bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Politicization of Religion: Political Catholicism and Political Islam in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Altınordu Ateş
Published: November 2010

While religious politics have been a widely discussed topic in the social sciences in recent decades, few studies develop general explanations based on systematic and detailed comparative analysis. This article seeks to explain when and how successful religious parties rise. To that end, I comparatively analyze the politicization of German Catholicism in the second half of the nineteenth century (1848—1878) and Turkish Islam in the post-1970 period (1970—2002) and briefly examine the negative case of nineteenth-century German Protestantism. According to the theory of revival-reaction-politicization I propose, successful religious parties rise when major religious revivals confront social counter-mobilization and state repression, provided that existing political parties do not effectively represent religious defense. The study's findings challenge the pervasive tendency to treat Christian and Islamic politics as incommensurable.
Strengthening Labor Standards Enforcement through Partnerships with Workers’ Organizations
Authors: Fine Janice , Gordon Jennifer
Published: November 2010

Structures of employment in low-wage industries, a diminished wage and hour inspectorate, and an unworkable immigration regime have combined to create an environment where violations of basic workplace laws are everyday occurrences. This article identifies four “logics” of detection and enforcement, arguing that there is a mismatch between the enforcement strategies of most federal and state labor inspectorates and the industries in which noncompliance continues to be a problem. In response, the authors propose augmenting labor inspectorates by giving public interest groups like unions and worker centers a formal, ongoing role in enforcement in low-wage sectors. In three case studies, the authors present evidence of an emergent system—one that harkens back to a logic proposed by the drafters of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) but never implemented—of empowering those closest to the action to work in partnership with government.
The Impact of Childhood Experiences and Family Members Outside the Household on Residential Environment Choices
Authors: Blaauboer Marjolein
Published: November 2010

Choices of urban, suburban or rural residential environments have often been studied from a life-course perspective. In this paper, an examination is made of the influence of childhood experiences and of residential environment choices of family members outside the household. It is argued that socialisation, location-specific capital and the wish to maintain close family ties may result in living in a similar residential environment later in life and in similar environments to siblings and parents. Results of multinomial logistic regression analyses of data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study show that the residential environment during childhood is indeed strongly associated with the current residential environment. Moreover, individuals show a strong similarity to their parents and siblings in their residential environment, even after accounting for residential inertia and return migration.
‘Near and Far’
Authors: Hodgetts Darrin , Stolte Ottilie , Radley Alan , Leggatt-Cook Chez , Groot Shiloh , Chamberlain Kerry
Published: November 2010

For domiciled individuals, homeless people provide a disturbing reminder that all is not right with the world. Reactions to seeing homeless people frequently encompass repulsion, discomfort, sympathy and sometimes futility. This paper considers domiciled constructions of homeless people drawn from interviews with 16 participants recruited in the central business district of a New Zealand city. It documents how, when trying to make sense of this complex social problem, domiciled people draw on shared characterisations of homeless people. The concept of ‘social distance’ is used to interrogate the shifting and sometimes incongruous reactions evident in participant accounts. ‘Social distancing’ is conceptualised as a dynamic communal practice existing in interactions between human beings and reflected in the ways that domiciled people talk about their experiences with homeless individuals.
Evidence of Gentrification-induced Displacement among Social Services in London and Los Angeles
Authors: De Verteuil Geoffrey
Published: November 2010

This paper addresses two key gaps within the gentrification/displacement literature: whether gentrification is displacing social services and whether displacement patterns differ comparatively. To this end, evidence is examined of gentrification-induced displacement of 81 purposively sampled social service facilities across gentrifying boroughs in London (Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster) and areas in Los Angeles (Downtown, Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice) during the 1998–2008 period. Results suggested that substantial entrapment co-exists alongside displacement and, in fact, was more commonplace.
What Affects Transit Ridership? A Dynamic Analysis involving Multiple Factors, Lags and Asymmetric Behaviour
Authors: Chen Cynthia , Varley Don , Chen Jason
Published: November 2010

This study seeks to determine the relative impacts of various factors in affecting ridership, to quantify their short-run and long-run effects, and to test the symmetry in ridership in response to rises and falls in gasoline price and transit fare. The results show that the effect of gasoline price, albeit small, is significant, extends over a year and mainly derives from its rise not fall. Fare is most influential both in terms of short-term and long-term elasticities and its effect is largely contributed by fare increases. The combination of these two results points to the policy of increasing gasoline price over decreasing transit fare to encourage ridership. On the relationship between service and fare, the results support the ‘demand follows supply’ hypothesis. The results also provide empirical evidence that ridership responds differentially between a rise and a fall in gasoline price or transit fare.
What Your Best Friend Sees That I Don’t See: Comparing Female Close Friends and Casual Acquaintances on the Perception of Emotional Facial Expressions of Varying Intensities
Authors: Zhang Fang , Parmley Maria
Published: November 2010

