bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exposure to contact and the geographical adoption of standard
features: Two complementary approaches
Authors: Hernández-Campoy J.M.
Published: April 2003

The region of Murcia has historically been
a transition area of southeastern Spain where many different
cultures and civilizations have met, and the Spanish spoken
in Murcia is a transitional variety sharing features with Valencian
Catalan, Castilian, Aragonese, and Andalusian Spanish. Murcia
is traditionally characterized as an eminently nonstandard-speaking
region. The aim of this study is to analyze the possible
relationship between the geolinguistic patterns of diffusion
of standard Castilian Spanish over the Murcian territory and
the increasing use of standard forms in this traditionally
nonstandard area. For this purpose, the adoption of Castilian
Spanish features by Murcian speakers is correlated with interaction
and exposure to innovations. The real presence or absence of
some degree of standardization as well as its intraregional
variation indicates whether the detected geographical patterns
of linguistic uniformity apply to Murcia.
Can we change our vantage point to explore imaginal neglect?
Authors: Bartolomeo Paolo , Chokron Sylvie
Published: April 2003

Right brain-damaged patients with unilateral neglect, who ignore left-sided visual events, may also omit left-sided details when describing known places from memory. Modulating the orienting of visual attention may ameliorate imaginal neglect. A first step toward explaining these phenomena might be to postulate that space-related imagery is a cognitive activity involving attentional and intentional aspects.
Rationality and illusion
Authors: Baron Jonathan
Published: April 2003

Commitment to a pattern of altruism or self-control may indeed be learnable and sometimes rational. Commitment may also result from illusions. In one illusion, people think that their present behavior causes their future behavior, or causes the behavior of others, when really only correlation is present. Another happy illusion is that morality and self-interest coincide, so that altruism appears self-interested.
The need for proximal mechanisms to understand individual differences in altruism
Authors: Carlo Gustavo , Bevins Rick A.
Published: April 2003

There are three concerns regarding Rachlin's altruism model. First, proximal causal mechanisms such as those identified by cognitive neuroscientists and behavioral neuropharmacologists are not emphasized. Second, there is a lack of clear testable hypotheses. And third, extreme forms of altruism are emphasized rather than common forms. We focus on an overarching theme – proximal mechanisms of individual differences in altruism.
Reinforcement stretched beyond its limit
Authors: Hinde Robert A.
Published: April 2003

The concept of “intrinsic reinforcement” stretches the use of “reinforcement” beyond where it is valuable. The concept of the “self-system,” though fuzzy at the edges, can cover experience as well as the behaviour of altruistic acts.
An economist's perspective on altruism and selfishness
Authors: Levine David K.
Published: April 2003

Few disagree that altruism exists. The frequency and source of altruistic behavior remain mysterious, however.
Altruism and Darwinian rationality
Authors: Margolis Howard
Published: April 2003

Rachlin adds to the already long list of proposals for reducing what might be seen as social motivation to some roundabout form of self-interest. But his argument exhibits the usual limitations, and prompts questions about what drives this apparently unending quest.
What is an altruistic action?
Authors: Perugini Marco
Published: April 2003

Rachlin's argument rests on his definition of an altruistic action. Three main features characterize this definition: An altruistic act (1) always has a negative value, (2) is a subset of self-controlled actions, and (3) is meaningful only in the context of repeated interactions. All three features are highly questionable.
Mental imagery in memory psychophysics
Authors: Petrusic William M. , Baranski Joseph V.
Published: April 2003

Imagery has played an important, albeit controversial, role in the study of memory psychophysics. In this commentary we critically examine the available data bearing on whether pictorial based depictions of remembered perceptual events are activated and scanned in each of a number of different psychophysical tasks.
A potentially testable mechanism to account for altruistic behavior
Authors: Zentall Thomas R.
Published: April 2003

It is assumed that self-control always has a higher value. What if it does not? Furthermore, although there are clearly intrinsic reinforcers, their measurement is problematic, especially for a behavioral analyst. Finally, is it more parsimonious to postulate that these behaviors are acquired rather than genetically based?
From reinforcement of acts to reinforcement of social preferences
Authors: Zizzo Daniel John
Published: April 2003

Rachlin rightly highlights behavioural reinforcement, conditional cooperation, and framing. However, genes may explain part of the variance in altruistic behaviour. Framing cannot be used to support his theory of altruism. Reinforcement of acts is not identical to reinforcement of patterns of acts. Further, many patterns of acts could be reinforced, and Rachlin's altruism is not the most likely candidate.
THE IDOL OF HISTORY
Authors: Ceaser James W.
Published: April 2003

“The idol of communism, which spread social strife, enmity
and unparalleled brutality everywhere, which instilled fear in humanity,
has collapsed.” These words, spoken by Russian president Boris
Yeltsin before a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 1992, brought
a tumultuous response from America's political leaders.
The evocation of the theme of idolatry by a former member of
the Communist Party was striking, all the more so because it
must have called to his listeners' minds the dramatic scenes of
the destruction of the statues of Lenin then taking place throughout
the Communist world. Nothing of the kind had been seen since the end of
the Pagan era, when temples of the old gods were toppled throughout
the Roman Empire. The events that historian Edward Gibbon, in
his classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
described as happening in Alexandria in A.D. 389 might just as
well have applied to what was happening in Minsk or Tirana:
“The huge idol [of Serapis] was overthrown
and broken into pieces, [its] limbs ignominiously
pulled through the streets.
Symposium on explanations and social ontology 2: explanatory ecumenism and economics imperialism
Authors: Mäki Uskali
Published: April 2003

