bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Targeting Hypoxic Cells through the DNA Damage Response
Authors: Olcina Monica , Lecane Philip S. , Hammond Ester M.
Published: September 2010

Exposure to hypoxia-induced replication arrest initiates a DNA damage response that includes both ATR- and ATM-mediated signaling. DNA fiber analysis was used to show that these conditions lead to a replication arrest during both the initiation and elongation phases, and that this correlated with decreased levels of nucleotides. The DNA damage response induced by hypoxia is distinct from the classical pathways induced by damaging agents, primarily due to the lack of detectable DNA damage, but also due to the coincident repression of DNA repair in hypoxic conditions. The principle aims of the hypoxia-induced DNA damage response seem to be the induction of p53-dependent apoptosis or the preservation of replication fork integrity. The latter is of particular importance should reoxygenation occur. Tumor reoxygenation occurs as a result of spontaneous changes in blood flow and also therapy. Cells experiencing hypoxia and/or reoxygenation are, therefore, sensitive to loss or inhibition of components of the DNA damage response, including Chk1, ATM, ATR, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, restoration of hypoxia-induced p53-mediated signaling may well be effective in the targeting of hypoxic cells. The DNA damage response is also induced in endothelial cells at moderate levels of hypoxia, which do not induce replication arrest. In this situation, phosphorylation of H2AX has been shown to be required for proliferation and angiogenesis and is, therefore, an attractive potential therapeutic target. Clin Cancer Res; 16(23); 5624–9. ©2010 AACR.
Acute Effects of Levosimendan on Cerebral and Systemic Perfusion and Oxygenation in Newborns: An Observational Study
Authors: Bravo María del Carmen , López Paloma , Cabañas Fernando , Pérez-Rodríguez Jesús , Pérez-Fernández Elia , Pellicer Adelina
Published: September 2010

Background: Cardiovascular drugs play a major role in the pre- and postoperative care in neonates with congenital heart disease. Management strategies aim to optimise contractility, improve diastolic function, maintain adequate preload, and reduce afterload. Levosimendan, a novel inodilator agent, enhances myocardial contractility and causes peripheral and coronary vasodilation. Objectives: A systematic approach was used to evaluate the acute haemodynamic effects of levosimendan in critically ill infants with low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS). Methods: Infants received a continuous infusion of levosimendan, at a dose increased stepwise (range 0.1–0.2 µg/kg/min), during 48 h. Two near-infrared units were used to assess cerebral (frontal-parietal, c) and peripheral (thigh, p) perfusion and oxygenation. The changes in cerebral blood volume (ΔCBV), cerebral (cΔHbD) and peripheral (pΔHbD) intravascular oxygenation and the cerebral (cTOI) and peripheral (pTOI) tissue oxygenation index that followed levosimendan administration were continuously monitored. Blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature were continuously recorded. In addition, baseline and end-of-study pH, blood gases, lactate and haematocrit were determined. Results: Seven doses of levosimendan were investigated. The mean study time was 13.3 (7–19) h. Levosimendan produced an increase in cΔHbD (p < 0.05) and pΔHbD (NS) and a decrease in heart rate (p < 0.001) and lactate (p < 0.05). Trends showed an increase in mean blood pressure (NS). These results were independent of the effect of time. Mixed linear model analysis identified blood pressure changes and levosimendan as factors independently associated with cΔHbD. Conclusions: Levosimendan improves cerebral and systemic perfusion and oxygenation in critically ill infants suffering from LCOS.
Acute Heart Failure Clinical Drug Development: From Planning to Proof of Activity to Phase III
Authors: Cotter Gad , Voors Adriaan A. , Weatherley Beth Davison , Pang Peter S. , Teerlink John R. , Filippatos Gerasimos , Ponikowski Piotr , Milo-Cotter Olga , Dittrich Howard , Teichman Sam L. , Adams Kirkwood F. , Gheorghiade Mihai , Metra Marco
Published: September 2010

Over the last decades, attempts to develop new therapies for acute heart failure (AHF) have largely failed. Limitations in understanding the pathophysiology of AHF, its natural history, the effects of current therapies, the properties of new agents, and, importantly, study designs and execution have contributed to these disappointing results. We propose a novel approach for the development of new agents for AHF. Initial stages of development (proof of activity and phase IIa studies) should provide a granular understanding of the mechanism of the actions and pharmacodynamic properties of the new intervention, first in animal models of HF and then in small tightly designed human studies. This will facilitate the identification of patients who are more likely to show a favorable response. In phase II studies (proof of concept), the assessment of efficacy and final dose selection should not be based on surrogate endpoints but rather on clinically meaningful endpoints such as the relief of AHF symptoms, i.e. breathlessness, as well as consistent trends in the relief of other symptoms and clinical signs of recurrence (worsening HF either in hospital or after discharge) and short-term mortality. Lastly, other safety parameters, i.e. effects such as renal and myocardial damage, should be assessed. In some instances, the decision to move to phase III may be based on clear consistent trends rather than on 1 statistically significant endpoint. In studies that confirm clinical utility (phase III), efficacy will be judged relative to the magnitude of the benefit, i.e. improvements in symptoms (breathlessness), the prevention of symptom recurrence, and short-term mortality, balanced by the consideration of safety signals including an estimation of absolute mortality.
Design and Feasibility of an International Study Assessing the Prevalence of Contact Allergy to Fragrances in the General Population: The European Dermato-Epidemiology Network Fragrance Study
Authors: Rossi Marta , Coenraads Pieter-Jan , Diepgen Thomas , Svensson Åke , Elsner Peter , Gonçalo Margarida , Bruze Magnus , Naldi Luigi
Published: September 2010

