bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chorioamnionitis: Important Risk Factor or Innocent Bystander for Neonatal Outcome?
Authors: Thomas Wolfgang , Speer Christian P.
Published: September 2010

Chorioamnionitis as a major risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth, especially at earlier gestational ages, contributes to prematurity-associated mortality and morbidity. A gestation-independent effect of chorioamnionitis on neonatal outcome is much more difficult to assess. The influence of chorioamnionitis on neonatal outcome has become less evident with advances in neonatal care. A short-term beneficial effect of histological, but not clinical chorioamnionitis on incidence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants is evident. This maturational effect is accompanied by a susceptibility of the lung for further postnatal injury, which predisposes for bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Chorioamnionitis is associated with cystic periventricular leukomalacia, intraventricular hemorrhage and cerebral palsy in preterm infants, but its association with noncystic white matter disease is not clear yet. Prenatal inflammation/infection has been shown a risk factor for neonatal sepsis. A single course of antenatal steroids can be regarded safe in clinical as well as histological chorioamnionitis.
Endogenous Control Genes in Prostate Cells: Evaluation of Gene Expression Using ‘Real-Time’ Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction
Authors: Nna Emmanuel , Tothill Ibtisam E. , Ludeman Linmarie , Bailey Tracey
Published: September 2010

Objective: Our aims were to measure the level of expression of Abelson (ABL1), β-glucuronidase (GUS) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) genes in exfoliated urine cells from healthy and transrectal ultrasound biopsy patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels and/or abnormal digital rectal examinations or urinary symptoms indicative of prostate problems, as well as in archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded prostate materials. Materialsand Methods: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) was used to evaluate the suitability of the 3 control genes, i.e. ABL1, GUS and G6PD, as control genes for prostate cancer cells. Exfoliated urine cells from 30 healthy males, 53 male patients, 138 cases of archived paraffin-embedded prostate tissues and 3 prostate cell lines were sampled. All cells were lysed in guanidine isothiocyanate buffer from which RNA was extracted and converted to cDNA by random hexamer priming. RQ-PCR was performed using TaqMan chemistries. Results: There was no significant difference in the level of expression for each of the 3 control genes in the cell lines. There was a significant difference in GUS transcript level between patients and healthy controls in both urine and prostate tissue sections (p < 0.05). G6PD transcript numbers also differed significantly from those of GUS in the prostate cell lines and tissue sections (p < 0.05). The transcript numbers of all the control genes were significantly reduced in aged samples (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The ABL1 gene was the most stable control gene in both clinical specimens and cell lines. Therefore, we recommend its use to enable standardization and interlaboratory comparisons for the RQ-PCR of prostatic tumour markers.
Predicting Nocturnal Hypoventilation in Hypercapnic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Undergoing Long-Term Oxygen Therapy
Authors: Tarrega Julia , Anton Antonio , Guell Rosa , Mayos Mercedes , Samolski Daniel , Marti Sergi , Farrero Eva , Prats Enric , Sanchis Joaquin
Published: September 2010

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are very sensitive to changes in pulmonary mechanics and central ventilation control during sleep and may develop significant gas exchange alterations with increased hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Oxygen therapy improves nocturnal desaturation but can worsen hypoventilation. Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of nocturnal hypoventilation (NHV) in hypercapnic COPD patients and to determine predictive factors for this phenomenon. Methods: This was a prospective multicenter study which enrolled 80 clinically stable COPD patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure who fulfilled the conventional criteria for long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). All patients had undergone pulmonary function testing, blood gas analysis, and respiratory polygraphy. Arterial blood gas samples were obtained while patients were awake and during sleep. NHV was considered when an increase in PaCO2 >10 mm Hg was observed in any nocturnal arterial blood gas sample as compared to the awake levels. Results: Seventeen patients (21%) developed NHV. NHV was associated with the values of BMI, hemoglobin, hematocrits, DLCO, and PaO2 reached after oxygen administration. In the logistic regression analysis BMI (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.068–1.481; p = 0.006) and the diurnal increase of PaO2 after O2 (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.807–0.972; p = 0.010) were the variables that best discriminated with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 78%. Conclusions: NHV is a relatively common finding in stable hypercapnic COPD patients undergoing LTOT and it is related to a higher BMI and lower PaO2 after oxygen administration.
Increased Total Scavenger Capacity and Decreased Liver Fat Content in Rats Fed Dehydroepiandrosterone and Its Sulphate on a High-Fat Diet
Authors: Magyar Zoltan , Bekesi Gabor , Racz Karoly , Feher Janos , Schaff Zsuzsa , Lengyel Gabriella , Blazovics Anna , Illyes Gyorgy , Szombath Dezso , Hrabak Andras , Szekacs Bela , Gergics Peter , Marczell Istvan , Dinya Elek , Rigo, Jr. Janos , Tulassay Zsolt
Published: September 2010

