bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long‐term outcome of loose seton for complex anal fistula: a two‐centre study of patients with and without Crohn’s disease
Authors: Galis‐Rozen E. , Tulchinsky H. , Rosen A. , Eldar S. , Rabau M. , Stepanski A. , Klausner J. M. , Ziv Y.
Published: February 2009

Objective  Complex anal fistulas traverse a significant portion of the external sphincter muscle, making their treatment a surgical challenge. Several surgical options are used with conflicting results. The aim of this study was to analyse the results of permanent loose seton in the management of high anal fistulas in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients and two‐stage seton fistulotomy in patients without CD.

Method  We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 77 patients with complex anal fistula treated by loose seton over a 4‐year period, in two medical centres. Recorded parameters included demographics, medical history, type of fistula, disease duration, previous surgery, morbidity, recurrence and mortality.

Results  Sixty patients without CD underwent 107 fistula‐related surgical procedures, and 17 CD patients underwent 29 procedures. Early postoperative complications were recorded in eight (10%) patients. Perioperative complications, mainly local sepsis or bleeding, were recorded in eight (10%) patients. Long‐term complications were observed in nine non‐CD and four CD patients. During a median follow‐up period of 24 months, the recurrence rate was 40% in CD patients and 47% in patients without CD. Five patients (four non‐CD patients and one CD patient) developed some degree of faecal incontinence.

Conclusion  The fistula recurrence rate following two‐stage seton fistulotomy in non‐CD patients was high. In CD patients the use of permanent loose seton is effective in controlling local sepsis in about half of patients and has low rates of subsequent incontinence.
Anastomotic‐vaginal fistula (AVF) after anterior resection of the rectum for cancer – occurrence and risk factors
Authors: Matthiessen P. , Hansson L. , Sjödahl R. , Rutegård J.
Published: February 2009

Objective  The aim of the study was to assess recto‐vaginal fistula (RVF) after anterior resection of the rectum for cancer with regard to occurrence and risk factors.

Method  All female patients [median age 69.5 years, Union Internationale centre le Cancer (UICC) cancer stage IV in 10%] who developed a symptomatic RVF (n = 20) after anterior resection of the rectum for cancer from three separate cohorts of patients were identified and compared with those who developed conventional symptomatic leakage (n = 32), and those who did not leak (n = 338). Patient demography and perioperative data were compared between these three groups. Fourteen patient‐related and surgery‐related variables thought to be possible risk factors for RVF (anastomotic‐vaginal fistula) were analysed.

Results  Symptomatic anastomotic leakage occurred in 52 (13.3%) of 390 patients. Twenty (5.1%) had an anastomotic‐vaginal fistula (AVF) and 32 (8.2%) conventional leakage (CL). Patients with AVF required unscheduled re‐operation and defunctioning stoma as often as those with CL. AVF was diagnosed later and more often after discharge from hospital compared with CL. Patients with AVF had lower anastomoses and decreased BMI compared with those with CL. Risk factors for AVF in multivariate analysis were anastomosis < 5 cm above the anal verge (P = 0.001), preoperative radiotherapy (P = 0.004), and UICC cancer stage IV (P = 0.005). Previous hysterectomy was a risk factor neither for AVF nor for CL.

Conclusion  Anastomotic‐vaginal fistula forms a significant part of all symptomatic leakages after low anterior resection for cancer in women. Although diagnosed later, the need for abdominal re‐operation and defunctioning stoma was not different from patients with CL. Risk factors for AVF included low anastomosis, preoperative radiotherapy and UICC cancer stage IV.
Fibrin glue for the treatment of fistulae in ano – a method worth sticking to?
Authors: Yeung J. M. C. , Simpson J. A. D. , Tang S.‐W. , Armitage N. C. , Maxwell‐Armstrong C.
Published: February 2009

Objective  The current evidence for fibrin glue as a treatment for anal fistulae is mixed. This study reviews the experience of fibrin glue as a treatment for anal fistulae in a single tertiary referral centre and attempts to identify factors related to failure of therapy and the length of follow‐up required.

Method  Patients with fistulae in ano that were treated with fibrin glue between February 2004 and August 2008 were analysed. All procedures were performed by two colorectal consultants based at the Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham. All patients were followed‐up to assess the outcome of this treatment.

Results  Forty patients (21 male, 19 female) with a mean age of 46.5 years were studied. The mean duration of symptoms prior to presentation was 39 months (range 4–240 months). Presenting symptoms included perianal discharge (72.5%), perianal abscess (57.5%), pain (12.5%), PR bleeding (7.5%), itching (5%) and urgency (2.5%). Patients had a minimum of two follow‐up appointments and the median follow‐up period was 5.2 months (range 1–16 months). Following MRI and operative assessment, 28 (70%) of the 40 fistulae were considered complex (high trans‐sphincteric, extra‐sphincteric, pouch‐vaginal). Patients who had inflammatory bowel disease were classified as simple tracts but all failed to heal (three patients). Twenty of the complex fistulae failed to heal. Three patients who had repeat application of glue for their complex fistulae failed to heal on follow‐up. Of the remaining 12 patients who had simple fistulae in ano, five (41.7%) healed completely. There were no complications such as abscess, related to treatment. All patients who were asymptomatic at 3 months did not develop any further recurrence.

