bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Opportunities and challenges of sustainable agricultural development in China
Authors: Zhao Jingzhu , Luo Qishan , Deng Hongbing , Yan Yan
Published: September 2007

This paper introduces the concepts and aims of sustainable agriculture in China. Sustainable agricultural development comprises sustainability of agricultural production, sustainability of the rural economy, ecological and environmental sustainability within agricultural systems and sustainability of rural society. China's prime aim is to ensure current and future food security. Based on projections of China's population, its economy, societal factors and agricultural resources and inputs between 2000 and 2050, total grain supply and demand has been predicted and the state of food security analysed. Total and
per capita
demand for grain will increase continuously. Total demand will reach 648 Mt in 2020 and 700 Mt in 2050, while total grain yield of cultivated land will reach 470 Mt in 2010, 585 Mt in 2030 and 656 Mt in 2050. The
per capita
grain production will be around 360 kg in the period 2000–2030 and reach 470 kg in 2050. When productivities of cultivated land and other agricultural resources are all taken into consideration, China's food self-sufficiency ratio will increase from 94.4% in 2000 to 101.3% in 2030, suggesting that China will meet its future demand for food and need for food security. Despite this positive assessment, the country's sustainable agricultural development has encountered many obstacles. These include: agricultural water-use shortage; cultivated land loss; inappropriate usage of fertilizers and pesticides, and environmental degradation.
Adult and larval photoreceptors use different mechanisms to specify the same Rhodopsin fates
Authors: Sprecher Simon G. , Pichaud Franck , Desplan Claude
Published: September 2007

Although development of the adult Drosophila compound eye is very well understood, little is known about development of photoreceptors (PRs) in the simple larval eye. We show here that the larval eye is composed of 12 PRs, four of which express blue-sensitive rhodopsin5 (rh5) while the other eight contain green-sensitive rh6. This is similar to the 30:70 ratio of adult blue and green R8 cells. However, the stochastic choice of adult color PRs and the bistable loop of the warts and melted tumor suppressor genes that unambiguously specify rh5 and rh6 in R8 PRs are not involved in specification of larval PRs. Instead, primary PR precursors signal via EGFR to surrounding tissue to develop as secondary precursors, which will become Rh6-expressing PRs. EGFR signaling is required for the survival of the Rh6 subtype. Primary precursors give rise to the Rh5 subtype. Furthermore, the combinatorial action of the transcription factors Spalt, Seven-up, and Orthodenticle specifies the two PR subtypes. Therefore, even though the larval PRs and adult R8 PRs express the same rhodopsins (rh5 and rh6), they use very distinct mechanisms for their specification.
Deficient mismatch repair improves organismal fitness and survival of mice with dysfunctional telomeres
Authors: Siegl-Cachedenier Irene , Muñoz Purificación , Flores Juana M. , Klatt Peter , Blasco María A.
Published: September 2007

Mismatch repair (MMR) has important roles in meiotic and mitotic recombination, DNA damage signaling, and various aspects of DNA metabolism including class-switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and triplet-repeat expansion. Defects in MMR are responsible for human cancers characterized by microsatellite instability. Intriguingly, MMR deficiency has been shown to rescue survival and proliferation of telomerase-deficient yeast strains. A putative role for MMR at mammalian telomeres that could have an impact on cancer and aging is, however, unknown. Here, we studied the role of MMR in response to dysfunctional telomeres by generating mice doubly deficient for telomerase and the PMS2 MMR gene (Terc−/−/PMS2−/− mice). PMS2 deficiency prolonged the mean lifespan and median survival of telomerase-deficient mice concomitant with rescue of degenerative pathologies. This rescue of survival was independent of changes in telomere length, in sister telomere recombination, and in microsatellite instability. Importantly, PMS2 deficiency rescued cell proliferation defects but not apoptotic defects in vivo, concomitant with a decreased p21 induction in response to short telomeres. The proliferative advantage conferred to telomerase-deficient cells by the ablation of PMS2 did not produce increased tumors. Indeed, Terc−/−/PMS2−/− mice showed reduced tumors compared with PMS2−/− mice, in agreement with a tumor suppressor role for short telomeres in the context of MMR deficiencies. These results highlight an unprecedented role for MMR in mediating the cellular response to dysfunctional telomeres in vivo by attenuating p21 induction.
Drosophila Embryo Collection
Authors: Rothwell Wendy F. , Sullivan William
Published: September 2007