In a series of insightful publications, Philip Pettit and Frank Jackson have argued for an explanatory ecumenism that is designed to justify a variety of types of social scientific explanation of different “grains”, including structural and rational choice explanations. Their arguments are put in terms of different kinds of explanatory information; the distinction between causal efficacy, causal relevance and explanatory relevance within their program model of explanation; and virtual reality and resilience explanation. The arguments are here assessed from the point of view of the illumination they are able to cast on the issue of economics imperialism, the project of privileging rational choice as a unifying basis for explanations. While the Jackson–Pettit arguments turn out to be helpful in specifying some of the ontological and pragmatic constraints on economics imperialism, they are also shown to conflate distinct dimensions in the purported explanantia (such as small grain and particular grain, and the macro and the existentially quantified) and thereby to miss an important class of individualist causal process explanations of social phenomena.
Why did the economist cross the road? The hierarchical logic of ethical and economic reasoning
Authors: Yuengert Andrew
Published: April 2003

The debate over whether or not economics is value-free has focused on the fact-value distinction: “is” does not imply “ought.” This paper approaches the role of ethics in economics from a Thomistic perspective, focusing not on the content of economic analysis, but on the actions taken by economic researchers. Positive economics, when it satisfies Aristotle's definition of technique, enjoys a certain autonomy from ethics, an autonomy limited by a technique's dependence for guidance and justification on ethical reflection. The modern isolation of technique from ultimate ends entails the risk of mistaking the proximate ends of economics for ultimate ends, especially when applying economic methods in new ways or to new social phenomena.
TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF IMMIGRATION BIRTH–DEATH PROCESSES
WITH TOTAL CATASTROPHES
Authors: Chao Xiuli , Zheng Yuxi
Published: April 2003

Very few stochastic systems are known to have closed-form
transient solutions. In this article we consider an immigration
birth and death population process with total catastrophes and
study its transient as well as equilibrium behavior. We obtain
closed-form solutions for the equilibrium distribution as well
as the closed-form transient probability distribution at any
time t ≥ 0. Our approach involves solving ordinary
and partial differential equations, and the method of characteristics
is used in solving partial differential equations.
AN AGING CONCEPT BASED ON MAJORIZATION
Authors: Fernández-Ponce J.M. , Suárez-Llorens A.
Published: April 2003

In this article, we introduce a new dispersion order weaker
than the classic dispersion order discussed by Lewis and Thompson
(1981). We study the equivalence of this order with the
majorization order under the assumption of unimodality. Finally,
we use this equivalence to characterize the IFR aging notion
for unimodal distributions by means of the notion of decreasing
in randomness.
MARTINGALE METHOD FOR RUIN PROBABILITY IN AN AUTOREGRESSIVE
MODEL WITH CONSTANT INTEREST RATE
Authors: Yang Hailiang , Zhang Lihong
Published: April 2003

In this article, we consider a discrete-time insurance risk
model. An autoregressive model is used to model both the claim
process and the premium process. The probability of ruin is
examined in a model with a constant interest rate. Both exponential
and nonexponential upper bounds are obtained for the ruin
probability of an infinite time horizon.
FuzzySTAR: Fuzzy set theory of axiomatic design review
Authors: HUANG GEORGE Q. , JIANG ZUHUA
Published: April 2003

Product development involves multiple phases. Design review
(DR) is an essential activity formally conducted to ensure a
smooth transition from one phase to another. Such a formal DR
is usually a multicriteria decision problem, involving multiple
disciplines. This paper proposes a systematic framework for
DR using fuzzy set theory. This fuzzy approach to DR is considered
particularly relevant for several reasons. First, information
available at early design phases is often incomplete and imprecise.
Second, the relationships between the product design parameters
and the review criteria cannot usually be exactly expressed
by mathematical functions due to the enormous complexity. Third,
DR is frequently carried out using subjective expert judgments
with some degree of uncertainty. The DR is defined as the reverse
mapping between the design parameter domain and design requirement
(review criterion) domain, as compared with Suh's theory
of axiomatic design. Fuzzy sets are extensively introduced in
the definitions of the domains and the mapping process to deal
with imprecision, uncertainty, and incompleteness. A simple
case study is used to demonstrate the resulting fuzzy set theory
of axiomatic DR.
PRECLASSIC THROUGH POSTCLASSIC
Authors: Kosakowsky Laura J. , Belli Francisco Estrada , Pettitt Paul
Published: April 2003

