bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic review of early intervention programmes for children from birth to nine years who have a physical disability
Authors: Ziviani Jenny , Feeney Rachel , Rodger Sylvia , Watter Pauline
Published: April 2010

Aim:  To systematically review the literature on the effectiveness of early intervention programmes for children with physical disabilities.

Methods:  Twelve electronic databases were searched for articles published between 1990 and April 2008. The quality of articles was appraised using an adapted version of the Checklist for the Evaluation of Research Articles and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale.

Results:  Ten studies were included in the review. Cross‐sectional and interrupted time‐series studies were of moderate methodological quality, whereas the non‐randomised control trial was of moderate‐to‐high methodological quality. Studies differed considerably with respect to participants, types of intervention and outcomes measured.

Conclusions:  Positive outcomes for both children and families have resulted from early intervention. However, methodological limitations hamper a more rigorous analysis of findings across studies.
Considerations for occupational therapy assessment for Indigenous children in Australia
Authors: Thorley Michelle , Lim Sok Mui
Published: April 2010

Background:  To date, the literature specifically relating to occupational therapy assessment of Australian Indigenous children is lacking. This article aims to present occupational therapists with practice guidelines for conducting assessments with primary school‐aged Indigenous children in Australia. It highlights key considerations to be made prior to assessment, reviews potentially culturally relevant assessment tools and discusses key principles to guide assessment practice.

Method:  A literature review was carried out with the aim of investigating: (i) Australian Indigenous culture in relation to health and paediatric development; (ii) current practices for assessment with Australian Indigenous children; and (c) paediatric assessment tools and their potential use with Australian Indigenous children.

Results:  Research relating to specific assessments does highlight some pertinent points about their use with children from non‐Western cultures.

Conclusions:  Conducting culturally relevant assessment requires a combination of the right tools, an adaptive approach to both understanding and conducting assessments and, above all, an appreciation that each child is unique.
Climate change: The implications for child health in Australasia
Authors: Hosking Jamie , Jones Rhys , Percival Teuila , Turner Nikki , Ameratunga Shanthi
Published: April 2010

Children are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of climate change, the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. However, the worst effects on child health can be avoided, and well‐designed climate policies can have important benefits for child health and equity. We call on child health professionals to seize opportunities to prevent climate change, improve child health and reduce inequalities, and suggest useful actions that can be taken.
Potential child‐bearing donors
Authors: Mackie Fiona
Published: April 2010

Date written: June 2007

Final submission: October 2008
Donors at risk: proteinuria
Authors: Boudville Neil , Kanellis John
Published: April 2010

Date written: Jan 2008

Final submission: June 2008
Donors at risk: haematuria
Authors: Ierino Frank , Kanellis John
Published: April 2010

Date written: August 2008

Final submission: December 2008
Donors at risk: hypertension
Authors: Ierino Frank , Boudville Neil , Kanellis John
Published: April 2010

Date written: August 2008

Final submission: April 2009
Natural history and progression of atherosclerotic renal vascular stenosis
Authors: Kumar Subramanian Karthik , MacGinley Robert , Mantha Murty , Mount Peter , Roberts Matthew , Mangos George
Published: April 2010

Date written: December 2008

Final submission: October 2009
Screening tests for diagnosis of renal artery stenosis
Authors: Mantha Murty , Kumar Subramanian Karthik , MacGinley Robert , Mount Peter , Roberts Matthew , Mangos George
Published: April 2010

Date written: December 2008

Final submission: June 2009
Role of distal protection devices
Authors: Roberts Matthew , Kumar Subramanian Karthik , MacGinley Robert , Mantha Murty , Mount Peter , Mangos George
Published: April 2010

Date written: November 2008

Final submission: August 2009
Inhibition of the renin–angiotensin system
Authors: Mount Peter , Kumar Subramanian Karthik , MacGinley Robert , Mantha Murty , Roberts Matthew , Mangos George
Published: April 2010

Date written: December 2008

Final submission: August 2009
Timing of referral of chronic kidney disease patients to nephrology services (adult)
Authors: Luxton Grant
Published: April 2010

Date written: July 2008

Final submission: February 2009
Ethical considerations
Authors: Kainer Gad , Fetherstonhaugh Deirdre
Published: April 2010

Date written: July 2008

Final submission: October 2008
Coronary artery, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular disease
Authors: Pedagogos Eugenie
Published: April 2010

Date written: December 2008

Final submission: March 2009
Quality of life
Authors: Madhan Krishan
Published: April 2010

Date written: April 2008

Final submission: August 2009
Nutritional management of anaemia in adult kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Chadban Steven , Chan Maria , Fry Karen , Patwardhan Aditi , Ryan Catherine , Trevillian Paul , Westgarth Fidye
Published: April 2010

Date written: June 2008

Final submission: June 2009
Nutritional management of hypophosphataemia in adult kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Chadban Steven , Chan Maria , Fry Karen , Patwardhan Aditi , Ryan Catherine , Trevillian Paul , Westgarth Fidye
Published: April 2010

Date written: June 2008

Final submission: June 2009
Nutritional management of dyslipidaemia in adult kidney transplant recipients
Authors: Chadban Steven , Chan Maria , Fry Karen , Patwardhan Aditi , Ryan Catherine , Trevillian Paul , Westgarth Fidye
Published: April 2010

Date written: June 2008

Final submission: June 2009
The clinical significance of urine cytology after a radical cystectomy for urothelial cancer
Authors: Yoshimine Shunsuke , Kikuchi Eiji , Matsumoto Kazuhiro , Ide Hiroki , Miyajima Akira , Nakagawa Ken , Oya Mototsugu
Published: April 2010

Objectives:  To evaluate the impact of urine cytology on the prediction of the upper urinary tract recurrence (UTR) of urothelial cancer after a radical cystectomy (RC) with urinary diversion.

