bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Models of Cardiovascular Disease: Measurement of Antihypertensive Activity in the Conscious Rat (SHR, DOCA‐Salt, and Goldblatt Hypertension Models)
Authors: Guillaume Philippe , Provost Daniel , Legrand Pamela , Godes Michael , Lacroix Pierre
Published: March 2009

The protocols described in this unit are used to assess the effects of new chemical entities on hypertension in conscious rats. In the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model, the results obtained with the reference compounds clonidine, prazosin, propranolol, and captopril are provided for illustration. All compounds demonstrate antihypertensive activity, with captopril and prazosin being the least and the most active, respectively. In the deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)‐salt model in the rat, the test substance shown as an example (a potential endothelin ETA‐receptor antagonist) prevents the development of hypertension in the first phase. However, the effects of treatment disappear in the very last phase of the study, suggesting the development of a malignant hypertension resistant to treatment in this model. In the Goldblatt hypertension rat model (renal artery stenosis), losartan prevents the development of hypertension. It does not modify the weight of the right and left kidneys but slightly reduces the degree of cardiac hypertrophy.Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 44:5.53.1‐5.53.15. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Estimating the lipophilicity of a number of 2‐amino‐1‐cyclohexanol derivatives exhibiting anticonvulsant activity
Authors: Pękala Elżbieta , Marona Henryk
Published: March 2009

The lipophilicity of a number of N‐acyl derivatives of trans‐ or cis‐: racemic, (1R,2R)‐ or (1S,2S)‐aminocyclohexanol (1–13) exhibiting anticonvulsant activity was investigated. Their lipophilicity (Rm0) was determined using reversed‐phase thin‐layer chromatography (RP‐TLC) with mixtures of methanol and water as mobile phases. The partition coefficients of compounds 1–13 (log P) were also calculated using two computer programs (Pallas and Chem DU) and compared with Rm0. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Determination of total retronecine esters‐type hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plant materials by pre‐column derivatization high‐performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Xiong Ai‐zhen , Yang Li , Zhang Fang , Yang Xue‐jing , Wang Chang‐hong , Wang Zheng‐tao
Published: March 2009

A pre‐column derivatization high‐performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detection was developed and validated to determine the total retronecine esters‐type hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (RET‐HPAs) in herbs. The RET‐HPAs reacted with o‐chloranil in methanolic solution heated for 3 h, and an oxidative derivative was produced that could be detected at a maximal absorption of 223 nm. The analysis was performed using a C18 column with an isocratic elution of methanol and aqueous 0.01% triethylamine (adjusted to pH 4 with formic acid), and the detection was carried out with DAD at 223 nm. The validation of the method included linearity, sensitivity, recovery and stability. It showed a good linear regression (r2 > 0.9900) in the range of 2.5–250 µm with a limit of detection (S/N = 3) of 0.5 µm. The method provided desirable repeatability with overall intra‐ and inter‐day variations of less than 4.6%. The obtained recoveries for both of the extraction and derivatization process were between 94.6 and 100.7% (n = 3). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Application of a highly specific and sensitive fluorescent HPLC method for topotecan lactone in whole blood
Authors: Hubbard K. Elaine , Schaiquevich Paula , Bai Feng , Fraga Charles H. , Miller Laura , Panetta John C. , Stewart Clinton F.
Published: March 2009

Individualization of topotecan dosing reduces inter‐patient variability in topotecan exposure, presumably reducing toxicity and increasing efficacy. However, logistical limitations (e.g. requirement for plasma, intensive bedside plasma processing) have prevented widespread application of this approach to dosing topotecan. Thus, the objectives of the present study were to develop and validate an HPLC with fluorescence detection method to measure topotecan lactone in whole blood samples and to evaluate its application to individualizing topotecan dosing. Plasma samples (200 µL) were prepared using methanolic precipitation, a filtration step and then injection of 100 µL of the methanolic extract onto a Novapak® C18, 4 µm, 3.9 × 150 mm column with an isocratic mobile phase. Analytes were detected with a Shimadzu Fluorescence RF‐10AXL detector with an excitation and emission wavelength of 370 and 520 nm, respectively. This method had a lower limit of quantification of 1 ng/mL (S/N ≥ 5; RSD 4.9%) and was validated over a linear range of 1–100 ng/mL. Results from a 5‐day validation study demonstrated good within‐day and between‐day precision and accuracy. Data are presented to demonstrate that the present method can be used with whole blood samples to individualize topotecan dosing in children with cancer. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving GPX activity of selenium‐containing human single‐chain Fv antibody by site‐directed mutation based on the structural analysis
Authors: Xu Junjie , Song Jian , Yan Fei , Chu Huiying , Luo Jixun , Zhao Yongshan , Cheng Xu , Luo Guimin , Zheng Qingchuan , Wei Jingyan
Published: March 2009

Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) is one of the important members of the antioxidant enzyme family. It can catalyze the reduction of hydroperoxides with glutathione to protect cells against oxidative damage. In previous studies, we have prepared the human catalytic antibody Se‐scFv‐B3 (selenium‐containing single‐chain Fv fragment of clone B3) with GPX activity by incorporating a catalytic group Sec (selenocysteine) into the binding site using chemical mutation; however, its activity was not very satisfying. In order to try to improve its GPX activity, structural analysis of the scFv‐B3 was carried out. A three‐dimensional (3D) structure of scFv‐B3 was constructed by means of homology modeling and binding site analysis was carried out. Computer‐aided docking and energy minimization (EM) calculations of the antibody‐GSH (glutathione) complex were also performed. From these simulations, Ala44 and Ala180 in the candidate binding sites were chosen to be mutated to serines respectively, which can be subsequently converted into the catalytic Sec group. The two mutated protein and wild type of the scFv were all expressed in soluble form in Escherichia coli Rosetta and purified by Ni2+‐immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), then transformed to selenium‐containing catalytic antibody with GPX activity by chemical modification of the reactive serine residues. The GPX activity of the mutated catalytic antibody Se‐scFv‐B3‐A180S was significantly increased compared to the original Se‐scFv‐B3. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Protective action of aqueous black tea (Camellia sinensis) extract (BTE) against ovariectomy‐induced oxidative stress of mononuclear cells and its associated progression of bone loss
Authors: Das Asankur Sekhar , Mukherjee Maitrayee , Das Dolan , Mitra Chandan
Published: March 2009

The protective action of aqueous black tea extract (BTE) against ovariectomy‐induced oxidative stress of mononuclear cells and its associated progression of bone loss was demonstrated in this study. Eighteen female adult 6‐month‐old Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: sham‐control (A), bilaterally ovariectomized (B) and bilaterally ovariectomized + BTE supplemented (C). Studies included the measurement of oxidative (nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation) and antioxidative (superoxide dismutase, catalase) markers, inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6, TNF‐α), osteoclast differentiation factor (RANKL) and bone resorption markers (tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase and hydroxyproline). Also quantitative histomorphometry and histological studies were undertaken. The bone breaking force was measured. The results indicate that BTE was effective in preserving and restoring skeletal health by reducing the number of active osteoclasts. Such changes with BTE supplementation were steadily linked with the reduced oxidative stress of mononuclear cells, serum levels of bone resorbing cytokines, osteoclast differentiation factor and resorption markers. The results of the bone breaking force, histological and histomorphometric analyses further supported the hypothesis. This study suggests that BTE has both protective and restorative actions against ovariectomy‐induced mononuclear cell oxidative stress and associated bone loss. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Thymoquinone supplementation induces quinone reductase and glutathione transferase in mice liver: possible role in protection against chemical carcinogenesis and toxicity
Authors: Nagi Mahmoud N. , Almakki Hussain A.
Published: March 2009

Thymoquinone (TQ), the main constituents of the volatile oil from Nigella sativa seeds is reported to protect laboratory animals against chemical carcinogenesis and toxicity through mechanism(s) that is not fully understood. Among possible mechanism(s), protection could be mediated via induction of detoxifying enzymes, including quinone reductase and glutathione transferase. This study was undertaken to investigate whether oral administration of TQ increases the activities of quinone reductase and glutathione transferase in mice liver. Overdose of TQ, when administered intraperitoneally, caused a marked depletion of hepatic glutathione in both a time‐ and dose‐ dependent manner, a characteristic of a group of compounds known as Michael reaction acceptors which are known to act as inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogenesis and toxicity. TQ was given (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg/day p.o.) for five days to test the chemical inducibility of quinone reductase and glutathione transferase in mice liver. TQ administration produced significant increase in the activities of quinone reductase (147, 196 and 197% of control, respectively) and glutathione transferase (125, 152 and 154% of control, respectively). In conclusion, oral administration of TQ is effective in increasing the activities of quinone reductase and glutathione transferase and makes TQ a promising prophylactic agent against chemical carcinogenesis and toxicity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Anti‐ and pro‐mutagenic effects of silymarin in the ames bacterial reverse mutation assay
Authors: Kaleeswaran Sampath , Sriram Padmanabhan , Prabhu Daivasigamani , Chinnathambi  , Vijayakumar  , Mathuram Lalgudi Narayanan
Published: March 2009

Silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid isolated from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), is being used clinically in Europe and Asia for the treatment of liver diseases. Silymarin has a strong antioxidative action capable of scavenging both free radicals and reactive oxygen species responsible for cancer. Silymarin, a powerful hepatoprotective and antioxidant, was chosen in the present study and was tested for its antimutagenic activity using an in vitro test, the Ames bacterial reverse mutation assay. The results indicated that silymarin showed a significant mutagenicity in frame shift mutant strains (TA97a and TA98) with metabolic activation. This compound also showed stronger antimutagenic effect against 2‐aminofluorene and 4‐nitroquinoline N‐oxide induced mutation. When pre‐, co‐ and post‐treatment of silymarin was carried out, it showed stronger antimutagenic activity in the post‐treatment with 2‐aminofluorene and 4‐nitroquinoline N‐oxide in TA97a and TA98 strains. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Morphology and evolution of cold‐frontal misocyclones
Authors: Smart D. J. , Browning K. A.
Published: March 2009

