bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deep Souths: Delta, Piedmont, and Sea Island Society in the Age of Segregation. By J. William Harris. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Pp. xii, 454. $45.00.
Authors: Phillips William H.
Published: February 2008

In Deep Souths, J. William Harris looks at three distinct regions in the American South from Reconstruction through the Great Depression. The regions are similar in that they all had majority black populations before the Civil War, with economies dominated by slave plantation agriculture. However, the economies of these regions diverged once the war was over. The Georgia sea-island culture of long-staple cotton and rice collapsed in the late 1800s, as the extremely labor-intensive work of maintaining ditches and dams could not survive a free-labor regime. The eastern Piedmont of Georgia made the conversion from plantation agriculture to sharecropping and expanded cotton production until 1920. But low cotton prices and the boll weevil crippled this economy by the beginning of the Depression. The Mississippi Delta, on the other hand, witnessed a major capital expansion as the swampy wilderness of antebellum times was converted into the South's premier cotton production center.
Women's Work? American Schoolteachers, 1650–1920. By Joel Perlmann and Robert A. Margo. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001. Pp. x, 188. $32.00.
Authors: Mitch David
Published: February 2008

By the 1920s over 90 percent of primary-school teachers in the United States were women. But in 1860, only a third of Southern rural teachers were female whereas in New England and Mid-Atlantic rural areas, modern proportions had already been attained. One of the main objectives of this careful and lucid study is to examine the reasons for these different regional patterns.
The Origins and Economic Impact of the First Bank of the United States, 1791–1797. By David Jack Cowen. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 2000. Pp. xxix, 323. $70.00.
Authors: Sullivan Richard J.
Published: February 2008

David Jack Cowen aims to clarify the economic history of early America by increasing our understanding of the “premier financial institution of the day, the First Bank of the United States” (p. 235). Cowen exploits archival material on the Bank of the United States (BUS), including new information about BUS balance sheets. He examines actions of the BUS through analysis of its balance sheets and ties this evidence to recent research that has generated information about securities (bond) prices. He also reviews contemporary correspondence as well as the minutes of BUS board meetings to glean information about motivation behind BUS activities. These bits and pieces are used to support Cowen's major interpretation of BUS actions in this era: that the BUS acted as an agent for the U.S. Treasury and, at the direction of various Treasury secretaries, acted as a central bank.
A Social Contract for the Coal Fields: The Rise and Fall of the United Mine Workers of America Welfare and Retirement Fund. By Richard P. Mulcahy. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2000. Pp xiii, 274. $34.00.
Authors: Boyd Lawrence W.
Published: February 2008

This is a book that deserves a wider readership than its title might suggest. More than a narrow history concerning health and pension benefits received by one union, it touches on nearly every issue that has been raised concerning health care and social-security reform. Richard Mulcahy accomplishes this feat through a clearly written narrative history that seldom strays from its basic story line. The story involves the founding, development and demise of medical coverage provided by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Welfare and Retirement Fund. Furthermore Mulcahy provides what might be called a revisionist historical assessment of John L. Lewis, president of the UMWA; specifically that his regime might not have been the “Corrupt Kingdom” described by William Finley (The Corrupt Kingdom. The Rise and Fall of the United Mine Workers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972).
Productivity, Innovation and Economic Performance. Edited by Ray Barrell, Geoff Mason, and Mary O'Mahony. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. vii, 289. $74.95.
Authors: Van Vleck Va Nee L.
Published: February 2008

Ray Barrell, Geoff Mason, and Mary O'Mahony have compiled a volume that includes a smattering of economic history, the service sector, the IT revolution, international competitiveness, capital markets, R&D, and education. The connections between these topics are surprisingly coherent from one to the next, although the coherence of the whole is mainly implied. In 11 chapters by 23 contributors, this trim volume examines the complex interaction of innovation and productivity in Britain in the last 20-plus years.
The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. By Hernando de Soto. New York: Basic Books, 2000. Pp. 276. $27.50, cloth; $14.00, paper.
Authors: Libecap Gary D.
Published: February 2008

In this provocative book, Hernando de Soto argues that the reason why transitional and developing economies have had such limited success with adopting capitalism is the lack of formal property rights for the urban poor. Without legal ownership of the homes they inhabit or the businesses they operate, the poor live in a shadow economy, subject to high risk of expropriation, bureaucratic arbitrariness, and political corruption. The absence of title thwarts investment, limits markets, dampens incentives, and retards economic growth all round. The comparatively poor performance of many Latin American, African, and Asian economies stems not from cultures that are alien to commercial activity, from the legacy of past colonialism, or from low savings rates among the poor. The urban poor are entrepreneurs, and formal property institutions are needed to free their energies and expand their opportunities, allowing them to accumulate desperately needed capital. Currently, the urban poor are forced to hold their wealth in defective forms. This misallocation cripples developing economies. According to de Soto, the potential gain is huge. He argues that despite their lack of affluence, the poor still save, and in the aggregate the amounts exceed by perhaps 40 times all of the foreign aid sent to developing countries since 1945. Freeing up these savings and entrepreneurial energy could lead to a second industrial revolution, and end the disparities of wealth and well-being that differentiate the developed and developing worlds.
The First World War and the International Economy. Edited by Chris Wrigley. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2000. Pp. x, 221.
Authors: Foreman-Peck James
Published: February 2008

