bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Demographic predictors of a positive HIV test result among clients attending a large metropolitan voluntary counselling and testing centre in Thailand
Authors: Khongphatthanayothin M , Tantipaibulvut S , Nookai S , Chumchee P , Kaldor J , Phanuphak P
Published: May 2006

Objectives

The Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic in Bangkok, established in 1991, was the first centre in Asia to provide anonymous, voluntary counselling and testing for HIV infection. We present outcomes of testing for the period 1997–2004.

Methods

Newcomers to the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic were invited to complete a brief questionnaire concerning HIV risk behaviour and personal characteristics. The questionnaire was linked by code numbers to the HIV test result. Information obtained from the pretest questionnaire and HIV antibody test results from January 1997 to December 2004 were analysed. Data are presented as means [with standard deviation (SD)], medians [with interquartile range (IQR)] or percentages. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was performed to identify factors predicting a positive HIV test result.

Results

Over the 8‐year study period, 65 807 new clients attended the clinic. Two‐thirds were male and the mean age was 31.7 years (SD 9 years), and more than half were single. The proportion of high‐school graduates was 43%, and 36% earned more than 10 000 Baht a month (40 Baht:$US1). Of 54 578 new clients who had an HIV test during the study period, 17.5% had a positive test result. In multivariate analysis, predictive factors for HIV positivity included female gender, age group 25–34 years, widowed status (women), residence outside Bangkok, birthplace in a northern province, no formal schooling, farmer as profession, and salary less than 5000 Baht a month (the current legal minimum daily wage set by the Thai Ministry of Labor is 181 Baht).

Conclusions

With nearly 7000 clients newly tested for HIV infection each year, the Anonymous Clinic in Bangkok has provided a unique epidemiological window into the patterns of HIV infection in the Thai capital.
HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT) genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics associated with the K65R RT mutation
Authors: Boucher S , Recordon‐Pinson P , Ragnaud JM , Dupon M , Fleury H , Masquelier B
Published: May 2006

Background

The K65R HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT) mutation is a multidrug resistance mutation which may be correlated with specific antiretroviral combinations and with the presence or absence of other RT resistance mutations.

Objectives

The aims of this study were: (i) to determine the prevalence of the K65R mutation in a cohort of antiretroviral‐treated patients; (ii) to study genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics in patients in whom the K65R mutation was present.

Study design

We included in the study all antiretroviral‐experienced patients followed up at the Bordeaux University Hospital in 2003 and 2004 for whom an HIV‐1 genotypic resistance analysis was available. Information on RT resistance mutations was reported from a hospital database including therapeutic and biological parameters. The prevalence of K65R was investigated for all patients. Genotypic patterns and treatment characteristics were examined at the time of detection of the K65R mutation.

Results

The prevalence of K65R was 1.9% (26 of 1404 patients). K65R was associated with nucleoside RT inhibitor‐based regimens in 22 patients, and with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine, didanosine and abacavir in 23, 17, 17 and eight patients, respectively. The M184V and Q151M mutations were the most commonly co‐selected substitutions. Thymidine analogue mutations (TAMs) were rarely co‐selected with K65R and inversely associated with K65R.

Conclusion

The K65R mutation may emerge preferentially in the absence of zidovudine and TAMs, suggesting the possibility of an antagonistic interaction between K65 and TAMs.
The impact of malnutrition on survival and the CD4 count response in HIV‐infected patients starting antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Paton NI , Sangeetha S , Earnest A , Bellamy R
Published: May 2006

Background

The impact that malnutrition at the time of starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) has on survival and the CD4 count response is not known.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of patients attending the national HIV referral centre in Singapore who had a CD4 count less than 250 cells/μL and a measurement of body weight performed at the time of starting ART was carried out. Demographic and clinical variables were extracted from an existing database. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres. Moderate to severe malnutrition was defined as BMI less than 17 kg/m2. Intent‐to‐treat Cox models were used to determine the predictors of survival.

Results

A total of 394 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 79 died during a median study follow‐up of 2.4 years. Moderate to severe malnutrition was present in 16% of patients at the time of starting ART, and was found to be a significant independent predictor of death [hazard ratio (HR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–3.73, P=0.004 for those with BMI<17 compared with those with BMI>18.5] as were stage of disease (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.20–5.07, P=0.014 for those who were at stage C compared with those at stage A) and the type of ART [HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.27–0.93, P=0.03 for highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) compared with non‐HAART treatment]. Malnutrition did not impair the magnitude of the increase in CD4 count at 6 or 12 months.

Conclusions

Malnutrition at the time of starting ART was significantly associated with decreased survival, but the effect appeared not to be mediated by impaired immune reconstitution. Given the increasing access to ART in developing countries and the high frequency of HIV‐associated wasting, studies of nutritional therapy as an adjunct to the initiation of HAART are urgently needed.
National review of maternity care for women with HIV infection
Authors: McDonald C , Curtis H , De Ruiter A , Johnson MA , Welch J ,   on behalf of the British HIV Association (BHIVA) and the BHIVA audit subcommittee
Published: May 2006

Objective

To assess adherence to the British HIV Association (BHIVA) 2001 guidelines for the management of HIV‐infected pregnant women.