Background/Aims: Data on contact allergy to fragrances in the general population are limited. Data from allergological services suggest that the frequency of contact allergy to fragrances is increasing. The European Dermato-Epidemiology Network (EDEN) Fragrance Study aims to obtain reliable data on the prevalence of contact allergy to fragrances and other sensitizers of the European baseline series, in the general population of different geographical areas of Europe. We report the methodology and the reliability of instruments adopted and discuss the feasibility based on a pilot phase. Methods: Descriptive epidemiology survey. A random sample from the general population is selected and interviewed, and is offered patch testing in a randomized way. We specifically enquire about any skin rash reported during the previous year, and any history of reactions to products that may contain the sensitizer and/or a history of avoidance of the same products. Patch test data are linked to the questionnaire information to define clinical relevance. Results: The questionnaire showed high test-retest reliability in 94 individuals. Patch test reading also showed a high level of interrater reliability. During the pilot phase, a total of 589 participants were recruited. Conclusions: The EDEN Fragrance Study is feasible and able to provide useful data on fragrance allergy.
Analysis of the Presence of Cell Proliferation-Related Molecules in the Tgf-β3 Null Mutant Mouse Palate Reveals Misexpression of EGF and Msx-1
Authors: del Río A. , Barrio M.C. , Murillo J. , Maldonado E. , López-Gordillo Y. , Martínez-Sanz E. , Martínez M.L. , Martínez-Álvarez C.
Published: September 2010

The Tgf-β3 null mutant mouse palate presents several cellular anomalies that lead to the appearance of cleft palate. One of them concerns the cell proliferation of both the palatal medial edge epithelium and mesenchyme. In this work, our aim was to determine whether there was any variation in the presence/distribution of several cell proliferation-related molecules that could be responsible for the cell proliferation defects observed in these palates. Our results showed no difference in the presence of EGF-R, PDGF-A, TGF-β2, Bmp-2, and Bmp-4, and differences were minimal for FGF-10 and Shh. However, the expression of EGF and Msx-1 changed substantially. The shift of the EGF protein expression was the one that most correlated with that of cell proliferation. This molecule is regulated by TGF-β3, and experiments blocking its activity in culture suggest that EGF misexpression in the Tgf-β3 null mutant mouse palate plays a role in the cell proliferation defect observed.
Identity as Burden or Benefit? Youth, Historical Narrative, and the Legacy of Political Conflict
Authors: Hammack Phillip L.
Published: September 2010

Scholars across a range of disciplines have increasingly argued that the intractability of political conflicts is rooted in the proliferation of competing historical narratives. These collective narratives construct the basis of a sense of shared collective identity. Narrative and identity are thus increasingly conceptualized as fundamental to the maintenance and reproduction of political conflict. In this paper, I explore two underlying conceptions of identity that have emerged in the literature on youth and political conflict. One conception views identity as a burden for youth, suggesting that youth perceive the need to internalize a master narrative of collective identity that provides a sense of security and solidarity in the midst of existential uncertainty. Though psychologically beneficial, this internalization is problematic in the reproductive role it assumes in the larger conflict. An alternative conception views identity as a benefit in its ability to serve as a tool for social and political change, particularly for low-status groups. I review theory and research that adopt these varying conceptions and suggest that identity must be conceptualized as both burden and benefit for youth in conflict settings.
Simultaneous versus Delayed Treatment of Tobacco Dependence in Alcohol-Dependent Outpatients
Authors: Nieva G. , Ortega L.L. , Mondon S. , Ballbè M. , Gual A.
Published: September 2010

Introduction: There is a high prevalence of smoking among heavy drinkers, which is often forgotten even though it has important health consequences. Aim: To evaluate the effects that providing an intensive tobacco cessation treatment simultaneously with alcohol dependence treatment versus delayed treatment (first alcohol and 6 months later tobacco) has on alcohol and tobacco consumption. Methods: Ninety-two alcohol-dependent smokers were randomized into either a simultaneous group, in which treatment was given concurrently for quitting both alcohol and tobacco, or a delayed group, in which help to quit smoking was given after 6 months. Results: No differences were found in alcohol abstinence rates in time-to-first relapse or in cumulative abstinence at 6 months. Smoking cessation rates were low overall, but better at 3 months in the simultaneous group, although differences later disappeared. Discussion: Participation in a smoking cessation program does not impair alcohol outcomes, at least during the first 6 months.
Frequency of Upper Airway Symptoms before and during Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Authors: Kreivi Hanna-Riikka , Virkkula Paula , Lehto Juho , Brander Pirkko
Published: September 2010

