bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Starch Derivatives of High Degree of Functionalization. 7. Preparation of Cationic 2‐Hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium Chloride Starches
Authors: Heinze Thomas , Haack Vera , Rensing Stephan
Published: July 2004

Water‐soluble starch derivatives containing quarternary ammonium groups of high degree of substitution are prepared by reacting starch with 2,3‐epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride in different reaction media. The reaction was carried out in aqueous sodium hydroxide under dissolution of the product, in dimethyl sulfoxide homogeneously, and completely heterogeneously in ethanol/water. The DS values of up to 1.1 in an one‐step synthesis of the samples can be controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of cationization agent to anhydroglucose unit and are only slightly dependent on the amylose content of the starting starch material. A two‐step reaction yields products of a DS of up to 1.5. The structure of the cationic starch derivatives was confirmed by means of elemental analysis, FTIR‐ and NMR spectroscopy as well as GC‐MS.
Film Properties of Hydroxypropyl Starch
Authors: Vorwerg Waltraud , Dijksterhuis Jan , Borghuis Johannes , Radosta Sylvia , Kröger Anja
Published: July 2004

The present study describes the preparation of low‐substituted hydroxypropyl (HP) starches and investigation of their suitability for the development of flexible, highly transparent cast films. Changes in molecular composition due to processing conditions were identified by determining molar mass distribution. Molecular characterisation was performed both by static light scattering (SLS) and size‐exclusion chromatography with multi‐angle laser light scattering (SEC‐MALLS) detection. The weight‐average molar mass, mean square radius of gyration, second virial coefficient, and molar mass distribution were determined. Rheological characterisation of concentrated aqueous solutions included a study of flow behaviour as a function of shear rate and oscillatory measurement of viscoelastic properties. Significant differences in rheological properties due to hydroxypropylation conditions were established. Mechanical testing was carried out by measuring tensile strength and elongation and determining the elastic modulus. The tensile strength of cast films based on hydroxypropyl starches was 40–50 MPa. Elongation values were dependent on the type of starch, use of plasticiser and storage conditions.
Structure Analysis of Carboxymethyl Starch by Capillary Electrophoresis and Enzymic Degradation
Authors: Tüting Wiebke , Albrecht Gerald , Volkert Bert , Mischnick Petra
Published: July 2004

Carboxymethyl starches (CMS) with a degree of substitution (DS) in the range of 1.2 to 1.5 were analysed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) after hydrolysis and reductive amination in a borate buffer. The monomer composition determined was compared to data calculated by the statistical models of Spurlin and Reuben. In addi­tion, the starch derivatives were exhaustively degraded by α‐amylase and amylo­glucosidase and the amount of glucose liberated was determined. Results were discussed with regard to derivatisation conditions and properties of the carboxymethyl starches.
Highly Substituted Carboxymethyl Starch
Authors: Volkert Bert , Loth Fritz , Lazik Waldemar , Engelhardt Jürgen
Published: July 2004

Carboxymethyl starches (CMS) with a degree of substitution (DS) in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 and reagent yields about 70% were synthesised under heterogeneous reaction conditions. Starting from a standard procedure for manufacturing low substituted CMS the molar ratios of the reagents were increased. Under these conditions starch particles agglomerated during the reaction and the stirrer stopped. The reaction conditions (pulp density, addition of dispersing and water binding agents, pressure, sequence of reagents addition, reaction time, temperature, starch variety, etc.) were varied to find the best process conditions for optimum reaction efficiencies and product properties. If an amylose‐free starch, e.g. waxy corn starch is used as starting material, the obtained products are completely soluble in water to form a clear solution. The products are good viscosity regulators. Using a 2% aqueous solution a wide range of viscosity (1–90 000 mPa s) can be adjusted. The calcium‐binding capacity and the biodegradability of the products were investigated.
L x‐ray fluorescence cross‐sections of heavy elements in the atomic region 57 ≤ Z ≤ 71 excited by 17.78 keV photons
Authors: Salah Wa'el
Published: July 2004

L x‐ray fluorescence cross‐sections (σLα, σLβ, and σLγ) were measured with an accuracy of 6% (except for the Lγ x‐ray line around 8%) for La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb and Lu at an excitation energy of 17.78 keV. Relative intensities IKβ/IKα and ILγ/ILα were also measured for the same elements. The measured cross‐sections were compared with experimental and theoretical values. Measurements of the emitted x‐rays were performed using an Si(Li) detector. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Suppression of bcr‐abl synthesis by siRNAs or tyrosine kinase activity by Glivec alters different oncogenes, apoptotic/antiapoptotic genes and cell proliferation factors (microarray study)
Authors: Zhelev Zhivko , Bakalova Rumiana , Ohba Hideki , Ewis Ashraf , Ishikawa Mitsuru , Shinohara Yasuo , Baba Yoshinobu
Published: July 2004

