bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethnic Patterns of Urbanization in Peninsular Malaysia, 1947-1970
Authors: Hirschman Charles , Suan-Pow Yeoh
Published: June 2008

Notwithstanding the popular nostalgia for the good life in small towns and rural villages, there is a sound rational base for the secular drift from country to town during the last century throughout the world, in countries large and small, rich and poor. In almost every situation, it is clear that those in urban areas have greater access to educational institutions, are exposed to more diverse employment opportunities, and receive higher incomes than rural residents. These differences in economic opportunities and rewards are generally apparent to all. And so inherent in the process of urbanization and the consequent widening of rural-urban disparities is the potential for increased tension with the prevailing distribution system. Rural people, traditionally distrustful of cities, often interpret the growing socioeconomic gap as exploitative in character and pressure political and economic institutions for redress. Yet, most urbanites do not feel advantaged as they compare their plight to more successful urban residents, not to the disadvantaged rural population. In spite of these tensions rural-urban divisions only rarely become the dominant political groupings in a society. Rural to urban migration provides an individual alternative to collective political organization, and governments are often successful in using symbolic politics to allay rural discontent. Yet when rural-urban inequities reinforce other societal divisions such as ethnic groups, the potential for public protest and governmental initiatives is heightened. Such is the case in the plural society of Peninsular Malaysia where the largely rural Malay community is disadvantaged relative to the more urbanized Chinese and Indian minorities. And since the political base of the government is heavily dependent upon rural Malay support, recent public policies are intended to minimize socioeconomic disparities across ethnic communities. One strategy is to increase the proportional representation of Malays in towns and cities. In this paper we review the empirical trends in ethnic patterns of urbanization from 1947 to 1970, prior to advent of explicit public policies to eliminate ethnic inequalities in residence and in socioeconomic rewards.' These trends are interpreted in light of the intent of current government policies.
Managing the Stigma of Outlaw Breeds: A Case Study of Pit Bull Owners
Authors: Patronek Gary , Twining Hillary , Arluke Arnold
Published: June 2008

Ethnographic interviews were conducted with 28 pit bull "owners" to explore the sociological experience of having a dog with a negative image. Results indicate that the vast majority of respondents felt that these dogs were stigmatized because of their breed. Respondents made this conclusion because friends, family, and strangers were apprehensive in the presence of their dogs and because they made accusations about the breed's viciousness and lack of predictability. In the face of this stigma, respondents resorted to using a variety of interactional strategies to lessen the impact of this perception or prevent it from occurring. These strategies included passing their dogs as breeds other than pit bulls, denying that their behavior is biologically determined, debunking adverse media coverage, using humor, emphasizing counter-stereotypical behavior, avoiding stereotypical equipment or accessories, taking preventive measures, or becoming breed ambassadors.
Electronically Available Surveys of Attitudes Toward Animals
Authors: Dorr Lorna B. , Herzogl Harold A.
Published: June 2008

Much of the research on attitudes toward non-human species has been conducted with non-representative samples. Largely ignored in the literature on human/animal interactions are surveys conducted by commercial polling organizations using large probability samples of Americans. Many of these surveys contain information relevant to attitudes about animals and animal welfare issues. This information is available to researchers electronically at little or no cost through organizations such as the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and the National Opinion Research Center.
A Pedagogics in Wonder
Authors: Heidegger Martin , Guerrière Daniel
Published: June 2008

After the Introduction (pp. 1-22), the course falls into two parts, "Meditation on the dictum [μΕ\έτα τò πâv]-the difference between beings and Being" (pp. 23-93), and "The originary utterance of Being in the fragmentary saying of Anaximander" (pp. 94-123). The Introduction, each chapter of Part One, and the first subdivision of Part Two ends with a "recapitulation'; here only the last will be treated separately.
The Constitution of the Alter Ego in Husserl's Transcendental Phenomenology
Authors: Viscardi-Murray Lorraine
Published: June 2008

This paper explores Husserl's phenomenological description of the constitution of the alter ego within the sphere of transcendental subjectivity. It is important at the start to point out that the Other plays a crucial role in securing the intersubjective nature of the experienced world. Although Husserl goes on in the "Fifth Cartesian Meditation" to consider the constitution of an objective world common to all subjects and the establishment of a community of monads, my primary focus in this paper will be the examination of the initial steps whereby the sense, "other ego," is constituted by the transcendental ego. My main task, then, will be to examine the reduction to the sphere of ownness, the appresentative transfer of sense from ego to alter ego, and the criterion of harmonious behavior. My primary criticisms will center around certain difficulties inherent in the attempt to uncover a primordial sphere of ownness and problems that arise from a shift in concern from the life-world (everyday) attitude to the attitude following the performance of the epoché. Part I of the paper will consist of a general discussion of Husserl's phenomenological project, Part II will be a detailed study of the alter ego, and Part III a general statement of problems and objections.
Lived Body and Environment
Authors: Gallagher Shaun
Published: June 2008

