bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Germ‐line origin of intron 1 inversion in two haemophilia A families
Authors: Acquila M. , Pasino M. , Santoro C. , Lanza T. , Molinari A. C. , Bottini F. , Bicocchi M. P.
Published: November 2003

Summary.  Factor VIII gene inversion of intron 1 has recently been reported to be the mutation responsible for haemophilia A in about 5% of severe cases. In our series of patients, which is made up of 77 Italian cases negative for intron 22 inversion, the mutation was found in three sporadic and in one familial patients, with an overall frequency of 5.2%. The carrier status of the patients’ female relatives was assessed by mutation analysis and showed that only two‐thirds of cases could be considered truly sporadic. The germ‐line origin of the mutation was investigated in the two sporadic families by haplotype analysis on genomic DNA of the patients’ maternal grandparents. These studies indicated that both mutation events had occurred in the germ cell lines of the patients’ healthy grandfather, suggesting that, as already demonstrated for the inversion of intron 22, the male germ cell line is more susceptible to the intrachromosome recombination which leads to the inversion of intron 1.
Dehydroepiandrosterone inhibits DNA synthesis of rat hepatocytes induced by partial hepatectomy or mitogen (ciprofibrate)
Authors: Rao M. S. , Subbarao V.
Published: November 2003

In a previous study we have shown that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) inhibits hepatocyte DNA synthesis after short‐term administration and induces hepatocellular carcinomas after long‐term administration in the rat. It is not known whether DHEA is also capable of inhibiting replicative and mitogen‐induced DNA synthesis. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of DHEA on DNA synthesis in the rat liver after partial hepatectomy and mitogen administration. After partial hepatectomy, DHEA significantly inhibited DNA synthesis at 20, 26, 32 and 38 h. Similarly, combined administration of ciprofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator and mitogen, and DHEA also resulted in significant hepatocyte DNA synthesis. However, DHEA did not affect liver enlargement caused by ciprofibrate. This experimental system will serve as useful tool to evaluate the role of cell proliferation in carcinogenesis.
Identification of a distinct family of genes encoding atypical odorant‐binding proteins in the malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Xu P. X. , Zwiebel L. J. , Smith D. P.
Published: November 2003

We performed a genome‐wide analysis for candidate odorant‐binding protein (OBP) genes in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae (Ag). We identified fifty‐seven putative genes including sixteen genes predicted to encode distinct, higher molecular weight proteins that lack orthologues in Drosophila. Expression analysis indicates that several of these atypical AgOBPs are transcribed in chemosensory organs in adult and immature stages. Phylogenetic analysis of the Anopheles and Drosophila OBP families reveals these proteins fall into several clusters based on sequence similarity and suggests the atypical AgOBP genes arose in the mosquito lineage after the divergence of mosquitoes and flies. The identification of these AgOBP genes is the first step towards determining their biological roles in this economically and medically important insect.
The mitochondrial genome of the olive fly Bactrocera oleae: two haplotypes from distant geographical locations
Authors: Nardi F. , Carapelli A. , Dallai R. , Frati F.
Published: November 2003

The complete sequence of the olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) mitochondrial genome has been determined. Two independent haplotypes, from flies of distant geographical origin (Italy and Portugal) were completely sequenced. The molecule is 15 815 bp long, and shows the gene content and organization typical of insects, namely thirteen protein coding genes (PCGs) encoding proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation, two rRNAs, twenty‐two tRNAs and a long (949 bp) noncoding region. The genomes of the two fly specimens share the same arrangement, differing by a mere thirty‐one point mutations. The differences are mostly transitions (26) and synonymous substitutions in PCGs (21). The two new sequences are compared with others already present in the database.
A measurement and comparison of the fluid intake in people with and without back pain
Authors: Cowbrough K. , Lloyd H.
Published: November 2003

Background  The aim of this study was to investigate and compare fluid intake of people with and without chronic back pain (BP). The research hypothesis was that fluid intake is lower in people with chronic BP.

Method  A diary to record fluid intake in the general public was piloted. Seventy‐seven people with chronic BP and 88 without BP were recruited from outpatient clinics and asked to record their fluid intake using this diary for nine consecutive days. Data were analysed to compare the intake of fluid in the two groups.

Results  T‐tests showed that there is a higher fluid intake among the cohort with BP for the total daily fluid intake 2344 ± 669 mL (P = 0.008), and daily fluid intake excluding alcohol 2065 ± 658 mL (P = 0.039).