Background: Weak androgens have an antioxidant effect in vitro which is represented as a beneficial change in the antioxidant status. Objective: Our aim was to clarify whether dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEAS) oral administration results in beneficial antioxidant changes in Sprague-Dawley adult male rats in vivo. Methods: Groups of experimental animals were fed a high-fat or a normal-fat diet and treated with DHEA or DHEAS in the drinking fluid. The control group was fed a high-fat diet together with untreated drinking fluid. Total scavenger capacity (TSC) was measured before and after 4 weeks of treatment in blood samples using a chemiluminometric assay. Fat content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity in the liver were determined by Sudan staining and spectrophotometric assessments, respectively, from the fresh frozen tissue. Results: DHEA and the DHEAS treatment showed significantly increased TSC in the groups fed a high-fat diet. The control group and the DHEA- or DHEAS-treated groups on normal diets showed no significant changes in TSC. The total score of liver fat content in the high-fat diet groups showed a marked positivity with Sudan staining, and the groups treated with DHEA or DHEAS had a markedly decreased amount of fat in the liver slides compared to the untreated group on the high-fat diet. Liver SOD activity was decreased in all high-fat diet groups and elevated only in the groups on a normal diet with DHEA or DHEAS treatment. Liver catalase and GST activities were decreased in the groups where TSC was significantly increased. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that DHEA and DHEAS supplementation can improve the antioxidant status in lipid-rich dietary habits.
Pathophysiology of Tricuspid Regurgitation
Authors: Topilsky Yan , Tribouilloy Christophe , Michelena Hector I. , Pislaru Sorin , Mahoney Douglas W. , Enriquez-Sarano Maurice
Published: September 2010

Background—

Respiratory dependence of tricuspid regurgitation (TR), a long-held concept suggested by murmur variation, remains unproven and of unclear mechanisms.

Methods and Results—

In 41 patients with mild or greater TR (median age, 67 years), we performed triple Doppler echocardiographic quantification (TR severity, right ventricular, and right atrial quantification) with simultaneous respirometer recording of respiratory phases. Expiration to inspiration changes (median) affected TR peak velocity (−40 cm/s; 25th to 75th percentile, −60 to −30 cm/s), duration (−12 milliseconds; 25th to 75th percentile, −45 to 2 milliseconds), and time-velocity integral (−17 cm; 25th to 75th percentile, −23.4 to −10 cm; all
P
<0.001), consistent with decreased TR driving force. Nevertheless, inspiratory TR augmentation was demonstrated by increased effective regurgitant orifice (0.21 cm
2
; 25th to 75th percentile, 0.09 to 0.34 cm
2
) and volume (18 mL per beat; 25th to 75th percentile, 10 to 25 mL per beat; all
P
<0.001) infrequently detected clinically (2 of 41, 5). As a result of reduced TR driving force, regurgitant volume increased less than effective regurgitant orifice (120 [25th to 75th percentile, 78.6 to 169] versus 169 [ 25th to 75th percentile, 12.9 to 226.1];
P
<0.001). During inspiration, right ventricular area increased (diastolic, 27.8 [25th to 75th percentile, 22.6 to 36.3] versus 26.5 [21.1 to 31.9];
P
<0.0001) with widening of right ventricular shape (length-to-width ratio, 1.6 [ 25th to 75th percentile, 1.37 to 1.95] versus 1.7 [1.46 to 2.1];
P
<0.0001), increased systolic annular diameter (
P
=0.003), valve tenting height (
P
<0.0001) and area (
P
<0.0001), and reduced valvular-to-annular ratio (
P
=0.006). Effective regurgitant orifice during inspiration was independently determined by inspiratory valvular-to-annular ratio (
P
=0.026) and inspiratory change in right ventricular length-to-width ratio (
P
=0.008) and valve tenting area (
P
=0.015).

Conclusions—

TR is dynamic with almost universal respiratory changes of large magnitude and complex pathophysiology. During inspiration, a large increase in effective regurgitant orifice causes, despite a decline in regurgitant gradient, a notable increase in regurgitant volume. Effective regurgitant orifice changes are independently linked to inspiratory annular enlargement (decreased valvular coverage) and to inspiratory right ventricular shape widening with increased valvular tenting. These novel physiological insights into TR respiratory dependence underscore right-side heart plasticity and are important for clinical TR severity evaluation.
Hypertension and Cerebral Vasoreactivity
Authors: Hajjar Ihab , Zhao Peng , Alsop David , Novak Vera
Published: September 2010

