bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social work in Israel: professional characteristics in an international comparative perspective
Authors: Weiss Idit , Spiro Shimon , Sherer Moshe , Korin‐Langer Nora
Published: August 2004

This article employs a comparative framework in the analysis of the professional characteristics of social work in Israel. Using the attributes and the power approaches to professions, Israeli social work is analysed according to eight variables: a protected ‘trademark’, monopoly over social care and delivery of services within state welfare systems, occupational autonomy, length of training and control over training, internal differentiation by levels of expertise and competence, professional organisation, a sanction‐backed code of ethics, and material and symbolic rewards. The analysis reveals that Israeli social work has undergone an extensive professionalisation process and that it has characteristics that are not common in other countries. Initial explanations for this process are offered and discussed.
Social services provided for physically abused children in Sweden: background factors and interventions
Authors: Lindell Charlotta , Svedin Carl Göran
Published: August 2004

This study aims at describing and analysing what kinds of social services are provided for physically abused children in Sweden. The social services files were examined for 113 children under 15 years of age (67 boys and 46 girls) who had been reported to the police as having been physically abused by a parent or equivalent caretaker in a particular police district. The children's social services files indicated an increased risk of a parental abusive behaviour prior to the abuse incident. There had been former interventions in 81 per cent of the families and previous reports on neglect or abuse in 44 per cent of the 113 families. After the abuse incident, investiga‐tions were opened in 80 per cent of the cases. The three most common interventions were placement in foster care, referrals to Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service and Social Services support contacts. The study shows that there was a tendency towards more proactive work with injured children, children of immigrant parents and children of mentally ill parents.
Prices, Devices, People, or Rules: The Relative Effectiveness of Policy Instruments in Water Conservation1
Authors: Campbell Heather E. , Johnson Ryan M. , Larson Elizabeth Hunt
Published: August 2004

Water conservation policy is a natural laboratory for addressing general issues of relevance to policy analysis and public administration, particularly the relative effectiveness of policies in changing human behavior. Using multivariate regression analysis of a dataset comprised of more than 200,000 monthly observations of more than 19,000 household accounts over six years, this paper makes three main contributions. First, it contributes to the substantive area of water conservation policy by analyzing what works. Second, it contributes to our understanding of generic policy instruments. Third, it raises an important issue regarding standard assumptions about selection bias. The results support earlier work warning that offsetting behavior can negate engineering solutions to policy problems, but further indicate that adding communication to engineering solutions can create cooperation that overcomes offsetting behavior. They also provide evidence that appropriate regulation can be effective, and that pricing can be effective even when price elasticities of demand are low.
The Impact of Low Trust on Economic Development: The Case of Latin America
Authors: Neace M. B.
Published: August 2004

Deficiencies of trust in many Latin American countries significantly impede efforts to attain sufficient levels of sustainable, long‐term economic growth. This paper discusses the role of trust as seen through the eyes of small entrepreneurs in Latin America. Three tables are discussed that specifically portray the role of trust in society, how entrepreneurs use trust to sustain their enterprises and socioeconomic networks, and the impacts of low trust in economic development in Latin America. This paper confirms what many leading scholars have claimed over the past two decades, that a cultural legacy of fractious civil societies accompanied with disruptive and often‐corrupt polities does matter when measuring human progress and economic development.
The Policy Sciences and the Unmasking Turn of Mind1
Authors: Ryan Philip
Published: August 2004

To unmask an idea is to disarm it by claiming that it has been advanced in the service of unacknowledged motives, bypassing the question of whether the idea is true or false. Most of us engage in the occasional unmasking of policy arguments. But unmasking becomes problematic when it is a “turn of mind,” a standard tool applied to a wide range of arguments, as in the work of policy writers Deborah Stone and William Riker. This article argues that the unmasking turn of mind misunderstands the world of policy and politics, and poses risks to a society's practice of deliberation on policy matters. Guidelines for responsible unmasking are proposed.
Community Capacity Building: A Critical Evaluation of the Third Sector Approach
Authors: Williams Colin C.
Published: August 2004

Throughout the advanced economies, public policy has become ever more deeply involved in developing the capacities of communities to help themselves. Until now, this has been pursued through facilitating the development of community‐based groups. The aim of this paper, however, is to critically evaluate the implications and legitimacy of this public policy approach that views developing community‐based groups and community capacity building as synonymous. Drawing upon empirical evidence from the United Kingdom, it is here revealed that this third sector approach of developing community‐based groups privileges a culture of community involvement that relatively few engage in and is more characteristic of affluent populations, while disregarding informal acts of one‐to‐one engagement that are both a more popular form of community involvement and also more characteristic of the participatory culture of less affluent populations. The paper concludes by exploring how public policy might respond, especially with regard to the finding that less affluent populations have relatively informal cultures of engagement.
Early Marriage and HIV Risks in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Clark Shelley
Published: August 2004

