bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interspecific variation in susceptibility to fungal pathogens in seeds of 10 tree species in the neotropical genus Cecropia
Authors: Gallery Rachel E. , Moore David J. P. , Dalling James W.
Published: October 2009

1. Species differences in susceptibility to pathogens acting at early life history stages may strongly influence the abundance and distribution of tropical trees. Here, we test the susceptibility of 10 congeners of the pioneer genus Cecropia to fungal seed and seedling pathogens and compare interspecific differences in intrinsic seed defences with survival.

2. Pathogens were experimentally removed through fungicide addition and/or autoclave sterilization of forest soil to determine the relative importance of fungal versus other microbial pathogens. Treatments were applied during a 4‐month seed incubation (pre‐emergence) phase or during an 8‐week germination phase to distinguish between seed and seedling mortality.

3. Overall, seedling emergence after incubation in fungicide‐treated, autoclaved soil was twice that in live soil, with significant positive effects of fungicide for six of 10 species. Pathogen infection occurred while seeds were quiescent in soil; fungicide addition during germination had no effect on emergence. Seedling emergence after burial ranged from 6 to 58%, indicating large interspecific variation in the capacity for Cecropia seeds to persist in the seed bank. Neither interspecific variation in survivorship, nor the relative strength of fungicide effects on survivorship was correlated with seed defence traits.

4. For four species, measurements of fungicide effects on emergence were coupled with direct measurements of the fungal and bacterial infection of seeds and seedlings. For two species, fungicide addition resulted in lower fungal infection rates and higher emergence success. However, Cecropia peltata, the species with the highest overall emergence success, also had the highest fungal infection rate. This suggests that either C. peltata was infected by a different suite of fungi than other congeners, or that fungi had low pathogenicity when colonizing this host species.

5. Synthesis. Our study shows strong interspecific variation in seed survival and susceptibility to fungal infection among congeneric tree species with similar life history. These differences are likely to influence recruitment success from the soil seed bank and may play a role in species coexistence.
Reducing scanning electron microscope charging by using exponential contrast stretching technique on post‐processing images
Authors: SIM K.S. , TAN Y.Y. , LAI M.A. , TSO C.P. , LIM W.K.
Published: October 2009

An exponential contrast stretching (ECS) technique is developed to reduce the charging effects on scanning electron microscope images. Compared to some of the conventional histogram equalization methods, such as bi‐histogram equalization and recursive mean‐separate histogram equalization, the proposed ECS method yields better image compensation. Diode sample chips with insulating and conductive surfaces are used as test samples to evaluate the efficiency of the developed algorithm. The algorithm is implemented in software with a frame grabber card, forming the front‐end video capture element.
NanoSIMS imaging ofBacillusspores sectioned by focused ion beam
Authors: WEBER P.K. , GRAHAM G.A. , TESLICH N.E. , CHAN W. MOBERLY , GHOSAL S. , LEIGHTON T.J. , WHEELER K.E.
Published: October 2009

Preparation and sectioning of bacterial spores by focused ion beam and subsequent high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry analytical imaging is demonstrated. Scanning transmission electron microscopy mode imaging in a scanning electron microscope is used to show that the internal structure of the bacterial spore can be preserved during focused ion beam sectioning and can be imaged without contrast staining. Ion images of the sections show that the internal elemental distributions of the sectioned spores are preserved. A rapid focused ion beam top‐sectioning method is demonstrated to yield comparable ion images without the need for sample trenching and section lift‐out. The lift‐out and thinning method enable correlated transmission electron microscopy and high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses. The top‐cutting method is preferable if only secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses are performed because this method is faster and yields more sample material for analysis; depth of useful sample material is ∼300 nm for top‐cut sections versus ∼100 nm for electron‐transparent sections.
Cell wall peroxidases in the liverwort Dumortiera hirsuta are responsible for extracellular superoxide production, and can display tyrosinase activity
Authors: Li Jackson L. Y. , Sulaiman Mariam , Beckett Richard P. , Minibayeva Farida V.
Published: October 2009

In our earlier work, we showed that the liverwort Dumortiera hirsuta produces an extracellular oxidative burst of superoxide radicals during rehydration following desiccation stress. The oxidative burst is a common early response of organisms to biotic and abiotic stresses, with suggested roles in signal transduction, formation of protective substances such as suberin, melanin and lignin and defense against pathogens. To discover which enzymes are responsible for the extracellular superoxide production, we isolated apoplastic fractions from D. hirsuta, surveyed for the presence of potential redox enzymes, and performed non‐denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis activity stains. Various isoforms of peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) and tyrosinase (o‐diphenolase) (EC 1.10.3.1) were present at significant levels in the apoplast. In‐gel activity staining revealed that some peroxidases isoforms could produce superoxide, while tryosinases could readily metabolize 3,4‐dihydroxy phenyl l‐alanine (l‐dopa) into melanins. Interestingly, some peroxidase isoforms could oxidize the native tyrosinase substrate l‐dopa at significant levels, even in the absence of hydrogen peroxide, while others could do so only in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In D. hirsuta, peroxidases may play an important role in melanin formation. Possible functions for these diverse oxidases in liverwort biology are discussed.
Sexual selection and condition‐dependence
Authors: JOHNSTONE R. A. , RANDS S. A. , EVANS M. R.
Published: October 2009

