bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FDI and the Capital Intensity of “Dirty” Sectors: A Missing Piece of the Pollution Haven Puzzle
Authors: Cole Matthew A. , Elliott Robert J. R.
Published: November 2005

In an increasingly integrated world, falling trade barriers mean that the role environmental regulations play in shaping a country's comparative advantage is greater than ever. This has lead to fears that “dirty” industries will relocate to developing regions where environmental regulations may be less stringent. A number of reasons have been offered to explain why, despite anecdotal evidence and the predictions of theoretical studies, little empirical verification for the existence of pollution havens has been found. Little attention, however, has been paid to the capital intensity of pollution intensive sectors. We investigate the relationship between US outward FDI and factor endowments across sectors to two developing countries. We highlight the role of capital and believe it partially explains why pollution havens are not more widespread. Our approach also highlights those countries that are likeliest to become pollution havens. A multivariate analysis reveals some evidence of pollution haven consistent behavior.
Price–Cost Margins and Structural Change: Sub‐Contracting within the Salmon Marketing Chain
Authors: Guillotreau Patrice , Grel Laurent Le , Simioni Michel
Published: November 2005

Some recent studies have benefited from advances in time series econometrics in order to evaluate price transmission mechanisms along the marketing chain. Due to the length of time series, structural changes may affect the evaluation of price–cost margins. In the case of the fresh salmon trade between Norway and France, the gross margin between producers and retailers has changed in level between January 1988 and December 1999. This article accurately identifies the date of a structural change using a range of recent ADF testing procedures (Gregory–Hansen tests, forward and backward recursive tests), before looking for the causes of the change through a survey. Two major factors can be identified: the product form and the marketing channel. Interestingly, both the increasing level of processing and the development of supermarket chains have resulted in a new role for the intermediaries, shifting from mere commercial intermediation to sub‐contracting for the big retailers.
A psychometric assessment of a Swedish translation of Spreitzer's empowerment scale
Authors: HOCHWÄLDER JACEK , BRUCEFORS AGNETA BERGSTEN
Published: November 2005

The psychometric properties of a Swedish translation of Spreitzer's (1995a) empowerment scale were assessed. Three parallel assessments were made of data from 1,107 female registered nurses, 758 female assistant nurses, and 107 male registered and assistant nurses. The analyses indicated that the psychometric properties of the scale can be considered satisfactory. Suggestions are made regarding future research in the fields of psychometrics and work‐ and health‐psychology.
“TROPICALISM” IN FRENCH GEOGRAPHY: REALITY, ILLUSION OR IDEAL?
Authors: Raison Jean‐Pierre
Published: November 2005

In important respects, the disciplinary field of “tropical geography” is a uniquely French field of study, and Pierre Gourou is conventionally seen as its founder and doyen. Yet Gourou did not see himself as the creator of a new paradigm or research school, and geographers were generally more influenced by his writings than by his teaching or any personal connection. With particular reference to French geographical research in and on tropical Africa during the second half of the twentieth century, it is suggested that the development of tropical geography as a subfield ‐ and tropicalism as a research orientation ‐ can be put down to a variety of factors and circumstances. Geographical research on Africa was pivotal, as was the rise to prominence in French research institutes of some of Gourou's disciples. But African academics also played a part, as did criticism of tropical geography for its marginalisation of issues of development and geopolitics. The paper examines this postwar intellectual history and attempts to draw from it a positive and forward looking legacy ‐ a reinvigorated and interdisciplinary “tropicalism”, the main axis of which would be the analysis of the specific characteristics of tropical ecology, and its use and transformation by the societies that live from it. Such a project may help us to confront the contemporary world ecological crisis, and forge critical research projects on globalisation (altermondialisme) that can discern and deal with the complex local‐global, and rural‐urban, articulations of this phenomenon.
“VALUING THE TROPICS”: DISCOURSES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE FARM AND FOREST SECTORS OF FRENCH INDOCHINA, circa 1900–40
Authors: Cleary Mark
Published: November 2005

The paper examines how land and forest management policies were elaborated in French Indochina circa 1900–40. It places their development in the context of a scientific and economic discourse about the value of land and forest resources, the most appropriate ways in which they might be exploited and the relationship between colonial science and indigenous knowledge. By focusing on debates and laws relating to the development of small‐scale and plantation farming systems (Land Code legislations) and forest management and exploitation (Forest Code legislations) the paper seeks to ground arguments about Western conceptions of the “tropics” within a discussion of national policy development and impacts. Focusing primarily on Cochinchina and Annam (southern and central Vietnam) and drawing on materials from French archives, the paper shows how changes in both attitudes and legislation have had lasting consequences on systems of property rights in forest management and on the place and status of indigenous peoples in Indochina.
THE INDIVIDUAL AND TRANSFORMATION OF BRIDEWEALTH IN RURAL NORTH CHINA
Authors: Yan Yunxiang
Published: November 2005

