bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Widening the Circle: Making Mental Health Review Tribunal Hearings Accessible in Indigenous, Rural and Remote Settings
Authors: Fisher Shelley , Kilcullen Deborah , Schrieber Gwen , Hughes Brian
Published: July 2009

Objective: The aim of this paper is to overview the history, structure and activities of the Queensland Mental Health Review Tribunal in relation to Indigenous patients.

Results: The Mental Health Review Tribunal is an independent statutory body established under the Mental Health Act 2000 (MHA2000) to safeguard the rights of patients receiving involuntary treatment under the Queensland MHA2000. In the period from when the Tribunal commenced in 2002 to end of June 2008, people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background represent 2.3% of all patient registrations with the Tribunal. The Tribunal has established a range of strategies to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to attend and participate in their hearing. This includes widening the Tribunal's body of knowledge, strategies to inform patients about the Tribunal, culturally sensitive hearing practices, and widening the circle of participation in the hearing.

Conclusions The future direction for the Tribunal in this strategy will be influenced by more formal evaluation of the outcomes and by further development of a model for the provision of cultural advice.
Working with a Community Controlled Health Organization to Develop an Evidence Base for their Practice Models
Authors: Stewart Jacqueline , Raiwaqavuka Toni ,   Social Health Team
Published: July 2009

Objective: The aim of this paper is to present a model of working with a community controlled health organization to develop an evidence base that will be used to inform program development and delivery.

Results: Through the examination of this and other models health professionals can find answers to questions around how to gather evidence of how interventions work (or do not work), for whom and in what circumstances. Using evidence of this kind to inform planning processes and decision making will facilitate improved, sustained health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the future.
Using Policy and Workforce Development to Address Aboriginal Mental Health and Wellbeing
Authors: Jones Carmel , Brideson Tom
Published: July 2009

Objective: The aim of this paper is to discuss the New South Wales (NSW) Aboriginal Mental Health and Well Being Policy and its key workforce initiative, the NSW Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Training Program.

Conclusions: The Policy provides a strong framework guiding the development of Aboriginal mental health and wellbeing programs throughout NSW Mental Health Services. However, the effectiveness of the Policy will be determined by the success of its implementation. The NSW Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce Training Program will support implementation of the Policy by growing an Aboriginal mental health workforce in NSW.
“The Sergeant Wants to Acupuncture Me”: A Personal Lens into the Introduction of a Traditional Eastern Therapy to Indigenous Australians
Authors: Talbot Daniel
Published: July 2009

Objective: This paper introduces a project established between the Emotional, Social Wellbeing Centre and the Goldfields Ngunytju Tjitji Pirni (Caring for Women and Children) and the Western Australia Police in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

Conclusions: Members of the Indigenous community of Kalgoorlie have found benefit through consultation and treatment involving the use of acupuncture, dietary and lifestyle counselling. In addition, Indigenous persons have found benefit in an alternative means of accessing police services outside of a typical police environment.
The Napranum Social and Emotional Wellbeing Week
Authors: Hartman David , Wallis Gloria , Drahm Michael , Unwin Ron , Robinson Dane
Published: July 2009

Objective: A week-long intensive outreach project to the Indigenous community of Napranum was undertaken by a Community Forensic Mental Health Service with the aim of developing the community's capacity for primary and secondary prevention of forensic mental health problems.

Method: The process of developing and implementing the project is described. The outcome is evaluated by means of qualitative feedback from community members and participants.

Results: The project was requested by the local community; planning involved extensive consultation between Queensland Health, community leaders and local service providers; and it was delivered with extensive contributions from other Queensland Health services, various non-government organizations, Indigenous opinion-leaders and public media, and an NRL football team. The outcomes are sustainable at a local level.

