bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Cost of Firearm Deaths in the United States: Reduced Life Expectancies and Increased Insurance Costs
Authors: Lemaire Jean 
Published: August 2005

AbstractThe United States remains far behind most other affluent countries in terms of life expectancy. One of the possible causes of this life expectancy gap is the widespread availability of firearms and the resulting high number of U.S. firearm fatalities: 10,801 homicides in 2000. The European Union experienced 1,260 homicides, Japan only 22. Using multiple decrement techniques, I show that firearm violence shortens the life of an average American by 104 days (151 days for white males, 362 days for black males). Among all fatal injuries, only motor vehicle accidents have a stronger effect. I estimate that the elimination of all firearm deaths in the United States would increase the male life expectancy more than the total eradication of all colon and prostate cancers. My results suggest that the insurance premium increases paid by Americans as a result of firearm violence are probably of the same order of magnitude as the total medical costs due to gunshots or the increased cost of administering the criminal justice system due to gun crime.
Temperature‐dependent ovariole and testis maturation in the yellow dung fly
Authors: Blanckenhorn Wolf U. , Henseler Cornelia 
Published: August 2005

AbstractTemperature is one of the abiotic environmental factors most strongly affecting animal behaviour, physiology, and life history. In insects, lower temperatures generally slow down most physiological processes, reducing growth rate and prolonging the juvenile period. Here, we investigate temperature‐dependent ovariole and testis maturation in the anautogenous yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria L. (Diptera: Scathophagidae), and relate it to corresponding temperature effects on pre‐adult development time and the adult pre‐reproductive period. Flies were reared in the laboratory at three constant temperatures (18, 22, and 26 °C), and the size of the developing ovarioles and testes (reflecting sperm production) was measured over time (i.e., age). Ovariole size increased asymptotically over the first 12 days of adult life, while the testes continued to fill after day 10. In accordance with the temperature‐size rule, warmer temperatures resulted in smaller ovarioles (eggs) and smaller testes, independent of body size. Warmer temperatures also greatly reduced pre‐adult development time by more than half, from 12 to 25 °C, the larger males always taking 1–3 days longer than the females. Corresponding temperature effects on the adult pre‐reproductive period were small (<1 day between 15 and 25 °C), with males taking 5–6 days and females 10–13 days to first reproduction. Time lost by males during the pre‐adult stage, when ovaries and testes are produced, can thus be more than compensated‐for by time gained during the pre‐reproductive period, when eggs and sperm are produced, so males can nevertheless start reproducing sooner than females.
Why Callosobruchus rhodesianus causes limited damage during storage of cowpea seeds in a tropical humid zone in Togo
Authors: Amevoin Komina , Glitho Isabelle Adolé , Monge Jean Paul , Huignard Jacques 
Published: August 2005

AbstractThe sympatric bruchids Callosobruchus rhodesianus (Pic) and Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) colonize cultures of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Walp.) (Papilionaceae), in Togo at the end of the rainy season. Seeds containing larvae of the two bruchid species were introduced into the storage systems. Callosobruchus rhodesianus adults emerged from the seeds at the beginning of storage, but this species disappeared quickly and C. maculatus became dominant. Analysis of the reproduction of females collected at the beginning of storage made it possible to distinguish between four groups of females differing in their reproductive activity. Three groups were sexually active but they differed in their fecundity and the duration of the latency period before the first oviposition phase. The fourth group of females was in reproductive diapause. In interspecific competition, the presence of C. maculatus larvae reduced the survival chances of C. rhodesianus and therefore is disadvantageous for this species. The main factors explaining the rapid decrease of the C. rhodesianus populations under storage conditions were the variability of female reproductive activity with the emergence of insects in reproductive diapause and the significant larval mortality in interspecific competition with C. maculatus.
Testing the efficiency of three 15N‐labeled nitrogen compounds for indirect labeling of grasshoppers via plants in the field
Authors: Unsicker Sybille B. , Renker Carsten , Kahmen Ansgar , Spindler Sonja , Buchmann Nina , Weisser Wolfgang W. 
Published: August 2005

