bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paired city Cryptosporidium serosurvey in the southwest USA
Authors: FROST F. J. , MULLER T. , CRAUN G. F. , CALDERON R. L. , ROEFER P. A.
Published: July 2002

In 1996, serological responses to two Cryptosporidium antigens were determined for 200 Las Vegas (LV), Nevada, and 200 Albuquerque, New Mexico, blood donors to evaluate associations between endemic infections, water exposures, and other risk factors. LV uses chlorinated filtered drinking water from Lake Mead while Albuquerque uses chlorinated ground water. The intensity of serological response to both markers was higher for older donors (P < 0·05), donors who washed food with bottled water (P < 0·05) and donors from LV (P < 0·05). A decreased serological response was not associated with bottled water consumption, nor was an increased response associated with self-reported cryptosporidiosis-like illness or residence in LV at the time of a cryptosporidiosis outbreak 2 years earlier. Although these findings suggest the serological response may be associated with type of tap water and certain foods, additional research is needed to clarify the role of both food and drinking water in endemic Cryptosporidium infection.
Epidemiological investigation of the Central Scotland outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 infection, November to December 1996
Authors: COWDEN J. M. , AHMED S. , DONAGHY M. , RILEY A.
Published: July 2002

On Friday, 22 November 1996, the microbiologist at a hospital in Lanarkshire, Scotland, identified presumptive Escherichia coli O157 in faecal specimens submitted by three patients with bloody diarrhoea, and confirmed its presence in one. Over the next 6 h, 12 more potential cases were identified. Investigations first indicated then confirmed a single food premises as the source of infection. Effective control measures were applied promptly. The outbreak was declared over on 20 January 1997, by which time 512 cases had been identified, and infection with the outbreak strain confirmed in 279. Twenty deaths occurred in cases during the outbreak and there were two more in cases during 1997. Seventeen of these deaths resulted from the outbreak. This paper describes the outbreak's epidemiological investigation, referring to other investigations, and control measures, where appropriate.
Isolation and characterization of group B streptococci from

human and bovine sources within and around Nairobi
Authors: MOSABI J. M. , ARIMI S. M. , KANG'ETHE E. K.
Published: July 2002

Group B streptococci (GBS) were isolated from bovine bulk milk
and from

vaginas and

throats of antenatal and postnatal women using TKT and rapid GBS media.

Sixty-three of 529

(12%) bovine bulk milk samples, 9 of 48 (19%) vaginal and 3 of 48 (6%)
throat

samples were

positive. Both bovine and human beta haemolytic isolates were characterized

biochemically and

serologically. Pigment production was a characteristic of both human and

bovine beta haemolytic isolates. The majority (88%) of human isolates fermented

salicin and not lactose

and most bovine isolates were either lactose positive/salicin positive

(41%) or lactose

positive/salicin negative (38%). Human and bovine isolates were 100%
and

85% typable respectively. Serotype distribution was similar in the bovine
and human

populations with serotype la, lc and lll being most common in both. Fermentation
of

sugars showed major

differences between bovine and human isolates but similarity in

serotype distribution suggests some genetic relationship.
Detection of campylobacter in gastroenteritis: comparison of
direct PCR assay of faecal samples with selective culture
Authors: LAWSON A. J. , SHAFI M. S. , PATHAK K. , STANLEY J.
Published: July 2002

The prevalence of campylobacter gastroenteritis has been estimated
by bacterial isolation using
selective culture. However, there is evidence that certain species and
strains are not recovered
on selective agars. We have therefore compared direct PCR assays of faecal
samples with
campylobacter culture, and explored the potential of PCR for simultaneous
detection and
identification to the species level. Two hundred unselected faecal samples
from cases of acute
gastroenteritis were cultured on modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate
agar and
subjected to DNA extraction and PCR assay. Culture on CCDA indicated that
16 of the 200
samples contained ‘Campylobacter spp.’.
By contrast, PCR assays detected campylobacters in
19 of the 200 samples, including 15 of the culture-positive samples, and
further identified them
as: C. jejuni (16), C. coli (2) and C. hyointestinalis

(1). These results show that PCR offers a
different perspective on the incidence and identity of campylobacters in
human gastroenteritis.
The prevalence of hepatitis B infection in adults in England
and Wales
Authors: GAY N. J. , HESKETH L. M. , OSBORNE K. P. , FARRINGTON C. P. , MORGAN-CAPNER P. , MILLER E.
Published: July 2002

Cost effectiveness analyses of alternative hepatitis B vaccination
programmes in England and
Wales require a robust estimate of the lifetime risk of carriage. To this
end, we report the
prevalence of infection in 3781 anonymized individuals aged 15–44
years whose sera were
submitted in 1996 to 16 microbiology laboratories in England and Wales.
One hundred and
forty-six individuals (3·9%) were confirmed as anti HBc positive,
including 14 chronic carriers
(0·37%). The prevalence of infection and carriage was higher in
samples collected in London
and increased with age. No increased risk of infection was seen in sera
from genito-urinary
(GUM) clinics. Only 15 sera positive for hepatitis B were also positive
for hepatitis C. Our
results confirm the low prevalence of hepatitis B in England and Wales,
are consistent with
previous estimates of carriage and suggest that many infections were acquired
while resident
outside the UK. Future prevalence studies should determine the country
of birth and other risk
factors for each individual in order to confirm these findings.
Consequences of MRSA carriage in nursing home residents
Authors: NICLAES L. , BUNTINX F. , BANURO F. , LESAFFRE E. , HEYRMAN J.
Published: July 2002

