bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Where Have All The Workers Gone? Exploring Public Sector Workforce Planning
Authors: Colley Linda , Price Robin
Published: June 2010

Governments undertake extensive planning of many services and functions, but tend to neglect planning of public service workforces. Disruptions to public service delivery, such as shortages of nurses and doctors, have rejuvenated interest in workforce planning, but many organisations struggle to do it effectively. This historical study examines the capacity of central personnel agencies to predict workforce risks and support workforce planning, using a study of the Queensland public service. It identifies lack of workforce data as a barrier to effective workforce planning, as a result of factors such as changes in the direction of the central personnel agency, lack of appreciation for the value of comprehensive central workforce data, and limited agency human resource (HR) skills or capacity.
A summons to the consuming animal
Authors: Desmond John
Published: June 2010

This paper considers Derrida's principal works on the animal as comprising a summons to the consuming animal, the human subject. It summarizes, firstly, Derrida's accusation that the entire Western philosophic tradition is guilty of a particularly pernicious disavowal of its repudiation of the animal. This disavowal underpins what he calls the ‘carnophallogocentric order’ that privileges the virile male adult as a transcendental subject. The paper shows how he calls this line of argument into question by challenging the purity of the predicates that are presumed to secure human self‐presence, such as capacity of response. This questioning is extended to consider marketing discourse in relation to the animal. In the second part of the paper, Derrida's arguments from the points of view of ‘animalséance’ (which here is referred to as ‘animalmalaise’) and ‘limitography’ are compared and contrasted with those of animal ethicists, Peter Singer and Tom Regan, and with Emmanuel Levinas. Finally, some implications are discussed for what it might mean to eat well.
Resituating narrative and story in business ethics
Authors: Jørgensen Kenneth Mølbjerg , Boje David M.
Published: June 2010

In this article, we resituate a long‐standing duality of (Western) narrative tradition over living story emergence and more linear narrative. Narrative, with its focus on linear beginning, middle and end coherence, retrospection and monologic, is too easily appropriated into managerialist projects. We focus on the web of living stories as a Derridian deconstructive move, which allows us to say something important about their relation to narrative and to develop a storytelling ethics. Our thesis is that resituating the relationship between narrative and living story invites exploration of the plurality of narratives that treat living stories as supplementary. We claim that this deconstructive move allows us to rethink politics and ethics anew. Storytelling ethics opens new spaces for marginalized other(s) voices and creates an awareness of our complicity and responsibility for others. Further, storytelling ethics allows for a more nuanced and varied understanding of business ethics and its inherent exclusionary truth and morality claims and paves the way for a more reflexive ethics.
Banking Competition and Capital Ratios
Authors: Schaeck Klaus , Cihák Martin
Published: June 2010

Empirical studies provide evidence that bank capital ratios exceed regulatory requirements. But why do banks maintain capital levels above regulatory requirements? We use data for more than 2,600 banks from 10 European countries to test recent theories suggesting that competition incentivises banks to maintain higher capital ratios. These theories also predict that banks that engage in arm's length lending have lower capital ratios, and that shareholder rights and deposit insurance characteristics affect capital ratios. Consistent with these theories, our evidence robustly indicates that competition increases capital holdings. Banks that lend at arm's length exhibit lower capital ratios, whereas banks in countries with strong shareholder rights operate with higher capital ratios. We also show some evidence that generous deposit protection schemes that exclude non‐deposit creditors are associated with higher capital ratios. Our results have important policy implications. First, while the traditional view suggests imposing restrictions on bank activities in order to restrain competition, our analysis indicates the opposite, even after adjusting the regressions for risk‐taking. Second, weak shareholder rights undermine market forces that would otherwise encourage banks to hold higher capital ratios.
Occurrence and characterization of Pain in immune‐mediated neuropathies: a multicentre prospective study
Authors: Pazzaglia C. , Briani C. , Orazio E. N. , Caliandro P. , Granata G. , Tonali P. A. , Padua L.
Published: June 2010

Background:  Pain is a common symptom of peripheral neuropathies that may severely affect patients’ Quality of Life. Pain questionnaires, based on verbal descriptors, are a useful way to investigate it.

Methods:  We performed a multicentre study through validated measures to characterize pain in a sample of consecutive patients affected by immune‐mediated neuropathies.

Results:  Ninety‐three patients were enrolled in 16 Italian centres. Based on the numeric rating scale, almost half of the patients complained of moderate pain and one‐third of the patients severe pain. Overall, up to 50% of our patients with immune‐mediated neuropathies complained of neuropathic pain. The most common neuropathic symptoms were paraesthesia/dysesthesia and superficial spontaneous pain. Surprisingly, also patients with neuropathies commonly thought to be painless (such as multifocal motor neuropathy) reported discomfort and painful symptoms.

