bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Audio–Visual Interactions with Intact Clearly Audible Speech
Authors: Davis Chris , Kim Jeesun
Published: April 2004

The effects of viewing the face of the talker (visual speech) on the processing of clearly presented intact auditory stimuli were investigated using two measures likely to be sensitive to the articulatory motor actions produced in speaking. The aim of these experiments was to highlight the need for accounts of the effects of audio–visual (AV) speech that explicitly consider the properties of articulated action. The first experiment employed a syllable–monitoring task in which participants were required to monitor for target syllables within foreign carrier phrases. An AV effect was found in that seeing a talker's moving face (moving face condition) assisted in more accurate recognition (hits and correct rejections) of spoken syllables than of auditory–only still face (still face condition) presentations. The second experiment examined processing of spoken phrases by investigating whether an AV effect would be found for estimates of phrase duration. Two effects of seeing the moving face of the talker were found. First, the moving face condition had significantly longer duration estimates than the still face auditory–only condition. Second, estimates of auditory duration made in the moving face condition reliably correlated with the actual durations whereas those made in the still face auditory condition did not. The third experiment was carried out to determine whether the stronger correlation between estimated and actual duration in the moving face condition might have been due to generic properties of AV presentation. Experiment 3 employed the procedures of the second experiment but used stimuli that were not perceived as speech although they possessed the same timing cues as those of the speech stimuli of Experiment 2. It was found that simply presenting both auditory and visual timing information did not result in more reliable duration estimates. Further, when released from the speech context (used in Experiment 2), duration estimates for the auditory–only stimuli were significantly correlated with actual durations. In all, these results demonstrate that visual speech can assist in the analysis of clearly presented auditory stimuli in tasks concerned with information provided by viewing the production of an utterance. We suggest that these findings are consistent with there being a processing link between perception and action such that viewing a talker speaking will activate speech motor schemas in the perceiver.
Priming for New Associations in Animacy Decision: Evidence for Context Dependency
Authors: Pecher Diane , Raaijmakers Jeroen G. W.
Published: April 2004

In four experiments we investigated the context-dependent nature of semantic memory by looking at priming effects in animacy decision for newly formed associations. The first experiment investigated whether the priming effect depended on the nature of the prior relation between the word pairs. The results showed no such effect, replicating earlier findings. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 investigated the role of context overlap between study and test. In Experiment 2 priming for new associations was found only for word pairs that had been presented in the animacy decision task during study. Experiment 3 showed that in order to obtain priming effects for new associations these associations have to be studied in a study task that is aimed at unitized processing of the word pair at a semantic level. Experiment 4 showed that processing the pairs as separate words at an orthographic level cancelled the priming effect. The results are explained by assuming that priming results from the overlap of features that are activated during both study and test.
The Difference between Generating Counterexamples and using Them during Reasoning
Authors: Verschueren Niki , Schaeken Walter , De Neys Wim , d'Ydewalle Géry
Published: April 2004

The aim of this article is to provide insight into the types of long-term knowledge that are used for solving causal conditional inferences. Two taxonomies were constructed to map the types of counterexample. The available counterexamples are traditionally probed via a counterexample generation task. We observed that there are some significant differences in the types of counterexample retrieved in the reasoning task versus the generation task. The generation task can be used for predicting answers that sprout from a reasoning process that takes counterexample into account, but some participants use a different reasoning process in which the available semantic information is not used as contrasting evidence. Nonetheless, we found that the results of the generation task validly predicted the proportion of inferences accepted as well as the number of counterexamples used during reasoning.
Irrelevant Sound Disrupts Speech Production: Exploring the Relationship between Short-Term Memory and Experimentally Induced Slips of the Tongue
Authors: Saito Satoru , Baddeley Alan D.
Published: April 2004

To explore the relationship between short-term memory and speech production, we developed a speech error induction technique. The technique, which was adapted from a Japanese word game, exposed participants to an auditory distractor word immediately before the utterance of a target word. In Experiment 1, the distractor words that were phonologically similar to the target word led to a greater number of errors in speaking the target than did the dissimilar distractor words. Furthermore, the speech error scores were significantly correlated with memory span scores. In Experiment 2, memory span scores were again correlated with the rate of the speech errors that were induced from the task-irrelevant speech sounds. Experiment 3 showed a strong irrelevant-sound effect in the serial recall of nonwords. The magnitude of the irrelevant-sound effects was not affected by phonological similarity between the to-be-remembered nonwords and the irrelevant-sound materials. Analysis of recall errors in Experiment 3 also suggested that there were no essential differences in recall error patterns between the dissimilar and similar irrelevant-sound conditions. Weproposed two different underlying mechanisms in immediate memory, one operating via the phonological short-term memory store and the other via the processes underpinning speech production.
Mental model construction in linear reasoning: Evidence for the construction of initial annotated models
Authors: Vandierendonck André , Dierckx Vicky , De Vooght Gino
Published: April 2004

