bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short interfering RNAs specific for potato spindle tuber viroid are found in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus
Authors: Denti Michela Alessandra , Boutla Alexandra , Tsagris Mina , Tabler Martin
Published: February 2004

Short interfering (si) and micro (mi) RNAs influence gene expression at post‐transcriptional level. In plants, different classes of DICER‐LIKE (DCL) enzymes are responsible for the generation of these small regulatory RNAs from different precursors. To characterize the cellular site of their generation and accumulation, we purified nuclei from tomato plants infected with potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) RNA, which is known to replicate in the nucleus via double‐stranded (ds) RNA intermediates. We could detect PSTVd‐specific siRNAs in the cytoplasmic fraction, but not in the nuclear fraction. To correlate the localization of the PSTVd‐specific siRNAs with that of similarly sized small RNAs, we studied the compartmentalization of a naturally occurring miRNA. We could detect the precursor of miR167 in the nucleus, but the mature miRNA was found only in the cytoplasmic fraction. We discuss the consequences of this finding for the model of viroid replication and heterochromatin formation.
Loss of function of 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase 1 (HMG1) in Arabidopsis leads to dwarfing, early senescence and male sterility, and reduced sterol levels
Authors: Suzuki Masashi , Kamide Yukiko , Nagata Noriko , Seki Hikaru , Ohyama Kiyoshi , Kato Hisashi , Masuda Kazuo , Sato Shusei , Kato Tomohiko , Tabata Satoshi , Yoshida Shigeo , Muranaka Toshiya
Published: February 2004

3‐Hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the first committed step in the cytosolic isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway in higher plants. To understand the contribution of HMGR to plant development, we isolated T‐DNA insertion mutants for HMG1 and HMG2. The hmg1 and hmg2 mutants were both more sensitive than the wild type (WT) to lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMGR. The hmg2 mutant showed no visible phenotype under normal growth conditions. In contrast, the hmg1 mutant exhibited dwarfing, early senescence, and sterility. Expression of senescence‐associated genes 12 (SAG12), a marker gene for senescence, was induced in the hmg1 mutant at an earlier stage than in the WT. Levels of trans‐cytokinins – hormones known to inhibit senescence – were not lower in hmg1. The mutant did not have the typical appearance of brassinosteroid (BR)‐deficient mutants, except for a dwarf phenotype, because of the suppression of cell elongation. The expression of several genes involved in cell elongation was suppressed in hmg1. WT plants treated exogenously with inhibitors of sterol biosynthesis had similar gene expression and sterility characteristics as the hmg1 mutants. Pleiotropic phenotypes were rescued by feeding with squalene, the precursor of sterols and triterpenoids. The sterol levels in hmg1 mutants were lower than in the WT. These findings suggest that HMG1 plays a critical role in triterpene biosynthesis, and that sterols and/or triterpenoids contribute to cell elongation, senescence, and fertility.
Vertical Networks and US Auto Parts Exports: Is Japan Different?
Authors: Head Keith , Ries John , Spencer Barbara J.
Published: February 2004

In a model where upstream network insiders conduct relationship‐specific investment, downstream firms have an incentive to transact within networks. Evidence from US auto parts exports to 26 auto‐producing countries supports key predictions of the model. Greater production scale for assemblers lowers imported parts per car. Vertical networks matter in two ways. First, although Japan's average import levels are not unusually low, non‐Japanese suppliers have relatively low market penetration for parts categories where vertical keiretsu are prominent in Japan. Second, US‐owned assembly abroad and foreign‐owned parts production in the US both stimulate parts exports.
Network Intermediaries in International Trade
Authors: Rauch James E. , Watson Joel
Published: February 2004

Motivated by evidence on the importance of incomplete information and networks in international trade, we investigate the supply of network intermediation. We build a general‐equilibrium model in which agents with networks of foreign contacts either can use their networks themselves in support of production or can make their networks available for others to use and thereby can become network intermediaries. We use this model for comparative statics and welfare analysis. One welfare conclusion is that intermediaries may have inadequate incentives to maintain or to expand their networks, suggesting a rationale for the policies followed by some countries to encourage large‐scale trading companies.
Market Structure and the Demand for Free Trade
Authors: Balboa Orlando I. , Daughety Andrew F. , Reinganum Jennifer F.
Published: February 2004

We examine a heterogenous goods duopoly model, wherein governments simultaneously and noncooperatively choose whether or not to provide subsidies for their firms and then firms noncooperatively choose output levels, either sequentially or simultaneously. We find that government trade policy and market structure are interdependent. First, the trade regime alters traditional firm preferences over sequential versus simultaneous play. Second, different market structures influence governments' preferences about free trade versus subsidies. Further, if one of the firms is a potential leader, allowing for endogenous market structure generates equilibrium outcomes that sometimes reinforce, and sometimes counter, traditional results in the strategic trade literature.
Product Differentiation and the Location of International Production
Authors: De Fraja Gianni , Norman George
Published: February 2004