Methods

A survey and a case note review were carried out using structured questionnaires sent to providers of adult HIV care in the UK and Ireland. Participants were women with HIV infection who delivered a live or stillborn infant between October 2002 and September 2003. The main outcome measures were the appropriate use of antiretroviral therapy, the use and timing of elective Caesarean section, and support for the avoidance of breast‐feeding.

Results

Of 186 centres, 100 (54%) responded with data on 501 eligible pregnancies.

Conclusions

In general, practice was in accordance with the BHIVA 2001 guidelines. However, in a number of cases Caesarean sections were planned later than the recommended 38 weeks.
What Can Account for Fluctuations in the Terms of Trade?*
Authors: Baxter Marianne , Kouparitsas Michael A.
Published: May 2006

This paper studies the sources of terms of trade volatility. We decompose the terms of trade into two components. The ‘goods price’ component stems from differences in the composition of import and export baskets, while the ‘country price’ component stems from deviations from the law of one price. Countries are classified according to their major import and export goods: commodities, manufactured goods and fuels. Except fuel exporters, there is roughly equal importance of goods price vs country price volatility. These results suggest that there may be a role for reducing terms of trade volatility through diversification of a country's exports.
Chemical and isotopic signatures of Na/HCO3/CO2‐rich geofluids, North Portugal
Authors: MARQUES J. M. , ANDRADE M. , CARREIRA P. M. , EGGENKAMP H. G. M. , GRAÇA R. C. , AIRES‐BARROS L. , ANTUNES DA SILVA M.
Published: May 2006

Geochemical and isotopic studies have been undertaken to assess the origin of CO2‐rich waters issuing in the northern part of Portugal. These solutions are hot (76°C) to cold (17°C) Na–HCO3 mineral waters. The δ2H and δ18O signatures of the mineral waters reflect the influence of altitude on meteoric recharge. The lack of an 18O‐shift indicates there has been no high temperature water–rock interaction at depth, corroborating the results of several chemical geothermometers (reservoir temperature of about 120°C). The low 14C activity (up to 9.9 pmC) measured in some of the cold CO2‐rich mineral waters (total dissolved inorganic carbon) is incompatible with the presence of 3H (from 1.7 to 4.1 TU) in those waters, which indicates relatively short subsurface circulation times. The δ13C values of CO2 gas and dissolved inorganic carbon range between −6‰ and −1‰ versus Vienna‐Peedee Belemnite, indicating that the total carbon in the recharge waters is being diluted by larger quantities of CO2 (14C‐free) introduced from deep‐seated (upper mantle) sources, masking the 14C‐dating values. The differences in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the studied thermal and mineral waters seem to be caused by water–rock interaction with different granitic rocks. Chlorine isotope signatures (−0.4‰ < δ37Cl < +0.4‰ versus standard mean ocean chloride) indicate that Cl in these waters could be derived from mixing of a small amount of igneous Cl from leaching of granitic rocks.
Syntectonic infiltration by meteoric waters along the Sevier thrust front, southwest Montana
Authors: RYGEL A. C. , ANASTASIO D. J. , BEBOUT G. E.
Published: May 2006

Structural, petrographic, and isotopic data for calcite veins and carbonate host‐rocks from the Sevier thrust front of SW Montana record syntectonic infiltration by H2O‐rich fluids with meteoric oxygen isotope compositions. Multiple generations of calcite veins record protracted fluid flow associated with regional Cretaceous contraction and subsequent Eocene extension. Vein mineralization occurred during single and multiple mineralization events, at times under elevated fluid pressures. Low salinity (Tm = −0.6°C to +3.6°C, as NaCl equivalent salinities) and low temperature (estimated 50–80°C for Cretaceous veins, 60–80°C for Eocene veins) fluids interacted with wall‐rock carbonates at shallow depths (3–4 km in the Cretaceous, 2–3 km in the Eocene) during deformation. Shear and extensional veins of all ages show significant intra‐ and inter‐vein variation in δ18O and δ13C. Carbonate host‐rocks have a mean δ18OV‐SMOW value of +22.2 ± 3‰ (1σ), and both the Cretaceous veins and Eocene veins have δ18O ranging from values similar to those of the host‐rocks to as low as +5 to +6‰. The variation in vein δ13CV‐PDB of −1 to approximately +6‰ is attributed to original stratigraphic variation and C isotope exchange with hydrocarbons. Using the estimated temperature ranges for vein formation, fluid (as H2O) δ18O calculated from Cretaceous vein compositions for the Tendoy and Four Eyes Canyon thrust sheets are −18.5 to −12.5‰. For the Eocene veins within the Four Eyes Canyon thrust sheet, calculated H2O δ18O values are −16.3 to −13.5‰.

