bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The influence of additives on properties of heat‐induced gels from salt‐soluble proteins extracted from goose
Authors: Pan Daodong , Cao Jinxuan , Wang Lili , Zeng Xiaoqun
Published: November 2011

Calcium chloride (CaCl2) and phosphates are important additives to improve product quality during meat processing. Response surface methodology was used to study the influence of CaCl2 and phosphates on the hardness, water‐holding capacity (WHC) and ultra‐structure of salt‐soluble goose meat protein gels. The results show that the hardness and WHC of salt‐soluble protein gels increased significantly when CaCl2 concentration was increased and phosphates were added. Scanning electron microscopy showed that tetrasodium pyrophosphate (TSPP) and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) had a greater impact on the cross‐linking and pore diameter of the gel networks than sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). At the 0.02 m and 4:3:2 of CaCl2 concentration and the ratio of TSPP, SHMP and STPP, hardness and WHC values were 114.55 gf and 96.65%, which corresponded to the prediction value of our model. Further results showed that the hardness and WHC of gels reached the maximum with 0.3% of phosphates levels.
Skim milk cryoconcentration as affected by the thawing mode: gravitational vs. microwave‐assisted
Authors: Aider Mohammed , Ounis Wassef Ben
Published: November 2011

In the present study, skim milk was successfully cryoconcentrated up to 43.72 ± 0.69% (w/w) total dry matter after four cryoconcentration cycles. Total proteins were concentrated up to 22.49 ± 0.31% (w/w). It was found that the cryoconcentrated skim milk fraction was rich in potassium ions. The effect of the cryoconcentration cycle and thawing mode on process efficiency was studied. The obtained data showed that the cryoconcentration cycle effect was significant (P < 0.001). The thawing mode (gravitational and microwave assisted thawing) had no effect on process efficiency. However, the microwave assisted thawing mode was more efficient regarding to the time needed to obtain the desired thawed fraction. To achieve high process efficiency, three cryoconcentration cycles were sufficient since the process efficiency drastically decreased after this cycle. The concentration of the dry mater entrapped in the ice fraction was the highest at the fourth cryoconcentration cycle.
A combination of clinical and microbiological management of generalized aggressive periodontitis in primary teeth. A case report
Authors: CUNHA ROBSON F. , MACHADO ALESSANDRA C. , WATANABE SIMONE , FREIRE ISABELLE R. , GOIATO MARCELO C. , JÚNIOR ELERSON G.‐J.
Published: November 2011

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 310–316

Background.  Generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) in primary teeth is a rare periodontal disease that occurs during or soon after eruption of the primary teeth. An association with systemic diseases is a possibility.

Case Report.  A 4‐year‐old Brazilian girl presented with GAP involving the entire primary dentition. The patient and her parents and sister were subjected to microbiological testing to identify the microorganisms involved in the disease. The patient underwent tooth extraction to eradicate the disease and received a prosthesis for the restoration of masticatory function. After the permanent teeth erupted, fixed orthodontic appliances were place to restore dental arch form and occlusion.

Conclusions.  The results show the importance of an early diagnosis of GAP and of a multidisciplinary approach involving laboratory and clinical management to treat the disease and to restore masticatory function, providing a better quality of life for patients.
Arrhenius and Gleason revisited: new hybrid models resolve an old controversy
Authors: Tjørve Even
Published: November 2011

Aim  Studies have typically employed species–area relationships (SARs) from sample areas to fit either the power relationship or the logarithmic (exponential) relationship. However, the plots from empirical data often fall between these models. This article proposes two complementary and hybrid models as solutions to the controversy regarding which model best fits sample‐area SARs.

Methods  The two models are and , where SA is number of species in an area, A, where z, b, c1 and c2 are predetermined parameters found by calculation, and where d and n are parameters to be fitted. The number of parameters is reduced from six to two by fixing the model at either end of the scale window of the data set, a step that is justified by the condition that the error or the bias, or both, in the first and the last data points is negligible. The new hybrid models as well as the power model and the logarithmic model are fitted to 10 data sets.

Results  The two proposed models fit well not only to Arrhenius’ and Gleason’s data sets, but also to the other six data sets. They also provide a good fit to data sets that follow a sigmoid (or triphasic) shape in log–log space and to data sets that do not fall between the power model and the logarithmic model. The log‐transformation of the dependent variable, S, does not affect the curve fit appreciably, although it enhances the performance of the new models somewhat.

Main conclusions  Sample‐area SARs have previously been shown to be convex upward, convex downward (concave), sigmoid and inverted sigmoid in log–log space. The new hybrid models describe successfully data sets with all these curve shapes, and should therefore produce good fits also to what are termed triphasic SARs.
Association of distress symptoms and use of complementary medicine among patients with cancer
Authors: Ku Chih‐Fen , Koo Malcolm
Published: November 2011

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this study was to investigate the association between distress symptoms and the types of complementary and alternative medicine use in patients with cancer.

Background.  Patients diagnosed with cancer have increasingly turned to the use of complementary and alternative medicine to manage its symptoms and cope with the side effects of conventional treatment.

Design.  A descriptive cross‐sectional study.

