bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fasting plasma glucose and Type 2 diabetes risk: a non‐linear relationship
Authors: Schulze M. B. , Fritsche A. , Boeing H. , Joost H. G.
Published: December 2009

Diabet. Med. 27, 473–476 (2010)

Aims  The current definition of impaired fasting glucose (IFG, ≥ 100 mg/dl) has been criticized as being too low for selective identification of individuals at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, it is unclear whether any cut‐off is justifiable from the shape of association between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and diabetes. We therefore evaluated the association between FPG and incidence of Type 2 diabetes in a prospective, population‐based study.

Methods  A case–cohort study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)‐Potsdam cohort study involved 589 fasted participants in a randomly selected subcohort and 153 incident cases. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to examine non‐linearity of associations and we calculated pairs of sensitivities and specificities for different cut‐offs of FPG.

Results  Spline regression with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, education, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and plasma levels of triglycerides, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and γ‐glutamyltransferase indicated that FPG was associated with risk in a non‐linear fashion. Risk with higher FPG increased only above ∼84 mg/dl. FPG ≥ 84 mg/dl yielded a sensitivity of 95.4% at a false‐positive rate of 86.8%. In comparison, FPG ≥ 100 and ≥ 110 mg/dl yielded sensitivities of 78.4 and 42.5% and false‐positive rates of 27.8 and 6.8%, respectively. The optimal cut‐off of FPG was at ∼102 mg/dl (sensitivity: 75.8%, false‐positive rate: 20.7%).

Conclusions  Although our study suggests a threshold for increasing diabetes risk at 84 mg/dl, this cut‐off would classify the vast majority of the population as at risk. The statistically optimal cut‐off supports the current definition of IFG (≥ 100 mg/dl).
Political Cycles in the Australian Stock Market since Federation
Authors: Worthington Andrew C.
Published: December 2009

This article examines the political cycles in Australian stock returns from 1901–2005. The article defines the political cycle in terms of the party in power, ministerial tenure and election information effects. The market variables are returns, excess returns over inflation and excess returns over interest rates. Descriptive analysis suggests differences in the variance of returns under Labor and non‐Labor ministries, but no significant differences in mean returns. Using a generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedastistic‐M model, returns are found to be higher only for non‐Labor ministries before 1949 and there is no difference in excess returns over inflation or interest throughout the full sample.
Special school headship in times of change: impossible challenges or golden opportunities?
Authors: Baker John
Published: December 2009

This article is based on empirical research undertaken by John Baker, headteacher of the largest day special school for pupils with a range of learning difficulties in Essex, as part of his EdD studies at the Institute of Education, University of London. Its focus is on the perceived challenges and opportunities which headteachers of special schools for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) are facing and on the strategies they are using to manage these challenges and opportunities. A group of nine head teachers from one local authority in the southern half of England formed the sample for this study. The methodology employed postal/email questionnaires with follow‐up semi‐structured interviews with a subgroup of four headteachers. The main challenges identified by the special school headteachers were constant change, relentless school improvement, funding concerns, bureaucracy and maintaining a balance between work and private life. Perceived opportunities included partnership links with other schools and outreach services to mainstream schools; other initiatives such as specialist school status and Building Schools for the Future were also identified. John Baker suggests strategies to help headteachers meet these challenges and ensure that opportunities become realities.
RESEARCH SECTION: Nurture groups: a large‐scale, controlled study of effects on development and academic attainment
Authors: Reynolds Sue , MacKay Tommy , Kearney Maura
Published: December 2009

Nurture groups have contributed to inclusive practices in primary schools in the UK for some time now and have frequently been the subject of articles in this journal. This large‐scale, controlled study of nurture groups across 32 schools in the City of Glasgow provides further evidence for their effectiveness in addressing the emotional development and behaviour problems of vulnerable children. In particular, Sue Reynolds, Principal Educational Psychologist, Maura Kearney, Senior Educational Psychologist, both working in Glasgow City Council Psychological Services, and Tommy MacKay, Professor at the University of Strathclyde and Director of Psychology Consultancy Services, suggest that is the first study to report quantitative gains in academic achievement when the progress of pupils in nurture groups is compared with that of matched children in mainstream classes. This highlights the importance of providing a nurturing context as a basis for promoting children's learning.
A STUDY OF THE DIVERSIFICATION OF CHINA'S FOREIGN RESERVES WITHIN A THREE‐COUNTRY STOCK‐FLOW CONSISTENT MODEL
Authors: Lavoie Marc , Zhao Jun
Published: December 2009

The paper presents a three‐country stock‐flow consistent model, with one fixed exchange rate and two flexible exchange rates, in the tradition of portfolio balance models with imperfect asset substitutability. The model is applied to simulate the impact of the diversification of the foreign reserves of China, away from US dollars and towards euros. The simulation results show that China and the USA both benefit from diversification, while the Euroland economy slows down. An intriguing feature of the model is that it generates path dependence.
The psychological status of HIV‐positive people and their psychosocial experiences in eastern China
Authors: Jin C , Zhao G , Zhang F , Feng L , Wu N
Published: December 2009

Objectives
The aim of the study was to investigate the psychological status and the psychosocial experiences of HIV‐positive people using Symptom Check List 90 (SCL‐90) in eastern China.