What difference did the First World War make to the international economy? Since “one thing leads to another,” avoiding this conflict might have prevented the Bolshevik revolution and the Second World War. The Soviet empire need not have collapsed because it would never have arisen. By the same token, the Fascist rulers of Europe and the militaristic government of Japan might never have come to power. On this reckoning, the impact of the “Great War” was to take the twentieth century on a long detour.
IS THE KUZNETS CURVE STILL ALIVE? EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS, 1881–1961
Authors: Rossi Nicola , Toniolo Gianni , Vecchi Giovanni
Published: February 2008

We investigate secular changes in the distribution of personal expenditure in Italy. To this end we present a new data set, consisting of 4,370 family-level budgets scattered over the years 1881–1961. Our methodology is innovative for this kind of study. Italy's secular trend proves to have been egalitarian, and to have accelerated in periods of fast output growth. Sectoral, residential, and demographic changes associated with “modern economic growth” account for a minor part of the observed changes in expenditure distribution, suggesting that other factors, such as wage differentials, play a dominant role in explaining the dynamics of inequality.
TRADE, CONSUMPTION, AND THE NATIVE ECONOMY: LESSONS FROM YORK FACTORY, HUDSON BAY
Authors: Carlos Ann M. , Lewis Frank D.
Published: February 2008

Like Europeans and colonists, eighteenth-century Native Americans were purchasing a greatly expanded variety of goods. As fur prices rose from 1716 to 1770, there was a shift in expenditures from producer and household goods to tobacco, alcohol, and other luxuries by Indians who traded furs at the Hudson's Bay Company's York Factory post. A consumer behavior model, using company accounts, shows that Indians bought more European goods in response to higher fur prices and, perhaps more importantly, increased their effort in the fur trade. These findings contradict much that has been written about Indians as producers and consumers.
PORK PACKERS, RECIPROCITY, AND LAURIER'S DEFEAT IN THE 1911 CANADIAN GENERAL ELECTION
Authors: Beaulieu Eugene , Emery J. C. Herbert
Published: February 2008

The 1911 Canada–United States Reciprocity Agreement had a central role in the campaigns of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the 1911 Canadian General Election. Consequently, Laurier's defeat in 1911 has been interpreted as Canada's rejection of reciprocity and her commitment to tariff protection. This analysis shows that reciprocity bolstered support for Laurier in 1911. In the absence of opposition from pork packers, particularly in Quebec, Laurier would have retained his majority mandate. Thus, Canada was not committing to a path of protectionism after 1911.
English Agrarian Labor Productivity Rates Before the Black Death: A Case Study
Authors: KARAKACILI EONA
Published: February 2008

It is often suggested that an agricultural revolution, currently defined as a rise in the output of arable workers, was a necessary precursor to industrialization and improved living standards. This article provides the first direct measurement of arable workers' average labor productivity for pre-industrial England. Rates are assessed for those production conditions that it is thought resulted in the lowest agrarian labor productivity rates in the pre-industrial period: c.1300–1348. The rates for English workers before the Black Death either surpassed or met the literature's best estimates for English workers until 1800, well after industrialization was underway.
A General-Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the Late-Nineteenth-Century United States
Authors: ROSENBERG NATHAN , TRAJTENBERG MANUEL
Published: February 2008

The contribution to growth from the steam engine—Industrial Revolution icon and prime example of a “General Purpose Technology”—has remained unclear. This article examines the role that a particular design improvement in steam power, embodied in the Corliss engine, played in the growth of the U.S. economy in the late nineteenth century. Using detailed data on the location of Corliss engines and waterwheels and a two-stage estimation strategy, we show that the deployment of Corliss engines served as a catalyst for the industry's massive relocation into large urban centers, thus fueling agglomeration economies and further population growth.
Profitability of Slave and Long-Distance Trading in Context: The Case of Eighteenth-Century France
Authors: DAUDIN GUILLAUME
Published: February 2008

This article studies slave and other long-distance trades in eighteenth-century France. The data cover 238 ventures from seven French harbors between 1710 and 1780. Using the undiscounted benefit-cost ratio as a proxy for the internal rate of return, the article shows that these investments were more liquid, shorter, and more profitable than private notarized credit, without higher risk. They were safer and had a shorter duration than government bonds, without being less liquid or less profitable. The conclusion, that investment in these trades was preferable to domestic alternatives, may be explained by barriers to entry.
Nature or Nurture? Explaining English Wheat Yields in the Industrial Revolution, c.1770
Authors: BRUNT LIAM
Published: February 2008

