bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Is Associated With Improved Survival in Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the Skin
Authors: Mojica Pablo , Smith David , Ellenhorn Joshua D.I.
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous malignancy. Because of the absence of randomized studies, the real benefit of adjuvant radiation therapy in MCC is unclear. The aim of this study was to better define the role of adjuvant radiation therapy in the management of MCC.

Methods

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) survey from the National Cancer Institute was queried from 1973 through 2002. Retrospective analysis was performed. The end point of the study was overall survival.

Results

There were 1,665 cases of MCC in the SEER registry. Presentation by stage were 55% stage I, 31% stage II, and 6% stage III. Eight percent of the cases could not be staged because of incomplete data. Surgical intervention was a component of therapy in 89% of the cases (n = 1,487). The median survival for the entire cohort was 49 months, and median follow-up was 40 months. Adjuvant radiation was a component of therapy in 40% of the surgical cases. The median survival for those patients receiving adjuvant radiation therapy was 63 months compared with 45 months for those treated without adjuvant radiation. The use of radiation was associated with an improved survival for patients with all sizes of tumors, but the improvement with radiation use was particularly prominent when analyzing those patients with primary lesions larger than 2 cm.

Conclusion

The use of adjuvant radiation therapy is associated with improved survival in patients with MCC. Prospective evaluation of adjuvant radiation therapy in this setting is warranted.
Identification of High-Risk Patients Among Those Diagnosed With Thin Cutaneous Melanomas
Authors: Gimotty Phyllis A. , Elder David E. , Fraker Douglas L. , Botbyl Jeffrey , Sellers Kimberly , Elenitsas Rosalie , Ming Michael E. , Schuchter Lynn , Spitz Francis R. , Czerniecki Brian J. , Guerry DuPont
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Most patients with melanoma have microscopically thin (≤ 1 mm) primary lesions and are cured with excision. However, some develop metastatic disease that is often fatal. We evaluated established prognostic factors to develop classification schemes with better discrimination than current American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging.

Patients and Methods

We studied patients with thin melanomas from the US population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry (1988 to 2001; n = 26,291) and those seen by the University of Pennsylvania's Pigmented Lesion Group (PLG; 1972 to 2001; n = 2,389; Philadelphia, PA). AJCC prognostic factors were thickness, anatomic level, ulceration, site, sex, and age; PLG prognostic factors also included a set of biologically based candidate prognostic factors. Recursive partitioning was used to develop a SEER-based classification tree that was validated using PLG data. Next, a new PLG-based classification tree was developed using the expanded set of prognostic factors.

Results

The SEER-based classification tree identified additional criteria to explain survival heterogeneity among patients with thin, nonulcerated lesions; 10-year survival rates ranged from 89.1% to 99%. The new PLG-based tree identified groups using level, tumor cell mitotic rate, and sex. With survival rates from 83.4% to 100%, it had better discrimination.

Conclusion

Prognostication and related clinical decision making in the majority of patients with melanoma can be improved now using the validated, SEER-based classification. Tumor cell mitotic rate should be incorporated into the next iteration of AJCC staging.
Surveillance Testing Among Survivors of Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Authors: Keating Nancy L. , Landrum Mary Beth , Guadagnoli Edward , Winer Eric P. , Ayanian John Z.
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Guidelines recommend against routine surveillance testing for women who have had breast cancer. We described follow-up care for breast cancer survivors, examined how surveillance testing varies by the types of physicians seen, and assessed changes in testing rates over time.

Methods

Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare data, we studied a population-based cohort of 44,511 women age ≥ 65 years diagnosed with stage I/II breast cancer during 1992 to 1999 and observed through 2001. We measured bone scans, tumor antigen tests, chest x-rays, and other chest/abdominal imaging during 3 consecutive surveillance years. We described physicians seen in follow-up and used repeated-measures logistic regression to assess the relationship with testing and to assess testing trends over time.

Results

Nearly half of breast cancer survivors saw a medical oncologist in surveillance year 1, but only 27% saw a medical oncologist annually for 3 years. In adjusted analyses, women seeing medical oncologists had more bone scans, tumor antigen testing, chest x-rays, and chest/abdominal imaging than other women (all P < .001). Nevertheless, rates of testing decreased over time (all P < .001). Rates of tumor antigen testing and chest x-rays decreased faster and chest/abdominal imaging increased slower among women seeing medical oncologists than among other women (all P < .05).

Conclusion

Nonrecommended testing for early-stage breast cancer patients has decreased over time. Although most breast cancer survivors did not see oncologists annually, those who did had substantially higher rates of testing than others; whether such testing in this low-risk population was due to more symptoms or excessive surveillance is an important question for additional study.
Radioembolization of Liver Metastases From Colorectal Cancer Using Yttrium-90 Microspheres With Concomitant Systemic Oxaliplatin, Fluorouracil, and Leucovorin Chemotherapy
Authors: Sharma Ricky A. , Van Hazel Guy A. , Morgan Bruno , Berry David P. , Blanshard Keith , Price David , Bower Geoffrey , Shannon Jennifer A. , Gibbs Peter , Steward William P.
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Liver metastases represent the principal cause of death in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Injection of resin microspheres (SIR Spheres)—containing the β-emitter, yttrium-90—into the arterial supply of the liver can cause radioembolization of metastases. This treatment has not been tested with the radiosensitizing chemotherapy, oxaliplatin, which appears synergistic in the treatment of CRC when combined with fluorouracil and leucovorin (FOLFOX).

