bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Return migration of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) during autumn in northern China
Authors: Feng H.-Q. , Wu K.-M. , Ni Y.-X. , Cheng D.-F. , Guo Y.-Y.
Published: July 2005

The autumn migration of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was observed with radar and two types of light-trap at Langfang, Hebei province, China in 2001 and 2002. The sudden increase in the proportion of H. armigera moths in the searchlight trap indicated migration into the area and catches increased 10-fold during the second half of the night due to the landing of migrants before dawn. The moths’ migratory flights took place at up to 2000 m above the ground, and moths flew differentially at times, and heights, when favourable (i.e. northerly) winds occurred. This facilitated the maximum displacement of moths towards the south during these ‘return’ migrations. The moths flew over the radar site at consistently high densities through the night, and the resulting flight durations of c. 10 h, at displacement speeds of 30–33 km h−1, would allow moths emerging in the far northeast of China (i.e. Liaoning and Jilin provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region) to migrate into northern China (Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces). The association of the seasonal migratory movements of H. armigera with crops in northern China is briefly discussed.
Nutrition Society Symposium on ‘End points in clinical nutrition trials’ Death, morbidity and economics are the only end points for trials
Authors: Koretz Ronald L.
Published: July 2005

In order to determine whether surrogate markers predict clinical outcome, randomized controlled trials (RCT) of nutrition supportv. no nutrition support that have reported at least one clinical outcome (mortality, infections, total complications, or duration of hospitalization) and at least one nutritional outcome (energy or protein intake, weight gain, N balance, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, three anthropometric measures, skin testing, lymphocyte count) were assessed for concordance. If changes in nutritional markers predict clinical outcome, changes in both outcomes should go in the same direction. Concordance is defined as both outcomes changing in the same direction or both outcomes showing no difference. Discordance is defined as one outcome changing and the other not (partial) or both outcomes changing in opposite directions (complete). Ninety-nine RCT were identified, of which most were underpowered to see statistically significant changes, especially in clinical outcomes. Thus, the results were analysed only in relation to the direction of the respective changes in outcomes. Forty-eight comparisons (4×12) were made. The rates of concordance were ≤50% in forty-one of forty-eight comparisons; the rate was never >75%. A complete discordance rate of ≥25% was present in forty-three (≥50% in thirteen) of the forty-eight comparisons. The discordance was usually a result of the nutritional outcome being better than the clinical outcome. Changes in nutritional markers do not predict clinical outcomes. Before adopting any surrogate marker as an end point for a clinical trial, it has to be known that improving it will result in patient benefit.
Physiological functions should be considered as true end points of nutritional intervention studies
Authors: Genton L. , Gemert W.van , Pichard C. , Soeters P.
Published: July 2005

With the beginning of this millennium it has become fashionable to only follow ‘evidence-based’ practices. This generally-accepted approach cruelly negates experience or intelligent interpretation of pathophysiology. Another problem is that the great ‘meta-analysts’ of the present era only accept end points that they consider ‘hard’. In the metabolic and nutritional field these end points are infection-related morbidity and mortality, and all other end points are considered ‘surrogate’. The aim of this presentation is to prove that this claim greatly negates the contribution of more-fundamentally-oriented research, the fact that mortality has multifactorial causes, and that infection is a crude measure of immune function. The following problems should be considered: many populations undergoing intervention have low mortality, requiring studies with thousands of patients to demonstrate effects of intervention on mortality; nutrition is only in rare cases primary treatment, and in many populations is a prerequisite for survival rather than a therapeutic modality; once the effect of nutritional support is achieved, the extra benefit of modulation of the nutritional support regimen can only be modest; cost–benefit is not a valid end point, because the better it is done the more it will cost; morbidity and mortality are crude end points for the effect of nutritional intervention, and are influenced by many factors. In fact, it is a yes or no factor. In the literature the most important contributions include new insights into the pathogenesis of disease, the diminution of disease-related adverse events and/or functional improvement after therapy. In nutrition research the negligence of these end points has precluded the development and validation of functional end points, such as muscle, immune and cognitive functions. Disability, quality of life, morbidity and mortality are directly related to these functional variables. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to validate functional end points and to consider them as primary rather than surrogate end points.
Elucidating effective ways to identify and treat malnutrition
Authors: Stratton Rebecca J.
Published: July 2005

