bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pluralism and the Pathos of Distance (or How to Relax with Style): Connolly, Agonistic Respect and the Limits of Political Theory
Authors: Owen David
Published: November 2007

This article addresses Connolly's project in democratic theory against the background of Aristotle's reflection on the nature and limits of ethical and political theory and, within this context, focuses specifically on Connolly's appropriation of Nietzsche's ethos of agonistic respect as integral to a pluralist ethics of democracy. The Aristotelian framing makes clear the general difficulties that Connolly confronts and the pressures that this places on the rhetorical character of his project, while the issue of Connolly's appropriation of Nietzsche allows a focus on a particular lacuna or gap in Connolly's project concerning the relation between pluralism and the pathos of distance. It is argued not only that the diagnosed problem in Connolly's use of Nietzsche can be overcome through resources that Nietzsche makes available, but also that overcoming this problem provides criteria on the basis of which Connolly's project can be more closely aligned to issues in political science concerning institutional design and political policy.
HETEROGENEITY IN REAL WAGE CYCLICALITY
Authors: Martins Pedro S.
Published: October 2007

This paper presents evidence that real wage cyclicality can be a particularly heterogeneous parameter, depending on different worker characteristics and also on the specific stage of the business cycle. Using matched employer–employee panel data for Portugal covering the period 1986–2004, real wages are shown to be considerably more procyclical during recessions than during expansions, resulting in relatively moderate overall levels of cyclicality (about −0.6). However, most of the procyclicality during downturns is shown to be driven by the younger employees, as older workers appear to be insulated from the business cycle. Moreover, movers between firms typically display higher cyclicality than workers that stay in the same firm, regardless of whether the latter move or not between job levels. Most results also hold when considering basic wages instead of total wages, except that the procyclicality of movers during downturns is substantially higher.
WAGE AND EMPLOYMENT DETERMINATION THROUGH NON‐COOPERATIVE BARGAINING
Authors: Roberts Kevin
Published: October 2007

This paper investigates wage and employment determination by a group of workers or union and a firm, making use of the techniques of non‐cooperative bargaining. Previous analyses have examined wage determination with an artificial restriction that employment is determined either before or after wage determination has occurred. Here, employment determination is made part of the bargaining process. With two variables being determined, there is bargaining with a variable pie and solutions correspond to equilibria without commitment. Two different notions of efficiency – exchange and pie efficiency – are relevant and serve to characterise equilibria. Multiple equilibria are shown to arise naturally once exchange inefficient proposals are possible. In all equilibria there is overemployment. Factors that restrict a firm's ability to alter the labour force during or after the wage‐bargaining process are shown, paradoxically, to benefit the firm.
STABLE SETS AND STEADY WAGES
Authors: Moore John
Published: October 2007

This paper uses the notion of the Stable Set, in conjunction with a mild restriction on the extent to which a firm can quickly replace its entire workforce, to explain equal treatment across workers within a firm yet wage differentials across firms, and why a firm responds with quantity rather than with wage adjustments to shocks.
ON EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS WITH ENDOGENOUS ON‐THE‐JOB SEARCH
Authors: Kiraly Francis
Published: October 2007

We consider an equilibrium search model and employment contracts when workers have endogenous on‐the‐job search. When a firm tries to retain an employee by matching outside offers, variable search intensity leads to a moral hazard problem. We first consider workers with identical productivities. We derive an equilibrium where firms commit not to respond to outside offers and workers search less. Second, we investigate the case with heterogeneous workers and asymmetric information. Assuming that firms can commit to retain all workers irrespective of their ability, we establish conditions under which it is optimal to do so. This policy again reduces the incentive for active on‐the‐job search. We discuss an equilibrium where all firms use these so‐called ‘pooling’ contracts.
The Missing Link: Intersecting Governance and Trade in the Space of Place and the Space of Flows
Authors: Bush Simon R. , Oosterveer Peter
Published: October 2007

Commodity chains that once involved a stepwise progression through multiple global, national and local scales are increasingly controlled through new ‘spaces’ of information and access, beyond the reach of scale‐dependent governance regimes such as the state. Thus, to determine the geography of trade, the source and influence of information and the relevance of governance systems which mediate access and control over coastal resources requires an understanding both of the global and locally articulated trade networks. This article uses the case of Southeast Asia shrimp production and trade to examine the linkages between material commodity transfers through the ‘space of place’ and the movement of information through the ‘space of flows’. Linking these two spaces is particularly challenging in information‐poor societies where flows of information, technology and consumer perceptions back to these areas pass through a ‘black box’, limiting clear lines of exchange between producers and globally connected exporters.
Understanding Farm Succession by the Objective Hermeneutics Method
Authors: Mann Stefan
Published: October 2007

