bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Humanity, Suffering and Victimhood: A Defence of Human Rights Pragmatism
Authors: Souter James
Published: January 2009

This article explores and defends the pragmatist approach to human rights exemplified by Michael Ignatieff, which seeks to justify them in terms of their practical ability to reduce suffering and abuse. It then presents Alain Badiou's radical critique of this kind of ‘ethic of human rights’, which claims that it presupposes a negative conception of the human as a victim and leads to a highly conservative politics. However, Badiou's arguments are largely rejected, since they distort the conception of humanity that underlies this ethic, and misrepresent its actual understanding of the role of human rights in politics.
The Wisdom of Many in One Mind
Authors: Herzog Stefan M. , Hertwig Ralph
Published: January 2009

The “wisdom of crowds” in making judgments about the future or other unknown events is well established. The average quantitative estimate of a group of individuals is consistently more accurate than the typical estimate, and is sometimes even the best estimate. Although individuals' estimates may be riddled with errors, averaging them boosts accuracy because both systematic and random errors tend to cancel out across individuals. We propose exploiting the power of averaging to improve estimates generated by a single person by using an approach we call dialectical bootstrapping. Specifically, it should be possible to reduce a person's error by averaging his or her first estimate with a second one that harks back to somewhat different knowledge. We derive conditions under which dialectical bootstrapping fosters accuracy and provide an empirical demonstration that its benefits go beyond reliability gains. A single mind can thus simulate the wisdom of many.
What I Was Doing Versus What I Did
Authors: Hart William , Albarracín Dolores
Published: January 2009

This research examined whether describing past actions as ongoing using the imperfective aspect (rather than describing them as completed using the perfective aspect) promotes memory for action-relevant knowledge and reenactment of these actions in a future context. In Experiment 1 , participants who used the imperfective aspect to describe their strategy on a prior interpersonal task were more likely to use this strategy on a later task than were participants who used the perfective aspect to describe their prior strategy. Experiment 2 demonstrated that describing behaviors on a task using the imperfective rather than the perfective aspect increased willingness to resume that task by improving memory for task contents. The last two experiments showed that the effects of the imperfective aspect on memory decayed over time and that the imperfective aspect facilitated performance of a future behavior only when the described past behavior was relevant to the future behavior. Thus, the effects of aspect are moderated by memory decay and are behavior-specific.
Second‐order analysis of inhomogeneous spatio‐temporal point process data
Authors: Gabriel Edith , Diggle Peter J.
Published: January 2009

Second‐order methods provide a natural starting point for the analysis of spatial point process data. In this note we extend to the spatio‐temporal setting a method proposed byBaddeley et al.[Statistica Neerlandica(2000) Vol. 54, pp. 329–350] for inhomogeneous spatial point process data, and apply the resulting estimator to data on the spatio‐temporal distribution of humanCampylobacterinfections in an area of north‐west England.
Statistics, ethics and probiotica
Authors: Gill Richard D.
Published: January 2009

Ethical issues involved in the design of the ‘PROPATRIA’ probiotica trial are discussed. This randomized clinical trial appeared to be well conducted according to accepted good practices. The finding that the treatment was actually rather harmful, and that despite this, and despite a built‐in interim analysis, the trial was not stopped earlier, led to strong criticism in the media. I argue that ‘accepted good practices’ need to be reconsidered in the light of this experience. First, a much stronger distinction needs to be recognized between the immediate interests of the patients being treated in the trial and the interests of future patients of future doctors elsewhere. Secondly, it is in the interests of future patients that well‐conducted clinical trials are accepted by society. As it is unavoidable that an occasional trial will result in an unpredicted severely negative outcome, ethical screening committees must ensure that those performing a trial can never be accused of putting the interest of ‘science’ above the interest of their own patients when such ‘accidents’ happen. There are two consequences of this. First, the design of a trial should also explicitly lead to minimizing the number of patients who are treated by the researchers with a potentially seriously harmful medicine. Secondly, the disadvantages of triple‐blinding far outweigh the advantages. Although it might at best only have saved a few lives if the PROPATRIA trial been re‐designed with these issues in mind, I argue that the scientific value of the trial would not have been significantly reduced; the damage to medical research, and hence to future patients, would have been substantially less. Closer inspection of the data from the PROPATRIA trial brings a new and quite unexpected failing to light. The decision for stopping the trial early was accidentally based on the one‐sided test looking in the wrong direction, partly through the inadequacy of the output of the statistical package, SPSS and partly through lack of statistical expertise on the part of the users. If the envisaged one‐sided stopping rule had been used correctly, the trial would in fact have been terminated at the time of the interim analysis ‘for futility’; it was at this moment highly unlikely that a significant end‐result in favour of probiotica was going to be attained. The decision to continue the trial was a result of looking at the test statistic ‘in the wrong direction’. In effect, the trial was continued because there was still a good chance to show that probiotica is actually very harmful. I recommend that data‐monitoring committees should always be advised by a professional statistician, who is not blinded to the treatment allocation.
Non‐linearities, Business Cycles and Exchange Rates
Authors: Chinn Menzie D.
Published: January 2009