Merleau-Ponty developed a phenomenology of the body that promoted a non-dualistic account of human existence. In this paper I intend to develop Merleau-Ponty's analysis further by questioning his account of the body on the issues of body perception, and the body's relation to its environment. To clarify these issues I draw from both the phenomenological tradition and recent psychological investigations.
Derrida, a Kind of Philosopher: A Discussion of Recent Literature
Authors: Caputo John D.
Published: June 2008

Rodolphe Gasché, The Tain of the Mirror: Derrida and the Philosophy of Reflection. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986. 348 pp. Irene E. Harvey, Derrida and the Economy of Différance. Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986. xv & 285 pp. John Llewelyn, Derrida on the Threshold of Sense. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. xiii & 137 pp.
Urbanization Impacts on the Climate in Europe: Numerical Experiments by the PSU–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)
Authors: Trusilova K. , Jung M. , Churkina G. , Karstens U. , Heimann M. , Claussen M.
Published: June 2008

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of urban land on the climate in Europe on local and regional scales. Effects of urban land cover on the climate are isolated using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) with a modified land surface scheme based on the Town Energy Budget model. Two model scenarios represent responses of climate to different states of urbanization in Europe: 1) no urban areas and 2) urban land in the actual state in the beginning of the twenty-first century. By comparing the simulations of these contrasting scenarios, spatial differences in near-surface temperature and precipitation are quantified. Simulated near-surface temperatures and an urban heat island for January and July over a period of 6 yr (2000–05) agree well with corresponding measurements at selected urban areas. The conversion of rural to urban land results in statistically significant changes to precipitation and near-surface temperature over areas of the land cover perturbations. The diurnal temperature range in urbanized regions was reduced on average by 1.26° ± 0.71°C in summer and by 0.73° ± 00.54°C in winter. Inclusion of urban areas results in an increase of urban precipitation in winter (0.09 ± 00.16 mm day−1) and a precipitation reduction in summer (−0.05 ± 0.22 mm day−1).
Effects of Moisture Released during Forest Burning on Fog Formation and Implications for Visibility
Authors: Achtemeier Gary L.
Published: June 2008

Smoke from wildland burning in association with fog has been implicated as a visibility hazard over roadways in the United States. Visibilities at accident sites have been estimated in the range from 1 to 3 m (extinction coefficients between 1000 and 4000). Temperature and relative humidity measurements were taken from 29 “smokes” during 2002 and 2003. These data were converted to a measure of the mass of water vapor present to the mass of dry air containing the vapor (smoke mixing ratio). Smoke temperatures were processed through a simple radiation model before smokes were mixed with ambient air with temperature and moisture observed during the early morning on the days following the burns. Calculations show supersaturations implying liquid water contents (LWC) up to 17 times as large as LWC found in natural fog. Simple models combining fog droplet number density, droplet size, and LWC show that the supersaturation LWC of smokes is capable of reducing visibility to the ranges observed.
Impacts of a New Solar Radiation Parameterization on the CPTEC AGCM Climatological Features
Authors: Barbosa H. M. J. , Tarasova T. A. , Cavalcanti I. F. A.
Published: June 2008

The impacts of improved atmospheric absorption on radiative fluxes, atmospheric circulation, and hydrological cycle for long-term GCM integrations are investigated. For these runs the operational version of the Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos (CPTEC) AGCM and its enhanced version with a new solar radiation scheme are used. There is an 8% increase in the annual mean global average atmospheric absorption in the enhanced integration as compared with the operational model integration. The extra absorption is due to gases (0.5%), the water vapor continuum (1.5%), and background aerosols (6%), which were not considered in the operational solar radiation scheme. Under clear-sky conditions the enhanced model atmospheric absorption is in agreement with observations to within ±3 W m−2, while for all-sky conditions the remaining errors are related to unaccounted-for cloud absorption. There is a general warm-up of the atmosphere in the enhanced model with temperatures increasing up to ∼3 K in the troposphere and ∼5–8 K in the stratosphere, bringing the model closer to the reference values. The intensities of the tropospheric jets are reduced by 7%–8%, while that of the polar night stratospheric jet is increased by 5%–10%, reducing the model systematic error. The reduced availability of latent energy for the saturated convective processes weakens the meridional circulation and slows down the hydrological cycle. The model overestimation of December–February precipitation over the South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) and the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) is reduced by 0.5–1.0 mm day−1, and that over the Northern Hemisphere storm-tracks region is reduced by 0.5 mm day−1. On a monthly time scale, the changes in the precipitation distribution over the SACZ are found to be much larger, ±2–3 mm day−1.
Effects of Regional Warming due to Urbanization on Daytime Local Circulations in a Complex Basin of the Daegu Metropolitan Area, Korea
Authors: Lee Soon-Hwan , Kim Hae-Dong
Published: June 2008

