bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Host suitability of vetiver grass to Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica
Authors: Fourie Hendrika , Leswifi Caroline , McDonald Alex H. , De Waele Dirk
Published: February 2007

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are economically important pathogens
of many agricultural crops, and the frequency of occurrence, abundance and
importance of these nematodes in resource-poor agricultural production
systems make control necessary. The host suitability of vetiver grass to
Meloidogyne javanica and M. incognita race 2 was investigated and compared
with the host status of the six crops included in the North Carolina
Differential Host Range Test, i.e., tomato (cv. Rutgers), groundnut (cv.
Florunner), watermelon (cv. Charleston Gray), green pepper (cv. California
Wonder), cotton (cv. Deltapine) and tobacco (line NC 95). Each plant was
inoculated with 10 000±500 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2) of either M.
javanica or M. incognita race 2, 3 weeks after emergence. Nematode
reproduction assessments were done 56 days after inoculation. Significant
differences in egg-laying female (ELF) indices, number of egg-masses and
eggs and J2 per root system and reproduction factor (RF) values were
recorded among the crops for both nematode species. Vetiver grass exhibited
RF-values lower than 1 for both M. javanica and M. incognita race 2,
indicating resistance to these root-knot nematode species.
Improving the use of rye (Secale cereale) for nematode management: potential to select cultivars based on Meloidogyne incognita host status and benzoxazinoid content
Authors: Zasada Inga A. , Rice Cliff P. , Meyer Susan L.F.
Published: February 2007

Six geographically diverse cultivars of rye (Secale cereale), a wheat
(Triticum aestivum) cultivar and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) cultivar
unstated were screened for Meloidogyne incognita host suitability. Chemical
constituents of rye can suppress M. incognita, so the rye cultivars and
wheat were also tested for benzoxazinoid content to determine if rye
cultivar selection could be based upon plant chemistry. There was variation
in M. incognita host status among the rye cultivars. Cultivars Aroostook,
Elbon, Oklon and Wrens Abruzzi were the most resistant rye cultivars, with
low numbers of M. incognita eggs/g dry root. Cultivar Wheeler had somewhat
more eggs/g root than these cultivars, while cv. Merced supported nearly
three times more eggs/g root than cv. Wheeler. Most of the rye cultivars
were similar to each other in total benzoxazinoid content, although cv.
Aroostook had the lowest amount of total benzoxazinoids. When data from
roots and shoots were combined, more than 79% of the total benzoxazinoids in
all six of the rye cultivars were comprised of the non-methoxy-substituted
forms: i)
(2R)-2-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-4-hydroxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one
(DIBOA-glucoside); ii) 2,4-dihydroxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one (DIBOA);
and iii) benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (BOA). In the rye cultivar roots there was
little difference among cultivars in amounts of the methoxy-substituted
benzoxazinoids: i)
(2R)-2-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one
(DIMBOA-glucoside); ii) 2,4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one
(DIMBOA); iii) 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one (MBOA); and iv)
2-hydroxy-7-methoxy-(2H)-1,4,-benzoxazzin-3(4H)-one (HMBOA). However, cv.
Aroostook roots had the lowest concentration of non-methoxy-substituted
benzoxazinoids. Rye cultivars were generally similar to each other in
amounts of benzoxazinoids in shoots. The shoots had much lower
concentrations of methoxy-substituted benzoxazinoinds than the roots but
much higher concentrations of non-methoxy-substituted forms. Cultivars with
the lowest numbers of eggs/g root and the highest amounts of benzoxazinoids
(with potential for action against nematodes in soil after incorporation as
a green manure) are possible candidates for optimal nematode management.
Pratylenchus hippeastri n. sp. (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae) from amaryllis in Florida with notes on P. scribneri and P. hexincisus
Authors: Inserra Renato N. , Troccoli Alberto , Gozel Ugur , Bernard Ernest C. , Dunn Denise , Duncan Larry W.
Published: February 2007

A new root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus hippeastri n. sp. is described from
amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.) in Florida. The new species is characterised by
a combination of the following morphological features of females: slender
body, flat, plain and smooth face, head with two lip annuli, an incomplete
third annulus, and with second lip annulus thicker than first, ellipsoidal
stylet knobs, rectangular empty spermatheca with large round cavity, and
conoid tail with bluntly pointed terminus usually showing a ventral
constriction, or subhemispherical and smooth. The ranges of morphometric
characters of P. hippeastri n. sp. overlap with those of P. scribneri and P.
hexincisus. These three species also share some morphological and biological
features such as two lip annuli, an empty spermatheca and similar lateral
fields, but differ in the morphology of head patterns (smooth face in P.
hippeastri n. sp. vs divided face in the others) and tail termini
(hemispherical and subhemispherical in P. scribneri and subdigitate in P.
hexincisus vs bluntly pointed in P. hippeastri n. sp.). A reference
population of P. scribneri from Ohio and one of P. hexincisus from Tennessee
were obtained during the course of unsuccessful attempts to recover P.
scribneri at the type locale in Tennessee. The D3 rDNA sequences of the
reference populations matched GenBank sequences for these two species. Small
morphological differences between the P. scribneri population from Ohio and
the P. scribneri lectotype occurred in the shape of stylet knobs
(ellipsoidal vs round) and spermatheca (round with a central cavity vs
oblong) and also in the length of the pharyngeal overlap (longer in the
reference population). These morphological differences cast doubt about the
identity of the lectotype, which may be P. hexincisus. New morphological
details were obtained for P. hexincisus from Tennessee, which included a
divided face, an almost rectangular empty spermatheca with a central cavity
and subdigitate tail termini. Based on our phylogenetic inferences from DNA
sequences P. hippeastri n. sp. is more closely related to P. zeae and a
Florida population of P. loosi than to P. scribneri or P. hexincisus.
Searching for Pathways in a Landscape of Death: Religion and AIDS in East Africa
Authors: Becker Felicitas , Geissler P. Wenzel
Published: February 2007

