bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Angelwings: Contemporary Queer Fiction from Taiwan. Edited and translated by Fran Martin. [Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2003. 248 pp. $18.95. ISBN 0-8248-2661-2.]
Authors: Damm Jens 
Published: February 2004

This collection of ten short stories from the 1990s, translated and annotated by Fran Martin, highlights the importance of the topic “queer” in a non-Western context. Not only is the excellent quality of the translation worthy of mention; the familiarity of the author with queer theory, Taiwanese social history and Chinese literature in general is also outstanding.In her detailed introduction, Fran Martin illustrates vividly the relevance of tongzhi-literature (tongzhi wenxue is the expression currently used to describe the same-sex discourse in the Taiwanese world) within the broader transformation of Taiwanese society in general and “in the public discourse on sexualities” in particular (p. 2). She attributes the development of tongzhi-literature and the more recent sub-genre of ku'er-literature (ku'er wenxue or “queer literature”) to the rise of postmodernism (houxiandai zhuyi) in post martial-law Taiwan (p. 4–5).
Robert Morrison and the Phonology of Mid-Qīng Mandarin
Authors: Coblin W. South 
Published: February 2004

AbstractRobert Morrison (1782–1834; Chinese name: Maˇ Liˇxùn) was the London Missionary Society's first representative in China and is generally viewed as the father of Protestant missionary work there. Modern scholarly interest in him has in the main focused on his role as a Bible translator (see, for example, Zetzsche 1999, especially Chapter 2). As part of his missionary activities, Morrison studied both written and spoken Chinese; and these researches yielded grammars of both Mandarin (i.e. Guānhuà “the language of the mandarins or officials”; Morrison, 1815) and Cantonese (1815: appendix, pp. 259–280), plus a major dictionary of written Chinese (1815–1823) and a smaller lexicon of Cantonese (1828). In order to transcribe spoken Chinese, Morrison developed romanisations for both Mandarin and Cantonese. These orthographic systems shed light on the pronunciation of the underlying languages as they were spoken two hundred years ago. The purpose of the present paper is to examine Morrison's romanisation of Mandarin for clues about the pronunciation of early nineteenth-century standard Chinese.
Folding subdomains of thioredoxin characterized by native‐state hydrogen exchange
Authors: Bhutani Nidhi , Udgaonkar Jayant B. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractNative‐state hydrogen exchange (HX) studies, used in conjunction with NMR spectroscopy, have been carried out on Escherichia coli thioredoxin (Trx) for characterizing two folding subdomains of the protein. The backbone amide protons of only the slowest‐exchanging 24 amino acid residues, of a total of 108 amino acid residues, could be followed at pH 7. The free energy of the opening event that results in an amide hydrogen exchanging with solvent (ΔGop) was determined at each of the 24 amide hydrogen sites. The values of ΔGop for the amide hydrogens belonging to residues in the helices α1, α2, and α4 are consistent with them exchanging with the solvent only when the fully unfolded state is sampled transiently under native conditions. The denaturant‐dependences of the values of ΔGop provide very little evidence that the protein samples partially unfolded forms, lower in energy than the unfolded state. The amide hydrogens belonging to the residues in the β strands, which form the core of the protein, appear to have higher values of ΔGop than amide hydrogens belonging to residues in the helices, suggesting that they might be more stable to exchange. This apparently higher stability to HX of the β strands might be either because they exchange out their amide hydrogens in a high energy intermediate preceding the globally unfolded state, or, more likely, because they form residual structure in the globally unfolded state. In either case, the central β strands—β3, β2, and β4—would appear to form a cooperatively folding subunit of the protein. The native‐state HX methodology has made it possible to characterize the free energy landscape that Trx can sample under equilibrium native conditions.
Methylation and carbamylation of human γ‐crystallins
