bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cairo Door Ast? Population Policies and their Context in India after LCPD
Authors: RAO MOHAN
Published: June 2006

The ICPD advocated a new approach to population policy in the Plan of Action, one that was not demographically driven, but instead emphasised the empowerment of women, and an approach to reproductive health care. Reflecting this, the National Population Policy (NPP) enunciated in 2000 was premised upon the reproductive and child health (RCH) approach, though to the neglect of primary health care. Thus, it was not framed in demographic terms, and was committed to a voluntary, target-free approach that abjured incentives and, in particular, disincentives. Yet even before this approach, with all its limitations, could be given a fair chance, there was already manifest impatience, a call for giving greater teeth to the programme, reflected in a slew of policy initiatives with various disincentives and a two-child norm to contest elections to the panchayats. At the same time neo-liberal economic policies implemented over the same period have meant that health budgets have been substantially reduced, leading to the collapse of the already underfunded system of health care. It would thus not be an exaggeration to say that what we have is a situation of state-led collapse of the public health system, just as we have had state-induced growth of the largest and least regulated private health sector in the world. Data also indicates deceleration of employment in both rural and urban areas, a significant casualisation of the workforce, especially that involving the female labour force, and a sharpening of income inequalities with a contraction of incomes in the lower deciles of the population. Per capita calorie consumption has also declined. Thus, as health care becomes more inaccessible, expenditure on health care is emerging as the leading cause of indebtedness. Together these explain the stagnation we witness in health indices such as the infant and child mortality rates. Along with the spread of Hindutva ideologies, state policies are also actively contributing to the reinforcement of anti-female ideologies and engendering masculinity, reflected in the steep decline in the child sex ratio and the sharp increase in violence against women. It would thus perhaps not be an exaggeration to state that despite Cairo, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Synchronization of Internal Neural Rhythms in Multi-Robotic Systems
Authors: Wischmann Steffen , Hülse Martin , Knabe Johannes F. , Pasemann Frank
Published: June 2006

This paper introduces a method for the coordination of individual action within a group of robots that have to accomplish a common task, gathering energy in a dynamic environment and transferring this energy to a nest. Each individual behavioral pattern is driven by an internal neural rhythm generator exhibiting quasi-periodic oscillations. The paper describes the implementation of this generator, its influence on the dynamics of artificial recurrent neural networks controlling the robots, and the synchronization of internal rhythms with differing frequencies in a group of situated and embodied robots. Synchronization is achieved either by environmental stimuli or even by self-organizing processes solely based on local interactions within a robot population of up to 150 robots. The proposed experimental methodology is used as a bottom-up approach and starting point for answering the question about the complexity required at the individual level to generate sophisticated behavioral patterns at the group level
Musical Automata as Dynamical Systems
Authors: Michael David M.
Published: June 2006

This paper explores the use of dynamical systems as a framework for understanding how musically autonomous behavior can be achieved in artifact. Just as dynamics has offered a breakout strategy for the perceived limitations of artificial intelligence, so too can dynamics offer a solution to the current limitations of autonomous generative music systems. By studying the biophysics of birdsong, a dynamics-based agent template is developed with particular focus given to the actuator
On What Makes Certain Dynamical Systems Cognitive: A Minimally Cognitive Organization Program
Authors: Barandiaran Xabier , Moreno Alvaro
Published: June 2006

Dynamicism has provided cognitive science with important tools to understand some aspects of “how cognitive agents work” but the issue of “what makes something cognitive” has not been sufficiently addressed yet and, we argue, the former will never be complete without the latter. Behavioristic characterizations of cognitive properties are criticized in favor of an organizational approach focused on the internal dynamic relationships that constitute cognitive systems. A definition of cognition as adaptive-autonomy in the embodied and situated neurodynamic domain is provided: the compensatory regulation of a web of stability dependencies between sensorimotor structures is created and pre served during a historical/developmental process. We highlight the functional role of emotional embodiment: internal bioregulatory processes coupled to the formation and adaptive regulation of neurodynamic autonomy. Finally, we discuss a “minimally cognitive behavior program” in evolutionary simulation modeling suggesting that much is to be learned from a complementary “minimally cognitive organization program”
Exploring the Interpersonal Transaction of the Brazilian Jeitinho in Bureaucratic Contexts
Authors: Duarte Fernanda
Published: June 2006

This paper is a contribution to the existing body of literature on the Brazilian jeitinho (pronounced jaytcheenyoo) as an informal problem-solving strategy in organizations. The jeitinho is a social mechanism that entails bending or breaking the rules in order to deal with difficult or forbidding situations. It is a particularly useful informal strategy to ‘get things done’ in work organizations. The paper focuses on what is involved in the interpersonal transaction of the jeitinho in work settings, acknowledging in particular the role of informal social capital and a highly valued interpersonal attribute in Brazilian society known as simpatia. The first part of the paper explores the defining features and historical roots of the Brazilian jeitinho; the second part provides a theoretical contextualization of the discussion through a brief review of academic works on bureaucratic dysfunctions and informal strategies to deal with these problems; and the third part illustrates the operation of the jeitinho with data from a qualitative study of a partnership sustainability program based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Organization Studies and Epistemic Coloniality in Latin America: Thinking Otherness from the Margins
Authors: Ibarra-Colado Eduardo
Published: June 2006