There is a clear rationale for elucidating effective ways of identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition (DRM), given the physiological and financial consequences of this common condition and its treatability. Evidence indicates the efficacy of nutritional support methods (oral, tube and intravenous) in increasing total nutritional intake while having little effect on appetite, satiety, appetite mediators (e.g. leptin) and voluntary food intake. When used as the only source of nutrition, artificial nutrition can effectively maintain nutritional intake, and yet many patients find enteral or parenteral feeding alone is unable to relieve distressing appetite sensations, and unusual temporal patterns (including dissociation between hunger and desire to eat) occur. Despite the positive impact of these feeding methods on intake, controversy about whether nutritional support can affect patient outcome has remained. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses indicate that improvements in function and clinical (mortality, complication rates) outcome can occur in a number of patient groups (including hospitalised patients, the elderly, patients who have had gastrointestinal surgery, patients at risk of pressure ulcers). In order to target those patients who will benefit from nutritional support, and overcome the ongoing problem of poor detection and recognition of DRM, simple routine screening to identify risk followed by practical evidence-based treatment is recommended.
Biochemistry of plant secondary metabolites and their effects in animals
Authors: Acamovic T. , Brooker J. D.
Published: July 2005

Plant secondary metabolites, which include a wide variety of phytochemicals, have always been constituents of the diets of man and other animals. Although a high proportion of these phytochemicals have been considered to be of little value in plants (although this view is changing), they have frequently been shown to have adverse effects on animals when ingested. The effects depend to a great extent on the chemistry of the compounds, their concentration in the diet and the amount consumed, and are further dependent on the health status of the animals. Traditionally, most studies of the effects of these compounds on animals have focused on their adverse effects and how to alleviate them. However, recent public concern about the use of synthetic compounds in animal diets to enhance performance and health and welfare issues, coupled with changes in regulations on the use of synthetic medicaments, has stimulated interest and research in the use and effects of phytochemicals in the diets of farmed animals. Phytochemicals vary in their chemistry but can be divided into hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds, of which a wide variety of polyphenolic and terpenoid compounds, as well as alkaloids, carbohydrates and non-protein amino acids, invoke special interest. The chemistry, biochemistry and mechanisms of action of these compounds in plants and their effects in animals when ingested will be explored.
Reversible intracellular translocation of KRas but not HRas in hippocampal neurons regulated by Ca2+/calmodulin
Authors: Fivaz Marc , Meyer Tobias
Published: July 2005

The Ras/MAPK pathway regulates synaptic plasticity and cell survival in neurons of the central nervous system. Here, we show that KRas, but not HRas, acutely translocates from the plasma membrane (PM) to the Golgi complex and early/recycling endosomes in response to neuronal activity. Translocation is reversible and mediated by the polybasic-prenyl membrane targeting motif of KRas. We provide evidence that KRas translocation occurs through sequestration of the polybasic-prenyl motif by Ca2+/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM) and subsequent release of KRas from the PM, in a process reminiscent of GDP dissociation inhibitor–mediated membrane recycling of Rab and Rho GTPases. KRas translocation was accompanied by partial intracellular redistribution of its activity. We conclude that the polybasic-prenyl motif acts as a Ca2+/CaM-regulated molecular switch that controls PM concentration of KRas and redistributes its activity to internal sites. Our data thus define a novel signaling mechanism that differentially regulates KRas and HRas localization and activity in neurons.
The p85 regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase down-regulates IRS-1 signaling via the formation of a sequestration complex
Authors: Luo Ji , Field Seth J. , Lee Jennifer Y. , Engelman Jeffrey A. , Cantley Lewis C.
Published: July 2005

Phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase is required for most insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1–dependent cellular responses. The p85 regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase is required to mediate the insulin-dependent recruitment of PI 3-kinase to the plasma membrane, yet mice with reduced p85 expression have increased insulin sensitivity. To further understand the role of p85, we examined IGF-1–dependent translocation of p85α by using a green fluorescence protein (GFP)–tagged p85α (EGFP–p85α). In response to IGF-1, but not to PDGF signaling, EGFP–p85α translocates to discrete foci in the cell. These foci contain the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1 adaptor molecule, and their formation requires the binding of p85 to IRS-1. Surprisingly, monomeric p85 is preferentially localized to these foci compared with the p85–p110 dimer, and these foci are not sites of phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate production. Ultrastructural analysis reveals that p85–IRS-1 foci are cytosolic protein complexes devoid of membrane. These results suggest a mechanism of signal down-regulation of IRS-1 that is mediated by monomeric p85 through the formation of a sequestration complex between p85 and IRS-1.
Calcium-sensing soluble adenylyl cyclase mediates TNF signal transduction in human neutrophils
Authors: Han Hyunsil , Stessin Alexander , Roberts Julia , Hess Kenneth , Gautam Narinder , Kamenetsky Margarita , Lou Olivia , Hyde Edward , Nathan Noah , Muller William A. , Buck Jochen , Levin Lonny R. , Nathan Carl
Published: July 2005