Methods
Two hundred and fourteen HIV‐positive people and 200 controls were recruited to the study. Participants were given an anonymous questionnaire which included questions pertaining to demography, SCL‐90 and psychosocial experiences.

Results
The mean subscale scores for SCL‐90 in the HIV‐positive group were all higher than those of the control group (P<0.001), especially for depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder and hostility. Female HIV‐positive individuals had significantly higher depression and anxiety scores (P<0.05) and more scores higher than 2.0 than male HIV‐positive individuals. The average number of subscales with mean scores higher than 2.0 was 4.1 for female HIV‐positive individuals and 3.7 for male HIV‐positive individuals. The most common psychosocial experiences related to HIV infection were fear (36.9%) and helplessness (31.8%). 90.2% of HIV‐positive people would not tell others about their disease because of fear of discrimination against family members (42.2%), exclusion by community members (26.9%) and abandonment (23.3%). Discrimination from acquaintances (38.8%) was a main stressor in the HIV‐positive individuals' daily life. Most members of HIV‐positive individuals' communities expressed negative attitudes: alienation, coldness, aversion and fear. 38.3% of the HIV‐positive participants reported that their family members had been discriminated against.

Conclusions
The results demonstrate that HIV‐positive people in eastern China live in a negative psychosocial environment and suffer from psychological distress. It is necessary to provide psychological interventions for people living with AIDS and to educate community members in order to improve the psychosocial environment.
Beyond the Lynn White Thesis: Congregational Effects on Environmental Concern
Authors: Djupe Paul A. , Hunt Patrick Kieran
Published: December 2009

An extensive literature has explored the effects of religion on opinions about environmental protection and action on environmental issues, but has largely concerned itself with the effects of theology as inspired by the Lynn White thesis. However, religion is multifaceted and any complete study should also incorporate the social dimensions of religious experience. In this article, we employ a unique data set to demonstrate the varied informational effects of church membership on environmental attitudes. We find that social sources of information in the church shape the dimensions of religious belief and exert much stronger effects on attitudes on the environment than do doctrinal or religiosity measures.
A Christian Cancellation of the Secularist Truce? Waning Christian Religiosity and Waxing Religious Deprivatization in the West
Authors: Achterberg Peter , Houtman Dick , Aupers Stef , Koster Willem de , Mascini Peter , Waal Jeroen van der
Published: December 2009

Analysis of International Social Survey Program (ISSP) data collected in 18 Western countries in 1998 demonstrates that Christian desires for a public role of religion are strongest in countries where Christian religiosity is numerically most marginal. Moreover, Dutch data covering the period 1970–1996 confirm that the decline of the number of Christians in the Netherlands has been coincided by a strengthening of the call for public religion among the remaining faithful and by increased polarization about this with the nonreligious. Religious decline and religious privatization, two of the most crucial dimensions of secularization (Casanova 1994), hence develop dialectically: as the number of Christians declines, the remaining faithful seem increasingly unwilling to accept the “secularist truce”—the secularist contract that guarantees religious freedom yet bans religion from the public sphere by relegating it to the private realm.
None Too Simple: Examining Issues of Religious Nonbelief and Nonbelonging in the United States
Authors: Baker Joseph O'Brian , Smith Buster
Published: December 2009

Prior research on those who are “not religious” in the traditional, organizational sense has focused on a broad category of people in the United States who do not identify with an established religious tradition. We distinguish three categories of people who are religiously nonbelieving or nonbelonging: atheists, agnostics, and unchurched believers. Examining issues of religious belief and identity, we compare private spiritual life, attitudes on political issues, and stance toward religion in the public sphere for these three categories of nonreligious respondents. Atheists are the most uniformly antireligious. Agnostics, by comparison, are less opposed to religion overall, while unchurched believers display higher levels of personal religiosity and spirituality than atheists or agnostics. While atheists, agnostics, and unchurched believers are similar in their political identification and attitudes related to religiously infused political topics, unchurched believers are as strongly opposed to religion in the public sphere as atheists.
Trends of Religious Identification in Korea: Changes and Continuities
Authors: Kim Jibum , Lee Yongmo , Son Jaesok , Smith Tom W.
Published: December 2009

Korea's religious context is not simple. According to the 2005 Korean Census, the Korean population consists of 23 percent Buddhists, 18 percent Protestants, and 11 percent Catholics, with 47 percent nonreligious. To accurately describe Korean religion in recent periods, we have used 1985, 1995, and 2005 Korean Censuses. We found that Korean people became more religious from 1985 to 1995, but that change was stalled from 1995 to 2005. The percentages of Buddhists and Protestants exhibited little change, and Buddhism continues to be an important religion in the lives of Koreans. Only the number of Catholics increased from 5 percent in 1985 to 11 percent in 2005, and the increasing percentage of Catholics occurred within all subgroups, regardless of age, gender, education, home ownership, and urbanicity.
The Prevalence of Clergy Sexual Advances Toward Adults in Their Congregations
Authors: Chaves Mark , Garland Diana
Published: December 2009