INTRODUCTION

A number of factors make the early Drosophila embryo particularly amenable to cellular analysis. First, large numbers of specifically staged embryos are easily collected from normal and mutant stocks. Also, the morphological and cellular events of embryogenesis have been characterized extensively. For example, directly after fertilization, the embryo proceeds through a series of rapid nuclear divisions that rely on the highly coordinated dynamics of the microtubules, microfilaments, and other cytoskeletal components. During this time, critical events that establish the axis and patterning in the embryo occur. These events have been thoroughly described and provide an excellent resource in which to analyze the primary cellular defect in newly isolated mutations. Analysis of fixed samples allows many more embryos to be examined in a single session on the microscope, and the fixed preparations are stable for long periods. If fluorescent probes are used, anti-quenching reagents in the mounting media allow extensive documentation of the samples without signal deterioration. Double- and triple-labeling for colocalization studies are easily performed. Finally, images can be recorded from fixed samples over multiple planes for three-dimensional reconstructions. This protocol describes the most common and generally applicable procedure for collecting Drosophila embryos for fixed cellular analysis.
Tracking the role of alternative prey in soybean aphid predation by Orius insidiosus: a molecular approach
Authors: HARWOOD JAMES D. , DESNEUX NICOLAS , YOO HO JUNG S. , ROWLEY DANIEL L. , GREENSTONE MATTHEW H. , OBRYCKI JOHN J. , O′NEIL ROBERT J.
Published: September 2007

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a pest of soybeans in Asia, and in recent years has caused extensive damage to soybeans in North America. Within these agroecosystems, generalist predators form an important component of the assemblage of natural enemies, and can exert significant pressure on prey populations. These food webs are complex and molecular gut‐content analyses offer nondisruptive approaches for examining trophic linkages in the field. We describe the development of a molecular detection system to examine the feeding behaviour of Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) upon soybean aphids, an alternative prey item, Neohydatothrips variabilis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and an intraguild prey species, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Specific primer pairs were designed to target prey and were used to examine key trophic connections within this soybean food web. In total, 32% of O. insidiosus were found to have preyed upon A. glycines, but disproportionately high consumption occurred early in the season, when aphid densities were low. The intensity of early season predation indicates that O. insidiosus are important biological control agents of A. glycines, although data suggest that N. variabilis constitute a significant proportion of the diet of these generalist predators. No Orius were found to contain DNA of H. axyridis, suggesting intraguild predation upon these important late‐season predators during 2005 was low. In their entirety, these results implicate O. insidiosus as a valuable natural enemy of A. glycines in this soybean agroecosystem.
The nature of fisheries‐ and farming‐induced evolution
Authors: HUTCHINGS JEFFREY A. , FRASER DYLAN J.
Published: September 2007

Humans have a penchant for unintentionally selecting against that which they desire most. In fishes, unprecedented reductions in abundance have been associated with unprecedented changes in harvesting and aquaculture technologies. Fishing, the predominant cause of fish‐population collapses, is increasingly believed to generate evolutionary changes to characters of import to individual fitness, population persistence and levels of sustainable yield. Human‐induced genetic change to wild populations can also result from interactions with their domesticated counterparts. Our examination of fisheries‐ and farming‐induced evolution includes factors that may influence the magnitude, rate and reversibility of genetic responses, the potential for shifts in reaction norms and reduced plasticity, loss of genetic variability, outbreeding depression and their demographic consequences to wild fishes. We also suggest management initiatives to mitigate the effects of fisheries‐ and farming‐induced evolution. Ultimately, the question of whether fishing or fish farming can cause evolutionary change is moot. The key issue is whether such change is likely to have negative conservation‐ or socio‐economic consequences. Although the study of human‐induced evolution on fishes should continue to include estimates of the magnitude and rate of selection, there is a critical need for research that addresses short‐ and long‐term demographic consequences to population persistence, plasticity, recovery and productivity.
Merging methods in molecular and ecological genetics to study the adaptation of plants to anthropogenic metal‐polluted sites: implications for phytoremediation
Authors: PAUWELS MAXIME , WILLEMS GLENDA , ROOSENS NANCY , FRÉROT HÉLÈNE , SAUMITOU‐LAPRADE PIERRE
Published: September 2007

Metallophyte species that occur naturally on metal‐enriched soils represent major biological resources for the improvement of phytoremediation, a benign and cost‐effective technology that uses plants to clean up anthropogenic metal‐polluted soils. Within the last decade, molecular genetic studies carried out on several model organisms (including Arabidopsis halleri) have considerably enhanced our understanding of metal tolerance and hyperaccumulation in plants, but the identification of the genes of interest for phytoremediation purposes remains a challenge. To meet this challenge, we propose to combine ‘‐omics’ with molecular ecology methods. Using A. halleri, we confronted molecular genetic results with: (i) within‐species polymorphism and large‐scale population differentiation for zinc tolerance; (ii) the demographical context (e.g. migration pattern) of the species for zinc tolerance evolution; (iii) the Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis of the genetic architecture for zinc tolerance; and (iv) the fine‐scale dissection of identified QTL regions, to discuss more precisely the nature of the genes potentially involved in the adaptation to zinc‐polluted soils.
United States vital statistics and the measurement of gestational age
Authors: Martin Joyce A.
Published: September 2007

Estimates of the gestational age of the newborn based on US Birth Certificate data are extensively used to monitor trends in infant and maternal health and to improve our understanding of adverse pregnancy outcome. Two measures of gestational age, the ‘date of the last normal menses’ (LMP) and the ‘clinical estimate of gestation’ (CE), have been available from birth certificate data since 1989. Reporting irregularities with the LMP‐based measure are well‐documented, and important questions remain regarding the derivation of the CE. Changes in perinatal medicine and in vital statistics reporting in recent years may have importantly altered gestational age data based on vital statistics. This study describes how gestational age measures are collected and edited in US national vital statistics, and examines changes in the reporting of these measures by race and Hispanic origin between 1990 and 2002. Data are drawn from the National Center for Health Statistics' restricted use US birth files for 1990–2002. Bivariable statistics are used.

