bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alteration of the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of beef by substitution of grass silage with maize silage
Authors: Bahar Bojlul , Monahan Frank J. , Moloney Aidan P. , O'Kiely Padraig , Scrimgeour Charlie M. , Schmidt Olaf
Published: June 2005

This study investigated the effect of substituting grass silage (C3 photosynthetic plant product) with maize silage (C4 photosynthetic plant product) on the natural abundance carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope composition of bovine muscle tissue. Forty‐five continental crossbred heifers were assigned to one of three diets consisting of 3 kg of a barley‐based concentrate plus grass silage, maize silage or an equal mixture (dry matter basis) of grass silage and maize silage, fed ad libitum, for 167 days. Substitution resulted in less negative δ13C values (P < 0.001) in lipid‐free muscle and in lipid, and also a lower δ15N (P < 0.001) in lipid‐free muscle. Feeding of maize silage was clearly reflected in the δ13C of muscle, with each 10% difference in the dietary C4 carbon intake resulting in a 0.9 to 1.0‰ shift of δ13C in lipid‐free muscle and a 1.0 to 1.2‰ in lipid. Minimum detectable mean differences (95% confidence, power 0.80, n = 15) in this experiment were about 0.5‰ and 1.0‰ for δ13C of lipid‐free muscle and lipid, respectively, and about 0.5‰ for δ15N of lipid‐free muscle. The power analysis presented here is useful for estimating minimum isotopic differences that can be detected between any two groups of beef samples with a given number of replicates. It is concluded that carbon stable isotope ratio analysis of meat can be used to quantify C3/C4 dietary constituents in beef production. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A strategy for identification of drug metabolites from dried blood spots using triple‐quadrupole/linear ion trap hybrid mass spectrometry
Authors: Mauriala Timo , Chauret Nathalie , Oballa Renata , Nicoll‐Griffith Deborah A. , Bateman Kevin P.
Published: June 2005

Discovery stage studies that address issues of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) are vital for lead optimization resulting in new drug candidates. Often pharmacokinetics (PK) is assessed in these experiments without regard for the metabolism of the compound or the potential for metabolites to circulate in vivo. This work presents a strategy for drug level determination and detection of metabolites using dried blood spots for sample collection. Initially, metabolites are detected from microsomal incubations and characterized using tandem mass spectrometry. Data dependent enhanced MS and enhanced product ion (EMS‐EPI) scanning with dynamic background subtraction was used on a hybrid quadruple linear ion trap mass spectrometer. On‐the‐fly background subtraction greatly improved the detection of metabolites. These data were used to build a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method for the parent and metabolites. MRM‐EPI scanning was used to analyze the extracted dried blood spots from the PK study. Circulating metabolites were detected using MRM and their identities confirmed on the basis of fragment ion spectra collected simultaneously. The use of dried blood spots provides a means for re‐analysis of PK samples for metabolite identification without the need for complex sample storage and preparation. Both parent compound and metabolite information can be collected in these studies, resulting in a savings of time and resources. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
First results of a quantitative study of DNA adducts of melphalan in the rat by isotope dilution mass spectrometry using capillary liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Van den Driessche Bart , Esmans Eddy L. , Van der Linden Annemie , Van Dongen Walter , Schaerlaken Evi , Lemière Filip , Witters Erwin , Berneman Zwi
Published: June 2005

Rats were intravenously injected with a single high dose (10 mg/kg) of the alkylating agent melphalan in order to study DNA‐adduct formation. Quantitation of a dGuo‐melphalan adduct was done by isotope dilution mass spectrometry using capillary liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and [15N5]‐labeled dGuo‐melphalan as internal standard. DNA‐adduct levels were studied in bone marrow, liver and kidney. The instrumental detection limit of the method was determined to be 900 fg (S/N 3, pure standard). These first results clearly show a 10 times higher adduct level in bone marrow compared to kidney and a 6 times higher level compared to liver. More experiments will be necessary to gather more information on the pharmacokinetics of melphalan‐DNA adducts under in vivo conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Passivation of InP(100) substrates: first stages of nitridation by thin InN surface overlayers studied by electron spectroscopies
Authors: Petit M. , Robert‐Goumet C. , Bideux L. , Gruzza B. , Matolin V. , Arabasz S. , Adamowicz B. , Wawer D. , Bugajski M.
Published: June 2005

