bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Auditory Cortex Accesses Phonological Categories: An MEG Mismatch Study
Authors: Phillips Colin , Pellathy Thomas , Marantz Alec , Yellin Elron , Wexler Kenneth , Poeppel David , McGinnis Martha , Roberts Timothy
Published: July 2002

The studies presented here use an adapted oddball paradigm to show evidence that representations of discrete phonological categories are available to the human auditory cortex. Brain activity was recorded using a 37-channel biomagnetometer while eight subjects listened passively to synthetic speech sounds. In the phonological condition, which contrasted stimuli from an acoustic /dæ/-/tæ/ continuum, a magnetic mismatch field (MMF) was elicited in a sequence of stimuli in which phonological categories occurred in a many-to-one ratio, but no acoustic many-to-one ratio was present. In order to isolate the contribution of phonological categories to the MMF responses, the acoustic parameter of voice onset time, which distinguished standard and deviant stimuli, was also varied within the standard and deviant categories. No MMF was elicited in the acoustic condition, in which the acoustic distribution of stimuli was identical to the first experiment, but the many-to-one distribution of phonological categories was removed. The design of these studies makes it possible to demonstrate the all-or-nothing property of phonological category membership. This approach contrasts with a number of previous studies of phonetic perception using the mismatch paradigm, which have demonstrated the graded property of enhanced acoustic discrimination at or near phonetic category boundaries.
Age-Related Differences in Neural Activity during Item and Temporal-Order Memory Retrieval: A Positron Emission Tomography Study
Authors: Cabeza Roberto , Anderson Nicole D. , Houle Sylvain , Mangels Jennifer A. , Nyberg Lars
Published: July 2002

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate the hypothesis that older adults' difficulties with temporal-order memory are related to deficits in frontal function. Young (mean 24.7 years) and old (mean 68.6 years) participants studied a list of words, and were then scanned while retrieving information about what words were in the list (item retrieval) or when they occurred within the list (temporal-order retrieval). There were three main results. First, whereas the younger adults engaged right prefrontal regions more during temporal-order retrieval than during item retrieval, the older adults did not. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that context memory deficits in older adults are due to frontal dysfunction. Second, ventromedial temporal activity during item memory was relatively unaffected by aging. This finding concurs with evidence that item memory is relatively preserved in old adults and with the notion that medial temporal regions are involved in automatic retrieval operations. Finally, replicating the result of a previous study (Cabeza, R., Grady, C. L, Nyberg, L., McIntosh, A. R., Tulving, E., Kapur, S., Jennings, J. M., Houle, S., & Craik, F. I. M., 1997), the old adults showed weaker activations than the young adults in the right prefrontal cortex but stronger activations in the left prefrontal cortex. The age-related increase in left prefrontal activity may be interpreted as compensatory. Taken together, the results suggest that age-related changes in brain activity are rather process- and region-specific, and that they involve increases as well as decreases in neural activity.
Failed Suppression of Direct Visuomotor Activation in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Praamstra P. , Plat F. M.
Published: July 2002

The response times in choice-reaction tasks are faster when the relative spatial positions of stimulus and response match than when they do not match, even when the spatial relation is irrelevant to response choice. This spatial stimulus—response (S-R) compatibility effect (i.e., the Simon effect) is attributed in part to the automatic activation of spatially corresponding responses, which need to be suppressed when the spatial location of stimulus and correct response do not correspond. The present study tested patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy control subjects in a spatial S-R compatibility task in order to investigate whether basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson's disease leads to disinhibition of direct visuomotor activation. High-density event-related brain potential recordings were used to chart the cortical activity accompanying attentional orientation and response selection. Response time measures demonstrated a failure to inhibit automatic response activation in Parkinson patients, which was revealed by taking into account a sequence-dependent modulation of the Simon effect. Event-related potential (ERP) recordings demonstrated that visuospatial orientation to target stimuli was accompanied by signal-locked activity above motor areas of the cortex, with similar latencies but an enhanced amplitude in patients compared to control subjects. The results suggest that inhibitory modulation of automatic, stimulus-driven, visuomotor activation occurs after the initial sensory activation of motor cortical areas. The failed inhibition in Parkinson's disease appears therefore related to a disturbance in processes that prevent early attention-related visuomotor activation, within motor areas, from actually evoking a response.
Parallel Cortico-Basal Ganglia Mechanisms for Acquisition and Execution of Visuomotor Sequences—A Computational Approach
Authors: Nakahara Hiroyuki , Doya Kenji , Hikosaka Okihide
Published: July 2002

