bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Commitment to Science
Authors: Box Steven , Ford Julienne
Published: June 2005

In this paper it is suggested that a sociological explanation of the process of differential professional socialization among working class chemistry students can be derived from an application of the theory of marginality. The working class university student is in a structural situation of marginality, but his unique experience of this situation and subsequent response to it will be mediated by three sets of variables. Factors pertaining to his past experience, present environment, and expectations about the future are all relevant to an understanding of the nature of his marginality.

Where the experience of marginality takes the form of an acute identity crisis a solution may be found in the total embracement of one role. We suggest that of the roles available to the science student that of the dedicated scientist offers one of the most attractive identities. Data is presented which provides some support for the suggestion that embracement of this role, in the form of commitment to science, may be viewed as a solution to a marginality crisis for some upwardly mobile students.
Immigrants and Residence
Authors: Collison Peter
Published: June 2005

Measures are provided for Oxford of the residential segregation of various groups defined by birthplace. West Indians are shown to be the most segregated and the most dissimilar in area of residence to the Natives. Overall, however, it is suggested that the society has proved very open in the matter of residence and will tend even more in this direction if and when immigrants obtain access to council housing. `Foreign' groups as a whole seem advantageously placed in area of residence compared with the Natives, and Indians in particular are a privileged group in this matter. The data for Oxford is seen against other material for the English Conurbations.
Measurement in Sociology: I. Measurement Systems
Authors: Abell Peter
Published: June 2005

The paper develops systematically the theory of `structural' and `pure' measurement systems falling below the interval and ratio levels. Pure measurement, it is argued, concerns the properties of objects and structural measurement the relationships between objects. The exposition provides the ground-work for a forthcoming second paper on measurement and the structure of sociological theory.
Professionalization in Britain: A Preliminary Measurement
Authors: Hickson D. J. , Thomas M. W.
Published: June 2005

An attempt to construct a measure of differences among occupations in degrees of professionalization was prompted by the literature on the process of professionalization. Data were obtained on a sample of 43 `qualifying associations'; so that, in effect, the study is limited to those occupations sufficiently professionalized to have an association which aims to examine individuals wishing to practise. The data were subjected to a cumulative scaling procedure which gave a mean scale value of 0.73. This suggests that there is a substantial unitary variable within the concept of professionalization as it is usually defined. Within the limits of the data and sample, the items linked by the scale may be held to denote the characteristics of a profession. The professionalization scores of qualifying associations in various fields of work are examined. A positive correlation with the age of the association is found.
Graph Theory and Social Networks: A Technical Comment on Connectedness and Connectivity
Authors: Barnes J. A.
Published: June 2005

Concepts taken from graph theory and other branches of topology have been used by many sociologists and social psychologists, in particular Kurt Lewin and J. L. Moreno. Similar ideas have been used to construct statistical models of nervous systems, and these have been applied by J. S. Coleman and others to the spread of information and other social phenomena. The study of social networks by anthropologists has been based, knowingly or unknowingly, on the basic notions of graph theory, as has the identification and analysis of social cliques. There is little consensus among mathematicians about terminology, and social scientists have drawn fortuitously on various mathematical vocabularies as well as inventing their own technical terms. Applied to social networks, the words `connectedness' and `connectivity' may refer to properties of the distance between persons, the number of paths between them, whether there is a path at all, or the proportion of possible paths actually in existence. These different usages are contrasted by restating them all in the terminology set out in Structural models (1965) by Harary, Norman and Cartwright.
Management Structure and Computerization
Authors: Hebden J. E. , Rose M. J. , Scott W. H.
Published: June 2005

This is a first report on a long-term project concerned with the managerial implications of the development of advanced computer systems, for administrative purposes, in manufacturing firms. In this pilot stage, the management systems of two large firms—one in electrical components, the other in chemicals—were studied. The attitudes and behaviour of managers towards various aspects of computerization were analysed, and related to the structural characteristics of the two management groups. In respect of the latter, the guide-lines were the cosmopolitan/local continuum of A. W. Gouldner, and the organismic/mechanistic typology of T. Burns and G. M. Stalker. The data suggest that at least certain important components of both the cosmopolitan and organismic concepts are related to positive attitudes to computerization.
The Management of Knowledge: A Critique of the Use of Typologies in Educational Sociology
Authors: Davies Ioan
Published: June 2005

This paper begins by examining the typology of educational systems outlined by Earl Hopper in Sociology (vol. 2, no. 1, 1968) and argues against the attempt to reduce the comparative study of education to varieties of occupational selection. On the other hand, accepting that a central part of the sociology of education must be with ideology and the generation and transmission of learning, it outlines a framework for examining this in Britain.
Sectarian Characteristics of Alcoholics Anonymous
Authors: Jones Robert Kenneth
Published: June 2005