AbstractIn field studies of plant–insect herbivore interactions it is often difficult to establish which herbivore has fed on a particular plant. We investigated the suitability of three different 15N‐labeled nitrogen compounds (ammonium, nitrate, and glycine) for indirect marking of three grasshopper species [Omocestus viridulus (L.), Chorthippus parallelus (Zett.), and Chorthippus biguttulus (L.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)] through labeling their food plants in the field. In two short‐term experiments grassland plots of 1 m2 were separately labeled with either one of the different nitrogen compounds. Grasshoppers were caged on three food‐plant species [Dactylis glomerata L., Holcus lanatus L. (Poaceae), and Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae)] present in these plots for 72 h. Significantly enriched δ15N values in grasshoppers were found in all plant/grasshopper combinations. Enrichment in grasshoppers was positively correlated with the enrichment of plants and labeling with nitrate resulted in highest 15N enrichment. In a long‐term experiment, individuals of C. biguttulus were placed in a cage covering an area of 1 m2 for 37 days, with sampling of grasshoppers at regular intervals. δ15N values of the grasshopper and a common food plant, D. glomerata, increased steadily over time, up to 40‐fold by the end of the experiment. Our results demonstrate that 15N‐labeling of plants is an appropriate tool for the investigation of insect–plant interactions under natural conditions.
Spatial price efficiency in Mozambique's post‐reform maize markets
Authors: Tostão Emílio , Brorsen B. Wade 
Published: August 2005

AbstractMaize (Zea mays) shortages and maize price instability continue to occur in Mozambique in spite of policy reforms and great capacity for increased production in northern Mozambique. This study measured the efficiency of spatial maize price arbitrage in Mozambique's post‐reform period. Spatial price inefficiency does not seem to explain why food shortages continue to occur in Mozambique, suggesting nonprice market constraints such as poor infrastructure and poor market institutions as more likely explanations. Baulch's spatial efficiency test indicated that it is not profitable to ship maize from northern surplus maize regions to southern Mozambique. Records of interregional maize shipments show that indeed grain is not being shipped from the north to the south. Market liberalization may have improved spatial price efficiency, but high transfer costs still limit trade and potential benefits from freeing markets. Under these circumstances, food shortages and price instability are likely to continue.
Agricultural exports and economic growth in less developed countries
Authors: Dawson P. J. 
Published: August 2005

AbstractThis article examines the contribution of agricultural exports to economic growth in less developed countries (LDCs). A sources‐of‐growth equation is developed from a dual economy model where agricultural and nonagricultural sectors are both divided into export and nonexport subsectors. This is then estimated using panel data for 62 LDCs for 1974–1995. Results provide evidence that there are significant structural differences in economic growth between low, lower‐middle, and upper‐income LDCs. Investment in the agricultural export subsector has a statistically identical impact on economic growth as investment in the nonagricultural export subsector. The marginal productivities in nonexport subsectors are over 30% lower than those in respective export subsectors. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that export‐promotion policies should be balanced.
Does individualization help productivity of transition agriculture?
Authors: Rizov Marian 
Published: August 2005

AbstractThere are large differences across transition countries with respect to agricultural‐sector performance and corresponding scope of farm restructuring and shift to individual farming. In this article we analyze the impact of individualization on productivity growth within an augmented neoclassical growth model framework. This approach allows us to circumvent criticisms on the grounds of lack of theoretical and objective criteria for inclusion of explanatory variables. Furthermore, in the empirical analysis using a panel data covering 15 transition countries over the period 1990–2001 and applying a generalized method of moments with instrumental variable estimator we are able to control for the impact of various factors and the potential endogeneity of variables. Our estimation results are robust and support the view that the shift to individual farming, as well as the overall economic reforms, has positively contributed to the productivity growth in agriculture during the first decade of transition.
Spot water markets and risk in water supply
Authors: Calatrava Javier , Garrido Alberto 
Published: August 2005

AbstractWater availability patterns in semiarid regions are typically extremely variable. Even in basins with a highly developed infrastructure, users are subject to unreliable water supplies, incurring substantial economic losses during periods of scarcity. More flexible instruments, such as voluntary exchanges of water among users, can help users to reduce risk exposure. This article looks at the effects of spot water markets on the economic risk caused by water availability variations. Our theoretical and empirical risk analyses are based on the random profits of water users. Profit probability density functions are formally and graphically characterized for both water sellers and buyers under several possible market outcomes. We conclude from this analysis that, where water supply is stochastic, water markets unambiguously reduce both parties' risk exposure. The empirical study is conducted on an irrigation district in the Guadalquivir Valley (Southern Spain), where there is a high probability of periods of extreme water scarcity. Water demand functions for the district representative irrigators and a spatial equilibrium model are used to simulate market exchanges and equilibrium. This programming model is combined with statistical simulation techniques. We show that the profit probability distribution of a representative irrigator is modified if water exchanges are authorized, leading to risk reductions. Results also indicate that if the market were extended to several districts and users that are subject to varying hydrological risk exposure, extremely low‐profit events would be less likely to occur. In sum, we show that exchanging water in annual spot markets can reduce farmers' economic vulnerability caused by water supply variability across irrigation seasons. These results support the water policy reform carried out in Spain in 1999 to allow for voluntary water exchanges among right holders.
Treatment‐resistant depression: resistant to definition?
Authors: Malhi G. S. , Parker G. B. , Crawford J. , Wilhelm K. , Mitchell P. B. 
Published: August 2005