While farm succession has been well explored using quantitative data, we use the qualitative, case‐oriented method of objective hermeneutics to explore important issues in succession processes. Objective hermeneutics makes use of short text sequences from interviews, exploiting the relationship between societal norms and the constitutive rules resulting from personal biographies. A case study including an intra‐family succession, an almost‐failed succession and an inter‐family succession is analysed with reference to three sequences from an interview. It is shown that hierarchy plays a big role in succession processes within the family. Another result is the emotional turmoil that can result from a failed succession.
European Consumers’ Perceptions, Definitions and Expectations of Traceability and the Importance of Labels, and the Differences in These Perceptions by Product Type
Authors: Kehagia Olga , Chrysochou Polymeros , Chryssochoidis George , Krystallis Athanassios , Linardakis Michalis
Published: October 2007

Given the heterogeneity of European consumers, it is not surprising that they have different perceptions and expectations regarding and understanding the concept of ‘traceability’. Consumers may also perceive traceability differently for different product types. The present study is based upon an analysis of focus groups in 12 countries across Europe. It explains how European consumers understand the traceability of food products as well as their expectations of traceability for different types of food product (meat and honey have been used as examples). Labelling schemes for these two types of products are also examined. The results showed that dissimilarities exist in consumers’ perceptions of traceability in different countries. Some dissimilarities also exist between consumers’ expectations of traceability and the information they require. However, labels are still seen as an important way of communicating with consumers, although the participants claimed that these labels need to be understandable and more easily accessible to facilitate consumer understanding.
Mergers and acquisitions: on the ages and origins of Singapore English particles1
Authors: LIM LISA
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a comprehensive account of the discourse particles in colloquial Singapore English (SE), considering their etymology in the light of both structure and sociohistory. While the object of many studies, mostly focusing on their meaning and use, and generally recognised as coming from Southern Chinese languages, the establishment of the origins and evolution of SE particles has not before been attempted. The thrust of this paper is thus twofold: (i) it outlines the linguistic ecology of Singapore over the decades and proposes a framework involving three ages in which different languages are recognised as dominant, influencing the feature pool in the evolution of SE, and (ii) it identifies the most likely sources of SE particles, through (a) a systematic comparison of the forms and functions of SE particles with particles from the substrates, including, in particular, their original tone, and (b) recourse to sociohistorical facts to support the linguistic postulation. I suggest that in an early era Bazaar Malay and Hokkien contributed the particleslah,ahandwhat, and Cantonese in a later age providedlor,hor,leh,mehandma, inclusive of tone. This argument highlights issues interesting for contact dynamics and new varieties of English.
Weka or woodhen? Nativization through lexical choice in New Zealand English
Authors: MACALISTER JOHN
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACT:  This paper considers the factors that may incline a language speaker to use a loanword when an equivalent first language term is already available. The paper begins by drawing evidence from New Zealand English, where words of Maori origin are an increasing presence, to demonstrate that a diachronic shift from English language to Maori language synonyms is occurring. This shift has contributed to ongoing nativization of New Zealand English through an increase in the use of both Maori word types and tokens. The reasons for this shift are then considered, and six factors that may account for changes in an individual speaker's lexical choices are proposed.
Religious metaphor in the discourse of illusion: George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden1
Authors: BHATIA ADITI
Published: November 2007

ABSTRACT:  Using a combination of models, including the discourse‐historical approach, metaphor analysis, and membership categorization analysis, this paper explores a series of speeches given by George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. It demonstrates how similar rhetorical and linguistic tools are manipulated by people in a position to influence society, as they attempt to depict their individual representations of reality as true and objective. Analysis of the data reveals how both individuals make use of almost identical rhetorical tools in order to objectify two completely subjective and contrasting conceptualizations of reality, whereby each plays the role of ‘self’ and ‘other’. This makes apparent the discourse of illusion which highlights the existence of contested versions of social reality. There is evidence within the data of a conflict between the two versions of reality, originating from their particular subjective and ideological conceptual systems, which generate social categories that depict the ‘self’ as being constituted by all positive values, and the ‘other’ as comprising all negative values. The use of religious metaphors in particular serves the purpose of categorizing the ‘other’ as morally devoid, and the ‘self’ as being in a position to pass moral judgement. Religious metaphors exploiting constructs such as evil, light and darkness, heaven and hell, barbarism, and moral justice also serve to legitimize the actions of both George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden, interpreting sociopolitical issues as religious events. Consequently, in pursuit of supportive alliances and collective agreement, both endorse Moral Absolutism in the War on Terror, resorting to the ‘emotionalization of facts’ (Menz, 1989: 237).
Women's pay in British industry during the Second World War
Authors: GAZELEY IAN
Published: October 2007