This article examines the effects of girls' early marriage on their risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS. By comparing several underlying HIV risk factors, it explores the counterintuitive finding that married adolescent girls in urban centers in Kenya and Zambia have higher rates of HIV infection than do sexually active unmarried girls. In both countries, we find that early marriage increases coital frequency, decreases condom use, and virtually eliminates girls' ability to abstain from sex. Moreover, husbands of married girls are about three times more likely to be HIV‐positive than are boyfriends of single girls. Although married girls are less likely than single girls to have multiple partners, this protective behavior may be outweighed by their greater exposure via unprotected sex with partners who have higher rates of infection. These results challenge commonly held assumptions about sex within marriage.
Bridging the Gap Between Evidence‐based Innovation and National Health‐sector Reform in Ghana
Authors: Awoonor‐Williams John Koku , Feinglass Ellie S. , Tobey Rachel , Vaughan‐Smith Maya N. , Nyonator Frank K. , Jones Tanya C.
Published: August 2004

Although experimental trials often identify optimal strategies for improving community health, transferring operational innovation from well‐funded research programs to resource‐constrained settings often languishes. Because research initiatives are based in institutions equipped with unique resources and staff capabilities, results are often dismissed by decisionmakers as irrelevant to large‐scale operations and national health policy. This article describes an initiative undertaken in Nkwanta District, Ghana, focusing on this problem. The Nkwanta District initiative is a critical link between the experimental study conducted in Navrongo, Ghana, and a national effort to scale up the innovations developed in that study. A 2002 Nkwanta district‐level survey provides the basis for assessing the likelihood that the Navrongo model is replicable elsewhere in Ghana. The effect of community‐based health planning and services exposure on family planning and safe‐motherhood indicators supports the hypothesis that Navrongo effects are transferable to impoverished rural settings elsewhere, confirming the need for strategies to bridge the gap between Navrongo evidence‐based innovation and national health‐sector reform.
Abortion‐related Maternal Mortality in the Russian Federation
Authors: Zhirova Irina Alekseevna , Frolova Olga Grigorievna , Astakhova Tatiana Mikhailovna , Ketting Evert
Published: August 2004

This study examines characteristics and determinants of maternal mortality associated with induced and spontaneous abortion in the Russian Federation. In addition to national statistical data, the study uses the original medical files of 113 women, representing 74 percent of all women known to have died after undergoing an abortion in 1999. The number of abortions and abortion‐related maternal deaths fell fairly steadily during the 1991–2000 decade to levels of 56 percent and 52 percent of the 1991 base, respectively. Regional and urban–rural variation is limited. Nine percent of abortion‐related maternal mortality is due to spontaneous abortion; 24 percent is related to induced abortions performed inside and 67 percent to those performed outside a medical institution. In the latter group, older women, usually with a history of several pregnancies, are overrepresented. The high rate of abortion‐related maternal mortality is due largely to the number of abortions performed at 13–21 weeks' and 22–27 weeks' gestation both inside and outside medical institutions. Improving access to safe second‐trimester abortion, preventing delays during the abortion procedure, and adequate treatment of complications are key strategies for reducing abortion‐related maternal mortality.
Long‐term Effects of Reproductive History on All‐cause Mortality Among Adults in Rural Bangladesh
Authors: Hurt Lisa S. , Ronsmans Carine , Campbell Oona M.R. , Saha Sajal , Kenward Mike , Quigley Maria
Published: August 2004

A woman's risk of dying is altered during pregnancy and immediately postpartum. Moreover, physiological and social changes associated with pregnancy may have long‐term effects on mortality. Comparing these long‐term associations among women and their husbands may provide insights into the nature of such a relationship. In this cohort study, we examine the association between reproductive history and all‐cause mortality among ever‐married women and men after age 45 in Matlab, Bangladesh, using data collected between 1982 and 1998 for a unique demographic surveillance system. No association was found between parity and mortality among women, but a small decrease in men's mortality was found to be associated with their wives' parity. Survival for both sexes was greatly enhanced by an increasing number of surviving children, regardless of parity or other social factors. A “healthy pregnant woman effect” coupled with the social and economic advantages of having surviving children may explain the observed effects.
PARALLEL COPYING GARBAGE COLLECTION USING DELAYED ALLOCATION
Authors: PETRANK EREZ , KOLODNER ELLIOT K.
Published: August 2004

We present a new approach to parallel copying garbage collection on symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) machines appropriate for Java and other object-oriented languages. Parallel, in this setting, means that the collector runs in several parallel threads.

Our collector is based on a new idea called delayed allocation, which completely eliminates the fragmentation problem of previous parallel copying collectors while still keeping low synchronization, high efficiency, and simplicity of collection. In addition to this main idea, we also discuss several other ideas such as termination detection, balancing the distribution of work, and dealing with contention during work distribution.
TOPOLOGY CHANGE FOR FUZZY PHYSICS: FUZZY SPACES AS HOPF ALGEBRAS
Authors: BALACHANDRAN A. P. , KÜRKÇÜOǦLU S.
Published: August 2004

