bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Successful strategies to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables: results from the Danish ‘6 a day’ Work-site Canteen Model Study
Authors: Lassen Anne , Thorsen Anne Vibeke , Trolle Ellen , Elsig Mette , Ovesen Lars
Published: March 2004

Objective:

To investigate changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in work-site canteens using the tools of continuous quality improvement, and to gain knowledge of practical strategies being effective in increasing the consumption.

Design:

Study design included baseline data collection, an 8 h training session for all canteen staff, goal setting, strategy development and implementation for each canteen, end-point data collection and a follow-up data collection 4 months from the end-point (1 year from baseline). The main outcome measurement was average grams of fruits and vegetables per lunch meal served per customer (net weight; potatoes not included).

Setting:

Five workplaces in Denmark: a military base, an electronic component distributor, a bank, a town hall and a waste-handling facility.

Subjects:

Work-site canteen managers, staff and customers.

Results:

There were significant increases in the total consumption of fruits and vegetables for all five work-site canteens from baseline to end-point, 70 g per customer on average (67, 54, 39, 88 and 103 g, respectively). The follow-up data collection showed that the canteens either maintained or significantly increased consumption, the average increase being 95 g per customer compared with baseline (77, 60, 86, 70 and 183 g, respectively).

Conclusions:

This study demonstrates a large potential for work-site canteens to increase customers' intake of fruits and vegetables at lunch and suggests a broad spectrum of strategies to compose meals that are both rich in fruits and vegetables and attractive to customers.
Stability of body mass index in Australian children: a prospective cohort study across the middle childhood years
Authors: Hesketh Kylie , Wake Melissa , Waters Elizabeth , Carlin John , Crawford David
Published: March 2004

Objective:

To investigate the prevalence and incidence of overweight and obesity, the frequency of overweight resolution and the influence of parental adiposity during middle childhood.

Design:

As part of a prospective cohort study, height and weight were measured in 1997 and 2000/2001. Children were classified as non-overweight, overweight or obese based on standard international definitions. Body mass index (BMI) was transformed into age- and gender-specific Z-scores employing the LMS method and 2000 growth chart data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents self-reported height and weight, and were classified as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese based on World Health Organization definitions.

Setting:

Primary schools in Victoria, Australia.

Subjects:

In total, 1438 children aged 5–10 years at baseline.

Results:

The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased between baseline (15.0 and 4.3%, respectively) and follow-up (19.7 and 4.8%, respectively; P < 0.001 for increase in overweight and obesity combined). There were 140 incident cases of overweight (9.7% of the cohort) and 24 of obesity (1.7% of the cohort); only 3.8% of the cohort (19.8% of overweight/obese children) resolved to a healthy weight. The stability of child adiposity as measured by BMI category (84.8% remained in the same category) and BMI Z-score (r = 0.84; mean change = −0.05) was extremely high. Mean change in BMI Z-score decreased with age (linear trend β = 0.03, 95% confidence interval 0.01–0.05). The influence of parental adiposity largely disappeared when children's baseline BMI was adjusted for.

Conclusions:

During middle childhood, the incidence of overweight/obesity exceeds the proportion of children resolving to non-overweight. However, for most children adiposity remains stable, and stability appears to increase with age. Prevention strategies targeting children in early childhood are required.
WUSCHEL induces shoot stem cell activity and developmental plasticity in the root meristem
Authors: Gallois Jean-Luc , Nora Fabiana R. , Mizukami Yukiko , Sablowski Robert
Published: March 2004

Most of the plant shoot originates from a small group of stem cells, which in Arabidopsis are specified by WUSCHEL (WUS). It is unknown whether these cells have an intrinsic potential to generate shoot tissues, or whether differentiation is guided by signals from more mature tissues. Here we show that WUS expression in the root induced shoot stem cell identity and leaf development (without additional cues), floral development (together with LEAFY), or embryogenesis (in response to increased auxin). Thus, WUS establishes stem cells with intrinsic shoot identity and responsive to developmental inputs that normally do not change root identity.
The F-Box Protein ZEITLUPE Confers Dosage-Dependent Control on the Circadian Clock, Photomorphogenesis, and Flowering Time[W]
Authors: Somers David E. , Kim Woe-Yeon , Geng Ruishuang
Published: March 2004

