bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visual literacy and learning: finding some online territories for the slow learner
Authors: Leishman Donna
Published: June 2004

This paper is an attempt at uncovering some online practices that it is proposed utilise the age‐old lineages of the visual comic and cartoon, which can help one better understand how to create and learn through interaction enabling technologies such as those available today. As a secondary theme the paper looks at the potential for new media practices (using the label to cover a range of disciplines from design to fine arts in the digital realm) to encourage a different type of educational dialogue between student and tutor, a dialogue which could be useful in developing student confidence and thus re‐engage them in academic enquiry.
Cyborg dreams: from ergodics to electracy
Authors: Weight Jenny
Published: June 2004

This paper speculatively explores some of wider ramifications of introducing computer‐based media into the academy, both as a teaching tool and as a type of media for study in its own right. It focuses on the experience of computer‐induced liminal space and some of the psychological affects that result, including q‐phasing and attention‐deficit‐type behaviour, and ponders what affect they have on learners. The paper postulates that use of this media may result in a new for of computer‐based literacy, which Ulmer has called electracy. Such questions have broader implications for concepts of humanity and culture which the paper points towards.
Family business and corporate social responsibility in a sample of Dutch firms
Authors: Uhlaner Lorraine M. , van Goor‐Balk H.J.M. (Annemieke) , Masurel Enno
Published: June 2004

This paper explores corporate social responsibility in family businesses. In particular, the research investigates family businesses in relation to a wide variety of constituent or stakeholder groups. It reports the preliminary results of focused interviews with 42 small and medium‐sized Dutch family businesses. The data obtained from content analysis suggest that a mix of corporate social responsibility perspectives, help to explain the nature of relationships with, and behaviors toward, various constituency groups. The family character of the business most frequently impacts employee, client, and supplier relationships. Statistically significant interaction effects are reported for the following moderator variables: generation of the owner; company tenure in the community; community size; company size; and inclusion of the family surname in the business name. Interaction effects were also tested for industry type and gender. The paper also outlines some practical implications of the findings and suggests directions for future research.
Practical theories from entrepreneurs' stories: discursive approaches to entrepreneurial learning
Authors: Rae David
Published: June 2004

This study develops the use of “practical theory”, as a resource in entrepreneurial learning. Practical theory emerges from the implicit, intuitive, tacit and situated resource of practice, whereas academic theory is abstract, generalised, explicit and seeks to be provable. The study develops practical theories from the life story accounts provided by interviewing entrepreneurs. The study demonstrates a framework and example for interpreting entrepreneurial learning and developing practical theory from these accounts. Thirty practising entrepreneurs were interviewed, in a wide range of industries and at different stages of life and career experience, from first venture to experienced serial entrepreneur. Practical theories of entrepreneurial working have been developed, using the framework of “what, how, why, who and in what conditions” the practices identified are effective. The practical theories arising from the study are presented using this structured framework, based on a sense making perspective. Discourse material is used to support and illustrate the practical theories, which relate to personal learning and development; identifying and developing innovative opportunities; creating new ventures; and managing growing businesses.
Entrepreneurial learning: a process of co‐participation
Authors: Taylor David W. , Thorpe Richard
Published: June 2004

Applying social concepts to the social relations that the entrepreneur maintains, this research seeks to identify the impact of these relationships, and the learning that might result from them, on the decision‐making process. A social and conversational model of experiential learning is put forward, where learning and influence are seen to emerge as part of an ongoing negotiated process. This argument complements Kolb's “fundamentally cognitive” theory of experiential learning, by challenging the view that the learner should be viewed as an “intellectual Robinson Crusoe”, and stating that even when an individual reflects and theorises their thoughts have a social character. Data were collected using critical incident technique through one‐to‐one in‐depth interviews over several weeks. The paper goes some way to confirm the importance of networks in the business development process, helping further to define how networks exist. The learning identified, is understood therefore as part of an ongoing negotiated process within a complex network of domestic, voluntary, commercial and professional relations.
From temporary support to systematic resource development: expert services from an SME perspective
Authors: Hurmerinta‐Peltomäki Leila , Nummela Niina
Published: June 2004

Competition in expert services has forced the service providers to consider a more customer‐oriented strategy. Unfortunately, for many of them customers are a faceless “mass”. In order to facilitate a restructuring of the business, SME managers were asked about their needs for such services. The empirical analysis is based on the responses of 400 Finnish SMEs from various industries. The results indicate that the relationship between a firm's life cycle and the need for expert services should not be overlooked.
A study of procurement behaviour in small firms
Authors: Morrissey Bill , Pittaway Luke
Published: June 2004

This paper analyses buyer‐supplier relationships from the perspective of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Preliminary results show that actors within a supply chain are not homogeneous in terms of their size, resources and business motives, and this brings into question the validity and relevance of the purchasing literature when examining smaller firms. This paper outlines the usefulness and importance of purchasing behaviour in SMEs in relation to the size and nature of the firm. The research draws principally from a series of in‐depth interviews undertaken with owner‐managers within plastic moulding companies in Lancashire, UK.
Identification of a novel allele HLA‐A*1113 in a Japanese donor
Authors: Takahashi D. , Miyazaki T. , Araseki M. , Sekimoto T. , Sato S. , Kato T. , Ikeda H.
Published: June 2004

