bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Before New Jerusalem: Patriarch Nikon’s Iverskii and Krestnyi Monasteries
Authors: Kain Kevin M.
Published: April 2012

This essay analyzes the ideas, events and processes leading to the establishment of Patriarch Nikon’s Iverskii (1653) and Krestnyi (1656) monasteries and their endowment by Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, highlighting the explanations supplied in the patriarch’s Gramota o Krestnom monastyre (1656) and Rai Myslennyi (1658). The article offers a more complex picture of Nikon’s patriarchate (1652-1666) by locating his monastery building program within the context of the concurrent reforms church texts and rituals and his efforts to help promote the reimaging of Russian dynastic and “national” myths through the use of print, iconography and symbolic replications. Iverskii and Krestnyi monasteries were part of a lager “scenarios” designed to (re)establish Russia’s claimed inheritance of the Byzantine legacy and fulfill its potential as “New Jerusalem,” while simultaneously enhancing Nikon’s and the Romanov dynasty’s image and legitimacy. Nikon developed an updated version of the “ancient” past, connected it directly with the reign of Aleksei Mikhailovich (1645-1676), embedded it in the reforms of the Russian Church, and employed it to support his vision of Russia’s future as a new Israel, represented concretely in his monastic foundations. By reinforcing Aleksei Mikhailovich’s image as the “new Constantine,” Nikon offered the tsar a premier role in the construction of a Russian “New Jerusalem” and produced opportunities for he and his family to endow it. Thus, the construction of Nikon’s monasteries offered the Romanovs perfect forums to actively build their own image as the legitimate heirs to the Byzantine imperial legacy and as the ultimate champions of Orthodoxy.
Testing and Diagnosing the Ability of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Numerical Weather Prediction Systems to Support Prediction of Solar Energy Production
Authors: Gregory Paul A. , Rikus Lawrie J. , Kepert Jeffrey D.
Published: April 2012

The ability of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems to predict solar exposure (or insolation) was tested, with the aim of predicting large-scale solar energy several days in advance. The bureau’s Limited Area Prediction System (LAPS) and Mesoscale Assimilation model (MALAPS) were examined for the 2008 calendar year. Comparisons were made with estimates of solar exposure obtained from satellites for the whole Australian continent, as well as site-based exposure observations taken at eight locations across Australia. Monthly-averaged forecast solar exposure over Australia showed good agreement with satellite estimates; the day-to-day exposure values showed some consistent biases, however. Differences in forecast solar exposure were attributed to incorrect representation of convective cloud in the tropics during summer as well as clouds formed by orographic lifting over mountainous areas in southeastern Australia. Comparison with site-based exposure observations was conducted on a daily and hourly basis. The site-based exposure measurements were consistent with the findings from the analysis against satellite data. Hourly analysis at selected sites confirmed that models predicted the solar exposure accurately through low-level clouds (e.g., cumulus), provided that the forecast cloud coverage was accurate. The NWP models struggle to predict solar exposure through middle and high clouds formed by ice crystals (e.g., altocumulus). Sites located in central Australia showed that the monthly-averaged errors in daily solar exposure forecast by the NWP systems were within 5%–10%, up to two days in advance. These errors increased to 20%–30% in the tropics and coastal areas.
Clonidine Utilization Trends for Medicaid Children
Authors: Yoon Esther Y. , Cohn Lisa , Rocchini Albert , Kershaw David , Clark Sarah J.
Published: April 2012

Objective. To characterize clonidine utilization trends among children. Design/Methods. Serial cross-sectional analysis of Michigan Medicaid claims data for children aged 6 to 18 years. The authors identified children with ≥1 clonidine prescription; the authors examined their ICD-9 diagnoses categorized as simple and complex attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), non-ADHD mental health disorder, hypertension, or others. Also identified were child demographics and prescribing physician specialty. Results. From 2003 to 2008, the proportion of children receiving clonidine prescription nearly doubled in all demographics. Across years, the majority of clonidine prescription was for simple and complex ADHD and other mental health disorders. Leading prescribers were psychiatrists followed by general pediatricians and adult primary care physicians. Conclusions. Clonidine was used extensively to treat simple and complex ADHD in children although FDA approval for this indication did not occur until 2010. Further study is warranted to better understand clinical outcomes and costs associated with clonidine use for the treatment of children with ADHD.
Joint Attention in Toddlerhood Predicts Internalizing Problems at Early School Age
Authors: Nowakowski Matilda E. , Tasker Susan L. , Schmidt Louis A.
Published: April 2012

