bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Type I IL-1 Receptor (IL-1RI) as Potential New Therapeutic Target for Bronchial Asthma
Authors: Lee Jyh-Hong , Wang Li-Chieh , Yu Hsin-Hui , Lin Yu-Tsan , Yang Yao-Hsu , Chiang Bor-Luen
Published: July 2010

The IL-1R/TLR family has been receiving considerable attention as potential regulators of inflammation through their ability to act as either activators or suppressors of inflammation. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, allergic inflammation, elevated serum total, allergen-specific IgE levels, and increased Th2 cytokine production. The discovery that the IL-1RI–IL-1 and ST2–IL-33 pathways are crucial for allergic inflammation has raised interest in these receptors as potential targets for developing new therapeutic strategies for bronchial asthma. This paper discusses the current use of neutralizing mAb or soluble receptor constructs to deplete cytokines, the use of neutralizing mAb or recombinant receptor antagonists to block cytokine receptors, and gene therapy from experimental studies in asthma. Targeting IL-1RI–IL-1 as well as ST2–IL-33 pathways may promise a disease-modifying approach in the future.
Effect of Decellularization Protocol on the Mechanical Behavior of Porcine Descending Aorta
Authors: Fitzpatrick John C. , Clark Peter M. , Capaldi Franco M.
Published: July 2010

Enzymatic-detergent decellularization treatments may use a combination of chemical reagents to reduce vascular tissue to sterilized scaffolds, which may be seeded with endothelial cells and implanted with a low risk of rejection. However, these chemicals may alter the mechanical properties of the native tissue and contribute to graft compliance mismatch. Uniaxial tensile data obtained from native and decellularized longitudinal aortic tissue samples was analyzed in terms of engineering stress and fit to a modified form of the Yeoh rubber model. One decellularization protocol used SDS, while the other two used TritonX-100, RNase-A, and DNase-I in combination with EDTA or sodium-deoxycholate. Statistical significance of Yeoh model parameters was determined by pairedt-test analysis. The TritonX-100/EDTA and 0.075% SDS treatments resulted in relatively variable mechanical changes and did not effectively lyse VSMCs in aortic tissue. The TritonX-100/sodium-deoxycholate treatment effectively lysed VSMCs and was characterized by less variability in mechanical behavior. The data suggests a TritonX-100/sodium-deoxycholate treatment is a more effective option than TritonX-100/EDTA and SDS treatments for the preparation of aortic xenografts and allografts because it effectively lyses VSMCs and is the least likely treatment, among those considered, to promote a decrease in mechanical compliance.
Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow over a Permeable Vertical Flat Plate Embedded in an Anisotropic Porous Medium
Authors: Bachok Norfifah , Ishak Anuar , Pop Ioan
Published: July 2010

An analysis is performed to study the heat transfer characteristics of steady mixed convection flow over a permeable vertical flat plate embedded in an anisotropic fluid‐saturated porous medium. The effects of uniform suction and injection on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics are numerically studied by employing an implicit finite difference Keller‐box method. It is found that dual solutions exist for both assisting and opposing flows. The results indicate that suction delays the boundary layer separation, while injection accelerates it.
Coleoptera Larval Fauna Associated with Termite Nests (Isoptera) with Emphasis on the “Bioluminescent Termite Nests” from Central Brazil
Authors: Costa Cleide , Vanin Sergio Antonio
Published: July 2010

Beetle larvae that inhabit termite nests present modifications that allow them to cohabitate with the termites. Some are physogastric and bear special glands and different setae all over their bodies, whereas others are not physogastric. Both kinds of larvae may be termite predators. Some species usually live in the nest cabbage pan, feeding on organic matter, mushrooms, and excrements or eating the nest walls and sometimes causing the nest to be destroyed. Other species live in superficial galleries of the nest and feed on preys that live outside. However, all interactions between these inquilines beetles and their termite hosts are very complex and still little understood. Emphasis was done to the bioluminescent termite nests from Central Brazil and for this reason general aspects of the bioluminescence related to the elaterid fireflies were also given. The adaptations to live in nest environment and functional categories of association of all beetle larvae we have studied, including those not bioluminescent, to termite nests are discussed in this work.
Hidden Anchor: A Lightweight Approach for Physical Layer Location Privacy
Authors: El-Badry Rania , Youssef Moustafa , Sultan Ahmed
Published: July 2010

