bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Direct Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms Contribute to Attenuation of Experimental Allograft Arteriosclerosis by Statins
Authors: Shimizu Koichi , Aikawa Masanori , Takayama Kiyoshi , Libby Peter , Mitchell Richard N.
Published: September 2003

Background—

Despite the development of effective immunosuppressive therapy, transplant graft arterial disease (GAD) remains the major limitation to long-term graft survival. The interplay between host inflammatory cells and donor vascular wall cells results in an intimal hyperplastic lesion, which leads to ischemia and graft failure. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) reduce GAD in human cardiac allografts, although it is unclear whether this is secondary to cholesterol lowering or other mechanisms. This study tested the hypothesis that statins can suppress GAD by cholesterol-independent pathways.

Methods and Results—

We performed heterotopic murine cardiac transplants in total allogeneic or major histocompatibility complex class II-mismatched combinations. Transplanted animals received either control chow, chow containing 25 ppm cerivastatin (low dose), or chow containing 125 ppm cerivastatin (high dose). Mean plasma cerivastatin concentrations were 0.0 (control), 10.1 (low dose), and 21.9 (high dose) nmol/L, respectively. Plasma cholesterol levels were the same in all groups. GAD scores decreased in low-dose (
P
<0.05) and high-dose (
P
<0.0001) cerivastatin groups compared with controls, with concomitant reduction in graft-infiltrating cells and significantly decreased intragraft RANTES and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 mRNA expression. Cerivastatin, as well as other statins, also reduced RANTES and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 production in mouse endothelial cells stimulated with interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α in vitro.

Conclusions—

Clinically achievable levels of an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor attenuate GAD in murine heart transplants, diminish host inflammatory cell recruitment, and do not alter cholesterol levels. These results indicate that statins can affect arterial biology and inflammation independently of their effects on cholesterol metabolism.
Prognostic Significance of Corrected QT and Corrected JT Interval for Incident Coronary Heart Disease in a General Population Sample Stratified by Presence or Absence of Wide QRS Complex
Authors: Crow Richard S. , Hannan Peter J. , Folsom Aaron R.
Published: September 2003

Background—

Heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc) is the traditional method of assessing the duration of repolarization. Prolonged heart rate-corrected QT interval is associated with higher risk of mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and in the general population. However, the QTc is typically not evaluated when QRS duration is ≥120 ms, because increased QRS duration (QRSd) contributes to QT interval prolongation. In these circumstances, the JT interval has been proposed as a more valid way to assess ventricular repolarization.

Methods and Results—

To allow for variation in heart rate, corrected JT interval (JTc) was defined as QTc−QRSd. Using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, JTc and QTc were compared for their prognostic associations with incident CHD events among 14 696 men and women who were CHD-free at baseline, having either normal conduction or wide QRS complex. Among individuals with normal QRS duration, logistic regression adjusted for age, hypertensive status, diabetes, race, systolic blood pressure, smoking, HDL and LDL cholesterol, R-R interval, and menopausal status in women showed QTc and JTc were nonpredictive of future coronary events in men but significant in women. In individuals with wide QRS complex (QRSd ≥120 ms), similar analyses showed JTc had a significant prognostic advantage compared with QTc in men but not in women, among whom only 11 events occurred.

Conclusions—

The JTc is a simple measurement that is a significant independent predictor of incident CHD events in men with wide QRS complex.
Transplantation of Enalapril-Treated Kidneys Confers Persistent Lowering of Arterial Pressure in SHR
Authors: Smallegange Corry , Kline Robert L. , Adams Michael A.
Published: September 2003

The kidney plays a critical role in regulating the level of arterial pressure and in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Important evidence has come from studies in which hypertension is generated by transplanting kidneys from genetically hypertensive rats into normotensive recipients, suggesting that the level of blood pressure is strongly influenced by the genetic background of the kidney. We hypothesized that pharmacotherapy could modify specific properties intrinsic to the kidney such that after transplantation, there would be persistent changes in the level of arterial pressure. We determined that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor treatment (enalapril) in spontaneously hypertensive rats induced both a persistent 17% reduction of mean arterial pressure and a persistent change in the kidney. This persistent change in the circulation could be completely transferred to untreated spontaneously hypertensive rats by kidney transplantation; ie, mean arterial pressure in untreated spontaneously hypertensive rat recipients was persistently lowered after transplantation of a kidney from a previously treated spontaneously hypertensive rat donor. In addition, the persistent lowering of mean arterial pressure after enalapril treatment could be completely abolished by implanting an untreated kidney, thereby revealing the importance of the kidney-specific changes. Furthermore, after within-group transplantations, there were no changes in the level of arterial pressure; ie, a 16% difference in mean arterial pressure remained between the 2 groups. The findings revealed that drug-induced changes specific to the kidney determined the level of arterial pressure, thereby suggesting the kidney should be a key therapeutic target for pharmacotherapy.
Hypertension in the (mRen-2)27 Rat Is Not Explained by Enhanced Kinetics of Transgenic Ren-2 Renin
Authors: Rong Pei , Campbell Duncan J. , Skinner Sandford L.
Published: September 2003