A numerical simulation of an intense, narrow cold‐frontal rain band (NCFR) is presented. This front was associated with localized wind damage as it moved eastwards across the United Kingdom on 24 September 2007. The model used was the operational and research Weather Research and Forecasting‐‐Advanced Research (WRF‐‐ARW) mesoscale model, initialized with Global Forecast System (GFS) operational model output data. The simulation produced a front strongly resembling that seen in radar imagery and conforming to previous studies and conceptual models of the ana‐cold front. In the simulation, a strong surface horizontal wind‐speed maximum is located along the southern flank of a misocyclone; this is shown to be typical of a number that form along the front. Using trajectory analysis, descending cold air parcels, which originate in the rear inflow jet and accelerate within the circulation of the misocyclone, are identified as the origin of the strongest winds. In addition to the localized strong straight‐line winds, circumstantial evidence is presented for the possible occurrence of weak tornadogenesis. The results are discussed in relation to recent studies of NCFRs, squall lines and misocyclones. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Comment on “Volumes spanned by random points in the hypercube”
Authors: Finch Steven , Sebah Pascal
Published: March 2009

We symbolically evaluate a definite integral (due to Dyer, Füredi & McDiarmid 2) in connection with threshold phenomena for convex hull volumes strictly within the unit d‐dimensional hypercube as d → ∞. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2009
Regeneration for sustainable communities? Barriers to implementing sustainable housing in urban areas
Authors: Winston Nessa
Published: March 2009

This article outlines the key characteristics of sustainable housing, including environmental, economic and social dimensions. It uses these characteristics to assess housing and regeneration in Dublin since the early 1980s. While regeneration has improved some areas, there are a number of causes for concern. Barriers to achieving sustainable housing include the lack of a shared vision of sustainable housing, inadequate building regulations and non‐compliance with existing regulations, limited knowledge and expertise in green building methods, negative perceptions of higher density housing, poor quality designs, negative attitudes to social mix, an emphasis on demolition, a failure to recognize the need for social regeneration and limited resources. The article concludes that it is essential to target resources at enforcing building regulations, providing sufficient social and affordable housing as well as the social infrastructure required for sustainable communities, adequate management and maintenance, and retrofitting the unsustainable housing constructed in the past. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Maternal serum placental growth factor at 11–13 weeks in chromosomally abnormal pregnancies
Authors: Zaragoza E. , Akolekar R. , Poon L. C. Y. , Pepes S. , Nicolaides K. H.
Published: March 2009

Objectives

To investigate the potential value of maternal serum placental growth factor (PlGF) in first‐trimester screening for trisomy 21 and other major chromosomal abnormalities.

Methods

The maternal serum concentration of PlGF at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks was measured in 609 euploid and 175 chromosomally abnormal pregnancies, including 90 with trisomy 21, 28 with trisomy 18, 19 with trisomy 13, 28 with Turner syndrome and 10 with triploidy. The levels of PlGF were compared in cases and controls, and were assessed for association with free β‐human chorionic gonadotropin (β‐hCG) and pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A (PAPP‐A).

Results

Logistic regression analysis demonstrated in the euploid group that significant independent contributions for log PlGF were provided by fetal crown–rump length, maternal weight, cigarette smoking and ethnic origin; after correction for these variables the median multiple of the median (MoM) PlGF was 0.991. Significantly lower values were observed in pregnancies with trisomy 21 (0.707 MoM), trisomy 18 (0.483 MoM), trisomy 13 (0.404 MoM), triploidy (0.531 MoM) and Turner syndrome (0.534 MoM). Significant contributions in the prediction of trisomy 21 were provided by maternal age, serum PlGF, PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG, and the detection rates of screening with the combination of these variables were 70% and 80% at respective false‐positive rates of 3% and 5%.

Conclusions

Maternal serum PlGF concentration at 11–13 weeks of gestation is potentially useful in first‐trimester screening for trisomy 21 and other major chromosomal abnormalities. Copyright © 2009 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiple OXPHOS deficiency in the liver of a patient with CblA methylmalonic aciduria sensitive to vitamin B12
Authors: Valayannopoulos V. , Hubert L. , Benoist J. F. , Romano S. , Arnoux J. B. , Chrétien D. , Kaplan J. , Fakhouri F. , Rabier D. , Rötig A. , Lebre A. S. , Munnich A. , de Keyzer Y. , de Lonlay P.
Published: March 2009

