bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Genetic Architecture of Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Authors: Rost Natalia S. , Greenberg Steven M. , Rosand Jonathan
Published: May 2008

Background and Purpose—

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the acute manifestation of a common progressive cerebrovascular disease of the elderly, is the most fatal and least treatable form of stroke. There is a desperate need for ICH-specific therapeutics and effective primary prevention strategies, a need that is certain to grow with the aging of the population. Data point to a sizable genetic component to ICH susceptibility. Identification of ICH-related genes therefore holds promise for identifying novel biological targets for ICH prevention. This review focuses on evidence for a genetic contribution to ICH, delineates approaches to genetic studies of ICH, and explores foundations for their future applications.

Summary of Review—

ICH occurs both sporadically and as part of familial syndromes. Monogenic disorders associated with ICH or microscopic bleeding, such as hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy, CADASIL, and collagen type IV A1–associated vasculopathy, demonstrate the potent effect of rare mutations. Dissecting the more complex genetics of sporadic ICH, however, will likely require defining multiple common DNA variants with weaker effects. Advances in high-throughput genotyping technology, computational and analytic methodologies, and large-scale collaborative efforts have already led to the identification of new genetic risk factors for dozens of common diseases. Such whole-genome association studies are being undertaken in sporadic ICH.

Conclusions—

Investigations of genetic risk factors for sporadic ICH have thus far been limited to candidate gene polymorphisms. Genome-wide association studies currently hold the greatest hope for robust discovery of ICH genes, which can generate novel insights into ICH biology and strategies for prevention.
Nogo-A Expression After Focal Ischemic Stroke in the Adult Rat
Authors: Cheatwood Joseph L. , Emerick April J. , Schwab Martin E. , Kartje Gwendolyn L.
Published: May 2008

Background and Purpose—

The Nogo-A protein is an important inhibitor of axonal remodeling after central nervous system injuries, including ischemic stroke. Interfering with the function of Nogo-A via infusion of a therapeutic anti–Nogo-A antibody after stroke increases neuronal remodeling and enhances functional recovery in rats. In this study, we describe the regional distribution of cortical neurons expressing Nogo-A in normal rats and following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Methods—

Normal and post-MCAO neuronal Nogo-A expression were described via immunohistochemical analyses. All brains were processed for Nogo-A and parvalbumin expression. The level of Nogo-A expression was scored for each cortical area or white matter structure of interest. The number and fluorescent intensity of layer V neurons in contralesional sensorimotor forelimb cortex were also assessed at each time point.

Results—

Nogo-A expression was observed in both cortical pyramidal neurons and parvalbumin-positive interneurons. Neuronal expression of Nogo-A changed over time in ipsilesional and contralesional cortical areas after MCAO, becoming globally elevated at 28 days after stroke. Nogo-A expression was not observed to fluctuate greatly in the white matter after stroke, with the exception of a transient increase in Nogo-A expression in the external capsule near the stroke lesion.

Conclusions—

Neuronal Nogo-A expression is significantly increased at 28 days post-MCAO in all examined brain regions. Because of their robust expression of Nogo-A after stroke lesion, both excitatory and inhibitory neurons represent potential targets for anti–Nogo-A therapies in the poststroke cerebral cortex.
Interactions between a Supercell and a Quasi-Stationary Frontal Boundary
Authors: Blanchard David O.
Published: May 2008

The case presented here is submitted as an example of a previously undocumented type of interaction between a supercell thunderstorm and a frontal boundary. During the afternoon of 8 June 1995, a supercell thunderstorm formed near a quasi-stationary frontal boundary and then moved northeast across Beaver County in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Its motion took it away from the boundary and deeper into the cool air. As the storm matured and strengthened, a portion of the boundary to the south of the supercell moved northward and briefly became entrained in the low-level circulation of the storm. This northward advance of the boundary was subsequently followed by a southward motion back to near its original location. High-density spatial and temporal observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet and the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX) Mobile Mesonetwork are presented to document the northward advance of the boundary into the supercell circulation.
Characteristics of an Ideal Rotavirus Vaccine
Authors: Reisinger Keith S. , Block Stan L.
Published: May 2008

Rotavirus gastroenteritis primarily affects children younger than 5 years of age and is the leading cause of diarrhea-related hospitalizations worldwide. The substantial morbidity associated with this disease and the major burden on healthcare resources underscore the need for an effective vaccine. Two recently developed vaccines (RotaTeq [rotavirus vaccine, live, oral, pentavalent], and Rotarix [rotavirus vaccine, live]) share some characteristics of an ideal rotavirus vaccine. High efficacy, excellent tolerability, and no increased risk of intussusception were shown in separate clinical trials of more than 60000 infants for each trial, as well as in smaller phase 3 clinical trials of each vaccine. Vaccination against rotavirus will substantially reduce rotavirus gastroenteritis-associated morbidity and mortality and, in so doing, bring about a significant reduction in rotavirus gastroenteritis-associated healthcare utilization.
Associations Between Health Screening Questions and Sexual Risk Behaviors in Adolescent Female Clinic Patients: Identifying a Brief Question Format to Yield Critical Information
Authors: Duke Naomi N. , Sieving Renee E. , Pettingell Sandra L. , Skay Carol L.
Published: May 2008

