bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nectin-Like Molecule-5 Regulates Intimal Thickening After Carotid Artery Ligation in Mice
Authors: Kureha Fumie , Satomi-Kobayashi Seimi , Kubo Yoshiki , Kinugasa Mitsuo , Ishida Tatsuro , Takai Yoshimi , Hirata Ken-ichi , Rikitake Yoshiyuki
Published: March 2013

Objective—

Intimal thickening is considered to result from the dedifferentiation of medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype, and their subsequent migration and proliferation. It is unknown whether nectin-like molecule (Necl)-5, which is overexpressed in cancer cells, is involved in intimal thickening.

Approach and Results—

Necl-5 was upregulated in mouse carotid artery after ligation. Compared with wild-type mice, intimal thickening after carotid artery ligation was milder in Necl-5 knockout mice. In vitro, the expression levels of SMC differentiation markers were higher, whereas the expression level of an SMC dedifferentiation marker was lower, in Necl-5 knockout mouse aortic SMCs (MASMCs) compared with wild-type MASMCs. The migration, proliferation, and extracellular signal–regulated kinase activity in response to serum were decreased in Necl-5 knockout MASMCs compared with wild-type MASMCs. In wild-type MASMCs, inhibition of extracellular signal–regulated kinase activity increased the expression levels of SMC differentiation markers and decreased their migration and proliferation in response to serum.

Conclusions—

The present findings indicate that Necl-5 plays a role in the formation of intimal thickening after carotid artery ligation by regulating dedifferentiation, migration, and proliferation of SMCs in an extracellular signal–regulated kinase-dependent manner. Our results suggest that Necl-5 may represent a potential therapeutic target to limit intimal thickening after vascular injury.
Cocaine and Specific Cocaine Metabolites Induce von Willebrand Factor Release From Endothelial Cells in a Tissue-Specific Manner
Authors: Hobbs William E. , Moore Emily E. , Penkala Rebecca A. , Bolgiano Douglas D. , López José A.
Published: March 2013

Objective—

Cocaine use is associated with arterial thrombosis, including myocardial infarction and stroke. Cocaine use results in increased plasma von Willebrand factor (VWF), accelerated atherosclerosis, and platelet-rich arterial thrombi, suggesting that cocaine activates the endothelium, promoting platelet–VWF interactions.

Approach and Results—

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells, brain microvasculature endothelial cells, or coronary artery endothelial cells were treated with cocaine or metabolites benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, or ecgonine methylester. Supernatant VWF concentration and multimer structure were measured, and platelet–VWF strings formed on the endothelial surface under flow were quantified. Cocaine, benzoylecgonine, and cocaethylene induced endothelial VWF release, with the 2 metabolites being more potent than the parent molecule. Brain microvasculature endothelial cells were more sensitive to cocaine and metabolites than were human umbilical vein endothelial cells or coronary artery endothelial cells. Coronary artery endothelial cells released VWF into the supernatant but did not form VWF–platelet strings. Intracellular cAMP concentration was not increased after treatment with cocaine or its metabolites.

Conclusions—

Both cocaine and metabolites benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene induced endothelial VWF secretion, possibly explaining thrombotic risk after cocaine ingestion. VWF secretion is likely to vary between vascular beds, with brain endothelial cells being particularly sensitive. These results suggest that clinical management of cocaine-induced ischemia may benefit from therapies aimed at disrupting the VWF–platelet interaction.
Physiological Right Ventricular Adaptation in Elite Athletes of African and Afro-Caribbean Origin
Authors: Zaidi Abbas , Ghani Saqib , Sharma Rajan , Oxborough David , Panoulas Vasileios F. , Sheikh Nabeel , Gati Sabiha , Papadakis Michael , Sharma Sanjay
Published: March 2013

Background—

Regular, intensive exercise results in physiological biventricular cardiac adaptation. Ethnicity is an established determinant of left ventricular remodeling; black athletes (BAs) exhibit more profound LV hypertrophy than white athletes (WAs). Right ventricular (RV) remodeling has not been characterized in BAs, although the issue is pertinent because BAs commonly exhibit ECG anomalies that resemble arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy.

Methods and Results—

Between 2006 and 2012, 300 consecutive BAs (n=243 males) from 25 sporting disciplines were evaluated by use of ECG and echocardiography. Results were compared with 375 WAs and 153 sedentary control subjects (n=69 blacks). There were no ethnic differences between RV parameters in control subjects. Both BAs and WAs exhibited greater RV dimensions than control subjects. RV dimensions were marginally smaller in BAs than in WAs (proximal outflow tract, 30.9±5.5 versus 32.8±5.3 mm,
P
<0.001; longitudinal dimension, 86.6±9.5 versus 89.8±9.6 mm,
P
<0.001), although only 2.3% of variation was attributable to ethnicity. RV enlargement compatible with diagnostic criteria for arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy was frequently observed (proximal outflow tract ≥32 mm; 45.0% of BAs, 58.5% of WAs). Anterior T-wave inversion was present in 14.3% of BAs versus 3.7% of WAs (
P
<0.001). Marked RV enlargement with concomitant anterior T-wave inversion was observed in 3.0% of BAs versus 0.3% of WAs (
P
=0.005). Further investigation did not diagnose arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy in any athlete.

