bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hyperhomocysteinemia Promotes Inflammatory Monocyte Generation and Accelerates Atherosclerosis in Transgenic Cystathionine β-Synthase–Deficient Mice
Authors: Zhang Daqing , Jiang Xiaohua , Fang Pu , Yan Yan , Song Jian , Gupta Sapna , Schafer Andrew I. , Durante William , Kruger Warren D. , Yang Xiaofeng , Wang Hong
Published: October 2009

Background—

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Monocytes display inflammatory and resident subsets and commit to specific functions in atherogenesis. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that HHcy modulates monocyte heterogeneity and leads to atherosclerosis.

Methods and Results—

We established a novel atherosclerosis-susceptible mouse model with both severe HHcy and hypercholesterolemia in which the mouse cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) and apolipoprotein E (apoE) genes are deficient and an inducible human CBS transgene is introduced to circumvent the neonatal lethality of the CBS deficiency (

Tg-hCBS apoE
−/−
Cbs
−/−

mice). Severe HHcy accelerated atherosclerosis and inflammatory monocyte/macrophage accumulation in lesions and increased plasma tumor necrosis factor-α and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels in

Tg-hCBS apoE
−/−
Cbs
−/−

mice fed a high-fat diet. Furthermore, we characterized monocyte heterogeneity in

Tg-hCBS apoE
−/−
Cbs
−/−

mice and another severe HHcy mouse model (

Tg-S466L Cbs
−/−

) with a disease-relevant mutation (
Tg-S466L
) that lacks hyperlipidemia. HHcy increased monocyte population and selective expansion of inflammatory Ly-6C
hi
and Ly-6C
mid
monocyte subsets in blood, spleen, and bone marrow of

Tg-S466L Cbs
−/−

and

Tg-hCBS apoE
−/−
Cbs
−/−

mice. These changes were exacerbated in

Tg-S466L Cbs
−/−

mice with aging. Addition of
l
-homocysteine (100 to 500 μmol/L), but not
l
-cysteine, maintained the Ly-6C
hi
subset and induced the Ly-6C
mid
subset in cultured mouse primary splenocytes. Homocysteine-induced differentiation of the Ly-6C
mid
subset was prevented by catalase plus superoxide dismutase and the NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor apocynin.

Conclusion—

HHcy promotes differentiation of inflammatory monocyte subsets and their accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions via NAD(P)H oxidase–mediated oxidant stress.
Validation of a Case Definition to Define Hypertension Using Administrative Data
Authors: Quan Hude , Khan Nadia , Hemmelgarn Brenda R. , Tu Karen , Chen Guanmin , Campbell Norm , Hill Michael D. , Ghali William A. , McAlister Finlay A.
Published: October 2009

We validated the accuracy of case definitions for hypertension derived from administrative data across time periods (year 2001 versus 2004) and geographic regions using physician charts. Physician charts were randomly selected in rural and urban areas from Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, during years 2001 and 2004. Physician charts were linked with administrative data through unique personal health number. We reviewed charts of ≈50 randomly selected patients >35 years of age from each clinic within 48 urban and 16 rural family physician clinics to identify physician diagnoses of hypertension during the years 2001 and 2004. The validity indices were estimated for diagnosed hypertension using 3 years of administrative data for the 8 case-definition combinations. Of the 3362 patient charts reviewed, the prevalence of hypertension ranged from 18.8% to 33.3%, depending on the year and region studied. The administrative data hypertension definition of “2 claims within 2 years or 1 hospitalization” had the highest validity relative to the other definitions evaluated (sensitivity 75%, specificity 94%, positive predictive value 81%, negative predictive value 92%, and κ 0.71). After adjustment for age, sex, and comorbid conditions, the sensitivities between regions, years, and provinces were not significantly different, but the positive predictive value varied slightly across geographic regions. These results provide evidence that administrative data can be used as a relatively valid source of data to define cases of hypertension for surveillance and research purposes.
LASE Measurements of Water Vapor, Aerosol, and Cloud Distributions in Saharan Air Layers and Tropical Disturbances
Authors: Ismail Syed , Ferrare Richard A. , Browell Edward V. , Chen Gao , Anderson Bruce , Kooi Susan A. , Notari Anthony , Butler Carolyn F. , Burton Sharon , Fenn Marta , Dunion Jason P. , Heymsfield Gerry , Krishnamurti T. N. , Biswas Mrinal K.
Published: October 2009

The Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) on board the NASA DC-8 measured high-resolution profiles of water vapor and aerosols, and cloud distributions in 14 flights over the eastern North Atlantic during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) field experiment. These measurements were used to study African easterly waves (AEWs), tropical cyclones (TCs), and the Saharan air layer (SAL). These LASE measurements represent the first simultaneous water vapor and aerosol lidar measurements to study the SAL and its interactions with AEWs and TCs. Three case studies were selected for detailed analysis: (i) a stratified SAL, with fine structure and layering (unlike a well-mixed SAL), (ii) a SAL with high relative humidity (RH), and (iii) an AEW surrounded by SAL dry air intrusions. Profile measurements of aerosol scattering ratios, aerosol extinction coefficients, aerosol optical thickness, water vapor mixing ratios, RH, and temperature are presented to illustrate their characteristics in the SAL, convection, and clear air regions. LASE extinction-to-backscatter ratios for the dust layers varied from 35 ± 5 to 45 ± 5 sr, well within the range of values determined by other lidar systems. LASE aerosol extinction and water vapor profiles are validated by comparison with onboard in situ aerosol measurements and GPS dropsonde water vapor soundings, respectively. An analysis of LASE data suggests that the SAL suppresses low-altitude convection. Midlevel convection associated with the AEW and transport are likely responsible for high water vapor content observed in the southern regions of the SAL on 20 August 2008. This interaction is responsible for the transfer of about 7 × 1015 J (or 8 × 103 J m−2) latent heat energy within a day to the SAL. Initial modeling studies that used LASE water vapor profiles show sensitivity to and improvements in model forecasts of an AEW.
The Linear Stability of Time-Dependent Baroclinic Shear
Authors: Poulin F. J.
Published: October 2009

This article aims to advance the understanding of inherent randomness in geophysical fluids by considering the particular example of baroclinic shear flows that are spatially uniform in the horizontal directions and aperiodic in time. The time variability of the shear is chosen to be the Kubo oscillator, which is a family of time-dependent bounded noise that is oscillatory in nature with various degrees of stochasticity.

The author analyzed the linear stability of a wide range of temporally periodic and aperiodic shears with a zero and nonzero mean to get a more complete understanding of the effect of oscillations in shear flows in the context of the two-layer quasigeostrophic Phillips model. It is determined that the parametric mode, which exists in the periodic limit, also exists in the range of small and moderate stochasticities but vanishes in highly erratic flows. Moreover, random variations weaken the effects of periodicity and yield growth rates more similar to that of the time-averaged steady-state analog. This signifies that the periodic shear flows possess the most extreme case of stabilization and destabilization and are thus anomalous. In the limit of an f plane, the linear stability problem is solved exactly to reveal that individual solutions to the linear dynamics with time-dependent baroclinic shear have growth rates that are equal to that of the time-averaged steady state. This implies that baroclinic shear flows with zero means are linearly stable in that they do not grow exponentially in time. This means that the stochastic mode that was found to exist in the Mathieu equation does not arise in this model. However, because the perturbations grow algebraically, the aperiodic baroclinic shear on an f plane can give rise to nonlinear instabilities.
Equitability Revisited: Why the “Equitable Threat Score” Is Not Equitable
Authors: Hogan Robin J. , Ferro Christopher A. T. , Jolliffe Ian T. , Stephenson David B.
Published: October 2009

In the forecasting of binary events, verification measures that are “equitable” were defined by Gandin and Murphy to satisfy two requirements: 1) they award all random forecasting systems, including those that always issue the same forecast, the same expected score (typically zero), and 2) they are expressible as the linear weighted sum of the elements of the contingency table, where the weights are independent of the entries in the table, apart from the base rate. The authors demonstrate that the widely used “equitable threat score” (ETS), as well as numerous others, satisfies neither of these requirements and only satisfies the first requirement in the limit of an infinite sample size. Such measures are referred to as “asymptotically equitable.” In the case of ETS, the expected score of a random forecasting system is always positive and only falls below 0.01 when the number of samples is greater than around 30. Two other asymptotically equitable measures are the odds ratio skill score and the symmetric extreme dependency score, which are more strongly inequitable than ETS, particularly for rare events; for example, when the base rate is 2% and the sample size is 1000, random but unbiased forecasting systems yield an expected score of around −0.5, reducing in magnitude to −0.01 or smaller only for sample sizes exceeding 25 000. This presents a problem since these nonlinear measures have other desirable properties, in particular being reliable indicators of skill for rare events (provided that the sample size is large enough). A potential way to reconcile these properties with equitability is to recognize that Gandin and Murphy’s two requirements are independent, and the second can be safely discarded without losing the key advantages of equitability that are embodied in the first. This enables inequitable and asymptotically equitable measures to be scaled to make them equitable, while retaining their nonlinearity and other properties such as being reliable indicators of skill for rare events. It also opens up the possibility of designing new equitable verification measures.
Towards Domain-specific Model Editors with Automatic Model Completion
Authors: Sen Sagar , Baudry Benoit , Vangheluwe Hans
Published: October 2009

