Ancient mitochondrial DNA and morphology elucidate an extinct island radiation of Indian Ocean giant tortoise (Cylindrapsis)

Ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences were used for investigating the evolution of an entire clade of extinct vertebrates, the endemic tortoises (Cylindraspis) of the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. Mitochondrial DNA corroborates morphological evidence that there were five species of tortoise with the following relationships: Cylindraspis triserrata ((Cylindraspis vosmaeri and Cylindraspis peltastes) (Cylindraspis inepta and Cylindraspis indica)). Phylogeny indicates that the ancestor of the group first colonized Mauritius where speciation produced C. triserrata and the ancestor of the other species including a second sympatric Mauritian form, C. inepta. A propagule derived from this lineage colonized Rodrigues 590 km to the east, where a second within-island speciation took place producing the sympatric C. vosmaeri and C. peltastes. A recent colonization of Réunion 150 km to the southwest produced C. indica. In the virtual absence of predators, the defensive features of the shells of Mascarene tortoises were largely dismantled, apparently in two stages. 'Saddlebacked' shells with high fronts evolved independently on all three islands. This and other features, such as a derived jaw structure and small body size, may be associated with niche differentiation in sympatric species and may represent a striking example of parallel differentiation in a large terrestrial vertebrate. The history of Mascarene tortoises contrasts with that of the Galápagos, where only a single species is present and surviving populations are genetically much more similar. However, they too show some reduction in anti-predator mechanisms and multiple development of populations with saddlebacked shells.

The City as Territory: Aerial Photography and the Everyday

For most of us, the modern city is somewhat unintelligible, both in terms of its structure and its significance. As an urbanised population, the city should be our natural territory, but the pace and scope of its change leads to an illegibility of its form and character. There is infinite, seemingly significant, activity - demolition, building and makeover - but there is little sense of the city as a site of meaning.

City profile - Colombo

Rooted in a history that dates back 1500 years, the concentration of economic activity and infrastructure in Colombo represents an extreme case of urban primacy within the national context of Sri Lanka. Located on the West Coast of the country, the Colombo metropolitan area accommodates a quarter of the country's 18.6 million population, and is the economic and political core of the country. However, Colombo is a city of extremes. Its modem and well-serviced core stands in stark contrast to the circumstances of more than half of its population, who live in poorly serviced shack and shanty settlements. The proportion of the population living in these areas continues to expand, notwithstanding a history of innovative and participatory approaches to development planning and management. Complicating these development challenges, the potential of the city is undermined by a civil war that has been under way since the early 1980s, taking an immense toll in loss of life, political polarization, and economic opportunity costs. This paper traces Colombo's historical development, provides a description of contemporary characteristics and challenges faced by the city, and examines the evolution of plans and programmes designed to improve the conditions of low-income settlements in the city. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variation in coumarin 7-hydroxylase activity associated with genetic polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2A6 and the body status of iron stores in adult Thai males and females

The relationships between catalytic activity of cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6), polymorphism of CYP2A6 gene, gender and levels of body iron stores were analysed in a sample group of 202 apparently healthy Thais, aged 1947 years. Eleven individuals were found to have high activity of CYP2A6, judged by the relatively large amounts (11.2-14.6 mg) of 7-hydroyxcoumarin (7-OHC) excreted 3 h following administration of 15 mg of coumarin. Ten individuals, however, did not excrete any 7-OHC. Of these 10, four were found to have no CYP2A6 gene (whole gene deletion; CYP2A6*4 allele). The frequency of the CYP2A6 alleles; *1A, *1B and *4 in the whole sample group was 52, 40 and 8% while the frequency of the CYP2A6 gene types; *1A/* 1A, *1A/* 1B, *1B/* 1B, *1A/* 4, *1BI* 4, *4/* 4 was 29, 41, 16, 7, 5 and 2%. Subjects having CYP2A6* 1A/* 1B gene-type group were found to have higher rates of coumarin 7-hydroxylation compared with those of the CYP2A6* 1B/* 1B and CYP2A6* 1A/* 4 gene types. The inter-individual variability in CYP2A6 catalytic activity was therefore attributed in part to the CYP2A6 genetic polymorphism. Variation in CYP2A6 activity in this sample group was not associated with gender but, interestingly, it did show an inverse association with plasma ferritin; an indicator of body iron stores. Higher rates of coumarin 7-hydroxylation were found in individuals with low body iron stores (plasma ferritin < 20 μg/l) compared with subjects having normal body iron store status. Subjects (n = 16) with iron overload (plasma ferritin > 300 mug/l) also tended to have elevated rates of coumarin 7-hydroxylation. These results suggest an increased CYP2A6 expression in subjects who have excessive body iron stores. Further investigations into the underlying factors that may lead to increased expression of CYP2A6 in association with abnormal body iron stores are currently in progress in our laboratory. Pharmacogenetics 12:241-249 (C) 2002 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Communities of the postindustrial city

