bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating choices by single neurons in the frontal lobe: outcome value encoded across multiple decision variables
Authors: Kennerley Steven W. , Wallis Jonathan D.
Published: May 2009

Damage to the frontal lobe can cause severe decision‐making impairments. A mechanism that may underlie this is that neurons in the frontal cortex encode many variables that contribute to the valuation of a choice, such as its costs, benefits and probability of success. However, optimal decision‐making requires that one considers these variables, not only when faced with the choice, but also when evaluating the outcome of the choice, in order to adapt future behaviour appropriately. To examine the role of the frontal cortex in encoding the value of different choice outcomes, we simultaneously recorded the activity of multiple single neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) while subjects evaluated the outcome of choices involving manipulations of probability, payoff and cost. Frontal neurons encoded many of the parameters that enabled the calculation of the value of these variables, including the onset and offset of reward and the amount of work performed, and often encoded the value of outcomes across multiple decision variables. In addition, many neurons encoded both the predicted outcome during the choice phase of the task as well as the experienced outcome in the outcome phase of the task. These patterns of selectivity were more prevalent in ACC relative to OFC and LPFC. These results support a role for the frontal cortex, principally ACC, in selecting between choice alternatives and evaluating the outcome of that selection thereby ensuring that choices are optimal and adaptive.
Post‐merger strategy and performance: evidence from the US and European banking industries
Authors: Hagendorff Jens , Keasey Kevin
Published: May 2009

The banking industry has one of the most active markets for mergers and acquisitions. However, little is known about the type of operational strategies adopted by banking firms in the years following a deal. For a sample of bidding banks in the USA and Europe, this study compares the design and performance implications of different post‐merger strategies in both geographical regions. Using accounting data, we show that European banks pursue a cost‐cutting strategy by increasing efficiency levels vis‐à‐vis non‐merging banks and by cutting back on both labour costs and lending activities. US banks, on the other hand, raise both interest and non‐interest income in the post‐merger period.
Discontinuation due to adverse events in randomized trials of orlistat, sibutramine and rimonabant: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Johansson K. , Neovius K. , DeSantis S. M. , Rössner S. , Neovius M.
Published: May 2009

The objective of this article was to estimate the risk of discontinuation due to adverse events in trials of orlistat, sibutramine and rimonabant. Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane controlled trials register and reference lists of identified articles were searched from 1990 to May 2008. All randomized placebo‐controlled trials of 12–24 months of duration on adults using licensed doses were included. Studies/study arms were excluded if they evaluated weight maintenance after weight loss. Trials were identified, subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria and reviewed. Data on participants, interventions and discontinuation were extracted and trials rated for quality based on established criteria. A random effects model was used to estimate pooled risk ratios, risk differences and number needed to harm (NNH). A total of 28 trials met the inclusion criteria (16 orlistat, 7 sibutramine and 5 rimonabant). The risk ratios for discontinuation due to adverse events were significantly elevated for rimonabant (2.00; 1.66–2.41) and orlistat (1.59; 1.21–2.08), but not sibutramine (0.98, 0.68–1.41). Compared with placebo, the risk difference was the largest for rimonabant (7%, 5–9%; NNH 14, 11–19), followed by orlistat (3%, 1–4%; NNH 39, 25–83), while no significant difference was seen for sibutramine (0.2%, −3 to 4%; NNH 500). The most common adverse events leading to withdrawal were gastrointestinal for orlistat (40%) and psychiatric for rimonabant (47%). Corresponding information was unavailable for sibutramine. In conclusion, available weight loss drugs differ markedly regarding risk of discontinuation due to adverse events, as well as in underlying causes of these events. Given the large number of patients eligible for treatment, the low NNH for rimonabant is a concern.
Adipose tissue as target organ in the treatment of hormone‐dependent breast cancer: new therapeutic perspectives
Authors: Macciò A. , Madeddu C. , Mantovani G.
Published: May 2009

Breast cancer is the female malignant neoplasia with the highest incidence in the industrialized world. Despite many undeniable therapeutic successes obtained, breast cancer still remains, however, a major health issue. In the last few years, thanks to aromatase inhibitors, the hormone therapy for oestrogen‐dependent breast cancer has evolved in terms of efficacy and tolerability; at the same time, it has enabled us to better define the role of oestrogens in the etiopathogenesis of this tumour. Weight increase and obesity have been identified as the most important risk and prognostic factors for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the association of obesity with postmenopausal breast cancer. A more recent hypothesis suggests that adipocytes and their autocrine (paracrine and endocrine actions) are at the centre of such an etiopathogenetic mechanism. A better understanding of the main mechanisms that link together menopause, body‐weight increase and hormone‐dependent breast cancer is paramount to enable the identification of key molecules involved in the development of breast carcinoma and suggest new therapeutic options. The present review will discuss important findings on the therapeutic aspects of adipose tissue and adipokines as a target for treatment of hormone‐dependent breast cancer.
Role of adipose tissue in haemostasis, coagulation and fibrinolysis
Authors: Faber D. R. , De Groot Ph. G. , Visseren F. L. J.
Published: May 2009

Obesity is associated with an increased incidence of insulin resistance (IR), type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. The increased risk for cardiovascular diseases could partly be caused by a prothrombotic state that exists because of abdominal obesity.