As an F-box protein, ZEITLUPE (ZTL) is involved in targeting one or more substrates for ubiquitination and degradation via the proteasome. The initial characterization of ZTL suggested a function limited largely to the regulation of the circadian clock. Here, we show a considerably broader role for ZTL in the control of circadian period and photomorphogenesis. Using a ZTL-specific antibody, we quantitated and characterized a ZTL dosage series that ranges from a null mutation to a strong ZTL overexpressor. In the dark,ztl null mutations lengthen circadian period, and overexpression causes arrhythmicity, suggesting a more comprehensive role for this protein in the clock than previously suspected. In the light, circadian period becomes increasingly shorter at higher levels of ZTL, to the point of arrhythmicity. By contrast, hypocotyl length increases and flowering time is delayed in direct proportion to the level of ZTL. We propose a novel testable mechanism by which circadian period and amplitude may act together to gate phytochrome B–mediated suppression of hypocotyl. We also demonstrate that ZTL-dependent delay of flowering is mediated through decreases in CONSTANS and FLOWERING LOCUS T message levels, thus directly linking proteasome-dependent proteolysis to flowering.
A New Arabidopsis Gene,FLK, Encodes an RNA Binding Protein with K Homology Motifs and Regulates Flowering Time viaFLOWERING LOCUS C [W]
Authors: Lim Mi-Hye , Kim Joonki , Kim Youn-Sung , Chung Kyung-Sook , Seo Yeon-Hee , Lee Ilha , Kim Jungmook , Hong Choo Bong , Kim Hie-Joon , Park Chung-Mo
Published: March 2004

Posttranscriptional RNA metabolism plays versatile roles in the regulation of gene expression during eukaryotic growth and development. It is mediated by a group of RNA binding proteins with distinct conserved motifs. In this study, an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene, designated FLK, was identified and shown to encode a putative RNA binding protein with K homology motifs. A mutant in which FLK was inactivated by T-DNA insertion exhibited a severe late flowering phenotype both in long and short days. The late flowering phenotype was reversed by gibberellin and vernalization treatments. The FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) transcription was greatly upregulated, whereas those of FLOWERING LOCUS T and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 decreased in the mutant. These observations demonstrate that FLK regulates the autonomous flowering pathway via FLC. It is now evident that a battery of different RNA binding proteins are involved in the posttranscriptional regulation of flowering time in Arabidopsis.
Identification of Multivesicular Bodies as Prevacuolar Compartments inNicotiana tabacumBY-2 Cells[W]
Authors: Tse Yu Chung , Mo Beixin , Hillmer Stefan , Zhao Min , Lo Sze Wan , Robinson David G. , Jiang Liwen
Published: March 2004

Little is known about the dynamics and molecular components of plant prevacuolar compartments (PVCs). We have demonstrated recently that vacuolar sorting receptor (VSR) proteins are concentrated on PVCs. In this study, we generated transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) BY-2 cell lines expressing two yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-fusion reporters that mark PVC and Golgi organelles. Both transgenic cell lines exhibited typical punctate YFP signals corresponding to distinct PVC and Golgi organelles because the PVC reporter colocalized with VSR proteins, whereas the Golgi marker colocalized with mannosidase I in confocal immunofluorescence. Brefeldin A induced the YFP-labeled Golgi stacks but not the YFP-marked PVCs to form typical enlarged structures. By contrast, wortmannin caused YFP-labeled PVCs but not YFP-labeled Golgi stacks to vacuolate. VSR antibodies labeled multivesicular bodies (MVBs) on thin sections prepared from high-pressure frozen/freeze substituted samples, and the enlarged PVCs also were indentified as MVBs. MVBs were further purified from BY-2 cells and found to contain VSR proteins via immunogold negative staining. Similar to YFP-labeled Golgi stacks, YFP-labeled PVCs are mobile organelles in BY-2 cells. Thus, we have unequivocally identified MVBs as PVCs in N. tabacum BY-2 cells. Uptake studies with the styryl dye FM4-64 strongly indicate that PVCs also lie on the endocytic pathway of BY-2 cells.
Department heads’ perceptions of their influence on mathematics achievement in Singapore and the United States
Authors: Kaur Berinderjeet , Ferrucci Beverly J. , Carter Jack A.
Published: March 2004

Heads of secondary school mathematics department were surveyed to assess their perceptions of how they influence and impact students' performance in mathematics. Survey results showed both agreement and discrepancy between what department heads perceived as actual and optimal activities to enhance instructional improvement, influence student achievement, and implement initiatives for change. The report concludes with a description of the pre‐service and in‐service programs.
The strategic alliances between the American and German companies
Authors: Abdou Khaled , Kliche Simone
Published: March 2004

In the current situation of the global economy, engaging in strategic alliances depends upon several factors in which the national and organizational cultures of the companies are involved. This paper discusses the cultural differences between the German and the American culture by applying Hofstede's “value” dimension system and how these differences affect the formation of strategic alliances and outcomes. Furthermore, the paper examines whether literature sustains the fact that Hofstede's value model can be used to sufficiently distinguish between the German and the American culture.
Sino‐British joint ventures in China
Authors: Li Huaning , Clarke‐Hill Colin M.
Published: March 2004

This paper analyses the investment patterns of Sino‐British joint ventures in China. The research is based on the data of 551 Sino‐British joint ventures formed over the period of 1983 to 1996. It aims to provide an overview of Sino‐British joint ventures' investment in China and to explain the investment conditions. The article analyses the investment patterns from the dimensions of investment value, geographical location, industry sector and equity ownership. To explain the formation of the patterns, it further explores the host country factors of investment based on the policy framework, economic determinants and business facilitation. It reveals the investment trend, the uneven spatial distribution, the sectoral characteristics and the ownership structure of joint ventures. Suggests that government economic strategy and policies towards FDI are imperative in shaping the investment patterns. Locational advantages, economic growth, industrial structures and reform process are major economic factors influencing the investment decisions. Decentralisation of decision making and local governments' facilitation efforts also play a complementary role in attracting foreign investment.
The perceived impact of JIT implementation on firms’ financial/growth performance
Authors: Ahmad Azmi , Mehra Satish , Pletcher Mark
Published: March 2004