Conclusions—

Physiological RV enlargement is commonly observed in both black and white athletes. The impact of ethnicity is minimal, which obviates the need for race-specific RV reference values. However, in the context of frequent ECG repolarization anomalies in BAs, the potential for erroneous diagnosis of arrhythmogenic RV cardiomyopathy is considerably greater in this ethnic group.
The iScore Predicts Functional Outcome in Korean Patients With Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Park Tai Hwan , Saposnik Gustavo , Bae Hee-Joon , Lee Soo Joo , Lee Kyung Bok , Lee Jun , Park Jong-Moo , Choi Jay Chol , Kim Dong-Eog , Cho Yong-Jin , Kim Joon-Tae , Cha Jae-Kwan , Lee Juneyoung , Yu Kyung-Ho , Lee Byung-Chul , Yoon Byung-Woo
Published: March 2013

Background and Purpose—

Several stroke risk scores for prediction of functional outcome have been developed, but rarely validated in Asian populations. We assessed the validity of the iScore, recently developed from Canadian stroke population, in an Asian stroke population from Korea.

Methods—

We applied the iScore to 4061 eligible participants with acute ischemic stroke in the nationwide multicenter stroke registry in Korea. The main outcome was poor functional outcome defined as having a modified Rankin Scale 3 to 6 at 3 months after stroke onset. The secondary outcome was death at 3 months. C-statistics were calculated to assess performance of the iScore.

Results—

Poor functional outcome was found in 1496 patients (36.8%), whereas death at 3 months occurred in 294 patients (7.2%). C-statistics were 0.819 (95% confidence interval, 0.805–0.833) for poor functional outcome and 0.861 (95% confidence interval, 0.840–0.883) for death. Overall, there was a high correlation between observed and expected outcomes for poor functional outcome (Pearson correlation coefficient,
r
=0.990) and for death (
r
=0.969) according to risk score.

Conclusions—

The iScore reliably predicts poor functional outcome or death at 3 months after stroke in Korean patients.
Early Perfusion Computerized Tomography Imaging as a Radiographic Surrogate for Delayed Cerebral Ischemia and Functional Outcome After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Etminan Nima , Beseoglu Kerim , Heiroth Hi-Jae , Turowski Bernd , Steiger Hans Jakob , Hänggi Daniel
Published: March 2013

Background and Purpose—

To date, there is no immediate radiographic surrogate to quantify primary cerebral injury to identify patients at risk for delayed cerebral ischemia and poor clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Therefore, we investigated the relation of early cerebral perfusion–computerized tomography and clot volume with radiological events of delayed cerebral ischemia and clinical outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Methods—

Data from 2 cohorts of patients (51 in main, 28 patients in control cohort) with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, receiving computerized tomography and perfusion-computerized tomography scanning <12 hours after ictus, were included. A risk group model for functional outcome was developed on the basis of early mean transit time (MTT) and volumetric blood clot measurements. The relation of the risk group model with subsequent MTT, angiographic vasospasm, new cerebral infarction, and functional outcome was analyzed. Actual and predicted functional outcomes based on the risk group model were compared in the control cohort.

Results—

The risk group model correlated significantly with subsequent MTT measurements, cerebral infarction, and functional outcome. Odds for poor outcome were significantly higher in case of concomitant increase of early MTT and clot volumes, as opposed to exclusive early MTT or clot volume increase. For patients in the high- or low-risk groups, neurological outcome in the control cohort correlated significantly with predicted outcomes.

Conclusions—

Assessment of early cerebral perfusion and intracranial blood clot may serve as a radiographic surrogate for delayed cerebral ischemia and functional outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage using risk group modeling.
Role of SCH79797 in Maintaining Vascular Integrity in Rat Model of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Yan Junhao , Manaenko Anatol , Chen Sheng , Klebe Damon , Ma Qingyi , Caner Basak , Fujii Mutsumi , Zhou Changman , Zhang John H.
Published: March 2013

Background and Purpose—

Plasma thrombin concentration is increased after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). However, the role of thrombin receptor (protease-activated receptor-1 [PAR-1]) in endothelial barrier disruption has not been studied. The aims of this study were to investigate the role of PAR-1 in orchestrating vascular permeability and to assess the potential therapeutics of a PAR-1 antagonist, SCH79797, through maintaining vascular integrity.

Methods—

SCH79797 was injected intraperitoneally into male Sprauge-Dawley rats undergoing SAH by endovascular perforation. Assessment was conducted at 24 hours after SAH for brain water content, Evans blue content, and neurobehavioral testing. To explore the role of PAR-1 activation and the specific mechanism of SCH79797’s effect after SAH, Western blot, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence of hippocampus tissue were performed. A p21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) inhibitor, IPA-3, was used to explore the underlying protective mechanism of SCH79797.

