bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conclusion
Authors: Carroll Stuart
Published: January 2010

The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, evidence for feuding in France before 1559 is fragmentary. Among the aristocracy at least private violence was increasingly under control during the late Middle Ages: revenge killing as a feature of high politics had been eradicated by the beginning of the 16th century. Factors often identified with modernity did much to create the conditions for a recrudescence of vindicatory violence: social mobility, Protestantism, and duelling. Vindicatory violence increased in France because of, not in spite of, the social and economic dynamism associated with the Renaissance, as the traditional elite was challenged by the enterprising and socially mobile.
The Plurinational State in Context
Authors: TIERNEY STEPHEN
Published: January 2010

This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the purpose of the book, which is to address the issues of constitutional law which attend national diversity within the plurinational democratic state through the case studies of Catalonia, Quebec, and Scotland. It focuses on the challenge posed by these sub-state societies, both in a particular sense to the constitutional structures of their respective host state, and at a deeper and more general level to the fundamental normative concepts which inform contemporary constitutional theory and legal praxis.
The Judicial Role: Mediating National Diversity in Plurinational States
Authors: TIERNEY STEPHEN
Published: January 2010

This chapter focuses on the Secession Reference. The most dramatic and potentially influential decision to be reached in recent years is the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference. In this case, the federal government, further to the Quebec referendum on sovereignty in 1995, asked the Supreme Court to offer its opinion on the legality of any future attempt by Quebec to secede unilaterally from Canada. The chapter develops two structural issues which emerged from the Secession Reference. The first concerns the ability of the court to appear sufficiently independent of the different sides involved. The second addresses the relationship between the courts and the constitution itself, and in particular the power which a court has to define, or indeed redefine, the relationship between the written constitution and the unwritten constitutional principles or rules which the judiciary considers underpin that written text.
The Imagined Body of ‘Man's Estate’
Authors: SHEPARD ALEXANDRA
Published: January 2010

This chapter focuses on medical representations of manhood that were founded upon a broader range of distinctions between men. Guides to health informed by humoral theory, like the sources discussed in Chapter 1, also excluded younger and older men from the bodily equilibrium ideally expected of manhood. In addition, tracts on health subtly mapped temperamental deviations from the norm onto contours of social status. Emphasising just how difficult it was for a man to achieve the moderation expected of manhood, such works tended to elide the temperate ideal with concepts of civility and virtue, and thus appropriated it as a form of gentility for elites.
Conclusion: Manhood, Patriarchy, and Gender in Early Modern England
Authors: SHEPARD ALEXANDRA
Published: January 2010

The concluding chapter reviews the ways in which meanings of manhood were shaped by age, householding status, and social status as well as concepts of gender difference. It argues that the differences between men were as critical to constructions of early modern masculinity as those between men and women. It also argues that social differences between men played a growing part in producing conflicting codes of manhood, and were linked to the increasingly uneven distribution of patriarchal dividends along class lines.
The French Bifurcation
Authors: Lasser Mitchel de S.-O.-l’E.
Published: January 2010

This chapter examines the Cour de cassation in France, which has generally been considered the archetype of civilian judicial theory and practice. Three major American comparative analyses — those produced by Roscoe Pound, John Dawson, and Duncan Kennedy — share a deeply pragmatic, realist (or proto-realist or post-realist, as the case may be) distrust of the syllogistic and apparently formalist style of the French civil judicial decision. All three analyses assume that something must be going on behind the facade of the French judicial decision, and that what is going on turns out to be judicial lawmaking. This chapter argues, however, that French judicial argument is bifurcated into two distinct spheres. In addition to the syllogistic argumentative sphere of the official French judicial decision, a vibrant — though well hidden — discursive sphere exists within the French civil judicial system. In this sheltered argumentative space, French magistrates argue not so much in terms of textual deduction, but rather in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting one judicial interpretation over another.
Study of the Anti‐Proliferative Activity of 5‐Substituted 4,7‐Dimethoxy‐1,3‐Benzodioxole Derivatives of SY‐1 from Antrodia camphorata on Human COLO 205 Colon Cancer Cells
Authors: Lien Hsiu-Man , Kuo Po-Tsun , Huang Chao-Lu , Kao Jung-Yie , Lin Ho , Yang Ding-Yah , Lai Ya-Yun
Published: January 2010

