bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nursing scholarship: sense and sensibility
Authors: Morse Janice M
Published: August 2007

This paper explores the relationship between nursing theory, research and practice. It suggests that the frequently discussed difficulties in operationalizing, testing and implementing nursing theories are perhaps indicative of their lack of fit with clinical practice. The insistence of fitting theories within the four metaparadigm concepts—person, environment, health and nursing—forces nursing theory to an inappropriate level of abstraction and to a level that dilutes its relevance for clinical application. It is possible that, while these theories are useful as philosophies, they lack the clinical relevance that is a critical criterion for theory. Confounding the status quo, the present practice of teaching theory asfactwithin education and using theory to drive nursing curricula removes the tentative and guiding contribution that a theory contributes to a profession. A plea is made for research that supports the exploration and identification of nursing concepts and for the development of appropriate theory that will guide both nursing research and nursing practice. Since nursing is an applied discipline, this responsibility necessarily falls on the shoulders of researchers who, in partnership with clinicians, can explore, test and refine theory.
The discursive construction of the role of the nurse in medication administration: an exploration of the literature
Authors: Cheek Julianne , Gibson Terri
Published: August 2007

This paper draws on postmodern thought to interrogate the literature relating to nurses and medications. An examination of the representation of a specific nursing activity in the literature—the administration of medications—reveals much about the way in which the role of the nurse is discursively constructed. This is particularly evident from an analysis of the procedures shaping that role. These procedures, which nurses themselves develop and institute as rules to guide nursing practice, can have the effect of reducing nursing work to a series of rituals which contribute to the discursive construction of the nurse's role in medication administration.
Through the looking glass: reflections on the authorship and content of current Australian nursing journals
Authors: Jackson Debra , Raftos Maree , Mannix Judy
Published: August 2007

Over the past three years, Australian nurses have witnessed a proliferation of locally published refereed nursing journals. This paper considers the refereed content published in four selected Australian nursing journals over a recent twelve month period. Material appearing in the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing (AJAN), Contemporary Nurse, Nursing Inquiry and Collegian was categorized according to subject matter and authorship by gender and discipline. Findings indicate that articles pertaining to clinical practice, the practice of research, and professional nursing issues are well represented in the literature. These findings mark a change from earlier analyses of Australian nursing journals, which suggested that the epistemologies of other disciplines were over‐represented in Australian nursing journals, and thus exerted a powerful influence over the development of nursing theory and scholarship. The increase in the number of refereed Australian nursing journals is indicative of the dynamic state of Australian nursing, in terms of confidence, scholarship and clinical practice development.
Of ethics committees, protocols, and behaving ethically in the field: a case study of research with elderly residents in a nursing home
Authors: Madjar Irena , Higgins Isabel
Published: August 2007

In this paper we discuss differing discourses of research ethics committees and the clinical research field. Reflections on our experience of conducting research in a nursing home are used to highlight the tensions and inconsistencies that arise from these discourses and the need to behave ethically in the field. While accepting the need for adherence to guiding principles of duty based ethics, we have found that practical moral decisions in the field required that, as individual researchers, we needed to exercise discretionary judgement, informed by the ethic of care and the concern for the well‐being of research participants.
Typists' influences on transcription: aspects of feminist nursing epistemic rigour
Authors: Lane Vivien
Published: August 2007

This paper describes the process by which female typists became participants of sorts while transcribing audiotaped interviews. The primary data included sensitive and sexual subject matter about women's Pap smear (PS) experiences. Besides overcoming minor technical difficulties, die major discovery was that the typists had a tendency to interpolate and even normalize the data. A feminist post‐structuralist perspective was extended to examine these interpolations as secondary data. This revealed that the typists were becoming unexpected participants as commentators, validators, analysts and normalizers of the data. From the subjective positions of both medical typists and recipients of PS, the typists provided data validation that included contradictions and transgressions from the cancer screening scheme propaganda. Furthermore, both typists were exposed to other women's PS stories and experienced vicarious consciousness raising. For one typist this included embodiment of other women's distress, raising questions about the occupational hazards associated with transcribing distressing data. Thus the social and relational aspects of those involved in the transcription process proved influential to both the data (and analysis), and to the practical aspects of data management. I argue that details of such influences need to be submitted for scrutiny as additional aspects of rigour.
Avoiding the slippery slope in ethics and bioethics: ‘ought’ entails ‘can’ and vice versa
Authors: Tulloch Gail
Published: August 2007

This article addresses the slippery slope argument in ethics and bioethics, and demonstrates that a lack of consensus about human nature and what constitutes a person contributes to its frequent use in such areas. Rationality and autonomy are contrasted with sentience, and a utilitarian quality of life approach with a deontological sanctity of life approach as defining criteria of personhood. It is argued that the concept ‘quality of life’ is itself a slippery slope. Genetic engineering is discussed as a paradigm of the slippery slope argument in use, as well as IVF, and the distinction between experimental and therapeutic research—both issues of concern to feminists. Australia has been a leader of scientific research in the new reproductive technologies, with regulative thinking following the technological breakthroughs. The question is posed whether biotechnology will repeat a similar pattern.
Philosophical hermeneutics and the project of Hans Georg Gadamer: implications for nursing research
Authors: Walsh Kenneth
Published: August 2007

