bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regulation of the Cdc42/Cdc24 GTPase Module during
Candida albicans
Hyphal Growth
Authors: Bassilana Martine , Hopkins Julie , Arkowitz Robert A.
Published: March 2005

The Rho G protein Cdc42 and its exchange factor Cdc24 are required for hyphal growth of the human fungal pathogen
Candida albicans
. Previously, we reported that strains ectopically expressing Cdc24 or Cdc42 are unable to form hyphae in response to serum. Here we investigated the role of these two proteins in hyphal growth, using quantitative real-time PCR to measure induction of hypha-specific genes together with time lapse microscopy. Expression of the hypha-specific genes examined depends on the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway culminating in the Efg1 and Tec1 transcription factors. We show that strains with reduced levels of
CDC24
or
CDC42
transcripts induce hypha-specific genes yet cannot maintain their expression in response to serum. Furthermore, in serum these mutants form elongated buds compared to the wild type and mutant budding cells, as observed by time lapse microscopy. Using Cdc24 fused to green fluorescent protein, we also show that Cdc24 is recruited to and persists at the germ tube tip during hyphal growth. Altogether these data demonstrate that the Cdc24/Cdc42 GTPase module is required for maintenance of hyphal growth. In addition, overexpression studies indicate that specific levels of Cdc24 and Cdc42 are important for invasive hyphal growth. In response to serum,
CDC24
transcript levels increase transiently in a Tec1-dependent fashion, as do the G-protein
RHO3
and the Rho1 GTPase activating protein
BEM2
transcript levels. These results suggest that a positive feedback loop between Cdc24 and Tec1 contributes to an increase in active Cdc42 at the tip of the germ tube which is important for hypha formation.
The Acetate Switch
Authors: Wolfe Alan J.
Published: March 2005

To succeed, many cells must alternate between life-styles that permit rapid growth in the presence of abundant nutrients and ones that enhance survival in the absence of those nutrients. One such change in life-style, the “acetate switch,” occurs as cells deplete their environment of acetate-producing carbon sources and begin to rely on their ability to scavenge for acetate. This review explains why, when, and how cells excrete or dissimilate acetate. The central components of the “switch” (phosphotransacetylase [PTA], acetate kinase [ACK], and AMP-forming acetyl coenzyme A synthetase [AMP-ACS]) and the behavior of cells that lack these components are introduced. Acetyl phosphate (acetyl∼P), the high-energy intermediate of acetate dissimilation, is discussed, and conditions that influence its intracellular concentration are described. Evidence is provided that acetyl∼P influences cellular processes from organelle biogenesis to cell cycle regulation and from biofilm development to pathogenesis. The merits of each mechanism proposed to explain the interaction of acetyl∼P with two-component signal transduction pathways are addressed. A short list of enzymes that generate acetyl∼P by PTA-ACKA-independent mechanisms is introduced and discussed briefly. Attention is then directed to the mechanisms used by cells to “flip the switch,” the induction and activation of the acetate-scavenging AMP-ACS. First, evidence is presented that nucleoid proteins orchestrate a progression of distinct nucleoprotein complexes to ensure proper transcription of its gene. Next, the way in which cells regulate AMP-ACS activity through reversible acetylation is described. Finally, the “acetate switch” as it exists in selected eubacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, including humans, is described.
Signaling by Target of Rapamycin Proteins in Cell Growth Control
Authors: Inoki Ken , Ouyang Hongjiao , Li Yong , Guan Kun-Liang
Published: March 2005

Target of rapamycin (TOR) proteins are members of the phosphatidylinositol kinase-related kinase (PIKK) family and are highly conserved from yeast to mammals. TOR proteins integrate signals from growth factors, nutrients, stress, and cellular energy levels to control cell growth. The ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (S6K) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1(4EBP1) are two cellular targets of TOR kinase activity and are known to mediate TOR function in translational control in mammalian cells. However, the precise molecular mechanism of TOR regulation is not completely understood. One of the recent breakthrough studies in TOR signaling resulted in the identification of the tuberous sclerosis complex gene products, TSC1 and TSC2, as negative regulators for TOR signaling. Furthermore, the discovery that the small GTPase Rheb is a direct downstream target of TSC1-TSC2 and a positive regulator of the TOR function has significantly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanism of TOR activation. Here we review the current understanding of the regulation of TOR signaling and discuss its function as a signaling nexus to control cell growth during normal development and tumorigenesis.
Neutrophil primary granule release and maximal superoxide generation depend on Rac2 in a common signalling pathway
Authors: Abdel-Latif Dalia , Steward Melissa , Lacy Paige
Published: March 2005