It is often assumed that intimacy and familiarity will lead to better and more effective emotional communication between two individuals. However, research has failed to unequivocally support this claim. The present study proposes that close dyads exhibit superiority in the decoding of subdued facial cues than in the decoding of highly intense expressions. A total of 43 close friend dyads and 49 casual acquaintance dyads (all women) were compared on their recognition of their partner’s and a stranger’s subdued facial expressions. Dyadic analyses indicate that close friends were more accurate and also improved more rapidly than casual acquaintances in decoding one other’s subdued expressions of sadness, anger, and happiness, especially the two negative emotions, but not in detecting the stranger’s subdued expressions. The results strongly suggest that intimacy fosters more accurate decoding of subdued facial expressions.
Qualitative Analysis of Therapeutic Light Effects on Global Function in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Nowak LuAnn , Davis Jean
Published: November 2010

The occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is growing, with 68% of cases occurring in women. Declines in global function exacerbated by reversal of day–night patterns, disturbed sleep–wake rhythms, and excessive daytime sleepiness make managing AD difficult. In this study, the authors examined the effect and duration of effect of therapeutic light on sleep, rest–activity, and global function in women with AD using mixed methods in a two-group experimental design with repeated measures on one factor. Twenty women with AD were randomized to experimental or control conditions. Blue-green or dim red light was delivered via cap visor in the morning. Results of the qualitative analysis of serial interviews with family and facility caregivers regarding perceived effect of light on global function are presented. Themes emerged in both groups with respect to cognition and psychosocial function. Future studies with larger samples using quantitative measures of global function are warranted to verify findings.
Motives of the Rich and Powerful in Doing Interviews with Social Scientists
Authors: Gilding Michael
Published: November 2010

A growing body of sociological research on elites is done at close quarters, using interviews and ethnography. This article draws on interviews with the ‘super rich’ in Australia to examine the motives of elites in granting access to their lives and stories. The respondents of this study were largely indifferent to social science. In agreeing to be interviewed and engaging with the interview process, they drew upon two familiar points of reference — the media and therapy — as cognitive models or ‘templates’ for making sense of the process. The media template was outward looking, directed towards public relations and legitimacy. The therapeutic template was inward looking, directed towards families, peers and small world concerns. In turn, respondents were apparently motivated by contradictory considerations: on the one hand, wanting to promote their concerns to a wider audience and, on the other, wanting to reflect upon their predicaments in confidence. Yet respondents understood that neither template encapsulated the interview situation, causing respondents to shift between templates and motives in the course of interviews. This ambiguity meant that interviews demanded continuous negotiation and recalibration. It also enriched interviews, highlighting a reconfiguration of public and private worlds among elite communities.
Actor-Network State
Authors: Passoth Jan-Hendrik , Rowland Nicholas J.
Published: November 2010

This conceptual article draws on literature in the sociology of science on modelling. The authors suggest that if state theory can be conceptualized as an ‘engine’ rather than merely a ‘camera’, in that policy is mobilized to make the world fit the theory, then this has implications for conceptualizing states. To examine this possibility the authors look through the lens of actor-network theory (ANT) and in doing so articulate a relationship between two models of the state in the literature. They find that an ‘actor model’ of the state is accepted by many scholars, few of whom develop ‘network models’ of the state. In response, this study introduces an actor-network model and proposes that its contribution to state theory is in rethinking the character of modern states to be the outcome of actually performed assemblages of all those practices of building it, protecting it, governing it and theorizing about it.
Opportunity, Culture and Agency
Authors: Araj Bader , Brym Robert J.
Published: November 2010

Students of social movements dispute the causal weight they should accord political opportunities, political enculturation and human agency in influencing strategic action. They have made little progress advancing the debate on empirical grounds. The authors of this article reviewed English and Arabic newspaper accounts, read organizational histories and documents and interviewed key informants to explain variation in strategic action by the two main Palestinian militant organizations, Fatah and Hamas, during the second intifada or uprising against the Israeli state and people (2000—5). The authors show how perceived political opportunities and political enculturation influenced the strategic action of Fatah and Hamas leaders but find little independent effect of agency leading them to question whether recent claims about the supposed primacy of human agency in social movement strategic action may be exaggerated.
Case–Control Study of Epidemic Mortality and Cardicola forsteri–Associated Disease in Farmed Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) of South Australia
Authors: Dennis M. M. , Landos M. , D’Antignana T.
Published: November 2010

