bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Histological, digestive, metabolic, hormonal and some immune factor responses in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., fed genetically modified soybeans
Authors: Bakke‐McKellep A M , Koppang E O , Gunnes G , Sanden M , Hemre G‐I , Landsverk T , Krogdahl Å
Published: February 2007

The paper reports the second and final part of an experiment aiming to study physiological and health‐related effects of genetically modified (GM) soybean meal (SBM) type Roundup Ready® soybean (RRS) in diets for post‐smolt Atlantic salmon. For 3 months salmon were fed diets containing 172 g kg−1 full‐fat SBM from RRS (GM‐soy) or an unmodified, non‐isogenic line (nGM‐soy), or a reference diet with fishmeal as the sole protein source (FM). Slight differences in anti‐nutrient levels were observed between the GM and nGM‐soy. Histological changes were observed only in the distal intestine of the soy‐fed fish. The incidence of moderate inflammation was higher in the GM‐soy group (9 of 10 sampled fish) compared with the nGM‐soy group (7 of 10). However, no differences in the concomitant decreases in activities of digestive enzymes located in the brush border (leucine aminopeptidase and maltase) and apical cytoplasm (acid phosphatase) of enterocytes or in the number of major histocompatibility complex class II+ cells, lysozyme activity, or total IgM of the distal intestine were observed. GM compared with nGM‐soy fed fish had higher head kidney lysozyme (11 856 vs. 10 456 units g−1 tissue) and a tendency towards higher acid phosphatase (0.45 vs. 0.39 μmol h−1 kg−1 body mass in whole tissue) activities, respectively. Plasma insulin and thyroxin levels, and hepatic fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphatase and ethoxyresorufin‐O‐deethylase activities were not significantly affected. It is not possible, however, to conclude whether the differences in responses to GM‐soy were due to the genetic modification or to differences in soy cultivars in the soy‐containing diets. Results from studies using non‐modified, parental line soybeans as the control group are necessary to evaluate whether genetic modification of soybeans in diets poses any risk to farmed Atlantic salmon.
A stochastic modelling approach to describing the dynamics of an experimental furunculosis epidemic in Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum)
Authors: Ogut H , Bishop S C
Published: February 2007

A susceptible‐infected‐removed (SIR) stochastic model was compared to a susceptible‐latent‐infectious‐removed (SLIR) stochastic model in terms of describing and capturing the variation observed in replicated experimental furunculosis epidemics, caused by Aeromonas salmonicida. The epidemics had been created by releasing a single infectious fish into a group of susceptible fish (n = 43) and progress of the epidemic was observed for 10 days. This process was replicated in 70 independent groups. The two stochastic models were run 5000 times and after every run and every 100 runs, daily mean values of each compartment were compared to the observed data. Both models, the SIR model (R2 = 0.91), and the SLIR model (R2 = 0.90) were successful in predicting the number of fish in each category at each time point in the experimental data. Moreover, between‐replicate variability in the stochastic model output was similar to between‐replicate variability in the experimental data. Generally, there was little change in the goodness of fit (R2) after 200 runs in the SIR model whereas 500 runs were necessary to have stable predictions with the SLIR model. In the SIR model, on an individual replicate basis, ∼80% of 5000 simulated replicates had R2 = 0.7 and above, whereas this ratio was slightly higher (82%) with the SLIR model. In brief, both models were equally effective in predicting the observed data and its variance but the SLIR model was advantageous because it differentiated the latent, i.e. infected but not having the ability to discharge pathogen, from the infectious fish.
Analysis of the relationship between cytokine secretion and proliferative capacity in hepatitis C virus infection
Authors: Semmo N. , Krashias G. , Willberg C. , Klenerman P.
Published: February 2007

Summary.  CD4+ T‐cell responses are important for the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the functional status of HCV‐specific CD4+ T cells in persistent infection is poorly understood. It is generally recognized that proliferative capacity of HCV‐specific CD4+ T cells is weak or absent in persistent infection, but whether this results from deletion of antigen‐specific cells or represents maintenance of antigen‐specific but poorly proliferative populations is not defined. We used a set of ex vivo assays to evaluate the functionality of HCV specific CD4+ T cells in persistent and resolved infection. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 24 prospectively recruited HCV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive individuals, 12 spontaneously resolved individuals (i.e. anti‐HCV+, PCR−) and 11 healthy controls were analysed for interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and interleukin 2 (IL‐2) secretion by enzyme linked immunospot assays (ELISpot). HCV‐specific CD4+ proliferative responses of carboxy fluorescein succinimidyl ester‐labelled PBMC were assessed using a sensitive single cell flow cytometric assay. Sustained IFN‐γ ELISpot responses were observed in the PCR+ group. However, proliferation of HCV‐specific CD4+ T cells in the PCR+ group was substantially reduced on a per cell basis, in parallel to IL‐2 secretion, compared with responses in the PCR− group. In PCR− individuals, a strong relationship between cytokine secretion and proliferative capacity was seen. However, in PCR+ individuals, IFN‐γ secretion far exceeded proliferative capacity. During persistent HCV infection, some CD4+ T‐cell specificities appear to be lost, as measured using a range of techniques, but others, potentially important, are maintained as IFN‐γ secretors but with low proliferative capacity even using a highly sensitive assay. Such subsets may yet play a significant role in vivo and also provide a template for modulation in immunotherapeutic interventions.
Prevalence of symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in 13‐ to 14‐year‐old children in Africa: the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase III
Authors: Ait‐Khaled N. , Odhiambo J. , Pearce N. , Adjoh K. S. , Maesano I. A. , Benhabyles B. , Bouhayad Z. , Bahati E. , Camara L. , Catteau C. , El Sony A. , Esamai F. O. , Hypolite I. E. , Melaku K. , Musa O. A. , Ng'ang'a L. , Onadeko B. O. , Saad O. , Jerray M. , Kayembe J. M. , Koffi N. B. , Khaldi F. , Kuaban C. , Voyi K. , M'Boussa J. , Sow O. , Tidjani O. , Zar H. J.
Published: February 2007

