bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mixing Measurements on an Equatorial Ocean Mooring
Authors: Moum J. N. , Nash J. D.
Published: August 2008

Vaned, internally recording instruments that measure temperature fluctuations using FP07 thermistors, including fluctuations in the turbulence wavenumber band, have been built, tested, and deployed on a Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) mooring at 0°, 140°W. These were supplemented with motion packages that measure linear accelerations, from which an assessment of cable displacement and speed was made. Motions due to vortex-induced vibrations caused by interaction of the mean flow with the cable are small (rms < 0.15 cable diameters) and unlikely to affect estimates of the temperature variance dissipation rate χT. Surface wave–induced cable motions are significant, commonly resulting in vertical displacements of ±1 m and vertical speeds of ±0.5 m s−1 on 2–10-s periods. These motions produce an enhancement to the measurement of temperature gradient in the surface wave band herein that is equal to the product of the vertical cable speed and the vertical temperature gradient (i.e., dT/dt ∼ wcdT/dz). However, the temperature gradient spectrum is largely unaltered at higher and lower frequencies; in particular, there exists a clear scale separation between frequencies contaminated by surface waves and the turbulence subrange. The effect of cable motions on spectral estimates of χT is evaluated and determined to result in acceptably small uncertainties (< a factor of two 95% of the time, based on 60-s averages). Time series of χT and the inferred turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate ε are consistent with historical data from the same equatorial location.
Making sense of sensemaking narratives
Authors: Brown Andrew D. , Stacey Patrick , Nandhakumar Joe
Published: August 2008

This article analyses the agreed and discrepant sensemaking of members of a project team. Embedded in a narratological approach to sensemaking research, we argue that before scholars may be able to understand in detail how agreements are reached and action becomes coordinated, we need first to take seriously the proposition that sensemaking occurs in the context of individuals' idiosyncratic efforts at identity construction. This, we suggest, means attending to the narratives that actors tell about their work and self both for others and their selves. The key research contribution that we make is to demonstrate how work on `impression management' and `attributional egotism' may be employed in order to account for discrepant sensemaking. This is important in the context of a literature that has left relatively unexplored the reasons why people interpret differently experiences they have in common.
The politics of gossip and denial in interorganizational relations
Authors: van Iterson Ad , Clegg Stewart R.
Published: August 2008

Organizational gossip has largely been discussed in terms of effects at the individual level. In this article we turn our attention to the organization level. The article makes a research contribution that addresses gossip that spreads fact-based rumours about organizations in terms of their shifting role in circuits of power. The research question asks what happens when organizations officially formulate themselves as doing one thing while other organizational actors that are influential in significant organizational arenas (in which these formulations circulate) counter that these formulations are patently false. Theoretically, we draw on the literature on organizational gossip and rumour as well as on the politics of non-decision-making. Our argument is advanced by reference to a case study of the Australian Wheat Board and UN Resolution 661. Basically, organizational gossip plays a key role in the production of interorganizational power dynamics, an insight previously neglected.
Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research
Authors: Baruch Yehuda , Holtom Brooks C.
Published: August 2008

This study examines the response rates for surveys used in organizational research. We analysed 1607 studies published in the years 2000 and 2005 in 17 refereed academic journals, and we identified 490 different studies that utilized surveys. We examined the response rates in these studies, which covered more than 100,000 organizations and 400,000 individual respondents. The average response rate for studies that utilized data collected from individuals was 52.7 percent with a standard deviation of 20.4, while the average response rate for studies that utilized data collected from organizations was 35.7 percent with a standard deviation of 18.8. Key insights from further analysis include relative stability in response rates in the past decade and higher response rates for journals published in the USA. The use of incentives was not found to be related to response rates and, for studies of organizations, the use of reminders was associated with lower response rates. Also, electronic data collection efforts (e.g. email, phone, web) resulted in response rates as high as or higher than traditional mail methodology. We discuss a number of implications and recommendations.
Police–Community Relations in a Majority-Black City
Authors: Weitzer Ronald , Tuch Steven A. , Skogan Wesley G.
Published: August 2008

Minority racial and ethnic groups often view themselves as targets of abusive treatment at the hands of the police. Although racial variation in public assessments of the police in the United States has been amply documented in past research, less research has explored the sources of these differences at the intersection of demographic, interactional, and ecological levels. This article examines the role of each factor in shaping citizens' perceptions of police misconduct, racial differences in these perceptions, and the reasons underlying them. The locus of the study is also important. Most research on police–community relations has been conducted in cities whose populations and police departments are majority White in composition, despite the growing number of minority-White cities. The present study draws on data from residents of a majority-Black city with a majority-Black police department: Washington, DC. The findings contribute to our understanding of policing in such underresearched cities.
“Which Way?”
Authors: Walsh Michael
Published: August 2008