The commonalities of eastern Africa's history from colonial occupation to the formation of nation states and their post-postcolonial decay, the region's shared experiences with the religions of the book—fist Islam and later Christianity—and its shared struggle with the physical, social, political and epistemological predicament of HIV/AIDS, make East Africa, with its cultural and historical diversity, a suitably coherent field to study the relationship between religion and the experience of AIDS-related suffering. The papers in this issue explore how AIDS is understood and confronted through religious ideas and practices, and how these, in turn, are reinterpreted and changed by the experience of AIDS. They reveal the creativity and innovations that continuously emerge in the everyday life of East Africans, between bodily and spiritual experiences, and between religious, medical, political and economic discourses. Countering simplified notions of causal effects of AIDS on religion (or vice versa), the diversity of interpretations and practices inserts the epidemic into wider, and more open, frames of reference. It reveals East Africans' will and resourcefulness in their struggle to move ahead in spite of adversity, and goes against the generalised vision of doom widely associated with the African AIDS epidemic. Finally, it shows that East Africans understand AIDS not as a singular event in their history, but as the culmination of a century-long process of changing spiritual imaginaries, bodily well-being and livelihoods. Intimately connected to political history and economic fortunes, it presents itself at present as an experience of loss and decay, yet it remains open-ended.
The Virus and the Scriptures: Muslims and AIDS in Tanzania
Authors: Becker Felicitas
Published: February 2007

This paper examines Tanzanian Muslims' practical and discursive stances on AIDS in relation to the context in which they are produced. The AIDS problematic is interacting with lively debates, as for the last two decades Muslim reformists have been demanding revisions to ritual practice and a more restrictive application of Muslim social norms. The state-sponsored central organisation for Tanzanian Muslims is viewed with distrust not only by reformist, but also many 'mainstream' Muslims, and there is no organisation to provide an inclusive forum for debate. Official AIDS education programmes reached provincial Muslims before the epidemic had become acute, and were initially greeted with the same formulaic, passive acceptance as many other state initiatives. Since AIDS deaths have become more frequent, recommendations for prevention have become the subject of intense debate. Understanding of the epidemic draws on local religious notions as well as Muslim teachings, and invariably focuses on ways of life rather than questions of health narrowly conceived. It indicates increasing scepticism regarding the ability of either local society or the state to achieve 'development' and wariness of the perceived closeness of science to authority. On the other hand, Muslim observers have found ways to relate scientific descriptions of the epidemic to the Qur'an and to accept the epidemic as God's will, without thereby abdicating responsibility for trying to contain it. Ultimately, individuals are on their own in formulating their understanding of the epidemic. There is no clear correlation between reformist sympathies and the acceptance or otherwise of official recommendations, as many other factors, including age, education and personal experience, influence individual stances.
The Rise of Occult Powers, AIDS and the Roman Catholic Church in Western Uganda
Authors: Behrend Heike
Published: February 2007

Taking as my example a lay organisation of the Roman Catholic Church, the Uganda Martyrs Guild, which entered the public domain in western Uganda in the 1990s and started to organise witch and cannibal hunts, I offer two arguments to the ongoing debate on the rise of occult forces in Africa. First, against the tendency to find the origin of the rise of occult forces in the invisible hand of capital, I relate the dramatic activation and rise of occult forces in Africa to the large increase in death rates caused by the AIDS epidemic (and to a lesser extent local wars). Although various scholars have shown in detail that in Africa contemporary Christianity has not put an end to witchcraft and the occult, but instead provided a new context in which they make perfect sense, they missed the point that precisely the fight against the occult reproduces and strengthens the 'enemy'. As I try to show, Christian anti-witchcraft movements are instrumental in reinstating the occult powers they fight against.
Healing the Wounds of Modernity: Salvation, Community and Care in a Neo-Pentecostal Church in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Authors: Dilger Hansjörg
Published: February 2007

