bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voluptuousness and Asceticism in Adorno1
Authors: Wilson Ross
Published: June 2009

This essay explores Theodor Adorno's view of pleasure in general and his account of the pleasures of modernist art in particular. At first sight, this hardly seems a promising topic for study, given Adorno's consistently stated antipathy to the false pleasures of the culture industry. While some consideration of Adorno's critique of pleasure is important to this essay, its central aim is to demonstrate that Adorno's aesthetics does not reject pleasure outright. In particular, it will be shown that Adorno's contention that ‘[d]er Bürger wünscht die Kunst üppig und das Leben asketisch; umgekehrt wäre es besser’ does not involve an unqualified advocacy of modernist art as ascetic pure and simple, just as voluptuous life itself could hardly be initiated by an act of will. Rather, voluptuousness and asceticism are to be conceived dialectically, for Adorno, both in aesthetic theory and, indeed, in philosophy and social theory. Specific examples of Adorno's conception of the relation of pleasure to its apparent renunciation will be given from his reading of Charles Baudelaire and from his critique of developments in music allegedly in the wake of Schönberg's innovations.
Was Heisst Schauen? On the Vital Signs of Modernist Painting
Authors: Santner Eric L.
Published: June 2009

This paper argues that a great deal of modernist artistic production is best viewed as a struggle with the psychic and biopolitical dimensions of what has been characterised as the ‘disenchantment’ of the world. The paper proceeds by way of a critical engagement with the work of the philosopher J. M. Bernstein who has tried to measure the achievements of modernist works of art on the basis of their capacity to sustain the ‘normative claims’ of embodied subjectivity under conditions of modernity (scientific formalisation, commodity exchange, bureaucratic organisation). The pleasures afforded by such works must be linked, in Bernstein's view, to the claims they make on behalf of lost forms of human vitality and animation. This paper argues that only a concept of human ‘life’ that brings together what Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben characterise as biopolitics with the psychoanalytic understanding of the drives can capture the full complexity of the aesthetic claims in question.
Kafka's ‘Josefine die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse’
Authors: Minden Michael
Published: June 2009

The first part of this article is a textual analysis of cultural pleasure as depicted in Kafka's ‘Josefine die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse’. There are two levels to this pleasure: the first, based on mutual misunderstanding, is that Josefine's performance mirrors the community's own vulnerability, which paradoxically enriches its sense of belonging, and this in turn confirms its ability to protect her to the extent that she can perform for their benefit. The second level is of a psychoanalytical nature, based upon the recurrence of the word ‘Verlangen’ in the text, denoting a stronger, potentially destructive jouissance both enabled and deflected by the mutual misunderstanding previously described. The second part of the article consists of a more formal textual analysis, bringing out the specific indeterminacy of the text and arguing that this throws light upon Kafka's sense of the possible reception of his writing. Drawing upon Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer, and other recent interpretations of Kafka, the third part of the article then asks what the foregoing analysis can suggest about the actual reception of Kafka and about the history of modernist cultural pleasure more broadly.

Well, we know where we’re going, but we don't know where we’ve been.

                  Talking Heads, ‘Road to Nowhere’
W. G. Sebald: The Pleasure and Pain of Beauty
Authors: Duttlinger Carolin
Published: June 2009

Beauty plays a central but ambivalent role in Sebald's writings. Echoing Kant's aesthetic theory, Sebald's texts emphasise the disinterested and free nature of aesthetic pleasure, but they also argue that this pleasure is increasingly threatened in the modern age, as the human relationship towards nature becomes informed by a desire for domination and exploitation. In a cross‐reading of Sebald's literary works and his essays on Adalbert Stifter and Gottfried Keller, this article shows how Sebald's own texts attempt to resist this development. By highlighting the beauty of the natural world, they prepare the ground for renewed appreciation, but also for encounter and compassion. Yet the beauty thus displayed is often situated within the context of suffering and death, and by depicting it, Sebald's texts risk becoming complicit with the very structures which they try to undermine. A similar complicity between pleasure and domination also shapes the realm of man‐made artefacts. Sebald's texts attempt to escape this double‐bind in passages which abandon conventionally realist representation in favour of more abstract tableaux of beautiful patterns and colours. This movement towards abstraction serves to shield beauty from the dictates of instrumental reason, fostering an aesthetic pleasure which remains open to compassion.
ST THOMAS'S PEDAGOGY – IGNORED, REDISCOVERED, AND APPLIED
Authors: HIGGINS JAMES
Published: June 2009