Authors: Lapko Veniamin N. , Smith David L. , Smith Jean B. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAccessible sulfhydryls of cysteine residues are likely sites of reaction in long‐lived proteins such as human lens crystallins. Disulfide bonding between cysteines is a major contributor to intermolecular cross‐linking and aggregation of crystallins. A recently reported modification of γS‐crystallins, S‐methylation of cysteine residues, can prevent disulfide formation. The aim of this study was to determine whether cysteines in γC‐, γD‐, and γB‐crystallins are also S‐methylated. Our data show that all the γ‐crystallins are S‐methylated, but only at specific cysteines. In γD‐crystallin, methylation is exclusively at Cys 110, whereas in γC‐ and γB‐crystallins, the principal methylation site is Cys 22 with minor methylation at Cys 79. γD‐crystallin is the most heavily methylated γ‐crystallin. γD‐Crystallins from adult lenses are 37%–70% methylated, whereas γC and γB are ∼12% methylated. The specificity of γ‐crystallin methylation and its occurrence in young clear lenses supports the idea that inhibition of disulfide bonding by S‐methylation may play a protective role against cataract. Another modification, not reported previously, is carbamylation of the N termini of γB‐, γC‐, γD‐crystallins. N‐terminal carbamylation is likely a developmentally related modification that does not negatively impact crystallin function.
Determination of membrane protein stability via thermodynamic coupling of folding to thiol–disulfide interchange
Authors: Cristian Lidia , Lear James D. , DeGrado William F. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractAlthough progress has been made in understanding the thermodynamic stability of water‐soluble proteins, our understanding of the folding of membrane proteins is at a relatively primitive level. A major obstacle to understanding the folding of membrane proteins is the discovery of systems in which the folding is in thermodynamic equilibrium, and the development of methods to quantitatively assess this equilibrium in micelles and bilayers. Here, we describe the application of disulfide cross‐linking to quantitatively measure the thermodynamics of membrane protein association in detergent micelles. The method involves initiating disulfide cross‐linking of a protein under reversible redox conditions in a thiol–disulfide buffer and quantitative assessment of the extent of cross‐linking at equilibrium. The 19–46 α‐helical transmembrane segment of the M2 protein from the influenza A virus was used as a model membrane protein system for this study. Previously it has been shown that transmembrane peptides from this protein specifically self‐assemble into tetramers that retain the ability to bind to the drug amantadine. We used thiol–disulfide exchange to quantitatively measure the tetramerization equilibrium of this transmembrane protein in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) detergent micelles. The association constants obtained agree remarkably well with those derived from analytical ultracentrifugation studies. The experimental method established herein should provide a broadly applicable tool for thermodynamic studies of folding, oligomerization and protein–protein interactions of membrane proteins.
Customising Microsoft Office to develop a tutorial learning environment
Authors: Deacon Andrew , Jaftha Jacob , Horwitz David 
Published: March 2004

AbstractPowerful applications such as Microsoft Office's Excel and Word are widely used to perform common tasks in the workplace and in education. Scripting within these applications allows unanticipated user requirements to be addressed. We show that such extensibility, intended to support office automation‐type applications, is well suited to the creation of learning activities and learning environments. We have developed a range of tutorial activities using Excel and Word in introductory mathematics, writing and economics courses. These tutorials have the dual purpose of teaching academic concepts and practical computer literacy skills. The software architecture of our learning environment includes a database‐supported back‐end to automatically record students’ responses, which allows for greater control over what students do. Additionally, this allows one to automate common procedures to improve usability and feedback automation to support learning. We have been applying our ideas for the last six years and currently 1,500 students are using the environment. We suggest that this pragmatic solution can provide a high degree of interactivity and flexibility in a range of learning contexts that represents a cost‐effective alternative for use alongside traditional approaches.
Intestinal nematode infection affects host life history and offspring susceptibility to parasitism
Authors: Kristan Deborah M. 
Published: March 2004