We analyze how product differentiation influences firms' choice between exporting and foreign direct investment. When product specifications are determined endogenously, we show that there is no symmetric solution to the product specification subgame. The cost disadvantage of an exporting firm translates into a disadvantage in product specification. Overseas production is favored if this allows the investing firm to adopt a more aggressive product specification. Our analysis suggests an ambiguous relationship among location, product differentiation, and cost and demand functions, confirmed by the existence of a parameter range for which there is no pure strategy equilibrium in location choice.
Chemical fingerprinting of plants
Authors: DJINGOVA Rumyana , KULEFF Ivelin , MARKERT Bernd
Published: February 2004

The chemical fingerprinting of a plant demands the determination of a large number of elements at background level but also in polluted regions and in relation to other species. The most important stages of the development of plant fingerprints are mentioned in this paper and a short survey of the state of the art is presented. Examples on fingerprinting of lichens, mosses, Taraxacum officinale and Populus nigra‘Italica’ are presented.
Ecotope mapping for landscape ecological assessment of habitat and ecosystem
Authors: HONG Sun‐Kee , KIM Sungwoo , CHO Ki‐Hwan , KIM Jae‐Eun , KANG Sinkyu , LEE Dowon
Published: February 2004

An ecotope (spatial eco‐space) map that considers topography and bio‐organism‐relevant variables emerges as an important basic framework when landscape‐scale characteristics for ecosystem management and wildlife conservation are needed. A spatio‐geoecological framework based on geographic information systems (GIS) and a vegetation survey were developed for wildlife habitat evaluation of national parks and applied to a representative rugged valley area of Mt. Sorak National Park in Korea. An ecotope map was classified into hundreds of types and dozens of groups by combining biological and geophysical variables. Variables included: forest vegetation type, topographic solar radiation, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), elevation, and anthropogenic factors, such as, streams and roads. Layers of GIS variables were produced by field surveys, modeling, satellite images, or digitalization. Vegetation surveys were carried out to identify finer‐scale distribution of vegetation types in the rugged valley area. Digital forest vegetation maps from the Forestry Administrator were then modified using the field‐surveyed vegetation maps. Topographic solar radiation was predicted with a daily topographic radiation model. The NDVI was calculated from the satellite imagery of a Landsat Thematic Mapper. A digital elevation model (DEM) was used and the other layers were digitized using topographical maps with a scale of 1:25 000. The aim of this study is to determine the geoecological factors relating to the spatial pattern of plant community. It was cleared by the spatial pattern of environmental variables and vegetation characteristics by detrended correspondence analysis using plant species and the environmental variables of each plot. The ordination component value of the first axis shows significant regression to some environmental variables. A case study of habitat evaluation was carried out using the resultant ecotope map. The spatial distribution of potential goral habitat and vegetation characteristics were predicted and the impact of human trails on the neighboring vegetation was also examined for restoration planning. The GIS‐based framework developed for wildlife habitat evaluation is useful for natural resource management and human activity control in national parks in Korea.
Growth strategies of four salt marsh plants on Mankyung River estuary in Korea
Authors: LEE Jeom Sook , IHM Byung Sun
Published: February 2004

The emergence of seedlings, the length of roots and shoots, and the biomass of four dominant plant species and shore height were measured to investigate the growth strategy of these plants on the salt marsh of Mankyung River estuary. Four salt marsh plants showed a distinctive zonation, for example, Suaeda japonica was predominantly spread around the low salt marsh, Atriplex gmelini and Aster tripolium were in the middle, and S. asparagoides was in the upper part of the marsh. In terms of emergence of seedlings, S. japonica appeared first followed by A. gmelini, S. asparagoides, and A. tripolium. The growth strategies of halophytes were as follows: S. japonica germinated earlier than the other halophytes so that its root grew rapidly and extensively at the beginning of growth. This species adopted a continuous germination strategy, allowing growth whenever favorable conditions were provided. A. gmelini germinated later than S. japonica, as a quasi‐simultaneous germination type, it showed the highest germination rate within the shortest time. Aster tripolium germinated later than any other halophyte. Since this species exhibited characteristics between the continuous germination type and the quasi‐simultaneous germination type, it did not show a very high germination rate. Instead, it showed continuous germination and consistent growth of both above‐ground and underground parts. Suaeda asparagoides showed an especially high emergence rate at the beginning of its growth. However, the high density retarded its growth until the middle stage. Its roots extended longer than the other halophytes, allowing it to grow well in the dry conditions of the upper marsh.
Forest responses to the large‐scale east coast fires in Korea
Authors: CHOUNG Yeonsook , LEE Byung‐Chun , CHO Jae‐Hyoung , LEE Kyu‐Song , JANG In‐Soo , KIM Sun‐Hee , HONG Sun‐Kee , JUNG Hui‐Cheul , CHOUNG Heung‐Lak
Published: February 2004