Adipose tissue induces thrombocyte activation by the production of adipose tissue‐derived hormones, often called adipokines, of which some such as leptin and adiponectin have been shown to directly interfere with platelet function. Increased adipose tissue mass induces IR and systemic low‐grade inflammation, also affecting platelet function. It has been demonstrated that adipose tissue directly impairs fibrinolysis by the production of plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 and possibly thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor. Adipose tissue may contribute to enhanced coagulation by direct tissue factor production, but hypercoagulability is likely to be primarily caused by affecting hepatic synthesis of the coagulation factors fibrinogen, factor VII, factor VIII and tissue factor, by releasing free fatty acids and pro‐inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β and interleukin‐6) into the portal circulation and by inducing hepatic IR.

Adipose tissue dysfunction could thus play a causal role in the prothrombotic state observed in obesity, by directly and indirectly affecting haemostasis, coagulation and fibrinolysis.
Prevalence of educational inequalities in obesity between 1970 and 2003 in France
Authors: Singh‐Manoux A. , Gourmelen J. , Lajnef M. , Sabia S. , Sitta R. , Menvielle G. , Melchior M. , Nabi H. , Lanoe J.‐L. , Guéguen A. , Lert F.
Published: May 2009

This paper examines trends in obesity rates and education‐related absolute and relative inequalities in obesity over the last 40 years in France. Data are drawn from the French Decennial Health Surveys of 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2003. The difference in obesity rates between the least‐ and most‐educated, the Slope Index of Inequality, is used to estimate absolute inequalities in obesity. The ratio of the corresponding rates, the Relative Index of Inequality, reveals the relative inequalities in obesity. Obesity rates were similar in men and women, but educational inequalities were greater in women. Obesity rates were similar over the first three surveys but increased for all in the 2003 survey. This increase was accompanied by increases in absolute inequalities in men (P = 0.04) from a Slope Index of Inequality of 4.80% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.27, 7.32) to 8.64% (95% CI = 5.97, 11.32) and women (P = 0.004) from 8.90% (95% CI = 6.18, 11.63) to 14.57% (95% CI = 11.83, 17.32). Relative inequalities in obesity remained stable over the 40 years. Recent increase in obesity rates in France is accompanied by increases in absolute education‐related inequalities, while relative inequalities have remained stable; this suggests that obesity rates have increased at a much faster rate in the low‐education groups.
Curse or Cure? Why Was the Enactment of Britain's 1909 Trade Boards Act so Controversial?
Authors: Blackburn Sheila C.
Published: May 2009

The Trade Boards Act of 1909 was introduced in Britain to counteract sweating. Associated with long hours, insanitary work conditions and inadequate pay — with the accent falling on low wages — sweating probably afflicted some 30 per cent of Edwardian Britain's labour force. Trade boards supporters as diverse as Winston Churchill and R. H. Tawney heralded the legislation as marking a significant break in economic and social thought. Opponents declared that the enactment of the legislation would be ruinous for Britain. The future Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, and his wife denounced trade boards as pallid reformism and campaigned for the licensing of home workshops. On the other hand, proponents of a subsistence minimum wage, such as Sidney and Beatrice Webb, were disappointed that the legislation did not go further. Initially, it encompassed less than a quarter of a million workers. The rates set were not based on the cost of living but on what the individual trade could bear. On their own, trade boards were insufficient to eradicate Britain's long and historical tradition of being a low‐paying economy. Trade boards (and their successors, wages councils) were trapped in their collective laissez‐faire origins. However, despite its sanctioning of a statutory national minimum wage in 1998, the British state is still far from being interventionist in the labour market. If Britain is to break with the past, she must also implement a comprehensive framework of minimum rights. Otherwise, the principle of collective laissez‐faire will still remain triumphant over the Webbs' alternative conception of a comprehensive labour code.
Minimum Wages and Youth Employment: Evidence from the Finnish Retail Trade Sector
Authors: Böckerman Petri , Uusitalo Roope
Published: May 2009

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organizations in 1993, Finnish employers could temporarily pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wages remained unchanged. Our analysis is based on payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector. The results show that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly. We find no significant effects on employment.
Nothing New under the Sun: The Prescience of W. S. Sanders' 1906 Fabian Tract
Authors: Metcalf David
Published: May 2009

In order to understand the impact of the national minimum wage (NMW) on pay, employment and other variables, the Low Pay Commission studies pay setting, coverage of the NMW, competitive versus monopsonistic labour markets, non‐compliance, offsets and the interaction between the NMW and the social security system. But similar issues were analysed a century ago by Fabian and other writers. In particular, the 18‐page 1906 Tract by W. S. Sanders — the first ever call for a national minimum wage — anticipated all the present debates. That tract is examined here.
The Role of the State in Balancing the Minimum Wage in Turkey and the USA
Authors: Koçer Rüya Gökhan , Visser Jelle
Published: May 2009

