bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ribavirin dosage in patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 who completed short therapy with peg‐interferon α‐2b and ribavirin
Authors: MANGIA A. , DALGARD O. , MINERVA N. , VERBAAN H. , BACCA D. , RING‐LARSEN H. , COPETTI M. , CARRETTA V. , PIAZZOLLA V. , COZZOLONGO R. , MOTTOLA L. , ANDRIULLI A.
Published: March 2010

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31, 1346–1353

Background  The optimal dose of ribavirin to be used in combination with Peg‐IFN in patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 undergoing short treatment has not been established.

Aim  To explore the relationship between starting ribavirin doses, expressed as mg/kg body weight and both rapid viral response at treatment week 4 (RVR) and sustained virological response (SVR) in patients treated for 12–14 weeks with peg‐interferon α‐2b and ribavirin.

Methods  A post hoc analysis of data collected from two multicenter clinical trials was performed. Multiple regression analyses were employed to identify independent baseline and on‐treatment predictors of RVR and SVR. For each dose of ribavirin, the empirical estimated probability of response was computed and the continuous exposure index was dichotomized by using a recursive partitioning and amalgamation method.

Results  A nonlinear relationship was ascertained between ribavirin dose and RVR, but not SVR. A dose of 15.2 mg/kg was selected as the best splitting value for discriminating RVR vs. non‐RVR. Regression analysis identified low baseline viraemia, genotype 2 and high ribavirin dose as independent prognostic factors for RVR. The likelihood of an SVR was not correlated with baseline ribavirin dose, but was independently predicted by adherence to the full dose throughout treatment and normal platelet counts.

Conclusions  Starting high ribavirin doses appears capable of increasing the rate of RVR in patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 undergoing short treatment. Maintenance of the full planned dose throughout treatment is essential for achieving optimal SVR rates.
The predictors of complications in patients with drug‐induced liver injury caused by antimicrobial agents
Authors: TREEPRASERTSUK S. , HUNTRAKUL J. , RIDTITID W. , KULLAVANIJAYA P. , BJÖRNSSON E. S.
Published: March 2010

Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31, 1200–1207

Background  Antimicrobials are the leading cause of idiosyncratic drug‐induced liver injury in most series.

Aim  To determine the incidence and the predictors of complications in patients with drug‐induced liver injury caused by antimicrobial agents requiring hospitalization.

Methods  Medical records of patients with drug‐induced liver injury caused by antimicrobial agents were identified by ICD‐10, for the period between 2002 and 2006. Clinical information and blood tests during hospitalization were recorded. The causality assessment of drug‐induced liver injury was determined by the Roussel UCLAF causality assessment method (RUCAM) scale.

Results  Of 47 594 in‐patient admissions per year, the annual incidence of drug‐induced liver injury was 0.03%. Male: female ratio was 7:3 with a median age of 47 years. Eighty reactions of drug‐induced liver injury were caused by anti‐tuberculosis drugs (85%) and by antibiotics (15%). The median (IQR) of RUCAM scale was 6 (5–8). A total of 36% had HIV infection and 9% of patients had diabetes mellitus. Median (IQR) duration of hospitalization was 9 (5–15) days. Serious complications and death were found in 27.5% and 26%, respectively. By a multivariable logistic analysis, the presence of jaundice was found to be significantly associated with an unfavourable outcome.

Conclusion  Although rare, antimicrobial agents‐related drug‐induced liver injury requiring hospitalization has a high mortality rate. The presence of jaundice predicts poor outcome.
Ultrasound in regional anaesthesia
Authors: Griffin J. , Nicholls B.
Published: March 2010

Ultrasound guidance is rapidly becoming the gold standard for regional anaesthesia. There is an ever growing weight of evidence, matched with improving technology, to show that the use of ultrasound has significant benefits over conventional techniques, such as nerve stimulation and loss of resistance. The improved safety and efficacy that ultrasound brings to regional anaesthesia will help promote its use and realise the benefits that regional anaesthesia has over general anaesthesia, such as decreased morbidity and mortality, superior postoperative analgesia, cost‐effectiveness, decreased postoperative complications and an improved postoperative course. In this review we consider the evidence behind the improved safety and efficacy of ultrasound‐guided regional anaesthesia, before discussing its use in pain medicine, paediatrics and in the facilitation of neuraxial blockade. The Achilles’ heel of ultrasound‐guided regional anaesthesia is that anaesthetists are far more familiar with providing general anaesthesia, which in most cases requires skills that are achieved faster and more reliably. To this ends we go on to provide practical advice on ultrasound‐guided techniques and the introduction of ultrasound into a department.
Local anaesthetics and adjuvants – future developments
Authors: Wiles M. D. , Nathanson M. H.
Published: March 2010

The introduction of local anaesthesia some years after the first public demonstration of general anaesthesia not surprisingly created less excitement and interest amongst both the public and the medical profession. However, in its own way, a new revolution was happening. Local anaesthesia produced an increase in the choice of anaesthetic techniques available to practitioners and patients. In common with general anaesthesia, the choice of agents remained very limited for the first six decades, and interest in the practice of local, regional or central neuraxial blockade and the development of new techniques and drugs were hampered by perceived safety issues even as late as the second half of the 20th century. It is only in the last few years that, with an apparent renaissance in the use of local anaesthesia, the pace of development has picked up. As the use and range of techniques has increased, so has interest in solving some of the longstanding problems with the available drugs.
Regional anaesthesia and pain management
Authors: Power I. , McCormack J. G. , Myles P. S.
Published: March 2010

