bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of obesity and associated socioeconomic factors among Tunisian women from different living environments
Authors: Beltaïfa L. , Traissac P. , El Ati J. , Lefèvre P. , Romdhane H. B. , Delpeuch F.
Published: November 2008

Adult Tunisian women aged 20–59 (national random sample, n = 1849), were assessed with respect to environmental and socioeconomic factors associated with obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg m−2) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥88 cm). At the national level, prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity were, respectively, 22.6% and 29.2%, but varied markedly (both P < 0.0001) among living environments classified as big cities (30.2% and 36.6%), other cities (25.9% and 32.4%), rural clustered (19.4% and 24.8%) and rural dispersed (9.5% and 16.5%). Adjusted prevalences of both types of obesity increased with age, parity and economic level of the household, while educationally, the risk was greatest in women with intermediate schooling. Differences between the four environments were accounted for by socioeconomic factors, mostly household wealth, except for most rural environment; socio‐cultural factors were possibly influential. Observed differences between rural areas confirmed that finer measures of urbanization are necessary for the drivers of obesity prevalence at the national level. Obesity was still more prevalent in wealthy than in poor women, but given the high prevalence in all the environments, actions are needed at the national level before highly prevalent obesity extends into those of lower socioeconomic status and thereby increases health inequities.
Trust: Why and How Historians Should Study It
Authors: Dickenson Jacqueline
Published: November 2008

Recent scholarship has examined the decline of trust between citizens and the elected representatives, which is seemingly a hallmark of contemporary Western democracies. But the problem is not new. This study draws on newspaper accounts to trace the accumulation and erosion of trust in the Scullin federal Labor government, during its early months. Elected on 12 October 1929, James Scullin's government was expected to resolve the long‐running New South Wales’ miners’ strike; his deputy, E.G. Theodore, promised Labor would return the miners to work on pre‐stoppage conditions. The promise was undeliverable. The lockout dragged on through Scullin's first months in office, with the miners refusing to work on reduced wages and the government unable to deliver on Theodore's pledge. By the end of January 1930, the government's trust relations with its core constituency had unraveled. This case study illustrates how trust is made and unmade through complex relations between individuals, and between individuals and institutions.
Australia's Quest to Enrich Uranium and the Whitlam Government's Loans Affair
Authors: Reynolds Wayne
Published: November 2008

The renewed debate about Australia enriching uranium raises issues associated with a previous attempt thirty‐five years ago. The Atomic Energy Commission hatched plans in the mid‐1960s to position Australia as a supplier of enriched fuel, especially to the Japanese market. This would be done using centrifuge technology, a cheaper and more efficient method than that used by the United States. That fact, along with concerns in Washington to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons, led to opposition to rival enrichment programs. Whitlam and Connor miscalculated here. Ratifying the Nuclear Non‐proliferation Treaty was not enough to stay opposition to raising a loan designed mainly to give Australia an enrichment program.
The future belongs to us all
Authors: Silvester Marc , Ahmed Mohi , Brown Tom
Published: November 2008

Fujitsu executives Marc Silvester and Mohi Ahmed recently co‐authored a book about delivering service. Tom Brown talked to the authors about how far one can take the concept of “living service” and where their own passion for the subject first began.
Keystone tops
Authors: Crainer Stuart
Published: November 2008

The legal profession seemed to have its organizational models set in adamantine stone. Then came Keystone Law. Organized virtually, entrepreneurial and fast growing, Keystone is changing received wisdom on how the legal profession is run. Stuart Crainer talks to its founder, James Knight.
Controversy: The essence of strategy
Authors: Karnani Aneel
Published: November 2008

The essence of strategy is to make controversial choices in order to gain a competitive advantage, but difficult choices often engender opposing views. Aneel Karnani presents a process for strategy development that can help managers surface, manage and resolve conflict, thus resulting in more effective strategic choices.
Self‐help for CEOs
Authors: Gutzmer Alexander
Published: November 2008

Is it really lonely at the top?Alexander Gutzmer reports on a survey of CEOs that shows why leaders become insulated – and how they combat destructive isolation.
Learning how to be innovative
Authors: Slater Stanley F.
Published: November 2008

Stanley Slater asserts that knowledge is the strongest foundation for competitive advantage, mainly because it is the wellspring of innovation. Yet many leaders aren't even aware that they need a knowledge management programme. They have much to learn.
Where is your blog?
Authors: Esteves José
Published: November 2008

The next frontier for weblogs is here: top business leaders are going online to speak on behalf of their companies. A silly diversion or a major competitive trend?José Esteves, who tracks the blogosphere with a unique passion, says the first lesson from his extensive research is obvious: put blogging on your personal to‐do list.
Senge and sensibility
Authors: Senge Peter , Crainer Stuart
Published: November 2008