Patients and Methods

A phase I study of SIR-Spheres therapy with modified FOLFOX4 systemic chemotherapy was conducted in patients with inoperable liver metastases from CRC who had not previously received chemotherapy for metastatic disease. Oxaliplatin (30 to 85 mg/m2) was administered for the first three cycles with full FOLFOX4 doses from cycle 4 until cycle 12. The primary end point was toxicity.

Results

Twenty patients were enrolled onto the study. Five patients experienced National Cancer Institute (NCI; Bethesda, MD) grade 3 abdominal pain, two of whom had microsphere-induced gastric ulcers. The dose-limiting toxicity was grade 3 or 4 neutropenia, which was recorded in 12 patients. One episode of transient grade 3 hepatotoxicity was recorded. Mean splenic volume increased by 92% following 6 months of protocol therapy. Partial responses were demonstrated in 18 patients and stable disease in two patients. Two patients underwent partial hepatic resection following protocol therapy. Median progression-free survival was 9.3 months, and median time to progression in the liver was 12.3 months.

Conclusion

The maximum-tolerated dose was 60 mg/m2 of oxaliplatin for the first three cycles, with full FOLFOX4 doses thereafter. This chemoradiation regime merits evaluation in phase II-III trials.
Prospective Multicentric Randomized Phase III Study of Imatinib in Patients With Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Comparing Interruption Versus Continuation of Treatment Beyond 1 Year: The French Sarcoma Group
Authors: Blay Jean-Yves , Le Cesne Axel , Ray-Coquard Isabelle , Bui Binh , Duffaud Florence , Delbaldo Catherine , Adenis Antoine , Viens Patrice , Rios Maria , Bompas Emmanuelle , Cupissol Didier , Guillemet Cecile , Kerbrat Pierre , Fayette Jérome , Chabaud Sylvie , Berthaud Patrice , Perol David
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Imatinib is the standard treatment of advanced GI stromal tumors (GISTs). It is not known whether imatinib may be stopped in patients in whom disease is controlled.

Methods

This prospective, randomized, multicentric phase III study was designed to compare continuous (CONT) compared with interrupted (INT) imatinib beyond 1 year of treatment in patients with advanced GIST. The primary end point was progression-free survival. Secondary end points included overall survival, response rate after reinitiation of imatinib, and quality of life. Early stopping rules in cases of rapid progression of disease were defined, with preplanned interim analyses.

Results

Between May 2002 and April 2004, 182 patients with advanced GIST were enrolled. Between May 2003 and April 2004, 98 patients in response or stable disease under imatinib reached more than 1 year of follow-up. Forty were not eligible for randomization, and 58 patients were randomly assigned, 32 and 26 patients in the INT and CONT arms, respectively. As of October 15, 2005, eight of 26 patients in the CONT group and 26 of 32 patients in the INT group had documented disease progression (P < .0001). Twenty-four of 26 patients with documented progression in the INT arm responded to imatinib reintroduction. No differences in overall survival or imatinib resistance were observed between the two arms. Quality of life evaluated 6 months after random assignment using the 30-item Quality of Life Questionnaire was not significantly different between the two groups of randomly assigned patients.

Conclusion

Imatinib interruption results in rapid progression in most patients with advanced GIST, and cannot be recommended in routine practice unless patient experience significant toxicity.
Racial Disparities in Treatment and Survival of Male Breast Cancer
Authors: Crew Katherine D. , Neugut Alfred I. , Wang Xiaoyan , Jacobson Judith S. , Grann Victor R. , Raptis George , Hershman Dawn L.
Published: March 2007

Purpose

Black women with breast cancer have poorer survival than do white women, but little is known about racial disparities in male breast cancer. We analyzed race and other predictors of treatment and survival among men with stage I-III breast cancer.

Patients and Methods

We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Medicare database to identify men 65 years of age or older diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer from 1991 to 2002. Multivariate regression was used to compare those treated with those not treated with either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, adjusting for known clinical and demographic factors. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze survival.

Results

Of 510 male breast cancer cases (456 white, 34 black), 94% underwent mastectomy, 28% received adjuvant chemotherapy, and 29% received radiation therapy. Among those with known hormone receptors, 95% had hormone-sensitive tumors. In a multivariate analysis, chemotherapy was associated with younger age, advanced stage, and hormone receptor–negative tumors. Radiation therapy was associated with younger age and advanced stage. Black men were approximately 50% less likely to undergo consultation with an oncologist and subsequently receive chemotherapy; however, the results did not reach statistical significance. The breast cancer–specific mortality hazard ratio was more than tripled for black versus white men (hazard ratio = 3.29; 95% CI, 1.10 to 9.86).

