bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evangelism of great works in management
Authors: Beu Danielle S. , Leonard Nancy H.
Published: December 2004

This paper explores how great ideas become “great works”. The paper explores the process used by Frederick Taylor to “spread the gospel” of scientific management – one of management's great works. The paper takes this example, dissects it and applies current theory and models to explain how the concept of scientific management was created, refined, disseminated and ultimately used throughout the world in diverse industries and both public and private organizations. Ideas must be created, tested, evaluated, modified, and put back through the process of what Nonaka and Takeuchi call the “spiral of knowledge”. Once an idea becomes great, it needs an evangelist to spread the good word – this person is a knowledge activist. The knowledge activist uses his/her social networks to reach a wide variety of groups. This illustration and explanation demonstrates that both academia and the popular press are essential for great works to happen.
Leading students through the management theory jungle by following the path of the seminal theorists
Authors: Lemak David J.
Published: December 2004

The “management theory jungle” described by Koontz appears to be overrun with even more theoretical undergrowth than when he wrote his seminal critiques of the state of this body of knowledge more than 40 years ago. This article endeavors to provide a clear and fairly narrow path through that jungle, using the seminal thinkers in management as our guides. It recommends adopting a paradigm‐based approach to the management discipline rather than struggling through the jungle of multiple theories and “schools of thought”. This approach satisfies the criteria set forth by Koontz to bring much needed clarification to the discipline of management. Specifically this approach: restricts the discipline to a manageable size; uses its simple and straightforward terminology; and gives direction to teaching and research. The article concludes with a discussion of some ideas on how to teach management using this paradigmatic approach.
Assessing the value of information systems in supporting agility in high‐tech manufacturing enterprises
Authors: Coronado Mondragon A.E. , Lyons A.C. , Kehoe D.F.
Published: December 2004

In recent years there has been a shift towards the inclusion of agile processes in the development of manufacturing strategies. This work explores the agility of operations in four SMEs in high‐tech manufacturing and the impact made by information systems to agile performance in those companies. The study demonstrated that information systems are relegated behind other enablers of agility. Although information systems are often used to support agility, information systems in themselves are not sufficient to achieve agility in business processes. Furthermore, the case studies demonstrate that companies rely upon non‐IT attributes to improve the agility of their manufacturing operations. The results of the study suggest that information systems play a more significant role for enhancing agility.
Transition in the workplace
Authors: Fred Edward
Published: December 2004

Many companies experiencing major success fail to remember that at any point in time, there is a transition process taking place. Constant change is the only aspect of a business that is guaranteed. As managers, we must constantly evaluate both where the company is at the moment, and where it is heading. Those measurement tools can range from quantitative methods such as financial success, to qualitative milestones such as public awareness of the company and its products. Managers should look back at the company history – both successes and failures – to learn what changes to expect, and more importantly, what changes to prepare for.
Venture capital at a new crossroads
Authors: Green Jason
Published: December 2004

Asserts that the venture capital industry is an essential source of capital for new enterprises and a major engine of growth in the US economy. Its decisions are based on an assessment of the prospects of the enterprises it decides to support, of their products and markets and the facilities they will need. Outlines six lessons for the industry.
Exit strategies
Authors: Cangemi Joseph P. , Miller Richard L.
Published: December 2004

Job losses that are the result of mergers, sale of a company, restructuring, and downsizing as organizations struggle for profitability in a highly competitive corporate world are common. The reduction process forces organizations to employ a variety of exit strategies as they deal with the most difficult aspect of downsizing – the reduction of personnel from their organization as a means of rapid reduction of expense to the company. Considers some employee‐sensitive exit strategies.
Libraries, copyright and the global digital environment
Authors: Sheat Kathy
Published: December 2004

This paper looks at the effect that digital technology has had on copyright protection, the trend towards international harmonisation of copyright laws based on international standards set down by the international conventions, agreements and treaties, and the use of copyright works by libraries. Focuses on whether the library exceptions provided in the New Zealand Copyright Act 1994 and the changes proposed under the “Digital Review” of that Act would meet the three‐step test set out in Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention and looks at the arguments put forward by Sam Ricketson in his paper “The three‐step test, deemed quantities, libraries and closed exceptions”. The paper advocates that libraries should keep abreast of international copyright standards and domestic case law to ensure that their interpretation legislation maintains a balance between the “public interest” and the rights of copyright owners to earn a living from their works.
Changing patterns in interlibrary loan and document supply
Authors: Goodier Rose , Dean Elaine
Published: December 2004

