bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Velocity Distribution of the Electrons in an Ionized Gas in the Presence of a Homogeneous Alternating Electric Field
Authors: Desloge Edward A.
Published: December 2004

The velocity distribution of the electrons in an ionized gas in the presence of a homogeneous alternating electric field is approximated as a function of the electron density n, the electron temperature τ, the electric current density J, and the thermal current density Q. The equation of change is then used to obtain four equations in the four unkowns n, τ, J, and Q. The effects of recombination, ionization, elastic and inelastic collisions are included.
Inclined End-Plate Effects in the Q Devices
Authors: Dimock D.
Published: December 2004

A magnetically confined plasma is considered which is terminated on a conducting end plate having an electron sheath which reflects the ions. It is shown that inclining this plate to the magnetic field results in an ion drift and in an enhanced ion diffusion. The drift is evaluated from elementary plasma theory, and the diffusion is calculated in the limits of ion gyroradii large and small compared to the Debye length. Mechanisms which could eliminate the effects of the drift are discussed. The diffusion is shown to be generally much less than Bohm diffusion and, for typical alkali plasmas, to be of the order of classical diffusion at densities ∼ 1011 cm−3.
Inequalities in Liquid Crystal Theory
Authors: Ericksen J. L.
Published: December 2004

Hydrostatic theories of liquid crystals involve a stored energy function, in simpler theories formally similar to that used in linear elasticity theory. In the latter case, the generally accepted condition that the energy function be positive definitely plays a key role in much theoretical work. Analogous conditions are discussed which might reasonably be introduced in liquid crystal theory, and a specific proposal is made for liquid crystals of nematic type.
Some New Exact, Viscous, Nonsteady Solutions of Burgers' Equation
Authors: Benton Edward R.
Published: December 2004

Two physical-space and two spectral solutions of Burgers' equation are presented, which are exact, viscous, and non-steady. One solution satisfies an infinite system of coupled, nonlinear ordinary differential equations.
Collisionless Expansion of a Finite Cylindrical Gas Cloud
Authors: Sodickson L.
Published: December 2004

The density field for the collisionless expansion of a moving cylindrical gas cloud is calculated. The asymptotic density at the cloud center is independent of the initial cylinder dimensions. In the limit of zero initial velocity, the results agree with those of other authors.
Shock Tube Measurement of Pb I Lines
Authors: Brown William A.
Published: December 2004

Oscillator strengths of lead atom spectral lines have been measured by observing the radiation emanating from gas samples heated to 10 000°K in a pressure-driven shock tube. Shocks were produced by allowing hydrogen at high pressure to rapidly expand into dilute mixtures of tetraethyllead and neon. The thermodynamic state of the spectroscopically interesting gas behind the reflected shock was computed by using the measured shock velocity to estimate the state of an ideal gas, then using the state variables so derived to estimate the energy consumed in real gas effects, and completing the cycle by recalculating the state variables. Spectroscopic observations were made with a double prism spectrograph coupled with a revolving drum camera. The Stark broadening of Hβ was used to measure the electron density of the gas behind the first reflected shock. Quantitative spectroscopic analysis of lead atom emission lines led to the following absorption f-values: λ = 3639, f = 0.04; λ = 3683, f = 0.07; λ = 4057, f = 0.15.
Heat Transfer in Reacting Gases: Thermal Conductivity and Accommodation Coefficient Measurements in Gas Mixture of O and O2
Authors: Wise Henry , Wood Bernard J. , Rajapakse Yapa
Published: December 2004

Measurements have been made of heat transfer through gas mixtures containing atomic and molecular oxygen. In the presence of catalytic surfaces, the collisional energy transfer is augmented by chemical enthalpy transport. The magnitude of the increase in heat flux is a function of atom density, total gas pressure, and catalytic surface activity. The relative values of the thermal accommodation coefficient of atomic and molecular oxygen are deduced from the changes in temperature jump distances. Also, a theoretical analysis is presented of heat conduction through a gas located between coaxial cylinders of different length.
Triple Collision Contribution to the Transport Coefficients of a Rigid Sphere Gas
Authors: Sengers J. V.
Published: December 2004

An analysis is made of the triple collision integrals which appear in the expressions for the first density correction to the thermal conductivity and the viscosity of a gas of rigid spheres. It is shown that these triple collision integrals can be written as a sum of integrals associated with six triple collision events, each of which consists of a certain sequence of correlated successive binary collisions. A number of integrations are carried out, and the originally 15-fold triple collision integrals are reduced to 7-fold integrals in a form suitable for numerical analysis. The results are compared with the approximate predictions given by the Enskog theory for a dense gas of rigid spheres.
Experimental Observations of the Kadomtsev Resistive Instability
Authors: McPherson D. A.
Published: December 2004