St Thomas Aquinas enjoys the repute of having given five proofs of God's existence, the famous ‘Five Ways’: Respondeo dicendum quod Deum esse probari potest quinque viis– I reply that you have to say that God's existence can be proved in five ways – and here they come! For students of philosophy they make their deadly, inescapable appearance in any and every manual, trotted out with a granite certainty comparable only to that with which we are assured that English Catholics once nearly succeeded in blowing up the Houses of Parliament. Here, however, our concern is with St Thomas's teaching method, rather than with a readers' consensus about what he said, that of a readership largely content to ignore the question: and this article is an endeavour, not indeed to ‘flog a dead horse’, but simply to explain the pedagogy implicit in the great Summa. That simply means, how to read it with as much ease and understanding as its author intended – and indeed indicated from his opening sentence onwards. The article ends by mentioning some highly regrettable consequences of the neglect, briefly updating (if the paradox be allowed) the post‐Tridentine moral tradition, by adding to it from St Thomas's nowadays largely forgotten legacy.
Mexican Urban Governance: How Old and New Institutions Coexist and Interact
Authors: GUARNEROS‐MEZA VALERIA
Published: June 2009

The analysis of urban governance in terms of networks, as developed in the UK by scholars including Rhodes and Stoker, can be applied to a context such as Mexico if due weight is given to macro‐level processes. In this article, careful attention is paid to the institutional legacies of Mexico's past authoritarian regime and how they are challenged by a new discourse of neoliberalization, decentralization and democratization. Corporatism, social segmentation and organizational fragmentation in the past have resulted in the continuing importance of hierarchical modes of governance alongside networks. Case studies of the public–private partnerships involved in the regeneration of the historic centres of Querétaro and San Luis Potosí show that new forms of governance entail a mix of continuity and change. Regeneration partnerships were initiated and largely funded by the local state, with the state retaining considerable power. Most of the non‐state participants were drawn from the old aristocracy and business and professional organizations, whilst the increasingly autonomous groups of street traders and ‘ordinary’ citizens concerned with the life in the city centre were excluded. Nevertheless, new discourses challenge the institutional legacies of the past, encouraging institutional change.

L'analyse de la gouvernance urbaine en termes de réseaux, telle que des chercheurs comme Rhodes et Stoker la présentent au Royaume‐Uni, est applicable au contexte mexicain si on pondère correctement les macro‐processus. Une attention particulière est accordée ici aux héritages institutionnels du régime autoritaire qu'a connu le Mexique, et à la façon dont ils sont remis en cause par un discours nouveau de néolibéralisation, décentralisation et démocratisation. Dans le passé, corporatisme, segmentation sociale et fragmentation des organisations ont donné une importance constante aux modes de gouvernance hiérarchisés en parallèle aux réseaux. D'après des études de cas de partenariats public‐privé portant sur des projets de régénération des centres historiques de Querétaro et de San Luis Potosí, de nouvelles formes de gouvernance génèrent un mélange de continuité et de changement. Les partenariats liés à la régénération de quartiers ont été lancés et en grande partie financés par l'État local, l'État gardant une emprise considérable. Hormis l'État, les participants étaient issus, par la plupart, de la vieille aristocratie, ainsi que des milieux commerciaux et professionnels, alors qu'étaient exclus les groupes de plus en plus autonomes des marchands ambulants et des citoyens ‘ordinaires’ concernés par la vie dans le centre‐ville. Néanmoins les nouveaux discours, qui remettent en question les héritages institutionnels du passé, encouragent à une évolution des institutions.
Long-lasting airplane headache in a patient with chronic rhinosinusitis
Authors: Pfund Z , Trauninger A , Szanyi I , Illes Z
Published: June 2009

The authors report long-lasting airplane headache in a patient with non-allergic, chronic rhinosinusitis. Association of mucosal inflammation with compromised sinonasal ventilation and sinus barotrauma created a base for not only the pain but also for the prolongation of symptoms. Effective therapy with antihistamine and nasal decongestant supports the theory that sinonasal barotrauma plays a triggering role in the pathophysiology of airplane headache.
Alterations of the endocannabinoid system in an animal model of migraine: Evaluation in cerebral areas of rat
Authors: Greco R , Gasperi V , Sandrini G , Bagetta G , Nappi G , Maccarrone M , Tassorelli C
Published: June 2009

Endocannabinoids are involved in the modulation of pain and hyperalgesia. In this study we investigated the role of the endocannabinoid system in the migraine model based on nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia in the rat. Male rats were injected with nitroglycerin (10 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle and sacrificed 4 h later. The medulla, the mesencephalon and the hypothalamus were dissected out and utilized for the evaluation of activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase (that degrades the endocannabinoid anandamide), monoacylglycerol lipase (that degrades the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol), and binding sites specific for cannabinoid (CB) receptors. The findings obtained show that nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia is associated with increased activity of both hydrolases and increased density of CB binding sites in the mesencephalon. In the hypothalamus we observed an increase in the activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase associated with an increase in density of CB binding sites, while in the medulla only the activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase was increased. Anandamide also proved effective in preventing nitroglycerin-induced activation (c-Fos) of neurons in the nucleus trigeminalis caudalis. These data strongly support the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia, and, possibly, in the pathophysiological mechanisms of migraine.
Current topical and systemic approaches to treatment of rosacea
Authors: Korting HC , Schöllmann C
Published: June 2009