We use the 2008 General Social Survey to estimate the prevalence of clergy sexual advances toward adults in their congregations. Overall, 3.1 percent of women who attend religious services at least monthly reported being the object of a sexual advance by a clergyperson or religious leader in their own congregation since turning 18; 2.2 percent of regularly attending women reported a sexual advance from a married leader that did not lead to an openly acknowledged relationship. We examine differences in the prevalence of this experience by education, region, religious tradition, marital status, age, and race.
Sex and Gender Traditionalism Among Conservative Protestants: Does the Difference Make a Difference?
Authors: Bartkowski John P. , Hempel Lynn M.
Published: December 2009

Recent years have witnessed the resurgence of conservative Protestantism and its adherents’ advocacy of gender traditionalism. Scholarship has traced conservative Protestant women's support for gender traditionalism to biblical inerrancy while linking conservative Protestant men's support for gender traditionalism to their denominational affiliation. Our study revisits this issue with more recent data, more sophisticated analytical techniques (structural equation modeling), and a refined measure of theological conservatism (accounting for beliefs pertaining to scripture, sin, and salvation). We find that theological conservatism is significantly related to gender traditionalism among conservative Protestant women but not men. For men, strength of denominational affiliation is more strongly related to traditionalist ideology. Strength of affiliation also affects gender ideology for women, but its effects, as well as those of religious attendance, are largely indirect through theological conservatism. We discuss these sex‐specific patterns of religious influence in the context of conservative Protestantism exhibiting characteristics of a gendered institution.
Systematics and phylogeography of a threatened tortoise, the speckled padloper
Authors: Daniels S. R. , Hofmeyr M. D. , Henen B. T. , Baard E. H. W.
Published: December 2009

This study investigated the systematics and phylogeography of a threatened tortoise of South Africa, the speckled padloper Homopus signatus. Sixty three specimens were collected from 17 localities that covered the distributional range of the two subspecies in western South Africa and a north‐eastern population that was recently discovered near Pofadder. The Pofadder sample could not be assigned to either subspecies based on morphology. The samples were sequenced for two partial mtDNA fragments, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase component four and cytochrome b, which yielded ∼1.1 kb, while a subset of the samples were sequenced for a 390 bp nuclear DNA (nDNA) fragment of prolactin. Phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA using minimum evolution, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inferences supported the monophyly of H. signatus and revealed that the Pofadder specimen was basal in the topology and sister to the remainder. The phylogenetic analyses did not support the recognition of two subspecies; there was statistical support for a Homopus signatus signatus clade but Homopus signatus cafer was not monophyletic. The nDNA analysis showed no difference between the subspecies and placed the Pofadder sample distant but not distinct from H. s. signatus. The mtDNA and the nDNA data suggest that the subspecies are invalid taxonomic units. The structure of the mtDNA network corresponded to the geographical distribution of populations. The north‐western populations formed one haplocluster, corresponding to H. s. signatus, whereas the south‐western populations formed three haploclusters, corresponding to H. s. cafer. The Pofadder sample was unconnected to the network. The morphology of the northern and southern morphotypes probably reflects selection for crypsis on the different substrate types of the regions, granites and sedimentary rocks, respectively. These results highlight that subspecies designations should be authenticated by molecular techniques because morphological plasticity can obfuscate phylogenetic relationships. We consider the western H. signatus populations as one taxonomic unit and recommend wider sampling of the Pofadder locality to clarify the taxonomic status of this lineage.
Tropical tree rings reveal preferential survival of fast‐growing juveniles and increased juvenile growth rates over time
Authors: Rozendaal Danaë M. A. , Brienen Roel J. W. , Soliz‐Gamboa Claudia C. , Zuidema Pieter A.
Published: December 2009

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03157.xCommentary p 595
Resource stoichiometry elucidates the structure and function of arbuscular mycorrhizas across scales
Authors: Johnson Nancy Collins
Published: December 2009

Despite the fact that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations are among the most ancient, abundant and important symbioses in terrestrial ecosystems, there are currently few unifying theories that can be used to help understand the factors that control their structure and function. This review explores how a stoichiometric perspective facilitates integration of three complementary ecological and evolutionary models of mycorrhizal structure and function. AM symbiotic function should be governed by the relative availability of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (trade balance model) and allocation to plant and fungal structures should depend on the availabilities of these resources (functional equilibrium model). Moreover, in an evolutionary framework, communities of plants and AM fungi are predicted to adapt to each other and their local soil environment (co‐adaptation model). Anthropogenic enrichment of essential resources in the environment is known to impact AM symbioses. A more predictive theory of AM structure and function will help us to better understand how these impacts may influence plant communities and ecosystem properties.