A set of 10 4,7‐dimethoxy‐1,3‐benzodioxole derivatives based on a lead compound previously discovered by our group, SY‐1, which was isolated from Antrodia camphorata, were evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activity on human colorectal carcinoma cells (COLO 205). Structure‐activity relationship studies of the 10 compounds indicated the importance of the chain length of the alkyl group at the 5‐position, and the 2‐propenyl substituent named “apiole” exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity. In the present study, we demonstrate that the SY‐1 analogue “apiole” decreased the proliferation of COLO 205 cells, but not that of normal human colonic epithelial cells (FHC). The G0/G1 cell cycle arrest induced by apiole (75–225 μM) was associated with significantly increased levels of p53, p21 and p27 and decreased levels of cyclin D1. Concerning COLO 205 cell apoptosis, apiole (>150 μM) treatment significantly increased the levels of cleaved caspases 3, 8, 9 and bax/bcl‐2 ratio and induced ladder formation in DNA fragmentation assay and sub‐G1 peak in flow cytometry analysis. These findings suggest that apiole can suppress COLO 205 cell growth; however, the detailed mechanisms of these processes require further investigation.
Cardiac Raynaud's phenomenon induced by cold provocation as a predictor of long‐term left ventricular dysfunction and remodelling in systemic sclerosis: 7‐year follow‐up study
Authors: Mizuno Reiko , Fujimoto Shinichi , Saito Yoshihiko , Nakamura Shinobu
Published: January 2010

Aims

The clinical importance of cold‐induced reversible myocardial ischaemia, known as cardiac Raynaud's phenomenon (C‐Raynaud), has not been established in systemic sclerosis (SSc). This prospective study investigated the impact of C‐Raynaud on long‐term irreversible left ventricular (LV) functional and morphologic deterioration in SSc.

Methods and results

Fifty‐one SSc patients with no clinical evidence of cardiac involvement were prospectively followed up for 7.1 ± 2.2 years. Systolic LV dysfunction was defined as a LV ejection fraction <50%. Left ventricular remodelling was defined as an increase in LV volume during follow‐up of more than 20% compared with baseline values. At the initial evaluation, C‐Raynaud was found in 15 patients (29.4%). Of these, eight patients had severe C‐Raynaud. None of the patients had systolic LV dysfunction. At the final evaluation, five patients had developed systolic LV dysfunction. In four of these five patients, the development of systolic LV dysfunction was associated with LV remodelling. At multivariate analysis, severe C‐Raynaud was a strong independent determinant of the development of long‐term systolic LV dysfunction.

Conclusion

This study documents for the first time that severe C‐Raynaud is a strong long‐term predictor of systolic LV dysfunction in SSc patients. Detection of C‐Raynaud is clinically important for identifying SSc patients at high risk of cardiac deterioration at latent stage.
Indoctrination
Authors: Callan Eamonn , Arena Dylan
Published: January 2010

This article examines the concept of indoctrination in the context of education. It explains that a pejorative meaning is now firmly attached to the word indoctrination and argues that the basis of the moral condemnation that accusations of indoctrination have come to convey is unclear in the absence of philosophical argument. It discusses the historical concept and conception of indoctrination, its outcome, its moral status, and its role in moral responsibility.
Socratic Teaching and Socratic Method
Authors: Brickhouse Thomas C. , Smith Nicholas D.
Published: January 2010

This article offers a nuanced account of Socratic teaching and Socratic method. It discusses Socrates' reasons for disclaiming being a teacher and denying that anyone ever learned from him. It mentions some instances of Socrates' profession of ignorance and suggests that the teaching profession played a strategic role that has led some scholars to doubt Socrates' sincerity. It analyses three Platonic versions of Socratic philosophizing and identifies modern applications of the Socratic method of teaching.
The Persistence of Moral Skepticism and the Limits of Moral Education
Authors: Millgram Elijah
Published: January 2010

This article examines moral skepticism and the possible attendant limits of moral education. It describes attempts at teaching moral commitment and presents materials from a recent account of moral standing to assemble an explanation for skepticism's tenacity. It discusses Robert Nozick's treatment of moral standing and suggests that neither theory nor education will in the end do what so many philosophers have assumed they could, that is, anchor ethical commitment against skeptical second thoughts.
Art and Education
Authors: Elgin Catherine Z.
Published: January 2010

This article discusses the character of art and the centrality of art education to the curriculum. It argues against the claim that art is impervious to education. It explains that though inspiration is essential to art and inspiration cannot be taught, the assumption that art is entirely a product of inspiration is unfounded. In addition, sensory and emotional responses can be educated. It shows how a symbol-theoretic conception of art readily explains how art education is possible and why it is valuable.
Empirical Educational Research: Charting Philosophical Disagreements in an Undisciplined Field
Authors: Phillips D. C.
Published: January 2010

This article evaluates extant philosophical critiques of educational research and discusses the scientific status, current state, and future promise of such research. It provides a more nuanced overview than is often given of the research terrain and its intellectual and methodological disputes. It discusses the problem of selecting exemplary research, the scope of educational research, the politicization of research methodology and the role of philosophers of education on educational research.
Postmodernism and Education
Authors: Burbules Nicholas C.
Published: January 2010

