bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short, Simple, and Specific: The Influence of Item Design Characteristics in Multi‐Source Assessment Contexts
Authors: Brutus Stéphane , Facteau Jeffrey
Published: December 2003

The present study investigates the impact of item characteristics on multi‐source performance assessment. Three item characteristics (syntax, double‐barreledness, & behavioral specificity) were linked to the psychometric properties of items used by self, subordinates, peers, and supervisors as operationalized by the relationship between the item and the performance dimension it is intended to measure. Results show that syntax, a linguistic index that pertains to the length of items, is related to the psychometric properties of all rating sources except subordinates. The implications of this effect for the design of multi‐source assessment instrument are discussed.
Complex Relationships Among Personality Traits, Job Characteristics, and Work Behaviors
Authors: Van den berg Peter T. , Feij Jan A.
Published: December 2003

The aim of the study was to investigate the additive, mediating, and moderating effects of personality traits and job characteristics on work behaviors. Job applicants (N=161) completed personality questionnaires measuring extraversion, neuroticism, achievement motivation, and experience seeking. One and a half years later, supervisors rated the applicants' job performance, and the job incumbents completed questionnaires about skill variety, autonomy, and feedback, work stress, job satisfaction, work self‐efficacy, and propensity to leave. LISREL was used to test 15 hypotheses. Perceived feedback mediated the relationship between achievement motivation and job performance. Extraversion predicted work self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. Work stress mediated the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and experience seeking were related to propensity to leave. Autonomy, skill variety, and feedback were related to job satisfaction.
Management issues relating to the European eel, Anguilla anguilla
Authors: Starkie A.
Published: December 2003

In many European countries there is growing concern over reduced recruitment and catches of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.). Evidence of the decline, together with possible reasons for the changes as detailed by various authors, are reviewed. It is suggested that the problems need to be addressed now and on various levels. Proposals for management actions, as outlined by the Environment Agency for England and Wales, are summarized by way of example.
Did lack of spawners cause the collapse of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla?
Authors: Dekker W.
Published: December 2003

Since the 1980s, a 90% decline in recruitment of European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), has occurred across most of Europe. Whether the continental stock has equally declined is uncertain. This study compiles available landings statistics since the beginning of the 20th century and identifies trends over time and space, using a statistical model that takes varying levels of reporting into account. Landings in the pre‐1940s reached over 40 000 tonnes yr−1, declined during World War II, rose to a peak of 40 000 tonnes yr−1 in the 1960s (coincident with a peak in re‐stocking) and dropped to an all time low of <20 000 tonnes yr−1 in the 1990s. The decline in recruitment since the early 1980s was preceded by a decline in landings two or more decades earlier, indicating a decline of the continental stock. Considering the continental stock and the spawning stock must have declined in parallel, insufficient spawning stock biomass might have caused the recruitment collapse currently observed.
The impact of Anguillicola crassus on European eels
Authors: Kirk R. S.
Published: December 2003

The impact of the parasitic swimbladder nematode, Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi & Itagaki, on European eel populations is assessed with reference to published research on its origin and rapid dissemination, life cycle and transmission dynamics, and its pathogenic effect. The parasite was originally endemic to East Asia, but has transferred from its native host, the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica Temminck & Schlegel, to the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.) and American eel, Anguilla rostrata (Le Seur). Anguillicola crassus is a very successful colonizer and is now known to occur in four continents (Asia, Europe, Africa and America). The nematode can severely impair swimbladder function and has caused mortalities in both farmed and wild populations in the presence of other stressors. Anguillicola crassus may impair the capacity of European eels to complete the spawning migration, although direct evidence is not available to support this hypothesis. Areas for future research are recommended.
Regional citrate anticoagulation during simulated treatments of sustained low efficiency diafiltration
Authors: MARSHALL Mark R , MA Tian M , EGGLETON Kathryn , FERENCZ Andy
Published: December 2003

SUMMARY:  Renal replacement therapy is frequently required for critically ill patients with a high risk of bleeding. Conventional heparinization strategies to prevent extracorporeal blood circuit clotting can cause significant haemorrhage in such patients because of systemic anticoagulation. Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) is a well‐established technique that minimizes this complication by the decalcification of blood in the extracorporeal circuit such that it is incapable of clotting. To date, there are no reports on the use of RCA for sustained low‐efficiency dialysis/diafiltration (SLED), a hybrid therapy that involves the use of conventional haemodialysis machinery to deliver lower solute clearances over prolonged periods of time. In preparation for clinical study, an in vitro simulation of SLED was devised (blood substitute flow 250 mL/min, dialysate flow 200 mL/min, predilution haemofiltration 100 mL/min). Blood substitute was decalcified by an infusion of 4% trisodium citrate (TSC) proximally into the extracorporeal blood circuit, with partial restoration of calcium homeostasis from dialysate containing ionized [Ca2+] at 0.9 mmol/L. This simulation was used to establish first the 4% TSC requirement for therapeutic decalcification, and second the associated changes in ionized [Ca2+] and [Mg2+] within the blood substitute from chelation with citrate and subsequent removal of the resulting divalent cation‐citrate complex. Serial measurements of blood substitute [Ca2+] from strategic points along the extracorporeal circuit showed therapeutic decalcification was not achieved with 4% TSC infusion rates up to 400 mL/h, and extrapolation of experimental results suggests that 450 mL/h will be required. Under these conditions, ionized [Ca2+] and [Mg2+] in the blood substitute venous return and would be 0.42 and 0.2 mmol/L, respectively, with 0.35 mmol of citrate being returned per minute via the blood substitute venous return. These results were modelled for various changes in SLED operating parameters, and discussed in detail. An appropriate regimen for 4% TSC infusion and divalent cation replacement is proposed for clinical study in the future.
Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease in renal disease
Authors: AUSTEN Simon K , COOMBES Jeff S , FASSETT Rob G
Published: December 2003

