bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding on plasma ghrelin, eating behaviour and body weight
Authors: Schindler K. , Prager G. , Ballaban T. , Kretschmer S. , Riener R. , Buranyi B. , Maier C. , Luger A. , Ludvik B.
Published: August 2004

Background  Plasma ghrelin, an orexigenic peptide derived from the stomach and duodenum, increases following weight loss and might contribute to weight regain. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) on body weight and body composition as well as plasma ghrelin in relation to eating behaviour in morbidly obese patients.

Materials and methods  This study was performed in 23 morbidly obese subjects who underwent standardized LAGB. Fasting plasma ghrelin was measured before and 6 months after surgery and was correlated with body weight, body composition, and eating behaviour.

Results  Six months after LAGB, body weight decreased significantly by −15·7 ± 1·4 kg (mean ± SEM, P = 0·0001) which was accompanied by an increased cognitive restraint of eating (P = 0·001), and by a decreased disinhibition of eating and susceptibility to hunger (P = 0·0001). Plasma ghrelin increased (P = 0·016) by 27·2% from 100·39 ± 12·90 to 127·22 ± 13·15 fmol mL−1. The change in plasma ghrelin correlated with changes in body weight (r = −0·49, P = 0·02), BMI (r = −0·42, P = 0.048) and fat mass (r = −0·519, P = 0·013), but not with changes of fat‐free mass and of the three dimensions of eating behaviour.

Conclusion  Weight loss following LAGB leads to an increase in fasting plasma ghrelin and is accompanied by a decrease in hunger, disinhibition of eating and an increase in cognitive restraint. Thus, changes in eating behaviour, which promote reduction of food intake and not fasting ghrelin, determines weight loss achieved by LAGB.
Free fatty acids exert a greater effect on ocular and skin blood flow than triglycerides in healthy subjects
Authors: Bayerle‐Eder M. , Polska E. , Kopf A. , Roden M. , Waldhäusl W. , Pleiner H. , Wipler B. , Wolzt M. , Schmetterer L.
Published: August 2004

Background  Free fatty acids (FFAs) and triglycerides (TGs) can cause vascular dysfunction and arteriosclerosis. Acute elevation of plasma FFA and TG concentration strongly increase ocular and skin blood flow. This study was designed to discriminate whether FFA or TG independently induce hyperperfusion by measuring regional and systemic haemodynamics.

Methods  In a balanced, randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, three‐way, crossover study nine healthy subjects received either Intralipid® (Pharmacia and Upjohn, Vienna, Austria) with heparin, Intralipid® alone or placebo control. Pulsatile choroidal blood flow was measured with laser interferometry, retinal blood flow and retinal red blood cell velocity with laser Doppler velocimetry, and skin blood flow with laser Doppler flowmetry during an euglycaemic insulin clamp.

Results  A sevenfold increase of FFA during Intralipid®/heparin infusion was paralleled by enhanced choriodal, retinal, and skin blood flow by 17 ± 4%, 26 ± 5% (P < 0·001), and 47 ± 19% (P = 0·03) from baseline, respectively. In contrast, a mere threefold increase of FFA by infusion of Intralipid® alone did not affect outcome parameters, despite the presence of plasma TG levels of 250–700 mg dL−1; similar to those obtained during combined Intralipid®/heparin infusion. Systemic haemodynamics were not affected by drug infusion.

Conclusions  Present findings demonstrate a concentration‐dependent increase in ocular and skin blood flow by FFA independently of elevated TG plasma concentrations. As vasodilation of resistance vessels occur rapidly, FFA may play a role in the development of continued regional hyperperfusion and deteriorate microvascular function.
Humming‐induced release of nasal nitric oxide for assessment of sinus obstruction in allergic rhinitis: pilot study
Authors: Maniscalco M. , Sofia M. , Weitzberg E. , De Laurentiis G. , Stanziola A. , Rossillo V. , Lundberg J. O.
Published: August 2004

Background  Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide (NO) in healthy people by causing a rapid washout of NO from the sinuses. This increase is abolished in patients with complete sinus ostial obstruction.

Objective  Allergic rhinitis is a risk factor for development of sinusitis and we wanted to study whether nasal NO measurement during humming could be used to detect sinus abnormalities in this disorder.

Methods  Fifty‐nine consecutive subjects with mild to moderate allergic rhinitis were studied. Their present nasal symptoms were recorded. Then NO levels were measured by chemiluminescence during quiet single‐breath nasal exhalations and humming exhalations at a fixed exhalation flow of 0·2 L s−1. Based on the NO results the patients were divided into two groups: those with a great increase in nasal NO during humming (humming responders, n = 46) and those without a significant increase (humming nonresponders, n = 13). In 11 of the nonresponders and in 22 of the responders the passage to the osteomeatal complex area was assessed and scored by nasal endoscopy. This was carried out by an oto‐rhino‐laryngologist unaware of the NO results.