Methods.  A face‐to‐face interview using a structured questionnaire was conducted with 208 outpatients at a medical centre in central Taiwan. The questionnaire included questions on socio‐demographic information, disease specifics, distress symptoms and complementary and alternative medicine usage in the past 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between distress symptoms and the use of different complementary and alternative medicine modalities.

Results.  A total of 165 (79·3%) patients reported use of at least one complementary and alternative medicine modality during the past 12 months. Complementary and alternative medicine users and non‐users were not significantly different in age, sex, marital status, education level, religious affiliation and disease‐related variables. Fatigue (66·8%) was the most frequently reported symptoms and was significantly associated with complementary and alternative medicine use (OR = 14·11, p = 0·001). Regarding specific complementary and alternative medicine modalities, chanting and enzyme therapy were found to be associated with 13 (68·4%) of the 19 distress symptoms.

Conclusions.  There was no association between complementary and alternative medicine use and demographic or disease‐related variables. Complementary and alternative medicine was widely used by patients with cancer, and symptom of fatigue was most strongly associated with complementary and alternative medicine use. Chanting and enzyme therapy were the two most frequently used complementary and alternative medicine modalities that were significantly associated with the 19 distress symptoms.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Health care providers should ask their patients about their complementary and alternative medicine use to avoid possible adverse interactions between conventional treatment and complementary and alternative medicine interventions, in particular, those remedies that are likely to interact with cancer medications.
Melatonin‐Dependent Timing of Seasonal Reproduction by the Pars Tuberalis: Pivotal Roles for Long Daylengths and Thyroid Hormones
Authors: Dardente Hugues
Published: November 2011

Most mammals living at temperate latitudes exhibit marked seasonal variations in reproduction. In long‐lived species, it is assumed that timely physiological alternations between a breeding season and a period of sexual rest depend upon the ability of day length (photoperiod) to synchronise an endogenous timing mechanism called the circannual clock. The sheep has been extensively used to characterise the time‐measurement mechanisms of seasonal reproduction. Melatonin, secreted only during the night, acts as the endocrine transducer of the photoperiodic message. The present review is concerned with the endocrine mechanisms of seasonal reproduction in sheep and the evidence that long day length and thyroid hormones are mandatory to their proper timing. Recent evidence for a circadian‐based molecular mechanism within the pars tuberalis of the pituitary, which ties the short duration melatonin signal reflecting long day length to the hypothalamic increase of triiodothyronine (T3) through a thyroid‐stimulating hormone/deiodinase2 paracrine mechanism is presented and evaluated in this context. A parallel is also drawn with the golden hamster, a long‐day breeder, aiming to demonstrate that features of seasonality appear to be phylogenetically conserved. Finally, potential mechanisms of T3 action within the hypothalamus/median eminence in relationship to seasonal timing are examined.
Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulators Differentially Potentiate Brain Mitochondrial Function
Authors: Irwin R. W. , Yao J. , To J. , Hamilton R. T. , Cadenas E. , Brinton R. D.
Published: November 2011

The mitochondrial energy‐transducing capacity of the brain is important for long‐term neurological health and is influenced by endocrine hormone responsiveness. The present study aimed to determine the role of oestrogen receptor (ER) subtypes in regulating mitochondrial function using selective agonists for ERα (propylpyrazoletriol; PPT) and ERβ (diarylpropionitrile; DPN). Ovariectomised female rats were treated with 17β‐oestradiol (E2), PPT, DPN or vehicle control. Both ER selective agonists significantly increased the mitochondrial respiratory control ratio and cytochrome oxidase (COX) activity relative to vehicle. Western blots of purified whole brain mitochondria detected ERα and, to a greater extent, ERβ localisation. Pre‐treatment with DPN, an ERβ agonist, significantly increased ERβ association with mitochondria. In the hippocampus, DPN activated mitochondrial DNA‐encoded COX I expression, whereas PPT was ineffective, indicating that mechanistically ERβ, and not ERα, activated mitochondrial transcriptional machinery. Both selective ER agonists increased protein expression of nuclear DNA‐encoded COX IV, suggesting that activation of ERβ or ERα is sufficient. Selective ER agonists up‐regulated a panel of bioenergetic enzymes and antioxidant defence proteins. Up‐regulated proteins included pyruvate dehydrogenase, ATP synthase, manganese superoxide dismutase and peroxiredoxin V. In vitro, whole cell metabolism was assessed in live primary cultured hippocampal neurones and mixed glia. The results of analyses conducted in vitro were consistent with data obtained in vivo. Furthermore, lipid peroxides, accumulated as a result of hormone deprivation, were significantly reduced by E2, PPT and DPN. These findings suggest that the activation of both ERα and ERβ is differentially required to potentiate mitochondrial function in brain. As active components in hormone therapy, synthetically designed oestrogens as well as natural phyto‐oestrogen cocktails can be tailored to improve brain mitochondrial endpoints.
Factors affecting assessment of severity of aggressive incidents: using the Staff Observation Aggression Scale – Revised (SOAS‐R) in Japan
Authors: NODA T. , NIJMAN H. , SUGIYAMA N. , TSUJIWAKI K. , PUTKONEN H. , SAILAS E. , KONTIO R. , ITO H. , JOFFE G.
Published: November 2011

Accessible summary

Consumer gender and age, and nurse gender influenced the perception of overall severity of aggressive incidents, in addition to the aggression data provided by the Staff Observation Aggression Scale – Revised (SOAS‐R) scores.