Hypertension is associated with microvascular and macrovascular brain injury but its direct influence on the cerebral circulation is not fully clear. Our objective was to investigate the association of hypertension with global and regional cerebral vasoreactivity to CO
2
using continuous arterial spin labeling MRI, independent of stroke and white matter hyperintensities. Participants (n=62; mean age: 66.7±1.0 years, 55% women, 84% white, 65% hypertension, 47% stroke) underwent arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI during normal breathing, 5% CO
2
rebreathing, and hyperventilation, as well as 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Vasoreactivity was the slope of the regression between cerebral perfusion and end-tidal CO
2
. White matter hyperintensity volumes were quantified. Nighttime dipping was calculated as the percentage decline in nighttime/daytime blood pressure. After accounting for stroke and white matter hyperintensity volume, hypertensive participants had lower global vasoreactivity (1.11±0.13 versus 0.43±0.1 mL/100 g per minute per millimeter of mercury;
P
=0.0012). Regionally, this was significant in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. Higher mean systolic blood pressure was associated with lower vasoreactivity (decreased by 0.11 U/10-mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure;
P
=0.04), but nighttime dipping was not (
P
=0.2). The magnitude of decrease in vasoreactivity in hypertension without stroke was comparable to the magnitude of decrease in vasoreactivity in stroke without hypertension. Hypertension has a direct negative effect on the cerebrovascular circulation independent of white matter hyperintensities and stroke that is comparable to that seen with stroke. Because lower vasoreactivity is associated with poor outcomes, studies of the impact of antihypertensive on vasoreactivity are important.
A Simple Method to Retrieve Cloud Properties from Atmospheric Transmittance and Liquid Water Column Measurements
Authors: Matamoros Salvador , González Josep-Abel , Calbó Josep
Published: September 2010

A deeper knowledge of the effects and interactions of clouds in the climatic system requires developing both satellite and ground-based methods to assess their optical properties. A simple method based on a parameterized inversion of a radiative transfer model is proposed to estimate the optical depth of thick liquid water clouds from the atmospheric transmittance at 415 nm, solar zenith angle, surface albedo, effective droplet radius, and aerosol load. When concurrent measurements of atmospheric transmittance and liquid water path are available, the effective radius of the droplet size distribution can also be retrieved. The method is compared with a reference algorithm from Min and Harrison, which uses similar data, except aerosol load. When applied to measurements performed at the Southern Great Plains site of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, the mean bias deviation between the proposed method and the reference method is only −0.08 in units of optical depth, whereas the standard deviation is only 0.46. For the effective droplet radius estimations, the mean bias deviation is −0.13 μm, and the standard deviation is 0.14 μm. Maximum relative deviations are lower than 5% and 8% for cloud optical depth and effective radius, respectively. The effects on these retrievals of the assumed aerosol optical depth and surface albedo are also analyzed.
Changes in Extreme Climate Indices for the Northeastern United States, 1870–2005
Authors: Brown Paula J. , Bradley Raymond S. , Keimig Frank T.
Published: September 2010

The northeastern United States is one of the most variable climates in the world, and how climate extremes are changing is critical to populations, industries, and the environment in this region. A long-term (1870–2005) temperature and precipitation dataset was compiled for the northeastern United States to assess how the climate has changed. Adjustments were made to daily temperatures to account for changes in mean, variance, and skewness resulting from inhomogeneities, but precipitation data were not adjusted. Trends in 17 temperature and 10 precipitation indices at 40 stations were evaluated over three time periods—1893–2005, 1893–1950, and 1951–2005—and over 1870–2005 for a subset of longer-term stations. Temperature indices indicate strong warming with increases in the frequency of warm events (e.g., warm nights and warm summer days) and decreases in the frequency of cold events (e.g., ice days, frost days, and the cold spell duration indicator). The strongest warming is exhibited in the decrease in frost days and the increase in growing season length. Although maximum temperatures indices showed strong warming trends over the period 1893–1950, subsequent trends show little change and cooling. Few significant trends were present in the precipitation indices; however, they displayed a tendency toward wetter conditions. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis indicated that some of the variability in the 27 indices from 1951 to 2002 was explained by the North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific decadal oscillation, and Pacific–North American pattern. However, teleconnection patterns showed little influence on the 27 indices over a 103-yr period.
Structural Evolution in Heating Profiles of the MJO in Global Reanalyses and TRMM Retrievals
Authors: Ling Jian , Zhang Chidong
Published: September 2010

Diabatic and latent heating profiles from four global reanalyses and three Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) algorithms were compared: first generally for the tropics and then in the context of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Most of them exhibit three heating maxima corresponding to known convection centers over South America, Africa, and the Indian–western Pacific warm pool, but they still differ substantially in many ways. Most noticeably, a double-peak vertical structure with one peak in the upper and the other in the lower troposphere and relative weak heating over the Maritime Continent in comparison to heating over the Indian and western Pacific Oceans are clearly seen in some heating data but absent in others. Heating profiles associated with the MJO were diagnosed through composites and case studies. The composites were constructed as functions of MJO phases at three longitudes representing the Indian Ocean, Maritime Continent, and western Pacific, respectively. Four MJO events were chosen for the case studies, two over the Indian Ocean and two over the western Pacific. No consistent structural evolution of heating profiles through the life cycle of the MJO could be found either among different datasets in their composites at a given longitude and their case studies for a given individual MJO event or among different longitudes and MJO events within a given dataset. Nonetheless, the previously reported westward tilt in the heating field of the MJO, composed of low-level heating preceding deep heating in an active phase of the MJO and upper-level heating immediately following the active phase, is more likely to be observed over the western Pacific than other locations. The discrepancies among the datasets illustrate the infancy of estimating diabatic heating profiles from satellite observations and the need to improve the quality of the data assimilation products.
Assessing the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Mountain Snowpack in the St. Mary River Watershed, Montana
Authors: MacDonald Ryan J. , Byrne James M. , Kienzle Stefan W. , Larson Robert P.
Published: September 2010