Methods:  A total of 125 patients who underwent RC from 1987 to 2005 were retrospectively identified. The median follow‐up period was 64 months. The specimens for urine cytology were obtained from the urine voided or obtained through a catheter or a conduit. The relationship between a positive urine cytology result and UTR detection was determined.

Results:  UTR was diagnosed in eight patients (6.4%) at a median follow‐up of 63.3 months. The overall rate of a positive urine cytology result was 12.3% for the urine in an ileal conduit, 18.8% in a continental reservoir and 10.5% in an orthotopic neobladder. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the urine cytology for the detection of UTR were 75.0% and 90.6%, respectively. However, UTR could be diagnosed earlier by using urinary cytology, rather than by radiological examinations and/or related symptoms in only 5.9% (1/17 positive urine cytology) of cases. Eleven (64.7%) of 17 patients with positive urine cytology were false positive and eight (72.7%) of the 11 patients with no UTR had a positive urine cytology result only once.

Conclusions:  Urine cytology after RC was not a potent screening tool for the early detection of UTR because of the difficulty in distinguishing the cancer cells from degenerated intestinal epithelial cells in the urinary diversion urine.
Clinical effect of naftopidil on the quality of life of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia: A prospective study
Authors: Komiya Akira , Suzuki Hiroyoshi , Awa Yusuke , Egoshi Ken‐ichi , Onishi Tetsuro , Nakatsu Hiroomi , Ohki Takemasa , Mikami Kazuo , Sato Naohide , Araki Kazuhiro , Ota Sho , Naya Yukio , Ichikawa Tomohiko
Published: April 2010

Objectives:  To investigate the benefit of α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist naftopidil on the quality of life (QOL) of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH/LUTS).

Methods:  A total of 99 men with BPH/LUTS were prospectively recruited. The Short Form‐8 (SF‐8) was used for generic QOL assessment and each parameter was compared with the norm in these patients. Longitudinal changes were evaluated using the SF‐8 and the International Prostatic Symptoms Score (I‐PSS) at baseline, 4 and 8 weeks after naftopidil administration. The relationship between SF‐8 and I‐PSS was analyzed.

Results:  Five of eight components in the SF‐8 were significantly lower than the Japanese national norm at baseline. SF‐8 score was improved by naftopidil at 4 and 8 weeks in general health (GH) and physical component summary (PCS) in the patients in their 70s. Mental health (MH) and mental component summary (MCS) were improved at 8 weeks in patients in their 60s. When analyzing the whole cohort, SF‐8 GH, role emotional (RE) and MH had improved at 8 weeks, which was similar to the norm, and bodily pain (BP) results were better. Compared with the baseline, total I‐PSS, storage/voiding symptoms and QOL index scores improved significantly under naftopidil. Each component of I‐PSS (except for hesitancy) correlated with SF‐8 sub‐scales (except for BP) to some extent.

Conclusions:  BPH/LUTS impairs generic QOL, which is improved by naftopidil treatment. SF‐8 can be a useful instrument to assess the efficacy of BPH/LUTS treatment because its simplicity to complete and analyze, and its meaningful relationship to I‐PSS.
Expression‐based identification of genetic determinants of the bacterial symbiosis ‘Chlorochromatium aggregatum’
Authors: Wenter Roland , Hütz Katharina , Dibbern Dörte , Li Tao , Reisinger Veronika , Plöscher Matthias , Eichacker Lutz , Eddie Brian , Hanson Thomas , Bryant Donald A. , Overmann Jörg
Published: April 2010

The phototrophic consortium ‘Chlorochromatium aggregatum’ is a highly structured association of green sulfur bacterial epibionts surrounding a central, motile bacterium and is the most specific symbiosis currently known between two phylogenetically distinct bacterial species. Genes and gene products potentially involved in the symbiotic interaction were identified on the genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic level. As compared with the 11 available genomes of free‐living relatives, only 186 open reading frames were found to be unique to the epibiont genome. 2‐D differential gel electrophoresis (2‐D DIGE) of the soluble proteomes recovered 1612 protein spots of which 54 were detected exclusively in consortia but not in pure epibiont cultures. Using mass spectrometry analyses, the 13 most intense of the 54 spots could be attributed to the epibiont. Analyses of the membrane proteins of consortia, of consortia treated with cross‐linkers and of pure cultures indicated that a branched chain amino acid ABC‐transporter binding protein is only expressed in the symbiotic state of the epibiont. Furthermore, analyses of chlorosomes revealed that an uncharacterized 11 kDa epibiont protein is only expressed during symbiosis. This protein may be involved in the intracellular sorting of chlorosomes. Application of a novel prokaryotic cDNA suppression subtractive hybridization technique led to identification of 14 differentially regulated genes, and comparison of the transcriptomes of symbiotic and free‐living epibionts indicated that 328 genes were differentially transcribed. The three approaches were mostly complementary and thereby yielded a first inventory of 352 genes that are likely to be involved in the bacterial interaction in ‘C. aggregatum’. Notably, most of the regulated genes encoded components of central metabolic pathways whereas only very few (7.5%) of the unique ‘symbiosis genes’ turned out to be regulated under the experimental conditions tested. This pronounced regulation of central metabolic pathways may serve to fine‐tune the symbiotic interaction in ‘C. aggregatum’ in response to environmental conditions.
Linking Local Government Discretion and Accountability in Decentralisation
Authors: Yilmaz Serdar , Beris Yakup , Serrano‐Berthet Rodrigo
Published: April 2010

