bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deactivation of ultrashallow boron implants in preamorphized silicon after nonmelt laser annealing with multiple scans
Authors: Sharp J. A. , Cowern N. E. B. , Webb R. P. , Kirkby K. J. , Giubertoni D. , Gennaro S. , Bersani M. , Foad M. A. , Cristiano F. , Fazzini P. F.
Published: November 2006

Electrical activation and redistribution of 500eV boron implants in preamorphized silicon after nonmelt laser annealing at 1150°C and isochronal rapid thermal postannealing are reported. Under the thermal conditions used for a nonmelt laser at 1150°C, a substantial residue of end-of-range defects remained after one laser scan but these were mainly dissolved within ten scans. The authors find dramatic boron deactivation and transient enhanced diffusion after postannealing the one-scan samples, but very little in the five- and ten-scan samples. The results show that end-of-range defect removal during nonmelt laser annealing is an achievable method for the stabilization of highly activated boron profiles in preamorphized silicon.
Understanding Recent Trends in Residential Mobility in Council Housing in England
Authors: Pawson Hal , Bramley Glen
Published: November 2006

Variations in stock turnover in social housing are important for a number of reasons. First, they influence the supply of properties available to meet housing need; secondly, they have implications for housing management costs and performance; and, thirdly, they are a barometer of neighbourhood stability and cohesion. The paper examines national, regional and local trends in council housing turnover rates over the past 20 years, focusing on changes during the first half of the 1990s. Linking data from various secondary sources together with new evidence, the paper explores the elements involved in the generation of relets and examines the characteristics and motivations of households exiting from the council sector. Finally, the article reports results of statistical modelling of relet rates at the local authority level which reveal new insights on the causal factors involved.
Is There Space for Organisation from Below within the UK Government's Action Zones? A Test of 'Collaborative Planning'
Authors: North Peter
Published: November 2006

The institutional structure and urban policy preferences of the Blair administration have now emerged from the British government's comprehensive spending review. In a series of recent publications, notably from the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions (DETR) and the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) report Bringing Britain Together, the government places a welcome emphasis on the importance of working with communities and in community economic development. Unfortunately though, these initiatives contrast with a simultaneous commitment to fiscal restraint and work-based labour market policies, which seem to mark continuity. The extent to which the urban policy agenda and institutions are open to influence from community organisations promoting social justice claims that differ from those of government is therefore unclear. This paper uses Healey's 'collaborative planning' approach to explore the potential for the engagement of one such community organisation, Local Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS), to test the extent to which the new policy institutions are open to influence 'from below'.
New Labour, New Planning? The Trajectory of Planning in Blair's Britain
Authors: Allmendinger Philip , Tewdwr-Jones Mark
Published: November 2006

The election of the 'New Labour' government in the UK in May 1997 heralded the start of a new opportunity and era for politics. A determination to modernise the institutions of Britain, associated with a commitment to foster social justice and community with concern for the market, has created a new ethos within government. Led by a Prime Minister viewed as embodying vision and change, the government has started to amend 18 years of Conservative policies structurally, constitutionally and sector ally. The British planning system has changed very little in format and style since its statutory inception in the 1940s, and one would think that this institutional process is an obvious candidate for modernisation. But New Labour possessed very few ideas to amend planning while in opposition, and the proposals announced over the past 24 months that impact on planning suggest continuation rather than radical overhaul. This paper charts the legacy for New Labour in the fields of planning and environmental policy left by the outgoing New Right Major government, and additionally attempts to identify the political ideological ethos and history of policy development behind possible changes to planning. It outlines the major policy amendments announced to date and offers a perspective on the trajectory of planning under a New Labour administration in the years ahead.
Moving Beyond the Gentrification Gaps: Social Change, Tenure Change and Gap Theories in Stockholm
Authors: Millard-Ball Adam
Published: November 2006

Production-side theories of gentrification are generally confined to the rent and value gaps. In Stockholm, the value gap, involving tenure conversions from rental to co-operative ownership, is usually cited as the primary gentrification mechanism. However, results described here indicate that gentrification has taken place in rental properties even prior to tenure conversion. Together with the small number of conversions taking place, this means that the value-gap mechanism is of limited importance. It is suggested that mechanisms operating within the rental sector, such as 'luxury renovations' and the housing allocation process, are more significant in Stockholm, and that gap theories are of little relevance. More generally, explanations of gentrification in a mixed economy such as that of Sweden need to look beyond traditional theories.
Using Technology to Overcome the Tyranny of Space: Information Provision and Wayfinding
Authors: Hine Julian , Swan Derek , Scott Judith , Binnie David , Sharp John
Published: November 2006