Conclusion

After adjustment for known clinical, demographic, and treatment factors, there was an association of black race with increased male breast cancer–specific mortality. Although male breast cancer is rare, the reasons for these disparities need to be better understood.
Tamoxifen-Induced Rapid Death of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Is Mediated via Extracellularly Signal-Regulated Kinase Signaling and Can Be Abrogated by Estrogen
Authors: Zheng Aiping , Kallio Anu , Härkönen Pirkko
Published: March 2007

Tamoxifen (Tam) is widely used in chemotherapy of breast cancer. It inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of breast cancer cells by estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent modulation of gene expression. In addition, recent reports have shown that Tam also has nongenomic effects. We previously reported induction of a rapid mitochondrial death program in breast cancer cells at pharmacological concentrations of Tam. Here we studied the upstream signaling events leading to mitochondrial disruption by Tam. We observed that 5 μm Tam rapidly induced sustained activation of ERK1/2 in ER-positive breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T47D) and that PD98059 (inhibitor of ERK activation) was able to protect MCF-7 cells against Tam-induced death. These data suggest that activation of ERK has a primary role in the acute death response of the cells. In addition, inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) opposed both Tam-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation and cell death, which suggests that EGFR-associated mechanisms are involved in Tam-induced death. ERK1/2 phosphorylation was associated with a prolonged nuclear localization of ERK1/2 as determined by fluorescence microscopy with ERK2-green fluorescent protein construct. 17β-Estradiol was shown to exert a different kind of temporal pattern of ERK nuclear localization in comparison with Tam. Moreover, 17β-estradiol was found to oppose the rapid effects of Tam in MCF-7 and T47D cells but not in MDA-MB-231 cells, which implies a role for estrogen receptors in the protective effect of estrogen. The pure antiestrogen ICI182780 could not, however, prevent Tam-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, suggesting that the Tam-induced rapid cell death is primarily ER-independent or mediated by ICI182780 insensitive nongenomic mechanisms.
Identification of Androgen Response Elements in the Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Upstream Promoter
Authors: Wu Yong , Zhao Weidong , Zhao Jingbo , Pan Jiangping , Wu Qiaqia , Zhang Yuanfei , Bauman William A. , Cardozo Christopher P.
Published: March 2007

Testosterone stimulates the expression of IGF-I in cells and tissues that include prostate, muscle and muscle satellite cells, and the uterus. Here, the molecular mechanisms of this effect of testosterone were explored. Testosterone increased IGF-I mRNA levels in HepG2 and LNCaP cells and stimulated the activity of reporter genes controlled by 1.6 kb of the upstream promoter of the human IGF-I gene. An androgen-responsive region that was located between −1320 and −1420 bases upstream of the first codon was identified by truncation studies. The androgen-responsive region was found to contain two sequences resembling known androgen receptor (AR)-binding sites from the Pem1 gene. Reporter genes incorporating these sequences were strongly stimulated by androgens. Each of the androgen-responsive elements (AREs) bound recombinant AR-DNA-binding domain in gel-shift experiments; binding was greatly enhanced by sequences flanking the apparent AR-binding half-sites. Testosterone induced recruitment of AR to sequences of genomic DNA containing these AREs. The two AREs were activated 5-fold more by AR than glucocorticoid receptor. Collectively, these findings indicate the presence of two AREs within the IGF-I upstream promoter that act in cis to activate IGF-I expression. These AREs seem likely to contribute to the up-regulation of the IGF-I gene in prostate tissues, HepG2 cells, and potentially other tissues.
Direct Evidence that Stimulation of Neuropeptide Y Y5 Receptor Activates Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Conscious Rats via both Corticotropin-Releasing Factor- and Arginine Vasopressin-Dependent Pathway
Authors: Kakui Nobukazu , Kitamura Koichi
Published: March 2007

An abundance of data suggests a crucial role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) as an activator of the hypothamamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, there is quite limited evidence regarding receptors that mediate this response. Here, we address the possibility that Y5 receptor subtype may be responsible for NPY-induced activation of HPA axis. For this purpose, the effects of an intracerebroventricular injection of Y5-selective agonist, [cPP1–7, NPY19–23, Ala31, Aib32, Gln34]-human pancreatic polypeptide (hPP), on circulating ACTH and corticosterone in conscious rats were evaluated. Central injection of hPP (100 pmol) produced significant increases in plasma ACTH and corticosterone compared with artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and previous treatment with a novel Y5-selective antagonist, FMS586 [3-(9-isopropyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-carbazol-3-yl)-1-methyl-1-(2-pyridin-4-yl-ethyl)-urea hydrochloride] (25 mg/kg, po), completely blocked these alterations. Pretreatment with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor antagonist (astressin, 10–50 μg/rat, iv) or arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor antagonist ([deamino-Pen1, O-Me-Tyr2, Arg8] vasopressin; 3–30 μg/rat, iv) differentially suppressed these increases by 70–80 or 40–50%, respectively. The combined treatment showed no additive effect of these antagonists. Furthermore, an exogenous AVP (0.3 μg/rat, iv)-induced HPA activation was fully inhibited by astressin, suggesting a convergent pathway of AVP receptor signals onto CRF neurons. Central injection of hPP also evoked marked up-regulation of mRNA expression for CRF and AVP in the hypothalamus, which, likewise, were completely reversed by FMS586. Our observations provide the first evidence that selective stimulation of Y5 receptor provokes activation of the HPA axis and its downstream pathway is chiefly composed of both CRF (primary regulator) and AVP (subordinate to the former) with distinct relative contribution.
Proper Conditioning for Coherent VaR in Portfolio Management
Authors: Garcia René , Renault Éric , Tsafack Georges
Published: March 2007