Numerical and observational analyses were conducted using realistic and historical three-set land-use data over 40 yr from 1963 to 2002 to evaluate regional warming in the Daegu metropolitan area due to dramatic land-use alterations in the basin area and to quantitatively estimate the influence of nonuniform regional warming on complex local circulation. The results are as follows: (a) The daily mean temperature in the Daegu metropolitan area increased by 1.5 K over 40 yr, and the increase was higher than that of the mean temperature on the Korean Peninsula. (b) A simulated surface wind pattern in 2002 agreed well with the observed data. The rapid urbanization of the Daegu metropolitan area has had a large influence on the local circulation outside of the area. (c) Because of the variation in heat and momentum transfer due to land-use alteration, the prevailing wind has also changed in the central basin in the Daegu metropolitan area. The spatial distribution of the temperature change is very similar to the changes in the wind. (d) The two-dimensional mixed-height theory was applied to local circulations. By this theory, regional warming that occurs as a result of land-use alteration determines a higher critical height, which serves as an index for estimating the mixing intensity induced by a surface sensible heat flux. According to the observational data, this index can be used to quantitatively estimate regional warming in complex terrain.
Baseline Results of the Self-Reported Sexual Behaviors of Midwestern African American Adolescents
Authors: Lewis-Moss Rhonda K. , Carmack Chakema , Sly Jamilia , Roberts Shani , Wilson Kenya
Published: June 2008

The purpose of this article is to examine the self-reported sexual behaviors of African American adolescents living in the Midwest. A baseline survey was administered to 448 African American youth between the ages of 12 and 17. The article examines the self-reported sexual behaviors of African American adolescents in comparison to U.S. norms using the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and the Kansas Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. The results indicate that this African American sample was slightly younger than the U.S. sample and reported better safer sex practices. Limitations and future research are also discussed.
Robust tracking controller with constraints using generalized velocity components for manipulators
Authors: Herman Przemysław , Franelak Dariusz
Published: June 2008

A proposed robust controller with torque constraints are presented in this article. It is shown that for a manipulator described in terms of the generalized velocity components (GVCs), given originally by Loduha and Ravani ( Transactions of the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics 62, 216—22, 1995), one can use a simple control scheme, which guarantees position error tracking. Introducing GVCs, together with generalized joint positions, leads to first-order decoupling equations of motion instead of one second-order equation. Additionally, an interesting insight into the manipulator dynamics can be obtained. As opposed to the classical robust controller (Galicki, Studies in Automation and Information Technology 25, 83—93, 2000), the constraints in our algorithm are expressed in terms of quasi-moments. The performances of both controllers were compared on a 3-degree-of-freedom, 3-D Yasukawa-like robot.
Improvements of resolution and precision of a wavelength-encoded electrical current sensor using an ultra-bright light-emitting diode transducer
Authors: Ribeiro Ricardo M. , Werneck Marcelo M.
Published: June 2008

A wavelength-encoded electrical current sensor for high voltage using ultra-bright green (525 nm) light-emitting diode (LED) transducer and plastic optical fibre (POF), linking to remote location, has been developed. The wavelength receiver is based on passive filtering by employing an OG530 edge filter. LEDs from three different manufactures were characterized in their optical chirp response range, aiming for a sensor resolution improvement. The sensor precision (stability) was improved against external perturbations on the POF link by using an in-line mode-scrambler. The environment temperature of the LED transducer was kept unchanged at ±2°C.
Difference equation sensor characterization algorithms for two-thermocouple probes
Authors: McLoone Seán , Hung Peter , Irwin George , Kee Robert
Published: June 2008

The characterization of thermocouple sensors for temperature measurement in variable flow environments is a challenging problem. In this paper, novel difference equation-based algorithms are presented that allow in situ characterization of temperature measurement probes consisting of two-thermocouple sensors with differing time constants. Linear and nonlinear least squares formulations of the characterization problem are introduced and compared in terms of their computational complexity, robustness to noise and statistical properties. With the aid of this analysis, least squares optimization procedures that yield unbiased estimates are identified. The main contribution of the paper is the development of a linear two-parameter generalized total least squares formulation of the sensor characterization problem. Monte-Carlo simulation results are used to support the analysis.
The “Self” in Self-Development
Authors: Newman Michael
Published: June 2008

A rationalist is prevailed upon to enroll in a program on meditation. During a day of silence, he begins to wonder about the concept of the self as implied in some forms of educational practice. Over the next few weeks, he identifies four doubts, which he calls a Marxian doubt, a dialectical doubt, an absurd doubt, and a moral doubt. He argues that each of these doubts has implications for the major forms of self-development programs commonly found in adult education curricula. If he is right, then a lot of education designed to promote transformative and experiential learning is flawed.
Bridging Canadian Adult Second Language Education and Essential Skills Policies
Authors: Gibb Tara L.
Published: June 2008

