bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Informing Education Policy on MMR: balancing individual freedoms and collective responsibilities for the promotion of public health
Authors: Wood-Harper Janice
Published: December 2004

The recent decrease in public confidence in the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has important implications for individuals and public health. This article presents moral arguments relating to conflicts between individual autonomy and collective responsibilities in vaccination decisions with a view to informing and advising health professionals and improving the effectiveness of education policies in avoiding resurgence of endemic measles. Lower population immunity, due to falling uptake, is hastening the need for greater public awareness of the consequences for the population. Vaccination refusals go hand in hand with responsibilities owed to future generations and society in not knowingly contributing to preventable harms. Issues such as parents’ rights are considered and balanced against: collective responsibilities for public health; permissibility of ‘free-riding’; conflicting duties of health professionals; and possible enforcement of vaccination. It is suggested that the arguments may form a persuasive tool for the practice of health professionals involved in informing and supporting parents’ vaccination decisions.
Fetuses with Neural Tube Defects: ethical approaches and the role of health care professionals in Turkish health care institutions
Authors: Doğan Hanzade , Sahinoglu Serap
Published: December 2004

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are very serious malformations for the fetus, causing either low life expectancy or a chance of survival only with costly and difficult surgical interventions. In western countries the average prevalence is 1/1000-2000 and in Turkey it is 4/1000. The aim of the study was to characterize ethical approaches at institutional level to the fetus with an NTD and the mother, and the role of health care professionals in four major centers in Turkey. The authors chose perinatology units of four university hospitals and prepared questionnaires for the responsible professionals concerning their own and their institution’s ethical approaches to the fetus with an NTD and the mother. The investigation revealed that there were no institutional ethical frameworks or ethics committees available to professional teams in the units. The roles of the health care professionals and their individual decisions and approaches based on ethical principles are described. The ethical decision-making process concerning fetuses with NTDs, examples of institutional approaches to the topic and institutional frameworks, and the role of nurses and other health care professionals are all discussed, based on a literature review. The authors suggest that institutional ethical frameworks, ethics committees, professionals’ ethics education and multidisciplinary teamwork should be established for critical situations such as fetuses with an NTD.
Nurses and National Socialism a Moral Dilemma: one historical example of a route - to euthanasia
Authors: Hoskins Sylvia Anne
Published: December 2004

If euthanasia were to be made legal in other countries apart from the Netherlands and Belgium, nurses would be faced with ethical dilemmas that could impact on their professional accountability and their personal moral beliefs. As a part of history has demonstrated, the introduction of the practice of euthanasia could also significantly change the relationship between nurses and patients. In Germany between 1940 and 1945, in response to a government directive, nurses participated in the practice of euthanasia and as a result many innocent German people were killed by what were considered to be ‘mercy deaths’. It is important to try and understand the moral thinking and examine the complex issues at this historical junction that led German nurses to participate in the killing of thousands of innocent people. Such reflection may help to stimulate an awareness of the moral issues that nurses in the twenty-first century could confront if euthanasia were to be made legal in their own country. This has implications for future nursing practice.
Moral Dilemmas of Nursing in End-of-Life Care in Hungary: a personal perspective
Authors: Blasszauer Bela , Palfi Ilona
Published: December 2004

The authors’ aim is to bring to the attention of readers the inadequacies of care for people in Hungary who are terminally ill. They believe that both objective and subjective factors cause these inadequacies. Most of these factors arise from moral dilemmas that could be eased or even solved if ethics education had a much more prominent place in the nursing curriculum. Even if nurses would not become automatically better persons morally, a much wider knowledge of medical/nursing ethics could significantly improve nursing care both before and at the end of life. Although the article is also critical of the nursing care provided, it is not its purpose to make any generalizations.

The study utilized selected passages from essays written by 76 practicing nurses on their personal experience of ethical dilemmas in their work environment, and a questionnaire administered to 250 students (registered nurses and health care students) studying for a college degree.

This article is written by two authors who have formed an unusal alliance: a registered nurse with 29 years’ experience of bedside nursing, but who is currently a teacher of nursing ethics at a local health college, and a lawyer turned bioethicist.
Developing a targeted pharmacy oncology guide
Authors: Annable Dawn
Published: December 2004

Introduction. The need for continuing education and professional development for pharmacists and technicians in the field of oncology was identified at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) annual cancer care conference in November 2000. As a result, in November 2001, the position of Pharmacy Communities Oncology Network (CON) Educator was created to support oncology pharmacy educational needs throughout the province of British Columbia.

Objective. To describe how a pharmacy guide, specific to the needs of hospital oncology pharmacists in British Columbia, was developed. The guide will help to provide standardized and consistent oncology care, ensuring appropriate patient care and safety.

Methods. A specific needs assessment was developed and distributed to oncology pharmacists practicing in the province of British Columbia. Results were evaluated to determine the topic of the first oncology module.