Abstract:  A new HLA‐A*11 allele, A*1113, was identified in a healthy Japanese female. She was typed as HLA‐A11?, A2, B46, B67, Cw1, Cw7 (Bw6) with unusual serological reactivity of A11, suggesting possible presence of a new A*11 allele. The novel A*1113 allele was identified by haplotypic group‐specific allele amplification using A*11 allele‐specific primer pairs and sequence‐based typing. The A*1113 allele differs from A*11011 by one nucleotide substitution in exon 3 at position 503 (A → G) which causes an amino acid change in the alfa2 domain at residue 144 (lysine : K → arginine : R), thus resulting in the unusual serological reactivity.
The role of galectins in the initiation, amplification and resolution of the inflammatory response
Authors: Rubinstein N. , Ilarregui J.M. , Toscano M.A. , Rabinovich G.A.
Published: June 2004

Abstract:  Inflammation involves the sequential activation of signalling pathways leading to the production of both pro‐inflammatory and anti‐inflammatory mediators. Galectins constitute a family of structurally related β‐galactoside‐binding proteins, which are defined by their affinity for poly‐N‐acetyllactosamine‐enriched glycoconjugates and sequence similarities in the carbohydrate recognition domain. By crosslinking specific glycoconjugates, different members of the galectin family behave as pro‐inflammatory or anti‐inflammatory agents, acting at different levels of acute and chronic inflammatory responses. Recent studies highlighted immunomodulatory roles for galectins in vivo in several experimental models of chronic inflammation, suggesting that these carbohydrate‐binding proteins may be potential targets for the design of a novel generation of anti‐inflammatory agents. In this study, we review recent advances on the role of galectins in the initiation, amplification and resolution of the inflammatory response. In particular, we examine the influence of individual members of this family in regulating cell adhesion, migration, chemotaxis, antigen presentation, immune cell activation and apoptosis. From a better understanding of the molecular basis of galectin‐induced immune regulation, we may become able to exploit the potential of these sugar‐binding proteins and their glycoligands as suitable therapeutic agents in acute and chronic inflammatory disorders.
Sacrificed or Spared? The Fate of Jephthah's Daughter in Early Modern Theological and Literary Texts
Authors: Linton Anna
Published: June 2004

The story of Jephthah's rash vow to Yahweh and the subsequent sacrifice of his only daughter is told in the Old Testament book of Judges. Over the centuries the account has fascinated commentators: Jephthah's actions contradict biblical prohibitions of human sacrifice, yet he is named in Hebrews 11 as one of the great heroes of faith. This article examines the story's reception in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, focusing particularly on an argument which claims that the daughter was not killed, but merely dedicated to lifelong virginity. This argument was quickly co‐opted into a bitter controversy about the validity of vows and religious orders in the early years of the Reformation, yet literary workings of the story by such dramatists as George Buchanan, Jakob Balde and Christian Weise hold firmly to the idea that the daughter was slain. The reasons for this are analysed, and links are drawn with the literary treatment of that other sacrificed virgin, Iphigenia.
The Museal Path to Bildung: Collecting, Exhibiting and Exchange in Stifter's Der Nachsommer
Authors: McIsaac Peter M.
Published: June 2004

This essay analyses salient dynamics of collecting and exhibiting in order to shed new light on the process of Bildung and the founding of a bourgeois family in the imaginary world of Der Nachsommer. The essay shows that learning to collect and exhibit scientific and aesthetic objects is the basis of identity formation in this text and propels the novel's protagonist Heinrich on his path to Bildung. The exchange mechanisms inherent in the novel's regime of collecting simultaneously promote male‐to‐male exchanges of art and women that cement family bonds, invest Heinrich's wife Natalie with value, and eventually allow Heinrich to join the ranks of his father and Risach, his mentor.
Salicylic acid inhibits jasmonic acid‐induced resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana to Spodoptera exigua
Authors: Cipollini D. , Enright S. , Traw M. B. , Bergelson J.
Published: June 2004

