bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cinema, Philosophy, Bergman
Authors: Livingston Paisley
Published: September 2009

The first part of this book critically assesses some of the bold claims that have been made about films' contributions to philosophy and defends a balanced perspective on the topic. It argues that in many cases, it is the philosophical commentator and not ‘the film itself’ that is the actual source of the philosophizing attributed to a movie. In some cases, however, it is the film-maker who, by working with a background of specific philosophical sources, creates a work that expresses philosophical ideas. With this possibility in mind, the second part of the book outlines a ‘partial intentionalist’ approach. In response to a series of objections, the book defends underlying assumptions about interpretation, expression, and authorship. The book's partial intentionalist approach is exemplified in the third part of the book, which focuses on the work of Ingmar Bergman. The book argues that Bergman was profoundly influenced by a Finnish philosopher, Eino Kaila. Bergman proclaimed that reading Kaila's book on philosophical psychology a tremendous philosophical experience for him and that he ‘built on this ground’. With reference to unpublished materials in the newly created Ingmar Bergman archive in Stockholm, the book shows how, in works such as Wild Strawberries, Persona, and In the Life of the Marionettes, the Swedish director took up and responded to Kaila's views on motivated irrationality, inauthenticity, ethics, and the problem of self-knowledge.
Introduction
Authors: Livingston Paisley
Published: September 2009

This chapter identifies some influential contentions about film's contributions to philosophy and raises a number of basic questions about the source and nature of this cinematic philosophizing. Is it ‘the film itself’ that ‘does philosophy’, as has sometimes been claimed? Or is it the commentator who reads philosophical ideas into the film? Are there cases where it is the film-maker, or a group of collaborating film-makers, who intentionally raises and tries to answer philosophical questions in a film? What is the motivation for looking for philosophy in the cinema? A summary of the subsequent chapters is presented.
Arguing over Cinema as Philosophy
Authors: Livingston Paisley
Published: September 2009

This chapter takes up two Hegel-inspired objections to moderate theses concerning film's philosophical value. One objection it that it is inappropriate to use art to advance ends other than those that are properly artistic. The second is a rationality objection inspired by Hegel's suggestion that it is an error to try to use a work of art to achieve an instrumental payoff whenever some more complete or effective means is available. By responding to these Hegel-inspired objections, the chapter strengthens the case for a moderate thesis concerning film's philosophical value. The chapter considers the conditions under which a sufficiently complex and determinate philosophical interpretation of an audio-visual display can be articulated. In one, non-intentionalist line of enquiry, it is the interpreter who shoulders the burden of creating or selecting assumptions and questions in relation to which claims about an audio-visual display's philosophical significance can be articulated. In the second type of approach, it is the film-maker whose ideas and questions are the target of the interpretation. The chapter applies results concerning the determination of a fictional film's content to the Hegel-inspired objections to the search for a film's philosophical significance.
Causation and Laws of Nature in Early Modern Philosophy
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Some philosophers think physical explanations stand on their own: what happens, happens because things have the properties they do. Others think that any such explanation is incomplete: what happens in the physical world must be partly due to the laws of nature. This book follows the debate between these views from Descartes to Hume. The book argues that the competing models of causation in the period grow out of the scholastic notion of power. On this Aristotelian view, the connection between cause and effect is logically necessary. Causes are “intrinsically directed” at what they produce. But when the Aristotelian view is faced with the challenge of mechanism, the core notion of a power splits into two distinct models, each of which persists throughout the early modern period. It is only when seen in this light that the key arguments of the period can reveal their true virtues and flaws. To make this case, the book explores such central topics as intentionality, the varieties of necessity, and the nature of relations. Arguing for controversial readings of many of the canonical figures, the book also focuses on lesser‐known writers such as Pierre‐Sylvain Régis, Nicolas Malebranche, and Robert Boyle.
Themes
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

This chapter introduces the four main themes of the book: 1.1 The Origin and Status of Laws of Nature. Canvassing the contemporary literature, this section shows just how differently early modern thinkers conceived of laws of nature. Descartes transfers a notion from divine command theory to the physical realm, and it retains some of the features of its ancestor. In particular, Descartes's notion still implies that the law is determined by a lawgiver, and not by its subjects. 1.2 The Ontology of Powers. Many figures still wish to retain the bottom‐up conception, however. To do this, they had to resurrect the core scholastic notion Descartes jettisons: power. Régis, Locke, and Boyle all seek to recast this notion in mechanistic terms. 1.3 Necessity. The argument here is that scholastic views take causation to be logical necessitation, and that modern philosophy never really breaks free from this analysis. 1.4 Models of Causation. Confronted with the mechanist ontology, the scholastic notion of power splits in two: a cognitive model, which locates causal power in the intentional states of a divine mind, and a geometrical model, which accounts for the directedness of causal powers in terms of the mechanical properties of bodies.
The Aristotelian Background
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Before turning to Descartes, we must first know something of the view he seeks to supplant. This chapter argues in detail that Aristotelian causation is logical necessitation. Even on the concurrentist picture, it is logically impossible for all of the requisite powers, plus God's concurrence, to obtain, and yet the effect not result. This chapter defends this interpretation from charges of triviality and historical anachronism. Next, it moves on to the ontology of relations, establishing a key feature of scholastic powers: their esse‐ad, or directedness. Finally, the chapter explains the contrast between manifest and occult qualities by way of showing how the scholastics link perceivability and intelligibility in their physics.
What Mechanism Isn't
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

