bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Housing Code Enforcement as Law in Action*
Authors: ROSS H. LAURENCE
Published: January 2008

This document presents a description and analysis of housing codes and the enterprise of enforcing them. The origin of cases, the roles of complainants, inspectors, supervisors, and others in their processing, as well as the outcomes, are explored. Housing code enforcement produces law in action which, as with other similar enterprises, is simplified and liberal compared with the formal rules, and which contains a variety of formally arbitrary outcomes.
The Effect of Practitioner Recommendations on the Tax Judgments of Small Business Owners and Managers*
Authors: HITE PEGGY A. , STOCK TOBY
Published: January 2008

This study addresses conflicting results between prior research documenting a client demand for aggressive practitioner‐prepared returns and research establishing taxpayer preferences for accurate returns and cautious reporting behavior. Rather than rely on practitioner reports of client aggressiveness, the tax reporting preferences of clients are examined in afield experiment mailed to small businesses across the country. After subjects had indicated ex ante beliefs about the likelihood of independent contractor status, they significantly altered their behavioral intentions in the direction of a preparer's recommendation. This implies that prior results with practitioner samples may have been biased by the practitioners' personal views. Nonetheless, some aggressive subjects were not as willing to follow the preparer's advice as were the conservative subjects. Evidence is presented on variables that correlate with aggressive tax decision making.
Games of Engagement: Postures Within the Regulatory Community*
Authors: BRAITHWAITE VALERIE
Published: January 2008

This paper seeks to advance understanding of compliance through identifying the constituent elements of four empirically derived postures of regulatees: resistance and disengagement (associated with non‐compliance), and managerial accommodation and capture (associated with compliance) (V. Braith‐waite et al. 1994). The nature of these postures is investigated through two theoretical frameworks, Meidinger's (1987) notion of regulatory culture (and the construct of social bonds) and Merton's (1968) modes of adaptation (and the construct of commitments to institutional goals and means). Social bonds and commitments to goals and means are important for explaining resistance, disengagement and managerial accommodation. In the case of capture of the regulatees, social bonds are more important than commitments to goals and means. The findings counsel regulatory agencies to establish trust and respect in the regulatee‐regulator relationship.
Regulation by Reward: On the Use of Incentives as Regulatory Instruments*
Authors: GRABOSKY P.N.
Published: January 2008

This essay explores the use of positive reinforcement as a regulatory strategy. It discusses both financial and symbolic incentives and their application in furtherance of regulatory compliance, and presents various illustrative examples of the use of positive incentives by regulatory authorities. It then reviews the advantages and potential shortcomings of regulatory incentives, and suggests principles by which incentive instruments can be used as part of an overall regulatory regime.
Opening Pandora's Box: Protecting Children Against Torture or Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment*
Authors: BUEREN GERALDINE VAN
Published: January 2008

Children are rarely perceived as torture victims, although they may be easier targets. International inertia is compounded as not only torture, but also ‘other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ is prohibited. Some of these occur in the private sphere, which traditionalists erroneously assume outside of international human rights law. Children may also be unprotected because they suffer from trauma in different ways from adults. Jurisprudence of human rights fora based principally on adult victims, despite some dicta to the contrary, risks international standards being inappropriately applied to child victims. This promotes an analysis which fails to address the particular vulnerabilities of children and their role as social actors.
The Child's Right to Family Unity in International Immigration Law*
Authors: ABRAM ELIAHU FRANK
Published: January 2008

Family cohesion is crucial to refugee and immigrant children. National immigration policies frequently give discretionary preference to family reunification, but subject it to restrictions, and seldom does domestic law grant the refugee or the alien resident a right to prompt reunification with foreign family members. While recognizing a right to family life, international law did. not in the past recognize a right of entry for the alien for the purposes of family reunification. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, requires states to ensure the child's right to family unity and entitles all children to family reunification.
The Transfer of Juvenile Offenders to Adult Court: Panacea or Problem?*
Authors: McNULTY ELIZABETH W.
Published: January 2008

Recent increases can be seen in both the number of transferred juveniles and the number of juveniles that meet transfer criteria. Advocates of expanding the parameters for transferring juvenile offenders to adult court claim that it is an effective method of dealing with serious juvenile offenders. Little empirical evidence supports the idea that adult court sentencing of juvenile offenders is consistent, equitable or effective. This study utilizes data from a recent cohort of 472 transferred juvenile offenders in Arizona to explore the sentencing of juveniles in adult court. Logistic regression is employed to identify criminal history, offense‐related variables, and demographic variables related to both an incarcerative sentence and a sentence to probation.
The Comparative Advantage of Juvenile Versus Criminal Court Sanctions on Recidivism among Adolescent Felony Offenders*
Authors: FAGAN JEFFREY
Published: January 2008