The authors examined the longitudinal relation between joint attention and socioemotional functioning in a low-risk, typically developing sample of children when the children were toddlers and again during the early school-age years. Fifty-eight mothers and their children were observed in the home or laboratory engaging in 1 unstructured and 4 semistructured tasks designed to assess joint attention episodes when the children were toddlers. Approximately 4 years later, the mother–child dyads were contacted again and mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist as a measure of their children’s socioemotional outcome at the early school years. The authors found that lower frequencies of joint attention episodes at toddlerhood predicted higher internalizing behaviors at early school age. Preliminary findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical implications for work on early mother–child interactions and children’s typical and atypical sociemotional development.
Explaining “NIMBY” Objections to a Power Line
Authors: Devine-Wright Patrick
Published: April 2012

Public opposition toward new energy infrastructure is often labeled “NIMBYism” (Not In My Backyard), despite strong criticisms of the concept’s validity. Research on technology acceptance has followed two pathways: first, investigating the role of place attachments and sociodemographic characteristics; second, investigating project-related constructs such as perceived impacts, trust, and procedural justice. This study aimed to integrate these research pathways and deepen understanding of the specific role of place attachments by measuring intensity of attachment and specific varieties. A total of 503 residents of a town in South West England completed a questionnaire survey on proposals to construct a high voltage power line in the vicinity. A hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated significant effects of education, length of residence, the discovered variety of place attachment, and four project variables: positive and negative impacts, trust in the developer, and procedural justice. Conceptual, methodological, and applied implications of the findings are discussed.
Is personality modulated by language?
Authors: Veltkamp G. Marina , Recio Guillermo , Jacobs Arthur M. , Conrad Markus
Published: April 2012

We administered German and Spanish versions of the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness–Five-Factor Inventory personality inventory to two groups of late bilinguals (second-language learners) of these two languages. Regardless of individuals’ first language, both groups scored higher on Extraversion and Neuroticism when Spanish was the test language. In turn, scores on Agreeability were higher when German was used as the test language. The results are interpreted as evidence for cultural frame shifts consistent with cultural norms associated with the presently used language. Beyond the acquisition of linguistic skills, learning a second language seems to provide individuals with a new range of perceiving and displaying their own personality.
Some properties of meromorphically multivalent functions
Authors: Xu Yi-Hui , Yang Qing , Liu Jin-Lin
Published: April 2012

By using the method of differential subordinations, we derive certain properties of meromorphically multivalent functions.

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 30C45; 30C55.
The Political Economy of Postcrisis Global Capitalism
Authors: Foley Duncan K.
Published: April 2012

While the depression of the 1890s and the stagflation of the 1970s appear to be manifestations of Karl Marx's contention that the rate of profit tends to fall over time, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession of the 2000s appear to be rooted in rising rates of exploitation. Mainstream macroeconomics represents the watershed changes in world capitalism in the 1970s as due to technical improvements in economic theory and policy, thereby obscuring the underlying political economy of those changes. Globalized financial capitalism eliminated upward wage pressures and created an enormous engine for the appropriation of surplus value, which has led to a chronic stagnation of aggregate demand and unsustainable stress on the world financial system. The lack of a coherent solution to the problem of aggregate demand at the world level threatens to exacerbate conflicts among the capitalist nations and challenges US hegemony.
Cadherin Point Mutations Alter Cell Sorting and Modulate GTPase Signaling
Authors: Tabdili Hamid , Barry Adrienne K. , Langer Matthew D. , Chien Yuan-Hung , Shi Quanming , Lee Keng Jin , Leckband Deborah E.
Published: April 2012

This study investigated the impact of cadherin binding differences on both cell sorting and GTPase activation. The use of N-terminal domain point mutants of Xenopus C-cadherin enabled us to quantify binding differences and determine their effects on cadherin-dependent functions without potential complications from differences in cytodomain interactions. Dynamic cell-cell binding measurements carried out with a micropipette manipulation technique quantified the impact of these mutations on the two-dimensional binding affinities and dissociation rates of cadherins in the native context of the cell membrane. Pairwise binding affinities were compared with in vitro cell-sorting specificity, and ligation-dependent GTPase signaling. Two-dimensional affinity differences greater than five-fold correlate with cadherin-dependent in vitro cell segregation, but smaller differences failed to induce cell sorting. Comparison of the binding affinities with GTPase signaling amplitudes further demonstrates that differential binding also proportionally modulates intracellular signaling. These results show that differential cadherin affinities have broader functional consequences than merely controlling cell-cell cohesion.
ARNT controls the expression of epidermal differentiation genes through HDAC- and EGFR-dependent pathways
Authors: Robertson E. Douglas , Weir Lynda , Romanowska Malgorzata , Leigh Irene M. , Panteleyev Andrey A.
Published: April 2012

Previously we showed that spatial and developmental modulation of ARNT (HIF1β) expression in mouse epidermis is essential for maintenance of keratinocyte differentiation, proper formation of the barrier and normal desquamation.

