bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Applications of Endoscopic Ultrasound to Oncology
Authors: Oh Young S. , Early Dayna S. , Azar Riad R.
Published: July 2005

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a useful imaging modality in patients with certain gastrointestinal malignancies as well as lung cancer. In many cases, EUS has been shown to have superior staging accuracy compared with other imaging techniques such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. This article will review the role of EUS in diagnosing and staging esophageal, rectal, pancreatic and lung cancers as well as subepithelial lesions. Newer therapeutic applications of EUS, namely endoscopic mucosal resection for removal of localized lesions as well as celiac plexus neurolysis for pain control, will also be discussed.
Inhibitors of Epidermoid Growth Factor Receptor Suppress Cell Growth and Enhance Chemosensitivity of Nasopharyngeal Cancer Cells in vitro
Authors: Hsu Chih-Hung , Gao Ming , Chen Chi-Long , Yeh Pei-Yen , Cheng Ann-Lii
Published: July 2005

Objective: Epidermoid growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1) is overexpressed in a majority of head-and-neck cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Although EGFR inhibitors appear to be effective for some head-and-neck cancers, their efficacy in NPC remains unclear. Methods: The effect of EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including PD153035 and ZD1839, were studied in NPC-TW01, NPC-TW04, and HONE1 cell lines. The effect of combining EGFR inhibitors with cytotoxic agents was evaluated in NPC-TW04 cells. Results: All three NPC cell lines expressed EGFR. PD153035 and ZD1839 inhibited the growth of NPC cells with IC50s around 10 and 20 µM, respectively. These inhibitors, however, effectively suppressed ligand-stimulated EGFR activation in NPC cells with a much lower concentration (≧0.1 µM). The growth-suppression activity of EGFR inhibitors was closely associated with suppression of AKT phosphorylation. LY294002, a phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (P13K)/AKT inhibitor, did suppress the growth of NPC cells. Pretreatment of EGFR inhibitors by 24 h significantly enhanced the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin, paclitaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluororuacil in NPC-TW04 cells. Conclusions: Our data indicate that inhibition of EGFR activation is not sufficient to induce growth inhibition in NPC cells in vitro. EGFR inhibitors may be useful adjuncts in treating NPC when combined with conventional anticancer drugs.
Analysis of Genetic Alterations Associated with DNA Diploidy, Aneuploidy and Multiploidy in Gastric Cancers
Authors: Sugai Tamotsu , Habano Wataru , Jiao Yu-Fei , Suzuki Masamichi , Takagane Akinori , Nakamura Shin-ichi
Published: July 2005

Objective: Recent studies have shown a close association between DNA ploidy status (diploidy, aneuploidy and multiploidy) identified by the crypt isolation technique and specific genetic alterations in colorectal carcinomas. However, such an association has not been elucidated for gastric tumors, even though they share common genetic features with colorectal carcinomas. In the present study, we established an association between DNA ploidy status and genetic alterations in gastric cancer. Method: The DNA ploidy status of gastric tumors was classified as diploid, aneuploid or multiploid using the crypt isolation technique, which allows isolation of pure tumor crypt from tumor tissue. Crypt isolation combined with DNA cytometric sorting, polymerase chain reaction assay using 26 microsatellite markers and direct sequencing of the p53 gene were used to detect allelic imbalances [loss of heterozygosity (LOH) or allelic loss], microsatellite imbalance (MSI) and mutation of p53 in 54 gastric cancers (13 diploid, 12 aneuploid, 29 multiploid). Result: Diploid tumors showed few genetic alterations, including allelic imbalances and p53 mutations. In contrast, aneuploid tumors and multiploid tumors (in particular, aneuploid populations of multiploid tumors) exhibited multiple genetic alterations, including allelic imbalances and p53 mutations. In addition, the frequencies of genetic alterations observed in the corresponding diploid fractions of multiploid tumors were relatively higher than in diploid tumors. MSI was commonly observed in diploid, aneuploid and multiploid carcinomas. Conclusions: The present results indicate that in gastric carcinomas, diploid tumors are generally non-LOH and MSI, whereas aneuploid and multiploid tumors are associated with LOH and MSI, suggesting that the genetic profile of these carcinomas is dependent on the tumor’s ploidy status.
Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations Treated Utilizing a Linear Accelerator-Based Patient Rotator or Commercially Available Radiosurgery System
Authors: Scarbrough Todd J. , Crocker Ian R. , Davis Lawrence W. , Barrow Daniel L. , Fowler B. Zach , Oyesiku Nelson M.
Published: July 2005