Contents

Summary
631

I.
Introduction
632

II.
Overview of ecological and evolutionary models from a stoichiometric perspective
632

III.
Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in AM symbioses
634

IV.
Trade balance and thresholds in the AM marketplace
635

V.
Optimal foraging and functional equilibrium in AM symbioses
638

VI.
Fungal life histories and resource utilization
640

VII.
Community feedbacks, co‐adaptation and ecosystem consequences
641

VIII.
The scaling‐up challenge
643

Acknowledgements
643

References
643
Identifcation of yeasts from raw milk and selection for some specific antioxidant properties
Authors: CHEN LI‐SHUI , MA YING , MAUBOIS JEAN‐LOUIS , CHEN LI‐JUN , LIU QIAO‐HONG , GUO JI‐PING
Published: December 2009

Eleven different species of yeasts isolated from raw milk, such as Issatchenkia orientalis, Pichia fermentans, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Yarrowia lipolytica were identified using an integrated approach, including phenotypic and genotypic methods and the API 20C AUX system. Eleven selected strains which tolerated low pH levels, gastric juice and bile salt were further analysed for the presence of functional traits useful for probiotic application as antioxidants. The ability to scavenge DPPH (2, 2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) and inhibit linoleic acid peroxidation indicated that P. fermentans BY5 and HJ15 may be promising candidate strains for use as probiotics with antioxidant activity.
Making connections: Global Production Networks and World City Networks
Authors: COE NEIL M. , DICKEN PETER , HESS MARTIN , YEUNG HENRY WAI‐CHEUNG
Published: December 2009

This article offers a sympathetic critique of recent attempts to forge a dialogue between Global Commodity Chain (GCC) and World City Network (WCN) approaches to global economic change. While broadly supportive of the endeavour, we make three observations about this ongoing project. First, we question the utility of emphasizing the common roots of these approaches in World Systems Theory given that both have subsequently moved into new epistemological terrain and, additionally, that the language of core and periphery seems ever less pertinent to global economic realities. Second, we seek to highlight the potential dangers of essentializing the global system as one that is primarily shaped by certain kinds of connections – namely the intra‐firm relationships of advanced producer service firms – between certain kinds of cities – namely the leading tiers of global cities. Third, we point to the need to expand the interpretations of relationality within global networks to include a wider variety of actors, particularly beyond the corporate realm, and to explore the dynamic power relations between those actors. We also discuss the methodological challenges of expanding the purview of research in this way. This commentary has been stimulated by the articles in the special issue of Global Networks on ‘World City Networks and Global Commodity Chains’.
Global inter‐city networks and commodity chains: any intersections?
Authors: SASSEN SASKIA
Published: December 2009

The article proposes five analytic operations that help in generating a larger frame that can encompass at least some foundational aspects of global city analysis and Global Commodity Chains analysis. Given the author's research, the ground from which this task is taken on here is the city. To do this requires going beyond the narrow empirical component that is at the centre of this special issue, namely World City Networks (WCNs). The five analytic propositions range from the problematic of incomplete knowledge for global actors, one shared by actors in the WCN and in the GCC, to that of the locational correlates of command functions, which can be as diverse as functions concentrated in headquarters to functions distributed across the chain of operations. The article concludes by asking what a focus on the city and its messiness adds to what is basically an analysis of the current phase of global capitalism (rather than an urban theory as is often assumed).
CREB‐dependent Nur77 induction following depolarization in PC12 cells and neurons is modulated by MEF2 transcription factors
Authors: Lam Brian Yee Hong , Zhang Wenting , Ng David Chi‐Heng , Maruthappu Mahiben , Roderick Hywel Llewelyn , Chawla Sangeeta
Published: December 2009

J. Neurochem. (2010) 112, 1065–1073.

Expression of the nuclear orphan receptor gene Nur77 in neuronal cells is induced by activity‐dependent increases in intracellular Ca2+ ions. Ca2+ responsiveness of the Nur77 gene has been attributed to two distinct DNA regulatory regions that recruit the transcription factors cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and myocyte enhancer factor‐2 (MEF2). Here we used dominant interfering and constitutively active mutants of CREB and MEF2 proteins to assess their relative contribution to depolarization‐induced Nur77 expression in undifferentiated PC12 cells and hippocampal neurons. We show that while CREB is necessary for Ca2+‐activated Nur77 expression MEF2 functions to modulate CREB‐dependent Nur77 expression by acting as a repressor in quiescent cells.
Neuferricin, a novel extracellular heme‐binding protein, promotes neurogenesis
Authors: Kimura Ikuo , Nakayama Yoshiaki , Konishi Morichika , Kobayashi Teruyuki , Mori Masahiro , Ito Masaki , Hirasawa Akira , Tsujimoto Gozoh , Ohta Mitsuhiro , Itoh Nobuyuki , Fujimoto Masafumi
Published: December 2009