The article looks at a number of possible reasons for the current downturn in the volume of interlibrary loan (ILL) and document supply (DS) requests in the UK higher education (HE) sector. Figures quantifying the demand for these services are examined at the outset by means of a short survey that was circulated to ten HE institutions. The impact of electronic journals on ILL and DS services is scrutinised and proven to be a significant factor. The bibliographic searching behaviour of university researchers is investigated by means of a short questionnaire, and the results of the survey are evaluated. The recent rise in the number of postgraduate students in UK universities is confirmed. The topics of library budgets and the impact of end‐user services are also examined. The article concludes that it is the increase in the number of electronic journal subscriptions that has had the most significant impact on the recent decrease in demand for ILL and DS services in UK academic libraries.
E‐books: are they the interlibrary lending model of the future?
Authors: Garrod Penny
Published: December 2004

This article assesses the likely impact of e‐books on interlibrary lending in the UK. It examines a range of factors that are likely to impact on the lending of e‐books to other libraries, for example, digital rights management systems designed to protect copyright and publishers' profits, and the limited take‐up of e‐book services in UK libraries. It analyses the reasons behind this poor take‐up including unsuitable pricing and delivery models and lack of appropriate content. The article also gauges current levels of demand for books requested via interlibrary loans, and questions whether books are different from documents in terms of copying and distribution, and what the likelihood is of e‐books being able to satisfy interlibrary loan requests. A new hybrid model of interlending, aimed at solving the problem of lending e‐books in academic libraries, is reviewed.
Neighbourhood retailing and food poverty: a case study in Cardiff
Authors: Guy Clifford
Published: December 2004

This paper examines the role of neighbourhood stores in supplying food items of high nutritional value in areas of poor accessibility to large supermarkets or superstores. Analysis of availability of a sample of “healthy foods” in four socially deprived areas of Cardiff suggests that such stores play only a limited role in making these foods available to local residents. Prices are also shown to be higher on average than in larger supermarkets, although, surprisingly, symbol group stores appear to carry higher prices than true independents. The future role of neighbourhood food stores is discussed, in the light of current attempts to improve the fresh food offer of symbol group stores.
Netrepreneur simulation: enterprise creation for the online economy
Authors: Jiwa Salim , Lavelle Dawn , Rose Arjun
Published: December 2004

E‐business is being heralded as the “new economy”. However, developments in the area of new online business‐to‐consumer (B2C) venture creation has been accompanied by varying degrees of success, and it is increasingly recognised that online venture creation does not materialise overnight. E‐business development typically follows an evolutionary cycle of initial experimentation with Internet technologies and the transformation of consumer propositions towards the creation of a commercially viable online presence. To enable entrepreneurs to negotiate this new business landscape, Netrepreneur simulates the initial start up phases of e‐business creation in the online economy. Through the modelling and electronic simulation of the e‐commerce environment, Netrepreneur aims to create a holistic understanding of the entrepreneurial process as well as encouraging participants to “learn by doing” in the simulated virtual world, instead of trial and error in the real e‐economy. This paper reviews the underpinning objectives for design conceptualisation, and the integration of the real and virtual business worlds within the netrepreneur system development. The latter section of the paper reports user survey responses collected from a questionnaire in two pilot investigations. The questionnaire collected information concerning acceptance, criticism and perceived learning achievement.
The construction of the Taiwan Humanities Citation Index
Authors: Chen Kuang‐hua
Published: December 2004

The Taiwan Humanities Citation Index (THCI) is Taiwan's effort to construct a search, research, and evaluation tool for research in the arts and humanities. This article describes the design, framework, features, and policies and rules of the THCI. Citation analysis has been regarded as a systematic way to investigate research developments and trends. Since the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) indexes mostly English journals, the THCI could become an auxiliary citation index of the A&HCI for Taiwanese researchers.
Controversial and emerging issues associated with cybergambling (e‐casinos)
Authors: Smith Alan D.
Published: December 2004

Technology that directly leverages the internet is rapidly changing how people interact with one another, especially in the entertainment industry. Industries that were once considered amoral and illegal are adapting to new business models and transforming how business transactions are conducted and financial profits are generated. This is certainly the case with e‐gambling, in particular with regard to the proliferation of e‐casinos. Strategically important questions must be answered concerning how governmental agencies and new industries developed around the internet should be regulated, particularly issues associated with online gambling. Is online gambling the major addictive channel of all forms of gambling, and should the government do something to stop it? Should governments treat e‐casinos similarly to regular casinos and gaming activities and tax the industry to aid society? The internationality of the internet makes it very difficult to find solutions based only on local and national solutions. The future of cybergambling may be dependent on the diffusion of innovations, and whether they can deliver customer value in an ethical and legitimate manner.
Words from the bombsites: debris, modernism and literary salvage
Authors: Mellor Leo
Published: December 2004