There are two ways to understand early modern mechanism: first, as the view that what happens in the natural world is a result of the mechanical properties of bodies (call this “course‐of‐nature mechanism”), and second, as the view that the only properties bodies have are mechanical properties (“ontological mechanism”). In the work of Descartes and Malebranche, the two kinds of mechanism are starkly opposed: it is because they accept ontological mechanism (and so must reject scholastic powers) that these figures cannot endorse course‐of‐nature mechanism.
The Nude Wax: Cartesian Ontology
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Before confronting Descartes's positive views on causation and laws of nature, we first have to grasp his underlying ontology. This chapter argues that Descartes conceives of the substance–mode distinction as a kind of determinable–determinate distinction. This will be shown below to have consequences for the concurrentist reading of his work.
Force
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Descartes's picture of the laws of nature thus implies a very strong version of the top‐down model of laws. And yet Descartes often speaks as if bodies had vis, “force” or “power.” This chapter argues that such language is merely a convenience, and that Descartes cannot, strictly speaking, hold that bodies have vis.
Occasionalism
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

The top‐down nature of Descartes's view commits him to occasionalism, at least where body–body causation is concerned. This chapter rounds out the argument for this reading, appealing chiefly to the laws of nature: given their status as divine commands, Cartesian laws must be implemented at every moment by God himself. There is no sense to be made of the laws operating independently of God's activity. This reading is then defended against the concurrentist interpretation of Descartes.
Laws and Divine Volitions
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Some commentators, such as Leibniz and Steven Nadler, think that, for Malebranche, God must will each and every physical event as such. Others, such as Nicholas Jolley (and perhaps Arnauld), hold that Malebranchean divine volitions are conditional in form, so that God need not meddle directly in each event that occurs. This chapter settles the controversy. It emerges that Leibniz is indeed correct. And yet this does not mean that God is continuously active, constantly adjusting his will to new situations; instead, he can timelessly will an indefinitely long string of individual states of affairs. A corresponding difficulty arises when we try to see how Malebranche can claim that the divine laws are efficacious. This chapter argues that Malebranche offers two analyses of laws — a conditional analysis, whereby laws have the logical form of conditionals, and a summary analysis, whereby laws are nothing more than convenient ways of speaking about God's individual volitions. It is only in the latter sense that Malebranchean laws can be efficacious.
A Scholastic Mechanism
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

In sharp contrast to Malebranche, Pierre‐Sylvain Régis tries to reconcile Descartes's ontology with scholastic concurrentism. Rather than embrace occasionalism, Régis attempts to hold onto the notion that bodies have genuine powers by reducing these powers to the intrinsic qualities of bodies. Even though God is the ultimate source of motion, how that motion is directed depends directly on created beings and not on the divine will.
Régis Against the Occasionalists
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Drawing on scholastic sources such as Aquinas, Régis argues that occasionalism cannot account for the diversity of effects in the natural world. Moreover, Régis argues, motion cannot exist without being diversified, and so the very presence of motion in the world guarantees that bodies are causally efficacious. Régis addresses Malebranche's “no necessary connection” argument head‐on, arguing that there is in fact a logically necessary connection among bodies, one guaranteed by their geometrical properties.
Relations and Powers
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

The Cartesian rejection of powers was built on a rejection of the view of relations that underpinned them. One clear way, then, to “sanitize” powers — to make them acceptable within a mechanist ontology — would be to begin by treating relations and then move on to their subset, powers. This is what Locke and Boyle, with varying degrees of success, attempt. This chapter argues that Locke and Boyle use some familiar scholastic arguments to show that relations supervene on their relata and hence do not constitute an extra element in one's ontology. The case is more complicated, however, when it comes to Boyle.
Locke on Relations
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Locke follows Boyle's basic strategy of reconciling causal powers and ontological mechanism by treating powers as relations and then offering some version of a reductive account of those relations. But this chapter argues that Locke departs from Boyle in a crucial way: on Locke's view, there is nothing for God to contribute over and above the initial source of motion. Bodies, for Locke, have passive powers to affect one another, and these powers are reducible to sets of their intrinsic qualities. This makes sense, however, only if Locke endorses a kind of conceptual foundationalism about relations, rather than relativism or pure reductivism.
Locke's Mechanisms
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