According to the mental model theory, reasoners build an initial model representing the information given in the premises. In the context of relational reasoning, the question arises as to which kind of representation is used to cope with indeterminate or multimodel problems. The present article presents an array of possible answers arising from the initial construction of complete explicit models, partial explicit models, partial implicit models, a single “isomeric” model, or a single annotated model. Predictions generated from these views are tested in two experiments that vary the problem structure and the number of models consistent with the premises. Analyses of the premise processing times, answering times and accuracy show that the annotated model yields the best fit of the data. Implications of these findings for the mental model theory as developed for relational reasoning are discussed.
High‐resolution computed tomography in healthy smokers and never‐smokers: a 6‐year follow‐up study of men born in 1933
Authors: Vikgren J. , Boijsen M. , Andelid K. , Ekberg‐Jansson A. , Larsson S. , Bake B. , TylÉn U.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To elucidate whether emphysematous lesions and other high‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings considered associated with smoking are part of a progressive process, and to measure the extent to which similar changes are found in never‐smokers.

Material and Methods: Healthy smokers and never‐smokers were recruited from a randomized epidemiological study and investigated with a 6‐year interval. Emphysema, parenchymal and subpleural nodules, ground‐glass opacities, bronchial alterations, and septal lines were evaluated in 66 subjects (40 smokers, 11 of whom had stopped smoking in the interval, and 26 never‐smokers). Lung function was tested.

Results: All except emphysematous lesions were present to some extent in never‐smokers. Emphysema, parenchymal nodules, and septal lines occurred significantly more in current smokers, and a progression in extent of emphysema, ground‐glass opacities, bronchial alterations and septal lines was seen. There was no significant change among those who stopped and never‐smokers except for bronchial alterations, which progressed in never‐smokers.

Conclusion: In healthy, elderly never‐smokers a low extent of various HRCT findings has to be considered normal. Emphysema, parenchymal nodules, and ground‐glass opacities are indicative of smoking‐induced disease. Further progress may cease if smoking is stopped.
Treatment of long superficial femoral artery occlusions with excimer laser angioplasty: long‐term results after 48 months
Authors: Wissgott C. , Scheinert D. , Rademaker J. , Werk M. , Schedel H. , Steinkamp H. J.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To evaluate clinical and hemodynamical long‐term results after laser angioplasty of long occlusions of the superficial femoral artery (SFA).

Material and Methods: In a prospective trial of 452 patients with long occlusions of the SFA, excimer percutaneous transluminal laser angioplasty (PTLA) for recanalization was applied. The average occlusion length of the SFA was 25.5 cm (range 16–38 cm). The recanalization attempt was done with the crossover technique in 398 patients, in 36 patients with the antegrade technique and in another 18 patients with the transpopliteal technique.

Results: The application of laser angioplasty demonstrated a successful recanalization of the SFA in 386/452 patients (85.5%). Recanalization with PTLA was not possible in 66 patients (14.5%). The main reason for the unsuccessful PTLAs was obstructing calcified material ( n=28) resistant to PTLA application. After a follow‐up period of 48 months there was a primary, primary‐assisted, and secondary patency rate of 22.3%, 40.9%, and 43.2%, respectively.

Conclusion: Laser angioplasty of long occlusions of the SFA is a feasible procedure with a low failure rate. Long‐term results are promising, but additional interventions are required in most patients if a patency rate of 43.2% is to be achieved after 4 years.
Magnetic resonance imaging of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast: sonographic and pathologic correlation
Authors: Chang Y.‐W. , Lee M. H. , Kwon K. H. , Kim J. H. , Park S. T. , Hwang J. H. , Goo D. E. , Choi D. L. , Lee D. W.
Published: April 2004

Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast is a rare disease. We describe the MRI findings with the correlative sonographic and pathologic features of two cases. On MRI, T2‐weighted images demonstrate a relatively well‐defined mass with high signal intensity cystic components. Dynamic enhancement subtraction images showed an early enhancing and delayed washout peripheral rim and non‐enhancing internal components. A microlobulated, isoechogenic mass with cystic components was seen sonographically, and was histopathology related to necrosis and cystic degeneration. Although these features are not unique, metaplastic carcinoma should be included in the differential diagnosis for breast masses.
Rapid‐sequence phosphorus‐31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the human heart using a 1.5‐T clinical system
Authors: Chida K. , Saito H. , Nagasaka T. , Otani H. , Kohzuki M. , Zuguchi M.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To compare a ‘standard’ slow phosphorus‐31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P‐MRS) sequence with two faster sequences in phantoms and healthy volunteers using a 1.5‐T clinical system.

Material and Methods: Complete 3D localization was performed using a 2D phosphorus chemical‐shift imaging sequence in combination with 30‐mm axial slice‐selective excitation. Two 31P‐MRS rapid sequences (RS8‐4: 8×8 phase‐encoding, with an average of 4 acquisitions, and RS16‐1: 16×16 phase‐encoding, 1 acquisition) were compared with the standard sequence (StdP: 16×16 phase‐encoding, with an average of 8 acquisitions) in phantom and healthy volunteers.