This paper conjoins the disparate empirical literatures on exchange rate models and monetary policy models, with special reference to the importance of output, inflation gaps and exchange rate targets. It focuses in on the dollar/euro exchange rate, and the differential results arising from using alternative measures of the output gap for the US and for the Euro area. A comparison of ‘in‐sample’ prediction against alternative models of exchange rates is also conducted. In addition to predictive power, I also assess the various models' plausibility as economic explanations for exchange rate movements, based on the conformity of coefficient estimates with priors. Taylor rule fundamentals appear to do as well, or better, than other models at the 1‐year horizon.
Composition of International Assets and the Long‐run Current Account
Authors: Tille Cedric
Published: January 2009

We document the role of capital gains and losses for the current account that a country can sustain along a balanced growth path. While it is well know that growth allows a country to run a current account deficit and still keep its external debt stable as a share of GDP, the sensitivity of the current account to the composition of external assets and liabilities has received little attention. We show that this composition matters because several assets, such as equity or FDI, earn substantial capital gains that are not reflected in the current account. A country that is a net creditor in such assets can then sustain a larger current account deficit. Using a broad sample, we show that this aspect substantially tilts estimates of the long‐run current account towards a deficit among industrialized economies, with the opposite situation for emerging markets. We also show that industrialized economies are likely to benefit from predictable capital gains in the future.
Fundamentals at Odds? The US Current Account Deficit and Dollar
Authors: Milesi‐Ferretti Gian Maria
Published: January 2009

In mid‐2008, the real effective exchange rate (REER) of the dollar was close to its minimum level for the past four decades. At the same time, however, the US trade and current account deficits remain large and, absent a significant correction in coming years, would contribute to a further accumulation of US external liabilities. The paper discusses the tension between these two aspects of the dollar assessment, and what factors can help to reconcile them. It focuses in particular on the terms of trade, adjustment lags and measurement issues related to both the REER and the current account balance.
Assessment of mother‐to‐child HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 transmission: an AIDS reference laboratory collaborative study
Authors: Pádua E , Almeida C , Nunes B , Cortes Martins H , Castela J , Neves C , Paixão MT
Published: January 2009

Objective

A prospective study was carried out to assess HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 mother‐to‐child transmission (MTCT) rates in Portugal between 1999 and 2005 by analysing the proportion of diagnosed infected children born to HIV‐positive mothers.

Materials and methods

Serial blood samples were collected from 1315 children at risk of HIV‐1 infection, 131 children at risk of HIV‐2 infection and six children at risk of both HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 infections attending 25 Health Institutions. HIV proviral DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and statistical analysis was performed using spss.

Results

DNA PCR using HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 long terminal repeat (LTR) primers amplified 92.5% and 75% of maternal HIV infections, respectively. Overall, MTCT occurred in 3.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5–4.6%] of HIV‐1 and 1.5% (95% CI 0.2–5.4%) of HIV‐2 mother–child pairs. A significant decrease in HIV‐1 MTCT was observed with time, from 7.0% (95% CI 2.6–14.6%) in 1999 to 0.5% (95% CI 0.0–2.5%) in 2005. HIV MTCT was associated with an absence of antiretroviral therapy in infected pregnant women (P<0.0001). Of the 48 infected children (46 with HIV‐1 and two with HIV‐2), the schedule of blood sample collection was followed for only 26 children. In 14 (53.8%) of those 26 children the infections were diagnosed in the first sample collected before they were 48 h old, suggesting in utero transmission. Despite the national recommendations for antenatal HIV testing, a high overall proportion (22.2% for HIV‐1 and 44.3% for HIV‐2) of mothers did not access any MTCT prevention measures, mostly because of late diagnosis in pregnancy. A small but significant proportion of HIV‐2 infection was found in mothers with no identifiable link with West Africa.

Conclusion

HIV‐2 transmission rates are low (1.5% in this study), and this may have led to a lower uptake of interventions, but in the absence of interventions transmission does occur. HIV‐1 transmission was also associated with a lack of intervention, mostly as a result of late presentation. Use of primers restricted to a single sequence led to false‐negative maternal results in a significant proportion of cases. In part this may have been attributable to very low HIV DNA loads as well as primer template mismatches. HIV infection was not documented in children born to mothers with negative HIV DNA PCR results.
Aetiology of cavitary lung lesions in patients with HIV infection*
Authors: Lin C‐Y , Sun H‐Y , Chen M‐Y , Hsieh S‐M , Sheng W‐H , Lo Y‐C , Hung C‐C , Chang S‐C
Published: January 2009

Background

Although many studies have been carried out on pulmonary diseases in HIV‐infected patients, studies specifically investigating the aetiologies of cavitary lung lesions are rare.