The resistive instability known as the Kadomtsev current-convective instability has been studied experimentally to verify the theoretical analysis. According to the theory, damping of the wave should be modified by the addition of a term, the sign of which depends upon the sign of the azimuthal wave-number m. Data have been taken to determine the dependence fo this term upon electric current density, wavefrequency, resistivity gradient, and azimuthal wavenumber. In all instances the experimental observations are in agreement with theoretical prediction. In particular, it was observed that azimuthal wavenumber of the enhanced wave changed sign when the resistivity gradient changed sign. This implies that the interaction is an effect of the resistivity gradient, and not some other phenomenon.
Magneto Hypersonic Viscous Layer for a Conicoidal Shock Wave
Authors: Sastry M. S.
Published: December 2004

The axisymmetric flow problem for a viscous case with and without a magnetic field is solved for a conicoidal shock wave, which includes the spherical shock wave as a particular case.
Random Dispersive Waves
Authors: Hoult David P.
Published: December 2004

The physical theory of the detection and measurement of the intensity of random dispersive waves in the presence of noise is given. It is shown that a dispersive wave must travel a long distance from its source to be distinguishable from the background noise. Both the statistically stationary and non-stationary cases are discussed.
Divergence in the Density Expansion of the Transport Coefficients of a Two-Dimensional Gas
Authors: Sengers J. V.
Published: December 2004

An analysis is presented of the first density correction to the viscosity and thermal conductivity coefficient of a two-dimensional gas of rigid disks. The existence of a divergence in the density expansion is established explicitly. For a two-dimensional gas the triple collision contribution to the transport coefficients diverges logarithmically with the time between collisions. In particular, for rigid disks the coefficient of the logarithmic singularity in the viscosity and thermal conductivity is evaluated in the first Enskog approximation. The possibility that as a consequence the transport coefficients depend logarithmically on the density is discussed.
Nonequilibrium Expansion of a Diatomic Gas through a Convergent-Divergent Nozzle
Authors: Kinslow Max , Miller John T.
Published: December 2004

The problem of predicting the flow properties of a high-temperature gas expanding through a hypersonic nozzle is considered. The equations for the flow of an inviscid adiabatic gas with finite vibrational relaxation and dissociation-recombination rates are integrated analytically where possible to give three integral equations. This set of simultaneous integral equations is then solved by numerical methods. The resulting advantages of this approach are (a) equilibrium need not be assumed at any point and (b) flows in or close to equilibrium can be easily handled. Results are presented for this calculation applied to two nozzles of arc-heated hypersonic wind tunnels and are in substantial agreement with measurements.
Flow Induced by an Oscillating Infinite Flat Plate in a Dusty Gas
Authors: Liu J. T. C.
Published: December 2004

The flow induced in an incompressible dusty gas by an infinite flat plate oscillating in its own plane is studied. The differential equation describing this problem is given; its form exhibits the relaxation from a frozen-diffusion process (corresponding to a clean gas) to an equilibrium-diffusion process (corresponding to a single heavier gas). The gas velocity profile, shear stress on the plate, and the particle velocity profile are obtained exactly and are discussed in terms of the parameters of the problem. The essential feature is the inhibition of viscous diffusion in the gas by the particle-gas velocity relaxation. Mechanical energy dissipation is discussed.
Isotropic Turbulent Mixing under a Second-Order Chemical Reaction
Authors: Lee Jon
Published: December 2004

The decay of a dynamically passive reactant in a stationary isotropic turbulent velocity field is investigated using the direct-interaction and (modified) quasi-normal closures. The reactant undergoes an isothermal second-order chemical reaction of single species. The dynamical behavior can be characterized approximately by the ratio of the Damkohler to the Peclet numbers. For slow reactions, only the convective mixing action is important and the closures can be applied without restrictions just as in the turbulent mixing case. For the closures to yield consistent results with fast reactions, the initial mean concentration must be at least twice the initial rms fluctuations. Then the effect of reactive nonlinear interaction is so meager that the two modes of closure make little difference. Otherwise, application of the closure schemes which evoke initial Gaussian conditions is unwarranted and thus presents a convergence difficulty. Simple decay expressions of the mean concentration and rms fluctuations are obtained for the asymptotic range of slow and fast reactions.
The primary visual cortex fills in color
Authors: Sasaki Yuka , Watanabe Takeo
Published: December 2004

One of the most important goals of visual processing is to reconstruct adequate representations of surfaces in a scene. It is thought that surface representation is produced mainly in the midlevel vision and that area V1 (the primary visual cortex) activity is solely due to feedback from the midlevel stage. Here, we measured functional MRI signals corresponding to “neon color spreading”: an illusory transparent surface with long-range color filling-in, one of the important mediums in reconstructing a surface. The experiment was conducted with careful controls of attention, which can send feedback signals from higher visual areas. Activity for filling-in was observed only in V1, whereas activity for illusory contours was observed in multiple visual areas. These results indicate that surface representation is produced by multiple rather than single processing.
Adaptive evolution of cytochrome
c
oxidase: Infrastructure for a carnivorous plant radiation
Authors: Jobson Richard W. , Nielsen Rasmus , Laakkonen Liisa , Wikström Mårten , Albert Victor A.
Published: December 2004