Experimental studies have suggested that many brain areas, including the basal ganglia (BG), contribute to procedural learning. Focusing on the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical (BG-TC) system, we propose a computational model to explain how different brain areas work together in procedural learning. The BG-TC system is composed of multiple separate loop circuits. According to our model, two separate BG-TC loops learn a visuomotor sequence concurrently but using different coordinates, one visual, and the other motor. The visual loop includes the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF) cortex and the anterior part of the BG, while the motor loop includes the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the posterior BG. The concurrent learning in these loops is based on reinforcement signals carried by dopaminergic (DA) neurons that project divergently to the anterior (“visual”) and posterior (“motor”) parts of the striatum. It is expected, however, that the visual loop learns a sequence faster than the motor loop due to their different coordinates. The difference in learning speed may lead to inconsistent outputs from the visual and motor loops, and this problem is solved by a mechanism called a “coordinator,” which adjusts the contribution of the visual and motor loops to a final motor output. The coordinator is assumed to be in the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA). We hypothesize that the visual and motor loops, with the help of the coordinator, achieve both the quick acquisition of novel sequences and the robust execution of well-learned sequences. A computational model based on the hypothesis is examined in a series of computer simulations, referring to the results of the 2 × 5 task experiments that have been used on both monkeys and humans. We found that the dual mechanism with the coordinator was superior to the single (visual or motor) mechanism. The model replicated the following essential features of the experimental results: (1) the time course of learning, (2) the effect of opposite hand use, (3) the effect of sequence reversal, and (4) the effects of localized brain inactivations. Our model may account for a common feature of procedural learning: A spatial sequence of discrete actions (subserved by the visual loop) is gradually replaced by a robust motor skill (subserved by the motor loop).
Functional Anatomy of Perceptual and Semantic Processing for Odors
Authors: Royet Jean-P. , Koenig Olivier , Gregoire Marie-C. , Cinotti Luc , Lavenne Frank , Bars Didier Le , Costes Nicolas , Vigouroux Michel , Farget Vincent , Sicard Gilles , Holley André , Mauguière François , Comar Dominique , Froment Jean-C.
Published: July 2002

The functional anatomy of perceptual and semantic processings for odors was studied using positron emission tomography (PET). The first experiment was a pretest in which 71 normal subjects were asked to rate 185 odorants in terms of intensity, familiarity, hedonicity, and comestibility and to name the odorants. This pretest was necessary to select the most appropriate stimuli for the different cognitive tasks of the second experiment. The second one was a PET experiment in which 15 normal subjects were scanned using the water bolus method to measure regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during the performance in three conditions. In the first (perceptual) condition, subjects were asked to judge whether an odor was familiar or not. In the second (semantic) condition, subjects had to decide whether an odor corresponded to a comestible item or not. In the third (detection) condition, subjects had to judge whether the perceived stimulus was made of an odor or was just air. It was hypothetized that the three tasks were hierarchically organized from a superficial detection level to a deep semantic level. Odorants were presented with an air-flow olfactometer, which allowed the stimulations to be synchronized with breathing. Subtraction of activation images obtained between familiarity and control judgments revealed that familiarity judgments were mainly associated with the activity of the right orbito-frontal area, the subcallosal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate (Brodmann's areas 11, 25, 47, 9, and 32, respectively). The comestibility minus familiarity comparison showed that comestibility judgments selectively activated the primary visual areas. In contrast, a decrease in rCBF was observed in these same visual areas for familiarity judgments and in the orbitofrontal area for comestibility judgments. These results suggest that orbito-frontal and visual regions interact in odor processing in a complementary way, depending on the task requirements.
Saccadic Performance as a Function of the Presence and Disappearance of Auditory and Visual Fixation Stimuli
Authors: Taylor Tracy L. , Klein Raymond M. , Munoz Douglas P.
Published: July 2002

Relative to when a fixated stimulus remains visible, saccadic latencies are facilitated when a fixated stimulus is extinguished simultaneously with or prior to the appearance of an eccentric auditory, visual, or combined visual-auditory target. In a study of nine human subjects, we determined whether such facilitation (the “gap effect”) occurs equivalently for the disappearance of fixated auditory stimuli and fixated visual stimuli. In the present study, a fixated auditory (noise) stimulus remained present (overlap) or else was extinguished simultaneously with (step) or 200 msec prior to (gap) the appearance of a visual, auditory (tone), or combined visual-auditory target 10° to the left or right of fixation. The results demonstrated equivalent facilitatory effects due to the disappearance of fixated auditory and visual stimuli and are consistent with the presumed role of the superior colliculus in the gap effect.
Auditory-Visual Integration during Multimodal Object Recognition in Humans: A Behavioral and Electrophysiological Study
Authors: Giard M. H. , Peronnet F.
Published: July 2002