Neutrophils play an integral role in innate immunity by undergoing degranulation and respiratory burst in response to inflammatory stimuli. Rac2, a monomeric GTP-binding protein, has been shown to be involved in several neutrophil functions, including primary granule release and superoxide (O2–·) generation. We hypothesized that Rac2 is a common signalling molecule required for primary granule translocation and maximal O2–·production. Using bone marrow neutrophils from Rac2 knockout (KO) mice and wild type C57Bl/6 mice, we found that primary granule elastase and myeloperoxi dase release were absent in Rac2 KO neutrophils upon chemoattractant stimulation. Rac2 KO neutrophils also failed to produce maximal levels of extracellular O2–·generation in response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Although PMA was ineffective at eliciting primary granule mediator release, it induced secondary granule exocytosis in both WT and Rac2 KO neutrophils. Thus, the signalling pathway leading to primary granule release utilized Rac2, which was also necessary for full activation of O2–·generation in stimulated neutrophils. These findings indicate that O2–·release and secondary granule secretion may use protein kinase C (PKC) - dependent pathways, whereas primary granule exocytosis appears to rely on PKC-independent signalling events. These findings shed light on possible signalling mechanisms involved in granule secretion from activated neutrophils responding to different stimuli.Key words: lactoferrin, azurophilic granules, exocytosis, degranulation.
The role of notch in modeling and maintaining the vasculature
Authors: Karsan Aly
Published: March 2005

The Notch proteins encompass a family of transmembrane receptors that have been highly conserved through evolution as mediators of cell fate, and are comprised of 4 members in mammals (Notch1 to Notch4). Following intra cellular processing of the full-length protein, Notch is expressed at the cell surface as a heterodimeric receptor. Engagement by ligand results in a 2-step cleavage of the Notch heterodimer, releasing the intracellular domain of Notch and allowing translocation to the nucleus. The intracellular domain of Notch interacts with the DNA-binding factor, CSL, resulting in transactivation at various promoters, in particular those of various basic helix-loop-helix factors of the HES (Hairy and Enhancer of Split) and HRT families (Hairy-Related Transcription factor). Recent findings implicate Notch as playing a critical and non-redundant role in vascular development and maintenance. This article briefly reviews vessel development and Notch signaling and highlights studies that examine Notch functions such as proliferation, cell survival, migration, adhesion, and mesenchymal transformation in the vasculature. Human diseases caused by Notch pathway members are also discussed.Key words: vascular, endothelial, Notch, angiogenesis, mesenchymal transformation.
Distribution of phenotypically disparate myocyte subpopulations in airway smooth muscle
Authors: Halayko Andrew J , Stelmack Gerald L , Yamasaki Akira , McNeill Karol , Unruh Helmut , Rector Edward
Published: March 2005

Phenotype and functional heterogeneity of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells in vitro is well known, but there is limited understanding of these features in vivo. We tested whether ASM is composed of myocyte subsets differing in contractile phenotype marker expression. We used flow cytometry to compare smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (smMHC) and smooth muscle-α-actin (sm-α-actin) abundance in myocytes dispersed from canine trachealis. Based on immunofluorescent intensity and light scatter characteristics (forward and 90° side scatter), 2 subgroups were identified and isolated. Immunoblotting confirmed smMHC and sm-α-actin were 10- and 5-fold greater, respectively, in large, elongate myocytes that comprised ~60% of total cells. Immunohistochemistry revealed similar phenotype heterogeneity in human bronchial smooth muscle. Canine tracheal myocyte subpopulations isolated by flow cytometry were used to seed primary subcultures. Proliferation of subcultures established with myocytes exhibiting low levels of smMHC and sm-α-actin was ~2× faster than subcultures established with ASM cells with a high marker protein content. These studies demonstrate broad phenotypic heterogeneity of myocytes in normal ASM tissue that is maintained in cell culture, as demonstrated by divergent proliferative capacity. The distinct roles of these subgroups could be a key determinant of normal and pathological lung development and biology.Key words: flow cytometry, phenotype, heterogeneity, asthma, differentiation.
Inflammatory Markers at the Site of Ruptured Plaque in Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Maier Willibald , Altwegg Lukas A. , Corti Roberto , Gay Steffen , Hersberger Martin , Maly Friedrich E. , Sütsch Gabor , Roffi Marco , Neidhart Michel , Eberli Franz R. , Tanner Felix C. , Gobbi Sharon , von Eckardstein Arnold , Lüscher Thomas F.
Published: March 2005

Background—

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with inflammation. However, it remains unclear whether it originates from the ruptured plaque or represents a systemic process.