Conclusions:  Pain questionnaires should be considered in the clinical evaluation of immune‐mediated neuropathies, also when evaluating therapy efficacy, because they may provide clinicians with useful information on painful symptoms and patients’ quality of life.
Early microglial colonization of the human forebrain and possible involvement in periventricular white‐matter injury of preterm infants
Authors: Verney Catherine , Monier Anne , Fallet‐Bianco Catherine , Gressens Pierre
Published: June 2010

Amoeboid microglial subpopulations visualized by antibodies against ionized calcium‐binding adapter molecule 1, CD68, and CD45 enter the forebrain starting at 4.5 postovulatory or gestational weeks (gw). They penetrate the telencephalon and diencephalon via the meninges, choroid plexus, and ventricular zone. Early colonization by amoeboid microglia–macrophages is first restricted to the white matter, where these cells migrate and accumulate in patches at the junctions of white‐matter pathways, such as the three junctions that the internal capsule makes with the thalamocortical projection, external capsule and cerebral peduncle, respectively. In the cerebral cortex anlage, migration is mainly radial and tangential towards the immature white matter, subplate layer, and cortical plate, whereas pial cells populate the prospective layer I. A second wave of microglial cells penetrates the brain via the vascular route at about 12–13 gw and remains confined to the white matter. Two main findings deserve emphasis. First, microglia accumulate at 10–12 gw at the cortical plate–subplate junction, where the first synapses are detected. Second, microglia accumulate in restricted laminar bands, most notably around 19–30 gw, at the axonal crossroads in the white matter (semiovale centre) rostrally, extending caudally in the immature white matter to the visual radiations. This accumulation of proliferating microglia is located at the site of white‐matter injury in premature neonates. The spatiotemporal organization of microglia in the immature white and grey matter suggests that these cells may play active roles in developmental processes such as axonal guidance, synaptogenesis, and neurodevelopmental apoptosis as well as in injuries to the developing brain, in particular in the periventricular white‐matter injury of preterm infants.
High fat diet increases hippocampal oxidative stress and cognitive impairment in aged mice: implications for decreased Nrf2 signaling
Authors: Morrison Christopher D. , Pistell Paul J. , Ingram Donald K. , Johnson William D. , Liu Ying , Fernandez‐Kim Sun Ok , White Christy L. , Purpera Megan N. , Uranga Romina M. , Bruce‐Keller Annadora J. , Keller Jeffrey N.
Published: June 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 114, 1581–1589.

Long term consumption of a high fat diet (HFD) contributes to increased morbidity and mortality. Yet the specific effects of HFD consumption on brain aging are poorly understood. In the present study 20‐month old male C57Bl/6 mice were fed either ‘western diet’ (41% fat), very high fat lard diet (60% fat), or corresponding control diets for 16 weeks and then assessed for changes in metabolism and brain homeostasis. Although both HFDs increased adiposity and fasting blood glucose, only the high fat lard diet increased age‐related oxidative damage (protein carbonyls) and impaired retention in the behavioral test. This selective increase in oxidative damage and cognitive decline was also associated with a decline in NF‐E2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) levels and Nrf2 activity, suggesting a potential role for decreased antioxidant response. Taken together, these data suggest that while adiposity and insulin resistance following HFD consumption are linked to increased morbidity, the relationship between these factors and brain homeostasis during aging is not a linear relationship. More specifically, these data implicate impaired Nrf2 signaling and increased cerebral oxidative stress as mechanisms underlying HFD‐induced declines in cognitive performance in the aged brain.
Evidence of climate change effects on within‐winter movements of European Mallards Anas platyrhynchos
Authors: SAUTER ANNETTE , KORNER‐NIEVERGELT FRÄNZI , JENNI LUKAS
Published: June 2010

Other than during periods of migration, animal movement tends to be poorly described, despite the potential importance of such movements, which may prove crucial for surviving periods of bad weather and low food availability. We analysed within‐winter (December–February) movements of Mallard using the EURING Data Bank. Most movements were directed towards the south or southwest during all three winter months. Distances covered increased with winter harshness and generally decreased from 1952 to 2004. Mallards appear to move less than other duck species during winter. Long‐distance movements of Mallards seem to be related to cold weather, birds only moving long distances in large numbers during the very coldest winters. Movements are not restricted during midwinter, but occur throughout the winter. The decreasing within‐winter movement over time (1952–2004) could be explained by decreasing reporting probabilities and/or warmer winters in recent decades. However, the first is only true if the decrease in reporting probability increases with distance moved, for which we found no indication in our study. Therefore, we suggest that the pattern found is evidence of long‐term winter warming reducing the distance of within‐winter movements in this species.
Review article: The catastrophic impact of invasive mammalian predators on birds of the UK Overseas Territories: a review and synthesis
Authors: HILTON GEOFF M. , CUTHBERT RICHARD J.
Published: June 2010