Cardicola forsteri is a blood fluke that is highly prevalent among cultured southern bluefin tuna (SBT), Thunnus maccoyii, in South Australia. The role of C forsteri in annual SBT mortality outbreaks, which peak 6 to 12 weeks poststocking, is unknown. The objective of this study was to identify lesions unique to cultured SBT that died during a mortality event in 2009 and to determine the significance of C forsteri–associated lesions. Cultured SBT were sampled from 4 pontoons of a single site in Spencer Gulf that experienced a mortality epidemic that spanned 5 to 14 weeks poststocking. Study SBT comprised 7 that died during peak mortality, 27 that did not die, and 10 wild-caught (noncultured) SBT. All cultured SBT had branchitis and myocarditis due to C forsteri, whereas no life stages of C forsteri were histologically identified in any wild-caught SBT. Mortality was associated with the presence of severe branchitis ( P < .005), and the odds of severe branchitis were 90 times greater for SBT that died than for SBT that were live caught during peak mortality (95% confidence interval, 5 to 1,684). In SBT that had died, no lesions other than those associated with C forsteri were of sufficient severity or physiologic significance to account for death. Other lesions common among cultured SBT included systemic granulocytic perivascular infiltrate, granulocytic gastric infiltrate, hepatic lipidosis, visceral granulomas, and branchial parasitic infestation. This study shows for the first time that a substantial proportion of poststocking mortality in cultured SBT is strongly associated with severe branchitis caused by C forsteri.
The Prognosis and Predictors of Sports Function and Activity at Minimum 6 Years After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Spindler Kurt P. , Huston Laura J. , Wright Rick W. , Kaeding Christopher C. , Marx Robert G. , Amendola Annunziato , Parker Richard D. , Andrish Jack T. , Reinke Emily K. , Harrell Frank E. , Dunn Warren R. ,   MOON Group, Pedroza Angela , An Angel Q. , Schmitz Leah , McCarty Eric C. , Wolf Brian R. , Jones Morgan H. , Matava Matthew J. , Flanigan David C. , Brophy Robert H. , Vidal Armando F.
Published: November 2010

Background: The predictors of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) outcome at 6 years as measured by validated patient-based outcome instruments are unknown.

Hypothesis: Certain variables evaluated at the time of ACLR will predict return to sports function (as measured by the International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC] questionnaire and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [KOOS] Sports and Recreation subscale), knee-related quality of life (KOOS Knee Related Quality of Life subscale), and activity level (Marx Activity Scale). Potential predictor variables include demographic factors, surgical technique and graft choice for ACLR, and intra-articular injuries and treatment.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: All patients with unilateral ACLRs from 2002 currently enrolled in the MOON (Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network) cohort were evaluated. Patients completed the validated outcome instruments preoperatively. Physicians documented intra-articular pathologic abnormalities, treatment, and surgical techniques used at the time of surgery. At 2 and 6 years postoperatively, patients completed the same validated outcome instruments.

Results: Follow-up was obtained at 2 years (88%) and at 6 years (84%). The cohort was 57% male with a median age of 23 years at enrollment. The ability to perform sports function was maintained at 6 years, but the Marx activity level continued to decline from baseline. Revision ACLR and use of allograft predicted worse outcomes on the IKDC and both KOOS subscales. Lateral meniscus treatment, smoking status, and body mass index at baseline were each predictors on 2 of 3 scales. The predictors of lower activity level were revision ACLR and female sex.

Conclusion: Six years after ACLR, patients could perform sports-related functions and maintain a high knee-related quality of life similar to their 2-year level, although their physical activity level (Marx) dropped over time. Choosing autograft rather than allograft, not smoking, and having normal body mass index are advised to improve long-term outcomes.
Long-Term Stress Distribution Patterns Across the Elbow Joint in Baseball Players Assessed by Computed Tomography Osteoabsorptiometry
Authors: Mommma Daisuke , Iwasaki Norimasa , Oizumi Naomi , Nakatsuchi Hiroki , Funakoshi Tadanao , Kamishima Tamotsu , Tadano Shigeru , Minami Akio
Published: November 2010

Background: The distribution pattern of subchondral bone density is considered to highly reflect the stress distribution across a joint under long-term physiologic loading conditions. Therefore, the biomechanical characteristics over the elbow joint surface under long-term loading conditions of baseball pitching can be determined by a measurement of the distribution pattern.

Hypothesis: Stress distribution over the elbow joint surface alters with long-term pitching activities.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Computed tomography (CT) imaging data from the dominant elbow of 10 nonthrowing athletes, 10 college baseball fielders, and 10 college baseball pitchers were collected for the current analysis. The distribution of subchondral bone density through the distal articular surface of the humerus was measured using a CT osteoabsorptiometry method. The quantitative analysis of the obtained data focused on location and size of the maximum density area at the articular surface.

Results: The maximum density area of subchondral bone across the articular surface of the distal humerus was located in the posterior part of the trochlea in all subjects. This maximum density area was significantly increased in the pitcher group, compared with that in other groups. Additionally, the pitcher group demonstrated a significant distribution of the maximum density area in the anterior part of the capitellum.