This article reviews the evidence pertaining to changes in women's relative pay during the Second World War and presents new evidence relating to important wartime manufacturing industries. It is argued that gender pay inequality declined sharply where women were employed in industries that had previously been dominated by men, but did not occur in industries that had traditionally been important areas of female employment. The explanation for this pattern probably lies in a combination of excess demand effects and institutional factors, both of which were strongest in wartime munitions industries. Because of the importance of these industries to the war economy, the behaviour of inequality in munitions dominates the behaviour of inequality across all industries. Nearly all existing scholarship acknowledges the impact of the Second World War on reducing the employment segregation of women, but simultaneously views the war as an unimportant episode in the history of gender pay inequality. This article shows how the transition from ‘female’ to ‘male’ work also led to a significant improvement in women's relative pay.
Buy‐outs in Hungary, Poland and Russia: governance and finance issues1
Authors: Filatotchev Igor , Grosfeld Irena , Karsai Judit , Wright Mike , Buck Trevor
Published: November 2007

The governments of Hungary, Poland and Russia have used buy‐outs as an important privatization strategy which can be viewed as forming a continuum from straightforward sales where management and employees generally achieve significant ownership, as in Hungary, via intermediate approaches as in Poland where both payment and free distribution of shares are involved, to the Russian case where state‐owned enterprises were effectively “given away” through a voucher privatization scheme. This paper, first, presents preliminary evidence on the extent and nature of post‐privatization restructuring in buy‐outs in these three countries, which highlights the transitory nature of this form of organization. Second, in the light of these findings, the paper analyses the possibilities and difficulties associated with enhancing corporate governance and finance.
Inflation, interest and exchange rates in the transition1
Authors: Nuti Domenico Mario
Published: November 2007

Central and Eastern European economies have made extraordinary progress in their trade and exchange regimes. Surprisingly, instant convertibility was established for a great variety of exchange rate regimes. In spite of diversity, all these countries have followed a common pattern: severe initial undervaluation ‐ the cost of speed and unrestricted trade ‐ followed by rapid real revaluation and incipient protectionism. Since 1994 in many cases an embarrass de richesse has appeared: high capital inflows which are either inflationary or costly to sterilize. A major cause of these flows ‐ or at any rate of the high cost of sterilization ‐ is the presence of significant interest rate differentials higher than required to cover the risk of devaluation. These are the necessary consequence of a policy of positive real interest rates and of real revaluation from excessively undervalued exchange rates. Lower interest rates are recommended, both to stem financial capital inflows and to reduce the cost of their sterilization.
Enterprise reform in China: agency problems and political control
Authors: Qian Yingyi
Published: November 2007

The past reforms of state‐owned enterprises in China delegated many effective control rights to managers while maintaining ultimate control rights for the Party and government. The result is that either the agency costs are high because managers lack accountability or the political costs are high because the government causes political interference. Reform of state‐owned enterprises in China should aim at reducing both political and agency costs, which can be done through depoliticization, effective corporate governance, and deserialization. In particular, China needs an ownership transformation with a combination of privatization, denationalization, and pluralization; a state assets management system to limit political influence from the government; and corporatization to establish effective corporate governance which may take a variety of forms.
‘Industrial demonopolization and competition policy in Poland and Hungary’: a comment‘
Authors: Pittman Russell
Published: November 2007

Protestations that ‘neither neoclassical economics nor Western experience offers clear guidelines concerning optimal competition policies towards state‐owned firms in a transition economy’ are overly pessimistic. Both sources suggest the importance of attacking barriers to entry into markets, especially when those barriers are associated with vertical integration or exclusive vertical contracts by already dominant enterprises. Beyond this, they demonstrate that different priorities of enforcement are appropriate in transition economies and that competition advocacy is especially important in this context.
Stock markets in transition: the Warsaw experiment1
Authors: Nivet Jean‐François
Published: November 2007

This paper investigates the development from 1991 to 1994 of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which opened on April 16th, 1991. An overview is presented focusing first on the deepening of the equity market, with a still limited but increasing number of listed companies, and then on the high trading activity and price dynamics with their impressive outburst in 1993. Three important dimensions are thereafter analyzed: the relevance of organizational and regulatory choices, the degree of market inefficiency and the origin of the discrepancy between IPO prices and first quoted market prices. Concluding remarks concentrate on the market's ability to fulfil its fundamental tasks.
Opening up for foreign banks: How Central and Eastern Europe can benefit1
Authors: Buch Cludia M.
Published: November 2007

This paper analyses the role of foreign banks in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, and Poland. With respect to their planned EU membership, these countries have to consider the full implementation of free trade in financial services. Generally, liberalizing the market access of foreign banks allows the production of financial services according to comparative advantage, it fosters competition, it promotes bank privatization, and it facilitates a transfer of know‐how into the emerging financial systems. The most important sequencing issue that arises is that the incumbent banks should have been recapitalized for their truly inherited bad loans before markets are opened up. In view of the reform progress that has already been made in the countries under review, abolishing remaining entry barriers is unlikely to put the stability of banking systems at risk while allowing the benefits of open markets to be exploited.
Labour market transitions and unemployment duration: Evidence from Bulgarian and Polish micro‐data1
Authors: Cazes Sandrine , Scarpetta Stefano
Published: November 2007

