bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective imidazoline I2 ligands do not show antidepressant-like activity in the forced swim test in mice
Authors: O'Neill Michael F. , Osborne David J. , Woodhouse Sandra M. , Conway Michael W.
Published: April 2009

Clonidine is an adrenergic agonist with high affinity for [.alpha]2 adrenoceptors that also has affinity for imidazoline receptors. Clonidine has previously been shown to reduce immobility in the forced swim test (FST) in mice. In the present study, this effect was blocked by idazoxan (0.06 mg/kg s.c.) and by yohimbine (1.0 mg/kg s.c.) suggesting that clonidine's effects in this test are mediated via its action at [.alpha]2 sites. Imidazoline I2 site ligands have been shown to inhibit monoamine oxidase and thus may also have antidepressant activity. Three compounds with selective affinity for I2 receptors (BU224, BU239, BDF 8082) were also tested in the FST. These compounds showed no activity either alone or in combination with a subthreshold dose of imipramine in the FST. These results suggest that I2 receptor ligands do not show antidepressant-like activity in the FST in mice. Furthermore the activity of the mixed [.alpha]2/I1 agonist clonidine is most likely to be due to its action at [.alpha]2 sites.
Effects of tryptophan loading on verbal, spatial and affective working memory functions in healthy adults
Authors: Luciana Monica , Burgund E. Darcy , Berman Margit , Hanson Karen L.
Published: April 2009

Serotonin (5-HT) appears to modulate affective behaviours by providing a homeostatic threshold around which other transmitters respond. This general principle of activity should hold for other types of behaviour, including cognition, but has not been extensively examined. We hypothesized, based on past findings, that increased 5-HT would constrain prefrontally guided working memory functions that are mediated by catecholamine neurotransmitters. Healthy adults ingested amino acid compounds designed to deplete and load systemic tryptophan levels in a repeated-measures crossover design. Outcome variables included total plasma tryptophan, serum prolactin levels and self-report measures of mood, as well as measures of motor skill, attention, memory span and working memory for verbal, spatial and affective stimuli. Our findings indicate decrements in working memory for verbal and affective stimuli following tryptophan loading versus depletion, as well as subtle changes in vigilant attention and motor coordination. Implications for the aetiology and treatment of affective disorders and psychosis are discussed.
The effect of glucose administration and the emotional content of words on heart rate and memory
Authors: Ford Claire E. , Scholey Andrew B. , Ayre Gareth , Wesnes Keith
Published: April 2009

Theeffects of glucose administration and emotionality of target material on heart rate and memorywere examined in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced crossover study. Memory for neutral and emotional words was tested in 20 young adults following a glucose drink and a placebo. Heart rate and blood glucose were also measured. Emotional words were recalled and recognized better than neutral words in both drink conditions but there was no direct effect of drink type on memory. During the neutral word memory tasks, similar heart rate deceleration was observed in both drink conditions. However, during the processing of emotional material, heart rates were lowered in the placebo condition and relatively increased in the glucose condition. These results further differentiate the physiological responses involved during memory for affective and neutral material.
Comparison of the effects of antidepressants on norepinephrine and serotonin concentrations in the rat frontal cortex: an in-vivo microdialysis study
Authors: Beyer Chad E. , Boikess Steve , Luo Bin , Dawson Lee A.
Published: April 2009

The present study employed in-vivo microdialysis techniques in the freely moving rat to systematically compare the neurochemical effects of various antidepressant agents on extracellular concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) in the frontal cortex. We found that acute administration of the tricyclic antidepressant, desipramine (3–30 mg/kg, s.c.) and the dual serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, venlafaxine (3–30 mg/kg, s.c.), produced dose-dependent and robust increases in cortical NE concentrations (498% and 403%, respectively). Conversely, acute injection of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, fluoxetine (30 mg/kg, s.c.) and paroxetine (1–10 mg/kg, s.c.), did not alter forebrain NE concentrations. However, paroxetine did produce a significant increase in cortical NE concentrations (164%) when administered at 30 mg/kg. These changes in NE were not paralleled by 5-HT, which showed no increase following administration of desipramine, venlafaxine, paroxetine or fluoxetine. Combination treatment with the 5-HT1Areceptor antagonist, WAY-100635 (0.3 mg/kg, s.c.), significantly enhanced extracellular 5-HT concentrations following venlafaxine (10 and 30 mg/kg), fluoxetine (30 mg/kg) and paroxetine (3–30 mg/kg). Alternatively, WAY-100635 produced no augmentation of the antidepressant induced changes in extracellular NE. Collectively, these studies show that paroxetine, at low to intermediate doses, and fluoxetine are selective for 5-HT versus NE systems, whereas venlafaxine produces similar effects on both 5-HT and NE levels at the effective doses tested.
QTc interval lengthening is related to CYP2D6 hydroxylation capacity and plasma concentration of thioridazine in patients
Authors: LLerena Adrián , Berecz Roland , de la Rubia Alfredo , Dorado Pedro
Published: April 2009