Decentralisation offers significant opportunities to improve government accountability by exerting stronger pressures both from below (demand) and above (supply). The literature contains many examples, however, where the potential has not been realised, partly because decentralisation reforms have often been introduced without thinking through their accountability implications. Even when accountability is taken into account, the efforts tend to emphasise either the supply or the demand side of the equation, but not both. Drawing on the sets of literature on fiscal, administrative and political decentralisation, this article presents a methodology for studying this.
Institutional Diversity and Performance in African Cotton Sectors
Authors: Tschirley David L. , Poulton Colin , Gergely Nicholas , Labaste Patrick , Baffes John , Boughton Duncan , Estur Gérald
Published: April 2010

This article analyses the performance of cotton sectors across East, Southern, and West Africa, paying particular attention to the wide diversity of institutional arrangements that they now exhibit. It finds strong support for earlier contentions regarding trade‐offs between competition and coordination, and between the roles of public and private sectors. New insights provide concrete and context‐specific guidance to policy‐makers and stakeholders regarding the key challenges they will face and the risks they will need to manage as they work to improve productivity and ensure an equitable division of benefits within cotton sectors.
‘Practice without theory’: a neuroanthropological perspective on embodied learning
Authors: Downey Greg
Published: April 2010

This paper, drawing on research on skill acquisition and sports training, asks two questions. First, how does the mimetic channel function and thus limit what can be acquired by bodily enculturation? Second, given that it was acquired through imitation, what must be the nature of the resulting bodily knowledge? These questions are addressed through a close examination of movement education, especially its neurological, psychological, and interactional dynamics in the Afro‐Brazilian art capoeira. The study of embodied knowledge and its development in bodily practices suggests that gaining bodily skills requires more than ‘knowledge’, involving changes in physiology, perception, comportment, and behaviour patterns in unsystematic, diverse modes. Embodied knowledge from this perspective appears more complex, less systematic or susceptible to structural account, than typically modelled.

À partir de travaux sur l’acquisition de compétences et l’entraînement sportif, l’article pose deux questions. D’une part, comment fonctionne le canal mimétique, et comment limite‐t‐il ce qui peut être acquis par une enculturation corporelle ? D’autre part, sachant que l’apprentissage s’est fait par imitation, quelle peut être la nature des connaissances corporelles en résultant ? Ces questions sont abordées par le biais d’un examen attentif de l’éducation au mouvement, et notamment de sa dynamique neurologique, psychologique et interactive, dans l’art afro‐brésilien de la capoeira. L’étude des connaissances incorporées et de leur développement dans les pratiques corporelles suggère que l’acquisition de compétences physiques nécessite plus que des « connaissances » et implique des changements physiologiques, perceptifs et comportementaux de nature diverse et non systématique. De ce point de vue, les connaissances incorporées semblent plus complexes, moins systématiques ou susceptibles de faire l’objet d’un compte‐rendu structural, que dans les modèles classiques.
The craft of skilful learning: Kazakh women's everyday craft practices in western Mongolia
Authors: Portisch Anna Odland
Published: April 2010

In western Mongolia, Kazakh women make a range of embroidered and felt textiles for the home. This paper focuses on these women's everyday craft practices and the transmission of their craft knowledge to future generations. I consider embodied ways of conveying notions of good practice and quality, and how women are inspired by and learn in dialogue with their social and material environment. I focus on the detail of producing a Kazakh felt carpet (syrmaq) in order to consider the types of orientations and reflections that are involved in this process, and the relationship between reflection and practice.

Les femmes kazakhes de l’Ouest de la Mongolie réalisent divers ouvrages textiles brodés et feutrés pour leur maison. Le présent article est consacré aux pratiques artisanales quotidiennes de ces femmes et à leur transmission aux générations futures. L’auteur examine les modes incorporés de transmission des notions de bonnes pratiques et de qualité, et la façon dont les femmes sont inspirées par leur environnement social et matériel, apprenant dans un dialogue avec celui‐ci. Elle se concentre sur les détails de la fabrication d’un tapis en feutre kazakh (syrmaq), pour examiner les types d’orientations et de réflexions intervenant dans ce processus ainsi que les relations entre réflexion et pratique.
Embodied cognition and communication: studies with British fine woodworkers
Authors: Marchand Trevor H.J.
Published: April 2010

The approach to embodied cognition and communication presented in this study of carpentry practices among English woodwork tutors and trainees is an agent‐centred one. I describe the cognitive operations that make possible both the enactment and the understanding of practice by focusing on the way that received somatic information is ‘interpreted’from the body. It is proposed that the flow of human movement, like the stream of words in an utterance, is segmentable, in that it can be broken down into component actions, gestures, and postures that unfold dynamically in space and time. The point of my argument is that physical practice communicates, and therefore, like language, its component elements can be parsed by an observing party and acquired as mental representations by his or her motor domains of cognition. Motor representations yield embodied simulations of actions, or they can be systematically re‐combined, with the effect of producing physical imitation or novel articulations of knowledge‐in‐practice. Notably the compositional nature of mental representations underlies the ongoing and novel production of knowledge.