Employing critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper examines the attempt to bridge a Canadian adult second language policy with an employment skills policy. The result is a third policy intended to improve language education and employment skills training for immigrants. The analysis reveals that the knowledge economy and human capital theory are the predominant discourses embedded in the policy documents. The paper argues that predominant discourses perpetuate power imbalances and essentialize worker and migrant subjectivities. Engaging in postcolonial theories of second language learning, the paper proposes another way of conceiving adult second language learning and its potential for policy development.
Diffuse Multicystic Encephalomalacia in a Preterm Baby Due to Homozygous Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase 677 C→T Mutation
Authors: Aygun Canan , Tanyeri Bilge , Ceyhan Meltem , Bagcι Hasan , Kucukoduk Sukru
Published: June 2008

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase catalyzes the formation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate from 5,10-methylentetrahydrofolate and produces folate for the methylation of homocysteine to methionine. Due to insufficient conversion of homocysteine to methionine, plasma homocysteine levels increase in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency. Homocysteine is an amino acid that contains a neurotoxic sulfur molecule and can induce neuronal apoptosis. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency is 1 of the etiological factors that causes neurological symptoms and signs in the newborn and childhood period. Here, we report a premature baby with prenatal onset diffuse multicystic encephalomalacia and cerebellar atrophy due to homozygous methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase mutation.
Melatonin for Chronic Insomnia in Angelman Syndrome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Authors: Braam Wiebe , Didden Robert , Smits Marcel G. , Curfs Leopold M. G.
Published: June 2008

Previous studies suggested that melatonin improves sleep in insomniac patients with Angelman syndrome. To assess the efficacy of melatonin, a randomized placebo-controlled study was conducted in 8 children with Angelman syndrome with idiopathic chronic insomnia. After a 1-week baseline period, patients received, depending on age, either melatonin 5 or 2.5 mg, or placebo, followed by 4 weeks of open treatment. Parents recorded lights off time, sleep onset time, wake-up time, and epileptic seizures in a diary. Salivary melatonin levels were measured at baseline and the last evening of the fourth treatment week. Melatonin significantly advanced sleep onset by 28 minutes, decreased sleep latency by 32 minutes, increased total sleep time by 56 minutes, reduced the number of nights with wakes from 3.1 to 1.6 nights a week, and increased endogenous salivary melatonin levels. Parents were satisfied with these results. Indications that melatonin dose in Angelman syndrome patients should be low, are discussed.
Participation in Prevention Programs for Dating Violence
Authors: Cornelius Tara L. , Sullivan Kieran T. , Wyngarden Nicole , Milliken Jennifer C.
Published: June 2008

This study utilizes the Health Belief Model (HBM) to examine the factors related to the intention to participate in prevention programming for dating violence. Perceptions of susceptibility to future violence and the benefits of prevention programming appear to be the strongest predictors of participation in prevention programs. Perceptions of the severity of dating violence do not appear to be related to intentions to participate. There were no differences in intention between those reporting psychological or physical violence in their dating relationship, although some of the HBM factors were associated with a history of violence. Contrary to hypotheses, psychological and physical violence did not moderate the impact of the HBM factors on intention. Implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for recruiting participants for primary and secondary prevention programs are offered.
Maternal Self-Concept and Breastfeeding
Authors: Britton John R. , Britton Helen L.
Published: June 2008

To test the hypothesis that mothers with high self-concept will be more likely to breastfeed their infants than those with lower self-concept, 2 cohorts of mothers of term newborns were assessed by different forms of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. In study 1, mothers exclusively breastfeeding at 1 month postpartum had significantly higher self-concept than those exclusively formula feeding. In study 2, exclusively breastfeeding mothers had higher scores for total self-concept compared with those exclusively formula feeding. Exclusively breastfeeding mothers also scored higher on several individual dimensions of self-concept, notably those reflecting self-satisfaction, behavior, moral worth, value as a family member, and physical appearance. Mothers partially breastfeeding had intermediate levels of self-concept in both studies. Even after controlling for demographic and social factors and for breastfeeding initiation in regression analyses, self-concept remained significantly associated with exclusive breastfeeding in both studies. Thus, compared with mothers who exclusively formula feed their infants, exclusively breastfeeding mothers have higher levels of self concept. J Hum Lact. 24(4):431-438.
The Media Depiction of Women Who Opt Out
Authors: Kuperberg Arielle , Stone Pamela
Published: June 2008