For thirty years, Australian Aboriginal witnesses have been subjected to varying degrees of oppression in land claim and native title cases. Each legal arena requires Aboriginal witnesses to demonstrate their traditional connections to Aboriginal land. Some witnesses appear reticent or even inarticulate, despite their actual, considerable knowledge of Aboriginal traditions. However, there are also highly acculturated Aboriginal witnesses; ironically, such witnesses may be criticized by opposing counsel essentially for their Anglo-Australian cultural literacy, so that such witnesses will be depicted as not, or less, “traditional” than their less acculturated counterparts and, therefore, have their status as Aboriginal traditional owners of land discounted—or at least questioned. For these vulnerable witnesses, there is a Catch-22 cleavage: if you are articulate, you appear less traditional; if you are inarticulate, you may appear traditional, but it is difficult for the tribunal to assess your claim to traditional ownership of land.
Quantitative EEG in occupational chronic solvent encephalopathy
Authors: Keski-Säntti P , Kovala T , Holm A , Hyvärinen HK , Sainio M
Published: August 2008

The aim of this study was to characterize the quantitative analyzed EEG (electroencephalogram) findings (qEEG) in chronic solvent encephalopathy (CSE) patients and study whether the qEEG findings associate with the duration and intensity of the solvent exposure. Also, the diagnostic value of qEEG in CSE is discussed. The EEG of 47 male CSE patients was analyzed. The laboratory’s own reference EEG values of 24 healthy male subjects formed the laboratory control group. We also used an age-matched control group of 100 male blue-collar workers without occupational solvent exposure. The main finding of our study was that the power of the frontal theta band is increased in the CSE patient group compared with the laboratory control group. This suggests that the frontal cortex may be susceptible to the noxious effects of solvents. However, this difference was not seen in comparison with the matched control group, and thus, the connection with solvent effects remains uncertain. The variables indicating the level of solvent exposure did not associate with the power of the theta activity in the frontal area. Because of the small amount and unspecificity of the observed abnormalities, qEEG cannot be recommended to be used in the clinical diagnostics of solvent encephalopathy.
Methods for measuring in-vivo percutaneous absorption in humans
Authors: Kezic S
Published: August 2008

In-vivo human data on percutaneous absorption are scarce, although they are indispensable for health risk assessment of dermal exposure. In addition, they are considered to be the gold standard for the evaluation of in-vitro systems as well as predictive mathematical models. Dermal absorption in vivo can be assessed using different approaches. The most used methods for determination of in-vivo dermal absorption are the measurement of the parent chemical and/or its metabolite level in biological material, the microdialysis technique and stratum corneum tape stripping. Recently, the non-invasive spectrophotometric methods based on infrared and Raman spectroscopy showed themselves as promising tools for studying percutaneous absorption though these approaches are still in their developmental stages and requires further optimization and validation. The aim of this article is to review different methods for determination of percutaneous absorption in vivo in humans. The advantages and limitations are discussed with respect to generating data for comparison with in-vitro or predictive mathematical models or health risk assessment of chemicals. Furthermore, the importance of the volunteer experiments in generating relevant data for human risk assessment as well as for the development and implementation of biological monitoring in occupational settings will be addressed.
Biomonitoring as a tool in the human health risk characterization of dermal exposure
Authors: Boogaard PJ
Published: August 2008

Dermal exposure is an important factor in risk characterization. In occupational settings it becomes relatively more important because of the continuous reduction in inhalation exposure. In the public health arena, dermal exposure may also form a significant contribution to the total exposure. Dermal exposure, however, is difficult to assess directly because it is determined by a host of factors, which are difficult to quantify. As a consequence, dermal exposure is often estimated by application of models for external exposure. In combination with modeled or measured data for percutaneous penetration, these provide an estimate for the internal exposure that is directly related to the systemic effects. The advantages and drawbacks of EASE (Estimation and Assessment of Substance Exposure) and RISKOFDERM (Risk Assessment of Occupational Dermal Exposure), two models for external exposure that are mentioned in the Technical Guidance Document for the European Union risk assessments performed under the Existing Substances Regulation (EEC/793/93), are discussed. Although new chemicals regulation (REACh, 1907/2006/EC) is now in place in the European Union, the principles applied under the previous legislation do not change and the same models will continue to be used. The results obtained with these models for styrene, 2-butoxyethanol, and 1-methoxy-2-propanol in specific exposure scenarios are compared with an alternative method that uses biomonitoring data to assess dermal exposure. Actual external exposure measurements combined with measured or modeled percutaneous penetration data give acceptable results in risk assessment of dermal exposure, but modeled data of external dermal exposure should only be used if no other data are available. However, if available, biomonitoring should be considered the method of choice to assess (dermal) exposure.
Potential for metabolism locally in the skin of dermally absorbed compounds
Authors: Williams FM
Published: August 2008