Conclusion  Fibrin glue is a simple treatment strategy, preserves sphincter function with minimal adverse side effects. It should therefore be considered as possible first line treatment in simple fistulae but it is less likely to be successful in complex or those fistulae associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Repeat gluing is unlikely to be successful. Fistulae that have failed to heal by 3 months will need further treatment.
A retrospective review of chronic anal fistulae treated by anal fistulae plug
Authors: El‐Gazzaz G. , Zutshi M. , Hull T.
Published: February 2009

Objective  The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of the anal fistulae plug (Cook Surgisis® AFP™) for the management of complex anal fistulae.

Method  A review of patients with anal fistulae treated using Cook Surgisis® AFP™ between October 2005 and 2007 was undertaken. Patient’s demographics, fistulae aetiology and success rates were recorded.

Results  Thirty‐three patients underwent 49 plug insertions. The median age was 44.4 years; 18 females. The fistulae aetiology was cryptoglandular in 61% and Crohn’s disease in 39%. The median follow up 221.5 days (range 44–684). Twenty‐one patients had previous failed surgery. Twenty‐eight patients had draining setons in situ at time of plug placement. The overall success rate was 8/32 patients (25%). Two of the 22 Crohn’s fistulae healed (9.1%) and 9/26(34.6%) cryptoglandular fistulae healed. The reasons for failure were sepsis in 87% and plug dislodgement in 13%. Significant predictor factors for improved outcome were African‐Americans patients (P = 0.009), and presence of seton (P = 0.05).

Conclusions  Anal fistulae plug was associated with a lower success rate than previously reported. Septic complications were the main reason for failure.
Are screen detected colorectal cancers asymptomatic?
Authors: Harmston C. , Akwei S. , Barnes R. , Goodyear S. , Wong L.
Published: February 2009

Objective  Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening aims to detect asymptomatic disease and thus provide the opportunity for early diagnosis and treatment. This study assesses the prevalence of significant symptoms in patients found to have CRC detected through the NHS National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NHS NBCSP) pilots.

Method  All patients in the NHS NBCSP pilots with a positive faecal occult blood completed a standardized symptomatology questionnaire before colonoscopy. This data was entered into the NHS BCS pilot database, data from the English arm has been analysed retrospectively.

Results  There were 200 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Of these, 28.5% were Dukes A, 35% Dukes B, 31% Dukes C1 and 5.5% Dukes C2. Some 81.5% reported experiencing GI symptoms. Symptoms considered significant included rectal bleeding, change in bowel habit, tenesmus and peri‐anal discomfort, reported in 47.7%, 24%%, 36.5% and 15.5% of patients respectively. In addition to this, 27% reported urgency, 20.5% reported abdominal pain and 29% reported upper GI symptoms.

Discussion  This data suggests a high prevalence of significant symptoms amongst patients with screening‐detected CRC. It is possible that these patients would have presented via routine colorectal services if the awareness of symptoms of colorectal cancer were increased.
Faecal incontinence after seton treatment for anal fistulae with and without surgical division of internal anal sphincter: a systematic review
Authors: Vial M. , Parés D. , Pera M. , Grande L.
Published: February 2009

Objective  The challenge of surgery for anal fistula is to eradicate the fistula track while maintaining anal continence. Seton placement is recommended to reduce postoperative faecal incontinence but interestingly a great range of functional impairment after surgery has been published. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of intra‐operative internal anal sphincter division during tight or cutting seton technique for cryptogenic anal fistula, on the results of recurrence and postoperative faecal incontinence.

Method  A systematic literature review was performed to identify published series from 1966 to May 2007 of patients with anal fistula treated by a tight or cutting seton technique. The published series has been divided in to those where preservation of internal anal sphincter was performed (PIAS group) or where intra‐operative surgical division was undertaken in the time of seton placement (SIAS group) .The main endpoints of the review were to study anal fistula recurrence rate and postoperative faecal incontinence.

Results  Eighteen studies including 19 series and 448 patients were analysed in detail. Recurrence rate was 5.0% and 3.0% in PIAS and SIAS group respectively. Overall faecal incontinence rate was 5.6% in PIAS group and 25.2% in SIAS group.

Conclusion  Although based on low‐evidence studies, intra‐operative preservation of internal anal sphincter at the time of seton insertion for anal fistula seems to reduce the postoperative faecal incontinence without a substantial increase in recurrence rates.
Seton drainage and fibrin glue injection for complex anal fistulas
Authors: De Parades V. , Far H. Safa , Etienney I. , Zeitoun J.‐D. , Atienza P. , Bauer P.
Published: February 2009

Objective  The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of fibrin glue in the treatment of complex anal fistula.

Method  Thirty consecutive patients with a complex anal fistula underwent glue instillation after an 8 week period of seton drainage. Cure was defined as complete closure of any secondary opening, absence of fistula seepage, and no abscess formation.