The role of salicylic acid (SA) in plant responses to pathogens has been well documented, but its direct and indirect effects on plant responses to insects are not so well understood. We examined the effects of SA, alone and in combination with jasmonic acid (JA), on the performance of the generalist herbivore, Spodoptera exigua, in wild‐type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes that varied genetically in their ability to mount SA‐ and JA‐mediated defence responses. In one experiment, growth of S. exigua larvae was highest on the Wassilewskija wild‐type, intermediate on the Columbia wild‐type and the JA‐deficient fad mutant, and lowest on the nim1‐1 and jar1‐mutants, which are defective in the SA and JA pathways, respectively. Activity of guaiacol peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase, n‐acetylglucosaminidase, and trypsin inhibitor varied by genotype but did not correlate with insect performance. SA treatment increased growth of S. exigua larvae by ∼35% over all genotypes, but had no discernable effect on activities of the four defence proteins. In a second experiment, growth of S. exigua was highest across treatments on the cep1 mutant, a constitutive expressor of high SA levels and systemic acquired resistance, and lowest on the fad mutant, which is JA‐deficient. JA treatment generally increased activity of all four defence proteins, increased total glucosinolate levels and reduced insect growth by ∼25% over all genotypes. SA generally inhibited expression of JA‐induced resistance to S. exigua when both hormones were applied simultaneously. Across genotypes and treatments, larval mass was negatively correlated with the activity of trypsin inhibitor and polyphenoloxidase and with total glucosinolate levels, and insect damage was negatively correlated with the activity of polyphenoloxidase. SA had little effect on the induction of defence protein activity by JA. However, SA attenuated the induction of glucosinolates by JA and therefore may explain better the interactive effects of SA and JA on insect performance. This study illustrates that direct and indirect cross‐effects of SA on resistance to S. exigua can occur in A. thaliana. Effects of SA may be mediated through effects on plant defence chemistry or other aspects of the suitability of foliage for insect feeding and growth.
Analysis of the monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 −2518 promoter polymorphism in patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Kroner A. , Mäurer M. , Loserth S. , Kleinschnitz C. , Hemmer B. , Rosche B. , Toyka K.V. , Rieckmann P.
Published: June 2004

Abstract:  Cytokines and chemokines like the proinflammatory chemokine, monocytechemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‐1) are important for the recruitment of inflammatory cells into multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. Recently, a nucleotide substitution from adenosine to guanosine (A→G) at position −2518 of the MCP‐1 promoter was shown to be associated with increased MCP‐1 expression. We analysed MCP‐1 genotypes in 634 MS patients and 405 healthy controls. The allelic frequencies were comparable between both groups. No correlation was found between genotype and disease course, disease severity or age of disease onset. Although statistically no+ significant mRNA expression and MCP‐1 secretion were elevated in patients carrying the mutant allele. Thus, our data could not reveal any association between the MCP‐1 −2518 polymorphism and susceptibility to or clinical disease course of MS.
Unequal Access To Breast‐Conserving Surgery In Western Australia 1982–;2000
Authors: Hall Sonja E. , Holman C. D. J. , Hendrie Delia V. , Spilsbury Katrina
Published: June 2004

Background:  The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of demographic, locational and social disadvantage and the possession of private health insurance in Western Australia on the likelihood of women with breast cancer receiving breast‐conserving surgery rather than mastectomy.

Methods:  The WA Record Linkage Project was used to extract all hospital morbidity, cancer and death records of women with breast cancer in Western Australia from 1982 to 2000 inclusive. Comparisons between those receiving breast‐conserving surgery and mastectomy were made after adjustment for covariates in logistic regression.

Results:  Younger women, especially those aged less than 60 years, and those with less comorbidity were more likely to receive breast‐conserving surgery (BCS). In lower socio‐economic groups, women were less likely to receive BCS (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.60–;0.90). Women resident in rural areas tended to receive less BCS than those from metropolitan areas (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.55–;1.29). Women treated in a rural hospital had a reduced likelihood of BCS (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.61–;0.89). Treatment in a private hospital reduced the likelihood of BCS (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.54–;0.90), while women with private health insurance were much more likely to receive BCS (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.08–;1.79).

Conclusion:  Several factors were found to affect the likelihood of women with breast cancer receiving breast‐conserving surgery, in particular, women from disadvantaged backgrounds were significantly less likely to receive breast‐conserving surgery than those from more privileged groups.
Limiting distributions of unconditional maximum likelihood unit root test statistics in seasonal time–series models
Authors: Lee Taiyeong , Dickey David A.
Published: June 2004

Abstract.  The likelihood function of a seasonal model, Yt = ρYt−d + et as implemented in computer algorithms under the assumption of stationary initial conditions is a function of ρ which is zero at the point ρ = 1. It is a smooth function for ρ in the above seasonal model with a well‐defined maximum regardless of the data‐generating mechanism. Gonzalez‐Farias (PhD Thesis, North Carolina State University, 1992) proposed tests for unit roots based on maximizing the stationary likelihood function in nonseasonal time series. We extend it to seasonal time series. The limiting distribution of seasonal unit root test statistics based on the unconditional maximum likelihood estimators are shown. Models having a single mean, seasonal means, and a single‐trend variable across the seasons are considered.
Computation of asymmetric signal extraction filters and mean squared error for ARIMA component models
Authors: Bell William R. , Martin Donald E. K.
Published: June 2004