Ceramic and radiometric data from the three seasons
of survey and excavations, 1995–1997, conducted in
the coastal districts of Santa Rosa and Jutiapa in southeastern
Guatemala are used to construct a chronological sequence
for this previously little-known 1000-km2 region.
Patterns of local ceramic manufacture and interregional
trade are identified through the use of type-variety classification
methods coupled with neutron-activation analysis. The resulting
3000-year-long uninterrupted chronological sequence, beginning
in the Early Preclassic, shows patterns of continuity in
manufacturing techniques, as well as evolving styles and
shifting networks of interregional interactions that span
much of the Pacific Coast and the highlands and lowlands
of southeastern Mesoamerica, from the Gulf of Mexico to
Copan, Honduras. These interactions indicate the southeastern
Pacific Coast participated in exchange systems that brought
together different ethnic groups whose cultural manifestations
included Maya ceramics in the Preclassic and Classic periods,
and ceramic, architectural, and sculptural evidence suggesting
the southeastern Pacific Coast was actively involved in
the Cotzumalguapa Nuclear Zone that stretched to the west
into Escuintla and to the east into Pacific El Salvador
during the Classic period.
REPLY TO PETER SCHAAF AND GÜNTHER A. WAGNER'S
“COMMENTS ON ‘MESOAMERICAN EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN
TRANSOCEANIC CONTACTS’ ”
Authors: Hristov Romeo H. , Genovés T. Santiago
Published: April 2003

In the present “Reply …” we discuss a
correction of the thermoluminescence (TL) age limits of an
apparently Roman terracotta head found in Mexico (Hristov and
Genovés 1999), as well two recent objections to the
reliability of the find: (1) that the artifact may have been
imported to the New World after A.D. 1492; and (2) that the head
was “planted” at the archaeological site during the
excavation. The corrected TL age limits oscillate from 2870 B.P. to
730 B.P. (cal. 875 B.C.–A.D. 1265), which excludes the possibility
of Colonial manufacture of the artifact and makes the hypothesis
of its Roman origin and importation into Mesoamerica applicable.
However, an examination of the political and economic relationships
between the Aztecs and the Matlatzincas, as well as the
circumstances of the discovery, make highly unlikely the suggestion
of post-Columbian importation of the artifact into Mesoamerica
(and especially into the Central Mexican Highlands), and of
the “planting” of the figurine at the archaeological
site. Finally, we summarize some recent finds of Berber,
Phoenician, Egyptian, and Roman objects and inscriptions in
the Canary archipelago that strongly support the possibility
of a few sporadic, perhaps accidental, transatlantic voyages
from the Mediterranean to Mesoamerica in antiquity.
COMMENTS ON “MESOAMERICAN EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN
TRANSOCEANIC CONTACTS” BY HRISTOV AND GENOVÉS,
IN ANCIENT MESOAMERICA 10:207–213, 1999
Authors: Schaaf Peter , Wagner Günther A.
Published: April 2003

In the paper by Hristov and Genovés (1999), the main
supporting argument for their hypothesis of pre-Columbian
transoceanic contacts is a thermoluminescence (TL) age of 1780
± 400 b.p. obtained for a small terracotta head
found in central Mexico. This age value and the reference cited
are not correct. In this contribution, we clarify the context
and give for the first time our final results of the TL age
analysis of the figurine. Due to methodological problems, we
were not able to perform a traditional TL age determination.
It was, however, possible to calculate an age range from
A.D. 1270 to 870 B.C. for the small head, corresponding to
firing in antiquity. This resulting age probably rules out a
Colonial manufacturing date, but because of its low accuracy,
it certainly cannot be used as an argument in the debate over
the head's origin, or even as central evidence for
pre-Columbian transoceanic contacts.
PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE OF OBSIDIAN TOOLS IN LATE AZTEC CITY-STATES
Authors: Parry William J.
Published: April 2003

Obsidian was an important commodity in the Aztec empire. The
obsidian industries from several Late Aztec sites in the
northeastern Basin of Mexico are briefly summarized. These sites
represent both urban centers and their rural dependencies. Site
TA-80, the urban center of the Otumba city-state, contained
numerous surface concentrations of obsidian debris, representing
refuse from workshops where obsidian tools were produced or
consumed. Seven of these concentrations represent debris from
specialized production of large quantities of prismatic blades.
Others represent workshops where blades were consumed in
substantial numbers in the process of producing some other
commodity. Households at rural sites in the Otumba city-state
did not produce blades but probably obtained them through exchange
from the specialized producers at TA-80. However, some rural
sites did contain evidence of specialized quarrying, preparation
of macrocores, and production of bifacial tools, apparently
for export to urban centers. Similar evidence is found in the
Tepeapulco city-state, which also had evidence of specialized
production of prismatic blades in the urban center and of
consumption of blades by both specialized producers of other
commodities and in domestic contexts, in the urban center and
at rural sites. Some rural sites in the Tepeapulco city-state,
as in Otumba, also had evidence of specialized production of
bifaces and macrocores. In both city-states, obsidian was extracted
from local sources and shaped into macrocores and bifaces, which
were then exported to the city-state center and to more distant
locations beyond the boundaries of the city-state. Within the
urban centers of each city-state, macrocores were reduced to
prismatic blades. Large quantities of blades were produced by
craft specialists, working at a few restricted locations within
the city-state centers. The finished blades were then distributed
to consuming households within the urban center of the city-state,
as well as to rural dependencies and to more distant consumers
beyond the boundaries of the city-state.
INTRODUCTION
Authors: Fowler William R.
Published: April 2003

This issue's special section presents a series of
papers focusing on recent research on ancient Maya causeways,
or sacbeob (“white roads”—a reference
to their gleaming, plastered surfaces). Often relegated to the
status of “minor architectural features,” even a
casual perusal of the literature quickly convinces one that
sacbeob were a major feature of the ancient Maya
landscape. Throughout the Maya lowlands from at least the Late
Preclassic onward, these elevated roads facilitated internal
and external transportation within and between Maya centers
for a combination of economic, political, social, and ritual
purposes. Constructed as an organic element of the built
environment, road systems grew in size and expanded in complexity
as the Maya centers themselves did (Andrews 1975:89, 323, 428).
THE AJ K'UHUN TITLE
Authors: Jackson Sarah , Stuart David
Published: April 2003

