bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teleology and Organisms ii: Specific Explanations
Authors: Johnson Monte Ransome
Published: February 2006

Aristotle normally begins a teleological explanation of a living thing with an identification of its goods (reproduction, pleasure, intelligence, etc.). The existence of these goods implies certain requirements or “hypothetical necessity”. For example, if a fish is to survive and reproduce, it must be able to acquire food, which requires that it move, and so it must have fins, which in turn require tissues, and these must be composed of a certain combination of the elements. Some features of living things are not necessary for its survival, but only as a concomitant to some other necessity (for example the production of waste residua is a product of nutrition, but is not itself for the sake of something), or because it is better for the creature that way. The case of animal behavior shows that Aristotle does not indulge in anthropomorphism: apparently purposeful behavior (such as the weaving of webs by spiders, and the building of nests by birds) is not caused by deliberation. In fact, far from assimilating animal to human behavior, Aristotle goes the other direction and shows how many purposeful human activities (especially in the arts) happen without deliberation.
Teleology and Humans
Authors: Johnson Monte Ransome
Published: February 2006

Humans are capable of intentionally pursuing goals that they consciously set for themselves, and thus a different order of teleology applies to them, one which places them in the domain of ethics and politics. Every inquiry, art, and science has a goal, and they can broadly be classified into the productive-practical on the one hand, and the theoretical, on the other. Practical knowledge aims at practical goods by grasping causes for the sake of producing effects, while theoretical knowledge aims at grasping causes for the sake of knowledge itself, an intrinsic good. The ultimate good for a human can be identified by a process of elimination: whatever is the highest good for another kind of organism cannot be the unique good for this kind of thing, and so the end of human life cannot be nutrition, reproduction, growth, perception or pleasure, for these are the proper goods of other kinds of organisms. This leaves knowledge, in particular theoretical knowledge. It is argued that Aristotelian teleology cannot be anthropocentric, or else it would be impossible to identify the unique human good by elimination, and the activity of the final good for humans (contemplation and knowledge of causes) would have no real object.
The Case for Zombies
Authors: Kirk Robert
Published: February 2006

The definition of zombies is clarified, and the main arguments for the alleged possibility of zombies are examined. The ‘conceivability argument’ is influential: zombies are conceivable; whatever is conceivable is possible; therefore zombies are possible. Chalmers’s arguments for conceivability are given special attention, notably his use of Block’s homunculus-head; the apparent gap between physical information and facts about experiences; Jackson’s ‘knowledge argument’; and the argument from the ‘absence of analysis’. It is argued that none of the arguments is conclusive.
Zapping the Zombie Idea
Authors: Kirk Robert
Published: February 2006

Although the zombie idea seems to fit in with some ‘natural and plain’ intuitions (Chalmers), it conflicts with others. Reinforced by the ‘jacket fallacy’, it both feeds on and feeds an incoherent conception of phenomenal consciousness. The ‘sole-pictures argument’ shows that a certain variety of epiphenomenalism is inconceivable in the relevant sense. Then it is argued that if zombies are conceivable, so is that kind of epiphenomenalism. If the reasoning is sound, the inconceivability of zombies follows. Among other corollaries of the main conclusion is that the idea of the inverted spectrum (transposed qualia) without physical differences is incoherent too.
Decision, Control, and Integration
Authors: Kirk Robert
Published: February 2006

Some creatures are pretty obviously deciders, others obviously not; and there are indeterminate cases. This chapter considers some examples that are in various ways not straightforward. Discussing them helps to clarify the key notions involved in the basic package, especially those of ‘decision making’, ‘control’, and the ‘integration’ of basic-package capacities; and to sharpen the contrasts between deciders and other behaving systems. It also prepares the ground for the conclusion that the idea of the basic package raises no serious philosophical problems. Examples discussed include protozoa; bees; the human embryo, foetus, and neonate; the artificial giant; some machines described by Block; and the ‘machine-table robot’.
De-sophisticating the Framework
Authors: Kirk Robert
Published: February 2006

If the basic package (equivalently, being a decider) requires not only the capacity to acquire and use information, but to do so in a sense which involves the ability to represent the world and to have concepts, then it may seem hard to understand how anything but language-users could have the basic package. In that case, either perceptual consciousness does not require the basic package, or else only creatures with language can be perceptually conscious. It is argued that both alternatives should be rejected. There are no good reasons to adopt sufficiently strong assumptions about the relations between information, belief, concepts, and language. Discussions of the contrary views of Evans, Davidson, and others reinforce these points. The relevance of the notion of ‘non-conceptual content’ is also considered.
Does Absolute Income Matter?
Authors: Frank Robert H.
Published: February 2006