The segmentation of the labour market is one of the most striking characteristics of the transition process in Central and Eastern European countries. Not only do the young, unskilled workers and women face a high risk of unemployment, but joblessness also varies significantly geographically. This paper sheds some light on labour market segmentation in transition countries by analysing individual records of individuals registered at the labour offices of two Polish regions (Warsaw and Ciechanov and two Bulgarian regions (Sofia and Botevgrad) over the initial three to four years of the transition to a market economy. The empirical results confirm the existence of highly selective firing and hiring processes in the Polish and Bulgarian labour markets. Overall, unskilled or poorly educated workers have the highest probability of becoming unemployed and remaining without a job for a long period of time. We also analysed the determinants of unemployment duration across regions and over time using a piece‐wise constant hazard model with multiple destinations, i.e. employment and exit from the labour force. The results suggest that the unemployed with a high education and previous experience in the private sector have a higher probability of getting a new job, especially in the more dynamic labour markets, while those without previous work experience tend to stay unemployed for a longer period of time and often leave the labour market. The econometric results also suggest that the reforms of the unemployment benefit systems have produced important effects on unemployment flows.
The results of ‘mass privatization’in Romania: A first empirical study1
Authors: Earle John S. , Telegdy Álmos
Published: November 2007

This paper provides an assessment of the contribution to privatization in Romania of the 1995‐96 Mass Privatization Programme (MPP), which offered shares in nearly 5,000 companies to citizens in exchange for coupons. Analysing a comprehensive database of MPP companies, we find that an average of only 18.7 per cent of these companies' shares were actually transferred to Romanian citizens, and only 7.8 per cent of the companies were majority privatized (on a size‐weighted basis). We estimate that the MPP accounted for only about 5.5 per cent of the value of state‐owned enterprise assets inherited from the socialist period. The design of the programme created highly dispersed ownership structures, which is likely to generate particularly difficult problems in the many small companies in the programme. We place our findings in the context of the history of Romanian privatization policies since 1990, and provide some comparisons with mass privatization programmes in other countries. We also analyse the implications of the MPP for the corporate governance and the restructuring of enterprises.
The Evolution of Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Transition Economies: The Case of Sellier and Bellot in the Czech Republic
Authors: Jandik Tomas , Rennie Craig G.
Published: October 2007

This paper investigates the evolution of corporate governance and firm performance in transition economies. It focuses on barriers that impeded adoption of optimal corporate governance at Czech ammunition manufacturer Sellier and Bellot (S&B) following voucher privatisation in 1993. Exogenously imposed diffuse ownership, combined with legal, capital market, and accounting deficiencies, contributed to poor corporate governance and weak firm performance. This study shows how legal, capital market, and accounting deficiencies hinder corporate governance evolution; it demonstrates monitoring and incentive mechanisms can create value in transition economies; it suggests effective privatisation not only involves rapid ownership transfer but careful accounting and securities regulation and legal protection.
The Euro and the Changing Face of European Banking: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Ekkayokkaya Manapol , Holmes Phil , Paudyal Krishna
Published: October 2007

During the last fifteen years, the European banking industry has experienced considerable consolidation through mergers and acquisitions against the background of the introduction of the single currency and reductions in cross‐border barriers. This paper investigates whether these changes impacted on announcement period gains of the banks acquiring targets by examining the pre‐euro, run‐up to the euro and post euro eras. Evidence suggests bidders' gains have fallen with the development of economic and monetary union. It also reveals significant differences in the gains from acquisitions within and outside the eurozone. These results are consistent with increased competition among bidders and increased integration of the market in the eurozone area in the post‐euro era. However, differing results relating to focused and diversifying bids suggest that the level of market integration is sector dependent.
The Lead‐Lag Relationship Between Cash and Stock Index Futures in a New Market
Authors: Kavussanos Manolis G. , Visvikis Ilias D. , Alexakis Panayotis D.
Published: October 2007