This article explores what occurs when modernist writers, working in a genre with a history of interest in the ruin and the city, encounter the actual ruined city in the form of the London bombsites in the aftermath of the Second World War. The article focuses on David Jones's (1895‐1974) long poem The Anathemata (1952); David Gascoyne's (1916‐2002) uncompleted fragment 'A Bombsite Anchorite' (1948/9); and Rose Macaulay's (1881‐1958) novel The World My Wilderness (1950). Issues of urban verdancy, the Eliotic legacy, the possibilities for archaeology and the long legacy of ruin‐fascination are also considered. A conclusion attempts to quantify and understand the possibilities in seeing the bombsite as a space where artistic as well as physical recovery could be carried out; a space where literary salvage would provide the materials from the debris for the survival of a British modernist poetic.
Rights of Foreign Workers and the Politics of Migration in South‐East and East Asia
Authors: Piper Nicola
Published: December 2004

The issue of cross‐border migration in South‐East and East Asia is linked to the integration of regional, if not global, labour markets. The types of labour that are currently in demand have changed substantially since the 1990s in terms of (1) overall magnitude, (2) gender composition, and (3) increased diversification. This paper, however, focuses upon those workers classified as unskilled as they constitute numerically the largest and most vulnerable group. The challenges to provide adequate protection from, and prevention of, exploitative and abusive practices that seriously minimize the socio‐economic benefits for these workers are linked to migration policies and the issue of rights in the origin and destination countries.

This paper's objective is to provide a broad outline of the emerging trends and issues revolving around contemporary cross‐border labour migration and the politics of migrants' rights in South‐East and East Asia, illustrated by the difficulties experienced with the ratification of the 1990 United Nations Convention on the Rights of All Migrants and their Families (ICMR). The data this paper is based upon were collected for a report commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with fieldwork carried out in seven countries located in the Asia Pacific region.

It is argued that ratification of the ICMR is obstructed by politics and by a lack of political will. A rights‐based approach to the protection of migrant labour is thus related to a number of macro and micro level issues, revolving around development and practices of “good governance” in addition to interstate relations. This means that the promotion of migrants' rights requires a holistic approach addressing national and transnational issues in an era of increasing mobility across borders.
Species’ borders: a unifying theme in ecology
Authors: Holt Robert D. , Keitt Timothy H.
Published: December 2004

Biologists have long been fascinated by species’ borders, and with good reason. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of species’ borders may prove to be the key that unlocks new understanding across a wide range of biological phenomena. After all, geographic range limits are a point of entry into understanding the ecological niche and threshold responses to environmental change. Elucidating patterns of gene flow to, and returning from, peripheral populations can provide important insights into the nature of adaptation, speciation and coevolution. Species’ borders form natural laboratories for the study of the spatial structure of species interactions. Comparative studies from the center to the margin of species’ ranges allow us to explore species’ demographic responses along gradients of increasing environmental stress. Range dynamics further permit investigation into invasion dynamics and represent bellwethers for a changing climate. This set of papers explores ecological and evolutionary dynamics of species’ borders from diverse empirical and theoretical perspectives.
Theoretical models of species’ borders: single species approaches
Authors: Holt Robert D. , Keitt Timothy H. , Lewis Mark A. , Maurer Brian A. , Taper Mark L.
Published: December 2004

The range of potential mechanisms limiting species' distributions in space is nearly as varied and complex as the diversity of life itself. Yet viewed abstractly, a species' border is a geographic manifestation of a species' demographic responses to a spatially and temporally varying world. Population dynamic models provide insight into the different routes by which range limits can arise owing to gradients in demographic rates. In a metapopulation context, for example, range limits may be caused by gradients in extinction rates, colonization rates or habitat availability. We have consider invasion models in uniform and heterogeneous environments as a framework for understanding non‐equilibrium range limits, and explore conditions under which invasions may cease to spread leaving behind a stationary range limit. We conclude that non‐equilibrial range dynamics need further theoretical and empirical attention.
The community context of species’ borders: ecological and evolutionary perspectives
Authors: Case Ted J. , Holt Robert D. , McPeek Mark A. , Keitt Timothy H.
Published: December 2004

Species distributional limits may coincide with hard dispersal barriers or physiological thresholds along environmental gradients, but they may also be influenced by species interactions. We explore a number of models of interspecific interactions that lead to (sometimes abrupt) distribution limits in the presence and absence of environmental gradients. We find that gradients in competitive ability can lead to spatial segregation of competitors into distinct ranges, but that spatial movement tends to broaden the region of sympatry between the two species, and that Allee effects tend to sharpen these boundaries. We generalize these simple models to include metapopulation dynamics and other types of interactions including predator–prey and host–parasite interactions. We derive conditions for range limits in each case. We also consider models that include coevolution and gene flow and find that character displacement along environmental gradients can lead to stable parapatric distributions. We conclude that it is essential to consider coevolved species interactions as a potential mechanism limiting species distributions, particularly when barriers to dispersal are weak and environmental gradients are gradual.
Nature of size–number trade–off: test of the terminal‐stream‐limitation model for seed production of Cardiocrium cordatum
Authors: Sakai Satoki , Sakai Akiko
Published: December 2004

