bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Working with self‐harm: accounts of two staff groups
Authors: Fish Rebecca , Reid Helen
Published: February 2012

Purpose

This study seeks to explore the content analysis of two qualitative studies looking at experiences of staff working with clients who self‐harm. One of the groups work with women clients, and the other works with men. Both groups of staff in this study work with people with mild learning disabilities who self‐harm. The sample is taken from nurses working in both medium security and low security in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The staff were interviewed using semi‐structured interviews and had considerable control over the direction of the interview.

Findings

Although some allowances should be made because the two groups worked in different services, there were some interesting variations in the themes of the results. The two groups of staff based their discussions on five central themes: types of self‐harm, perceived reasons for self‐harm, staff personal responses, client treatment options, and staff support.

Practical implications

Staff reported experiencing strong emotional responses to incidents of self‐harm. Types of behaviour tended to vary between men and women. Staff asked for more training and time for support groups to meet. Some staff (particularly those working with women) think that self‐harm should be allowed within reason.

Originality/value

This research will be valuable to many types of residential service where clients may use self‐harm as a coping strategy. The authors recommend services adopting a harm minimisation approach to self‐harm.
Deaths in custody: the role of restraint
Authors: Duxbury Joy , Aiken Frances , Dale Colin
Published: February 2012

Purpose

The practice of restraint is controversial as deaths in care or custody have been a consequence of restraint. The purpose of this paper is to clarify research from national and international literature to ascertain any common findings in order to provide guidance for staff on safe and effective restraint techniques where there is no other resort in the management of violent and aggressive individuals.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers undertook a review of the literature on the medical theories relating to restraint‐related deaths and an analysis of deaths in custody in the UK for the time period 1 Jan 1999 to 1 Jan 2010.

Findings

Findings showed that certain groups are particularly vulnerable to risks while being restrained. There are also biophysiological mechanisms which staff need to be aware of when restraining an aggressive or violent individual.

Originality/value

It is evident that those in vulnerable groups when restrained in a prone position, or in a basket hold, for a prolonged period and who are agitated and resistive, are most at risk of death in custody. Consistency in reporting relevant deaths locally and nationally is necessary to facilitate analysis of key information and prevent deaths in custody in the future. Staff training and awareness are also key factors.
Alcohol taxation policy in Thailand: implications for other low‐ to middle‐income countries
Authors: Sornpaisarn Bundit , Shield Kevin D. , Rehm Jürgen
Published: February 2012

Aim  Prevention of drinking initiation is a significant challenge in low‐ and middle‐income countries that have a high prevalence of abstainers, including life‐time abstainers. This paper aims to encourage a debate on an alternative alcohol taxation approach used currently in Thailand, which aims specifically to prevent drinking initiation in addition to reduce alcohol‐attributable harms.

Methods  Theoretical evaluation, simulation and empirical analysis.

Result  The taxation method of Thailand, ‘Two‐Chosen‐One’ (2C1) combines specific taxation (as a function of the alcohol content) and ad valorem taxation (as a function of the price), resulting in an effective tax rate that puts a higher tax both on beverages which are preferred by heavy drinkers and on beverages which are preferred by potential alcohol consumption neophytes, compared to either taxation system alone. As a result of these unique properties of the 2C1 taxation system, our simulations indicate that 2C1 taxation leads to a lower overall consumption than ad valorem or specific taxation alone. In addition, it puts a relatively high tax on beverages attractive to young people, the majority of whom are currently abstaining. Currently, the abstention rates in Thailand are higher than expected based on its economic wealth, which could be taken as an indication that the taxation strategy is successful.

Conclusion  ‘Two‐chosen‐one’ (2C1) taxation has the potential to simultaneously reduce alcohol consumption and prevent drinking initiation among youth; however, additional empirical evidence is needed to assess its effectiveness in terms of the public health impact in low‐ and middle‐income countries.
The Shikani optical stylet as an alternative to the GlideScope® videolaryngoscope in simulated difficult intubations – a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Phua D. S. , Mah C. L. , Wang C. F.
Published: February 2012

The GlideScope® videolaryngoscope is widely utilised in the management of the difficult airway. However, complications such as mucosal injury, palatal and tonsillar perforations have been reported with its use. The Shikani optical stylet has shown promise in aiding difficult intubations. This randomised controlled trial evaluates the Shikani optical stylet as an alternative to the GlideScope videolaryngoscope in patients undergoing anaesthesia, with a simulated difficult airway. Sixty patients were randomised to undergo tracheal intubation with either the GlideScope videolaryngoscope (n = 30) or the Shikani optical stylet (n = 30). All patients had rigid cervical collars applied to simulate a difficult airway. Tracheal intubation was successful in all patients, with first attempt success rates of 97% (29/30) the GlideScope group compared with 93% (28/30) in the Shikani group compared with 93% (28/30) in the Shikani group (p = 0.5). The mean (SD) time to intubation was 64 (37) s when using the GlideScope and 58 (26) s in the Shikani group (p = 0.48). A higher incidence of airway mucosal injury was noted in patients intubated with the GlideScope videolaryngoscope, compared with the Shikani optical stylet (5 vs 0, respectively, p = 0.05). This trial suggests that the Shikani optical stylet is a viable alternative to the GlideScope videolaryngoscope in the management of the difficult airway.
Comparison of the GlideScope® videolaryngoscope and the Macintosh laryngoscope for double‐lumen tube intubation
Authors: Hsu H.‐T. , Chou S.‐H. , Wu P.‐J. , Tseng K.‐Y. , Kuo Y.‐W. , Chou C.‐Y. , Cheng K.‐I.
Published: February 2012