SUMMARY: Elevated homocysteine (hyperhomocysteinaemia) in renal patients is a major concern for physicians. Although cause and effect between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been established in either the general population or renal patients, there is much evidence that this relationship does exist. Purported mechanisms that may explain this effect include increases in endothelial injury, smooth muscle cell proliferation, low‐density lipoprotein oxidation and changes in haemostatic balance. Renal patients have a much greater incidence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and this may be explained by decreases in either the renal or extrarenal metabolism of the compound. We conclude that data from long‐term placebo‐controlled trials are urgently required to determine whether hyperhomocysteinaemia in renal patients is a cause of CVD events and requires therapeutic targeting.
Prevalence of vascular risk factors and vascular disease in predialysis chronic renal failure
Authors: KOHLHAGEN Johanna , KELLY John
Published: December 2003

SUMMARY:  Patients with end‐stage renal disease have a high mortality, with the majority of deaths due to vascular disease. The prevalence of vascular risk factors and vascular disease in predialysis chronic renal failure (CRF) is poorly characterized. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of vascular risk factors and clinically overt vascular disease in an Australian cohort of patients with predialysis CRF. We performed a retrospective chart review of outpatients with CRF and noted demographic data, the cause of renal failure, the presence or otherwise of vascular risk factors and vascular disease and calculated glomerular filtration rate. The prevalence of overt vascular disease and modifiable vascular risk factors was calculated. One hundred and eighty patients completed the study. Eighty‐nine per cent of patients had hypertension, 68% had dyslipidaemia, 32% were diabetic and 38% were previous smokers. The subgroup with diabetic nephropathy had significantly more risk factors (P < 0.001) than other groups. Twenty‐seven per cent of the group had cardiovascular disease, 22% had cerebrovascular disease, 23% had peripheral vascular disease and 9% had renal artery stenosis. Patients with ischaemic nephropathy had significantly more vascular disease than other groups (P < 0.001). Patients with overt vascular disease were older, had a higher number of risk factors and a higher calcium phosphate product than those without vascular disease. In conclusion, the present study suggests a high prevalence of vascular risk factors and vascular disease in predialysis CRF. Early detection provides an opportunity for early intervention and may help reduce the development of vascular disease, and the associated mortality, once these patients progress to dialysis.
Peritoneoscopic peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion
Authors: KELLY Jean , MCNAMARA Kim , MAY Steve
Published: December 2003

SUMMARY:  Peritoneal dialysis catheters can be placed under local anaesthesia using a peritoneoscope. Although this procedure has been shown to be equal, if not superior, to surgical placement in a number of trials, the technique is not widely used. The procedure can be performed safely by a nephrologist, as a day case, at the convenience of both the patient and the renal service. In the present retrospective study, we present 3 years of experience using peritoneoscopic catheter insertion in a rural setting.
Addition of sertraline to other therapies to reduce dialysis‐associated hypotension
Authors: BREWSTER Ursula C , CIAMPI Marc A , ABU‐ALFA Ali K , PERAZELLA Mark A
Published: December 2003

SUMMARY:  Sertraline has shown promise in the treatment of dialysis‐associated hypotension (DAH) in a limited number of end‐stage renal disease patients. We undertook a study to evaluate the effect of adding sertraline to other therapies for patients with documented DAH. We also measured the effect of sertraline on intradialytic haemodynamics. We used the ultrasound dilution technique (HD01 monitor) to measure cardiac output (CO), central blood volume (CBV) and peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) in these patients. The study was performed in two phases. Phase 1 was a control, while the second phase consisted of treatment with sertraline (50 mg/day). Cardiac output and central blood volume were measured 30 min following the initiation of dialysis and 30 min prior to the termination of dialysis. Blood pressure (BP) was monitored during haemodynamic measurements and throughout dialysis. Eighteen patients with documented DAH completed the study. Cardiac output, CBV and PVR were no different in the sertraline phase as compared with the control phase. The declines in systolic BP, diastolic BP and mean arterial pressures from pre‐haemodialysis (HD) to lowest intradialytic and pre‐HD to post‐HD were not significantly different for the sertraline phase versus the control phase. In conclusion, it appears that sertraline has no additive effect on intradialytic haemodynamics to improve blood pressure in patients with DAH who are under therapy (with sodium modelling, cool dialysate and midodrine).
Change and Continuity in Youth Transitions in Eastern Europe: Lessons for Western Sociology
Authors: Roberts Ken
Published: December 2003