The percentage of records with missing LMP dates declined markedly over the study period, overall, and for each racial/Hispanic origin group studied. A marked shift in the distribution of the CE of gestational age was also observed, suggesting changes both in the true distribution of age at birth, and in the derivation of this measure. Agreement between the LMP‐based and CE estimates increased over the study period, especially among preterm births. However, a high proportion of LMP dates continue to be missing or invalid and the derivation of the CE is still uncertain. In sum, although the reporting of gestational age measures in vital statistics appears to have improved between 1990 and 2002, substantial concerns with both the LMP‐based and the CE persist. Efforts to identify approaches to further improve upon the quality of these data are needed.
Gestational age estimates from singleton births conceived using assisted reproductive technology
Authors: Callaghan William M. , Schieve Laura A. , Dietz Patricia M.
Published: September 2007

Information on gestational age for public health research and surveillance in the US is usually obtained from vital records and is primarily based on the first day of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). However, using LMP as a marker of conception is subject to a variety of errors and results in misclassification of gestational age. Pregnancies conceived through assisted reproductive technology (ART) are unique in that the estimates of gestational age are not based on the LMP, but on the date when fertilisation actually occurred, and thus most gestational age errors are likely to be due to errors introduced in recording and data entry. The purpose of this paper was to examine the birthweight distribution by gestational age for ART singleton livebirths reported to a national ART surveillance system. Gestational age was categorised as 20–27, 28–31, 32–36 and 37–44 weeks; birthweight distributions were plotted for each category. The distributions of very‐low‐birthweight (VLBW; <1500 g), moderately low‐birthweight (1500–2499 g) and normal‐birthweight infants for each gestational week were examined.

At both 20–27 and 28–31 weeks, there was an extended right tail to the distribution and a small second mode. At 32–36 weeks, there were long tails in either direction and at 37–44 weeks, an extended tail to the left. There was a high proportion of VLBW infants at low gestational ages and a decreasing proportion of VLBW infants with increasing gestational age. However, there was also a fairly constant proportion of normal‐birthweight infants at every gestational age below 34 weeks, which suggested misclassification of gestational age. Approximately 12% of ART births classified as 28–31 weeks' gestation had a birthweight in the second mode of the birthweight distribution compared with approximately 29% in national vital statistics data. Even when the birthweight and dates of conception and birth are known, questions remain regarding the residual amount of misclassification and the true nature of the birthweight distributions.
The research implications of the selection of a gestational age estimation method
Authors: Lynch Courtney D. , Zhang Jun
Published: September 2007

There are three primary methods of gestational age estimation: dating based on last menstrual period (LMP), ultrasound‐based dating and neonatal estimates. We review the strengths and limitations of each method as well as their implications for research. Dating based on LMP is a simple, low‐cost method of estimating gestational age. Limitations associated with the use of menstrual‐based dating include reporting problems such as uncertainty regarding the LMP date, possibly due to bleeding not associated with menses, as well as concerns about the incidence of delayed ovulation, which can result in invalid estimates of gestation, even for women with certain LMP dates. Given that most women in the US have at least one ultrasound during pregnancy, it is becoming increasingly common for clinicians to verify menstrual dates using early ultrasound. To calculate gestational age with the use of ultrasound, fetal measurements are compared with a gestational age‐specific reference. The primary limitation of this method is the fact that the gestational age estimates of symmetrically large or small fetuses will be biased. Further, given that ultrasound references were developed using pregnancies that were dated according to reliable LMP dates, they are potentially biased in the same direction as dates calculated according to LMP. Neonatal estimates of gestational age have been shown to be the least precise dating method. To highlight the research implications of the choice of a gestational dating method, we used data from the Routine Antenatal Diagnostic Imaging with Ultrasound Study to identify risk factors for post‐term delivery. Risk factors for post‐term delivery are shown to vary according to the choice of a gestational dating method, suggesting that some findings are an artefact of the choice of a method rather than evidence of causality.
Multiple imputation for national public‐use datasets and its possible application for gestational age in United States Natality files
Authors: Parker Jennifer D. , Schenker Nathaniel
Published: September 2007