Conclusions  This study found that a sample of people with BP drank more fluid than a similar group with no BP.
Performance of lactating sows in response to the dietary valine supply
Authors: Paulicks B. R. , Ott H. , Roth‐Maier D. A.
Published: November 2003

In order to determine the requirement of lactating sows for valine (Val) the effects of graded Val supplementations on feed intake, milk yield and changes of body weight of sows and piglets were examined using 54 multiparous sows over a total of 72 lactations (35 days). The sows were randomly assigned to six treatments (1–6). Each group received the same basic diet, covering the requirements of energy and nutrients except Val (4.5 g native Val, i.e. 3.5 g apparent ileal digestible Val). Adding crystalline l‐Val dietary Val concentrations of 5.5, 6.5, 8.5, 10.5 and 14.5 g/kg, respectively, were realized. Feed intake of the sows was determined daily, body weight was determined on day 110 of gestation and day 1, 22 and 35 of lactation. The piglets were weighed on day 1, 21 and 35. The intake of piglet feed, which was offered from day 21, was determined at day 35 for each litter. Milk yield was determined using the weigh‐suckle‐weigh‐method at day 13, 14, 20 and 21, fat and protein contents were analysed in hand‐milked samples with infrared spectroscopy.

Feed intake (kg/day) of the sows during lactation averaged 2.9, 4.3, 4.6, 4.6, 4.9 and 5.1 for treatments 1–6, respectively. For treatments 1 and 2 body weight losses of the sows during lactation were higher (1207 and 805 g/day, respectively) and milk production was lower (7076 and 8686 g/day, respectively), compared with the average of treatments 3–6 (625 g/day body weight loss; 9263 g milk/day). Daily weight gain of the piglets was also lower (146 and 171 g/day vs. 200 g/day) leading to lower weaning weights of 6.6 and 7.5 vs. 8.5 kg. As a consistent growth depression of the piglets in Val deficiency must be assumed, at least 6.5 g Val corresponding to 5.5 g apparent ileal digestible Val per kg lactation feed must be recommended.
Liver cirrhosis developed after ketoconazole‐induced acute hepatic injury
Authors: KIM TAE‐HYUNG , KIM BYUNG‐HO , KIM YOUN‐WHA , YANG DAL MO , HAN YO‐SEB , DONG SEOK HO , KIM HYO JONG , CHANG YOUNG‐WOON , LEE JOUNG IL , CHANG RIN
Published: November 2003

Abstract  We describe a previously healthy woman who developed liver cirrhosis as a sequela of acute hepatic injury that was induced by ketoconazole administration to treat onychomycosis. The initial presentation of the disease was of a typical acute hepatitis, characterized by nausea, anorexia, fatigue, and jaundice that developed during the administration of ketoconazole. Many other causes of hepatitis were absent in the patient. Even though the hepatic injury was gradually resolved for several months after cessation of the drug, the liver function was not completely restored. Six months after the onset of illness, a follow‐up abdominal computed tomography and peritoneoscopic liver biopsy were performed. They revealed a marked reduction in the liver volume and a definite cirrhotic change, which persisted for more than 5 years. The case suggests that the administration of ketoconazole can cause liver cirrhosis through acute hepatic injury within a short time under certain circumstances.
Evolution of wild type and mutants of the YMDD motif of hepatitis B virus polymerase during lamivudine therapy
Authors: ZHANG XINXIN , LIU CHUANMIAO , GONG QIMING , ZHANG SHENYING , ZHANG DONGHUA , LU ZHIMENG , WANG YUAN
Published: November 2003

Background and Aim:  Long‐term lamivudine treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection induces the emergence of lamivudine resistant HBV YMDD mutant strains. The aim of the present study was to observe the clone evolution of YMDD wild type and mutant strains in pretreatment and post‐treatment samples during lamivudine therapy and analyze their clinical significance.

Methods:  Ten serum samples (five before and five after 48 weeks of therapy) obtained from five patients chronically infected with HBV and treated with lamivudine were studied. Part of the HBV polymerase gene flanking the YMDD motif was sequenced after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Meanwhile, 20–24 clones were selected at random from each sample and YMDD wild type and mutant strains were detected by real‐time fluorimetry PCR established in our laboratory.

Results:  The YMDD mutants were not detectable in all five patients before treatment and were found in four patients after 48 weeks of therapy by sequencing directly on PCR products. Analysis of individual clones showed that the ratios of mutant strains in each of the five patients were 0, 9.5, 0, 4.5 and 5.6%, respectively, before therapy and 100, 100, 65, 100 and 0%, respectively, after 48 weeks of therapy. M552I was detected before therapy in one patient but M552V became the domain strain after therapy. Until 52 weeks of therapy, serum HBV DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) breakthrough were found in two of the four patients with YMDD mutations. The fifth patient experienced breakthrough of ALT but HBV DNA remained undetectable.

Conclusions:  The mutant strains of YMDD motif of HBV polymerase could be found in patients before lamivudine treatment, indicating that antiviral therapy allows the rapid selection of resistant strains. The replication ability of the M552V mutant strain might be stronger than that of the M552I mutant strain.
Chronic hepatitis B: A long‐term retrospective cohort study of disease progression in Shanghai, China
Authors: XU BIAO , HU DE‐CHANG , ROSENBERG DANIEL M , JIANG QING‐WU , LIN XI‐MIN , LU JIA‐LIANG , ROBINSON NOAH J
Published: November 2003

Background and Aims:  The present study aimed to describe the disease progression of chronic hepatitis B patients without or with compensated cirrhosis at baseline, to estimate the risk of progression to decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and death, and to determine prognostic factors of disease progression in patients in Shanghai, China.