The practice of drawing too sharp a line between transcendental and non-transcendental belief systems is to be criticized, for there is often an overlap between them. Alcoholics Anonymous displays sectarian characteristics in its internal structure and behaviour. From available information on the development of Alcoholics Anonymous an appreciable level of religious commitment among members might be expected, but a study of groups on Merseyside did not find this. Many members felt the tone of A.A. to be too religious. Previous studies concerned with religious affiliation and alcohol consumption suggest a relationship between the two. A characteristic shared by such movements as sects and Alcoholics Anonymous is the high degree of involvement exhibited by their members. The underlying common structure of apparently dissimilar movements deserves further examination which it is hoped will throw light on sect structure and secular value-oriented organizations.
Publishing Managers, Publishing House Organization and Role Conflict
Authors: Lane Michael
Published: June 2005

This paper examines the role situation of managers in book-publishing houses, and in particular the conflicts that different definitions of culture tend to generate. It sees the pattern of authority as tending to exacerbate conflicts by eliminating common strategies of conflict management and reduction. It further considers the general problem created by attempts to impose norms of moral commitment where the ideal is defined by others.
Sociologists and Secularization
Authors: Robertson Roland
Published: June 2005

Controversy about the process of secularization has consituted the centrepiece of the sociology of religion in recent years. It is argued that this controversy is a particularly important and illuminating site upon which the redirection of the sociological enterprise is being wrought. The major sections of the paper are concerned with the explication of the terms in which the secularization controversy has developed among sociologists and sociologically-inclined theologians. Various relationships between sociological and religious perspectives are explored, the discussion of these being linked in the concluding section with the development of critical sociology and the sociology of the possible.
The Significance and Interpretation of Replies to Motivational Questions: The Case of Sex Offenders
Authors: Taylor Laurie
Published: June 2005

This paper examines in brief the relative significance which has been attached by social scientists to motivational accounts. Particular emphasis is placed upon the early work by C. Wright Mills and the attenuation of his theoretical statement is traced through to contemporary interactionist perspectives. An empirical study is reported which considers two elements in motivational theory: (a) the range of available motives for a particular type of deviancy—in this case sexual deviancy, (b) the relative acceptability of the available motives to powerful others—in this case magistrates. The results are discussed in terms of the significance for the actor of being effectively deprived of the opportunity to describe his behaviour in other than a deterministic vocabulary of motives.
Divorce and Legal Aid: A False Hypothesis
Authors: Chester Robert
Published: June 2005

This paper examines the proposition advanced by some commentators that divorce petitioning in England and Wales fluctuates in accordance with the changing real value of legal aid. Direct evidence, from divorce figures and details of legal aid provision, is examined and shown not to fit the hypothesis. Indirect evidence drawn from Magistrates' Court proceedings and income provision by the National Assistance Board also fails to support the proposition. It is concluded that the proposition is false, and that increased divorce petitioning reflects more fundamental social changes than amendments to legal aid provision.
The Twenty-Four Steps: An Analysis of Institutional Admission Procedures
Authors: Jones Kathleen
Published: June 2005

Goffman's thesis that admission to mental hospitals, prisons and other social establishments is essentially a process of role dispossession, involving incidents of a mortifying or punitive kind, is critically examined in the light of recent empirical work. Three hypothetical cases are broken down in detail, and it is argued that, while the actual events differ, there is a central unity of process.
Social-Ecological Constraints on Children's Communicative Strategies
Authors: Cook-Gumperz Jenny , Corsaro William A.
Published: June 2005

This paper focuses on how the socio-ecological environment provides specific socially-defined opportunities for interaction and talk. The socially defined character of the different areas of a nursery school are seen as the generated product of both the conventionalised expectations, and the accustomed, practiced expectations which are the product of pathways of usage and performance specifics which arise from the habitual usages of certain areas. These two kinds of expectations are responsible for the communicative activities and strategies of the children in different areas. In this way the notion of context is broadened and given a sociological significance which it lacks in psycholinguistic studies of childrens' language. Such a study of language in action is concerned not with the linguist's notion of meaning, but with language as a social performance of situated meaning and the negotiated understandings that arise from this. In the analysis of sample conversations we explore how through peer play children generate a social order which differs from adult conceptions. The conversations taken from interaction in three differently identified areas of the nursery, indicate that children have different sociolinguistic conventions from adults and that their play activities generate their own interactive realizations.
The Participatory Dimension of Trade Union Democracy: A Comparative Sociological View
Authors: Ramaswamy E. A.
Published: June 2005

Political scientists and sociologists trying to understand union politics have concentrated on formal constitutional provisions, elections, officer turnover, and the existence of structured groups within the unions as indicators of trade union democracy. A consequence of this approach has been the emergence of theories which have little wider applicability beyond the empirical situation to which they are tailored. While most scholars have assumed that membership participation is essential to democratic union organization, they have failed to develop a theory based explicitly on this. This paper, drawing from material on trade unions in South India, suggests that a theory of trade union democracy based on membership participation in union affairs offers promise of a comparative approach.
The Sociology of Health and Illness: Its Present State, Future Prospects and Potential for Health Research
Authors: Stacey Margaret , Homans Hilary
Published: June 2005