Drawing on data collected from longitudinal fieldwork, this article explores how the practice of bridewealth in a north China village has been transformed into a new form of property division within the groom's family and how the bride has replaced her parents as the recipient of bridewealth. At the individual level, this transformation has evolved through a long process during which individual brides and grooms negotiated with their parents over control of bridewealth. A misunderstanding about Western individualism provides village youths with a new ideological tool to justify their relentless extraction of money from their parents. At the level of family life, the changing norm of bridewealth has shaped and in turn has helped to re‐shape mate choice, family division, and support for the elderly. These family changes occurred within the context of other social changes at the macro level and are closely linked to the role of the powerful state. While emphasizing the active role of the individual in transforming the practice of bridewealth, an important phenomenon that by and large has been overlooked in most studies of marriage transactions, the article also examines the specific strategies by which individuals exercise their agency, choosing to take advantage of the custom of bridewealth instead of abandoning it when it affords them greater autonomy in mate choice and marriage negotiations.
A POPULAR INDONESIAN PREACHER: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AA GYMNASTIAR
Authors: Watson C.W.
Published: November 2005

Aa Gymnastiar (Gym) is a popular Indonesian Muslim preacher who seems to be now at the pinnacle of his fame. He regularly gives advice to the head of state and to ministers and yet at the same time his approach to Islam appeals to all sections of the national Muslim community. His is a familiar face in newspaper columns and above all on television screens; Aa Gym has a masterful command of the media. This article describes and accounts for his popularity and discusses it in terms of continuity and change in the rise and decline of Muslim celebrities in Indonesia. It points out the difference between Gym and some obvious forerunners such as the scholar Hamka, and stresses that the nature of Gym's appeal is new in as much as he does not come from within the circle of traditional families of Muslim ulama. He seems to draw his information as much from secular sources of self‐help manuals as from books of Sufi wisdom. Although very popular and influential among the general circle of believers, he is regarded with some suspicion by those who criticize his sufistic leanings and lack of an orthodox Muslim education. The article concludes by arguing that Gym and his approach to the implementation of Muslim precepts is more representative of the nature of Islam in Indonesia today than the activities of terrorists.
STONE TOOLS AND THE UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN CULTURE
Authors: Davidson Iain , McGrew William C.
Published: November 2005

There is growing evidence that some species other than the human have behaviour that should be called cultural. Questions arise, then, of how human (and, perhaps, ape) cultures are different from those of other animals and how they have become so different. Human cultures are creative, generating new patterns of behaviour from those learned from others. Stone tool making provided a niche for the recruitment of tools and tool‐making processes from one function to another. This is something not yet recorded for apes. This article explores the possible role of stone tools in the emergence of this creativity.
How Not to Fund Hospital and Community Health Services in England
Authors: Stone Mervyn , Galbraith Jane
Published: November 2005

The paper focuses on the hospital and community health service component of the current formula for the target allocation of annual ‘weighted capitation’ funding of England's 304 primary care trusts—a formula that responds to political pressure to tackle continuing health inequalities. The history of allocation formulae for the National Health Service is briefly reviewed, before exposing the composition and provenance of the hospital and community health service component. Under the heading ‘Logical and statistical deficiencies’ we consider various frameworks, model misspecification, allowance for age, ins and outs of supply, unmet need and wrong signs, and replicability and robustness—questions that are relevant to trust in the current formula based on the regression of age-standardized current utilization on a multiplicity of socioeconomic variables. We conclude that it might be better to put future resources into developing direct, rather than proxy, measurement of health needs.
Human phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase pharmacogenomics: gene re‐sequencing and functional genomics
Authors: Ji Yuan , Salavaggione Oreste E. , Wang Liewei , Adjei Araba A. , Eckloff Bruce , Wieben Eric D. , Weinshilboum Richard M.
Published: November 2005

Phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase (PNMT, EC2.1.1.28) catalyzes the N‐methylation of norepinephrine to form epinephrine. As a step toward understanding the possible contribution of inheritance to individual variation in PNMT‐catalyzed epinephrine formation, we ‘re‐sequenced’ the entire human PNMT gene, including the three exons, the introns and approximately 1 kb of the 5′‐flanking region (5′‐FR), using DNA samples from 60 African‐American (AA) and 60 Caucasian‐American (CA) subjects. Within the 3.5 kb re‐sequenced, 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were observed, including four non‐synonymous coding SNPs (cSNPs) that resulted in the following alterations in encoded amino acid sequence: Asn9Ser, Thr98Ala, Arg112Cys and Ala175Thr. When constructs for the non‐synonymous cSNPs were transiently expressed in COS‐1 cells, the Ala98 allozyme displayed significantly lower levels of both activity and immunoreactive protein (p < 0.002) than did the wild‐type (WT) enzyme due, at least in part, to accelerated protein degradation by a proteasome‐mediated process. Luciferase reporter gene constructs were also created for the six common PNMT 5′‐FR haplotypes observed. Significant differences were observed among haplotypes in their ability to drive transcription. These observations raise the possibility of inherited variation in the ability to form epinephrine from norepinephrine as a result of variant PNMT polymorphisms and haplotypes.
The inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3β by a metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 mediated pathway confers neuroprotection to Aβ peptides
Authors: Liu Feng , Gong Xiaohai , Zhang Guoming , Marquis Karen , Reinhart Peter , Andree Terrance H.
Published: November 2005

Activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (Gsk3β) has been shown to be a key component in signaling pathways that underlie neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative disease. Conversely, inactivation of Gsk3β by phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K)/Akt is an important neuroprotective mechanism. Previous studies have shown that agonist activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) can increase neuronal survival and prevent apoptosis. However, little is known about the signaling pathways that couple mGluR5 to neuroprotection. In this report, we investigated whether activation of the PI3K/Akt/Gsk3β pathway, which has been shown to have an important neuroprotective mechanism, is required for mGluR5 activation mediated neuroprotection against β‐amyloid. We found that brief incubations of mouse hippocampal slices with (R,S)‐3,5‐dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) resulted in increased phosphorylation of Akt and Gsk3β. The PI3K inhibitors, LY294002 and wortmannin, blocked the DHPG‐induced increased phosphorylation of Akt and Gsk3β. Similar results were observed in rat primary hippocampal cultures. Finally, we found that the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 can block (R,S)‐2‐chloro‐5‐hydroxyphenylglycine (CHPG) mediated neuroprotection against β‐amyloid. Thus, these findings suggest that mGluR5 can modulate the PI3K/Akt/Gsk3β pathway in the hippocampus, and that modulation of this signaling pathway can reverse β‐amyloid‐induced neuronal toxicity.
The zinc‐finger protein ZFR is critical for Staufen 2 isoform specific nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in neurons
Authors: Elvira George , Massie Bernard , DesGroseillers Luc
Published: November 2005

In mammalian neurons, transport and translation of mRNA to individual potentiated synapses is believed to occur via a heterogeneous population of RNA granules. To identify components of Staufen2‐containing granules, we used the yeast two‐hybrid system. A mouse fetal cDNA library was screened with the N‐terminal fragment of Staufen2 as bait. ZFR, a three zinc finger protein, was identified as an interacting protein. Confocal microscopy showed that ZFR, although mainly nuclear, was also found in the somatodendritic compartment of primary hippocampal neurons where it localized as granule‐like structures. Co‐localization with Staufen2 was observed in several granules. Biochemical analyses (immunoprecipitation, cell fractionation) further confirmed the ZFR/Staufen2 association. ZFR was shown to interact with at least the Staufen262 isoform, but not with Staufen1. ZFR also co‐fractionated with ribosomes and Staufen259 and Staufen252 in a sucrose gradient. Interestingly, knockdown expression of ZFR through RNA interference in neurons relocated specifically the Staufen262, but not the Staufen259, isoform to the nucleus. Our results demonstrate that ZFR is a native component of Staufen2‐containing granules and likely plays its role during early steps of RNA transport and localization. They also suggest that one of these roles may be linked to Staufen262‐containing RNA granule formation in the nucleus and/or to their nucleo‐cytoplasmic shuttling.
Tumor necrosis factor‐α stimulation of calcitonin gene‐related peptide expression and secretion from rat trigeminal ganglion neurons
Authors: Bowen Elizabeth J. , Schmidt Thomas W. , Firm Christina S. , Russo Andrew F. , Durham Paul L.
Published: November 2005

Expression of the neuropeptide calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) in trigeminal ganglion is implicated in neurovascular headaches and temporomandibular joint disorders. Elevation of cytokines contributes to the pathology of these diseases. However, a connection between cytokines and CGRP gene expression in trigeminal ganglion nerves has not been established. We have focused on the effects of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). TNFR1 receptors were found on the majority of CGRP‐containing rat trigeminal ganglion neurons. Treatment of cultures with TNF‐α stimulated CGRP secretion. In addition, the intracellular signaling intermediate from the TNFR1 receptor, ceramide, caused a similar increase in CGRP release. TNF‐α caused a coordinate increase in CGRP promoter activity. TNF‐α treatment activated the transcription factor NF‐κB, as well as the Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways. The importance of TNF‐α induction of MAP kinase pathways was demonstrated by inhibiting MAP kinases with pharmacological reagents and gene transfer with an adenoviral vector encoding MAP kinase phosphatase‐1 (MKP‐1). We propose that selective and regulated inhibition of MAP kinases in trigeminal neurons may be therapeutically beneficial for inflammatory disorders involving elevated CGRP levels.
Identification of the isoforms of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II and expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor mRNAs in the substantia nigra
Authors: Kamata Akifumi , Takeuchi Yusuke , Fukunaga Kohji
Published: November 2005

Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase (CaMK)II is highly expressed in the CNS and mediates activity‐dependent neuronal plasticity. Four CaMKII isoforms, α, β, γ and δ, have a large number of splicing variants. Here we identified isoforms of CaMKII in the rat substantia nigra (SN). Northern blot and RT–PCR analyses revealed that the γ and δ isoform mRNAs with several splicing variants were predominantly expressed in SN. Immunoblot analysis indicated that the major isoforms were γA, γC, δ1 and δ3. An immunohistochemical study also confirmed the preferential localization of γ and δ isoforms in SN dopaminergic neurons. In dopaminergic neurons, immunoreactivity against anti‐CaMKIIδ1–4 antibody was detected in both nucleus and cytoplasm, in contrast to the predominant expression of γ isoforms in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, we showed expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNAs with exons II and IV in SN. Taken together with our previous observations, the results suggest that the CaMKIIδ3 isoform is involved in the expression of BDNF in the SN.
Defective calcium homeostasis in the cerebellum in a mouse model of Niemann–Pick A disease
Authors: Ginzburg Luba , Futerman Anthony H.
Published: November 2005

