bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis B virus genotypes: comparison of genotyping methods
Authors: Bartholomeusz Angeline , Schaefer Stephan
Published: January 2004

There are eight genotypes of HBV designated A to H based on greater than 8% nucleotide variation over the entire genome. Hepadnaviruses infecting primates like the chimpanzee, orangutan and gibbon are very similar and can be regarded as genotypes of HBV. The eight genotypes of HBV show a distinct geographical distribution and influence the course of disease and the prognosis of treatment. Due to the variability of HBV, diagnostic procedures risk giving false‐negative results or reporting an inaccurately low quantitative result. Thus, the variability of HBV genotypes can influence the interpretation of diagnostic data and the therapeutic decisions thereof in an unwanted way.

HBV genotypes differ in the length of their genomes. The old system of numbering HBV nucleotides from the start of a non‐conserved EcoRI site in the genome leads to difficulties in comparing nucleotide positions between genotypes. A numbering system is presented which avoids this problem. In addition we discuss the currently available methods for genotyping HBV. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Herpes simplex virus gene products: the accessories reflect her lifestyle well
Authors: Nishiyama Yukihiro
Published: January 2004

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) genomic DNA contains at least 74 distinct genes. A set of 40 genes, termed the ‘core genes’, is commonly found in all herpesviruses; their products include four capsid proteins, six DNA replication proteins, seven DNA packaging/cleavage proteins, four envelope glycoproteins, as well as several others. Although approximately half of the HSV genes are not essential for replication in cell cultures, all accessory gene products are predicted to play indispensable roles for viral replication and dissemination in vivo. Intensive studies have been undertaken to elucidate the functions and roles of HSV gene products, and we are now able to address, at least partially, the biological aspects of all HSV encoded proteins. This article is a brief summary of our present knowledge of the functions and roles of HSV gene products with special attention focused on UL14, UL34, UL51, UL56 and US3, all of which are thought to be involved in HSV egress. Furthermore, efforts are discussed to generate replication‐competent HSV lacking a single or multiple accessory gene(s) for potential use in gene therapy or as anti‐cancer therapeutics. Finally, specific HSV gene products are being explored as therapeutic agents. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Paste and Gel Properties and In Vitro Digestibility of Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] Starch
Authors: Bultosa Geremew , Taylor John R. N.
Published: January 2004

Properties of tef starch from five varieties were compared with commercial maize starch. In most tef varieties the paste clarity (measured as % T) was similar to that of maize starch, but the paste was visually less white in colour. Tef starch gel texture was short and in most varieties was slightly firmer than that of maize starch. Tef starch adhesiveness was less than maize starch. Retrogradation extent of tef starch evaluated, as % gel syneresis under storage at 4 °C and ‐18 °C at 3, 7, 10 and 21 storage test days, was lower than that of maize starch. Storage with three freeze‐thaw cycles (‐18 °C 24 h; 23 °C 6 h) gave a similar trend. In tef starch initial digestion by α‐amylase and hydrolysis by mild HCl treatment was slightly higher than in maize starch, probably in part because of the smaller granule size and higher amorphous portion of tef starch. Alpha‐amylase degradation of tef starch granules was by surface erosion, probably due to the absence of surface pores in the granules.
Estimating the Specific Heat Capacity of Starch‐Water‐Glycerol Systems as a Function of Temperature and Compositions
Authors: Tan Ihwa , Wee Chong C. , Sopade Peter A. , Halley Peter J.
Published: January 2004

Increasing interests in the use of starch as biodegradable plastic materials demand, amongst others, accurate information on thermal properties of starch systems particularly in the processing of thermoplastic starch (TPS), where plasticisers (water and glycerol) are added. The specific heat capacity of starch‐water‐glycerol mixtures was determined within a temperature range of 40‐120 °C. A modulated temperature differential scanning calorimeter (MTDSC) was employed and regression equations were obtained to predict the specific heat capacity as a function of temperature, water and glycerol content for four maize starches of differing amylose content (0—85%). Generally, temperature and water content are directly proportional to the specific heat capacity of the systems, but the influence of glycerol content on the thermal property varied according to the starch type.
The social worlds of immigrant youth
Authors: Suárez‐Orozco Carola , Todorova Irina L. G.
Published: January 2004

This introductory chapter uses a detailed case study to illustrate the interconnection of multiple social influences on one particular youth's path of migration. It further identifies some of the major influences on immigrant youth development, including the stresses of migration, separations and reunifications, changing networks of relations, poverty and segregation, and identity formation.
Responsibilities of children in Latino immigrant homes
Authors: Orellana Marjorie Faulstich
Published: January 2004

Using survey and observational data, children's contributions to households in a Mexican immigrant community in Chicago are examined. Children provide essential help to their families, including translating, interpreting, and caring for siblings. These daily life activities shape possibilities for learning and development.
Surfing the “model minority” wave of success: How the school context shapes distinct experiences among Vietnamese youth
Authors: Conchas Gilberto Q. , Pérez Cristina C.
Published: January 2004