The UK has sovereignty over 16 Overseas Territories, which hold some of the world’s great seabird colonies and collectively support more endemic and globally threatened bird species than the whole of mainland Europe. Invasive alien mammalian predators have spread throughout most of the Territories, primarily since European expansion in the 16th century. Here we review and synthesize the scale of their impacts, historical and current, actions to reduce and reverse these impacts, and priorities for conservation. Mammalian predators have caused a catastrophic wave of extinctions and reductions in seabird colony size that mark the UKOTs as a major centre of global extinction. Mammal‐induced declines of threatened endemics and seabird colonies continue, with four Critically Endangered endemics on Gough Island (Tristan da Cunha), St Helena and Montserrat directly threatened by invasive alien House Mice Mus musculus, Feral Cats Felis catus and rats Rattus spp. Action to reduce these threats and restore islands has been modest in comparison with other developed countries, although some notable successes have occurred and a large number of ambitious eradication and conservation plans are in preparation. Priority islands for conservation action against mammalian predators include Gough (which according to one published prioritization scheme is the highest‐ranked island in the world for mammal eradication), St Helena and Montserrat, but also on Tristan da Cunha, Pitcairn and the Falkland Islands. Technical, financial and political will is required to push forward and fund the eradication of invasive mammalian predators on these islands, which would significantly reduce extinction risk for a number of globally threatened species.
RISK PREMIUM EFFECTS ON IMPLIED VOLATILITY REGRESSIONS
Authors: Rompolis Leonidas S. , Tzavalis Elias
Published: June 2010

This article provides new insights into the sources of bias of option implied volatility to forecast its physical counterpart. We argue that this bias can be attributed to volatility risk premium effects. The latter are found to depend on high‐order cumulants of the risk‐neutral density. These cumulants capture the risk‐averse behavior of investors in the stock and option markets for bearing the investment risk that is reflected in the deviations of the implied risk‐neutral distribution from the normal distribution. We show that the bias of implied volatility to forecast its corresponding physical measure can be eliminated when the implied volatility regressions are adjusted for risk premium effects. The latter are captured mainly by the third‐order risk‐neutral cumulant. We also show that a substantial reduction of higher order risk‐neutral cumulants biases to predict their corresponding physical cumulants is supported when adjustments for risk premium effects are made.
Jiselle and the Royal Jelly: Power, Conflict and Culture in an Interdisciplinary Game Design Course
Authors: Dickey Michele D.
Published: June 2010

With the rising popularity of digital games, a growing number of universities are developing programmes in various areas of digital design and interactive media to meet the needs for game‐related courses. Faculty of this emerging field are grappling with the complexity of developing curricula which integrate art, design and technology and of finding methods of integrating students from these diverse fields. The purpose of this article is to present a case study of an interdisciplinary undergraduate course in game design and to highlight some of the unforeseen challenges and issues that arose when attempting to integrate diverse students from various art, design and media fields with students from computer science. Specifically, this article addresses issues of (a) power, (b) conflict and (c) gender that arose among students during the development of a student‐created game.
What is the Relationship between Social Tact in Teacher–Pupil Exchanges and Creativity? Reconceptualising Functional Causes of Creativity in Artmaking
Authors: Thomas Kerry
Published: June 2010

Art teachers are renowned for their claims that the creative properties of their senior secondary pupils' artworks occur as a result of the realisation of a creative process. Drawing on my recent ethnographic studies in senior art classrooms in Sydney, Australia, and Illinois, USA, I uncover a sociological, rather than a psychological explanation of creativity, which ironically, appears to satisfy the creative process claims of teachers. This article reveals how social tact in teacher–pupil exchanges has a function in bolstering the quality of the pupils' performances and their artworks while repressing the teacher's pedagogical role. The design and methodologies of the studies are outlined and two grounded narratives characterise cases of social tact between art teachers and pupils. A brief account is provided on the socio‐cultural framework of these studies, informed by Bourdieu's theories of the habitus, symbolic capital and misrecognition. Bourdieu's theories offer a robust conceptual apparatus which helps to explain how the sociality of classroom exchanges, with all of their ambiguities in practice, are a necessity in the realisation of creative ends.
Explorations in Teaching Sustainable Design: A Studio Experience in Interior Design/Architecture
Authors: Gürel Meltem Ö.
Published: June 2010

This article argues that a design studio can be a dynamic medium to explore the creative potential of the complexity of sustainability from its technological to social ends. The study seeks to determine the impact of an interior design/architecture studio experience that was initiated to teach diverse meanings of sustainability and to engage the participants with refined design applications that used sustainable choices. A teaching scheme that utilised a team of instructors with varying degrees of knowledge and competence in different aspects of the topic, mediated the education of both the students and the instructors themselves. The results were documented through observing the students and, later, a survey of the graduates. The study revealed that this studio experience developed a heightened awareness of sustainability as a multidimensional concept that requires critical thought processes, and greatly influenced the recognition of environmentally responsible design as an imperative in education. The findings also suggested that, ideally, sustainability should be addressed earlier, at lower levels, and needs to be woven into every aspect of a curriculum.
Seeing History: Malaika Favorite's Furious Flower Poetry Quilt Painting and Pan‐African Memory
Authors: Shanahan Maureen G.
Published: June 2010