This study addresses the longstanding and contentious debate on the merits of transferring cases from juvenile to adult court with the expectation of more certain, severe, or effective punishment. It compares the severity, certainty and celerity of sanctions for N=800 15‐ and 16‐year‐old adolescents charged with robbery and burglary in juvenile court in New Jersey with identical offenders in matched communities in New York State whose cases are adjudicated in criminal court, and determines the effectiveness of these sanctions in reducing recidivism and reincarceration. Results showed that incarceration rates were higher for adolescents sentenced in the criminal court, but sentence lengths were comparable. However, recidivism rates were significantly lower for adolescents sentenced in the juvenile court, regardless of sentence type or severity. The results suggest that efforts to criminalize adolescent offending may not produce the desired results and may in fact be counterproductive. There is no support for legislative efforts to eliminate the special jurisprudence for adolescent crimes or the separate jurisdiction for juvenile offenders.
Violent Youth in Juvenile and Adult Court: An Assessment of Sentencing Strategies in Texas
Authors: FRITSCH ERIC J. , HEMMENS CRAIG , CAETI TORY J.
Published: January 2008

This paper examines the effectiveness of two sentencing strategies for managing serious and violent juvenile offenders: judicial waiver to adult court and determinate sentencing in juvenile court. Corrections data were analyzed and it was found that both groups consistently receive longer terms of incarceration than are available through normal juvenile justice processing. However, this finding changed when actual time served was taken into consideration. A discriminant analysis showed that juveniles determin‐ately sentenced in juvenile court are more likely to be younger and receive and serve shorter sentences than juveniles waived to adult court and sentenced to prison.
Policies Regarding the Prosecution of Juvenile Murderers: Which System and Who Should Decide?
Authors: SANBORN JOSEPH B.
Published: January 2008

The fate awaiting the juvenile charged with murder varies considerably from state to state. In some jurisdictions the youth (depending on age) would have to be prosecuted in juvenile court and receive at worst the most severe sanction available in that forum. In other locations the juvenile could have to be tried in adult court or could be sent there by either a judge or a prosecutor, and would be eligible for an adult sentence, including possibly the death penalty. This study examines the country's various policies regarding the prosecution of juvenile murderers, as well as the implications behind both using the juvenile versus the adult court for these prosecutions and extending the transfer power to the prosecutor versus the judge.
The Children's Code Reform Movement in New Mexico: The Politics of Expediency
Authors: MAYS G. LARRY , GREGWARE PETER R.
Published: January 2008

Like many states, New Mexico has experienced a “get‐tough” movement in regard to the handling of juvenile offenders. In 1993 the state formulated a major revision of˜the˜Children's Code, and this revision did a variety of things. Among the changes incorporated into the Children's Code revision was a movement from essentially one category of offenders ‐ delinquent children – with provisions for transferring certain serious offenders to adult court, to three categories. The additional two categories of juvenile offenders included “youthful offenders” and “serious youthful offenders.” The upshot of these designations was that the state legislature more carefully defined the jurisdiction of the children's (juvenile) court, and prescribed more severe punishment for the most serious offenders. This article explores some of the forces at work in bringing about the revisions in New Mexico's Children's Code. We argue that the personal and institutional goals of politicians and other opinion leaders were more important than a rational reaction to any real crisis. Specifically, the threat to institutional resources posed by such serious offenders may well have kept institutional stakeholders within the juvenile justice system from objecting to recent changes in New Mexico's juvenile code.
Self‐Determination and Unity: The Case of Sudan
Authors: AN‐NA'IM ABDULLAHI A. , DENG FRANCIS M.
Published: January 2008

Taking national unity to be desirable but not at any cost, the authors explore the conditionality of unity on genuine and lasting realization of the people's right to self‐determination through the political stability, economic development, and social justice for all citizens of a country, both individually and collectively. While emphasizing that secession and separate statehood are not the only way for realizing a people's right to self‐determination, the authors argue that this option must be considered seriously when a people is denied their right to self‐determination within the country. If this right is satisfied within an existing state, it is extremely unlikely that a minority would opt for the high political, economic, and security risks of separate statehood. But without that option, a majority may have little incentive to address the grievances of the minority. Applying their analysis to the civil war in Sudan, the authors propose a clear set of criteria and mechanisms for evaluating standards of achievement for self‐determination with unity within a specific time. Should the conditions of unity fail to materialize, the possibility of peaceful and orderly secession must be considered.
Women (Under)Development: The Relevance of “The Right to Development” to Poor Women of Color in the United States*
Authors: LEWIS HOPE
Published: January 2008

This article examines the applicability and relevance of the collective international right to development to poor women of color in the United States. It posits that alternative, sustainable forms of development may be as relevant to subordinated groups in the United States as they are to non‐western peoples. The article argues, however, that implementing the right to development in this imagined context requires a grassroots approach.
The Myth of Development, The Progress of Rights: Human Rights to Intellectual Property and Development*
Authors: GANA RUTH L.
Published: January 2008

