bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Will there be a fifth kondratiev cycle/structure?
Authors: De Greene Kenyon B. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPrevious research in the development of a comprehensive theory of the Kondratiev cycle/structure is reviewed. The problem of paradigm exhaustion is emphasized. The structure of the first four Kondratievs is contrasted with that inferred for a possible fifth. The main driving forces and constraints characteristic of a fifth Kondratiev recovery are discussed. These are new technologies, job creation, new sources of energy, environmental constraints, and availability of financial capital. It is concluded that many of the ingredients for a recovery are present but that there are countervailing factors as well. Further, the contextual field of forces in which the Kondratiev is embedded is now more turbulent, and a Kondratiev recovery would have to be part of a radical transformation in social, economic, and environmental thinking.
Variety in design
Authors: Glanville Ranulph 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIt is argued that creativity might be amplified through the co‐operative sharing of brain power (in contrast to Ashby's amplification of intelligence by restricting attention to the problem). This argument is extended to the act of design (seen as the making of the new), where it is proposed that the nature of the computer is to encourage co‐operative sharing because, by making perfect copies, it denies ownership. This, in turn, underpins the processes of collaging and transformation that so suit the computer. A means of using the computer is proposed in which both sharing and distortion are encouraged, so that the new may be made while the individual's sense of creation and of origination is respected. Possible questions and difficulties are raised. Some are resolved.
Uncertainty and the communication of time
Authors: Leydesdorff Loet 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPrigogine and Stengers (1988) [47] have pointed to the centrality of the concepts of “time and eternity” for the cosmology contained in Newtonian physics, but they have not addressed this issue beyond the domain of physics. The construction of “time” in the cosmology dates back to debates among Huygens, Newton, and Leibniz. The deconstruction of this cosmology in terms of the philosophical questions of the 17th century suggests an uncertainty in the time dimension. While order has been conceived as an “harmonie preetablie”, it is considered as emergent from an evolutionary perspective. In a “chaology”, one should fully appreciate that different systems may use different clocks. Communication systems can be considered as contingent in space and time: substances contain force or action, and they communicate not only in (observable) extension, but also over time. While each communication system can be considered as a system of reference for a special theory of communication, the addition of an evolutionary perspective to the mathematical theory of communication opens up the possibility of a general theory of communication.
Model validation in soft systems practice
Authors: Checkland Peter 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe concept of ‘a model’ usually evokes the connotation ‘model of part of the real world’. That is an almost automatic response. It makes sense especially in relation to the way the concept has been developed and used in natural science. Classical operational research (OR), with its scientific aspirations, and systems engineering, use the concept in the same way and in addition use models as surrogates for the real world, on which experimentation is cheap. In these fields the key feature of a model is representativeness. In soft systems methodology (SSM) models are not of part of the world; they are only relevant to debate about the real world and are used in a cyclic learning process. The paper shows how the different concepts of validation in classical OR and SSM lead to a way of sharply defining the nature of ‘soft OR’.
The value of a systems approach for advancing the co‐evolution of ethnic cultures and society
Authors: Lapointe Gregory V. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractTraditional ethnic cultures have difficulties co‐evolving with their rapidly changing environments, especially the larger societal environment. Often cultural systems are unable to assist members in coping with accelerating technological, social and political changes. Systems inquiry offers ways and means to address this predicament. This article explores the value of applying a systems approach to the creation of institutional arrangements by which ethnic groups might better develop their cultural systems in order to create mutually beneficial co‐evolutionary relationships with the societal environment.
Molecular approach to living systems
Authors: Tracy Lane 
Published: July 2007

AbstractLiving systems theory (LST) generates a large set of hypotheses that are thought to be applicable to the following eight levels of living systems: cell, organ, organism, group, organization, community, society, and supranational system. Many of the disciplines from which LST has derived its cross‐level propositions are concerned not only with the properties of individual systems, but also with interactions between them. This paper focuses on linked systems and the linkages between them, rather than on individual systems. Intersystem relationships at various levels of living systems are examined for cross‐level commonalities. The paper pays particular attention to dyads as the building blocks of quasi‐living systems and higher‐level living systems. Shared template elements, a common destiny, joint activity, and exchange of resources between and among systems are found to be common, cross‐level factors in the bonding of systems.