Rosacea is a common, often overlooked, chronic facial dermatosis characterized by intermittent periods of exacerbation and remission. Clinical subtypes and grading of the disease have been defined in the literature. On the basis of a genetic predisposition, there are several intrinsic and extrinsic factors possibly correlating with the phenotypic expression of the disease. Although rosacea cannot be cured, there are several recommended treatment strategies appropriate to control the corresponding symptoms/signs. In addition to adequate skin care, these include topical and systemic medications particularly suitable for the papulopustular subtype of rosacea with moderate to severe intensity. The most commonly used and most established therapeutic regimens are topical metronidazole and topical azelaic acid as well as oral doxycycline. Conventionally, 100–200 mg per day have been used. Today also a controlled release formulation is available, delivering 40 mg per day using non‐antibiotic, anti‐inflammatory activities of the drug. Anti‐inflammatory dose doxycycline in particular allows for a safe and effective short‐ and long‐term therapy of rosacea. Topical metronidazole and topical azelaic acid also appear to be safe and effective for short‐term use. There are indications that a combined therapy of anti‐inflammatory dose doxycycline and topical metronidazole could possibly have synergy effects. Further interesting therapy options for the short‐ and long‐term therapy of rosacea could be low‐dose minocycline and isotretinoin; however, too little data are available with regard to the effectiveness, safety, optimal dosage and appropriate length of treatment for these medications to draw final conclusions.

Conflicts of interest

None declared.
Treatment with a barrier‐strengthening moisturizing cream delays relapse of atopic dermatitis: a prospective and randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Wirén K , Nohlgård C , Nyberg F , Holm L , Svensson M , Johannesson A , Wallberg P , Berne B , Edlund F , Lodén M
Published: June 2009

Background  Standard treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) is based on topical glucocorticosteroids or calcineurin inhibitors to treat flares combined with moisturizer treatment to alleviate dry skin symptoms. Patients with AD have an abnormal skin barrier function, and strategies for reducing the risks for eczema would be to repair the barrier or prevent barrier dysfunction.

Objectives  The objective of this study was to explore the time to relapse of eczema during a 26‐week maintenance treatment with a urea containing moisturizer compared to no treatment (neither medical nor non‐medicated preparations) after successful clearing of atopic lesions. The moisturizer has previously been shown to improve skin barrier function.

Methods  Patients applied betamethasone valerate (0.1%) on eczematous lesions during a 3‐week period. Those with cleared eczema entered a 26‐week maintenance phase, applying the moisturizer or left the previously affected area untreated. Upon eczema relapse, patients were instructed to contact the clinic and to have the relapse confirmed by the investigator.

Results  Fifty‐five patients entered the study and 44 patients were included in the maintenance phase (22 using moisturizer twice daily and 22 using no treatment). Median time to relapse for patients treated with moisturizer was > 180 days (duration of the study) compared with 30 days for the no‐treatment group. Sixty‐eight per cent of the patients treated with the moisturizer and 32% of the untreated patients remained free from eczema during the observation period.

Conclusions  Maintenance treatment with a barrier‐improving urea moisturizer on previous eczematous areas reduced the risk of relapse to approximately one third of that of no treatment.
REPRODUCTIVE TOURISM IN ARGENTINA: CLINIC ACCREDITATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSUMERS, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND POLICY MAKERS
Authors: SMITH ELISE , BEHRMANN JASON , MARTIN CAROLINA , WILLIAMS‐JONES BRYN
Published: June 2009

A subcategory of medical tourism, reproductive tourism has been the subject of much public and policy debate in recent years. Specific concerns include: the exploitation of individuals and communities, access to needed health care services, fair allocation of limited resources, and the quality and safety of services provided by private clinics. To date, the focus of attention has been on the thriving medical and reproductive tourism sectors in Asia and Eastern Europe; there has been much less consideration given to more recent ‘players’ in Latin America, notably fertility clinics in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. In this paper, we examine the context‐specific ethical and policy implications of private Argentinean fertility clinics that market reproductive services via the internet. Whether or not one agrees that reproductive services should be made available as consumer goods, the fact is that they are provided as such by private clinics around the world. We argue that basic national regulatory mechanisms are required in countries such as Argentina that are marketing fertility services to local and international publics. Specifically, regular oversight of all fertility clinics is essential to ensure that consumer information is accurate and that marketed services are safe and effective. It is in the best interests of consumers, health professionals and policy makers that the reproductive tourism industry adopts safe and responsible medical practices.
FAIR TRADE INTERNATIONAL SURROGACY
Authors: HUMBYRD CASEY
Published: June 2009

Since the development of assisted reproductive technologies, infertile individuals have crossed borders to obtain treatments unavailable or unaffordable in their own country. Recent media coverage has focused on the outsourcing of surrogacy to developing countries, where the cost for surrogacy is significantly less than the equivalent cost in a more developed country. This paper discusses the ethical arguments against international surrogacy. The major opposition viewpoints can be broadly divided into arguments about welfare, commodification and exploitation.