The factors influencing assessments of aggression incident severity can be identified from the severity scores provided by concurrently conducting objective (i.e. SOAS‐R) and overall (i.e. visual analogue scale) assessments.

The aim of this study is to investigate factors associated with overall judgements of aggression severity as provided by ward nurses, using the Japanese‐language version of the Staff Observation Aggression Scale – Revised (SOAS‐R). Nurses who observed 326 aggressive incidents involving psychiatric inpatients at five mental health facilities in Japan provided their assessments of the incident severity both on the established rating scale, the SOAS‐R, and on a visual analogue scale (VAS), a one‐item scale to indicate overall aggression severity. To evaluate the factors influencing the VAS severity scores, a multiple regression analysis was performed, in which consumer, nurse and ward characteristics were added consecutively, along with SOAS‐R severity scores as independent variables. SOAS‐R scores explained 17.6% of the VAS severity scores. Independently from the SOAS‐R scores, the gender and age of the aggressive consumers (adjusted R2= 10.0%), as well as the gender of the nurses who reported the aggression (adjusted R2= 4.1%), each explained VAS severity score to a significant degree. Apart from the SOAS‐R scores, consumer and nurse characteristics appeared to influence the overall judgements of severity of aggressive incidents, which may be connected to decisions about the use of coercive measures, such as seclusion/restraint or forced medication.
Genetic evidence for multiple events of hybridization between wolves and domestic dogs in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: GODINHO RAQUEL , LLANEZA LUIS , BLANCO JUAN C. , LOPES SUSANA , ÁLVARES FRANCISCO , GARCÍA EMILIO J. , PALACIOS VICENTE , CORTÉS YOLANDA , TALEGÓN JAVIER , FERRAND NUNO
Published: November 2011

Hybridization between wild species and their domestic counterparts may represent a major threat to natural populations. However, high genetic similarity between the hybridizing taxa makes the detection of hybrids a difficult task and may hinder attempts to assess the impact of hybridization in conservation biology. In this work, we used a combination of 42 autosomal microsatellites together with Y‐chromosome microsatellite‐defined haplotypes and mtDNA sequences to investigate the occurrence and dynamics of wolf–dog hybridization in the Iberian Peninsula. To do this, we applied a variety of Bayesian analyses and a parallel set of simulation studies to evaluate (i) the differences between Iberian wolves and dogs, (ii) the frequency and geographical distribution of hybridization and (iii) the directionality of hybridization. First, we show that Iberian wolves and dogs form two well‐differentiated genetic entities, suggesting that introgressive hybridization is not a widespread phenomenon shaping both gene pools. Second, we found evidence for the existence of hybridization that is apparently restricted to more peripheral and recently expanded wolf populations. Third, we describe compelling evidence suggesting that the dynamics of hybridization in wolf populations is mediated by crosses between male dogs and female wolves. More importantly, the observation of a population showing the occurrence of a continuum of hybrid classes forming mixed packs may indicate that we have underestimated hybridization. If future studies confirm this pattern, then an intriguing avenue of research is to investigate how introgression from free‐ranging domestic dogs is enabling wolf populations to adapt to the highly humanized habitats of southern Europe while still maintaining their genetic differentiation.
A framework for comparing processes of speciation in the presence of gene flow
Authors: SMADJA CAROLE M. , BUTLIN ROGER K.
Published: November 2011

How common is speciation‐with‐gene‐flow? How much does gene flow impact on speciation? To answer questions like these requires understanding of the common obstacles to evolving reproductive isolation in the face of gene flow and the factors that favour this crucial step. We provide a common framework for the ways in which gene flow opposes speciation and the potential conditions that may ease divergence. This framework is centred on the challenge shared by most scenarios of speciation‐with‐gene‐flow, i.e. the need for coupling among different components of reproductive isolation. Using this structure, we review and compare the factors favouring speciation with the intention of providing a more integrated picture of speciation‐with‐gene‐flow.
Personalized mice: modelling the molecular heterogeneity of medulloblastoma
Authors: Markant S. L. , Wechsler‐Reya R. J.
Published: November 2011

S. L. Markant and R. J. Wechsler‐Reya (2012) Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology38, 228–240

Personalized mice: modelling the molecular heterogeneity of medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant paediatric brain tumour, is thought to arise from mutations in progenitors or stem cells in the cerebellum. Recent molecular analyses have highlighted the heterogeneity of these tumours, and demonstrated that they can be classified into at least four major subtypes that differ in terms of gene expression, genomic gains and losses, epidemiology and patient outcome. Along with analysis of human tumours, a variety of animal models of medulloblastoma have been developed using transgenic and knockout technology as well as somatic gene delivery. These models have provided valuable insight into the origins of the disease and the signalling pathways that control tumour growth. But the degree to which current models recapitulate the heterogeneity of the human disease remains unclear. Here we review the recent literature on the genomics of medulloblastoma and discuss the relationship of mouse models to the subtypes of the disease. Judicious use of existing models, and generation of additional models for poorly studied subtypes of medulloblastoma, will increase our understanding of tumour biology and allow evaluation of novel approaches to treatment of the disease.
Uplifted marine terraces of the Akamas Peninsula (Cyprus): evidence of climatic conditions during the Late Quaternary highstands
Authors: FRÉBOURG GREGORY , HASLER CLAUDE‐ALAIN , DAVAUD ERIC
Published: November 2011