Through chemical screening, we identified a pyrazolone that reversibly blocked the activation of phagocyte oxidase (phox) in human neutrophils in response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or formylated peptide. The pyrazolone spared activation of phox by phorbol ester or bacteria, bacterial killing, TNF-induced granule exocytosis and phox assembly, and endothelial transmigration. We traced the pyrazolone's mechanism of action to inhibition of TNF-induced intracellular Ca2+ elevations, and identified a nontransmembrane (“soluble”) adenylyl cyclase (sAC) in neutrophils as a Ca2+-sensing source of cAMP. A sAC inhibitor mimicked the pyrazolone's effect on phox. Both compounds blocked TNF-induced activation of Rap1A, a phox-associated guanosine triphosphatase that is regulated by cAMP. Thus, TNF turns on phox through a Ca2+-triggered, sAC-dependent process that may involve activation of Rap1A. This pathway may offer opportunities to suppress oxidative damage during inflammation without blocking antimicrobial function.
Accelerating the convergence of the method of alternating projections
Authors: Bauschke Heinz , Deutsch Frank , Hundal Hein , Park Sung-Ho
Published: July 2005

The powerful von Neumann-Halperin method of alternating projections (MAP) is an algorithm for determining the best approximation to any given point in a Hilbert space from the intersection of a finite number of subspaces. It achieves this by reducing the problem to an iterative scheme which involves only computing best approximations from the individual subspaces which make up the intersection. The main practical drawback of this algorithm, at least for some applications, is that the method is slowly convergent. In this paper, we consider a general class of iterative methods which includes the MAP as a special case. For such methods, we study an “accelerated” version of this algorithm that was considered earlier by Gubin, Polyak, and Raik (1967) and by Gearhart and Koshy (1989). We show that the accelerated algorithm converges faster than the MAP in the case of two subspaces, but is, in general, not faster than the MAP for more than two subspaces! However, for a “symmetric” version of the MAP, the accelerated algorithm always converges faster for any number of subspaces. Our proof seems to require the use of the Spectral Theorem for selfadjoint mappings.
Pseudo-holomorphic curves in complex Grassmann manifolds
Authors: Jiao Xiaoxiang , Peng Jiagui
Published: July 2005

It is proved that the Kähler angle of the pseudo-holomorphic sphere of constant curvature in complex Grassmannians is constant. At the same time we also prove several pinching theorems for the curvature and the Kähler angle of the pseudo-holomorphic spheres in complex Grassmannians with non-degenerate associated harmonic sequence.
The combinatorial rigidity conjecture is false for cubic polynomials
Authors: Henriksen Christian
Published: July 2005

We show that there exist two cubic polynomials with connected Julia sets which are combinatorially equivalent but not topologically conjugate on their Julia sets. This disproves a conjecture by McMullen from 1995.
Asymptotics for logical limit laws: When the growth of the components is in an RT class
Authors: Bell Jason , Burris Stanley
Published: July 2005

Compton’s method of proving monadic second-order limit laws is based on analyzing the generating function of a class of finite structures. For applications of his deeper results we previously relied on asymptotics obtained using Cauchy’s integral formula. In this paper we develop elementary techniques, based on a Tauberian theorem of Schur, that significantly extend the classes of structures for which we know that Compton’s theory can be applied.
Connections with prescribed first Pontrjagin form
Authors: Datta Mahuya
Published: July 2005

Let

P
P

be a principal

O
(
n
)

O(n)

bundle over a

C
∞

C^\infty

manifold

M
M

of dimension

m
m

. If

n
≥
5
m
+
4
+
4

(

m
+
1

4

)

n\geq 5m+4+4\binom {m+1}{4}

, then we prove that every differential 4-form representing the first Pontrjagin class of

P
P

is the Pontrjagin form of some connection on

P
P

.
Left-determined model categories and universal homotopy theories
Authors: Rosický J. , Tholen W.
Published: July 2005

We say that a model category is left-determined if the weak equivalences are generated (in a sense specified below) by the cofibrations. While the model category of simplicial sets is not left-determined, we show that its non-oriented variant, the category of symmetric simplicial sets (in the sense of Lawvere and Grandis) carries a natural left-determined model category structure. This is used to give another and, as we believe simpler, proof of a recent result of D. Dugger about universal homotopy theories.
Remarks about uniform boundedness of rational points over function fields
Authors: Caporaso Lucia
Published: July 2005

We prove certain uniform versions of the Mordell Conjecture and of the Shafarevich Conjecture for curves over function fields and their rational points.
On structurally stable diffeomorphisms with codimension one expanding attractors
Authors: Grines V. , Zhuzhoma E.
Published: July 2005