This paper argues that solely depending on short‐term financial performance indicators to justify the benefits of JIT implementation is very misleading and could harm a company’s future long‐term survival. The empirical study presented in this paper investigated the effect of (JIT) implementation on the use of operation performance measures. Furthermore, the effect of the JIT implementation and the use of the operating performance measures on firms’ financial/growth performance, as perceived by the managers, was examined. These effects were measured using path analysis to show direct and indirect effects of JIT practices on the other two variables. Analyses indicate that, although correlations do exist between JIT practices and managerial perceptions of a firm’s financial performance, the relationships are mostly the result of spurious effects. Direct and indirect effects realized from the JIT practices on financial/growth performance are almost non‐existent.
Decision support system for machining center selection
Authors: Gopalakrishnan B. , Yoshii T. , Dappili S.M.
Published: March 2004

This paper describes the design and development of a system for the selection and construction of vertical and horizontal machining center packages with a base machine and options format subject to budgetary constraints. Options are categorized and divided into groups depending on their utilization, and their selection is based on a priority setting. Options are categorized as those providing the capability for high speed, enhanced levels of productivity, high levels of machining complexity, high levels of machining accuracy, and potential for the inclusion of automation to facilitate and satisfy production requirements. A user‐friendly and object‐oriented computer0based decision support software system was developed incorporating real data from a machine tool sales organization.
Manufacturing in the UK: contemporary characteristics and performance indicators
Authors: Abdel‐Maksoud Ahmed B.
Published: March 2004

This paper provides a tentative framework for exploring the relationships between the measurement of non‐financial performance on the shopfloor of manufacturing firms and a range of organisational and environmental factors. It is part of an ongoing project examining whether the extent of innovative managerial practices, advanced manufacturing technologies, contemporary management accounting practices, employee involvement, employee skills and training, and aspects of the market competition affect the existence and importance of non‐financial performance measures actually used on the shopfloors of UK manufacturing firms. To achieve this objective a questionnaire survey of over 2,000 UK manufacturing firms was undertaken.
The effects of rework on the shopfloor control in wafer fabrication
Authors: Sha D.Y. , Hsu Sheng‐Yuan
Published: March 2004

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of rework operations on the shopfloor control’s strategies, including order release and dispatching. An attempt is made to determine the performance of various production control strategies on the system performance indicators under different levels of rework rate. Also the interaction of order release and dispatching strategies under different rework operations is investigated. Some representative shopfloor control (SFC) strategies are considered in our simulation model. It was found that the effect of rework operation on the system performance is significant. The order release and dispatching strategies’ performance is affected by the rework operation. The performance is improved dramatically if a suitable combination of order release and dispatching strategies is adopted. Under different rework rates and performance indicators a suitable combination of SFC strategies is suggested in this paper.
Dynamic rescheduling using a simulation‐based expert system
Authors: Kunnathur Anand S. , Sundararaghavan P.S. , Sampath Sriram
Published: March 2004

The development of a rule‐based expert system (ES), driven by a discrete event simulation model, that performs dynamic shop scheduling is described. Based on a flowtime prediction heuristic that has been developed and base‐line runs to establish the efficacy of scheduling strategies such as shortest processing time (SPT), critical ratio, total work, etc., a rescheduling‐based dispatching strategy is investigated in a dynamic job shop environment. The results are discussed and analyzed.
Sequence‐based typing confirmed a novel B*40 allele, B*4046, which was identified through sequence‐specific oligonucleotide hybridization routine typing*
Authors: Witter K. , Wölpl A. , Zahn R. , Klein H.‐G. , Albert E.D.
Published: March 2004

Abstract:  In this paper, we report the identification of a new human leucocyte antigen‐B (HLA‐B) allele in a sample which has participated in a search for unrelated bone marrow donors which was initiated by the Aktion Knochenmarkspende Bayern. This novel allele officially designed B*4046 was detected by different low‐resolution sequence‐specific oligonucleotide typings not matching to known allele combinations in a female Caucasoid individual. Confirming the presence of a novel allele by sequence‐based typing, the closest‐related allele B*400103 differs from the new B*4046 allele by three mutations. This results in an amino acid substitution from threonine to alanine in B*4046 at codon 65, while codon 68 remains conserved and codon 69 ‘AAG’ lysine is replaced by ‘GAG’ glutamic acid in B*4046.
Common ancestral origin of pemphigus vulgaris in Jews and Spaniards: a study using microsatellite markers
Authors: Loewenthal R. , Slomov Y. , Gonzalez‐Escribano M.F. , Goldberg I. , Korostishevsky M. , Brenner S. , Nuňez‐Roldan A. , Conejo‐Mir J.S. , Gazit E.
Published: March 2004

