bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
developmental systems, evolutionarily stable strategies, and population laterality
Authors: casey michael b.
Published: October 2005

multiple endogenous and exogenous prenatal influences interact to form a system that induces the development of individual lateralization across a range of perceptual and motor abilities in precocial birds. as these influences are nearly invariant for all species members, they produce a phylogenetic influence that creates high levels of population laterality and social cohesion in the postnatal state.
about emotional intelligence and moral decisions
Authors: fernandez-berrocal pablo , extremera natalio
Published: October 2005

this commentary explores the use of interaction between moral heuristics and emotional intelligence (ei). the main insight presented is that the quality of moral decisions is very sensitive to emotions, and hence this may lead us to a better understanding of the role of emotional abilities in moral choices. in doing so, we consider how individual differences (specifically, ei) are related to moral decisions. we summarize evidence bearing on some of the ways in which ei might moderate framing effects in different moral tasks such as “the asian disease problem” and other more real-life problems like “a divorce decision.”
behavioral symmetry and reverse asymmetry in the chick and rat
Authors: denenberg victor h.
Published: October 2005

chicks reared in the absence of light and rat pups reared without extra stimulation fail to exhibit behavioral laterality, implying that a threshold amount of environmental stimulation is necessary for the brain to follow an asymmetry pathway. reverse asymmetry has been reported in the chick, but not the rat, though a sex difference resembling reverse asymmetry has been found in the rat.
language and the game of life
Authors: harnad stevan
Published: October 2005

steels & belpaeme's (s&b's) simulations contain all the right components, but they are put together wrongly. color categories are unrepresentative of categories in general and language is not merely naming. language evolved because it provided a powerful new way to acquire categories (through instruction, rather than just the old way of other species, through trial-and-error experience). it did not evolve so that multiple agents looking at the same objects could let one another know which of the objects they had in mind, co-coining names for them on the fly.
heuristics, moral imagination, and the future of technology
Authors: gorman michael e.
Published: October 2005

successful application of heuristics depends on how a problem is represented, mentally. moral imagination is a good technique for reflecting on, and sharing, mental representations of ethical dilemmas, including those involving emerging technologies. future research on moral heuristics should use more ecologically valid problems and combine quantitative and qualitative methods.
it is not evolution, but a better game would need a better agent
Authors: huyck christian , mitchell ian
Published: October 2005

steels & belpaeme (s&b) refer to the neural plausibility and evolutionary plausibility of their algorithms. although this is not central to their goal of effective artificial agents, their algorithms are not neurally or evolutionarily plausible. their communication games are interesting, and more complex games would lead to more effective agents. however, the algorithms could be improved either by using standard subsymbolic algorithms or by algorithms that are really neurally or evolutionarily plausible.
invisible fences of the moral domain
Authors: haidt jonathan
Published: October 2005

crossing the border into the moral domain changes moral thinking in two ways: (1) the facts at hand become “anthropocentric” facts not easily open to revision, and (2) moral reasoning is often the servant of moral intuitions, making it difficult for people to challenge their own intuitions. sunstein's argument is sound, but policy makers are likely to resist.
a selectionist approach integrates moral heuristics
Authors: hinde robert a.
Published: October 2005

the nature and diversity of moral codes can be understood in terms of a few basic propensities honed by diachronic dialectics between what people do and what they are supposed to do in the culture in question. many of the moral heuristics presented by sunstein can be seen as by-products of these processes.
not all categories work the same way
Authors: lehky sidney r.
Published: October 2005

the relative contributions of biological and cultural factors in determining category characteristics almost certainly vary for different categories, so that the results of these simulations on color categories don't necessarily generalize. it is suggested here that categories that pick out structure in the environment of strong behavioral significance to individual agents will be predominantly biologically determined and will converge without interagent communication, whereas those categories that serve primarily to coordinate behavior in a population will require communication to converge.
how culture might constrain color categories
Authors: roberson debi , o'hanlon catherine
Published: October 2005

if language is crucial to the development of shared colour categories, how might cultural constraints influence the development of divergent category sets? we propose that communities arrive at different sets of categories because the tendency to group by perceptual similarity interacts with environmental factors (differential access to dying and printing technologies), to make different systems optimal for communication in different situations.
learning colour words is slow: a cross-situational learning account
Authors: vogt paul , smith andrew d. m.
Published: October 2005

research into child language reveals that it takes a long time for children to learn the correct mapping of colour words. steels & belpaeme's (s&b's) guessing game, however, models fast learning of words. we discuss computational studies based on cross-situational learning, which yield results that are more consistent with the empirical child language data than those obtained by s&b.
towards a taxonomy of modes of moral decision-making
Authors: weber elke u. , ancker jessica s.
Published: October 2005

sunstein advocates a more systematic approach to the study of moral decision-making, namely the heuristics-and-biases paradigm. we offer two concerns and suggest that a focus on decision processes can add value. recent research on decision modes suggest that it is useful to distinguish between the qualitative differences in the ways in which moral decisions can be made when they are not made by reflective, consequentialist reasoning.
interindividual variation in human color categories: evidence against strong influence of language
Authors: wachtler thomas
Published: October 2005