Results—

At 24 hours after SAH, animals treated with SCH79797 demonstrated a reduction in brain water content, Evans blue content, and neurobehavioral deficits. SCH79797 also attenuated PAR-1 expression and maintained the level of vascular endothelial-cadherin, an important component of adherens junctions. Downstream to PAR-1, c-Src–dependent activation of p21-activated kinase-1 led to an increased serine/threonine phosphorylation of vascular endothelial-cadherin; immunoprecipitation results revealed an enhanced binding of phosphorylated vascular endothelial-cadherin with endocytosis orchestrator β-arrestin-2. These pathological states were suppressed after SCH79797 treatment.

Conclusions—

PAR-1 activation after SAH increases microvascular permeability, at least, partly through a PAR-1-c-Src-p21-activated kinase-1-vascular endothelial-cadherin phosphorylation pathway. Through suppressing PAR-1 activity, SCH79797 plays a protective role in maintaining microvascular integrity after SAH.
On Religiosity and Super-religiosity (I): Measures of Radical Religion
Authors: Aran Gideon
Published: March 2013

Abstract

This essay submits a thesis on radical religion, discusses the measures of religion, and proposes the concept of “super-religiosity.” This will be followed by a second essay (in Numen vol. 60, issue 4, 2013) that presents a contemporary case to which the analytic model of super-religiosity is applied. Though the two essays systematically relate to each other and are complementary, they can be read independently of one another.

The theoretical core of the essay addresses the issue of the measurability of religiosity. It supports the recent claim that religion in general and religious extremism in particular, is not so much a matter of belief or experience but rather that it is essentially a matter of performance of the self and the group. It then argues that advancing our understanding of religious extremism requires turning the spotlight from an externally oriented performance towards a religion’s environment to an inward-facing religious performance. It further maintains that religious extremism’s center of gravity is the in-group dynamics of competition over religious excellence rather than (rational choice) competition over external resources. Finally, the paper proposes a measure of religiosity: that used by the practitioners of religion themselves.

The religious group that constitutes the empirical focus of the essay is the ultra-Orthodox Jews in contemporary Israel known as Haredim. More precisely, the essay describes and analyzes the hard core of the Haredi society that manifests religious extremism. It offers a comprehensive and methodic picture of Haredi society based on a critical survey of the literature, combined with an examination of updated data into which findings of an extensive field research are integrated. The discussion of the Haredi world is harnessed to the effort to deconstruct and reevaluate the prevalent concepts of tradition and fundamentalism, and suggests a new perspective on scaling religiosity and on high-scale religiosity.
Das Wasserwunder von Rephidim (Ex 17,1-7) als Schlüsseltext eines nachpriesterschriftlichen Mosebildes
Authors: Berner Christoph
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Contrary to a still widespread belief, the story of Moses miraculously procuring water from the rock in Ex 17:1-7 is not of pre-Priestly origin. Rather, already the basic stratum of the text (Ex 17:1bβ, 3aβb, 4-6) proves to be a post-Priestly composition. It is part of what I label the ‘Stabbearbeitung’ which is first attested in Ex 4:17, 20b and has moreover left its traces in form of a set of additions to the first plague (Ex 7:15b, 17*, 20*) which is now presented as a miracle performed by Moses using his staff in front of an Egyptian audience. Together with the water miracle performed with the same staff in front of the elders (Ex 17:5-6), the ‘Stabbearbeitung’ prepares for Deut 34:11-12 where Moses is presented as a unique miracle worker. This late picture of Moses is further elaborated in subsequent post-Priestly expansions (Ex 15:23-26; 17:2, 3aα, 7* and 17:7-13, 15 [16a?]) through which the narrative sequence between the events at the sea of reeds and the arrival at the mountain of revelation gradually reached its present form.
1 Sam 20 et son contexte
Authors: Baziomo Raoul
Published: March 2013

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of the assumed conflicting setting of 1 Sam 20 in the narrative flow of 1 Sam 18-20. It formulates the hypothesis that careful examination of the way the characters of Jonathan and Michal appear in the plot and are portrayed to act suggests a perspective according to which 1 Sam 20 turns out to perform a narrative function relevant to its immediate context.
Folk-Etymology, and its Influence on Metatron Traditions
Authors: Miller Michael T.
Published: March 2013

Abstract

This paper takes a new approach to the contentious area of the etymology of Metatron, applying the lessons learnt from biblical folk-etymologies which have been shown to actively influence the writing of narratives. In the first section one such possible folk-etymology is proposed, based around the sequence TTR as a divine name in Metatron, along with some suggestions of how this could have influenced the narratives around the angel, and how this could have become part of the perceived nature of the angel. In the second section, texts from the Hekhalot literature are analysed to show that similar angelic etymologies which integrate a divine name into the angel’s name are commonplace during this period.
Avoiding Strict Liability in Mixed Conflicts: A Subjectivist Approach to the Contextual Element of War Crimes
Authors: Decœur Henri
Published: March 2013