Vietnamese students must contend with the burden of the myth of being a model minority. As a result of adults' high expectations of them, Vietnamese youth receive structural and ideological advantages over other nonwhite racial groups. Further, the students themselves reinforce the model minority image as they attempt to attain educational mobility. The authors examine the role of two distinct school contexts within the same school that shape the academic outcomes of Vietnamese students contending with the pressures of being considered members of the model minority.
Ethnic language schools and the development of supplementary education in the immigrant Chinese community in the United States
Authors: Zhou Min , Li Xi‐Yuan
Published: January 2004

This chapter seeks to unpack ethnicity through a close examination of ethnic language schools and the ethnic system of supplementary education in the immigrant Chinese community in the United States. It sheds light on the specific ways in which ethnic community organizations contribute to educational achievement.
“He is everything”: Religion's role in the lives of immigrant youth
Authors: Thompson Nora E. , Gurney Andrea G.
Published: January 2004

Using emergent theme analysis of qualitative interview data in combination with quantitative survey data, the role of religion in the lives of immigrant youth was explored. Latino, Haitian, and Chinese teenagers described, in their own rich words, the significance of religion to them; their responses are reflected in themes that point to the potential protective role of religion for some immigrant groups.
Gendered expectations and gendered experiences: Immigrant students' adaptation in schools
Authors: Qin‐Hilliard Desirée Baolian
Published: January 2004

This chapter draws on longitudinal data to examine the role of gender in immigrant students' educational adaptation. Analyses show that over time girls receive higher grades and express higher future expectations than do boys. Compared with boys, immigrant girls are more likely to be protected from risk factors, such as harsh school environments, by a supported network of teachers, friends, and parents, and to benefit from the shield of ethnicity more than their male counterparts in their pursuit of education.
Media in the lives of immigrant youth
Authors: Louie Josephine
Published: January 2004

This chapter uses data from the Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study to examine media use patterns among immigrant teens. Similarities and differences in media ownership levels, use patterns, and content preferences between immigrant teens and the U.S. teen population as a whole, as well as across immigrant groups and gender, are explored. Implications for educators and others who work with immigrant youth include active discussion with youth about their media choices and media messages.
An iterative solution procedure for Winkler‐type contact problems with friction
Authors: Angelov T.A. , Liolios A.A.
Published: January 2004

A class of contact problems with friction in elastostatics is considered. The existence and uniqueness results, the finite element approximation and the mostly used iterative methods are briefly summarized. An algorithm, based on the nonlinear alternating direction method of R. B. Kellogg, is proposed and used to solve an example problem with different contact boundary conditions.
A note on coupling of velocity components in the Navier‐Stokes equations
Authors: Skalák Z. , Kučera P.
Published: January 2004

We show that if the third component v3 of the velocity v in the Navier‐Stokes equations belongs to L4(0,T,W1,3(D)), where D is a subdomain of Ω, then v has no singular points in D × (0,T).
The computation of Lie derivatives and Lie brackets based on automatic differentiation
Authors: Röbenack K. , Reinschke K.J.
Published: January 2004

Many algorithms in the field of nonlinear control theory require Lie derivatives or Lie brackets. Up to now, the computation of these derivatives was practical only for simple systems or for systems with a special structure due to the amount of symbolical computations involved. The authors suggest a new approach which is based on automatic differentiation. This approach circumvents several disadvantages of symbolic computations. Moreover, the methods presented here are applicable not only to systems described by explicitly given mathematical expressions but also to systems given by algorithms using conventional programming languages or dedicated modelling languages, respectively.
Fertilisation calcium signals in the ascidian egg
Authors: Dumollard Rémi , McDougall Alex , Rouvière Christian , Sardet Christian
Published: January 2004

Abstract The egg of ascidians (urochordate), as virtually all animal and plant species, displays Ca2+ signals upon fertilisation. These Ca2+ signals are repetitive Ca2+ waves that initiate in the cortex of the egg and spread through the whole egg interior. Two series of Ca2+ waves triggered from two distinct Ca2+ wave pacemakers entrain the two meiotic divisions preceding entry into the first interphase. The second messenger inositol (1,4,5) trisphosphate (IP3) is the main mediator of these global Ca2+ waves. Other Ca2+ signalling pathways (RyR and NAADPR) are functional in the egg but they mediate localised cortical Ca2+ signals whose physiological significance remains unclear. The meiosis I Ca2+ wave pacemaker is mobile and relies on intracellular Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) induced by a large production of IP3 at the sperm aster site. The meiosis II Ca2+ wave pacemaker is stably localised in a vegetal protrusion called the contraction pole. It is probable that a local production of IP3 in the contraction pole determines the site of this second pacemaker while functional interactions between ER and mitochondria regulate its activity. Finally, a third ectopic pacemaker can be induced by a global increase in IP3, making the ascidian egg a unique system where three different Ca2+ wave pacemakers coexist in the same cell.
Atomic secrets and governmental lies: nuclear science, politics and security in the Pontecorvo case
Authors: TURCHETTI SIMONE
Published: January 2004