The answer to the question in the title is that abosolute income does matter. An important finding in the literature on well-being is that beyond a fairly low income threshold, measured well-being changes little as the incomes of population members rise over time. It is argued that despite the latter finding, one should be reluctant to conclude that absolute income has no bearing on human well-being.
Correspondence of Sentiments: An Explanation of the Pleasure of Social Interaction
Authors: Sugden Robert
Published: February 2006

This chapter offers an understanding of why the ’right’ kinds of social interaction are an important source of human happiness, while the ’wrong’ kinds generate pain. The idea of correspondence of sentiments, on which the whole argument rests, is an entirely new mechanism designed after a reinterpretation of Adam Smith’s mutual sympathy. It provides the key to a stimulating theory on the pleasure of social interaction.
Testing Theories of Happiness
Authors: Frey Bruno S. , Stutzer Alois
Published: February 2006

Latter-day researches based on reported subjective well-being have improved the understanding of utility. The concept of utility has acquired a psychological content, and has proved to be operational in researches on income, unemployment, inflation, inequality, and democratic institutions in their relations with happiness. The authors plead for fostering happiness researches, and give examples in which happiness researches shed light on rational choice and on policy issues.
Rethinking Public Economics: The Implications of Rivalry and Habit
Authors: Layard Richard
Published: February 2006

Rivalry and habit have often been conceived in terms of irrationality or externality by mainstream economists. This chapter argues that this perspective is insufficient. The two classes of phenomena are empirically shown to provide a major source of human happiness, a fact that should not be ignored nor underplayed. A more realistic use of the economist’s tools is called for. Examples are discussed on the choice between consumption and leisure, benefits from public expenditure, and redistribution.
Mill between Aristotle and Bentham
Authors: Nussbaum Martha C.
Published: February 2006

Through a reading of J.S. Mill’s celebrated Autobiography, this chapter offers a challenging philosophical reflection on comparing (or contrasting) happiness and eudaimonia.
The Evolution of Caring
Authors: Phelps Charlotte D.
Published: February 2006

This chapter focuses on the contribution of interactions between economic change and psychological factors to changes in reports of overall happiness, especially in the U.S. Evidence emerges on an evolutionary explanation of the paradoxes of happiness in economics. This amounts to showing that co-operative attitudes, i.e. caring behaviour and love, have survived competition for scarce resources. Suggestions for social policy are discussed, especially from cases of work satisfaction and child caring.
Paradoxes of Happiness in Economics
Authors: Pasinetti Luigi
Published: February 2006

This chapter focuses on the return to a classical paradigm and perspective in contemporary economics implied by happiness-and-economics studies. Following critical attacks on the neoclassical paradigm through the 20th century, happiness-and-economics promises to bring into focus the fundamental criticisms that need to be addressed on the narrow scope and inadequacy of the dominant paradigm in mainstream economics.
2 A Model for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Liberal Democracies
Authors: Roller Edeltraud
Published: February 2006

This chapter develops a theoretical model for evaluating the effectiveness of liberal democracies. It consists of two parts. In the first part, a set of normative criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of political systems is suggested. It includes four policy goals: domestic security, wealth, socioeconomic security and socioeconomic equality, as well as the protection of the environment. In the second part, a set of indicators for measuring political effectiveness with respect to these policy goals is presented. Additionally, propositions about the relationship between the four policy goals are discussed, whether trade-offs or complementary relationships exist.
3 A Model for Explaining the Performance of Liberal Democracies
Authors: Roller Edeltraud
Published: February 2006

This chapter develops a causal model for explaining the performance of liberal democracies. The model builds on explanatory models from three theoretical strands: comparative research on democracy, comparative public policy, and the veto player approach advocated in the context of the new institutionalism. It integrates formal and informal institutional factors as well as the three most-important non-institutional factors for explaining performance: the national level of wealth, the ideological orientation of the government, and the openness of the economy. The causal relationship between these factors is conceptualized on the basis of rational choice institutionalism. Furthermore, this chapter includes a discussion of the constitutional and partisan veto-player indices for measuring institutions. It concludes with a set of specific hypotheses on the effect of formal and informal institutions on political effectiveness.
Conclusions
Authors: ROLLER EDELTRAUND
Published: February 2006

This concluding chapter summarizes the most important results of this investigation into the development of political effectiveness in western democracies since 1974, and the impact of political institutions. The findings are discussed with respect to their theoretical and practical implications. The study stresses that the effect of institutions is more complicated than most of the neo-institutionalist approaches assume. No clear predictions can be made on the basis of institutional factors. Consequently, the analyses do not support the widely-held assumption that fundamental political problems can simply be resolved through institutional reforms of liberal democracies.
1 A Theory of Exit Options, Boundary Building, and Political Structuring
Authors: Bartolini Stefano
Published: February 2006