Results. ‘Pharmacy Guide to BC Cancer Agency Chemotherapy Protocols: The Clinical Interpretation and Application of Treatment Protocol Summaries’waspublishedanddistributedin November 2003.

Conclusion. Using the results of a provincially distributed needs survey, the Pharmacy Communities Oncology Network Educators at the BC Cancer Agency were able to assess the requirements of the hospital pharmacists in the communities and produce a pharmacy oncology guide targeted to their needs.
The effects of processing instruction, traditional instruction and meaning—output instruction on the acquisition of the English past simple tense
Authors: Benati Alessandro
Published: December 2004

This paper presents the results of a parallel classroom experiment investigating the effects of processing instruction, traditional instruction and meaning-based output instruction on the acquisition of the English past simple tense. The subjects involved in the present studies were Chinese and Greek school-age learners of English residing in their respective countries. The participants in both schools were divided into three groups. The first group received processing instruction; the second group was exposed to traditional instruction; the third group received meaning-based output instruction. One interpretation and one production measure were used in a pre-test and post-test design (immediate effect only). The results showed that processing instruction had positive effects on the processing and acquisition of the target feature. In both studies the processing instruction group performed better than the traditional instruction and meaning-based output instruction groups in the interpretation task and the three groups made equal gains in the production task.
Use of the Miniature Anion Exchange Centrifugation Technique to Isolate Trypanosoma evansi from Goats
Authors: GUTIERREZ CARLOS , CORBERA JUAN A. , DORESTE FRANCISCO , BÜSCHER PHILIPPE
Published: December 2004

Abstract: DEAE (anion exchanger diethylaminoethyl)‐cellulose and mini Anion Exchange Centrifugation Technique (mAECT) allow salivarian trypanosomes to be separated from the blood of affected animals. The purpose of this study was to assess the mAECT in goats infected with T. evansi. Five adult Canary goats were inoculated intravenously with at least 1 × 105T. evansi isolated from a dromedary camel in the Canary Islands. The goats were monitored for specific antibodies and parasite detection. The inoculated goats became infected and the parasitemia remained very low but was persistent. For mAECT columns, the DEAE gel was equilibrated with phosphate‐buffered saline glucose. T. evansi was detected by its mobility with a microscope at low magnification (10 × 10). The mAECT proved to be more sensitive than blood smear and buffy coat but less sensitive than mouse inoculation. We conclude that in cases of very low parasitemia in goats, mAECT can be used when other parasite‐detection tests have failed.
The metalloproteinase MT1-MMP is required for normal development and maintenance of osteocyte processes in bone
Authors: Holmbeck Kenn , Bianco Paolo , Pidoux Isabelle , Inoue S. , Billinghurst R. C. , Wu W. , Chrysovergis Kali , Yamada Susan , Birkedal-Hansen Henning , Poole A. Robin
Published: December 2004

The osteocyte is the terminally differentiated state of the osteogenic mesenchymal progenitor immobilized in the bone matrix. Despite their numerical prominence, little is known about osteocytes and their formation. Osteocytes are physically separated in the bone matrix but seemingly compensate for their seclusion from other cells by maintaining an elaborate network of cell processes through which they interact with other osteocytes and bone-lining cells at the periosteal and endosteal surfaces of the bone. This highly organized architecture suggests that osteocytes make an active contribution to the structure and maintenance of their environment rather than passively submitting to random embedding during bone growth or repair. The most abundant matrix protein in the osteocyte environment is type-I collagen and we demonstrate here that, in the mouse, osteocyte phenotype and the formation of osteocyte processes is highly dependent on continuous cleavage of type-I collagen. This collagenolytic activity and formation of osteocyte processes is dependent on matrix metalloproteinase activity. Specifically, a deficiency of membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase leads to disruption of collagen cleavage in osteocytes and ultimately to the loss of formation of osteocyte processes. Osteocytogenesis is thus an active invasive process requiring cleavage of collagen for maintenance of the osteocyte phenotype.
Absence of Dp71 in mdx3cv mouse spermatozoa alters flagellar morphology and the distribution of ion channels and nNOS
Authors: Hernández-González Enrique O. , Mornet Dominique , Rendon Alvaro , Martínez-Rojas Dalila
Published: December 2004

In muscle, the absence of dystrophin alters the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC), which is involved in the clustering and anchoring of signaling proteins and ion and water channels. Here we show that mice spermatozoa express only dystrophin Dp71 and utrophin Up71. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of the absence of Dp71 on the morphology and membrane distribution of members of the DAPC, ion channels and signaling proteins of spermatozoa obtained from dystrophic mutant mdx3cv mice. Our work indicates that although the absence of Dp71 results in a dramatic decrease in β-dystroglycan, it induces membrane redistribution and an increase in the total level of α-syntrophin, voltage-dependent Na+ (μ1) and K+ (Kv1.1) channels and neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). The short utrophin (Up71) was upregulated and redistributed in the spermatozoa of mdx3cv mice. A significant increase in abnormal flagella morphology was observed in the absence of Dp71, which was partially corrected when the plasma membrane was eliminated by detergent treatment. Our observations point to a new phenotype associated with the absence of Dp71. Abnormal flagellar structure and altered distribution of ion channels and signaling proteins may be responsible for the fertility problems of mdx3cv mice.
The application of a programmable servo controller to state control of an electrohydraulic active suspension
Authors: Watton J , Holford K M , Surawattanawan P
Published: December 2004