Malaika Favorite's Furious Flower Poetry Quilt (2004) is an acrylic painting that depicts 24 portraits of leading poets of the African Diaspora. Commissioned by Dr Joanne Gabbin, English professor and director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University, the painting is part of a larger programme of poetry education. The painting's interweaving of the portraits with fragments from the poets’ writing functions to create an interactive visual‐textual body of poets and poetry, a collection which has been taught at all levels of education from primary school to university. Its quilt structure pays homage to the historic role of women in preserving history and memory. The painting also serves to construct a pan‐African identity and collective memory about slavery, African American history and empowerment.
Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a complex defect in immune responsiveness to human papillomavirus‐6 and ‐11
Authors: BONAGURA VINCENT R. , HATAM LYNDA J. , ROSENTHAL DAVID W. , DE VOTI JAMES A. , LAM FUNG , STEINBERG BETTIE M. , ABRAMSON ALLAN L.
Published: June 2010

Bonagura VR, Hatam LJ, Rosenthal DW, DeVoti JA, Lam F, Steinberg BM, Abramson AL. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a complex defect in immune responsiveness to human papillomavirus‐6 and ‐11. APMIS 2010; 118: 455–470.

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a rare disease of the larynx caused by infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV) ‐6 or ‐11, associated with significant morbidity and on occasion mortality. Here we summarize our current understanding of the permissive adaptive and innate responses made by patients with RRP that support chronic HPV infection and prevent immune clearance of these viruses. Furthermore, we provide new evidence of TH2‐like polarization in papillomas and blood of patients with RRP, restricted CD4 and CD8 Vβ repertoires, the effect of HPV‐11 early protein E6 on T‐cell alloreactivity, enriched Langerhans cell presence in papillomas, and evidence that natural killer cells are dysfunctional in RRP. We review the immunogenetic mechanisms that regulate the dysfunctional responses made by patients with RRP in response to HPV infection of the upper airway. In addition, we are identifying T‐cell epitopes on HPV‐11 early proteins, in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles enriched in RRP that should help generate a therapeutic vaccine. Taken together, RRP is a complex, multigene disease manifesting as a tissue and HPV‐specific, immune deficiency that prevents effective clearance and/or control of HPV‐6 and ‐11 infection.
Interaction of viral oncoproteins with cellular target molecules: infection with high‐risk vs low‐risk human papillomaviruses
Authors: PIM DAVID , BANKS LAWRENCE
Published: June 2010

Pim D, Banks L. Interaction of viral oncoproteins with cellular target molecules: infection with high‐risk vs low‐risk human papillomaviruses. APMIS 2010; 118: 471–493.

Persistent infection by a subgroup of so‐called high‐risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) that have a tropism for mucosal epithelia has been defined as the cause of more than 98% of cervical carcinomas as well as a high proportion of other cancers of the anogenital region. Infection of squamous epithelial tissues in the head and neck region by these same high‐risk HPVs is also associated with a subset of cancers. Despite the general conservation of genetic structure amongst all HPV types, infection by the low‐risk types, whether in genital or head and neck sites, carries a negligible risk of malignant progression, and infections have a markedly different pathology. In this review, we will examine and discuss the interactions that the principal viral oncoproteins of the high‐risk mucosotrophic HPVs and their counterparts from the low‐risk group make with cellular target proteins, with a view to explaining the differences in their respective pathology.
Epidemiology of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis
Authors: LARSON DANIEL A. , DERKAY CRAIG S.
Published: June 2010

Larson DA, Derkay CS. Epidemiology of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. APMIS 2010; 118: 450–454.

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) was first described in the 1800s, but it was not until the 1980s when it was convincingly attributed to human papilloma virus (HPV). RRP is categorized into juvenile onset and adult onset depending on presentation before or after the age of 12 years, respectively. The prevalence of this disease is likely variable depending on the age of presentation, country and socioeconomic status of the population being studied, but is generally accepted to be between 1 and 4 per 100 000. Despite the low prevalence, the economic burden of RRP is high given the multiple procedures required by patients. Multiple studies have shown that the most likely route of transmission of HPV in RRP is from mother to child during labor. Exceptions to this may include patients with congenital RRP who have been exposed in utero and adult patients who may have been exposed during sexual contact. Although cesarean section may prevent the exposure of children to the HPV virus during childbirth, its effectiveness in preventing RRP is debatable and the procedure itself carries an increased risk of complications. The quadrivalent HPV vaccine holds the most promise for the prevention of RRP by eliminating the maternal reservoir for HPV.
Ecological history and latent conservation potential: large and giant tortoises as a model for taxon substitutions
Authors: Hansen Dennis M. , Donlan C. Josh , Griffiths Christine J. , Campbell Karl J.
Published: June 2010