The previous chapters establish that Locke is an ontological mechanist. The question remains, however, whether he is also a course‐of‐nature mechanist: does Locke hold that bodies necessarily behave as they do, given their intrinsic natures? Or does he instead collapse into some form of Cartesian or Boylean voluntarism? This chapter argues that any account of Locke's commitment to course‐of‐nature mechanism must respect his views on relations. Since powers are relations, and relations, considered as mind‐independent, are nothing but the intrinsic qualities of bodies, Locke cannot be a voluntarist. The passages that make it appear otherwise are purely epistemic in their intent, and reflect Locke's doubts about the corpuscular version of mechanism, not the ontological or course‐of‐nature mechanisms of which it is a species. Further, this chapter shows that Locke does not take gravity to threaten either of these last two forms of mechanism, and that his thoughts on gravity run precisely counter to Newton's brand of occasionalism.
Relations
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Hume's texts present a puzzle: he clearly thinks relations are not the invention of the mind, and yet he claims that all perceptions are separable and independent of one another. This chapter uses conceptual foundationalism to make sense of Hume's view. But it also highlights Hume's departure from that view: rather than holding that the mind can be justified in making these transitions from one perception to another, Hume regards such transitions as the result of a blind faculty, which carries no justificatory weight. By distinguishing two kinds of relations — philosophical and natural — this chapter shows how Hume's view is both consonant with pre‐theoretical intuitions and consistent. It moves on to apply this reading to Hume's own puzzling discussions of necessity.
The Definition of Causation
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

Hume offers two definitions of causation. These are neither cointensive nor coextensive. This chapter surveys some attempts to reconcile them before dissolving the problem altogether. Since causation is both a philosophical and a natural relation, it has a dual nature; it is, in other words, systematically ambiguous. This is not a fault in Hume's view but a vital element in its plausibility. The chapter goes on to ask whether Hume is a subjectivist or a projectivist about causation: does he think that all causal claims merely report our own reactions, or does he think that we are mistakenly projecting causal connections onto the world? There is no coherent way to conceive of causation as characterizing mind‐independent entities; but neither is there any reason to think that the subjectivity of causal claims robs them of their truth‐evaluable status. Although many of Hume's weapons were forged by his intellectual progenitors — the theory of relations, the argument from nonsense, and the “no necessary connection” argument, most importantly — Hume recasts them, and turns them against their realist inventors.
Conclusion
Authors: Ott Walter
Published: September 2009

This chapter returns to one of the questions with which this book began: Why does the conception of causal necessity as logical necessity so outlive the notion of powers on which it was based? The question itself is wrong. For the Aristotelian conception of power was not discarded so much as reinvented during the modern period, issuing in the cognitive and geometrical models of causation and hence in the top‐down and bottom‐up conceptions of laws. It is a mistake to think of the scholastic concept of power as lingering on without justification, long after it was unmoored by the “new” philosophy. Instead, it was adopted and transformed. This chapter draws together the themes of the book and extends its argument to the contemporary debate over laws of nature. Roughly, the argument is that the top‐down conception of laws is unintelligible in the absence of the theological underpinnings moderns like Descartes provide. It should thus be jettisoned in a version of a bottom‐up theory, one which is not hamstrung by Hume's unreasonable limitations on intentionality.
QuickGO: a web-based tool for Gene Ontology searching
Authors: Binns David , Dimmer Emily , Huntley Rachael , Barrell Daniel , O'Donovan Claire , Apweiler Rolf
Published: September 2009

Summary: QuickGO is a web-based tool that allows easy browsing of the Gene Ontology (GO) and all associated electronic and manual GO annotations provided by the GO Consortium annotation groups QuickGO has been a popular GO browser for many years, but after a recent redevelopment it is now able to offer a greater range of facilities including bulk downloads of GO annotation data which can be extensively filtered by a range of different parameters and GO slim set generation.

Availability and Implementation: QuickGO has implemented in JavaScript, Ajax and HTML, with all major browsers supported. It can be queried online at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/QuickGO. The software for QuickGO is freely available under the Apache 2 licence and can be downloaded from http://www.ebi.ac.uk/QuickGO/installation.html

Contact:  goa@ebi.ac.uk; dbinns@ebi.ac.uk
Frequency and molecular characteristics of ciprofloxacin- and rifampicin-resistant Helicobacter pylori from gastric infections in the UK
Authors: Chisholm Stephanie A. , Owen Robert J.
Published: September 2009

Treatment failure with standard Helicobacter pylori eradication regimes may require the use of ‘rescue’ therapies containing fluoroquinolones or rifamycins. The susceptibilities of H. pylori in the UK to such antimicrobials are unknown; therefore, this study aimed to determine the frequencies and molecular markers of resistance. Ciprofloxacin and rifampicin susceptibilities were determined by Etest and/or disc diffusion for 255 isolates of H. pylori, including 171 isolates from adult dyspeptic patients with refractive infections. Mutations in known resistance-determining regions of gyrA and rpoB were determined. The ciprofloxacin resistance rate was 7.5 %, and gyrA mutations, predominantly at codon position 91, were identified in most resistant isolates. One isolate (<1 %) had an unequivocal rifampicin-resistant phenotype by Etest yet had no associated mutations in the rpoB gene. As resistance rates were low in H. pylori isolates, including those from patients with refractive infections, it was concluded that fluoroquinolones or rifamycins might be considered in the UK for inclusion in ‘rescue’ therapies.
Periodontal infectogenomics
Authors: Nibali Luigi , Donos Nikos , Henderson Brian
Published: September 2009