Much recent attention in the study of adaptation of organismal form has centered on developmental regulation. As such, the highly conserved respiratory machinery of eukaryotic cells might seem an unlikely target for selection supporting novel morphologies. We demonstrate that a dramatic molecular evolutionary rate increase in subunit I of cytochrome
c
oxidase (COX) from an active-trapping lineage of carnivorous plants is caused by positive Darwinian selection. Bladderworts (
Utricularia
) trap plankton when water-immersed, negatively pressured suction bladders are triggered. The resetting of traps involves active ion transport, requiring considerable energy expenditure. As judged from the quaternary structure of bovine COX, the most profound adaptive substitutions are two contiguous cysteines absent in ≈99.9% of databased COX I sequences from Eukaryota, Archaea, and Bacteria. This motif lies directly at the docking point of COX I helix 3 and cytochrome
c
, and modeling of bovine COX I suggests the possibility of an unprecedented helix-terminating disulfide bridge that could alter COX/cytochrome
c
dissociation kinetics. Thus, the key adaptation in
Utricularia
likely lies in molecular energetic changes that buttressed the mechanisms responsible for the bladderworts' radical morphological evolution. Along with evidence for COX evolution underlying expansion of the anthropoid neocortex, our findings underscore that important morphological and physiological innovations must often be accompanied by specific adaptations in proteins with basic cellular functions.
Apoptotic and autophagic cell death induced by histone deacetylase inhibitors
Authors: Shao Yufang , Gao Zhonghua , Marks Paul A. , Jiang Xuejun
Published: December 2004

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can induce programmed cell death in cancer cells, although the underlying mechanism is obscure. In this study, we show that two distinct HDAC inhibitors, butyrate and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), induced caspase-3 activation and cell death in multiple human cancer cell lines. The activation of caspase-3 was via the mitochondria/cytochrome
c
-mediated apoptotic pathway because it was abrogated in mouse embryonic fibroblasts with knockout of Apaf-1, the essential mediator of the pathway. Overexpression of Bcl-XL in HeLa cells also blocked caspase activation by the HDAC inhibitors. Nevertheless, Apaf-1 knockout, overexpression of Bcl-XL, and pharmacological inhibition of caspase activity did not prevent SAHA and butyrate-induced cell death. The cells undergoing such caspase-independent death had unambiguous morphological features of autophagic cell death. Therefore, HDAC inhibitors can induce both mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and caspase-independent autophagic cell death. Induction of autophagic cell death by HDAC inhibitors has clear clinical implications in treating cancers with apoptotic defects.
Flavanols and Platelet Reactivity
Authors: Pearson Debra A. , Holt Roberta R. , Rein Dietrich , Paglieroni Teresa , Schmitz Harold H. , Keen Carl L.
Published: December 2004

Platelet activity and platelet‐endothelial cell interactions are important in
the acute development of thrombosis, as well as in the pathogenesis of
cardiovascular disease. An increasing number of foods have been reported to
have platelet‐inhibitory actions, and research with a number of flavanol‐rich foods,
including, grape juice, cocoa and chocolate, suggests that these foods may provide
some protection against thrombosis. In the present report, we review a series of in
vivo studies on the effects of flavanol‐rich cocoa and chocolate on platelet activation
and platelet‐dependent primary hemostasis. Consumption of flavanol‐rich cocoa
inhibited several measures of platelet activity including, epinephrine‐ and
ADP‐induced glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa and P‐Selectin expression, platelet
microparticle formation, and epinephrine‐collagen and ADP‐collagen induced
primary hemostasis. The epinephrine‐induced inhibitory effects on GP IIb/IIIa and
primary hemostasis were similar to, though less robust than those associated with
the use of low dose (81 mg) aspirin. These data, coupled with information from
other studies, support the concept that flavanols present in
cocoa and chocolate can modulate platelet function through a multitude of
pathways.
Flavonoid‐membrane Interactions: A Protective Role of Flavonoids at the Membrane Surface?
Authors: Oteiza Patricia I. , Erlejman Alejandra G. , Verstraeten Sandra V. , Keen Carl L. , Fraga César G.
Published: December 2004

Flavonoids can exert beneficial health effects through multiple mechanisms. In
this paper, we address the important, although not fully understood, capacity of
flavonoids to interact with cell membranes. The interactions of polyphenols with
bilayers include: (a) the partition of the more non‐polar compounds in the
hydrophobic interior of the membrane, and (b) the formation of hydrogen bonds
between the polar head groups of lipids and the more hydrophilic flavonoids at the
membrane interface. The consequences of these interactions are discussed. The
induction of changes in membrane physical properties can affect the rates of
membrane lipid and protein oxidation. The partition of certain flavonoids in the
hydrophobic core can result in a chain breaking antioxidant activity. We suggest
that interactions of polyphenols at the surface of bilayers through hydrogen
bonding, can act to reduce the access of deleterious
molecules (i.e. oxidants), thus protecting the structure and function of membranes.
Determinants of Vessel Targeting in Vasculitis
Authors: Hoffman Gary S.
Published: December 2004

