependent dysregulation of its downstream targets. Concurrently and consistent with the kinetics of the histologic findings, many pathways indicative of necrosis/apoptosis (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK] signaling, NF-κB signaling) and adaptation to hypertension (PPAR signaling) were overrepresented at 3 hours. The 1-day and 3-day time points indicated an adaptive response, with down-regulation of the fatty acid metabolism pathway, up-regulation of the fetal gene program, and superimposed inflammation and repair at 3 days. These results suggest early involvement of Il6 in isoproterenol-induced myocardial necrosis and emphasize the value of early time points in transcriptomic studies.
Neuroexcitatory Targets in the Female Reproductive System of the Nonhuman Primate (Macaca fascicularis)
Authors: Gill Santokh , Barker Michael , Pulido Olga
Published: April 2008

Glutamate receptors (GluRs) have been implicated in brain function and pathology. Their presence in peripheral tissues suggests a vital role in the pathophysiology of various organ systems. In earlier studies, the authors reported the differential distribution of ionotropic and metabotropic GluRs in neural and nonneural peripheral tissues of the rat. In this study, they investigated the presence and the localization of the GluRs in the reproductive organs of Macaca fascicularis. The data illustrate the presence of the GluR 2/3, metabotropic glutamate receptor 2/3, kainate 2, and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 (NMDAR 1). These are localized in the different structures of the ovaries, uterine cervix, myometrium, endometrium, and inflammatory cells. Smooth muscle of the myometrium and arterioles showed strong immunolabeling with anti-GluR 2/3 and, to a lesser intensity, with the other ionotropic glutamate receptor antibodies. NMDAR 1 showed the most widespread staining in all the structures. Mast cells showed strong immunolabeling with the anti-NMDA antibody. The demonstration and the differential expression of GluRs in the female reproductive system of nonhuman primate experimental models provide first evidence suggesting excitatory signaling in these tissues.
Evidence of a Threshold-Effect for 2-Amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo-[4,5-f]quinoxaline Liver Carcinogenicity in F344/DuCrj Rats
Authors: Murai Takshi , Mori Satoru , Kang Jin Seok , Morimura Keiichirou , Wanibuchi Hideki , Totsuka Yukari , Fukushima Shoji
Published: April 2008

To estimate potential human risk of exposure to a food-derived, genotoxic hepatocarcinogen, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5- f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), a 2-year carcinogenicity test was conducted using male F344 rats administered MeIQx-containing diet at doses of 0 (control), 0.001, 1, and 100 ppm. The lowest dose 0.001 ppm was established as equivalent to the daily intake of this carcinogen in humans (0.2 to 2.6 μg/man/day). Significant decreases of survival rate and body weight gain were observed in rats treated with 100 ppm MeIQx. Histopathological examination revealed significant induction of hepatocellular carcinomas, adenomas, and development of glutathione S-transferase placental form–positive foci with MeIQx at 100 ppm. Moreover, the incidences of Zymbal’s glands carcinoma, mammary fibroadenoma, and subcutaneous fibroma were found significantly increased in a 100 ppm MeIQx group. However, no significant induction of altered preneoplastic hepatocellular foci was observed in 0.001 and 1 ppm groups as compared to the controls. 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine levels in the rat liver DNA of the 100 ppm-treated group were not elevated, but MeIQx-DNA adduct formation increased as compared with the 1 ppm case, albeit without significance. No significant induction of any other neoplastic lesions related to the carcinogen administration was found in MeIQx-administered groups except for 100 ppm. These results imply that 1 ppm may be a no-effect level for MeIQx carcinogenesis.
Social inclusion: meeting the socio-emotional needs of children with vision needs
Authors: Roe Joao
Published: April 2008

To meet the socio-emotional needs of children with vision impairment, it is important that professionals involved have a good understanding of these needs and are able to interpret children's behaviours. Professionals also need to create contexts that promote social inclusion alongside academic achievement. This is a continuous challenge for professionals but it is crucial both for children's development and for ensuring effective inclusive practices. In this article, research and practice are brought together to explore the needs of children with vision impairment in the area of socio-emotional development and inclusion, and to explore ways of making it happen.
Information: a new paradigm for research into our understanding of blindness?
Authors: Tobin Michael
Published: April 2008

'Information' is proposed as an over-arching concept to guide researchers as they seek to investigate the educational, psychological, social and other challenges posed by blindness. Examples from published research reports and from commonly observed behavioural phenomena at various stages of the individual's development are invoked to support the case that all delays and barriers experienced by blind people have as their causation the lack, the inadequacy or the inaccessibility of information. The notion of information is rarely explicitly referred to in research reports and is scarcely ever commented upon by carers and professional practitioners, but the argument to be made here is that its existence is implicit. If the usefulness of the proposition is acknowledged, the 'information model' can provide a means for designing and unifying future research programmes. Finally, it is claimed that casting the model into a technical and more abstract form serves to bring out its generality as a possible theory for devising basic research and teaching programmes.