Fluid–rock exchange was localized along fractures and was likely coincident with hydrocarbon migration. Paleotemperature determinations and stable isotope data for veins are consistent with the infiltration of the foreland thrust sheets by meteoric waters, throughout both Sevier orogenesis and subsequent orogenic collapse. The cessation of the Sevier orogeny was coincident with an evolving paleogeographic landscape associated with the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway and the emergence of the thrust front and foreland basin. Meteoric waters penetrated the foreland carbonate thrust sheets of the Sevier orogeny utilizing an evolving mesoscopic fracture network, which was kinematically related to regional thrust structures. The uncertainty in the temperature estimates for the Cretaceous and Eocene vein formation prevents a more detailed assessment of the temporal evolution in meteoric water δ18O related to changing paleogeography. Meteoric water‐influenced δ18O values calculated here for Cretaceous to Eocene vein‐forming fluids are similar to those previously proposed for surface waters in the Eocene, and those observed for modern‐day precipitation, in this part of the Idaho‐Montana thrust belt.
Evolution of body size in the genusDamaliscus: a comparison with hartebeestAlcelaphusspp.
Authors: Capellini I.
Published: May 2006

In species with low levels of sexual size dimorphism, it may be relatively easy to detect the role of natural selection in the evolution of body size. Habitat primary production (HPP) appears to be a key factor in the divergence of size in the hartebeest clade (Alcelaphusspp.), such that subspecies in less productive savannahs are smaller than those in richer ones. Here I test whether a similar pattern exists within the genusDamaliscus(topi and their allies). Basal skull length was used as a surrogate of body size and measured in the seven allopatric subspecies ofDamaliscus. Means for each subspecies and sex were regressed against climatic factors as surrogates of HPP. Variation in skull length acrossDamaliscustaxa was less than in hartebeest. Two clusters were present in both sexes and corresponded to the distinction between the species,Damaliscus dorcasandDamaliscus lunatus. This may reflect differences in productivity between edaphic grasslands, occupied by allD. lunatus, and dry grasslands, occupied byD. dorcas. Mean annual rainfall was the best predictor of body size in males and showed a non‐significant positive tendency in females. After accounting for phylogenetic effects, these correlations were both non‐significant. Edaphic grasslands might be less dependent on precipitation for primary production because the impeded drainage of their soil prolongs water availability after the end of the rains. Furthermore, they are probably more consistent in productivity across African regions than secondary grasslands and savannah woodlands, which rely on rainfall for grass growth. These properties of edaphic grasslands may explain why size inDamaliscusappears to be less sensitive to variation in rainfall and less variable across subspecies than inAlcelaphus.
Molecular phylogenetics of soricid shrews (Mammalia) based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences: with special reference to the Soricinae
Authors: Ohdachi S. D. , Hasegawa M. , Iwasa M. A. , Vogel P. , Oshida T. , Lin L.‐K. , Abe H.
Published: May 2006

Molecular phylogeny of soricid shrews (Soricidae, Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) based on 1140 bp mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cytb) sequences was inferred by the maximum likelihood (ML) method. All 13 genera of extant Soricinae and two genera of Crocidurinae were included in the analyses. Anourosorex was phylogenetically distant from the main groupings within Soricinae and Crocidurinae in the ML tree. Thus, it could not be determined to which subfamily Anourosorex should be assigned: Soricinae, Crocidurinae or a new subfamily. Soricinae (excluding Anourosorex) should be divided into four tribes: Neomyini, Notiosoricini, Soricini and Blarinini. However, monophyly of Blarinini was not robust in the present data set. Also, branching orders among tribes of Soricinae and those among genera of Neomyini could not be determined because of insufficient phylogenetic information of the cytb sequences. For water shrews of Neomyini (Chimarrogale, Nectogale and Neomys), monophyly of Neomys and the Chimarrogale–Nectogale group could not be verified, which implies the possibility of multiple origins for the semi‐aquatic mode of living among taxa within Neomyini. Episoriculus may contain several separate genera. Blarinella was included in Blarinini not Soricini, based on the cytb sequences, but the confidence level was rather low; hence more phylogenetic information is needed to determine its phylogenetic position. Furthermore, some specific problems of taxonomy of soricid shrews were clarified, for example phylogeny of local populations of Notiosorex crawfordi, Chimarrogale himalayica and Crocidura attenuata.
Correlates with body size and mass in yearling brown bears (Ursus arctos)
Authors: Dahle B. , Zedrosser A. , Swenson J. E.
Published: May 2006