Methods:  Stored medical records from 322 biopsy‐confirmed chronic hepatitis B cases diagnosed between 1981 and 1993 were selected, and the status of patients was tracked in 1999–2000. Among consenting patients, ultrasound examination and laboratory tests were conducted. Person‐year incidence rates, Kaplan–Meier analysis, log‐rank tests, and Cox regression analysis were conducted.

Results:  Among chronic hepatitis B patients without compensated cirrhosis, the incidence rates of decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death were 6.3, 2.8, and 7.6 per 1000 person‐years, respectively, while for patients with compensated cirrhosis, the rates were 35.6, 8.2, and 35.2 per 1000 person‐years, respectively. The 15‐year survival rate was 88% for patients without compensated cirrhosis, compared with 56% for patients with compensated cirrhosis (P < 0.001). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that increased α‐fetoprotein (AFP) (P < 0.01), γ‐globulin (P < 0.05), and high‐level severity of hepatic fibrosis (P < 0.01) at baseline were risk factors of decompensated cirrhosis. Factors associated with a high risk of death included elevated AFP at baseline (P < 0.01), severity of hepatic fibrosis (P < 0.003), and sustained positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen (P < 0.004).

Conclusion:  Increased AFP and severity of hepatic fibrosis at baseline were associated with higher risk of decompensated cirrhosis and death. These data provide rare empirical estimates of the negative long‐term outcomes for patients with chronic hepatitis B in Shanghai, China.
Rural community mental health nursing: A grounded theory account of sole practice
Authors: Gibb Heather
Published: November 2003

ABSTRACT:  This paper examines community mental health in rural and remote settings, characterized as sole practice. Using a grounded theory approach, the research reported here explored how meanings of health and health care are advanced within the context of rural mental health care, dominated and in the main led by nurses. Five different practice sites in rural New South Wales were involved. The study articulated a model of therapeutics that foregrounds a relationship of intense professional intimacy and trust against a context of geographical disadvantage and professional isolation. The meanings of the relationship are elaborated in terms of unusually high levels of responsibility, professional ingenuity, powerlessness and the independent and risky character of life in the bush.
The development of a professional practice audit questionnaire for mental health nursing in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Authors: Gaskin Cadeyrn J. , O'Brien Anthony P. , Hardy Derrylea J.
Published: November 2003

ABSTRACT:  This paper reports the three‐stage development of a professional practice audit questionnaire for mental health nursing in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In Study 1, clinical indicator statements (n = 99) generated from focus group data, which were considered to be unobservable in the nursing documentation in consumer case notes, were included in a three‐round Delphi process. Consensus of ratings occurred for the mental health nurse and academic participants (n = 7) on 83 clinical indicator statements. In Study 2, the clinical indicator statements (n = 67) that met importance and consensus criteria were incorporated into a questionnaire, which was piloted at a New Zealand mental health service. The questionnaire was then modified for use in a national field study. In Study 3, the national field study, registered mental health nurses (n = 422) from 11 New Zealand District Health Board mental health services completed the questionnaire. Five categories of nursing practice were identified: professional and evidence‐based practice; consumer focus and reflective practice; professional development and integration; ethically and legally safe practice; and culturally safe practice. Analyses revealed little difference in the perceptions of nurses from different backgrounds regarding the regularity of the nursing practices. Further research is needed to calibrate the scores on each clinical indicator statement with behaviour in clinical practice.
A ‘crack‐like’ notch analogue for a safe‐life fretting fatigue design methodology
Authors: CIAVARELLA M.
Published: November 2003

Various analogies have recently been proposed for comparing the stress fields induced in fretting fatigue contact situations, with those of a crack and a sharp or a rounded notch, resulting in a degree of uncertainty over which model is most appropriate in a given situation. However, a simple recent approach of Atzori–Lazzarin for infinite‐life fatigue design in the presence of a geometrical notch suggests a corresponding unified model also for fretting fatigue (called Crack‐Like Notch Analogue model) considering only two possible behaviours: either ‘crack‐like’ or ‘large blunt notch.’ In a general fretting fatigue situation, the former condition is treated with a single contact problem corresponding to a Crack Analogue model; the latter, with a simple peak stress condition (as in previous Notch Analogue models), simply stating that below the fatigue limit, infinite life is predicted for any size of contact. In the typical situation of constant normal load and in phase oscillating tangential and bulk loads, both limiting conditions can be readily stated. Not only is the model asymptotically correct if friction is infinitely high or the contact area is very small, but also remarkably accurate in realistic conditions, as shown by excellent agreement with Hertzian experimental results on Al and Ti alloys. The model is useful for preliminary design or planning of experiments reducing spurious dependences on an otherwise too large number of parameters. In fact, for not too large contact areas (‘crack‐like’ contact) no dependence at all on geometry is predicted, but only on three load factors (bulk stress, tangential load and average pressure) and size of the contact. Only in the ‘large blunt notch’ region occurring typically only at very large sizes of contact, does the size‐effect disappear, but the dependence is on all other factors including geometry.
Psychological services for children: using family therapy in the setting of a school psychological service
Authors: Campion Jean
Published: November 2003