This paper argues that the evidence from research among young people in post-communist countries vindicates and should consolidate confidence in the Western sociology of youth's conventional transitions paradigm which seeks links between social origins, routes and destinations. Contrary to claims about postmodern fluidity, individualisation, and a blurring of traditional structural boundaries, the expected links between origins, routes and destinations have persisted throughout the transformation of the former communist countries. The relevant evidence also confirms the primacy of education-to-work and family/housing life stage transitions. Other aspects of young people's lives – their uses of leisure, levels and patterns of social and political participation, and socio-political attitudes, for example – become meaningful and explicable only when set in the context of the routes that individuals' lives have taken, and the stages that they have reached, vis-à-vis their school-to-work and family and housing transitions. The paper proceeds to argue that the exceptionally thorough changes that are still in process in East-Central Europe and the former USSR reveal with exceptional clarity the processes whereby young people's life chances are structured in ways that are not of the individuals' own making. It has been, and it remains, possible to observe how young adults learn from their own youth life stage transition experiences and, where applicable, use the assets that they acquire or retain, to advantage their own children thereby structuring the opportunities that confront all members of subsequent cohorts of young people. Finally, it is argued that the sociological approach being advocated is uniquely able to use the evidence from young people as a window through which to identify the impact of the ongoing macro-changes in former communist countries among different socio-demographic groups in the wider populations.
Chance and Societal Change
Authors: Mattausch John
Published: December 2003

This article advances a theory of societal change I am developing: rather than the usual pseudo-evolutionary view which presents each phase of societal change as supplanting its predecessor, I argue that societal change is accumulative in character and that in this process of accumulation chance may play a part. In the first part of the article, using the historically important example of the British rise to paramountcy in Gujarat (now a state in northern India) as a case study, I show that the interventions of chance in this historical episode is undeniable. In the second part, I examine the contemporaneous reactions of historians and others to the British rise to paramountcy and their suppression of chance, then I examine key reasons why chance became obscured in sociological writings and in most present-day evolutionary biological studies of human behaviour. I argue that there is no single, uniform essence of chanciness, that chance events bear a family resemblance, and that the Gujarati case study permits the identification of several sibling forms, two of which are theoretically illuminated, with some qualifications, by the writings of Raymond Boudon and Jared Diamond. I conclude that while there is more theoretical work required to distinguish and accommodate other forms of chance, nonetheless, it is time chance was rehabilitated because its readmittance into the disciplinary fold will not exclude sociological explanations, but it will help to avoid the unsavoury consequences of neglecting the topic whose exclusion is both empirically and theoretically unjustified.
Twenty-First Century Dis-Ease? Habitual Reflexivity Or the Reflexive Habitus
Authors: Sweetman Paul
Published: December 2003

While certain theorists have suggested that identity is increasingly reflexive, such accounts are arguably problematised by Bourdieu's concept of habitus, which – in pointing to the ‘embeddedness’ of our dispositions and tastes – suggests that identity may be less susceptible to reflexive intervention than theorists such as Giddens have implied. This paper does not dispute this so much as suggest that, for increasing numbers of contemporary individuals, reflexivity itself may have become habitual, and that for those possessing a flexible or reflexive habitus, processes of self-refashioning may be ‘second nature’ rather than difficult to achieve. The paper concludes by examining some of the wider implications of this argument, in relation not only to identity projects, but also to fashion and consumption, patterns of exclusion, and forms of alienation or estrangement, the latter part of this section suggesting that those displaying a reflexive habitus, whilst at a potential advantage in certain respects, may also face considerable difficulties simply ‘being themselves’.
Marrying the Social and the Biological? a Rejoinder to Newton
Authors: Williams Simon J.
Published: December 2003

Marrying the biological and the social raises a complex series of issues that defy easy answer or simple resolution. In this brief rejoinder to Newton's (2003) recent paper in this journal – ‘Truly embodied sociology: marrying the social and the biological?‘– I take up some of these issues through: (i) a restatement of my own position in these debates and the broader sociological context within which it is located; (ii) a discussion of various problems and tensions within Newton's own critique of this ‘nascent material-corporeal’ project to date. Newton's paper, it is concluded, is a welcome, timely and topical contribution to these (evolving) debates, though any such ‘dispute’ is probably more apparent than real: a case, in short, of reinforcing arguments about the complexity of these relations and the consequent need to ‘tread warily’.
Satisfaction with Health Care and Community Esteem Among Rural Women
Authors: Bettencourt B. Ann , Molix Lisa
Published: December 2003