Thioridazine cardiotoxicity has been associated with a prolonged heart-rate corrected QT (QTc) interval. However, no systematic studies have been performed on patients at therapeutic doses. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of dose and plasma concentration of thioridazine and CYP2D6 enzyme status on the QTc interval in psychiatric patients. Sixty-five Spanish European psychiatric patients receiving thioridazine antipsychotic monotherapy were studied. The plasma levels of thioridazine and its metabolites were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. All patients were phenotyped for CYP2D6 activity with debrisoquine during treatment. Thirty-five patients (54%) had a QTc interval over 420 ms. The lengthening of QTc interval was correlated with plasma concentration (p< 0.05) and daily dose (p < 0.05) of thioridazine. CYP2D6 enzyme hydroxylation capacity, evaluated by debrisoquine metabolic ratio (MR) (p < 0.05) and thioridazine/mesoridazine ratio (p < 0.05), was also correlated with QTc intervals. The present study shows the relationship between QTc interval lengthening among psychiatric patients treated at therapeutical doses with the dose and the plasma concentration of thioridazine. Since debrisoquine MR has been shown to be correlated with the QTc intervals, CYP2D6 enzyme hydroxylation capacity might be relevant in determining the risk for QTc interval lengthening. Patients with impaired CYP2D6 enzyme activity due to enzyme inhibition by thioridazine might be more prone to increased risk of sudden death due to torsade de pointes type cardiac dysrhythmia.
Effect of ethanol on psychomotor performance and on risk taking behaviour
Authors: Farquhar K. , Lambert K. , Drummond G. B. , Tiplady B. , Wright P.
Published: April 2009

Ethanol may increase the willingness to take risks, but this issue remains controversial. We used a risk-taking paradigm in which volunteers answered a series of general knowledge questions with numerical answers and were asked to judge the length of a line that would just fit into a given gap. A maximum score was given for an exactly correct answer. For answers that were less than the correct value, the score was reduced gradually to zero, while answers even slightly over the correct value were penalized considerably. Total points were rewarded by cash payments, so volunteers were taking real risks when making their responses. Performance was assessed in a two-period, double-blind crossover study, comparing ethanol (0.7 g/kg) with placebo in 20 female volunteers aged 19–20 years. Tests were carried out before and at 45 min after dosing. Mean (SD) ethanol blood alcohol concentrations were 65 (10.5) mg/100 ml. Ethanol impaired the skill/ability measure of the length estimation test (SD of difference between length of line and gap), which increased from 5.9 to 6.6 (p < 0.05), indicating a reduced accuracy of estimation. The risk measures in both tasks were not significantly affected. The skill/ability measure in the general knowledge task was not significantly affected. Other performance tests showed that ethanol produced the expected impairment of both speed and accuracy. These results suggest that risk-taking is not increased by ethanol at doses approaching the UK legal limit for driving.
The safety and tolerability of zolpidem — an update
Authors: Darcourt G. , Pringuey D. , Sallière D. , Lavoisy J.
Published: April 2009

Zolpidem belongs to a new class of hypnotic agents, chemically distinct from the pre-existing ones, and has a unique neuropharmacological profile. It induces sedative/hypnotic effects in rodents at doses much lower than those for anticonvulsant and myorelaxant activities. Clinically, zolpidem is indicated for the short term treatment of insomnia. It has a short half-life (2.4 h), with no active metabolite, and does not accumulate during repeated administration. The pharmacokinetic profile associated with the absence of active metabolites is consistent with the short duration of action and absence of residual effects that have been observed. Polysomnographic experience indicates that zolpidem induces a sleep pattern which is similar to that of physiological sleep, and which produces either no or only minimal effects on sleep architecture after abrupt discontinuation. Aspects of the general safety of zolpidem have been studied in data obtained from healthy volunteers and patients, both adult and elderly, during its clinical development and in post-marketing experience. Zolpidem appears to be well-tolerated in adults and in the elderly, when administered in accordance with prescribing instructions. The available data indicate that, in these circumstances, the risk of abuse or dependence is minimal.
Suicide in the course of the treatment of depression
Authors: Healy D. , Langmaak C. , Savage M.
Published: April 2009

Five different mechanisms have been proposed whereby antidepressant treatment might lead to suicide: first by simply ameliorating depressions more rapidly; second by an action intrinsic to the specific antidepressant effects; third by toxicity in overdose; fourth by side-effects of specific antidepressants; and finally by virtue of treatment inefficacy. Evidence from randomized control trials (RCT), controlled case studies and epidemiological studies on this question is reviewed and it is concluded that antidepressants can be implicated in some cases of suicide during treatment. Modifications of clinical trial methods and pharmacogenetic studies would yield a richer data set to explore this issue further.
Pharmacological stress diathesis syndromes
Authors: Healy David , Tranter Richard
Published: April 2009