Results  Among the nonresponders nine of 11 patients (80%) had endoscopic signs of bilateral sinus obstruction, compared with one of the 22 (< 5%) humming responders. Baseline nasal symptom score and NO levels during quiet exhalation were not significantly different between the groups

Conclusion  Absence of a nasal NO peak during humming is associated with endoscopic findings suggestive of sinus ostial obstruction in subjects with allergic rhinitis. Measurement of nasal NO during humming may be a simple method to detect sinus abnormalities in these patients.
Type 1 diabetes is insulin −2221 MspI and CTLA‐4 +49 A/G polymorphism dependent
Authors: Haller K. , Kisand K. , Nemvalts V. , Laine A.‐P. , Ilonen J. , Uibo R.
Published: August 2004

Background  Several studies have demonstrated an association of type 1 diabetes with specific alleles of HLA class II molecules, as with polymorphisms of insulin gene region. The aim of our study was to evaluate the interaction of insulin −2221 MspI polymorphism to type 1 diabetes susceptibility in connection with autoimmunity associated gene – CTLA‐4 polymorphism.

Materials and methods  Insulin −2221 MspI C/T and CTLA‐4 +49 A/G polymorphisms were detected by restriction fragment‐length polymorphism analysis or oligonucleotide hybridization in type 1 (n = 69), type 2 diabetes (n = 301) patients and 158 healthy controls. Regression model adjusted for age, gender and gene polymorphisms was studied.

Results  C‐allele of insulin −2221 MspI and G‐allele of +49 CTLA‐4 were significant risk factors for type 1 diabetes (crude OR 3·53 and 1·59, respectively) and this impact increased in the homozygous form of both alleles. The regression model supported the idea of insulin CC and CTLA‐4 GG genotypes for an independent and clearly significant risk for developing type 1 diabetes. We could not detect any significant correlation between investigated polymorphisms and type 2 diabetes.

Conclusions  There exists a significant association between the C‐allele of −2221 MspI in the insulin gene and type 1 diabetes. The CTLA‐4 G‐allele is also positively correlated with type 1 diabetes. According to the regression model the investigated gene polymorphisms are independent risk factors for development of type 1 diabetes in the Estonian population. We propose that −2221 MspI is a good marker for evaluation of risk of insulin gene haplotype in type 1 diabetes patients.
Elevated sweat sodium associated with pulmonary oedema in meningococcal sepsis
Authors: Eisenhut M. , Sidaras D. , Barton P. , Newland P. , Southern K. W.
Published: August 2004

Background  We observed a temporary positive sweat test with sodium and chloride levels greater than 60 mmol L−1 following meningococcal septicaemia. Objective was to investigate whether this finding is reproducible and whether this disturbance in epithelial sodium transport is related to sepsis‐induced pulmonary oedema.

Materials and methods  Twenty‐four children with a diagnosis of meningococcal septicaemia and 10 controls with noninfectious critical illness admitted to the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital were included. Sweat collection was by pilocarpine iontophoresis in the acute phase of the illness (days 1–5) and on follow up. Sodium and chloride concentrations were determined by flame photometry.

Results  In patients with meningococcal septicaemia, sweat sodium and chloride concentrations were significantly higher in the acute compared with the recovery phase, with a mean (SD) of 31·0 (14·6) mmol L−1 in the acute vs. 19·6 (10·2) mmol L−1 on recovery for sodium and 21·0 (12·1) mmol L−1 in the acute vs. 11·8 (4·9) mmol L−1 on recovery for chloride (P < 0·01, t‐test, for sodium and chloride). Sweat sodium and chloride were significantly higher in patients with meningococcal disease compared with controls and in the acute phase in patients with septicaemia‐related pulmonary oedema [mean (SD) sodium: 41·0 (15·4) mmol L−1 and chloride: 28·8 (14·3) mmol L−1] compared with septic patients without [mean (SD) sodium: 24·5 (10·1) mmol L−1 and chloride: 15·3 (7·9) mmol L−1] (P < 0·01 for sodium and chloride).

Conclusions  This is the first study to provide in vivo evidence of reduced epithelial sodium transport in children with septicaemia and of its association with pulmonary oedema.
Characterization and application of two novel monoclonal antibodies against CD40L: epitope and functional studies on cell membrane CD40L and studies on the origin of soluble serum CD40L
Authors: Fan Y. , Ge Y. , Zhu H. , Wang Y. , Yang B. , Zhuang Y. , Ma H. , Zhang X.
Published: August 2004

Abstract CD40 ligand, a 33‐kDa cell membrane molecule, a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily, is an important costimulatory molecule during immune response. Here, we report on two functional mouse anti‐human CD40L monoclonal antibodies 1B1 and 4F1 characterized by flow cytometry, Western blotting, and competition assay. The antibodies bound to distinct CD40L epitopes and therefore resulted in different bioactivity. Both antibodies could induce CD4+ T‐cell alloantigenic hyporesponsiveness ex vivo. The antibodies were matched to develop a two‐site enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for soluble CD40L (sCD40L). Using this ELISA assay, we found major differences between plasma and serum sCD40L levels. Because the count of platelet sharply decreased in aplastic anemia (AA) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), we further analyzed the sCD40L concentration in the plasma of AA and ITP patients. The results showed that the sCD40L in serum was much lower than that of healthy subjects. These data demonstrate that platelets seem to be a major contributor to sCD40L, though not the only source of sCD40L in serum.
Application of discordant sib‐pair linkage analysis for mapping minor histocompatibility antigen loci in a novel graft‐vs‐host‐disease model
Authors: Araki J. , Ohashi J. , Muramatsu M.
Published: August 2004