Despite recent advances in analgesia delivery techniques and the availability of new analgesic agents with favourable pharmacokinetic profiles, current evidence suggests that postoperative pain continues to be inadequately managed, with the proportion of patients reporting severe or extreme postoperative pain having changed little over the past decade. Regional techniques are superior to systemic opioid agents with regards to analgesia profile and adverse effects in the context of general, thoracic, gynaecological, orthopaedic and laparoscopic surgery. Outcome studies demonstrate that regional analgesic techniques also reduce multisystem co‐morbidity and mortality following major surgery in high risk patients. This review will discuss the efficacy of regional anaesthetic techniques for acute postoperative analgesia, the impact of regional block techniques on physiological outcomes, and the implications of acute peri‐operative regional anaesthesia on chronic (persistent) postoperative pain.
Complications of regional anaesthesia
Authors: Picard J. , Meek T.
Published: March 2010

Regional anaesthesia can marvellously dull the pain (and limit some other complications) of trauma, surgery and childbirth. But like all powerful techniques, it may have complications. Here the complications of regional anaesthesia are reviewed. The risks, presentation and the management of these complications are discussed in turn.
Beyond biomass: measuring the effects of community‐level nitrogen enrichment on floral traits, pollinator visitation and plant reproduction
Authors: Burkle Laura A. , Irwin Rebecca E.
Published: March 2010

1. Nitrogen (N) limits primary productivity in many systems and can have dramatic effects on plant–herbivore interactions, but its effects on mutualistic interactions at the community level are not well‐understood. The reproduction of many plants depends on both soil N and pollination, and N may affect floral traits, such as flower number or size, which are important for pollinator attraction to plant individuals and communities.

2. Thus, N may influence plant biomass and reproduction directly as well as indirectly via changes in pollination. The degree to which the effects of N enrichment scale from plant individuals to assemblages through emerging community‐level changes in species interactions, like pollination, is relatively unknown.

3. For 4 years, we tested how N addition to subalpine plant assemblages in Colorado, USA, affected primary productivity and species diversity, floral traits and plant–pollinator interactions, and components of female and male plant reproduction.

4. At the community level, we found that high‐N addition favoured the biomass and seed production of grasses, whereas low‐N addition promoted forb growth, flower production and pollinator visitation. However, using a pollen supplementation experiment, we found no evidence that N addition altered patterns of pollen limitation of seed production. Pollinators distributed themselves evenly across floral resources such that per‐flower visitation rate did not differ among N treatments. Thus, individual plants did not incur any extra benefit or cost from community‐level changes in plant–pollinator interactions that resulted from N enrichment, and the effects of N on forb reproduction were direct.

5. Synthesis. Understanding how mutualistic and antagonistic species interactions influence individual and community responses to abiotic resources may provide insight to the dominant forces structuring communities and is especially important in the context of predicting the effects of environmental change. In this case, the direct effects of N addition on plants were stronger than the indirect effects mediated through plant–pollinator interactions, thus supporting the concept of bottom‐up resource limitation controlling plant response.
Six quantitative trait loci influence task thresholds for hygienic behaviour in honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Authors: OXLEY PETER R. , SPIVAK MARLA , OLDROYD BENJAMIN P.
Published: March 2010

Honeybee hygienic behaviour provides colonies with protection from many pathogens and is an important model system of the genetics of a complex behaviour. It is a textbook example of complex behaviour under simple genetic control: hygienic behaviour consists of two components – uncapping a diseased brood cell, followed by removal of the contents – each of which are thought to be modulated independently by a few loci of medium to large effect. A worker’s genetic propensity to engage in hygienic tasks affects the intensity of the stimulus required before she initiates the behaviour. Genetic diversity within colonies leads to task specialization among workers, with a minority of workers performing the majority of nest‐cleaning tasks. We identify three quantitative trait loci that influence the likelihood that workers will engage in hygienic behaviour and account for up to 30% of the phenotypic variability in hygienic behaviour in our population. Furthermore, we identify two loci that influence the likelihood that a worker will perform uncapping behaviour only, and one locus that influences removal behaviour. We report the first candidate genes associated with engaging in hygienic behaviour, including four genes involved in olfaction, learning and social behaviour, and one gene involved in circadian locomotion. These candidates will allow molecular characterization of this distinctive behavioural mode of disease resistance, as well as providing the opportunity for marker‐assisted selection for this commercially significant trait.
Molecular phylogeography of Carapichea ipecacuanha, an amphitropical shrub that occurs in the understory of both semideciduous and evergreen forests
Authors: OLIVEIRA LUIZ ORLANDO DE , ROSSI ANA APARECIDA BANDINI , MARTINS ERNANE RONIE , BATISTA FLÁVIA REIS DE CARVALHO , SILVA ROBERTA SANTOS
Published: March 2010