The handicap theory of sexual selection suggests that females prefer mates who display extravagant ornaments that advertise their quality or condition. It is often assumed that as such ornamental traits undergo sexually‐selected exaggeration, they must inevitably become more sensitive to condition, and thus more informative. Here, we show that this is not necessarily the case. Depending on the precise form of the relationship between trait size and cost, expression may become more or less condition‐dependent as the trait undergoes exaggeration, or may remain unchanged. This leads us to question how much of the information content of sexual signals can be attributed to sexual selection, and how much to pre‐existing, naturally‐selected condition‐dependence.
Factors associated with back pain in nursing staff: A survey in Athens, Greece
Authors: Vasiliadou Aspasia , Karvountzis Gerasimos , Roumeliotis Dimitrios , Soumilas Agisilaos , Plati Chrisanthy , Nomikos Iakovos
Published: October 2009

Vasiliadou A, Karvountzis G, Roumeliotis D, Soumilas A, Plati C & Nomikos I. International Journal of Nursing Practice 1997; 3: 15–20

Factors associated with back pain in nursing staff: A survey in Athens, Greece

Factors associated with self‐reported back pain were investigated using questionnaire data on 407 female nurses from a large hospital in Athens, Greece. Factor analysis was used to construct indices of pain and its impact on normal life, and also to summarize work load descriptions. Pain factors were examined in relation to work load and personal characteristics by logistic regression. Statistically significant items, in relation both to pain and impact, were the existence of previous back injury, self‐reported headaches and the ‘carrying and lifting’ factor of work load which principally included moving equipment. Age, height and weight were not associated with back pain. Compared to a similar study by Harber and colleagues in California, United States of Amercia, the factors associated with back pain were quite similar in this study even though the prevalence of back pain was much higher among Greek nurses and their work load was physically much more demanding.
Quality of life: Perceptions of residential care
Authors: Byrne Heather , MacLean Douglas
Published: October 2009

Byrne H & MacLean D. International Journal of Nursing Practice 1997; 3: 21–28

Quality of life: Perceptions of residential care

Residents in selected aged care facilities in Australia (n=185) and New Zealand (n=44) completed a 56 item quality of life instrument derived and refined through grounded theory. Ten scales were developed from the items. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that there were no main differences as a function of cohort (Alzheimer’s or non‐Alzheimer’s) or country of residence (Australia or New Zealand). Significant differences emerged as a function of the source of help in completing the instrument. Where nursing staff assisted residents complete the instrument, scoring indicated that residents enjoyed a better quality of life than if the instrument was completed by the resident alone, or with assistance from non‐nursing staff and others, including relatives, welfare students and diversional therapists. Nursing staff rather than non‐professional nursing staff tended to work more with non‐Alzheimer residents when completing the questionnaire. Significant differences were also discovered in the ranking of concerns on the basis of cohort and country of residence.
Preventive effects of Schistosoma japonicum ova on trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid‐induced colitis and bacterial translocation in mice
Authors: Zhao Yuan , Zhang Shuncai , Jiang Li , Jiang Jie , Liu Hongchun
Published: October 2009

Aims:  To evaluate the preventive effects of Schistosoma japonicum ova on trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)‐induced colitis and bacterial translocation in mice.

Methods:  BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups: control group; TNBS+Ova‐ group; and TNBS+Ova+ group. Mice of the TNBS+Ova+ group were exposed to 10 000 freeze‐killed S. japonicum ova by i.p. injection on day 1 and day 11. On day 15, mice were challenged with TNBS to induce colitis. The following variables were assessed: colon pathological changes; serum expression of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), γ‐interferon (IFN‐γ) and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10); expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) in colon; IFN‐γ, IL‐10 and TLR4 mRNA expression in colon; and the bacterial translocation rate.

Results:  Compared to TNBS+Ova‐ group, the colonic inflammation in the TNBS+Ova+ group were relieved. A highly significant elevation of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α were observed in the TNBS‐induced colitis group. After exposure to the eggs, IFN‐γ was significantly decreased, while TNF‐α was similar to that of the TNBS+ova‐ group. No obvious variation was seen in IL‐10 expression in TNBS‐induced colitis, compared to the controls. Exposure to the eggs led to a significant upregulation of IL‐10 expression. TLR4 expression was elevated after injected with TNBS and was downregulated in the eggs group. Less intestinal bacterial translocation frequency was observed when exposed to eggs.

Conclusion:  S. japonicum ova can prevent the TNBS‐induced colitis and reduce the bacterial translocation frequency in mice. The mechanisms were supposed to be due to the regulation of T‐helper cell 1/2 balance and TLR4 expression.
Protecting effects of a large dose of dexamethasone on spleen injury of rats with severe acute pancreatitis
Authors: Xiping Zhang , Ruiping Zhang , Binyan Yu , Li Zhou , Hanqing Chen , Wei Zhu , Rongchao Ying , Jing Ye , Wenqin Yuan , Jinjin Bai
Published: October 2009

Background and Aims:  To explore the protecting effects and mechanisms of dexamethasone on spleen injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).