Integrated development environments such as Eclipse allow users to write programs quickly by presenting a set of recommendations for code completion. Similarly, word processing tools such as Microsoft Word present corrections for grammatical errors in sentences. Both of these existing structure editors use a set of constraints expressed in the form of a natural language grammar to restrict/correct the user ( syntax-directed editing) or formal grammar ( language-directed editing ) to aid document completion. Taking this idea further, in this paper we present an integrated software system capable of generating recommendations for model completion of partial models built in editors for domain-specific modeling languages. We present a methodology to synthesize model editors equipped with automatic completion from a modeling language’s declarative specification consisting of a meta-model with a visual syntax. This meta-model directed completion feature is powered by a first-order relational logic engine implemented in ALLOY. We incorporate automatic completion in the generative tool AToM3. We use the finite state machines modeling language as a concise running example. Our approach leverages a correct by construction philosophy that renders subsequent simulation of models considerably less error-prone.
The Gulf in the imagination
Authors: Radhakrishnan Ratheesh
Published: October 2009

This article, taking up for analysis the three-decade-long relationship between the economy influenced by the Gulf and Malayalam cinema, in its industrial and narrative context, argues that the Gulf has been a significant point of reference for the imagining of a cultural identity in Kerala. It attempts to weave together three aspects—the development models that are in place, the economic conditions within which the film industry operates and the textual aspects of the films produced—to foreground the links between the economy, aesthetics and the imagining of regional identity. I argue that the contestation over regional identity was played out on aesthetic grounds, where the wealth and objects associated with the Gulf economy were deployed both at the formal and thematic levels, to produce claims about the legitimacy and desirability of the changes that become visible in the economic and social hierarchies within the region. The article examines the representations of the Gulf within the region, using select films from the commercial and art house cinemas of the 1970s, and middlebrow cinema of the 1980s and the turn of the century. These are read along with the economic changes within the film industry and the discourse of development in the region to mark the shifts that have happened to the desires and despairs associated with the Gulf dream.
Handled with discretion
Authors: Macdonald Helen M.
Published: October 2009

The Indian state of Chhattisgarh has been continually confronted with violent assaults and murder targeting individuals who are believed to practice witchcraft. By sketching the murder of accused witch, Kulwantin Bai Nishad, in 1995, I highlight the way prevailing assumptions about witchcraft, long held by the media, police and state, were contested. Intersecting with a national and state discourse of modernist ideals, witch-related violence has been transformed into a politicised object that signals extreme underdevelopment in a state whose legitimacy depends upon progress and development. The Indian Police Service (IPS), the foremost organisation to contend with these issues, maintains a crucial role in administering the citizen–state encounter. Commonly associated with attributes of corruption, misuse of authority, violence and partisan politics, the police official emerged in the findings as an ordinary citizen having a special and sometimes difficult public job. By examining a discretionary ‘practice’ at work in police dealings with witchcraft accusations, I argue that power shapes what is recognised as criminal behaviour, the significance assigned to a crime and therefore, practices of policing. This article concludes that discretionary power opens up a terrain of unpredictability and ‘formlessness’ that lends hope for citizen rights.
Democracy’s Labor
Authors: Albro Robert
Published: October 2009

Despite recent constitutional reforms, Bolivian democracy struggles to reconcile the inclusive rhetoric of state reform, the expansion of rights, and special attention to previously ignored groups, on the one hand, with continued poverty, inequality, and a history of state abandonment of the majority, on the other. This “disjunctive democracy” produced a series of standoffs, often violent, between the state and popular-indigenous coalitions between 2000 and 2005. Throughout, popular memory was one vehicle for protest in which distinct democratic commitments—one constitutional or representative, the other participatory and direct—collided. The response of one exceptional labor union to the era’s neoliberal democratization, that of the Manaco Shoe Factory in Quillacollo, highlights this disjunctive democracy. The centrality in workers’ accounts of the political struggle of the k’araku (union assembly), with its remembered ideals of reciprocity, trust, accountability, and collective unity, differentiates popular from procedural democracy. The case of Manaco emphasizes that democratic reform in Bolivia will have to take account of the way culture informs the popular political imagination.
Community Remembering
Authors: Barbera Rosemary
Published: October 2009

The dictatorship in Chile perpetrated massive human rights violations for 17 years, causing a rupture in social processes and engendering fear in the population. Data being gathered in an ongoing participatory action research study of the población (shantytown) La Pincoya show that while memory can be debilitating to most persons, it may empower others. Memories of the practices of the military regime continue to cause fear in some of the population, affecting community cohesion and participation in local organizations. This has led to the dismantling of social networks in the community, robbing members of their ability to be the protagonists of their own lives.
Popular Power, Oral History, and Collective Memory in Contemporary Chile
Authors: Gaudichaud Franck
Published: October 2009

Chile’s collective memory has been brutalized by state-implemented terrorism. This historical process has resulted in, among other things, a “torn collective memory.” The history and memory of the period of so-called popular power (1970—1973) continue to be largely unknown. Oral history allows us to begin a slow process of historical reconstruction as well as to reflect on the construction of militant memories.
Latent Image
Authors: Pino-Ojeda Walescka
Published: October 2009