This paper focuses on the defection of nuclear physicist Bruno Pontecorvo from Britain to the USSR in 1950 in an attempt to understand how government and intelligence services assess threats deriving from the unwanted spread of secret scientific information. It questions whether contingent agendas play a role in these assessments, as new evidence suggests that this is exactly what happened in the Pontecorvo case. British diplomatic personnel involved in negotiations with their US counterparts considered playing down the case. Meanwhile, the press decided to play it up, claiming that Pontecorvo was an atom spy. Finally, the British secret services had evidence showing that this was a fabrication, but they did not disclose it. If all these manipulations served various purposes, then they certainly were not aimed at assessing if there was a threat and what this threat really was.
The dilemmas of seditious men: the Crowther–Hessen correspondence in the 1930s
Authors: CHILVERS C. A. J.
Published: January 2004

The Marxist history of science has played an enormous role in the development of the history of science. Whether through the appreciation of its insights or the construction of a political fortress to prevent infusion, its presence is felt. From 1931 the work of Marxists played an integral part in the international development of the history of science, though rarely have the connections between them or their own biographies been explored. These networks convey a distinct history, alongside political, methodological and personal implications, impressing on us a greater understanding of the possibilities that were present and were lost in the most turbulent of decades. Two of the most notable were Boris Hessen, a founder of Marxist history of science, and J. G. Crowther, one of its most prolific exponents. My examination explores aspects of the dialogue between these controversial figures, starting with brief biographical sketches. Their lives became briefly entwined following the Second International Congress of the History of Science and Technology in 1931, demonstrated with reference to the meeting and the correspondence between them until Hessen's death. In doing so, some new facts and old controversies surface, though most importantly the nature of the correspondence carries implications for the Marxist history of science and for the wider movement of which it is part. The Russian delegation to the congress declared that science was at a crossroads. The history of science was at a similar crossroads in the 1930s.
Effects of supplementary concentrates on growth and partitioning of nutrients between different body components in steers fed on grass silage at similar levels of metabolizable energy intake
Authors: KIM E. J. , SCOLLAN N. D. , DHANOA M. S. , BUTTERY P. J.
Published: January 2004

A comparative slaughter experiment was carried out to examine the effects of feeding either grass silage alone or a mixed diet of silage and concentrate on animal performance and the partitioning of nutrients between lean and fat deposition in steers. Eighteen Hereford×Friesian steers were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments; grass silage only (S) or a mixture of grass silage and a barley/soya bean meal concentrate (80[ratio ]20 on fresh basis) in the ratio of 60[ratio ]40 (on a metabolizable energy basis; SC), and to one of three target slaughter liveweights, 250, 350 or 500 kg. Metabolizable energy (ME) intake was maintained at 800 kJ ME per kg metabolic liveweight (kg0·75) per day. The relationships between chemical composition and empty body weight (EBW) at slaughter were assessed using allometric equations (logey=logea+blogeEBW). When assessed across the slaughter weights, supplementing silage with concentrates resulted in higher rates of liveweight (P<0·001), carcass fat (P<0·05) and protein (P<0·01) gains and a reduction in time taken to reach the average slaughter weight by 57 days (P<0·001). Carcass protein deposition was relatively linear across the slaughter weights (250–500 kg) and the relationship with EBW was Y=0·2372X0·8831 across treatments and did not differ between the diets. The rate at which carcass fat was deposited in relation to weight across all steers was Y=0·0004X1·9648 and was not different between the two diets. Hence, ratios of carcass fat[ratio ]protein and carcass fat[ratio ]protein gain ratios were not different. The results suggest that the main effect of feeding grass silage compared with grass silage-concentrate at similar levels of ME intake was to increase the rate of tissue accretion, but nutrient partitioning between fat and protein deposition was unchanged. There was no evidence of increased carcass fat[ratio ]protein deposition in silage-fed animals, which suggests that there is no problem of greater fat and reduced protein deposition in animals fed higher quality grass silage.
Food intake of reindeer in winter
Authors: STOREHEIER P. V. , VAN OORT B. E. H. , SUNDSET M. A. , MATHIESEN S. D.
Published: January 2004

Management of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in the northern regions have historically focused on reindeer–vegetation interactions, while few data on the food intake of these animals exist. Dry matter intake (DMI) was therefore estimated successively during winter in reindeer calves fed (i) ad libitum pelleted reindeer feed (RF-80; n=6), (ii) fed ad libitum mixed lichens (n=6) and (iii) in free-ranging reindeer calves (n=3) on natural winter pasture (March/April; 69 °N). Faecal output, determined with faeces collection bags, was 24±4, 6±3 and 22±3 g DM/day/kg BM0·75 in reindeer fed RF-80, mixed lichens and on winter pasture, respectively. Actual DMI of reindeer in captivity fed RF-80 and mixed lichens was 70±10 g DM/day/kg BM0·75 and 27±8 g DM/day/kg BM0·75, respectively. The DMI of the captive reindeer calves was accurately estimated on both diets on the basis of the digestibility of their diet and their faecal output. Using the same method, the DMI of free-ranging reindeer calves on natural winter pastures in northern Norway was estimated to be 34–61 g DM/day/kg BM0·75. The present study discusses factors that influence the food intake of reindeer in winter with emphasis on the seasonal regulation of appetite and DMI in these Arctic ruminants.
Factors affecting biomass production and nutritive value of Calliandra calothyrsus leaf as fodder for ruminants
Authors: TUWEI P. K. , KANG'ARA J. N. N. , MUELLER-HARVEY I. , POOLE J. , NGUGI F. K. , STEWART J. L.
Published: January 2004