This study examines the ability of brief screening questions to identify adolescent girls at high risk for sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy. Participants included 103 sexually active 13-year-old to 17-year-old girls recruited from adolescent clinics who (1) were identified as at risk for negative sexual health outcomes through responses to an 8-item Health Screening Survey, and (2) returned to clinic within 2 weeks to complete a self-report survey about sexual risk behaviors and contraceptive use. Analyses examined relationships between girls' total screening scores, individual screening survey items, and 5 self-reported sexual risk behaviors. Higher screening scores correlated with lower levels of refusing unprotected sex and less consistent condom use ( P < .05 and P < .01, respectively). High-risk responses to 2 screening items were associated with all 5 sexual risk behaviors. Findings suggest useful questions in routine clinical screening of sexually active adolescent girls to identify those at high levels of sexual risk.
A Comparison of Oral Dexamethasone With Oral Prednisone in Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations Treated in the Emergency Department
Authors: Greenberg Richard A. , Kerby Gwen , Roosevelt Genie E.
Published: May 2008

The aim of this study was to determine if 2 doses of oral dexamethasone are as effective as a 5-day course of oral prednisone in preventing relapse for pediatric asthma exacerbations. Patients presenting to the emergency department with an asthma exacerbation were randomized to receive 0.6 mg/kg of dexamethasone or 2 mg/kg of prednisone in a prospective, double-blind study. The primary outcome was relapse within 10 days, and the secondary outcome was vomiting in the emergency department. Eighty-nine patients completed the study: 38 in the prednisone group and 51 in the dexamethasone group. In all, 3 patients in the prednisone group (8%) and 8 patients in the dexamethasone group (16%) required an unscheduled follow-up visit ( P = .27). In all, 7 patients in the prednisone group (18%) and 5 patients in the dexamethasone group (10%) had vomiting ( P = .24). No difference was found in the relapse rate or incidence of vomiting between patients given prednisone and dexamethasone for pediatric asthma exacerbations.
Etiology of Failure to Thrive in Infants and Toddlers Referred to a Pediatric Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic
Authors: Daniel Maala , Kleis Lora , Cemeroglu Ayse Pinar
Published: May 2008

The aim of this study is to determine the underlying etiology of failure to thrive (FTT) in infants and toddlers referred to an outpatient pediatric endocrinology clinic. A chart review was done on FTT referrals to a pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic between 2002 and 2005. Majority of patients (51.5%) had a purely nutritional deficiency. The endocrine etiologies included short stature due to being small for gestational age, constitutional or familial short stature (28.9%). The third most common etiology was gastrointestinal disease. Endocrine causes of FTT seem to be rare even in the selected population of patients referred to pediatric endocrine outpatient clinics. In the primary care setting, nutritional assessment and consultation seem to be adequate in the majority of cases. Only a small percentage of the patients with FTT will require a multidisciplinary approach and more extensive work-up.
Persuasive Trash Cans
Authors: de Kort Yvonne A. W. , McCalley L. Teddy , Midden Cees J. H.
Published: May 2008

Two studies tested littering norm activation by trash can design. The first was a scenario study using a 4 (norm type: social injunctive vs. social descriptive vs. personal vs. control) × 2 (activation type: explicit vs. implicit activation) between-group design, with judgments of a litterer as the dependent variable. Explicit norm activation was more effective than implicit activation. A field study subsequently tested the effect of personal norm activation on actual littering behavior, following a 2 (explicit activation: no vs. yes) × 2 (Implicit activation: no vs. yes) between-group design. Here, both explicit activation through a verbal prompt and implicit activation through design had significant effects, reducing the amount of litter by 50%. A post hoc survey revealed significant effects of age and gender on the personal norm against littering. These findings helped explain the absence of norm activation effects in the youngest age group as found in the field study.
Social Identity, Identity Formation, and Delinquency
Authors: Turjeman Hagit , Mesch Gustavo , Fishman Gideon
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this study has been to gain knowledge about the shaping of social identity among immigrants and the effect of that identity on delinquent behavior. The data are based on a longitudinal study conducted in Israel on 773 immigrant youths from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) who participated in the study for three years. Results from logistic regressions suggest that different models can explain different strategies of identity formation. Regarding delinquent behavior, the assimilation strategy of identity change increases the likelihood of delinquent behavior, but the impact of the assimilation is challenged by the effect of the proportion of the immigrants' Israeli friends. The discussion introduces the concept of subjective and objective assimilation as a possible explanation for the contradictory findings.
Higher Education Entry of Turkish Immigrant Youth in Germany
Authors: Kristen Cornelia , Reimer David , Kogan Irena
Published: May 2008