La présente étude des pratiques de la charpenterie chez les formateurs et apprentis anglais adopte une approche de la cognition et de la communication incorporées centrée sur les agents. L’auteur décrit les opérations cognitives qui permettent à la fois la réalisation et la compréhension de la pratique en se concentrant sur la manière dont les informations somatiques reçues sont « interprétées »à partir du corps. Il suggère que le flux des mouvements humains, comme le flux des mots d’un énoncé, peut être segmenté en actions, gestes et postures élémentaires qui se déploient de façon dynamique dans l’espace et le temps. L’argumentation vise à exposer que la pratique physique est un mode de communication et que, comme le langage, ses composants élémentaires peuvent être analysés par un observateur et acquis sous la forme de représentations mentales par ses domaines moteurs de cognition. Les représentations motrices produisent des simulations incorporées des actions ou peuvent être systématiquement recombinées de façon à produire des imitations physiques ou de nouvelles organisations des savoirs dans la pratique. On remarquera que la nature compositionnelle des représentations mentales sous‐tend la production permanente de nouvelles connaissances.
Footprints through the weather‐world: walking, breathing, knowing
Authors: Ingold Tim
Published: April 2010

This essay investigates the relation between becoming knowledgeable, walking along, and the experience of weather. It begins by exploring the meaning of ground. Far from being uniform, homogeneous, and pre‐prepared, the ground is variegated, composite, and undergoes continuous generation. Moreover, it is apprehended in movement rather than from fixed points. Making their way along the ground, people create paths and tracks. These are made, however, through the impression of footprints rather than gestural inscription. As footprints are made in soft ground rather than stamped on a hard surface, their temporality is bound to the dynamics of its formation. These dynamics are a function of the weather, and of reactions across the interface between earth and air. Breathing with every step they take, wayfarers walk at once in the air and on the ground. This walking is itself a process of thinking and knowing. Thus knowledge is formed along paths of movement in the weather‐world.

Le présent essai étudie la relation entre l’acquisition de connaissances, la déambulation et la perception du temps qu’il fait. Pour commencer, il explore la signification du sol. Loin d’être uniforme, homogène et préparé, le sol est divers, composite et en recréation constante. Il est en outre appréhendé en mouvement plutôt qu’à partir de points fixes. En marchant sur le sol, les gens créent des pistes et des chemins. Ceux‐ci sont produits par des traces de pas plutôt que par un geste d’inscription. Dès lors que ces empreintes s’inscrivent dans un sol meuble au lieu d’être imprimées sur une surface dure, leur temporalité est liée à la dynamique de leur formation, qui dépend elle‐même du temps qu’il fait et des réactions à l’interface entre la terre et l’air. En respirant à chaque pas, les marcheurs déambulent à la fois dans l’air et sur terre. Marcher est donc en soi un processus de réflexion et de connaissance. C’est ainsi que le savoir naît le long des chemins de déplacement traversant le monde des éléments.
Unconscious culture and conscious nature: exploring East Javanese conceptions of the person through Bourdieu's lens
Authors: Retsikas Konstantinos
Published: April 2010

Though staging an imaginary dialogue between French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and East Javanese informants, the paper explores anthropological processes of knowledge‐making regarding the roots of social domination. The employment of an explicitly comparative framework is undertaken with the aim of revealing the frontier areas and outer limits of knowledge production and of cross‐cultural translation in general. At the same time, it engages with ‘indigenous’ ways of knowing that emphasize embodied subjectivity and sensorial inter‐involvement with others and the ambient world, and that posit the assumption that being a particular person and acting in a specific way are closely connected.

Par la mise en scène d’un dialogue imaginaire entre le sociologue français Pierre Bourdieu et des informateurs javanais de l’Est, l’article explore les processus anthropologiques de production de connaissances concernant les racines de la domination sociale. L’emploi d’un cadre explicitement comparatif a pour but de révéler les zones frontières et les limites extérieures de la production de connaissances et de la traduction interculturelle en général. Dans le même temps, l’auteur aborde les modes de connaissance « autochtones » qui mettent l’accent sur la subjectivité incorporée et les engagements sensoriels mutuels avec les autres et avec le monde environnant, et qui posent l’hypothèse qu’une personne donnée et une manière spécifique d’agir sont étroitement liées.
Anthropology of knowledge
Authors: Cohen Emma
Published: April 2010

Explanatory accounts of the emergence, spread, storage, persistence, and transformation of knowledge face numerous theoretical and methodological challenges. This paper argues that although anthropologists are uniquely positioned to address some of these challenges, joint engagement with relevant research in neighbouring disciplines holds considerable promise for advancement in the area. Researchers across the human and social sciences are increasingly recognizing the importance of conjointly operative and mutually contingent bodily, cognitive, neural, and social mechanisms informing the generation and communication of knowledge. Selected cognitive scientific work, in particular, is reviewed here and used to illustrate how anthropology may potentially richly contribute not only to descriptive and interpretive endeavours, but to the development and substantiation of explanatory accounts also.