A prospective cohort study with 1 year follow-up evaluated the relation between MRSA
carriage and mortality, likelihood of hospitalization and functional status in residents of a
nursing home for the elderly. Included were all 447 residents living in the home in early June
1994. From all patients, swabs were taken from nose, throat and perineum. Additional swabs
(sputum, urine or wounds) were taken when indicated. The relative risk (RR) of dying within 6
months in MRSA carriers compared to non-carriers was 2·29 (95% CI=1·04–5·04). This RR
remained stable (1·57–2·40) after adjustment for co-variables using Mantel–Haenszel stratified
analysis. After 1 year, the RR was reduced to 1·30 (95% CI=0·65–2·58). Univariate survival
analysis confirmed a difference in survival between carriers and non-carriers after 6 months
(log-rank P=0·04) and no difference after 1 year. Cox regression analysis resulted in a hazard
ratio for dying within 6 months of 1·73 (95% CI=0·72–4·17). No relation was found between
carriage and either likelihood of hospitalization or indicators of functional status. These
results are compatible with a possible relation between 6 months mortality and MRSA carriage in
nursing home patients. It calls for a large scale, multicentre cohort study in order to either
confirm or refute these findings.
A community outbreak of food-borne small round-structured
virus gastroenteritis caused by a contaminated water supply
Authors: BRUGHA R. , VIPOND I. B. , EVANS M. R. , SANDIFER Q. D. , ROBERTS R. J. , SALMON R. L. , CAUL E. O. , MUKERJEE A. K.
Published: July 2002

In August 1994, 30 of 135 (23%) bakery plant employees and over
100 people from South
Wales and Bristol in the United Kingdom, were affected by an outbreak of
gastroenteritis.
Epidemiological studies of employees and three community clusters found
illness in employees
to be associated with drinking cold water at the bakery (relative
risk 3·3, 95%, CI 1·6–7·0),
and in community cases with eating custard slices (relative risk
19·8, 95%, CI 2·9–135·1) from
a variety of stores supplied by one particular bakery. Small round-structured
viruses (SRSV)
were identified in stool specimens from 4 employees and 7 community cases.
Analysis of the
polymerase and capsid regions of the SRSV genome by reverse transcription-polymerase
chain
reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrated viruses of both genogroups (1 and 2) each
with several
different nucleotide sequences. The heterogeneity of the viruses identified
in the outbreak
suggests that dried custard mix may have been inadvertently reconstituted
with contaminated
water. The incident shows how secondary food contamination can cause wide-scale
community
gastroenteritis outbreaks, and demonstrates the ability of molecular techniques
to support
classical epidemiological methods in outbreak investigations.
Seroepidemiology of group A rotavirus in suburban
São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: COX M. J. , AZEVEDO R. S. , NOKES D. J. , BEARDS G. M. , McCRAE M. A. , MASSAD E. , MEDLEY G. F.
Published: July 2002

Age-specific patterns of rotavirus infection were investigated

using a randomly selected and
representative sample of sera from a suburban community of São
Paulo, Brazil screened for
class-specific antibodies to group A rotavirus. Age-serology of anti-rotavirus
IgG showed
primary infection predominant in young infants with a median age of around
18 months
consistent with IgM serology suggesting highest rates of recent infection
between ages 4 and 48
months. Anti-rotavirus serum IgA prevalence increased gradually with age.
Paired samples
from infants, collected 1 month apart, indicated high exposure rates with
seroconversion
occurring in several infants during the reported low transmission season.
Between 5 and 10%
of adults had elevated IgM levels indicative of recent infection and, potentially,
of an
important contribution adults may play to rotavirus transmission. Further
understanding of the
dynamics of rotavirus transmission within populations, at group and serotype
level, would
benefit the design and monitoring of future immunization programmes.
Salmonella infection in a commercial line of ducks;
Experimental studies on virulence, intestinal colonization and
immune protection
Authors: BARROW P. A. , LOVELL M. A. , MURPHY C. K. , PAGE K.
Published: July 2002

Experimental infections of different salmonella serotypes were established in a commercial line
of ducks to provide baseline information on which control measures might be based. The
ducks were very resistant to systemic infection with Salmonella typhimurium, S. enteritidis and
S. gallinarum within 36 h of hatching. This was associated with an inherent inability of the
strains to multiply in the reticulo-endothelial system. The resistance was not associated with
poor invasiveness or serum sensitivity. Individual strains of S. typhimurium, S. enteritidis, S.
heidelberg and S. orion colonized the gut well and were excreted in the faeces for at least 6
weeks by ducks when they were infected orally within 2 days of hatching. The main sites of
colonization were the caeca and, to a lesser extent, the crop. Viable counts of each inoculated
strain in the caeca remained in excess of 106 c.f.u. 3 weeks after infection although the
organisms had been cleared from the spleen by this time. Much less excretion occurred when
the birds were infected at 3 weeks of age. When infected ducks, which had cleared themselves
of infection, were challenged orally with the homologous strain expressing a different genetic
marker, very low levels of excretion of the challenge strain were detected when compared with
a control group. After infection low titres of circulating lipopolysaccharide-specific IgG
antibodies were detected by an ELISA. Intestinal colonization of newly hatched ducks with an
aroA strain of S. enteritidis resulted in extensive colonization which exerted an exclusion effect
on the parent strain inoculated 24 h later.
Tuberculosis in the veterans healthcare system: a six-year review and evaluation of programme effectiveness
Authors: ROSELLE G. A. , DANKO L. H. , KRALOVIC S. M. , SIMBARTL L. A. , KIZER K. W.
Published: July 2002