From The Fifth Discipline to his latest book, The Necessary Revolution, Peter Senge has ploughed a unique and groundbreaking furrow. He explains to Stuart Crainer why change is imperative.
The new change equation
Authors: Jarrett Michael
Published: November 2008

Many leaders who want their companies to change look for a quick and easy formula. Michael Jarrett believes such an approach is flawed from the start. Far better, he argues, to understand how change really happens.
Populating Sociology: Carr-Saunders and the Problem of Population
Authors: Osborne Thomas , Rose Nikolas
Published: November 2008

Research programmes in the social sciences and elsewhere can be seen as ‘set-ups’ which combine inscription devices and thought styles. The history of inscription devices without consideration of changing and often discontinuous thought styles effectively takes the historical dimension out of the history of thought. Perhaps thought styles are actually more important than the techniques of inscription that arise from them. The social sciences have relied upon multiple modes of inscription, often using, adapting or extending those invented for other purposes, such as the census. But the strategic prioritisation and deployment of specific inscriptions in analysis and argument has inescapably been dependent on particular thought styles; of which by far the most significant over the course of the first half of the twentieth century was eugenics with its specific problem of ‘population’. This paper describes the way that Alexander Carr-Saunders took up the problem of population within early attempts to develop sociology. We ask whether Carr-Saunders can be considered a ‘precursor’ of a sociologist. The history of British sociology takes different shapes – as indeed does the very idea of a history of sociology – depending on how one answers this question.
Elizabeth Bott and the Formation of Modern British Sociology
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: November 2008

This paper examines the contribution of Elizabeth Bott's Family and Social Network to the elaboration of modern British sociology. I show that although Bott is often identified as one of the key figures in the emergence of social network analysis, this misunderstands her contribution. I show how her work drew strongly on key aspects of the research programme of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, and that it was her use of the in-depth interview, allied to an interest in probing class identities, which was to be seminal. This case study is used to show how a focus on the practical inscription techniques mobilised by social scientists can give a radically different perspective on the discipline than approaches which focus on schools of thought or ‘great men’.
SPSS as an ‘Inscription Device’: From Causality to Description?
Authors: Uprichard Emma , Burrows Roger , Byrne David
Published: November 2008

This paper examines the development of SPSS from 1968 to 2008, and the manner in which it has been used in teaching and research in British Sociology. We do this in order to reveal some of the changes that have taken place in statistical reasoning as an inscription device in the discipline over this period. We conclude that to characterise these changes as a shift from ‘causal’ to more ‘descriptive’ modes of analysis is too simplistic. Such a shift is certainly apparent, but it meshes in complex ways with a range of other – just as important – changes, that together mark a phase-shift in the functioning of sociological quantification.
On Sociology and STS
Authors: Law John
Published: November 2008

This paper starts by exploring the development of Science, Technology and Society (STS) in the UK in the late 1960s, emphasising its interdiciplinary roots, and comparing and contrasting it with the concerns of Sociology. It then turns to more recent developments in STS, outlining the importance of material semiotics to important traditions within the discipline including those influenced by actor network theory, feminism, and postcolonialism. It notes, in consistency with the Foucauldian approach, that material semiotics implies that knowledge traditions are performative, helping to create the realities that they describe. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of this performatibity for the politics of research methods and for the future character of social science research.
Headache after concussion
Authors: Stovner L. J. , Schrader H. , Mickevičiene D. , Surkiene D. , Sand T.
Published: November 2008

Background and purpose:  Chronic post‐traumatic headache attributed to mild head injury is a somewhat disputed headache diagnosis. A main object of this study was to assess the validity of this diagnosis by studying the headache pattern of concussed patients that participated in one historic (n = 131) and one prospective cohort (n = 217) study.

Methods:  Head injury patients were recruited from two hospitals in Kaunas, Lithuania. Controls were recruited amongst patients with minor orthopaedic traumas not involving the head and neck.

Results:  When data from the two studies were pooled, no difference in any headache category (diagnosis, attack frequency, symptoms) was found one or more years after the trauma, except that photophobia was somewhat more prevalent amongst the concussed patients. In both injury groups, the existence of pre‐traumatic headache was a predictor of post‐traumatic headache, although pre‐traumatic headache seems to have been underreported amongst the concussed patients. There was a significant negative correlation between the duration of unconsciousness and the headache.

Conclusions:  This negative correlation, and the lack of specificity indicates that headache occurring 3 months or more after concussion is not caused by the head or brain injury. Rather it may represent an episode of one of the primary headaches, possibly induced by the stress of the situation.
Pre‐menstrual Syndrome in Women with Down Syndrome
Authors: Mason Linda , Cunningham Cliff
Published: November 2008

Background  Prevalence of pre‐menstrual syndrome (PMS) may be higher in women with Down syndrome due to syndrome specific characteristics in biochemistry, psychopathology and lifestyle. Recognition of PMS may be difficult for women with intellectual disabilities and their carers.