The present study examines the ways in which satisfaction with health care may be associated with the lives of rural women. One hundred thirty one rural women between the ages of 45 and 70 years completed measures of community esteem, life satisfaction, satisfaction with health care, health status, and mood. The results showed that rural women's satisfaction with their health care was associated with the extent to which they hold their community in esteem and their degree of life satisfaction. Moreover, women who had poor health were less satisfied with the available health care than were healthier women. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the well‐being of rural communities in general.
Personal and Contextual Factors Supporting the Switch to Transit Use: Evaluating a Natural Transit Intervention
Authors: Brown Barbara B. , Werner Carol M. , Kim Naree
Published: December 2003

U.S. communities are becoming increasingly automobile dependent, with car use embedded in U.S. policies, practices, and preferences. To encourage transit use, transit systems too will require supporting policies, practices, and preferences. Light rail is currently enjoying some supportive policies, but research is just beginning to explore how psychological experiences might help support a switch to rail use.

We propose a transactional approach to behavior change in which societal, physical environmental, and inter‐ and intrapersonal factors combine to support a new behavior. We illustrate this perspective at a university host site for the 2002 Olympics, where temporary parking shortages, the opening of a new light‐rail transit line, and an outreach program enhanced the attractiveness of transit. Transit use was maintained by psychological satisfactions such as enjoyment of productive and pleasant activities during the ride, positive evaluations of the service qualities of light rail, and the view that light rail enhanced city livability. Results support the transactional approach and suggest directions for actions in transit promotion, environmentalism, and urban design.
What Happens When Authoritarians Inherit the Earth? A Simulation
Authors: Altemeyer Bob
Published: December 2003

Two runs of a futuristic simulation involving introductory psychology students were held on successive nights. On one night, “Earth” was populated entirely by right‐wing authoritarian followers; on the second night, a small number of dominating authoritarians were included among a second group of authoritarian followers. With a few notable exceptions (e.g., nuclear war did not break out), the future evolved as anticipated on the two evenings. In general, authoritarians produced dismal futures, beset by unemployment, famine, and disease.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Politicized Psychology
Authors: Mullen Elizabeth , Bauman Christopher W. , Skitka Linda J.
Published: December 2003

This article provides two arguments for using caution when interpreting the results of a Global Change Game simulation indicating that people high in right‐wing authoritarianism are particularly likely to bring the world to ruin. First, we review research that demonstrates that extremists on both the political left and right share characteristics likely to be associated with poor performance in the Global Change Game (e.g., lower levels of integrative complexity) and that there are reasons to be cautious about letting political extremists on either the left or right inherit the earth. Second, we caution that political psychologists need to be aware of how their own values shape the types of research they conduct and the inferences they draw from that research and that the same results can be construed very differently depending on the lens through which they are viewed.
Simulating History: The Problem of Contingency
Authors: Mandel David R.
Published: December 2003

Simulations of world history, like the real thing, are complex systems whose outcomes most often (if not always) constitute highly contingent events. Rarely (if ever) will researchers be able to find unqualified main effects that explain important outcome measures that affect the security and prosperity of the world community. The problem of contingency for testing hypotheses about the causes of certain types of outcomes (e.g., mass killing, starvation, economic collapse) from only a few simulations of history is discussed with reference to the Global Change Game simulation reported by Altemeyer (2003).
Understanding Leaders of Repressive Social Movements
Authors: Duncan Lauren E.
Published: December 2003

Researchers studying right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) have discussed the need to distinguish authoritarian followers from leaders. Altemeyer's (2003) studies raise several issues about political leadership in the real world. First, are most leaders of authoritarian social movements high on both RWA and social dominance (SDO)? Second, is it possible to be an authoritarian leader of a repressive social movement without being high on SDO? Third, it would be useful to develop techniques to assess SDO at a distance. Fourth, what roles do the psychological motives of need for power, need for affiliation and intimacy, and need for responsibility play in motivating leadership behavior in high SDO leaders? Finally, does social dominance exist in countries with non–Western value systems? Understanding the psychology of leaders of repressive social movements may help us develop ways to limit access to the power they crave and to mitigate the damage that they do.
Authoritarianism and Methodological Innovation
Authors: Peterson Bill E.
Published: December 2003

Altemeyer (2003) used the Global Change Game (GCG) to examine leadership tactics among those scoring high on authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. His innovative approach to studying the global consequences of following such leaders produced results consistent with years of research on both variables. As the world becomes more interconnected through globalization, future simulations such as the GCG may provide insight into how authoritarianism and social dominance orientation might manifest in different regions of the world.
Reflections on the Statistical Analysis of Personality and Norms in War, Peace, and Prejudice: Are Deviant Minorities the Problem?
Authors: Louis Winnifred R. , Mavor Kenneth I. , Terry Deborah J.
Published: December 2003