The Department of Veterans Affairs operates a large, centrally administered health care system
consisting of 173 hospitals and 4 free standing outpatient clinics nationwide with approximately
945115 hospital discharges, 24·2 million outpatient visits, and 2·86 million persons served
annually over the time frame of the review. The purpose of the study was to define whether
such a system could effect timely change in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) using centralized
programme planning and flexible field implementation. A retrospective review of the number of
newly diagnosed cases of active TB treated at veterans health care facilities between 1 October
1990 and 30 September 1997 was determined by using a standardized annual case census.

Intervention included implementation of the most current guidelines for the prevention of
transmission of TB in the community and hospital setting, including administrative and
engineering controls and a change in personal protective equipment. Centrally directed
programme guidance, education, and funding were provided for field use in health care
facilities of widely varying size and complexity.

The numbers of total reported cases of TB decreased significantly (P < 0·001) throughout the
veterans health care system (nationally and regionally), with the case rate decreasing at a rate
significantly greater than that seen in the USA as a whole (P < 0·0001). TB associated with
multi-drug resistance (isoniazid and rifampin) and HIV coinfection also significantly decreased
over the study period. Therefore, a large, centrally administered health care system can
effectively combat a re-emerging infectious disease and may also demonstrate a successful
outcome greater than seen in other, perhaps less organized health care settings.
Characteristics, location and selection of diurnal resting dens by Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in a low density area
Authors: Revilla Eloy , Palomares Francisco , Fernández Néstor
Published: July 2002

We describe diurnal resting dens (setts) used by Eurasian badgers Meles meles L. in Coto del Rey, Doñana National Park, south‐western Spain, and analyse the factors that determine sett location and selection in relation to territory outlines, soil type and vegetation structure. Setts were located by tracking radio‐tagged badgers daily. Badger setts were mainly underground burrow systems with, on average, 2.6 badger entrances. Frequently, badgers constructed setts by enlarging existing rabbit warrens. Setts were located almost everywhere, but badgers preferred easily dug, well‐drained soils with good vegetation cover within foraging habitats. A logistic regression model showed that badgers select sites with high surrounding shrub density, large shrubs covering the burrow and close to the centre of the territory (in Mediterranean scrubland habitat). The small size of badger setts in Coto del Rey is common to other low density areas, and probably relates to the extent of use (i.e. age of the burrows and number of badgers using them) of the burrow system. The number of setts per badger territory is related positively to territory size. The similarity of sett densities between this low density population and high density populations, points to a minimum number of setts being required to maximize territory use, and to offer easily‐available protection. The preservation and improvement of Mediterranean scrubland vegetation, as well as of large and old shrubs, are important for the future conservation of the badger in Mediterranean landscapes. In these areas, and given the impossibility of distinguishing main setts, the estimation of absolute densities in population surveys using main sett numbers should be avoided in favour of relative indices of abundance.
An EPG study of palatalization in French: Cross-dialect
and inter-subject variation
Authors: Corneau Caroline
Published: July 2002

This article studies palatalization gestures in the
production of /t/ and /d/ in standard Belgium French
through the use of electropalatography. The articulatory
results are compared with an acoustic study of the affricated
realization of these consonants when followed by /i/, /y/, /j/,
and /[inverted h]/ in Quebec French (Bento, 1993). The study
examines regional and individual differences in palatalization
gestures to show how affrication can be ascribed to palatalization.
Results are analyzed with regard to temporal, articulatory
(electropalatography), and voicing aspects to compare production
strategies across French variants, speakers, and phonetic
contexts. The aim is to understand coordination processes,
which are explained in terms of biomechanical constraints
resulting from the coordination of adjacent gestures. These
processes are used to show how palatalization traces in
a variant with no recognized affrication (Belgium French)
are similar in nature to the affrication in Quebec French,
because palatalization is due to the coarticulation of
the stop with a following high front vowel or a palatal
approximant. Results are also compared with diachronic
data to propose explanations for some patterns in the development
from Latin to French.
The dynamics of boundary spikes for a nonlocal reaction-diffusion model
Authors: IRON D. , WARD M. J.
Published: July 2002

