bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS OF MELATONIN ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN STRESS‐INDUCED HYPERTENSION IN RATS
Authors: Xia Chun‐Mei , Shao Ci‐Hui , Xin Lin , Wang Yang‐Rong , Ding Chao‐Nan , Wang Jin , Shen Lin‐Lin , Li Li , Cao Yin‐Xiang , Zhu Da‐Nian
Published: July 2008

Melatonin, acting through its receptors, is involved in numerous physiological processes, including blood pressure (BP) regulation. In present study, the effect of melatonin inhibition on stress‐induced hypertension was investigated.

The hypertensive model consisted of male Sprague‐Dawley rats subjected to electrical foot‐shock combined with noise. Microinjection of melatonin (0.1 and 1.0 mmol/L) into the anterior hypothalamic area (AHA) produced a fall in BP in nomortensive rats and stress‐induced hypertensive rats (SIHR). Luzindole (10 mmol/L), a competitive antagonist of melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors, almost completely abolished the depressor effect of melatonin, the MT2 receptor‐specific antagonist 4‐phenyl‐2‐propionamidotetralin (10 mmol/L) partially blocked (by approximately 60%) the depressor effect of melatonin, whereas the MT3 receptor‐selective antagonist prazosin (10 mmol/L) failed to antagonize the effects of melatonin.

Brain microdialysis was performed in the AHA and the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). Melatonin and amino acids in the dialysate samples collected were detected by high‐performance liquid chromatography combined with fluorescence detection. The results indicated that melatonin concentrations in the AHA were reduced in SIHR. Microinjection of melatonin into the AHA decreased glutamate release and increased GABA and taurine release in the RVLM, which were paralleled by a decrease in arterial pressure.

The mRNA expression of MT2 in the AHA of SIHR was higher than that in normotensive control rats, whereas there was no significant difference in MT1 mRNA expressin between the two groups.

The results of the present study suggest that both a decrease of melatonin and an increase in the MT2 receptor in the AHA are involved in the manifestation of stress‐induced hypertension. Both MT1 and MT2 receptors participated in the antihypertensive effect of melatonin in the AHA. The antihypertensive effect of melatonin was related to the decreases in the excitatory amino acid glutamate and increases in the inhibitory amino acids taurine and GABA in the RVLM.
EVIDENCE THAT INHIBITION OF SPINAL NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTES TO THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECTS OF EMULSIFIED ISOFLURANE ON FORMALIN‐INDUCED PAIN IN RATS
Authors: Ge Zhi‐Jun , Tan Yong‐Fei , Zhao Yan‐Ping , Cui Guo‐Xing
Published: July 2008

The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of spinal nitric oxide (NO) to the antinociceptive effects of emulsified isofluane in rats.

The formalin test was used to assess nociceptive responses. Immunocytochemistry and histochemistry were performed to determine the effects of emulsified isoflurane on formalin‐induced changes in Fos‐like immunoreactive (Fos‐LI)‐ and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatediaphorase (NADPH‐d)‐positive neurons, respectively.

The results showed that emulsified isofluane, administered intraperitoneally, significantly decreased the formalin‐induced paw licking time and that this was attenuated by pretreatment with intrathecal injection of the NO precursor l‐arginine. Furthermore, Fos‐LI‐ and NADPH‐d‐positive neurons were mainly found in the ipsilateral dorsal horn after injection of formalin, some of which were Fos‐LI/NADPH‐d double‐labelled neurons.

Administration of emulsified isofluane significantly decreased Fos‐LI‐ and NADPH‐d‐positive, as well as Fos‐LI/NADPH‐d double‐labelled, neurons. Finally, emulsified isofluane produced a significant reduction of NOS activity and a decrease of NO production in the spinal cord of formalin‐treated rats.

In conclusion, the results suggest that inhibition of spinal NO production contributes to the antinociceptive effects of emulsified isofluane on formalin‐induced pain in rats.
New paradigms for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Fung James , Lai Ching‐Lung , Yuen Man‐Fung
Published: July 2008

The main goals of chronic hepatitis B treatment should be the long‐term suppression of viral replication to minimize disease progression and the risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment end‐points, depending on surrogate markers alone, in particular hepatitis B e‐antigen seroconversion, may not be ideal for patients who acquire the disease early in life.

Currently‐available drugs include interferons and oral nucleoside/nucleotide analogs. Although interferon therapy provides a finite treatment period, a significant proportion of patients may not respond, and long‐term outcome is inconclusive. Long‐term efficacy has been demonstrated for both lamivudine and adefovir. However, prolonged nucleoside/nucleotide analog therapy is associated with the emergence of drug‐resistant mutations. Therefore, nucleoside/nucleotide analogs with a high genetic barrier and potent antiviral activity, such as entecavir, should be used to reduce the chance of developing drug‐resistant mutations. Drugs with a low genetic barrier, including lamivudine and telbivudine, should be used in conjunction with early testing for antiviral response. This can predict favorable outcomes in the long term. The early detection of drug‐resistant mutations should prompt clinicians to either add or switch to another agent with a different drug‐resistance profile. There are currently no treatment models in the use of combination or sequential therapy in treatment‐naïve patients.