Abstract:  Pemphigus is a group of autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. The association of pemphigus with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is widely accepted. It was described in many ethnic groups and in most countries of the world. Studies showed that the associated HLA haplotype in Jewish pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients is HLA‐B38, DRB1*0402, and DQB1*0302; or HLA‐B35, DRB1*0402, and DQB1*0302. Similar associations with class II genes were found in Spanish non‐Jewish PV patients. As Jews lived in Spain for hundreds of years and many converted to Christianity, the presence of the same HLA haplotype in the Jewish and Spanish PV suggests that they may share the same founder. Microsatellite markers which span the entire major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus were used as genetic probes. They were utilized to dissect the MHC region in the search for possible common haplotypes, besides HLA, which may provide an answer to this question. It was found that in both cohorts, in addition to HLA class II genes, there are probably genes in the class I region which are associated with PV. Alleles belonging to the associated markers were used to construct haplotypes and to estimate genetic distances. The distance between the two PV cohorts is relatively short, but the distance between the Jewish patients and the Jewish controls is greater compared to the distance between Spanish patients and Spanish controls. In both PV populations, the same microsatellite haplotypes in addition to a common class II haplotype were found, suggesting that both patient populations originated from the same genetic stock and, therefore, share the same ancestral disease gene.
Soluble HLA class I and HLA‐DR plasma levels in patients with anterior uveitis
Authors: Heiligenhaus A. , Rebmann V. , Neubert A. , Plewa S. , Ferencik S. , Vögeler U. , Steuhl K‐P. , Grosse‐Wilde H.
Published: March 2004

Abstract:  Anterior uveitis (AU) is an autoimmune disease frequently associated with HLA‐B27 antigen. Because of the immune regulatory properties of soluble human leukocyte antigen (sHLA) molecules, we quantified sHLA class I (sHLA‐I) and sHLA‐DR plasma levels in HLA‐typed AU patients (n = 60). Randomly selected healthy individuals (n = 128) and HLA‐B27 antigen‐positive individuals (n = 24) with HLA phenotype frequencies similar to the HLA‐B27 antigen‐positive AU patients served as control panels. As expected, HLA‐B27 phenotype was significantly increased in AU patients (n = 60), compared to healthy controls. Mean sHLA‐I levels in AU patients were slightly higher than in randomly selected healthy controls. Regarding AU subgroups, elevated sHLA‐I levels were only found in HLA‐B27 antigen‐negative patients. Compared to controls, sHLA‐DR levels were significantly increased in AU patients and the subgroups of HLA‐B27 antigen‐negative and ‐positive patients but not Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis (FHC). AU patients negative for HLA‐B27 antigen with a chronic course had higher sHLA‐DR levels than those with an acute course. The presence of associated systemic diseases in AU patients was related to elevated sHLA‐DR levels. Secretion of sHLA‐DR in blood differs among the various forms of AU. Systemic immune activation was present in AU but not in FHC.
Treatment options for post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder and other Epstein–Barr virus‐associated malignancies
Authors: Davis J.E. , Moss D.J.
Published: March 2004

Abstract:  Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a range of malignancies that largely arise from a defect in EBV‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) immunity and function. Much work has focused on the reconstitution of CTL immunity to EBV in transplant patients, in whom immunosuppression modalities render them susceptible to post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). Adoptive transfer of autologous CTLs is effective at both preventing and curing PTLD in solid organ transplant recipients and can produce a long‐term memory response and protection against recurring disease. In this review, the benefits and restrictions of administering EBV‐specific CTLs for the treatment of PTLD are discussed and compared with emerging therapies including the generation of allogeneic human leukocyte antigen‐matched CTL banks and the anti‐CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy, MabThera. Furthermore, studies involving other EBV‐associated disorders have described the potential benefit of adoptive transfer of EBV‐specific CTLs for Hodgkin's disease, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, chronic active EBV infection, and Burkitt's lymphoma. The challenges of tailor‐making therapies for individual diseases and EBV antigen expression latencies are highlighted, in addition to considering vaccination strategies for optimal treatment.
Monitoring the dynamics of orchard colonisation by Anthonomus pomorum in spring
Authors: Hausmann Claudia , Samietz Jörg , Dorn Silvia
Published: March 2004