Methods and Results—

In 42 patients with AMI, a balloon-based embolization protection device and aspiration catheter (PercuSurge) were used during acute coronary interventions. Samples from the site of the ruptured plaque were taken under distal balloon occlusion. Systemic samples were taken from the aorta. Sera, plaques, and thrombi were analyzed for inflammatory markers and lipoproteins. Systemic levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and serum amyloid A (SAA) in the aorta amounted to 3.0 mg/L, 5.0 ng/L, and 22.1 mg/L, respectively (interquartile ranges [IQRs], 1.1 to 7.4 mg/L, 5.0 to 6.5 ng/L, and 13.9 to 27.0 mg/L, respectively). In blood surrounding ruptured plaques, local levels of IL-6 (8.9 ng/L; IQR, 5.0 to 16.9 ng/L) and SAA (24.3 mg/L; IQR, 16.3 to 44.0 mg/L) were significantly higher, whereas CRP levels (2.5 mg/L; IQR, 0.9 to 7.7 mg/L) were decreased compared with the aorta (all
P
<0.0001). The coronary levels of IL-6 determined in vivo showed biological activity in vitro. Harvested thrombus contained CD68-positive monocytes expressing IL-6 and showed extracellularly and intracellularly positive staining for SAA, whereas CRP was found exclusively in the cytoplasm of phagocyting white blood cells.

Conclusions—

Coronary levels of IL-6 and SAA at the site of plaque rupture were increased relative to the systemic circulation, indicating local production of biologically active inflammatory mediators. In contrast, CRP was locally decreased, at least in part by uptake by the phagocyting cells, suggesting a systemic origin of the protein.
Nīlakantha's instruments of war:Modern, vernacular, barbarous
Authors: Minkowski Christopher
Published: March 2005

The seventeenth century Benares-based intellectual, NīlakanÚha Caturdhara, wrote what is still the most widely used Sanskrit commentary on the Mahābhārata. In the commentary Nīlakantha sometimes explains the epicÌs instruments of war in contemporary terms—as cannons and muskets, for example. He also uses terms from vernacular, even ÎbarbarousÌ, languages in his glosses. Rather than ÎtypicalÌ of ÎtraditionalÌ Sanskrit commentators, such interpretations by Nīlakantha should be understood as self-consciously innovative. The innovations appear primarily in the epicÌs descriptions of the fortifications of cities. Placement of Nīlakantha in his historical and literary context, most saliently in his early modern context, provides the most meaningful explanation of this feature of the commentary.
SnehalataÌs death: Dowry and womenÌs agency in colonial Bengal
Authors: Majumdar Rochona
Published: March 2005

The death of Snehalata Mukhopadhyay in January 1914 remains one of the earliest and most widely discussed cases of dowry related suicides in colonial India. While the fact file on this young woman has until recently remained slim, her name appears in most scholarly accounts of dowry related crimes against women. The first aim of this article is to fill in the details of the Snehalata case. It then attempts to understand why her name acquired an iconic status in early twentieth-century Bengali society. While it is impossible to establish beyond doubt why Snehalata killed herself on that fateful January afternoon, her suicide unarguably incited a discourse about womenÌs agency in contemporary society. In mapping that discourse, this article shows how people read the act of SnehalataÌs suicide to talk about womenÌs roles in public life in new and often contradictory ways.
Coercive Diplomacy and an “Irrational” Regime
Authors: Tarzi Shah M.
Published: March 2005

All conditions for the successful application of coercive threat clearly favoured the US to get its demands regarding the handover of the al Qaeda leadership and closure of the terrorist camps in Afghanistan accepted by the Taliban. However, American coercive diplomacy failed because of a potent combination of factors, namely, an extreme brand of Islam which the Taliban practised, the basic symbiotic relationship between al Qaeda and the Taliban, the special religious role of Mullah Omar and the Pushtunwali code so profound to the Taliban’s sense of identity. The Taliban held an irrational and fatalistic view that was simply impervious to superior American military power or fear of regime change and even fear of loss of life. The implications for American foreign policy and the war on terrorism are worrisome: when dealing with terrorist groups or failed states in which the leadership has a radically different and highly destructive messianic religious and cultural referent, as was the case with the Taliban, coercive diplomacy is likely to fail.
Migration, Urbanization and Urban Social Movements in Twentieth Century India and South Africa
Authors: Bonner Philip L.
Published: March 2005

This article compares patterns of urbanization and the forms assumed by urban social movements in twentieth-century India and South Africa. It highlights the prevalence and persistence of single male labour migration to and from the major industrial centres in both countries and seeks to identify their respective compulsions. It emphasises the importance of the white settler political project of segregation in South Africa in shaping patterns of migrancy as well as ways of urban living. In addition, and critically, it pinpoints often neglected social and cultural factors as influencing the forms and dynamics of labour migrancy in both countries, drawing attention to relatively unstable patterns of urbanization along with gender and generation ruptures and conflict in South Africa, as contrasted to the greater family and generational stability in cities in India. Finally, it compares the emergence of ethnic and communal identities in both places.
Linguistic Relativity and Spatial Concept Development in Nepal
Authors: Niraula Shanta , Mishra Ramesh C. , Dasen Pierre R.
Published: March 2005