Starting in the late 1970s, ecologists began unraveling the role of recently extinct large vertebrates in evolutionary ecology and ecosystem dynamics. Three decades later, practitioners are now considering the role of ecological history in conservation practice, and some have called for restoring missing ecological functions and evolutionary potential using taxon substitutes – extant, functionally similar taxa – to replace extinct species. This pro‐active approach to biodiversity conservation has proved controversial. Yet, rewilding with taxon substitutes, or ecological analogues, is now being integrated into conservation and restoration programmes around the world. Empirical evidence is emerging that illustrates how taxon substitutions can restore missing ecological functions and evolutionary potential. However, a major roadblock to a broader evaluation and application of taxon substitution is the lack of practical guidelines within which they should be conducted. While the International Union for Conservation of Nature's reintroduction guidelines are an obvious choice, they are unsuitable in their current form. We recommend necessary amendments to these guidelines to explicitly address taxon substitutions. A second impediment to empirical evaluations of rewilding with taxon substitutions is the sheer scale of some proposed projects; the majority involves large mammals over large areas. We present and discuss evidence that large and giant tortoises (family Testudinidae) are a useful model to rapidly provide empirical assessments of the use of taxon substitutes on a comparatively smaller scale. Worldwide, at least 36 species of large and giant tortoises went extinct since the late Pleistocene, leaving 32 extant species. We examine the latent conservation potential, benefits, and risks of using tortoise taxon substitutes as a strategy for restoring dysfunctional ecosystems. We highlight how, especially on islands, conservation practitioners are starting to employ extant large tortoises in ecosystems to replace extinct tortoises that once played keystone roles.
Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) may not become infected with equine herpesvirus 9
Authors: Kodama Atsushi , Yanai Tokuma , Kubo Masahito , El‐Habashi Nagwan , Kasem Samy , Sakai Hiroki , Masegi Toshiaki , Fukushi Hideto , Kuraishi Takeshi , Yoneda Misako , Hattori Shosaku , Kai Chieko
Published: June 2010

Background  It was suggested that Equine herpesvirus 9 (EHV‐9) could be transmitted to higher non‐human primates.

Methods  Four cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were inoculated with EHV‐9 by the nasal route.

Results  No abnormalities were observed pathologically, immunohistochemically, and genetically.

Conclusions  These findings indicate that cynomolgus monkeys are not susceptible to EHV‐9.
Neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor (metallothionein‐3): structure–function relationships
Authors: Ding Zhi‐Chun , Ni Feng‐Yun , Huang Zhong‐Xian
Published: June 2010

Neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor (GIF), also named metallothionein‐3, inhibits the outgrowth of neuronal cells. Recent studies on the structure of human GIF, carried out using NMR and molecular dynamics simulation techniques, have been summarized. By studying a series of protein‐engineered mutants of GIF, we showed that the bioactivity of GIF is modulated by multiple factors, including the unique TCPCP motif‐induced characteristic conformation, the solvent accessibility and dynamics of the metal–thiolate cluster, and the domain–domain interactions.
Neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor (metallothionein‐3): reactivity and structure of metal–thiolate clusters*
Authors: Faller Peter
Published: June 2010

Metallothionein‐3, also called neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor, is one of the four members of the mammalian metallothionein family, which in turn belongs to the metallothionein, a class of ubiquitously occurring low‐molecular‐weight cysteine‐ and metal‐rich proteins containing metal–thiolate clusters. Mammalian metallothioneins contain two metal–thiolate clusters of the type M(II)3‐Cys9 and M(II)4‐Cys11 [or Cu(I)4‐CysS6‐9]. Although metallothionein‐3 shares these metal clusters with the well‐characterized metallothionein‐1 and metallothionein‐2, it shows distinct biological, structural and chemical properties. This short review focuses on the recent developments regarding the chemistry of the metal clusters in metallothionein‐3, in comparison to those in metallothionein‐1 and metallothionein‐2, and discusses the possible biological and functional implications.
Neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor (metallothionein‐3): evaluation of the biological function of growth‐inhibitory factor in the injured and neurodegenerative brain
Authors: Howells Claire , West Adrian K. , Chung Roger S.
Published: June 2010

Neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor, later renamed metallothionein‐3, is one of four members of the mammalian metallothionein family. Metallothioneins are a family of ubiquitous, low‐molecular‐weight, cysteine‐rich proteins. Although neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor shares metal‐binding and reactive oxygen species scavenging properties with the other metallothioneins, it displays several distinct biological properties. In this review, we examine the recent developments regarding the function of neuronal growth‐inhibitory factor within the brain, particularly in response to brain injury or during neurodegenerative disease progression.
In vitro micro‐tuber initiation and dormancy in yam
Authors: Hamadina E.I. , Craufurd P.Q. , Battey N.H. , Asiedu R.
Published: June 2010

