bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Boreal peatland margins as repository sites of long-term natural disturbances of balsam fir/spruce forests
Authors: Lavoie Martin , Filion Louise , Robert Élisabeth C. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA multidisciplinary, high-resolution paleoecological study (Lepidoptera and plant remains, macroscopic charcoal, pollen) was conducted on a 4000-yr peat monolith extracted from the margin of an ombrotrophic peatland on Anticosti Island (Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern Canada) to reconstruct the long-term natural disturbances (insect outbreaks, forest fires) of a balsam fir/spruce forest. We hypothesized that an activity of insect defoliators (spruce budworm, hemlock looper) was the main disturbance factor of conifer forests during the Late Holocene. The earliest remains of spruce budworm and hemlock looper were found ca. 3220 and 2350 cal yr BP, respectively. Peaks of insect head capsules occurred from ca. 1640 to ca. 625 cal yr BP. Low balsam fir pollen concentrations during this period suggest a lengthy episode (∼ 1000 yr) of high insect activity, resulting in extensive fir dieback and mortality. The long-term dynamics of the pristine balsam fir/spruce forests were mainly governed by the activity of insect defoliators. The limited extent and possibly the low occurrence of forest fires in the maritime environment of Anticosti Island allowed the development of mature coniferous stands propitious for insect infestations. Insect head capsules appeared to be a useful and effective tool for establishing insect presence and activity during the Holocene.
A Sociology of Quantification
Authors: Espeland Wendy Nelson , Stevens Mitchell L. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractOne of the most notable political developments of the last thirty years has been increasing public and governmental demand for the quantification of social phenomena, yet sociologists generally have paid little attention to the spread of quantification or the significance of new regimes of measurement. Our article addresses this oversight by analyzing quantification – the production and communication of numbers – as a general sociological phenomenon. Drawing on scholarship across the social sciences in Europe and North America as well as humanistic inquiry, we articulate five sociological dimensions of quantification and call for an ethics of numbers.
AVOIDING LEGAL OBLIGATIONS CREATED BY HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES
Authors: Bates Ed 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article examines the legality of the options that may be open to a State that is unwilling to accept a legal obligation created by a human rights treaty it has already ratified. It briefly addresses the subject of ‘derogation’ from human rights treaties before looking in detail at denunciation of the same. It proceeds to examine the legality of strategies such as entering a late reservation to a human rights treaty and of denouncing the treaty with the sole purpose of entering a new reservation to it.
EQUIVOCAL HELPERS—COMPLICIT STATES, MIXED MESSAGES AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Authors: Nolte Georg , Philipp Aust Helmut 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIssues of State complicity arise ever more frequently in international relations. Rules which deal with the responsibility of States for aiding or assisting in the commission of internationally wrongful acts by other States are, however, not yet fully developed. States frequently support each other's actions without necessarily considering the potential implications of the rules on complicity in international law. This leads to another problem: is support given to another State automatically to be seen as relevant practice for the development of new customary rules or the interpretation of treaties through subsequent practice? Or is it possible for complicit States to play two different roles: to assist in some conduct while not endorsing the legal claim associated with it? This contribution aims to untangle the various facets of complicit State behaviour. It will argue that in some cases, States can indeed play two different roles. States should, however, be careful in considering the long-term implications of such behaviour.