Reports the results of a study done in a mountainous region of Nepal on a sample of 144, 6–14 year old boys and girls, schooled and unschooled. A variety of tasks was selected for the analysis of language children use for describing space and for the assessment of spatial encoding and cognitive performance on spatial developmental tasks. The results confirm that the language people use to describe spatial arrays is linked to the way in which they orient themselves in the environment. The age trends in language development indicate a change from intrinsic and projective to geocentric references, with almost no use of egocentric terms, while the encoding of spatial arrays is predominantly absolute (age changes being task specific). Overall, spatial cognitive development is quite independent of spatial encoding, but shows some statistically significant relations to the use of geocentric language.
Kibbutzim in Constant Transition
Authors: Richman Charles L.
Published: March 2005

This paper was based on the assumption that the economic crisis that occurred in kibbutzim in the early 1980s led to the dismantling of the ideology that was the basis for building of the kibbutz movement. Kibbutz leaders from eight kibbutzim in Israel were individually interviewed. Each participant asserted that the changes that have occurred on kibbutzim over the past 25 years have affected not only the ideological principles of the kibbutz movement, but have also impacted child rearing, family and social relations and work ethic. It was concluded that today’s kibbutzim have more in common with villages, townships and cities than a resemblance to traditional kibbutzim. The future of kibbutzim must be questioned as a unique community.
Strategic Human Resource Management in Small Enterprises
Authors: Singh Manjari , Vohra Neharika
Published: March 2005

The need for strategic human resource management in small enterprises is discussed. Though small enterprises might wish to keep their human resource management practices informal, they will be able to increase their productivity if there is adequate human resource planning and integration of human resource strategies with business strategies. An illustrative case study is presented of a successful small enterprise which has a mix of formal and informal human resource management functions, and which has judiciously integrated its human resource strategies with its business strategies.
Women’s Right to Education—A Narrative on International Law
Authors: Sur Malini
Published: March 2005

Placing women’s right to education within an essentially androcentric international legal framework, this article underpins various legal and social constraints that deter the translation of this right into a lived experience. Though international law illustrates education lucidly, especially in conjunction with non-discriminatory provisions and emphasises non-derogability, its implementation is dampened by feeble state obligations. Contrasts are drawn between the human rights discourse, which largely propounds claims on behalf of the dispossessed and the neo-liberal regime, which distances human agency and action. Drawing briefly on constitutional provisions, progressive judicial interpretations and people’s movements for education, this article nevertheless cautions that despite assertions to the contrary, India is still slotted ‘at risk’ in not reaching minimal thresholds in gender parity. Claims are made to retain the hegemony of this right as an agentive discourse, rather than as one which slots marginalised women as mere statistical references, discounting their subjugation and struggles.
Significance of Gender-related Development Indicators: An Analysis of Indian States
Authors: Rustagi Preet
Published: March 2005

This article illustrates the complexities of gender-related development through an analysis of individual indicators covering issues of women’s work, education, health, survival, safety and participation in public/private decision-making. State level comparisons based on selected individual gender-related indicators reveal divergent patterns of development, highlighting the problems that complexity and non-linearity pose for measuring gender development. In the absence of unilinear patterns of gender development across Indian states, the significance of non-composite indicators and their importance for problem identification and effective intervention is highlighted.
Recovering Women’s Histories: An Enquiry into Methodological Questions and Challenges
Authors: Poonacha Veena
Published: March 2005

Born out of women’s struggles for equality, women’s studies have challenged the process of knowledge construction in social sciences and humanities. Indicating the ‘politics of knowledge generation’, feminist scholarship has contended that mainstream social sciences/humanities do not articulate women’s knowledge or their experiences of reality. This struggle to integrate women’s voices/experiences raises serious epistemological questions that fundamentally alter our understanding of social reality. Further, as there is an intimate connection between theory and method, feminist research has—in its quest for recovering and articulating women’s experiences—experimented with innovative research techniques. Focusing on women’s writing of history, this discussion points out the ways in which attempts to recover women’s historical presence fundamentally alter our understanding of history.
Jyotirmoyee Devi
Authors: Mookerjea-Leonard Debali
Published: March 2005

This paper offers a feminist reading of a novel and short story by Jyotirmoyee Devi on the predicament of Hindu and Sikh women who were abducted and/or raped in the riots surrounding the Partition of India in 1947, repatriated subsequently on state initiative, but rejected by their families and communities. I contend that the rejections were motivated, and even ideologically rationalised, by a long and complicated history of the patriarchal fetish regarding women’s sexuality. Using Jyotirmoyee Devi’s writings, I examine how women, sexually abused by the rival community in the riots of Partition, unless excluded, become representative of the ‘fallen’ nation.
‘You Can Be Lonely in a Crowd’
Authors: Phadke Shilpa
Published: March 2005

Safety for women in cities does not flow directly from institutional or infrastructural factors but has to be strategically produced. This paper explores women’s negotiations with risk and danger in creating ‘space’ for themselves in public. It examines particularly how class and religious identities have an impact on women’s access to public space. The paper also seeks to examine the everyday worlds of women accessing public space and to interrogate the binaries of safety–violence, risk–rationality and respectability–non-respectability, and to challenge the assumptions on which they are based.
An Introduction to Fractal Dynamics
Authors: Malik Pravir
Published: March 2005

