bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic relationships among Palearctic–Oriental starlings and mynas (genera Sturnus and Acridotheres: Sturnidae)
Authors: Zuccon Dario , Pasquet Eric , Ericson Per G. P.
Published: June 2008

We used nuclear and mitochondrial genes to generate a phylogenetic hypothesis for the Palearctic–Oriental starlings and mynas (genera Sturnus, Acridotheres, Leucopsar, Creatophora and Fregilupus: Sturnidae). Our results indicate that the group has undergone a rapid diversification in Asia since the late Miocene. A reassessment of the morphological and ecological characters used in previous taxonomic revisions shows that all characters are highly homoplastic. We suggest that the elevated morphological and ecological plasticity favoured the adaptation of starlings and mynas to the local environment, the exploitation of all niches and their successful radiation in south‐east Asia. Under the current limits the genera Sturnus and Acridotheres are not monophyletic, and we propose a revised phylogenetic taxonomy for the entire clade. We confirm that the extinct Fregilupus varius is a starling and it colonized Réunion Island (Mascarenes) by transoceanic dispersal from Asia.
A new metric for evaluating the correspondence of spatial patterns in vegetation models
Authors: Tang Guoping
Published: June 2008

Aim  To present a new metric, the ‘opposite and identity’ (OI) index, for evaluating the correspondence between two sets of simulated time‐series dynamics of an ecological variable.

Innovation  The OI index is introduced and its mathematical expression is defined using vectors to denote simulated variations of an ecological variable on the basis of the vector addition rule. The value of the OI index varies from 0 to 1 with a value 0 (or 1) indicating that compared simulations are opposite (or identical). An OI index with a value near 0.5 suggests that the difference in the amplitudes of variations between compared simulations is large. The OI index can be calculated in a grid cell, for a given biome and for time‐series simulations. The OI indices calculated in each grid cell can be used to map the spatial agreement between compared simulations, allowing researchers to pinpoint the extent of agreement or disagreement between two simulations. The OI indices calculated for time‐series simulations allow researchers to identify the time at which one simulation differs from another. A case study demonstrates the application and reliability of the OI index for comparing two simulated time‐series dynamics of terrestrial net primary productivity in Asia from 1982 to 2000. In the case study, the OI index performs better than the correlation coefficient at accurately quantifying the agreement between two simulated time‐series dynamics of terrestrial net primary productivity in Asia.

Main conclusions  The OI index provides researchers with a useful tool and multiple flexible ways to compare two simulation results or to evaluate simulation results against observed spatiotemporal data. The OI index can, in some cases, quantify the agreement between compared spatiotemporal data more accurately than the correlation coefficient because of its insensitivity to influential data and outliers and the autocorrelation of simulated spatiotemporal data.
‘Full‐time is a Given Here’: Part‐time Versus Full‐time Job Quality*
Authors: McDonald Paula , Bradley Lisa , Brown Kerry
Published: June 2008

This study explores full‐time workers' understanding of and assumptions about part‐time work against six job quality components identified in recent literature. Forty interviews were conducted with employees in a public sector agency in Australia, a study context where part‐time work is ostensibly ‘good quality’ and is typically long term, voluntary, involving secure contracts (i.e. permanent rather than casual) and having predictable hours distributed evenly over the week and year. Despite strong collective bargaining arrangements as well as substantial legal and industrial obligations, the findings revealed some serious concerns for part‐time job quality. These concerns included reduced responsibilities and lesser access to high status roles and projects, a lack of access to promotion opportunities, increased work intensity and poor workplace support. The highly gendered, part‐time labour market also means that it is women who disproportionately experience this disadvantage. To foster equity, greater attention needs to focus on monitoring and enhancing job quality, regardless of hours worked.
Making Radical Change Happen Through Selective Inclusion and Exclusion of Stakeholders*
Authors: Meyer Christine Benedichte , Stensaker Inger G.
Published: June 2008

The purpose of this paper is to explore how political leaders can gain acceptance for radical reforms through selective inclusion and exclusion of stakeholders. We had inside access to the formulation of a radical reform in the Scandinavian context and found that radical change was not secured through extensive participation, but rather through selective inclusion and exclusion of stakeholders. Change leaders cannot always choose who to include and exclude in participative processes and both proponents and opponents can influence the content in ways that make it less radical. In the context of the public sector, it becomes particularly challenging to gain acceptance for radical reforms because of the influence from multiple stakeholders, many of whom have the right to be included in the process. Based on a study of a Norwegian regulatory reform, we identify five tactics change leaders can use to manage selective inclusion and exclusion. These include deleting stages in the process, including new stakeholders, alternating the process sequence, suppressing issues, and controlling the kind of influence. By consciously including and excluding stakeholders, change leaders can secure that the radicalness of a reform is preserved in the formulation process.
Inside Out? Organizational Membership, Ambiguity and the Ambivalent Identity of the Internal Consultant
Authors: Wright Christopher
Published: June 2008