Method  A daily diary, used to diagnose PMS with typical women, was adapted. Following its validation, the diary was completed by 33 women with Down syndrome, then adapted, and completed by a further 32 women with Down syndrome/carers.

Results  PMS was diagnosed in 18–20% although a higher proportion (54%) of mothers thought their daughter had PMS.

Conclusions  The hypotheses that PMS would be higher or go unrecognized in women with Down syndrome was not supported. The diary was well received by both carers and women with Down syndrome and could be an educative, clinical and research tool for use with any woman with intellectual disability.
An Investigation of Factors Predictive of Continued Self‐Injurious Behaviour in an Intellectual Disability Service
Authors: Danquah Adam , Limb Kate , Chapman Melanie , Burke Carrie , Flood Andrea , Gore Sarah , Greenwood Kara , Healey Kelsey , Reid William Kerr , Kilroy Jan , Lacey Huma , Malone Caroline , Perkin Michelle , Hare Dougal Julian
Published: November 2008

Background Self‐injurious behaviour (SIB) is among the most serious problems faced by intellectual disability services. It is very difficult to treat and can become a chronic problem.

Method Information on a number of variables was collected through a survey of service‐users identified as displaying SIBs. Clinical opinion and a literature review guided the selection of potential predictors of continued SIB. Univariate statistical analyses were used to investigate associations between continued SIB and each of the variables identified. Variables shown to have a significant association with continued SIB were subjected to a multivariate analysis to isolate those variables that still predicted continued SIB once the influence of the others had been accounted for.

Results Two factors, self‐biting and verbal ability, were found to independently predict continued SIB.

Conclusion The results have implications for intellectual disability services, in terms of the importance of multidisciplinary team working, training and guidelines for problem management.
Collaboration between relatives of elderly patients and nurses and its relation to satisfaction with the hospital care trajectory
Authors: Lindhardt Tove , Nyberg Per , Hallberg Ingalill Rahm
Published: November 2008

Background:  Relatives are often involved in the care of frail elderly patients prior to admission and are thus important collaborative partners for nurses. They hold valuable knowledge, which may improve care planning for the benefit of the patient and the hospital care trajectory. Satisfaction among relatives may be an indicator of this.

Aim:  To investigate collaboration between relatives and nurses among those relatives reporting high versus low satisfaction with the hospital care trajectory. Further, the aim was to investigate the relationship between satisfaction with the hospital care trajectory and (i) participants’ characteristics and (ii) the dimensions of collaboration.

Sample:  Relatives of elderly patients (n = 156) in acute hospital wards. Women constituted 74.8%, adult children 63.9% and spouses 20% of the participants. Mean age was 60.78 (SD 11.99).

Design:  Cross‐sectional, comparative, analytical.

Method:  A self‐report, structured questionnaire covering attributes, prerequisites, outcome and barriers/promoters for collaboration. Respondents reporting high versus low satisfaction were compared with regards to characteristics and mean scores in dimensions of collaboration. Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined predictors for satisfaction with the hospital care trajectory.

Findings:  Low satisfaction was significantly related to low level of collaboration. Other predictors for low satisfaction were: feelings of guilt and powerlessness, having provided help for less than a year and not providing psychosocial help.

Conclusion:  Satisfaction with care as a hypothesized outcome of collaboration was supported in this study. Hitherto, research has mainly focussed on relatives as potential clients; this study has focussed on relatives as competent collaborative partners in care. A new role for relatives as partners in decision‐making rather than passive recipients of information is indicated for the benefit of care quality. Further, increased collaboration between relatives and nurses, assigning relatives’ influence, may reduce their powerlessness and guilt and thereby indirectly increase their satisfaction.
Ricoeur’s hermeneutic phenomenology: an implication for nursing research
Authors: Charalambous Andreas , Papadopoulos (I)Rena , Beadsmoore Alan
Published: November 2008

Researchers and educators are increasingly implementing qualitative research methods to investigate issues of concern and interest. Hermeneutics has risen as an option for the qualitative research paradigm particularly after the 1970s. The precedence of the sciences that have applied hermeneutics as their approach to investigation is provided with special reference to nursing. In the nursing science, hermeneutics have been used extensively as a qualitative research method to investigate a variety of issues, through the lived experiences of the participants. In this paper, we introduce important aspects of the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur and we discuss the reasons why we have applied this approach in our study titled ‘Quality Nursing Care: perspectives of patients with cancer and the nursing response’. The arguments that are presented here can be generalised to fit other areas of Nursing Science. Through this paper our aim is not only to familiarise the reader with Ricoeur’s work, but also to arrive at an appreciation of his philosophy as a methodological approach for future nursing research.
Physiotherapists’ accounts of their clients in geriatric inpatient rehabilitation
Authors: Wallin Marjo , Talvitie Ulla , Cattan Mima , Karppi Sirkka‐Liisa
Published: November 2008