Fractal dynamics is a unique, systems-based approach of looking at and thinking about organizations. In this view, the organization is viewed as part of a pervasive organizational fractal. Many astounding properties such as fractal completion, fractal influence and fractal universality emerge in fractal space. These offer new insight into the fundamental dynamics animating all organizations. Routine management tasks such as strategy formulation, cost cutting, process redesign, product formulation, management of change and leadership development can be conducted anew with powerful and innovative insights, unavailable when management is approached traditionally through a linear and sequential thinking approach. This article focuses primarily on the rationale for employing fractal dynamics, and on the search for the pervasive organizational fractal that animates all organizations. A brief example of how fractal dynamics offers insights in the case of management of change is also provided.
Personality, Organizational Climate and Job Involvement: An Empirical Study
Authors: Elankumaran S.
Published: March 2005

Job involvement as an attitude is an important variable that helps in maximizing organizational effectiveness. The higher the degree of job involvement of the members of an organization, the greater its effectiveness. In order to improve the degree of job involvement, one must have a realistic view of what determines it. Among the various views on job involvement, the most realistic one would be that it is a function of personality and organizational climate. Therefore, an attempt is made to study on the relationship of personality, organizational climate and job involvement. To identify the personality types, an inventory is developed based on the Indian theory of psychological forces—the guna dynamics. Based on the analysis of the data collected, the concluding observation of the study is: ‘the less tamasic a person, the more will he be involved in his job’.
Occupational Stress and Coping among Nurses
Authors: Parikh Purvi , Taukari Atish , Bhattacharya Tanmay
Published: March 2005

This paper explores nurses’ occupational stressors and coping mechanisms. In nurses occupational stress appears to vary according to individual and job characteristics, and work-family conflict. Common occupational stressors among nurses are workload, role ambiguity, interpersonal relationships, and death and dying concerns. Emotional distress, burnout and psychological morbidity could also result from occupational stress. Nurses’ common coping mechanisms include problem solving, social support and avoidance. Perceived control appears to be an important mediator of occupational stress. Coping and job satisfaction appear to be reciprocally related. Shift work is highly prevalent among nurses and a significant source of stress. The effects, moderating influences, coping mechanisms and risk factors associated with shift work are considered in detail here. Prophylactic and curative measures are important for nurses at both personal as well as organisational levels.
Social Support and Occupational Health of Working Women
Authors: Asnani Vimla , Pandey U. D. , Sawhney Manisha
Published: March 2005

The Indian workplace is rapidly changing in accordance with the economic conditions, technology, corporate employment practices and demographic trends of the country. Globalisation has had strong implications on the attitudes of women, their work and health. This paper provides a profile of work-related health status that arises from a mixed pattern of employment, work processes and social support system. Major social, biological and chemical hazards are likely to be encountered in traditional female employment. Empirical studies have indicated that global stress perceived by women at the workplace include psychological and physical work demands, job control, anticipation of job loss, assessment of work associates, fear of abuse, family functions and stressful life events. It is difficult for working women to manage and balance their responsibilities. Social support at the family level is fading away due to increasing nuclear family norms, and at the organisational level due to automation systems. Most women muddle through, worrying and fighting with their problems in isolation. This leads to psychological and emotional stress, thereby increasing psychosomatic complaints. Support from the organisation, family and friends has increasingly been recognised as useful in reducing stress, protecting health and enhancing quality of life. The paper speaks of techniques of improving the social support network.
Women’s Self-concept and Mental Health
Authors: Kumthekar Medha
Published: March 2005

Self-concept is an important indicator of personality. The working woman, being an earner in the family, is easily accepted and respected. Hence, it was thought that working women would have a more positive self-concept as compared to non-working women. To assess this, a Q-sort technique developed by Butler and Haigh (1954) was used for 137 working and 99 non-working, all graduate, middle-class, married women in the age range of 25 to 45 years. However, it is amazing to note that no significant difference between working and non-working women was found. All women had a devaluated self-concept. The study was also aimed to note the differences among women working at different occupational levels. There is also no significant difference in their self-concept. However, in item-wise analysis, more confidence, ambition and assertiveness were seen in the case of working women as compared to non-working women.
Green Marketing: An Attitudinal and Behavioural Analysis of Indian Consumers
Authors: Jain Sanjay K. , Kaur Gurmeet
Published: March 2005

Environmentalism has fast emerged as a worldwide phenomenon. Business firms too have risen to the occasion and have started responding to environmental challenges by practising green marketing strategies. Green consumerism has played a catalystic role in ushering corporate environmentalism and making business firms green marketing oriented. Based on the data collected through a field survey, the paper makes an assessment of the extent of environmental awareness, attitudes and behaviour prevalent among consumers in India and lists implications of the study findings for the government and non-governmental organizations engaged in marketing of green ideas and products in the country. In the concluding section, limitations of the study have been discussed and suggestions provided for undertaking more thorough investigations in the area.
Foreign Bank Penetration and Private Sector Credit in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: de Haas R. T.A. , van Lelyveld I. P.P
Published: March 2005