with respect to human color categories, steels & belpaeme's (s&b's) simulations over-emphasize the possible influence of language. in humans, color processing is the result of a long evolutionary process in which categories developed without language. common principles of color processing lead to similar color categories, but interindividual variation in color categories exists. even color-deficiencies, causing large differences in color categories, remain inconspicuous in everyday life, thereby contradicting the hypothesis that language could play a role in color category formation.
variations in color naming within and across populations
Authors: webster michael a. , kay paul
Published: October 2005

the simulations of steels & belpaeme (s&b) suggest that communication could lead to color categories that are closely shared within a language and potentially diverge across languages. we argue that this is opposite of the patterns that are actually observed in empirical studies of color naming. focal color choices more often exhibit strong concordance across languages while also showing pronounced variability within any language.
Introduction: Science in Latin-American Contexts – Historical Studies
Authors: Corry Leo
Published: October 2005

This issue of Science in Context presents a collection of historical studies on various aspects of science and its practice as developed in Latin-American contexts. Relatively few scholars working in the history of science, and even in the more general field of “science studies,” have devoted their research to this field. Likewise, relatively little research has been done by scholars of Latin American studies on the cultural, political, and social impact of science, a field that is usually considered to be one of the central, defining aspects of modern, Western civilization.
Autonomy, even Regional Hegemony: Argentina and the “Hard Way” toward Its First Research Reactor (1945–1958)
Authors: de Mendoza Diego Hurtado
Published: October 2005

In the mid-1940s, Argentina was partially isolated and ruled by a military regime. The political confrontation between the military and the scientific community as well as international pressures played a major role in the failure of the first attempts to cope with nuclear development. Only after the relationship between the military and local scientists was readjusted and control of atomic energy was placed in the hands of the Navy, and Argentina's international relations restored, did nuclear development begin to take off. This paper examines the traumatic process of creating the political and institutional conditions for the reception of nuclear technology in a peripheral context. The key to shaping future policies was the decision made by Argentina's Atomic Energy Commission in April 1957 to construct its first research nuclear reactor instead of buying it as other countries such as Spain and Brazil were doing at the time.
Annuitization and asset allocation with HARA utility
Authors: KINGSTON GEOFFREY , THORP SUSAN
Published: October 2005

A new explanation for the well-known reluctance of retirees to buy life annuities is due to Milevsky and Young (2002, 2003): Since the decision to purchase longevity insurance is largely irreversible, in uncertain environments a real option to delay annuitization (RODA) generally has value. Milevsky and Young analytically identify and numerically estimate the RODA in a setting of constant relative risk aversion. This paper presents an extension to the case of HARA (or GLUM) preferences, the simplest representation of a consumption habit. The precise date of annuitization can no longer be ascertained with certainty in advance. This paper derives an approximation whereby the agent precommits. The effect of increasing the subsistence consumption rate on the timing of annuity purchase is similar to the effect of increasing the curvature parameter of the utility function. As in the CRRA case studied by Milevsky and Young, delayed annuitization is associated with optimistic predictions of the Sharpe ratio and divergence between annuity purchaser and provider predictions of mortality.
Market experience with modeling for defined-benefit pension funds: evidence from four countries
Authors: FABOZZI FRANK J. , FOCARDI SERGIO M. , JONAS CAROLINE L.
Published: October 2005

This paper takes a look at the modeling side of pension fund management. It is based on interviews with pension fund managers, regulators, consultants, and academics in four countries – the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The objective was to understand, through the experience of market participants, the role of modeling in managing defined-benefit pension funds. The 28 defined-benefit pension funds participating in the study have a total of €334 billion ($436 billion) assets under management. The findings of our study show that modeling is now considered an indispensable tool by many market participants. The need to manage the risk inherent in defined-benefit pension plans is the key motivation behind the growing use of modeling. In the Netherlands, for example, where private-sector plans did not experience serious underfunding problems after the 2000 market crash, the use of modeling is widespread and well-integrated in the decision-making process. Dutch regulators have recently mandated a risk-based approach and specified broad principles of sound modeling, including the marking to market of assets and liabilities.
Editorial
Authors: Höft Stefan
Published: October 2005

Zusammenfassung. Während das Interesse der betrieblichen Praxis an Assessment Centern umgebremst ist, scheint die wissenschaftliche Forschung zu diesem Themenbereich zu stagnieren. Mögliche Gründe hierfür und etwaige Lösungswege werden diskutiert. Danach werden kurz die Inhalte des Themenhefts dargestellt.
Peer-Urteile in einem Assessment Center zur Personalauswahl
Authors: Höft Stefan , Schümann-Sen Mitra , Maschke Peter
Published: October 2005