This paper investigates the lead‐lag relationship in daily returns and volatilities between price movements of the FTSE/ATHEX‐20 and FTSE/ATHEX Mid‐40 stock index futures and the underlying cash indices in the relatively new futures market of Greece. Empirical results show that there is a bi‐directional relationship between cash and futures prices. However, futures lead the cash index returns, by responding more rapidly to economic events than stock prices. This speed is much higher in the more liquid FTSE/ATHEX‐20 market. Moreover, results indicate that futures volatilities spill information over to the corresponding cash market volatilities in both investigated futures markets, but volatilities in the cash markets have no effect on the volatilities of futures markets. Overall, it seems that new market information is disseminated faster in the futures market compared to the stock market. This implies that the futures markets can be used as price discovery vehicles, providing further evidence that derivatives markets contribute to completing and stabilising capital markets in Greece. A further finding of this study is that futures volume and disequilibrium effects between cash and futures prices are important variables in the explanation of volatilities in cash and futures markets.
Strategical Disasters: Some Significant Trends in US Emergency Planning and Mitigation
Authors: Sullivan James D.
Published: October 2007

This paper examines some apparent trends in various types of emergencies, both human and natural. Specifically, fires, plant emergencies and earthquakes are the target areas of this discussion. The focus is further limited to those types of emergencies which occur in the United States; however, it is likely that similar trends are true for disasters throughout the world. In general, we appear to be spending more on emergencies, yet have not been able to mitigate them as well as we could a decade ago. Chemical plant emergencies appear to be increasing at least at a high linear rate and, possibly, exponentially. These trends will create major problems for the insurance industry over the next few years. It is also possible to forecast major disasters by such trend analysis. Based on additional research in the growing field of disaster statistics, appropriate levels of funding may need to be established for carrying out successful strategies against emergencies.
Extending Geographic Information Systems for Risk Analysis and Management
Authors: Newkirk Ross T.
Published: October 2007

A new kind of Geographic Information System (GIS) and computer support is required for risk analysis and management. Assessment of risk is emerging as important in many areas of planning, engineering, environmental and emergency management. Existing commercial GISs, provide some useful basic means of organizing and displaying spatial information, yet they are particularly inadequate for generating risk simulations – a task essential for risk management. The central problem is the commercial GIS has limited facilities to deal with uncertainty, modelling and simulation. The requirements for GIS risk modelling, functionality, access and design considerations are reviewed.

Existing GIS has not been developed to work with uncertainty yet uncertainty is inherent in risk applications. Current risk analysis applications which stem from a scientific expert view lead to dispute and lack of confidence amongst policy makers and the public. It is essential that a new kind of GIS be developed to facilitate consensus building in all aspects of risk assessment and management. The new system (Risk GIS) should ‘know about’ the appropriate environmental information and process sources, should have a tool set to access, store and communicate information between diverse interest areas and should support easy development of alternate views of the possible evolution of classes of risk or specific risks and, secondly, scenarios of risk evolution and mitigation based upon documented assumptions and expressions of uncertainty. Without doubt this is a significant challenge to the GIS industry and, particularly, to risk research scientists who wish to develop a suitable integrated Risk GIS.
Objectives of Modelling Evacuation from Buildings during Accidents: Some Path‐model Scenarios
Authors: Drager K. Harald , Lovas Gunnar G. , Wiklund J.O. , Soma Helge
Published: October 2007

The basic objective of developing an evacuation model is to supply the user with valid and valuable information on which conclusions concerning the safe evacuation from a building can be drawn. Several evacuation models have been developed over the last 15 years. In our opinion, many of these models are too narrowly focused, perhaps not meeting the needs of the decision maker.

This paper discusses the objectives of evacuation studies and the selection of a suitable modelling technique relative to these objectives. We show that many different approaches to evacuation modelling are appropriate for different types of studies. In the discussion about different existing models and solution techniques, we present some of the basic philosophy lying behind the simulation model EVACSIM.

EVACSIM has been developed to meet the need for an evacuation model that can combine knowledge about human behaviour with the ability to perform large‐scale simulations of network processes. EVACSIM treats people as individuals and it has the capacity to collect any information of interest (in principle) regarding their movements, their exposure to potential accident effects and their time to exit the different parts of the structure. The role of an evacuation model in an evacuation analysis is also discussed.
Analysing hierarchy in the organization of biological and physical systems
Authors: Jagers op Akkerhuis Gerard A. J. M.
Published: October 2007

A structured approach is discussed for analysing hierarchy in the organization of biological and physical systems. The need for a structured approach follows from the observation that many hierarchies in the literature apply conflicting hierarchy rules and include ill‐defined systems. As an alternative, we suggest a framework that is based on the following analytical steps: determination of the succession stage of the universe, identification of a specific system as part of the universe, specification of external influences on a system’s creation and analysis of a system’s internal organization. At the end, the paper discusses practical implications of the proposed method for the analysis of system organization and hierarchy in biology, ecology and physics.
Androgen receptor and 5α‐reductase are expressed in pelvic endometriosis
Authors: Carneiro MM , Morsch DM , Camargos AF , Reis FM , Spritzer PM
Published: November 2007