Recent descriptions of discontinuation syndromes following treatment with antidepressants and antipsychotics, in some cases long lasting, challenge both public and scienti¢c models of addiction and drug dependence. Antipsychotic and antidepressant drug dependencies point to a need to identify predisposing constitutional and personality factors in the patient, pharmacological risk factors in the drug and aspects of therapeutic style that may contribute to the development of stress syndromes. The stress syndromes following antipsychotics also point to the probable existence of a range of syndromes emerging within treatment. The characteristics of these need to be established.
Does sensitization occur to prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex effects of repeated apomorphine treatments in rats?
Authors: Martin-Iverson Mathew T.
Published: April 2009

There are conflicting reports as to whether or not the effects of dopamine agonist effects at reducing prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex develop sensitization with repeated treatments. In this experiment, rats (12 per each dose group) were treated for 10 days prior to startle-testing on each day with 0 (vehicle), 50, 200 or 800 mg/kg of apomorphine. Startle testing was conducted with each rat receiving no stimulus trials (null trials), startle pulse only trials (40 ms 105 dB white noise), prepulse only trials (20 ms 72 dB 5 kHz tone) and prepulse+pulse trials with a 100 ms stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA, i.e. the lead time from onset of prepulse to onset of pulse).The rats were then challenged after 57 days of withdrawal from the treatment regimen with a vehicle and apomorphine (200 mg/kg) injection with the order of injection counterbalanced. A range of SOAs and two different prepulse intensities (68 and 70 dB) were presented to every rat on the challenge tests. Sensitization developed during treatment to the increase in motor activity produced by the two higher doses, and to the increase in an orienting response produced by the prepulse stimulus in the highest dose group, but not to the prepulse inhibition effect of the drugs.The 50 mg/kg inhibitory autoreceptor selective dose decreased responses on the first of three blocks of both null trials and prepulse only trials. The two higher doses dose-dependently increased startle reflex amplitudes on the prepulse+pulse trials (reduced prepulse inhibition), but this effect did not exhibit sensitization during treatment.The lowest dose significantly increased prepulse inhibition relative to the vehicle-treated group on the first block of trials over days. After apomorphine challenge, sensitization to the effects of apomorphine on reducing prepulse inhibition was apparent for some dose groups at some SOAs. Sensitization to the effects of apomorphine on prepulse inhibition can be demonstrated upon a subsequent drug challenge if pretreatments are associated exclusively with the startle testing environment.
Radio-imaging in small animals
Authors: Myers Ralph , Hume Susan , Bloomfield Peter , Jones Terry
Published: April 2009

As the resolution of radio-imaging systems improves, the prospect of in-vivo imaging of small animals becomes more attractive. Purpose-built positron emission tomography (PET) scanners capable of imaging individual tissues within the rat brain are now in routine experimental use and in-vivo tracer and saturation-kinetic studies are now possible. The study of small animals in this way does have intrinsic problems and constraints associated with it. For example, the animal must be completely immobilized, stable ligand within the radiolabelled preparation may be limiting and anatomical definition may be poor. In spite of this, consistent, semi-quantitative data can be produced and in-vivo radio-imaging can provide a genuine and unique complement to more conventional techniques. Animal numbers can be significantly reduced and the quality of data improved due to reduced inter-animal variation, and longitudinal studies, to monitor disease progression, are feasible. As the resolution of imaging systems improves still further, such studies could be extended to mouse, in addition to rat, models of disease.
In Search of Tools to Aid Logical Thinking and Communicating about Medical Decision Making
Authors: Hunink M. G. Myriam
Published: April 2009

To have real-time impact on medical decision making, decision analysts need a wide variety of tools to aid logical thinking and communication. Decision models provide a formal framework to integrate evidence and values, but they are commonly perceived as complex and difficult to understand by those unfamiliar with the methods, especially in the context of clinical decision making. The theory of constraints, introduced by Eliyahu Goldratt in the business world, provides a set of tools for logical thinking and communication that could potentially be useful in medical decision making. The author used the concept of a conflict resolution diagram to analyze the decision to perform carotid endarterectomy prior to coronary artery bypass grafting in a patient with both symptomatic coronary and asymptomatic carotid artery disease. The method enabled clinicians to visualize and analyze the issues, identify and discuss the underlying assumptions, search for the best available evidence, and use the evidence to make a well-founded decision. The method also facilitated communication among those involved in the care of the patient. Techniques from fields other than decision analysis can potentially expand the repertoire of tools available to support medical decision making and to facilitate communication in decision consults.
Cost-effectiveness of Harm Reduction in Preventing Hepatitis C among Injection Drug Users
Authors: Pollack Harold A.
Published: April 2009