Zusammenfassung. Im Rahmen eines Assessment Centers zur Personalauswahl von Nachwuchsflugzeugführern wurde der Informationswert von Peer-Urteilen für die Eignungsdiagnose des Beurteilten und des Beurteilenden an einer Stichprobe von insgesamt 109 Bewerbern untersucht. Hierfür ordneten die Bewerber nach Abschluss der AC-Übungen ihre Mitkandidaten in eine Erfolgsreihenfolge ein (Peer-Ranking) und beurteilten die Leistung von drei Mitkandidaten hinsichtlich der definierten Anforderungsdimensionen (Peer-Rating). Es ergaben sich generell positive Zusammenhänge zwischen den Peer-Urteilen und den analogen Bewertungen der regulären AC-Kommission mit Werten zwischen r = .16 (Selbstreflexion) und r = .65 (Engagement) bei teilweise sehr geringen Beobachterübereinstimmungen. Die angenommene Beziehung zwischen der Güte der Beurteilung und Personmerkmalen des Beurteilers (allgemeine Intelligenz, eigenes Abschneiden im AC) konnte nicht bestätigt werden. Es wird geschlussfolgert, das Peer-Urteile in dem realisierten Zusammenhang nur wenig differenzierte Informationen zur Person des Beurteilten und keine diagnostisch verwertbaren Informationen zur Person der Beurteilers erfassen.
Dissolved and particulate Fe in the western and central North Pacific: Results from the 2002 IOC cruise
Authors: Brown Matthew T. , Landing William M. , Measures Chris I.
Published: October 2005

The goals of the 2002 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) cruise were to examine the variability in dissolved and particulate Fe over the cruise track, relate this variability to atmospheric aerosol Fe input, and examine the relationships between Fe, nitrate, and dust deposition with regards to Fe limitation particularly in the subarctic North Pacific. Dissolved Fe in the surface waters was quite variable, ranging from 0.10 nM to 0.30 nM. Dissolved Fe in the vertical profiles showed significant variability, the most prominent feature being an Fe maximum (∼1.5 nM Fe) associated with a broad nitrate maximum at 400–1000 m in the western subarctic gyre. Deep water Fe values in the subarctic region ranged from 0.8 nM to 1.1 nM. Subtropical gyre surface water dissolved Fe values were also quite variable, ranging from ∼0.15 nM to 0.4 nM. Intermediate and deep water Fe values were on the order of 0.6–0.9 nM. Significant differences were observed between total dissolvable Fe and dissolved Fe (TDFe‐DFe) in surface waters over the course of the cruise track, and these differences are discussed in terms of particulate Fe and possible sources of Fe to surface waters. Finally, nitrate:Fe ratios in the western subarctic gyre, atmospheric dust flux estimates based on surface water aluminum concentrations, and aerosol Fe fluxes from ship‐based aerosol collections are used to evaluate the relative importance of atmospheric and/or continental Fe input versus upwelling fluxes of Fe to the surface waters of the subarctic gyre.
Nitrogenated organic aerosols as cloud condensation nuclei
Authors: Twohy C. H. , Anderson J. R. , Crozier P. A.
Published: October 2005

One important role of anthropogenic aerosol particles is their influence on climate by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. However, these particles are diverse in composition and mixing state, and our knowledge of which particle types act as cloud condensation nuclei is incomplete. Here we present direct measurements of individual organic particles that nucleated cloud droplets in the atmosphere. These results indicate that nitrogenated organic aerosol particles can act as cloud condensation nuclei without being mixed with inorganic material, and thus influence climate through cloud formation.
A physical mechanism for long‐term survival of ground ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica
Authors: Schorghofer Norbert
Published: October 2005

Radiometric dating, geomorphology, biostratigraphy, and diffusion physics provide conflicting evidence for the age of the ground ice found in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. The rate of vapor diffusion into a dry atmosphere is incompatible with a minimum radiometric age of 8 Ma. Recent measurements of meteorological conditions in Beacon Valley show that the humidity of the atmosphere, although small, is comparable to the saturation vapor pressure at the ice. Analogous conditions explain the survival of ground ice at the high latitudes of Mars. At the study site, atmospheric vapor slows the sublimation loss by a factor of three and the retreat will cease entirely if temperatures are lower by 5°C. Detailed model simulations show that advection, including the advection from changes in surface pressure caused by winds, has a negligible effect on sublimation loss.
Rapid climate change in the ocean west of the Antarctic Peninsula during the second half of the 20th century
Authors: Meredith Michael P. , King John C.
Published: October 2005

The climate of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is the most rapidly changing in the Southern Hemisphere, with a rise in atmospheric temperature of nearly 3°C since 1951 and associated cryospheric impacts. We demonstrate here, for the first time, that the adjacent ocean showed profound coincident changes, with surface summer temperatures rising more than 1°C and a strong upper‐layer salinification. Initially driven by atmospheric warming and reduced rates of sea ice production, these changes constitute positive feedbacks that will contribute significantly to the continued climate change. Marine species in this region have extreme sensitivities to their environment, with population and species removal predicted in response to very small increases in ocean temperature. The WAP region is an important breeding and nursery ground for Antarctic krill, a key species in the Southern Ocean foodweb with a known dependence on the physical environment. The changes observed thus have significant ecological implications.
Predictable skill and its association to sea‐surface temperature variations in an ensemble climate simulation
Authors: Schlosser C. Adam , Kirtman Ben P.
Published: October 2005

