bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serotonin Transporter Inhibition Prevents and Reverses Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats
Authors: Guignabert Christophe , Raffestin Bernadette , Benferhat Rima , Raoul William , Zadigue Patricia , Rideau Dominique , Hamon Michel , Adnot Serge , Eddahibi Saadia
Published: May 2005

Background—

Progression of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with increased lung expression of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT), which leads to hyperplasia of the pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PA-SMCs). Given the postulated causal relation between 5-HTT overexpression and PH, we herein investigated whether the highly selective 5-HTT inhibitor fluoxetine prevented and/or reversed PH induced by monocrotaline (MCT) in rats. Selective 5-HT
1B/1D
, 5-HT
2A
, and 5-HT
2B
receptor antagonists were used for comparative testing.

Methods and Results—

MCT injection (60 mg/kg SC) was followed by an early peak in lung 5-HTT expression on day 1, which preceded the onset of PH. Established PH on day 15 was associated with a sustained 5-HTT increase. Continued fluoxetine treatment completely prevented PA-SMC proliferation and PH development and also suppressed the late 5-HTT increase, without affecting the early peak. The 5-HT receptor antagonists did not affect PH. Fluoxetine (10 mg · kg
−1
· d
−1
PO) started 3 weeks after MCT injection completely reversed established PH, normalizing PA pressure and structure. MCT-induced PH was also associated with increased expression of various cytokines, but only interleukin-1β and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 increased at the early phase and stimulated 5-HTT expression by cultured PA-SMCs.

Conclusion—

Upregulation of lung 5-HTT induced by MCT appears necessary to initiate the development of pulmonary vascular remodeling, whereas a sustained increase in 5-HTT expression may underlie both the progression and the maintenance of MCT-induced PH. Complete reversal of established PH by fluoxetine provides a rationale for new therapeutic strategies in human PH.
Comparing On-Pump and Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Sellke Frank W. , DiMaio J. Michael , Caplan Louis R. , Ferguson T. Bruce , Gardner Timothy J. , Hiratzka Loren F. , Isselbacher Eric M. , Lytle Bruce W. , Mack Michael J. , Murkin John M. , Robbins Robert C.
Published: May 2005

One of the most hotly debated and polarizing issues in cardiac surgery has been whether coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass or cardioplegia (off-pump CABG, or OPCAB) is superior to that performed with the heart-lung machine and the heart’s being chemically arrested (standard CABG). Various clinical trials are reviewed comparing the 2 surgical strategies, including several large retrospective analyses, meta-analyses, and the randomized trials that address different aspects of standard CABG and OPCAB. Although definitive conclusions about the relative merits of standard CABG and OPCAB are difficult to reach from these varied randomized and nonrandomized studies, several generalizations may be possible. Patients may achieve an excellent outcome with either type of procedure, and individuals’ outcomes likely depend more on factors other than whether they underwent standard CABG or OPCAB. Nevertheless, there appear to be trends in most studies. These trends include less blood loss and need for transfusion after OPCAB, less myocardial enzyme release after OPCAB up to 24 hours, less early neurocognitive dysfunction after OPCAB, and less renal insufficiency after OPCAB. Fewer grafts tend to be performed with OPCAB than with standard CABG. Length of hospital stay, mortality rate, and long-term neurological function and cardiac outcome appear to be similar in the 2 groups. To definitively answer the remaining questions of whether either strategy is superior and in which patients, a large-scale prospective randomized trial is required.
Rape, Murder and Suicide Are Easier When You Use a Keyboard Shortcut: Mouchette, an On-Line Virtual Character
Authors: Mouchette  , Santorineos Manthos , Sant Toni
Published: May 2005

The web site mouchette.org is animated by the persona of Mouchette, an on-line identity created by an anonymous artist. The interview presented here sets out the artist's purposes in creating Mouchette and the understanding of on-line experience underlying the work shown on the site.
Media Commedia: The Roman Forum Project
Authors: LaFarge Antoinette , Allen Robert
Published: May 2005

The authors discuss what they term “media commedia”: performance works melding comedic performance traditions with new media technologies. They focus on The Roman Forum Project, a series of mixed-reality performance projects they produced whose subject is contemporary American politics and media as seen through the eyes of ancient Romans. They discuss the developing relationship between the Internet and public discourse; their use of avatars to explore the boundaries between performance and identity; their use of the Internet as an improvisational space; and the mise en abyme effects of working with mixed realities (including text-based virtual worlds).
Complex Curvatures in Form Theory and String Theory
Authors: Koler Cheryl Akner , Bergström Lars
Published: May 2005

The authors use new aesthetic criteria concerning structures and properties to explain parallel concepts within theoretical astroparticle physics and contemporary form/compositional research. These aesthetic criteria stem from complex curvature models developed both in string theory and in artistic perceptual research on transitional surfaces and concavities. The authors compare the complex curvatures of the mathematically derived Calabi-Yau manifold with one of Akner Koler's sculptures, which explores an organic interpretation of the looping curvature of a Möbius strip. A goal of the collaboration is to gain experience and insight into the twisting paradoxical forces in the 3D world and to explore the properties of transparency as applied to the Calabi-Yau manifold and a point cloud translation of Akner Koler's sculpture.
Phenomenology and Artistic Praxis: An Application to Marine Ecological Communication
Authors: Quon Jane
Published: May 2005