Methods

HIV‐infected patients enrolled in a cohort study who presented with cavitary lung lesions by radiography were identified between June 1994 and March 2008. Medical records and radiological and microbiological data for these patients were retrospectively reviewed using a standardized case collection form.

Results

During the 14‐year study period, 73 episodes of cavitary lung lesions were diagnosed in 66 of 1790 (3.7%) HIV‐infected patients. At the diagnosis of cavitary lung lesions, the median CD4 count was 25 cells/μL (range 1–575 cells/μL). Eighty‐one pathogens were considered causative, with fungi being the most common aetiology (42.0%), followed by bacteria (29.6%) and mycobacteria (25.9%). Of the fungal pneumonias, 19 (55.9%) were caused byPenicillium marneffei, 11 (32.4%) byCryptococcus neoformans, two (5.9%) byPneumocystis jirovecii, and two (5.9%) byAspergillusspecies. During the study period, 11 of 205 patients (5.4%) who were diagnosed as having tuberculosis presented with cavitary lung lesions, compared with 19 of 36 patients (52.8%) with penicilliosis and 11 of 64 patients (17.2%) with cryptococcosis (P<0.0001). The median CD4 count of patients with cavitary lung lesions resulting from tuberculosis (115 cells/μL) was significantly higher than that of patients with cavitary lung lesions resulting from penicilliosis (4 cells/μL) and cryptococcosis (29.5 cells/μL).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that invasive infections attributable to endemic fungi were the leading cause of cavitary lung lesions among patients in the late stage of HIV infection, and were more common than infections attributable to bacteria and mycobacteria.
Preparing for Employment: Prisoners' Experience of Participating in a Prison Training Programme
Authors: HUNTER GILLIAN , BOYCE ISABELLA
Published: January 2009

Abstract: This article presents prisoners' perspectives on participation in a prison employment project. Forty‐four interviews were conducted with 28 offenders, in prison and post release, to explore motivations for taking part, views on training experience, expectations of how it might help employment prospects and the extent to which expectations were fulfilled. Perceived benefits included accruing a qualification and work experience, a fulfilling role relative to other employment opportunities in prison and increased self‐confidence through project activities. However, problems of short‐term funding for the project as well as potential for unrealistic expectations about employment chances were also noted.
Reduced major histocompatibility complex class II polymorphism in a hunter‐managed isolated Iberian red deer population
Authors: Fernández‐de‐Mera I. G. , Vicente J. , Pérez de la Lastra J. M. , Mangold A. J. , Naranjo V. , Fierro Y. , De La Fuente J. , Gortázar C.
Published: January 2009

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contains the most variable functional genes described in vertebrates. Individuals from natural populations deal constantly with a diverse range of pathogens and the polymorphism at MHC loci is what determines the diversity of foreign antigens that the host immune system can recognize. Polymorphism at individual loci may result in variable MHC class II (MHC‐II) haplotypes. We characterized for the first time, the allelic diversity at the second DRB locus of the MHC‐II in the Iberian red deer Cervus elaphus hispanicus. The studied population was sampled from a fenced estate that has been managed for hunting purposes and may provide information of the effect of game management on the genetic diversity of this species. Deer presented high levels of variation at MHC‐II DRB‐2 with 18 different alleles detected in 94 individuals. However, a significant heterozygous deficiency was found for MHC‐II DRB‐2 locus (92.5% of individuals only amplified one allele), whereas genotype frequencies at three neutral microsatellite loci were according to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, with heterozygosity over 50%. The analysis of control Iberian red deer from different geographic locations identified two expressed DRB‐2 loci with a high degree of heterozygosis. The annual diversity index of MHC‐II DRB‐2 alleles significantly decreased along the 16‐year study period, which was confirmed with losses in microsatellite markers. Although we cannot exclude positive non‐assortative mating and/or substructured breeding (Wahlund effect) within our reference population, such unexpected apparent homozygosity at MHC DRB‐2 loci is suggestive of null alleles occurring at our population. The observed pattern could be the result of a founder effect in this recently established population. Nonetheless, the loss of MHC‐II DRB‐2 allele diversity could reflect the effects of inbreeding in this fenced population managed for hunting. These findings support the importance of immunogenetic studies to assess management decisions, especially in isolated ungulate populations.
Handling‐related tail loss in an endangered skink: incidence, correlates and a possible solution
Authors: Scroggie M. P. , Clemann N.
Published: January 2009

Caudal autotomy (tail loss) during capture and handling is widely reported among several families of lizards. Autotomy causes elevated stress levels in lizards, and imposes a significant fitness cost on autotomized individuals. Despite these detrimental impacts, conservation and ethical issues associated with handling‐related tail loss have received little attention. We assessed the incidence and correlates of tail autotomy during capture and handling in an endangered skink, the alpine she‐oak skink Cyclodomorphus praealtus. A significant proportion (9.3%) of lizards autotomized their tails during capture and handling. Medium‐sized lizards were more likely to lose their tails during handling, and this effect was exacerbated at intermediate body temperatures. Probability of autotomy had a complex relationship with cumulative observer experience, independent of other risk factors. Based on the modelled relationship of autotomy with body temperature, we propose that alpine she‐oak skinks be cooled immediately after capture to reduce rates of autotomy during subsequent handling.
Economic influences on perceived value, quality expectations and customer satisfaction
Authors: Frank Björn , Enkawa Takao
Published: January 2009