The paper begins with an overview of the historical roots of philosophical hermeneutics grounded in the work of Husserl and Heidegger. It goes on to explore the philosophical hermeneutics of Hans Georg Gadamer as a philosophy useful to nursing research. The four concepts of prejudice, the fusion of horizons, the hermeneutic circle and play are discussed, as are the implications these concepts have for nursing research. These concepts have been utilized in the author's own research and examples from this research are given to illuminate how these concepts can be shaped to the purposes of nursing research. While the concepts discussed stem from the work of Gadamer, the ways they have been utilized by the author do not represent a Gadamerian method. Gadamer's project is purely philosophical.
Nursing our narratives: towards a dynamic understanding of nurses in narrative tales
Authors: Buchanan Tanya
Published: August 2007

Previous research on the representation of nurses in literature has tended to rely on a ‘quasi‐scientific’ method that ultimately produces catalogues of static images. This paper argues that literary representations of nurses must be analysed in terms of situational context. In order to accomplish this die narratological concepts of the chronotope and the donor are used, resulting in a dynamic and powerful reading of nurses in narrative tales.
Postmodern research: no grounding or privilege, just free‐floating trouble making
Authors: Traynor Michael
Published: August 2007

Postmodernism has been criticized as failing to offer, on the one hand, authoritative explanations for social phenomena that might provide a scientific basis for policy formation or, on the other, the philosophical justification for emancipatory work – its radical scepticism about claims to knowledge leaving its advocates, including many nurses, with little scope to transform oppressive social and political regimes. Various approaches to this important problem have been offered, both philosophical and mediodological. Some critical theorists have rejected certain aspects of postmodernism as dangerous and distracting. Some more accommodating solutions are troubled by unacknowledged inconsistencies. Others embrace post‐modernism's unavoidable ambiguity (towards the Enlightenment for instance) with a lighter heart. In this paper I will review some of the criticism of postmodernism and some proposed solutions to these problems. Using recent research into the impact of managerialism on nursing within the UK National Health Service as an example and drawing on deconstructive literary theory, I conclude by accepting a rhetorical agonistics of undecidability. I take postmodernism as a mandate for causing trouble for those groups who are currently having their say and whose version of truth and rationality has achieved domination over others. I do not take postmodernism as a place from which to champion the cause or privilege the view of any particular group.
The researcher's personal responses as a source of insight in the research process
Authors: Scott Dorothy
Published: August 2007

Drawing on accounts of the author's personal responses while undertaking a qualitative study on the norms governing the relationship between nurses and mothers, it is argued that such responses, rather than being seen as a source of bias, have the potential to be a source of insight and interpretation in the research. This paper tells the ‘inside’ story of previously published research that was ‘sanitized’ by the omission of any reference to die researcher's subjective responses. The recognition of such researcher responses has implications for how research is supervised and presented.
Is there anyone in there? Psychiatric nursing meets biological psychiatry
Authors: Dawson Paul J.
Published: August 2007

Is there anyone in there? Psychiatric nursing meets biological psychiatry

Mental health nursing operates without a clear idea of the nature of both mind and mental. Increasingly, this lack of a defensible theoretical position has led to an increasing dependence on the concept of mind now current in biological psychiatry. But die materialist monism of biological psychiatry is itself open to doubt, particularly concerning its dependence on a priori assumptions about die nature of die relationship between mind and brain. The reductionism and objectivism inherent in dlis approach necessarily ignores diat aspect of mind most germane to nursing, die first‐person nature of die mental. An alternative is briefly sketched which stresses the mediation of behaviour by die brain, radier dian viewing behaviour as causally related to brain processes. Adoption of this approach conserves nursing's focus on die subjective experience as being paramount. Nursing education should, dierefore, be wary of incorporating the biological approach widiout a critical analysis of its suppositions and of die conception of human nature which it supports
Exploring the gender‐technology relation in nursing
Authors: Sandelowski Margarete
Published: August 2007

Exploring the gender‐technology relation in nursing

Feminist and nursing scholars have emphasized the critical role Western technology has played in the history and development of women and nursing. Yet, despite their common ground in tying both the emancipation and the subordination of women and nurses to technology, there has been virtually no association between nursing and gender‐technology studies. Gender‐technology studies offer nursing scholars new analytic directions and methodological tools to explore the nursing‐technology relation. Nursing, in turn, offers gender‐technology studies a rich empirical site to further its theoretical development.
Phenomenography: an alternative approach to researching the clinical decision‐making of nurses
Authors: Baker Jacqueline D.
Published: August 2007