The responses of Christian religions to HIV/AIDS in Africa have been described either with regard to the stigmatising attitudes of churches, or with reference to the charitable acts of Christian organisations in the context of the epidemic. Drawing on fieldwork in a Neo-Pentecostal church in urban Tanzania, this article shows that the Full Gospel Bible Fellowship Church in Dar es Salaam is becoming highly attractive to its followers because of the social, spiritual and economic perspectives that it offers, and particularly because of the networks of healing and support that it has established under the circumstances of urbanisation, structural reform programmes and the AIDS epidemic. The author argues for a stronger focus on practices of healing and community building in studies on Pentecostalism, which may shed light on the continuities as well as the ruptures that are produced by the rise of Neo-Pentecostalism in the context of globalisation, modernity and HIV/AIDS.
Salvation and Tradition: Conﬁgurations of Faith in a Time of Death
Authors: Prince Ruth
Published: February 2007

This paper explores the relationship between faith and AIDS in western Kenya by looking at two sets of beliefs and practices: Christian salvation and Luo traditionalism. Many of the debates and conflicts about AIDS and its meanings among Luo people are shaped by people's commitment to these very different faiths. While AIDS is exacerbating tensions between these ways of being and doing, the need to regenerate life and growth after death is also leading to negotiations between saved and traditional pathways. I approach these issues through the controversial subject of widow guardianship or 'inheritance'.
'Keeping Up Appearances': Sex and Religion amongst University Students in Uganda
Authors: Sadgrove Jo
Published: February 2007

Students of Uganda's Makerere University currently find themselves in the middle of an emerging clash of sexual ideologies, perpetuated by different peer groups. Transactional sex is one of the most evident social dynamics around the campus. For most women, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, having sex with often older, wealthier men is the quickest and easiest way to secure the material goods and lifestyles exemplified by their wealthier peers. This dynamic, known as 'detoothing', whereby a woman will analogously extract a man's teeth one by one until he is left with nothing, appears the most salient determinant of sexual behaviour amongst university students. This paper aims to examine how the increasingly popular theologies and social structures of Pentecostalism are creating new 'born-again' peer groups with their own standards for social and sexual behaviour. The promotion of sexual abstinence and an anti-materialist rhetoric challenge the central tenets of the prevailing sexual patterns amongst students. However the impact of the born-again discourse on actual sexual behaviour is complicated by broader socio-economic dynamics that influence the ways in which theologies are received and acted upon by church members.
Performance of a New Generation of Acoustic Current Meters
Authors: Hogg Nelson G. , Frye Daniel E.
Published: February 2007

As part of a program aimed at developing a long-duration, subsurface mooring, known as Ultramoor, several modern acoustic current meters were tested. The instruments with which the authors have the most experience are the Aanderaa RCM11 and the Nortek Aquadopp, which measure currents using the Doppler shift of backscattered acoustic signals, and the Falmouth Scientific ACM, which measures changes in travel time of acoustic signals between pairs of transducers. Some results from the Doppler-based Sontek Argonaut and the travel-time-based Nobska MAVS are also reported. This paper concentrates on the fidelity of the speed measurement but also presents some results related to the accuracy of the direction measurement. Two procedures were used to compare the instruments. In one, different instruments were placed close to one another on three different deep-ocean moorings. These tests showed that the RCM11 measures consistently lower speeds than either a vector averaging current meter or a vector measuring current meter, both more traditional instruments with mechanical velocity sensors. The Aquadopp in use at the time, but since updated to address accuracy problems in low scattering environments, was biased high. A second means of testing involved comparing the appropriate velocity component of each instrument with the rate of change of pressure when they were lowered from a ship. Results from this procedure revealed no depth dependence or measurable bias in the RCM11 data, but did show biases in both the Aquadopp and Argonaut Doppler-based instruments that resulted from low signal-to-noise ratios in the clear, low scattering conditions beneath the thermocline. Improvements in the design of the latest Aquadopp have reduced this bias to a level that is not significant.
Interannual to Decadal Changes in the ECCO Global Synthesis
Authors: Köhl A. , Stammer D. , Cornuelle B.
Published: February 2007

An estimate of the time-varying global ocean circulation for the period 1992–2002 was obtained by combining most of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) ocean datasets with a general circulation model on a 1° horizontal grid. The estimate exactly satisfies the model equations without artificial sources or sinks of momentum, heat, and freshwater. To bring the model into agreement with observations, its initial temperature and salinity conditions were permitted to change, as were the time-dependent surface fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater. The estimation of these “control variables” is largely consistent with accepted uncertainties in the hydrographic climatology and meteorological analyses. The estimated time-mean horizontal transports of volume, heat, and freshwater, which were largely underestimated in the previous 2° optimization performed by Stammer et al., have converged with time-independent estimates from box inversions over most parts of the World Ocean. Trends in the model’s heat content are 7% larger than those reported by Levitus and correspond to a global net heat uptake of about 1.1 W m−2 over the model domain. The associated model trend in sea surface height over the estimation period resembles the observations from Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon over most of the global ocean. Sea surface height changes in the model are primarily steric but show contributions from mass redistributions from the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean to the subtropical Pacific Ocean gyres. Steric contributions are primarily temperature based but are partly compensated by salt variation. However, the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean reveal a clear contribution of salt to large-scale sea level variations.
Atlantic to Mediterranean Sea Level Difference Driven by Winds near Gibraltar Strait
Authors: Menemenlis Dimitris , Fukumori Ichiro , Lee Tong
Published: February 2007