This paper describes the origins and development of the sociology of health and illness in Britain and shows that these were rooted in practical concerns, rather than deriving from sociological theory or general sociology. Medical practitioners and researchers, health administrators, patients and the feminist movement have been influences encouraging sociologists to turn their attention to health and illness. The present state of the subdiscipline is one of great activity, but little theoretical or methodological unity. The contribution to the subject of Parsons, Freidson and Mechanic, the marxists, the British post-Fabians, empiricists and phenomenologists are discussed, as is the contribution of the subdiscipline to health and health policy research. In considering the future of the subject, a sociology of health and illness rather than of medicine is proposed and the inevitable moral and political implications of sociological activity in this area are exposed. The need to face the implications of suffering for social relations in health care and the tendency to ignore these is discussed. The wide-ranging importance of the sociology of health and illness to general sociology is stressed and its potential contribution to health and health policy assessed
CXCL13 is an arrest chemokine for B cells in high endothelial venules
Authors: Kanemitsu Naotoshi , Ebisuno Yukihiko , Tanaka Toshiyuki , Otani Kazuhiro , Hayasaka Haruko , Kaisho Tsuneyasu , Akira Shizuo , Katagiri Koko , Kinashi Tatsuo , Fujita Naoya , Tsuruo Takashi , Miyasaka Masayuki
Published: June 2005

Chemokine receptor signaling is critical for lymphocyte trafficking across high endothelial venules (HEVs), but the exact mode of action of individual chemokines expressed in the HEVs is unclear. Here we report that CXCL13, expressed in a substantial proportion of HEVs in both lymph nodes (LNs) and Peyer patches (PPs), serves as an arrest chemokine for B cells. Whole-mount analysis of mesenteric LNs (MLNs) showed that, unlike T cells, B cellsa dhere poorly to the HEVs of CXCL13–/– mice and that B-cell adhesion is substantially restored in CXCL13–/– HEVs when CXCL13 is added to the MLNs by superfusion, as we have previously observed in PP HEVs by intravital microscopy. In vitro, CXCL13 activated the small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rap1 in B cells, and corroborating this observation, a deficiency of RAPL, the Rap1 effector molecule, caused a significant reduction in shear-resistant B-cell adhesion to intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1). In addition, CXCL13 induced B-cell adhesion to mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) by activating α4 integrin. These data identify CXCL13 as an arrest chemokine for B cells in HEVs and show that CXCL13 plays an important role in B-cell entry into not only PPs but also MLNs.
transAlign: using amino acids to facilitate the multiple alignment of protein-coding DNA sequences
Authors: Bininda-Emonds Olaf RP
Published: June 2005

Background

Alignments of homologous DNA sequences are crucial for comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis. However, multiple alignment represents a computationally difficult problem. For protein-coding DNA sequences, it is more advantageous in terms of both speed and accuracy to align the amino-acid sequences specified by the DNA sequences rather than the DNA sequences themselves. Many implementations making use of this concept of "translated alignments" are incomplete in the sense that they require the user to manually translate the DNA sequences and to perform the amino-acid alignment. As such, they are not well suited to large-scale automated alignments of large and/or numerous DNA data sets.

Results

transAlign is an open-source Perl script that aligns protein-coding DNA sequences via their amino-acid translations to take advantage of the superior multiple-alignment capabilities and speed of an amino-acid alignment. It operates by translating each DNA sequence into its corresponding amino-acid sequence, passing the entire matrix to ClustalW for alignment, and then back-translating the resulting amino-acid alignment to derive the aligned DNA sequences. In the translation step, transAlign determines the optimal orientation and reading frame for each DNA sequence according to the desired genetic code. It also checks for apparent frame shifts in the DNA sequences and can handle frame-shifted sequences in one of three ways (delete, align as amino acids regardless, or profile align as DNA). As a set of comparative benchmarks derived from six protein-coding genes for mammals shows, the strategy implemented in transAlign always improves the speed and usually the apparent accuracy of the alignment of protein-coding DNA sequences.

Conclusion

transAlign represents one of few full and cross-platform implementations of the concept of translated alignments. Both the advantages accruing from performing a translated alignment and the suite of user-definable options available in the program mean that transAlign is ideally suited for large-scale automated alignments of very large and/or very numerous protein-coding DNA data sets. However, the good performance offered by the program also translates to the alignment of any set of protein-coding sequences. transAlign, including the source code, is freely available at http://www.tierzucht.tum.de/Bininda-Emonds/ (under "Programs").
FGF10/FGFR2b signaling plays essential roles during in vivo embryonic submandibular salivary gland morphogenesis
Authors: Jaskoll Tina , Abichaker George , Witcher Daniel , Sala Frederic G , Bellusci Saverio , Hajihosseini Mohammad K , Melnick Michael
Published: June 2005

Background

Analyses ofFgf10andFgfr2bmutant mice, as well as human studies, suggest that FGF10/FGFR2b signaling may play an essential, nonredundant role during embryonic SMG development. To address this question, we have analyzed the SMG phenotype inFgf10andFgfr2bheterozygous and null mutant mice. In addition, although previous studies suggest that the FGF10/FGFR2b and FGF8/FGFR2c signaling pathways are functionally interrelated, little is known about the functional relationship between these two pathways during SMG development. We have designedin vivoandin vitroexperiments to address this question.