Purpose: To report a single-institution experience with intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) treated utilizing a linear accelerator-based patient rotator (PR) or BrainLAB (BL) radiosurgery system (BrainLAB AG, Heimstetten, Germany). Methods and Materials: Since 1989, 84 evaluable patients were treated. PR patients (n = 45) were planned/localized on the basis of biplane angiography and treated between 1989 and 2000. BL patients (n = 39) were planned/localized on the basis of CT/MRI and treated since 2000. Kaplan-Meier analyses of survival, nidus obliteration (NO), and any radiographic improvement were undertaken with Cox regression of dose and volume effects. Results: No significant complication, survival, previous embolization incidence, AVM location or size differences existed between BL/PR patients. The groups differed significantly in prescribed dose (PR: 16.2 Gy, BL: 17.3 Gy, p = 0.004) and isodose (PR: 62%, BL: 79%, p < 0.0001). Estimated 2-year NO rate was 87% for BL patients, 12% for PR patients (p < 0.0001). Ultimate PR NO rate was 67% at 6 years. Dose (p = 0.037) and isodose (p = 0.014) significantly affected PR NO outcome; volume was of borderline significance (p = 0.069). No factors significantly affected BL outcome. Analyses of small (≤4.0 cm3), high-dose (≧17.0 Gy) PR patients (PR1 group) vs. BL patients still demonstrated greater NO (p = 0.04) and radiographic improvement (p = 0.0004) rates for the BL group. PR1 patients had a 76% 3-year NO rate. Conclusions: BL-based radiosurgery achieved a high NO rate, the PR method did not. Differences in outcomes between PR/BL groups may be due to localization methods or an inherent advantage with the BL system.
Blood Vessels and the Aging Kidney
Authors: Long David A. , Mu Wei , Price Karen L. , Johnson Richard J.
Published: July 2005

Aging is associated with a degenerative effect on many organs including the kidney. Blood vessels play a key role in the progression of renal damage in aging, with reductions in glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow. Therefore, there is considerable interest in the haemodynamic and molecular mechanisms that may be responsible for alterations in the vascular system in aging. In this review, we will describe the evidence that aging is accompanied by alterations in vascular tone and angiogenesis alongside renal damage. The contributions of mediators such as nitric oxide, angiotensin II and vascular endothelial growth factor will also be discussed.
Angiotensin Receptor Blockade and Arterial Compliance in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Pilot Study
Authors: Garg Jay P. , Ellis Renee , Elliott William J. , Hasabou Nahla , Chua Dave , Chertow Glenn M. , Bakris George L.
Published: July 2005

Background: Almost 20 million people in the US have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cardiovascular disease and arterial wall abnormalities are common in this population. Because angiotensin II may have adverse effects on the arterial wall, we hypothesized that an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) would improve arterial compliance as compared with placebo in subjects with CKD. Methods: We performed a double-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study in which 25 subjects with stages 2 or 3 CKD and proteinuria <1 g were randomized to either the ARB, eprosartan, or placebo and titrated to achieve a goal blood pressure (BP) <130/85 mm Hg. Arterial compliance was measured at baseline and at 8 weeks. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups and included mean estimated glomerular filtration rate 63 ± 14 ml/min/1.73 m2, heart rate 76 ± 10 beats/min, BP 142 ± 12/81 ± 8 mm Hg, 64% diabetic, 44% male, and 40% white, though subjects in the eprosartan group were younger (60 ± 12 vs. 70 ± 6 years, p = 0.01). There were no significant differences between the groups in large or small artery compliance measurements either at baseline or at 8 weeks, but there was a statistically significant improvement from baseline in small artery compliance in the eprosartan group (from median 2.5 ml/mm Hg × 100 [90% CI (1.1, 4.7)] to 4.0 ml/mm Hg × 100 [90% CI (1.9, 6.7)] (p = 0.01)) not seen in the placebo group. Conclusion: Use of an ARB to achieve recommended BP is associated with improved small artery compliance in people with CKD, though larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Effect of Implementation of a Dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori Eradication Guideline in Primary Care
Authors: Cardin Fabrizio , Zorzi Manuel , Bovo Emanuela , Guerra Cosimo , Bandini Fabio , Polito Daniele , Bano Francesca , Grion Anna Maria , Toffanin Roberto
Published: July 2005

Background: Many international guidelines address appropriateness, prescribing variability and drug-related expenditure in primary dyspepsia management. Aims: To evaluate the impact on general practitioner (GP) practice and healthcare costs of a participatory intervention to modify primary dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection management, by standardised implementation of an international guideline in the local setting, through a prospective, controlled before-and-after study. Methods: Primary dyspepsia management was monitored in the Local Health District of Padua; 63 of all 354 local GPs (total patient population: 82,284) took part in a primary-care improvement programme. Measured variables were: mean prescribed gastroscopies/1,000 registered patients, mean expenditure/1,000 registered patients for antisecretories (H2 blockers) and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), inter-GP prescribing variability and adherence to guidelines, analysed through prospectively filled-out reports on GP consultations for dyspepsia. A 3-month pre-survey period was compared with a 6-month intervention period following implementation of an agreed guideline. Results: Compared to non-participating GPs, intervention yielded a 30 and 26.4% reduction in H2-blocker and PPI expenditure, respectively. Application of the guideline led to an upward trend in endoscopy prescriptions, coupled with a 7% increase in appropriate referrals. Intra-group variability marginally decreased; guideline compliance rose slightly. Conclusions: Participatory intervention can reduce prescribing variability among GPs and inappropriate esophagogastroduodenoscopies, lowering related costs. Results may not have been spectacular, but in view of the number of patients involved, they may have an important impact on Local Health District expenditure.
Local Renal Aldosterone System and Its Regulation by Salt, Diabetes, and Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor
Authors: Xue Chun , Siragy Helmy M.
Published: July 2005