To date, long‐term treatment appears to be the most effective option. Despite recent advances made with better understanding on the natural history of chronic hepatitis B infection and with newer antiviral drugs available, challenges remain with respect to treatment criteria, treatment end‐points, and duration of treatment.
Ruggero Oddi: 120 years after the description of the eponymous sphincter: A story to be remembered
Authors: Capodicasa Enrico
Published: July 2008

This article presents a short account of theories, methods, and experimental data formulated and carried out 120 years ago, by Ruggero Oddi, then a 4th‐year student in medicine, about the identification of the common bile duct sphincter. A historical picture emerges which leads us to think that Oddi not only discovered the bile duct sphincter, but also described bile duct dilation after cholecystectomy and performed biliary manometry for the first time. The role of serendipity and the almost unknown contribution of Arturo Marcacci, Oddi's “maestro” are also mentioned.
Mechanism for gastric cancer development by Helicobacter pylori infection
Authors: Chiba Tsutomu , Marusawa Hiroyuki , Seno Hiroshi , Watanabe Norihiko
Published: July 2008

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection plays a crucial role in the development of gastric cancer. There are two major pathways for the development of gastric cancer by H. pylori infection: the indirect action of H. pylori on gastric epithelial cells through inflammation, and the direct action of the bacteria on epithelial cells through the induction of protein modulation and gene mutation. Both pathways work together to promote gastric carcinogenesis.
Evaluation of the prognostic powers of various tumor status grading scales in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Seo Yeon Seok , Kim Young Jin , Um Soon Ho , Yoo Hanna , Lee Jae Won , Kim Yong Sik , Jeen Yoon Tae , Chun Hoon Jai , Kim Chang Duck , Ryu Ho Sang
Published: July 2008

Backgrounds and Aim:  Several tumor status grading scales are available for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which include several tumor‐node‐metastasis (TNM) systems and clinical staging systems, such as Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC). This study was performed to analyze the prognostic powers of these tumor status grading systems in HCC.

Methods:  A retrospective cohort of 499 consecutive patients with HCC was included. The tumor statuses of all patients were classified according to several TNM systems (sixth version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, fourth version of the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan [LCSGJ], and the United Network for Organ Sharing UNOS system) and according to the tumor status grading scales of the BCLC (TBCLC) and CLIP (TCLIP) systems. Prognostic powers were quantified using a linear trend χ2‐test, c‐index, and the likelihood ratio (LHR) χ2‐test, and correlated using Cox's regression model adjusted using the Akaike information criterion (AIC).

Results:  Of the TNM systems, the fourth LCSGJ system had the highest prognostic power (LHR χ2 = 7.20, AIC = 4803.02). However, when TBCLC and TCLIP were included in the analysis, TCLIP showed the best predictive power (LHR χ2 = 29.52, AIC = 4799.82).

Conclusion:  TCLIP had best predictive power in HCC patients of the various tumor staging systems examined. To improve prognostic power, factors other than tumor burden, such as tumor behavior, should be included in the tumor status grading system for HCC.
Prediction value of model for end‐stage liver disease scoring system on prognosis in patients with acute‐on‐chronic hepatitis B liver failure after plasma exchange and lamivudine treatment
Authors: Yu Jian‐Wu , Sun Li‐Jie , Zhao Yong‐Hua , Li Shu‐Chen
Published: July 2008

Background and Aim:  We used the model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) scoring system to predict the 3‐month prognosis of patients with acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF) after plasma exchange (PE) and lamivudine treatment, and studied the predictive factors on the prognosis of patients.

Methods:  A total of 280 patients treated with lamivudine were randomly divided into PE and control groups. The relationship between mortality and influential factors of patients was studied by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Results:  The mortality (49.4%) of patients in the PE group with a MELD score from 30 to 40 was lower than that (86.1%) of the control group (χ2 = 24.546, P < 0.01). The total bilirubin (TBIL) rebound rate of the dead group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (P < 0.01). Univariate analysis showed that mortality was significantly related to age (P = 0.003), treatment method (P = 0.000), TBIL (P = 0.010), MELD score (P = 0.001), international normalised ratio (P = 0.014), pretreatment HBV‐DNA load (P = 0.000), decline of hepatitis B virus (HBV)–DNA load during therapy (P = 0.013), encephalopathy (P = 0.019), and hepatorenal syndrome (P = 0.026). In multivariate analysis, MELD scores of 30–40, treatment method (P = 0.003), pretreatment HBV‐DNA load (P = 0.009), decline of HBV‐DNA load during therapy (P = 0.016), and encephalopathy (P = 0.015) were independent predictors of mortality; for MELD scores above 40, only the MELD score (P = 0.012) was an independent predictive.