An asymptotic reduction of the Gierer–Meinhardt activator-inhibitor system in the limit of
large inhibitor diffusivity and small activator diffusivity ε leads to a singularly perturbed
nonlocal reaction-diffusion equation for the activator concentration. In the limit ε → 0, this
nonlocal problem for the activator concentration has localized spike-type solutions. In this
limit, we analyze the motion of a spike that is confined to the smooth boundary of a two or
three-dimensional domain. By deriving asymptotic differential equations for the spike motion,
it is shown that the spike moves towards a local maximum of the curvature in two dimensions
and a local maximum of the mean curvature in three dimensions. The motion of a spike
on a flat segment of a two-dimensional domain is also analyzed, and this motion is found
to be metastable. The critical feature that allows for the slow boundary spike motion is the
presence of the nonlocal term in the underlying reaction-diffusion equation.
Diffraction by slender bodies
Authors: ENGINEER J. C. , KING J. R. , TEW R. H.
Published: July 2002

The scattering of high-frequency sound waves by two-dimensional

curved boundaries has
received much attention over the past few decades, with particular interest
in the effects of
tangential ray incidence. In the event that the radius of curvature is
not small,
an analysis near the point of tangency gives rise to the Fock–Leontovič

equation for the local field amplitude
which, in turn, matches the creeping field of Keller's geometrical

theory of diffraction. If
the radius of curvature is sufficiently small, however, then this analysis

is not valid and it is
necessary to solve the full Helmholtz equation in the presence

of a parabolic boundary. Under
these conditions, which are canonical for diffraction by a sufficiently
slender body, results
are presented for the case of a plane wave impinging upon an acoustically
hard parabolic
cylinder. This diffraction process engenders a creeping field at one tip
of the slender body,
which then propagates around the body to the other tip. Here its energy
is partially reflected,
partially transmitted and partially radiated out in a detached field. A
full description of
this is given, along with a discussion of the ‘blunt’
limit in which we show that not only do
we get the traditional creeping field of Keller's geometrical
theory of diffraction, but also
an exponentially small backward-propagating creeping field not predicted
by traditional ray
methods.
A nonlinear parabolic equation modelling
surfactant diffusion
Authors: CHEN XINFU , HUANG CHAOCHENG , ZHAO JENNIFER
Published: July 2002

An initial-boundary value problem for nonlinear parabolic equations modelling surfactant diffusions is investigated. The boundary conditions are of nonlinear adsorptive types, and the initial value has a single point jump. We study the well-posedness of the problem, the
convergence of a numerical scheme, and the regularity as well as quantitative behaviour of solutions.
Region analysis and a π-calculus with groups
Authors: DAL ZILIO SILVANO , GORDON ANDREW D.
Published: July 2002

We show that the typed region calculus of Tofte and Talpin can be encoded in a typed
π-calculus equipped with name groups and a novel effect analysis. In the region calculus, each
boxed value has a statically determined region in which it is stored. Regions are allocated
and de-allocated according to a stack discipline, thus improving memory management. The
idea of name groups arose in the typed ambient calculus of Cardelli, Ghelli, and Gordon.
There, and in our π-calculus, each name has a statically determined group to which it belongs.
Groups allow for type-checking of certain mobility properties, as well as effect analyses. Our
encoding makes precise the intuitive correspondence between regions and groups. We propose
a new formulation of the type preservation property of the region calculus, which avoids Tofte
and Talpin's rather elaborate co-inductive formulation. We prove the encoding preserves the
static and dynamic semantics of the region calculus. Our proof of the correctness of region
de-allocation shows it to be a specific instance of a general garbage collection principle for
the π-calculus with effects. We propose new equational laws for letregion, analogous to scope
mobility laws in the π-calculus, and show them sound in our semantics.
Fostering (pro)active language learning through MOO
Authors: SHIELD LESLEY , DAVIES LAWRENCE B. , WEININGER MARKUS J.
Published: July 2002

The Internet allows the language learner myriad opportunities to consult authentic
sources and to practise using the target language with native speakers and other learners both
synchronously and asynchronously. The current paper describes the design, development and implementation of
language learning activities using text-based virtual reality or MOO (Multi-User Domain Object Oriented) in
conjunction with the World Wide Web. The underlying purpose was to promote active, autonomous learning
behaviours by enabling geographically distributed language learners to work with native- and non-native speakers
of the target language on an engaging and motivating task with a concrete and meaningful outcome.
Relocation mosaic - a review of 40 years of resettlement literature
Authors: Smith A. E. , Crome P.
Published: July 2002

The debate surrounding what has been termed in the literature as relocation stress, transplantation shock, transfer trauma, and pure relocation effect has fuelled academic interest and research over the last half century. Coffman’s review of both published and unpublished data on 26 groups of relocated individuals highlights the breadth of equivocal evidence of mortality post-relocation. Although his review found no general relocation effect, research on the effects of relocation are still found to be ambiguous and contradictory, and its causative or other link to physical and mental health and mortality measures are unclear. In the United States there have even been legal moves (i.e. O’Bannon v. Town Court Nursing Center, Inc.) to persuade courts that relocation ‘should be a legally recognized phenomenon invoking judicial protection against transfer.’
Statistical properties of simple types
Authors: MOCZURAD M. , TYSZKIEWICZ J. , ZAIONC M.
Published: July 2002