As long as distinct legal regimes apply to international and non-international armed conflicts, the determination of the nature of the conflict by a court of law directly impacts on the criminal responsibility of the accused for war crimes. As this article shows, the approach traditionally used in international criminal law to characterise mixed conflicts is not sufficiently reliable for the addressees of penal norms. Low-ranking perpetrators have generally little chance of being aware of the international character of the conflict. This article argues that the principle of individual guilt requires establishing the mens rea regarding the nature of the conflict. Accordingly, a mistake of fact, or alternatively, a mistake of legal element should be admissible defences. Furthermore, it is submitted that both the method of conflict characterisation and the definition of the corresponding mental element are not compatible with the requirements of the principle of legality.
How to Behave like a Bull? New Insight into the Origin and Religious Practices of Pāśupatas
Authors: Acharya Diwakar
Published: March 2013

This paper begins with the identification and analysis of some earliest textual references to Pāśupata ascetics, their tenets, and behaviours. Then it inquires into the genesis of Pāśupatism by analysing some critical passages of the Pāśupatasūtra, going beyond Kauṇḍinya’s Bhāṣya. It analyses relevant passages from the Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa, Mahābhārata, and Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa, and shows how the Vedic govrata or anaḍudvrata has been first adopted and then adapted in Pāśupata tradition, and how Indra, a deity associated with the original vow, comes to be depicted as the primaeval observer of the newly defined pāśupatavrata. It argues further that the conception of the celestial bull as a divinity and the idea of imitating the bull’s behaviour to please that divinity are at the heart of the Pāśupata praxis, in all stages of its development. This paper also argues in favour of recognising “Megasthenes’ Heracles” as Indra, and the Sibae people mentioned in his report as the Śibis.
Documentary Discovery: Japan’s Armed Services’ Revisions to the Draft Understanding between Japan and the United States, April 1941
Authors: Mauch Peter
Published: March 2013

This essay reproduces in its entirety a translated version of a hitherto neglected document from 1941, entitled “Armed Services’ and Foreign Ministry’s Revised Draft, April 21.” The revisions pertain to the so-called “Draft Understanding between Japan and the United States,” a plan for peace in the Pacific which Ambassador Nomura Kichisaburō submitted to U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull on 14 April, and then to Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro on 17 April. The revisions – or, to be more exact, the scarcity of revisions – suggest that even the Imperial Japanese Army viewed the Draft Understanding with an equanimity that has escaped previous scholarship. In so doing, the reproduced document raises important questions about the gulf separating Japan’s armed services and hardline Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yōsuke.
Transformation of the Finnish employee ideal in job advertisements from 1944 to 2009
Authors: Kuokkanen Anna , Varje Pekka , Väänänen Ari
Published: March 2013

In this article we examine transformation of the Finnish employee ideal since the Second World War. Our qualitative analysis is based on the data of 490 job advertisements from 1944 to 2009, and follows the change in employee requirements during this period. Our results show that requirements for transferable, particularly interpersonal, skills increased considerably during the research period. While workmanship, diligence, competence and work experience were the most common employee requirements in the job advertisements of the 1940s and 1950s, employees today are required to possess qualities such as stress resilience, flexibility, productivity, inventiveness and the desire to learn new things. The qualities required of white-collar employees have increased in particular. We conclude that, unlike the post-war period, today the ideal employee is characterized by flexibility and interpersonal skills reflecting changes in the organization of work, work organizations and work culture.
Relational Freedom and Therapeutic Action
Authors: Stern Donnel B.
Published: March 2013

Therapeutic action depends on our freedom to allow ourselves novel, unbidden experience. How does this novelty arise? What is the process by which some portion of the possibilities inherent in any moment’s unformulated experience are created or selected and emerge in consciousness? And what does it mean to think of freedom in this context? What does it mean for the formulation of experience to be free? In the frame of reference adopted here, the formulation of experience depends on the conscious and unconscious events of the interpersonal field. The field facilitates some formulations of experience and prevents others. Thus, whatever we can do to make it possible for the analytic relationship to evolve freely, without constraint or constriction, is the best way we have to encourage the freedom to experience. “Relational freedom” underpins therapeutic action. A clinical case is described at length to illustrate these ideas.
Impact of Preprocedural High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein on Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Jian-Wei Zhang , Yu-Jie Zhou , Shu-Jun Cao , Qing Yang , Shi-Wei Yang , Bin Nie
Published: March 2013

We assessed the impact of preprocedural high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) on the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI). We retrospectively studied 1452 patients with STEMI undergoing p-PCI. Baseline clinical characteristics, CIN incidence, and other inhospital clinical outcomes were compared among hsCRP quartiles; 212 (14.6%) patients developed CIN. The overall inhospital mortality rate was 4.5% (65 patients). Univariate analysis revealed CIN incidence was significantly associated with hsCRP, with 7.44% for quartile Q1 (<3.00 mg/L), 12.6% for Q2 (3.00-5.90 mg/L), 16.9% for Q3 (5.91-11.4 mg/L), and 21.49% for Q4 (>11.4 mg/L; P < .001). Patients with a higher hsCRP experienced a higher rate of inhospital complications. After adjusting for potential confounders, hsCRP >6.50 mg/L was significantly associated with the occurrence of CIN. Preprocedural hsCRP levels are significantly related to the incidence of CIN in patients with STEMI undergoing p-PCI.
Improving Pediatrician Knowledge About Environmental Triggers of Asthma
Authors: Roberts James R. , Karr Catherine J. , de Ybarrondo Lisa , McCurdy Leyla E. , Freeland Katherine D. , Hulsey Thomas C. , Forman Joel
Published: March 2013