This article presents the first agricultural production function for the eighteenth century, thereby quantifying the effect of many new technologies coming on stream in English agriculture. It shows that some traditional technologies were effective in raising wheat yields, such as drainage and marling; but some innovations of the eighteenth century were much more effective, particularly turnips and seed drills. Environmental factors are incorporated into the model. Climate is shown to be a crucial factor in determining yields but soil quality was much less important. This undermines the accepted argument that England's success was due to a superior natural endowment.
Democratic Opposition to the Fair Labor Standards Act: A Comment on Fleck
Authors: SELTZER ANDREW J.
Published: February 2008

In a well-crafted recent article in this JOURNAL, Robert Fleck argues that voting on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the last and among the most contentious pieces of major New Deal legislation, was heavily influenced by regional political differences and by the “southern political system.” This contention is broadly supportive of a view held by several traditional historians, who have argued that political differences between the North and South were a major factor in voting. According to this view, the considerable support for minimum wages among southern workers, African American leaders, and the general public did not translate into congressional votes for the FLSA due to southern political institutions that effectively disfranchised many of the voters who were predisposed to support the FLSA. In a previous article I argued that, although southern representatives were more likely to vote against the FLSA, this was primarily because of economic differences between the two regions, not political factors. I argued that the opposition to the FLSA was spearheaded by low-wage employers, who were disproportionately concentrated in the South. This note examines the reasons for these conflicting results. It is argued that Fleck's approach to prediction, which evaluates the marginal impact of his independent variables individually, but does not jointly consider the variables that defined the southern political system, is misleading, and a more appropriate approach using his own regression results supports my contention that political differences between North and South were inconsequential to the overall roll-call vote on the FLSA. It is shown that, holding economic factors constant, had the South been politically like the North, the estimated roll-call vote on the FLSA would have been very similar to the actual votes in 1937 and 1938.
Democratic Opposition to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Reply to Seltzer
Authors: FLECK ROBERT K.
Published: February 2008

Andrew J. Seltzer raises an interesting question: How large was the net effect of southern political institutions on congressional support for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? Although Seltzer claims to use my econometric results to show that those institutions had little effect, his interpretation of my results depends entirely on two assumptions that I did not make and that he does not justify. The first assumption is that two variables—the Turnout-Manufacturing Correlation and Turnout—somehow “defined the southern political system.” The second is that southern political institutions caused higher values of Turnout-Manufacturing Correlation. Seltzer's assumptions are theoretically baseless and empirically indefensible, and they lead him to the wrong conclusion. I will explain why.
Editors' Notes
Authors: Harley Knick , Wright Gavin
Published: February 2008

The Journal of Economic History completed another successful year in 2002/03, marked (for a change) by an absence of dramatic change. Most contributors and some book publishers have by now adapted to our tripod office system: North American materials go to Wright at Stanford, all other geographic areas go to Harley at Western Ontario, with Susan Isaac handling production editing tasks at Florida State. If your paper or book does not fit neatly into this classification system, you can send it wherever you want, but we reserve the right to reallocate afterwards.
Completing a Financial Revolution: The Finance of the Dutch East India Trade and the Rise of the Amsterdam Capital Market, 1595–1612
Authors: GELDERBLOM OSCAR , JONKER JOOST
Published: February 2008

The article analyzes the evolution of the Amsterdam capital market as a consequence of Dutch overseas expansion and the introduction of transferable VOC shares. Offering investors prospects of speculative gains without serious loss of liquidity, these instruments created a booming secondary market offering a wide range of allied credit techniques. By 1609 this market had become sufficiently strong to dictate terms for new public debt issues. These findings show that, contrary to commonly held notions about the emergence of secondary markets, private finance took precedence over public finance in the Dutch Republic.
Family, Literacy, and Skill Training in the Antebellum South: Historical-Longitudinal Evidence from Charleston
Authors: MURRAY JOHN E.
Published: February 2008

Using individual measures of adult and child literacy, this article examines human capital acquisition in one Southern city, Charleston, 1790–1840. White adult literacy rates differed greatly by sex and class and rose gradually over time. Mothers played a critical role in human capital transmission in early childhood and long after children had left their care. Both relatively recent literacy acquisition and early childhood family structure influenced the occupation to which children were apprenticed. These results are consistent with present-day studies that trace sources of adult well-being back into childhood.
The Aftermath of Hamilton's “Report on Manufactures”
Authors: IRWIN DOUGLAS A.
Published: February 2008

Alexander Hamilton's “Report on Manufactures” (1791) is a classic document of U.S. economic policy, but its fate in Congress is not well known. It is commonly believed that the report was never implemented. Although Hamilton's proposals for bounties (subsidies) failed to receive support, virtually every tariff recommendation was adopted by Congress in early 1792. These tariffs were not highly protectionist because Hamilton feared discouraging imports, which were the critical tax base on which he planned to fund the public debt. As a consequence, protectionist interests shifted their political support from the Federalists to the Jeffersonian Republicans during the 1790s.
The German Twin Crisis of 1931
Authors: SCHNABEL ISABEL
Published: February 2008