The aim of this study was (1) to provide behavioral evidence for multimodal feature integration in an object recognition task in humans and (2) to characterize the processing stages and the neural structures where multisensory interactions take place. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 30 scalp electrodes while subjects performed a forced-choice reaction-time categorization task: At each trial, the subjects had to indicate which of two objects was presented by pressing one of two keys. The two objects were defined by auditory features alone, visual features alone, or the combination of auditory and visual features. Subjects were more accurate and rapid at identifying multimodal than unimodal objects. Spatiotemporal analysis of ERPs and scalp current densities revealed several auditory-visual interaction components temporally, spatially, and functionally distinct before 200 msec poststimulus. The effects observed were (1) in visual areas, new neural activities (as early as 40 msec poststimulus) and modulation (amplitude decrease) of the N185 wave to unimodal visual stimulus, (2) in the auditory cortex, modulation (amplitude increase) of subcomponents of the unimodal auditory N1 wave around 90 to 110 msec, and (3) new neural activity over the right fronto-temporal area (140 to 165 msec). Furthermore, when the subjects were separated into two groups according to their dominant modality to perform the task in unimodal conditions (shortest reaction time criteria), the integration effects were found to be similar for the two groups over the nonspecific fronto-temporal areas, but they clearly differed in the sensory-specific cortices, affecting predominantly the sensory areas of the nondominant modality. Taken together, the results indicate that multisensory integration is mediated by flexible, highly adaptive physiological processes that can take place very early in the sensory processing chain and operate in both sensory-specific and nonspecific cortical structures in different ways.
Information Geometry of Mean-Field Approximation
Authors: Tanaka Toshiyuki
Published: July 2002

I present a general theory of mean-field approximation based on information geometry and applicable not only to Boltzmann machines but also to wider classes of statistical models. Using perturbation expansion of the Kullback divergence (or Plefka expansion in statistical physics), a formulation of mean-field approximation of general orders is derived. It includes in a natural way the “naive” mean-field approximation and is consistent with the Thouless-Anderson-Palmer (TAP) approach and the linear response theorem in statistical physics.
Synchrony in Heterogeneous Networks of Spiking Neurons
Authors: Neltner L. , Hansel D. , Mato G. , Meunier C.
Published: July 2002

The emergence of synchrony in the activity of large, heterogeneous networks of spiking neurons is investigated. We define the robustness of synchrony by the critical disorder at which the asynchronous state becomes linearly unstable. We show that at low firing rates, synchrony is more robust in excitatory networks than in inhibitory networks, but excitatory networks cannot display any synchrony when the average firing rate becomes too high. We introduce a new regime where all inputs, external and internal, are strong and have opposite effects that cancel each other when averaged. In this regime, the robustness of synchrony is strongly enhanced, and robust synchrony can be achieved at a high firing rate in inhibitory networks. On the other hand, in excitatory networks, synchrony remains limited in frequency due to the intrinsic instability of strong recurrent excitation.
A Novel Spike Distance
Authors: Rossum M. C. W. van
Published: July 2002

The discrimination between two spike trains is a fundamental problem for both experimentalists and the nervous system itself. We introduce a measure for the distance between two spike trains. The distance has a time constant as a parameter. Depending on this parameter, the distance interpolates between a coincidence detector and a rate difference counter. The dependence of the distance on noise is studied with an integrate-andfire model. For an intermediate range of the time constants, the distance depends linearly on the noise. This property can be used to determine the intrinsic noise of a neuron.
Temporal Difference Model Reproduces Anticipatory Neural Activity
Authors: Suri Roland E. , Schultz Wolfram
Published: July 2002

Anticipatory neural activity preceding behaviorally important events has been reported in cortex, striatum, and midbrain dopamine neurons. Whereas dopamine neurons are phasically activated by reward-predictive stimuli, anticipatory activity of cortical and striatal neurons is increased during delay periods before important events. Characteristics of dopa-mine neuron activity resemble those of the prediction error signal of the temporal difference (TD) model of Pavlovian learning (Sutton & Barto, 1990). This study demonstrates that the prediction signal of the TD model reproduces characteristics of cortical and striatal anticipatory neural activity. This finding suggests that tonic anticipatory activities may reflect prediction signals that are involved in the processing of dopamine neuron activity.
Modeling Neuronal Assemblies: Theory and Implementation
Authors: Eggert J. , Hemmen J. L. van
Published: July 2002

Models that describe qualitatively and quantitatively the activity of entire groups of spiking neurons are becoming increasingly important for biologically realistic large-scale network simulations. At the systems and areas modeling level, it is necessary to switch the basic descriptional level from single spiking neurons to neuronal assemblies. In this article, we present and review work that allows a macroscopic description of the assembly activity. We show that such macroscopic models can be used to reproduce in a quantitatively exact manner the joint activity of groups of spike-response or integrate-and-fire neurons. We also show that integral as well as differential equation models of neuronal assemblies can be understood within a single framework, which allows a comparison with the commonly used assembly-averaged graded-response type of models. The presented framework thus enables the large-scale neural network modeler to implement networks using computational units beyond the single spiking neuron without losing much biological accuracy. This article explains the theoretical background as well as the capabilities and the implementation details of the assembly approach.
What Geometric Visual Hallucinations Tell Us about the Visual Cortex
Authors: Bressloff Paul C. , Cowan Jack D. , Golubitsky Martin , Thomas Peter J. , Wiener Matthew C.
Published: July 2002

Many observers see geometric visual hallucinations after taking hallucinogens such as LSD, cannabis, mescaline or psilocybin; on viewing bright flickering lights; on waking up or falling asleep; in “near-death” experiences; and in many other syndromes. Klüver organized the images into four groups called form constants: (I) tunnels and funnels, (II) spirals, (III) lattices, including honeycombs and triangles, and (IV) cobwebs. In most cases, the images are seen in both eyes and move with them. We interpret this to mean that they are generated in the brain. Here, we summarize a theory of their origin in visual cortex (area V1), based on the assumption that the form of the retino–cortical map and the architecture of V1 determine their geometry. (A much longer and more detailed mathematical version has been published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 356 [2001].)