Abstract: Graft‐vs‐host disease (GVHD) is an adverse effect of allogenic bone marrow transplantation. Although a major cause of GVHD following bone marrow transplantation is incompatibility of major histocompatibility antigen (human leukocyte antigen, HLA) in donor–recipient pairs, the incompatibility of minor histocompatibility antigen (mHa) is known as another cause, especially in HLA‐matched donor–recipient pairs. In 1998, Lunetta and Rogus proposed the use of discordant sib‐pair (DSP) linkage analysis for detecting mHa and calculated the statistical power using the GVHD model, assuming single mHa locus with multiple alleles. Recently, we proposed a different GVHD model, assuming multiple mHa loci with two alleles (biallelic), considering the single‐nucleotide polymorphisms. When the effect of each mHa locus on the occurrence of GVHD is independent, the possible triangle for DSP proposed by Lunetta and Rogus is not optimum, but a new possible triangle, named here as GVHD region, is needed. We evaluated, based on Monte Carlo simulation, the test criteria [log of odds (lod) score cutoffs] and power of DSP using the GVHD region for various parameter sets. The GVHD region showed a higher power than the DSP and entire regions in plausible situations. Our results suggest that the application of GVHD region to DSP is effective for the screening of mHa loci.
HLA class I serotypes and cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte responses among human immunodeficiency virus‐1‐uninfected Thai volunteers immunized with ALVAC‐HIV in combination with monomeric gp120 or oligomeric gp160 protein boosting
Authors: Paris R. , Bejrachandra S. , Karnasuta C. , Chandanayingyong D. , Kunachiwa W. , Leetrakool N. , Prakalapakorn S. , Thongcharoen P. , Nittayaphan S. , Pitisuttithum P. , Suriyanon V. , Gurunathan S. , McNeil J.G. , Brown A.E. , Birx D.L. , De Souza M.
Published: August 2004

Abstract:  Antigen‐induced cellular immunogenicity may vary between populations due to differences in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diversity and, hence, may play a critical role in the protection afforded by vaccines. In the setting of two, phase I/II human immunodeficiency virus‐1 vaccine trials of a recombinant canarypox prime, and boosting with either recombinant monomeric gp120 or oligomeric gp160, we assessed the association between specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I serotypes and the presence of cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte response measured by 51Cr‐release assay. HLA class I serotypes A11, A24, A33, B46, and B75 were the most common, present in 10% or more of 245 individuals studied. Forty of 187 (21.4%) Thai adults who received either ALVAC‐HIV with gp120 or oligomeric gp160 or ALVAC alone had a precursor cytolytic CD8 T‐cell response (pCTL). HLA‐B44 was positively and significantly associated with a pCTL response (odds ratio 7.6, 95% CI: 2.7–21.2), whereas B46 was negatively associated but not robust when adjusted for multiple comparisons. Responses to Env proteins accounted for the majority (nine of 11) of pCTL activity among those persons with B44. This HLA class I serotype occurred in 9.4% of participants overall (including the placebo group), less commonly than what is reported from populations of European ancestry. These results strengthen the importance of assessing HLA class I distributions in conjunction with studies of vaccines designed to elicit cellular immunity in different populations.
Expression of tetraspanins in peripheral blood leukocytes: a comparison between normal and infectious conditions
Authors: Tohami T. , Drucker L. , Radnay J. , Shapira H. , Lishner M.
Published: August 2004

Abstract:  The role of tetraspanins is undefined, despite their detection in diverse cell types and functions. This study addresses the characterization of tetraspanin expression levels in normal peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and in patients with bacterial infection. Membranal and cytoplasmic expression of CD9, CD53, CD63, CD81, CD82 and CD151 in polymorphonuclears (PMN), monocytes, B and T lymphocytes was assessed using flow cytometry. Results suggested that for normal PBL, PMN are distinguished by dominant cytoplasmic CD63; monocytes and B cells prevailingly express CD53; CD82 is primarily expressed on T‐cell membranes. However, a major trend of downregulation was demonstrated for the examined tetraspanins, except CD63, in all patients' PBL subtypes. Therefore, tetraspanin modulation in infections may be attributed to elevated leukocyte motility in immune reactions and this is compatible with the previous publications of tetraspanins as metastasis suppressors. This work represents the first comprehensive baseline of tetraspanin expression in normal PBL and in infectious disorders.
Description of a novel HLA‐DRB1 allele found in a candidate for bone marrow transplantation*
Authors: Mas V. , Arias M.T. , Fabregat V. , Nomdedeu B. , Serrapagès C. , Vives J. , Martorell J. , Carreras E. , Ercilla M.G.
Published: August 2004