Multiple imputation (MI) is a technique that can be used for handling missing data in a public‐use dataset. With MI, two or more completed versions of the dataset are created, containing possibly different but reasonable replacements for the missing data. Users analyse the completed datasets separately with standard techniques and then combine the results using simple formulae in a way that allows the extra uncertainty due to missing data to be assessed. An advantage of this approach is that the resulting public‐use data can be analysed by a variety of users for a variety of purposes, without each user needing to devise a method to deal with the missing data. A recent example for a large public‐use dataset is the MI of the family income and personal earnings variables in the National Health Interview Survey. We propose an approach to utilise MI to handle the problems of missing gestational ages and implausible birthweight–gestational age combinations in national vital statistics datasets. This paper describes MI and gives examples of MI for public‐use datasets, summarises methods that have been used for identifying implausible gestational age values on birth records, and combines these ideas by setting forth scenarios for identifying and then imputing missing and implausible gestational age values multiple times. Because missing and implausible gestational age values are not missing completely at random, using multiple imputations and, thus, incorporating both the existing relationships among the variables and the uncertainty added from the imputation, may lead to more valid inferences in some analytical studies than simply excluding birth records with inadequate data.
Evolutionary dynamics of an ancient retrotransposon family provides insights into evolution of genome size in the genusOryza
Authors: Ammiraju Jetty S. S. , Zuccolo Andrea , Yu Yeisoo , Song Xiang , Piegu Benoit , Chevalier Frederic , Walling Jason G. , Ma Jianxin , Talag Jayson , Brar Darshan S. , SanMiguel Phillip J. , Jiang Ning , Jackson Scott A. , Panaud Olivier , Wing Rod A.
Published: September 2007

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons constitute a significant portion of most eukaryote genomes and can dramatically change genome size and organization. Although LTR retrotransposon content variation is well documented, the dynamics of genomic flux caused by their activity are poorly understood on an evolutionary time scale. This is primarily because of the lack of an experimental system composed of closely related species whose divergence times are within the limits of the ability to detect ancestrally related retrotransposons. The genusOryza, with 24 species, ten genome types, different ploidy levels and over threefold genome size variation, constitutes an ideal experimental system to explore genus‐level transposon dynamics. Here we present data on the discovery and characterization of an LTR retrotransposon family namedRWGin the genusOryza. Comparative analysis of transposon content (approximately 20 to 27 000 copies) and transpositional history of this family across the genus revealed a broad spectrum of independent and lineage‐specific changes that have implications for the evolution of genome size and organization. In particular, we provide evidence that the basal GG genome ofOryza(O. granulata) has expanded by nearly 25% by a burst of theRWGlineageGran3subsequent to speciation. Finally we describe the recent evolutionary origin ofDasheng, a large retrotransposon derivative of theRWGfamily, specifically found in the A, B and C genome lineages ofOryza.
Global gene expression analysis of the shoot apical meristem of maize (Zea mays L.)
Authors: Ohtsu Kazuhiro , Smith Marianne B. , Emrich Scott J. , Borsuk Lisa A. , Zhou Ruilian , Chen Tianle , Zhang Xiaolan , Timmermans Marja C. P. , Beck Jon , Buckner Brent , Janick‐Buckner Diane , Nettleton Dan , Scanlon Michael J. , Schnable Patrick S.
Published: September 2007

All above‐ground plant organs are derived from shoot apical meristems (SAMs). Global analyses of gene expression were conducted on maize (Zea mays L.) SAMs to identify genes preferentially expressed in the SAM. The SAMs were collected from 14‐day‐old B73 seedlings via laser capture microdissection (LCM). The RNA samples extracted from LCM‐collected SAMs and from seedlings were hybridized to microarrays spotted with 37 660 maize cDNAs. Approximately 30% (10 816) of these cDNAs were prepared as part of this study from manually dissected B73 maize apices. Over 5000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) (about 13% of the total) were differentially expressed (P < 0.0001) between SAMs and seedlings. Of these, 2783 and 2248 ESTs were up‐ and down‐regulated in the SAM, respectively. The expression in the SAM of several of the differentially expressed ESTs was validated via quantitative RT‐PCR and/or in situ hybridization. The up‐regulated ESTs included many regulatory genes including transcription factors, chromatin remodeling factors and components of the gene‐silencing machinery, as well as about 900 genes with unknown functions. Surprisingly, transcripts that hybridized to 62 retrotransposon‐related cDNAs were also substantially up‐regulated in the SAM. Complementary DNAs derived from the LCM‐collected SAMs were sequenced to identify additional genes that are expressed in the SAM. This generated around 550 000 ESTs (454‐SAM ESTs) from two genotypes. Consistent with the microarray results, approximately 14% of the 454‐SAM ESTs from B73 were retrotransposon‐related. Possible roles of genes that are preferentially expressed in the SAM are discussed.
Phosphorylation of threonine 161 in plant cyclin‐dependent kinase A is required for cell division by activation of its associated kinase
Authors: Harashima Hirofumi , Shinmyo Atsuhiko , Sekine Masami
Published: September 2007