This article investigates the nitridation effect of InP(100) semiconductor surfaces performed using a glow discharge cell. Auger electron spectroscopy and XPS were used to understand the different steps of this process. An important point is the initial quantity of metallic indium on the InP(100) surfaces. Indeed the indium droplets, created in well‐known quantity, play the role of precursor. At a relatively low temperature of 523 K the system undergoes surface restructuring, which includes removal of the In droplets and the formation of two InN monolayers. Phosphorus–nitrogen bonds have been detected by the analysis of P LMM Auger peaks, and InN bonds by analysis of the In 4d XPS peak. However, the presence or not of metallic indium inside this InN overlayer is crucial for passivation of the substrate. Ex situ photoluminescence measurements correlated to the electron spectroscopies results have shown the good passivation effect of the InP(100) surfaces by InN overlayers for 40 min of nitridation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The relationship between population means and variances of reproductive success differs between local populations of white stork (Ciconia ciconia)
Authors: Tryjanowski P. , Sparks T. H. , Jakubiec Z. , Jerzak L. , Kosicki J. Z. , Kuźniak S. , Profus P. , Ptaszyk J. , Wuczyński A.
Published: June 2005

We studied the size and productivity of white stork (Ciconia ciconia) populations in eight study sites in Poland. The number of nesting pairs and the average number of chicks fledged per pair fluctuated over time, and the studied populations differed in the variance of both breeding success and number of breeding pairs. The variance of breeding success (both for the mean number of chicks and the proportion of successful nests) and the variance of the number of breeding pairs was not correlated with the extent of stable habitats (pastures, meadows, wetlands), other habitats (farmland), or with local population trends over time. We found a non‐linear symmetrical relationship between annual mean reproductive success and its variance but only when considered as the proportion of successful nests (i.e., when individual nests are coded as a binary value: 0, no success; 1, success). No such relationship existed when success was expressed as the number of fledged chicks. Although a positive significant correlation occurred between fledgling numbers (discrete data) and the proportion of successful nests (binary data), we believe that the use of only binary data will be inadequate in more detailed analyses, such as population viability analysis.
Men's Decision‐Making About Predictive BRCA1/2 Testing: The Role of Family
Authors: Hallowell N. , Ardern‐Jones A. , Eeles R. , Foster C. , Lucassen A. , Moynihan C. , Watson M.
Published: June 2005

Men who have a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer may be offered a predictive genetic test to determine whether or not they carry the family specific BRCA1/2 mutation. Male carriers may be at increased risk of breast and prostate cancers. Relatively little is known about at‐risk men's decision‐making about BRCA1/2 testing. This qualitative study explores the influences on male patients’ genetic test decisions. Twenty‐nine in‐depth interviews were undertaken with both carrier and noncarrier men and immediate family members (17 male patients, 8 female partners, and 4 adult children). These explored family members’ experiences of cancer and genetic testing, decision‐making about testing, family support, communication of test results within the family, risk perception and risk management. Implicit influences on men's testing decisions such as familial obligations are examined. The extent to which other family members—partners and adult children—were involved in testing decisions is also described. It is demonstrated that mothers of potential mutation carriers not only perceive themselves as having a right to be involved in making this decision, but also were perceived by their male partners as having a legitimate role to play in decision‐making. There was evidence that (adult) children were excluded from the decision‐making, and some expressed resentment about this. The implications of these findings for the practice of genetic counseling are discussed.
Genetic Evaluation and Counseling of Couples with Recurrent Miscarriage: Recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors
Authors: Laurino Mercy Y. , Bennett Robin L. , Saraiya Devki S. , Baumeister Lisa , Doyle Debra Lochner , Leppig Kathleen , Pettersen Barbara , Resta Robert , Shields Larry , Uhrich Stefanie , Varga Elizabeth A. , Raskind Wendy H.
Published: June 2005

The objective of this document is to provide recommendations for genetic evaluation and counseling of couples with recurrent miscarriage (RM). The recommendations are the opinions of the multidisciplinary Inherited Pregnancy Loss Working Group (IPLWG), with expertise in genetic counseling, medical genetics, maternal fetal medicine, internal medicine, infectious disease, cytogenetics, and coagulation disorders. The IPLWG defines RM as three or more clinically recognized consecutive or non‐consecutive pregnancy losses occurring prior to fetal viability (<24 weeks gestation). These recommendations are provided to assist genetic counselors and other health care providers in clinical decision‐making, as well as to promote consistency of patient care, guide the allocation of medical resources, and increase awareness of the psychosocial and cultural issues experienced by couples with RM. The IPLWG was convened with support from the March of Dimes Western Washington State Chapter and the University of Washington Division of Medical Genetics. The recommendations are U.S. Preventive Task Force Class III, and are based on clinical experiences, review of pertinent English‐language published articles, and reports of expert committees. This document reviews the suspected causes of RM, provides indications for genetic evaluation and testing, addresses psychosocial and cultural considerations, and provides professional and patient resources. These recommendations should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of medical management, nor does the use of such recommendations guarantee a particular outcome. The professional judgment of a health care provider, familiar with the circumstances of a specific case, should always supersede these recommendations.
In vitro differentiation of human dental follicle cells with dexamethasone and insulin
Authors: Morsczeck C. , Moehl C. , Götz W. , Heredia A. , Schäffer T.E. , Eckstein N. , Sippel C. , Hoffmann K.H.
Published: June 2005