Intubation with a double‐lumen tube is important for achieving one‐lung ventilation and facilitating thoracic surgery. The GlideScope® videolaryngoscope (Verathon Inc., Bothell, WA, USA) is designed to assist tracheal intubation for patients with a difficult airway. We wished to compare the GlideScope and direct laryngoscopy for double‐lumen tube intubation. Sixty adult patients requiring a double‐lumen tube for thoracic surgery and predicted uncomplicated laryngoscopy were randomly assigned to a direct Macintosh laryngoscopy group (n = 30) or a GlideScope group (n = 30). The mean (SD) duration of intubation was longer in the Macintosh group (62.5 (29.7) s) than in the GlideScope group (45.6 (10.7) s; p = 0.007). There was no difference in the success of the first attempt at intubation (26/30 (87%) and 30/30 (100%) for Macintosh and GlideScope groups, respectively; p = 0.112). The incidence of sore throat and hoarseness was higher in the Macintosh group (18 (60%) and 14 (47%), respectively) than in the GlideScope group (6 (20%) and 4 (13%), respectively; p = 0.003 and 0.004). We conclude that double‐lumen tube intubation in patients with predicted normal laryngoscopy is easier using the GlideScope videolaryngoscope than the Macintosh laryngoscope.
School children's own views, roles and contribution to choices regarding diet and activity in Spain
Authors: Lopez‐Dicastillo O. , Grande G. , Callery P.
Published: February 2012

Background  Behaviours regarding food and activity are learned during childhood and continue throughout life. Children can be very important agents in making decisions concerning their own well‐being and care and their perspective is essential to understanding how they and/or others make choices for them to achieve a healthy lifestyle. However, their perspectives remain under‐researched. This study provides an insight into school children's own perspectives, behaviours and contribution to food and activity choices.

Methods  The paper reports on the findings from an ethnographic study with 38 Spanish children aged 5–7 years. Information was obtained through participant observations, diaries kept by children and group interviews. Data were analysed using techniques of analytical induction and constant comparison.

Results  The children who took part in this study described choices about activities with enthusiasm. Children saw activity as a way of learning new things, mastering skills and socializing. They were willing to try and experience new activities and games. However, the activities performed depended on parents' agendas and security issues. In contrast, children reported less interest in and active involvement in food choices. They contributed to family food choices indirectly through the expression of their preferences, not wanting to eat what they disliked or tasting new foods.

Conclusion  Children had strong preferences and motivations, particularly about activities which could be harnessed in interventions to prevent obesity and promote healthy diet and activity. Parental involvement and commitment is also important both to encourage exercise according to children's interests and active informed food choices, including introduction to unfamiliar foods.
Effects of a hypercaloric diet on β‐cell responsivity in lean healthy men
Authors: Brands Myrte , Swat Maciej , Lammers Nicolette M. , Sauerwein Hans P. , Endert Erik , Ackermans Mariëtte T. , Verhoeven Arthur J. , Serlie Mireille J.
Published: February 2012

Objective

Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia precede the onset of obesity‐induced DM2. The early adaptation of the β‐cell during the initial phase of overfeeding and weight gain has only been partly elucidated. We studied the early changes in insulin clearance and β‐cell responsivity during a positive and negative energy balance in lean healthy men.

Design

We studied in nine healthy lean men [age, 37 (27–43) years; BMI, 23·6 (20·6–25·6) kg/m2] insulin sensitivity, insulin clearance, insulin secretion and static and dynamic β‐cell responsivity at baseline and after the hypercaloric and subsequent hypocaloric diet.

Results

Participants gained 7 [5·1–7·6]% of their initial body weight on the hypercaloric diet. Compared to baseline, insulin sensitivity and insulin clearance decreased, while glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion was higher. The GLP‐1 response to oral glucose did not change. The dynamic β‐cell responsivity index increased but the basal and static responsivity indexes did not change. Total and static disposition indexes (DIs) in the hypercaloric state showed a trend towards a decrease. During the hypocaloric diet, insulin sensitivity, glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion and insulin clearance returned to baseline. The responsivity and the DIs were not different in the hypocaloric phase compared to baseline.