We model V1 as the continuum limit of a lattice of interconnected hypercolumns, each comprising a number of interconnected iso-orientation columns. Based on anatomical evidence, we assume that the lateral connectivity between hypercolumns exhibits symmetries, rendering it invariant under the action of the Euclidean group E(2), composed of reflections and translations in the plane, and a (novel) shift-twist action. Using this symmetry, we show that the various patterns of activity that spontaneously emerge when V1's spatially uniform resting state becomes unstable correspond to the form constants when transformed to the visual field using the retino-cortical map. The results are sensitive to the detailed specification of the lateral connectivity and suggest that the cortical mechanisms that generate geometric visual hallucinations are closely related to those used to process edges, contours, surfaces, and textures.
Beta Foly: Experiments with Tradition and Technology in West Africa
Authors: Ligeti Lukas
Published: July 2002

In 1994, together with several West African traditional musicians and German electronics expert Kurt Dahlke, the author founded the music ensemble Beta Foly, based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The group explores creative musical possibilities generated through the bringing together of different cultures and traditions, placing a strong emphasis on the use of both ancient African instruments and the most recent music technology. The members of Beta Foly compose and improvise eclectic, polymetric music, trying to combine styles in innovative ways in order to find new avenues for composition, ensemble interplay and cross-cultural understanding.
Ecoactivist Performance: The Environment As Partner in Protest?
Authors: Kershaw Baz
Published: July 2002

Paradoxically, ecoactivism, however public, also contains an “invisible art.” How might such “invisible art”—operating where art and environment, performance and ecology meet—mobilize resistance to a global “progress” that is killing us all?
Computational Requirements and Synchronization Issues for Virtual Acoustic Displays
Authors: Miner Nadine , Caudell Thomas
Published: July 2002

This paper addresses two main issues concerning virtual acoustic displays. First, we discuss the computational requirements including sound generation (or synthesis), environmental effects modeling, and three-dimensional (3-D) sound localization. The computational analysis reveals that acoustic processing delays of at least 66 ms are expected with today's technology. This analysis motivates the second issue: how much computational time is available for executing the acoustic process, assuming the requirement for perceptually perfect audiovisual synchronization? A psychoacoustic experiment designed to quantify the tolerable audiovisual delay indicates that an acoustic impact event must occur within an average of 175 ms of the visual event in order for the events to be perceived as synchronous. The most highly trained observers detect desynchrony with an audiovisual delay as low as 100 ms. The results of the computational requirement analysis and the psychoacoustic synchronization experiment provide important information for designers and researchers of virtual acoustic displays.
Lessons from LambdaMOO: A Social, Text-Based Virtual Environment
Authors: Schiano Diane J.
Published: July 2002

The growing use of the Internet to provide a sense of personal connection and community is converging with the development of shared virtual spaces. In particular, the strong popularity of Multi-User Domains (MUDs), text-based networked virtual worlds, suggests the high premium many people place on social interactivity in their virtual environments. The project described in this paper was designed to broadly characterize what life in LambdaMOO—a classic, social, text-based MUD—is like for many of its members. A comprehensive, data-driven approach was used to explore topics including user and use characteristics, identity and gender role-play, sociality, and spatiality. A rich database of results was gathered. The findings demonstrate a striking and increasingly strong focus on social interaction, even at the expense of spatial navigation. Moreover, contrary to expectations, small, private, even exclusive social interactions were the rule, not the exception. In addition, provocative claims regarding the prevalence of identity and gender role-play were shown not to hold, at least for most people, in this classic social MUD. Finally, some intriguing results regarding the sense of place and space in a purely text-based virtual environment are presented. Taken together, these data shed light on robust psychological and social patterns observed in a large-scale, social virtual world. In doing so, they can help inform the discourse on, and design of, related systems in the future.
Effects of Stereopsis and Head Tracking on Performance Using Desktop Virtual Environment Displays
Authors: Barfield Woodrow , Hendrix Claudia , Bystrom Karl-Erik
Published: July 2002

