bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using social simulations to assess and train potential leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments
Authors: Hunsaker Phillip L.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe two social simulations created to assess leadership potential and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. One is set in the novel environment of a lunar moon colony and the other is a military combat command. The research generated from these simulations for assessing the decision effectiveness of potential leaders with different personality traits and decision styles under varying degrees of information quantity, uncertainty and complexity is summarized. Opportunities and limitations of applying current computer assisted technology to social simulations for assessing and developing leaders' decision effectiveness in turbulent environments is discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

College undergraduates and officer candidates in university ROTC programs made a series of decisions while being subjected to varying degrees of environmental turbulence in social simulations. The decision effectiveness of subjects with different personality characteristics under varying degrees of environmental turbulence was assessed through researcher observations, self‐reports, and peer ratings.

Findings

Social simulations are a cost effective way to assess and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. The results of controlled experiments in social simulations have suggested that leaders with high levels of cognitive complexity and incongruity adaptation are more likely to be successful in highly turbulent environments than leaders with lower levels of incongruity adaptation ability and cognitive complexity who are more effective in more stable and structured situations.

Research limitations/implications

The ease of modifying computer games renders them effective as low‐cost virtual worlds that have relevance in military leadership experimentation. However, the use of computer simulations alone fails to capture the impact that relationships and emotions have on leader decision making, highlighting the continuing need for social simulations that include these interpersonal aspects of decision making.

Practical implications

By participating in realistic social simulations, leaders can experiment with new decision styles without the risk of making real world mistakes that could jeopardize their own and their organization's future. The leaders who are most successful in adapting their decision style to the more complex requirements can be identified for promotion or assignment to appropriate settings.

Originality/value

Both military and civilian organizations are in need of cost effective way to assess and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. Social simulations provide a unique approach to meeting these needs and can simultaneously provide a venue for research in associated areas.
Shared vision: a development tool for organizational learning
Authors: Loon Hoe Siu
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The organizational behavior and management literature has devoted a lot attention to processes and technology in organizational learning. There has been little work to examine the effect of shared vision on organizational learning. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of shared vision as a development tool to build an organizational learning capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The existing shared vision and organizational learning literature was reviewed, and the salient points on how shared vision promotes organizational learning discussed.

Practical implications

The paper offers a view on how leaders can use shared vision to develop organizational learning capability. Practicing managers would then be able to help promote organizational learning with the shared vision as a guide on what to learn from the internal and external environment.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing organizational learning and leadership literature by introducing the idea of shared vision promoting organizational learning.
NMR structure of a KlbA intein precursor from Methanococcus jannaschii
Authors: Johnson Margaret A. , Southworth Maurice W. , Herrmann Torsten , Brace Lear , Perler Francine B. , Wüthrich Kurt
Published: June 2007

Certain proteins of unicellular organisms are translated as precursor polypeptides containing inteins (intervening proteins), which are domains capable of performing protein splicing. These domains, in conjunction with a single residue following the intein, catalyze their own excision from the surrounding protein (extein) in a multistep reaction involving the cleavage of two intein–extein peptide bonds and the formation of a new peptide bond that ligates the two exteins to yield the mature protein. We report here the solution NMR structure of a 186‐residue precursor of the KlbA intein from Methanococcus jannaschii, comprising the intein together with N‐ and C‐extein segments of 7 and 11 residues, respectively. The intein is shown to adopt a single, well‐defined globular domain, representing a HINT (Hedgehog/Intein)‐type topology. Fourteen β‐strands are arranged in a complex fold that includes four β‐hairpins and an antiparallel β‐ribbon, and there is one α‐helix, which is packed against the β‐ribbon, and one turn of 310‐helix in the loop between the β‐strands 8 and 9. The two extein segments show increased disorder, and form only minimal nonbonding contacts with the intein domain. Structure‐based mutation experiments resulted in a proposal for functional roles of individual residues in the intein catalytic mechanism.
‘Crystal lattice engineering,’ an approach to engineer protein crystal contacts by creating intermolecular symmetry: Crystallization and structure determination of a mutant human RNase 1 with a hydrophobic interface of leucines
Authors: Yamada Hidenori , Tamada Taro , Kosaka Megumi , Miyata Kohei , Fujiki Shinya , Tano Masaru , Moriya Masayuki , Yamanishi Mamoru , Honjo Eijiro , Tada Hiroko , Ino Takeshi , Yamaguchi Hiroshi , Futami Junichiro , Seno Masaharu , Nomoto Takashi , Hirata Tomoko , Yoshimura Motonobu , Kuroki Ryota
Published: June 2007