Although A‐type cyclin‐dependent kinase A (CDKA) is required for plant cell division, our understanding of how CDKA is activated before the onset of commitment to cell division is limited. Here we show that phosphorylation of threonine 161 (T161) in plant CDKA is required for activation of its associated kinase. Western blot analysis revealed that phosphorylation of CDKA T161 increased greatly, in parallel with activation of p13suc1‐associated kinase activity, when stationary‐phase tobacco BY‐2 cells were subcultured into fresh medium. Although induced over‐expression of a dominant‐negative CDKA mutant (D146N) fused with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in BY‐2 cells resulted in elongated cells after cell division was arrested, over‐expression of this CDKA mutant with a non‐phosphorylatable alanine in place of T161 (T161A) had no effect on cellular growth. However, immunoprecipitates of both GFP‐fused CDKAs exhibited virtually no histone H1 kinase activity, suggesting that both mutants formed kinase‐inactive complexes. In a baculovirus expression system, the recombinant CDKA(T161A)/cyclin D complex possessed no detectable kinase activity, indicating that phosphorylation of T161 is required for CDKA activation. To further elucidate the role of T161 phosphorylation, we used a loss‐of‐function mutation in the CDKA;1 gene, which encodes the only Arabidopsis CDKA. This mutant displays male gametophyte lethality, and produces bicellular pollen grains instead of the tricellular grains produced in wild‐type plants. Introduction of CDKA;1(T161E)–GFP, which mimics phosphorylated T161, resulted in successful complementation of the cdka‐1 mutation, whereas no recovery was observed when CDKA;1(T161A)–GFP was introduced. Thus, phosphorylation of T161 in Arabidopsis CDKA;1 is essential for cell division during male gametogenesis.
Postoperative intraperitoneal adhesion pathophysiology
Authors: Duron J‐J.
Published: September 2007

Aside from the normal ‘ad integrum’ peritoneal regeneration, the postoperative intraperitoneal adhesion formation process may be considered as the pathological part of peritoneal healing following any injury, particularly a surgical one. Despite a large body of clinical and experimental studies, its pathophysiology remains controversial. Moreover, a better understanding of the pathophysiological events and of the medical and surgical factors involved in the adhesion formation process is pivotal in any attempt to control this very frequent phenomenon and its serious consequences.
Impact of adhesions in colorectal surgery
Authors: Bhardwaj R. , Parker M. C.
Published: September 2007

The extent of the problem of adhesions is considerable and poses a significant burden on healthcare systems, the workload of surgeons and the lives of patients. This paper reviews the work undertaken and the associated evidence for the impact of adhesions. It considers the various options and strategies to reduce adhesions alongside the fundamental necessity for good surgical technique.
Consequences and complications of peritoneal adhesions
Authors: Van Goor H.
Published: September 2007

Consequences and complications of postsurgical intra‐abdominal adhesion formation not including small bowel obstruction and secondary infertility are substantial but are under‐exposed in the literature. Inadvertent enterotomy during reopening of the abdomen or subsequent adhesion dissection is a feared complication of surgery after previous laparotomy. The incidence can be as high as 20% in open surgery and between 1% and 100% in laparoscopy depending on the underlying disease. Delayed postoperative detection of enterotomy is a particular feature of laparoscopy associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Adhesions to the ventral abdominal wall are responsible for the majority of trocar injuries. Both trocar injuries and inadvertent enterotomies result in conversion from laparoscopy to laparotomy in almost 100% of cases. There is a paucity of data on other organ injury, such as liver laceration or bladder perforation. Dissecting adhesions before executing the planned operation takes on average 20 min, being one‐fifth of the total operating time in patients having had previous open colorectal surgery. There is some evidence that postoperative morbidity and mortality of patients who need adhesiolysis is higher than that of patients with a virgin abdomen. The necessity to dissect adhesions is associated with increased hospital stay. Postsurgical adhesions are considered a main reason for conversion from laparoscopy to laparotomy in many types of procedures including laparoscopic colonic resection. Adhesion formation is part of the innate peritoneal defence mechanism in peritonitis. Abscess formation and bleeding, organ injury and fistula formation at ‘on demand’ relaparotomies are well‐known complications after surgery for intra‐abdominal sepsis associated with fibrinous adhesions. The clinical magnitude hereof is poorly researched. Postsurgical adhesions may cause pain as evidenced by pain mapping clinical experiments. Filmy adhesions between movable organs and the peritoneum appear to be worse in terms of generating pain. The high caseload of gynaecological and some colorectal practices suggest an enormous impact of adhesion‐related chronic abdominal and pelvic pain on patient’s wellbeing and socio‐economic costs. The significant risk of inadvertent enterotomy, conversion to laparotomy and trocar injury, and the associated postoperative morbidity and mortality and increased length of hospital stay warrant routine informed consent of adhesiolysis related complications in patients scheduled for abdominal or pelvic reoperation.
Practicalities and costs of adhesions
Authors: Wilson M. S.
Published: September 2007

In spite of postoperative adhesions being common there appears to be a reluctance to use anti‐adhesion products routinely.

This article compares the incidence of adhesions with other conditions in order to identify the level of risk. The health economics surrounding adhesion‐related disease are described. This combined information may be of help to convince health practitioners of the need to take a more active role in adhesion prevention.