Conclusions:  PE significantly decreased the mortality of patients with a MELD score of 30–40. For ACLF patients with a MELD score of 30–40, a low viral load pretreatment and quick decline of HBV‐DNA load are good predictors for the survival with PE and lamivudine treatment.
Solitary pleural plasmacytomas manifested as a massive pleural effusion without evidence of monoclonal gammopathy
Authors: FENG Po Hao , HUANG Chung‐Chi , WANG Chih‐Wei , WU Yao‐Kuang , TSAI Ying‐Huang
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  The majority of extramedullary plasmacytomas involve the upper respiratory tract but only a few are associated with serum monoclonal gammopathy. Most extramedullary plasmacytomas respond to local radiotherapy and have a better prognosis than multiple myeloma. Solitary plasmacytomas, involving the pleura, are very rare. This case report describes a patient with a solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma involving the pleura, and no evidence of serum, urine or pleural fluid paraproteins. Diagnosis was made by strongly positive immunohistochemical stains with CD38, CD138 and MUM‐1 of the pleural tumour. The response to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy was poor and the patient died shortly after diagnosis.
Environmental dust granulometry and microbial load in the presence of tobacco smoke
Authors: MACRINA Gianni , BAROFFIO Michele , BRUNO Barbara , TAZZER Carla , CRIMI Paolo
Published: July 2008

Background and objective:  Several studies describe damage from passive smoking in humans. However, it is not clearly understood how different chemical and physical components relate to mechanisms of damage. This investigation was focused on the particulate phase of environmental cigarette smoke. The size of particles is very important in the inhalation process and subsequent deposition of particles in the airways.

Methods:  The granulometry of suspended dust and bacterial particles was studied in a 120‐m3 no‐smoking room during and after the smoking of one cigarette in ten separate experiments. Granulometry was assessed by a six‐channel particle counter. Suspended microbial load was evaluated by a surface air system. The sedimented bacterial load was evaluated by the air microbial index technique, which expresses the total number of microorganisms settling on a Petri plate under gravity.

Results:  The number of large particles increased during the first minute of smoking, and then decreased to basal levels. The number of medium‐sized particles increased during the first 10 min of cigarette smoking, and then decreased to basal levels. The number of small particles increased over the whole experimental period. Bacterial and mycotic load decreased during and up to 60 min after cigarette smoking. Gram‐positive cocci did not decrease, while chromogenous bacteria and mycetes decreased at 30 min. There was an increase in the numbers of sedimented bacteria and mycetes at 60 min, a decrease at 120 min and stabilization at 180 min.

Conclusions:  Smoking of tobacco accelerates the sedimentation of larger agglomerates of mean‐sized smoke particles and bacteria, which may be re‐suspended by the movement of people in the room and consequently inhaled.
Preventive effects of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, on lipopolysaccharide‐induced lung injury in mice
Authors: TAJIMA Shunji , SODA Manabu , BANDO Masashi , ENOMOTO Munehiro , YAMASAWA Hideaki , OHNO Shoji , TAKADA Toshinori , SUZUKI Eiichi , GEJYO Fumitake , SUGIYAMA Yukihiko
Published: July 2008

Background and objective: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI) and pulmonary fibrosis. It was hypothesized that edaravone, a free radical scavenger, would be able to attenuate LPS‐induced lung injury in mice by decreasing oxidative stress.

Methods: For thein vivoexperiments, lung injury was induced in female BALB/c mice by the intranasal instillation of LPS. Edaravone was given by intraperitoneal administration 1 h before the LPS challenge. For thein vitroexperiments, MH‐S cells (murine alveolar macrophage cell line) were exposed to edaravone, followed by stimulation with LPS.

Results: In the LPS‐induced ALI mouse model, the administration of edaravone attenuated cellular infiltration into and the concentrations of albumin, IL‐6, tumour necrosis factor‐α, keratinocyte‐derived chemokine and macrophage inflammatory protein‐2 in BAL fluid. In addition, thein vitrostudies showed that the elevated IL‐6 secretion from MH‐S cells in response to LPS was significantly attenuated by co‐incubation with edaravone.

Conclusions: In an experimental murine model, a free radical scavenger may prevent ALI via repression of pro‐inflammatory cytokine production by lung macrophages.
Recombinant human erythropoietin reduces epithelial cell apoptosis and attenuates bleomycin‐induced pneumonitis in mice
Authors: YOSHIMI Michihiro , MAEYAMA Takashige , YAMADA Mizuho , HAMADA Naoki , FUKUMOTO Jyutaro , KAWAGUCHI Tomonobu , KUWANO Kazuyoshi , NAKANISHI Yoichi
Published: July 2008

Background and objective:  Erythropoietin (EPO) has recently been demonstrated to have a tissue protective role by acting as an anti‐apoptotic agent in various tissues, such as brain, spinal cord, heart and kidney. The purpose of this study was to determine whether human recombinant EPO reduces epithelial cell apoptosis and attenuates bleomycin‐induced pneumonitis in mice.

Methods:  Bleomycin was instilled intratracheally into C57BL/6 mice. Recombinant human EPO or saline was injected intraperitoneally, daily from day 5 to day 13 after bleomycin instillation.