Fuzzy spaces are obtained by quantizing adjoint orbits of compact semi-simple Lie groups. Fuzzy spheres emerge from quantizing S2and are associated with the group SU (2) in this manner. They are useful for regularizing quantum field theories and modeling space–times by noncommutative manifolds. We show that fuzzy spaces are Hopf algebras and in fact have more structure than the latter. They are thus candidates for quantum symmetries. Using their generalized Hopf algebraic structures, we can also model processes where one fuzzy space splits into several fuzzy spaces. For example we can discuss the quantum transition where the fuzzy sphere for angular momentum J splits into fuzzy spheres for angular momenta K and L.
Return Autocorrelations on Individual Stocks and Corresponding Futures: Evidence from Australian, Hong Kong, and United Kingdom Markets
Authors: Lien Donald , Yang Li
Published: August 2004

In this study, we investigate the daily relationships between returns on individual stocks and their corresponding futures contracts in Australian, Hong Kong, and United Kingdom markets. We find that, at the beginning of the life of a futures market, autocorrelation of futures returns is similar to that of individual stock returns. As the market becomes mature, the autocorrelation of futures returns behaves differently from the autocorrelation of stock returns. Through the linkage between return autocorrelations and trading volume, we find that a larger trading volume depresses the return autocorrelation and shrinks the differences of return autocorrelation between stock and its futures. In addition, futures trading volume has more significant impact on the patterns of return autocorrelations than the stock trading volume. The effect is non-linear in the sense that it is much more prominent during high futures trading periods. Summary of these findings suggests that the difference of return autocorrelations between an individual stock and its futures contract is due to low trading activities of futures.
Is Too-Big-To-Fail Policy Effective for US Banks in an International Currency Crisis?
Authors: Zhang Zhaohui , Karim Khondkar E.
Published: August 2004

This study investigates the current role of the US "too-big-to-fail" (TBTF) policy for US banks in an international currency crisis in late 1997. It has been documented (Zhang, 2001) that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) term loan announcements concerning South Korea in late 1997 significantly increased the implicit value of the US bank loans and investments to South Korea and hence, the equity values of its US bank creditors. Using the market model, this paper examines the potential abnormal performance of the TBTF banks and the non-TBTF banks from different perspectives during mid-November to early December 1997. The evidence indicates the potential effectiveness of the implicit TBTF policy for US banks in the international currency crisis and the existence of the different pricing behavior of different groups of banks.
Explaining the Increase in Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Beijing Between 1984 and 1999
Authors: Critchley Julia , Liu Jing , Zhao Dong , Wei Wang , Capewell Simon
Published: August 2004

Background—

Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality is rising in many developing countries. We examined how much of the increase in CHD mortality in Beijing, China, between 1984 and 1999 could be attributed to changes in major cardiovascular risk factors and assessed the impact of medical and surgical treatments.

Methods and Results—

A validated, cell-based mortality model synthesized data on (1) patient numbers, (2) uptake of specific medical and surgical treatments, (3) treatment effectiveness, and (4) population trends in major cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, total cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes). Main data sources were the WHO MONICA and Sino-MONICA studies, the Chinese Multi-provincial Cohort Study, routine hospital statistics, and published meta-analyses. Age-adjusted CHD mortality rates increased by ≈50% in men and 27% in women (1608 more deaths in 1999 than expected by application of 1984 rates). Most of this increase (≈77%, or 1397 additional deaths) was attributable to substantial rises in total cholesterol levels (more than 1 mmol/L), plus increases in diabetes and obesity. Blood pressure decreased slightly, whereas smoking prevalence increased in men but decreased substantially in women. In 1999, medical and surgical treatments in patients together prevented or postponed ≈642 deaths, mainly from initial treatments for acute myocardial infarction (≈41%), hypertension (24%), angina (15%), secondary prevention (11%), and heart failure (10%). Multiway sensitivity analyses did not greatly influence the results.

Conclusions—

Much of the dramatic CHD mortality increases in Beijing can be explained by rises in total cholesterol, reflecting an increasingly “Western” diet. Without cardiological treatments, increases would have been even greater.
Homozygous Deficiency of Heparin Cofactor II
Authors: Corral Javier , Aznar Justo , Gonzalez-Conejero Rocio , Villa Piedad , Miñano Antonia , Vayá Amparo , Carrell Robin W. , Huntington James A. , Vicente Vicente
Published: August 2004

Background—

Heparin cofactor II (HCII) is a hepatic serpin with significant antithrombin activity that has been implicated in coagulation, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and wound repair. Recent data obtained in mice lacking HCII suggest that this serpin might inhibit thrombosis in the arterial circulation. However, the clinical relevance and molecular mechanisms associated with deficiency of HCII in humans are unclear.

Methods and Results—

We studied the first family with homozygous HCII deficiency, identifying a Glu428Lys mutation affecting a conserved glutamate at the hinge (P17) of the reactive loop. No carrier reported arterial thrombosis, and only 1 homozygous HCII-deficient patient developed severe deep venous thrombosis, but she also had a de novo Glu100Stop nonsense truncation in the antithrombin gene.