Two novel phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase genes ofParagonimus westermaniinduced by oxidative stress
Authors: KIM S.-H. , CAI G.-B. , BAE Y.-A. , LEE E.-G. , LEE Y.-S. , KONG Y. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYPhospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx; GPx4) plays unique roles in the protection of cells against oxidative stress by catalysing reduction of lipid hydroperoxides. We characterized 2 novelGPxgenes from a lung fluke,Paragonimus westermani(designatedPwGPx1andPwGPx2). These single copy genes spanned 6559 and 12 371 bp, respectively, and contained each of 5 intervening introns. ThePwGPx2harboured a codon for Sec and a Sec insertion sequence motif. Proteins encoded by theParagonimusgenes demonstrated a primary structure characteristic to the PHGPx family, including preservation of catalytic and glutathione-binding domains and absence of the subunit interaction domain. Expression ofPwGPx1increased gradually as the parasite matured, whereas that ofPwGPx2was temporally regulated.PwGPx2was expressed at the basal level from the metacercariae to the 3-week-old juveniles; however, the expression was significantly induced in the 7-week-old immature worms and reached a plateau in the 12-week-old adults and eggs. PwGPx1 and PwGPx2 were largely localized in vitellocytes within vitelline glands and eggs. Oxidative stress-inducible paraquat, juglone and H2O2substantially augmented thePwGPx1andPwGPx2expressions in viable worms by 1·5- to 11-fold. Our results strongly suggested that PwGPxs may actively participate in detoxification of oxidative hazards inP. westermani.
Forty years of helminth biochemistry
Authors: BARRETT J. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYThis review describes some of the developments in helminth biochemistry that have taken place over the last 40 years. Since the early 1970s the main anabolic and catabolic pathways in parasitic helminths have been worked out. The mode of action of the majority of anthelmintics is now known, but in many cases the mechanisms of resistance remain elusive. Developments in helminth biochemistry have depended heavily on developments in other areas. High throughput methods such as proteomics, transcriptomics and genome sequencing are now generating vast amounts of new data. The challenge for the future is to interpret and understand the biological relevance of this new information.
The saga of schistosome migration and attrition
Authors: WILSON R. A. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYSchistosomes infect the mammalian host by direct penetration of the skin and must then undergo a protracted migration to the site of parasitization, forSchistosoma mansonithe hepatic portal vasculature. This article reviews the work published roughly between 1976 and 1986 that clarified our understanding of the process in the laboratory mouse. A combination of histopathology, larval injection experiments and autoradiographic tracking revealed that migration involved one to several circuits of the pulmonary-systemic vasculature before chance delivery in cardiac output to splanchnic arteries that lead indirectly to the portal tract. The kinetics of migration through different capillary beds was established, with the lungs of naïve mice not the skin proving the greatest obstacle; a proportion of schistosomula entered the alveoli from where they did not recover. The ‘immunity’ displayed by mice with a chronic infection was shown to be an artefact of a ‘leaky’ hepatic portal system, generated as a result of egg-induced hepatic pathology. The blockade of pulmonary migration was exacerbated in mice vaccinated with irradiated cercariae by immune-mediated inflammatory foci that developed around lung schistosomula thus decreasing the proportion that matured, but parasite elimination was a prolonged process, not an acute cytolytic ‘hit.’
Transcriptome analysis ofSchistosoma mansonilarval development using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE)
Authors: TAFT A. S. , VERMEIRE J. J. , BERNIER J. , BIRKELAND S. R. , CIPRIANO M. J. , PAPA A. R. , McARTHUR A. G. , YOSHINO T. P. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYInfection of the snail,Biomphalaria glabrata, by the free-swimming miracidial stage of the human blood fluke,Schistosoma mansoni, and its subsequent development to the parasitic sporocyst stage is critical to establishment of viable infections and continued human transmission. We performed a genome-wide expression analysis of theS. mansonimiracidia and developing sporocyst using Long Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (LongSAGE). Five cDNA libraries were constructed from miracidia andin vitrocultured 6- and 20-day-old sporocysts maintained in sporocyst medium (SM) or in SM conditioned by previous cultivation with cells of theB. glabrataembryonic (Bge) cell line. We generated 21 440 SAGE tags and mapped 13 381 to theS. mansonigene predictions (v4.0e) either by estimating theoretical 3′ UTR lengths or using existing 3′ EST sequence data. Overall, 432 transcripts were found to be differentially expressed amongst all 5 libraries. In total, 172 tags were differentially expressed between miracidia and 6-day conditioned sporocysts and 152 were differentially expressed between miracidia and 6-day unconditioned sporocysts. In addition, 53 and 45 tags, respectively, were differentially expressed in 6-day and 20-day cultured sporocysts, due to the effects of exposure to Bge cell-conditioned medium.