Conclusion

A positive energy balance resulting in weight gain in lean men induces hyperinsulinaemia, which is explained by a combined effect on insulin clearance and insulin secretion. Increased insulin secretion was related to insulin resistance‐induced higher glucose concentrations but also to increased dynamic β‐cell responsivity. Glucose sensitivity of the β‐cell did not change. These early adaptations are completely reversible during a negative energy balance after loss of the gained weight.
Pravastatin and simvastatin improves acetylsalicylic acid‐mediated in vitro blood platelet inhibition
Authors: Luzak Boguslawa , Rywaniak Joanna , Stanczyk Lidia , Watala Cezary
Published: February 2012

Eur J Clin Invest 2012

Background  Insight into the pathophysiology of atherothrombosis indicates that an integrated risk factor approach, focusing particularly on the management of dyslipidaemia (with statins) and thrombosis (with ASA), may constitute an optimal therapeutic approach. We investigated whether pravastatin, simvastatin and atorvastatin may directly modulate under in vitro conditions the reactivity of blood platelets originating from healthy volunteers. In addition, we analysed the influence of statins on the platelet sensitivity to ASA under such conditions.

Materials and methods  We monitored collagen‐ or ADP‐induced platelet aggregation, CD36, PAC‐1 and CD62 expression on platelet surface and thromboxane generation after incubation with pravastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin and/or ASA.

Results  The incubation of whole blood with simvastatin and pravastatin significantly decreased CD36 expression. In the presence of 50 μM ASA, simvastatin and pravastatin significantly reduced the PAC‐1 expression (30% reduction for simvastatin, P < 0·01, and 15% reduction for pravastatin, P < 0·01), platelet aggregation (20% reduction for both statins, P < 0·01) and thromboxane generation (35% reduction for simvastatin, P < 0·001, and 30% reduction for pravastatin, P < 0·001) compared to ASA alone. Atorvastatin changed neither baseline platelet aggregation nor ASA‐mediated platelet inhibition.

Conclusions  Our results suggested that statins may directly interact with platelet membranes or may modulate a signalling pathway in platelets (the pleiotropic effects of statins). It is possible that the statin effect on CD36 and ASA‐mediated protein acetylation can be reached by the modulation of a distribution or a function of membrane‐associated proteins. Further studies are certainly needed to better elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying the statins’ effects on platelet sensitivity to ASA.
Bottom‐up effects of species diversity on the functioning and stability of food webs
Authors: Narwani Anita , Mazumder Asit
Published: February 2012

1. The importance of species diversity for the stability of populations, communities and ecosystem functions is a central question in ecology.

2. Biodiversity experiments have shown that diversity can impact both the average and variability of stocks and rates at these levels of ecological organization in single trophic‐level ecosystems. Whether these impacts hold in food webs and across trophic levels is still unclear.

3. We asked whether resource species diversity, community composition and consumer feeding selectivity in planktonic food webs impact the stability of resource or consumer populations, community biomass and ecosystem functions. We also tested the relative importance of resource diversity and community composition.

4. We found that resource diversity negatively affected resource population stability, but had no effect on consumer population stability, regardless of the consumer’s feeding selectivity. Resource diversity had positive effects on most ecosystem functions and their stability, including primary production, resource biomass and particulate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations.

5. Community composition, however, generally explained more variance in population, community and ecosystem properties than species diversity per se. This result points to the importance of the outcomes of particular species interactions and individual species’ effect traits in determining food web properties and stability.

6. Among the stabilizing mechanisms tested, an increase in the average resource community biomass with increasing resource diversity had the greatest positive impact on stability.

7. Our results indicate that resource diversity and composition are generally important for the functioning and stability of whole food webs, but do not have straightforward impacts on consumer populations.
The Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (CSRQ): a cross‐cultural comparison and validation in Dutch and Australian adolescents
Authors: DEWALD JULIA F. , SHORT MICHELLE A. , GRADISAR MICHAEL , OORT FRANS J. , MEIJER ANNE MARIE
Published: February 2012

Although adolescents often experience insufficient and/or poor sleep, sleep variables such as total sleep time do not account for individuals’ sleep need and sleep debt and may therefore be an inadequate representation of adolescents’ sleep problems and its daytime consequences. This problem can be overcome by using the Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (CSRQ), an assessment tool that measures symptoms of chronic sleep reduction and therefore accounting for sleep need and sleep debt. The present study aims at developing an English version of the CSRQ and assesses the reliability and validity of the Dutch and the English CSRQ version. The CSRQ was administered in large Dutch (n = 166, age = 15.2 ± 0.57 years, 28% male) and Australian (n = 236, age = 15.5 ± 0.99 years, 65% males) samples. Subjective sleep variables were measured with surveys and sleep diaries of five school nights. Additionally, sleep of the same five nights was monitored with actigraphy. Both CSRQ versions showed good psychometric properties concerning their reliability (Dutch: α = 0.85; English: α = 0.87) and validity as the same overall structure of the two CSRQ versions and significant correlations with subjective and objective sleep variables were found. School grades were related to chronic sleep reduction, whereas the relationship between grades and other sleep variables was weak or absent. These results highlight the idea that chronic sleep reduction may be a better indicator of adolescents’ insufficient and/or poor sleep than other sleep variables such as total sleep time.
Influences on medical students’ self‐regulated learning after test completion
Authors: Agrawal Sacha , Norman Geoffrey R , Eva Kevin W
Published: February 2012

Medical Education 2012:46: 326–335

Context The inadequacy of self‐assessment as a mechanism to guide performance improvements has placed greater emphasis on the value of testing as a pedagogic strategy. The mechanism whereby testing influences learning is incompletely understood. This study was performed to examine which aspects of a testing experience most influence self‐regulated learning behaviour among medical students.