Abstract.  Standard signal extraction results for both stationary and nonstationary time series are expressed as linear filters applied to the observed series. Computation of the filter weights, and of the corresponding frequency response function, is relevant for studying properties of the filter and of the resulting signal extraction estimates. Methods for doing such computations for symmetric, doubly infinite filters are well established. This study develops an algorithm for computing filter weights for asymmetric, semi‐infinite signal extraction filters, including the important case of the concurrent filter (for signal extraction at the current time point). The setting is where the time series components being estimated follow autoregressive integrated moving‐average (ARIMA) models. The algorithm provides expressions for the asymmetric signal extraction filters as rational polynomial functions of the backshift operator. The filter weights are then readily generated by simple expansion of these expressions, and the corresponding frequency response function is directly evaluated. Recursive expressions are also developed that relate the weights for filters that use successively increasing amounts of data. The results for the filter weights are then used to develop methods for computing mean squared error results for the asymmetric signal extraction estimates.
The informationist in Australia: a feasibility study
Authors: Sladek Ruth M. , Pinnock Carole , Phillips Paddy A.
Published: June 2004

Objectives:  A clinical informationist could provide the best available published evidence in response to clinicians’ questions identified during the process of care. This study sought to assess the feasibility of an informationist service and to propose a model for its delivery in an Australian teaching hospital. Whilst similar services are increasing in the UK, with a long history in the USA, this is the first Australian study in an acute public hospital.

Methods:  The views of 40/49 (82%) medical staff at the Daw Park Repatriation General Hospital, South Australia were canvassed using a questionnaire designed to address key issues relating to a proposed service.

Results:  Doctors were receptive to its potential benefits, perceived it as relevant and likely to be used, and were interested in a pilot. They typically indicated a required response time of 24 h. They expressed limited concerns other than a likely high workload for such a service, and reported currently searching infrequently for evidence in response to clinical questions, citing time issues and unavailability of computers as current key barriers to pursuing clinical questions.

Conclusions:  An informationist service is feasible. Results suggest that a pilot could be run in an area of acute medicine where questions about therapy and diagnosis are likely to proliferate, and the informationist should attend consultant ward rounds and clinical meetings, aiming to provide a response within 24 h.
Effect of short‐term training on GLUT‐4 mRNA and protein expression in human skeletal muscle
Authors: Kraniou Giorgos N. , Cameron‐Smith David , Hargreaves Mark
Published: June 2004

Six untrained, male subjects (23 ± 1 years old, 84 ± 5 kg, V̇O2peak= 3.7 ± 0.8 l min−1) exercised for 60 min at 75 ± 1%V̇O2peak on 7 consecutive days. Muscle samples were obtained before the start of cycle exercise training and 24 h after the first and seventh exercise sessions and analysed for citrate synthase activity, glycogen and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT‐4) mRNA and protein expression. Exercise training increased (P < 0.05) citrate synthase by ∼20% and muscle glycogen concentration by ∼40%. GLUT‐4 mRNA levels 24 h after the first and seventh exercise sessions were similar to those measured before the start of exercise training. In contrast, GLUT‐4 protein expression was increased after 7 days of exercise training (12.4 ± 1.5 versus 3.4 ± 1.0 arbitray units (a.u.), P < 0.05) and although it tended to be higher 24 h after the first exercise session (6.0 ± 3.0 versus 3.4 ± 1.0 a.u.), this was not significantly different (P= 0.09). These results support the suggestion that the adaptive increase in skeletal muscle GLUT‐4 protein expression with short‐term exercise training arises from the repeated, transient increases in GLUT‐gene transcription following each exercise bout leading to a gradual accumulation of GLUT‐4 protein, despite GLUT‐4 mRNA returning to basal levels between exercise stimuli.
Stress‐induced pressor and corticosterone responses in oxytocin‐deficient mice
Authors: Bernatova Iveta , Rigatto Katya V. , Key Mary P. , Morris Mariana
Published: June 2004

We used oxytocin knockout (OTKO) mice to investigate the role of oxytocin in regulation of blood pressure, heart rate and stress reactivity (pressure reactivity and plasma corticosterone). Male OTKO and control wild‐type mice with carotid arterial catheters were exposed to intermittent shaker stress for 7 days (2 min stressors, 45 times per day). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded continuously (24 h) before stress (basal), on stress days 1, 3 and 7 (S1, S3 and S7) and 1 day poststress (recovery). Plasma corticosterone (Cort) was measured before stress and 30 min after the last stress on day 7. Twenty‐four hour averages of MAP and HR were lower in OTKO mice than in controls (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.005, respectively) with a significant diurnal rhythm. Chronic stress (S1 and S3) produced an increase in 24 h average MAP in OTKO mice, but not in controls. There were no stress‐related changes in 24 h average HR values between control and OTKO mice. The immediate pressor responses were analysed during the dark and light periods (19.00 and 08.00 h). During the dark period, stress‐induced pressor responses were observed only in OTKO mice (S1 and S3). In the light period, stress‐induced MAP increases were seen on all days in OTKO mice and on days S1 and S3 in controls. There were no differences in baseline Cort between the groups; however, OTKO mice showed a reduced response to chronic stress (+298 versus+411%, OTKO mice versus controls, P < 0.005). In conclusion, oxytocin deficiency alters the endocrine and pressor responses to chronic stress, suggesting that the endogenous oxytocin system is important in regulating the stress‐induced pressor response.
Changes in contractile activation characteristics of rat fast and slow skeletal muscle fibres during regeneration
Authors: Gregorevic Paul , Plant David R. , Stupka Nicole , Lynch Gordon S.
Published: June 2004