An attempt is made to evaluate the results of using family therapy in the setting of a school psychological service over a period of about two‐and‐a‐half years. Seventy‐two children were involved, referred by teachers, with a variety of behavioural difficulties and learning problems. The difficulties of involving parents in regular clinic sessions for problems which they either saw as school‐based or did not see at all are discussed. It is suggested that the technique of family therapy has been insufficiently exploited to help children seen to have ‘a special educational need’. This includes children who are developmentally immature, as well as those who show more overt signs of emotional disturbance.
Transcultural issues in family therapy
Authors: Lau Annie
Published: November 2003

Family therapists are influenced by the cultural conditioning of their groups. The cultural differences in shared assumptions and prescriptive rules sometimes lead to incongruent messages being given to families from a different culture. Some recurrent areas of difficulty in work with ‘ethnic’ families include the role of culture bound symptoms and family structures that do not conform to Western nuclear family norms. Case material is presented to illustrate practical guidelines in work with ‘ethnic’ families.
Constructivist Pedagogy
Authors: Richardson Virginia
Published: November 2003

This article constitutes a critique from the inside of constructivist pedagogy. It begins with a short history of constructivist pedagogy and its relationship to constructivist learning theory. It then addresses four issues in the ways in which constructivist pedagogy are being approached in research and practice. The first issue recommends more of a research focus on student learning in classrooms that engage in constructivist pedagogy. The second leads to the suggestion of theory development that provides an understanding and descriptions of more and less effective constructivist teaching. The third centers on the necessarily deep subject matter knowledge required of teachers who adopt constructivist pedagogy; and the difficulty this requirement imposes on elementary teachers who must deal with many subject matter areas. And the fourth issue raises the possibility that the vision of constructivist pedagogy, as presently recommended, if not mandated, locally and nationally, is strongly ideological and may impose, inappropriately, a dominant view of pedagogy on those who wish to operate differently.
“Especially Special”: Learning about Jews in a Fundamentalist Christian School
Authors: Schweber Simone , Irwin Rebekah
Published: November 2003

Based on the premise that private religious schools function sociologically as crucibles for collective memory work, this study examined the image of Jews conveyed through a Holocaust unit as taught at a fundamentalist Christian school. After presenting an analysis of both the enacted and experienced curricular dimensions of the unit, we argue that studies of abstracted others—others studied about rather than interacted with—within communal religious schools potentially pose problematic implications for students’ multicultural sensibilities. Moreover, we claim that, given these implications, religion, as a category, ought to be both more consistently included within multicultural education frameworks and more closely examined within lived, classroom practice.
The Effect of Group Exercise on Physical Functioning and Falls in Frail Older People Living in Retirement Villages: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Authors: Lord Stephen R. , Castell Sally , Corcoran Joanne , Dayhew Julia , Matters Beth , Shan Amelia , Williams Philippa
Published: November 2003

Objectives: To determine whether a 12‐month program of group exercise can improve physical functioning and reduce the rate of falling in frail older people.

Design: Cluster randomized, controlled trial of 12 months duration.

Setting: Retirement villages in Sydney and Wollongong, Australia.

Participants: Five hundred fifty‐one people aged 62 to 95 (mean±standard deviation=79.5±6.4) who were living in self‐ and intermediate‐care retirement villages.

Measurements: Accidental falls, choice stepping reaction time, 6‐minute walk distance postural sway, leaning balance, simple reaction time, and lower‐limb muscle strength.

Results: Two hundred eighty subjects were randomized to the weight‐bearing group exercise (GE) intervention that was designed to improve the ability of subjects to undertake activities for daily living. Subjects randomized to the control arm (n=271) attended flexibility and relaxation (FR) classes (n=90) or did not participate in a group activity (n=181). In spite of the reduced precision of cluster randomization, there were few differences in the baseline characteristics of the GE and combined control (CC) subjects, although the mean age of the GE group was higher than that of the CC group, and there were fewer men in the GE group. The mean number of classes attended was 39.4±28.7 for the GE subjects and 31.5±25.2 for the FR subjects. After adjusting for age and sex, there were 22% fewer falls during the trial in the GE group than in the CC group (incident rate ratio=0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.62–0.99), and 31% fewer falls in the 173 subjects who had fallen in the past year (incident rate ratio=0.69, 95% CI=0.48–0.99). At 6‐month retest, the GE group performed significantly better than the CC group in tests of choice stepping reaction time, 6‐minute walking distance, and simple reaction time requiring a hand press. The groups did not differ at retest in tests of strength, sway, or leaning balance.

Conclusion: These findings show that group exercise can prevent falls and maintain physical functioning in frail older people.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression in the Elderly Medicare Population: Predictors, Disparities, and Trends
Authors: Crystal Stephen , Sambamoorthi Usha , Walkup James T. , Akıncıgil Ayşe
Published: November 2003

Objectives: To develop nationally representative estimates of rates of diagnosis of depression; to determine rates and type of treatment received by those diagnosed with depression; and to ascertain socioeconomic differences and trends in treatment rates of depression, including the effect of supplemental insurance coverage, for elderly Medicare fee‐for‐service beneficiaries.