Studies of autoimmune diseases have not yet elucidated why certain organs
or vessels become the objects of injury while others are spared. This paper will
explore the hypothesis that important differences exist in regions of the aorta that
determine vulnerability to diseases, such as atherosclerosis, aortitis, giant cell
arteritis and Takayasu′s disease. The reader is invited to reassess; (1) whether
the aorta is indeed a single homogeneous structure, and (2) whether the initial
stage of aortitis (and indeed other diseases considered “autoimmune”) may be
primarily due to acquired alterations of substrate, that influence unique immune
profiles, which by themselves may not be pathogenic. Disease susceptibility and
patterns are influenced by many factors that are inborn and acquired. Examples
include genetic background, gender, ethnicity, aging, prior and concomitant
illnesses, habits, diet, toxin and environmental exposures. Studies of vascular
diseases must assess how such variables may affect regional differences in
endothelial cells, subendothelial matrix, vascular
smooth muscle and the response of each to a variety of stimuli.
C‐Reactive Protein (CRP) and Autoimmune Disease: Facts and Conjectures
Authors: Szalai Alexander J.
Published: December 2004

C‐reactive protein (CRP) is a blood component comprised of five identical
subunits with a combined molecular mass of 110 kDa; in the presence of Ca++
it binds phosphocholine (PC) with high affinity. Ligand‐bound CRP activates
complement and the protein reportedly binds various Fc receptors. Coincident
with a now decade‐long resurgence in clinical interest in associations of CRP with
disease, our laboratory has been investigating the biology of CRP in vivo using
human CRP transgenic mice (CRPtg). At that time we confirmed that CRP affects
a host defense function mediated at least in part through the elimination of
pathogens. Less appreciated and not as well understood as CRP′s ability to bind
antigen and aid in the elimination of microbes, is its known ability to bind
autoantigens and presumed capacity to promote clearance of apoptotic cells. These
latter properties of CRP have long been suspected to contribute to homeostasis and
to autoimmune disease. In this article we review and update the evidence
generated in CRPtg by our group and in vitro by others′ that indicates CRP is more
than just an antimicrobial molecule and convenient marker of inflammation ‐ rather,
it protects against autoimmunity. A mechanistic
hypothesis is presented to account for this cause‐and‐effect relationship.
Influence of Cocoa Flavanols and Procyanidins on Free Radical‐induced Human Erythrocyte Hemolysis
Authors: Zhu Qin Yan , Schramm Derek D. , Gross Heidrun B. , Holt Roberta R. , Kim Sun H. , Yamaguchi Tomoko , Kwik-Uribe Catherine L. , Keen Carl L.
Published: December 2004

Cocoa can be a rich source of antioxidants including the flavan‐3‐ols,
epicatechin and catechin, and their oligomers (procyanidins). While these
flavonoids have been reported to reduce the rate of free radical‐induced erythrocyte
hemolysis in experimental animal models, little is known about their effect on human
erythrocyte hemolysis. The major objective of this work was to study the effect of
a flavonoid‐rich cocoa beverage on the resistance of human erythrocytes to
oxidative stress. A second objective was to assess the effects of select purified
cocoa flavonoids, epicatechin, catechin, the procyanidin Dimer B2 and one of its
major metabolites, 3ʹ‐O‐methyl epicatechin, on free radical‐induced erythrocyte
hemolysis in vitro. Peripheral blood was obtained from 8 healthy subjects before
and 1, 2, 4 and 8 h after consuming a flavonoid‐rich cocoa beverage that provided
0.25 g/kg body weight (BW), 0.375 or 0.50 g/kg BW of cocoa. Plasma flavanol
and dimer concentrations were determined for each subject. Erythrocyte
hemolysis was evaluated using a controlled peroxidation reaction. Epicatechin,
catechin, 3ʹ‐O‐methyl epicatechin and (‐)‐epicatechin‐(4β > 8)epicatechin (Dimer B2)
were detected in the plasma within 1 h after the consumption of the beverage. The
susceptibility of erythrocytes to hemolysis was reduced significantly following
the consumption of the beverages. The duration of the lag time, which reflects
the capacity of cells to buffer free radicals, was increased. Consistent with
the above, the purified flavonoids, epicatechin, catechin, Dimer B2 and
the metabolite 3ʹ‐O‐methyl epicatechin, exhibited dose‐dependent protection
against AAPH‐induced erythrocyte hemolysis at concentrations ranging from
2.5 to 20 μM. Erythrocytes from subjects consuming
flavonoid‐rich cocoa show reduced susceptibility to free
radical‐induced hemolysis (p < 0.05).
The Southeastern Europe Multinational Peace Force: Problems of and Prospects for a Regional Security Agency
Authors: Bourantonis Dimitris , Tsakonas Panayotis
Published: December 2004

This article deals with the first regional security institution ever established in the southeastern part of Europe. The purpose of this article is threefold: first, to discuss the origins, structure and mission of the Multinational Peace Force Southeastern Europe (MPFSEE); second, to investigate the reasons for MPFSEE inactivity, i.e., why the MPFSEE has so far not been involved in peace operations in the region; and third, to examine whether the MPFSEE is still capable of contributing to the furtherance of peace in southeastern Europe.
Theorising Disability: Beyond ‘Common Sense’
Authors: Handley Peter
Published: December 2004