The east coast forest fires of April 2000 were Korea's largest recorded fires. This, along with the fact that they took place in the region most frequently affected by fire, attracted a great deal of attention. Due to the variations in wind, topography and pre‐fire forest stands, a heterogeneous landscape mosaic of burn severity was created across the region. It turned out to be an excellent opportunity to study various landscape‐scale impacts of fires on forest dynamics. Therefore, we investigated stands in the 23 794 ha of burned forest region, in terms of burn severity, vegetation regeneration and forested landscape change as a measure of community stability. Using the geographic information system technique, we analyzed the differential severity and post‐fire recovery of pre‐fire forest types of different stand age both at stand and species level. Analysis showed that pre‐fire vegetation was composed of mainly pine (Pinus densiflora) stands that occupied 70% of the whole forested area, while pine‐hardwood and hardwood stands occupied only 28% and 3%, respectively. In addition, two‐thirds of all stands were less than 30‐years‐old. Pine stands were the most severely burned, while conversely pine‐hardwood and hardwood stands were less vulnerable. This implied that pine forests had fire‐prone characteristics. Vegetation recovery went the opposite way; that is, the regenerating vegetation cover was 71% at pre‐fire hardwood stands, and 65% and 53% at pine‐hardwood and pine stands, respectively. However, these recovery rates were strikingly fast, considering that investigation took place about 3 months after the fires. Fire did not initiate successional processes, but tended to accelerate the predicted successional changes by releasing pre‐fire understory species that survived the fires and regenerated by sprouting. The dominant pre‐fire tree species (P. densiflora) was susceptible to fire and not resilient enough to reestablish in competition with oak species. Contrary to pines, the abilities of oak species, mainly Quercus mongolica and Q. variabilis, to survive fires and to resprout vigorously made them dominant at most post‐fire stands. These shifts in species abundance caused drastic changes to the landscape: from pine‐dominated to oak‐dominated stands without any notable change in species composition. The patterns in forest regeneration that we observed in Korea may be representative of forest responses to any long‐term repeated disturbances, including fire.
Predicting impacts of Arctic climate change: Past lessons and future challenges
Authors: PHOENIX Gareth K. , LEE John A.
Published: February 2004

General circulation models predict increases in temperature and precipitation in the Arctic as the result of increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Arctic ecosystems are strongly constrained by temperature, and may be expected to be markedly influenced by climate change. Perturbation experiments have been used to predict how Arctic ecosystems will respond to global climatic change, but these have often simulated individual perturbations (e.g. temperature alone) and have largely been confined to the short Arctic summer. The importance of interactions between global change variables (e.g. CO2, temperature, precipitation) has rarely been examined, and much experimentation has been short‐term. Similarly, very little experimentation has occurred in the winter when General circulation models predict the largest changes in climate will take place. Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that Arctic ecosystems are not dormant during the winter and thus much greater emphasis on experimentation during this period is essential to improve our understanding of how these ecosystems will respond to global change. This, combined with more long‐term experimentation, direct observation of natural vegetation change (e.g. at the tundra/taiga boundary) and improvements in model predictions is necessary if we are to understand the future nature and extent of Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate.
Mechanisms inducing spatially extended synchrony in mast seeding: The role of pollen coupling and environmental fluctuation
Authors: IWASA Yoh , SATAKE Akiko
Published: February 2004

Trees in mature forests often show intermittent reproduction. Intensive flowering and seed production occur only once in several years (mast seeding), often synchronized over a long distance. Recently, coupled map models for the dynamics of individual energy reserves have been adopted to explain the phenomena. Even in a constant environment, the trees show a large between‐year fluctuation in seed crops and the reproduction can be synchronized over the whole forest if the fruit production is limited by the availability of outcross pollen (pollen coupling). The model with local coupling in which trees are coupled by pollen exchange only with the neighbors shows that a strong synchronization of tree reproduction can develop over the whole forest that may be orders of magnitude larger than the distance of direct pollen exchange between trees. However, their fluctuation is close to the period‐two oscillation, and is unable to explain observed intermittent reproduction of a longer interval between mast years. Finally the effect of common environmental fluctuation experienced by different individuals is studied, when the annual productivity and the reproductive threshold of trees fluctuate between years. In the absence of pollen limitation, environmental fluctuation correlated strongly between individuals (Moran effect) failed to produce a high positive correlation in seed production between individuals. If both pollen limitation and correlated environmental fluctuation are at work, a significantly large correlation was maintained. Hence, both pollen coupling and common environmental fluctuation are needed to explain synchronized reproduction with intervals longer than 2 years.
The eco‐field: A new paradigm for landscape ecology
Authors: FARINA Almo , BELGRANO Andrea
Published: February 2004