Simulated near‐surface air temperature (Ta) and precipitation in an ensemble climate simulation is assessed. The ensemble climate‐simulation was constructed with the Center for Ocean‐Land‐Atmosphere (COLA) atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) in conjunction with the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project Phase II (AMIP II). To diagnose the ensemble simulation, a measure of “predictable skill” is formalized. This diagnostic is based upon the statistical significance of spatial correlation over any given region (for this analysis, North America) between the ensemble mean and observed anomalies and the inter‐member scatter of the spatial anomaly correlation. Using this measure as a function of time, periods of predictable skill within the COLA AMIP II ensemble simulation are identified, and through a point‐wise, multiple correlation technique, spatial patterns of contemporaneous sea‐surface temperature (SST) variability are also constructed. This diagnosis can essentially define which skillfully simulated climate signals over North America (given by predictable skill) can be attributed to specific SST anomalies. Spatially coherent patterns of SST variability are found to be associated with predictable skill. These patterns are, not surprisingly, primarily related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). One of the more prevalent ENSO associations to predictable skill (for the COLA AGCM) is found in sub‐tropical regions of the western Pacific. Moreover, a skillful episode of simulated North American precipitation is seen to be associated with SST variability over the east Indian Ocean. In addition, a strong contemporaneous association of Ta predictable skill with tropical Atlantic SST variability is found. Complementary simulations are performed with the COLA AGCM to further assess the degree of attribution of predictable skill to these regions of SST variability. The results of the experimental simulations suggest that, for the AMIP II simulation period, the COLA AGCM can be skillfully attributed to SST variability primarily associated with ENSO, warm tropical Atlantic anomalies, and an abrupt, cooling event over the east Indian Ocean.
An evaluation of the performance characteristics of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network in Florida using rocket‐triggered lightning
Authors: Jerauld J. , Rakov V. A. , Uman M. A. , Rambo K. J. , Jordan D. M. , Cummins K. L. , Cramer J. A.
Published: October 2005

The performance characteristics of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) were evaluated using rocket‐triggered lightning data, acquired in the summers of 2001–2003 at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT), at Camp Blanding, Florida. During the 3‐year period, 37 flashes, containing a total of 159 (158 negative and 1 positive) strokes, were triggered at Camp Blanding. Flashes consisting of the initial stage only (having no return strokes) were not considered in this study. Directly measured currents were obtained for 122 of these strokes in 29 flashes. Camp Blanding and NLDN events were correlated using GPS time stamps. The NLDN recorded 95 Camp Blanding strokes in 31 flashes. Of these 95, usable directly measured currents were obtained for 70 strokes in 22 flashes. Flash and stroke detection efficiencies were estimated to be about 84% and 60%, respectively. Median location error was about 600 m, with larger location errors (greater than 2 km) being associated with strokes having smaller peak currents (5–10 kA). The NLDN tended to underestimate peak current, with the median peak current estimation error (signed) being about 18%. There was a steady trend of improved stroke detection efficiency from 2001 to 2003.
A Kp‐based model of auroral boundaries
Authors: Carbary James F.
Published: October 2005

The auroral oval can serve as both a representation and a prediction of space weather on a global scale, so a competent model of the oval as a function of a geomagnetic index could conveniently appraise space weather itself. A simple model of the auroral boundaries is constructed by binning several months of images from the Polar Ultraviolet Imager by Kp index. The pixel intensities are first averaged into magnetic latitude–magnetic local time (MLT‐MLAT) and local time bins, and intensity profiles are then derived for each Kp level at 1 hour intervals of MLT. After background correction, the boundary latitudes of each profile are determined at a threshold of 4 photons cm−2 s1. The peak locations and peak intensities are also found. The boundary and peak locations vary linearly with Kp index, and the coefficients of the linear fits are tabulated for each MLT. As a general rule of thumb, the UV intensity peak shifts 1° in magnetic latitude for each increment in Kp. The fits are surprisingly good for Kp < 6 but begin to deteriorate at high Kp because of auroral boundary irregularities and poor statistics. The statistical model allows calculation of the auroral boundaries at most MLTs as a function of Kp and can serve as an approximation to the shape and extent of the statistical oval.
On the distribution of ionospheric electron density observations
Authors: Garner T. W. , Taylor B. T. , Gaussiran T. L. , Coley W. R. , Hairston M. R.
Published: October 2005