Background: Upper airway side effects are common during nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) treatment and may affect the use of nCPAP. Objectives: It was our aim to evaluate the prevalence of upper airway symptoms in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients before and during nCPAP treatment and to assess the possible association between the symptoms and long-term adherence to the treatment. Methods: We examined 385 consecutive OSAS patients (79% men, mean age ± SD 52 ± 10 years and apnea-hypopnea index 33 ± 23) by means of a prospective questionnaire-based survey. The patients filled in questionnaires about upper airway symptoms before starting nCPAP and after 2 months of treatment. Results: Upper airway symptoms were common before starting nCPAP: 61% of the patients reported dryness of mouth, 54% dryness of throat, 52% nasal stuffiness, 51% dryness of nose, 30% sneezing, 24% mucus in throat, 17% rhinorrhea, and 6% nose bleeds daily or almost daily. In CPAP users there was a significant decline in the number of patients with frequent mouth (37%), throat (34%), nose (28%) dryness and nasal stuffiness (24%). There was no difference in upper airway symptoms before nCPAP treatment between those who continued the treatment after 1 year and those who terminated the treatment. Conclusions: The most common upper airway symptoms in patients with untreated OSAS seem to be associated with mucosal dryness. These symptoms improved during nCPAP treatment probably due to the change in breathing pattern. The occurrence of upper airway symptoms before nCPAP start did not predict long-term adherence to the treatment.
Effect of 6 Months of Erythromycin Treatment on Inflammatory Cells in Induced Sputum and Exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: He Zhi-Yi , Ou Li-Mei , Zhang Jian-Quan , Bai Jing , Liu Guang-Nan , Li Mei-Hua , Deng Jing-Min , MacNee William , Zhong Xiao-Ning
Published: September 2010

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airway inflammation and is associated with acute exacerbations. Macrolide antibiotics have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects in some chronic airway inflammatory diseases. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of treatment with erythromycin on airway inflammation and health outcome in COPD patients. Methods: We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of erythromycin for a period of 6 months. Thirty-six COPD patients were randomized to treatment with oral erythromycin (125 mg, three times/day) or placebo. The primary outcomes were neutrophil number in sputum and exacerbations. Results: Thirty-one patients completed the study. At the end of treatment, neutrophil counts in the sputum were significantly decreased in the group treated with erythromycin compared with placebo-treated patients (p = 0.005). Total cells in the sputum and neutrophil elastase in sputum supernatant were also significantly decreased in those treated with erythromycin compared with the placebo group (p = 0.021 and p = 0.024, respectively). The mean exacerbation rate was lower in the erythromycin group than in the placebo group (relative risk = 0.554, p = 0.042). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that erythromycin significantly delayed the time to the first COPD exacerbation compared with placebo (p = 0.032). Conclusions: Erythromycin treatment in COPD patients can reduce airway inflammation and decrease exacerbations and may therefore be useful in the management of COPD.
Chymase Inhibition Prevents Fibronectin and Myofibrillar Loss and Improves Cardiomyocyte Function and LV Torsion Angle in Dogs With Isolated Mitral Regurgitation
Authors: Pat Betty , Chen Yuanwen , Killingsworth Cheryl , Gladden James D. , Shi Ke , Zheng Junying , Powell Pamela C. , Walcott Greg , Ahmed Mustafa I. , Gupta Himanshu , Desai Ravi , Wei Chih-Chang , Hase Naoki , Kobayashi Tsunefumi , Sabri Abdelkarim , Granzier Henk , Denney Thomas , Tillson Michael , Dillon A. Ray , Husain Ahsan , Dell'Italia Louis J.
Published: September 2010

Background—

The left ventricular (LV) dilatation of isolated mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with an increase in chymase and a decrease in interstitial collagen and extracellular matrix. In addition to profibrotic effects, chymase has significant antifibrotic actions because it activates matrix metalloproteinases and kallikrein and degrades fibronectin. Thus, we hypothesize that chymase inhibitor (CI) will attenuate extracellular matrix loss and LV remodeling in MR.

Methods and Results—

We studied dogs with 4 months of untreated MR (MR; n=9) or MR treated with CI (MR+CI; n=8). Cine MRI demonstrated a >40% increase in LV end-diastolic volume in both groups, consistent with a failure of CI to improve a 25% decrease in interstitial collagen in MR. However, LV cardiomyocyte fractional shortening was decreased in MR versus normal dogs (3.71±0.24% versus 4.81±0.31%;
P
<0.05) and normalized in MR+CI dogs (4.85±0.44%). MRI with tissue tagging demonstrated an increase in LV torsion angle in MR+CI versus MR dogs. CI normalized the significant decrease in fibronectin and FAK phosphorylation and prevented cardiomyocyte myofibrillar degeneration in MR dogs. In addition, total titin and its stiffer isoform were increased in the LV epicardium and paralleled the changes in fibronectin and FAK phosphorylation in MR+CI dogs.