Changes in organizational structure, roles and technologies have led to an increasing appreciation of the complexities of organizational membership. While a growing literature has focused on this issue with regard to precarious and marginal employees, this paper explores how senior and middle managers in ambiguous roles make sense of their work identity and organizational membership. Based on extensive interviews with human resource and organizational development managers operating as ‘internal consultants’, it is argued that managers in such ambiguous roles seek to develop a preferred identity which balances both organizationally distinctive and inclusive elements. While potentially conflicting, this ambivalent position can also be a source of strength and differentiation, involving claims to structural autonomy and specialist expertise, aligned to an intimate understanding of organizational politics and personalities. Through analysis of the interview data, the paper highlights the boundary dimensions around which managers in internal consulting roles develop such an ambivalent organizational identification, the ways in which distinctive and inclusive aspects of identity are rationalized, and the constraints upon the achievement of a preferred identity as an internal consultant.
Health-Engagement Control Strategies and 2-Year Changes in Older Adults' Physical Health
Authors: Wrosch Carsten , Schulz Richard
Published: June 2008

This study examined the associations between older adults' daily physical symptoms (e.g., chest pain or difficulty breathing) and 2-year changes in chronic health problems (e.g., cardiovascular disease or cancer) and in functional problems (e.g., difficulty dressing or moving around at home). We reasoned that these associations depend on a person's active control processes aimed at counteracting physical health problems (i.e., health-engagement control strategies, or HECS). In particular, we hypothesized that high levels of HECS buffer the adverse effect of daily physical symptoms on increases in chronic and functional health problems. We found that daily physical symptoms were associated with declines in chronic and functional health among older adults who were not engaged in addressing their health problems, but not among their counterparts who reported high levels of HECS. These findings suggest that active control strategies play an important role in the maintenance of older adults' physical health.
Illegitimacy Moderates the Effects of Power on Approach
Authors: Lammers Joris , Galinsky Adam D. , Gordijn Ernestine H. , Otten Sabine
Published: June 2008

A wealth of research has found that power leads to behavioral approach and action. Four experiments demonstrate that this link between power and approach is broken when the power relationship is illegitimate. When power was primed to be legitimate or when power positions were assigned legitimately, the powerful demonstrated more approach than the powerless. However, when power was experienced as illegitimate, the powerless displayed as much approach as, or even more approach than, the powerful. This moderating effect of legitimacy occurred regardless of whether power and legitimacy were manipulated through experiential primes, semantic primes, or role manipulations. It held true for behavioral approach (Experiment 1) and two effects associated with it: the propensity to negotiate (Experiment 2) and risk preferences (Experiments 3 and 4). These findings demonstrate that how power is conceptualized, acquired, and wielded determines its psychological consequences and add insight into not only when but also why power leads to approach.
Preferences Versus Strategies as Explanations for Culture-Specific Behavior
Authors: Yamagishi Toshio , Hashimoto Hirofumi , Schug Joanna
Published: June 2008

In this article, we present a new framework for interpreting cultural differences in behavior—what we call the institutional approach. In this framework, individuals' behaviors are conceptualized as strategies adapted to various incentive structures. Cultural differences in behavior are thus viewed as differences in the default adaptive strategies that individuals come to rely on in unclear situations. Through two studies, we demonstrate that the East Asian “preference” for conformity is actually a default strategy to avoid accrual of negative reputation. When the possibility for negative evaluations in a given situation was clearly defined, cultural differences in the tendency for uniqueness disappeared. This approach carries important implications to psychologists who interpret cultural differences in behavior in terms of preferences, and can serve as a common framework branching out toward other disciplines in the social sciences.
Emotion Elicitor or Emotion Messenger?
Authors: Ruys Kirsten I. , Stapel Diederik A.
Published: June 2008

The following articles have been retracted from publication in Psychological Science:

Ruys, K. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2008). The secret life of emotions. Psychological Science, 19, 385–391. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02097.x

Ruys, K. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2008). Emotion elicitor or emotion messenger? Subliminal priming reveals two faces of facial expressions. Psychological Science, 19, 593–603. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02128.x

The editors and publishers of Psychological Science have made the retractions following the results of an investigation into the work of Diederik A. Stapel ( https://www.commissielevelt.nl/ ). The Levelt Committee has determined that these articles contained data that were fabricated by author Stapel. His coauthor was unaware of his actions, was not in any way involved in the generation of the data, and agrees to the retraction of the articles.

The following Psychological Science articles coauthored by Stapel have been cleared by the Levelt Committee, whose investigation into these articles found no evidence of fraudulent data or practices:

Lammers, J., Stapel, D. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2010). Power increases hypocrisy: Moralizing in reasoning, immorality in behavior. Psychological Science, 21, 737–744. doi:10.1177/0956797610368810

Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., Jordan, J., Pollmann, M., & Stapel, D. A. (2011). Power increases infidelity among men and women. Psychological Science, 22, 1191–1197. doi:10.1177/0956797611416252

Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2009). Differentiating social and personal power: Opposite effects on stereotyping, but parallel effects on behavioral approach tendencies. Psychological Science, 20, 1543–1549. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02479.x

The five articles noted above are the only ones published in Psychological Science on which Stapel is listed as an author.
Overconfidence in an Objective Anticipatory Motor Task
Authors: Mamassian Pascal
Published: June 2008