We show that if a closednn-manifoldMnM^n(n≥3)(n\ge 3)admits a structurally stable diffeomorphismffwith an orientable expanding attractorΩ\Omegaof codimension one, thenMnM^nis homotopy equivalent to thenn-torusTnT^nand is homeomorphic toTnT^nforn≠4n\ne 4. Moreover, there are no nontrivial basic sets offfdifferent fromΩ\Omega. This allows us to classify, up to conjugacy, structurally stable diffeomorphisms having codimension one orientable expanding attractors and contracting repellers onTnT^n,n≥3n\ge 3.
A note on the hyperbolic 4–orbifold of minimal volume
Authors: Kellerhals Ruth
Published: July 2005

Paper withdrawn by author after original posting date of July 16, 2004 and prior to preparation of the printed issue.
CAM and Cell Fate Targeting: Molecular and Energetic Insights into Cell Growth and Differentiation
Authors: Ventura Carlo
Published: July 2005

Evidence‐based medicine is switching from the analysis of single diseases at a time toward an integrated assessment of a diseased person. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offers multiple holistic approaches, including osteopathy, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal and energy medicine and meditation, all potentially impacting on major human diseases. It is now becoming evident that acupuncture can modify the expression of different endorphin genes and the expression of genes encoding for crucial transcription factors in cellular homeostasis. Extremely low frequency magnetic fields have been found to prime the commitment to a myocardial lineage in mouse embryonic stem cells, suggesting that magnetic energy may direct stem cell differentiation into specific cellular phenotypes without the aid of gene transfer technologies. This finding may pave the way to novel approaches in tissue engineering and regeneration. Different ginseng extracts have been shown to modulate growth and differentiation in pluripotent cells and to exert wound‐healing and antitumor effects through opposing activities on the vascular system, prompting the hypothesis that ancient compounds may be the target for new logics in cell therapy. These observations and the subtle entanglement among different CAM systems suggest that CAM modalities may deeply affect both the signaling and transcriptional level of cellular homeostasis. Such a perception holds promises for a new era in CAM, prompting reproducible documentation of biological responses to CAM‐related strategies and compounds. To this end, functional genomics and proteomics and the comprehension of the cell signaling networks may substantially contribute to the development of a molecular evidence–based CAM.
Cormorants dive through the Polar night
Authors: Grémillet David , Kuntz Grégoire , Gilbert Caroline , Woakes Antony J , Butler Patrick J , Maho Yvon le
Published: July 2005

Most seabirds are visual hunters and are thus strongly affected by light levels. Dependence on vision should be problematic for species wintering at high latitudes, as they face very low light levels for extended periods during the Polar night. We examined the foraging rhythms of male great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) wintering north of the Polar circle in West Greenland, conducting the first year-round recordings of the diving activity in a seabird wintering at high latitudes. Dive depth data revealed that birds dived every day during the Arctic winter and did not adjust their foraging rhythms to varying day length. Therefore, a significant proportion of the dive bouts were conducted in the dark (less than 1 lux) during the Polar night. Our study underlines the stunning adaptability of great cormorants and raises questions about the capacity of diving birds to use non-visual cues to target fish.
Terror birds on the run: a mechanical model to estimate its maximum running speed
Authors: Blanco R. Ernesto , Jones Washington W
Published: July 2005

‘Terror bird’ is a common name for the family Phorusrhacidae. These large terrestrial birds were probably the dominant carnivores on the South American continent from the Middle Palaeocene to the Pliocene–Pleistocene limit. Here we use a mechanical model based on tibiotarsal strength to estimate maximum running speeds of three species of terror birds:Mesembriornis milneedwardsi,Patagornis marshiand a specimen of Phorusrhacinae gen. The model is proved on three living large terrestrial bird species. On the basis of the tibiotarsal strength we propose thatMesembriorniscould have used its legs to break long bones and access their marrow.
Metapopulations in multifractal landscapes: on the role of spatial aggregation
Authors: Gamarra Javier G.P
Published: July 2005

The use of fractals in ecology is currently pervasive over many areas. However, very few studies have linked fractal properties of landscapes to generating ecological mechanisms and dynamics. In this study I show that lacunarity (a measure of the landscape texture) is a well suited ecologically scaled landscape index that can be explicitly incorporated in metapopulation models such as the classical Levins equation. I show that the average lacunarity of an aggregated landscape is linearly correlated to the habitat that a species with local spatial processed information may perceive. Lacunarity is a computationally feasible index to measure, and is related to the metapopulation capacity of landscapes. A general approach to multifractal landscapes has been conceived, and some analytical results for self-similar landscapes are outlined, including the specific effect of landscape heterogeneity, decoupled from that of contagion by dispersal. Spatially explicit simulations show agreement with the semi-implicit method presented.
Microsatellite diversity suggests different histories for Mediterranean and Northern European cattle populations
Authors: Cymbron Teresa , Freeman Abigail R , Isabel Malheiro M , Vigne Jean-Denis , Bradley Daniel G
Published: July 2005