Results

We analyzedFgf10andFgfr2bheterozygous mutant and null mice and demonstrate dose-dependent SMG phenotypic differences. Hypoplastic SMGs are seen inFgf10andFgfr2bheterozygotes whereas SMG aplasia is seen inFgf10andFgfr2bnull embryos. Complementaryin vitrostudies further indicate that FGF10/FGFR2b signaling regulates SMG epithelial branching and cell proliferation. To delineate the functional relationship between the FGF10/FGFR2b and FGF8/FGFR2c pathways, we compared the SMG phenotype inFgfr2c+/Δ/Fgf10+/-double heterozygous mice to that seen in wildtype,Fgf10+/-(Fgfr2c+/+/Fgf10+/-) andFgfr2c+/Δ(Fgfr2c+/Δ/Fgf10+/+) single heterozygous mutant littermates and demonstrate genotype-specific SMG phenotypes. In addition, exogenous FGF8 was able to rescue the abnormal SMG phenotype associated with abrogated FGFR2b signalingin vitroand restore branching to normal levels.

Conclusion

Our data indicates that FGF10/FGFR2b signaling is essential for the SMG epithelial branching and histodifferentiation, but not earliest initial bud formation. The functional presence of other endogenous signaling pathways could not prevent complete death of embryonic SMG cells inFgf10andFgfr2bnull mice. Though we were able to rescue the abnormal phenotype associated with reducedin vitroFGF10/FGFR2b signaling with exogenous FGF8 supplementation, our results indicate that the FGF10/FGFR2b and FGF8/FGFR2c are nonredundant signaling pathways essential forin vivoembryonic SMG development. What remains to be determined is thein vivofunctional relationship between the FGF10/FGFR2b signal transduction pathway and other key signaling pathways, and how these pathways are integrated during embryonic SMG development to compose the functional epigenome.
E-cadherin and β-catenin expression in early stage cervical carcinoma: a tissue microarray study of 147 cases
Authors: Fadare Oluwole , Reddy Harini , Wang Jun , Hileeto Denise , Schwartz Peter E , Zheng Wenxin
Published: June 2005

Background

The disruption of intercellular adhesions is an important component of the acquisition of invasive properties in epithelial malignancies. Alterations in the cell-cell adhesion complex, E-Cadherin/β-Catenin, have been implicated in the oncogenesis of carcinomas arising from various anatomic sites and have been correlated with adverse clinico-pathologic parameters. In this study, the authors investigated the immunohistochemical expression of E-Cadherin and β-Catenin in a cohort of early stage cervical cancers to determine its prognostic significance and to investigate differences between the three major histological subtypes.

Patients and methods

A tissue microarray of 147 cases of FIGO stage 1A and 1B cervical carcinomas [96 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), 35 adenocarcinomas (AC), 12 adenosquamous carcinomas (ASQ), 4 miscellaneous types] was constructed from our archived surgical pathology files and stained with monoclonal antibodies to E-Cadherin and β-Catenin. Cases were scored by multiplying the intensity of staining (1 to 3 scale) by the percentage of cells stained (0–100%) for a potential maximum score of 300. For both markers, "preserved" expression was defined as bright membranous staining with a score of 200 or above. "Impaired" expression included any of the following: negative staining, a score less than 200, or exclusively cytoplasmic or nuclear delocalization.

Results

Impaired expression of β-Catenin was found in 85.7%, 66.7%, & 58.3% of AC, SCC & ASQ respectively. Impaired expression of E-Cadherin was found in 94.3%, 86.5% & 100% of cases of AC, SCC, & ASQ respectively. The differences between the histologic subtypes were not significant. For the whole cohort, a comparsion of cases showing impaired versus preserved of E-Cadherin and β-Catenin expression showed no significant differences with respect to recurrence free survival, overall survival, patient age, histologic grade, and frequency of lymphovascular invasion or lymph node involvement. There was no correlation between the status of both markers for all three histological subtypes (overall spearman correlation co-efficient r = 0.12, p = 0.14)

Conclusion

Impairment of E-Cadherin and β-Catenin expression is very frequent in early stage cervical cancers, and alterations in the E-Cadherin/β-Catenin cell adhesion complex are therefore likely involved in the pathogenesis of cervical carcinomas even at their earliest stages. None of the three major histological subtypes of cervical carcinoma (SCC, ADCA, ADSQ) is significantly more likely than the others to show impairment in E-Cadherin and β-Catenin expression. Overall, the expression of both markers does not significantly correlate with clinico-pathological parameters of prognostic significance.
Germ cells and fatty acids induce translocation of CD36 scavenger receptor to the plasma membrane of Sertoli cells
Authors: Gillot Isabelle , Jehl-Pietri Chantal , Gounon Pierre , Luquet Serge , Rassoulzadegan Minoo , Grimaldi Paul , Vidal Frédérique
Published: June 2005