An adult patient with methylmalonic aciduria due to defective cobalamin synthesis (CblA) responsive to vitamin B12 presented suddenly with severe visual impairment ascribed to optic atrophy followed by a fatal multiorgan failure and lactic acidosis but low methylmalonic acid in plasma and urine. Multiple deficiency of oxidative phosphorylation was found in the patient's liver. We suggest that patients with B12‐sensitive methylmalonic aciduria who have a milder clinical course should be carefully monitored for long‐term complications.
Genetic Counseling Practice Analysis
Authors: Hampel Heather , Grubs Robin E. , Walton Carol S. , Nguyen Emma , Breidenbach Daniel H. , Nettles Steve ,   The American Board of Genetic Counseling 2008 Practice Analysis Advisory Committee including Nancy Callanan, Corliss Meagan , Fox Stephanie , Hiraki Susan , Ku Lisa , Neufeld‐Kaiser Whitney , Riley Bronson , Taylor Jamie , Weik LuAnn
Published: March 2009

The American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) performed a genetic counseling practice analysis (PA) to determine the content of the certification examination. The ABGC‐appointed PA Advisory Committee worked with psychometricians to develop a survey which was distributed to 2,038 genetic counselors in the United States and Canada. The survey was also accessible on the ABGC website. Multiple criteria were used to establish the significance of the tasks included in the survey. A total of 677 responses were used in the analysis, representing a 37.1% corrected response rate. Five major content domains with 143 tasks were identified in the PA. New certification test specifications were developed on the basis of PA results and will be used in developing future examination forms. In keeping with credentialing standards, ABGC plans to conduct a PA on a regular basis so that the content of the examination reflects current practice.
Predicting future invasion of an invasive alien tree in a Japanese oceanic island by process‐based statistical models using recent distribution maps
Authors: Fukasawa Keita , Koike Fumito , Tanaka Nobuyuki , Otsu Kayo
Published: March 2009

Modelling and predicting the potential habitat and future range expansion of invasive species can help managers to mitigate the impact of such species. Because habitat suitability and the colonization process are key determinants of range expansion, inferences drawn from invasion patterns should be based on both attributes. To predict the potential habitat and expansion rate of the invasive tree Bischofia javanica on Hahajima Island, we used simultaneous models of habitat and dispersal to estimate the effect of environment and dispersal from the source population on the current distribution. We compared the fit and the estimated magnitudes of the environment and dispersal effects in the simultaneous models with those in habitat suitability and colonization kernel models. The values of Akaike's information criterion for the simultaneous models were better than those of the habitat suitability and colonization kernel models, indicating that the current distribution of Bischofia was determined by both environment and dispersal. The simultaneous models predicted that the potential habitat of Bischofia would be larger than that predicted by the habitat suitability model. The potential habitat distribution and future invasion predicted by the simultaneous models will contribute to the development of specific landscape‐scale management plans to control this invasive species.
Interaction between the C‐terminal domains of N and P proteins of measles virus investigated by NMR
Authors: Bernard Cedric , Gely Stéphane , Bourhis Jean-Marie , Morelli Xavier , Longhi Sonia , Darbon Hervé
Published: March 2009

MINT‐7009780, MINT‐7009793, MINT‐7009808: N‐tail (uniprotkb:Q89933) and P (uniprotkb:P03422) bind (MI:0407) by nuclear magnetic resonance (MI:0077)
Prevalence of vulvar and vaginal symptoms during pregnancy and the puerperium
Authors: Kennedy Colleen M. , Turcea Anne M. , Bradley Catherine S.
Published: March 2009

Objective

To identify the prevalence of vulvar and vaginal symptoms during pregnancy and at 3 months post partum.

Methods

A prospective, longitudinal, descriptive study of 103 pregnant women was undertaken in which a self‐administered questionnaire was completed at each trimester and 3 months post partum. Retrospective data was collected from 122 women, queried using similar tools, who comprised a nonpregnant control group. Descriptive and comparative statistics were employed.

Results

The prevalence of vulvar burning, itching, pain, and vaginal discharge generally increased during pregnancy, and improved postpartum. Dyspareunia increased during pregnancy, but remained elevated post partum. Compared with the historical nonpregnant group (adjusted for age, marital status, education, and smoking), dyspareunia was reported less often in the first trimester (P = 0.03) and more often post partum (P < 0.01). Furthermore, reports of vulvar pain and vaginal discharge were significantly greater during the second and third trimesters.

Conclusions

Vulvar and vaginal symptoms are common during pregnancy, and the prevalence of some, but not all, increase during gestation and decrease post partum.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide in vaginal epithelium of patients with pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence
Authors: Zhu Lan , Lang Jinghe , Jiang Fang , Jiang Xueying , Chen Jie
Published: March 2009

Objective

To determine the distribution of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in vaginal epithelium among women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and control groups to clarify its role in the etiology of SUI and POP.

Methods

A total of 40 biopsy specimens from anterior and posterior vaginal epithelium were obtained from 3 groups of patients: SUI, POP, and symptomatic controls. Routine hematoxylin and eosin staining and semiquantitative immunohistochemical staining for VIP were performed.

Results

VIP was found in 27.5% of the specimens. In the control group, VIP expression was significantly higher in anterior than in posterior epithelium (P = 0.046). There were no significant differences in the expression of VIP in the anterior and posterior epithelium in a comparison among the 3 groups. In the POP group, the expression of VIP was negatively correlated with age and menopause status.