An outcrop study of uplifted marine terraces provides information on the climate of past sea‐level maxima, supplementing existing palaeoclimatological archives. The western coast of the Akamas Peninsula shows several uplifted and intricately stacked Quaternary marine terraces. This study focuses on the sedimentology, petrography and sequence stratigraphy of the last three recent terraces and provides palaeoclimatological reconstruction and chronological framing. All three terraces display basically the same stratigraphic succession, which consists of regressive sequences ranging from bioturbated, storm‐influenced, subtidal high‐energy sands to subaerial exposure and aeolian deposition. Each sequence differs in petrography, reflecting contemporaneous climatic conditions. The first studied sequence (Marine Isotope Stage 9 or 11?) was deposited in a warm, arid climate, with oligotrophic water favouring ooid formation. The second sequence (Marine Isotope Stage 7) displays colder but humid conditions, with lower carbonate production and strong detrital input. The third sequence (Marine Isotope Stage 5e) records warm, humid conditions, with high carbonate production combined with significant detrital input. These littoral terraces offer high‐quality outcrops of glacioeustatic‐dominated, littoral sedimentology, together with evidence indicative of the regional climate during the late Pleistocene.
Successful sirolimus rescue in tacrolimus‐induced thrombotic microangiopathy after living‐related liver transplantation
Authors: Czubkowski Piotr , Pawłowska Joanna , Jankowska Irena , Teisseyre Mikołaj , Kamińska Diana , Markiewicz Małgorzata , Ryżko Józef
Published: November 2011

Czubkowski P, Pawłowska J, Jankowska I, Teisseyre M, Kamińska D, Markiewicz M, Ryżko J. Successful sirolimus rescue in tacrolimus‐induced thrombotic microangiopathy after living‐related liver transplantation. Pediatr Transplantation 2011: 00: 000–000. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Abstract:  TMA is a rare complication of tacrolimus. Disruption of endothelial cells, platelet aggregation, and intravascular mechanical fragmentation of red cells are core mechanisms of injury; however, exact pathways of toxicity are not clear. The clinical presentation may vary but TMA is a potentially life‐threatening condition usually demanding aggressive treatment. We present the case of TMA in a child after living‐related liver transplantation (LRLTx) on tacrolimus‐based immunosuppressive regiment successfully converted to sirolimus.
Fatty acid profile and influence of oxythiamine on fatty acid content in Malassezia pachydermatis, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Tylicki Adam , Siemieniuk Magdalena , Dobrzyn Pawel , Ziolkowska Grazyna , Nowik Magdalena , Czyzewska Urszula , Pyrkowska Aleksandra
Published: November 2011

Malassezia pachydermatis and Candida albicans are fungi involved in the skin diseases and systemic infections. The therapy of such infections is difficult due to relapses and problems with pathogen identification. In our study, we compare the fatty acids profile of M. pachydermatis, C. albicans and S. cerevisiae to identify diagnostic markers and to investigate the effect of oxythiamine (OT) on the lipid composition of these species. Total fatty acid content is threefold higher in C. albicans and M. pachydermatis compared with S. cerevisiae. These two species have also increased level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and decreased content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). We noted differences in the content of longer chain (>18) fatty acids between studied species (for example a lack of 20 : 1 in S. cerevisiae and 22 : 0 in M. pachydermatis and C. albicans). OT reduces total fatty acids content in M. pachydermatis by 50%. In S. cerevisiae, OT increased PUFA whereas it decreased MUFA content. In C. albicans, OT decreased PUFA and increased MUFA and SFA content. The results show that the MUFA to PUFA ratio and the fatty acid profile could be useful diagnostic tests to distinguish C. albicans, M. pachydermatis and S. cerevisiae, and OT affected the lipid metabolism of the investigated species, especially M. pachydermatis.
Hyperglycaemia emerging during general anaesthesia induces rat acute kidney injury via impaired microcirculation, augmented apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation
Authors: EFRATI SHAI , BERMAN SYLVIA , HAMAD RAMZIA ABU , SIMAN‐TOV YARIV , CHANIMOV MICHAEL , WEISSGARTEN JOSHUA
Published: November 2011

Aim:  Major surgery under general anaesthesia frequently triggers acute kidney injury by yet unknown mechanisms. We investigated the role of anaesthesia‐triggered systemic hyperglycaemia in impairment of renal functioning, renal tissue injury, intra‐renal Angiotensin‐II synthesis and endogenous insulin production in anaesthetized rats.