Phase I of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood has provided valuable information regarding international prevalence patterns and potential risk factors in the development of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. However, in Phase I, only six African countries were involved (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia). Phase III, conducted 5–6 years later, enrolled 22 centres in 16 countries including the majority of the centres involved in Phase I and new centres in Morocco, Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Sudan, Cameroon, Gabon, Reunion Island and South Africa. There were considerable variations between the various centres of Africa in the prevalence of the main symptoms of the three conditions: wheeze (4.0–21.5%), allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (7.2–27.3%) and eczema (4.7–23.0%). There was a large variation both between countries and between centres in the same country. Several centres, including Cape Town (20.3%), Polokwane (18.0%), Reunion Island (21.5%), Brazzaville (19.9%), Nairobi (18.0%), Urban Ivory Coast (19.3%) and Conakry (18.6%) showed relatively high asthma symptom prevalences, similar to those in western Europe. There were also a number of centres showing high symptom prevalences for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (Cape Town, Reunion Island, Brazzaville, Eldoret, Urban Ivory Coast, Conakry, Casablanca, Wilays of Algiers, Sousse and Eldoret) and eczema (Brazzaville, Eldoret, Addis Ababa, Urban Ivory Coast, Conakry, Marrakech and Casablanca).
4‐Hydroxynonenal‐induced apoptosis in rat hepatic stellate cells: Mechanistic approach
Authors: De Villiers Willem JS , Song Zhenyuan , Nasser Munira S , Deaciuc Ion V , McClain Craig J
Published: February 2007

Background and Aim:  Although lipid peroxidation products act as apoptotic signals for several cell types, including hepatic stellate cells, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this study we determined if: (i) 4‐hydroxy‐2,3‐nonenal (HNE) induces apoptosis in two rat stellate cell lines, HSC‐T6 and CFSC‐2G; and (ii) if apoptosis is regulated at the transcriptional and/or translational level.

Methods:  HSC‐T6 and CFSC‐2G cells were treated with HNE and total RNA and protein extracted. mRNA and protein expression levels of pro‐ and antiapoptotic factors were determined. The effects of HNE on activation, morphology and cell death by apoptosis were also studied.

Results:  HNE caused dose‐dependent apoptosis in both HSC‐T6 and CFSC‐2G cell lines. Apoptosis in HSC‐T6 cells was associated with increased mRNA expression of the pro‐apoptotic adaptors/regulators FasR, FasL, Bax, and caspases‐2 and ‐3. In contrast, CFSC‐2G cells showed no changes in FasR, Bax and caspase‐3 mRNA levels. Caspase‐3 activity was elevated in T6 but not in 2G cells. Changes in protein expression generally paralleled the mRNA findings.

Conclusions:  HNE‐induced apoptosis of both CFSC‐2G and HSC‐T6 rat hepatic stellate cells is associated with changes in mRNA and protein expression of several apoptotic adaptors/regulators. The underlying mechanism for HNE‐induced apoptosis may involve both transcriptional and translational regulatory steps.
Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease: Further expression of the metabolic syndrome
Authors: Tarantino Giovanni , Saldalamacchia Gennaro , Conca Paolo , Arena Adriano
Published: February 2007

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease has been associated with metabolic disorders, including central obesity, dyslipidema, hypertension and hyperglycemia. Metabolic syndrome, obesity, and insulin resistance are major risk factors in the pathogenesis of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease refers to a wide spectrum of liver damage, ranging from simple steatosis to non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis.
Effects of endothelin‐1 on thymidine uptake and fibronectin production of diabetic glomeruli
Authors: CHANG JER‐MING , CHIU YI‐WEN , TSAI JER‐CHIA , CHEN HUNG‐CHUN
Published: February 2007

Aim:  Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) is a potent mitogenic and vasoconstricting agent. The effect of ET‐1 upon the diabetic kidney may be important because diabetic glomeruli exhibit a poor contractile response and because diabetic kidneys do not contract even by end‐stage renal failure.

Methods:  In the present study, we investigated the effect of ET‐1 on diabetic glomeruli that were freshly isolated from Wistar rats after streptozotocin‐induced diabetes for 1 week (DM1W), 1 month (DM1M) and 3 months (DM3M), respectively, and then observed the glomerular uptake of [3H]‐labelled thymidine and the production of fibronectin.