We recently demonstrated that calcium homeostasis is altered in mouse models of two sphingolipid storage diseases, Gaucher and Sandhoff diseases, owing to modulation of the activities of a calcium‐release channel (the ryanodine receptor) and of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) respectively, by the accumulating sphingolipids. We now demonstrate that calcium homeostasis is also altered in a mouse model of Niemann–Pick A disease, the acid sphingomyelinase (A‐SMase)‐deficient mouse (ASM–/–), with reduced rates of calcium uptake via SERCA in the cerebellum of 6–7‐month‐old mice. However, the mechanism responsible for defective calcium homeostasis is completely different from that observed in the other two disease models. Thus, levels of SERCA expression are significantly reduced in the ASM–/– cerebellum by 6–7 months of age, immediately before death of the mice, as are levels of the inositol 1,4,5‐triphosphate receptor (IP3R), the major calcium‐release channel in the cerebellum. Systematic analyses of the time course of loss of SERCA and IP3R expression revealed that loss of the IP3R preceeded that of SERCA, with essentially no IP3R remaining by 4 months of age, whereas SERCA was still present even after 6 months. Expression of zebrin II (aldolase C), a protein found in about half of the Purkinje cells in the adult mouse cerebellum, was essentially unchanged during development. We discuss possible pathological mechanisms related to calcium dysfunction that may cause Purkinje cell degeneration, and as a result, the onset of neuropathology in Niemann–Pick A disease.
‘Sculpsit Cellinius Neptunam’: the biography of the Neptune fountain in Cellini's Vita
Authors: Gardner Coates Victoria C.
Published: November 2005

In Benvenuto Cellini's autobiographical account of his proposed Neptune fountain for Cosimo I, the artist verbally re‐fashioned his quest for this commission. This essay presents the Neptune passage as an alternative demonstration of Cellini's creative genius, and considers the episode as part of the series of unexecuted masterworks described in the Vita. Cellini's description also provides evidence for his technical facility with marble, associates the author with the legacies of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and serves a self‐promoting function as Cellini attempted to re‐establish himself as a major court sculptor in the competitive group surrounding the Medici Duke. The Neptune occupied the artist in the concluding months of the period narrated in the Vita, and Cellini's description of it functions as a summation of the central themes of his autobiography. The Neptune description thus bears witness to the role of Cellini's Vita as a work of art in its own right and as a self‐conscious contribution to the burgeoning genre of theoretical writing on art in the sixteenth century. (pp. 604–618)
The Scrittoio della Calliope in the Palazzo Vecchio: a Tuscan museum
Authors: Gáldy Andrea M.
Published: November 2005

On 13 June 1559 a group of objects – ancient, modern, exotic – were taken to the newly created Scrittoio della Calliope of Cosimo I de’ Medici. The scrittoio was part of the new wing of the Palazzo Ducale in Florence, added by Giambattista Tasso and Giorgio Vasari and decorated with an elaborate programme of invenzioni. Some of the pieces in this room had been found with the Chimera in Arezzo in 1553 and were considered Etruscan because of their place of discovery. These objects were complemented in the scrittoio installation by exotic pieces from the far corners of the known world, together with a number of works of all’antica art and of Christian art by modern Tuscan artists. In this investigation of the scrittoio's contents, and the relationship of the different groups of objects to each other, it will be shown how the idea of an artistic and political continuity between ancient Etruria and modern Tuscany was presented in visual form in the Scrittoio della Calliope. (pp. 699–709)
The evolutionary history of crustacean segmentation: a fossil‐based perspective
Authors: Waloszek Dieter , Maas Andreas
Published: November 2005

Summary
The evolution of segmentation in Crustacea, that is, the formation of sclerotized and jointed body somites and arrangement of somites into tagmata, is viewed in light of historical traits and functional constraints. The set of Early to Late Cambrian ‘Orsten’ arthropods have informed our current views of crustacean evolution considerably. These three‐dimensionally preserved fossils document ancient morphologies, as opposed to purely hypothetical models and, because of the unusual preservation of larval stages, provide us with unparalleled insight into the morphogenesis of body somites and their structural equipment. The variety of evolutionary levels represented in the ‘Orsten’ including lobopodians, tardigrades, and pentastomids also allows phylogenetic interpretations far beyond the Crustacea. The ‘Orsten’ evidence and data from representatives of the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota in southwestern China, including phylogenetically earlier forms, form the major source of our morphology‐based review of structural and functional developments that led toward the Crustacea. The principal strategy of arthropods is the simultaneous development of head somites, as expressed in a basal “head larva,” and a successive addition of postcephalic somites from a preterminal budding zone with progressive maturation of metameric structures. This can be recognized in the developmental patterns of extant and fossil representatives of several euarthropod taxa, particularly crustaceans, trilobites, and chelicerates (at least basally). The development of these taxa points to an early somite‐poor and free‐living hatching stage. Embryonic development to a late stage within an egg, as occurring in recent onychophorans and certain in‐group euarthropods, is regarded as achieved several times convergently.
Development of the caudal exoskeleton of the pliomerid trilobite Hintzeia plicamarginis new species
Authors: Simpson Andrew G. , Hughes Nigel C. , Kopaska‐Merkel David C. , Ludvigsen Rolf
Published: November 2005