This paper discusses the current state of Organization Studies in Latin America, disclosing the epistemic coloniality that prevails in the region. Adopting an approach based on the recognition of the relevance of the geopolitical space as place of enunciation, the paper sustains the relevance of the ‘outside’ and ‘otherness’ to understand organizational realities in America Latina. The argument is developed in three sections. The first section establishes the main characteristic of the development of Organization Studies in Latin America as its tendency towards falsification and imitation of the knowledge generated in the Centre. The second section recognizes the role played by the term ‘organization’ as an artifice that facilitates the comparison of different realities through their structural variables, but also the inability of this term to recognize any reality that escapes instrumental rationality and the logic of the market. It also articulates the increasing importance of such a concept in the context of neo-liberalism. The third section concludes by renewing the urgency of appreciating the organizational problems of Latin America from the outside by proposing a preliminary research agenda built from original approaches that recognize otherness.
Party Polarization in the US Congress
Authors: Theriault Sean M.
Published: June 2006

Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress are as ideologically consistent and distinct as they have been at any point in the past three decades. Since 1973, the Senate has become 29 percent more polarized and House polarization has increased 47 percent. This investigation of party polarization finds that member adaptation accounts for one-third of the total party polarization in both the House and Senate. Member replacement accounts for the other two-thirds, the lion's share of which has been the replacement of moderate southern Democrats by conservative Republicans. Republicans in both chambers are polarizing more quickly than Democrats. If the Democratic senators have taken one step toward their ideological home, House Democrats have taken two steps, Senate Republicans three steps and House Republicans four steps.
Government Status and Legislative Behaviour
Authors: Ganghof Steffen , Bräuninger Thomas
Published: June 2006

In parliamentary systems, parties compete for votes and offices in the electoral arena, but in many systems they also cooperate in the legislative arena. This article examines the question of how the government status of parties affects their legislative behaviour. We develop a simple spatial model that includes parties' positional goals (vote, office, etc.) to formalize the notion of accommodating legislative behaviour. The model implies that government parties are most accommodating while opposition parties are least accommodating. The hypothesis is evaluated by comparing two pairs of similar political systems: Danish and Finnish coalition governments, as well as German and Australian bicameralism. The case studies support the main hypothesis that government status systematically affects parties' level of accommodation. We discuss the implications for two seminal approaches in comparative institutional analysis advanced by Lijphart (1999b) and Tsebelis (2002).
Ethno-Racial Origins of Candidates and Electoral Performance
Authors: Black Jerome H. , Erickson Lynda
Published: June 2006

This article uses the Canadian case to assess whether voter bias plays a role in accounting for the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities, especially racial minorities, in the national legislatures of diverse societies. Two sets of empirical analyses are performed, drawing on the results of the 1993 Canadian general election: survey information on candidates who ran for the major parties and census data on constituency characteristics. The first set tests for overt voter bias against minority candidates by employing several categories of minority origins, party and constituency variables to control for contextual effects, and candidate vote-share as the dependent variable. The second set tests for a more subtle form of bias that is sometimes associated with the need for minority candidates to be exceptionally qualified (‘compensation hypothesis’). The evidence indicates that minorities do not lose votes in elections because of their background and do not need to have more personal credentials in order to gain votes. The results suggest that any misgivings party officials may have about the electoral performance of minority candidates are misplaced.
Developing a model of participatory research involving researchers, practitioners, older people and their family carers
Authors: Hanson Elizabeth , Magnusson Lennart , Nolan Janet , Nolan Mike
Published: June 2006

The care of frail older people and their family carers present significant challenges for welfare systems throughout the world. In order to address their needs, policy initiatives are promoting partnership working between service users, family carers and providers, whereby the former are increasingly involved in the design and evaluation of services. However, participatory models of working raise fundamental issues about power relations and pose important questions about what constitutes ‘evidence’. Several authors identify tensions between movements such as evidence-based practice and initiatives designed to increase the active participation of service users suggesting that there is a need for a new approach to research that reconciles potentially conflicting goals. This paper describes the evolution of a model of participatory research resulting from a collaboration between Sweden and the United Kingdom, which actively involved older people, family carers, service providers and voluntary organisations. The model is underpinned by constructivist principles that have been adapted by the authors so as to be more intellectually accessible to a non-academic audience. The conceptual basis for the model is described and a case study illustrates how it is applied in practice. It is argued that the approach could be adopted widely as a means of more fully engaging older people, their families and a range of service providers in important debates about future health and social care provision
Delirium and fever in the antipodes
Authors: Roddick Judith A.
Published: June 2006

