bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eating at the Borders: Culinary Journeys
Authors: Duruz Jean
Published: January 2005

In this paper I examine intersections of food, identity, and place within the imagined ‘regions’ of everyday practices, stories, and memories. As such, I continue traditions of writing in cultural geography exemplified by David Bell and Gill Valentine's [1997 Consuming Geographies (Routledge, London)] focus on connecting cultures of food and place, Jon May's (1996a, “‘A little taste of something more exotic’” Geography81 57–64; 1996b, “Globalization and the politics of place” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series21 194–215) nuanced explorations of ‘exotic’ eating in North London, and by Ian Cook, Phil Crang, and Mark Thorpe's [1999, “Eating into Britishness”, in Practising Identities Eds S Roseneil, J Seymour (Macmillan, London) pp 223–248] reflections on British culinary imaginaries and their ‘multicultural’ inscriptions. Specifically, this paper is concerned with ways that conceptions of ethnicity delineate and divide everyday spaces: how meanings of Britishness and Australianness, based in the primacy of ‘tradition’, ‘the West’, and Anglo-Celtic belongings, permeate everyday life in London and Sydney and shape their food cultures. The paper traces moments in the culinary biographies of two women, one English and one Australian of British descent, living in London and Sydney, respectively, and close to shopping streets known for the diversity of their ‘ethnic’ communities. The women's narratives are instructive in their continuities, as much as in their disjunctions. The argument follows some of these, including unexpected engagements with ‘Asia’ and ‘Europe’ and ‘cosmopolitan identity’. Resonances from these engagements contribute to a more complex and ambivalent sense of belonging than first supposed. This is still the region of ‘mainstream’, ‘Anglo’-identity, yet it is one marked by constant spatial redefinition and by occasional porosity of boundary.
Immunochemical characterisation of a methionine-rich protein from peanut
Authors: Mazhar H. , Basha S. M.
Published: January 2005

Peanuts (Arachis hypogeae L. cv. Florunner), like other legumes, are low in sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine and cysteine. Previous research from our laboratory has resulted in the identification and isolation of a methionine-rich protein (MRP) from peanut. To determine the differential deposition pattern of MRP during seed development and its breakdown pattern during seed germination, immunological studies were conducted using antibodies raised against MRP. The results showed that MRP-3 was deposited very early (in the ‘white’ maturity stage), while the MRP-5 accumulated at a later (the ‘yellow’ maturity stage) stage of seed development. Germination studies showed that MRP-3 degraded after 8 days of germination, while MRP-5 degraded after 10 days of germination. The MRP-3 antibody detected homologous proteins in several other legumes and cereals such as pea, pigeon pea, chick pea, red lentil, brown lentil, rice and wheat, while the MRP-5 antibody reacted with extracts from pea, chick pea and French bean, thus showing a conservation of the MRP subunits across species.
Salinity mitigation versus weed risks — can conflicts of interest in introducing new plants be resolved?
Authors: Bennett S. J. , Virtue J. G.
Published: January 2005

Southern Australia’s annual-based agricultural system has come at a large cost to the landscape. Dryland salinity is a rapidly expanding environmental problem that is reducing the amount of land available for agriculture, and causing a significant ecological cost to remnant and riparian vegetation. There is an urgent need to increase the area of the landscape that is sown to deep-rooted herbaceous perennials to reduce the increase in dryland salinity, and for their successful adoption by landowners it is recognised that these perennials must be economically viable. Australian perennials are unlikely to provide such options in the short term and therefore there is a need to search for species overseas. Many agricultural weeds have arisen as a direct result of deliberately introduced species escaping cultivation and naturalising in the Australian environment. They cause a huge cost to agriculture in terms of both lost production and control. There is also a cost to natural ecosystems as a result of lost biodiversity and weed management. A conflict of interest thus arises.
This paper follows on from a workshop held between the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity and the CRC for Australian Weed Management. It discusses 4 key areas where potential conflict exists between the maintenance of biodiversity in natural ecosystems and the development and introduction of new herbaceous perennials. Each of the issues within pre-entry weed risk assessment, post-entry weed risk assessment, weed risk of translocating native species and field assessments of new species is discussed in detail and suggestions are given on the means to resolve the conflicts. Actions to address the recommendations are urgently required if we are going to resolve the current conflicts of interest between the need for managing present and future environmental weeds and for mitigating dryland salinity.
Phosphorylation of linker histones by DNA-dependent protein kinase is required for DNA ligase IV-dependent ligation in the presence of histone H1
Authors: Kysela Boris , Chovanec Miroslav , Jeggo Penny A.
Published: January 2005