Design: Analysis of merged interview and Medicare claims data for multiple years from merged Medicare claims and interview data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a nationally representative survey of Medicare participants.

Setting: Community dwellers.

Participants: Twenty thousand nine hundred sixty‐six community‐dwelling respondents aged 65 and older in the MCBS cost and use files for 1992 through 1998.

Measurements: Diagnoses recorded in Medicare claims were used to identify individuals who received a diagnosis of depression from a healthcare provider; pharmacy and claims data were used to identify receipt of antidepressants and psychotherapy by those diagnosed.

Results: The rate of depression diagnosis more than doubled, reaching 5.8% in 1998. Overall, about two‐thirds of those diagnosed received treatment in each year; but those aged 75 and older, those of “Hispanic or other” ethnicity, and those without additional coverage to supplement Medicare were significantly less likely to receive treatment, controlling for other characteristics. If treated, members of these disadvantaged subgroups were less likely to receive psychotherapy.

Conclusion: Although depression has been thought until recent years to be underrecognized in the elderly, rates of diagnosis increased dramatically in the 1990s, with concomitant increases in treatment. Nevertheless, significant disparities by age, ethnicity, and supplemental insurance coverage persist in treatment of those diagnosed. Because depression is a major source of potentially treatable morbidity in older people, increased efforts are needed to ensure access to appropriate treatment across all subgroups of older people and to remove economic barriers to treatment.
Intentional and Unintentional Weight Loss Increase Bone Loss and Hip Fracture Risk in Older Women
Authors: Ensrud Kristine E. , Ewing Susan K. , Stone Katie L. , Cauley Jane A. , Bowman Paula J. , Cummings Steven R. ,   for the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group
Published: November 2003

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that unintentional weight loss increases the rate of bone loss and risk of hip fracture more than intentional weight loss.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Four communities within the United States.

Participants: Six thousand seven hundred eighty‐five elderly white women with measurement of weight change and assessment of intention to lose weight.

Measurements: Weight change between baseline and fourth examinations (average 5.7 years between examinations) and assessment of intention to lose weight. Weight loss was defined as a decrease of 5% or more from baseline weight, stable weight was defined as less than a 5% change from baseline weight, and weight gain was defined as an increase of 5% or more from baseline weight. Rate of change in bone mineral density at the hip between fourth and sixth examinations (average 4.4 years between examinations) was measured using dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry. Incident hip fractures occurring after the fourth examination until June 1, 2001 (average follow‐up 6.6 years) was confirmed using radiographic reports.

Results: The adjusted average rate of decline in total hipbone density steadily increased from −0.52% per year in women with weight gain to −0.68% per year in women with stable weight to −0.92% per year in women with weight loss (P‐value for trend <.001). Higher rates of hip‐bone loss were observed in women with weight loss irrespective of body mass index (BMI) or intention to lose weight. During follow‐up of an average 6.6 years after the fourth examination, 400 (6%) of the cohort suffered a first hip fracture. Women with weight loss had 1.8 times the risk (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.43–2.24) of subsequent hip fracture as those with stable or increasing weight. The association between weight loss and increased risk of hip fracture was consistent across categories of BMI and intention to lose weight. Even voluntary weight loss in overweight women with a BMI of 25.9 kg/m2 (median) or greater increased the risk of hip fracture (multivariate hazard ratio=2.48, 95% CI=1.33–4.62).

Conclusion: Older women who experience weight loss in later years have increased rates of hip‐bone loss and a two‐fold greater risk of subsequent hip fracture, irrespective of current weight or intention to lose weight. These findings indicate that even voluntary weight loss in overweight elderly women increases hip fracture risk.
Effects of Vitamin D Supplementation on Strength, Physical Function, and Health Perception in Older, Community‐Dwelling Men
Authors: Kenny Anne M. , Biskup Bradley , Robbins Bertha , Marcella Glenn , Burleson Joseph A.
Published: November 2003

Objectives: To study the effects of vitamin D supplementation in healthier populations of men.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

Setting: General clinical research center.

Participants: Sixty‐five healthy, community‐dwelling men (mean age±standard deviation=76±4, range 65–87).

Intervention: Cholecalciferol (1,000 IU/d) or placebo supplementation for 6 months; all received 500 mg supplemental calcium.

Measurements: Upper and lower extremity muscle strength and power, physical performance and activity, health perception, calcium and vitamin D intake, and biochemical assessment, including 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and ionized calcium levels.

Results: The levels of 25OHD increased and PTH decreased in the cholecalciferol group, whereas there were no significant changes in the control group (P<.001). Baseline 25OHD levels correlated with baseline single‐leg stance time and physical activity score. Baseline PTH levels correlated with baseline 8‐foot walk time and physical activity score. No significant difference in strength, power, physical performance, or health perception was found between groups.