This article examines the impact of postmodernism on the philosophy of education. It explains that one of the most important elements of postmodernity is a growing awareness of the radical diversity and potential incommensurability of the different cultural forms of life that sustain groups and individuals and discusses postmodernists' denial that postmodernism is inherently apathetic or hostile to social or political action. It addresses the promise of and problems facing postmodern approaches to the philosophy of education.
Religion and the American Founding
Authors: Noll Mark A.
Published: January 2010

This article aims to identify the place of religion in the politics of the American founding era. It shows that the interaction between religion and politics was constant throughout the entire period, but the nature of that interaction varied greatly, depending on contingent forces and events. The article starts by studying religion and the ideology of revolution, along with the relationship of politics and religion in war and confederation. The link between the Constitution and religion is also studied. Some open-ended questions are considered in the last section of the article. Early American religion and politics are also covered.
Religion and Social Movements
Authors: Wilcox Clyde , Fortelny Greg
Published: January 2010

This article looks at religion and social movements, starting with the reasons why social movements are important in American politics. The next section centers on how religion can aid their mobilization, and is followed by a review of research conducted on the Christian Right and the religious Left. The article concludes by noting several questions for future research.
Religion and Political Tolerance in the United States
Authors: Eisenstein Marie A.
Published: January 2010

This article discusses two research traditions and examines the most recent efforts to bridge the two. It begins with a discussion of the definition and measurement of political tolerance. It then combines religious literature and mainstream political tolerance literature, while taking note of the advances within each field.
Politics as an Academic Vocation
Authors: Kenny Michael
Published: January 2010

This article examines some of the assumptions about the development of politics as an academic discipline that shape contemporary thinking. It specifically argues that some deeply entrenched assumptions underpin commonly held ideas about the purpose and character of political studies as a modern, professionalized academic discipline. Additionally, it describes the three major intellectual props that have nourished a good deal of the hubris that contemporary practitioners feel towards the subject's earlier history — the ethos of professionalism, a critical stance towards the intellectual insularity and parochialism of the indigenous intellectual culture which is assumed to have held political science back, and the presumption that mature political analysis requires an epistemologically grounded distance from politics itself.
Rational Choice
Authors: Dowding Keith
Published: January 2010

This article explores the areas of British politics that rational choice could examine. Constitutional law, descriptive analyses, and the relative power of the prime minister once dominated core executive studies. Continuing reforms of core executive organization provide an ideal subject for study. Political economy models have been applied rather simply to the civil service using a selected and rather dated band of models. The British parliament offers less scope for strategic analysis than stronger less coherent legislatures. There are areas where rational choice has provided great insights, historically to key features of the British state, to local government and local–central relations, in voting studies, the core executive, and more recently new sets of ideas applied to cabinet studies and the relationship between parliament and the executive. Rational choice theory is not a dominant mode of analysis in Britain, but there is much that can be usefully studied through the rational choice lens.
The Oakeshottians
Authors: Kelly Paul
Published: January 2010

This article argues that political theorist Michael Oakeshott undoubtedly affected the British study of politics. It first presents a brief overview of Oakeshott's life and career, followed by an outline of the three main components of his philosophy of history and politics. It then turns from the abstraction and scepticism of his peculiar variant of philosophical idealism to his inaugural lecture at LSE on ‘Political Education’. The article also considers the areas of the study of politics in which the Oakeshottian impact has been the greatest. Moreover, the political ideas and ideology, the study of government and public administration, the study of nationalism, and more controversially his impact on new fields such as the political theory of multiculturalism are explored. The article finally gives an assessment of the Oakeshottian legacy.
The Novel
Authors: Crick Bernard
Published: January 2010

This article limits itself to British and Irish novels in the last one hundred years. It also discusses contributions from Susan Sontag and Milan Kundera. It then suggests some themes and associated novels particularly supportive of political studies. William Golding's Lord of the Flies was his first novel, only rivalled by Orwell's Animal Farm as most young pupils' first immersion in political thought. Lord of the Flies may have had less effect on political opinions than Animal Farm but it is more profound philosophically. Relationships between English literature and political science can never be definitively theorized. Social relationships are always contingent and always changing, adjusting, and modifying in different ways.
The Party System
Authors: Mair Peter
Published: January 2010

This article explores the nature and dynamic of the British party system and how it shapes up when viewed from a comparative perspective. It specifically examines the enduring strength of the British party system, and at what it shows about the character of the party system. It then investigates how one might conceive of party systems more generally, and how they might best be understood. It then returns to the British case and determines the factors that have helped to ensure the resilience of the party system. Finally, it analyzes the problems that are now beginning to face both the main parties and the system and evaluates the scope for party system change. The British party system is one of the oldest, strongest, and most stable of the party systems in Europe. In reality, it has become both vulnerable and brittle, such that even a relatively small shock could lead to a substantial change.
Delegation
Authors: Flinders Matthew
Published: January 2010