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether androgen receptor (AR) and the enzymes that convert testosterone into the more potent androgen dihydrotestosterone, 5α‐reductases (5α‐R1 and 5α‐R2) are expressed in pelvic endometriosis. The study involved 21 infertile women who underwent laparoscopy and were divided into two groups: control (n= 13) and endometriosis (n= 8) according to the histological and laparoscopic findings. Endometrial and endometriotic implant biopsies were performed. By reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, AR, 5α‐R1 and 5α‐R2 messenger RNA and protein were detected in biopsies of pelvic endometriosis, as well as in the eutopic endometrium of both groups. These findings suggest that active androgens may be formed within the endometriotic tissue and that both local and systemic androgens have the potential to act on endometriotic cells.
Protective up‐regulation of CK2 by mutant huntingtin in cells co‐expressing NMDA receptors
Authors: Fan Mannie M. Y. , Zhang Hong , Hayden Michael R. , Pelech Steven L. , Raymond Lynn A.
Published: October 2007

Huntington’s disease is caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the huntingtin (htt) protein, and previous data indicate that over‐activation of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) may be involved in the selective degeneration of cells expressing NR1/NR2B NMDARs. We used Kinetworks™ multi‐immunoblotting screens to examine expression of 76 protein kinases, 18 protein phosphatases, 25 heat shock/stress proteins, and 27 apoptosis proteins in human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with NR1/NR2B and htt containing 15 (htt‐15Q; wild‐type) or 138 (htt‐138Q; mutant) glutamine repeats. Follow‐up experiments revealed several proteins involved in the heat‐shock response pathway to be up‐regulated in the soluble fraction from cells expressing htt‐138Q, including protein phosphatase 5 and cyclin‐dependent kinase 5. Increased expression in the soluble fraction of htt‐138Q‐expressing cells was also noted for the stress‐ and calcium‐activated protein‐serine/threonine kinase casein kinase 2, a change which was confirmed in striatal tissue of yeast artificial chromosome transgenic mice expressing full‐length mutant htt. Inhibition of casein kinase 2 activity in cultured striatal neurons from these mice significantly exacerbated NMDAR‐mediated toxicity, as assessed by labeling of apoptotic nuclei. Our findings are consistent with up‐regulation of components of the stress response pathway in the presence of polyglutamine‐expanded htt and NR1/NR2B which may reflect an attempt at the cellular level to ameliorate the detrimental effects of mutant htt expression.
MUSCLE CRAMPS: II
Authors: Abraham Paul A.
Published: October 2007

A 29‐year‐old male frequently misses dialysis treatments. He abuses fluids and gains 5–7 kg between treatments. He demonstrates volume‐sensitive hypertension with predialysis seated blood pressures about 180/105 mmHg, occasional intradialytic hypotension, and postdialysis blood pressures of 160/90mmHg. His 3‐hr treatments are often complicated by leg cramps during the last hour. He periodically demands to quit dialysis early because of cramps, which may persist intermittently for hours after dialysis.
THE UNCOOPERATIVE PATIENT: I
Authors: Levy Norman B.
Published: October 2007

A 43‐year‐old white, single man, who lives with his parents and has been diabetic since the age of 14, has been on center hemodialysis since January, 1990. He worked as an electrician, but because of medical complications connected with his diabetes, he has been permanently disabled since 1986. He failed self‐care dialysis due to major errors in judgment which could potentially have been life‐threatening to him. On center dialysis, he skips treatments on occasion and has interdialytic weight gains averaging 4–8 kg. About once a week he cuts treatment short because of leg cramping and/or arguments with nurses. He demands Xanax while being treated and, if the nurses are reluctant to give him this medication, he cuts the treatment short. On two occasions, he has received emergency dialysis because he skipped three consecutive dialyses.

In the past three months the situation has deteriorated further. His weight gains have increased and he cuts dialysis short more frequently. For the past two months, when he comes to dialysis, he takes out a knife and places it on his bedside stand. He has never threatened anyone, but the nurses feel a bit compromised by it.

His family has kept themselves very separate from the treatment. He speaks highly of his parents, who, although elderly, are apparently in good health. They are rarely in contact with the dialysis staff. When the social worker has attempted to contact them, they have communicated a lack of interest in being involved with the “problems of the dialysis unit.” Needless to say, the staff finds the patient's behavior and the attitude of his parents a major problem. He is very impulse‐ridden, has little ability to tolerate frustration, and, worst of all, denies any responsibility for his actions or inactions. He complains of an unsatisfactory dialysis schedule and of the nurses being angry with him. He denies suicidal thoughts, but admits to being depressed and feeling hopeless.
THE UNCOOPERATIVE PATIENT: II
Authors: Adams Donald A.
Published: October 2007

R. T. was a 52‐year‐old divorced Caucasian male with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) due to polycystic kidney disease. He was on thrice weekly hemodialysis for over 15 years until he succumbed to metastatic pulmonary cancer. His average dry weight was 285 pounds. His dialysis course was complicated by late onset diabetes mellitus, severe peripheral neuropathy, and renal bone disease. He had a history of noncompliance, even prior to initiating dialysis, with poor adherence to his prescribed antihypertensive regimen in spite of severe hypertension.