The St. Mary River watershed is an important international watershed that supplies irrigation water to large portions of southern Alberta, Canada, and northern Montana. The St. Mary River is fully allocated and users on both sides of the border are concerned regarding declining water supplies and increasing water demands under climate warming. Water supply in the St. Mary River is largely from snowpack in the mountainous portion of the watershed. This work assesses potential future changes in snowpack for the St. Mary River watershed under a range of general circulation model (GCM) derived future climate scenarios. The Generate Earth Systems Science (GENESYS) input spatial hydrometeorological model is used to simulate potential changes in spring snowpack, the onset of melt, and changes in snow extent for three 30-yr periods centered around 2025, 2055, and 2085. Results suggest an earlier spring and associated earlier onset of snowmelt and probable declines in maximum annual snow water equivalent (SWE) over the St. Mary River watershed are likely under most future climate scenarios used in this study. However, results are responsive to future climate scenarios, where a scenario with substantial global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission controls shows a much lower decline in total accumulated SWE over the St. Mary River watershed. Without substantial GHG emission reductions, the study does show that there could be significant changes in snowpack over the St. Mary River watershed in the future.
Tropospheric Water Vapor Transport as Determined from Airborne Lidar Measurements
Authors: Schäfler Andreas , Dörnbrack Andreas , Kiemle Christoph , Rahm Stephan , Wirth Martin
Published: September 2010

The first collocated measurements during THORPEX (The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment) regional campaign in Europe in 2007 were performed by a novel four-wavelength differential absorption lidar and a scanning 2-μm Doppler wind lidar on board the research aircraft Falcon of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR). One mission that was characterized by exceptionally high data coverage (47% for the specific humidity q and 63% for the horizontal wind speed υh) was selected to calculate the advective transport of atmospheric moisture qυh along a 1600-km section in the warm sector of an extratropical cyclone. The observations are compared with special 1-hourly model data calculated by the ECMWF integrated forecast system. Along the cross section, the model underestimates the wind speed on average by −2.8% (−0.6 m s−1) and overestimates the moisture at dry layers and in the boundary layer, which results in a wet bias of 17.1% (0.2 g kg−1). Nevertheless, the ECMWF model reproduces quantitatively the horizontally averaged moisture transport in the warm sector. There, the superposition of high low-level humidity and the increasing wind velocities with height resulted in a deep tropospheric layer of enhanced water vapor transport qυh. The observed moisture transport is variable and possesses a maximum of qυh = 130 g kg−1 m s−1 in the lower troposphere. The pathways of the moisture transport from southwest via several branches of different geographical origin are identified by Lagrangian trajectories and by high values of the vertically averaged tropospheric moisture transport.
The Credible Brand Model: The Effects of Ideological Congruency and Customer-Based Brand Equity on News Credibility
Authors: Oyedeji Tayo A.
Published: September 2010

This study proposes and tests the credible brand model (CBM), which explicates the effects of customer-based brand equity and ideological congruency on audiences’ perceptions of the credibility of news media outlets and the believability of their messages. Data from a survey and an experiment probing respondents’ perceptions of two media outlets (CNN and Fox News Channel) were analyzed with structural equation modeling. The data showed strong support for the CBM.
The Journalist Behind the News: Credibility of Straight, Collaborative, Opinionated, and Blogged “News”
Authors: Meyer Hans K. , Marchionni Doreen , Thorson Esther
Published: September 2010

Technological advances of the 21st century are changing how people get news and what they expect from it. How a message is presented—as straight, opinionated, collaborative, or blog news—affects its credibility. This experiment suggests that the strongest predictor of article and organizational credibility online is the author’s perceived expertise, but in today’s digital age, that expertise is largely determined by the level of coorientation between the sender and receiver.
The role of social identity, appraisal, and emotion in determining responses to diversity management
Authors: Tran Veronique , Garcia-Prieto Patricia , Schneider Susan C
Published: September 2010

In this article, we address the question of why employees may resist or support any aspect of diversity management. More specifically, we propose a dynamic model that explains how and why specific social identities triggered by diversity management influence employees appraisals of diversity management, in turn eliciting specific emotions and specific behavioral responses such as resistance or support to various implementations of diversity management policies and practices. We rely on Intergroup Emotion Theory (IET) as the overarching theoretical framework, which draws from Social Identity Theory (SIT) and appraisal theories of emotion. The contribution of our model is to provide an additional lens to the diversity literature, moving from emotive reactions to diversity to emotional yet rational responses, which may be further understood via the iterative nature of the model. We discuss implications for future research.
“One of these curiously compounded works criticism stops at”: New Zealand’s First Novel and the Problems of Acclimatisation
Authors: Stafford Jane
Published: September 2010