The compelling quality of the Global Change simulation study (Altemeyer, 2003), in which high RWA (right‐wing authoritarianism)/high SDO (social dominance orientation) individuals produced poor outcomes for the planet, rests on the inference that the link between high RWA/SDO scores and disaster in the simulation can be generalized to real environmental and social situations. However, we argue that studies of the Person × Situation interaction are biased to overestimate the role of the individual variability. When variables are operationalized, strongly normative items are excluded because they are skewed and kurtotic. This occurs both in the measurement of predictor constructs, such as RWA, and in the outcome constructs, such as prejudice and war. Analyses of normal linear statistics highlight personality variables such as RWA, which produce variance, and overlook the role of norms, which produce invariance. Where both normative and personality forces are operating, as in intergroup contexts, the linear analysis generates statistics for the sample that disproportionately reflect the behavior of the deviant, antinormative minority and direct attention away from the baseline, normative position. The implications of these findings for the link between high RWA and disaster are discussed.
The Division of Endosymbiotic Organelles
Authors: Osteryoung Katherine W. , Nunnari Jodi
Published: December 2003

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are essential eukaryotic organelles of endosymbiotic origin. Dynamic cellular machineries divide these organelles. The mechanisms by which mitochondria and chloroplasts divide were thought to be fundamentally different because chloroplasts use proteins derived from the ancestral prokaryotic cell division machinery, whereas mitochondria have largely evolved a division apparatus that lacks bacterial cell division components. Recent findings indicate, however, that both types of organelles universally require dynamin-related guanosine triphosphatases to divide. This mechanistic link provides fundamental insights into the molecular events driving the division, and possibly the evolution, of organelles in eukaryotes.
Redox Regulation of Germline and Vulval Development in
Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Shibata Yukimasa , Branicky Robyn , Landaverde Irene Oviedo , Hekimi Siegfried
Published: December 2003

In vitro studies have indicated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the oxidation of signaling molecules are important mediators of signal transduction. We have identified two pathways by which the altered redox chemistry of the
clk-1
mutants of
Caenorhabditis elegans
acts in vivo on germline development. One pathway depends on the oxidation of an analog of vertebrate low density lipoprotein (LDL) and acts on the germline through the Ack-related tyrosine kinase (ARK-1) kinase and inositol trisphosphate (IP
3
) signaling. The other pathway is the oncogenic
ras
signaling pathway, whose action on germline as well as vulval development appears to be modulated by cytoplasmic ROS.
Yeast Genes That Enhance the Toxicity of a Mutant Huntingtin Fragment or α-Synuclein
Authors: Willingham Stephen , Outeiro Tiago Fleming , DeVit Michael J. , Lindquist Susan L. , Muchowski Paul J.
Published: December 2003

Genome-wide screens were performed in yeast to identify genes that enhance the toxicity of a mutant huntingtin fragment or of α-synuclein. Of 4850 haploid mutants containing deletions of nonessential genes, 52 were identified that were sensitive to a mutant huntingtin fragment, 86 that were sensitive to α-synuclein, and only one mutant that was sensitive to both. Genes that enhanced toxicity of the mutant huntingtin fragment clustered in the functionally related cellular processes of response to stress, protein folding, and ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism, whereas genes that modified α-synuclein toxicity clustered in the processes of lipid metabolism and vesicle-mediated transport. Genes with human orthologs were overrepresented in our screens, suggesting that we may have discovered conserved and nonoverlapping sets of cell-autonomous genes and pathways that are relevant to Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Ecological Adaptation During Incipient Speciation Revealed by Precise Gene Replacement
Authors: Greenberg Anthony J. , Moran Jennifer R. , Coyne Jerry A. , Wu Chung-I
Published: December 2003

To understand the role of adaptation in speciation, one must characterize the ecologically relevant phenotypic effects of naturally occurring alleles at loci potentially causing reproductive isolation. The
desaturase2
gene of
Drosophila melanogaster
is such a locus. Two geographically differentiated
ds2
alleles underlie a pheromonal difference between the Zimbabwe and Cosmopolitan races. We used a site-directed gene replacement technique to introduce an allele of
ds2
from the Zimbabwe population into Cosmopolitan flies. We show that the Cosmopolitan allele confers resistance to cold as well as susceptibility to starvation when the entire genetic background is otherwise identical. We conclude that ecological adaptation likely accompanies sexual isolation between the two behavioral races of
D. melanogaster
.
Yeast Cells Provide Insight into Alpha-Synuclein Biology and Pathobiology
Authors: Outeiro Tiago Fleming , Lindquist Susan
Published: December 2003

Alpha-synuclein is implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, yet its functions remain obscure. When expressed in yeast, alpha-synuclein associated with the plasma membrane in a highly selective manner, before forming cytoplasmic inclusions through a concentration-dependent, nucleated process. Alpha-synuclein inhibited phospholipase D, induced lipid droplet accumulation, and affected vesicle trafficking. This readily manipulable system provides an opportunity to dissect the molecular pathways underlying normal alpha-synuclein biology and the pathogenic consequences of its misfolding.
A Look Inside the San Andreas fault at Parkfield Through Vertical Seismic Profiling
Authors: Chavarria J. Andres , Malin Peter , Catchings Rufus D. , Shalev Eylon
Published: December 2003