Dermally absorbed chemicals can be locally metabolized in the skin during absorption but it is difficult to distinguish this metabolism from liver metabolism by biological monitoring in vivo. Studies with sub-cellular fractions have showed the presence of metabolizing enzymes in the skin but with loss of cellular localization. Studies in HaCat cells in culture maintain cellular localization and in skin, in short-term culture, the chemical can be applied to the skin surface and metabolism during absorption can be monitored. Flow though diffusion systems with tissue culture medium as receptor fluid have maintained the viability of skin and supported metabolism, but dilution of the metabolites in the receptor fluid has limited detection. This article uses data derived by a range of techniques from the Newcastle laboratory to discuss the importance of local metabolism in the skin of butoxyethanol to butoxyacetic acid and parabens to p-hydroxybenzoic acid during dermal absorption, following application to the skin surface.
Effect of melatonin, curcumin, quercetin, and resveratrol on acute ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA)-induced renal oxidative damage in rats
Authors: Eybl V , Kotyzová D , Černá P , Koutenský J
Published: August 2008

The influence of melatonin, curcumin, quercetin, and resveratrol pretreatment on ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA)-induced oxidative renal damage was studied. Male Wistar rats were treated orally once daily for 3 days with melatonin (10 mg/kg), curcumin (50 mg/kg), quercetin (15 mg/kg), and resveratrol (10 mg/kg). One hour after the last dose of antioxidants, a single dose of Fe-NTA was administered (8 mg of Fe/kg body weight, i.p.) to pre-treated animals. Twenty-four hours after Fe-NTA administration, the lipid peroxidation (LP), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were estimated in kidney homogenates. Iron, zinc, and copper concentrations were estimated in kidney tissue. Administration of Fe-NTA to rats induced renal LP (170%, P < 0.001) and inhibited catalase (78%, P < 0.05) in the kidney. The oral pretreatment with melatonin, curcumin, quercetin, and resveratrol each one was effective in decreasing the Fe-NTA-induced LP ( P < 0.001); however, it did not influence the FeNTA-induced inhibition of renal CAT activity. No changes were found in renal GSH level and GSH-Px activity compared to control animals. The pretreatment with antioxidants did not affect the increase in renal iron content, blood urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio, and relative kidney weight of FeNTA-intoxicated rats. The results indicate that the pretreatment with natural antioxidants, curcumin, melatonin, quercetin, and resveratrol, significantly and equally suppressed lipid peroxidation induced by Fe-NTA but had no effect on other markers of FeNTA nephrotoxicity and iron deposition in kidneys.
The Personality of Corruption
Authors: Connelly Brian S. , Ones Deniz S.
Published: August 2008

Many other areas in the social sciences (e.g., economics, political science, and sociology) have devoted considerable research to understanding antecedents to national corruption. However, little research has explored psychological antecedents—specifically, personality measured at an aggregate level. In this study of 54 countries, the authors examined the independent, combined, and unique effects of national personality and G. S. Hofstede's cultural dimensions on perceived national corruption. Nations scoring low on neuroticism and high on extraversion tended to be less corrupt, and the relationship between conscientiousness and corruption was explained by wealth. In addition, national personality contributed beyond other cultural, economic, and demographic variables predictive of national corruption: National personality incremented Hofstede's cultural dimensions, national wealth, and national religion. These findings suggest that personality at the national level has substantial relations with nations' corruption and that these effects merit closer scrutiny by researchers and policy makers alike.
Effects of Dietary Decosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) on eNOS in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells
Authors: Stebbins Charles L. , Stice James P. , Hart C. Michael , Mbai Fiona N. , Knowlton Anne A.
Published: August 2008

Endothelial dysfunction occurs in heart disease and may reduce functional capacity via attenuations in peripheral blood flow. Dietary decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may improve this dysfunction, but the mechanism is unknown. This study determined if DHA enhances expression and activity of eNOS in cultured human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC). HCAEC from 4 donors were treated with 5 nM, 50 nM, or 1 μM DHA for 7 days to model chronic DHA exposure. A trend for increased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and phospho-eNOS was observed with 5 and 50 nM DHA. DHA also enhanced expression of 2 proteins instrumental in activation of eNOS: phospho-Akt (5 and 50 nM) and HSP90 (50 nM and 1 μM). Vascular endothelial growth factor—induced activation of Akt increased NOx in treated (50 nM DHA) versus untreated HCAEC (9.2 ± 1.0 vs 3.3 ± 1.1 μmol/μg protein/μL). Findings suggest that DHA enhances eNOS and Akt activity, augments HSP90 expression, and increases NO bioavailability in response to Akt kinase activation.
Commentary: Activity Theory is a Dead End for Methodological Thinking in Cultural Psychology Too
Authors: Toomela Aaro
Published: August 2008

Reworking cultural psychology's methodology is of utmost importance if the discipline is to progress. This paper explores discussion of micro- and macro-cultural formal and informal methodologies of cultural psychology by Carl Ratner. It is concluded that the activity-theoretical approach to research methodology, applied in the target article, is fundamentally limited and cannot suggest appropriate methodologies that would lead to progress in cultural psychology. Instead, it is suggested that future discussions on methodological thinking should take into account that: (1) methodology is part of a scientific theory, and therefore what is studied must be defined in order to find appropriate methods for studies; (2) qualitative methodology should become the focus of methodology in cultural psychology; (3) the history of psychology contains forgotten but theoretically very rich ideas; and (4) activity theory has fundamental problems which make it inappropriate for showing direction for the development of methodology.
The Development of British Military Masculinities through Symbolic Resources
Authors: Hale Hannah C.
Published: August 2008