Enhanced efficiency of the reaction between transgenic Ren-2 mouse renin and endogenous rat angiotensinogen has been suggested as 1 mechanism that contributes to the accelerated hypertension and increased tissue angiotensin of the (mRen-2)27 transgenic rat. This was tested in a study conducted at pH 7.4 in vitro that compared the kinetic constants of purified mouse Ren-2 and rat renin (each at 100, 75, 50, and 25 pmol/L) reacting with physiologic concentrations of rat angiotensinogen (0 to 4 μmol/L). Under these conditions, the kinetic constants for Ren-2 (
K
m
, 1.8 μmol/L;
K
cat
, 0.07/s; and
K
cat
/
K
m
, 0.04 L · μmol
−1
· s
−1
) were not different from rat renin. However, Ren-2 renin acting on its homologous mouse angiotensinogen was confirmed as being much slower. We conclude that hypertension in the Ren-2 rat is not related to renin kinetics. Other mechanisms are considered, with reference to human essential hypertension.
Simvastatin Attenuates Oxidant-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cardiac Myocytes
Authors: Jones Steven P. , Teshima Yasushi , Akao Masaharu , Marbán Eduardo
Published: September 2003

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl–coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) can exert beneficial effects independently of serum cholesterol reduction by increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide. However, it is unclear whether statins can exert such effects directly on cardiac myocytes and whether mitochondria are potential targets. Neonatal rat cardiac myocytes were cultured and subjected to oxidant stress (1 hour of 100 μmol/L H
2
O
2
). Mitochondrial membrane potential, a key determinant of cardiomyocyte viability, was assessed by flow cytometric analysis of tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE)–loaded cells. Hydrogen peroxide significantly reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. Incubation of the cardiac myocytes in simvastatin (≥1 μmol/L) 1 hour before peroxide exposure significantly attenuated the loss of TMRE fluorescence. This effect was inhibited by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor
N
G
-nitro-
l
-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or the ATP-sensitive mitochondrial potassium channel (mitoK
ATP
) blocker 5-hydroxydecanoate. Simvastatin attenuates mitochondrial membrane depolarization after exposure to oxidant stress. These findings provide primary evidence that myocytes can act as triggers and effectors in the cardioprotective cascade of simvastatin therapy. These results bear implications of statin therapy as a potential clinical application of pharmacological preconditioning.
Enhanced Synthesis of the Oxysterol 24(
S
),25-Epoxycholesterol in Macrophages by Inhibitors of 2,3-Oxidosqualene:Lanosterol Cyclase
Authors: Rowe Andrea H. , Argmann Carmen A. , Edwards Jane Y. , Sawyez Cynthia G. , Morand Olivier H. , Hegele Robert A. , Huff Murray W.
Published: September 2003

Oxysterols are key regulators of lipid metabolism and regulate gene expression by activating the liver X receptor (LXR). LXR plays a vital role in macrophage foam cell formation, a central event in atherosclerosis. It is known that addition of exogenous oxysterols to cultured macrophages activates LXR, leading to increased expression of ABCA1 and cholesterol efflux. In this study, we tested the novel hypothesis that stimulation of endogenous oxysterol synthesis would block foam cell formation induced by atherogenic lipoproteins. Macrophage synthesis of 24(
S
),25-epoxycholesterol, a potent LXR ligand, increased 60-fold by partial inhibition of 2,3-oxidosqualene:lanosterol cyclase (OSC), a microsomal enzyme in both the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway and the alternative oxysterol synthetic pathway. When macrophages were challenged with human hypertriglyceridemic VLDL (HTG-VLDL), cellular cholesteryl ester accumulation increased 12-fold. This was reduced dramatically, by 65%, after preincubation with an OSC inhibitor (OSCi). The HTG-VLDL–induced accumulation of macrophage TG (70-fold) was unaffected by the OSCi or exogenous 24(
S
),25-epoxycholesterol, an effect associated with suppression of SREBP-1 processing. By contrast, TO901317, a synthetic LXR agonist, increased cellular TG significantly and markedly increased SREBP-1 processing. OSC inhibition decreased HTG-VLDL uptake through downregulation of LDL-receptor expression, despite substantial inhibition of cholesterol synthesis. Furthermore, OSC inhibition significantly upregulated ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression, which led to enhanced macrophage cholesterol efflux, an effect mediated through LXR activation. Therefore, increased macrophage synthesis of endogenous oxysterols represents a new mechanism for the dual regulation of LXR- and SREBP-responsive genes, an approach that inhibits foam cell formation without detrimental effect on TG synthesis.
G Protein βγ Subunits Stimulate p114RhoGEF, a Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor for RhoA and Rac1
Authors: Niu Jiaxin , Profirovic Jasmina , Pan Haiyun , Vaiskunaite Rita , Voyno-Yasenetskaya Tatyana
Published: September 2003