Calliandra calothyrsus is a tree legume native to Mexico and Central America. The species has attracted considerable attention for its capacity to produce both fuelwood and foliage for either green manure or fodder. Its high content of proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) and associated low digestibility has, however, limited its use as a feed for ruminants, and there is also a widespread perception that wilting the leaves further reduces their nutritive value. Nevertheless, there has been increasing uptake of calliandra as fodder in certain regions, notably the Central Highlands of Kenya. The present study, conducted in Embu, Kenya, investigated effects of provenance, wilting, cutting frequency and seasonal variation both in the laboratory (in vitro digestibility, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, extractable and bound proanthocyanidins) and in on-station animal production trials with growing lambs and lactating goats. The local Kenyan landrace of calliandra (Embu) and a closely-related Guatemalan provenance (Patulul) were found to be significantly different, and superior, to a provenance from Nicaragua (San Ramón) in most of the laboratory traits measured, as well as in animal production and feed efficiency. Cutting frequency had no important effect on quality; and although all quality traits displayed seasonal variation there was little discernible pattern to this variation. Wilting had a much less negative effect than expected, and for lambs fed calliandra as a supplement to a low quality basal feed (maize stover), wilting was actually found to give higher live-weight gain and feed efficiency. Conversely, with a high quality basal diet (Napier grass) wilting enhanced intake but not live-weight gain, so feed efficiency was greater for fresh material. The difference between fresh and wilted leaves was not great enough to justify the current widespread recommendation that calliandra should always be fed fresh.
Fast and reliable detection of doubled-haploids in Asparagus officinalis by stringent RAPD-PCR
Authors: EIMERT K. , REUTTER G. , STROLKA B.
Published: January 2004

A stringent RAPD-PCR protocol was developed for reliable distinction at an early stage between somatic and doubled-haploid androgenic regenerates emerging from asparagus anther culture by using decamer primers with a high G/C content and/or primers with a dinucleotide sequence. RAPD-PCR was used to test 87 putative doubled-haploids from seven donor plants of different varieties and breeding lines, with differing genetic backgrounds. All of them differed from the anther donor, which suggests they had the desired doubled-haploid constitution, and demonstrates the effectiveness of the in vitro protocol used. This simple, reliable, fast, and comparatively cheap method eliminates the need for discriminating testcrosses and, thus, can significantly accelerate asparagus breeding programmes.
Aspects of nitrogen use efficiency of cauliflower II. Productivity and nitrogen partitioning as influenced by N supply
Authors: KAGE H. , ALT C. , STÜTZEL H.
Published: January 2004

Based on studies concerning dry matter (DM) partitioning, DM production, root growth, nitrogen
(N) contents of cauliflower organs and soil nitrate availability (first part of the
paper Kage et al.
2003b), an integrated simulation model for the cauliflower/soil system is constructed, parameterized and evaluated.

Dry matter production of cauliflower is described and predicted using a simple light use efficiency (LUE) based approach assuming a linear decrease of light use efficiency with increasing differences between actual, NCAProt, and ‘optimal’, NCAoptProt area based leaf protein concentrations. For 2 experimental years the decline of LUE with decreasing nitrogen concentration was at 0·82 and 0·75 (g DM×m2/(MJ×g N)). Using the parameters obtained from the first experimental year shoot DM production data of cauliflower from five independent experiments with varied N supply containing intermediate harvests could be predicted with a residual mean square error (RMSE) of 72 g/m2 for intermediate harvest DM values ranging from about 50 to 900 g/m2. Nitrogen uptake and partitioning of cauliflower was simulated using functions describing an organ size dependent decline of N content. Leaf nitrate was considered explicitly as a radiation intensity dependent pool, mobilized first under N deficiency. The curd was assumed to have a sink priority for nitrogen. The model predicted shoot N uptake including data of intermediate harvest with a RMSE of 2·4 g/m2 for intermediate harvest N values ranging from about 3 to 30 g/m2. Nitrogen uptake of cauliflower at final harvest was correlated to final leaf number.