This first chapter sketches the elements of a theory of voice structuring under different conditions of territorial confinement of actors and resources. Using Hirschman and Rokkan’s work, the chapter formulates theoretical propositions about how processes of internal conflict generation and opposition development (political structuring) relate to the processes of boundary demarcation in a large-scale territorial polity, and how the two relate to the internal institutional hierarchy of the same territory. A correspondence is established between micro-individual choices of exit and the corresponding systemic processes of boundary building and control; the micro-individual loyalty and the systemic structures and processes of system maintenance; and the micro-individual propensity to voice and the systemic structuring of channels and organizations for representation. It is argued that the framework is general enough to be applied to different territorial political formations, to characterize pre-nation-state polities, as well as to understand post-nation-state polities.
2 Structuring Europe: The Experience of the ‘Nation‐State’
Authors: Bartolini Stefano
Published: February 2006

The analytical framework sketched in Chapter One is used to review the history of state formation in Europe at a number of critical junctures from the sixteenth to the twentieth century: state formation, capitalist development and market formation, nation formation, generalisation of participation rights (democratization), and development of social sharing institutions (welfare systems). The recasting emphasizes how the processes of boundary control in various spheres contributed to the specific and historically unique constellation of centre-periphery structuring, interest intermediation structuring, and cleavage structuring in the Western experience. This key idea — that domestic political structures are historically grounded in specific configurations of economic, cultural, administrative and coercion confinement of actors and resources — suggests that political developments affecting the boundary configuration of the nation state will also affect the domestic forms of its political structures. This is the starting point for the succeeding chapters devoted to the European integration process.
4 The Political Production of the EU: Boundary Building and Boundary Removing
Authors: Bartolini Stefano
Published: February 2006

This chapter analyses the main activities and policies of the EU new centre in the light of their capacity to remove internal boundaries (among member states), and to set external boundaries to the new enlarged system. It focuses on the economic and the coercion boundary (with its external and internal dimensions), and then moves on to analyse those other crucial boundaries that preside over the creation of a ‘system’: identity building, participation rights, and social sharing institutions. It argues that internal boundary removal proceeded at a much higher speed and scope than external boundary setting; that the EU produced a progressive disjoining and lack of coincidence of the previously highly coterminous economic, cultural, coercion and politico-administrative boundaries of the nation states; and that while the centre consolidated economic and legal integration, it did not create a ‘system’. This configuration can be interpreted in an institutional perspective (focussing on the relationship between the institutional structure of the new centre and its strategy of boundary control) and in a political perspective (focussing on the political elites preference for externalizing the pressure for domestic change, setting external constraints that ‘objectify’ the need for internal discipline).
Elections, Parties, Democracy
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

The book proposes a unifying conception which shows that the differences between ‘majoritarian’, ‘consensus’ and other forms of representative democracy are superficial compared to what unites them. The common element is the empowerment of the median voter by making the party (s)he votes for the median party in the legislature. Comparative evidene covering 21 democracies from 1950-1995 is assembled to check out the descriptive credentials of this idea, in contrast to the government mandate which forms the normal description and justification of democracy as providing ‘a necessary link between popular preferences and public policy’. Although, spontaneous majorities rarely emerge, median voter - median party correspondences do (72% of all governments, 82% under PR). Policy correspondence, distortion, long term bias, and responsiveness are examined in both static and dynamic terms. They reveal that underneath short-term fluctuations, the long-term equilibrium positions of governments and median voters map each other closely. Many other questions about democracy are also raised and investigated — economic and retrospective voting (‘ kicking the rascals out’): policy incrementalism, etc. — giving the book an appeal to different groups of specialists in political science. The comparative data on voting, on electoral party and government preferences, and on actual policy outputs are unsurpassed with regards to comprehensiveness over nations and time.
1 Choosing Governments or Identifying Preferences? The Role of Elections in Democracy
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

This chapter lays out the general questions as described in the overview. Is it really satisfactory to have ‘democracy with qualifiers’ (majoritarian, consensus, and so on) each justified in their own terms? A unifying median mandate approach is proposed which also gives a guarantee of a necessary connection between popular preferences and public policy, which no other account of representative democracy provides.
3 Communicating Preferences: The Public Policy Space
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

For democracy to work, politicians and electors have to see the world in the same party–related terms. Evidence is cited from both surveys and party programmes to show this must be the Left–Right dimension. However, issues get squeezed into this only during and round about elections. In inter–election periods, ministerial and procedural structures may well divide political issues up into separable domains, raising the possibility that different parliamentary medians exist, depending on the subject under discussion. This possibility has to be built into our research design.
Choices Parties Offer
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