Rho GTPases integrate the intracellular signaling in a wide range of cellular processes. Activation of these G proteins is tightly controlled by a number of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). In this study, we addressed the functional role of the recently identified p114RhoGEF in in vivo experiments. Activation of endogenous G protein-coupled receptors with lysophosphatidic acid resulted in activation of a transcription factor, serum response element (SRE), that was enhanced by p114RhoGEF. This stimulation was inhibited by the functional scavenger of Gβγ subunits, transducin. We have determined that Gβγ subunits but not Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins stimulated p114RhoGEF-dependent SRE activity. Using coimmunoprecipitation assay, we have determined that Gβγ subunits interacted with full-length and DH/PH domain of p114RhoGEF. Similarly, Gβγ subunits stimulated SRE activity induced by full-length and DH/PH domain of p114RhoGEF. Using in vivo pull-down assays and dominant-negative mutants of Rho GTPases, we have determined that p114RhoGEF activated RhoA and Rac1 but not Cdc42 proteins. Functional significance of RhoA activation was established by the ability of p114RhoGEF to induce actin stress fibers and cell rounding. Functional significance of Rac1 activation was established by the ability of p114RhoGEF to induce production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) followed by activation of NADPH oxidase enzyme complex. In summary, our data showed that the novel guanine nucleotide exchange factor p114RhoGEF regulates the activity of RhoA and Rac1, and that Gβγ subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins are activators of p114RhoGEF under physiological conditions. The findings help to explain the integrated effects of LPA and other G-protein receptor-coupled agonists on actin stress fiber formation, cell shape change, and ROS production.
Cardiac Nerves Affect Myocardial Stunning Through Reactive Oxygen and Nitric Oxide Mechanisms
Authors: Huang Cheng-Hsiung , Vatner Stephen F. , Peppas Athanasios P. , Yang Guiping , Kudej Raymond K.
Published: September 2003

The goal of this study was to investigate the role of cardiac nerves on the response to 90-minute coronary artery stenosis (CAS), which reduced coronary blood flow by 40% for 90 minutes, and subsequent myocardial stunning after reperfusion in chronically instrumented conscious pigs. In pigs with regional cardiac denervation (CD), myocardial stunning was intensified, ie, at 12 hours reperfusion wall thickening (WT) was depressed more,
P
<0.05, in CD (−46±5%) as compared with intact pigs (−31±3%) and remained depressed in CD at 24 hours reperfusion (−45±6%). Although the TTC technique was negative for infarct, histopathological analysis revealed patchy necrosis present in 11±2% of the area at risk. In intact pigs, WT had essentially recovered at 24 hours without infarct. In CD pigs treated with either an antioxidant,
N
-2-mercaptopropionyl glycine (MPG, 100 mg/kg per hour) or systemic nitric oxide synthase inhibition using
N
ω
-nitro-
l
-arginine (L-NA, 30 mg/kg for 3 days), recovery of wall thickening was similar to that in pigs with intact nerves and without evidence of infarct. Immunohistochemistry analysis for 3-nitrotyrosine in tissue after CAS and 1 hour reperfusion demonstrated enhanced peroxynitrite-related protein nitration in pigs with regional CD compared with pigs with intact cardiac nerves, and pigs with regional CD and MPG or L-NA. Thus, reperfusion after myocardial ischemia in the setting of CD results in enhanced stunning and development of infarct. The underlying mechanism appears to involve nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species.
Circulating Progenitor Cells Regenerate Endothelium of Vein Graft Atherosclerosis, Which Is Diminished in ApoE-Deficient Mice
Authors: Xu Qingbo , Zhang Zhongyi , Davison Fergus , Hu Yanhua
Published: September 2003

Previously we showed that a large number of endothelial cells in vein grafts undergo apoptosis or necrosis during the first few days followed by endothelial regeneration. In the present study, we investigated endothelial cell death and regeneration in vein grafts using transgenic mice carrying LacZ genes driven by an endothelial TIE2 promoter. When a vein fragment from TIE2-LacZ was isografted into the carotid artery of wild-type mice, the number of β-gal
+
cells were reduced at 3 days and disappeared completely by 4 weeks after grafting. Conversely, β-gal
+
cells were observed on the surface of vein segments donated by wild-type mice isografted into TIE2-LacZ mice at 1 week and reached confluence by 4 weeks, suggesting recipient origins of endothelial cells. Interestingly, β-gal
+
cells were evenly distributed on the surface of the whole vein segment grafted into TIE2-LacZ mice, indicating a contribution of circulating progenitor cells. When wild-type veins were grafted into a chimeric mouse carrying TIE2-LacZ genes in bone marrow cells, a proportion of cells displayed a β-gal
+
staining. Furthermore, the number of CD34
+
and Flk
+
progenitor cells in blood of apoE-deficient mice were significantly lower than those of wild-type controls, which coincided with diminished β-gal
+
endothelial cells on the surface of vein grafts in TIE2-LacZ/apoE
−/−
mice. Thus, we provide the first evidence that endothelial cells of vein grafts are derived from circulating progenitor cells, of which one-third are derived from bone marrow progenitor cells. Hyperlipidemia due to apoE deficiency results in a lower number of endothelial progenitors in blood and correlated with enhanced atherosclerosis. The full text of this article is available online at http://www.circresaha.org.
Alternative Splicing of cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase I in Angiotensin-Hypertension
Authors: Gerzanich Volodymyr , Ivanov Alexander , Ivanova Svetlana , Yang Jia Bi , Zhou Hui , Dong Yafeng , Simard J. Marc
Published: September 2003