Only connect! An annotated bibliography reflecting the breadth and diversity of systems thinking
Authors: Lane David C. , Jackson Mike C. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe field of systems thinking is both broad and diverse. This paper tries to provide assistance to outsiders wishing to find out what systems thinking is and also to insiders interested in exploring areas of the systems movement other than their own. A selection of books, papers and articles is given. Each has a full reference and a brief annotation, this being an account of, and a critical comment on, its content. The selection does not aim to be definitive or authoritative and obviously displays the predilections of the authors. However, the hope is that it will convey a sense of the intellectual and practical endeavours that, to the authors, constitute systems thinking and that it may aid the exploration of the range of holistic ideas that people have found useful in thinking about and acting in the world.
An example of the operation of the MPSB filter
Authors: Ho Joseph Kim‐Keung 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe multi‐perspective, systems‐based (MPSB) framework has been formulated as a meta‐structure of knowledge of management disciplines. As such, it also acts as a powerful filter (or lens) for managers to make sense of the various management approaches and techniques that their companies employ from time to time. This paper describes, with the help of a case study, how it works. In the process, the various key concepts of the MPSB project are also explained and utilized in the case study.
Lack of effect ofNω‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester on bromocriptine‐induced locomotor sensitization in mice
Authors: Kayir Hakan , Ceyhan Mert , Yavuz Oğuzhan , Uzbay I. Tayfun 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe present study was designed to investigate the effects ofNω‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME), a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitory agent, on bromocriptine‐induced locomotor sensitization in mice. Adult male Swiss‐Webster mice (26–32 g) were the subjects. Saline orL‐NAME (15–60 mg/kg) was injected to mice intraperitoneally 30 min before bromocriptine (5 mg/kg), and locomotor activity was recorded for 240 min in an open field activity monitoring system. This procedure lasted for 2 weeks, once in 2 days from Monday to Friday, six sessions in total. After a 2‐day drug‐free period, a challenge injection of bromocriptine (5 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered by all groups of mice. Other groups of mice treated with bromocriptine according to the aforementioned procedure exceptL‐NAME pretreatments were challenged with saline orL‐NAME (15–60 mg/kg) plus bromocriptine (5 mg/kg) after a 2‐day drug‐free period. Bromocriptine produced a significant locomotor sensitization.L‐NAME (15–60 mg/kg) did not have any significant effect on the development and expression of bromocriptine‐induced locomotor sensitization in mice. Meanwhile, the data also imply that NO‐related mechanisms may not be responsible for bromocriptine‐induced locomotor sensitization in mice. Synapse 61:869–874, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of two biotypes ofSolanum ptycanthumthat differ in resistance levels to imazamox
Authors: VOLENBERG D S , TRANEL P J , HOLT J F , SIMMONS F W , WELLER S C , SHARKHUU A , RIECHERS D E 
Published: July 2007

SummaryGlasshouse and laboratory experiments were conducted on acetolactate synthase (ALS) homozygous resistantSolanum ptycanthumbiotypes from Illinois (IL‐R) and Indiana (IN‐R), and homozygous susceptible biotypes from Illinois (IL‐S) and Indiana (IN‐S). Genetic similarity of biotypes was assessed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, which determined that the Illinois biotypes are more similar to each other than to the IN‐R biotype. ALS enzyme activity from the IL‐R and IN‐R biotypes had I50values of 362 and 352 μM imazamox respectively. Dose–response experiments using three‐ to four‐leaf‐stage plants of the IL‐R and IN‐R biotypes had GR50values of 242 and 69 g ae ha−1imazamox respectively. Whole‐plant and ALS enzyme results are different than previously reported values in the literature, which was attributed in the current study to the original IN‐R population having individuals that were segregating for ALS resistance. Metabolism studies showed no difference in percentage [14C]imazamox remaining between the IL‐R and IN‐R biotypes up to 72 h after treatment. The IL‐S biotype metabolised [14C]imazamox approximately two times faster than the IL‐R and IN‐R biotypes and this trait was heritable. Response of F3plants containing homozygous ALS‐resistant alleles from the IL‐R biotype in a genetic background of 50% Illinois and 50% Indiana biotypes suggests that genetic factors other than an altered target site or metabolism may also contribute to the magnitude of resistance at the whole‐plant level in resistant biotypes.
