bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Will ‘Emerging Donors’ Change the Face of International Co‐operation?
Authors: Manning Richard
Published: June 2006

Responding to the recent upsurge of interest in ‘emerging donors’, this article argues that the DAC share of aid is likely to decline only slowly from what is a historically high level, and at least some non‐DAC donors are likely to see DAC approaches and norms as relevant. Nevertheless, low‐income countries seem likely to have a wider range of financing options. Three key risks are that: they prejudice their debt situation by borrowing on inappropriate terms; they use low‐conditionality aid to postpone necessary adjustment; and they waste resources on unproductive investments. DAC members should develop constructive dialogue with other bilateral donors based on recognition that sustainable development and poverty reduction should be the core purpose of aid.
Foreign Direct Investment, Services Trade Negotiations and Development: The Case of Tourism in the Caribbean
Authors: Willem te Velde Dirk , Nair Swapna
Published: June 2006

This article examines whether and how developing countries can use services trade negotiations to increase the amount of inward FDI conducive to development. It reviews how services trade rules can affect inward FDI, and employs panel data analysis with innovative use of instrumental variables in the tourism sectors of 9 Caribbean countries during 1997–2003. It argues that Caribbean countries may want to signal openness to inward FDI in GATS, while maintaining a degree of flexibility in the use of policy measures; in the current negotiations with the EU on Economic Partnership Agreements, the focus could be on emphasising the development dimension.
The Distortion of a Managerial Technique? The Case of Clinical Networks in UK Health Care
Authors: Addicott Rachael , McGivern Gerry , Ferlie Ewan
Published: June 2006

Managed networks are increasingly common in the British National Health Service (NHS) as a means of streamlining and standardizing patient care across organizational and professional boundaries. However, there has been limited research regarding whether this technique is the most appropriate management style for delivery of health services. This article draws upon the authors' research on managed clinical networks for cancer in the UK–a model that set out to guide and develop knowledge flows across cancer service providers. It examines how the initial purpose of these networks was distorted by the broader function of New Labour's ‘modernization agenda’, which has ultimately focused on organizational restructuring and adhering to government targets. Our analysis, which develops Lozeau, Langley and Denis's model of the corruption of managerial techniques, suggests that the initial knowledge‐sharing purpose of networks underwent top‐down ‘distortion’ by the demands of central government. This resulted in superficial bottom‐up adoption of the networks model and limited impact upon organizational processes.
Top Team Diversity, Internationalization and the Mediating Effect of International Alliances*
Authors: Lee Ho‐Uk , Park Jong‐Hun
Published: June 2006

This study examines the mediating effect of international alliances for the relationship between TMT (top management team) job‐related diversity (educational, functional background, outside industry experience and international exposure) and firm internationalization. We argue that firms with greater TMT diversity will use more international alliances, resulting in higher firm internationalization. Based on a sample of 226 US firms during the period 1988–1994, we find that international alliances partially mediate the relationship between TMT international exposure diversity and firm internationalization. However, we do not find international alliances to mediate the relationships between other forms of TMT diversity and firm internationalization. We discuss implications and directions for future research.
Pause, prompt and praise – peer tutored reading for pupils with learning difficulties
Authors: Burns Eila
Published: June 2006

Eila Burns undertook the enquiry that is the subject of this article while studying for her MEd degree at the University of Birmingham. She is now a lecturer in teacher education at Jyvaskyla University of Applied Sciences in Finland. The project she describes here aimed to assess the effectiveness of peer tutoring and the advantages of the structured ‘pause, prompt and praise’ reading method in improving reading skills among pupils working in Key Stage 4. Action research was undertaken in a secondary level special school catering for pupils with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) in order to explore the benefits of establishing such interventions within special school environment.

The pause, prompt and praise reading sessions were conducted at the beginning of lessons, employing same‐age peer tutors and using subject‐based texts. The findings reveal that, after a slow start, the tutees' rates of self‐correction began to rise, indicating improvements in reading skills. Eila Burns also reports growing skills and confidence in the tutors, suggesting benefits for all involved in the peer tutoring process. She describes, in detail, interesting differences between outcomes for the different tutor‐tutee pairings in her work and proposes a number of ways in which her small‐scale enquiry could be taken forward. The implications of this study are, however, very encouraging for practitioners considering the use of peer tutoring in their own environments.
A Madness to Our Method: Congregational Studies as A Cross‐Disciplinary Approach to Contextualizing Teaching and Learning in Theological Education
Authors: Mercer Joyce Ann
Published: June 2006