Using information on banks' balance sheets, I analyze the causal links between the banking and currency problems in the German crisis of 1931. I find that the crisis had two independent causes: Political shocks triggered a run on the Reichsmark; and the excessive risk-taking by banks that were “too big to fail” led to a run on banks. Due to the high level of foreign debt in the banking system, the run on the currency and the deposit withdrawals reinforced each other in a vicious circle and resulted in a banking panic and the abandonment of the gold standard.
Working Hours of the World Unite? New International Evidence of Worktime, 1870–1913
Authors: HUBERMAN MICHAEL
Published: February 2008

This article constructs new measures of worktime for Europe, North America, and Australia, 1870–1913. Great Britain began with the shortest work year and Belgium the longest. By 1913 certain continental countries approached British worktimes, and, consistent with recent findings on real wages, annual hours in Old and New Worlds had converged. Although globalization did not lead to a race to the bottom of worktimes, there is only partial evidence of a race to the top. National work routines, the outcome of different legal, labor, and political histories, mediated relations between hours and income.
Role of cricothyroid cannulation in head and neck surgery
Authors: Ryan J C , McGuire B
Published: February 2008

Objectives:

This paper outlines our use of cricothyroid cannulation in those patients undergoing head and neck surgery in whom a ‘difficult airway’ is anticipated. Audit results are presented.

Materials and methods:

Prospective data collection for all patients undergoing cricothyroid cannulation for management of head and neck neoplasms, over a two-year period.

Results:

Thirty-nine cricothyroid cannulae were sited in 32 patients. All patients with laryngeal tumours underwent the procedure while awake, prior to the anticipated difficult intubation, and the cannulae were removed within six hours. Most cannulations performed under general anaesthetic were for anticipated ‘dangerous extubations’ in patients with oral cavity tumours, and these cannulae remained in place for 24 hours. Tracheostomy was possibly avoided in six patients. No complications were identified.

Conclusion:

Cricothyroid cannulation can be a simple, safe, reliable technique which is a useful adjunct in the management of patients with a potentially difficult airway.
Al-Ma'mūn's alleged apocalyptic beliefs: a reconsideration of the evidence
Authors: Bayhom-Daou Tamima
Published: February 2008

The designation by the caliph al-Ma'mūn of the ‘Alid imām ‘Alī al-Riọā as his successor was an extraordinary event by the standards of the time. Based on a letter that al-Ma'mūn is said to have written to the ‘Abbāsids after the death of al-Riḍā, in which he appears to confess that his decision to designate the latter had been influenced by apocalyptic beliefs about the end of the ‘Abbāsid dynasty, Madelung has argued that the caliph's decision can indeed be explained in terms of those beliefs. This article seeks to demonstrate that the relevant passage of the confession is unlikely to have been part of the original document. It goes on to suggest that the passage was probably added by Ibn Ṭāwūs (d. 664/1266), the document's redactor, in an attempt to support his own perceived role as the pre-Mahdic ‘Alid destined to rule after the fall of the ‘Abbāsids.
Blaming the messenger: a controversy in late Sanskrit poetics and its implications
Authors: Bronner Yigal , Tubb Gary A
Published: February 2008

The last active period in the tradition of Sanskrit poetics, although associated with scholars who for the first time explicitly identified themselves as new, has generally been castigated in modern histories as repetitious and devoid of thoughtfulness. This paper presents a case study dealing with competing analyses of a single short poem by two of the major theorists of this period, Appayya Dīkṣita (sixteenth century) and Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja (seventeenth century). Their arguments on this one famous poem touch in new ways on the central questions of what the role of poetics had become within the Sanskrit world and the way in which it should operate in relation to other systems of knowledge and literary cultures.
Communications/excommunications: an interview with Armand Mattelart
Authors: CONSTANTINOU COSTAS M.
Published: February 2008

This interview was conducted over the Internet between February and April 2006. Armand Mattelart is Emeritus Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the University of Paris VIII. From 1962 to 1973 he was Professor of Sociology of Population and Communication at the Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, and United Nations expert in social development. During the Popular Unity period (1970–73), he worked with the Government of President Salvador Allende until the military coup of September 1973, when he was expelled from Chile. Between 1975 and 1982, he taught at the University of Paris VII and Paris VIII, and, between 1983 and 1997, as founding member of the Communications Department at the University of Rennes 2 (Haute-Bretagne). He has carried out numerous research and teaching missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. His research interests include communication theory and history, media studies and international communication. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, translated into many languages, including: Advertising International: The Privatization of Public Space (1991); Mapping World Communication: War, Progress, Culture (1994), The Invention of Communication (1996), Networking the World 1794–2000 (2000), The Information Society: An Introduction (2003), and, with Michèle Mattelart, Rethinking Media Theory: Signposts and New Directions (1992); The Carnival of Images: Brazilian Television Fiction (1990) and Theories of Communication: A Short Introduction (1998). His most recent book, published in French, is: La Globalisation de la Surveillance: Aux Origines de l’Ordre Sécuritaire (September 2007).
Opening other windows: a political economy of ‘openness’ in a global information society
Authors: MAY CHRISTOPHER
Published: February 2008