Central to the analysis of a corpus of films dealing with current psychosocial conditions in Chile and the challenges of communal reconciliation, are the concepts of collective memory and social trauma. Chilean cinema of the postdictatorship reflects a society whose channels of communication have been broken, in which the past continues to be a source of contestation and dispute. The neoliberal system imposed in the early 1970s has significantly contributed to an isolation and disaffection that limit the possibilities of social healing. Cinema has assumed the role of recovering a sense of community by disallowing the privatization of pain fostered by the hegemonic political practices and discourses of the period of dictatorship by returning this suffering to the social arena from which it originated.
State Formation and Social Memory in Sandinista Politics
Authors: Tatar Bradley
Published: October 2009

The 2006 Nicaraguan elections saw a victory for Daniel Ortega, who has continually been identified as an icon of the revolutionary era in which the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) destroyed the Somoza regime and formed a revolutionary government. Ortega’s success can be better understood by viewing the Nicaraguan Revolution as a state formation process in which popular culture is a field of conflict between social groups. The conflict here is between party militants and Sandinista supporters who do not enjoy the privileges of membership. Examination of oral histories reveals that the conflict between militants and popular combatants began in the Insurrection of Monimbó. The FSLN has appropriated and used the social memories of the combatants to produce its own history of that insurrection. Social memories reflect concrete processes of political subordination that result in the production of a dominant political language.
Ricardo Piglia’s The Absent City
Authors: Wirshing Irene
Published: October 2009

The Argentine novelist Ricardo Piglia’s The Absent City reflects upon the retrieval of the past as a prerequisite for healing from national trauma. If postdictatorship countries are to implement a transition to democracy, their citizens must confront the past. The denial of national trauma perpetuates tyranny. Taken together, the many fragmented stories in Piglia’s novel can be viewed as a metaphor for the process of retrieving a repressed history. The central trope of the novel is Elena, a gendered machine made responsible for integrating Argentina’s past dissociations and making healing possible.
Institutionalizing Behavior‐Based Privacy
Authors: Demchak Chris C. , Fenstermacher Kurt D.
Published: October 2009

After 9/11, a bitter national debate emerged pitting privacy against security. No theory of privacy or domestic security and no compromise blend of institutional insights and technological advances have been proposed to meet this dilemma. This work fills that gap by offering a middle ground proposing a knowledge‐based systems focus that parses privacy into two separable concepts: behavior and identity in the behavior–identity–knowledge (BIK) model. The authors outline a plan for a BIK‐sensible world involving initial steps to simulate behavior choices, streamlined social identity masking, and the institutional adaptations required for a practical compromise between security and privacy.
Culture and Communication
Authors: Leonard Karen Moustafa , Van Scotter James R. , Pakdil Fatma
Published: October 2009

Advances in communication technologies have made great progress in bridging time and distance, but social and cultural differences are still formidable obstacles to effective communication. Communication processes occur in specific cultural contexts, with unique normative beliefs, assumptions, and shared symbols. Culture influences what people communicate, to whom they communicate, and how they communicate. There has been little systematic cross‐cultural research to explicate the effects of communication media on communication effectiveness. This article proposes cultural effects on perceptions of media effectiveness. The authors advance conceptual knowledge by presenting new perspectives on the cultural effects on individuals’ perception of media and their effectiveness.
Presidential Policy Initiatives and Agency Compliance
Authors: Joaquin M. Ernita , Greitens Thomas J.
Published: October 2009

Adding to a long line of bureaucratic reforms, the Bush administration launched an invigorated competitive sourcing policy known as A‐76. In the A‐76 process, government commercial activities were subjected to regular cost comparisons with other potential providers, especially from the private sector, and awarded to the most efficient provider. Many agencies had trouble complying with the policy without hurting organizational interests. This article examines the bureaucracy’s reaction to this important presidential initiative. The authors find that agency responses to this initiative fell along a continuum and that bureaucratic power was exercised in complex ways as agencies adapted to competition and greater hollowing out.
Engaging the City: Civic Participation and Teaching Urban History
Authors: Howard Amy L.
Published: October 2009

Building on a long history of community outreach in higher education, many colleges and universities are taking a more intentional approach to civic engagement. As urban higher education institutions strive to become better neighbors, urban history courses have a valuable role to play in generating research, building connections between the campus and the community, and engaging students in the cities where they study. Using a course-based living-learning community as a case study, this article demonstrates the way an urban history course at the University of Richmond links pedagogy and community engagement. Through “learning out” assignments that include producing a documentary on a local social issue within a national historical context and blogging, students share what they are learning with others outside the class with the aim of urging action for social change.
Hypothalamic—Pituitary— Adrenal Axis Dysregulation in Women With Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Response to Acute Physical Stress
Authors: FitzGerald Leah Z. , Kehoe Priscilla , Sinha Karabi
Published: October 2009