Methods:  The rats were randomly divided into a model control group, treated group and sham‐operated group. The contents of plasma endotoxin, serum NO, phospholipase A2 enzyme (PLA2) and endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) were determined. The mortality rate, pathological changes and changes of Bax and Bcl‐2 protein expression levels and apoptotic indexes in the spleen of rats were observed in all groups, respectively, at 3, 6 and 12 h after operation.

Results:  Although the survival rate was significantly higher in the treated group than in the model control group, there was no significantly different between them (P > 0.05). The expression levels of Bax and Bcl‐2 proteins and apoptotic indexes were significantly higher in the treated group than in the model control group at different time points (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) while other blood indexes contents and pathological severity scores of spleen were significantly lower in the treated group than in the model control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 or P < 0.001).

Conclusion:  Dexamethasone can protect spleen from injury during SAP mainly by reducing the content of inflammatory mediators in blood.
Can wire‐guided cannulation reduce the risk of post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis? A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Shao Li‐Ming , Chen Qing‐Yu , Chen Miao‐Yan , Cai Jian‐Ting
Published: October 2009

Background and Aim:  The use of wire‐guided cannulation (WGC) for prevention of post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP) is controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess the overall effect of WGC for PEP compared with conventional contrast‐assisted cannulation by carrying out a meta‐analysis of all available randomized controlled trials (RCT).

Methods:  Electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and the Science Citation Index, were searched to retrieve relevant trials. In addition, meeting abstracts and the reference lists of retrieved articles were reviewed for further relevant studies. Outcome measures were the incidence of PEP.

Results:  Four RCT, enrolling a total of 1413 patients, were included. The meta‐analysis failed to indicate a significant association between the use of WGC and the reduction of PEP (RR 0.34; 95% CI: 0.10–1.17; P = 0.09). Subgroup analysis including trials without cross‐over design showed a significant benefit with the use of WGC in reducing PEP (RR 0.20; 95% CI: 0.09–0.40; P < 0.00001) and trials without precut used failed to indicate a significant differences between the two group (RR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.01–11.73; P = 0.58).

Conclusions:  This meta‐analysis showed only a non‐significant reduction in the rate of PEP with the use of WGC. Further well‐designed RCT are required to confirm the effect of WGC, especially in patients who were easier to cannulate.
Proteomics of tumor‐specific proteins in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with astrocytoma: Usefulness of gelsolin protein
Authors: Ohnishi Mihoko , Matsumoto Toshihide , Nagashio Ryo , Kageyama Taihei , Utsuki Satoshi , Oka Hidehiro , Okayasu Isao , Sato Yuichi
Published: October 2009

Changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition have been shown to accurately reflect pathological processes in the CNS, and are potential indicators of abnormal CNS states, such as tumor growth. To detect biomarkers in high‐grade astrocytomas, the differential expression of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid was analyzed from two cases each of diffuse astrocytoma (grade II), and glioblastoma (grade IV) using agarose 2‐D gel electrophoresis (2‐DE). It was found that the expression of gelsolin protein decreased with histological grade. To examine whether gelsolin is a useful indicator of tumor aggressiveness or patient outcome, its expression was further studied on immunohistochemistry in 41 formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded astrocytomas. The positive cell rate of gelsolin in tumors was 59.4% in grade II, 30.0% in grade III and 29.4% in grade IV, respectively. Gelsolin expression was significantly lower in high‐grade astrocytomas (grade III or IV) than in low‐grade astrocytomas (grade II; P < 0.05). Moreover, in astrocytomas the overall survival of patients in the low‐expression group was significantly poorer than in the high expression group (P < 0.05). These data suggest that gelsolin is a prognostic factor in astrocytoma.
Assessment of power law creep constants of Gr91 steel using small punch creep tests
Authors: MA Y. W. , SHIM S. , YOON K. B.
Published: October 2009

A method for determining the power law creep constants using the small punch (SP) creep test is studied. We performed elastic‐plastic‐secondary creep finite‐element (FE) analysis of Gr91 (ASTM A387 GR91 CL2) steel using the properties at 565 °C to investigate the evolution of stress and strain rate at the weakest location of the SP creep specimen, i.e. at the annular region located at about 0.7 mm from the centre of the specimen. Empirical relations that correlate the applied load to the equivalent stress and the punch displacement rate to the equivalent creep strain rate are suggested on the basis of the finite‐element stress analysis results. These simple relations enable us to achieve the constitutive relation of equivalent stress and equivalent creep strain rate under small punch creep test condition. To validate this approach, SP creep tests were conducted and creep constants were evaluated by using the proposed relations. These evaluated creep constants were then compared with those measured from standard uniaxial creep test. It is shown that creep constants evaluated from the SP creep test and the proposed method are in a good agreement with those from the uniaxial creep test.
Clinical and endoscopic characteristics of acute haemorrhagic rectal ulcer, and endoscopic haemostatic treatment: a retrospective study of 95 patients
Authors: Motomura Y. , Akahoshi K. , Matsui N. , Kubokawa M. , Higuchi N. , Oda M. , Endo S. , Kashiwabara Y. , Okamoto R. , Nakamura K.
Published: October 2009