The medicinal shrub Carapichea ipecacuanha (ipecac) is an amphitropic species with three disjunct areas of distribution. In the Brazilian Atlantic and Amazonian ranges, the species was associated mostly with the understory of seasonal semideciduous forests, whereas in the Central American–Colombian range, the species occurred in the understory of moist evergreen forests. We examined the phylogeographic structure of ipecac using chloroplast trnT‐trnL and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from 120 and 46 specimens, respectively. To complement existing data on root alkaloid profiles, we used high‐performance liquid chromatography to assess the levels of emetine and cephaeline in 33 specimens from the two Brazilian ranges. The three ranges shared neither nuclear nor chloroplast haplotypes. The phylogeographic structures showed an uneven distribution of genetic diversity, sharp breaks and high levels of genetic differentiation among ranges. Our results suggest that the extant populations are descendents of at least four distinct ancestral lineages. The Atlantic ipecacs showed higher levels of genetic diversity than ipecacs from the other two ranges; it is likely that they derive from two ancestral lineages, with long‐term persistence in that region. The Amazonian ipecacs were monomorphic with respect to the ITS and cpDNA sequences, which supports the view that there was a recent expansion from a single parental source after a strong genetic bottleneck. The existence of a fourth distinct lineage is apparent from the high levels of genetic and chemical differentiation that we identified in the Central American–Columbian ipecacs.
Expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in human endometriosis: Relation to disease stage, menstrual cycle and infertility
Authors: Lin Wei , Chen Shaomin , Li Min , Wang Bo , Qu Xun , Zhang Youzhong
Published: March 2010

Aim:  The aim of the present study was to compare the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in eutopic and ectopic endometria of women with endometriosis and eutopic endometria of women without endometriosis, and to investigate whether such an expression varies according to disease stage, menstrual cycle and infertility status.

Methods:  Forty patients with endometriosis and 15 control women were recruited for the study. Following isolation of total RNA from endometria and reverse transcription, cDNA samples were amplified to quantify the level of MIF expression by real‐time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction. All of the endometriosis tissue and normal endometrium specimens were analyzed using immunohistochemistry.

Results:  The levels of MIF in eutopic and ectopic endometria in endometriosis patients were significantly higher than in normal eutopic endometria (P < 0.01). Further, when comparing MIF in eutopic endometria (separated by phases) between the endometriosis and control groups, MIF was higher in the former group, both in the proliferative and secretory phases (P < 0.05). In addition, the MIF mRNA level was cycle phase‐dependent and increased in the proliferative phase, both in women with endometriosis and the control women, compared with the level in the secretory phase (P < 0.05). There was no significant association between MIF expression and American Fertility Society staging of endometriosis (P > 0.05). However, MIF levels were obviously elevated in sterile women in the endometriosis group compared with women in the endometriosis group who were not sterile (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:  The expression of MIF was increased significantly in the eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissue of women with endometriosis, and this factor may play a possible role in endometriosis‐associated infertility.
Prognostic significance of p‐STAT3 in patients with bulky cervical carcinoma undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy
Authors: Choi Chel Hun , Song Sang Yong , Kang Heeseok , Lee Yoo‐Young , Kim Chul‐Jung , Lee Jeong‐Won , Kim Tae‐Joong , Kim Byoung‐Gie , Lee Je‐Ho , Bae Duk‐Soo
Published: March 2010

Aim:  To better predict treatment responses for managing bulky cervical carcinoma with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods:  The expression of p‐STAT3 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using paraffin‐embedded pretreatment cervical biopsy tissues. The study included 29 patients with bulky IB to IIA cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated with NAC.

Results:  Twenty (69.0%) of 29 patients were scored as p‐STAT3‐positive. Pathological response to chemotherapy (complete response or residual tumor with less than 3 mm stromal invasion) was observed in eight patients (27.6%). The p‐STAT3‐positive patients had a longer disease‐free survival compared to p‐STAT3‐negative patients (P = 0.03), though they had more frequent clinical nodal involvement (P = 0.046).

Conclusion:  Pretreatment assessment of p‐STAT3 expression may provide additional information for the identification of patients with cervical cancer who have a favorable prognosis.
Polymorphism of the ERα and CYP1B1 genes in endometrial cancer in a Polish subpopulation
Authors: Sliwinski Tomasz , Sitarek Przemyslaw , Stetkiewicz Tomasz , Sobczuk Anna , Blasiak Janusz
Published: March 2010

Aim:  Metabolic activation of estrogens may play a role in endometrial carcinogenesis; and polymorphism of the genes (whose product is involved in this process) may be associated with the modulation of the risk of endometrial cancer. CYP1B1 plays a major role in the metabolism of estrogens, which must firstly bind their receptors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) or ER beta. In the present study we investigated the association of two polymorphisms of the CYP1B1 gene (Arg48Gly [142C > G] and Leu432Val [4326C > G]) and a polymorphism of the ERα gene (975C > G) as well as a combination between them with endometrial cancer occurrence.

Methods:  Genotypes were determined in DNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes of 100 endometrial cancer patients and 100 age‐ and ethnically‐matched cancer‐free controls by restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (RFLP‐PCR).