We tested the prediction of the terminal‐stream‐limitation model using Cardiocrium cordatum. This model predicts that the total offspring mass increases with offspring number, whereas it decreases with offspring size, because the loss of resources via maintenance respiration decreases with offspring number but increases with offspring size. We traced the growth curve of seeds and harvested seeds when they matured. The maximum gross growth rate of a seed had a strong positive effect on final seed dry mass, whereas the respiration cost had a strong negative effect on such mass. The total seed mass produced by a plant decreased with (or was independent of) an increase in the mean seed dry mass of the plant, whereas it increased with an increase in the number of seeds produced by the plant. An increase in seed number resulted in a decrease in the loss of resources due to respiration during seed growth, whereas an increase in the mean seed dry mass did not result in a decrease in the loss of resources due to respiration. Thus, we concluded that these results are consistent overall with the prediction of the model and that an increase in seed number rather than an increase in individual seed size is advantageous in terms of resource use efficiency.
Niche partitioning in the cestode communities of two elasmobranchs
Authors: Friggens M. M. , Brown J. H.
Published: December 2004

Several randomization methods have been used to investigate the influence of competitive interactions in shaping parasite community structure. Marine fish parasite communities have often been regarded as unstructured assemblages with little or no resource limitation and, therefore, not prone to competitive influences. In this study, null models were used to assess the niche overlap of cestode communities of two distinct but closely related elasmobranch hosts: the round stingray, Urobatis halleri, Cooper (1863) and the skate, Leucoraja naevus, Muller and Henle (1841). Cestode species distributions were analyzed for randomness with respect to two niche axes: host size class and location within host spiral intestine. Niche overlap of cestode species was calculated for each niche type using MacArthur and Levins’ and Pianka's indices, and compared to overlap values obtained from randomly generated communities. Cestodes of both host species were distributed heterogeneously among valves and host size‐classes. The majority of parasite species (including all common ones) within U. halleri and all species within L. naevus had significantly nonrandom distributions with respect to at least one niche category. Cestode species pairs tended to overlap significantly less than expected in spiral intestine valves and significantly more than expected among host size classes. We conclude that cestode communities are structured deterministically in a way consistent with expectations based on competition.
The sentimental city: the lost urbanism of Pierre Mac Orlan and Guy Debord
Authors: Merrifield Andy
Published: December 2004

Behind a high stonewall surrounding a rural farmhouse in Auvergne, Guy Debord, the ex‐Situationist theorist and activist, retreated. The grungy, cheap‐thrill Parisian urbanism of his youth was no more. Paris had died in his arms of a fatal illness that has seen off other great cities. Economic forces and planning initiatives had assassinated his rebel underworld, and culprits are still at large, still awaiting trial in the people's court. This essay embraces Debord the other side of the wall, dialoging with Pierre Mac Orlan, one of his favorite novelists. In so doing, we enter the phantasmal zone of the sentimental city, the city both real and make‐believe, defunct and yet‐to‐be. Mac Orlan's ideas about passive and active adventuring are explored here, to unlock the Pandora's box of Debord's urbanism. The essay approaches the capitalist city with a poetic gloss and reveals a realm richer and deeper than most social scientific urban research can grasp. Alongside Mac Orlan, Debord retraces his steps through urban ruins, and recaptures an everyday melancholy of backstreets and damaged people, of twilight nooks and crannies and shadowy bars. In Debord's sentimental city, it isn't so much the past that one regrets as the future.

Derrière un haut mur de pierre entourant une ferme d'Auvergne, s'est retiré Guy Debord, l'ancien théoricien et militant situationniste. L'urbanisme parisien minable et décadent de sa jeunesse n'existait plus. Paris était mort dans ses bras d'une maladie désastreuse qui a emporté d'autres grandes villes. Forces économiques et initiatives d'aménagement ont assassiné son milieu rebelle et les coupables courent encore, dans l'attente d'un procès populaire. Cet essai voit Debord de l'autre côté du mur en train de dialoguer avec Pierre Mac Orlan, l'un de ses écrivains favoris. Ainsi, nous entrons dans l'illusion de la ville sentimentale, ville à la fois réelle et imaginaire, défunte et survivante. Les idées de Mac Orlan sur l'aventurier actif et passif y sont examinées afin d'ouvrir la boîte de Pandore de l'urbanisme selon Debord. L'approche de la ville capitaliste revêt un vernis poétique, révélant un univers plus riche et plus profond que ce qui peut être saisi par la plupart des recherches urbaines en sciences sociales. Aux côtés de Mac Orlan, Debord revient sur ses pas, traversant des ruines urbaines, retrouvant une mélancolie au quotidien des bas‐quartiers et d'une pègre abîmée, des coins et recoins obscurs et des bars mal éclairés. Dans la ville sentimentale de Debord, ce n'est pas tant le passé que l'on regrette, mais plutôt l'avenir.
Increased interferon gamma production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to stimulation of overexpressed disease‐specific 9‐O‐acetylated sialoglycoconjugates in children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Authors: Ghosh Shyamasree , Bandyopadhyay Suman , Pal Santanu , Das Benubrata , Bhattacharya Dilip K. , Mandal Chitra
Published: December 2004