For most space scientists, the general expectation of ionospheric measurements is that if properly binned, observations will obey a normal or Gaussian distribution. This paper challenges this assumption and argues that a lognormal distribution can better describe ionospheric densities. It presents a simple mathematical argument for ionospheric density observations obeying a lognormal distribution. To demonstrate the efficacy of the lognormal distribution, a sample distribution of total ion densities is presented and is compared with a lognormal distribution characterized by parameters estimated from the data. This distribution of DMSP observations fits a lognormal distribution with a probability plot correlation coefficient (PPCC) of 0.99932. The PPCC is the linear correlation between the ordered distribution and ordered statistical medians and measures how well a given set of values conforms to a given distribution. When the PPCC = 1, the distribution perfectly fits the data. When binned by solar activity (on the basis of the F10.7 cm proxy) and geomagnetic latitude, over 95.3% of the binned observations follow a lognormal distribution with a PPCC over 0.9. Since the topside electron densities tend to obey a lognormal distribution, the existing metrics for forecast performance need to be revised.
Quantum information storage and state transfer based on spin systems
Authors: Song Z. , Sun C. P.
Published: October 2005

The idea of quantum state storage is generalized to describe the coherent transfer of quantum information through a coherent data bus. In this universal framework, we comprehensively review our recent systematical investigations to explore the possibility of implementing the physical processes of quantum information storage and state transfer by using quantum spin systems, which may be an isotropic antiferromagnetic spin ladder system or a ferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain. Our studies emphasize the physical mechanisms and the fundamental problems behind the various protocols for the storage and transfer of quantum information in solid state systems.
Correlations, spin dynamics, defects: the highly frustrated kagomé bilayer
Authors: Bono D. , Limot L. , Mendels P. , Collin G. , Blanchard N.
Published: October 2005

The compounds SrCr9pGa12−9pO19 and Ba2Sn2ZnGa10−7pCr7pO22 are two highly frustrated magnets possessing a quasi-two-dimensional kagomé bilayer of spin-3/2 chromium ions with antiferromagnetic interactions. Their magnetic susceptibility was measured by local nuclear magnetic resonance and nonlocal (SQUID) techniques, and their low-temperature spin dynamics by muon spin resonance. Consistent with the theoretical picture drawn for geometrically frustrated systems, the kagomé bilayer is shown here to exhibit: (i) short range spin-spin correlations down to a temperature much lower than the Curie–Weiss temperature, no conventional long-range transition occurring; (ii) a Curie contribution to the susceptibility from paramagnetic defects generated by spin vacancies; (iii) low-temperature spin fluctuations, at least down to 30 mK, which are a trademark of a dynamical ground state. These properties point to a spin-liquid ground state, possibly built on resonating valence bonds with unconfined spinons as the magnetic excitations.
Antiferromagnet-ferromagnet phase transition in lightly doped manganites
Authors: Troyanchuk I. O. , Khomchenko V. A. , Eremenko V. V. , Sirenko V. A. , Szymczak H.
Published: October 2005

Magnetic and structural phase diagrams of the La0.88MnOx, La1−xSrx(Mn1−x/2Nbx/2)O3, Nd1−xCaxMnO3, and Bi1−xCaxMnO3 series, constructed on the basis of x-ray, neutron powder diffraction, Young’s modulus, magnetization and resistivity measurements, are presented. It is shown that the main factor controlling the antiferromagnet-ferromagnet phase transition in the manganites is a type of an orbital state. The results are discussed in the framework of structurally driven magnetic phase separation model.
Acute osteomyelitis as a complication of varicella
Authors: Borgen L. , Haakonsen M. O. , Gudmundsen T. E. , Solheim D. , Stensvold K.
Published: October 2005

Varicella is a common viral infection in childhood, and acute osteomyelitis is one of the rare but serious complications. We report two cases of osteomyelitis as a complication of varicella. The possibilities and limitations of the different imaging modalities are discussed, as well as imaging findings during the course of this condition.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy in oral cancer: validation of technique and clinical implications of added oblique planar lymphoscintigraphy and/or tomography
Authors: Thomsen J. B. , Sørensen J. A. , Grupe P. , Krogdahl A.
Published: October 2005

Purpose: To validate lymphatic mapping combined with sentinel lymph node biopsy as a staging procedure, and to evaluate the possible clinical implications of added oblique lymphoscintigraphy and/or tomography and test the intra- and interobserver reproducibility of lymphoscintigraphy.

Material and Methods: Forty patients (17 F and 23 M, aged 32–90) with 24 T1 and 16 T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Planar lymphoscintigraphy, emission and transmission tomography were performed. Detection and excision of the sentinel nodes were guided by a gamma probe. The sentinel nodes were step-sectioning and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and cytokeratin (CK 1). Histology and follow-up were used as “gold standard”. Tumor location, number of sentinel lymph nodes, metastasis, and recurrences were registered. Two observers evaluated the lymphoscintigraphic images to assess the inter-rater agreement.

Results: Eleven (28%) patients were upstaged. The sentinel lymph node identification rate was 97.5%. Sentinel lymph node biopsy significantly differentiated between patients with or without lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.001). Lymphatic mapping revealed 124 hotspots and 144 hot lymph nodes were removed by sentinel lymph node biopsy. Three patients developed a lymph node recurrence close to the primary tumor site during follow-up. Added oblique lymphoscintigraphic images and/or tomography revealed extra hotspots in 15/40 (38%) patients. In 4/40 (10%), extra contralateral hotspots were detected.