Value at risk (VaR) is a central concept in risk management. As stressed by Artzner et al. (1999, Coherent measures of risk, Math. Finance 9(3) 203–228), VaR may not possess the subadditivity property required to be a coherent measure of risk. The key idea of this paper is that, when tail thickness is responsible for violation of subadditivity, eliciting proper conditioning information may restore VaR rationale for decentralized risk management. The argument is threefold. First, since individual traders are hired because they possess a richer information on their specific market segment than senior management, they just have to follow consistently the prudential targets set by senior management to ensure that decentralized VaR control will work in a coherent way. The intuition is that if one could build a fictitious conditioning information set merging all individual pieces of information, it would be rich enough to restore VaR subadditivity. Second, in this decentralization context, we show that if senior management has access ex post to the portfolio shares of the individual traders, it amounts to recovering some of their private information. These shares can be used to improve backtesting to check that the prudential targets have been enforced by the traders. Finally, we stress that tail thickness required to violate subadditivity, even for small probabilities, remains an extreme situation because it corresponds to such poor conditioning information that expected loss appears to be infinite. We then conclude that lack of coherence of decentralized VaR management, that is VaR nonsubadditivity at the richest level of information, should be an exception rather than a rule.
A Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Global Diffusion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certification
Authors: Albuquerque Paulo , Bronnenberg Bart J. , Corbett Charles J.
Published: March 2007

We study the global diffusion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certification using a network diffusion framework. We start by investigating the presence and nature of contagion effects by defining alternative cross-country networks and testing their relative strength. Second, we study how the rate of diffusion differs between the two standards and between early- and later-adopting countries. Third, we identify which countries had more influence on diffusion than others. Empirically, we build a diffusion model which includes several possible cross-country contagion effects and then use Bayesian methods for estimation and model selection. Using country by year data for 56 countries and nine years, we find that accounting for cross-country influences improves both the fit and the prediction accuracy of our models. However, the specific cross-country contagion mechanism is different across the two standards. Diffusion of ISO 9000 is driven primarily by geography and bilateral trade relations, whereas that of ISO 14000 is driven primarily by geography and cultural similarity. We also find that the diffusion rate of ISO standards is higher for later-adopting countries and for the later ISO 14000 standard. We discuss several implications of our findings for the global diffusion of management standards.
Cooperative Planning, Uncertainty, and Managerial Control in Concurrent Design
Authors: Mitchell Victoria L. , Nault Barrie R.
Published: March 2007

We examine whether cooperative planning and uncertainty affect the magnitude of rework in concurrent engineering projects with upstream and downstream operations, and explore the impact of such rework on project delays. Using survey data from a sample of 120 business process (BP) redesign and related information technology (IT) development projects in healthcare and telecommunications, our results indicate that upstream (BP) rework and downstream (IT) rework is mediated and mitigated by cooperative planning through upstream/downstream strategy coupling and cross-functional involvement. In addition, uncertainty related to a lack of firm or industry experience with such projects increases the magnitude of upstream rework but not downstream rework or the amount of cooperative planning. After accounting for project scope, implementation horizon and whether delays are anticipated, we find that project delay is primarily influenced by the magnitude of downstream rework and downstream delay: the magnitude of both upstream and downstream rework significantly increases downstream delay, which significantly increases project delay. However, the magnitude of upstream rework does not directly affect project delay. These results suggest that project delay is under managerial control as cooperative planning is a managerial function that reduces downstream rework, while uncertainty from a lack of experience with the design affecting upstream rework is not directly under managerial control.
Asymmetric New Product Development Alliances: Win-Win or Win-Lose Partnerships?
Authors: Kalaignanam Kartik , Shankar Venkatesh , Varadarajan Rajan
Published: March 2007