In hybrid wireless sensor networks, where trusted and un-trusted nodes coexist, it becomes important to allow trusted nodes to share information, especially, location information and prevent un-trusted nodes from gaining access to this information. We focus on anchor-based localization algorithms in WSNs, where a small set of specialized nodes, that is, anchor nodes, broadcast their location to the network and other nodes can use the broadcast information to estimate their own location. The main challenge is that both trusted and un-trusted nodes can measure the physical signal transmitted from anchor nodes and use it to estimate their locations. In this paper, we propose Hidden Anchor, an algorithm that provides anchor physical layer location privacy for different classes of localization algorithms. The Hidden Anchor algorithm exploits the inherently noisy wireless channel and uses identity cloning of neighboring trusted nodes to make anchors unobservable to un-trusted nodes while providing complete information to trusted nodes. Evaluation of the Hidden Anchor algorithm through analysis and simulation shows that it can hide the identity, and hence the location, of anchor nodes with very low overhead. In addition, the results show that by adding artificial noise, we can achieve significant improvement in anchor's location privacy.
Non‐Gaussianity and Statistical Anisotropy from Vector Field Populated Inflationary Models
Authors: Dimastrogiovanni Emanuela , Bartolo Nicola , Matarrese Sabino , Riotto Antonio
Published: July 2010

We present a review of vector field models of inflation and, in particular, of the statistical anisotropy and non‐Gaussianity predictions of models with SU(2) vector multiplets. Non‐Abelian gauge groups introduce a richer amount of predictions compared to the Abelian ones, mostly because of the presence of vector fields self‐interactions. Primordial vector fields can violate isotropy leaving their imprint in the comoving curvature fluctuations ζ at late times. We provide the analytic expressions of the correlation functions of ζ up to fourth order and an analysis of their amplitudes and shapes. The statistical anisotropy signatures expected in these models are important and, potentially, the anisotropic contributions to the bispectrum and the trispectrum can overcome the isotropic parts.
Strong Convergence for Mixed Equilibrium Problems of Infinitely Nonexpansive Mappings
Authors: Joomwong Jintana
Published: July 2010

We introduce a new iterative scheme for finding a common element of infinitely nonexpansive mappings, the set of solutions of a mixed equilibrium problems, and the set of solutions of the variational inequality for an "Equation missing"-inverse-strongly monotone mapping in a Hilbert Space. Then, the strong converge theorem is proved under some parameter controlling conditions. The results of this paper extend and improve the results of Jing Zhao and Songnian He(2009)and many others. Using this theorem, we obtain some interesting corollaries.
Retrospective Illumination Correction of Retinal Images
Authors: Kubecka Libor , Jan Jiri , Kolar Radim
Published: July 2010

A method for correction of nonhomogenous illumination based on optimization of parameters of B‐spline shading model with respect to Shannon′s entropy is presented. The evaluation of Shannon′s entropy is based on Parzen windowing method (Mangin, 2000) with the spline‐based shading model. This allows us to express the derivatives of the entropy criterion analytically, which enables efficient use of gradient‐based optimization algorithms. Seven different gradient‐ and nongradient‐based optimization algorithms were initially tested on a set of 40 simulated retinal images, generated by a model of the respective image acquisition system. Among the tested optimizers, the gradient‐based optimizer with varying step has shown to have the fastest convergence while providing the best precision. The final algorithm proved to be able of suppressing approximately 70% of the artificially introduced non‐homogenous illumination. To assess the practical utility of the method, it was qualitatively tested on a set of 336 real retinal images; it proved the ability of eliminating the illumination inhomogeneity substantially in most of cases. The application field of this method is especially in preprocessing of retinal images, as preparation for reliable segmentation or registration.
Mononuclear and Dinuclear Manganese(II) Complexes from the Use of Methyl(2‐pyridyl)ketone Oxime
Authors: Efthymiou Constantinos G. , Nastopoulos Vassilios , Raptopoulou Catherine , Tasiopoulos Anastasios , Perlepes Spyros P. , Papatriantafyllopoulou Constantina
Published: July 2010

The reactions of methyl(2‐pyridyl)ketone oxime, (py)C(Me)NOH, with manganese(II) sulfate monohydrate have been investigated. The reaction between equimolar quantities of MnSO4 · H2O and (py)C(Me)NOH in H2O lead to the dinuclear complex , 1 · (py)C(Me)NOH, while employment of NaOMe as base affords the compound (2). The structures of both compounds have been determined by single crystal X‐ray diffraction. In both complexes, the organic ligand chelates through its nitrogen atoms. The IR data are discussed in terms of the nature of bonding and the structures of the two complexes.
The Ser(326)Cys Polymorphism of 8-Oxoguanine Glycosylase 1 (OGG1) Is Associated with Type 2 Diabetes in Mexican Americans
Authors: Thameem Farook , Puppala Sobha , Lehman Donna M. , Stern Michael P. , Blangero John , Abboud Hanna E. , Duggirala Ravindranath , Habib Samy L.
Published: July 2010