Results:  We found that the basal [3H]‐labelled thymidine uptake of isolated glomeruli was significantly higher in DM1M and DM3M than in the normal control (both P < 0.05). ET‐1 enhanced the [3H]‐labelled thymidine uptake in both normal and DM1W glomeruli (both P < 0.005), but not in DM1M and DM3M, and all were not suppressed by exogenous medications. The basal production of fibronectin in isolated glomeruli was also significantly higher in DM1M and DM3M than in the normal controls (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively). ET‐1 enhanced the fibronectin production in both normal and all diabetic groups. Pretreatment with insulin and dexamethasone suppressed the ET‐1‐enhanced fibronectin production in diabetic but not in normal glomeruli, while indomethacin and heparin had no effect in all groups.

Conclusion:  Our results indicated that basal glomerular thymidine uptake and fibronectin production were enhanced in diabetic rats, and that ET‐1 further enhanced the cellular proliferation and fibronectin production of isolated diabetic glomeruli. The ET‐1‐enhanced fibronectin production can be partially attenuated by insulin and dexamethasone.
Nodular glomerulosclerosis in patients without any manifestation of diabetes mellitus
Authors: SANAI TORU , OKUDA SEIYA , YOSHIMITSU TAKAHIRO , OOCHI NOBUAKI , KUMAGAI HARUMITSU , KATAFUCHI RITSUKO , HARADA ATSUMI , CHIHARA JUNICHI , ABE TETSUYA , NAKAMOTO MASAHIKO , HIRAKATA HIDEKI , ONOYAMA KAORU , IIDA MITSUO
Published: February 2007

Aim/Methods:  Diabetic nodular glomerulosclerosis is considered to be the specific renal lesion of diabetes mellitus (DM). However, some cases, in which nodular glomerulosclerosis was found without any manifestation of DM, have also occasionally been reported. We clinicopathologically examined seven cases without a prior history of DM. They consisted of six men and one woman with a mean age of 57 years, and included three cases with family history of DM and six cases with hypertension.

Results:  Mean body mass index was 26.2 ± 5.9 (means ± SD) kg/m2 and haemoglobin A1c 5.3 ± 1.1% or haemoglobin A1 7.0 ± 0.6%. Mean plasma glucose levels were 5.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L at fasting and 10.1 ± 1.9 mmol/L at 2 h of 75 g OGTT (normal: 1 patient; impaired glucose tolerance: 4 patients; DM: 2 patients). None of them showed diabetic retinopathy in fundoscopic ophthalmoscopy. Mean serum creatinine was 268 ± 215 μmol/L, urinary protein 5.2 ± 4.0 g/day, and three patients had mild haematuria. Renal biopsy revealed typical nodular glomerulosclerosis, a negative deposition based on an immunofluorescence study, and neither any significant electron dense deposits nor fibrils on electron microscopy.

Conclusion:  These patients at presentation had no overt clinical manifestations of glucose intolerance. Diabetic nodular glomerulosclerosis can occur in patients without overt DM, suggesting the role of factors additional to prolonged hyperglycaemia in the pathogenesis of this disorder.
Impairments of the biological properties of serum albumin in patients on haemodialysis
Authors: LIM PAIK‐SEONG , CHENG YUEH‐MEI , YANG SHIH‐MING
Published: February 2007

Background:  End‐stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with enhanced oxidative stress and may contribute to substantial cardiovascular complications in dialysis patients. Recent studies suggested that human serum albumin (HSA), the major plasma protein, may possess a direct vasculoprotective antioxidant effect. In this study, we investigated if such protective effect is impaired in uremic milieu.

Methods:  Thirty‐one ESRD patients on maintenance haemodialysis and 22 age‐matched healthy controls were recruited. Serum albumin was purified and changes in biological properties of HSA were analysed by several biochemistry techniques, spectrophotometric measurements, ligand‐binding assays and western blot analysis.

Results:  We found that both dityrosine (0.25 ± 0.1 vs 0.15 ± 0.07, P < 0.001), and carbonyl (10.5 ± 1.88 nmol/mg vs 5.29 ± 1.21 nmol/mg, P < 0.001) contents were increased in the uremic HSA. Decreased thiol activity of plasma was also noted and may be related to dimerization of HSA. In addition, uremic HSA had shown impaired ligand‐binding capability such as haemin (0.37 × 107/M vs 2.18 × 107/M, P < 0.001), bilirubin (0.08 × 106/M vs 0.15 × 106/M, P < 0.05) and cis‐parinaric acid (3.8 × 107/M vs 2.9 × 107/M, P < 0.05). Furthermore, using two different systems namely copper mediated oxidation of human low density lipoproteins and the free radicals mediated haemolysis test, we have demonstrated that the observed changes of uremic HSA can affect its antioxidant properties.