Multicellular creatures consist of a symbiosis between the host and its colonizing bacteria. The oral cavity may contain as many as 19 000 bacterial phylotypes, while each individual presents a proportion of these microbes. Infectogenomics studies the interaction between host genetic variations and composition of the microbiota. This review introduces the concept of periodontal infectogenomics, defined as the relationship between host genetic factors and the composition of the subgingival microbiota. In particular, the evidence for the effect of genetic variants in neutrophil and cytokine genes and the presence of periodontopathogenic bacteria will be discussed. The influence of genetic factors may affect clearance or persistence of pathogenic bacteria subgingivally, therefore increasing the risk for the development of common pathogenic conditions such as gingivitis and periodontitis, leading to early tooth loss. Mechanisms of interaction between genetic and microbiological factors and prospects for future studies will be discussed.
Turtle-associated Salmonella septicaemia and meningitis in a 2-month-old baby
Authors: Van Meervenne Eva , Botteldoorn Nadine , Lokietek Sophie , Vatlet Monique , Cupa Alexandre , Naranjo Maria , Dierick Katelijne , Bertrand Sophie
Published: September 2009

A severe case of reptile-associated salmonellosis which caused septicaemia and meningitis in a 2-month-old baby is reported. The infrequent serotype Salmonella enterica subsp.(I) enterica serotype Abony (4,5 : b : enx) was detected in the human sample as well as in the pet turtle's faeces. The importance of regulation and public awareness is highlighted.
Crystalline bacterial biofilm formation on urinary catheters by urease-producing urinary tract pathogens: a simple method of control
Authors: Broomfield Robert J. , Morgan Sheridan D. , Khan Azhar , Stickler David J.
Published: September 2009

The problem of catheter encrustation stems from infection by urease-producing bacteria. These organisms generate ammonia from urea, elevate the pH of urine and cause crystals of calcium and magnesium phosphates to form in the urine and the biofilm that develops on the catheter. In this study, a laboratory model was used to compare the ability of 12 urease-positive species of urinary tract pathogens to encrust and block catheters. Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris and Providencia rettgeri were able to raise the urinary pH above 8.3 and produce catheter-blocking crystalline biofilms within 40 h. Morganella morganii and Staphylococcus aureus elevated the pH of urine to 7.4 and 6.9, respectively, and caused some crystal deposition in the biofilms but did not block catheters in the 96 h experimental period. Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Providencia stuartii were only capable of raising the pH of urine to a maximum of 6.4 and failed to cause crystal deposition in the biofilm. The most effective way to prevent catheter encrustation was shown to be diluting urine and increasing its citrate concentration. This strategy raises the nucleation pH (pHn) at which calcium and magnesium phosphates crystallize from urine. Increasing the fluid intake of a healthy volunteer with citrated drinks resulted in urine with a pHn of >8.0 in which catheter encrustation was inhibited. It is suggested that this dietary strategy will be an effective means of controlling catheter encrustation, whichever bacterial species is causing the problem.
Comparison of diverse developmental transcriptomes reveals that coexpression of gene neighbors is not evolutionarily conserved
Authors: Yanai Itai , Hunter Craig P.
Published: September 2009

Genomic analyses have shown that adjacent genes are often coexpressed. However, it remains unclear whether the observed coexpression is a result of functional organization or a consequence of adjacent active chromatin or transcriptional read-through, which may be free of selective biases. Here, we compare temporal expression profiles of one-to-one orthologs in conserved or divergent genomic positions in two genetically distant nematode species—Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae—that share a near-identical developmental program. We find, for all major patterns of temporal expression, a substantive amount of gene expression divergence. However, this divergence is not random: Genes that function in essential developmental processes show less divergence than genes whose functions are not required for viability. Coexpression of gene neighbors in either species is highly divergent in the other, in particular when the neighborhood is not conserved. Interestingly, essential genes appear to maintain their expression profiles despite changes in neighborhoods suggesting exposure to stronger selection. Our results suggest that a significant fraction of the coexpression observed among gene neighbors may be accounted for by neutral processes, and further that these may be distinguished by comparative gene expression analyses.
Book Reviews
Authors: Rosenau Milton D. , Rothberg Robert R.
Published: September 2009