The dental follicle is an ectomesenchymally derived connective tissue harboring precursor cells for the tooth supporting apparatus. In this study, we examined gene expression of freshly isolated human dental follicle cells during osteogenic differentiation in vitro. These plastic adherent fibroblastic cells express Notch‐1, nestin and vimentin. We differentiated dental follicle cells with dexamethasone or insulin‐based protocols into membrane‐like structures containing mineralizing foci. An analysis of mineralized tissue with atomic force microscopy illustrated a bone and cementum‐like structure. A real‐time RT‐PCR analysis was developed to investigate expression of typical osteoblast or cementoblast related genes during differentiation. Gene expressions of osteocalcin (OCN), bone morphogenic protein (BMP)‐2 and nestin were increased during the both differentiation approaches. Our work demonstrates differentiation of dental follicle cells with an insulin‐based protocol for the first time.
fldA is an essential gene required in the 2‐C‐methyl‐D‐erythritol 4‐phosphate pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis
Authors: Puan Kia-Joo , Wang Hong , Dairi Tohru , Kuzuyama Tomohisa , Morita Craig T.
Published: June 2005

Although flavodoxin I is indispensable for Escherichia coli growth, the exact pathway(s) where flavodoxin I is essential has not been identified. We performed transposon mutagenesis of the flavodoxin I gene, fldA, in an E. coli strain that expressed mevalonate pathway enzymes and that had a point mutation in the lytB gene of the MEP pathway resulting in the accumulation of (E)‐4‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbutyl‐2‐enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP). Disruption of fldA abrogated mevalonate‐independent growth and dramatically decreased HMBPP levels. The fldA
− mutant grew with mevalonate indicating that the essential role of flavodoxin I under aerobic conditions is in the MEP pathway. Growth was restored by fldA complementation. Since GcpE (which synthesizes HMBPP) and LytB are iron–sulfur enzymes that require a reducing system for their activity, we propose that flavodoxin is essential for GcpE and possibly LytB activity. Thus, the essential role for flavodoxin I in E. coli is in the MEP pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis.
Identification of a villin‐related tobacco protein as a novel cross‐reactive plant allergen
Authors: Mittermann Irene , Voronin Viktor , Heberle-Bors Erwin , Valenta Rudolf
Published: June 2005

In a paradigmatic approach we identified cross‐reactive plant allergens for allergy diagnosis and treatment by screening of a tobacco leaf complementary DNA (cDNA) library with serum IgE from a polysensitized allergic patient. Two IgE‐reactive cDNA clones were isolated which code for proteins with significant sequence similarity to the actin‐binding protein, villin. Northern‐ and Western‐blotting demonstrate expression of the villin‐related allergens in pollen and somatic plant tissues. In addition, villin‐related proteins were detected in several plant allergen sources (tree‐, grass‐, weed pollen, fruits, vegetables, nuts). A recombinant C‐terminal fragment of the villin‐related protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and shown to react specifically with allergic patients IgE. After profilin, villin‐related proteins represent another family of cytoskeletal proteins, which has been identified as cross‐reactive plant allergens. They may be used for the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from multivalent plant allergies.
Acoustic detection of a scallop bed from a single-beam echosounder in the St. Lawrence
Authors: Hutin Estelle , Simard Yvan , Archambault Philippe
Published: June 2005

Single-beam seabed echoes combined with epi-macrobenthos photographs were used to remotely detect a scallop bed and characterize the specific acoustic signal of Iceland scallop (Chlamys islandica). A dense scallop bed was surveyed in 2002, with a QTC VIEW Series IV acoustic ground-discrimination system (AGDS) connected to a 38 kHz, 7° split-beam SIMRAD EK60 scientific echosounder. In 2003, a 50 kHz, 42° single-beam SUZUKI ES-2025 echosounder was connected to a QTC VIEW Series V AGDS. The QTC VIEW data were analysed with QTC IMPACT following the standard procedures and classified into acoustic classes. Several approaches were tested: unsupervised and supervised survey strategies directed to specific benthic communities. The SIMRAD EK60 seabed volume-backscattering strength (Sv) was submitted to a principal component analysis (PCA), before and after removal of a depth trend, and the scores on the first 10 principal components were classed by a K-means cluster analysis. The same seabed Sv data were submitted to stepwise discriminant analysis whose training data sets were defined with the ground-truth photographs using different groupings: biotope types, community types, and finally scallop-density classes. All the QTC AGDS approaches failed to reveal the scallop bed, community structures, or biotopes. The QTC classifications mimicked the bathymetry with a strong correlation of the acoustic classes with depth. The seabed Sv PCA + K-means approach presented similar depth-dependence, but, the PCA + K-means on the Sv residuals revealed the scallop bed. The discriminant analysis was the best solution for the scallop density with a general classification success rate of 75% and up to 91% for the highest density class. The Sv signature of the scallop bed is presented, and the most discriminant part of the acoustic signal is identified.
Customer behavioral intentions for online purchases: An examination of fulfillment method and customer experience level
Authors: Boyer Kenneth K. , Hult G. Tomas M.
Published: June 2005