This paper discusses New Zealand’s first novel Taranaki: A Tale of the War by Henry Butler Stoney, written in 1861, and ignored or dismissed by critics colonial, nationalist and postcolonial. Using the metaphor of acclimatisation, a popular endeavour in the nineteenth century, the paper considers the ways in which the introduced and alien novel form adapted or failed to adapt to the new context. The fictional status of Taranaki is supplemented by the author’s recourse to factual sources, and the fictional romance mode, such as that found in the novels of Sir Walter Scott, is used to effect at least a textual resolution of the unresolved and fractious war, albeit a resolution that excludes any consideration of Maori as actors or characters.
Moving Around, Moving Between: Mobility and “Home” in Caryl Phillips’s Strange Fruit
Authors: Mizoguchi Akiko
Published: September 2010

Caryl Phillips’s first play, Strange Fruit (1981), inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts ( Gangangere, 1881), shares its basic plot with Ghosts: the respectability of the late father, which the mother desperately wishes to maintain, is destroyed by a son’s homecoming. However, Strange Fruit, set in a black British household in the 1970s, is inevitably more focused on a complicated relationship between mobility and “home”, an urgent issue for a second generation of post-war British immigrants. Mobility is presented as a key factor in informing the main character’s sense of belonging. First, various kinds of mobility, from walking around a British city to movement between two countries (an unnamed Caribbean island and Britain), are represented as painfully deracinating for the characters. Taken together, these experiences work to erode the authenticity of concepts of “home”, whether defined in relation to family or to “homeland”, which each character “imagines” exists, variously, in Britain, the Caribbean island, or Africa. Secondly, a conflicting relationship between these already eroded notions of “home” generates a possibility of mobility itself becoming a space in which to dwell, an alternative to “home”. The article analyses ways in which mobility transforms characters’ (particularly the main character’s) ideas of “home” and, ultimately, contributes to a progressive though painfully fragmented sense of what Caryl Phillips later termed a “transatlantic identity”.
“The Guilty Ship”: Ruskin, Turner and Dabydeen
Authors: Frost Mark
Published: September 2010

This article examines critical responses to J. M. W. Turner’s Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying —Typhon Coming On (1840) and John Ruskin’s 1843 critique of the painting, in the years following the publication of David Dabydeen’s Turner (1994). The representation of drowning slaves in Turner’s painting and in Ruskin’s art criticism, has resulted in the emergence of something of a critical consensus in which both figures are seen either to neglect or take pleasure in the subject of slavery. The purpose of this article is to explore available evidence and to argue that insufficient attention has been paid to Turner’s painting, to his politics and to his purpose in Slavers; to Ruskin’s objectives in critiquing Turner; to distinctions between Ruskin’s imperialism and his position on slavery; and to his examination of Turner’s painting. In a corrective to recent critical assumptions, I suggest that in these instances claims made on these issues often rest on shaky foundations and that it is possible for more sustainable readings of Turner’s painting and Ruskin’s criticism to emerge.
Historical memory as a foundation for peace: Network formation and ethnic identity in North Mara, Tanzania
Authors: Bender Shetler Jan
Published: September 2010

While ethnic identity formulated by historical memory is often understood as the cause of violent conflict in Africa, this qualitative historical study of interethnic relations between Luo and Bantu-speaking communities on the borderlands of Tanzania and western Kenya demonstrates just the opposite. In fact, migration and violent conflicts over land in the late 19th century were the basis for oral traditions that established new microethnic identities. It was only in the colonial era that the modern macroethnicities of Luo and Suba (Bantu), as rigid oppositional identities, began to solidify around land disputes. Historical memory constructs these dynamic microethnic identities around interethnic reciprocal networks that were necessary for gaining security and access to land in the past. During these late 19th-century conflicts, interethnic alliances and marriages were the norm, resulting in many Bantu-speaking communities becoming Luo, to one degree or another. Historical memory, as the central tool for constructing ethnicity, can be used to promote either violence or peace, depending on how it is deployed. In western Kenya, an oppositional Luo identity resulted from the colonial construction of macroethnicity, while in North Mara, Tanzania, a different national narrative has resulted in relative peace. In his collection of oral traditions from North Mara, Zedekia Oloo Siso makes a case for these still salient microethnicities, based on regional networks that cross-cut ethnic boundaries, as the indigenous networks necessary for peace.
Structural estimation of economic sanctions
Authors: Whang Taehee
Published: September 2010