In this article, the direct role of the state in industrial relations is scrutinized by focusing on the political basis of decisions regarding the minimum wage. We argue that in order to ensure stability and growth, any state must balance the interests of capital and labour when taking this kind of distributional decision. This idea is operationalized using O'Connor's concepts of accumulation and legitimation as the basis for an analytical model. Application to Turkey and comparison with the USA reveals that in Turkey, governments take account of legitimacy concerns in their minimum wage decisions due to the large number of workers directly dependent on minimum wages and weak collective bargaining institutions. In the USA, despite rather similar industrial relations conditions, this tendency is not present, probably due to the much smaller number of minimum wage earners and their weakness in the political process. However, in the USA, too, we observe that there is a difference between political parties and historical periods in the way in which the minimum wage is determined.
Boys Will Be Boys; Cows Will Be Cows: Children’s Essentialist Reasoning About Gender Categories and Animal Species
Authors: Taylor Marianne G. , Rhodes Marjorie , Gelman Susan A.
Published: May 2009

Two studies (N = 456) compared the development of concepts of animal species and human gender, using a switched‐at‐birth reasoning task. Younger children (5‐ and 6‐year‐olds) treated animal species and human gender as equivalent; they made similar levels of category‐based inferences and endorsed similar explanations for development in these 2 domains. In contrast, 10‐year‐olds and adults treated gender and species concepts as distinct from one another. They viewed gender‐linked behavioral properties as open to environmental influence and endorsed environment‐based mechanisms to explain gender development. At all ages, children demonstrated differentiated reasoning about physical and behavioral properties, although this differentiation became more stable with age. The role of psychological essentialism in guiding conceptual development is discussed.
The Development of Regulatory Functions From Birth to 5 Years: Insights From Premature Infants
Authors: Feldman Ruth
Published: May 2009

This study examined physiological, emotional, and attentional regulatory functions as predictors of self‐regulation in 125 infants followed 7 times from birth to 5 years. Physiological regulation was assessed by neonatal vagal tone and sleep–wake cyclicity; emotion regulation by response to stress at 3, 6, and 12 months; and attention regulation by focused attention and delayed response in the 2nd year. Executive functions, behavior adaptation, and self‐restraint were measured at 5 years. Regulatory functions showed stability across time, measures, and levels. Structural modeling demonstrated both mediated paths from physiological to self‐regulation through emotional and attentional processes and direct continuity between vagal tone and each level of regulation. Results support the coherence of the regulation construct and are consistent with neurobiological models on self and consciousness.
Children Who Read Words Accurately Despite Language Impairment: Who Are They and How Do They Do It?
Authors: Bishop Dorothy V. M. , McDonald David , Bird Sarah , Hayiou‐Thomas Marianna E.
Published: May 2009

Some children learn to read accurately despite language impairments (LI). Nine‐ to 10‐year‐olds were categorized as having LI only (n = 35), dyslexia (DX) only (n = 73), LI + DX (n = 54), or as typically developing (TD;n = 176). The LI‐only group had mild to moderate deficits in reading comprehension. They were similar to the LI + DX group on most language measures, but rapid serial naming was superior to the LI + DX group and comparable to the TD. For a subset of children seen at 4 and 6 years, early phonological skills were equally poor in those later classified as LI or LI + DX. Poor language need not hinder acquisition of decoding, so long as rapid serial naming is intact; reading comprehension, however, is constrained by LI.
Fear, fascination and the sperm donor as ‘abjection’ in interviews with heterosexual recipients of donor insemination
Authors: Burr Jennifer
Published: May 2009

The background to this article is the medical regulation of sperm donation in the UK and the recent policy change so that children born from sperm, eggs or embryos donated after April 2005 have the right to know their donor's identity. I draw upon data from interviews with ten women and seven joint interviews with couples who received donor insemination from an anonymous sperm donor and were the parents of donor insemination children. I explore the symbolic presence of the donor and his potential to disrupt social and physical boundaries using the theoretical conceptions of boundaries and pollution as articulated by Mary Douglas and Julia Kristeva. I present data to argue that the anonymous donor manifests in various figures; the shadowy and ambiguous figure of ‘another man’; the intelligent medical student; the donor as a family man, with children of his own who wants to help infertile men father children. In addition participants perceive the donor's physical characteristics, but also see their husband's physical characteristics, in their children. In conclusion I argue that anonymisation preserves features of conventional family life, maintains the idea of exclusivity within the heterosexual relationship and affirms the legal father's insecurity about his infertility.
Normative childhood repetitive routines and obsessive compulsive symptomatology in 6‐year‐old twins
Authors: Bolton Derek , Rijsdijk Frühling , Eley Thalia C. , O’Connor Thomas G. , Briskman Jacqueline , Perrin Sean
Published: May 2009

Background:  To investigate the association between normative repetitive routines of childhood and paediatric obsessive compulsive symptom syndrome (OCSS) and the extent to which it is genetically mediated.