Consumer research has extensively analysed psychological determinants of customer satisfaction. As macro‐level customer satisfaction data were not available until recently, researchers have only taken first steps towards analysing economic determinants of customer satisfaction. Based on a more complex conceptual framework and on data from Germany and Japan, this article examines how economic processes influence the perceived value of goods and services, quality expectations and customer satisfaction. Using principal component analysis, regression analysis and structural equation modelling, this study finds that perceived value is positively influenced by both economic growth and lagged economic expectations. Customer satisfaction is positively influenced by economic growth and negatively by current economic expectations, with half of the impact mediated by perceived value. Economic expectations positively influence expectations regarding the quality of goods and services. These results imply that consumer researchers should no longer ignore economic influences on consumer attitudes. Marketing managers are advised to be cautious not to misinterpret economic‐induced variations in customer satisfaction as caused by corporate performance.
The workplace lunch room: an arena for multicultural eating
Authors: Lindén Anna‐Lisa , Nyberg Maria
Published: January 2009

Many countries in Europe have experienced growing migration since World War II. It is estimated that more than one in five Swedes living today has roots in other countries and cultures. Segregation in terms of ethnic origin in housing areas makes it easier to maintain the language and cultural traditions of the home country when it comes to cooking and eating. In extremely segregated housing areas, there may even be no interface between foreign cultural traditions and Swedish traditions in food consumption.

Almost every inhabitant in the age range 20–65 years spends a number of years in workplaces outside the home. Workplaces are generally melting pots for employees of all ages and ethnic groups. In this study, a bus company lunch room served as a field for studying preferences in food, meals structure and eating patterns during lunch breaks. The city centre lunch room was visited by every driver at least once during their working day for coffee/tea, lunch or a rest. The lunch room served as an arena for discussions and exposure to new foods customs relating to meals and eating. It thus constituted a place for cultural exchange about food preferences and for forming opinions about individuals and nationalities, including Swedes. The methods for gathering empirical material for the analysis were participant observations and semi‐structured interviews.

Food consumption can be recognized as a marker of class and status in the same way as consumption of leisure activities and clothing. Some new criteria in identifying members of we‐groups in relation to others can be added to the classical criteria. When language fails in communication, visible signs become more important. A workplace lunch room is a clear arena for attitude formation. Attitudes may be conservative or stereotyped but sometimes evoke the curiosity to eat something different. In a multicultural arena such as a workplace lunch room, the knowledge available about food, meals and preferences is sometimes far from the real truth, especially when visible impressions are not followed by verbal communication, which can sometimes lead to incomplete and narrow‐minded conclusions.
Implementation of a nutritional programme in elderly people admitted to resident homes
Authors: Wikby Kerstin , Ek Anna‐Christina , Christensson Lennart
Published: January 2009

Aim:  The aim was to test the hypothesis that education provided to staff regarding nutritional needs and individualizing nutritional care will improve the nutritional status and functional capacity of elderly people newly admitted to resident homes.

Design:  Pre‐ and posttest, quasi experimental.

Setting:  Resident homes.

Subjects:  Sixty‐two residents (20 men, 42 women) in the experimental group and 53 (14 men, 39 women) in the control group were consecutively included. Mean age was 85 years.

Methods:  On admission and after 4 months, nutritional status was assessed using a combination of anthropometry (weight index, arm muscle circumference and triceps skinfold thickness) and biochemical measurements (serum albumin and transthyretin). Functional capacity and overall cognitive function were also assessed. In the experimental unit, the staff received education about nutritional needs and individualized nutritional care.

Results:  After 4 months the number of residents assessed as protein energy malnourished decreased from 20 to seven in the experimental (p = 0.004), and from 17 to 10 in the control group (p = 0.1). In the experimental group, motor activity (p = 0.006) and cognitive function (p = 0.02) increased. In the control group, motor activity decreased (p = 0.02).