The author's ecologically informed art praxis can be traced back to her experiences while deep-diving off Tasmania's eastern coast. These provided a plethora of aesthetic sensations, but also images of the appalling degradation wrought upon the marine environment by humans. Her art focuses upon this juxtaposition between natural harmony and ecological dysfunction. The artist/author outlines her views on artistic communication generally and, specifically, on the role of art as ecological communication and discusses the significance of presenting her multimedia and sculptural installations in “general” public contexts. She discusses three of her artworks and possible future projects.
Polynomiography: From the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra to Art
Authors: Kalantari Bahman
Published: May 2005

The author introduces polynomiography, a bridge between the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and art. Polynomiography provides a tool for artists to create a 2D image—a polynomiograph—based on the computer visualization of a polynomial equation. The image is dependent upon the solutions of a polynomial equation, various interactive coloring schemes driven by iteration functions and several other parameters under the control of the polynomiographer's choice and creativity. Polynomiography software can mask all of the underlying mathematics, offering a tool that, although easy to use, affords the polynomiographer infinite artistic capabilities.
Caution—Objects Are Closer Than They Appear: Perspectively Inverted Pseudoscopic Images behind Accelerated Space
Authors: Biegon Glenn
Published: May 2005

Perspective inversion reverses the flow of naturalistic pictorial space, creating a disorienting, anti-naturalistic sense of space. Inverted perspective's subversive power appears limited, however, given that no art-historical examples depict fully inverted objects in systematically inverted “unlimited spaces,” such as landscapes. The author addresses this limitation through analysis of “converse” and “pseudoscopic” 3D images—Charles Wheat-stone's two paradigms for inverting binocular depth. Wheatstone's inverted imagery proves geometrically identical to 3D art-historical precedents that conceal their perspective inversion: namely, relief sculpture, set design and architecture employing three-dimensionally “forced” perspective. As hinted by depth-inverted stereograms, linear perspective employed together with reversed overlapping cues systematically inverts unlimited space in both 2D and 3D pictures.
The Raw Data Diet, All-Consuming Bodies and the Shape of Things to Come
Authors: Hershman Lynn
Published: May 2005

The author discusses the construction of synthetic female cyborgian agents that expand singular identity into a networked trajectory composed of flowing data that cannibalizes processed information, which mutates into re-expressed, unpredictable patterns.
Jellyfish on the Ceiling and Deer in the Den: The Biology of Interior Decoration
Authors: Flannery Maura C.
Published: May 2005

Few homes are without at least one or two representations of living things. The author argues that this penchant for organic decoration is related to what Edward O. Wilson calls “biophilia,” an innate urge in humans to have contact with other species. As many people now live apart from the natural world, pictures, statues, dried flowers and other reminders of flora and fauna are ways of satisfying biophilic urges. The author contends that it is important to appreciate this manifestation of biophilia and to foster it as one dimension of the larger purpose of using biophilia to encourage efforts to preserve the living world in the broadest sense.
Dynamical Analysis of Continuous Higher-Order Hopfield Networks for Combinatorial Optimization
Authors: Atencia Miguel , Joya Gonzalo , Sandoval Francisco
Published: May 2005

In this letter, the ability of higher-order Hopfield networks to solve combinatorial optimization problems is assessed by means of a rigorous analysis of their properties. The stability of the continuous network is almost completely clarified: (1) hyperbolic interior equilibria, which are unfeasible, are unstable; (2) the state cannot escape from the unitary hypercube; and (3) a Lyapunov function exists. Numerical methods used to implement the continuous equation on a computer should be designed with the aim of preserving these favorable properties. The case of nonhyperbolic fixed points, which occur when the Hessian of the target function is the null matrix, requires further study. We prove that these nonhyperbolic interior fixed points are unstable in networks with three neurons and order two. The conjecture that interior equilibria are unstable in the general case is left open.
Advancing the Boundaries of High-Connectivity Network Simulation with Distributed Computing
Authors: Morrison Abigail , Mehring Carsten , Geisel Theo , Aertsen Ad , Diesmann Markus
Published: May 2005

The availability of efficient and reliable simulation tools is one of the mission-critical technologies in the fast-moving field of computational neuroscience. Research indicates that higher brain functions emerge from large and complex cortical networks and their interactions. The large number of elements (neurons) combined with the high connectivity (synapses) of the biological network and the specific type of interactions impose severe constraints on the explorable system size that previously have been hard to overcome. Here we present a collection of new techniques combined to a coherent simulation tool removing the fundamental obstacle in the computational study of biological neural networks: the enormous number of synaptic contacts per neuron. Distributing an individual simulation over multiple computers enables the investigation of networks orders of magnitude larger than previously possible. The software scales excellently on a wide range of tested hardware, so it can be used in an interactive and iterative fashion for the development of ideas, and results can be produced quickly even for very large networks. In con-trast to earlier approaches, a wide class of neuron models and synaptic dynamics can be represented.
Edgeworth-Expanded Gaussian Mixture Density Modeling
Authors: Hulle Marc M. Van
Published: May 2005