It is argued that the only valid objection to international surrogacy is that surrogate mothers may be exploited by being given too little compensation. However, the possibility of exploitation is a weak argument for prohibition, as employment alternatives for potential surrogate mothers may be more exploitative or more harmful than surrogacy. It is concluded that international surrogacy must be regulated, and the proposed regulatory mechanism is termed Fair Trade Surrogacy. The guidelines of Fair Trade Surrogacy focus on minimizing potential harms to all parties and ensuring fair compensation for surrogate mothers.
Physiological response to stress in fledgling Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni: the role of physical condition, sex and individual genetic diversity
Authors: ORTEGO JOAQUÍN , ZAPERO LAURA , CALABUIG GUSTAU , CORDERO PEDRO J. , APARICIO JOSÉ MIGUEL
Published: June 2009

Exposure to chronic stress early on during development has important deleterious consequences later in life, reducing important components of individual fitness such as survival and future reproduction. In this study, we evaluate the factors associated with physiological response to stress in fledgling Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni, paying particular attention to the potential role of individual genetic diversity. For this purpose, we used heterophil/lymphocyte ratios (H/L ratio) as a haematological stress indicator and typed the analysed individuals at 11 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci, which allowed us to estimate their genetic diversity. We found that the H/L ratio decreases with fledgling physical condition, suggesting that this parameter is a good indicator of nutritionally based physiological stress. Physiological response to stress was higher in males than in females and this effect was independent of physical condition, suggesting that the observed pattern is due to inherent sexual differences in the factors influencing H/L ratios. Finally, the H/L ratio was positively associated with the genetic diversity of offspring. Previous experimental studies have found that individuals with higher genetic diversity show increased levels of circulating glucocorticoids, which in turn are directly responsible for increasing H/L ratios. On this basis, we suggest that a positive effect of genetic diversity on corticosterone levels may explain the observed association between H/L ratios and individual heterozygosity. Overall, this study highlights the utility of leucocyte profiles to study stress in wild bird populations and poses an interesting question about the effects of individual genetic diversity on haematological response to stress.
Population trends of breeding birds in British woodlands over a 32‐year period: relationships with food, habitat use and migratory behaviour
Authors: HEWSON CHRIS M. , NOBLE DAVID G.
Published: June 2009

This paper outlines population trends (with confidence intervals) for 49 species in woodland habitats in Britain as monitored by the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Common Bird Census (CBC) between 1967 and 1999. Additionally, the possible causes of these population trends are investigated by relating the ecological characteristics of species to the degree of population change they have undergone over different time periods. Over the whole period, 17 species showed significant decreases in abundance and 12 species showed significant increases. Whilst population trajectories were diverse, long‐distance migrants showed more negative trends than other species and the timing of the changes in their populations was related to their wintering latitude, suggesting that these species may be suffering from environmental changes in the non‐breeding season. There was also support for habitat specializations being related to population changes, with species classified as scrub and understorey specialists declining on average, but this was only evident across the entire study period. Additionally, species eating seeds in summer declined and those eating vegetation and making use of the agricultural landscape matrix increased. Therefore wide‐scale factors such as landscape‐scale processes or processes operating outside of Britain appear to be important in addition to local habitat change, especially for long‐distance migrants.
Refining soil survey information for a Dutch soil series using land use history
Authors: Sonneveld M.P.W. , Bouma J. , Veldkamp A.
Published: June 2009

Abstract. Differences in land‐use history within soil series, although not influencing soil classification, lead to variability of non‐diagnostic soil properties in soil databases. Regional studies that use soil databases are confronted with this considerable variability. This has, for example, been reported in regional studies focused on nitrate leaching from agricultural land. Such findings have a direct impact on regional assessments of nitrate leaching from dairy farms on sandy soils, a major environmental issue in the Netherlands. There is thus a need to deal with this variability in soil properties.