The SCAR project has identified the risk of adhesion‐related disease. This is compared with published risks of other common clinical situations. An economic model first described by the author in 2002 has been revised with 2006 costs [1]. The SCAR data demonstrates a directly related risk of re‐admission in certain groups of 9.4% over 5 years [2]. The frequency of including this fact in the consenting process is low (<15%) [3]. Legal precedent has identified a risk of >2% warrants inclusion in the consent process; failure to do so could be considered negligent [4]. Use of an anti‐adhesion product with a cost of 130 euros with an efficacy of 25% in 1 year in the UK could save over 40 million euros over a 10‐year period.

Adhesion risk is frequent enough to include in consent. Failure to do this and avoidance of treatment, which may reduce adhesions will have major financial consequences on healthcare systems.
Learning to be Palestinian in Athens: constructing national identities in diaspora
Authors: MAVROUDI ELIZABETH
Published: September 2007

In this article I focus on constructions of diasporic national identities and the nation as active and strategic processes using the case study of Palestinians in Athens. I seek, thereby, to contribute to debates on national identity, the nation and long‐distance nationalism, particularly in relation to those in diaspora with a collective cause to advocate. I explore how first‐ and second‐generation Palestinians in Athens construct and narrate Palestinian national identities, the homeland and political unity. I argue that the need to ‘choose’ to be Palestinian, often for political reasons, highlights that the nation is not a ‘given’ entity. This can be a difficult process for those in diaspora to deal with, as there may be tensions between constructions of political unity and attachment to the homeland and feelings of ambivalence and in‐between‐ness that may be seen as politically counterproductive. However, I stress that ‘messy’ and contradictory narratives and spatialities of diasporic national identities that come about as a result of cross‐border or transnational (dis)connections do not necessarily lead to apathy and, therefore, can be important.
PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Characterization of microsatellite markers for the almendro (Dipteryx panamensis), a tetraploid rainforest tree
Authors: HANSON THOR R. , BRUNSFELD STEVEN J. , FINEGAN BRYAN , WAITS LISETTE P.
Published: September 2007

The almendro (Dipteryx panamensis, Fabaceae) is a tetraploid tree native to the Atlantic lowland rainforests of Central America. We present nine microsatellite primer pairs amplified in three multiplexed reactions for 549 individuals from four sites in Costa Rica. All loci were polymorphic, ranging from three to 13 alleles per locus. Expected heterozygosity was estimated with the program tetrasat, and ranged from 0.21 to 0.74 across loci. These markers will be used for estimating pollen dispersal, seed dispersal, genetic structure and genetic diversity in fragmented landscapes.
Kelp versus coralline: cellular basis for mechanical strength in the wave‐swept seaweed Calliarthron (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta)1
Authors: Martone Patrick T.
Published: September 2007

Previous biomechanical studies of wave‐swept macroalgae have revealed a trade‐off in growth strategies to resist breakage in the intertidal zone: growing in girth versus growing strong tissues. Brown macroalgae, such as kelps, grow thick stipes but have weak tissues, while red macroalgae grow slender thalli but have much stronger tissues. For example, genicular tissue in the articulated coralline Calliarthron cheilosporioides Manza is more than an order of magnitude stronger than some kelp tissues, but genicula rarely exceed 1 mm in diameter. The great tissue strength of Calliarthron genicula results, at least in part, from a lifelong strengthening process. Here, a histological analysis is presented to explore the cellular basis for mechanical strengthening in Calliarthron genicula. Genicula are composed of thousands of fiber‐like cells, whose cell walls thicken over time. Thickening of constitutive cell walls likely explains why older genicula have stronger tissues: a mature geniculum may be >50% cell wall. However, the material strength of genicular cell wall is similar to the strength of cell wall from a freshwater green alga, suggesting that it may be the quantity—not the quality—of cell wall material that gives genicular tissue its strength. Apparent differences in tissue strength across algal taxa may be a consequence of tissue construction rather than material composition.
Weak blood group B phenotypes may be caused by variations in the CCAAT‐binding factor/NF‐Y enhancer region of the ABO gene
Authors: Seltsam Axel , Wagner Franz F. , Grüger Daniela , Gupta Christa D. , Bade‐Doeding Christina , Blasczyk Rainer
Published: September 2007

BACKGROUND: Binding of CCAAT‐binding factor NF‐Y (CBF/NF‐Y) to a 43‐bp repeat unit in the minisatellite region in the 5′ region of the ABO gene (CBF/NF‐Y enhancer region) plays an important role in regulating the transcription of ABO genes. The common ABO alleles were found to have CBF/NF‐Y enhancer regions with specific numbers of 43‐bp minisatellite repeats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Blood samples from four healthy blood donors with weak B phenotypes were subjected to extensive ABO genotyping, including nucleotide sequencing of the 5′ regulatory region containing the CBF/NF‐Y enhancer.