Here, using lentiviral suppression or induction of ARNT in TERT-immortalized (N-TERT) and HaCaT cells we assessed the nature and mechanisms of ARNT involvement in control of differentiation in human epidermal keratinocytes. ARNT depletion did not affect the levels of basal keratins K5/14 but significantly induced expression of several key differentiation markers (an effect abolished by EGF supplementation). Furthermore, ARNT deficiency resulted in the downregulation of amphiregulin (AREG) - the most highly expressed EGFR ligand in human keratinocytes, whilst upregulation of ARNT showed the opposite. In ARNT-deficient monolayer cultures and 3D epidermal equivalents the downregulation of AREG was concurrent with a decline of EGFR and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. TSA, a potent suppressor of HDAC activity, abolished the effects of ARNT deficiency implying a role for HDACs in ARNT-dependent modulation of AREG/EGFR pathway and downstream epidermal genes. Total HDAC activity was significantly increased in ARNT-depleted cells and decreased with ARNT overexpression. ARNT-dependent shifts in HDAC activity were specifically attributed to significant changes in the levels of HDAC 1, 2 and 3 proteins (but not mRNA) in both monolayer and 3D cultures.

Collectively our results suggest that ARNT controls AREG expression and the downstream EGFR/ERK pathway in keratinocytes at least in part by modulating HDAC activity. This novel regulatory pathway targeting advanced stages of epidermal differentiation may have important implications for skin pathology such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and cancer.
Conserved Motifs in the Msn2-Activating Domain are Important for Msn2-Mediated Yeast Stress Response
Authors: Sadeh Amit , Baran Dror , Volokh Misha , Aharoni Amir
Published: April 2012

The Msn2/4 transcription factors play crucial roles in the yeast general stress response. Previous studies identified several large functional domains of Msn2 mainly through crude truncations. Here, employing bioinformatics and experimental approaches to examine Msn2 structure-function relationships, we have identified new functional motifs in the Msn2 transcriptional-activating domain (TAD). We found that Msn2 is predicted to adopt an intrinsically disordered structure with two short structural motifs in its TAD. Mutations in these motifs dramatically decreased Msn2 transcriptional activity, yeast stress survival and Msn2 nuclear localization levels. Using the split ubiquitin assay, we found that these motifs are important for the interaction of Msn2 with Gal11, a subunit of the mediator complex. Finally, we show that one of these motifs is functionally conserved in several yeast species, highlighting a common mechanism of Msn2 transcriptional activation throughout yeast evolution.
Role of Triadin in the Organization of Reticulum Membrane at the Muscle Triad
Authors: Fourest-Lieuvin Anne , Rendu John , Osseni Alexis , Pernet-Gallay Karine , Rossi Daniella , Oddoux Sarah , Brocard Julie , Sorrentino Vincenzo , Marty Isabelle , Fauré Julien
Published: April 2012

The terminal cisternae represent one of the functional domains of the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). They are closely apposed to plasma membrane invaginations, the T-tubules, with which they form structures called triads. In triads, the physical interaction between the T-tubule-anchored voltage-sensing channel DHPR and the SR calcium channel RyR1 is essential because it allows the depolarization-induced calcium release that triggers muscle contraction. This interaction between DHPR and RyR1 is based on the peculiar membrane structures of both T-tubules and SR terminal cisternae. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms governing the formation of SR terminal cisternae. We have previously shown that ablation of triadins, a family of SR transmembrane proteins interacting with RyR1, induced skeletal muscle weakness in KO mice as well as a modification of the shape of triads. Here we explore the intrinsic molecular properties of the longest triadin isoform, Trisk 95. We show that when ectopically expressed, Trisk 95 is able to modulate reticulum membrane morphology. The membrane deformations induced by Trisk 95 are accompanied by modifications of the microtubule network organization. We show that multimerization of Trisk 95 via disulfide bridges, together with interaction with microtubules, are responsible for the ability of Trisk 95 to structure reticulum membrane. When domains responsible for these molecular properties are deleted, anchoring of Trisk 95 to the triads in muscle cells is strongly decreased, suggesting that oligomers of Trisk 95 and microtubules contribute to the organization of the SR terminal cisternae in a triad.
Grb2 mediates semaphorin-4D-dependent RhoA inactivation
Authors: Sun Tianliang , Krishnan Rameshkumar , Swiercz Jakub M.
Published: April 2012