Nitrate tolerance (NT) in hypertension is attributed to reduced activity of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC). We examined NT in basilar artery vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from control rats, rats infused with angiotensin II (Ang; 240 μg/kg per hour for 4 days), which were normotensive, and Ang-hypertensive rats (AHR; 240 μg/kg per hour for 28 days). Ca
2+
-activated K
+
(Maxi-K) channels in VSMCs from AHR showed reduced activation by NO donor, consistent with NT. The concentration-response relationship for 8-Br-cGMP was shifted 2.5-fold to the right, indicating that abnormal sGC alone could not account for NT. Inside-out patches from AHR showed normal activation with exogenous cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (cGKI), suggesting no abnormality downstream of cGKI. We hypothesized that the reduction in apparent affinity of 8-Br-cGMP for cGKI in AHR might be due to a change in relative amounts of cGKIα versus cGKIβ, since cGKIβ is less sensitive to cGMP activators than cGKIα. This was substantiated by showing the following in AHR: (1) reduced effect of the cGKIα-selective activator 8-APT-cGMP; (2) reduced total cGKI protein (both isoforms), but an increase in cGKIβ protein in quantitative immunofluorescence and Western blots; (3) similar changes in cGKI isoforms immunoisolated with Maxi-K channels; and (4) a large increase in cGKIβ mRNA and a decrease in cGKIα mRNA in real-time PCR and Northern blots. Upregulation of cytosolic cGKIβ was evident 4 days after Ang infusion, before development of hypertension. Our data identify a functional role for cGKIβ in VSMCs previously ascribed exclusively to cGKIα. Ang-induced alternative splicing of cGKI represents a novel mechanism for reducing sensitivity to NO/cGMP.
Prospective Follow-Up Study Between 3 and 15 Months After Stroke
Authors: Ballard Clive , Rowan Elise , Stephens Sally , Kalaria Raj , Kenny Rose Anne
Published: September 2003

Background and Purpose—

Poststroke cognitive impairment is frequent. There are, however, few longitudinal studies examining delayed changes in poststroke cognition.

Methods—

As part of a longitudinal study of incident dementia after stroke, 115 older stroke survivors (>75 years of age) without dementia were evaluated at 3 and 15 months with a detailed neuropsychological evaluation (including memory, attention, executive performance, and language).

Results—

we found that 9% of older stroke patients developed incident dementia, with significant deterioration in global cognition, memory, and attention. Only the severity of expressive language performance at 3 months was associated with dementia at follow-up. Conversely, 57 patients (50%) experienced some improvement in global cognition. None of the criteria for early cognitive impairment identified people at increased risk for dementia.

Conclusions—

Delayed dementia is frequent in older stoke patients, but current criteria for early cognitive impairment are not useful as predictors of cognitive deterioration. Improvement in cognition occurred in most patients.
Scared Straight and Other Juvenile Awareness Programs for Preventing Juvenile Delinquency: A Systematic Review of the Randomized Experimental Evidence
Authors: Petrosino Anthony , Turpin-Petrosino Carolyn , Buehler John
Published: September 2003

Scared Straight and other programs involve organized visits to prison facilities by juvenile delinquents or at-risk kids to deter them from delinquency. Despite several research studies and reviews questioning their effectiveness, they remain in use and have now been tried in at least six nations. The authors report here on the results of a systematic review of randomized experimental tests of this program. Studies that tested any program involving the organized visits of delinquents or at-risk children to penal institutions were included. Each study had to have a no-treatment control condition with at least one outcome measure of “postvisit” criminal behavior. Using extensive search methods, the authors located nine randomized trials meeting eligibility criteria. After describing the studies and appraising their methodological quality, the authors present the narrative findings from each evaluation. A meta-analysis of prevalence rates indicates that the intervention on average is more harmful to juveniles than doing nothing. The authors conclude that governments should institute rigorous programs of research to ensure that well-intentioned treatments do not cause harm to the citizens they pledge to protect.
Estimates of Randomized Controlled Trials Across Six Areas of Childhood Intervention: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Petrosino Anthony
Published: September 2003