This study investigated performance in a desktop virtual environment as a function of stereopsis and head tracking. Ten subjects traced a computer-generated wire using a virtual stylus that was slaved to the position of a real-world stylus tracked with a 6-DOF position sensor. The objective of the task was to keep the virtual stylus centered on the wire. Measures collected as the subjects performed the task were performance time, and number of times the stylus overstepped the virtual wire. The time to complete the wire-tracing task was significantly reduced by the addition of stereopsis, but was not affected by the presence of head tracking. The number of times the virtual stylus overstepped the wire was significantly reduced when head-tracking cues were available, but was not affected by the presence of stereoscopic cues. Implications of the results for performance using desktop virtual environments are discussed.
Design of Graph-Based Evolutionary Algorithms: A Case Study for Chemical Process Networks
Authors: Emmerich Michael , Grötzner Monika , Schütz Martin
Published: July 2002

This paper describes the adaptation of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to the structural optimization of chemical engineering plants, using rigorous process simulation combined with realistic costing procedures to calculate target function values.

To represent chemical engineering plants, a network representation with typed vertices and variable structure will be introduced. For this representation, we introduce a technique on how to create problem specific search operators and apply them in stochastic optimization procedures. The applicability of the approach is demonstrated by a reference example.

The design of the algorithms will be oriented at the systematic framework of metricbased evolutionary algorithms (MBEAs). MBEAs are a special class of evolutionary algorithms, fulfilling certain guidelines for the design of search operators, whose benefits have been proven in theory and practice. MBEAs rely upon a suitable definition of a metric on the search space. The definition of a metric for the graph representation will be one of the main issues discussed in this paper.

Although this article deals with the problem domain of chemical plant optimization, the algorithmic design can be easily transferred to similar network optimization problems. A useful distance measure for variable dimensionality search spaces is suggested.
Products and Ecological Models: A Population Ecology Perspective
Authors: Levine Stephen H.
Published: July 2002

Industrial ecology has used the systems ecology model, with its emphasis on the flows of energy and nutrients, as a tool to find ways to minimize the adverse environmental effects of industrial activity. A second ecosystem model, the population ecology model, emphasizes intra‐and inter‐specific interactions of many types. When applied to industrial systems, it suggests an increased focus on products. It therefore can provide a useful complement to the systems ecology approach. If industrial processes that are less harmful to the environment are to be successfully implemented, they will have to produce products that can successfully penetrate the marketplace. A number of historical examples are used to illustrate the many product interactions discussed.
Comparing the Environmental Performance of Fluorescent Whitening Agents with Peroxide Bleaching of Mechanical Pulp
Authors: Scheringer Martin , Halder Daniel , Hungerbühler Konrad
Published: July 2002

The use of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) instead of oxidative bleaching agents such as peroxide is an alternative for the bleaching of mechanical pulp. By this approach, the chromophores of the wood components in the pulp are not destroyed chemically but the brightness of the pulp is achieved by increased re‐emission of blue light in the range of 400–500 nm. In this study, a typical FWA and peroxide bleaching chemicals are compared with respect to both production and application in the pulp mill. The life‐cycle inventory shows that, on the one hand, the production of the FWA leads to higher releases of salts and adsorbable organically bound halogens (AOX) to surface waters and that, on the other hand, significantly less FWA is required in the application step in order to reach the same pulp brightness. The life‐cycle impact assessment of the production step is presented in terms of Eco‐indicator 95. These results, however, do not cover the environmental fate of various chemicals released to the aquatic environment in the course of the bleaching/whitening step. Therefore, this part is assessed by means of a more detailed investigation of the chemicals' environmental fate in rivers and their aquatic toxicity.
Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?
Authors: Maniates Michael F.
Published: July 2002

An increasingly dominant, largely American response to the contemporary environmental crisis understands environmental degradation as the product of individual shortcomings and finds solutions in enlightened, uncoordinated consumer choice. Several forces promote this process of individualization, including the historical baggage of mainstream environmentalism, the core tenets of liberalism, the dynamic ability of capitalism to commodify dissent, and the relatively recent rise of global environmental threats to human prosperity. The result is to narrow our collective ability to imagine and pursue a variety of productive responses to the environmental problems before us. When responsibility for environmental problems is individualized, there is little room to ponder institutions, the nature and exercise of political power, or ways of collectively changing the distribution of power and influence in society. Confronting consumption requires individuals to understand themselves not primarily as consumers but rather as citizens in a participatory democracy, working together to change broader policy and larger social institutions. It also requires linking explorations of consumption to politically charged issues that challenge the political imagination.
Two Ways of Reasoning, One Outcome: The World Bank's Evolving Philosophy in Establishing a “Sustainable Water Resources Management” Policy
Authors: Allouche Jeremy , Finger Matthias
Published: July 2002