Results  The mean age of the patients (15 males) was 40.5 (range, 22.8–69.1) years. The mean duration of follow‐up was 11.7 (range, 0.2–33.5) months. Complete closure of the fistula was achieved in 17 patients at 1 month but in two patients a delayed abscess occurred. At the end of follow‐up, 15 (50%) patients were considered to have been cured. The success rate was no different in cases of Crohn’s disease or when postoperative antibiotic therapy was given. There was, however, a significant difference in success following regional vs general anaesthesia (68.4 vs 18.2% success, P = 0.02).

Conclusion  Fibrin glue cured 50% of our first 30 patients, and regional anaesthesia was predictive of success.
Maturity and Interculturality: Chinese students' experiences in UK higher education
Authors: GU QING
Published: February 2009

Increasing global competition for students has witnessed an ever more rapid internationalisation of higher education. In the case of the UK, there has been a major influx of Chinese students to British universities since the launch of the British Government's long‐term worldwide educational campaign in 1999. Drawing upon evidence from an extensive review of the literature on the internationalisation of higher education, this article will explore variations in Chinese students' intercultural adaptation to the British higher education environment. Discussion of their experiences will be based upon a synthesis of findings of three studies, led by the author, investigating the pedagogical, sociocultural and psychological challenges that they have encountered when studying in British universities.

Evidence from these studies suggests that despite various challenges and struggles, most students have managed to survive the demands of the learning and the living environment and to adapt and develop. Analysis of their learning experiences suggests that this learning process spans a developmental continuum involving the students in overcoming emotional tensions arising from changes in their cognition, their sense of identity and sociocultural values. A holistic and developmental perspective is thus required to understand changes in students' perceptions and values as part of their wider adaptation to the academic conventions of their host countries. The findings will make an original contribution to understandings of the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on individuals' learning, change and development.
European Languages and Culture in Hong Kong: trade or education?
Authors: CRIBBIN JOHN
Published: February 2009

Hong Kong Government policy is to promote Hong Kong as an international education hub for the region. This may be more rhetoric than reality. The article surveys the historical background of Hong Kong in terms of its role as a trading centre, a gateway to China and a meeting place for East and West for which interchange with European languages and cultures has been important. The development of education policy within Hong Kong as far as the European dimension is involved is also reviewed. In addition, the development of global trade in educational services is touched upon which thus far has been heavily Anglo‐centric. In terms of Hong Kong itself, an analysis is presented of overseas educational programmes available in Hong Kong from Europe. The extent of European languages and studies provided in the school, university and lifelong learning sectors is surveyed. The work of European consulates in promoting languages and culture through such organisations as the Alliance Française, Goethe Instituta, etc. is another important part of provision. The article makes passing reference to the neighbouring territory of Macau and the importance there of Portuguese.

The article concludes that for European studies and languages, the role of Hong Kong as a trading and financial hub has been a more significant stimulant than the Hong Kong government's policy for Hong Kong to be an international education hub.
Chinese Language Education in Europe: the Confucius Institutes
Authors: STARR DON
Published: February 2009

This article explores the background to the Chinese government's decision to embark on a programme of promoting the study of Chinese language and culture overseas. This includes the impact of Joseph Nye's concept of ‘soft power’ in China, ownership of the national language, the Confucius connection, and how these factors interact with political legitimacy. It also considers the development of the Confucius Institute programme in Europe. Europe has the greatest number of Confucius Institutes of any region: what should be read into this? What impact are these institutes having on the development of Chinese language education in Europe at different levels of the educational system? The paper provides some data on recent developments, outlines some of the obstacles to further progress and assesses the chances of Chinese becoming a global language.
Lessons from the past: investigating historical data from bluefin tuna fisheries
Authors: Fromentin Jean‐Marc
Published: February 2009

In 1963, the leading fisheries targeting Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Norwegian Sea and North Sea suddenly collapsed without any warning. Little is known about this collapse and several hypotheses have been put forward, such as changes in migratory routes, recruitment failure or eradication of a sub‐population: all of these hypotheses could result from natural causes and/or from overfishing. To help explain this mysterious event, an original data set of the main bluefin tuna fisheries of the 20th century, including total catch and size composition of the catch, has been compiled and analysed. The results reveal a strong and unambiguous link between the Nordic purse seine and Spanish trap fisheries during the 1950s and 1960s. However, this link vanished during the 1970s. In addition, the North‐west Atlantic and Mediterranean trap fisheries appeared also to be partially connected to the Nordic fisheries. During the 1950s and 1960s, the main migration routes of bluefin tuna were probably from the Mediterranean spawning grounds and from the West Atlantic coasts to the Norwegian coast and North Sea, which were probably a key feeding ground at that time. The analyses also lead to the conclusion that interactions between environmental, trophic and fishing processes have probably affected bluefin tuna migration patterns which would have finally caused the Nordic fisheries collapse. This retrospective analysis finally leads to an original – albeit more speculative – hypothesis concerning Atlantic bluefin tuna population structure, therein conjectured as an assemblage of at least three sub‐populations.
Synaesthesia: learned or lost?
Authors: Kadosh Roi Cohen , Henik Avishai , Walsh Vincent
Published: February 2009