Fully active electrohydraulic control of a 1/4 car test rig is considered from both a modelling and experimental point of view. Both pole assignment (PA) and linear quadratic control (LQC) techniques are used to design the state feedback gains with a view to achieving an optimum body acceleration characteristic, based on a validated linearized mathematical model. Computer simulation of the complete system suggests that the LQ control design approach gives the better performance characteristic. An industrial programmable servo controller (PSC) is implemented to drive two servo valves, one used for the road input actuator and the other used for the active control actuator. Programmable features are introduced, such as gain scheduling and state gain switching to achieve improved control. It is shown that although body displacement compensation is naturally achieved for road input changes, the global optimum design for acceleration transmissibility could not be achieved, due to practical limitations caused by the predicted low transducer gain between wheel and body. A further feature of the programmable controller approach was the ability to change state feedback gains during operation. This was found necessary to move the suspension from its initial rest position to its operating position. However, an improved performance in body acceleration amplitude control was still possible compared with the optimum passive suspension theoretical predictions.
Influence of a bellows-type flexible joint on exhaust system dynamics
Authors: Wall J E , Englund T L , Ahlin K A , Broman G I
Published: December 2004

Most modern cars have a bellows-type flexible joint between the manifold and the catalytic converter to allow for thermal expansion and to decouple large engine movements and vibrations from the rest of the exhaust system. To obtain better understanding of the influence of this joint, the dynamic response of a typical exhaust system is studied when excited via different joint configurations. Measurements show the great order of reduction in vibration transmission to the exhaust system that a bellows joint, with and without an inside liner, gives in comparison with a stiff joint. For the combined bellows and liner joint, vibration transmission is, however, higher than for the bellows alone. Together with some other aspects this makes the choice of including a liner in the exhaust system application complex. For a system in general the possibility of tuning the friction limit of the liner, to minimize overall vibrations through friction-based damping, depends on how close to ideal the excitation source is and its location. Anyhow, the combined bellows and liner joint makes the exhaust system behaviour significantly non-linear, whereas the system behaviour proves to be essentially linear when the bellows has no liner, which imply that the liner needs to be included in theoretical models when present in the real system.
The fourth attempt to construct a politics of welfare obligations
Authors: Fitzpatrick Tony
Published: December 2004

English

Since the 1980s there have been three influential attempts to ground citizenship on the principles of duty, obligation and responsibility: conservative, communitarian and Third Way. Each of these is reviewed in the article. The principal task of this article, however, is to examine the emergence of a fourth attempt, which, by relating duty to equality through the principle of reciprocity, represents a synthesis of traditional social democracy with the new politics of obligation. Our focus will be on The civic minimum by Stuart White, since this is arguably the most cogent expression of dutybased egalitarianism to have emerged in recent years.
Multimodality of Learning Through Anchored Instruction
Authors: Love Mary Susan
Published: December 2004

Multimodality of learning results from the intertextual relationship between multimodal design and other meaning‐making modes. Meaning making is becoming more multimodal because language is continually reshaped by new forms of communication media. This article examines anchored instruction from a multimodal perspective. The first section includes an overview of the history of anchored instruction, a brief discussion of the concept of anchored instruction, and the seven guiding design principles for it. The second section concentrates on the concept of design, drawing upon Kress and Van Leeuwen's multimodal theory of communication and the work of the the New London Group as the concept of design relates to literacy learning. The third section includes a discussion of the Case Technologies to Enhance Literacy Learning (CTELL) Project, which offers students in literacy education courses the opportunity to engage in multimodal learning about effective literacy instruction through multimedia anchored cases delivered via the Internet. CTELL also incorporates the concept of design in how students construct meaning from the major modes of meaning making. The final sections discuss the implications of using CTELL materials with students and the possible impact of this project on education programs in the area of literacy education.
2004 U.S. Children's Literature Award Winners
Authors: Jacobs James , Mitchell Judith , Livingston Nancy
Published: December 2004

The authors interview winners of the 2004 Caldecott, Newbery, and other leading awards in children's literature.
Room Temperature Nickel(0)‐Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Cross‐Couplings of Activated Alkenyl Tosylates: Efficient Synthesis of 4‐Substituted Coumarins and 4‐Substituted 2(5H)‐ Furanones
Authors: Tang Zhen‐Yu , Hu Qiao‐Sheng
Published: December 2004