Of all the various programs and policies formulated in an attempt to find a quick route to modernization, none has been as detrimental to the development process in Africa as technology transfer from developed countries. The process of technology transfer was facilitated by the international intellectual property system which enabled owners of intellectual goods in developed countries to control access by developing countries to technology while also exacting from these countries huge transaction costs and licensing fees. African countries, as other developing countries, participated in the international intellectual property system in part because indigenous innovation and economic growth were promised fruits of intellectual property protection as evidenced by the experience of the Western Hemisphere. The recognition of intellectual property rights by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gave legitimacy to the efforts of developed countries and international institutions to encourage developing countries to recognize intellectual property rights and to join the international intellectual property system. However, after more than three decades of experimenting with Western‐styled intellectual property laws and an inordinate emphasis on technology from developed countries as an agent of development, African countries remain mired in the trenches of underdevelopment. This article looks at the failed promise of intellectual property systems in developing countries in general, with Africa as its specific concern. The author argues that the human right to intellectual property must be understood in context with the right to development and self‐determination. Such an approach would delegitimize the myth of a universally valid intellectual property system and protect the right of developing countries to establish intellectual property regimes that reflect their unique socioeconomic and cultural norms and that are consistent with development objectives. Nevertheless, the author insists that nothing short of a comprehensive economic and social reform package nurtured and implemented in a politically stable environment under the rule of law will release Africa's potential for development.
Distributional Shapes and Validity Transport: A comparison of lower bounds
Authors: Kisamore Jennifer L.
Published: January 2008

Organizations use validity transport to assess whether adoption of a particular selection measure may be of value. Current validity transport methodology assumes a normal distribution of validity parameters. Research over the past two decades has questioned this assumption, investigating the types of decision errors likely with various non‐normal parameter distributions. The current paper demonstrates that the variance of the parameter distribution and choice of lower bound has a greater impact on the true lower bound of the parameter distribution than does its shape. The current practice of using 80% credibility intervals provides a reasonable compromise in terms of invariance to parameter distribution shape while also limiting the probability of erroneously concluding validity transport is reasonable in a specific case.
Needs and Cognition/Behavior Patterns at Work and the Big Five: An assessment of the Personality and Preference Inventory‐Normative (PAPI‐N) from the perspective of the five‐factor model
Authors: Sanz Jesús , Gil Francisco , García‐Vera María Paz , Barrasa Ángel
Published: January 2008

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs and cognition/behavior patterns at work as measured by the Personality and Preference Inventory – Normative (PAPI‐N) and the five‐factor model of personality as measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) in a sample of 91 working adults and 71 psychology undergraduates who worked or had some work experience. Our results showed significant and theoretically congruent correlations between the PAPI‐N scales and the measures of the five‐factor model. These correlations were similar to those found using alternative instruments to measure Murray's needs. Despite the differences in the conceptual origins of the PAPI‐N and the NEO‐FFI and divergences in the aspects of personality measured by the two inventories, joint and interbattery factor analyses showed that most of the needs and cognition/behavior patterns measured by the PAPI‐N can be meaningfully organized within the framework of the five‐factor model. These results provide further empirical evidence for the validity of the five‐factor model and the PAPI‐N, although they also point out personality aspects that are not encompassed by the five‐factor model.
Effects of Providing Pre‐Test Information and Preparation Materials on Applicant Reactions to Selection Procedures
Authors: Burns Gary N. , Siers Brian P. , Christiansen Neil D.
Published: January 2008

This study examined the effects of providing applicants with pre‐test information and preparation (PTIP) materials on pass rates and reactions to the selection process. Applicants for chemical process operator positions that had (n=38) and had not (n=57) received PTIP materials before completing a test battery were surveyed after they had received notice of the outcome of the testing. Providing the PTIP materials did not influence overall pass rates or applicant reactions. However, results indicated that testing outcome (pass vs fail) had a strong influence on applicant reactions to the testing process. Among those that did not pass the testing hurdle, providing PTIP materials markedly improved perceptions of fairness and satisfaction with the testing process. These findings show that the use of PTIP materials reduces negative applicant reactions experienced by individuals that do not pass employment tests.
Psychological Hardiness Predicts Success in US Army Special Forces Candidates
Authors: Bartone Paul T. , Roland Robert R. , Picano James J. , Williams Thomas J.
Published: January 2008

Military ‘Special Forces’ represent a high‐reliability occupation, where stress levels are often intense and failure can be costly. Selection for such jobs should pay careful attention to psychological factors associated with resiliency under stress. In the present study, US Army Special Forces candidates (N=1138) were assessed for psychological hardiness using a short form of the Dispositional Resilience Scale, and these scores were then applied to predict successful completion of the course. Independent sample t‐tests and logistic regression analyses confirmed that Special Forces course graduates are significantly higher in psychological hardiness, as compared to non‐graduates. Psychological hardiness appears to be an important individual characteristic associated with stress tolerance and successful performance in highly demanding occupations.
Sleep deprivation predisposes liver to oxidative stress and phospholipid damage: a quantitative molecular imaging study
Authors: Chang Hung‐Ming , Mai Fu‐Der , Chen Bo‐Jung , Wu Un‐In , Huang Yi‐Lun , Lan Chyn‐Tair , Ling Yong‐Chien
Published: January 2008