Methods:  Eighty‐eight Sprague–Dawley rats underwent general anaesthesia for 1 h by different anaesthetic compounds. Some of the animals were either injected with high glucose, or received insulin prior to anaesthesia. Blood pressure, renal functioning estimated by cystatin‐C and urea, renal perfusion evaluated by laser Doppler technique, blood glucose and insulin were surveyed. Subsequently, rat kidneys were excised, to be used for immunohistochemical examinations or preparation of renal extracts for intra‐renal Angiotensin‐II measurements.

Results:  Elevated blood sugar was observed 5 min following induction of anaesthesia, concurrently with deterioration of renal functioning, drop of systemic blood pressure and decreased renal blood flow. Blood insulin concentrations positively correlated with glucose levels. Intra‐renal Angiotensin‐II was significantly augmented. Immunohistochemical examinations demonstrated enhanced staining for pro‐apoptotic proteins and negligible cell proliferation in tubular tissues. Renal damage resultant from anaesthesia‐induced hyperglycaemia could be attenuated by insulin injections. Rats challenged with glucose prior to anaesthesia demonstrated cumulative hyperglycaemia, further increase in insulin secretion, drop of renal blood flow and increased apoptosis. The effects were specific, since they could not be mimicked by replacing glucose with mannose.

Conclusion:  Anaesthesia‐induced hyperglycaemia affects intra‐renal auto‐regulation via decreased renal perfusion, thus triggering renal function deterioration and tubular injury. Increased intra‐renal Angiotensin‐II aggravates the damage. Tight hypoglycaemic control might prevent or, at least, attenuate anaesthesia‐induced renal injury.
Tracheal aspirate gene expression in preterm newborns and development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Authors: Hikino Shunji , Ohga Shouichi , Kinjo Tadamune , Kusuda Takeshi , Ochiai Masayuki , Inoue Hirosuke , Honjo Satoshi , Ihara Kenji , Ohshima Koichi , Hara Toshiro
Published: November 2011

Background:  Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) occurs in association with prenatal conditions predisposing infants to inflammation and remodeling of the premature lungs. Because of the lack of useful biomarkers for BPD, the gene expression of tracheal aspirate fluid (TAF) cells in premature infants was analyzed.

Methods:  Of 148 consecutive patients, 26 preterm infants (gestational age <34 weeks) were enrolled, who underwent assisted ventilation at birth for respiratory failure. Patients with congenital disorders were excluded. Half of these infants developed BPD. Interleukin (IL)‐10, interferon (IFN)‐γ, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐B mRNA of TAF cells were quantified on real‐time polymerase chain reaction.

Results:  IL‐10 (P < 0.01) and IFN‐γ (P= 0.03) but not TGF‐β1 or PDGF‐B mRNA levels at birth were higher in BPD than in non‐BPD infants. IL‐10 expression differentiated BPD with the highest sensitivity (92%) and specificity (77%). IL‐10 levels correlated with TGF‐β1 (P= 0.03) and IFN‐γ (P= 0.01), but not with PDGF‐B levels. When BPD infants were classified according to comorbidity (group 1, six patients who suffered respiratory distress syndrome [RDS] but not chorioamnionitis [CAM]; group 2, five patients who had CAM but not RDS), PDGF‐B levels were higher in group 2 (P= 0.01). High IL‐10 expression was selected as a risk factor for BPD in infants who had CAM but not RDS (P= 0.01), although prolonged oxygen therapy was the most sensitive indicator for BPD (P < 0.01) on multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:  High IL‐10 expression in TAF cells at birth could predict the evolution of BPD, but with less impact than oxygen requirement. PDGF might play a different role in the inflammatory process of premature lungs.
Day‐care service use is a risk factor for long‐term care placement in community‐dwelling dependent elderly
Authors: Kuzuya Masafumi , Izawa Sachiko , Enoki Hiromi , Hasegawa Jun
Published: November 2011

Aims:  To identify predictors of long‐term care placement and to examine the effect of day‐care service use on long‐term care placement over a 36‐month follow‐up period among community‐dwelling dependent elderly.

Methods:  This study was a prospective cohort analysis of 1739 community‐dwelling elderly and 1442 caregivers registered in the Nagoya Longitudinal Study for Frail Elderly. Data included the clients' demographic characteristics, basic activities of daily living, comorbidities, and use of home care services, including the day‐care, visiting nurse, and home‐help services, as well as caregivers' demographic characteristics and care burden. Analysis of long‐term care placement over 36 month was conducted using Kaplan–Meier curves and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.

Results:  Among the 1739 participants, 217 were institutionalized at long‐term care facilities during the 36‐month follow‐up. Multivariate Cox regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, showed that day‐care service use was significantly associated with an elevated risk for long‐term care placement within the 36‐month follow‐up period. Participants using a day‐care service two or more times/week had significantly higher relative hazard ratios than participants not using such a service.