Summary
The later juvenile ontogeny of the caudal plate of the early Ordovician pliomerid trilobite Hintzeia plicamarginis new species likely comprised an initial phase during which the rate of appearance of new segments subterminally exceeded that of segment release into the thorax, a short phase of constant segment numbers, and a later phase during which release occurred but in which no new segments appeared. A distinct terminal region became manifest in the second phase. During the second and third phases growth coefficients for individual segments were about 1.1‐‐1.2 per instar. Although the shapes of segments varied during growth, the pattern of ontogenetic shape change appears to have been broadly similar among segments. This suggests an homonomous trunk segment morphology regardless of thoracic or caudal identity in maturity. These results imply that control of trunk exoskeletal segment appearance and articulation were decoupled in this trilobite, and that the terminal region had a distinct mature morphology. H. plicamarginis is described as a new species.
Arrays in rays: terminal addition in echinoderms and its correlation with gene expression
Authors: Mooi Rich , David Bruno , Wray Gregory A.
Published: November 2005

Summary
The echinoderms are deuterostomes that superimpose radial symmetry upon bilateral larval morphology. Consequently, they are not the first animals that come to mind when the concepts of segmentation and terminal addition are being discussed. However, it has long been recognized that echinoderms have serial elements along their radii formed in accordance with the ocular plate rule (OPR). The OPR is a special case of terminal growth, forming elements of the ambulacra that define the rays in echinoderms. New elements are added at the terminus of the ray, which may or may not be marked by a calcified element called the terminal plate (the “ocular” of sea urchins). The OPR operates in every echinoderm, from the occasionally bizarre fossils of the Cambrian to the most familiar extant taxa. Using the OPR and other criteria of recognition, echinoderm body wall can be divided into two main regions: extraxial components are associated with the somatocoels, axial components (formed in accordance with the OPR) with the hydrocoel. We compare patterns of development in axial regions of echinoderms with those found in the anterior–posterior axes of the earliest echinoderms as well as other invertebrates. Although axial and extraxial skeletons appear to be composed of the same biomineral matrix, the genes involved in patterning these two skeletal components are likely distinct. During development of the axial skeleton, for instance, the genes engrailed and orthodenticle are expressed in spatial and temporal patterns consistent with the OPR. Other genes such as distal‐less seem to demarcate early ontogenetic boundaries between the axial rudiment and the extraxial larval body. There is a complex and pervasive reorganization of gene expression domains to produce the highly divergent morphologies seen in the Echinodermata. We integrate morphological and genetic information, particularly with respect to the origins of radial symmetry in the rudiment, and the concomitant development of the rays.
A morphologist's perspective on terminal growth and segmentation
Authors: Minelli Alessandro
Published: November 2005

SummaryWhen approaching the study of terminal growth and segmentation, comparative morphology provides an important guide to formulate questions. There are often problems in unambiguously identifying the axis along which we wish to study terminal (often, actually, subterminal) growth, especially when the trunk axis is posteriorly prolonged in an appendage (as with the tail of vertebrates), or when the polarity of the “external animal” is other than the polarity of the “internal animal,” as in polypoid bilaterians. We cannot ignore that the rear end of the main body axis is possibly defined very early in development in some groups, for example, arthropods, whereas in others, vertebrates, for example, it is defined much later. We cannot think of segmentation as always corresponding to the sequential posterior addition of new units, thus ignoring the widespread occurrence of double segmentation. A more subtle problem is represented by the overlapping of different processes, all of them contributing to elongating the body, such as segmentation, cell proliferation, cell rearrangement, and cell growth. Within a segmented trunk, cell proliferation and differentiation may go on in parallel from as many growth points as there are groups of regularly spaced cells. The main consequence, however, is not so much to expedite elongation as to reduce the disparity of metabolic conditions, gene expression patterns and “relative age” of different body districts, otherwise possibly troublesome within the limited space of the embryo.
Pair rule gene orthologs in spider segmentation
Authors: Damen Wim G. M. , Janssen Ralf , Prpic Nikola‐Michael
Published: November 2005