Sleep disorders are associated with an increased rate of various metabolic disturbances, which may be related to oxidative stress and consequent lipid peroxidation. Since hepatic phosphatidylcholine plays an important role in metabolic regulation, the aim of the present study was to determine phosphatidylcholine expression in the liver following total sleep deprivation. To determine the effects of total sleep deprivation, we used adult rats implanted for polygraphic recording. Phosphatidylcholine expression was examined molecularly by the use of time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, along with biochemical solid‐phase extraction. The parameters of oxidative stress were investigated by evaluating the hepatic malondialdehyde levels as well as heat shock protein 25 immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. In normal rats, the time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry spectra revealed specific peaks (m/z 184 and 224) that could be identified as molecular ions for phosphatidylcholine. However, following total sleep deprivation, the signals for phosphatidylcholine were significantly reduced to nearly one‐third of the normal values. The results of solid‐phase extraction also revealed that the phosphatidylcholine concentration was noticeably decreased, from 15.7 µmol g–1 to 9.4 µmol g–1, after total sleep deprivation. By contrast, the biomarkers for oxidative stress were drastically up‐regulated in the total sleep deprivation‐treated rats as compared with the normal ones (4.03 vs. 1.58 nmol mg–1 for malondialdehyde levels, and 17.1 vs. 6.7 as well as 1.8 vs. 0.7 for heat shock protein 25 immunoblotting and immunoreactivity, respectively). Given that phosphatidylcholine is the most prominent component of all plasma lipoproteins, decreased expression of hepatic phosphatidylcholine following total sleep deprivation may be attributed to the enhanced oxidative stress and the subsequent lipid peroxidation, which would play an important role in the formation or progression of total sleep deprivation‐induced metabolic diseases.
Transient suppression of progenitor cell proliferation through NMDA receptors in hippocampal dentate gyrus of mice with traumatic stress experience
Authors: Tamaki Keisuke , Yamada Kiyofumi , Nakamichi Noritaka , Taniura Hideo , Yoneda Yukio
Published: January 2008

Post‐traumatic stress disorder is a long‐lasting psychiatric disease after the traumatic experience of severe fatal stress with the consequence of hippocampal atrophy. Freezing behaviors were more than quintupled on the fear‐conditioning test in mice previously subjected to water immersion restrain stress (WIRS) with metronome tones when determined 1–28 days after WIRS, while these mice exhibited the increased immobility time on the forced swimming test with the increased spontaneous locomotion. Prior experience of WIRS led to a transient decrease in subsequent 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into proliferating cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. These behavioral and neurochemical alterations were significantly prevented by the daily injection of the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine, respectively. Moreover, WIRS significantly decreased the number of cells holding BrdU without affecting the differentiation ratio to astroglial and neuronal lineages 28 days later. Prior administration of an NMDA receptor antagonist significantly prevented the aforementioned changes by WIRS. These results suggest that NMDA receptors may play a role in mechanisms underlying the crisis of a variety of psychiatric symptoms relevant to post‐traumatic stress disorder through transient suppression of neural progenitor cell proliferation in the murine hippocampal dentate gyrus.
A LONG‐SNOUTED DYROSAURID (CROCODYLIFORMES, MESOEUCROCODYLIA) FROM THE PALEOCENE OF MOROCCO: PHYLOGENETIC AND PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS
Authors: JOUVE STEPHANE , BOUYA BAÂDI , AMAGHZAZ MBAREK
Published: January 2008

Abstract:  New material of a long‐snouted dyrosaurid has been discovered in the Paleocene of Morocco. It consists of a well‐preserved skull with embedded mandible and four dorsal vertebrae. The particularly elongate snout, proportionally the longest of all known dyrosaurids, allows precise identification of this material as Atlantosuchus coupateziBuffetaut, 1979a, and presentation of an emended diagnosis for this species previously known only from a mandibular symphysis. A phylogenetic analysis of the dyrosaurids indicates a close relationship between A. coupatezi and Rhabdognathus. It also confirms a previous hypothesis that Congosaurus is distinct from Hyposaurus. It is more closely related to Atlantosuchus than Hyposaurus. The analysis also allows palaeobiogeographic interpretations to be made. Dyrosaurids ranged from North Africa to other areas. They were rare during the Maastrichtian and endemic to each continent at this time. Competition with large marine reptiles, such as mosasaurs, limited their dispersal during the Late Cretaceous. The disappearance of these rivals during the ‘K‐T crisis’ enabled their diversification and widespread dispersal during the Paleocene, with the same genera present on several continents.
AMPHIBIANS FROM THE MIDDLE JURASSIC BALABANSAI SVITA IN THE FERGANA DEPRESSION, KYRGYZSTAN (CENTRAL ASIA)
Authors: AVERIANOV ALEXANDER O. , MARTIN THOMAS , SKUTSCHAS PAVEL P. , REZVYI ANTON S. , BAKIROV AIZEK A.
Published: January 2008