A scenario simulation was carried out to quantify seasonal variation in N uptake of cauliflower cultivars under unrestricted N availability. Due to variations in the length of the vernalization phase, simulated shoot N uptake ranged from about 260 kg N/ha for spring planted crops to about 290 kg N/ha for summer planted crops of the cultivar ‘Fremont’. The cultivar ‘Linday’, which shows a more severe delay of vernalization under high temperatures, shows on average a larger shoot N uptake for summer planted crops of about 320 kg N/ha and a much larger variation of shoot N uptake.
Optimum synthesis of planar parallel manipulators based on kinematic isotropy
and force balancing
Authors: Alıcı Gürsel , Shirinzadeh Bijan
Published: January 2004

This paper deals with an optimum synthesis of planar parallel manipulators using two constrained optimisation procedures based on the minimization of: (i) the overall deviation of the condition number of manipulator Jacobian matrix from the ideal/isotropic condition number, and (ii) bearing forces throughout the manipulator workspace for force balancing. A revolute jointed planar parallel manipulator is used as an example to demonstrate the methodology. The parameters describing the manipulator geometry are obtained from the first optimisation procedure, and subsequently, the mass distribution parameters of the manipulator are determined from the second optimisation procedure based on force balancing. Optimisation results indicate that the proposed optimisation approach is systematic, versatile and easy to implement for the optimum synthesis of the parallel manipulator and other kinematic chains. This work contributes to previously published work from the point of view of being a systematic approach to the optimum synthesis of parallel manipulators, which is currently lacking in the literature.
Optimum design of parallel kinematic toolheads with genetic algorithms
Authors: Zhang Dan , Xu Zhengyi , Mechefske Chris M , Xi Fengfeng
Published: January 2004

In this paper, the optimum design of parallel kinematic toolheads is implemented using genetic algorithms with the consideration of the global stiffness and workspace volume of the toolheads. First, a complete kinetostatic model is developed which includes three types of compliance, namely, actuator compliance, leg bending compliance and leg axial compliance. Second, based on this model, two kinetostatic performance indices are introduced to provide a new means of measuring compliance over the workspace. These two kinetostatic performance indices are the mean value and the standard deviation of the trace of the generalized compliance matrix. The mean value represents the average compliance of the Parallel Kinematic Machines over the workspace, while the standard deviation indicates the compliance fluctuation relative to the mean value. Third, design optimization is implemented for global stiffness and working volume based on kinetostatic performance indices. Additionally, some compliance comparisons between Tripod toolhead and other two principal Tripod-based Parallel Kinematic Machines are conducted.
Multi-phase sumo maneuver learning
Authors: Liu Jiming , Zhang Shiwu
Published: January 2004

In this paper, we demonstrate a multi-phase genetic programming (MPGP) approach to an autonomous robot learning task, where a sumo
wrestling robot is required to execute specialized pushing maneuvers in response to different opponents' postures. The sumo robot used has a very simple, minimalist hardware configuration. This example differs from the earlier studies in evolutionary robotics in that the former is carried out on-line during the performance of a robot, whereas the latter is concerned with the evolution of a controller in a simulated environment based on extended genetic algorithms. As illustrated in several sumo maneuver learning experiments, strategic maneuvers with respect to some possible changes in the shape and size of an opponent can readily emerge from the on-line MPGP learning sessions.
Robotic location of underground chemical sources
Authors: Russell R. Andrew
Published: January 2004

This paper describes current progress in a project to develop robotic
systems for locating underground chemical sources. There are a number of economic and humanitarian applications for this technology. Finding unexploded ordinance, land mines, and sources of leaks from pipes and tanks are some examples. Initial experiments were conducted using an ethanol chemical source buried in coarse sand. To gain an understanding of the sensory environment that would be experienced by a robot burrowing through the ground, the factors affecting transport of chemical vapour through soil were investigated. A robot search algorithrn was then developed for gathering chemical gradient inforrnation and using this to guide a robot towards the source. Experiments were performed using a chemical sensing probe positioned by a UMI RTX robot manipulator arm. The resulting system was successful in locating a source of ethanol vapour buried in sand. This paper includes details of experiments to characterise the sand used in this project, the robot search algorithm, sensor probe
and results of source location trials.
Reports and Surveys
Authors: Rudall B. H.
Published: January 2004

ADVANCES IN BlOROBOTIC VlSlON

The Australian National University Biorobotic Vision Group has described its innovative researches and developments in the field of robotic vision. The group has been researching the principles by which insects see, control flights and navigate, in order to transfer their findings to their work in robotic vision. They believe this work will help them in their aim to devise algorithms for machine vision and autonomous, visually guided robots. In particular, this work is in reference to using optic flow to measure image motion.

The researchers have already successfully developed a hover controller that can
hover over an arbitary set of landmarks with no manual intervention.They have also designed an autonomous helicopter that will hover and fly without using GPS.
The Caribbean Multilingual Lexicography Project
Authors: ALLSOPP JEANNETTE
Published: January 2004

This article will give an overview of the compilation process of a Caribbean Multilingual Dictionary by describing the work of the Caribbean Multilingual Lexicography Project at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. The work involved, namely, the compilation of the first volume of the Caribbean Multilingual Dictionary (CMD) of Flora, Fauna and Foods (in English, French, French Creole and Spanish) is deemed to be pertinent to the development of research skills in the field of dictionary-making and provides insights into some of the problems faced by the Caribbean multilingual dictionary-maker in the chronicling of the Caribbean environment. In addition, the article also lists the wide range of users at which the CMD is aimed and illustrates its value to Caribbean systems, such as the regional education system, sectors such as the private enterprise, trade and tourism sectors and individual researchers as well as the general Caribbean public, the Caribbean diaspora in North America and Britain, and the French- and Spanish-speaking countries of the European Union.
Linguistic apartheid: English language policy in Africa
Authors: BOBDA AUGUSTIN SIMO
Published: January 2004