Parties and their programmes form the alternatives electors vote for under modern representative democracy. A precondition of mandate theory, as opposed to convergence theories of democracy, is that parties offer clear choices. This chapter asks — Are there choices? Are the choices gently graded or sharply polarised? Are the policy alternatives on offer clear? Do the specific issues within the parties’ bundles fall along a Left–Right continuum correlated with each other, and with the overall party position.
9 From Declared to Actual Policy: Short‐Term Influences on Government Policies
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

Manifestoes and declarations state priorities for policy rather than getting down to the nitty-gritty. Actual decision-making involves the allocation of scarce resources, and this is examined in this chapter. The policies selected are those that square with those investigated in government declarations. One involves two sets of indicators of the size of a country's public economy — one for 1982 and another for 1992 — measured by central government spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). These are analyzed in relationship both to the Left–Right positions of electorates, parliaments, and governments as well as to the planning versus market orientation of parliaments, governments, and finance ministries. A second set comes from two indicators of support for welfare. One is Esping–Anderson's (1990) scoring of welfare provision from the early 1980s; the other is the level of social spending as a percentage of GDP from the early 1990s. The third policy is covered by another two indicators, of a peaceful versus militarist orientation to international affairs. One is the level of foreign economic aid as a percentage of GDP from the early 1980s, and the other the ratio of foreign economic aid to defence spending from the early 1990s.
12 Politics and Policy Regimes: Setting a Long‐Term Equilibrium
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

This chapter clinches the previous analysis by linking equilibria on both sides, (politics and policy) showing that they correspond closely. Broadly speaking, political preferences are transmitted from median voter to median parliamentary party, from that to government, and then to ministries in the sequence postulated by the median mandate. This implies that under the froth and change of politics, certain stable processes continue, and these are in conformity with a median mandate interpretation of democratic processes.
13 Unifying Theories of Democracy Through the Median Mandate
Authors: McDonald Michael D. , Budge Ian
Published: February 2006

This chapter brings together and tries to answer the questions about democratic politics raised in the text, many of which are classical questions of democratic theory. The purpose here is to bring them together in an integrated account, based on the validated median mandate view of the democratic process. It is shown that this underpins the workings of both ‘consensus’ and ‘majoritarian’ democracy ;provides a normative criterion for evaluating election rules; ; andbrings representative democracy closer to direct democracy.
Assessing semantic similarity measures for the characterization of human regulatory pathways
Authors: Guo Xiang , Liu Rongxiang , Shriver Craig D. , Hu Hai , Liebman Michael N.
Published: February 2006

Motivation: Pathway modeling requires the integration of multiple data including prior knowledge. In this study, we quantitatively assess the application of Gene Ontology (GO)-derived similarity measures for the characterization of direct and indirect interactions within human regulatory pathways. The characterization would help the integration of prior pathway knowledge for the modeling.

Results: Our analysis indicates information content-based measures outperform graph structure-based measures for stratifying protein interactions. Measures in terms of GO biological process and molecular function annotations can be used alone or together for the validation of protein interactions involved in the pathways. However, GO cellular component-derived measures may not have the ability to separate true positives from noise. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the functional similarity of proteins within known regulatory pathways decays rapidly as the path length between two proteins increases. Several logistic regression models are built to estimate the confidence of both direct and indirect interactions within a pathway, which may be used to score putative pathways inferred from a scaffold of molecular interactions.

Contact:  s.guo@wriwindber.org
Matched-pairs tests of homogeneity with applications to homologous nucleotide sequences
Authors: Ababneh Faisal , Jermiin Lars S. , Ma Chunsheng , Robinson John
Published: February 2006

Motivation: Most phylogenetic methods assume that the sequences of nucleotides or amino acids have evolved under stationary, reversible and homogeneous conditions. When these assumptions are violated by the data, there is an increased probability of errors in the phylogenetic estimates. Methods to examine aligned sequences for these violations are available, but they are rarely used, possibly because they are not widely known or because they are poorly understood.

Results: We describe and compare the available tests for symmetry of k-dimensional contingency tables from homologous sequences, and develop two new tests to evaluate different aspects of the evolutionary processes. For any pair of sequences, we consider a partition of the test for symmetry into a test for marginal symmetry and a test for internal symmetry. The proposed tests can be used to identify appropriate models for estimation of evolutionary relationships under a Markovian model. Simulations under more or less complex evolutionary conditions were done to display the performance of the tests. Finally, the tests were applied to an alignment of small-subunit ribosomal RNA sequences of five species of bacteria to outline the evolutionary processes under which they evolved.