Although analysis in IR and IPE has increasingly started to focus on non-state actors and the information society, the role of the legal architecture of the Internet has been relatively under-analysed in terms of the structural power around communication interfaces. In this article I suggest the work of Lewis Mumford offers a useful lens for thinking about the political economy of technological change in an information society. I set out the role of intellectual property rights as the legal form of the global information society, and suggest a major challenge to this legal form is the idea of ‘openness’, specifically in the realm of open-source and/or free software. I examine this issue in the realm of (so-called) informational development, where major proprietary players (predominantly Microsoft) have been confronted by an increasingly vibrant open-source alternative. The open-source and free-software movements can be analysed as an emerging example of a globalised ‘double movement’, seeking to re-embed the tools of informational development in a societal realm of information, establishing in Mumford’s terms a ‘democratic technics’ as a reaction to the programme of information and knowledge commodification spurred by the TRIPs agreement.
Humanitarian travels: ethical communication in Lonely Planet guidebooks
Authors: LISLE DEBBIE
Published: February 2008

Aside from the more mundane purpose of telling us where to eat, sleep and sightsee in foreign lands, guidebooks communicate an ethical vision that sees travel as the key to reducing cultural differences and inequalities. This article argues that Lonely Planet guidebooks in particular encourage a form of ‘responsible independent travel’ that both reflects and produces a powerful discourse of humanitarianism. By examining the controversy over Lonely Planet’s publication of guidebooks to Burma, this article uncovers the problematic colonial logic embedded in that ethical vision.
Biopolitics, communication and global governance
Authors: EDKINS JENNY
Published: February 2008

In the aftermath of the 7th July 2005 bombings in London, communication with those searching desperately for relatives and friends was one-way or non-existent. The authorities dealing with the processes of the identification of the bodies of those killed or the treatment of those injured adopted procedures and protocols derived from emergency or disaster planning that were framed in terms of an instrumentalisation or objectification of persons. This article traces how these procedures reflect biopolitical forms of global governance that involve the production of life as ‘bare life’ and details how inappropriate and brutal these forms of governance seemed both to those searching for the missing and to the London Assembly 7th July Review Committee. It concludes that attention needs to be paid to the proliferation of such forms of politics as administration and the objectification they entail before we reach a stage where all life becomes nothing more than bare life, life with no political voice as such.
Review of: Tamoxifen and TRAIL synergistically induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells
Authors: Butt Alison J.
Published: February 2008

Citation of original article:

C. Lagadec, E. Adriaenssens, R. A. Toillon, V. Chopin, R. Romon, F. Van Coppenolle, H. Hondermarck, X. Le Bourhis. Oncogene advance online publication, 3 September 2007; doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1210749.

Abstract of the original article:

Tamoxifen (TAM), is widely used as a single agent in adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. Here, we investigated the effects of TAM in combination with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in estrogen receptor-α (ER-α)-positive and -negative breast cancer cells. We showed that cotreatment with TAM and TRAIL synergistically induced apoptosis regardless of ER-α status. By contrast, cotreatment did not affect the viability of normal breast epithelial cells. Cotreatment with TAM and TRAIL in breast cancer cells decreased the levels of antiapoptotic proteins including FLIPs and Bcl-2, and enhanced the levels of proapoptotic proteins such as FADD, caspase 8, tBid, Bax and caspase 9. Furthermore, cotreatment-induced apoptosis was efficiently reduced by FADD- or Bid-siRNA, indicating the implication of both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways in synergistic apoptosis induction. Importantly, cotreatment totally arrested tumor growth in an ER-α-negative MDA-MB-231 tumor xenograft model. The abrogation of tumor growth correlated with enhanced apoptosis in tumor tissues. Our findings raise the possibility to use TAM in combination with TRAIL for breast cancers, regardless of ER-α status.
Spatial and temporal dynamics of sediment accumulation and exchange along Strickland River floodplains (Papua New Guinea) over decadal‐to‐centennial timescales
Authors: Aalto Rolf , Lauer J. Wesley , Dietrich William E.
Published: February 2008

We investigated the processes of sediment exchange between the Strickland River and its lowland floodplain, documenting (1) the rates, textures, and distributions of sediment accumulation, (2) temporal variations in these rates, (3) the remobilization of sediment by erosive processes, and (4) whether net storage is significant over century timescales. We used 210Pb geochronology of floodplain cores from 11 transects to measure deposition rates over the past ∼65 years, finding a decline from 5.5 cm/a (0–10 m distance from the channel) to 0.9 cm/a (∼400 m) to ∼0.1 cm/a (>1 km). Rates are elevated along curved sections of channel and are stable over time, and episodic accumulation is prevalent and may be correlated to floods. Integrated temporally and spatially, the average rate is 1.6 cm/a. Integrating along both sides of ∼318 river km we studied for the lowland Strickland, we calculate 12–19 Mt of annual sediment accumulation (∼0.05 Mt/km or 0.07% of the annual load per km of river length), representing 17–27% of the total annual sediment flux. We used georeferenced Landsat images (1972–2001) to quantify channel migration and the resulting return of sediment to the channel. Mean lateral migration was 5.1 ± 0.8 m/a. Given the floodplain width of ∼10 km, this implies a waiting time of ∼1 ka between floodplain formation and subsequent reentrainment of the bank as the channel migrates laterally. This raises the possibility that the net return of material from the floodplain due to channel migration could balance the overbank deposition we observed. The exchange flux between cut bank erosion and point bar deposition is 20–40 Mt, highlighting the significance of sediment recycling (∼50% of the total load). Such sediment trapping and recycling affects the transport, storage, and evolution of biogeochemically reactive particles, the evolution of the floodplain, and the morphodynamics of basin infilling.
Relevance of ERA40 dynamical downscaling for modeling deep convection in the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Herrmann Marine J. , Somot Samuel
Published: February 2008