During his years of dialysis, he exhibited both episodic and chronic noncompliance to much of his medical regimen, including: excess interdialytic weight gains of 10–25 pounds. This was a regular chronic noncompliance problem. He constantly drank large amounts of carbonated beverages because, he said, he was thirsty and craved these drinks; frequent high serum potassium predialysis because he refused to follow appropriate dietary regimens; irregular compliance with taking his phosphate‐binders, complaining of severe constipation and often not taking other prescribed medications; occasionally skipping dialysis, offering that he forgot what time it was or that he overslept; factitious dermatitis. Although regularly advised to desist, he picked and scratched on small skin lesions, often producing larger ulcers and abrasions. In fact, this likely led to his early demise. One lesion on his fistula arm was initially thought to be merely a factitious ulcer. However, it failed to heal and enlarged. He was advised to see a surgeon, but repeatedly canceled his appointments. Finally, when biopsied. it was squamous‐cell carcinoma. Despite wide excision and radiation treatments, the lesion metastasized to his lungs and he succumbed fifteen months later.

The staff and his physician held repeated conferences in efforts to improve this patient's compliance. Interventions included: admonishment about the risks that could befall him; praise when he did well; frequent counseling by his physician and the staff members he liked; minor rewards such as dialysis time changes or shortening dialysis when Compliance improved; denying his manipulatory behavior and eliciting family support (which was not strong) when appropriate. At times, these interventions were helpful, and he displayed better compliance for short periods. It was noted that he was often depressed and exhibited personality problems. He complained that certain members of the staff didn't like him, and the staff felt antagonized by his noncompliant behavior. His greatest rapport was with his personal nephrologist to whom he responded from time to time with episodic compliance.
IMPOTLENCE: I
Authors: Seftel Allen D. , Sweeney Patrick , Wish Jay B.
Published: October 2007

Mr. X is a 49‐year‐old black male with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) secondary to long‐standing insulin‐dependent diabetes and hypertension. He currently is on hemodialysis three times per week via a left forearm prosthetic A‐V graft, and is on the renal transplant waiting list. He is on insulin as well as the standard regimen of vitamins, antacids, erythrogenic agents and antihypertensives.

Mr. X has noted a slow progressive loss in his ability to attain an erection over the past four to five years and, even after attaining an erection, he notes that he can only maintain it for a few moments. On occasion his erection is firm enough for vaginal intercourse, but he loses it soon after penetration. In most instances, his erection is not firm enough for vaginal penetration, and he achieves vaginal penetration by “stuffing” the penis into the vagina. At peak, he was having intercourse three times per week, but now it is only once a month. He masturbates only on occasion. He is able to ejaculate, and reaches orgasm with seminal expulsion, but the ejaculate volume is markedly diminished compared to that seen in his youth. Occasionally, he gets a morning erection, which is “five” on a scale of one to 10, with 10 the maximal erection he achieved during his peak years. With masturbation or with sexual stimulation he describes his erection as a “four of 10.” He denies trauma to the erect or flaccid penis. He claims to have had a gradual change in his penile sensitivity over the past three years.

He denies radiation to his pelvic area, recreational drug use, and does not use alcohol. He has no drug allergies. His surgical history is noncontributory. He denies neurologic disease, hypercholesterolemia, heart disehse, and claudication, and had smoked 2 packs of cigarettes per day for 20 years, quitting seven years ago.

Mr. X is currently separated from his wife; however, the same erectile dysfunction occurs, even with his new sexual partner.

Physical examination was unremarkable. The penis was circumcised with no lesions or plaques. The testes were descended and normal. There were no hernias. The bulbocavernosus reflex was absent. The penile‐brachial index was 0.40 on the left and 0.52 on the right. Penile biothesiometry was abnormal on the penile shaft as well as the glans. The hormonal profile, including prolactin and testosterone were normal. The patient underwent a nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) evaluation which confirmed the organicity of his disease. It demonstrated three short‐lived REM‐associated erections of poor quality.

He opted for penile seif‐injection therapy, which he uses only on nondialysis days, combined with prophylactic oral antibiotics. This therapy, along with psychologic counseling has worked well, with return of a full rigid erection of 1/2 hr in duration. He is now quite satisfied, and has vaginal intercourse with his new partner two times per week.
SEIZURES: III
Authors: Mittman Neal , Burrell Donna , Avram Morrell M.
Published: October 2007

A 60‐year‐old African‐American man was admitted to the hospital in October 1991 with seizures and right hemiparesis. He had end‐stage renal disease (ESRD), presumed due to hypertension and/or analgesic nephropathy, and had been on maintenance hemodialysis since July 1987. Noncontrast CAT of the brain revealed mild cortical atrophy and non‐specific while matter ischemic changes. Contrast CAT showed a right hemisphere CVA, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested a right frontal meningioma. Cerebral arteriogram was confirmatory, and he underwent resection of the fronto‐parietal tumor in early November 1991.