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) supports the concept of a dysregulated hypothalamic—pituitary—adrenal (HPA) axis. This study investigates the neuroendocrine and psychological responses to the acute physical stress of a lumbar puncture (LP) in women with diarrhea-predominant IBS by assessing central and peripheral HPA activity and affective measures. Blood samples have been collected at baseline and immediately post- and 1 hr following LP from 13 women with IBS and 13 controls. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels are analyzed. A single measure of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRFCSF) and norepinephrine CSF is noted. Affective assessments are used to rate anxiety and depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and acute mood state is rated using the Stress Symptom Rating questionnaire (stress, anxiety, anger, arousal). The women with IBS display blunted ACTH and cortisol responses to the LP along with a profile of affective responsiveness suggestive of chronic psychosocial stress, although no CRF CSF differences between groups are observed.
Academic, Social, and Behavioral Outcomes at Age 12 of Infants Born Preterm
Authors: Winchester Suzy Barcelos , Sullivan Mary C. , Marks Amy Kerivan , Doyle Thomas , DePalma Jennifer , McGrath Margaret M.
Published: October 2009

The effects of gradient levels of perinatal morbidity on school outcomes have been investigated at age 12 in four preterm groups, classified as healthy (no medical or neurological illness), medical morbidity, neurological morbidity, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA), and a full-term comparison group. Teachers report on academic competence, social skills, and problem behaviors. Data on school type, classroom setting, and school service use are gathered from school records. Preterm groups are found to be equivalent to full-term peers in social skills and problem behavior. Preterm groups with neurological and SGA morbidity have the lowest academic competence scores. Unexpectedly, preterm infants with medical morbidity have higher academic competence scores compared with the other preterm groups. School service use increases with greater perinatal morbidity and is contingent on multiple rather than single indicators of perinatal morbidity. Continued monitoring of preterm infants through early adolescence will ensure that appropriate school services and resources are available to maximize their school success.
Predictors of Self-Efficacy to Use Condoms Among Seropositive Middle-Aged African American Men
Authors: Coleman Christopher Lance , Ball Katherine
Published: October 2009

Condom use during sexual encounters continues to be a challenge for seropositive individuals. Hence, the influence of personal characteristics, AIDS knowledge, and religious well-being on perceived self-efficacy to use condoms has been examined in a convenience nonprobabilistic sample of 130 middle-aged seropositive African American men from the Mid-Atlantic region. AIDS knowledge and religious well-being are strongly related to self-efficacy to use condoms. These findings indicate that it is critical to explore further the relationship of AIDS knowledge and religious well-being with self-efficacy to use condoms.
Socio-Economic Vulnerability and Neo-Liberalism
Authors: Rahman Shahidur
Published: October 2009

Based on a case study of an export-oriented Bangladeshi garment company, this article shows how hierarchies of vulnerability have developed in the process of global integration of Bangladesh’s garment industry. Situating the problem of economic dependency in a globalised context within a broader political economy discussion of local Bangladeshi scenarios, the study illustrates how such patterns of development are shaped by internal as well as external social and political forces that create conditions of vulnerability.
The Medical and Social Costs of Consanguineous Marriages among British Mirpuris
Authors: Hasan Khola
Published: October 2009

Consanguineous marriage has been widespread within the Pakistani Mirpuri community in Britain today. Such marriage arrangements are now increasingly perceived to create various problems and harms, including a high degree of insularity with barriers to integration and lack of contact with the wider community. Many instances of forced marriage give rise to human rights concerns. Since such marriages are often arranged with partners from Pakistan to aid the extended family financially, large-scale immigration from Pakistan into Britain continues. Many of these new spouses cannot speak English and are unfamiliar with English culture, which continues to slow down the pace of integration of Mirpuris. The article highlights particularly that the rates of consanguineous marriage are increasing within this particular community despite awareness of the medical risks involved, including an increase in congenital defects and infant mortality. Serious and culturally sensitive thought needs to be given on all sides, therefore, to addressing such issues rather than infl ating controversies and damaging community relations.
The impact of different biocompatible coated cardiopulmonary bypass circuits on inflammatory response and oxidative stress
Authors: Sohn N. , Marcoux J. , Mycyk T. , Krahn J. , Meng QH
Published: October 2009