The God C title, found in numerous hieroglyphic texts, refers
to junior members of the royal court and is therefore crucial
to our understanding of Classic Maya political structure. Over
the past two decades, the amount of epigraphic work on the God
C title has been significant. A consensus on its reading and
meaning, however, has yet to be reached. In this article, we
build on earlier research to suggest new ideas for reading this
glyph, based on semantic and grammatical re-evaluations of the
title. Our proposed readings are Ajk'uhulhun,
which might be read as “he of the holy paper”
(expanding on previous interpretations), or, alternatively,
Ajk'uhun, “one who obeys, venerates”
or “one who keeps,” based on a grammatical
reassessment. In addition, we suggest a new understanding of
the aj- and ix- agentive prefixes, traditionally
understood as masculine and feminine markers, respectively.
We examine these possible readings in archaeological and
iconographic context, using subsidiary nobles of ancient Copan
as a case study. Through our discussion we aim to illuminate
the meaning and significance of the God C title, and in doing
so to highlight the evolution of the methodologies employed
in Maya hieroglyphic decipherment over the past two decades.
A MAYA CARVED SHELL PLAQUE FROM TULA, HIDALGO,
MEXICO
Authors: McVicker Donald , Palka Joel W.
Published: April 2003

In the early 1880s, a finely carved Maya shell picture plaque
was found at the Toltec capital of Tula, central Mexico, and
was subsequently acquired by The Field Museum in Chicago. The
shell was probably re-carved in the Terminal Classic period
and depicts a seated lord with associated Maya hieroglyphs on
the front and back. Here the iconography and glyphic text of
this unique artifact are examined, the species and habitat of
the shell are described, and its archaeological and social context
are interpreted. The Tula plaque is then compared with Maya
carved jade picture plaques of similar size and design that
were widely distributed throughout Mesoamerica, but were later
concentrated in the sacred cenote at Chichen Itza. It is concluded
that during the Late Classic period, these plaques played an
important role in establishing contact between Maya lords and
their counterparts representing peripheral and non-Maya domains.
The picture plaques may have been elite Maya gifts establishing
royal alliances with non-local polities and may have become
prestige objects used in caches and termination rituals.
THE LATE AND TERMINAL CLASSIC-PERIOD CAUSEWAY SYSTEMS OF
CHICHEN ITZA, YUCATAN, MEXICO
Authors: Cobos Rafael , Winemiller Terance L.
Published: April 2003

In this paper, we present the results of our recent research
on the ancient causeways at the site of Chichen Itza, Yucatan.
We first discuss some of the field methods we employed to map
and facilitate the discovery of previously unrecorded causeways
at the site. We also consider the spatial patterning and chronology
of the Late and Terminal Classic periods causeway system at
Chichen Itza and make inferences about the functional significance
of linked terminal groups and the site-core. The Chichen Itza
causeway systems reveals two important moments of Chichen Itza
internal structure. During the Late Classic period, Chichen
Itza was a socially homogeneous community organized by a loose
and decentralized government. During the Terminal Classic period,
the causeway system mirrors a centrally governed hierarchically
organized community.
Introduction
Authors: Fowler William R. , Morgan Molly
Published: April 2003

In this issue's Special Section we offer the second part
of a group of studies dealing with the impact of climate change
on ancient Maya civilization. As mentioned in the Introduction
to the first part (Fowler 2002), Mayanists have been aware of
the possible effects of climatic factors on Maya culture since
the early decades of last century. At first, comments on the
effects of climate change in the Maya area were largely
speculative. By the 1980s such work became increasingly compelling
and sophisticated, including correlations of worldwide glacial,
palynological, and other climatological data, as reflected in
several publications (Dahlin 1983; Folan et al. 1983; Gunn and
Adams 1981). Soon after, Lewis Messenger provided a broad global
correlation with specific reference to archaeological sequences
in Mesoamerica and the Maya area (Messenger 1990). Perhaps it
would be fair to say that Maya paleoclimatological studies may
have peaked with the massive work of Richardson Gill (2000),
which has attracted much critical attention. David Webster
(2002:241–247), for example, praises the book for its
directness and clarity of purpose but expresses skepticism about
the climatological bias and stresses that much more research
is needed.
ASTRONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN THE AZTEC EXPRESSION OF HISTORY
Authors: Aveni Anthony F. , Calnek Edward E.
Published: April 2003

In this paper, we present a complete list of eclipses
documented in the Mexica manuscripts. We use this list
together with information in the chronicles to outline
a possible method used by Mexica chronologists for linking
historical with retrodictable cosmic events that were deliberately
chosen to fit historical circumstances. Solar events, particularly
eclipses, figure prominently in a scheme that stresses
the recurrence of like-in-kind events positioned at multiples
of the Xiuhmolpilli (52-year) cycle. Thus, both the foundation
of the empire and calendrical adjustments related to the
fictional chronology of World Ages are connected to eclipses
that were visible at Tenochtitlan and that fell either
at the solstices or the equinoxes.
SACRIFICE AT THE MAIZE TREE
Authors: van Akkeren Ruud
Published: April 2003