Room temperature nickel(0)/tricyclohexylphosphine [Ni(0)/PCy3]‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐couplings of 4‐(p‐toluenesulfonyloxy)coumarins and 4‐(p‐toluenesulfonyloxy)‐2(5H)‐furanone with arylboronic acids are described in this communcation. Our study shows that activated alkenyl tosylates possess higher activities than aryl tosylates in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐couplings. The mild reaction conditions and the high efficiency of the Ni(0)/PCy3 catalyst make it very useful in the synthesis of 4‐substituted coumarins and 4‐substituted 2(5H)‐furanones, two families of biologically important molecules.
High‐Turnover Palladium Catalysts in Cross‐Coupling and Heck Chemistry: A Critical Overview
Authors: Farina Vittorio
Published: December 2004

This review discusses the problems associated with developing high‐turnover catalysts for the cross‐coupling and Heck reactions. New developments in the area, principally constituted by palladacycles and coordinatively unsaturated Pd catalysts featuring bulky phosphanes of high donicity, are reviewed from a mechanistic and synthetic standpoint, and compared with more traditional catalysts obtained from conventional mono‐ and polydentate N‐ and P‐based ligands, as well as Pd catalysts without strong ligands, such as Pd colloids or heterogeneous catalysts. Carbene ligands are also briefly presented. Whereas a single, most promising approach to high‐turnover Pd catalysis cannot presently be defined, it is clear that the new “PdL1” catalysts (where L1 is a monodentate bulky P ligand of high donicity) represent the latest, most important development in Pd research, certainly from the standpoint of scope and probably also from the standpoint of efficiency. High turnovers with these catalysts have been described and their use will certainly increase in the next few years. The review ends with a brief discussion containing practical considerations on how to choose a high TON catalyst for a given Heck or cross‐coupling reaction of interest.
A Domino Copper‐Catalyzed CN and CO Cross‐Coupling for the Conversion of Primary Amides into Benzoxazoles
Authors: Altenhoff Gereon , Glorius Frank
Published: December 2004

Benzoxazoles can be efficiently prepared in a single step and in good yield from primary amides and o‐dihalobenzenes using Cu catalysis. Starting from substituted o‐bromochlorobenzenes this unusual domino reaction allows the regioselective formation of benzoxazoles.
Use of Ruthenium/Alumina as a Convenient Catalyst for Copper‐Free Sonogashira Coupling Reactions
Authors: Park Soyoung , Kim Min , Koo Dong Hyun , Chang Sukbok
Published: December 2004

It has been found that a new and practical catalyst system of ruthenium‐supported on alumina carries out copper‐free Sonogashira coupling reactions with high efficiency over a wide range of substrates under mild and convenient conditions.
New Synthesis of Biaryls via Rh‐Catalyzed Decarbonylative Suzuki‐Coupling of Carboxylic Anhydrides with Arylboroxines
Authors: Gooßen L. J. , Paetzold J.
Published: December 2004

The catalytic cross‐coupling of aromatic carboxylic anhydrides or acid chlorides with triarylboroxines has been achieved for the first time under decarbonylation, giving rise to the unsymmetrical biaryls rather than the expected diaryl ketones. This new decarbonylative Suzuki coupling, catalyzed by a [Rh(ethylene)2Cl]2/KF system, can be applied to aromatic, heteroaromatic and vinylic carboxylic anhydrides, potentially opening up new perspectives for the use of carboxylic acid derivatives as substrates in biaryl syntheses.
Palladium‐Catalyzed Amination of 1‐Bromo‐ and 1‐Chloro‐1,3‐butadienes: A General Method for the Synthesis of 1‐Amino‐1,3‐butadienes
Authors: Barluenga José , Aznar Fernando , Moriel Patricia , Valdés Carlos
Published: December 2004

1‐Amino‐1,3‐butadienes, interesting substrates for [4+2] cycloadditions, are prepared by Pd‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of secondary amines with readily available 1‐halodienes. The optimized catalytic system employs Pd2(dba)3as metal source and XPHOS as supporting ligand. The reaction proceeds in very high yields with 1‐bromo‐1,3‐butadienes, and also with the less reactive 1‐chloro‐1,3‐butadienes. Moreover, the range of amines that can be incorporated includes aromatic amines, and cyclic and acyclic aliphatic amines.
Palladium‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reaction of 1‐Aryltriazenes with Aryl‐ and Alkenyltrifluorosilanes
Authors: Saeki Tomoyuki , Matsunaga Tadafumi , Son Eun‐Cheol , Tamao Kohei
Published: December 2004

The palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reaction of 1‐aryltriazenes with aryl‐ and alkenyltrifluorosilanes occurs readily at room temperature to yield the corresponding biaryl and stilbene products in moderate to good yields. In contrast to the previous results for the reaction with areneboronic acids, in which an additional Lewis acid such as boron trifluoride is essential for the activation of the 1‐aryltriazenes, the Lewis acidity of organotrifluorosilanes seems to be strong enough to directly activate the triazene moiety to enter into the palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reaction without an extra Lewis acid.
An Efficient Approach to Dihydrofuroflavonoids via Palladium‐Catalyzed Annulation of 1,3‐Dienes by o‐Iodoacetoxyflavonoids
Authors: Rozhkov Roman V. , Larock Richard C.
Published: December 2004