Conclusion: Sentinel lymph node biopsy upstaged 28% of the patients. Sentinel lymph nodes close to the primary tumor were difficult to find. Added oblique planar images and/or tomographic images revealed extra clinical relevant hotspots in 38% of patients. Reproducibility proved excellent.
Hyperperfusion on perfusion computed tomography following revascularization for acute stroke
Authors: Nguyen T. B. , Lum C. , Eastwood J. D. , Stys P. K. , Hogan M. , Goyal M.
Published: October 2005

Purpose: To describe the findings of hyperperfusion on perfusion computed tomography (CT) in four patients following revascularization for acute stroke.

Material and Methods: In 2002–2003, among a series of 6 patients presenting with an acute stroke and treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis, we observed the presence of hyperperfusion in 3 patients on the follow-up CT perfusion. We included an additional patient who was treated with intravenous thrombolysis and who had hyperperfusion on the follow-up CT perfusion. We retrospectively analyzed their CT perfusion maps. Cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps were compared between the affected territory and the normal contralateral hemisphere.

Results: In the four patients, the mean CBV and CBF were 3.6±2.0 ml/100 g and 39±25 ml/100 g/min in the affected territory compared to the normal side (mean CBV = 2.7±2.1 ml/100 g, mean CBF = 27±23 ml/100 g/min). There was no intracranial hemorrhage in the hyperperfused territories. At follow-up CT, some hyperperfused brain areas progressed to infarction, while others retained normal white to gray matter differentiation.

Conclusion: CT perfusion can demonstrate hyperperfusion, which can be seen in an ischemic brain territory following recanalization.
Multidetector computed tomography in acute joint fractures
Authors: Haapamäki V. V. , Kiuru M. J. , Mustonen A. O. , Koskinen S. K.
Published: October 2005

Conventional radiography plays an essential diagnostic role in the primary evaluation of acute joint trauma. In complex fractures, however, computed tomography (CT) is an imaging modality often used second to radiography. As a result of technical breakthroughs in the field, multidetector CT (MDCT) allows faster imaging and better temporal, spatial, and contrast resolution compared with conventional single-slice spiral CT. MDCT with multiplanar reformation is helpful in disclosing fracture patterns, particularly in complex joint fractures, where they reveal occult fractures and show the exact number of fracture components and their degree of displacement.
Hepatic transit time of ultrasound contrast in biopsy characterized liver disease
Authors: Pedersen J. F. , Larsen V. A. , Bytzer P. , Madsen L. G. , Hamberg O.
Published: October 2005

Purpose: To study the hepatic transit time of an ultrasound contrast agent in patients with liver disease, and to evaluate the mechanism(s) of the well-established shorter cubital vein to hepatic vein transit time in cirrhosis.

Material and Methods: Thirty-four patients scheduled for Menghini liver biopsy were studied by ultrasound after injection of 2.5 g Levovist (Schering, Berlin, Germany) into an arm vein. The time from injection until the first appearance of contrast echoes in the hepatic artery and hepatic veins was registered. Hepatic transit time was the difference between the two.

Results: Biopsy showed cirrhosis in 9 patients, other diffuse hepatic pathology in 23 patients, and normal liver in 2 patients. Mean hepatic vein arrival time was earlier in cirrhosis than in other liver disease (19.4 s versus 26.0 s; P = 0.013), and hepatic transit time was shorter (6.6 s versus 11.6 s; P = 0.024). A hepatic transit time <10 s was found in all patients with cirrhosis, but also in 10 of 23 patients with other liver pathology.

Conclusion: Hepatic transit time measurement could not be used to distinguish between cirrhosis and other hepatic pathology, but a transit time  = 10 s excluded cirrhosis. The earlier hepatic vein arrival time in cirrhosis is apparently mainly caused by intrahepatic shunting rather than by early arrival of contrast to the liver.
Calcium scoring of aortic valve calcification in aortic valve stenosis with a multislice computed tomography scanner: non-enhanced versus contrast-enhanced studies
Authors: Mühlenbruch G. , Wildberger J. E. , Koos R. , Das M. , Thomas C. , Ruhl K. , Niethammer M. , Floh T. G. , Stanzel S. , Günther R. W. , Mahnken A. H.
Published: October 2005

Purpose: Previous studies have shown a positive correlation between amount of aortic valve calcification (AVC) and degree of aortic valve stenosis (AVS). We have investigated whether calcium scoring of AVC from contrast-enhanced images is reliable.

Material and Methods: Nineteen patients with suspected AVS underwent retrospectively ECG-gated multislice computed tomography (MSCT). Standardized scan protocols were applied prior to (120 KV, 133 mAseff) and after (120 KV, 500 mAseff) the administration of non-ionic contrast material. Image reconstruction was performed at 60% of the RR interval (slice thickness 3 mm, reconstruction increment 2 mm). AVC was quantified using Agatston score and calcium mass. The number of lesions was calculated. All non-enhanced images were scored using thresholds of 130 HU and 350 HU. Contrast-enhanced images were assessed with a threshold of 350 HU exclusively.