Instead of increasing the order of the Edgeworth expansion of a single gaussian kernel, we suggest using mixtures of Edgeworth-expanded gaussian kernels of moderate order. We introduce a simple closed-form solution for estimating the kernel parameters based on weighted moment matching. Furthermore, we formulate the extension to the multivariate case, which is not always feasible with algebraic density approximation procedures.
Motion Contrast Classification Is a Linearly Nonseparable Problem
Authors: Mahani Alireza S. , Wessel Ralf
Published: May 2005

Sensitivity to image motion contrast, that is, the relative motion between different parts of the visual field, is a common and computationally important property of many neurons in the visual pathways of vertebrates. Here we illustrate that, as a classification problem, motion contrast detection is linearly nonseparable. In order to do so, we prove a theorem stating a sufficient condition for linear nonseparability. We argue that nonlinear combinations of local measurements of velocity at different locations and times are needed in order to solve the motion contrast problem.
Cognitive Enhancement Mediated Through Postsynaptic Actions of Norepinephrine on Ongoing Cortical Activity
Authors: Hoshino Osamu
Published: May 2005

We propose two distinct types of norepinephrine (NE)-neuromodulatory systems: an enhanced-excitatory and enhanced-inhibitory (E-E/E-I) system and a depressed-excitatory and enhanced-inhibitory (D-E/E-I) system. In both systems, inhibitory synaptic efficacies are enhanced, but excitatory ones are modified in a contradictory manner: the E-E/E-I system enhances excitatory synaptic efficacies, whereas the D-E/E-I system depresses them. The E-E/E-I and D-E/E-I systems altered the dynamic property of ongoing (background) neuronal activity and greatly influenced the cognitive performance (S/N ratio) of a cortical neural network. The E-E/E-I system effectively enhanced S/N ratio for weaker stimuli with lower doses of NE, whereas the D-E/E-I system enhanced stronger stimuli with higher doses of NE. The neural network effectively responded to weaker stimuli if brief γ-bursts were involved in ongoing neuronal activity that is controlled under the E-E/E-I neuromodulatory system. If the E-E/E-I and the D-E/E-I systems interact within the neural network, depressed neurons whose activity is depressed by NE application have bimodal property. That is, S/N ratio can be enhanced not only for stronger stimuli as its original property but also for weaker stimuli, for which coincidental neuronal firings among enhanced neurons whose activity is enhanced by NE application are essential. We suggest that the recruitment of the depressed neurons for the detection of weaker (subthreshold) stimuli might be advantageous for the brain to cope with a variety of sensory stimuli.
Movement Generation with Circuits of Spiking Neurons
Authors: Joshi Prashant , Maass Wolfgang
Published: May 2005

How can complex movements that take hundreds of milliseconds be generated by stereotypical neural microcircuits consisting of spiking neurons with a much faster dynamics? We show that linear readouts from generic neural microcircuit models can be trained to generate basic arm movements. Such movement generation is independent of the arm model used and the type of feedback that the circuit receives. We demonstrate this by considering two different models of a two-jointed arm, a standard model from robotics and a standard model from biology, that each generates different kinds of feedback. Feedback that arrives with biologically realistic delays of 50 to 280 ms turns out to give rise to the best performance. If a feedback with such desirable delay is not available, the neural microcircuit model also achieves good performance if it uses internally generated estimates of such feedback. Existing methods for movement generation in robotics that take the particular dynamics of sensors and actuators into account (embodiment of motor systems) are taken one step further with this approach, which provides methods for also using the embodiment of motion generation circuitry, that is, the inherent dynamics and spatial structure of neural circuits, for the generation of movement.
Estimation and Marginalization Using the Kikuchi Approximation Methods
Authors: Pakzad Payam , Anantharam Venkat
Published: May 2005

In this letter, we examine a general method of approximation, known as the Kikuchi approximation method, for finding the marginals of a product distribution, as well as the corresponding partition function. The Kikuchi approximation method defines a certain constrained optimization problem, called the Kikuchi problem, and treats its stationary points as approximations to the desired marginals. We show how to associate a graph to any Kikuchi problem and describe a class of local message-passing algorithms along the edges of any such graph, which attempt to find the solutions to the problem. Implementation of these algorithms on graphs with fewer edges requires fewer operations in each iteration. We therefore characterize minimal graphs for a Kikuchi problem, which are those with the minimum number of edges. We show with empirical results that these simpler algorithms often offer significant savings in computational complexity, without suffering a loss in the convergence rate. We give conditions for the convexity of a given Kikuchi problem and the exactness of the approximations in terms of the loops of the minimal graph. More precisely, we show that if the minimal graph is cycle free, then the Kikuchi approximation method is exact, and the converse is also true generically. Together with the fact that in the cycle-free case, the iterative algorithms are equivalent to the well-known belief propagation algorithm, our results imply that, generically, the Kikuchi approximation method can be exact if and only if traditional junction tree methods could also solve the problem exactly.
Some Generalized Sufficient Convergence Criteria for Nonlinear Continuous Neural Networks
Authors: Vanualailai Jito , Nakagiri Shin-ichi
Published: May 2005