Background. Control of environmental triggers (ETs) greatly improves asthma outcomes in children. Disseminating these findings to general pediatricians has not been well established. Methods. After delivering a structured and standardized presentation on ET identification and control to pediatricians, we surveyed them about knowledge and practices of ET assessment and management. We analyzed matched responses for pre/post and 3- to 6-month follow-up using McNemar’s χ2 test. Results. Matched data were available for 367 participants, and 3- to 6-month follow-up data were available for 83. There was a significant posttraining increase in intention to ask about ETs and recommend ET management. After 3 to 6 months, all responses remained significantly higher than baseline, except “likely to refer to an asthma specialist.” Conclusion. Pediatricians reported a significant improvement in knowledge about ETs of asthma and a willingness to incorporate exposure history questions and remediation recommendations in their routine practice.
Cold Preparation Use in Young Children After FDA Warnings
Authors: Lazarus Sarah Gard , Lanski Steven L. , Smith Ashley S. , Simon Harold K.
Published: March 2013

Objective. To characterize the use and delivery of cough and cold medicines in children younger than 6 presenting to an inner-city pediatric emergency department (PED) following 2007 FDA warnings. Methods. A cross-sectional observational study was performed using a convenience sampling of PED patients during the fall of 2010. Caregivers were presented with 6 commonly used cough medicine preparations and were asked to demonstrate if and how they would administer these to their children. Results. In all, 65 patients and their caregivers consented and participated in the study. During the demonstration, 82% (53/65) stated that they would treat with cough or cold medicines, and 72% (38/53) incorrectly dosed the medication they desired to give. Conclusions. Despite current recommendations, cough and cold medicines are still used in children younger than 6 years of age. A significant portion of caregivers report that they are still unaware of public warnings, potential side effects, and interactions with other medications.
A Study Regarding Spanish-Speaking Parents’ Preference of Physician Attire in the Pediatric Emergency Room
Authors: Nibhanipudi Kumara V. , Mason Ben , Pandey Akash , Henriquez Roger , Hassen Getaw W.
Published: March 2013

Objective. A study to determine Spanish-speaking parents’ acceptance of the physician’s attire in the pediatric emergency department. Hypothesis. The attire of the physicians does not matter for the parents. Methods and materials. The sample size was 450. An anonymous patient survey with no identifiers was used. The sample questionnaire was enclosed, and the parents were asked to answer the questionnaire. The results were interesting; patients preferred physicians who wear hospital scrubs (410/450 or 91%) and short hair (430/450 = 96%). They preferred physicians wearing sneakers (430/450 = 96%) compared with dress shoes, and male physicians with moustaches/beards and wearing glasses (450/450 = 100%). Parents did not like women physicians wearing makeup and high heels. Conclusions. Parents prefer physicians wearing hospital scrubs and sneakers and having short hair. This could indicate that parents do not prefer formal attire in the pediatric emergency room (ER). Also, a gender difference was noticed. Parents do not prefer women physicians with high heels and make up. But, they tolerate male physicians with moustaches/beards. This could be related to the fact that most of the parent questionnaires were answered by Spanish women. Results are interesting and useful in addressing the question of physicians’ attire in the pediatric ER in the context of a predominantly Spanish speaking population.
Training of mental health peer support workers in a non-western high-income city: Preliminary evaluation and experience
Authors: Tse Samson , Tsoi Emily Wing See , Wong Stephen , Kan Alice , Kwok Caroline Fei-Yeng
Published: March 2013

Background and Aims:

Peer support workers are an emerging workforce within the mental health system in Hong Kong. The purposes of this paper were to describe the development of a peer support training programme and to evaluate its outcome from the perspectives of both trainees and the users of services that they provided.

Method:

The curriculum consisted of six weeks of coursework on the recovery approach and a 24-week paid internship at the Warmline telephone service. We gathered feedback from 22 Warmline users. Eighteen trainees were also assessed using the three recovery-related psychosocial measures and qualitative methods.

Results:

The Warmline service provided by peer support trainees lessened the isolation of service users and raised their hopes. Compared to the baseline, the peer support trainees scored marginally higher on the psychosocial measures at the end of the training. At post-training evaluation, peer support trainees said that they had gained in knowledge, were more hopeful about their own recovery, and had developed mutually supportive relationships among themselves and with their supervisors.