Results: Acquisition time for the 31P‐MRS procedure with StdP, RS8‐4, and RS16‐1 in the healthy volunteer studies ranged from 30 to 45, 3 to 5, and 3 to 5 minutes, respectively. Metabolite measurements of healthy volunteers obtained from 31P‐MRS using RS8‐4 correlated with values obtained using StdP (PCr r2=0.63, P<0.001; ATP r2=0.41, P<0.01 and PCr/ATP ratio r2=0.25, P<0.05). There was no correlation between StdP and RS16‐1 for either ATP or the PCr/ATP ratio ( r2=0.03, P=0.60, and r2=0.11, p=0.26, respectively). Reproducibility (intensity of phosphorus signal) with RS16‐1 was worse than that of RS8‐4 or StdP.

Conclusion:31P‐MRS using RS8‐4 may be a valid diagnostic tool for patients with cardiac diseases.
Pelvic imaging: multicystic uterine cervical lesions. can magnetic resonance imaging differentiate benignancy from malignancy?
Authors: Okamoto Y. , Tanaka Y. O. , Nishida M. , Tsunoda H. , Yoshikawa H.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To evaluate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to differentiate between malignant and benign multicystic uterine cervical lesions.

Material and Methods: Twenty‐two patients with cervical adenocarcinomas, including minimal deviation adenocarcinoma, and five patients with benign multicystic lesions were classified as a percentage of solid components on MRI. Cystic components were further classified by average cyst diameter and signal intensity of the cyst fluid on T1WI.

Results: All nine of the entirely solid lesions were malignant. In contrast, two of the entirely cystic lesions were benign. Ten of the ordinary adenocarcinomas had both solid and cystic components. However, three of the 16 solid and cystic lesions were benign. Lesions composed of cysts smaller than 5 mm tended to be malignant; however, some lesions composed of larger cysts were also malignant. Three of 5 lesions with low‐signal and 7 of 10 with intermediate‐signal fluid were malignant.

Conclusion: The malignancy potential was higher in the lesions with a higher percentage of solid components. However, determining whether multicystic lesions were benign or malignant based on the existence of solid components, the average cyst size, and the signal intensity of cyst fluid was impossible. Although a multicystic lesion with solid components in the deep cervical stroma had been reported as a MR finding of a minimal deviation adenocarcinoma, this does not appear to be pathognomonic.
Magnetic resonance imaging findings and outcome in severe tick‐borne encephalitis. report of four cases and review of the literature
Authors: Marjelund S. , Tikkakoski T. , Tuisku S. , Räisänen S.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of four patients with proven tick‐borne encephalitis (TBE). These are the most northern cases reported from Scandinavia. Experience of turbo fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) has not previously been published in this context.

Material and Methods: The MRI findings of four consecutive patients with TBE treated in our hospital during the year 2002 were evaluated. MRI was done during the first week of illness, and follow‐up scans were available in three cases.

Results: In T2‐weighted and turbo FLAIR images, thalamic hyperintensity was equally evident in three of the four patients. One of them also showed hyperintensity in the left putamen and the internal capsule and another patient in the peduncles and the hypothalamus. T1‐weighted images without contrast were normal in all patients, and leptomeningeal enhancement was detected in only one patient. The two patients who underwent DW images did not show any restricted diffusion. Follow‐up MR images showed no atrophy or necrotic foci, and the signal abnormalities disappeared during 16–34 weeks of follow‐up.

Conclusion: T2‐weighted and turbo FLAIR sequences proved equally effective in detecting and delineating the thalamic, brainstem, and basal ganglia pathologies. According to our results, mechanisms other than cytotoxic edema contribute to the signal pathology. Radiologists should be familiar with the MR findings of TBE even in non‐endemic areas.
Intermittent hepatic artery antibiotic infusion therapy for pyogenic hepatic abscess
Authors: Matoba M. , Tonami H. , Kuginuki M. , Yamamoto I. , Takashima S.
Published: April 2004

Purpose: To study the efficacy and problems associated with intermittent hepatic artery antibiotic infusion therapy for pyogenic hepatic abscess.

Material and Methods: The material comprised eight patients with pyogenic hepatic abscess in whom percutaneous drainage could not be performed and intravenous administration of antibiotics was ineffective. An injection catheter was introduced into the common hepatic artery. Almost the same dose of antibiotics as with intravenous administration was infused intra‐arterially 2–4 times per day.

Results: A therapeutic effect was achieved in six of the eight cases. In these 6 cases, the mean period of intra‐arterial infusion was 10.8 days, while the mean period of catheter placement was 14.7 days. Using broad spectrum antibiotics, the therapeutic effect was obtained regardless of the numbers, morphologic characteristics, and differences in location of the abscesses. No significant complications were noted except in one case of splenic infarction.