Methods:  In a two‐phase design a community sample of 4,662 6‐year‐old twin‐pairs were sampled and 854 pairs were assessed in the second phase for normative repetitive routines using the Childhood Routines Inventory (CRI) and for OCSS by maternal‐informant diagnostic interview. The OCSS phenotype was defined using standard diagnostic criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder, though regardless of impairment.

Results:  In the bivariate model, correlation between the CRI defined phenotype and the OCSS phenotype was estimated to be .40 (95% CI .27–.50), and this correlation was attributable wholly to additive genetic effects. The bivariate model also provided estimates of heritability of the two phenotypes separately: 55% (95% CI 80–89%) for the OCSS phenotype, with the remaining variance attributable mainly to non‐shared environment, and 50% (95% CI 39–62%) for CRI assessed normative repetitive routines of childhood, with 36% of the remaining variance attributable to shared environment and 14% to non‐shared.

Conclusions:  The moderate correlation between normative childhood repetitive routines and obsessive compulsive symptomatology, attributable to genetic factors, is consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of this trait in young children constitute a risk factor for the development of obsessive compulsive symptoms.
The perceptual response to exercise of progressively increasing intensity in children aged 7–8 years: Validation of a pictorial curvilinear ratings of perceived exertion scale
Authors: Eston Roger G. , Lambrick Danielle M. , Rowlands Ann V.
Published: May 2009

This study assessed the validity of the Eston‐Parfitt (E‐P) curvilinear Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale and a novel marble quantity task to provide estimates of perceived exertion during cycle ergometry. Fifteen children aged 7–8 years performed a discontinuous incremental graded‐exercise test, and reported exertional ratings at the end of each minute. Significant increases in physiological and perceptual data were observed with increasing work rate. The relationship between work rate and marbles was curvilinear (mean R2=.94), supporting the theoretical justification for the E‐P Scale. Strong linear (R2=.93) and curvilinear (R2=.94) relationships between RPE from the E‐P Scale and work rate confirmed the robustness of the E‐P Scale. Valid exertional ratings may be obtained using the E‐P Scale with young children. The novel marble quantity task offers an alternative method of deriving perceived exertion responses in children.
Positive affect is associated with cardiovascular reactivity, norepinephrine level, and morning rise in salivary cortisol
Authors: Brummett B. H. , Boyle S. H. , Kuhn C. M. , Siegler I. C. , Williams R. B.
Published: May 2009

Positive affect was examined as a predictor of (1) cardiovascular reactivity during a sadness and an anger recall task and recovery following the protocol, (2) epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NOREPI) reactivity and level during the recall protocol, and (3) the diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol. Sample was 328 individuals. Negative affect, age, race, sex, smoking status, income, and BMI were adjusted. During sadness recall, positive affect was inversely related to systolic blood pressure (p=.007) and diastolic blood pressure (p=.049) reactivity, and unrelated to heart rate (p=.226). Positive affect was unrelated to reactivity during anger recall (ps>.19), and was unrelated to recovery at the end of the recall protocol. Positive affect was inversely related to the mean level of NOREPI (p=.046), and unrelated to EPI (p=.149). Positive affect was inversely related to the increase in cortisol 30 min post awakening (p=.042), and unrelated to the evening decline in cortisol levels (p=.174). Positive emotions may be relevant to good health.
The Term Spread and GDP Growth in Australia*
Authors: POKE JACOB , WELLS GRAEME
Published: May 2009

This article analyses the significance of the spread between short‐ and long‐term interest rates for predicting GDP growth in Australia, and whether the predictive relation deteriorates, as theory suggests, with the adoption of a credible inflation‐targeting regime. We test whether the significance of the term spread is sensitive to the inclusion of other conditioning variables which may be useful in forecasting GDP growth, and whether forecasting significance is due primarily to the expected change in short‐term interest rates, the term premium, or a combination of the two. There is some support for the proposition that the rationally‐expected term spread has become less significant with the adoption of inflation targeting.
Corporate Control, Foreign Ownership Regulations and Technology Transfer*
Authors: ISHIKAWA JOTA , SUGITA YOICHI , ZHAO LAIXUN
Published: May 2009

Multinationals are often required to form joint ventures (JVs) with local firms when entering the host country market. Explicitly taking corporate control into account, we explore the relationship between technology transfer and foreign ownership regulation in the presence of technology spillovers from JVs to local firms. It is shown that foreign ownership regulations may facilitate both technology transfer and spillovers when the multinational has corporate control. Under corporate control by the local partner firm, however, such regulations may hamper technology transfer.
Producer responsibility in a sustainable development context: ecological modernisation or industrial ecology?
Authors: DEUTZ PAULINE
Published: May 2009