Overwintered adult apple blossom weevils, Anthonomus pomorum (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), colonise apple trees, Malus domestica Borkh. (Rosaceae), in early spring. Information gained from a suitable monitoring technique could serve as a guide to determining the accurate timing for control measures. To assess tree colonisation by flight and crawling, Plexiglas flight traps and commercial screen traps developed for different curculionid species were used. Refuges were mimicked by a newly designed shelter trap based on transparent bubble wrap. The trap catches were contrasted to the limb jarring technique. Microclimate and weather conditions were determined over a trial period of one and a half months. The shelter traps caught a high number of weevils irrespective of weather conditions, and thus performed better than both flight and screen traps. The temperature level within the shelter traps was slightly, but significantly, higher than on the trunk, indicating that weevils exploit microclimatic differences and occupy thermally favourable refuges. The seasonal culmination of colonisation as determined by shelter traps coincided with that as determined by the two methods used to monitor weevil movement towards host trees (flight traps and screen traps). The data indicated that not only flight, but also crawling as quantified by the screen traps contributes substantially to spring colonisation. Captures by all three types of traps over the spring season were significantly positively correlated with each other, but in most respects not with the results of the limb jarring. We conclude that the newly designed shelter trap will be useful for accurately monitoring the seasonal course of colonisation and holds promise for determining the timing of interventions.
Geographic variation in oviposition choice of a leaf beetle: the relationship between host plant ranking, specificity, and motivation
Authors: Gotthard Karl , Margraf Nicolas , Rahier Martine
Published: March 2004

The degree of adaptation of herbivorous insects to their local flora is an important component of the evolutionary processes that lead to host plant specialization in insects. In this study we investigated geographic variations in the oviposition preference of the leaf beetleOreina elongataSuffrian (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysolini) in relation to differences in host plant specialization, in the field. We focused on the mechanisms of host choice and asked whether potential differences among populations are due to variations in host plant ranking and/or host plant specificity. We performed a combination of simultaneous choice and sequential no‐choice experiments with two of the major host plants of the beetle [Cirsium spinosissimum(L.) andAdenostyles alliariae(Gouan) (Asteraceae)]. The results suggested that spatial variation in host plant specialization has resulted in differences between populations in some aspects of the oviposition choice ofO. elongata, while other aspects seem unaffected. We found no variation in host plant ranking among populations, as estimated in simultaneous choice tests. In contrast, the sequential no‐choice test indicated that host plant specificity was lower in a population that never encountered the highest ranked plant in the field. This finding agreed with our expectations, and we discuss our results in relation to the commonly used hierarchical threshold model. The results suggested that the mechanism for the differences in specificity is the variation among populations in the general motivation to oviposit, rather than quantitative differences in relative preference for the two hosts. We stress that it is essential to establish which of the two mechanisms is most important, as it will affect the probability of evolutionary change in host plant ranking.
Effects of post‐teneral diet on foraging success of sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies
Authors: Maor M. , Kamensky B. , Shloush S. , Yuval B.
Published: March 2004

Post‐teneral diets containing protein have been shown to enhance the copulatory success of sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) (Diptera: Tephritidae). However, ingesting protein was also found to negatively affect male survival, in particular when males faced starvation following release in the field. Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to determine the effects of various post‐teneral diets, presented to sterile males prior to release, on their subsequent ability to forage for carbohydrates and protein in the field. Using mark‐release recapture and analytic biochemical methods, we found that both protein‐fed and protein‐deprived males foraged successfully for protein and sugar in a field enclosure when these resources were available. We conclude that protein‐fed sterile males are able to exploit sources of nutrition in the release environment, and their inability to overcome starvation is not a concern for control operations using the sterile insect technique.
Is spatial density‐dependent parasitism necessary for successful biological control? Testing a stable host–parasitoid system
Authors: Matsumoto Takashi , Itioka Takao , Nishida Takayoshi
Published: March 2004

One of the most famous examples of successful, classical biological control in Japan is the introduction of the parasitoidsCoccobius fulvusandAphytis yanonensisagainst the citrus pest arrowhead scaleUnaspis yanonensis. Together, they comprise a host‐parasitoid system that has been demonstrated to be stable. To test the conventional theory that successful biological control of pests occurs through the establishment of a low stable equilibrium, brought about by the density‐dependent responses of natural enemies to the pest species, sampling was carried out at five sites in the field during 2000 and 2001 to examine the relationship between the rate of parasitism byC.fulvusand the density of its host. The data were analysed using three statistical techniques at nine spatial scales.

Contrary to conventional theoretical predictions, each method of analysis detected very little density‐dependence at any spatial level in this study. Parasitoid aggregations independent of host density were not sufficient to stabilise host–parasitoid interactions. Our results suggest that neither spatial density‐dependent nor density‐independent parasitism is necessary for successful biological control, or for the stability of the host–parasitoid system. We propose an alternative mechanism: a spatial refuge induced by parasitoid introduction may stabilise a system.
Waxy bloom in peas influences the performance and behavior ofAphidius ervi, a parasitoid of the pea aphid
Authors: Chang Gary C. , Neufeld Jeff , Durr Daniel , Duetting Patrick S. , Eigenbrode Sanford D.
Published: March 2004