Observations and numerical simulations show that winds near Gibraltar Strait cause an Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea sea level difference of 20 cm peak to peak with a 3-cm standard deviation for periods of days to years. Theoretical arguments and numerical experiments establish that this wind-driven sea level difference is caused in part by storm surges due to alongshore winds near the North African coastline on the Atlantic side of Gibraltar. The fraction of the Moroccan coastal current offshore of the 284-m isobath is deflected across Gibraltar Strait, west of Camarinal Sill, resulting in a geostrophic surface pressure gradient that contributes to a sea level difference at the stationary limit. The sea level difference is also caused in part by the along-strait wind setup, with a contribution proportional to the along-strait wind stress and to the length of Gibraltar Strait and adjoining regions and inversely proportional to its depth. In the 20–360-day band, average transfer coefficients between the Atlantic–Alboran sea level difference and surface wind stress at 36°N, 6.5°W, estimated from barometrically corrected Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon data and NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data, are 0.10 ± 0.04 m Pa−1 with 1 ± 5-day lag and 0.19 ± 0.08 m Pa−1 with 5 ± 4-day lag for the zonal and meridional wind stresses, respectively. This transfer function is consistent with equivalent estimates derived from a 1992–2003 high-resolution barotropic simulation forced by the NCEP–NCAR wind stress. The barotropic simulation explains 29% of the observed Atlantic–Alboran sea level difference in the 20–360-day band. In turn, the Alboran and Mediterranean mean sea level time series are highly correlated, ρ = 0.7 in the observations and ρ = 0.8 in the barotropic simulation, hence providing a pathway for winds near Gibraltar Strait to affect the mean sea level of the entire Mediterranean.
“Words are all I have left of my eyes”: Blinded by the Past in J. M. W. Turner’s Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying and David Dabydeen’s “Turner”
Authors: Ward Abigail
Published: February 2007

This article explores J. M. W. Turner’s painting Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhon Coming On (1840) in relation to David Dabydeen’s poem “Turner” (1994). The representation of drowning slaves in Turner’s painting has been the subject of much debate, both at the time of its first public display and in more recent years. I examine some of the contexts surrounding Turner’s work before moving on to critically assess Dabydeen’s own poetic reaction to, and representation of, the painting and artist. In so doing, I argue that Dabydeen’s characterization of Turner as both a slave-ship captain and paedophile is prompted by Turner’s attempts to deny black people an active role in nineteenth-century Britain. In privileging a textual expression of the past over a visual approach, “Turner” offers a different kind of remembering which does not involve gazing at the past of slavery.
Nationalism, Reconciliation, and the Cultural Genealogy of Magic in Richard Flanagan’s Death of a River Guide
Authors: Delrez Marc
Published: February 2007

This article offers an attempt to redeem Death of a River Guide, the first novel by Richard Flanagan, from readings which see it mainly as an instance of appropriation of Aboriginal culture and spirituality on the part of a white settler writer living in Australia. Indeed, next to its gesturing towards a sense of indigenous belonging in Tasmania, the book displays its affiliation with a more European cultural inheritance, notably through the reference to the work of Italo Svevo and through the inclusion of a rival sense of spirituality, Christian in inspiration. In all, the book’s magic realism then incorporates distinct constituents, in a way which points to the critical necessity of subjecting fiction’s magic moments to the kind of analysis that will reveal their specific cultural genealogy. Such critical practice would preserve magic realism, as a world-wide literary category, from being used in any levelling, dehistoricized, apolitical manner; and moreover, in the case of Flanagan, it points to an important discursive dialogism which provides an adequate response to the sense of divided epistemology that has characterized Australian literary culture since the Reconciliation.
Reliability of maximal static strength measurements of the arms in subjects with hemiparesis
Authors: Bertrand Anne Martine , Mercier Catherine , Bourbonnais Daniel , Desrosiers Johanne , Gravel Denis
Published: February 2007

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of maximal static strength measurements of five arm muscle groups and of strength ratios (paretic/non-paretic) in subjects with poststroke hemiparesis.

Design: The generalizability theory was used to estimate the reliability coefficients and standard errors of measurement of maximal strength for various combinations of trials and sessions and of the strength ratios for one and two sessions. Grip maximal voluntary force and/or maximal voluntary torques exerted by flexor and extensor muscles at both the elbow and shoulder joints were measured in 17 subjects with poststroke hemiparesis. Multiple trials were performed by subjects during two sessions.

Setting: Rehabilitation centre.

Subjects: A convenience sample of 17 subjects with poststroke hemiparesis.

Results: The reliability coefficients for the strength measurements were in the range of 0.81-0.97 with standard errors of measurement accounting for 4% to 20% of the group means. For the strength ratios, the coefficients of generalizability ranged from 0.76 to 0.95 with standard errors of measurement equal to 6% to 19% of the group means.