Aim  Acute haemorrhagic rectal ulcer (AHRU) is characterized by sudden onset of painless and massive rectal bleeding in elderly bedridden patients who have serious illness. Endoscopic diagnosis and management of AHRU is, however, still controversial. We retrospectively investigated 95 AHRU patients to elucidate the clinical characteristics, endoscopic findings and haemostatic strategies.

Method  Between January 1999 and March 2007, 95 patients were diagnosed with AHRU in our hospital. Medical records and colonoscopy files were reviewed. Clinical features, colonoscopic findings, haemostatic treatment and outcome of the patients were evaluated.

Results  Eighty per cent of the patients were bedridden at the onset. The most frequent underlying disorder was cerebrovascular disease (36.8%). Hypoalbuminaemia (< 3.5 g/dl) was seen in 92.6% of the patients. Endoscopic findings of AHRU were classified as circumferential ulcer (41.1%), linear or nearly round small ulcer(s) (44.2%), circumferential and small ulcer(s) (7.4%) and Dieulafoy‐like ulcer (7.4%). Primary endoscopic haemostatic treatment was performed in 45.3% of cases. Recurrent bleeding occurred in 24.2% of patients. Permanent haemostasis was achieved by secondary endoscopic treatment in 82.6% of re‐bleeding patients.

Conclusion  Understanding the typical clinical and endoscopic findings and careful endoscopic examination are important for the accurate diagnosis of AHRU, and endoscopic haemostatic therapy may be effective for bleeding patients.
Building the high‐flex/high‐value HR team
Authors: Ready Douglas
Published: October 2009

In many companies, the human resources function is considered necessary, but minimally important. Douglas Ready strongly disagrees and argues that a shoddy HR function will keep the rest of the company from high achievement. It's time to develop the people who are in charge of developing everyone else.
The good, the bad and the powerful
Authors: Sivanathan Niro
Published: October 2009

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton's words have been quoted widely since he wrote them in the 1880s. Niro Sivanathan was part of a research team that tested whether power, indeed, can go to one's head.
The shark is dead: how to build yourself a new market
Authors: Reckhenrich Jörg , Anderson Jamie , Kupp Martin
Published: October 2009

British artist Damien Hirst is both controversial and successful. Jörg Reckhenrich, Jamie Anderson and Martin Kupp suggest that his innovative approach to life and work demonstrate strategies useful to organizations.
Becoming Deliberative Citizens: The Moral Learning Process of the Citizen Juror
Authors: Doheny Shane , O'Neill Claire
Published: October 2009

This article presents an analysis of qualitative interviews carried out with citizen jurors at least three years after they participated in a jury. Theoretical work on deliberation tends to emphasise the transformative effect of deliberation. Much empirical work has focused on this transformation conceived as the re-prioritisation of preferences, and examines whether and how jurors change their personal and political commitments as a result of their participation on a jury. Another approach to transformation is more discursive, and hypothesises that the concepts and perspectives that jurors use to evaluate norms may also be transformed. This article presents qualitative data that illuminate this latter hypothesis. Specifically, the article analyses the stories ex-jurors told of their participation in citizen juries, in order to chart changes in the concepts and perspectives that jurors use to evaluate norms. By analysing these stories we identify four juror roles – envoy, regulator, advocate and deliberator – and we elaborate these using Habermas' learning theory. Overall our argument is that the citizen juror is given the opportunity to undertake a learning process, and through this process they are furnished with new concepts and perspectives with which to evaluate norms. Moreover, Habermas theorises that this learning process cumulates with the formation of a deliberative citizen who thinks using the characteristics described in discourse ethics. Here we identify discourses that support this claim.
Exit, Voice and Quality in the English Education Sector
Authors: Wilson Deborah
Published: October 2009

The use of choice as a mechanism to improve public service delivery is now well established in the UK. Current policy discourse additionally considers voice as a further, complementary, user‐driven mechanism. In this article I scrutinize the assumption that choice (exit) and voice complement each other in creating user‐driven incentives to increase quality for all consumers in the context of education. I do this by going back to Hirschman's thesis on ‘Exit, Voice and Loyalty’, focusing in particular on the definitions of quality put forward by him. I apply his analysis to the English education sector and show that, while the current policy discourse evokes the language of Hirschman, it doesn't follow through on the actual implications of his analysis. In particular, I argue that in the current system, choice and voice may complement each other for only a subset of consumers.
A Comparative Discussion of the Gendered Implications of Cash‐for‐Care Schemes: Markets, Independence and Social Citizenship in Crisis?
Authors: Rummery Kirstein
Published: October 2009