CYP11B2 is the enzyme responsible for aldosterone synthesis mainly in the adrenal gland. In this study, we hypothesized that CYP11B2 gene, protein, and aldosterone are produced locally in kidney and regulated by low salt intake, angiotensin II type 1 (AT
1
) receptor and insulin-deficient diabetes hyperglycemia. We used real-time RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry staining, and microdialysis techniques to monitor changes in renal CYP11B2 mRNA and protein and aldosterone production in normal, adrenalectomized, or streptozotocin-induced insulin-deficient diabetic hyperglycemic rats. In normal kidney, CYP11B2 mRNA and protein were localized mainly in the renal cortex and upregulated by angiotensin II and low salt intake. The angiotensin II effect was reversed by AT
1
receptor blocker valsartan. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated presence of CYP11B2 in glomeruli. Although aldosterone was absent in plasma of adrenalectomized rats, it was present in renal interstitium and tissue. Diabetes increased renal cortical and total kidney CYP11B2 mRNA and protein. Lowering blood glucose with insulin decreased total renal CYP11B2 mRNA and protein. Despite lack of significant changes in blood glucose, valsartan treatment caused significant reduction in renal CYP11B2 mRNA and protein. In presence of diabetes, there was an increase in CYP11B2 immunostaining in glomeruli and proximal tubules. This expression was abrogated with insulin or valsartan treatment. These results demonstrate the presence of all components of local renal aldosterone system. This system is physiologically active because it is regulated by angiotensin II and low salt intake. In insulin-deficient diabetes hyperglycemia rat model, glucose, insulin, and AT
1
receptor modulate CYP11B2 expression in the kidney.
Combined Angiotensin II Type 1 and Type 2 Receptor Blockade on Vascular Remodeling and Matrix Metalloproteinases in Resistance Arteries
Authors: Brassard Pascal , Amiri Farhad , Schiffrin Ernesto L.
Published: July 2005

We investigated the role of angiotensin II type 1 (AT
1
) and AT
2
receptors, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and extracellular matrix (ECM) components involved in vascular remodeling of resistance arteries induced by angiotensin II (Ang II). Sprague-Dawley rats received Ang II (120 ng/kg per minute SC) ± the AT
1
antagonist losartan (10 mg/kg per day PO), the AT
1
/AT
2
antagonist Sar
1
-Ile
8
-Ang II (Sar-Ile; 10 μg/kg per minute SC), or hydralazine (25 mg/kg per day PO) for 7 days. Structure and mechanical properties of small mesenteric arteries were evaluated on a pressurized myograph. Ang II increased growth index (+21%), which was partially decreased by losartan (−11%) and abrogated by Sar-Ile. Hydralazine markedly increased growth index (+32%) despite systolic blood pressure (BP) lowering, suggesting a BP-independent effect of Ang II on vascular growth. Elastic modulus was increased by Sar-Ile compared with Ang II and control. Vascular type I collagen was reduced (
P
<0.05), whereas fibronectin increased significantly with Sar-Ile. Vascular tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 binding to MMP-2 was abrogated by Sar-Ile, but MMP-2 activity was significantly increased compared with losartan, Ang II, and controls. Thus, AT
1
blockade exerted antigrowth effects and reduced stiffness of small resistance arteries by decreasing nonelastic fibrillar components (collagen and fibronectin). Concomitant AT
1
/AT
2
blockade prevented growth, reduced collagen type I and elastin deposition but increased vascular stiffness, fibronectin, and MMP-2 activity. These results demonstrate opposing roles of AT
1
receptors that increase fibronectin and vascular stiffness and AT
2
receptors that decrease MMP-2 and increase elastin. Changes in vascular wall mechanics, ECM deposition, and MMP activity are thus modulated differentially by Ang II receptors.
Alk3/Bmpr1a Receptor Is Required for Development of the Atrioventricular Canal Into Valves and Annulus Fibrosus
Authors: Gaussin Vinciane , Morley Gregory E. , Cox Luk , Zwijsen An , Vance Kendra M. , Emile Lorin , Tian Yimin , Liu Jing , Hong Chull , Myers Dina , Conway Simon J. , Depre Christophe , Mishina Yuji , Behringer Richard R. , Hanks Mark C. , Schneider Michael D. , Huylebroeck Danny , Fishman Glenn I. , Burch John B.E. , Vatner Stephen F.
Published: July 2005