Based on archaeological evidence, the spread of agropastoralism across Europe followed two main paths: the Danubian route, along which Neolithic farmers expanded north across the central European plains; and the Mediterranean route, where migration occurred along the coast of the Mediterranean sea. Here we examine 20 cattle breeds from the continent and assess the genetic diversity levels and relationships among the breeds using 19 microsatellite markers. Additionally, we show evidence that concords with two distinct cattle migrations from the Near East, and also demonstrate that Mediterranean cattle breeds may have had more recent input from both the Near East and Africa.
Experimental allometry: effect of size manipulation on metabolic rate of colonial ascidians
Authors: Nakaya Fumio , Saito Yasunori , Motokawa Tatsuo
Published: July 2005

The allometric scaling of metabolic rate of organisms, the three-quarters power rule, has led to a questioning of the basis for the relation. We attacked this problem experimentally for the first time by employing the modular organism, the ascidian that forms a single layered flat colony, as a model system. The metabolic rate and colony size followed the three-quarters power relation, which held even after the colony size was experimentally manipulated. Our results established that the three-quarters power relation is a real continuous function, not an imaginary statistical regression. The fact that all the hypotheses failed to explain why the two-dimensional organism adhered to the three-quarters power relation led us to propose a new hypothesis, in which the allometric relation derives from the self-organized criticality based on local interaction between modulus-comprising organisms.
Markedly different gene expression in wheat grown with organic or inorganic fertilizer
Authors: Lu Chungui , Hawkesford Malcolm J , Barraclough Peter B , Poulton Paul R , Wilson Ian D , Barker Gary L , Edwards Keith J
Published: July 2005

Nitrogen is the major determinant of crop yield and quality and the precise management of nitrogen fertilizer is an important issue for farmers and environmentalists. Despite this, little is known at the level of gene expression about the response of field crops to different amounts and forms of nitrogen fertilizer. Here we use expressed sequence tag (EST)-based wheat microarrays in combination with the oldest continuously running agricultural experiment in the world to show that gene expression is significantly influenced by the amount and form of nitrogenous fertilizer. In the Broadbalk winter wheat experiment at Rothamsted in the United Kingdom and at three other diverse test sites, we show that specific genes have surprisingly different expression levels in the grain endosperm when nitrogen is supplied either in an organic or an inorganic form. Many of the genes showing differential expression are known to participate in nitrogen metabolism and storage protein synthesis. However, others are of unknown function and therefore represent new leads for future investigation. Our observations show that specific gene expression is diagnostic for use of organic sources of nitrogen fertilizer and may therefore have useful applications in defining the differences between organically and conventionally grown wheat.
Sex inheritance in gynodioecious species: a polygenic view
Authors: Ehlers Bodil K , Maurice Sandrine , Bataillon Thomas
Published: July 2005

Gynodioecy is defined as the coexistence of two different sexual morphs in a population: females and hermaphrodites. This breeding system is found among many different families of angiosperms and is usually under nucleo-cytoplasmic inheritance, with maternally inherited genes causing male sterility and nuclear factors restoring male fertility. Numerous theoretical models have investigated the conditions for the stable coexistence of females and hermaphrodites. To date, all models rest on the assumption that restoration of a given male sterile genotype is controlled by a single Mendelian factor. Here, we review data bearing on the genetic determinism of sex inheritance in three gynodiecious plant species. We suggest that restoration of male fertility is probably best viewed as a quantitative trait controlled by many loci. We develop a threshold model that accommodates an underlying polygenic trait, which is resolved at the phenotypic level in discrete sexual morphs. We use this model to reanalyse data inThymus vulgaris,Silene vulgarisandPlantago coronopus. A simple Mendelian inheritance of sex determinism is unlikely in all three species. We discuss how our model can shed additional light on the genetics of restoration and point towards future efforts in the modelling of gynodioecy.
Grid computing and biomolecular simulation
Authors: Woods Christopher J , Ng Muan Hong , Johnston Steven , Murdock Stuart E , Wu Bing , Tai Kaihsu , Fangohr Hans , Jeffreys Paul , Cox Simon , Frey Jeremy G , Sansom Mark S.P , Essex Jonathan W
Published: July 2005

Biomolecular computer simulations are now widely used not only in an academic setting to understand the fundamental role of molecular dynamics on biological function, but also in the industrial context to assist in drug design. In this paper, two applications of Grid computing to this area will be outlined. The first, involving the coupling of distributed computing resources to dedicated Beowulf clusters, is targeted at simulating protein conformational change using the Replica Exchange methodology. In the second, the rationale and design of a database of biomolecular simulation trajectories is described. Both applications illustrate the increasingly important role modern computational methods are playing in the life sciences.
The Scottish Parliament and e‐democracy
Authors: Seaton Janet
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To describe the initiatives of the Scottish Parliament in the field of e‐democracy and assess the prospects for future developments.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis and review.