The CD36 scavenger receptor is involved in the uptake and transport of fatty acids, as well as the phagocytosis process in macrophages. We show here that the CD36 protein is expressed by Sertoli cells in the seminiferous epithelium, mainly during the stages where phagocytosis takes place. Using a Sertoli-derived cell line, we show that addition of germ cells and residual bodies triggers a re-localization of CD36 from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane of the cells, while latex beads do not. Moreover, Sertoli cell phagocytosis of germ cells, but not of latex beads, is reduced by the presence of fatty acids in the culture medium. In the testis, CD36 plays a key role in both phagocytosis and lipid recycling, for constant production of mature spermatozoa.
Accuracy of finger-tip palpated tracheostomy tube cuff pressure readings among otolaryngologists
Authors: Gopalan Pushkas , Browning Simon T
Published: June 2005

The tracheal mucosa is very a delicate structure, and pressure–ischaemia problems following the use of cuffed tracheostomy tubes are well documented. Iatrogenic tracheal stenosis is one of the consequences of mucosal ischaemia and is very difficult to treat. In this study the accuracy of finger-tip tested tracheostomy tube cuff inflation pressure, as judged by consultants and non-consultants, was assessed by comparison with manometric pressure readings. The estimated pressure readings from the consultant group were more accurate than those from the non-consultant group, but a high standard deviation and very big difference between low and high readings in both these groups showed the real extent of the problem. Participants who performed 10 or more tracheostomies a year obtained more accurate results. No definite correlation was observed between the readings and the experience of the participants in otolaryngology or the size of the tube used. The authors recommend that instrumental monitoring of cuff pressure be considered good practice among junior otolaryngologists.
Combined Heermann and Tos (CHAT) technique in cholesteatoma surgery: surgical technique and preliminary results
Authors: Uzun Cem , Yagiz Recep , Tas Abdullah , Adali Mustafa K , Koten Muhsin , Karasalihoglu Ahmet R
Published: June 2005

The combined Heermann and Tos (CHAT) technique is the combination of Heermann’s ’cartilage palisade tympanoplasty’ and Tos’s ’modified combined approach tympanoplasty = modified intact canal wall mastoidectomy’. The first author (Cem Uzun) performed the CHAT technique as a one-stage operation in 15 ears of 15 patients with cholesteatoma. Two patients (one with a follow up of less than six months and one who did not show up at the final re-evaluation) were excluded from the study. Median age in the remaining 13 patients was 37 years (range: 14–57 years). Cholesteatoma type was attic, sinus (Tos tensa type 1) and tensa retraction (Tos tensa type 2) in six, five and two ears, respectively. Cholesteatoma stage was Saleh and Mills stage 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in one, three, four, four and one ear, respectively. The eustachian tube was not involved with cholesteatoma in any ear. After drilling of the superoposterior bony annulus, transcanal atticotomy with preservation of thin bridge and cortical mastoidectomy with intact canal wall, the cholesteatoma was removed, and the eardrum and atticotomy were reconstructed with palisades of auricular cartilage. Type I tympanoplasty was performed in two ears, type II in nine ears and type III (stapes absent) in two ears, with either autologous incus (eight cases), cortical bone (two) or auricular cartilage (one). No complication occurred before, during or after surgery. Oto-microscopy and audiometry were done before and at a median of 13 months after surgery (mean 14 months, range 7–30 months). There was no sign of residual or recurrent cholesteatoma in any patient during the follow-up period. At the final examination, all ears were dry and had an intact eardrum except one with a small, central hole, which had been seen since the early post-operative period. Clean and stable attic retraction with a wide access was observed in two ears. Post-operative hearing at the final evaluation was better (change > 10 dB) than the pre-operative one in nine ears and did not change in the remaining four. Pre- and post-operative mean hearing values were, pure-tone average 47 and 35 dB (p = 0.01) and air-bone gap 30 and 20 dB (p = 0.02), respectively. With the CHAT technique, cholesteatoma can be completely and safely removed from the middle ear, and a durable and resistant reconstruction of the middle ear with reasonable hearing can be achieved. However, a further study should analyse long-term results of a larger patient group.
Results after 24 years of prophylactic surgery for rheumatoid atlantoaxial subluxation
Authors: Tanaka N. , Sakahashi H. , Hirose K. , Ishima T. , Takahashi H. , Ishii S.
Published: June 2005

We evaluated the use of surgical stabilisation for atlantoaxial subluxation after a follow-up of 24 years in 50 rheumatoid patients who had some degree of pain but no major neurological deficit.

The mortality of patients treated by atlantoaxial fusion was significantly lower than for those who received conservative treatment. The deaths resulted from infection or comorbid conditions. The significantly high relative risks of mortality from conservative treatment compared with surgical treatment were mutilating disease and susceptible factors on both of the HLA-DRB1 alleles. Relief from pain and neurological and functional recovery were better, and the radiological degree of atlantoaxial translocation was less in those who were surgically treated compared with those who were not. Two patients had superficial local infections after surgery. We conclude that prophylactic atlantoaxial fusion is better than conservative treatment in these patients.
Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of club foot
Authors: Bar-On E. , Mashiach R. , Inbar O. , Weigl D. , Katz K. , Meizner I.
Published: June 2005

Club foot was diagnosed by ultrasonography in 91 feet (52 fetuses) at a mean gestational age of 22.1 weeks (14 to 35.6). Outcome was obtained by chart review in 26 women or telephone interview in 26. Feet were classified as normal, positional deformity, isolated club foot or complex club foot.