Body size and mass have a strong effect on an individual's fitness, and conditions experienced early in life may affect survival to adulthood, age and size at maturation, and reproductive success. For this reason, body size and mass of 226 yearling brown bearsUrsus arctoswere analysed in relation to maternal size, litter size, sex, multilocus heterozygosity, population density and cohort in two study areas in Sweden. Body mass of yearlings varied from 8 to 48 kg (X̄=24.5±0.5se). Yearling body size and mass were positively related to maternal size and negatively related to litter size. Males were on average 2.6% larger and 7.8% heavier than females. Population density negatively affected both size and mass of yearlings. Yearling body size and mass varied among cohorts, but data on food availability were not available to evaluate the relationship between food availability and size and mass of yearlings. Maternal age and multilocus heterozygosity did not seem to influence yearling body size or mass. Body mass of yearlings varied within litters, especially in litters with three offspring, where the heaviest yearling was on average 29.5±2.8% (se) heavier than the lightest one. This suggests that competition among offspring increases with litter size, thereby having a pronounced negative effect on the smallest offspring. Survival of subadult brown bears from ages 1 to 3 increased with increasing yearling body size.
Customary vs Private Property Rights? Dynamics and Trajectories of Vernacular Land Markets in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: CHIMHOWU ADMOS , WOODHOUSE PHIL
Published: May 2006

Contemporary discourse on land in Africa is polarized between advocates of tenure reform through state registration of individual titles to land and others who claim that customary or ‘communal’ tenure is the only check against landlessness among the poor in the African countryside, and that ‘pro‐poor’ land policy should therefore strengthen customary rights to land. This paper draws on a growing body of evidence on the emergence of vernacular rural land sales and rental markets to question assumptions that underlie the non‐market ‘ideal type’ communal tenure model that has historically dominated policy thinking in Africa, and continues to be shared by both sides of the current land tenure reform debate. The paper argues that recognition of the specific characteristics of ‘vernacular land markets’– commoditized transfers of land within the framework of customary tenure – is essential if state land policies are to succeed in promoting the interests of the poor.
Continuity and Discontinuity in the Post‐Roman Economy
Authors: SARRIS PETER
Published: May 2006

In Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400–800, Chris Wickham provides a compelling analysis of the impact of the fragmentation of the Roman Empire on state structures, social relations and economic systems. Those social classes and regional economies that were the most profoundly integrated into the trans‐regional imperial framework suffered the greatest degree of dislocation. In most regions the period 400–800 was associated with a localization and weakening of aristocratic power and a relative increase in peasant autonomy. In the archaeological record this process is discernible through the evidence for a simplification of patterns of production and exchange, as more sophisticated exchange networks, Wickham argues, were typically catalysed and sustained by aristocratic demand. This article suggests, however, that Wickham has perhaps understated the importance of demographic factors in the shifting balance of power between peasants and aristocrats, and, in certain instances, overstates the degree of discontinuity between the late Roman period and the early medieval in terms of agrarian relations of production.
Commodity Studies and Commodity Fetishism II: ‘Profits with Principles’?
Authors: BERNSTEIN HENRY , CAMPLING LIAM
Published: May 2006

The two edited collections and the monograph reviewed here provide the means to consider an extended range of commodities, locations, commodity/value chains, and issues of theory and method in political economy, beyond those presented by Gibbon and Ponte (2005) that we considered in the first part of this essay. Our discussion here touches on issues concerning how ‘global’ global commodity/value chains are; the symbolic attributes of commodities and commodity fetishism; the politics of consumption (or simply politics of selling and buying); the strengths and weaknesses of the economic sociology of commodity/value chains; and how the ‘slices’ extracted from larger organisms in studies of particular commodities may be reinserted, as it were, as part of the understanding of contemporary capitalism and of issues of development in the economies of the ‘South’.
Patient characteristics of women and men cared for during the first 10 years at an inpatient hospice ward in Sweden
Authors: Karlsson Inga Lill Källström , Ehnfors Margareta , Ternestedt Britt‐Marie
Published: May 2006

The hospice philosophy with focus on the patient's autonomy and the ideal of a good death are the overall objectives of palliative care. Often‐raised questions, when discussing hospice, are for which of the incurable ill inpatient hospice is the most optimal care alternative together with who are making use of hospice. The aim of the present study was to describe patient characteristics such as age, marital status, diagnosis, referral source and length of stay (LoS) in relation to gender, during the first decade at an inpatient hospice ward (1992–2001). Data, obtained from medical register, were analysed by using descriptive statistics and the chi‐square test. The number of patients was 666 women and 555 men, and most of them were elderly. In some respects significant differences were observed between women and men. More women than men were single, had cancer with relatively rapid trajectory and were referred from the oncology department. Men, more often than women, were diagnosed with cancers with a somewhat longer trajectory. Despite the longer trajectory, the LoS was shorter for men (median =13 days) than for women (median = 17 days). The most frequent referral source was hospital, though men, younger men in particular, were more often referred from home‐based hospice care than women. During the last 3 years self‐referrals were documented. Self‐referrals can be seen as one distinct expression from a standpoint of one's own active choice compared with other referrals. Altogether, self‐referrals were less frequent among women than men but in relation to age, self‐referrals were more common among the youngest (<60 years) and the oldest women (>85 years) than men in the same age groups. Further studies illuminating a gender perspective can broaden the understanding of what these differences may imply for women and men.
Assisting teens with asthma to take command
Authors: Englund Ann‐Charlotte , Hartman Jan , Segesten Kerstin
Published: May 2006