A reason for applying the direct method of Lyapunov to artificial neural networks (ANNs) is to design dynamical neural networks so that they exhibit global asymptotic stability. Lyapunov functions that frequently appear in the ANN literature include the quadratic function, the Persidskii function, and the Luré-Postnikov function. This contribution revisits the quadratic function and shows that via Krasovskii-like stability criteria, it is possible to have a very simple and systematic procedure to obtain not only new and generalized results but also well-known sufficient conditions for convergence established recently by non-Lyapunov methods, such as the matrix measure and nonlinear measure.
Elites and Religious Change in Roman Athens
Authors: Muñiz Grijalvo Elena
Published: May 2005

Epigraphy tells about a deeply conservative Athens in Roman times. However, the civic religious life was not identical to that of earlier periods. This article is based on two main ideas. First, continuity is never mere survival; when surrounded by a new context, it may be interpreted as change. The interaction between the Roman empire and the Athenian elites provided such a new context: both Rome and local elites were interested in fostering continuity of religious forms. Secondly, notwithstanding this, epigraphy does indeed document some changes within the civic religion of Roman Athens. One of the most evident is the increasing oligarchization of religious power. It is my contention that this development had a deep impact on religiosity too.From Hellenistic times onwards, the ties between the demos and civic religion were progressively fading away. By Roman times, the democratic fiction did not need to be maintained anymore, as the changes in the management of civic religion show. The increasing religious power of the elite is one of the factors which contributed to create a new framework of meaning. Among other things, the success of certain gods, such as Asklepios, Isis, or Zeus Hypsistos, may also be explained within this new context. Reversely, the growing power of these gods may also account for the option taken by those members of the elite who chose the cult of Asklepios or Isis as a stage on which to display their generosity and improve their social prestige. It seems only fair to conclude that changes in civic religion should also be explained by the changing attitudes of the elites.
Ancient Avalon, New Jerusalem, Heart Chakra of Planet Earth: the Local and the Global in Glastonbury
Authors: Bowman Marion
Published: May 2005

Glastonbury, a small town in the south west of England, is the focus for a variety of spiritual seekers and religious practitioners. It therefore provides an interesting and appropriate context in which to explore the relationship between the local and the global in the contemporary spiritual milieu.This article explores the extent to which Glastonbury has claimed a "serial centrality" over the centuries in relation to different religious trends, first within Christianity and, in the course of the twentieth century, within a growing number of worldviews.Highlighting similarities and tensions between the competing visions and discourses to be found there, the article examines issues surrounding the negotiation of the local and the global for a variety of groups and individuals.Despite the element of change (indeed exoticism) in some of the manifestations of contemporary spirituality in Glastonbury, there is, nevertheless, a considerable degree of continuity in relation to the vernacular tradition there.
Electrophoresis and biotest studies on some populations of cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera spp. (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae)
Authors: Andersson Stig , Holgado Ricardo , Magnusson Christer , Rowe Janet
Published: May 2005

Protein variability of 27 populations of cyst nematodes belonging to the Heterodera avenae complex were studied using isoelectric focusing (IEF). Sixteen Norwegian populations were compared with standard populations of H. avenae, H. filipjevi, H. mani and H. arenaria. Norwegian populations were also tested for pathotype on selected cereal cultivars. Based on differences in the protein banding pattern, eight clusters of populations could be recognised. Nine Norwegian populations grouped together with H. avenae standards. The three Swedish populations: Knislinge, Ringsåsen and Våxtorp, previously classified as H. avenae, differed from this species, from H. filipjevi and from each other. Four Norwegian populations clustered together with the Våxtorp population. Two Norwegian populations formed a cluster together with a Swedish H. filipjevi standard. The Norwegian population Brekstad differed from all other populations, as did the standards of H. mani and H. arenaria. Pathotype testing of the Norwegian populations identified ten populations as H. avenae pathotype Ha 11, while three were close to pathotype Ha 12. The two H. filipjevi populations were close to the Swedish pathotype west. The Brekstad population differed from all others also in host spectrum. This population and the Våxtorp-group demonstrate a complexity within the Norwegian cereal cyst nematodes that merits further investigation.
Incorporation and metabolism of fatty acids by desaturation and elongation in the nematode, Panagrellus redivivus
Authors: Becker Klaus , Dick James , Tocher Douglas , Schlechtriem Christian
Published: May 2005