Conclusion: The results indicate that actual stress across the elbow is concentrated in the posterior part of the trochlea in humans. Baseball pitching may produce excessive or repetitive stress against not only this part, but also the anterior part of the capitellum. The majority of osteochondritis dissecans lesions affecting the elbow are found in the anterior part of the capitellum in throwing athletes. The results may support an important role of mechanical conditions in the cause of elbow osteochondritis dissecans.
The Majority of Patients With Achilles Tendinopathy Recover Fully When Treated With Exercise Alone
Authors: Silbernagel Karin Grävare , Brorsson Annelie , Lundberg Mari
Published: November 2010

Background: Systematic reviews indicate that exercise has the most evidence of effectiveness in treatment of midportion Achilles tendinopathy. However, there is a lack of long-term follow-ups (>4 years).

Purpose: To evaluate the 5-year outcome of patients treated with exercise alone and to examine if certain characteristics, such as level of kinesiophobia, age, and sex, were related to the effectiveness of the treatment.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: Thirty-four patients (47% women), 51 ± 8.2 years old, were evaluated 5 years after initiation of treatment. The evaluation consisted of a questionnaire regarding recovery of symptoms and other treatments, the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment–Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A) for symptoms, the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, and tests of lower leg function.

Results: Twenty-seven patients (80%) fully recovered from the initial injury; of these, 22 (65%) had no symptoms, and 5 (15%) had a new occurrence of symptoms. Seven patients (20%) had continued symptoms. Only 2 patients received another treatment (acupuncture and further exercise instruction). When compared with the other groups, the continued-symptoms group had lower VISA-A scores ( P = .008 to .021) at the 5-year follow-up and the previous 1-year follow-up but not at any earlier evaluations. There were no significant differences among the groups in regard to sex, age, or physical activity level before injury. There was a significant ( P = .005) negative correlation (−0.590) between the level of kinesiophobia and heel-rise work recovery.

Conclusion: The majority of patients with Achilles tendinopathy in this study fully recovered in regard to both symptoms and function when treated with exercise alone. Increased fear of movement might have a negative effect on the effectiveness of exercise treatment; therefore, a pain-monitoring model should be used when patients are treated with exercise.
Unmet Needs for Home and Community-Based Services Among Frail Older Americans and Their Caregivers
Authors: Casado Banghwa Lee , van Vulpen Kimberly S. , Davis Stacey L.
Published: November 2010

Objective: This study examined unmet needs for home- and community-based services (HCBS) among frail older Americans. Method: Using population-based sample from the National Long-Term Care Survey, a hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the predictors of unmet needs for seven types of HCBS. Results: Lack of awareness, reluctance, unavailability, and affordability of services were the main reasons for unmet needs for HCBS. Factors that were associated with unmet needs included Black race/ethnicity, greater care needs (functional limitations and behavioral problems), and less informal support (substitute help and family agreement). Discussion: It is important to identify risk factors that may lead to older adults’ unmet needs for HCBS. The findings of this study charge researchers to look beyond service utilization and give more attention to service needs among those who did or could not access the services.
Religion in Development
Authors: Mesbahuddin Tasmia
Published: November 2010

Religion and development have been uncomfortable bedfellows for decades yet development strategies designed by Western donors are prescribed for the very people who are often religiously motivated in their daily lives. Attempts have been made in the recent past to restore some of that imbalance by incorporating cultural issues and religious values into the international development policy network, but hostilities remain. This article argues that development practices continue to embrace a neoliberal framework which limits other ideological viewpoints. Setting an Islamic context where greater emphasis is laid on values, it asserts that in a country such as Bangladesh, Islamic solutions to development also have a utilitarian function in welfare terms. It introduces an Islamic model to development based around the disbursement of zakah called the parshi and looks at how it contrasts with the dominant NGO model in the country.
An Improved Magma Gemm For Fermi Graphics Processing Units
Authors: Nath Rajib , Tomov Stanimire , Dongarra Jack
Published: November 2010

We present an improved matrix—matrix multiplication routine (General Matrix Multiply [GEMM]) in the MAGMA BLAS library that targets the NVIDIA Fermi graphics processing units (GPUs) using Compute Unified Data Architecture (CUDA). We show how to modify the previous MAGMA GEMM kernels in order to make a more efficient use of the Fermi’s new architectural features, most notably their extended memory hierarchy and memory sizes. The improved kernels run at up to 300 GFlop/s in double precision and up to 645 GFlop/s in single precision arithmetic (on a C2050), which is correspondingly 58% and 63% of the theoretical peak. We compare the improved kernels with the currently available version in CUBLAS 3.1. Further, we show the effect of the new kernels on higher-level dense linear algebra (DLA) routines such as the one-sided matrix factorizations, and compare their performances with corresponding, currently available routines running on homogeneous multicore systems.
Understanding Chinese Diners in an Overseas Context
Authors: Hoare Rui Jin , Butcher Ken , O’Brien Danny
Published: November 2010