This article aims to describe how physiotherapists working with frail older people talk about their clients. Semi‐structured qualitative interviews with physiotherapists (n = 11) were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using discourse analysis. Two accounts were identified: (i) older adults as recipients of a treatment intervention at the rehabilitation centre, with the dimensions ‘a focus on physical impairments’ and ‘a focus on social needs’ and (ii) older adults as partners in an exercise intervention to support their everyday living at home. Older adults’ everyday living context was not considered in the approach where, in an isolated and objectified manner, the physiotherapists focused on physical impairments. Placing great emphasis on the clients’ social needs in turn implied passive treatments. In both instances the physiotherapists’ activities were focused on the present, that is, the time of the clients’ stay at the rehabilitation facility, rather than on their everyday challenges at home. These aspects were taken into accounts to a greater extent when older adults were positioned as partners and functional limitations were contemplated in relation to domestic daily living.
Relatives’ perspective on the quality of geriatric care and rehabilitation – development and testing of a questionnaire
Authors: Wressle Ewa , Eriksson Lennart , Fahlander Amie , Håkansson Helena , Jönsson Anna‐Lena , Martinsson Britt‐Marie , Rasmusson Ing‐Marie , Sjölander Ingrid , Tängmark Karin
Published: November 2008

We perceived a need for relatives’ evaluation of geriatric care and rehabilitation during the care period as well as the first few weeks after discharge. The aim of this study was therefore to develop and test a questionnaire for use in telephone interviews with relatives of patients discharged from geriatric wards to measure their perceptions of the quality of care. The instrument development process comprised a literature review, focus group interviews, construction of items, test of content validity, a pilot study and finally the main data collection to test the construct validity and reliability. A Likert‐type questionnaire was used containing 26 items with five response alternatives; totally disagree, partly disagree, doubtful, partly agree and totally agree. The main data collection comprised 238 telephone interviews. The factor analysis revealed four factors with an eigenvalue >1.0. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.89, which indicates high reliability. The duration of the telephone interview was approximately 10–20 minutes. The relatives appreciated the opportunity to evaluate the care, and a majority stated that they preferred a telephone interview to answering in writing. The questionnaire is considered reliable, valid and useful for identifying areas in need of quality improvement interventions.
Shattered expectations: when mothers’ confidence in breastfeeding is undermined – a metasynthesis
Authors: Larsen Jette Schilling , Hall Elisabeth O. C. , Aagaard Hanne
Published: November 2008

Objectives:  Why do mothers give up breastfeeding, even though breastfeeding has great importance to them? This study examines what has affected mother’s confidence in breastfeeding when she gives up breastfeeding.

Method:  A metasynthesis of seven studies on mothers’ experiences with breastfeeding was conducted using Noblit and Hare’s methodological approach.

Results:  The metasynthesis shows that confidence in breastfeeding is shaped by shattered expectations and is affected on an immediate level by mothers’ expectations, the network and the breastfeeding experts and on a discourse level by the discourses: breastfeeding as nature, the female body as a machine and the note of caution. Foucault’s concept of discourse is used to discuss how these discourses affect mothers’ confidence in breastfeeding by giving the right to speak about breastfeeding to the breastfeeding experts, by isolating the mothers who do not breastfeed and by organizing knowledge about breastfeeding in a certain way.

Conclusions:  The individual mother is responsible for the success of breastfeeding and the discourses are hiding that general perceptions of breastfeeding undermines the mothers’ confidence in breastfeeding and leads to shattered expectations.
Quality of care in Norwegian nursing homes – deficiencies and their correlates
Authors: Kirkevold Øyvind , Engedal Knut
Published: November 2008

Background:  Quality of care (QoC) in nursing homes has many aspects and various proxies have been used to evaluate it. In only a few studies several proxies for quality have been combined into a common variable.

Objective:  To explore which variables are associated with low QoC in few and several areas respectively.

Methods:  A structured interview of the patients’ primary carer of 1926 patients in 251 wards was carried out. Questions about different kinds of quality deficiencies during the last 7 days were recorded. Eight main types of quality deficiencies were used to construct a linear outcome variable called number of quality deficiencies (NQD) with values from zero to eight. Patient characteristics such as sex, age, function in activities of daily living (ADL), behaviour and mental capacity were recorded. Type of ward, staffing, size of ward, type of institution and formal education of the staff, were also recorded.