Conclusion:

The programme shows potential benefits for both Warmline service users and trainees. Future studies should compare different training methods and examine the implementation of peer support services in a non-western cultural context.
Host Susceptibility to Periodontitis
Authors: Shusterman A. , Durrant C. , Mott R. , Polak D. , Schaefer A. , Weiss E.I. , Iraqi F.A. , Houri-Haddad Y.
Published: March 2013

Host susceptibility to periodontal infection is controlled by genetic factors. As a step toward identifying and cloning these factors, we generated an A/J x BALB/cJ F2 mouse resource population. A genome-wide search for Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) associated with periodontitis was performed. We aimed to quantify the phenotypic response of the progenies to periodontitis by microCT analysis, to perform a genome-wide search for QTL associated with periodontitis, and, finally, to suggest candidate genes for periodontitis. We were able to produce 408 F2 mice. All mice were co-infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteria. Six weeks following infection, alveolar bone loss was quantified by computerized tomography (microCT) technology. We found normal distribution of the phenotype, with 2 highly significant QTL on chromosomes 5 and 3. A third significant QTL was found on chromosome 1. Candidate genes were suggested, such as Toll-like receptors (TLR) 1 and 6, chemokines, and bone-remodeling genes (enamelin, ameloblastin, and amelotin). This report shows that periodontitis in mice is a polygenic trait with highly significant mapped QTL.
Do Marketers Use Visual Representations of Destinations That Tourists Value? Comparing Visitors’ Image of a Destination with Marketer-Controlled Images Online
Authors: Michaelidou Nina , Siamagka Nikoletta-Theofania , Moraes Caroline , Micevski Milena
Published: March 2013

The study explores visitors’ image of a destination using online visitor-generated photography and compares the findings with images of the same destination that marketers create and control on the Internet. The two studies are conducted with Taiwan as the context-destination. Online visitor-generated photography yielded more than 100 photographs from visitors to Taiwan, and indicates that visitors’ holistic image encompasses notions of Taiwanese uniqueness, ancientness, and authenticity through their perceptions of the natural landscapes, traditional local cuisine, and culture. The second study yielded 1,526 visual image representations of Taiwan collected from a variety of website sources, and findings highlight the disparities between the holistic image construed by visitors to Taiwan and the image created by marketers on the Internet. The findings yield important implications for the effective positioning and promotion of tourism destinations as managers should consider visitors’ holistic images in their attempt to create destination images through online visual representations.
Response to Stephen T. Casper and Steve Fuller
Authors: Renwick Chris
Published: March 2013

Stephen T. Casper and Steve Fuller’s commentaries on my paper “Completing Circle of the Social Sciences? William Beveridge and Social Biology at the London School of Economics during the 1930s” raises important questions about the historical entanglement of the political left, welfarism, biology, and social science. In this response, I clarify questions about my analysis of events at the London School of Economics in the early twentieth century and identify ways in which they are important in the present. I suggest that there is much to be learned from the school’s failed experiment with social biology, not least when it comes to thinking about the historical contingency of relationships between progressive politics and biology.
What Peacekeepers Think and Do
Authors: Ruffa Chiara
Published: March 2013

This exploratory article points out how armies differ in the performance of their daily military activities during a peacekeeping mission and analyses the role of contrasting perceptions of the mission operational environment in explaining this variation. As a first step, this article documents systematic variations in the way French, Ghanaian, Italian, and Korean units implement the mandate of the UN mission in Lebanon in their daily military activity. Second, it shows that the four armies also interpret or “construct” the operational environment differently and in a way that is consistent with their different military behavior. Third, preliminary evidence suggests that previous experiences of each army influence the way in which the operational environment is constructed. Data were collected combining participant observation in Southern Lebanon with questionnaires and interviews. This article thus builds on sociological works on different operational styles but takes a methodological approach closer to that in security studies.
Prospects for “Democratic Control of the Armed Forces”?
Authors: Droz-Vincent Philippe
Published: March 2013

A clear breach of authoritarian rule within the Arab world in 2012 manifested in public uprisings among significant sectors of society. As a relatively autonomous institution within the authoritarian system of rule, the military played an essential role. In many cases, the militaries in the Arab world aligned themselves with resilient protestors or fractured, thereby easing the end of the authoritarian status quo. Though the end result is still undecided with unprecedented changes in the making, future relations between civilians and armies will be a critical factor. After authoritarian regimes collapsed but before democratic regimes are strongly established, new civilian leaders struggle to diminish the military’s ability to directly determine the course of events. This article also draws on theoretical reflections and experiences from earlier transitions to democracy witnessed in Latin America, Southern Europe, and Eastern Europe, in order to provide a reliable map of ways the Arab world might travel, as well as the tools for diagnosing the situation. Finally, this article reflects on what may be necessary to establish democratic civil–military relations in a moving Arab world.
Wicked Problems
Authors: Head Brian W. , Alford John
Published: March 2013

The concept of “wicked problems” has attracted increasing focus in policy research, but the implications for public organizations have received less attention. This article examines the main organizational and cognitive dimensions emerging from the research literature on wicked problems. We identify several recent approaches to addressing problem complexity and stakeholder divergence based on the literatures on systems thinking, collaboration and coordination, and the adaptive leadership roles of public leaders and managers. We raise some challenges for public management in some key functional areas of government—strategy making, organizational design, people management, and performance measurement. We argue that provisional solutions can be developed, despite the difficulties of reforming governance processes to address wicked problems more effectively.
Exploring e-Learning Effectiveness Perceptions of Local Government Staff Based on the Diffusion of Innovations Model
Authors: Chen Tzy-Ling
Published: March 2013