Signaling through the semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) receptor plexin-B1 is modulated by its interaction with tyrosine kinases ErbB-2 and Met. In cells expressing the plexin-B1–ErbB-2 receptor complex, ligand stimulation results in the activation of small GTPase RhoA and stimulation of cellular migration. By contrast, in cells expressing plexin-B1 and Met, ligand stimulation results in an association with the RhoGTPase-activating protein p190 RhoGAP and subsequent RhoA inactivation – a process that involves the tyrosine phosphorylation of plexin-B1 by Met. Inactivation of RhoA is necessary for Sema4D-mediated inhibition of cellular migration. It is, however, unknown how plexin-B1 phosphorylation regulates RhoGAP interaction and activity. Here we show that the activation of plexin-B1 by Sema4D and its subsequent tyrosine phosphorylation by Met creates a docking site for the SH2 domain of growth factor receptor bound-2 (Grb2). Grb2 is thereby recruited into the plexin-B1 receptor complex and, through its SH3 domain, interacts with p190 RhoGAP and mediates RhoA deactivation. Phosphorylation of plexin-B1 by Met and the recruitment of Grb2 have no effect on the R-RasGAP activity of plexin-B1, but are required for Sema4D-induced, RhoA-dependent antimigratory effects of Sema4D on breast cancer cells. These data show Grb2 as a direct link between plexin and p190-RhoGAP-mediated downstream signaling.
Opposite and redundant roles of the two Drosophila perilipins in lipid mobilization
Authors: Bi Junfeng , Xiang Yanhui , Chen Haiyang , Liu Zhonghua , Grönke Sebastian , Kühnlein Ronald P. , Huang Xun
Published: April 2012

Lipid droplets are the main lipid storage sites in cells. Lipid droplet homeostasis is regulated by the surface accessibility of lipases. Mammalian adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) are two key lipases for basal and stimulated lipolysis, respectively. Perilipins, the best known lipid droplet surface proteins, can either recruit lipases or prevent the access of lipases to lipid droplets. Mammals have five perilipin proteins, which often exhibit redundant functions, precluding the analysis of the exact role of individual perilipins in vivo. Drosophila have only two perilipins, PLIN1/LSD-1 and PLIN2/LSD-2. Previous studies revealed that PLIN2 is important for protecting lipid droplets from lipolysis mediated by Brummer (BMM), the Drosophila homolog of ATGL. In this study, we report the functional analysis of PLIN1 and Drosophila HSL. Loss-of-function and overexpression studies reveal that unlike PLIN2, PLIN1 probably facilitates lipid mobilization. HSL is recruited from the cytosol to the surface of lipid droplets under starved conditions and PLIN1 is necessary for the starved induced lipid droplet localization of HSL. Moreover, phenotypic analysis of plin1;plin2 double mutants revealed that PLIN1 and PLIN2 might have redundant functions in protecting lipid droplets from lipolysis. Therefore, the two Drosophila perilipins have both opposite and redundant roles. Domain swapping and deletion analyses indicate that the C-terminal region of PLIN1 confers functional specificity to PLIN1. Our study highlights the complex roles of Drosophila perilipin proteins and the evolutionarily conserved regulation of HSL translocation by perilipins.
TRC40 can deliver short secretory proteins to the Sec61 translocon
Authors: Johnson Nicholas , Vilardi Fabio , Lang Sven , Leznicki Pawel , Zimmermann Richard , High Stephen
Published: April 2012

Whilst the co-translational translocation of nascent proteins across the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is well defined, the capacity of this organelle for post-translational translocation is poorly delineated. Here we identify two human secretory protein precursors, apelin and statherin, as bona fide substrates for post-translational translocation across the ER membrane. Further studies, in combination with Hyalophora cecropia preprocecropin A (ppcecA), show that all three proteins bind to TRC40 and can utilise this component for their delivery to the ER membrane in a well-established in vitro system. However, ppcecA is not an obligate TRC40 substrate, and it can also be delivered to the ER by an alternative TRC40-independent pathway. Upon arrival at the ER membrane, these short secretory proteins appear to be ubiquitously transported across the ER membrane through the Sec61 translocon, apparently irrespective of their delivery route. We speculate that the post-translational translocation of secretory proteins in higher eukaryotes is more prevalent than previously acknowledged.
Presynaptic PI3K activity triggers the formation of glutamate receptors at neuromuscular terminals of Drosophila
Authors: Jordán-Álvarez Sheila , Fouquet Wernher , Sigrist Stephan J. , Acebes Angel
Published: April 2012

Synapse transmission depends on the precise structural and functional assembly between pre- and postsynaptic elements. This tightly regulated interaction has been thoroughly characterised in vivo in the Drosophila glutamatergic larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) synapse, a suitable model to explore synapse formation, dynamics and plasticity. Previous findings have demonstrated that presynaptic upregulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) increases synapse number, generating new functional contacts and eliciting changes in behaviour. Here, we show that genetically driven overexpression of PI3K in the presynaptic element also leads to a correlated increase in the levels of glutamate receptor (GluRII) subunits and the number of postsynaptic densities (PSDs), without altering GluRII formation and assembly dynamics. In addition to GluRIIs, presynaptic PI3K activity also modifies the expression of the postsynaptic protein Discs large (Dlg). Remarkably, PI3K specifically overexpressed in the final larval stages is sufficient for the formation of NMJ synapses. No differences in the number of synapses and PSDs were detected when PI3K was selectively expressed in the postsynaptic compartment. Taken together, these results demonstrate that PI3K-dependent synaptogenesis plays an instructive role in PSD formation and growth from the presynaptic side.
SUMOylation of HNF4α regulates protein stability and hepatocyte function
Authors: Zhou Wenli , Hannoun Zara , Jaffray Ellis , Medine Claire N. , Black James R. , Greenhough Sebastian , Zhu Liang , Ross James A. , Forbes Stuart , Wilmut Ian , Iredale John P. , Hay Ronald T. , Hay David C.
Published: April 2012