This study presents an analysis of the growing market for groceries and other foodstuffs ordered via the internet or telephone for delivery to the customer's home. This industry has been growing for the past 5 years at greater than 25% per year while the overall market for foodstuffs has been largely stagnant. The research utilizes data from surveys of over 2100 customers of five different home delivery grocers. The analysis utilizes two group variables (customer experience level and order picking method) and five primary constructs (service quality, product quality, product freshness, time‐savings and behavioral intentions). The results indicate that customer perceptions of the primary constructs generally improve as they gain experience with this new method of ordering and receiving groceries. Furthermore, the operational choice of picking method is also shown to have a large impact on customer perceptions—in particular, more experienced customers generally rate the primary constructs higher for distribution center (DC)‐based picking than for store‐based picking. The study provides support for the hypothesis that direct to customer foodstuffs can be of better freshness and quality when picked from a DC because of the ability to shorten the supply chain than from a store. The data suggest that a DC‐based picking strategy is viable if grocers can re‐shape customer perceptions and master the numerous intricacies of the supply chain.
Salvation as participation in the humanity of the Mediator in Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion: a reply to Carl Mosser
Authors: Slater Jonathan
Published: June 2005

In a recent article, Carl Mosser argues that deification is present in the theology of John Calvin. While his thesis may have ecumenical promise, there is little evidence to support it. Rather than understanding salvation as a communication of properties from Christ's divine nature to his human nature so that through Christ's human nature we may come to share in the divine nature, Calvin's position is that believers share in what is Christ's according to his human nature. The righteousness of Christ with which we are clothed is the righteousness of his human obedience as Mediator. Far from emphasizing a communication of properties from Christ's divinity to his humanity, Calvin's concern is to guard the full integrity of both natures.
Can punishment bring peace? Penal substitution revisited
Authors: Holmes Steve
Published: June 2005

Recently, I attended a conference on the theme ‘theologies of the cross’. I gained much from it in various ways, but one feature concerned me: in reading the papers, and listening to discussions, it became rather clear that, whilst the various contributors might or might not agree, or even be sure about, what they did believe about the cross, they were all both united and certain on what they didn't believe in – the traditional Reformed and Evangelical idea of penal substitution. Now, I confess that I had no particular commitment to this idea. I knew of no exegetical or theological reason to demand that we hold on to it, or to suggest that our account of the atonement would necessarily be lacking something vital if we did not express it in this way. Penal substitution was a way of talking about the cross with which I was familiar, but to which I was not committed. Temperamentally, I had tended to avoid it: as far as I can judge, the dominant way of talking about the cross in my preaching has been in terms of combat with, and victory over, the evil powers of sin and death and hell; it is not a theme I have touched on much in my academic writing. Penal ideas are common, however, in the liturgy and (particularly) hymnody of my church tradition: ‘Bearing shame and scoffing rude/In my place condemned he stood’; ‘All our pride, all our greed, all our fallenness and shame, and the Lord has laid the punishment on him.’ I have never seen any reason to object to such songs. So, to be at a conference where there was near unanimity that, whatever else we were going to say about the cross, we would begin by dismissing this tradition, was of interest and concern to me.
Development of mobile versatile nanohandling microrobots: design, driving principles, haptic control
Authors: Kortschack A. , Shirinov A. , Trüper T. , Fatikow S.
Published: June 2005

Special micromanipulators are needed to manipulate very small objects. Most micromanipulators are specialized to perform a task they are designed for, but are too inflexible to adapt to other problems. Therefore, flexible newly developed mobile microrobots are presented with precision in the sub-micrometer range while offering a macroscopic workspace. The main parts of each mobile microrobot, the mobile platform, the manipulator and end effectors, are explained in detail, with some experimental data given.

The new driving principle of the mobile platform allows high resolution, low energy consumption, which makes an on-board power supply feasible and a maximum velocity of several mm/s.

Useful human interfaces are needed for a successful teleoperation. The most important interface next to the vision feedback is a haptic interface. The paper presents a newly developed haptic interface for a micromanipulation station. The mechanical design and the design of the control system of the haptic interface are discussed in details. The control architecture of the micromanipulation station and the integration of the haptic device into the micromanipulation station are presented.
Cylindrical micro touch sensor with a piezoelectric thin film for microbial separation
Authors: Arai Fumihito , Motoo Kouhei , Kwon Paul G. R. , Fukuda Toshio , Ichikawa Akihiko , Katsuragi Tohoru
Published: June 2005

Isolation and separation of the target microbe or cell from a large heterogeneous population is quite important. We propose a new touch sensor that is used for the separation of the target microbe with a pipette. This sensor is sensitive enough to protect the fragile pipette tip from abrupt collision. Using this sensor, we developed a novel separation system for screening a target microorganisms from the randomly distributed samples in the dish with the local viscosity control of the thermosensitive hydrogel. With this system, the target yeast cell was extracted successfully.
Learning control of robot manipulators by interactive simulation
Authors: Kelly Rafael , Dormido Sebastian , Monroy Carmen , Díaz Elizabeth
Published: June 2005