Conclusion: Intermittent hepatic artery antibiotic infusion therapy is useful as an alternative therapeutic procedure for pyogenic hepatic abscess in which percutaneous drainage cannot be performed and intravenous administration of antibiotics is ineffective.
Innovation: principles, processes and policy. a review of the contribution of Prometheus in its first 20 years
Authors: Hall Peter
Published: April 2004

This paper reviews the contribution that Prometheus has made over the past 20 years to the literature on innovation, innovation policy and technological change. I offer first a necessarily subjective view of how the research literatures of innovation and innovation policy have developed in recent decades. I then compare that account with an interpretation of the emphases and trends in the corresponding areas in Prometheus. The research literatures involved are vast, located in many specific discipline areas and cross many discipline boundaries. While my ‘home’ discipline is economics I believe much can still be learned from the flexible and imaginative use of economics to frame research inquiry in the innovation area.
Science policy: two views from two decades
Authors: Cozzens Susan
Published: April 2004

Science policy, as the theme appears in Prometheus over the last 20 years, has been represented by discussions of industrial competitiveness. Many comparative articles have appeared under this theme, as well as evaluations of policies aimed at innovation. By the mid‐1980s, articles in Prometheus were tracing the emergence of the knowledge economy, with some of its associated issues. The issue of human resources for the knowledge economy has received scant attention, however, but Prometheus authors have discussed public participation in science policymaking and setting priorities. Finally, authors have noted and analyzed the closer management of Australian science to direct it toward economic ends. Overall, Prometheus has tracked the dominant themes of science policy in other OECD countries well, and also given space to issues that are less prominent but nonetheless important.
T helper cell polarisation as a measure of the maturation of the immune response
Authors: Cameron Scott B. , Stolte Ellen H. , Chow Anthony W. , Savelkoul Huub F. J.
Published: April 2004

Background: T helper cell polarisation is important under chronic immune stimulatory conditions and drives the type of the evolving immune response. Mice treated with superantigens in vivo display strong effects on Th subset differentiation. The aim of the study was to detect the intrinsic capacity of T cells to polarise under various ex vivo conditions.

Methods: Purified CD4+ T cells obtained from superantigen‐treated mice were cultured under Th polarising conditions in vitro. By combining intracellular cytokine staining and subsequent flow cytometric analysis with quantitative cytokine measurements in culture supernatants by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the differential Th polarising capacity of the treatment can be detected in a qualitative and quantitative manner.

Results and conclusions: BALB/c mice were shown to be biased to develop strong Th2 polarised immune responses using Th0 stimulation of purified CD4+ T cells from phosphate‐buffered saline‐treated mice. Nevertheless, our analysis methodology convincingly showed that even in these mice, Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin‐1 treatment in vivo resulted in a significantly stronger Th1 polarising effect than control treatment. Our results indicate that populations of Th cells can be assessed individually for their differential Th1 or Th2 maturation capacity in vivo by analysing robust in vitro polarisation cultures combined with intracellular cytokine staining and ELISA.
Tumour necrosis factor‐α polymorphism as one of the complex inherited factors in pemphigus
Authors: Torzecka Jolanta Dorota , Narbutt Joanna , Sysa-jedrzejowska Anna , Borowiec Maciej , Ptasinska Anetta , Woszczek Grzegorz , Kowalski Marek L.
Published: April 2004

The aim of our study was to analyse a significance of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α promoter gene polymorphisms in relation to the HLA‐DR locus in genetic predisposition to pemphigus. TNF‐α gene polymorphisms in position ‐238 and ‐308 were identified using a modified polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism method in 53 patients with pemphigus (38 with pemphigus vulgaris, 15 with pemphigus foliaceus) and 87 healthy controls. The HLA‐DRB1 locus was typed using the polymerase chain reaction SSO method in all the patients and 152 population controls.

Carriers of the TNF‐α polymorphic ‐308 A allele were found to be more frequent in the pemphigus foliaceus group in comparison with the control group (odds ratio (OR)=8.12; P = 0.0005). A significant association between HLA‐DRB1*04 (OR=3.86; Pcor = 0.0001) and DRB1*14 (OR=8.4; Pcor = 0.0001) and pemphigus vulgaris was found. In this group of patients a decreased frequency of HLA‐DRB1*07 (OR=0.08; Pcor = 0.006) was also identified.

We have shown for the first time a positive association of TNF‐α polymorphism in position ‐308 with pemphigus foliaceus.
Simultaneous measurement of multiple Th1 and Th2 serum cytokines in psoriasis and correlation with disease severity
Authors: Jacob Sharon E. , Nassiri Mehdi , Kerdel Francisco A. , Vincek Vladimir
Published: April 2004

Background: Psoriatic plaques have been shown to contain increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐7, IL‐8, and interferon (IFN)‐γ have been reported elevated in psoriatic patients.

Aim: To evaluate serum cytokine profiles in psoriasis patients by improved enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and to correlate these levels with disease severity.