The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth pilot hole is located on the southwestern side of the Parkfield San Andreas fault. This observatory includes a vertical seismic profiling (VSP) array. VSP seismograms from nearby microearthquakes contain signals between the
P
and
S
waves. These signals may be
P
and
S
waves scattered by the local geologic structure. The collected scattering points form planar surfaces that we interpret as the San Andreas fault and four other secondary faults. The scattering process includes conversions between
P
and
S
waves, the strengths of which suggest large contrasts in material properties, possibly indicating the presence of cracks or fluids.
Regulation of Cell Polarity and Protrusion Formation by Targeting RhoA for Degradation
Authors: Wang Hong-Rui , Zhang Yue , Ozdamar Barish , Ogunjimi Abiodun A. , Alexandrova Evguenia , Thomsen Gerald H. , Wrana Jeffrey L.
Published: December 2003

The Rho family of small guanosine triphosphatases regulates actin cytoskeleton dynamics that underlie cellular functions such as cell shape changes, migration, and polarity. We found that Smurf1, a HECT domain E3 ubiquitin ligase, regulated cell polarity and protrusive activity and was required to maintain the transformed morphology and motility of a tumor cell. Atypical protein kinase C zeta (PKCζ), an effector of the Cdc42/Rac1-PAR6 polarity complex, recruited Smurf1 to cellular protrusions, where it controlled the local level of RhoA. Smurf1 thus links the polarity complex to degradation of RhoA in lamellipodia and filopodia to prevent RhoA signaling during dynamic membrane movements.
An Ostracode Crustacean with Soft Parts from the Lower Silurian
Authors: Siveter David J. , Sutton Mark D. , Briggs Derek E. G. , Siveter Derek J.
Published: December 2003

An exceptionally well-preserved ostracode from the Silurian of Herefordshire, United Kingdom, provides a rare view of the fossilized soft-part anatomy of this important group of living crustaceans and confirms that Ostracoda were extant in the Paleozoic. The fossil has striking similarity to the extant myodocopid family Cylindroleberididae, to which it is assigned, and demonstrates remarkable evolutionary stasis over 425 million years. The fossil is identified as a male on the basis of its copulatory organ.
The Needle Length of Bacterial Injectisomes Is Determined by a Molecular Ruler
Authors: Journet Laure , Agrain Céline , Broz Petr , Cornelis Guy R.
Published: December 2003

Size determination represents a fundamental requirement for multicomponent biological structures. Some pathogenic bacteria possess a weapon derived from the flagellum. Like the flagellum, this type-III secretion apparatus, called the injectisome, has a transmembrane basal body, but the external component is a needle-like structure instead of a hook and a filament. Here, we provide evidence that the length of this needle is determined by the size of a protein, YscP, acting as a molecular ruler.
Direct Detection of the Yarkovsky Effect by Radar Ranging to Asteroid 6489 Golevka
Authors: Chesley Steven R. , Ostro Steven J. , Vokrouhlický David , Čapek David , Giorgini Jon D. , Nolan Michael C. , Margot Jean-Luc , Hine Alice A. , Benner Lance A. M. , Chamberlin Alan B.
Published: December 2003

Radar ranging from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to the 0.5-kilometer near-Earth asteroid 6489 Golevka unambiguously reveals a small nongravitational acceleration caused by the anisotropic thermal emission of absorbed sunlight. The magnitude of this perturbation, known as the Yarkovsky effect, is a function of the asteroid's mass and surface thermal characteristics. Direct detection of the Yarkovsky effect on asteroids will help constrain their physical properties, such as bulk density, and refine their orbital paths. Based on the strength of the detected perturbation, we estimate the bulk density of Golevka to be

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grams per cubic centimeter.
All Knowledge Is Local
Authors: González Cristina
Published: December 2003

Putting Science in Its Place
Geographies of Scientific Knowledge. David N. Livingstone. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003. 246 pp. $27.50, £19.50. ISBN 0-226-48722-9.

Using numerous examples, Livingstone offers a concise, accessible demonstration of geography's influence on the development and reception of scientific knowledge.
The Goldilocks Hypothesis
Authors: Erwin Douglas H.
Published: December 2003

Life's Solution
Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe. Simon Conway Morris. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2003. 486 pp. $30, $18.95. ISBN 0-521-82704-3.