Damaged skeletal muscle fibres are replaced with new contractile units via muscle regeneration. Regenerating muscle fibres synthesize functionally distinct isoforms of contractile and regulatory proteins but little is known of their functional properties during the regeneration process. An advantage of utilizing single muscle fibre preparations is that assessment of their function is based on the overall characteristics of the contractile apparatus and regulatory system and as such, these preparations are sensitive in revealing not only coarse, but also subtle functional differences between muscle fibres. We examined the Ca2+‐ and Sr2+‐activated contractile characteristics of permeabilized fibres from rat fast‐twitch (extensor digitorum longus) and slow‐twitch (soleus) muscles at 7, 14 and 21 days following myotoxic injury, to test the hypothesis that fibres from regenerating fast and slow muscles have different functional characteristics to fibres from uninjured muscles. Regenerating muscle fibres had ∼10% of the maximal force producing capacity (Po) of control (uninjured) fibres, and an altered sensitivity to Ca2+ and Sr2+ at 7 days post‐injury. Increased force production and a shift in Ca2+ sensitivity consistent with fibre maturation were observed during regeneration such that Po was restored to 36–45% of that in control fibres by 21 days, and sensitivity to Ca2+ and Sr2+ was similar to that of control (uninjured) fibres. The findings support the hypothesis that regenerating muscle fibres have different contractile activation characteristics compared with mature fibres, and that they adopt properties of mature fast‐ or slow‐twitch muscle fibres in a progressive manner as the regeneration process is completed.
Ecological Linkages Between Aboveground and Belowground Biota
Authors: Wardle David A. , Bardgett Richard D. , Klironomos John N. , Setälä Heikki , van der Putten Wim H. , Wall Diana H.
Published: June 2004

All terrestrial ecosystems consist of aboveground and belowground components that interact to influence community- and ecosystem-level processes and properties. Here we show how these components are closely interlinked at the community level, reinforced by a greater degree of specificity between plants and soil organisms than has been previously supposed. As such, aboveground and belowground communities can be powerful mutual drivers, with both positive and negative feedbacks. A combined aboveground-belowground approach to community and ecosystem ecology is enhancing our understanding of the regulation and functional significance of biodiversity and of the environmental impacts of human-induced global change phenomena.
Seawater Sulfur Isotope Fluctuations in the Cretaceous
Authors: Paytan Adina , Kastner Miriam , Campbell Douglas , Thiemens Mark H.
Published: June 2004

The exogenic sulfur cycle is tightly coupled with the carbon and oxygen cycles, and therefore a central component of Earth's biogeochemistry. Here we present a high-resolution record of the sulfur isotopic composition of seawater sulfate for the Cretaceous. The general enrichment of isotopically light sulfur that prevailed during the Cretaceous may have been due to increased volcanic and hydrothermal activity. Two excursions toward isotopically lighter sulfur represent periods of lower rates of pyrite burial, implying a shift in the location of organic carbon burial to terrestrial or open-ocean settings. The concurrent changes in seawater sulfur and inorganic carbon isotopic compositions imply short-term variability in atmospheric oxygen partial pressure.
Acidic Mammalian Chitinase in Asthmatic Th2 Inflammation and IL-13 Pathway Activation
Authors: Zhu Zhou , Zheng Tao , Homer Robert J. , Kim Yoon-Keun , Chen Ning Yuan , Cohn Lauren , Hamid Qutayba , Elias Jack A.
Published: June 2004

Chitin is a surface component of parasites and insects, and chitinases are induced in lower life forms during infections with these agents. Although chitin itself does not exist in humans, chitinases are present in the human genome. We show here that acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is induced via a T helper-2 (Th2)–specific, interleukin-13 (IL-13)–mediated pathway in epithelial cells and macrophages in an aeroallergen asthma model and expressed in exaggerated quantities in human asthma. AMCase neutralization ameliorated Th2 inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness, in part by inhibiting IL-13 pathway activation and chemokine induction. AMCase may thus be an important mediator of IL-13–induced responses in Th2-dominated disorders such as asthma.
Iron Isotope Fractionation and the Oxygen Fugacity of the Mantle
Authors: Williams Helen M. , McCammon Catherine A. , Peslier Anne H. , Halliday Alex N. , Teutsch Nadya , Levasseur Sylvain , Burg Jean-Pierre
Published: June 2004