Urban wayfinding technology offers many possibilities by which older people and mobility-impaired users can overcome the barriers encountered on every-day journeys in the built environment. Previous work has highlighted the extent to which personal mobility and independence are significant determinants of the quality of life amongst both elderly and visually impaired groups. The paper outlines the development of the auditory location finder (ALF), which is a beacon-based local information system designed to enhance the wayfinding activities of these, and potentially other, user-groups in the community. The proposed system provides the user with an audio message, which is obtained on request via a small portable hand unit. The messages inform the user of their whereabouts and give information about the area that they are currently in. The development of the device involves issues such as message content and structure, route choice, orientation, landmarks, clues and the extent of user reliance on technology. Preliminary trials have been carried out in a UK city and have obtained initial user feedback to help underpin the technological development of the device and its potential application. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of new urban technology and the way in which such local information systems can potentially contribute to overcoming particular patterns of exclusion experienced by mobility-impaired groups, such as the visually impaired.
A Gender Audit for Public Transport: A New Policy Tool in the Tackling of Social Exclusion
Authors: Hamilton Kerry , Jenkins Linda
Published: November 2006

In line with the increasing policy recognition of the role of transport in social exclusion, Transport Studies at the University of East London was commissioned by the Mobility Unit of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to produce a Public Transport Gender Audit. The completed project is available on the Gender Audit website at http://www.uel.ac.uk/womenandtransport. It includes an inventory of relevant literature providing both policy-makers and the public at large with access to the existing body of evidence on the relationships between gender and transport. This paper identifies the goals and progress of the Gender Audit for Public Transport to date. It considers why we need a Public Transport Gender Audit and examines the major gender differences that have relevance for transport policy-makers, planners and providers.
Corporate Reporting, Stakeholders and the Internet: Mapping the New Corporate Landscape
Authors: Crowther David
Published: November 2006

The paper considers the way in which the development of the Internet and the increasing access to it by individuals have provided such individuals with increasing power to make their respective voices heard. It also considers the way in which corporations, through their use of the Internet to present themselves and their activities and to communicate with individuals, have affected the use of the Internet. Through a construction of the archaeology of corporate reporting, this is shown to be a natural extension of this reporting. An examination of such Internet reporting is undertaken to demonstrate that the Internet is more liberating for corporations than for individuals and that the role of the Internet for individuals remains as a mechanism for protest rather than for the acquisition of a more equal power relationship with the dominant forms of organisation within society.
Land Markets in African Cities: The Case of Peri-urban Accra, Ghana
Authors: Gough Katherine V. , Yankson Paul W. K.
Published: November 2006

Land markets in African cities are characterised by the co-existence of different modes of supply that originate from the different stages of their development. Customary land tenure remains important in many of these cities, although its future is widely disputed. This paper discusses the implications of the co-existence of customary land tenure and state involvement in the land market in peri-urban Accra, where land is rapidly being converted from agricultural to residential use. The land market is shown to be complex and diverse, characterised by a high level of uncertainty and widespread disputes. The strong sense of cultural identity associated with customary land, and the difficulties of introducing major changes to land markets, however, point towards maintaining a modified form of customary land tenure.
Career Migration, Self-selection and the Earnings of Married Men and Women in the Netherlands, 1981-93
Authors: Smits Jeroen
Published: November 2006

The relationship between career migration and earnings is studied for married men and women in the Netherlands. The hourly wages of married men and women who made a recent long-distance move are found to be higher than those of married men and women who did not move or who moved only over a small distance. This earning difference between migrants and non-migrants seems to be due completely to the fact that the migrants are a favourable self-selected group, both with regard to their measured characteristics and with regard to their unmeasured characteristics. If this favourable self-selection is taken into account, the male and female migrants turn out to earn significantly less than their non-migrating counterparts. For the males, this finding suggests that before the move they were in relatively unfavourable labour market situations compared with the non-migrants with the same measured and unmeasured characteristics. For the females, the negative effect of migration merely indicates that most long-distance moves are still made for the career of their husband.
ERK1/2 MAP kinases in cell survival and apoptosis
Authors: Lu Zhimin , Xu Shuichan
Published: November 2006

ERK1/2 is an important subfamily of mitogen‐activated protein kinases that control a broad range of cellular activities and physiological processes. ERK1/2 can be activated transiently or persistently by MEK1/2 and upstream MAP3Ks in conjunction with regulation and involvement of scaffolding proteins and phosphatases. Activation of ERK1/2 generally promotes cell survival; but under certain conditions, ERK1/2 can have pro‐apoptotic functions.
iubmb Life, 58: 621 ‐ 631, 2006
A new method reveals microtubule minus ends throughout the meiotic spindle
Authors: Burbank Kendra S. , Groen Aaron C. , Perlman Zachary E. , Fisher Daniel S. , Mitchison Timothy J.
Published: November 2006