Short 21‐mer double‐stranded/small‐interfering RNAs (ds/siRNAs) were designed to target bcr‐abl mRNA in chronic myelogenous leukemia. The ds/siRNAs were transfected into bcr‐abl‐positive K‐562 (derived from blast crisis chronic myelogenous leukemia), using lipofectamine. Penetrating of ds/siRNAs into the cells was detected by fluorescent confocal microscopy, using fluorescein‐labeled ds/siRNAs. The cells were treated with mix of three siRNA sequences (3 × 60 nM) during 6 days with three repetitive transfections. The siRNA‐treatment was accompanied with significant reduction of bcr‐abl mRNA, p210, protein tyrosine kinase activity and cell proliferation index. Treatment of cells with Glivec (during 8 days with four repetitive doses, 180 nM single dose) resulted in analogous reduction of cell proliferation activity, stronger suppression of protein tyrosine kinase activity, and very low reduction of p210. siRNA‐mix and Glivec did not affect significantly the viability of normal lymphocytes. Microarray analysis of siRNA‐ and Glivec‐treated K‐562 cells demonstrated that both pathways of bcr‐abl suppression were accompanied with overexpression and suppression of many different oncogenes, apoptotic/antiapoptotic and cell proliferation factors. The following genes of interest were found to decrease in relatively equal degree in both siRNA‐ and Glivec‐treated cells: Bcd orf1 and orf2 proto‐oncogene, chromatin‐specific transcription elongation factor FACT 140‐kDa subunit mRNA, gene encoding splicing factor SF1, and mRNA for Tec protein tyrosine kinase. siRNA‐mix and Glivec provoked overexpression of the following common genes: c‐jun proto‐oncogene, protein kinase C‐α, pvt‐1 oncogene homologue (myc activator), interleukin‐6, 1‐8D gene from interferon‐inducible gene family, tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (10b), and STAT‐induced STAT inhibitor.
The intracellular dissipation of cytosolic calcium following glucose re‐addition to carbohydrate depleted Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Kellermayer Richard , Szigeti Réka , Kellermayer Miklós , Miseta Attila
Published: July 2004

Glucose re‐addition to carbohydrate starved yeast cells leads to a transient elevation of eytosolic calcium (TECC). Concomitantly, a cytosolic proton extrusion occurs through the activation of the vacuolar H+‐ATPase and the plasma membrane H+‐ATPases. This study addressed the dissipation of the TECC through intracellular compartmentalization and the possible affects of the H+‐ATPases on this process. Both the vacuole and the Golgi‐ER apparatus were found to play important roles in distributing calcium to internal stores. Additionally, the inhibition of cytosolic proton extrusion augmented cytosolic calcium responses. A model where pH dependent cytosolic calcium buffering plays an important role in the dissipation of the TECC in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is proposed.
Pim‐1 kinase promotes inactivation of the pro‐apoptotic Bad protein by phosphorylating it on the Ser112 gatekeeper site
Authors: Aho Teija L.T , Sandholm Jouko , Peltola Katriina J , Mankonen Harri P , Lilly Michael , Koskinen Päivi J
Published: July 2004

Constitutive expression of the Pim‐1 kinase prolongs survival of cytokine‐deprived FDCP1 cells, partly via maintenance of Bcl‐2 expression. Here, we show that Pim‐1 colocalizes and physically interacts with the pro‐apoptotic Bad protein and phosphorylates it in vitro on serine 112, which is a gatekeeper site for its inactivation. Furthermore, wild‐type Pim‐1, but not a kinase‐deficient mutant, enhances phosphorylation of this site in FDCP1 cells and protects cells from the pro‐apoptotic effects of Bad. Our results suggest that phosphorylation of Bad by Pim‐1 is one of several mechanisms via which the Pim‐1 kinase can enhance Bcl‐2 activity and promote cell survival.
Two independent light signals cooperate in the activation of the plastid psbD blue light‐responsive promoter in Arabidopsis
Authors: Mochizuki Takateru , Onda Yayoi , Fujiwara Emi , Wada Masamitsu , Toyoshima Yoshinori
Published: July 2004

The psbD blue light‐responsive promoter (BLRP), whose activation has been considered to require strong blue light, is recognized only by SIG5 among six σ factors of plastid RNA polymerase in Arabidopsis. We found SIG5 transcript accumulation was rapidly induced after a 30‐min induction time by blue light (470 nm) with an intensity threshold of 5 μmol m−2
s−1 through cryptochromes. Besides this weak blue light, the psbD BLRP activation required the stronger light such as 50 μmol m−2
s−1 irrespective of blue or red light (660 nm). Thus, the two independent light signalings, the cryptochrome‐mediated signaling to induce SIG5 transcription and the stronger light‐dependent signaling, cooperate to activate the psbD BLRP.
NO‐degradation by alfalfa class 1 hemoglobin (Mhb1): a possible link to PR‐1a gene expression in Mhb1‐overproducing tobacco plants
Authors: Seregélyes Csaba , Igamberdiev Abir U , Maassen Anna , Hennig Jacek , Dudits Dénes , Hill Robert D
Published: July 2004