Abstract.  This article explores congregational studies as a valuable teaching tool for contextualizing theological education across disciplines. As a form of pedagogy, congregational studies situates learning in a particular local ministry context. In addition, such a pedagogy apprentices learners within a particular “community of practice”– namely, that of professional church leaders of various types (lay, clergy, professional educators, etc.) having the knowledge and skills that allow them to read diverse contexts of ministry and improvise appropriate and faithful strategies of action within those contexts. After describing one seminary teaching experience in which congregational studies methods formed the pedagogical framework for an interdisciplinary course on the Bible and religious education, the article puts forward a practice‐based theory of adult learning to explain why congregational studies methods are particularly helpful to adult learners engaged in theological education. The article concludes by briefly addressing some problems and limitations to pedagogical processes based upon congregational studies. (The research for this article and its writing were supported by a grant from the Wabash Center for which I am deeply appreciative. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion’s Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section.)
A BETTER LIFE THROUGH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY? THE TECHNO‐THEOLOGICAL ESCHATOLOGY OF POSTHUMAN SPECULATIVE SCIENCE
Authors: DeLashmutt Michael W.
Published: June 2006

Abstract. The depiction of human identity in the pop‐science futurology of engineer/inventor Ray Kurzweil, the speculative robotics of Carnegie Mellon roboticist Hans Moravec, and the physics of Tulane University mathematics professor Frank Tipler elevate technology, especially information technology, to a point of ultimate significance. For these three figures, information technology offers the potential means by which the problem of human and cosmic finitude can be rectified. Although Moravec's vision of intelligent robots, Kurzweil's hope for immanent human immorality, and Tipler's description of humanlike von Neumann machines colonizing the very material fabric of the universe all may appear to be nothing more than science fictional musings, they raise genuine questions as to the relationship between science, technology, and religion as regards issues of personal and cosmic eschatology. In an attempt to correct what I see as the cybernetic totalism inherent in these techno‐theologies, I argue for a theology of technology that seeks to interpret technology hermeneutically and grounds human creativity in the broader context of divine creative activity.
CYBORG: MYTH OR REALITY?
Authors: Geertsema Henk G.
Published: June 2006

Abstract. The idea of cyborg often is taken as a token for the distinction between human and machine having become irrelevant. In this essay I argue against that view. I critically analyze empirical arguments, theoretical reflections, and ultimate convictions that are supposed to support the idea. I show that empirical arguments at this time rather point in a different direction and that theoretical views behind it are at least questionable. I also show that the ultimate convictions presupposed deny basic tenets of traditional Christianity, while their claim to be based on science confuses scientific results with their interpretation on the basis of a naturalistic world‐view.
Changing Understandings of ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ in Higher Education: the United Kingdom Case
Authors: Tight Malcolm
Published: June 2006

Where does higher education in the United Kingdom sit today in terms of the public–private distinction, and what does that distinction mean in the higher education context? This article considers these questions and related issues, noting how the particular example of the United Kingdom compares with other systems internationally. Following a historical exploration of the meaning of ‘public’, ‘private’ and other related terms, an examination is undertaken of their currency during the post‐war period in the UK higher education system. This is exemplified through an analysis of the two major British higher education reports of the last 50 years – the Robbins Report of 1963 and the Dearing Report of 1997. It is argued that the contemporary UK higher education system could be seen as suffering from the worst of both worlds, trapped between and suffering from the seemingly contrary pressures of privatisation and nationalisation.
Does scientific conjecture accurately describe restoration practice? Insight from an international river restoration survey
Authors: Wheaton Joseph M , Darby Stephen E , Sear David A , Milne Jim A
Published: June 2006

Few sources exist to draw generalizations about the incredibly diverse international river restoration community. Generalizations in the restoration literature tend to be grounded on individual experiences or logical conjecture. To fill this perceived gap, an international web‐based survey was launched. Over 500 respondents from 37 different countries participated. The results, posted on the web, act as a database of perceptions and individual experiences, from which the restoration community can make their own interpretations. With three examples, we contrast scientific conjecture with the perceptions of the restoration community who participated in this survey.
Collaborating for New Product Development: Selecting the Partner with Maximum Potential to Create Value
Authors: Emden Zeynep , Calantone Roger J. , Droge Cornelia
Published: June 2006