Overconfidence can place humans in hazardous situations, and yet it has been observed in a variety of cognitive tasks in which participants have to rate their own performance. We demonstrate here that overconfidence can be revealed in a natural and objective visuo-motor task. Participants were asked to press a key in synchrony with a predictable visual event and were rewarded if they succeeded and sometimes penalized if they were too quick or too slow. If they had used their own motor uncertainty in anticipating the timing of the visual stimulus, they would have maximized their gain. However, they instead displayed an overconfidence in the sense that they underestimated the magnitude of their uncertainty and the cost of their error. Therefore, overconfidence is not limited to subjective ratings in cognitive tasks, but rather appears to be a general characteristic of human decision making.
Modality-Specific Attention Under Imminent But Not Remote Threat of Shock
Authors: Cornwell Brian R. , Echiverri Aileen M. , Covington Matthew F. , Grillon Christian
Published: June 2008

Theories of animal defensive behavior postulate that imminent, predictable threat elicits highly focused attention toward the threat source, whereas remote, unpredictable threat elicits distributed attention to the overall environment. We used threat of shock combined with measurement of prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex to test these claims in humans. Twenty-seven participants experienced periods of threat and safety. Threat and safe periods were short or long, with the short threat periods conveying relatively predictable, imminent shocks and the long threat periods conveying unpredictable shocks. Startle reflexes were elicited with equal numbers of acoustic probes presented alone, preceded by a tactile prepulse, or preceded by an auditory prepulse. We observed enhanced tactile relative to auditory prepulse inhibition during short threat periods only. This finding supports the notion that imminent threat, but not remote threat, elicits attention focused toward the relevant modality, potentially reflecting preparatory activity to minimize the impact of the noxious stimulus.
What does it mean to be a girl withqizhi?:Refinement, gender and language ideologies in contemporary Taiwan1
Authors: Su Hsi‐Yao
Published: June 2008

This study investigates the relationship between ideologies of language and gender as manifested through sociolinguistic interviews conducted on college campuses in Taiwan. The interviews consistently and systematically revealed the use of a term,qizhi– roughly equivalent to ‘refined disposition.’ This paper examines the implications of this preoccupation. Through an examination of the contextual use ofqizhi, this study shows that, first,qizhiis commonly associated with a range of social practices, among which linguistic practices play a significant role. Second,qizhiis often used to describe, evaluate, and further regulate women's ways of speaking, although its use is not gender exclusive. Third, common linguistic varieties in Taiwan, such as Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Taiwanese‐accented Mandarin, are associated withqizhito varying degrees. This study demonstrates how talk centered onqizhiserves as a meeting ground of social evaluation, linguistic and discursive practices, gender ideologies, and language ideologies.
An Environmental Origin of Antinuclear Activism in Japan, 1954–1963: The Government, the Grassroots Movement, and the Politics of Risk
Authors: Higuchi Toshihiro
Published: June 2008

This paper challenges the centrality of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in our understanding of Japan's antinuclear activism. Focusing on the social distribution and perception of the fallout d*anger, I reexamine the symbiotic dynamics of governmental diplomacy and the grassroots movement against nuclear tests from 1954 to 1963. I argue that radioactive pollution during the Bikini incident triggered a consumerist and materialist turn in the peace movement with housewives at the center. Initially resisting the citizens’ perception of risk, the conservative administration by 1957 came to embrace it and launched diplomacy against nuclear tests to steal people's support away from the grassroots movement. At this crucial moment, the grassroots movement's leadership switched its focus from fallout to the “war policy” in the West, which brought about a paradigm shift from the consumerist and materialist platform toward militant workerism for socialist peace. Now disparaging fallout as merely a “physical phenomenon,” the campaign leaders left the environmental angle exposed in 1961 when the Soviet Union unilaterally broke a test moratorium in effect since 1958. While the government's diplomacy, shrewdly stressing the fallout danger, applied a blow to the campaign, the group was split and paralyzed over a protest of Soviet fallout until it dissolved in 1963. The Japanese experience ultimately proved to be an abortive attempt to grasp the environmental legacy of the Bikini incident.
“Perpetual Peace”: A Project by Europeans for Europeans?
Authors: Aksu Eşref
Published: June 2008

Immanuel Kant's classic essay Perpetual Peace has famously informed much of the neoliberal “democratic peace” scholarship in International Relations over the past few decades. It has also influenced contemporary notions of cosmopolitanism and global governance. We need to realize, however, that Kant's essay is only one representative of the eighteenth‐century European thought on perpetual peace. Several other writers have produced their own versions of the perpetual peace ideal. This article surveys some notable eighteenth‐century perpetual peace proposals from a specific perspective: it seeks to find out the attitude of these various proposals toward non‐European peoples. It asks, in other words, whether and to what extent non‐Europeans were “included” in the eighteenth‐century European visions of a perpetual peace.
Levodopa/DDCI and entacapone is the preferred treatment for Parkinson’s disease patients with motor fluctuations in routine practice: a retrospective, observational analysis of a large French cohort
Authors: Damier P. , Viallet F. , Ziegler M. , Bourdeix I. , Rerat K.
Published: June 2008