The free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus can be mass produced in monoxenic solid culture on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and therefore could be useful as a live food for marine fish or crustacean larvae in the rapidly expanding aquaculture industry. However, this will depend on their lipid and fatty acid composition and so this was investigated in mass produced P. redivivus grown on S. cerevisiae in three different media. Live nematodes were also incubated with [1-14C]-labelled fatty acids and the desaturation and elongation of the fatty acids were determined. The combined results from the growth trials on different media and the metabolic studies with labelled fatty acids indicated the presence of Δ9, Δ12, Δ6 and Δ5 fatty acid desaturase activities, and elongase activities active towards C18, C16 and shorter chain fatty acids. The presence of Δ15, and therefore the ability to produce n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, was suggested by the compositional data, but could not be conclusively established from metabolic studies.
Seasonal population dynamics of inoculated and indigenous steinernematid nematodes in an organic cropping system
Authors: Philipsen Holger , Nielsen Otto
Published: May 2005

This study was based on naturally occurring and inoculated populations of steinernematid nematodes. The nematode populations were monitored in spring and autumn in 2 consecutive years in an organic cropping system and changes in population size were related to the presence of potential insect hosts. Nematode populations were estimated in terms of nematode incidence (percentage of positive soil samples) by using Tenebrio molitor larvae as bait. The population of naturally occurring nematodes (Steinernema affine and S. feltiae) was generally low (0–17% incidence for S. affine and 0–18% incidence for S. feltiae). Inoculated S. feltiae established well in half of the plots where inoculation had been performed and reached incidences of 87%. Establishment of inoculated nematodes, and population dynamics in general, was clearly influenced by the presence of insect hosts. In crops with high densities of potential hosts (Sitona lineatus in pea and partly Delia radicum in cabbage), nematode incidence increased from spring to autumn, whereas nematode incidence remained unchanged or decreased when few hosts were present (in barley, carrots, alfalfa and leek).
Spontaneous and induced activity of Heterorhabditis megidis infective juveniles during storage
Authors: Griffin Christine , Fitters Paul
Published: May 2005

Infective juveniles (IJ) of three Heterorhabditis megidis isolates, HF85, EU17 and UK211, were stored in water at 20°C for up to 10 weeks. At 2-week intervals, activity, infectivity, energy reserves and survival were measured. There was no difference between the three isolates in infectivity, which increased significantly over the first 2 weeks and declined gradually thereafter. IJ became inactive during storage. Out of storage, the highest activity was recorded in week 0: nearly all IJ were active within the first minute of observation and remained active for the 20-min observation period. With increasing storage time, an increasing proportion of IJ were inactive in the first minute, reaching 83–96% by week 6. The time taken by 50% of the IJ to become active (AT50) initially increased with nematode age, reaching a maximum of 3–7 min in week 4 or 6 (depending on isolate) but subsequently declined to 2–4 min in week 10. By the time the IJ were becoming more readily activated in weeks 6–8, 75% of the lipid reserves had been depleted, and IJ had started to die. This greater propensity to become active with age may represent a switch to risk-taking behaviour in the face of impending starvation.
Steinernema yirgalemense n. sp. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) from Ethiopia
Authors: Gaugler Randy , Tesfamariam Mekete , Adams Byron , Gozel Ugur , Nguyen Khuong
Published: May 2005

Steinernema yirgalemense, a new species based on morphological and molecular data, is described from Yirgalem, Ethiopia. This nematode belongs to the 'bicornutum-group' which includes nematodes with horn-like structures in the labial region of the infective juvenile. The new species can be recognised by the infective juvenile having a body length of 635 (578–693) μm, distance from anterior and to excretory pore of 51 (45–59) μm; tail length of 62 (57–67) μm and E% (EP/tail length × 100) of 83 (67–90). The lateral field pattern is variable from anterior to posterior; the formula for the arrangement of ridges from head to tail being: 2, 6, 8, 6, 2. The new species can be further recognised by male characters: spicule with large velum and tapering posteriorly to a point, the ratio SW (spicule length/cloacal body diameter) and GS (gubernaculum length/spicule length) and especially by the presence of 12 pairs of genital papillae plus a single midventral papilla. The 12th pair, located at the edge of the cloacal aperture, is an important character. The presence of a low epiptygma is another diagnostic character of the new species. The new species is a sister taxon to S. abbasi and is characterised by the sequence length of the ITS regions (960 bp), ITS1 (270 bp), ITS2 (284 bp) and also by the pairwise distance of both ITS and D2/D3 regions between species of nematodes in the 'bicornutum-group'.
Ultrastructure of spermatogenesis in the free-living marine nematode Halichoanolaimus sonorus (Chromadorida: Selachinematidae)
Authors: Malakhov Vladimir , Zograf Julia , Yushin Vladimir
Published: May 2005