This article seeks to introduce the topic of disability to political theory via a discussion of some of the literature produced by disability theorists. The author argues that these more radical approaches conceptualise disability in ways that conflict with ‘common-sense’ notions of disability that tend to underpin political theoretical considerations of the topic. Furthermore, the author suggests that these more radical conceptualisations have profound implications for current debates on social justice, equality and citizenship that highlight the extent to which these notions are also currently underpinned by ‘common-sense’ notions of ‘normality’. 1
Political Scepticism: A Reply to the Critics
Authors: Bufacchi Vittorio
Published: December 2004

In a previous article in this journal ( Bufacchi, 2001 ) I argued that political scepticism is a defining characteristic of liberal democracy. I have been criticised for inadequately distinguishing political scepticism from fallibilism (Festenstein, 2001) and for failing to appreciate the role of moral autonomy within liberal democracy (Hyland, this issue). In this article I respond to my critics, first by clarifying the difference between political scepticism and fallibilism, and secondly by suggesting that political scepticism is a necessary condition for moral autonomy.
Asymmetry in Judgments of Moral Blame and Praise
Authors: Pizarro David , Uhlmann Eric , Salovey Peter
Published: December 2004

An important consideration in judging the blameworthiness (or praiseworthiness) of an action is whether the agent had sufficient control over it. In three experiments, we investigated judgments of moral blame and praise elicited when individuals were presented with vignettes describing actions that were performed either carefully and deliberately or impulsively and uncontrollably. Experiment 1 uncovered an asymmetry between judgments of positive versus negative actions—negative impulsive actions elicited a discounting of moral blame, but positive impulsive actions did not elicit a discounting of moral praise. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that this asymmetry arises because individuals judge agents on the basis of their metadesires (the degree to which the agents embrace or reject the impulses leading to their actions). Individuals assume that an agent would embrace an uncontrollable positive impulse, and reject an uncontrollable negative impulse.
Cognitive Representation of Negative Numbers
Authors: Fischer Martin H.
Published: December 2004

To understand negative numbers, must we refer to positive number representations (the phylogenetic hypothesis), or do we acquire a negative mental number line (the ontogenetic hypothesis)? In the experiment reported here, participants made lateralized button responses to indicate the larger of two digits from the range -9 to 9. Digit pairs were displayed spatially congruent or incongruent with either a phylogenetic or an ontogenetic mental number line. The pattern of decision latencies suggests that negative numbers become associated with left space, thus supporting the ontogenetic view.
Children Are Cursed
Authors: Birch Susan A.J. , Bloom Paul
Published: December 2004

Young children have problems reasoning about false beliefs. We suggest that this is at least partially the result of the same curse of knowledge that has been observed in adults—a tendency to be biased by one's own knowledge when assessing the knowledge of a more naive person. We tested 3- to 5-year-old children in a knowledge-attribution task and found that young children exhibited a curse-of-knowledge bias to a greater extent than older children, a finding that is consistent with their greater difficulty with false-belief tasks. We also found that children's misattributions were asymmetric. They were limited to cases in which the children were more knowledgeable than the other person; misattributions did not occur when the children were more ignorant than the other person. This suggests that their difficulty is better characterized by the curse of knowledge than by more general egocentrism or rationality accounts.
Fitness Effects on the Cognitive Function of Older Adults
Authors: Colcombe Stanley , Kramer Arthur F.
Published: December 2004

A meta-analytic study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that aerobic fitness training enhances the cognitive vitality of healthy but sedentary older adults. Eighteen intervention studies published between 1966 and 2001 were entered into the analysis. Several theoretically and practically important results were obtained. Most important, fitness training was found to have robust but selective benefits for cognition, with the largest fitness-induced benefits occurring for executive-control processes. The magnitude of fitness effects on cognition was also moderated by a number of programmatic and methodological factors, including the length of the fitness-training intervention, the type of the intervention, the duration of training sessions, and the gender of the study participants. The results are discussed in terms of recent neuroscientific and psychological data that indicate cognitive and neural plasticity is maintained throughout the life span.
Old wine in new bottles? The Commission and the use of environmental policy instruments
Authors: Rittberger Berthold , Richardson Jeremy
Published: December 2004

In this article, we address two main questions. First, we ask whether the alleged shift in the Commission's environmental ‘policy style’ from a traditional regulatory style towards a new style based on less impositional, more market‐based and co‐operative instruments has actually occurred in practice. We seek to answer this question (a) by employing content analysis to assess the policy instruments propagated by the Commission in both the Fourth and Fifth Environmental Action Programmes (EAP); and (b) by analysing legislative proposals introduced by the Commission in designated environmental policy fields (atmospheric pollution, waste, water). On the basis of the findings we argue that there is a discrepancy between what the Commission declares in the EAPs and what it proposes in practice. Moreover, in a second step, we highlight the factors which might make any major shift in the Commission's policy style difficult to achieve in order to account for this discrepancy.
Dominion
Authors: Chappell T. D. J.
Published: December 2004

I distinguish two claims about human ‘dominion’ over nature: (1) Humans have the right to supervise, manage, and direct the rest of nature; (2) Humans have a special value, superior to the rest of nature. I discuss some ways of rejecting either or both claims, and point to some surprising consequences of such rejections. Then I compare the ways in which Aristotelianism and sentientism might try to keep hold of both claims. This produces two surprising and unwelcome results for sentientism, and one surprising and welcome result for Aristotelianism (namely, an alliance with Kantianism).