In pre-Columbian times the famous dance drama,
known as the Rab'inal Achi, but whose indigenous
name is Xajoj Tun, ended in a human sacrifice.
A comparative study of the native documents shows that
the victim, an important prisoner of war, died by being
shot with arrows. The tun dance was part of a
larger festival, which served propagandistic aims. The
ritual of the arrow sacrifice highlighted crucial political
moments, for example, when new lords were installed, titles
were handed out, or glorious battles that led to the power
and hegemony of one or more ruling lineages were commemorated.
In the case of the Rab'inal Achi, it is the
heroic past of the Toj lineage, rulers in Late Postclassic
Rab'inal, that proves to be the main subject. Interestingly,
when focusing on the language used to describe the arrow
sacrifice, we see that the victim, who was tied to a scaffold,
a stake, or a column, was considered game, and the archers
as hunters. The stake had a symbolic meaning, as well.
It represented a tree of life, a tree we have come to know
as the World Tree growing in the center of the earth and
holding up the sky. In the Rab'inal Achi,
that tree, the place where the Warrior of K'iche'
is shot, is named the Maize Tree, the same fictitious tree
that is depicted on the Tablet of the Foliated Cross of
Palenque.
Estimating change in the geographical range and population size of Hinde's Babbler Turdoides hindei
Authors: Shaw Philip , Musina John , Gichuki Patrick
Published: April 2003

Hinde's Babbler Turdoides hindei is a globally threatened Kenyan endemic, which during the 1990s, was known from just seven localities. Based mainly on surveys undertaken in 2000–2001, we estimate the species's global population size and compare recent changes in its “extent of occurrence” and “area of occupancy”. Historically, Hinde's Babbler has been recorded from c. 40 10 × 10 km squares; 27 pre-1980 and 19 subsequently, suggesting that its area of occupancy has declined by about 30%. In contrast, its extent of occurrence has declined by only 8%, this measure being less sensitive to the balance of gains and losses occurring near the centre of its range. During surveys in 1994 and 2000–2001, 157 groups were located, containing 665 birds, 75% of which were found at two intensively cultivated sites. Some 97% of birds were located in, or adjacent to, five Important Bird Areas, but only 8% were found within legally protected areas. Two extrapolated population estimates are presented, based on the number of birds likely to have been missed at survey sites, and the species' area of occupancy. These suggest that the global population of Hinde's Babbler is likely to fall within the range of 1,500–5,600 birds.
Altitudinal movements and conservation of Bare-necked Umbrellabird Cephalopterus glabricollis of the Tilarán Mountains, Costa Rica
Authors: Chaves-Campos Johel , Arévalo J. Edgardo , Araya Mariamalia
Published: April 2003

Bare-necked Umbrellabird Cephalopterus glabricollis is endemic to Costa Rica and western Panama. It eats fruit, breeding at high elevations (≥ 800 m) and migrating to lower elevations during the non-breeding season. Using data from transect counts and radio-telemetry, we monitored bird movements in a protected area (Monteverde–Arenal–San Ramón reserves) in the Tilarán Mountains, Costa Rica. We also monitored fruit abundance along an altitudinal gradient to explore the potential relationship between bird movements and the abundance of the fruits this species consumed. The presence and abundance of umbrellabirds at high elevations (1,400 m) during the breeding season (March–June) coincided with the highest peak of fruit abundance. The presence of umbrellabirds in the lowlands (400 m) during the non-breeding season overlapped with the period of highest fruit abundance at these elevations. At middle elevations, bird presence and abundance did not correlate with fruit abundance. Radio-tagged birds left the protected area during the non-breeding season and there were no umbrellabirds inside the protected area during this period. Habitats where this species bred were well represented in the protected area but the habitat where they spent the non-breeding season was poorly represented, and was not adequately protected. This represents a potential threat to this species in the Tilarán Mountains.
Workplace Bullying, Psychological Distress, and Job Satisfaction
in Junior Doctors
Authors: QUINE LYN
Published: April 2003

Workplace bullying has been recognized as a major occupational
stressor since the mid 1980s. A number of different terms have been
used to describe it, including employee abuse, emotional abuse,
mistreatment and neglect at work, mobbing, and harassment. In the
United Kingdom, a number of reports from trades unions illustrating
the pain, psychological distress, physical illness, and career damage
suffered by the victims of bullying first drew attention to the issue.
However, academic interest in the issue began only recently, and there
are still few empirical studies. The most systematic research comes
from Scandinavia, where there is strong public awareness and antibullying
legislation.
Intrafamilial Organ Donation Is Often an Altruistic Act
Authors: Spital Aaron
Published: April 2003

In their recent article, Glannon and Ross remind us that family
members have obligations to help each other that strangers do
not have. They argue, I believe correctly, that what creates moral
obligations within families is not genetic relationship but rather a
sharing of intimacy. For no one are these obligations stronger than
they are for parents of young children. This observation leads the
authors to the logical conclusion that organ donation by a parent
to her child is not optional but rather a prima facie duty. However,
Glannon and Ross go a step further by suggesting that because
parent-to-child organ donation is a duty, it cannot be altruistic.
They assert that “altruistic acts are optional,
nonobligatory…supererogatory…. Given that altruism
consists in purely optional actions presupposing no duty to aid others,
any parental act that counts as meeting a child's needs cannot be
altruistic.” Here I think the authors go too far.
Are psychophysical functions derived from line bisection reliable?
Authors: PIERCE CHRISTOPHER A. , JEWELL GEORGE , MENNEMEIER MARK
Published: April 2003