Conclusions—

Our results confirm the key structural role of the P17 glutamate in serpins. The same mutation causes conformational instability and polymerization in 3 serpins:
Drosophila
necrotic, human α1-antitrypsin, and human HCII, which explains their plasma deficiency. In the family under study here, however, plasma HCII deficiency was not associated with a significant clinical phenotype.
Natriuretic Peptide Receptor-C Regulates Coronary Blood Flow and Prevents Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Hobbs Adrian , Foster Paul , Prescott Craig , Scotland Ramona , Ahluwalia Amrita
Published: August 2004

Background—

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury complicates myocardial infarction and stroke by exacerbating tissue damage and increasing risk of mortality. We have recently identified C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) as an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in the mesenteric resistance vasculature and described a novel signaling pathway involving activation of natriuretic peptide receptor C (NPR-C), which plays a pivotal role in the regulation of local blood flow. We tested the hypothesis that CNP/NPR-C signaling is a novel regulatory pathway governing coronary blood flow and protecting against I/R injury.

Methods and Results—

CNP and (Cys18)-atrial natriuretic factor (4-23) amide (cANF
4–23
) elicited dose-dependent decreases in coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) that were blocked by Ba
2+
and ouabain in the isolated Langendorff rat heart. The endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine elicited the release of CNP from the coronary endothelium. CNP and cANF
4–23
reduced infarct size after 25 minutes of global ischemia and 120 minutes of reperfusion, maintaining CPP and left ventricular pressure at preischemic values. The vasorelaxant and protective activity of CNP and cANF
4–23
were enhanced in the absence of endothelium-derived nitric oxide.

Conclusion—

Endothelium-derived CNP is involved in the regulation of the coronary circulation, and NPR-C activation underlies the vasorelaxant activity of this peptide. Moreover, this newly defined pathway represents a protective mechanism against I/R injury and a novel target for therapeutic intervention in ischemic cardiovascular disorders.
Thioredoxin-1 Ameliorates Myosin-Induced Autoimmune Myocarditis by Suppressing Chemokine Expressions and Leukocyte Chemotaxis in Mice
Authors: Liu Wenrui , Nakamura Hajime , Shioji Keisuke , Tanito Masaki , Oka Shin-ichi , Ahsan M. Kaimul , Son Aoi , Ishii Yasuyuki , Kishimoto Chiharu , Yodoi Junji
Published: August 2004

Background—

Cardiac myosin–induced myocarditis is an experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) model used to investigate autoimmunological mechanisms in inflammatory heart diseases and resembles fulminant myocarditis in humans. We investigated the therapeutic role of thioredoxin-1 (TRX-1), a redox-regulatory protein with antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects, in murine EAM.

Methods and Results—

EAM was generated in 5-week-old male BALB/c mice by immunization with porcine cardiac myosin at days 0 and 7. Recombinant human TRX-1 (rhTRX-1), C32S/C35S mutant rhTRX-1, or saline was administered intraperitoneally every second day from day 0 to 20. In addition, rabbit anti-mouse TRX-1 serum or normal rabbit serum was administered intraperitoneally on days −1, 2, and 6. Animals were euthanized on day 21. Histological analysis of the heart showed that TRX-1 significantly reduced the severity of EAM, whereas mutant TRX-1 failed to have such an effect, and anti–TRX-1 antibody enhanced the disease markedly. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that TRX-1 significantly suppressed cardiac macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-2, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine expression and macrophage infiltration into the heart in EAM. Although serum levels of MIP-1α were not suppressed by TRX-1 until day 21, both an in vitro chemotaxis chamber assay and an in vivo air pouch model showed that TRX-1 significantly suppressed MIP-1α– or MIP-2–induced leukocyte chemotaxis. However, real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction showed that TRX-1 failed to decrease chemokine receptor expression increased in the bone marrow cells of EAM mice.

Conclusions—

TRX-1 attenuates EAM by suppressing chemokine expressions and leukocyte chemotaxis in mice.
Nesiritide Does Not Improve Renal Function in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure and Worsening Serum Creatinine
Authors: Wang David J. , Dowling Thomas C. , Meadows Dean , Ayala Tomas , Marshall Joanne , Minshall Stacey , Greenberg Nancy , Thattassery Emil , Fisher Michael L. , Rao Krishnamurti , Gottlieb Stephen S.
Published: August 2004

Background—

Nesiritide (synthetic human brain natriuretic peptide) is approved for the treatment of symptomatic heart failure. However, studies of brain natriuretic peptide in patients with heart failure have come to conflicting conclusions about effects on glomerular filtration rate (GFR), effective renal plasma flow, natriuresis, and diuresis.

Methods and Results—

To identify a population at high risk of renal dysfunction with conventional treatment, we selected patients with a creatinine level increased from baseline (within 6 months). We examined the effects of nesiritide on GFR (measured by iothalamate clearance), renal plasma flow (measured by para-amino hippurate clearance), urinary sodium excretion, and urine output in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Patients received nesiritide (2 μg/kg IV bolus followed by an infusion of 0.01 μg/kg per minute) or placebo for 24 hours on consecutive days. Nesiritide and placebo data were compared by repeated-measures analysis and Student
t
test. We studied 15 patients with a recent mean baseline creatinine of 1.5±0.4 mg/dL and serum creatinine of 1.8±0.8 mg/dL on admission to the study. There were no differences in GFR, effective renal plasma flow, urine output, or sodium excretion for any time interval or for the entire 24-hour period between the nesiritide and placebo study days. For 24 hours, urine output was 113±51 mL/h with placebo and 110±56 mL/h with nesiritide. GFR during placebo was 40.9±25.9 mL/min and with nesiritide was 40.9±25.8.