DNA nonhomologous end-joining
in vivo
requires the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and DNA ligase IV/XRCC4 (LX) complexes. Here, we have examined the impact of histone octamers and linker histone H1 on DNA end-joining
in vitro
. Packing of the DNA substrate into dinucleosomes does not significantly inhibit ligation by LX. However, LX ligation activity is substantially reduced by the incorporation of linker histones. This inhibition is independent of the presence of core histone octamers and cannot be restored by addition of Ku alone but can be partially rescued by DNA-PK. The kinase activity of DNA-PK is essential for the recovery of end-joining. DNA-PK efficiently phosphorylates histone H1. Phosphorylated histone H1 has a reduced affinity for DNA and a decreased capacity to inhibit end-joining. Our findings raise the possibility that DNA-PK may act as a linker histone kinase by phosphorylating linker histones in the vicinity of a DNA break and coupling localized histone H1 release from DNA ends, with the recruitment of LX to carry out double-stranded ligation. Thus, by using histone H1-bound DNA as a template, we have reconstituted the end-joining step of DNA nonhomologous end-joining
in vitro
with a requirement for DNA-PK.
A segment of cold shock protein directs the folding of a combinatorial protein
Authors: de Bono Stephanie , Riechmann Lutz , Girard Eric , Williams Roger L. , Winter Greg
Published: January 2005

It has been suggested that protein domains evolved by the non-homologous recombination of building blocks of subdomain size. In earlier work we attempted to recapitulate domain evolution
in vitro
. We took a polypeptide segment comprising three β-strands in the monomeric, five-stranded β-barrel cold shock protein (CspA) of
Escherichia coli
as a building block. This segment corresponds to a complete exon in homologous eukaryotic proteins and includes residues that nucleate folding in CspA. We recombined this segment at random with fragments of natural proteins and succeeded in generating a range of folded chimaeric proteins. We now present the crystal structure of one such combinatorial protein, 1b11, a 103-residue polypeptide that includes segments from CspA and the S1 domain of the 30S ribosomal subunit of
E. coli
. The structure reveals a segment-swapped, six-stranded β-barrel of unique architecture that assembles to a tetramer. Surprisingly, the CspA segment retains its structural identity in 1b11, recapitulating its original fold and deforming the structure of the S1 segment as necessary to complete a barrel. Our work provides structural evidence that (
i
) random shuffling of nonhomologous polypeptide segments can lead to folded proteins and unique architectures, (
ii
) many structural features of the segments are retained, and (
iii
) some segments can act as templates around which the rest of the protein folds.
Gelsolin mediates calcium-dependent disassembly ofListeriaactin tails
Authors: Larson Laura , Arnaudeau Serge , Gibson Bruce , Li Wei , Krause Ryoko , Hao Binghua , Bamburg James R. , Lew Daniel P. , Demaurex Nicolas , Southwick Frederick
Published: January 2005

The role of intracellular Ca2+in the regulation of actin filament assembly and disassembly has not been clearly defined. We show that reduction of intracellular free Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]i) to <40 nM inListeria monocytogenes-infected, EGFP–actin-transfected Madin–Darby canine kidney cells results in a 3-fold lengthening of actin filament tails. This increase in tail length is the consequence of marked slowing of the actin filament disassembly rate, without a significant change in assembly rate. The Ca2+-sensitive actin-severing protein gelsolin concentrates in theListeriarocket tails at normal resting [Ca2+]iand disassociates from the tails when [Ca2+]iis lowered. Reduction in [Ca2+]ialso blocks the severing activity of gelsolin, but not actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin microinjected intoListeria-infected cells. InXenopusextracts,Listeriatail lengths are also calcium-sensitive, markedly shortening on addition of calcium. Immunodepletion of gelsolin, but notXenopusADF/cofilin, eliminates calcium-sensitive actin-filament shortening.Listeriatail length is also calcium-insensitive in gelsolin-null mouse embryo fibroblasts. We conclude that gelsolin is the primary Ca2+-sensitive actin filament recycling protein in the cell and is capable of enhancingListeriaactin tail disassembly at normal resting [Ca2+]i(145 nM). These experiments illustrate the unique and complementary functions of gelsolin and ADF/cofilin in the recycling of actin filaments.
Strain-specified characteristics of mouse synthetic prions
Authors: Legname Giuseppe , Nguyen Hoang-Oanh B. , Baskakov Ilia V. , Cohen Fred E. , DeArmond Stephen J. , Prusiner Stanley B.
Published: January 2005