In the spirit of the theory of biocomplexity and of the non‐linear emergent characters of ecological systems, the eco‐field is a new paradigm that integrates the vision of the landscape as a neutral matrix (like a habitat) in which organisms are living, and contemporarily as a product of the human mind. Eco‐field is defined a ‘cognitive field’ created by the interference between functional traits and the ‘real world’. Species‐specific environmental suitability is the result of the quality of the different eco‐fields and the landscape becomes a cognitive entity. The eco‐field paradigm can be extended to the emergent properties of the systems. The eco‐field of emergences is the geographic space in which the emergent properties appear. The eco‐field of organisms and the eco‐field of emergences, like results of aggregated entities, have in common the multidimensionality of landscapes, refusing the vision of landscape like a neutral geographic matrix for organisms and processes.
Landscape ecology as a bridge from ecosystems to human ecology
Authors: HABER Wolfgang
Published: February 2004

‘Landscape’ as a subject of (terrestrial) ecology can be interpreted: first, as a piece of land composed of different ecosystems; and second, as a holistic entity of aesthetic perception derived from landscape paintings and parks of the 18th and 19th century. Such entities display a characteristic arrangement of ‘landscape elements’ regarded as a whole and taking them apart for specific investigation will break up and virtually destroy it (e.g. a symphony dissociated into single notes). Landscape as a holistic entity satisfies emotional human needs like identification with regions, and explains the attraction of tourists. ‘Entity features’ are land‐use and land cover combined with openness and a certain naturalness. A key question is whether you call a piece of the earth's surface just ‘land’ or ‘landscape’– and why. Such questions touch the interface between landscape ecology and human ecology. But human ecology must not dismiss landscape functions. The most beautiful landscape will be reduced to a mere picture if it does not also provide basic life‐support. Therefore, energy and matter flows and transformations between the ecosystems of a landscape have to be determined along with its climate, geomorphology (relief), soils, hydrology, species and ecosystem diversity. These different approaches, however, may never be combined into a unified whole. There is no ‘superscience’, and incidentally, its complexity would by far exceed human brain capacity. What we can achieve is bridge‐building by approximation of selected facts. A conscious spatial arrangement of diversified land‐use units (ecotopes) will promote (bio)diversity and may be perceived as an integral landscape pattern. A spatially and temporally differentiated energy input into land‐use units will result in a gradient of utilization intensity and allow more species to thrive, again enhancing both diversity and landscape beauty. Modern humans have deliberately chosen artificial surroundings to achieve complete environmental control, even in rural lifestyles. But as far as emotional needs are concerned, this artificiality seems to be neither human nor ecological. Something ‘natural’ is lacking, and landscape in its holistic sense can provide it – be it a landscaped open space in a city, a rural scene, a seashore or a mountain range. Maintaining and managing such ‘naturalness’ requires sound ecological knowledge – not as an aim in itself, but to provide a bridge for humans.
Characteristics and habitats of non‐native plant species in the city of Chonju, southern Korea
Authors: ZERBE Stefan , CHOI Il‐Ki , KOWARIK Ingo
Published: February 2004

Investigations on non‐native organisms have become an important task of modern ecology throughout the world. The major objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and habitats of non‐native plant species in Korean cities in order to derive conclusions on the success of biological invaders. The city of Chonju in southwest Korea was selected as a representative investigation area. All wild‐growing vascular plants were recorded in the city on a total of 106 sample plots located in representative land‐use types and within various distances of the city center. Frequency, origin, life forms, and plant families of non‐native species were analyzed. Additionally, the percentage of non‐native species along a gradient from the city center to the outskirts was investigated. We found that most common non‐native species of the flora of Chonju are: (i) native to the Northern hemisphere; (ii) belong to the annuals; (iii) belong to the plant families of theCompositaeorLeguminosae; and (iv) they perform best on sites that are continuously disturbed by human impact. In conclusion, non‐native species play a significant role in enhancing biological diversity in urban areas.
Biomass, production and nutrient distribution of a natural oak forest in central Korea
Authors: SON Yowhan , PARK In Hyeop , YI Myong Jong , JIN Hyun O , KIM Dong Yeob , KIM Rae Hyun , HWANG Jung Ok
Published: February 2004

Biomass, production, and nutrient distribution of a pure Quercus variabilis Bl. stand (stand 1) and two mixed Q. variabilis–Q. mongolica Fisch. stands (stand 2 and 3) were investigated in central Korea. Stand 1 naturally occurred on a site with a southern aspect while stand 2 and stand 3 occurred on sites with a northern aspect. Total (overstory + understory vegetation) biomass (t ha‐1) and annual production (t ha–1 year–1) were 137.8 and 11.1 for stand 1, 216.2 and 16.6 for stand 2, and 253.3 and 19.7 for stand 3. Nutrient contents (kg ha–1) in the vegetation were distributed as follows: K, 478–860; N, 471–839; Ca, 428–791; Mg, 72–125; Na, 77–141; and P, 37–71, and were greatest in stand 3 followed by stand 2, and stand 1. Stand density influenced the differences in biomass, annual production and nutrient contents in the vegetation. Forest floor dry mass and N content (kg ha–1) were 13 400 and 169 for stand 1, 10 400 and 133 for stand 2, and 11 200 and 127 for stand 3. Total amounts of N, P and Na in the ecosystem were greatest in the upper 40 cm of mineral soil followed by the vegetation and forest floor. However, the vegetation contained a greater amount of K than the mineral soil. It appeared that microenvironments, such as, aspect influenced the distribution of natural oak species within a relatively small area and resulted in differences in biomass, production and nutrient distribution among the stands.
Experimental studies of oxymatrine and its mechanisms of action in hepatitis B and C viral infections
Authors: Wu Xie Ning , Wang Guo Jin
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE:  Viral hepatitis B is a worldwide public health problem; in China, chronic hepatitis B patients account for 30–40 million people and chronic hepatitis C accounts for 16% of all chronic hepatitis patients. Interferon‐alpha (IFNα) is rather expensive and has many serious side‐effects, which makes practioners prudent in its use.