At initial diagnosis, 69 feet (40 fetuses) were classified as isolated club foot and 22 feet (12 fetuses) as complex club foot. The diagnosis was changed after follow-up ultrasound scan in 13 fetuses (25%), and the final ultrasound diagnosis was normal in one fetus, isolated club foot in 31 fetuses, and complex club foot in 20 fetuses.

At birth, club foot was found in 79 feet in 43 infants for a positive predictive value of 83%. Accuracy of the specific diagnosis of isolated club foot or complex club foot was lower; 63% at the initial ultrasound scan and 73% at the final scan. The difference in diagnostic accuracy between isolated and complex club foot was not statistically significant. In no case was postnatal complex club foot undiagnosed on fetal ultrasound and all inaccuracies were overdiagnoses. Karyotyping was performed in 25 cases. Abnormalities were noted in three fetuses, all with complex club foot and with additional findings on ultrasound.
Health-related quality of life in patients before and after surgery for a herniated lumbar disc
Authors: Jansson K.-å. , Németh G. , Granath F. , Jönsson B. , Blomqvist P.
Published: June 2005

We investigated the pre-operative and one-year post-operative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcome by using a Euroqol (EQ-5D) questionnaire in 263 patients who had undergone surgery for herniation of a lumbar disc. Data from the National Swedish Register for lumbar spinal surgery between 2001 and 2002 were used and, in addition, a comparison between our cohort and a Swedish EQ-5D population survey was performed. We analysed the pre- and post-operative quality of life data, age, gender, smoking habits, pain and walking capacity.

The mean age of the patients was 42 years (20 to 66); 155 (59%) were men and 69 (26%) smoked. Pre-operatively, 72 (17%) could walk at least 1 km compared with 200 (76%) postoperatively.

The mean EQ-5D score improved from 0.29 to 0.70, and the HRQOL improved in 195 (74%) of the patients. The pre-operative score did not influence the post-operative score. In most patients, all five EQ-5D dimensions improved, but did not reach the level reported by an age- and gender-matched population sample (mean difference 0.17). Predictors for poor outcome were smoking, a short pre-operative walking distance, and a long history of back pain.
The management of leg-length discrepancy in Ollier’s disease with a fully implantable lengthening nail
Authors: Baumgart R. , Bürklein D. , Hinterwimmer S. , Thaller P. , Mutschler W.
Published: June 2005

Ollier’s disease is characterised by severe deformity of the extremities and retarded growth because of multiple enchondromas. For correction of deformity, the Ilizarov method has been used although it has many complications. A 17-year-old boy with Ollier’s disease had a limb-length discrepancy of 17.4 cm, with a valgus deformity of the right knee and recurvatum of the femur of 23°. He had undergone three unsuccessful attempts to correct the deformities by using external fixators. We used a fully implantable, motorised, lengthening and correction nail (Fitbone) to achieve full correction of all the deformities without complications. We decided to carry out the procedure in three stages. First, we lengthened the femur by 3.6 cm and the tibia by 4 cm. We then exchanged the femoral nail for a longer implant and achieved a further 6 cm of length. This reduced the shortening to 3.8 cm. When the boy has finished secondary school we will adjust the remaining discrepancy.
The Physician and the Other: Images of the Charlatan in Medieval Islam
Authors: Pormann Peter E
Published: June 2005

Physicians have always tried to demarcate themselves from the Other, whom they labeled as a "charlatan." During the medieval period, Arabic physicians such as al-Rāzī attacked charlatans in their theoretical and deontological writings, and, like their Greek predecessors, called on the authorities to stamp out malpractice. Their advice was partly heeded, as can be seen from manuals on market inspection (h≥isba). Physicians accused their colleagues of quackery based on charges of incompetence or deceit, which must be seen partly as an attempt to protect themselves from potential competitors. Certain groups of society, including women and Jews, were an especially convenient target. Moreover, charlatans also appear in nonmedical texts such as al-Ğaubarī's manual on tricksters and al-Harīrī's Assemblies or Maqāmāt. These accounts suggest that, despite the calls of the medical elite to exclude quacks from the marketplace, the latter were able to attract customers and continue to practice.
Malarial Birds: Modeling Infectious Human Disease in Animals
Authors: Slater Leo Barney
Published: June 2005

Through the examination of avian malarias as models of infectious human disease, this paper reveals the kinds of claims that scientists and physicians made on the basis of animal models—biological systems in the laboratory and the field—and what characteristics made for congruence between these models and human malaria. The focus is on the period between 1895 and 1945, and on the genesis and trajectory of certain animal models of malaria within specific locations, such as the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore and Bayer (I. G. Farben) in Elberfeld. These exemplars illustrate a diversity of approaches to malaria-as-disease, and the difficulties of framing aspects of this disease complex within an animal or laboratory system. The diversity and nearness to wild types of the birds, protozoan parasites, and mosquitoes that made up these malaria models contributed a great deal to the complexity of the models. Avian malarias, adopted with enthusiasm, were essential to the success of the U.S. antimalarial program during World War II.
The Ethics of Intercultural Travel: Thomas Merton's Asian Pilgrimage and Orientalism
Authors: Barbour John D
Published: June 2005