Past medical history included over 20 years of hypertension, angina for five years, gout, and peptic ulcer disease. Cardiovascular evaluation of exertional dyspnea and bilateral calf weakness included a negative thallium stress test and minimal to moderate flow impairment of tibial‐peroneal vessels by Doppler. Low iron stores led to upper and lower endoscopy and a colonic polypectomy. There was a question of an allergic reaction to intravenous iron administration (the patient reported lip swelling), and erythropoietin therapy was started in December 1990 (starting hematocrit was 23%).

Hemodialysis access was achieved via a Brescia‐Cimino arteriovenous fistula in his left arm, which developed extensive upper arm and shoulder collaterals, leading to a fistulogram and a diagnosis of subclavian stenosis in January 1989. Angioplasty was successful, and repeat fistulogram was unremarkable in February 1991. Blood pressure control was usually adequate, ranging from 140–180/80–100 on diltiazem, clonidine, and captopril. Occasional elevation to 210/120 were seen. In the months prior to the seizure, his treatments were adjusted because of low Kt/V (by increased dialyzer surface area and increased time). Hematocrit had risen to 30%‐33% with erythropoietin therapy (2000 Units thrice weekly). Hemodialysis was accomplished without heparin use, due to his gastrointestinal bleeding history. He was felt to be gaining “flesh” weight.

In late March 1992, he had a tonic‐clonic seizure. Repeat CAT scan of the brain was unchanged. He was started on phenytoin thrice daily, but he discontinued therapy and had two more seizures (with negligible serum levels of phenytoin) in April 1992. In May, he was readmitted after another tonic‐clonic seizure. Phenytoin levels were in the therapeutic range, and CAT scan was again unchanged.

Phenobarbital was added to his regimen. Drowsiness limited his compliance, and he had several additional seizures. In late July, he suffered a respiratory arrest shortly after a seizure.
HEALTH SCREENING: III
Authors: Hano Jessie E.
Published: October 2007

A 43‐year‐old white female with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD)from idiopathic membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis has been on hemodialysis for three years. Past medical history is unremarkable except for hypertension. Family history is negative. The patient dialyzes thrice weekly with infrequent side effects and works full time as a graphic designer. Menstruation is regular with occasional heavy flow.
Tailoring the Peritoneal Dialysis Prescription
Authors: Khanna Ramesh
Published: October 2007

M. D., a 62‐year‐old female with renal disease secondary to bilateral polycystic kidneys and hypertension, opted for continuous ambulatory peritoneal diaiysis (CAPD) when her renal function deteriorated (24‐hr urinary creatinine clearance of 6.8 ml/ min in a total urinary volume of 1200 ml) and uremic symptoms developed. The patient lived about a 3‐hr drive from the nearest dialysis center. This factor weighed heavily in the patient's decision to choose home dialysis.

A Swan Neck Missouri peritoneal dialysis catheter was inserted by a surgeon under local anesthesia with no complications. Since the patient was symptomatic from the uremia, peritoneal dialysis using a cycler in the supine position was initiated about 18 hr after the catheter insertion. To avoid dialysis solution leak from the incision site, 1 1 volumes per exchange and a 0.5‐hr cycle time were chosen. The cycler dialysis continued for 36 hr. The amount of ultrafiltration achieved was 2200 ml. The patient received two additional treatments using cycler dialysis during the next seven days before CAPD training was begun. CAPD training was accomplished in five working days. A baseline peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was carried out and thr residual renal function was determined. Based on the D/P creatinine ratio and the glucose results of the PET, the patient was classified as having a high peritoneal membrane transport rate. The renal creatinine and urea clearances were 5.7 and 4.2 ml/min, respectively (24‐hr urine volume was 926 ml).
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Two Sisters
Authors: GIBSON WILLIAM C.
Published: November 2007

The cases of two sisters suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy and successfully operated upon, are discussed with pre‐operative and post‐operative findings. The results eight years and nine years respectively after temporal lobectomy have been very gratifying, in patients previously labelled “hereditary epileptics”.

Description des cas de deux sœurs atteintes d‘épilepsie du lobe temporal qui ont été opérées avec succès et discussion de ces cas à Pappui des constatations pré‐ et post‐opératoires. Les résultats au bout de huit et de neuf ans respectivement après une lobectomie temporale ont été très satisfaisants chez des malades antérieurement considérées comme des “épileptiques héréditaires”.