Les comptes‐rendus portant sur l’émergence, la diffusion, la conservation, la persistance et la transformation des connaissances se heurtent à de nombreuses difficultés théoriques et méthodologiques. Bien que les anthropologues soient particulièrement bien placés pour affronter ces défis, des progrès considérables pourraient être réalisés en la matière dans le cadre d’une approche conjointe avec des disciplines voisines menant des recherches connexes. Les adeptes du décloisonnement des sciences humaines et sociales reconnaissent de plus en plus l’importance des interactions et interdépendances entre mécanismes physiques, cognitifs, neurologiques et sociaux dans la production et la communication des connaissances. Des travaux scientifiques choisis, en matière de cognition en particulier, sont examinés et utilisés pour illustrer la manière dont l’anthropologie pourrait apporter une riche contribution non seulement aux tâches descriptives et interprétatives, mais aussi à l’élaboration et la mise à l’épreuve de comptes‐rendus explicatifs.
A numerical method for factorizing the rational spectral density matrix
Authors: Hosoya Yuzo , Takimoto Taro
Published: April 2010

Improving Rozanov (1967, Stationary Random Processes. San Francisco: Holden‐day.)’s algebraic‐analytic solution to the canonical factorization problem of the rational spectral density matrix, this article presents a feasible computational procedure for the spectral factorization. We provide numerical comparisons of our procedure with the Bhansali's (1974, Journal of the Statistical Society,B36, 61.) and Wilson's (1972 SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics,23, 420) methods and illustrate its application in estimation of invertible MA representation. The proposed procedure is usefully applied to linear predictor construction, causality analysis and other problems where a canonical transfer function specification of a stationary process in question is required.
Brahms and thePrinciple ofDestabilisedBeginnings
Authors: Mcclelland Ryan
Published: April 2010

Despite the considerable research on moment‐to‐moment motivic development in Brahms's instrumental music, surprisingly few studies emphasise global thematic processes which involve transformations of initially destabilised thematic material. After placing Brahms's destabilised beginnings in the context of earlier nineteenth‐century works, the article explores several pieces with destabilised beginnings in order to demonstrate Brahms's range of techniques for tonal and rhythmic‐metric destabilisation, strategies used to maintain destabilisation at preliminary thematic returns and the relationships between destabilised beginnings and their eventual stabilised form. Tonal destabilisation subsumes several related and somewhat overlapping techniques, and the article pursues six which have particular relevance in Brahms's music: (1) stylistically marked chromaticism, (2) unusual dissonance treatment, (3) denial of harmonic or melodic cadence, (4) minimally stable diatonic harmonisation, (5) disjuncture between harmonic function and sonority type and (6) ambiguous establishment of key. The briefer consideration of rhythmic‐metric destabilisation studies dissonance (1) at the level of metre and (2) at some level of hypermetre. The concluding section addresses stylistic and genre‐specific constraints on destabilised beginnings as well as the implications of destabilised beginnings for the analysis of musical form, especially the distinction between rondo and modified sonata designs.
The impacts of the crisis on social security administrations: A review of the findings of an ISSA survey
Authors: Orton Ian
Published: April 2010

This article reviews the findings of a major survey conducted in 2009 by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) on the impacts of the financial and economic crisis on social security administrations. The findings reveal that a majority of administrations have been negatively affected in terms of diminished investment returns on social security funds and reduced contribution income and are challenged by increased expenditure on benefits. In spite of all this, the findings indicate that administrations have reacted to the challenges presented in often proactive and innovative ways. However, challenges still remain. In this regard, the most preoccupying include the possibility of a slow economic recovery involving a protracted labour market crisis and the constraints of depleted financial reserves and reduced fiscal latitude.
The impact of the 2007‐2009 crisis on social security and private pension funds: A threat to their financial soundness?
Authors: Pino Ariel , Yermo Juan
Published: April 2010

Social security and pension funds were affected on an unparalleled scale by the recent financial crisis. They reported massive unrealized investment losses and their governance mechanisms have been challenged, therefore endangering their financial soundness and questioning their capacity to deliver adequate benefits. The year 2009 ended with financial markets recovering, but also with portfolio reallocations and traditional risk management approaches being revisited. Governments have reacted to the crisis and implemented recovery plans that could issue a warning about the mid‐term fiscal situation. Post‐crisis fiscal stress may generate a trade‐off between a re‐establishment of a sound fiscal situation and a reduction in social expenditure. This article analyses the impact of the crisis on social security and pension funds and address all the aforementioned issues.
Connective tissue response to fractionated thermo‐ablative Erbium: YAG skin laser treatment
Authors: Bodendorf M. O. , Willenberg A. , Anderegg U. , Grunewald S. , Simon J. C. , Paasch U.
Published: April 2010