This article discusses the evolution of water resources management and policies since the early 1990s. Changes are due, in particular, to two international conferences both held in 1992 (Rio and Dublin), which laid the groundwork for an integrated approach to water management. Reformers concentrated on creating a coherent policy that would take into account environmental concerns. This paper focuses on the World Bank as one of the most important actors in the formulation and financing of water policies. Indeed, the World Bank has developed, as a result of these conferences, a new policy that regroups different water projects into one single concept: water resources management. It turns out, however, that water resources management in essence just means water privatization.
THE LOSS OF ARMAGEDDON, OR, 621 AND ALL THAT: BIBLICAL FICTION, BIBLICAL HISTORY AND THE REWRITTEN BIBLE
Authors: Carroll Robert
Published: July 2002

In this brief article the 'what if' focus takes as its stage the disappearance from the biblical narrative of the so-called deuteronomistic movement and, in particular, the loss of Armageddon entailed by an imagined failure of Josiah to be killed at Megiddo. The loss of a substantive associated with representations of the end of the world is acknowledged, but the concomitant loss of the world of authoritarian, moralistic discourses associated with the ideology of deuteronomism would more than compensate for the aesthetic loss of the descriptor Armageddon. It would not be a case of all subsequent history having to be radically altered, but everything would have been different and, in this author's opinion, better (a non-postmodernist attitude). The stimulating writings of Margaret Barker are utilized to this end and some points are made about the conceivable benefits of such a loss of the ideology and rhetoric of deuteronomism. The Rewritten Bible which lacked any sense of '621 and All That' might then be a pleasure to read.
THE SAFFRON ARMY, VIOLENCE, TERROR(ISM): BUDDHISM, IDENTITY, AND DIFFERENCE IN SRI LANKA
Authors: Abeysekara Ananda
Published: July 2002

This paper proposes alternative approaches to conceptualizing the relation between religion and violence, Buddhism and terror(ism). An important body of scholarship seeks to theorize religion and violence as transparent objects of disciplinary knowledge in terms of their supposed difference or interrelation, while chronically failing to appreciate them as discursive categories. The relation between religion and violence, the paper contends, is not available for disciplinary canonization as it is conventionally conceived in the now familiar terms of "Buddhism Betrayed?," "religious violence," "religious terrorism," etc. Rather the questions, terms, and parameters defining which persons, practices, and knowledges can and cannot count as religion or violence, civilization or terror are produced, battled out, and subverted in minute contingent conjunctures. Put differently, they are authorized to come into (central) view and fade from view, to emerge and submerge, to become centered and decentered within a microspace of competing authoritative "native" debates and discourses.
ADULTEROUS JERUSALEM'S IMAGINED DEMISE: DEATH OF A METAPHOR IN EZEKIEL XVI
Authors: Day Peggy
Published: July 2002

Scholars typically assert that the punishment section of Ezekiel xvi includes several features that accurately depict the appropriate and lawful punishment for adultery in ancient Israel. This article refutes the standard scholarly interpretation in two ways. First, it demonstrates that the standard interpretation is based on a flawed understanding of the nature of metaphor. It concludes that, although scholars claim that they are reading metaphorically, in fact they are taking the language literally. Secondly, it reviews all of the biblical and extrabiblical evidence cited by scholars in support of asserting that four of the features of the depicted punishment reflect the lawful punishment for adultery. It concludes that the evidence cited does not support the assertion. Rather, the punishment depicted draws upon consequences threatened for breach of covenant, which is the transgression that the people of Jerusalem are accused of committing in Ezekiel xvi.
ZUR INTERPRETATION VON WE'ET KÅL-BÊT HĀREKĀBÎM IN JEREMIA XXXV 3
Authors: Migsch Herbert
Published: July 2002

In Jer. xxxv 3 sind drei besondere Begriffe und ein allgemeiner Begriff einander gegenübergestellt. Die Gegenüberstellung ist jedoch formal nicht ausgedrückt: Das Substantiv......... ("der Rest"), durch das das indefinite Zahladjektiv "übrige"/"andere" ersetzt wird, ist erspart. In der Übersetzung muß das indefinite Zahladjektiv zugefügt werden.
NATURAL HISTORIES: LEARNING FROM ANIMALS IN T.H. WHITE'S ARTHURIAN SEQUENCE
Authors: Sly Debbie
Published: July 2002

This paper examines the changes T.H. White made to The Sword in the Stone between its first publication in 1938 and subsequent appearance as the first part of the Once and Future King in 1958. These changes are related to the immediate historical context of World War II, and also to the wider context of children's literature dealing with the relationship between the child and the ''natural world''. Rather than seeing White's texts as reflecting a post-Enlightenment idealisation, placing both child and nature beyond the bounds of culture and human limitation, the essay argues that even in the first version White's medieval worldview is constructed from a sophisticated and deliberately anachronistic medley of discourses including medieval codes of hunting and chivalry, Renaissance tragedy and Victorian natural history. These combine to create an exclusively male world, which is analysed as part of the ideological construction of a masculine relationship to the environment based on a ''natural'' nstinct to hunt and kill. White's growing pacifism leads to the insertion in the later version of episodes replacing this relationship with models of cooperative animal behaviour, and even introducing a female mentor for the hero.
ARE DUNG FLIES IDEAL-FREE DISTRIBUTED AT THEIR OVIPOSITION AND MATING SITE?
Authors: Blanckenhorn Wolf , Morf Cornelia , Reuter Max
Published: July 2002