When are economic sanctions expected to succeed? Previous studies predict that sanctions will be more effective when the issue at stake is important, when the sender and target are allied, when the target’s domestic institutions are more democratic, and when the target’s economy is dependent on the sender’s. This article subjects these explanations to an empirical test using a new fully structural estimation that employs a game theoretic model as a statistical model. The initiation and outcomes of sanctions are incorporated with the strategic behaviors of sender and target states into a unified model. The model improves upon extant models by allowing the initial choice of the sender states to be multiple, not binary. This non-binary option enables the sender states to opt for the optimal intensity level of sanctions. Findings suggest that issue salience is positively associated with the decision to impose sanctions, but not necessarily with their effectiveness. Further, allied targets tend to comply even when they can win a sanctions contest, while non-allied targets tend to resist even when they know that on average the sender is likely to continue sanctioning in the face of resistance. Since sanctions imposed from 1903 to 2002 take place disproportionately between non-allied dyads, and thus belong to the category of sanctions most likely to fail, we can begin to understand why sanctions have such a low success rate.
Testing a Model of Durkheim’s Theory of Emotional Solidarity among Residents of a Tourism Community
Authors: Woosnam Kyle M.
Published: September 2010

The purpose of this study was to test the theoretical framework of emotional solidarity in seeking to better explain the dynamic, complex relationships existing between residents and tourists. Measurement and structural models pertaining to the framework were simultaneously estimated, both of which were deemed to have good model fit based on incremental and absolute model fit indices. Three antecedent constructs (i.e., shared beliefs, shared behavior, and interaction) were all found to be significant predictors of emotional solidarity, explaining approximately 33% of the variance in the construct. This work provides support for Durkheim’s theoretical framework and provides a gateway into future studies surrounding emotional solidarity.
Recovering Childhood: Play, Pedagogy, and the Rise of Psychological Knowledge in Contemporary Urban China
Authors: Naftali Orna
Published: September 2010

In the past few decades, China has witnessed the emergence of a psychological discourse of childhood.This new discourse portrays children as persons with unique emotional needs and seeks to redefine childhood as a time of play and relaxation rather than study or toil. Drawing on the results of ethnographic fieldwork in Shanghai’s schools and homes in 2004—2005, the present article describes the complex ways Shanghai’s teachers and parents engage with this normalizing, developmental discourse. It argues that the rise of a psychological discourse of childhood signals a shift in Chinese modes of governing school and family life, and in current conceptualizations of the child-as-citizen and the child-as-subject in postsocialist, urban China.
Prevalence of the Addictions: A Problem of the Majority or the Minority?
Authors: Sussman Steve , Lisha Nadra , Griffiths Mark
Published: September 2010

An increasing number of research studies over the last three decades suggest that a wide range of substance and process addictions may serve similar functions. The current article considers 11 such potential addictions (tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, eating, gambling, Internet, love, sex, exercise, work, and shopping), their prevalence, and co-occurrence, based on a systematic review of the literature. Data from 83 studies (each study n = at least 500 subjects) were presented and supplemented with small-scale data. Depending on which assumptions are made, overall 12-month prevalence of an addiction among U.S. adults varies from 15% to 61%. The authors assert that it is most plausible that 47% of the U.S. adult population suffers from maladaptive signs of an addictive disorder over a 12-month period and that it may be useful to think of addictions as due to problems of lifestyle as well as to person-level factors.
Foucault’s Care of the Self: A Case from Mental Health Work
Authors: Randall Julian , Munro Iain
Published: September 2010

This research concerns mental health workers who treat the victims of sexual abuse. The health workers were all part of a forum composed of doctors, counsellors and a community psychiatric nurse, who met to discuss issues of best practice in their everyday work. The research examined how these workers make sense of their work, particularly in terms of how they understand the concept of care and the kinds of knowledge that they use in their work, professional and otherwise. A great deal of scepticism was expressed concerning the traditional medical approaches to caring for the victims of abuse, and as a consequence these practitioners developed pragmatic and exploratory approaches to caring in order to help their clients. Many important similarities exist between the accounts given by the medical and voluntary practitioners of this forum and the insights of Michel Foucault’s genealogical studies of medicine, particularly his analysis of processes of normalization and his later work on the care of the self. This paper provides a re-evaluation of the concept of mental health care in terms of Foucault’s concept of ‘the care of the self’.
Mothers’ and Their Adult Daughters’ Perceptions of Their Relationship
Authors: Bojczyk Kathryn E. , Lehan Tara J. , McWey Lenore M. , Melson Gail F. , Kaufman Debra R.
Published: September 2010

This qualitative study explores mother—adult daughter relationships through in-depth, individual interviews with 24 adult daughters and their mothers ( N = 48). Using a life-course perspective, the authors examined the kinds of themes that emerged in each woman’s narrative and within each mother— daughter pair. Given the periods of adulthood under study, the authors expected and found themes reflecting complexity and ambivalence within the relationships. Themes related to intimacy and positive relationship qualities included generational continuity, closeness, emotional support, and family norms/values. Themes indicating autonomy and relationship difficulties— generational change, conflict, secrets, and maternal pressures—were also identified. Generational differences, as well as within-dyad divergence, were found most often in narratives about autonomy and relationship difficulties. The majority of mothers and daughters reevaluated their past relationship in light of their present ties. The place of narratives about adult family relationships in understanding the life course is emphasized.
Contesting Realms of Memory in Early Cold War France
Authors: Piette Adam
Published: September 2010