In this paper, the limitations associated widi current research approaches to the study of clinical decision‐making are discussed. Research examining the clinical decision‐making of nurses and doctors, and associated work in information procession, is reviewed. It is concluded that although die research is valuable in furthering die understanding of clinical decision‐making, diere are limitations associated with die current research approaches. The limitations are primarily related to the research approaches employed and the concentration on experienced nurses. The research fails to examine die development of clinical decision‐making ability and die learning diat occurs in practice. Phenomenography is proposed as an alternative approach. The aim of phenomenography is to describe an individual's perception of a phenomenon. Phenomenography is relevant to die study of clinical decision‐making as it is concerned with variation in experience. When applied to die study of new graduate nurses, phenomenography can provide valuable information in relation to individual differences in learning diat arise from experience, what factors influence learning and how diey affect clinical decisionmaking ability
Minimum incision endoscopic nephrectomy for giant hydronephrosis
Authors: Koga Fumitaka , Kihara Kazunori , Masuda Hitoshi , Kageyama Yukio , Kawakami Satoru , Kobayashi Tsuyoshi
Published: August 2007

Abstract:  Five consecutive patients with symptomatic giant hydronephrosis underwent minimum incision endoscopic nephrectomy. The originally huge renal specimen was retroperitoneally mobilized using both of endoscopy and direct vision, without the use of trocar ports or gas insufflation, via a single minimum incision that narrowly permitted extraction of the specimen. The specimen was successfully extracted from the incision in all patients. Technically, proper deflation of the hydronephrotic sac facilitates mobilization and enables extraction of the specimen. Median (range) size of incision, operative time, and estimated blood loss were 4 cm (3–5), 205 min (156–222), and 210 mL (110–350), respectively. No patient required blood transfusion or encountered operative complications. Postoperative convalescence was short and uneventful; all patients resumed oral intake and ambulance on the day following surgery, and were physically dischargeable from hospital after 2–3 postoperative days. Thus, this technique is a feasible, minimally invasive and safe procedure for symptomatic giant hydronephrosis.
The Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase gene is not associated with the risk of sporadic or latent prostate cancer in Japanese men
Authors: Suzuki Motofumi , Kurosaki Takayuki , Arai Tomio , Sawabe Motoji , Hosoi Takayuki , Kitamura Tadaichi
Published: August 2007

Aim: Since catechol estrogens possess carcinogenetic potential, their detoxification may lead to reduced risk of carcinogenesis. Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) catalyzes theO‐methylation of catechol estrogens. The enzymatic activity of COMT has been shown to be governed by a functional single‐nucleotide polymorphism represented by a G‐to‐A transition at codon 158, that results in a valine to methionine substitution; this variant form is associated with an up to 4‐fold decrease in enzymatic activity. We attempted to investigate whether the Val158Met polymorphism ofCOMTwas associated with the risk of prostate cancer.

Methods: We analysed genomic DNA samples from 324 sporadic prostate cancer patients; 342 controls who had died from causes unrelated to cancer; and 95 Japanese men who were diagnosed as latent prostate cancer by autopsy. The genotyping method we used was a TaqMan assay.

Results: Age adjusted odds ratios for sporadic prostate cancer susceptibility were 1.047 (95% CI: 0.630–1.741) for the G/A genotype and 0.858 (95% CI: 0.407–1.804) for the A/A genotype, as compared with those for the G/G genotype. There was no significant association between this polymorphism and latent prostate cancer susceptibility either.

Conclusions: Our results suggested that the Val158Met polymorphism ofCOMTwas not associated with the risk of sporadic or latent prostate cancer in Japanese men.
Microdissection testicular sperm extraction: Prediction, outcome, and complications
Authors: Tsujimura Akira
Published: August 2007

Abstract:  Testicular spermatozoa can be retrieved successfully by the testicular sperm extraction (TESE) procedure and used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection in cases of non‐obstructive azoospermia (NOA). The successful application of TESE depends on the identification of seminiferous tubules containing spermatozoa; testicular tubules of patients with NOA are usually heterogeneous, and TESE may not always be successful in these patients. Microdissection TESE with an operative microscope is advantageous because larger, more opaque, and whitish tubules, presumably containing germ cells with active spermatogenesis, can be identified directly. This procedure is currently the best method for the certain identification of sperm, resulting in a high spermatozoa retrieval rate and minimal postoperative complications. The present review considers the surgical procedure, outcome, prediction for spermatozoa retrieval, and postoperative complications of microdissection TESE.
Initial evaluation of prostate cancer with real‐time elastography based on step‐section pathologic analysis after radical prostatectomy: A preliminary study
Authors: Sumura Masahiro , Shigeno Kazushi , Hyuga Taiju , Yoneda Tatsuaki , Shiina Hiroaki , Igawa Mikio
Published: August 2007

Objective:  To determine whether real‐time elastography can be used to detect prostate cancer as a relatively non‐invasive modality based on the tissue strain value.

Patients and Methods:  Seventeen patients underwent real‐time elastography in conjunction with digital rectal examination (DRE), conventional gray‐scale transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS), color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to radical prostatectomy. The elastogram was compared to findings of conventional modalities and pathological findings of prostatectomy specimens. To obtain the elastogram, compression of the prostate was performed along with a visual indicator on a video screen.