Summary
The activation of pair rule genes is the first indication of the metameric organization of the Drosophila embryo and thus forms a key step in the segmentation process. There are two classes of pair rule genes in Drosophila: the primary pair rule genes that are directly activated by the maternal and gap genes and the secondary pair rule genes that rely on input from the primary pair rule genes. Here we analyze orthologs of Drosophila primary and secondary pair rule orthologs in the spider Cupiennius salei. The expression patterns of the spider pair rule gene orthologs can be subdivided in three groups: even‐skipped and runt‐1 expression is in stripes that start at the posterior end of the growth zone and their expression ends before the stripes reach the anterior end of the growth zone, while hairy and pairberry‐3 stripes also start at the posterior end, but do not cease in the anterior growth zone. Stripes of odd‐paired, odd‐skipped‐related‐1, and sloppy paired are only found in the anterior portion of the growth zone. The various genes thus seem to be active during different phases of segment specification. It is notable that the spider orthologs of the Drosophila primary pair rule genes are active more posterior in the growth zone and thus during earlier phases of segment specification than most orthologs of Drosophila secondary pair rule genes, indicating that parts of the hierarchy might be conserved between flies and spiders. The spider ortholog of the Drosophila pair rule gene fushi tarazu is not expressed in the growth zone, but is expressed in a Hox‐like fashion. The segmentation function of fushi tarazu thus appears to be a newly acquired role of the gene in the lineage of the mandibulate arthropods.
VARIATIONS IN THE SUBSTITUTED 3‐LINKED MANNANS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SILICIFIED WALLS OF DIATOMS1
Authors: Chiovitti Anthony , Harper Ruth E. , Willis Anusuya , Bacic Antony , Mulvaney Paul , Wetherbee Richard
Published: November 2005

The polysaccharides from cleaned frustules of the diatoms Pinnularia viridis (Nitzsch) Ehrenberg, Craspedostauros australis Cox, Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle et Heimdal, and Nitzschia navis‐varingica Lundholm et Moestrup were extracted with hot alkali that dissolved the silica and were characterized by constituent sugar and linkage analyses. The polysaccharides from P. viridis were investigated further by permethylation, partitioning according to solubility, desulfation, and CD3I‐methylation. Yields of carbohydrate in the hot alkali extracts ranged from 0.9% to 1.8% w/w based on the dry weight of the silica. Mannose was the dominant sugar in the polysaccharides from all four species (54–69 mol% of constituent sugars), although 14 other monosaccharides, including neutral sugars (glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, fucose), acidic sugars (glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, 2‐O‐methylglucuronic acid), and O‐methylated neutral sugars (2‐O‐methylrhamnose, 3‐O‐methylrhamnose, 2,3‐di‐O‐methylrhamnose, 3‐O‐methylxylose, 4‐O‐methylxylose) were also detected in varying proportions among the four samples. The polysaccharides were predominantly composed of a 3‐linked mannopyranose backbone with a prevalence of linkage and/or substitution at O‐2 of the 3‐linked mannopyranosyl residues, and they were polyanionic, bearing uronic acid residues and/or sulfate esters. There were, however, species‐specific differences in the degree and position of substitution on the mannan backbone, the type and substitution patterns of the anionic substituents, and the type and linkage patterns of sugars other than mannose. Although definitive functions for these polysaccharides in diatom biology remain uncertain, a possible role in biosilicification is discussed.
THE RED ALGA GENUS RHODOSPORA (BANGIOPHYCIDAE, RHODOPHYTA): FIRST REPORT FROM NORTH AMERICA1
Authors: Johansen Jeffrey R. , Fučíková Karolina , Fitzpatrick Margaret H. , Lowe Rex L.
Published: November 2005

We recently discovered several populations of the red alga Rhodospora sordida Geitler in samples from seep walls in Tennessee. This species is thought to be an extremely rare alga. It was reported previously only from seep walls in Europe. The last published reports of the alga were made in the mid‐1970s. A culture of the alga was made from one other site in North America (a rock wall in Arkansas) in 1977, but no publication accompanied that find. Since discovering the alga in summer 2004, we found a second population in a seep wall in northeast Ohio. We suspect that this species has a broader distribution than previously thought and has been overlooked or misidentified in past studies.
Occurrence and Treatment of Suspected Pneumonia in Long‐Term Care Residents Dying with Advanced Dementia
Authors: Chen Jen‐Hau , Lamberg Jennifer L. , Chen Yen‐Ching , Kiely Dan K. , Page John H. , Person Carmel J. , Mitchell Susan L.
Published: November 2005

Objectives: To describe the occurrence and management of suspected pneumonia in end‐stage dementia and to identify factors associated with aggressiveness of antibiotic treatment.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A 675‐bed long‐term‐care facility in Boston, Massachusetts.

Participants: Two hundred forty subjects aged 65 and older who died with advanced dementia between January 2001 and December 2003. Subjects who had suspected pneumonia during the last 6 months of life were identified.

Measurements: Independent variables included subject characteristics and features of suspected pneumonia episodes. These variables were obtained from medical records. Antibiotic treatment for each episode was determined. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent variables associated with aggressiveness of treatment.

Results: One hundred fifty‐four (64%) subjects with advanced dementia experienced 229 suspected pneumonia episodes during the last 6 months of life. Within 30 days of death, 53% of subjects had suspected pneumonia. Antibiotic treatment for the 229 episodes was as follows: none, 9%; oral only, 37%; intramuscular, 25%; and intravenous, 29%. Factors independently associated with more‐invasive therapy were lack of a do‐not‐hospitalize order (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.24, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.02–5.22), aspiration (AOR=2.75, 95% CI=1.44–5.26), primary language not English (AOR=2.21, 95% CI=1.17–4.15), and unstable vital signs (AOR=2.02, 95% CI=1.10–3.72).