Synopsis

Indications for and prevalence of laser therapies with a fractionated laser beam have risen significantly. However, as of yet, little is known about the underlying molecular changes, especially with respect to dermal extracellular‐matrix remodelling, wound healing and inflammation. This study aimed at the investigation of the connective tissue response of sun‐damaged skin following fractionated laser treatment. Seven patients received a laser therapy on the lateral side of the neck of wrinkles grade III–IV (Glogau scale) using a fractionated thermo‐ablative erbium yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser (2940 nm, BURANE XL; Quantel Derma, Erlangen, Germany). Skin biopsies were taken at baseline from untreated skin, 1 and 6 weeks after laser intervention to investigate hyaluronan (HA), collagen‐I (Coll‐I) and collagen‐III (Coll‐III) remodelling as well as alteration of matrix metalloproteinase 1 expression (MMP‐1). To address this issue, HA synthesizing (HA synthetases, HAS) and degrading (hyaluronidases, HYAL) enzymes were measured at mRNA‐level using a real‐time PCR. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining for HA was performed by using the HA binding protein (HAbP) and for Coll‐I, Coll‐III and MMP‐1 by using monoclonal antibodies. The degree of inflammation was correlated descriptively. Our findings were that at the two examined read out points, HAS and HYAL showed a slight response alluding to HA synthesis under minimal signs of inflammatory reaction. Concordantly, although to a varying degree, an increase in the HA content of the skin after laser treatment could be detected by immunhistochemistry. During remodelling, Coll‐I, Coll‐III and MMP‐1 showed a cyclic course with a peak after 1 week. Conclusively, our results indicate a light alteration of the HA metabolism towards synthesis and a transient collagen neogenesis caused by a single fractionated thermo‐ablative laser skin intervention. Clinical improvement might be attributed to synergistic effects between collagen neogenesis and the water binding capacities of HA and its influence on skin contraction and remodelling.
Chronological ageing of human hair keratin fibres
Authors: Thibaut S. , De Becker E. , Bernard B. A. , Huart M. , Fiat F. , Baghdadli N. , Luengo G. S. , Leroy F. , Angevin P. , Kermoal A. M. , Muller S. , Peron M. , Provot G. , Kravtchenko S. , Saint‐Léger D. , Desbois G. , Gauchet L. , Nowbuth K. , Galliano A. , Kempf J. Y. , Silberzan I.
Published: April 2010

Synopsis

Examination of very long hair (length > 2.4 m) using a large range of evaluation methods including physical, chemical, biochemical and microscopic techniques has enabled to attain a detailed understanding of natural ageing of human hair keratin fibres. Scrutinizing hair that has undergone little or no oxidative aggression – because of the absence of action of chemical agents such as bleaching or dyeing – from the root to the tip shows the deterioration process, which gradually takes place from the outside to the inside of the hair shaft: first, a progressive abrasion of the cuticle, whilst the cortex structure remains unaltered, is evidenced along a length of roughly 1 m onwards together with constant shine, hydrophobicity and friction characteristics. Further along the fibre, a significant damage to cuticle scales occurs, which correlates well with ceramides and 18‐Methyl Eicosanoic Acid (18‐MEA) decline, and progressive decrease in keratin‐associated protein content. Most physical descriptors of mechanical and optical properties decay significantly. This detailed description of natural ageing of human hair fibres by a fine analysis of hair components and physical parameters in relationship with cosmetic characteristics provides a time‐dependent ‘damage scale’ of human hair, which may help in designing new targeted hair care formulations.
The weak rate of sphingolipid biosynthesis shown by basal keratinocytes isolated from aged vs. young donors is fully rejuvenated after treatment with peptides of a potato hydrolysate
Authors: Popa I. , Abdul‐Malak N. , Portoukalian J.
Published: April 2010

Synopsis

A new study was carried out to bring more information on the effect of the potato proteins ferment. Basal keratinocytes obtained from freshly excised skin samples of two groups of five donors, a young one (25–36‐year‐old) and an aged one (59–70‐year‐old) were established in culture. The results showed a downward trend in the content of all lipid fractions in untreated keratinocytes of aged donors when compared with young ones. We found major differences in the response of keratinocytes to potato proteins ferment treatment between young and old donors. Whereas the lipid content of cells from young donors increased either moderately or actually decreased in some cases in comparison with the untreated controls, the lipid biosynthesis was strongly stimulated in aged donors’ keratinocytes whose lipid contents globally became close to those found in young donors. However, the changes elicited by potato proteins ferment treatment were not seen at the same extent for all lipid classes. Cholesterol content increased up to three‐fold and alpha‐hydroxy fatty acids were augmented up to seven‐fold, whereas the increase in normal fatty acids was quite moderate. In sphingolipids labelled by incubation of keratinocytes in culture medium containing [14C]‐serine, ceramides and glucosylceramides in cells from aged donors showed the highest uptake of radioactivity, with somewhat less incorporation in sphingomyelin and gangliosides. Therefore, it seems that potato proteins ferment has a much more potent stimulatory activity on the lipid biosynthesis of basal keratinocytes of aged donors, thereby normalizing the cellular lipid content that obviously decreases along with ageing. Although our results were obtained only with basal keratinocytes in this study, potato proteins ferment could be beneficial to maintain an efficient skin barrier in ageing people, provided that the peptides can get through to the basal membrane upon topical application.
Application of substrate curvature method to differentiate drying stresses in topical coatings and human stratum corneum
Authors: Levi K. , Dauskardt R. H.
Published: April 2010

