bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Responses of wool growth rate and body reserves to nutrition in Merino ewes: a potential biological link between production and fitness
Authors: Adams N. R. , Briegel J. R. , Greeff J. C.
Published: September 2007

This study examined whether the low body-fat reserves in sheep with high estimated breeding values (EBVs) for clean fleece weight (CFW) reported previously are affected by nutritional history, and second whether the effect may be related to differences in the variation in fibre diameter (CVfd). Groups of 11 20-month-old Merino ewes with high and low EBVs for CFW and for CVfd were compared in a 2 × 2 design at low bodyweight, then fed ad libitum for 100 days and re-measured. The response of wool growth rate to feed supply (WRF) was estimated as the slope of the regression against time of clean wool mass collected from mid-side patches at intervals of 30–40 days throughout the experiment. High CFW sheep had greater feed intake relative to liveweight and liveweight gain (P = 0.02), but did not differ significantly in other characteristics from low CFW sheep. High CVfd sheep had lower plasma concentrations of insulin (P = 0.02), IGF-1 (P = 0.03), and albumin (P = 0.02) throughout the study, and had less fat when in poor body condition (P = 0.02). The WRF was greater in both the high CFW (P = 0.003) and the high CVfd (P = 0.004) genotypes. When studied in poor body condition, sheep with a high WRF had lower liveweight (P < 0.001), lower body condition score (P < 0.001), lower plasma albumin (P < 0.001), and higher plasma growth hormone (P = 0.02), but these relationships weakened or disappeared after ad libitum feeding. Sheep with high WRF also had lower plasma concentrations of insulin (P = 0.002) and IGF-1 (P = 0.008) throughout the study, which may have brought about the increased responsiveness of protein and energy metabolism to nutrition. The results indicate that genetic selection for wool characteristics can affect the responsiveness of wool growth rate to nutrient supply. Sheep that are highly responsive grow more wool when offered abundant feed, but may have lower body nutrient reserves when on limited feed.
Genetic evaluation of crossbred lamb production. 5. Age of puberty and lambing performance of yearling crossbred ewes
Authors: Fogarty N. M. , Ingham V. M. , Gilmour A. R. , Afolayan R. A. , Cummins L. J. , Edwards J. E. Hocking , Gaunt G. M.
Published: September 2007

The age and liveweight at puberty were evaluated in 2155 crossbred ewe lambs at 2 sites over 3 years. A separate dataset examined the lambing performance of 1177 crossbred ewe lambs that were joined naturally at ~7 months of age at 2 sites over 3 years and also their lambing performances in the subsequent 2 years. The ewe lambs were the progeny of Merino dams and sires from several breeds including Border Leicester, East Friesian, Finnsheep, Coopworth, White Suffolk, Corriedale, and Booroola Leicester. Overall, 85% of the ewe lambs reached puberty (detected by teasers) in their first autumn at an average age of 248 days and liveweight of 42 kg. There was significant variation in age and weight at puberty (P < 0.01) among the site and year cohorts of ewes. Sire breed was significant for weight (P < 0.01) but not age at puberty. Of the crossbred ewe lambs joined at 7 months of age, 54% lambed with an average litter size of 1.31 and 49% of lambs were weaned from the ewes joined. There was a significant site effect for all reproduction traits (P < 0.01), with the higher performance at one site associated with higher liveweight at joining. Maternal sire breed was significant for all reproduction traits (P < 0.01) and there was considerable variation between sires within sire breeds. Ewes that reared lambs in their first year weaned 12% more lambs per year in their second and third years compared with ewes that failed to lamb or rear any lambs at 1 year of age. The results demonstrate that lamb weaning rates of 90% or more can be achieved from crossbred ewe lambs with optimal genetics and management. The opportunities for improving productivity by joining crossbred ewe lambs and the selection and management considerations required for successful joinings and lambings are reviewed and discussed.
Grazing, mulching, and removal of wheat straw in a no-till system in a semi-arid environment
Authors: Landau S. , Schoenbaum Iris , Barkai D. , Ungar E. D. , Genizi A. , Kigel J.
Published: September 2007

Straw mulching and no-till technologies have improved grain yields in the 250-mm-rainfall wheatbelt of the northern Negev region of Israel. However, mulching the soil with straw is incompatible with the traditional practice of baling the straw for animal fodder and/or using the stubble for sheep grazing. We compared 3 wheat straw management strategies in a no-till production system, for 4 consecutive growing seasons. The treatments were straw mulching (SM), manual removal of the straw (MR), and grazing by sheep of the straw and stubble (G). The amount of straw cover for treatment SM declined over the years, and did not reach the minimum threshold value deemed necessary to improve wheat grain yield in the region. Grain yield (1150 kg/ha) and quality (volumetric mass, 75 kg/100 L; crude protein, 127 g/kg) did not differ significantly among the 3 treatments. The density of the total seedbank was 3623, 1675, and 1499/m2 in the G, MR, and SM treatments, respectively. This difference was due to a greater amount of small grasses (e.g. Rostraria smyrnacea). However, treatment G hosted significantly less mole and vole activity than treatments SM and MR (1.1 v. 13.6 and 12.4 dens/ha, respectively). Our data suggest that, relative to straw and stubble grazing, straw mulching offers no advantage that can be quantified in terms of wheat yield, under the conditions of this study.
Environmental v. genetically driven variation in ecophysiological traits of Nothofagus pumilio from contrasting elevations
Authors: Premoli Andrea C. , Brewer Carol A.
Published: September 2007

Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. et Endl.) Krasser is a broadleaved deciduous tree that dominates high-elevation forests in the southern Andes. We evaluated the degree to which differences in stomatal density and physiological traits (net assimilation, conductance and water use efficiency) were related to environmental and genetic influences with elevation by comparing plants growing under field and common garden conditions. Low-elevation leaves under field conditions had fewer stomata, although this pattern was not maintained in the common garden. Assimilation rates were >40% higher for high-elevation plants in the field, and 18% higher in the common garden, than those for low-elevation plants. In addition, under field conditions high-elevation plants tended to have higher stomatal conductance and lower instantaneous water use efficiency than did low-elevation plants; however, these differences were not significant in the common garden. Thus, assimilation seems to be under genetic control whereas ecophysiological traits related to the use of water appear to be more responsive to environmental cues. Our results suggest that plants growing along elevational gradients may show complex ecophysiological patterns. These patterns may be acquired by genetically driven responses to conditions that are fixed throughout the life span of individuals, such as soil nutrients. Also plastic adjustments may favour opportunistic use of available water during the dry season, particularly under Mediterranean-type climate regimes with summer drought.
Environmental determinants of a restricted cycad in central Australia, Macrozamia macdonnellii
Authors: Preece Luke D. , Duguid Angus W. , Albrecht David E.
Published: September 2007

Macrozamia macdonnellii (F.Muell. ex miq.) A.DC. (Zamiaceae) is a cycad restricted to the MacDonnell and surrounding ranges of central Australia. Although it is a conspicuous, iconic and reasonably abundant plant of these ranges, there has been little previous documentation of the factors that limit current distribution. The distribution is distinctively patchy with some observed preference for gullies, gorges and relatively shady slopes. Anecdotal evidence suggests this species may be a relict that had more widespread distributions during previous cooler and more mesic climates. In the present study, field data were collected at 143 sites within 13 locations to test the environmental determinants of its current distribution, using logistic regression. A regression model was created to model the presence of M. macdonnellii in relation to the field-collected environmental variables and GIS software was used to create a second model for derived environmental variables and collated known locations of M. macdonnellii. Variables included in the models were selected by using Akaike’s information criterion. The results suggest that M. macdonnellii is more likely to be present in environments that provide relatively low radiation (high shade), low maximum temperature, an optimum minimum temperature, steep slopes, high wetness, short distances to drainage lines and skeletal soils. Fire and rockiness indices were poor predictors of the presence of M. macdonnellii. Microclimate, determined by some of the variables, was found to be the primary limiting factor for the distribution of M. macdonnellii, which supports the possibility that this species is a climatic relict.
Proinsulin maturation, misfolding, and proteotoxicity
Authors: Liu Ming , Hodish Israel , Rhodes Christopher J. , Arvan Peter
Published: September 2007

As a tool to explore proinsulin (PI) trafficking, a human PI cDNA has been constructed with GFP fused within the C peptide. In regulated secretory cells containing appropriate prohormone convertases, the hProCpepGFP construct undergoes endoproteolytic processing to CpepGFP and native human insulin, which are specifically detected and cosecreted in parallel with endogenous insulin. Expression of C(A7)Y mutant PI results in autosomal dominant diabetes in
Akita
mice. We directly identify the misfolded PI in
Akita
islets and also show that C(A7)Y mutant PI, either in the context of the hProCpepGFP chimera or not, engages directly in protein complexes with nonmutant PI, impairing the trafficking and recovery of nonmutant PI. This trapping mechanism decreases insulin production in β cells. Thereafter we observe a loss of β cell viability. The data imply that PI misfolding leading to impaired endoplasmic reticulum exit of nonmutant PI may be a key early step in a chain reaction of β cell dysfunction and demise leading to onset and progression of diabetes.
Spatial gradients in Clovis-age radiocarbon dates across North America suggest rapid colonization from the north
Authors: Hamilton Marcus J. , Buchanan Briggs
Published: September 2007