Conclusions:  The results indicate that the intervention had effects, as the number of protein energy malnourished residents decreased in the experimental group and motor activity and cognitive function improved. No such improvements were seen in the control group.
Doves and hawks: practice educators’ attitudes towards interprofessional learning
Authors: Dutton Amanda J. , Worsley Aidan R. C.
Published: January 2009

The authors offer a critical account of interprofessional learning and working within the spheres of health and social care. The ‘joined up’ imperatives promoted by central government are compared to the somewhat contradictory findings of research exploring the effectiveness of interprofessional working. The role of practice educators in developing attitudes, learning and experiences around interprofessional working is heralded as an under‐researched area while being of particular significance in the formation of professional identity. This paper uses the term ‘practice educators’ to capture the shared functions of nurse mentors and social work practice teachers. The authors draw on a small‐scale piece of focus group‐based research with professional practitioners from health and social care. The authors stress throughout the need to retain a localized approach to research in this area where differences emerged even among teams located closely to each other. The focus groups explored the experiences and attitudes of a variety of field‐based practice educators within two profession‐specific focus groups. The findings are coded, summarized and presented using a matrix. An analysis is offered which suggests that across both professional groups, two distinct categories of practice educators are emerging. The ‘doves’ appear to be more accepting of changes around professional boundaries where blurring is taking place. Although they do not ignore the potential conflict that can exist for themselves and their students, the doves largely seek to manage this conflict and look to a consensus approach. In contrast, the ‘hawks’ are more concerned with issues of professional erosion and look to develop more combative strategies around the maintenance of the existing boundaries and their current professional identity. It is argued that this approach has more of a conflict base.
The Impact of Lower Oil Prices on The Economies of Gulf States
Authors: Page John
Published: January 2009

The following is the edited text of his remarks to a Brookings Sadat Forum on April 21, 1999, at the Brookings Institution. The cosponsors are the Brookings Foreign Policy Program and the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.
New‐era Threat: Iraq's Biological Weapons
Authors: Venter Al J.
Published: January 2009

“Chemical (and biological weapons) work. They are undergoing revolutionary developments which make them practical and very lethal participants in those human affairs which are ultimately resolved with blood and iron. Be ignorant and be damned, and condemn your children as well.”

‐ James A.F. Compton, September 1987
Improving Medical Student Attitudes Toward Older Patients Through a “Council of Elders” and Reflective Writing Experience
Authors: Westmoreland Glenda R. , Counsell Steven R. , Sennour Youcef , Schubert Cathy C. , Frank Kathryn I. , Wu Jingwei , Frankel Richard M. , Litzelman Debra K. , Bogdewic Stephen P. , Inui Thomas S.
Published: January 2009

In an effort to reduce “agism” which is prevalent among medical trainees, a new geriatrics educational experience for medical students aimed at improving attitudes toward older patients was developed. Each 90‐minute Older Adult Session included four components: initial reflective writing exercise; introduction to the session; 75‐minute dialogue with the “Council of Elders,” a group of active, “well” older adults; and final reflective writing exercise. The new session was provided to 237 first‐ and second‐year medical students during the 2006/07 academic year at Indiana University School of Medicine. Session evaluation included comparing scores on the 14‐item Geriatrics Attitude Scale administered before and after the session, identifying attitude changes in the reflective writing exercises, and a student satisfaction survey. Student responses on the Geriatrics Attitude Scale after the session were significantly improved in seven of 14 items, demonstrating better attitudes toward being with and listening to older people and caring for older patients. Analysis of the reflective writings revealed changing of negative to positive or reinforced positive attitudes in 27% of medical students, with attitudes not discernable in the remaining 73% (except one student, in whom positive attitudes changed to negative). Learner satisfaction with the Older Adult Session was high, with 98% agreeing that the session had a positive effect on insight into the care of older adults. A Council of Elders coupled with a reflective writing exercise is a promising new approach to improving attitudes of medical students toward their geriatric patients.
Added Value of Physical Performance Measures in Predicting Adverse Health‐Related Events: Results from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Authors: Cesari Matteo , Kritchevsky Stephen B. , Newman Anne B. , Simonsick Eleanor M. , Harris Tamara B. , Penninx Brenda W. , Brach Jennifer S. , Tylavsky Frances A. , Satterfield Suzanne , Bauer Doug C. , Rubin Susan M. , Visser Marjolein , Pahor Marco ,   for the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Published: January 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine how three different physical performance measures (PPMs) combine for added utility in predicting adverse health events in elders.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.

PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand twenty‐four well‐functioning older persons (mean age 73.6).

MEASUREMENTS: Timed gait, repeated chair stands, and balance (semi‐ and full‐tandem, and single leg stands each held for 30 seconds) tests were administered at baseline. Usual gait speed was categorized to distinguish high‐ and low‐risk participants using the previously established 1‐m/s cutpoint. The same population‐percentile (21.3%) was used to identify cutpoints for the repeated chair stands (17.1 seconds) and balance (53.0 seconds) tests. Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to evaluate the added value of PPMs in predicting mortality, hospitalization, and (severe) mobility limitation events over 6.9 years of follow‐up.

RESULTS: Risk estimates for developing adverse health‐related events were similarly large for each of the three high‐risk groups considered separately. Having more PPM scores at the high‐risk level was associated with a greater risk of developing adverse health‐related events. When all three PPMs were considered, having only one poor performance was sufficient to indicate a highly significantly higher risk of (severe) lower extremity and mortality events.