Within military culture there is a protected version of masculinity. The theory of symbolic resources (Zittoun, Duveen, Gillespie, Ivinson, & Psaltis, 2003) recognizes that people are positioned within different symbolic streams in the socio-cultural world, in which they can be displaced or can relocate themselves (Benson, 2001; Duveen, 2001). So an individual entering the military is relocating him- or herself from a civilian socio-cultural world to a military one. Twenty-nine semi-structured individual interviews and three focus groups (each comprising two or three individuals) were conducted with male and female British military personnel. Participants included Royal Marine, Army and Royal Air Force personnel and were of a variety of ranks. In accordance with the theory of symbolic resources, the unit of analysis for psychological development is the unit rupture—irruption of certainty—transition. This implies a process that leads to a new form of stability. This is the process which military personnel undertake in order for that which is uncertain and unfamiliar when they begin their training to become certain and familiar. By focusing on the rupture that takes place during the training phase within an individual's military career, one can explore how through symbolic resources, military masculinities develop.
`So I Can Be Like a Whiteman': The Cultural Psychology of Space and Place in American Indian Mental Health
Authors: Gone Joseph P.
Published: August 2008

Careful analysis of a single ethnographic interview demonstrates that profound cultural divergences in Western professional and American Indian therapeutic traditions may well emanate from easily overlooked sources of ethnopsychological orientation and intelligibility, namely distinctive cultural psychologies of space and place. Interview responses from a middle-aged Native American Traditionalist on the Fort Belknap Indian reservation revealed that robust `mental health' was seen to result from participation in indigenous ritual spaces enacted or performed in designated sacred places on or near the reservation. In contrast, this respondent observed that consultation by community members with `White psychiatrists' in the local Indian Health Service clinic was an open invitation to `brainwash me forever so I can be like a Whiteman'. For those American Indians who share the respondent's cultural standpoint, reservation-based mental health clinics, despite their intentional designation as therapeutic spaces, may be seen to function as sites of colonial incursion and Native resistance in cultural—and especially ethnopsychological—terms. This article explores the implications of this distinctive cultural psychology of space and place with regard to the interdisciplinary investigation of therapeutic landscapes and the promise of `culturally competent' mental health services.
The invention of purgatory
Authors: Willis Eileen M.
Published: August 2008

The contribution of Max Weber's Protestant Ethic to debate on the cultural forces that precipitated the shift from feudal to capitalist modes of production is without precedent. While this debate is presumed to have run its course, contemporary preoccupations with extensive and intensive working hours suggest a revisit may be timely. This article proposes an affinity between the shift to abstract modes of time in capitalism and the ideas underpinning the medieval invention of purgatory. This `invention' was seen to overcome the problem of time scarcity, but similar to the Protestant Ethic, illustrates the conundrum that the cure can become the disease. In the case of purgatory, the disease is a purgatorial complex, a profound anxiety-driven relationship to time.
Noninvasive ventilation as ceiling of therapy in end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Creagh-Brown BC , Shee CD
Published: August 2008

The benefits of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are well recognized and consequently its use is widespread. Prognostication in advanced COPD is imperfect, limiting accurate identification of ‘end-stage’ COPD. Decisions regarding withholding invasive ventilation are largely dependent upon prognostication. In patients where ‘invasive’ ventilation is not considered to be in their best interests, NIV will be the ceiling of therapy. In this patient group, NIV is extremely valuable in reducing mortality and providing valuable symptomatic benefit. We discuss the use of NIV in the management of an acute exacerbation of ‘end-stage’ COPD where NIV is the ceiling of therapy, the use of advanced directives and the implications of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on decisions regarding end-of-life care. We highlight areas where further research would be useful.
Pulmonary rehabilitation and follow-on services: a Northern Ireland survey
Authors: O’Neill B , Elborn JS , MacMahon J , Bradley JM
Published: August 2008

There should be a clear pathway through pulmonary rehabilitation and follow-on services. The aim of this survey was to determine the characteristics of the different components of the patient pathway, that is, pulmonary rehabilitation programs, ongoing exercise facilities, and support networks in Northern Ireland. Questionnaires were sent to current providers of pulmonary rehabilitation, providers of ongoing exercise, and support groups in Northern Ireland. Findings relating to the current status of pulmonary rehabilitation in Northern Ireland up to January 2007 are reported. There are currently 23 pulmonary rehabilitation programs in Northern Ireland. There appears to be a pathway through the short-term pulmonary rehabilitation program (6–8 weeks). Programs met standards for structure and format, except for the frequency of supervised exercise. Not all programs have links for the provision of ongoing exercise, but a range of exercise programs are available in leisure centers in Northern Ireland that include people with respiratory disease. There are 13 support groups for patients with respiratory disease in Northern Ireland and their function is diverse. Pulmonary rehabilitation is established in Northern Ireland, although not all patients are able to access these. Facilities for ongoing exercise and support groups are less developed. Improvements could be facilitated by better communication within the patient pathway and a strategic coordinated approach.
The Use of Ultrasonography in Small Animal Veterinary Practice
Authors: McConnell Fraser
Published: August 2008