We were able to relate soil organic nitrogen, soil organic carbon and its dynamics to land use history for a Dutch sandy soil series. Within one soil series, three different land use histories were identified: old grassland, reseeded grassland and grassland converted from continuous cropping with silage maize. The addition of landscape characteristics significantly improved the regression models based on land‐use only. Once established for any given soil series, such relationships can significantly improve soil survey input into dynamic models of soil behaviour such as regional nitrate leaching studies.
A modelling analysis of the potential for soil carbon sequestration under short rotation coppice willow bioenergy plantations
Authors: Grogan P. , Matthews R.
Published: June 2009

Abstract. Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations and their association with global climate change have led to several major international initiatives to reduce net CO2 emissions, including the promotion of bioenergy crops such as short rotation coppice (SRC) willow. Although the above‐ground harvested bio‐fuel is likely to be the major contributor to the CO2 mitigation potential of bioenergy crops, additional carbon may be sequestered through crop inputs into plantation soils.  Here, we describe a process‐based model specifically designed to evaluate the potential for soil carbon sequestration in SRC willow plantations in the UK. According to the model predictions, we conclude that the potential for soil carbon sequestration in these plantations is comparable to, or even greater than, that of naturally regenerating woodland. Our preliminary, site‐specific model output suggests that soil carbon sequestration may constitute about 5% of the overall carbon mitigation benefit arising from SRC plantations. Sensitivity analyses identified the following factors as the principal controls on rates and amounts of soil carbon sequestration under SRC: carbon inputs (net primary production), decomposition rates of the major soil carbon pools, initial soil carbon content (an inverse relationship with rates of soil carbon sequestration), crop/plantation management, and depth of soil being influenced by the bioenergy crop. Our results suggest that carbon sequestration potential is greatest in soils whose carbon content has been depleted to relatively low levels due to agricultural land use practices such as annual deep ploughing of agricultural soils.
Assessing phosphorus ‘Change‐Points’ and leaching potential by isotopic exchange and sequential fractionation
Authors: Blake L. , Hesketh N. , Fortune S. , Brookes P.C.
Published: June 2009

Abstract.There is increasing evidence that phosphorus (P) can be transferred to surface waters by leaching as well as by erosion and surface runoff. Recently it has been suggested that P soluble in 0.01mCaCl2may be a good indicator of the specific Olsen‐P concentration (usually termed the ‘Change Point’) at which the rate of P leaching from soil suddenly increases and poses a greater threat of eutrophication to standing waters. We know that these ‘Change Points’ vary from soil to soil but, so far, we do not fully understand the mechanism(s) involved. Here, we combine methods for assessing isotopically exchangeable P and P sequential fractionation to gain an insight into the processes which cause this sudden increase in P solubilization. We suggest that Change‐Points simply define the asymtote of rapid desorption isotherms relating to that P which is most readily isotopically exchangeable (i.e at 24 h –33P24) with the soil solution. This involves ligand exchange at hydroxyl sites associated with Fe and Al cations, which is kinetically governed by the concentration of surface complexes on soil minerals. Individual Change‐Points reflect the mineralogy and surface chemistry of different soil types. Laboratory and field measurements of the Olsen‐P Change‐Point reflect these surface phenomena and are similar. Olsen‐P extracts the portion of the exchangeable pool that most readily controls solution P, and the Olsen‐P/33P24ratio is linearly related to Olsen‐P Change‐Points. This may provide a method for estimating P Change‐Points where gradients of soil P are not available.
The influence of parent material and livestock intensification on plant‐available phosphorus values by the Olsen method in Northern Ireland
Authors: Jordan C. , Smith R.V. , Hamill K.P. , Higgins A.J.
Published: June 2009

Abstract. Leaching of phosphorus (P) from agricultural land is the major cause of eutrophication of surface waters in Northern Ireland. However, soil testing using the Olsen method has shown that while soil P in some catchment areas of the Province is low, surface waters within these catchments are, nonetheless, every bit as eutrophic as other local catchments where soil P is high. Soil P measurements on over 6000 samples from Northern Ireland soils (A horizon only) have indicated that Olsen‐P values of improved grassland on most parent materials are linearly related to animal intensification. Exceptions are soils derived from peat, marl and basalt. For each of the latter soils, the measured Olsen‐P was shown to be around 10 mg L–1 lower than expected for farms with similar intensification on other parent materials. In particular, the mean Olsen‐P values of samples from basaltic soils under grass with total Fe above 62 g kg–1 and total Mg above 16 g kg–1 were significantly lower than those from basaltic soils with low total Fe (<37 g kg–1) and total Mg (<8 g kg–1). As a result of the depressed Olsen‐P value, excessive quantities of P may be applied to these soils to maintain a recommended soil P index thereby enhancing the potential for nutrient enrichment of adjacent surface waters. In such cases, coworkers have shown that acid ammonium oxalate may be a better extractant than bicarbonate as an indicator of plant‐available P.
Fate of Escherichia coli and Escherichia coli O157 in soils and drainage water following cattle slurry application at 3 sites in southern Scotland
Authors: Vinten A.J.A. , Lewis D.R. , Fenlon D.R. , Leach K.A. , Howard R. , Svoboda I. , Ogden I.
Published: June 2009