Findings

The Scottish Parliament has always seen the internet as one of the major mechanisms for engaging Scottish citizens in the Parliament's business and activities. Its most successful initiatives have been the e‐petitioning system, the webcasting of proceedings, the discussion forums and the MSP video diaries.

Research limitations/implications

Relevant to parliaments and other representative institutions.

Practical implications

Simple implementable tools are described that have been shown to be effective.

Originality/value

Few parliaments have been able to put theory into practice in a short time. Applicable to other small parliaments with limited resources wishing to enhance democratic participation by electronic means.
UK elected representatives and their weblogs: first impressions
Authors: Auty Caroline
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To examine the weblogs written by members of UK legislatures and to determine whether such weblogs address commonly cited criticisms of MPs' web sites and serve to bridge the gap between representative and constituent.

Design/methodology/approach

Examination of the literature on MPs' web sites to draw up a list of common criticisms. Construction of evaluation criteria to analyse the blogs in terms of content, currency, design, interactivity and evidence of personality both as a snapshot and over a longer period.

Findings

That weblogs are, on the whole, kept up to date and show promising levels of activity. Blogs enable constituents to see with what their MPs have been involved (on both the local and the Parliamentary stages) and to see what areas of policy particularly interest their MP. Personality of the MPs is apparent on most of the blogs, which are less party‐oriented than many MPs' web sites. Although the gap between representatives and constituents may have been bridged to an extent, blogging is still largely a top‐down form of communication – even though people do submit relevant and pertinent comments to the blogs, proper two‐way debate is rarely seen and comments are not always acknowledged or answered.

Research limitations/implications

Based on a small number of blogs covering the UK only.

Practical implications

Provides simple evaluation criteria that could be applied to blogs in other areas.

Originality/value

Provides a useful first structured analysis of weblogs written by elected representatives, on which further work can be undertaken once the sample size has increased and existing blogs are more established.
Novel design of disturbance decoupled reduced‐order observer
Authors: Luan Jia‐hui , Jiang Xing‐wei , Song Zheng‐ji
Published: July 2005

Purpose

In order to improve the practicability of the design in state estimation, the paper aims to present a novel disturbance decoupled reduced‐order observer (DDRO) design scheme.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first uses equivalence transformation to eliminate unknown input appearing in measurement. Then based on Luenberger observer and using two non‐singular coordinate transformation, the design observer can get no bias error in the state estimation.

Findings

By using this approach we find that the conditions of DDRO depend on the system itself that is weaker than other observers. It is a qualified and simple and straightforward approach to be applied in wide domains.

Research limitations/implications

We should note that the number of independent rows of the matrix C must not be less than the number of the independent columns of the matrix E to satisfy condition rank(CE)=rank(E)=q. In other words, the maximum number of disturbances which can be decoupled cannot be larger than the number of independent measurements.

Practical implications

It is a very useful approach to solve the problem that the measurement is contaminated by disturbances.

Originality/value

The paper proposed an equivalence transformation. It is used to eliminate unknown input appearing in measurement. At the same time the algebraic transformation guaranteed that it would lose no information of the unknown inputs. And compared with other known results, the design condition of the reduced‐order observer which proposed in this paper depends on system itself, especially, which is weaker than others.
Inner‐outer matching solution of Blasius equation by DTM
Authors: Arikoglu Aytac , Ozkol Ibrahim
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To study the flow of a two‐dimensional, steady, incompressible and constant property fluid over a semi‐infinite flat plate represented by the well‐known Blasius equation.

Design/methodology/approach

Differential transform method was used to solve this equation. The solution is based on matching of the inner and outer solutions.

Findings

It is observed that the inner solution diverges at η≅5.5 and the outer solution developed for η≥5.5 should be matched with the inner one.