Objective:  To better define treatment‐resistant depression (TRD) so as to assist clinical management and refine treatment guidelines.Method:  In this study, we examine a broad range of clinical variables in depressed patients (n = 196) referred to a tertiary referral Mood Disorders Unit (MDU). Information was collected from patients, referrers and assessors over a period of 32 months and included evaluations of treatments, treatment resistance and related variables. Data were analysed across trichotomized ‘high’, ‘low’ and ‘no’ treatment resistance groupings of patients.Results:  A significantly greater proportion of patients with melancholia were amongst the high TRD group, and this was consistent across different strategies for evaluating melancholia.Conclusion:  Melancholia perhaps provides a prototypic TRD subset that perhaps reflects some innate aspects of melancholic depression or factors such as the impact of ageing. Research into TRD is needed to both replicate this finding and perhaps explicate it further.
Space, Place, and the Evidence Base: Part II—Rereading Nursing Environment Through Geographical Research
Authors: Andrews Gavin J. , Moon Graham 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACTThis, the second and final article in the short health geography series, articulates how, moving beyond the models and assumptions associated with the metaparadigm of Nursing Environment, as a focused subdisciplinary approach, health geography might provide unique insights into nursing. A case study of a fictional yet somewhat typical children's hospital is presented and demonstrates some wide‐ranging geographical issues and research questions (and hence potential geographical data) pertaining to nursing and the allied health professions. Indeed, this broad‐brush approach is purposeful to make as many connections as possible to readers with varied theoretical, methodological, empirical, and practice expertise. In addition to the case study, to indicate further how geographical inquiry might locate quite comfortably in nursing research, the article also makes some initial and tentative connections between geography and an established nursing framework for the uptake of research evidence for practice.Although it is acknowledged that geographical inquiry should certainly never have the first call on researching the relationships between nurses and their environments, it is argued that its conceptual focus on space and place provides dedicated and detailed attention and a sound basis for a reformed, “spatialized” route to a more comprehensive understanding. Moreover, it is argued that it also demonstrates great versatility in terms of the scales and the subject matter with which it might engage. Some important issues certainly remain with respect to what might be the correct form of engagement between geographical and nursing research, but arguably, as a reformed disciplinary approach, health geography has the potential to provide a wealth of focused evidence for nursing practice.Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing 2005; 2(3):142‐156
Models to Determine First‐Order Rate Coefficients from Single‐Well Push‐Pull Tests
Authors: Schroth Martin H. , Istok Jonathan D. 
Published: August 2005

AbstractPush‐pull tests (PPTs) have been successfully employed to quantify various microbially mediated processes in the subsurface. Current models for determining first‐order rate coefficients (k) from PPTs assume complete and instantaneous mixing of injected test solution in the portion of the aquifer investigated by the test, i.e., the system is treated like a well‐mixed reactor. Here we present two alternative models to estimate k that are based on different mixing assumptions, i.e., plug‐flow and variably mixed reactor models. Rate coefficients estimated by the models were compared using a sensitivity analysis and numerical simulations of PPTs. Results indicated that all models yielded reasonably accurate k estimates (errors < 13%), while best accuracy (errors < 1%) was obtained using the variably mixed reactor model. The well‐mixed reactor model generally overestimated true (simulation input) k values, whereas true k values were consistently underestimated by the plug‐flow reactor model. However, estimates of k obtained with the latter models bracketed true k values in all cases. As the variably mixed reactor model is more difficult to apply, we suggest using the well‐mixed and plug‐flow reactor models to obtain intervals for k estimates that will encompass true k values with high certainty. In an example application, we used all models to reanalyze a published PPT data set to obtain k estimates for nitrate consumption in a petroleum‐contaminated aquifer. Similar results were obtained for all three models (relative differences < 10% between k estimates), indicating that all three models are robust tools for estimating k values from PPT experimental data.
Recent changes to conservation of New Zealand's native biodiversity
Authors: Jay Mairi 
Published: August 2005