J. Neurochem. (2010) 112, 1156–1167.

We identified a novel extracellular heme‐binding protein and named it neuferricin. The recombinant mouse neuferricin produced in High Five cells was secreted efficiently into the culture medium. Mouse neuferricin mRNA was expressed mainly in the brain at the embryo stage and gradually increased during development. At postnatal stage, it was widely expressed in the brain, heart, adrenal gland, and kidney. Mouse neuferricin has 263 amino acids. It has a cytochrome b5‐like heme/steroid‐binding domain and appeared to bind hemin because neuferricin solution, but not a solution of neuferricinΔHBD (a mutant lacking the heme‐binding domain), was tinged with brown and had an absorbance peak at 402 nm. In addition, the experiment with anti‐neuferricin antibody using heme‐affinity chromatography proved that the endogenous neuferricin detected in the culture medium of Neuro2a cells was associated with hemin. Inhibition of endogenous neuferricin by RNA interference excessively promoted cell survival and proliferation and suppressed neurite outgrowth during the induction of differentiation in Neuro2a cells. Addition of recombinant mouse neuferricin, but not neuferricinΔHBD, suppressed survival of Neuro2a cells and rescued from the effects of neuferricin RNAi. In primary cultured mouse neural precursor cells, recombinant mouse neuferricin exhibited the ability to promote neurogenesis. The identification of neuferricin, a novel extracellular heme‐binding protein with cytochrome b5‐like heme/steroid‐binding domain and its neurogenic activity, provide new insights not only into brain development but also the function of heme‐binding proteins as extracellular signal transmitters.
BACE1 and BACE2 enzymatic activities in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Ahmed Rachel R. , Holler Christopher J. , Webb Robin L. , Li Feng , Beckett Tina L. , Murphy M. Paul
Published: December 2009

J. Neurochem. (2009) 112, 1045–1053.

β‐Secretase is the rate limiting enzymatic activity in the production of the amyloid‐β peptide (Aβ) and is thought to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. Although BACE1 (β‐site APP Cleaving Enzyme 1, EC 3.4.23.46) has received significant attention, the related BACE2 (EC 3.4.23.45) has not. Though BACE2 is also expressed in the brain, its potential role in AD has not been resolved. In this study, we compared the activities of both BACE1 and BACE2, which were isolated from the same samples of frontal cortex from both AD‐affected individuals and age‐matched controls. BACE1 activity showed a significant positive correlation with the amount of extractable Aβ, and BACE1 protein and activity were significantly increased in AD cases. Unexpectedly, there were substantial total amounts of BACE2 protein and enzymatic activity in the human brain. BACE2 activity did not change significantly in the AD brain, and was not related to Aβ concentration. These data indicate that BACE1 likely accounts for most of the Aβ produced in the human brain, and that BACE2 activity is not a likely contributor. However, as both forms of BACE compete for the same substrate pool, even small changes in BACE2 activity could have consequences for human disease.
NEW DIRECTIONS IN AFRICAN BIOETHICS: WAYS OF INCLUDING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS IN THE BIOETHICS AGENDA
Authors: AZETSOP JACQUINEAU
Published: December 2009

Research ethics is the most developed aspect of bioethics in Africa. Most African countries have set up Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to provide guidelines for research and to comply with international norms. However, bioethics has not been responsive to local needs and values in the rest of the continent. A new direction is needed in African bioethics. This new direction promotes the development of a locally‐grounded bioethics, shaped by a dynamic understanding of local cultures and informed by structural and institutional problems that impact the public's health, as well as cognisant of the salient contribution of social sciences and social epidemiology which can bring a lasting impact on African local communities. In today's post‐Structural Adjustment Africa, where healthcare has been liberalized and its cost increased, a bioethics agenda that focuses essentially on disease management and clinical work remains blind in the face of a structural marginalization of the masses of poor. Instead, the multidimensional public health crisis, with which most African countries are confronted, calls for a bioethics agenda that focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on health promotion and advocacy. Such an approach to bioethics reckons with the macro‐determinants of health and well‐being and places clinical and research ethics in the broader context of population's health. The same approach underscores the need to become political, not only by addressing health policymaking processes and procedures, but also by becoming an advocacy forum that includes other constituencies equipped with the potentialities to impact the population's health.
Teachers’ Recognition of Children’s Mental Health Problems
Authors: Loades Maria E. , Mastroyannopoulou Kiki
Published: December 2009

Background:  Teachers have a significant role to play in identifying children with mental health problems. However, teachers’ perceptions of children’s mental health problems are relatively unexplored.

Method:  Primary school teachers (N = 113) completed a questionnaire, composed of vignettes describing children with symptoms of a common emotional disorder and a common behavioural disorder, following which they were asked a number of questions regarding problem recognition and help‐seeking.

Results:  Teachers were able to recognise the existence of a problem and rate its severity. They were significantly more concerned about a vignette of a child with symptoms of a behavioural disorder than an emotional disorder. The gender of the child was found to independently predict teachers’ accurately recognising when a child had a problem.