Under what conditions can oil and gas developments in the Arctic be acceptable, and to whom?
Authors: Palmer Andrew C. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTIt is sometimes argued that the Arctic is so fragile that oil and gas development is never acceptable. Occasionally the argument rests on a fundamental objection to any development of fossil fuel resources. This paper will argue that under some conditions development can be carried out in a way that safeguards the natural environment, and that when the resources are exhausted all traces can be removed. This conclusion applies both offshore and onshore. It will require great sensitivity and care, and the application of the best technology developed by the petroleum industry for developments elsewhere. Some locations will have to be left inviolate until better technology is discovered, and perhaps for ever. The argument will be illustrated by case studies, some of them taken from completed projects.
The origins of Canada's first Eastern Arctic Patrol, 1919–1922
Authors: Cavell Janice , Noakes Jeff 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTIt is widely believed among historians that in 1920, the Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen and the Danish government challenged Canada's sovereignty over Ellesmere Island. This paper draws on a wide range of Canadian and British government files and private papers to contest this view. It demonstrates that Prime Minister Arthur Meighen and others in Ottawa were initially convinced by Vilhjalmur Stefansson that Denmark harboured territorial ambitions in the north, but most realised in the spring of 1921 that they had been mistaken. However, one civil servant, J. B. Harkin, stubbornly maintained his belief in the Danish threat. After Mackenzie King's Liberals came to power, Harkin was able to obtain a hearing for his views. It was largely due to Harkin's persistence that the first Eastern Arctic Patrol went north in 1922.
‘Will the Russians abandon Mirny to the penguins after 1959 . . . or will they stay?’
Authors: Gan Irina 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper traces the Soviet responses to initiatives of international scientific institutions for collaborative research in the Antarctic dating from the International Geophysical Year (IGY) through to the formation of the Special Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the extension of the IGY for a year during the International Geophysical Cooperation. It demonstrates the consistently positive attitudes of the USSR to these initiatives and the steps that were taken at the national level to enable it to continue international collaboration. Other countries with interests in the Antarctic conjectured whether the Soviets had a long term strategy for continuing their presence in the South Polar region. The evidence suggests that from the day the Soviets set foot on the Antarctic continent, they had no intention of leaving.
Amchitka Island, Alaska: moving towards long term stewardship
Authors: Benning Jennifer L. , Barnes David L. , Burger Joanna , Kelley John J. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTAmchitka Island, Alaska, is a historical underground nuclear test site. Three underground tests were conducted there by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, now US Department of Energy (USDOE), between 1965 and 1971. These were Long Shot, an 80 kiloton detonation; Milrow, a 1 megaton detonation; and Cannikin, a 5 megaton detonation. Subsequent to these tests, several scientific assessments have been conducted regarding the impacts of the tests on the terrestrial and marine environments surrounding the island. However, many citizens and groups still voice concerns over the potential for detrimental effects on human and ecological health. In its responsibility for the long term protection of human and ecological health consequent to its nuclear programme, USDOE has recently prepared a plan for the long term surveillance and monitoring of the site. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the history of the island, specifically with regards to its use as a nuclear test site, to summarise the results of investigative activities following testing, to summarise USDOE's plan for surveillance and monitoring, and to offer the authors' viewpoints on the long term stewardship of the island. The authors deemed the stewardship plan to be essentially protective of human and ecological health; however, they recommend a stronger commitment to site oversight and review, as well as to future research, for addressing uncertainties remaining at the island.
Una Peaks: a long overdue Antarctic geographical naming
Authors: Splettstoesser John 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTA new name for a geographical feature in the Antarctic Peninsula known for many years by its colloquial name of Una's Tits, was formally approved by the Antarctic place names committee of the United Kingdom. It is now known as Una Peaks, named for a former secretary in the governor's office, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
The Logic of Local Business Associations: an Analysis of Voluntary Chambers of Commerce
Authors: Bennett Robert J. 