Levodopa is the gold standard drug for the symptomatic control of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, long‐term treatment with conventional formulations [levodopa and a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor (DDCI)], is associated with re‐emergence of symptoms because of wearing‐off and dyskinesia. Treatment with levodopa/DDCI and entacapone extends the half‐life of levodopa, avoiding deep troughs in levodopa plasma levels and providing more continuous delivery of levodopa to the brain. In this open‐label, retrospective, observational study we investigated the effects of levodopa/DDCI and entacapone therapy in 800 PD patients with motor fluctuations. Levodopa/DDCI and entacapone treatment was assessed as good/very good in improving motor fluctuations (64%) and activities of daily living (ADL; 62%). The therapeutic utility was considered to be good/very good in 70% of cases. Moreover, there was a reduction in levodopa dose in 20% of patients. Neurologists preferred levodopa/DDCI and entacapone compared with increasing levodopa dosage, dose‐fractionation or addition of a dopamine agonist (63%, 29% and 23% of patients respectively). Reasons included achieving more continuous dopaminergic stimulation (40%), reducing motor fluctuations (54%) and improving ADL (41%). This analysis reveals the preference of neurologists for levodopa/DDCI and entacapone over conventional levodopa‐modification strategies for the effective treatment of PD motor fluctuations in clinical practice.
EFNS guideline on the management of community‐acquired bacterial meningitis: report of an EFNS Task Force on acute bacterial meningitis in older children and adults
Authors: Chaudhuri A. , Martin P. M. , Kennedy P. G. E. , Andrew Seaton R. , Portegies P. , Bojar M. , Steiner I. ,   for the EFNS Task Force
Published: June 2008

Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is a potentially life‐threatening neurological emergency. An agreed protocol for early, evidence‐based and effective management of community‐acquired ABM is essential for best possible outcome. A literature search of peer‐reviewed articles on ABM was used to collect data on the management of ABM in older children and adults. Based on the strength of published evidence, a consensus guideline was developed for initial management, investigations, antibiotics and supportive therapy of community‐acquired ABM. Patients with ABM should be rapidly hospitalized and assessed for consideration of lumbar puncture (LP) if clinically safe. Ideally, patients should have fast‐track brain imaging before LP, but initiation of antibiotic therapy should not be delayed beyond 3 h after first contact of patient with health service. In every case, blood sample must be sent for culture before initiating antibiotic therapy. Laboratory examination of cerebrospinal fluid is the most definitive investigation for ABM and whenever possible, the choice of antibiotics, and the duration of therapy, should be guided by the microbiological diagnosis. Parenteral therapy with a third‐generation cephalosporin is the initial antibiotics of choice in the absence of penicillin allergy and bacterial resistance; amoxicillin should be used in addition if meningitis because of Listeria monocytogenes is suspected. Vancomycin is the preferred antibiotic for penicillin‐resistant pneumococcal meningitis. Dexamethasone should be administered both in adults and in children with or shortly before the first dose of antibiotic in suspected cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae and H. Influenzae meningitis. In patients presenting with rapidly evolving petechial skin rash, antibiotic therapy must be initiated immediately on suspicion of Neisseria meningitidis infection with parenteral benzyl penicillin in the absence of known history of penicillin allergy.
Elision and the Embellished Final Cadence in J. S. Bach's Preludes
Authors: Anson‐cartwright Mark
Published: June 2008

In a number of Bach's keyboard preludes, the final cadence is richly decorated by interpolated harmonies and melodic figuration, so that it superficially resembles an interrupted cadence. The present study explores Bach's techniques of embellishing such final cadences. Sometimes, the tonic note is elided and the leading note ‘resolves’ to the lowered seventh degree of the scale, as in the Prelude in C major from the Well‐Tempered Clavier, Book I. Another technique of embellishment is the interpolation of submediant and/or subdominant harmonies between dominant and tonic. A survey of Bach's oeuvre indicates that he wrote embellished final cadences exclusively in keyboard preludes and chorale‐based genres (including chorale preludes). A brief concluding discussion of embellished final cadences in works by later composers provides a broad context in which to appreciate the generic and historical significance of this phenomenon.
Register in Haydn's String Quartets: Four Case Studies
Authors: November Nancy
Published: June 2008

This study argues that register – a neglected subject of music analysis – assumes the status of a primary parameter in Haydn's string quartets. The claim is substantiated with four case studies. The first movement of Op. 9 No. 4 exemplifies registral techniques that Haydn deployed and developed throughout his career as a quartet composer. Op. 20 No. 2 uses register as a main topic of compositional discourse, and as a means of establishing large‐scale connections both within and between movements. The first movement of Op. 76 No. 5 employs register to create stability as well as instability, while the finale of Op. 74 No. 2 epitomises the paradox that registral destabilisation may help to create large‐scale coherence.
Institutional Responses to EU Challenges: Attempting to Articulate a Local Regulatory Scale in Greece
Authors: CHORIANOPOULOS IOANNIS
Published: June 2008