Conclusions—

These results suggest that chymase disrupts cell surface–fibronectin connections and FAK phosphorylation that can adversely affect cardiomyocyte myofibrillar structure and function. The greater effect of CI on epicardial versus endocardial titin and noncollagen cell surface proteins may be responsible for the increase in torsion angle in chronic MR.
Risk Score for In-Hospital Ischemic Stroke Mortality Derived and Validated Within the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Program
Authors: Smith Eric E. , Shobha Nandavar , Dai David , Olson DaiWai M. , Reeves Mathew J. , Saver Jeffrey L. , Hernandez Adrian F. , Peterson Eric D. , Fonarow Gregg C. , Schwamm Lee H.
Published: September 2010

Background—

There are few validated models for prediction of in-hospital mortality after ischemic stroke. We used Get With the Guidelines–Stroke Program data to derive and validate prediction models for a patient's risk of in-hospital ischemic stroke mortality.

Methods and Results—

Between October 2001 and December 2007, there were 1036 hospitals that contributed 274 988 ischemic stroke patients to this study. The sample was randomly divided into a derivation (60%) and validation (40%) sample. Logistic regression was used to determine the independent predictors of mortality and to assign point scores for a prediction model. We also separately derived and validated a model in the 109 187 patients (39.7%) with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score recorded. Model discrimination was quantified by calculating the C statistic from the validation sample. In-hospital mortality was 5.5% overall and 5.2% in the subset in which NIHSS score was recorded. Characteristics associated with in-hospital mortality were age, arrival mode (eg, via ambulance versus other mode), history of atrial fibrillation, previous stroke, previous myocardial infarction, carotid stenosis, diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, history of dyslipidemia, current smoking, and weekend or night admission. The C statistic was 0.72 in the overall validation sample and 0.85 in the model that included NIHSS score. A model with NIHSS score alone provided nearly as good discrimination (C statistic 0.83). Plots of observed versus predicted mortality showed excellent model calibration in the validation sample.

Conclusions—

The Get With the Guidelines–Stroke risk model provides clinicians with a well-validated, practical bedside tool for mortality risk stratification. The NIHSS score provides substantial incremental information on a patient's short-term mortality risk and is the strongest predictor of mortality.
Exhaled Carbon Monoxide and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease in the Community
Authors: Cheng Susan , Lyass Asya , Massaro Joseph M. , O'Connor George T. , Keaney John F. , Vasan Ramachandran S.
Published: September 2010

Background—

Endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) at physiological concentrations is cytoprotective, whereas excess levels reflect underlying oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular pathology and portend adverse clinical sequelae. However, the relation of exhaled CO to metabolic/vascular risk in the community is unknown.

Methods and Results—

We related exhaled CO, a surrogate measure of blood CO concentration, to the risk of developing new-onset metabolic syndrome and incident cardiovascular disease following 14 943 routine examinations (4139 unique participants; mean age, 46 years, 53% women) in the Framingham Heart Study. Baseline exhaled CO was associated with the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors (including smoking) and prevalent metabolic syndrome (odds ratio, 1.09 per log CO; 95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.17;
P
=0.01). During up to 4 years of follow-up, 1458 participants developed new-onset metabolic syndrome, and 416 experienced a first cardiovascular disease event. Compared with individuals in the lowest quartile of exhaled CO, those in the highest quartile were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 1.76;
P
<0.0001) and cardiovascular disease events (hazard ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.14 to 2.40;
P
=0.008) in multivariable analyses that included adjustment for smoking status.

Conclusion—

In our community-based sample, higher exhaled CO levels predicted the development of metabolic syndrome and future cardiovascular disease events, underscoring the importance of this endogenous second messenger in the pathogenesis of metabolic and vascular risk.
Downloadable Software Algorithm Reduces Inappropriate Shocks Caused by Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Lead Fractures
Authors: Swerdlow Charles D. , Gunderson Bruce D. , Ousdigian Kevin T. , Abeyratne Athula , Sachanandani Haresh , Ellenbogen Kenneth A.
Published: September 2010

Background—

Downloadable software upgrades are common in consumer electronics but not in implantable medical devices. Fractures of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads present commonly as inappropriate shocks. A lead-integrity alert (LIA) designed to reduce inappropriate shocks is the first software download approved to enhance nominally functioning, previously implanted ICDs.