Availability: Programs written in R to do the tests on nucleotides are available from

Contact:  lars.jermiin@usyd.edu.au
Thyroid function in human immunodeficiency virus patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART): a longitudinal study
Authors: Madeddu Giordano , Spanu Angela , Chessa Francesca , Calia Giovanna Maria , Lovigu Carla , Solinas Patrizia , Mannazzu Marco , Falchi Antonio , Mura Maria Stella , Madeddu Giuseppe
Published: February 2006

Objective  Given that few and controversial data have been reported on thyroid function in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), we further investigated whether HAART affects thyroid hormones.

Design and patients  Two hundred two consecutive adult HIV patients in stable clinical condition were enrolled, 182 on HAART and 20 naïve; 128 were rechecked during follow‐up. Body mass index (BMI), CD4 cell count, HIV RNA, hepatitis C and B virus status and infection duration were determined in all HIV patients and HAART duration in treated patients. In all patients and in 60 controls, the following were measured: FT4 and FT3 by radioimmunoassay; TSH, antithyroid peroxidase (TPO) and antithyroglobulin (TG) antibodies by immunoradiometric assay.

Results  Abnormalities in thyroid function tests were found in 23/182 (12·6%) HAART patients, but not in naïve patients. Most abnormalities were subclinical hypothyroidism, with mean FT4 and TSH levels lower and higher, respectively, in HAART patients compared to naïve patients and controls, FT4 levels being significantly lower than controls. TSH negatively correlated with CD4 count nadir and positively with HAART duration. During follow‐up, FT4 and FT3 significantly decreased and TSH increased in patients continuing HAART, whereas CD4 counts were unmodified; subclinical hypothyroid conditions persisted and further cases occurred, whereas the only hypothyroid patient who interrupted HAART shows a normalization of thyroid tests. Patients on stavudine, included in most hypothyroid patient protocols, had significantly lower FT4 levels with prolonged treatment.

Conclusions  HAART, particularly stavudine, is associated with a high prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism. Hypotheses are made regarding responsible mechanisms and risk factors. Thyroid function should be tested and sequentially rechecked in HAART patients.
Pattern of bone mineral density in patients with sporadic idiopathic hypoparathyroidism
Authors: Laway Bashir Ahmad , Goswami Ravinder , Singh Namrata , Gupta Nandita , Seith Ashu
Published: February 2006

Objective  Measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with hypoparathyroidism directly addresses the effect of chronic under‐exposure of bone to PTH. Because post‐thyroidectomy hypoparathyroidism is potentially complicated by the pre‐existence of thyrotoxicosis and the need for postoperative thyroxine replacement, we have studied a large group of patients with sporadic hypoparathyroidism who have been followed up in our endocrine clinic. Studies conducted in limited number of patients with sporadic idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (SIH) have suggested an increase in BMD in such patients. In this current study, we have measured BMD in a large cohort of patients with SIH and have assessed the relationship of BMD with duration of disease and with the adequacy of treatment, as indicated by follow‐up serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase levels.

Design  Case control study and intra‐group comparison.

Subjects  Forty‐seven patients (M : F ratio 23 : 24) with SIH who had been reviewed during 2003–2004 in our endocrine clinic were recruited for this study. Their mean age (± SD) was 34·6 ± 13·6 years and the duration from the time of initial diagnosis was 9·6 ± 8·5 years. Forty‐eight match healthy volunteers were recruited from hospital staff and from normocalcaemic relatives.

Methods  Bone mineral density was measured at total lumbar spine (L1–L4), hip and forearm by dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). The relationship of BMD was analysed with duration of disease symptoms (group I, ≤ 1 year, group II, > 1 and < 5 years and group III, ≥ 5 years) and mean serum total calcium observed during follow‐up (group A, calcium ≤ 1·79 mmol/l and group B, ≥ 1·80 mmol/l).

Results  Patients with SIH showed significantly higher BMD at total lumbar spine and hip when compared to controls (1·098 ± 0·187 vs. 0·936 ± 0·131 g/cm2 and 0·967 ± 0·141 vs. 0·882 ± 0·149 g/cm2, P < 0·001 for both). BMD in the forearm was not significantly different in patients and controls. The age‐ and BMI‐adjusted lumbar spine BMD showed correlation with duration of disease (r = 0·348 and P = 0·019). Patients with longer duration of hypoparathyroidism had higher BMD at lumbar spine (group I vs. group III, 0·951 ± 0·132 vs. 1·156 ± 0·180 g/cm2, P < 0·05). There was no significant correlation between BMD values in patients with SIH and their mean serum total calcium levels during the period of follow‐up (r = 0·192, P = 0·206). Neither was the mean BMD significantly different between group A and B. Serum total alkaline phosphatase showed a significant negative correlation with BMD at lumbar spine (r = –0·445, P = 0·012).