Reflecting on the diversity of restructuring paths followed by national economies since the 1970s and the increased importance of the supranational and subnational scales as regulatory apparatuses, this article uses a third‐generation regulationist approach to explore the urban dimensions of the restructuring process and current traits of uneven development in Europe. It looks at the local level in Greece and the ways in which inherited scalar hierarchies are being shaken up under EU spatial policy. It focuses on the city of Heraklion and local state efforts to institutionalize development processes in line with EU urban policy. In the light of this, it underscores the path‐dependent character of urban restructuring and argues that urban restructuring, as conceptualized by EU urban programmes, faces the problems generally encountered by a prescriptive advocacy of policy. It operates as an external institutional shock that unsettles established patterns of socio‐political mediation and interaction, but falls short of triggering the emergence of locally defined development paths.

En s’arrêtant sur la diversité des voies de structuration qu’empruntent les économies nationales depuis les années 1970 et sur la place grandissante des échelons supranationaux et infranationaux en tant que dispositifs régulateurs, cet article applique une approche régulationniste de troisième génération afin d’explorer les dimensions urbaines du processus de restructuration et les caractéristiques actuelles d’un développement inégal en Europe. Il observe le niveau local en Grèce, ainsi que les manières dont les hiérarchies d’échelons héritées du passé sont bouleversées par la politique spatiale de l’UE. En étudiant la ville d’Héraklion, il s’intéresse aux efforts de l’État local qui visent à institutionnaliser les processus de développement en adéquation avec la politique urbaine de l’UE. Sur cette base, il souligne ‘le sentier de dépendance’ de la restructuration urbaine tout en affirmant que cette restructuration, telle que la conçoivent les programmes urbains de l’UE, est confrontée aux problèmes rencontrés généralement par une action normative de politique publique : elle agit comme un choc institutionnel externe qui déstabilise les schémas établis d’interaction et de médiation socio‐politiques sans susciter la détermination locale de voies de développement.
On Some Challenges and Conditions for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to be an Effective Economic Re‐activator
Authors: PLAZA BEATRIZ
Published: June 2008

The mission of a museum is essentially cultural, however this is not the case for all museums. There are a minority of universally famous museums, like the Tate Liverpool, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Tate Modern London, the new forthcoming Louvre‐Lens (France), the Guggenheim‐Hermitage in Vilnius (Lithuania) and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) whose principal aim is the re‐activation (and/or the diversification) of the economy of their territories, in addition to the obvious cultural aim. The effectiveness of a large heritage investment in developing a city depends on at least four variables. First, heritage investments become effective employment creators only to the extent that they become effective tourism magnets. Second, the impact of investments on cultural heritage could be negative if the heritage industry is a big portion of the whole economy. Third, the more the redevelopment zone's markets are integrated, the easier the absorption of price tensions caused by urban revitalization. Fourth, the greater the productivity of the city's economy, the greater the absorption of price tensions. The aim of this essay is to give empirical support to these hypotheses for the case of Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum.

La mission d’un musée est essentiellement culturelle, même si ce n’est pas toujours le cas. En effet, bien que de notoriété universelle, comme le Tate Liverpool, le musée Guggenheim Bilbao, le Tate Modern de Londres, le futur Louvres de Lens, le Guggenheim‐Hermitage de Vilnius en Lituanie et le Guggenheim d’Abou Dhabi aux Émirats arabes unis, une minorité de musées a principalement pour but de raviver (et/ou de diversifier) l’économie de leur territoire, outre un but culturel manifeste. En termes de développement d’une ville, l’efficacité d’un gros investissement patrimonial dépend d’au moins quatre variables. D’abord, ce type d’investissement ne devient créateur d’emplois performant que dans la mesure où il réussit à devenir un pôle d’attraction touristique. Ensuite, l’impact de l’investissement sur le patrimoine culturel peut se révéler néfaste si la promotion du patrimoine occupe une grande part de l’économie. Troisièmement, plus les marchés de la zone en réaménagement sont intégrés, plus il est facile d’absorber les tensions sur les prix nées de la revitalisation urbaine. Quatrièmement, plus forte est la productivité de l’économie de la ville, plus importante est l’absorption des tensions sur les prix. Ce travail vise à apporter un soutien empirique à ces hypothèses dans le cas de Bilbao et du musée Guggenheim.
The Impact of Repeated Health Checks for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Felce David , Baxter Helen , Lowe Kathy , Dunstan Frank , Houston Helen , Jones Glyn , Felce Janet , Kerr Michael
Published: June 2008

Background An earlier study (Baxteret al.2006) found that a structured health check conducted in primary care identified clinically significant previously unrecognized morbidity among adults with intellectual disabilities. The aim here was to examine whether follow‐up health checks would identify equally significant newly identified morbidity and to investigate this as a function of the interval between health checks.