The question why synaesthesia, an atypical binding within or between modalities, occurs is both enduring and important. Two explanations have been provided: (1) a congenital explanation: we are all born as synaesthetes but most of us subsequently lose the experience due to brain development; (2) a learning explanation: synaesthesia is related to some learning process during childhood. Three recent studies provide conflicting support for these explanations. Two studies supported the idea that synaesthesia is learned by showing that the frequency of everyday language implicitly modulates the synaesthetic experience. Another study argued that synaesthesia reflects basic, innate magnitude representations. In this paper we reassess these points of view, and show that it is possible for both to be valid. These findings are integrated into an interactive specialization account of development in order to explain the neuronal mechanism underlying synaesthesia.
Increasing convergence between imagined and executed movement across development: evidence for the emergence of movement representations
Authors: Caeyenberghs Karen , Wilson Peter H. , Van Roon Dominique , Swinnen Stephan P. , Smits‐Engelsman Bouwien C.M.
Published: February 2009

Motor imagery (MI) has become a principal focus of interest in studies on brain and behavior. However, changes in MI across development have received virtually no attention so far. In the present study, children (N= 112, 6 to 16 years old) performed a new, computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) to determine their MI ability as well as the age‐related confluence between performance in executed and imagined movement conditions. Participants aimed at five targets, which were positioned along radial axes from a central target circle. The targets differed in width (2.5, 5, 10, 20 or 40 mm), resulting in an index of difficulty (ID) that varied from 6.9 to 2.9 bits. Performance was indexed by the linear relationship between ID and Movement Time (MT). The findings showed that executed task performance was slower than imagined performance. Moreover, conformance to Fitts’ Law during executed movement performance was obtained from a very young age. Most importantly, correlations between imagined and executed movements were low in the young participants but gradually increased across age. These age‐related changes in MI are hypothesized to reflect the children's emerging ability to represent internal models for prospective actions, consistent with the gradual unfolding of feedforward control processes.
Catalytic assessment: understanding how MCQs and EVS can foster deep learning
Authors: Draper Stephen W.
Published: February 2009

One technology for education whose adoption is currently expanding rapidly in UK higher education is that of electronic voting systems (EVS). As with all educational technology, whether learning benefits are achieved depends not on the technology but on whether an improved teaching method is introduced with it. EVS inherently relies on the multiple‐choice question (MCQ) format, which many feel is associated with the lowest kind of learning of disconnected facts. This paper, however, discusses several ways in which teaching with MCQs, and so with EVS, has transcended this apparent disadvantage, has based itself on deep learning in the sense of focusing on learning relationships between items rather than on recalling disconnected true–false items, and so has achieved substantial learning advantages. Six possible learning designs based on MCQs are discussed, and a new function for (e‐)assessment is identified, namely catalytic assessment, where the purpose of test questions is to trigger subsequent deep learning without direct teaching input.
Social and Environmental Factors Associated With Preschoolers’ Nonsedentary Physical Activity
Authors: Brown William H. , Pfeiffer Karin A. , McIver Kerry L. , Dowda Marsha , Addy Cheryl L. , Pate Russell R.
Published: February 2009

The twofold purposes of the investigation were (a) to describe with direct observation data the physical activity behaviors and the accompanying social and environmental events of those behaviors for children in preschools and (b) to determine which contextual conditions were predictors of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and nonsedentary physical activity (i.e., light activity + MVPA) for 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐year‐old children during their outdoor play. The results indicate that preschoolers’ physical activity is characterized as sedentary in nature throughout their preschool day (i.e., 89% sedentary, 8% light activity, and 3% MVPA). During outdoor play periods, when children are most likely to be physically active, some contextual and social circumstances better predict their physical activity. Implications for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers are discussed.
Young Children’s Reasoning About the Effects of Emotional and Physiological States on Academic Performance
Authors: Amsterlaw Jennifer , Lagattuta Kristin Hansen , Meltzoff Andrew N.
Published: February 2009

This study assessed young children’s understanding of the effects of emotional and physiological states on cognitive performance. Five, 6‐, 7‐year‐olds, and adults (N= 96) predicted and explained how children experiencing a variety of physiological and emotional states would perform on academic tasks. Scenarios included: (a) negative and positive emotions, (b) negative and positive physiological states, and (c) control conditions. All age groups understood the impairing effects of negative emotions and physiological states. Only 7‐year‐olds, however, showed adult‐like reasoning about the potential enhancing effects of positive internal states and routinely cited cognitive mechanisms to explain how internal states affect performance. These results shed light on theory‐of‐mind development and also have significance for children’s everyday school success.
Emergence of Global Shape Processing Continues Through Adolescence
Authors: Scherf K. Suzanne , Behrmann Marlene , Kimchi Ruth , Luna Beatriz
Published: February 2009