CONCLUSION: Although gait speed is considered to be the most important predictor of adverse health events, these findings demonstrate that poor performance on other tests of lower extremity function are equally prognostic. This suggests that chair stand and standing balance performance may be adequate substitutes when gait speed is unavailable.
Effect of Central Nervous System Medication Use on Decline in Cognition in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Authors: Wright Rollin M. , Roumani Yazan F. , Boudreau Robert , Newman Anne B. , Ruby Christine M. , Studenski Stephanie A. , Shorr Ronald I. , Bauer Douglas C. , Simonsick Eleanor M. , Hilmer Sarah N. , Hanlon Joseph T. ,   for the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Published: January 2009

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether combined use of multiple central nervous system (CNS) medications over time is associated with cognitive change.

DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee.

PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand seven hundred thirty‐seven healthy adults (aged ≥65) enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition study without baseline cognitive impairment (modified Mini‐Mental State Examination (3MS) score ≥80).

MEASUREMENTS: CNS medication (benzodiazepine‐ and opioid‐receptor agonists, antipsychotics, antidepressants) use, duration, and dose were determined at baseline (Year 1) and Years 3 and 5. Cognitive function was measured using the 3MS at baseline and Years 3 and 5. The outcome variables were incident cognitive impairment (3MS score <80) and cognitive decline (≥5‐point decline on 3MS). Multivariable interval‐censored survival analyses were conducted.

RESULTS: By Year 5, 7.7% of subjects had incident cognitive impairment; 25.2% demonstrated cognitive decline. CNS medication use increased from 13.9% at baseline to 15.3% and 17.1% at Years 3 and 5, respectively. It was not associated with incident cognitive impairment (adjusted hazard ratio (adj HR)=1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.73–1.69) but was associated with cognitive decline (adj HR 1.37, 95% CI=1.11–1.70). Longer duration (adj HR=1.39, CI=1.08–1.79) and higher doses (>3 standardized daily doses) (adj HR=1.87, 95% CI=1.25–2.79) of CNS medications suggested greater risk of cognitive decline than with nonuse.

CONCLUSION: Combined use of CNS medications, especially at higher doses, appears to be associated with cognitive decline in older adults. Future studies must explore the effect of combined CNS medication use on vulnerable older adults.
Blood platelet production: a novel approach for practical optimization
Authors: Van Dijk Nico , Haijema René , Van Der Wal Jan , Sibinga Cees Smit
Published: January 2009

BACKGROUND: The challenge of production and inventory management for blood platelets (PLTs) is the requirement to meet highly uncertain demands. Shortages are to be minimized, if not to be avoided at all. Overproduction, in turn, leads to high levels of outdating as PLTs have a limited “shelf life.” Outdating is to be minimized for ethical and cost reasons.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Operations research (OR) methodology was applied to the PLT inventory management problem. The problem can be formulated in a general mathematical form. To solve this problem, a five‐step procedure was used. This procedure is based on a combination of two techniques, a mathematical technique called stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) and computer simulation.

RESULTS: The approach identified an optimal production policy, leading to the computation of a simple and nearly optimal PLT production “order‐up‐to” rule. This rule prescribes a fixed order‐up‐to level for each day of the week. The approach was applied to a test study with actual data for a regional Dutch blood bank. The main finding in the test study was that outdating could be reduced from 15‐20 percent to less than 0.1 percent with virtually no shortages. Blood group preferences and extending the shelf life of more than 5 days appeared to be of marginal effect.

CONCLUSION: In this article the worlds of blood management and the mathematical discipline of OR are brought together for the optimization of blood PLT production. This leads to simple nearly optimal blood PLT production policies that are suitable for practical implementation.
Ontogenetic changes in the shelter site of a leaf‐folding caterpillar, Vanessa indica
Authors: Ide Jun‐Ya
Published: January 2009

Factors responsible for ontogenetic habitat shifts were examined using larvae of the Indian red admiral butterfly, Vanessa indica (Herbst) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). The larvae of V. indica fold leaves of China ramie, Boehmeria nipononivea Koidz. (Urticaceae), to form shelters that also serve as food. When constructing shelters, old larvae (usually third instar or older) frequently cut trenches at the bases of the leaves, whereas younger larvae do not. This trenching behaviour reduces the force required to fold large ramie leaves. Young larvae used small apical leaves as shelter sites. Once larvae were capable of cutting trenches, they moved proximally on the host plant and used middle leaves that either had completed or were about to complete expansion. Results of bioassays revealed that, for young larvae, apical and middle leaves did not differ in food quality. In contrast, for older larvae, the quality of middle leaves was higher than that of apical leaves. These observations suggest that young larvae decrease the risk of predation during shelter construction by using apical leaves that are relatively easy to fold, and that old larvae employ trenching to decrease the duration of leaf folding and improve growth rate by using middle leaves that are of high quality. Thus, the facilitation of leaf‐folding by trenching is considered to reduce the necessity of using apical leaves, and the acquisition of the trenching ability triggers an ontogenetic shift in the selection of larval shelter sites.
Effects of age and repeated mating on male sperm supply and paternity in a parasitoid wasp
Authors: Bressac Christophe , Thi Khanh Hong Do , Chevrier Claude
Published: January 2009