Control systems of robot manipulators offer many challenges in education where the students must learn robot dynamics and control structures, and understand relations between the control parameters and the systems performance. Interactive simulation is aimed at improving the understanding of and intuition for the abstract parts of the control of robot courses. This paper presents an application of interactive simulation to teach control systems of robots. The application considers a nonlinear robot arm and two control modules: position control and motion control. Students can directly manipulate graphical representation of the systems such as a choice among seven control structures, controller gains, and desired trajectories, and obtain instant feedback on the effects. These features make the interactive learning tool stimulating and of high pedagogical value.
A novel ultra-precision integrated robotic system
Authors: Gong ShaoWei
Published: June 2005

An ultra-precision integrated robotic system is developed, which integrates a passive robotic measurement system (shadow system) with an industrial robot. The shadow system is built almost ideal. In a working process, when the end-effecter of integrated robot is driven to a target with errors which are caused by degrading factors associated with the robot, the shadow system will independently detect the end-effecter frame instantly with ultra-precision kinematic accuracy. A scheme of approach control is then established to drive the end-effecter of the integrated robot to compensate the error step by step until the desired target is achieved with ultra-precision positioning accuracy.
Trajectory planning for lab robots based on global vision and Voronoi roadmaps
Authors: Roque Waldir L. , Doering Dionísio
Published: June 2005

This paper discusses the techniques and their applications in the development of a path planning system composed of three modules, namely: global vision (GVM), trajectory planning (TPM) and navigation control (NCM). The GVM captures and processes the workspace image to identify the obstacle and the robot configurations. These configurations are used by the TPM to generate the Voronoi roadmap, to compute the maximal clearance shortest feasible path and the visibility pathway between two configurations. The NCM controls the robot functionalities and navigation. To validate the path planning system, three sets of experiments have been conducted using the Lab robot Khepera, which have shown very good results.
Reports and Surveys
Authors: Rudall B. H.
Published: June 2005

Researchers from the Japanese company Toyota have designed and patented a motor car that, they claim, expresses emotions. They say that the car is able to laugh, cry or show anger and is also capable of singing to its occupants.
An Experimental Optical Three-axis Tactile Sensor for Micro-Robots
Authors: Ohka Masahiro , Mitsuya Yasunaga , Higashioka Isamu , Kabeshita Hisanori
Published: June 2005

This paper describes a micro-optical three-axis tactile sensor capable of sensing not only normal force, but also shearing force. The normal force was detected from the integrated gray-scale values of bright pixels emitted from the contact area of conical feelers. The conical feelers were formed on a rubber sheet surface that maintains contact with an optical waveguide plate. The shearing force was detected from horizontal displacement of the conical feeler. In the experiments, a precise multi-axial loading machine was developed to measure sensing characteristics of the present sensor. Results show that the normal force was specified uniquely under combined force conditions and that the shearing force was specified by modifying the relationship between the shearing force and the horizontal displacement on the basis of normal force. We formulated a set of expressions to derive the normal force and the shearing force by taking into account this modification. Furthermore, calibration coefficients were identified for transforming the integration of gray-scale values into the normal force and for transforming the horizontal displacement into the shearing force. This result suggests that the expressions can estimate the normal force and the shearing force in wide-load regions.
CONSTRUING SEN ON COMMITMENT
Authors: PETTIT PHILIP
Published: June 2005

Why does Sen maintain that people are capable of putting their own goals offline and deliberating and acting out of sheer commitment to others? How can he endorse such a rejection of the belief-desire model of agency? The paper canvasses three explanations and favors one that ascribes an unusual position to Sen: the belief that so far as agents remain in the belief-desire mould, they cannot deliberate on the basis of reasons other than those that derive from standing goals that form an integrated system. What he thinks of as deliberation on the basis of commitment is just the sort of deliberation that involves the formation of a novel, perhaps occasion-specific goal in which the good of another is prioritised.
BEYOND SELF-GOAL CHOICE: AMARTYA SEN'S ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF COMMITMENT AND THE ROLE OF SHARED DESIRES
Authors: SCHMID HANS BERNHARD
Published: June 2005

In the current debate on economic rationality, Amartya Sen's analysis of the structure of commitment plays a uniquely important role (Weirich 2004: 387ff.). However, Sen is not alone in pitting committed action against the standard model of rational behavior. Before turning to Sen's analysis in section 2 of this paper, I shall start with an observation concerning some of the other relevant accounts.
GIVING CAPITALISTS THEIR DUE
Authors: KERSHNAR STEPHEN
Published: June 2005