The palladium‐catalyzed annulation of 1,3‐dienes by o‐iodoacetoxyflavonoids provides an efficient approach to biologically interesting dihydrofuroflavonoids. This reaction is very general, stereo‐ and regioselective, and a wide variety of terminal, cyclic and internal 1,3‐dienes can be utilized.
Comparison of ab initio and group additive ideal gas heat capacities
Authors: Marriott Robert A. , White Mary Anne
Published: December 2004

Three case studies comparing molecular ideal gas heat capacity estimations using empirical group additive methods and statistical mechanical methods using ab initio vibrational frequencies are reported. In the first study, results from several ab initio levels of theory are compared with the experimental heat capacities of piperidine and the heat capacities calculated from the observed vibrational frequencies. In the second study, heat capacities for a benchmark group of 27 organic molecules were calculated using vibrational frequencies from AM1, HF/3‐21G(d), and B3LYP/6‐31G(d) theory level, and the results were compared to three recently updated additivity schemes. In the third study, semiempirical corrections to the heat capacities of n‐alkanes were investigated. The strength of additivity schemes is that they are easy to use and understand, and often give reasonable results, but predict the same thermodynamic properties for isomers containing the same functional groups, and are of limited accuracy when the near‐neighbor interactions are strong or if the input data set is not appropriate. Ab initio vibrational frequencies can rapidly provide accurate heat capacities using the harmonic oscillator model, especially if one conformer dominates. The results can be comparable to additivity, and better for rigid molecules containing heteroatoms. Furthermore, ab initio results do not require a calibration data set. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 51: 292–297, 2005
Study of folate receptor genes in nonsyndromic familial and sporadic cleft lip with or without clef palate cases
Authors: Scapoli Luca , Marchesini Jlenia , Martinelli Marcella , Pezzetti Furio , Carinci Francesco , Palmieri Annalisa , Rullo Rosario , Gombos Fernando , Tognon Mauro , Carinci Paolo
Published: December 2004

Folate receptor family members (FOLRs) mediate the delivery of 5‐methyltetrahydrofolate to the interior of, out of within, or between cells in a process known as potocytosis. Three FOLRs and a pseudogene map to 11q13.4. The aim of this study was to verify whether FOLRs could be responsible for the onset of nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P). Linkage and linkage disequilibrium between genetic markers and disorder were analyzed. Patients and their mothers from 71 familial CL/P pedigrees and 75 sporadic cases from Italian population were investigated by PCR‐SSCP analysis. Data from mutation scanning allowed us to find only a silent mutation in FOLR1 present in a mother and her child. Our findings do not support FOLR1 and FOLR2 genes in the onset of CL/P. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chronic exposure to a 1.439 GHz electromagnetic field used for cellular phones does not promote N‐ethylnitrosourea induced central nervous system tumors in F344 rats
Authors: Shirai Tomoyuki , Kawabe Mayumi , Ichihara Toshio , Fujiwara Osamu , Taki Masao , Watanabe So‐ichi , Wake Kanako , Yamanaka Yukio , Imaida Katsumi , Asamoto Makoto , Tamano Seiko
Published: December 2004

The present study was designed to evaluate whether a 2 year exposure to an electromagnetic field (EMF) equivalent to that generated by cellular phones can accelerate tumor development in the central nervous system (CNS) of rats. Brain tumorigenesis was initiated by an intrauterine exposure to N‐ethylnitrosourea (ENU) on gestational day 18. A total of 500 pups were divided into five groups, each composed of 50 males and 50 females: Group 1, untreated control; Group 2, ENU alone; Groups 3–5, ENU + EMF (sham exposure and 2 exposure levels). A 1.439 GHz time division multiple access (TDMA) signal for the Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Japanese standard cellular system was used for the exposure of the rat head starting from 5 weeks of age, 90 min a day, 5 days a week, for 104 weeks. Brain average specific absorption rate (SAR) was 0.67 and 2.0 W/kg for low and high exposures, respectively: whole body average SAR was less than 0.4 W/kg. There were no inter‐group differences in body weights, food consumption, and survival rates. No increase in the incidences or numbers per group of brain and/or spinal cord tumors, either in the males or females, was detected in the EMF exposed groups. In addition, no clear changes in tumor types were evident. Thus, under the present experimental conditions, 1.439 GHz EMF exposure to the heads of rats for a 2 year period was not demonstrated to accelerate or affect ENU initiated brain tumorigenesis. Bioelectromagnetics 26:59–68, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Errata
Authors: Spinner Robert J. , Northouse Beverly D. , Carmichael Stephen W.
Published: December 2004

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Clinical Anatomy 17:531–533 Clinical Anatomy (2004) 17(7) 531–533
The discursive construction of community identity
Authors: Colombo Monica , Senatore Azzurra
Published: December 2004