The first review discusses a book on major innovative breakthroughs. The book educationally summarizes fourteen histories of important new products and services, draws general conclusions from these cases, but seems to lack predictive lessons that can assure future dramatic new products. The second and third reviews cover books devoted to cross‐functional teams and teamwork. Both books provide helpful guidance in dealing with the practical aspects of making such teams function well in new product development projects. The fourth book describes a rather mechanical lock‐step approach to concurrent engineering or total quality development, which is considered its synonym. Specific components are discussed in detail. These include technological development, concept phase, design phase, and production preparation. Although the book ignores the role of marketing, it should prove useful to those interested in the detailed reviews of mechanical engineering procedures such as “The House of Q uality,” engineering concept selection, and Taguchi methods of process design analysis. The reviews conclude with brief notes about three other books.
Dynamic evolution of serum immunoglobulin E to airborne allergens throughout childhood: results from the Multi‐Centre Allergy Study birth cohort
Authors: Matricardi P. M. , Bockelbrink A. , Keil T. , Grüber C. , Niggemann B. , Hamelmann E. , Wahn U. , Lau S.
Published: September 2009

Background
Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma evolve dynamically throughout childhood. Yet, data on the evolution of serum levels of IgE antibodies against airborne allergens throughout the first decade of life are scarce.

Objective
To describe the patterns of new and persistent sensitization against airborne allergens including remission from birth to 10 years of age and the long‐term clinical outcomes up to the age of 13 years.

Methods
In 273 children from the Multi‐Centre Allergy Study, a German birth cohort, IgE levels were determined against airborne allergens (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, cat and dog dander, birch and grass species pollens) at 2, 5, 7, and 10 years of age (ImmunoCAP, Phadia); allergic rhino‐conjunctivitis and asthma were ascertained at the 13 years of age through a standardized questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood).

Results
The prevalence of sensitization to each allergen increased steadily throughout childhood, and a hierarchy of sensitization prevalence (grass>birch>mites>cat>dog) was maintained from 5 years of age onwards. A mono‐sensitization state was relatively short (measurable half‐life=3 years) as additional sensitizations were acquired frequently, and relatively soon after the first one. Remission of weak sensitization (UNICAP classes 1–2) was also quite frequent, especially before 5 years of age. By contrast, stronger IgE responses (>3.5 kU/L) were invariably persistent. Early sensitization was associated with a higher tendency for poly‐sensitization at 10 years of age and allergic rhino‐conjunctivitis and/or asthma at 13 years of age.

Conclusions
IgE responses against airborne allergens undergo dynamic changes throughout childhood, with a high frequency of new sensitization or remission. The long‐term persistence and the clinical impact of IgE responses are affected by the intensity of IgE sensitization and the age of its onset.
Cut‐off values and significance of Oil Red O‐positive cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid
Authors: Basset‐Léobon C. , Lacoste‐Collin L. , Aziza J. , Bes J. C. , Jozan S. , Courtade‐Saïdi M.
Published: September 2009

C. Basset‐Léobon, L. Lacoste‐Collin, J. Aziza, J.C. Bes, S. Jozan and M. Courtade‐Saïdi Cut‐off values and significance of Oil Red O‐positive cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

Objective:  To evaluate the percentage and predictive value of Oil Red O‐positive macrophages (ORO‐PM) to identify lipid‐laden macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) from patients with different pathologies.

Methods:  The percentage and absolute numbers of ORO‐PM were evaluated in 305 BALF. The patients were separated into ten groups: corticosteroid treatment (n = 18), amiodarone treatment (n = 8), interstitial fibrosis (n = 11), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐positive (n = 25), infectious pneumonia (n = 43), severe haematological disorder (n = 25), interstitial syndrome (n = 109), suspicion of cancer (n = 17), transplant recipients (n = 50) and controls (n = 43). The total and differential cell counts in BALF were recorded. The presence of specific pathogens was also noted. Parametric and non‐parametric tests were used to compare the values between groups. Receiver–operating characteristics (ROC) curves were established in order to determine a cut‐off value.

Results:  The percentages of ORO‐PM were (mean ± standard deviation) 21.67 ± 29.12 in the corticosteroid group, 10.00 ± 12.49 in the amiodarone group, 19.45 ± 20.72 in the interstitial fibrosis group, 47.80 ± 30.46 in the HIV group, 19.72 ± 26.26 in the infectious pneumonia group, 27.42 ± 30.04 in the severe haematological disorder group, 25.18 ± 30.63 in the interstitial syndrome group, 17.64 ± 27.76 in the suspicion of cancer group, 22.50 ± 27.27 in the transplanted recipients group and 2.63 ± 3.48 in the control group. Significantly higher values were found in all groups when compared with the control group (P < 0.001). Only the HIV group showed higher numbers of ORO‐PM when compared with the interstitial syndrome group (P < 0.01). According to ROC curves, > 6% ORO‐PM was suggested as the positive cut‐off value.