Results:  EPO receptor was expressed in bronchiolar and alveolar type II cells. At 14 days after instillation, the number of terminal uridine deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end‐labelled positive cells in the lung was decreased, and the histological degree of inflammation and fibrosis was attenuated in mice injected with EPO compared with controls. Expression of phosphorylated Akt and Erk, which are thought to mediate the survival signalling pathway induced by EPO, tended to be increased in lung tissues from mice treated with EPO compared with those from mice treated with saline after bleomycin instillation.

Conclusions:  As it is likely that EPO protects epithelial cells from injury and apoptosis, EPO administration could be a potential therapeutic strategy for the prevention of lung injury.
Bosentan therapy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: The relationship between improvements in 6 minute walk distance and quality of life
Authors: STRANGE Geoff , KEOGH Anne M. , WILLIAMS Trevor J. , WLODARCZYK John , MCNEIL Keith D. , GABBAY Eli
Published: July 2008

Background and objective:  Bosentan, an oral, dual endothelin receptor antagonist, significantly improves functional status, haemodynamic measures and survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, there are limited data on the effect of bosentan on quality of life (QOL) and its relationship to changes in functional status, as measured by the 6 minute walk distance (6MWD).

Methods:  A retrospective analysis was performed of a large, open‐label, multicentre trial (VITAL) of bosentan in patients with PAH. Data for 6MWD were collected at baseline, 3 or 6 months and these results were correlated with QOL measurements collected as part of the assessment of patients enrolled in the trial.

Results:  Sixty‐nine patients with PAH (mean age 52 years) who were enrolled in the trial had valid QOL (SF‐36) measurements and 6MWD data that could be retrieved from clinical notes. At 3 and 6 months, bosentan therapy improved 6MWD compared with baseline (49.5 m and 47.2 m, respectively, P < 0.001) as well as QOL domains, with a significant correlation between these two markers on cross‐sectional analysis. However, there was a poor relationship when comparing changes in 6MWD with changes in QOL, in response to therapy.

Conclusion:  Bosentan therapy was associated with improvements in QOL and 6MWD for at least 6 months. At all measured time points, there was a close correlation between 6MWD and most QOL domains. QOL is an important parameter and should be considered as part of the standard assessment for any trial investigating therapy in PAH.
The efficacy and applicability of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme for patients with COPD in a secondary‐care community hospital
Authors: ELÇI Alev , BÖREKÇI ŞErmin , OVAYOLU Nimet , ELBEK Osman
Published: July 2008

Background and objective:  Pulmonary rehabilitation is known to have beneficial effects in COPD patients. This study aimed to assess the applicability and efficacy of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in a community hospital lacking specialist pulmonary rehabilitation services.

Methods:  This randomized, controlled, prospective study included a total of 78 patients. Questionnaires were used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, respiratory function tests, the Modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale, 6MWD, the Short Form‐36 (SF‐36) quality of life scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). The experimental group underwent a pulmonary rehabilitation programme while the control group did not participate. The first, second and third month measurements for all parameters were compared between the two groups.

Results:  No significant differences in pulmonary function tests or dyspnoea scale (P > 0.05) were observed between the two groups. Significant differences were observed in the 6MWD measurements at the third month (P < 0.05), as well as in the SF‐36 quality of life scale, SGRQ and HADS measurements at the second and third months (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Short‐term pulmonary rehabilitation had a positive impact on exercise capacity and quality of life of patients with COPD, irrespective of FEV1. This study demonstrated the efficacy of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in a secondary care hospital not staffed by a specialist pulmonary rehabilitation group.
Comparison of severity scoring systems A‐DROP and CURB‐65 for community‐acquired pneumonia
Authors: SHINDO Yuichiro , SATO Shinji , MARUYAMA Eiichi , OHASHI Takamasa , OGAWA Masahiro , IMAIZUMI Kazuyoshi , HASEGAWA Yoshinori
Published: July 2008

Background and objective:  The initial assessment of the severity of community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) is important for patient management. The Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS) has proposed a 6‐point scale (0–5) to assess the clinical severity of CAP. The A‐DROP scoring system assesses the following parameters: (i) Age (male ≥ 70 years, female ≥ 75 years); (ii) Dehydration (blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≥ 210 mg/L); (iii) Respiratory failure (SaO2 ≤ 90% or PaO2 ≤ 60 mm Hg); (iv) Orientation disturbance (confusion); and (v) low blood Pressure (systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mm Hg). A‐DROP is a modified version of CURB‐65 (confusion, BUN > 7 mmol/L (200 mg/L), respiratory rate ≥ 30/min, low blood pressure (diastolic ≤ 60 mm Hg or systolic < 90 mm Hg, and age ≥ 65 years) proposed by the British Thoracic Society. However, validation of A‐DROP has not been attempted nor has it been compared with CURB‐65. The aim of this study was to confirm that A‐DROP is equivalent to CURB‐65 for predicting severity of CAP.

Methods:  A retrospective observational study was conducted of patients with CAP hospitalized at a single centre between November 2005 and January 2007. The 30‐day mortality after admission was compared following assessment of severity using the A‐DROP and CURB‐65 scoring systems.