The concept of producer responsibility has become a major tenet of EU waste management policy. It forms part of an effort to set a regulatory context for firms supportive of sustainable development. Two contrasting notions of the theory and implementation of sustainable development are ecological modernisation and industrial ecology. Ecological modernisation emphasises economic development and technological advances, within a suitable policy framework. Industrial ecology, by contrast, emphasises inter‐firm cooperation and voluntary compliance inspired by eco‐efficiency savings. Recently, however, industrial ecologists have shown greater interest in the potential for policy implementation. With aims such as increasing recovery of value from waste, creating a demand for recycled materials, and decreasing the potential harmful effects of waste, the producer responsibility directives can be seen as attempts to implement industrial ecology principles. This paper examines interrelationships of ecological modernisation and industrial ecology to understand the potential and shortcomings of the producer responsibility regulations as a means to promote waste minimisation through eco‐design.
Factors Impacting Food Safety Risk Perceptions
Authors: Tonsor Glynn T. , Schroeder Ted C. , Pennings Joost M. E.
Published: May 2009

We developed and applied a model of consumer risk perceptions of beef food safety to better understand the underlying drivers of consumer demand for food safety. We show how consumer demographics, country‐of‐residence, as well as reliance on, and trust in, alternative food safety information sources affect risk perceptions of consumers in Canada, Japan and the United States. Consumers in all three countries have risk perceptions shaped by their level of reliance on observable and credence attribute information. Risk perceptions of consumers in each country are significantly higher for those less trusting of doctors. Moreover, personal and indirect food safety experiences substantially affect risk perceptions. These results are useful to decision‐makers in developing more efficient supply chain management strategies and public policies aimed at building or sustaining consumer confidence in food safety.
Immunoblot Analysis as an Alternative Method to Diagnose Enterohepatic Helicobacter Infections
Authors: Wadström Torkel , Hau Jann , Nilsson Ingrid , Ljungh Åsa
Published: May 2009

Introduction: Enterohepatic Helicobacter species have been associated with chronic infections of the hepatobiliary tract and lower bowel in naturally and experimentally infected mice, Helicobacter‐infected animals should thus not be used in studies of diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Helicobacter species induce inflammation and modulate host immune responses, thus emphasizing the need to diagnose these infections in laboratory animals.

Materials and Methods: An immunoblot assay was developed to analyze antibodies to enterohepatic Helicobacter species in naturally colonized laboratory mouse colonies. We evaluated the serum antibody responses to cell surface proteins of H. bilis, H. hepaticus, and H. ganmani in 188 mouse sera from four different university animal facilities. Lower bowel tissue specimens from 56 of these animals were available and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR‐DGGE) and the results compared with matched immunoblot patterns.

Results: Specific antibody reactivity to H. bilis was detected in 8 of 186 (4.3%) sera, to H. hepaticus in 45 of 184 (24%) sera, and to H. ganmani in 51 of 188 (27%) of tested sera. These results were compared with PCR‐DGGE analyses of tissue samples of corresponding animals, and concordance between the two diagnostic tests was found in 96% for H. bilis, in 91% for H. hepaticus, and in 82% for H. ganmani. The PCR‐DGGE also detected DNA of H. typhlonius, H. sp. flexispira, and H. rodentium.

Conclusions: Infection with enterohepatic species was common in the laboratory mouse colonies tested, independent of strain and stock. Immunoblot analysis seems to be a promising diagnostic tool to monitor enterohepatic Helicobacter species infections of laboratory rodents.
Effect of Helicobacter pylori Eradication on Incidence of Gastric Cancer in Human and Animal Models: Underlying Biochemical and Molecular Events
Authors: Kabir Shahjahan
Published: May 2009

Background:  Gastric cancer remains one of the most common cancers worldwide. A strong association exists between Helicobacter pylori infection and the risk of developing noncardia gastric cancer. H. pylori eradication by antibiotic treatment is regarded as a primary chemoprevention strategy to reduce gastric cancer incidence.

Aim:  To analyze the efficacy of H. pylori eradication in preventing gastric cancer in human and animal models, and to discuss whether biochemical, genetic, and epigenetic changes associated with H. pylori infection are reversible after curing the infection.

Results:  Several intervention trials have indicated that in some patients, H. pylori eradication leads to regression and prevents the progression of precancerous lesions. The eradication therapy reduces gastric cancer incidence in patients without any precancerous lesions at the baseline and is most effective before the development of atrophic gastritis. A few recent intervention studies in Japan have demonstrated significant prophylactic effects of eradication therapy on the development of gastric cancer, suggesting the use of eradication therapy in high‐risk populations as a gastric cancer reduction strategy. However, gastric cancer may still develop despite successful eradication therapy. Studies in animal models have confirmed the use of eradication therapy at an early point of infection to prevent gastric cancer development.

Conclusion:  H. pylori eradication may not completely abolish the risk of gastric cancer. However, eradication therapy may be used in high‐risk populations to reduce gastric cancer incidence. It can reverse many biochemical, genetic, and epigenetic changes that H. pylori infection induces in the stomach.
The C‐terminal Region of HPNAP Activates Neutrophils and Promotes Their Adhesion to Endothelial Cells
Authors: Kottakis Filippos , Befani Christina , Asiminas Antonios , Kontou Maria , Koliakos Georgios , Choli‐Papadopoulou Theodora
Published: May 2009

Entire Helicobacter Pylori Neutrophil Activated Protein (HPNAP) and its truncated forms NH2‐terminal region HPNAP1–57 and C‐terminal region HPNAP58–144 after cloning into pET29c vector, purification and removal of LPS traces were subjected to human neutrophil activation. Our results revealed that the C‐terminal region of HPNAP is indispensable for human neutrophil stimulation and their further adhesion to endothelial cells – a step necessary to H. pylori inflammation – in a ratio equal to that exhibited by the entire protein.