A protein crystal lattice consists of surface contact regions, where the interactions of specific groups play a key role in stabilizing the regular arrangement of the protein molecules. In an attempt to control protein incorporation in a crystal lattice, a leucine zipper‐like hydrophobic interface (comprising four leucine residues) was introduced into a helical region (helix 2) of the human pancreatic ribonuclease 1 (RNase 1) that was predicted to form a suitable crystallization interface. Although crystallization of wild‐type RNase 1 has not yet been reported, the RNase 1 mutant having four leucines (4L‐RNase 1) was successfully crystallized under several different conditions. The crystal structures were subsequently determined by X‐ray crystallography by molecular replacement using the structure of bovine RNase A. The overall structure of 4L‐RNase 1 is quite similar to that of the bovine RNase A, and the introduced leucine residues formed the designed crystal interface. To characterize the role of the introduced leucine residues in crystallization of RNase 1 further, the number of leucines was reduced to three or two (3L‐ and 2L‐RNase 1, respectively). Both mutants crystallized and a similar hydrophobic interface as in 4L‐RNase 1 was observed. A related approach to engineer crystal contacts at helix 3 of RNase 1 (N4L‐RNase 1) was also evaluated. N4L‐RNase 1 also successfully crystallized and formed the expected hydrophobic packing interface. These results suggest that appropriate introduction of a leucine zipper‐like hydrophobic interface can promote intermolecular symmetry for more efficient protein crystallization in crystal lattice engineering efforts.
Immune regulation by CD4+CD25+ T cells and interleukin‐10 in birch pollen‐allergic patients and non‐allergic controls
Authors: Thunberg S. , Akdis M. , Akdis C. A. , Grönneberg R. , Malmström V. , Trollmo C. , Van Hage M. , Gafvelin G.
Published: June 2007

Background
CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and the cytokines IL‐10 or TGF‐β play key roles in the maintenance of T cell homeostasis and tolerance to infectious and non‐infectious antigens such as allergens.

Objective
To investigate the regulation of immune responses to birch pollen allergen compared with influenza antigen by Treg cells obtained from birch pollen‐allergic patients and non‐allergic controls.

Methods
Peripheral blood was collected from 10 birch pollen‐allergic patients and 10 non‐allergic healthy controls. CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25− cells isolated by magnetic‐activated cell sorting were co‐cultured and stimulated with birch pollen extract or influenza vaccine in the absence or presence of anti‐IL‐10 or soluble TGF‐βRII.

Results
CD4+CD25+ cells from non‐allergic controls were able to suppress influenza antigen and birch pollen stimulated effector cell proliferation, whereas CD4+CD25+ cells from allergic patients suppressed influenza antigen‐, but not birch pollen‐stimulated proliferation. The production of Th1 cytokines, but not Th2 cytokines, was suppressed by CD4+CD25+ cells from both allergic patients and controls, upon stimulation with birch pollen extract. Neutralization of IL‐10 led to significantly increased production of IFN‐γ in cultures with CD4+CD25− T effector cells. In addition, six‐fold higher concentrations of TNF‐α were detected after neutralization of IL‐10 in both CD4+CD25− and CD4+CD25+ cell cultures from allergic patients and controls.

Conclusion
We demonstrate that the allergen‐specific suppressive function of CD4+CD25+ cells from allergic patients is impaired compared with non‐allergic controls. Moreover, neutralization of IL‐10 enhances the production of TNF‐α, suggesting counter‐acting properties of IL‐10 and TNF‐α, where IL‐10 promotes tolerance and suppression by Treg cells and TNF‐α promotes inflammatory responses.
Overexpression of the phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes gene product (Ped/pea‐15) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Savastano Silvia , Orio Francesco , Palomba Stefano , Cascella Teresa , Manguso Francesco , Lupoli Gelsy Arianna , Formisano Pietro , Lombardi Gaetano , Colao Annamaria , Beguinot Francesco , Valentino Rossella
Published: June 2007

Objective  To evaluate Ped/pea‐15 (phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes) expression in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women.

Design and patients  Thirty PCOS women were studied and compared with other 30 age‐ and body mass index (BMI)‐matched women, considered as the control group. Both patients and controls were divided according to BMI. All subjects underwent endocrine and metabolic investigation and Ped/pea‐15 expression was evaluated by western blot analysis. Insulin resistance was assessed by HOMA model and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) composite.

Results  Insulin resistance, evaluated by HOMA‐R and ISI composite, was significantly higher in PCOS women and in obese controls than in normal weight controls. Ped/pea‐15 expression (%) was higher in PCOS women than in controls (440·4 ± 220·7 vs. 163·0 ± 45·5; P < 0·001; range 145·5–987% and 97–281%, respectively), and was positively correlated with insulin, BMI, total testosterone, HOMA index, and family history (P < 0·001). In patients with PCOS univariate analysis of variance showed no effect of BMI variation (P = 0·13) on Ped/pea‐15 expression levels. On multiple linear regression analysis, the major determinants of Ped/pea‐15 overexpression were family history, insulin, and PCOS status independent of BMI.