Objective: Human 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) excises oxidatively damaged promutagenic base 8-oxoguanine, a lesion previously observed in a rat model of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The objective of the present study is to determine whether genetic variation in OGG1 is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in a Mexican American cohort. Methods: Ten SNPs including two tagging SNPs (rs1052133, rs2072668) across the OGG1 gene region were selected from the Hapmap database and genotyped in the entire cohort (n = 670; 29% diabetes; 39 families) by TaqMan assay. Association analyses between the SNPs and T2DM were performed using the measured genotype approach as implemented in the program SOLAR. Results: Of the ten SNPs genotyped, only five were polymorphic. The minor allele frequencies of these 5 SNPs ranged from 1–38%. Of the SNPs examined for association, the Ser(326)Cys (rs1052133) exhibited significant association with T2DM (p = 0.016) after accounting for age and sex effects. Another intronic variant (rs2072668), which was in strong linkage disequilibrium (r2 = 0.96) with Ser(326)Cys also exhibited significant association with T2DM (p = 0.031). Conclusions: These results suggest for the first time that the variants in OGG1 could influence diabetes risk in these Mexican American families and support a role for alterations of OGG1 in the pathogenesis of T2DM.
Genomic Similarity and Kernel Methods I: Advancements by Building on Mathematical and Statistical Foundations
Authors: Schaid Daniel J.
Published: July 2010

Measures of genomic similarity are the basis of many statistical analytic methods. We review the mathematical and statistical basis of similarity methods, particularly based on kernel methods. A kernel function converts information for a pair of subjects to a quantitative value representing either similarity (larger values meaning more similar) or distance (smaller values meaning more similar), with the requirement that it must create a positive semidefinite matrix when applied to all pairs of subjects. This review emphasizes the wide range of statistical methods and software that can be used when similarity is based on kernel methods, such as nonparametric regression, linear mixed models and generalized linear mixed models, hierarchical models, score statistics, and support vector machines. The mathematical rigor for these methods is summarized, as is the mathematical framework for making kernels. This review provides a framework to move from intuitive and heuristic approaches to define genomic similarities to more rigorous methods that can take advantage of powerful statistical modeling and existing software. A companion paper reviews novel approaches to creating kernels that might be useful for genomic analyses, providing insights with examples [1].
Acquired Haemophilia A and Kaposi’s Sarcoma in an HIV-Negative, HHV-8-Positive Patient: A Discussion of Mechanism and Aetiology
Authors: Cashin Peter , Lundberg Lars Göran , Hagberg Hans , Ejerblad Elisabeth , Karlbom Urban
Published: July 2010

Background: Acquired haemophilia A (AHA) is a rare bleeding disorder caused by an imbalance in the immune system leading to the production of factor VIII antibodies. In half of the cases, the underlying cause is not known. Clinical History: We report on a patient with AHA and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), which is caused by the human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). The patient presented with appendicitis and developed several severe post-operative haemorrhages. He spent 3 months in intensive care due to long and difficult infections. While recuperating on the ward, the patient developed KS in the lower extremities. He had a positive HHV-8 infection. Discussion/Conclusion: Due to its latency and replication in the lymphoid system, HHV-8 is an ideal candidate for causing an imbalance in the immune system in susceptible patients. Our conclusion is that AHA was caused or prompted by the HHV-8 infection. Since HHV-8 viral infection is often subclinical, viral testing might be an important tool in acquired haemophilia diagnostics even when viral symptoms are absent.
A Cost-Effective Statistical Method to Correct for Differential Genotype Misclassification When Performing Case-Control Genetic Association
Authors: Londono Douglas , Haynes Chad , De La Vega Francisco M. , Finch Stephen J. , Gordon Derek
Published: July 2010

Background/Aims: There is a growing interest regarding the effect of differential misclassification on power and type I error rate in genome-wide association studies. We present an extension of a previously published test statistic: the likelihood ratio test allowing for errors (LRTAE). This test uses double-sample information on a subset of individuals to increase power for genetic association in the presence of nondifferential misclassification. Methods:We extend the original LRTAE by allowing for differential genotype misclassification between case and control populations. We label this new statistic as LRTDAME . We test the performance of this statistic with data simulated under differential misclassification specifications and two different types of genetic models: null and power. For simulations using the null model, we specify that there is no difference between case and control genotype frequencies before the introduction of errors. For simulations under power, we consider three modes of inheritance: dominant, multiplicative, and recessive. Results: We show that the LRTDAME , with p values computed using permutation, maintains a correct type I error rate under the null model after the introduction of differential genotyping errors. Also, we find that as little as 10 to 15% of double-sampled genotype data is needed to achieve this effect. Aside from a few situations (particularly recessive mode of inheritance simulations) the LRTDAME  version that calculates p values through permutation requires 15 to 20% double sampling to maintain an 80% power for a 0.05 significance level and approximately 20% double sampling for a 0.01 significance level.
Brain Biopsy in the Management of Neurology Patients
Authors: Wong S.H. , Jenkinson M.D. , Faragher B. , Thomas S. , Crooks D. , Solomon T.
Published: July 2010