In addition, experiments concerning the implication of Arabino‐Galactan‐Proteins (AGPs) derived from Chios Mastic Gum (CMG), the natural resin of the plant Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia revealed the inhibition of neutrophil activation and therefore their adhesion to endothelial cells, in vitro.

Both, the involvement of HPNAP C‐terminal region in stimulation‐adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial cells as well as the inhibition of this process by AGPs have to be further investigated and may be exploited in a future anti‐inflammatory therapy for H. pylori patients.
Future Preventive Therapy: Are There Promising Drug Targets?
Authors: Edvinsson Lars
Published: May 2009

The primary headaches are among the most prevalent neurological disorders, afflicting up to 16% in Europe and 22% in USA of the adult population. The associated pain originates from intracranial blood vessels that are innervated by sensory nerves storing several neurotransmitters. In primary headaches, there is a clear association between the headache and the release of calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) but not with other neuronal messengers. The specific purpose of this review is to describe the various anatomical aspects of neurotransmitters and mechanisms in the human cranial circulation and to elucidate a possible role for a specific agonist/antagonist in the treatment of primary headaches. Some of the drugs have emerged from laboratory science in the last decade, but most by coincidence when treating other disorders. The difference between an acute or a prophylactic antimigraine medication may simply reśide in the fact that the former includes an acute vasoconstrictor ability and has a shorter receptor binding time.
Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between common antiepileptic drugs and acetone, the chief anticonvulsant ketone body elevated in the ketogenic diet in mice
Authors: Zarnowska Iwona , Luszczki Jarogniew J. , Zarnowski Tomasz , Buszewicz Grzegorz , Madro Roman , Czuczwar Stanislaw J. , Gasior Maciej
Published: May 2009

Purpose: Acetone is the principal ketone body elevated in the ketogenic diet (KD), with demonstrated robust anticonvulsant properties across a variety of seizure tests and models of epilepsy. Because the majority of patients continue to receive antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during KD treatment, interactions between acetone and AEDs may have important clinical implications. Therefore, we investigated whether acetone could affect the anticonvulsant activity and pharmacokinetic properties of several AEDs against maximal electroshock (MES)–induced seizures in mice.

Methods: Effects of acetone given in subthreshold doses were tested on the anticonvulsant effects of carbamazepine (CBZ), lamotrigine (LTG), oxcarbazepine (OXC), phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT), topiramate (TPM) and valproate (VPA) against MES‐induced seizures in mice. In addition, acute adverse effects of acetone–AEDs combinations were assessed in the chimney test (motor performance) and passive avoidance task (long‐term memory). Pharmacokinetic interactions between acetone and AEDs were also studied in the mouse brain tissue.

Results: Acetone (5 or 7.5 mmol/kg, intraperitoneally [i.p.]) enhanced the anticonvulsant activity of CBZ, LTG, PB, and VPA against MES‐induced seizures; effects of OXC, PHT, and TPM were not changed. Acetone (7.5 mmol/kg) did not enhance the acute adverse‐effect profiles of the studied AEDs. Acetone (5 or 7.5 mmol/kg, i.p.) did not affect total brain concentrations of the studied AEDs. In contrast, VPA, CBZ, LTG, OXC, and TPM significantly decreased the concentration of free acetone in the brain; PB and PHT had no effect.

Conclusions: Acetone enhances the anticonvulsant effects of several AEDs such as VPA, CBZ, LTG, and PB without affecting their pharmacokinetic and side‐effect profiles.
Negative motor seizure arising from the negative motor area: Is it ictal apraxia?
Authors: Ikeda Akio , Hirasawa Ken‐ichi , Kinoshita Masako , Hitomi Takefumi , Matsumoto Riki , Mitsueda Takahiro , Taki Jun‐ya , Inouch Morito , Mikuni Nobuhiro , Hori Tomokatsu , Fukuyama Hidenao , Hashimoto Nobuo , Shibasaki Hiroshi , Takahashi Ryosuke
Published: May 2009

Purpose:  Seizure manifesting motor arrest, that is, negative motor seizure (NMS), is a rare epileptic condition in which only inability to conduct voluntary movements or praxis is produced, although consciousness is preserved. The negative motor area (NMA) seems to be responsible, but its generator mechanism has not yet been clarified.

Patients and Methods:  Three patients manifesting NMS were investigated. Two patients (ages 33 and 17) with intractable frontal lobe epilepsy had subdural grid implantation for epilepsy surgery, and one (age 77) had scalp electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.