Methods Sixty‐seven medical students participated in a computer‐based, multiple‐choice test. Initially, participants were instructed to attempt only items for which they felt confident of their response. They were then asked to indicate their best responses to deferred items. Students were then given an opportunity to review the items, with correct responses indicated. Accuracy, the attempt/defer decision and the time taken to reach this decision were recorded, along with participants’ ratings of their confidence in each response and the time spent reviewing each item on completion of the test.

Results Students correctly answered a larger proportion of attempted items than deferred items (71% versus 40%; p < 0.001), and indicated a higher mean confidence in responses to items they answered correctly compared with items they answered incorrectly (70 versus 46; p < 0.001). They spent longer reviewing items they had answered incorrectly than correctly (8.3 versus 4.0 seconds; p < 0.001), and paid particular attention to items for which the attempt/defer decision and accuracy were discordant (p < 0.01). The amount of time required to make a decision on whether or not to answer a test question was also related to reviewing time.

Conclusions Medical students showed a robust ability to accurately and consciously self‐monitor their likelihood of success on multiple‐choice test items. By focusing their subsequent self‐regulated learning on areas in which performance and self‐monitoring judgements were misaligned, participants reinforced the importance of providing learners with opportunities to discover the limits of their ability and further elucidated the mechanism through which test‐enhanced learning might be derived.
Cultural similarities and differences in medical professionalism: a multi‐region study
Authors: Chandratilake Madawa , McAleer Sean , Gibson John
Published: February 2012

Medical Education 2012: 46: 257–266

Context  Over the last two decades, many medical educators have sought to define professionalism. Initial attempts to do so were focused on defining professionalism in a manner that allowed for universal agreement. This quest was later transformed into an effort to ‘understand professionalism’ as many researchers realised that professionalism is a social construct and is culture‐sensitive. The determination of cultural differences in the understanding of professionalism, however, has been subject to very little research, possibly because of the practical difficulties of doing so. In this multi‐region study, we illustrate the universal and culture‐specific aspects of medical professionalism as it is perceived by medical practitioners.

Methods  Forty‐six professional attributes were identified by reviewing the literature. A total of 584 medical practitioners, representing the UK, Europe, North America and Asia, participated in a survey in which they indicated the importance of each of these attributes. We determined the ‘essentialness’ of each attribute in different geographic regions using the content validity index, supplemented with kappa statistics.

Results  With acceptable levels of consensus, all regional groups identified 29 attributes as ‘essential’, thereby indicating the universality of these professional attributes, and six attributes as non‐essential. The essentialness of the rest varied by regional group.

Conclusions  This study has helped to identify regional similarities and dissimilarities in understandings of professionalism, most of which can be explained by cultural differences in line with the theories of cultural dimensions and cultural value. However, certain dissonances among regions may well be attributable to socio‐economic factors. Some of the responses appear to be counter‐cultural and demonstrate practitioners’ keenness to overcome cultural barriers in order to provide better patient care.
Reliability estimates: behavioural stations and questionnaires in medical school admissions
Authors: Gafni Naomi , Moshinsky Avital , Eisenberg Orit , Zeigler David , Ziv Amitai
Published: February 2012

Medical Education 2012: 46: 277–288

Context  Assessment centres used in evaluating the non‐cognitive attributes of medical school candidates must generate scores that reflect as accurate a measurement as possible of these attributes. Thus far, reliability coefficients for such centres have been based on limited samples and individual administrations, without reference to the error of variance that may result from retesting, or from the existence of multiple centres designed to measure the same attributes.

Methods  The National Institute for Testing and Evaluation in Israel has developed and administered two assessment centres: MOR is used by two medical schools and one dental school, and MIRKAM by another medical school. Each centre comprises eight or nine behavioural stations, a standardised biographical questionnaire, and a judgement and decision‐making questionnaire. We calculated generalisability coefficients for each centre’s eight or nine stations by year, composite reliability coefficients for the overall assessment centres, test–retest correlation coefficients for repeaters, and a correlation coefficient between the centres.

Results  Between 2006 and 2009, 2662 and 2023 examinees participated in MOR and MIRKAM, respectively; 1479 of these participated in both. The average generalisability coefficients for the stations were 0.69 for MOR and 0.67 for MIRKAM. The composite reliability coefficients for the full centres (behavioural stations plus questionnaires) were 0.79 and 0.76 for MOR and MIRKAM, respectively. The correlations for repeaters, corrected for restriction of range, were 0.59 and 0.43 for MOR and MIRKAM stations, respectively, and 0.72 and 0.65 for the full MOR and MIRKAM assessments, respectively. The correlation between scores on the MOR and MIRKAM stations was 0.56 (0.75 for the overall score).