Dormancy is a mechanism that regulates the timing of sprouting (germination) of affected plant parts as well as ensures that the food quality of edible parts is maintained in storage until the following growing season. In yam, however, little is known about the control of tuber initiation or tuber dormancy. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of selected plant growth regulators (PGRs) on tuber initiation and dormancy, using an in vitro system. In two replicated experiments, 2‐chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethephon, an ethylene source), abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA3) – and their inhibitors silver nitrate, fluridone and 2‐chloroethyl‐trimethylammonium chloride, respectively – were added at two concentrations to the culture medium prior to explant culture. Dates of micro‐tuber initiation and sprouting (end of dormancy) and tuber number were recorded. In the control (no PGR) in Experiment 1, micro‐tubers were initiated at the base of the stem after 176 days and sprouted 235 days later, that is 411 days after culturing. Most PGR treatments had only small effects (±30 days) on the duration of dormancy and the time of micro‐tuber initiation. However, in GA3 micro‐tuber initiation occurred after 76 days, about 100 days earlier than in the control, whereas fluridone affected the position of micro‐tubers and duration of dormancy. With fluridone treatments, tubers were found at the base of the stem (normal position) and on lower and upper nodes. Lower node tubers sprouted within 225 days of culturing compared with about 420 days after culturing at other nodal positions and in other PGR treatments. These data suggest an important role for ABA and gibberellic acid in yam micro‐tuber initiation and the induction of dormancy.
Period‐four Modulation of Photosystem II Primary Quinone Acceptor (QA) Reduction/Oxidation Kinetics in Thylakoid Membranes
Authors: Gauthier Alain , Joly David , Boisvert Steve , Carpentier Robert
Published: June 2010

Photosystem II (PSII), a multiprotein complex mainly coded by the chloroplast genome in higher plants and algae, contains the oxygen‐evolving complex with four manganese atoms responsible for the oxidation of water. After each absorption of a light quantum by pigment molecules in the light harvesting complexes of PSII, the Mn cluster advances in its oxidation states denoted from S0 to S4. The S4 state decays to S0 in the dark with the concurrent release of molecular oxygen. Therefore, the oxygen production in PSII exposed to successive single turnover excitations follows a period‐four oscillation pattern. The intensity of chlorophyll a fluorescence of PSII is also known to be influenced by the oxidation state of the Mn cluster. In the present work, fluorescence induction kinetics was measured in isolated thylakoids with various initial S‐state populations settled by preflashes. The shape of the fluorescence induction traces was strongly affected by preflashes. O‐J and J‐I phases of the induction followed a period‐four oscillation pattern. The results indicate that these changes reflect the influence of the oxidation rate of the Mn cluster on the reduction/oxidation kinetics of the primary quinone acceptor (QA) of PSII.
Final Thoughts on Measurement Bias and Differential Prediction
Authors: Meade Adam W. , Tonidandel Scott
Published: June 2010

In the focal article, we suggested that more thought be given to the concepts of test bias, measurement bias, and differential prediction and the implicit framework of fairness underlying the Cleary model. In this response, we clarify the nature and scope of our recommendations and address some of the more critical comments of our work.
Emotional Intelligence: Toward Clarification of a Concept
Authors: Cherniss Cary
Published: June 2010

There has been much confusion and controversy concerning the concept of emotional intelligence (EI). Three issues have been particularly bothersome. The first concerns the many conflicting definitions and models of EI. To address this issue, I propose that we distinguish between definitions and models and then adopt a single definition on which the major theorists already seem to agree. I further propose that we more clearly distinguish between EI and the related concept of emotional and social competence (ESC). The second issue that has generated concern is the question of how valid existing measures are. After reviewing the research on the psychometric properties of several popular tests, I conclude that although there is some support for many of them, they all have inherent limitations. We need to rely more on alternative measurement strategies that have been available for some time and also develop new measures that are more sensitive to context. The third area of contention concerns the significance of EI for outcomes such as job performance or leadership effectiveness. Recent research, not available to earlier critics, suggests that EI is positively associated with performance. However, certain ESCs are likely to be stronger predictors of performance than EI in many situations. Also, EI is likely to be more important in certain kinds of situations, such as those involving social interaction or significant levels of stress. Context makes a difference.
Relapses after surgical treatment of ocular adnexal basal cell carcinomas: 5‐year follow‐up at the same university centre
Authors: Bertelmann Eckart , Rieck Peter
Published: June 2010

Purpose:  To define the efficacy of surgical resection of ocular adnexal basal cell carcinoma and to analyse possible risk factors, we determined relapse rates on a yearly basis postintervention in a cohort of patients that were treated in our hospital under comparable conditions.

Methods:  A total of 366 such cases that were admitted for treatment between 2002 and 2006 were followed prospectively once yearly and tumour size and localization, histological type, functional and cosmetical outcome and relapses were recorded. In cases when the primary resection margins were not free, further resections were performed until the resection margin was histologically assessed tumour free on the basis of paraffin‐fixed tissue sections. Lid reconstruction was carried out as direct closure, Tenzel rotation flap, tarsomarginal transplants or tarsoconjunctival flaps (Hughes), inversed rotation flaps, tarso marginal grafts, Cutler Beard flaps, free skin grafts, rhomboid, glabella or advancement flaps. Relapse‐free survival 3, 4 and 5 years postoperatively was estimated by the Kaplan–Meyer method.