Through a content analysis of print media and a comparison of media images with trends in women's behavior, the authors explore the rhetoric and reality surrounding the exit of college-educated women from the workforce to become full-time mothers, a phenomenon that has been dubbed “opting out.” The major imagery surrounding opting out emphasizes motherhood and family, elites, and choice. A close reading reveals some inconsistencies that counter the prevailing positive depiction. The authors also find that media coverage of opting out appears in leading publications reaching large and diverse audiences. A comparison of articles' themes against actual trends in women's opting-out behavior shows that there is a disjuncture between the two. The authors discuss the implications of these results for the dissemination of a new feminine mystique.
Special Section: Is Cognitive Science Changing its Mind?
Authors: van de Laar Tjeerd , de Regt Herman
Published: June 2008

Embodied embedded cognition (EEC) and neurophenomenology (NP) are slowly invading cognitive (neuro)science. We provide a short introduction of what EEC and NP are about and an overview of the papers in this special section on EEC and NP.
Special Section: Can There Be Such a Thing as Embodied Embedded Cognitive Neuroscience?
Authors: van Dijk Jelle , Kerkhofs Roel , van Rooij Iris , Haselager Pim
Published: June 2008

Contemporary cognitive neuroscience, for the most part, aims to figure out how cognitive processes are realized in the brain. This research goal betrays the field's commitment to the philosophical position that cognizing is something that the brain does. Since the 1990s, philosophers and cognitive scientists have started to question this position, arguing that the brain constitutes only one of several contributing factors to cognition, the other factors being the body and the world. This latter position we refer to as embodied embedded cognition (EEC). Although cognitive neuroscience's research practice and EEC do not seem to fit well together at present, it is pertinent to ask if a variant of cognitive neuroscience can be developed that sets itself research goals that are more congenial to the EEC view. In this paper we investigate this possibility. We put forth a new guiding metaphor of the role of the brain in cognitive behavior to replace the current cognitivist metaphor of the brain as an information-processing device. We also identify a research agenda that naturally arises from our metaphor. In this way we hope to provide an impetus for cognitive neuroscientists to pursue an EEC-inspired research program.
Special Section: Towards an Embodiment of Goals
Authors: Cox Ralf F.A. , Smitsman Ad W.
Published: June 2008

This paper discusses both a dissociation view and a dynamic view with respect to the study of voluntary, goal-directed behavior. The dissociation view builds on the recently reintroduced ideomotor principle, and conceives of clearly dissociated and hierarchical roles for the planning and control of action. The dynamic view has a more integral and dynamic conception of how planning, control, and timing merge in the guidance of behavior. This view, however, lacks a clear way of encompassing the goaldirectedness of behavior. For behavior to be effective and efficient, sensory information has to play an equally important role in guiding action as goal-related information does. As a third view, a dynamic action-selection approach is introduced by combining aspects of the former two. This model is able to merge ideomotor and sensorimotor processes continuously and in real time. In discussing the action-selection approach, a special emphasis is given to the role of long-term influences like preferences and goals.
Special Section: On Looking Inward
Authors: den Boer Johan A. , Reinders A.A.T. Simone , Glas Gerrit
Published: June 2008

Much of mainstream psychology and psychiatry has come under the umbrella of cognitive neuroscience and attempts to provide mechanistic accounts of mental processes. On the other hand, therapeutically oriented branches of psychiatry are concerned with giving accounts at a personal, experiential level of explanation. Relating introspective evidence (first-person perspective) to objective (third-person perspective) evidence is a key challenge for psychology and psychiatry and will be of significance for the unification of the two approaches. In this paper we show that in current neuroscientific experiments different forms of introspective evidence are used. Guided introspection inplies a conscious response to an ongoing stimulus. In unguided introspection, subjects are invited to report freely about `what it is like' to be a subject undergoing an experiment. In neurophenomenology, a method is offered to guide reflexive examination of ongoing subjective experience. Some neurophenomenologists presuppose that it is possible to derive phenomenological `invariants' from the analysis of phenomenal experience. We conclude that contemporary neuroscience allows subjective report to be part of its methodology, but that the added value and specificity of the neurophenomenological training remain to be established.
Identity as Self-Interpretation
Authors: Brinkmann Svend
Published: June 2008

The hermeneutic tradition in psychology and the social sciences claims that we should understand human identity in terms of self-interpretation. This article is an attempt to spell out what it means to think of identity as self-interpretation. First, two dimensions of identity as self-interpretation are outlined: that we can only have an identity if we are committed to issues of moral worth; and that self-interpretation involves a temporal dimension that has a narrative form. Second, I outline four levels of self-interpretation in order to show that identity is not confined to either social or mental representations, but is dispersed across bodies, persons, practices, and society. Often there are discrepancies and conflicts between levels of self-interpretation, which can lead to social progress but also to social pathologies. Finally, I analyse some pathological aspects of a dominating Western self-interpretation in the current consumer society, which frames identity formation in terms of self-realization.
Cutaneous lichenoid graft-versus-host disease mimicking lupus erythematosus
Authors: Goiriz R , Peñas PF , Delgado-Jiménez Y , Fernández-Herrera J , Aragüés-Montañés M , Fraga J , García-Díez A
Published: June 2008