This article concentrates on functional delegation at the national level. It also focuses around two core arguments. The first argument is concerned with showing how dominant ideas about the British political system have had direct consequences for: the institutional focus of political studies; the theories and methods used; and the interpretive values held by scholars. The second argument is more interested on what is missing from the study of delegation within British politics. It starts by determining the three dominant traditions in the study of delegation and how these traditions affect the deployment of theories and methods. It explores the historical disparity between constitutional theory and constitutional practice. It then modifies the British state into its constituent elements in order to distinguish specific forms of delegation and the existence of gradations of autonomy. A plea for the politicization of delegation is finally shown.
Voting and Identity
Authors: Pattie Charles , Johnston Ron
Published: January 2010

This article traces that shift in academic understandings of British voting. Explanations of electoral alignment drew primarily on two different theoretical traditions: partisan identification and social cleavages. The origins of dealignment lie deep in the 1970s recession. Dealignment was a political earthquake waiting to happen. A striking generational shift in political attitudes had occurred among skilled manual workers. Political failure in the 1970s was one of the triggers of partisan dealignment. British electoral behaviour is now influenced much more by valence issues than by class and partisan identity. Identity and voting within the UK are both reported here. British voting studies have moved against the grain, leaving behind an interest in identity as other areas of politics embrace it. The cases of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and nationalist voting notwithstanding, the new accepted wisdom in the field is that identity is now much less important than evaluations of government performance.
England
Authors: Stapleton Julia
Published: January 2010

This article explores the different interpretations of England's position within the wider unit of Britain from which all the other entanglements flowed. It then examines the deep well of patriotism that ‘England’ has engendered since at least the mid-nineteenth century, still firmly within the ‘civilizational perspective’. Additionally, the article reports the English shadow that was cast across understandings of Britain in the inter-war period, but also continuing contestation of England itself among popular writers on both the left and the right. Enoch Powell's conception of Englishness in the wake of mass immigration within well-established traditions of English Conservatism, liberalism, and patriotism is addressed. It elaborates the recent charges of shallowness, bigotry, and insularity levelled against the English people as the cracks in their imperialist and British façade have become increasingly apparent. As a result of devolution, there has been a considerable decline among the English of a primary British identity and a corresponding increase in primary English identities.
Class
Authors: Devine Fiona
Published: January 2010

This article deals with the evidence on widening class inequalities and addresses how that evidence may be used to evaluate Labour's ten years in power as it has sought to make Britain a more equal society. It first covers the main patterns and trends in class inequalities in Britain from the 1940s to the 1990s. The ongoing controversies around class and the growing consensus that social mobility is declining are explained. The article then elaborates Labour's social policies to enhance social mobility with specific reference to its education policies. Furthermore, it presents the challenges that remain and the difficulties that Labour confronts in tackling inequalities that have proved so resistant to change. The reproduction of class inequalities across generations is a complex affair and policy interventions have to be equally sophisticated in fashion. To date, policies to alleviate class inequalities have a mild effect.
Gender
Authors: Mackay Fiona
Published: January 2010

This article outlines the contested concepts of gender equality and debates within feminist scholarship. It then contrasts these complex understandings with the impoverished conceptions of gender and equality in public and political discourse and argues that there is a need for a common language of gender. In addition, the article describes a range of British and comparative literature to survey and contextualize political and institutional developments over three decades. There have been fundamental changes to gender relations in Britain since the 1970s, as evidenced by the transformation in the status and roles of women. The current trajectory in the UK is one of an evolution from gender mainstreaming to equality and diversity mainstreaming as the predominant approach to the management of equalities issues. The Equalities Review has argued that new, more applicable accounts of equality are needed, and a political and public consensus on equality.
Globalization
Authors: Hay Colin
Published: January 2010

This article presents a critical review of the substantial and growing literature in British politics on globalization. It is concerned with three central issues: the extent to which the British state and economy can indeed be said to be exposed, and increasingly exposed, to the (competitive and other) pressures associated with globalization — i.e. the extent of the globalization of the British economy since the 1960s; the extent to which the reform trajectory of the British state and economy since the 1980s provides a model of the adaptation of an advanced liberal democratic welfare state to the competitive pressures of an ever more integrated global economy; and the extent to which that reform trajectory rests on a particular understanding of globalization and the nature of the British state and economy's exposure to globalization. British growth is not the product of competitiveness but has been achieved largely despite a lack of competitiveness.
International Economy
Authors: Burnham Peter , Kettell Steven
Published: January 2010

This article argues that while Richard Cooper's economic observations are broadly valid they are incomplete and need to be supplemented by a political analysis of how the notion of ‘growing economic interdependence’ has enabled state managers to use the idea of ‘international economic constraint’ to achieve domestic policy objectives. It specifically examines a number of key themes including the utility of the ‘politicization-depoliticization’ couplet; the changing character of state–economy relations; and the notion of the specificity of British capitalism. In many respects, the recent history of Britain's articulation with the international economy is one of a movement from relative ‘openness’ in the nineteenth century to relative ‘closedness’ in the period 1930–60 and thereafter regaining ‘openness’ as market forces were given a key role by state managers in determining international transactions.
Introduction
Authors: Beebee Helen , Hitchcock Christopher , Menzies Peter
Published: January 2010