Conclusions—

Nesiritide did not improve renal function in patients with decompensated heart failure, mild chronic renal insufficiency, and renal function that had worsened compared with baseline. The lack of effect may be related to renal insufficiency, hemodynamic alterations, sodium balance, severity of heart failure, or drug dose. Understanding the importance of these issues will permit effective and appropriate use of nesiritide.
Vascular Response to Angiotensin II in Upper Body Obesity
Authors: Nielsen Søren , Halliwill John R. , Joyner Michael J. , Jensen Michael D.
Published: August 2004

Upper body obesity is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, and endothelial dysfunction. We examined forearm vascular function in response to vasodilator (endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent) and vasoconstrictor stimuli in 8 normotensive, upper body/viscerally obese men with a positive family history of hypertension and 8 age-matched nonobese men. We also measured body composition and insulin regulation of free fatty acid (FFA) and glucose metabolism. Forearm blood flow was measured before and during brachial artery infusions of acetylcholine (Ach), sodium nitroprusside (NTP), and angiotensin II (±nitric oxide synthase [NO]) synthase blockade with
N
G
-monomethyl
l
-arginine [
l
-NMMA]). On a separate day, baseline and insulin-regulated glucose ([3-
3
H]glucose) and FFA ([9,10-
3
H]palmitate) turnover were measured. The vasoconstrictor response to angiotensin II was greater (
P
<0.05) in obese men than in nonobese men, whereas endothelium-dependent vasodilation was similar. The slope of the angiotensin II dose-response curve correlated significantly with the basal plasma palmitate concentration. Basal and insulin-mediated glucose disposal was significantly reduced and FFA turnover significantly increased in viscerally obese men. No differences in endothelium-independent vasodilation or relationships between vascular responsivity and palmitate and glucose kinetics or body composition were found. Angiotensin II–stimulated forearm vasoconstriction is increased in viscerally obese normotensive men.
Modulation of Oxidant and Antioxidant Enzyme Expression and Function in Vascular Cells
Authors: Wassmann Sven , Wassmann Kerstin , Nickenig Georg
Published: August 2004

Pathological conditions that predispose to cardiovascular events, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes, are associated with oxidative stress. These observations and further data derived from a plethora of investigations provided accumulating evidence that oxidative stress is decisively involved in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Several enzymes expressed in vascular tissue contribute to production and efficient degradation of reactive oxygen species, and enhanced activity of oxidant enzymes and/or reduced activity of antioxidant enzymes may cause oxidative stress. Various agonists, pathological conditions, and therapeutic interventions lead to modulated expression and function of oxidant and antioxidant enzymes, including NAD(P)H oxidase, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, xanthine oxidase, myeloperoxidase, superoxide dismutases, catalase, thioredoxin reductase, and glutathione peroxidase. Data from numerous studies underline the importance of dysregulated oxidant and antioxidant enzymes for the development and progression of atherosclerotic disease in animal models and humans. Specific pharmacological modulation of key enzymes involved in the propagation of oxidative stress rather than using direct antioxidants may be an approach to reduce oxygen radical load in the vasculature and subsequent disease progression in humans. This review focuses on the modulation of expression and activity of major antioxidant and oxidant enzymes expressed in vascular cells.
Ovariectomy Augments Hypertension in Aging Female Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats
Authors: Hinojosa-Laborde Carmen , Craig Teresa , Zheng Wei , Ji Hong , Haywood Joseph R. , Sandberg Kathryn
Published: August 2004

The ovariectomized (OVX) Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rat fed a low-salt diet is a model of postmenopausal hypertension. In addition to estrogen loss, aging can also contribute to postmenopausal hypertension. We hypothesized that: (1) female DS rats on a low-salt diet become hypertensive with age; (2) ovariectomy accelerates age-dependent hypertension in the DS rat caused by estrogen depletion; and (3) this hypertension correlates with increased type 1 angiotensin receptor (AT
1
R) number (Bmax). Blood pressure was monitored by telemetry from 3 to 12 months and AT
1
R Bmax was determined by Scatchard analysis in glomeruli and adrenal cortex. Three groups of DS rats were studied: intact, OVX, and 17β-estradiol–replaced OVX (OVX+E). In intact rats, aging to 12 months resulted in hypertension (159±6 mm Hg) and an 82% decrease in estrogen. Blood pressure in OVX was significantly higher than OVX+E through 12 months of age (173±4 versus 150±8 mm Hg). At 4 months, OVX increased AT
1
R Bmax compared with intact and OVX+E in both glomeruli and adrenal cortex. Aging also increased AT
1
R Bmax in these tissues in intact rats. In summary, female DS rats fed a low-salt diet have hypertension develop with age, that is accelerated by OVX and attenuated by estrogen replacement. Concurrently, AT
1
Rs are upregulated by age and OVX, which is prevented by estrogen replacement. This study suggests that an increased activity of the renin angiotensin system contributes to the development of hypertension, and estrogen protects against this process.
Possible roles for activating RAS mutations in the MGUS to MM transition and in the intramedullary to extramedullary transition in some plasma cell tumors
Authors: Rasmussen Thomas , Kuehl Michael , Lodahl Marianne , Johnsen Hans E. , Dahl Inger Marie S.
Published: August 2004