Synthetic prions were produced in our laboratory by using recombinant mouse prion protein (MoPrP) composed of residues 89-230. The first mouse synthetic prion strain (MoSP1) was inoculated into transgenic (Tg) 9949 mice expressing N-terminally truncated MoPrP(Δ23-88) and WT FVB mice expressing full-length MoPrP. On first and second passage in Tg9949 mice, MoSP1 prions caused disease in 516 ± 27 and 258 ± 25 days, respectively; numerous, large vacuoles were found in the brainstem and gray matter of the cerebellum. MoSP1 prions passaged in Tg9949 mice were inoculated into FVB mice; on first and second passage, the FVB mice exhibited incubation times of 154 ± 4 and 130 ± 3 days, respectively. In FVB mice, vacuolation was less intense but more widely distributed, with numerous lesions in the hippocampus and cerebellar white matter. This constellation of widespread neuropatho-logic changes was similar to that found in FVB mice inoculated with Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) prions, a strain derived from a sheep with scrapie. Conformational stability studies showed that the half-maximal GdnHCl (Gdn
1/2
) concentration for denaturation of MoSP1 prions passaged in Tg9949 mice was ≈4.2 M; passage in FVB mice reduced the Gdn
1/2
value to ≈1.7 M. RML prions passaged in either Tg9949 or FVB mice exhibited Gdn
1/2
values of ≈1.8 M. The incubation times, neuropathological lesion profiles, and Gdn
1/2
values indicate that MoSP1 prions differ from RML and many other prion strains derived from sheep with scrapie and cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Zero- to low-field MRI with averaging of concomitant gradient fields
Authors: Meriles Carlos A. , Sakellariou Dimitris , Trabesinger Andreas H. , Demas Vasiliki , Pines Alexander
Published: January 2005

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) encounters fundamental limits in circumstances in which the static magnetic field is not sufficiently strong to truncate unwanted, so-called concomitant components of the gradient field. This limitation affects the attainable optimal image fidelity and resolution most prominently in low-field imaging. In this article, we introduce the use of pulsed magnetic-field averaging toward relaxing these constraints. It is found that the image of an object can be retrieved by pulsed low fields in the presence of the full spatial variation of the imaging encoding gradient field even in the absence of the typical uniform high-field time-independent contribution. In addition, error-compensation schemes can be introduced through the application of symmetrized pulse sequences. Such schemes substantially mitigate artifacts related to evolution in strong magnetic-field gradients, magnetic fields that vary in direction and orientation, and imperfections of the applied field pulses.
A push-pull mechanism for regulating integrin function
Authors: Li Wei , Metcalf Douglas G. , Gorelik Roman , Li Renhao , Mitra Neal , Nanda Vikas , Law Peter B. , Lear James D. , DeGrado William F. , Bennett Joel S.
Published: January 2005

Homomeric and heteromeric interactions between the αIIb and β3 transmembrane domains are involved in the regulation of integrin αIIbβ3 function. These domains appear to interact in the inactivated state but separate upon integrin activation. Moreover, homomeric interactions may increase the level of αIIbβ3 activity by competing for the heteromeric interaction that specifies the resting state. To test this model, a series of mutants were examined that had been shown previously to either enhance or disrupt the homomeric association of the αIIb transmembrane domain. One mutation that enhanced the dimerization of the αIIb transmembrane domain indeed induced constitutive αIIbβ3 activation. However, a series of mutations that disrupted homodimerization also led to αIIbβ3 activation. These results suggest that the homo- and heterodimerization motifs overlap in the αIIb transmembrane domain, and that mutations that disrupt the αIIb/β3 transmembrane domain heterodimer are sufficient to activate the integrin. The data also imply a mechanism for αIIbβ3 regulation in which the integrin can be shifted from its inactive to its active state by destabilizing an αIIb/β3 transmembrane domain heterodimer and by stabilizing the resulting αIIb and β3 transmembrane domain homodimers.
Pregnane X receptor prevents hepatorenal toxicity from cholesterol metabolites
Authors: Sonoda Junichiro , Chong Ling Wa , Downes Michael , Barish Grant D. , Coulter Sally , Liddle Christopher , Lee Chih-Hao , Evans Ronald M.
Published: January 2005

Efficient detoxification and clearance of cholesterol metabolites such as oxysterols, bile alcohols, and bile acids are critical for survival because they can promote liver and cardiovascular disease. We report here that loss of the nuclear xenobiotic receptor PXR (pregnane X receptor), a regulator of enterohepatic drug metabolism and clearance, results in an unexpected acute lethality associated with signs of severe hepatorenal failure when mice are fed with a diet that elicits accumulation of cholesterol and its metabolites. Induction of a distinct drug clearance program by a high-affinity ligand for the related nuclear receptor, the constitutive androstane receptor, does not overcome the lethality, indicating the unique requirement of PXR for detoxification. We propose that the PXR signaling pathway protects the body from toxic dietary cholesterol metabolites, and, by extension, PXR ligands may ameliorate human diseases such as cholestatic liver diseases and the associating acute renal failure.
Different G protein-coupled receptor kinases govern G protein and β-arrestin-mediated signaling of V2 vasopressin receptor
Authors: Ren Xiu-Rong , Reiter Eric , Ahn Seungkirl , Kim Jihee , Chen Wei , Lefkowitz Robert J.
Published: January 2005