This study adopts the diffusion of innovations model as a research framework to examine adult learner perceptions related to workplace e-learning effectiveness. Recent training reform efforts focusing on e-learning in Taiwan provide an opportunity to explore e-learning effectiveness using questionnaires. The results show that the perceptions and attitudes of adult learners toward workplace e-learning are positive, and relevant factors that affect learner-perceived effectiveness and e-learning expected values are identified. The implications of analyzing e-learning innovation in public sector training and the recommendations for future e-learning research for staff development initiatives are addressed.
Demand-Side Research’s Role in Macro-Management
Authors: Levitas Edward
Published: March 2013

I respond to the recent article in the Journal of Management by Priem, Li, and Carr titled “Insights and New Directions From Demand-Side Approaches to Technology Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Research.” Priem et al. argue that demand-side research can provide understandings of firm activity that research focusing on other aspects of the firm’s value chain cannot. I highlight what I believe are issues that, if addressed, can promote the contribution of demand-side studies to macro-management research.
The life story
Authors: Dunlop William L. , Walker Lawrence J.
Published: March 2013

In this article, we review, on three grounds, the nature of the life story. First, we evaluate the appropriateness of the proposal that the life story emerges in adolescence (the time of the traditional identity crisis). Second, we examine the relation between big stories (of which the life story is one) and small stories. Finally, we consider whether the construction of the life story (and narration more broadly) represents the sole mode of identity formation. It is argued here that (a) the belief that adolescence marks the emergence of the life story is based on an unnecessarily limiting requisite for autobiographical reasoning; (b) collective understanding of stories, big and small, would be furthered through a more thorough consideration of their relation; and (c) the construction of a life story represents one of at least two viable routes for identity formation; identity can also be attained via a non-narrative, paradigmatic route.
The political consequences of Islam’s economic legacy
Authors: Kuran Timur
Published: March 2013

Several of the Middle East’s traditional economic institutions hampered its political development by limiting checks on executive power, preventing the formation of organized and durable opposition movements, and keeping civil society weak. They include Islam’s original tax system, which failed to protect property rights; the waqf, whose rigidity hampered the development of civil society; and private commercial enterprises, whose small scales and short lives blocked the development of private coalitions able to bargain with the state. These institutions contributed to features that sustain autocracies and keep democracies unstable: high corruption, low trust, widespread nepotism and high tolerance for law-breaking.
Transnational legal sites and democracy-building
Authors: Benhabib Seyla
Published: March 2013

Until recently the term ‘cosmopolitanism’ was a forgotten concept in the intellectual history of the 18th and 19th centuries. The last two decades have seen a remarkable revival of interest in cosmopolitanism across a wide variety of fields. This article contends that legal developments since the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights and the rise of an ‘international human rights regime’ are at the forefront of a new cosmopolitanism. Yet there is a great deal of skepticism toward such claims on the part of those who maintain that democracy and human rights are best furthered by the nation-state framework. Still others confuse legal cosmopolitanism with the spread of a uniform system of rights across different national jurisdictions.

In several writings in the past, I developed the concept of ‘democratic iterations’ to argue against such skepticism as well as misunderstandings of legal cosmopolitanism. In this article, I show how democratic iterations unfold across transnational legal sites, which encompass various national jurisdictions and through which contentious dialogues on the application and interpretation of such fundamental rights as ‘freedom of religion’ in different jurisdictions can emerge. To document such processes I focus on the Leyla Sahin v. Turkey case which was adjudicated by the European Court of Human Rights in 2005.
Women’s problems as a ‘women’s only’ problem? Debates on gender and democracy in Iran
Authors: Amirpur Katajun
Published: March 2013

In this article I will argue that in the last years the way of thinking about gender has undergone a change. I believe that in the Iranian public discourse, ‘the woman question’ has come to be viewed as part of the question of democracy. This is a recent development; until very recently, women’s legal discrimination was perceived in Iranian discourse as a ‘women’s only’ problem.
Impact of Asha Intervention on Stigma Among Rural Indian Women With AIDS
Authors: Nyamathi Adeline , Ekstrand Maria , Salem Benissa E. , Sinha Sanjeev , Ganguly Kalyan K. , Leake Barbara
Published: March 2013

Rural women living with HIV/AIDS (WLA) in India face multifarious challenges which affect access to antiretroviral regimens and management of HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this pilot study, using cluster randomization, is to compare the effectiveness of the Asha-Life (AL) intervention, delivered by HIV-trained village women, Asha (Accredited Social Health Activists), with a usual care group on reduction of internalized stigma and avoidant coping among 68 WLA in rural India over a 6-month period. The findings demonstrated that participation in the AL intervention was associated with significant reductions in internalized stigma and the use of avoidant coping strategies at follow-up. The findings of our study are promising in terms of the role rural village women (Asha) may play in reducing internalized stigma and avoidant coping in the lives of rural WLA in India.
Testing the Applicability of the Family Management Style Framework to Chinese Families
Authors: Zhang Ying , Wei Min , Han Hae-Ra , Zhang Yaqing , Shen Nanping
Published: March 2013