The developmental trajectory of perceptual organization in humans is unclear. This study investigated perceptual grouping abilities across a wide age range (8–30 years) using a classic compound letter global/local (GL) task and a more fine‐grained microgenetic prime paradigm (MPP) with both few‐ and many‐element hierarchical displays. In the GL task, contrary to adults, both children and adolescents exhibited a classic local bias. In the MPP, all 3 age groups evinced a bias to individuate the few‐element displays; however, the ability to encode the global shape of the many‐element displays at the short prime durations increased with age. These results indicate that the full process of garnering shape information from perceptual grouping, which is essential for the ability to do fast and efficient object recognition and identification, develops late into adolescence.
Maternal Depression, Children’s Attachment Security, and Representational Development: An Organizational Perspective
Authors: Toth Sheree L. , Rogosch Fred A. , Sturge‐Apple Melissa , Cicchetti Dante
Published: February 2009

Relations among maternal depression, child attachment, and children’s representations of parents and self were examined. Participants included toddlers and their mothers with a history of major depressive disorder (n= 63) or no history of mental disorder (n= 68). Attachment was assessed at 20 and 36 months and representations of parents and self were assessed at 36 and 48 months. Depressive symptoms were assessed at all 3 time points. While early‐occurring maternal depression had a negative impact on children’s negative and positive representations of parents, attachment security mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and negative representations. Attachment security served as an intervening variable between maternal depression and changes in children’s negative representations of self. Implications for prevention are highlighted.
Mother–Infant Vagal Regulation in the Face‐To‐Face Still‐Face Paradigm Is Moderated by Maternal Sensitivity
Authors: Moore Ginger A. , Hill‐Soderlund Ashley L. , Propper Cathi B. , Calkins Susan D. , Mills‐Koonce W. Roger. , Cox Martha J.
Published: February 2009

Parents’ physiological regulation may support infants’ regulation. Mothers (N= 152) and 6‐month‐old male and female infants were observed in normal and disrupted social interaction. Affect was coded at 1‐s intervals and vagal tone measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Maternal sensitivity was assessed in free play. Mothers and infants showed opposite patterns of RSA change. During disrupted interaction, mothers’ RSA increased and infants’ decreased, suggesting self‐regulation of distress. During reunion, although the typical pattern was for infants to return to baseline levels, infants of sensitive mothers and sensitive mothers both showed a significant decrease in RSA from baseline. Mothers’ and infants’ physiological responses may be a function of mutual responsiveness.
How Adolescents Come to See Themselves as More Responsible Through Participation in Youth Programs
Authors: Wood Dustin , Larson Reed W. , Brown Jane R.
Published: February 2009

This qualitative study was aimed at developing theory about the process underlying the development of responsibility grounded in accounts of youth who reported experiencing this change. A total of 108 high‐school‐aged (M = 16.5) youth from 11 programs were interviewed about their experiences within the program, and 24 reported becoming more responsible through their participation. The youth’s accounts suggested that this process was driven largely by successfully fulfilling program expectations. This process was driven by youth’s adherence to their commitments and their consideration of the consequences of their actions on others. Youth mentioned changes in responsibility most frequently in three programs, which appeared to differ from the remaining programs in having more structure and placing greater ownership and accountability on youth.
Micro Foundations for Wage Flexibility: Wage Insurance at the Firm Level*
Authors: Rute Cardoso Ana , Portela Miguel
Published: February 2009

To what extent do firms insulate their workers' wages from fluctuations in product markets? Which firm and worker attributes are associated with wage flexibility at the micro level? We first rely on Guiso, Pistaferri and Schivardi (2005) to estimate dynamic models of sales and wages, finding that in Portugal, workers' wages respond to permanent shocks on firm performance, as opposed to transitory shocks. We then explore the factors associated with wage flexibility, finding that collective bargaining and minimum wages are associated with higher wage insurance by the firm, while the threat of firm bankruptcy reduces it. Managers receive less protection against permanent shocks than other workers.
Takeover Contests, Toeholds and Deterrence
Authors: Ettinger David
Published: February 2009

We consider a setting in which two potential buyers, one with a prior toehold and one without, compete in a takeover modeled as an ascending auction with participating costs. The toeholder is more aggressive during the takeover process because she is also a seller of her own shares. The non‐toeholder anticipates this extra‐aggressiveness of the toeholder. Thus, he is deterred from participating unless he has a high valuation for the target company. This leads to large inefficiency losses. For many configurations, expected target returns are first increasing then decreasing in the size of the toehold.
Wealth Concentration over the Path of Development: Sweden, 1873–2006*
Authors: Roine Jesper , Waldenström Daniel
Published: February 2009

We study wealth concentration in Sweden over 130 years, from the beginning of industrialization until the present day. Our series are based on new evidence from estate and wealth tax data, foreign and domestic family firm‐wealth, and pension wealth estimates. We find that Swedish wealth concentration was high in the agrarian state, and changed little during early industrialization. From World War I until about 1950, the richest percentile lost ground to high‐income earners in the rest of the top‐wealth decile. This equalization continued postwar; the entire top decile lost‐out relative to the rest of the population. Around 1980, wealth compression stopped and inequality increased. We approximate the effects of international flows and find that the recent increase in wealth inequality is probably larger than what official estimates suggest.
Inflow Uncertainty in Hydropower Markets
Authors: Vegard Hansen Petter
Published: February 2009