Summary

The effects of experimental infection with a naturally occurring intestinal nematode (Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Dujardin 1845) on reproduction and on offspring growth, morphology and susceptibility to parasitism for wild‐derived house mice (Mus musculus, Linnaeus 1758) that were two to three generations captive‐born were examined.
Parasitized females averaged 2·8 more pups per litter at weaning and, after adjusting for the effects of litter size on offspring mass, parasitized females had slightly larger offspring than unparasitized females (by 1–2%).
Heligmosomoides polygyrus did not affect mean values of other measures of host reproductive output (time to first litter production, interlitter intervals, sex ratio, offspring loss from birth to weaning) but parasitized mice were more variable than unparasitized mice in the number of days to first litter production and for numbers of pups that died between birth and weaning.
Offspring growth was not affected by either maternal parasite infection or direct parasite infection. Body mass of all pups at sexual maturity was equivalent but there were differences in body composition (fat mass, organ masses) between parasitized and unparasitized pups and between males and females.
Only offspring from parasitized mothers cleared their own infection but for offspring that retained their infection there were no effects of either offspring sex or maternal parasite infection on infection intensity.
These results clearly demonstrate that infection with an intestinal nematode affects host life history, primarily litter size but also offspring mass at weaning, and susceptibility of offspring to infection with the same parasite.
Significant developments in sustainable development law and governance: A proposal
Authors: Segger Marie‐Claire Cordonier 
Published: February 2004

Abstract This article develops a practical proposal for progress on sustainable development law. It examines the prospects for an international sustainable development law to provide a framework for more effective, coherent governance. Sustainable development law is briefly defined and an analytical framework is provided. Different degrees of integration between economic, social and environmental law are described. Certain principles of international law related to sustainable development are also highlighted. It is argued that these principles may serve to guide law‐makers and jurists where social, economic and environmental law and policy conflict or overlap. Continuing, underlying questions of sustainable development governance are addressed and its global frameworks analysed. The article also focuses on the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in August‐September 2002, and its specific mandate for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to take related legal developments into account. The article advances a proposal: that governments, economic, social and environmental intergovernmental organizations and other actors establish a ‘network of inquiry’ with members from relevant groups, including legal and academic organizations, and other expert groups, in order to follow, research, analyse and debate legal developments in a balanced way.
Prescriptions for contraindicated category X drugs in pregnancy among women enrolled in TennCare
Authors: Cooper William O. , Hickson Gerald B. , Ray Wayne A. 
Published: March 2004

SummaryFilling of prescriptions for medications labelled as category X by the United States Food and Drug Administration (considered to be contraindicated for use in pregnancy) was identified among 95 284 women enrolled in TennCare, Tennessee's programme for Medicaid enrollees and individuals without health insurance. Using administrative claims data, 391 women (4.10/1000) were identified as having filled category X prescriptions during pregnancy. This included 118 women (1.24/1000) who filled prescriptions for non‐contraceptive oestrogens, 81 (0.85/1000) for sedatives, and 71 (0.75/1000) for statins. While many women had physician visits with a diagnosis consistent with a possible indication for an individual drug outside of pregnancy, none of these indications is included for use during pregnancy. Older women and disabled women were more likely than younger women (P < 0.0001) and women enrolled for other reasons (P < 0.0001) to fill category X prescriptions. Nearly two‐thirds of the 391 women filled prescriptions after clinical signs or pregnancy tests would indicate pregnancy; nearly 40% filled a category X prescription after a pregnancy‐related physician visit. Although the absolute rate of category X medication use in pregnancy is low, substantial numbers of women and their fetuses are exposed during pregnancy. Women above the age of 35 years and women enrolled in TennCare because of disabilities were more likely to fill prescriptions for category X medications during pregnancy than others, implying that risk communication to practitioners and women should focus on identification of these women to reduce their risk of exposure.
High‐resolution FISH on super‐stretched flow‐sorted plant chromosomes
Authors: Valárik M. , Bartoš J. , Kovářová P. , Kubaláková M. , De Jong J. H. , Doležel J. 
Published: March 2004