Objectives. Hepatitis C (HCV) has emerged as a major epidemic among injection drug users (IDUs), with observed prevalence exceeding 70% in many American and European cities. This article explores the potential of syringe exchange programs (SEPs) to reduce HCV incidence and prevalence. Design. A random-mixing epidemiological model is used to examine the potential impact of harm reduction interventions. Methods. Steady-state analysis is used to scrutinize the impact of SEP on HCV incidence and prevalence and to examine the accuracy of short-term incidence analysis in predicting long-run program effects. Results. SEP is predicted to have little impact on HCV incidence and prevalence within realistic populations of IDUs. Conclusions. Short-term incidence analysis substantially overstates SEP effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in preventing HCV. More comprehensive harm reduction models, coupled with referral of active IDUs to treatment, must complement syringe exchange to successfully contain highly infectious blood-borne diseases.
Identifying Diagnostic Errors with Induced Decision Trees
Authors: Murphy Catherine K.
Published: April 2009

Objective. The purpose of this article is to compare the diagnostic accuracy of induced decision trees with that of pruned neural networks and to improve the accuracy and interpretation of breast cancer diagnosis from readings of thin-needle aspirate by identifying cases likely to be misclassified by induced decision rules. Method. Using an online database consisting of 699 cases of suspected breast cancer and their corresponding readings of fine-needle aspirate, decision trees were induced from half of the cases, randomly selected. Accuracy was determined for the remaining cases in successive partitions. The pattern of errors in the multiple decision trees was examined. A smaller data set was created with 2 classes: (1) correctly classified and (2) misclassified by a decision tree, rather than the original benign and malignant classes. From this data set, decision trees that describe the misclassified cases were induced. Results. Larger, less severely pruned decision trees were more accurate in breast cancer diagnosis for both training and test data. The accuracy of the induced decision trees exceeded that reported for the smaller pruned neural networks. Combining classifications from 2 trees was effective in identifying malignancies missed by a single tree. Induced decision trees were able to identify patterns associated with misclassified cases, but the identification of errors inductively did not improve the overall error rate. Conclusion. In this application, a model that is too compact identifies fewer cases of the minority class, malignancy. New methods that combine models and examine classification errors can improve diagnosis by identifying more malignancies and by describing ambiguous cases.
Intermediate Short-Term Outcomes after Brain Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Neurology Outpatients
Authors: Demaerel Philippe , Béatse Erik , Roels Kristiaan , Thijs Vincent
Published: April 2009

Objective. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the impact of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) on diagnostic and therapeutic decision making, taking into account the real cost of both techniques at the authors’ institution. Method. Brain CT and routine and rapid MRI were compared, and case files were prepared with either the CT or the MRI findings. These files were separately presented to a neurologist, and different questions were asked about further management. The real cost of CT and MRI was calculated. A questionnaire was sent to the patients 3 months after imaging. Results. More lesions were detected on MRI than on CT. Routine and rapid MRI were comparable. The analysis of the CT case files revealed an additional request for MRI in 33% of the patients. An analysis of the MRI case files revealed that 20% more technical examinations were requested after MRI than after CT. In the majority of the patients (90%), neuroimaging had no impact on therapy except by means of reassurance of the physician. The scan was considered useful for therapeutic planning by excluding the presence of a space-occupying lesion. The real cost of the MRI strategy was 9% higher than that of the CT strategy. Conclusion. In this patient population, neuroimaging was normal in the majority of the patients. Undergoing an imaging examination was of benefit to the patients and improved their sense of well-being mainly by the reassurance they experienced, as reported by 91% of the patients. At the authors’ institution, the real cost of MRI in this patient population was only slightly higher than the real cost of CT. The statistical analysis favors the use of MRI as a 1st imaging examination.
Households, Kinfolk, and Absent Teenagers: The Demographic Transition in the Old South
Authors: Cashin Joan E.
Published: April 2009

This article examines eleven hundred white households from the federal census for the years 1810 to 1860 in three rural counties, Charlotte County, Virginia; Caswell County, North Carolina; and Darlington County, South Carolina, the first systemic examination of yeoman and planter households in the Old South. Household structure varies according to the wealth of the household head: the richer the household, the less likely it is to be nuclear in organization. Household size also varies according to wealth-holding: the richest households tend to be the largest, and the poorest households tend to be the smallest. In the late antebellum era, household size drops for all whites, but the standard explanations do not apply. Instead, yeomen led the way in the obligation transition by taking in fewer dependent relatives and sending their teenage children out in the world, while planters entered the early phases of the fertility transition by increasing intervals between their children.
“Younger People are Preferred”: The Self-Images of Elderly Women Represented in Their Letters to a Dutch Almshouse, 1885-1940
Authors: Stavenuiter Monique
Published: April 2009