We analyse the effects of uncertainty on market performance in hydropower systems under alternative assumptions about market structure. Uncertainty creates distinct possibilities for exercising market power that cannot be captured in deterministic models. The qualitative and quantitative features of these possibilities depend on the characteristics of residual demand facing individual firms, which again depends on consumer preferences and generation and transmission technologies.
An anti‐history of a non‐people: Kurds, colonialism, and nationalism in the history of anthropology
Authors: Houston Christopher
Published: February 2009

In this article I seek to contest certain aspects of the 1960s revisionist history of the discipline of anthropology, narratives that can be accused ironically of an autocentric overestimation of the power of the imperial West in their very uncovering of its more or less hidden influence over the genre of ethnography and anthropological practice. Taking as my focus in this regard the case of the anthropology of the Kurds, I suggest that not only have Western ethnographic texts been relatively un‐influential in the wider scheme of discourse about Kurds, but also that the recent decision of Kurdish publishing houses in Istanbul to translate and re‐publish them indicates where in the present many Kurds feel an active ‘colonial project’ is continuing. The role and development of anthropology in Turkey, then, complicate this by now decades‐old examination of the embeddedness of ethnographic discourse in Western modernist projects of political transformation.

L'auteur de cet article cherche à contester certains aspects de l'histoire révisionniste de la discipline anthropologique qui avait cours dans les années 1960 et que l'on peut accuser, avec ironie, d'une surestimation autocentrée de la puissance de l'Occident impérial alors même qu'elle démasquait l'influence plus ou moins voilée de celui‐ci sur l'ethnographie et la pratique anthropologique. Centrant son approche sur le cas de l'anthropologie des Kurdes, l'auteur suggère que non seulement les textes ethnographiques occidentaux ont eu relativement peu d'influence sur le discours général concernant les Kurdes, mais que la récente décision des maisons d'éditions kurdes d'Istanbul de traduire et de republier ces ouvrages indique dans quel domaine beaucoup de Kurdes sentent aujourd'hui encore un «projet colonial»à l'œuvre. Le rôle et le développement de l'anthropologie en Turquie vient encore compliquer le problème, avec des dizaines d'années d'étude de l'inclusion du discours ethnographique dans les projets modernistes occidentaux de transformation politique.
Economies of affect
Authors: Richard Analiese , Rudnyckyj Daromir
Published: February 2009

This article develops the concept ‘economies of affect’ to argue for increased anthropological attention to the roles of affect in facilitating economic transformations. The article draws on evidence from two ethnographic field projects, one in Mexico and the other in Indonesia, to show how affect was mobilized to create subjects commensurable with neoliberal norms. We show how embracing and crying and discourses about love and grief were conjoined to transformations that entailed the cessation of state guarantees and the introduction of market norms. In posing affect and its articulation with questions of economic change as an object of anthropological inquiry, the article argues for the utility of a notion of affect in contrast to other approaches that have stressed emotion. We argue that affect is useful because it is inherently reflexive and intersubjective. Affect refers to relations practised between individuals, in contrast to emotion, which still bears the spectre of a psychological individualism.

Cet article développe le concept des «économies de l'affect» pour attirer l'attention des anthropologues sur le rôle de l'affect dans la facilitation des transformations économiques. Il s'appuie sur les résultats de deux projets de terrain ethnographiques, l'un au Mexique et l'autre en Indonésie, pour montrer comment l'affect a été mobilisé pour créer des sujets pouvant être appréhendés selon les normes néolibérales. Les auteurs montrent comment l'étreinte, les pleurs et les discours sur l'amour et le chagrin ont été associés à des transformations impliquant la cessation de prestations de l'État et l'application des lois du marché. En faisant de l'affect et de son articulation avec le changement économique un objet d'étude anthropologique, l'article affirme l'utilité d'une notion d'affect se démarquant d'autres approches qui mettent l'accent sur l'émotion. Les auteurs affirment que l'affect est utile parce qu'il est, par nature, réflexif et intersubjectif. L'affect renvoie aux relations pratiquées entre les individus, à la différence de l'émotion, toujours marquée par le spectre d'un individualisme psychologique.
Hot air and the Colonialist ‘Other’: the ‘German‐English‐Dutch Airship Expedition’ to New Guinea
Authors: Claas Ulrike , Roscoe Paul
Published: February 2009

Images of the exotic ‘Other’ are widely recognized in anthropology as part of an ‘intellectual technology’ by which colonialism extended and maintained its control over imperial frontiers. For want of analysis, however, another kind of Other still languishes in anthropology: the Domestic Colonialist. In standard analytical narratives, this figure and the milieu in which it operated are still drawn in radically homogenized terms. In actuality, the colonialist at home was a complex agent obliged to navigate and negotiate multiple social and cultural conjunctures in the course of developing colonial projects that eventually would be exported abroad. In this article, we seek to illuminate the Colonialist Other and its place in colonialism by considering the fortunes of Oberleutnant Paul Graetz, a German colonial ‘hero’ from the turn of the last century, and his doomed attempt to mount an expedition to survey New Guinea in a ‘hot air’ vessel.