Results:  Twenty of 27 pathologically confirmed tumors were detected with real‐time elastography. The cancer detection rate with real‐time elastography was superior to the rates of other modalities and nearly equal to both on the anterior side (75.0%) and the posterior side (73.7%) of the prostate. A higher tumor detection rate for real‐time elastography was observed for tumors with a higher Gleason score and larger tumor volume.

Conclusion:  In our preliminary study, real‐time elastography in conjunction with gray‐scale TRUS is a non‐invasive modality to detect prostate cancer.
The prognostic value of E‐cadherin, α‐, β‐ and γ‐catenin in bladder cancer patients who underwent radical cystectomy
Authors: Kashibuchi Keishi , Tomita Kyoichi , Schalken Jack A , Kume Haruki , Takeuchi Takumi , Kitamura Tadaichi
Published: August 2007

Objectives:  To determine the value of the loss of expression of E‐cadherin and cadherin associated molecules as useful markers for both prognosis and chemosensitivity in bladder cancer patients who have undergone radical cystectomy.

Patients and Methods:  In 55 paraffin embedded specimens of radical cystectomy at our hospital from 1982 to 2000, the expression of E‐cadherin, α‐, β‐ and γ‐catenin was examined by immunohistochemical staining. To evaluate the prognostic significance of these molecules, Kaplan‐Meier survival curves were constructed and a statistical analysis was calculated by a log‐rank test. A multivariate test (tumor stage, tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, configuration, the expression of E‐cadherin, α‐, β‐ and γ‐catenin) was performed to detect prognostic markers.

Results:  Normal expression was found in 33 cases (60.0%) for E‐cadherin, 29 (52.7%) for α‐catenin, 31 cases (56.4%) for β‐catenin, and 31 cases (56.4%) for γ‐catenin. The expression patterns for E‐cadherin, α‐, β‐ and γ‐catenin were significantly correlated with each other (P < 0.01). Survival analysis showed a significant difference between normal and aberrant expression in each staining. A multivariate analysis revealed that the expression of α‐ catenin was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.0191). In 23 patients that received adjuvant chemotherapy, there was a significant difference in survival between the normal and aberrant expression of α‐catenin, but not other molecules.

Conclusion:  Alpha‐catenin may not only be a good prognostic marker, but also one of key molecules that determine the chemosensitivities in patients with invasive bladder cancer.
The protective effect of darbepoetin alfa on experimental testicular torsion and detorsion injury
Authors: Akcora Bulent , Altug Muhammed Enes , Kontas Tunay , Atik Esin
Published: August 2007

Aim:  Testicular torsion is a serious urological emergency, usually involving newborns, children, and adolescents which can lead to subfertility and infertility. Prevention of testicular damage caused by torsion is still a clinical and experimental problem. So far many chemicals and drugs have been investigated for decreasing ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in experimental animals. The possible protective effect of darbepoetin alfa, a novel erythropoietic protein, on testicular tissue after I/R injury was examined in this study.

Methods:  Thirty rats were divided into three groups: sham operation, torsion/detorsion, and torsion/detorsion plus darbepoetin alfa groups. After torsion (2 hours) and detorsion (4 hours), bilateral orchiectomy was performed. Malondialdehyde, nitric oxide and glutathione levels were determined in testicular tissue.

Results:  Administration of darbepoetin alfa caused a decrease of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels and an increase in glutathione levels compared with the torsion/detorsion group. In addition, histological injury scores were significantly decreased in the treatment group more than the torsion/detorsion group.

Conclusion:  The results suggest that darbepoetin alfa may be a potential protective agent for preventing testicular injury caused by testis torsion.
Diuretic pattern in adults with nocturnal polyuria: The possible contribution of blood pressure to the worsening of nocturnal polyuria
Authors: Natsume Osamu
Published: August 2007

Aim:  The present study was undertaken to investigate diuresis rate determinants of nocturnal polyuria (NP) in adults.

Subjects and Methods:  A total of 33 patients aged 50–87 years (mean: 68.6), with nocturnal urine volumes exceeding 10 mL per kg body weight based on records of a frequency‐volume chart, were enrolled to evaluate the relationships between diuresis rates and related variables. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify diuresis rate determinants, including brain natriuretic peptide. Furthermore, a hypertonic saline infusion test was conducted to examine the arginine vasopressin (AVP) response to plasma osmotic change.

Results:  Nocturnal voids correlated negatively with the daytime diuresis rate (P = 0.019). Despite a similar total urine volume per kg body weight (TUV/kgBw), systolic and mean blood pressure (MBP) significantly correlated with the nocturnal diuresis rate positively and the daytime diuresis rate negatively. The MBP, which was selected as a representative variable for blood pressure, was found to be an independent determinant for the nocturnal. The MBP and TUV/kgBw were independent determinants for the daytime diuresis rate on multiple regression analyses. Neither age, AVP, nor brain natriuretic peptide were determinants for them. When divided into two groups using their median nocturnal diuresis rates (0.023 mL/kg/min), there was no difference in the prevalence of stroke and the taking of hypnotics between the groups. Overall, a hypervolemic condition or increased sympathetic nerve activity in NP was suggested using the hypertonic saline infusion test.