Background and Methods: To evaluate the value of brain biopsy for neurology patients in our unit, we conducted a retrospective audit of neurology patients referred for brain biopsies for non-neoplastic disease from 1993 to 2007. Results: 64 patients [median (range) age 51 (16–74) years] were included. The clinical presentation was diffuse encephalopathy for 40 patients, focal for 13 and multifocal for 11. The biopsy was diagnostic in 34 patients, abnormal but non-diagnostic in 21 and normal in 9. There was a statistically significant association between clinical presentation and biopsy result (p = 0.004); diagnostic biopsies were more common in patients with focal or multifocal clinical presentations. Twenty patients (31%) had alterations of management as a result of their brain biopsy, comprising specific treatment (11 patients) or prognosis/diagnosis of untreatable conditions (9 patients). Diagnoses of treatable conditions included Whipple’s disease, tuberculoma, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, and neurosarcoidosis. Five patients (7.8%) had complications. Conclusions: Brain biopsy is useful and relatively safe in the management of neurology patients, with a diagnostic yield of 53% in our series; some led to significant changes in management, including treatment of infections. Patients with focal or multifocal presentation are more likely to yield a diagnostic biopsy result.
Postictal Transient Hyperammonemia as an Indicator of Seizure Disorder
Authors: Liu Kuan-Ting , Lee Chi-Wei , Yang Shih-Chia , Yeh I-Jeng , Lin Tzeng-Jih , Su Chen-San
Published: July 2010

Background and Purpose: Transient hyperammonemia can occur after episodes of seizure. To verify that transient hyperammonemia is a unique finding in seizure patients, we compared the change in blood ammonia concentration during the postictal period with that of other patients who suffered consciousness disturbances due to other disorders. Methods: We compared the results of a biochemical examination, including serum ammonia levels, between adult patients sent to the emergency department (ED) with seizure and those with other causes of consciousness disturbance. Results: Nineteen out of 31 patients with generalized epileptic seizures showed hyperammonemia at initial data measurement. Seventeen of these patients showed transient hyperammonemia. Only 10 patients with hepatic encephalopathy showed hyperammonemia, while none of the patients suffering from other causes of consciousness disturbance showed transient hyperammonemia within hours of arrival at the ED. Conclusion: Transient hyperammonemia was observed in the majority of generalized tonic-clonic seizure patients examined in this study but not in those with other causes of consciousness disturbance. Because ammonia is checked in patients presenting with transient consciousness disturbance to the ED, with or without witness, transient hyperammonemia could be an indicator of recent epileptic seizure.
Pain in Patients with Chronic Idiopathic Axonal Polyneuropathy
Authors: Erdmann Peter G. , van Genderen Frank R. , Teunissen Laurien L. , Notermans Nicolette C. , Lindeman Eline , van Wijck Albert J.M. , van Meeteren Nico L.U.
Published: July 2010

Background/Aims: Pain in patients with chronic idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy (CIAP) has never been studied in detail. The aim of the study was to investigate the pain experienced by patients with CIAP, and to determine whether pain is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the RAND-36 were used in a cross-sectional study. Results: Sixty-three of 91 patients with CIAP reported experiencing pain, describing it as nagging (56%) and annoying (52%). Of these patients, 27 were classified in a subgroup with neuropathic pain (median VAS = 33 mm), 25 in a subgroup with non-neuropathic pain (median VAS = 34 mm), and 11 in a mixed-pain subgroup (median VAS = 25 mm). Non-neuropathic pain was as common and as painful as neuropathic pain. Pain was strongly associated with the physical functioning domain of the RAND-36 in patients in the mixed pain subgroup (r = –0.71, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain syndromes should be distinguished in patients with CIAP who experience pain, to enable appropriate tailoring of treatment.
Biochemical Aspirin Resistance and Recurrent Lesions in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Jeon Sang-Beom , Song Ha-Sup , Kim Bum Joon , Kim Hye-Jin , Kang Dong-Wha , Kim Jong S. , Kwon Sun U.
Published: July 2010

Background: The effect of biochemical aspirin resistance (BAR) on ischemic stroke has not been well established. Early recurrent ischemic lesions (ERILs) on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) are proposed as potential surrogate markers of clinically recurrent stroke. Methods: We included 117 consecutive patients who (1) were admitted within 24 h of symptom onset; (2) had an ischemic stroke confirmed by DWI; (3) underwent follow-up DWI within seven days after onset, and (4) received aspirin treatment. BAR was measured using the VerifyNow® Aspirin Assay. We analyzed the associations between BAR and any ERILs (overall ERILs), and between BAR and ERILs occurring outside the vascular territories of index stroke (distant ERILs). Results: BAR was observed in 16 (13.7%) patients. Overall ERILs were detected in 34 (29.1%), and distant ERILs in 10 (8.5%) patients. Patients with BAR were more likely to develop ERILs, but the association was not significant (OR 2.13; 95% CI 0.72–6.29; p = 0.234). However, BAR was independently related to distant ERILs by logistic regression analysis (OR 6.01; 95% CI 1.29–28.09; p = 0.023). Conclusions: BAR was associated with distant ERILs but not with overall ERILs during the first week after ischemic stroke.
Occupational Exposure to Solvents and Cognitive Performance in the GAZEL Cohort: Preliminary Results
Authors: Berr C. , Vercambre M.N. , Bonenfant S. , Singh Manoux A. , Zins M. , Goldberg M.
Published: July 2010