To assess a possible role in tumor progression, the occurrence and type of K- and N-RAS mutations were determined in purified tumor cells, including samples from patients with premalignant monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), multiple myeloma (MM), and extramedullary plasma cell (PC) tumors (ExPCTs). Immunophenotypic aberrant PCs were flow sorted from 20 MGUS, 58 MM, and 13 ExPCT patients. One RAS mutation was identified in 20 MGUS tumors (5%), in contrast to a much higher prevalence of RAS mutations in all stages of MM (about 31%). Further, oncogene analyses showed that RAS mutations are not evenly distributed among different molecular subclasses of MM, with the prevalence being increased in MM-expressing cyclin D1 (P = .015) and decreased in MM with t(4;14) (P = .055). We conclude that RAS mutations often provide a genetic marker if not a causal event in the evolution of MGUS to MM. Surprisingly, RAS mutations were absent in bone marrow tumor cells from all patients with ExPCT, a result significantly different from intramedullary MM (P = .001). From 3 of 6 patients with paired intramedullary and extramedullary PCs and identical immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IgH) sequences, RAS mutations were identified only in extramedullary PCs, suggesting a role for RAS mutations in the transition from intramedullary to extramedullary tumor. (Blood. 2005;105:317-323)
Environmental influences in schizophrenia: the known and the unknown
Authors: Leask Stuart J.
Published: August 2004

Despite much research, environmental influences that can be said to cause a schizophrenic illness remain elusive. When the effects of an (often prolonged) prodromal syndrome are taken into account, the first episode appears to come from nowhere. However, over the past couple of decades a number of factors have emerged that can be argued to influence, and not merely reflect, the illness onset. The possible effects of season and geography of birth, urbanisation, immigration, substance misuse, prenatal influenza, famine and other stresses, and obstetric complications are summarised. These varied findings, often of small effect and borderline significance, present a challenge to clinicians attempting to make sense of their patients' life experiences. Any hard conclusions still depend largely on how one formulates the illness.
Age at onset and cognitive functioning in schizophrenia
Authors: Tuulio-Henriksson Annamari , Partonen Timo , Suvisaari Jaana , Haukka Jari , Lönnqvist Jouko
Published: August 2004

Background

Impairments in cognitive functioning are common in schizophrenia, and the degree of impairment may be associated with the individual's age at onset of the disorder.

Aims

To examine the effect of age at onset on cognitive functioning using the California Verbal Learning Test, sub-tests from the Wechsler Memory Scale – Revised and sub-scales from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised among families with schizophrenia.

Method

The effect of age at onset on cognitive function in 237 people with schizophrenia from a population-based sample was examined using linear mixed effects models with family as the random effect, and age, gender, chronicity of the illness and number of affected first-degree relatives as fixed effects.

Results

Impairment in verbal learning and memory was associated with earlier disease onset. No association was found for working memory or IQ.

Conclusions

In patients with early-onset schizophrenia, verbal memory functions in particular should be taken into account in neuropsychological evaluation and efforts at remediation.
Depression in men attending a rural general practice: factors associated with prevalence of depressive symptoms and diagnosis
Authors: Shiels Christopher , Gabbay Mark , Dowrick Christopher , Hulbert Christopher
Published: August 2004

Background

Doctors are less likely to diagnose depression in men than in women. Little research has been conducted to explore the underlying reasons for this in rural settings, or to compare primary care doctors' and male patients' ratings of perceived depression.

Aims

To identify symptomatic and socio-demographic correlates of depression in men attending a rural practice, and to compare and contrast general practitioners' and patients' assessments of depression.

Method

All male patients of working age attending a rural general practice over a 12-month period were invited to participate.

Results

Men reporting recent’ chest pain’ or ‘feeling tired/little energy’, expressing low job enjoyment or with a previous diagnosis of depression were more likely to be scored above threshold on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – Depression sub-scale. There was little agreement between the doctors and their male patients about the degree of perceived depression.