Interorganizational alliances are widely recognized as critical to product innovation, particularly in high-technology markets. Many new product development (NPD) alliances tend to be asymmetric, that is, they are formed between a larger firm and a smaller firm. As is the case with alliances in general, asymmetric alliances also typically result in changes in the shareholder values of the partner firms. Are the changes in shareholder values of the partner firms significant? Are asymmetric NPD alliances win-win or win-lose partnerships? Are the gains or losses symmetric for the larger and smaller partner firms? What factors drive the changes in shareholder values of the partner firms? These important questions remain largely unexplored as evidenced by the dearth of empirical research on the effect of asymmetric NPD alliances on shareholder value and on the apportionment of this value between the partner firms. We develop and empirically test a model of short-term changes in shareholder values of larger and smaller firms involved in NPD alliances, using the event study methodology on data covering 167 asymmetric alliances in the information technology and communication industries. In this model, we examine alliance, firm, and partner characteristics as potential determinants of the changes in shareholder values of the partner firms due to an NPD alliance announcement. Our model accounts for selection correction, potential cross-correlation across the residuals from the models of firm value changes for the larger and smaller firms, and unobserved heterogeneity. The results suggest that both the partners experience significant short-term financial gains, but there are considerable asymmetries between the larger and smaller firms with regard to the effects of alliance, partner, and firm characteristics on the gains of the partner firms. The results relating to alliance characteristics suggest that while a broad scope alliance enhances the financial gains for the larger firm, a scale R&D alliance (relative to a link alliance) contributes positively to the financial gains for the smaller firm. With regard to partner characteristics, while partner alliance experience positively influences the financial gains for the larger firm, it has no significant effect on the financial returns for the smaller firm. Further, partner innovativeness is positively associated with the financial gains for the larger firm, but partner reputation is unrelated to the financial gains of the smaller firm. Regarding firm characteristics, the magnitude of the financial gains accruing from a firm’s own alliance experience is considerably higher for the smaller firm than it is for the larger firm. We outline the implications of the research findings for future research and management practice.
The Precautionary Principle in EC and WTO Law: Searching for a Common Understanding
Authors: Cheyne Ilona
Published: March 2007

This paper briefly examines the meaning of the precautionary principle in international law, and summarises the main trade liberalisation provisions in EC and WTO law before analysing and comparing the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and the Appellate Body on the use of the precautionary principle by Community institutions, EC Member States and WTO Members. The author concludes by examining whether it is possible to identify a common, trade-related approach to the precautionary principle.
The Timing Rules in Judicial Review and the Practical Difficulties They Cause Environmental Interest Groups: The Need for Reform
Authors: Carney Damian
Published: March 2007

This article explores the practical difficulties environmental interest groups face in undertaking judicial review, and considers how, and why, judges respond to such difficulties when they exercise their discretion under judicial review's timing rules. It considers whether the dominant sceptical/unsympathetic judicial response to these difficulties is compatible with European law and looks at options for reform of the timing rules.
Art in science education: Creative visions of DNA by engineering students
Authors: Cepeda Catalina
Published: March 2007

The interaction between art and science was explored in science lessons. A group of undergraduate students studying chemical engineering at the Autonomous University of Yucatan learned genetics through art. They made contemporary artwork about DNA and created personal visions of it
from genetic data using scientific and artistic knowledge. The students welcomed this unconventional exercise that developed the creative and abstract thinking capacities needed in both subjects.
Exposed lives: dialogues between viewers and installations about family photography
Authors: Ulkuniemi Seija
Published: March 2007

This article reports on research into visual communication in art education. At a theoretical level, it examines the typical features and use of the genre of family photography as well as its origins and development in the light of earlier research and literature. Four installations,
or visual-pedagogical productions, were designed on the basis of the theoretical framework and exhibited. This set up dialogues between the productions and the viewers whose open-ended responses were studied to ascertain the kinds of exchanges that took place. A new model for analysing the
genre of family photography was developed that could be a useful tool in art and education and for future research.
Art education and professional training: The So Paulo Professional School for Women
Authors: Barreto Carolina Marielli , Coutinho Rejane Galvo
Published: March 2007

This article discusses the relationship between art education and the applied arts in the context of the So Paulo Professional School for Women, inaugurated in 1911. In order to understand the significance of female professional training within the Brazilian educational scenario at
the beginning of the twentieth century, it was necessary to examine gender relationships and values in education, arts and industry and manual crafts. In line with Ana Mae Barbosa's ideas, we understand historical revisionism as fundamental to understanding the origins of specific kinds of
educational practices, concepts and preconceptions present in art education today.
Learning from images: a source of interdisciplinary knowledge
Authors: Chanda Jacqueline
Published: March 2007

Art history process can provide multiple opportunities for primary and secondary school children to experience interdisciplinary learning. Children, like art historians, can express ideas about works of art that go far beyond simple description when they have access to knowledge from
multiple fields. In this article I discuss the results of a project conducted in Salvador, Brazil. The aim was to see if Brazilian children, provided with a gateway to exploring a series of Ndop statues from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were able to experience interdisciplinary learning
though the use of art history process combined with computer technology. The results indicate that these children were able to express ideas about the political, historical, cultural and aesthetic signif icance of Ndop statues.
Effets d'Histoire. Reprsenter l'Histoire coloniale forclose
Authors: Laronde Michel
Published: March 2007