Abstract. Slurry from farm animals may contaminate water supplies, rivers and bathing waters with faecal coliforms, such as Escherichia coli. Where animals harbour the O157 strain the hazard to human health is particularly high, but both the hazard level, and the low incidence and sporadic nature of the excretion of E. coli O157 make it difficult to study this strain under field conditions. The survival of total E. coli and of E. coli O157 were compared in the laboratory for two soils under controlled temperature and moisture. E. coli O157 die‐off rate was the same as or quicker than for total E. coli. This result meant that field experiments studying the fate of total E. coli should give a satisfactory evaluation of the risk of water contamination by the O157 strain. In four field experiments at three sites, slurry containing total E. coli numbers of 2.2 × 104 to 5.7 × 105 colony forming units per mL (c.f.u. mL–1) was applied to drained field plots. Field die‐off was faster than expected from laboratory experiments, especially in one experiment where two weeks dry weather followed application. In all but this experiment, the first drain flow events after slurry application led to very high E. coli concentrations in the drains (103 to 104 c.f.u. mL–1). E. coli O157 was present in the slurry used for two of the experiments (33 c.f.u. per 100 mL in each case). However the proportion of E.coli O157 was very low (about 1 in 105) and it was not detected in the drainage water. After the first week E. coli drainage water numbers decreased rapidly but they were 1–10 c.f.u. mL–1 for much of the sampling period after slurry application (1–3 months).
Paying the Extinction Debt in Southern Wisconsin Forest Understories
Authors: ROGERS DAVID A. , ROONEY THOMAS P. , HAWBAKER TODD J. , RADELOFF VOLKER C. , WALLER DONALD M.
Published: June 2009

Abstract: The lack of long‐term baseline data restricts the ability to measure changes in biological diversity directly and to determine its cause. This hampers conservation efforts and limits testing of basic tenets of ecology and conservation biology. We used a historical baseline survey to track shifts in the abundance and distribution of 296 native understory species across 82 sites over 55 years in the fragmented forests of southern Wisconsin. We resurveyed stands first surveyed in the early 1950s to evaluate the influence of patch size and surrounding land cover on shifts in native plant richness and heterogeneity and to evaluate changes in the relative importance of local site conditions versus the surrounding landscape context as drivers of community composition and structure. Larger forests and those with more surrounding forest cover lost fewer species, were more likely to recruit new species, and had lower rates of homogenization than smaller forests in more fragmented landscapes. Nearby urbanization further reduced both alpha and beta understory diversity. Similarly, understory composition depended strongly on local site conditions in the original survey but only weakly reflected the surrounding landscape composition. By 2005, however, the relative importance of these factors had reversed such that the surrounding landscape structure is now a much better predictor of understory composition than are local site conditions. Collectively, these results strongly support the idea that larger intact habitat patches and landscapes better sustain native species diversity and demonstrate that humans play an increasingly important role in driving patterns of native species diversity and community composition.
The Need to Rationalize and Prioritize Threatening Processes Used to Determine Threat Status in the IUCN Red List
Authors: HAYWARD MATT W.
Published: June 2009

Abstract:  Thorough evaluation has made the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List the most widely used and accepted authority on the conservation status of biodiversity. Although the system used to determine risk of extinction is rigorously and objectively applied, the list of threatening processes affecting a species is far more subjectively determined and has not had adequate review. I reviewed the threats listed in the IUCN Red List for randomly selected groups within the three most threatened orders of mammals: Artiodactyla, Carnivora, and Primates. These groups are taxonomically related and often ecologically similar, so I expected they would suffer relatively similar threats. Hominoid primates and all other terrestrial fauna faced similar threats, except for bovine artiodactyls and large, predatory carnivores, which faced significantly different threats. Although the status of bovines and hominoids and the number of threats affecting them were correlated, this was not the case for large carnivores. Most notable, however, was the great variation in the threats affecting individual members of each group. For example, the endangered European bison (Bison bonasus) has no threatening processes listed for it, and the lion (Panthera leo) is the only large predator listed as threatened with extinction by civil war. Some threatening processes appear spurious for the conservation of the species, whereas other seemingly important factors are not recorded as threats. The subjective nature of listing threatening processes, via expert opinion, results in substantial biases that may be allayed by independent peer review, use of technical manuals, consensus among multiple assessors, incorporation of probability modeling via decision‐tree analysis, and adequate coordination among evaluators. The primary focus should be on species‐level threats rather than population‐level threats because the IUCN Red List is a global assessment and smaller‐scale threats are more appropriate for national status assessments. Until conservationists agree on the threats affecting species and their relative importance, conservation action and success will be hampered by scattering scarce resources too widely and often by implementing conflicting strategies.
Concomitant Use of Prescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements in Ambulatory Elderly People
Authors: Nahin Richard L. , Pecha Monica , Welmerink Diana B. , Sink Kaycee , DeKosky Steven T. , Fitzpatrick Annette L. ,   for the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study Investigators
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVES: To analyze baseline data on concomitant use of prescription drugs and dietary supplements in elderly people from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study, in which information was collected on all drugs and supplements used by participant.

DESIGN: Cross‐sectional correlation analysis.