Conclusion: The 25OHD or PTH levels correlated with physical activity and physical performance in older, community‐dwelling men with normal 25OHD status. Vitamin D supplementation increased 25OHD levels and decreased PTH levels but did not increase muscle strength or improve physical performance or health perception in this group of healthy, older men. Further investigations of the effects of vitamin D supplementation should focus on individuals with low levels of vitamin D.
Tethering σ70 to RNA polymerase reveals high in vivo activity of σ factors and σ70-dependent pausing at promoter-distal locations
Authors: Mooney Rachel Anne , Landick Robert
Published: November 2003

Bacterial σ factors compete for binding to RNA polymerase (RNAP) to control promoter selection, and in some cases interact with RNAP to regulate at least the early stages of transcript elongation. However, the effective concentration of σs in vivo, and the extent to which σ can regulate transcript elongation generally, are unknown. We report that tethering σ70 to all RNAP molecules via genetic fusion of rpoD to rpoC (encoding σ70 and RNAP's β′ subunit, respectively) yields viable Escherichia coli strains in which alternative σ-factor function is not impaired. β′::σ70 RNAP transcribed DNA normally in vitro, but allowed σ70-dependent pausing at extended -10-like sequences anywhere in a transcriptional unit. Based on measurement of the effective concentration of tethered σ70, we conclude that the effective concentration of σ70 in E. coli (i.e., its thermodynamic activity) is close to its bulk concentration. At this level, σ70 would be a bona fide elongation factor able to direct transcriptional pausing even after its release from RNAP during promoter escape.
El Paso del Norte … Modernization Utopias, Othering and Management Practices in Mexico's Maquiladora Industry
Authors: Berndt Christian
Published: November 2003

Starting from the assumption that maquiladora managers play a crucial role in the current struggle for the discursive construction of the “modern” Mexico, this paper critically engages with these powerful actors and their representations of maquiladora workers and the production environment. Adopting a critical perspective on traditional notions of modernity and modernization, I start my argument from the assumption that the idea of linear progress and its use as a universal blueprint to hierarchically order the social world has not disappeared. Though the idea of progress and development is, at first glance, a simple and straightforward message, it is actually full of paradoxes. Using case‐study material from El Paso del Norte, the international agglomeration on the Mexican‐US border combining Ciudad Ju´rez and El Paso, I argue that both the image of maquiladoras as developed and the image of them as backward are indispensable to the modernization discourse within the maquiladora industry. I seek to show that maquiladora managers play a powerful role in transmitting the modernization narrative and that in doing so they are getting caught within its contradictions. By producing and reproducing discourses of Ciudad Ju´rez and its inhabitants as backward, while simultaneously attempting to prove that there is progress and development, managers recreate some of the very problems they attempt to overcome.
Gender and Organisational Restructuring in the National Health Service: Performance, Identity and Politics
Authors: Halford Susan
Published: November 2003

Over the past decade, debates within economic geography and organizational sociology have shown that gender is embedded within economic discourses, organisational relations and processes of restructuring. The argument has been widely illustrated through reference to “identity”, with examples offered of the ways in which organizations and organisational change draw on specific performances of masculine and feminine identities. However, whilst we now know a great deal about organisational expectations of gendered performance at work, we actually know little of how these required performances impact individual constructions of identity. This paper aims to explore this gap between organisational discourses of gender, on the one hand, and the construction of individual identities, on the other. The paper uses narrative analysis of interviews with five nurses working in two hospitals in the British National Health Service (NHS) to trace the place and articulations of organisation, profession and gender in the construction and presentation of self. The paper reveals complex processes of negotiation and resistance and both stable and shifting identifications as individuals actively construct gendered identities inter alia through their interpretations of organisational and professional change. This emphasis on agency, resistance and personal politics has important implications for thinking about the nature and form of workplace politics and may offer a missing piece of the puzzle in recent bids to build new forms of labour organisation.
Youth, Racism, and Place in the Tony Martin Affair
Authors: Vanderbeck Robert M
Published: November 2003

This paper provides an analysis of media discourse surrounding the arrest, trial, and conviction of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin for the murder of 16‐year old Fred Barras, a Traveller from Newark, Nottinghamshire. The paper argues that discourses about Travellers (re)constructed in the media during the Martin affair showed evidence of both older, stereotypical representations of Travellers and newer ways of locating them in relation to contemporary societal anxieties about “dangerous youth”, the “underclass”, and “social exclusion”. The coverage was often emblematic of political discourses in Britain, which too often emphasise the moral failings of the “excluded” without any significant discussion of the sources of inequalities.
The gonorynchiform fish Dastilbe from the lower Cretaceous of Brazil
Authors: Davis Samuel P. , Martill David M.
Published: November 2003