Tobacco plants overproducing alfalfa class 1 hemoglobin (HOT plants) have been shown to have reduced necrotic symptom development. Here, we show that this altered pathogenic response is linked to a significant increase in the nitric oxide (NO)‐affected pathogenesis‐related (PR‐1a) transcript accumulation in the transgenic plants. Homogenates of HOT transgenic seedlings were also found to have higher NO‐scavenging activity than non‐transformed ones. The NO‐scavenging properties of recombinant alfalfa class1 hemoglobin have been examined. Recombinant Mhb1 (rMhb1) was produced in bacteria and purified using polyethylene glycol (10–25%) fractionation, chromatography on DEAE–Sephacel, and Phenyl Superose columns. After the final purification step, the obtained preparations were near homogeneous and had a molecular weight of 44 kDa determined by size‐exclusion chromatography and 23 kDa by SDS–PAGE, indicating that rMhb1 is a dimer. The protein participated in NO‐degradation activity with NAD(P)H as a cofactor. After ion‐exchange columns, addition of FAD was necessary for exhibiting maximal NO‐degradation activity. The NAD(P)H‐dependent NO‐scavenging activity of rMhb1, which is similar to that of barley hemoglobin, supports a conclusion that both monocot and dicot class 1 hemoglobins can affect cellular NO levels by scavenging NO formed during hypoxia, pathogen attack and other stresses.
Work Practices and Histopathological Changes in the Tenosynovium in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Men
Authors: PICKERING S. A. W. , STEVENS A. , DAVIS T. R. C.
Published: July 2004

The aim of this prospective study was to assess whether the fibrous thickening of the carpal tunnel tenosynovium is influenced by working practices. We did this by investigating 50 men (58 hands) with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, who were undergoing carpal tunnel decompression.

Occupational history, including vibration tool exposure, and presence of callosities and/or ingrained dirt on hands was recorded at the time of surgery. The flexor tenosynovium was biopsied, and assessed histologically by an observer blinded to occupational history.

Occupational group, age, weight and smoking showed no significant association with fibrous tenosynovial thickening. There was also no significant association between fibrous tenosynovial thickening and the presence of hand callosities/in-grained dirt or regular use of vibration tools. Thus no association was found between heavy occupational hand usage and the development of fibrous tenosynovial thickening around tendons within the carpal tunnel.
Treatment of End-Neuromas, Neuromas-in-Continuity and Scarred Nerves of the Digits by Proximal Relocation
Authors: HAZARI A. , ELLIOT D.
Published: July 2004

This paper reports the results of treatment by proximal relocation of 104 painful nerves in 57 digits in 48 patients. These included 86 digital nerves and 18 terminal branches of the superficial radial nerve and the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve. Eighty-three were end-neuromas and 14 were neuromas-in-continuity, of which nine followed nerve repair and five occurred following a closed crush injury. Seven were painful as a result of tethering in scarred tissue.

Eighty nerves (77%) required a single relocation and 24 (23%) required more than one operation. Ninety-eight per cent of nerve relocations achieved complete pain relief at the primary site. One patient had mild pain on pressure at the primary site after relocation of two nerves from this site. Over 90% of the nerves had no spontaneous pain, pain on movement or hypersensitivity of the overlying skin at the final site of relocation. However, the incidence of mild or no pain on direct pressure at the site of nerve relocation was lower at 83% as relocated nerves, although traumatized less often at the sites chosen for relocation, can still be painful on direct pressure.
Trigger Finger Treatment by Ulnar Superficialis Slip Resection (U.S.S.R.)
Authors: LE VIET D. , TSIONOS I. , BOULOUEDNINE M. , HANNOUCHE D.
Published: July 2004

Surgical release of the A1 pulley for treatment of trigger finger normally produces excellent results. However, in patients with long-standing disease, there may be a persistent fixed flexion deformity of the proximal interphalangeal joint. This is sometimes due to a degenerative thickening of the flexor tendons and may be treated by resection of the ulnar slip of flexor digitorum superficialis tendon. One hundred seventy-two patients (228 fingers) who had undergone this procedure were reviewed at a mean follow-up of 66 months. Mean pre-operative fixed flexion deformity of the proximal interphalangeal joint was 33°. All but eight fingers were improved by surgery and there was an average gain of 26° in passive extension (7° residual fixed flexion deformity) of the proximal interphalangeal joint. Full extension was attained in 141 of the 228 fingers, and in all 101 fingers with a pre-operative loss of passive extension of 30° or less. This technique is indicated for patients with loss of passive extension in the proximal interphalangeal joint and a long history of triggering.
The Inefficient Use of Power: Costly Conflict with Complete Information
Authors: POWELL ROBERT
Published: July 2004

Recent work across a wide range of issues in political economy as well as in American, comparative, and international politics tries to explain the inefficient use of power—revolutions, civil wars, high levels of public debt, international conflict, and costly policy insulation—in terms of commitment problems. This paper shows that a common mechanism is at work in a number of these diverse studies. This common mechanism provides a more general formulation of a type of commitment problem that can arise in many different substantive settings. The present analysis then formalizes this mechanism as an “inefficiency condition” that ensures that all of the equilibria of a stochastic game are inefficient. This condition has a natural substantive interpretation: Large, rapid changes in the actors' relative power (measured in terms of their minmax payoffs) may cause inefficiency.
Privatizing Risk without Privatizing the Welfare State: The Hidden Politics of Social Policy Retrenchment in the United States
Authors: HACKER JACOB S.
Published: July 2004