In 1918, New Zealand was a relatively young country, and from a population that barely exceeded one million, 16,688 of its citizens had died during the 1914-1918 war. As influenza swept through the land in November and December of 1918, a further 8,500 lives were lost. It is estimated that the lethal second wave of the epidemic appeared in New Zealand in October, when hundreds of battle-fatigued nurses and doctors, as well as injured soldiers, were returning home on troopships. Nurses, as front-line caregivers, were some of the first health workers to be exposed to the virulent strain of the virus, and as they succumbed to the infection, hospitals became arenas of pandemonium. Although New Zealand was the first country in the world to introduce registration of its nurses, the profession was still in its infancy. Nurse training was based more on moral order and subservience than theoretical or technical competence, and this left little room for innovation in nursing care or ward management. Voluntary workers endeavoured to alleviate the stress, both in the hospitals and the cities, and the situation in Dunedin mirrored the disarray sustained throughout the remainder of the country. The epidemic was a disaster for nurses, and an awareness of a chapter from the past that challenged nursing knowledge and capabilities is a lesson in the obduracy of infectious disease
Effects of disrupting the polyketide synthase gene WdPKS1 in Wangiella [Exophiala] dermatitidis on melanin production and resistance to killing by antifungal compounds, enzymatic degradation, and extremes in temperature
Authors: Paolo William F , Dadachova Ekaterina , Mandal Piyali , Casadevall Arturo , Szaniszlo Paul J , Nosanchuk Joshua D
Published: June 2006

Background

Wangiella dermatitidis is a human pathogenic fungus that is an etiologic agent of phaeohyphomycosis. W. dermatitidis produces a black pigment that has been identified as a dihydroxynaphthalene melanin and the production of this pigment is associated with its virulence. Cell wall pigmentation in W. dermatitidis depends on the WdPKS1 gene, which encodes a polyketide synthase required for generating the key precursor for dihydroxynaphthalene melanin biosynthesis.

Results

We analyzed the effects of disrupting WdPKS1 on dihydroxynaphthalene melanin production and resistance to antifungal compounds. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that wdpks1 Δ-1 yeast had thinner cell walls that lacked an electron-opaque layer compared to wild-type cells. However, digestion of the wdpks1 Δ-1 yeast revealed small black particles that were consistent with a melanin-like compound, because they were acid-resistant, reacted with melanin-binding antibody, and demonstrated a free radical signature by electron spin resonance analysis. Despite lacking the WdPKS1 gene, the mutant yeast were capable of catalyzing the formation of melanin from L-3,4-dihyroxyphenylalanine. The wdpks1 Δ-1 cells were significantly more susceptible to killing by voriconazole, amphotericin B, NP-1 [a microbicidal peptide], heat and cold, and lysing enzymes than the heavily melanized parental or complemented strains.

Conclusion

In summary, W. dermatitidis makes WdPKS-dependent and -independent melanins, and the WdPKS1- dependent deposition of melanin in the cell wall confers protection against antifungal agents and environmental stresses. The biological role of the WdPKS-independent melanin remains unclear.
Frequency of apnea, bradycardia, and desaturations following first diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-inactivated polio-Haemophilus influenzae type B immunization in hospitalized preterm infants
Authors: Lee Jackie , Robinson Joan L , Spady Donald W
Published: June 2006

Background

Adverse cardiorespiratory events including apnea, bradycardia, and desaturations have been described following administration of the first diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-inactivated polio-Haemophilus influenzaetype B (DTP-IPV-Hib) immunization to preterm infants. The effect of the recent substitution of acellular pertussis vaccine for whole cell pertussis vaccine on the frequency of these events requires further study.

Methods

Infants with gestational age of ≤ 32 weeks who received their first DTP-IPV-Hib immunization prior to discharge from two Edmonton Neonatal Intensive Care Units January 1, 1996 to November 30, 2000 were eligible for the study. Each immunized infant was matched by gestational age to one control infant. The number of episodes of apnea, bradycardia, and/or desaturations (ABD) and the treatment required for these episodes in the 72 hours prior to and 72 hours post-immunization (for the immunized cohort) or at the same post-natal age (for controls) was recorded.

Results

Thirty-four infants who received DTP-IPV-Hib with whole cell pertussis vaccine, 90 infants who received DTP-IPV-Hib with acellular pertussis vaccine, and 124 control infants were entered in the study. Fifty-six immunized infants (45.1%) and 36 control infants (29.0%) had a resurgence of or increased ABD in the 72 hours post-immunization in the immunized infants and at the same post-natal age in the controls with an adjusted odds ratio for immunized infants of 2.41 (95% CI 1.29,4.51) as compared to control infants. The incidence of an increase in adverse cardiorespiratory events post-immunization was the same in infants receiving whole cell or acellular pertussis vaccine (44.1% versus 45.6%). Eighteen immunized infants (14.5%) and 51 control infants (41.1%) had a reduction in ABD in the 72 hours post- immunization or at the equivalent postnatal age in controls for an odds ratio of 0.175 (95%CI 0.08, 0.39). The need for therapy of ABD in the immunized infants was not statistically different from the control infants. Lower weight at the time of immunization was a risk factor for a resurgence of or increased ABD post-immunization. Birth weight, gestational age, postnatal age or sex were not risk factors.