Results:  Three‐hundred and twenty‐nine patients were evaluated. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.846 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.790–0.903) and 0.835 (95% CI: 0.763–0.908) for A‐DROP and CURB‐65, respectively.

Conclusion:  The JRS A‐DROP can be used to assess severity of CAP, and gives similar results to CURB‐65.
Behavioural responses of wheat stem sawflies to wheat volatiles
Authors: Piesik D. , Weaver D. K. , Runyon J. B. , Buteler M. , Peck G. E. , Morrill W. L.
Published: July 2008

1 Adult wheat stem sawflies Cephus cinctus, pests of cultivated cereals that also infests wild grasses, migrate into wheat fields where they oviposit in elongating, succulent stems.

2 Volatiles released by wheat plants at susceptible stages were analyzed to determine potential semiochemical compounds. Seven major compounds were identified and quantified.

3 A Y‐tube bioassay was developed to evaluate upwind orientation of adult sawflies in response to an airstream that passed over elongated wheat plants. The bioassay was also conducted with synthetic volatile compounds. The compounds were tested using a range of concentrations spanning those identified in the airstream passing over wheat plants.

4 A significant number of adult females were attracted to wheat plants when given a choice of either purified air or the air passing over plants.

5 A significant number of female C. cinctus were attracted to (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate, β‐ocimene, and (Z)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol, but were repelled by 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one. Females did not respond to (E)‐2‐hexenal, or (E)‐2‐hexenyl acetate. The behavioural responses were concentration dependent; the highest tested concentration of (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate was repellent to females of this species.

6 Adult males did not discriminate between air passing over wheat plants and air from a purified airstream. Males did not respond to any tested synthetic compound at any concentration.

7 The present study demonstrates for the first time that adult females of wheat stem sawfly display innate behaviours in response to synthetic volatiles. These results provide a basis for the potential development of resistant wheat varieties and for the development of semiochemically‐based pest management.
Promotion and Fast Food Demand
Authors: Richards Timothy J. , Padilla Luis
Published: July 2008

Many believe that fast food promotion is a significant cause of the obesity epidemic in North America. Industry members argue that promotion only reallocates brand shares and does not increase overall demand. We study the effect of fast food promotion on market share and total demand by estimating a discrete / continuous model of fast food restaurant choice and food expenditure that explicitly accounts for both spatial and temporal determinants of demand. Estimates are obtained using a unique panel of Canadian fast food consumers. The results show that promotion primarily increases demand and has a smaller effect on restaurant market shares.
Induced Innovation in U.S. Agriculture: Time‐series, Direct Econometric, and Nonparametric Tests
Authors: Liu Yucan , Shumway C. Richard
Published: July 2008

The hypothesis of induced innovation is tested for U.S. agriculture using a high‐quality state‐level panel data set and three disparate testing techniques—time series, direct econometric, and nonparametric. We find little support for the hypothesis. That conclusion is robust across testing techniques. However, as with all empirical tests of this hypothesis conducted to date, ours focus only on the demand side of the hypothesis. The hypothesis could have been rejected simply because the marginal cost of developing and implementing input‐saving technologies for the relatively expensive inputs is greater than for the relatively cheap inputs.
A Bioeconomic Model of Cattle Stocking on Rangeland Threatened by Invasive Plants and Nitrogen Deposition
Authors: Finnoff David , Strong Aaron , Tschirhart John
Published: July 2008

Across western North America, invasive plant species and elevated levels of nitrogen are threatening the productivity of rangelands. A bioeconomic model of stocking cattle on these rangelands is used to show that optimal stocking depends on the competition between native grasses and the invaders. However, nitrogen deposition is important in determining the ultimate rangeland species composition. Endogenous changes in plant successional thresholds are due to the interplay of nitrogen deposition and stocking practices. Nonoptimal overstocking can create ecosystem niches for invaders where they would not have occurred at lower stocking rates, although what constitutes overstocking depends on the nitrogen levels.
Do Overlapping Land Rights Reduce Agricultural Investment? Evidence from Uganda
Authors: Deininger Klaus , Ali Daniel Ayalew
Published: July 2008

While the need for land‐related investment for sustainable land management and increased productivity is well recognized, quantitative evidence on agricultural productivity effects of secure property rights in Africa is scant. Within‐household analysis of investments by owner‐cum‐occupants in Uganda points toward significant and quantitatively large investment effects of full ownership. Registration is estimated to have no investment effects, whereas measures to strengthen occupancy rights attenuate investment disincentives. While this supports the importance of secure tenure as a precondition for growth, it also suggests that interventions aiming to increase tenure security need to be context‐specific for it to be fully effective.
Point/Nonpoint Effluent Trading with Spatial Heterogeneity
Authors: Lankoski Jussi , Lichtenberg Erik , Ollikainen Markku
Published: July 2008