Conclusions

There is evidence that VIP is a neurotransmitter in the vaginal epithelium. The anterior vaginal wall has a more important role than the posterior vaginal wall. Change of VIP is related to age in POP patients.
Imaging correlation of children with DFNB1 vs non‐DFNB1 hearing loss
Authors: Kochhar Amit , Angeli Simon I. , Dave Sandeep P. , Liu Xue Z.
Published: March 2009

Objectives

To evaluate temporal bone CT findings in GJB2‐related deafness (DFNB1) hearing loss and non‐DFNB1 hearing loss children.

Study Design

Case‐control series.

Subjects and Methods

Children with nonsyndromic hearing loss diagnosed as DFNB1 or non‐DFNB1 after screening GJB2 allele variants and the large GJB6 deletion. Temporal bone CT images compared in a cohort of nine DFNB1 children with 10 non‐DFNB1 children. Visual criteria and absolute measurements were compared against established normative values.

Results

Visual inspection failed to identify two patients with abnormalities identified by using absolute measurements. Only one of nine DFNB1 children had an ear anomaly versus seven of 10 non‐DFNB1 (odds ratio 16.33; 95% CI, 1.35, 197.78; P = 0.050). The non‐DFNB1 group had a mean vestibule width that was significantly larger, and a mean lateral semicircular canal island width and vestibular aqueduct that were significantly smaller than the DFNB1 group.

Conclusions

Visual inspection of temporal bone CT images alone may not identify all anomalies and should be used with absolute CT measurements. Abnormal temporal bone CT findings are significantly less likely in children with DFNB1 compared with non‐DFNB1 children despite similar age and degree of hearing loss.
The Impact of Diversity in Informal Social Networks on Tolerance in Japan
Authors: Ikeda Ken’ichi , Richey Sean
Published: March 2009

Scholars often incorrectly categorize informal social networks as homogeneous and dismiss their potential for exposing members to diverse opinions. Recent research in the United States, however, shows that diversity in informal social networks exists and has a positive influence on political tolerance. Whether exposure to a politically heterogeneous network also increases tolerance in socially homogeneous Japan is tested here. To do this, two new Japanese national sample surveys that utilize name-generator methodology were created and administered to a sample of respondents, as well as a new measure of network political diversity in a multi-party system. Also, an additional type of tolerance, moral tolerance, was tested. The conclusion is that diversity in informal social networks has a positive influence on political and moral tolerance in Japan.
Poloidal eigenmode of the geodesic acoustic mode in the limit of high safety factor
Authors: SASAKI M. , ITOH K. , EJIRI A. , TAKASE Y.
Published: March 2009

The poloidal eigenmode of the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) is studied in the limit of high safety factor. In this limit, the poloidal gyroradius cannot be treated as a perturbation or as an expansion parameter. Analytical expressions for the poloidal structure of the GAM potential, the radial wavenumber dependence of the frequency, the phase velocity, and the group velocity are obtained. The spatial structure of the poloidal eigenmode including the higher-order gyroradius effect is revealed theoretically.
Interactional differences in Alzheimer's discourse: An examination of AD speech across two audiences
Authors: Ramanathan-Abbott Vai
Published: March 2009

Assessments of the narrative abilities of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease should consider the interactions that generate the narratives. By analyzing the discourse of an AD patient in interaction with two different interlocutors, namely her husband and the author, this study calls attention to ways in which one interaction facilitates narratives and the other does not. Previous psycholinguistic research, largely focusing on the resultant narrative, has understood the AD patient's deteriorating narrative skills as a result of the progressively debilitating nature of the disease. This is undoubtedly true, but extensive and meaningful talk is nevertheless possible, partially grounded in and constructed through social interaction. (Discourse analysis, Alzheimer's disease, narrative social interaction)
Constructing an apprenticeship with discourse strategies: Professor-graduate student interactions
Authors: Rudolph Dina E.
Published: March 2009

This longitudinal study examines the construction of the apprenticeship relationshiP between professor (expert) and graduate student (novice) during office-hour interactions. The findings demonstrate that apprenticeship is constituted by the strategic use of affect-indexing linguistic markers in discourse. By indexing stances of cooperativeness, interdependence, and shared Discourse membership, professor and student create a positive affect bond which provides a linguistic means of negotiating miscommunication arising from the student's incomplete socialization to the target Discourse. The socialization process is shown to proceed through a series of interim Discourses where quantifiable shifts in the participants' discourse strategies reveal the student's increasing mastery of the target Discourse. Constraints imposed by the institutional setting are also shown to structure the discourse strategies which characterize the interim Discourses. The results of this study strongly suggest that affect plays a measurable role in the process of language socialization, and is essential for defining “trusf”-based apprenticeship relationships. (Affect, language socialization, discourse analysis, apprenticeship)
Identification and recognition in Swedish telephone conversation openings
Authors: Lindström Anna
Published: March 2009