Method Adults with intellectual disabilities who had had an initial health check (n = 108) participated: group 1 (n = 39) had a repeat health check an average of 28 months later, group 2 (n = 36) had a repeat health check an average of 44 months later and group 3 (n = 33) did not have a subsequent health check. Thirty participants in group 1 had a second repeat health check an average of 14 months after the first repeat. An audit of the results of the health check established whether morbidity was newly identified. Information was collected on each participant’s age, gender, place of residence, skills, challenging behaviour, social abilities, psychiatric status and perceived health. Comparisons within groups over time or between groups at a point in time were made using non‐parametric statistics.

Results A similar number of newly identified health problems were found at the repeat health check compared to the initial check. The nature of needs identified was also similar. There was no association between the number of new needs identified at the repeat health check and the interval between it and the initial check. The perceived health of participants receiving health checks tended to decline.

Conclusions As the level of new need revealed by repeated checks at even the shortest interval since the previous check studied here (mean = 14 months) was as high as that found by the initial check, annual health checking could be a justifiable intervention for this population. Decline in perceived health may represent more accurate assessment by carers following feedback from the health checks.
Chronic ethanol exposure induces alterations in the nucleocytoplasmic transport in growing astrocytes
Authors: Marín María Pilar , Tomas Mónica , Esteban‐Pretel Guillermo , Megías Luis , López‐Iglesias Carmen , Egea Gustavo , Renau‐Piqueras Jaime
Published: June 2008

Nucleocytoplasmic transport is a crucial process for cell function. We assessed the general effect of chronic alcohol exposure on this transport in growing astrocytes for the first time. Import and export of proteins to the nucleus were examined by pulse‐chase experiments using 3H‐methionine, and we showed that ethanol induces a delay in both processes. Furthermore, we took an approach to evaluate the mechanisms involved in this effect. Whereas alcohol did not affect the amount and the distribution of several representative proteins that participate in nuclear import, such as RanBP1, RanGAP1 and the importins α2 and β3, it decreased the amount of Exp1/CRM1, which is a general export receptor involved in the nuclear export. In addition, the density and distribution of nuclear pore complexes, which contribute to nucleocytoplasmic transport, were also affected by ethanol. These effects can be related with changes found in the content of several proteins associated with the nuclear envelope and the nuclear pore complex structure such as lamins A/C, and nucleoporins p62 and RanBP2, respectively. These results suggest that ethanol could interfere with some of the important processes regulated by nucleocytoplasmic transport in astrocytes and support the idea that one of the main ethanol targets is intracellular transport.
GM1 ganglioside contributes to retain the neuronal conduction and neuronal excitability in visceral and baroreceptor afferents
Authors: Qiao Guo‐Fen , Cheng Zhi‐Feng , Huo Rong , Sui Xiao‐Hong , Lu Yan‐Jie , Li Bai‐Yan
Published: June 2008

GM1 ganglioside has a great impact on the function of nodes of Ranvier on myelinated fiber, suggesting its potential role to maintain the electrical and neuronal excitability of neurons. Here we first demonstrate that visceral afferent conduction velocity of myelinated and unmyelinated fibers are reduced significantly by tetrodotoxin (TTX) or cholera toxin‐B subunits (CTX‐B), and only the effects mediated by CTX‐B are prevented by GM1 pre‐treatment. At soma of myelinated A and unmyelinated C‐type nodose ganglion neurons (NGNs), the action potential spike frequency reduced by CTX‐B is also prevented by GM1. Additionally, the current density of both TTX‐sensitive (TTX‐S) and TTX‐resistant (TTX‐R) Na+ channels were significantly decreased by CTX‐B without changing the voltage‐dependent property. These data confirm that endogenous GM1 may play a dominant role in maintaining the electrical and neuronal excitability via modulation of sodium (Na+) channel around nodes and soma as well, especially TTX‐S Na+ channel, which is also confirmed by the reduction of spike amplitude and depolarization. Similar data are also extended to fluorescently identified and electrophysiologically characterized aortic baroreceptor neurons. These findings suggest that GM1 plays an important role in the neural modulation of electric and neuronal excitability in visceral afferent system.
Preconditioning induces prolonged expression of transcription factors pCREB and NF‐κB in the neocortex of rats before and following severe hypobaric hypoxia
Authors: Rybnikova Elena , Gluschenko Tatjana , Tulkova Ekaterina , Churilova Anna , Jaroshevich Oksana , Baranova Ksenia , Samoilov Michail
Published: June 2008