We consider types and typed lambda calculus over a finite number of ground types. We are
going to investigate the size of the fraction of inhabited types of the given length n against
the number of all types of length n. The plan of this paper is to find the limit of that
fraction when n → ∞. The answer to this question is equivalent to finding the ‘density’ of
inhabited types in the set of all types, or the so-called asymptotic probability of finding an
inhabited type in the set of all types. Under the Curry–Howard isomorphism this means
finding the density or asymptotic probability of provable intuitionistic propositional
formulas in the set of all formulas. For types with one ground type (formulas with one
propositional variable), we prove that the limit exists and is equal to 1/2 + √5/10, which is
approximately 72.36%. This means that a long random type (formula) has this probability
of being inhabited (tautology). We also prove that for every finite number k of ground-type
variables, the density of inhabited types is always positive and lies between
(4k + 1)/(2k + 1)2 and (3k + 1)/(k + 1)2.
Therefore we can easily see that the density is
decreasing to 0 with k going to infinity. From the lower and upper bounds presented we can
deduce that at least 1/3 of classical tautologies are intuitionistic.
CHROMOSOME NUMBERS OF SOME TROPICAL RHODODENDRONS (SECTION VIREYA)
Authors: ATKINSON RUTH , JONG KWITON , ARGENT GEORGE
Published: July 2002

Chromosome counts for 27 species plus one intersubsectional hybrid are presented from all seven subsections of section Vireya in the genus Rhododendron. Twenty-three are new, and five confirm previously published counts. The plants originate from a wide geographical and altitudinal range; all have a uniform somatic number of 2n=26.
Contacts: Social Dynamics in the Czechoslovak State-Socialist Art World
Authors: Svasek Maruska
Published: July 2002

This article analyses the strategic manipulation and use of contacts by artists and art historians in state-socialist Czechoslovakia, and focuses on the role of friendship, political favours, professional nepotism and bribery in this process. It criticises Howard Becker's belief that totalitarian regimes cannot partake in discourses of patronage common to Western democracies because of the lack of freedom of individuals. Instead, it argues that the conventional concept of patronage can only partly explain the motives behind the use of contacts by individuals, because its focus is limited to exploring vertical relationships between ‘powerless’ and ‘powerful’ social actors. The analysis therefore takes a wider and more dynamic view, and looks at the interplay of vertical and horizontal processes.
I Am a Camera: Film and Theatre Censorship in 1950s Britain
Authors: Aldgate Tony
Published: July 2002

Although the processes of censorship as exercised over the stage and screen in 1950s Britain shared similar characteristics, there were vital differences in the way in which the governing authorities construed the audiences who frequented these entertainment media. Because cinemagoers constituted a mass audience and were considered to be more impressionable, the criteria of ‘quality’ applied by the British Board of Film Censors differed markedly to those put into effect for the theatre by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The reception afforded both the play and film of I Am a Camera reveals the subtlety of approach adopted by the censors in each instance.
Novi modulaminis melos: the music of Heloise and Abelard
Authors: Wulstan David
Published: July 2002

Recent developments have uncovered the early correspondence of Heloise and Abelard. This discovery
has allowed the identification of a number of ‘lost’ lyrics by Abelard and has revealed that Heloise, too, was a lyricist of great stature. This article reviews some of their works and touches upon their connection with the ‘goliardic’ tradition, the Carmina Burana, and their influence upon Walther von der Vogelweide and other poets. The sequences and liturgical dramas of Heloise survive with music of an individual style. The dramas, moreover, are of notable originality: they influenced the later history of the genre (including the Carmina Burana Easter dramas) to a considerable and enduring extent.
Age and reproduction
Authors: Cruz José R , Gindoff Paul R
Published: July 2002

Advanced female reproductive age is an important factor when evaluating couples for infertility. Infertility is defined as a lack of pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected intercourse, a condition present in about 15% of couples of reproductive age. The proportion of couples considered infertile has not changed recently in spite of an increase in the number of couples seeking infertility evaluation and treatment. Reasons for this phenomenon include the aging of the baby-boom generation, deferment of childbearing to later years of reproductive life (because of changes in lifestyles), and increased exposure of patients to infertility services. More women are delaying childbearing until their late 30's and into their 40's for various reasons, one of them being to develop their professional careers. This voluntary delay in childbearing not only poses a problem in terms of the 30–50% reduced pregnancy potential of older women, but other risks also have to be taken into account: the effect of pregnancy on other maternal illnesses, an increased risk of pre-eclampsia, hypertension and diabetes, and an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities, abortions, and stillbirth. The decrease of female fecundity beginning in the 30's, becoming more pronounced after 40, is well documented. There is an approximately 50% decrease in the fertility rate of women attempting pregnancy at the age of 40 or older compared with younger women, and a twofold to threefold increase in the rate of spontaneous abortions. Reports of artificial insemination and chromosomal analysis of unfertilized human oocytes and spare embryos in in vitro fertilization (IVF) suggest that the quality of the oocyte and the resulting embryo are affected seriously by age; again, an age of 40 years being the critical cutoff point. On the other hand, age (up to 64 years) does not seem to affect sperm characteristics or its ability to fertilize human eggs, and the resulting embryo development in vitro as well as implantation in recipient uteri are not affected by the age of the male providing the semen sample.
A Ratio Inequality for Binary Trees and the Best Secretary
Authors: KUBICKI GRZEGORZ , LEHEL JENŐ , MORAYNE MICHAŁ
Published: July 2002

Let Tn be the complete binary tree of height n considered as the Hasse diagram

of a poset with its root 1n as the maximum element. Define A(n; T)

= [mid ]{S ⊆ Tn : 1n ∈ S,

S ≅ T}[mid ], and B(n; T) = [mid ]{S ⊆

Tn : 1n ∉ S, S ≅ T}[mid ].