Data on the frequency of experiments are elusive. One way to estimate how many experiments are done is by analyzing the contents of bibliographic databases. This article analyzes the citation information from six major bibliographic databases to estimate the proportion of randomized (or possibly randomized) experiments compared to all outcome or impact evaluation studies. The focus of the article is on the evaluation of programs designed for children (from birth to eighteen years of age). The results indicate that randomized studies are used in nearly 70 percent of childhood interventions in health care but probably in 6 to 15 percent of kindergarten through twelfth-grade interventions in education and juvenile justice. The article concludes with discussion about these data, particularly on suggestions of how to produce more outcome studies, and randomized experiments, of childhood interventions.
British Randomized Experiments on Crime and Justice
Authors: Farrington David P.
Published: September 2003

A number of randomized experiments are summarized that were carried out in Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s to investigate influences on offending and the effectiveness of interventions to reduce offending. Few such experiments have been carried out in the past twenty-five years, partly because of the influence of Ron Clarke and Derek Cornish on Home Office policy. This article reviews Clarke and Cornish's objections to randomized experiments and concludes that experimenters need to demonstrate in which circumstances they are optimal. The Home Office seems more receptive to randomized experiments nowadays.
Trying to do more Good than Harm in Policy and Practice: The Role of Rigorous, Transparent, Up-to-Date Evaluations
Authors: Chalmers Iain
Published: September 2003

Because professionals sometimes do more harm than good when they intervene in the lives of other people, their policies and practices should be informed by rigorous, transparent, up-to-date evaluations. Surveys often reveal wide variations in the type and frequency of practice and policy interventions, and this evidence of collective uncertainty should prompt the humility that is a precondition for rigorous evaluation. Evaluation should begin with systematic assessment of as high a proportion as possible of existing relevant, reliable research, and then, if appropriate, additional research. Systematic, up-to-date reviews of research—such as those that the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations endeavor to prepare and maintain—are designed to minimize the likelihood that the effects of interventions will be confused with the effects of biases and chance. Policy makers and practitioners can choose whether, and if so how, they wish their policies and practices to be informed by research. They should be clear, however, that the lives of other people will often be affected by the validity of their judgments.
The Underprovision of Experiments in Political Science
Authors: Green Donald P. , Gerber Alan S.
Published: September 2003

Field experimentation enables researchers to draw unbiased and externally valid causal inferences about social processes. Despite these strengths, field experimentation is seldom used in political science, which relies instead on observational studies and laboratory experiments. This article contends that political scientists underestimate the value of field experimentation and overestimate their ability to draw secure causal inferences from other types of data. After reviewing the history of experimentation in the discipline, the authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of field experimental methods. They conclude by describing a number of research topics that seem amenable to experimental inquiry.
Nonexperimental Versus Experimental Estimates of Earnings Impacts
Authors: Glazerman Steven , Levy Dan M. , Myers David
Published: September 2003

To assess nonexperimental (NX) evaluation methods in the context of welfare, job training, and employment services programs, the authors reexamined the results of twelve case studies intended to replicate impact estimates from an experimental evaluation by using NX methods. They found that the NX methods sometimes came close to replicating experimentally derived results but often produced estimates that differed by policy-relevant margins, which the authors interpret as estimates of bias. Although the authors identified several study design factors associated with smaller discrepancies, no combination of factors would consistently eliminate discrepancies. Even with a large number of impact estimates, the positive and negative bias estimates did not always cancel each other out. Thus, it was difficult to identify an aggregation strategy that consistently removed bias while answering a focused question about earnings impacts of a program. They conclude that although the empirical evidence from this literature can be used in the context of training and welfare programs to improve NX research designs, it cannot on its own justify the use of such designs.
Social Capital in (Dis)Similar Democracies
Authors: Freitag Markus
Published: October 2003

This article evaluates the foundations of a key component of social capital, namely, generalized trust in Japan and Switzerland. Although the two countries are remarkably different, they share a number of similarities with regard to political, cultural, and economic developments. In particular, the common facets of political culture and political philosophy let us expect corresponding foundations of social trust. Hence, although Japan and Switzerland differ with respect to the influence of moral attitudes, life satisfaction, and associational membership, social trust is contingent on education, daily television consumption, and cosmopolitan culture in both countries. Furthermore, although many scholars argue that political trust generally does not correlate to social trust, the author's results indicate that a great deal of confidence in political institutions provides a breeding ground for social trust in both countries.
Effects of Accusations on the Accuser: The Moderating Role of Accuser Culpability
Authors: Rucker Derek D. , Petty Richard E.
Published: October 2003

Recent research has shown that people can enhance their own reputations by accusing others of faults they possess. However, it is unclear by what mechanism accusing others of one's own misdeeds helps to enhance the reputation of the accuser, and there is no evidence for boundary conditions for this devious tactic. The present research provides evidence that accusations suggest information about the accuser's values and that it is the assumed values of the accuser that are responsible for increases in the accuser's reputation. Furthermore, the present research demonstrates that accusations may only be effective in increasing an individual's reputation when the individual has faults to deflect. When an individual possesses no faults, accusations can actually damage the individual's reputation.
The Persuasiveness of Racial Arguments as a Subtle Measure of Racism
Authors: Saucier Donald A. , Miller Carol T.
Published: October 2003