Abstract:  This article examines recent changes to conservation in New Zealand. The argument is influenced by practical experience over the past 15 years, first as conservation planner employed by the Department of Conservation, then as an environmentalist involved in community conservation projects. The development of public‐private partnerships in conservation action over the past 15 years is reviewed. These changes point to the configuration of new landscapes, although the diverse and uncoordinated nature of many contemporary initiatives suggest that future biological communities will comprise a diversity of hybrid mixes from predominantly native to fully non‐native species.
Neuron-to-Cell Spread of Pseudorabies Virus in a Compartmented Neuronal Culture System
Authors: Ch'ng T. H. , Enquist L.W. 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT
Alphaherpesviruses are parasites of the peripheral nervous system in their natural hosts. After the initial infection of peripheral tissues such as mucosal cells, these neurotropic viruses will invade the peripheral nervous system that innervates the site of infection via long-distance axonal transport of the viral genome. In natural hosts, a latent and a nonproductive infection is usually established in the neuronal cell bodies. Upon reactivation, the newly replicated genome will be assembled into capsids and transported back to the site of entry, where a localized infection of the epithelial or mucosal cells will produce infectious virions that can infect naïve hosts. In this paper, we describe an in vitro method for studying neuron-to-cell spread of alphaherpesviruses using a compartmented culture system. Using pseudorabies virus as a model, we infected neuron cell bodies grown in Teflon chambers and observed spread of infection to nonneuronal cells plated in a different compartment. The cells are in contact with the neurons via axons that penetrate the Teflon barrier. We demonstrate that wild-type neuron-to-cell spread requires intact axons and the presence of gE, gI, and Us9 proteins, but does not require gD. We also provide ultrastructural evidence showing that capsids enclosed within vesicles can be found along the entire length of the axon during viral egress.
Biochemical and Immunogenic Characterization of Soluble Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope Glycoprotein Trimers Expressed by Semliki Forest Virus
Authors: Forsell Mattias N. E. , Li Yuxing , Sundbäck Maria , Svehla Krisha , Liljeström Peter , Mascola John R. , Wyatt Richard , Hedestam Gunilla B. Karlsson 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT
The current lack of envelope glycoprotein immunogens that elicit broadly neutralizing antibody responses remains a major challenge for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine development. However, the recent design and construction of stable soluble gp140 trimers have shown that some neutralization breadth can be achieved by using immunogens that better mimic the functional viral spike complex. The use of genetic delivery systems to drive the in vivo expression of such immunogens for the stimulation of neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 may offer advantages by maintaining the quaternary structure of the trimeric envelope glycoproteins. Here, we describe the biochemical and immunogenic properties of soluble HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimers expressed by recombinant Semliki Forest virus (rSFV). The results presented here demonstrate that rSFV supports the expression of stable soluble gp140 trimers that retain recognition by conformationally sensitive antibodies. Further, we show that rSFV particle immunizations efficiently primed immune responses as measured after a single boost with purified trimeric gp140 protein, resulting in a Th1-biased antibody response. This differed from the Th2-biased antibody response obtained after repeated immunizations with purified gp140 protein trimers. Despite this difference, both regimens stimulated neutralizing antibody responses of similar potency. This suggests that rSFV may be a useful component of a viral vector prime-protein boost regimen aimed at stimulating both cell-mediated immune responses and neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1.
Envelope Glycoprotein gB of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Is Essential for Egress from Infected Cells
Authors: Krishnan Harinivas H. , Sharma-Walia Neelam , Zeng Ling , Gao Shou-Jiang , Chandran Bala 
Published: August 2005

ABSTRACT

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) envelope glycoprotein gB interacts with cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) and α3β1 integrin and plays roles in the initial binding and entry into the target cells and in the induction of preexisting host cell signal pathways. To define gB function further, using a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system carrying the KSHV genome (BAC36wt-KSHV), we constructed a recombinant virus genome with the gB open reading frame (ORF) deleted by replacing a 2-kb gB ORF with a 1.3-kb Kan
r
gene. Stable 293T cells carrying BAC36wt-KSHV and ΔgBBAC36-KSHV genomes were generated. Transcript analyses and immunoprecipitation reactions confirmed the absence of gB in the 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells. When monolayers of 293T-BAC36wt and 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells were induced with tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, infectious virus was detected only from the 293T-BAC36wt cell supernatants. No significant amount of DNase I-resistant viral DNA was detected in the supernatants of 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells. BAC36wt-KSHV infected the target cells, and in contrast, no viral DNA and transcripts could be detected in cells infected with ΔgBBAC36-KSHV. Electron microscopy of 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells revealed capsids in the nuclei, cytoplasmic vesicles with core-containing capsids, and occasional enveloped virions in the cytoplasm. However, enveloped virus particles were observed in the extracellular compartments of 293T-BAC36wt cells only and not in 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells. Transfection of 293T-ΔgBBAC36 cells with plasmid expressing full-length gB restored the recovery of infectious KSHV in the supernatant. These results suggest that, besides its role in virus binding and entry into the target cells, KSHV gB also plays a role in the maturation and egress of virus from the infected cells.