The oxygen fugacity of the mantle exerts a fundamental influence on mantle melting, volatile speciation, and the development of the atmosphere. However, its evolution through time is poorly understood. Changes in mantle oxidation state should be reflected in the Fe
3+
/Fe
2+
of mantle minerals, and hence in stable iron isotope fractionation. Here it is shown that there are substantial (1.7 per mil) systematic variations in the iron isotope compositions (δ
57/54
Fe) of mantle spinels. Spinel δ
57/54
Fe values correlate with relative oxygen fugacity, Fe
3+
/ΣFe, and chromium number, and provide a proxy of changes in mantle oxidation state, melting, and volatile recycling.
Interactions and Self-Organization in the Soil-Microbe Complex
Authors: Young I. M. , Crawford J. W.
Published: June 2004

Soil is the most complicated biomaterial on the planet. As with any material, the physical habitat is of prime importance in determining and regulating biological activity. However, until recently the opaque nature of soil has meant that any interrogation of its interior architecture has been relatively rudimentary, restricted to simple qualitative expressions of the physical heterogeneity that fail to relate to any specific function. However, new techniques and insights into the biophysical and biochemical processes of this inner space are leading to the developments of theoretical frameworks and experimental approaches that will allow us to sustainably manage Earth's most important resource. We introduce the concept that the soil-microbe system is self-organized and suggest new priorities for research based on an integrative approach that combines biochemistry and biophysics.
Word Learning in a Domestic Dog: Evidence for "Fast Mapping"
Authors: Kaminski Juliane , Call Josep , Fischer Julia
Published: June 2004

During speech acquisition, children form quick and rough hypotheses about the meaning of a new word after only a single exposure—a process dubbed “fast mapping.” Here we provide evidence that a border collie, Rico, is able to fast map. Rico knew the labels of over 200 different items. He inferred the names of novel items by exclusion learning and correctly retrieved those items right away as well as 4 weeks after the initial exposure. Fast mapping thus appears to be mediated by general learning and memory mechanisms also found in other animals and not by a language acquisition device that is special to humans.
Control of Light Emission by 3D Photonic Crystals
Authors: Ogawa Shinpei , Imada Masahiro , Yoshimoto Susumu , Okano Makoto , Noda Susumu
Published: June 2004

Three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals containing artificial point defects have been fabricated to emit light at optical communications wavelengths. They were constructed by stacking 0.7-micrometer-period gallium arsenide striped layers, resulting in a 3D “woodpile” photonic crystal. Indium–gallium arsenide–phosphide quantum-well layers emitting at a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers were incorporated in the center of the crystal. Samples having up to nine stacked layers were constructed, and artificial point-defect cavities of different sizes were formed in the light-emitting layer. Light emission was suppressed in the photonic crystal regions, whereas cavity modes were successfully observed at the point defects and were size dependent.
Breaking the Sod: Humankind, History, and Soil
Authors: McNeill J. R. , Winiwarter Verena
Published: June 2004

For most of history, few things have mattered more to human communities than their relations with soil, because soil provided most of their food and nutrients. Accordingly, some of the earliest written documents were agricultural manuals intended to organize, preserve, and impart soil knowledge. Indeed, ancient civilizations often worshipped the soil as the foundry of life itself. For the past century or two, nothing has mattered more for soils than their relations with human communities, because human action inadvertently ratcheted up rates of soil erosion and, both intentionally and unintentionally, rerouted nutrient flows.
Proteomics of Protein Secretion by
Bacillus subtilis
: Separating the “Secrets” of the Secretome
Authors: Tjalsma Harold , Antelmann Haike , Jongbloed Jan D.H. , Braun Peter G. , Darmon Elise , Dorenbos Ronald , Dubois Jean-Yves F. , Westers Helga , Zanen Geeske , Quax Wim J. , Kuipers Oscar P. , Bron Sierd , Hecker Michael , van Dijl Jan Maarten
Published: June 2004

Secretory proteins perform a variety of important“
remote-control” functions for bacterial survival in
the environment. The availability of complete genome sequences has
allowed us to make predictions about the composition of bacterial
machinery for protein secretion as well as the extracellular complement
of bacterial proteomes. Recently, the power of proteomics was
successfully employed to evaluate genome-based models of these
so-called secretomes. Progress in this field is well illustrated by the
proteomic analysis of protein secretion by the gram-positive bacterium
Bacillus subtilis
, for which ∼90 extracellular
proteins were identified. Analysis of these proteins disclosed various“
secrets of the secretome,” such as the residence of
cytoplasmic and predicted cell envelope proteins in the extracellular
proteome. This showed that genome-based predictions reflect only∼
50% of the actual composition of the extracellular
proteome of
B. subtilis
. Importantly, proteomics allowed the
first verification of the impact of individual secretion machinery
components on the total flow of proteins from the cytoplasm to the
extracellular environment. In conclusion, proteomics has yielded a
variety of novel leads for the analysis of protein traffic in
B.
subtilis
and other gram-positive bacteria. Ultimately, such leads
will serve to increase our understanding of virulence factor biogenesis
in gram-positive pathogens, which is likely to be of high medical
relevance.
RegB/RegA, a Highly Conserved Redox-Responding Global Two-Component Regulatory System
Authors: Elsen Sylvie , Swem Lee R. , Swem Danielle L. , Bauer Carl E.
Published: June 2004