Over the last decade, students of the welfare state have produced an impressive body of research on retrenchment, the dominant thrust of which is that remarkably few welfare states have experienced fundamental shifts. This article questions this now-conventional wisdom by reconsidering the post-1970s trajectory of the American welfare state, long considered the quintessential case of social policy stability. I demonstrate that although most programs have indeed resisted retrenchment, U.S. social policy has also offered increasingly incomplete risk protection in an era of dramatic social change. Although some of this disjuncture is inadvertent—an unintended consequence of the very political stickiness that has stymied retrenchment—I argue that the declining scope of risk protection also reflects deliberate and theoretically explicable strategies of reform adopted by welfare state opponents in the face of popular and change-resistant policies, a finding that has significant implications for the study of institutional change more broadly.
Remodeling the Competition for Capital: How Domestic Politics Erases the Race to the Bottom
Authors: BASINGER SCOTT J. , HALLERBERG MARK
Published: July 2004

This paper proposes and tests a new formal model of the competition for capital, using the analogy of a “tournament” as a substitute for the ”race-to-the-bottom” model. Our key insight is that political costs that accompany legislating have both direct and indirect effects on the likelihood and scale of reforms. While countries with higher political costs are less likely themselves to enact reforms, the presence of these costs also reduces competing countries' incentives to reform regardless of their own political costs. Domestic politics therefore mitigates the pressures for downward convergence of tax policy despite increased capital mobility. We examine the capital tax policies in OECD countries during the period from 1980 to 1997 and find that states are sensitive to tax reforms in competitor countries, although their responses to reforms are mediated by their own domestic costs to reform. We define two potential sources of political costs of reform: transaction costs, due to the presence of multiple veto players in the legislative process, and constituency costs, due to ideological opposition to policy changes that benefit capital. Our evidence reveals that a reduction in these costs either domestically or abroad increases the likelihood that a country enacts tax reforms.
Diverging Orbits: Situation Definitions in Creation of Regimes for Broadcast and Remote Sensing Satellites
Authors: PETERSON M. J.
Published: July 2004

The divergent results of two roughly simultaneous negotiations about international regimes for TV broadcasting and remote sensing from satellites reveal that governments do not form preferences by referring only to the interests emphasized in rational choice accounts or to the identities emphasized in sociological institutionalist ones. Tracing the course of the negotiations reveals that governments' perceptions of the interests and identities at stake, and their formulation of their preferences are shaped by their understanding of the contours of the problem or issue at hand. These understandings, or situation definitions, structure political interactions by indicating the causal and moral beliefs relevant to the question at hand, the range of efficacious and acceptable policy means available for addressing it, and the sorts of authority, expertise, skills, and other resources that give particular actors strong claims to inclusion in the process of deciding how to address it.
Spatial Models of Delegation
Authors: BENDOR JONATHAN , MEIROWITZ ADAM
Published: July 2004

Although a large literature on delegation exists, few models have pushed beyond a core set of canonical assumptions. This approach may be justified on grounds of tractability, but the failure to grasp the significance of different assumptions and push beyond specific models has limited our understanding of the incentives for delegation. Consequently, the justifications for delegation that have received recent scrutiny and testing differ from some of the more plausible justifications offered by informal studies of delegation. We show that surprisingly few results in the literature hinge on risk aversion, and surprisingly many turn on the ignored, though equally canonical, technological assumption that uncertainty is fixed (relative to policies). Relaxing the key assumptions about dimensionality and functional forms provides a clearer intuition about delegation—one that is closer to classical treatments. The theory allows us to relate different institutional features (commitment, specialization costs, monitoring, multiple principals) to delegation's observable properties.
What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?
Authors: GERRING JOHN
Published: July 2004

This paper aims to clarify the meaning, and explain the utility, of the case study method, a method often practiced but little understood. A “case study,” I argue, is best defined as an intensive study of a single unit with an aim to generalize across a larger set of units. Case studies rely on the same sort of covariational evidence utilized in non-case study research. Thus, the case study method is correctly understood as a particular way of defining cases, not a way of analyzing cases or a way of modeling causal relations. I show that this understanding of the subject illuminates some of the persistent ambiguities of case study work, ambiguities that are, to some extent, intrinsic to the enterprise. The travails of the case study within the discipline of political science are also rooted in an insufficient appreciation of the methodologicaltradeoffsthat this method calls forth. This paper presents the familiar contrast between case study and non-case study work as a series of characteristic strengths and weaknesses—affinities—rather than as antagonistic approaches to the empirical world. In the end, the perceived hostility between case study and non-case study research is largely unjustified and, perhaps, deserves to be regarded as a misconception. Indeed, the strongest conclusion to arise from this methodological examination concerns the complementarity of single-unit and cross-unit research designs.
The Statistical Analysis of Roll Call Data
Authors: CLINTON JOSHUA , JACKMAN SIMON , RIVERS DOUGLAS
Published: July 2004

We develop a Bayesian procedure for estimation and inference for spatial models of roll call voting. This approach is extremely flexible, applicable to any legislative setting, irrespective of size, the extremism of the legislators' voting histories, or the number of roll calls available for analysis. The model is easily extended to let other sources of information inform the analysis of roll call data, such as the number and nature of the underlying dimensions, the presence of party whipping, the determinants of legislator preferences, and the evolution of the legislative agenda; this is especially helpful since generally it is inappropriate to use estimates of extant methods (usually generated under assumptions of sincere voting) to test models embodying alternate assumptions (e.g., log-rolling, party discipline). A Bayesian approach also provides a coherent framework for estimation and inference with roll call data that eludes extant methods; moreover, via Bayesian simulation methods, it is straightforward to generate uncertainty assessments or hypothesis tests concerning any auxiliary quantity of interest or to formally compare models. In a series of examples we show how our method is easily extended to accommodate theoretically interesting models of legislative behavior. Our goal is to provide a statistical framework for combining the measurement of legislative preferences with tests of models of legislative behavior.
ON COMPUTING THE NON-ABELIAN TENSOR SQUARES OF THE FREE 2-ENGEL GROUPS
Authors: Blyth Russell D. , Morse Robert Fitzgerald , Redden Joanne L.
Published: July 2004