We examine the preservation, autecology and morphological variation for several characters of the Cretaceous gonorynchiform fish Dastilbe from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil and Africa. More than 83 specimens were examined. We test species validity using characters of the caudal endoskeleton and meristic counts of fin‐rays vs length. Evidence provided by fossilized soft tissues and slabs containing large individuals ‘freeze framed’ in the process of swallowing smaller prey meals, show that Dastilbe was predatory, at least as adults, as well as cannibalistic. Dastilbe was probably an anadromous fish tolerant of hypersalinity and in Araripe was subjected to frequent mass mortality events. Observations of the otic region indicate that the lagenar statolith is consistently larger than the saccular statolith, hence revealing a primitive actinopterygian condition. For the first time, a lagenar statolith from Dastilbe has been cleaved to expose putative annuli‐like ridges. Our results clearly show that there is a wide degree of morphological plasticity of the endoskeleton coupled with wide meristic variation, and as such, overall length, fin‐ray count and even absence or presence of caudal diastema are not suitable criteria for species recognition in Dastilbe. New specimens from the Crato Formation (Aptian) and statistical tests suggest rejection of all species of Dastilbe erected subsequent to Jordan (1910). All Brazilian specimens of Lower Cretaceous Dastilbe can be assigned to the single species D. crandalli Jordan. The African D. batai Gayet is also placed within D. crandalli
A Late Cretaceous Chimaerid (Chondrichthyes, Holocephali) from Seymour Island, Antarctica
Authors: Stahl Barbara J. , Chatterjee Sankar
Published: November 2003

A chimaerid holocephalian, Chimaera zangerli sp. nov., is described from both palatine tooth plates, two tooth plate fragments, and part of the chondrocranium in a nodule from the Maastrichtian of Antarctica. Possibly the oldest known chimaerid, C. zangerli sp. nov. exhibits a tooth plate which is a morphological intermediate between that of the Jurassic Ganodus and the Oligocene C. rupeliensis. The presence of C. zangerli sp. nov. before the end of the Cretaceous is evidence of the early evolution of the Chimaeridae, considered the most derived of the chimaeroid fishes.
The Future for Fisheries
Authors: Pauly Daniel , Alder Jackie , Bennett Elena , Christensen Villy , Tyedmers Peter , Watson Reg
Published: November 2003

Formal analyses of long-term global marine fisheries prospects have yet to be performed, because fisheries research focuses on local, species-specific management issues. Extrapolation of present trends implies expansion of bottom fisheries into deeper waters, serious impact on biodiversity, and declining global catches, the last possibly aggravated by fuel cost increases. Examination of four scenarios, covering various societal development choices, suggests that the negative trends now besetting fisheries can be turned around, and their supporting ecosystems rebuilt, at least partly.
Parental occupation at periconception: findings from the United Kingdom Childhood Cancer Study
Authors: McKinney P A , Fear N T , Stockton D
Published: November 2003

Aims:To study the risk of childhood cancer in relation to parental occupation and related exposures.

Methods:Self reported occupational data from mothers and fathers of 3838 children with cancer and 7629 control children were analysed. Odds ratios were calculated for 31 “occupational groups” by parent, diagnostic group (leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), central nervous system tumours, and other cancers) and time of exposure (periconception, birth, and diagnosis).

Results:Findings did not support the hypothesis that occupational exposure of fathers to ionising radiation increases the risk of childhood cancer in their offspring. Specific examination of periconceptual chemical exposures showed small but statistically significant increased risks for leukaemia and ALL among children whose fathers were exposed to exhaust fumes, driving, and/or inhaled particulate hydrocarbons. In the remaining analyses, a fourfold increase in the risk of other cancers was observed among the children of fathers working with leather but based on small numbers. Both maternal and paternal exposure to textile dust was related to an increased risk of other cancers.

Conclusion:Results failed to produce any strong evidence to link parental occupational exposures with an increased risk of childhood cancer. No relation was found for paternal periconceptual exposure to ionising radiation. The consistency of the associations observed between childhood leukaemia and paternal occupational exposure to exhaust fumes, driving, and/or inhaled particulate hydrocarbons at periconception suggest a small risk for vehicle related exhaust. However, other explanations cannot be excluded and further research into the nature of the associations is required.
Urine mutagenicity and lymphocyte DNA damage in fruit growers occupationally exposed to the fungicide captan
Authors: Lebailly P , Devaux A , Pottier D , De Meo M , Andre V , Baldi I , Severin F , Bernaud J , Durand B , Henry-Amar M , Gauduchon P
Published: November 2003

Aims:To determine haematological parameters, urine mutagenicity (on threeSalmonella typhimuriumstrains), and DNA damage (using the comet assay) in mononuclear leucocytes of farmers before and after a one-day spraying period of pear and apple trees with the fungicide captan in usual conditions.

Methods:Fruit growers were exposed to captan during the 1998 (n = 12) and/or the 2000 spraying seasons (n = 17). Biological samples were collected on the morning of the day of spraying (S1), the evening after spraying (S2), and the morning of the day after (S3). The UK Predictive Operator Exposure Model (UK-POEM) was used to quantify pesticide exposure intensity.

Results:No effect was observed on haematological parameters for these two spraying seasons. Proportions of mutagenic urine samples did not significantly differ between S1 and S2/S3 sampling points. In contrast with strains TA97a and YG1041 mainly sensitive to frameshift mutations, a positive trend was observed between the difference (S3–S1) of mutagenic power on strain TA102 detecting base-pair mutations and the exposure predicted value given by UK-POEM, mainly due to parameters related to protective clothing. No significant variations in DNA damage levels were observed between S1 and S3, nor were correlations observed with parameters of pesticide exposure.