Abstract:  Larval and metamorphosed Ferganobatrachus riabinini (Temnospondyli, Brachyopoidea), metamorphosed Kokartus honorarius (Caudata, Karauridae), an indeterminated karaurid (Karauridae indet.) and, presumably, anurans (?Anura indet.) are represented by isolated cranial and postcranial skeletal elements in the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian–Callovian) Balabansai Svita of the Fergana Depression, Kyrgyzstan. The Balabansai vertebrate assemblage is one of the few faunas in which non‐lissamphibian temnospondyls, stem caudates and anurans occur together. The presence of a supraglenoid foramen and a complex strap‐like glenoid on the scapulocoracoid in Kokartus supports its basal phylogenetic position within the Caudata.
Vertical extrusion and horizontal channel flow of orogenic lower crust: key exhumation mechanisms in large hot orogens?
Authors: SCHULMANN K. , LEXA O. , ŠTÍPSKÁ P. , RACEK M. , TAJČMANOVÁ L. , KONOPÁSEK J. , EDEL J.‐B. , PESCHLER A. , LEHMANN J.
Published: January 2008

A large database of structural, geochronological and petrological data combined with a Bouguer anomaly map is used to develop a two‐stage exhumation model of deep‐seated rocks in the eastern sector of the Variscan belt. An early sub‐vertical fabric developed in the orogenic lower and middle crust during intracrustal folding followed by the vertical extrusion of the lower crustal rocks. These events were responsible for exhumation of the orogenic lower crust from depths equivalent to 18−20 kbar to depths equivalent to 8−10 kbar, and for coeval burial of upper crustal rocks to depths equivalent to 8–9 kbar. Following the folding and vertical extrusion event, sub‐horizontal fabrics developed at medium to low pressure in the orogenic lower and middle crust during vertical shortening. Fabrics that record the early vertical extrusion originated between 350 and 340 Ma, during building of an orogenic root in response to SE‐directed Saxothuringian continental subduction. Fabrics that record the later sub‐horizontal exhumation event relate to an eastern promontory of the Brunia continent indenting into the rheologically weaker rocks of the orogenic root. Indentation initiated thrusting or flow of the orogenic crust over the Brunia continent in a north‐directed sub‐horizontal channel. This sub‐horizontal flow operated between 330 and 325 Ma, and was responsible for a heterogeneous mixing of blocks and boudins of lower and middle crustal rocks and for their progressive thermal re‐equilibration. The erosion depth as well as the degree of reworking decreases from south to north, pointing to an outflow of lower crustal material to the surface, which was subsequently eroded and deposited in a foreland basin. Indentation by the Brunia continental promontory was highly noncoaxial with respect to the SE‐oriented Saxothuringian continental subduction in the Early Visean, suggesting a major switch of plate configuration during the Middle to Late Visean.
Adiponectin and visfatin concentrations in children treated with valproic acid
Authors: Rauchenzauner Markus , Haberlandt Edda , Scholl‐Bürgi Sabine , Ernst Barbara , Hoppichler Fritz , Karall Daniela , Ebenbichler Christoph F. , Rostasy Kevin , Luef Gerhard
Published: January 2008

Summary

Chronic antiepileptic therapy with valproic acid (VPA) is associated with increased body weight and insulin resistance in adults and children. Attempts to determine the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms have failed. Adipocytokines have recently been defined as a link between glucose and fat metabolism. We herein demonstrate that VPA‐associated overweight is accompanied by lower adiponectin and higher leptin concentrations in children. The absence of any relationship with visfatin concentration does not suggest a role of this novel insulin‐mimetic hormone in VPA‐associated metabolic alterations. Therefore, adiponectin and leptin but not visfatin may be considered as potential regulators of glucose and fat metabolism during VPA‐therapy.
Outcome of Septic Shock in Older Adults After Implementation of the Sepsis “Bundle”
Authors: El Solh Ali A. , Akinnusi Morohunfolu E. , Alsawalha Leith N. , Pineda Lilibeth A.
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect on 28‐day mortality of implementation of a sepsis “bundle” protocol for the treatment of older adults with septic shock.

DESIGN: Observational prospective study with a historical control group.

SETTING: Tertiary care center.

PARTICIPANTS: Eighty‐seven consecutive patients recruited between May 2004 and February 2007 matched to a historic group identified between March 2001 and April 2004.

INTERVENTIONS: Implementation of a sepsis protocol for the management of septic shock.

RESULTS: Subjects who were treated according to the sepsis “bundle” had an absolute risk reduction in 28‐day mortality of 16% (95% confidence interval (CI)=−31% to −2%). The treatment group received a larger volume of fluid in the first 6 hours of presentation (3,960 ± 1,990 vs 2,490 ± 1,020 mL; P<.001) and lower doses of vasopressors (maximum dosage of norepinephrine 0.51 μg/kg per min (range 0.12–1.7) vs 0.98 μg/kg per min (range 0.15–3.1) P=.009). A high prevalence of adrenal insufficiency (86%) was identified in the study population. There were no significant differences between the treatment and control groups in the surviving patients with respect to duration of mechanical ventilation (median 8.5 vs 12.0, respectively; P=.07) or intensive care unit length of stay (median 12 days vs 15 days; P=.08). According to Cox regression analysis, implementation of the sepsis bundle protocol was independently associated with better 28‐day survival (hazard ratio=0.54, 95% CI=0.33–0.86; P=.01).