Originality/value

It is the first time, for the best of the authors' knowledge, the missing boundary condition f″(0), related to surface friction, is obtained in a closed form. Also, the matching technique implemented in this study can be used for this type of physical length sensitive problems.
Autonomous optical navigation for landing on asteroids
Authors: Shuang Li , Hutao Cui , Pingyuan Cui
Published: July 2005

Purpose

In order to succeed in landing asteroids, good accuracy autonomous navigation is absolutely necessary. Aims to describe a new autonomous navigation algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

First, gray images of asteroid surface are acquired by optical navigation camera, and nature feature points are detected and tracked autonomously. Second, the directional vector from spacecraft to the center of each feature point can be computed from the image coordinates in camera focal plane. Then, LIDAR/LRF is directed to three feature points and the distances from spacecraft to feature points are obtained. Last, the relative position vector from spacecraft to the target asteroid is reconstructed base on measurement outputs of navigation cameras and laser light radar (laser range finder).

Findings

Suppose the initial conditions presented in this paper, the autonomous optical navigation position error and velocity error are less than 1 m and 0.1 m/s, respectively; this navigation accuracy can satisfy the requirement of soft landing on asteroids.

Originality/value

Based on feature detection and tracking, an autonomous optical navigation scheme is brought out and the validity is confirmed by computer simulation.
Designing a successful library school field experience
Authors: Kelsey Paul , Ramaswamy Mohan
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To share the library school field experience paradigm that the authors developed after their successful participation as a supervisor and student.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of field experience literature is provided. The field experience paradigms and perspectives pertaining to the supervisor and the student are explained. The paradigm is suggested as a model for field experience participants and their supervisors.

Findings

The field experience paradigm for the supervisors elucidates the stages – planning, training, mentoring and evaluation. The paradigm for students explains the phases – awareness, interests, planning and participation.

Research limitations/implications

The focus of the field experience, from which the paradigm emanated, was to train and prepare the student for agricultural librarianship in an academic library. The application of the paradigm may vary for different situations.

Practical implications

The paradigm is expected to be useful for supervisors and students of field experience programs.

Originality/value

This paradigm stems from the participation of the authors as a field experience supervisor and student. The steps and methods the authors followed will help advance future field experience programs.
Knowledge processes
Authors: Huotari Maija‐Leena , Iivonen Mirja
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To explore the nature of the university's knowledge processes and to specify the library's role in these processes.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework for strategic management based on the concepts of the value constellation of networked enterprises and the knowledge processes is applied along with the concept of a strategic partnership to indicate the library's new role within the university.

Findings

The library's role in the generative knowledge processes is likely to become the major managerial challenge. Its role in the productive knowledge processes will increase, and in the representative knowledge processes it will diversify.

Research limitations/implications

The same research object could be approached empirically from a multidisciplinary perspective, i.e. the transforming research and teaching processes and enhancement of the library's role in them. The impact of the library's intellectual capital on the university's intellectual capital should be examined in terms of performance assessment in theory and practice.

Practical implications

Illuminative examples indicate how libraries can take a more proactive, strategic role in practice.

Originality/value

This timely paper develops a sound theoretical basis on which the library can be understood as a vital member of a strategic partnership in the management of the university's intellectual capital. It is a significant application to library management of theory from outside the field. The paper is rich in stimulating ideas, and should be of considerable interest to a wide readership.
Sensemaking a public library's internet policy crisis
Authors: Cavanagh Mary
Published: July 2005

Purpose

Using Weick's sensemaking theory within a KM framework, and storytelling methodology, this study aims to deconstruct a recent public internet access policy crisis at the newly amalgamated Ottawa Public Library (Canada). As the library's former Manager of Virtual Library Services, the author retrospectively enacts the story of how the library board and management resolved a public controversy led by the staff and the community newspaper. At issue were the library staff's right to be protected from viewing internet pornography, the community's reaction to the issue of protecting children's internet access, and the library's commitment to intellectual freedom online.

Design/methodology/approach

Plausible meanings are presented, the public library's identity and beliefs are reinterpreted, organizational vocabularies are challenged and tacit and cultural knowledge is created and shared.

Findings

In keeping with a commitment to knowledge creation and use, the library should be actively engaged in multiple tellings of this organizational story by both staff and management. Such tellings, while perhaps not building any new consensus, would contribute to future sensemaking and could aid future strategic planning.

Originality/value

Applies Weick's theory, developed in a larger KM framework, and using storytelling methodology, to deconstruct the experience of a recent organizational crisis involving public internet access in a Canadian public library.
The best business practices of Sri Lankan firms
Authors: Jayakody J.A.S.K. , Sanjeewani W.M.A.
Published: July 2005

Purpose

The present study was undertaken to identify what practices are considered best business practices by business firms in Sri Lanka and to explore whether there exist different practices in different sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from managers attending postgraduate and mid‐career development programs in a large Sri Lankan university. A total of 71 managers responded to the questionnaire representing 71 firms. The data were analyzed with principal component factor (Varimax rotation) technique to identify the best practices and Tukey's post hoc test was employed to compare them across different sectors.