This study was to compare the impact of different biocompatible coated circuits on inflammatory response and oxidative stress induced during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Seventy-eight patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with CPB were randomly assigned to five groups with different biocompatible coated circuits: Trillium, Bioline, Phosphorylcholine, Polymethoxyethyl acrylate (PMEA), and the uncoated control group. Blood was drawn at three different time points: before CPB, 6 and 72 hours post CPB. Unlike the Trillium group, serum levels of TNF-α in the Bioline and Phosphorylcholine groups significantly increased only at 72 hours post CPB (p < 0.05). Serum levels of IL-6 significantly increased at 6 and 72 hours post CPB in all groups (p < 0.01). The Trillium group showed a significant increase of IL-10 compared to the control group at 72 hours post CPB (p < 0.05). Serum levels of NOx in the Phosphorylcholine group significantly decreased at 6 hours post CPB compared to baseline (p < 0.05). Both the Bioline and Phosphorylcholine groups showed statistical decreases in serum NOx levels compared with other groups at 6 hours post CPB (p < 0.05). A significant difference in NOx levels between the Bioline and the control group was also observed at 72 hours post CPB. Myeloperoxidase levels were significantly elevated at 6 and 72 hours post CPB in all groups (p < 0.05). Inflammatory response and oxidative stress are elevated during CABG with CPB. Heparin-coated and the Phosphorylcholine-coated circuits induce less inflammatory responses and oxidative stress compared to other circuits.
Mapping the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) Measurement into the Generic EuroQol (EQ-5D) Health Outcome
Authors: Rivero-Arias Oliver , Ouellet Melissa , Gray Alastair , Wolstenholme Jane , Rothwell Peter M. , Luengo-Fernandez Ramon
Published: October 2009

Background. Mapping disease-specific instruments into generic health outcomes or utility values is an expanding field of interest in health economics. This article constructs an algorithm to translate the modified Rankin scale (mRS) into EQ-5D utility values. Methods. mRS and EQ-5D information was derived from stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients identified as part of the Oxford Vascular study (OXVASC). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to predict UK EQ-5D tariffs from mRS scores. An alternative method, using multinomial logistic regression with a Monte Carlo simulation approach (MLogit) to predict responses to each EQ-5D question, was also explored. The performance of the models was compared according to the magnitude of their predicted-to-actual mean EQ-5D tariff difference, their mean absolute and mean squared errors (MAE and MSE), and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Out-of-sample validation was carried out in a subset of coronary disease and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) patients also identified as part of OXVASC but not used in the original estimation. Results. The OLS and MLogit yielded similar MAE and MSE in the internal and external validation data sets. Both approaches also underestimated the uncertainty around the actual mean EQ-5D tariff producing tighter 95% CIs in both data sets. Conclusions. The choice of algorithm will be dependent on the study aim. Individuals outside the United Kingdom may find it more useful to use the multinomial results, which can be used with different country-specific tariff valuations. However, these algorithms should not replace prospective collection of utility data.
Beyond Theological Differences
Authors: Bahuguna Rameshwar Prasad
Published: October 2009

For almost a century now, scholars of medieval Indian bhakti devotionalism have relied upon the nirgun-sagun model to understand the theological and ideological differences between the sants and vaishnavas. More recently, some scholars have begun to question the idea of the existence of an impermeable divide between the two groups of bhakti devotees, while others have reinterpreted and enlarged the nirgun-sagun dichotomy by including in its scope the caste-based social divisions between the nirgun sants and sagun vaishnavas. This article seeks to argue that while the religious, social and political perceptions of early santism cannot be understood without taking recourse to the nirgun-sagun divide, such an approach is less useful in explaining the complex process of conflict and negotiation between later santism and vaishnavism. The sant-vanis and bhakti hagiographies of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries point to a situation in which a wide range of new bhakti-based cultural strategies were invented by the later sants, vaishnavas, and their followers to reinforce and strengthen their respective claims to spiritual supremacy. Moreover, by defying the nirgun-sagun distinctions, the two-way interaction between the later sants and vaishnavas produced loosely structured but extremely subversive and mixed sant–vaishnava communities.
Sayyid Ahmad Khan's Representations of Sufi Life of Shahjahanabad (Delhi)
Authors: Khan Gulfishan
Published: October 2009

The paper seeks to highlight Sayyid Ahmad Khan's representation of the religious life of the Mughal Delhi/Shahjahanabad during the first half of the nineteenth century as portrayed in Asar al-Sanadid the archaeological history of the city of Delhi. The work from the pen of one of the most articulate Muslim of nineteenth-century South Asia is not only about the buildings and monuments of Delhi but it is also a significant document for restructuring the social and intellectual life of the imperial city during the period of colonial ascendancy. Sayyid Ahmad Khan's account of the Sufi life as portrayed in Asar al-Sanadid, shows that the mysticism ( tasawwuf) the social manifestation of devotion, piety, and Islamic scholarship was an integral part of Islamic lifestyle of urban elite and notables of the imperial metropolis. It is a picture of reformed Sufism and Sufi practices as embodied in the person of eighteenth-century savant Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi. Despite its acknowledged authenticity, the account presented a highly idealised view, if not romanticised one, of the mystic life with no consideration of impact of the socio-economic changes that occurred after the colonial takeover of the city. It is being argued that the economic policies of the new rulers adversely affected the social life of the city. The cultural and religious establishments such as the mosques, madrasas and khanqahs (Sufi hospices), as well as the individuals whose fate was bound with these institutions, came under heavy strains and stresses. The Mughal capital and its inhabitants were groaning under colonial repression, which found its expression in the great Revolt of 1857. But the resistance to the colonial rule proved even more disastrous. The punishment that followed in the wake of British retribution meant that the life of the city would not be the same again. The religious places and institutions as well as the people associated with these centres of learning became the prime target because of the perceived British association of these spiritual centres with the rebels whom they called Mujahidin (warriors in defense of the faith). Consequently, much of the traditional urban fabric of the city was destroyed, which like its history became distant in time and space. More unfortunate was the loss of human lives which continued to haunt the psyche of those who were witness to the tragedy. The citizens of Delhi knew that the life of Hazrat-i-Dehli would never be same again as reflected in the narratives of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, its foremost citizen.
Mobility in the Bay of Bengal World
Authors: Mukherjee Rila
Published: October 2009