Drawing on three large datasets from the German Higher Education Information System Institute (HIS) from 1990, 1994 and 1999, the study reveals that Turkish youth are considerably more likely than Germans to enter tertiary education. This result sharply contrasts with findings on the Turks' poor performance in primary and secondary school. The higher propensity for tertiary education among Turks can, to some degree, be explained by their lack of familiarity with the German system of dual vocational training and their educational motivation. Another important finding is that among those who enter higher education students of Turkish origin choose, more often than Germans, academically oriented universities rather than the lower-tier applied science universities. This is mainly due to the selection of more traditional fields offered at universities by Turkish young adults. Our results indicate that the educational decisions of these students after the Abitur by no means contribute to the established pattern of ethnic disadvantages in educational attainment in Germany.
Support for Repatriation Policies of Migrants
Authors: Coenders Marcel , Lubbers Marcel , Scheepers Peer
Published: May 2008

In this article we focus on the acceptance of migrants among the general public in the receiving societies. We analyze the most radical of such anti-immigrant sentiments, that is, the support for repatriation policies for legally established immigrants. We analyze intra- and international differences among Western and Eastern European societies, taking advantage of recently collected cross-national high quality data providing means to rigorously test hypotheses on individual and contextual level determinants. Although there are large differences between countries within European regions, we found that support for repatriation policies is overall somewhat higher in Western European societies. In line with Ethnic Group Conflict Theory, support for repatriation policies is stronger in countries with higher proportions of resident migrants and higher levels of immigration. Regarding individual level determinants, we found that particularly lower educated individuals are more in favor of repatriation of migrants. The effect of education differs however across countries and is — in line with socialization theories — less strong in Eastern European countries.
What Does a Nation Owe Non-Citizens?
Authors: Raijman Rebeca , Davidov Eldad , Schmidt Peter , Hochman Oshrat
Published: May 2008

In this article we test the effects of national attachments (patriotism and chauvinism) and perception of threat on citizens' willingness to concede citizenship rights to immigrants in France, Germany (West and East), the USA and Israel. Our findings show that despite marked differences in countries' migration policies and conceptions of nationhood, no significant differences were found in attitudes towards the allocation of citizenship rights to immigrants. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that contrary to our expectations, 1) the effects of both chauvinism and patriotism on willingness to grant citizenship rights to immigrants were rather low in Germany and Israel — the two ethno-national states, and strongest in France and the USA — which stand for republican and multicultural models of incorporation, respectively; 2) the effects of threat on exclusion of immigrants from citizenship rights was weaker in Israel (ethnic democracy) but stronger in the liberal democratic countries. In the conclusion, we suggest possible explanations for these rather intriguing and paradoxical findings.
Psychiatric Disorders Related to Menstrual Bleeding Among an Ultra-Orthodox Population: Case Series and Literature Review
Authors: Vishne Tali , Misgav Sagit , Bunzel Michael E.
Published: May 2008

The relationship between menstrual cycle and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been documented in the past and is related to sexual hormone changes. In the ultra-orthodox Jewish population menstrual bleeding is associated both with meticulous rituals of cleanliness and with stressful meanings related to sin, impurity and punishment. Those aspects of the menstrual cycle can be related to specific OCD symptoms among ultra-orthodox women. The current study presents three cases related to the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in relation to the menstrual cycle among ultra-orthodox women, and discusses the biological and social-cultural basis of the disorder.
Insight and Psychosis: Comparing the Perspectives of Patient, Entourage and Clinician
Authors: Tranulis Constantin , Corin Ellen , Kirmayer Laurence J.
Published: May 2008

Background: The construct of insight in psychosis assumes congruence between patient and clinician views of the meaning of symptoms and experience. Current definitions and measures of insight do not give systematic attention to the impact of interpersonal, cultural and socio-economic contexts.

Aims: We hypothesized that socio-cultural factors influence insight in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: We tested this hypothesis through comparison of insight in 18 triads, each composed of a patient, a family member and a clinician. The sample consisted of patients who were first diagnosed with psychosis in the last two years, and who were either immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean Islands, or Canadian born. Insight was assessed by analysis of narratives collected from patients, family members and clinicians for a research project on the negotiation of treatment. Each narrative was scored for insight along multiple dimensions with the Extracted Insight Scale (EIS), developed for this project.