Preconditioning using mild repetitive hypobaric hypoxia is known to increase a tolerance of brain neurons to severe hypoxia and other injurious exposures. In the present study, the effects of mild hypoxic preconditioning on the expression of transcription factors NF‐κB and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) has been studied in the neocortex of rats exposed to severe hypobaric hypoxia. As revealed by quantitative immunocytochemistry, the injurious severe hypobaric hypoxia (180 Torr, 3 h) remarkably reduced the neocortical levels of pCREB and NF‐κB. The three‐trial hypoxic preconditioning (360 Torr, 2 h, 3 days) induced persistent up‐regulation of pCREB and NF‐κB expression in the neocortex of rats 3–24 h following the severe hypoxia. In addition, the preconditioning alone which was not followed by the severe hypoxia, considerably increased neocortical pCREB and NF‐κB levels. The findings suggest a role for transcription factors cAMP response element‐binding protein and NF‐κB in the neuroprotective mechanisms activated by the hypoxic preconditioning.
Forks in the Road: Choices in Procedures for Designing Wildland Linkages
Authors: BEIER PAUL , MAJKA DANIEL R. , SPENCER WAYNE D.
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Models are commonly used to identify lands that will best maintain the ability of wildlife to move between wildland blocks through matrix lands after the remaining matrix has become incompatible with wildlife movement. We offer a roadmap of 16 choices and assumptions that arise in designing linkages to facilitate movement or gene flow of focal species between 2 or more predefined wildland blocks. We recommend designing linkages to serve multiple (rather than one) focal species likely to serve as a collective umbrella for all native species and ecological processes, explicitly acknowledging untested assumptions, and using uncertainty analysis to illustrate potential effects of model uncertainty. Such uncertainty is best displayed to stakeholders as maps of modeled linkages under different assumptions. We also recommend modeling corridor dwellers (species that require more than one generation to move their genes between wildland blocks) differently from passage species (for which an individual can move between wildland blocks within a few weeks). We identify a problem, which we call the subjective translation problem, that arises because the analyst must subjectively decide how to translate measurements of resource selection into resistance. This problem can be overcome by estimating resistance from observations of animal movement, genetic distances, or interpatch movements. There is room for substantial improvement in the procedures used to design linkages robust to climate change and in tools that allow stakeholders to compare an optimal linkage design to alternative designs that minimize costs or achieve other conservation goals.
Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans in Childhood and Adolescence: Report of Eight Patients
Authors: Jafarian Fatemeh , McCuaig Catherine , Kokta Victor , Laberge Louise , Ben Nejma Bourouia
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  We reviewed all occurrences of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in children under 17 years of age who were evaluated at Sainte‐Justine Hospital, a tertiary‐care pediatric center, between 1980 and 2002. The medical records and histologic features of all were reviewed. Eight patients were identified, three boys and five girls. The interval between apparent onset and diagnosis ranged from 3 months to 14 years. All lesions except one were removed by surgical excision with a margin of 1.5 to 3 cm including underlying fascia or by Mohs technique. Follow‐up ranged from 2 to 15 years with median of 5 years. To date all the patients are alive and none has had a recurrence.
Renal Involvement as a Rare Complication of Dorfman–Chanarin Syndrome: A Case Report
Authors: Aksu G. , Kalkan Ucar S. , Bulut Y. , Aydinok Y. , Sen S. , Anal O. , Simsek Gosen D. , Darcan S. , Coker M. , Kutukculer N.
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Dorfman‐Chanarin syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive inherited lipid storage disease with congenital ichthyotic erythroderma due to an acylglycerol recycling defect. It is characterized by accumulation of neutral lipids in different tissues. Liver, muscle, ear, eye, and central nervous system are generally involved, so we presented a patient with severe ichthyosis, lipid vacuoles in neutrophils, and multiorgan involvement including a very rare complication, renal involvement. A 7‐month‐old girl was presented with frequent respiratory infection, congenital ichthyotic erithroderma and suspicion for immune deficiency. On her physical examination hepatomegaly, developmental delay, palmar and plantar hyperkeratosis and increased deep tendon reflexes with clonus and high tonus were found. Laboratory investigations revealed elevation at transaminases levels, hypoalbuminemia, hypergammaglobulinemia, presence of autoantibodies and eosinophilia. Vacuolization in leukocytes confirmed Dorfman‐Chanarin syndrome, whereas no mutation at RAG1‐2 and ARTEMIS genes ruled‐out immune deficient status of the patient. At the age of eight months the patient died from severe renal failure. Her necropsies demonstrated microvesicular lipid accumulation not only at the liver but also at the renal species. The variability of involvement of different systems in Dorfman‐Chanarin syndrome is well described, however the renal findings has not been reported previously at the literature.
Granular Cell Tumor of the Scrotum in a Child with Noonan Syndrome
Authors: Sidwell Rachel U. , Rouse Pauk , Owen Rob A. , Green James S. A.
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Granular cell tumor is a rare neoplasm thought to be of neural origin, composed of cells with distinctive granular cytoplasm. Granular cell tumors most often arise on the tongue, but can occur at any body site, and therefore initial presentation to dermatologists is common. We report a granular cell tumor of the scrotum in a child with Noonan syndrome, known to have a mutation in the PTPN11 gene. No previous reports of granular cell tumor of the scrotum in a child are found. The tumor is usually benign; however, it can have a high local recurrence rate (variable between 2% and 50% dependent on whether initial excision is complete and on the occurrence of an infiltrative growth pattern) and therefore long‐term follow‐up is necessary. This case highlights the occurrence of granular cell tumor, a diagnosis not to be missed by the dermatologist. In addition, we postulate the possible role of PTPN11 mutations in the development of granular cell tumor.