Ultrasonography is widely used in veterinary practices and forms an integral part of case management for many diseases. Patient size combined with breed and species variations can cause problems in interpretation and image quality. This article reviews the ultrasongraphic procedures commonly used in small animal veterinary practice.
IL-4 protein expression and basal activation of Erk in vivo in follicular lymphoma
Authors: Calvo Katherine R. , Dabir Bhavana , Kovach Alexandra , Devor Christopher , Bandle Russell , Bond Amelia , Shih Joanna H. , Jaffe Elaine S.
Published: August 2008

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is characterized by constitutive expression of Bcl-2 as a consequence of t(14;18). Evidence suggests factors in the lymph node microenvironment, related to intratumoral T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, play a role in the disease process. We generated proteomic cytokine profiles of FL (N = 50) and follicular hyperplasia (FH; N = 23). A total of 10 cytokines were assayed using ultrasensitive multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays: IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-12p70, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ. Each cytokine showed overall lower protein concentrations in FL, with the exception of IL-4, which was nearly 5 times higher in FL than FH (P = .005). Using reverse-phase protein microarrays (RPMAs), we evaluated the activation state of several intracellular signaling proteins downstream of cytokine receptors. Basal Erk phosphorylation was approximately 4 times greater in FL than FH (P < .001), with similar findings for Mek; Stat-6 showed weak basal phosphorylation that was approximately twice as high in FL than in FH (P = .012). In conclusion, the FL microenvironment contains increased levels of IL-4, with prominent tumor basal phosphorylation of Erk. These findings suggest IL-4, Erk, and possibly Stat-6 may play a role in the biology of FL and may serve as targets for future therapies.
p53-mediated apoptosis of CLL cells: evidence for a transcription-independent mechanism
Authors: Steele Andrew J. , Prentice Archibald G. , Hoffbrand A. Victor , Yogashangary Birunthini C. , Hart Stephen M. , Nacheva Elisabeth P. , Howard-Reeves Julie D. , Duke Veronique M. , Kottaridis Panagiotis D. , Cwynarski Kate , Vassilev Lyubomir T. , Wickremasinghe R. Gitendra
Published: August 2008

The p53 protein plays a key role in securing the apoptotic response of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells to genotoxic agents. Transcriptional induction of proapoptotic proteins including Puma are thought to mediate p53-dependent apoptosis. In contrast, recent studies have identified a novel nontranscriptional mechanism, involving direct binding of p53 to antiapoptotic proteins including Bcl-2 at the mitochondrial surface. Here we show that the major fraction of p53 induced in CLL cells by chlorambucil, fludarabine, or nutlin 3a was stably associated with mitochondria, where it binds to Bcl-2. The Puma protein, which was constitutively expressed in a p53-independent manner, was modestly up-regulated following p53 induction. Pifithrin α, an inhibitor of p53-mediated transcription, blocked the up-regulation of Puma and also of p21CIP1. Surprisingly, pifithrin α dramatically augmented apoptosis induction by p53-elevating agents and also accelerated the proapoptotic conformation change of the Bax protein. These data suggest that direct interaction of p53 with mitochondrial antiapoptotic proteins including Bcl-2 is the major route for apoptosis induction in CLL cells and that p53's transcriptional targets include proteins that impede this nontranscriptional pathway. Therefore, strategies that block up-regulation of p53-mediated transcription may be of value in enhancing apoptosis induction of CLL cells by p53-elevating drugs.
Male and Female Adult Population Health Status in China: A Cross-Sectional National Survey
Authors: Shi Jing , Liu Meina , Zhang Qiuju , Lu Mingshan , Quan Hude
Published: August 2008

Background

With rapid economic growth and globalization, lifestyle in China has been changing dramatically. This study aimed to describe the male and female adult Chinese population health status.

Methods

The Chinese Third National Health Services Survey was conducted in 2003 to collect information about health status and quality of life from randomly selected residents. Of the 193,689 respondents to the survey (response rate 77.8%), 139,831 (69,748 male and 70,083 female) respondents who were 18 years of age or older were analyzed.

Results

Among the respondents, fewer males than females rated their overall wellbeing as being poor or very poor (4.8% versus 6.2%), reported illness in the last 2 weeks (14.1% versus 17.4%), presence of physician diagnosed chronic disease (15.0% versus 17.7%) and at least one functional problem in seven items of the quality of life (26.9% versus 32.8%). More males than females were currently smoking (52.4% versus 3.4%) and drank alcohol more than three times per week (16.5% versus 1.1%). Physically inactive rate was similar between males and females (85.8% versus 87.0%). Fewer rural respondents reported chronic disease than urban respondents (13.0% versus 19.9% for males and 15.5% versus 22.8% for females). In all seven items of the quality of life measured, rural respondents reported less problems than urban respondents (26.2% versus 28.7% for males and 32.0% versus 34.7% for females).