There are moves across many countries away from state‐led provision of services for disabled people towards cash‐based systems, which have been welcomed by disabled people as increasing choice and control over services and support, and increasing independence and social participation. However, feminist scholars have long warned about the implications of commodifying care for women, and the possible consequences of substituting cash for services for social citizenship have remained underexplored, for both disabled people generally, disabled women and mothers more particularly, and for personal assistants/care workers. This article will attempt to address that gap by carrying out a comparative literature review and policy analysis of the role of policy development and outcomes in cash‐for‐care schemes, looking comparatively across policy developments in several countries, as well as developed welfare states beyond Europe to examine: (a) the impact of the tensions between various governance levels, particularly local and national government; (b) the gendered impact of such policies on (for example) gendered divisions of paid and unpaid work, citizenship and social participation; (c) the impact such policies have, or are likely to have, on different groups of men and women across the life course and across different social and economic groups; and (d) how such policies can contribute to the well‐being and/or detriment of different groups of women (and men) within different social, political, economic and historical contexts.
THE SEARCH FOR A PROPORTIONATE CARE LAW BY FORMULA FUNDING IN THE ENGLISH NHS
Authors: Bevan Gwyn
Published: October 2009

Although the National Health Service was created to achieve equity of access to health care in 1948, over twenty years later an ‘inverse care law’ was seen to operate. The 1976 Report of the Resource Allocation Working Party laid the principles of formula funding to achieve an equitable distribution of resources, to move, over time, towards the operation of a proportionate care law. These principles have been applied ever since in England. This paper describes the context, governance and subsequent development of formulas and three persistent problems: accounting for populations, their needs and variations in the unavoidable costs of providers. The paper concludes by outlining continuing problems from the past and new challenges of formula funding in England to reduce ‘avoidable’ inequalities in health.
DEVOLUTION, ACCRUALS ACCOUNTING AND ASSET MANAGEMENT IN NHS WALES
Authors: Mellett Howard , Marriott Neil , Macniven Louise
Published: October 2009

This paper describes how a strategy for health services has been developed for NHS Wales and examines the role of accruals accounting in asset management and development. It uses archival investigation as well as interviews and a questionnaire. The role of accruals accounting in the operation of the service, particularly as it relates to the capital asset base of the Trusts and how these are managed, is discussed in the context that Trusts are autonomous units that develop services, and hence their capital asset base, through their own internal planning structure. It is found that, on devolution, there was a lack of consistent information about the stock of capital assets and that capital charges, based on accruals accounting, were not penetrating asset management within individual Trusts. Although strategies were being developed centrally, their implementation at a Trust level can be impeded as a consequence of accruals accounting.
WE MAY REMEMBER BUT WHAT DID WE LEARN? DEALING WITH ERRORS, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANOURS AROUND ADVERSE EVENTS IN HEALTHCARE
Authors: Fischbacher‐Smith Denis , Fischbacher‐Smith Moira
Published: October 2009

This paper seeks to provide both a retrospective and prospective view on the issues surrounding the generation of adverse events within healthcare. It aims to deal with a range of issues around the individual as a means of making mistakes or violating the rules within the organisation. It sets the issue of patient safety into its historical context before highlighting the shift in thinking that accompanied the publication of an Organisation with a Memory (OWAM) by the Department of Health. The paper considers the challenges that surround the shift away from a person‐centric approach to adverse events to one that recognises the importance of latent factors in shaping the conditions in which people can make mistakes and violate. The paper concludes by setting out several propositions for further research and the changes in managerial practice that are needed within healthcare in order to begin to achieve the core aim of OWAM which is to ensure that organisations remember and learn from adverse events.
Work and Family: How Does the (Gender) Balance Change as Children Grow?
Authors: Craig Lyn , Sawrikar Pooja
Published: October 2009

This article investigates how work–family balance and the gender division of labour differ according to whether children are in early childhood, middle childhood or the early teen years. It uses measures of both behaviour and attitudes, drawing on two nationally representative Australian data sets, the Bureau of Statistics Time Use Survey and the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia. Women have more responsibility for care than men, but with older children there is greater gender equity in the division of labour, a less pressing domestic burden and less maternal time stress. This occurs because women recalibrate their commitments to work and home, not because domestic labour is redistributed between mothers and fathers. Further, it does not hold if women replace unpaid with paid labour; mothers who work full time have high total workloads and high stress levels regardless of the age of children. Fathers are more satisfied with their work–family balance the more they participate in childcare and the more they feel supported by their workplace to access family‐friendly work policies.
Liberalization of Opening Hours with Free Entry
Authors: Wenzel Tobias
Published: October 2009

This paper studies competition in prices and opening hours in a model with free entry. It is shown that under free competition market failures arise: Entry is excessive and opening hours are under-provided. The larger the demand elasticity, the larger market failures are going to be. Restrictions on opening hours aggravate this failure. We analyze the impact of a liberalization of opening hours. The model predicts that prices will remain constant in the short run but increase in the long run. Concentration in the retail sector will rise. Additionally, employment in the retail sector increases.
Modulation ofAanatgene transcription in the rat pineal gland
Authors: Ho Anthony K. , Chik Constance L.
Published: October 2009