Results:  We found an association between endometrial cancer occurrence and the Arg48Arg (142C > C)‐CYP1B1 variant (odds ratio [OR] 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17–3.79) and the 975C > G ‐ERα gene polymorphism (OR 3.84; 95%CI 2.08–7.10). Gene–gene interaction between the Arg48Arg (142C > C) and Leu432Val (4326C > G) variants and between Arg48Gly (142C > G) ‐CYP1B1 and 975C > G ‐ERα as well as Gly48Gly (142G > G)‐CYP1B1 and 975C > G‐ERα increased the risk of endometrial cancer (OR 2.70; 95%CI 1.12–6.49; OR 2.52; 95%CI 1.04–6.11 and OR 3.62; 95%CI 1.27–10.30, respectively). Additionally interaction between the 975C > G‐ERα and Leu432Leu (4326C > C)‐CYP1B1 or Leu432Val (4326C > G)‐CYP1B1 variants also increased the risk (OR 4.68; 95%CI 1.81–12.07 and OR 6.00; 95%CI 2.19–16.47, respectively).

Conclusions:  The CYP1B1 and ERα genes may play a role in endometrial cancer and the Arg48Gly (142C > G) ‐CYP1B1 and 975C > G‐ERα polymorphisms may be considered as independent, early diagnostic markers in this disease.
Difference of fetal heart rate accelerations based on 10 and 15 beats per minute
Authors: Park Young‐Sun , Koh Seung‐Kwon , Hoh Jeong‐Kyu , Park Moon‐Il
Published: March 2010

Aim:  To evaluate the correlation of 10 b.p.m.‐10 s and 15 b.p.m.‐15 s fetal heart rate (FHR) accelerations in gestations before or after 32 weeks using computerized analysis.

Methods:  A combination of amplitude and duration of FHR accelerations, 10 b.p.m.‐10 s (Acc10‐10) and 15 b.p.m.‐15 s (Acc15‐15), was analyzed according to gestational weeks between January 1999 and December 2005 in 2358 normal pregnant women who received a non‐stress test at 30–42 gestational weeks. A linear regression model between Acc10‐10 and Acc15‐15 was estimated, and the duration difference between 10 b.p.m. and 15 b.p.m. was converted into seconds.

Results:  Before 32 weeks of gestation, the mean number of FHR accelerations based on 15 b.p.m. was below 2.00 (mean ± standard error, 1.58 ± 0.19). The correlation between Acc10‐10 and Acc15‐15 was Acc15‐15 + 2.8 = Acc10‐10 (r2 = 0.94, P = 0.0013). The mean duration difference between 10 b.p.m. and 15 b.p.m. was 36.8 s (range, 4–227 s).

Conclusions:  Our study verified the difference of Acc10‐10 and Acc15‐15 using computerized analysis as the base of visual interpretation of the definition of FHR acceleration. Acc15‐15 did not occur often enough to be relevant to the definition of FHR acceleration before 32 weeks' gestation. The difference between the mean number of FHR accelerations based on 10 b.p.m. and 15 b.p.m. within a 20‐min window was 2.8.
Force requirements of observed object lifting are encoded by the observer’s motor system: a TMS study
Authors: Alaerts Kaat , Senot Patrice , Swinnen Stephan P. , Craighero Laila , Wenderoth Nicole , Fadiga Luciano
Published: March 2010

Several transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have reported facilitation of the primary motor cortex (M1) during the mere observation of actions. This facilitation was shown to be highly congruent, in terms of somatotopy, with the observed action, even at the level of single muscles. With the present study, we investigated whether this muscle‐specific facilitation of the observer’s motor system reflects the degree of muscular force that is exerted in an observed action. Two separate TMS experiments are reported in which corticospinal excitability was measured in the hand area of M1 while subjects observed the lifting of objects of different weights. The type of action ‘grasping‐and‐lifting‐the‐object’ was always identical, but the grip force varied according to the object’s weight. In accordance to previous findings, excitability of M1 was shown to modulate in a muscle‐specific way, such that only the cortical representation areas in M1 that control the specific muscles used in the observed lifting action became increasingly facilitated. Moreover, muscle‐specific M1 facilitation was shown to modulate to the force requirements of the observed actions, such that M1 excitability was considerably higher when observing heavy object lifting compared with light object lifting. Overall, these results indicate that different levels of observed grip force are mirrored onto the observer’s motor system in a highly muscle‐specific manner. The measured force‐dependent modulations of corticospinal excitability in M1 are hypothesized to be functionally relevant for scaling the observed grip force in the observer’s own motor system. In turn, this mechanism may contribute, at least partly, to the observer’s ability to infer the weight of the lifted object.
Anesthetic considerations for the pediatric oncology patient – part 1: a review of antitumor therapy
Authors: LATHAM GREGORY J. , GREENBERG ROBERT S.
Published: March 2010