Herbicide research and development: challenges and opportunities
Authors: RÜEGG W T , QUADRANTI M , ZOSCHKE A 
Published: July 2007

SummaryThe high adoption of chemical weed control and the broad range of solutions already available to manage most weed problems are significant hurdles to the development and launch of new herbicides. Business potentials are influenced by the high technical and biological standards provided by existing herbicides, as well as the intense competition in the marketplace. Other factors adding complexity are agronomic, structural and technological changes, including the introduction of herbicide‐tolerant crops, and the high costs of development for new active ingredients, mainly due to increasing regulatory requirements. In the light of increasing weed resistance to widely used herbicides, securing diversity in agronomy as well as weed management is a key to efficient crop production in future. In order to support this objective, new herbicides, preferably with new modes‐of‐action, will need to be discovered and developed.
A modelling approach using seedbank and soil properties to predict the relative weed density in organic fields of an Italian pre‐alpine valley
Authors: OTTO S , ZUIN M C , CHISTÈ G , ZANIN G 
Published: July 2007

SummaryIn 1996, a study was conducted on the seedbanks of a pre‐alpine valley in northern Italy which had been organically farmed since 1986. The seedbanks were evaluated using soil cores taken from 16 organic fields located at various altitudes and seed numbers were determined using the ‘seedling emergence method’. Thirteen soil properties were also evaluated. In 2003, the germinable seedbank was assessed in five other fields chosen at random. Soil properties were evaluated by the same method as in 1996. Using the data of the first 16 fields as the analysis data set and those of the latter five as an independent validation data set, a quadratic weed seedbank‐soil properties model was built with partial least square regression analysis. The model estimates the relative abundance of the various species as the sum of the contribution of individual soil properties and has a high predictive capacity. With a novel graphic approach, it is possible to describe the nonlinear relationship between each soil property and weed species relative abundance, giving a rational, quantitative, explanation as to why some species are widespread (e.g. Chenopodium album, Galinsoga parviflora and Chenopodium polyspermum), whereas others tend to concentrate in specific fields (e.g. Spergula arvensis). The approach can, when some hypotheses hold, give a rational basis for the explanation of the relative abundance of species in a weed community and constitutes a useful methodology for study and research.
Molecular marker analysis of genetic variation characterizing a grasspea (Lathyrus sativus) collection from central Italy
Authors: Tavoletti S. , Iommarini L. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractLevels of genetic similarity characterizing 20 grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) populations collected in central Italy (17 populations in the Marche region and three populations in the Abruzzo region) were analysed with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) molecular markers. Two main clusters were found: one included large‐seeded populations from farms that were not market‐oriented (named Household populations) and the second, small‐seeded populations, cultivated in market‐oriented farms (named Commercial populations). Relationships among populations collected in different regions were found, although one population of the Abruzzo region was placed between the two main clusters, suggesting a possible further genetic differentiation within this grasspea germplasm collection. Principal component analysis based on AFLP marker frequency was effective in identifying polymorphic markers showing high discriminating ability between clusters H and C. In particular, seven markers showing high positive and three markers with low negative PC1 scores showed an almost cluster‐specific distribution. These results will be useful for enhancing Italian grasspea germplasm use in plant‐breeding programmes and for extending grasspea cultivation within the sustainable agricultural systems of central Italy.