METHOD/RESULTS:  A multicenter study held in China showed that the negative seroconversion of HBV DNA by oxymatrine and IFNα‐1b was 42.3% and 40.7%, respectively, and that of HBeAg was 36.5% and 38.9%, respectively, after 3 months treatment with each in patients with chronic hepatitis.

CONCLUSIONS:  Oxymatrine has a similar efficacy to IFNα, but with no adverse effects apart from slight injection pain, and it is much less expensive.
Suspected white‐tail spider bite and necrotic ulcers
Authors: Isbister G. K. , Whyte I. M.
Published: February 2004

Abstract

Aim: To describe the clinical features, investigation, diagnosis and treatment of ulcers attributed to white‐tail (WT) spider bites or necrotic arachnidism.

Methods: The study was a prospective case series of patients referred to the Hunter Area Toxicology Service (a tertiary referral toxicology unit servicing a population of 500 000) with an ulcer or skin lesion that had been attributed to either a suspected WT spider bite or necrotic arachnidism. Eleven patients with skin lesions or necrotic ulcers were referred between January 2000 and June 2002.

Results: In two patients that were inpatients in other ­hospitals, investigation and follow up was not possible. In both cases there was no history of spider bite and Staphylococcus aureus was cultured. In nine patients, a diagnosis other than spider bite was made following appropriate investigation and follow up, including: (i) two cases of dermatophytoses, (ii) three staphylo­coccal infections, (iii) one case of pyoderma gangrenosum, (iv) one case of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, (v) one case of Nocardia braziliensis and (vi) one infected diabetic ulcer. There was only one case where the person recalled seeing a spider bite them, but the patient did not collect the spider for identification. The median time to diagnosis was 3 weeks (interquartile range: 3−9 weeks) and 3.5 years in one case. Appropriate treatment was initiated once the correct diagnosis was made and all cases resolved.

Conclusions:  In this series, all cases initially referred as WT spider bites or necrotic arachnidism were found to have alternative diagnoses with appropriate investig­ations. This demonstrates that spider bites are an unlikely cause of necrotic ulcers and that all ulcers should be properly investigated with bacterial, fungal and mycobacterial cultures and skin biopsy for histo­pathology. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 38−44)
Evidence‐based guide to slowing the progression of early renal insufficiency
Authors: Johnson D. W.
Published: February 2004

Abstract

Early renal insufficiency (ERI), defined as a calculated or measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) between 30 and 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2, is present in more than 10% of the adult Australian population. This pernicious condition is frequently unrecognised, progressive and accompanied by multiple associated comorbidities, including hypertension, renal osteodystrophy, anaemia, sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease, hyperparathyroidism and malnutrition. Several treatments have been suggested to retard GFR decline in ERI, including blood pressure reduction, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibition, angiotensin receptor antagonism, calcium channel blockade, cholesterol reduction, smoking cessation, erythropoietin therapy, dietary protein restriction, intensive glycaemic control and early intensive multidisciplinary patient education within a renal unit. In addition, specific interventions have been reported to be renoprotective in atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis, diabetic nephropathy, lupus nephritis and certain forms of primary glomerulonephritis. The present paper reviews the available published randomised controlled clinical trials and meta‐analyses supporting (or refuting) a role for each of these therapeutic manoeuvres. (Intern Med J; 34: 50–57)
Ongoing controversies in the pharmacological management of cancer pain
Authors: Glare P. , Aggarwal G. , Clark K.
Published: February 2004

Abstract:

Pain management remains a problem in advanced cancer. Despite the ready availability of effective analgesia and good evidence to support the prescription of medications, concerns continue over the safety of this practice. The aim of the present paper was to review often‐raised questions when considering the use of opioids, especially in cancer pain, to ascertain the levels of evidence that already exist to support opioid‐ prescribing practice and to identify areas where further research is needed. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 45–49)
Management Research Based on the Paradigm of the Design Sciences: The Quest for Field‐Tested and Grounded Technological Rules
Authors: Aken Joan E. van
Published: February 2004