Philosophers have been interested in the nature of causation for as long as there has been philosophy. They have been interested in what we say about the world when we say that one thing caused another, and in whether there is anything in the world that answers to the causal claims we make about it. Despite the attention, there is still very little agreement on the most central question concerning causation: what is it? Is it a matter of the instantiation of regularities or laws, or counterfactual dependence, or manipulability, or transfer of energy, for example? One reason for the lack of a consensus view is the sheer difficulty of the task; anyone familiar with the causation debate as it has been conducted in recent years will be familiar with a vast range of theories and counterexamples, which collectively can lead one to suspect that no univocal analysis of the concept of causation is possible.
The Early Moderns
Authors: Clatterbaugh Kenneth
Published: January 2010

The early moderns confronted an abundance of causes and types of causal explanations. From Aristotle through the Scholastics they had inherited the doctrine of the four causes, that is, depending upon context the material, formal, final, or efficient cause provides the proper explanation or answer to a ‘Why?’ question. From the Christianization of Aristotle's Unmoved Mover they had inherited the idea of God as creator of the universe. And to the creator role had been added the idea of providence whereby God in some sense ‘manages’ the world of mundane events. Aquinas had actually identified God as the efficient cause of all things.
Causal Relata
Authors: Ehring Douglas
Published: January 2010

This article argues that the intrinsicness of the causal relation undermines the main case for facts as the causal relata, which is based on causation by and of absences. Furthermore, it argues that since causes and effects are generally temporally and spatially related to each other, facts could not be causes and effects. It also argues that the transitivity of causation rules out at least one major candidate for causal relata, coarse-grained events. And, finally, it argues that since the best theory of causation employs the notion of qualitative or property persistence, the best candidate for causal relata must be based around tropes or particularized properties.
Causation and Ethics
Authors: Sartorio Carolina
Published: January 2010

This article examines potential applications of the concept of cause to some central ethical concepts, views, and problems. In particular, it discusses the role of causation in the family of views known as consequentialism, the distinction between killing and letting die, the doctrine of double effect, and the concept of moral responsibility. The article aims to examine the extent to which an appeal to the concept of cause contributes to elucidating moral notions or to increasing the plausibility of moral views. Something that makes this task interestingly complex is the fact that the notion of causation itself is controversial and difficult to pin down. As a result, in some cases the success of its use in moral theory hinges on how certain debates about causation are resolved.
The police are not the army: context-dependent aggressiveness in a clonal ant
Authors: Barth M. Benjamin , Kellner Katrin , Heinze Jürgen
Published: January 2010

Animals often exhibit particular ‘personalities’, i.e. their behaviour is correlated across different situations. Recent studies suggest that this limitation of behavioural plasticity may be adaptive, since continuous adjustment of one's behaviour may be time-consuming and costly. In social insects, particularly aggressive workers might efficiently take over fighting in the contexts of both nest defence and ‘policing’, i.e. the regulation of kin conflict in the society. Here, we examine whether workers who engage in aggressive policing in the ant
Platythyrea punctata
play a prominent role also in nest defence against intruders. The participation of individuals in policing and nest defence was highly skewed and a minority of workers exhibited most of the aggression. Workers who attacked reproductives after experimental colony fusion were less active during nest defence and vice versa. This suggests that workers show situation-dependent behavioural plasticity rather than consistently aggressive personalities.
Rab14 from
Bombyx mori
(Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) shows ATPase activity
Authors: Uno Tomohide , Moriwaki Tsubasa , Isoyama Yuri , Uno Yuichi , Kanamaru Kengo , Yamagata Hiroshi , Nakamura Masahiko , Takagi Michihiro
Published: January 2010

Rab GTPases are essential for vesicular transport, whereas adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the most important and versatile of the activated carriers in the cell. But there are little reports to clarify the connection between ATP and Rab GTPases. A cDNA clone (Rab14) from
Bombyx mori
was expressed in
Escherichia coli
as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein and purified. The protein bound to [
3
H]-GDP and [
35
S]-GTPγS. Binding of [
35
S]-GTPγS was inhibited by guanosine diphosphate (GDP), guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and ATP. Rab14 showed GTP- and ATP-hydrolysis activity. The Km value of Rab14 for ATP was lower than that for GTP. Human Rab14 also showed an ATPase activity. Furthermore, bound [
3
H]-GDP was exchanged efficiently with GTP and ATP. These results suggest that Rab14 is an ATPase as well as GTPase and gives Rab14 an exciting integrative function between cell metabolic status and membrane trafficking.
Alarm substance from adult zebrafish alters early embryonic development in offspring
Authors: Mourabit S. , Rundle S. D. , Spicer J. I. , Sloman K. A.
Published: January 2010