Results: There was a significant correlation of insight on the EIS between patients and family members ( r = 0.51, p = 0.03) but not between patient and clinician or family and clinician. The mean levels of insight across the three groups were comparable. Qualitative analysis of the illness narratives suggested that insight was based on the meanings constructed around psychotic experiences and that the process of interpreting and attributing psychotic experiences reflected each person's cultural background, life experiences, and other social determinants, especially stigma.

Conclusion: Forms of insight can occur in the context of discordance or disagreement with the clinician's opinion. We present a testable model of the socio-cultural determinants of insight that can guide future studies.
The Experience of Hopelessness in a Population of Greek Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care
Authors: Mystakidou Kyriaki , Parpa Efi , Tsilika Eleni , Pathiaki Maria , Hatzipli Ioanna , Galanos Antonis , Vlahos Lambros
Published: May 2008

Background: Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) has been translated and validated in many languages.

Aim: The validation of the English version of BHS in advanced cancer patients receiving palliative treatment in Greece.

Methods: The final sample was 112 advanced cancer patients. Internal consistency, item-total correlations, and test—retest using four different approaches were calculated for the assessment of the reliability. Construct validity was used by examining correlations between BHS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD-Depression) and the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death (SAHD). Known-groups validity was also assessed by detecting group differences according to disease severity as measured by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were constructed to explore the relationship between hopelessness, depression, hastened death and the patients' demographic and clinical characteristics.

Results: One factor solution was yielded accounted for 46.64% of the variance. The test—retest reliability was satisfactory ( p < 0.0005). Validity as performed using known-group analysis showed good results. Most significant correlations were found between BHS, ECOG ( p = 0.018) and gender ( p = 0.08). The strongest predictors were gender ( p = 0.050) and ECOG ( p = 0.045).

Conclusions: BHS seemed to be a useful instrument to assess pessimistic attitude and hopelessness in a Greek cancer population, with valid psychometric properties.
The Eugenic Legacy in Psychology and Psychiatry
Authors: Pilgrim David
Published: May 2008

Background: Assumptions about genetic differences in human mental characteristics can be traced in large part to the eugenic movement, ascendant at the turn of the 20th century.

Material: This paper offers historical case studies, of `innate general cognitive ability' and `psychiatric genetics', in order to appraise the eugenic legacy in current psychology and psychiatry.

Discussion: Reviewing the work of representatives, Cyril Burt, Franz Kallmann and Eliot Slater, along with their research networks, it is argued that eugenics remains a quiet but powerful background influence in modern-day psychology and psychiatry.

Conclusion: At the turn of the 21st century, eugenics remains an important area of inquiry, reflection and education for those in the inter-disciplinary field of social psychiatry.
An Assessment of Post-Tsunami Psychosocial Training Programmes in Tamilnadu, India
Authors: Thara R. , Rao K. , John S.
Published: May 2008

Background: After the Tsunami struck Tamilnadu in India in 2004, a spate of psychosocial training programmes were held by a host of agencies, both government and non-government.

Aim: This study is an empirical approach to the assessment of the psychosocial training programmes held after tsunami. The nature and quality of training received by the community level workers (CLWs) and the interventions carried out by them are described.

Methods: CLWs were interviewed using a questionnaire to assess details about training and interventions carried out by them. Qualitative information was also gathered both from CLWs and the community. A comparison was made between CLWs of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and those belonging to self-help groups.

Results: While most CLWs seemed to have benefited greatly from the training programmes, they had several suggestions to make about refining its quality. Multiple programmes, not well coordinated, resulted in a lot of overlap. The community was generally happy with the interventions provided and felt that they were necessary for about six months at least. One-to-one interventions are preferred to group activities, except in the case of children.

Conclusions: Psychosocial support (PSS) training programmes after a disaster situation will need to be coordinated by a nodal agency. Too many players on the field with their own agenda do not benefit the community and can well be a waste of resources.
Regional Differences Matter
Authors: Schlueter Elmar , Wagner Ulrich
Published: May 2008

In this study, we examine which role the size of the immigrant population plays in explaining immigrant derogation within and between European regions. We draw upon group threat- and intergroup contact theory to consider the following question: does a larger size of immigrant population increase perceived group threat and thereby lead to greater immigrant derogation? Or does it increase intergroup contact and thereby ameliorate immigrant derogation? We test the empirical adequacy of these alternative suggestions using regionalized European Social Survey 2002 and official data which will be analyzed by means of multilevel structural equation modeling. Within regions, our results confirm that perceived group threat increases subsequent immigrant derogation. Likewise, intergroup contact reduces perceived group threat and thereby amends such derogation of immigrants. Between regions, our findings show that a larger size of the immigrant population increases both greater perceived group threat and intergroup contact. At the same time, the effects of perceived group threat and intergroup contact on immigrant derogation resemble those found within regions. In sum, these results lend evidence to the generalizability of both group threat- and contact effects. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
War Exposure, Attachment Style, and Moral Reasoning
Authors: Haskuka Mytaher , Sunar Diane , Alp I. Ercan
Published: May 2008