Discussion  The minimal reliability desirable for high‐stakes decision making (0.80) was obtained only for 14 or 15 stations with questionnaires. Nevertheless, the values obtained are considerably higher than reliability coefficients for single interviews. The questionnaires contribute significantly to the accuracy of the measurement. These reliability measures constitute an upper threshold for measures of validity.
LUCAS: a theoretically informed instrument to assess clinical communication in objective structured clinical examinations
Authors: Huntley Christopher D , Salmon Peter , Fisher Peter L , Fletcher Ian , Young Bridget
Published: February 2012

Medical Education 2012: 46: 267–276

Objectives  We reviewed papers describing the development of instruments for assessing clinical communication in undergraduate medical students. The instruments had important limitations: most lacked a theoretical basis, and their psychometric properties were often poor or inadequately investigated and reported. We therefore describe the development of a new instrument, the Liverpool Undergraduate Communication Assessment Scale (LUCAS), which is intended to overcome some of these limitations. We designed LUCAS to reflect the theory that communication is contextually dependent, inherently creative and cannot be fully described within a conceptual framework of discrete skills.

Methods  We investigated the preliminary psychometric properties of LUCAS in two studies. To assess construct and external validity, we examined correlations between examiners’ LUCAS ratings and simulated patients’ ratings of their relationships with students in Year 1 formative (n = 384) and summative (n = 347) objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) samples. Item–total correlations and item difficulty analyses were also performed. The dimensionality of LUCAS was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. We also assessed inter‐rater reliability; four raters used LUCAS to rate 40 video‐recorded encounters between Year 1 students and simulated patients.

Results  Simulated patient ratings correlated with examiner ratings across two OSCE datasets. All items correlated with the total score. Item difficulty showed LUCAS was able to discriminate between student performances. LUCAS had a two‐dimensional factor structure: we labelled Factor 1 creative communication and Factor 2 procedural communication. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.73 (95% confidence interval 0.54–0.85), indicating acceptable reliability.

Conclusions  We designed LUCAS to move the primary focus of examiners away from an assessment of students’ enactment of behavioural skills to a judgement of how well students’ communication met patients’ needs. LUCAS demonstrated adequate reliability and validity. The instrument can be administered easily and efficiently and is therefore suitable for use in medical school examinations.
Prevalence of abnormal cases in an image bank affects the learning of radiograph interpretation
Authors: Pusic Martin V , Andrews John S , Kessler David O , Teng David C , Pecaric Martin R , Ruzal‐Shapiro Carrie , Boutis Kathy
Published: February 2012

Medical Education 2012: 46: 289–298

Objectives  Using a large image bank, we systematically examined how the use of different ratios of abnormal to normal cases affects trainee learning.

Methods  This was a prospective, double‐blind, randomised, three‐arm education trial conducted in six academic training programmes for emergency medicine and paediatric residents in post‐licensure years 2–5. We developed a paediatric ankle trauma radiograph case bank. From this bank, we constructed three different 50‐case training sets, which varied in their proportions of abnormal cases (30%, 50%, 70%). Levels of difficulty and diagnoses were similar across sets. We randomly assigned residents to complete one of the training sets. Users classified each case as normal or abnormal, specifying the locations of any abnormalities. They received immediate feedback. All participants completed the same 20‐case post‐test in which 40% of cases were abnormal. We determined participant sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio and signal detection parameters.

Results  A total of 100 residents completed the study. The groups did not differ in accuracy on the post‐test (p = 0.20). However, they showed considerable variation in their sensitivity–specificity trade‐off. The group that received a training set with a high proportion of abnormal cases achieved the best sensitivity (0.69, standard deviation [SD] = 0.24), whereas the groups that received training sets with medium and low proportions of abnormal cases demonstrated sensitivities of 0.63 (SD = 0.21) and 0.51 (SD = 0.24), respectively (p < 0.01). Conversely, the group with a low proportion of abnormal cases demonstrated the best specificity (0.83, SD = 0.10) compared with the groups with medium (0.70, SD = 0.15) and high (0.66, SD = 0.17) proportions of abnormal cases (p < 0.001). The group with a low proportion of abnormal cases had the highest false negative rate and missed fractures one‐third more often than the groups that trained on higher proportions of abnormal cases.

Conclusions  Manipulating the ratio of abnormal to normal cases in learning banks can have important educational implications.
Metabolite profile shifts in the heathland lichen Cladonia portentosa in response to N deposition reveal novel biomarkers
Authors: Freitag Sabine , Feldmann Jörg , Raab Andrea , Crittenden Peter D. , Hogan Erika J. , Squier Angela H. , Boyd Kenneth G. , Thain Simon
Published: February 2012