In general, capitalists deserve profits and losses for their contribution to the general welfare. Market imperfections and the range of permissible prices (at least within the boundaries of exploitation) prevent the alignment from being a direct one, but the connection generally holds. In the context of the market, this thesis preserves the central place of moral responsibility in moral desert. It also satisfies the fittingness and proportionality conditions of moral desert and provides a backward-looking and pre-institutional ground of it. In addition, the focus on contribution unifies several different types of act-based desert, specifically deserved profits and losses, deserved punishment, and deserved wages. Hence, to the extent that desert-satisfaction is relevant in the selection of an economic system, this result strengthens the case for capitalism.
Asynchrony in the cognitive and lexical development of young children with Williams syndrome
Authors: NAZZI THIERRY , GOPNIK ALISON , KARMILOFF-SMITH ANNETTE
Published: June 2005

The present study investigates whether five-to-six-year-old children with Williams syndrome (N=8) can form new object categories based on naming information alone, and compares them with five groups of typically developing children aged 2;0 to 6;0 (N=34 children). Children were presented with triads of dissimilar objects; all objects in a triad were labelled, two of them with the same pseudoname. Name-based categorization was evaluated through object selection. Performance was above chance level for all groups. Performance reached a ceiling at about 4;0 for the typically developing children. For the children with Williams Syndrome, performance remained below chronological age level. The present results are discussed in light of previous findings of a failure to perform name-based categorization in younger children with Williams syndrome and the persistent asynchrony between cognitive and lexical development in this disorder.
Children's resistance to homonymy: an experimental study of pseudohomonyms
Authors: CASENHISER DEVIN M.
Published: June 2005

Research in diachronic linguistics has shown that homonyms are often dispreferred in language. This study proposes that this trend is mirrored in the difficulties that children encounter in mapping homonyms. Two experiments are presented in support of this proposition. In Experiment 1, 16 preschool children (mean age=4;6) are shown to perform quite well on tasks requiring them to assign novel meanings to nonsense words. They perform poorly, however, on tasks requiring them to assign a different, unrelated meaning to a known word. Experiment 2 (N=18, mean age=4;5) shows that preschoolers' performance on this task, however, improves when a known word appears in a syntactic frame that is not appropriate for the word (as when a verb appears in a noun syntactic frame), thereby providing a strong indication that a new meaning is appropriate.
Notes on Ingram's whole-word measures for phonological development
Authors: TAELMAN HELENA , DURIEUX GERT , GILLIS STEVEN
Published: June 2005

In this note we discuss pMLU, a whole-word measure for phonological development that was proposed by Ingram (2002). Ingram's rules for calculating pMLU are analysed and we point at the crucial role of the level of transcription for making pMLU measurements comparable over different corpora. The main aim of the paper is an assessment of the reliability and the validity of pMLU. The assessment is accomplished using a computational tool for measuring pMLU on two large Dutch CHILDES corpora. We propose minimal sample sizes for reliable measurements relative to the stage of phonological development.
Infants can use distributional cues to form syntactic categories
Authors: GERKEN LOUANN , WILSON RACHEL , LEWIS WILLIAM
Published: June 2005

Nearly all theories of language development emphasize the importance of distributional cues for segregating words and phrases into syntactic categories like noun, feminine or verb phrase. However, questions concerning whether such cues can be used to the exclusion of referential cues have been debated. Using the headturn preference procedure, American children aged 1;5 were briefly familiarized with a partial Russian gender paradigm, with a subset of the paradigm members withheld. During test, infants listened on alternate trials to previously withheld grammatical items and ungrammatical items with incorrect gender markings on previously heard stems. Across three experiments, infants discriminated new grammatical from ungrammatical items, but like adults in previous studies, were only able to do so when a subset of familiarization items was double marked for gender category. The results suggest that learners can use distributional cues to category structure, to the exclusion of referential cues, from relatively early in the language learning process.
The role of prediction in construction-learning
Authors: GOLDBERG ADELE E. , CASENHISER DEVIN M. , SETHURAMAN NITYA
Published: June 2005

It is well-established that (non-linguistic) categorization is driven by a functional demand of prediction. We suggest that prediction likewise may well play a role in motivating the learning of semantic generalizations about argument structure constructions. We report corpora statistics that indicate that the argument frame or construction has roughly equivalent cue validity as a predictor of overall sentence meaning as the morphological form of the verb, and has greater category validity. That is, the construction is at least as reliable and more available than the verb. Moreover, given the fact that many verbs have quite low cue validity in isolation, attention to the contribution of the construction is essential.
Testing the Agreement/Tense Omission Model: why the data on children's use of non-nominative 3psg subjects count against the ATOM
Authors: PINE JULIAN M. , ROWLAND CAROLINE F. , LIEVEN ELENA V. M. , THEAKSTON ANNA L.
Published: June 2005