The article critiques Ricoeur’s theorizing of amnesty amnesia and political forms of memory through consideration of the Cold War commemoration and forgetting of the Nazi massacres at Tulle and Oradour.
Iconic Architecture and the Culture-ideology of Consumerism
Authors: Sklair Leslie
Published: September 2010

This article explores the theoretical and substantive connections between iconicity and consumerism in the field of contemporary iconic architecture within the framework of a critical theory of globalization. Iconicity in architecture is defined in terms of fame and special symbolic/aesthetic significance as applied to buildings, spaces and in some cases architects themselves. Iconic architecture is conceptualized as a hegemonic project of the transnational capitalist class. In the global era, I argue, iconic architecture strives to turn more or less all public space into consumerist space, not only in the obvious case of shopping malls but more generally in all cultural spaces, notably museums and sports complexes. The inspiration that iconic architecture has provided historically generally coexisted with repressive political and economic systems, and for change to happen an alternative form of non-capitalist globalization is necessary. Under such conditions truly inspiring iconic architecture, including existing architectural icons, may create genuinely democratic public spaces in which the culture-ideology of consumerism fades away. In this way, a built environment in which the full array of human talents can flourish may begin to emerge.
Perceived Risk of Cancer and Patient Reports of Participation in Decisions about Screening: The DECISIONS Study
Authors: Dillard Amanda J. , Couper Mick P. , Zikmund-Fisher Brian J.
Published: September 2010

Background

Health behavior theories suggest that high perceived risk for cancer will be associated with screening, but few studies have examined how perceived risk relates to the screening decision process.

Objective

To examine relationships between perceived risk of cancer and behaviors during decision making for 3 screening tests.

Design

Cross-sectional survey conducted between November 2006 and May 2007.

Setting

Nationwide random-digit dial telephone survey.

Participants

A total of 1729 English-speaking US adults aged 40 y and older who reported making a cancer screening decision (about breast, colon, or prostate tests) in the previous 2 y.

Measurements

Participants completed measures of perceived risk, information seeking, and shared decision-making tendencies.

Results

As perceived risk for cancer increased, patients were more likely to seek information about screening on their own (e.g., 35% of participants who perceived a high risk of cancer searched the Internet compared with 18% for those who perceived a low risk, P < 0.001) and in interactions with their physicians. As perceived risk increased, patients were also more likely to consult with more than 1 provider. Gender moderated the shared decision-making preference such that men with high perceived risks were more likely than women with high perceived risks to report they would have preferred more involvement in the decision (35% v. 9%, P = 0.001).

Limitations

Cross-sectional data limit causal inferences.

Conclusions

Higher perceived risk was associated with greater patient participation, as shown by more information seeking and greater desire for decisional involvement (moderated by gender). The results suggest that perceived risk of cancer could influence patient behavior when deciding about screening.
Patients’ Knowledge about 9 Common Health Conditions: The DECISIONS Survey
Authors: Fagerlin Angela , Sepucha Karen R. , Couper Mick P. , Levin Carrie A. , Singer Eleanor , Zikmund-Fisher Brian J.
Published: September 2010

Background

To make informed decisions, patients must have adequate knowledge of key decision-relevant facts.

Objective

To determine adults’ knowledge about information relevant to common types of medication, screening, or surgery decisions they recently made.

Setting

National sample of US adults identified by random-digit dialing.

Design

Cross-sectional survey conducted between November 2006 and May 2007.

Participants

A total of 2575 English-speaking adults aged 40 y or older who reported having discussed the following medical decisions with a health care provider within the previous 2 y: prescription medications for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or depression; screening tests for colorectal, breast, or prostate cancer; or surgeries for knee/hip replacement, cataracts, or lower back pain.

Measurements

Participants answered knowledge questions and rated the importance of their health care provider, family/friends, and the media as sources of information.

Results

Accuracy rates varied widely across questions and decision contexts. For example, patients considering cataract surgery were more likely to correctly estimate recovery time than those patients considering lower back pain or knee/hip replacement (78% v. 29% and 39%, P < 0.001). Similarly, participants were more knowledgeable of facts about colorectal cancer screening than those who were asked about breast or prostate cancer. Finally, respondents were consistently more knowledgeable on comparable questions about blood pressure medication than cholesterol medication or antidepressants. The impact of demographic characteristics and sources of information also varied substantially. For example, blacks had lower knowledge than whites about cancer screening decisions (odds ratio [OR] = 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.43, 0.75; P = 0.001) and medication (OR = 0.77; 95% CI = 0.60, 0.97; P = 0.03) even after we controlled for other demographic factors. The same was not true for surgical decisions.