With increasing numbers of Chinese tourists dining overseas, understanding the cultural perspective of Chinese diners would appear essential to international restaurateurs. Thus, this study identifies a set of core Chinese values that is salient in the overseas dining context. Phenomenological in-depth interviews were used to collect data from a convenience sample of 20 Chinese diners. Face, trustworthiness, and harmony were identified as the three core values. In addition, group membership was found to interact with face and trustworthiness in this context. These findings provide a deeper understanding of Chinese diners in overseas dining contexts and hold significance for both practitioners and theorists. Recommendations are made to enhance the dining service encounter for Chinese tourists in overseas dining contexts.
Motivation-Based Typology
Authors: Kim Jae Hak , Ritchie Brent W.
Published: November 2010

This article contributes to knowledge of tourist motivation and typologies in the context of golf tourism. A research framework is presented to aid the classification of golf tourists into distinct typologies based on their travel motivation. The methodology comprised both qualitative research based on semistructured interviews and quantitative research based on 392 self-completed questionnaires. A principal component factor analysis was used to identify five golf travel motivations. A cluster analysis was then conducted to classify golfers into three different clusters, namely, Golf-intensive Golfers, Multimotivated Golfers, and Companion Golfers. The golf clusters were then profiled, and the results revealed that golf tourists were not homogeneous in their travel motivations. Their profiles are theoretically and statistically feasible, and the hypotheses tested indicated that each cluster had both similarities and differences. The practical implications for golf tourism marketers are suggested, and future research recommendations related to the application of tourist typologies for segmentation are provided.
Mental Health Service Utilization of Somali Adolescents: Religion, Community, and School as Gateways to Healing
Authors: Ellis B. Heidi , Lincoln Alisa K. , Charney Meredith E. , Ford-Paz Rebecca , Benson Molly , Strunin Lee
Published: November 2010

This mixed-method study examines the utility of the Gateway Provider Model (GPM) in understanding service utilization and pathways to help for Somali refugee adolescents. Somali adolescents living in the Northeastern United States, and their caregivers, were interviewed. Results revealed low rates of use of mental health services. However other sources of help, such as religious and school personnel, were accessed more frequently. The GPM provides a helpful model for understanding refugee youth access to services, and an elaborated model is presented showing how existing pathways to help could be built upon to improve refugee youth access to services.
The McDonaldization of Childhood: Children’s Mental Health in Neo-liberal Market Cultures
Authors: Timimi Sami
Published: November 2010

As the failings of neo-liberalism have recently been revealed through the collapse of much of the banking and financial services sector, it seems an opportune time to think about the impact this economic, political, and social value system has had on the well-being of children. After analyzing how our beliefs and practices around children and families are shaped by a variety of economic, political, and cultural pressures, I discuss how policies that promote a particular form of aggressive capitalism lead to a narcissistic value system that permeates social institutions, including those that deal with children. Not only does this impact children’s emotional well-being, but it also shapes the way we conceptualize children and their problems. These dynamics facilitate the rapid growth of child psychiatric diagnoses and the tendency to deal with aberrant behavior or emotions in children through technical — particularly pharmaceutical — interventions, a phenomenon I refer to as the ‘McDonaldization’ of children’s mental health. The present article seeks to challenge many of the unhelpful cultural assumptions regarding childhood embedded within the narrow biomedical frame that neo-liberalism has encouraged.
Social Ecology of Child Soldiers: Child, Family, and Community Determinants of Mental Health, Psychosocial Well-being, and Reintegration in Nepal
Authors: Kohrt Brandon A. , Jordans Mark J.D. , Tol Wietse A. , Perera Em , Karki Rohit , Koirala Suraj , Upadhaya Nawaraj
Published: November 2010

This study employed a social ecology framework to evaluate psychosocial well-being in a cross-sectional sample of 142 former child soldiers in Nepal. Outcome measures included the Depression Self Rating Scale (DSRS), Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale (CPSS), and locally developed measures of functional impairment and reintegration. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the contribution of factors at multiple levels. At the child level, traumatic exposures, especially torture, predicted poor outcomes, while education improved outcomes. At the family level, conflict-related death of a relative, physical abuse in the household, and loss of wealth during the conflict predicted poor outcomes. At the community level, living in high caste Hindu communities predicted lack of reintegration supports. Ultimately, social ecology is well suited to identify intervention foci across ecological levels based on community differences in vulnerability and protective factors.
Meaning, Celebrity, and the Underage Pregnancy of Jamie Lynn Spears
Authors: Butler Breese Elizabeth
Published: November 2010