Conclusion

There is an increase in adverse cardiorespiratory events following the first dose of DTP-IPV-Hib in preterm infants. Lower current weight was identified as a risk factor, with the risk being equivalent for whole cell versus acellular pertussis vaccine. Although most of these events are of limited clinical significance, cardiorespiratory monitoring of infants who are sufficiently preterm that they are receiving their first immunization prior to hospital discharge should be considered for 72 hours post-immunization.
Cost-effectiveness of tuberculosis evaluation and treatment of newly-arrived immigrants
Authors: Porco Travis C , Lewis Bryan , Marseille Elliot , Grinsdale Jennifer , Flood Jennifer M , Royce Sarah E
Published: June 2006

Background

Immigrants to the U.S. are required to undergo overseas screening for tuberculosis (TB), but the value of evaluation and treatment following entry to the U.S. is not well understood. We determined the cost-effectiveness of domestic follow-up of immigrants identified as tuberculosis suspects through overseas screening.

Methods

Using a stochastic simulation for tuberculosis reactivation, transmission, and follow-up for a hypothetical cohort of 1000 individuals, we calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness of follow-up and evaluation interventions. We utilized published literature, California Reports of Verified Cases of Tuberculosis (RVCTs), demographic estimates from the California Department of Finance, Medicare reimbursement, and Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Our target population was legal immigrants to the United States, our time horizon is twenty years, and our perspective was that of all domestic health-care payers. We examined the intervention to offer latent tuberculosis therapy to infected individuals, to increase the yield of domestic evaluation, and to increase the starting and completion rates of LTBI therapy with INH (isoniazid). Our outcome measures were the number of cases averted, the number of deaths averted, the incremental dollar cost (year 2004), and the number of quality-adjusted life-years saved.

Results

Domestic follow-up of B-notification patients, including LTBI treatment for latently infected individuals, is highly cost-effective, and at times, cost-saving. B-notification follow-up in California would reduce the number of new tuberculosis cases by about 6–26 per year (out of a total of approximately 3000). Sensitivity analysis revealed that domestic follow-up remains cost-effective when the hepatitis rates due to INH therapy are over fifteen times our best estimates, when at least 0.4 percent of patients have active disease and when hospitalization of cases detected through domestic follow-up is no less likely than hospitalization of passively detected cases.

Conclusion

While the current immigration screening program is unlikely to result in a large change in case rates, domestic follow-up of B-notification patients, including LTBI treatment, is highly cost-effective. If as many as three percent of screened individuals have active TB, and early detection reduces the rate of hospitalization, net savings may be expected.
Obesity and hypertension in an Iranian cohort study; Iranian women experience higher rates of obesity and hypertension than American women
Authors: Bahrami Hossein , Sadatsafavi Mohsen , Pourshams Akram , Kamangar Farin , Nouraei Mehdi , Semnani Shahriar , Brennan Paul , Boffetta Paolo , Malekzadeh Reza
Published: June 2006

Background

Once considered as the main public health problem in developed countries, obesity has become a major problem throughout the world and developing countries, like Iran, are joining the global obesity pandemic. We determined the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and hypertension in a large cohort of Iranians and compared age-adjusted rates with the rates in the US.

Methods

Golestan Cohort Study is a population-based study of 8,998 men and women, aged 35-81 years, from urban and rural areas. Anthropometric parameters were measured by interviewers. Prevalence rates were directly adjusted to the 2000 United States standard population.

Results

The age-adjusted prevalence rates of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) in this Iranian population were 62.2% and 28.0%, respectively. Both overweight and obesity were more common in women than men. Age-adjusted prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in Iranian women compared to the American women (68.6% vs. 61.6%), while the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity is closer in these two populations (34.9% vs. 33.2%). Iranian men—compared to American men—had significantly lower age-adjusted prevalence of overweight (53.7% vs. 68.8%) and obesity (16.2% vs. 27.5%). Age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was higher in Iranian women than American women (35.7% vs. 30.5%). Diabetes mellitus was reported in 6.2% of participants. Mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) among women was 0.96. Smoking rates in men and women were 33.2% and 2.2%, respectively.