Conclusions:  These results indicate that blood pressure might play an important role as a determinant of increasing nocturnal diuresis in NP.
Newly generated granule cells show rapid neuroplastic changes in the adult rat dentate gyrus during the first five days following pilocarpine‐induced seizures
Authors: Shapiro Lee A. , Figueroa‐Aragon Sergio , Ribak Charles E.
Published: August 2007

Long‐term neuroplastic changes to dentate granule cells have been reported after seizures and were shown to contribute to recurrent excitatory circuitry. These changes include increased numbers of newborn granule cells, sprouted mossy fibers, granule cell layer dispersion, increased hilar ectopic granule cells and formation of hilar basal dendrites on granule cells. The goal of the current study was to determine the acute progression of neuroplastic changes involving newly generated granule cells after pilocarpine‐induced seizures. Doublecortin (DCX) immunocytochemical preparations were used to examine the newly generated granule cells 1–5 days after seizures were induced. The results showed that there are rapid neuroplastic changes to the DCX‐labeled cells. At 1 day after seizures were induced, there were significant increases in the percentage of DCX‐labeled cells with hilar basal dendrites and in the progenitor cell population. At 2 days after seizures were induced, an increase in the thickness of the layer of DCX‐labeled cells occurred. At 3 days after seizures were induced, the number of DCX‐labeled cells was significantly increased. At 4 days after seizures were induced, developing synapses were observed on DCX‐labeled hilar basal dendrites. Thus, newly generated granule cells in the adult dentate gyrus display neuroplastic changes by 1 day after pilocarpine‐induced seizures and further changes occur to this population of cells in the subsequent 4 days. The presence of synapses, albeit developing ones, on hilar basal dendrites during this period indicates that newly generated granule cells become rapidly incorporated into dentate gyrus circuitry following seizures.
Ryanodine receptor Ca2+‐release channels are an output pathway for the circadian clock in the rat suprachiasmatic nuclei
Authors: Aguilar‐Roblero Raúl , Mercado Clara , Alamilla Javier , Laville Antonio , Díaz‐Muñoz Mauricio
Published: August 2007

Ryanodine‐sensitive intracellular Ca2+channels (RyRs) are present in suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) neurons, but the functions served by these channels are not known. Here we addressed whether mobilization of intracellular Ca2+stores through the RyRs may be a link between the molecular clock and the firing rate in SCN neurons. Activation of the RyRs by administration of either 1 mmcaffeine or 100 nmryanodine increased the firing frequency, whereas inhibition of RyRs by 10 µmdantrolene or 80 µmryanodine decreased firing rate. Similar results were obtained in experiments conducted at either midday or midnight. Furthermore, these effects were not mediated by synaptic transmission as blockade of GABA A, AMPA and NMDA receptors did not prevent the excitatory or inhibitory effects induced by either dose of ryanodine on SCN firing. We conclude that gating of RyRs is a key element of the intricate output pathway from the circadian clock within SCN neurons in rats.
REVIEW ARTICLE: Neurotransmitters regulate cell migration in the telencephalon
Authors: Heng Julian Ik‐Tsen , Moonen Gustave , Nguyen Laurent
Published: August 2007

The complex cytoarchitectonic organization of the adult mammalian telencephalon reflects the elaborate patterns of cell migration that contribute to its generation. The migration by neurons in the CNS can broadly be divided into two categories: radial and tangential. Experimental observations in the telencephalon have shown that glutamatergic projection neurons are born in the progenitor compartment of the dorsal telencephalon and migrate radially to integrate the cortical plate, whereas most γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons are generated in the ganglionic eminences and navigate through multiple tangential paths to settle into distinct telencephalic structures. Despite progress towards the understanding of the genetic determinants that specify the fate of neuronal progenitors, much remains unknown about the mechanisms that direct their migration into specific regions of the telencephalon. Interestingly, besides their function in synaptic transmission, neurotransmitters have been shown to promote several developmental processes that contribute to the establishment and maintenance of the CNS. In this respect, recent studies have highlighted a role for neurotransmitters through activation of their receptors in regulating cell migration in the telencephalon. This review summarizes and discusses the growing body of literature implicating neurotransmitters and their cognate receptors as part of a complex molecular machinery that regulate the migration of immature neurons in the telencephalon during development and in adulthood.
Regulation of initiation factors controlling protein synthesis on cultured astrocytes in lactic acid‐induced stress
Authors: Vantelon Nadine , Rioux‐Bilan Agnès , Ingrand Sabrina , Pain Stéphanie , Page Guylène , Guillard Olivier , Barrier Laurence , Piriou Alain , Fauconneau Bernard
Published: August 2007