These studies provide evidence of the reliability and validity of a new indirect measure of racism, the Racial Argument Scale (RAS).On the RAS, participants rate how well arguments support conclusions that are positive or negative toward Blacks rather than their agreement with the arguments and conclusions. These studies show that the RAS has good internal consistency, high levels of test-retest reliability, good convergent validity with other self-report measures of racism, and does not correlate with social desirability or right-wing authoritarianism. Furthermore, these studies show that the RAS predicts behavioral measures of racism and that the RAS is able to predict positivity and negativity toward Blacks that is not measured by other self-report measures of racism. These studies suggest that the RAS is a reliable and valid measure of racial attitudes.
Patriotism and its Avatars: Tracking the National-Global Dialectic in Indian Music Videos
Authors: Asthana Sanjay
Published: October 2003

This study examines the hegemonic articulations of the national and the global, and the constitution of “new” forms of patriotism in select music videos in India. The music videos mobilized aspects of nationalism, globalization, and consumerism in generating ideas around patriotism. The article makes an argument for pursuing the visual as one site where the relationships between national and global in the articulation of patriotism can be tracked. Through a critical visual analysis, these issues are examined in greater detail.
Treating Impulsivity, Irritability, and Aggression of Antisocial Personality Disorder with Quetiapine
Authors: Walker Candace , Thomas Janice , Allen Timothy S.
Published: October 2003

There are few effective treatments of antisocial personality disorder (APD). Preliminary work suggests that the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine can decrease irritability, impulsivity, and aggressiveness. Data were collected from 4 patients with APD who were referred to a maximum-security inpatient psychiatric facility for pretrial evaluation and were treated with quetiapine. Quetiapine was effective in these patients as was indicated by a decrease in symptoms such as impulsivity, hostility, aggressiveness, irritability, and rage reactions. Typical dosage was 600 to 800 mg per day. Patients attributed their willingness to comply with quetiapine treatment to both the effectiveness of the drug and its favorable adverse-event profile. Quetiapine was successfully combined with mood stabilizers, particularly gabapentin, in patients with prominent affective instability. Quetiapine has demonstrated efficacy in aggression, impulsivity, and irritability and has proved to be an effective medication in these patients with APD. In addition, its favorable adverse-event profile makes patients willing to comply.
Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement: A Case Study of a New Terrorist Organization in China
Authors: Wang John Z.
Published: October 2003

The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was designated a terrorist organization by Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, the United States, and the United Nations in 2002. However, no systematic studies have been published on the new terrorist organization in Xinjiang, China. Using a case-study approach and interviews, this article attempts to provide information in terms of its historical evolution, related religious and ethnic issues, organizational agenda, activities, and role in the current international terrorist network. This article argues that better international cooperation and the improvement of social and religious policies will help curtail activities of the ETIM.
Class, Region, and Memory in a South Carolina-Philadelphia Marriage
Authors: Kilbride Daniel
Published: October 2003

The 1839 marriage of the Philadelphia gentleman Joshua Francis Fisher with the South Carolina aristocrat Elizabeth Middleton illuminates some of the tensions between class and sectional identity in the Civil War-era United States. Neither family had much in common with ordinary people in its respective region. Because of their wealth, privilege, and travels, both families shared a cosmopolitan, elitist sensibility that marked them as members of a national, and even transatlantic, leisure class. Because of their reactionary attitudes, the Fishers were in some ways more southern than northern, despite their residence in Philadelphia. During the Civil War, the Fishers were active supporters of the Confederacy, whose defeat they interpreted as the triumph of middle-class, democratic values in the United States. After the war, Joshua Francis Fisher sought to memorialize his family history as a record of a vanished aristocracy as well as, he hoped, an admonition to his children.
Evaluating and Selecting Counterarguments
Authors: Leitão Selma
Published: October 2003

This article investigates children's evaluation/selection of ideas in writing-related tasks. The critical dimension being considered was to what extent the communicative goal that defines argumentation establishes basic criteria with which children decide whether to include counterargument in a text. Data analysis focused on participants' decisions and, most important, the rationales they present for their decisions. Two constraints seem to drive evaluation/selection processes. First, the content constraint, whereby a writer focuses on agreement with the idea itself; second, the rhetorical constraint, defined as a writer's perception of an idea's value in increasing the acceptability of his or her point of view. Counterargumentation must be perceived as a valuable rhetorical strategy if specific counterarguments are to be incorporated into a text; otherwise, counterargumentation remains part of the process of selection/evaluation without becoming explicit in the product of such a process—the text.
Community Dwellers' Perspectives on the Experience of Feeling Very Tired
Authors: Huch Mary H. , Bournes Debra A.
Published: October 2003