Alarm substances elicit behavioural responses in a wide range of animals but effects on early embryonic development are virtually unknown. Here we investigated whether skin injury-induced alarm substances caused physiological responses in embryos produced by two
Danio
species (
Danio rerio
and
Danio albolineatus
). Both species showed more rapid physiological development in the presence of alarm substance, although there were subtle differences between them:
D. rerio
had advanced muscle contraction and heart function, whereas
D. albolineatus
had advanced heart function only. Hence, alarm cues from injured or dying fish may be of benefit to their offspring, inducing physiological responses and potentially increasing their inclusive fitness.
Is it only humans that count from left to right?
Authors: Rugani Rosa , Kelly Debbie M. , Szelest Izabela , Regolin Lucia , Vallortigara Giorgio
Published: January 2010

We report that adult nutcrackers (
Nucifraga columbiana
) and newborn domestic chicks (
Gallus gallus
) show a leftward bias when required to locate an object in a series of identical ones on the basis of its ordinal position. Birds were trained to peck at either the fourth or sixth element in a series of 16 identical and aligned positions. These were placed in front of the bird, sagittally with respect to its starting position. When, at test, the series was rotated by 90° lying frontoparallel to the bird's starting position, both species showed a bias for identifying selectively the correct position from the left but not from the right end. The similarity with the well-known phenomenon of the left-to-right spatially oriented number line in humans is considered.
Social calls used by a leaf-roosting bat to signal location
Authors: Chaverri Gloriana , Gillam Erin H. , Vonhof Maarten J.
Published: January 2010

Social calls in bats have many functions, including mate attraction and maintaining contact during flight. Research suggests that social calls may also be used to transfer information about roosts, but no studies have yet demonstrated that calls are used to actively attract conspecifics to roosting locations. We document the social calls used by Spix's disc-winged bat (
Thyroptera tricolor
) to actively recruit group members to roosts. In acoustic trials, we recorded two sets of calls; one from flying individuals termed ‘inquiry calls’, and another from roosting bats termed ‘response calls’. Inquiry calls were emitted by flying bats immediately upon release, and quickly (i.e. 178 ms) elicited production of response calls from roosting individuals. Most flying bats entered the roost when roosting individuals responded, while few bats entered the roost in the absence of a response. We argue that information transfer concerning roost location may facilitate sociality in
T. tricolor
, given the ephemeral nature of roosting structures used by this species.
William Brownrigg's papers on fire-damps
Authors: Tomory Leslie
Published: January 2010

In 1741–42, William Brownrigg prepared five papers on fire-damps for the Royal Society in which he articulated a theory of a gaseous state of matter, argued that different sorts of elastic fluid existed, and claimed that atmospheric air was a heterogeneous mixture of various elastic fluids with different properties that had only their elasticity in common. Although these papers were never published, there is a strong possibility that they influenced the later development of pneumatic chemistry, because Henry Cavendish was very probably aware of a good portion of their contents.
Stability of fronts and transient behaviour in KPP systems
Authors: Ghazaryan Anna , Gordon Peter , Virodov Alexander
Published: January 2010

We consider a system of two reaction diffusion equations with the Kolmogorov–Petrovsky–Piskunov (KPP) type nonlinearity which describes propagation of pressure-driven flames. It is known that the system admits a family of travelling wave solutions parameterized by their velocity. In this paper, we show that these travelling fronts are stable under the assumption that perturbations belong to an appropriate weighted
L
2
space. We also discuss an interesting meta-stable pattern the system exhibits in certain cases.
Stability of ice-sheet grounding lines
Authors: Katz Richard F. , Worster M. Grae
Published: January 2010

Recent observations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet document rapid changes in the mass balance of its component glaciers. These observations raise the question of whether changing climatic conditions have triggered a dynamical instability in the ice-sheet–ice-shelf system. The dynamics of marine ice sheets are sensitive to grounding-line position and variation, characteristics that are poorly captured by most current models. We present a theory for grounding-line dynamics in three spatial dimensions and time. Our theory is based on a balance of forces across the grounding line; it is expressed as a differential equation that is analogous to the canonical Stefan condition. We apply this theory to the question of grounding-line stability under conditions of retrograde bed slope in a suite of calculations with different basal topography. A subset of these have basal topography inspired by the Pine Island glacier, where basal depth varies in both the along-flow and across-flow directions. Our results indicate that unstable retreat of the grounding line over retrograde beds is a robust feature of models that evolve based on force balance at the grounding line. We conclude, based on our simplified model, that unstable grounding-line recession may already be occurring at the Pine Island glacier.
Elastic wave dispersion in microstructured membranes
Authors: Lombardo Mariateresa , Askes Harm
Published: January 2010