This study extends the investigation of the effects of war exposure beyond those previously documented (e.g., increased stress and aggression and various types of psychopathology) to include moral reasoning. Three groups from two cultures with different levels of exposure to the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo were compared using Rest's Defining Issues Test. Possible effects of attachment style alone and in interaction with war exposure were also investigated. The results showed that exposure to war has (a) a very strong negative effect on moral reasoning with (b) no moderation by attachment style. However, the evidence suggests that war exposure may change the individual's attachment style from secure to insecure by inducing a more negative model of the other.
Prices and Price Convergence in Emerging Europe: an Overview
Authors: Égert Balázs
Published: May 2008

This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the long-term factors that explain divergent price levels across developed and emerging European countries. We provide stylised facts about the structural factors that influence market and non-market-based service, house and goods prices. The stylised facts show that there is much more behind differences in price levels among European countries than the much heralded Balassa-Samuelson effect and that prices other than those of market services are potential determinants of price levels and inflation rates in emerging Europe. Finally, we sketch out the possible mismatches between price level convergence and inflation rates.
Commentary: the Banking Crisis and the Economy
Authors: Weale Martin
Published: May 2008

The past few weeks have seen an intensification of the banking crisis in the United States, with the near failure of Bear Sterns, although some commentators hopefully say that the worst has now passed. In the United Kingdom the gap between the Bank Rate and money market rates has re-opened and is described as indicative of a reluctance of banks to lend to each other. In this commentary we seek to explain the fundamental factors behind recent developments in UK lending markets. We begin by describing the recent experience of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom and putting the crisis, which has been described as the worst since the Second World War, into some sort of perspective.
Oil Prices and Growth
Authors: Barrell Ray , Kirby Simon
Published: May 2008

Over the past fifteen months oil prices have steadily risen from around $60 a barrel to over $100, as we can see from Figure 1. The projections in our forecast are based on information from futures markets and on projections by the US Energy Information Administration, and as prices have risen there has been increasing evidence that they are considered to be overshooting a sustainable position, as can be seen from our projections for oil prices. Oil prices are expected to fall back to $90 a barrel by the end of 2009. Hence the current oil price shock can be seen as a combination of a temporary increase and a permanent increase in oil prices. The impact of increases in oil prices on growth depends in part on the reasons for the increase, with the effects of supply reduction induced increases in prices being more negative than demand induced increases in prices. A supply reduction involves a loss of revenue for producers as compared to a fixed volume demand induced rise in oil prices, and hence a supply reduction would result in lower levels of imports by oil producers.
Forecast Uncertainty and Prospects for the Uk Economy
Authors: Barrell Ray , Kirby Simon
Published: May 2008

Forecasters are often critised for failing to predict outcomes, and this criticism can be justified if they rely on point estimates in their forecasting rather than providing a measure of the uncertainty around their estimates. There are a number of ways to provide measures of uncertainty, but perhaps the most widely used involves the calculation of past forecast errors and hence the use of an outcome distribution based on those errors. Evaluating forecast uncertainty is particularly important at present as events in US and European financial markets have meant that a significant degree of judgement has to be utilised in order to produce a projection for the next two years. The scale of loses in the US mortgage and related markets are unknown, and the impacts of even an agreed set of losses are uncertain.
Sustainable Exchange Rates When Trade Winds Are Plentiful
Authors: Babecký Jan , Bulíř Aleš , Šmídkova Kateřina
Published: May 2008

Estimation and simulation of sustainable real exchange rates in a sample of EU member countries find vulnerabilities connected to the adoption of the euro if the rate vis-à-vis the euro were to be fixed with weak fundamentals and inappropriate policies. Sample countries have benefited from dramatic improvements in their external positions, in part driven by inflows of foreign direct investment. As a result, exchange rate misalignments have narrowed in most countries and, looking ahead, are expected to narrow further. These results are conditional, however, on optimistic projections with respect to world import demand and foreign direct investment inflows.
Creating Productive Jobs in East European Transition Economies: a Synthesis of Firm-Level Studies
Authors: Brown J. David , Earle John S.
Published: May 2008