In this note we prove that for

any fixed n and rooted binary trees T1, T2 such that

T2 contains a subposet isomorphic to T1. We conjecture that the ratio

A/B also increases with T for arbitrary trees. These

inequalities imply natural behaviour of the optimal stopping time in a poset extension of

the secretary problem.
LOVE AMONG THE RUINS: THE CATACOMBS, THE CLOSET, AND THE VICTORIAN “EARLY CHRISTIAN” NOVEL
Authors: Lankewish Vincent A.
Published: July 2002

Catacomb, n., a subterranean place for the burial of the dead, consisting of galleries or passageways with recesses excavated in their sides for tombs.

The Oxford English Dictionary

Silence itself — the things one declines to say, or is forbidden to name, the discretion that is required between different speakers — is less the absolute limit of discourse, the other side from which it is separated by a strict boundary, than an element that functions alongside the things said, with them and in relation to them within over-all strategies.

Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality

We often assume (rightly) that homosexuality must be hidden, that it has to be found.

Neil Bartlett, Who Was That Man?

I. Ruining the Religious Novel

BY TITLING THIS ESSAY “Love Among the Ruins,” I mean at once to be literal, figurative, and allusive in the framing of my topic: literal, in that I will be examining the place of love — specifically, erotic love — within the Roman catacombs or equivalent sites of Christian sanctuary; figurative, in that the representations of love that I will be discussing occur within the context of “literary ruins” — that is, within a relatively obscure nineteenth-century English narrative sub-genre, the Victorian “Early Christian” novel1; and, finally, allusive, in that I deliberately invoke the first poem of Robert Browning’s 1855 collection of dramatic monologues, Men and Women, for more than mere rhetorical effect. In fact, “Love Among the Ruins” condenses a number of the key concerns that I want to address in this essay, for the poem offers an important critique of classical culture not only as a site of pagan aesthetic production and human vainglory, but, relatedly, of homosocial and, perhaps, homoerotic bonds and the sterility presumed to inhere therein — a critique highly visible in Victorian Early Christian fiction. Indeed, I would argue, Browning’s text implicitly participates in the discursive construction of an important, if ultimately unstable, dichotomy that Victorian novels set in the catacombs and written roughly around the same time as “Love Among the Ruins” powerfully reinforce: namely, the traditional opposition between classicism and Christianity, an opposition at least one facet of which is rooted in competing attitudes toward the erotic.
VICTORIAN PARATEXTS
Authors: Bell Bill
Published: July 2002

IN THE POST-THEORETICAL (re)turn to history there is now, in literary and cultural studies, an increasing preoccupation with material relations, manifest in the growing number of interdisciplinary approaches foregrounding the importance of the production, circulation, and reception of texts. It has become increasingly evident that, despite internal claims for praxis, a much-vaunted cultural materialism has found itself at times imaginatively and practically restrained as a consequence of extreme textualist legacies. The familiar and too easy dichotomy between the so-called empiricism and the so-called critical theory is now beginning to recede as empiricist methodologies, much maligned in the post-humanist critiques of the 1980s, are beginning to make their presences felt again, though in revitalized and theoretically informed ways.
BURYING THE DUKE: VICTORIAN MOURNING AND THE FUNERAL OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON
Authors: Pearsall Cornelia D. J.
Published: July 2002

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

I Cor. 15.54

IN MID-CENTURY LONDON there occurred a spectacle of massive proportions, featuring always at its center a corpse. The funeral of the Duke of Wellington, an event that has occasioned surprisingly little critical attention, took place in 1852 and was recognized as one of the greatest public displays of the Victorian period.1 Indeed, many felt it to be one of the most significant public events in the history of Britain, and if Britain, then of course the globe: as the Illustrated London News put it, “[this event] may be said to have surpassed in significant grandeur any similar tribute to greatness ever offered in the world” (Nov. 20, 1852, 430).2 St. Paul’s Cathedral was specially illuminated with six thousand new gas lights in preparation for the ceremony of interment, while the funeral procession, comprised of more than ten thousand marchers, encompassed central London, enjoying an audience numbering more than one and a half million people. Queen Victoria and virtually every major and minor national figure in politics or the arts viewed either the procession or the ceremony at St. Paul’s. The interment was quite literally a multi-media event: the spectacle drew for its effects on numerous disciplines, from literature, music, and journalism to painting, drawing, and architectural design, and spawned in turn editorials, songs, poems, paintings, prints, and engravings.
OSCAR WILDE’S DE PROFUNDIS: HOMOSEXUAL SELF-FASHIONING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SCANDAL
Authors: Doylen Michael R.
Published: July 2002