Conclusion:  In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the quality and integrity of HSA molecule in dialysis patients were subtly altered and impaired its biological properties. Oxidative alterations of this major plasma protein might adversely affect its vasculoprotective effects in dialysis patients.
Potential physiological and pathophysiological roles for protease‐activated receptor‐2 in the kidney (Review Article)
Authors: VESEY DAVID A , HOOPER JOHN D , GOBE GLENDA C , JOHNSON DAVID W
Published: February 2007

SUMMARY:  The protease‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR‐2), the second of four members of a unique subfamily of G‐protein coupled receptors, is abundantly expressed in the kidney. In a similar manner to other PAR cleavage of its extracellular N‐terminus exposes a tethered ligand, SLIGKV in humans, which acts as an intramolecular ligand to activate itself. In the kidney, PAR‐2 expression has been variably reported in collecting duct cells, mesangial cells, interstitial fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells and proximal tubular cells. Despite this renal expression data, the function of PAR‐2 in the kidney remains unknown. More than 15 different mammalian serine proteases have been shown to activate PAR‐2 in an in vitro setting, but it is still unclear which of these are physiologically relevant activators of PAR‐2 in specific tissues. Their identification could provide novel therapeutic targets. PAR‐2 activates a number of down‐stream signalling molecules that include protein kinase C, extracellular signal regulated kinase and nuclear factor kappa‐B. Proteases that can activate PAR‐2 are generated and released from cells during injury, inflammation and malignancy and can thus signal to cells under these conditions. Potential physiological and pathophysiological roles for PAR‐2 in the kidney include the regulation of inflammation, blood flow, and ion transport and tissue protection, repair and fibrosis. In this review the potential roles of PAR‐2 in the kidney are highlighted and discussed.
Factors associated with metabolic acidosis in patients receiving parenteral nutrition
Authors: TSAI I‐CHIEH , HUANG JENQ‐WEN , CHU TZONG‐SHINN , WU KWAN‐DUN , TSAI TUN‐JUN
Published: February 2007

Aims:  Metabolic acidosis is a common problem after infusion with chloride‐based parenteral nutrition. However, it is unknown whether the occurrence of metabolic acidosis is related to this regimen of therapy or to patient‐specific risk factors.

Methods:  Patients receiving parenteral nutrition from July to December 2003 at this hospital were included for a retrospective study. Patients were excluded who had illnesses that were potentially related to acid‐base disorders. The remaining patients were divided on the basis of parental nutrition they had received: a chloride‐base regimen group, and an acetate‐based therapy group. Biochemical character and blood gas data were analysed. Continuous variables were analysed by t‐test. Categorical variables were assessed by chi‐squared test. Independent determinants for bicarbonate decline were analysed using forward stepwise multiple linear regression analysis.

Results:  There were 29 patients (17 women, 12 men) who received chloride‐based regimen and 26 patients (16 women, 10 men) took acetate‐based therapy. The acetate group had significantly higher baseline serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen than chloride group. The blood pH, CO2, bicarbonate and base excess were significantly lower after receiving chloride‐based therapy; while these changes were not observed in acetate‐based therapy group. However, the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels were not statistically different. With multiple‐stepwise linear regression, parenteral nutrition formula and estimated creatinine clearance are independent predictors of bicarbonate decline.

Conclusion:  The acetate‐base regimen can decrease the occurrence of metabolic acidosis after parenteral nutrition. In addition, the risk of acidosis is higher in patients with impaired renal function.
Prescribing angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in chronic kidney disease (Review Article)
Authors: FERRARI PAOLO
Published: February 2007

SUMMARY:  In Australia the number of patients developing end‐stage kidney disease is growing. Almost 70% of new cases of treated end‐stage kidney disease are due to diabetes, hypertension or glomerulonephritis. The majority of these patients have a chronic decline of renal function over many years before dialysis is required, even when the initial insult is no longer present. Hypertension and the degree of proteinuria are the most important determinants for this progression and ample evidence suggests that angiotensin II is the key player in sustaining both hypertension and proteinuria. Angiotensin II mediates not only haemodynamic changes but also profibrotic and pro‐inflammatory processes. Blockade of the renin‐angiotensin system decreases proteinuria and slows the progression of both diabetic and non‐diabetic proteinuric renal disease. Angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are first‐line therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and nephropathy, whereas angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) are first‐line therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and microalbuminuria or overt nephropathy. Finally, treatment with ACE inhibitors delays the progression of proteinuric nephropathy in non‐diabetic patients. Combination therapy with ACE inhibitors and ARB may allow a more complete blockade of the renin‐angiotensin system and clinical trials show that ACE inhibitor–ARB combinations have an additive antiproteinuric effect of up to 40% compared with ACE inhibitor or ARB alone, without additional blood pressure‐lowering effect. Finally, it is important to emphasize that progressive lowering of blood pressure to 120 mmHg is associated with improved renal outcome and that this effect is independent of baseline renal function.
Mesenchymal stem cells: Immunobiology and therapeutic potential in kidney disease (Review Article)
Authors: MCTAGGART STEVEN J , ATKINSON KERRY
Published: February 2007