Conclusions

Educational interventions aimed at addressing the diagnosis of depression in men should take greater account of factors within a particular social setting.
Psychiatry in the future
Authors: Laugharne Richard
Published: August 2004

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine, and medicine has its roots in scientific empiricism. Scientific modernism, a product of the Enlightenment, has come under considerable fire from critics, often labelled as postmodern (Muir Gray, 1999; Bracken & Thomas, 2001; Laugharne, 2002). These criticisms include a portrayal of science as a ‘grand narrative’ that reduces reality to a material, measurable world, which follows rational rules, and excludes the non-measurable and non-material. The idea of the objective observer is questioned, because all observers have some interest in what is being observed. Also, multiple views of reality are seen as necessary to understand different perspectives, and the idea that scientific knowledge should ‘trump’ other forms of experience is criticised. This has been described by Bracken in the following way.
Development of a multi-agency experiential training course on personality disorder
Authors: Rigby Mike , Longford Joan
Published: August 2004

Aims and Method

The need for training in the management of personality disorder is now firmly established following publication of policy implementation guidance for the development of services for people with such disorders. We report on the development of a training course for people from a range of disciplines, which is group-based, psycho-analytically informed and experiential in nature.

Results

Those attending the course rated it highly. They showed marked changes in attitude towards, and greater confidence to work with, the client group, and were more willing to communicate their own difficulties openly both within and between agencies, to pass on their skills and to develop further the networks they had formed.

Clinical Implications

Given a containing structure and reflective space, professionals from a number of agencies rapidly become able to use difficult theory to develop a ‘feeling language’ to communicate about clients with personality disorder. User presentations can be important to these changes. Repeating such a course over a number of years might lead to a more therapeutic culture within mental health services and associated agencies. The course format is likely to be transferable.
A continuous-time GARCH process driven by a Lévy process: stationarity and second-order behaviour
Authors: Klüppelberg Claudia , Lindner Alexander , Maller Ross
Published: August 2004

We use a discrete-time analysis, giving necessary and sufficient conditions for the almost-sure convergence of ARCH(1) and GARCH(1,1) discrete-time models, to suggest an extension of the ARCH and GARCH concepts to continuous-time processes. Our ‘COGARCH’ (continuous-time GARCH) model, based on a single background driving Lévy process, is different from, though related to, other continuous-time stochastic volatility models that have been proposed. The model generalises the essential features of discrete-time GARCH processes, and is amenable to further analysis, possessing useful Markovian and stationarity properties.
Limit theorems for continuous-time random walks with infinite mean waiting times
Authors: Meerschaert Mark M. , Scheffler Hans-Peter
Published: August 2004

A continuous-time random walk is a simple random walk subordinated to a renewal process used in physics to model anomalous diffusion. In this paper we show that, when the time between renewals has infinite mean, the scaling limit is an operator Lévy motion subordinated to the hitting time process of a classical stable subordinator. Density functions for the limit process solve a fractional Cauchy problem, the generalization of a fractional partial differential equation for Hamiltonian chaos. We also establish a functional limit theorem for random walks with jumps in the strict generalized domain of attraction of a full operator stable law, which is of some independent interest.
Telegraph processes with random velocities
Authors: Stadje W. , Zacks S.
Published: August 2004

We study a one-dimensional telegraph process (Mt)t≥0 describing the position of a particle moving at constant speed between Poisson times at which new velocities are chosen randomly. The exact distribution of Mt and its first two moments are derived. We characterize the level hitting times of Mt in terms of integro-differential equations which can be solved in special cases.
On applications of residual lifetimes of compound geometric convolutions
Authors: Willmot Gordon E. , Cai Jun
Published: August 2004

We demonstrate that the residual lifetime distribution of a compound geometric distribution convoluted with another distribution, termed a compound geometric convolution, is again a compound geometric convolution. Conditions under which the compound geometric convolution is new worse than used (NWU) or new better than used (NBU) are then derived. The results are applied to ruin probabilities in the stationary renewal risk model where the convolution components are of particular interest, as well as to the equilibrium virtual waiting time distribution in the G/G/1 queue, an approximation to the equilibrium M/G/c waiting time distribution, ruin in the classical risk model perturbed by diffusion, and second-order reliability classifications.
Joint exceedances of the ARCH process
Authors: Gomes M. Ivette , de Haan Laurens , Pestana Dinis
Published: August 2004

We examine the joint finite structure of extremes of the ARCH process and find an unexpected phenomenon: when assessing probabilities of failure during some finite time interval in the future, the extremal index seems not to be the object to look at. Two possible ramifications of this phenomenon are put forward.
Neuromuscular control of trout swimming in a vortex street: implications for energy economy during the Kármán gait
Authors: Liao James C.
Published: August 2004