Between 1885 and 1940, about 150 women of the Dutch lower middle class wrote letters to apply for rooms in the Van Brants Rushofje in Amsterdam, an institution especially meant for elderly women. This article analyses the self-images of these women, defined as an evaluation of their own situations, and asks the question whether these women related their self-images to their advanced age or to changing social circumstances, such as loss of work, decline of income, changes within the household, and the onset of illnesses. The article focuses on the period around 1900 because at that time, the almshouse was still functioning in its nineteenthcentury philanthropic tradition.
Youth in Canada West: A Case Study of Red Hill Farm School Emigrants, 1854-1868
Authors: Neff Charlotte
Published: April 2009

From 1854 to 1868, ninety-eight boys age fourteen to twenty voluntarily emigrated from the reformatory farm school at Red Hill, England, to Canada West. Volunteer correspondents and earlier immigrants assisted them on arrival and found them positions. While most accepted these positions, they determined their own employment terms, which were subject to employment law and not the law governing pauper apprentices, as was standard for younger immigrants. Few undertook trade apprenticeships. While the Canadian correspondents tried to track them and reported to Red Hill on their progress, they exerted little control over the lives of these independent, mobile young adults.
Complex Households, a Fading Glory: Household Formation During the Collective Period in the People’s Republic of China
Authors: Wang Danyu
Published: April 2009

The collective period fermented a historical transition in rural Chinese families toward reducing the household to simple forms and toward weakening the stigma on household division. Using ethnographic and demographic data collected in a northeastern village, I investigate two mechanisms of change in household formation. The new political-economic institutions—the collectives and class divisions—brought structural changes in household organization and sustained the departure from the traditional ideal of a complex household. Unique circumstances—the turbulent social environments, the famine of 1960, and the prevalent poverty—triggered and justified the deviation from the family tradition.
Lady Anne Clifford as Mother and Matriarch: Domestic and Dynastic Issues in her Life and Writings
Authors: Klein Lisa M.
Published: April 2009

This essay interprets the life and writings of Lady Anne Clifford with a new focus on Clifford’s maternal experiences in the context of the early modern aristocratic family. Clifford’s ownwritings reveal her anxieties about pregnancy and her experiences as a mother who lost five infant sons yet nurtured two daughters to maturity, thence to become a thriving grandmother. It also uncovers and corrects an error in the genealogical record regarding the birth of Clifford’s son, demonstrating the need to reframe historical inquiry to include domestic evidence and subjective life-writings. Clifford’s case reveals the extent to which motherhood, besides being her biological destiny, was a foundation of identity and a vital source of cultural authority for the early modern woman.
Family Size in the Peloponnese (Southern Greece) in 1700
Authors: Wagstaff Malcolm
Published: April 2009

This article initially presents a reworking of data in a Venetian census of 1700 for the Peloponnese, a region in southern Greece. The analysis is then compared with one based on another Venetian document dated either to 1702 or 1711, and a mean family size of about 4.0 is confirmed. The calculations for 1700 are refined to produce calculations of mean family size for urban and rural communities (3.60 and 4.17, respectively). The results are then discussed in terms of data from the early nineteenth century for the same region. Conclusions are drawn that support the case for a small mean family size in southern Europe in the eighteenth century and question the continued use of multipliers as high as 5.0 in converting Ottoman fiscal data into population numbers.
“Many Divorces and Many Spinsters”: Marriage as an Invented Tradition in Southern Malawi, 1946-1999
Authors: Kaler Amy
Published: April 2009

In the author’s 1999 interviews, elders in a district of southern Malawi insisted that the marriages of their children and grandchildren are a weakened and degenerate form of the marriages of their own youth. However, data from the 1940s shows that identical beliefs about marriage were held even then. Marriage is thus constantly presented as an institution in crisis, deteriorating from an Arcadian form located in the ever-receding past. The author uses an expansion of the notion of invented tradition to describe this historically consistent rhetorical presentation of marriage and suggests questions that this invented tradition presents for family historians.
Old and Cared for: Place of Residence for Elderly Women in Eighteenth-Century Toulouse
Authors: Klassen Sherri
Published: April 2009

Although they lacked the ideological and economic advantages of patriarchal authority, women in eighteenth-century France were no less likely than men to receive support in their old age from friends and family. Elderly women rarely lived on their own, and when they could not rely on their children for support, they found care in more distant kin and friends. This support was not derived from economic coercion but from a vague sense of moral duty. Informal networks of care sufficed for both the rich and the poor except in cases of extreme illness.
The Social Significance of Benevolent and Malevolent Gifts Among Single Caste Women in Mid-Seventeenth-Century New Spain
Authors: Megged Amos
Published: April 2009