Results:  Three relapses after 3 years and two further relapses after 5 years were recorded. An additional relapse was documented 6 years postoperatively. Accordingly, the relapse‐free survival was 0.99 (95% CI 0.98–1.00) after 3 years, 0.99 (95% CI 0.97–1.00) after 4 years and 0.97 (95% 0.95–0.98) after 5 years. The relapses occurred in previously relapsed tumours and in tumours of morphea type. Primary nodular basal cell carcinomas did not relapse in this study.

Conclusions:  Based on these studies and in comparison with published relapse rates after cryotherapy, surgical resection appears to be superior to the latter procedure.
An integrative modeling framework to evaluate the productivity and sustainability of biofuel crop production systems
Authors: ZHANG X. , IZAURRALDE R.C. , MANOWITZ D. , WEST T. O. , POST W. M. , THOMSON A. M. , BANDARU V. P. , NICHOLS J. , WILLIAMS J. R.
Published: June 2010

The potential expansion of biofuel production raises food, energy, and environmental challenges that require careful assessment of the impact of biofuel production on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil erosion, nutrient loading, and water quality. In this study, we describe a spatially explicit integrative modeling framework (SEIMF) to understand and quantify the environmental impacts of different biomass cropping systems. This SEIMF consists of three major components: (1) a geographic information system (GIS)‐based data analysis system to define spatial modeling units with resolution of 56 m to address spatial variability, (2) the biophysical and biogeochemical model Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) applied in a spatially‐explicit way to predict biomass yield, GHG emissions, and other environmental impacts of different biofuel crops production systems, and (3) an evolutionary multiobjective optimization algorithm for exploring the trade‐offs between biofuel energy production and unintended ecosystem‐service responses. Simple examples illustrate the major functions of the SEIMF when applied to a nine‐county Regional Intensive Modeling Area (RIMA) in SW Michigan to (1) simulate biofuel crop production, (2) compare impacts of management practices and local ecosystem settings, and (3) optimize the spatial configuration of different biofuel production systems by balancing energy production and other ecosystem‐service variables. Potential applications of the SEIMF to support life cycle analysis and provide information on biodiversity evaluation and marginal‐land identification are also discussed. The SEIMF developed in this study is expected to provide a useful tool for scientists and decision makers to understand sustainability issues associated with the production of biofuels at local, regional, and national scales.
The effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer applications to Miscanthus×giganteus, Arundo donax and Phalaris arundinacea, when grown as energy crops in Wales, UK
Authors: SMITH R. , SLATER F. M.
Published: June 2010

Two pot trials and one field trial were established to investigate the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer applications to energy crops grown in mid‐Wales. Chicken litter and sewage cake applied at a high level in excess of MAFF recommendations produced an increased yield response in Miscanthus and Arundo plants. Miscanthus plants exhibited an increased growth response to all fertilizers applied in its second year. Fertilizer applications in accordance with MAFF recommendations produced no significant differences in yields for Miscanthus or Arundo potted plants. In the field there was an increased yield response of Miscanthus to inorganic nitrogen applications compared with organic manures, but not with control plots. Analysis of the Miscanthus plant material at harvest showed significant differences in the nitrogen, potassium and copper content between treatments. No mineral content differences were shown for Miscanthus rhizome material or Arundo plant material. The Phalaris plants did not exhibit significant differences in growth or yield parameters, but their plant matter showed differences in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulphur and boron content between treatments.
Exercise catecholamine concentrations inhibit acetylcholine release in airways
Authors: ROBINSON N. E. , ZHANG X‐Y. , LEBLANC P. H. , DERKSEN F. J.
Published: June 2010

We determined the effects of exercise induced concentrations of epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) on acetylcholine (ACh) release and smooth muscle contraction. To determine ACh release, trachealis strip bundles were suspended in 2 ml tissue baths in the presence of neostigmine (10−6M), guanethidine (10−5M) and atropine (10−7M), and stimulated by electrical field stimulation (EFS; 20V, 0.5 ms, 0.5 Hz, for 15 min). EFS‐induced ACh release was measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection. Concentration responses to E and NE (10−8to 10−5M) were determined. In time‐control tissues, ACh release averaged 8.2 ± 0.9 pmol/g/min. Epinephrine caused significant inhibition of ACh release at concentrations of 10−7M or greater and NE at 10−6M or greater. E‐ and NE‐induced inhibition of ACh release was attenuated by the α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan (10−6M) but not by the α2‐antagonist prazosin (10−6M) nor the β‐antagonist propranolol (10−6M). We determined if E and NE had inhibitory actions on smooth muscle by examining their effect on the ACh concentration‐response curve of trachealis. E (10−6M) inhibited contraction only at 10−7M ACh, i.e. when muscle tension was low. NE had no effect. Exercise induced concentrations of E inhibit cholinergically mediated bronchospasm primarily by α2‐mediated prejunctional inhibition of ACh release and, to a lesser degree, by a post junctional effect on airway smooth muscle. NE only inhibits ACh release but not significantly at the concentrations achieved during exercise.
Assessment of diaphragm strength and activation by transvenous phrenic nerve stimulation
Authors: DESMECHT D. , LINDEN A. , LEKEUX P.
Published: June 2010