CONCLUSION: Older patients with septic shock had a better 28‐day survival rate when treated with a comprehensive sepsis “bundle” protocol.
Providing All‐Inclusive Care for Frail Elderly Veterans: Evaluation of Three Models of Care
Authors: Weaver Frances M. , Hickey Elaine C. , Hughes Susan L. , Parker Vicky , Fortunato Dawn , Rose Julia , Cohen Steven , Robbins Laurence , Orr Willie , Priefer Beverly , Wieland Darryl , Baskins Judith
Published: January 2008

Frail elderly veterans aged 55 and older who met state nursing home admission criteria were enrolled in one of three models of all‐inclusive long‐term care (AIC) at three Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers (n=386). The models included: VA as sole care provider, VA‐community partnership with a Program of All‐inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), and VA as care manager with care provided by PACE. Healthcare use was monitored for 6 months before and 6 to 36 months after enrollment using VA, DataPACE, and Medicare files. Hospital and outpatient care did not differ before and after AIC enrollment. Only 53% of VA sole‐provider patients used adult day health care (ADHC), whereas all other patients used ADHC. Nursing home days increased, but permanent institutionalization was low. Thirty percent of participants died; of those still enrolled in AIC, 92% remained in the community. VA successfully implemented three variations of AIC and was able to keep frail elderly veterans in the community. Further research on providing variations of AIC in general is warranted.
Development and Testing of a Modified Version of the Brief Pain Inventory for Use in Residential Aged Care Facilities
Authors: Auret Kirsten A. , Toye Christine , Goucke Roger , Kristjanson Linda J. , Bruce David , Schug Stephan
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: A two‐phase study was conducted to refine a version of Cleeland's Brief Pain Inventory (BPI, Short Form) for use in residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

DESIGN: The Australian Pain Society modified Cleeland's BPI by changing numerical response options to word descriptors. In Phase I, this version was tested in RACFs to determine the feasibility of its use, its stability over time, and its internal consistency reliability. Minor modifications resulted. In Phase II, the refined version was abbreviated, and the internal consistency reliability of this Modified Residents' Verbal BPI was examined.

SETTING: RACFs.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty‐three residents of RACFs in Phase I, 149 in Phase II.

INTERVENTION: The study revised and abbreviated the BPI to better fit it for use in RACFs, examining the reliability of the tool.

MEASUREMENTS: Mini‐Mental State Examination, Global Deterioration Scale, modified BPI.

RESULTS: The abbreviated tool comprises three items assessing pain intensity and three assessing pain interference. It also includes an item to specify pain location and a movement protocol. Cronbach alpha coefficient for six intensity and interference items was 0.72 (N=106).

CONCLUSION: This abbreviated tool requires further testing but has demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and is a brief, multidimensional tool that appears feasible for assessing pain in RACFs, including use with residents who have some cognitive impairment. It shows promise as a screening tool and may be useful to assess the effectiveness of pain relief interventions and to measure pain prevalence.
Nutrition, Inflammation, and Leptin Levels in Aging and Frailty
Authors: Hubbard Ruth E. , O'Mahony M. Sinead , Calver Brian L. , Woodhouse Ken W.
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To examine nutritional indices and levels of leptin and inflammatory markers across age and frailty.

DESIGN: Observational study.

SETTING: Continuing care wards and a day hospital in Cardiff, South Wales, United Kingdom.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty dependent patients (mean age 84.9) needing continuing inpatient care, 40 patients with falls attending a day hospital (mean age 84.2), 40 independent controls (mean age 82.7), and 30 young controls (mean age 23.3).

MEASUREMENTS: Functional status, including the five frailty indicators proposed by Fried et al., anthropometry, and serum markers of nutrition and inflammation.

RESULTS: The continuing care patients were frail, all having three to five frailty indicators. Day hospital patients were of intermediate frailty (mean Fried score 2.97), and the independent group was fittest (0.83). Body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), and mid‐arm muscle area were lowest in continuing care patients. With increasing patient frailty, albumin levels fell significantly (P<.005) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels increased significantly (P<.005). Continuing care patients had significantly lower leptin levels (P<.005) and significantly higher interleukin (IL)‐6 levels (P<.005). There was a significant correlation between log transformed leptin and TSF for each patient group.

CONCLUSION: The frailest older people displayed features of cachexia. Their leptin levels were appropriately low given their low body fat, and IL‐6 and CRP levels were high. The mechanism of their cachexia may therefore be similar to that proposed in heart failure and cancer: disturbed hypothalamic feedback of leptin or effects of proinflammatory cytokines.
Dementia, Diagnostic Disclosure, and Self‐Reported Health Status
Authors: Campbell Kellie H. , Stocking Carol B. , Hougham Gavin W. , Whitehouse Peter J. , Danner Deborah D. , Sachs Greg A.
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the general awareness of cognitive impairment in persons with documented dementia, evaluate the subject's recall of a diagnostic disclosure from a physician and their recollection of the discussion, and determine whether this awareness of cognitive impairment or the recall of diagnostic disclosure is associated with poorer self‐rated health scores.

DESIGN: Secondary data analysis.

SETTING: Three university‐based clinical referral sites for dementia illnesses.

PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 149 patients with a diagnosis of dementia.