Approximating the complexity of natural locomotor conditions provides insight into the diversity of mechanisms that enable animals to successfully navigate through their environment. When exposed to vortices shed from a cylinder, fishes hold station by adopting a mode of locomotion called the Kármán gait, whereby the body of the fish displays large,lateral oscillations and the tail-beat frequency matches the vortex shedding frequency of the cylinder. Although field studies indicate that fishes often prefer turbulent flows over uniform currents, the effect of hydrodynamic perturbations on the mechanics, control and energetics of locomotion is still poorly understood. In this study, electromyography is used to measure red and white axial muscle activity for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)holding station in a vortex street. When trout Kármán gait, they show a significantly reduced but still rhythmic pattern of muscle activity compared with that seen when they swim steadily in uniform flow. Specifically,trout selectively activated only their anterior red axial muscles and abandoned the antero-posterior wave of red muscle activity that drives undulatory locomotion in uniform flow. This supports a previously proposed hypothesis that trout are not just swimming in the reduced flow behind a cylinder (drafting). Anterior axial muscle activity was correlated to head amplitude during steady swimming but not during the Kármán gait,indicating that while activation of muscles during the Kármán gait may aid in stability and control, vortices determined overall head motion. Furthermore, anterior red axial muscle activity, the only region of muscle activity shared between both the Kármán gait and steady swimming, had a lower intensity and longer duration during the Kármán gait. At times when paired fins were active during the Kármán gait, there was no axial muscle activity measured,lending support to a passive mechanism of thrust generation in oscillating flows. Comparisons with dead trout towed behind a cylinder confirm this intriguing observation that live trout may temporarily adopt the Kármán gait with no axial muscle activity, revealing paradoxically that at times fish can passively move against turbulent flow. To Kármán gait for prolonged periods, however, trout must adapt to the demands of turbulence by eliciting a shift in neural control strategy. By decoupling motor output both down and across the body, the pattern of rhythmic Kármán gait muscle activity may reflect the entrainment of a central pattern generator to environmental vortices.
Test of the mechanotactile hypothesis: neuromast morphology and response dynamics of mechanosensory lateral line primary afferents in the stingray
Authors: Maruska Karen P. , Tricas Timothy C.
Published: August 2004

The mechanotactile hypothesis proposes that ventral non-pored lateral line canals in the stingray function to facilitate localization of prey that contact the skin during benthic feeding. This study used comparative neurophysiological and morphological techniques to test whether ventral non-pored canals encode the velocity of skin movements, and show other adaptations that may enhance detection of tactile stimuli from their prey. Resting discharge rate of lateral line primary afferent neurons was lower among units from ventral than dorsal canal groups. The ventral non-pored canals had a higher proportion of silent units (31%) than either ventral (3%)or dorsal (13%) pored canals, thus may have an enhanced potential for detection of phasic contact with prey. Primary afferents from pored canals showed response characteristics consistent with acceleration detectors, with best frequencies of 20–30 Hz. In contrast, units from non-pored canals responded to tactile skin depression velocities of 30–630 μm s–1 from 1–20 Hz, and encoded the velocity of canal fluid induced by skin movement with best frequencies of ≤10 Hz. Sensitivity of non-pored canals to direct skin depression velocity was 2–10 times greater than to hydrodynamic dipole stimulation near the skin. No morphological specialization of hair cell orientation was found among pored and non-pored canals. These low frequency, tactile response properties support the hypothesis that the stingray's non-pored ventral lateral line functions as a mechanotactile receptor subsystem used to guide small benthic invertebrates to the ventrally positioned mouth.
The buccal buckle: the functional morphology of venom spitting in cobras
Authors: Young Bruce A. , Dunlap Karen , Koenig Kristen , Singer Meredith
Published: August 2004

Multiple radiations of Asiatic and African cobras have independently evolved the ability to expel their venom as a pressurized horizontal stream, a behavior commonly referred to as spitting. Though the unique fang morphology of spitting cobras is well known, the functional bases of venom spitting have received little attention. The combined results of gross and microscopic morphology, high-speed digital videography, experimental manipulations of anesthetized cobras and electromyography reveal a two-part mechanism for spitting venom. Contraction of the M. protractor pterygoideus (PP) causes displacement and deformation of the palato-maxillary arch and fang sheath;ultimately this displacement removes soft tissue barriers to venom flow that are normally present within the fang sheath. The M. adductor mandibulae externus superficialis (AMES) is activated simultaneously with the PP; the AMES increases venom pressure within the venom gland, propelling a stream of venom through the venom duct and out the fang. The displacements of the palato-maxillary arch, which form the first part of the spitting mechanism,are very similar to the motions of these bones during prey ingestion (the pterygoid walk), suggesting that venom spitting may have evolved from a specialization of prey ingestion, rather than prey capture.
Myoglobin: an essential hemoprotein in striated muscle
Authors: Ordway George A. , Garry Daniel J.
Published: August 2004

Myoglobin is a cytoplasmic hemoprotein, expressed solely in cardiac myocytes and oxidative skeletal muscle fibers, that reversibly binds O2 by its heme residue, a porphyrin ring:iron ion complex. Since the initial discovery of its structure over 40 years ago, wide-ranging work by many investigators has added importantly to our understanding of its function and regulation. Functionally, myoglobin is well accepted as an O2-storage protein in muscle, capable of releasing O2during periods of hypoxia or anoxia. Myoglobin is also thought to buffer intracellular O2 concentration when muscle activity increases and to facilitate intracellular O2 diffusion by providing a parallel path that augments simple diffusion of dissolved O2. The use of gene targeting and other molecular biological techniques has revealed important new insights into the developmental and environmental regulation of myoglobin and provided additional functions for this hemoprotein such as scavenging nitric oxide and reactive O2 species. These recent findings, coupled with additional emerging technologies and the discovery of other tissue globins, provide a framework for addressing new questions about myoglobin and readdressing old ones.