The manner in which forgotten or distorted facts from its colonial past are inscribed in France's postcolonial mentality is approached through the study of the massacre of Algerian immigrants in Paris on 17 October 1961. Firstly, the article lists the various references to the event
in written texts during the 1980s and in audiovisual productions during the 1990s, as a step towards understanding the role of the process of anamnesis in creating a postcolonial memory specific to the Hexagon. Then the article examines how repeated references to the event in texts and films
create a series of effets d'Histoire that contribute to the reclaiming of forgotten French colonial history. Finally, the article analyses stages in the process of anamnesis between past and present - amnesia, remembering, anamnesis as a way to a better understanding of recent contradictory
statements by French politicians as to how colonial history should be presented in postcolonial France.
An Unfinished Death: the legacy of Albert Camus and the work of textual memory in contemporary European and Algerian literatures
Authors: Kelly Debra
Published: March 2007

After a consideration of the prevalence of notions of haunting in recent literary and cultural analysis, the work of Assia Djebar is taken as an example of contemporary Algerian literature, in which memories of the dead haunt the living, sometimes in the form of ghosts. Djebar's meditations
on Camus's death and on his unfinished text, Le Premier Homme, provide a starting point for an analysis of Camus's legacy in contemporary European and Algerian literatures. It is argued that much recent reading, informed by postcolonial theory, accusing Camus of mythologizing both himself
and French Algeria, has not engaged fully with literary practice and the work of textual memory. Le Premier Homme is neither a mythologizing text, nor a surrender to nostalgia, but a text of mourning and loss written in full knowledge of the consequences of the war of independence.
The article ends with an analysis of how Camus, in the form of the phantom, the phantasm and the fantast, appears in the work of two of other women writers in addition to that of Assia Djebar, the Algerian Massa Bey, and the French-Algerian Nina Bouraoui, showing how knowledge concerning the
realities of the postcolonial world are to be found in its imaginative exploration.
Un divan pour en finir avec l'absence ou le temps retrouv dans la littrature algrienne
Authors: Chikhi Beda
Published: March 2007

The writings of Algerian writers have long been characterised by the emergence in many different forms of a missing reality, which is expressed in terms of a more or less painful absence. This article highlights those categories and objects that are most marked by this absence as necessary
motifs, designed to define an interrelated field and discourse, which linked their personal project to the contentious issues of history and culture, in both colonial and postcolonial periods. By way of a critical examination of the narrative forms and literary genres adopted and then deconstructed
by these writers, the author traces back their literary genealogies and discovers that the motif of absence is also present in an ancient generic form which the writers were attempting to rediscover, i.e. the divan. The divan, a legacy of their oriental literary heritage, aims
to throw light upon aspects of existence and then bring order to this knowledge. In the openness and flexibility of this genre, it is possible to discern the power of the interconnections between the numerous voices and possibilities engaging the first two generations of Algerian writers.
As is shown by recent developments in the literatures of Algeria, the divan appears to have calmed the temporal malaise by releasing the power of motifs which now travel across time as well as space and link with each other according to the impulse of desire and happiness, rather than
absence, which is now in the process of becoming a distant memory. At the same time, the article shows why these divan-texts are often difficult and inaccessible and how an easier reading may be achieved.
Francophonie et globalisation La question de l'interlecte
Authors: Gontard Marc
Published: March 2007

This article attempts to define postmodern fiction and aims to show that, since the eighties, the francophone novel has been experimenting with textual devices typical of this type of writing. Indeed, the themes and devices of mtissage and hybridisation that are characteristic
of francophone literature today have strong echoes of the postmodern principles of heterogeneity, rhizome-reality and chaos-world. While it is true that, in the first instance, the mtissage of the francophone text is generic through the production of hybrid narratives, it is nonetheless
also linguistic in nature. This is the aspect that this study hopes to emphasise here, with the aim of demonstrating how, within the French language, the friction between languages in the francophone space provides a fine illustration of the globalisation process.
New Orleans, nodal point of the French Atlantic
Authors: Marshall Bill
Published: March 2007

This article argues for the importance of New Orleans within French and francophone studies, with a particular emphasis on a French Atlantic perspective. A historical overview discusses the role of New France, slavery, native Americans, Spain, immigration from Saint-Domingue, the Louisiana
Purchase and the American Civil War in the formation of the city, and the rich and under-researched field of the city's nineteenth-century literary output in French is surveyed. Among the unique aspects of this history are the coherent African cultures exported to Louisiana due to the trafficking
of slaves of mostly Bambara ethnicity, their crucial role in the material survival of the colony and the large presence from intermarriage, manumission under Spanish rule and an influx following the Haitian revolution of free people of colour who contributed to the formation of a Caribbean-type
racial hierarchy that did not exist elsewhere in the United States. The article ends with an overview of French representations of the city, in particular A Cotton Office in New Orleans by Edgar Degas, and the city's place in world tourism, generating questions about the mobile and
hybrid meanings attaching to Frenchness in this context.
The National Revolution in French West Africa: Dakar-Jeunes and the shaping of African opinion
Authors: Gamble Harry
Published: March 2007