ABSTRACT  Academic management research has a serious utilization problem. In this field mainstream research tends to be description‐driven, based on the paradigm of the ‘explanatory sciences’, like physics and sociology, and resulting in what may be called Organization Theory. This article argues that the relevance problem can be mitigated if such research were to be complemented with prescription‐driven research, based on the paradigm of the ‘design sciences’, like Medicine and Engineering, and resulting in what may be called Management Theory. The typical research products in Management Theory would be ‘field‐tested and grounded technological rules’. The nature of such rules is discussed as well as the research strategies producing them.
The Influence of a Structurationist View on Strategic Management Research*
Authors: Pozzebon Marlei
Published: February 2004

ABSTRACT  In this article, strategic management research using structuration theory from 1995 to 2000 is reviewed. I describe and analyse the theoretical articulations adopted to make sense of strategy using a structurationist view. I found that, instead of being applied as the sole theoretical foundation, Giddens’ propositions have been incorporated into other perspectives, the effects of which should be known by researchers looking for theoretical frameworks that avoid dichotomist thinking. The paper draws on the effects that structurationist arguments may produce regarding classical oppositions such as micro/macro and voluntarist/determinist. Its main contribution is to show how theoretical complementarities using structuration theory are promising avenues of research in the strategic management field. It also suggests that, although other alternatives of avoiding dichotomist logic exist, making a choice among them is more a question of ontological affinity than of making the ‘better choice’ among competing accounts. There are several routes to advance the understanding of the possibilities of human choice.
A Simple Matter of Control? NHS Hospital Nurses and New Management*
Authors: Bolton Sharon C.
Published: February 2004

ABSTRACT  Over the past two decades the National Health Hospital Service has been subjected to considerable changes in is organization. ‘New’ public sector management (NPM) has been given the task of changing hospital culture and making service provision more efficient. Nurses, as the largest occupational group within the National Health Service (NHS), have attracted considerable management attention and there are two distinct accounts concerning how NPM has supposedly gained control of the nursing labour process. Firstly, it is proposed that the physical division of labour of health care professionals is now firmly in the hands of hospital management through the use of Tayloristic techniques. Secondly, alternative accounts suggest that public sector organization cultures have been successfully orientated toward a customer service ethos, and that the convincing discourse of ‘quality’ is achieving some success as a normative control device.

This paper investigates the responses of nurses to NPM, whichever form this may take, and presents data collected as part of a longitudinal study carried out in an NHS Trust hospital. It charts the changes which have occurred in the nursing labour process over a six year period, but especially draws upon more recent data to show how nurses, over a period of time, develop their own ways of reinterpreting management's desires. It argues that management is more likely to continue to rely on nurses’ traditional autonomy in the delivery of health care in recognition that nurses may resist some but accommodate many of the demands made of them.
Metaphor and Thinking in Science and Religion
Authors: Gerhart Mary , Russell Allan Melvin
Published: February 2004

Excerpts from Chapters 1 and 3 of New Maps for Old: Explorations in Science and Religion (Gerhart and Russell 2001) explore the ramifications of metaphoric process for changes in thinking, especially those changes that lead to a new understanding of our world. Examples are provided from science, from religion, and from science and religion together. In excerpts from Chapter 8, a double analogy—theology is to science as science is to mathematics—is proposed for better understanding the contemporary relationship between science and religion. A conservation of epistemological sufficiency is disclosed as one moves from mathematics to empirical science to theology—a move from one discipline to another that involves a sacrifice of one aspect of thought to gain another.
Reframing the Fields
Authors: Masson Robert
Published: February 2004

The conception of metaphoric process elaborated by Mary Gerhart and Allan Russell illuminates a key mechanism often involved in the most significant advances in science and religion. Attention to this conceptual device provides a productive way to reframe the relationships and dialogues between the fields. The theory has compelling implications for reframing the understanding of theology and its task.
Changing Worldviews: Responding to Betty Birner and Robert Masson
Authors: Gerhart Mary , Russell Allan Melvin
Published: February 2004

Worldviews are changed by higher viewpoints that can develop by metaphoric process, the equating of two formerly disparate known concepts. The equating results in a distortion—a tectonic reformation—of the associated fields of meanings that effects a rearrangement of associated concepts leading to new cognitive relations. We comment on reviews of our books Metaphoric Process (1984) and New Maps for Old (2001) by Robert Masson and Betty Birner. Metaphoric process may further understanding of the formation of diverse worldviews and their reconciliation.
Love—A Higher Form of Human Energy in the Work of Teilhard de Chardin and Sorokin
Authors: King Ursula
Published: February 2004