Signaling through β-arrestins is a recently appreciated mechanism used by seven-transmembrane receptors. Because G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) phosphorylation of such receptors is generally a prerequisite for β-arrestin binding, we studied the roles of different GRKs in promoting β-arrestin-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation by a typical seven-transmembrane receptor, the Gs-coupled V2 vasopressin receptor. Gs- and β-arrestin-mediated pathways to ERK activation could be distinguished with H89, an inhibitor of protein kinase A, and β-arrestin 2 small interfering RNA, respectively. The roles of GRK2, -3, -5, and -6 were assessed by suppressing their expression with specific small interfering RNA sequences. By using this approach, we demonstrated that GRK2 and -3 are responsible for most of the agonist-dependent receptor phosphorylation, desensitization, and recruitment of β-arrestins. In contrast, GRK5 and -6 mediated much less receptor phosphorylation and β-arrestin recruitment, but yet appeared exclusively to support β-arrestin 2-mediated ERK activation. GRK2 suppression actually increased β-arrestin-stimulated ERK activation. These results suggest that β-arrestin recruited in response to receptor phosphorylation by different GRKs has distinct functional potentials.
DNA methyltransferase 1 regulates reelin mRNA expression in mouse primary cortical cultures
Authors: Noh Jai Sung , Sharma Rajiv P. , Veldic Marin , Salvacion Alain A. , Jia Xiaomei , Chen Ying , Costa Erminio , Guidotti Alessandro , Grayson Dennis R.
Published: January 2005

The polygenic nature of complex psychiatric disorders suggests a common pathway that may be involved in the down-regulation of multiple genes through an epigenetic mechanism. To investigate the role of methylation in down-regulating the expression of mRNAs that may be associated with the schizophrenia phenotype, we have adopted a cell-culture model amenable to this line of investigation. We have administered methionine (2 mM) to primary cultures of cortical neurons prepared from embryonic day 16 mice and show that this treatment down-regulated reelin and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) mRNA expression but not that corresponding to neuron-specific enolase mRNA. Moreover, methionine increased methylation of the reelin promoter, suggesting a possible mechanism for the observed change. These cultures contain a mixed population of neurons and glia. Approximately 83% of the neurons are GABAergic based on GAD immunoreactivity, and these neurons coexpress high levels of reelin and DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt) 1 immunoreactivity. To examine whether Dnmt1 regulates reelin gene expression, we used an antisense approach to reduce (knock down) Dnmt1 expression. The reduced Dnmt1 mRNA and protein were accompanied by increased reelin mRNA expression. More importantly, the Dnmt1 knockdown blocked the methionine-induced reelin and GAD67 mRNA down-regulation. These data support the hypothesis that the reduced amounts of reelin and GAD67 mRNAs documented in postmortem schizophrenia brain may be the consequence of a Dnmt1-mediated hypermethylation of the corresponding promoters.
Urban Political Economy Beyond the 'Global City'
Authors: McCann Eugene J.
Published: January 2005

This paper examines the relationship between urbanisation and globalisation beyond the so-called global cities that have been the focus of so much contemporary urban research. The paper argues that there is a problematic polarisation in urban studies between research on 'global' cities and work on presumably 'non-global' cities. The existing geographical literature on scale, place and uneven development offers a more complex and process-based view of contemporary urbanism. It allows the globalisation-urbanisation nexus to be studied in and through a diverse range of cities. This argument is developed via a case study of key moments in the economic development of Lexington, Kentucky, a city that, like most others, is forgotten or overlooked by global cities researchers.
Local Memory and Worldly Narrative: The Remote City in America and Japan
Authors: Clancey Gregory
Published: January 2005

This paper describes the uncharted terrain of the 'remote city', an ubiquitous modern urban space. Concentrating on four cities to the north-east of Tokyo and New York, it argues that worldliness is hardly a monoply of 'world cities'; that historical narratives of connection not only construct the 'locality' of many places, but establish imperatives for regular re-engagement. The remote, local, historical and small are revealed as aspects of globality, rather than alternatives. The worldly narratives of Bangor and Lewiston, Maine (US), and Hakodate, Japan, are contrasted not only with each other, but with the studied non-worldliness of the larger but still remote Japanese city of Niigata. The essay ends with a possible explanation for why 'heroic' or local worldliness actually flourishes in an era of the global mundane.
The Politics of Forgetting: Class Politics, State Power and the Restructuring of Urban Space in India
Authors: Fernandes Leela
Published: January 2005

Policies of economic liberalisation have been accompanied by discourses on the rise of the new middle class in India. The newness of this Indian middle class is marked by changing consumption practices and lifestyles. The visibility of the urban middle classes sets into motion a politics of forgetting with regard to social groups that are marginalised by India's policies of liberalisation. The politics of forgetting refers to a political-discursive process in which specific marginalised social groups are rendered invisible within the dominant national political culture. Such dynamics unfold through the spatial reconfiguration of class inequalities. Both middle-class groups and the state engage in a politics of forgetting that displaces the poor and working classes from such spaces. The result is the production of an exclusionary form of cultural citizenship which is, in turn, contested by these marginalised socioeconomic groups. The article draws on original qualitative field research conducted in Mumbai (Bombay).
Scientific research in education: A critical perspective1
Authors: Lather Patti
Published: January 2005