The challenge for labour market policy in the new member states and other transition economies of Eastern Europe has been to redress the sharp drops in employment and rises in unemployment in a way that fosters the creation of productive jobs. This paper first documents the magnitude and productivity of job and worker reallocation. It then investigates the effects of privatisation, product and labour market liberalisation, and obstacles to growth in the new private sector on reallocation and its productivity in Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. We find that market reform has resulted in a large increase in the pace of job reallocation, particularly that occurring between sectors and via firm turnover. Unlike under central planning, the job reallocation during the transition has contributed significantly to aggregate productivity growth. Privatisation has not only stimulated intrasectoral job reallocation, but the reallocation is more productive than that among remaining state firms. The estimated effect of privatisation on firm productivity is usually positive, but it varies considerably across countries. The productivity gains from privatisation have generally not come at the expense of workers, but are associated rather with increased wages and employment.
Real Wage Flexibility in the Enlarged Eu: Evidence From a Structural Var
Authors: Babecký Jan , Dybczak Kamil
Published: May 2008

Membership in the monetary union imposes higher demands on factor market flexibility, since neither the exchange rate nor monetary policies can be used to deal with country-specific shocks. In this paper we assess the ability of the twelve new EU member states (NMS-12) to dampen the impact of shocks by means of macroeconomic wage flexibility. Following the structural VAR approach elaborated in Moore and Pentecost (2006), real wage flexibility is measured by the responsiveness of real wages to real (permanent) and nominal (temporary) shocks. The analysis of Moore and Pentecost (2006) is extended in three ways: by employing a new Eurostat labour cost data set covering 1996Q1 to 2007Q3, by using a large sample of 24 EU member countries, and by assessing the sensitivity of the results to the sample length. We find evidence of heterogeneous real wage adjustment across the new as well as the mature EU economies. Overall, the degree of real wage flexibility in the NMS-12 lies within the bounds of the corresponding values for the Euro Area ‘core’ and ‘peripheral’ member countries.
The Expanding Role of Sociology at Japan National Defense Academy
Authors: Kawano Hitoshi
Published: May 2008

The Japan National Defense Academy was established in 1954 with the following characteristics: (1) civilian president, (2) joint-service education, (3) no obligation to serve after graduation, and (4) emphasis on natural and engineering sciences. For the first twenty years of its history, sociology played virtually no role. The School of Social Sciences (Administrative Sciences/International Relations) was established in 1974. Sociology and sociology-related subjects entered in the undergraduate curriculum. Establishment of the Graduate School for Security Studies in 1997 further expanded the role of sociology, while introducing military sociology to the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. In 2001, as a result, a major organizational reform, Departments of Humanities, Public Policy, and International Relations constitute the new School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Although there is only one sociology professor, the role of sociology in the educational system of Self-Defense Forces is gradually expanding.
When Disagreement Gets Ugly: Perceptions of Bias and the Escalation of Conflict
Authors: Kennedy Kathleen A. , Pronin Emily
Published: May 2008

It is almost a truism that disagreement produces conflict. This article suggests that perceptions of bias can drive this relationship. First, these studies show that people perceive those who disagree with them as biased. Second, they show that the conflict-escalating approaches that people take toward those who disagree with them are mediated by people's tendency to perceive those who disagree with them as biased. Third, these studies manipulate the mediator and show that experimental manipulations that prompt people to perceive adversaries as biased lead them to respond more conflictually—and that such responding causes those who engage in it to be viewed as more biased and less worthy of cooperative gestures. In summary, this article provides evidence for a “bias-perception conflict spiral,” whereby people who disagree perceive each other as biased, and those perceptions in turn lead them to take conflict-escalating actions against each other (which in turn engender further perceptions of bias, continuing the spiral).
Perceptions of Discrimination: A Multiple Needs Model Perspective
Authors: Goldman Barry M. , Slaughter Jerel E. , Schmit Mark J. , Wiley Jack W. , Brooks Scott M.
Published: May 2008

The multiple needs model of justice was used to understand employee reactions to perceived discrimination. In particular, the fulfillment of the three needs discussed in that model—economic, interpersonal, and deontic (ethical)—were tested as consequences of perceived discrimination and as antecedents of job attitudes and turnover intentions. A representative sample of the U.S. workforce (N = 5,605) rated the three needs-fulfillment variables while also rating their perceptions of discrimination, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to leave. The proposed model was supported. This study extends research on perceived discrimination by proposing a role for the multiple needs model of justice through the use of a specific and important role for needs fulfillment. It also extends support for the multiple needs model of justice.
A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Gender Differences in Mentoring
Authors: O'Brien Kimberly E. , Biga Andrew , Kessler Stacey R. , Allen Tammy D.
Published: May 2008

This meta-analysis investigates gender differences in mentor- and protégé-reported experience in mentorships as well as career and psychosocial benefits. There are no gender differences in experience as a protégé or protégé receipt of career development, but male protégés report receiving less psychosocial support than female protégés. Furthermore, males are more likely to serve as mentors than females and report giving more career development than female mentors. Conversely, female mentors report providing more psychosocial support than male mentors. In most cases, effect sizes are small and heterogeneous, providing important implications for future research.
Web robot detection in the scholarly information environment
Authors: Huntington Paul , Nicholas David , Jamali Hamid R.
Published: May 2008