The anesthesiologist who cares for children with cancer or for survivors of childhood cancer should possess a basic understanding of cancer treatment. While this is an ever‐changing field, a basic knowledge of chemotherapeutic drugs, radiation therapy, and the toxicities of each is necessary to prepare a safe anesthetic plan. Such an understanding also assists the anesthesiologist as the perioperative specialist for these children in consultation with the surgeon and oncologist. This article, which is the first of a three‐part review series, will review current principles of cancer therapy and the general mechanisms of toxicity to the child. Although this article is not intended to comprehensively review the fundamentals of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the consequences of anticancer therapy that impact perioperative care and decision making are presented for the anesthesiologist.
Efficacy of two oral premedicants: midazolam or a low‐dose combination of midazolam–ketamine for reducing stress during intravenous cannulation in children undergoing CT imaging
Authors: JAIN KAJAL , GHAI BABITA , SAXENA AKSHAY K. , SAINI DEEPAK , KHANDELWAL NIRANJAN
Published: March 2010

Background:  Pain, anxiety and fear of needles make intravenous cannulation extremely difficult in children. We assessed the efficacy and safety of oral midazolam and a low‐dose combination of midazolam and ketamine to reduce the stress and anxiety during intravenous cannulation in children undergoing computed tomography (CT) imaging when compared to placebo.

Methods:  Ninety‐two ASA I or II children (1–5 years) scheduled for CT imaging under sedation were studied. Children were randomized to one of the three groups. Group M received 0.5 mg·kg−1 midazolam in 5 ml of honey, group MK received 0.25 mg·kg−1 midazolam mixed with 1 mg·kg−1 ketamine in 5‐ml honey and group P received 5‐ml honey alone, orally. In 20–30 min after premedication, venipuncture was attempted at the site of eutectic mixture of local anesthetics cream. Sedation scores and venipuncture scores were recorded. Primary outcome of the study was incidence of children crying at venipuncture (venipuncture score of 4).

Results:  Significantly more children cried during venipuncture in placebo group compared to the other two groups (19/32 (59%) in group P vs 1 each in groups M and MK, (P < 0.001) (RR 2.37, 95% CI 1.55‐3.63). In 20–30 min after premedication, group P had more children in sedation score 1 or 2 (crying or anxious) compared to the other two groups (P < 0.05). At this time, group MK showed more children in calm and awake compared to group M (P = 0.02). At venipuncture, group P had more children in venipuncture score 3 or 4 (crying or withdrawing) compared to group M or MK (P < 0.05), while groups M and MK were comparable.

Conclusion:  A low‐dose combination of oral midazolam and ketamine or oral midazolam alone effectively reduces the stress during intravenous cannulation in children undergoing CT imaging without any adverse effects. However, the combination provides more children in calm and quiet state when compared to midazolam alone at venipuncture.
Moral instability: the upsides for nursing practice
Authors: McCarthy Joan
Published: March 2010

This article briefly outlines some of the key problems with the way in which the moral realm has traditionally been understood and analysed. I propose two alternative views of what is morally interesting and applicable to nursing practice and I indicate that instability has its upsides. I begin with a moral tale – a ‘Good Samaritan’ story – which raises fairly usual questions about the nature of morality but also the more philosophically fundamental question about the relationship between subjectivity and moral agency. I then consider this relationship from the perspectives of two twentieth century philosophers: Emmanuel Levinas and Michel Foucault. Levinas' basic point is that the experience of ethical subjectivity is made possible through others: the demand to respond to the existence of others is the basic social structure that precedes individual freedom. If Levinas posits intersubjectivity as a fundamental or primitive feature of the moral realm, Foucault poses an even more basic question: how have moral subjects and relations of obligation been constituted? The aim of ethical inquiry, for Foucault, is to describe the network of discourses, institutions, relations, and practices through which certain kinds of subjects are constituted and constitute themselves, e.g. as a kind of person who can act morally. Finally, I consider some recent research in philosophy of nursing which illustrates how Levinasian and/or Foucauldian perspectives can deepen understanding of nurses' moral practices, specifically, the work of Norwegian public health nurses, Canadian pediatric nurses, and Irish midwives. I suggest that in spite of the instability of morality in general and the particular ethical challenges that face nurses, there are grounds for hope and possible strategies for living in unstable times.
Citizen minds, citizen bodies: the citizenship experience and the government of mentally ill persons
Authors: Perron Amelie , Rudge Trudy , Holmes Dave
Published: March 2010

The concept of citizenship is becoming more and more prominent in specific fields, such as psychiatry/mental health, where it is constituted as a solution to the issues of exclusion, discrimination, and poverty often endured by the mentally ill. We argue that such discourse of citizenship represents a break in the history of psychiatry and constitutes a powerful strategy to counter the effects of equally powerful psychiatric labelling. However, we call into question the emancipatory promise of a citizenship agenda. Foucault's concept of governmentality is helpful in understanding the production of the citizen subject, its location within the ‘art of government’, as well as the ethical and political implications of citizenship in the context of mental health.
Sensemaking in Crisis and Change: Inspiration and Insights From Weick (1988)
Authors: Maitlis Sally , Sonenshein Scott
Published: March 2010

abstract

When Karl Weick's seminal article, ‘Enacted Sensemaking in Crisis Situations’, was published in 1988, it caused the field to think very differently about how crises unfold in organizations, and how emergent crises might be more quickly curtailed. More than 20 years later, we offer insights inspired by the central ideas in that article. Beginning with an exploration of key sensemaking studies in the crisis and change literatures, we reflect on lessons learned about sensemaking in turbulent conditions since Weick (1988), and argue for two core themes that underlie sensemaking in such contexts: shared meanings and emotion. We examine when and how shared meanings and emotion are more and less likely to enable more helpful, or adaptive, sensemaking, and conclude with some suggestions for future research in the sensemaking field.
Post‐earthquake rehabilitation of the rural water systems in Kashmir's Jehlum Valley
Authors: Micangeli Andrea , Esposto Stefano
Published: March 2010