Published: March 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper seeks to assess how far local business organisations, such as Chambers of Commerce, are maintained chiefly by the factors hypothesised by Mancur Olson as the forces being behind collective action: the costs and benefits of business services. The paper reviews the theoretical arguments to support this hypothesis and then assesses the case of UK Chambers of Commerce using empirical evidence from surveys of businesses and Chambers. The UK Chambers are a purely private law voluntary structure, unlike many European counterparts. The analysis demonstrates that in such a system the overwhelming motive for business membership is to access services withspecificrather than collective benefits. In turn Chamber managers tend to respond by financing services chiefly through service fees rather than flat rate subscriptions. In an Olsonian world with purely voluntary Chambers, few businesses will pay forgeneralcollective goods (such as lobbying, representation or support to government) that others can consume at no cost. The paper also demonstrates strong differences between types of Chambers: large Chambers being largely service and fee oriented, small Chambers being more often collective action bodies. Overall, however, local Chambers have features common to other business organisations of being variable in size and resources, most are small, and the structure is fragmented. Conclusions are drawn from these findings for government policy.
Asymptotically stable biped gait generation based on stability principle of rimless wheel
Authors: Asano Fumihiko , Luo Zhi-Wei 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYWe investigated and identified the conditions necessary for stable dynamic gait generation in biped robots from the mechanical energy balance point of view. The equilibrium point at impact in a dynamic gait is uniquely determined by two conditions; keeping the restored mechanical energy constant and settling the relative hip-joint angle to the desired value before impact. The generated gait then becomes asymptotically stable around the equilibrium point determined by these conditions. This is shown by a simple recurrence formula of the kinetic energy immediately before impact. We verified this stability theorem using numerical simulation of virtual passive dynamic walking. The results were compared with those for a rimless wheel and an inherent stability principle was derived. Finally, we derived a robust control law using a reference mechanical energy trajectory and demonstrated its effectiveness numerically.
Teleoperation with kinematically redundant robot manipulators with sub-task objectives
Authors: Nath Nitendra , Tatlicioglu Enver , Dawson Darren M. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYIn this paper, control of nonlinear teleoperator systems where both the master and slave systems are kinematically redundant robot manipulators is addressed. The controller is developed under the assumption that the user and environmental input forces are unmeasurable. Lyapunov-based stability analysis is used to prove that the proposed controller yields asymptotic tracking results and ensures the coordination of the master and slave systems while satisfying a sub-task objective. Numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Influence of Income on Health Status and Healthcare Utilization in Working Adults: an Illustration of Health among the Working Poor in Japan
Authors: TOKUDA YASUHARU , OHDE SACHIKO , TAKAHASHI OSAMU , HINOHARA SHIGEAKI , FUKUI TSUGUYA , INOGUCHI TAKASHI , BUTLER JAMES P. , UEDA SHIGEYUKI 
Published: March 2009

AbstractLittle is known about health of the growing subpopulation of the working poor in Japan. We aimed to evaluate health status and healthcare utilization in relation to income among Japanese working adults. We conducted a one-month prospective cohort study using a health diary in working adults from a nationally representative random sample in Japan. Based on the government criterion, the working poor group was defined as earning an equivalent annual income of less than 1.48 million Japanese-yen. For health status, we measured symptomatic episodes and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). For healthcare utilization, we measured frequencies of visits to a physician or pharmacy, and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). We constructed multiple linear regression models for these measures adjusted for age, gender, and co-morbidity, using annual equivalent income as a 4-level categorical variable.Of 3,568 participants originally enrolled in the study panel, 3,477 completed the survey (response rate 97%). For the purpose of the study, of the 3,568 participants, we analyzed 1,406 working adults who were 20–65 years old (mean age, 40.8 yr: 58.4% men). There were 106 (7.5%) working poor: 56 men (6.8% of working men) and 50 women (8.5% of working women). Compared to the highest income group, the working poor reported the greater number of symptomatic episodes and a slightly lower score of physical component of HRQOL (PCS8). The numbers of symptomatic episodes among the working poor and the highest income group during the 1-month study period were 9.79 (SD, 8.77) and 7.01 (SD, 7.34), respectively (p < 0.01). The PCS8 among the working poor was 48.71 (SD, 7.05) and it was 50.34 (SD, 6.55) among the highest income group (p < 0.01). There was no difference of healthcare utilization by the different levels of income.We concluded that the working poor (7.5% of all working adults) more frequently report symptomatic episodes and show slightly poorer physical health status, compared to the highest income group. Healthcare utilization is not affected by income.