The coordination of signalling pathways within the cell is vital for normal human development and post-natal tissue homeostasis. Gene expression and function is therefore tightly controlled at a number of levels. We investigated the role that post-translational modifications play during human hepatocyte differentiation. In particular, we examined the role of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins in this process. We used a human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based model of hepatocyte differentiation to follow changes in protein SUMOylation. Moreover, to confirm the results derived from our cell-based system, we performed in vitro conjugation assays to characterise SUMO modification of a key liver-enriched transcription factor, HNF4α. Our analyses indicate that SUMOylation plays an important role during hepatocellular differentiation and this is mediated, in part, through regulation of the stability of HNF4α in a ubiquitin-dependent manner. Our study provides a better understanding of SUMOylation during human hepatocyte differentiation and maturation. Moreover, we believe the results will stimulate interest in the differentiation and phenotypic regulation of other somatic cell types.
Nuclear p120 catenin unlocks mitotic block of contact-inhibited human corneal endothelial monolayers without disrupting adherent junctions
Authors: Zhu Ying-Ting , Chen Hung-Chi , Chen Szu-Yu , Tseng Scheffer C. G.
Published: April 2012

Contact inhibition ubiquitously exists in non-transformed cells that are in contact with neighboring cells. This phenomenon explains the poor regenerative capacity of in vivo human corneal endothelial cells during aging, injury and surgery. This study demonstrated that the conventional approach of expanding human corneal endothelial cells by disrupting contact inhibition with EDTA followed by bFGF activated canonical Wnt signaling and lost the normal phenotype to endothelial–mesenchymal transition, especially if TGFβ1 was added. By contrast, siRNA against p120 catenin (CTNND1) also uniquely promoted proliferation of the endothelial cells by activating trafficking of p120 catenin to the nucleus, thus relieving repression by nuclear Kaiso. This nuclear p120-catenin–Kaiso signaling is associated with activation of RhoA–ROCK signaling, destabilization of microtubules and inhibition of Hippo signaling, but not with activation of Wnt–β-catenin signaling. Consequently, proliferating human corneal endothelial cells maintained a hexagonal shape, with junctional expression of N-cadherin, ZO-1 and Na+/K+-ATPase. Further expansion of human corneal endothelial monolayers with a normal phenotype and a higher density was possible by prolonging treatment with p120 catenin siRNA followed by its withdrawal. This new strategy of perturbing contact inhibition by selective activation of p120-catenin–Kaiso signaling without disrupting adherent junction could be used to engineer surgical grafts containing normal human corneal endothelial cells to meet a global corneal shortage and for endothelial keratoplasties.
Cylindrical Cellular Geometry Ensures Fidelity of Division Site Placement in Fission Yeast
Authors: Mishra Mithilesh , Huang Yinyi , Srivastava Pragya , Srinivasan Ramanujam , Sevugan Mayalagu , Shlomovitz Roie , Gov Nir , Rao Madan , Balasubramanian Mohan
Published: April 2012

Successful cytokinesis requires proper assembly of the contractile actomyosin ring, its stable positioning on the cell surface and proper constriction. Over the years, many of the key molecular components and regulators of the assembly and positioning of the actomyosin ring have been elucidated. Here we show that cell geometry and mechanics play a crucial role in the stable positioning and uniform constriction of the contractile ring. Contractile rings that assemble on the spherical end caps of fission yeast cells of normal morphology or on spherical cells are unstable and slip towards the poles. On the other hand, actomyosin rings that assemble on locally cylindrical portions of the cell under the same conditions do not slip but uniformly constrict the cell surface. The stability of the rings and the dynamics of ring slippage can be described by a simple mechanical model. Using fluorescence imaging we verify some of the quantitative predictions of the model. Our study reveals an intimate interplay between geometry and actomyosin dynamics, which are likely to apply in a variety of cellular contexts.
Editorial Column—Education: Our Most Important Service Sector
Authors: Larson Richard C.
Published: April 2012

{Excerpt] Education as a service industry is crying out for serious research. Smaller service segments of the economy, like retail, banking, supply chains and logistics, have received the attention of many researchers over the past half-century. Research in the health sector has been in the tens of billions of dollars, especially in inventing new medical treatments including pharmaceuticals, but nothing analogous has occurred in education. The research arm of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the Institute of Education Sciences, has an annual budget of about $160 million. There are about 56 million k-12 school children in the U.S. So, the DOE research devoted to education is less than three dollars per child per year. The picture at NSF is brighter, with an annual budget of its Directorate for Education and Human Resources of approximately $750 million, including tertiary as well as k-12 education. So, there is room for optimism going forward. Still, we would wager that education is at or near the bottom of the top ten U.S. service industries in research dollars spent per percentage unit of GDP. This may be due in part to the relatively smaller private sector in educational services as compared to other services.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
From System Science – A New Way to Structure and Manage the Company for Sustainable Success
Authors: Christopher William F.
Published: April 2012