Results: Fifteen patients with AVCs were included in the statistical analysis. The mean Agatston score (calcium mass) in non-enhanced images was 2888.4±2844.4 (694.2 mg±869.3 mg). Altering the threshold from 130 HU to 350 HU led to a 58.2% (30.5%) decrease in the AVC score ( P values <0.001). Contrast-enhanced images showed an increased Agatston score (calcium mass) of 56.2% (33.5%) compared to non-enhanced images ( P values <0.05) with the same threshold of 350 HU.

Conclusion: Quantification of AVC from contrast-enhanced images is not reliable, as contrast material simulates calcification.
MR-guided interventional procedures: a review
Authors: Blanco Sequeiros R. , Ojala R. , Kariniemi J. , Perälä J. , Niinimäki J. , Reinikainen H. , Tervonen O.
Published: October 2005

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a potential guidance tool for a variety of procedures. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using either open surgical or percutaneous access are performed. They span from simple lesion targeting and biopsy to complex applications requiring multiple tasks performed simultaneously or in rapid succession. These tasks include instrument guidance and therapy monitoring as well as procedural follow-up. The interventional use of MRI (IMRI) is increasing steadily. This article reviews the prerequisites, systems, and clinical interventional procedures of IMRI.
No News Is Bad News
Authors: Kudriashov Andrey , Tait Arch
Published: October 2005

THE UZBEK AUTHORITIES APPEAR TO HOPE THAT SLANDERING THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA WILL DISTRACT PUBLIC ATTENTION FROM THE KILLING IN ANDIJAN
A Strange Kind of Compliance
Authors: Waringo Karin
Published: October 2005

KOSOVO’S ROMA FIND THEY ARE PAWNS IN THE GAME LEADING UP TO NEGOTIATIONS ON THE FUTURE STATUS OF THE PROVINCE
The Gay Divide
Authors: Beauchemin Eric
Published: October 2005

Throughout the Muslim world, homosexuality is a taboo, punishable in several countries by death. On the West Bank and Gaza, women and men who have sex with people of the same sex face imprisonment and torture. While on a recent trip to look at how the Middle East conflict was affecting individuals, I met several of these Palestinian gays and lesbians. They talked to me about the experience of being caught up between religion, prejudice and politics. No one knows how many gays and lesbians have been tortured by the Palestinian Authority (PA): most victims are too ashamed and afraid to come forward. Gays and lesbians have also been tried by Palestinian courts because of their sexuality.
Shhh! we’re Integrating!
Authors: Schaaf Julia
Published: October 2005

IT’S NOT EASY TO BE GAY, AN IMMIGRANT AND A MUSLIM IN GERMANY — OR IN ANY OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRY
Raped By the State
Authors: Long Scott
Published: October 2005

REFLECTIONS ON SEXUALITY AND DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Planning the prevention of alcohol and other drug‐related problems among women
Authors: Thomas Sally
Published: October 2005

The aim of this paper is to report on the findings from a survey of key respondents with regard to the prevention of alcohol and other drug problems among women. The findings suggest that key respondents were concerned about the problems related to legal substances, alcohol, nicotine, minor tranquillisers, over‐the‐counter medication and major psychotropic medication. The problems described by these respondents included both physical and psychological health problems. The implications of these findings for prevention activity are discussed.
Trends in public opinion about alcohol policy initiatives in Ontario and the US 1989‐91
Authors: Room Robin , Giesbracht Norman , Graves Karen , Greenfield Thomas
Published: October 2005

Trends in public opinion about 11 possible alcohol policy initiatives are analysed in probability surveys of adults in the United States and in Ontario in 1989, 1990 and 1991. In both sites, public opinion is fairly conservative on alcohol policies, with majorities favoring either the status quo or decreased availability on such dimensions as tax levels, opening hours, sale of alcoholic beverages in corner stores and the minimum legal drinking age. Between 1989 and 1991, the most substantial net change in attitudes was in favor of warning labels in Ontario, although it was in the United States and not in Canada that warning labels were introduced after the 1989 surveys. For some other alcohol policies, public support for restrictions tended to decline in Ontario but not in the United States. In logistic regressions predicting attitudes on each policy with gender, age, education, drinking pattern, study site and year of study, the strong and consistent secular trend for support for warning labels held up; the only other significant and consistent secular trend was against increased efforts to prevent drunken customers being served. Since public support for alcohol controls is crucial to their effectiveness and long‐term viability, regular tracking of public opinion on them is needed, along with efforts to increase their public understanding and support.
The incidence of alcohol‐related problems and the risk of alcohol withdrawal in a general hospital population
Authors: Foy Aidan , Kay Julie
Published: October 2005

A survey was carried out using the Canterbury Alcohol Screening Test (CAST) and clinical criteria for risk of alcohol withdrawal of 2000 randomly selected hospital in‐patients in order to determine the prevalence of alcohol‐related problems, the work‐load for a specialist alcohol withdrawal service and the target group for early intervention. Patients at risk of alcohol withdrawal were followed prospectively.