Conclusion:  The results highlight the need for effective measures to reduce the long‐term care placement of day‐care service users. Policy makers and practitioners must consider implementing multidimensional support programs to reduce the caregivers' willingness to consider long‐term care placement. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 322–329.
First prescription of new elderly patients attending the psychiatry outpatient of a tertiary care institute in North India
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Kumar Vineet , Avasthi Ajit , Kulhara Parmanand
Published: November 2011

Aim:  There is lack of data on prescription patterns in elderly patients from developing countries. The aim of this study is to examine the first prescription given to elderly patients (age >60 years) attending the psychiatry outpatient clinic of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods:  In this retrospective study, data on patients older than 60 years attending the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary care hospital between 1 January 2009 and 30 November 2010 were extracted from the computer‐based registry and analyzed.

Results:  During the study period, 1192 new patients older than and equal to 60 years registered with the psychiatric outpatient clinic. Exact prescription data was available for 975 patients. The most common major diagnostic group was mood disorders (33.9%), followed by neurotic, stress‐related and somatoform disorders (23.1%). Across all diagnostic groups, olanzapine was the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic medication (20.7% of patients with an organic mental disorder, 40.8% with psychotic disorder, 30.2% with bipolar disorder); quetiapine and risperidone were the other commonly prescribed antipsychotics. Across all diagnostic groups, escitalopram was the most commonly prescribed antidepressant, and sertraline was the second most frequently prescribed SSRI. Among mood stabilizers, valproate was preferred over lithium (25.4% vs.12.7%). Sedative‐hypnotic medications were frequently prescribed across all diagnostic groups. Clonazepam and lorazepam were the most often prescribed benzodiazepines. The mean number of psychotropic medications was highest among bipolar disorder patients (1.84) and least among the patients with an organic mental disorder (1.25).

Conclusions:  Olanzapine, SSRI and clonazepam were the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic, antidepressant, and benzodiazepine, respectively, and valproate was preferred over lithium among elderly patients with bipolar disorder. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 284–291.
Reading acquisition enhances an early visual process of contour integration
Authors: Szwed Marcin , Ventura Paulo , Querido Luis , Cohen Laurent , Dehaene Stanislas
Published: November 2011

The acquisition of reading has an extensive impact on the developing brain and leads to enhanced abilities in phonological processing and visual letter perception. Could this expertise also extend to early visual abilities outside the reading domain? Here we studied the performance of illiterate, ex‐illiterate and literate adults closely matched in age, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics, on a contour integration task known to depend on early visual processing. Stimuli consisted of a closed egg‐shaped contour made of disconnected Gabor patches, within a background of randomly oriented Gabor stimuli. Subjects had to decide whether the egg was pointing left or right. Difficulty was varied by jittering the orientation of the Gabor patches forming the contour. Contour integration performance was lower in illiterates than in both ex‐illiterate and literate controls. We argue that this difference in contour perception must reflect a genuine difference in visual function. According to this view, the intensive perceptual training that accompanies reading acquisition also improves early visual abilities, suggesting that the impact of literacy on the visual system is more widespread than originally proposed.
In What Sense are Human Rights Political? A Preliminary Exploration
Authors: Valentini Laura
Published: November 2011

Philosophical discussion of human rights has long been monopolised by what might be called the ‘natural-law view’. On this view, human rights are fundamental moral rights which people enjoy solely by virtue of their humanity. In recent years, a number of theorists have started to question the validity of this outlook, advocating instead what they call a ‘political’ view. My aim in this article is to explore the latter view in order to establish whether it constitutes a valuable alternative to the ‘natural-law view’. In particular, I distinguish between three ways in which human rights can be political: in relation to their (1) iudicandum, (2) justification and (3) feasibility constraints. I argue that it makes sense to think of human rights as political in relation to both their iudicandum and their justification but in a way that is not always adequately captured by proponents of the political view. Moreover, I also claim that, if we take the political view seriously, we still need to engage in the sort of abstract moral reasoning that characterises the natural-law approach and which proponents of the political view significantly downplay.
Territorial Rights: Concept and Justification
Authors: Miller David
Published: November 2011

This article begins by analysing the idea of territorial rights. It argues that the rights over territory standardly claimed by states can be separated into three main elements: the right of jurisdiction, the right to the territory's resources and the right to control borders. A full justification of territorial rights must therefore address each of these three elements. It proceeds to examine theories that treat states as the primary holders of territorial rights. Utilitarian theories (such as Sidgwick's) maintain that states acquire such rights simply by maintaining social order over the relevant territory. Such theories are insufficiently discriminating and cannot deal adequately with the issues raised by invasion and secession. An alternative view adds the condition that the state must be the legitimate representative of the people who (innocently) occupy the territory, but this too faces an objection. A historical version of the statist theory claims that states gain territorial rights by increasing the value of territory over time, but such historical entitlement theories are implausible in the case of states. In contrast, the article argues that an adequate justificatory theory of territorial rights must treat peoples – nations or indigenous groups – as the primary bearers of these rights. Peoples gain such rights by adding material value to the territory in question, and endowing it with symbolic value. After responding to objections from global egalitarians and others, the article concludes that such a justificatory theory can unite the three elements of territorial rights distinguished at the outset.
DEONTOLOGICAL MORAL OBLIGATIONS AND NON‐WELFARIST AGENT‐RELATIVE VALUES
Authors: Smith Michael
Published: November 2011