Methods and Results—

We performed a prospective study to determine whether an LIA could reduce inappropriate shocks. Patients were included if they had ICD lead fractures confirmed by analysis of explanted leads. The LIA group included the first 213 patients who met the inclusion criteria after the LIA was approved who had the LIA downloaded. The LIA is triggered either by high impedance or rapid oversensing. It responds by delaying detection of ventricular fibrillation and initiating a patient alert every 4 hours. The control group included the first 213 patients who did not have the LIA downloaded. They were monitored by conventional daily impedance measurements that respond with a daily alert. The LIA group had a 46% relative reduction (95% confidence interval 34% to 55%) in the percentage of patients with ≥1 inappropriate shock (LIA 38% versus control 70%,
P
<0.001) and a 50% relative reduction (95% confidence interval 33% to 61%) in the percentage with ≥5 shocks (25% versus 50%,
P
<0.001). The LIA group also had a higher percentage of patients who either did not receive a shock or had ≥3 days of warning before the shock (72% versus 50%,
P
<0.001).

Conclusions—

A software download that upgrades previously implanted ICDs without surgical revision reduces inappropriate shocks caused by lead fractures.
The Influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation on Caribbean Tropical Cyclone Activity
Authors: Klotzbach Philip J.
Published: September 2010

Caribbean basin tropical cyclone activity shows significant variability on interannual as well as multidecadal time scales. Comprehensive statistics for Caribbean hurricane activity are tabulated, and then large-scale climate features are examined for their impacts on this activity. The primary interannual driver of variability is found to be El Niño–Southern Oscillation, which alters levels of activity due to changes in levels of vertical wind shear as well as through column stability. Much more activity occurs in the Caribbean with La Niña conditions than with El Niño conditions. On the multidecadal time scale, the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation is shown to play a significant role in Caribbean hurricane activity, likely linked to its close relationship with multidecadal alterations in the size of the Atlantic warm pool and the phase of the Atlantic meridional mode. When El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation are examined in combination, even stronger relationships are found due to a combination of either favorable or unfavorable dynamic and thermodynamic factors. For example, 29 hurricanes tracked into the Caribbean in the 10 strongest La Niña years in a positive Atlantic multidecadal oscillation period compared with only two hurricanes tracking through the Caribbean in the 10 strongest El Niño years in a negative Atlantic multidecadal oscillation period.
Real-Time Bias Reduction for Satellite-Based Precipitation Estimates
Authors: Tian Yudong , Peters-Lidard Christa D. , Eylander John B.
Published: September 2010

A new approach to reduce biases in satellite-based estimates in real time is proposed and tested in this study. Currently satellite-based precipitation estimates exhibit considerable biases, and there have been many efforts to reduce these biases by merging surface gauge measurements with satellite-based estimates. Most of these efforts require timely availability of surface gauge measurements. The new proposed approach does not require gauge measurements in real time. Instead, the Bayesian logic is used to establish a statistical relationship between satellite estimates and gauge measurements from recent historical data. Then this relationship is applied to real-time satellite estimates when gauge data are not yet available. This new scheme is tested over the United States with six years of precipitation estimates from two real-time satellite products [i.e., the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) research product 3B42RT and the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Morphing technique (CMORPH)] and a gauge analysis dataset [i.e., the CPC unified analysis]. The first 4-yr period was used as the training period to establish a satellite–gauge relationship, which was then applied to the last 2 yr as the correction period, during which gauge data were withheld for training but only used for evaluation. This approach showed that satellite biases were reduced by 70%–100% for the summers in the correction period. In addition, even when sparse networks with only 600 or 300 gauges were used during the training period, the biases were still reduced by 60%–80% and 47%–63%, respectively. The results also show a limitation in this approach as it tends to overadjust both light and strong events toward more intermediate rain rates.
Technology, Design, and Operation of an Autonomous Buoy System in the Western English Channel
Authors: Smyth T. J. , Fishwick J. R. , Gallienne C. P. , Stephens J. A. , Bale A. J.
Published: September 2010

A buoy system has been developed to continually monitor the operationally demanding coastal and open-shelf environment of the western English Channel. The buoys measure a range of physical and biogeochemical parameters on an hourly basis at two established long-term monitoring sites and the data are relayed to shore in near–real time using radio communications. This paper describes the technological challenges faced in such long-term marine deployments including the mooring design, warning systems, command and control, and radio communications, and how each were overcome. The fine temporal frequency data are used within an operational oceanography context, will underpin the long-term sustained observations in the western English Channel, and will form the basis of improvements to finescale ecosystem modeling to better predict any changes in the U.K. shelf seas.
Tears, Unity, Moose Burgers, and Fashion: A Tale of Two Candidates
Authors: Castañeda Rossmann Liliana
Published: September 2010

Candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin, although they did not run against each other, have been compared on many levels. This essay analyzes the storytelling process by the media, by their respective campaigns, by their supporters and opponents and argues that, in its complexity and polysemy, such process engenders mutually contradictory stories. Suggested here is the idea that stories act as fundamental meaning-making resources. Both candidates, although in the public eye at different times, encountered parallel yet contradictory story constructions; both engaged the story-making process guided by different resources and experienced different results. The following essay outlines a proposal for a taxonomy of stories that is then used to analyze the stories privileged in constructing the public image of both candidates.
The effect of the Iraq war on Islamist terrorism in the West
Authors: Harrow Martin
Published: September 2010