Feeling very tired is a phenomenon experienced by all humans at some point in their life. As a means of more fully understanding the human experience of feeling very tired, this concept was explored with a group of 10 community dwelling individuals who had no expressed health concerns. The Parse research method was used to answer the research question, What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling very tired? The central finding of this study is the structure: The lived experience of feeling very tired is dissipated vigor arising with monotonous disquietude amid spirited cherished engagements . The structure was conceptually integrated with the human becoming theory as: feeling very tired is powering the languaging of valuing connecting-separating. The findings are discussed in relation to human becoming and future research.
Developing a Nursing Perspective on Spirituality and Healing: Questions and Answers Following a Letter to the Editor
Authors: Wojnar Danuta , Malinski Violet M.
Published: October 2003

In response to Malinski's Research Issues column titled Developing a Nursing Perspective on Spirituality and Healing , Wojnar wrote a letter to the editor raising thoughtful questions that led to a series of e-mail exchanges with the author. The letter and the dialogue generated are reproduced here.
Paternalism in Nursing and Healthcare: Central Issues and their Relation to Theory
Authors: Cody William K.
Published: October 2003

Paternalistic practices, wherein providers confer a treatment or service upon a person or persons without their consent, ostensibly by reason of their limited autonomy or diminished capacity, are widespread in healthcare and in societies around the world. In the United States, paternalism in health and human services is widespread and probably increasing with newly emergent forms. Numerous issues surround paternalistic practices. In this column, the author examines these issues in relation to theory development in healthcare and nursing as well as theory as a guide to practice. It is suggested that scientific and ethical knowing are not separate but must be united in theoretical structures that include both in unity, along with an appreciation of the infinite complexity of life as it is humanly lived. It is also suggested that nursing's unique theory base of frameworks that honor human dignity and focus on human experience offers an opportunity for leadership in further developing theoretical frameworks that transcend paternalistic practices.
The Relationship of Nursing Theory to Practice and Research within the British Context: Identifying a Way Forward
Authors: Graham Iain W.
Published: October 2003

In this column, the author presents the current relationship of nursing theory to practice and research within the British context and suggests a way forward as suggested by Nightingale in order to guide future development.
Dimensions of Personal Loss and Gain Associated with a Rare Genetic Type of Diabetes
Authors: Shepherd Maggie , Hattersley Andrew , Sparkes Andrew
Published: October 2003

Diabetes is associated with experiences of loss. Since the introduction of genetic testing in maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY), additional aspects of loss are emerging. This article describes the first U.K. MODY family identified with a mutation in hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 beta and the personal loss they experienced. Data are from in-depth interviews with the parents before and after a predictive genetic test in their son. Thematic analysis indicated multiple dimensions of loss: (1) loss of their first baby due to bilateral, nonfunctioning cystic kidneys, (2) loss of the “perfect” child when their son's renal cysts were detected, (3) loss of self following the diagnosis of diabetes and identification of renal cysts in the mother. Despite these experiences, the family gained from genetic testing as this provided a causal explanation of their renal disease and diabetes. Findings increase understanding of loss and responses to genetic testing in diabetes.
African American Grandmothers Parenting Grandchildren Orphaned by AIDS: Grieving and Coping with Loss
Authors: Winston Carole A.
Published: October 2003

While recent advances in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment has decreased the number of AIDS-related deaths among all women in America, AIDS continues to be the third leading cause of death among African American and Latina women aged twenty-five though forty-four. The majority of the children left behind will be parented by their grandmothers or other women who will assume the parenting role. This article focuses on the ways in which African American cultural traditions affect the grieving and coping responses of a cohort of ten urban African American parenting grandmothers who are caring for children orphaned by AIDS. The African American cultural value placed on commitment to family caregiving, coupled with an abiding connection to systems of religious ritual and belief, sustained the grandmothers as they grieved the loss of adult children to a stigmatizing and shameful death.
Who Reveals what to whom? Critical Reflections on Conducting Qualitative Inquiry as an Interdisciplinary, Biracial, Male/Female Research Team
Authors: Stanley Christine A. , Slattery Patrick
Published: October 2003

If qualitative inquiry seeks to understand and explain the meaning of social phenomena, then what is the influence of social interactions between researchers in this process? In seeking to understand social constructions of reality, how do racial and gender identities influence qualitative fieldwork? What unique insights can be gained by conducting qualitative research in interdisciplinary research teams? Does a biracial, male/female research team confer legitimacy when the research seeks to uncover experiences related to race and gender? The authors address these questions as they critically reflect and report on their experiences while conducting qualitative research as an interdisciplinary, biracial, male/female research team for a university retention study.
Friendship as Method
Authors: Tillmann-Healy Lisa M.
Published: October 2003

In this article, the author discusses friendship as a method of qualitative inquiry. After defining friendship and positing it as a kind of fieldwork, the methodological foundations of friendship as method are established. Next, it is proposed that friendship as method involves researching with the practices, at the pace, in the natural contexts, and with an ethic of friendship. Finally, the author describes this method's strengths and considerations for both researcher and participants.
Men's and Women's Use of Intimate Partner Violence in Clinical Samples
Authors: Hamberger L. Kevin , Guse Clare E.
Published: September 2003