To meet and work with teenagers may be a challenge for caregivers as adolescence is a period when youths try to establish autonomy. Although asthma is an increasing problem worldwide, few studies have addressed professional caregivers’ motives and actions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe professional caregivers’ strategies in their work with teenagers with asthma. Grounded theory, inspired by Glaser, was used to uncover the phenomenon. The informants were seven professional caregivers who worked at an eight‐day asthma camp for teenagers in Sweden. Participant observations and interviews were used, and the first author collected the data and participated in the activities. Findings show that professional caregivers’ core concern is to assist teenagers with asthma to take command. This core concern gives rise to five strategies: showing respect, being at hand, promoting own responsibility, promoting to exceed boundaries and promoting reflections. In professional caregivers’ attempt to assist teenagers to take command some differences are seen in the way they support boys and girls. One conclusion drawn from our study is that the provisional theory of ‘Assisting teenagers with asthma to take command’ is not only suitable for professional caregivers working at asthma camps; it may, in some degree, also be used as a source of inspiration for professional caregivers in other settings.
Perceptions of elder abuse: voices of professionals and volunteers in Sweden – an exploratory study
Authors: Erlingsson Christen L. , Carlson Sharon L. , Saveman Britt‐Inger
Published: May 2006

The aim of this study was to examine perceptions of elder abuse in groups representing organizations considered potential sources of help and support for abused elders in Sweden. Focus group interviews were conducted with representatives from: the police; primary care; municipal eldercare; a church; a caregiver support organization; and a crime victim support organization. Data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Although participants discussed elder abuse from the position of their respective organization/group, analysis revealed a preponderance of shared perceptions between groups. A descriptive framework of elder abuse was developed and four themes emerged including: good intentions in abusive situations; older generation's responsibility for elder abuse; failing to report abuse; and prevention of abuse. Findings included perceptions of victim blaming and a tolerance for elder abuse. Participants perceived that anyone could be provoked to abuse, and that abusers can also be considered victims in abusive situations. Further research on elder abuse perceptions is recommended among involved family members, in order to address elder abuse in ways that will allow recognition among both those providing and those receiving assistance.
Tactile massage and severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy – women's experiences
Authors: Ågren Annelie , Berg Marie
Published: May 2006

Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is a condition with an obscure aetiology. The treatment is symptomatic but there is a lack of alternative treatments. Tactile massage is known to give relaxation and increased well‐being in connection with different illnesses, but has never been studied on women with severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (SNVP). The aim of this study was to describe hospitalized women's experiences of SNVP and of tactile massage. A phenomenological method was used. Ten hospitalized women with SNVP were included. Each woman was given tactile massage on three separate occasions. After the final massage an open interview was used covering both the experience of severe nausea and vomiting, and of tactile massage. The findings revealed an essential meaning summarizing the experience: to obtain a relieving moment of rest and access to the whole body when nausea rules life. When nausea is experienced as controlling a woman's life, tactile massage is experienced as promoting relaxation and gives her an opportunity to regain access to her body. The findings suggest that tactile massage is a good alternative and complement to traditional treatment of SNVP.
The quality of care in Norwegian nursing homes
Authors: Kirkevold Øyvind , Engedal Knut
Published: May 2006

Background:  Promoting the quality of life is an importing aim of the long‐term care for the elderly, and the quality of life is related to quality of care (QoC). This way the QoC in nursing homes, and its correlates, is an interesting subject.

Aim:  To describe to what degree Norwegian nursing homes provide services in line with the core areas of the ‘regulation of care’ and whether patient or ward characteristics are associated with the QoC.

Methods and material:  Cross‐sectional study where data were collected in structured interview of the nursing staff in 251 wards regarding 1926 patients.

Results:  Most of the patients receive good basic care in Norwegian nursing homes, but taking part in leisure activities and having the opportunity to go out for a walk are more often neglected. Acceptable QoC had a strongly negative association with patient characteristics such as low function in mental capacity, low function in activities of daily living and aggressive behaviour. In most of the measured areas of QoC, ward characteristics, such as type of ward, size of ward and staffing ratio, do have an influence on QoC.
The Fountain House movement, an alternative rehabilitation model for people with mental health problems, members’ descriptions of what works
Authors: Norman Christina
Published: May 2006

The clubhouse model is a method of rehabilitation where people suffering from mental health problems organise themselves in order to create change in their lives. Work is considered the main tool of rehabilitation within the clubhouse. The aim of the study was to explore the members’ perception of the rehabilitation process. The study was participant oriented, which means that a group of members conducted the study in co‐operation with the researcher. The study was explorative and research data were collected in a variety of ways including detailed notes, flipcharts, taped interviews and cognitive maps. As for ethical considerations, the members were guaranteed anonymity, voluntary participation and confidentiality in various ways. As a model of rehabilitation Göteborgsfontänen demonstrates a particular thematic subculture that has the goal of creating links between people that are characterised by mutual trust, habits of co‐operation, solidarity and responsibilities undertaken voluntarily. Three keystones on which the thematic subculture rests were identified: meaningful relationships, meaningful work tasks and a supportive environment. The member must, in the first place, internalise the ideology as well as view differences between people as a resource rather than an obstacle. This was experienced as a turning point. The work‐ordered day functioned as a framework and a resource for members and staff to work intensively with relationships. Some members experienced their membership as too intense at times which could result in a temporary withdrawal. A limitation of the study is that only members who experienced a turning point were involved in the study. This means that the data may lack some critical views of the ideology of the clubhouse.
Living with a body separate from the self. The experience of the body in chronic benign low back pain: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Authors: Osborn Mike , Smith Jonathan A.
Published: May 2006