Conclusions  Patients with sporadic idiopathic hypoparathyroidism have increased mean BMD in the lumbar spine and hip but not in the forearm, compared to normal matched healthy controls. The increase in BMD is related to the duration of the disease rather than the serum calcium levels.
Promoting evidence‐based practice: the roles and activities of professional nurses’ associations
Authors: Van Achterberg Theo , Holleman Gerda , Van de Ven Marit , Grypdonck Maria H.F. , Eliëns Aart , Van Vliet Marjolein
Published: February 2006

Aim.  This paper reports a study exploring the role perceptions and current activities in evidence‐based practice promotion of professional nurses’ associations in the Netherlands.

Background.  The promotion of evidence‐based practice contributes to professional standards in nursing and good quality care for patients. As professional nurses’ associations can be key players in this process, the nature of their roles and current activities deserves to be explored.

Methods.  Roles and activities were explored for 43 professional nurses’ associations (83% of all national associations). Data were collected using interviews with the associations’ board members. Findings from the interviews were validated with those from an analysis of the associations’ policy reports and other publications in the previous 2 years.

Results.  Board members primarily thought that they had roles in the selection and distribution of evidence. The roles of participant (n = 13) and performer (n = 13) in selecting evidence, and those of facilitator (n = 12), initiator (n = 15) and performer (n = 41) in the distribution of evidence were often addressed. A few respondents reflected on roles in generating evidence and implementing evidence‐based practice in patient care. A majority of the associations was contemplating activities in the promotion of evidence‐based practice. Specific activities for each of six relevant aspects in the promotion of evidence‐based practice were found in fewer than five associations.

Conclusion.  Professional nurses’ association roles in the promotion of evidence‐based practice need to be viewed in relation to the tasks to be accomplished, especially those of selecting and distributing evidence. Although many organizations expressed motivation, professional nurses’ associations have a long way to go in the promotion of evidence‐based practice among their members.
Relational experiences of partnered Japanese immigrant women with affect disorders
Authors: Kozuki Yoriko , Kennedy Michael G. , Tsai Jenny Hsin‐Chun
Published: February 2006

Aim.  This paper reports the findings of a study that explored characteristics of relationships of Japanese immigrant women partnered both intraculturally and interculturally, and analysed the role of Japanese culture in these relationships.

Background.  Immigration can cause shifts in interpersonal structures with partners. When there are large discrepancies in gender roles and communication styles between the original and host cultures, the psychological impact on both partners may be significant. However, currently no empirical data are available to support this assumption.

Methods.  Ten cases selected from the 68 medical records of Japanese‐speaking women seen at a mental health clinic from September 2001 to September 2004 were analysed. All of the 10 women met DSM IV‐TR criteria of major depressive disorder and were taking antidepressants. Half of the10 women were in intimate intercultural partnered relationships and the remainder of the matched cases were in intracultural relationships at the time of treatment. The two cohorts were matched in age (36·2 and 43·2 years), length of stay in the United States of America (12 and 16·2 years), and length of treatment (1·2 and 1 years). The length of time of the sample in individual psychodynamic psychotherapy ranged from 20 to 317 hours, depending on the intensity of therapy.

Findings.  Inductive data analysis revealed two themes: (1) Lack of awareness of differences in culturally bound communication by Japanese women in intercultural partnerships; (2) Lack of individuality in Japanese women in intracultural partnerships. Neither group appeared to consider relational aspects of partnership, or to make efforts to improve direct communication with their partners.

Conclusion.  The influence of Japanese culture on gender role and communication styles functions contrary to the mainstream Western culture of the United States of America. In the future, interpersonal elements of cultural differences between host and original cultures in immigration should be considered in research related to immigrants’ mental health. This approach should lead to effective interventions to facilitate mental health among immigrants, and regardless of purposes of immigration or length of stay in a psychosocially foreign environment.
Hospital staff perceptions of parental involvement in paediatric hospital care
Authors: Ygge Britt Marie , Lindholm Christina , Arnetz Judith
Published: February 2006

Aim.  This paper reports a study of hospital staff perceptions of parental involvement in children's hospital care.

Background.  Previous research has shown that parents are expected and encouraged by hospital staff to be actively involved in the care of their hospitalized children. At the same time, parents have expressed a need for improved communication with paediatric hospital staff to clarify both parental and staff expectations and preferences about this involvement. Few studies, however, have studied hospital staff perceptions of parental involvement in the care of hospitalized children and their implications for clinical work.

Methods.  A cross‐sectional questionnaire study was conducted among paediatric hospital staff in October of 2003. Questionnaires were distributed to a total of 338 staff, including all physicians, Registered Nurses and nursing auxiliaries working on oncology, surgery and neurology units in three university children's hospitals in Sweden.