Founded in early 1942 as a conduit for National Revolution propaganda, the publication Dakar-Jeunes would also provide an unexpected forum for far-reaching cultural debates. As part of its investigation of cultural development (l'volution culturelle) in French West Africa,
this paper solicited and published a range of articles written by young African elites. It soon became apparent that African contributors to Dakar-Jeunes were staging their own debate, which had little connection to the National Revolution. This article investigates the discursive structure
and broader significance of this largely forgotten contest between supporters of cultural mtissage and defenders of African cultural autonomy. Exploring the positions taken by Lopold Senghor, Ousmane Soc, Mamadou Dia and others the author seeks to understand how key intellectual figures debated
and imagined the cultural communities of the future. At a moment when political life and discourse were heavily repressed by the colonial state, this debate about culture acquired great symbolic importance and a new explosive potential.
The challenges of linguistic duality for francophone Canada: contact, conflict and continuity
Authors: Conrick Maeve
Published: March 2007

This article analyses the principle and practice of linguistic duality in Canada, a country where official bilingualism has been rooted in federal policy on language issues since Confederation (1867). A recent example of a major federal initiative is theAction Plan for Official Languages(2003), which has set as one of its objectives the doubling of bilingual high-school graduates. Historically, conflict has characterized the relationship between the federal government and the provincial government of Quebec, which has pursued a diametrically opposed policy of official monolingualism, culminating in the enactment of theCharte de la langue franaise(Bill 101) in 1977. Several of the provisions of Bill 101 have been challenged in the Supreme Court, in the context of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), notably in the area of minority education rights (e.g. Casimir case, 2005). Analysis of the 2001 census data is used to discuss the demolinguistic reality of French, leading to the conclusion that it is under threat in all provinces and territories except Quebec. The issues of language contact are also challenging for Quebec; though it is the only province with a francophone majority, it is also the province with the highest rate of bilingualism. Important research projects on the long-term continuity and vitality of francophone minority communities are ongoing.
Book Reviews
Authors: Crowley Patrick , Gemie Sharif , Judge Anne , Larrive Pierre , Mitchell Samia , Parris David L , Parris David L , Parris David L , Spaas Lieve
Published: March 2007

Francophone Writing in Transition: Algeria 19001945, Peter Dunwoodie (2005) Bern and Oxford: Peter Lang AG, 339 pp., ISBN 3-03910-294-X (pbk), 59.60, 39.00, US$ 66.95

Empire and Culture: The French Experience, 18301940, Martin Evans (ed.) (2004)
Houndsmill: Macmillan, 212 pp., ISBN 0-333-79181-9 (hbk), 47.50

Le franais en Amrique du Nord, tat prsent, Albert Valdman, Julie Auger et Deborah Piston-Hatlen (2005) Qubec: Les Presses de l'Universit Laval, 583 pp., ISBN 2-7637-8242-6 (pbk), $45

Franais, franglais,
qub-quoi? Les jeunes Qubcois et la langue franaise : enqute socioliguistique, Elatiana Razafimandimbimanana (2005) Paris : L'Harmattan, 238 pp., ISBN 2-7475-9590-0 (pbk), 21

Histoire de la guerre d'indpendance algrienne, Sylvie Thnault (2005) Paris: Editions Flammarion,
300 pp., ISBN 2-08-210344-7 (pbk), 21

France and the Americas, Bill Marshall (ed.) (2005) Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: ABC Clio (3 vols.), 1295 pp., ISBN 1-85109-411-3, 197

La Vie littraire au Qubec: vol. 5 18951918, Denis Saint-Jacques and Maurice Lemire (eds.)
(2005) Quebec City: Les Presses de l'Universit Laval, 680 pp., ISBN 2-7637-8124-1 (pbk), $45

Journal de Vaugine de Nuisement, Steve Canac-Marquis and Pierre Rzeau (eds.) (2005) Quebec: Les Presses de l'Universit Laval, 191 pp., ISBN 2-7637-8182-9 (pbk), C$25

De
l'crit l'cran: Les rcritures filmiques du roman africain francophone, Alexie Tcheuyap (2005) Ottawa: Les Presses de l'Universit d'Ottawa, 230 pp., ISBN 2-7603-0580-5 (pbk), C$29.95
Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Control with Postemergence Herbicides in No-Tillage Glufosinate-Resistant Corn
Authors: Franssen Aaron S. , Kells James J.
Published: March 2007

Common dandelion has developed into a troublesome agronomic weed for no-tillage corn producers. A postemergence herbicide application is often required to reduce common dandelion competition. Field experiments were conducted in 2002 and 2003 to evaluate 22 postemergence herbicide treatments for efficacy on established populations of common dandelion in no-tillage corn. All herbicides were applied to five- to six-collar corn at registered rates with typical adjuvants. At 28 d after treatment (DAT) the most effective treatments included glufosinate and mesotrione providing at least 76% control of common dandelion. All other herbicide treatments provided less than 40% common dandelion control 28 DAT. Common dandelion control was evaluated 56 DAT when regrowth of treated plants was observed for some herbicide treatments. AT 56 DAT, dicamba + diflufenzopyr was the most effective treatment, providing 83% control of common dandelion. In 2002, all herbicide treatments, with the exception of flumiclorac, resulted in corn yields greater than the nontreated.
Growth Stage Affects Cotton Response to Trifloxysulfuron
Authors: Richardson Robert J. , Wilson Henry P. , Armel Gregory R. , Hines Thomas E.
Published: March 2007