Potential earnings from permits sales may provide an incentive for farmers to accept water quality regulation. We derive optimal adjustments of point/nonpoint effluent trading ratios for heterogeneity in marginal environmental damage and degradation/retention of the pollutant across locations in a watershed. A simulation based on data from the Kymi River Valley, Finland, indicates that farmers are the greatest suppliers of permits, as expected, but that gains from trading vary substantially. Some farmers may become net buyers of permits and thus net losers from regulation. The benefits of effluent trading are distributed unevenly among point sources as well.
Food Values
Authors: Lusk Jayson L. , Briggeman Brian C.
Published: July 2008

Because of the potential malleability of stated and revealed preferences for new food technologies and attributes, this research sought to determine consumers' food value systems by utilizing recent advances in best‐worst scaling. Based on previous literature related to human values and food preferences, a list of eleven food values was compiled. Results reveal that on average the values of safety, nutrition, taste, and price were among the most important to consumers, whereas the values of fairness, tradition, and origin were among the least important; however, there was significant heterogeneity in the relative importance placed on food values. Results indicate that food values are significantly related to consumers' stated and revealed preferences for organic food.
Compensating for development: Orang Asli experiences of Malaysia's Sungai Selangor dam
Authors: Swainson Luke , McGregor Andrew
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  In 2001, two indigenous Orang Asli communities living in Peninsula Malaysia were forced to leave their homelands to make way for the Sungai Selangor dam. The dam, built to resolve water shortages in Kuala Lumpur, came with a comprehensive compensation package designed to alleviate the hardships faced by the displaced communities. This paper explores the discursive and material impacts of these compensation packages. We argue that the emerging literature on compensation for displaced people values the same sorts of economic and social criteria as the Malaysian government does in its pursuit of modernising the Orang Asli. Their shared belief that effective compensation would improve the quality of life for affected communities above pre‐displacement levels helped to publicly legitimise the dam‐building project. Interviews with the displaced communities, however, found stark differences in community satisfaction which have more to do with losses of intrinsic place‐based cultural and spiritual values, for which there may be no effective or adequate compensation, than social and economic criteria. We conclude that compensation programmes will always struggle to effectively cope with these less tangible place‐based values and that open acknowledgement of this weakness is required if alternatives to displacement‐inducing development projects are to be more readily considered.
Back to Nukunuku: Employment, identity and return migration in Tonga
Authors: Maron Nicole , Connell John
Published: July 2008

Abstract: Return migration has escaped significant analysis in the Pacific island region. Both migration from and return migration to the Tongan village of Nukunuku are for multiple reasons, with migration centred on employment and education, and return centred on the social context of home and duty. Return is limited, with intentions not being matched with practice, and the village and national population not growing. However, return migrants acquire skills, capital and experience overseas, which can be transferred into a Tongan cultural context, although identities have changed during migration. Return migrants typically take up employment or acquire businesses on return, gain some social status from the outcome, and are neither failures nor retirees. Nonetheless, return engenders expectations and tensions exist between returnees and more established residents, although ultimately, return migrants contribute to household, local and national development, as part of an unfinished process.
Golden goose or Trojan horse? Cruise ship tourism in Pacific development
Authors: Macpherson Cluny
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  Pacific governments seeking to expand national economies are increasingly looking to tourism to provide revenues. At the same time, companies that operate cruise ships are searching for new destinations for increasing numbers of larger, faster ships which they are launching to cater for steadily increasing demand for cruises. The Pacific region appeals to both companies and passengers as a cruise destination. This coincidence would, at first glance, seem to provide an opportunity for a mutually beneficial relationship between companies and governments in the region. But little is presently available to those in the Pacific who must decide what role this form of tourism might play in their future. This paper reviews some of the environmental, economic and societal impacts of cruise ship tourism and concludes that, managed effectively, this form of tourism can yield higher returns with lower risks than some alternatives and could form a part of a sustainable tourism policy.
Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the Asia‐Pacific region: The role of international assistance
Authors: Feeny Simon , Clarke Matthew
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of international development targets agreed to by members of the United Nations in 2000. The goals aim to improve many of the dimensions of extreme poverty and are to be achieved by 2015. This paper provides an overview of the issues relevant to the achievement of the MDGs in the Asia‐Pacific region. The paper begins by discussing the critiques of the MDGs before assessing whether countries in the region are on track to achieve them. Issues relating to data availability and accuracy are discussed and the need to tailor the MDG targets to the special circumstances of some Asia‐Pacific countries is examined. The paper proceeds by discussing the role of international assistance via international foreign development aid and non‐governmental organisations in the achievement of the MDGs. The paper concludes with some policy implications for the international donor community.
Frontline reporting, ethos and perception: Media challenges in the South Pacific
Authors: Robie David
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  The Melanesian sub‐region of the South Pacific, in particular, has been branded by some political analysts as an ‘arc of instability’ because of upheavals such as coups (Fiji), ethnic conflict (Solomon Islands), paramilitary revolts (Vanuatu), and secessionist rebellion and civil war (Bougainville‐Papua New Guinea and the Southern Highlands). Simplistic notions and prejudices about the region pose challenges for journalists attempting to report with depth, context and analytical skill. Pressures and dilemmas for the news media continue to gain momentum in the South Pacific, often from a cultural as well as socio‐political dimension. While the media in some countries is refreshingly outspoken and courageous, in others it has a trend towards self‐censorship. This article critiques coverage in the region and some of the problems in an age of globalisation and preoccupation with security. It also sketches the challenges for media education designed to contest images of the region beyond ‘coups, conflicts and contraband’.
The peri‐urbanisation of Shanghai: Planning, growth pattern and sustainable development
Authors: Wu Jiaping
Published: July 2008