Anastral meiotic spindles are thought to be organized differently from astral mitotic spindles, but the field lacks the basic structural information required to describe and model them, including the location of microtubule-nucleating sites and minus ends. We measured the distributions of oriented microtubules in metaphase anastral spindles in Xenopus laevis extracts by fluorescence speckle microscopy and cross-correlation analysis. We localized plus ends by tubulin incorporation and combined this with the orientation data to infer the localization of minus ends. We found that minus ends are localized throughout the spindle, sparsely at the equator and at higher concentrations near the poles. Based on these data, we propose a model for maintenance of the metaphase steady-state that depends on continuous nucleation of microtubules near chromatin, followed by sorting and outward transport of stabilized minus ends, and, eventually, their loss near poles.
Conditional deletion of β1 integrins in the intestinal epithelium causes a loss of Hedgehog expression, intestinal hyperplasia, and early postnatal lethality
Authors: Jones Robert G. , Li Xiufen , Gray Phillip D. , Kuang Jinqiu , Clayton Frederic , Samowitz Wade S. , Madison Blair B. , Gumucio Deborah L. , Kuwada Scott K.
Published: November 2006

Conditional deletion of β1 integrins in the intestinal epithelium, unlike in epidermal and mammary epithelia, of mice does not result in decreased cell adhesion and proliferation, but instead causes a profound increase in epithelial proliferation with dysplasia and polypoid structures. The increased epithelial proliferation inhibited epithelial differentiation that caused severe malnutrition and early postnatal lethality. The striking similarities between β1 integrin–deleted mice and neonatal mice with defective Hedgehog signaling led to the discovery that Hedgehog expression was markedly reduced in the former mice. β1 integrins were found to drive the expression of Hedgehogs in intestinal epithelial cells in an HNF-3β (Foxa2)–dependent fashion. The expression of Tcf-4, a transcription factor known to be required for intestinal epithelial stem cell proliferation, was increased and mislocalized in the intestinal epithelia of the β1 integrin–deleted mice and in newborn mice treated with the Hedgehog signaling inhibitor cyclopamine. This study shows that β1 integrins are key regulators of proliferation and homeostasis in the intestine and achieve this not through anchorage-dependent effects but by generating Hh expression and signaling.
Comparing two measures of quality of life for children with haemophilia: the CHO‐KLAT and the Haemo‐QoL
Authors: BRADLEY C. S. , BULLINGER M. , MCCUSKER P. J. , WAKEFIELD C. D. , BLANCHETTE V. S. , YOUNG N. L.
Published: November 2006

Summary.  Disease‐specific measures of quality of life (QoL) for children with haemophilia are now available for use in clinical studies [Haemophilia, 10, 2004, 9–16]. One of these measures, the Canadian Haemophilia Outcomes – Kids’ Life Assessment Tool (CHO‐KLAT), was developed in Canada with emphasis on the perspectives of children [Pediatr Blood Cancer, 47, 2006, 305–11; Haemophilia, 10, 2004, 34–43]. Another, the Haemo‐QoL, was developed in Europe, with emphasis on the perspectives of clinicians [Haemophilia, 8, 2002, 47–54; Haemophilia, 10, 2004, 17–25]. While these two measures are unique and independent, researchers from both studies were collaboratively linked throughout development and testing. This study presents the results of a joint assessment of the two measures with respect to their strengths, limitations and unique contributions.

The primary questions addressed were:

1 What is the relationship between the CHO‐KLAT and the Haemo‐QoL in terms of summary scores and item content?

2 What are the methodological strengths, limitations and unique contributions of each measure?

We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from field testing of both measures. The analysis included a comparative assessment of the basic validity, reliability and items used in each measure. Overall, the CHO‐KLAT and the Haemo‐QoL are promising and valuable measures of QoL for children with haemophilia. Our analyses confirmed the basic psychometric properties of both tools, but identified some discrepancies between them. Additional data will allow for greater understanding of these discrepancies and lend clarity to how the tools should be used in clinical studies (separately or merged). The present recommendation is that the measures be run independently, but preferably concurrently in studies of children with haemophilia.
Acquired von Willebrand's syndrome resulting from untreated hypothyroidism in two prepubertal girls
Authors: GALLI‐TSINOPOULOU A. , STYLIANOU C. , PAPAIOANNOU G. , NOUSIA‐ARVANITAKIS S.
Published: November 2006

Summary.  Acquired von Willebrand syndrome (AvWS) is a rare bleeding disorder associated with a number of different diseases, including hypothyroidism. We describe two prepubertal girls with AvWS and undiagnosed hypothyroidism due to thyroiditis Hashimoto. The patients had neither family history nor symptoms of bleeding disorders. Substitution therapy with levothyroxine led to normalization of the coagulation parameters. We report these cases in order to raise awareness among paediatricians so that the AvWS should be suspected and searched for with the appropriate laboratary tests in all cases of hypothyroidism. Moreover, patients with bleeding diathesis of unknown origin should also be investigated for hypothyroidism.
Health‐related quality of life in chronic coagulation disorders
Authors: TALAULIKAR D. , SHADBOLT B. , MCDONALD A. , PIDCOCK M.
Published: November 2006