This paper proposes a system science restructuring of today's management practices. The paper discusses what we have learned from system science that gives us a new and different understanding of what the company is, and how it works; and a new way of understanding the world outside the company where company success is created. System science restructures management practices at a new level of understanding; structuring the company to achieve its purpose, and changing and very much improving the way the company is managed. Stafford Beer's viable system model is a useful model for this restructuring.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Editorial Column—System Thinking for Service Research Advances
Authors: Barile Sergio , Spohrer Jim , Polese Francesco
Published: April 2012

[Excerpt] This issue of the Journal of Service Science is dedicated to the inferences of system thinking upon recent service research advances, and in particular upon service science and SD logic. The special issue is based upon the scientific proposals deriving from the “2009 Naples Forum on Service,” and specifically to its sessions dedicated to system thinking and its relation to service research.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
A Critical Appraisal of the Concept of Non-profit Services Marketing
Authors: Novatorov Edouard V.
Published: April 2012

The author deconstructs the prevailing conceptualization of non-profit marketing and concludes it rests on three principles: voluntary exchange, an open system organization, and self-interest motivation. A review of the genesis of these principles revealed that alternative principles were ignored in the social science literature. Based on a qualitative analysis a revised conceptualization of non-profit marketing was suggested which incorporated the principles of reciprocity, the features of a contingency-choice organization, and altruistic interest motivation. A revised definition of non-profit marketing is offered based on these principles.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Editorial Column and Short Paper—The Global 2000 Companies and the Economic Sectors
Authors: Berg Daniel , Einspruch Norman G.
Published: April 2012

As a continuation of a study directed at identifying the similarities and differences between companies that operate in either the Goods or Services Sector of the economy, the authors employ a technique called “Data Surface Mining” (DSM). This simple technique utilizes data previously published in the business press or elsewhere that were gathered for other reasons are further analyzed for a purpose of interest here. As such, data were generated in a recent study conducted by FORBES for the purpose of identifying the world's 2000 best companies according to the metrics of Sales, Profits, Assets and Market Value. These data were further analyzed and are presented here to ascertain the relative presence of these companies in the two economic sectors, Goods and Services. The understanding of such issues is of critical importance in light of the fact that the Services Sector represents more than 80% (GDP and/or employment) of the United States economy and is of increasing importance in the global economy in both developed and emerging nations.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Hierarchical Bayes Modeling of the Customer Satisfaction Index
Authors: Terui Nobuhiko , Hasegawa Shohei , Chun Taemyung , Ogawa Kosuke
Published: April 2012

Customer Satisfaction Index has been developed in many countries including North America, Europe and Asia last decades, which are based on Americal Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) by the University of Michigan, where the latent factor “Customer Satisfaction” related to the customer loyalty is estimated by a covariance structural model with six factors generated from 17 question items and PLS method. They apply the identical structural model to all companies in order to measure the national and industrial indexes that are used to compare the services in different companies as well as industries.

In this paper, by using the assumption that the same model must be applied to every company, we link the path coefficients of each company as the hierarchical regression model to estimate the structure for customer satisfaction across companies to show that, representing “communality” inside industry and “heterogeneity” outside industry, the hierarchical Bayes modeling produces more stable significant path coefficients. Moreover, our approach has the additional advantages. (i) The volume of information (number of survey data) can be augmented, (ii) The index can be constructed without additional surveys for new company (forecasting) and not-surveyed company (missing observations), (iii) When aggregating individual index of each company up to the industrial index and national index, the communality assumption could increase the stability of the macro index.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Consumer Information Systems as Service Modules: Case Study of IPTV Services
Authors: Tuunanen Tuure , Gardner Lesley A. , Bastek Martin
Published: April 2012

Consumer Information Systems (CIS) are Information Systems, which provide services primarily to consumers instead of addressing needs of users in traditional organizational settings. Examples of such systems are Internet protocol television (IPTV) services, which are being launch globally at the moment. Design of such information systems and software typically involves a trade-off between achieving high service productivity and quality. To this end, the use of modularization has been proposed as a possibility. Our paper presents a framework that can potentially achieve such modularization for consumer information systems. We take the perspective that such modularization should be done at a service systems level and that we should not only regard CIS as software or technology, but as a service provided for consumers. We apply the framework to three New Zealand IPTV service offerings and investigate how it applies.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Information Theoretic Metrics for Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data from Consumer Surveys
Authors: Salaka Vamsi , Prabhu Vittal
Published: April 2012

Surveys are a critical channel of information from various stake holders in most service processes. Design of surveys and analysis of data collected from them is a well-established discipline within social sciences, and the associated analysis methods can be broadly categorized into quantitative and qualitative techniques. We propose information theoretic metrics to measure the value of combining qualitative and quantitative data from surveys. Specifically, we use the concepts of information entropy to estimate uncertainty, the concepts of information gain, mutual information, and conditional entropy to measure triangulation, complementation or paradox. Finally, we apply the proposed metrics in a case study to illustrate the practical application of our work in analysis of a consumer survey from a service industry. The proposed information theoretic approach offers a scientific basis for automating survey data analysis in service processes, especially when such surveys contain quantitative and qualitative responses.