Il est largement admis en anthropologie que les images de «l'Autre» exotique font partie de la «technologie intellectuelle» grâce à laquelle le colonialisme a étendu et maintenu son contrôle sur les frontières impériales. Faute d'analyse, toutefois, un autre type d'Autre se languit encore en anthropologie : le Colon à demeure. Dans les narrations analytiques standard, cette figure et le milieu dans lequel elle agit sont encore dépeints en termes radicalement uniformisés. En réalité, le colonialiste maison était un agent complexe, obligé de naviguer et de négocier entre plusieurs conjonctures culturelles et sociales dans le cadre du développement de projets coloniaux appelés àêtre exportés au loin. Dans le présent article, les auteurs cherchent à mettre en lumière l'Autre colonisateur et sa place dans le colonialisme en s'intéressant à la destinée de l'oberleutnant Paul Graztz, «héros» colonial allemand de la fin du XIXe siècle, et à sa tentative (vouée à l'échec) d'expédition topographique en Nouvelle‐Guinée dans un aéronef «à air chaud».
Guinea pig hippocampal 5‐HT1Ereceptors: a tool for selective drug development
Authors: Klein Michael T. , Teitler Milt
Published: February 2009

Recent studies have indicated that the serotonin [5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT)] 1E receptor, originally discovered in human brain tissue, is not expressed in rat or mouse brain. Thus, there have been few reports on 5‐HT1Ereceptor drug development. However, expression of 5‐HT1Ereceptor mRNA has been shown in guinea pig brain. To establish this species as an animal model for 5‐HT1Edrug development, we identified brain regions that exhibit 5‐carboxyamidotryptamine, ritanserin, and LY344864 – insensitive [3H]5‐HT binding (characteristic of the 5‐HT1Ereceptor). In hippocampal homogenates, where 5‐HT1Ereceptor density was sufficiently high for radioligand binding analysis, 100 nM 5‐carboxyamidotryptamine, 30 nM ritanserin, and 100 nM LY344864 were used to mask [3H]5‐HT binding at non‐5‐HT1Ereceptors. TheKdof [3H]5‐HT was 5.7 ± 0.7 nM and is indistinguishable from the cloned receptorKdof 6.5 ± 0.6 nM. The affinities of 16 drugs for the cloned and hippocampal‐expressed guinea pig 5‐HT1Ereceptors are essentially identical (R2 = 0.97). These findings indicate that using these conditions autoradiographical distribution and signal transduction studies of the 5‐HT1Ereceptor in guinea pig brain are feasible. Using the guinea pig as an animal model should provide important insights into possible functions of this receptor and the therapeutic potential of selective human 5‐HT1Edrugs.
Prostaglandin E2 modulates Na+,K+‐ATPase activity in rat hippocampus: implications for neurological diseases
Authors: Oliveira Mauro Schneider , Furian Ana Flávia , Rambo Leonardo Magno , Ribeiro Leandro Rodrigo , Royes Luiz Fernando Freire , Ferreira Juliano , Calixto João Batista , Otalora Luis Fernando Pacheco , Garrido‐Sanabria Emilio Rafael , Mello Carlos Fernando
Published: February 2009

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is quantitatively one of the major prostaglandins synthesized in mammalian brain, and there is evidence that it facilitates seizures and neuronal death. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in such excitatory effects. Na+,K+‐ATPase is a membrane protein which plays a key role in electrolyte homeostasis maintenance and, therefore, regulates neuronal excitability. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that PGE2 decreases Na+,K+‐ATPase activity, in order to shed some light on the mechanisms underlying the excitatory action of PGE2. Na+,K+‐ATPase activity was determined by assessing ouabain‐sensitive ATP hydrolysis. We found that incubation of adult rat hippocampal slices with PGE2 (0.1–10 μM) for 30 min decreased Na+,K+‐ATPase activity in a concentration‐dependent manner. However, PGE2 did not alter Na+,K+‐ATPase activity if added to hippocampal homogenates. The inhibitory effect of PGE2 on Na+,K+‐ATPase activity was not related to a decrease in the total or plasma membrane immunocontent of the catalytic α subunit of Na+,K+‐ATPase. We found that the inhibitory effect of PGE2 (1 μM) on Na+,K+‐ATPase activity was receptor‐mediated, as incubation with selective antagonists for EP1 (SC‐19220, 10 μM), EP3 (L‐826266, 1 μM) or EP4 (L‐161982, 1 μM) receptors prevented the PGE2‐induced decrease of Na+,K+‐ATPase activity. On the other hand, incubation with the selective EP2 agonist (butaprost, 0.1–10 μM) increased enzyme activity per se in a concentration‐dependent manner, but did not prevent the inhibitory effect of PGE2. Incubation with a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor (H‐89, 1 μM) and a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor (GF‐109203X, 300 nM) also prevented PGE2‐induced decrease of Na+,K+‐ATPase activity. Accordingly, PGE2 increased phosphorylation of Ser943 at the α subunit, a critical residue for regulation of enzyme activity. Importantly, we also found that PGE2 decreases Na+,K+‐ATPase activity in vivo. The results presented here imply Na+,K+‐ATPase as a target for PGE2‐mediated signaling, which may underlie PGE2‐induced increase of brain excitability.
Phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S19 at Ser59 by CaM Kinase Iα
Authors: Maeda Noriko , Toku Seikichi , Naito Yasuhito , Nishiura Hiroshi , Tanaka Tatsuo , Yamamoto Hideyuki
Published: February 2009