Disease‐specific over‐expression of 9‐O‐acetylated sialoglycoconjugates (9‐O‐AcSGs) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL, PBMCALL) has been demonstrated using a lectin, Achatinin‐H, with specificity towards 9‐O‐AcSAα2‐6GalNAc. This study investigated the contributory role of 9‐O‐AcSGs induced on PBMCALL. Stimulation of PBMCALL with Achatinin‐H through 9‐O‐AcSGs led to a lymphoproliferative response with a significantly increased interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) production when compared with unstimulated cells as demonstrated by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and mRNA expression. Under identical conditions, PBMCALL ablated of O‐acetylations did not respond to such stimulation. In summary, it may be concluded that stimulation of over‐expressed 9‐O‐AcSGs regulate signalling for proliferation, leading to the release of IFN‐γ. Controlled expression of these molecules may be exploited as potential targets for therapy, promising beneficial effects to children with ALL.
Advanced glycation end‐products in sickle cell anaemia
Authors: Somjee Saika S. , Warrier Rajasekharan P. , Thomson Jessica L. , Ory‐Ascani Jeannine , Hempe James M.
Published: December 2004

Tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end‐products (AGEs) has been implicated in the oxidant‐induced vascular pathology of diabetes and other diseases. Because homozygous sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is a state of oxidative stress, we tested the hypothesis that circulating AGE levels are elevated in SCA. Blood was obtained from age‐ and race‐matched children classified as either non‐sickle cell controls, SCA without vaso‐occlusive crisis (SCA − VOC), or SCA with vaso‐occlusive crisis (SCA + VOC). Plasma and red blood cell (RBC) AGE levels were measured by immunoassay. RBC levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione were measured by capillary electrophoresis as an indicator of endogenous antioxidant status. The results showed that plasma AGE levels and the rate of RBC AGE accumulation were significantly higher in patients with SCA compared with controls. GSH was not different between groups but was significantly inversely correlated with plasma AGEs in both controls and patients with SCA. GSSG was significantly lower and GSH/GSSG higher in SCA + VOC patients, suggesting that GSH/GSSG might be an objective indicator of acute VOC or a risk factor for VOC. We conclude that circulating AGE levels are strongly influenced by endogenous antioxidant status and may play a role in the vascular pathology of SCA.
Factor‐V expression in platelets from human megakaryocytic culture
Authors: Giampaolo Adele , Vulcano Francesca , Macioce Giampiero , Mattia Gianfranco , Barca Alessandra , Milazzo Luisa , Ciccarelli Carmela , Hassan Hamisa J.
Published: December 2004

The origin of platelet‐factor‐V has long been discussed. To elucidate whether and when human platelet‐factor‐V is synthesized by megakaryocytes, we utilized in vitro‐generated megakaryocytes capable of producing platelets. Factor‐V gene was silent in purified progenitors and megakaryocytic precursors but was expressed in late culture phase and maintained also in platelets. Similarly, factor‐V protein was expressed in mature proplatelet‐bearing megakaryocytes (immunofluorescence analysis); it was also detectable in cultured megakaryocytes and platelets (Western blotting) and within permeabilized cultured platelets (flow cytometry). The absence of other cells in our culture system indicates conclusively that human megakaryocytes synthesize factor‐V.
Uterine tumours are a phenotypic manifestation of the hyperparathyroidism‐jaw tumour syndrome
Authors: BRADLEY K. J. , HOBBS M. R. , BULEY I. D. , CARPTEN J. D. , CAVACO B. M. , FARES J. E. , LAIDLER P. , MANEK S. , ROBBINS C. M. , SALTI I. S. , THOMPSON N. W. , JACKSON C. E. , THAKKER R. V.
Published: December 2004

The hyperparathyroidism‐jaw tumour (HPT‐JT) syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by parathyroid tumours, which are frequently carcinomas, and ossifying jaw fibromas. In addition, some patients may develop renal tumours and cysts. The gene causing HPT‐JT, which is referred to as HRPT2 and is located on chromosome 1q31.2, encodes a 531 amino acid protein called PARAFIBROMIN. To date 42 mutations, of which 22 are germline, have been reported and 97% of these are inactivating and consistent with a tumour suppressor role for HRPT2. We have investigated another four HPT‐JT families for germline mutations, searched for additional clinical phenotypes, and examined for a genotype–phenotype correlation. Mutations were found in two families. One family had a novel deletional‐insertion at codon 669, and the other had a 2 bp insertion at codon 679, which has been reported in four other unrelated patients. These five unrelated patients and their families with the same mutation were not found to develop the same tumours, thereby indicating an absence of a genotype–phenotype correlation. An analysis of 33 HPT‐JT kindreds revealed that affected women in 13 HPT‐JT families suffered from menorrhagia in their second to fourth decades. This often required hysterectomy, which revealed the presence of uterine tumours. This resulted in a significantly reduced maternal transmission of the disease. Thus, the results of our analysis expand the spectrum of HPT‐JT‐associated tumours to include uterine tumours, and these may account for the decreased reproductive fitness in females from HPT‐JT families.
Age‐related increase of pulse pressure and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 I/D gene polymorphism in essential hypertension
Authors: MOURAD J.‐J. , DU CAILAR G. , NAZAL E.‐M. , SAFAR M. E. , MIMRAN A.
Published: December 2004