A key issue in the debate over the initial colonization of North America is whether there are spatial gradients in the distribution of the Clovis-age occupations across the continent. Such gradients would help indicate the timing, speed, and direction of the colonization process. In their recent reanalysis of Clovis-age radiocarbon dates, Waters and Stafford [Waters MR, Stafford TW, Jr (2007)
Science
315:1122–1126] report that they find no spatial patterning. Furthermore, they suggest that the brevity of the Clovis time period indicates that the Clovis culture represents the diffusion of a technology across a preexisting pre-Clovis population rather than a population expansion. In this article, we focus on two questions. First, we ask whether there is spatial patterning to the timing of Clovis-age occupations and, second, whether the observed speed of colonization is consistent with demic processes. With time-delayed wave-of-advance models, we use the radiocarbon record to test several alternative colonization hypotheses. We find clear spatial gradients in the distribution of these dates across North America, which indicate a rapid wave of advance originating from the north. We show that the high velocity of this wave can be accounted for by a combination of demographic processes, habitat preferences, and mobility biases across complex landscapes. Our results suggest that the Clovis-age archaeological record represents a rapid demic colonization event originating from the north.
Social cheating in
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
quorum sensing
Authors: Sandoz Kelsi M. , Mitzimberg Shelby M. , Schuster Martin
Published: September 2007

In a process termed quorum sensing, bacteria use diffusible chemical signals to coordinate cell density-dependent gene expression. In the human pathogen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, quorum sensing controls hundreds of genes, many of which encode extracellular virulence factors. Quorum sensing is required for
P. aeruginosa
virulence in animal models. Curiously, quorum sensing-deficient variants, most of which carry a mutation in the gene encoding the central quorum sensing regulator
lasR
, are frequently isolated from acute and chronic infections. The mechanism for their emergence is not known. Here we provide experimental evidence suggesting that these
lasR
mutants are social cheaters that cease production of quorum-controlled factors and take advantage of their production by the group. We detected an emerging subpopulation of
lasR
mutants after ≈100 generations of
in vitro
evolution of the
P. aeruginosa
wild-type strain under culture conditions that require quorum sensing for growth. Under such conditions, quorum sensing appears to impose a metabolic burden on the proliferating bacterial cell, because quorum-controlled genes not normally induced until cessation of growth were highly expressed early in growth, and a defined
lasR
mutant showed a growth advantage when cocultured with the parent strain. The emergence of quorum-sensing-deficient variants in certain environments is therefore an indicator of high quorum sensing activity of the bacterial population as a whole. It does not necessarily indicate that quorum sensing is insignificant, as has previously been suggested. Thus, novel antivirulence strategies aimed at disrupting bacterial communication may be particularly effective in such clinical settings.
Trait changes in a harvested population are driven by a dynamic tug-of-war between natural and harvest selection
Authors: Edeline Eric , Carlson Stephanie M. , Stige Leif C. , Winfield Ian J. , Fletcher Janice M. , James J. Ben , Haugen Thrond O. , Vøllestad L. Asbjørn , Stenseth Nils C.
Published: September 2007

Selective harvest of large individuals should alter natural adaptive landscapes and drive evolution toward reduced somatic growth and increased reproductive investment. However, few studies have simultaneously considered the relative importance of artificial and natural selection in driving trait changes in wild populations. Using 50 years of individual-based data on Windermere pike (
Esox lucius
), we show that trait changes tracked the adaptive peak, which moved in the direction imposed by the dominating selective force. Individual lifetime somatic growth decreased at the start of the time series because harvest selection was strong and natural selection was too weak to override the strength of harvest selection. However, natural selection favoring fast somatic growth strengthened across the time series in parallel with the increase in pike abundance and, presumably, cannibalism. Harvest selection was overridden by natural selection when the fishing effort dwindled, triggering a rapid increase in pike somatic growth. The two selective forces appear to have acted in concert during only one short period of prey collapse that favored slow-growing pike. Moreover, increased somatic growth occurred concurrently with a reduction in reproductive investment in young and small female pike, indicating a tradeoff between growth and reproduction. The age-specific amplitude of this change paralleled the age-specific strength of harvest pressure, suggesting that reduced investment was also a response to increased life expectancy. This is the first study to demonstrate that a consideration of both natural selection and artificial selection is needed to fully explain time-varying trait dynamics in harvested populations.
Genome-wide profiling identifies epithelial cell genes associated with asthma and with treatment response to corticosteroids
Authors: Woodruff Prescott G. , Boushey Homer A. , Dolganov Gregory M. , Barker Chris S. , Yang Yee Hwa , Donnelly Samantha , Ellwanger Almut , Sidhu Sukhvinder S. , Dao-Pick Trang P. , Pantoja Carlos , Erle David J. , Yamamoto Keith R. , Fahy John V.
Published: September 2007