Conclusion

Males had better health status than females in terms of self-perceived wellbeing, presence of illness, chronic disease, and quality of life. However, smoking and frequent alcohol drinking was more prevalent among males than that among females. In contrast with the social-economic gradient in health commonly found in the literature, the wealthier urban population in China was not found to be healthier than the rural population in terms of physician diagnosed chronic disease.
The Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58): Can a Rasch developed patient reported outcome measure satisfy traditional psychometric criteria?
Authors: Cano Stefan J , Warner Thomas T , Thompson Alan J , Bhatia Kailash P , Fitzpatrick Ray , Hobart Jeremy C
Published: August 2008

Background

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently producing guidelines for the scientific adequacy of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical trials, which will have implications for the selection of scales used in future clinical trials. In this study, we examine how the Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58), a rigorous Rasch measurement developed neurologic PROM, stands up to traditional psychometric criteria for three reasons: 1) provide traditional psychometric evidence for the CDIP-58 in line with proposed FDA guidelines; 2) enable researchers and clinicians to compare it with existing dystonia PROMs; and 3) help researchers and clinicians bridge the knowledge gap between old and new methods of reliability and validity testing.

Methods

We evaluated traditional psychometric properties of data quality, scaling assumptions, targeting, reliability and validity in a group of 391 people with CD. The main outcome measures used were the CDIP-58, Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36, the 28-item General Health Questionnaire, and Hospital and Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Results

A total of 391 people returned completed questionnaires (corrected response rate 87%). Analyses showed: 1) data quality was high (low missing data ≤ 4%, subscale scores could be computed for > 96% of the sample); 2) item groupings passed tests for scaling assumptions; 3) good targeting (except for the Sleep subscale, ceiling effect = 27%); 4) good reliability (Cronbach's alpha ≥ 0.92, test-retest intraclass correlations ≥ 0.83); and 5) validity was supported.

Conclusion

This study has shown that new psychometric methods can produce a PROM that stands up to traditional criteria and supports the clinical advantages of Rasch analysis.
Correction: RNA interference-mediated gene silencing in murine T cells: in vitro and in vivo validation of proinflammatory target genes
Authors: Gust Tatjana C , Neubrandt Luisa , Merz Claudia , Asadullah Khusru , Zügel Ulrich , von Bonin Arne
Published: August 2008

T cells play a central role in many inflammatory diseases, hence the identification and validation of T cell-specific target genes will increase the understanding of T cell function in pathologic inflammatory situations. RNA interference (RNAi), with its ability to induce specific gene silencing in mammalian cells, represents a powerful technology to investigate and validate the function of pharmaceutical target genes in vitro and in vivo. The aim of the present study was to systematically explore RNAi-mediated gene-silencing of known T cell-specific model signaling molecules in primary murine T cells in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that siRNA delivery and subsequent silencing of T cell specific genes is substantially increased, if murine T cells were activated prior siRNA transfection. Silencing of ZAP70, p56Lck as well as PLC-γ1 protein expression resulted in impaired function of T cells in vitro. Furthermore, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) was ameliorated in vivo after adoptive transfer of ZAP70-silenced T cells. The combination of RNAi-mediated gene silencing and adoptive transfer of gene-silenced T cells, thus, may allow the identification and analysis of T cell-specific targets for therapeutic intervention. Additionally, this model system may represent an alternative to conventional time consuming and cost intensive gene targeting approaches.
Increased susceptibility to collagen-induced arthritis in female mice carrying congenic Cia40/Pregq2fragments
Authors: Liljander Maria , Andersson Åsa , Holmdahl Rikard , Mattsson Ragnar
Published: August 2008

Introduction

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice is a commonly used experimental model for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We have previously identified a significant quantitative trait locus denoted Cia40 on chromosome 11 that affects CIA in older female mice. This locus colocalizes with another locus, denoted Pregq2, known to affect reproductive success. The present study was performed to evaluate the role of the Cia40 locus in congenic B10.Q mice and to identify possible polymorphic candidate genes, which may also be relevant in the context of RA.

Methods

Congenic B10.Q mice carrying an NFR/N fragment surrounding the Cia40/Pregq2 loci were created by 10 generations of backcrossing (N10). The congenic mice were investigated in the CIA model, and the incidence and severity of arthritis as well as the serum levels of anti-collagen II (CII) antibodies were recorded.

Results

Significant effects on onset, incidence, severity, and anti-CII antibody titers were observed in female mice carrying a heterozygous congenic Cia40/Pregq2 fragment of NFR/N origin, containing one or more polymorphic genes. Congenic male mice did not show increased incidence of CIA, but males carrying a heterozygous fragment showed a significant increase in severity in comparison with wildtype B10.Q males (littermates).