A strong open‐ocean convection event was observed in the Northwestern Mediterranean sea during the 1986–87 winter. This period was used as a case study to evaluate the impact of the spatial resolution of atmospheric forcing on deep convection modeling. Twin numerical experiments were performed with an oceanic model forced by atmospheric forcing sets with different resolutions. A low resolution atmospheric forcing extracted from the ERA40 reanalysis was compared with a high resolution forcing produced by a dynamical downscaling of ERA40. A high resolution climate model spectrally driven by ERA40 fields for the large scales provided the dynamical downscaling dataset covering the 1958–2001 period. The oceanic simulation performed under low resolution meteorological forcing did not reproduce the observed convection. The simulation performed under high resolution forcing correctly reproduced the convection event. This was principally due to the enhancement of spatial and temporal meteorological extremes under the high resolution forcing.
Classifying clouds around the globe with the CloudSat radar: 1‐year of results
Authors: Sassen Kenneth , Wang Zhien
Published: February 2008

CloudSat supports a 94 GHz cloud profiling radar as part of the innovative A‐train formation of satellites studying the Earths clouds and atmosphere. Using the vertical profiles of clouds and precipitation, an algorithm has been developed to determine the type of clouds present. Because cloud type corresponds to specific cloud physical properties, this step is needed to apply other algorithms to derive quantitative cloud content and radiative data. This cloud type algorithm is applied to the initial 1‐year of radar data to obtain the global distribution of various cloud types over the land and ocean. These initial results appear consistent with previous global cloud type distributions, but with some differences that provide insights into the limitations of CloudSat measurements.
Water mass properties and exchange between the Nordic seas and the northern North Atlantic during the period 23–6 ka: Benthic oxygen isotopic evidence
Authors: Meland Marius Y. , Dokken Trond M. , Jansen Eystein , Hevrøy Kjersti
Published: February 2008

Twenty benthic oxygen isotope records from different water depths in the Nordic seas and the North Atlantic are compared. During the Last Glacial Maximum, brine formation on continental shelves produced Brine Shelf Water (BSW), sinking below 1500 m in the Nordic seas. Open‐ocean convection in the Nordic seas produced Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water (GNAIW). GNAIW overflowed the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge and entrained depths above and at least partly below 2000 m in the North Atlantic. During the early deglaciation, BSW‐enriched intermediate water masses in the Nordic seas were formed. These overflowed the Greenland‐Scotland Ridge and influenced the North Atlantic intermediate and deepwater masses. In the Bølling‐Allerød (BA), open‐ocean convection increased and produced intermediate water in the Nordic seas, with outflow to the North Atlantic. However, deep water with modern characteristics did not entrain water below 2000 m in the North Atlantic in similar amounts as during the Holocene. A new period of brine formation during the Younger Dryas transported BSW to intermediate water masses in the Norwegian Sea. There was also open‐ocean convection and meridional overturning in the Nordic seas, but it was probably reduced compared to the BA. In the early Holocene and mid‐Holocene, meridional overturning appears similar to that of today. Potential locations for large‐scale formation of BSW might have been broad and shallow (<200 m) areas of the North Sea, northeast of Greenland, and north of east Siberia. These settings should be favorable for BSW formation during cold periods.
Dietary Blueberry Supplementation Affects Growth but Not Vascularization of Neural Transplants
Authors: Willis Lauren M , Small Brent J , Bickford Paula C , Umphlet Claudia D , Moore Alfred B , Granholm Ann-Charlotte E
Published: February 2008

Transplantation of neural tissue has been attempted as a treatment method for neurodegenerative disorders. Grafted neurons survive to a lesser extent into middle-aged or aged hosts, and survival rates of <10% of grafted neurons is common. Antioxidant diets, such as blueberry, can exert powerful effects on developing neurons and blood vessels in vitro, but studies are lacking that examine the effects of these diets on transplanted tissues. In this study, we examined the effects of a blueberry diet on survival, growth, and vascularization of fetal hippocampal tissue to the anterior chamber of the eye of young or middle-aged female rats. Previous work from our group showed significant increase in neuronal survival and development with blueberry diet in grafts. However, the effects of antioxidant diet on vascular development in grafts have not been explored previously. The age of the host affected individual vessel morphology in that aged hosts contained grafts with thick, undeveloped walls, and wider lumen. The blood—brain barrier also appeared to be affected by the age of the host. The blueberry diet did not affect vessel morphology or density of vessel-associated protein markers but gave rise to significantly increased growth capacity, cytoarchitecture, and the final size of hippocampal grafts.
T-cell regulator RNF125/TRAC-1 belongs to a novel family of ubiquitin ligases with zinc fingers and a ubiquitin-binding domain
Authors: Giannini Ana Lucia , Gao Yifang , Bijlmakers Marie-José
Published: February 2008