SETTING: GEM Study sites in California, Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand seventy ambulatory individuals aged 75 and older enrolled between September 2000 and June 2002.

MEASUREMENTS: Use of prescription drugs and dietary supplements identified through bottles brought to the clinic.

RESULTS: Almost three‐quarters (74.2%) of the cohort combined use of at least one prescription drug and one dietary supplement, with 32.5% using three or more prescription drugs and three or more supplements. The 15 most‐prevalent prescription drugs exhibited substantial concomitant use with dietary supplements, ranging from 77.6% for diuretics to 93.6% for estrogen preparations. Although supplements were taken concomitantly with all classes of prescription drugs, the use of supplements was more likely in individuals using nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, thyroid drugs, and estrogens. The use of drugs for diabetes mellitus was negatively associated with the use of supplements, with most of this attributed to low use in those taking multivitamins, glucosamine and chondroitin, and echinacea.

CONCLUSION: There is substantial concomitant use of prescription drugs and dietary supplements in elderly people. Further investigations are needed to define the clinical importance of this concomitant use, especially in elderly patients who consume multiple prescription drugs or have experienced an adverse event secondary to their prescription medications.
A Randomized Trial Comparing Digital Video Disc with Written Delivery of Falls Prevention Education for Older Patients in Hospital
Authors: Hill Anne‐Marie , McPhail Steven , Hoffmann Tammy , Hill Keith , Oliver David , Beer Christopher , Brauer Sandra , Haines Terry P.
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of a digital video disc (DVD) with that of a written workbook delivering falls prevention education to older hospital patients on self‐perceived risk of falls, perception of falls epidemiology, knowledge of prevention strategies, and motivation and confidence to engage in self‐protective strategies. To compare the effect of receiving either education approach versus no education on patients' perception of falls epidemiology.

DESIGN: Randomized trial (DVD vs workbook) with additional quasi‐experimental control group.

SETTINGS: Geriatric, medical, and orthopedic wards in Perth and Brisbane, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS: One hundred (n=51 DVD, n=49 workbook) hospital inpatients aged 60 and older receiving an intervention (mean age 75.3±10.1) and 122 in the control group (mean age 79.3±8.3).

INTERVENTION: Participants randomly assigned to receive identical educational material on falls prevention delivered on a DVD or in a workbook. Control group received usual care.

MEASUREMENTS: Custom‐designed survey addressing elements of the Health Belief Model of health behavior change.

RESULTS: Participants randomized to DVD delivery had a higher self‐perceived risk of falling (P=.04) and higher levels of confidence (P=.03) and motivation (P=.04) to engage in self‐protective strategies than participants who received the workbook. A higher proportion of participants who received either form of the education provided “desired” responses than of control group participants across all knowledge items (P<.001).

CONCLUSION: Delivery of falls prevention education on a DVD compared to a written workbook is more likely to achieve important changes in parameters likely to affect successful uptake of falls prevention messages in the hospital setting.
Health Literacy and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults
Authors: Federman Alex D. , Sano Mary , Wolf Michael S. , Siu Albert L. , Halm Ethan A.
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVES: To study the relationship between health literacy and memory and verbal fluency in older adults.

DESIGN: Cross‐sectional cohort.

SETTING: Twenty senior centers and apartment buildings in New York, New York.

PARTICIPANTS: Independently living, English‐ and Spanish‐speaking adults aged 60 and older (N=414).

MEASUREMENTS: Health literacy was measured using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S‐TOFHLA). The associations between S‐TOFHLA scores and immediate and delayed recall (Wechsler Memory Scale II), verbal fluency (Animal Naming), and global cognitive function (Mini‐Mental State Examination, MMSE) were modeled using multivariable logistic and linear regression.

RESULTS: Health literacy was inadequate in 24.3% of participants. Impairment of immediate recall occurred in 20.4%; delayed recall, 15.0%; verbal fluency, 9.9%; and MMSE, 17.4%. Abnormal cognitive function was strongly associated with inadequate health literacy: immediate recall (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.44, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.71–6.94, P<.001), delayed recall (AOR=3.48, 95% CI=1.58–7.67, P=.002), and verbal fluency (AOR=3.47, 95% CI=1.44–8.38, P=.006). These associations persisted in subgroups that excluded individuals with normal age‐adjusted MMSE scores.

CONCLUSION: Memory and verbal fluency are strongly associated with health literacy, independently of education and health status, even in those with subtle cognitive dysfunction. Reducing the cognitive burden of health information might mitigate the detrimental effects of limited health literacy in older adults. Research that examines the effect of materials modified to older adults' cognitive limitations on health literacy and health outcomes is needed.
The Effect of Depression and Cognitive Impairment on Enrollment in Medicare Part D
Authors: Zivin Kara , Kabeto Mohammed U. , Kales Helen C. , Langa Kenneth M.
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVES: To examine concerns that vulnerable populations, such as depressed or cognitively impaired beneficiaries would have challenges accessing Part D coverage.