Psychophysical functions are used to characterize both normal
perception and altered perception among patients with neglect,
yet the reliability of these functions is rarely examined. The
present study examined two-week, test-retest reliability for
power functions derived from line bisection data among 58 normal,
young and old, male and female subjects. Power function exponents
and constants were, at best, moderately reliable over time.
The size of the exponent tended to decrease at retesting.
Reliability coefficients varied by age and gender; they were
highly significant for young men, marginally significant for
older men, and non-significant for women. Race influenced
reliability as coefficients were significant for Caucasian subjects
but not for African American subjects. Age and gender effects
in this study parallel those in the literature on pseudoneglect,
and they may reflect hemispheric differences in visuo-spatial
processing, magnitude estimation, or both. (JINS, 2003,
9, 72–78.)
Is there disproportionate impairment in semantic or phonemic
fluency in schizophrenia?
Authors: KREMEN WILLIAM S. , SEIDMAN LARRY J. , FARAONE STEPHEN V. , TSUANG MING T.
Published: April 2003

Phonemic and semantic fluency involve the capacity to generate
words beginning with particular letters or belonging to particular
categories, respectively. The former has been associated with
frontal lobe function and the latter with temporoparietal function,
but neuroimaging studies indicate overlap of underlying neural
networks. Schizophrenia patients may experience disproportionate
semantic fluency impairment owing to abnormal semantic
organization; however, executive dysfunction in schizophrenia
suggests possible disproportionate phonemic fluency impairment.
Moreover, little is known about the diagnostic specificity of
either verbal fluency deficit to schizophrenia or their stability
over time. We examined 83 schizophrenia patients, 15 bipolar
disorder patients, and 83 normal controls. Both fluency types
were impaired in schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia patients
as a whole manifested disproportionate semantic fluency impairment
relative to bipolar disorder patients, but only a subset of
schizophrenia patients manifested disproportionate semantic
fluency impairment relative to controls. Few characteristics,
except to some extent paranoid-nonparanoid subtype, meaningfully
differentiated schizophrenia patients with and without this
disproportionate impairment. Verbal fluency measures were
moderately stable over a 4-year period in schizophrenia patients
and controls (.48 < rs < .79). These results
mirror a literature that overall suggests a small degree of
disproportionate semantic fluency impairment in schizophrenia,
but also some heterogeneity in fluency deficits. (JINS,
2003, 9, 79–88.)
The Great Escape?
Authors: Wright David
Published: April 2003

C. Lodziak (2002) The Myth of Consumerism, Pluto Press, London. S. Miles, A. Anderson and K. Meetham (eds) (2002) The Changing Consumer: Markets and Meanings, Routledge, London and New York.
Privatising provision and attacking poverty? The direction of UK Pension Policy under new Labour
Authors: CLARK TOM , EMMERSON CARL
Published: April 2003

This paper analyses the thrust of the UK Government's pension reforms in the context of the system they inherited. The reforms represent continuity with what went before in seeking to continue the privatisation of pension provision, but herald a new emphasis on pensioner poverty reduction. There is a clear broad strategy even though not all of the reforms fit obviously within it – a generous means-tested system, extensive private provision and a diminished contributory pension. In the long term, this strategy has advantages in terms of containing public sector liabilities, but involves further downgrading the contributory principle. It will also affect the incentive to save for many individuals. Individuals currently on means-tested benefits will be able to keep more of their savings as a result of the reform. But those currently outside the means-tested benefit regime who expect to be brought into it as a result of the reforms will face a diminished incentive to save.
Plasmid DNA Purification by Selective Calcium Silicate Adsorption of Closely Related Impurities
Authors: Winters Michael A. , Richter Jesse D. , Sagar Sangeetha L. , Lee Ann L. , Lander Russel J.
Published: April 2003

The selective adsorption of supercoiled plasmid, open‐circular plasmid, and genomic DNA to gyrolite, a compound from the class of crystalline calcium silicate hydrates, is investigated and exploited for purification purposes. Genomic DNA and open‐circular plasmid bind to gyrolite adsorbents with greater affinity than the more conformationally constrained supercoiled plasmid. As such, the gyrolite adsorbents are an economical and scaleable alternative to chromatographic purification for the removal of DNA impurities from solutions containing supercoiled plasmid. The advantage of gyrolite adsorbents is their lower unit price and ability to selectively adsorb DNA impurities without binding supercoiled plasmid under certain conditions. The effects of ionic strength, temperature, chelating agent, divalent cation, and lyotropic salts on adsorption of highly purified plasmid are studied to understand the forces that bind DNA to gyrolite, a structure with hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics. The results indicate that DNA binding is governed by hydrogen bonding, electrostatic bridging with divalent cations, shielding of electrostatic repulsion, hydrophobic adsorption, and disruption of integral surface water layer on gyrolite. On the basis of results from a range of Hofmeister series salts, strongly hydrated anions may enhance DNA adsorption by promoting hydrophobic interactions between DNA and gyrolite. Conversely, the very weakly hydrated chaotrope I− may enhance adsorption by strongly associating with hydrophobic siloxanes of gyrolite, thereby disrupting an integral water layer, which competes for hydrogen bonding sites.
Oil and Air Dispersion in a Simulated Fermentation Broth as a Function of Mycelial Morphology
Authors: Lucatero Savidra , Patricia Larralde‐Corona Claudia , Corkidi Gabriel , Galindo Enrique
Published: April 2003