Synopsis

Despite the extensive use of topical coatings in cosmetics, their effect on the mechanical properties of human skin and the perception of skin tightness in the form of drying stresses is not well understood. We describe the application of a recently developed substrate curvature technique to characterize stresses in drying and non‐drying occlusive topical coatings. We then extend the technique to measure the combined effects of the coating applied to human stratum corneum (SC) where the overall drying stresses may have contributions from the coating, the SC and the interaction of the coating with the SC. We show how these separate contributions in the coating and SC layers can be differentiated.
Does infectious disease cause global variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war?
Authors: Letendre Kenneth , Fincher Corey L. , Thornhill Randy
Published: April 2010

Geographic and cross‐national variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war is a subject of great interest. Previous theory on this variation has focused on the influence on human behaviour of climate, resource competition, national wealth, and cultural characteristics. We present the parasite‐stress model of intrastate conflict, which unites previous work on the correlates of intrastate conflict by linking frequency of the outbreak of such conflict, including civil war, to the intensity of infectious disease across countries of the world. High intensity of infectious disease leads to the emergence of xenophobic and ethnocentric cultural norms. These cultures suffer greater poverty and deprivation due to the morbidity and mortality caused by disease, and as a result of decreased investment in public health and welfare. Resource competition among xenophobic and ethnocentric groups within a nation leads to increased frequency of civil war. We present support for the parasite‐stress model with regression analyses. We find support for a direct effect of infectious disease on intrastate armed conflict, and support for an indirect effect of infectious disease on the incidence of civil warviaits negative effect on national wealth. We consider the entanglements of feedback of conflict into further reduced wealth and increased incidence of disease, and discuss implications for international warfare and global patterns of wealth and imperialism.
Thiazolidinedione treatment and constitutive‐PPARγ activation induces ectopic adipogenesis and promotes age‐related thymic involution
Authors: Youm Yun‐Hee , Yang Hyunwon , Amin Raj , Smith Steven R. , Leff Todd , Dixit Vishwa D.
Published: April 2010

Age‐related thymic involution is characterized by reduction in T cell production together with ectopic adipocyte development within the hematopoietic and thymic niches. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is required for adipocyte development, glucose homeostasis and is a target for several insulin‐sensitizing drugs. Our prior studies showed that age‐related elevation of PPARγ expression in thymic stromal cells is associated with thymic involution. Here, using clinically relevant pharmacological and genetic manipulations in mouse models, we provide evidence that activation of PPARγ leads to reduction in thymopoiesis. Treatment of aged mice with antihyperglycemic PPARγ‐ligand class of thiazolidinedione drug, rosiglitazone caused robust thymic expression of classical pro‐adipogenic transcripts. Rosiglitazone reduced thymic cellularity, lowered the naïve T cell number and T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) indicative of compromised thymopoiesis. To directly investigate whether PPARγ activation induces thymic involution, we created transgenic mice with constitutive‐active PPARγ (CA‐PPARg) fusion protein in cells of adipogenic lineage. Importantly, CA‐PPARγ transgene was expressed in thymus and in fibroblast‐specific protein‐1/S100A4 (FSP1+) cells, a marker of secondary mesenchymal cells. The CAPPARγ fusion protein mimicked the liganded PPARγ receptor and the transgenic mice displayed increased ectopic thymic adipogenesis and reduced thymopoiesis. Furthermore, the reduction in thymopoiesis in CA‐PPARγ mice was associated with higher bone marrow adiposity and lower hematopoietic stem cell progenitor pool. Consistent with lower thymic output, CAPPARγ transgenic mice had restricted T cell receptor repertoire diversity. Collectively, our data suggest that activation of PPARγ accelerates thymic aging and thymus‐specific PPARγ antagonist may forestall age‐related decline in T cell diversity.
The effects of Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alone and in combination on damage, inflammation andin vitromotility disturbances in rat colitis
Authors: Jamontt JM , Molleman A , Pertwee RG , Parsons ME
Published: April 2010

Background and purpose: Cannabis is taken as self‐medication by patients with inflammatory bowel disease for symptomatic relief. Cannabinoid receptor agonists decrease inflammation in animal models of colitis, but their effects on the disturbed motility is not known. (‐)‐Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to interact with Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in behavioural studies, but it remains to be established if these cannabinoids interactin vivoin inflammatory disorders.Therefore the effects of CBD and THC alone and in combination were investigated in a model of colitis.

Experimental approach: The 2,4,6‐trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) model of acute colitis in rats was used to assess damage, inflammation (myeloperoxidase activity) andin vitrocolonic motility. Sulphasalazine was used as an active control drug.