This article argues that the focus of previous literature on the economic and psychological aspects of the celebrity system unduly restricts our understanding of the social phenomenon of celebrity. Celebrities are commodities to be sure, but previous scholars have largely failed to explore the ways in which celebrities are also symbols. Celebrities are a locus of meaning-making in the contemporary USA. Using the case of Jamie Lynn Spears’s 2007—8 pregnancy, I demonstrate that, as a celebrity icon, her underage pregnancy raises questions and concerns about more than a single celebrity’s experience as a soon-to-be teenage mother. Her pregnancy imports a larger public discussion and debate about teen sex and how to avoid teen pregnancy. Through this study, I show that celebrities are symbols by which we narrate, negotiate, and interpret our collective experience, and establish moral boundaries.
The Evaluation of Popular Music in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands: A Comparison of the Use of High Art and Popular Aesthetic Criteria
Authors: van Venrooij Alex , Schmutz Vaughn
Published: November 2010

Popular music has apparently gained much in status and artistic legitimacy. Some have argued that popular music criticism has assimilated the evaluative criteria traditionally associated with high art aesthetics to legitimate pop music as a serious art form, while others have claimed that popular music discourse opposes the evaluative principles of high art worlds in favor of a ‘popular aesthetic’. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Lamont, DiMaggio and Bourdieu, we compare the critical discourse on popular music in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands and expect that the presence of ‘high art’ and ‘popular’ aesthetic criteria in popular music reviews published in elite newspapers varies cross-nationally due to differences in the hierarchy, universality and boundary strength of their respective cultural classification systems. We compare the prevalence of various high art and popular evaluative criteria in popular music album reviews in American, Dutch, and German newspapers. In the US, the boundary between high art and popular aesthetics appears to be weakest, German reviewers take the most high art approach to popular music, while Dutch reviews clearly favor the popular aesthetic over high art criteria.
Efficacy and safety of nebivolol in Hispanics with stage I-II hypertension: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Punzi Henry , Lewin Andrew , Lukić Tatjana , Goodin Thomas , Wei Chen
Published: November 2010

Objective: Hispanics have lower rates of hypertension control compared with black and white patients. Nebivolol is a vasodilatory β1-selective blocker, with neutral metabolic effects. This phase IV trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of nebivolol in Hispanics with stage I-II hypertension.

Methods: Self-identified Hispanics with stage I-II hypertension were randomized to receive a double-blind treatment: placebo (n = 136) or nebivolol (n = 141, starting dose 5 mg/day) for 8 weeks. Nebivolol dosage could be uptitrated at 2-week intervals to 10, 20, or 40 mg/day, as needed to achieve diastolic blood pressure (DBP) control (JNC7 criteria). Efficacy outcome measures were the mean changes from baseline to the end of week 8 in trough-seated DBP (primary) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (secondary). Safety and tolerability were also assessed.

Results: Baseline SBP/DBP (mmHg) was similar in both treatment groups (nebivolol: 156/100; placebo: 157/101). A total of 135 (96%) and 121 (89%) nebivolol- and placebo-treated participants completed the double-blind phase, respectively. Compared with the placebo, nebivolol treatment was associated with significant mean reductions in both trough-seated DBP and SBP (DBP: -11.1 mmHg vs. -7.3 mmHg, p < 0.0001; SBP: -14.1 mmHg vs. -9.3 mmHg; p = 0.001). Treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) rates were 17% (nebivolol) and 22% (placebo); the most frequent TEAEs were headache (4% vs. 6%, respectively), upper respiratory tract infection (2% vs. 2%), and dizziness (1% vs. 3%).

Conclusions: In Hispanics with stage I-II hypertension, 8-week nebivolol monotherapy resulted in significant reductions in blood pressure. The safety and tolerability profile of nebivolol was similar to that of placebo.
Decontamination in primary care dentistry
Authors: Whitworth Christine L , Palmer Nikolaus
Published: November 2010

Decontamination of reusable dental instruments has been a subject of debate within the dental profes sion since the publication in 2009 of Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices. This paper provides a brief history of instrument reprocessing in dentistry and reviews the evidence on pre-soaking, cleaning, sterilisation and storage.
Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 - a view from north of the border
Authors: Smith Andrew John
Published: November 2010

A large scale observational survey of instrument decontamination processes in general dental A practice has demonstrated gaps between required guidance, standards, legislation and current practice. Guidance, to help dental practices close the gap and replace previous infection prevention guidelines, has been published in England and Wales in the form of Health Technical Memorandum 01-05. This review provides an overview of its rationale, evidence base and comparison with other existing guidance in the United Kingdom.
The Political Information Cycle in a Hybrid News System: The British Prime Minister and the “Bullygate” Affair
Authors: Chadwick Andrew
Published: November 2010