The heathland lichen Cladonia portentosa was collected from sites in mainland Britain differing either in rates of wet N deposition or in annual mean N concentration in rainfall based on a modelled data set. Methanolic extracts of thalli were analyzed by liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry to yield metabolic profiles. Differences between sites in metabolite concentration were quantified using multivariate statistical tools and used to identify potential biomarker molecules. The abundances of three structurally related betaine lipids showed an increase with increasing modelled N deposition to a threshold of 22.3 kg ha−1 year−1 after which they remained constant. In contrast, the abundance of a phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid showed concomitant decrease. Correlations of the identified biomarkers with N deposition and precipitation were stronger than those with N concentrations. The results presented in this study clearly show that N enrichment associated with tissue P limitation changes lipid composition, leading to shifts from PCs to betaine lipids, and that these lipids identified have the potential to be used as biomarkers for nitrogen enrichment.
Seed development, seed germination and seedling growth in the R50 (sym16) pea mutant are not directly linked to altered cytokinin homeostasis
Authors: Long Chengli , Held Mark , Hayward Allison , Nisler Jaroslav , Spíchal Lukas , Neil Emery R. J. , Moffatt Barbara A. , Guinel Frédérique C.
Published: February 2012

R50 (sym16) is a pea nodulation mutant that accumulates cytokinin (CK) in its vegetative organs. Total CK content increases as the plant ages because of the low activity of the enzyme cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) responsible for CK degradation. R50 exhibits a large seed with high relative water content, and its seedling establishes itself slowly. Whether these two traits are linked to abnormal CK levels was considered here. R50 was found to have a similar germination rate but a much slower epicotyl emergence than Sparkle, its wild‐type (WT). At the onset of emergence, the starch grains in R50 cotyledons were larger than those of WT; furthermore, they did not degrade as fast as in WT because of low amylase activity. No differences between the pea lines were observed in the CK forms identified during seed embryogenesis. However, while CK content compared to that of WT was reduced early in R50 embryogenesis, it was elevated later on in its dry seeds where CKX activity was low, although CKX transcript abundance remained high. Transcripts of the two known PsCKX isoforms exhibited tissue‐ and development‐specific profiles with no detectable PsCKX2 expression in cotyledons. There were more of both transcripts in R50 roots than in WT roots, but less of PsCKX2 than PsCKX1 in R50 shoots compared to WT shoots. Thus, although there is a definite CKX post‐transcriptional defect in R50 dry seeds, an abnormal CK homeostasis is not the basis of the delay in R50 seedling establishment, which we linked to abnormal amylase activity early in development.
Solar UV‐B effects on PSII performance in Betula nana are influenced by PAR level and reduced by EDU: results of a 3‐year experiment in the High Arctic
Authors: Albert Kristian R. , Mikkelsen Teis N. , Ro‐Poulsen Helge , Arndal Marie F. , Boesgaard Kristine , Michelsen Anders , Bruhn Dan , Schmidt Niels M.
Published: February 2012

The long‐term and diurnal responses of photosystem II (PSII) performance to near‐ambient UV‐B radiation were investigated in High Arctic Betula nana. We conducted an UV exclusion experiment with five replicated blocks consisting of open control (no filter), photosynthetic active radiation and UV‐B transparent filter control (Teflon), UV‐B‐absorbing filter (Mylar) and UV‐AB‐absorbing filter (Lexan). Ethylenediurea (EDU), a chemical normally used to protect plants against ozone injury, was sprayed on the leaves both in the field and in an additional laboratory study to investigate if EDU mitigated the effects of UV‐B. Chlorophyll‐a fluorescence induction curves were used for analysis of OJIP test parameters. Near‐ambient UV‐B radiation reduced across season maximum quantum yield (TRo/ABS = Fv/Fm), approximated number of active PSII reaction center (RC/ABS) and the performance index (PIABS), despite improved leaf screening against UV‐B with higher content of UV‐B‐absorbing compounds and a lower specific leaf area. EDU application counteracted the negative impact of UV‐B on TRo/ABS, RC/ABS and PIABS. This indicates that the mechanisms behind UV‐B and ozone damage share some common features. The midday depression was present in all treatments, but TRo/ABS and PIABS were persistently lower in near‐ambient UV‐B compared to UV‐B reduction. The recovery phase was particularly impaired in near‐ambient UV‐B and interactive effects between treatment × hour raised TRo/ABS, RC/ABS and PIABS higher in reduced UV‐B compared to near‐ambient UV‐B. This demonstrates current solar UV‐B to reduce the PSII performance both on a daily as well as a seasonal basis in this High Arctic species.
Activists in the Making: Urban Movements, Political Processes and the Creation of Political Subjects
Authors: Rutland Ted
Published: February 2012

A constant and largely unquestioned characteristic of contemporary studies of urban movements is their conception of the activist ‘subject’— the reflective agent or ‘doer’ who participates in, and shapes, urban movements. Whereas it has become increasingly common in other scholarly research to regard the subject as a contingent, context‐specific outcome or creation, studies of urban movements have not been swayed. The latter, even as they proceed to conceptualize more and more of the urban scene in terms of malleable ‘processes’ rather than inert ‘structures’, have continued to regard the makeup of the activist subject as universal and invariable. This article, in contrast, proposes and explores a different approach. Through a review of the recent urban movements literature, a focused consideration of potentially complementary literatures, and a demonstrative case study, this article aims to show that it is possible and indeed worthwhile to examine how political subjects are contingently remade both prior to, and through, their active participation in contentious urban politics. The remaking of political subjects, it concludes, is often central to the formation and achievements of urban movements. Devoting increased attention to this process — alongside other, already‐recognized political processes — could, therefore, promote a richer, more complex understanding of activism and the ever‐changing city.