Conclusion

The Cia40/Pregq2 locus at chromosome 11 contains one or more polymorphic genes of NFR/N origin that significantly influence both incidence and severity of CIA in heterozygous congenic mice of the B10.Q strain. The major polymorphic candidate genes for the effects on CIA are Cd79b, Abca8a, and Map2k6. The congenic fragment also contains polymorphic genes that affect reproductive behavior and reproductive success. The Sox9 gene, known to influence sex reversal, is a candidate gene for the reproductive phenotype.
The Twenty-Sixth Maudsley Lecture: the Assessment of Personality
Authors: Burt Cyril
Published: August 2008

Psychiatry and psychology.—In his preface to The Pathology of Mind, Henry Maudsley commented on the peculiarly isolated way in which the study of mental illness had developed during the previous fifty years. “Treatises on mental disorders,” he said, “deal with their subject as if it belonged to a science entirely distinct from that which is concerned with the sound mind.” This, he continued, is as though a pathologist were to discuss cardiac and respiratory disease, with little or no knowledge of current work on the physiology of the heart or the lungs. And it was one of his chief aims “to put a happy end to the inauspicious divorce between the two sciences.” Partly in the hope of bringing them into closer touch, his discussion of pathological conditions was prefaced by a systematic account of the normal mind: and in the first edition of his work (1867) the two topics were included in a single volume. Nevertheless, in spite of Maudsley's arguments and his excellent example, few writers on mental pathology have, until quite recently, paid much attention to advances in general psychology. When they describe mental processes or characteristics, they constantly fall back on popular concepts or on out-of-date terms which present an incongruous mixture of an obsolete faculty psychology with an antiquated associationism—doctrines that were already under heavy criticism when Maudsley himself was writing.
Psychophysiological Investigations in Experimental Psychoses: Results of the Exhibition of D-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide to Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Sloane Bruce , Doust John W. Lovett
Published: August 2008

D-Lysergic acid diethylamide (L.S.D.-25) was first prepared by Stoll and Hoffmann in 1938 (35) as a derivative of rye ergot. Its profound effects in minute doses were discovered accidentally by Hoffmann and reported by Stoll (34) along with additional observations by the latter on 16 healthy controls and six schizophrenic patients. With a dose of 30–130 γ (0.03–0.13 mgm.) Stoll (34) noted motor inco-ordination, disturbances of visual perception with illusions and hallucinations, clouding of consciousness, and affective changes principally in the direction of euphoria and distractibility. Subsequent clinical reports have confirmed these findings (6, 38). Becker (1) using doses of 30–40 γ in healthy controls attempted to predict the quality of the resulting psychosis from the constitutional somatotype of the subject; he contrasted maniacal hyperkinetic states with those showing inhibition and depersonalization and drew attention to the pattern of the visual perceptual disturbances, which were principally those of differences in size, clarity and perspective. Becker's attempts at somatotypological correlation were less successful than those of Condreau (4) who used mentally ill patients as well as healthy subjects and found that L.S.D.-25 did tend to reinforce pre-existing personality characteristics, especially with regard to mood changes. Rinkel and others (30, 7) with doses of 20–90 γ in mixed healthy and psychiatrically disturbed populations stressed the scotopic nature of the hallucinations and the greater frequency of illusions of rippling or wavy lines evolving at times into geometrical designs. Affective blunting with a lack of spontaneity was commoner than the production of major delusions. In epilepsy apparently visual hallucinations are more frequently concomitants of L.S.D.-25 administration than in other mental disorders (31).
Further Studies on Endocrine Treatment in Adolescence and Early Adult Life
Authors: Sands Dalton E.
Published: August 2008

Although endocrines have often been used in the treatment of various psychiatric states, the measure of success has been small. Oestrogens have improved certain forms of involutional depression, and thyroid has been successful in the treatment of cretins, depression secondary to myxoedema, and in periodic catatonia. The following reports on the use of dehydro-isoandrosterone (diandrone) and oestrogens suggest a useful development in endocrine methods, either singly, or in certain cases, in combination.
The Electroencephalogram in Manic-Depressive Psychosis
Authors: Hurst L. A. , Mundy-Castle A. C. , Beerstecher Diane M.
Published: August 2008