This paper presents an in‐depth, idiographic study exploring the personal experience of chronic benign low back pain in relation to the participant's body and sense of self. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with patients and the resultant transcripts subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. One theme is presented in detail: ‘Living with a body separate from the self’, whereby when out of pain the body has little salience to the self yet when in pain it is consciously excluded from the self. The complex and paradoxical relationship between the body, chronic pain and the self is explored and evidence is provided to argue that the embodied unpleasantness of chronic pain involves an assault upon and a defence of a preferred or desirable self. The results are considered in relation to relevant themes in the extant literature.
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers in the Point Arena mountain beaver Aplodontia rufa nigra
Authors: PILGRIM KRISTINE L. , ZIELINSKI WILLIAM J. , MAZUREK MARY J. , SCHLEXER FREDRICK V. , SCHWARTZ MICHAEL K.
Published: May 2006

The Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra) is an endangered subspecies. Efforts to recover this sub‐species will be aided by advances in molecular genetics, specifically the ability to estimate population size using noninvasive genetic sampling. Here we report on the development of nine polymorphic loci for the Point Arena mountain beaver. These markers provide us sufficient power to distinguish individuals, and thus can be used for calculating population size and delineating population substructure.
Cardiac overexpression of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) alleviates aging‐associated cardiomyocyte contractile dysfunction: role of intracellular Ca2+cycling proteins
Authors: Guo Kelly K. , Ren Jun
Published: May 2006

Aging is a complex biological process with contributions from a wide variety of genes including insulin‐like growth factor I and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which decline with advanced age. The goal of this study was to examine if ADH enzyme plays any role in cardiac aging. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from young (2–3 months old) or aged (26–28 months old) male FVB wild‐type and cardiac‐specific ADH (class I, isozyme type 1) transgenic mice. Mechanical properties were measured using an IonOptix system. Aged FVB myocytes displayed significantly reduced ADH activity compared with young ones, which was restored by the ADH transgene. Compared with young cardiomyocytes, aged FVB myocytes exhibited prolonged relengthening duration and a steaper decline in peak shortening amplitude in response to elevated electrical stimuli. Although ADH transgene itself did not alter mechanical properties in young mice, it rescued aging‐associated diastolic dysfunction without affecting dampened contractile response to high stimulus frequency. Immunoblot analysis revealed reduced sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA2a) and Na+‐Ca2+exchanger (NCX) levels in conjunction with enhanced phospholamban expression in aged FVB hearts. ADH transgene prevented aging‐induced reduction in SERCA2a and NCX without affecting up‐regulated phospholamban. Our data suggest that aging is associated with a reduced ADH enzymatic activity and diastolic dysfunction, which may be corrected with cardiac overexpression of the ADH enzyme. Alteration in cardiac Ca2+cycling proteins including SERCA2a and NCX may play a role in both pathogenesis of cardiac aging and the beneficial effect of ADH enzyme.
Spanish‐English Bilingual Children with Psychopathology: Language Deficits and Academic Language Proficiency
Authors: Toppelberg Claudio O. , Munir Kerim , Nieto‐Castañon Alfonso
Published: May 2006

Background:  The aim was to study the language profiles of a well‐characterised sample (n = 50) of Spanish–English bilingual children consecutively referred to psychiatric services.

Methods:  Spanish and English language profiles were assessed with the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery‐Revised (WLPB). Profiles included language ability levels, deficits and dominance in five expressive and receptive/expressive domains, and academic (school‐related) language proficiency levels.

Results:  General language ability was low for 69% in either language and for 51% in both. Language dominance data suggested that expressive skills were dominant in English. In 73% of the children, ability to function at school in the strongest language is ‘limited’, defined by the WLPB as incorrect responses to 50% of the items typically answered correctly by children of the same age. Classroom language demands, also according to the WLPB, would be ‘extremely difficult’ to ‘impossible’ for 40% of the children in at least one language, and for 19% in either language.