This study examines how identification and recognition is achieved in Swedish telephone conversation openings, and compares the patterning of Swedish telephone openings with the analyses of telephone conversation openings in other linguistic communities. The analysis suggests that Swedes overwhelmingly self-identify by name over the telephone, like Dutch interactants: but Swedes also avail themselves of the recognitional resources that have been found within American materials to achieve recognition without explicit name-proffer. This finding bears on orientations toward formality and informality in Swedish culture. (Conversation analysis, telephone conversation openings, communication and culture)
Names as pointers: Zulu personal naming practices
Authors: Suzman Susan M.
Published: March 2009

Children in many African societies have meaningful names – unlike their Western counterparts, whose names are primarily labels. In Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and many other cultures, namegivers traditionally chose personal names that pointed to a range of people and circumstances that were relevant at the time of the child's birth. These highly individual or unique names were part of particular social frameworks that have long been evolving with Western acculturation. Like the social frameworks within which they are embedded, naming practices are in the process of change.

This article investigates change in Zulu naming practices as a reflection of wider social changes. Taking historical accounts as the source of traditional namegiving, an analysis of rural, farm, and urban names shows quantitative and qualitative differences in naming practices. Contemporary
names differ significantly from traditional ones, and provide evidence that the world view within which names are given is in the process of redefinition. (Anthropological linguistics, naming, South Africa, Zulu)
Metalanguaging and discourse markers in bilingual conversation
Authors: Maschler Yael
Published: March 2009

This study examines the functions of the bilingual discourse strategy of language alternation in the process of marking boundaries of continuous discourse. The focus is on switched discourse markers – employed, it is argued, to metalanguage the frame of the discourse. The corpus is comprised of audio recordings of over 20 hours of Hebrew-English bilingual conversation. The strategy of language alternation at discourse markers is illustrated, and the switched discourse markers are classified according to Becker's approach to context (1988b) as a source of constraints on text. This classification is then related to the phenomenon of clustering of discourse markers at discourse unit boundaries in both bilingual and monolingual discourse. Finally, cross-linguistic differences in discourse markers are related to a theory of metalanguage. (Discourse analysis, bilingual discourse, discourse markers, languaging, metalanguage, Hebrew/English comparative discourse)
Evidentiality in ritual discourse: The social construction of religious meaning
Authors: Szuchewycz Bohdan
Published: March 2009

The communal creation of religious meaning is here examined in the context of an Irish Catholic Charismatic prayer meeting. Through a micro-analysis of the “spontaneous” ritual language of one such meeting, various discursive strategies are revealed which function to create for the participants an experience of divine/human communication. These include an explicit effort on the part of speakers to construct a thematically consistent and coherent ritual event out of a sequence of apparently spontaneous individual speech acts, as well as a marked use of evidentials to attribute spiritual authorship and authority to personal speech acts. In contrast to what has been suggested as the self-evident nature of ritual speech, the frequent use of evidentials is related to the relatively recent emergence of the movement, its ideology, and its emphasis on the personal narrative as the central form of religious discourse. (Ritual language, evidentials, Catholic religion, charismatic religion, religious movements, authority in discourse)
Purism vs. compromise in language revitalization and language revival
Authors: Dorian Nancy C.
Published: March 2009

Conservative attitudes toward loanwords and toward change in grammar often hamper efforts to revitalize endangered languages (Tiwi, Australia); and incompatible conservatisms can separate educated revitalizers, interested in historicity, from remaining speakers interested in locally authentic idiomaticity (Irish). Native-speaker conservatism is likely to constitute a barrier to coinage (Gaelic, Scotland), and unrealistically severe older-speaker purism can discourage younger speakers where education in a minority language is unavailable (Nahuatl, Mexico). Even in the case of a once entirely extinct language, rival authenticities can prove a severe problem (the Cornish revival movement in Britain). Evidence from obsolescent Arvanitika (Greece), from Pennsylvania German (US), and from Irish in Northern Ireland (the successful Shaw's Road community in Belfast) suggests that structural compromise may enhance survival chances; and the case of English in the post-Norman period indicates that restructuring by intense language contact can leave a language both viable and versatile, with full potential for future expansion. (Revival, purism, attitudes, norms, endangered languages, minority languages, contact)
They just fade away: Language death and the loss of phonological variation
Authors: Sabino Robin
Published: March 2009

Using data from four sets of alternating forms in a moribund Dutch-lexicon creole, this article addresses the characteristics of variation in moribund languages, and “the usefulness of variationist approaches in the description and analysis” of them (Drechsel 1990:552–53). The analysis shows how variable phonological rules continue to exist in a dying language, even after large numbers of words have been bled from the rules' inputs, thereby providing support for Dressler's hypothesis of lexical fading (1972). A three-stage scenario of rule loss is proposed to account for the fact that, in the Negerhollands case, there is substantially greater phonological variation at the level of the community than at the level of the individual. (Obsolescence, phonological variation, phonological change, creole languages, Virgin Islands, Negerhollands)
Southern Chinese dialects as a medium for reconciliation within Greater China
Authors: Erbaugh Mary S.
Published: March 2009