The recently identified RNF125 [RING (really interesting new gene) finger protein 125], or TRAC-1 (T-cell RING protein in activation 1), is unique among ubiquitin ligases in being a positive regulator of T-cell activation. In addition, TRAC-1 has been shown to down-modulate HIV replication and to inhibit pathogen-induced cytokine production. However, apart from the presence of an N-terminal C3HC4 (Cys3-His-Cys4) RING domain, the TRAC-1 protein remains uncharacterized. In the present paper, we report novel interactions and modifications for TRAC-1, and elucidate its domain organization. Specifically, we determine that TRAC-1 associates with membranes and is excluded from the nucleus through myristoylation. Our data are further consistent with a crucial role for the C-terminus in TRAC-1 function. In this region, novel domains were recognized through the identification of three closely related proteins: RNF114, RNF138 and RNF166. TRAC-1 and its relatives were found to contain, apart from the RING domain, a C2HC (Cys2-His-Cys)- and two C2H2 (Cys2-His2)-type zinc fingers, as well as a UIM (ubiquitin-interacting motif). The UIM of TRAC-1 binds Lys48-linked polyubiquitin chains and is, together with the RING domain, required for auto-ubiquitination. As a consequence of auto-ubiquitination, the half-life of TRAC-1 is shorter than 30 min. The identification of these novel modifications, interactions, domains and relatives significantly widens the contexts for investigating TRAC-1 activity and regulation.
Activation and stabilization of human tryptophan hydroxylase 2 by phosphorylation and 14-3-3 binding
Authors: Winge Ingeborg , Mckinney Jeffrey A. , Ying Ming , D'Santos Clive S. , Kleppe Rune , Knappskog Per M. , Haavik Jan
Published: February 2008

TPH (tryptophan hydroxylase) catalyses the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of serotonin, and exists in two isoforms: TPH1, mainly found in peripheral tissues and the pineal body, and TPH2, a neuronal form. In the present study human TPH2 was expressed in Escherichia coli and in HEK (human embryonic kidney)-293 cells and phosphorylated using several different mammalian protein kinases. TPH2 was rapidly phosphorylated to a stoichiometry of 2 mol of phosphate/mol of subunit by PKA (protein kinase A), but only to a stoichiometry of 0.2 by Ca2+/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II. Both kinases phosphorylated Ser19, but PKA also phosphorylated Ser104, as determined by MS, phosphospecific antibodies and site-directed mutagenesis of several possible phosphorylation sites, i.e. Ser19, Ser99, Ser104 and Ser306. On average, purified TPH2 WT (wild-type) was activated by 30% after PKA phosphorylation and studies of the mutant enzymes showed that enzyme activation was mainly due to phosphorylation at Ser19. This site was phosphorylated to a stoichiometry of up to 50% in HEK-293 cells expressing TPH2, and the enzyme activity and phosphorylation stoichiometry was further increased upon treatment with forskolin. Purified PKA-phosphorylated TPH2 bound to the 14-3-3 proteins γ, ϵ and BMH1 with high affinity, causing a further increase in enzyme stability and activity. This indicates that 14-3-3 proteins could play a role in consolidating and strengthening the effects of phosphorylation on TPH2 and that they may be important for the regulation of serotonin function in the nervous system.
Biosynthesis of dTDP-3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-α-D-glucose
Authors: Pföstl Andreas , Zayni Sonja , Hofinger Andreas , Kosma Paul , Schäffer Christina , Messner Paul
Published: February 2008

Derivatives of 3-amino-3,6-dideoxyhexoses are widespread in Nature. They are part of the repeating units of lipopolysaccharide O-antigens, of the glycan moiety of S-layer (bacterial cell surface layer) glycoproteins and also of many antibiotics. In the present study, we focused on the elucidation of the biosynthesis pathway of dTDP-α-D-Quip3NAc (dTDP-3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-α-D-glucose) from the Gram-positive, anaerobic, thermophilic organism Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum E207-71, which carries Quip3NAc in its S-layer glycan. The biosynthesis of dTDP-α-D-Quip3NAc involves five enzymes, namely a transferase, a dehydratase, an isomerase, a transaminase and a transacetylase, and follows a pathway similar to that of dTDP-α-D-Fucp3NAc (dTDP-3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-α-D-galactose) biosynthesis in Aneurinibacillus thermoaerophilus L420-91T. The ORFs (open reading frames) of interest were cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. To elucidate the enzymatic cascade, the different products were purified by HPLC and characterized by NMR spectroscopy. The initiating reactions catalysed by the glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase RmlA and the dTDP-D-glucose-4,6-dehydratase RmlB are well established. The subsequent isomerase was shown to be capable of forming a dTDP-3-oxo-6-deoxy-D-glucose intermediate from the RmlB product dTDP-4-oxo-6-deoxy-D-glucose, whereas the isomerase involved in the dTDP-α-D-Fucp3NAc pathway synthesizes dTDP-3-oxo-6-deoxy-D-galactose. The subsequent reaction steps of either pathway involve a transaminase and a transacetylase, leading to the specific production of nucleotide-activated 3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-α-D-glucose and 3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-α-D-galactose respectively. Sequence comparison of the ORFs responsible for the biosynthesis of dTDP-α-D-Quip3NAc revealed homologues in Gram-negative as well as in antibiotic-producing Gram-positive bacteria. There is strong evidence that the elucidated biosynthesis pathway may also be valid for LPS (lipopolysaccharide) O-antigen structures and antibiotic precursors.
Heterodimer-based analysis of subunit and domain contributions to double-stranded RNA processing by Escherichia coli RNase III in vitro
Authors: Meng Wenzhao , Nicholson Allen W.
Published: February 2008