The partner selection process in the formation stages of collaborative new product development (NPD) is a neglected topic. The present study investigated the partner selection processes to ascertain the potential of creating competitively advantageous products through collaboration. The goal was to develop a process theory of partner selection for collaborative NPD alliances using a theory development approach. The literatures on NPD, interfirm knowledge transfer and generation, and interorganizational relationships were tapped. These literatures motivated the approach and the research questions. Parallel with the analysis of the literature, a series of case study interviews were conducted with managers currently in collaborative dyads. Managers' inputs were used (1) to guide the theory development process and (2) to validate the relevance of the literature‐based assertions. The method of narrative analysis for building theory from case studies was adopted: Multiple indicators were collapsed into single constructs, and recurring sequences or divergences were analyzed. This resulted in the unveiling of phases in the partner selection process. The study's findings suggest that technological alignment of the partners triggered the partner‐evaluation process. This phase was followed, in order, by the strategic alignment and relational alignment phases. These later phases were as important as the initial phase in ensuring the transfer and integration of critical know‐how and in creating product value through collaboration. In addition to clarifying the definition of codevelopment alliances, this study reveals a comprehensive theoretical model of the technological, strategic, and relational aspects of partner selection in codevelopment alliances, as well as the order in which these aspects are practiced.
The Effects of Formal Controls on Supervisee Trust in the Manager in New Product Selling: Evidence from Young and Inexperienced Salespeople in China*
Authors: Atuahene‐Gima Kwaku , Li Haiyang
Published: June 2006

How should sales managers enhance the support and commitment of young, inexperienced salespeople during a new product selling? Some scholars have suggested sales managers should use formal controls (i.e., output and process controls) to develop the salespeople's trust in their benevolence. Drawing on a sample of young, inexperienced salespeople with rather low education selling new products in China's competitive, volatile, and transitional economic environment, the present study investigates the relationship between output and process controls and supervisee trust (i.e., the salesperson's trust in the sales manager). The empirical results of the study suggest that process and output controls have differential effects on supervisee trust. Specifically, the results indicate that process control enhances supervisee trust by itself and also under conditions of intense training for new product selling and when market volatility is perceived as high. However, process control hinders supervisee trust when the manager is long‐term oriented and engages in participative supervision. It was found that output control engenders supervisee trust when the manager is long‐term oriented but hinders supervisee trust when salespeople have undergone intensive training for new product selling. Implications of these results are provided for both researchers and practitioners involved in launching and selling new products.
Levels of matrix metalloproteinases‐8 and ‐9 with simultaneous presence of periodontal pathogens in gingival crevicular fluid as well as matrix metalloproteinase‐9 and cholesterol in blood
Authors: Söder B. , Airila Månsson S. , Söder P‐Ö , Kari K , Meurman J
Published: June 2006

Background and Objectives:  To investigate the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) ‐8 and ‐9 with the simultaneous presence of periodontal pathogens in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) as well as MMP‐9 and cholesterol in blood. Although bacterial pathogens are required to initiate the periodontal disease process, in some individuals the reaction to bacteria may lead to an excessive host response, resulting in a general inflammatory response.

Methods:  MMP‐9 and lipids were analyzed from the blood samples of 33 subjects with a 16‐year history and oral health records of periodontal disease as well as from 31 periodontally healthy controls. Information was obtained on education, body mass index, and family history of atherosclerosis. GCF was taken to determine MMP‐8 and MMP‐9 levels, and bacterial samples were simultaneously collected for polymerase chain reaction assessment of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola. Analysis of variance, chi‐squared test, and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the results.

Results:  Demographic data showed significant differences between patients and controls in smoking (P < 0.01), body mass index (P < 0.05), family history of atherosclerotic disease (P < 0.01), and education (P < 0.01). Significant differences were also observed in oral health data, in the detection of P. gingivalis (P < 0.001), P. intermedia (P < 0.01), P nigrescens (P < 0.001), and T. forsythia (P < 0.001) and in the levels of MMP‐8 and MMP‐9 in GCF between patients and controls. T. forsythia[odds ratio(OR) 10.1; P = 0.001] and age (OR 5.54; P = 0.008) appeared to be the main independent predictors for high MMP‐8 in GCF. Patients had significantly higher total cholesterol (P < 0.01), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.05), and triglycerides (P < = 0.01) than controls. Plasma levels of MMP‐9 were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P = 0.001).

Conclusions:  Specific periodontal microorganisms appeared to induce host response, with increased release of MMP‐8 and MMP‐9 in gingival pockets as well as of MMP‐9 in plasma, possibly triggering its up‐regulation in blood.
The effect of Emdogain® on the growth and differentiation of rat bone marrow cells
Authors: Van Den Dolder J. , Vloon A. P. G. , Jansen J. A.
Published: June 2006

Background and Objective:  The major extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in developing enamel can induce and maintain the formation and mineralization of other skeletal hard tissue, such as bone. Therefore, dental matrix proteins are ideal therapeutic agents when direct formation of functional bone is required for a successful clinical outcome. Emdogain® (EMD) consists of enamel matrix proteins which are known to stimulate bone formation. However, only a few studies in the literature have reported the effect of EMD on osteoblast‐like cells in vitro.