An increasing number of robots harvest information on the world wide web for a wide variety of purposes. Protocols developed at the inception of the web laid out voluntary procedures in order to identify robot behaviour, and exclude it if necessary. Few robots now follow this protocol and it is now increasingly difficult to filter for this activity in reports of on-site activity. This paper seeks to demonstrate the issues involved in identifying robots and assessing their impact on usage in regard to a project which sought to establish the relative usage patterns of open access and non-open access articles in the Oxford University Press published journal Glycobiology, which offers in a single issue articles in both forms. A number of methods for identifying robots are compared and together these methods found that 40% of the raw logs of this journal could be attributed to robots.
Metadata-enhanced visual interfaces to digital libraries
Authors: Shiri Ali
Published: May 2008

Information visualization offers a variety of ways in which digital library collections can be represented on the interface and shown to the user. Metadata, a key component of solid digital libraries, has been utilized to enhance visual user interfaces to digital libraries. This paper reports on a study conducted to investigate and analyze a specific category of digital library visual interface that supports information seeking, exploration and retrieval based on metadata representations, namely metadata-enhanced visual interfaces. This study examined 21 metadata-enhanced digital library visual interfaces from the following perspectives: (a) information access and retrieval features; (b) metadata elements; (c) visualization techniques and metaphors. The results demonstrated that the combined use of visualization techniques and metaphors is becoming increasingly prevalent as a design strategy to support users' information exploration. The results also suggest that visual interfaces enhanced with metadata are becoming more widespread to provide a richer representation of digital collections.
An efficient frequent melody indexing method to improve the performance of query-by-humming systems
Authors: You Jinhee , Park Sanghyun , Kim Inbum
Published: May 2008

In recent years, the need to efficiently store and retrieve large amounts of musical information has increased. In this paper, we design and implement a Query-By-Humming (QBH) system, which can retrieve melodies similar to users' humming. To make this QBH system efficient, the following three methods were proposed. First, we convert the melodies to be indexed into the corresponding strings, in order to increase search speed. The conversion method is designed to tolerate the errors involved in humming. Second, we extract significant melodies from music and then build a couple of indexes from them. For this task, we propose reliable methods for extracting melodies that occur frequently and for melodies that begin after a long rest. Third, we propose a three-step index searching method for minimizing database access. Through the experiments with a real-world data set, it was verified that this system has noticeable improvements over the N-gram approach.
Homo spectator
Authors: Kohn Margaret
Published: May 2008

This article develops a novel approach to the relationship between public space and democracy. It employs the concept of the spectacle to show how public space can serve to destroy or weaken solidarity just as easily as it can foster a democratic ethos of equality. A close reading of Rousseau's Letter to M. d'Alembert on the Theatre helps illuminate the political implications of modern public life, which increasingly takes the form of passive individuals assembling in order to view a spectacle. According to Rousseau, spectacles like the theater are depoliticizing because they undermine the opportunity for active participation and interaction with other citizens. By habituating the audience to theatrical modes of self-presentation, they also weaken the capacity for empathy. This article concludes by showing how contemporary theorists including Sennett, Debord and Habermas also contribute to our understanding of the concept of the spectacle.
Life and politics after humanity
Authors: Farneti Roberto
Published: May 2008

A number of academic disciplines are seeking to rearticulate the distinction between the natural and the normative by rethinking the position humans occupy within nature. This article surveys this interdisciplinary debate in which the possibility of understanding humans as normative beings is often called into question. The aim of this survey is to identify the stakes involved in such debates and to reveal the underlying policy dimension of current discussions about human nature. This article concludes by arguing that the main target of the current battles for recognition between disciplines is the `public', which is becoming the ultimate epistemic authority in a game with high political stakes.
On conceptual dichotomies and social oppression
Authors: Freibach-Heifetz Dana , Stopler Gila
Published: May 2008

This article aims to expose the philosophical and cultural mechanisms, which allow some forms of western religion (in this case mainstream Christianity) to join hands with western capitalism in the oppression of women and of the needy. Focusing on the example of the USA, this article claims that both mainstream Christian religion and capitalism perpetuate and entrench discrimination against women and the oppression of the needy through the use of the cultural/philosophical dichotomy between love and justice and its corollary dichotomy between private and public. Against this background, the second part of the article examines several notions of love and justice, and offers a philosophical alternative to the dichotomous understanding of the two which is based on our claim that neither love nor justice is complete without the other and suggests a combined understanding of these concepts. Finally, the article examines the practical implications of such a theoretical alternative for the social and cultural structures of the capitalist state, religion and the family.
The original linguistic accumulation
Authors: Bjerre Henrik Jøker
Published: May 2008