Summary.  Measurement of health‐related quality of life (HR‐QoL) is used in patients with haemophilia as a way of assessing the effectiveness of health care, especially as cure is not possible. We report the first such study on patients with chronic coagulation disorders in Australia, using The RAND 36‐item Health Survey 1.0 (SF‐36), a standardized validated questionnaire combined with a semistructured interview. The mean scores for the eight domains of the SF‐36 ranged from 52.5 ± 42.1 for physical role to 80.0 ± 20.0 for social functioning. Comparison with normative data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) demonstrated a reduction in all domains in this population with statistically significant reductions in general health, physical role limitation and vitality. Comparison with other studies indicates that the HR‐QoL of patients with haemophilia and von Willebrand's disorder in Australia is comparable with other Western countries, reflecting the overall similar quality of care available to these patients. This study also provides a good cross‐sectional view of the psychosocial factors of life in patients in Australia and recognizes the positive family support available to this population, while raising relevant shortcomings in schools and at the workplace that need to be studied further in a controlled manner.
Dynamic recording of irrigating fluid distribution in root canals using thermal image analysis
Authors: Hsieh Y. D. , Gau C. H. , Kung Wu S. F. , Shen E. C. , Hsu P. W. , Fu E.
Published: November 2006

Aim  To investigate the influence of the size and the depth of insertion of irrigating needles, and the diameter of the master apical file on flow distribution during fluid irrigation in root canals.

Methodology  Stepback canal instrumentation was employed on seven extracted human single canal teeth. The size of the master apical files ranged from sizes 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 to size 80 within the seven teeth, respectively. A thermal imaging system (ThermaCAM; National Instruments Co., Austin, TX, USA) was used to record the dynamic fluid distribution following root canal preparation. The dynamic fluid distribution was analysed during irrigation by insertion of different irrigating needle tips (23, 25 and 27 gauge) at various depths (3, 6 and 9 mm) from the root apex. The whole process of irrigation was recorded by a video camera and analysed by two observers separately. The success of the irrigation process was defined when the irrigant was able to flow into to the apical region immediately after injection.

Results  The aqueous irrigant was flushed into the apical region when a size 27 gauge irrigating needle was placed into a size 30 canal at a point 3 mm from the apical stop. When the same needle tip was placed 6 mm from the root canal apex, successful irrigation was achieved only in the canals prepared to size 50 or larger. When a size 25 gauge irrigating needle was placed 3 mm from the working length, the canal size had to be no <45 to allow for successful irrigation. When a size 23 gauge needle was placed at the same position, the canal needed to be prepared to size 50 to allow thorough irrigation of the apex. At 9 mm from the apical stop, none of the irrigating needles could achieve successful irrigation of any canal size.

Conclusion  The flow distribution of root canal irrigation can be affected adversely by large diameter irrigating needles, by greater distances between the needle tip and the apical stop, and by narrow root canals.
Evaluation of the surface free energy on root canal dentine walls treated with chelating agents and NaOCl
Authors: Dogan Buzoglu H. , Calt S. , Gümüsderelioglu M.
Published: November 2006

Aim  To evaluate ex vivo the effects of combined and single use of EDTA, RC‐Prep and NaOCl on the surface free energy of canal wall dentine using the captive bubble technique.

Methodology  Eighteen extracted human pre‐molar teeth were sectioned at the crown and the apical third, the remaining mid‐root portion were bisected longitudinally. Thereafter, the root halves were embedded in resin blocks that exposed the dentine surface of the canal wall. The specimens were randomly assigned to six experimental groups (n = 6) after polishing. The root dentine surfaces of the first two groups were treated with 17% EDTA or RC‐Prep followed by 2.5% NaOCl irrigation. Groups 3, 4 and 5 were treated with either 17% EDTA, RC‐Prep or 2.5% NaOCl alone. Control specimens were irrigated with saline solution. The surface free energies of experimental groups were calculated by measuring air and octane contact angles on the canal wall dentine. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U and Bonferroni post‐tests at P = 0.05.

Results  Compared with the control group; combined and single use of EDTA, RC‐Prep and NaOCl irrigation significantly decreased the surface free energy of canal wall dentine surfaces (P < 0.05). Among all groups tested, the use of NaOCl as a final flush following RC‐Prep treatment yielded increased wettability. Nevertheless, this value remained lower than that of the control group.