The authors discern the community structure of the postindustrial city, with reference to Australia. They focus empirically on three major types of Australian urban center: urban regions. metropolitan areas that are not part of urban regions, and other major cities. These three account for almost three-quarters of the Australian population. The authors draw on a conceptualization formulated by Marcuse and van Kempen to guide the analysis, with a combination of cluster analysis and discriminant analysis being applied to aggregate (essentially census) data to identify the communities. Nine major Australian urban communities are identified-four are affluent. four are disadvantaged. and one is a working-class community. The communities found, however, differed greatly from those cited in the Marcuse and van Kempen schema.

Spondylostrobus F. Mueller: operculate fruits of an extinct dicotyledon from the mid-Tertiary of Australia

Spondylostrobus F. Mueller, which accommodates operculate fruit-stones reported only from the mid-Tertiary of Australia, is redefined on the basis of type and other specimens of the type species, S. smythii F. Mueller, and of specimens included in S. rozefeldsii sp. nov. The globose to ellipsoidal fruits have 3-6 locules symmetrically disposed around a massive fibrous axis. Each locule has a single anatropous ovule, axile placentation, and a dorsal germination operculum that extends from near the base to the apex. In possessing these characters Spondylostrobus more closely resembles operculate fruits within the tribe Spondiadeae (Anacardiaceae) than operculate fruits of other dicotyledonous families. Spondylostrobus has widespread distribution in Oligocene-Miocene sediments of eastern Australia. At many localities it is associated with fruit-stones having affinities with extant taxa that now occur in rainforests, monsoonal forests, and fringing communities of northern Australia. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Relative importance of female-specific and non-female-specific effects on variation in iron stores between women

Women have lower iron stores than men because of iron loss during their reproductive years. However, variation between women could result from differences in iron loss, aspects of iron homeostasis common to men and women, or a combination of both. We compared the effects of age, menopause, menstrual blood loss and the number of pregnancies (sex-specific factors), and the effects of genetic variation, on markers of iron stores. We assessed how much the same genes or other familial factors influence iron status in both men and women. Data from 2039 female twins who participated in studies of reproductive health and iron status were used to estimate the proportions of variation that could be ascribed to genes, environment and measured factors. Significant effects of age, menopausal status and magnitude of menstrual blood loss were demonstrated, accounting for up to 18% of variance in serum ferritin in this sample, but number of children had no significant effect. Genetic effects were more than twice as great as sex-specific effects. The within-pair similarity of ferritin values in dizygotic female twin pairs was greater than for dizygotic opposite-sex pairs, but this difference was not quite significant, consistent with a minor role for sex-specific factors; and the opposite-sex within-pair differences did not diminish significantly with age. We conclude that the contribution of genetic differences between women to variation in iron stores outweighs the comparatively small effects of interindividual variation in iron loss through variation in menstruation and number of pregnancies.

Cultural mega-events and the enhancement of a city's image: differences between engaged participants and attendees

A city’s image can serve as the basis upon which to develop a strong sense of community. This, in turn, fosters trust and cooperation which may attract tourists and investment, and drive regional economic growth. One strategy to enhance a city’s image is to host cultural mega-events. This study focuses on Guimarães, one of the European Capitals of Culture of 2012, and adopts a marketing communication perspective to explore issues of city image. The objective of the study reported was to understand whether images of Guimarães improved after it hosted the cultural mega-event. To attain this goal, we compare the perceptions of residents who participated in the event (engaged participants) and attendees. Several significant findings are reported and their implications for event managers and public policy administrators are presented, along with the limitations of the study.

Innovative technological capability in firms of the tourism sector: a study of the hotels in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the 1990-2008 period

This article presents the preliminary report of the research project entitled "Innovative technological capability in firms of the tourism sector: a study of the hotels in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the 1990-2008 period". The objective of this project is to apply and evaluate an analytical model of technological capability and underlying learning processes and examine the accumulation trajectory of innovative technological capability in the firms of tourism service industry, and the impact of learning processes undertaken by these firms on the technological capability levels achieved during the 1990-2008 period.