[Service Science, ISSN 2164-3962 (print), ISSN 2164-3970 (online), was published by Services Science Global (SSG) from 2009 to 2011 as issues under ISBN 978-1-4276-2090-3.]
Antiproliferative withanolides from the Solanaceae: A structure–activity study
Authors: Zhang Huaping , Samadi Abbas K. , Cohen Mark S. , Timmermann Barbara N.
Published: April 2012

As part of our search for bioactive compounds from plant biodiversity, 29 withanolides were recently isolated from three members of the Solanaceae: Physalis longifolia, Vassobia breviflora, and Withania somnifera. Six derivatives were prepared from these naturally occurring withanolides. All compounds were evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against an array of cell lines [melanoma cell lines (B16F10, SKMEL28); human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) cell lines (JMAR, MDA1986, DR081-1); breast cancer cell line (Hs578T), and non-malignant human cell line (MRC5)]. This led to the discovery of 15 withanolides, with IC50 values in the range of 0.067−17.4 μM, including withaferin A, withaferin A 4,27-diacetate, 27-O-glucopyranosylwithaferin A, withalongolide H, withalongolide C, withalongolide A, withalongolide A 4,27-diacetate, withalongolide A 4,19,27-triacetate, withalongolide B, withalongolide B 4-acetate, withalongolide B 4,19-diacetate, withalongolide D, withalongolide E, withalongolide G, and 2,3-dihydrowithaferin A 3-O-sulfate. In order to update the growing literature on withanolides and their activities, we summarized the distribution, structural types, and antiproliferative activities for all published withanolides to date. The structure–activity relationship analysis (SARA) confirmed the importance of the presence of a ∆2-1-oxo-functionality in ring A, a 5β,6β-epoxy or 5α-chloro-6β-hydroxy grouping in ring B, and nine-carbon side chain with a lactone moiety for cytotoxic activity. Conversely, the SARA indicated that the –OH or –OR groups at C-4, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 27, and 28 were not contributors to the observed antiproliferative activity within the systems analyzed.
Cinema of Failed Revolt: Brian De Palma and the Death(s) of the Left
Authors: Dumas Chris
Published: April 2012

Focusing particularly on his first studio feature, Get to Know Your Rabbit (1970), this essay argues that Brian De Palma, director of Scarface (1983) and Body Double (1984), is an exemplar of Godardian "political" filmmaking. Potential consonances between De Palma's career and the historical development of Film Studies as a discipline are also outlined.
The Work of Film in the Age of Fordist Mechanization
Authors: Grieveson Lee
Published: April 2012

This article describes and analyzes the Ford Motor Company's extensive use of film in the 1910s and 1920s, tracing out the ways that this connected to the company's elaboration of new mass production processes and corresponding strategies of worker control that together were central to the establishment of the political economy of advanced capitalism.
Historicizing the Shadows and the Acts: No Way Out and the Imagining of Black Activist Communities
Authors: De Rosa Ryan
Published: April 2012

Exploring the reasons for the banning of the 1950 civil rights film No Way Out (Joseph L. Mankiewicz) in the North, this article interrogates the tenets and parameters of race within the white liberal consensus in the United States at the start of the 1950s. These liberal ideas come to light and come under critique in the emerging discourse of community politics within the black public sphere.
"Smothered in Baked Alaska": The Anxious Appeal of Widescreen Cinema
Authors: Rogers Ariel
Published: April 2012

This article examines how public discourse portrayed the appeal of widescreen cinema in the mid-1950s. Tracing this appeal to Cinerama's and CinemaScope's purported effects on the human body, the article contends that these systems promised to align viewers with a powerful apparatus while also threatening to submit them to it.
White Noise: Performing the White, Middle-Class Family on 1930s Radio
Authors: Hayes Joy Elizabeth
Published: April 2012

This study investigates the radio roots of a discourse of domestic whiteness that is typically associated with family sitcoms of the 1950s. Through analysis of a highly popular evening serial, One Man's Family (NBC, 1932-1959), the article tracks the production of domestic whiteness in sound, narrative, and vocal performance, situating it within the institutional and social contexts of 1930s radio.
Shaping Information History as an Intellectual Discipline
Authors: Cortada James W.
Published: April 2012