Conclusions: The maximal strength measurements of the arms in subjects with hemiparesis are reliable. The strength ratios are also reliable and can be used to quantify strength impairment.
Comparison of the 40-item Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assessment Questionnaire (ALSAQ-40) with a short-form five-item version (ALSAQ-5) in a longitudinal survey
Authors: Jenkinson C , Fitzpatrick R , Swash M , Jones G
Published: February 2007

Objectives: To compare results on the 40-item Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assessment Questionnaire (ALSAQ-40) with those gained on the short-form five-item Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assessment Questionnaire (ALSAQ-5) in a longitudinal study.

Design: Postal survey. Copies of the ALSAQ-40 which incorporates the five items of the ALSAQ-5, were completed on two occasions. Respondents were also asked to indicate how much change they had experienced since baseline on each of the five domains of the questionnaire.

Setting: The database of all patient members of the Motor Neurone Disease Association for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Subjects: Nine hundred and twenty-seven patient members returned questionnaires at baseline, and 764 completed questionnaires at both baseline and follow-up.

Results: Results on the five dimensions of the ALSAQ-40 and ALSAQ-5 were found to be highly correlated, and 95% confidence intervals on mean scores were found to overlap for each dimension. The instruments both provide a similar picture of change in terms of their responsiveness. For example, effect sizes were calculated for patients who claimed their health had deteriorated a little since baseline, and gave almost identical results (e.g. for the Physical functioning domain effect sizes of 0.12 and 0.11 were found on the long and short measures respectively).

Conclusions: Results suggests that the ALSAQ-5 provides similar results to the ALSAQ-40 yet with considerable economy. In instances where a very brief health status measure is required then the ALSAQ-5 may be the instrument of choice.
Cyproheptadine resembles clozapinein vivofollowing both acute and chronic administration in rats
Authors: Goudie Andrew J. , Cooper Gillian D. , Cole Jon C. , Sumnall Harry R.
Published: February 2007

Cyproheptadine is a cheap, widely available anti-allergy drug with a broad receptor binding profile which resembles that of clozapine. In rats discriminating clozapine from vehicle cyproheptadine mimicked clozapine very closely. Acutely it induced full generalization in the absence of response suppression, as observed with clozapine. Chronic administration of clozapine and cyproheptadine induced tolerance and cross-tolerance respectively to the clozapine stimulus. This was characterized by circa 3.5-fold parallel shifts to the right in the clozapine generalization curves. Such tolerance and cross-tolerance was spontaneously reversible, suggesting that it was pharmacodynamic, and that clozapine and cyproheptadine induce similar neuroadaptations when administered chronically. Administration of chlordiazepoxide at a very high dose induced no cross-tolerance to the clozapine stimulus showing the pharmacological specificity of tolerance. The clozapine stimulus is a compound cue involving actions at various receptors, and various clozapine-like antipsychotic (APD) drugs generalize fully to it. These data demonstrate that in vivo cyproheptadine resembles clozapine both acutely and chronically. Our findings, in conjunction with other actions of cyproheptadine - induction of weight gain, alleviation of clozapine withdrawal, anxiolytic actions, alleviation of ‘typical’ APD-induced motoric side effects, and some preliminary clinical findings - suggest that further study of cyproheptadine in conjunction with a ‘typical’ APD for the possible treatment of schizophrenia is merited at both pre-clinical and clinical levels.
PRN prescribing in psychiatric inpatients – potential for pharmacokinetic drug interactions
Authors: Davies Simon J. C. , Lennard Martin S. , Ghahramani Parviz , Pratt Peter , Robertson Andrea , Potokar John
Published: February 2007

Medications are commonly prescribed to psychiatric inpatients on a PRN ( pro re nata/as required) basis, allowing drugs to be administered on patient request or at nurses' discretion for psychiatric symptoms, treatment side effects or physical complaints. However, there has been no formal study of the pharmacokinetic implications of PRN prescribing. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of PRN drug prescription and administration, and to assess the potential for interactions involving CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 between drugs prescribed and administered to inpatients on psychiatry wards.

A cross-sectional survey of prescriptions on general adult and functional elderly psychiatric wards in one city was carried out.

Data were recorded from prescription charts of 323 inpatients (236 on general adult and 87 on functional elderly wards). Of 2089 prescriptions, 997 (48%) of prescriptions were on a PRN basis (most commonly benzodiazepines and other hypnotic agents, antipsychotics, analgesics and anticholinergic agents), but only 143 (14%) of these had been administered in the previous 24 hours. One fifth of patients were prescribed drug combinations interacting with CYP2D6 or CYP3A4 of potential clinical importance which included one or more drugs prescribed on a PRN basis.

PRN prescribing is common among inpatients in psychiatry, and may lead to cytochrome P450 mediated interactions. Prescribers should be aware of the potential for unpredictability in plasma concentrations, side effects and efficacy which PRN prescribing may cause through these interactions, particularly in old age psychiatry and in treatment of acute psychosis.
Is there a case for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the UK?
Authors: Sessa Ben
Published: February 2007

Much has been written in scientific and popular literature in recent years about the dangers surrounding the recreational use of the drug MDMA/ecstasy.