This essay examines The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton, a posthumously edited diary account of his 1968 journey. Merton's Asian travel is interpreted as an unusual form of pilgrimage, and considered in relation to certain ethical issues raised by intercultural travel, such as the problem of Orientalism.
Dialogues and Self-Constructions
Authors: Barry Chris
Published: June 2005

Chris Barry's photographic installation and sound-scape Dialogues and Self-Constructions emerges from her known and sustained relations with her collaborators in Alice Springs/Central Australia. The project explores the intertextualities of contemporary Aboriginal life within the specifics of that place and community.
Imagined Places: Robinson Crusoe and Elizabeth Bishop
Authors: Fan Kit
Published: June 2005

This paper explores representations of geographical displacement in the work of American poet Elizabeth Bishop in relation to ideas of imagined places and an imaginary "home." It focuses on Bishop's late poem "Crusoe in England," in which she offers a revisionary account of one of the prime European travel narratives, and it compares Bishop's Crusoe to those of Caribbean poet Derek Walcott's "Crusoe Island" and South African J. M. Coetzee's Foe, mapping how by rediscovering Crusoe, out of a profound experience of multiple displacement, the writers discover many ways of writing home.
E-Mail in a Global Age: The Ethical Story of "Women on the Net"
Authors: Jolly Margaretta
Published: June 2005

In presenting e-mail as "the story behind the story" in an age of global autobiography, through a close reading of autobiographical and dialogic aspects of email exchanges within the feminist group Women on the Net, this article suggests that e-mail, like all letters, is best understood in terms of an ethics of care, which extends more customary ethics of justice to engage directly with the relational dimension of life writing.
My Farda an I
Authors: Lau Kinwai
Published: June 2005

My life story is a brief record of certain boyhood memories as they were first remembered. My father had a deciding influence on my perception of society, but understandably he does not seem to have been aware of that at the time when I was changing. The way he was as a father at once flattered and bothered me, and to this day it still flatters and bothers the child in me.
The Digital Queer: Weblogs and Internet Identity
Authors: Rak Julie
Published: June 2005

Blogs have become a popular internet phenomenon. Rather than look at blogs as online diaries, I discuss them as sites for a developing generic practice that is connected to the idea of the internet as potentially non-corporate and democratic. In this context, what might "queer blogging" be, and why do queer bloggers constantly appeal to experience and evidence as the guarantee of reality online?
From the Land of Green Ghosts : Commodifying Culture, Downplaying Politics
Authors: Tridgell Susan
Published: June 2005

This article critiques the editing, marketing, and reception of Pascal Khoo Thwe's recent autobiography, From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey. It argues that this autobiography has been seen primarily in terms of cultural shifts, amplifying the distance between the narrated and narrating self, and muting the political message of the work.
The Skin of the Burqa : Recent Life Narratives from Afghanistan
Authors: Whitlock Gillian
Published: June 2005

The "war on terror" has been associated with an extraordinary proliferation of Afghan autoethnographies in the Western marketplace. In this article, various implications and connotations of this are read to explore the ethical engagements of life narrative in these times.
Contra el homo cubensis : Transculturacion y nacionalismo en la obra de Fernando Ortiz
Authors: Rojas Rafael
Published: June 2005

La obra del antropólogo y etnógrafo Fernando Ortiz es uno de los mayores esfuerzos intelectuales por comprender abarcadoramente la sociedad y la cultura cubanas. En las páginas que siguen, se propone un acercamiento a dicha obra, centrado en la tensión entre dos conceptos primordiales de la biografía intelectual y política de Ortiz: el nacionalismo y la transculturación. Ortiz, un intelectual público de la época republicana, defendió siempre un nacionalismo cívico, refractario a definiciones duras de la identidad cultural cubana. La idea de transculturación, desarrollada en su libro Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar, lejos de contraponerse al nacionalismo, le ofreció la plataforma adecuada para articular un discurso de la identidad desde la diferencia.

The work of the anthropologist and ethnographer Fernando Ortiz represents a major intellectual effort in the comprehensive understanding of Cuban culture and society. The pages that follow present an approach to his work that is centered on the tension between two essential concepts of the intellectual and political biography of Ortiz: nationalism and transculturation. Ortiz, a public intellectual of the Republican era, always defended a civic nationalism that ran counter to rigid definitions of Cuban national identity. The concept of transculturation, developed in his book Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el
azúcar, far from countering nationalism, offered the appropriate platform for articulating a discourse of identity based on diversity.
Social Policy Responses to Cuba's Economic Crisis of the 1990s
Authors: Uriarte-Gaston Miren
Published: June 2005