Material and Methods:  In this study, rat bone marrow cells, obtained from the femora of Wistar rats, were precultured for 7 d in osteogenic medium. Then, the cells were harvested and seeded in 24‐well plates at a concentration of 20,000 cells/well. The wells were either precoated with 100 µg/ml EMD, or left uncoated. The seeded cells were cultured in osteogenic medium for 32 d and analysed for cell attachment (by using the Live and Dead assay), cell growth (by determining DNA content) and cell differentiation (by measuring alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium content, and by using scanning electron microscopy and the reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction).

Results:  The results showed that at the 4‐h time point of the experiment, more cells were attached to EMD‐negative wells, but this effect was no longer apparent at 24 h. DNA analysis revealed that both groups showed a similar linear trend of cell growth. No differences in alkaline phosphatase activity or calcium content were observed, and no differences in gene expression (osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase and collagen type I) were found between the groups.

Conclusion:  Based on our results, we conclude that EMD had no significant effect on the cell growth and differentiation of rat bone marrow cells.
Extracting Sequence Motifs and the Phylogenetic Features of SNARE‐Dependent Membrane Traffic
Authors: Yoshizawa Akiyasu C. , Kawashima Shuichi , Okuda Shujiro , Fujita Masashi , Itoh Masumi , Moriya Yuki , Hattori Masahiro , Kanehisa Minoru
Published: June 2006

The SNARE proteins are required for membrane fusion during intracellular vesicular transport and for its specificity. Only the unique combination of SNARE proteins (cognates) can be bound and can lead to membrane fusion, although the characteristics of the possible specificity of the binding combinations encoded in the SNARE sequences have not yet been determined. We discovered by whole genome sequence analysis that sequence motifs (conserved sequences) in the SNARE motif domains for each protein group correspond to localization sites or transport pathways. We claim that these motifs reflect the specificity of the binding combinations of SNARE motif domains. Using these motifs, we could classify SNARE proteins from 48 organisms into their localization sites or transport pathways. The classification result shows that more than 10 SNARE subgroups are kingdom specific and that the SNARE paralogs involved in the plasma membrane‐related transport pathways have developed greater variations in higher animals and higher plants than those involved in the endoplasmic reticulum‐related transport pathways throughout eukaryotic evolution.
Barriers to Fertility Regulation: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Campbell Martha , Sahin‐Hodoglugil Nuriye Nalan , Potts Malcolm
Published: June 2006

The evidence in the demographic and family planning literature of the range and diversity of the barriers to fertility regulation in many developing countries is reviewed in this article from a consumer perspective. Barriers are defined as the constraining factors standing between women and the realistic availability of the technologies and correct information they need in order to decide whether and when to have a child. The barriers include limited method choice, financial costs, the status of women, medical and legal restrictions, provider bias, and misinformation. The presence or absence of barriers to fertility regulation is likely an important determinant of the pace of fertility decline or its delay in many countries. At the same time, barriers inhibit women's ability to avoid unintended pregnancy. Problems of quantifying barriers limit understanding of their importance. New ways to quantify them and to identify misinformation, which is often concealed in survey data, are needed for future research.
The Role of Real Options in Capital Budgeting: Theory and Practice1
Authors: McDonald Robert L.
Published: June 2006

Most discussions of capital budgeting take for granted that discounted cash flow (DCF) and real options valuation (ROV) are very different methods that are meant to be applied in different circumstances. Such discussions also typically assume that DCF is “easy” and ROV is “hard”—or at least dauntingly unfamiliar—and that, mainly for this reason, managers often use DCF and rarely ROV. This paper argues that all three assumptions are wrong or at least seriously misleading.

DCF and ROV both assign a present value to risky future cash flows. DCF entails discounting expected future cash flows at the expected return on an asset of comparable risk. ROV uses “risk‐neutral” valuation, which means computing expected cash flows based on “risk‐neutral” probabilities and discounting these flows at the risk‐free rate. Using a series of single‐period examples, the author demonstrates that both methods, when done correctly, should provide the same answer. Moreover, in most ROV applications—those where there is no forward price or “replicating portfolio” of traded assets—a “preliminary” DCF valuation is required to perform the risk‐neutral valuation.

So why use ROV at all? In cases where project risk and the discount rates are expected to change over time, the risk‐neutral ROV approach will be easier to implement than DCF (since adjusting cash flow probabilities is more straightforward than adjusting discount rates). The author uses multi‐period examples to illustrate further both the simplicity of ROV and the strong assumptions required for a typical DCF valuation.