Post‐copulatory paternity biases after female multiple mating are major constraints on both male and female reproductive systems. The outcome of paternity in certain situations is only controlled directly by male sperm stock. This was tested experimentally in the parasitoid wasp Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), in which sperm stocks are small (several hundred) and the fertilizing efficiency of stored sperm is high (the ratio of sperm stored/fertilized eggs is about 0.75). Sperm in seminal vesicles and paternity of males of different status (virgin young, virgin old, or young previously mated) were measured after female single and double mating. The amount of sperm in the seminal vesicle differed according to male status (increasing from previously mated males to old males), but there was no difference in sperm stored by females after a single mating. In double mating experiments with two males of different status, paternity increased linearly with the relative amount of sperm in seminal vesicles. Paternity distribution conforms to ‘a fair raffle’ of sperm from both donors following complete mixing of sperm prior to fertilization. Thus, in a female multiple mating context, male fitness depends principally on their sperm stock, which in turn depends on life history parameters, such as age and previous mating.
Characterization and correlation of DC electrical penetration graph waveforms with feeding behavior of beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus
Authors: Stafford C. A. , Walker G. P.
Published: January 2009

Feeding behavior of beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus (Baker) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), was studied with a DC electrical penetration graph. Nine different electrical penetration graph waveforms associated with feeding were identified and characterized. Waveforms were correlated with specific feeding behaviors using a number of techniques, including high magnification video recording, honeydew analysis, stylectomy, and histological processing. Waveforms were grouped into three phases based on feeding behavior: pathway phase (waveforms A, B1, B2, and C), non‐phloem ingestion phase (waveform G), and phloem phase (waveforms D1, D2, D3, and D4). No ingestion was found to occur during waveforms A, B1, B2, and C. Waveform G was associated primarily with ingestion of xylem sap and occasionally with ingestion of mesophyll sap. Stylet tips were located in phloem during waveforms D1, D2, and D3, and waveforms D2 and D3 were correlated with ingestion of phloem sap. Waveform D4 probably also plays a role in phloem ingestion, because D4 is very brief and always occurs embedded in either waveform D2 or D3. In contrast to most other homopteran insects, rate of honeydew production (and hence rate of ingestion) was much lower on phloem than on xylem. More rapid rates of ingestion are expected on phloem, because its high turgor pressure drives sap into the feeding insect whereas the negative pressure of xylem sap is expected to cause a slow rate of ingestion. The very slow ingestion rate of beet leafhopper feeding on phloem suggests that it is not able to exploit the high turgor pressure of phloem to achieve the high rate of ingestion that is typical of phloem ingestion by other insects.
The Kazal motifs of RECK protein inhibit MMP‐9 secretion and activity and reduce metastasis of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Chang Chong‐Keng , Hung Wen‐Chun , Chang Hui‐Chiu
Published: January 2009

RECK is a membrane‐anchored glycoprotein which may negatively regulate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity to suppress tumor invasion and metastasis. In this study, recombinant proteins corresponding to the residues 285–368 (named as CKM which contained cysteine knot motif), 605–799 (named as K123 which contained three Kazal motifs), 676–799 (named as K23 which contained the last two Kazal motifs) and full‐length RECK were produced and their anti‐cancer effects were tested. Full‐length RECK and K23 but not K123 and CKM inhibited MMP9 secretion and activity. In addition, RECK and K23 inhibited invasion but not migration of metastatic lung cancer cells in vitro. Protein binding and kinetic study indicated that K23 physically interacted with MMP‐9 and inhibited its activity by a non‐competitive manner. Moreover, K23 reduced metastatic tumor growth in lungs of nude mice. Taken together, our results suggest that the K23 motifs of RECK protein can inhibit MMP‐9 secretion and activity and attenuate metastasis of lung cancer cells.
ZHX2 is a repressor of α‐fetoprotein expression in human hepatoma cell lines
Authors: Shen H. , Luan F. , Liu H. , Gao L. , Liang X. , Zhang L. , Sun W. , Ma C.
Published: January 2009