This essay presents south-eastern, deltaic Bengal as a slave-raiding zone in terms of certain specific trends visible in the seventeenth century Bay world. These were: rising international sea-borne trade, increased South Asian warfare, the burgeoning labour market in the Bay of Bengal, renewed migration, and increased mobility in the Bay of Bengal world. Not just in terms of seventeenth century trends, slavery here is also presented in the context of longer-term environmental pressures in the Bengal delta. There has been an attempt, in this essay, to juxtapose the slavery in the Bengal delta against the older forms of slavery in north-east India, northern Burma, south-west China and in Arakan. Both types of slavery are seen as responses to pressures originating from the Bay. A study of slavery, from a maritime optic, helps us identify the pressures that Southeast Bengal underwent prior to colonial rule, at a time when its overland and overseas trades declined, but agriculture grew exponentially. Finally, this essay pleads for understanding the south-eastern delta's history in terms of a global history.
Journalists’ Incentives and Media Coverage of Elite Foreign Policy Evaluations
Authors: Groeling Tim , Baum Matthew A.
Published: October 2009

Scholars have long recognized that public support for presidential uses of military force depends critically on elite support. Similarly, scholars have argued that the media “index” their coverage of foreign policy to reflect the responses of partisan (particularly congressional) elites. We argue that journalists’ choices also play an important role by systematically (and predictably) skewing the elite rhetoric presented to the public. In particular, we argue that criticism of the president by his own party is disproportionately likely to be broadcast—particularly in unified government—and that such criticism should be exceptionally persuasive to citizens. To separate the media’s independent effect from that of the actual tenor of elite discourse, as presented in the news, we investigate all interviews with members of Congress on network television Sunday morning political interview shows between 1980 and 2003. We then determine which comments were selected for inclusion on the evening news and compare the characteristics of such comments with those that were not selected, both during periods immediately following major US uses of military force and during “normal” periods. We find that the evening news presents a biased sample of elite rhetoric, heavily over-representing criticism of the president by his own party, while under-representing supportive rhetoric. Our findings indicate that future studies of public opinion and US foreign policy must take into account the intervening role of journalists, who function as strategic, self-interested gatekeepers of public information regarding foreign policy events.
Trading Data
Authors: Barbieri Katherine , Keshk Omar M.G. , Pollins Brian M.
Published: October 2009

Some scholars have rushed to judgment about the nature of the relationship between trade and conflict, making strong assumptions about the data upon which their conclusions rest. In this paper, we test these assumptions, showing that they are often not warranted and, thus, pose threats to many of our conclusions about trade’s impact on conflict. We discuss official trade statistics; the treatment of missing trade data; and problems with some decision rules being adopted within our research community. We introduce the new Correlates of War (COW) Trade Data Set; discuss the rationale behind our coding decisions; and compare this data set with other sets. The end result is a series of findings that should help our field advance its understanding of the often difficult issue of trade’s relationship with international conflict.
Primed to Fight
Authors: Maoz Zeev
Published: October 2009

Ample empirical evidence suggests that there exist structural differences between groups of states in terms of conflict involvement rates. A small group of states accounts for most conflicts and wars in international politics. Another group of states managed to avoid conflict involvement for most of their history. These results are not surprising; they match the expectations of both experts and laypersons regarding the future of conflict in international politics. This study offers two tentative explanations for these structural patterns of conflict proneness and pacifism. Both explanations view these differential rates of conflict involvement as a result of a national selection process. The can syndrome suggests that certain states fight repeatedly because they view violent conflict as an efficient and effective instrument of policy. The must syndrome suggests that some states feel that conflict is their only way of dealing with a threatening international environment. I provide evidence supporting both explanations and discuss their implications for international politics.
Feeling Fear
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: October 2009