Findings

The findings indicate that the following are considered to be best business practices in Sri Lanka: a bias for action, quality focus, customer orientation, relationships with customers, relationships with employees and outsourcing. These best practices belong to four key performance areas, namely external market orientation, internal organizational process, current business performance, and internal customer orientation. It was also found that medium‐sized firms are different from large, and service firms are different from firms in the trade sector in terms of a bias for action. Further, firms operating in the overseas markets and manufacturing firms are significantly higher in “quality focus” than their counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

The researchers suggest that future research be undertaken using large samples, taking the four‐dimensional framework as the conceptual framework.

Originality/value

Though the history of best business practices runs into the early 1980s, empirical studies on the topic are limited both in the West and the East. During the last two decades a number of lists of best practices appeared with little empirical support, thus causing a research gap.
Value orientations: a case study of north Indian manufacturing managers
Authors: Monga Manjit
Published: July 2005

Purpose

It is argued that ethical ideology espoused by an individual provides the framework within which individuals contemplate the issues and determine the right way to behave. This paper aims to report the findings of a study designed to examine the ethical orientations of managers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted on a sample of 175 managers and was drawn from 12 large manufacturing organizations in the state of Punjab, India, using Forsyth's ethics position questionnaire.

Findings

It was found that the large majority of managers were situationists and only a small percentage were absolutists.

Research limitations/implications

The sample in this study is restricted to large manufacturing enterprises only and reports espoused values only.

Practical implications

An understanding of the value orientations of managers is valuable for business representatives from other cultural contexts when working with their Indian counterparts. It is also a useful input in establishing organisational strategies for management development and training for expatriate assignments and leadership roles.

Originality/value

The author is of the belief that, at the present time, this is the largest study of personal ethical orientations of practising managers in the manufacturing sector in Punjab, India. It adds to the work done by various researchers into ethical beliefs and values of managers in various cultural contexts.
International training and management development: theory and reality
Authors: Shen Jie
Published: July 2005

Purpose

This article aims to outline the theoretical perspectives of international training and development and examine how theoretical frameworks have been implemented by practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review.

Findings

There appears to be a considerable gap between academic theories and multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) practices. MNEs pay little attention to international training and management development. Ineffective international training and management development have a considerably adverse impact on MNEs.

Practical implications

In order to succeed in a globally competitive environment MNEs need to effectively train expatriates and their spouses, host‐country nationals (HCNs) and third‐country nationals (TCNs), and develop and nurture a truly global management team.

Originality/value

This paper systematically reviews the existing literature and reveals a considerable gap between academic theories and MNEs’ practices.
Global measures of development and the information society
Authors: Albright Kendra S.
Published: July 2005

Purpose

To examine the effects of telecommunications on national development, broadly measured in the areas of economic, social, and political change, and cultural development.

Design/methodology/approach

The results of a structural equation model are reported, designed to examine the bi‐directional relationship between telecommunications infrastructure and national development for countries worldwide. The economic, social, and political development, and cultural changes that result from telecommunications infrastructure are investigated.

Findings

Telecommunications infrastructure effects extend beyond economic impacts to include social, political, and cultural change.

Research limitations/implications

Criteria used to measure development and change, particularly those that examine the effects of telecommunications on culture, are inadequate and do not adequately measure the effects of telecommunications on national development.

Practical implications

Alternative methods of assessment or measure are needed to examine more critically the effects of telecommunications within the context of national development.

Originality/value

This paper argues for the necessity of deeper investigation into the influence of technology on society, particularly in the area of cultural change.
Re‐engineering customer services: University of Salford information services division
Authors: Jeal Yvette
Published: July 2005

Purpose

This paper describes the first steps in a process of service re‐engineering – business process re‐engineering (BPR) – in the information services division (ISD) of the University of Salford.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper begins by describing the recent changes within HE and the impact of these changes to support services. The structure of ISD (and customer services within that) in the University of Salford is described, and the need for process change is analysed. The CRISP (Customer Resolution and Information Services Project) teams are then described, as are the principles behind the planned process mapping exercise. Finally, change management issues and customer relationships are discussed, as is our vision of a learning organisation.

Findings

The ISD will re‐engineer its key processes providing a customer‐focused service with resources directed specifically to where they are required. The process has already met challenges, even though its scope is just being defined. Those challenges include the complexity of the cultures that will need to be accounted for, the threats of a loss of momentum due to the need for thoroughness and fairness, and the need for planned communication and change management.

Originality/value

The scale of BPR being undertaken at the University of Salford is unmatched in the UK. This paper will begin the thought process for similar services who wish to focus what they do and the resources they use in providing that service.