Conclusion:  Teachers are good at recognising whether a child presents with a problem. However, their problem recognition is affected by both the gender of the child and the type of symptomatology being displayed (emotional versus behavioural).
The emergence of service‐based integrated coastal management in the UK
Authors: Hewett Tracey , Fletcher Stephen
Published: December 2009

Coastal partnerships are the primary mechanism to support local and regional integrated coastal management (ICM) in the United Kingdom. This paper identifies four evolutionary stages of coastal partnership development, in which partnerships pass through stages of foundation, challenge, reflection and renewal. Through examining these stages, it was apparent that the manner in which coastal partnerships in the UK support ICM has evolved from a plan‐led approach to a service‐based approach since the early 1990s. In the service‐based approach, partnerships support ICM through an ongoing programme of facilitated stakeholder engagement, capacity building and information exchange, rather than through the development and implementation of an outcome‐based management plan. This has been prompted by a number of interconnected factors, including funding scarcity, a historic lack of national‐level support and ambiguous evidence of success. Following a discussion of the benefits and burdens of the service‐based approach, the paper concludes that whilst the service‐based ICM support model offers many advantages and opportunities, the wider coastal governance framework in the UK may still present considerable challenges to its future success.
Explaining the electoral effects of public investments: The case of the expansion of the underground in Madrid, 1995–2007
Authors: DE LA CALLE LUIS , ORRIOLS LLUÍS
Published: December 2009

According to the literature, governments have strong incentives to use the public budget tactically in order to either obtain the electoral support of new voters or strengthen the loyalty of their traditional supporters. Yet vote‐seeking strategies only become rational when voters follow their self‐interest and reward governments when their constituency benefits from public transfers. The literature has focused on the governments' incentives, largely ignoring the importance of knowing whether the electorate is responsive to public investments. This study tests empirically whether incumbents strategically use public investments to gather more electoral support; and whether voters take these investments into account at the polls. These two questions are pursued simultaneously by using as a case study the expansion of the underground network in Madrid, Spain. Only a little evidence is found to support the idea that regional governments constructed new metro stations in neighbourhoods where they had more to gain electorally. Also, the inauguration timing strictly followed the electoral cycle, something that indicates a strategic calculus on the part of the incumbent. However, the models are also consistent with the idea that the government's investments were primarily driven by motives of efficiency. Indeed, although governments are tempted to follow vote‐seeking strategies, they are also aware that they cannot deviate too much from an efficiency‐based allocation of public resources. From the perspective of the voters, robust evidence has been found to show that regional voters rewarded this policy at the neighbourhood level. Neighbourhoods that received new metro stations voted in higher numbers for the incumbent than those quarters without new investments. All in all, these findings may have some implications for normative democratic theory.
Party politicisation of local councils: Cultural or institutional explanations for trends in Denmark, 1966–2005
Authors: KJAER ULRIK , ELKLIT JØRGEN
Published: December 2009

Local government party systems are not necessarily copies of the national party system. In many countries, local party systems have come to resemble the national one more and more – a process Rokkan termed ‘party politicisation’. The traditional expectation has been that the take‐over of local politics by political parties, through a gradual process of societal modernisation, would eventually be complete. More recently, however, it has been suggested that reorganisations of the institutional set‐up – that is, amalgamations of municipalities – could entail developments in the degree of local party system nationalisation. This article investigates cultural and institutional explanations for party politicisation by analysing the Danish case from 1966 to 2005 – a period that witnessed both major amalgamation reforms and periods of stability in the local government structure. The data suggest that dramatic party politicisation does not lend itself to cultural explanations, but originates exclusively from changes in the institutional set‐up. Party politicisation is not a gradual process, but comes – at least in Denmark – in leaps coinciding with major reorganisations of the local government structure.
Explaining variation in sub‐state regional identities in Western Europe
Authors: FITJAR RUNE DAHL
Published: December 2009

While national identities emerged as the dominant source of territorial identification during the twentieth century, sub‐state regional identities are becoming increasingly important in some Western European regions. However, this is not a uniform development. In some regions, nearly half of respondents in Eurobarometer surveys claim a stronger attachment to the region than to the state. In others, less than 4 per cent are primarily attached to their region. This article examines the extent to which these differences are explained by the characteristics of the regions themselves. What, if anything, do regions that mobilise public identity have in common? Developing a model of regional identities, the study examines cultural, geographic, economic and political factors that vary across different regions in Western Europe. The study finds that regional identities tend to be stronger in regions where a regional language is spoken and which do not border the state capital, signalling a cultural and a centre/periphery dimension to regional identity formation. However, there is potentially a more strategic aspect to identification, as regional identities are likely to be stronger in economically developed regions and in regions with highly distinctive voting behaviour.
Mechanisms involved in the regulation of bovine pulmonary vascular tone by the 5‐HT1Breceptor
Authors: McKenzie C , Alapati VR , MacDonald A , Shaw AM
Published: December 2009

Background and purpose: 5‐HT1Breceptors may have a role in pulmonary hypertension. Their relationship with the activity of BKCa,a T‐type voltage‐operated calcium channel (VOCC) and cyclic nucleotide‐mediated relaxation was examined.