Background: The impact of occupational exposure to solvents on cognitive ageing remains unclear. We examined whether long-term occupational exposure is associated with poor cognitive performance in late midlife. Methods: Participants in the GAZEL cohort, set up in 1989, are employees of the French national electricity and gas company. Data on the working environment were used to create measures of cumulative exposures to solvents using a job-exposure matrix. In 2002–2004, cognitive performance was assessed using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Mini Mental State Examination in 5,242 participants (aged 55–65 years). Results: In cross-sectional analysis using multiple logistic regression, there was a greater risk of poor cognitive performance (DSST score <25th percentile) among those with high exposure to benzene (OR = 1.58; 95% CI 1.31–1.90) and the grouped categories of chlorinated (OR = 1.39; 95% CI 1.3–2.3), aromatic (OR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.08–2.87), and petroleum solvents (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.23–1.81). Conclusions: These results suggest that occupational exposures to solvents may be associated later in life with cognitive impairment, even after taking into account the effects of education, employment grade, and numerous health factors.
New Research Criteria for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease Applied in a Memory Clinic Population
Authors: Bouwman F.H. , Verwey N.A. , Klein M. , Kok A. , Blankenstein M.A. , Sluimer J.D. , Barkhof F. , van der Flier W.M. , Scheltens P.
Published: July 2010

Background: In the newly proposed research criteria for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), patients are defined as having memory dysfunction in addition to either hippocampal atrophy or an abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile. This study applies the criteria in a memory clinic population, using clinical criteria as the reference criterion. Methods: 138 AD patients, 145 nondemented subjects, 78 patients with other dementias and 91 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were included. Dichotomized medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) score on MRI and dichotomized CSF profiles (based on beta-amyloid1–42, tau and phosphorylated tau at threonine 181 levels) were used in combination with an episodic memory test to assess sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios (LR) of the newly proposed criteria and their components separately. Results: We found specificities of 95 and 49% for comparison with nondemented subjects and other demented patients, respectively, with a sensitivity of 86% for AD. Specificity was highest (100 and 77%, respectively, LR+ = 48) when both MTA score and CSF profile were abnormal in addition to the episodic memory test, at the cost of a low sensitivity (48%). Conclusion: The newly proposed research criteria for AD yield a good specificity for comparison with nondemented subjects. When the type of dementia is clinically doubted, however, at least two supportive features should be considered (i.e. abnormal MTA score and CSF profile) in addition to memory impairment as core diagnostic criterion.
Visual Hallucinations and HLA Class II Antigens in Cortical Dementia
Authors: Gómez-Tortosa Estrella , Aguerri Miriam , Sainz M. José , Losada Mireya , García-Ruiz Pedro J. , Cárdaba Blanca
Published: July 2010

Background: Visual hallucinations are a core feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and have been proposed as being part of a narcolepsy-like REM sleep disorder. Selective loss of hypothalamic hypocretin-producing neurons is common to both narcolepsy and the spectrum of Lewy body diseases. We hypothesized that the genetic marker associated with narcolepsy, the HLA class II DR2-DQ6 haplotype, could confer some degree of susceptibility to brainstem-hypothalamic damage leading to the manifestation of visual hallucinations. Methods: We examined HLA class II haplotypes in 30 patients with prominent visual hallucinations in the context of clinical criteria for DLB and in 30 patients affected by a cortical-type dementia without hallucinations. Results: No significant differences were found in the distribution of DR and DQ antigens. Conclusions: We conclude that hypothalamic vulnerability in different diseases is not mediated by a common HLA haplotype.
The Impact of Migrant-Hostile Discourse in the Media and Politics on Racioethnic Closure in Career Development in the Netherlands
Authors: Siebers Hans
Published: July 2010

Racioethnic inequality is a persistent trait of labour markets in countries that receive transnational migration flows. Little is known about the societal factors that influence the production of such inequality. Based on research among employees of the Dutch national tax administration, this article identifies the rise of a migrant-hostile discourse that has come to dominate Dutch politics and media since 2000 as an example of a societal factor that aggravates racioethnic closure in career advancement. It shows that tensions among colleagues triggered by public events that express this discourse fuel the career insecurities of migrant employees in particular. This insecurity has negative career consequences for them. The article argues that the study of racioethnic inequality in the labour markets of migrant-receiving countries needs to include a focus on the impact of (changes in) dominant discourses in the media and the political arena on migrants and migration.
Soccer Fan Violence: A Holistic Approach
Authors: Spaaij Ramón , Anderson Alastair
Published: July 2010