The main object of this investigation is to verify the claim of Pauline Davis (1941) that manic-depressive depressed psychotics (M.D.D.s) tend to possess frequencies of alpha rhythm in the E.E.G. at 10 c./sec. or slower, whilst manic-depressive manic patients (M.D.M.s) tend to show alpha frequencies at 10 c./sec. or faster; furthermore that there is no shift in alpha frequency corresponding to change in psychotic phase or in degree of phase. These claims are of importance in relation to a recent paper by Mundy-Castle (1951b) in which a significant correlation was reported between ratings of the Heymans-Wiersma temperament variable secondary function and mean frequencies of alpha rhythm in normal adults, since both Heymans (1929) and Wiersma (1932) maintained that M.D.D.s possessed a high degree of secondary function and M.D.M.s a low degree of this variable. To explain this in more detail, secondary function is postulated as being present in individuals in different degrees varying over a continuous scale ranging from domination of the conscious field by secondary function to domination by primary experience (relative lack of secondary function). Individuals displaying the former may be referred to as secondary functioning, their behaviour being characterized by steadiness of action, continuity of interest, evenness of mood and psychic tempo, reduced stimulability and a tendency for mental events to perseverate. Individuals in whom secondary function is relatively lacking (it can never be wholly absent) may be termed primary functioning, their behaviour being characterized by impulsiveness, mobility, high stimulability and a quick and variable psychic tempo. The Heymans-Wiersma temperament scheme has been developed extensively by Biesheuvel (1935, 1949). Mundy-Castle's study revealed that subjects rated as secondary functioning possessed low alpha frequencies whilst those rated as primary functioning possessed high alpha frequencies. The present investigation should help to elucidate the view of Heymans and Wiersma concerning secondary function and manic-depressive psychosis.
Hemispherectomy
Authors: Fleischhacker H. H.
Published: August 2008

Hemispherectomy in man (ablation of the cortex, the underlying white matter and nucleus lentiformis) was performed first by Dandy (1928, 1933), later by Gardner (1939) and a few others, on adult patients suffering from large infiltrating tumours of the subdominant hemisphere, with one exception (Zollinger, 1935). It was carried out by McKenzie (1939) apparently on a patient suffering from infantile hemiplegia with epilepsy. Krynauw (1950a, b) began systematic work of this nature on cases of infantile hemiplegia with epilepsy and personality disturbances. Apart from its therapeutic value, in carefully selected infantile hemiplegics, in the hope of lessening or curing epilepsy, and exerting a beneficial influence on behaviour and further mental development, the comparatively small loss of functions after removal of one hemisphere is most remarkable.
A Tentative Classification of Goal-Seeking Behaviours
Authors: Schützenberger M. P.
Published: August 2008

Goal-seeking behaviour, once a great mystery, is now beginning to be understood. In its simplest forms it is, in fact, understood to-day almost completely. Thus the theory of the simple regulator, such as the thermostat, not only includes an extensive repertoire of techniques, but the elementary principles, of the necessity for negative feedback for instance, are becoming scientific commonplaces. In getting to know, however, about these simple systems and their principles, we should not make the mistake of thinking that there is nothing more to be learned. On the contrary, in real life many an important goal is to be achieved only through some quite complex pattern of behaviour, a pattern for which the simple concept of “negative feedback” is quite inadequate. It is of these more complex patterns that I wish to speak to-day.
Histological Changes in the Brain After Uncomplicated Electro-Convulsant Treatment
Authors: Corsellis J. A. N. , Meyer A.
Published: August 2008

There has been much discussion about the possible occurrence of reversible and irreversible histological changes in the brain following the convulsive treatment of mental disorder. Most investigations have been carried out either on experimental animals—with results not easily comparable to man—or in deceased patients in whom the picture is usually obscured by the presence of complications. The various causes of death following convulsive treatment have recently been reviewed by Maclay (1953).
A Prognostic Study of Insulin Treatment in Schizophrenia
Authors: Polonio Pedro , Slater Eliot
Published: August 2008

The following paper is concerned with the statistical analysis of the clinical data about nearly 500 schizophrenic patients. About half of these received insulin treatment, while the others did not. The patients were followed up for periods of between 5 and 10 years, so that the material is also classifiable by good and bad outcome. A full account of this clinical material, collected and studied at the University Psychiatric Clinic at Lisbon by one of us (P.P.), has already been published in the Portuguese language (Polonio, 1950).
Psychological Aspects of the Lsd Treatment of the Neuroses
Authors: Sandison R. A.
Published: August 2008

Recent work by the author and his colleagues (Sandison, Spencer and Whitelaw, 1954) has established that lysergic acid diethylamide is of great value in the psychotherapy of the neuroses. This paper attempts to examine in rather more detail the possible mechanism of action of the drug in terms of dynamic psychology. It is now generally accepted that the psychoneuroses are the result of a faulty relationship between the conscious and the unconscious, leading to a one-sided or prejudiced conscious point of view. Any discussion which follows this observation must be preceded by a definition of the writer's conception of the unconscious, and in this paper the standpoint adopted by Jungian analytical psychology will be preferred.
Variations in the Blood Levels of Acetoin and Butane-2:3-Diol in Normal Individuals and Mental Patients
Authors: Dawson J. , Hullin R. P. , Pool Arthur
Published: August 2008

The biochemical aspects of manic-depressive psychosis have been adequately, reviewed by McFarland and Goldstein (1939). From previous investigations, it is apparent that there is a marked alteration in carbohydrate metabolism mainly associated with a change in glucose tolerance. This phenomenon is related to alterations in emotional state and there is no suggestion that it is the cause of the mood swings which occur periodically in this type of psychosis. Apart from these variations in the control of carbohydrate metabolism, it has so far not been possible to demonstrate any changes in the blood levels of any products derived from carbohydrate metabolism.