This article reconsiders the model of the “alternative household” of single, unattached caste women in mid-seventeenth-century New Spain. It also explores the particular “strategies of survival” adopted by single women to challenge, to undermine, and to overcome local conditions, barriers, and norms of suppression, as well as to regenerate and reformulate change, and to effect revenge, from their alternative, familial frameworks. Benevolent and malevolent gifts shared among these women and passed on to men, as this article shows, were part of the package of such ritualized strategies and were closely tied with the rule of concubinage. A close study of the women's own testimony in these diverse tales brings forward also the need to review the inner working of the social mechanisms behind the uses of “love magic” in the New World, as well as in Europe.
Separating Law and Professional Practice From Politics
Authors: Daniel Christopher
Published: April 2009

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures have not changed since being promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and three other agencies in 1978, even though assessment psychology and adverse impact law have evolved. Introducing the symposium, this article suggests that political conflict prevented the Guidelines from being revised in the 1980s and 1990s and could prevent modification from occurring in the future. Instead of relying exclusively on the Guidelines, managers directing selection processes should periodically monitor legal developments and research trends that are reshaping assessment practice.
New Jersey Local Government Benefits Practices Survey
Authors: Roberts Gary E.
Published: April 2009

Employee benefits are an essential and costly component of the compensation and human resource management system. This research effort surveyed 118 New Jersey local governments on their employee benefits practices. The survey results clearly indicate that New Jersey local governments are competitive with the private sector in terms of traditional benefits (health, pensions, dental coverage, and so on). Local governments lag behind the private sector, however, in the deployment of key family-friendly benefits such as child care, elder care, flexi-place, flextime, and job sharing. Recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of local government benefits plan administration include comprehensive needs assessment, labor-management cooperation, and state-level technical assistance.
Alliance and Border Effects on the War Behavior of States: Refining the Interaction Opportunity Model
Authors: Siverson Randolph M. , Starr Harvey
Published: April 2009

The authors investigate the expectations generated by the “interaction opportunity” model initially developed by Most and Starr for the study of diffusion. The impact that borders and alliances have as “treatments” on the overall war behavior of states is the focus of study, looking at both individual and interactive effects. Using the war behavior of all states in the system from 1815–1965, the analyses support the expectations generated by the interaction opportunity model. The treatments of warring border nations and warring alliance partners, of various types and combinations, predispose states to be at war.
Some Economic Effects of Unilateral and Multilateral Reductions in Military Expenditures in the Major Industrialized and Developing Countries
Authors: Haveman Jon D. , Deardorff Alan V. , Stern Robert M.
Published: April 2009

We use the Michigan Model of World Trade and Production to assess the sectoral effects on the U.S. economy of: (1) a 25% unilateral reduction of military expenditures in the United States and (2) a 25% multilateral reduction of military expenditures in all of the major Western industrialized and developing countries included in the Michigan Model. Our principal findings suggest that the overall effects are not substantial. Although the sectoral results differ significantly depending on the alternative assumptions concerning compensating macroeconomic policies, less than 1.0% of the workforce might experience dislocation in all cases. The results of the multilateral reduction are qualitatively similar to those of a unilateral reduction.
Relative Bargaining Power in International Debt Negotiation: Collective Action, Sovereignty En Garde, or Mutual Partisan Adjustment?
Authors: Chan Steve
Published: April 2009

This paper analyzes the strategic conduct of three classes of actors in the management of Third World debt problems. It examines the behavior and incentives of the private banks, their home governments, and their foreign governmental clients in light of perspectives on collective action, sovereignty en garde, and partisan mutual adjustment. The statistical patterns of past debt negotiation outcomes show some shortcomings of these perspectives, while at the same time pointing to other aspects of reality which can be usefully illuminated by them. Both the theoretical and empirical analyses suggest international debt management as a mixed-motive game among purposive egoists. The actors' bargaining leverage, however, differs considerably with respect to the determination of loan availability as opposed to the negotiation over the financial terms for the loans.
Enduring Rivalries and Territorial Disputes, 1950-1990
Authors: Huth Paul K.
Published: April 2009

In this paper a set of hypotheses about the conditions under which territorial disputes evolve into enduring rivalries are tested against a dataset of 129 territorial disputes in the international system from 1950-1990. During this period only 36 territorial disputes developed into enduring rivalries. The central theoretical question I address is what conditions cause foreign policy leaders to adopt non-violent and more flexible diplomatic policies over disputed territory and, conversely, when will leaders pursue territorial claims in a more aggressive and confrontational manner? To answer this question I utilize a modified realist approach which posits that foreign policy choices are shaped by the domestic political goal of state leaders to retain their position of political power. From this theoretical approach a series of hypotheses focusing on the issues at stake in control of disputed territory, the domestic political context, and the international political-military environment of challenger states are formulated. Empirical results, based on statistical tests, are then presented and provide considerable evidence of the interplay of domestic and international level variables in the decisions of state leaders whether to pursue territorial goals by means of diplomatic and military pressure over an extended period of time.
Militarized Interstate Disputes, 1816–1992: Rationale, Coding Rules, and Empirical Patterns
Authors: Jones Daniel M. , Bremer Stuart A. , Singer J. David
Published: April 2009