Spermatogenesis of the free-living marine nematode Halichoanolaimus sonorus was studied with electron microscopy. The spermatocyte cytoplasm is filled with ribosomes, mitochondria, cisternae of the RER and Golgi bodies. The spermatids are subdivided into the residual body, which includes the entire synthetic apparatus of the cell, and the main cell body with a centrally located nucleus lacking a nuclear envelope. The mitochondria and the precursors of the fibrous bodies form a layer at the periphery of the main cell body. The main cell body surface bears numerous filopodia. The immature spermatozoa from the testes are unpolarised cells with a centrally located nucleus surrounded by spherical fibrous bodies, mitochondria and membranous stacks; the cell surface is covered by numerous short filopodia. Spermatozoa from the uterus do not show the dramatic changes common for activated spermatozoa of nematodes. Their nuclei, mitochondria, fibrous bodies and surface filopodia remain intact. Bundles of filaments appear between the fibrous bodies. Some of the ultrastructural characters of the spermatogenesis of H. sonorus (late appearance of fibrous bodies and their filamentous structure, absence of membranous organelles at all stages of spermatogenesis, occurrence of numerous surface filopodia in the immature and mature spermatozoa) may be utilised as distinctive cytological characters for phylogenetic analysis of the order Chromadorida.
Tagetes patula as an effective catch crop for long-term control of Pratylenchus penetrans
Authors: Evenhuis Albartus , Korthals Gerard , Molendijk Leendert
Published: May 2005

Tagetes patula is well known to be able to diminish Pratylenchus penetrans (Cobb) populations. In a field experiment, the increase of the P. penetrans soil population density after growing T. patula was significantly less than after chemical soil fumigation with metam sodium. The effect of T. patula on P. penetrans population densities lasted longer than the effect of chemical soil fumigation. Strawberries were grown for 3 consecutive years after T. patula without damage by the root lesion nematode. Assuming a linear rate of increase of the P. penetrans population density, we predict that strawberries could be grown for about 7 successive years without economic damage due to the root lesion nematode. Strawberry yield was greater from the crop grown 3 years after T. patula than that after soil fumigation 4 years previously. About 2 t strawberry yield increase is necessary to allow the growth of Tagetes every 5th year, without economic loss. The possibility of growing both strawberries and Tagetes in the same year should be investigated.
The influence of temperature on the life history of the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi
Authors: Millar Russell , Wharton David , Brown Ian
Published: May 2005

Panagrolaimus davidi is a free-living microbivore, associated with moss and algal patches in coastal regions around Ross Island, Antarctica. In laboratory experiments, temperature had a major influence on P. davidi life history parameters. The optimal temperature occurred between 25 and 30°C and the temperature at which population growth ceased was estimated at 6.8°C. Threshold temperatures for developmental processes were in the range 4.1°C (for egg incubation) to 7.6°C (for generation time). The life history strategy of P. davidi shows r-selected features and is more similar to temperate free-living nematodes than to other polar species, which show K-selected features. In the Antarctic, P. davidi is forced to remain dormant for long periods and growth occurs intermittently when conditions allow, suggesting A selection. The life history of P. davidi thus exhibits both A and r-selected features.
Steinernema litorale n. sp. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae), a new entomopathogenic nematode from Japan
Authors: Yoshida Mutsuhiro
Published: May 2005

A new entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema litorale n. sp., was isolated from sandy soils in Cape Irago, Atsumi Peninsula, Aichi, Honshu Island, Japan. The new species is characterised by the following morphological characters: infective third-stage juvenile with a body length of 909 ± 42.1 (834–988) μm, distance from head to excretory pore of 61 ± 3.3 (54–69) μm, tail length of 83 ± 4.5 (72–91) μm, ratio E value of 0.73 (0.68–0.83) and lateral field with nine distinct lines; male tail with a mucron in both generations, spicule shape (moderately arcuate, heavy, spicule with elongated manubrium), spicule length of 75 ± 4.8 (67–89) μm and gubernaculum length of 53 ± 4.0 (44–64) μm in the first generation male; female vulva with a double-flapped epiptygma and a tail with a pointed tip in both generations, and ratio D value of 45.2 (33.3–56.8) in the first generation female. The new species was distinguished from the morphologically similar species, S. feltiae, S. thanhi, S. karii, S. scarabaei, S. kraussei, S. oregonense, S. loci and S. diaprepesi by RFLP profiles. Morphological and molecular studies indicated that S. litorale n. sp. was phenotypically most similar to S. feltiae. However, cross hybridisation tests demonstrated that the two species were reproductively isolated.
Occurrence and distribution of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., in cowpea growing areas of Nigeria
Authors: Olowe Tayo
Published: May 2005