THE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE for acts of “gross indecency” not only confirmed him as “the sexual deviant for the late nineteenth century” but also made him “the paradigmatic example for an emerging public definition of a new ‘type’ of male sexual actor: ‘the homosexual’” (Cohen 1–2). Given that De Profundis is the only major prose work that Wilde wrote on the other side of the scandals prompted by his 1895 trials,1 it is surprising that this text has received little serious consideration from scholars in gay male studies. To be sure, Wilde’s nonfiction prose and critical dialogues generally have not received the critical attention they deserve. But the neglect of De Profundis by gay male scholarship specifically is probably due less to the text’s marginal generic status than to the feeling that De Profundis betrays the iconoclastic image of Wilde dear to the hearts of twentieth-century gay men. In his letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, Wilde seems so — one almost hesitates to say it — sincere. Indeed, for critics such as Jonathan Dollimore, Wilde’s semblance of sincerity signifies a capitulation to the middle-class morality he otherwise resisted. De Profundis thus comes to mark a decisive break in Wilde’s oeuvre and to signal the end of his self-fashioning activities (95–98). However, the view that De Profundis represents Wilde’s sincere contrition does not originate with gay male studies but was, in fact, a popular response to the text upon its initial publication in 1905.
Reversing the hierarchy between text and performance
Authors: FISCHER-LICHTE ERIKA
Published: July 2002

This paper deals with the reversal of the hierarchy between text and performance, which can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century. In particular, two possibilities of how to redefine the relationship between text and performance are explored and discussed. Both these possibilities have played a prominent role in German theatre since the 1970s and are modelled after distinct cultural paradigms, namely the paradigm of sacrificial ritual and the paradigm of play/game. The leading questions of the investigation are: what purpose does it serve to take recourse to these paradigms and how has it affected the performance as well as writing for the theatre?
Systematic construction of a versatile case system
Authors: BARKER KEN , COPECK TERRY , SZPAKOWICZ STAN , DELISLE SYLVAIN
Published: July 2002

Case systems abound in natural language processing. Almost any
attempt to recognize
and uniformly represent relationships within a clause – a unit at

the centre of any linguistic system
that goes beyond word level statistics – must be based on
semantic roles drawn from a small,
closed set. The set of roles describing relationships between a verb and
its arguments within a
clause is a case system. What is required of such a case system? How does
a natural language
practitioner build a system that is complete and detailed yet practical
and natural? This paper
chronicles the construction of a case system from its origin in English
marker words to its
successful application in the analysis of English text.
CAN SELECTIVE ATTENTION FOR BODILY INFORMATION BE INDUCED BY FEAR?
Authors: Kroeze Sabine , van den Hout Marcel A.
Published: July 2002

Selective attention for bodily sensations is often found in patients with panic disorder. Whether this may be
the result of fear was investigated in a group of normal subjects. Subjects were made to fear an acceleration in their
heartbeats or an increase in their muscle tension by threatening them with an electric shock should this occur. When
subjects were under threat of these shocks, attention for ECG and EMG feedback was measured. Although the task
seemed sensitive to the manipulation, no evidence was found for selective attention for fear-relevant information.
Several shortcomings of the task are discussed.
THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY IN FACILITATING ADAPTATION TO ILLNESS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A CASE SERIES
Authors: Sharpe Louise , Sensky Tom , Timberlake Natalie , Allard Simon , Brewin Chris R.
Published: July 2002

A considerable literature has developed over the past two decades that has investigated the utility of cognitive
behavioural treatments for a variety of medical disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis. Research has consistently
found that psychological variables affect the course of the illness and that cognitive behavioural approaches can
improve psychological and physical function. However, the literature has focused almost exclusively on chronic illness.
There is little literature that has investigated the role of cognitive behavioural therapy in facilitating the adjustment
early in the disease course to diagnosis and subsequent illness. The diagnosis of any potentially chronic illness has
enormous ramifications for a person's life and it is well documented that many people become depressed even early
in the disease course. Theoretical accounts have been put forward that allow a model for understanding the process of
adaptation and offer a foundation for the use of cognitive and behavioural strategies with a recently diagnosed group
of patients. The present paper reports the use of a cognitive and behavioural intervention to facilitate coping and
adjustment to illness.
The Frontal Behavioral Inventory in the differential diagnosis
of frontotemporal dementia
Authors: KERTESZ ANDREW , NADKARNI NEELESH , DAVIDSON WILDA , THOMAS ALEX W.
Published: July 2002

A personality and behavioral disorder is an important
and defining feature of frontal lobe dementia (FLD) or
frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). The diagnosis usually
depends on the progressive development of various behavioral
symptoms rather than a set of neuropsychological measures.
Quantification of the personality–behavior disorder
is important for standardizing the diagnosis. An inventory
was constructed to capture the major positive and negative
behaviors and personality change, and it was administered
prospectively to caregivers of 108 patients in a cognitive
neurology clinic, at the time of first diagnostic assessment.
The prevalence and extent of behavioral abnormality was
quantitated in the clinic population of FLD, vascular dementia
(VaD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), primary progressive
aphasia (PPA), and depressive disorder (DD) patients. The
mean scores of FLD patients were significantly above all
other groups. Scores in VaD were also higher than in AD,
PPA, and DD. Interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa
of .90) and item consistency (a Cronbach alpha of .89)
were both high. Perseveration, indifference,
inattention, inappropriateness, and loss
of insight rated highest in FLD, significantly different
from all other groups. Apathy, aspontaneity,
inflexibility, disorganization, impulsivity,
personal neglect, and poor judgment were
also significantly higher in FLD. Discriminant function
correctly classified 92.7% versus all other patients
(NON-FLD) in the study. A total of 18.8% of VaD patients
were misclassified as FLD. Indifference, alien
hand, and inappropriateness were the highest
discriminant functions. Perseveration and verbal
apraxia were important discriminatory items for FLD
and PPA, respectively. The FBI is a standardized behavioral
inventory useful to diagnose FLD, to differentiate it from
other dementias, and to quantify the behavior disorder.
(JINS, 2000, 6, 460–468.)
The functional relevance of affect recognition errors in
schizophrenia
Authors: POOLE JOHN H. , TOBIAS FAITH C. , VINOGRADOV SOPHIA
Published: July 2002