This article reviews the debate in the USA about quality in educational research which has underpinned particular approaches to educational research being mandated in federal legislation. It argues that the movement towards ‘evidence‐based policy and practice’ oversimplifies complex problems and is being used to warrant governmental incursion into legislating scientific method. It calls for critical readings of current policy and direct engagement in policy forums—putting critical theory to work.
Researching policy borrowing: Some methodological challenges in comparative education
Authors: Phillips David , Ochs Kimberly
Published: January 2005

This article considers some of the methodological challenges involved in investigating, within the traditions of comparative research in education, the complex issue of educational ‘policy borrowing’. It discusses notions of ‘borrowing’ and ‘influence’ and refers to a model previously proposed by the authors for the analysis of what are seen as four stages in the policy borrowing process which can be tested empirically. These are identified as cross‐national attraction, decision, implementation, and internalization/indigenization. The problems involved in researching each stage of this process are considered, in particular in relation to the authors’ previous work on the attractiveness to British observers of educational policy in Germany over a long historical period.
Morphology of the Fetal Rat Testis Preserved in Different Fixatives
Authors: Howroyd Paul , Hoyle-Thacker Renee , Lyght Otis , Williams Delorise , Kleymenova Elena
Published: January 2005

Histopathological examination of the testes of exposed fetuses and neonates is important in assessing the developmental effects of environmental toxins, including sex hormone modulators. Modified Davidson’s fluid (mDF) has been suggested as a superior substitute for Bouin’s fluid for fixation of adult animal testes. We compared the morphology of fetal rat testes stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or immunochemically after fixation in 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF), Bouin’s fluid, or mDF. Fixation in mDF resulted in more sharply defined nuclear detail and better preservation of cellular cytoplasm on H&E-stained sections of rat testes on gestation day 19. Use of Bouin’s fluid did not allow satisfactory detection of apoptotic cells by fluorescent terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated deoxy-UTP nick labeling. Staining with the immunoperoxidase system and the conventional chromogen diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride to visualize 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine-positive cells demonstrated that the number of positive nuclei and intensity of staining were similar with all 3 fixatives. Immunostaining for cytoskeletal protein vimentin was more intense and provided better details of the Sertoli cell cytoplasm with formalin fixation than with mDF. Our study demonstrates that fixation in mDF provided better morphologic detail in the fetal rat testis compared with 10% NBF and Bouin’s fluid and illustrates the importance of establishing the correct fixation conditions for each immunostaining protocol.
Statin-Induced Muscle Necrosis in the Rat: Distribution, Development, and Fibre Selectivity
Authors: Westwood F. Russell , Bigley Alison , Randall Kevin , Marsden Alan M. , Scott Robert C.
Published: January 2005

Simvastatin and cerivastatin have been used to investigate the development of statin-induced muscle necrosis in the rat. This was similar for both statins and was treatment-duration dependent, only occurring after 10 days had elapsed even if the dose was increased, and still occurring after this time when dosing was terminated earlier as a result of morbidity. It was then widespread and affected all areas of the muscular system. However, even when myotoxicity was severe, particular individual muscles and some types of fibres within affected muscles were spared consistently. Fibre typing of spared muscles and of acutely necrotic fibres within affected muscles indicated a differential fibre sensitivity to statin-induced muscle necrosis. The fibres showed a necrotic response to statin administration that matched their oxidative/glycolytic metabolic nature: Least sensitive →I ↔ IIA ↔ IID ↔ IIB ← most sensitive. Type I and IIB fibres represent metabolic extremes of a continuum of metabolic properties through the fibre types with type I fibres most oxidative in metabolism and type IIB fibres most glycolytic. In addition, in some (nonnecrotic) glycolytic fibres from muscles showing early multifocal single fibre necrosis the only subcellular alterations present in isolation of any other changes were mitochondrial. These changes were characterised by an increased incidence of vacuolation and the formation of myelinoid vesicular bodies that accumulated in the subsarcolemmal areas. These findings suggest an important early involvement of mitochondria in selective glycolytic muscle fibre necrosis following inhibition of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase.
Comparative In Vivo Toxicity of Topical JP-8 Jet Fuel and Its Individual Hydrocarbon Components: Identification of Tridecane and Tetradecane as Key Constituents Responsible for Dermal Irritation
Authors: Muhammad F. , Monteiro-Riviere N. A. , Riviere J. E.
Published: January 2005