The goals of this work were first to assess whether the lactic acidosis observed in vivo in ischemia may by itself explain the inhibition of protein synthesis described in the literature and second to study the factors controlling the initiation of protein synthesis under lactic acid stress. Primary rat astrocyte cultures exposed to pH 5.25 underwent cell death and a strong inhibition of protein synthesis assessed by [3H]methionine incorporation, which was solely due to acidity of the extracellular medium and was not related to lactate concentrations. This result was associated with a weak phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)4E and a rapid phosphorylation of eIF2α via the kinases PKR and PKR‐like endoplasmic reticulum kinase. The inhibition of PKR by PRI led first to a significant but not complete dephosphorylation of eIF2α that probably contributed to maintain the inhibition of the protein synthesis and second to surprising phosphorylations of extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinase, p70S6K and eIF4E, suggesting a possible cross‐link between the two pathways. Conversely, cell death was weak at pH 5.5. Protein synthesis was decreased to a lesser extent, the phosphorylation of eIF2α was limited, extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinase 1/2 was activated and its downstream targets, p70S6K and eIF4E, were phosphorylated. However, the strong phosphorylation of eIF4E was not associated with an activation of the eIF4F complex. This last result may explain why protein synthesis was not stimulated at pH 5.5. However, when astrocytes were exposed at pH 6.2, corresponding to the lower pH observed in hyperglycemic ischemia, no modification in protein synthesis was observed. Consequently, lactic acidosis cannot, by itself, provide an explanation for the decrease in protein synthesis previously reported in vivo in ischemia.
Cannabidiol reduced the striatal atrophy caused 3‐nitropropionic acidin vivoby mechanisms independent of the activation of cannabinoid, vanilloid TRPV1and adenosine A2Areceptors
Authors: Sagredo Onintza , Ramos José A. , Decio Alessandra , Mechoulam Raphael , Fernández‐Ruiz Javier
Published: August 2007

The neuroprotective potential of cannabinoids has been examined in rats with striatal lesions caused by 3‐nitropropionic acic (3NP), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex II. We used the CB1agonist arachidonyl‐2‐chloroethylamide (ACEA), the CB2agonist HU‐308, and cannabidiol (CBD), an antioxidant phytocannabinoid with negligible affinity for cannabinoid receptors. The administration of 3NP reduced GABA contents and also mRNA levels for several markers of striatal GABAergic projection neurons, including proenkephalin (PENK), substance P (SP) and neuronal‐specific enolase (NSE). We also found reductions in mRNA levels for superoxide dismutase‐1 (SOD‐1) and ‐2 (SOD‐2), which indicated that 3NP reduced the endogenous antioxidant defences. The administration of CBD, but not ACEA or HU‐308, completely reversed 3NP‐induced reductions in GABA contents and mRNA levels for SP, NSE and SOD‐2, and partially attenuated those found in SOD‐1 and PENK. This indicates that CBD is neuroprotective but acted preferentially on striatal neurons that project to the substantia nigra. The effects of CBD were not reversed by the CB1receptor antagonist SR141716. The same happened with the TRPV1receptor antagonist capsazepine, in concordance with the observation that capsaicin, a TRPV1receptor agonist, failed to reproduce the CBD effects. The effects of CBD were also independent of adenosine signalling as they were not attenuated by the adenosine A2Areceptor antagonist MSX‐3. In summary, this study demonstrates that CBD provides neuroprotection against 3NP‐induced striatal damage, which may be relevant for Huntington's disease, a disorder characterized by the preferential loss of striatal projection neurons. This capability seems to be based exclusively on the antioxidant properties of CBD.
Viruses and flagellates sustain apparent richness and reduce biomass accumulation of bacterioplankton in coastal marine waters
Authors: Zhang Rui , Weinbauer Markus G. , Qian Pei‐Yuan
Published: August 2007

To gain a better understanding of the interactions among bacteria, viruses and flagellates in coastal marine ecosystems, we investigated the effect of viral lysis and protistan bacterivory on bacterial abundance, production and diversity [determined by 16S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)] in three coastal marine sites with different nutrient supplies in Hong Kong. Six experiments were set up using filtration and dilution methods to develop virus, flagellate and virus+flagellate treatments for natural bacterial populations. All three predation treatments had significant repressing effects on bacterial abundance. Bacterial production was significantly repressed by flagellates and both predators (flagellates and viruses). Bacterial apparent species richness (indicated as the number of DGGE bands) was always significantly higher in the presence of viruses, flagellates and both predators than in the predator‐free control. Cluster analysis of the DGGE patterns showed that the effects of viruses and flagellates on bacterial community structure were relatively stochastic while the co‐effects of predators caused consistent trends (DGGE always showed the most similar patterns when compared with those of in situ environments) and substantially increased the apparent richness. Overall, we found strong evidence that viral lysis and protist bacterivory act additively to reduce bacterial production and to sustain diversity. This first systematic attempt to study the interactive effects of viruses and flagellates on the diversity and production of bacterial communities in coastal waters suggests that a tight control of bacterioplankton dominants results in relatively stable bacterioplankton communities.
Steering directed protein evolution: strategies to manage combinatorial complexity of mutant libraries
Authors: Wong Tuck Seng , Roccatano Danilo , Schwaneberg Ulrich
Published: August 2007

How to explore protein sequence space efficiently and how to generate high‐quality mutant libraries that allow to identify improved variants with current screening technologies are key questions for any directed protein evolution experiment. High‐quality mutant libraries can be generated through improved random mutagenesis methodologies and by restricting diversity generation through computational methods to residues which have high success probabilities. Advances in mutant library design and computational tools to focus diversity generation are summarized in this minireview and discussed from an experimentalist point of view in the context of directed protein evolution.
Tumour location is a prognostic factor for survival in colonic cancer patients
Authors: Sjo O. H. , Lunde O. C. , Nygaard K. , Sandvik L. , Nesbakken A.
Published: August 2007

Objective  To evaluate survival and prognostic factors in a consecutive series of colon cancer patients from a defined city population in Norway.