Abstract:  We report the identification of a new DRB1* allele in a Spanish Caucasoid family during a search for a histocompatible bone marrow donor. This novel allele, designated as DRB1*1145, differs from DRB1*1123 in one nucleotide at position 199 in exon 2 (A replacing T), leading to one amino acid change from phenylalanine (Phe) to isoleucine (Ile) at codon 67. The propositus's father had identical class II alleles but showed a minor mismatch at locus B (B*4403 by B*4402) and a C‐locus mismatch (Cw*1502 by Cw*0501). We discuss the criteria of selecting a non‐related bone marrow donor with a minor mismatch on the DRB1* allele or the related father having a minor mismatch at B locus and a C‐locus mismatch.
HLA class I and class II genotyping in patients with Behcet's disease: a regional study of eastern part of Turkey
Authors: Pirim I. , Atasoy M. , Ikbal M. , Erdem T. , Aliagaoglu C.
Published: August 2004

Abstract:  Class I human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐B51 is well known to be associated with Behcet's disease in many ethnic groups. However, there has been no published paper with respect to its association with HLA class I and class II among the Turkish people who live in the eastern region of Turkey. Moreover, as it is known that B51 antigen is encoded by 21 alleles, B*5101–5121, HLA‐B51 allele typing was performed, as well as HLA class I and class II genotyping of 75 patients with the disease and the 54 individuals in the matched control group. The result shows that the HLA‐B51 frequency was significantly higher (58.66%) in the patient group, compared to that in the control group (18.51%) (OR = 6.245). In the subtyping of B51 alleles, 44 B51‐positive patients possessed B*5101 (45.5%), B*5108 (25%), B*5105 (9.1%) and B*5104 (4.5%). There was no significant difference in the HLA‐B51 allelic distribution between the patient group and the control group. However, homozygous carriers of HLA‐B51 showed considerably high risk (OR = 2.647) in the patient group, compared to that in the control group. In the genotyping of class II HLA alleles, while HLA‐DRB1*04 (45.3%) and HLA‐DRB1*07 (24%) were the predominant alleles in the patient group, DRB1*11 (50%) appeared to be more common in the control group.
Eight novel MICB alleles, including a null allele, identified in gastric MALT lymphoma patients
Authors: Schroeder M. , Elsner H.‐A. , Kim T.D. , Blasczyk R.
Published: August 2004

Abstract:  MICA and MICB, as members of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I‐chain‐related genes (MIC), encode stress‐inducible glycoproteins that act as activating ligands for NKG2D and γδ T‐cell receptor‐bearing cells. We here describe the identification of eight novel MICB variants, including a null allele, which were identified in peripheral blood leukocytes of gastric MALT lymphoma patients. Only two of the novel alleles are characterized by point mutations, whereas the other variants display a recombination of known exonic MICB sequences that may be best explained by intragenic conversions. The novel MICB null allele is characterized by a Cytosin (C) deletion in a stretch of four Cs beginning from nucleotide 135 of exon 2 that leads to a premature stop codon (TGA) at codon 66.
Processes of State Delegitimization in Post‐independence Rural Mozambique: the case of Namapa District, Nampula Province1
Authors: Dinerman Alice
Published: August 2004

Abstract  This article argues that the first two decades of Mozambican independence witnessed a proliferation of rural claims to access to, and control over, labor, land and tribute and that this trend contributed to the delegitimization of the Frelimo state. Taking Namapa District, Nampula Province as a case study, it shows the ways in which the reinstatement of chiefs as agents of the local administration in 1992 only served to widen the cascade of claims and counterclaims in many localities and, hence, to further undermine the legitimacy of official authority. Under the circumstances, the achievement of a “decentralized despotism” remained an elusive proposition. Processes of local socio‐political change are interpreted within the context of Mozambique's structural adjustment program and its transition to multiparty rule.
Sex in Health Education: Official Guidance for Schools in England, 1928–1977
Authors: Pilcher Jane
Published: August 2004

Abstract  This article examines official policy discourses on sex within the health education curriculum of schools during the period 1928–77. The article begins with an account of the origins of sex education in schools, and of why, in the early twentieth century, its inclusion in the health education curriculum was problematical. In the main section, the article examines the content of consecutive editions of the government published “handbooks of health education”, and of an important supplementary guidance pamphlet, published during the Second World War. It traces the gradual shifts over time in official discourses of “sex education”, and in the sets of understandings about children, sexuality and the role of parents, for example, which underlay them. The shifts in official guidance discourses on sex within the health education curriculum of schools are explained through locating changes in their broader social and political contexts, especially the impact of the Second World War on sexual morality and the post‐war emergence of youth as a significant social grouping. The article concludes by evaluating the handbooks as a source for the history of school‐based health and sex education and by drawing attention to the wider historical and sociological significance of official discourses on sex education.
Trust in God and Trust in Man: The Ambivalent Role of Religion in Shaping Dimensions of Social Trust
Authors: Welch Michael R. , Sikkink David , Sartain Eric , Bond Carolyn
Published: August 2004