SUMMARY:  Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are non‐haematopoietic cells that are prevalent in the adult bone marrow but can also be isolated from a variety of other postnatal tissues. MSC are non‐immunogenic and are immunosuppressive, with the ability to inhibit maturation of dendritic cells and suppress the function of naïve and memory T cells, B cells and NK cells. In addition to their immunomodulatory properties, MSC are capable of differentiating into various tissues of mesenchymal and non‐mesenchymal origin and migrating to sites of tissue injury and inflammation to participate in tissue repair. A number of studies in animal models of cardiac injury, stroke and ischaemic renal injury have demonstrated the clinical potential of MSC in tissue regeneration and repair. MSC are currently being evaluated in various preclinical and clinical studies in humans and offer significant potential as a novel cellular therapy for tissue regeneration and immunological conditions. The present review focuses on the unique immunomodulatory and regenerative properties of MSC and their potential role in the treatment of kidney disease.
Keeping healthy! Whose responsibility is it anyway? Vietnamese Canadian women and their healthcare providers’ perspectives
Authors: Donnelly Tam Truong , McKellin William
Published: February 2007

Understanding how healthcare responsibility is distributed will give insight on how health‐care is delivered and how members of a society are expected to practice health‐care. The raising cost of health‐care has resulted in restructuring of the existing Canadian healthcare system toward a system that controls costs by placing more healthcare responsibility on the individual. This shift might create more difficulty for immigrants and refugees to obtain equitable health‐care and put blame on them when they experience illness. This paper is drawn from the results of a larger qualitative study exploring Vietnamese Canadian women's breast cancer and cervical cancer screening practices. Interview data were gathered from 15 Vietnamese Canadian women and six healthcare providers. We will demonstrate that (a) despite the strong influence of individualism, Vietnamese women and their healthcare providers value both individual liberty and the interrelationship between individual and society; (b) limited funding and unequal distribution of healthcare resources impacted how immigrant and refugee women practice health‐care. Thus, motivating and fostering immigrant and refugee women's healthcare practice require both individual and institutional effort. To foster immigrant and refugees’ healthcare practices, healthcare policy makers and providers need to consider how to distribute healthcare resources that meet immigrants’ and refugees’ healthcare needs in the most equitable way.
Managing ambiguity and danger in an intensive therapy unit: ritual practices and sequestration
Authors: Philpin Susan
Published: February 2007

This paper reports on a particular aspect of a larger ethnographic study of nursing culture in an intensive therapy unit (ITU), accomplished through participant observation over a 12‐month period, followed by interviews with 15 nurses. The paper suggests that the ITU environment is perceived as ‘dangerous’, its dangerousness stemming from the ambiguity of its patients’ conditions. Drawing on anthropological concepts of liminality, pollution, anomaly and breaching of boundaries, the paper identifies various ambiguities inherent in ITU patients’ conditions. It then explores the ways in which these anomalies are managed through sequestration and other ritual and symbolic practices. Notwithstanding the undoubted scientific reasons for particular nursing practices, the paper argues that there are also ritual and symbolic elements serving other more complex purposes, both protecting patients and staff and symbolising the highly valued phenomenon of keeping patients safe. The paper identifies a contradiction inherent in nursing work in this locale inasmuch as rituals and symbolism coexist with technical and research‐based elements of nursing care.
Critical discourse analysis for nursing research
Authors: Smith Jennifer L.
Published: February 2007

Critical discourse analysis is a useful and productive qualitative methodology but has been underutilized within nursing research. In order to redress this deficiency the research presented in this article represents an exploration of the way in which critical discourse analysis may be applied to the analysis of public debates around policy for nursing practice. In this article the author discusses the history of the application of critical discourse analysis and provides an example of its application to the debate around the use of nurse practitioners within the Australian healthcare system.
Ultrastructure and phylogenetic relationships of the unicellular green algae Ignatius tetrasporus and Pseudocharacium americanum (Chlorophyta)
Authors: Watanabe Shin , Nakayama Takeshi
Published: February 2007

The phylogenetic relationships of two unicellular green algae, Ignatius tetrasporus Bold et MacEntee and Pseudocharacium americanum Lee et Bold were investigated by ultrastructural and molecular methods. The zoospores from both species were covered neither by scales nor cell walls. The flagellar apparatus of the zoospores commonly included these features: the upper basal bodies were displaced counterclockwise in half to two‐thirds of the basal body diameter and did not overlap with each other; the lower basal bodies were directly opposed or slightly displaced clockwise; the distal fiber had gently sigmoid central striations; terminal caps were absent from the ends of the basal bodies; a V‐shaped proximal sheath extended from the upper basal bodies; a posterior fiber lay between the opposite lower basal bodies; and the coarsely striated band linked the sinister rootlet to the lower basal body. The suite of these features was not identical to that of any other quadriflagellate swimming cells, but some features including the lower basal body orientation, the striated distal fiber, and the coarsely striated fiber resemble those of the several organisms of the Siphonocladales sensu Floyd and O’Kelly. Phylogenetic analysis using 18S rDNA sequence data revealed that I. tetrasporus and P. americanum formed a monophyletic clade within the clade of Ulvophyceae sensu López‐Bautista and Chapman, but was not nested within any of the orders of the class that were examined.
Effect of epiphytism on reproductive and vegetative lateral formation in the brown, intertidal seaweedAscophyllum nodosum(Phaeophyceae)
Authors: Kraberg Alexandra C. , Norton Trevor A.
Published: February 2007