Conclusion:  Significantly increased numbers of ORO‐PM were associated with various lung pathologies. However, the higher numbers observed in HIV patients require further investigations.
Assessment of three vermicomposts as organic amendments used to enhance diuron sorption in soils with low organic carbon content
Authors: Fernández‐Bayo J. D. , Nogales R. , Romero E.
Published: September 2009

Vermicomposts from the wine and distillery industry containing spent grape marc (V1), biosolid vinasse (V2) and alperujo (V3) from the olive‐oil industry were investigated as organic amendments to a sandy and a clay soil with low organic carbon (OC) contents (≤1%). The sorption‐desorption process was studied in batch experiments using diuron as a non‐ionic herbicide model. The effect of soil and vermicompost characteristics, the solution's ionic strength and incubation time of amended soils on the sorption process was studied. The addition of vermicompost changed soil properties and enhanced sorption capacity by two‐ to four‐fold. The Koc variability showed that exogenous OC composition influenced diuron sorption. Vermicompost V1, which had the largest OC and lignin content, recorded the largest sorption increment. Vermicompost V3, which had the greatest dissolved organic carbon content and a high degree of humification, made the smallest contribution to sorption. Sorption was also dependent on extraneous calcium in the solution. The incubation of amended soils reduced diuron sorption efficiency except with V3. Pyrolysis‐gas chromatography (Py‐GC) analysis was a useful tool to characterize the vermicomposts and to understand the variation of diuron sorption constants after vermicompost incubation. This research encourages the use of vermicompost from agro‐industrial wastes as a sustainable means to minimize the side effects of neutral herbicides.
Enhanced anti‐predator defence in the presence of food stress in the water flea Daphnia magna
Authors: Pauwels Kevin , Stoks Robby , De Meester Luc
Published: September 2009

1.  Many prey organisms show adaptive trait shifts in response to predation. These responses are often studied under benign conditions, yet energy stress may be expected to interfere with optimal shifts in trait values.

2.
 We exposed the water flea Daphnia magna to fish predation and food stress and quantified both life history responses as well as physiological responses (metabolic rate, stress proteins, energy storage and immune function) to explore the architecture of defence strategies in the face of the combined stressors and the occurrence of trade‐offs associated with energy constraints.

3.  All traits studied showed either an overall or clone‐dependent response to food stress. The chronic response to predation risk was less strong for the measured physiological traits than for life history traits, and stronger under food stress than under benign conditions for age at maturity, intrinsic population growth rate and offspring performance (measured as juvenile growth). Immune function (measured as phenoloxidase activity) was lower under predation risk but only at high food, probably because minimum levels were maintained at low food.

4.  Overall, food stress induced stronger adaptive predator‐induced responses, whereas more energy was invested in reproduction under benign conditions at the cost of being less defended. Our results suggest that food stress may increase the capacity to cope with predation risk and underscore the importance of integrating responses to different stressors and traits, and show how responses towards one stressor can have consequences for the susceptibility to other stressors.
Support from the underground: Induced plant resistance depends on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
Authors: Kempel Anne , Schmidt Antje K. , Brandl Roland , Schädler Martin
Published: September 2009

1.  Mycorrhizal symbiosis is thought to affect interactions between plants and herbivores by its influence on plant growth, nutrition and the plants defence system. Moreover, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may enhance the inducibility of resistance responses. Until now, induction of plant resistance has not been considered to be a mechanism affecting the outcome of mycorrhization for plant‐herbivore interactions.

2.
 Here, we test the hypothesis that the resistance of plants against herbivores depends on the induction of plant resistance by previous herbivory and mycorrhization. With a full factorial experiment in a greenhouse, we examined responses in growth of seven herbaceous plant species to AMF and the induction of resistance. To evaluate whether induced resistance is higher in plants with AMF we analyzed the combined effects of AMF and induction on herbivory, using bioassay caterpillars (Spodoptera littoralis).

3.  Across all species, mycorrhization increased growth of plants and performance of the bioassay herbivore feeding on them. If, however, we induced resistance by allowing a caterpillar to feed for a short period on the plants, mycorrhization did not increase plant growth and performance of a subsequent herbivore that fed on the plant. This suggests that the increased plant resistance after induction was dependent on the symbioses with AMF.

4.  Our results indicate that induction interacts with the allocation of the additional resources provided by mycorrhization towards plant growth and plant resistance. Therefore, mycorrhiza may play an important but hitherto overlooked role in the induction of plant resistance against herbivores.
Pollinator‐mediated selfing erodes the flexibility of the best‐of‐both‐worlds mating strategy inBulbine vagans
Authors: Vaughton Glenda , Ramsey Mike
Published: September 2009

1. The best‐of‐both‐worlds hypothesis proposes that delayed autonomous selfing assures reproduction when pollinators are absent, but allows outcrossing when pollinators are present without incurring seed and pollen discounting. However, because self‐compatibility is necessary for delayed selfing, discounting can be incurred if pollinators mediate selfing concurrently with outcrossing. The extent that pollinator‐mediated selfing erodes the best‐of‐both‐worlds mating strategy is largely unknown.