RESULTS: The coding region of the ABO genes exhibited common ABO*B101‐heterozygous genotypes in all samples, but unexpected variations were observed in the CBF/NF‐Y enhancer region. In two cases, the CBF/NF‐Y enhancer motifs did not exhibit the expected ABO allele dependency. One, an ABweak sample was heterozygous for ABO*A101 and ABO*B101 but homozygous for the ABO*B101‐specific CBF/NF‐Y motif. The second had a common ABO*B101/ABO*O01 genotype but was heterozygous for ABO*A101‐ and ABO*O01‐specific enhancer motifs. In the other two samples, novel CBF/NF‐Y motifs were found. One contained a shortened version of an otherwise ABO*B101‐specific CBF/NF‐Y motif, and the other had a single‐base substitution located 12 bp upstream from the beginning of the first 43‐bp repeat of an ABO*B101‐specific CBF/NF‐Y enhancer sequence.

CONCLUSION: The frequency of variations in the CBF/NF‐Y region of the ABO gene in these samples with presumably common ABO*B101 alleles suggests that weak blood group B phenotypes may be caused by sequence variations in the CBF/NF‐Y regulatory region.
Reintegrative Shaming, Procedural Justice, and Recidivism: The Engagement of Offenders' Psychological Mechanisms in the Canberra RISE Drinking-and-Driving Experiment
Authors: Tyler Tom R. , Sherman Lawrence , Strang Heather , Barnes Geoffrey C. , Woods Daniel
Published: September 2007

Advocates of restorative justice (RJ) hypothesize that the diversion of criminal cases to RJ conferences should be more effective in lowering the rate of reoffending than traditional prosecution in court processing because the conferences more effectively engage the psychological mechanisms of reintegrative shaming and procedural justice. This study uses longitudinal data from the drinking-and-driving study in the Australian Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE) to evaluate the long-term impact of reintegrative shaming and procedural justice on support for the law and on later recidivism as assessed through the use of police records and by self-report. Analysis first suggests that there is no direct effect of experimental condition on later recidivism. However, it further suggests that both traditional court-based prosecution and RJ conferences increase support for the law and lower the rate of future reoffending when they engage the social psychological mechanisms of reintegrative shaming and procedural justice and thereby increase the legitimacy of the law. Hence, the results argue for the potential value of procedures such as the RJ conference but indicate that those procedures will only achieve their objectives if they are effectively designed and implemented.
Unsuitable Suitors: Anti-Miscegenation Laws, Naturalization Laws, and the Construction of Asian Identities
Authors: Sohoni Deenesh
Published: September 2007

In this article, I use state-level anti-miscegenation legislation to examine how Asian ethnic groups became categorized within the American racial system in the period between the Civil War and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. I show how the labels used to describe Asian ethnic groups at the state level reflected and were constrained by national-level debates regarding the groups eligible for U.S. citizenship. My main point is that Asian ethnic groups originally were viewed as legally distinct—racially and ethnically, and that members of these groups recognized and used these distinctions to seek social rights and privileges. The construction of “Asian” as a social category resulted primarily from congressional legislation and judicial rulings that linked immigration with naturalization regulations. Anti-miscegenation laws further contributed to the social exclusion of those of Asian ancestry by grouping together U.S.-born and foreign-born Asians.
The Politics of Pain: A Political Institutionalist Analysis of Crime Victims' Moral Protests
Authors: Barker Vanessa
Published: September 2007

Like the new social movements, crime victim movements were part of broad cultural struggles to redefine the character of social order in the late twentieth century. Motivated by pain and outrage over criminal victimization, they were engaged in highly charged moral protests over the rights and duties of state government and the relative value of human life. This article argues that the degree to which crime victims were part of a retributive movement—the restriction of criminal offenders' rights and liberties—or part of a restorative movement to repair victims' well-being depended on the political context in which they were operating, specifically the structure of the democratic process. The case studies suggest that a context with a high degree of democratization but intensive social polarization was more likely to deepen crime victims' demands for vengeance as well as provide their legal and political expression, while a context with intensive civic engagement but well-developed social trust and norms of reciprocity was more likely to bring about pragmatic measures, intermixing restorative and restrictive approaches to criminal victimization. This article seeks to extend the literature on political institutionalism by integrating the structural constraints of institutions with the power of human agency.
A Reasonable Balance of Law and Sentiment: Social Order in Democratic Taiwan from the Policeman's Point of View
Authors: Martin Jeffrey
Published: September 2007

Taiwan's political democratization has engendered a contradiction in its legal regime: consolidation of rule of law at the macro-institutional level is matched by the persistent marginalization of legal authority in ground-level social practices. This article uses an ethnographic study of neighborhood police to explore certain practical and structural elements involved in maintaining this contradictory sociopolitical order. I examine some of the processes through which state authority is invoked and applied to the policing of public space, focusing on the ideals of legitimacy that animate these processes. The argument of the article is that historical and cultural factors embodied in contemporary Taiwan's “idea of police”—exemplified in the trope of a balance between reason, law, and sentiment—are crucial to understanding how solidification of the rule of law within state institutions is kept within the boundaries of a social sensibility that does not take law as the last word.
IPO Pricing, Block Sales, and Long‐Term Performance
Authors: Pukthuanthong‐Le Kuntara , Varaiya Nikhil
Published: September 2007