The aim of this article is to illustrate how a discourse‐oriented approach would open new theoretical and methodological perspectives to the study of community identity. Here outlined is the idea that community identity is discursively constructed by members in order to lend meaning to experience. An analysis of how community identity is constructed in subjects' discourse with reference to the local context is presented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthetic Strategies for Controlling the Morphology of Proton Conducting Polymer Membranes
Authors: Yang Y. , Holdcroft S.
Published: December 2004

The nanostructure and morphology of proton conducting polymers is of considerable interest in the search for next generation materials and optimization of existing ones. Synthetic methodologies for tailoring molecular structures that promote nanoscopic phase separation of ionic and non‐ionic domains, and the effect of phase separation on parameters such as proton conductivity, are considered. Rather than distinguish proton conducting polymers according to chemical class, they are categorized under sub‐headings of random, block, and graft copolymers. The synthetic methodology available to access archetypal polymer structures is dependent on the nature of the monomers and restrictive compared to conventional non‐ionic polymer systems. Irrespective of the methodology, ionic aggregation and phase separation are consistently found to play an important role in the proton conductivity of low ion exchange capacity (IEC) membranes, but less of a role in highIECmembranes. Significant research is required to further develop relationships between polymer architecture, morphology, and electrolytic properties.
Pharmacoeconomic evaluation and healthcare management in Poland
Authors: Czech Marcin
Published: December 2004

The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential role of pharmacoeconomic evaluation in the decision‐making process and management in healthcare in Poland. A group of 102 people with backgrounds in health economics/pharmacoeconomics was interviewed, including students (23), medical doctors (28), pharmacists (36), managers/economists (22). They came from such settings as hospitals, outpatient clinics, pharmacies, and the pharmaceutical industry. They were asked about sources of information that should be used by decision makers at different levels of healthcare sector, barriers to practical application of pharmacoeconomic evaluation results, criteria for inclusion/exclusion of drugs in a hospital formulary, means by which economic evaluation utilization could become more common, and finally about needs for education initiatives. Eighty six percent of respondents indicated that expert opinion and 66% that articles in reviewed scientific journals are the most important source of information for reimbursement decisions. At management level, expert opinion (77%) and scientific journals (65%) were also considered as an important source of information. In relations between the pharmacist/physician and patient, personal opinion was found to be vital (58%), followed by an expert opinion (55%), and by information from the scientific press (50%). As main barriers, interviewees recognized limited interest in pharmacoeconomic analyses focusing only on cost‐containment (77%) followed by lack of governmental agency involvement in introduction of the regulations (61%), difficulties in applying long‐term view (57%), and limited access to cost data (lack of national cost database) (57%). The survey results showed that acquisition cost (70%) and efficacy (96%) were considered to be crucial, while hospital savings were less important (50%). Also, a wider use of pharmacoeconomic studies may result from more educational initiatives (74%), creation of professional cost databases (72%), and transparent criteria of evaluation (69%). Eighty six percent of respondents expressed the desire to expand their current knowledge in the relevant areas of interest. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 99–108, 2005.
Organizational entrepreneurship: Theoretical background, some empirical tests, and directions for future research
Authors: Bratnicki Mariusz
Published: December 2004

The widely held contemporary perspective on entrepreneurship is dangerously premature. Currently existing theories are insufficient to understand the dynamic interplay among entrepreneurship, the state, and external environment forces, as well as the organization's capacity to facilitate entrepreneurship and resulting effectiveness. In this exploratory paper I identify organizational architecture variables that help to shape a firm's entrepreneurship. The topic of organizational enablers is introduced. The primary purpose of the investigation falls under a category of exploration of dialectics' potential for entrepreneurship theory and development concept that refers to strategic contradictions, organizational enablers, and entrepreneurial behaviors. In particular, it focuses on understanding the organizational context of entrepreneurship and understanding the entrepreneurial reconciliation made by managers who seek to increase their company's growth. I investigate empirically how reconciliation of primary and secondary contradictions is related to entrepreneurial behaviors. The in‐depth examination of organizational enablers and entrepreneurial behavior is only one example of how a dialectical approach can reshape our understanding of the complex, multilevel entrepreneurship process, which may have less to do with the behavior of individual members than with impersonal and seemingly insignificant forces. Finally, implications for future research are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 15–33, 2005.
Building entrepreneurial capacity in post‐communist Poland: A case study
Authors: Despiney Barbara A.
Published: December 2004