Building on Braun and Vliegenthart’s recent study of soccer hooliganism, this article develops an explanatory model of soccer fan violence and collective violence more generally. The fabric of soccer fan violence becomes a richer tapestry if the diversity of the phenomenon is recognized and the focus is moved towards a more holistic approach to explaining crowd behaviour and collective conflict. The proposed approach incorporates macro-level influences and mediating and moderating influences as they affect fan violence. The model recognizes the critical importance of the collective mind and dispositions which can be investigated and understood through the lens of social identification and habitus. The model proposed in the article provides a solid foundation for testing its merits.
Transient servitude: migrant labour in Canada and the apartheid of citizenship
Authors: Walia Harsha
Published: July 2010

Shifts in Canada’s immigration policy, most recently linked to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) with the US and Mexico, have created an increased reliance on temporary migrant workers, who constitute a disposable workforce, driven from their own countries by the same forces of neoliberal capitalism which foster their super-exploitation in the Canadian labour market. In this article, the operation of two migrant worker programmes, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) and Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), are considered in the context of the province of British Columbia. The various means by which migrant workers are maintained in a state of vulnerability, available as a pool of cheap labour but excluded from belonging to the nation, are discussed. The article concludes by examining examples and further possibilities of alliances across social movements in BC in order to advance the struggle for human dignity.
‘Reasonable accommodation’ in Québec: the limits of participation and dialogue
Authors: Mahrouse Gada
Published: July 2010

This article explores the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, a 2007—8 government consultation that was established in Québec to study interculturalism, secularism and national identity, in response to what had become known as the ‘reasonable accommodation debates’ on the extent to which minority and immigrant cultural practices could be accommodated. The focus of this exploration is on two aspects of the Commission: the citizens’ forums that were a part of its deliberative process; and the ways in which it responded to the idea of crisis. Through an analysis of aspects of the Commission’s final report, the ways in which the Commission was structured and the media representations of the Commission, this article argues that, despite the spirit of equality and fairness to which the commissioners were committed and the praise it received from some members of immigrant and minority groups, the Commission ended up reinforcing the racialised hierarchies and exclusions that it wanted to redress.
Paradigms of flexible configurations: I-generation and Beijing-punks in Wang Meng, Xu Xing, and Chun Shu
Authors: Jing Nie
Published: July 2010

This article examines the contested drama of the epic quest of self-identity through a critical rereading of three works by Beijing writers from three different generations, describing Beijing life during three different time periods: Wang Meng’s “Kite Streamers” (1979), Xu Xing’s “Variations Without a Theme” (1985), and Chun Shu’s Beijing Doll (2001). Wang Meng’s protagonists occupy a limited space between their individual dreams and the tarnished collective ideals in the late 1970s. The groundbreaking stream of consciousness technique that Wang Meng ushered in illustrates a rupture between the repressive ideology of the past and an unconscious world of personal desires. Xu Xing’s protagonist is forever wandering Beijing’s streets, positioning himself on the margins of social space. His unfixed identity creates a detached, even schizophrenic, perspective while at the same time it empowers a subjectively critical engagement in the 1980s. Chun Shu (the name of both the writer and the protagonist), an icon of the so-called New New Human Being movement in 21st-century Beijing, who longs for a luxurious living space and celebrates the electronic euphoria, as this article argues, is nothing more than a cybernetic punk of post-modern consumerism and post-socialist nihilism.
Internationalizing heritage: UNESCO and China’s Longmen Grottoes
Authors: Dong Wang
Published: July 2010

As a new but influential international and local institution, UNESCO’s World Heritage List constitutes an important sector of the continued internationalization in China, which has yet to be factored in by scholars researching China’s reopening and integration into the global community. The notion of deregulation or “bringing down institutional barriers” in trade, politics, society, and education— disproportionately emphasized in most of the literature—is insufficient to understand important elements of internationalization such as national heritage. The ongoing internationalization of China’s key heritage sites originated primarily in international appreciation of their significance— and expeditions to explore them—as well as in the historical rediscovery of their own cultural treasures by Chinese at various periods in the past. Both globalization and internationalization result in a strengthened state on multilevels under certain circumstances. The synergistic process of collaboration, resistance, confrontation, and compromise that produces internationalization, as evidenced by UNESCO’s Longmen Grottoes, is not a simple zero-sum situation for the state party, community, ordinary citizens, and international actors involved. In the case of Luoyang, the tensions between universal internationalism, particular nationalism, and diverse localism were reconciled through developments managed by the state and its subordinate governments.
Talcott Parsons, the Sick Role and Chronic Illness
Authors: Varul Matthias Zick
Published: July 2010

Parsons’ sick role concept has become problematic in the face of the increased significance of chronic illnesses and the growing emphasis on lifestylecentred health promotion. Both developments de-limit the medical system so that it extends into the world of health, fundamentally changing the doctor-patient relationship. But as the sick role is firmly based on the reciprocities of a resiliently capitalist achievement society it still informs normative expectations in the field of health and illness. The precarious social position of chronic patients between being governed by and being consumers of medicine, I will argue, can only be adequately understood if one involves, as Parsons did, the moral economy surrounding health and illness.
Tibetan Buddhist Embodiment: The Religious Bodies of a Deceased Lama
Authors: Zivkovic Tanya Maria
Published: July 2010