Experiences and impact of intimate partner violence on men and women court ordered to attend abuse abatement counseling and women in a shelter were examined. Whereas court-ordered men and women appeared similar in expressed violent acts, violence frequency, and injurious outcome, court-ordered women initiated significantly fewer violent episodes than did men and were less likely to start the overall pattern of relationship violence. Court-ordered women were less likely than were shelter women to call police, try to escape, or acquiesce to their partners' violence. The two groups of women reported more fear, anger, and insult and less amusement when their partners were violent than did men. Court-ordered men were significantly more likely than were women to laugh at partner-initiated violence and exhibit dominating and controlling behaviors.
Behavioral and Psychological Differences Among Abused Women Who Use Violence in Intimate Relationships
Authors: Swan Suzanne C. , Snow David L.
Published: September 2003

This article examines behavioral and psychological differences among women who used violence in four types of relationships. Nearly all of the women experienced physical abuse from their male partners. Types were compared on the extent of childhood abuse experienced, use of avoidance coping, anger, motivations for using violence, injuries, psychological symptoms, and alcohol use. Women in the Victim type (the partner used more physical violence and coercion against her than she against him) and the Abused Aggressor type (the woman used more violence and coercion against the partner than he against her) had the poorest behavioral and psychological indices. Women in Mixed-Female Coercive relationships (the woman’s use as of coercion was equivalent to or greater than her partner, but the partner used as much or more violence) had the fewest difficulties. Scores for women in Mixed-Male Coercive relationships (the partner was more coercive than the woman, but the woman’s use of violence was equivalent to or greater than the partner’s) generally fell in between the other groups.
Managed Care and Home Health Care: Partnerships that Work for Patients
Authors: Siegel Helen , Preskul-Ricca Mary Ann
Published: October 2003

The evolution of managed care to its place of dominance in the health care delivery system forever changed the roles and responsibilities of health care providers, home health agencies included. Yet care delivery decision making often occurred with the context on an uneasy truce. Home health nurses were chaffing under a perceived loss of professional autonomy while health plans regarded the care-giving community as indifferent to their attempts to merge fiduciary and clinical responsibilities. By the mid-1990s, a group of plans and home health providers in Massachusetts decided it was time to talk, resulting in some not so surprising benefits. Two groups that barely spoke to each other in 1996 agreed on and developed a universal authorization form used by home health agencies and all major health plans in Massachusetts.
Insuring Redevelopment at Contaminated Urban Properties
Authors: Wernstedt Kris , Meyer Peter B. , Yount Kristen R.
Published: October 2003

Environmental insurance (EI) can facilitate the redevelopment of potentially contaminated sites in distressed urban areas by providing a means to manage the environmental and financial risks at these properties. We draw on a survey and interviews of private brownfield developers to provide information on current EI utilization, factors that affect this, and ways in which public officials can facilitate its use when appropriate. We find that EI appears particularly relevant at sites where high-risk financing capital is used, off-site contaminant migration is likely, institutional controls are prevalent, or when developers lack adequate risk spreading across their project portfolios. Local governments and nonprofit organizations can promote EI use at both private and public properties through information dissemination, direct use of insurance-based risk transfer tools, and financial subsidies to developers for EI use.
Performance Measurement, Strategic Planning, and Performance-Based Budgeting in Illinois Local and Regional Public Airports
Authors: Rodriguez Alejandro , Bijotat Francois
Published: October 2003

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) mandates federal agencies to develop and link strategic plans and performance measures into a budgeting sys-tem that allocates resources based on performance. Because the Act only applies to federal agencies, not many local governments have adopted performance-based budgeting; however, most state governments have used it well ahead of the GPRA. This research focused on determining the extent of airport facilities'use of (a) performance measures,(b) strategic planning, and (c) whether performance measures and strategic planning are integrated into a performance-based budgeting system. A total of 21 professionally managed public airports were studied, representing a mix of airline-based and general aviation facilities. We found that although strategic planning is a management tool utilized by 40% of airport administrators, performance measures are sparingly used, and budget allocations are not based on performance. Furthermore, budgeting is not linked to strategic plans or performance measurement.
Complementary Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Cultural Assessment Methods
Authors: Yauch Charlene A. , Steudel Harold J.
Published: October 2003

The organizational cultures of two small manufacturers were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative assessment methods. This article describes not only how qualitative and quantitative data contributed to the validity of the results through triangulation but also how the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms were used in a complementary fashion to produce a more complete understanding of the organizational cultures. Using methods from both research paradigms enabled a greater understanding of cultural artifacts and behaviors but more important of the underlying cultural values and assumptions. Based on this experience, it is recommended that qualitative and quantitative methods be used to produce more robust results than could be accomplished using a single approach for cultural assessment.