Background.  Pulse pressure (PP), a marker of cyclic strain on the arterial wall, is a significant predictor of cardiovascular (CV) risk, particularly regarding the incidence of coronary arterial stenosis. Genes related to haemostatic and/or fibrinolytic factors are consistently influenced in vitro by mechanical strain.

Objective.  The goal of the present study was to determine, in the three genotypes of the plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)‐1 gene polymorphism, the gender‐adjusted difference in the relationships between age and PP in subjects with never treated essential hypertension.

Results.  In the studied population, the genotype deletion (D)/D at position −675 of the PAI‐1 insertion (I)/D gene polymorphism was associated with a significant increase in the adjusted slope of the curve relating age to PP by comparison with the two other genotypes. No comparable difference in age‐related changes in systolic, diastolic or mean blood pressure was found.

Conclusion.  In subjects with essential hypertension, the PAI‐1 I/D gene polymorphism modulates the age‐mediated increase of PP, suggesting new insights on the complex interactions between genes, mechanical factors and CV risk.
Abnormal circulating levels of metalloprotease 9 and its tissue inhibitor 1 in angiographically proven peripheral arterial disease: relationship to disease severity
Authors: TAYEBJEE M. H. , TAN K. T. , MACFADYEN R. J. , LIP G. Y. H.
Published: December 2004

Background.  Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is associated with adaptive changes in the vascular and muscle extracellular matrix (ECM) in response to reduced blood flow. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs), are key modulators of ECM turnover. We hypothesized that patients with intermittent claudication (with low ankle‐brachial blood pressure index, <0.8), and critical ischaemia would have raised circulating levels of MMP‐9, TIMP‐1 and TIMP‐2 compared with healthy controls, reflecting an increase in proteolytic activity which may be related to ECM turnover in PAD.

Methods.  We studied 36 patients (23 males; 65 ± 9 years) with intermittent claudication and 43 (25 males; 68 ± 12) patients with critical ischaemia. All patients had angiographic evidence confirming significant PAD.

Results.  Circulating levels of MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 were higher (both P < 0.0001) in the PAD patient groups compared with the controls. Patients with critical ischaemia had MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 levels that were significantly higher than those with intermittent claudication. There were no differences in circulating TIMP‐2 levels between patients and controls. There was a modest positive correlation between the white cell count (WCC) and MMP‐9, both patients with intermittent claudication (Spearman, r = 0.398, P = 0.016) and critical ischaemia (r = 0.378, P = 0.014).

Conclusion.  We demonstrate higher levels of circulating MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 in patients with intermittent claudication and critical ischaemia. Circulating concentrations of both markers can be related to disease severity, being higher in critical ischaemia compared with levels in intermittent claudication.
Blood pack fault monitoring
Authors: Beckman N. , Nicholson G. , Ashford M. , Hambleton R.
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  The National Blood Service (NBS) has recalled blood components as a result of manufacturing faults, or defective blood pack component parts leading to the possibility of an ‘open’ system. There has been an increase in the complexity of blood packs as a result of leucodepletion, sample diversion and sampling. The NBS implemented a mechanism to collate and analyse blood pack faults as a safety and quality initiative in conjunction with blood pack manufacturers.

Materials and Methods  Standard reporting forms were produced and implemented at all Centres. The forms were collated and analysed using statistical analysis software. Control charts were used to identify trends for specific faults, which were resolved with the relevant manufacturer.

Results  The overall defect rate per million for the three main blood pack manufacturers used by the NBS for the respective periods 2001, 2002 and 2003, were as follows: Manufacturer A, 1076, 1396 and 954; Manufacturer B, 1496, 1301 and 2169; and Manufacturer C, 1871, 1253 and 1392.

Conclusions  Monitoring and analysis of blood pack faults has resulted in the identification and rectification of specific problems associated with blood pack manufacture and use. Close collaboration with manufacturers has enabled effective remedial action. Wider collation of data would provide an early warning of potential areas of concern.
Correlation between the extent of platelet activation in platelet concentrates and in vitro and in vivo parameters
Authors: Dijkstra‐Tiekstra M. J. , Pietersz R. N. I. , Huijgens P. C.
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  Platelet activation, which is necessary to stop bleeding, also occurs in vitro during the storage of platelet concentrates (PCs). However, it is unknown whether in vitro‐activated platelets are able to reduce blood loss in the patient. We studied correlations between platelet activation in PCs and in vitro parameters (pH, platelet count, swirling effect, storage time). In addition, we studied the correlation between platelet activation and in vivo parameters [the volume of thorax drain fluid as a measure of blood loss, platelet count, international normalized ratio (INR), and activated partial thrombin time (APTT)] in a clinical pilot study.