Based on the practice of universal access and government responsibility for social benefits, Cuba's social policy initiatives have led the island to outcomes that, especially in health care and education, are almost universally recognized as positive. But as Cuba weathered the economic crisis of the 1990s, many questioned whether continued financial commitment to these initiatives would be possible and whether the wide range of benefits they had spawned would survive under such a deep and all-encompassing crisis. By the end of the decade, it was evident that Cuba did not seek efficiencies through privatization nor did it seek to redefine its responsibility for the provision of social benefits. The principal elements of Cuban social policy remained in place, although the system is considerably battered and facing increasing demand for services. The Cuban
government has sought to underscore its primacy in the area of social policy, and during the 1990s exhibited a strong political will to maintain the safety net intact. The greatest changes are currently taking place in the implementation of social policy, as the government seeks to transform its reach, effectiveness, and efficiency. This is taking place in several ways: by the introduction of new, more differentiated initiatives, even as the government seeks to maintain its commitment to universality; by the development of
more collaborative approaches; and by the use of the new capacities being developed at the community level.

Basadas en la práctica de acceso universal y responsabilidad gubernamental de los beneficios sociales, las iniciativas de políticas sociales de Cuba han llevado resultados a la isla que, especialmente en cuestiones de salud y educación, son casi universalmente reconocidos como positivos. Pero mientras Cuba bandeaba la crisis económica de la década de 1990, muchos se cuestionaron si el compromiso financiero con estas políticas sería posible y si la amplia gama de beneficios que habían generado resistiría una crisis tan profunda y abarcadora. Para finales de la década, era evidente que Cuba no había
buscado una mayor eficiencia a través de la privatización ni había redefinido su responsabilidad de proveer beneficios sociales. Los principales elementos de la política social cubana se mantuvieron iguales, aunque el sistema está considerablemente golpeado y enfrentándose a crecientes demandas de servicios. El gobierno cubano ha buscado recalcar su primacía en el área de políticas sociales, y durante los años noventa mostró una fuerte voluntad política de mantener intacta esta red de seguridad. Los mayores cambios están teniendo lugar actualmente en la implementación de las políticas sociales en momentos que intentan transformar su alcance, efectividad y eficiencia. Esto está teniendo lugar de diversas formas: con la introducción de iniciativas nuevas y diferentes, incluso cuando se busca mantener el compromiso al acceso universal; a través del desarrollo de enfoques de colaboración; y con el uso de las nuevas capacidades desarrolladas a nivel comunitario.
The Institution of Dowry in India: Why It Continues To Prevail
Authors: Dalmia Sonia , Lawrence Pareena G
Published: June 2005

The practice of dowry in India has been theoretically linked to a number of factors including the nature of residence and inheritance system, women's role in production, kinship organizations, relative availability of potential spouses, and social stratification in society. This article empirically examines dowries in India and provides an institutional and economic rationale for the existence and continued prevalence of the system. Using data on marriage transactions and on the personal and family traits of marital partners the article demonstrates that payments of dowry serve to equalize the measurable differences in individual characteristics of the bride's and groom's and their respective households. Thus, dowry qualifies as the "price" paid for a "good match" in the marriage market. Results also reveal that the form of inheritance system, the residence of the bride after marriage, and the gender ratio of marriageable women to men have no effect on the incidence and size of dowry.
Monetary Aggregation for a Developing Economy: A Case Study of Nigeria
Authors: Gebregiorgis Bekele Sinkie , Handa Jagdish
Published: June 2005

This paper examines the appropriate formulation of the monetary aggregate for the Nigerian economy for the period 1970:1-2000:4 for the determination of real output. This examination covers simple sum, Variable Elasticity of Substitution (VES) and Divisia (DV) aggregation over currency, demand deposits and savings deposits. The user cost of liquid assets is employed in the construction of both the DV and the VES aggregates. Since our variables proved to be I(1), the Johansen cointegration and error-correction modelling technique were used. Our findings for the Nigerian economy are that currency does as well as or better than any narrow- or broad-money measure in explaining industrial production. Further, the simple sum M1 and M2 outperformed both the VES and Divisia aggregates. Therefore, monetary policy in Nigeria should focus on the supply of currency and/or of narrow money, rather than on broad money or the Divisia aggregates.
Pro-Cyclicality of Consumer Spending and the Financial Crisis of Thailand
Authors: Islam Kazi N
Published: June 2005

The 1997/98 financial crisis of Thailand has been extensively analyzed and yet, important questions remain to be answered regarding consumer behavior and its implications in regard to the crisis. This paper attempts to analyze the movements of consumer spending in Thailand during the period from 1975 to 1998, in order to shed some light on the causes of the 1997/98 financial crisis of Thailand. A hypothesis of the pro-cyclicality of consumer spending is developed by modifying Mankiw's liquidity constrained hypothesis; it is then tested by using data from various issues of International Financial Statistics and the Bank of Thailand's homepage. Results indicate that consumer spending in Thailand was pro-cyclical during the period from 1990 to 1998 and that this factor partly contributed to the boom-bust of Thailand's economy. The findings of this study suggest that taxation or credit restrictions targeted at luxury consumption may need to be taken in foreign credit-induced booms.1