After the devastating earthquake of 8 October 2005 in Kashmir, international organizations provided the Pakistani government with relief and reconstruction assistance. Under the oft‐cited motto ‘rebuild better’, many of these efforts targeted the rural areas. The emergency period was followed by a development phase, during which all actors sought to ensure that their reconstruction projects would have long‐term, sustainable impacts. Based on the authors’ experience during that phase, this paper offers specific guidelines for rehabilitation work on Kashmir's rural water supply system, stressing the need for analysis of the social context to guarantee sustainability of the completed projects.
Proposal for a quantitative index of flood disasters
Authors: Feng Lihua , Luo Gaoyuan
Published: March 2010

Drawing on calculations of wind scale and earthquake magnitude, this paper develops a new quantitative method for measuring flood magnitude and disaster intensity. Flood magnitude is the quantitative index that describes the scale of a flood; the flood's disaster intensity is the quantitative index describing the losses caused. Both indices have numerous theoretical and practical advantages with definable concepts and simple applications, which lend them key practical significance.
Assessing the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on households: a modified domestic assets index approach
Authors: Arlikatti Sudha , Peacock Walter Gillis , Prater Carla S. , Grover Himanshu , Sekar Arul S. Gnana
Published: March 2010

This paper offers a potential measurement solution for assessing disaster impacts and subsequent recovery at the household level by using a modified domestic assets index (MDAI) approach. Assessment of the utility of the domestic assets index first proposed by Bates, Killian and Peacock (1984) has been confined to earthquake areas in the Americas and southern Europe. This paper modifies and extends the approach to the Indian sub‐continent and to coastal surge hazards utilizing data collected from 1,000 households impacted by the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) in the Nagapattinam district of south‐eastern India. The analyses suggest that the MDAI scale is a reliable and valid measure of household living conditions and is useful in assessing disaster impacts and tracking recovery efforts over time. It can facilitate longitudinal studies, encourage cross‐cultural, cross‐national comparisons of disaster impacts and inform national and international donors of the itemized monetary losses from disasters at the household level.
The price of protein: combining evolutionary and economic analysis to understand excessive energy consumption
Authors: Brooks R. C. , Simpson S. J. , Raubenheimer D.
Published: March 2010

Excessive weight gain appears, thermodynamically at least, straightforward: growing energy intake and/or falling energy expenditure create an energetic surplus, resulting in fat accumulation. The situation is, however, far more complex, with genetic, physiological, social, psychological and economic factors all implicated. Thus the causes of excessive weight gain remain difficult to disentangle. We combine two recent developments from different areas of nutrition research: the study of food prices in relation to energy content and the hypothesis that an evolved propensity to regulate protein intake more strongly than non‐protein calories exerts powerful leverage on overall energy intake. We partition the energy content of a range of common supermarket foods, and show that increasing overall energy content only modestly raises the cost of foods, largely as a result of macronutrients having very different costs. Higher food prices are associated with higher protein content and lower carbohydrate content, whereas fat content was not significantly associated with food price. We show that the differential costs of energy from protein and carbohydrates may bias consumers towards diets high in carbohydrate energy, leading them to consume excessive energy to meet their dietary protein needs. We review evidence from physiology, evolution and economics that support our suggestion.
Temptation, Tradition, and Taboo: A Theory of Sacralization
Authors: Marshall Douglas A.
Published: March 2010

A theory of sacralization is offered in which the sacred emerges from the collision of temptation and tradition. It is proposed that when innate or acquired desires to behave in one way conflict with socially acquired and/or mediated drives to behave in another way, actors ascribe sacredness to the objects of their action as a means of reconciling the difference between their desired and actual behavior toward those objects. After establishing the sacred as a theoretical construct, the theory is sketched and then fleshed out with a more formal specification. The foundational assumptions and mechanisms of the theory are then empirically substantiated as a first step toward validating the theory, and a handful of predictions deduced from the theory are assessed.
Elective Affinities of the Protestant Ethic: Weber and the Chemistry of Capitalism
Authors: McKinnon Andrew M.
Published: March 2010

Although scholars have long recognized the importance of “elective affinity” as a key word in Weber's sociology, surprisingly little systematic research has gone into understanding this metaphor in Weber's writing, or the source from which he drew the term. For Weber, this was an implicit reference to Goethe's novel, well known to Weber's educated German audience, entitled Elective Affinities (1807). In this article, I provide a systematic account of Goethe's conception of elective affinity as a chemical metaphor, and of the way that it is related to Weber's uses of the term in the Protestant ethic essays and in his critical rejoinders. By understanding elective affinity as a Goethean chemical metaphor we can better understand the causal claims that Weber makes in his famous essay: Weber's argument is best understood as an analysis of emergence in the chemistry of social relations.
EFNS guidelines on neuropathic pain assessment: revised 2009
Authors: Cruccu G. , Sommer C. , Anand P. , Attal N. , Baron R. , Garcia‐Larrea L. , Haanpaa M. , Jensen T. S. , Serra J. , Treede R. ‐D.
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  We have revised the previous EFNS guidelines on neuropathic pain (NP) assessment, which aimed to provide recommendations for the diagnostic process, screening tools and questionnaires, quantitative sensory testing (QST), microneurography, pain‐related reflexes and evoked potentials, functional neuroimaging and skin biopsy.