Les études contemporaines sur les mouvements urbains partagent une caractéristique rarement remise en cause, à savoir leur conception du ‘sujet’ militant, individu agissant ou agent réfléchi qui participe à ces mouvements et les façonne. Alors que les autres domaines de recherches considèrent de plus en plus souvent le sujet comme un produit ou une création contingente propre au contexte, les études sur les mouvements urbains ont échappéà cette tendance. Même si elles se sont mises à conceptualiser la scène urbaine en termes de ‘processus’ malléables plus largement qu'en termes de ‘structures’ inertes, elles ont continuéà considérer le profil du sujet militant comme universel et invariable. Une approche différente est proposée et analysée ici. En examinant la littérature récente sur les mouvements urbains, ainsi que les publications susceptibles de les compléter et une étude de cas probante, cet article montre qu'il est possible, et assurément utile, d'étudier comment les sujets politiques sont recomposés en fonction des situations, à la fois avant et grâce à leur participation active à une politique urbaine controversée. En conclusion, la recomposition des sujets politiques est souvent essentielle à la formation et aux réussites des mouvements urbains. Accorder une attention accrue à ce processus — parallèlement à d'autres processus politiques déjà reconnus — pourrait donc favoriser une conception plus riche et plus complexe de l'activisme et de la ville en constante évolution.
Governance in the Post‐War City: Historical Reflections on Public–Private Partnerships in the UK
Authors: Shapely Peter
Published: February 2012

Partnerships between the public and private sectors have been a central feature in the development of British cities since the nineteenth century. Many major civic projects, transport links and even industrial estates have been successfully completed thanks to government, central and local, working with private interests, developers and investors. After the second world war, however, these partnerships became fundamental to the redevelopment of urban Britain. While the state provided legislation, finance and policy directives, local government worked with the private sector to build social housing, new roads and schools. However, the council also relied on private investment to transform tired city centres by building new shopping centres, hotels and office blocks. While contemporary studies recognize the importance of these partnerships in the growth of cities since the 1980s, this article will look at their significance in a broader historical perspective, highlighting the pivotal role they played from the 1950s to the 1970s, and assessing their relevance not simply in terms of the material redevelopment of the built environment but also in what is revealed about urban governance.

Les partenariats public‐privé ont marqué l’évolution des villes britanniques depuis le dix‐neuvième siècle. Beaucoup de grands projets municipaux, de liaisons de transport et même de zones industrielles ont été réalisés avec succès grâce à un gouvernement, central ou local, travaillant avec des acteurs privés, promoteurs et investisseurs. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ces partenariats sont devenus essentiels à la rénovation de la Grande‐Bretagne urbaine. Tandis que l’État apportait le cadre législatif, le financement et les directives politiques, les autorités territoriales coopéraient avec le secteur privé pour construire logements sociaux, nouvelles routes et écoles. Cependant, le pouvoir local s’est aussi appuyé sur l’investissement privé pour transformer des centres‐villes défraîchis en centres commerciaux, hôtels et quartiers d’affaires nouveaux. Les études contemporaines reconnaissent l’importance de ces partenariats pour la croissance des villes depuis les années 1980, mais cet article s’attachera à leur place dans une perspective historique plus large, soulignant le rôle décisif qu’ils ont joués entre les années 1950 et 1970, et appréciant leur pertinence non seulement en termes de réaménagement physique de l’environnement construit, mais aussi par ce qu’ils révèlent sur la gouvernance urbaine.
An integrated approach to optimizing skin delivery of cosmetic and pharmaceutical actives
Authors: Abbott S.
Published: February 2012

Synopsis

The academic literature on skin delivery provides countless examples of scientific insights into specific aspects of the overall process. For the practical formulator, however, it is difficult to know how to combine such insights in a way that fits into the realities of commercial formulations. In this study, five key principles are combined into an integrated approach that can be applied to real‐world formulations. Given the complexities of skin science, the integrated approach cannot be expected to be highly precise. Instead, it is intended as a way for a formulation team to balance the many conflicting issues. The predictions are sufficiently specific to be examined by those with the appropriate analytical resources and data on formulation efficacy. It is hoped that such challenges will allow the approach to be refined for the future.
Regional brain wave activity changes associated with fatigue
Authors: Craig Ashley , Tran Yvonne , Wijesuriya Nirupama , Nguyen Hung
Published: February 2012

Assessing brain wave activity is a viable strategy for monitoring fatigue when performing tasks such as driving, and numerous studies have been conducted in this area. However, results of a systematic review on changes in brain wave activity associated with fatigue have revealed equivocal findings. This study investigated brain wave activity associated with fatigue in 48 nonprofessional healthy drivers as they participated in a simulated driving task until they fatigued. The results showed that as a person fatigues, slow wave activity increased over the entire cortex, in theta and in alpha 1 and 2 bands, while no significant changes were found in delta wave activity. Substantial increases also occurred in fast wave activity, though mostly in frontal sites. The results suggest that as a person fatigues, the brain loses capacity and slows its activity, and that attempts to maintain vigilance levels lead to increased beta activity.
Regional differences in Dutch maternal mortality
Authors: de Graaf JP , Schutte JM , Poeran JJ , van Roosmalen J , Bonsel GJ , Steegers EAP
Published: February 2012

Please cite this paper as: de Graaf J, Schutte J, Poeran J, van Roosmalen J, Bonsel G, Steegers E. Regional differences in Dutch maternal mortality. BJOG 2012;119:582–588.