Southern Chinese dialects – Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Hakka – have received little official support from the governments of the nations where Chinese is spoken; they are not mutually intelligible with Mandarin, and are often deeply stigmatized. Although China's language wars have paralleled cold war hostilities, unofficial forces in the 1990s are rapidly enhancing dialect prestige, as an economic boom increasingly links the “Greater China” of the People's Republic, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. (Chinese dialects, Mandarin, Cantonese, Min, Hakka, bilingualism, Hong Kong, Taiwan, official language)
How to get a laugh in Fijian: Code-switching and humor
Authors: Siegel Jeff
Published: March 2009

Code-switching from the Fijian language into a variety of Hindi is commonly used for joking among indigenous Fijians. Examples of this codeswitching are described here, and its role in Fijian joking relationships is outlined. A survey of code-switching used for humor in other societies shows that code-switching may be a signal for joking, that the switching itself may be considered humorous, and that the variety to which one switches may be used for humorous mockery or parody. Three different psychological approaches to the study of humor throw some light on why code-switching into Hindi is funny to Fijians. A final discussion examines code-switching in relation to both unintegrated borrowing and style-shifting. (Code-switching, borrowing, humor, joking, Fijian, Hindi)
The scarcity of Spanish-based creoles explained
Authors: McWhorter John H.
Published: March 2009

Most explanations for the scarcity of Spanish-based creoles have appealed to sociological factors. This article shows that, on the contrary, three historical factors determined the current distribution. First, the Spanish only began cultivating sugar after a century of concentrating on crops requiring smaller plantations; this allowed fuller acquisition of Spanish by the slaves, who then served as models for later arrivals. Second, the Spanish often took over areas formerly occupied by the Portuguese, thus encountering a previously existent pidgin. Third, the Spanish did not establish trade settlements in West Africa, where a Spanish pidgin could have emerged and been transported to the New World. These factors together manifested Spain's low commitment to establishing vigorously capitalistic enterprises in its possessions until the 19th century, which can be seen as the ultimate impediment to the pidginization of Spanish. (Pidgins and creoles, Spanish, Spain, diachronic linguistics, lexical diffusion, language transmission)
Structural convergence and language change: Evidence from Serbian/English code-switching
Authors: Savić Jelena M.
Published: March 2009

This study investigates how the process of structural convergence common in many bilingual communities (cf. Clyne 1987, 1994) interacts with the process of code-switching. Data on Serbian/English code-switching indicate that there the process of structural convergence is reshaping the Serbian variety spoken by bilingual speakers. This process is reflected in code-switching situations in the form of what Myers-Scotton 1993b calls “matrix language” (ML) turnover: the matrix language in code-switched utterances can only be assigned if one considers the process of structural convergence occurring in Serbian. These data indicate that code-switched utterances in which the diachronic ML turnover is under-way present a very useful source of information not only for the analysis of code-switching, but also for the analysis of language change under conditions of contact. The findings of this study strongly suggest that any theoretical model of code-switching which aims at achieving universality needs also to take into consideration the results of the structural convergence that affects linguistic varieties in many code-switching bilingual communities. (Structural convergence and language change, Serbian, code-switching, Matrix Language Frame model)
Norway's “Sámi Language Act”: Emancipatory implications for the world's aboriginal peoples
Authors: Corson David
Published: March 2009

The Sámi (formerly called Lapps) are the indigenous people of Arctic Scandinavia and northwest Russia. Legislation giving major language and cultural rights to Norway's Sámi people was enacted in 1992. As an introduction to discussion of the impact of the Sámi Language Act on Norwegian education, this article begins with an outline of the schooling system in Norway. Its review of the act itself covers the following topics: the Sámi culture and the Sámi languages, social and political problems that affect the Sámi, the place of the Sámi languages in education, and recent educational changes that flow from the Sámi Language Act. Three research questions, covering the practice and organization of bilingual aboriginal education in Norway, are then addressed at length. The article concludes by drawing emancipatory implications from the Sámi experience for members of aboriginal cultures and for the future of aboriginal education generally. (Power and culture, Sámi culture, minority education, native language education, bilingual education)
Pronouncing French names in New Orleans
Authors: Wolf George , Bocquillon Michèle , de la Houssaye Debbie , Krzyzek Phyllis , Meynard Clifton , Philip Lisbeth
Published: March 2009

This article, based on 984 interviews with bearers of French names in the city of New Orleans, investigates the use of the notion of pronunciation as a device by which speakers manage their talk. The investigation proceeded primarily by eliciting ways in which people employ devices for talking about talk in everyday communicative interactions, as a means to manage various types of communicational phenomena and to deal with communication difficulties emerging from a clash of phonetic traditions. The result is a definition of pronunciation in terms which are used by a majority of speakers. An appendix gives a list of names, with comments by their bearers concerning ways in which those bearers would attempt to convey to mispronouncers the correct pronunciation of their names. (Pronunciation, lay metalanguage, folk-linguistics, phonology, phonetics, New Orleans, French names)
Discourse and social change in contemporary Hong Kong
Authors: Flowerdew John
Published: March 2009