Materials and Methods  White blood cell‐reduced PCs prepared from five buffy coats and one plasma unit (n = 55; storage time: median, 5 days; range, 2–12 days) were sampled. Platelet activation (CD62p, CD63, CD42b), as measured by flow cytometry, pH, platelet count, swirling effect and storage time, was determined. For the in vivo pilot study, PCs (n = 21) stored for 2–7 days were also checked for the above parameters and transfused into patients (n = 21) immediately after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The volume of thorax drain fluid was measured for up to 12 h after surgery, and the platelet count, INR and APTT were measured < 1 h and 16–24 h postsurgery.

Results  A good correlation (r2 > 0·5) was observed between CD62p and CD63, between CD62p and CD42b, between CD62p or CD63 and pH and between CD62p or CD63 and swirling effect. Also, a significant increase in platelet activation was observed for PCs stored for ≥ 8 days (mean ± standard deviation: CD62p, 41·6 ± 30·7; CD63, 23·8 ± 18·6), compared to PCs stored for 2–7 days (mean ± standard deviation: CD62p, 12·3 ± 4·8; CD63, 10·4 ± 3·6). No correlation (r2 ≤ 0·1) was observed between platelet activation and the in vivo parameters.

Conclusions  Although a correlation between platelet activation and in vitro parameters was observed, no correlation was found between platelet activation and in vivo parameters. Possible explanations for this are a too low variance in platelet activation in transfused PCs, and too small a number of patients.
Development of white blood cell fragments, during the preparation and storage of platelet concentrates, as measured by using real‐time polymerase chain reaction
Authors: Dijkstra‐Tiekstra M. J. , Van Der Schoot C. E. , Pietersz R. N. I. , Huijgens P. C. , Van Der Meer P. F. , Reesink H. W.
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  White blood cell (WBC) fragments may cause human leucocyte antigen (HLA) immunization in recipients. We investigated the occurrence and production of WBC fragments in platelet concentrates (PCs) and plasma units, during storage and filtration, by using real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and flow cytometry.

Materials and Methods  To study the occurrence of WBC fragments, ‘male’ WBCs were spiked into double‐filtered ‘female’ PCs in a concentration series of 0·03–100 WBCs/µl (n = 4 per level). To study the production of WBC fragments, ‘male’ WBCs were spiked into ‘female’ plasma units to 4 × 109 WBCs/l and stored at room temperature prior to filtration (n = 4 per storage time; t = 0, 24 or 48 h). DNA was measured by both albumin real‐time PCR and Y real‐time PCR. Intact WBCs were counted by using flow cytometry. The number of WBC fragments was calculated by subtracting cell‐free DNA (real‐time PCR on supernatant) and intact WBCs (flow cytometry) from the total DNA amount (real‐time PCR).

Results  Spiking of ‘male’ WBCs into ‘female’ PCs showed that the Y real‐time PCR is linear and has a reproducible quantitative range down to 0·03 WBC/µl, but that the albumin‐PCR, in unspiked samples, revealed a total of 6–10 WBC equivalents/µl (eq/µl). After centrifugation, half of this was observed as cell‐free DNA in the supernatant, suggesting that the remaining DNA is derived from WBC fragments. The number of intact WBCs, amount of cell‐free DNA and number of WBC fragments after filtration increased significantly when filtration was delayed for up to 48 h, from 0·1 WBC/µl, 1·3 WBC eq/µl and 0·6 WBC eq/µl at t = 0 h to 25 WBC/µl, 38 WBC eq/µl and 57 WBC eq/µl at t = 48 h, respectively.

Conclusions  WBC fragments occur in WBC‐reduced PCs and increase when products are stored, prior to filtration, up to levels that are equivalent to the amounts of intact WBCs that induce HLA immunization (i.e. > 5 × 106/unit).
Sociology and behaviour of West African blood donors: the impact of religion on human immunodeficiency virus infection
Authors: Allain J.‐P. , Anokwa M. , Casbard A. , Owusu‐Ofori S. , Dennis‐Antwi J.
Published: December 2004

Background and Objectives  Ghana is one of the countries of sub‐Saharan Africa where the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence in blood donors ranges between 1 and 4%. Considering the social importance of religion and the very high level of religious practice observed in Ghana, the hypothesis that these factors may play a role in containing HIV was tested.

Materials and Methods  Consenting HIV‐infected candidate blood donors, and two age‐ and gender‐matched seronegative control donors, were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their religious and sexual behaviour. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used.