Key results: Sulphasalazine, THC and CBD proved beneficial in this model of colitis with the dose–response relationship for the phytocannabinoids showing a bell‐shaped pattern on the majority of parameters (optimal THC and CBD dose, 10 mg·kg−1). THC was the most effective drug. The effects of these phytocannabinoids were additive, and CBD increased some effects of an ineffective THC dose to the level of an effective one. THC alone and in combination with CBD protected cholinergic nerves whereas sulphasalazine did not.

Conclusions and implications: In this model of colitis, THC and CBD not only reduced inflammation but also lowered the occurrence of functional disturbances. Moreover the combination of CBD and THC could be beneficial therapeutically, via additive or potentiating effects.

This article is part of a themed issue on Cannabinoids. To view the editorial for this themed issue visithttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2010.00831.x
Trace amines depress D2‐autoreceptor‐mediated responses on midbrain dopaminergic cells
Authors: Ledonne Ada , Federici Mauro , Giustizieri Michela , Pessia Mauro , Imbrici Paola , Millan Mark J , Bernardi Giorgio , Mercuri Nicola B
Published: April 2010

Background and purpose: Although trace amines (TAs) are historically considered ‘false neurotransmitters’ on the basis of their ability to induce catecholamine release, there is evidence that they directly affect neuronal activity via TA receptors, ligand‐gated receptor channels and/or σ receptors. Here, we have investigated the effects of two TAs, tyramine (TYR) and β‐phenylethylamine (β‐PEA), on electrophysiological responses of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) dopaminergic cells to the D2receptor agonist, quinpirole.

Experimental approach: Electrophysiological recordings of D2receptor‐activated G‐protein‐gated inward rectifier K+channel (GIRK) currents were performed on dopaminergic cells from midbrain slices of mice and on Xenopus oocytes expressing D2receptors and GIRK channels.

Key results: TYR and β‐PEA reversibly reduced D2receptor‐activated GIRK currents in a concentration‐dependent manner on SNpc neurones. The inhibitory effect of TAs was still present in transgenic mice with genetically deleted TA1receptors and they could not be reproduced by the selective TA1agonist, o‐phenyl‐3‐iodotyramine (O‐PIT). Pretreatment with antagonists of σ1 and σ2 receptors did not block TA‐induced effects. In GTPγS‐loaded neurones, the irreversibly‐activated GIRK‐current was still reversibly reduced by β‐PEA. Moreover, β‐PEA did not affect basal or dopamine‐evoked GIRK‐currents in Xenopus oocytes.

Conclusions and implications: TAs reduced dopamine‐induced responses on SNpc neurones by acting at sites different from TA1, σ‐receptors, D2receptors or GIRK channels. Although their precise mechanism of action remains to be identified, TAs, by antagonizing the inhibitory effects of dopamine, may render dopaminergic neurones less sensitive to autoreceptor feedback inhibition and hence enhance their sensitivity to stimulation.
Chemo‐nociceptive signalling from the colon is enhanced by mild colitis and blocked by inhibition of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 channels
Authors: Mitrovic Martina , Shahbazian Anaid , Bock Elisabeth , Pabst Maria A. , Holzer Peter
Published: April 2010

Background and purpose:  Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channels are expressed by primary afferent neurones and activated by irritant chemicals including allyl isothiocyanate (AITC). Here we investigated whether intracolonic AITC causes afferent input to the spinal cord and whether this response is modified by mild colitis, morphine or a TRPA1 channel blocker.

Experimental approach:  One hour after intracolonic administration of AITC to female mice, afferent signalling was visualized by expression of c‐Fos in laminae I–IIo of the spinal dorsal horn at sacral segment S1. Mild colitis was induced by dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) added to drinking water for 1 week.

Key results:  Relative to vehicle, AITC (2%) increased expression of c‐Fos in the spinal cord. Following induction of mild colitis by DSS (2%), spinal c‐Fos responses to AITC, but not vehicle, were augmented by 41%. Colonic inflammation was present (increased myeloperoxidase content and disease activity score), whereas colonic histology, locomotion, feeding and drinking remained unchanged. Morphine (10 mg·kg–1) or the TRPA1 channel blocker HC‐030031 (300 mg·kg–1) inhibited the spinal c‐Fos response to AITC, in control and DSS‐pretreated animals, whereas the response to intracolonic capsaicin (5%) was blocked by morphine but not HC‐030031.

Conclusions and implications:  Activation of colonic TRPA1 channels is signalled to the spinal cord. Mild colitis enhanced this afferent input that, as it is sensitive to morphine, is most likely of a chemonociceptive nature. As several irritant chemicals can be present in chyme, TRPA1 channels may mediate several gastrointestinal pain conditions.
The PI‐PLC inhibitor U‐73122 is a potent inhibitor of the SERCA pump in smooth muscle
Authors: Hollywood MA , Sergeant GP , Thornbury KD , McHale NG
Published: April 2010

In this issue MacMillan and McCarron in 2010 demonstrated that the phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor U‐73122 can potently inhibit Ca2+release from isolated smooth muscle cells independent of its effect on PLC. Their data suggest that the PLC inhibitor can block the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase pump in smooth muscle and cast doubt on the reliability of U‐73122 as the main pharmacological tool to assess the role of the phosphotidyl inositol‐PLC pathway in cellular signalling.

This article is a commentary on MacMillan and McCarron, pp. 1295–1301 of this issue. To view this paper visithttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2010.00771.x