In this paper we compute the non-abelian tensor square for the free 2-Engel group of rank $n>3$. The non-abelian tensor square for this group is a direct product of a free abelian group and a nilpotent group of class 2 whose derived subgroup has exponent 3. We also compute the non-abelian tensor square for one of the group’s finite homomorphic images, namely, the Burnside group of rank $n$ and exponent 3.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 20F05; 20F45. Secondary 20F18
LEFT ANNIHILATORS CHARACTERIZED BY DIFFERENTIAL IDENTITIES
Authors: Lee Tsiu-Kwen , Pan Ching-Yueh
Published: July 2004

Let $R$ be a semiprime ring with $U_{\trm{s}}$ its maximal symmetric ring of quotients and let $\rho_1$ and $\rho_2$ be two right ideals of $R$. We show that $\ell_R(\rho_1)=\ell_R(\rho_2)$ if and only if $\rho_1$ and $\rho_2$ satisfy the same differential identities with coefficients in $U_{\trm{s}}$, where $\ell_R(\rho_i)$ denotes the left annihilator of $\rho_i$ in $R$. This gives a generalization of several previous results in this area.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 6R50. Secondary 16N60
DISCRETE APPROXIMATION OF NON-COMPACT OPERATORS DESCRIBING CONTINUUM-OF-ALLELES MODELS
Authors: Redner Oliver
Published: July 2004

We consider the eigenvalue equation for the largest eigenvalue of certain kinds of non-compact linear operators given as the sum of a multiplication and a kernel operator. It is shown that, under moderate conditions, such operators can be approximated arbitrarily well by operators of finite rank, which constitutes a discretization procedure. For this purpose, two standard methods of approximation theory, the Nyström and the Galerkin method, are generalized. The operators considered describe models for mutation and selection of an infinitely large population of individuals that are labelled by real numbers, commonly called continuum-of-alleles models.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 47A58; 45C05. Secondary 47B34
INVERSE FACTORIAL-SERIES SOLUTIONS OF DIFFERENCE EQUATIONS
Authors: Olde Daalhuis A. B.
Published: July 2004

We obtain inverse factorial-series solutions of second-order linear difference equations with a singularity of rank one at infinity. It is shown that the Borel plane of these series is relatively simple, and that in certain cases the asymptotic expansions incorporate simple resurgence properties. Two examples are included. The second example is the large $a$ asymptotics of the hypergeometric function ${}_2F_1(a,b;c;x)$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 34E05; 39A11. Secondary 33C05
ESTIMATES FOR MAHLER’S MEASURE OF A LINEAR FORM
Authors: Rodriguez-Villegas Fernando , Toledano Ricardo , Vaaler Jeffrey D.
Published: July 2004

Let $L_{\bm{a}}(\bm{z})=a_1z_1+a_2z_2+\cdots+a_Nz_N$ be a linear form in $N$ complex variables $z_1,z_2,\dots,z_N$ with non-zero coefficients. We establish several estimates for the logarithmic Mahler measure of $L_{\bm{a}}$. In general, we show that the logarithmic Mahler measure of $L_{\bm{a}}(\bm{z})$ and the logarithm of the norm of $\bm{a}$ differ by a bounded amount that is independent of $N$. We prove a further estimate which is useful for making an approximate numerical evaluation of the logarithmic Mahler measure.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 11C08; 11Y35; 26D15
INTERNAL q-HOMOLOGY OF CROSSED MODULES
Authors: Ladra Manuel , Vieites Ana M.
Published: July 2004

For $q$ a non-negative integer, we introduce the internal $q$-homology of crossed modules and we obtain in the case $q=0$ the homology of crossed modules. In the particular case of considering a group as a crossed module we obtain that its internal $q$-homology is the homology of the group with coefficients in the ring of the integers modulo $q$.

The second internal $q$-homology of crossed modules coincides with the invariant introduced by Grandjeán and López, that is, the kernel of the universal $q$-central extension. Finally, we relate the internal $q$-homology of a crossed module to the homology of its classifying space with coefficients in the ring of the integers modulo $q$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 18G50; 20J05. Secondary 18G30
Stratigraphical and palaeobiogeographical significance of fossil wood from the Mesozoic Khorat Group of Thailand
Authors: PHILIPPE MARC , SUTEETHORN VARAVUDH , LUTAT PETRA , BUFFETAUT ERIC , CAVIN LIONEL , CUNY GILLES , BARALE GEORGES
Published: July 2004