Buschke‐Ollendorff Syndrome: A 32‐Month‐Old Boy with Elastomas and Craniosynostosis
Authors: Reid Erin Miller , Baker Brian L. , Stees Marc A. , Stone Stephen P.
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  A 32‐month‐old boy with hypotonia, developmental delay, and multiple craniofacial abnormalities including craniosynostosis presented with numerous nonspecific, flesh‐colored papules on his right flank. Upon biopsy, these lesions were diagnosed as elastomas. Similar skin lesions were found in the patient’s younger brother. The patient’s father and brother had osteopoikilotic lesions on radiography, but the patient did not have these findings. None of the reported cases to date have included craniosynostosis in association with Buschke‐Ollendorff syndrome. In addition to the case findings, the report also provides a short and current review of the syndrome.
Lipchütz Ulcers – Four Cases
Authors: Hernández‐Núñez Almudena , Córdoba Susana , Romero‐Maté Alberto , Miñano Román , Sanz Tatiana , Borbujo Jesús
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  A distinctive clinical entity of acute genital ulcers occurring in adolescents, with nonvenereal infectious etiology was described by Lipschütz in 1913. We describe four puberal virgin girls who developed fever and painful genital ulcers. The main causes infectious and noninfectious of ulceration were rejected. Although the etiology is unknown, recent cases related with Epstein–Barr virus acute infection have been reported.
An Infant with Netherton Syndrome and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension Requiring Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Authors: Macknet Cathy A. , Morkos Ashraf , Job Leela , Garberoglio Maria C. , Clark Robin D. , Macknet Kenneth D. , Peverini Ricardo L.
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Netherton syndrome is a rare genodermatosis characterized by ichthyosiform scaling, hair shaft abnormalities, and atopic features. Affected infants typically have delayed growth and development, immune abnormalities with recurrent infections, and intermittent aminoaciduria. We report a 23‐day‐old girl who presented with severe primary pulmonary hypertension, exfoliative erythroderma, and trichorrhexis invaginata. Genetic studies confirmed a premature termination mutation R350X in exon 12 of SPINK5. This mutation further supports the genotypic‐phenotypic prediction that severe sequela result from premature termination mutations. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of Netherton syndrome associated with primary pulmonary hypertension to be reported. Further postulated is a possible link between excessive desquamation of fetal skin and respiratory failure in a neonate with Netherton syndrome.
Adapalene Gel 0.1% in the Treatment of Infantile Acne: An Open Clinical Study
Authors: Kose Osman , Koç Erol , Arca Ercan
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Infantile acne is an uncommon condition in pediatric age. We determined the efficacy and safety of adapalene gel 0.1% in the treatment of infantile acne. Twelve patients were enrolled for adapalene gel 0.1% application once daily over a 16‐week treatment period. Efficacy evaluation included counting the inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions by the physician and global evaluation of the improvement. After 16 weeks all patients were followed up for a 1‐year period. The time of clearance of the infantile acne lesions was 3 months in four (33%) patients and 4 months in eight (67%) patients (median 3.4 months). Adapalene gel produced reductions in noninflammatory and inflammatory lesions counts. Limited side effects were observed and none of them required stopping the therapy. No patient was left with scarring. Three patients were showed mild lesions in the 1‐year follow‐up period. Adapalene gel 0.1% was found to be a highly effective and safe drug in the treatment of mild‐to‐moderate infantile acne.
Warts, Malnutrition, and Sunshine
Authors: OROZCO‐TOPETE ROCÍO , VILLA ANTONIO , LEYVA SANTIAGO JAIME , SCHOLTES CHRISTIAN , ARCHER‐DUBON CARLA , YSUNZA ALBERTO
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  Viral warts are common in poor rural settings but their relationship to malnutrition has not been studied. We sought to determine the prevalence of warts in children of two communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, and compared it with their nutritional status. Children from Santa Catarina Yahuio and Santiago Laxopa of the state of Oaxaca were examined. Localization, number, and type of verruca were noted. Date of birth, height, and weight were obtained to determine nutritional status. A total of 213 children (116 girls and 97 boys), 107 in Yahuio and 106 in Laxopa, were studied. Mean age was 10.24 years. Thirty children (14.1%) had warts and 80% (24/30) of these lived in Yahuio (p = 0.0002). Almost half were teenagers. Most lesions were on sun‐exposed areas. First degree malnutrition was found in 24.5%; second degree in 23.6% and third degree in 14.2%. A higher frequency of warts than previously reported was found. Malnutrition was prevalent in both groups but did not correlate positively with verruca. Verruca were more frequent in females, adolescents, sun‐exposed areas, and higher altitude. We believe that the higher altitude of Yahuio facilitates greater exposure to ultraviolet light‐induced immune suppression.
Multiple Pyogenic Granulomas on the Face After Landmine Injury
Authors: BAKAN VEDAT , ALIAGAOGLU CIHANGIR , YILDIZ ABDULLAH , EMSEN MURAT
Published: June 2008

Abstract:  In this report, we present a 13‐year‐old male patient with multiple pyogenic granulomas (PG) on the face after landmine injury. To the best of our knowledge, PG after landmine injury has not been reported previously. The case has been reported in view of its rarity and its etiology.
Papular Juvenile Xanthogranuloma En Plaque in an Infant
Authors: GASS JULIA , BURROWS NIGEL
Published: June 2008

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