Endocardial cushions are precursors of mature atrioventricular (AV) valves. Their formation is induced by signaling molecules originating from the AV myocardium, including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Here, we hypothesized that BMP signaling plays an important role in the AV myocardium during the maturation of AV valves from the cushions. To test our hypothesis, we used a unique Cre/lox system to target the deletion of a floxed Alk3 allele, the type IA receptor for BMPs, to cardiac myocytes of the AV canal (AVC). Lineage analysis indicated that cardiac myocytes of the AVC contributed to the tricuspid mural and posterior leaflets, the mitral septal leaflet, and the atrial border of the annulus fibrosus. When Alk3 was deleted in these cells, defects were seen in the same leaflets, ie, the tricuspid mural leaflet and mitral septal leaflet were longer, the tricuspid posterior leaflet was displaced and adherent to the ventricular wall, and the annulus fibrosus was disrupted resulting in ventricular preexcitation. The defects seen in mice with AVC-targeted deletion of Alk3 provide strong support for a role of Alk3 in human congenital heart diseases, such as Ebstein’s anomaly. In conclusion, our mouse model demonstrated critical roles for Alk3 signaling in the AV myocardium during the development of AV valves and the annulus fibrosus.
Protein Kinase G Transmits the Cardioprotective Signal From Cytosol to Mitochondria
Authors: Costa Alexandre D.T. , Garlid Keith D. , West Ian C. , Lincoln Thomas M. , Downey James M. , Cohen Michael V. , Critz Stuart D.
Published: July 2005

Ischemic and pharmacological preconditioning can be triggered by an intracellular signaling pathway in which G
i
-coupled surface receptors activate a cascade including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, guanylyl cyclase, and protein kinase G (PKG). Activated PKG opens mitochondrial K
ATP
channels (mitoK
ATP
) which increase production of reactive oxygen species. Steps between PKG and mitoK
ATP
opening are unknown. We describe effects of adding purified PKG and cGMP on K
+
transport in isolated mitochondria. Light scattering and respiration measurements indicate PKG induces opening of mitoK
ATP
similar to K
ATP
channel openers like diazoxide and cromakalim in heart, liver, and brain mitochondria. This effect was blocked by mitoK
ATP
inhibitors 5-hydroxydecanoate, tetraphenylphosphonium, and glibenclamide, PKG-selective inhibitor KT5823, and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors chelerythrine, Ro318220, and PKC-ε peptide antagonist εV
1-2
. MitoK
ATP
are opened by the PKC activator 12-phorbol 13-myristate acetate. We conclude PKG is the terminal cytosolic component of the trigger pathway; it transmits the cardioprotective signal from cytosol to inner mitochondrial membrane by a pathway that includes PKC-ε.
Evidence in Favor of a Calcium-Sensing Receptor in Arterial Endothelial Cells
Authors: Weston Arthur H. , Absi Mais , Ward Donald T. , Ohanian Jacqueline , Dodd Robert H. , Dauban Philippe , Petrel Christophe , Ruat Martial , Edwards Gillian
Published: July 2005

Small increases in extracellular Ca
2+
dilate isolated blood vessels. In the present study, the possibility that a vascular, extracellular Ca
2+
-sensing receptor (CaSR) could mediate these vasodilator actions was investigated. Novel ligands that interact with the CaSR were used in microelectrode recordings from rat isolated mesenteric and porcine coronary arteries. The major findings were that (1) raising extracellular Ca
2+
or adding calindol, a CaSR agonist, produced concentration-dependent hyperpolarizations of vascular myocytes, actions attenuated by Calhex 231, a negative allosteric modulator of CaSR. (2) Calindol-induced hyperpolarizations were inhibited by the intermediate conductance, Ca
2+
-sensitive K
+
(IK
Ca
) channel inhibitors, TRAM-34, and TRAM-39. (3) The effects of calindol were not observed in the absence of endothelium. (4) CaSR mRNA and protein were present in rat mesenteric arteries and in porcine coronary artery endothelial cells. (5) CaSR and IK
Ca
proteins were restricted to caveolin-poor membrane fractions. We conclude that activation of vascular endothelial CaSRs opens endothelial cell IK
Ca
channels with subsequent myocyte hyperpolarization. The endothelial cell CaSR may have a physiological role in the control of arterial blood pressure.
Evidence for Age and Sex Differences in the Secondary Prevention of Stroke in Scottish Primary Care
Authors: Simpson C.R. , Wilson C. , Hannaford P.C. , Williams D.
Published: July 2005

Background and Purpose—

Secondary preventive measures play an important role in the reduction of stroke, the third largest cause of death in Scotland. We investigated whether sex, age, or deprivation differences existed in the secondary prevention of stroke in primary care.

Methods–

A retrospective cross-sectional study using a computerized database with 61 practices (377 439 patients) to identify group differences in secondary preventive therapy between March 2003 and April 2004 for 10 076 patients with a diagnosis of any stroke.

Results—

Women with any stroke were more likely than men to be prescribed a thiazide (odds ratios [OR], 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46 to 1.75) but less likely to be prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.81). Women with ischemic stroke were less likely to receive either an antiplatelet or warfarin (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.94) or statin therapy (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.90) than men. Women with atrial fibrillation received less warfarin (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.81) but more antiplatelet therapy than men (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.68). The oldest patients (older than 75 years) with ischemic stroke received more antiplatelet therapy than the youngest patients (younger than 65 years) (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.64 to 2.06). No significant differences in secondary preventative treatment across deprivation groups were found.