This article investigates the effects of the Iraq war on terrorism in the West. Arguments from academics and from war-opponents and adherents are distilled into three hypotheses which are tested. To do this, a measure is created of terrorist activities in the West based on terrorist attacks and failed and foiled plots. The causal logic of the hypotheses is examined by piecing together data from various sources. Effects of the Iraq war are surprisingly hard to identify on terrorism in the West: It is difficult to corroborate that the Iraq war has drawn Islamist militant resources from the West, that Jihadist returnees should pose a significant threat, or that Muslims in greater numbers have been mobilized to terrorism. This does not disqualify transnational dynamics! Rather, it exemplifies how transnational dynamics in terrorism connects some parts of the globe, but not all, and not necessarily those most globalized. Immaterial factors, such as tactics from Iraq, have not been relevant in the West, but have had an effect in Afghanistan. Material factors like the return of Jihadists have not permeated to the West, but have had an effect in neighbouring countries.
The necessity of protection: Transgovernmental networks and EU security governance
Authors: Hollis Simon
Published: September 2010

The remarkable increase in European security and defence integration in the past decade has presented a challenge to traditional integration theories. Although they remain relevant, these theories fail to take full account of the changing security architecture of Europe, which includes the rise of transgovernmental networks (TGNs). With a focus on EU civil protection, this article critically examines established definitions of TGNs and investigates how these networks influence the supranational and national levels of security cooperation. Findings point toward the emergence of an alternative form of European security governance that addresses the lack of authority in EU security policy.
Differences in earnings assimilation of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union to Germany and Israel during 1994-2005: The interplay between context of reception, observed, and unobserved immigrants’ attributes
Authors: Haberfeld Yitchak , Cohen Yinon , Kalter Frank , Kogan Irena
Published: September 2010

The present study considers the interplay between patterns of immigrants’ self-selection and the context of reception (i.e. migration policies and the operation of the labor market) at the host country on different economic assimilation patterns. We compare three groups of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) who arrived in Israel and Germany during 1994—2005: Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel, Jewish immigrants who arrived in Germany (JQR), and ethnic Germans who arrived in Germany (EG). Using the same questionnaire for the German and Israeli samples, we disentangle the impact of the two effects on immigrants’ earnings assimilation by applying the Juhn et al. (1991) method of decomposing the difference in the earnings differentials between natives and FSU immigrants in the two host countries. The results indicate that earnings gaps between FSU immigrants and natives are wider in Germany than in Israel and that the role of contexts of reception is significant in determining patterns of self-selection. We find that the less rigid market attracts the more motivated immigrants, as indicated by the comparison between Jewish immigrant men in Israel and Germany. Within contexts of immigrant reception, the operation of the labor market is more important than formal policies in enhancing economic assimilation of immigrants, as indicated by the comparisons between JQR and EG immigrants in Germany and between Jewish immigrant women in Israel and Germany.
Moa Citings
Authors: Armstrong Philip
Published: September 2010

The archaeological consensus is that all species of Moa ( Dinornithiformes) have been extinct for three or four centuries. Yet these giant birds still enjoy a vigorous and prolific afterlife in New Zealand’s literature, art, historiography and popular culture. Arguing that narratives about moa function as myths, in the sense given that term by Roland Barthes, this essay analyses their deployment in the construction of theories about human settlement in New Zealand, and about the development of an endemic (Māori) culture. I suggest that a shift occurred, during the second half of the twentieth century, from a moa mythology based on theories of racial hierarchy to one based on theories of evolutionary ecology. I then consider the ideological investments of the currently dominant theories about moa, and conclude by contrasting these with the very different kinds of affect evoked by accounts of live moa sightings.
Introducing ACLED: An Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset
Authors: Raleigh Clionadh , Linke rew , Hegre Håvard , Karlsen Joakim
Published: September 2010

This article presents ACLED, an Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset. ACLED codes the actions of rebels, governments, and militias within unstable states, specifying the exact location and date of battle events, transfers of military control, headquarter establishment, civilian violence, and rioting. In the current version, the dataset covers 50 unstable countries from 1997 through 2010. ACLED’s disaggregation of civil war and transnational violent events allow for research on local level factors and the dynamics of civil and communal conflict. Findings from subnational conflict research challenges conclusions from larger national-level studies. In a brief descriptive analysis, the authors find that, on average, conflict covers 15% of a state’s territory, but almost half of a state can be directly affected by internal wars.
Alleviating the Burden of Emotional Labor
Authors: McCance A. Silke , Nye Christopher D. , Wang Lu , Jones Kisha S. , Chiu Chi-yue
Published: September 2010