Airway inflammation and epithelial remodeling are two key features of asthma. IL-13 and other cytokines produced during T helper type 2 cell-driven allergic inflammation contribute to airway epithelial goblet cell metaplasia and may alter epithelial–mesenchymal signaling, leading to increased subepithelial fibrosis or hyperplasia of smooth muscle. The beneficial effects of corticosteroids in asthma could relate to their ability to directly or indirectly decrease epithelial cell activation by inflammatory cells and cytokines. To identify markers of epithelial cell dysfunction and the effects of corticosteroids on epithelial cells in asthma, we studied airway epithelial cells collected from asthmatic subjects enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of inhaled corticosteroids, from healthy subjects and from smokers (disease control). By using gene expression microarrays, we found that
chloride channel, calcium-activated, family member 1
(
CLCA1
),
periostin
, and
serine peptidase inhibitor, clade B (ovalbumin), member 2
(
serpinB2
) were up-regulated in asthma but not in smokers. Corticosteroid treatment down-regulated expression of these three genes and markedly up-regulated expression of
FK506-binding protein 51
(
FKBP51
). Whereas high baseline expression of
CLCA1
,
periostin
, and
serpinB2
was associated with a good clinical response to corticosteroids, high expression of
FKBP51
was associated with a poor response. By using airway epithelial cells in culture, we found that IL-13 increased expression of
CLCA1
,
periostin
, and
serpinB2
, an effect that was suppressed by corticosteroids. Corticosteroids also induced expression of FKBP51. Taken together, our findings show that airway epithelial cells in asthma have a distinct activation profile and identify direct and cell-autonomous effects of corticosteroid treatment on airway epithelial cells that relate to treatment responses and can now be the focus of specific mechanistic studies.
A Myc–Groucho complex integrates EGF and Notch signaling to regulate neural development
Authors: Orian Amir , Delrow Jeffrey J. , Rosales Nieves Alicia E. , Abed Mona , Metzger David , Paroush Ze'ev , Eisenman Robert N. , Parkhurst Susan M.
Published: September 2007

Integration of patterning cues via transcriptional networks to coordinate gene expression is critical during morphogenesis and misregulated in cancer. Using DNA adenine methyltransferase (Dam)ID chromatin profiling, we identified a protein–protein interaction between the
Drosophila
Myc oncogene and the Groucho corepressor that regulates a subset of direct dMyc targets. Most of these shared targets affect fate or mitosis particularly during neurogenesis, suggesting the dMyc–Groucho complex may coordinate fate acquisition with mitotic capacity during development. We find an antagonistic relationship between dMyc and Groucho that mimics the antagonistic interactions found for EGF and Notch signaling: dMyc is required to specify neuronal fate and enhance neuroblast mitosis, whereas Groucho is required to maintain epithelial fate and inhibit mitosis. Our results suggest that the dMyc–Groucho complex defines a previously undescribed mechanism of Myc function and may serve as the transcriptional unit that integrates EGF and Notch inputs to regulate early neuronal development.
Regulation of
SHOOT MERISTEMLESS
genes via an upstream-conserved noncoding sequence coordinates leaf development
Authors: Uchida Naoyuki , Townsley Brad , Chung Kook-Hyun , Sinha Neelima
Published: September 2007

The indeterminate shoot apical meristem of plants is characterized by the expression of the Class 1
KNOTTED1-LIKE HOMEOBOX
(
KNOX1
) genes.
KNOX1
genes have been implicated in the acquisition and/or maintenance of meristematic fate. One of the earliest indicators of a switch in fate from indeterminate meristem to determinate leaf primordium is the down-regulation of
KNOX1
genes orthologous to
SHOOT MERISTEMLESS
(
STM
) in
Arabidopsis
(hereafter called
STM
genes) in the initiating primordia. In simple leafed plants, this down-regulation persists during leaf formation. In compound leafed plants, however,
KNOX1
gene expression is reestablished later in the developing primordia, creating an indeterminate environment for leaflet formation. Despite this knowledge, most aspects of how
STM
gene expression is regulated remain largely unknown. Here, we identify two evolutionarily conserved noncoding sequences within the 5′ upstream region of
STM
genes in both simple and compound leafed species across monocots and dicots. We show that one of these elements is involved in the regulation of the persistent repression and/or the reestablishment of
STM
expression in the developing leaves but is not involved in the initial down-regulation in the initiating primordia. We also show evidence that this regulation is developmentally significant for leaf formation in the pathway involving
ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1/2
(
AS1/2
) gene expression; these genes are known to function in leaf development. Together, these findings reveal a regulatory point of leaf development mediated through a conserved, noncoding sequence in
STM
genes.
A protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation network regulates a plant potassium channel
Authors: Lee Sung Chul , Lan Wen-Zhi , Kim Beom-Gi , Li Legong , Cheong Yong Hwa , Pandey Girdhar K. , Lu Guihua , Buchanan Bob B. , Luan Sheng
Published: September 2007