Experimental approach: Ring segments of bovine pulmonary arteries were mounted in organ baths in modified Krebs–Henseleit buffer (37oC) under a tension of 20 mN and gassed with 95% O2/5% CO2. Isometric recordings were made using Chart 5 software.

Key results: Contractile responses to 5‐HT (10 nM–300 µM) were inhibited similarly by the 5‐HT1Breceptor antagonist SB216641 (100 nM) and the T‐type VOCC blockers mibefradil (10 µM) and NNC550396 (10 µM) with no additive effect between SB216641 and mibefradil. Inhibition by SB216641 was prevented by the potassium channel blocker, charybdotoxin (100 nM). 5‐HT1Breceptor activation and charybdotoxin produced a mibefradil‐sensitive potentiation of responses to U46619. Bradykinin (0.1 nM–30 µM), sodium nitroprusside (0.01 nM–3 µM), zaprinast (1 nM–3 µM), isoprenaline (0.1 nM–10 µM) and rolipram (1 nM–3 µM) produced 50% relaxation of arteries constricted with 5‐HT (1–3 µM) or U46619 (30–50 nM) in the presence of 5‐HT1Breceptor activation, but full relaxation of arteries constricted with U46619, the 5‐HT2Areceptor agonist 2,5 dimethoxy‐4 iodoamphetamine (1 µM) or 5‐HT in the presence of 5‐HT1Breceptor antagonism. Enhanced relaxation of 5‐HT‐constricted arteries by cGMP‐dependent pathways, seen in the presence of the 5‐HT1Breceptor antagonist, was reversed by charybdotoxin whereas cAMP‐dependent relaxation was only partly reversed by charybdotoxin.

Conclusions and implications: 5‐HT1Breceptors couple to inhibition of BKCa, thus increasing tissue sensitivity to contractile agonists by activating a T‐type VOCC and impairing cGMP‐mediated relaxation. Impaired cAMP‐mediated relaxation was only partly mediated by inhibition of BKCa.
Arachidonic acid release mediated by OX1 orexin receptors
Authors: Turunen Pauli M , Ekholm Marie E , Somerharju Pentti , Kukkonen Jyrki P
Published: December 2009

Background and purpose:  We have previously shown that lipid mediators, produced by phospholipase D and C, are generated in OX1 orexin receptor signalling with high potency, and presumably mediate some of the physiological responses to orexin. In this study, we investigated whether the ubiquitous phospholipase A2 (PLA2) signalling system is also involved in orexin receptor signalling.

Experimental approach:  Recombinant Chinese hamster ovary‐K1 cells, expressing human OX1 receptors, were used as a model system. Arachidonic acid (AA) release was measured from 3H‐AA‐labelled cells. Ca2+ signalling was assessed using single‐cell imaging.

Key results:  Orexins strongly stimulated [3H]‐AA release (maximally 4.4‐fold). Orexin‐A was somewhat more potent than orexin‐B (pEC50= 8.90 and 8.38 respectively). The concentration–response curves appeared biphasic. The release was fully inhibited by the potent cPLA2 and iPLA2 inhibitor, methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate, whereas the iPLA2 inhibitors, R‐ and S‐bromoenol lactone, caused only a partial inhibition. The response was also fully dependent on Ca2+ influx, and the inhibitor studies suggested involvement of the receptor‐operated influx pathway. The receptor‐operated pathway, on the other hand, was partially dependent on PLA2 activity. The extracellular signal‐regulated kinase, but not protein kinase C, were involved in the PLA2 activation at low orexin concentrations.

Conclusions and implications:  Activation of OX1 orexin receptors induced a strong, high‐potency AA release, possibly via multiple PLA2 species, and this response may be important for the receptor‐operated Ca2+ influx. The response coincided with other high‐potency lipid messenger responses, and may interact with these signals.
Innovation in the Treatment of Uremia: Proceedings from the Cleveland Clinic Workshop: Technical Approaches Toward Ambulatory ESRD Therapy
Authors: Leonard Edward F.
Published: December 2009

Current efforts to prolong dialysis and make it ambulatory may, but need not, follow the established countercurrent contact of blood and dialysate through a membrane. Avoiding anticoagulation and addressing decremented performance of membranes used over long times suggests gentler blood contact and greatly reduced contact areas. This paper describes a microfluidic fluid‐to‐fluid contact system, still under development, and suggests that initial attempts at ambulatory support of end‐stage renal disease patients may be limited to interdialytic volume control, perhaps with a reduced frequency of dialysis which would then be used only to remove accumulated solutes.
Innovation in the Treatment of Uremia: Proceedings from the Cleveland Clinic Workshop: Convective Therapies for Removal of Middle Molecular Weight Uremic Toxins in End‐Stage Renal Disease: A Review of the Evidence
Authors: Thomas George , Jaber Bertrand L.
Published: December 2009