Leaf surface waxy bloom can influence the predator–prey interactions that take place on peas. We tested whether the interaction between the pea aphidAcyrthosiphon pisumHarris (Homoptera: Aphidae) and a parasitoid,Aphidius erviHaliday (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae), is affected by reduced wax. We performed greenhouse experiments comparing aphid parasitism by individualA. ervion two varieties of reduced wax peas to two normal wax sister varieties. We also observed the behavior of individualA. erviin the greenhouse and measured field parasitism in small plots of reduced wax and normal wax peas. In the greenhouse, individualA. erviparasitized more aphids on the reduced wax varieties than on their normal wax counterparts. Wasps spent more time actively foraging on reduced wax pea plants, which may contribute to the higher parasitism observed on those varieties. The greenhouse results suggested that the improved performance of individualA. ervion reduced wax peas might contribute to a higher parasitism on reduced wax peas in the field. Field parasitism was significantly higher in reduced wax pea plots during 2000. Overall parasitism was higher in 2000 than in 2001 and 2002. In the latter years, parasitism was higher on reduced wax plants, but not significantly different from normal wax plants. Improved foraging by individualA. erviresembles improved foraging by other carnivorous insects on reduced wax peas. The advantages of reduced wax for biological control of the pea aphid may hold when any of several different natural enemies is abundant.
The influence of temperature on size as an indicator of host quality for the development of a solitary koinobiont parasitoid
Authors: Li Baoping , Mills Nick
Published: March 2004

The influence of aphid size on the host quality assessment and progeny performance of aphidiine parasitoids was examined using the mealy plum aphid parasitoid, Aphidius transcaspicus Telenga (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the black bean aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli (Homoptera: Aphididae), as a readily acceptable alternate host. Aphid size in relation to stage of development was manipulated by rearing synchronous aphid cohorts at either 15 or 30 °C. At 15 °C, 2nd instar aphids were approximately the same size as 4th instar aphids reared at 30 °C. Cohorts of 30 aphids from each instar, reared at each temperature, were exposed to parasitism by a single parasitoid female for a period of 5 h. Overall susceptibility to parasitism did not vary between aphid cohorts, but the parasitoid response to aphid size differed significantly between rearing temperatures for both progeny sex ratio (parent female assessment of host quality) and larval growth and development (host suitability for parasitoid development). For aphids reared at 15 °C, the proportion of female progeny and emerging adult size for the parasitoid increased linearly with aphid size at the time of attack, while development time remained constant. In contrast, for aphids reared at 30 °C, the proportion of female progeny, emerging adult size, and the development time of the parasitoid all declined with aphid size at the time of attack. The contrasting responses of the parasitoid to host size for aphids reared at the two temperatures suggest that host quality is only indirectly related to aphid size among aphidiine parasitoids. The possible effects of higher temperatures on nutritional stress, obligate endosymbionts, and future growth potential of the aphids are discussed as explanations for the variation in host quality for parasitoid development.
A Review Essay
Authors: Friedman Melvin J.
Published: March 2004

THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER: THE CONVERGENCE OF “NONFICTION NOVEL” AND “MEDITATION ON HISTORY”
Innocence and Suffering in the Middle Ages: An Essay about Popular Taste and Popular Literature
Authors: Stugrin Michael
Published: March 2004

Michael Stugrin's essay is both theoretical and practical: he suggests that texts, when viewed as “structures ofperception,” give us the “voices of the reality which they were part of and helped shape.” He then proceeds to apply this theory to a number of spiritual texts popular during the Middle Ages to give us an idea of popular taste at that time. Such texts were structured in a highly affective way to affirm testimonies o f faith and to commemorate God's promises to men. But perhaps most importantly, these spiritual texts, along with such texts as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and countless prose treatises and sermons, provided medieval audiences with a way of “knowing” within the context of human experience in a time of great cultural stress.
The Medieval Marquee: Church Portal Sculpture as Publicity
Authors: Altman Charles F.
Published: March 2004

The complexity of movie marquees is well‐known to those who frequent films with the avidity of the penitent seeking heaven. Thesymboliccontent of a marquee that has the name of the late John Wayne in The Searchers is subtly but forcefully apparent; we know what values are contained i n the lean and lone figure of Wayne, and behind him the values in Hollywood as transmitted through John Ford, the director. So it is with the “medieval marquee,” the Church portal sculpture, as Charles Altman makes clear, with the Church proclaiming its values, as it shores up the common people's belief in salvation and ensures the status quo of a class structure. The Church in the Middle Ages, according to Altman, is theentrepreneur, just as the film industry today mediates public taste with its seductive appeal; in both instances, it is the “well‐planned marquee” which lures its customers inside.
Portent Lore and Medieval Popular Culture
Authors: Smith Norman R.
Published: March 2004

Norman R. Smith begins his essay by pointing out that there is no such thing as “popular” monster lore (teratology) in the Middle Ages, but goes on to say that a knowledge of the teratological thought of, say, Isidore of Seville, may give us a very good insight into the popular thoughtof the day. Ideas concerning “monstrous births,” considered portentous until recent times, tell us a great deal about the concepts men had of themselves in relation to their world, their god, and their historical place, factors which illuminate the imaginatively constructed ideas and their popularity during the Renaissance. Monster lore, of course, remains popular in our own day, hence our passionate interest in the Loch Ness Monster and our devotion to the myriad types of Frankenstein that have appeared recently, a fact that perhaps links us and our time in a rather startling way to the Middle Ages.
Woman as Mediator in the Meddle English Romances
Authors: Eckhardt Caroline D.
Published: March 2004