Conclusion  Use of chelating agents alone or in combination with NaOCl decreased the wettability of root canal wall dentine.
Substance P receptor expression in healthy and inflamed human pulp tissue
Authors: Caviedes‐Bucheli J. , Gutierrez‐Guerra J. E. , Salazar F. , Pichardo D. , Moreno G. C. , Munoz H. R.
Published: November 2006

Aim  To use radioreceptor analysis for comparing substance P (SP) receptor expression in human pulp tissue samples collected from teeth having a clinical diagnosis of acute irreversible pulpitis, healthy pulps and teeth with induced inflammation.

Methodology  Five pulp samples were obtained from teeth having a clinical diagnosis of acute irreversible pulpitis. Another 10 pulp samples were obtained from healthy premolars where extraction was indicated for orthodontic purposes. In five of these premolars inflammation was induced prior to pulp collection. All of the samples were processed and labelled with 125I‐SP. Binding sites were identified by 125I‐SP and standard SP competition assays. Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney (post‐hoc) tests were used to establish statistically significant differences between the groups.

Results  Substance P receptor expression was found in all human pulp tissue samples. Most receptors were found in the group of pulps from teeth having a clinical diagnosis of acute irreversible pulpitis, followed by the group of pulps having induced inflammation. The least number of receptors was expressed in the group of healthy pulps. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the group of healthy pulp and both inflamed pulp groups (P < 0.01).

Conclusion  Substance P receptor expression in human pulp tissue is significantly increased during inflammatory phenomena such as acute irreversible pulpitis.
The national suicide prevention strategy for England: the reality of a national strategy for the nursing profession
Authors: ANDERSON M. , JENKINS R.
Published: November 2006

Suicide is recognized as a global phenomenon and many countries now have national suicide prevention strategies. International guidance on suicide prevention and accepted epidemiological and treatment‐based research underpins healthcare policy relating to suicide reduction. There has been an established comprehensive strategy in England since 2002. However, the rate of suicide continues to be a concern and nurses hold a key role in the implementation of national, regional and local policy into practice. The aim of this paper is to consider the current implications of the national suicide prevention strategy in England for nursing. This discussion paper draws upon both empirical evidence‐based literature, governmental guidance and policy‐related documentation. The national suicide prevention strategy for England currently continues to have a multifaceted impact on the nursing profession. This ranges from clinical practice issues such as risk assessment through to broader public health responsibilities. If nurses and allied health professionals are to be effective in their role within suicide prevention, they will need to be supported in building awareness of the wider context of the national policy. In particular, this will mean working effectively and collaboratively with the voluntary sector, service users and other non‐medical agencies.
Quality of life for long‐stay patients of psychiatric hospitals: a literature study
Authors: MEGENS Y. , VAN MEIJEL B.
Published: November 2006

The aim of this literature review is to provide an answer to the following questions: (1) What is known about the quality of life and quality of care for long‐stay psychiatric patients? (2) What does literature say about possible contributions that health‐care professionals may make to the quality of life for this target group? We conducted an open literature search across national and international databases, and added relevant literature by using cross‐references. The quality of life and quality of care for long‐stay psychiatric patients has been the subject of research on a limited scale only. Publications in this field provide a picture of patients with wishes and requirements that are generally basic and modest in nature. They also show that patients greatly value good relations with their care providers. This literature review shows that little is known about the quality of life of long‐stay psychiatric patients and this review also shows that the relational aspects of care provide an eminent opportunity for care providers to contribute to the quality of life of their patients. Long‐stay patients need care providers who are capable of developing and maintaining a caring relationship of the highest quality that will endure for many years. In their daily work, nurses have good opportunities to develop and maintain meaningful and reciprocal relationships with severely ill people, but this is a task that makes great demands on nurses in terms of both knowledge and interhuman skills. These skills should be given special attention both in nurse education and by supervisors.
Closeness, chaos and crisis: the attractions of working in acute mental health care
Authors: DEACON M. , WARNE T. , MCANDREW S.
Published: November 2006

This paper makes a case for the attractiveness of acute mental health inpatient nursing (acute nursing) and argues that an altered perception of this work is essential if we are to provide the most acutely mentally ill and vulnerable people with a stable and expert nursing workforce. The discussion draws on an ethnographic study conducted in an inner‐city psychiatric unit in England and the advantages of this method for understanding nursing work are described. Within our findings, we set out two overarching themes: the contextual realities of the contemporary acute ward and features of attraction that encourage nurses to work in the acute care setting. The former includes nurses’ responsibility for the total ward environment and the latter the ‘comfort of closeness’ and ‘surviving and thriving in chaos and crisis’. In conclusion, we argue that despite the unpopularity of the acute inpatient mental health environment, the highly sophisticated skills employed by acute nurses actually ensure the promotion of health for the majority of service users.
The symbiosis regulator RscS controls the syp gene locus, biofilm formation and symbiotic aggregation by Vibrio fischeri
Authors: Yip Emily S. , Geszvain Kati , DeLoney‐Marino Cindy R. , Visick Karen L.
Published: November 2006