What is little known and understood however is the history of the apparently safe and effective use of MDMA as a therapeutic tool for psychotherapy. In this paper the author explores this history and describes the recent re-emergence of scientific interest in MDMA and other psychedelic drugs. There are currently several new double-blind randomised controlled trials underway re-visiting the subject. By acknowledging the limitations of this new research and emphasising the importance of exercising appropriate but realistic caution, the author asks that the medical profession consider a dispassionate and open-minded debate to examine whether MDMA might have a legitimate place as an adjunct to psychotherapy in modern psychiatric practice.
Emissions from baled municipal solid waste: I. Methodological approach for investigation of gaseous emissions
Authors: Nammari Diauddin R , Marques Marcia , Thörneby Lars , Hogland William , Mathiasson Lennart , Mårtensson Lennart
Published: February 2007

This paper presents a methodological approach for the study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air, emitted during storage of municipal solid waste in bales. Determination of VOCs was based on sampling with adsorbent tubes followed by automated analysis using on-line work-up with a thermal desorption unit directly connected to a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer. Using calculation algorithms and multidimensional statistical analysis of large amounts of data collected, the information was compressed and visualized. The approach was applied to initial measurements of emissions of VOCs from 24 bales composed of municipal solid waste, each bale stored in a wooden box. These bales were produced using the two types of baling equipment available, resulting in cylindrical or rectangular bales, with different densities. Hundreds of different VOCs emitted from these bales sorted out into groups with different chemical structure. Differences in VOC concentrations in air were found between wastes stored in cylindrical or rectangular bales. For instance, it was found that the concentration of VOCs (relative to the concentration of toluene), in the first experiment after storing, for cylindrical bales with six layers of LDPE was 115 ± 10 μg m-3, while for rectangular bales it was only 64 ± 8 μg m-3. The procedure used for data interpretation suggested different degradation mechanisms in different types of bales. The use of multiple data interfaces, multidimensional statistics and automated chemical analysis methods are likely to be more and more common for waste companies and waste research in the near future. This is due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject that relies heavily on various areas of science and information technology.
Characterization of a thermal power plant air heater washing waste: a case study from Iran
Authors: Saeedi M. , Amini H. R.
Published: February 2007

In Iran most of the electricity is generated by thermal power plants. As a result of fuel oil burning in winter time, the air heaters of the boilers have to be washed and cleaned frequently. The wastewater originating from air heater washing is then treated in an effluent treatment plant by chemical precipitation followed by dewatering of the sludge produced. The resulting waste is classified as specific industrial waste that should be characterized in detail under the Waste Management Act of Iran. The quantity of this waste produced in the studied power plant is about 20 tonnes year-1. In the present investigation, the first to be carried out in Iran, seven composite samples of dewatered sludge from air heater washing wastewater treatment were subjected to investigation of the physical properties, chemical composition and leaching properties. The most likely pollutants that were of concern in this study were heavy and other hazardous metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn and V). The results revealed that mean pH, wet and dry density and moisture content of the waste were 6.31, 1532 kg m-3, 1879 kg m-3 and 15.35%, respectively. Magnetite, SiO2, P2O5, CaO, Al2O3 and MgO were the main constituents of the waste with a weight percentage order of 68.88, 5.91, 3.39, 2.64, 2.59 and 1.76%, respectively. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure test results for some heavy and other hazardous metals showed that mean elemental concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in leachate were 0.06, 1.55, 5.49, 36.32, 209.10, 0.58, 314.06 and 24.84 mg L-1, respectively. According to the Waste Management Act of Iran this waste should be classified as hazardous and should be disposed of in accordance with hazardous waste disposal regulations.
Can Game(s) Theory Explain Culture?
Authors: Bednar Jenna , Page Scott
Published: February 2007

The hallmarks of cultural behavior include consistency within and across individuals, variance between populations, behavioral stickiness, and possibly suboptimal performance. In this article, we build a formal framework within which these behavioral attributes emerge from the interactions of purposive agents. We then derive mathematical results showing these behaviors are optimal given our assumptions. Our framework rests on two primary assumptions: (1) agents play ensembles of games, not just single games as is traditionally the case in evolutionary game theory models; and (2) agents have finite cognitive capacity. Our analysis combines agent-based techniques and mathematics, enabling us to explore dynamics and to prove when the behaviors produced by the agents are equilibria. Our results provide game theoretic foundations for cultural diversity and agent-based support for how cultural behavior might emerge.
Damage Identification in Plate-like Structures using Bending Moment Response Power Spectral Density
Authors: Bayissa W. L. , Haritos N.
Published: February 2007