Potassium (K
+
) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development. Plants often adapt to low K
+
conditions by increasing their K
+
uptake capability. Recent studies have led to the identification of a calcium signaling pathway that enables plants to act in this capacity. Calcium is linked to two calcineurin B-like calcium sensors (CBLs) and a target kinase (CBL-interacting protein kinase 23 or CIPK23) that, in turn, appears to phosphorylate and activate the potassium channel,
Arabidopsis
K
+
transporter 1 (AKT1), responsible for K
+
uptake in roots. Here, we report evidence that this regulatory mechanism is more elaborate than earlier envisaged. The recently described pathway is part of an extensive network whereby several CBLs interact with multiple CIPKs in the activation of the potassium channel, AKT1. The physical interactions among the CBL, CIPK, and AKT1 components provide a mechanism for specifying the members of the CBL and CIPK families functional in AKT1 regulation. The interaction between the CIPKs and AKT1 was found to involve the kinase domain of the CIPK component and the ankyrin repeat domain of the channel. Furthermore, we identified a 2C-type protein phosphatase that physically interacts and inactivates the AKT1 channel. These findings provide evidence that the calcium-sensitive CBL and CIPK families together with 2C-type protein phosphatases form a protein phoshporylation/dephosphorylation network that regulates the AKT1 channel for K
+
transport in plants.
Creative noun–noun compounds
Authors: Benczes Réka
Published: September 2007

The paper makes the following novel claims: (1) the semantics of noun–noun compounds which is activated by metaphor and/or metonymy (often termed as “exocentric” compounds in linguistics and generally regarded as semantically opaque) can be accounted for within a cognitive linguistic framework, and the term “creative compound” is proposed for such linguistic phenomena; (2) there are regular patterns of creative compounds, depending on which constituent is affected by conceptual metaphor and/or metonymy. The second part of the paper presents one type of creative compounds: noun–noun combinations whose meaning is influenced by a metaphor-based semantic relationship between the two constituents. Such compounds seem to be quite frequent in English and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: ranging from the “simpler” cases of image metaphors to the more elaborate single scope blends. The paper will give examples of the various types and will provide detailed analyses of each, within a cognitive linguistic framework.
The Non-Uniformity of Quantificational Variability Effects
Authors: Endriss Cornelia , Hinterwimmer Stefan
Published: September 2007

In this article, we discuss three different kinds of quantificational variability effects, namely quantificational variability readings in adverbially quantified sentences with (a) singular indefinites, (b) bare plurals, and (c) non kind-denoting plural definites. We investigate the three different strategies that are needed to derive the different kinds of quantificational variability effects. It is argued that all cases have the same quantificational domain, i.e. they all involve quantification over eventualities. We also show that the availability of quantificational variability effects in sentences with singular indefinites and plural definites is restricted by a constraint that we call the tense agreement constraint. Interestingly, there is no such restriction for sentences with bare plurals. This difference is due to the fact that singular indefinites and plural definites interact with the denotations of Q-adverbs in another way than bare plurals: while the former can be interpreted directly in the restriction of a Q-adverb, the latter need to be type-shifted in order to be interpretable in this position. This ‘indirect interpretation’ of bare plurals is assumed to be responsible for their resistance to the tense agreement constraint. This in turn is the reason why they induce quantificational variability effects in a wider range of cases than their singular indefinite or plural definite counterparts.
Emergent patterns in the vowels of Singapore English
Authors: Deterding David
Published: September 2007

In the past, the vowels of Singapore English (SgE) have often been described with reference to British English (BrE). However, certain idiosyncratic patterns are now emerging, and these often cannot be predicted by referring to any other varieties of English. The vowels in words such as egg, beg, poor, pure, won, one and the first syllable of absorb and abroad are investigated from the data of 38 speakers, and it is shown that a new standard of SgE pronunciation is emerging for the great majority of speakers.
I gave it him — on the motivation of the ‘alternative double object construction’ in varieties of British English
Authors: Gast Volker
Published: September 2007

Three ditransitive constructions can be found in varieties of British English: (i) the ‘prepositional object construction’, where the recipient is encoded as a prepositional phrase (gave it to him); (ii) the ‘canonical double object construction’, where the recipient precedes the theme (gave him it); and (iii) the ‘alternative double object construction’, where the theme precedes the recipient (gave it him). The last of these constructions is typically found in (north)western varieties of British English when both objects are pronominal, and most of the relevant varieties have a ‘canonical’ ordering (REC > TH) when the theme is non-pronominal. Consequently, there seems to be an ‘inconsistency’ in the clause structure of the varieties in question. Using comparative and historical evidence, this article addresses the question of how this inconsistency can be explained. The ‘paradigmatic mismatch’ under discussion is shown to be a remnant of Old English clause structure which can also be observed in other verb second languages such as Modern German. It is argued to result from a tendency for both verb positions (finite/left and non-finite/right) to attract direct objects. This tendency is regarded as an effect of performance preferences in natural language discourse.
‘An inversion of opticks’
Authors: Steadman-Jones Richard
Published: September 2007