Method  All patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon diagnosed between 1993 and 2000 were registered prospectively. Five‐year actuarial survival and 5‐year relative survival rates were calculated. Cox regression analyses were used to study the effect of prognostic factors on survival.

Results  In the study period 627 patients were admitted. Overall 5‐year relative survival was 50% in females and 52% in males. Five‐year relative survival in 410 (65%) patients operated with curative intent, was 74% for females and 79% for males. Tumour location in the transverse colon, splenic flexure and descending colon (OR = 1.8), emergency operation (OR = 1.7), TNM stage (OR = 1.8–2.9), blood transfusion of more than two units (OR = 1.8) and age (OR = 4.0–7.1) were independent negative prognostic factors.

Conclusion  Colon cancer located in the transverse and descending colon is associated with poor prognosis. Comparison of results from different centres is difficult due to selection and classification differences, and different methods used for calculation of survival.
A phylogenetic analysis of the nursery‐web spider family Pisauridae, with emphasis on the generaArchitisandStaberius(Araneae: Lycosoidea)
Authors: Santos Adalberto J.
Published: August 2007

This study presents a general cladistic analysis of pisaurid genera, with emphasis on the Neotropical generaArchitisSimon andStaberiusSimon. The analysis was based on a matrix with 21 terminal taxa: eight species ofArchitis,Staberius spinipes(Taczanowski), seven exemplars of other pisaurid genera and five outgroup taxa. These terminals were scored for 59 morphological and three behavioural characters. An analysis with all characters equally weighted resulted in two most parsimonious trees, differing only in the position ofArchitis colomboSantos. In both trees Pisauridae arouse as a monophyletic group, and the exemplars ofArchitiscomposed a clade withS. spinipes. Contrary to hypotheses from the literature,ThalassiusSimon emerged as sister‐group of all remaining pisaurids, not as a close relative ofDolomedesLatreille. The generaTinusF.O.P. ‐Cambridge andThaumasiaPerty appeared in the trees as the closest relatives ofArchitisandStaberiusSimon. The analysis strongly supportedS. spinipesas the sister‐group ofA. helveola(Simon), indicating thatArchitisas currently delimited is paraphyletic. Based on these results,Staberiusis considered a subjective junior synonym ofArchitis. Additionally, the genusMimicosaPetrunkevitch, originally described in Tetragnathidae, is transferred to Pisauridae and considered a junior synonym ofArchitis. Two species are proposed as junior synonyms ofA. spinipescomb.n.Mimicosa spinosaPetrunkevitch andStaberius lemoultiCaporiacco.
A disease management programme for patients with diabetes mellitus is associated with improved quality of care within existing budgets
Authors: Steuten L. M. G. , Vrijhoef H. J. M. , Landewé‐Cleuren S. , Schaper N. , Van Merode G. G. , Spreeuwenberg C.
Published: August 2007

Aim To assess the impact of a disease management programme for patients with diabetes mellitus (Type 1 and Type 2) on cost‐effectiveness, quality of life and patient self‐management. By organizing care in accordance with the principles of disease management, it is aimed to increase quality of care within existing budgets.

Methods Single‐group, pre‐post design with 2‐year follow‐up in 473 patients.

Results Substantial significant improvements in glycaemic control, health‐related quality of life (HRQL) and patient self‐management were found. No significant changes were detected in total costs of care. The probability that the disease management programme is cost‐effective compared with usual care amounts to 74%, expressed in an average saving of 117 per additional life year at 5% improved HRQL.

Conclusion Introduction of a disease management programme for patients with diabetes is associated with improved intermediate outcomes within existing budgets. Further research should focus on long‐term cost‐effectiveness, including diabetic complications and mortality, in a controlled setting or by using decision‐analytic modelling techniques.
Early mortality from the time of diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes: a 5‐year prospective cohort study with a local age‐ and sex‐matched comparison cohort
Authors: Guzder R. N. , Gatling W. , Mullee M. A. , Byrne C. D.
Published: August 2007

Aims  To study patterns and predictors of early mortality in individuals with a new diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, compared with a local age‐ and sex‐matched comparison cohort.

Methods  A total of 736 individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes between 1 May 1996 and 30 June 1998 and non‐diabetic age‐ and sex‐matched control subjects were studied. Follow‐up was 5.25 years. Age‐ and gender‐specific all‐cause mortality odds ratios were calculated for the diabetic cohort compared with the non‐diabetic comparator group. Mortality odds ratios were ascertained using conditional logistic regression.