One of the most influential recent accounts of pronoun case-marking errors in young children's speech is Schütze & Wexler's (1996) Agreement/Tense Omission Model (ATOM). The ATOM predicts that the rate of agreeing verbs with non-nominative subjects will be so low that such errors can be reasonably disregarded as noise in the data. The present study tests this prediction on data from 12 children between the ages of 1;8.22 and 3;0.10. This is done, first, by identifying children who produced a reasonably large number of non-nominative 3psg subjects; second, by estimating the expected rate of agreeing verbs with masculine and feminine non-nominative subjects in these children's speech; and, third, by examining the actual rate at which agreeing verb forms occurred with non-nominative subjects in those areas of the data in which the expected error rate was significantly greater than 10%. The results show, first, that only three of the children produced enough non-nominative subjects to allow a reasonable test of the ATOM to be made; second, that for all three of these children, the only area of the data in which the expected frequency of agreeing verbs with non-nominative subjects was significantly greater than 10% was their use of feminine case-marked subjects; and third, that for all three of these children, the rate of agreeing verbs with non-nominative feminine subjects was over 30%. These results raise serious doubts about the claim that children's use of non-nominative subjects can be explained in terms of AGR optionality, and suggest the need for a model of pronoun case-marking error that can explain why some children produce agreeing verb forms with non-nominative subjects as often as they do.
On learning to draw the distinction between physical and metaphorical motion: is metaphor an early emerging cognitive and linguistic capacity?
Authors: ÖZÇALIŞKAN ŞEYDA
Published: June 2005

Situated within the framework of the conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), this study investigated young children's understanding of metaphorical extensions of spatial motion. Metaphor was defined as a conceptual-linguistic mapping between a source and a target domain. The study focused on metaphors that are structured by the source domain of motion in space (e.g. time flies by, ideas pass through one's mind, sickness crawls through one's body). The study investigated whether metaphor comprehension varied by the age of the participant, target domain of the metaphorical mapping, and the conventionality of the linguistic form with which the metaphor was conveyed. Data were gathered using a story comprehension task and a semi-structured interview from 60 monolingual Turkish-speaking children, at the mean ages 3;6, 4;5 and 5;5 (20 participants per age group), and 20 adult native speakers of Turkish. The results showed metaphor understanding to be an early emerging cognitive and linguistic capacity.
Measuring Task-Switching Ability in the Implicit Association Test
Authors: Back Mitja D. , Schmukle Stefan C. , Egloff Boris
Published: June 2005

Abstract. Recently, the role of method-specific variance in the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was examined ( McFarland & Crouch, 2002 ; Mierke & Klauer, 2003 ). This article presents a new content-unspecific control task for the assessment of task-switching ability within the IAT methodology. Study 1 showed that this task exhibited good internal consistency and stability. Studies 2-4 examined method-specific variance in the IAT and showed that the control task is significantly associated with conventionally scored IAT effects of the IAT-Anxiety. Using the D measures proposed by Greenwald, Nosek, and Banaji (2003 ), the amount of method-specific variance in the IAT-Anxiety could be reduced. Possible directions for future research are outlined.
The Universal SNARC Effect
Authors: Nuerk Hans-Christoph , Wood Guilherme , Willmes Klaus
Published: June 2005

Abstract. It is thought that number magnitude is represented in an abstract and amodal way on a left-to-right oriented mental number line. Major evidence for this idea has been provided by the SNARC effect ( Dehaene, Bossini, & Giraux, 1993 ): responses to relatively larger numbers are faster for the right hand, those to smaller numbers for the left hand, even when number magnitude is irrelevant. The SNARC effect has been used to index automatic access to a central semantic and amodal magnitude representation. However, this assumption of modality independence has never been tested and it remains uncertain if the SNARC effect exists in other modalities in a similar way as in the visual modality. We have examined this question by systematically varying modality/notation (auditory number word, visual Arabic numeral, visual number word, visual dice pattern) in a within-participant design. The SNARC effect was found consistently for all modality/notation conditions, including auditory presentation. The size of the SNARC effect in the auditory condition did not differ from the SNARC effect in any visual condition. We conclude that the SNARC effect is indeed a general index of a central semantic and amodal number magnitude representation.
Selecting Spatial Frames of Reference for Visual Target Localization
Authors: Kunde Wilfried , Hoffmann Joachim
Published: June 2005

Abstract. This study examined the selection of spatial frames of reference for target localization in visual search. Participants searched for local target characters in global character configurations. The local targets could be localized relative to the character configuration in which they were embedded or relative to the presentation screen on which the configurations were displayed. We investigated under which conditions the configurations, or the screen served as frame of reference for target localization. Three experiments revealed an increasing impact of screen-related target localization with decreasing spatial uncertainty of targets in screen-related coordinates. The results indicate the capability of the visual system to localize relevant visual stimuli with respect to those frames of reference that yield the most redundant spatial distribution of these stimuli.
Does a Warning Help Children to More Accurately Remember an Event, to Resist Misleading Questions, and to Identify Unanswerable Questions?
Authors: Beuscher Eva , Roebers Claudia M.
Published: June 2005