Brazil – Measures Affecting Imports of Retreaded Tyres: A Balancing Act
Authors: BOWN CHAD P. , TRACHTMAN JOEL P. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper provides a legal-economic analysis of the Appellate Body decision inBrazil–Retreaded Tyres. We develop a simple economic model that we use to analyze the market structure and environmental externalities that were most relevant to this case. We start by analyzing Brazil's policies in a model in which tyre retreading generates a positive production externality through the delay it provides society before a used tyre becomes a waste product with the potential to harm society through its adverse impact on human health and the environment. We examine the different welfare implications of (i) a production subsidy for retreading of once-used Brazilian tyres, (ii) a tariff on imports of retreaded tyres, and (iii) a ban on imports of retreaded tyres. While a production subsidy is the first-best instrument to address this type of externality, there are reasons to believe that it might be infeasible. The welfare implications of the other measures depend importantly on the magnitude of the positive production externality. From the lens provided by this economic analysis, we draw three primary insights. First, we identify the critical piece of empirical information that the Panel and Appellate Body require to make a rational judgment of the utility of the Brazilian policies contested in the dispute – i.e., the size of the underlying externality associated with retreading. Second, if the justification for the original import ban on retreaded tyres was based on the argument that it was a second-best Brazilian policy designed to combat a large externality, then Brazil's failure to enforce a ban on used-tyre imports has the troubling result of eroding those potential welfare gains through a reduction in equilibrium production (and consumption) of Brazilian retreaded tyres. Third, the Brazilian policy that exempted from the ban retreaded imports from MERCOSUR partners also has the same troubling feature. The second and third points are congruent with the reasons for the Appellate Body's determination that the Brazilian policy did not qualify under the chapeau of Article XX. We examine the WTO jurisprudence of Article XX(b), in order to compare the methodology developed under this jurisprudence to the type of examination of changes to total welfare from implementing one policy relative to a postulated alternative policy that most economists would follow. We find that the WTO jurisprudence in this area is internally incoherent, and also fails to evaluate the types of concerns that an economic-welfare analysis would evaluate.
A One-Two Punch on Zeroing: US–Zeroing (EC) and US–Zeroing (Japan)
Authors: PRUSA THOMAS J. , VERMULST EDWIN 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper examines issues that came before the Appellate Body in two disputes, US–Zeroing (EC) and the US–Zeroing (Japan). The core issue in both the disputes involves the US Department of Commerce's practice of zeroing. The scope of the claims in both cases was considerably broader than in the previous WTO disputes involving zeroing. The two arguments in support of the practice were that (a) the practice of zeroing has been a standard administrative practice for many years and (b) the Antidumping Agreement does not clearly prohibit it and hence deference must be given to national authorities. While, the Appellate Body was arguably correct in prohibiting the use of zeroing under the main methods of Article 2.4.2 AD Agreement as well as in various reviews, we consider that it overreached in considering zeroing to be in violation of Article 2.4 AD Agreement and possibly as inconsistent with Article 2.4.2, exceptional method. Finally, while the AB found zeroing in reviews violated Article 2.4.2 AD Agreement, we believe it would have been preferable for the AB to have limited its findings of inconsistency to Article 9.3 AD Agreement.