MEASUREMENTS: Bivariate and logistic regression models with the outcome variables of patient self‐report of memory problems, patient report of being told about memory problems by a physician, and self‐reported health scores.

RESULTS: Ninety‐six of 149 (64.4%) subjects reported that they had memory problems, and this report was independently associated with younger age (P=.01) and higher Mini‐Mental State Examination score (P=.02). Thirty‐nine (26.2%) subjects reported being told by a physician about a diagnosis of dementia or memory problems. This recall was associated with younger age (P<.001), male sex (P=.04), and higher education level (P=.02). African Americans reported poorer self‐rated health scores (odds ratio (OR)=2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.1–5.1). Persons who reported being told by a physician of a diagnosis of dementia were more likely to report poorer self‐rated health (OR=2.5, 95% CI 1.1–5.5).

CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between self‐rated health and dementia specifically focusing on the potentially negative effects of diagnostic disclosure on self‐rated health, further identification of factors that contribute to self‐rated health in persons with dementia, and the prognostic value of self‐rated health for persons with dementia.
Primary Care Screen for Early Dementia
Authors: Grober Ellen , Hall Charles , Lipton Richard B. , Teresi Jeanne A.
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the Alzheimer's Disease Screen for Primary Care (ADS‐PC) is more sensitive to early dementia than the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and whether it has as high a misclassification rate in minority patients and patients with limited education.

DESIGN: Cross‐sectional validation study.

SETTING: Urban geriatric primary care practice.

PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred sixteen African‐American and Caucasian patients, including 55 patients with early dementia (Clinical Demential Rating of 0.5).

MEASUREMENTS: The ADS‐PC is a two‐stage strategy for identifying early dementia that consists of a brief high‐sensitivity dementia screen, applied to all patients aged 65 and older, and a second stage to identify memory impairment, applied to patients who fail the first stage. Differences in the sensitivities or specificities of the ADS‐PC and the MMSE were evaluated using the McNemar test.

RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to examine differences in the operating characteristics of the ADS‐PC across a range of cutscores. When the specificities of both tests were equated (0.90), the sensitivities were significantly different (ADS‐PC, 0.75; MMSE, 0.56). The MMSE failed to identify five times as many cases of dementia as the ADS‐PC. When the sensitivities were equated, the specificities differed significantly (ADS‐PC, 0.95; MMSE, 0.73). The MMSE misclassified five times as many noncases as the ADS‐PC. This pattern of significantly higher sensitivity and specificity for the ADS‐PC than for the MMSE was repeated in the results according to race and for individuals with high school or more education but not in individuals with less education.

CONCLUSION: The ADS‐PC outperformed the MMSE in identifying early dementia in a racially and educationally diverse primary care cohort.
Joannes Stobaios, “On Old Age”: An Important Source for the History of Gerontology
Authors: Moog Peter Ferdinand , Schäfer Daniel
Published: January 2008

Literary and medical writers have written about elderly people—their health, constitution, and treatment—since the dawn of history. The dramatic demographic changes that have taken place within industrial nations in recent times have certainly imparted this theme with a heretofore‐unknown explosiveness.

Joannes Stobaios' (5th c.) three chapters “On old age” have long been largely unappreciated in the history of gerontology and geriatrics. This late Ancient author collected numerous citations from other, earlier authors who lived between 800 BCE and 400 CE and brought them together thematically in an anthology of monumental scope. The work contains the only versions—albeit sometimes fragmentary—of many texts now otherwise lost. This is also true for the gerontological writings; Stobaios proved that, as early as the end of the Ancient period, an appreciable corpus of relevant texts existed, of which only very little—excepting Cicero's well‐known text “On old age” (Cato maior de senectute)—survived into the modern period. These texts reveal that the question as to whether old age is a burden or a joy is ancient and evidently insoluble. This article presents the gerontological aspects of Stobaios' work and places them in their historical context. This will demonstrate that Stobaios was also a defender of seniority who made clear the value, as well as the tasks and ethical duties, of this phase of life. From the Ancients' perspective, this was not a medical but a moral obligation.
Neighborhood Deprivation, Individual Socioeconomic Status, and Cognitive Function in Older People: Analyses from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Authors: Lang Iain A. , Llewellyn David J. , Langa Kenneth M. , Wallace Robert B. , Huppert Felicia A. , Melzer David
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between cognitive function, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood deprivation (lack of local resources of all types, financial and otherwise).

DESIGN: Nationally representative cross‐section.

SETTING: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

PARTICIPANTS: Seven thousand one hundred twenty‐six community‐dwelling individuals aged 52 and older and resident in urban areas.

MEASUREMENTS: Individual cognitive function score and index of multiple deprivation (IMD) at the Super Output Area level, adjusting for health, lifestyle, and sociodemographic confounders. Analyses were conducted separately according to sex and age group (52–69 and ≥70).