Abstract: With the increase of global integration, the peri‐urban area (PUA) of megacities in Asia has become a favourite destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper uses the PUA of Shanghai as a case study to investigate the impact of global forces on the urban expansion of the city, and the link between urban growth and sustainable development in this mega‐urban context. Shanghai has grown impressively during the past two decades in terms of economic and physical transformation. Much of this transformation has rested on the unbridled exploitation of land and other environmental resources in its peri‐urban area. This is characterised by the designation of development zones and the concentration of manufacturing FDI, resulting in dispersed growth and environmental degradation. The disruption of the physical environment, combined with the concentration of the urban poor in these areas (in particular ‘temporary migrants’), has turned the PUA into a potential crisis point threatening the social and economic development of the city.
Adjustment Costs and Immiserizing Growth in LDCs
Authors: Sarker Sanjib , Gilbert John , Oladi Reza
Published: July 2008

Using a general equilibrium model of a small developing economy, the authors demonstrate that the introduction of asymmetric adjustment costs makes the rate of urban employment respond to an exogenous shock in the aggregate capital endowment, raising the possibility of several counter‐intuitive immiserizing growth scenarios.
On a Unified Generalized Quasi–likelihood Approach for Familial–Longitudinal Non‐Stationary Count Data
Authors: SUTRADHAR BRAJENDRA C. , JOWAHEER VANDNA , SNEDDON GARY
Published: July 2008

Abstract.  In this paper, conditional on random family effects, we consider an auto‐regression model for repeated count data and their corresponding time‐dependent covariates, collected from the members of a large number of independent families. The count responses, in such a set up, unconditionally exhibit a non‐stationary familial–longitudinal correlation structure. We then take this two‐way correlation structure into account, and develop a generalized quasilikelihood (GQL) approach for the estimation of the regression effects and the familial correlation index parameter, whereas the longitudinal correlation parameter is estimated by using the well‐known method of moments. The performance of the proposed estimation approach is examined through a simulation study. Some model mis‐specification effects are also studied. The estimation methodology is illustrated by analysing real life healthcare utilization count data collected from 36 families of size four over a period of 4 years.
On the Second‐Order Random Walk Model for Irregular Locations
Authors: LINDGREN FINN , RUE HÅVARD
Published: July 2008

Abstract. The second‐order random walk (RW2) model is commonly used for smoothing data and for modelling response functions. It is computationally efficient due to the Markov properties of the joint (intrinsic) Gaussian density. For evenly spaced locations the RW2 model is well established, whereas for irregularly spaced locations there is no well established construction in the literature. By considering the RW2 model as the solution of a stochastic differential equation (SDE), a discretely observed integrated Wiener process, it is possible to derive the density preserving the Markov properties by augmenting the state‐space with the velocities. Here, we derive a computationally more efficient RW2 model for irregular locations using a Galerkin approximation to the solution of the SDE without the need of augmenting the state‐space. Numerical comparison with the exact solution demonstrates that the error in the Galerkin approximation is small and negligible in applications.
From phoneme to morpheme — another verification in English and Chinese using corpora —
Authors: Tanaka‐Ishii Kumiko , Jin Zhihui
Published: July 2008

Abstract.  Zellig S. Harris's hypothesis presented in his article ‘‘From phoneme to morpheme’’ is tested; that is, how much of morpheme/word boundaries can be detected from changes in the complexity of phoneme sequences. We re‐formulate his hypothesis from a more information theoretic viewpoint and use a corpus to test whether the hypothesis holds. We found that his hypothesis holds for morphemes, with an F‐score of about 80%, in both English and Chinese. However, we obtained contrary results for English and Chinese with regard to word boundaries; this reflects a difference in the nature of the two languages.
The Burning of Sampati Kuer: Sati and the Politics of Imperialism, Nationalism and Revivalism in 1920s India
Authors: Major Andrea
Published: July 2008