Conway Morris argues that the constraints on life ensure the evolution of organisms characterized by advanced sensory systems, intelligence, complex societies, tool-making, and culture-but that planets suitable for life are very rare.
Insulin Signaling in Health and Disease
Authors: White Morris F.
Published: December 2003

The signaling pathways used by insulin have been identified [M. White, Insulin Signaling Pathway,
Sci. STKE
(Connections Map, as seen November 2003),
http://stke.sciencemag.org/cgi/cm/cmp_12069
]. Now our challenge is to understand how the failure of these signals is associated with obesity and the progressive failure of pancreatic beta cells that leads to diabetes. Whether better management of chronic inflammation can improve insulin action is an important area of investigation. Drugs that stimulate IRS2 (insulin receptor substrate protein 2) synthesis or signaling might be a good starting point. This knowledge will lead to rational strategies that prevent or cure diabetes.
Tropical chronic pancreatitis
Authors: Barman K K , Premalatha G , Mohan V
Published: December 2003

Tropical chronic pancreatitis (TCP) is a juvenile form of chronic calcific non-alcoholic pancreatitis, seen almost exclusively in the developing countries of the tropical world. The classical triad of TCP consists of abdominal pain, steatorrhoea, and diabetes. When diabetes is present, the condition is called fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD) which is thus a later stage of TCP. Some of the distinctive features of TCP are younger age at onset, presence of large intraductal calculi, more aggressive course of the disease, and a high susceptibility to pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic calculi are the hallmark for the diagnosis of TCP and in non-calcific cases ductal dilation on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, computed tomography, or ultrasound helps to identify the disease. Diabetes is usually quite severe and of the insulin requiring type, but ketosis is rare. Microvascular complications of diabetes occur as frequently as in type 2 diabetes but macrovascular complications are uncommon. Pancreatic enzyme supplements are used for relief of abdominal pain and reducing the symptoms related to steatorrhoea. Early diagnosis and better control of the endocrine and exocrine dysfunction could help to ensure better survival and improve the prognosis and quality of life of TCP patients.
Management of childhood constipation
Authors: Clayden G , Keshtgar A S
Published: December 2003

The effective management of constipation in childhood requires an understanding of the ways that the physical and psychological factors interact. The early difficulty with defecation that leads to pain, fear, and refusal to use the pot or lavatory often progresses to the formation of vicious cycles of increasing faecal retention as the rectum increases in capacity and the experience of passing large, hard stools is repeated. There is increasing distress as overflow faecal incontinence compounds the problem for the older child. The medical, psychological, and surgical management strategies are reviewed together with the rationale for their use.
Education of senior house officers: current challenges
Authors: Carr S
Published: December 2003

Over recent years several factors have impacted upon the education of doctors in training in medicine and other specialties. These factors include the European Working Time Directive and shift patterns of working, increasing service demands, changes in the examination and assessment processes, and clinical governance issues. In addition, over the next few years further changes will take place with the implementation of “Modernising Medical Careers” document and the establishment of the new Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. This article attempts to review the effects of these changes on education of junior doctors and to suggest some possible ways to address these challenges.
Prostate cancer management: (2) an update on locally advanced and metastatic disease
Authors: Bott S R J , Birtle A J , Taylor C J , Kirby R S
Published: December 2003

Just under half of men with prostate cancer present with locally advanced or metastatic disease. A multidisciplinary approach is required to improve survival, minimise complications, and provide adequate palliation. Radiotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for pelvic disease control and encouraging results have been reported with androgen ablation as adjuvant therapy. In metastatic disease androgen ablation is usually first line, although ultimately most tumours become hormone refractory, requiring second or third line treatments. Localised or systemic radiotherapy may be used for palliation in metastatic disease. With the advent of more potent bisphosphonates the common bony complications associated with metastases may be reduced. This, the second review of prostate cancer, explores the various treatments available to the multidisciplinary team.
An industry based approach to colorectal cancer screening in an asymptomatic population
Authors: Hart A R , Glover N , Howick-Baker J , Mayberry J F
Published: December 2003

The uptake of faecal occult blood testing in a workplace based colorectal cancer screening programme was investigated. Altogether 1828 employees aged 41–65 years at a large British industrial company were invited to receive a free faecal occult blood test (Haemoccult). Faecal occult blood tests were completed on three separate days. Patients with positive results were invited to undergo colonoscopy. The number of employees completing kits was measured and differences in compliance according to age, sex, and occupation were tested with a χ2 test. Compliance was 25.4%, and similar in men (25.0%) and women (32.0%, χ2  =  3.0, not significant). In men, compliance was highest in those aged 51–60 years (30.5% χ2 >11.6, p<0.001). Compliance in women aged 41–50 years, 51–60 years, and 61–65 years was similar (Yates’s corrected χ2 <2.08, not significant). Managers returned more kits than clerical and blue collar workers (28.6% v 23.5%, χ2  =  5.6, p<0.02). One percent of tests were positive and one patient had a tubular adenoma. Compliance in employees aged 51–60 years was comparable to that achieved in one-off British general practice programmes, but less than that in the large randomised trial of screening in general practices in Nottinghamshire. Health education of large numbers of people is easier at the workplace than in the community. Future screening must target older employees and those with clerical and blue collar jobs.
Completion of the audit cycle: standardised nurse-led information for patients
Authors: Sharma R A , Furber L , Granger L D , Archdeacon C , Thomas G , Symonds R P
Published: December 2003

Background

It is increasingly accepted that patients want information about their proposed treatment, and that provision of such information may alleviate fear and may improve the process of obtaining informed consent. It is not yet clear what form such information should take.