Abstract. This study examined potential effects of a warning instruction prior to an eyewitness interview including answerable and unanswerable questions, which both were either unbiased or misleading. A total of 84 six-, eight- and ten-year-old children were shown a short video about the production of sugar and they were individually questioned about it one week later. Half of the children received the warning instruction. The results revealed clear age effects in the correct answers and accuracy to answerable questions and in the appropriate “don’t know” answers to unanswerable questions, but no effect of warning across all dependent measures. These findings suggest that preschool and elementary school age children cannot use such information adequately to increase their number of correct answers in the interview. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive explanations for these deficits.
Multiagent Land-Use and Transport Model for the Policy Evaluation of a Compact City
Authors: Kii Masanobu , Doi Kenji
Published: June 2005

Land-use strategies such as city compaction are the basis for creating livable communities with more accessible land-use patterns that reduce automobile dependency. In previous studies the various advantages of the compact city have been proven, especially from environmental perspectives, but there still remain major questions, such as how the compact city can be induced and whether it can bring a higher quality of life. The authors' main objective in this paper is to answer these questions by using a multiagent land-use transport model to represent the interaction of agents' locations, the effects of mixed land use, and the agglomeration merits or demerits of agents. This model is used to examine the effectiveness of policy measures aimed at achieving a compact city from the viewpoint of urban physical compactness, total trip length, energy consumption, and the social welfare of residents.
The Visual Quality of Urban Park Scenes of Kowloon Park, Hong Kong: Likeability, Affective Appraisal, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Authors: Wong Koon-Kwai , Domroes Manfred
Published: June 2005

The urban park is a place where urbanites can escape from the stresses of everyday life. Using a set of fifteen photographs as visual stimuli, we attempted to identify those scenes that are liked by visitors to Kowloon Park, Hong Kong. The visual quality of an urban park scene is measured by its likeability, referring to the probability that the scene will evoke a strong and positive response among the users of the park. Because Hong Kong is an international metropolis, the respondent sample included both Hong Kong residents and tourists. The principal component analysis revealed the three underlying ‘dimensions’ of the appraisal aspects of the data: the ‘affective’ component, the ‘management status’, and the ‘naturalness’ of the scene. The results replicated the affective responses of park visitors toward the scenic aspects of urban park spaces, in which scenic beauty can be used as a proxy for acceptable management. Overall, the study has yielded useful information for park professionals to provide enjoyable urban park spaces in metropolitan areas to meet the needs of their citizens and visitors.
Use of a Collaborative GIS-Based Planning-Support System to Assist in Formulating a Sustainable-Development Scenario for Hervey Bay, Australia
Authors: Pettit Christopher J
Published: June 2005

Planning-support systems offer an effective way of integrating social, economic, and environmental datasets, enabling a number of holistic spatial planning scenarios to be generated and evaluated by local planners. With increased acceptance of computer technology as a platform for the development and delivery of professional tools, planning-support systems (PSSs) may well be embraced by practitioners to improve current practices, just as computer-aided design (CAD) has been widely accepted by architects as a useful design and visualisation tool. There is some perceived optimism, (or realism?) that this may be the case sooner rather than later. It is believed that ‘What if?’ is one such PSS which is suitable for enhancing current planning practice. The author provides a technical and experiential examination of an application of the What if? PSS in assisting in the formulation of a sustainable land use strategy for Hervey Bay, Australia, supplementing previous published results. The focus of the research is to examine the underlying model and discuss the collaborative application of the PSS with local planners in a scenario-building exercise. Furthermore, the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the PSS are outlined from the perspective of the urban modeller, together with ex-ante feedback from the local planners on the use of the PSS to formulate urban-growth scenarios. In conclusion, the merits of the use of such a PSS are discussed and some future directions for the development of collaborative spatial decision-support tools are offered.
A Multiagent Model for Alternative Plan Generation
Authors: Saarloos Dick , Arentze Theo , Borgers Aloys , Timmermans Harry
Published: June 2005

The utilization of multiagent technology for urban planning purposes has already received much attention with regard to predicting and evaluating the effects of different policy scenarios and plan alternatives. The generation of these plan alternatives, however, remains underexplored in this context. In this paper the authors describe a multiagent model for generating alternative land-use plans, in which the agents are land-use experts that initiate the development of plan proposals and communicate with each other over time in order to draw up the proposals incrementally. The authors present a probabilistic approach to agent behaviour to enable decisionmaking under conditions of uncertainty. They describe what personal and collective beliefs agents construct and use in order to choose their actions strategically. The negotiation, taking place between the initiating agent and the other agents, aimed at reaching agreement with regard to the various claims, is organized as an iterative process in which both parties consider conciliatory adjustments to their strategies, and thus their decisions, in order to try to find mutually acceptable solutions. A hypothetical case study demonstrates the operation of the model and the effects of its behavioural parameters.