In the brown algaAscophyllum nodosum(L) Le Jolis, a common species on sheltered Northern temperate rocky shores, gametes are produced in receptacles that emerge from small depressions (lateral pits) along the branched frond. These lateral pits are also the preferred settling site for the obligate epiphytePolysiphonia lanosa(L) Tandy.Therefore, epiphytism can be expected to interfere with host reproductive output. The present study investigated the potential impact of the epiphyte onA. nodosumin two series of laboratory experiments that measured: (i) the direct shading of the host plant underneath an epiphyte canopy; and (ii) the development of receptacles in clean and epiphytisedA. nodosumsegments (excised from individual fronds) over a 6 month period. These experiments showed that light reaching emerged fronds underneath a dense epiphyte cover was reduced by 40%, and this was independent of the degree of desiccation the epiphyte experienced. Concurrently, in the growth study with epiphytisedA. nodosumsegments (segments with one clean and one epiphytised lateral pit) total receptacle biomass per epiphytised fragment was significantly reduced compared with clean segments (0.52 g and 1.25 g per gram of frond segment, respectively), although this effect was only significant inA. nodosumfrom sheltered shores. However, expressed as biomass per lateral pit, receptacle biomass in the remaining clean lateral pits in epiphytised segments was significantly increased in segments from both shores, demonstrating thatA. nodosumcan at least partially compensate for the loss of production resulting from epiphytism.
Health in Organization: Towards a Process‐Based View*
Authors: MacIntosh Robert , MacLean Donald , Burns Harry
Published: February 2007

abstract This paper reports on a collaborative project involving organization scholars and clinicians to examine the ways in which individual and organizational health are conceptualized in the literature. We illustrate how the use of systems theories (in this case complexity theory) in relation to organizational health introduces problems such as the risk of promoting organizational health at the expense of individual well‐being. The phenomena of organizational health and individual health are often presented as having a symbiotic relationship and we suggest some circumstances where this is not the case. Our central argument is that we need to move beyond current conceptual limitations and move towards a more process‐based model of health in organization rather than organizational health.
International and Cultural Variations in Employee Assistance Programmes: Implications for Managerial Health and Effectiveness*
Authors: Bhagat Rabi S. , Steverson Pamela K. , Segovis James C.
Published: February 2007

abstract  While employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are becoming commonplace in large Western organizations, little is known regarding their prevalence in non‐Western cultures. In this paper, we provide a framework for understanding the prevalence of EAPs in four distinct cells of societal culture‐based variations. A cultural matrix for analysing the relative emphases of styles of coping, social support systems, rites and rituals, and the prevalence of EAPs is developed. The implications for managerial health and effectiveness in the global context are discussed.
Networked Governance or Just Networks? Local Governance of the Knowledge Economy in Limerick (Ireland) and Karlskrona (Sweden)
Authors: Parker Rachel
Published: February 2007

The emergence of networked governance of knowledge activities is portrayed as one component of a more general shift from government to governance. This article suggests that a distinction can be drawn between networks and networked governance and provides some insights into the indicators that might help distinguish networked governance from networks. The distinction is applied empirically to emerging forms of local networks in ICT in Limerick and Karlskrona. Differences between the two regions can be conceptualised with reference to the governance role of local networks in steering, setting directions and influencing behaviour. The article identifies the characteristics of network arrangements that appear to be necessary for governance objectives to be satisfied; these are density, breadth and association with values such as trust, mutuality and shared identity. The article shows that there is a need to approach generalised theories of emerging models of governance with sensitivity to cross-regional variations around these characteristics. Claims regarding the emergence of new forms of governance in local spaces may be exaggerated if all types of network arrangements are taken as evidence of a transformation from government to governance.
In Defence of Associative Political Obligations: Part Two
Authors: Horton John
Published: February 2007

This article continues the defence of associative political obligations begun in Part One. It does so by sketching an argument that supports commonplace ideas about our having a special, ethical relationship with the polity of which we are members. The argument begins by showing how non-voluntary groups in general can have value, and then seeks to identify the generic good of a polity: that good is the provision of order and security. While this is a necessary condition of associative political obligations, it is not sufficient. It needs to be supplemented by an argument explaining why we have obligations to the particular polity of which we are members. This ‘associative’ argument has two sides to it. The first explains how membership of a polity is for most people something like an ascribed status; that is, an identity or role that a person is taken to occupy without having chosen it. The second suggests how, through a process of identification, we incorporate membership within our self-understanding. The article concludes with some brief remarks about anarchism and why political obligation matters.
Democratic Deepening in Third Wave Democracies: Experiments with Participation in Mexico City
Authors: Harbers Imke
Published: February 2007

After the initial transition to democratic rule the question of how to improve the quality of democracy has become the key challenge facing Third Wave democracies. In the debate about the promotion of more responsive government, institutional reforms to increase direct participation of citizens in policy-making have been put on the agenda. The Federal District of Mexico City constitutes a particularly intriguing case in this debate. This article explores how political participation developed in Mexico City between 1997 and 2003 and what effects this has had on democratic deepening. It develops an ideal-type conceptual framework of citizen participation that outlines the conditions under which participation contributes to democratic deepening. Overall, the case of Mexico City highlights how the promotion of participation can fail to make the aspired contribution to democratic deepening and might even have negative effects on the quality of democracy.
Resources versus Capabilities: Social Endowments in Egalitarian Theory
Authors: Pierik Roland , Robeyns Ingrid
Published: February 2007