Methods: We analyzed single serum samples from 10 patients with active untreated psoriasis, two patients with active treated psoriasis, and five healthy volunteers for major T helper type 1 and T helper type 2 cytokines using the LINCOplex ELISA multi‐analyte detection system that permits simultaneous detection of multiple cytokines from a single sample. The disease severity, including erythema, induration, scale, and surface area, was assessed.

Results: IFN‐γ was markedly elevated in all sera from psoriasis patients, 33.8±1.3 pg/ml (mean±standard error) versus 8±1.5 pg/ml for normal controls (P < 0.01), and positively correlated with all indices of disease severity (Spearman r > 0.6). IL‐8 was also increased in psoriasis patients (24.4±1.8 pg/ml) versus normal controls (3.6±1.2 pg/ml) (p < 0.05) and positively correlated with the degree of erythema (Spearman r > 0.6). Mean IL‐12 levels were decreased in sera from psoriasis patients (8.5±1.2 pg/ml) compared with normal controls (42.2±5.3 pg/ml) (P < 0.01). Also, serum IL‐10 levels were below detection levels in psoriatics compared with controls (6.4±1.3 pg/ml).

Conclusions: This new ELISA system allowed rapid and reliable detection of numerous cytokines in single serum samples from patients with psoriasis. We observed that IFN‐γ and IL‐8 cytokines were elevated in psoriatics and correlated with parameters of disease severity while IL‐10 and IL‐12 were decreased.
Stagnation, Liberalization and Foreign Investment in Latin America
Authors: Arbix Glauco , Laplane Mariano
Published: April 2004

Trade and investment policies reform that deepened integration in the world markets implemented by most Latin American countries in the last two decades have failed to deliver high and sustained growth rates as expected. Multilateral institutions, which strongly supported such reforms, now suggest that further market friendly changes are needed to produce the expected results. Drawing on evidence from Brazil, this paper argues that the neoliberal model that impregnated policy reforms in Latin America neglected a crucial political dimension, that is, the role of State in the planning and fostering of development. By weakening national states, liberalization, not only increased vulnerability to external shocks but also stimulated conflict in societies with profound social divisions and fragile institutions. Development requires a dense network of both public and private institutions managing issues related to the asymmetries in access to markets, to capital and to technology. Building such institutions is the critical part of a new agenda for development.
Formation of Vertebral Precursors: Past Models and Future Predictions
Authors: Baker Ruth E. , Schnell Santiago , Maini Philip K.
Published: April 2004

Disruption of normal vertebral development results from abnormal formation and segmentation of the vertebral precursors, called somites. Somitogenesis, the sequential formation of a periodic pattern along the antero‐posterior axis of vertebrate embryos, is one of the most obvious examples of the segmental patterning processes that take place during embryogenesis and also one of the major unresolved events in developmental biology. We review the most popular models of somite formation: Cooke and Zeeman′s clock and wavefront model, Meinhardt′s reaction‐diffusion model and the cell cycle model of Stern and co‐workers, and discuss the consistency of each in the light of recent experimental findings concerning FGF‐8 signalling in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). We present an extension of the cell cycle model to take account of this new experimental evidence, which shows the existence of a determination front whose position in the PSM is controlled by FGF‐8 signalling, and which controls the ability of cells to become competent to segment. We conclude that it is, at this stage, perhaps erroneous to favour one of these models over the others.
Ramsey's theory of National Saving: A Mathematician in Cambridge
Authors: Gaspard Marion
Published: April 2004

In the December 1928 issue of the Economic Journal, Frank Ramsey asked the question “how much of its income should a nation save?” Few of the Cambridge economists of the 1930s were convinced by his highly formalized answer. His contribution sank quickly into oblivion, remaining there for about thirty-five years. In the 1960s, the success of the Hamiltonian formalism and the increasing interest for optimal growth led on the contrary to a quasi “natural” use of Ramsey's former intuitions. These mathematical tools became so widespread that, a few years later, new classical macroeconomics uses a new interpretation of the “à la Ramsey” models, within the setting of representative agent models, in order to bypass the Arrow and Sonnenschein-Mantel-Debreu “impossibility results.” The “à la Ramsey” model is the backbone of modern new classical macroeconomics. It is thus not surprising that these successive moves in macro-economic theory came to foster a slanted interpretation of Ramsey's 1928 article. In this respect, Roger E. A. Farmer's point of view is representative of the retrospective tribute sometimes paid to Ramsey's article:

F. Ramsey was one of the first economists to study how an infinitely lived agent should allocate his resources over time. His work was at the forefront of mathematical economics at the time it was written but his approach has now become a standard part of graduate macroeconomic courses. Many applications of Ramsey's work assume that there is only one agent in the economy and that this representative agent can be thought of as a stand-in for the workings of the market mechanism (Farmer 1993, p. 77).
Wagner's Swedish Students: Precursors of the Middle Way?
Authors: Carlson Benny
Published: April 2004