We use data from the National Election Study (2000) to analyze relationships among measures of religious orientation and commitment and three aspects of social trust. Results from OLS and ordered logistic regression models indicate that individuals affiliated with specific denominations (e.g., Pentecostal and other Christian) tend to display significantly lower levels of certain types of social trust than members of mainline Protestant denominations, once a variety of controls have been applied. This pattern is reversed, however, among respondents who attend church more frequently and who report that religion provides them substantial guidance in their daily lives.
Different Religions, Different Politics? Religion and Political Attitudes in Argentina and Chile
Authors: Patterson Eric
Published: August 2004

Various theories attempt to explain political outcomes. One of the most bitterly contested schools of explanation deals with culture, attitudes, and values. In the broadest sense, this tradition argues that political and social outcomes are determined in large part by the shared beliefs and values of the populace or a subgroup thereof. Thus, Stephen White (1984) has defined political culture as “historically formed beliefs and behavior,” recognizing that one's political attitudes and behavior are usually formed by inherited values as well as life experience. Moreover, scholars of political culture expect continuity of values over time and therefore are intrigued by cases of changing beliefs and attitudes. Thus, the explosive growth of evangelical and Pentecostal Protestantism in Latin America, where Protestants have grown from a handful to 20–30 percent of the population in a single generation, provides a unique opportunity for study. This rapid shift to Protestantism and its consequences for democracy have been fiercely debated in recent years. Max Weber's Protestant ethic thesis suggests that Protestantism may provide a catalyst for the establishment of democratic norms. However, many contemporary scholars argue that evangelical Protestantism is conservative, authoritarian, and politically passive. Do different religions result in different political attitudes? Does religious devotion, as distinguished from denomination, affect one's politics? This article evaluates political attitudes among Protestants and Catholics in Argentina and Chile to examine the claims of recent political culture arguments that modern Latin American Protestantism is resistant to democratic values. Survey data indicate that religious intensity (“devout‐ness”), rather than religious affiliation, does influence political attitudes, and that demographic and political engagement variables also influence democratic values.
Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States: The Scope of Influence
Authors: Wuthnow Robert , Cadge Wendy
Published: August 2004

Researchers have speculated about the growing influence of Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States, but little has been done to estimate the scope of this influence or to consider alternative ways of understanding it. We present data collected from a large, nationally representative survey completed in 2003. The data show that one American in seven claims to have had a fair amount of contact with Buddhists and that one person in eight believes Buddhist teachings or practices have had an important influence on his or her religion or spirituality. We describe three perspectives from which variations in exposure to Buddhists and being influenced by Buddhism may be understood: two versions of the “strictness hypothesis” from the religious economies literature and a broader argument about institutional embeddedness. We find empirical support for each of the three perspectives.
After the New Age
Authors: Bainbridge William Sims
Published: August 2004

This article explores the connections between conventional religion and the New Age, using data from a major online questionnaire study, Survey2001, that was sponsored by the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation. It begins with two competing hypotheses. (1) Involvement in conventional religion discourages involvement in unconventional para‐religion because conventional religion competes with para‐religion. (2) Conventional religion encourages unconventional para‐religion by promulgating supernatural assumptions about the nature of humanity and the universe. Factor analysis of 20 putatively New Age agree‐disagree questionnaire items reveals that 15 of them define a general New Age factor, supported by secondary anti‐paranormal and anti‐alien factors. Three measures of conventional religiousness show complex relations to the New Age items. Analysis using factor scores indicates that both hypotheses express real effects that cancel each other out for many people. Individual subjective religiousness and personal prayer or meditation correlate strongly positively with the New Age among respondents who never attend religious services. The study considers denominational differences, then concludes by showing that a curvilinear relationship exists between religiousness and acceptance of New Age beliefs.
Assessing the Relationships Among Prayer Expectancies, Race, and Self‐Esteem in Late Life
Authors: Krause Neal
Published: August 2004

When people pray, they have certain beliefs or expectations about the nature of the response they hope to receive. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between two specific prayer expectancies and self‐esteem with data provided by a nationwide survey of older adults. The first has to do with the timing of answers to prayers while the second involves the ways prayers are answered. The data suggest that feelings of self‐worth are highest when older people believe that only God knows when it is best to answer a prayer, and only God knows the best way to answer it. In contrast, self‐esteem tends to be lower among older adults who believe prayers are answered right away and believe they get exactly what they ask for. However, further analysis reveals that the benefits of prayer expectancies are more evident among older African Americans than among older whites.
Religion and Alcohol Use Among African‐American and Hispanic Inner‐City Emergency Care Patients
Authors: Bazargan Shahrzad , Sherkat Darren E. , Bazargan Mohsen
Published: August 2004