Methods:  We have checked and rated the literature published in the period 2004–2009, according to the EFNS method of classification for diagnostic procedures.

Results:  Most of the previous recommendations were reinforced by the new studies. The main revisions relate to: (i) the new definition of NP and a diagnostic grading system; (ii) several new validated clinical screening tools that identify NP components, and questionnaires which assess the different types of NP; (iii) recent high‐quality studies on laser‐evoked potentials (LEPs) and skin biopsy.

Conclusions:  History and bedside examination are still fundamental to a correct diagnosis, whilst screening tools and questionnaires are useful in indicating probable NP; QST is also useful for indicating the latter, and to assess provoked pains and treatment response. Amongst laboratory tests, LEPs are the best tool for assessing Aδ pathway dysfunction, and skin biopsy for assessing neuropathies with distal loss of unmyelinated nerve fibres.
Downsizing Effects on Survivors: Layoffs, Offshoring, and Outsourcing
Authors: MAERTZ CARL P. , WILEY JACK W. , LeROUGE CYNTHIA , CAMPION MICHAEL A.
Published: March 2010

In a representative sample of 13,683 U.S. employees, we compared survivors of layoffs, offshoring, outsourcing, and their combinations to a group who experienced no downsizing. Survivors of layoffs perceived lower organizational performance, job security, affective attachment, calculative attachment, and had higher turnover intentions. Offshoring survivors perceived lower performance, fairness, and affective attachment, but outsourcing survivors generally did not have more negative outcomes than the no‐downsizing group. Layoffs generally had more negative outcomes than other downsizing forms.
Assessing the Fiscal Costs and Benefits of A8 Migration to the UK*
Authors: Dustmann Christian , Frattini Tommaso , Halls Caroline
Published: March 2010

This paper assesses the fiscal consequences of migration to the UK from the Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union in May 2004 (A8 countries). We show that A8 immigrants who arrived after EU enlargement in 2004 and who have at least one year of residence, and are therefore legally eligible to claim benefits, are 59 per cent less likely than natives to receive state benefits or tax credits and 57 per cent less likely to live in social housing. Furthermore, even if A8 immigrants had the same demographic characteristics as natives, they would still be 13 per cent less likely to receive benefits and 29 per cent less likely to live in social housing. We go on to compare the net fiscal contribution of A8 immigrants with that of individuals born in the UK, and find that in each fiscal year since enlargement in 2004, irrespective of the way that the net fiscal contribution is defined, A8 immigrants made a positive contribution to the public finances despite the fact that the UK has been running a budget deficit over the last few years. This is because they have a higher labour force participation rate, pay proportionately more in indirect taxes and make much less use of benefits and public services.
Interest Income Tax Evasion, the EU Savings Directive and Capital Market Effects*
Authors: Klautke Tina , Weichenrieder Alfons J.
Published: March 2010

The EU Savings Directive has been celebrated as a major political breakthrough in coordinating taxation in Europe. Against this background, the present paper evaluates the real‐world effects of this directive. The directive has left a loophole by providing grandfathering (exemption from withholding tax) for some securities. In this paper, we compare the pre‐tax returns of exempt bonds and comparable taxable bonds. If working around the Savings Directive is difficult for income tax evaders in Europe, then investors should be willing to pay a premium for bonds that are exempt from the withholding rate. Conversely, if such a premium is absent, then this suggests that the supply of existing loopholes (exempt bonds included) is large enough to allow tax evaders to continue evasion at no additional cost. The findings of our study are in line with this latter interpretation.
Impairment of endothelial SKCa channels and of downstream hyperpolarizing pathways in mesenteric arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Weston AH , Porter EL , Harno E , Edwards G
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  Previous studies have shown that endothelium‐dependent hyperpolarization of myocytes is reduced in resistance arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The aim of the present study was to determine whether this reflects down‐regulation of endothelial K+ channels or their associated pathways.

Experimental approach:  Changes in vascular K+ channel responses and expression were determined by a combination of membrane potential recordings and Western blotting.

Key results:  Endothelium‐dependent myocyte hyperpolarizations induced by acetylcholine, 6,7‐dichloro‐1H‐indole‐2,3‐dione 3‐oxime (NS309) (opens small‐ and intermediate‐conductance calcium‐sensitive K+ channels, SKCa and IKCa, respectively) or cyclohexyl‐[2‐(3,5‐dimethyl‐pyrazol‐1‐yl)‐6‐methyl‐pyrimidin‐4‐yl]‐amine (SKCa opener) were reduced in mesenteric arteries from SHRs. After blocking SKCa channels with apamin, hyperpolarizations to acetylcholine and NS309 in SHR arteries were similar to those of controls. Hyperpolarization to 5 mM KCl was reduced in SHR arteries due to loss of the Ba2+‐sensitive, inward‐rectifier channel (KIR) component; the contribution of ouabain‐sensitive, Na+/K+‐ATPases was unaffected. Protein expression of both SKCa and KIR channels was reduced in SHR arteries; the caveolin‐1 monomer/dimer ratio was increased.