During the period 1871–1918, Sweden was under the in.uence, in many respects, of intellectual currents emanating from the German Empire. On the plane of economic policy many Swedish social scientists and public debaters were in.uenced by GermanKathedersozialismusand state socialism. In Sweden, as in other countries, this heritage has long been tucked out of view in historical writings, perhaps because there was not much to boast about after the defeat of the “German model” in the First World War.1 Interest has begun to awaken in recent years, however. Leading economists such as Gustav von Schmoller and Adolph Wagner have attracted attention (see e.g., Backhaus 1997) and their in.uence in the United States has been examined (Carlson 1999, Rodgers 1998, and Senn 1997). In Sweden, too, interest in GermanKathedersozialismusand state socialism is rising with respect to its in.uence on social scientists (Wisselgren 2000) and (social democratic) politicians (Karlsson 2001).
Praxeology, Entrepreneurship and the Market Process: A Review of Kirzner's Contribution
Authors: Jakee Keith , Spong Heath
Published: April 2004

It is surely Israel M. Kirzner who has promoted the role of the entrepreneur more than any other author in the second half of the twentieth century. His description of the market process and entrepreneurship in hisCompetition and the Market Process(1973) represents a seminal contribution to Austrian thinking, although it has been slow to catch on in broader circles. As Humberto Barreto argues above, for example, an entrepreneurial role seems to have disappeared from mainstream economics as the theory of the firm progressed (1989, pp. 95–98). The standard core of microeconomics allows little room for entrepreneurial elements, particularly if the latter are defined in terms of uncertainty, intuition, ignorance, and disequilibrium. In light of this intellectual discord and given his recent retirement, it is timely to reconsider Kirzner's unceasing efforts to resurrect the role of the entrepreneur, and especially his effort to reconcile this role with conventional neoclassical approaches.
Socioeconomic and demographic differences in exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at work: the Scania Public Health Survey 2000
Authors: Moussa Kontie M. , Lindström Martin , Östergren P.-O.
Published: April 2004

Background: A study was undertaken to investigate the sociodemographic distribution of workplace exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in a Swedish working population sample. Methods: 8,270 individuals were assessed by questionnaire in the Scania Public Health Survey. The influence of sociodemographic factors on ETS exposure at work was investigated by multivariable regression analysis. Results: Individuals under 25 years old were at highest risk of ETS exposure. Male skilled manual workers and female unskilled manual workers had higher adjusted odds ratios (OR 4.0, 95% CI: 3.1 - 5.3 and OR 3.2, 95% CI: 2.2 - 4.7, respectively) of ETS exposure than non-manual high-level employees. Conclusions: ETS should be recognized as a factor contributing to health inequalities. Women of childbearing age need protective strategies.
Ethics and vaccination
Authors: Krantz Ingela , Sachs Lisbeth , Nilstun Tore
Published: April 2004

Background: Immunization programmes are ethically defensible and society has a significant role to play in providing vaccination against measles and safeguarding herd immunity to optimize its individuals' capabilities. Since preventive actions interfere with individuals who consider themselves as healthy, public health strategies - as distinct from advice in a clinical consultation - require something approaching certainty as to benefits and possible side effects of an intervention. The principle of individual autonomy, a fundamental value in bioethics, often makes discussions covering ethical issues in public health interventions difficult and non-productive as to practical solutions. In encounters intended to provide information on vaccination, discussions regarding risks tend to simplify the issue into an individual one: either the child gets measles or not, or is affected by side effects or not. Method and conclusions: A model is suggested for identification and analysis of the ethical conflicts in measles vaccination programmes, which contains two different dimensions: the affected persons and the relevant ethical principles. Justice as solidarity, not utility, should be paired with autonomy in ethical deliberations on preventive health interventions such as a vaccination programme for measles. If the goal is solidarity rather than conformity, the parents must be free to decide what they think is right, because that is what moral responsibility is all about. Solidarity, however, could never be accepted as an argument without parents trusting the messages from the health institutions and availability of reasonable societal support for those who claim an association between vaccinations and possible side effects.
Socioeconomic health inequalities in Latvia: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Monden Christiaan W. S.
Published: April 2004

Aims: Socioeconomic health differences have been studied elaborately for many Western societies. Relatively little is know about the social variations in health in the former communist states of Eastern Europe. This study investigated socioeconomic health inequalities in Latvia. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis was undertaken of the 1999 Norbalt-II Living Conditions Survey, a random population-based sample in Latvia, and included males and females aged 25 to 70. Results: Lower educated subjects had higher rates of self-assessed poor health than those with tertiary education (men OR 2.21; 1.31 - 3.71 95% CI, and women OR 2.48; 1.74 - 3.54 95% CI). After adjusting for income, educational differences were significant only for women. Income differences were larger than educational differences in self-assessed poor health for both genders (OR of highest vs. lowest quintile for men: 5.10; 2.26 - 11.5 95% CI, women: OR 3.26; 1.92 - 5.51 95% CI). For longstanding health problems socioeconomic differences were smaller. After adjusting for income no educational differences were found, but income differences were significant (men: OR 2.06; 1.15 - 3.69 95% CI, women: OR 1.42; 1.12 - 2.63 95% CI). The economically non-active were in worse health than the (self-)employed subjects (men: OR 6.12; 3.65 - 10.3 95% CI, women: OR 2.79; 1.66 - 3.39 95% CI). Conclusions: Substantial social inequalities in self-assessed poor health and longstanding health problems exist in Latvia for both sexes. Inequalities by material circumstances, as measured by income, appear to be larger than educational differences. Economic activity was also strongly associated with health. There were no inequalities with regard to urbanization and ethnic differences were found only for long-standing health problems among women.
Trends in event rates of first and recurrent, fatal and non-fatal acute myocardial infarction, and 28-day case fatality in the Northern Sweden MONICA area 1985 - 98
Authors: Messner Torbjörn , Lundberg Vivan , Boström Stina , Huhtasaari Fritz , Wikström Bo
Published: April 2004