Contemporary debates concerning a universal theory about the praxis of love in human society and culture can benefit greatly from the works of two twentieth‐century thinkers, the French paleontologist and religious writer Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the Russian‐American sociologist Pitirim A. Sorokin. Although from very different personal and disciplinary backgrounds, they share amazingly similar views on the power of love as transformative energy for transcending the individual self and for creating radically new, collaborative, and cooperative ways of acting that will transform whole societies, indeed the planet. Traditionally, ideas of love have been associated with religion, but these two thinkers advocate systematic scientific research on the production and application of “love‐energy” for the change of culture, social institutions, and human beings. The article is organized in five parts: (1) altruism, science and love: what is love energy? (2) Teilhard's understanding of the phenomenon of love; (3) Sorokin's approach to creative, altruistic love; (4) comparison of Teilhard's and Sorokin's ideas; and (5) performing works of love. As far as I am aware, this is the first article comparing the remarkable parallels as well as distinctive differences between Sorokin's and Teilhard's ideas on love as the highest form of human energy.
Continuity, Naturalism, and Contingency: A Theology of Evolution Drawing on the Semiotics of C. S. Peirce and Trinitarian Thought
Authors: Robinson Andrew J.
Published: February 2004

The starting point for this article is the question of the relationship between Darwinism and Christian theology. I suggest that evolutionary theory presents three broad issues of relevance to theology: the phenomena ofcontinuity, naturalism, andcontingency. In order to formulate a theological response to these issues I draw on the semiotics (theory of signs) and cosmology of the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. Peirce developed a triadic theory of signs, underpinned by a threefold system of metaphysical categories. I propose a semiotic model of the Trinity based on Peirce's semiotics and categories. According to this model the sign‐processes (such as the genetic “code”) that are fundamental to life may be understood as vestiges of the Trinity in creation. I use the semiotic model to develop a theology of nature that addresses the issues raised by evolutionary theory. The semiotic model amounts to a proposal for a new metaphysical framework within which to understand the relationship between God and creation and between theology and science.
Evolution, Ethics, and Equivocation: T. H. Huxley's Conflicted Legacy
Authors: Goslee David
Published: February 2004

Recent debates over evolutionary ethics have often circled around T. H. Huxley's late claim that “Social progress means a checking of the cosmic process at every step.” In writing “Evolution and Ethics” and its long Prolegomena, however, Huxley may instead be wrestling with the nature and origin of human agency. Early in his career he saw evolution and social progress as converging, but as he came to find cosmic process alien to human welfare, he found moral agency more essential but more problematic. Within “Evolution and Ethics,” evolution retreats into a cyclical stasis while ethical challenges end up submitting to it. Huxley implies, however, that in acknowledging these cycles as “natural,” ancient sages begged the question of whether resistance to them were possible. And when evolutionary ethicists delimit humanity's potential by its simian origins, Huxley invokes Hume's “naturalistic fallacy,” asking them how factual evidence can support their prescriptive conclusions. Both his naturalist and idealist reviewers then drove him to turn his Prolegomena into a rebuttal to the original essay. Here, advocating a balance between altruism and selfishness, Huxley works to relegate agency to a question of degree. In both essays, Huxley's epigrammatic prose demarcates the dead ends of much Victorian thought and points toward alternate paths not explored until the twentieth century.
Emergent Monism and the Classical Doctrine of the Soul
Authors: S.J. Bracken Joseph A.
Published: February 2004

Traditional Christian belief in the existence of human life after death within a transformed material universe should be capable of rational justification if one chooses carefully the philosophical scheme underlying those claims. One should not have to appeal simply to the power of a loving God to justify one's beliefs. A revision of Whitehead's metaphysical scheme is proposed that allows one to render these classical Christian beliefs at least plausible to a broad range of contemporary thinkers as a consequence of a cosmology based on the principle of universal intersubjectivity and the need for a common ground between opposing subjectivities.
Intelligent‐Design Theory: An Argument for Biotic Laws
Authors: Zylstra Uko
Published: February 2004

A central thesis of intelligent‐design theorists is that physical and chemical laws and chance are insufficient to account for irreducibly complex biological structures and that intelligent design is necessary to account for such phenomena. This assertion, however, still implies a reductionist ontology. We need to recognize that reality displays multiple modes of being beyond simply chemical and physical modes of being, each of which is governed by laws for that mode of being. This essay argues for an alternate framework for understanding life phenomena that is neither philosophical materialism nor intelligent‐design theory.
Embodied and Embedded Morality: Divinity, Identity, and Disgust
Authors: Looy Heather
Published: February 2004

Our understanding of human morality would benefit from an integrated interdisciplinary approach, built on the assumption that human beings are multidimensional unities with real, irreducible, and mutually interdependent spiritual, relational, emotional, rational, and physiological aspects. We could integrate relevant information from neurobiological, psychosocial, and theological perspectives, avoiding unnecessary reductionism and naturalism. This approach is modeled by addressing the particular limited role of disgust in morality. Psychosocial research reveals disgust as a universal emotion that enables evaluation and regulation of certain moral behaviors and is involved in cultural identity. Theologically, many religious traditions, including the Judeo‐Christian, use disgust in conjunction with moral codes designed to preserve purity and communal identity as the people of God. The concept of natural moral law suggests that morality is embodied in human nature. Neurobiology is beginning to trace the neural circuitry involved in disgust and in moral evaluation, suggesting that emotions are a necessary basis for moral judgment and revealing intriguing relationships between disgust, morality, and other aspects of the psyche. Several problems that arise within these disciplines and at their intersections are identified. Extension of the model to other aspects of human morality would further illuminate our understanding of morality without sacrificing its complexity and richness.
The Geography of Homelessness in American Communities: Concentration or Dispersion?
Authors: Lee Barrett A. , Price‐Spratlen Townsand
Published: February 2004