But the simplicity that results from discounting with risk‐free rates is not the only benefit of using ROV instead of—or together with—traditional DCF. The use of formal ROV techniques may also encourage managers to think more broadly about the flexibility that is (or can be) built into future business decisions, and thus to choose from a different set of possible investments. To the extent that managers who use ROV have effectively adopted a different business model, there is a real and important difference between the two valuation techniques. Consistent with this possibility, much of the evidence from both surveys and academic studies of managerial behavior and market pricing suggests that managers and investors implicitly take account of real options when making investment decisions.
How Kimberly‐Clark Uses Real Options
Authors: Amram Martha , Li Fanfu , Perkins Cheryl A.
Published: June 2006

During the past five years, Kimberly‐Clark (K‐C) has faced a familiar management challenge: How can senior managers bring the rigor and discipline used to make daily operating decisions to the uncertain and risky world of innovation? The challenge was particularly acute at K‐C because the company is well known for its reliance on Return On Invested Capital (ROIC) and Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), both measures that are widely believed to lead to undervaluation of projects with risky upside potential.

This article discusses how and why K‐C adopted and now uses the real options approach to project evaluation and management. The authors also share some lessons learned during the adoption process, including how the company adapted the real options framework to its own circumstances and requirements. The K‐C experience shows that successful adoption rests on a number of factors that have less to do with the rigor or precision of quantitative models than with matters of corporate process and organizational design.
Expectations‐Based Management
Authors: Copeland Tom , Dolgoff Aaron
Published: June 2006

The authors begin by summarizing the results of their recently published study of the relation between stock returns and changes in several annual performance measures, including not only growth in earnings and EVA, but changes during the year in analysts' expectations about future earnings over three different periods: (1) the current year; (2) the following year; and (3) the three‐year period thereafter. The last of these measures—changes in analysts' expectations about three‐ to five‐year earnings—had by far the greatest explanatory “power” of any of the measures tested.

Besides being consistent with the stock market's taking a long‐term, DCF approach to the valuation of companies, the authors' finding that investors seem to care most about earnings three to five years down the road has a number of important implications for financial management: First, a business unit doesn't necessarily create shareholder value if its return on capital exceeds the weighted average cost of capital—nor does an operation that fails to earn its WACC necessarily reduce value. To create value, the business's return must exceed what investors are expecting. Second, without forecasting returns on capital, management should attempt to give investors a clear sense of the firm's internal benchmarks, both for existing businesses and new investment. Third, management incentive plans should be based on stock ownership rather than stock options. Precisely because stock prices reflect expectations, the potential for prices to get ahead of realities gives options‐laden managers a strong temptation to manipulate earnings and manage for the short term.
Forensic Science
Authors: Giannelli Paul C.
Published: June 2006

The United States Supreme Court has long recognized the value of scientific evidence – especially when compared to other types of evidence such as eyewitness identifications, confessions, and informant testimony. For example, inEscobedo v. Illinois, the Court observed: “We have learned the lesson of history, ancient and modern, that a system of criminal law enforcement which comes to depend on the –confession— will, in the long run, be less reliable and more subject to abuses than a system which depends on extrinsic evidence independently secured through skillful investigation.” Similarly, inDavis v. Mississippi, the Court commented:

Detention for fingerprinting may constitute a much less serious intrusion upon personal security than other types of police searches and detentions. Fingerprinting involves none of the probing into an individual's private life and thoughts that marks an interrogation or search. Nor can fingerprint detention be employed repeatedly to harass any individual, since the police need only one set of each person's prints. Furthermore, fingerprinting is an inherently more reliable and effective crime-solving tool than eyewitness identifications or confessions and is not subject to such abuses as the improper line-up and the “third degree.”
Ethical Issues in Secondary Uses of Human Biological Materials from Mass Disasters
Authors: Knoppers Bartha Maria , Saginur Madelaine , Cash Howard
Published: June 2006

In the trauma surrounding mass disasters, the need to identify victims accurately and as soon as possible is critical. DNA identification testing is increasingly used to identify human bodies and remains where the deceased cannot be identified by traditional means. This form of testing compares DNA taken from the body of the deceased with DNA taken from their personal items (e.g. hairbrush, toothbrush etc.) or from close biological relatives. DNA identification testing was used to identify the victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, and of the victims of the Tsunami that hit Asia on December 26, 2004. Shortly after the 9/11 attack, police investigators asked the victims' families for personal items belonging to the missing, and for DNA samples from family members themselves. The New York medical examiner's office coordinated the DNA identification testing program; however, some of the identification work was contracted out to private laboratories.
Embedding employee involvement and participation at work
Authors: Cox Annette , Zagelmeyer Stefan , Marchington Mick
Published: June 2006

