Materialising the king: The royal funeral of King Tāufa`āhau Tupou IV of Tonga

The arrival of the body of King Tāufa‘āhau Tupou IV, in Tonga on 12 September 2006, prompted complex funerary rites modelled on those of the previous monarch, Queen Sālote. Instead of looking at how funerals reinforce kinship ties or what the effective cost is of the objects exchanged, I concentrate on the presented objects, which formed the focal point of the funerary rites. In doing so, I engage with Keane (2005: 184) who asserts the relevance of semiotics in answering the question: ‘How can we both understand things and do full justice to their materiality?’ I argue that traditional prestigious objects (barkcloth, mats, baskets and coconut oil), ‘modern‐times’ valuables (flower garlands, flower baskets, and crocheted bed spreads), and contemporary objects (cakes wrapped in cling film, screens with chocolate, plastic baskets filled with bags of crisps, chocolate and sweets), materialise qualities the deceased king embodied as a descendant of a mythical ruler, as the fourth king in the modern Christian dynasty and as a contemporary ruler who reformed both education and economy. A consequence of materialising qualities is that they become contingently bound up with other qualities ( Keane 2005: 188 ). I thus concentrate on those objects where the bundling of qualities is realised visually, examining how barkcloth, fine mats, baskets and coconut oil embody female generative power, protecting, controlling and linking qualities. It is the qualities of the objects bundled in the matter of the objects themselves that make some objects matter more than others.     

Monitoring the acoustic activity of an aquatic insect population in relation to temperature,vegetation and noise

1. Acoustic population monitoring is a noninvasive method that can be deployed continuously over long periods of time and at large spatial scales. One of the newly discovered threats acting on biological diversity is anthropogenic noise. High levels of anthropogenic noise occur in aquatic environments, yet their effects on animals living in freshwater habitats have very rarely been investigated.
2. Here, we used acoustic monitoring and automatic detection to assess the acoustic activity of a population of a soniferous freshwater insect.
3. The sounds emitted by the corixid Micronecta scholtzi were recorded in a Mediterranean pond with an array of 12 hydrophones. An automatic analysis based on a measure of the amplitude found in the frequency band of M. scholtzi was developed to assess the level of acoustic activity. We used functional linear models, accounting for the periodicity of the calling behaviour, to estimate the possible effect of temperature, vegetation and a noise due to an immersed engine.
4. The automatic analysis was validated as an efficient method to measure the acoustic activity. The monitoring revealed a clear 24-hr pattern in the acoustic activity of M. scholtzi and three peaks of activity during the morning. Functional linear models revealed negative effects of both temperature and vegetation and showed that an engine noise, played back for 2 hr during the night, elicited an increase in the level of acoustic activity of the population. Moreover, a cross-correlation procedure showed that noise delayed the acoustic activity of the population.
5. Our results suggest that acoustic survey and automatic detection are efficient methods to monitor the acoustic activity of an insect population especially in response to an anthropogenic disturbance.

     

Invited contribution: An objective approach to the development of short-term tests predictive of carcinogenicity

The Carcinogenicity Prediction and Battery Selection procedure was developed to address two problems: (1) the identification of highly predictive, yet cost-effective, batteries of short-term tests and (2) the objective prediction of the potential carcinogenicity of chemicals based upon the results of short-term tests even when a mixture of positive and negative results is obtained. In the present report the usefulness of the Carcinogenicity Prediction and Battery Selection procedure is demonstrated using benzo[a]pyrene, benzoin and diethylstilbestrol as examples. In addition, its applicability in the analysis of all the possible outcomes of a battery is illustrated together with an analysis of the worth of additional testing.Abbreviations B[a]P benzo[a]pyrene - CASE Computer-Automated Structure Evaluation - CPBS Carcinogenicity Prediction and Battery Selection - DEHP diethylhexylphthalate - DES diethylstilbestrol - NTA nitrilotriacetate - TCDD 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin     

Resumption of growth of heat inactivated embryonic epiphyses by grafting

Summary This communication describes a new experimental model for the study of the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in morphogenesis. In a preceding paper (Markson et al. 1991) we demonstrated that isolated epiphyses from femora of 6-day-old chick embryos grow during the first days in organ culture almost as well as their intact counterparts. Heating femora for 1 h at 45.2° C caused complete cessation of growth and proteoglycan biosynthesis. When the cut surface of a heat-inactivated (HI) epiphysis was brought into apposition with the cut surface of a live epiphysis and the attached pair placed in organ culture, the HI epiphysis began to grow and reached almost the same size as its live partner. The different possible interpretations of this finding are discussed. When a HI epiphysis of a certain shape (from humerus) is attached to a live epiphysis of a very different shape (from femur) and the attached pair is cultured for 6–7 days, the typical resumption of growth can be observed and the HI epiphysis that doubled or tripled its size retains its original characteristic form. The possibility that the existing infrastructure of the cartilaginous ECM directs the pattern of deposition of newly synthesized ECM by the chondroblasts is discussed, and it is suggested that stretch-activated channels participate in a process by which cells sense the topography of their ECM. Offprint requests to: F. Doljanski     

Akti-1/2, an allosteric inhibitor of Akt 1 and 2, efficiently inhibits CaMKIα activity and aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway

Deregulation of the phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI3) kinase/Akt pathway, resulting in enhanced Akt activity, is one of the most frequent changes in human cancer. Akt has therefore attracted significant attention as an anticancer target in recent years and many Akt inhibitors have been identified, especially Akti-1/2, a non-ATP competitive inhibitor of Akt isoforms 1 and 2. In this study, our results suggest that caution may be required when using Akti-1/2 as a specific inhibitor of Akt since it perfectly inhibits Ca²⁺/CaM-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) Iα activity. Akti-1/2 was thus able to inhibit recombinant CaMKIα activity as efficiently as the CaMK inhibitor KN-93. Moreover, Akti-1/2 prevented the nuclear translocation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in MCF-7 cells in response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure, which has been demonstrated to require CaMKI activity. In addition, our results, obtained with a large panel of structurally-unrelated PI3K inhibitors, make unlikely any contribution of PI3K/Akt activity to the AhR pathway. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report showing that Akti-1/2 has off-target effects at concentration equipotent with Akt inhibition. This may impact on the therapeutic application of Akti-1/2 and structurally-related compounds.     

Paths to psychiatric care in Hong Kong

The pattern of psychiatric consultation in Hong Kong is examined among 226 patients at a public outpatient clinic and 56 patients at a private psychiatric clinic. The approach to psychiatric services is marked by lengthy delay during which patients get help from their family members or close friends. Arrival at the present psychiatric clinic was diverted through other medical resources, primarily Western-style medical services, and to some extent, traditional Chinese medicine. Individual routes were diverse, characterized by frequent switches among resources especially in the private sector. The nature of the patients' presenting complaints as well as the conceptualization of their initial complaints were multi-faceted, including both psychological and somatic factors. The overall consultation pattern of patients in Hong Kong is compared with other studies on Chinese and Western patients. Questions are raised for further analysis.The study was funded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia Faculty Research Grant made through Chung Chi College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.     

Preferences in help-seeking among Chinese students

Chinese university students were asked to indicate their inclination to seek help and the resources for consultation on the 22 problems listed on the Langner Scale. Results showed that the Chinese students were generally not inclined to seek help and when they did, would most often seek help from medical doctors. However, when items were grouped in terms of clinical content, it was found that friends were predominantly preferred for psychological problems while the doctor was preferred for psychophysiological, physiological, and ambiguous problems. More female than male students tended to rely on friends and family members while the reverse pattern was found in the preference for doctors. The mental health professional was rarely cited as a resource for any of the problems. The results provide some explanation for observations made in previous studies on symptom presentation and help-seeking behavior among Chinese psychiatric patients.     

Paleogenetical study of pre‐Columbian samples from Pampa Grande (Salta,Argentina)

Ancient DNA recovered from 21 individuals excavated from burial sites in the Pampa Grande (PG) region (Salta province) of North‐Western Argentina (NWA) was analyzed using various genetic markers (mitochondrial DNA, autosomal STRs, and Y chromosomal STRs). The results were compared to ancient and modern DNA from various populations in the Andean and North Argentinean regions, with the aim of establishing their relationships with PG. The mitochondrial haplogroup frequencies described (11% A, 47% B, and 42% D) presented values comparable to those found for the ancient Andean populations from Peru and San Pedro de Atacama. On the other hand, mitochondrial and Y chromosomal haplotypes were specific to PG, as they did not match any other of the South American populations studied. The described genetic diversity indicates homogeneity in the genetic structure of the ancient Andean populations, which was probably facilitated by the intense exchange network in the Andean zone, in particular among Tiwanaku, San Pedro de Atacama, and NWA. The discovery of haplotypes unique to PG could be due to a loss of genetic diversity caused by recent events affecting the autochthonous populations (establishment of the Inca Empire in the region, colonization by the Europeans). Am J Phys Anthropol 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Factors associated with difference in prevalence of asthma in children from three cities in China: multicentre epidemiological survey

Objective To determine the factors associated with difference in prevalence of asthma in children in different regions of China.Design Multicentre epidemiological survey.Setting Three cities in China.Participants 10 902 schoolchildren aged 10 years.Main outcome measures Asthma and atopic symptoms, atopic sensitisation, and early and current exposure to environmental factors.Results Children from Hong Kong had a significantly higher prevalence of wheeze in the past year than those from Guangzhou and Beijing (odds ratio 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.35 to 1.99). Factors during the first year of life and currently that were significantly associated with wheeze were cooking with gas (odds ratio 2.04, 1.34 to 3.13), foam pillows (2.58, 1.66 to 3.99), and damp housing (1.89, 1.26 to 2.83). Factors protecting against wheeze were cotton quilts and the consumption of fruit and raw vegetables.Conclusion Environmental factors and diet may explain the differences in prevalence of asthma between children living in different regions of China.     

Morphometric variation in theAlonsoa meridionalis complex (Scrophulariaceae)

Morphological field studies of 27 populations of theA. meridionalis complex were conducted in Ecuador. It is possible to distinguish four different form series by the position of the stamens in relation to the style. This trait was congruent with the overall morphometric variation, shown by the results of a canonical discriminant analysis (CDA). The taxonomy of the species complex is discussed based upon the results of the CDA. The degree of outcrossing varied in different form series, from a comparatively high degree of selfing to predominantly outcrossing, as indicated by the variation within relative to among populations. This is probably due to the varying potentials for self-deposition owing to differences in the degree of herkogamy.