Objective

Based on differences shown previously between patients receiving standard treatment and those in clinical trials, a system of routine appointments with a chemotherapy nurse at least one day before the patient offered consent to treatment was established for all patients receiving chemotherapy in Leicestershire, at which time patients were given standardised written information regarding outpatient chemotherapy and specific drugs.

Method

In order to complete the audit cycle, the previous questionnaire study was repeated.

Results

From 160 questionnaires distributed, 131 complete replies were received. Compared with the previous audit, a significantly higher proportion of patients receiving standard chemotherapy remembered being given written information about chemotherapy from a nurse before starting their treatment and remembered signing a consent form. The significant difference in feelings of involvement in the decision to have chemotherapy between patients receiving standard chemotherapy and those in clinical trials detected in the previous audit was no longer detectable, suggesting the clinical effectiveness of the intervention performed.

Conclusion

Implementation of nurse-led appointments with provision of standardised information before formal consent being taken should be studied further for its potential to improve patients’ involvement in medical decision making.
From trench fever to endocarditis
Authors: Mann P , Nye F , Williams G , Walker A , Amadi A
Published: December 2003

The case of a 44 year old woman with infective endocarditis due to Bartonella quintana, an organism long recognised to cause a condition known as trench fever, is reported. This case illustrates the lengthy differential diagnosis of “culture negative” endocarditis. In addition the presence of serological cross reactivity of Bartonella spp and Chlamydia spp demonstrates the potential for misdiagnosis in these circumstances.
Sinoatrial block complicating legionnaire’s disease
Authors: Medarov B , Tongia S , Rossoff L
Published: December 2003

A 59 year old woman presented with acute onset of fever, chills, diaphoresis, vague chest discomfort, and was found to be hypotensive and tachypnoeic. An electrocardiogram demonstrated sinoatrial block with a junctional rhythm between 50 and 80 beats/min. All cultures were negative and imaging studies unrevealing. Her urine tested positive for Legionella pneumophila antigen serotype 1 and she improved with antibiotic therapy.
HAMILTONIAN AND LAGRANGIAN DYNAMICS IN A NONCOMMUTATIVE SPACE
Authors: MALIK R. P.
Published: December 2003

We discuss the dynamics of a particular two-dimensional (2D) physical system in the four-dimensional (4D) (non-)commutative phase space by exploiting the consistent Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms based on the symplectic structures defined on the 4D (non-)commutative cotangent manifolds. The noncommutativity exists equivalently in the coordinate or the momentum planes embedded in the 4D cotangent manifolds. The signature of this noncommutativity is reflected in the derivation of the first-order Lagrangians where we exploit the most general form of the Legendre transformation defined on the (non-)commutative (co-)tangent manifolds. The second-order Lagrangian, defined on the 4D tangent manifold, turns out to be the same irrespective of the noncommutativity present in the 4D cotangent manifolds for the discussion of the Hamiltonian formulation. A connection with the noncommutativity of the dynamics, associated with the quantum groups on the q-deformed 4D cotangent manifolds, is also pointed out.
DILATONIC INFLATION AND SUSY BREAKING IN STRING-INSPIRED SUPERGRAVITY
Authors: HAYASHI MITSUO J. , WATANABE TOMOKI , AIZAWA ICHIRO , AKETO KOICHI
Published: December 2003

The theory of inflation will be investigated as well as supersymmetry breaking in the context of supergravity, incorporating the target-space duality and the nonperturbative gaugino condensation in the hidden sector. We found an inflationary trajectory of a dilaton field and a condensate field which breaks supersymmetry at once. The model satisfies the slow-roll condition which solves the η-problem. When the particle rolls down along the minimized trajectory of the potential V(S,Y) at a duality invariant point of T=1, we can obtain the e-fold value ~57. And then the cosmological parameters obtained from our model well match the recent WMAP data combined with other experiments. This observation suggests one to consider the string-inspired supergravity as a fundamental theory of the evolution of the universe as well as the particle theory.
EQUIVALENCE OF TIME-DEPENDENT SCHRÖDINGER EQUATIONS WITH CONSTANT AND TIME-DEPENDENT MASS
Authors: SCHULZE-HALBERG AXEL
Published: December 2003

We show that the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) for a potential of the form V(x,t)=A(t)x2+B(t)x+C(t) and time-dependent mass can be transformed into the same TDSE with constant mass. We obtain an explicit formula relating solutions of the TDSE for time-dependent mass and for constant mass to each other.
STRUCTURE FUNCTIONS IN DEEP INELASTIC LEPTON-NUCLEON SCATTERING
Authors: KLEIN MAX
Published: December 2003

This report presents the latest results on structure functions, as available at the Lepton-Photon Symposium 1999. It focuses on three experimental areas: new structure function measurements, in particular from HERA at low x and high Q2; results on light and heavy flavor densities; and determinations of the gluon distribution and of αs. As the talk was delivered at a historic moment and place, a few remarks were added recalling the exciting past and looking into the promising future of deep inelastic scattering (DIS).