The two previousessays by Maureen Fries and Shirley Marchalonis are further elaborated on by Caroline Eckhardt in her analysis of one of the most popular medieval images o f women‐that of mediator. This image of women has a long and complex history and remains with us today, as evidenced in Marina Warner's Alone of All Her Sex. The link between the image of the Virgin Mary as mediatrix and women in medieval romances is a strong one, and, as Eckhardtpoints out, mayprovide us with a reasonable hypothesis of audience taste and response to the romances. If women comprised a goodly proportion of the audience, and it is likely that they did, the image of women presented to them affirmed the life‐nurturing functions in a heightened fashion; at the same timeit maintained the established and accepted relationships between men and women. In the role of intercessor, women might act, but within carefully accepted limits.
Chanoc: Adventure and Slapstick on Mexico's Southeast Coast
Authors: Hinds Harolds E.
Published: March 2004

The comic book may be more popular in Mexico than in any other Latin American country. In this essay, Harold Hinds focuses on Chanoc, which was a best seller in Mexico during its peak years from 1960 to 1971. Hinds gives much interesting information on the evolution of the comic book and on its creators, sales, and readership. He speculates that itsdecline was due to a number of factors, including the degeneration o f one of its main characters, Tsekub, into a mere clown, the inaccessibility of its increasingly “slangy” language, and its tendency towards cuteness rather than meaningful satire. He then examines the main characters. Chanoc is a kind of highly moral Tarzan‐figure who protects the defenseless against villainous exploiters. Tsekub, Chanoc's sidekick and anthithesis, is an old man with a young spirit whose zest for life provides much comedy. Hinds points out that in addition to adventure and humor, Chanoc's main components, the comic book also deals with foreign, particularly US., interference in Mexico and elsewhere. He also considers a variety of ways in which Chanoc reflects, at times quite subtly, Mexican culture and society; e.g., aspects of regionalism, nationalism, mestizo character, machismo, and modernization are briefly explored.
Brazilian Musical Values of the 1960s and 1970s: Popular Urban Music from Bossa Nova to Tropicalia
Authors: Béhague Gerard
Published: March 2004

Brazilian rhythms have enjoyed wide popularity in this country for many years, but Americans who delight in the samba and other sounds are generally unfamiliar with the development and special characteristics of this national music. In his paper, Gerard Béhague studies the main trends of Brazilian popular music associated with the bossa nova. In particular, he examines the music's socio‐cultural meaning for producers and consumers, its relationship to or influence from foreign models, and the various cultural values that it expresses. He traces the original bossa nova phenomenon of the late 1950s, emphasizing that its cultivators, who were from upper‐middle‐class families, developed a somewhat elitist urban popular musical trend. Contrary to many critics' opinions, bossa nova did not result from jazz or imitations of other imported styles. Thematically, early bossa nova differed little from the samba, a trulypopular music. However, bossa nova's poFtic substance and treatment did reveal significant innovations. Béhague asserts that after 1964, a new social awareness developed among bossa nova musicians. He discusses the musical compositions of the musician‐poet Chico Buarque who, more than earlier bossa nova musicans, established a clear link with the traditional samba of the 1930s and 1940s, thus giving bossa nova an euen more popular character. The author also reviews the work of the group of musician‐poet‐performers of the mid‐1960s known as the Tropicdia. Their music adhered to the basic concepts of modernismo, a Brazilian literary movement of the 1920s.
The Burden of Success: Futebol and Brazilian Society through the 1970s
Authors: Levine Robert M.
Published: March 2004

Futebol, Brazil's national sport‐best‐known to American audiences through the brilliant play o f Pelé one of its superstars‐is more than simple mass entertainment. Robert Levine traces the evolution of the trends in the history of Brazilian soccer to explain what may be behind the current unprecedented dissatisfaction with the sport. Beginning with the 189Os, he illustrates how futebol is a barometer by which national pride, exuberance, frustration, rage, and hope may be measured. He shows that as the game changed from an activity restricted to the upperclass to a popular form of entertainment with a mass audience, it became a means used by the government in the 1930s and 1940s to foster national integration. More recently, it has been used by an unpopular military regime to bolster its popularity. In the second part of his study, Levine focuses on Pelé who reintroduced an appreciation of individualistic skills to the game and loaned his mass popularity to the military regime. In short, the author makes a convincing case on how the sport of futebol has been used as a political weapon.
Radio and Advertising in Colombia
Authors: de Ramos Elssy Bonilla
Published: March 2004