A survey of root knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., was conducted in 248 major cowpea growing areas, spread over 31 States and the Federal Capital Territory in different ecological zones in Nigeria. The survey revealed the occurrence of Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica and M. arenaria singly or in combination in all the cowpea farms sampled. In overall distribution, M. incognita (51.8%) was the most prevalent followed by M. javanica (44.1%) and M. arenaria (4.1%). The greatest abundance of M. javanica (65.6%) was concentrated in the Sudan savannah of the Core North (north-east and north-west) and that of M. incognita (82.1%) in the humid forest of the south (south-east, south-west and south-south). However, M. javanica (51.7%) and M. incognita (44.2%) tended to be common in the Guinea savannah of the middle belt (north-central). Mixed populations of the three species (4.0%), but more commonly of M. incognita and M. javanica (37.1%), were encountered. Meloidogyne arenaria never occurred as a pure population or mixed with M. javanica solely but was found mixed either with M. incognita alone or in combination with M. javanica and M. incognita, and more often in the south. In a mixed population of M. incognita and M. javanica in the Core North, where M. javanica was prevalent, M. incognita formed about one third (34.2%) of the mixed population density, whereas in the south where M. incognita was dominant, M. javanica formed a lower proportion of about one fifth (17%) of the mixed population density. These findings provide information and guidance for planning effective management strategies.
Estimating the incidence of entomopathogenic nematodes in soil by the use of bait insects
Authors: Skovgaard Ib Michael , Nielsen Otto , Philipsen Holger
Published: May 2005

Soil samples were stored and baited in different ways in order to develop a bait method that could estimate the level of steinernematid nematodes in soil in a time-efficient way. The method was based on incidence (proportion of samples with a given species of Steinernema). Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera) larvae were used as bait and it was concluded that: i) repeated baiting in a later period improved the bait result; ii) extension of the bait periods from 1–2 weeks was not necessary; iii) the precision of the estimated incidence did not improve by taking more than 60–80 samples; iv) the minimum time required to analyse one soil sample was 6 min.
Dreaming in Color: Anti-Essentialism in Legio Maria Dream Narratives
Authors: Schwartz Nancy
Published: May 2005

The article examines dreaming and dream narratives in Legio Maria, sub-Saharan Africa's largest African instituted church with a Roman Catholic background. Most Legios valorize a Black Christ and Black Mary but do so while espousing anti-essentialist attitudes towards racialization of the sacred. The social, cultural and symbolic hybridity of the Joluo (Kenya Luo), who still form the majority of the membership in this multi-ethnic, multi-national church, has influenced Legios' religious outlook. Legios' views are contrasted with some white and black theologies that take more monochrome, particularistic positions on the color of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, Satan, saints, angels and demons. I discuss how Legios' eclectic altar iconography and dreams interact and influence one another. The article demonstrates that Legio Maria's theology of color has resonances with the perspectives on postmodern humanism and postmodern blackness formulated by scholars like Michel Foucault, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Vincent Anderson and bell hooks.
Independent Spirits: the Politics of Policing Anti-witchcraft Movements In Colonial Ghana, 1908–1927
Authors: Gray Natasha
Published: May 2005

Scholars have debated the social origins of anti-witchcraft movements within African religions while largely ignoring the effects of colonial laws outlawing their practice. Yet, for the initiates, the period after a witch-finding movement was outlawed was the most difficult. Initiates believed banned gods retained their power to punish them severely if they did not atone for violations of movement rules. Performing ceremonies of repentance, however, meant breaking the law, risking heavy fines, home demolition and even imprisonment. The transcript of a 1913 trial of five men accused of conducting ceremonies of the outlawed Aberewa anti-witchcraft movement in Ghana allows us to explore this predicament. The tenacity of popular belief in outlawed gods influenced colonial policy towards anti-witchcraft movements, witchcraft law, and the development of contemporary Ghanaian Christianity.
On the Interannual Variability of the Indonesian Throughflow and Its Linkage with ENSO
Authors: England Matthew H. , Huang Fei
Published: May 2005

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) variability is assessed using a retrospective analysis of the global ocean based on the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) experiment spanning the period 1950–99. A comparison between the 1983–95 observed ITF, and the simulated ITF suggests a reasonably accurate reconstruction of ocean circulation in the vicinity of the ITF during the available measurement record. A wavelet analysis shows that once the seasonal cycle is removed, the dominant variation of the ITF anomaly is an interannual oscillation with a period of about 4–7 yr. This interannual variability is significantly correlated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) pattern, with the ITF lagging the ENSO cycle by 8–9 months. This suggests that large-scale tropical ocean–atmosphere interaction plays an important role in the interannual variability of the ITF. Regional upper-ocean heat content variability might also play a role in controlling interannual fluctuations of the ITF transport via geostrophic flows, though it could equally be ITF variations that establish heat content anomalies downstream of the Indonesian archipelago. The model heat transport associated with the ITF is in good agreement with the limited observational record available. Resultant variability in annual mean ITF heat transport is in the range 0.4–1.2 PW, which is significantly correlated with ITF and ENSO indices.
The Importance of Atmospheric Dynamics in the Northern Hemisphere Wintertime Climate Response to Changes in the Earth’s Orbit
Authors: Hall Alex , Clement Amy , Thompson David W. J. , Broccoli Anthony , Jackson Charles
Published: May 2005