Difficult customer interactions cause service employees to experience negative emotions and to engage in emotional labor. The present laboratory study examined whether social sharing (i.e., talking about an emotionally arousing work event with one’s coworkers) can attenuate the residual anger lingering after a taxing service episode. Participants assumed the role of customer service representatives for a fictitious technical support hotline and encountered either neutral or difficult service interactions. After fielding three easy or three difficult calls, participants were given the opportunity to engage in social sharing by talking about (a) the facts that just transpired, (b) the feelings aroused by the encounters, or (c) the positive aspects of the experience, or they were asked to complete a filler task. Results from quantitative data revealed that participants who engaged in difficult (vs. neutral) customer interactions reported more surface acting and felt more anger. Engaging in social sharing was beneficial: All three types of social sharing were effective in reducing the anger aroused by handling demanding customers. Findings from qualitative analyses suggested that different mechanisms might have contributed to the effectiveness of the three types of social sharing. Future research directions and implications for practice are discussed.
High School Relationship and Marriage Education: A Comparison of Mandated and Self-Selected Treatment
Authors: Halpern-Meekin Sarah
Published: September 2010

This study examines whether high school relationship and marriage education can affect students’ relationship skills and if effects vary between sites having mandated and self-selected course participation. Based on an original data set ( n = 222), results show that course exposure can result in a significant, positive change in students’ relationship skills, although only at certain schools and for certain students. Mandated treatment appears to garner better results, those from two-parent families show the most consistent gains in relationship skills across schools, and severely economically disadvantaged school samples appear not to show gains. The importance of these results for practitioners and policy makers is discussed.
Using Simulation to Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines
Authors: Aebersold Michelle
Published: September 2010

Nurses in health care today need to practice from an evidence base. There are many models to guide nurses in using the evidence in their practice; however, often nurses rely on their own mental processes to deliver care and do not rely on protocols or guidelines. The challenge often is not to teach the correct evidence-based practice guideline but to support the nurse to incorporate the guidelines into daily practice. Simulation is a method that can be used in an overall strategy to diffuse evidence-based practice guidelines at the point of care delivery.
Oneself as an Author
Authors: Jones Lisa
Published: September 2010

In his discussions of life as narrative, and identity as narrative identity, Paul Ricoeur has claimed that we learn to become narrators and heroes of our own stories, without actually becoming the authors of our own lives. This idea, that we cannot be the author of our own life-story in the same way that the author of fictional narrative is the author of that story, seems at first incontestable, given that we are caught up within the enactment of the narrative that is our life, unlike the author of a fictional story who also has an independent existence outside that story. This asymmetry leads Ricoeur to pronounce that an ineradicable difference exists between fictional and life narratives. But is this difference in fact ineffaceable, or is there a sense in which we can be said to be the authors of our own lives? In this article I suggest that there are more points of similarity than Ricoeur explicitly recognizes between what authors do in writing fictional narratives and what we do in figuring, prospectively, our lives. These similarities are brought to light by a revision of the naïve, received concept of author and, once acknowledged, serve to bridge the purportedly ‘unbridgeable gap’ between fictional narratives and life narratives. I then consider how bridging this gap — establishing ourselves as authors as well as narrators — has ethical implications with regard to creating our own lives: a creation which authoring implies, but which is — given the revised notion of author — limited, both by the reciprocity of the other as co-author and by those events in life which the life-author is not fully able to plot.
Ricoeur’s Translation Model as a Mutual Labour of Understanding
Authors: Scott-Baumann Alison
Published: September 2010

Ricoeur has written about translation as an ethical paradigm. Translation from one language to another, and within one’s own language, provides both a metaphor and a real mechanism for explaining oneself to the other. Attempting and failing to achieve symmetry between two languages is a manifestation of the asymmetry inherent in human relationships. If actively pursued, translation can show us how to forgive other people for being different from us and thus serves as a paradigm for tolerance. In full acceptance that this will be impossible, Ricoeur uses the model of translation as a way of understanding European integration, with three aspects: translation, shared narrative and shared forgiveness of Europe’s history. These models provide a strong statement about tolerance and become even more significant through their conversation with the negativity that suffuses them. He draws on his knowledge of psychoanalysis to explain that the translator suffers through remembering and through mourning the loss of perfection; there must be acknowledgement of deficiency. This acceptance of imperfection and of limits to success is a key element in Ricoeur’s philosophy and is explored from the 1950s onwards in his study of negativity; denied by phenomenology and explored by Hegel. Negation is vital for understanding the world (this word means this, not that), but it can preclude us from access to meaning when it becomes negativity (this word has no meaning because it is different). Translation can provide the bridge to span the tension between the pathology of denial and different interpretations, and projection of evil into others, which I believe is at the heart of the perceived incompatibilities between Islam and the West. There is a political urgency to this enterprise, given the ‘othering’ of the Muslim world that has replaced the Cold War dichotomies between Communist as ‘other’ and the capitalist world. References to the Muslim as the current ‘other’ will be part of my discussion. As well as seeking to understand Ricoeur’s model of translation, we will examine whether his model works in a world where many speak no Arabic, Urdu or Farsi, or indeed whether it has any relevance for people who do not translate from one language to another.
Power and Violence by Paul Ricoeur
Authors: Jones Lisa
Published: September 2010