Results  Irrespective of their HIV status or religion, 95% of the respondents believed that extra‐marital sex was a sin, and 79% of those tempted to have an extra‐marital affair considered that their religious beliefs helped them to abstain. In the multivariable models, having a formal role in church activities was associated with reduced odds of HIV [odds ratio (OR) = 0·41; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0·21–0·80]. Worshipping at the same location for more than 20 years was associated with a reduced risk (OR = 0·30; 95% CI: 0·08–1·10). In addition to other factors limiting HIV spread, such as male circumcision, relatively high level of education and an absence of armed conflicts in Ghana, the use of condoms conferred a reduced risk.

Conclusions  An active role in religion, and reporting a lengthy duration of worship at the same place was beneficial. Collecting blood at places of worship with a strict behavioural code and from donors practicing in the community of their birth might improve blood safety.
Lessons from a postcolonial‐feminist perspective: Suffering and a path to healing
Authors: Anderson Joan M.
Published: December 2004

Recent events around the globe reflect the tensions and ethical dilemmas of the postmodern, postcolonial and neocolonial world that have far reaching implications for health, well‐being, and human suffering. As we consider what is at stake, and what this means for local lives and human relationships, we need to examine whether the theories we draw on are adequate to further our understanding of health, and the social and material conditions of human suffering. In this paper I begin to explore the question, ‘Can postcolonial feminist theories provide an inclusive scholarship that would further our understanding of human suffering and open up a path to healing?’ At issue here is whether this scholarship adds another dimension to a praxis‐oriented nursing science.
Beyond floricentrism: The pollination function of inflorescences
Authors: HARDER LAWRENCE D. , JORDAN CRISPIN Y. , GROSS W. ERIC , ROUTLEY MATTHEW B.
Published: December 2004

Mating by outcrossing plants depends on the frequency and quality of the interaction between pollen vectors and individual flowers. However, the historical focus of pollination biology on individual flowers (floricentrism) cannot produce a complete understanding of the role of pollination in plant mating because mating is an aggregate process, which depends on the reproductive outcomes of all of a plant’s flowers. Simultaneous display of multiple flowers in an inflorescence increases a plant’s attractiveness to pollinators, which should, in general, enhance mating opportunities. However, whenever pollinators visit multiple flowers on an inflorescence, self‐pollination among flowers can reduce the pollen available for export to other plants (pollen discounting) and can increase the incidence of inbreeding depression for embryos and offspring. Therefore, the size of floral displays that maximize mating frequency and quality generally balance the benefits of attractiveness against the costs of self‐pollination. This balance can shift considerably if different flowers serve female and male functions at one time (sexual segregation) and flowers are arranged in inflorescences so that pollinators visit female flowers before male flowers. However, the effectiveness of sexual segregation depends on the extent to which a particular inflorescence architecture induces consistent movement patterns by pollinators. In general, the consistency of pollinator movement patterns varies with inflorescence architecture and differs between pollinator types. Such variation creates many options for the evolution of the diverse inflorescence characteristics observed within angiosperms, which can be appreciated only by moving beyond a floricentric perspective of the role of pollination in plant mating.
Using a cost–benefit approach to understand the evolution of self‐fertilization in plants: the perplexing case of Aquilegia canadensis (Ranunculaceae)
Authors: ECKERT CHRISTOPHER G. , HERLIHY CHRISTOPHER R.
Published: December 2004

Plants exhibit tremendous variation in whether mating occurs via self‐fertilization versus outcrossing, and many species practice a mixture of both. In theory, the evolution of selfing is influenced by a few large costs and benefits, and the benefits of selfing should be balanced by its costs at equilibrium. We have attempted a cost–benefit analysis of selfing, using population genetic surveys, experimental manipulations and quantitative genetics to a spring‐flowering, short‐lived perennial, Aquilegia canadensis. This species invests heavily in large, nectar‐rich flowers but achieves full seed set in the absence of pollinators by automonous autogamy, and selfs 76% of its seed in natural populations. Floral emasculations reveal that 75% of selfing occurs via autogamy, which increases per‐flower seed production (reproductive assurance), but pre‐empts ovules and resources that could be used to make outcrossed seed (seed discounting). This is costly because outcrossed progeny appear to survive to maturity 10‐fold more often than selfed progeny. Almost all the apparent nonautogamous selfing involves cross‐pollination between relatives (biparental inbreeding). This could facilitate the evolution of mixed mating, but not when inbreeding is so strong. Though selfing seems strongly disadvantageous, A. canadensis exhibits striking heritable variation in the separation between anthers and stigmas within flowers (herkogamy), which correlates negatively with selfing. This suggests that the mating system is at equilibrium. There is no applicable theoretical explanation for high selfing in the face of strong inbreeding depression, which occurs in a variety of plants. Understanding the evolution of these enigmatic mating systems remains a major challenge.