Conclusion—

Important sex and age differences exist in the care of patients with stroke and suggest that women and the elderly need to be targeted for secondary prevention therapy.
Plasma Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein, a Strong Predictor for Acute Coronary Heart Disease Events in Apparently Healthy, Middle-Aged Men From the General Population
Authors: Meisinger Christa , Baumert Jens , Khuseyinova Natalie , Loewel Hannelore , Koenig Wolfgang
Published: July 2005

Background—

Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) is thought to play a key role in the inflammatory response in the arterial vessel wall.

Methods and Results—

In a prospective, nested, case-control study, the association between plasma oxLDL and risk of an acute coronary heart disease (CHD) event was investigated in men without prevalent CHD or diabetes mellitus at baseline. Subjects came from 2 population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg surveys conducted in the years 1989–1990 and 1994–1995 with follow-up in 1998 (mean±SD follow-up time, 5.6±2.6 years). OxLDL was determined by ELISA in 88 men with incident CHD and in 258 age- and survey-matched controls. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated from conditional logistic-regression models with matching for age and survey. Baseline mean plasma oxLDL concentrations were significantly higher in subjects who subsequently experienced an event compared with controls (mean±SD, 110±32 versus 93±28 U/L;
P
≤0.001). After adjustment for smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical activity, education, and alcohol consumption, the HR for a future CHD event in a comparison of the upper tertile of the oxLDL distribution with the lower tertile was 4.25 (95% confidence interval, 2.09 to 8.63;
P
<0.001). Plasma oxLDL was the strongest predictor of CHD events compared with a conventional lipoprotein profile and other traditional risk factors for CHD. When both oxLDL and C-reactive protein were simultaneously assessed in the same model, they still predicted future CHD events even after multivariable adjustment.

Conclusions—

Elevated concentrations of oxLDL are predictive of future CHD events in apparently healthy men. Thus, oxLDL may represent a promising risk marker for clinical CHD complications and should be evaluated in further studies.
Fear of Crime Among Residents of Three Communities in Accra, Ghana
Authors: Adu-Mireku Samuel
Published: July 2005

The current literature on fear of crime in Africa is limited because of the almost exclusive focus on the United States and other Western nations. In Ghana, very little is known about the extent of and the predictors of fear of crime. In this study, an initial attempt is made to assess the determinants of fear of crime at the community-level in Accra. A slightly modified version of the United States’ National Criminal Victimization Survey (Community Policing Questionnaire supplement) was used to collect data from 208 residents in three communities. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses results show that gender, education, age, satisfaction with quality of life in community, type of community, and indirect victimization are significant predictors. However, direct victimization, satisfaction with local police, and “incivilities” in the community are not significant predictors. The results from this study indicate the importance of both individual-level and community-level factors in understanding the fear of crime in the three communities.
Environmental Attitudes of Scientists in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala: Evidence on NGOs and Traditional Research Sectors
Authors: Campion Patricia , Shrum Wesley
Published: July 2005

Drawing on a survey of researchers in Ghana, Kenya, and the Indian state of Kerala, attitudes of NGO scientists are examined and compared with those in universities and national research institutes. Recently, some NGOs have initiated research activities, raising the question of whether those who pursue research in these organizations are similar to or different from those in more traditional contexts. Environmentalist views are now widespread among researchers in less developed countries. Two underlying dimensions are identified, one of which is tiers-mondisme, the degree to which a researcher adopts a distinctive developing country perspective on environmental issues. Results show that NGO researchers are not generally different in terms of their environmental views. However, national context and participation in the international system affect the degree to which researchers adopt a distinctive developmental perspective.
Panchayats, Communities, and the Rural Poor in India
Authors: Gaiha Raghav , Kulkarni Vani
Published: July 2005

Despite large outlays, poverty alleviation measures have not made a significant dent in rural poverty in India. Disillusionment with these measures culminated in the 73rd Constitutional (amendment) Act in 1993, designed to revitalise the Panchayat system (consisting of elected Panchayats at different levels) in India. The focus of the present study is on its poverty alleviating potential. Emphasising that decentralisation is essentially a political process, the political economy considerations in the framing of this Act and the state conformity Acts, and their implementation are critically reviewed. The nature of the organisational structure of the Panchayats that has evolved is of considerable importance in assessing their role as implementing agencies of anti-poverty and other rural development programmes. Yet another major concern is that the community's imperfections act as an impediment in poverty alleviation. Although there are important informational and administrative advantages of community involvement in the design and implementation of anti-poverty and other related programmes, some limitations must not be overlooked (e.g., "capture" of the Panchayats by a few locally influential persons). Finally, some key strategic options are identified based on a detailed review of recent empirical evidence. Of particular significance is a strong coalition of the rural poor. Although, in general, prospects of collective action on the part of the rural poor (who are divided by caste and religion) are limited, it is argued that there are some grounds for optimism. The overall conclusion is that, although the Panchayat system has not benefited the poor except in a few cases, its potential for poverty alleviation is hard to dispute.
Poverty and "Damaging Fluctuations": How do they Relate?
Authors: Sinha Saurabh , Lipton Michael , Yaqub Shahin
Published: July 2005