Conclusion

The prevalence of obesity, overweight, and hypertension in Iran is as high as the US. However, Iranian women are more obese than American women and Iranian men are less obese than their American counterparts. This discrepancy might be due to the low rate of smoking among Iranian women. Iranian women have higher mean WHR than what WHO has defined in 19 other populations.
The Transtheoretical model for fruit, vegetable and fish consumption: associations between intakes, stages of change and stage transition determinants
Authors: De Vet Emely , de Nooijer Jascha , de Vries Nanne K , Brug Johannes
Published: June 2006

Background

Cardiovascular diseases are caused by multiple behavioral factors, including different dietary factors. We examined to what extent fruit, vegetable and fish consumption are related, and whether behavioral determinants vary across these dietary behaviors from a Transtheoretical model perspective.

Methods

Data were collected among 1142 participants (T0; response rate 46%) selected from an Internet panel, who were followed-up one-week later (T1; N = 1055, response rate 92%). Mean age was 35.4 (SD = 11.9) years, 35% was male, and most respondents were of Dutch origin (90%). Of the respondents, 13%, 44% and 43% had a low, medium or high level of education, respectively. Electronic questionnaires assessed fruit, vegetable and fish intake (food frequency questionnaires), stages of change, decisional balance and self-efficacy, for each of these three behaviors.

Results

Stages of change and (changes in) fruit, vegetable and fish intake were only weakly associated; decisional balance and self-efficacy were more strongly associated. Some presumed predictors of stage transitions were similar for fruit, vegetable, and fish intake, i.e., strong pros predicted progress out of precontemplators and low self-efficacy predicted relapse from action/maintenance for all behaviors. However, progress out of contemplation and out of preparation showed different patterns for fruit, vegetable and fish intake.

Conclusion

The weak associations between intakes and potential determinants for fruit, vegetable, and fish consumption do not warrant an integrated dietary change approach targeting the same determinants for each behavior.
Influence of fluid resuscitation on renal microvascular PO2 in a normotensive rat model of endotoxemia
Authors: Johannes Tanja , Mik Egbert G , Nohé Boris , Raat Nicolaas JH , Unertl Klaus E , Ince Can
Published: June 2006

Introduction

Septic renal failure is often seen in the intensive care unit but its pathogenesis is only partly understood. This study, performed in a normotensive rat model of endotoxemia, tests the hypotheses that endotoxemia impairs renal microvascular PO2 (μPO2) and oxygen consumption (VO2,ren), that endotoxemia is associated with a diminished kidney function, that fluid resuscitation can restore μPO2, VO2,ren and kidney function, and that colloids are more effective than crystalloids.

Methods

Male Wistar rats received a one-hour intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide, followed by resuscitation with HES130/0.4 (Voluven®), HES200/0.5 (HES-STERIL®® 6%) or Ringer's lactate. The renal μPO2 in the cortex and medulla and the renal venous PO2 were measured by a recently published phosphorescence lifetime technique.

Results

Endotoxemia induced a reduction in renal blood flow and anuria, while the renal μPO2 and VO2,ren remained relatively unchanged. Resuscitation restored renal blood flow, renal oxygen delivery and kidney function to baseline values, and was associated with oxygen redistribution showing different patterns for the different compounds used. HES200/0.5 and Ringer's lactate increased the VO2,ren, in contrast to HES130/0.4.

Conclusion

The loss of kidney function during endotoxemia could not be explained by an oxygen deficiency. Renal oxygen redistribution could for the first time be demonstrated during fluid resuscitation. HES130/0.4 had no influence on the VO2,ren and restored renal function with the least increase in the amount of renal work.
Status of complete proteome analysis by mass spectrometry: SILAC labeled yeast as a model system
Authors: de Godoy Lyris MF , Olsen Jesper V , de Souza Gustavo A , Li Guoqing , Mortensen Peter , Mann Matthias
Published: June 2006

Background

Mass spectrometry has become a powerful tool for the analysis of large numbers of proteins in complex samples, enabling much of proteomics. Due to various analytical challenges, so far no proteome has been sequenced completely. O'Shea, Weissman and co-workers have recently determined the copy number of yeast proteins, making this proteome an excellent model system to study factors affecting coverage.

Results

To probe the yeast proteome in depth and determine factors currently preventing complete analysis, we grew yeast cells, extracted proteins and separated them by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Peptides resulting from trypsin digestion were analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry on a linear ion trap-Fourier transform mass spectrometer with very high mass accuracy and sequencing speed. We achieved unambiguous identification of more than 2,000 proteins, including very low abundant ones. Effective dynamic range was limited to about 1,000 and effective sensitivity to about 500 femtomoles, far from the subfemtomole sensitivity possible with single proteins. We used SILAC (stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture) to generate one-to-one pairs of true peptide signals and investigated if sensitivity, sequencing speed or dynamic range were limiting the analysis.