The purpose of the present work is to report the feasibility, humaneness and reliability of a method for measurement of diaphragm performance in intact, awake horses. Phrenic nerves were activated through thevena cavaby repeated transvenous stimulations (40 to 80V, 100 to 200 μs square‐wave pulses), using an electrode‐catheter advanced from the jugular vein. Twitches were produced that caused changes in gastric and oesophageal pressures, abdominal and rib cage motion and airflow tracings, suggesting that the diaphragm was activated. Four sites were selected over each hemithorax for placement of surface electrodes able to detect and to ensure constancy of evoked compound diaphragmatic action potentials (CDAP). Trains of repeated pulses applied to nerves (10 to 100 Hz) gave repeatable diaphragmatic force‐frequency relationships. Nerve stimulation produced no visible signs of discomfort and increases in Cortisol and β‐endorphins similar to those produced by nasogastric intubation. Transvenous single and repeated activations of the phrenic nerves in ponies is feasible, free of iatrogenic risks and ethically acceptable, recording reliable evoked potentials via surface electrodes is possible, and force‐frequency characteristics of the diaphragm can be conveniently obtained from simultaneous oesophageal and gastric pressures measurements.
Effect of gas collection system on respiratory and stride frequency and stride length
Authors: GEOR R. J. , STAEMPFLI H. R. , MCCUTCHEON LAURA J. , PRINGLE J. , YOUNG S.
Published: June 2010

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of 2 different gas collection systems on locomotor and ventilatory responses to exercise in a group of 8 Standardbred pacers. Each horse completed the same incremental treadmill exercise test (8, 9, 10 and 11 m/s on a 3° incline) using an open (flow‐through) system (OS) and a closed system (CS) incorporating one way valves. Only 2 horses completed the final (11 m/s) step using the CS. Peak values for V̇O2, O2pulse, plasma lactate and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) were significantly higher for the OS compared with the CS. There was no change in breathing frequency (Vf) or stride frequency (Sf) (mean ± s.e. 128 ± 2 strides/min) throughout either exercise test, however Vfwas significantly lower when horses exercised in the CS (68 ± 6 breaths/min) when compared to the OS (100 ± 3 breaths/min). There was a linear increase in stride length (SL) with speed (3.8 ± 0.1 m/stride at 8 m/s to 5.0 ± 0.2 m at 11 m/s) but no difference in SLbetween systems. There was also a linear increase in VTmeasured in the CS. Incremental exercise did not alter the Sf:Vfratio, however Sf:Vfwas significantly lower in the OS (1.3:1) when compared to the CS (2.1:1). There was a significant difference between systems for PaO2and PaCO2values at all increments of exercise. The lower Vfmeasured in the CS was associated with marked hypercapnia (59 ± 7 mmHg at 10 m/s) and hypoxaemia (45 ± 3 mmHg at 10 m/s). The higher Vfmeasured in the OS was associated with hypocapnia (35 ± 2 mmHg) at 8 m/s. It was concluded that although Vfvaried between OS and CS, Vfand Sfdid not change during incremental exercise with either system. Therefore the increase in speed was achieved solely by an increase in SL. Although the CS did not alter locomotor parameters or V̇O2at lower increments of exercise, the altered Vfappeared to limit work capacity.
Neuroendocrine control of blood volume, blood pressure and cardiovascular function in horses
Authors: McKEEVER K. H. , HINCHCLIFF K. W.
Published: June 2010

Several body systems make critical contributions to the defence of blood volume, mean arterial pressure and plasma tonicity. These mechanisms ensure adequate blood flow to the working muscles and vital tissues along with the provision of adequate fluid volume for sweating and thermoregulation. The present paper integrates data from several recent studies that examined the neuroendocrine control of cardiovascular function in exercising horses. These studies focused on the effects of exercise on plasma concentrations of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), arginine vasopressin (AVP), plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone (ALDO), hormones associated with the regulation of blood pressure, the distribution of blood flow and the long term control of vascular fluid volume. Data were collected during incremental and endurance exercise, following frusemide administration and after splenectomy. Increases in ANP during exercise were associated with increased atrial pressure and stretching of the atrium. Increases in PRA and ALDO are correlated with increases in sympathetic activity during incremental exercise and with decreases in plasma Na+and CI−concentrations. Plasma AVP increases later in exercise in response to fluid losses, increases in plasma osmolality, and decreases in right atrial pressure. AVP has a minimal effect on renal function during exercise and may be more important during recovery, when it stimulates thirst and drinking. Frusemide and splenectomy decrease atrial pressure, resulting in lower plasma ANP and greater plasma AVP concentrations during steady‐state submaximal exercise. The ANP and AVP responses are part of the neuroendocrine action of the cardiopulmonary baroreflex which appears to mediate the accommodation of the mobilised splenic reserve in the horse. In summary, exercise induced increases in ANP, AVP, PRA and ALDO in the horse appear to play an important role in cardiovascular homeostasis.