Aims: This study looks at trends in event rates of first and recurrent fatal and non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and 28-day case fatality in AMI within the Northern Sweden MONICA area. Methods: The AMI event rate and 28-day case fatality in acute myocardial infarction were registered between 1985 and 1998 in the two northernmost counties in Sweden in men and women in the age groups 25 - 64 years. Results: Statistically significant mean annual decreases were found in fatal and non-fatal combined event rates (4% for men and 2.3% for women), fatal event rate (7.1% for men and 5% for women), fatal first acute myocardial infarction (7.1% for men and 4.4% for women), and both non-fatal and fatal recurrent AMI for both sexes (5.5% for both men and women for non-fatal and, for fatal AMI, 7.1% for men and 5.7% for women). In addition, there were significant decreases for men in non-fatal event rate (2.4%), and non-fatal first AMI (1.4%). The decreases in case fatality were small, especially so for women. Conclusions: There is a trend of decreasing event rates in both fatal and non-fatal AMI, and first and recurrent AMI, most pronounced for men. The case fatality also decreased although to a lesser degree, suggesting that the decreasing mortality in ischaemic heart disease mainly is caused by reduced disease incidence.
Cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study Cohort- evaluation of risk factors and their interactions
Authors: Hallmans Göran , Ågren Åsa , Johansson Gerd , Johansson Anders , Stegmayr Birgitta , Jansson Jan-Hakan , Lindahl Bernt , Rolandsson Olle , Söderberg Stefan , Nilsson Mats , Johansson Ingegerd , Weinehall Lars
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this paper is, first, to describe the organization, sampling procedures, availability of samples/database, ethical considerations, and quality control program of the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study Cohort. Secondly, some examples are given of studies on cardiovascular disease and diabetes with a focus on the biomarker programme. The cohort has been positioned as a national and international resource for scientific research.
Varieties of familialism: The caring function of the family in comparative perspective
Authors: Leitner Sigrid
Published: April 2004

This article focuses on the caring function of the family in child care and elderly care and follows a comparative as well as a gender perspective. It aims at developing a gender-sensitive theoretical concept of familialism which allows to identify real world variations of familialism. Four ideal types of familialism are distinguished and care policies in the EU member states are classified according to them. It can be shown that countries cluster differently for different care policies. In addition, structural gender effects of the four ideal types of familialism are reflected upon. The empirical analysis of paid parental leave in nine EU member states gives an example of gendered and de-gendered variants of familialism.
Commodified care work in European Labour Markets
Authors: Ungerson Clare
Published: April 2004

This paper considers the reasons why a form of commodified care work identified as ‘routed wages’ has developed in many European countries over the past decade. These systems, which are often argued for within an empowerment discourse for the care users, are not often considered in terms of their labour market impact. The paper uses empirical data generated in a cross-national qualitative study of care users and their care givers in five European countries (Austria, France, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK) to outline the different ways in which different types of commodified care schemes impact on the labour market. It is suggested that the schemes differ in their labour market impact, depending on whether or not the scheme is regulated, and on the geographic, social and economic contexts within which the scheme is implemented.
Public payment for informal care of disabled children: Some dilemmas of the Norwegian welfare state
Authors: Eriksen John
Published: April 2004

In many societies, responsibility for care functions has been transferred from the family to the welfare state. If this care is extra burdensome, however, it may be compensated by the welfare state by cash payment. Such ‘care wage’ raises several questions regarding family and gender policies, as well as regarding other principles of the modern welfare state in a process of change. This article describes and discusses the Norwegian arrangement of care wage for parental care at home for own disabled children (under the age of 18). It is based on interviews with recipients of care wage (parents) and with social service officers administering care wage. Data show that care wage is associated with several dilemmas of the Norwegian – and Nordic – welfare states. Care wage represents commodification of care and it is most often paid to the mother. Still, it tends to support a traditional gender role pattern, both in regard to care duties at home and as waged labour. This is in contrast to Norwegian family policies intended to enhance gender quality. Although termed wage, care wage is not comparable to payment for work in the regular labour market. Difficulties in determining the proper care wage in each case point to value conflicts as to what are family responsibilities and what are societal responsibilities for care duties. Further, the arrangement of care wage in Norway seems to pay only lip-service self-governance, and questions the autonomy of local government.
The Effect of Roasting Temperature on Ilmenite Particle Rotation Characteristics in a Rotating Magnetic Field
Authors: Allen N. R.
Published: April 2004