SummaryA novel high‐resolution fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) strategy, using super‐stretched flow‐sorted plant chromosomes as targets, is described. The technique that allows longitudinal extension of chromosomes of more than 100 times their original metaphase size is especially attractive for plant species with large chromosomes, whose pachytene chromosomes are generally too long and heterochromatin patterns too complex for FISH analysis. The protocol involves flow cytometric sorting of metaphase chromosomes, mild proteinase‐K digestion of air‐dried chromosomes on microscopic slides, followed by stretching with ethanol:acetic acid (3 : 1). Stretching ratios were assessed in a number of FISH experiments with super‐stretched chromosomes from barley, wheat, rye and chickpea, hybridised with 45S and 5S ribosomal DNAs and the [GAA]n microsatellite, the [TTTAGGG]n telomeric repeat and a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone as probes. FISH signals on stretched chromosomes were brighter than those on the untreated control, resulting from better accessibility of the stretched chromatin and maximum observed sensitivity of 1 kbp. Spatial resolution of neighbouring loci was improved down to 70 kbp as compared to 5–10 Mbp after FISH on mitotic chromosomes, revealing details of adjacent DNA sequences hitherto not obtained with any other method. Stretched chromosomes are advantageous over extended DNA fibres from interphase nuclei as targets for FISH studies because they still retain chromosomal integrity. Although the method is confined to species for which chromosome flow sorting has been developed, it provides a unique system for controlling stretching degree of mitotic chromosomes and high‐resolution bar‐code FISH.
Airways obstruction in survivors of thoracoplasty: Reversibility is greater in non‐smokers
Authors: O'Connor Terence M. , O'Riordan Deirdre M. , Stack Maria , Bredin Charles P. 
Published: February 2004

Objective:  Before the advent of antituberculous chemotherapy, thoracoplasty (TPL) was the definitive form of therapy for cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis. This study aimed to characterize the late functional sequelae of TPL, and to establish the degree of reversibility of any consequent airway obstruction.Methodology:  Pulmonary function was studied in 21 long‐term (mean 35 years) survivors of TPL between the years 1990–2001.Results:  A mixed obstructive/restrictive defect was found in this patient cohort. After inhalation of bronchodilator, marginal increases in FEV1 and FVC and marginal decreases in FRC, RV and TLC were observed. Maximum mid‐expiratory flow rate was severely reduced (28.8% of predicted), but reversibility after inhaled β2‐agonist was highest for this parameter of pulmonary function (mean 11%). Smokers had a higher RV (P = 0.04), suggesting hyperinflation, while non‐smokers had a larger increase in FEV1/FVC ratio postbronchodilator (P = 0.004), suggesting more marked reversibility of airways obstruction in this group.Conclusions:  Long‐term survivors of TPL have an obstructive as well as a restrictive ventilatory defect. These patients have partial reversibility of the obstructive defect. The degree of reversibility found suggests that bronchodilator therapy may help these patients.
Increased lung water without hypocapnia does not cause central sleep apnoea in a lamb model
Authors: Burgess Keith R. , Berend Norbert 
Published: February 2004

Objective:  Central sleep apnoea (CSA) in patients with heart failure is associated with an extremely poor prognosis. It is unclear as to whether pulmonary congestion contributes to CSA.Methodology:  We developed a sheep model of congestive cardiac failure (CCF) to address the question of whether pulmonary congestion without hypocapnia could cause CSA. Fourteen lambs were given CCF by overdrive pacing for 3 weeks. CCF was defined by a pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) ≥ 15 mmHg. There were 11 controls. Extravascular lung water (EVLW) was measured by the double indicator dilution method.Results:  The CCF lambs had a PAOP = 18 ± 3 mmHg and controls had a PAOP = 10 ± 2 mmHg (P < 0.01). EVLW was 12.6 ± 1.8 (CCF) compared to 8.9 ± 2 mL/kg (controls) (P < 0.01). The respiratory rate was 74 ± 21 b.p.m. (CCF) compared to 47 ± 6 b.p.m. (controls) (P < 0.05). Acute volume loading with saline raised PAOP without changing respiration. pH and PaCO2 were the same in both groups (PaCO2−37 mmHg).Conclusions:  These results support the view that hypocapnia is essential for CSA, and demonstrated that increased EVLW causes tachypnoea but not CSA.
Role of first‐order consumers in ecosystem carbon flow
Authors: Cebrian Just 
Published: February 2004