When bodies are conceived as permeable fields our physical forms become inseparable from each other and the world from which they manifest. The extension of one’s subjectivity to include cosmological divinities emphasizes the many other bodies which, in some cultural contexts, may overlap and unite with the world. In this article I explore how narratives of a Tibetan Buddhist high-lama’s death and trajectory of lives contain complex formulations of Tibetan theories of embodiment. An ethnographic attendance to biographical writings and teachings at the time of his funerary ceremonies reveals not only how trikaya, or the notion of three bodies, coheres in Tibetan conceptual frameworks, but also how the articulation of these bodies affects new ways to intersubjectively engage with the deceased.
Promoting a secure attachment: A primary prevention practice model
Authors: Svanberg P.O. , Mennet Lisa , Spieker Susan
Published: July 2010

It is increasingly recognized that early sensitive care-giving predicts a secure attachment in infancy and early childhood.This preliminary report details the development, implementation and evaluation of a clinical programme that used a targeted prevention approach following a universally-offered screening of parent—infant interactions. The CARE-Index was used to assign dyads to low, medium and high risk groups, and interventions — featuring reflective videotape-based feedback — were tailored to each risk group in order to increase maternal sensitivity and improve infant attachment status. Results showed improved maternal sensitivity in the intervention conditions compared to comparisons. In addition, infants in the intervention conditions were significantly more likely to be classified as secure, and significantly less likely to be classified as having DMM complex attachment strategies. Methodological shortcomings, however, mean that these findings should be regarded as tentative.
Emotional competence and behavior problems: Differences across Preschool Assessment of Attachment classifications
Authors: Kidwell Shari L. , Young Marion E. , Hinkle Lisa D. , Ratliff Ashley D. , Marcum Meagan E. , Martin Cynthia N.
Published: July 2010

This study examined attachment in association with preschoolers’ emotional functioning among 54 predominantly low-income families living in Appalachia. Attachment was assessed at age 4 years using the Strange Situation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) and classified with the PAA (Crittenden, 2004). Emotional competence was measured via an interview about children’s memories for six emotions, rated in terms of both emotion understanding and regulation. Parent-, teacher-, and self-reports of children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms were also completed. Questionnaires and interviews assessed socioeconomic risk and parental symptoms and negative childhood experiences. Children’s PAA strategies were significantly associated with risks, emotion regulation and understanding, and symptoms. Children using highly coercive strategies showed the greatest difficulties. Emotion regulation and understanding also were associated with parent- and teacher-report of symptoms. These findings suggest that intervention efforts with at-risk youngsters should target not only attachment security, but also emotional competence skills.
Childhood sexual abuse and attachment: An intergenerational perspective
Authors: Kwako Laura E. , Noll Jennie G. , Putnam Frank W. , Trickett Penelope K.
Published: July 2010

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a recognized risk factor for various negative outcomes in adult survivors and their offspring. We used the Dynamic-Maturational Model of attachment theory as a framework for exploring the impact of maternal CSA on children’s attachment relationships in the context of a longitudinal sample of adult survivors of CSA and non-abused comparison mothers and their children. Results indicated that children of CSA survivors were more likely to have extreme strategies of attachment than the children of non-abused mothers. However, because both groups were at socioeconomic risk, both were typified by anxious attachment. Explanations for findings and implications for children’s development are explored.
Comparing models of borderline personality disorder: Mothers’ experience, self-protective strategies, and dispositional representations
Authors: Crittenden Patricia M. , Newman Louise
Published: July 2010

This study compared aspects of the functioning of mothers with borderline personality disorder (BPD) to those of mothers without psychiatric disorder using two different conceptualizations of attachment theory. The Adult Attachment Interviews (AAIs) of 32 mothers were classified using both the Main and Goldwyn method (M&G) and the Dynamic-Maturational Model method (DMM). We found that mothers with BPD recalled more danger, reported more negative effects of danger, and gave evidence of more unresolved psychological trauma tied to danger than other mothers. We also found that the DMM classifications discriminated between the two groups of mothers better than the M&G classifications. Using the DMM method, the AAIs of BPD mothers were more complex, extreme, and had more indicators of rapid shifts in arousal than those of other mothers. Representations drawn from the AAI, using either classificatory method, did not match the representations of the mother’s child drawn from the Working Model of the Child Interview; mothers with very anxious DMM classifications were paired with secure-balanced child representations. We propose that the DMM offers greater clinical utility, conceptual coherence, empirical validity, and coder reliability than the M&G.
Successful Aging across the Years
Authors: Weir Patricia L. , Meisner Brad A. , Baker Joseph
Published: July 2010

Rowe and Kahn’s (1987, 1998) model of successful aging (SA) implies a balance among: (1) low probability of disease and disease-related disability; (2) high cognitive and physical functioning; and (3) active engagement with life. This study assessed the relationship of age to the components of SA across the sixth, seventh and eighth decades of life in Canadian seniors ( N = 14,749). Age was a significant predictor of disease-related disability and impaired physical functioning, but age had little impact on engagement. Despite health-related changes, these data suggest that the majority of older Canadians are maintaining connections with their community.
Virtuously Watching One’s Health
Authors: Pond Rachael , Stephens Christine , Alpass Fiona
Published: July 2010