Information is an emerging field of interest and concern to citizens, public officials, and scholars in many disciplines. This article acknowledges that problems exist in defining the subject of information history and argues the case that the topic can be addressed in a more coherent fashion. It then poses five questions for historians to investigate with respect to this field and proposes a sequence of three strategies and an agenda for what scholars can do to make this topic a new field of inquiry called “information history,” drawing upon the historiographical experiences of other areas of historical inquiry.
Normalizing Soviet Cybernetics
Authors: Peters Benjamin
Published: April 2012

Not many word pairs sound as exotic to the Western ear as “Soviet” and “cybernetics.” Yet this article argues that what may be most significant about the history of Soviet cybernetics—however full of fascinating figures and tales of an alternative imagination for a midcentury information society—is precisely how normal or representative the Soviet experience with cybernetics appears in the larger context of Soviet history. The article explores how the twists and turns in the Soviet experience with cybernetics follow preexisting political dynamics, debate patterns, rituals of discourse, strategies for intellectual defense, alliance forging, institution building, and other variables. By demystifying the seemingly exotic, this article aims to help spark insight into some of the historical contingencies and conditions behind the contemporary information age.
Supermarket Savvy: The Everyday Information-Seeking Behavior of Grocery Shoppers
Authors: Wimberley Sara L. , McClean Jessica L.
Published: April 2012

This article examines the information-seeking behaviors of grocery shoppers. Beginning with a review of the historical development of supermarkets in America, it then synthesizes information-seeking behaviors of shoppers in grocery stores with everyday life information-seeking theories. Grocery stores and supermarkets have changed dramatically over time, and business practices evolved in order to meet consumer demands for information. Shoppers’ information-retrieval behaviors, including information seeking, information gathering, and information acquisition, were employed in novel ways as information resources emerged but remained largely unchanged over time.
The Politics of Ethnic Heritage Preservation in Canada: The Case of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario
Authors: Daniel Dominique
Published: April 2012

This article examines the constitution of the collections of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario between 1976 and 1982 in the context of the Canadian policy of multiculturalism. Set up as an independent nonprofit organization to document the history of ethnocultural communities in Ontario, the society was funded with public money. This article considers how competition with other cultural heritage organizations and relationships with ethnic donors affected collecting strategies. While the society’s mission was scholarly, the politicization of multiculturalism influenced its collecting process in significant ways. This case study illustrates the importance of understanding contextual factors when assessing the scope, content, and limitations of library, archive, or museum collections.
Why Encyclopedias Got Bigger . . . and Smaller
Authors: Loveland Jeff
Published: April 2012

This article will show that the European encyclopedia’s critical period of growth took place from 1690 to 1840; the size of the largest printed encyclopedias declined or stabilized thereafter. Having established this pattern of change and its importance for encyclopedism, the article will then evaluate the factors determining the change. The early growth of encyclopedias was above all a consequence of competition, perceptions of the market for encyclopedias, and publishers’ and contributors’ psychology, while the most important causes for encyclopedias’ lack of growth after 1840 were the standardization of encyclopedias as products, the cost of compilation, and financial conservatism among encyclopedia-makers.
Anglo-Norman Historiography and Henry of Huntingdon’s Translation of The Battle of Brunanburh
Authors: Tiller Kenneth
Published: April 2012

This article examines the poetic and philological methods Anglo-Norman historian Henry of Huntingdon uses to translate into Latin the Old English Battle of Brunanburh ( Historia Anglorum [ca 1123–54]). It finds that, although Henry makes a good-faith effort to render the text accurately, his choices and occasional errors reflect his sensibilities as an historian and his orientation toward providential historiography. The Latin Brunanburh thus offers important insight into Henry’s consciousness as an historian and translator and into the reception of Old English poetry in the first century following the Conquest.
Reading Christ the Book in Aemilia Lanyer’s Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611): Iconography and the Cultures of Reading
Authors: Molekamp Femke
Published: April 2012

Aemilia Lanyer’s poem, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum , uses striking pre-Reformation iconography to present Christ as a book, a strategy that has not received prior critical attention. This article argues that this metaphor, together with the metaphoric presentation of her book as a sacred feast, lies at the center of the mode of affective devotional reading. It also aligns her own text with scripture and authorizes her poetics. In providing instructions for reading Christ the Book that are rich in the language of affective meditation, Lanyer draws on a tradition of pre-Reformation contemplative reading, which, the article argues, can be identified in early modern female devotional traditions. The article discusses the history of the use of the iconography of Christ as a book, from the twelfth century to Lancelot Andrewes, and explores it in relation to Bernadine and Lutheran spirituality. It argues that Lanyer engages a diverse nexus of confessional modalities in her treatment of this iconography and of religious sorrow, matching her own mixed religious heritage and the confessionally diverse group of her dedicatees. She uses a poetics of incarnation to overcome difference and to promote the synergistic force of reading the Passion.