Most quantitative studies analysing the nature and impact of employee involvement and participation (EIP) have used data that differentiate between its absence and presence. However, the application of EIP practices varies substantially, and impact may depend on how embedded EIP is at workplace level. Developing the concept of ‘embeddedness’ as a combination of measures of the breadth and depth of EIP practices, we use WERS98 to examine the impact of EIP on employee perceptions. Our results show support for propositions that greater breadth and depth of EIP practices are associated with higher levels of organisational commitment and job satisfaction.
Dark adaptation of human rod bipolar cells measured from the b‐wave of the scotopic electroretinogram
Authors: Cameron A. M. , Mahroo O. A. R. , Lamb T. D.
Published: June 2006

To examine the dark adaptation of human rod bipolar cells in vivo, we recorded ganzfeld ERGs to (a) a family of flashes of increasing intensity, (b) dim test flashes presented on a range of background intensities, and (c) dim test flashes presented before, and up to 40 min after, exposure to intense illumination eliciting bleaches from a few per cent to near total. The dim flash ERG was characterized by a prominent b‐wave response generated principally by rod bipolar cells. In the presence of background illumination the response reached peak earlier and desensitized according to Weber's Law. Following bleaching exposures, the response was initially greatly desensitized, but thereafter recovered slowly with time. For small bleaches, the desensitization was accompanied by acceleration, in much the same way as for real light. Following a near‐total bleach, the response was unrecordable for >10 min, but after ∼23 min half‐maximal sensitivity was reached, and full sensitivity was restored between ∼35 and 40 min. With smaller bleaches, recovery commenced earlier. We converted the post‐bleach measurements of desensitization into ‘equivalent background intensities’ using a Crawford transformation. Across the range of bleaching levels, the results were described by a prominent ‘S2’ component (0.24 decades min−1) together with a smaller and slower ‘S3’ component (0.06 decades min−1), as is found for dark adaptation of the scotopic visual system. We attribute the S2 component to the presence of unregenerated opsin, and we speculate that the S3 component results from ion channel closure by all‐trans retinal.
Calcium channel and glutamate receptor activities regulate actin organization in salamander retinal neurons
Authors: Cristofanilli Massimiliano , Akopian Abram
Published: June 2006

Intracellular Ca2+ regulates a variety of neuronal functions, including neurotransmitter release, protein phosphorylation, gene expression and synaptic plasticity. In a variety of cell types, including neurons, Ca2+ is involved in actin reorganization, resulting in either actin polymerization or depolymerization. Very little, however, is known about the relationship between Ca2+ and the actin cytoskeleton organization in retinal neurons. We studied the effect of high‐K+‐induced depolarization on F‐actin organization in salamander retina and found that Ca2+ influx through voltage‐gated L‐type channels causes F‐actin disruption, as assessed by 53 ± 5% (n= 23, P < 0.001) reduction in the intensity of staining with Alexa‐Fluor488‐phalloidin, a compound that permits visualization and quantification of polymerized actin. Calcium‐induced F‐actin depolymerization was attenuated in the presence of protein kinase C antagonists, chelerythrine or bis‐indolylmaleimide hydrochloride (GF 109203X). In addition, phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA), but not 4α‐PMA, mimicked the effect of Ca2+ influx on F‐actin. Activation of ionotropic AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors also caused a reduction in F‐actin. No effect on F‐actin was exerted by caffeine or thapsigargin, agents that stimulate Ca2+ release from internal stores. In whole‐cell recording from a slice preparation, light‐evoked ‘off’ but not ‘on’ EPSCs in ‘on–off’ ganglion cells were reduced by 60 ± 8% (n= 8, P < 0.01) by cytochalasin D. These data suggest that elevation of intracellular Ca2+ during excitatory synaptic activity initiates a cascade for activity‐dependent actin remodelling, which in turn may serve as a feedback mechanism to attenuate excitotoxic Ca2+ accumulation induced by synaptic depolarization.
Hierarchical Arrangement of Characteristics in Product Design Optimization
Authors: Yoshimura Masataka , Taniguchi Masahiko , Izui Kazuhiro , Nishiwaki Shinji
Published: June 2006

This paper proposes a machine product design optimization method based on the decomposition of performance characteristics, or alternatively, extraction of simpler characteristics, that is especially responsive to the detailed features or difficulties presented by specific design problems. The optimization problems examined here are expressed using hierarchical constructions of the decomposed and extracted characteristics and the optimizations are sequentially repeated, starting with groups of characteristics having conflicting characteristics at the lowest hierarchical level and proceeding to higher levels. The proposed method not only effectively provides optimum design solutions, but also facilitates deeper insight into the design optimization results, so that ideas for optimum solution breakthroughs are more easily obtained. An applied example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The Synthesis of the Pitch Surfaces of Internal and External Skew-Gears and Their Racks
Authors: Figliolini Giorgio , Angeles Jorge
Published: June 2006