Militarized interstate disputes are united historical cases of conflict in which the threat, display or use of military force short of war by one member state is explicitly directed towards the government, official representatives, official forces, property, or territory of another state. Disputes are composed of incidents that range in intensity from threats to use force to actual combat short of war. The new dispute data set generated by the Correlates of War project contains information on over 2,000 such disputes found to have occurred in the period 1816–1992. As in the earlier version of the data set, the participants, start and end dates, fatality totals, and hostility levels for each dispute are identified, but the newer version disaggregates this information for each participant and provides additional information about the revisionist state(s), type(s) of revision sought, outcome, and method of settlement for each dispute. A preliminary analysis of the data shows some interesting empircal patterns. Contagion and a slight upward trend are found in the frequency of disputes at the system level. The duration of disputes appears to be positively associated with the level of hostility reached and the number of states involved, and disputes appear to have a feud-like character. The single most important factor found to increase the fatality level of a dispute is the number of states that join after its onset. However, most disputes begin and end as one-on-one confrontations, and this tendency is stronger in the current period than in the past. An examination of dispute escalation reveals that many disputes begin with uses of force rather than less intense threats or displays of force and that states joining an ongoing dispute raise the likelihood that the dispute will reach higher levels of hostility. With respect to the settlement of disputes it was found that the longer a dispute continues, the higher the likelihood of some settlement, either negotiated or imposed, being achieved, althogh there is a discernable trend away from such settlements over the period studied. A related trend was found with respect to the outcome of disputes as stalemate has become a much more likely outcome in the present than in the past.
The Policy Implications of Power Parity
Authors: Kugler Jacek
Published: April 2009

Noting that important discoveries linger in the classrooms despite effective specification and empirical support, a bridge from theory to policy is advocated. Policy prescriptions should be made cautiously, but they must be made when failure to disclose scientific findings has serious downside implications. The power transition research project pioneered by AFK Organski is used as an illustration because this perspective systematically and accurately accounts for changes in world politics both before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union*. The unorthodox policy prescription is that to assure a peaceful transition, the United States must be proactive in setting the status quo conditions prior to the anticipated overtaking by China. Once this obstacle is passed, a long period of global peace should ensue. The specific policies that advance peace include (1) Expand NATO to include Eastern Europe, then Russia to postpone an overtaking by China, or more boldly expand NATO to include China to remove incentives for global war. (2) Restructure the Security Council to reflect the changing power hierarchy and increase its capacity to defuse regional conflicts and limit escalation. (4) Maintain nuclear asymmetry and minimizing nuclear proliferation to minimize the danger of a global and regional nuclear war. (5) Recognize that despite efforts by the United States, regional powerovertaking will continue to generating the necessary structural conditions for serious conflict. In sum, taking advantage of its power preponderance the United States can by timely policy interventions minimize regional instability and solidify the tenuous global stability we now enjoy.
Clinical and EEG Features of Epilepsy in Children and Adolescents in Down Syndrome
Authors: Śmigielska-Kuzia Joanna , Sobaniec Wojciech , Kułak Wojciech , Boćkowski Leszek
Published: April 2009

Epilepsy is rarely considered as a major component of Down syndrome. We evaluated the prevalence of epileptic seizures in 252 (97 girls and 155 boys) children and adolescents with Down syndrome evaluated at Department of Pediatric Neurology between 1994 and 2007. Results showed that 15 (6%) patients had epileptic seizures: 8 partial seizures; 1 infantile spasms, 1 Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and 5 generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Electroencephalography was performed on all patients with Down syndrome. Focal changes, spikes, generalized slowing, and hypsarrhythmia were recorded. The electroencephalography was found to be abnormal in Down syndrome with epilepsy in 100%. Almost 60% of patients with Down syndrome and epilepsy had seizures, but 40% of the patients were seizures-free. Quantitative electroencephalography analysis revealed significant differences between children with Down syndrome and the control groups in the alpha, delta, and beta rhythms. Our findings are in accordance with other reports.
Techniques and Procedures: Surgical Treatment for Severe Obesity: The State‐of‐the‐Art for the New Millennium
Authors: Shikora Scott A.
Published: April 2009

Obesity is becoming an ever‐increasing health concern for the Western world. As the incidence rises, so do the health care costs. For patients with extreme obesity, surgical treatments have evolved into safe and effective options. The current procedures have grown from the experience obtained over 30 years of evolution. This accumulated knowledge, along with the introduction of minimally invasive techniques, may further improve the safety of these procedures. As we enter the new millennium, the current surgical techniques, in conjunction with the many aspects of a multidisciplinary approach to patient screening, preparation, and aftercare, offer the best treatment option for these patients. A thorough understanding of the procedures, including the potential long‐term considerations, is also critical to minimize problems and maximize success.
Bedside Small Bowel Feeding Tube Placement in Critically III Patients Utilizing a Dietitian/Nurse Team Approach
Authors: Taylor Beth , Schallom Lynn
Published: April 2009