Recent panel data sets suggest that in some places perhaps half of the poor are not poor all the time, and also as much as 80 percent of "poverty severity" may be due to large fluctuations through time. Some of these dynamics are due to life-cycle events, but much of it represents "damaging fluctuations." These cause immediate damage, and may trigger responses leading to chronic poverty or intergenerational poverty. Moreover, just the possibility of damaging fluctuations, even if they do not occur, may generate more risk-averse behavior, which hampers growth and (because it is more likely to be common among poorer people) increases inequality. The paper discusses the concept of damaging fluctuations, contrasting it with the more common, and related, terms of "risk" and "shocks." Six categories of damaging fluctuations are identified: disease or injury, violence, natural disaster, harvest failure, terms-of-trade deterioration, and reduced access to income-earning work. The paper presents evidence of how the poor differ from others in their exposure, vulnerability, and aversion to damaging fluctuations, and how these lead to more poverty.
Access to Health Services by the Poor and the Non-Poor: The Case of Vietnam
Authors: Deolalikar Anil B.
Published: July 2005

This paper examines the access of the poor and the non-poor in Vietnam to health-care services and discusses the extent to which each group benefits from government health subsidies in that country. It shows that while the overall utilization of health services improved in Vietnam between 1993 and 1998- a period of rapid economic growth, the access of the poor to health care did not improve as much as that of the better-off. The evidence points to increasing polarization of public health services, with the upper income groups constituting the majority of users of public hospital-based services and the lower income quintiles being the primary users of commune health centers. This polarization is especially problematic in view of the fact that the government spends more than three-quarters of its entire recurrent health budget on public hospitals. What this means is that the Vietnamese elite captures a disproportionate share of the large public subsidies that go into public hospitals.
Orphanages in Egypt
Authors: Gibbons Jacqueline A.
Published: July 2005

This is an ethnographic study of girls’ orphanages in Egypt. It examines cultural notions of unwanted children and explores the attitudes, perceptions and managerial practices of six orphanages in and around Cairo. The institutions are characterized by various styles of surrogate mothering, educational and administrative practices, occupational training, and the marital aspirations and attitudes of their occupants.
A Strategic Approach to Building a Consistent Global Rewards Program
Authors: White Robin
Published: July 2005

For organizations operating on multiple continents, the development and implementation of a global rewards philosophy and total rewards program has taken on increasing importance. A global philosophy not only provides direction and focus but also ensures local programs are sensitive to relevant culture, practice, and regulations. Global companies are moving toward centralization and consistency in their approach to global rewards. Many of them have realized that beyond the potential for enormous savings realized through effective global compensation management, there is a possibility for a gain in overall efficiencies. The development of a thoughtful, consistent, and strategic approach to global rewards can help to align employees globally on common priorities, facilitate employee development and cross-border transfers, and in many cases help companies to save millions on their annual compensation investment. Following a structured and inclusive approach supported by appropriate technology greatly increases the odds of success. By building a comprehensive and integrated approach to global rewards, organizations can effectively focus on a shared set of goals and objectives while simultaneously earning attractive returns to shareholders.
Using U.K. Pension Plan Deficits to Advantage
Authors: Hull Steven E.
Published: July 2005

Any employer sitting on a defined benefit pension plan deficit in the United Kingdom has an opportunity to reduce plan costs, sometimes substantially. This is available to all employers—rich or poor, big or small. Employers who seek to reduce deficits through conventional means—by paying what the plan actuary or the trustees want, by lump sum additions, or if they are finding it a struggle to do so—are wasting great opportunities. To seek plan changes when the plan is in surplus usually costs money. To seek plan changes when the plan is in deficit is a one-off opportunity to achieve exactly the same thing and save money.
Painting, poetry, parallelism: ekphrasis, stylistics and cognitive poetics
Authors: Verdonk Peter
Published: July 2005