The main function of the rat pineal gland is to transform the circadian rhythm generated in the suprachiasmatic nucleus into a rhythmic signal of circulating melatonin characterized by a large nocturnal increase that closely reflects the duration of night period. This is achieved through the tight coupling between environmental lighting and the expression of arylalkylamine‐N‐acetyltransferase, the rhythm‐controlling enzyme in melatonin synthesis. The initiation ofAanattranscription at night is controlled largely by the norepinephrine‐stimulated phosphorylation of cAMP response element‐binding protein by protein kinase A. However, to accurately reflect the duration of darkness, additional signaling mechanisms also participate to fine‐tune the temporal profile of adrenergic‐inducedAanattranscription. Here, we reviewed some of these signaling mechanisms, with emphasis on the more recent findings. These signaling mechanisms can be divided into two groups: those involving modification of constitutively expressed proteins and those requiring synthesis of new proteins. This review highlights the pineal gland as an excellent model system for studying neurotransmitter‐regulated rhythmic gene expression.
Seasonality as a risk factor for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: A study in a large cohort
Authors: Bell Gail S. , Peacock Janet L. , Sander Josemir W.
Published: October 2009

Purpose:  We attempted to establish whether month and season, or lunar phase, are risk factors for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), as these have all been suggested as potential risk factors.

Methods:  We used the dataset of the National Sentinel Clinical Audit of Epilepsy‐Related Death; all death certificates of people who died in England and Wales between September 1999 and August 2000 and in which epilepsy was mentioned were reviewed. We identified people who probably died of SUDEP during that time. We compared the number of observed SUDEP cases with those expected according to month of death, season of death, minimum external temperature, mean external temperature, and lunar phase.

Results:  Of 2,412 deaths, we identified 409 probable SUDEPs. We found no evidence for an association between either mean temperature group or minimum temperature group and SUDEP, although there appeared to be a slight excess of sudden deaths in the coldest (mean temperature) groups. We also found no association between SUDEP and month, season, or lunar phase.

Discussion:  Some causes of death appear to be related to temperature, but we found no convincing evidence to support a link between temperatures or seasons and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. It is important to identify risk factors for SUDEP, but it is also important that evidence is established before hypotheses are accepted.
Hear No Evil, See No Evil? Associations of Gender, Trauma History, and Values with Believing Trauma Vignettes
Authors: Cromer Lisa DeMarni , Freyd Jennifer J.
Published: October 2009

Attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault in general influence judgments about the veracity of specific sexual assault reports and disclosures (

Taylor, 2007

). The present study investigated the impact of gender, personal trauma history, and beliefs about gender and child sexual abuse (CSA) on judgments of the veracity of CSA disclosures. The study also examined judgments about other kinds of trauma disclosures using a variety of different types of trauma vignettes. Men were found to be more skeptical than women, and those who reported no trauma history were less likely than those who reported a trauma history to believe disclosures. Overall, all participants were more skeptical about CSA disclosures than disclosures about other kinds of trauma. Sexism and belief in CSA myths (CSAMs) were negatively related to believing adults' retrospective CSA disclosures. In a series of regression analyses, we observed that belief in CSAMs moderated the negative association between sexist attitudes and believing disclosures. Implications for educating professionals are discussed.
Children's Weight and Academic Performance in Elementary School: Cause for Concern?
Authors: Clark David , Slate John R. , Viglietti Gina C.
Published: October 2009

In this study, the authors examined the relationship of 9,471 elementary students' grades in five subject areas (math, reading, language, science, and social studies), their conduct grades, and their scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS) Reading, Math, Writing, and Science measures for the 2006–2007 school year as a function of their weight status in two ways: (1) Obese versus Nonobese and (2) Obese, Overweight, Healthy Weight, and Underweight. Obese children had statistically significantly lower course grades in all areas, as well as poorer conduct grades, than nonobese children. Similar results were present for the four TAKS measures. Comparisons of these measures by the four weight categories indicated the presence of trends such that as students' weight increased from one category to the next, their school grades and standardized test scores decreased. Partial correlation analyses, in which the effects of economic disadvantage and conduct grades were controlled, revealed that obesity was related with teacher‐assigned grades and with TAKS scores. Interestingly, within ethnic groups, differences were present between obese and nonobese students only for White students and Hispanic students. The implications of these findings, as well as suggestions for further research, are discussed.
Framing U.S. Redistributive Policies: Tough Love for Poor Women and Tax Cuts for Seniors
Authors: Limbert Wendy M. , Bullock Heather E.
Published: October 2009

In recent years, income inequality in the U.S. has risen to historically high levels. Redistributive policies that differentially benefit lower‐ versus upper‐income households play a significant role in the widening economic gap. A discourse analysis of 284 articles from five major U.S. newspapers was conducted to examine dominant media framing of the Bush administration's welfare reauthorization proposal and the 2003 dividend tax cuts. Guided by critical theory (