Conclusions:  Language deficits, present in many psychiatrically‐referred bilingual children, ought to be suspected by the clinician. The typical language demands of schooling appear to be overwhelming for many of these children, with ensuing implications for psychosocial adaptation and educational attainment. Thorough language ability assessments of both languages are often necessary for the early detection of language deficits and for understanding how dual language abilities relate to psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, language assessment services need to be closely linked to programs serving psychiatrically‐referred bilingual children. Other implications of this research for clinical practice are discussed.
Efficacy of Rizatriptan 10 mg Administered Early in a Migraine Attack
Authors: Cady Roger , Martin Vincent , Mauskop Alexander , Rodgers Anthony , Hustad Carolyn M. , Ramsey Karen E. , Skobieranda Franck
Published: May 2006

Objective.—To determine if administration of rizatriptan 10 mg is superior to placebo for the early treatment of acute migraine, while the pain is mild.

Background.—Past studies have suggested that treatment outcomes can be improved if a triptan is administered early in the time course of a migraine attack.

Methods.—Two randomized, parallel, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind studies. TAME (Treat A Migraine Early)1 was conducted at 46 centers in the United States; TAME2, at 48 centers in the United States. Totally, 1030 adult patients with at least a 6‐month history of migraine were studied. Patients were instructed to treat within 1 hour of migraine onset, while pain was mild. Patients maintained a headache diary in which they rated their levels of pain and disability, and recorded other symptoms of migraine. Primary endpoints were pain freedom at 2 hours and sustained pain freedom at 24 hours post‐dose.

Results.—In TAME1, 57.3% versus 31.1% of patients reported pain freedom at 2 hours post‐dose and 42.6% versus 23.2% reported 24‐hour sustained pain freedom with rizatriptan versus placebo, respectively (P < .001 for both). In TAME2, 58.9% versus 31.1% of patients reported pain freedom at 2 hours post‐dose and 48.0% versus 24.6% reported 24‐hour sustained pain freedom with rizatriptan versus placebo, respectively (P < .001 for both). All other efficacy endpoints favored rizatriptan. Repeat doses of the medicine were not allowed; patients may have delayed treatment; non‐migraine headaches may have been treated.

Conclusions.—Rizatriptan 10 mg was superior to placebo when treating migraine early, while pain is mild, as measured by pain freedom at 2 hours and 24‐hour sustained pain freedom.
Noise as a Trigger for Headaches: Relationship Between Exposure and Sensitivity
Authors: Martin Paul R. , Reece John , Forsyth Michael
Published: May 2006

Objective.—This study investigated how triggers acquire the capacity to precipitate headaches.

Background.—Traditional clinical advice is that the best way to prevent headache/migraine is to avoid the triggers. Avoidance of anxiety‐eliciting stimuli, however, results in sensitization to the stimuli, so is there a danger that avoidance of migraine/headache triggers results in decreased tolerance for the triggers?

Design.—One hundred and fifty subjects, 60 of whom suffered from regular headaches, were randomly assigned to 5 experimental conditions, defined by length of exposure to the headache trigger of noise.

Methods.—Subjects attended a laboratory session divided into 3 phases: preintervention test, intervention (1 of 5 levels of exposure to the trigger), and postintervention test. Response to the intervention was measured in terms of noise tolerance, sensitivity to noise, and nociceptive response to noise.

Results.—A curvilinear relationship was found between length of exposure to the trigger and pain response for individuals who do not suffer from regular headaches, that is, short exposure was associated with sensitization and prolonged exposure with desensitization. The relationship for headache patients was less clear.

Conclusions.—The findings are consistent with the proposition that 1 etiological pathway to suffering from frequent headaches is via trying to avoid, or escape from, potential trigger factors. These results suggest that the traditional clinical advice to headache patients, that the best way to prevent migraine/headache is to avoid the triggers, runs the risk of establishing an insidious sensitization process thereby increasing headache frequency.
Not Tonight, I Have a Headache?
Authors: Houle Timothy T. , Dhingra Lara K. , Remble Thomas A. , Rokicki Lori A. , Penzien Donald B.
Published: May 2006

Objective.—The present study examined the relationship between the diagnosis of migraine and self‐reported sexual desire.

Background.—There is evidence for a complex relationship between sexual activity and headache, particularly migraine. The current headache diagnostic criteria even distinguish between several types of primary headaches associated with sexual activity.

Methods.—Members of the community or students at the Illinois Institute of Technology (N = 68) were administered the Brief Headache Diagnostic Interview and the Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI). Based on the revised diagnostic criteria established by the International Headache Society (ICHD‐II), participants were placed in 1 of the 2 headache diagnostic groups: migraine (n = 23) or tension‐type (n = 36).

Results.—Migraine subjects reported higher SDI scores, and rated their own perceived level of desire higher than those suffering from tension‐type headache. The presence of the symptom “headache aggravated by routine physical activity” significantly predicted an elevated SDI score.