Members of the RNase III family are the primary cellular agents of dsRNA (double-stranded RNA) processing. Bacterial RNases III function as homodimers and contain two dsRBDs (dsRNA-binding domains) and two catalytic sites. The potential for functional cross-talk between the catalytic sites and the requirement for both dsRBDs for processing activity are not known. It is shown that an Escherichia coli RNase III heterodimer that contains a single functional wt (wild-type) catalytic site and an inactive catalytic site (RNase III[E117A/wt]) cleaves a substrate with a single scissile bond with a kcat value that is one-half that of wt RNase III, but exhibits an unaltered Km. Moreover, RNase III[E117A/wt] cleavage of a substrate containing two scissile bonds generates singly cleaved intermediates that are only slowly cleaved at the remaining phosphodiester linkage, and in a manner that is sensitive to excess unlabelled substrate. These results demonstrate the equal probability, during a single binding event, of placement of a scissile bond in a functional or nonfunctional catalytic site of the heterodimer and reveal a requirement for substrate dissociation and rebinding for cleavage of both phosphodiester linkages by the mutant heterodimer. The rate of phosphodiester hydrolysis by RNase III[E117A/wt] has the same dependence on Mg2+ ion concentration as that of the wt enzyme, and exhibits a Hill coefficient (h) of 2.0±0.1, indicating that the metal ion dependence essentially reflects a single catalytic site that employs a two-Mg2+-ion mechanism. Whereas an E. coli RNase III mutant that lacks both dsRBDs is inactive, a heterodimer that contains a single dsRBD exhibits significant catalytic activity. These findings support a reaction pathway involving the largely independent action of the dsRBDs and the catalytic sites in substrate recognition and cleavage respectively.
The regulation and function of Class III PI3Ks: novel roles for Vps34
Authors: Backer Jonathan M.
Published: February 2008

The Class III PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase), Vps34 (vacuolar protein sorting 34), was first described as a component of the vacuolar sorting system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is the sole PI3K in yeast. The homologue in mammalian cells, hVps34, has been studied extensively in the context of endocytic sorting. However, hVps34 also plays an important role in the ability of cells to respond to changes in nutrient conditions. Recent studies have shown that mammalian hVps34 is required for the activation of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin)/S6K1 (S6 kinase 1) pathway, which regulates protein synthesis in response to nutrient availability. In both yeast and mammalian cells, Class III PI3Ks are also required for the induction of autophagy during nutrient deprivation. Finally, mammalian hVps34 is itself regulated by nutrients. Thus Class III PI3Ks are implicated in the regulation of both autophagy and, through the mTOR pathway, protein synthesis, and thus contribute to the integration of cellular responses to changing nutritional status.
TOR regulation of AGC kinases in yeast and mammals
Authors: Jacinto Estela , Lorberg Anja
Published: February 2008

The TOR (target of rapamycin), an atypical protein kinase, is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to man. Pharmacological studies using rapamycin to inhibit TOR and yeast genetic studies have provided key insights on the function of TOR in growth regulation. One of the first bona fide cellular targets of TOR was the mammalian protein kinase p70 S6K (p70 S6 kinase), a member of a family of kinases called AGC (protein kinase A/protein kinase G/protein kinase C-family) kinases, which include PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase A), PKG (cGMP-dependent kinase) and PKC (protein kinase C). AGC kinases are also highly conserved and play a myriad of roles in cellular growth, proliferation and survival. The AGC kinases are regulated by a common scheme that involves phosphorylation of the kinase activation loop by PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1), and phosphorylation at one or more sites at the C-terminal tail. The identification of two distinct TOR protein complexes, TORC1 (TOR complex 1) and TORC2, with different sensitivities to rapamycin, revealed that TOR, as part of either complex, can mediate phosphorylation at the C-terminal tail for optimal activation of a number of AGC kinases. Together, these studies elucidated that a fundamental function of TOR conserved throughout evolution may be to balance growth versus survival signals by regulating AGC kinases in response to nutrients and environmental conditions. This present review highlights this emerging function of TOR that is conserved from budding and fission yeast to mammals.