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the main complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and the skin is the most commonly involved organ. The clinical presentation is varied and may resemble autoimmune diseases, such as scleroderma, lichen planus or lichen sclerosus. Chronic GVHD presenting with a butterfly malar rash mimicking lupus erythematosus is uncommon. We report a series of five patients with cutaneous lichenoid GVHD that presented with a butterfly malar rash. Two of our patients had positive antinuclear antibody titres. The evolution was poor with development of sclerodermatous GVHD lesions in three patients and relapse of their haematological disease in two.
Expression of nucleic acid binding Toll-like receptors in control, lupus and transplanted kidneys – a preliminary pilot study
Authors: Ciferska H , Horak P , Konttinen YT , Krejci K , Tichy T , Hermanova Z , Zadrazil J
Published: June 2008

We hypothesized that nucleic acids, free and/or complexed, filtered and/or locally released, might be entrapped in the kidneys because of the specific nucleic acid binding microbial pattern recognizing Toll-like receptors (TLRs). This hypothesis of nucleic acid binding potential was tested using paraffin sections from healthy control, SLE and transplant kidneys, which were labelled using TLR-specific rabbit or goat anti–human antibodies in immunoperoxidase staining. Normal and transplant kidneys contain some double- (TLR-3) and single-stranded RNA binding (TLR-8) receptors, but in particular double-stranded RNA binding receptor TLR-7, mostly in tubuli, whereas no DNA binding TLR-9 was found. SLE kidneys contain more TLR-3 and TLR-8 and express de novo also TLR-9, in particular in glomeruli. On the contrary, TLR-7 was relatively weak in SLE. It is concluded that kidneys have a capacity to bind nucleic acids. TLR stimulation leads to the production of tumour necrosis factor-α and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and to up-regulation of co-stimulatory molecules necessary for the adaptive immune response. This makes renal tissues a potential target for inflammatory and immune responses in autoimmune disease and in the reaction for the foreign tissue.
Neurocognitive abnormalities in offspring of mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Urowitz MB , Gladman DD , MacKinnon A , Ibañez D , Bruto V , Rovet J , Silverman E
Published: June 2008

Offspring of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients delivered during follow-up in the lupus clinic from 1973 to 1998 were assessed for SLE and by age-appropriate neurocognitive tests. Nine domains were evaluated. Controls, matched for age, sex, race and socio-economic status, underwent the same neurodevelopmental/neuropsychological evaluation. A domain was considered ‘abnormal’ if at least one of the tests in the domain yielded abnormal results. The number of offspring with normal/abnormal results was compared in each of the nine domains using McNemar test for matched analysis. In addition, an unmatched analysis using chi-square tests was performed. Logistic regression was run on both the matched pairs and unmatched groups to adjust for possible gender differences. A total of 106 children, 49 pairs of SLE offspring and matched controls (20 male and 29 female) and an extra eight offspring (three male and five female) of SLE patients without a control match were included. Of the 57 SLE offspring, none were diagnosed with SLE. The matched analyses of the neuropsychological domains revealed impairment in SLE children compared with matched controls in two of the nine domains: learning and memory and behaviour.
The Czech Republic
Authors: Sinecka Jitka
Published: June 2008

More than 17 years after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic still does not have a comprehensive disability discrimination law based on social and human rights models. The Czech disability law has not fully reformed yet and relies on outdated law in many areas of life, causing discrimination against individuals with disabilities and their families. This process of development is similar to other postcommunist democracies where reforms started at political and economical levels, with the social area falling behind. This article is a brief report on the current state of Czech disability law and policy using examples of several case studies to illustrate the challenges people with disabilities face in contemporary society.
Rupturing Context, Resituating Genre
Authors: Knievel Michael S.
Published: June 2008

Internal institutional genres can become fertile terrain for public policy debate when what Birkland called “focusing events” or ruptures extricate these genres from their contexts and subject them to public scrutiny. This study examines consequences for the local instantiation of the police use-of-force policy genre in the wake of a controversial shooting in Denver, Colorado, and traces ways in which the formation of a multi-interest task force charged with revising the police department's policy altered the policy's conventional activity system. In doing so, the public participated in remapping the local policy instantiation's relationship to the use-of-force policy genre and the routinized social action it performed.
Research Methodology in Strategic Management
Authors: Ketchen David J. , Boyd Brian K. , Bergh Donald D.
Published: June 2008