Successful colonization of a eukaryotic host by a microbe involves complex microbe–microbe and microbe–host interactions. Previously, we identified in Vibrio fischeri a putative sensor kinase, RscS, required for initiating symbiotic colonization of its squid host Euprymna scolopes. Here, we analysed the role of rscS by isolating an allele, rscS1, with increased activity. Multicopy rscS1 activated transcription of genes within the recently identified symbiosis polysaccharide (syp) cluster. Wild‐type cells carrying rscS1 induced aggregation phenotypes in culture, including the formation of pellicles and wrinkled colonies, in a syp‐dependent manner. Colonies formed by rscS1‐expressing cells produced a matrix not found in control colonies and largely lost in an rscS1‐expressing sypN mutant. Finally, multicopy rscS1 provided a colonization advantage over control cells and substantially enhanced the ability of wild‐type cells to aggregate on the surface of the symbiotic organ of E. scolopes; this latter phenotype similarly depended upon an intact syp locus. These results suggest that transcription induced by RscS‐mediated signal transduction plays a key role in colonization at the aggregation stage by modifying the cell surface and increasing the ability of the cells to adhere to one another and/or to squid‐secreted mucus.
Impedance monitoring shows that posture and a meal influence gastro‐oesophageal reflux composition and frequency1
Authors: Shay S. S. , Lopez R.
Published: November 2006

Abstract  Impedance monitoring determines reflux composition as liquid and/or gas, and we assess with impedance the effect of posture and a meal on reflux composition. Twenty‐nine gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients and 10 normal volunteers underwent simultaneous impedance, manometry and pH for three 40‐min periods, each 20‐min upright, 10‐min left side and 10‐min right side. One period was fasting, and two postprandial. We found that reflux event composition on the right side was liquid‐only near exclusively (93%). In contrast, 85% of reflux on the left side and 74% upright was gas‐only or liquid and gas (P < 0.001). More gas‐only reflux occurred fasting (80%) than postprandial (P < 0.01). Reflux composition was similar in the study groups and two postprandial periods (P > 0.25). After confirming gas reflux suppression on the right side, a pilot study assessed gastric anatomy as a cause. Five achalasia patients had fluid injected into the stomach at endoscopy, and the EG junction was submerged below liquid‐only on the right side. We conclude that reflux is nearly always liquid‐only on the right side where the EG junction may be below fluid. Reflux fasting is usually gas‐only. Different posture and fasting times may (i) explain variations in acid exposure during pH monitoring and (ii) promote or prevent GORD symptoms.
Equine sweating and anhidrosis Part 1 – equine sweating
Authors: Jenkinson David McEwan , Elder Hugh Y. , Bovell Douglas L.
Published: November 2006

Sweating has a variety of functions in mammals including pheromone action, excretion of waste products and maintenance of the skin surface ecosystem. In a small number of mammalian species, which includes humans and the Equidae, it also has an important role in thermoregulation. This review is focused specifically on the thermoregulatory role of sweat in Equidae and the causes of sweating failure (anhidrosis). The first part describes the glandular appearance, sweat composition, and output rates; and considers the latest theories on the glandular control and secretory mechanisms. It is concluded that the glands are not directly innervated but are controlled by the interplay of neural, humoral and paracrine factors. The secretory mechanism is not as simple as previously thought and is mediated by the dynamic interaction of activating pathways, including autocrine control not only of the secretory process but probably also of secretory cell reproduction, growth, and death.
Pyoderma caused byPseudomonas aeruginosainfection in dogs: 20 cases
Authors: Hillier Andrew , Alcorn Jessica R. , Cole Lynette K. , Kowalski Joseph J.
Published: November 2006

In this report we describe the historical, clinical, histopathological and microbiological features, as well as treatments and clinical outcome, of pyoderma wherePseudomonas aeruginosaalone was isolated on bacterial culture from lesional skin. Twenty dogs were included in this retrospective study. Seven dogs without prior history of systemic or skin disease presented with acute deep pseudomonal pyoderma characterized by a sudden onset of dorsal truncal pain. Skin lesions in these dogs consisted of erythematous papules, haemorrhagic bullae, ulcers and haemorrhagic crusts confined to the dorsum. An excellent clinical response was achieved with 3–4 weeks of treatment with oral fluoroquinolones. Thirteen dogs with a more gradual onset of skin lesions associated with pseudomonal pyoderma had a history of prior skin, ear or systemic disease and had previously been treated with antibiotics and/or immunomodulatory drugs. Skin lesions in these dogs were variable and similar to those described for superficial and deep staphylococcal pyoderma. In this group, one dog was euthanized prior to commencement of treatment, two dogs were lost to follow up, and 9 had resolution of lesions following treatment with topical silver sulfadiazine (one dog), fluoroquinolones (six dogs) or cephalexin (two dogs) administered orally for 3 to 12 weeks. Rod‐shaped bacteria were not always detected on cytology. Histopathology of dogs with deep pseudomonal pyoderma was characterized by severe perforating suppurative folliculitis and furunculosis.
Treatment with oral cyclosporin A of a case of vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus in a rough collie
Authors: Font Artur , Bardagi Mar , Mascort Joan , Fondevila Dolors
Published: November 2006