Conclusion

Advanced mass spectrometry methods can unambiguously identify more than 2,000 proteins in a single proteome. Complex mixture analysis is not limited by sensitivity but by a combination of dynamic range (high abundance peptides preventing sequencing of low abundance ones) and by effective sequencing speed. Substantially increased coverage of the yeast proteome appears feasible with further development in software and instrumentation.
Disease mapping in veterinary epidemiology: a Bayesian geostatistical approach
Authors: Biggeri Annibale , Dreassi Emanuela , Catelan Dolores , Rinaldi Laura , Lagazio Corrado , Cringoli Giuseppe
Published: June 2006

Model-based geostatistics and Bayesian approaches are useful in the context of veterinary epidemiology when point data have been collected by appropriate study design. We take advantage of an example of Epidemiological Surveillance on urban settings where a two-stage sampling design with first stage transects is applied to study the risk of dog parasite infection in the city of Naples, 2004-2005. We specified Bayesian Gaussian spatial exponential models and Bayesian kriging were performed to predict the continuous risk surface of parasite infection on the study region. We compared the results with those obtained by the application of hierarchical Bayesian models on areal data (proportion of positive specimens by transect). The models results were consistent with each other and the Bayesian geostatistical approach proved to be more accurate in identifying areas at risk of zoonotic parasitic diseases. In general, larger risk areas were identified at the city border where wild dogs mixed with domestic dogs and human or urban barriers were less present.
Surveillance of individual level disease maps
Authors: Clark Allan B , Lawson Andrew B
Published: June 2006

Methods for the production of individual (address) level disease maps are often retrospective; they estimate a map of the average relative risk of disease over a study period. However, recently, epidemiologists have started to look at weekly or monthly reports of disease and assess them for any change in the distribution of relative risk. For example, in the United States of America, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention now routinely collects information on over 50 notifiable diseases every week. In this paper we present a method for the detection of a sudden change in the geographical distribution of the disease in a prospective study. The method is based on an estimate of the directional derivative of the conditional probability of a case, given either a case or control has occurred. It is based on standard kernel approaches to nonparametric regression and it is readily applied in any standard statistical software package. Two simulated examples of sudden clustering around a fixed point are provided.
Methods for detecting disease clustering, with consideration of childhood leukaemia
Authors: Muirhead Colin R
Published: June 2006

In trying to interpret reports of disease clusters in specific localities, it is valuable to know whether the disease in question has a general tendency to cluster spatially. Methods for investigating localized disease clustering were the subject of a comparative study organized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer some years ago. This paper addresses some further aspects of one of the methods used in this exercise, namely the Potthoff-Whittinghill (P-W) test. Particular consideration is given to methodology for estimating the magnitude of overdispersion and for detecting whether one area, in particular, has an undue influence on the evidence for overdispersion using the P-W test, the extent to which is possible to detect clustering over regions of differing sizes using a components-of-variance approach and how adjustment for overdispersion might affect tests for raised disease rates in specific locations. These points are illustrated using data on childhood leukaemia incidence and reference is made to other analyses of the geographical distribution of childhood leukaemia that are based on this approach.
Bayesian spatio-temporal analysis of joint patterns of male and female lung cancer risks in Yorkshire (UK)
Authors: Richardson Sylvia , Abellan Juan J , Best Nicky
Published: June 2006

Recent advances in disease mapping have focused first on including the time dimension, thus giving rise to spatio-temporal analysis of the variation of disease risk and, secondly, on carrying out joint analysis of two diseases that share common environmental risk factors and are, therefore, related. Here, we try to combine both issues and present a joint analysis of the spatio-temporal variation of the risks of two related diseases processes-male and female lung cancer incidence-in a region of England. To do so, we use a Bayesian hierarchical model that splits the risk of disease into two spatio-temporal components: a shared component and a specific component that calibrates the differential between the two diseases.
Prospective Phase II Study of Gefitinib for Chemotherapy-Naïve Patients With Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer With Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Gene Mutations
Authors: Inoue Akira , Suzuki Takuji , Fukuhara Tatsuro , Maemondo Makoto , Kimura Yuichiro , Morikawa Naoto , Watanabe Hiroshi , Saijo Yasuo , Nukiwa Toshihiro
Published: June 2006

Purpose

This study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy and the feasibility of gefitinib for chemotherapy-naïve patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations.

Patients and Methods

The EGFR gene status in various tumor samples obtained from chemotherapy-naïve advanced NSCLC patients was examined by DNA sequencing of EGFR exons 18 to 23. Patients harboring EGFR mutations received gefitinib (250 mg/d) alone. The response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity profile were assessed prospectively.

Results

Between June 2004 and October 2005, 75 patients were examined for the EGFR status, and 25 patients (33%) harbored EGFR mutations. EGFR mutations were significantly frequent in females (P < .01) and never or light smokers (P < .001). Sixteen patients with EGFR mutations were enrolled onto the study. The overall response rate in these patients was 75% (95% CI, 54% to 96%), and the disease control rate was 88% (95% CI, 71% to 100%). The median PFS time of these patients was 9.7 months (95% CI, 7.4 to 9.9 months). No life-threatening toxicity was observed.