AbstractHerbivores and detritus consumers (i.e. microbial decomposers and invertebrate and vertebrate detritivores) are pivotal components of trophic food webs and thus play a paramount role in the trophic transference and turnover of producer‐fixed carbon. Hence, elucidating patterns in carbon flux through these first‐order consumers is important to understand the nature and controls of carbon flow in ecosystems. Here, using the largest literature compilation to date, I show that, in contrast with the current belief, aquatic herbivores accumulate on average three times as much biomass as do terrestrial herbivores for a given level of primary production and, as a consequence, turn over the ingested carbon only slightly faster than do terrestrial herbivores. Conversely, aquatic detritus consumers generally accumulate a much lower biomass (i.e. over ten times lower) than their terrestrial counterparts for a given level of primary production and, thus, they turn over the ingested carbon much more quickly (i.e. over ten times faster). Because the detrital pathway generally dominates the trophic flow of carbon in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, carbon also tends to flow through the total compartment of first order‐consumers (both herbivores and detritus consumers) at a much faster rate in aquatic than in terrestrial ecosystems. Thus, aquatic systems, because of faster carbon recycling rates through their basal and first‐order levels of the food chain, appear to have a lower capacity than do terrestrial systems for retaining carbon under natural or anthropogenic increases in photosynthetic fixation.
Results of Arthroscopic Versus Open Arthrotomy for Surgical Management of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficiency in Dogs
Authors: Hoelzler Michael G. , Millis Darryl L. , Francis David A. , Weigel Joseph P. 
Published: February 2004

Objective—To evaluate postoperative morbidity in dogs after experimental cranial cruciate ligament transection and immediate stifle stabilization using an arthroscopically assisted or open arthrotomy technique.Study Design—Experimental, prospective study.Animals—Thirteen mature, healthy dogs.Methods—Dogs were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. Seven underwent open arthrotomy while 6 underwent arthroscopy of 1 stifle joint. Cranial cruciate ligaments were transected and debrided and all stifles were stabilized using 2 lateral extracapsular fabellar‐tibial sutures. Minimally invasive suture placement was employed in the arthroscopy group. All animals were evaluated for 9 weeks using kinetic gait assessments, comfortable stifle range of motion measurements, thigh girth measurements, differential cell counts of synovial fluid, and subjective scores of behavior, limb use, and lameness.Results—Significant differences in postoperative morbidity were observed during the 9‐week postoperative period. Greater peak vertical force for 8 weeks (P=.015), vertical impulse for 6 weeks (P=.044), comfortable stifle range of motion for 9 weeks (P=.017), comfortable stifle flexion for 4 weeks (P=.005), and operative limb thigh circumference (P=.020) for 9 weeks were observed for the arthroscopy group. A trend towards a lower differential mean synovial polymorphonuclear cell count in the arthroscopy group was seen at 4 and 8 weeks postoperatively. No differences in subjective evaluation scores were noted.Conclusions—In this study population, significant differences were seen between the arthroscopy and arthrotomy groups for peak vertical force, vertical impulse, comfortable stifle range of motion, comfortable stifle flexion, and thigh circumference data.Clinical Relevance—The results of this study suggest that short‐term postoperative morbidity may be reduced in dogs receiving arthroscopic joint surgery with a limited approach for stifle stabilization as compared with a traditional open arthrotomy technique.