Cyclosporin A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive agent that can be used as alternative treatment to glucocorticoid therapy. This case report describes a case of vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus in a rough collie successfully controlled with oral CsA for more than 18 months.
Raccoonpox in a Canadian cat
Authors: Yager Julie A. , Hutchison Lisa , Barrett John W.
Published: November 2006

Poxvirus infections affecting the skin of cats are extremely rare in North America, in contrast to Europe where cowpox virus is well recognized as an accidental pathogen in cats that hunt small rodents. The virus or viruses responsible for the anecdotal cases in North America have never been characterized. This paper reports a case of raccoonpox infection in a Canadian cat. Biopsy of the initial ulcerative lesion on the forepaw revealed ballooning degeneration of surface and follicular keratinoctyes. Infected cells contained large eosinophilic type A inclusions. Electron microscopic examination revealed virions of an orthopoxvirus, subsequently identified as raccoonpox by polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing. The cat made a full recovery.
Bacterial pseudomycetoma in dwarf hamster, Phodopus sungorus
Authors: Martorell Jaime , Gallifa Nuria , Fondevila Dolors , Rabanal Rosa M.
Published: November 2006

A case of a dwarf hamster with two progressively growing nodules on the right fore limb is described. These were excised following ineffective medical treatment and were submitted for histopathological examination, which revealed bacterial pseudomycetoma in both nodules. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first reported case of bacterial pseudomycetoma in a dwarf hamster.
Expectations of patients and parents of children with asthma regarding access to complementary therapy information and services via the NHS: a qualitative study
Authors: Shaw Alison , Thompson Elizabeth A. , Sharp Deborah J.
Published: November 2006

Objective  To explore the expectations of patients and parents of children with asthma regarding access to complementary therapies via the NHS.

Methods  Fifty semi‐structured interviews with adults and parents of children with asthma, from a range of health‐care settings, including users and non‐users of complementary therapies. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and the data were analysed thematically.

Results  Thirty‐one patients were using complementary therapies for asthma, six were using complementary therapies for other health problems and 13 were non‐users. Various therapies were used for asthma, most commonly homeopathy and breathing techniques, predominantly outside the NHS. Two broad themes emerging from the data were expectations about access to information and knowledge about complementary therapies via NHS health professionals, and expectations regarding access to complementary therapy services via the NHS. As a minimum, the majority of participants wanted NHS health professionals to be more ‘open’ towards and know more about complementary therapies than their patients – perceived as not currently usual. Most were positive about greater NHS access to complementary therapy services, for enhancing patient choice, improving equality in access for less affluent patients and facilitating patients’ self‐help. Participants who were highly sceptical about complementary therapies argued that lack of scientific evidence of effectiveness prohibited the need for greater complementary therapy knowledge or service provision within the NHS. Alongside their expectations, patients and parents expressed realistic views about facilitators and barriers to greater access.

Conclusions  While health service planners and providers often express reservations about the value of complementary therapies, it is important to take patients’ preferences into account if policy discourses regarding patient‐centred care and choice are to be realized in practice.
BUREAU SHUFFLING? THE REVIEW OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Authors: KNOX COLIN , CARMICHAEL PAUL
Published: November 2006

The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998 resulted in the return of devolved government to Northern Ireland and, with it, a decision by the Executive and Assembly to conduct a radical review of public administration. The review is now reaching its final stages and this paper considers the likely outcomes. It both argues that the parameters of the review will limit its impact and describes the reform proposals as either structural changes or administrative rationalization, both devoid of a wider modernizing approach to improving public services. In Northern Ireland, the on/off nature of devolution could result in ‘one of the major tasks for devolved government’ (according to the Northern Ireland Executive) being implemented by Direct Rule ministers.
THE ENTERPRISE FORMULA, NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND THE ITALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: REMEDY OR CONTAGION?
Authors: MATTEI PAOLA
Published: November 2006