Few recent studies of homelessness have focused on the distribution of the phenomenon across different types of community contexts. Nevertheless, claims are often made about the decline of urban skid rows and the increasing spatial ubiquity of the homeless population. Motivated by these claims, our research analyzes 1990 Census S‐night data at multiple geographic levels to determine whether homeless people remain locationally concentrated or have become more dispersed in the contemporary United States. Data from the 2000 Census, though limited in scope, are briefly examined as well. We find that the “visible” homeless are overrepresented in metropolitan and urban portions of the nation, in central cities of metropolitan areas, and in a minority of neighborhoods within these areas. Such an uneven distribution, which favors the concentration over the dispersion perspective, often takes a polynucleated form in large cities. Forces shaping the geography of homelessness are discussed, as are the policy implications and methodological caveats associated with our results.
Globalization and the Paradoxes of Place: Poverty and Power in Memphis
Authors: Rushing Wanda
Published: February 2004

At present, globalization research on complex technological and financial processes takes priority over studies of place and locality. A few cities, namely those described as “Global Cities,” receive special attention as centers of “command and control.” But most studies overlook less “essential” places and ignore the impact of local places on globalization processes. This research explains how tensions between global processes and local practices create paradoxes of place and confound predictions that globalization processes create “generic” outcomes. It focuses on Memphis, Tennessee, a less well‐known and underresearched Southern “regional” city that serves the region and the nation as a vital link in the global economy and a site of cultural innovation.
Pulpectomy – studies on outcome
Authors: GESI ANDREA , BERGENHOLTZ GUNNAR
Published: February 2004

This review is about treatment measures, which may impact outcome of the pulpectomy procedure in endodontic therapy. Clinical trials, conducted over the years, formed the basis for the analysis. While hardly any of the studies reviewed satisfied modern high demands on a controlled desing, reports infer that pulpectomy may be carried out at a very high success provided wound infection is prevented. Under this proviso the management and the level of the apical wound as well as the number of appointments to complete the treatment do not seem to play decisive roles. No scientific basis exists in the literature to support the notion that apical foramen should be pierced and root canals be overfilled for a successful outcome.
Pulp response to traumatic crown fractures
Authors: OLSBURGH STEVEN , KREJCI IVO
Published: February 2004

Amongst all dental traumas in the permanent dentition, crown fractures account for the largest majority. This review paper will discuss the different levels of fracture, from the most superficial ones only affecting the enamel to the deepest ones with pulp exposure, including crown–root fractures. It will focus on the pulp by evaluating the pulp response to trauma and to the subsequent treatment. An attempt to correlate epidemiological, experimental, histopathological, and clinical studies will be made, so that the clinician can better understand the underlying processes which evolve towards pulp healing or pulp necrosis, thus success or failure. If handled properly, prognosis of the pulp following a traumatic crown fracture is good. In the permanent dentition, success rate ranges between 72% and 100%, the highest success rate corresponding to superficial fractures and the lowest success rate to fractures with pulp exposure.
Current restorative concepts of pulp protection
Authors: RITTER ANDRÉ V. , SWIFT EDWARD J.
Published: February 2004

The goals of restorative therapy are not only to restore the tooth to proper form and function, but also to minimize postoperative sensitivity and preserve pulp vitality. Today, thanks to the evolution of adhesive materials and techniques, more conservative tooth preparations are possible. Conservative preparations preserve tooth structure, and adhesive restorations seal the dentin–pulp complex to minimize microleakage and postoperative sensitivity, providing appropriate conditions for the maintenance of pulp vitality. Many pulp protection strategies are currently available, and the choice of treatment is based on the severity of the defect being restored, and the type of restoration being placed. This paper reviews current restorative concepts of pulp protection, with emphasis on a new approach based on total adhesion of restorations to conservative preparations.
Pulpal irritants
Authors: LEVIN LINDA G.
Published: February 2004

The dental pulp is characterized as a connective tissue and as such it is not considered an external tissue, yet its exposure to external stimuli is constant. This is due to a number of factors including the permeability of attrited or disrupted enamel as well as that of physiologic dentin and cementum. The pulp is extraordinarily sensitive to its external environment. Once thought to be a vestigial organ, it is now understood that the dental pulp is an important tissue whose role in the defense of the dentition may be as significant as its role in odontogenesis.