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

(Genesis 1.28)
Story‐writing, planning and creativity
Authors: Ellis Susan
Published: December 2004

This paper explores the different demands of scripted and unscripted story writing tasks and the extent to which the task prompts pupils to adopt different writing behaviours and attitudes. The results raise questions about how children are taught to write stories and suggest that a better understanding of the demands of story‐writing task could challenge teacher attitudes and beliefs about imagination and creativity in writing.
What do children think as they plan their writing?
Authors: Green Sylvia , Sutton Pauline
Published: December 2004

This study followed from a previous investigation into the impact of guidance given in writing tasks when six hundred eleven year olds completed writing tasks with varying content and structural support. The aim was to find if the support facilitated better writing and if the nature of the support had differing effects. The findings suggested that the support provided in the stimuli did not significantly affect performance. A qualitative study investigated the reasons why the support did not have a significant effect and explored the factors which affected children as they faced a writing task. ‘Think aloud’ strategies were used to encourage them to verbalise their thoughts as they planned a piece of writing from a given stimulus. The children were then interviewed according to a semi‐structured interview schedule and their planning sheets were also considered.
Optimal Dynamic Treatment Regimes
Authors: Murphy S. A.
Published: December 2004

A dynamic treatment regime is a list of decision rules, one per time interval, for how the level of treatment will be tailored through time to an individual’s changing status. The goal of this paper is to use experimental or observational data to estimate decision regimes that result in a maximal mean response. To explicate our objective and to state the assumptions, we use the potential outcomes model. The method proposed makes smooth parametric assumptions only on quantities that are directly relevant to the goal of estimating the optimal rules. We illustrate the methodology proposed via a small simulation.
Corporate Venture Capital – der Weg zur erfolgreichen Erschließung neuer Technologien?
Authors: Daniels Holger von , Leker Jens , Seeliger Carsten W.
Published: December 2004

Corporate venture capital - the path to successfully developing new technologies? The changes brought about by the new technologies of the New Economy present both opportunities and threats for established companies and startups. There are various different concepts and forms of venture capital, such as traditional venture capital, corporate venture capital, and incubators, that can be used to finance the capital requirements that often go hand in hand with increased technological complexity. Many German firms have already recognized the potential of venture capital as a tool for developing new technologies and have set up their own corporate venture capital companies. However, these companies usually focus their investment in external startups that have already completed the seed phase and are in an expansion phase. This strategy does not go far enough, with numerous ideas from employees and external experts remaining unexploited. The paper presents a three-part organizational strategy - consisting of a CVC company, an incubator and a catalytic converter - that will help established companies utilize venture capital in the context of far-reaching strategic innovation management.
Pots, pens and ‘eating out the body’: cuisine and the gendering of African nations*
Authors: Cusack Igor
Published: December 2004

Whether cooking in a pot in the back yard, or in a modern kitchen, African women have generally prepared food for their men. More recently, they have collated and written cookery books both in the West and in Africa so that the ruling elites, mostly all men, have been able to display their new ‘national cuisines’ on their states’ official websites. This article reviews how ‘national cuisines’ have emerged recently in parts of Africa and then examines how these emerging cuisines might contribute to the gendering of African nations. It will also contrast Western notions of ‘the slender body’ with some African notions, of ‘eating out the body’, building a respectable but large body to construct an ‘authentic physical masculinity’ on the one hand, and a healthy and fertile wife and mother on the other. The article investigates how this might be reflected in African national cuisines.
Blood pressure and muscle sympathetic nerve activity during cold pressor stress: Fitness and gender
Authors: Dishman Rod K. , Nakamura Yoshio , Jackson Erica M. , Ray Chester A.
Published: December 2004

We examined putative autonomic and hemodynamic mechanisms that might explain our prior finding that cardiorespiratory fitness mitigates blood pressure responses by normotensive women during the hand cold pressor test. We report that fitness level was inversely related to increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressures and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during the cold pressor among women but not men. The pattern of responses among fitter women was consistent with decreased central sympathetic outflow resulting in reduced stroke volume or dampened peripheral resistance in vascular beds other than calf skeletal muscle. Fitter men and women had slightly larger increases in blood pressure during mental arithmetic, but otherwise fitness was not directly related to stress responses. The results further encourage consideration of cardiorespiratory fitness as a modifying covariate when the hand cold pressor test is used as a predictor of future hypertension among women.
Functional transcranial Doppler sonography as a tool in psychophysiological research
Authors: Duschek Stefan , Schandry Rainer
Published: December 2004

Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) allows the noninvasive and uncomplicated registration of intracranial blood flow parameters under defined conditions of stimulation. Although local distribution patterns of regional blood perfusion can be measured with high spatial resolution through neuroimaging methods (e.g., PET or SPECT), these methods are limited by their low temporal resolution. The high temporal resolution provided by fTCD, however, allows the recording of the dynamic component of cerebral blood perfusion by continuously measuring the cerebral blood flow velocity in the basal cerebral arteries. Hence, this method is especially appropriate for the investigation of fast neuronal activation processes, which are generally accompanied by changes in local blood perfusion. In this review, we present methodical issues regarding fTCD, as well its application in the field of psychology, especially psychophysiology. The relevant studies available to date investigate processes of attention and perception, higher cognitive functions, and emotional and psychomotor processes. Considering the current state of methodology and research, fTCD can be seen to be an important complement to the other psychophysiological methods for studying brain function.
Mental rotation of objects versus hands: Neural mechanisms revealed by positron emission tomography
Authors: Kosslyn Stephen M. , Digirolamo Gregory J. , Thompson William L. , Alpert Nathaniel M.
Published: December 2004

Twelve right‐handed men participated in two mental rotation tasks as their regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was monitored using positron emission tomography. In one task, participants mentally rotated and compared figures composed of angular branching forms; in the other task, participants mentally rotated and compared drawings of human hands. In both cases, rCBF was compared with a baseline condition that used identical stimuli and required the same comparison, but in which rotation was not required. Mental rotation of branching objects engendered activation in the parietal lobe and Area 19. In contrast, mental rotation of hands engendered activation in the precentral gyrus (M1), superior and inferior parietal lobes, primary visual cortex, insula, and frontal Areas 6 and 9. The results suggest that at least two different mechanisms can be used in mental rotation, one mechanism that recruits processes that prepare motor movements and another mechanism that does not.
Variable cerebral responses to equally distinct deviance in four auditory dimensions: A mismatch negativity study
Authors: Deouell Leon Y. , Bentin Shlomo
Published: December 2004

In this study we compared the amplitude, latency, and spatial distribution of the mismatch negativity (MMN), elicited by tones deviating in either frequency, intensity, stimulus‐onset asynchrony (SOA) or location, and assessed inter‐ and intra‐subject variability. Cross‐dimensional comparisons were facilitated by adjusting the magnitude of deviance individually, so that the detection rates were similar, both across dimensions (within subject) and across subjects (within dimension). Despite similar detection rates, the MMN elicited by frequency deviance was larger, and the MMN elicited by SOA deviance was earlier than the other types of MMN. The reliability of frequency‐related MMN was better than that of the other types of MMN. The results highlight the problems of comparing MMN across dimensions, especially in clinical populations.
Poststimulus EEG spectral analysis and P300: Attention, task, and probability
Authors: Spencer Kevin M. , Polich John
Published: December 2004

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were elicited with auditory stimuli, and spectral analysis was performed on the poststimulus electroencephalographic (EEG) activity to assess how variables that influence the P300 affect spectral parameters of the resultant ERP. In Experiment 1, a no‐stimulus condition was compared with a single repeated tone that was either ignored or counted. In Experiment 2, an auditory oddball paradigm was used in which the subject ignored all stimuli, counted only the target, or counted both the target and the standard stimuli in different conditions. In Experiment 3, stimulus probability was manipulated in separate conditions (.20, .50, .80), with the subject required to count the target stimulus. Delta and theta band spectral power increased whenever P300 amplitude increased. However, as the attentional requirements increased across tasks, alpha‐1 and alpha‐2 power and mean frequency increased. The findings indicate that auditory stimulus processing modulates the EEG more than just by adding ERP components to the epoch.
EEG alpha power and alpha power asymmetry in sleep and wakefulness
Authors: Benca Ruth M. , Obermeyer William H. , Larson Christine L. , Yun Blenda , Dolski Isa , Kleist Kenneth D. , Weber Steven M. , Davidson Richard J.
Published: December 2004

Asymmetry of waking electroencephalography (EEG) alpha power in frontal regions has been correlated with waking emotional reactivity and the emotional content of dream reports. Little is known regarding alpha asymmetry during sleep. The present study was performed to compare alpha power and alpha power asymmetry in various brain regions across states of sleep and wakefulness. Waking and sleep EEG were recorded in a group of patients undergoing polysomnographic evaluation for possible sleep disorders. Alpha EEG asymmetry in frontal and temporal regions was significantly correlated in waking versus sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These results suggest that patterns of frontal alpha asymmetry are stable across sleep and waking and may be related to emotional reactivity during dreaming. During sleep, alpha power was highest during slow‐wave sleep and lowest during REM sleep. Implications of these data for understanding the functional significance of alpha power during waking and sleeping are considered.
Dynamics of SCR, EEG, and ERP activity in an oddball paradigm with short interstimulus intervals
Authors: Lim C. L. , Gordon E. , Rennie C. , Wright J. J. , Bahramali H. , Li W. M. , Clouston P. , Morris J. G. L.
Published: December 2004