Conclusions:A one-day spraying period with captan and other pesticides does not significantly induce DNA damages in mononuclear leucocytes. In contrast, an inefficient protective clothing could correlate with an increase in urine mutagenicity as assessed by the TA102 tester strain.
POISSON GEOMETRY IN CONSTRAINED SYSTEMS
Authors: BOJOWALD MARTIN , STROBL THOMAS
Published: November 2003

Associated to a constrained system with closed constraint algebra there are two Poisson manifolds P and Q forming a symplectic dual pair with respect to the original, unconstrained phase space: P is the image of the constraint map (equipped with the algebra of constraints) and Q the Poisson quotient with respect to the orbits generated by the constraints (the orbit space is assumed to be a manifold). We provide sufficient conditions so that the reduced phase space of the constrained system may be identified with a symplectic leaf of Q. By these methods, a second class constrained system with closed algebra is reformulated as an abelian first class system in an extended phase space.

While any Poisson manifold (P,Π) has a symplectic realization (Karasev, Weinstein 87), it does not always permit a leafwise symplectic embedding into a symplectic manifold (M,ω). For regular P, it is seen that such an embedding exists, iff the characteristic form-class of Π, a certain element of the third relative cohomology of P, vanishes. A tubular neighborhood of the constraint surface of a general second class constrained system equipped with the Dirac bracket provides a physical example for such an embedding into the original symplectic manifold. In contrast, a leafwise symplectic embedding of e.g. (the maximal regular part of) a Poisson Lie manifold associated to a compact, semisimple Lie algebra does not exist.
Bayesian Prediction in Hybrid Conjoint Analysis
Authors: Hofstede Frenkel Ter , Kim Youngchan , Wedel Michel
Published: November 2003

The authors propose a general model that includes the effects of discrete and continuous heterogeneity as well as self-stated and derived attribute importance in hybrid conjoint studies. Rather than use the self-stated importances as prior information, as has been done in several previous approaches, the authors consider them data and therefore include them in the formulation of the likelihood, which helps investigate the relationship of self-stated and derived importances at the individual level. The authors formulate several special cases of the model and estimate them using the Gibbs sampler. The authors reanalyze Srinivasan and Park's (1997) data and show that the current model predicts real choices better than competing models do. The posterior credible intervals of the predictions of models with the different heterogeneity specifications overlap, so there is no clear superior specification of heterogeneity. However, when different sources of data are used—that is, full profile evaluations, self-stated importances, or both—clear differences arise in the accuracy of predictions. Moreover, the authors find that including the self-stated importances in the likelihood leads to much better predictions than does considering them prior information.
Audience Characteristics and Bundling: A Hedonic Analysis of Magazine Advertising Rates
Authors: Koschat Martin A. , Putsis William P.
Published: November 2003

Increasingly, magazines are able to offer potential advertisers all their readers (pure bundling), only specific reader segments (pure components pricing), or a combination of the two (mixed bundling). Using data on advertising rates and reader demographics, the authors estimate the implicit prices of reader characteristics within a hedonic framework. The results suggest that the magnitude of the price and revenue premiums earned by “unbundling” a magazine's readers can be substantial.
Infections, Immunity, and Diabetes
Authors: Pozzilli P. , Leslie R. D. G.
Published: November 2003

In the early 1900s many diabetic patients died of overwhelming infection. The introduction of insulin dramatically altered this situation and today the major cause of death in diabetic patients are the noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease. However, infections in diabetic patients still represent an important issue. This chapter discusses the various aspects that need to be considered both by doctors involved in caring for these patients and by the authorities responsible for calculating the costs of diabetes care.
The Syndrome of Insulin Resistance and Its Links to Atherosclerosis
Authors: Bonadonna Riccardo C.
Published: November 2003

Obesity, central fat distribution, altered glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension cluster together to a variable extent presumably because of the common pathogenetic denominator represented by insulin resistance. This cluster has been named insulin resistance syndrome, or dysmetabolic syndrome X, or metabolic syndrome, and possibly is involved in the etiology and/or pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, as also demonstrated by epidemiological studies in which hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are independent indicators/predictors of cardiovascular disease. This relationship may be explained by the presence of a common antecedent (“common soil” hypothesis), causing both insulin resistance and atherosclerosis, or by a direct causal role of insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia in atherogenesis (“insulin‐resistance‐dependent atherosclerosis” hypothesis). At the molecular level, the common soil hypothesis may find its counterpart in the I‐κB‐kinase‐mediated activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor κB raised by the common soil hypothesis and by the insulin‐resistance‐dependent atherosclerosis hypothesis remains unsolved, largely because it may be inherently difficult to gauge the biological link(s) between one “complex” phenotype (the insulin resistance syndrome) and another “hypercomplex” phenotype (the atherosclerotic plaque).