In order to examine the possible involvements of Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinases (CaM kinases) in the regulation of ribosomal functions, we tested the phosphorylation of rat ribosomal protein S19 (RPS19) by various CaM kinases in vitro. We found that CaM kinase Iα, but not CaM kinase Iβ1, Iβ2, II, or IV, robustly phosphorylated RPS19. From the consensus phosphorylation site sequence, Ser59, Ser90, and Thr124 were likely to be phosphorylated; therefore, we mutated each amino acid to alanine and found that the mutation of Ser59 to alanine strongly attenuated phosphorylation by CaM kinase Iα, suggesting that Ser59 was a major phosphorylation site. Furthermore, we produced a specific antibody against RPS19 phosphorylated at Ser59, and found that Ser59 was phosphorylated both in GT1‐7 cells and rat brain. Phosphorylation of RPS19 in GT1‐7 cells was inhibited by KN93, an inhibitor of CaM kinases. Immunoblot analysis after subcellular fractionation of rat brain demonstrated that phosphorylated RPS19 was present in 80S ribosomes. Phosphorylation of RPS19 by CaM kinase Iα augmented the interaction of RPS19 with the previously identified S19 binding protein. These results suggest that CaM kinase Iα regulates the functions of RPS19 through phosphorylation of Ser59.
Effect of landscape structure on the spatial distribution of Mediterranean dung beetle diversity
Authors: Numa Catherine , Verdú José R. , Sánchez A. , Galante Eduardo
Published: February 2009

Aim Landscape structure influences the distribution of animals, altering their movements and their ability to reach habitat patches. We analysed the spatial patterns of dung beetle species diversity in three differently structured natural landscapes in a Mediterranean protected area in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula.

Location Cabañeros National Park, Central Spain.

Methods Diversity components within (α) and among (β) the three main vegetation types in the reserve were compared by using a hierarchical nested design. These were forests, scrublands and grasslands embedded in three different landscapes, where each was the most dominant and structurally connected habitat.

Results Species richness of grassland habitat did not vary across landscapes, but forest habitat showed lower species richness in the grassland‐dominated landscape. Scrubland was the least species‐rich habitat, but here again there was no significant variation across landscapes. However, in all cases, there was a significant influence of habitat context (configuration of habitat patches within landscape matrix) on similarity of species composition. These tended to be more similar to the dominant landscape matrix where they were embedded, rather than to the same habitat type in other landscapes. Additive partitioning of diversity showed higher than expected values of β in all landscapes, which indicated a structured response. Highest values of β in the grassland‐dominated landscape suggest that this was the least connected landscape for dung beetles.

Main conclusions Our results suggest that in homogeneous conditions of climate and trophic resources, landscape structure may well be more important than habitat type as a determinant of dung beetle distribution in the Mediterranean.
How species traits and affinity to urban land use control large‐scale species frequency
Authors: Knapp Sonja , Kühn Ingolf , Bakker Jan P. , Kleyer Michael , Klotz Stefan , Ozinga Wim A. , Poschlod Peter , Thompson Ken , Thuiller Wilfried , Römermann Christine
Published: February 2009

Aim  Although urban areas only occupy c. 2.8% of the earth's land surface, urbanization threatens biodiversity as areas of high human population density often coincide with high biodiversity. Therefore, nature conservation should concentrate on both remote areas and densely populated regions. Protecting rare plant species in rural and urban areas can contribute to the protection of biodiversity. We therefore need to understand why species are rare. Studies on causes of rarity often concentrate on either plant traits or extrinsic threats (such as habitat fragmentation or nitrogen enrichment). However, there are only a few studies that combine traits and extrinsic threats, although such analyses might clarify causes of rarity. We assessed how the affinity of vascular plant species to urban land use (‘urbanity’) interacts with plant traits in determining species frequency.

Location  Germany, resolution c. 12 km × 11 km.

Methods  Species with a low frequency may be rare because they occur in rare habitats or because of other reasons, although their habitat is frequent. Therefore, we calculated the frequency of species corrected for habitat frequency, i.e. relative species frequency. We explained relative species frequency by the interactions of species traits and species affinity to urban land use using generalized linear models. Simultaneous autoregressive error models controlled for phylogenetic relationships of species.

Results  Relative species frequency depends on species affinity to urban land use, independent of the different interactions between traits and urbanity used as predictors. The higher the urbanity the higher is species frequency. Urbanity interacts with species preferences towards temperature and soil acidity. Moreover, dispersal, nitrogen preferences and origin explain relative species frequency, amongst others.

Main conclusions  Many rare species, especially those preferring cool or acidic habitats might already have disappeared from urban areas. Analyses that combine species traits and environmental effects can explain the causes of rarity and help to derive better conservation strategies.