Conclusion: Pneumonia is a common terminal event in advanced dementia for which many patients receive parenteral antibiotics. The aggressiveness of treatment is most strongly determined by advance care planning, the patient's cultural background, and clinical features of the suspected pneumonia episode.
Race and Sex Differences in Age‐Related Hearing Loss: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Authors: Helzner Elizabeth P. , Cauley Jane A. , Pratt Sheila R. , Wisniewski Steven R. , Zmuda Joseph M. , Talbott Evelyn O. , de Rekeneire Nathalie , Harris Tamara B. , Rubin Susan M. , Simonsick Eleanor M. , Tylavsky Frances A. , Newman Anne B.
Published: November 2005

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for hearing loss in a sample of 2,052 older adults (aged 73–84; 46.9% male, 37.3% black) enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study.

Design: Cross‐sectional analysis of a longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee, areas.

Participants: Random sample of Medicare beneficiary subjects enrolled in the Health ABC program from 1997 to 1998. They included 2,052 individuals: 660 white men (32.2%), 631 white women (30.8%), 310 black men (15.1%), and 451 black women (22.0%). Participants ranged in age from 73 to 84, with a mean age of 77.5.

Measurements: Hearing sensitivity was measured using pure‐tone threshold testing. Hearing loss was defined based on two averages of hearing thresholds: 500, 1,000, and 2,000 Hz greater than 25‐decibel (dB) hearing level (HL) (hearing loss); and 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz greater than 40‐dB HL (high‐frequency hearing loss). Potential hearing loss correlates, including demographics, medical history, ototoxic medication use, occupational noise exposure, and lifestyle factors, were collected via questionnaire.

Results: The prevalence of hearing loss was 59.9%; the prevalence of high‐frequency hearing loss was 76.9%. Hearing loss was most common in white men, followed by white women, black men, and black women. Older age, white race, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, poorer cognitive status, occupational noise exposure, and ear surgery were associated with hearing loss after multivariable adjustment. Race‐ and sex‐specific risk factors included higher blood pressure and occupational noise exposure (white men), poorer cognitive status and smoking (black women), and low total hip bone mineral density (black men). Possible protective factors included salicylate use (overall sample, black men) and moderate alcohol intake (black women).

Conclusion: Hearing loss was extremely common in this population. Because many of the identified hearing loss risk factors are modifiable, some of the burden associated with hearing loss in older people should be preventable.
Racial/Ethnic Preferences, Sex Preferences, and Perceived Discrimination Related to End‐of‐Life Care
Authors: Duffy Sonia A. , Jackson Frances C. , Schim Stephanie M. , Ronis David L. , Fowler Karen E.
Published: November 2005

This study investigated racial/ethnic preferences, sex preferences, and perceived discrimination related to end‐of‐life care. Ten focus groups and a follow‐up survey were conducted to obtain in‐depth information on end‐of‐life preferences across five racial/ethnic groups in Michigan stratified by sex. There were 73 focus group participants, including Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, Hispanics, blacks, and whites. The mean age±standard deviation was 67±8.5 (range 50–83). A focus group screener was used to recruit participants. A moderator discussion guide was used to guide the focus groups. A take‐home questionnaire asked about demographic information and end‐of‐life issues.

Arab Americans were in favor of making peace on earth and were against assisted suicide, extending life artificially, nursing homes, and telling the patient “bad news.” Hispanic and black women were against assisted suicide and in favor of extending life, whereas the men in these groups felt the opposite. Hispanic women spoke of not wanting a feeding tube and would consider alternative medicine. Blacks were least opposed to nursing homes. For whites, it was important to have choices. When asked about discrimination related to end‐of‐life care, Muslim women spoke of cultural barriers, blacks spoke of inequities in the past, and whites spoke of age discrimination and abandonment when dying.

As the population becomes more diverse and continues to age, it will be important to provide culturally and sex‐sensitive end‐of‐life interventions to increase patient/family satisfaction and allocate resources appropriately.
Should Degenerated Saphenous Vein Grafts Routinely Be Sealed with Drug‐Eluting Stents?
Authors: VERMEERSCH PAUL , AGOSTONI PIERFRANCESCO
Published: November 2005

The percutaneous treatment of patients with obstructive atherosclerotic disease in degenerated coronary saphenous vein bypass grafts still remains one of the great challenges in interventional cardiology. In this review, we discuss the actual evidence‐based knowledge for the percutaneous management of this lesion subset, focusing in particular on the devices that are actually considered the “gold standard” for this treatment: bare metal stents and distal protection devices. We also comment on the negative results of the randomized trials regarding the promising polytetrafluoroethylene‐covered stent‐grafts. We finally offer insights into the currently available evidence for the use of drug‐eluting stents in saphenous vein grafts. These devices are potentially the principal promise for the long‐term successful sealing of vein graft disease; however, clear and definitive data coming from controlled trials are requested.
Closure of Atrial and Ventricular Septal Defects Should Be Performed by the Surgeon
Authors: MORITZ ANTON , ÖZASLAN FEYZAN , DOGAN SELAMI , ABDEL‐RAHMAN ULF , AYBEK TAYFUN , WIMMER‐GREINECKER GERHARD
Published: November 2005