Health care services represent an extraordinary experimental ground for introducing wider political and institutional transformations of the state. The adoption of entrepreneurialism into European health care systems has strengthened technocratic decision making over traditional mechanisms of political control. In Italy, in the midst of a severe legitimacy crisis affecting the administrative and political systems at the beginning of the 1990s, New Public Management ideas seemed ‘the’ remedy against the pathological politicization of distributive politics. Much hope has been placed since in a new and ascending group of general managers, entrusted with the ambitious mission of running health care services more efficiently and with the unenviable expectation of resuscitating public trust in welfare institutions. By analysing the 1992 Amato government’s landmark health care reform in its substantive changes, this paper explores the last decade’s main reform trajectories of Italian health care reforms that irreversibly transformed its institutional arrangements and organizational structure, namely the enterprise formula and the regionalization of the health care sector. The paper suggests that the political turmoil of 1992–94 served as catalyst for radical policy change and argues that the single most important explanation for the enactment of New Public Management‐type reforms rests in a new executive reinterpretation of its legislative prerogatives and function.
Effect of Human Disturbance on Bee Communities in a Forested Ecosystem
Authors: WINFREE RACHAEL , GRISWOLD TERRY , KREMEN CLAIRE
Published: November 2006

Abstract: It is important for conservation biologists to understand how well species persist in human‐dominated ecosystems because protected areas constitute a small fraction of the Earth's surface and because anthropogenic habitats may offer more opportunities for conservation than has been previously thought. We investigated how an important functional group, pollinators (bees; Hymenoptera: Apiformes), are affected by human land use at the landscape and local scales in southern New Jersey (U.S.A.). We established 40 sites that differed in surrounding landscape cover or local habitat type and collected 2551 bees of 130 species. The natural habitat in this ecosystem is a forested, ericaceous heath. Bee abundance and species richness within forest habitat decreased, not increased, with increasing forest cover in the surrounding landscape. Similarly, bee abundance was greater in agricultural fields and suburban and urban developments than in extensive forests, and the same trend was found for species richness. Particular species groups that might be expected to show greater sensitivity to habitat loss, such as floral specialists and bees of small or large body size, did not show strong positive associations with forest habitat. Nevertheless, 18 of the 130 bee species studied were positively associated with extensive forest. One of these species is a narrow endemic that was last seen in 1939. Our results suggest that at least in this system, moderate anthropogenic land use may be compatible with the conservation of many, but not all, bee species.
Factor Structure of the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire Under Neutral Conditions and During a Cue‐elicited Urge State
Authors: MacKillop James
Published: November 2006

Background: The Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ) is a promising multi‐item measure of self‐reported urges to drink in human laboratory studies; however, its factor structure has not been examined during an acute urge state. This study sought to validate the AUQ's factor structure under neutral conditions and during a cue‐elicited urge state in heavy drinkers.

Methods: Participants (248 heavy drinkers; 70% male) completed the AUQ, the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS), and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) under neutral conditions. A randomly selected subsample (n=61; 74% male) then underwent a multimodal alcohol cue exposure and completed the AUQ and PANAS a second time.

Results: Under neutral conditions, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) replicated the previously reported single‐factor structure, on which all items significantly loaded (p<0.001). Alcohol urges, as measured by the AUQ, exhibited significant positive associations with drinks per week and severity of dependence. Following the alcohol cue exposure, participants exhibited a significant increase in urge on the AUQ. Confirmatory factor analysis of the AUQ during the cue‐elicited urge state also supported the single factor structure, on which all items significantly loaded (p<0.001). Positive and negative affect were positively associated with urges across the experimental protocol, but at greater magnitudes during an acutely elevated urge state.

Conclusions: These results further validate the use of the AUQ for real‐time measurement of alcohol craving in human laboratory research.
Preemptive Analgesia in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Karaaslan Dilek , Sıvacı Remziye Gül , Akbulut Gökhan , Dilek Osman Nuri
Published: November 2006

Abstract:  In pain control after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, subhepatic administration of bupivacaine immediately after the creation of pneumoperitoneum has been shown to be more effective than administration before the withdrawal of the trocars. We aimed to investigate the effect of intraperitoneal bupivacaine administration to the subhepatic area before the creation of the pneumoperitoneum. Eighty patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia were included in a prospective, randomized study. Patients received 20 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine in the subhepatic area just after intubation, before pneumoperitoneum (group 1), immediately after the creation of the pneumoperitoneum (group 2), just before the removal of the trocars (group 3), or received no local anesthetic (group 4). The degree of the postoperative pain was assessed at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after the surgery. The consumption of analgesics (diclofenac sodium) was also recorded. The pain scores and analgesic consumption did not differ among groups 1, 3, and 4. The pain scores of group 2 were lower at each time point compared to the other groups (P < 0.001). Postoperative analgesic consumption in group 2 was reduced compared to the other groups (23.4 ± 35.9 mg vs. 80.0 ± 66.3 mg, P = 0.005 [group 1], 69.6 ± 62.2 mg, P = 0.026 [group 3], and 70.0 ± 59.9 mg, P = 0.022 [group 4]). The subhepatic infiltration of 20 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine offers good postoperative analgesia when applied just after the creation of the pneumoperitoneum, not before the pneumoperitoneum or after the termination of the pneumoperitoneum.