Fossil wood from the poorly dated (Jurassic–Cretaceous?) continental sediments of the Khorat Group, northeastern Thailand (Isan) is described. The Khorat Group is widely distributed (Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) and, despite its poorly known age, stratigraphy and palaeoecology, is of importance in understanding the Sibumasu–Indochina collision. The systematics of wood assemblage and palaeobiogeographical analysis reveal strong relationships with Indochina, especially Vietnam, and suggest an age in the range Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. According to wood taphonomy, the corresponding trees grew alongside streams under a rather arid climate, although this became wetter during the deposition of the upper formations of the Khorat Group.
The Middle to Late Devonian Høybakken detachment, central Norway: 40Ar–39Ar evidence for prolonged late/post-Scandian extension and uplift
Authors: KENDRICK M. A. , EIDE E. A. , ROBERTS D. , OSMUNDSEN P. T.
Published: July 2004

The regionally significant 0.5–2 km thick Høybakken detachment in central Norway bounds the southern margin of the Central Norway Basement Window and exhibits a well-developed top-to-the-WSW fabric characteristic of late Scandian, Devonian ductile extension. 40Ar–39Ar data obtained from hornblende, mica and K-feldspar mineral separates of rocks collected in a transect through the Høybakken detachment yield well-defined plateau and isochron mineral ages. Early Devonian exhumation and cooling of the Høybakken detachment footwall is recorded by hornblende ages of ∼ 400 Ma and mica ages of ∼ 390 Ma. The mylonitic fabric overlying the footwall records younger Middle Devonian mica crystallization ages of 384–381 Ma that are among the youngest extensional ductile fabrics dated in the Caledonides and suggest prolonged extensional activity on the Høybakken detachment. After inferred cessation of ductile extension at 381 Ma, the rate of uplift and cooling was reduced, and the footwall records Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous K-feldspar ages of 371–356 Ma. Prolonged extensional activity at Høybakken is compatible with recent U–Pb ages of deformed titanite crystals and established Rb–Sr ages of white mica in shear-related pegmatites, both from the southwestern part of the Fosen Peninsula, and 40Ar–39Ar ages of syn-tectonic mica overgrowth from the adjacent Hitra–Snåsa Fault. Together, these ages suggest the onset of ductile extension soon after ∼ 401 Ma, and with the Middle Devonian crystallization ages determined here, suggest that ductile extension on the Høybakken detachment had a duration of 11–20 Ma. The youngest age of 320 Ma was obtained from a K-feldspar in a cataclastic granite of the Høybakken detachment's hangingwall and is considered to date a phase of post-Scandian brittle deformation that overprinted the mylonitic shear fabric.
The ophiolite-related Mersin Melange, southern Turkey: its role in the tectonic–sedimentary setting of Tethys in the Eastern Mediterranean region
Authors: PARLAK OSMAN , ROBERTSON ALASTAIR
Published: July 2004

The Mersin Melange underlies the intact Mersin Ophiolite and its metamorphic sole to the south of the Mesozoic Tauride Carbonate Platform in southern Turkey. The Melange varies from chaotic melange to broken formation, in which some stratigraphic continuity can be recognized. Based on study of the broken formation, four lithological associations are recognized: (1) shallow-water platform association, dominated by Upper Palaeozoic–Lower Cretaceous neritic carbonates; (2) rift-related volcanogenic–terrigenous–pelagic association, mainly Upper Triassic andesitic–acidic volcanogenic rocks, siliciclastic gravity flows, basinal carbonates and radiolarites; (3) within-plate-type basalt–radiolarite–pelagic limestone association, interpreted as Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous seamounts with associated radiolarian sediments and Upper Cretaceous pelagic carbonates; (4) ophiolite-derived association, including fragments of the Upper Cretaceous Mersin Ophiolite and its metamorphic sole. Locally, the ophiolitic melange includes granite that yielded a K/Ar radiometric age of 375.7±10.5 Ma (Late Devonian). This granite appears to be subduction influenced based on ‘immobile’ element composition.

The Mersin Melange documents the following history: (1) Triassic rifting of the Tauride continent; (2) Jurassic–Cretaceous passive margin subsidence; (3) oceanic seamount genesis; (4) Cretaceous supra-subduction zone ophiolite genesis; (5) Late Cretaceous intra-oceanic convergence-metamorphic sole formation, and (6) latest Cretaceous emplacement onto the Tauride microcontinent and related backthrusting.

Regional comparisons show that the restored Mersin Melange is similar to the Beyşehir–Hoyran Nappes further northwest and a northerly origin best fits the regional geological picture. These remnants of a North-Neotethys (Inner Tauride Ocean) were formed and emplaced to the north of the Tauride Carbonate Platform. They are dissimilar to melanges and related units in northern Syria, western Cyprus and southwestern Turkey, which are interpreted as remnants of a South-Neotethys. Early high-temperature ductile transport lineations within amphibolites of the metamorphic sole of the Mersin ophiolite are generally orientated E–W, possibly resulting from vertical-axis rotation of the ophiolite while still in an oceanic setting. By contrast, the commonly northward-facing later stage brittle structures are explained by backthrusting of the ophiolite and melange related to exhumation of the partially subducted northern leading edge of the Tauride continent.
Planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Neogene sequence in the Adana Basin, Turkey, and its correlation with standard biozones
Authors: NAZIK ATIKE
Published: July 2004