The process of globalization defines new frontiers, giving more importance to the territory. In the context of a rapidly changing international environment it is of no small importance to ask questions about the present situations in the bordering regions, their foreseeable evolution, both short‐ and long‐term, and the economic and social consequences likely to result, considering their geographical and demographic situation, as well as their structures of activity. The redrawing of old national territories no longer seems to be the product of diplomacy and, in particular, wars; henceforth, it would appear to depend upon industrial economics. This is especially significant in the case of “Neisse,” the Euroregion located on Polish–Czech–German borders. Here is the chance to revive a localized productive system that would give life to new forms of interregional cooperation. In this article I reflect on the relevance of the Marshallian district concept in the analysis of this interregional cooperation. The Marshallian industrial district is based on the external economies of agglomerations and the economics of urbanization, and this kind of development we can see today in Poland. The study of localized productive systems must be thorough, multidisciplinary, and carried out through fieldwork. The aim is to understand how work, relationships, and culture as well as material and immaterial infrastructures, which give a place for original identity within the international division of labor, regenerate in locally coherent forms. A production system grouped together on a spatial level and integrated company networks at the regional level could serve to create local hubs of competition in Central and Eastern Europe. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 109–126, 2005.
Influence of the power density on the kinetics of photopolymerization and properties of dental composites
Authors: Neves A. D. , Discacciati J. A. C. , Oréfice R. L. , Yoshida M. I.
Published: December 2004

Polymer shrinkage during photopolymerization of dimethacrylate monomers, used for many years to produce materials for dental restoration, can induce either the formation of tooth‐restoration gaps or the production of residual stress depending on the quality of adhesion between tooth and dental composites. In this work, the effect of the power density, used to photopolymerize three commercial dental composites (Fill Magic, Supra Fill, and Z100), on the kinetics of the reaction was investigated to determine processing conditions in which the generation of residual stress would be reduced by allowing polymer chains and macromers to flow before freezing during gelation of the polymer network. The kinetics of photopolymerization of the dental composites was monitored by real‐time infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Polymer shrinkage and mechanical properties were also investigated by using, respectively, density and microhardness measurements. Results showed that the final conversion (after 200 s), volumetric shrinkage, and microhardness values were not affected by different power densities, mainly because the amount of energy used during photopolymerization was set constant by using different irradiation times. Lower power densities were able to reduce the maximum polymerization rate and delay the formation of a rigid network. Conversion before the formation of the rigid network was also enhanced by using a lower power density. Considering that too premature gelation can lead to residual stress during shrinkage, the results of this work indicated that the use of a lower power density can be effective in terms of delaying the onset of the formation of a rigid network, providing then conditions for macromolecules to flow and relieve stress during shrinkage. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 72B: 393–400, 2005
Gas6 induces proliferation in prostate carcinoma cell lines expressing the Axl receptor
Authors: Sainaghi Pier Paolo , Castello Luigi , Bergamasco Luca , Galletti Margherita , Bellosta Paola , Avanzi Gian Carlo
Published: December 2004

Axl is a tyrosine kinase receptor and although it is expressed in malignancy such as leukemia, colon cancer, melanoma, endometrial, prostate and thyroid cancers, its role has not been completely elucidated yet and appears to be complex. The ligand of Axl, Gas6, is a 75 KDa multimodular protein with an N‐terminal gamma‐carboxy‐glutamic acid that is essential for binding. Gas6 has a mitogenic effect on several normal cell lines. The receptor Axl is expressed in primary prostate carcinoma and in prostate cancer cell lines as such as PC‐3 and DU 145. We demonstrated a mitogenic activity determined by Gas6/Axl interaction in these undifferentiated metastatic human prostatic cancer cell lines. This effect is proportional to Axl expression, not due to inhibition of apoptosis, and induces AKT and MAPK phosphorylation. However, only MEK phosphorylation seems to be essential for growth signaling. Our results suggest that Axl overexpression and activation by Gas6 could be involved in progression of prostate neoplastic disease. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Volumetric flow mapping for microvascular networks by bimodality imaging with light microscope and laser doppler imager
Authors: Sun Ying , Verbeuren Tony J. , Vallez Marie O. , Nilsson Gert E. , Sjöberg Folke
Published: December 2004

A method was developed to produce a composite image of microvascular networks with grayscales proportional to volumetric flows. Velocities in arterioles and venules were assessed with a high‐resolution laser Doppler imager (LDI). The vascular structures were quantified from the micrograph with a computerized vessel detection algorithm. After registering the detected vascular network with the LDI scan, volumetric flows were calculated along the centerlines of the vessels. In vivo data were obtained from the hamster cheek pouch in 6 studies. Flow continuity of the flow map was evaluated by comparing the main flow (Q) with the sum of branch flows (Qs), averaging over the respective vessel segments incident to each bifurcation. The method was reproducible across the 6 studies with the correlation coefficient (r) between Qs and Q ranging from 0.913 to 0.986. In all, over 20,000 flow estimates from 360 vessel segments (24–160 μm in diameter) at 166 bifurcations were analyzed. With flow normalized between 0 and 1, the linear regression yielded: Qs = 1.03 Q + 0.006; r = 0.952, n = 166, P < 0.0005. The bimodality imaging method exploits a large amount of velocity and diameter data, and therefore should be useful for studying heterogeneous flows in the microvasculature. Microsc. Res. Tech. 65:130–138, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Defocusing microscopy
Authors: Agero U. , Mesquita L.G. , Neves B.R.A. , Gazzinelli R.T. , Mesquita O.N.
Published: December 2004

Transparent objects (phase objects) are not visible in a standard brightfield optical microscope. In order to see such objects the most used technique is phase‐contrast microscopy. In phase‐contrast microscopy the contrast observed is proportional to the optical path difference introduced by the object. If the index of refraction is uniform, phase‐contrast microscopy then yields a measure of the thickness profile of phase objects. We show that by slightly defocusing an optical microscope operating in brightfield, phase objects become visible. We modeled such an effect and show that the image contrast of a phase object is proportional to the amount of defocusing and proportional to the two‐dimensional Laplacian of the optical path difference introduced by the object. For uniform index of refraction, defocusing microscopy then yields a measure of the curvature profile of phase objects. We extended our previous model for thin objects to thick objects. To check our theoretical model, we use as phase objects polystyrene spherical caps and compare their curvature radii obtained by defocusing microscopy (DM) to those obtained with atomic force microscopy (AFM). We also show that for thick curved phase objects one can reconstruct their thickness profiles from DM images. We illustrate the utility of defocusing microscopy in biological systems to study cell motility. In particular, we visualize and quantitatively measure real‐time cytoskeleton curvature fluctuations of macrophages (a cell of the innate immune system). The study of such fluctuations might be important for a better understanding of the engulfment process of pathogens during phagocytosis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 65:159–165, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Changes in HIV RNA viral load, CD4+ T‐cell counts, and levels of immune activation markers associated with anti‐tuberculosis therapy and cotrimoxazole prophylaxis among HIV‐infected tuberculosis patients in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Kalou Mireille , Sassan‐Morokro Madeleine , Abouya Lucien , Bile Célestin , Maurice Chantal , Maran Mathieu , Tossou Odette , Roels Thierry , Greenberg Alan E. , Wiktor Stefan Z. , Nkengasong John N.
Published: December 2004

We analyzed changes in plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐1 viral load, CD4+ T‐cell count, and markers of immune activation markers at start of treatment of tuberculosis and 12 months after among 44 HIV‐1‐infected patients with newly diagnosed, sputum‐smear positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis pulmonary in fection. All patients received a standard regimen of 6 months of rifampicin and isoniazid with first 2 months of pyrazinamid with or without cotrimoxazole. Compared with values at start of treatment, median viral load increased by a median of 0.64 log10 copies/ml after 12 months of follow‐up (P = 0.0002). Median CD4+ T‐cell counts were 393 cells/L at start of treatment and 370 cells/L after 12 months of follow‐up (P = 0.61). Levels of serum activation markers decreased significantly at 12 months of follow‐up of the patients for both patients on standard and cotrimoxazole treatment. Levels of viral load, CD4+ T‐cell counts, and markers of immune activation were not different for patients on standard treatment of tuberculosis compared with those on standard and cotrimoxazole treatment. Levels of serum activation markers decreased significantly at 12 months of follow‐up of the patients for both patients on standard and cotrimoxazole treatment. Because viral load is a predictor of disease progression, its persistent elevated levels in blood of HIV‐infected patients co‐infected with tuberculosis, who successfully complete TB treatment, may account for the high mortality observed in this population. J. Med. Virol. 75:202–208, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Productive herpes simplex virus in brain of elderly normal subjects and Alzheimer's disease patients
Authors: Wozniak Matthew A. , Shipley Suzanne J. , Combrinck Marc , Wilcock Gordon K. , Itzhaki Ruth F.
Published: December 2004

It was previously shown that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) DNA resides latently in a high proportion of aged brains and that in carriers of the type 4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE‐ε4), it confers a strong risk of Alzheimer's disease. It was suggested that initial entry of brain by HSV1 and any subsequent reactivation(s) would cause a type of limited encephalitis, the resulting damage being more harmful in APOE‐ε4 carriers. Reactivation(s) would induce synthesis of intrathecal antibodies; these are long‐lived after herpes simplex encephalitis so they were sought in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Alzheimer's disease patients and age‐matched normal subjects. Intrathecal antibodies to human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6) were also sought as DNA of this virus has been detected previously in a high proportion of Alzheimer's disease brains. Antibody indices for HSV and HHV6 were measured using indirect ELISA for IgG antibody, and single radial immunodiffusion was used for albumin, in serum and CSF. A raised antibody index (>1.5) indicative of virus‐specific intrathecal HSV1 IgG synthesis was found in 14/27 (52%) Alzheimer's disease patients and 9/13 (69%) age‐matched normals (difference non‐significant). A raised antibody index to HHV6 was detected in 22% of the Alzheimer's disease patients and in no normals, so presumably this virus either did not reactivate in brain or it elicited only short‐lived intrathecal antibodies. The HSV1 results confirm the original PCR findings that show the presence of HSV1 DNA sequences in many elderly brains, and indicate also that the whole functional HSV1 genome is present, and that the virus has replicated. J. Med. Virol. 75:300–306, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.