Results:  Ictal semiologies commonly observed, at least in the two patients, were found as follows; (1) indescribable or ill‐localized aura, (2) repetitive involuntary vocalization, (3) inability to speak, (4) inability to move the extremities, and (5) subsequent evolution to positive motor seizures. Awareness and comprehension were preserved throughout the episode before generalized seizures. In two patients with epicortical EEG recording, ictal activity arose from the lateral NMA in one, and from the rostral supplementary motor area in the other. Cortical stimulation at NMA in one patient elicited symptoms identical to NMS. Another patient had scalp EEG and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormality, both suggesting the epileptogenic focus in the mesial frontal area.

Conclusion:  We showed that (1) NMS was a rare condition in patients with seizure focus in the frontal lobe, and (2) that the NMA was responsible for the symptoms. The documented state in the present study may reflect ictal apraxia, but it requires further investigation.
Parahippocampal epilepsy with subtle dysplasia: A cause of “imaging negative” partial epilepsy
Authors: Pillay Neelan , Fabinyi Gavin C.A. , Myles Terry S. , Fitt Gregory J. , Berkovic Samuel F. , Jackson Graeme D.
Published: May 2009

Purpose:  Lesion‐negative refractory partial epilepsy is a major challenge in the assessment of patients for potential surgery. Finding a potential epileptogenic lesion simplifies assessment and is associated with good outcome. Here we describe imaging features of subtle parahippocampal dysplasia in five cases that were initially assessed as having imaging‐negative frontal or temporal lobe epilepsy.

Methods:  We analyzed the clinical and imaging features of five patients with seizures from the parahippocampal region.

Results:  Five patients had subtle but distinctive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities in the parahippocampal gyrus. This was a unilateral signal abnormality in the parahippocampal white matter extending into gray matter on heavily T1‐ and T2‐weighted images with relative preservation of the gray–white matter boundary on T1‐weighted volume sequences. Only one of these patients had typical electroclinical unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE); one mimicked frontal lobe epilepsy, two showed bitemporal seizures, and one had unlocalized partial seizures. All have had surgery; four are seizure‐free (one has occasional auras only, follow‐up 6 months to 10 years), and one has a >50% seizure reduction. Histopathologic evaluation suggested dysplastic features in the surgical specimens in all.

Discussion:  In patients with lesion‐negative partial epilepsy with frontal or temporal semiology, or in cases with apparent bitemporal seizures, subtle parahippocampal abnormalities should be carefully excluded. Recognizing the MRI findings of an abnormal parahippocampal gyrus can lead to successful surgery without invasive monitoring, despite apparently incongruent electroclinical features.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators: Do Women Fare Worse Than Men? Gender Comparison in the INTRINSIC RV Trial
Authors: RUSSO ANDREA M. , DAY JOHN D. , STOLEN KIRA , MULLIN CHRISTOPHER M. , DORAISWAMY VINAYAK , LEREW DARIN L. , OLSHANSKY BRIAN
Published: May 2009

Introduction: Due to limited enrollment of women in previous trials, there is a paucity of data comparing outcome and arrhythmic events in men versus women with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

Methods and Results: We analyzed outcome of patients in the INTRINSIC RV (Inhibition of Unnecessary RV Pacing with AV Search Hysteresis in ICDs) trial based on gender. Women comprised 19% (293/1530) of the INTRINSIC RV population. Compared with men, women were less likely to have coronary disease, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and hyperlipidemia, and were more likely to have congestive heart failure and diabetes. Women were less likely to receive beta blockers and ACE inhibitors, and more likely to receive diuretics. Over 10.8 ± 3.5 months of follow‐up, unadjusted mortality was higher in women than men (6.8% vs 4.1%, P = 0.04). Heart failure hospitalizations occurred in 7.9% of women versus 5.7% of men (P = 0.13). After adjustment for baseline differences and drug therapy, there was no significant difference in mortality between men and women. Adverse events were observed more often in women. There were no gender differences in the percentage of patients receiving appropriate or inappropriate ICD shocks.

Conclusions: In INTRINSIC RV, women receiving ICDs differed from men regarding baseline characteristics and drug therapy. After adjusting for baseline differences and medical therapy, there were no differences in heart failure hospitalization, survival, or ICD shock therapy during follow‐up. Apparent undertreatment of heart failure and greater frequency of adverse advents in women receiving ICDs warrant further investigation.
Semiparametric Regression in Size‐Biased Sampling
Authors: Chen Ying Qing
Published: May 2009

SummarySize‐biased sampling arises when a positive‐valued outcome variable is sampled with selection probability proportional to its size. In this article, we propose a semiparametric linear regression model to analyze size‐biased outcomes. In our proposed model, the regression parameters of covariates are of major interest, while the distribution of random errors is unspecified. Under the proposed model, we discover that regression parameters are invariant regardless of size‐biased sampling. Following this invariance property, we develop a simple estimation procedure for inferences. Our proposed methods are evaluated in simulation studies and applied to two real data analyses.
Long‐term effects of magnesium carbonate on coronary artery calcification and bone mineral density in hemodialysis patients: A pilot study
Authors: SPIEGEL David M. , FARMER Beverly
Published: May 2009