Results  There were 147 deaths in the diabetic cohort [cardiovascular (42.2%), cancer (21.1%)]. Compared with the non‐diabetic cohort, mortality odds more than doubled [odds ratio (OR) 2.47; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.74, 3.49]. These increased odds were present in all age bands (including those aged > 75 years at diagnosis) for both cardiovascular and non‐cardiovascular causes. In women, a new diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes was associated with a sevenfold increase in mortality odds in those aged 60–74 years (OR 7.00; 95% CI 2.09, 23.47).

Conclusions  Type 2 diabetes is associated with a 2.5‐fold increase in the odds of mortality in both men and women over the first 5 years from diagnosis. Our data strongly support the contention that the mortality risk associated with Type 2 diabetes essentially exists from, or may even predate, the time of diagnosis.
Hart's Rule of Recognition and the United States
Authors: GREENAWALT KENT
Published: August 2007

Abstract. This essay explores the implications of H.L.A. Hart's rule of recognition for identifying ultimate standards of law in the United States. The effort reveals that these standards are much more complex than is commonly supposed. Not all of the federal constitution is part of the “ultimate” rule of recognition, and much else must be included in that rule. The analysis uncovers many possibilities for how ultimate standards relate to derivative standards that are omitted or barely hinted at in Hart's account. Some of these possibilities pose genuine difficulty for Hart's basic theory and help illuminate the relation of conventional and normative elements in an adequate account of law, a subject addressed in the final section of the essay.
An Empowerment Theory of Legal Norms*
Authors: PAULSON STANLEY L.
Published: August 2007

Abstract. Traditionally legal theorists, whenever engaged in controversy, have agreed on one point: legal norms are par excellence rules which impose obligations. The author examines this assumption, which from another perspective (that of constitutional law, for instance) appears less obvious. In fact, constitutional rules are commoniy empowering norms, norms which do not create duties but powers. To this objection many theorists would reply that empowering rules are incomplete and that they are to be understood as parts of duty‐creating rules. A different position from this traditional stance is that defended in Kelsen's later writings, according to which the fundamental type of norm is the empowering norm. The author discusses Kelsen's three theories on the “ideal form” or structure of the legal norm, with special attention to the third of these, the empowerment theory.
Institutions, Arrangements and Practical Information*
Authors: MACCORMICK NEIL
Published: August 2007

Abstract. A restatement of an institutionalist theory of law is attempted with particular reference to legal reasoning and legal rights. Use is made of Ota Weinberger's concept of “practical information”, focusing on both its momentary and diachronic aspects. Momentary practical information corresponds to the need to know which conduct is required of us at a given moment. The diachronic practical information becomes relevant whenever we wish to stabilize the practical information and to reduce the likelihood of change regarding our ways of acting. Furthermore, the momentary information is given sense only against the background of the diachronic one. Among the different types of diachronic practical information particular importance is ascribed to legal “institutions” such as contracts and rights. Legal “institutions” are conceived as founded on various sets of rules. Rules may then increase the number of facts in the world: those special kinds of facts which are represented by social phenomena.
The Paradox of Blackmail
Authors: FEINBERG JOEL
Published: August 2007

Abstract. The author questions himself about what is known as “the paradox of blackmail,” that is, the fact that blackmail is the result of the combination of two ways of behaving which are often both lawful if taken individually, but unlawful once they are connected. The author also examines whether the harm principle typical of liberal orders provides the justification (the rationale) for the assumption of blackmail as a crime, or whether it is instead necessary to turn to another justificatory basis: the exploitation principle. However, as this principle leads to legal moralism, it opposes a liberal ethics. Thus, one is faced with the dilemma of either accepting the harm principle thus decriminalizing blackmail, or accepting the exploitation principle and going against principles of liberalism. To escape this dilemma the author distinguishes between various types (five categories) of blackmail, concluding that only non‐paradoxical types fit the common‐sense expectation of criminalization.
Reason in Law
Authors: BOBBIO NORBERTO
Published: August 2007

Abstract. The problem of the relationship between “reason” and “law” has two different meanings depending on whether the first or the second of the two terms is considered to be the most important one. These two different meanings are revealed in the expressions “law of reason” and “legal reason,” respectively. In the first expression, “reason” is meant in its strong sense, that is, the faculty of grasping the essence of things, while in the second, “reason” is meant in a weak sense, the ability to reason (calculate, infer, discuss). “Law of reason” and “legal reason” correspond to two different moments of the legal universe, the creation and, respectively, the application of law. Strong reason is that which discovers the rules to be obeyed, while weak reason is that which applies rules to an actual case. The first is legislating reason, while the second is judging reason. The main topic of the debate from the Greeks to Kant was that of legislating reason. Nowadays, instead, scholars in the field are interested in judging reason. Historicism and positivism mark the end of faith in the existence of rules which are objectively just, and which may be recognized by human reason. By now we have learned to do without the eternal truths in the knowledge of the world. However painful it may be, we are forced to resign ourselves to do without evident truths in ethics, as well.