Individual responsibility for health is socio-culturally emphasized. This study used discourse analysis to examine 60 New Zealand adults’ (aged 55—70) uptake of health promotion discourse in talk about health and ageing. Many participants attempted to defy or manage an ageing body through a regime of exercise, food management and other practices. The subject position of being in control of one’s health counteracted anxieties about ageing; following strictures of health promotion provided a virtuous moral identity. However, there is a danger of feeling individually responsible for ill-health, or betrayed when health promotion’s promises contradict the experience of an ageing body.
Growing Older
Authors: Terrill Lauren , Gullifer Judith
Published: July 2010

This study explored experiences of eight rural, Anglo-Australian women aged between 65 and 75 using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed three prominent themes: (a) the free and busy me highlights the increased freedom in later life enabling choices regarding activities the women would like to engage in; (b) the secret is being positive and pragmatic emphasizes the importance of adopting a pragmatic acceptance of growing older; and (c) narratives of growth and stagnation highlights the pursuit of growth among older women in order to enhance the current self. Findings emphasize the construction of later life as one of liberation, resilience and growth.
‘When They Sleep, They Sleep’
Authors: Flick Uwe , Garms-Homolová Vjenka , Röhnsch Gundula
Published: July 2010

Are nurses aware that activities can reduce residents’ daytime sleepiness and increase sleep quality at night in nursing homes? This question is studied in a project focusing on sleep disorders and multi-morbidity in long-term care. In Germany, episodic interviews with 32 nursing staff members (age 24—60 years) with different qualifications addressed their views on links between residents’ daytime structure and activities and their sleep/disorders. Three interpretive and activity patterns (intervention; missed opportunity; ignorance) were found, which differ in relation to how far the interviewees motivate residents’ activity. Implications for a training program based on these different premises are discussed.
Giving and Taking —Differential Effects of Providing, Receiving and Anticipating Emotional Support on Quality of Life in Adults with Multiple Illnesses
Authors: Warner Lisa M. , Schüz Benjamin , Wurm Susanne , Ziegelmann Jochen P. , Tesch-Römer Clemens
Published: July 2010

Multimorbidity challenges quality of life (QoL) in old age. Anticipating and providing social support have been shown to promote QoL whereas receiving support often had detrimental effects. Little is known about which psychological processes explain these effects. This study examines the effects of receiving, anticipating and providing emotional support on QoL, with control beliefs and self-esteem as simultaneous mediators in an elderly multimorbid sample ( N = 1415). Anticipating and providing support positively predicted QoL, mediated through self-esteem and control beliefs. Received support negatively predicted QoL, without mediation. Self-esteem and control beliefs can help to explain the relation between QoL and support.
Sex, Menopause and Social Context
Authors: Hinchliff Sharron , Gott Merryn , Ingleton Christine
Published: July 2010

Most research on sex and menopause has been conducted within a biomedical framework describing how, for example, declining hormone levels result in reduced sexual desire. Little research has examined women’s own perspectives. In this article we present an analysis of interview data from 12 British women experiencing natural menopause. Analysis identified the key role of interpersonal factors in sexual pleasure, alongside heterogeneity with regard to changes in sexual desire and orgasm. The findings complement existing psychological literature on the topic of women’s sexual and reproductive health which foregrounds social context and emphasizes diversity of experience.
Changing Conceptions of Mental Distress Among Somalis in Finland
Authors: Mölsä Mulki Elmi , Hjelde Karin Harsløf , Tiilikainen Marja
Published: July 2010

This article examines how the conceptions, expressions and treatment of mental distress are changing among Somalis living in Finland. The data derive from two focus group interviews with Somali seniors and two individual interviews with Islamic healers. Conditions conceptualized by the Finnish biomedical system as mental disorders, are seen by most Somalis as spiritual and/or social problems. Somali migrants face new sources of suffering and new ways of interpreting them. Consequently, traditional conceptions of mental distress both persist and change. Islamic understandings of healing, including notions of jinn spirits and treatment, continue to be important in exile.
The Rule of Virginity Among Young Women of Maghrebine Origin in France
Authors: Skandrani Sara , Baubet Thierry , Taïeb Olivier , Rezzoug Dalila , Moro Marie Rose
Published: July 2010

Interviews conducted with young women of Maghrebine origin in France show that norms of virginity represent a central means by which women negotiate Maghrebine-French identity and handle intergenerational relations. From the legacy of the colonial era to the current interethnic context, notions of virginity have played a significant role, in both official French discourse, and in the parental transmission of social values across generations. Standards of virginity stand as symbolic markers of women’s identity positioning. Yet, women also reinterpret, transform and appropriate codes of virginity according to life experience and situational context.