Studies of concurrent central, and autonomic activity using a conventional event‐related potential (ERP) oddball paradigms, are considered useful in elucidating the relationship between central and autonomic responses, but the autonomic response tends to overlap. A new method was used to decompose and score overlapping skin conductance responses (SCR). This method enabled examination of dynamic relationships of phasic SCR, prestimulus electroencephalogram (EEG), and ERP to auditory target stimuli in 50 normal adults. SCR amplitude was negatively correlated to EEG and N200 amplitude. The SCR amplitude changes over time exhibited an exponential decline opposite to those of N200, alpha, and beta. All the fitted exponential functions had a time constant of 1–2 min. The findings suggest that a N200 component, active in the auditory sensory discrimination, is concomitant with the SCR. The narrow range of the time constant may provide a clue to the conjoint processes underlying central and autonomic adaptive functions.
Substance dependence and externalizing psychopathology in adolescent boys with small, average, or large P300 event‐related potential amplitude
Authors: Carlson Scott R. , Katsanis Joanna , Iacono William G. , Mertz Amy K.
Published: December 2004

To determine if the P300 component of the event‐related potential indexes risk for substance use and related disorders, we presented a community sample of 377 16–18‐year‐old males a visual oddball task and selected 31 subjects with the smallest and 31 subjects with the largest P300 amplitudes. An additional 31 subjects whose amplitudes fell in the middle of the amplitude distribution were assigned to the average group. The small and average amplitude groups were more likely to have alcohol dependence and more symptoms of alcohol dependence than the large amplitude subjects. The small amplitude group had more symptoms of illicit drug dependence than the other groups. There was also a significantly larger proportion of subjects with externalizing disorders in the small amplitude group than in the large P300 group. These findings suggest that P300 amplitude may index a spectrum of risk for disinhibited psychopathology.
Decreased pain perception and risk for hypertension: Considering a common physiological mechanism
Authors: France Christopher R.
Published: December 2004

For almost two decades, researchers have demonstrated that hypertension is reliably associated with decreased perception of pain. More recently, a growing body of evidence has begun to suggest that hypoalgesia is not a consequence of high blood pressure, as the phenomenon precedes the onset of hypertension in individuals at risk for the disorder. This article provides a review of empirical evidence of decreased pain perception in normotensive persons with a family history of hypertension, elevated resting blood pressure, or exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Based on the existing evidence, hypoalgesia is argued to be a correlate of dysregulation of central nervous system structures involved in both pain control and cardiovascular regulation in individuals who are genetically predisposed to develop high blood pressure. As such, hypoalgesia may serve as a valuable method of identifying individuals at greatest risk for hypertension.
Separate memory‐related processing for auditory frequency and patterns
Authors: Alain Claude , Achim Andre , Woods David L.
Published: December 2004

Detecting deviant, and potentially meaningful, auditory events depends on transient representations of preceding stimuli. Here, we examined whether the neural circuitry underlying deviance detection system varied as a function of deviance type. In different blocks of trials, participants were presented with a sequence that included standard and deviant tones differing in frequency or a sequence of tones that alternated regularly in frequency with occasional deviant repetitions. Both frequency‐ and pattern‐deviant stimuli elicited a mismatch negativity (MMN) peaking between 120 and 175 ms poststimulus. The MMN amplitude distribution was more frontal for frequency‐deviant than for pattern‐deviant stimuli. There are two possible explanations for these results. Both frequency‐ and pattern‐deviation MMNs might arise in the same set of generators whose relative strength of activation varies. Alternatively, frequency‐ and pattern‐deviation MMNs could originate in different generators. These alternatives were investigated using principal component analysis and signal identification methods. These methods revealed that no common signal space could account for both of the MMNs, indicating different generator sources for the analysis of frequency and pattern deviance. The results suggest separate memory‐related processing for auditory frequency and patterns and indicate that the neural circuit of deviance detection varies as a function of the perceptual context.
Sentence comprehension and word repetition: A positron emission tomography investigation
Authors: Stowe Laurie A. , Paans Anne M.J. , Wijers Albertus A. , Zwarts Frans , Mulder Gijsbertus , Vaalburg Willem
Published: December 2004

Using positron emission tomography, visual presentation of sentences was shown to cause increased regional cerebral blood flow relative to word lists in the left lateral anterior superior and middle temporal gyri, attributable to cognitive processes that occur during sentence comprehension in addition to those carried out during word comprehension. Additional comparisons showed that repeating words (in a different context, when subjects did not attempt to learn the initial lists) led to significant patterns of both increased blood flow (left putamen and right caudate) and decreased blood flow (left posterior temporal lobe). Increases are argued to reflect retrieval of memory traces, whereas decreases reflect diminished necessity for processing of input. A decrease in the left inferior parietal lobe was attributable to other factors.