DESIGN: Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether elderly Medicare beneficiaries with depression or cognitive impairment differentially planned to and actually signed up for Part D.

SETTING: 2004 and 2006 data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used, including a subsample that completed the Prescription Drug Study (PDS) in 2005.

PARTICIPANTS: Nine thousand five hundred ninety‐three HRS respondents and 3,567 PDS respondents.

MEASUREMENTS: The outcome variables of interest were planned and actual enrollment in Part D. The independent variables were depression and cognitive impairment status. The analyses were adjusted using clinical and demographic predictors including age, sex, race or ethnicity, educational attainment, net worth, marital status, health status, number of health conditions being treated with prescription medications, and presence of a caregiver.

RESULTS: Although having depression or cognitive impairment was associated with a higher likelihood of planning to and actually signing up for Part D in unadjusted analyses, in adjusted analyses, having depression or cognitive impairment was not significantly associated with whether Medicare beneficiaries planned to enroll in or actually enrolled in Part D.

CONCLUSION: Vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries with depression or cognitive impairment were able to access Part D benefits to the same extent as nonvulnerable beneficiaries. More research is needed to determine how well Part D meets the needs of these populations.
A Randomized, Single‐Blind Study of Lansoprazole for the Prevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Older Patients
Authors: Sasaki Takahiko , Nakayama Katsutoshi , Yasuda Hiroyasu , Yoshida Motoki , Asamura Takaaki , Ohrui Takashi , Arai Hiroyuki , Araya Jun , Kuwano Kazuyoshi , Yamaya Mutsuo
Published: June 2009

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy reduces the frequency of common colds and exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

DESIGN: Twelve‐month, randomized, observer‐blind, controlled trial.

SETTING: A university hospital and three city hospitals in Miyagi prefecture in Japan.

PARTICIPANTS: One hundred patients with COPD (mean age ± SD 74.9 ± 8.2) participated. They were all ex‐smokers and had received conventional therapies for COPD, including smoking cessation and bronchodilators. Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease or gastroduodenal ulcer were excluded.

INTERVENTION: Patients were randomly assigned to conventional therapies (control group) or conventional therapies plus PPI (lansoprazole 15 mg/d; PPI group) and observed for 12 months.

MEASUREMENTS: Frequency of common colds and COPD exacerbations.

RESULTS: The number of exacerbations per person in a year in the PPI group was significantly lower than that in the control group (0.34 ± 0.72 vs 1.18 ± 1.40; P<.001). The adjusted odds ratio with logistic regression for having exacerbation (≥once/year) in the PPI group compared with the control group was 0.23 (P=.004). In contrast, there was no significant difference in the numbers of common colds per person per year between the PPI group and the control group (1.22 ± 2.09 vs 2.04 ± 3.07; P=.12). PPI therapy significantly reduced the risk of catching frequent common colds (≥3 times/year), the adjusted odds ratio of which was 0.28 (P=.048).

CONCLUSION: In this single‐blind, nonplacebo‐controlled trial, lansoprazole was associated with a significant decrease in COPD exacerbations. More definitive clinical trials are warranted.
Evaluation of the Bond Strength of Denture Base Resins to Acrylic Resin Teeth: Effect of Thermocycling
Authors: Marra Juliê , De Souza Raphael Freitas , Barbosa Debora Barros , Pero Ana Carolina , Compagnoni Marco Antonio
Published: June 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thermocycling effects and shear bond strength of acrylic resin teeth to denture base resins.

Materials and Methods: Three acrylic teeth (Biotone, Trilux, Ivoclar) were chosen for bonding to four denture base resins: microwave‐polymerized (Acron MC), heat‐polymerized (Lucitone 550 and QC‐20), and light‐polymerized (Versyo.bond). Twenty specimens were produced for each denture base/acrylic tooth combination and were divided into two groups (n = 10): without thermocycling (control groups) and thermocycled groups submitted to 5000 cycles between 4 and 60°C. Shear strength tests (MPa) were performed with a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Statistical analysis of the results was carried out with three‐way ANOVA and Bonferroni's multiple comparisons post hoc analysis for test groups (α= 0.05).

Results: The shear bond strengths of Lucitone/Biotone, Lucitone/Trilux, and Versyo/Ivoclar specimens were significantly decreased by thermocycling, compared with the corresponding control groups (p < 0.05). The means of Acron/Ivoclar and Lucitone/Ivoclar specimens increased after thermocycling (p < 0.05). The highest mean shear bond strength value was observed with Lucitone/Biotone in the control group (14.54 MPa) and the lowest with QC‐20/Trilux in the thermocycled group (3.69 MPa).

Conclusion: Some acrylic tooth/denture base resin combinations can be more affected by thermocycling; effects vary based upon the materials used.