Two of the most important theories in contemporary liberal egalitarianism are Ronald Dworkin's equality of resources and Amartya Sen's capability approach. Recently Dworkin has claimed that Sen's capability approach does not provide a genuine alternative to equality of resources. In this article, we provide both an internal and an external critique of Dworkin's claim. In the first part of the article we develop an internal critique by providing a detailed analysis of Dworkin's claim. Andrew Williams has contested Dworkin's claim, but he has failed to convince Dworkin of his objections. We analyze this debate, and offer an argument that, we hope, settles this dispute. In the second part of the article we argue that an analysis beyond the current parameters of the liberal-egalitarian debate points to three significant differences between Dworkin's and Sen's egalitarian theories: the degree to which they rely on an ideal-theoretical approach; their ability to judge social structures that are intertwined with people's social endowments; and their endorsement of a well-defined criterion to demarcate morally relevant from morally irrelevant inequalities. This broader analysis not only reinforces our conclusion that Dworkin's equality of resources and Sen's capability approach are genuinely distinct, but it also suggests some more general insights that may be relevant for a better understanding of contemporary egalitarian thinking.
Analysing Reform: The House of Commons, 2001–5
Authors: Flinders Matthew
Published: February 2007

This article examines the nature and implications of reforms to the House of Commons that were implemented during the 2001–5 Parliament under the guise of ‘modernisation’. It describes the reforms that were implemented during this period in order to enhance the House of Commons' scrutiny capacity over the executive and attempts to assess the degree to which these reforms represent a shift in the balance of power. In order to ground the analysis and provide a clear conceptualisation of power the article adopts a resource-dependency framework that identifies and traces the transfer and deployment of key resources in order to prevent or facilitate change. The article concludes that the common distinction between ‘modernising parliament’ and ‘parliamentary reform’ needs refining and offers an ‘incremental-bounded reform’ model which provides a framework for not only gauging and understanding the process of reform but also explaining the nature of restraints. This model suggests that scrutiny reforms implemented during 2001–5 should not be dismissed, particularly in the context of the parliamentary decline thesis. A number of significant ‘cracks and wedges’ have been achieved and these may expand over time through a gradual process of extension, accretion and spillover.
Politics Rules: The False Primacy of Institutions in Developing Countries
Authors: Sangmpam S. N.
Published: February 2007

Do institutions possess explanatory and prescriptive powers imputed to them by institutionalism? If they do, why do outcomes in developing countries (DGC) defy those powers? I argue that, although institutions play a role, they are neither the explanation for outcomes nor the prescription for development problems. The primacy of institutions is defied in DGC because ‘new institutionalism’ shares the premises of modernization theory-inspired ‘old institutionalism’. Both fail to subordinate institutions to society-rooted politics, the pre-eminent explanatory variable. I support this argument by: (1) demonstrating the pre-eminence of politics vis-à-vis institutions; and (2) relating various policy failures in DGC to the failure of the unbroken thread between old and new institutionalisms to recognize this pre-eminence. Because politics explains both institutional and socio-political outcomes, I propose that the crucial difference between politics in Western democracies and developing countries – and not institutions – be the focus of inquiry to account for outcomes and to prescribe solutions for DGC.
Sacrifice and the problem of beginning: meditations from Sakalava mythopraxis
Authors: Lambek Michael
Published: February 2007

This article addresses the general problem of beginning in human thought and action. It argues for complementing the emphasis on transition in the analysis of ritual with attention to beginning and for supplementing the relative passivity of liminality with the resoluteness of initiating action, while also attending to both the transitive and intransitive aspects of beginning itself. Drawing from representations of the foundation of a Sakalava monarchy in Madagascar, the article presents sacrifice as an exemplary form of beginning. Describing sacrifice in this manner obviates the need for any theory of sacrifice while offering new insights on the gift, ethical personhood, and the temporality of tradition.
The dollarization of Vietnamese ghost money
Authors: Kwon Heonik
Published: February 2007

Offering money to gods, ancestors, and ghosts is an increasingly important part of everyday life in Vietnam. When it concerns the traces of a violent war, this custom is believed to help the spirits of the dead become liberated from their grievous histories. This article discusses the role of money in death commemoration, focusing on how money‐offering takes on different meanings between gods and ancestors, on the one hand, and displaced, grievous ghosts, on the other. Based on this discussion, the article will explore the current situation where replica US dollar notes have become a pre‐eminent ritual currency in parts of Vietnam and how this situation is related to changing political relations in the imagined world of the dead.
Love and elopement in northern Pakistan
Authors: Marsden Magnus
Published: February 2007

This article focuses on conceptions of romantic love held by Khowar‐speaking Muslim people in the Chitral region of northern Pakistan. It shows the ways in which romantic love in Chitral is expressed through a local poetic genre that has its cultural roots in Persian Sufi poetry. This body of literature is cherished by Chitralis, and now engaged in an interaction with very different images of romance emerging from an ‘alternative’ site of Asian modernity: the Bollywood film. Romantic love in Chitral is not only confined to a fantasy‐like realm of poetic discourse, however; elopement marriages are also a regular feature of Chitrali life. These marriages a source not only of considerable anxiety but also of open reflection by Chitralis, and this article seeks to document the range of insights this open reflection furnishes into the changing shape of Chitral society today.
‘Keeping the state away’: democracy, politics, and the state in India's Jharkhand
Authors: Shah Alpa
Published: February 2007