2. In this study, we assess how delayed selfing and pollinator‐mediated selfing contribute to reproductive output under contrasting pollination environments inBulbine vagans(Asphodelaceae).

3. We manipulated floral phenotype under contrasting weather conditions, plant densities and floral display. We emasculated flowers at early‐flowering (allowing only outcrossing) or late‐flowering (eliminating delayed selfing) stages and compared reproductive output with intact flowers (outcrossing + pollinator‐mediated selfing + delayed selfing).

4. During inclement weather, few or no pollinators visited flowers. Reproductive output was severely limited by cross pollen, and delayed selfing provided reproductive assurance. During fine weather, cross pollen was also limiting, but pollinator‐mediated selfing boosted reproductive output before delayed selfing could occur.

5. On isolated plants, flowers received fewer pollinator visits and reproductive output was limited more by cross pollen compared with grouped plants. Despite these differences, reproductive output of both isolated and grouped plants was boosted to similar levels by pollinator‐mediated selfing before delayed selfing could occur.

6. One‐ and three‐flowered plants were similarly limited by cross pollen. On three‐flowered plants, facilitated and geitonogamous selfing boosted reproductive output before delayed selfing could occur. By contrast, on one‐flowered plants geitonogamy was eliminated, and pollinator‐mediated selfing was reduced. This provided mating flexibility by retaining opportunities for subsequent outcrossing, although delayed selfing boosted reproductive output.

7. Reproductive output was consistently limited by cross‐pollination. Yet, delayed selfing provided reproductive assurance only during inclement weather and on one‐flowered plants. Under other conditions, pollinators mediated selfing that could render ovules unavailable for outcrossing as selfing occurred and for outcrossing that might occur subsequently. We conclude that best‐of‐both‐worlds flexibility will often be eroded by pollinator‐mediated selfing that inevitability occurs with outcrossing.
Desert environments: landscapes and stratigraphy
Authors: Fookes Peter G. , Lee E. Mark
Published: September 2009

It is common to think of hot deserts, i.e. hot arid or dry lands, as areas of little rain situated in the middle parts of the world, that are simply ‘just there’. However, most of the world's deserts have a long geological history, sometimes of 50 million years or more and ways have been developing for some time now, particularly from geomorphological studies, of not only erecting the law of superposition of strata for the desert but also ‘absolute’ dating. The authors have often worked commercially in deserts world‐wide but their recent experiences in the Oman have brought home to them the excellent work that has been going on in the last two or three decades in evaluating the geological history of deserts. The Oman experience is described in a feature in the next issue.
Human peripheral γδ T cells possess regulatory potential
Authors: Kühl Anja A. , Pawlowski Nina N. , Grollich Katja , Blessenohl Maike , Westermann Jürgen , Zeitz Martin , Loddenkemper Christoph , Hoffmann Jörg C.
Published: September 2009

Deficiency in γδ T cells aggravates colitis in animal models suggesting that γδ T cells have regulatory properties. Therefore, proliferation, suppression and cytokine secretion of human γδ T cells were determined in vitro. Human peripheral γδ T cells were isolated from the whole blood of healthy donors by magnetic antibody cell sorting technology. The proliferation after CD3/CD28 stimulation was measured by 3[H]thymidine incorporation. Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), interleukin‐2 (IL‐2), transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) and IL‐10 concentrations were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay; TGF‐β messenger RNA was also measured by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The expression of latency associated peptide (LAP), a TGF‐β complex component, intracellular cytokine content and T helper cell proliferation were measured by flow cytometry. Human γδ T cells showed poor proliferation upon CD3/CD28 stimulation and suppressed T helper cell growth stronger than CD4+ CD25+ T cells, although γδ T cells were FOXP3 negative. They secreted little IL‐2 but high concentrations of IFN‐γ, IL‐10 and TGF‐β. When looking at LAP expression the Vδ1 subset was found to be the main TGF‐β producer compared to Vδ2 T cells. Taken together, peripheral γδ T cells have in vitro a more potent regulatory potential than CD4+ CD25+ cells regarding T helper cell suppression. This is most likely the result of strong TGF‐β secretion, particularly by the Vδ1 subset.
Hospital nurse practice environment, burnout, job outcomes and quality of care: test of a structural equation model
Authors: Van Bogaert Peter , Meulemans Herman , Clarke Sean , Vermeyen Karel , Van de Heyning Paul
Published: September 2009

Title.  Hospital nurse practice environment, burnout, job outcomes and quality of care: test of a structural equation model.

Aim.  The aim of the study was to investigate relationships between nurse practice environment, burnout, job outcomes and nurse‐assessed quality of care.

Background.  A growing line of work confirms that, in countries with distinctly different healthcare systems, nurses report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of care in hospitals. Neither the specific work environment factors most involved in dissatisfaction, burnout and other negative job outcomes, and patient outcomes, nor the mechanisms tying nurse job outcomes to quality of care are well understood.