The effect of microstructural properties on the wave dispersion in linear elastic membranes is addressed in this paper. A periodic spring-mass lattice at the lower level of observation is continualized and a gradient-enriched membrane model is obtained to account for the characteristic microstructural length scale of the material. In the first part of this study, analytical investigations show that the proposed model is able to correctly capture the physical phenomena of wave dispersion in microstructured membrane which is overlooked by classical continuum theories. In the second part, a finite-element discretization of microstructured membrane is formulated by introducing the pertinent inertia and stiffness terms. Importantly, the proposed modifications do not increase the size of the problem compared wiith classical elasticity. Numerical simulations confirm that the vibrational properties are affected by the microstructural characteristics of the material, particularly in the high-frequency regime.
Latitudinal point vortex rings on the spheroid
Authors: Kim Sun-Chul
Published: January 2010

Point vortex motion on the surface of a spheroid is studied. Exact dynamical equations from the corresponding Hamiltonian are constructed by computing the conformal metric which induces a modified stereographic projection. As a concrete example, the motion of point vortices at the same latitude (called the
point vortex ring
) is investigated as an extension of the sphere case. The role of eccentricity to the stability of the rotating motion is analysed. The influence of a pole vortex is also discussed.
Even small SNP clusters are non-randomly distributed: is this evidence of mutational non-independence?
Authors: Amos William
Published: January 2010

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are distributed highly non-randomly in the human genome through a variety of processes from ascertainment biases (i.e. the preferential development of SNPs around interesting genes) to the action of mutation hotspots and natural selection. However, with more systematic SNP development, one might expect an increasing proportion of SNPs to be distributed more or less randomly. Here, I test this null hypothesis using stochastic simulations and compare this output with that of an alternative hypothesis that mutations are more likely to occur near existing SNPs, a possibility suggested both by molecular studies of meiotic mismatch repair in yeast and by data showing that SNPs cluster around heterozygous deletions. A purely Poisson process generates SNP clusters that differ from equivalent data from human chromosome 1 in both the frequency of different-sized clusters and the SNP density within each cluster, even for small clusters of just four or five SNPs, while clusters on the X chromosome differ from those on the autosomes. In contrast, modest levels of mutational non-independence generate a reasonable fit to the real data for both cluster frequency and density, and also exhibit the evolutionary transience noted for ‘mutation hotspots’. Mutational non-independence therefore provides an interesting new hypothesis that appears capable of explaining the distribution of SNPs in the human genome.
How pathogens drive genetic diversity: MHC, mechanisms and misunderstandings
Authors: Spurgin Lewis G. , Richardson David S.
Published: January 2010

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes have been put forward as a model for studying how genetic diversity is maintained in wild populations. Pathogen-mediated selection (PMS) is believed to generate the extraordinary levels of MHC diversity observed. However, establishing the relative importance of the three proposed mechanisms of PMS (heterozygote advantage, rare-allele advantage and fluctuating selection) has proved extremely difficult. Studies have attempted to differentiate between mechanisms of PMS using two approaches: (i) comparing MHC diversity with that expected under neutrality and (ii) relating MHC diversity to pathogen regime. Here, we show that in many cases the same predictions arise from the different mechanisms under these approaches, and that most studies that have inferred one mechanism of selection have not fully considered the alternative explanations. We argue that, while it may be possible to demonstrate that particular mechanisms of PMS are occurring, resolving their relative importance within a system is probably impossible. A more realistic target is to continue to demonstrate when and where the different mechanisms of PMS occur, with the aim of determining their relative importance across systems. We put forward what we believe to be the most promising approaches that will allow us to progress towards achieving this.
Stochastic atmospheric assistance and the use of emergency staging sites by migrants
Authors: Shamoun-Baranes Judy , Leyrer Jutta , van Loon Emiel , Bocher Pierrick , Robin Frédéric , Meunier Francis , Piersma Theunis
Published: January 2010

Numerous animals move vast distances through media with stochastic dynamic properties. Avian migrants must cope with variable wind speeds and directionsen route, which potentially jeopardize fine-tuned migration routes and itineraries. We show how unpredictable winds affect flight times and the use of an intermediate staging site by red knots (Calidris canutus canutus) migrating from west Africa to the central north Siberian breeding areas via the German Wadden Sea. A dynamic migration model incorporating wind conditions during flight shows that flight durations between Mauritania and the Wadden Sea vary between 2 and 8 days. The number of birds counted at the only known intermediate staging site on the French Atlantic coast was strongly positively correlated with simulated flight times. In addition, particularly light-weight birds occurred at this location. These independent results support the idea that stochastic wind conditions are the main driver of the use of this intermediate stopover site as an emergency staging area. Because of the ubiquity of stochastically varying media, we expect such emergency habitats to exist in many other migratory systems, both airborne and oceanic. Our model provides a tool to quantify the effect of winds and currentsen route.
Positive feedback in the transition from sexual reproduction to parthenogenesis
Authors: Schwander Tanja , Vuilleumier Séverine , Dubman Janie , Crespi Bernard J.
Published: January 2010