In this article, we analyse foreign bank penetration in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and its influence on private sector credit. By combining BIS data and BankScope data into a unique database we make a clear distinction between cross-border credit and credit by foreign bank subsidiaries. We show that the relative importance of foreign bank subsidiaries has increased considerably during recent years. We do not find evidence of foreign banks deserting CEE during financial crises or economic downturns. Although cross-border credit did decrease during some periods, foreign banks expanded the credit supply of their subsidiaries simultaneously.
Foreign Banks in Croatia: Reasons for Entry, Performance and Impacts
Authors: Kraft Evan
Published: March 2005

Foreign banks’ share in Croatia jumped from less than 10 per cent in 1998 to about 90 per cent of total banking assets after 2000. Survey data indicate that pull factors were strong. Foreign banks are perceived to have strong impacts on the level of competition and the quality of products and services. Heavily involved in broad retail and wholesale markets, foreign banks express strong interest in lending to small and medium enterprises. Balance sheet and income statement data show that de novo foreign banks in particular have had higher levels of cost efficiency, asset quality, reliance on borrowed funds, and credit growth.
Mean-Semivariance Behaviour: An Alternative Behavioural Model
Authors: Estrada Javier
Published: March 2005

The most widely used measure of an asset’s risk, beta, stems from an equilibrium in which investors display mean-variance behaviour. This behavioural criterion assumes that portfolio risk is measured by the variance (or standard deviation) of returns, which is a questionable measure of risk. The semivariance of returns is a more plausible measure of risk (as Markowitz himself admits) and is backed by theoretical, empirical and practical considerations. It can also be used to implement an alternative behavioural criterion, mean-semivariance behaviour, that is almost perfectly correlated to both expected utility and the utility of mean compound return. Although the analytical framework and results are general, they are particularly relevant for emerging markets.
Parallel Implementation of a Spectral Scheme for Simulations of 3-D Dynamic Fracture Events
Authors: Breitenfeld M. Scot , Geubelle Philippe H.
Published: March 2005

The spectral scheme, whose parallel implementation is described in this paper, is currently one of the most efficient computational approaches available to solve a class of fundamental 3-D dynamic fracture problems. The scheme uses a special form of the boundary integral elastodynamic formulation and allows for the solution of the spontaneous motion (initiation, propagation, and arrest) of arbitrary shape planar cracks embedded in a homogeneous or bimaterial medium and subjected to arbitrary loading conditions. The parallel implementation described hereafter allows for the efficient solution of very large dynamic fracture problems, typically one to two orders of magnitudes larger than those available to date. It is based on a stacking scheme that distributes the spectral modes across the processors to achieve balance in memory and CPU time requirements. Although developed for dynamic fracture simulations, the spectral scheme and its parallel implementation are applicable to other problems in computational physics characterized by a convolution operation involving a decaying kernel.
Comparisons of the ILU(0), Point-SSOR, and SPAI Preconditioners on the CRAY-T3E for Nonsymmetric Sparse Linear Systems Arising from PDEs on Structured Grids
Authors: Ma Sangback
Published: March 2005

When solving general sparse linear systems, multicoloring techniques can yield a parallelism of order N, where N is the dimension of the matrix. However, this strategy often suffers from the deterioration of the rate of convergence, as in the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Another technique that does not suffer from this deterioration of the rate of convergence is the wavefront technique, which exploits parallelism that is available in the original matrix. The rate of convergence remains the same, but the maximum parallelism is limited by the length of the wavefronts, which are often nonuniform. Another popular technique is the sparse approximate inverse (SPAI) technique, capturing the inverse in the sparse form, which is very nice for parallel computation. In this paper, the author compares these two approaches of ILU(0), SPAI, and point-SSOR preconditioners using the BICGSTAB method as the outer iterative method on the CRAY-T3E. It was found that for the problems tested, ILU(0) with multicoloring outperforms the other alternatives.
Efficient Performance Prediction for Large-Scale, Data-Intensive Applications
Authors: Kurc Tahsin , Uysal Mustafa , Eom Hyeonsang , Hollingsworth Jeff , Saltz Joel , Sussman Alan
Published: March 2005

This paper presents a simulation-based performance prediction framework for large-scale, data-intensive applications on large-scale machines. The framework consists of two components: application emulators and a suite of simulators. Application emulators provide a parameterized model of data access and computation patterns of the applications and enable changing critical application components (input data partitioning, data declustering, processing structure, etc.). The suite of simulators executes quickly on a high performance workstation to allow performance prediction of large-scale parallel machine configurations. The key to efficient simulation of very large configurations is to elide the majority of low-level hardware events while preserving data dependencies and distributions. The authors evaluate their performance prediction tool using a set of three data-intensive applications.
Web Performance Modeling Issues
Authors: Menascé Daniel A.
Published: March 2005