Results:  More than half of the patients in Norwegian nursing homes experienced two or more quality deficiencies in the care during 1 week. The variables that were strongest associated with NQD, were present of aggressive behaviour, low level of functioning in ADL and moderate‐to‐severe dementia. Staffing level and type of ward had also a significant influence on the model.
Postsurgical examination of functional outcome of patients having undergone surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysm
Authors: Ślusarz Robert , Beuth Wojciech , Książkiewicz Barbara
Published: November 2008

Research into outcomes from surgical intervention for intracranial aneurysms have focused on the clinical picture of the disease entity and death rate, comparison of different surgical methods, as well as the most common postoperative and postbleeding complications. From the nursing standpoint, the crucial element in assessing postoperative patients is the broadly understood functional outcome defining patients’ ability to function in life, while at the same time recognising the impairments, in which patients will be dependent on the nursing staff. The aim of the study was to assess the functional outcomes of patients in the days following the surgical treatment. The research was carried out in Neurosurgical Department and Clinic, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. A longitudinal study was carried out with 128 patients having undergone removal of an intracranial aneurysm. In the research both the observation and measuring scores were used. Also Hunt and Hess Grades, the Glasgow Coma Score and the Glasgow Outcome Score were used. To assess functional outcomes of patients, the Functional Capacity Scale was used. The research shows that the functional outcome improves with time, see Stastical analysis (p < 0.001). In the majority of patients some functional outcome deficit was observed mainly in the areas such as relieving oneself and maintaining personal hygiene. The conclusions from the research are as follows: (1) following the surgical treatment of the intracranial aneurysm (day 1, 3, 6 and 9) the majority of patients displayed considerable lack of functional outcome, and were therefore dependent on the nursing staff and relatives (family and friends); (2) on discharge (final measurement) patients were largely self‐dependent and displayed negligible impairments of functional outcome.
Optimal window of caloric restriction onset limits its beneficial impact on T‐cell senescence in primates
Authors: Messaoudi Ilhem , Fischer Miranda , Warner Jessica , Park Buyng , Mattison Julie , Ingram Donald K. , Totonchy Thomas , Mori Motomi , Nikolich‐Žugich Janko
Published: November 2008

We have recently shown in non‐human primates that caloric restriction (CR) initiated during adulthood can delay T‐cell aging and preserve naïve CD8 and CD4 T cells into advanced age. An important question is whether CR can be initiated at any time in life, and whether age at the time of onset would modulate the beneficial effects of CR. In the current study, we evaluated the impact of CR started before puberty or during advanced age on T‐cell senescence and compared it to the effects of CR started in early adulthood. Our data demonstrate that the beneficial effects of adult‐onset CR on T‐cell aging were lost by both early and late CR onset. In fact, some of our results suggest that inappropriate initiation of CR may be harmful to the maintenance of T‐cell function. This suggests that there may be an optimal window during adulthood where CR can delay immune senescence and improve correlates of immunity in primates.
Adjusting for Subgroup Differences in Extreme Response Tendency in Ratings of Health Care: Impact on Disparity Estimates
Authors: Elliott Marc N. , Haviland Amelia M. , Kanouse David E. , Hambarsoomian Katrin , Hays Ron D.
Published: November 2008

Objective. Adjust for subgroup differences in extreme response tendency (ERT) in ratings of health care, which otherwise obscure disparities in patient experience.

Data Source. 117,102 respondents to the 2004 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Medicare Fee‐for‐Service survey.

Study Design. Multinomial logistic regression is used to model respondents' use of extremes of the 0–10 CAHPS rating scales as a function of education. A new two‐stage model adjusts for both standard case‐mix effects and ERT. Ratings of subgroups are compared after these adjustments.

Principal Findings. Medicare beneficiaries with greater educational attainment are less likely to use both extremes of the 0–10 rating scale than those with less attainment. Adjustments from the two‐stage model may differ substantially from standard adjustments and resolve or attenuate several counterintuitive findings in subgroup comparisons.

Conclusions. Addressing ERT may be important when estimating disparities or comparing providers if patient populations differ markedly in educational attainment. Failures to do so may result in misdirected resources for reducing disparities and inaccurate assessment of some providers. Depending upon the application, ERT may be addressed by the two‐stage approach developed here or through specified categorical or stratified reporting.
Learning and Improving in Quality Improvement Collaboratives: Which Collaborative Features Do Participants Value Most?
Authors: Nembhard Ingrid M.
Published: November 2008

Objective. To understand participants' views on the relative helpfulness of various features of collaboratives, why each feature was helpful and which features the most successful participants viewed as most central to their success.

Data Sources. Primary data collected from 53 teams in four 2004–2005 Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Breakthrough Series collaboratives; secondary data from IHI and demographic sources.

Study Design. Cross‐sectional analyses were conducted to assess participants' views of 12 features, and the relationship between their views and performance improvement.

Data Collection Methods. Participants' views on features were obtained via self‐administered surveys and semi‐structured telephone interviews. Performance improvement data were obtained from IHI and demographic data from secondary sources.

Principal Findings. Participants viewed six features as most helpful for advancing their improvement efforts overall and knowledge acquisition in particular: collaborative faculty, solicitation of their staff's ideas, change package, Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act cycles, Learning Session interactions, and collaborative extranet. These features also provided participants with motivation, social support, and project management skills. Features enabling interorganizational learning were rated higher by teams whose organizations improved significantly than by other teams.