Conclusions and implications:  In SHRs, the distinct pathway that generates endothelium‐dependent hyperpolarization in vascular myocyte by activation of IKCa channels and Na+/K+‐ATPases remains intact. The second pathway, initiated by endothelial SKCa channel activation and amplified by KIR opening on both endothelial cells and myocytes is compromised in SHRs due to down‐regulation of both SKCa and KIR and to changes in caveolin‐1 oligomers. These impairments in the SKCa–KIR pathway shed new light on vascular control mechanisms and on the underlying vascular changes in hypertension.

This article is commented on by Garland, pp. 833–835 of this issue. To view this commentary visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2010.00692.x
Phytolith evidence for rice cultivation and spread in Mid‐Late Neolithic archaeological sites in central North China
Authors: ZHANG JIANPING , LU HOUYUAN , WU NAIQIN , LI FENGJIANG , YANG XIAOYAN , WANG WEILIN , MA MINGZHI , ZHANG XIAOHU
Published: March 2010

Zhang, J., Lu, H., Wu, N., Li, F., Yang, X., Wang, W., Ma, M. & Zhang, X. 2010: Phytolith evidence for rice cultivation and spread in Mid‐Late Neolithic archaeological sites in central North China. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 592–602. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00145.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.

The history of rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation in North China is ambiguous owing to a lack of evidence from rice remains with precise ages in archaeological sites. In this paper, we present rice phytolith evidence from six archaeological sites in the Guanzhong Basin, central North China, dating from c. 5500 to 2100 cal. a BP (calibrated/calendar ages) based on 19 AMS‐dates. The phytoliths found in the three archaeological sites located on the second river terrace (Quanhu, Yangguanzhai and Anban) include three types of phytoliths from rice, namely bulliform, parallel‐bilobe and double‐peaked. These findings suggest that the earliest cultivated rice in central North China occurred not later than c. 5690 cal. a BP. After c. 5500 cal. a BP, the farming pattern in the Guanzhong Basin was characterized by dominant dry crops (e.g. millets) and locally cultivated rice. A likely spread route of rice from the lower reaches of the Huanghe (Yellow) River towards the Guanzhong Basin in central North China is speculated to have happened at c. 5690 cal. a BP. The findings of this study help us to understand the farming pattern in the area and how rice spread across the semi‐arid regions of East Asia.
Early Pleistocene sediments on Store Koldewey, northeast Greenland
Authors: BENNIKE OLE , KNUDSEN KAREN LUISE , ABRAHAMSEN NIELS , BÖCHER JENS , CREMER HOLGER , WAGNER BERND
Published: March 2010

Bennike, O., Knudsen, K. L., Abrahamsen, N., Böcher, J., Cremer, H. & Wagner, B. 2010: Early Pleistocene sediments on Store Koldewey, northeast Greenland.Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 603–619. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00147.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.

Marine Quaternary deposits, here named the Store Koldewey Formation, are found at ∼120 m above sea level in northeast Greenland (76°N). The sequence is referred to the Olduvai normal polarity subchron at 1.95–1.78 Ma BP based on palaeomagnetic studies (palaeomagnetically reversed), amino acid epimerization ratios and evidence from marine and non‐marine fossils. The sediments and the fauna show that the sequence was deposited on a mid or inner shelf, and some elements of the marine mollusc and foraminiferal assemblages indicate water temperatures between −1 and +1 °C and seasonal sea ice cover during deposition. Mean summer air temperatures were around 6 °C higher than at present, as demonstrated by the occurrence of southern extralimital terrestrial species. Well‐preserved remains of land plants indicate that the adjacent land area was dominated by sub‐arctic forest‐tundra with the treesLarixandBetula, shrubs, herbs and mosses. Most of the species represented as fossils have recent circumpolar geographical ranges. An extinct brachiopod species and an extinct gastropod species have been found, but the other macrofossils are referred to extant species. The brachiopod is erected as a new genus and species,Laugekochiana groenlandica. Correlation of the Koldewey Formation with the Île de France Formation farther to the north is suggested. Member A of the Kap København Formation in North Greenland is referred to the Late Pliocene, whereas Member B of the Kap København Formation is suggested to be slightly older than the Store Koldewey Formation.
Elevating Norm Over Substance: Self‐Monitoring as a Predictor of Decision Criteria and Decision Time among Independent Voters
Authors: Girvan Erik J. , Weaver Jason , Snyder Mark
Published: March 2010

The 2008 U.S. presidential election was the first race since 1928 in which there was no executive incumbent running. We used this opportunity to test the hypothesis that self‐monitoring would predict how and when voters, particularly independents who may be less likely to use political party affiliation as their primary criteria, decide which candidate to support. Results showed that high self‐monitors rated information that was indicative of social consensus as more important to their decisions than did low self‐monitors, especially if the information source reflected the opinion of an identifiable individual, not simply aggregate data. As predicted, high self‐monitors also took longer to decide which candidate to support than did low‐self monitors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.