In this article, a new damage-sensitive parameter based on bending moment response power spectral density (MSD) is presented for damage identification in two-dimensional plate-like structures. The total energy or the average output power under the bending MSD graph quantified by the zero order moment of the response spectral density, known as mean square value (MSV), is implemented as a principal response parameter. Damage indices (DIs) derived from MSV, namely relative changes in MSV, mean square value curvature (MSVC), normalized damage index, and relative root mean square error (RRMSE) are then used to detect and localize structural damage. The effectiveness of this approach is illustrated by comparing the results with those obtained from existing and well-established techniques, namely relative changes in natural frequencies, modal flexibilities, uniform load surfaces, and changes in curvatures, such as mode shape curvatures, modal flexibility curvatures, and uniform load surface curvatures. The significant advantage of the proposed technique is that both input–output and output-only damage identification problems can be treated. For the latter condition, the only assumption made is that the forcing function is stationary, ergodic white noise. The methods are illustrated on a simply supported RC rectangular plate subjected to simulated damage cases. Artificial damage simulating local stiffness degradation is introduced to the plate in terms of the material modulus at selected locations in the finite element (FE) model. The modal properties obtained from FE-based modal analyses of this plate for different damage condition states are used to generate the bending moment frequency response functions and MSD at simulated measurement grid points. Subsequently, MSV is computed for undamaged and damaged states from which the appropriate damage indices are obtained. The DIs obtained using different algorithms are used to identify and localize both single and multiple damage conditions.
Modeling the Propagation of Lamb Waves using a Genetic Algorithm and S-transformation
Authors: Wang X. , Tansel I. N.
Published: February 2007

Many structural health monitoring (SHM) applications in use monitor the progress of Lamb waves across a test object in order to detect structural problems, such as cracks and material losses. This study proposes the use of S-transformation techniques to identify the frequency–time domain characteristics and to reduce the noise of the signals at the receiver. Two time domain models, time delay–attenuation (DA) and time delay–attenuation–phase (DAP), are utilized to represent the propagation of Lamb waves in a compact and meaningful model. The parameters of the models are estimated by using genetic algorithm (GA) techniques. The results of the study show that the DA and DAP models work effectively on the simulated and experimental data.
Harmonic Class Loading for Damage Identification in Beams Using Wavelet Analysis
Authors: Khatam Hamed , Golafshani Ali Akbar , Beheshti-Aval S. B. , Noori Mohammad
Published: February 2007

The harmonic displacement response of a beam is utilized as the input signal function in wavelet analysis. Sudden changes in the spatial variation of transformed response identify the location of damages and defects. The damage incurred causes a change in the stiffness or mass of the beam. This causes a localized singularity which can be identified by a wavelet analysis of the displacement response. In this article, it is shown that using harmonic response is superior to the static deflection response and this approach is more effective in the presence of noise and more sensitive to the versatility of the applied harmonic loads.
Circuit Analysis of Impedance-based Health Monitoring of Beams Using Spectral Elements
Authors: Peairs Daniel M. , Inman Daniel J. , Park Gyuhae
Published: February 2007

A model is generally not needed for the basic damage identification problem when using the electromechanical impedance-based method of structural health monitoring (SHM). However, modeling becomes necessary when more information is needed for more complex functions of the SHM system, such as estimation of remaining life. In addition, suitable models would aid in more accurately identifying and locating damage and in designing the SHM system. Since impedance-based SHM relies on high frequency excitation of the structure using piezoelectric patches, finite element modeling may not be computationally efficient. In this study, the spectral element method (SEM) is used in combination with electric circuit analysis for impedance modeling. SEM more accurately models higher frequency vibrations than finite element methods since the mass is modeled exactly and it incorporates higher order models more easily. Simulations of sensor multiplexing, high frequency response, and the inclusion of damage are presented. Experimental verification is also included.
Dyslipidemia in an Asian Population After Treatment for Two Years With Protease Inhibitor-Containing Regimens
Authors: Kerr Stephen J. , Duncombe Chris , Avihingsanon Anchalee , Ananworanich Jintanat , Boyd Mark , Sopa Bunruan , Medtech B. , Chuenyam Theshinee , Cooper David A. , Lange Joep M.A. , Phanuphak Praphan , Ruxrungtham Kiat
Published: February 2007

There are limited data about dyslipidemia in Asian patients treated with combination antiretroviral therapy. To assess the relative association of different protease-inhibitor-containing regimens with the degree of dyslipidemia, fasting lipid levels were compared during 110 weeks in 250 nucleoside-experienced but protease-inhibitor-naïve Thai patients beginning treatment with 5 protease-inhibitor-containing regimens. Regimens were (1) stavudine, didanosine, and saquinavir; (2) zidovudine, lamivudine, and saquinavir; (3) zidovudine, lamivudine, and indinavir; (4) zidovudine, lamivudine, and ritonavir-boosted indinavir; and (5) efavirenz and ritonavir-boosted indinavir. Triglyceride levels were available for all patients; total cholesterol and high-densitylipoprotein cholesterol levels were available for patients receiving indinavir. The strongest predictors of dyslipidemia after beginning protease-inhibitor-based therapy were treatment regimen and baseline dyslipidemia. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol changes from baseline to week 110 were significant in patients taking ritonavir-boosted indinavir. Efavirenz and ritonavir-boosted indinavir were associated with significant high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol increases compared with other regimens. Non-stavudine-containing non-boosted protease-inhibitor-based highly active antiretroviral treatment regimens had the least association with dyslipidemia.
HIV/AIDS Occurrence in the Main University Teaching Hospital in Cameroon
Authors: Kengne André Pascal , Kaze François Folefack , Dzudie Anastase , Awah Paschal Kum , Ngu Kattlen Blackett
Published: February 2007

Aim: This study describes the impact of HIV/AIDS on the inpatient service of the main teaching hospital in Cameroon in 2001.