THIS paper examines English language policy in Africa from colonial times to the present day. Colonial policy was marked by a linguistic apartheid which consisted in driving Africans away from the language, first by limiting access to formal education, then by not showing much enthusiasm for teaching them the language, then at times preferring to encourage Pidgin English, and finally by encouraging deviant features. Linguistic apartheid continues today through such institutions as the BBC, whose African Network Service openly promotes deviant African features through their jingles, the employment of African correspondents with deeply local English features, and the reading of unedited letters from listeners that contain substandard features. More subtle ways of promoting such apartheid include the negligible weight of the English language in school curricula.
Prepositions vanishing in Kenya
Authors: MWANGI SERAH
Published: January 2004

ACCORDING to Schmied (1991a:52), ‘there is some evidence that language learners in general use simplification strategies at an early stage and try to reproduce memorized phrases from the target language later, irrespective of the linguistic and pragmatic context.’ The English prepositional system is well known for its complexity and language learners might well be inclined to simplify in order to reduce such complexities. Indeed, there is evidence from the East African component of the International Corpus of English (ICE-EA) of such a process of simplification in the use of prepositions in the English of Kenya. As a result, some prepositions might well disappear from use in this second-language variety of English.
SARS: ‘It's as bad as we feared but dared not say’
Authors: EAGLETON JENNIFER
Published: January 2004

IN 2003, a health crisis took place that severely tested Hong Kong, among a number of other parts of the world, with at 15 June a death toll in the city of 295 (out of 1,755 cases). Schools were closed, an apartment block was quarantined, and businesses suffered as people stayed home. Because no one at that time knew much about what came to be called ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome’ (shortened to both SARS and Sars), the disease offered a ‘blank screen’ onto which various fears could be projected. It seemed to spread directly to close contacts – but airborne contagion could not be ruled out. The death rate was under five percent, but there was a possibility that it could become more virulent. It might turn out like any other flu-like illness, or like the 1918 flu pandemic that killed millions. In addition, it was the perfect mechanism for Hong Kong to project its current uncertainties over its image and place in the world. Thus, the ‘pragmatic handling’ of this event in the major English language newspaper of the city, the South China Morning Post, holds much linguistic interest. The SCMP is a major English-language newspaper in East Asia.
Loans from the Middle Kingdom revisited
Authors: WANG HONGYUAN
Published: January 2004

RECENTLY I went over the back numbers of English Today and re-read the article Kāi Fàng: Loan words to the Middle Kingdom, in the issue of October 1987, in which Elizabeth-Anne Malischewski describes how, through transliteration and adaptation, English words have been adopted into Chinese. This article attracted and kept my attention, for I have a great interest in English borrowings in Chinese.
Shop signs in some small towns in northern Portugal
Authors: STEWART PENNY , FAWCETT RICHARD
Published: January 2004

THIS paper describes the frequency of languages other than Portuguese in shop signs located in six towns, all in northwestern Portugal and close to the border with Spain, each ranging in size from a year-round population of 600 to one of 4,400. One of the towns, Fermentelos, lies slightly southeast of Aveiro. The other five – Afife, Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha, Ponte da Barca, and Vila Praia de Ancora – are north of Porto. The most frequently occurring non-Portuguese phrase in this six-town project was snack bar.
Anglicisms in German: from iniquitous to ubiquitous?
Authors: ONYSKO ALEXANDER
Published: January 2004

THE GROWING international relevance of English has left its traces on the German language. Accordingly, research on the phenomenon of Anglicisms in German has intensified in the second half of the 20th century. The last decade, however, brought such a rapid development in mass communication, including the still wider spread of English, that some traditional views on Anglicisms have been challenged. This article discusses such issues as the problematic nature of classifying Anglicisms, the processes of integration of Anglicisms, and the multi-faceted motivations for their use in German.
‘First-Class Evening Entertainments’: Spectacle and Social Control in a
Mid-Victorian Music Hall
Authors: Till Nicholas
Published: January 2004

First-Class Evening Entertainments was the title given to a variety programme
presented at Hoxton Hall in East London when it first opened in 1863. In 2000 Nicholas Till and
Kandis Cook were commissioned by Hoxton Hall and the English National Opera Studio to make a new
music theatre piece for the Hall, which led to an investigation of the content and context of the
original programme. In the following article Nicholas Till offers a reading of the 1863 programme
as an example of the mid-Victorian project to exercise social control over the urban working
classes. Nicholas Till is Senior Lecturer in Theatre at Wimbledon School of Art, and
co-artistic director of the experimental music theatre company Post-Operative Productions. He
is the author of Mozart and the Enlightenment: Truth, Virtue, and Beauty in Mozart's
Operas (Faber, 1992), and is currently editing The Cambridge Companion to
Opera.
The ‘Wicked City’ Motif on the American Stage before the Civil War
Authors: Frick John W.
Published: January 2004

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the characterization of the big city as evil incarnate – a veritable latter-day Sodom – had achieved the status of national myth in both the United States and Britain, and had become a popular theme for journalists, novelists, and playwrights alike. John Frick examines this phenomenon – what came to be known as the ‘wicked city motif’ – as it manifested itself on the antebellum American stage. Originating in the urbanization of the eighteenth-century gothic novel and the French feuilleton roman and coalescing in Eugène Sue's Les Mystères de Paris and G. W. M. Reynolds's The Mysteries of London, the city mysteries narrative successfully negotiated the unstable border between the public and private spheres to examine the depravity and danger of the modern metropolis. Disseminated through populist politics, sensationalized journalism, popular fiction, and – the focus here – dramatic renderings, the apocalyptic vision of the modern city with its inexplicable and impenetrable secrets became commonplace in the 1840s and 1850s. John Frick is Professor of Theatre and American Studies at the University of Virginia and teaches in the M.Litt. program at Mary Baldwin College. His most recent book, Theatre, Culture, and Temperance Reform in Nineteenth-Century America, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2003.
An Eighteenth-Century Performance Analysis: Böttiger on Iffland
Authors: Brandt George W.
Published: January 2004

Trained under Ekhof at Gotha, the German actor August Wilhelm Iffland began his professional career in 1779 at the Mannheim Court Theatre. He moved to Berlin to become director of the National Theatre in 1796, remaining there till his death in 1814. In between, he paid a guest visit to the Weimar Court Theatre, at the invitation of its presiding genius, Goethe. A local schoolmaster, Karl August Böttiger, published an account of several of his roles. This was, for its times, an evocative and unusually detailed record of performance style, and here George Brandt complements his analysis with extensive quotation. George Brandt, currently a Senior Research Fellow of the University of Bristol, joined the Drama Department there in 1951, served as its Head of Department over a number of years, and shaped much of its policy, creating among other things the first practical postgraduate film course at a British university. He edited British Television Drama (1981) and British Television Drama in the 1980s (1993) for Cambridge University Press. His German and Dutch Theatre, 1600–1848 (1993), with Wiebe Hogendoorn, was part of the CUP series ‘Theatre in Europe’, and Modern Theories of Drama was published by Oxford University Press in 1998.
Practice as Research in Performance: a Personal Response
Authors: Merlin Bella
Published: January 2004

The second conference called by the organizers of the ‘Practice as Research in Performance’ project (PARIP) was held from 11 to 14 September 2003 at the University of Bristol. PARIP is not an organization, but an AHRB-funded research project into the nature and academic implications of performance practice as research, in terms both of the discipline of Drama and Theatre Studies in the university, and the related issues of research assessment and funding. Its conferences aim to give academics in the field the opportunity to add their voices to the debate, and indeed to help shape its outcome. Bella Merlin, a Contributing Editor and Book Reviews Editor for NTQ, is author of Beyond Stanislavsky (Nick Hern Books, 2001). She attended the PARIP conference on the cusp of her personal decision to return to the acting profession from her post in the University of Birmingham, and as this issue goes to press is appearing in the Out of Joint production of David Hare's The Permanent Way. Here she combines a report on the conference with some personal reflections on practice, research, and practice as research.
Havana Daydreaming
Authors: Herbert Ian
Published: January 2004

Report on the eleventh Havana International Theatre Festival, held from 18 to 28 September
2003.
Biogenic fullerenes?
Authors: Heymann Dieter , Jenneskens Leonardus W. , Jehlicka Jan , Koper Carola , Vlietstra Edward J.
Published: January 2004

If the discoveries of C60 and C70 fullerenes in terrestrial hard rocks are real, then some of these may have formed in the solid state by dehydrogenation-driven ‘zip-up’ of C60Hn and C70Hm progenitors. At three sites of such fullerene discoveries the building blocks for these large molecules may have come from algal remains.
Phylogeny of Opisthokonta and the evolution of multicellularity and complexity in Fungi and Metazoa
Authors: Medina Mónica , Collins Allen G. , Taylor John W. , Valentine James W. , Lipps Jere H. , Amaral-Zettler Linda , Sogin Mitchell L.
Published: January 2004

While early eukaryotic life must have been unicellular, multicellular lifeforms evolved multiple times from protistan ancestors in diverse eukaryotic lineages. The origins of multicellularity are of special interest because they require evolutionary transitions towards increased levels of complexity. We have generated new sequence data from the nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA gene (LSU rDNA) and the SSU rDNA gene of several unicellular opisthokont protists – a nucleariid amoeba (Nuclearia simplex) and four choanoflagellates (Codosiga gracilis, Choanoeca perplexa, Proterospongia choanojuncta and Stephanoeca diplocostata) to provide the basis for re-examining relationships among several unicellular lineages and their multicellular relatives (animals and fungi). Our data indicate that: (1) choanoflagellates are a monophyletic rather than a paraphyletic assemblage that independently gave rise to animals and fungi as suggested by some authors and (2) the nucleariid filose amoebae are the likely sister group to Fungi. We also review published information regarding the origin of multicellularity in the opisthokonts.
The resistance of viable permafrost algae to simulated environmental stresses: implications for astrobiology
Authors: Vishnivetskaya T.A. , Spirina E.V. , Shatilovich A.V. , Erokhina L.G. , Vorobyova E.A. , Gilichinsky D.A.
Published: January 2004