This paper focuses on the linguistic work of John Gilchrist (1759–1841), one of the first British grammarians to produce a detailed and systematic study of the language known in the 18th century as ‘Hindustani’. An interesting feature of Gilchrist’s grammatical texts is the fact that, within the framework of a grammatical account of a South Asian language, they often include short passages discussing contemporary problems in the analysis of English. In these passages, Gilchrist engages directly with the work of writers such as John Horne Tooke, Samuel Johnson, Robert Lowth, and Thomas Sheridan, taking up a position in relation to their work and drawing upon his research on Hindustani to support or challenge their analyses of English. In one typical example, discussed in this paper, he mobilises evidence from his own work in support of Thomas Sheridan’s innovative account of the vowel in words such asmineandthine, an analysis that characterises this sound as a diphthong rather than a simple articulation. In the light of Gilchrist’s later visibility as a political radical, some commentators have seen his allusions to Horne Tooke as evidence that his linguistic work has a demonstrably radical character. However, the diversity of the thinkers with whom Gilchrist engages suggests that it is better to interpret his interventions in the analysis of English as attempts to build a reputation as a scholar, not only in the colony but in the metropolis as well. As such, the passages in which Gilchrist discusses the nature of English can be seen as political in the sense that they helped him to find a platform from which he could voice his radical ideas. But they do not always constitute a radical account of the language itself, their importance lying in the opportunities they offered for self-promotion and, indeed, self-transformation.
Enhancing internet experience of visually impaired persons by means of dynamic highlighting and selective reading
Authors: Juvina Ion , van Oostendorp Herre
Published: September 2007

This paper proposes a research-based tool to assist visually impaired persons (VIPs) in using the Internet via screen readers. The proposed tool is inspired by research on modeling web use and model-based highlighting. This tool assists VIPs in selecting goal-relevant information on web pages. A computational cognitive model simulates the VIPs’ Internet use. An intelligent agent capable of dynamic highlighting and selective reading based on efficient machine learning algorithms runs alongside the (simulated) user. The agent learns from interacting with the cognitive model and the information space. This agent is implemented in an adaptive interface that takes, expands and updates a user goal, finds goal-relevant information and suggests it to the (simulated) user in an appropriate way. The proposed tool could be applied in situations that require handling information overload with limited perceptive and cognitive capabilities.
Interweaving protosign and protospeech
Authors: Arbib Michael A.
Published: September 2007

We distinguish “language readiness” (biological) from “having language” (cultural) and outline a hypothesis for the evolution of the language-ready brain and language involving seven stages: S1: grasping; S2: a mirror system for grasping; S3: a simple imitation system for grasping, shared with the common ancestor of human and chimpanzee; S4: a complex imitation system for grasping; S5: protosign, breaking through the fixed repertoire of primate vocalizations to yield an open repertoire for communication; S6: protospeech, the open-ended production and perception of sequences of vocal gestures, without these sequences constituting a full language; and S7: a process of cultural evolution in
Homo sapiens
yielding full human languages. The present paper will examine the subhypothesis that protosign (S5) formed a scaffolding for protospeech (S6), but that the two interacted with each other in supporting the evolution of brain and body that made Homo sapiens “language-ready”.
File Change Semantics for preschoolers
Authors: Perner Josef , Brandl Johannes L.
Published: September 2007

We develop a new theory of the cognitive changes around 4 years of age by trying to explain why understanding of false belief and of alternative naming emerge at this age (Doherty & Perner, 1998). We make use of the notion of discourse referents (DR: Karttunen, 1976) as it is used in File Change Semantics (Heim, 2002), one of the early forms of the more widely known Discourse Representation Theory (Kamp & Reyle, 1993). The assumed cognitive change exists in how children can link DRs in their mind to external referents. The younger children check whether the conditions for a DR match the conditions of an external entity (an implicit/procedural understanding of reference). The older children, in addition, have an explicit understanding of reference in virtue of making explicit identity assertions. This involves the metarepresentational ability of representing that different DRs represent the same external referent, which — we argue — is required for alternative naming and for the false belief task.
Communication Education in Korea
Authors: Cha Baekeun , Yook Eunkyong , Min Eungjun
Published: September 2007

The study of communication has become one of most popular and major disciplines in Korea. There are over one hundred communication-related departments from eighty-eight colleges with more than 16,000 students today, doubled from the early 1990s. With strong support from the government, the media industry, and colleges, communication related departments have been able to build a reasonably good foundation in terms of programs and curriculums. Like any other disciplines, however, it is experiencing growing pains, searching a balance between the intellectually coherent curriculums and providing marketable knowledge and training for example. This essay discloses and examines the historical development and the current status of communication education in Korea.The study of communication has become one of most popular and major disciplines in Korea. There are over one hundred communication-related departments from eighty-eight colleges with more than 16,000 students today, doubled from the early 1990s. With strong support from the government, the media industry, and colleges, communication related departments have been able to build a reasonably good foundation in terms of programs and curriculums. Like any other disciplines, however, it is experiencing growing pains, searching a balance between the intellectually coherent curriculums and providing marketable knowledge and training for example. This essay discloses and examines the historical development and the current status of communication education in Korea.
The role of language and culture in marketing communication
Authors: Huang Yue Yuan , Chan Allan K.K.
Published: September 2007