Conclusion

Treatment with gefitinib alone for chemotherapy-naïve NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations could achieve a high efficacy with acceptable toxicity. To assess the proper timing of gefitinib in such patients, a subsequent randomized trial comparing gefitinib with standard chemotherapy is warranted.
PKCα-dependent activation of RhoA by syndecan-4 during focal adhesion formation
Authors: Dovas Athanassios , Yoneda Atsuko , Couchman John R.
Published: June 2006

Syndecan-4 is a ubiquitously expressed transmembrane heparan sulphate proteoglycan acting in concert with integrins in the formation of focal adhesions and stress fibres. Signalling events studied thus far suggest the formation of a ternary complex between syndecan-4, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and protein kinase C α (PKCα). Syndecan-4 clustering at the cell surface has also been associated with RhoA-dependent signalling, but the relationship between PKCα and RhoA has not been resolved. Here we present evidence that syndecan-4, PKCα and RhoA are in a linear pathway necessary for the formation and maintenance of stress fibres in primary rat embryo fibroblasts. Inhibition of PKCα activity through the use of specific pharmacological inhibitors, a dominant-negative construct, or siRNA downregulation of protein levels, attenuated focal adhesion formation and the maintenance of stress fibres. However, these effects could be bypassed through independent activation of RhoA with lysophosphatidic acid, but not by clustering of syndecan-4 with ligand. Furthermore, inhibition of PKCα could block the increase in the GTP levels of RhoA induced by clustering of syndecan-4 at the cell surface. All these data point to a mechanism whereby syndecan-4 signals to RhoA in a PKCα-dependent manner and PKCα directly influences RhoA activity.
Heterotrimeric G proteins form stable complexes with adenylyl cyclase and Kir3.1 channels in living cells
Authors: Rebois R. Victor , Robitaille Mélanie , Galés Céline , Dupré Denis J. , Baragli Alessandra , Trieu Phan , Ethier Nathalie , Bouvier Michel , Hébert Terence E.
Published: June 2006

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) and co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that heterotrimeric G proteins and their effectors were found in stable complexes that persisted during signal transduction. Adenylyl cyclase, Kir3.1 channel subunits and several G-protein subunits (Gαs, Gαi, Gβ1 and Gγ2) were tagged with luciferase (RLuc) or GFP, or the complementary fragments of YFP (specifically Gβ1-YFP1-158 and Gγ2-YFP159-238, which heterodimerize to produce fluorescent YFP-Gβ1γ2). BRET was observed between adenylyl-cyclase-RLuc or Kir3.1-RLuc and GFP-Gγ2, GFP-Gβ1 or YFP-Gβ1γ2. Gα subunits were also stably associated with both effectors regardless of whether or not signal transduction was initiated by a receptor agonist. Although BRET between effectors and Gβγ was increased by receptor stimulation, our data indicate that these changes are likely to be conformational in nature. Furthermore, receptor-sensitive G-protein-effector complexes could be detected before being transported to the plasma membrane, providing the first direct evidence for an intracellular site of assembly.
The relationship between body size and evoked potentials from the statocysts of the prawnPalaemon serratus
Authors: Lovell J. M. , Moate R. M. , Christiansen L. , Findlay M. M.
Published: June 2006

The organisation of the statocyst hair cells and auditory evoked potentials(AEPs) generated by the afferents in three body size classes of prawn(Palaemon serratus) have been studied using a combination of anatomical, electron microscopic and electrophysiological approaches. The statistical examination of the relationship between the sensory setae and body size showed an increase in both the length and number of statocyst hair cells as the animal grows. In view of this finding, the response of the statocyst organ to a 500 Hz tone burst was recorded from four specimens from each size class using two subcutaneous electrodes, positioned in the carapace close to the supraoesophageal ganglion and statocyst. Neither body size nor the number of afferents in the statocyst has any significant impact on the amplitude of AEPs in response to the 500 Hz tone burst. The findings of this study show that P. serratus is capable of hearing a 500 Hz tone regardless of body size, a finding that is of ecological importance when considering the effect of anthropogenic sound on crustaceans.
Following the heart: temperature and salinity effects on heart rate in native and invasive species of blue mussels (genusMytilus)
Authors: Braby Caren E. , Somero George N.
Published: June 2006

The three species of blue mussels, Mytilus trossulus Gould 1850, M. edulis Linnaeus 1758 and M. galloprovincialis Lamarck 1819, have distinct global distribution patterns that are hypothesized to reflect differences in their tolerances of temperature and salinity. We examined effects on heart rate (beats min–1) of acute exposure and acclimation to different combinations of temperature and salinity to test this hypothesis and, in the context of the invasive success of M. galloprovincialis, to gain insights into the factors that may explain the replacement of the temperate Pacific native, M. trossulus, by this Mediterranean Sea invader along much of the California coast. Heart rate of M. trossulus was significantly higher than that of M. galloprovincialis, consistent with evolutionary adaptation to a lower habitat temperature (temperature compensation) in the former species. Heart rates of M. trossulus/M. galloprovincialis hybrids were intermediate between those of the parental species. Following acclimation to 14°C and 21°C, heart rates of all species exhibited partial compensation to temperature.