Conclusions. Findings identify features of collaborative design and implementation that participants view as most helpful and highlight the importance of interorganizational features, at least for those organizations that most improve.
Traffic extraction and characterisation from optical remote sensing data
Authors: Hinz Stefan , Lenhart Dominik , Leitloff Jens
Published: November 2008

This paper presents a generic scheme to extract traffic information from both optical satellite imagery and optical airborne image sequences. The extraction is based on an explicit semantic model of traffic, from which, depending on the characteristics of the input data, different strategies for vehicle detection, vehicle queue extraction and motion estimation are derived. The model comprises different scales to exploit the scale‐dependent properties of traffic imaged by optical sensors. It is furthermore extended by context information to include knowledge about background objects as well as metadata from a road database in a consistent way. Various tests with different input data have been carried out and compared with manually acquired ground truth data of vehicles and vehicle tracks. The results show clearly the high potential of airborne and spaceborne traffic monitoring, but also indicate room for methodological improvements and exhibit some inherent sensor‐related drawbacks.
Photogrammetric image acquisition and image analysis of oblique imagery
Authors: Grenzdörffer Görres J. , Guretzki Markus , Friedlander Ilan
Published: November 2008

Because of the intuitive human perception of the oblique view, photogrammetrists’ attention has recently returned to oblique images. The demand for oblique imagery has been notably pushed by digital representations of the globe such as Microsoft’s Virtual Earth and by the development of special GIS viewers including those by Pictometry and MultiVision. In this contribution the broad spectrum of applications of oblique images is presented. Most commonly oblique images are acquired with flexible digital airborne camera systems, which allow for easy collection of such imagery with photogrammetric quality. The digital airborne remote sensing system PFIFF developed at Rostock University will be introduced briefly. However, flight planning for oblique imagery differs from that for vertical aerial surveys. Two test flights with mono and stereo oblique images are presented. The data processing, display and measurement within oblique images from different perspectives requires new software such as MultiVision. Oblique images may also be used to texture 3D city models.
Contribution of two plane detection algorithms to recognition of intact and damaged buildings in lidar data
Authors: Rehor Miriam , Bähr Hans‐Peter , Tarsha‐Kurdi Fayez , Landes Tania , Grussenmeyer Pierre
Published: November 2008

In the field of disaster management the detection and classification of building damage play an important role. Airborne lidar data is very suitable as a basis for damage analyses because it can be acquired for large areas directly after a disaster. In building damage classification methods, plane surfaces extracted from post‐event lidar data are often used as one input. Various different algorithms exist for automatic plane detection from lidar data, of which two are presented in this paper and applied to lidar data of undamaged and damaged buildings. Finally, the suitability of these two algorithms for a more detailed building damage classification is studied and analysed.
Extraction of land cover themes from aerial ortho‐images in mountainous areas using external information
Authors: Le Bris Arnaud , Boldo Didier
Published: November 2008

In mountainous areas, land cover extraction from ortho‐images through semi‐automatic classification techniques is limited by several factors including large shadow areas, radiometric similarities between distinct themes and inhomogeneous radiometry among regions of the same class. The information in the image is thus not sufficient to separate the different classes. Nevertheless, good results can be obtained by dividing each land cover class into two subclasses, “shadow” and “non‐shadow”, and introducing external information into the classification process. This information can be derived from an older or more generalised database, geographical knowledge concerning the links between relief and land cover, or prior information concerning shadows. This external knowledge is then interpreted in terms of prior probabilities and merged with radiometric information from the image in a “maximum a posteriori (MAP) per region” classification process. Moreover, the results can also be improved by the use of combinations of derived channels calculated from the initial spectral bands of the image.
DMC Geometry analysis and virtual image characterisation
Authors: Alamús Ramon , Kornus Wolfgang
Published: November 2008

Since the advent of the first large format digital aerial cameras, high expectations have been placed on their performance. The dream of obtaining aerial images virtually free of geometric errors and with greater radiometric quality is getting close. Nevertheless, systematic image residuals, unexpected height errors in aerial triangulation and the need for additional self‐calibration parameters have been reported since 2005. In this paper a preliminary analysis of the theoretical accuracies in aerial triangulation using the Zeiss/Intergraph (Z/I) Digital Mapping Camera (DMC) and an analogue camera is conducted, motivated by those recent reports. This analysis considers a mathematical model where the image has conical geometry and is free of systematic errors. The influence on the propagated block accuracy of the base‐to‐height ratio, image pointing precision (both manual and automatic), GPS observations for projection centres and of pass/tie point density is studied. Moreover, the expected accuracy in the aerial triangulation of analogue images using current procedures (having regard to the a priori accuracy for image pointing, ground control measurement and GPS and pass/tie point density) is computed. The goal of this theoretical study is to find the requirements for aerial triangulation with DMC data which would yield the same or an even higher level of accuracy than that obtained with analogue data under the same conditions.