This article represents an attempt at identifying a lack (of a lack) in analytic philosophy. It claims that one of the central features common to a variety of analytic philosophies is the absence of an investigation of what Jacques Lacan has identified as the lack of being ( manque à être). This lacking lack is investigated through what could be termed a Lacanian intervention into one of the finest (relatively) recent products of the analytic tradition, Robert Brandom's Making It Explicit. The aim of the intervention is twofold: first, to identify some of the (maybe surprising) similarities between Brandom and the Lacanian tradition; second, to identify the lacking lack within analytic philosophy by focusing on what Brandom (`explicitly') does not say — and to argue that what is thus usually passed over in silence in the analytic tradition contains a perspective of fundamental significance to understanding humans and their societies.
Heidegger, Lafont and the necessity of the transcendental
Authors: Shockey R. Matthew
Published: May 2008

Cristina Lafont's recent reading of Heidegger offers a powerful formulation of the widespread view that once one recognizes our `facticity' and the role of language in shaping it, there is no room left to talk about transcendental structures of meaning or experience. In this article I challenge this view. I argue that Lafont inaccurately conflates what Heidegger calls our `understanding of being' with that which language discloses. In order to show that the philosophical motivation for this conflation is unsound, I also argue that Lafont's own positive theory of meaning itself tacitly assumes a distinction between factical and transcendental, and so rests on exactly what she finds problematic in Heidegger. This still leaves a puzzle as to how factical individuals are actually able to grasp anything transcendental, so I conclude by sketching Heidegger's method of `formal indication', which is meant to show precisely how this can be done.
Transcriptional Profiling of Laser Capture Microdissected Rat Arterial Elements: Fenoldopam-induced Vascular Toxicity as a Model System
Authors: Dalmas Deidre A. , Scicchitano Marshall S. , Chen Yifeng , Kane Janice , Mirabile Rosanna , Schwartz Lester W. , Thomas Heath C. , Boyce Rogely W.
Published: May 2008

Transcriptional profiling of specific elements of vasculature from animal models of vascular toxicity is an approach to gain insight into molecular mechanisms of vascular injury. Feasibility of using laser capture microdissection (LCM) to evaluate differential gene expression in selected elements of mesenteric arteries (MA) from untreated rats and rats given a single vasotoxic dose of 100 mg/kg Fenoldopam and euthanized 1 or 4 hours postdose was assessed. Regions of MA (endothelial cells [EC] and vascular smooth muscle cells [VSMC]) were selectively microdissected from optimal-cutting-temperature (O.C.T.)-embedded-frozen tissue sections. RNA was isolated, linearly amplified (LA), and hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChips®. Enrichment for specific vascular elements was evident by unique gene-expression profiles. Statistical analysis indicated that Fenoldopam treatment resulted in differential expression of 333 versus 458 genes in EC and 371 versus 618 genes in VSMC at the 1-hour or 4-hour time point, respectively. Analysis of regulated EC and VSMC genes common to both time points identified several gene functions or pathways affected by treatment. Several genes were identified in EC and/or VSMC that have not been previously linked to vascular structure or function. These data indicate that tissue–element-enrichment by LCM in conjunction with LA and GeneChip analysis offers a refined approach for assessment of injury-mediated transcriptome changes in distinct elements of the vasculature.
Spontaneous and Age-Related Testicular Findings in Beagle Dogs
Authors: Goedken Michael J. , Kerlin Roy L. , Morton Daniel
Published: May 2008

This study was conducted to characterize spontaneous testicular and epididymal microscopic findings in eighty control beagle dogs from toxicity studies. Hypospermatogenesis, characterized by randomly scattered missing spermatids and/or spermatocytes within seminiferous tubules, was observed in 75% of dogs six to seven months of age and declined to fewer than 10% in dogs over eleven months of age. Atrophy/hypoplasia of seminiferous tubules, characterized by subcapsular triangular clusters of tubules containing no germ cells, was observed in 25 to 40% of dogs under twelve months old, decreasing with age to 14 to 17% in dogs twelve to thirty-six months old. Retained spermatids, multinucleate giant cells, intracytoplasmic vacuoles (presumably in Sertoli cells), and swollen spermatocytes were common findings of minimal severity. Six- and seven-month-old dogs had lower testicular weights, less filling of the epididymal tails with sperm, and a two-fold higher incidence of abnormal epididymal content compared to dogs more than eight months of age. Most male beagles were histologically sexually mature by eight to nine months of age. This study confirms published reports that dogs at least ten months of age at necropsy usually are adequate for routine microscopic evaluation of the testes. If evaluation of spermatogenesis is critical, the incidental findings can be minimized by using males over twelve months of age.