We experimentally tested the ideal-free distribution (IFD) using oviposition sites and mates as resources. We asked whether (1) female dung flies are distributed in an ideal-free manner among various fresh dung pats (the mating site and their resource for oviposition), and whether (2) the males are distributed likewise and consequently (3) ideal-free distributed with regard to the number of females. The last prediction links the IFD to the operational sex ratio (OSR), the number of competing males per receptive female. The flies were simultaneously offered six fresh dung pats in their natural environment, arrayed in a small and a large equalsided triangle. In one experiment all dung pats were the same size, and in another the three dung pats in each triangle had different surface areas. The large and mobile yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria, was overall evenly distributed with regard to oviposition sites and mates, whereas the distribution of the smaller and less mobile Sepsis cynipsea deviated randomly from the IFD. More flies were attracted to larger pats, but not in proportion to the pat's surface area (undermatching). Based on the speed at which an IFD was approached, individuals did not appear to sample different pats. The differences between the two species in agreement with the IFD predictions are probably quantitative rather than qualitative, relating to differences in mobility and local distribution.
EXTRA-PAIR PATERNITY IN GREAT TITS (PARUS MAJOR)-A LONG TERM STUDY
Authors: Lubjuhn Thomas , Strohbach Sabine , Brün Jörg , Gerken Thomas , Epplen Jörg
Published: July 2002

Extra-pair paternity is known to be common in many socially monogamous avian species. One question to which much attention has been paid is which benefits females might gain from copulations outside the pair bond. The 'good genes' hypothesis suggests that females obtain indirect benefits (i.e. good genes for at least part of their offspring). To test predictions from this hypothesis we analysed paternity in a study on great tits (Parus major) over 5 years. Each year 27.8-44.2% of broods contained at least one nestling that derived from a male other than its social father. 5.4-8.6% of all nestlings investigated were extra-pair sired. Males that were cuckolded survived with the same probability to the next year's breeding season as males whose broods did not contain extra-pair young. In addition there were no differences in local recruitment rates of offspring whether they were extra-pair sired or not. Our results do not fit the predictions of the 'good genes' hypothesis. Moreover, patterns of extra-pair paternity in successive years were highly inconsistent, suggesting that factors other than the genetic quality of males play an important role in determining if a particular female or male has extra-pair young in its brood.
SERUM PROTEIN CONCENTRATION AND SOMATIC INDEX IN RELATION TO MORPHOMETRIC MATURITY FOR MALE SNOW CRAB, CHIONOECETES OPILIO (O. FABRICIUS, 1788), IN THE BAIE DES CHALEURS, CANADA (DECAPODA, BRACHYURA)
Authors: Comeau Michel , Lanteigne Marc , Cormier Roland
Published: July 2002

The serum protein concentrations of juvenile and mature male snow crabs, Chionoecetes opilio, were measured using a refractometer. The somatic indices of juvenile and mature male snow crab were calculated using the weight of the dry flesh of the chelae versus its wet weight. Results indicate that juvenile male snow crab have significantly higher serum protein concentrations and significantly lower somatic indices than their mature counterparts. These observations are attributed to basic physiological differences that could be explained by a terminal moult. Les concentrations en proteines seriques de males juveniles et a maturite du crabe des neiges Chionoecetes opilio ont ete mesurees au moyen d'un refractometre. Les indices somatiques de ces individus ont ete calcules en utilisant le rapport entre le poids sec et le poids humide de la chair. Les resultats indiquent que les individus males juveniles ont des concentrations en proteines seriques significativement plus elevees et des indices somatiques significativement plus bas que les individus males matures. Ces observations sont attribuees a des differences physiologiques de base qui peuvent etre expliquees par une mue terminale.
POTENTIAL YIELD OF A ROCK SHRIMP STOCK, SICYONIA PENICILLATA IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA
Authors: Lopez-Martinez Juana , Alcantara-Razo Edgar , Hernandez-Vazquez Sergio , Chavez Ernesto
Published: July 2002