This study examines the impact of religious factors on alcohol consumption prior to seeking emergency care and on alcohol abuse in a random sample of inner‐city Hispanic and African‐American emergency care patients. A random sample of patients 18 years and older was drawn from a large inner‐city hospital. Respondents who reported having consumed alcohol six hours prior to emergency admission were compared with other patients on a variety of demographic and religious indicators. Logistic regression models predicting consumption prior to admission and abstinence were estimated, along with Heckman's selection models of alcohol abuse. Religious participation has a significant negative impact on the odds of having alcohol six hours prior to seeking emergency care, and increases the odds of abstaining from alcohol. Religious coping styles, personal religiosity, and spirituality have no impact on indicators of alcohol consumption or abuse.
Transcendence and the Moral Self: Identity Integration, Religion, and Moral Life
Authors: Maclean A. Michael , Walker Lawrence J. , Matsuba M. Kyle
Published: August 2004

Although moral reasoning is able to account for some of the variability in moral behavior, much remains unexplained. Recently, a number of components of personality have been proposed as bridging the gap between moral reasoning and moral behavior. The present study investigates the role that identity integration (the extent to which one's moral values have become integrated into identity) and religious orientation (one's motivation for engaging in religious practice) play in moral functioning. A sample of 60 undergraduates was assessed on identity integration, religious orientation, moral reasoning, and self‐reported altruism. We found positive correlations among moral reasoning, identity integration, intrinsic religious orientation, and self‐reported altruism. A hierarchical regression analysis, however, revealed moral reasoning to be the only significant predictor of self‐reported altruistic behavior. We discuss the relationship between moral reasoning and identity integration and the extent to which the intrinsic religious orientation scale may be a measure of identity integration in the religious domain.
Federal District Court Decision Making in Public Forum and Religious Speech Cases, 1973–2001
Authors: Blakeman John C. , Greco Donald E.
Published: August 2004

This article investigates federal district court decision making in First Amendment lawsuits concerning religious expression and public forums. As trial courts, district courts are the first to adjudicate claims concerning religious speech in public places and thus they determine whether a public forum is open to expression in general, as well as grant or deny access to that forum for a religious speaker. With a comprehensive database of all district court cases concerning religious expression and public forum doctrine, we use logistic regression to measure the significance of several legal and extra‐legal variables in order to explain district court outcomes.
Spinel–cordierite symplectites replacing andalusite: evidence for melt‐assisted diapirism in the Bushveld Complex, South Africa
Authors: Johnson T. , Brown M. , Gibson R. , Wing B.
Published: August 2004

Spinel–cordierite symplectites partially replacing andalusite occur in metapelitic rocks within the cores of several country rock diapirs that have ascended into the upper levels of layered mafic/ultramafic rocks in the Bushveld Complex. We investigate the petrogenesis of these symplectites in one of these diapirs, the Phepane dome. Petrographic evidence indicates that at conditions immediately below the solidus the rocks were characterized by a cordierite‐, biotite‐ and K‐feldspar‐rich matrix and 5–10 mm long andalusite porphyroblasts surrounded by biotite‐rich fringes. Phase relations in the MnNCKFMASHT model system constrain the near‐solidus prograde path to around 3 kbar and imply that andalusite persisted metastably into the sillimanite + melt field, where the fringing relationship between biotite and andalusite provided spatially restricted equilibrium domains with silica‐deficient effective bulk compositions that focused suprasolidus reaction. MnNCKFMASHT pseudosections that model these compositional domains suggest that volatile phase‐absent melting reactions consuming andalusite and biotite initially produced a moat of cordierite surrounding andalusite; reaction progressed until all quartz was consumed. Spinel is predicted to grow with cordierite at around 720 °C. Formation of the aluminous solid products was strongly controlled by the receding edge of andalusite grains, with symplectites forming at the andalusite‐cordierite moat interface. Decompression due to melt‐assisted diapiric rise of the floor rocks into the overlying mafic/ultramafic rocks occurred close to the thermal peak. Re‐crossing of the solidus at P = 1.5–2 kbar, T > 700 °C resulted in preservation of the symplectites. Two features of the silica‐deficient domains inhibited resorption of spinel. First, the cordierite moat armoured the symplectites from reaction with crystallizing melt in the outer part of the pseudomorphs. Second, an up‐T step in the solidus at low‐P, which may be in excess of 100 °C higher than the quartz‐saturated solidus, resulted in high‐T crystallization of melt on decompression. Even in metapelitic rocks where melt is retained, preservation of spinel is favoured by decompression.
A method for calculating effective bulk composition modification due to crystal fractionation in garnet‐bearing schist: implications for isopleth thermobarometry
Authors: Evans T. P.
Published: August 2004