This article documents discursive and social change currently taking place in contemporary Hong Kong during the transitional period leading up to the change of sovereignty from Britain to China. It does so by means of a detailed analysis of a political meeting, involving the British Hong Kong governor, Chris Patten, and members of the Hong Kong public. The meeting took place in October, 1992, a day after Patten introduced proposals to widen the democratic franchise. Patten used the meeting, the first time a Hong Kong governor had made himself openly accountable to the public at large, to demonstrate the sort of democratic discourse for which the reform proposals were designed to create a framework.

The analysis focuses on two main ways Patten highlighted the democratic nature of the discourse: the use of mise en abyme, or a “play within a play” structure, and the downplaying of overt markers of hierarchy and power asymmetry. Although Patten's aim was to demonstrate openness and accountability, his ultimate control of the discourse belied the democratic agenda he ostensibly promoted. The analysis consequently also focuses on the manipulative dimension of Patten's discourse. The conclusion considers to what extent the meeting might mark a real shift to a more democratic order of public discourse in Hong Kong. (Discourse analysis, power and language, social change, indexicals, involvement, manipulative discourse, mise en abyme, order of discourse, political discourse, turn-taking).
Down to the wire: The cultural clock of physicists and the discourse of consensus
Authors: Ochs Elinor , Jacoby Sally
Published: March 2009

This study examines how deadlines and time limits for conference talks organize the discourse of consensus among collaborating experimental and theoretical physicists in a university laboratory Six months of videotaped observations, including two cycles of conference talk preparation, indicate that, as the date of an upcoming conference nears, several things happen (a)Co-authoring physicists usually have not achieved agreement on all aspects of the findings (b)They nevertheless direct their energies to constructing a hybrid presentation rhetoric that satisfies the co-authors and fits the talk to the official conference talk time limit (c) In the process of working through matters of rhetoric – what to say, what to display visually, what to leave out, and in what order the information should be presented – the physicists construct a working consensus on matters of physics theory and experimental data explaining the properties and dynamics of the physical universe (Scientific discourse, consensus, temporal organization, rhetoric )
Anglo-Indian English: A nativized variety of Indian English
Authors: Coelho Gail M.
Published: March 2009

The speech of native speakers of Indian English has generally been neglected in studies of English in South Asia. This article describes a variety of Indian English used by a section of the Anglo-Indian community in Madras, South India. A comparison of this variety to available descriptions of “General” or “Educated” Indian English shows that the two are substantially similar, but that the Anglo-Indian variety differs in two features: deletion of/h/ (h-dropping) and the distribution ofr-lessness. The community shows classbased variation in the phonological feature ofh-dropping and in one syntactic feature: auxiliary movement in questions. Sources for features of Anglo-Indian English are discussed, including possible inheritance from both standard and non-standard BrE dialects as well as transfer from Tamil, the likely substrate Indian language for this section of the Anglo-Indian community.(South Asia, Indian English, language variation)
Fifty Troubled Years: The Story of the Burgenland
Authors: Stadler Karl R.
Published: March 2009

Most Austrians believe that in making countless policy decisions relating to Austria after World War I the Allies only twice demonstrated an awareness of the actual situation in Austria and took into account the wishes of the people: (1) when they determined to subject the conflicting claims to the Klagenfurt Basin to the test of a plebiscite; and (2) when they transferred the German-speaking areas of West Hungary to Austria without a plebiscite. However, although the creation of the Burgenland was commemorated in 1971 at numerous semicentennial celebrations in all parts of the country, the official speeches stressing the progress and the achievements of Austria's youngest province, no matter how tactful they were, could not entirely blot out memories of the bitter and bloody struggles of fifty years ago. The refusal of Hungary in her hour of humiliation to give up another piece of national territory; the political intrigues and military operations around the disputed borders; the fraudulent plebiscite in Ödenburg, as a result of which the new province lost its natural capital; and the Hungarian government's diplomatic efforts almost up to the outbreak of World War II to undo the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon are all too much a part of Austrian history to be passed over in silence.
Recent Polish Historiography of the Period of the Partitions
Authors: Blejwas Stanislaus A.
Published: March 2009

The two-hundredth anniversary of the First Partition of Poland is an appropriate time to review the recent Polish historiography of the Partitions of 1772, 1793, and 1795, which at first glance appear to have been treated as stepchildren. Since the founding of the Polish People's Republic twenty-nine years ago, not a single Polish monographic study has been devoted exclusively to the Partitions. Moreover, both the classic, authoritative study, The Second Partition of Poland: A Study in Diplomatic History, by Robert H. Lord, and the recent major monograph, The First Partition of Poland, by Herbert H. Kaplan, published in 1962, were written by foreigners.