Many claim that a plausible moral theory would have to include a principle of beneficence, a principle telling us to produce goods that are both welfarist and agent‐neutral. But when we think carefully about the necessary connection between moral obligations and reasons for action, we see that agents have two reasons for action, and two moral obligations: they must not interfere with any agent's exercise of his rational capacities and they must do what they can to make sure that agents have rational capacities to exercise. According to this distinctively deontological view of morality, though we are obliged to produce goods, the goods in question are non‐welfarist and agent‐relative. The value of welfare thus turns out to be, at best, instrumental.
RECALCITRANT PLURALISM
Authors: Stratton‐Lake Philip
Published: November 2011

In this paper I argue that the best form of deontology is one understood in terms of prima facie duties. I outline how these duties are to be understood and show how they offer a plausible and elegant connection between the reason why we ought to do certain acts, the normative reasons we have to do these acts, the reason why moral agents will do them, and the reasons certain people have to resent someone who does not do them. I then argue that this form of deontology makes it harder to unify a pluralistic ethics under a single consequentialist principle in a plausible way, and illustrate this with reference to Rob Shaver's consequentialist arguments.
DOES MORAL IGNORANCE EXCULPATE?
Authors: Harman Elizabeth
Published: November 2011

Non‐moral ignorance can exculpate: if Anne spoons cyanide into Bill's coffee, but thinks she is spooning sugar, then Anne may be blameless for poisoning Bill. Gideon Rosen argues that moral ignorance can also exculpate: if one does not believe that one's action is wrong, and one has not mismanaged one's beliefs, then one is blameless for acting wrongly. On his view, many apparently blameworthy actions are blameless. I discuss several objections to Rosen. I then propose an alternative view on which many agents who act wrongly are blameworthy despite believing they are acting morally permissibly, and despite not having mismanaged their moral beliefs.1
Bernoulli Graph Bounds for Generalrandom Graphs
Authors: Butts Carter T.
Published: November 2011

General random graphs (i.e., stochastic models for networks incorporating heterogeneity and/or dependence among edges) are increasingly in wide use in the study of social and other networks, but few techniques other than simulation have been available for studying their behavior. On the other hand, random graphs with independent edges (i.e., the Bernoulli graphs) are well-studied, and a large literature exists regarding their properties. In this paper, we demonstrate a method for leveraging this knowledge by constructing families of Bernoulli graphs that bound the behavior of an arbitrary random graph in a well-defined sense. By studying the behavior of these Bernoulli graph bounds, we can thus constrain the properties of a given random graph. We illustrate the utility of this approach via application to several problems from the social network literature, including identifying degeneracy in Markov graph models, studying the potential impact of tie formation mechanisms on epidemic potential in sexual contact networks, and robustness testing of inhomogeneous Bernoulli models based on geographical covariates. Practical heuristics for assessing bound tightness and guidance for use in theoretical and methodological applications are also discussed.
Inferring Logit Models from Empirical Margins Using Proxy Data
Authors: Lee Ju-Sung , Carley Kathleen M.
Published: November 2011

We examine several approaches for inferring logit models from empirical margins of predictor covariates and conditional margins containing the means of a binary response for each covariate margin. One method is to fit proxy data to the conditional response using the beta distribution, a process we call “margin analysis.” Proxy data can obtained using three approaches: (1) implementing the iterative proportional fitting (IPF) procedure on the margin totals, (2) sampling from a larger relevant data source such as the census, and (3) enumerating, or sampling from, the combinatoric space of all possible tables constrained by the margins. The first procedure is a well-studied approach for estimating contingency tables from margins, but it does not necessarily maintain the associations between the covariates unless seeded with an initial table containing those associations. In the second approach, which is appropriate for analyzing sociodemographic covariates, we can use a large census sample adjusting for sampling biases observed in the empirical margins. However, the appropriateness of using a census proxy depends substantially on how similar the sampling pools are. Our third approach entails exploring the combinatoric space of all contingency tables constrained by the margins while considering the associations among the covariates. We aggregate the logit models estimated from each table in that space into a single model. This approach is more robust than the first two as it considers multiple proxies. While the estimated logit models from each approach are generally similar to one another, for the low-dimensional tables we explore in this paper, the combinatoric approach incurs wider standard errors, which renders potentially significant coefficients insignificant. Finally, we suggest weighting the combinatoric models with evidence-relevant probabilities obtained using the multivariate Pólya distribution.
Global ‘experts’ and ‘African’ minds: Tanganyika anthropology as public and secret service, 1925‐61
Authors: PELS PETER
Published: November 2011

Whereas many historians of British anthropology worried themselves about the complicity of anthropologists with colonial rule, and have tried to demonstrate a fundamental contradiction and gap between academic anthropologists and colonial administrators, a study of the professionalization of anthropology in Tanganyika Territory between 1930 and 1960 can show that the ethnographic tradition of Tanganyika indirect rule slowly attuned itself to classical academic anthropology, just as classical academic anthropology increasingly adopted the agenda of indirect rule. The setting up of a Government Sociology department by the Tanganyika government after 1945 epitomized this rapprochement, but also reveals another, rarely studied, type of tension between academics and administrators: their different attitudes towards publicity and secrecy, both in relation to the international critics of the British colonial empire, and in relation to the African audiences that administrators, more than anthropologists, had to reckon with.