Limitations

The questions did not measure all knowledge relevant to informed decision making, were subject to recall biases, and may have assessed numeracy more than knowledge.

Conclusions

Patient knowledge of key facts relevant to recently made medical decisions is often poor and varies systematically by decision type and patient characteristics. Improving patient knowledge about risks, benefits, and characteristics of medical procedures is essential to support informed decision making.
Application of an Artificial Neural Network to Predict Postinduction Hypotension During General Anesthesia
Authors: Lin Chao-Shun , Chang Chuen-Chau , Chiu Jainn-Shiun , Lee Yuan-Wen , Lin Jui-An , Mok Martin S. , Chiu Hung-Wen , Li Yu-Chuan
Published: September 2010

Background. Perioperative hypotension is associated with adverse outcomes in patients undergoing surgery. A computer-based model that integrates related factors and predicts the risk of hypotension would be helpful in clinical anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to develop artificial neural network (ANN) models to identify patients at high risk for postinduction hypotension during general anesthesia. Methods. Anesthesia records for March through November 2007 were reviewed, and 1017 records were analyzed. Eleven patient-related, 2 surgical, and 5 anesthetic variables were used to develop the ANN and logistic regression (LR) models. The quality of the models was evaluated by an external validation data set. Three clinicians were asked to make predictions of the same validation data set on a case-by-case basis. Results. The ANN model had an accuracy of 82.3%, sensitivity of 76.4%, and specificity of 85.6%. The accuracy of the LR model was 76.5%, the sensitivity was 74.5%, and specificity was 77.7%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the ANN and LR models was 0.893 and 0.840. The clinicians had the lowest predictive accuracy and sensitivity compared with the ANN and LR models. Conclusions. The ANN model developed in this study had good discrimination and calibration and would provide decision support to clinicians and increase vigilance for patients at high risk of postinduction hypotension during general anesthesia.
Deficits and Variations in Patients’ Experience with Making 9 Common Medical Decisions: The DECISIONS Survey
Authors: Zikmund-Fisher Brian J. , Couper Mick P. , Singer Eleanor , Ubel Peter A. , Ziniel Sonja , Fowler Floyd J. , Levin Carrie A. , Fagerlin Angela
Published: September 2010

Background

Although many researchers have examined patient involvement and patient-provider interactions within specific clinical environments, no nationally representative data exist to characterize patient perceptions of decision making and patient-provider communications across multiple common medical decisions.

Objective

To identify deficits and variations in the patient experience of making common medical decisions about initiation of prescription medications for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or depression; screening tests for colorectal, breast, or prostate cancer; and surgeries for knee or hip replacement, cataracts, or lower back pain, as well as to identify factors associated with patient confidence in the decisions.

Setting

National sample of US adults identified by random-digit dialing.

Design

Cross-sectional survey conducted from November 2006 to May 2007.

Participants

Included 2473 English-speaking adults age 40 and older who reported undertaking 1 or more of the above 9 medical actions or discussing doing so with a health care provider within the past 2 years.

Measurements

Patients reported who initiated discussions and made the final decisions, how much discussion of pros and cons occurred, whether they were asked about their preferences, and their confidence that the decision “was the right one.”

Results

The proportion of patient-driven decisions varied significantly across decisions (range: blood pressure: 16% to knee/hip replacement: 48%). Most patients (78%–85%) reported that providers made a recommendation, and such recommendations generally favored taking medical action. Fewer patients reported that providers asked them about their preferences (range: colon cancer screening: 34% to knee/hip replacement: 80%) or discussed reasons not to take action (range: breast cancer screening: 20% to lower back surgery: 80%). Decision confidence was higher among patients who reported primarily making the decision themselves (odds ratio [OR] = 14.6, P < 0.001) or having been asked for their preference (OR = 1.32, P < 0.01) and was lower among patients whose patient provider discussions included cons (OR = 0.74, P = 0.008).

Limitations

Recall biases may affect patients’ memories of their decision-making processes.

Conclusions

Decisions participants reported wide variations in the proportion of discussions that included a conversation about reasons not to take action or a conversation about patients’ preferences about what they would like to do. These factors appear directly related to patients’ confidence that the decision was “right.”
The Determination of the “Monetary Expression of Labor Time” (“MELT”) in the Case of Non-Commodity Money
Authors: Moseley Fred
Published: September 2010

This paper suggests a way to determine the “monetary expression of labor” (the “MELT”) in today’s regime of inconvertible credit money, a way that is consistent with Marx’s general theory of money and is quantitatively the same as Marx’s determination of the MELT in the case of the inconvertible fiat money of his time. In order to explain this method of determination of the MELT in the case of modern inconvertible credit money, the paper first reviews Marx’s determination of the MELT in the case of commodity money and in the case of the inconvertible fiat money of his time. The final section of the paper discusses the similarities and the differences between my interpretation and Saros’s (2007) interpretation of the MELT in the case of inconvertible fiat money.

JEL classification: B51, E11