The aim of this study is to describe the biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and ecostratigraphic relationships of the Neogene sequence in the Adana Basin. The Adana Basin is located in southern Turkey, and bordered by the Tauride Orogenic Belt to the north, the Amanos Mountains to the east, the Mediterranean coast to the south and the Ecemiş Fault Zone to the west. From base to top, the Neogene sequence consists of the Gildirli Formation (continental redbeds), the shallow marine Kaplankaya Formation, the reefal limestones of the Karaisalı Formation, the shales of the Güvenç Formation (slope to deep marine), a thick submarine fan complex (Cingöz Formation), the shallow marine and fluvio-deltaic Kuzgun Formation and the shallow marine lagoonal–continental Handere Formation. The planktonic foraminiferal biozones identified within the Neogene sequence of the Adana Basin are Globigerinoides trilobus and Praeorbulina glomerosa curva (Burdigalian), Globorotalia fohsi peripheroronda/Orbulina suturalis (Langhian), and Globorotalia mayeri (Serravallian). The Late Tortonian is characterized by the first occurrence of Globorotalia suterae. There are no planktonic foraminiferal zones in the Messinian, but this level may be correlated with a non-distinctive zone in the Mediterranean region. The Pliocene is represented by the Sphaeroidinellopsis Acme Zone.
The GREAT FIRE OF 1660 AND THE ISLAMIZATION OF CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH SPACE IN ISTANBUL
Authors: Baer Marc David
Published: July 2004

On 24 July 1660, a great conflagration broke out in Istanbul. An Ottoman writer conveys the horror of the event: “[t]housands of homes and households burned with fire. And in accordance with God's eternal will, God changed the distinguishing marks of night and day by making the very dark night luminous with flames bearing sparks, and darkening the light-filled day with black smoke and soot.” The fire began in a store that sold straw products outside the appropriately named Firewood Gate (Odun kapısı) west of Eminönü, and it devastated densely crowded neighborhoods consisting of wooden homes. The strong winds of Istanbul caused the fire to spread violently in all directions, despite the efforts of the deputy grand vizier (kaimmakam) and others who attempted the impossible task of holding it back with hooks, axes, and water carriers. Sultan Mehmed IV's boon companion and chronicler, Abdi Paşa, notes that the fire marched across the city like an invading army: the flames “split into divisions, and every single division, by the decree of God, spread to a different district.” The fire spread north, west, and to Unkapanı. According to Mehmed Halife, in Süleymaniye the spires of the four minarets of the great mosque burned like candles. The blaze reached Bayezid and then moved south and west to Davud Paşa, Kumkapı, and even as far west as Samatya. The flames did not spare the Hippodrome (At Meydanı) in the east or Mahmud Paşa and the markets at the center of the peninsula, either. Abdi Paşa estimated that the fire reduced 280,000 households to ashes as the city burned for exactly forty-nine hours. Two-thirds of Istanbul was destroyed in the conflagration, and as many as 40,000 people lost their lives. Although fire was a frequent occurrence in 17th-century Istanbul, this was the worst the city had ever experienced. Thousands died in the plague that followed the fire as rats feasted on unburied corpses and spread disease. Because three months prior to this fire a conflagration had broken out in the heart of the district of Galata, across the Golden Horn from Eminönü, much of the city lay in ruins in the summer of 1660.
POPULATION CHANGES IN OTTOMAN ANATOLIA DURING THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES: THE “DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS” RECONSIDERED
Authors: Özel Oktay
Published: July 2004

The historiography of the past two decades of the demographic history of 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman Anatolia has seen diverse and often conflicting arguments among historians. Whether the Ottoman Empire witnessed “population pressure” in the 16th century, and whether this was followed in the 17th century by a serious “demographic crisis,” considered by some historians as a “catastrophe,” have constituted the central theme of the debate. The roots of these issues can be traced as far back as the early works of Ömer Lütfi Barkan in the 1940s and 1950s. It appears that the disagreements not only arose as a result of the different models of historical demography developed by diverse schools of thought, but that they also owed much to the highly disputed nature of the sources that provide the bulk of quantitative data for the demographic history of the Ottoman Empire.
Grammatici certant Rodney Huddleston & Geoffrey K. Pullum (in collaboration with Laurie Bauer, Betty Birner, Ted Briscoe, Peter Collins, David Denison, David Lee, Anita Mittwoch, Geoffrey Nunberg, Frank Palmer, John Payne, Peter Peterson, Lesley Stirling and Gregory Ward), The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. xvii+1,842.
Authors: AARTS BAS
Published: July 2004

The first large-scale modern grammars of English were Quirk et al.'s A grammar of contemporary English (1972) and A comprehensive grammar of the English language (1985). It has taken 18 years for a major competitor to be published. Many linguists, especially those whose main focus is English, will have looked forward to the publication of the present book. The Cambridge grammar of the English language (henceforth CaGEL) is first and foremost the brainchild of Rodney Huddleston, whose 1984 Introduction to the grammar of English had already established itself as an important text. He was joined by Geoffrey Pullum and the other authors listed above at various points in time.
Do children acquire dense neighborhoods? An investigation of similarity neighborhoods in lexical acquisition
Authors: STORKEL HOLLY L.
Published: July 2004