This article explores why in India's Jharkhand, Mundas, often depicted as poor tribals, participate in elections to keep the state away, seeing it as foreign, dangerous, and juxtaposing its self‐interested and divisive politics with a sacral polity, the parha. Munda disengagement with the state results from a complex combination of their contrasting the state with the sacral polity, historical experience of exploitation by state officers, and social relations with rural elites who, seeking to maintain dominance, reproduce Munda imaginings. The article thus draws attention to multiple co‐existing notions of politics and the importance of a local political economy in the social production of cultural imaginings of the state.
DEMAND POLICIES FOR LONG‐RUN GROWTH: BEING KEYNESIAN BOTH IN THE SHORT AND IN THE LONG RUN?
Authors: Missaglia Marco
Published: February 2007

The idea of demand‐led growth is defended by neo‐Kaleckians and neo‐Keynesians using very specific assumptions. In their models the paradox of costs is always valid in the long run. The central message of this paper is that these specific and strong assumptions are not needed to defend the Kaleckian perspective of a demand‐driven long‐run growth. What is needed is simply a less demanding theory of flexible mark‐ups in an open economy. The formal model developed in this paper shows that long‐run growth may be demand driven even when the paradox of costs does not hold in the long run.
Emotional Intelligence: Review of Research and Educational Implications
Authors: QUALTER PAMELA , GARDNER KATHRYN J. , WHITELEY HELEN E.
Published: February 2007

This article provides a critical review of the research field of emotional intelligence (EI) and examines the usefulness of the construct in the debate on educational policy and practice. The authors examine two approaches to the theory and measurement of EI and summarize the evidence linking EI to life success and academic achievement. Also considered is whether or not EI can be changed or developed, and how it might be facilitated in educational practice. In conclusion, while a distinct construct of EI remains debatable; many of the attributes encompassed by this term do predict that life success and programmes of socio‐emotional learning in schools may usefully contribute to the development of these attributes.
Transactional Analysis, Pastoral Care and Education
Authors: BARROW GILES
Published: February 2007

This paper explores how transactional analysis (TA) is enhancing pastoral care in mainstream and special education contexts. The author introduces TA as a powerful educational theory and provides illustrative accounts of how it is being applied in classrooms and staffrooms in the United Kingdom.
Treatment-Emergent CNS Symptoms Following Triptan Therapy are Part of The Attack
Authors: Goadsby PJ , Dodick DW , Almas M , Diener H-C , Tfelt-Hansen P , Lipton RB , Parsons B
Published: February 2007

If treatment-emergent central nervous system (CNS) symptoms following triptan therapy represent direct pharmacological effects of the drug, they should occur independent of response to active drug. However, if they represent unmasking of neurological symptoms of the migraine attack after pain is relieved, they should be more common in responders both to active drug and to placebo. To explore this issue, we evaluated the relationship between the CNS adverse events and treatment response following triptan or placebo treatment. We used pooled data from seven double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving eletriptan 20 mg (E20, n = 402), eletriptan 40 mg (E40, n = 1870), eletriptan 80 mg (E80, n = 1393), sumatriptan 100 mg (S100, n = 275) and placebo (Pbo, n = 1024). Somnolence was more prevalent among 2 h headache responders than non-responders for all treatments, including E80 (8.8% vs. 5.0%; P < 0.05), E40 (6.4% vs. 5.0%; NS), E20 (4.0% vs. 2.0%; NS), S100 (4.7% vs. 3.2%; NS) and Pbo (7.6% vs. 3.0%; P < 0.05). Similarly, the incidence of asthenia was higher among patients who responded to treatment compared with those who did not respond to E80 (15.2% vs. 7.8%; P < 0.05), E40 (6.5% vs. 3.6%; P < 0.05), E20 (6.5% vs. 1.0%; P < 0.05), S100 (10.1% vs. 4.7%; NS) and Pbo (4.4% vs. 2.7%; NS). The generally higher rates of somnolence and asthenia in patients who respond to treatment suggests that these treatment-emergent neurological symptoms may represent the unmasking of CNS symptoms associated with the natural resolution of a migraine attack, rather than simply representing drug-related side-effects. The rate of somnolence in placebo responders is comparable to that in responders to E40 and E80, indicating that somnolence is related, at least in some important part, to headache relief and not treatment.
The Effects of Uncertainty on Market Prices: Evidence from Coaching Changes in the NBA
Authors: Colquitt L. Lee , Godwin Norman H. , Shortridge Rebecca T.
Published: February 2007

Abstract:  This study examines the effects of uncertainty on market prices. Specifically, we use the National Basketball Association betting market to examine whether uncertainty resulting from midseason coaching changes affects the ability of bettors to accurately set betting lines. We find that uncertainty amid midseason coaching changes results in less accurate pricing, as evidenced by higher volatility and greater overall inaccuracy in betting lines. We also find that uncertainty regarding the ability of the replacement coach and/or his strategies results in less accurate pricing, again evidenced by higher volatility and greater overall inaccuracy in betting lines.