The Web has experienced phenomenal growth and has become an important element of the information infrastructure of many organizations. Web performance and around-the-clock availability are the major concerns of Webmasters of sites that support mission-critical applications, such as electronic commerce. Web sites are complex computer systems consisting of many interconnected computers, networks, and routers. Some of the computers have specific functions such as authorization or caching. Workloads on Web sites are often unpredictable in nature. Heavy-load spikes and a large variability of the objects requested over the Web are unique characteristics of Web workloads. This paper reviews the important issues and challenges in modeling Web-based systems. Workload characterization, predictive models, and their use in various situations are discussed.
Performance and Scalability Analysis of Teraflop-Scale Parallel Architectures Using Multidimensional Wavefront Applications
Authors: Hoisie Adolfy , Lubeck Olaf , Wasserman Harvey
Published: March 2005

The authors develop a model for the parallel performance of algorithms that consist of concurrent, two-dimensional wavefronts implemented in a message-passing environment. The model, based on a LogGP machine parameterization, combines the separate contributions of computation and communication wavefronts. The authors validate the model on three important supercomputer systems, on up to 500 processors. They use data from a deterministic particle transport application taken from the ASCI workload, although the model is general to any wavefront algorithm implemented on a 2-D processor domain. They also use the validated model to make estimates of performance and scalability of wavefront algorithms on 100 TFLOPS computer systems expected to be in existence within the next decade as part of the ASCI program and elsewhere. In this context, the authors analyze two problem sizes. Their model shows that on the largest such problem (1 billion cells), interprocessor communication performance is not the bottleneck. Single-node efficiency is the dominant factor.
The Anatomy of the Grid: Enabling Scalable Virtual Organizations
Authors: Foster Ian , Kesselman Carl , Tuecke Steven
Published: March 2005

“Grid” computing has emerged as an important new field, distinguished from conventional distributed computing by its focus on large-scale resource sharing, innovative applications, and, in some cases, high performance orientation. In this article, the authors define this new field. First, they review the “Grid problem,” which is defined as flexible, secure, coordinated resource sharing among dynamic collections of individuals, institutions, and resources—what is referred to as virtual organizations. In such settings, unique authentication, authorization, resource access, resource discovery, and other challenges are encountered. It is this class of problem that is addressed by Grid technologies. Next, the authors present an extensible and open Grid architecture, in which protocols, services, application programming interfaces, and software development kits are categorized according to their roles in enabling resource sharing. The authors describe requirements that they believe any such mechanisms must satisfy and discuss the importance of defining a compact set of intergrid protocols to enable interoperability among different Grid systems. Finally, the authors discuss how Grid technologies relate to other contemporary technologies, including enterprise integration, application service provider, storage service provider, and peer-to-peer computing. They maintain that Grid concepts and technologies complement and have much to contribute to these other approaches.
Using Computing and Data Grids for Large-Scale Science and Engineering
Authors: Johnston William E.
Published: March 2005

The term Gridis used to refer to a software system that provides uniform and location-independent access to geographically and organizationally dispersed, heterogeneous resources that are persistent and supported. These emerging data and computing Grids promise to provide a highly capable and scalable environment for addressing large-scale science problems. The author describes the requirements for science Grids, the resulting services and architecture of NASA’s Information Power Grid and the Department of Energy’s Science Grid, and some of the scaling issues that have come up in their implementation.
Static LU Decomposition on Heterogeneous Platforms
Authors: Beaumont Olivier , Legrand Arnaud , Rastello Fabrice , Robert Yves
Published: March 2005

In this paper, the authors deal with algorithmic issues on heterogeneous platforms. They concentrate on dense linear algebra kernels, such as matrix multiplication or LU decomposition. Block-cyclic distribution techniques used in ScaLAPACK are no longer sufficient to balance the load among processors running at different speeds. The main result of this paper is to provide a static data distribution scheme that leads to an asymptotically perfect load balancing for LU decomposition, thereby providing solid foundations toward the design of a cluster-oriented version of ScaLAPACK.
On the Optimization of a Pipeline Model to Integrate a Reduced-Dimensionality Schrödinger Equation for Distributed Memory Architectures
Authors: Baraglia Ranieri , Ferrini Renato , Laforenza Domenico , Laganà Antonio
Published: March 2005

This paper examines the problem of dealing with the integration of a two-dimensional Schrödinger equation using a sector-diabatic coupled-channel approach when the coupling matrix is too large to fit into the memory of individual nodes of a multiple-instruction, multiple-data (MIMD) parallel machine. For this case, the distribution of blocks of the coupling matrix among the different nodes and the use of a pipeline model are investigated. To measure performances and to compare them with those measured for a previously optimized task farm model, the pipeline model was implemented on a hypercube and its structure optimized. Benchmarks were performed for dimensions of the coupling matrix manageable by both task farm and pipeline models.
A Numerical Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport on the CRAY T3D and C90 Supercomputers
Authors: Ashby S. F. , Bosl W. J. , Falgout R. D. , Smith S. G. , Tompson A. F.B. , Williams T. J.
Published: March 2005