Despite widespread exposure to military jet fuels, there remains a knowledge gap concerning the actual toxic entities responsible for irritation observed after topical fuel exposure. The present studies with individual hydrocarbon (HC) constituents of JP-8 jet fuel shed light on this issue. To mimic occupational scenarios, JP-8, 8 aliphatic HC (nonane, decane, undecane, dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, pentadecane, hexadecane) and 6 aromatic HC (ethyl benzene, o-xylene, trimethyl benzene, cyclohexyl benzene, naphthalene, dimethyl naphthalene) soaked cotton fabrics were topically exposed to pigs for 1 day and with repeated daily exposures for 4 days. Erythema, epidermal thickness, and epidermal cell layers were quantitated. No erythema was noted in 1-day in vivo HC exposures but significant erythema was observed in 4-day tridecane, tetradecane, pentadecane, and JP-8 exposed sites. The aromatic HCs did not produce any macroscopic lesions in 1 or 4 days of in vivo exposures. Morphological observations revealed slight intercellular and intracellular epidermal edema in 4-day exposures with the aliphatic HCs. Epidermal thickness and number of cell layers significantly increased ( p < 0.05) in tridecane, tetradecane, pentadecane, and JP-8-treated sites. No significant differences were observed in the aromatic HC-exposed sites. Subcorneal microabscesses containing inflammatory cells were observed with most of the long-chain aliphatic HCs and JP-8 in 4-day exposures. Ultrastructural studies depicted that jet fuel HC-induced cleft formation within intercellular lipid lamellar bilayers of the stratum corneum. The degree of damage to the skin was proportional to the length of in vivo HC exposures. These data coupled with absorption and toxicity studies of jet fuel HC revealed that specific HCs (tridecane and tetradecane) might be the key constituents responsible for jet fuel-induced skin irritation.
Susceptibilities of p53 Knockout and rasH2 Transgenic Mice to Urethane-Induced Lung Carcinogenesis are Inherited from their Original Strains
Authors: Ozaki Masakazu , Ozaki Keisuke , Watanabe Tomoyuki , Uwagawa Satoshi , Okuno Yasuyoshi , Shirai Tomoyuki
Published: January 2005

In the present study, susceptibility of CB6F1 mice carrying the human prototype c-Ha- ras gene (rasH2 mice) and p53 gene knockout mice ( p53 (+/−) mice) to urethane-induced lung carcinogenesis was compared under the same experimental conditions. Both strains were administered 500 ppm urethane in their drinking water for 3 weeks. At week 26, lung adenocarcinomas and adenomas were observed in 53% and 100% of rasH2 mice, respectively, and lung adenomas were observed in 67% of rasH2 littermate (non-Tg) mice. However, lung tumors were not observed in either p53 (+/−) or p53 (+/+) mice. Peliosis hepatis and hepatic hemangiomas were observed in 27% and 67% of p53 (+/−) mice, but only in 6.7% and 6.7% of the rasH2 animals, respectively. Under the same experimental conditions, BALB/c mice, the strain of origin of the rasH2 mice, developed lung adenomas at an incidence of 93%, whereas none of the C57BL/6 original strain for p53 (+/−) mice developed lung tumors. Peliosis hepatis was observed in 40% of the C57BL/6 mice, but not in BALB/c mice; hepatic and splenic hemangiomas were not observed in these animals. These results indicate that organ susceptibility of rasH2 and p53 (+/−) mice is inherited from their strains of origin, the rasH2 and BALB/c lines being much more sensitive to the induction of pulmonary carcinogenesis.
Real-Time Sensor-Actuator Networks
Authors: Sastry Shivakumar , Iyengar S. S.
Published: January 2005

Emerging technologies offer new paradigms for computation, control, collaboration, and communication. To realize the full potential of these technologies in industry, defense, and homeland security applications, it is necessary to exploit the real-time distributed computing capabilities of sensor-actuator networks. To reliably design and develop such networks, it is necessary to develop deeper insight into the underlying model for real-time computation and the infrastructure at the node level that supports this model. In this paper, we discuss a new node-level operating system and mechanisms necessary to deploy reliable applications. The overriding issue that guides the design of this operating system is quality of service metric called predictability.

A sensor-actuator network is a distributed platform for integrated computation and control in real-time environments. The nodes in such a network are distinguished by being resource constrained. The power of the network arises from the interactions between simple nodes. Such a network extends the popular distributed sensor networks in several dimensions. After identifying a real-time model, we develop a notion of predictability for a sensor-actuator network. We discuss how the node-level operating system is designed in the resource-constrained environment. An efficient multithreading mechanism and scheduling strategy are required to ensure that local tasks are executed within jitter bounds and that end-to-end delays do not violate application constraints. Mechanisms to support communication, monitoring, safety, fault tolerance, programming, diagnosability, reconfiguration, composability, interoperability, and security are discussed.
Cross‐cultural training to facilitate expatriate adjustment: it works!
Authors: Waxin Marie‐France , Panaccio Alexandra
Published: January 2005

Purpose

The paper examines what are the effects of the different types of cross‐cultural training (CCT) on expatriates' adjustment and whether prior international experience (IE) and cultural distance (CD) have a moderator effect on the effectiveness of CCT.

Design/methodology/approach

In a quantitative approach the paper examines the effect of four different types of CCT on the three facets of expatriates' adjustment, on a sample consisting of 54 French, 53 German, 60 Korean and 57 Scandinavian managers expatriated to India. The paper then examines the moderator effect of IE and of CD on CCT's effectiveness.