Method.  A Nurse Practice Environment and Outcome causal structure involving pathways between practice environment dimensions and outcome variables with components of burnout in a mediating position was developed. Survey data from 401 staff nurses across 31 units in two hospitals (including the Revised Nursing Work Index, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and job outcome and nurse‐assessed quality of care variables) were used to test this model using structural equation modelling techniques. The data were collected from December 2006 to January 2007.

Results.  Goodness of fit statistics confirmed an improved model with burnout dimensions in mediating positions between nurse practice environment dimensions and both job outcomes and nurse‐assessed quality of care, explaining 20% and 46% of variation in these two indicators, respectively.

Conclusion.  These findings suggest that hospital organizational properties, including nurse–physician relations, are related to quality of care assessments, and to the outcomes of job satisfaction and turnover intentions, with burnout dimensions appearing to play mediating roles. Additionally, a direct relationship between assessments of care quality and management at the unit level was observed.
Healthcare routines of university students with Type 1 diabetes
Authors: Balfe Myles
Published: September 2009

Title.  Healthcare routines of university students with Type 1 diabetes.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study examining the benefits that university students with Type 1 diabetes associate with diabetes self‐care routines, and the barriers that they experience in enacting self‐care routines in the university environment.

Background.  Many young adults with Type 1 diabetes attend university, and it is thought that these students might experience difficulties with their self‐care routines while they are there.

Method.  A qualitative method was chosen to explore students’ own perspectives. Seventeen students with diabetes were interviewed twice, and each kept a research diary for a 2‐week period. Interviews and diaries were analyzed using standard qualitative techniques. The study was conducted in 2004–2005.

Findings.  Routines had a number of identity‐producing benefits for students. However, students often experienced difficulties routinizing their self‐care practices at university. These difficulties stemmed both from the irregular nature of university life and from students’ desires not to let their diabetes interfere with their student lives. Most participants learned to adjust to university and enact self‐care routines, although they could still experience routine difficulties during times of transition and stress.

Conclusion.  Healthcare professionals need to be aware of the difficulties that university students with Type 1 diabetes experience with their self‐care routines. This awareness needs to encompass older students in the second, third and fourth years of their undergraduate degrees and postgraduate students as well as students in their first year at university.
The theory of music, mood and movement to improve health outcomes
Authors: Murrock Carolyn J. , Higgins Patricia A.
Published: September 2009

Title.  The theory of music, mood and movement to improve health outcomes.

Aim.  This paper presents a discussion of the development of a middle‐range nursing theory of the effects of music on physical activity and improved health outcomes.

Background.  Due to the high rate of physical inactivity and the associated negative health outcomes worldwide, nurses need new evidence‐based theories and interventions to increase physical activity.

Data sources.  The theory of music, mood and movement (MMM) was developed from physical activity guidelines and music theory using the principles of statement and theory synthesis. The concepts of music, physical activity and health outcomes were searched using the CINAHL, MEDLINE, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library databases covering the years 1975–2008.

Discussion.  The theory of MMM was synthesized by combining the psychological and physiological responses of music to increase physical activity and improve health outcomes. It proposes that music alters mood, is a cue for movement, and makes physical activity more enjoyable leading to improved health outcomes of weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cardiovascular risk factor management, and improved quality of life.

Conclusion.  As it was developed from the physical activity guidelines, the middle‐range theory is prescriptive, produces testable hypotheses, and can guide nursing research and practice. The middle‐range theory needs to be tested to determine its usefulness for nurses to develop physical activity programmes to improve health outcomes across various cultures.
Nurses’ role in detecting deterioration in ward patients: systematic literature review
Authors: Odell Mandy , Victor Christina , Oliver David
Published: September 2009

Title.  Nurses’ role in detecting deterioration in ward patients: systematic literature review.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a review conducted to identify and critically evaluate research investigating nursing practice in detecting and managing deteriorating general ward patients.

Background.  Failure to recognize or act on deterioration of general ward patients has resulted in the implementation of early warning scoring systems and critical care outreach teams. The evidence of effectiveness of these systems is unclear. Possible mechanisms for low effectiveness may be inconsistent recording of patient observations by ward staff, or inconsistent application of ‘calling criteria’ for outreach teams, even when observations have been recorded.

Methods.  The literature was searched between 1990 and 2007 using four sources: electronic databases, reference lists, key reports and experts in the field. Three broad search categories were used: nursing observations, physiological deterioration and general ward patients. All research designs describing nursing observations (vital signs) on deteriorating adult patients in general hospital wards were included.

Results.  Fourteen studies met the inclusion and quality criteria. The findings were grouped into four main themes: recognition; recording and reviewing; reporting; and responding and rescuing. The main findings suggest that intuition plays an important part in nurses’ detection of deterioration, and vital signs are used to validate intuitive feelings. The process is highly complex and influenced by many factors, including the experience and education of bedside nurses and their relationship with medical staff.

Conclusion.  Greater understanding of the context within which deterioration is detected and reported will facilitate the design of more effective education and support systems.