Delgado & Stefancic, 2001

; Wing, 1997), we found that dominant issue frames favored reduced support for progressive welfare policies and increased support for tax cuts. Implications for pursuing an economic justice agenda are discussed.
The Dematerialization Potential of the Australian Economy
Authors: Schandl Heinz , Turner Graham M.
Published: October 2009

In this article we test the long‐term dematerialization potential for Australia in terms of materials, energy, and water use as well as CO2 emissions by introducing concrete targets for major sectors. Major improvements in the construction and housing, transport and mobility, and food and nutrition sectors in the Australian economy, if coupled with significant reductions in the resource export sectors, would substantially improve the current material, energy, and emission intensive pattern of Australia's production and consumption system. Using the Australian Stocks and Flows Framework we model all system interactions to understand the contributions of large‐scale changes in technology, infrastructure, and lifestyle to decoupling the economy from the environment. The modeling shows a considerable reduction in natural resource use, while energy and water use decrease to a much lesser extent because a reduction in natural resource consumption creates a trade‐off in energy use. It also shows that trade and economic growth may continue, but at a reduced rate compared with a business‐as‐usual scenario. The findings of our modeling are discussed in light of the large body of literature on dematerialization, eco‐efficiency, and rebound effects that may occur when efficiency is increased. We argue that Australia cannot rely on incremental efficiency gains but has to undergo a sustainability transition to achieve a low carbon future to keep in line with the international effort to avoid climate change and resource use conflicts. We touch upon the institutional changes that would be required to guide a sustainability transition in the Australian economy, such as an emission trading scheme.
Subjective Memory Deficits in People with and without Dementia: Findings from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group Pilot Studies in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries
Authors:   10/66 Dementia Research Group
Published: October 2009

OBJECTIVES: To compare subjective memory deficit (SMD) in older adults with and without dementia or depression across multiple centers in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LAMICs).

DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from 23 case control studies.

SETTING: Twenty‐three centers in India, Southeast Asia (including China), Latin America and the Caribbean, Nigeria, and Russia.

PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand six hundred ninety‐two community‐dwelling people aged 60 and older in one of three groups: people with dementia, people with depression, and controls free of dementia and depression.

MEASUREMENTS: SMD was derived from the Geriatric Mental State examination.

RESULTS: Median SMD frequency was lowest in participants without dementia (26.2%) and higher in those with depression (50.0%) and dementia (66.7%). Frequency of SMD varied between centers. Depression and dementia were consistently associated with SMD. Older age and hypochondriasis were associated with SMD only in subjects without dementia. In those with dementia, SMD was associated with better cognitive function, whereas the reverse was the case in controls.

CONCLUSION: Associations with SMD may differ between subjects with and without dementia living in LAMICs.
The Course of Adverse Effects of Nortriptyline and Venlafaxine in Elderly Patients with Major Depression
Authors: Kok Rob M. , Aartsen Marja , Nolen Willem A. , Heeren Thea J.
Published: October 2009

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate tolerability and course of adverse effects of antidepressants in elderly patients and to study the association between number and severity of adverse effects and age, physical comorbidity, antidepressant dose. and depression severity.

DESIGN: Double‐blind, randomized controlled trial followed by an open treatment phase of 3 years.

SETTING: Psychiatric hospital in the Netherlands.

PARTICIPANTS: Eighty‐one elderly depressed inpatients.

INTERVENTION: Patients were treated with venlafaxine or nortriptyline.

MEASUREMENTS: Frequency and severity of 43 individual adverse effects were assessed using the Symptom, Sign, Side‐Effect Checklist. Severity of depression was assessed using the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale.

RESULTS: Both antidepressants were tolerated well, with no differences in clinical effectiveness, and most adverse effects decreased with time. The number and severity of adverse effects was not related to age or physical comorbidities. There was a significant relationship between the severity of depression and the severity of adverse effects, although the relationship between the dose of the antidepressant and the severity of the adverse effects was of only borderline statistical significance.

CONCLUSION: Elderly patients tolerated venlafaxine and nortriptyline well, and most adverse effects decreased with time as the depression improved. Age and physical comorbidities were not related to number and severity of adverse effects.
What is the Case for Prescribing Long‐Acting Opioids Over Short‐Acting Opioids for Patients with Chronic Pain? A Critical Review
Authors: Rauck Richard L.
Published: October 2009

Introduction:  Effective pain management requires appropriate patient assessment, ongoing reassessment, and an understanding of the options available for the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Opioids have long been an important option in the management of moderate to severe chronic pain, but optimal use requires understanding the variety of choices currently available.

Methods:  Literature search was carried out using PubMed. Search terms included “steady state,”“pharmacokinetics,”“pharmacodynamics,”“chronic non‐cancer pain,”“sustained release opioid,” “extended release opioid,” “controlled release opioid,”“morphine,”“oxymorphone,”“hydromorphone,”“oxycodone,” and “fentanyl.”

Results:  This search found 12 chronic pain studies that compared short‐ and long‐acting opioids head‐to‐head. These were supplemented with representative studies from the chronic pain literature.