Findings

CCT accelerates expatriates’ adjustment. The type of CCT received matters. IE and CD have a moderator effect.

Practical implications

Implications for practice are identified.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrated the effectiveness of different kinds of CCT and the moderator effects of IE and CD.
Cross‐cultural training and expatriate adjustment in China: Western joint venture managers
Authors: Selmer Jan
Published: January 2005

Purpose

Joint ventures remain the largest group of foreign‐invested enterprises in China. Given the high level of potential conflict, this paper examines whether Western expatriates in joint ventures benefit from cross‐cultural training.

Design/methodology/approach

A mail questionnaire targeted business expatriates assigned by Western firms to joint ventures and other types of organisations in China.

Findings

Results show that training had a weak positive association with work adjustment for expatriates in joint ventures, but no relationship with work adjustment for Western managers in other types of operations.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected through a self‐report questionnaire and a cross‐sectional approach was applied. However, the scale measuring sociocultural adjustment may have some potential problems.

Practical implications

This paper emphasises the work context in China when training expatriate candidates. Alternatively, individuals should be selected with recent positive experiences of the host country and work task at hand. Such experience could be regarded as a perfect substitute for cross‐cultural training

Originality/value

The distinction between different organisational contexts in assessing the effect of cross‐cultural training constitutes a novel approach. The study contributes to the literature on the effectiveness of cross‐cultural training of business expatriates in general and the impact of their organisational setting in particular. It is important to notice that the improved adjustment covers the very reason for the foreign assignment, the work duties of the expatriate manager.
HRM practices and MNC knowledge transfer
Authors: Minbaeva Dana B.
Published: January 2005

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to determine and empirically examine the effect of human resource management (HRM) practices on knowledge transfer within multinational corporations.

Design/methodology/approach

It is suggested that the employment of human resource practices, which affect absorptive capacity of knowledge receivers and support organizational learning environment, is positively related to the degree of knowledge transfer to the subsidiary. Moreover, the higher degree of knowledge transfer is expected when HRM practices are applied as an integrated system of interdependent practices. Hypotheses derived from these arguments are tested on the data from 92 subsidiaries of Danish multinational corporations (MNCs) located in 11 countries.

Findings

Results of the analysis indicated the existence of two groups of HRM practices conducive to knowledge transfer. The simultaneous effect of the first group of HRM practices consisting of “staffing”, “training”, “promotion”, “compensation” and “appraisal” on the degree of knowledge transfer was found to be positive and substantial. The hypothesis regarding the effect of corporate socialization mechanisms and flexible working practices (the second group of HRM practices) was not supported by the data. The analysis also indicated that some HRM practices have a complementary effect on the degree of knowledge transfer when they are applied as a system.

Research limitations/implications

While this study makes a contribution to our understanding of the relationship between HRM practices and knowledge transfer in the MNC, clearly, additional research is needed to develop this link further, which until now has been largely black‐boxed.

Originality/value

Makes a contribution to our understanding of the relationship of HRM practices and knowledge transfer in MNCs.
The personal characteristics of the successful expatriate
Authors: Holopainen Jonna , Björkman Ingmar
Published: January 2005

Purpose

When critically reviewing the empirical research on the relationships between personal characteristics and successful foreign assignments it is revealed that the extant empirical research suffers from several limitations. The aim of this article is to shed additional light into the relationship between expatriate personal characteristics and job performance, circumventing the identified limitations of cross‐sectional design, use of self‐evaluations and inappropriate measures of success.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study is based on longitudinal data. Trained psychologists carried out a psychological assessment of the expatriate prior to the assignment. Performance data were provided by both the expatriate and the expatriate's superior.

Findings

The obtained results support the importance of communicational ability for expatriate success, whereas stress tolerance and relational ability were not found to be significantly related to success.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in only one multinational company and the country of origin of all studied expatriates was Finland. Another limitation of this study is the relatively limited number of personal characteristics studied and the use of only one superior performance evaluation per expatriate.

Practical implications

Based on the results it is recommended that companies systematically assess the personal characteristics of candidates before deciding on an expatriation, especially the communicational ability. Minimising the use of self‐evaluations in research is strongly advised.

Originality/value

This article contributes to the literature by providing a longitudinal study on the relationship between expatriate personal characteristics and performance.
A survey of employee relations practices and demographics of MNC chain and domestic luxury hotels in Australia
Authors: Timo Nils , Davidson Michael
Published: January 2005

Purpose

The paper aims to examine employment relations practices and labour market features of 4‐5 star luxury multinational chain (MNC) and domestic hotels operating in the Brisbane‐Gold Coast corridor in Australia and discuss the implications that competing on price and quality has on employment, wages and training.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used data drawn from a large managerial and employee relations/demographic survey covering wages, employment status, age, gender, working conditions and training, including interview data from hotel HRM managers.