The paper continues with a check on the conclusions of this theoretical analysis, using real data‐sets and aerial triangulation set‐up, which fit with the theoretical analysis. The results prove that the expected theoretical accuracy in aerial triangulation is only obtained if an appropriate self‐calibration parameter set is considered in the bundle block adjustment and/or if good GPS observations are available. These requirements result from the unfavourable propagation from unmodelled systematic error in the DMC image blocks. Some authors have detected systematic residuals in the order of one‐tenth of a pixel rms in DMC image space. For this reason, investigations are being carried out on systematic error characterisation, distribution in image space and stability over time and flying height, and systematic error modelling, using self‐calibration parameter sets and applying correction grids. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the investigations.
Region‐specific plasticity in the epileptic rat brain: A hippocampal and extrahippocampal analysis
Authors: Jung Keun‐Hwa , Chu Kon , Lee Soon‐Tae , Kim Jin‐Hee , Kang Kyung‐Muk , Song Eun‐Cheol , Kim Se‐Jeong , Park Hee‐Kwon , Kim Manho , Lee Sang Kun , Roh Jae‐Kyu
Published: November 2008

Purpose:  Recent evidence suggests that aberrant neuro/gliogenesis and/or inflammation play critical roles in epileptogenesis. Although the plastic and inflammatory changes have been described in the postseizure hippocampus, little data is available concerning extrahippocampal regions, notably in the piriform and entorhinal cortices, amygdala, and parts of the thalamus. In this study, we examined histological changes in whole epileptic rat brain, with respect to cell death, cell genesis, and inflammation.

Methods and Results:  Experimental status epilepticus (SE) was induced using a lithium‐pilocarpine injection. Neuronal death was evident in the amygdala, piriform, and entorhinal cortices, as well as the subfields of hippocampus. Microglial activation was observed in more extended limbic areas, such as, the hippocampus, entorhinal, perirhinal and piriform cortices, amygdala, thalamus, and hypothalamus, and a robust increase of cell genesis was noted in these damaged areas. The majority of newly generated cells in extrahippocampal areas proliferated in situ, and differentiated mainly into astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. In addition, stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α was found to be induced in close temporal and anatomical association with seizure‐induced plasticity.

Discussion:  These findings indicate that neuronal death, inflammation, and cell genesis are substantially associated throughout the entire brain and that they may influence the epileptogenic process and clinical manifestations.
1H‐MR spectroscopy indicates prominent cerebellar dysfunction in benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy
Authors: Striano Pasquale , Caranci Ferdinando , Di Benedetto Raffaella , Tortora Fabio , Zara Federico , Striano Salvatore
Published: November 2008

Purpose:  To investigate the neurochemical pattern in patients with benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy (BAFME/FAME), an inherited form of myoclonic epilepsy, by proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy (1H‐MRS).

Methods:  Eleven BAFME patients from three families showing linkage to 2p11.1‐q12.2 were compared with 11 age‐matched healthy control subjects.

Results:  MR imaging of all the patients and healthy subjects exhibited no structural abnormalities on detailed visual assessment. However, compared with healthy subjects, patients with BAFME displayed elevated choline/creatine ratio in the cerebellar cortex (p = 0.01), whereas there was no significant difference for the other ratios. No 1H‐MRS values in the frontal and occipital cortex differed significantly in the patients compared with the healthy controls. No correlation was detected between 1H‐MRS values and disease duration (p = −0.35) as well as myoclonus severity (p = −0.48).

Conclusions:  Our findings suggest that the cerebellum is a prominent site of dysfunction in BAFME. The abnormal choline concentrations could reflect changes in the chemical and functional nature of cell membranes. 1H‐MRS was able to detect brain changes also in patients with recent disease onset and may be a useful tool supporting the diagnosis based on familial and electrophysiologic data. The relationship between cortical tremor and the cerebellum is also discussed.
GABA receptor proteins within lipid rafts in the AY‐9944 model of atypical absence seizures
Authors: Huo Jeanne Zhen , Cortez Miguel A. , Snead III O. Carter
Published: November 2008

Purpose:  The inhibition of cholesterol synthesis with AY‐9944 (AY) results in chronic recurrent atypical absence seizures in rodents. We hypothesized that cholesterol inhibition during the course of creating the AY model of atypical absence seizures results in an alteration of the entry of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)A and GABAB receptors into lipid rafts that contributes to epileptogenesis in this model.

Methods:  The cholesterol synthesis inhibitor AY (7.5 mg/kg) was administered on postnatal day (P) 2, P8, P14, and P20 in Long‐Evans hooded rats. The incorporation of GABAA and GABAB receptor proteins into lipid rafts of the brain was then determined.