Milankovitch proposed that variations in the earth’s orbit cause climate variability through a local thermodynamic response to changes in insolation. This hypothesis is tested by examining variability in an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to an ocean mixed layer model subjected to the orbital forcing of the past 165 000 yr. During Northern Hemisphere summer, the model’s response conforms to Milankovitch’s hypothesis, with high (low) insolation generating warm (cold) temperatures throughout the hemisphere. However, during Northern Hemisphere winter, the climate variations stemming from orbital forcing cannot be solely understood as a local thermodynamic response to radiation anomalies. Instead, orbital forcing perturbs the atmospheric circulation in a pattern bearing a striking resemblance to the northern annular mode, the primary mode of simulated and observed unforced atmospheric variability. The hypothesized reason for this similarity is that the circulation response to orbital forcing reflects the same dynamics generating unforced variability. These circulation anomalies are in turn responsible for significant fluctuations in other climate variables: Most of the simulated orbital signatures in wintertime surface air temperature over midlatitude continents are directly traceable not to local radiative forcing, but to orbital excitation of the northern annular mode. This has paleoclimate implications: during the point of the model integration corresponding to the last interglacial (Eemian) period, the orbital excitation of this mode generates a 1°–2°C warm surface air temperature anomaly over Europe, providing an explanation for the warm anomaly of comparable magnitude implied by the paleoclimate proxy record. The results imply that interpretations of the paleoclimate record must account for changes in surface temperature driven not only by changes in insolation, but also by perturbations in atmospheric dynamics.
Detecting and Attributing External Influences on the Climate System: A Review of Recent Advances
Authors: Barnett Tim , Zwiers Francis , Hengerl Gabriele , Allen Myles , Crowly Tom , Gillett Nathan , Hasselmann Klaus , Jones Phil , Santer Ben , Schnur Reiner , Scott Peter , Taylor Karl , Tett Simon
Published: May 2005

This paper reviews recent research that assesses evidence for the detection of anthropogenic and natural external influences on the climate. Externally driven climate change has been detected by a number of investigators in independent data covering many parts of the climate system, including surface temperature on global and large regional scales, ocean heat content, atmospheric circulation, and variables of the free atmosphere, such as atmospheric temperature and tropopause height. The influence of external forcing is also clearly discernible in reconstructions of hemispheric-scale temperature of the last millennium. These observed climate changes are very unlikely to be due only to natural internal climate variability, and they are consistent with the responses to anthropogenic and natural external forcing of the climate system that are simulated with climate models. The evidence indicates that natural drivers such as solar variability and volcanic activity are at most partially responsible for the large-scale temperature changes observed over the past century, and that a large fraction of the warming over the last 50 yr can be attributed to greenhouse gas increases. Thus, the recent research supports and strengthens the IPCC Third Assessment Report conclusion that “most of the global warming over the past 50 years is likely due to the increase in greenhouse gases.”
Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature and El Niño–Southern Oscillation: A New Perspective
Authors: Terray Pascal , Dominiak Sébastien
Published: May 2005

Here the 1976–77 climate regime shift that was accompanied by a remarkable change in the lead–lag relationships between Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) and El Niño evolution is shown. After the 1976–77 regime shift, a correlation analysis suggests that southern Indian Ocean SSTs observed during late boreal winter are a key precursor in predicting El Niño evolution as the traditional oceanic heat content anomalies in the equatorial Pacific or zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial western Pacific. The possible physical mechanisms underlying this highly significant statistical relationship are discussed. After the 1976–77 regime shift, southern Indian Ocean SST anomalies produced by Mascarene high pulses during boreal winter trigger coupled air–sea processes in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean during the following seasons. This produces a persistent remote forcing on the Pacific climate system, promoting wind anomalies over the western equatorial Pacific and modulating the regional Hadley cell in the southwest Pacific. These modulations, in turn, excite Rossby waves, which produce quasi-stationary circulation anomalies in the extratropical South Pacific, responsible for the development of the southern branch of the “horseshoe” El Niño pattern.

The change of the background SST state that occurred in the late 1970s over the Indian Ocean may also explain why ENSO evolution is different before and after the 1976–77 regime shift. These results shed some light on the possible influence of global warming or decadal fluctuations on El Niño evolution through changes in teleconnection patterns between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Trends in Intense Precipitation in the Climate Record
Authors: Groisman Pavel Ya , Knight Richard W. , Easterling David R. , Karl Thomas R. , Hegerl Gabriele C. , Razuvaev Vyacheslav N.
Published: May 2005

Observed changes in intense precipitation (e.g., the frequency of very heavy precipitation or the upper 0.3% of daily precipitation events) have been analyzed for over half of the land area of the globe. These changes have been linked to changes in intense precipitation for three transient climate model simulations, all with greenhouse gas concentrations increasing during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and doubling in the later part of the twenty-first century. It was found that both the empirical evidence from the period of instrumental observations and model projections of a greenhouse-enriched atmosphere indicate an increasing probability of intense precipitation events for many extratropical regions including the United States. Although there can be ambiguity as to the impact of more frequent heavy precipitation events, the thresholds of the definitions of these events were raised here, such that they are likely to be disruptive. Unfortunately, reliable assertions of very heavy and extreme precipitation changes are possible only for regions with dense networks due to the small radius of correlation for many intense precipitation events.