Ekphrasis is a sub-genre of poetry addressing existent or imaginary works of art. Though now a term in poetics, its cultural roots go back to classical rhetoric, which shows that the two have always been in an osmotic relationship. In a wider context, ekphrasis is also the natural outcome of the traditionally strong bond in Western art between poetry and the visual arts, which Aristotle regarded as imitative arts because both make use of mimetic representation. This close link found its fullest expression in Horace’s famous simile Ut pictura poesis. Different periods of Western art history had different ekphrastic agendas, ranging from Homer’s description of the making of the shield of Achilles in the Iliad to Auden’s ‘Musée des Beaux Arts’ on some pictures by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Auden may have set the fashion, but as it happened this 16th-century Flemish painter became the favourite muse of a great many other 20th-century poets, in both Europe and the USA. As an illustration of this genre, I present a reading of William Carlos Williams’ s ekphrastic poem ‘The Dance’, which was inspired by Brueghel’s picture ‘The Kermess’. In my analysis I combine the tools of stylistics with those of cognitive poetics, which has embraced the cognitive linguistic theory that any act of language use can potentially be related to some underpinning mental faculty, for example, experience, memory, perception, imagination, and emotion. Along these lines, I try to show how my analysis and reading of the poem’s rhetorical elements, or perceived effects, might be traced to certain underlying cognitive structures such as mentally stored real-world experience, memories and images, genre knowledge, the human delight in repetitive formal patterns, the embodied experience of movement, spatial perception, figure-ground alignments in visual and other sensory perceptions, etc.
Genealogies of the Land: Aboriginality, Law, and Territory in Vancouver’s Stanley Park
Authors: Mawani Renisa
Published: July 2005

Between 1998 and 2003, Canadian courts were confronted with two cases that have held significant legal and political consequences for Aboriginal peoples. The cases, R v Gladue (1999) and R v Powley (2003) raised pressing questions about Aboriginal identities and the rights and material resources that follow from legal recognition. In one form or another, these cases have generated important legal, political, and theoretical questions that require some exploration: How has ‘Aboriginality’ been legally constituted within Canadian jurisprudence? In what ways have these racial-legal definitions changed temporally and geographically? And finally, and most importantly, who can legitimately make claims to Aboriginal identities and to the legal rights and material resources that accompany the law’s recognition of difference? In this article, I historically contextualize these contemporary debates around the juridical construction of Aboriginal identities in Canadian jurisprudence. My substantive focus is two trials that took place between 1923 and 1925 and which centered on competing territorial claims to Stanley Park, an urban park in Vancouver, British Columbia. The cases involved eight mixed-race families of Aboriginal and European ancestry who had lived on the land in question for three generations, and whose ancestors had been there since time immemorial. A central question that emerged throughout the juridical and extra-juridical discourse is if these people were ‘Indians’ (or ‘squatters’) and whether they could make territorial claims through Native title. Through these cases I suggest that the current controversies over Aboriginality evident in Gladue and Powley are deeply rooted in colonial legal processes and practices that require some historical analysis. Ultimately, historically grounded questions about the law’s constitution of Indigenous identities may provide us with important insights into the many facets of colonialism and its residual legacies.
Misguided Retribution: Criminalization of Pregnant Women Who Take Drugs
Authors: Toscano Vicki
Published: July 2005

This article addresses the attempts to use criminal punishment to respond to pregnant women who take drugs in the United States. Although many have discussed why this approach is harmful, none have done so by examining the effects of the underlying philosophical justification for punishment appealed to in these cases, that of retribution. I examine explicitly the discourse created by the retributive criminal punishment of pregnant women in a way that has not been done before. I show that this discourse works to promote fetal personhood, individualizes blame for fetal harm, and highlights pregnant women as the primary source of fetal harm. Ultimately, this discourse perpetuates an ideology that forces women to have to bear all of the costs associated with pregnancy and allows the political community, and society as a whole, to ignore any areas of collective responsibility that it may have to promote successful reproduction. Even if criminalization of pregnant drug users fails as a legal remedy, as it mostly has in the USA, or is not even attempted, as is the case in the UK, the discourse about pregnancy perpetuated by retributive punishment of pregnant drug users must be directly challenged as a useful way of understanding the social issue of reproduction. This article is an attempt to lay out that challenge.
‘Someone to Watch over Me’: Making Supported Housing Work
Authors: Carr Helen
Published: July 2005

Hostels and other forms of housing where support services are provided as an intrinsic part of the accommodation package have traditionally been developed by the voluntary sector at a distance from conditional state welfare. Supporting People is an innovative and ambitious programme which in effect annexes supported housing and, in return for a commitment to improved provision, promises certainty of income and professional prestige. Supporting People provides an example of contemporary social policy. It attempts to address both the failures of the ‘old’ welfare state and the anxieties of the neo-liberal state. It does this through a distinct ‘third way’ form of regulation which extends new public management practices into a new regulatory arena and places a particular emphasis on ‘joined-up’ thinking, risk management and the ideological pragmatism of ‘what works’. This has particular consequences for the diverse range of both providers and residents who are disciplined through a variety of mechanisms to deliver social progress for the state.
Understanding barriers to leisure travel: Tourist fears as a marketing basis
Authors: Dolnicar Sara
Published: July 2005

The usefulness of investigating fears tourists associate with leisure travel as basis for strategic and operational marketing is investigated. Tourism-related fears are elicited from the tourism marketplace to gain insight into the precise risks today's tourists perceive. Heterogeneity of respondents with regard to these risk perceptions is investigated in the context of domestic and overseas travel. Distinctly different patterns of perceived risks emerge for different destination contexts as well as sub-segments of tourists. This knowledge could form a good basis for optimizing marketing communication messages to address tourists' concerns more effectively.
Understanding attitudes towards leisure travel and the constraints faced by senior Koreans
Authors: Lee Sun Hee , Tideswell Carmen
Published: July 2005