Results:  AY produced a shift of both GABAA and GABAB receptors in the examined detergent‐resistant membranes (DRMs) and the soluble fractions. The percentage of the GABAA and GABAB receptors that shifted out of the DRMs varied between 17% and 50%, but the proportion of receptors in DRMs were decreased to levels around that of P5 animals or even lower. The shift observed in the AY‐treated versus control animals was statistically significant (p < 0.01) for both GABAA and GABAB receptors.

Conclusion:  Cholesterol synthesis inhibition during rat brain development that is induced by AY leads to chronic atypical absence seizures and is associated with an alteration of GABAA and GABAB receptor proteins within lipid rafts. These data suggest a novel avenue of investigation into the epileptogenesis of experimental chronic atypical absence seizures.
Spontaneous periictal leaving behavior: A potential lateralizing sign in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Jin Liri , Inoue Yushi
Published: November 2008

Purpose:  Seizure‐related spontaneous leaving behavior (LB) is an uncommonly reported phenomenon. The aim of this study was to determine its frequency, clinical significance, and especially its lateralizing value.

Methods:  We analyzed retrospectively the spontaneous periictal LB occurring in complex partial seizures (CPS) of 138 patients with medically refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) with excellent postoperative seizure outcome and pathologic finding of hippocampal sclerosis. The relation of LB occurring in different phases of CPS to the side of resection was investigated.

Results:  The overall frequency of periictal LB was 8.3% of 517 CPS and 25.2% of 123 patients. Among the 12 patients with ictal LB, 9 patients had epileptogenic focus ipsilateral to language dominant side, whereas the remaining 3 had seizure onset in the nondominant side. Conversely, 8 of 11 patients with postictal LB had foci in the nondominant side, and only three patients’ seizures originated in the dominant side. Therefore, it was more likely for patients with left MTLE to show ictal LB and for those with right foci to display postictal LB (p = 0.03).

Conclusions:  LB may represent a potential lateralizing sign. When LB occurs ictally, it may indicate seizure onset in the dominant temporal lobe, and LB occurring postictally indicates nondominant side seizure onset in patients with MTLE.
Relationship of Patriotism Measures to Critical Thinking and Emphasis on Civil Liberties versus National Security
Authors: Williams Robert L. , Foster Lisa N. , Krohn Katherine R.
Published: November 2008

Students in a large undergraduate course (N = 236) at a major state university in the Southeastern United States took a standardized critical thinking test and four short sociopolitical scales (constructive patriotism, blind patriotism, respect for civil liberties, and emphasis on national security) at the beginning of the fall semester 2007. Although numerous published studies have addressed relationships between types of patriotism and various sociopolitical variables, these studies typically have not targeted respect for civil liberties and emphasis on national security. Also, negligible attention has been given to the relationships between types of patriotism and cognitive variables (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving). The current study found that both constructive and blind patriotism were significantly related to measures of critical thinking, respect for civil liberties, and emphasis on national security but in opposing directions. The article concludes with implications of the findings for public policy and practice.
Buying Back Subcontractors: The Strategic Limits of Backward Integration
Authors: Laussel Didier
Published: November 2008

In a model where a monopolistic downstream firm (assembler) negotiates simultaneously with each of its n subcontractors the prices of the complementary components which enter its product, we show that backward integration is limited by a strategic negative effect: the prices and profits of independent suppliers increase when a merger reduces their number. Mergers are profitable only if the downstream firm buys at least two thirds of its suppliers. In an endogenous acquisition game à la Kamien and Zang (1990) the only merged equilibrium occurs when there is only one subcontractor. In a sequential acquisition game full integration is not an equilibrium when the number of suppliers is at least five.
Sustaining Collusion in Growing Markets
Authors: Vasconcelos Hélder
Published: November 2008

The impact of demand growth on the collusion possibilities is investigated in a Cournot supergame where market growth may trigger future entry and the collusive agreement is enforced by the most profitable ‘grim trigger strategies’ available. It is shown that even in situations where perfect collusion can be sustained after entry, coping with a potential entrant in a market which is growing over time may completely undermine any pre‐entry collusive plans of the incumbent firms. This is because, before entry, a deviation and the following punishment phase may become more attractive thanks to their additional effect in terms of delaying entry.
Almost Common Value Auctions: An Experiment
Authors: Rose Susan L. , Kagel John H.
Published: November 2008

In almost common value auctions one bidder has a higher (private) value for the item than the other bidders. Theory predicts that even a small private value advantage can have an explosive effect in English auctions, with advantaged bidders always winning and sharp decreases in revenue. These predictions fail to materialize for experienced bidders who have learned to avoid the worst effects of the winner's curse. Bidding is better characterized as proportional, with advantaged bidders tending to bid as in a pure common value auction after adding their private value advantage to their estimated value of the item.