bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impacts of Food and Energy Price Hikes and Proposed Coping Strategies
Authors: Zhu Ling 
Published: November 2008

AbstractBased on sample survey data for the years 2006 and 2007, we find that inflation of food and energy prices in China is moving at a slower pace than in the international market; however, the livelihood of low income groups has been significantly impacted. Urban sample households in low income groups have been shifting from consumption of high value food to lower value substitutes; and all of the rural sample households are reducing their total consumption expenditure in real terms. The Engel's coefficient of the rural household enlarged while their proportion of spending on clothing and energy declined. Farmers' households are moving toward more imbalanced diets, and the nutritional status of the poor is apparently deteriorating. The emergency‐response measures that the government should implement include stopping subsidies to biofuel producers, who use foodstuffs as inputs, and providing food aid to the poor. The mid‐term strategies should include anti‐monopoly tactics, improving the market environment for the right competition, and eliminating price distortion. Midterm and long‐term socioeconomic policy reform must be undertaken to adjust the social structure, to correct the mechanism of factor price formation, and to transform the pattern of economic growth.
China's Construction Land Expansion and Economic Growth: A Capital‐output Ratio Based Analysis
Authors: Li Huizhong , Yin Feng , Li Jialun 
Published: November 2008

AbstractSince 2003, the Chinese Government has been using land policy as an important macroeconomic policy. The present paper analyzes the impact of the expansion of construction land on economic growth in terms of the capital‐output ratio. Using provincial panel data for China from 1999 to 2005, we conclude that the excess expansion of China's construction land led to an increase in the capital‐output ratio. Therefore, expanding construction land has made little contribution to economic growth. This paper argues that contractionary land policy does not deter high economic growth, and is a necessary condition for a sustainable economic growth.
China's Stock Market: Inefficiencies and Institutional Implications
Authors: Li Guoping 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe dramatic movements of China's stock market in the past two and a half years have renewed debate among academics over the efficiency of China's stock market. The present paper tests the efficiency of China's stock market. The realization of efficient markets requires the effective operation of a complete set of macro and micro mechanisms. However, such mechanisms are not only incomplete in China's stock market, but are also ineffective because of the prevalence of institutional deficiencies.
Financial Development, Economic Growth and Adaptive Efficiency: A Comparison between China and Pakistan
Authors: Ma Ying , Jalil Abdul 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe strong economic growth in China is difficult to reconcile with its inefficient financial system. The puzzle of China's financial development and growth can be explained through a dynamic criterion of adaptive efficiency, rather than through allocative efficiency. Using the framework of an autoregressive distributed lag model, the present paper tests the hypothesis that the GDP growth rate is dependent on financial development along with other variables in China and Pakistan. The hypothesis cannot be rejected in both cases. However, the results show that economic growth has a negative relationship with credit to the private sector in China. We conclude that financial development is a source of China's high growth rate and that the banking system is still under an evolutionary process, involving the pursuit of social objectives instead of the sole objective of profit maximization. Our results provide some implications for other developing countries like Pakistan.
Colonialism, Landscape and the Subterranean
Authors: Scott Heidi V. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractRecent geographical contributions to post‐colonial studies have paid relatively little attention to subterranean spaces as arenas of modern European imperial and colonial expansion and instead have concentrated almost exclusively on examining ‘surface’ landscapes and practices. This article argues that greater critical attention deserves to be paid by geographers to the ‘colonial underground’, not only because mining played a central role in many imperial ventures since the 16th century, but also because closer scrutiny of the vertical dimension can provide new insights into the nature of colonial relations and into the ways in which colonial landscapes were inhabited and given meaning. Drawing on recent literature as well as on documentation from early colonial Peru, the article shows that colonial European engagements with the underground were more varied than most work in human geography suggests and, moreover, that the subterranean cannot exclusively be regarded as a space of colonial domination and exploitation.
An Observational History of Small‐Scale Katabatic Winds in Mid‐Latitudes
Authors: Poulos Greg , Zhong Shiyuan (Sharon) 
Published: November 2008