54 strains of viable green algae and 26 strains of viable cyanobacteria were recovered from 128 and 56 samples collected from Siberian and Antarctic permafrost, respectively, with ages from modern to a few million years old. Although species of unicellular green algae belonged to Chlorococcales were subdominant inside permafrost, green algae Pedinomonas sp. were observed in Antarctic permafrost. Filamentous cyanobacteria of Oscillatoriales, Nostocales were just found in Siberian permafrost. Algal biomass in the permanently frozen sediments, expressed as concentration of chlorophyll a, was 0.06–0.46 μg g−1. The number of viable algal cells varied between <102 and 9×103 cfu g−1, but the number of viable bacterial cells was usually higher from 102 to 9.2×105 cfu g−1. Frozen but viable permafrost algae have preserved their morphological characteristics and photosynthetic apparatus in the dark permafrost. In the laboratory, they restored their photosynthetic activity, growth and development in favourable conditions at positive temperatures and with the availability of water and light. The discovery of ancient viable algae within permafrost reflects their ability to tolerate long-term freezing. In this study, the tolerance of algae and cyanobacteria to freezing, thawing and freezing–drying stresses was evaluated by short-term (days to months) low-temperature experiments. Results indicate that viable permafrost microorganisms demonstrate resistance to such stresses. Apart from their ecological importance, the bacterial and algal species found in permafrost have become the focus for novel biotechnology, as well as being considered proxies for possible life forms on cryogenic extraterrestrial bodies.
Glacial‐Holocene δ15N record from the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico: Implications for denitrification in the eastern equatorial Pacific and changes in atmospheric N2O
Authors: Thunell Robert C. , Kepple Alisa B.
Published: January 2004

The intensity of denitrification in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, along the Mexican margin of the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP), was reconstructed for the last 23,000 years using the nitrogen isotopic composition of sediment organic matter (δ15Norg) in conjunction with other geochemical tracers of water column productivity. During the last glacial period, δ15Norg values ranged from 6.5 to 8.6‰ with values increasing between 23 and 17 ka. Deglaciation was marked by an abrupt increase in δ15Norg with maximum values (9.9‰) occurring during the Bølling/Allerød period and the earliest Holocene. A decline in δ15Norg values occurred over the last 10,000 years, with late Holocene values being similar to those of the glacial period. Our data suggest that denitrification in this region was minimal during the last glacial and is consistent with the deposition of bioturbated sediments at the study site. The intensity of denitrification increased dramatically during deglaciation and the early Holocene, signaling the presence of a strong oxygen minimum zone. This period is also marked by the deposition of laminated sediments in the region. The δ15Norg records display similar temporal trends to those seen in the Greenland ice core record of atmospheric N2O concentrations. At present, denitrification within the eastern tropical Pacific and Arabian Sea accounts for a major portion of the global marine loss of fixed nitrogen, and a significant fraction of the ocean‐atmosphere N2O flux originates from these areas. Large changes in N2O emissions from these regions in the past would have directly impacted global greenhouse gas concentrations.
Lithospheric instability in obliquely convergent margins: San Gabriel Mountains, southern California
Authors: Billen Magali I. , Houseman Gregory A.
Published: January 2004

Oblique convergence across the San Andreas Fault in southern California has lead to rapid uplift of the San Gabriel Mountains since 5 Ma. Tomographic models of this region include a sheet‐like, high velocity anomaly, extending to depths >200 km. One proposed mechanism for the formation of this feature is gravitational instability of the lithosphere, resulting in a cold thermal downwelling. We present a systematic study of the sensitivity of lithospheric deformation (lithospheric downwelling, topography, deflection of the Moho, convergent velocity profile) to the viscosity structure in 2‐D numerical models of lithospheric instability, including a pre‐existing zone of weakness. Strike‐parallel strain within a convergent region should create a local zone of weakness due to the non‐Newtonian response of the lithosphere. Such a weak zone can focus convergent motion, increasing and localizing the growth‐rate of a lithospheric instability. We find that the observed characteristics of deformation depend on the width (xw) and relative viscous weakening factor (fw), the ratio of crust to mantle‐lithospheric viscosity (ηc/ηm), and the absolute viscosity of the lithosphere (ηm). For the San Gabriel Mountains, we find that a range of models is capable of reproducing the observed Moho deflection and depth extent of the downwelling within the short time since the onset of convergence. However, only a small subset of models, (xw = 20 km, fw = 50–100, ηm = 7.5 × 1020–1.5 × 1021 Pa s, ηc/ηm > 100) reproduce both the narrow, high topography and horizontal shortening profile.