Despite being a relatively young discipline, strategic management has grown dramatically in size and influence over the past few decades. As with any field, the findings generated within strategic management are only as robust as the research methods used to conduct the analyses. Although strategic management's accomplishments with regard to methods have been substantial, it is confronted by significant challenges as well. The authors describe these accomplishments and challenges, explain how the articles offered in this feature topic help to address certain challenges, and offer suggestions for future work that may create additional progress.
Physiotherapy and related activities in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Wiles CM
Published: June 2008

There are now about 50 randomized controlled trials into rehabilitation packages, physiotherapy or related specific and non-specific techniques in multiple sclerosis (MS). Generally these, and related systematic reviews, report benefits. Particular problems arise, however, with the blinding of assessment, determination of what is the active or beneficial input by the therapist, the use of multiple domains of assessment of quality of life and function without, sometimes, a clear statement of a trial hypothesis or primary outcome and the short-term nature of many studies. Therapy inputs can be broadly broken down into verbal interactions with the patient, physical inputs and referral/recommendation processes. Each may be relevant to the outcome. ‘Response-shift’ may be an important internal mechanism of mind whereby changes in ‘quality of life’ may not always parallel function emphasizing the case for clearly separating quality of life from functional assessment and attempting to make the latter as objective as possible. Trials of such complex interventions will need to randomize specified components of therapy against appropriate placebos or active treatment arms rather than no therapy, which will be ethically harder to sustain. Classification of physiotherapy inputs by type and ‘dosage’, a primary hypothesis under test and attention to concealed allocation of treatment, assessor blinding and intention to treat analysis together with improved measurements of function will assist in the consolidation of the evidence base for physiotherapy as an important component of management for MS patients.
Fatigue, depression and progression in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Koch M , Uyttenboogaart M , van Harten A , Heerings M , De Keyser J
Published: June 2008

Objective

To investigate the effect of fatigue and depression on disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), and the long-term prognosis of these symptoms.

Methods

228 patients with MS were investigated for fatigue and depression with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). These patients regularly attended the MS clinic, where disability scores and the development of secondary progression were monitored. After 10 years, the 149 patients remaining from the original cohort were asked to participate in a repeat assessment of fatigue and depression and 96 (64%) could be re-evaluated. In relapsing–remitting patients, the influence of baseline fatigue and depression on the risk of secondary progression during the following 10 years was assessed with survival analyses. In the whole patient group, we investigated the influence of baseline fatigue and depression on progression of disability at 10 years. We also investigated differences in fatigue, depression and disability scores between baseline and 10 years.

Results

Fatigue and depression at baseline did not predict the development of secondary progression or progression of disability. Most patients who were fatigued or depressed at baseline remained so at 10 years, and the majority of patients not experiencing these symptoms remained free of them. FSS and CES-D scores were not significantly different between baseline and 10 years, while disability scores significantly increased.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that fatigue and depression in MS are unrelated to disease progression in MS. Fatigue and depression tend to persist at roughly the same levels over time.
A randomized multifactorial intervention study for prevention of ischaemic heart disease (Inter99): The long-term effect on physical activity
Authors: von Huth Smith Lisa , Ladelund Steen , Borch-Johnsen Knut , Jørgensen Torben
Published: June 2008

Aim: To examine the effect of a randomized multiple risk factor intervention study for prevention of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) on the development in physical activity over a 36-month period. Methods: Two random samples (high intensity intervention, group A, n=11,708; low intensity intervention, group B, n=1,308) were invited for a health examination, an assessment of absolute risk of developing IHD, and an individualized lifestyle intervention. The participation rate was 52.5%. High-risk persons in group A were also offered diet/physical activity and/or smoking cessation group counselling. High-risk persons in group B were referred to their GP. High-risk persons were re-counselled after 12 and 36 months. The control group (group C, n=5,264, response rate=61.3%) answered a mailed questionnaire. Data were analysed using longitudinal linear regression models with random effects. Main outcome: Change in physical activity from baseline to 12-and 36-month follow-up. Results: In men, the high-intensity (group A) intervention had a beneficial effect at 12-month follow-up, whereas after 36 months both the high-intensity and the low-intensity (group B) intervention had a beneficial effect on the development in physical activity when compared with group C. This was regardless of baseline physical activity level. At 36-month follow-up there was no significant difference between groups A and B. There was no intervention effect among women. Conclusions: Only men seemed to benefit from the intervention.
The scope for biased recall of risk-factor exposure in case-control studies: Evidence from a cohort study of Scottish men
Authors: Metcalfe Chris , Macleod John , Smith George Davey , Hart Carole L.
Published: June 2008