Brand naming is a crucial component in marketing communication. Chinese brand naming differs greatly from naming in Western communities. Both linguistic and cultural aspects play an important role in Chinese brand naming. This paper reports our analysis of 5,089 Chinese brand names from 21 product categories. We analyzed these brand names from six aspects: the syllable pattern, the tone pattern, the compounding pattern, the semantic pattern, the semantic field which consists of semantically associated words to indicate the functions or features of products, and the most frequently used words in branding. We found that Chinese brand naming has a consistent tendency for two-syllable names with a modifier-noun compounding structure. High tones and positive meaning are also the preferred features. The cultural influence is reflected in the selection of the semantic fields and the choice of words for brand names.
Polar meaning and “expletive” negation in approximative adverbs
Authors: Pons Bordería Salvador , Schwenter Scott A.
Published: September 2007

In this paper we provide a synchronic and diachronic analysis of an instance of so-called “expletive” negation in the Spanish approximative adverb por poco. Synchronically, we show that this adverb, when combined with the sentence negator no, is ambiguous between ~p (“expletive”) and ~~p (“canonical”) meanings. Diachronically, we show that this ambiguity arose due to a change in the negation system of Spanish around the fifteenth century. As a result, the supposed instances of “expletive” negation found in present-day uses of por poco are not really expletive at all, but rather are a holdover from the Old Spanish requirement of preverbal negative concord.
“Civic” and “ethnic” nationalist discourses in Spanish parliamentary debates
Authors: Grad Fuchsel Hector , Martín Rojo Luisa
Published: September 2007

Parliamentary debates on the definition of the nation-state and national identities are a very revealing discursive domain of tracing the cues of the social construction of this category. Integrating social-psychological and discourse analyses, this article studies how Spanish nationalism interacts with the most influential regional (Catalonian and Basque) nationalisms in the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, and in the regional Parliaments of Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The study is based on a two-dimensional framework, which characterises nationalist cultures in terms of theirInstitutional Status(“established” vs. “rising” nationalism), and in terms of theBasicAssumptions(“civic” vs. “ethnic” aspects in the social representation of the nation — Smith, 19986, 1991). According to the conceptual framework, each of these nationalisms represents a different combination of “established” (Spanish) or “rising” (Basque and Catalonian)InstitutionalStatusas well as of “civic” (in Catalonia) or “ethnic” (Spanish and the Basque)BasicAssumptions(Grad, 1999). The study shows that, in these parliamentary contexts, theInstitutionalStatusand theBasicAssumptionsnot only configure different nationalist positions, but also configure distinct “discursive formations” — reflected in interactional dynamics (of inclusion vs. exclusion, compatibility vs. incompatibility, and consensus vs. conflict relations) — between the different national projects and identities. These discourses belong to an “enunciative system” including systematic subject (the dominant national identity), system of references (or referential) terms to denote national categories or supra-regional — Spain, Spanish State, Basque Country, Catalonia — that serve to distinguish between national in-group and out-group, and clearly differ in extent and connotations in established and rising national codes), as well as associated fields (more ascriptive membership criteria, rigid group boundaries, requirement of internal homogeneity, restrictive referent and extension of the “us” in the ethnic than in civic codes), and materiality (strategies of discursive polarisation, especially salient in the Basque Country parliamentary discourse, which both indicate less compatibility between identities and aim to delegitimise dissent with regard to national referents and goals). Finally, in parliaments where ethnic codes are confronted (Spanish and Basque) politeness is impaired, there is a higher degree of controversy, and the strategies of delegitimisation constitute strong face-threatening acts which endanger the “tacit contract” of the parliamentary interactions. In this regard, ethnic centralist and independentist political positions make harder the compatibility between national identities than civic regional-nationalist and federal proposals. Recent confrontations between Spanish and Basque national positions seem to confirm the patterns found in this analysis.
Researching social and ethnic identity
Authors: Maleševic Siniša
Published: September 2007

This paper focuses on the relationship between the conceptual and methodological problems in the study of social and ethnic identity. The author argues that the theoretical and conceptual deficiencies in defining and understanding the notions of “identity” and “ethnic identity” are reflected in the quality and type of research strategies used to asses empirical claims to ethnic identity. The first part of the paper critically reviews and analyses the use of the concepts “identity” and “ethnic identity” in social science and the humanities. The author focuses in particular on the conceptual history and geography of “identity” stressing its cultural and historical exclusivity. The second part of the paper assesses how these conceptual, historical and cultural problems affect methodological and research strategies in the study of ethnic identity.
Orthographic practices in the standardization of pidgins and creoles: Pidgin in Hawai'i as anti-language and anti-standard
Authors: Romaine Suzanne
Published: September 2007