The increasing number of patients requiring renal replacement therapy poses a challenge to maintain quality of care in the setting of limited resources. The commonly used modalities include hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and using a “urea‐centric” model to increase the clearance of small molecular weight uremic toxins beyond current guidelines does not appear to confer additional clinical benefits in terms of morbidity and mortality. Convective therapies including hemofiltration and hemodiafiltration, which also have higher middle molecule clearances, might offer significant benefits compared to diffusive therapy. We review the available evidence on convective therapies and their effects on middle molecular weight uremic toxins, particularly β2 microglobulin because of its known associated morbidity. It is the authors’ opinion that more emphasis should be placed on true uremic toxins such as β2 microglobulin rather than surrogate uremic toxins like urea. Larger studies are also needed to study the merits of convective therapies, with a focus on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
The History of Articulators: The “Articulator Wars” Phenomenon with Some Circumstances Leading up to It
Authors: Starcke Edgar N. , Engelmeier Robert L. , Belles Donald M.
Published: December 2009

At the dawn of the 20th century, all was not well with the practice of “plate prostheses.” Removable prosthodontics had been degrading for several decades and was now generally in low esteem, even though there had been many significant advances. W. E. Walker had introduced adjustable condylar guides, George Snow, the facebow, and Carl Christensen, a method for clinically measuring the condylar inclines. Nevertheless, the average practicing dentist was still using simple hinge articulators and was apathetic to the deplorable state of the artificial teeth available; however, this was all going to change dramatically when two dentists, Alfred Gysi and J. Leon Williams, working together between 1910 and 1914, presented to the profession the “Trubyte Artificial Tooth System” that embodied both a typal system for selecting anterior teeth and new posterior occlusal carvings that made possible, for the first time, the articulation of artificial teeth. This incited many of prosthetic dentistry's elite to introduce their own theories of mandibular movement and the articulators that they designed to reflect those theories. The intense debates that ensued, both in the meeting halls and in the literature, were numerous and lasted for decades. At the time, the “Articulator Wars” had both positive and negative consequences. Today, with many of the “Articulator Wars” issues remaining as part of the practice of dentistry, the “Articulator Wars” can be considered a phenomenon of enlightenment.
Pedagogy, Process, and Classroom Context: Integrating Teacher Voice and Experience Into Research on Technology‐Enhanced Language Learning
Authors: EGBERT JOY , HUFF LESLIE , MCNEIL LEVI , PREUSS CARA , SELLEN JOANNE
Published: December 2009

Computer‐assisted language learning (CALL) literature notes concerns with research in the field, and many of these concerns are similar to those noted for second language acquisition research in general. One fundamental problem is the general failure to address Garrett's (1991) assertion that research must consider classroom context. We believe that this can be done most usefully by including teachers’ voices, observations, and concerns. Many authors note the importance of teachers in the successful integration of technology into instruction. In other words, teachers play a vital role in determining the success of the CALL classrooms; for this reason alone, we must change the way we do research. In this article, we review CALL research on the acquisition of language skills published from 2000 to 2008 to demonstrate ongoing issues with study content and procedure. Based on these studies, we discuss how the inclusion of context—focusing specifically on teacher participation in or conduct of research—can impact both what we know and what we do. We conclude with ways to include missing elements of teacher voice and experience that can help us more completely answer important questions in our field.
Contemporary Native Artists and International Biennial Culture
Authors: ANTHES BILL
Published: December 2009

Ensconced throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s in institutions dedicated to Native art, in recent years Native artists and curators have turned their attention to the opportunities for global visibility afforded by international exhibitions and art fairs, with particular focus on the Venice Biennale. Formerly focused on issues specific to the history of settler colonialism in the United States and Canada—land, treaty rights, and sovereignty; citizenship and the legal fictions of identity and blood quantum—the work of Native artists in the 21st century has come to share much with the work of a current generation of “itinerant artists” active in the international art world. Taking recent Native participation in the Venice Biennale as a case study, this article considers the new global visibility of Native artists and the problematics of “going global” for Native artists, whose aesthetic authority has been figured as literally “grounded” specific local landscapes.
Effects of Poling Process on KNN‐Modified Piezoceramic Properties
Authors: Rubio‐Marcos F. , Romero Juan J. , Ochoa Diego A. , García Jose E. , Perez Rafael , Fernandez José F.
Published: December 2009

The influence of the orthorhombic to tetragonal phase transition near room temperature in the poling process of KNN‐modified piezoceramics was studied. Poling temperatures of 25° and 120°C were used. The percentage of 90° domains reorientation induced by poling was evaluated trough X‐ray diffraction analysis. The improvement of the piezoelectric properties when the poling temperature was 25°C could not be explained by the reorientation of 90° domains alone. Raman spectroscopy evidenced that the polarization process was assisted by the stabilization of orthorhombic phase, which promotes a stress reduction in the material.