Block sales following IPOs are related to the IPOs' value relative to an estimate of intrinsic value, opening‐trade return, and IPO size. Overvalued IPOs experience more block sales than undervalued IPOs. IPOs with high block sales outperform IPOs with low block sales from 20 days after IPO through lockup expiration; however, IPOs with high block sales underperform IPOs with low block sales from lockup expiration through the third year after the IPO. The results indicate that block traders are advantaged relative to other traders; whether the advantage is based on superior information or superior valuation capabilities is unknown.
Short‐ and Long‐Term Effects of Multimarket Trading
Authors: Nguyen Vanthuan , Van Ness Bonnie F. , Van Ness Robert A.
Published: September 2007

We analyze short‐ and long‐term effects of multimarket trading by examining the entries of multiple markets into transacting three ETFs, DIA, QQQ, and SPY. We find that large‐scale entries improve overall market quality, while small‐scale entries have ambiguous effects. Our results show that the competition effect dominates the fragmentation effect over a long horizon and that market fragmentation leads to a decline in trading costs. Further, we find that the order handling rules help mitigate the fragmentation effect and facilitate the competition effect. We do not find that multimarket trading harms price efficiency or increases price volatility.
Enhanced Flux Pinning of an Nd‐Added (Bi,Pb)‐2212 Superconductor
Authors: Sarun Pallian Murikoli , Biju Alikunju , Guruswamy Perumal , Syamaprasad Upendran
Published: September 2007

The flux pinning properties of a (Bi,Pb)‐2212 superconductor by the addition of a rare‐earth element Nd with varying concentrations were studied. The Nd content of the samples was varied from x=0.0 to 0.5 on a general stoichiometry of Bi1.7Pb0.4Sr2.0Ca1.1Cu2.1NdxOy. The samples were characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, and transport critical current measurements at 64 K. Both self‐field JC and JC in the presence of an applied magnetic field (JC–B) of Nd‐added samples were found to be much better than those of the pure sample. Also, the peak values of the bulk pinning force density (FPmax) of Nd‐added samples shift toward higher magnetic fields, indicative of the enhanced flux pinning strength of the samples. The results are explained based on the replacement of cations such as Sr2+, Ca2+, and Bi3+ by Nd3+ ions and the associated distortion of the lattice and change in hole concentration in the system. The replacement produced point‐like defects due to the difference in the ionic radii of Sr2+ (1.12 Å), Ca2+ (0.99 Å), Bi3+ (0.96 Å), and Nd3+ (1.04 Å). The nanoscale secondary phase precipitates produced due to Nd addition may also act as flux pinners.
Characterization of Mn–Zn Ferrite Prepared by a Hydrothermal Process From Used Dry Batteries and Waste Steel Pickling Liquor
Authors: Liu Chung‐Wen , Lin Cheng‐Hsiung , Fu Yen‐Pei
Published: September 2007

In this study, we propose a process to prepare Mn–Zn ferrite powder, using oxides of manganese and zinc extracted from used dry batteries, and ferrous chloride solution from waste steel pickling liquor. The hydrothermal process was used to convert the starting raw materials into Mn–Zn ferrite powder. This powder revealed the formation of cubic ferrite with a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 58.8 emu/g and an intrinsic coercive force (Hc) of 3.8 Oe. The average lattice thermal expansion coefficient αa (200°–500°C) of this Mn–Zn ferrite powder was 14.14 × 10−6 K−1. The toroidal specimen sintered at 1300°C in a controlled oxygen atmosphere presented a flat profile of initial permeability (μi) of 2150–2200, in the frequency range 0.1–20 kHz, which allows its use in magnetic applications. This useful technology, combined with environment and materials engineering, can promote the recycling of dry batteries and contribute to the preservation of the earth. Moreover, this technology can also decrease the cost of disposal of the used dried batteries and waste steel pickling liquor.
A Study on the Effect of Template Chain Length on the Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica in An Acidic Condition
Authors: Yu‐Xiang Yang , Hai‐Ping Ying , Jian‐Guo Shao , Zheng Huang , Xiang‐Nong Liu , Ya‐Ru Chen
Published: September 2007

Hexagonal mesoporous silica materials were synthesized in an acidic medium using different chain length of the quaternary ammonium surfactants as a template. The effects of chain length on the physical property, morphology of mesoporous materials, and the temperature on synthesis of materials in CnTMBr–TEOS–HNO3–H2O (n=12,14,16,18) system were systematically studied. The synthesized products were characterized by X‐ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen sorption analysis. It was found that degree of ordering, the d spacing values, and pore size all increase with an increase in the chain length of the template. The optimum synthesis temperature for mesoporous silica using C18TMBr–TEOS–HNO3–H2O system is slightly higher than the Krafft point. The temperature and pH can all affect the expandability of micelles, and so an increase in temperature and decrease in pH all lead to an increase in the pore size. It is also found that the shear flow and chain length are two key factors inducing the formation of millimeter‐scaled silica ropes and micrometer‐scaled rope fibers.