The senior segment of the Korean population is rapidly becoming an attractive target market for leisure destinations due to its increasing rate of growth and the level of income available. While this is a potentially attractive segment for the tourism industry, the impact of traditional Confucian philosophy represents a constraint which may deter senior Koreans from travelling for leisure purposes. Through a self-completion survey of 200 Korean residents over the age of 60 years, conducted in 2002, this paper explores the attitudes of this market towards leisure travel. The constraints which may restrict the travel propensity of senior Koreans and the types of travel experiences they demand are revealed.
Interpretation and over-interpretation: disputing the meaning of texts
Authors: Frosh Stephen , Emerson Peter D.
Published: July 2005

In order to address issues concerning the ‘positioning’ of individuals in discourse, appeal has recently been made to psychoanalytic formulations offering plausible interpretations of how and why specific subjects take up the positions they do. This raises many problems concerning the relationship between ‘top-down’ or ‘expert’ interpretive strategies and the ‘bottom-up’ grounded approaches traditionally preferred by qualitative researchers. Along with these methodological issues go epistemological and political questions concerning power and accountability.

The current article stages a dialogue around psychoanalytically and discursively driven interpretive strategies, centring on the analysis of material concerning a teenage boy’s attempt to develop a ‘non-hegemonic’ position with regard to masculinity. A psychoanalytic reading of the boy’s talk is given alongside a discursive analysis used to offer a critique of this approach. It is argued a) that psychoanalytic interpretive strategies require much more grounding than is usually available from conventional interview texts; and b) that a dialogue of psychoanalytic and discursive analytic interpretations serves to raise questions of difference as possibilities for collaboration.
Visual data in applied qualitative research: lessons from experience
Authors: Mason Paul
Published: July 2005

Image-based research is well developed within visual anthropology and visual ethnography, but it is little used outside of these disciplines. This article discusses an innovative research project which sought to use the outputs of a community development arts project as a source of visual data for the evaluation of an area-based health initiative. The use of such material in applied research required the development of a method unique to the project, and the aims, process and outcomes are discussed. In particular, the article details the difficulties encountered and the attempts made to overcome such challenges. It ends by suggesting there is scope for the development and application of the method, if it is developed within key guiding principles.
‘What History, Whose History, History to What Purpose?’: Notions of History in Art History and Visual Culture Studies
Authors: van Alphen Ernst
Published: July 2005

This article examines the study of visual culture as a kind of writing about cultural objects which accounts for their agency in culture. It take its cue from the claim, strongly advanced by French philosopher and art historian Hubert Damisch, that art ‘thinks’. Therefore, in order to explicate that notion the first part of the article is devoted to his conception of art and, by extension, of art history. In order to substantiate the aesthetics of art as agency, Damisch’s argumentation is followed, according to which art in its historical specificity engenders general, transhistorical and philosophical questions.
Visual Studies, or the Ossification of Thought
Authors: Smith Marquard
Published: July 2005

This article interferes in the often all-too-smooth emergence of Visual Studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry in the British and North American University system. It does so by drawing attention to some of the unacknowledged grey areas between ‘doing’ visual culture and what has become the ‘study’ of Visual Studies. Interested in the historical, conceptual, and morphological distinctions between ‘doing’ and ‘studying’, it confronts the implications of that difference for inter-, cross-, and in-disciplinary pedagogy, research, writing, and thought. (In so doing, it responds to W.J.T. Mitchell’s article ‘Showing Seeing: A Critique of Visual Culture’ published in the journal of visual culture, August 2002, by both welcoming Mitchell’s text as a necessary starting point for any serious effort to initiate and critically engage with studies of visual culture and Visual Studies, and draws attention to a lacuna in the argument therein.) While in general glad to see in research, writing, and teaching, an ongoing curiosity in and attention to our encounters with visual cultures that marks a sustained commitment to ways of seeing and looking and knowing as doing, as practice, this article claims that the accelerated professionalization and bureaucratization of Visual Studies is in danger of bringing about an ossification of thought.
The Potential Reduction in Musculoskeletal Injury in the Nonscanning Arm by Using VoiceScan Technology During Sonographic Examinations
Authors: Bravo Kristin L. , Coffin Carolyn T. , Murphey Susan L.
Published: July 2005

Between 84% and 93% of sonographers in North America and Australia have reported musculo-skeletal injuries related to their work activities. One type of occupational injury affects the non-scanning arm as sonographers reach for the control panel to manipulate the controls of the ultrasound equipment. A number of factors contribute to the reduction of these injuries, including improved ergonomic equipment designs. An important ergonomic design that targets the operator’s nonscanning arm is a voice-activated control panel. The goals of this study were (1) to test the alternate hypothesis that there is significant difference in muscle activity of the upper trapezius muscle between three positions of forward flexion of the nonscanning arm and (2) to determine the efficacy of using voice activation technology to reduce the muscle activity required by the nonscanning arm to manipulate the keyboard of the ultrasound equipment.