Individual ilmenite particle measurements of magnetic susceptibility and magnetic rotation index show that, as ilmenite roast temperatures increase, both the magnetic anisotropy and the coercive force increase. By around 650°C the particles are behaving magnetically, in magnetic fields up to 0.3 T as though they contain magnetic elements with a single unidirectional magnetic axis.The presence of some magnetic field, even that of the earth, during the cooling of ilmenite samples roasted above 500°C may be essential to the magnetising roast process.
Twenty‐first century management rules: the management of relationships as intangible assets
Authors: Galbreath Jeremy
Published: April 2004

As much of the developed world faces a recessionary tide, age‐old questions on the nature of creating and sustaining lasting market value are once again being asked. In the past, questions of market value creation were answered by investing in tangible assets. Today, those same questions are being answered by investing in intangible assets. Intangible assets, such as knowledge, patents, organizational structure, copyrights, information technology, business processes and brand, among others, now constitute the majority of value created by firms today. However, ultimately, businesses are made up of a network of relationships: relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and partners. These “relationship assets” constitute a firm’s most valuable store of capital and their most important intangible assets. The ability to create and sustain maximum market value, therefore, requires a focused set of twenty‐first century management rules. Rules focused on intangible, relationship asset leverage.
An analytical survey of chat reference services
Authors: Francoeur Stephen
Published: April 2004

There has been in recent years a surge of interest about new software products that make it possible for libraries to offer assistance to online users via chat. Such software offers far more interactivity than instant messaging programs and allow for a richer experience for both librarian and user. Surveys chat reference services around the globe and analyzes trends in the provision of this new mode of assistance. Also presents discussion of why chat reference service is gathering attention as well as its limitations and drawbacks.
Virtual service, real data: results of a pilot study
Authors: Kibbee Jo , Ward David , Ma Wei
Published: April 2004

Real‐time online reference holds enormous potential for revolutionizing the way users find and use reference services. By adding interactive help to their online information services, libraries can reach users who may never have sought out the traditional reference desk. Moving from the desk to the desktop, however, can be a daunting prospect. Anxious to try this innovative service, but concerned about a long‐term commitment to expensive software and possible staff reorganization without a clear mandate, the Reference and Undergraduate Libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign launched a pilot project in the spring of 2001. In addition to testing the feasibility of real‐time online service, we attempted to gather as much data as possible to guide in future planning. The results were gratifying: patrons responded enthusiastically, and the data collected provided valuable insights into the use and users of this service.
Hybrid estimation of distribution algorithm for global optimization
Authors: Zhang Qingfu , Sun Jianyong , Tsang Edward , Ford John
Published: April 2004

This paper introduces a new hybrid evolutionary algorithm (EA) for continuous global optimization problems, called estimation of distribution algorithm with local search (EDA/L). Like other EAs, EDA/L maintains and improves a population of solutions in the feasible region. Initial candidate solutions are generated by uniform design, these solutions evenly scatter over the feasible solution region. To generate a new population, a marginal histogram model is built based on the global statistical information extracted from the current population and then new solutions are sampled from the model thus built. The incomplete simplex method applies to every new solution generated by uniform design or sampled from the histogram model. Unconstrained optimization by diagonal quadratic approximation applies to several selected resultant solutions of the incomplete simplex method at each generation. We study the effectiveness of main components of EDA/L. The experimental results demonstrate that EDA/L is better than four other recent EAs in terms of the solution quality and the computational cost.
Application of smoothing techniques to solve the cooling and heating residential load aggregation problem
Authors: Molina A. , Gabaldón A. , Kessler M. , Fuentes J.A. , Gómez E.
Published: April 2004

The main objective of this paper is to obtain the duty‐cycle probability forecast functions of cooling and heating aggregated residential loads. The method consists of three steps: first, the single loads are modelled using systems of stochastic differential equations based on perturbed physical models; second, intensive numerical simulation of the stochastic system solutions is performed, allowing several parameters to vary randomly; and third, smoothing techniques based on kernel estimates are applied to the results to derive non‐parametric estimators, comparing several kernel functions. The use of these dynamical models also allows us to forecast the indoor temperature evolution under any performance conditions. Thus, the same smoothing techniques provide the indoor temperature probability forecast function for a load group. These techniques have been used with homogeneous and non‐homogeneous device groups. Its main application is focused on assessing Direct Load Control programs, by means of comparing natural and forced duty‐cycles of aggregated appliances, as well as knowing the modifications in customer comfort levels, which can be directly deduced from the probability profiles. Finally, simulation results which illustrate the model suitability for demand side – bidding – aggregators in new deregulated markets are presented.