Discussion:  The objective of this article is to review clinical data for the use of long‐acting and short‐acting opioids in a variety of chronic noncancer pain conditions. Although some patients with chronic pain appear to prefer short‐acting opioids, many patients receiving long‐acting opioid formulations show improved treatment responses and better perception of quality of life. In addition, the sustained reductions in pain seen with long‐acting opioid formulations may promote patients' focus on daily activities rather than on their pain, thereby improving therapy adherence and reducing pain‐related anxieties.

Conclusion:  Long‐term clinical trials of these formulations are needed to allow clinicians to make informed decisions about which patient groups might benefit most from these formulations.
Return of the Volksgeist
Authors: Berlin Isaiah
Published: October 2009

Sir Isaiah Berlin, who died in 1997, was a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. One of the West's foremost political philosophers, he authored several seminal works, including Karl Marx, The Age of Enlightenment, Four Essays on Liberty, Vico and Herder and The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Chapters in the History of Ideas.

We sat down for several rambling hours of conversation at a cafe in the small harbor in Portofino, Italy, at the end of the summer in 1991.
Borrowed Surfaces
Authors: Kato Shuichi
Published: October 2009

Shuichi Kato, who died in 2008, was one of Japan's leading social critics and author of the definitive three‐volume study, A History of Japanese Literature, and Form, Style and Tradition.

In July, 1987, we met twice to discuss what he regarded as “Japan's empty core,” first overlooking the Zen garden at the American Club in Tokyo, then at the Hotel Danieli in Venice where he was working on a documentary about the rise of the West.

I've retitled this interview “borrowed surfaces,” a phrase used by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, to describe how Japan has adopted the forms of the West, but not the essence, as Kato so well describes in his comments.
The Islamic Awakening's Second Wave
Authors: Al‐Turabi Hassan
Published: October 2009

Hassan al‐Turabi, often referred to as the most significant Muslim cleric since Ayatollah Khomeini, had a central influence during the 1990s on the rise of Sunni Islamist movements across the Middle East and North Africa. He was a mentor of Ayman al‐Zawahiri and had a close personal relationship with Osama bin Laden, sponsoring his presence in Sudan before the Al Qaeda leader fled to Afghanistan. Al‐Turabi was the ideological force behind the coup led by Omar al‐Bashir, with whom he has since fallen out, that brought Islamists to power in Sudan in 1989. As an opposition leader al‐Turabi has been in and out of jail for years, most recently over the issue of Darfur.

The soft‐spoken philosopher of Islam sat down with me for a lengthy and candid discussion in the summer of 1992. We met in a dilapidated townhouse near DuPont Circle in Washington, where he had come, as it turned out without success, to repair relations with the United States.
Sacred Verses
Authors: Rushdie Salman
Published: October 2009

In 2006, just after he published his novel Shalimar the Clown, which sought to get inside the mind of a jihadist, I sat down with Salman Rushdie amid the faded elegance of the University Club in Berkeley, California. Excepts of that interview follow.
America After Utopia
Authors: Baudrillard Jean
Published: October 2009

The French social critic and lapsed sociologist Jean Baudrillard, who died in 2007, is author of the highly acclaimed America and Cool Memories. One of the more poignant observers of America since his compatriot Alexis de Tocqueville roamed these lands, Baudrillard's insights, in the manner of the parochial universalism of Parisian post‐Marxist intellectuals, dazzle some‐where between the brilliant and impenetrable. Back in 1990, I sat down with him in the haute tacky Royal Palace motel in Los Angeles, which Baudrillard claimed was his favorite city. For him, LA was the closest thing to a center in this heterogeneous, ex‐centric world.
A Premonition of Obama: La Raza Cosmica in America
Authors: Kapuscinski Ryszard
Published: October 2009

Ryszard Kapuscinski, who died in 2007, was one of the 20th century's greatest literary journalists. He personally witnessed the dramatic post‐World War II upheavals of decolonization and revolution across what we used to call “the Third World” and set down his reflections in such best‐selling books as The Emperor, about the fall of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and Shah of Shahs, about the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. He served on NPQ's editorial board until his death.

When I last saw Kapuscinski for coffee at the Hotel Bristol in Warsaw in the summer of 2005 he was busy preparing a lecture on Herodotus, the ancient Greek traveler and historian regarded as “the father of journalism.”

In 1987, NPQ brought Kapuscinski to Los Angeles to roam around and observe North America's largest “Third World city.” He stayed at the New Seoul Hotel in the heart of Koreatown, venturing from there all the way down to Disneyland, Hispanic East L.A. and the wealthy Westside. At the end of each day, we sat down to gather his impressions.

Kapuscinski saw the United States as the place where the idea of “la raza cosmica”—the cosmic race—would be realized. For him, America was a premonition of the plural, racially mixed, culturally hybrid civilization the whole world would one day become. In a way, his insight was also a premonition of the presidency of Barack Obama, a self‐described cultural and racial “mutt.” In a world where the contamination of globalization has sparked troubling yearnings for a return to purity, being a nation of mutts, Kapuscinski understood, is America's competitive advantage.