Mapping of the apple powdery mildew resistance gene Pl1 and its genetic association with an NBS‐LRR candidate resistance gene
Authors: Dunemann F. , Peil A. , Urbanietz A. , Garcia‐Libreros T. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractMolecular markers for the major apple powdery mildew resistance gene Pl1 were identified and are presently used in marker‐assisted selection in apple breeding. However, the precise map position of the Pl1 gene in the apple genome was not known. The objectives of this investigation were the identification of the Malus linkage group (LG) carrying the Pl1 locus, mapping of the resistance gene by simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, and the analysis of genetic associations between the Pl1 gene and the numerous NBS‐LRR resistance gene candidates already mapped in the apple genome. A two‐step linkage mapping was used, based on two different apple families. The identification of LG 12 carrying Pl1 was performed indirectly by mapping the SCAR marker AT20 in an apple progeny for which there was a core genetic map but no mildew data available. Then, the position of Pl1 on LG 12 was determined by SSR markers in a second population which has been scored for mildew over 6 years in a greenhouse and in the field. The SSR Hi07f01, previously mapped on LG 12 [Tree Genet. Genomes, 2 (2006), 202] cosegregated with AT20 and was closely linked (∼1 cM) to the Pl1 gene. The TIR‐NBS‐LRR resistance gene analogue 15G11 mapped by the SSCP technique was also closely linked to the Pl1 resistance locus and might be a candidate for Pl1 itself, a second powdery mildew major resistance gene (Pld, [Theor. Appl. Genet., 110 (2004), 175]), or two scab resistance genes (Vg, [IOBC/WPRS Bull., 23 (2000), 245]; Vb, [Genome, 49 (2006), 1238]) which all seem to be located in a common R gene cluster at the distal end of apple LG 12.
EFFECTS OF AGAR AND PECTIN ON GASTRIC EMPTYING AND POST‐PRANDIAL GLYCAEMIC PROFILES IN HEALTHY HUMAN VOLUNTEERS
Authors: Sanaka Masaki , Yamamoto Takatsugu , Anjiki Hajime , Nagasawa Kunitaka , Kuyama Yasushi 
Published: July 2007

SUMMARY

Dietary fibre, such as pectin, delays gastric emptying and may enhance post‐prandial glucose tolerance. Agar, which is high in fibre content, is widely used in the traditional Japanese diet. Although long‐term diet therapy with agar decreases fasting plasma glucose levels in diabetes, knowledge is lacking about the acute effects of agar on gastric emptying and the post‐prandial glycaemic profiles. The present study was designed to investigate the acute effects of agar.
Ten healthy male volunteers were studied on three occasions with three different test meals (450 kcal/500 mL): (i) a fibre‐free meal; (ii) a meal with 2.0 g agar; or (iii) a meal with 5.2 g pectin. On each occasion, participants underwent a [13C]‐acetate breath test along with serial blood sampling. To quantify gastric emptying, the half [13CO2] excretion time () and the time for maximal [13CO2] excretion rate (tlag) were determined. The post‐prandial glycaemic response was expressed as an incremental change from the fasting value at each sampling time. Data were analysed using repeated‐measures analysis of variance (anova), followed by a post hoc paired Student's t‐test with Bonferroni adjustment.
The time‐course for respiratory [13CO2] excretion differed significantly among the three test meals (P = 0.0004, anova). Compared with the control meal, [13CO2] excretion was significantly lower following consumption of the agar meal (between 40 and 105 min post‐prandially; P < 0.025, Student's t‐test) and the pectin meal (between 40 and 180 min post‐prandially; P < 0.025, Student's t‐test). Among the three meals, significant differences were found in (P = 0.002, anova) and tlag (P = 0.011, anova). Compared with the control meal, the agar and pectin meals exhibited a significantly prolonged (P = 0.007 and P < 0.0001, respectively, Student's t‐test) and tlag (P = 0.006 and P = 0.002, respectively, Student's t‐test). Neither the agar nor pectin meal affected the post‐prandial glucose profile.
In healthy adults, agar and pectin delay gastric emptying but have no impact on the post‐prandial glucose response.