The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of the lived experience of feeling fear. Parse’s phenomenological‐hermeneutic method was used to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling fear? Ten older adults living in or near New York City participated in the study. Data were collected through dialogical engagement and analyzed through the extraction‐synthesis processes. Core concepts were identified and discussed. The structure, feeling fear is haunting possibilities with cautious perseverance arising with reassuring affiliations amid defiance, is the central finding of this study. This finding was connected to the humanbecoming theory and extant literature, contributing to nursing knowledge, expanding the theory, and enhancing of understanding about feeling fear with older adults.
Toward Understanding and Measuring Adaptation Level in the Context of the Roy Adaptation Model
Authors: DeSanto‐Madeya Susan , Fawcett Jacqueline
Published: October 2009

The Roy adaptation model concepts of stimuli, coping mechanisms, and modes of adaptation have been translated into several middle‐range concepts and measured using existing and new instruments. The concept of adaptation level, however, has rarely been used in Roy adaptation model‐based research. This paper presents a description of how the Roy adaptation model concept of adaptation level was translated into the logically congruent middle‐range theory concept of adjustment. A single‐item instrument, the Adjustment Scale, is identified as one way to measure adjustment.
Nursing Professionalism in Slovenia
Authors: Starc Andrej
Published: October 2009

The purpose of this column is to conceptualize nursing professionalism in Slovenia as a mutual process between social change and the education of professional nurses. The process of educating professional nurses in Slovenia occurs in a changing social and organizational context. As the complexity and speed of change increases it is becoming increasingly essential for all nurses to have expert knowledge, skills, and competencies. The author also aims to present the autonomy of new healthcare and the new theoretical concept of nursing as scientific human capital in Slovenia.
Expressiveness and Creativeness
Authors: Sharoff Leighsa
Published: October 2009

Metaphors are a personal expression and form of self‐awareness, providing a way of describing an experience with dissimilar concepts to convey meaning. Metaphors create new meaning and provide a deeper insight into the human spirit. They are grounded in reality and day‐to‐day life experiences. Reflective practitioners incorporate and integrate their vast knowledge base of experience, skills, and attitudes to assist in formulating their practice as a metaphor. It is through this experience and reflection that nurses can creatively express their images of self and nursing.
From Theory to Practice
Authors: Clarke Pamela N. , Watson Jean , Brewer Barbara B.
Published: October 2009

Caring science is presented by Jean Watson and Barbara Brewer through an interview and dialogue format. Jean Watson presents caring science and its philosophy and evolution and the impact of her model on nursing and other disciplines. Barbara Brewer addresses the implementation of the model in a Magnet hospital setting and describes how her leadership facilitated implementation.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers cause oxidative stress in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Authors: Kawashiro Yukiko , Fukata Hideki , Sato Koji , Aburatani Hiroyuki , Takigami Hidetaka , Mori Chisato
Published: October 2009

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants to prevent combustion in consumer products, such as electronics, construction materials, and textiles and, therefore, have become important commercial substances. PBDEs were also detected in maternal blood, breast milk, umbilical cord blood, and cord tissue, thereby indicating that fetuses were also exposed to PBDEs. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of PBDEs on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Cultured HUVECs were exposed to a commercial mixture of penta-BDE (DE71), octa-BDE (DE79), and deca-BDE (DE83). Each gene expression that was altered in DNA microarray was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription—polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting analysis. The results indicated that gene expressions concerning antioxidant system, i.e., thioredoxin family, 24-dehydrocholesterol reductase (DHCR24), and tumor suppressor protein p53, were altered by PBDEs exposure in HUVECs. Moreover, it was demonstrated that thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) was a target gene in exposure to DE71 and DE79 in HUVECs, by drastically decreasing time-dependent TXNIP expression in HUVECs.
Time- Lessness, simultaneity and successivity: repetition in Beckett’s short prose
Authors: Paton Steven
Published: October 2009

This article focuses on the ways in which Samuel Beckett’s short prose work Lessness constructs the idea of timelessness through formal means. It shows how stylistic features such as the exceptionally high levels of repetition and parallelism, omission of tensed verbs, and omission of connectives and subordinate clauses, work to remove time from the form of the text. In Jakobsonian terms these formal features are seen to replace the forces of successivity — movement in time and narrative progression — with a radical simultaneity. The article then deals with the problematic form of successivity created by the repetition which structures Lessness (in which the first 60 sentences are repeated in a different random permutation to create the text’s second half). Employing Genette’s (1980) terminology, the article shows that although the second half of Lessness does result in an increase in ‘narrative time’ (reader time), it does not result in any parallel increase in ‘story time’ (time within the fiction), and this is because the second set of sentences necessarily conveys the same timelessness as the first. Whereas Esslin (1986) reads this repetition as an economical way of showing that the text’s situation will last into infinity (i.e. in time), this article suggests that the repetition is necessary to show that the fictional situation is timeless and cannot possibly progress. Furthermore, the article ends by showing that the final sentence of Lessness closes off the text’s capacity for infinite regeneration by creating a strong sense of closure in form and content.