Methods: The authors analyzed routinely collected hospital data and data validated by survey of clinical notes.

Results: Admission and bed utilization rates for HIV/AIDS over the period accounted for 20.1% and 17%, respectively, primarily due to the management of opportunistic infections in young people (mean age, 39.9 years). Housewives (21.9%) and students (10.3%) were the most identified groups. Tuberculosis (23.3%), the most frequent infection, was associated with a good prognosis. Hospital stay ranged from 1 to 99 days. HIV/AIDS accounted for 49.3% of deaths registered.

Conclusion: HIV/AIDS is the major cause of hospital admissions and death in this service. This situation is likely to remain constant for some time given the national prevalence of HIV. Consideration needs to be given to the options for prevention and provision of care.
Churches’ Responses to HIV/AIDS in Two South African Communities
Authors: Krakauer Mark , Newbery Jodie
Published: February 2007

Churches have attracted controversy for how they have dealt with AIDS: they have been criticized for moral stigmatism, yet lauded for their charitable works. Our purpose was to examine what churches were doing at the grass-roots level to deal with the impact of AIDS on their communities. This study was conducted in a rural area and an urban area outside of Durban, South Africa, a region with high HIV prevalence rates. We examined 2 indigenous churches (Shembe and Zionist) and one international church (Roman Catholic) in each community. We found that there was a widespread awareness of AIDS among church leaders and community members, and that churches were used as health resources by their members, yet no AIDS programs were run by any of the churches in the study locations. We argue that 4 key characteristics dictated the churches’ responses to AIDS: resources, organizational structure, cultural appeal, and discipline. There are distinct advantages to partnering with churches for AIDS programming, yet significant complexities to navigating a meaningful dialogue with them also exist.
CD38/CD19: a lipid raft–dependent signaling complex in human B cells
Authors: Deaglio Silvia , Vaisitti Tiziana , Billington Richard , Bergui Luciana , Omede' Paola , Genazzani Armando A. , Malavasi Fabio
Published: February 2007

The present work deals with the mechanisms of signal transduction mediated via CD38 in normal and neoplastic human B lymphocytes. The results indicate that CD38 is a receptor and that CD38-mediated signals are tightly regulated at 3 distinct levels. The first concerns the structural organization of CD38, which is clearly divided into monomeric and dimeric forms. The second level of regulation is based on the dynamic localization of CD38 molecules in lipid microdomains within the plasma membrane. Lateral associations with other proteins, namely with the CD19/CD81 complex, determine the third level of control. Raft localization and association with the CD19 complex are prerequisites for CD38-mediated signals in tonsillar B cells and in continuous lines. Lastly, the results indicate that lipid microdomain disruption and silencing of CD19 directly impacts on CD38's ability to mediate Ca2+ fluxes, while leaving its surface expression unchanged. CD38 is also an enzyme capable of producing several calcium-mobilizing metabolites including cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (cADPR). Our inability to identify a correlation between the production of cADPR and the receptorial functions support the hypothesis that CD38 is a pleiotropic molecule whose behavior as a receptor is independent from its enzymatic activity.
Phylo-mLogo: an interactive and hierarchical multiple-logo visualization tool for alignment of many sequences
Authors: Shih Arthur Chun-Chieh , Lee DT , Peng Chin-Lin , Wu Yu-Wei
Published: February 2007

Background

When aligning several hundreds or thousands of sequences, such as epidemic virus sequences or homologous/orthologous sequences of some big gene families, to reconstruct the epidemiological history or their phylogenies, how to analyze and visualize the alignment results of many sequences has become a new challenge for computational biologists. Although there are several tools available for visualization of very long sequence alignments, few of them are applicable to the alignments of many sequences.

Results

A multiple-logo alignment visualization tool, called Phylo-mLogo, is presented in this paper. Phylo-mLogo calculates the variabilities and homogeneities of alignment sequences by base frequencies or entropies. Different from the traditional representations of sequence logos, Phylo-mLogo not only displays the global logo patterns of the whole alignment of multiple sequences, but also demonstrates their local homologous logos for each clade hierarchically. In addition, Phylo-mLogo also allows the user to focus only on the analysis of some important, structurally or functionally constrained sites in the alignment selected by the user or by built-in automatic calculation.

Conclusion

With Phylo-mLogo, the user can symbolically and hierarchically visualize hundreds of aligned sequences simultaneously and easily check the changes of their amino acid sites when analyzing many homologous/orthologous or influenza virus sequences. More information of Phylo-mLogo can be found at URL http://biocomp.iis.sinica.edu.tw/phylomlogo.