To evaluate the clinical and ecological validity of
affect recognition (AR) measures in a sample of community-dwelling
schizophrenic outpatients (N = 40), we analyzed
the relation of facial and vocal AR to intellectual, symptomatic,
and quality-of-life criteria. Facial and vocal AR showed
virtually identical patterns of association with these
criteria, suggesting that both modalities of AR draw on
the same underlying heteromodal capacity. Specifically,
AR was correlated with a subset of intellectual abilities
(verbal–semantic, executive–attentional), but
was unrelated to age, education, or neuroleptic dose. In
terms of clinical and ecological criteria, AR errors correlated
with more severe psychotic symptoms (positive and disorganized)
and with lower quality of life (relationships, community
participation, and richness of intrapsychic experience).
Even after controlling for subjects' intellectual
abilities and illness severity, inaccurate AR was associated
with bizarre behaviors (involving sociosexual interactions,
clothing, appearance) and with impoverished interpersonal
relations. Thus, while difficulty identifying basic affective
cues is related to general cognitive and illness-severity
factors, it appears to have specific functional implications
that do not depend on generalized impairment. Assessment
of AR may identify a subgroup of schizophrenic patients
who have a central defect in the heteromodal monitoring
of emotional-social displays, associated with dysregulation
of social behaviors and disruption of interpersonal relations.
(JINS, 2000, 6, 649–658.)
Theory of mind and executive functions in normal human aging
and Parkinson's disease
Authors: SALTZMAN JENNIFER , STRAUSS ESTHER , HUNTER MICHAEL , ARCHIBALD SARAH
Published: July 2002

Although the majority of research in theory of
mind (TOM) has focused on young children or individuals
with autism, recent investigations have begun to look at
TOM throughout the lifespan and in other neurological and
psychiatric populations. Some have suggested that TOM may
represent a dissociable, modular brain system that is related
to, but separable, from other brain functions including
executive functions (EF). Recently, studies have shown
that TOM performance can be compromised following an acquired
brain insult (e.g, damage to the right hemisphere). However,
the relationship of such impaired TOM performance to other
brain functions in these cases has not been explored. This
study investigated the effects of both normal human aging
and Parkinson's disease on TOM. The relationship of
TOM performance and EF in these groups was also examined.
The results suggested that although TOM performance appeared
compromised in the group of individuals with Parkinson's
disease, the elderly control participants were relatively
unimpaired relative to younger individuals. Significant
relationships between several measures of TOM and EF were
also found. The implications of these findings, and also
the finding that failure on one measure of TOM did not
necessarily predict failure on all measures of TOM, are
discussed. (JINS, 2000, 6, 781–788.)
Rehabilitation: A Demonstration of the Art and Science
Authors: Sander Angelle M.
Published: July 2002

This collection of case studies demonstrates an ideal in
the practice of neuropsychological rehabilitation. In each of
the 20 case studies presented, Barbara Wilson's treatment
approach is guided by a firm foundation in scientific theory,
while maintaining the flexibility and creativeness
characteristic of an art.
Cognitive and neurobehavioral functioning after mild versus
moderate traumatic brain injury in older adults
Authors: GOLDSTEIN FELICIA C. , LEVIN HARVEY S. , GOLDMAN WILLIAM P. , CLARK ALLISON N. , ALTONEN TRACY KENEHAN
Published: July 2002

This study evaluated the early cognitive and neurobehavioral
outcomes of older adults with mild versus moderate
traumatic brain injury (TBI). Thirty-five patients who
were age 50 years and older and sustained mild or moderate
TBI were prospectively recruited from acute care hospitals.
Patients were administered cognitive and neurobehavioral
measures up to 2 months post-injury. Demographically comparable
control participants received the same measures. Patients
and controls did not have previous histories of substance
abuse, neuropsychiatric disturbance, dementia, or neurologic
illness. Moderate TBI patients performed significantly
poorer than mild TBI patients and controls on most cognitive
measures, whereas the mild patients performed comparably
to controls. In contrast, both mild and moderate patients
exhibited significantly greater depression and anxiety/somatic
concern than controls. The results indicate that the classification
of TBI as mild versus moderate is prognostically
meaningful as applied to older adults. The findings extend
previous investigations in young adults by demonstrating
a relatively good cognitive outcome on objective measures,
but subjective complaints after a single, uncomplicated
mild TBI in older persons. (JINS, 2001, 7,
373–383.)