This article examines the role of orthography in the standardization of pidgins and creoles with particular reference to Pidgin in Hawai'i. Although linguists have generally stressed the desirability of phonemic over non-phonemic or etymological orthographies as a prerequisite for creatingAbstand‘distance’ and revalorizing pidgins and creoles as autonomous systems vis-à-vis their lexifiers, most writers in Hawai'i and elsewhere have been reluctant to use phonemic writing systems even where they exist. This is true even ofDa Jesus Book(2000), which has aimed at setting a standard for written Pidgin. Special attention is paid to the orthographic practices used in this translation of theNew Testamentcompared to those made by other writers, some of whom have explicitly disavowed standardization. These choices present a rich site for investigating competing discourses about Pidgin. Creole orthographies reflecting differing degrees and kinds of distance from those of their lexifiers are powerful expressive resources indexing multiple social meanings and identities. The orthographic practices of some Pidgin writers encode attitudinal stances that are oppositional to standard English and the ideology of standardization. Pidgin is being consciously elaborated as an anti-language, one of whose social meanings is that of Pidgin as an anti-standard. This brings to the fore varied ideological dimensions of a complex debate that has often been oversimplified by posing questions concerning orthographies for pidgins and creoles in terms of a choice between a phonemic vs. a non-phonemic orthography.
Robotics, philosophy and the problems of autonomy
Authors: Haselager Willem F.G.
Published: September 2007

Robotics can be seen as a cognitive technology, assisting us in understanding various aspects of autonomy. In this paper I will investigate a difference between the interpretations of autonomy that exist within robotics and philosophy. Based on a brief review of some historical developments I suggest that within robotics a technical interpretation of autonomy arose, related to the independent performance of tasks. This interpretation is far removed from philosophical analyses of autonomy focusing on the capacity to choose goals for oneself. This difference in interpretation precludes a straightforward debate between philosophers and roboticists about the autonomy of artificial and organic creatures. In order to narrow the gap I will identify a third problem of autonomy, related to the issue of what makes one’s goals genuinely one’s own. I will suggest that it is the body, and the ongoing attempt to maintain its stability, that makes goals belong to the system. This issue could function as a suitable focal point for a debate in which work in robotics can be related to issues in philosophy. Such a debate could contribute to a growing awareness of the way in which our bodies matter to our autonomy.
Distributed learning and mutual adaptation
Authors: Schwartz Daniel L. , Martin Taylor
Published: September 2007

If distributed cognition is to become a general analytic frame, it needs to handle more aspects of cognition than just highly efficient problem solving. It should also handle learning. We identify four classes of distributed learning: induction, repurposing, symbiotic tuning, and mutual adaptation. The four classes of distributed learning fit into a two-dimensional space defined by the stability and adaptability of individuals and their environments. In all four classes of learning, people and their environments are highly interdependent during initial learning. At the same time, we present evidence indicating that certain types of interdependence in early learning, most notably mutual adaptation, can help prepare people to be less dependent on their immediate environment and more adaptive when they confront new environments. We also describe and test examples of learning technologies that implement mutual adaptation.
Sign language transcription at the level of meaning components
Authors: Slobin Dan I. , Hoiting Nini , Anthony Michelle , Biederman Yael , Kuntze Marlon , Lindert Reyna , Pyers Jennie , Thumann Helen , Weinberg Amy
Published: September 2007

The Berkeley Transcription System (BTS) has been designed for the transcription of sign language videotapes at the level of meaning components. The system is based on efforts to transcribe adult-child interactions in American Sign Language (ASL) and Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN). The goal of BTS is to provide a standard means of transcribing signed utterances, meeting the following objectives:

–compatibility with CHAT format and CLAN programs (CHILDES)

–linear representation on a continuous typed line, using only ASCII characters

–representation at the level of meaning components

–full representation of elements of polycomponential verbs

–representation of manual and nonmanual elements

–representation of gaze direction, role shift, visual attention

–representation of gestures and other communicative acts

–notation of characteristics of adult-child interaction (child-directed signing, errors, overlap, self-correction).
Section III
Authors: Schermer Trude , Brien David , Brennan Mary
Published: September 2007

In this paper we wish to describe a joint British/Dutch project that was funded by the European Community under the TIDE programme. The main objective of the project Signbase has been to build a sign language database, which can be used to store linguistic information about a particular sign language. This repository then can be used to generate different types of signed language applications. The project commenced in March 1994 and ended in December 1996. The consortium consisted of people from three different places: the Deaf Studies Research Unit in Durham, UK (DSRU), the Dutch Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child (NSDSK) in Amsterdam and Bright Side of Life computer consultancy (BSL) in Maarssen.

In this paper we discuss the linguistic specifications of Signbase, and then we describe the prototype of two end-user applications (CD-ROM British/English Dictionary and the Educational CD-ROM Nature and Environment) and a commercial application which has been developed during the Signbase project with additional funding (CD-ROM SLN/ Dutch Dictionary for parents and teachers deaf children).