Results.  A total of 207 questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 61%. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the 26‐item questionnaire resulted in the creation of two indices, Work Routines and Work Strain. Oncology staff reported having better work routines for involving parents in their children's care and they experienced less strain from parental demands compared with staff on other paediatric units. Staff perceptions and workplace routines regarding parental involvement did not differ statistically significantly by profession or by length of work experience.

Conclusion.  Staff perceptions of parental involvement may be related to clinical specialty. Oncology units may find it easier to establish routines for parental involvement, thereby experiencing less work strain in their interactions with parents. There is a need to further study staff perceptions of parental involvement and their implications for the staff work situation in both Sweden and other countries.
Attitudes of intensive care nurses towards brain death and organ transplantation: instrument development and testing
Authors: Kim Jung Ran , Fisher Murray John , Elliott Doug
Published: February 2006

Aims.  This paper reports the development and testing of an instrument assessing attitudes of Korean intensive care unit nurses.

Background.  Reluctance by healthcare professionals to identify brain‐dead patients as a potential donor is one reason for a shortfall in transplantable organs in all countries. Organ donation from brain‐dead patients is a particularly contentious issue in Korea, following recent legal recognition of brain death within the cultural context of Confucian beliefs.

Method.  A 38‐item instrument was developed from the literature and key informant interviews, and validated by an expert panel and a pilot study. A survey was conducted with Korean intensive care unit nurses (n = 520) from October 2003 to January 2004. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity. Item‐to‐total correlations and Cronbach's coefficient alpha were used to determine the scale's internal consistency and unidimensionality.

Results.  The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha = 0·88). Principal component analysis yielded a four‐component structure: Discomfort, Enhancing quality of life, Willingness to be a donor and Rewarding experience. Overall, Korean intensive care unit nurses showed positive attitudes towards organ transplantation, despite some mixed feelings.

Conclusion.  The attitude scale was reliable and valid for this cohort. Areas were identified where professional development may enhance positive attitudes towards organ transplantation from brain‐dead donors. Effective education for intensive care unit nurses is necessary to increase the organ donor pool in Korea. Further research could test the instrument with other populations.
Neuropathological analysis of an asymptomatic adult case with Dandy–Walker variant
Authors: Notaridis G. , Ebbing K. , Giannakopoulos P. , Bouras C. , Kövari E.
Published: February 2006

The Dandy‐Walker (DW) complex is a rare posterior fossa malformation, usually observed during the prenatal period or the early infancy. Clinically, it is characterized by mental retardation, seizures, cerebellar ataxia as well as symptoms of hydrocephalus. Structural imaging reveal a hypoplasia or agenesis of the cerebellar vermis, enlargement of the fourth ventricle with a posterior fossa cyst. Additional neurodevelopmental changes such as agenesis of the corpus callosum, lissencephaly and cortical dysplasia are also present. We report the first neuropathological analysis of an adult asymptomatic DW case. Brain computerized tomography showed a massive posterior fossa cyst and hypoplasia of the cerebellum. An Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome type IV characterized by repetitive intestinal perforations and a saccular aneurysm on the left posterior communicating artery was also present. Macroscopic brain examination revealed hypoplasia of both cerebellar hemispheres and posterior part of the vermis, as well as dilatation of the fourth ventricle without hydrocephalus. The posterior fossa cyst wall was formed by an external arachnoid layer, middle layer with loose connective tissue and an internal layer of ependymal cells. There were two foci of cerebellar cortical dysplasia but no ectopic neurons, neuronal loss or gliosis in both cerebellum and cerebral cortex. No vascular or significant neurodegenerative lesions were observed. In comparison with previous reports in DW infants, this adult case displayed milder brain abnormalities compatible with a diagnosis of DW variant. The preservation of the cortical cytoarchitecture as well as the paucity of additional neurodevelopmental changes may explain the absence of clinical expression.
Comparative study of commercially available anti‐α‐synuclein antibodies
Authors: Croisier E. , Elfant D. , Deprez M. , Goldring K. , Dexter D. T. , Pearce R. K. B. , Graeber M. B. , Roncaroli F.
Published: February 2006