The Reg regulon from
Rhodobacter capsulatus
and
Rhodobacter sphaeroides
encodes proteins involved in numerous energy-generating and energy-utilizing processes such as photosynthesis, carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation, hydrogen utilization, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, denitrification, electron transport, and aerotaxis. The redox signal that is detected by the membrane-bound sensor kinase, RegB, appears to originate from the aerobic respiratory chain, given that mutations in cytochrome
c
oxidase result in constitutive RegB autophosphorylation. Regulation of RegB autophosphorylation also involves a redox-active cysteine that is present in the cytosolic region of RegB. Both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated forms of the cognate response regulator RegA are capable of activating or repressing a variety of genes in the regulon. Highly conserved homologues of RegB and RegA have been found in a wide number of photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic bacteria, with evidence suggesting that RegB/RegA plays a fundamental role in the transcription of redox-regulated genes in many bacterial species.
Infection and Invasion of Roots by Symbiotic, Nitrogen-Fixing Rhizobia during Nodulation of Temperate Legumes
Authors: Gage Daniel J.
Published: June 2004

Bacteria belonging to the genera
Rhizobium
,
Mesorhizobium
,
Sinorhizobium
,
Bradyrhizobium
, and
Azorhizobium
(collectively referred to as rhizobia) grow in the soil as free-living organisms but can also live as nitrogen-fixing symbionts inside root nodule cells of legume plants. The interactions between several rhizobial species and their host plants have become models for this type of nitrogen-fixing symbiosis. Temperate legumes such as alfalfa, pea, and vetch form indeterminate nodules that arise from root inner and middle cortical cells and grow out from the root via a persistent meristem. During the formation of functional indeterminate nodules, symbiotic bacteria must gain access to the interior of the host root. To get from the outside to the inside, rhizobia grow and divide in tubules called infection threads, which are composite structures derived from the two symbiotic partners. This review focuses on symbiotic infection and invasion during the formation of indeterminate nodules. It summarizes root hair growth, how root hair growth is influenced by rhizobial signaling molecules, infection of root hairs, infection thread extension down root hairs, infection thread growth into root tissue, and the plant and bacterial contributions necessary for infection thread formation and growth. The review also summarizes recent advances concerning the growth dynamics of rhizobial populations in infection threads.
Diversity in Chemotaxis Mechanisms among the Bacteria and Archaea
Authors: Szurmant Hendrik , Ordal George W.
Published: June 2004

The study of chemotaxis describes the cellular processes that control the movement of organisms toward favorable environments. In bacteria and archaea, motility is controlled by a two-component system involving a histidine kinase that senses the environment and a response regulator, a very common type of signal transduction in prokaryotes. Most insights into the processes involved have come from studies ofEscherichia coliover the last three decades. However, in the last 10 years, with the sequencing of many prokaryotic genomes, it has become clear thatE. colirepresents a streamlined example of bacterial chemotaxis. While general features of excitation remain conserved among bacteria and archaea, specific features, such as adaptational processes and hydrolysis of the intracellular signal CheY-P, are quite diverse. TheBacillus subtilischemotaxis system is considerably more complex and appears to be similar to the one that existed when the bacteria and archaea separated during evolution, so that understanding this mechanism should provide insight into the variety of mechanisms used today by the broad sweep of chemotactic bacteria and archaea. However, processes even beyond those used inE. coliandB. subtilishave been discovered in other organisms. This review emphasizes those used byB. subtilisand these other organisms but also gives an account of the mechanism inE. coli.
Regenerative medicine: stem cells and the science of monstrosity
Authors: Cooper M
Published: June 2004

The nineteenth century science of teratology concerned itself with the study of malformations or “monstrosities”, as they were then called. The first major contribution to the field was the work of Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,Histoire Generale et Particulière des Anomalies de l’Organisation chez l’Homme et les Animaux,published in 1832, whose classifications formed the basis for the later experimental science of teratogeny, the art of reproducing monstrosities in animal embryos. In this article, I will argue that recent developments in the field of regenerative medicine can be situated in the tradition of teratological and teratogenic studies dating back to the nineteenth century. In particular, I will be interested in the historical link between studies in teratogenesis (the artificial production of teratomas) and stem cell research. Recent advances in stem cell research, I will suggest, return us to the questions that animated nineteenth century investigations into the nature of the monstrous or the anomalous. In the process, our most intuitive conceptions of “life itself” are undergoing a profound transformation.
What’s it all about, Alfie?Antisocial males in the early films of Sir Michael Caine: Figure 1
Authors: Spence S A
Published: June 2004