This study tests the claim that children acquire collections of phonologically similar word forms, namely, dense neighborhoods. Age of acquisition (AoA) norms were obtained from two databases: parent report of infant and toddler production and adult self-ratings of AoA. Neighborhood density, word frequency, word length, Density×Frequency and Density×Length were analyzed as potential predictors of AoA using linear regression. Early acquired words were higher in density, higher in word frequency, and shorter in length than late acquired words. Significant interactions provided evidence that the lexical factors predicting AoA varied, depending on the type of word being learned. The implication of these findings for lexical acquisition and language learning are discussed.
Morphological awareness: Just “more phonological”? The roles of morphological and phonological awareness in reading development
Authors: DEACON S. HÉLÈNE , KIRBY JOHN R.
Published: July 2004

Given the morphophonemic nature of the English orthography, surprisingly few studies have examined the roles of morphological and phonological awareness in reading. This 4-year longitudinal study (Grades 2–5) compared these two factors in three aspects of reading development: pseudoword reading, reading comprehension, and single word reading. Morphological awareness contributed significantly to pseudoword reading and reading comprehension, after controlling prior measures of reading ability, verbal and nonverbal intelligence, and phonological awareness. This contribution was comparable to that of phonological awareness and remained 3 years after morphological awareness was assessed. In contrast, morphological awareness rarely contributed significantly to single word reading. We argue that these results provide evidence that morphological awareness has a wide-ranging role in reading development, one that extends beyond phonological awareness.
Awareness, different learning conditions, and second language development
Authors: ROSA ELENA M. , LEOW RONALD P.
Published: July 2004

This study investigated the role of awareness in different learning conditions in relation to second language (L2) development. Adult learners of Spanish were exposed to past conditional sentences in one of five versions of a computerized problem-solving task that vary in their degree of explicitness. By employing both on-line and off-line data elicitation procedures, two main issues were addressed: whether exposure to L2 input under different conditions had a differential impact on learners' awareness and whether different levels of awareness influenced learners' ability to recognize and produce new exemplars of the target structure immediately after exposure to the input and over time. Results indicated that higher levels of awareness were not only associated with more explicit conditions but were also substantially more effective than lower levels.
New Policy Ideas and Old Policy Networks: Implementing Green Taxation in Scandinavia
Authors: DAUGBJERG CARSTEN , PEDERSEN ANDERS BRANTH
Published: July 2004

In the past, green taxation has become a widespread tool in pollution control in Europe. This new type of state intervention is based on an idea developed by environmental economists and diffused internationally through various channels of information exchange. We argue that the idea itself does not inform us about the way in which green taxation is designed because sectoral policy networks influence power relations, which in turn influence the actual design of green tax schemes. Thus, policy networks are the intervening variable explaining why an internationally diffused policy idea is implemented differently in various national settings. This argument is supported by a comparison of pesticide taxation and CO2 taxation in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Improving population health or the population itself? Health technology assessment and our genetic future
Authors: Bassett Ken , Lee Patricia M. , Green Carolyn J. , Mitchell Lisa , Kazanjian Arminée
Published: July 2004

The province of British Columbia (BC), Canada is developing its first population-wide prenatal genetic screening program, known as triple-marker screening (TMS). TMS, initiated with a simple blood test, is most commonly used to screen for fetuses with the chromosomal abnormality known as Down syndrome or neural tube disorders. Women testing TMS-positive are offered diagnostic amniocentesis and, if the diagnosis is confirmed, selective second-trimester abortion. The project described in this study was initiated to address the broad range of issues arising from this testing technology and provides an example of the new type of health technology assessment (HTA) contribution emerging (and likely to become increasing necessary) in health policy development. With the advent of prenatal genetic screening programs, would-be parents gain the promise of identifying target conditions and, hence, the option of selective abortion of affected fetuses. There is considerable awareness that these developments pose challenges in every dimension (ethical, political, economic, and clinical) of the health-care environment. In the effort to construct an appropriate prenatal screening policy, therefore, administrators have understandably sought guidance from within the field of HTA. The report authors concluded that, within the restricted path open to it, the role of government is relatively clear. It has the responsibility to maintain equal access to prenatal testing, as to any other health service. It should also require maintenance of medical standards and evaluation of program performance. At the same time, policy-makers need actively to support those individuals born with disabilities and their families.
Systematic review of the role of gender as a health determinant of hospitalization for depression
Authors: Savoie Isabelle , Morettin Denise , Green Carolyn J. , Kazanjian Arminée
Published: July 2004

Objectives:To conduct a systematic review of selected health determinants, including gender, and their impact on hospitalization rates for depression. Depression includes both depressive and bipolar disorders. Selected health determinants were gender, age, sex, family structure, education, and socioeconomic status.

Methods:Systematic search of conventional and fugitive literature sources. All reports of primary data, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis of primary data were included if they focused on hospitalization for depression and reported data by one or more of the selected health determinants. Two researchers independently evaluated each citation for inclusion and extracted data from the included studies.

Results:There is an important underreporting of health determinants data in studies of hospitalization for depression. No studies examined the role of gender. Age and sex were reported in 83 percent and 80 percent of the 110 included studies. Women showed a higher rate of hospitalization for depression than men (p<.05). Age and diagnosis had different effects in men and women. Adult women were significantly more likely than men to report a depressive disorder, whereas men were more likely to report a bipolar disorder (p<.05). Little can be concluded on the other health determinants.

Conclusions:The importance of reporting hospitalization data and conducting hospital utilization analysis by sex and health determinants, including gender, must be emphasized.