During a weekend in February 2010, just a few weeks before the most closely fought general election campaign in living memory, British prime minister Gordon Brown became the subject of an extraordinary media spectacle. Quickly labeled “bullygate,” it centered on Brown’s alleged psychological and physical mistreatment of colleagues working inside his office in Number 10, Downing Street. These were potentially some of the most damaging allegations ever to be made about the personal conduct of a sitting British prime minister, and bullygate was a national and international news phenomenon. This study provides an analysis of the processes of mediation during the affair. It is based on close, real-time observation and logging of a wide range of press, broadcast, and online material, as the story broke, evolved, and faded, over a five-day period. The study reveals the increasingly hybridized nature of news systems and argues that traditional understandings of the “news cycle” should now be replaced by a broader concern with the “political information cycle.” Political information cycles are complex assemblages in which the personnel, practices, genres, technologies, and temporalities of supposedly “new” online media are hybridized with those of supposedly “old” broadcast and press media. This hybridization now decisively shapes power relations among news actors. The combination of news professionals’ dominance and the integration of nonelite actors in the construction and contestation of news at multiple points in a political information cycle’s life span are important characteristics of contemporary political communication.
The effects of low frequency electrical stimulation on satellite cell activity in rat skeletal muscle during hindlimb suspension
Authors: Zhang Bao-Ting , Yeung Simon S , Liu Yue , Wang Hong-Hui , Wan Yu-Min , Ling Shu-Kuan , Zhang Hong-Yu , Li Ying-Hui , Yeung Ella W
Published: November 2010

Background

The ability of skeletal muscle to grow and regenerate is dependent on resident stem cells called satellite cells. It has been shown that chronic hindlimb unloading downregulates the satellite cell activity. This study investigated the role of low-frequency electrical stimulation on satellite cell activity during a 28 d hindlimb suspension in rats.

Results

Mechanical unloading resulted in a 44% reduction in the myofiber cross-sectional area as well as a 29% and 34% reduction in the number of myonuclei and myonuclear domains, respectively, in the soleus muscles (P < 0.001 vs the weight-bearing control). The number of quiescent (M-cadherin+), proliferating (BrdU+ and myoD+), and differentiated (myogenin+) satellite cells was also reduced by 48-57% compared to the weight-bearing animals (P < 0.01 for all). Daily application of electrical stimulation (2 × 3 h at a 20 Hz frequency) partially attenuated the reduction of the fiber cross-sectional area, satellite cell activity, and myonuclear domain (P < 0.05 for all). Extensor digitorum longus muscles were not significantly altered by hindlimb unloading.

Conclusion

This study shows that electrical stimulation partially attenuated the decrease in muscle size and satellite cells during hindlimb unloading. The causal relationship between satellite cell activation and electrical stimulation remain to be established.
Identification and developmental expression of the full complement of Cytochrome P450 genes in Zebrafish
Authors: Goldstone Jared V , McArthur Andrew G , Kubota Akira , Zanette Juliano , Parente Thiago , Jönsson Maria E , Nelson David R , Stegeman John J
Published: November 2010

Background

Increasing use of zebrafish in drug discovery and mechanistic toxicology demands knowledge of cytochrome P450 (CYP) gene regulation and function. CYP enzymes catalyze oxidative transformation leading to activation or inactivation of many endogenous and exogenous chemicals, with consequences for normal physiology and disease processes. Many CYPs potentially have roles in developmental specification, and many chemicals that cause developmental abnormalities are substrates for CYPs. Here we identify and annotate the full suite of CYP genes in zebrafish, compare these to the human CYP gene complement, and determine the expression of CYP genes during normal development.

Results

Zebrafish have a total of 94 CYP genes, distributed among 18 gene families found also in mammals. There are 32 genes in CYP families 5 to 51, most of which are direct orthologs of human CYPs that are involved in endogenous functions including synthesis or inactivation of regulatory molecules. The high degree of sequence similarity suggests conservation of enzyme activities for these CYPs, confirmed in reports for some steroidogenic enzymes (e.g. CYP19, aromatase; CYP11A, P450scc; CYP17, steroid 17a-hydroxylase), and the CYP26 retinoic acid hydroxylases. Complexity is much greater in gene families 1, 2, and 3, which include CYPs prominent in metabolism of drugs and pollutants, as well as of endogenous substrates. There are orthologous relationships for some CYP1 s and some CYP3 s between zebrafish and human. In contrast, zebrafish have 47 CYP2 genes, compared to 16 in human, with only two (CYP2R1 and CYP2U1) recognized as orthologous based on sequence. Analysis of shared synteny identified CYP2 gene clusters evolutionarily related to mammalian CYP2 s, as well as unique clusters.