Findings

The data showed a persistence of gendered, low waged and segmented labour markets dominated by flexible labour. Competition between MNC and domestic hotels were not found to be the conduit of “new” HRM practices as a competitive edge. Both MNC and domestic hotels shape the hotel labour market in a way which perpetuates cost minimization strategies based on an increasingly skilled, yet flexible and low cost labour force.

Research limitations/implications

Of the 14 hotels, only three were domestic. MNC luxury hotels dominate the sample. Rather a straight forward convergence thesis, MNC and domestic hotels have been compelled to compete on price and standard quality.

Originality/value

While not a deliberate strategy of a “a race to the bottom”, the 4‐5 star luxury MNC and domestic hotels in the study have re‐shaped employment relations practices perpetuating a cost minimization competitive strategy suggesting that a “high road” competitive strategy as portrayed in HRM literature strategy is not the only way for firms such as hotels achieving a competitive edge.
Globalisation and manufacturing strategy in the TCF industry
Authors: Buxey Geoff
Published: January 2005

Purpose

The textiles, clothing, and footwear (TCF) industry has struggled in Australia since the government commenced dismantling tariffs. By sourcing from Asia, middlemen undercut established suppliers, and retail chains set benchmark low prices with their imported “house” labels. The policy‐makers predicted that local producers would become more efficient, and export to make up for lost sales, but the media paints a picture of rising imports, retrenchments, and factory closures. The research objective was to discover what strategies the survivors (actually) employ in adapting to the pressures of globalisation.

Design/methodology/approach

More than 30 companies were involved in the study, ranging from small family businesses to subsidiaries of big multinationals. Each case study was based on an interview with a senior executive, normally followed by a plant tour. This methodology suits a fresh topic, as it avoids preconceptions and imposes no bounds.

Findings

Results show that the policy change was based on “pie in the sky” forecasts. Increasingly, TCF production is transferred to cheap offshore locations, generally via subcontracting plus the “badging” of foreign designs. To survive, local factories should focus on quality and customer service, preferably in niche markets (like uniforms), or for specific customer groups, and develop technologically advanced products. A move down the supply chain into retailing can also assist. Large multinational corporations that engage in foreign direct investment dominate the management literature.

Originality/value

This paper presents a different perspective, neglected in international operations management, whereby domestically oriented businesses attempt to defend themselves against the adverse consequences of globalisation.
Best manufacturing practices
Authors: Timenes Laugen Bjørge , Acur Nuran , Boer Harry , Frick Jan
Published: January 2005

Purpose

Research on best practices suffers from some fundamental problems. The problem addressed in the article is that authors tend to postulate, rather than show, the practices they address to be best – whether these practices do indeed produce best performance is often not investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This article assumes that the best performing companies must be the ones deploying the best practices. In order to find out what are those practices, the highest performing companies in the 2002 International Manufacturing Strategy Survey database were identified, and the role 14 practices play in these companies was investigated.

Findings

Process focus, pull production, equipment productivity and environmental compatibility appear to qualify as best practices. Quality management and ICT may have been best practice previously, but lost that status. E‐business, new product development (NPD), supplier strategy and outsourcing are relatively new, cannot yet be qualified as, but may develop into, best practice. Four other practices do not produce any significant performance effects.

Research limitations/implications

There are four limitations to the research: Incompleteness of the set of practices tested: lack of insight into the effects of interaction between practices and the way in and extent to which they were implemented; good explanatory but poor predictive power; and lack of contextuality.

Originality/value

Taking the position that best practice must be what best performing companies do, the paper is useful for managers using benchmarking to review the design and performance of their manufacturing system, and for scholars engaged or interested in best practice studies.
A study of the lead‐free hot air solder levelling process
Authors: Fellman Jack
Published: January 2005

Purpose

The traditional surface finish for bare boards, eutectic tin‐lead solder from the HASL process, is well characterized, but very little is known about the implementation of lead free solder in that application. This paper will present the results of a study that defined process parameters for both horizontal and vertical machines.

Design/methodology/approach

A test vehicle containing high aspect ratio PTH technology and fine pitch surface mount pads was used for the testing. Solder samples were taken while copper clad laminates were run through the machine. Test panels were run after each 100 laminates and were assessed for solder coverage, appearance, thickness and distribution. Board cleanliness was measured by SIR and ionic contamination.

Findings

Operating parameters for the respective machines were established. Fluxes and oils were found to meet the requirements. Bright solder coatings produced on test panels contained no exposed copper and were found to meet industry standards. SIR results met the requirements of SM‐840C.

Research limitations/implications

Future research to analyze and replenish the lead free solder pot with tin and nickel is needed to assist board shops with the production use of the process over a longer period of time. The work of this paper covered a few days of simulated production, depending on the daily throughput.

Practical implications

Work has been done and reported to demonstrate that the Lead Free HASL is a viable process ready for commercial implementation.

Originality/value

The work of this paper will allow a circuit board fabricator to have a starting point to implement the lead free HASL process. Copper and nickel tracking data are helpful to set up a solder dilution schedule to maintain their concentrations within operating limits.