Family management is an important concept in caring for chronically ill children. The purpose of this study is to determine the applicability of the Family Management Style Framework for Chinese families with a child who has a chronic condition. The children ranged in age from 6 to 16 years. The structural equation modeling approach was utilized to examine the relationships among the contextual variables, the family management, the child, and the family functioning. A total of 538 caregivers from seven hospitals in China were included in this study. The final model adequately fitted the data. The predictor variables accounted for 23%, 26%, 7.8%, and 12% of the variance in the easy and the challenging parts of family management and the child and family unit, respectively. These findings indicated that the framework is applicable to Chinese families. This result reinforces the importance of interventions designed to enable caregivers to improve family management.
Full central neurokinin-1 receptor blockade is required for efficacy in depression: evidence from orvepitant clinical studies
Authors: Ratti Emiliangelo , Bettica Paolo , Alexander Robert , Archer Graeme , Carpenter David , Evoniuk Gary , Gomeni Roberto , Lawson Erica , Lopez Monica , Millns Helen , Rabiner Eugenii A , Trist David , Trower Michael , Zamuner Stefano , Krishnan Ranga , Fava Maurizio
Published: March 2013

Full, persistent blockade of central neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptors may be a potential antidepressant mechanism. The selective NK1 antagonist orvepitant (GW823296) was used to test this hypothesis. A preliminary positron emission tomography study in eight male volunteers drove dose selection for two randomized six week studies in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Displacement of central [11C]GR205171 binding indicated that oral orvepitant doses of 30–60 mg/day provided >99% receptor occupancy for ≥24 h. Studies 733 and 833 randomized patients with MDD and 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D)≥22 to double-blind treatment with orvepitant 30 mg/day, orvepitant 60 mg/day or placebo (1:1:1). Primary outcome measure was change from baseline in 17-item HAM-D total score at Week 6 analyzed using mixed models repeated measures. Study 733 ( n=328) demonstrated efficacy on the primary endpoint (estimated drug-placebo differences of 30 mg: −2.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−4.50 to −0.31) p=0.0245; 60 mg: –2.86, 95% CI (−4.97 to −0.75) p=0.0082). Study 833 ( n=345) did not show significance (estimated drug-placebo differences of 30 mg: −1.67, 95% CI (−3.73 to 0.39) p=0.1122; 60 mg: −0.76, 95% CI (−2.85 to 1.32) p=0.4713). The results support the hypothesis that full, long lasting blockade of central NK1 receptors may be an efficacious mechanism for the treatment of MDD.
Amphetamine, past and present – a pharmacological and clinical perspective
Authors: Heal David J , Smith Sharon L , Gosden Jane , Nutt David J
Published: March 2013

Amphetamine was discovered over 100 years ago. Since then, it has transformed from a drug that was freely available without prescription as a panacea for a broad range of disorders into a highly restricted Controlled Drug with therapeutic applications restricted to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. This review describes the relationship between chemical structure and pharmacology of amphetamine and its congeners. Amphetamine’s diverse pharmacological actions translate not only into therapeutic efficacy, but also into the production of adverse events and liability for recreational abuse. Accordingly, the balance of benefit/risk is the key challenge for its clinical use. The review charts advances in pharmaceutical development from the introduction of once-daily formulations of amphetamine through to lisdexamfetamine, which is the first d-amphetamine prodrug approved for the management of ADHD in children, adolescents and adults. The unusual metabolic route for lisdexamfetamine to deliver d-amphetamine makes an important contribution to its pharmacology. How lisdexamfetamine’s distinctive pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile translates into sustained efficacy as a treatment for ADHD and its reduced potential for recreational abuse is also discussed.
The World of Attachment? The Post-humanist Challenge to Freedom and Necessity
Authors: Chandler David
Published: March 2013

In the ‘human’ world we believed that we could transform necessity into freedom through our own creativity and agency, understanding the laws of the external world and mastering them through the development of culture, science and technology. In the ‘post-human’ world, we are told by new materialists, actor-network theorists and post-humanists that creativity and agency still exist, but that they are not the property of humans alone; rather, they are a product of the assemblages, associations and relationships through which we are attached to the world. Rather than attempting to understand and act in the world on the basis of our separation from it – articulated in the constraining, alienating and resentment-filled modernist divides of human/nature, subject/object, culture/environment – we should develop our understandings of ‘attachment’ to the world. This article critically examines these claims and suggests that, on the contrary, we become less ‘attached’ and that the external word becomes increasingly alien and mysterious to us. In doing so, it mounts a defence of subject/object understandings and social constructions of freedom and necessity.
The Mattering Map
Authors: Kaschak Ellyn
Published: March 2013

This article describes and elaborates upon the theoretical model of the Mattering Map, initially introduced in Engendered Lives: A New Psychology of Women’s Experience (Kaschak, 1992). This model organizes the principles of contextual feminist theory and practice in a manner that honors the complexity, multiplicity, and morphing of the energetic field of mattering. The mattering map is more intimately related to 21st century physics, neuroscience, and constructionist thought than to the reductionist and fragmenting epistemological models of the 19th and 20th centuries.