Field studies were conducted in 1999, 2000, and 2001 to evaluate cotton response to trifloxysulfuron applied postemergence over the top (POT) or postemergence-directed (PDIR) at various growth stages. Treatments included trifloxysulfuron at 3.8 or 7.5 g ai/ha plus nonionic surfactant (NIS) applied POT to one-, three-, and five-leaf cotton or applied PDIR to 30- and 45-cm tall cotton. Crop injury 7 d after treatment (DAT) varied by year and ranged from 17 to 50%, 19 to 46%, and 5 to 23% with trifloxysulfuron applied POT to one-, three-, and five-leaf cotton, respectively. Injury 21DAT averaged 22, 16, and 6% with one-, three-, and five-leaf applications respectively. Trifloxysulfuron applied PDIR injured cotton 2 to 9% 7 DAT and 0 to 12% 21 DAT. At 30 DAT, cotton height was reduced with one-leaf trifloxysulfuron application, whereas differences were not present across other treatments. Heights at 90 days after planting (DAP) did not differ between treatments. Neither trifloxysulfuron rate or application timing negatively affected cotton yield or fiber quality.
Rice Response to Clomazone as Influenced by Application Rate, Soil Type, and Planting Date
Authors: O'Barr John H. , McCauley Garry N. , Bovey Rodney W. , Senseman Scott A. , Chandler James M.
Published: March 2007

Clomazone is an effective herbicide widely used for PRE grass control in rice. However, use of clomazone on sandy textured soils of the western Texas rice belt can cause serious rice injury. Two field experiments at three locations were conducted in 2002 and 2003 to determine the optimum rate range that maximizes barnyardgrass and broadleaf signalgrass control and minimizes rice injury across a wide variety of soil textures and planting dates. At Beaumont (silty clay loam), Eagle Lake (fine sandy loam), and Ganado (fine sandy loam), TX, PRE application of 0.34 kg ai/ha clomazone applied to rice planted in March, April, or May optimized barnyardgrass and broadleaf signalgrass control and rice yield while minimizing rice injury. Data suggest that, although injury might occur, clomazone is safe to use in rice on sandy textured soils.
WeedSOFT: Effects of Corn-Row Spacing for Predicting Herbicide Efficacy on Selected Weed Species
Authors: Hock Shawn M. , Knezevic Stevan Z. , Johnson William G. , Sprague Christy , Martin Alex R.
Published: March 2007

The ability to accurately estimate herbicide efficacy is critical for any decision-support system used in weed management. Recent efforts by weed scientists in the North Central United States to adopt WeedSOFT across a broad region have resulted in a number of regional research projects designed to assess and improve the predictive capability of WeedSOFT. Field studies were conducted from 2000 to 2002 in Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois to evaluate herbicide-efficacy predictions made by WeedSOFT in two corn-row spacings. Following crop and weed emergence, input variables, such as weed densities and heights, were entered into WeedSOFT to generate a list of treatments ranked by predicted crop yields. The five treatments evaluated included those predicting highest crop-yield potential (recommended control treatment 1), a 10% yield reduction, a 20% yield reduction, a 10% yield reduction plus cultivation, and cultivation alone. These treatments were applied to corn grown in 38- and 76-cm rows. Generally, treatments applied in 38-cm rows had more accurate herbicide-efficacy predictions compared with 76-cm rows. WeedSOFT provided better control predictions for broadleaf than grass species. WeedSOFT provided excellent herbicide-efficacy predictions for the highest crop-yield potential, which indicates a good potential for practical use of this software for herbicide recommendations.
Volunteer Potato Density Influences Critical Time of Weed Removal in Bulb Onion
Authors: Williams Martin M. , Ransom Corey V. , Thompson W. Mack
Published: March 2007

Volunteer potato is highly competitive with onion and few control tactics are effective for removing this weed from an onion crop. Both volunteer potato density and duration of interference reduce onion yield, but the interaction of these factors is unknown. Field trials were conducted in 2003 in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to determine the influence of volunteer potato density on the critical time of weed removal (CTWR) in onion. Yield losses of 2.5, 5.0, and 10% were estimated to occur at 534, 654, and 830 growing degree days (GDD) after onion emergence, respectively, with a volunteer potato density of 0.5 plants/m2. At 2.0 volunteer potato plants/m2, yield losses of 2.5, 5.0, and 10% were estimated to occur at 388, 481, and 598 GDD after onion emergence, respectively. Volunteer potato at 2.0 plants/m2had to be removed at least one onion leaf stage sooner, compared to a weed density of 0.5 plants/m2, to avoid yield loss. Yield loss due to volunteer potato density or duration of interference was greatest among jumbo, colossal, and supercolossal market grades (P ≤ 0.1). Lowering potato tuber density in crops preceding onion will extend the critical time for weed removal and reduce the risk of crop loss.