Quantitative P–T path determination in metamorphic rocks is commonly based on the variation in composition of growth‐zoned garnet. However, some component of growth zoning in garnet is necessarily the result of an effective bulk composition change within the rock that has been generated by crystal fractionation of components into the core of garnet. Therefore, any quantitative calculation of the P–T regime of garnet growth should be completed using an accurate assessment of the composition of the chemical system from which garnet is growing. Consequently, a method for calculating the extent of crystal fractionation that provides a means of estimating the composition of the unfractionated rock at any stage during garnet growth is developed. The method presented here applies a Rayleigh fractionation model based on measured Mn content of garnet to generate composition v. modal proportion curves for garnet, and uses those curves to estimate the vectors of crystal fractionation. The technique is tested by calculating the precision of the equilibrium between three garnet compositional variables within the chemical system determined to be appropriate for each of a series of microprobe analyses from garnet. Application of the fractionation calculations in conjunction with the P–T estimates based on intersecting compositional isopleths provides a means of calculating P–T conditions of garnet growth that is based on individual point‐analyses on a garnet grain. Such spatially precise and easily obtainable P–T data allow for detailed parallel studies of the microstructural, the P–T, and the chemical evolution of metamorphosed pelites. This method provides a means of studying the dynamics of orogenic systems at a resolution that was previously unattainable.
Calculated phase equilibria in K2O‐FeO‐MgO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐H2O for sapphirine‐quartz‐bearing mineral assemblages
Authors: Kelsey D. E. , White R. W. , Holland T. J. B. , Powell R.
Published: August 2004

Sapphirine, coexisting with quartz, is an indicator mineral for ultrahigh‐temperature metamorphism in aluminous rock compositions. Here a new activity‐composition model for sapphirine is combined with the internally consistent thermodynamic dataset used by THERMOCALC, for calculations primarily in K2O‐FeO‐MgO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐H2O (KFMASH). A discrepancy between published experimentally derived FMAS grids and our calculations is understood with reference to H2O. Published FMAS grids effectively represent constant aH2O sections, thereby limiting their detailed use for the interpretation of mineral reaction textures in compositions with differing H2O.

For the calculated KFMASH univariant reaction grid, sapphirine + quartz assemblages occur at P–T in excess of 6–7 kbar and 1005 °C. Sapphirine compositions and composition ranges are consistent with natural examples. However, as many univariant equilibria are typically not ‘seen’ by a specific bulk composition, the univariant reaction grid may reveal little about the detailed topology of multi‐variant equilibria, and therefore is of limited use for interpreting the P–T evolution of mineral assemblages and reaction sequences. Calculated pseudosections, which quantify bulk composition and multi‐variant equilibria, predict experimentally determined KFMASH mineral assemblages with consistent topology, and also indicate that sapphirine stabilizes at increasingly higher pressure and temperature as XMg increases. Although coexisting sapphirine and quartz can occur in relatively iron‐rich rocks if the bulk chemistry is sufficiently aluminous, the P–T window of stability shrinks with decreasing XMg. An array of mineral assemblages and mineral reaction sequences from natural sapphirine + quartz and other rocks from Enderby Land, Antarctica, are reproducible with calculated pseudosections. That consistent phase diagram calculations involving sapphirine can be performed allows for a more thorough assessment of the metamorphic evolution of high‐temperature granulite facies terranes than was previously possible. The establishment of a a‐x model for sapphirine provides the basis for expansion to larger, more geologically realistic chemical systems (e.g. involving Fe3+).
Geothermobarometry of UHP and HP eclogites and schists – an evaluation of equilibria among garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–coesite/quartz
Authors: Krogh Ravna E. J. , Terry M. P.
Published: August 2004

Geothermometry of eclogites and other high pressure (HP)/ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) rocks has been a challenge, due to severe problems related to the reliability of the garnet–clinopyroxene Fe–Mg exchange thermometer to omphacite‐bearing assemblages. Likewise, reliable geobarometers for eclogites and related HP/UHP rocks are scarce. In this paper, a set of internally consistent geothermobarometric expressions have been formulated for reactions between the UHP assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–coesite, and the corresponding HP assemblage garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–phengite–quartz. In the system KCMASH, the end members grossular (Grs) and pyrope (Prp) in garnet, diopside (Di) in clinopyroxene, muscovite (Ms) and celadonite (Cel) in phengite together with kyanite and coesite or quartz define invariant points in the coesite and quartz stability field, respectively, depending on which SiO2 polymorph is stable. Thus, a set of net transfer reactions including these end members will uniquely define equilibrium temperatures and pressures for phengite–kyanite–SiO2‐bearing eclogites. Application to relevant eclogites from various localities worldwide show good consistency with petrographic evidence. Eclogites containing either coesite or polycrystalline quartz after coesite all plot within the coesite stability field, while typical quartz‐bearing eclogites with no evidence of former coesite fall within the quartz stability field. Diamondiferous coesite–kyanite eclogite and grospydite xenoliths in kimberlites all fall into the diamond stability field. The present method also yields consistent values as compared with the garnet–clinopyroxene Fe–Mg geothermometer for these kinds of rocks, but also indicates some unsystematic scatter of the latter thermometer. The net transfer geothermobarometric method presented in this paper is suggested to be less affected by later thermal re‐equilibration than common cation exchange thermometers.
Very high‐pressure (>4 GPa) eclogite associated with the Moldanubian Zone garnet peridotite (Nové Dvory, Czech Republic)
Authors: Nakamura D. , Svojtka M. , Naemura K. , Hirajima T.
Published: August 2004