The culture conditions of a multiphase fermentation involving morphologically complex mycelia were simulated in order to investigate the influence of mycelial morphology ( Trichoderma harzianum) on castor oil and air dispersion. Measurements of oil drops and air bubbles were obtained using an image analysis system coupled to a mixing tank. Complex interactions of the phases involved could be clearly observed. The Sauter diameter and the size distributions of drops and bubbles were affected by the morphological type of biomass (pellets or dispersed mycelia) added to the system. Larger oil drop sizes were obtained with dispersed mycelia than with pellets, as a result of the high apparent viscosity of the broth, which caused a drop in the power drawn, reducing oil drop break‐up. Unexpectedly, bubble sizes observed with dispersed mycelia were smaller than with pellets, a phenomenon which can be explained by the segregation occurring at high biomass concentrations with the dispersed mycelia. Very complex oil drops were produced, containing air bubbles and a high number of structures likely consisting of small water droplets. Bubble location was influenced by biomass morphology. The percentage (in volume) of oil‐trapped bubbles increased (from 32 to 80%) as dispersed mycelia concentration increased. A practically constant (32%) percentage of oil‐trapped bubbles was observed with pelleted morphology at all biomass concentrations. The results evidenced the high complexity of phases interactions and the importance of mycelial morphology in such processes.
Prediction of the Equilibrium Conversion for the Synthesis of Acyl Hexose through Lipase‐Catalyzed Condensation in Water‐Miscible Solvent in the Presence of Molecular Sieve
Authors: Zhang Xiaoming , Adachi Shuji , Watanabe Yoshiyuki , Kobayashi Takashi , Matsuno Ryuichi
Published: April 2003

A method is proposed for predicting the equilibrium conversion for the synthesis of monoacyl hexose through the lipase‐catalyzed condensation of a fatty acid and a hexose in a water‐miscible solvent in the presence of a molecular sieve, based on the apparent reaction equilibrium constant, the adsorption isotherm of water on the molecular sieve, the solubility of hexose in the solvent, and the mass balance with respect of water. Validity of the model was examined for the syntheses of lauroyl mannose, lauroyl glucose, and myristoyl mannose in acetonitrile, 2‐methyl‐2‐propanol, or 2‐methyl‐2‐butanol with molecular sieves 3A 1/16 and 4A 1/16. The predicted conversions agreed well with the experimental values except for the case where a significant amount of diester was formed as the result of the addition of an excess amount of the molecular sieve to the solvent or the high molar ratio of the fatty acid to the hexose.
Low‐Glutamine Fed‐Batch Cultures of 293‐HEK Serum‐Free Suspension Cells for Adenovirus Production
Authors: Lee Yih Yean , Yap Miranda G. S. , Hu Wei‐Shou , Wong Kathy T. K.
Published: April 2003

Recent developments in gene therapy using adenoviral (Ad) vectors have fueled renewed interest in the 293 human embryonic kidney cell line traditionally used to produce these vectors. Low‐glutamine fed‐batch cultures of serum‐free, suspension cells in a 5‐L bioreactor were conducted. Our aim was to tighten the control on glutamine metabolism and hence reduce ammonia and lactate accumulation. Online direct measurement of glutamine was effected via a continuous cell‐exclusion system that allows for aseptic, cell‐free sampling of the culture broth. A feedback control algorithm was used to maintain the glutamine concentration at a level as low as 0.1 mM with a concentrated glucose‐free feed medium. This was tested in two media: a commercial formulation (SFM II) and a chemically defined DMEM/F12 formulation. The fed‐batch and batch cultures were started at the same glucose concentration, and it was not controlled at any point in the fed‐batch cultures. In all cases, fed‐batch cultures with double the cell density and extended viable culture time compared to the batch cultures were achieved. An infection study on the high density fed‐batch culture using adenovirus‐green fluorescent protein (Ad‐GFP) construct was also done to ascertain the production capacity of the culture. Virus titers from the infected fed‐batch culture showed that there is an approximately 10‐fold improvement over a batch infection culture. The results have shown that the control of glutamine at low levels in cultures is sufficient to yield significant improvements in both cell densities and viral production. The applicability of this fed‐batch system to cultures in different media and also infected cultures suggests its potential for application to generic mammalian cell cultures.
Production and Characterization of Exopolysaccharides from an Enthomopathogenic Fungus Cordycepsmilitaris NG3
Authors: Kim Sang Woo , Xu Chun Ping , Hwang Hye Jin , Choi Jang Won , Kim Chan Woo , Yun Jong Won
Published: April 2003