The synthesis of the pitch surfaces of any pair of external and internal skew gears, using dual algebra and the principle of transference, is the subject of this paper. The spatial motion of the Euclidean space is transferred to the dual space in order to obtain a simplified dual spherical motion, thus emulating the motion of bevel gears. The relative screw motion is hence analyzed by determining the position of the instant screw axis and the angular and sliding velocities. Moreover, the hyperboloid pitch surfaces of the driving and driven gears are synthesized, along with the helicoid pitch surface of their rack. Several numerical results are reported.
Robust Design of Compressor Fan Blades Against Erosion
Authors: Kumar Apurva , Keane Andy J. , Nair Prasanth B. , Shahpar Shahrokh
Published: June 2006

This paper is concerned with robust aerodynamic design of compressor blades against erosion. The proposed approach combines a multiobjective genetic algorithm with geometry modeling methods, high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics, and surrogate models to arrive at robust designs on a limited computational budget. The multiobjective formulation used here allows explicit trade-off between the mean and variance of the performance to be carried out. Detailed numerical studies are presented for robust geometric design of a typical compressor fan blade section to illustrate the proposed methodology. The performance of a selected robust optimal solution on the Pareto front is compared to a deterministic optimal solution to demonstrate that significant improvements in the mean shift and variance can be achieved.
Multi-Objective Single Product Robust Optimization: An Integrated Design and Marketing Approach
Authors: Besharati B. , Luo L. , Azarm S. , Kannan P. K.
Published: June 2006

We present an integrated design and marketing approach to facilitate the generation of an optimal robust set of product design alternatives to carry forward to the prototyping stage. The approach considers variability in both (i) engineering design domain, and (ii) customer preferences in marketing domain. In the design domain, the approach evaluates performance and robustness of a design alternative due to variations in its uncontrollable parameters. In the marketing domain, in addition to considering competitive product offerings, the approach considers designs that are robust in customer preferences with respect to: (1) the variations in the design domain, and (2) the inherent variations in the estimates of preferences given the fit of the preference model to the sampled data. Our overall goal is to obtain design alternatives that are multi-objectively robust and optimal, i.e., (1) are optimal for nominal values of parameters, and (2) are within a known acceptable range in their multi-objective performance, and (3) maintain feasibility even when they are subject to applications and environments that are different from nominal or standard laboratory conditions. We illustrate the highlights of our approach with the design of a corded power tool example.
Implicit Uncertainty Propagation for Robust Collaborative Optimization
Authors: (Stacey) Gu Xiaoyu , Renaud John E. , Penninger Charles L.
Published: June 2006

In this research we develop a mathematical construct for estimating uncertainties within the bilevel optimization framework of collaborative optimization. The collaborative optimization strategy employs decomposition techniques that decouple analysis tools in order to facilitate disciplinary autonomy and parallel execution. To ensure consistency of the physical artifact being designed, interdisciplinary consistency constraints are introduced at the system level. These constraints implicitly enforce multidisciplinary consistency when satisfied. The decomposition employed in collaborative optimization prevents the use of explicit propagation techniques for estimating uncertainties of system performance. In this investigation, we develop and evaluate an implicit method for estimating system performance uncertainties within the collaborative optimization framework. The methodology accounts for both the uncertainty associated with design inputs and the uncertainty of performance predictions from other disciplinary simulation tools. These implicit uncertainty estimates are used as the basis for a new robust collaborative optimization (RCO) framework. The bilevel robust optimization strategy developed in this research provides for disciplinary autonomy in system design, while simultaneously accounting for performance uncertainties to ensure feasible robustness of the resulting system. The method is effective in locating a feasible robust optimum in application studies involving a multidisciplinary aircraft concept sizing problem. The system-level consistency constraint formulation used in this investigation avoids the computational difficulties normally associated with convergence in collaborative optimization. The consistency constraints are formulated to have the inherent properties necessary for convergence of general nonconvex problems when performing collaborative optimization.
Lifetime occupation and physical function: a prospective cohort study on persons aged 80 years and older living in a community
Authors: Russo A , Onder G , Cesari M , Zamboni V , Barillaro C , Capoluongo E , Pahor M , Bernabei R , Landi F
Published: June 2006

Background:Several studies have reported predictors for loss of mobility and impairments of physical performance among frail elderly people.

Aim:To evaluate the relationship between lifetime occupation and physical function in persons aged 80 years or older.

Methods:Data are from baseline evaluation of 364 subjects enrolled in theilSIRENTEstudy (a prospective cohort study performed in a mountain community in Central Italy). Physical performance was assessed using the physical performance battery score, which is based on three timed tests: 4-metre walking speed, balance, and chair stand tests. Muscle strength was measured by hand grip strength. Lifetime occupation was categorised as manual or non-manual work.