AbstractKatabatic winds have been the subject of investigation since about the 1840s. These winds, which flow down the topographic gradient as a result of surface cooling, provide a major transport and dispersion mechanism in mountainous regions and affect the energy exchange between the earth's surface and the atmosphere. Various theories of their structure, evolution, and fundamental dynamics have been proposed. Initial interest in katabatic winds, which was prompted by field observations, has been followed by a long history of observational studies. This article reviews observational work undertaken on small‐scale katabatic winds in mid‐latitudes, with an emphasis on the historical background, and recent work on the causes of their variation.
Web Mapping 2.0: The Neogeography of the GeoWeb
Authors: Haklay Muki , Singleton Alex , Parker Chris 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThe landscape of Internet mapping technologies has changed dramatically since 2005. New techniques are being used and new terms have been invented and entered the lexicon such as: mash‐ups, crowdsourcing, neogeography and geostack. A whole range of websites and communities from the commercial Google Maps to the grassroots OpenStreetMap, and applications such as Platial, also have emerged. In their totality, these new applications represent a step change in the evolution of the area of Internet geographic applications (which some have termed the GeoWeb). The nature of this change warrants an explanation and an overview, as it has implications both for geographers and the public notion of Geography. This article provides a critical review of this newly emerging landscape, starting with an introduction to the concepts, technologies and structures that have emerged over the short period of intense innovation. It introduces the non‐technical reader to them, suggests reasons for the neologism, explains the terminology, and provides a perspective on the current trends. Case studies are used to demonstrate this Web Mapping 2.0 era, and differentiate it from the previous generation of Internet mapping. Finally, the implications of these new techniques and the challenges they pose to geographic information science, geography and society at large are considered.
Critical Geographies of Racial and Spatial Control
Authors: Chari Sharad 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis article works through a set of studies that link racial and spatial control in explaining mutations of state‐sanctioned and extralegal racism in concrete geographical conjunctures in the contemporary world. Critical human geography is particularly well poised to contributing to a broader debate about how to research racial formations beyond ideology, through materiality, embodiment and spatiality. Barbed wire, concentration camps, prison booms, aerial bombing, and the War on Terror are examples of material and geographical formations that must be explained beyond attention to social construction. Indeed, these technologies of power demonstrate the strength of state‐sanctioned racism in our time, and the importance for critical scholarship to write with various forms of suffering in the ruins of contemporary racism, if we are to be able to understand new forms of anti‐racism in the making.
From Ethical Consumerism to Political Consumption
Authors: Clarke Nick 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis article reviews some of the recent literature in geography and related disciplines on ethical consumerism and political consumption. Many geographers began their engagement with questions of ethics, politics, consumption and consumerism inspired by critical theory, commodity chain analysis and a sense that geographical knowledge might have a central role to play in progressive social change. Since these early engagements, it has been established that consumption practices are rarely the practices of rational, autonomous, self‐identified consumers, and so‐called ethical consumption practices are rarely detached from organisations and their political activity. Over time, therefore, some researchers have gradually shifted their focus from consumer identities and knowledge to consumption practices, social networks, material infrastructures and organisations of various kinds. This shift in focus has implications – both for the field of political consumption and for how the discipline of geography relates to this field.
It's so Easy Being Green: Overuse, Underexposure, and the Marine Environmentalist Consensus
Authors: Steinberg Philip E. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis article seeks to understand the rise of marine environmentalism, which extends beyond the groups usually associated with the conservation of species and ecosystems to include commercial interests, military strategists, and neoliberal policymakers. It is proposed that this apparent marine environmentalist consensus has its roots in two aspects of our relationship with the sea. On the one hand, there is an increasing sense that the ocean is being ‘overused’, as marine resources are extracted at ever greater rates and as the ocean becomes increasingly important to contemporary economies. On the other hand, the ocean is suffering from ‘underexposure’, as fewer individuals’ livelihoods involve material interaction with the sea. By adopting a specifically geographical lens that is attuned to the multifaceted nature of the ocean as a space, this article suggests that the confluence of these two factors – overuse and underexposure – informs our present perceptions of and policies toward the marine environment and proposes alternative perspectives for understanding and intervening in the world ocean.
Educating Professionals and Professional Education in a Geographical Context
Authors: Faulconbridge James R. , Hall Sarah 
Published: November 2008

AbstractEconomic geography has a well‐established tradition of studying a range of professional service firms (PSFs), including law, advertising, architecture, accountancy, management consultancy and banking. Within this literature, considerable attention has been paid to the role of highly skilled professionals who use their expertise to deliver bespoke, knowledge‐rich products to a range of corporate clients. However, comparatively, little attention has been paid to the role of professional education, offered by institutions such as law schools, university business schools and professional associations in preparing future employees for their careers in PSFs. This forms part of a broader silence within economic geography on the role of different forms of education in the legitimisation and emergence of powerful professional industries and practices. In this article, we begin to address this lacuna by showing how geographers’ understanding of professional industries and firms can be enhanced by integrating studies from the sociology of the professions, research into the so‐called ‘knowledge‐based economy’ more generally and studies of the spatial heterogeneity of professional practice that all focus specifically on the socialising and legitimating influence of educational institutions and practices. Two arguments run throughout the article. First, we identify the different roles played by professional education in relation to the production of professionals and the regulation of PSFs. We argue that the way the activities of PSFs have been limited by the regulation of education to date has been understudied, something that has continued as forms of transnational regulation emerge that create new questions about the geographies of the professions. Second, we consider how the relationship between professional education and PSFs varies both geographically and between different professions. We show that coupling an understanding of these geographies to debates about the varieties of capitalism offers a fruitful way to better understand the forms of continuity and change in national institutions and capitalisms. Combined, we suggest that economic geography can learn a lot about the spatial peculiarities of different professions from studies of professional education, something that is in need of significant empirically grounded research.
The Future of Geomorphology
Authors: Slaymaker Olav 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis article describes a personal perception of a promising way forward for the discipline of geomorphology. Four challenges and potential solutions are identified. First, the intellectual rationale and philosophical basis of geomorphology could benefit by exploring the framework of critical realism, a framework which recognizes that human experience is as real as the existence of elementary particles. Second, greater effort should perhaps be given to defining the ‘natural kinds’ which are the objects of geomorphological study. Third, the balance between geomorphological geohistory and process geomorphology requires constant attention. And fourth, the increasingly anthropogenic nature of landscape requires that geomorphologists reinforce their commitment to environmental conservation and social justice. The net effect of these trends might well increase informed geomorphological commentary on ethical implications of global landform and landscape changes.
Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Vegetation
Authors: Im Jungho , Jensen John R. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractHyperspectral analysis of vegetation involves obtaining spectral reflectance measurements in hundreds of bands in the electromagnetic spectrum. These measurements may be obtained using hand‐held spectroradiometers or hyperspectral remote sensing instruments placed onboard aircraft or satellites. Hyperspectral remote sensing provides valuable information about vegetation type, leaf area index, biomass, chlorophyll, and leaf nutrient concentration which are used to understand ecosystem functions, vegetation growth, and nutrient cycling. This article first reviews hyperspectral remote sensing and then describes current modeling and classification techniques used to estimate and predict vegetation type and biophysical characteristics.
A Place and Space for a Critical Geography of Precarity?
Authors: Waite Louise 
Published: November 2008

AbstractThis article explores growing interest in the term ‘precarity’ within the social sciences and asks whether there is a place for a ‘critical geography of precarity’ amid this emerging field. Referring to life worlds characterised by uncertainty and insecurity, the term precarity is double‐edged as it implies both a condition and a possible rallying point for resistance. Such areas should be of concern and interest to human geography yet engagement with the concept in the discipline thus far has not been widespread. This article covers four key aims. First, it reviews where the concept of precarity has made an appearance in work by geographers and in allied disciplines and relates this to the more sustained usage in European social science. Second, an attempt is made to clarify the meaning of the term and elucidate more precisely what it refers to. Third, the term precarity is explored alongside related concepts of risk and vulnerability and questions are asked about the conceptual distinctiveness of the term precarity. Finally, an argument is made for a potential critical geography of precarity through looking at the situation of migrant labourers working in low‐paid sectors of the UK economy; individuals who may find themselves at the forefront of precariousness due to their labour conditions.
Dealing with Landscape Heterogeneity in Watershed Hydrology: A Review of Recent Progress toward New Hydrological Theory
Authors: Troch Peter A. , Carrillo Gustavo A. , Heidbüchel Ingo , Rajagopal Seshadri , Switanek Matt , Volkmann Till H. M. , Yaeger Mary 
Published: November 2008

AbstractPredictions of hydrologic system response to natural and anthropogenic forcing are highly uncertain due to the heterogeneity of the land surface and subsurface. Landscape heterogeneity results in spatiotemporal variability of hydrological states and fluxes, scale‐dependent flow and transport properties, and incomplete process understanding. Recent community activities, such as Prediction in Ungauged Basins of International Association of Hydrological Sciences, have recognized the impasse current catchment hydrology is facing and have called for a focused research agenda toward new hydrological theory at the watershed scale. This new hydrological theory should recognize the dominant control of landscape heterogeneity on hydrological processes, should explore novel ways to account for its effect at the watershed scale, and should build on an interdisciplinary understanding of how feedback mechanisms between hydrology, biogeochemistry, pedology, geomorphology, and ecology affect catchment evolution and functioning.
Functional Expression of the Signaling Complex Sensory Rhodopsin II/Transducer II from Halobacterium salinarum in Escherichia coli†
Authors: Kim Young‐Jun , Chizhov Igor , Engelhard Martin 
Published: November 2008

AbstractSensory rhodopsin II, a photoreceptor from Halobacterium salinarum (HsSRII), in complex with its cognate transducer protein (HsHtrII) triggers the photophobic response via a cytoplasmic two‐component signaling cascade. HsHtrII possess in addition to the HsSRII binding and the cytoplasmic domains an extracellular serine‐receptor domain. Here we describe the properties of HsSRII and HsHtrII and those of various shortened transducer analogs, heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. HsSRII displays the photocycle typical of archaeal photosensors with prolonged kinetics. Using an isothermal titration calorimetric analysis for this complex a dissociation constant of 1.1 μm was obtained similar to that of the corresponding transducer/receptor pair from Natronobacterium pharaonis. A shortened transducer lacking the extracellular and cytoplasmic domain is also sufficient to bind the receptor with a slightly lower affinity. The dissociation constant of serine binding to the extracellular domain was determined to be about 5 μm. This result is in line with the proposal that the extracellular domain indeed is a serine receptor.
Effective Depletion of Regulatory T Cells Allows the Recruitment of Mesothelin‐Specific CD8+ T Cells to the Antitumor Immune Response Against a Mesothelin‐Expressing Mouse Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Leao Ihid C. , Ganesan Priya , Armstrong Todd D. , Jaffee Elizabeth M. 
Published: November 2008

AbstractVaccine‐induced CD8+ T‐cell responses can eradicate developing tumors in vivo in mouse models. Translating these successes into approved treatments for cancer patients has been challenging, since many of these models lack expression of clinically proven/relevant tumor antigens. We have shown that mesothelin is a clinically relevant CD8+ T‐cell target in human pancreas cancer, which is also highly conserved among species. Here, we utilize the murine mesothelin‐expressing pancreatic tumor model (Panc02) to identify the immune‐relevant mesothelin‐derived peptides and study interventions that enhance the antitumor response. We first screened overlapping peptides of the entire murine mesothelin protein to identify two new CD8+ mesothelin‐restricted epitopes. These peptides were then evaluated for recognition by vaccine‐induced T cells from mice treated with vaccine in sequence with low‐dose cyclophosphamide (CY) and an anti‐CD25 IL‐2Rα monoclonal antibody (PC61). These treatments are both known to deplete subpopulations of T regulatory cells (Tregs). Our findings demonstrate that combined Treg‐depleting therapies synergize to enhance vaccine efficacy. Furthermore, our data supports mesothelin as a relevant antigen in murine and clinical models and the use of Panc02 as a clinically relevant murine model of pancreatic cancer for evaluating antigen‐targeted immunotherapies in immune‐tolerant hosts.
The insulin‐like growth factor‐I receptor inhibitor picropodophyllin causes tumor regression and attenuates mechanisms involved in invasion of uveal melanoma cells
Authors: Girnita Ada , All‐Ericsson Charlotta , Economou Mario A. , Åström Kristina , Axelson Magnus , Seregard Stefan , Larsson Olle , Girnita Leonard 
Published: November 2008

AbstractPurpose:  Uveal melanoma has a high mortality rate due to a high incidence of metastasis (up to 50%) which preferentially occurs in the liver. Conventional chemotherapy being the only therapeutic option today against metastatic uveal melanoma, has not proved to be effective. Therefore, new molecular targets important for malignant phenotype of uveal melanoma have to be found to design efficient pharmacologic agents.Experimental Design:  We previously reported data indicating that the insulin‐like growth factor‐1 receptor (IGF‐IR) is a metastasis predictor as well as a therapeutic target for uveal melanoma. In the present study, we made use of the cyclolignan picropodophyllin (PPP), which is an inhibitor of the IGF‐IR.Result:  We showed that PPP efficiently block growth and viability of uveal melanoma cells in cultures and causes tumor regression in xenografted mice. In addition, treatment with PPP inhibited several mechanism involved in metastasis, including tumor cells adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins, activity and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2, and cell migration as well as invasion through basement membranes and endothelial cell layer. Furthermore, PPP significantly delayed established of uveal melanoma tumor and drastically reduced the indence of liver metastasis in mice.Conclusions:  Our data suggest that IGR‐IR is crucial for growth and survival as well as invasion and metastasis of uveal melanoma cells. Targeting this receptor may therefore comprise a strategy to treat ongoing disease (today incurable) as well as a strategy to prevent development of metastases in patients with primary disease.