Different transfer of nociceptive sensitivity from rats with postnatal hippocampal lesions to control rats
Authors: Yamamotová Anna , Franĕk Miloslav , Vaculín Šimon , Št'astný František , Bubeníková‐Valešová Vĕra , Rokyta Richard 
Published: July 2007

AbstractHippocampal lesions in newborn rats alter the development of mechanisms involved in the processing of nociception. The hippocampal lesion was induced by the bilateral infusion, into the lateral cerebral ventricles, of 0.25 μL of saline containing either 0.25 μmol quinolinic acid (QUIN) and/or 0.25 μmol N‐acetyl‐l‐aspartyl‐l‐glutamate (NAAG) on postnatal day 12. The same amount of sterile saline was injected into the sham‐operated animals (group SHAM). It was expected that the QUIN‐ and NAAG‐lesioned rats would exhibit some differences in thermal pain perception; however, we wanted to know if the control rats would exhibit, at least in part, similar changes in pain perception as their chemically lesioned siblings with which they were housed. Young adult NAAG‐injured rats exhibited increased withdrawal latencies in the tail‐flick and plantar tests, whereas young adult QUIN‐injured animals exhibited only marginally decreased latencies. Nociceptive responses in the SHAM rats paralleled the littermates that had been neonatally treated with QUIN or NAAG, i.e. the responses in the SHAM(QUIN) group decreased, whereas the responses in the SHAM(NAAG) group increased. No significant changes in nociception were observed in intact animals, regardless of which group they were housed with. Our results show that social factors, which were originally demonstrated only for the pain behavior, may also influence basal nociceptive sensitivity in rats. We concluded that the ’sham operation’ may have had a long‐term, nonspecific impact on nociceptive behavior by inducing behavioral mimicry of other animals.
Methotrexate and liver function: a study of 13 psoriasis cases treated with different cumulative dosages
Authors: Carneiro SC , Cássia FF , Lamy F , Chagas VLA , Ramos‐e‐Silva M 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBackground  The need and frequency of hepatic biopsies during methotrexate (MTX) therapy are still controversial.Objectives  The purpose of this investigation is to assess MTX liver toxicity in patients with psoriasis through percutaneous liver biopsy, and compare liver morphology changes with increasing cumulative dosages (1, 2, 3 and 4 g) of MTX.Results  Cumulative dosages of 1 to 2 g MTX did not cause significant liver toxicity. From a cumulative dosage of 3 to 4 g, there is fibrosis formation, inflammation enhancement in the portal area and fibrous septa, configuring regenerative nodes.Conclusion  In patients with no risk factors for liver disease, with normal physical examination and liver tests, biopsy can be done after a cumulative MTX dosage of approximately 1 to 1.5 g and repeated for each gram. In patients with risk factors, liver biopsy should be done before use of MTX, or within the first 2 months of treatment at the most, and repeated for each gram of cumulative dosage.
Hues of a dragon's belly: morphological correlates of ventral coloration in water dragons
Authors: Cuervo J. J. , Shine R. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSexual dichromatism is common in lizards, and may play an important role in sex recognition and mating systems. Nonetheless, relatively few published papers provide quantitative analyses of colour, deal with Australian taxa or are based on large‐bodied species. Water dragons Physignathus lesueurii (Agamidae) from eastern Australia are very large (upto 1 m total length) and sexually dichromatic, with conspicuous red ventral coloration in adult males. We quantified coloration in three ventral regions (throat, chest and abdomen) of males and females using a spectroradiometer and looked for associations of colour with sex and with morphological traits predicted to correlate with fitness (body size, body condition, relative head size and asymmetry of femoral pores). Among adult males, larger individuals showed less red on the abdomen than did smaller animals, and males with relatively large heads had darker, less red abdomens than did males with smaller heads. Among adult females, larger animals had darker chests, and less red on the abdomen and chest, than did smaller females. The similarity in these trends between the sexes, and the location of the sexually dichromatic and size‐sensitive colours in an area (under the abdomen) where they presumably are not visible to other lizards cast doubt on their utility as sexual or dominance signals. Hence, although we documented significant sex and body‐size effects on ventral coloration, our results suggest that ventral colours in water dragons do not function in sex‐specific displays.