The major findings were: 14.3% of patients had a positive CAST and 8% were at risk of alcohol withdrawal; the prevalence of positive clinical criteria was greatest in men under the age of 30 years (OR 3.6) and very low (OR 0.34) in women over 60 years. In addition, patients who were too sick or refused to complete the questionnaire had high rates of being at risk for alcohol withdrawal. The prevalence of CAST positivity was greatest in men under the age of 40 years (OR 3.7) and lowest in women over 70 years (OR 0.2).

It is concluded that 15‐20% of in‐patients have alcohol problems and 8% are at risk of withdrawal; questionnaires will produce underestimates of the order of 25%; and female in‐patients over the age of 60 years are extremely unlikely to have problems with alcohol.
The case for increased alcohol taxation in Australia
Authors: Richardson Jeff , Crowley Steve
Published: October 2005

dThis paper is concerned with the arguments and evidence that support the use of alcohol taxation as a primary health care intervention. Taxation is treated as a policy option that may be subject to cost‐benefit analysis. While overseas evidence is used, the article draws primarily upon the authors' earlier estimates of the cost of alcohol consumption and the effects of taxation in Australia. In addition, the paper considers the main arguments used against alcohol taxation for health policy. It is concluded that the arguments cannot be substantiated and that there is a strong case for increased alcohol taxes.
The effects of alcohol on preparation for expected and unexpected events
Authors: GLENCROSS DENIS , HANSEN JOHN , PIEK JAN
Published: October 2005

The present paper is concerned with investigating the effects of alcohol in situations where unexpected events occur and responses need to be cancelled and reprogrammed. One experiment is reported which involved the modification of an eight‐choice reaction‐time task, employing the priming procedures of Posner to investigate the effects of alcohol on decision times to expected and unexpected events. The experiment involved a series of valid pre‐cues in which accurate information was provided about the up‐coming response, and a series of invalid pre‐cues in which the “wrong” information was given to subjects. The effects of alcohol (0.09% BAC) was significant on the invalid trials, in which reaction time slowed significantly and error rates increased significantly. The results are discussed in terms of response processing and attention‐switching. [Glencross D, Hansen J, Piek J. The effects of alcohol on preparation for expected and unexpected events. Drug Alcohol Rev 1995; 14:171–177]
Health beliefs relating to alcohol and other drug use in the Australian population
Authors: McALLISTER IAN
Published: October 2005

This study uses data from a nationally representative population survey conducted in March and April 1993 to examine alcohol and other drug‐related health beliefs within the Australian population. The results show widespread ignorance about the causes of drug‐related mortality, with 43 percent of respondents believing that alcohol is the major cause of drug‐related premature death. Only 32 percent of the respondents mentioned tobacco as the major cause of death. Those who identified tobacco as the drug causing the greatest number of deaths were more likely to be male, young, Australian or British‐born, and better educated. Women were more accurate in their assessment of the risk levels associated with alcohol consumption than men, as were the young and the better educated. There is widespread public knowledge about the risks that are associated with passive smoking. Overall, the results point to the need to focus health promotion and awareness campaigns on the groups that have so far proved most immune to health messages, namely, heavy drinkers and smokers. [McAllister I. Health beliefs relating to alcohol and other drug use in the Australian population. Drug Alcohol Rev 1995; 14:187–199]
HIV risk exposure of injecting drug users in Sydney
Authors: WODAK A. , STOWE A. , ROSS M. W. , GOLD J. , MILLER M. E.
Published: October 2005

One thousand two hundred and forty‐five Sydney injecting drug users (IDUs) were interviewed by questionnaire in 1989 to determine demographic and behavioural characteristics. One‐sixth (16.7%) were considered to be at low risk of HIV from either needle sharing or sexual transmission as they had either never shared injecting equipment, or had not shared for years, or cleaned their injecting equipment effectively on 100% of the occasions when they did share; and were either celibate or monogamous or, if they had multiple partners, had not had unsafe sex in the previous 6 months. Over half (50.7%) had either unsafe injecting or sexual behaviour with the remaining third (32.6%) engaging in both unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Women were more at risk from sharing injection equipment than men but men were more at risk from sexual transmission than women. Increasing age was associated with greater likelihood of safer sex but age had no effect on injecting practises. There was no relationship between unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Amphetamine use was associated with low risk injecting practises while heroin use was associated with low risk sexual transmission. These findings indicate appreciable residual risk behaviour sufficient to allow for at least a slow diffusion of HIV among injecting drug users. [Wodak AD, Stowe A, Ross MW, Gold J, Miller ME. HIV risk exposure of injecting drug users in Sydney. Drug Alcohol Rev 1995; 14:213–222].