Early in his film career the actor Sir Michael Caine portrayed a series of antisocial males: Harry Palmer, Alfie Elkins, Charlie Croker, and Jack Carter. The behaviours exhibited by these fictional males resemble those of “real life” patients acquiring the diagnoses of antisocial or dissocial personality disorder. Prominent among their traits is a disregard for others, a lack of guilt, and a resort to instrumental (goal directed) violence. The exhibition of antisocial conduct may be seen as a rejection of the values of the social hierarchy, the dominant or patriarchal order. Demonstrable through a defiance of dominant males and a recurrent seduction of “their” women, these Caine characters act out an Oedipal theme, repeatedly attempting subversion of the symbolic “father”—society itself. So often, the material of “real life” social behaviour is fleeting and hard to elicit reliably; however, these fictional characters provide a stable source of such exemplars, both entertaining and instructive.
Pickled essence of Englishman: Thomas Lovell Beddoes—time to unearth a neglected poet?
Authors: Bamforth I
Published: June 2004

Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803–1849) was a doctor and intermittently brilliant poet whose explorations of “the florid Gothic in poetry” (his words) offer some of the most haunting, claustrophobic, and grotesque verse in the English language. Son of the pioneering Bristol scientist Thomas Beddoes and nephew of Maria Edgeworth the novelist, he stemmed, like Mary Shelley, author of the celebrated novelFrankenstein, from a line of influential freethinkers. This article situates Beddoes’s work in the transition from the confident empiricism of the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century’s imaginative reaction to social and intellectual life after the Napoleonic wars. Having spent most of his adult life in Germany (where he studied anatomy with the famous biologist Blumenbach) and latterly Switzerland, Beddoes engaged in radical politics, dabbled in the occult, and may even have encountered the German doctor/playwright Georg Büchner, whose career parallels his own. Beddoes hoped that by reading the body literally, in terms of its material structure, he would be able to bring about a revival of English theatre. Inevitable defeat led him to develop his signature form of abject irony. In view of the current interest in semiotics (a development of medical semiology), and the subterranean analogies in Beddoes’s writing between the corpus and the corpse, his reputation ought to be rescued from the “critical pickle”.
Diagnosing pulmonary embolism
Authors: Riedel M
Published: June 2004

Objective testing for pulmonary embolism is necessary, because clinical assessment alone is unreliable and the consequences of misdiagnosis are serious. No single test has ideal properties (100% sensitivity and specificity, no risk, low cost). Pulmonary angiography is regarded as the final arbiter but is ill suited for diagnosing a disease present in only a third of patients in whom it is suspected. Some tests are good for confirmation and some for exclusion of embolism; others are able to do both but are often non-diagnostic. For optimal efficiency, choice of the initial test should be guided by clinical assessment of the likelihood of embolism and by patient characteristics that may influence test accuracy. Standardised clinical estimates can be used to give a pre-test probability to assess, after appropriate objective testing, the post-test probability of embolism. Multidetector computed tomography can replace both scintigraphy and angiography for the exclusion and diagnosis of this disease and should now be considered the central imaging investigation in suspected pulmonary embolism.
Clues for the differential diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis as an expectant variant of diffuse parenchymal lung disease
Authors: Küpeli E , Karnak D , Kayacan O , Beder S
Published: June 2004

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, also called extrinsic allergic alveolitis, a type of diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD), is an immunologically mediated pulmonary disease induced by inhalation of various antigens. As data on the frequency of hypersensitivity pneumonitis are lacking in Turkey, a retrospective analyses was performed in 43 patients with DPLD, followed up over seven years. The objective was to discover cases fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for hypersensitivity pneumonitis, to determine the frequency and/or the new characteristics of the disease, and to pick up clues for differentiating it from other DPLDs. The four subjects with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (9%) who lived in an urban area were studied in detail. The most common symptoms were dry cough and dyspnoea. According to the symptom duration, clinical features, radiological and pathological findings, three were diagnosed with chronic and one with subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis and those with DPLD were compared by means of age, sex, smoking status, symptom duration, haematology, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, peripheral cell count, spirometric parameters, blood gases, and diffusion capacity. No statistically significant difference was detected in these parameters except for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). In conclusion, patients with a history of antigen exposure, with mild symptoms such as dry cough and dyspnoea, and who have diffuse interstitial lung involvement on radiology should be carefully evaluated for hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Moreover, among other DPLDs, stable FEV1 or FVC values may be the clues for establishing the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. However, further studies are needed in larger series of patients.
Myocarditis as a prognostic indicator in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Busteed S , Sparrow P , Molloy C , Molloy M G
Published: June 2004

Lupus myocarditis is a life threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A case of left ventricular failure secondary to myocarditis occurring in a patient with SLE is reported. Despite resolution of the cardiac failure with pulsed cyclophosphamide and steroids, she eventually died of non-cardiac complications 18 months later. The literature is also reviewed.
The Medical Society of London
Authors: Hunting P
Published: June 2004

The Medical Society of London was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthropist, Dr John Coakley Lettsom, who was convinced that a combined membership of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries would prove productive. His revolutionary idea met with success and the Society has provided a forum for all branches of the medical profession for the last 231 years. Situated at the heart of London’s medical community at Lettsom House, Chandos Street, near Cavendish Square, this is the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom.