bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The genetic control of neocortex volume and covariation with neocortical gene expression in mice
Authors: Gaglani Shiv M , Lu Lu , Williams Robert W , Rosen Glenn D
Published: May 2009

Background

The size of the cerebral cortex varies widely within human populations, and a large portion of this variance is modulated by genetic factors. The discovery and characterization of these genes and their variants can contribute to an understanding of individual differences in brain development, behavior, and disease susceptibility. Here we use unbiased stereological techniques to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that modulate the volume of neocortex.

Results

We estimated volumes bilaterally in an expanded set of BXD recombinant inbred strains (n = 56 strains and 223 animals) taken from the Mouse Brain Library http://www.mbl.org. We generated matched microarray data for the cerebral cortex in the same large panel of strains and in parental neonates to efficiently nominate and evaluate candidate genes. Volume of the neocortex varies widely, and is a heritable trait. Genome-wide mapping of this trait revealed two QTLs – one on chromosome (Chr) 6 at 88 ± 5 Mb and another at Chr 11 (41 ± 8 Mb). We generated both neonatal and adult neocortical gene expression databases using microarray technology. Using these databases in combination with other bioinformatic tools we have identified positional candidates on these QTL intervals.

Conclusion

This study is the first to use the expanded set of BXD strains to map neocortical volume, and we found that normal variation of this trait is, at least in part, genetically modulated. These results provide a baseline from which to assess the genetic contribution to regional variation in neocortical volume, as well as other neuroanatomic phenotypes that may contribute to variation in regional volume, such as proliferation, death, and number and packing density of neurons
Suggestion for linkage of chromosome 1p35.2 and 3q28 to plasma adiponectin concentrations in the GOLDN Study
Authors: Rasmussen-Torvik Laura J , Pankow James S , Peacock James M , Borecki Ingrid B , Hixson James E , Tsai Michael Y , Kabagambe Edmond K , Arnett Donna K
Published: May 2009

Background

Adiponectin is inversely associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis, but little is known about the genetic pathways that regulate the plasma level of this protein. To find novel genes that influence circulating levels of adiponectin, a genome-wide linkage scan was performed on plasma adiponectin concentrations before and after 3 weeks of treatment with fenofibrate (160 mg daily) in the Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network (GOLDN) Study. We studied Caucasian individuals (n = 1121) from 190 families in Utah and Minnesota. Of these, 859 individuals from 175 families had both baseline and post-fenofibrate treatment measurements for adiponectin. Plasma adiponectin concentrations were measured with an ELISA assay. All participants were typed for microsatellite markers included in the Marshfield Mammalian Genotyping Service marker set 12, which includes 407 markers spaced at approximately 10 cM regions across the genome. Variance components analysis was used to estimate heritability and to perform genome-wide scans. Adiponectin was adjusted for age, sex, and field center. Additional models also included BMI adjustment.

Results

Baseline and post-fenofibrate adiponectin measurements were highly correlated (r = 0.95). Suggestive (LOD > 2) peaks were found on chromosomes 1p35.2 and 3q28 (near the location of the adiponectin gene).

Conclusion

Two candidate genes,IL22RA1andIL28RA, lie under the chromosome 1 peak; further analyses are needed to identify the specific genetic variants in this region that influence circulating adiponectin concentrations.
Sleep quality in middle-aged and elderly Chinese: distribution, associated factors and associations with cardio-metabolic risk factors
Authors: Haseli-Mashhadi Nazanin , Dadd Tony , Pan An , Yu Zhijie , Lin Xu , Franco Oscar H
Published: May 2009

Background

Poor sleep quality has been associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and mortality. However, limited information exists on the distribution and determinants of sleep quality and its associations with cardio-metabolic risk factors in Chinese populations. We aimed to evaluate this in the current study.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2005 of 1,458 men and 1,831 women aged 50–70 years from urban and rural areas of Beijing and Shanghai. Using a questionnaire, sleep quality was measured in levels of well, common and poor. Comprehensive measures of socio-demographical and health factors and biomarkers of cardio-metabolic disease were recorded. These were evaluated in association with sleep quality using logistic regression models.

Results

Half of the population reported good sleep quality. After adjusting for potential confounders, women and Beijing residents had almost half the probability to report good sleep quality. Good physical and mental health (good levels of self-rated health (OR 2.48; 95%CI 2.08 to 2.96) and no depression (OR 4.05; 95%CI 3.12 to 5.26)) related to an increased chance of reporting good sleep quality, whereas short sleep duration (<7 hrs OR 0.10; 95%CI 0.07 to 0.14)) decreased it substantially. There were significant associations between levels of sleep quality and concentrations of plasma insulin, total and LDL cholesterol, and index of insulin resistance.

Conclusion

Levels of good sleep quality in middle-age and elderly Chinese were low. Gender, geographical location, self-rated health, depression and sleep quantity were major factors associated with sleep quality. Prospective studies are required to distil the factors that determine sleep quality and the effects that sleep patterns exert on cardio-metabolic health.
Mechanisms of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (mmp-2) transcriptional repression by progesterone in jar choriocarcinoma cells
Authors: Goldman Shlomit , Lovett David H , Shalev Eliezer
Published: May 2009

Background

Although the MMP-2 promoter lacks a canonical progesterone response element (PRE), the hormone inhibits MMP-2 expression and is part of treatment protocols in gynecological invasive pathologies, including endometriosis and endometrial hyperplasia. This study aimed to explore the mechanism by which progesterone inhibits MMP-2 expression.

Methods

The effect of progesterone on MMP-2 expression in the JAR human choriocarcinoma cell line was analyzed by gelatin zymography. MMP-2 transcript expression was studied using Northern blot and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Rat promoter deletion analysis, electrophoretic mobility shift and chromatin immuno-precipitation assays were performed in order to locate the DNA binding site and the transcription factors involved in MMP-2 regulation.

Results

Progesterone significantly decreased secretion of pro-MMP-2 and MMP-2 transcript expression level in a dose-dependent manner. Progesterone (1 microM) significantly decreased both human and rat MMP-2 promoter activity (80.1% +/- 0.3 and 81.3% +/- 0.23, respectively). Progesterone acts through the SP1 family transcription factors-binding site, located between -1433 and -1342 bp region from the transcriptional start site of the rat MMP-2 promoter, which are present in the orthologous human MMP-2 promoter. Progesterone receptor (PR), SP2, SP3 and SP4 proteins are constitutively bound to this consensus sequence.

Conclusion

Progesterone reducesPR and SP4 binding to the MMP-2 promoter, thereby suppressing transcription. Progesterone also promotes SP4 degradation. These novel mechanisms of MMP-2 regulation by progesterone provide the biological rationale for the use of progesterone in clinical settings associated with increased MMP-2 expression.
Network analysis of human glaucomatous optic nerve head astrocytes
Authors: Nikolskaya Tatiana , Nikolsky Yuri , Serebryiskaya Tatiana , Zvereva Svetlana , Sviridov Eugene , Dezso Zoltan , Rahkmatulin Eugene , Brennan Richard J , Yankovsky Nick , Bhattacharya Sanjoy K , Agapova Olga , Hernandez M Rosario , Shestopalov Valery I
Published: May 2009

Background

Astrocyte activation is a characteristic response to injury in the central nervous system, and can be either neurotoxic or neuroprotective, while the regulation of both roles remains elusive.

Methods

To decipher the regulatory elements controlling astrocyte-mediated neurotoxicity in glaucoma, we conducted a systems-level functional analysis of gene expression, proteomic and genetic data associated with reactive optic nerve head astrocytes (ONHAs).

Results

Our reconstruction of the molecular interactions affected by glaucoma revealed multi-domain biological networks controlling activation of ONHAs at the level of intercellular stimuli, intracellular signaling and core effectors. The analysis revealed that synergistic action of the transcription factors AP-1, vitamin D receptor and Nuclear Factor-kappaB in cross-activation of multiple pathways, including inflammatory cytokines, complement, clusterin, ephrins, and multiple metabolic pathways. We found that the products of over two thirds of genes linked to glaucoma by genetic analysis can be functionally interconnected into one epistatic network via experimentally-validated interactions. Finally, we built and analyzed an integrative disease pathology network from a combined set of genes revealed in genetic studies, genes differentially expressed in glaucoma and closely connected genes/proteins in the interactome.

Conclusion

Our results suggest several key biological network modules that are involved in regulating neurotoxicity of reactive astrocytes in glaucoma, and comprise potential targets for cell-based therapy.
Design and control of a multi-functional electrorheological haptic knob for a vehicular instrument
Authors: Han Y M , Noh K W , Choi S B
Published: May 2009

This paper presents torque and force control performances of an electrorheological fluid-based haptic knob for use in a vehicle. The proposed haptic device is a potential candidate for multi-functional controls for a vehicular instrument that can transmit various reflection torques and forces for the in-vehicle comfort functions to a driver without requiring the driver's visual attention. In order to emulate various comfort functions, a haptic mechanism is devised so as to be capable of both rotary and push motions. The haptic mechanism is established within a single knob and the torque and force produced are mathematically modelled and experimentally verified. In-vehicle comfort functions are then constructed in a virtual environment which communicates with the manufactured haptic device. Subsequently, an open-loop controller based on the torque and force models is formulated to track the desired trajectory from the torque or force map. Control performances such as reflection torque or force of the haptic device are experimentally evaluated and demonstrated with the visual results of the virtual in-vehicle comfort functions.
Second law optimization of two-stage transcritical CO2 refrigeration cycles in the cooling mode operation
Authors: Yari M
Published: May 2009

Second law optimization studies of two-stage transcritical CO2 (TRCC) refrigeration cycles, incorporating options such as a new ejector-expansion with internal heat exchanger (IHE) and intercooler (IC), flash gas bypass, flash gas intercooling, compressor intercooling with IHE, are presented based on cycle simulation. To validate the simulations, the available numerical data in open literature are used. It is found that the coefficient of performance (COP) and second law efficiency of the new two-stage TRCC cycle are on average 16.5, 18.4, and 28.4 per cent higher than that of the two-stage TRCC with IHE and IC, the two-stage TRCC with flash gas bypass, and the two-stage TRCC with flash gas intercooling cycles, respectively. Hence, the new two-stage refrigeration cycle is a promising refrigeration cycle from the thermodynamic point of view. It is also concluded that for cases of the flash gas bypass and flash gas intercooling the optimum inter-stage pressure deviates significantly from the geometric mean pressure of the gas cooler and evaporator pressure. While for the new two-stage TRCC and the two-stage TRCC with IHE and IC, the optimum inter-stage pressure is approximately equal to geometric mean pressure. Finally, a regression analysis was employed in terms of evaporator and gas cooler exit temperatures to develop mathematical expressions for maximum COP, optimum discharge, and inter-stage pressures and entrainment ratio.
On Evaluating Information Revelation Policies in Procurement Auctions: A Markov Decision Process Approach
Authors: Greenwald Amy , Kannan Karthik , Krishnan Ramayya
Published: May 2009

Each market session in a reverse electronic marketplace features a procurer and many suppliers. An important attribute of a market session chosen by the procurer is its information revelation policy. The revelation policy determines the information (such as the number of competitors, the winning bids, etc.) that will be revealed to participating suppliers at the conclusion of each market session. Suppliers participating in multiple market sessions use strategic bidding and fake their own cost structure to obtain information revealed at the end of each market session. The information helps to reduce two types of uncertainties encountered in future market sessions, namely, their opponents' cost structure and an estimate of the number of their competitors. Whereas the first type of uncertainty is present in physical and e-marketplaces, the second type of uncertainty naturally arises in IT-enabled marketplaces. Through their effect on the uncertainty faced by suppliers, information revelation policies influence the bidding behavior of suppliers which, in turn, determines the expected price paid by the procurer. Therefore, the choice of information revelation policy has important consequences for the procurer.

This paper develops a partially observable Markov decision process model of supplier bidding behavior and uses a multiagent e-marketplace simulation to analyze the effect that two commonly used information revelation policies—complete information policy and incomplete information policy—have on the expected price paid by the procurer. We find that the expected price under the complete information policy is lower than that under the incomplete information policy. The integration of ideas from the multiagents literature, the machine-learning literature, and the economics literature to develop a method to evaluate information revelation policies in e-marketplaces is a novel feature of this paper.
"They Spoke the Truest of Words": Irony in the Speeches of Herodotus's Histories
Authors: Schellenberg Ryan S.
Published: May 2009

Among the most salient features of Herodotus' narrative is his delightful use of both direct and indirect speech. As a number of scholars have noted, Herodotus' speeches occasionally carry overtones for his contemporary readers that the characters in the narrative could not have understood or appreciated. Such features are often considered merely anachronistic; however, the narratological distinction between a speech's intra- and extradiegetic functions elucidates the way such discourse exploits the disjunction in knowledge or perspective between Herodotus' characters and his contemporary audience in order to produce irony. With this use of irony, Herodotus develops conspiratorial intimacy with his readers.
Death, the Maiden, and the Mirror: Ausonius's Water World
Authors: Taylor Rabun
Published: May 2009

A series of ekphrastic passages from Ausonius's Mosella famously describe the picturesque river and its inhabitants: human, animal, and divine. The crux of their meaning, it is argued, lies in a simile comparing those who play on the river's surface to a young girl who, Narcissus-like, has mistaken her reflection for a real companion. The mirror, and the reflective river itself, are understood as a dual metaphor for the poem, which may be read in either of two directions: toward mundane satisfaction with sensory appearance (surface), or toward understanding (depth), which promises greater rewards but also greater dangers.
Pliny and the Dolphin—or a Story About Storytelling
Authors: Stevens Benjamin
Published: May 2009

The younger Pliny's Epistle 9.33, offering to Caninius an "amazing" dolphin story as "raw material" for a poem, invites a "literary" reading. Close verbal parallels to its unnamed source, the elder Pliny's Natural History 9.8.26, make clear the allusion and emphasize by contrast the younger's generally more "artful" prose. Parallels to Epistle 8.4, about Caninius's mooted poem on the Dacian War, cast that artfulness in precise "poetic" terms. By allusively suppressing his uncle and, as it were, gently scooping his friend, Pliny makes of the dolphin story a polished and playful story about his own storytelling.
Stories at the Loom: Patterned Textiles and the Recitation of Myth in Euripides
Authors: Tuck Anthony
Published: May 2009

Recent anthropological analysis of non-industrial textile manufacture in Central Asia reveals a tradition of mnemonic devices, recalled in the form of songs, that are used to reproduce patterns in various forms of textiles. Evidence from a range of texts suggests that a similar practice was used by weavers throughout the Greek archaic and classical periods to render complex designs in cloth. Several passages in Euripides' Ion suggest that, in the Greek sphere, these mnemonic devices sometimes took the form of mythological narratives, perhaps even related to the manufacture of cloth representing the very stories used to encode their forms.
“We Live in a Country Where Nothing Makes any Difference”: The Queer Sensibility of A Farewell to Arms
Authors: Moddelmog Debra A.
Published: May 2009

This essay argues that a queer sensibility is central to A Farewell to Arms , underwriting the connections between the characters, including the desire that binds Catherine and Frederic. This sensibility is informed by changing views—some of them quite radical for the time—about marriage, homosexuality, and prostitution, but it also challenges gender and sexual norms of the 1920s and even today. The novel’s emphasis on the queer (defined here as the “anti-normal”) reveals that it seeks to invent new forms of relationships that might outlast the chaos of war and overturn repressive societal dictates regarding sexual expression.
“Eyes the Same Color as the Sea”: Santiago’s Expatriation from Spain and Ethnic Otherness in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
Authors: Herlihy Jeffrey
Published: May 2009

Hemingway often used expatriation as a literary device, yet critics have overlooked the fact that Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is an expatriate. Born in Spain’s Canary Islands, Santiago moved to Cuba as a young man; this circumstance has a significant impact on his social condition. The expatriate protagonist is isolated from his countrymen, ridiculed by his adopted community, and a failure at his chosen profession. To remedy feelings of loss, the old man reminisces about his homeland and adopts Cuban behaviors in language, sport, religion, alcohol consumption, and fishing, among other things. The purpose of his actions is to pass into Cuban society and achieve a new sense of identity. This article uses an
“There Were Many Indians in the Story”: Hidden History in Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”
Authors: Melling Philip
Published: May 2009

The essay considers the importance of hidden history in “Big Two-Hearted River” and what Hemingway may have had in mind in creating a landscape that is white on the surface yet penetrated by Indian presences underneath. Hidden inscriptions of Indianness have to be searched for in the text and are part of an interior landscape in which war and insurrection have an important role to play in explaining how the story is crafted. Hemingway’s knowledge of tribal landscapes and tribal histories, together with his readings in modernist anthropology, underpin a scholarly interest in primitive religion that stayed with him throughout his life.
“I, Also, Am in Michigan”: Pastoralism of Mind in Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”
Authors: O’Brien Sarah Mary
Published: May 2009

This article examines “Big Two-Hearted River” in terms of Leo Marx’s “machine in the garden” theory of American pastoralism. Nick’s reaction to the swamp appears, paradoxically, to position it as the “machine,” or counterforce to the pastoral ideal and the illusion of escape—in Nick’s case, from war. The essay argues that Nick’s own psyche serves as this “machine” because he projects his buried anxieties onto the swamp. The mind as “machine” thus recalls the cyborg theory of Donna Haraway and the mind as “swamp” the ecopoetics of Gary Snyder. Ultimately, the metaphorical conflation of mind, machine, wilderness, and war (the source of Nick’s anxiety), further unsettles the civilization-nature binary that ecocriticism itself seeks to escape.
The Conflict of “Being Gypsy” in For Whom the Bell Tolls
Authors: Murad David
Published: May 2009

In For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), Ernest Hemingway caricatures both Rafael and Pilar as “gypsies” in order to “assimilate” the experience of living in Spain for the American character Robert Jordan and for a Western, non-Romani readership. While this assimilated Spanish experience does not genuinely represent Romani culture or people, it does exemplify very real misconceptions and misappropriations between Romani and non- Romani. Such misconceptions are often espoused and carried through a non-Romani historical and literary tradition, which provides Hemingway with an imaginative blueprint for challenging both Robert Jordan and the novel’s audience with what it means to “be gypsy.”
“A Little Crazy”: Psychiatric Diagnoses of Three Hemingway Women Characters
Authors: Nolan Charles J.
Published: May 2009

Although the psyches of Hemingway’s heroes—Nick Adams, Jake Barnes, Frederic Henry, and all the rest—have been thoroughly analyzed, the psychological state of Hemingway’s women characters has not received similar treatment. In fact, three of the most important Hemingway women suffer from diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Catherine Barkley ( A Farewell to Arms ), Brett Ashley ( The Sun Also Rises ), and Maria ( For Whom the Bell Tolls ) display all-too-real symptoms of emotional illness. An understanding of this aspect of their lives enriches our sense of the struggles they face.
Current Bibliography
Authors: Larson Kelli A.
Published: May 2009

[The current bibliography aspires to include all serious contributions to Hemingway scholarship. Given the substantial quantity of significant critical work appearing on Hemingway’s life and writings annually, inconsequential items from the popular press have been omitted to facilitate the distinction of important developments and trends in the field. Annotations for articles appearing in The Hemingway Review have been omitted due to the immediate availability of abstracts introducing each issue. Kelli Larson welcomes your assistance in keeping this feature current. Please send reprints, clippings, and photocopies of articles, as well as notices of new books, directly to Larson at the University of St. Thomas, 333 JRC, 2115 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105-1096. E-Mail: Kalarson1@stthomas.edu .]
Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and HIV Disparities in Correctional Settings: Practice and Policy Implications for African Americans
Authors: Hatcher Schnavia Smith , Toldson Ivory A. , Godette Dionne C. , Richardson Joseph B.
Published: May 2009

Mental health challenges, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS disproportionately affect Black people in correctional settings. Culturally responsive practice and equitable policy is predicated upon research that explores the burden, prevalence, and mortality of these public health concerns on the health and social well-being of African Americans in the correctional setting. This paper has three sections: (1) mental health; (2) substance abuse; and (3) HIV/AIDS. Each section summarizes current treatment issues unique to correctional settings, and provides recommendations for enhancing programs and policy to meet the needs of Black people who have been arrested, detained, incarcerated, paroled, or released. Further, we make recommendations for how interdisciplinary researchers and health care/treatment providers can engage in science-guided advocacy to address these issues and reduce related disparities experienced by people of African ancestry.
Disadvantages in Mental Health Care among African Americans
Authors: Holden Kisha Braithwaite , Xanthos Clare
Published: May 2009

African Americans experience mental health disadvantages relative to European Americans with respect to financial barriers, barriers to help seeking, and poorer quality services. This paper provides an overview of these mental health inequalities, and offers recommendations for addressing them.
A Descriptive Analysis of State Legislation and Policy Addressing Clinical Trials Participation
Authors: Baquet Claudia R. , Mishra Shiraz I. , Weinberg Armin D.
Published: May 2009

Objectives . This report describes state policy and legislation related to clinical trials participation and Maryland’s model to enhance clinical trial availability and participation.
Methods . Descriptive review of state policy and legislation related to coverage for clinical trials costs based on data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) State Cancer Legislative Database, the American Cancer Society, and NCI; additionally, discussion of Maryland’s comprehensive multilevel clinical trial model comprising policy initiatives, community engagement, research, education, and infrastructure support.
Results . Twenty-four states have mandated clinical trial coverage through specific legislation or agreements since 1994. Covered benefits varied among the states.
Conclusions . Besides cost and insurance barriers, there is a need to address important patient, physician and researcher, and structural barriers to clinical trial participation. Maryland provides a comprehensive model to address the multi-faceted clinical trial participation determinants as it tracks state and federal policy, documents trial barriers, and conducts community education.
Transient Populations: Linking HIV, Migrant Workers, and South African Male Inmates
Authors: Essuon Aba D. , Simmons David S. , Stephens Torrance T. , Richter Donna , Lindley Lisa L. , Braithwaite Ronald L.
Published: May 2009

Risk factors associated with the spread of HIV are common among South Africa’s transient populations—migrant workers and prisoners. Social ills in South Africa have yielded a growing transient population. Importantly, the migrant workers and prisoners in this population are likely to subscribe to masculine beliefs. Migrants have proven to be an effective bridge in the spread of HIV from high-risk to low-risk populations. Although a relationship between the populations has yet to be established, the circumstances of migrant camps are similar to those of prison camps. Given the high levels of HIV in South Africa and the parallels between migrants (a population whose great HIV threat to the general community has already been established) and prisoners, the integration of former male inmates into the community may pose serious public health concerns.
Eating as a Cultural Expression of Caring among Afro-Caribbean and African American Women: Understanding the Cultural Dimensions of Obesity
Authors: Bramble Joy , Cornelius Llewellyn Joseph , Simpson Gaynell
Published: May 2009

Background . Previous studies focused on obesity and weight management have ignored the cultural uniqueness of Afro-Caribbean individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine the cultural context for notions of good health and health practices, and perception of obesity and weight management, among African American and Caribbean American women.
Methods . Four focus groups of Afro-Caribbean and African American women (age 40 and older) were conducted between May and July of 2007 to explore cultural factors related to physical activity, healthy eating and weight management.
Results . Cultural variation was observed among Afro-Caribbean and African American woman in terms of indigenous traditions of food and food preparation, and perceptions of obesity.
Conclusions . In the development of community-based interventions to counter trends towards obesity among people of African descent, it may be important not to assume that ‘one size fits all’ cultures.
A Comprehensive Examination of the Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors of Students Attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Authors: Hayes Brenda D. , Holliday Rhonda Conerly , Wade Bruce H. , Trawick Cynthia , Hodge Michael , Caplan Lee , Younge Sinead , Quarshie Alexander , Satcher David
Published: May 2009

There is limited information about African American students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the areas of health behavior, health knowledge, and attitudes. To fill this gap, a comprehensive examination of first-year students was undertaken at a consortium of HBCUs. A non-random sample of 1,115 freshmen were administered a survey that assessed several domains including: (1) demographics, (2) general health, (3) smoking habits, (4) disease risk, (5) weight perception, (6) physical activity, (7) perceived stress, (8) eating habits, (9) social support, (10) personal/family medical history, (11) leadership, (12) domestic violence, (13) substance use, and (14) sexual behavior. In general, most students knew about health behaviors and disease risk. Areas that warrant further exploration include physical activity, sexual behavior, and drug use. The analyses provide key information for health education and prevention.
Increasing Pap Smear Utilization among Samoan Women: Results from a Community Based Participatory Randomized Trial
Authors: Mishra Shiraz I. , Luce Pat H. , Baquet Claudia R.
Published: May 2009

Background . We tested the effectiveness of a theory-guided, culturally tailored cervical cancer education program designed to increase Pap smear use among Samoan women residing in the U.S. Territory of American Samoa.
Methods . We used a two-group, pretest-posttest design. The sample comprised 398 Samoan women age 20 and older recruited from Samoan churches. Women in the intervention group received a culturally tailored cervical cancer education program in three weekly sessions. The primary outcome was self-reported receipt of a Pap smear.
Results . Overall, there was a significant intervention effect, with intervention compared with control group women twice (adjusted odds ratio = 2.0, 95% confidence interval = 1.3–3.2, p<.01) as likely to self-report Pap smear use at the posttest.
Conclusions . The findings support the efficacy of the multifaceted, theory-guided, culturally tailored community-based participatory cervical cancer education program for Samoan women in effecting positive changes in Pap smear use and cervical cancer related knowledge and attitudes.
Health Disadvantages in Colorectal Cancer Screening Among African Americans: Considering the Cultural Context of Narrative Health Promotion
Authors: Robillard Alyssa G. , Larkey Linda
Published: May 2009

African Americans are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to develop colorectal cancer (CRC) and to die as a result. Factors such as age, family history, income, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding screening are important predictors of risk, and multiple factors may contribute to poor CRC outcomes for African Americans. Although screening is not the only factor associated with CRC outcomes, it may be one of the more important and modifiable risk factors for African Americans. Few programs have utilized narrative approaches to promote cancer screening among African Americans. None have focused on CRC screening. The purpose of this discussion is to review factors associated with CRC incidence, late detection and mortality among African Americans with emphasis on screening to improve CRC-related outcomes, and to discuss narrative health promotion as a culturally appropriate means for eliminating the disparities in CRC-related outcomes between African Americans and other racial/ethnic groups.
Analysis of Maryland Cancer Patient Participation in National Cancer Institute–Supported Cancer Treatment Clinical Trials
Authors: Baquet Claudia R. , Ellison Gary L. , Mishra Shiraz I.
Published: May 2009

Purpose . We examined the relationship of sociodemographic factors, urban/rural residence, and county-level socioeconomic factors on accrual of Maryland patients with cancer to National Cancer Institute (NCI)–sponsored cancer treatment clinical trials.
Patients and Methods . Data were analyzed for the period 1999 to 2002 for 2,240 Maryland patients with cancer accrued onto NCI-sponsored treatment trials. The extent to which Maryland patients with cancer and patients residing in lower socioeconomic and/or rural areas were accrued to cancer trials and were representative of all patients with cancer in Maryland was determined. Data were obtained from several sources, including NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program for Maryland patients with cancer in Cooperative Group therapeutic trials, Maryland Cancer Registry data on cancer incidence, and United States Census and the Department of Agriculture.
Results . For Maryland patients with cancer accrued onto NCI-sponsored treatment trials between 1999 and 2002, subgroups accrued at a higher rate included pediatric and adolescent age groups, white patients, female patients (for sex-specific tumors), patients with private health insurance, and patients residing in the Maryland National Capitol region. Moreover, between 1999 and 2002, there was an estimated annual decline (8.9% per year; P<.05) in the percentage of black patients accrued onto cancer treatment trials. Logistic regression models uncovered different patterns of accrual for female patients and male patients on county-level socioeconomic factors.
Conclusion . Results highlight disparities in the accrual of Maryland patients with cancer onto NCIsponsored treatment trials based on patient age, race/ethnicity, geography of residence, and county-level socioeconomic factors. Findings provide the basis for development of innovative tailored and targeted educational efforts to improve trial accrual, particularly for the underserved.
Business and Human Rights at the UN: What Might Happen Next?
Authors: Jerbi Scott
Published: May 2009

Debates concerning corporate social and environmental responsibilities at the intergovernmental level have a long and complex history within the United Nations. The latest chapter in that history is the 2005 creation of an expert mandate on business and human rights. The mandate is emerging as the focal point for shaping thinking and potential future action in this field. This article examines recent developments on the subject of business and human rights and reflects on possible future actions that could be taken in this area over the coming years.
How “Transitions” Reshaped Human Rights: A Conceptual History of Transitional Justice
Authors: Arthur Paige
Published: May 2009

This article clarifies the origins of the field of transitional justice and its preliminary conceptual boundaries. I argue that the field began to emerge in the late 1980s, as a consequence of new practical conditions that human rights activists faced in countries such as Argentina, where authoritarian regimes had been replaced by more democratic ones. The turn away from “naming and shaming” and toward accountability for past abuse among human rights activists was taken up at the international level, where the focus on political change as “transition to democracy” helped to legitimate those claims to justice that prioritized legal-institutional reforms and responses—such as punishing leaders, vetting abusive security forces, and replacing state secrecy with truth and transparency—over other claims to justice that were oriented toward social justice and redistribution. I end by discussing the many ways in which these initial conceptual boundaries have since been tested and expanded.
Economic Rights and Political Decision Making
Authors: Minkler Lanse
Published: May 2009

Economic rights can be instantiated in a variety of ways. This article investigates the problem associated with making economic rights into policy through one source: the political policymaker. By considering the policymaker’s decision problem, we can identify particular decision flaws and possible corrective measures that might prompt economic rights instantiation through “enlightened self-interest.” A complementary approach involves constitutionalizing economic rights as directive principles and enforceable law, which could work somewhat independently of the policymaker’s preferences and/or beliefs. The final part of the article examines a sample of actual constitutions to determine whether government effort toward fulfilling economic rights is related with constitutionalization. The evidence considered here suggests a positive relationship: countries with better economic rights provisions in their constitutions demonstrate greater economic rights effort.
Human Rights in Literary Studies
Authors: Dawes James
Published: May 2009

This article examines the state of the field in literature and human rights and, more generally, analyzes the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. It gives special attention to the paradox of representing suffering: namely, that speaking for others is both a way of rescuing and usurping the other’s voice. The use of individual narratives depicting inhumane treatment is important in supporting the human rights regime, which in the long run may limit suffering, but such narratives may also cause further suffering for the victim whose story is told.
Arendt’s Children: Do Today’s Migrant Children Have a Right to Have Rights?
Authors: Bhabha Jacqueline
Published: May 2009

Large numbers of child migrants today—here referred to as “Arendt’s children”—are functionally stateless, whether or not they have a legal nationality. The fundamental rights to protection, family life, education, and health care that these children have, in theory, under international law are unenforceable in practice. Moreover, their access to state entities willing and able to protect them is tenuous at best. This article surveys the obstacles to rights enforcement across a range of jurisdictions and contexts. It argues that, given their disenfranchised and precarious situation, these children have a stronger claim than has so far been acknowledged to effective advocacy and enforcement of their human rights within the states where they live.
Through the Window of Opportunity: The Transitional Justice Network in Peru
Authors: Root Rebecca K.
Published: May 2009

While scholars have focused on the rise of political “outsiders” to the presidency, human rights actors can also take advantage of the window of opportunity produced by regime change as a means of inserting themselves into the state in order to achieve crucial elements of their agenda. The Peruvian case indicates how a human rights network did so from 2000 to 2001, quickly implementing such aspects of their agenda as overturning amnesty laws, holding a truth commission, and initiating prosecutions for members of the armed forces implicated in human rights violations. It also demonstrates some of the long-term obstacles to maintaining the momentum for reform.
Into the Abyss: Mortality and Morbidity Among Detained Immigrants
Authors: Venters Homer , Dasch-Goldberg Dana , Rasmussen Andrew , Keller Allen S.
Published: May 2009

The lack of transparency in immigration detention in the United States has contributed to serious concerns about the fate of immigrants who are detained in the United States and require medical care. In particular, deficiencies in initial screening, chronic disease management (including referral to outside care), and pain management of detainees have been identified by numerous governmental and nongovernmental groups. We have identified a number of detainee deaths and poor medical outcomes that are related to substandard medical care and suggest system-wide problems in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) health care. This article provides an overview of the current ICE health care system, presents four cases of detainee deaths and independent reporting of similar systemic problems, and recommends several specific changes to the ICE health care system.
What is Global Justice and Who Decides?: Civil Society and Victim Responses to the International Criminal Court’s First Investigations
Authors: Glasius Marlies
Published: May 2009

As a new institution, the International Criminal Court needs to gain legitimacy not just with states, but also in global civil society. This article surveys current debates in civil society about whether the interests of the victims are being served and whether justice is being done, in relation to the ICC’s current investigations. It will discuss the most salient sources of debate and controversy under four headings: perceived selectivity or even bias of the Court, whether ICC investigations are detrimental to peace-building efforts, the detachment of the Court from the lived reality of local populations and victims, and the issue of compensation to victims.
Meat and the Millennium: Transnational Politics of Race and Gender in Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats
Authors: Cheng Emily
Published: May 2009

"Meat and the Millennium" examines U.S. millennial discourses of race, gender and family in Ruth Ozeki's 1998 novel, My Year of Meats . This article focuses on the construction of family as a site of domestication of U.S. 1990s liberal ideologies of multicultural diversity and liberal feminism. It grounds the narration of American womanhood as a model for Japanese women at the turn of the millennium in the history of the role of feminist discourses in the post-World War II U.S. occupation of Japan.
Food, Culinary Identity, and Transnational Culture: Chinese Restaurant Business in Southern California
Authors: Liu Haiming , Lin Lianlian
Published: May 2009

This article examines how restaurant business in southern California reflects the social background, life style, and ethnic identity of the post-1965 Chinese immigrants. Instead of wholesale assimilation, Chinese immigrants have maintained some cultural traditions such as food. With restaurants, grocery stores, and ethnic strip malls visibly congregated in the San Gabriel Valley, their transnational identity is no longer an abstract idea but a solid and tangible reality. Food culture of contemporary Chinese Americans brings out a seemingly paradoxical outcome of immigrant adaptation. It is possible and increasingly preferred for many immigrants to maintain their Chinese ethnicity while becoming American.
Thai American Middle-Classness: Forging Alliances with Whites and Cultivating Patronage from Thailand's Elite
Authors: Bao Jiemin
Published: May 2009

This essay explores how Thai transmigrants practice middle-classness by forging alliances with middle-class Whites and cultivating patronage from elites in Thailand. It suggests that simultaneously engaging with local and transnational networks and two sets of cultural codes have become defining characteristics of Thai American middle-class practices. Such practices challenge equating social categories with social groups, deconstruct the false "two Buddhisms" dichotomy, and show that Thai Americans experience greater structural limitations in the United States than in Thailand, as the effects of racialized identity politics and the asymmetrical positions which Thailand and the United States occupy in the global power structure.
An Analysis of Export Performance and Economic Growth of Malaysia Using Co-Integraton and Error Correction Models
Authors: Sulaiman Muna , Saad Norma Md.
Published: May 2009

This paper aims to test the relationship between export and economic growth in the Malaysian economy from 1960 to 2005. Combining production function, and international trade and development theories, a five variable model is specified and estimated by using cointegration tests and error correction model. Multivariate cointegration results revealed that there exists a single cointegrating vector in the estimated system. This means that these variables are linked together in achieving their steady state equilibrium in the long run. From the estimation of the specified model, we reported that there is a positive relationship between export and economic growth in the long run and short run at 5 percent significance level in the Malaysian economy. Besides, our results suggest that capital has positive impacts on economic growth in the short-term and long-term but labor has an impact on economic growth only in the long run. For imports, it is proven that it has a negative relationship with economic growth.
Do Stock Markets Matter in Investment Growth in Africa?
Authors: Adjasi Charles K.D. , Biekpe Nicholas
Published: May 2009

The paper investigates the effect of stock market prices on investment growth using dynamic panel data analysis of selected African countries. In line with theoretical expectations investment responds positively to increases in stock prices. Further analysis based on interaction terms reveals that the sensitivity of investment to stock prices increases with stock market development. The paper also finds that even without the inclusion of the most sophisticated market-South Africa, the positive relationship between investment and stock market prices continues to exist in the smaller markets. The findings underscore the importance of stock markets to investment formation in Africa.
Income Distribution and Economic Growth: The Case of Brazil
Authors: Matins-Bekat Camila , Kulkarni Kishore G.
Published: May 2009

In a perfect world, it will be great if the growth can be distributed equally and all poverty is removed simultaneously. Unfortunately, as Simon Kuznets has pointed out, economic growth is rarely distributed equally, in fact, according to him, economic growth initially leads to higher income inequality of income, as some sectors grow faster and some do not grow at all. In this paper, we apply the Kuznets hypothesis to the Brazilian case. Our test shows that in case of Brazil, the Gini coefficient has in fact behaved as Kuznets predicted.
The Sustainability of Export-Led Growth: The Singaporean Experience
Authors: Mahadevan Renuka
Published: May 2009

This paper revisits the highly debated export-led growth hypothesis in a number of different ways using Singapore as a case study. First, the hypothesis is tested in terms of labor and total factor productivity growth and this provides a means of transmission via which exports can affect or be affected by GDP growth. Considering the impact of imports on GDP growth and productivity growth serve a similar purpose. The robustness of the relationships is checked using two different models given by a multivariate error correction model and the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) causality tests. These results have major implications and are necessary to reassess the effectiveness of trade policy as a strategy for economic development.
Augmented Quantity Theory of Money and Bangladesh Taka – U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate Dynamics
Authors: Banerjee Prashanta K. , Rahman Matiur
Published: May 2009

This paper studies the dynamics of the Taka-U.S.Dollar exchange rate for Bangladesh by augmenting the Quantity Theory of Money. The standard cointegration methodology (Engle and Granger, 1987) is employed in addition to the ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) procedure. The ADF and KPSS tests reveal data nonstationarity, but with different orders of integration. As a result, the ARDL procedure is invoked following (Peseran et al., 2001) to search for cointegrating relationship among the variables. On the evidence of cointegration, the vector error- correction model (VECM) is estimated. The negative sign of the coefficient of the error-correction term and its statistical significance in terms of the associated t –value confirm unidirectional causal flow from broad money supply and real GDP to Taka-U.S.Dollar exchange rate and long-run convergence with short–run interactive feedback effects. Furthermore, impulse response analyses are performed for additional visual insights.