Numerical simulations of groundwater flow and chemical transport through three-dimensional heterogeneous porous media are described. The authors employ two CRAY supercomputers for different parts of the decoupled calculation: the flow field is computed on the T3D massively parallel computer, and the contaminant migration is simulated on the C90 vector supercomputer. The authors compare simulation results for subsurface models based on homogeneous and heterogeneous conceptual models and find that the heterogeneities have a profound impact on the character of contaminant migration.
From Toys to Teraflops: Bridging the Beowulf Gap
Authors: Sterling Thomas , Savarese Daniel F.
Published: March 2005

Do-it-yourself supercomputing has emerged as a solution to cost-effectively sustain the computational demands of the scientific research community. Despite some of the successes of this approach, represented by Beowulf-class computing, it has limitations that need to be recognized as well as problems that need to be resolved in order to extend its scope of applicability. While the performance of hardware incorporated into these systems has continued to improve at a remarkable rate, enabling the execution of steadily larger and more compute-intensive applications, the software environment of the machines has seen little to no improvement or evolution. The authors find that this gap between the rates of development of hardware and software is a crucial obstacle to the full exploitation of these systems into and beyond the Teraflops realm. They provide suggestions as to how this gap might be narrowed within the context of Beowulf-class computing.
Metacomputing with the ICET System
Authors: Gray Paul A. , Sunderam Vaidy S.
Published: March 2005

IceT is based on the premise that distributed computations involve resources, processes, data, and users, and that secure yet flexible mechanisms for cooperation and communication between these types of entities is the key to metacomputing infrastructures. The basis for IceT computing is process-oriented distributed memory multicomputing, but with key differences, including merging and splitting of virtual machines and code and data mobility. This paper describes the design philosophy of IceT and reports on qualitative experiences with preliminary use of a prototype system.
Multilevel Mesh Partitioning for Optimizing Domain Shape
Authors: Walshaw C. , Cross M. , Diekmann R. , Schlimbach F.
Published: March 2005

Multilevel algorithms are a successful class of optimization techniques that address the mesh partitioning problem for mapping meshes onto parallel computers. They usually combine a graph contraction algorithm together with a lo-cal optimization method that refines the partition at each graph level. To date, these algorithms have been used al-most exclusively to minimize the cut-edge weight in the graph with the aim of minimizing the parallel communication overhead. However, it has been shown that for certain classes of problems, the convergence of the underlying solution algorithm is strongly influenced by the shape or aspect ratio of the subdomains. Therefore, in this paper, the authors modify the multilevel algorithms to optimize a cost function based on the aspect ratio. Several variants of the algorithms are tested and shown to provide excellent results.
Stock Market and Foreign Exchange Market in India: Are they Related?
Authors: Mishra Alok Kumar
Published: March 2005

This article attempts to examine whether stock market and foreign exchange markets are related to each other or not. The study uses Granger’s Causality test and Vector Auto Regression technique on monthly stock return, exchange rate, interest rate and demand for money for the period April 1992 to March 2002. The major findings of the study are ( a) there exists a unidirectional causality between the exchange rate and interest rate and between the exchange rate return and demand for money; ( b) there is no Granger’s causality between the exchange rate return and stock return. Through Vector Auto Regression modelling, the study confirms that though stock return, exchange rate return, the demand for money and interest rate are related to each other but any consistent relationship doesn’t exist between them. The forecast error variance decomposition further evidences that ( a) the exchange rate return affects the demand for money, ( b) the interest rate causes exchange rate return change ( c) the exchange rate return affects the stock return, ( d) the demand for money affects stock return, ( e) the interest rate affects the stock return, and ( f) the demand for money affects the interest rate. Our results have implications for investors, policy makers and researchers.
Young Chronic Offenders
Authors: Mullis Ronald L. , Mullis Ann K. , Cornille Thomas A. , Kershaw Mary Ann , Beckerman Adela , Perkins Daniel
Published: March 2005

Developmental, contextual, and intervention characteristics of young chronic offenders from multisources of information were examined. Young chronic offenders were defined as youth ages 11 and younger who committed 10 offenses and had been arrested in a 12-month period or youth ages 12 to 15 who had committed 15 offenses and had been arrested for these offenses in an 18-month period. A case study protocol was designed to examine three themes of youth and family characteristics and eight themes of youth and family perceptions of the juvenile justice system. The sample included 63 male and female young chronic juvenile offenders randomly selected from all young chronic offenders (N = 1,389) in a southeastern state. Findings indicated that young chronic offenders may exhibit unique personal and contextual characteristics that require greater attention by the juvenile justice system in terms of immediate interventions and follow-up services.