Immunohistochemistry for alpha‐synuclein has become the histological technique of choice for the diagnosis for Parkinson's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies and Multiple System Atrophy (http://www.ICDNS.org). Nevertheless, no standardised protocol has been proposed. We have reviewed 242 of the 270 studies published until June 2005 that mentioned immunohistochemistry for anti‐alpha synuclein on human tissue and we found that only 75 (31%) used commercial antibodies. We also noted that protocols, particularly dilution and antigen unmasking, varied between studies, even when the same antibody was employed. In order to establish a standardised protocol for alpha‐synuclein immunohistochemistry, which can be applied in diagnostic neuropathology we tested seven commercial monoclonal antibodies in brains of subjects with Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy, multiple sclerosis with incidental Lewy bodies and aged‐matched normal brain and determined for each antibody the best suited protocol for antigen unmasking. We evaluated the intensity of immunolabelling in Lewy bodies, neuropil threads, dendrites, pre‐synaptic terminals, granular cytoplasmic positivity, peri‐axonal positivity, glial inclusions and non‐specific immunolabelling. Although our results showed that all the antibodies detected alpha‐synuclein inclusions, differences were noted between antibodies, particularly with regard to the detection of glial inclusions. From our study, the best antibodies of the seven tested appeared to be those directed against amino acids 116–131 and 15–123 and we suggest them to be used in routine diagnostic practice for alpha‐synucleinopathies.
Progress and opportunities in the development of vaccines against mites, fleas and myiasis‐causing flies of veterinary importance
Authors: NISBET A. J. , HUNTLEY J. F.
Published: February 2006

Despite the potential benefits offered by vaccination against ectoparasites, there have been few commercial successes with this strategy, in spite of sustained efforts using increasingly sophisticated techniques. This review outlines the progress and challenges offered by recent research into vaccination against some of the major ectoparasites of veterinary importance, and provides an insight into the opportunities arising from our increased understanding of the immunology of host–parasite relationships and the potential for exploitation of this knowledge and that arising from new genomic data provided by expressed sequence tag projects.
Delayed embryo development in the ARABIDOPSIS TREHALOSE‐6‐PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 mutant is associated with altered cell wall structure, decreased cell division and starch accumulation
Authors: Gómez Leonardo D. , Baud Sébastien , Gilday Alison , Li Yi , Graham Ian A.
Published: February 2006

The tps1 mutant, which is disrupted in the TREHALOSE‐6‐PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 gene, has been previously characterized as a recessive embryo lethal. tps1 embryos do not develop past late torpedo or early cotyledon stage. We report here that at the ultrastructural, biochemical, and transcriptional levels tps1 exhibits many features typically associated with the maturation phase. The appearance of storage reserve transcripts and organelles follows the same temporal pattern in tps1 and wild‐type (WT) embryos in the same silique as does accumulation of storage lipid and protein. The mutant plastids accumulate large starch granules that persist until the end of seed development, in contrast with WT plastids where starch accumulation is transient. The transcriptome of tps1 embryos shows a coordinate downregulation of genes involved in starch and sucrose degradation. Interestingly, genes involved in lipid mobilization and gluconeogenesis are induced in tps1 embryos. The cell walls of tps1 embryos show a remarkable degree of thickening at the ultrastructural level and immunodetection of cell wall components shows that altered deposition of pectins accounts for this altered morphology. Consistent with this at the transcriptome level, genes involved in sugar nucleotide and pectin metabolism are altered in the mutant. The frequency of cell division in tps1 embryos is half that of the wild type at the heart and torpedo stages. These results suggest that TPS1 may play a major role in coordinating cell wall biosynthesis and cell division with cellular metabolism during embryo development.
Floral organ identity genes in the orchid Dendrobium crumenatum
Authors: Xu Yifeng , Teo Lai Lai , Zhou Jing , Kumar Prakash P. , Yu Hao
Published: February 2006

Orchids are members of Orchidaceae, one of the largest families in the flowering plants. Among the angiosperms, orchids are unique in their floral patterning, particularly in floral structures and organ identity. The ABCDE model was proposed as a general model to explain flower development in diverse plant groups, however the extent to which this model is applicable to orchids is still unknown. To investigate the regulatory mechanisms underlying orchid flower development, we isolated candidates for A, B, C, D and E function genes from Dendrobium crumenatum. These include AP2‐, PI/GLO‐, AP3/DEF‐, AG‐ and SEP‐like genes. The expression profiles of these genes exhibited different patterns from their Arabidopsis orthologs in floral patterning. Functional studies showed that DcOPI and DcOAG1 could replace the functions of PI and AG in Arabidopsis, respectively. By using chimeric repressor silencing technology, DcOAP3A was found to be another putative B function gene. Yeast two‐hybrid analysis demonstrated that DcOAP3A/B and DcOPI could form heterodimers. These heterodimers could further interact with DcOSEP to form higher protein complexes, similar to their orthologs in eudicots. Our findings suggested that there is partial conservation in the B and C function genes between Arabidopsis and orchid. However, gene duplication might have led to the divergence in gene expression and regulation, possibly followed by functional divergence, resulting in the unique floral ontogeny in orchids.