Optimization of the submerged culture conditions for the mycelial growth and production of exopolysaccharide (EPS) from a newly isolated Cordycepsspecies ( C. militarisNG3) was studied in flask cultures. The optimal temperature and initial pH for EPS production were 30 °C and 8.0, respectively. Sucrose (30 g/L) and corn steep powder (10 g/L) were the most suitable carbon and nitrogen source for both mycelial growth and EPS production. There was a distinguishable morphological changes in mycelium grown between organic and inorganic nitrogen sources. A smooth pellet growth with heavy hyphal thickness was observed in the medium containing organic nitrogen sources, whereas irregular pellets with less hairy region were formed in the medium containing inorganic nitrogen sources. More highly branched cells appearing in the medium of organic nitrogen sources seemed a favorable morphological form for both EPS production and mycelial growth. Under optimal culture conditions, the maximum concentrations of mycelial growth and EPS were 17.6 and 3.4 g/L in a 5‐L stirred‐tank fermenter. Four groups of EPSs (designated as Fr‐I, Fr‐II, Fr‐III, and Fr‐IV) were obtained from the culture filtrates by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and their molecular characteristics were examined by a multiangle laser‐light scattering (MALLS) and refractive index (RI) detector system. The weight‐average molar masses of the Fr‐I, Fr‐II, Fr‐III, and Fr‐IV of EPS were determined to be 2.262 × 106, 3.348 × 105, 1.049 × 105, and 5.059 × 104 g/mol, respectively. All four EPSs showed very low polydispersity indices ranging from 1.00 to 1.18. The SEC/MALLS analysis revealed that the molecular shape of the Fr‐I was a rigid sphere suspected to be an aggregate of complex polysaccharides, the Fr‐II and Fr‐III were nearly globular in shape, and the Fr‐IV was an almost rodlike structure.
A Feasible Enzymatic Process for d‐Tagatose Production by an Immobilized Thermostable l‐Arabinose Isomerase in a Packed‐Bed Bioreactor
Authors: Kim Hye‐Jung , Ryu Se‐Ah , Kim Pil , Oh Deok‐Kun
Published: April 2003

To develop a feasible enzymatic process for d‐tagatose production, a thermostable l‐arabinose isomerase, Gali152, was immobilized in alginate, and the galactose isomerization reaction conditions were optimized. The pH and temperature for the maximal galactose isomerization reaction were pH 8.0 and 65 °C in the immobilized enzyme system and pH 7.5 and 60 °C in the free enzyme system. The presence of manganese ion enhanced galactose isomerization to tagatose in both the free and immobilized enzyme systems. The immobilized enzyme was more stable than the free enzyme at the same pH and temperature. Under stable conditions of pH 8.0 and 60 °C, the immobilized enzyme produced 58 g/L of tagatose from 100 g/L galactose in 90 h by batch reaction, whereas the free enzyme produced 37 g/L tagatose due to its lower stability. A packed‐bed bioreactor with immobilized Gali152 in alginate beads produced 50 g/L tagatose from 100 g/L galactose in 168 h, with a productivity of 13.3 (g of tagatose)/(L‐reactor·h) in continuous mode. The bioreactor produced 230 g/L tagatose from 500 g/L galactose in continuous recycling mode, with a productivity of 9.6 g/(L·h) and a conversion yield of 46%.
Use of Flow Cytometry To Monitor Infection and Recombinant Human α‐1,3/4 Fucosyltransferase Production in Baculovirus Infected Sf9 Cell Cultures
Authors: Deparis V. , Jestin A. , Marc A. , Goergen J. L.
Published: April 2003

This paper describes the setup and the use of a flow cytometric method for monitoring Sf9 insect cell infection by a recombinant baculovirus expressing the human α1,3/4 fucosyltransferase Fuc‐TIII. Using side scattered light coupled to green fluorescence detection after immunolabeling of the recombinant protein, this method made it possible to monitor baculovirus infection of Sf9 cells grown in batch cultures and infected at different cell densities and multiplicities of infection. The method was able to precisely assess the extent of infection of the insect cells from 60 h postinfection. In asynchronously infected Sf9 cell cultures, the two‐step infection process (primary and secondary infection) was well‐characterized using this technique. Finally, a reduced sensitivity to baculovirus infection was observed for cells infected at the end of the growth phase compared to the cells infected during exponential growth phase.
Evaluation of Retroviral Production Systems Using Quantitative Analysis
Authors: Kwon Young Jik , Peng Ching‐An
Published: April 2003

Because of the low titer of retroviral supernatant, it is necessary to develop and optimize large‐scale retroviral production systems. To quantitatively determine the effect of a given operating condition (e.g., temperature and serum content) on producer cells' retrovirus‐producing capacity, a mathematical model was used to analyze the static retroviral production system described by three processes: viral diffusion, decay, and generation. The analytical solutions of the defined model equations were fitted with experimental data to determine the specific retroviral production rate constant, which represents the competence of a retroviral production system. Two different retroviral production systems, inducible production of vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV‐G) pseudotyped retrovirus from 293GPG/EGFP cells and constant production of ecotropic retrovirus from GP+E86/LNCX cells, were employed to demonstrate the feasibility of the engineering analysis. Our results indicated that the time‐variant specific retroviral production rate of 293GPG/EGFP cells reached its maximum value of 5.7 × 10−3 CFU/cm2·h·cell, and the constant specific retroviral production rate of GP+E86/LNCX cells was 1.49 × 10−2 CFU/cm2·h·cell for the whole period of production. Furthermore, the effects of serum concentration and temperature on the ecotropic retroviral production system were examined separately. Our results suggest that producing ecotropic retroviruses with 10% fetal bovine serum at 37 °C is the optimal operating conditions for the long‐term production system used here.