Nombreux sont les historiens de l'anthropologie britannique qui se sont inquiété de la complicité des anthropologues avec la domination coloniale et ont tenté de mettre en lumière une contradiction fondamentale entre anthropologues académiques et administrateurs coloniaux. Une étude portant sur la professionnalisation de l'anthropologie dans le Territoire du Tanganyika entre 1930 et 1960 montre pourtant que la tradition ethnographique du gouvernement indirect au Tanganyika s'est progressivement alignée sur l'anthropologie académique classique, en même temps que celle‐ci se saisissait de plus en plus des thèmes du gouvernement indirect. La mise en place d'un département de Sociologie gouvernementale par le gouvernement du Tanganyika après 1945 marque l'apogée de ce rapprochement mais révèle en même temps un autre type de tension, rarement étudié, entre chercheurs et administrateurs : une attitude différente vis‐à‐vis de la publicité et du secret, qu'il s'agisse des critiques internationales de l'empire colonial britannique ou des relations avec les cercles d'opinion africains avec lesquels les administrateurs, bien plus que les anthropologues, devaient composer.
Is Narrative Identity Four‐Dimensionalist?
Authors: Stokes Patrick
Published: November 2011

The claim that selves are narratively constituted has attained considerable currency in both analytic and continental philosophy. However, a set of increasingly standard objections to narrative identity are also emerging. In this paper, I focus on metaphysically realist versions of narrative identity theory, showing how they both build on and differ from their neo‐Lockean counterparts. But I also argue that narrative realism is implicitly committed to a four‐dimensionalist, temporal‐parts ontology of persons. That exposes narrative realism to the charge that the narratively constituted self, on the one hand, and the self that is the object of much of our everyday self‐reference and self‐experience, on the other, can't be the same thing. This conclusion may well force narrativists to abandon metaphysical realism about narrative selves—which, in turn, may leave the invocation of ‘narrativity’ as identity‐constituting somewhat under‐motivated.
Cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress and cognitive ability in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study
Authors: Ginty Annie T. , Phillips Anna C. , Roseboom Tessa J. , Carroll Douglas , deRooij Susanne R.
Published: November 2011

Given evidence linking blunted cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to acute stress and a range of adverse behavioral outcomes, the present study examined the associations between cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity and cognitive ability measured independently of the stress task exposure. Cognitive ability was assessed using the Alice Heim‐4 test of general intelligence and two memory tasks in 724 men and women who were part of the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study. Blood pressure and heart rate, as well as cortisol reactivity, were measured to a battery of three standard acute stress tasks. Poorer cognitive ability was associated with lower cardiovascular reactions to stress and lower cortisol area under the curve. Our results are consistent with recent findings implicating low physiological stress reactivity in a range of adverse behavioral and health outcomes.
Vasodilatory activity and antihypertensive profile mediated by inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 1 induced by a novel sulfonamide compound
Authors: Pontes Luana Braga , Antunes Fernanda , Sudo Roberto Takashi , Raimundo Juliana Montani , Lima Lidia Moreira , Barreiro Eliezer Jesus , Zapata‐Sudo Gisele
Published: November 2011

LASSBio‐985 is a sulfonamide compound designed as a simplified structure of a nonselective phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE‐4) inhibitor that promotes vasodilatory activity in vitro. PDE are enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis of cyclic adenosine 3′,5′‐ monophosphate and cyclic guanosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate. Five different isozymes of PDE are found in vascular smooth muscle (PDE1–PDE5). Aortic rings, with or without endothelium, from male normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were prepared for isometric tension recording. Blood pressure was measured in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats and SHR during intravenous infusion of LASSBio‐985 (10 mg/kg/min) during 15 min. LASSBio‐985 induced a concentration‐dependent vasodilation in aortic rings from normotensive and SHR, which was almost completely inhibited in endothelium‐denuded vessels. Vasodilatory activity was also reduced in endothelium‐intact aortic rings that had been pretreated with Nω‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (l‐NAME), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor and 1H‐[1,2,4]oxadiazolod[4,3‐a]quinoxalin‐1‐one (ODQ), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor. LASSBio‐985‐induced vasodilation was also inhibited by sildenafil (100 μm) and SQ 22536, a PDE5 inhibitor and adenylate cyclase inhibitor, respectively. To evaluate the involvement of some endothelial receptors, atropine, diphenhydramine, HOE 140, naloxone, propranolol, indomethacin, and wortmannin were tested, but none inhibited the effects of LASSBio‐985. The residual effect observed on endothelium‐denuded aortic rings was abolished by nicardipine, a voltage‐sensitive‐Ca2+‐channel blocker. Intravenous infusion of LASSBio‐985 (10 mg/kg/min) significantly reduced systolic and diastolic pressures in both WKY and SHR. LASSBio‐985 is a compound with vasodilatory activity, which could be consequent to PDE1 inhibition and voltage‐sensitive‐Ca2+‐channel blockade.