The zinc‐fingers and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2) protein was shown previously to be involved in postnatal repression of α‐fetoprotein (AFP) in mice. More recently, loss of ZHX2 expression was often found in human hepatcellular carcinoma (HCC), where AFP is frequently reactivated. Using HepG2 and HepG2.2.15, which express high AFP levels, we show that ZHX2 overexpression significantly decreases of AFP secretion in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, using LO2 and SMMC7721 cells, which express low AFP levels, we use siRNA inhibition to show that AFP is de‐repressed when ZHX2 levels are reduced. This represents the first direct evidence that ZHX2 represses AFP. Co‐transfections of ZHX2 and AFP‐luciferase reporter genes demonstrate ZHX2 repression is governed by the AFP promoter and requires intact HNF1 binding sites. These data support the idea that ZHX2 contributes to AFP repression in the liver after birth and may also be involved in AFP reactivation in liver cancer.
Experimental melanoma metastasis in lungs of mice with congenital coagulation disorders
Authors: Brüggemann Lois W. , Versteeg Henri H. , Niers Tatjana M. , Reitsma Pieter H. , Spek C. Arnold
Published: January 2009

Experimental animal studies as well as clinical trials have shown that interventions targeting the blood coagulation cascade inhibit cancer cell metastasis. These data support the hypothesis that congenital prothrombotic disorders, like factor V Leiden, facilitate metastasis whereas bleeding disorders, like haemophilia impede metastasis. To test this hypothesis, we subjected factor V Leiden and factor VIII deficient mice to a murine model of experimental lung metastasis. In this model, B16F10 murine melanoma cells are injected into the tail vein resulting in multiple lung metastases within 20 days. Both hemi‐ and homozygous factor VIII deficient mice were protected against lung metastasis compared to wild‐type littermate controls. In contrast, homozygous factor V Leiden mice developed more metastases than wild‐type littermates, whereas heterozygous carriers showed an intermediate number of pulmonary foci. Overall, these data show that a congenital susceptibility to either bleeding or thrombosis modifies the metastatic capacity of cancer cells in the bloodstream and suggest that procoagulant phenotypes are a risk factor for tumour metastasis.
Gap‐crossing movements predict species occupancy in Amazonian forest fragments
Authors: Lees Alexander C. , Peres Carlos A.
Published: January 2009

In fragmented landscapes, species persistence within isolated habitat patches is governed by a myriad of species life‐history, habitat patch and landscape characteristics. We investigated the inter‐specific variation in non‐forest gap‐crossing abilities of an entire tropical forest‐dependent avifauna. We then related this measure of dispersal ability to species life‐history characteristics and occupancy data from 31 variable‐sized forest patches sampled within the same fragmented forest landscape. A total of 5436 gap‐crossing movements of 231 forest‐dependent bird species were observed across ten linear forest gaps of varying widths, adjacent to large areas of undisturbed forest. Species persistence in isolated fragments was strongly linked to gap‐crossing ability. The most capable gap‐crossers were medium to large‐bodied species in the large insectivore, frugivore and granivore guilds, matching the most prevalent subset of species in small forest patches. However, some competent gap‐crossing species failed to occur in small patches, and minimum forest‐patch area requirements were more important in determining patch occupancy for these species. Narrow forest gaps (4–70 m) created by roads and power‐lines may become territory boundaries, thereby eliminating home‐range gap‐crossing movements for many forest species, but permit rarer dispersal events. Wider gaps (>70 m) may inhibit gap‐crossing behaviour for all but the most vagile species. Although patch size and quality may be the most important factors in structuring species assemblages in forest fragments, our results show that the degree of patch isolation and permeability of the surrounding matrix also explain which species can persist in forest isolates. Reducing the number and width of forest‐dividing gaps; maintaining and/or creating forest corridors and increasing matrix permeability through the creation and maintenance of ‘stepping‐stone’ structures will maximise the species retention in fragmented tropical forest landscapes.
Estimating environmental effects on population dynamics: consequences of observation error
Authors: Lindén Andreas , Knape Jonas
Published: January 2009

Within the paradigm of population dynamics a central task is to identify environmental factors affecting population change and to estimate the strength of these effects. We here investigate the impact of observation errors in measurements of population densities on estimates of environmental effects. Adding observation errors may change the autocorrelation of a population time series with potential consequences for estimates of effects of autocorrelated environmental covariates. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we compare the performance of maximum likelihood estimates from three stochastic versions of the Gompertz model (log–linear first order autoregressive model), assuming 1) process error only, 2) observation error only, and 3) both process and observation error (the linear state–space model on log‐scale). We also simulated population dynamics using the Ricker model, and evaluated the corresponding maximum likelihood estimates for process error models. When there is observation error in the data and the considered environmental variable is strongly autocorrelated, its estimated effect is likely to be biased when using process error models. The environmental effect is overestimated when the sign of the autocorrelations of the intrinsic dynamics and the environment are the same and underestimated when the signs differ. With non‐autocorrelated environmental covariates, process error models produce fairly exact point estimates as well as reliable confidence intervals for environmental effects. In all scenarios, observation error models produce unbiased estimates with reasonable precision, but confidence intervals derived from the likelihood profiles are far too optimistic if there is process error present. The safest approach is to use state–space models in presence of observation error. These are factors worthwhile to consider when interpreting earlier empirical results on population time series, and in future studies, we recommend choosing carefully the modelling approach with respect to intrinsic population dynamics and covariate autocorrelation.