Observational data suggest that elevated magnesium levels in dialysis patients may prevent vascular calcification and in vitro magnesium can prevent hydroxyapatite crystal growth. However, the effects of magnesium on vascular calcification and bone mineral density have not been studied prospectively. Seven chronic hemodialysis patients participated in this open label, prospective pilot study to evaluate the effects of a magnesium‐based phosphate binder on coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores and vertebral bone mineral density (V‐BMD) in patients with baseline CAC scores >30. Magnesium carbonate/calcium carbonate (elemental Mg: 86 mg/elemental Ca 100 mg) was administered as the principal phosphate binder for a period of 18 months and changes in CAC and V‐BMD were measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Serum magnesium levels averaged 2.2±0.4 mEq/L (range: 1.3–3.9 mEq/L). Phosphorus levels (4.5±0.6 mg/dL) were well controlled throughout the 18 months study. Electron beam computed tomography results demonstrated a small not statically significant increase in absolute CAC scores, no significant change in median percent change, and a small none significant change in V‐BMD. Magnesium may have a favorable effect on CAC. The long‐term effect on bone mineral density remains unclear. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Introduction: Diversity Not Uniformity
Authors: RAYBECK DOUGLAS
Published: May 2009

AbstractThis introduction endeavors to place Anthony F. C. Wallace's contributions to psychological anthropology in historical and disciplinary context. His theoretical and methodological advances led to the emergence of a more empirically oriented field of endeavor that is more properly designated psychological anthropology, rather than culture and personality. The four articles that compose this issue make effective use of Wallace's conception of “organization of diversity” and illustrate its utility across a wide range of issues. [Anthony F. C. Wallace, organization of diversity, theory, methodology, psychological anthropology]
Interactions of Temperament and Culture: The Organization of Diversity in Samoan Infancy
Authors: Odden Harold L.
Published: May 2009

AbstractMany forms of individual variation in early childhood are accommodated via processes of reciprocal adaptation of the child and their “developmental niche.” Although most are minor adaptations, some culturally patterned adjustments can have profound organizational effects on the niche and the child's developmental trajectory. Research conducted in Samoa suggests at least two distinct adaptations of the modal developmental niche for infants and toddlers keyed to different temperamental profiles:interpersonally assertiveandbehaviorally restrained. I argue that these two different variants of the modal niche emerge from dynamic interplay of different temperamental profiles, ethnotheories of child development, and child‐rearing practices. These different niches can be developmentally significant in that they channel the individual's development in contrastive ways and introduce different future developmental challenges and opportunities. My larger point is that these different manifestations of the developmental niche represent one way in which social, cultural, and ecological factors on the one hand, and individual diversity on the other hand, interact to organize and constrain individual diversity. [Child development, temperament, infancy, developmental niche, Samoa]
Culture, Development, and Diversity: Expectable Pluralism, Conflict, and Similarity
Authors: Weisner Thomas S.
Published: May 2009

AbstractCultural values and scripts for parenting can be inconsistent, producing intrapsychic and cultural conflict. For example, many middle‐class U.S. parents encourage independence, self‐reliance, and autonomy in children, yet also encourage children to seek out help and look for attention from adults. Parents respond with egoistic recognition of children's achievements—a set of contradictions that lead to dependency conflicts. Another example of conflicting goals and fears for many U.S. parents is bedsharing with children. Parents hold strong beliefs about the importance of bedsharing and its positive or negative outcomes; their beliefs are important to their identity and beliefs about good outcomes for their children, even where actual impacts of bedsharing on children show no strong differences. At the same time, if enough features of the cultural learning environment are similar, outcomes of childrearing practices will be reasonably similar and consistent within a community. These examples suggest that conflict, diversity, and pluralism are expectable within and across communities, but also that shared cultural learning environments will simultaneously encourage similarity. In this article, I present empirical examples of these processes, some of which organize diversity to produce consensus, whereas others produce intrapsychic, intersubjective, and cross‐cultural conflict. [cultural pluralism, conflict, cultural learning environment, dependency conflict, bedsharing]
Commentary: An Evolutionary Biocultural Approach to the Organization of Intracultural Diversity
Authors: Hewlett Barry S.
Published: May 2009

Abstract
The commentary introduces an evolutionary biocultural approach for understanding the organization of intracultural diversity in child development and uses the approach to critique the articles by Thomas S. Weisner and Harold L. Odden. [child development, evolutionary theory, cultural transmission]
Epilogue: On the Organization of Diversity
Authors: Wallace Anthony F. C.
Published: May 2009

Abstract
Wallace first reviews the issues in cultural anthropology that originally prompted him to direct attention to the importance of individual diversity and the limitations of cognitive sharing. Anthropologists have continued to work with the methodological problems of measuring the extent of sharing and diversity. Meanwhile the word diversity itself has become a buzzword, as concerns over globalization and climate change have mounted. The symposium's papers focus on the compromises between diverse individualities and normative expectations in the course of child development. Wallace welcomes the recognition that broad cultural categories like race, age, gender, and ethnicity fail to mold life choices as forcefully as do the particularities of intimate developmental experiences in family and neighborhood, complementing and extending his original formulations. [culture theory, cognition, diversity, sharing, organization of diversity]