Conclusions.—Migraine headaches and sexual desire both appear to be at least partially modulated by serotonin (5‐HT). The metabolism of 5‐HT has been shown to covary with the onset of a migraine attack, and migraineurs appear to have chronically low systemic 5‐HT. As sexual desire also has been linked to serotonin levels, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that migraine and sexual desire both may be modulated by similar serotonergic phenomena.
INORGANIC CARBON REPLETION CONSTRAINS STEADY‐STATE LIGHT ACCLIMATION IN THE CYANOBACTERIUM SYNECHOCOCCUS ELONGATUS1
Authors: Burns Robert A. , Mac Kenzie Tyler D. B. , Campbell Douglas A.
Published: May 2006

Cyanobacteria show high metabolic plasticity by re‐allocating macromolecular resources in response to variations in both environmental inorganic carbon (Ci) and light. We grew cultures of the picoplanktonic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus Nägeli across a 50‐fold range of growth irradiance at either a dissolved [Ci] <0.1 mM, sufficient to induce strongly the carbon‐concentrating mechanism (CCM) or a dissolved [Ci] of ∼4 mM, sufficient to strongly induce the CCM to basal constitutive activity. There was no detectable growth cost of acclimation to low Ci across the entire range of irradiance and growth was nearly light saturated at 50 l mol photons·m−2·s−1. Cells acclimated to low Ci significantly re‐allocated macromolecular resources to support their CCM, while maintaining near homeostatis of metabolic flux per unit photosynthetic complex. Changing growth irradiance also drove re‐organization of the photosynthetic machinery to balance excitation flux and metabolic demands, but flux per complex varied widely across the range of tolerable growth irradiances. Across the range of growth irradiance, low Ci cells had significantly less phycocyanin than high Ci cells, which corresponded to a lower PSII absorbance capacity. Furthermore, low Ci cells maintained more PSI per cell−1 than high Ci cells under high growth irradiance. Low Ci cells could therefore maintain more of their PSII reaction centers open at high growth irradiance than could high Ci cells, which experienced a significant PSII closure. Thus, acclimation to growth under high available Ci actually constrained acclimation to high light by restricting electron transport downstream from PSII in S. elongatus.
ALGAL COMMUNITY DYNAMICS AND HALOTOLERANCE IN A TERRESTRIAL, HYPERSALINE ENVIRONMENT1
Authors: Kirkwood Andrea E. , Henley William J.
Published: May 2006

We studied the algal community of the Great Salt Plains (GSP), an expansive (65 km2) salt flat situated in north‐central Oklahoma, USA that has been designated as the Salt Plains Microbial Observatory (SPMO) by the National Science Foundation. The GSP offered a unique opportunity to study a terrestrial, hypersaline algal community that experiences wide‐ranging environmental conditions. We were able to show that ammonium‐N, rather than salinity, was the most important predictor of total algal biomass. However, salinity was found to be a significant controlling variable in diatom distribution at the GSP, where diatom abundance was negatively correlated with porewater salinity concentrations. Overall, chlorophytes (likely dominated by Dunaliella spp.) were the most abundant algal group at the consistently hypersaline (>300 ppt) south site. Diatom and cyanobacterial biomass were on average highest at the central site, which experienced greater fluctuations in salinity. While taxonomic diversity was limited to three algal groups (chlorophytes, diatoms, and cyanobacteria), the salinity preferences and halotolerance ranges of isolated strains were quite variable. Although porewater salinities at the GSP are commonly near saturation (>300 ppt), the large majority of isolates had halotolerance ranges below 150 ppt. This suggests that algae at the GSP rarely achieve maximum growth rates, and could only do so when intermittent rain events reduce salinity to optimal levels. Because the vast majority of our strains were isolated from salt‐saturated soil samples, maintaining viability (rather than growth efficiency) appears to be the most successful adaptation to the extreme conditions at the GSP.
Vasovagal symptoms mediate the relationship between predonation anxiety and subsequent blood donation in female volunteers
Authors: Ditto Blaine , France Christopher R.
Published: May 2006

BACKGROUND:  Although not universal, a certain amount of predonation anxiety is common and not surprising among inexperienced blood donors. Variations in predonation anxiety, however, may influence the donor’s experience in several respects and might be related to the likelihood of subsequent donation even among those who do not report particularly high levels of anxiety.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS:  A total of 671 inexperienced blood donors (zero or one prior donation) enrolled in a treatment study and completed questionnaires assessing anxiety before and after giving blood. Ratings of pain and blood donation–related symptoms were obtained after giving blood, as well as information from the nurses about the blood donation procedure. Follow‐up information on number of additional visits to a blood collection clinic during the subsequent year was also obtained for most participants.

RESULTS:  Predonation anxiety was positively related to ratings of blood donation–related symptoms and chair reclining by the nurses and negatively related to the donor’s rating, obtained at the end of the procedure, of the likelihood that he or she would give blood again. Women, but not men, with higher predonation anxiety were significantly less likely to return to a blood clinic in the following year. The results of mediation analyses suggest that this was due to the association between anxiety and donation‐related symptoms.

CONCLUSION:  The results do not indicate whether or not it is feasible or useful to modify predonation anxiety, but highlight the relationships between the emotional state of inexperienced donors and several aspects of the donation experience, including subsequent donor return. Further study of the psychosocial aspects of blood donation and examination of related research (e.g., treatment of dental anxieties) may be worthwhile.