RESULTS: IMD affected cognitive function independent of the effects of education and socioeconomic status. For example, in fully adjusted models, women aged 70 and older had a standardized cognitive function score (z‐score) that was 0.20 points (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.01–0.39) lower in the bottom 20% of wealth than the top 20%, 0.44 points (95% CI=0.20–0.69) lower in the least‐educated group than in the most educated, and 0.31 points (95% CI 0.15–0.48) lower if resident lived in an area in the bottom 20% of IMD than in the top 20%.

CONCLUSION: In community‐based older people in urban neighborhoods, neighborhood deprivation—living in a neighborhood with high levels of deprivation, compared with national levels—is associated with cognitive function independent of individual socioeconomic circumstances. The mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear and warrant further investigation.
Identifying Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms for Women Caring for Their Husbands with Dementia
Authors: Taylor Donald H. , Ezell Michael , Kuchibhatla Maragatha , Østbye Truls , Clipp Elizabeth C.
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To use an innovative statistical method, Latent Class Trajectory Analysis (LCTA), to identify and describe subgroups (called trajectories) of caregiver depressive symptoms in a national sample of wives providing informal care for their husbands with dementia.

DESIGN: Longitudinal.

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: Respondents to the National Longitudinal Caregiver Survey were wife caregivers of veterans with dementia who were identified through Veterans Affairs hospitals nationally.

MEASUREMENTS: Mean number of depressive symptoms as measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES‐D, 20‐item scale).

RESULTS: Overall mean depressive symptoms of wife caregivers were 6.2 of 20, below the cutpoint (8 or 9/20) associated with clinical depression. Four distinct trajectories of caregiver depressive symptoms were identified. The trajectory with the highest number of symptoms (11.9 of 20), contained one‐third of the sample. Another third had mean depressive symptoms virtually identical to the overall sample mean. The final third were divided between two trajectories, low depressive symptoms (mean CES‐D, 3.0/20, 22% of sample) and very low (mean CES‐D, 0.8/20, 14% of sample). Approximately two‐thirds of the sample members were in a depressive symptom trajectory, with substantially higher or lower numbers of symptoms than the overall mean. Two subjective measures asked of wife caregivers (desire for more help, life satisfaction) were significantly associated with membership in the highest depressive symptom trajectory.

CONCLUSION: LCTA identified important depressive symptom subgroups of wife caregivers. A population‐averaging method identified a mean effect that was similar to the effect in one‐third of the cases but substantially different from that in two‐thirds of the cases.
Is Dementia Special Care Really Special? A New Look at an Old Question
Authors: Gruneir Andrea , Lapane Kate L. , Miller Susan C. , Mor Vincent
Published: January 2008

OBJECTIVES: To quantify differences in care provided to nursing home (NH) residents with dementia living on and off dementia special care units (SCUs).

DESIGN: Cross‐sectional study using propensity score adjustment for resident and NH characteristics.

SETTING: Free‐standing NHs in nonrural U.S. counties that had an SCU in 2004 (N=1,896).

PARTICIPANTS: Long‐stay (≥90 days) NH residents with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or dementia and at least moderate cognitive impairment (N=69,131).

MEASUREMENTS: Resident‐level NH care processes such as physical restraints, bed rails, feeding tubes, psychotropic medications, and incontinence care.

RESULTS: There was no difference in the use of physical restraints (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.79–1.11), but SCU residents were less likely to have had bed rails (AOR=0.55, 95% CI=0.46–0.64) and to have been tube fed (AOR=0.36, 95% CI=0.30–0.43). SCU residents were more likely to be on toileting plans (AOR=1.23, 95% CI=1.08–1.39) and less likely to use pads or briefs in the absence of a toileting plan (AOR=0.73, 95% CI=0.61–0.88). SCU residents were more likely to have received psychotropic medications (AOR=1.23, 95% CI=1.05–1.44), primarily antipsychotics (SCU=44.9% vs non‐SCU=30.0%).

CONCLUSION: SCU residents received different care than comparable non‐SCU residents. Most strikingly, SCU residents had greater use of antipsychotic medications.
Corporate Bond Returns and Volatility
Authors: Cai Nianyun , Jiang Xiaoquan
Published: January 2008

Recent literature emphasizes the relation of stock volatility to corporate bond yields. We demonstrate that during 1996–2005 corporate bond excess return volatility is directly related to contemporaneous corporate bond excess returns. In fact, the decompositions of aggregate bond volatility have a higher contemporaneous correlation with bond yields in comparison to idiosyncratic stock risk. Additionally, bond volatility and idiosyncratic risk are significant predictors of corporate three‐month and six‐month ahead bond excess returns. We also find that corporate bond volatility contains both slow moving and time‐varying components.
Investor Sentiment, Trading Behavior and Informational Efficiency in Index Futures Markets
Authors: Kurov Alexander
Published: January 2008

This paper shows that traders in index futures markets are positive feedback traders—they buy when prices increase and sell when prices decline. Positive feedback trading appears to be more active in periods of high investor sentiment. This finding is consistent with the notion that feedback trading is driven by expectations of noise traders. Consistent with the noise trading hypothesis, order flow in index futures markets is less informative when investors are optimistic. Transitory volatility measured at high frequencies also appears to decline in periods of bullish sentiment, suggesting that sentiment‐driven trading increases market liquidity.