Surgeons look back on 57 years of experience in the closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs) and 46 years in the closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs). The transcatheter approaches to repair ASDs started first in the 1980s and for VSDs 8 years later. This study sought to reveal the surgical features only given by the surgical therapy and the limitation of interventional ASD and VSD closure. A variety of surgical techniques including the minimal invasive techniques for ASD or VSD closure are well described in recent publication with good results. The surgical trend is to improve the cosmetic outcome by minimizing the size of skin incision. The latest robotically assisted technique requires only four stab wound incisions. New techniques and devices have revolutionized the transcatheter technique but could not achieve the surgical ability to close all types of ASD or VSD, control arrhythmias, and correct additional valve disease or malformation. The mortality for interventional and surgical procedures approaches zero in recent publication. The residual shunting after surgical closure of ASD varies from 2% to 7.8% versus 5% to 33% after interventional closure. General complications caused by the surgical procedure are negligible; however, the shortness of hospital stay and the cosmetic appeal is an advantage of interventional ASD closure. There is no scientific comparison of surgical vs. interventional VSD closure yet.
Relationships between juvenile salmon,Salmo salarL., and invertebrate densities in the River Tana, Norway
Authors: Johansen M. , Elliott J. M. , Klemetsen A.
Published: November 2005

Abstract – Juvenile salmon density was related to invertebrate density in 13 streams within the River Tana, northern Norway. There were only small, nonsignificant, differences in benthic density between streams with and without juvenile salmon. All streams with a high density of juvenile salmon had low benthic densities at the stream mouth. Juvenile salmon were not found, or were in very low densities, in streams where the benthic density at the stream mouth was as high or higher than that in the stream. A multiple regression model showed that parr density was related negatively to benthic density at the stream mouth, water velocity and pH, and positively to benthic density within the stream and the proportion of the substratum covered by moss. The amount of overhanging cover in the different streams explained 93% of the variation in the drift density of terrestrial invertebrates in August. The highest densities of juvenile salmon were found in streams with riparian vegetation, and were thus associated with an abundant supply of drift food, especially terrestrial invertebrates.
Foraging behaviour and invasiveness: do invasive Gambusia exhibit higher feeding rates and broader diets than their noninvasive relatives?
Authors: Rehage J. S. , Barnett B. K. , Sih A.
Published: November 2005

Abstract –  Serious impacts by nonindigenous species often occur via predation. The magnitude of impact is expected to be closely tied to the invading species niche breadth. For predatory impacts, diet breadth should be particularly important. We examined the relationship between a species foraging behaviour and its invasiveness and impact by comparing the feeding behaviour of four Gambusia species, two invasive and of high impact and two noninvasive. Individual feeding rates, feeding preferences, and diet breadths were tested across three prey items in a sequence of four laboratory feeding trials. Invasive Gambusia consistently fed at higher rates, but no species differences were found in feeding preferences or diet breadth. All Gambusia preferred Daphnia, avoided Lirceus, and consumed Drosophila in proportion to their availability. Female size affected most feeding variables. Larger fish consumed more prey per unit time and were able to incorporate larger prey items into their diets, thus increasing diet breadth.
Neuropeptide S as a novel arousal promoting peptide transmitter
Authors: Reinscheid Rainer K. , Xu Yan‐Ling
Published: November 2005

Behavioral arousal requires integration of multiple neurotransmitter and neuromodulatory systems. Identifying these systems is the key to not only a better understanding of the neurobiology of sleep/wakefulness but may also lead to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets for various sleep disorders. We review here a novel arousal promoting neuropeptide system, neuropeptide S (NPS) and its receptor. Pharmacologically, NPS activates NPS receptors at low nanomolar concentration to increase concentrations of intracellular Ca2+. Anatomically, both NPS precursor and receptor mRNAs are found predominately in the central nervous system. NPS precursor mRNA is expressed only in several discrete regions located mainly in the brainstem. In particular, it is highly expressed in a previously undescribed group of neurons localized between locus coeruleus and Barrington's nucleus. NPS receptor mRNA is widely distributed in many brain areas with high expression levels in cortex, hypothalamus, amygdala and multiple midline thalamic nuclei. Functionally, central administration of NPS increases locomotor activity in both naïve and habituated mice. It also significantly increases wakefulness and decreases paradoxical (rapid eye movement) sleep and slow wave sleep in rats. In addition, NPS suppresses anxiety‐like behaviors in mice exposed to different behavioral paradigms measuring responses to novelty or stress. These studies indicate that the NPS system is a newly discovered transmitter system that regulates vigilance and emotional states. NPS appears to possess a unique pharmacological profile in producing both anxiolytic‐like and hypervigilant effects.