Background: To determine if a previously described protocol for small bowel feeding tube (SBFT) placement would be feasible for use in surgical/trauma/burn intensive care population; if limiting the number of a professionals placing the tubes would achieve a sufficient success rate for cost effectiveness; and to determine the effectiveness of a certified nutrition support dietitian (CNSD)/clinical nurse specialist (CNS) team approach to tube placement. Method: Prospective trial of bedside small bowel feeding tube placement by a CNS/CNSD team. The setting was an university‐affiliated surgical/trauma/burn intensive care unit. A total of 74 patients were included in the study. Results: We successfully placed 64 of 74 (86.4%) SBFTs in our intensive care unit. The CNS successfully placed 32 of 38 tubes and the CNSD placed 32 of 36 tubes. Of the successfully placed tubes 41 (64%) were at or beyond the ligament of Treitz. Of the other 23 (36%), 6 were in the second portion of the duodenum, 12 were in the third portion of the duodenum and 5 were in the fourth portion of the duodenum. Of physicians and nurses surveyed, 100% were more satisfied with bedside SBFT placement vs fluoroscopy SBFT placement. Conclusions: Successful bedside placement of SBFT in a surgical/trauma/burn intensive care setting by a CNSD/CNS team approach is a feasible cost effective alternative to fluoroscopy SBFT placement.
Higher Education Consortia for Early Intervention: A Survey of State Efforts
Authors: McCormick Katherine M. , Vail Cynthia , Gallagher Peggy A.
Published: April 2009

A significant challenge to the successful implementation of statewide early intervention service delivery systems is the adequate and timely preparation of personnel to provide appropriate family-centered interdisciplinary services for young children and their families. A promising strategy utilized by state agencies and faculty to build personnel preparation program capacity is the formation of consortia of faculty from the early intervention disciplines. However, no systematic data exists to document the use of such consortia. To address this need, this study provides descriptive data on higher education consortia obtained from a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents were the directors, coordinators (or designees) of each of the state early intervention systems. The data revealed that more than half of the states utilized a Higher Education Consortium (HEC) to facilitate personnel development and capacity building in the early intervention disciplines. Information about the membership, mission, and meeting structure of the consortia is provided as well as potential explanations as to why some states are not using a higher education consortium specific to early intervention.
The graphic strategy: the uses and functions of illustrations in Wundt’s Grundzüge
Authors: Draaisma Douwe , De Rijcke Sarah
Published: April 2009

Illustrations played an important role in the articulation of Wundt’s experimental program. Focusing on the woodcuts of apparatus and experimental designs in the six editions of his Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie (published between 1873 and 1911), we investigate the uses and functions of illustrations in the experimental culture of the physiological and psychological sciences. We will first present some statistics on the increasing number of illustrations Wundt included in each new edition of his handbook. Next we will show how Wundt managed to introduce the material and literary technologies of physiology into the ‘new psychology’. The distribution of Wundt’s material technology will be further demonstrated by highlighting the crucial role of technicians and instrument-makers. We will use Shapin and Schaffer’s notions of the ‘three technologies’ and ‘virtual witnessing’, combined with Latour’s concept of ‘immutable mobiles’, as analytical tools to explore the strategic aspects of Wundt’s illustrations.
Historicizing inversion: or, how to make a homosexual
Authors: Reed Matt T.
Published: April 2009

At the end of the 19th century, the vocabulary of sexuality - perversion - became one of the primary means by which people began to articulate and think about their individuality, their sense of self. Joining authors like Ian Hacking and Arnold Davidson, I suggest the importance of a ‘style of reasoning’ to the creation of sexual kinds at the end of the 19th century, a kind of reasoning that might be styled as historical. For the invert to become possible as a human kind, the conceptual space for an understanding of inverts as specific kinds needed to be cleared. In France, this was accomplished by conceiving individuals as elaborated historically, as the product of prior generations, and by differentiating them from other kinds of people via notions of heredity and degeneration. The invert was plotted within the meta-récit of French progress (and national degeneration). This logic of ‘historicization’ also entailed the scrutiny of the patient’s past in order to reveal his or her ‘nature’ as pathological. Understanding the conceptualization of inversion as including, in part, a ‘pursuit of memory’ provides a window onto the vexing question of how people come to take up their classifications; that is, how discourses interact with the subjects they purport to describe. Through the ‘pursuit of memory’, persons were encouraged to (re)describe their pasts in terms of the present diagnosis. An essential attribute of the literature on ‘inversion’ was precisely such an historically formed understanding of pathological individuals; an understanding that ushered in the transformation from acts to natures, from individuals to kinds, from sodomites to homosexuals.