Heart rate increased with rising temperature until a high temperature was reached at which point activity fell sharply, the high critical temperature(Hcrit). Hcrit increased with increasing acclimation temperature and differed among species in a pattern that reflected their probable evolutionary adaptation temperatures: M. galloprovincialis is more heat tolerant than the other two congeners. Ability to sustain heart function in the cold also reflected evolutionary history: M. trossulus is more cold tolerant than M. galloprovincialis.

Heart rates for all three congeners decreased gradually in response to acute reductions in salinity until a low salinity (Scrit)was reached at which heart rate dropped precipitously. Scrit decreased with decreasing salinity of acclimation and was generally lowest for M. galloprovincialis. Mortality during acclimation under common garden conditions was greatest in M. trossulus and was highest at high acclimation temperatures and salinities. These intrinsic differences in basal heart rate, thermal and salinity responses, acclimatory capacity, and survivorship are discussed in the contexts of the species' biogeographic patterning and, for the invasive species M. galloprovincialis, the potential for further range expansion along the Pacific coast of North America.
Somite formation and expression ofMyoD,myogeninandmyosinin Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossusL.)embryos incubated at different temperatures: transient asymmetric expression ofMyoD
Authors: Galloway Trina F. , Bardal Tora , Kvam Sylvia N. , Dahle Stine W. , Nesse Gaute , Randøl Markus , Kjørsvik Elin , Andersen Øivind
Published: June 2006

Genes encoding the myogenic regulating factors MyoD and myogenin and the structural muscle proteins myosin light chain 2 (MyLC2) and myosin heavy chain(MyHC) were isolated from juvenile Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.). The impact of temperature on their temporal and spatial expression during somitogenesis were examined by incubating halibut embryos at 4, 6 and 8°C, and regularly sampling for whole-mount in situhybridisation and reverse transcription (RT)–PCR.

There were no significant effects of temperature on the onset of somitogenesis or number of somites at hatching. The rate of somite formation increased with increasing temperature, and the expression of MyoD, myogenin and MyHC followed the cranial-to-caudal somite formation. Hence, no significant effect of temperature on the spatial and temporal expression of the genes studied was found in relation to somite stage. MyoD, which has subsequently been shown to encode the MyoD2 isoform, displayed a novel bilaterally asymmetric expression pattern only in white muscle precursor cells during early halibut somitogenesis. The expression of myogenin resembled that previously described for other fish species, and preceded the MyHC expression by approximately five somites. Two MyLC2 cDNA sequences were for the first time described for a flatfish, probably representing embryonic (MyLC2a) and larval/juvenile(MyLC2b) isoforms.

Factors regulating muscle determination, differentiation and development have so far mostly been studied in vertebrates with external bilateral symmetry. The findings of the present study suggest that more such investigations of flatfish species could provide valuable information on how muscle-regulating mechanisms work in species with different anatomical,physiological and ecological traits.
The effects of endogenous and exogenous nitric oxide on gut motility in zebrafish Danio rerio embryos and larvae
Authors: Holmberg Anna , Olsson Catharina , Holmgren Susanne
Published: June 2006

Using motion analysis, the ontogeny of the nitrergic control system in the gut was studied in vivo in zebrafish Danio rerio embryos and larvae. For the first time we show the presence of a nitrergic tonus,modulating both anterograde and retrograde contraction waves in the intestine of developing zebrafish. At 4 d.p.f. (days post fertilisation), the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor l-NAME (three boluses of 50–100 nl, 10–3 mol l–1) increased the anterograde contraction wave frequency by 0.50±0.10 cycles min–1. Subsequent application of the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP; three boluses of 50–100 nl, 10–4mol l–1) reduced the frequency of propagating anterograde waves (–0.71±0.20 cycles min–1). This coincided with the first appearance of an excitatory cholinergic tonus, observed in an earlier study. One day later, at 5 d.p.f., in addition to the effect on anterograde contraction waves, application of l-NAME increased(0.39±0.15 cycles min–1) and following SNP application reduced (–1.61±0.36 cycles min–1) the retrograde contraction wave frequency. In contrast, at 3 d.p.f., when no spontaneous motility is observed, application of l-NAME did not induce contraction waves in either part of the gut, indicating the lack of a functional inhibitory tonus at this early stage. Gut neurons expressing NOS-like immunoreactivity were present in the distal and middle intestine as early as 2 d.p.f., and at 1 day later in the proximal intestine. In conclusion, the present study suggests that a nitrergic inhibitory tonus develops shortly before or at the time for onset of exogenous feeding.