A stock of rock shrimp Sicyonia penicillata was assessed in a fishery recently opened at Bahoa Kino, Sonora, Mexico. An age-structured model with stochastic recruitment was developed, which considers growth rate, natural mortality, and fishing mortality by age. Age groups were followed year by year with a stock-recruitment Ricker function where the seasonal recruitment pattern was defined as well. Simulations might be interpreted as showing a stable population with four year cycles, reflecting a density-dependent process. In 1996, fishing intensity had an apparent compensatory effect on the stock, decreasing the amplitude of natural oscillations and maintaining the stock at a biomass level similar to the size observed in a condition of no exploitation. The stock was found currently underexploited. As a result of the seasonal accessibility and the age of first-catch fishing (adult shrimp), the stock might be capable to withstand high fishing pressure without being overexploited. Se evaluo una poblacion de camaron de roca Sicyonia penicillata, de una pesqueroa recientemente abierta en Bahoa Kino, Sonora, Mexico. Se desarrollo un modelo basado en la estructura por edades que considera reclutamiento estocastico, tasa de crecimiento, mortalidad natural y mortalidad por pesca por grupo de edad. Estos grupos de edad fueron determinados ano tras ano mediante la funcion de reclutamiento de Ricker, en los que tambien se definio el patron estacional de reclutamiento. Las simulaciones muestran una poblacion estable con ciclos de cuatro anos, que indican un proceso de densodependencia. En 1996, la intensidad de pesca tuvo un efecto compensatorio sobre la poblacion, reduciendo la amplitud de las oscilaciones naturales y manteniendo al stock en un nivel de biomasa similar al observado en la condicion sin explotacion. Se encontro que el recurso esta subexplotado. Como resultado de la accesibilidad estacional y de que la edad de primera captura corresponde a camaron adulto, el recurso soporta alta presion de pesca sin dar evidencias de sobreexplotacion.
Effects of hatching factors on potato cyst nematode hatch and in-egg mortality in soil and in vitro
Authors: Jones Peter , Devine Ken
Published: July 2002

The exogenous application to three Globodera pallida-infested fields of tomato root leachate (TRL) containing hatching factors increased nematode hatch and in-egg mortality, particularly in a highly organic soil, and in a sandy but not in a clay soil. The most active concentrations of TRL (7.5-12.5 mg m-2) resulted in a reduction of between 69 and 79% in the number of viable eggs per cyst recovered 12 weeks after TRL application. At high hatching factor concentrations, supra-optimal inhibition of both hatch and in-egg mortality was observed; generally, hatch and in-egg mortality exhibited similar dosage-responses to TRL. A significant TRL dosage-hatch response was observed at 4 weeks after TRL application only in the sandy soil. In vitro, a G. pallida population exhibiting moderate hatch gave similar hatching and in-egg mortality responses as in the field experiment. The response of the PCN populations in vitro was found to be dependent on the physiological state of the egg/juvenile complex, with egg populations in diapause responding to the presence of natural and artificial hatching factors by exhibiting increased in-egg mortality but not increased hatch. The results are discussed in relation to novel G. pallida control measures.
Juvenile development and life cycle of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. indica (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae)
Authors: Johnigk Stefan-Andreas , Ehlers Ralf-Udo
Published: July 2002

Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. indica were cultured in vitro in monoxenic liquid cultures. Nematodes were examined for morphological characters which can be used to determine the sexes in all juvenile stages. When hatching from the egg no sex-specific characters could be distinguished. Twelve hours later sex determination resulted in male phenotypes which were identified by the asymmetric shape of the primordial testis. Female phenotypes, with symmetrical primordial gonads, were observed 12 h later. Of the eggs laid by the parental hermaphrodite 57% developed to amphimictic adults. The other individuals were determined to become automictic dauer juveniles which further develop to hermaphrodites. The pre-dauer J1 was the last of the first juvenile stages to be determined. They moult to the pre-dauer second stage juvenile (J2D) which is distinguished from the other J2 stages by a thin and spindle-like shape, elongated pharynx and needle-like tip of the tail. The late JD2 stage is immobile, pharyngeal pumping ceases and intercalated fat reserves make it appear darker then the amphimictic J2. The further development to adults is described and the occurrence of the different stages in liquid culture documented. Developpement larvaire et cycle biologique d'Heterorhabditis bacteriophora et H. indica (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) - Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and H. indica ont ete eleves in vitro sur milieux liquides monoxeniques. Les nematodes ont ete etudies pour les caracteres morphologiques qui pourraient etre utilises dans la determination des sexes dans tous les stades juveniles. A l'eclosion, aucun caractere sexuel specifique n'a pu etre identifie. Douze heures plus tard, le dimorphisme sexuel se revele avec des phenotypes males caracterises par la forme asymetrique du testicule. Les phenotypes femelles avec des primordium symetriques ont ete observes 12 h plus tard. 57% des individus issus des oeufs de parent hermaphrodite se sont developpes en adulte amphimictique. Les autres individus se sont developpes en dauerlarva automictiques qui se sont plus tard developpes en hermaphrodites. La pre-dauerlarvae (J1) a ete le dernier des stades juveniles a etre identifie. Ils ont mue en stade pre-dauer J2 qui peut etre differencie des autres stades J2 par le corps mince et fusiforme, un pharynx allonge et l'extemite de la queue tres effilee. Le dernier stade DJ2 est immobile, le pompage pharyngien cesse et des reserves lipidiques interstitielles le rendent plus sombre que chez le stade amphimictique J2. Le developpement jusqu'a l'adulte est decrit et l'apparition de differents stades en milieu de culture liquide est detaillee.