Aims: Case-control studies are prone to recall bias, a participant's case-control status influencing their recall of exposure to risk factors. We aimed to demonstrate empirically the scope for this bias. Methods: Two thousand five hundred and fifty men without coronary heart disease at enrolment to a prospective cohort study underwent two health assessments, about 5 years apart. The association between the development of coronary heart disease in the intervening period and changes in reported stress and cigarette smoking were investigated. Results: Men admitted to hospital with coronary heart disease reported a greater increase in psychological stress (p=0.032) and greater cessation of smoking (22% vs. 10%; p=0.007) than men not admitted. Consequently, when exposure data are collected at the end rather than at the start of the follow-up period, coronary heart disease is observed to be more strongly associated with psychological stress, and more weakly associated with smoking. Conclusions: At the time when a case-control study is conducted, levels of exposure to risk factors will have been influenced by disease development. When participants are asked about their level of exposure for a previous time period, recall is likely to be influenced by present outcome and exposure status, especially when psychological states are being investigated.
Psychosocial work conditions, unemployment and health locus of control: A population-based study
Authors: Sadiq Mohammad Ali  , Lindström Martin
Published: June 2008

Aims: To investigate the association between psychosocial work conditions, unemployment and lack of belief in the possibility of influencing one's own health. Design/setting/participants/measurements: The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with a 59% participation rate. In total, 5180 persons aged 18—64 years who belonged to the workforce and the unemployed were included in this study. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work and unemployment, and lack of belief in the possibility of influencing one's own health (external locus of control). Psychosocial conditions at work were defined according to the Karasek—Theorell demand—control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive, and job strain categories. The multivariate analyses included age, country of birth, education, economic stress, and social participation. Results: In total, 26.6% of all men and 26.9% of all women lack an internal locus of control. The passive, job strain and unemployed categories have significantly higher odds ratios of lack of internal locus of control, as compared to the relaxed reference category. No such significant differences are observed for the active category. These patterns remain in the multivariate models, with the exception of the passive and unemployed categories among men, in which the significant differences disappear. Conclusions: Psychosocial work conditions and unemployment may affect health locus of control. The control dimension in the Karasek—Theorell model seems to be of greatest importance.
Cross-sectional study on the relationship between body mass index and smoking, and longitudinal changes in body mass index in relation to change in smoking status: The Tromsø Study
Authors: Sneve M. , Jorde R.
Published: June 2008

Aims: To evaluate the effects of smoking and other lifestyle factors on body mass index (BMI), and changes in BMI in relation to changes in smoking status. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 10,920 males (3937 smokers) and 12,090 females (4343 smokers) who participated in the fourth Tromsø Study (performed in 1994—95). A longitudinal study was performed on 2364 males (732 smokers in 1994—95) and 2738 females (942 smokers in 1994—95) who participated in both the fourth and the fifth Tromsø studies (performed in 2001). Results: In the cross-sectional study, current smokers of both genders had a lower BMI (25.0±3.4 vs. 25.5±3.2 kg/m2 in males, and 23.9±3.9 vs. 25.3±4.6 kg/m 2 in females, p<0.01), a lower degree of physical activity, and a higher consumption of coffee and alcohol than never-smokers. We found a U-shaped relationship between number of cigarettes smoked per day and BMI, with the lowest BMI in those smoking 6— 10 cigarettes per day. Heavy smokers and never-smokers had similar BMI. In the longitudinal study, continuing smokers had a smaller increase in BMI than those who gave up smoking. In those who gave up smoking, there was a significant, positive relationship between number of cigarettes smoked in 1994—95 and increase in BMI. Conclusions: There is a U-shaped relationship between number of cigarettes smoked per day and BMI. Smoking cessation is associated with an increase in weight as compared to those who continue smoking.
What characterizes persons with high levels of perceived stress in Denmark? A national representative study
Authors: Nielsen Line , Curtis Tine , Kristensen Tage S. , Rod Nielsen Naja
Published: June 2008

Aims: Stress is a growing public health problem, but there are only a few studies with national representative samples on the occurrence of stress. The aim of this study was to assess the level of stress, measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, in Denmark, and to identify and characterize the group with high levels of stress by factors measured at both the individual and neighbourhood levels in a national representative sample of the Danish population. Methods: The 10,022 participants in the National Health Interview Survey 2005 were asked about perceived stress and individual factors in a cross-sectional design. Information on neighbourhood factors was derived from a national registry. Data were analysed by means of logistic regression models. Results: Low education, heavy smoking, physical inactivity, lack of social network and poor working conditions were associated with perceived stress. For women, living in a neighbourhood with low average education, and for men, living in a neighbourhood with a high rate of crime and a low degree of ethnic diversity, were associated with higher perceived stress. Perceived stress was also related to indicators of morbidity. Conclusions: The group with high perceived stress is characterized by individual and neighbourhood factors with negative impacts on quality of life and risk of illness. This knowledge can guide future stress prevention efforts. Additionally, the results suggest a negative social component where perceived stress, unhealthy lifestyle and low social status are accumulated, and perceived stress might be used as a measure to identify groups characterized by accumulation of risk factors.