Sati, the immolation of a Hindu widow on her husband's funeral pyre, is a rare, but highly controversial practice. It has inspired a surfeit of scholarly studies in the last twenty years, most of which concentrate on one of two main historical sati ‘episodes’: that of early‐colonial Bengal, culminating with the British prohibition of 1829, and that of late twentieth‐century Rajasthan, epitomised by the immolation of Roop Kanwar in 1987. Comparatively little detailed historical analysis exists on sati cases between these two events, however, a lacuna this paper seeks to address by exploring British and Indian discourses on sati as they existed in late‐colonial India. The paper argues that sati remained a site of ideological and actual confrontation in the early twentieth century, with important implications for ongoing debates about Hindu religion, identity and nation. It focuses on the intersection between various colonial debates and contemporaneous Indian social and political concerns during the controversy surrounding the immolation of Sampati Kuer in Barh, Bihar, in 1927, emphasising resonances with postcolonial interpretations of sati and the dissonance of early nineteenth‐century tropes when reproduced in the Patna High Court in 1928. Thus, while Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid have suggested that ‘ad hoc’ attempts to piece together a ‘modern’ narrative of widow immolation began in the 1950s, this paper will suggest that various contemporary discursive formations on sati can be observed in late‐colonial India, when discussions of sati became entwined with Indian nationalism and Hindu identity politics and evoked the first organised female response to sati from an emergent women's movement that saw it as an ideological, as well as physical, violation of women.
Competing Masculinities: Fraternities, Gender and Nationality in the German Confederation, 1815–30
Authors: Breuer Karin
Published: July 2008

Immediately after the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon (1815), university students, particularly the nationalist fraternity, the Burschenschaft, sought to connect the German nation with martial values. They practised gymnastics, duelled and commemorated veterans of the Napoleonic wars. The era after the Wars also illustrates greater mediation in the discourse of masculinity than has generally been acknowledged, however. University students never achieved consensus on what masculine identity or German identity entailed. By applying enlightened principles to notions of honour and the practice of the duel, Burschenschafter also articulated a new, more moral vision of the German man, one based more on rationality and self‐discipline than on martial values.
A Case of Murderous Sensibility: James Hackman, Interiority and Masculine Agency in Late Eighteenth‐Century England
Authors: Myers Joanne E.
Published: July 2008

After murdering Martha Ray in April 1779, James Hackman enjoyed an improbable media celebrity that rested largely on his ability both to embody and complicate the performative conventions of the late eighteenth‐century discourse of sensibility, which tied virtue to its embodied visibility. Supporters who lauded Hackman, but wanted to conserve his and their own moral agency, disentangled his character from his crime by attributing to him an interior space in which that character resided. Thus, while spectators delighted in the way that Hackman's sensible body registered his anguish at Ray's death, they could also paradoxically insist that his true intentions were hidden inside that suffering body, uncoupled from his violent deed. Such attributions of interiority helped to conserve both Hackman's masculinity and his agency by distinguishing his body from feminine bodies whose lack of such interior space rendered them vulnerable to a disordered and hysterical sensibility. The rhetorical energy devoted to defending Hackman provides a valuable case study of the ways that reconciliation was sought in the late eighteenth century between masculinity and agency within the discourse of sensibility and suggests that the differential, gendered distribution of interiority helped assuage fears about feeling's feminising potential.
Why Dominican Feminism Moved to the Right: Class, Colour and Women's Activism in the Dominican Republic, 1880s–1940s
Authors: Mayes April J.
Published: July 2008

This article analyses feminism in the Dominican Republic, and the rightward shift of the women's movement in the 1930s and 1940s, by examining the historical development of female activism in the Dominican Republic from the 1880s until the first decade of General Rafael Trujillo's regime in the 1940s. The article argues that elite female activists, most of whom were white or light‐skinned, allied themselves with the right‐wing politics of General Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship because his vision of elite women's activism complemented the class and colour interests of a select group of female reformers. Dominican feminism's rightward shift also resulted from the monopolisation of political power under the Dominican Party; the veneration of elite, bourgeois womanhood in official state iconography; the elaboration of Hispanidad nationalism; and the rejection of feminism's early roots in the political philosophy of Eugenio María de Hostos. As a result, Dominican feminism's origins in left‐leaning, potentially radical politics were ignored and erased by leading activists.
Theft and Gender in Late Medieval Bologna
Authors: Dean Trevor
Published: July 2008

This article aims to challenge the prevalent presentation and analysis of gender in studies of theft in the Middle Ages. Female thieving is usually differentiated from men's – by motivation and mode, by venue and value – and these differences are related either to women's physical inferiority or to their nurturing roles (thieving to support the domestic economy) or to inequalities of access to such elements as weapons (for robbery) or tools (for burglary). When studying theft, historians have focused on male thieving as the norm, and they have tended to differentiate thieving according to gender: women mainly commit petty theft, often for immediate consumption, and do not steal on the highways, in gangs or with weapons and violence. Men, on the other hand, operate in groups: their motivation is more diverse and they use a more varied repertoire of modus operandi, which includes highway robbery. To re‐examine these characterisations, I have taken data from three twenty‐year periods from the criminal court of the city of Bologna in northern Italy (one of the most complete series of judicial records for the period). These yield a total of over 700 prosecutions and over 1,300 accused. The focus of the analysis is on elements of differentiation, such as the numbers of individual and gang thefts, the nature of goods stolen, the use of violence, et cetera. These show that, while there was some differentiation between male and female thieving, this was mainly quantitative, and that qualitatively there were more shared features of behaviour. What are often seen to be the distinguishing features of male thieving – robbery, violence, gangs, professionals – turn out to be a small, untypical group. What is often seen to be the distinguishing features of female thieving – petty theft for immediate consumption – turns out to be equally or more true of male theft.