Over the last few decades radio has becomeone of the primary means of mass communication in Latin America, able to reach euen the remotest rural populations because of the transistor. Colombia, where ninety‐one percent of the homes in the seven largest cities have at least one radio, has also been heavily impacted by this modern technological phenomenon, Elssy Bonilla de Ramos focuses on radio advertising as a means of characterizing the relationship between radio and the Colombian economic sector. She argues that private companies who own most of the country's stations and networks influence programming and advertising in order to widely promote products which they produce. She believes that in many cases these products are not necessary to the consumers'well‐being but are advertised in a way to make them more desirable. The authorgives a brief history of commercial radio in Colombia during the last fifty years, stating that early in its development programming underwent significant changes in order to capture an expanded audience. Comedy, sports, news, soap operas, classical and popular music, and quiz shows soon dominated the airways to the exclusion of programming that could play a role in the political, social and economic development of the country. She contends that industries that owned radio were intent on training for consumption and she uses a week's sample of programming and advertising to illustrate her point.
MAFALDA: An Argentina Comic Strip
Authors: Foster David William
Published: March 2004

Mafalda, the acutely sensitive little girl well‐known to both Argentinian and other Latin American readers, has been used by Quino, her creator, as the vehicle to comment on national foibles and pretentions. David Foster analyzes several strips to show how Mafalda's cleverness is based on literary strategems of what he calls “judicious inuerosimilitude.” While he asserts that Quino's work is a remarkably accurate representation of the details of Argentine bourgeois daily life, the dominant Buenos Aires sociodialect, and patterns of behavior that underlie social and ethic values, the strip is also singularly inverosimilar in its handling of sociological types. The object o f the strip thus is artful verbal and visual representation. Readers familiar with literary criticism will be interested in Foster's employment o f some general semiological principles to highlight the complex ironies which pervade Quino's work and to show how much of the strip's worth derives from contrasting Mafalda's unique perceptions and the stereotypic behavior of those around her.
Social Commentary in Argentine Cartooning: From Description to Questioning
Authors: Lindstrom Naomi
Published: March 2004

Argentina has undergone several decades of social and political turmoil since the Second World War with the rise to power of Juan Pero'n, labor strife, and the protracted battle between leftists and the government. In her examination of the social content of Argentine single‐drawing cartoons appearing in mass audience publications since the 1940s, Naomi Lindstrom focuses on the Peronist period (1946‐1955) and immediately afterward. She observes that descriptive, nonevaluative humor characterized the cartoon until the latter half of the fifties, when hrtmorists became more explicit in their criticism of social hierarchy and the distribution of power. After Pergn's demise, a new wave o f humor appeared which was indecorous and irreverant. Examples are drawn from several Argentine publications including Rico Tipo, Esto and Que'. Along with David Foster's article on Quino's Mafalda, readers have an interesting overview of Argentine cartoons during the last thirty years.
The Sale of Two Cities: A Semiotic Comparison of Disneyland with Marriott's Great America
Authors: Mechling Elizabeth Walker , Mechling Jay
Published: March 2004

Much is revealed through the contrast of two related but divergent forms. In this essay, Elizabeth Mechlingand Jay Mechlingcontrast Disneyland with a later but more loosely themed park, Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California.

Using the perspectives and methods of semiotics in Louis Marin's Marxist reading, this essay asks, “What are the stories that Disneyland and Marriott's Great America tell?…the ways in which popular culture both teaches and evokes stories that ‘think themselves’ in our minds.”

These two parks, though allied in the theme format and rooted in a common bourgeois capitalist culture, are found to promote very different attitudes and values.
Part I: Gravestones and Epitaphs. “Grinning Skulls, Smiling Cherubs, Bitter Words”
Authors: Nelson Malcolm A. , George Diana Hume
Published: March 2004

We have said that gravestone studies is our own corner of research in American attitudes toward death. We begin with a discussion of burying grounds not only because it is our own, but because we have chosen gravestone s t d i e s to represent the historical backdrop against which our contributors view important twentieth century attitudes toward death in America. “Grinning Skulls, Smiling Cherubs, Bitter Words” discusses burial grounds and gravestone motifs in New England from the late seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century, and connects shifts in gravestone imagery to changes in social, intellectual and religious life in New England. “Ideologies in Stone: Meanings i n Victorian American Gravestones,” by Kenneth Ames, expands the geographical area nationwide, and covers the chronological period between 1850 and 1920. Like “Grinning Skulls,”“Ideologies in Stone” is concerned to connect the confines of the burying ground with the social values of the culture that produces it.
Eight Ways of Looking at an Amusement Park
Authors: Nye Russel B.
Published: March 2004

The amusement park is solidly part of the national experience as a pleasure of the multitudes, and has been many things to many people— escape, fantasy, otherworldliness, illusion, drama, total theater, spectacle; a safety zone of enjoyment, absurdity and release from the habits, norms and rules of everyday life.

The dangerous, the absurd, the erotic, the hilarious and the weird invite the participant into a world of role‐playing and the glories of play in its purest form, in modes both ancient and futuristic.

Perhaps no single subject affordsso many aspects and approaches for study as the amusement park; from the most avant‐garde technological problems of engineering attractions to the manifold psychological impact of those attractions and their ambience on the mood and motivation of the patron. The variety of departure‐points is as dazzling and overwhelming as those to be found within the magic territory of the parks themselves.

In exploring the possibilities of subject and theme for the study of the amusement park, Russel Nye provides a broad spectrum of park history and a generous taste of the many delights parks have provided to millions since their beginnings in the last century.