Conclusion  These preliminary data (1) highlight the overexpression of Ped/pea‐15 in PCOS compared to normal controls, independent of obesity; (2) suggest that Ped/pea‐15 overexpression might be an early component of the metabolic syndrome in PCOS; and (3) support the hypothesis that Ped/pea‐15 represents a possible useful tool to assess the presence of a genetic condition associated with insulin resistance in PCOS.
Molecular dynamics simulation of cationic complexation with natural organic matter
Authors: Kalinichev A. G. , Kirkpatrick R. J.
Published: June 2007

Molecular computer modelling of natural organic matter (NOM) and its interactions with metal cations in aqueous solution is a highly effective tool for helping to understand and quantitatively predict the molecular mechanisms of metal‐NOM complexation. This paper presents the results of molecular dynamics (MD) computations of the interaction of NOM with dissolved Na+, Cs+, Mg2+ and Ca2+. They show that Na+ forms only very weak outer‐sphere complexes with NOM, whereas Cs+ interacts somewhat more strongly, but also mainly via outer‐sphere association. Mg2+ interacts little with NOM due to its strongly held hydration shell. Ca2+ has the strongest association with NOM and forms inner‐sphere complexes with NOM carboxylate groups. This last result supports the idea of supramolecular, Ca‐mediated NOM aggregation. Cation‐NOM binding occurs principally with carboxylate groups, and to a lesser extent with phenolic and other –R‐OH groups. The contributions of other NOM functional groups are minimal. The diffusional mobility of NOM‐bound cations is ∼20% (NOM‐Na+ outer‐sphere complex) to ∼95% (NOM‐Ca2+ inner‐sphere complex) less than in aqueous solutions without NOM. The MD simulation results are in good agreement with NMR spectroscopic measurements for Cs‐NOM solutions.
Enhancing rigour in qualitative health research: exploring subjectivity through Peshkin's I's
Authors: Bradbury‐Jones Caroline
Published: June 2007

Title. Enhancing rigour in qualitative health research: exploring subjectivity through Peshkin's I's

Aim.  This paper is a discussion of the use of a systematic approach to explore researcher subjectivity and how this enhanced the rigour of a qualitative study.

Background.  The need for rigour in qualitative research is widely documented; the means by which it is enhanced are varied and numerous. Although most qualitative health researchers espouse the notion of being aware of their own subjectivity, the methods by which their self‐awareness is developed is seldom made explicit.

Method.  This paper draws on the work of Peshkin from the discipline of education, who articulated the need for researchers to identify their subjectivity systematically throughout the course of their research by searching for their subjective I's. I share my experience of adopting this approach by using a reflexive journal as data. I recorded the journal as an integral part of a study in which I explored the meaning of empowerment for nursing students during the period 2005–2006.

Findings.  This systematic approach to exploring my subjectivity revealed four subjective I's that had potential for influence throughout the entire study. I argue that cognisance of my subjective I's improved the trustworthiness of the research.

Conclusions.  I offer this approach for consideration by healthcare researchers as a robust means of illuminating researcher subjectivity. This is not intended as a narcissistic process; it is one that is advocated for use as part of an audit trail as a means of enhancing the rigour of qualitative research.
Patients’ experiences of having chemotherapy in a day hospital setting
Authors: McIlfatrick Sonja , Sullivan Kate , McKenna Hugh , Parahoo Kader
Published: June 2007

Title. Patients’ experiences of having chemotherapy in a day hospital setting

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to explore patients’ experiences of having chemotherapy in a day hospital.

Background. The nature of cancer care has changed dramatically in recent years with most patients receiving chemotherapy in a day hospital. Despite recognition of the need to explore patients’ experience of cancer treatment, little research has been undertaken in this specific area.

Method. A qualitative approach was adopted with a convenience sample of 30 patients diagnosed with cancer and receiving chemotherapy in a day hospital. Data were collected from January 2002 to March 2003 using unstructured tape‐recorded interviews and analysed using a narrative framework.

Findings. Participants viewed their experiences of chemotherapy treatment from the initial perspective of having to face their need to have chemotherapy. Their experiences in the day hospital had both positive and negative dimensions. Positive aspects related to maintaining a sense of normality and absence of the sick role, whilst negative aspects were related to the dehumanizing, factory‐like system in the day hospital. Organizational issues also influenced experiences, including the sense of comradeship with other patients. Participants indicated the need to remain positive about the future and to learn to ‘work around’ the treatment.

Conclusion. More effective methods are needed to develop patients’ confidence and motivation to realize their self‐care potential, together with increased awareness of organizational influences on patient experiences. Nurses need to focus on the ‘here and now’ concerns of patients as opposed to a biomedical perspective relating to treatment regimes, survival and prognosis.
Life‐history traits are correlated with geographical distribution patterns of western European forest herb species
Authors: Van der Veken Sebastiaan , Bellemare Jesse , Verheyen Kris , Hermy Martin
Published: June 2007

Aim To investigate whether six plant life‐history traits that have been related to colonization ability at local scales are also related to the geographical range characteristics of 273 forest plant species.

Location Continental western Europe, five countries in particular: France, Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The region is situated between 42° and 55°N and 5°W and 15°E and has a summed total area of 971,404 km2.

Methods Distribution data were compiled from five national data bases and converted to a 10′ grid. Life‐history traits were taken from existing compilations of autecological information of European species. The spatial arrangement of occupied grid cells was investigated using Ripley'sK. Cross‐species correlations and phylogenetically independent contrasts were used to investigate the relationships between plant life‐history traits and three range characteristics: area of occupancy, latitudinal extent and centroid latitude.

Results For herbaceous species, seed dispersal mode, seed production and seed bank longevity exhibited significant associations with geographical range characteristics, including area of occupancy. Woody plant species exhibited fewer significant associations, although maximum height was positively associated with range centroid latitude within the study area. Furthermore, the ranges of species with limited dispersal ability were found to be more clustered than the ranges of species with morphological adaptations for long‐distance seed dispersal.

Main conclusions For western European forest plant species, life‐history traits that are related to colonization ability at local scales are associated with variation in large‐scale geographical range characteristics. This finding implies that the distributions of some forest plant species in the study area may be limited by seed dispersal and colonization capacity rather than climate or other environmental factors.
Panax Ginseng in combination with brewers’ yeast (Gerivet®) as a stimulant for geriatric dogs: a controlled‐randomized blinded study
Authors: HIELM‐BJÖRKMAN A. , REUNANEN V. , MERI P. , TULAMO R.‐M.
Published: June 2007

The study was performed on two groups of dogs, one (n = 41) given Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) together with brewers’ yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisae) and the other (n = 39) given only brewers’ yeast (control group, but not a true placebo), for 8 weeks. Using a questionnaire and three visual analogue scales, the blinded owners evaluated the dogs before the trial, weekly for the 8 weeks of the trial and twice, at 12th and 16th weeks, after the trial (follow‐up). At 8th, 12th and 16th weeks the owners also answered questions concerning what treatment their dogs likely had been getting, willingness to continue medication and the dogs’ general status. The changes from baseline to the end of the treatment period in the variable scores were calculated for each dog and used in statistics. Panax Ginseng plus yeast significantly improved all evaluated variables within the group. Four of the seven primary (mentally) outcome measures were significant when comparing the changes in the Ginseng group with the control group, and six of the seven were significant when compared to an external group. As the secondary (physical) outcome measures were significantly better in both the Ginseng and the control group compared to the external group, it indicates that brewers’ yeast is the ingredient that has impact on physical performance. No significant changes in blood‐ or urine analyses and no side effects were seen.
Candidate genes and thermal phenotypes: identifying ecologically important genetic variation for thermotolerance in the Australian Drosophila melanogaster cline
Authors: RAKO LEA , BLACKET MARK J. , McKECHNIE STEPHEN W. , HOFFMANN ARY A.
Published: June 2007

Clinal variation in traits often reflects climatic adaptation; in Drosophila melanogaster clinal variation provides an opportunity to link variation in chromosomal inversions, microsatellite loci and various candidate genes to adaptive variation in traits. We undertook association studies with crosses from a single population of D. melanogaster from eastern Australia to investigate the association between genetic markers and traits showing clinal variation. By genotyping parents and phenotyping offspring, we minimized genotyping costs but had the power to detect association between markers and quantitative traits. Consistent with prior studies, we found strong associations between the clinal chromosomal inversion In(3R)Payne and markers within it, as well as among these markers. We also found an association between In(3L)Payne and one marker located within this inversion. Of the five predicted associations between markers and traits, four were detected (increased heat, decreased cold resistance and body size with the heat shock gene hsr‐omega S, increased cold resistance with the inversion In(3L)Payne), while one was not detected (heat resistance and the heat shock gene hsp68). In a set of eight exploratory tests, we detected one positive association (between hsp23a and heat resistance) but no associations of heat resistance with alleles at the hsp26, hsp83, Desat 2, α‐Gpdh, hsp70 loci, while cold resistance was not associated with Frost and Dca loci. These results confirm interactions between hsr‐omega and thermal resistance, as well as between In(3L)Payne and cold resistance, but do not provide evidence for associations between thermal responses and alleles at other clinally varying marker genes.
Living on the edge: demographic and phylogeographical patterns in the woodlouse‐hunter spider Dysdera lancerotensis Simon, 1907 on the eastern volcanic ridge of the Canary Islands
Authors: BIDEGARAY‐BATISTA LETICIA , MACÍAS‐HERNÁNDEZ NURIA , OROMÍ PEDRO , ARNEDO MIQUEL A.
Published: June 2007

The Eastern Canary Islands are the emerged tips of a continuous volcanic ridge running parallel to the northeastern African coast, originated by episodic volcanic eruptions that can be traced back to the Miocene and that, following a major period of quiescence and erosion, continued from the Pliocene to the present day. The islands have been periodically connected by eustatic sea‐level changes resulting from Pleistocene glacial cycles. The ground‐dwelling spider Dysdera lancerotensis Simon, 1907 occurs along the entire ridge, except on recent barren lavas and sand dunes, and is therefore an ideal model for studying the effect of episodic geological processes on terrestrial organisms. Nested clade and population genetic analyses using 39 haplotypes from 605 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I sequence data, along with phylogenetic analyses including two additional mitochondrial genes, uncover complex phylogeographical and demographic patterns. Our results indicate that D. lancerotensis colonized the ridge from north to south, in contrast to what had been expected given the SSW‐NNE trend of volcanism and to what had been reported for other terrestrial arthropods. The occurrence of several episodes of extinction, recolonization and expansion are hypothesized for this species, and areas that act as refugia during volcanic cycles are identified. Relaxed molecular clock methods reveal divergence times between main haplotype lineages that suggest an older origin of the northern islets than anticipated based on geological evidence. This study supports the key role of volcanism in shaping the distribution of terrestrial organisms on oceanic islands and generates phylogeographical predictions that warrant further research into other terrestrial endemisms of this fascinating region.
Variable expression of the 235 kDa rhoptry protein of Plasmodium yoelii mediate host cell adaptation and immune evasion
Authors: Iyer Jayasree Kaveri , Amaladoss Anburaj , Ganesan Saraswathy , Preiser Peter Rainer
Published: June 2007

The severity of infections caused by the malaria parasite Plasmodium is in part due to the rapid multiplication cycles in the blood of an infected individual. A fundamental step in this phenomenon is the invasion of selected erythrocytes of the host by the parasite. The py235 rhoptry protein multigene family of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii has been implicated in mediating host cell selection during erythrocyte invasion and virulence. Here we show using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis that variations in the amounts of py235 may be a mechanism that the parasite uses to define its host cell repertoire. High levels of py235 expression leads to a wider range of erythrocytes invaded and therefore increased virulence. In contrast, to evade PY235‐specific immunity, the parasite downregulates py235 thereby decreasing the host cell repertoire and virulence. These results demonstrate a new mechanism where variations in the amounts of parasite ligand define the parasite host cell repertoire and enable it to evade host immunity.
RNase E‐dependent processing stabilizes MicX, a Vibrio cholerae sRNA
Authors: Davis Brigid M. , Waldor Matthew K.
Published: June 2007

In Vibrio cholerae, bioinformatic approaches have been used to predict the locations of numerous small RNA (sRNA)‐encoding genes, but biological roles have been determined for very few. Here, we describe the expression, processing and biological role of an sRNA (previously known as A10) that was identified through such analyses. We have renamed this sRNA MicX as, like the Escherichia coli sRNAs MicA, MicC and MicF, it regulates expression of an outer membrane protein (OMP). MicX appears to be a direct negative regulator of vc0972, which encodes an uncharacterized OMP, and vc0620, which encodes the periplasmic component of a peptide ABC transporter. Hfq is apparently not required for MicX's interactions with and regulation of these targets. The sequence encoding MicX overlaps with vca0943; however, primary transcripts of MicX are processed in an RNase E‐ and Hfq‐dependent fashion to a shorter, still active and much more stable form consisting largely of the vca0943 3′ untranslated region. Our data suggest that processing of MicX enhances its effectiveness, and that sRNA cleavage is not simply a means to sRNA inactivation and clearance.
Insights into the complex regulation of rpoS in Borrelia burgdorferi
Authors: Burtnick Mary N. , Downey Jennifer S. , Brett Paul J. , Boylan Julie A. , Frye Jonathan G. , Hoover Timothy R. , Gherardini Frank C.
Published: June 2007

Co‐ordinated regulation of gene expression is required for the transmission and survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in different hosts. The sigma factor RpoS (σS), as regulated by RpoN (σ54), has been shown to regulate key virulence factors (e.g. OspC) required for these processes. As important, multiple signals (e.g. temperature, pH, cell density, oxygen) have been shown to increase the expression of σS‐dependent genes; however, little is known about the signal transduction mechanisms that modulate the expression of rpoS. In this report we show that: (i) rpoS has a σ54‐dependent promoter that requires Rrp2 to activate transcription; (ii) Rrp2Δ123, a constitutively active form of Rrp2, activated σ54‐dependent transcription of rpoS/P‐lacZ reporter constructs in Escherichia coli; (iii) quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (QRT‐PCR) experiments with reporter cat constructs in B. burgdorferi indicated that Rrp2 activated transcription of rpoS in an enhancer‐independent fashion; and finally, (iv) rpoN is required for cell density‐ and temperature‐dependent expression of rpoS in B. burgdorferi, but histidine kinase Hk2, encoded by the gene immediately upstream of rrp2, is not essential. Based on these findings, a model for regulation of rpoS has been proposed which provides mechanisms for multiple signalling pathways to modulate the expression of the σS regulon in B. burgdorferi.
Symplastic connection is required for bud outgrowth following dormancy in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers
Authors: VIOLA ROBERTO , PELLOUX JÉRÔME , VAN DER PLOEG ANKE , GILLESPIE TRUDI , MARQUIS NICOLA , ROBERTS ALISON G. , HANCOCK ROBERT D.
Published: June 2007

To gain greater insight into the mechanism of dormancy release in the potato tuber, an investigation into physiological and biochemical changes in tuber and bud tissues during the transition from bud dormancy (immediately after harvest) to active bud growth was undertaken. Within the tuber, a rapid shift from storage metabolism (starch synthesis) to reserve mobilization within days of detachment from the mother plant suggested transition from sink to source. Over the same period, a shift in the pattern of [U‐14C]sucrose uptake by tuber discs from diffuse to punctate accumulation was consistent with a transition from phloem unloading to phloem loading within the tuber parenchyma. There were no gross differences in metabolic capacity between resting and actively growing tuber buds as determined by [U‐14C]glucose labelling. However, marked differences in metabolite pools were observed with large increases in starch and sucrose, and the accumulation of several organic acids in growing buds. Carboxyfluorescein labelling of tubers clearly demonstrated strong symplastic connection in actively growing buds and symplastic isolation in resting buds. It is proposed that potato tubers rapidly undergo metabolic transitions consistent with bud outgrowth; however, growth is initially prevented by substrate limitation mediated via symplastic isolation.
Treatment with Encapsulated Hsp60 Peptide (p277) Prolongs Skin Graft Survival in a Murine Model of Minor Antigen Disparity
Authors: Luna E. , Postol E. , Caldas C. , Benvenuti L. A. , Rodrigues J. M. , Lima K. , Kalil J. , Coelho V.
Published: June 2007

The increased expression of heat shock protein (Hsp)60 in different kinds of graft tissues has been associated with a proinflammatory role and rejection. However, there are very few reports in which treatment with Hsp60 delays skin allograft rejection. The aim of this work was to evaluate the capacity of encapsulated human Hsp60‐derived peptide p277 to delay graft rejection in two murine models of skin transplantation with minor antigen disparities. Briefly, BALB/c mice and C57BL/6 were intranasally pre‐treated with five doses of Hsp60 p277 peptide encapsulated in polylactide‐co‐glycolide acid microspheres (PLGM), and received skin grafts from DBA2 mice and 129/B6 (F1) mice respectively. The treatment with the peptide increased skin graft survival more than 20 days in both the mouse strains, mainly in C57BL/6 recipients (P < 0.05). Also, p277‐treated BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice showed IL‐10 and IFN‐γ production, induced by p277 peptide. For the first time, a mucosal schedule using the Hsp60 C‐terminal peptide p277 encapsulated in PLGM showed some survival prolongation of skin grafts bearing minor antigen disparities. Our results suggest a potential role for Hsp60‐based therapy and the mucosal route as a useful tool to control the inflammatory response to allografts.
Regulation of photosynthesis in the unicellular acidophilic red alga Galdieria sulphuraria†
Authors: Oesterhelt Christine , Schmälzlin Elmar , Schmitt Jürgen M. , Lokstein Heiko
Published: June 2007

Extremophilic organisms are gaining increasing interest because of their unique metabolic capacities and great biotechnological potential. The unicellular acidophilic and mesothermophilic red alga Galdieria sulphuraria (074G) can grow autotrophically in light as well as heterotrophically in the dark. In this paper, the effects of externally added glucose on primary and secondary photosynthetic reactions are assessed to elucidate mixotrophic capacities of the alga. Photosynthetic O2 evolution was quantified in an open system with a constant supply of CO2 to avoid rapid volatilization of dissolved inorganic carbon at low pH levels. In the presence of glucose, O2 evolution was repressed even in illuminated cells. Ratios of variable to maximum chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and 77 K fluorescence spectra indicated a reduced photochemical efficiency of photosystem II. The results were corroborated by strongly reduced levels of the photosystem II reaction centre protein D1. The downregulation of primary photosynthetic reactions was accompanied by reduced levels of the Calvin Cycle enzyme ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). Both effects depended on functional sugar uptake and are thus initiated by intracellular rather than extracellular glucose. Following glucose depletion, photosynthetic O2 evolution of illuminated cells commenced after 15 h and Rubisco levels again reached the levels of autotrophic cells. It is concluded that true mixotrophy, involving electron transport across both photosystems, does not occur in G. sulphuraria 074G, and that heterotrophic growth is favoured over autotrophic growth if sufficient organic carbon is available.
The management of anaphylaxis in childhood: position paper of the European academy of allergology and clinical immunology
Authors: Muraro A. , Roberts G. , Clark A. , Eigenmann P. A. , Halken S. , Lack G. , Moneret‐Vautrin A. , Niggemann B. , Rancé F. ,   EAACI Task Force on Anaphylaxis in Children
Published: June 2007

Anaphylaxis is a growing paediatric clinical emergency that is difficult to diagnose because a consensus definition was lacking until recently. Many European countries have no specific guidelines for anaphylaxis. This position paper prepared by the EAACI Taskforce on Anaphylaxis in Children aims to provide practical guidelines for managing anaphylaxis in childhood based on the limited evidence available. Intramuscular adrenaline is the acknowledged first‐line therapy for anaphylaxis, in hospital and in the community, and should be given as soon as the condition is recognized. Additional therapies such as volume support, nebulized bronchodilators, antihistamines or corticosteroids are supplementary to adrenaline. There are no absolute contraindications to administering adrenaline in children. Allergy assessment is mandatory in all children with a history of anaphylaxis because it is essential to identify and avoid the allergen to prevent its recurrence. A tailored anaphylaxis management plan is needed, based on an individual risk assessment, which is influenced by the child’s previous allergic reactions, other medical conditions and social circumstances. Collaborative partnerships should be established, involving school staff, healthcare professionals and patients’ organizations. Absolute indications for prescribing self‐injectable adrenaline are prior cardiorespiratory reactions, exercise‐induced anaphylaxis, idiopathic anaphylaxis and persistent asthma with food allergy. Relative indications include peanut or tree nut allergy, reactions to small quantities of a given food, food allergy in teenagers and living far away from a medical facility. The creation of national and European databases is expected to generate better‐quality data and help develop a stepwise approach for a better management of paediatric anaphylaxis.
Building teachers' creative capabilities in Singapore's English classrooms: a way of contesting pedagogical instrumentality
Authors: Kwek Dennis , Albright Jim , Kramer‐Dahl Anneliese
Published: June 2007

This paper presents a pedagogical intervention project conducted in secondary English classrooms in Singapore, entitled “Building Communities of Readers among Teachers”. The project is positioned against the dominant instrumentalism of Singaporean approaches to creativity and promotes a socio‐cultural stance to creativity and criticality in English language education. Currently in progress, the project seeks to foster teachers' rich textual engagements and to connect them with those they provide for their students. Situating the professional development in communities of reading circles, teachers' own, often narrow repertoires of reading are foregrounded, allowing them to experience the struggle of an active engagement with texts, and thus facilitating a re‐imagining of their reading pedagogies, which at present are highly scripted and authoritative. The ultimate aim is to enable them to re‐imagine their reading pedagogies in ways that encourage the creative and critical possibilities that textual openness can bring to classroom practice and learning.
Optimal Tariffs under a Revenue Constraint*
Authors: Hatta Tatsuo , Ogawa Yoshitomo
Published: June 2007

This paper examines the optimal tariff structure under a revenue constraint. When a fixed level of tax revenue has to be collected from the tariff alone, no adjustment in tariff rates can achieve an efficient resource allocation, even in a small open economy. Hence, the optimal tariff problem arises under a revenue constraint. We show that the revenue‐constrained optimal tariff structure is characterized by the following two rules: (i) the optimal tariff rate is lower for the import good that is a closer substitute for the export good, and (ii) the stronger the cross‐substitutability between imports, the closer the optimal tariff is to uniformity. This provides a theoretical explanation for the finding in empirical studies that the efficiency loss from a uniform tariff structure is negligible.
The transport of Staufen2‐containing ribonucleoprotein complexes involves kinesin motor protein and is modulated by mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway
Authors: Jeong Ji‐Hye , Nam Yeon‐Ju , Kim Seok‐Yong , Kim Eung‐Gook , Jeong Jooyoung , Kim Hyong Kyu
Published: June 2007

There is increasing evidence showing that mRNA is transported to the neuronal dendrites in ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes or RNA granules, which are aggregates of mRNA, rRNA, ribosomal proteins, and RNA‐binding proteins. In these RNP complexes, Staufen, a double‐stranded RNA‐binding protein, is believed to be a core component that plays a key role in the dendritic mRNA transport. This study investigated the molecular mechanisms of the dendritic mRNA transport using green fluorescent protein‐tagged Staufen2 produced employing a Sindbis viral expression system. The kinesin heavy chain was found to be associated with Staufen2. The inhibition of kinesin resulted in a significant decrease in the level of dendritic transport of the Staufen2‐containing RNP complexes in neurons under non‐stimulating or stimulating conditions. This suggests that the dendritic transport of the Staufen2‐containing RNP complexes use kinesin as a motor protein. A mitogen‐activated protein kinase inhibitor, PD98059, inhibited the activity‐induced increase in the amount of both the Staufen2‐containing RNP complexes and Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II α‐subunit mRNA in the distal dendrites of cultured hippocampal neurons. Overall, these results suggest that dendritic mRNA transport is mediated via the Staufen2 and kinesin motor proteins and might be modulated by the neuronal activity and mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathway.
DOES VOLATILITY DECREASE AFTER REVERSE STOCK SPLITS?
Authors: Koski Jennifer L.
Published: June 2007

Previous research documents that volatility decreases after reverse stock splits. I show that measurement effects bias observed volatility, especially for lower priced stocks. Based on observed returns, volatility decreases 25% after reverse splits. Controlling for bid–ask bounce, volatility still decreases for stocks with prices above $5.00. However, for stocks below $2.00, volatility increases slightly. The portion of observed volatility attributable to measurement effects declines as the stock price increases and as the minimum tick size decreases. Finally, there is a significant and positive cross‐sectional relation between changes in the number of trades and changes in volatility after reverse splits.
Greek Political Perspectives
Authors: Wheeler Marcus
Published: June 2007

THE MECHANICS, IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS AND IMMEDIATE CONSEquences of the coup d'état of 21 April 1967 in Greece are sufficiently known. By contrast, a defiaitive study of the officers’ plot must await the provision of answers to a number of debated questions (for example, as to the exact extent of the involvement of King Constantine or of members of his personal entourage). Meanwhile, however, it may be possible to try to set the coup, the military regime and the opposition to it which has emerged in the general perspective of recent Greek politics.
Subsidiarity as a Guiding Principle for European Community Activities
Authors: Neunreither Karlheinz
Published: June 2007

Maastricht Has Put Subsidiarity in The Forefront OF European Community (EC) guidelines. This new principle will allow the EC to take action wherever competences are shared in those areas where the member states cannot sufficiently achieve its objectives, but not beyond. The new Article 3b reads:

The Community shall act within the limits of the powers conferred upon it by this Treaty and of the objectives assigned to it therein.

In areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Community shall take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member states and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community.

Any action by the Community shall not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Treaty.
Globalization and the Liberal Democratic State
Authors: Held David , McGrew Anthony
Published: June 2007

At First Sight it Might Appear Somewhat Curious to be studying the efficacy of the liberal democratic state just at that historic moment when liberal democracy seems to have triumphed on a global scale. Yet within contemporary Europe, the nature of political community and sovereign power have been thrown into question by the resurgence of ethnic nationalism, the intensification of regional integration and global turbulence. Taken together, these forces appear to deliver a fundamental challenge to the democratic ideals which underpin liberal democratic states. This article seeks to evaluate the nature of this challenge. It invites specific consideration of the consequences of these ‘threats from above’ and ‘threats from below’ for the character of the modern state.
A United Germany Preparing for the 1994 Elections
Authors: von Beyme Klaus
Published: June 2007

The Unification of Germany — not as a Confederation as most DDR intellectuals and many West German leftists and Greenish citizens had hoped for but by means of the Anschluss of the GDR — was a daring venture: would the East Germans accept the new national state? The Anschluss by the ‘unconditional surrender’ of the East Germans entailed enormous costs. Destabilization of West German democracy and non-acceptance of democracy by the East Germans was always a latent danger.
Turbulence in British Politics: The First Two Years of the Major Government
Authors: Ionescu Ghiţa
Published: June 2007

The expression post-globalization was chosen here because it is more comprehensive than the now much more popular ‘post-cold war’. While the latter has the advantage of offering a chronological turning point (the formalities of the end of the 1980s), in reality it is only the ideologico-military effect of a series of simultaneous changes in the world brought about in the last decade by the still ongoing and unpredictable information revolution. These changes affect all information and kinds of communication in the whole world and therefore justify the name of globalization - and for the transitional era which follows, of post-globalization in which we now live.
International Economic Relations After the Cold War
Authors: Bayne Nicholas
Published: June 2007

When The Berlin Wall Came Down, on 10 November 1989, and communist regimes crumbled first in Central Europe, then in the Balkans, finally in the Soviet Union, we all hoped that a new era of peace and prosperity would begin. We knew it would be hard and painful for working democracies and effective market economies to be established in the former Warsaw Pact countries. But we believed that this could be achieved: and that we in the West could provide not only material help, but also the valuable example of the successful economic system practised by the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This system had finally triumphed over the rival, centrally-planned approach. Moreover, it was not just in Central and Eastern Europe that the open market economic system was prevailing, but all over the world. China was transforming its economy, with conspicuous success. The little dragons of East Asia were reaching economic standards close to those of OECD and their neighbours in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) were following in their wake. In Latin America new, open economic and trade policies were being brought in, notably in Mexico. The world-wide prospects had never looked better.
The Northern Ireland Peace Process and the War against Terrorism: Conflicting Conceptions?
Authors: Guelke Adrian
Published: June 2007

Preserving Northern Ireland's peace process in the midst of a war against international terrorism has presented the British government with a series of dilemmas at the level of political rhetoric, policy-making and legislation. The peace process demands adherence to human rights standards to provide a foundation for the new political dispensation, while an implication of the necessity for a war against terrorism is that restrictions on liberty are justifiable in the name of security against the backdrop of the existence of an emergency. These conflicting conceptions for addressing political violence at the national and international level are addressed.
Terrorism as a Strategy
Authors: Freedman Lawrence
Published: June 2007

In this article I discuss terrorism as a problem in the study of strategy rather than strategy as a problem in the study of terrorism. There is a developing literature now asserting that terrorist activity should be evaluated as strategy, so that dealing with the phenomenon requires not only denouncing it for its warped morality and inhumanity but also understanding motives and methods, treating it as purposive and instrumental and not just wicked. In this article I take it for granted that terrorism is strategic activity; my question is, what does this type of activity tell us about strategy? The case is interesting because terrorism is strategically generally demanding and prone to failure. Certainly when used on its own it is a poor support for political objectives, and may be counter-productive even when used with other methods. By looking at strategy at the fringes it is possible to illuminate aspects of strategic activity that have a wider application.