Equilibrium pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions were estimated for kyanite‐bearing eclogite from Nové Dvory, Czech Republic, by using garnet–clinopyroxene thermometry and garnet–clinopyroxene–kyanite–coesite (or quartz) barometry. The estimated P–T conditions are 1050–1150 °C, 4.5–4.9 GPa, which are mostly the same as previously estimated values for garnet peridotite from Nové Dvory (∼1100–1250 °C, 5–6 GPa). Such very high‐P conditions, which correspond to about 150‐km depth, have been obtained for some garnet peridotites in the Gföhl Unit of the Bohemian Massif, but pressure conditions of eclogites associated with the garnet peridotites have not been so well constrained. This is the first substantial finding of eclogite that gives such very high‐P conditions in the Gföhl Unit of the Bohemian Massif. The Gföhl Unit mainly consists of felsic granulite or migmatitic gneiss, but these rock types do not display high‐P (>2.5 GPa) evidence. It is unclear whether both the peridotite body and surrounding felsic rocks in the Gföhl Unit were buried to very deep levels, but at least some garnet peridotites and associated eclogites in the Gföhl Unit have ascended from about 150‐km depth.
Ecological and Cultural Landscape Restoration and the Cultural Evolution towards a Post‐Industrial Symbiosis between Human Society and Nature
Authors: Naveh Z.
Published: August 2004

I discuss ecological and cultural restoration within the broader context of the critical transition period from the fossil fuel age to the post‐industrial global information age. In this cultural evolutionary process, the restoration of natural and cultural landscapes should play a vital role. For this purpose, it has to be guided by a holistic and transdisciplinary systems approach, aiming not only at the organismic but also at the functional and structural restoration of ecological and cultural diversity as total landscape ecodiversity. For the development of suitable restoration strategies, a clear distinction has to be made between different functional classes of natural and cultural solar‐powered biosphere and fossil‐powered technosphere landscapes, according to their inputs and throughputs of energy and materials, their organisms, their control by natural or human information, their internal self‐organization and their regenerative capacities. Not only technosphere landscapes but also intensive agro‐industrial landscapes have lost these capacities and are heavily subsidized by fossil energy and chemicals, to the detriment of the environment and human health. They therefore have to be rehabilitated by more sustainable but not less productive agricultural systems based on organic farming. But their natural regenerative capacities can be restored only by regenerative systems, with the help of cultural “neotechnic” information. The promise for an urgently required evolutionary symbiosis between human society and nature in a sustainable post‐industrial total human ecosystem lies in the functional integration of such innovative regenerative systems and all natural and cultural biosphere landscapes with healthier and more livable technosphere landscapes. To this goal, ecological and cultural landscape restoration can make an important contribution.
Factors Affecting Restoration of Halodule wrightii to Galveston Bay, Texas
Authors: Sheridan Pete , McMahan Garry , Hammerstrom Kamille , Pulich, Jr. Warren
Published: August 2004

Experimental restoration of Halodule wrightii (shoalgrass) to its former range on Galveston Island, Texas, began in April 1994. We tested the effects of site, planting density, water depth, and fertilizer addition on survival and growth through June 1996. Temperature, salinity, light transmittance, turbidity, and sediment properties at two restoration sites, Redfish Cove and Snake Island Cove, were similar to those in naturally occurring grassbeds in nearby Christmas Bay. Halodule survival, coverage, and new shoot densities were affected by site (significantly higher at Redfish Cove than at Snake Island Cove, which eventually failed), by planting density (significantly higher when planted on 0.25‐m or 0.5‐m centers rather than on 1.0‐m centers), and by water depth (significantly higher when planted in relatively shallow water). Propagation (spreading from transplant units) was significantly greater from 0.25‐m or 0.5‐m center plantings but was not consistently affected by site or water depth. Fertilizer enhanced propagation but not survival. After two years, Redfish Cove produced belowground biomass similar to that observed in Christmas Bay, but aboveground biomass remained significantly less. Snake Island Cove plant mortality in September 1995 may have been presaged by low root‐rhizome carbohydrate levels observed in October 1994, but causes remain unknown. Further restoration of Halodule to Galveston Bay is possible at selected sites, but structural equivalency will take longer than two growing seasons to achieve.
Seed Rain in Natural Grassland and Adjacent Ski Run in the Swiss Alps: A Preliminary Report
Authors: Urbanska Krystyna M. , Erdt Silvia , Fattorini Marzio
Published: August 2004

Seed rain was studied during one growing season in an intact high‐alpine grassland and in a downhill ski run that had been machine‐graded about 26 years earlier. The study plots were located at about 2500 meters above sea level. The number of trapped seeds per square meter in the grassland was significantly larger than in the ski run (930 versus 96, respectively). Alpha diversity in seed rain was about two times higher in the grassland than in the ski run. Seed rain was primarily influenced by site conditions but also varied in space and time, and both the actual number of diaspores and the species composition changed throughout the growing season. Most of the species found in the seed rain occurred in the standing vegetation, but some clearly arrived from outside. Seed rain in both sites was dominated by a few species, and no clear relationships were found between the species abundance in standing vegetation and in the seed rain. The results of this preliminary study contribute to a better understanding of plant behavior in high‐alpine sites and will be helpful in planning and implementing restoration work above the timberline.