Conclusions

Transcript profiling by microarray and quantitative PCR revealed that the majority of zebrafish CYP genes are expressed in embryos, with waves of expression of different sets of genes over the course of development. Transcripts of some CYP occur also in oocytes. The results provide a foundation for the use of zebrafish as a model in toxicological, pharmacological and chemical disease research.
PAR1- and PAR2-induced innate immune markers are negatively regulated by PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in oral keratinocytes
Authors: Rohani Maryam G , DiJulio Dennis H , An Jonathan Y , Hacker Beth M , Dale Beverly A , Chung Whasun O
Published: November 2010

Background

Protease-Activated Receptors (PARs), members of G-protein-coupled receptors, are activated by proteolytic activity of various proteases. Activation of PAR1 and PAR2 triggers innate immune responses in human oral keratinocytes (HOKs), but the signaling pathways downstream of PAR activation in HOKs have not been clearly defined. In this study, we aimed to determine if PAR1- and PAR2-mediated signaling differs in the induction of innate immune markers CXCL3, CXCL5 and CCL20 via ERK, p38 and PI3K/Akt.

Results

Our data show the induction of innate immunity by PAR1 requires both p38 and ERK MAP kinases, while PAR2 prominently signals via p38. However, inhibition of PI3K enhances expression of innate immune markers predominantly via suppressing p38 phosphorylation signaled by PAR activation.

Conclusion

Our data indicate that proteases mediating PAR1 and PAR2 activation differentially signal via MAP kinase cascades. In addition, the production of chemokines induced by PAR1 and PAR2 is suppressed by PI3K/Akt, thus keeping the innate immune responses of HOK in balance. The results of our study provide a novel insight into signaling pathways involved in PAR activation.
Manual versus mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation. An experimental study in pigs
Authors: Liao Qiuming , Sjöberg Trygve , Paskevicius Audrius , Wohlfart Björn , Steen Stig
Published: November 2010

Background

Optimal manual closed chest compressions are difficult to give. A mechanical compression/decompression device, named LUCAS, is programmed to give compression according to the latest international guidelines (2005) for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aim of the present study was to compare manual CPR with LUCAS-CPR.

Methods

30 kg pigs were anesthetized and intubated. After a base-line period and five minutes of ventricular fibrillation, manual CPR (n = 8) or LUCAS-CPR (n = 8) was started and run for 20 minutes. Professional paramedics gave manual chest compression's alternating in 2-minute periods. Ventilation, one breath for each 10 compressions, was given to all animals. Defibrillation and, if needed, adrenaline were given to obtain a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).

Results

The mean coronary perfusion pressure was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the mechanical group, around 20 mmHg, compared to around 5 mmHg in the manual group. In the manual group 54 rib fractures occurred compared to 33 in the LUCAS group (p < 0.01). In the manual group one severe liver injury and one pressure pneumothorax were also seen. All 8 pigs in the mechanical group achieved ROSC, as compared with 3 pigs in the manual group.

Conclusions

LUCAS-CPR gave significantly higher coronary perfusion pressure and significantly fewer rib fractures than manual CPR in this porcine model.
Evaluation of resident attitudes and self-reported competencies in health advocacy
Authors: Stafford Sara , Sedlak Tara , Fok Mark C , Wong Roger Y
Published: November 2010

Background

The CanMEDS Health Advocate role, one of seven roles mandated by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Canada, pertains to a physician's responsibility to use their expertise and influence to advance the wellbeing of patients, communities, and populations. We conducted our study to examine resident attitudes and self-reported competencies related to health advocacy, due to limited information in the literature on this topic.

Methods

We conducted a pilot experience with seven internal medicine residents participating in a community health promotion event. The residents provided narrative feedback after the event and the information was used to generate items for a health advocacy survey. Face validity was established by having the same residents review the survey. Content validity was established by inviting an expert physician panel to review the survey. The refined survey was then distributed to a cohort of core Internal Medicine residents electronically after attendance at an academic retreat teaching residents about advocacy through didactic sessions.

Results

The survey was completed by 76 residents with a response rate of 68%. The majority agreed to accept an advocacy role for societal health needs beyond caring for individual patients. Most confirmed their ability to identify health determinants and reaffirmed the inherent requirements for health advocacy. While involvement in health advocacy was common during high school and undergraduate studies, 76% of residents reported no current engagement in advocacy activity, and 36% were undecided if they would engage in advocacy during their remaining time as residents, fellows or staff. The common barriers reported were insufficient time, rest and stress.

Conclusions

Medical residents endorsed the role of health advocate and reported proficiency in determining the medical and bio-psychosocial determinants of individuals and communities. Few residents, however, were actively involved in health advocacy beyond an individual level during residency due to multiple barriers. Further studies should address these barriers to advocacy and identify the reasons for the discordance we found between advocacy endorsement and lack of engagement.