Understanding how new phenotypes evolve is challenging because intermediate stages in transitions from ancestral to derived phenotypes often remain elusive. Here we describe and evaluate a new mechanism facilitating the transition from sexual reproduction to parthenogenesis. In many sexually reproducing species, a small proportion of unfertilized eggs can hatch spontaneously (‘tychoparthenogenesis’) and develop into females. Using an analytical model, we show that if females are mate-limited, tychoparthenogenesis can result in the loss of males through a positive feedback mechanism whereby tychoparthenogenesis generates female-biased sex ratios and increasing mate limitation. As a result, the strength of selection for tychoparthenogenesis increases in concert with the proportion of tychoparthenogenetic offspring in the sexual population. We then tested the hypothesis that mate limitation selects for tychoparthenogenesis and generates female-biased sex ratios, using data from natural populations of sexually reproducingTimemastick insects. Across 41 populations, both the tychoparthenogenesis rates and the proportions of females increased exponentially as the density of individuals decreased, consistent with the idea that low densities of individuals result in mate limitation and selection for reproductive insurance through tychoparthenogenesis. Our model and data fromTimemapopulations provide evidence for a simple mechanism through which parthenogenesis can evolve rapidly in a sexual population.
Aurora A selective inhibitor MLN8237 suppresses the growth and survival of HTLV‐1‐infected T‐cells in vitro
Authors: Tomita Mariko , Mori Naoki
Published: January 2010

Aurora A kinase plays an essential role in the proper assembly and function of the mitotic spindle. We have shown previously that Aurora A expression is increased aberrantly in human T‐cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV‐1)‐infected T‐cell lines and primary adult T‐cell leukemia cells, and a pan‐Aurora kinase inhibitor, which inhibits both Aurora A and Aurora B kinases, reduces viability and induces apoptosis in these cells. However, the specific effects of Aurora A inhibition on HTLV‐1‐infected T‐cells are poorly understood. In this study, we addressed this question by comparing the effects of MLN8237, a selective inhibitor of Aurora A, on cell viability, cell cycle progression, and induction of apoptosis in HTLV‐1‐infected and ‐uninfected T‐cell lines. MLN8237 reduced the viability of HTLV‐1‐infected T‐cell lines within 24 h, but its effects on that of HTLV‐1‐uninfected T‐cell lines were moderate. MLN8237 induced early apoptosis of HTLV‐1‐infected T‐cell lines without induction of polyploidy. It induced p53 and p21 expression in HTLV‐1‐infected but not in ‐uninfected T‐cell lines, suggesting that MLN8237‐treated HTLV‐1‐infected T‐cell lines exit from mitosis and activate a p53‐dependent postmitotic G1 checkpoint, leading to G1 arrest followed by the induction of apoptosis. Our results suggest that specific inhibition of Aurora A kinase is a potentially useful therapeutic strategy in the treatment of adult T‐cell leukemia and that further in vivo exploration is warranted.

(Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 1204–1211)
Mimicking the haematopoietic niche microenvironment provides a novel strategy for expansion of haematopoietic and megakaryocyte‐progenitor cells from cord blood
Authors: Deutsch Varda , Hubel Einav , Kay Sigi , Ohayon Tal , Katz Ben‐Zion , Many Ariel , Zander Axel , Naparstek Elizabeth , Grisaru Dan
Published: January 2010

Severe neutropenia and protracted thrombocytopenia remain serious clinical problems following cord blood transplantation (CBT) due to the paucity of stem and progenitor cells in the grafts. Administration of ex‐vivo expanded megakaryocyte progenitor cells may facilitate platelet production. We propose a novel strategy to expand these rare cells ex‐vivo, from a small portion of the cord blood (CB) unit, using fibronectin (FN), a major component of hematopoietic niches, combined with cytokines, including thrombopoietin and the hematopoietic stress‐associated acetylcholinesterase readthrough peptide (ARP). Application of multiple gates and high definition flow cytometry enabled clear resolution of expanded hematopoietic stem/precursor cells (HSPC) and megakaryocyte progenitors (Mk‐p) and their early subsets while eliminating positively stained non‐relevant cells. FN increased viability, expansion of all CD34+ HSPC populations and Mk‐p. The combination of FN + thrombopoietin + ARP maintained and expanded very early myeloid and thrombopoietic precursors, increased the proliferation of megakaryocyte, granulocyte‐macrophage and multilineage colony‐forming progenitors and supported Mk maturation as measured by ploidy and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa expression by quantiative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. This approach, which involves expanding HSPC and Mk precursors from a small portion of the CB unit, without sacrificing the coveted stem cells, may lead to improved cell therapy modalities to facilitate earlier myelopoiesis and platelet production post‐CBT.