Objective  To study regional differences in maternal mortality in the Netherlands.

Design  Confidential inquiry into the causes of maternal mortality.

Setting  Nationwide.

Population  A total of 3 108 235 live births and 337 maternal deaths.

Methods  Data analysis of all maternal deaths in the period 1993–2008.

Main outcome measure  Maternal mortality.

Results  The overall national maternal mortality ratio was 10.8 per 100 000 live births. In the 12 provinces of the Netherlands, the maternal mortality ratio ranged from 6.2 in Noord Brabant to 16.3 per 100 000 live births in Zeeland. In the four largest cities, maternal mortality varied from 9.3 in Amsterdam to 21.0 in Rotterdam. At a national level, the most frequent direct cause was pre‐eclampsia. Increased risks for maternal mortality were found for women living in deprived neighbourhoods (RR 1.41), women from non‐Western origin (RR 1.59), and women who were 35 years or older (RR 1.61).

Conclusion  There are significant variations in maternal mortality ratios in the Netherlands between cities, provinces, and neighbourhoods. In addition, higher maternal mortality was observed in women of non‐Western origin and in women who were 35 years of age or older.
Spinal muscular atrophy pathogenic mutations impair the axonogenic properties of axonal‐survival of motor neuron
Authors: Locatelli Denise , d’Errico Paolo , Capra Silvia , Finardi Adele , Colciaghi Francesca , Setola Veronica , Terao Mineko , Garattini Enrico , Battaglia Giorgio
Published: February 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 465–474.

The axonal survival of motor neuron (a‐SMN) protein is a truncated isoform of SMN1, the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) disease gene. a‐SMN is selectively localized in axons and endowed with remarkable axonogenic properties. At present, the role of a‐SMN in SMA is unknown. As a first step to verify a link between a‐SMN and SMA, we investigated by means of over‐expression experiments in neuroblastoma‐spinal cord hybrid cell line (NSC34) whether SMA pathogenic mutations located in the N‐terminal part of the protein affected a‐SMN function. We demonstrated here that either SMN1 missense mutations or small intragenic re‐arrangements located in the Tudor domain consistently altered the a‐SMN capability of inducing axonal elongation in vitro. Mutated human a‐SMN proteins determined in almost all NSC34 motor neurons the growth of short axons with prominent morphologic abnormalities. Our data indicate that the Tudor domain is critical in dictating a‐SMN function possibly because it is an association domain for proteins involved in axon growth. They also indicate that Tudor domain mutations are functionally relevant not only for FL‐SMN but also for a‐SMN, raising the possibility that also a‐SMN loss of function may contribute to the pathogenic steps leading to SMA.
Modelling chestnut biogeography for American chestnut restoration
Authors: Fei Songlin , Liang Liang , Paillet Frederick L. , Steiner Kim C. , Fang Jingyun , Shen Zehao , Wang Zhiheng , Hebard Frederick V.
Published: February 2012

Aim Chestnuts (Castaneaspp.) are ecologically and economically important species. We studied the general biology, distribution and climatic limits of seven chestnut species from around the world. We provided climatic matching of Asiatic species to North America to assist the range‐wide restoration of American chestnut [C. dentata(Marsh.) Borkh.] by incorporating blight‐resistant genes from Asiatic species.

Location North America, Europe and East Asia.

Methods General chestnut biology was reviewed on the basis of published literature and field observations. Chestnut distributions were established using published range maps and literature. Climatic constraints were analysed for the northern and southern distribution limits and the entire range for each species using principal component analysis (PCA) of fourteen bioclimatic variables. Climatic envelope matching was performed for three Chinese species using Maxent modelling to predict corresponding suitable climate zones for those species in North America.

Results Chestnuts are primarily distributed in the warm‐temperate and subtropical zones in the northern hemisphere. PCA results revealed that thermal gradient was the primary control of chestnut distribution. Climatic spaces of different species overlap with one another to different degrees, but strong similarities are shown especially between Chinese species and American species. Climatic envelope matching suggested that large areas in eastern North America have a favourable climate for Chinese species.

Main conclusions The general biological traits and climatic limits of the seven chestnut species are very similar. The predictions of Chinese species climatic range corresponded with most of the historical American chestnut range. Thus, a regionally adapted, blight‐resistant, introgressed hybrid American chestnut appears feasible if a sufficiently diverse array of Chinese chestnut germplasm is used as a source of blight resistance. Our study provided a between‐continent climate matching approach to facilitate the range‐wide species restoration, which can be readily applied in planning the restoration of other threatened or endangered species.