Results:Mean age of participants was 85.9 (SD 4.9) years. Of the total sample, 273 subjects (75%) had a history of manual work and 91 subjects (25%) a history of non-manual work. Manual workers had significant lower grip strength and physical performance battery score (indicating worse performance) than non-manual workers. After adjustment for potential confounders (including age, gender, education, depression, cognitive performance scale score, physical activity, number of diseases, hearing impairment, history of alcohol abuse, smoking habit, and haemoglobin level), manual workers had significantly worse physical function (hand grip strength: non-manual workers 32.5 kg, SE 1.4, manual workers 28.2 kg, SE 0.8; physical performance battery score: non-manual workers 7.1, SE 0.4, manual workers 6.1, SE 0.2).

Conclusions:A history of manual work, especially when associated with high physical stress, is independently associated with low physical function and muscle strength in older persons.
DIFFERENTIAL GEOMETRY AND MECHANICS: APPLICATIONS TO CHAOTIC DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
Authors: GINOUX JEAN-MARC , ROSSETTO BRUNO
Published: June 2006

The aim of this article is to highlight the interest to apply Differential Geometry and Mechanics concepts to chaotic dynamical systems study. Thus, the local metric properties of curvature and torsion will directly provide the analytical expression of the slow manifold equation of slow-fast autonomous dynamical systems starting from kinematics variables (velocity, acceleration and over-acceleration or jerk).

The attractivity of the slow manifold will be characterized thanks to a criterion proposed by Henri Poincaré. Moreover, the specific use of acceleration will make it possible on the one hand to define slow and fast domains of the phase space and on the other hand, to provide an analytical equation of the slow manifold towards which all the trajectories converge. The attractive slow manifold constitutes a part of these dynamical systems attractor. So, in order to propose a description of the geometrical structure of attractor, a new manifold called singular manifold will be introduced. Various applications of this new approach to the models of Van der Pol, cubic-Chua, Lorenz, and Volterra–Gause are proposed.
n-DOUBLE SCROLLS IN SC-CNN CIRCUIT VIA DIODE-BASED PWL FUNCTION
Authors: GÜNAY ENIS , ALÇI MUSTAFA
Published: June 2006

In this paper n-double scroll generating via diode-based PieceWise-Linear (PWL) circuit in State Controlled Cellular Neural Network (SC-CNN) is presented. It has been shown that by using simple diode-based configurations; alternative nonlinear circuit configurations for chaotic circuits and PWL-based systems can be used in the generation of n-double scrolls. With this study, while the analysis of the nonlinear block in the SC-CNN-based circuit is simplified, the implementation cost of the circuit is also reduced. Pspice simulations are proved with experimental studies.
PROJECTIVE SYNCHRONIZATION OF UNIDENTICAL CHAOTIC SYSTEMS BASED ON STABILITY CRITERION
Authors: YU HONGJIE , PENG JIANHUA , LIU YANZHU
Published: June 2006

A new method of projective synchronization of unidentical chaotic systems is proposed in this letter. This method is based on the stability criterion of linear systems. The response of two unidentical chaotic systems can synchronize up to any desired scaling factor by a suitable separation of the systems. The new method of projective synchronization is suitable not only for the three-dimensional coupled partially linear systems, but also for higher dimensional even hyperchaotic systems. The simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed method are illustrated by the Lorenz system, the four-dimensional partially linear system, the four-dimensional hyperchaotic Rösser system and Chua's circuit system as four numerical examples.
A mechanical model for adjustable passive stiffness in rabbit detrusor
Authors: Speich John E. , Quintero Kevin , Dosier Christopher , Borgsmiller Lindsey , Koo Harry P. , Ratz Paul H.
Published: June 2006

Strips of rabbit detrusor smooth muscle (DSM) exhibit adjustable passive stiffness characterized by strain softening: a loss of stiffness on stretch to a new length distinct from viscoelastic behavior. At the molecular level, strain softening appears to be caused by cross-link breakage and is essentially irreversible when DSM is maintained under passive conditions (i.e., when cross bridges are not cycling to produce active force). However, on DSM activation, strain softening is reversible and likely due to cross-link reformation. Thus DSM displays adjustable passive stiffness that is dependent on the history of both muscle strain and activation. The present study provides empirical data showing that, in DSM, 1) passive isometric force relaxation includes a very slow component requiring hours to approach steady state, 2) the level of passive force maintained at steady state is less if the tissue has previously been strain softened, and 3) tissues subjected to a quick-release protocol exhibit a biphasic response consisting of passive force redevelopment followed by force relaxation. To explain these and previously identified characteristics, a mechanical model for adjustable passive stiffness is proposed based on the addition of a novel cross-linking element to a hybrid Kelvin/Voigt viscoelastic model.