In this article, from his Lectures I: Autour du politique, Ricoeur addresses and subjects to critical examination the political thought of Hannah Arendt, taking as his starting point her paper ‘On Violence’, and her treatment of the conceptual pair power and violence. In investigating Arendt’s cardinal distinction between these concepts, Ricoeur brings to light the way in which Arendt’s thinking goes against the grain of the dominant tradition in political science, that which holds power to be defined in terms of domination. Rejecting this interpretation, Arendt proposes an alternative concept of power that has nothing to do with domination but everything to do with consent, and group agency. Opening up Arendt’s thinking on the relationship between power, violence and domination, Ricoeur reveals how two planes of Arendt’s thought — the phenomeno-anthropological and the political — mirror and illuminate each other, in terms of the separation of concepts and the systems of distinctions that appear in each plane. While appreciative of Arendt’s thinking, and of her appeal to an ‘other’ tradition of political thought that can be traced back to the Roman civitas, Ricoeur seeks to question the epistemic status of her discourse and determine how, or from where, such distinctions derive their authority. His own hypothesis is then introduced: the constitution of power in a human group has the status of the forgotten, in that power is the forgotten present of political action. Working with this hypothesis, Ricoeur holds, we can begin to make sense of the difficulties and ambiguities that arise within Arendtian discourse. He then performs a re-reading of the cardinal distinction of power and violence in light of this hypothesis, before introducing two further key political concepts — opinion and authority — and investigating the relation these hold to power and violence, in particular the relation between power and authority.
Longitudinal Changes in Patient Distress following Interactive Decision Aid Use among BRCA1/2 Carriers
Authors: Hooker Gillian W. , Leventhal Kara-Grace , DeMarco Tiffani , Peshkin Beth N. , Finch Clinton , Wahl Erica , Joines Jessica Rispoli , Brown Karen , Valdimarsdottir Heiddis , Schwartz Marc D.
Published: September 2010

Background. Increasingly, women with a strong family history of breast cancer are seeking genetic testing as a starting point to making significant decisions regarding management of their cancer risks. Individuals who are found to be carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a substantially elevated risk for breast cancer and are frequently faced with the decision of whether to undergo risk-reducing mastectomy. Objective. In order to provide BRCA1/2 carriers with ongoing decision support for breast cancer risk management, a computer-based interactive decision aid was developed and tested against usual care in a randomized controlled trial. Design. Following genetic counseling, 214 female (aged 21–75 years) BRCA1/2 mutation carriers were randomized to usual care (UC; n = 114) or usual care plus decision aid (DA; n = 100) arms. UC participants received no further intervention; DA participants were sent the CD-ROM–based decision aid to view at home. Main Outcome Measures. The authors measured general distress, cancer-specific distress, and genetic testing–specific distress at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up time points postrandomization. Results. Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant longitudinal impact of the DA on cancer-specific distress (B = 5.67, z = 2.81, P = 0.005), which varied over time (DA group by time; B = −2.19, z = −2.47, P = 0.01), and on genetic testing–specific distress (B = 5.55, z = 2.46, P = 0.01), which also varied over time (DA group by time; B = −2.46, z = −2.51, P = 0.01). Individuals randomized to UC reported significantly decreased distress in the month following randomization, whereas individuals randomized to the DA maintained their postdisclosure distress over the short term. By 12 months, the overall decrease in distress between the 2 groups was similar. Conclusion. This report provides new insight into the long-term longitudinal effects of DAs.
Introduction: STS and Neoliberal Science
Authors: Lave Rebecca , Mirowski Philip , Randalls Samuel
Published: September 2010

In this special issue, we focus on the particular impacts of neoliberalism as a regime of scientific management. Drawing on a wide range of studies from other fields, as well as the four cases in this issue, we argue that while there are important differences in how neoliberalism has been implemented across nations and disciplines, there are a set of key principles and common outcomes that can serve a heuristic function for STS scholars attempting a more careful examination of neoliberalism. These common outcomes include: the rollback of public funding for universities; the separation of research and teaching missions, leading to rising numbers of temporary faculty; the dissolution of the scientific author; the narrowing of research agendas to focus on the needs of commercial actors; an increasing reliance on market take-up to adjudicate intellectual disputes; and the intense fortification of intellectual property in an attempt to commercialize knowledge, impeding the production and dissemination of science. Taken together, these shifts suggest that the impact of neoliberal science policy and management extends far beyond the patent system into the methods, organization, and content of science. We thus urge STS scholars to undertake a detailed exploration of exactly how the external political—economic forces of neoliberalism are transforming technoscience.