Conclusions: This form of community engagement may contribute to destigmatization of mental illness in Indigenous communities, increased engagement beween these communities and mental health service providers, and increased cohesiveness and morale of these communities.
Whakaora Nga Moemoea o Nga Tupuna – Living the Dreams of the Ancestors. Future Planning in a Kaupapa Māori CAMHS Team
Authors: Elder Hinemoa , Milne Moe , Witehira Heemi , Mendes Patrick , Heslin Anneliese , Cribb-Su'a Ainsleigh , Wilson Riwai , Goldsmith Arona , Kainamu Reena , Barrett Moana , Love Shar , Cargo Tania , Kalra Vanitha
Published: July 2009

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify and operationalize aspects of a future planning process for sustainable delivery of Kaupapa Māori (Specialist Māori) mental health from a team called He Kākano, within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Methods: A 2-day hui (meeting) was held with members of the team and a facilitator, Whaea Moe Milne. Review of background national epidemiological data, local data, information from community, carer and tangata whaiora (consumer) stakeholders and the existing He Kākano Model of Care was undertaken. Use of tikanga (Māori protocol and practices) was evident throughout the hui.

Results: A number of aspects of tikanga were identified as essential to the positive outcomes of the future plan. This paper reports one in particular, that of whakatauaki (proverbs where the originator is known). “Whakaora nga moemoea o nga tupuna – living the dreams of the ancestors” is a whakatauaki articulated by Whaea Moe Milne, which was identified as helpful in influencing the strategic planning thinking and decision-making process for He Kākano. This whakatauaki enabled the identification of shared goals, values, beliefs, behaviours and an action plan. The existing and ongoing relationship with Whaea Moe Milne was identified as an important element in the way in which the whakatauaki was received and reflected on.

Conclusions: Use of tikanga Māori, in this case, whakatauaki, was helpful in developing future planning for He Kākano. This suggests that use of tikanga may be beneficial in other settings where planning for sustainable Māori responsive services is undertaken. Further work in this area is likely to benefit service development, strategic planning, workforce development and have an impact on improving health outcomes for Māori.
Promoting Traditions: An Evaluation of a Wilderness Activity Among First Nations of Canada
Authors: Janelle Alain , Laliberté Arlene , Ottawa Ulric
Published: July 2009

Objectives: Several native American communities face serious social problems brought about by the loss of culture. Many First-Nation communities organize traditional activities in a wilderness setting to promote culture and prevent social problems, among them suicide. The activities evaluated in this study were organized by the Atikamek community of Manawan (Quebec, Canada) for adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years. The main goals of these activities were to increase self-esteem, re-establish cultural continuity, encourage pro-social behaviours among the participants and ultimately empower and mobilize the community.

Methods: Within the context of an honours thesis project, this research assessed the process and the effects of these traditional activities on a group of First-Nation youth. The evaluation used a mixed methodology consisting of two self-esteem scales and participatory observation. The results of this evaluative study show that this type of traditional activity is an innovative tool to increase cultural pride, foster pro-social behaviour and empower First-Nation youth.

Conclusions: Obstacles met during the course of this research project highlight the importance of developing methodologies able to capture the rich and specific outcomes of traditional activities in an Aboriginal context.
A Human Rights Based Approach to Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Authors: Calma Tom
Published: July 2009

From July 2004 Tom Calma has been the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission. This role was created in 1992 to provide an ongoing monitoring agency for the human rights of Indigenous Australians and involves, inter alia, producing the Social Justice Report, an annual account to the Federal parliament on the status of enjoyment and exercise of human rights by Indigenous Australians. Commissioner Calma gave the opening oration to the 2006 Creating Futures conference and returned to open the conference in 2008 on 22 September in St Albans Anglican Church, located in the Aboriginal communitty of Yarrabah, 60 kilometres from Cairns. This is the text of that speech.
The Experience of Collective Trauma in Australian Indigenous Communities
Authors: Krieg Anthea
Published: July 2009

Objective: The concept of collective trauma has predominantly been applied in the context of natural and human disasters. This paper seeks to explore whether collective trauma offers a respectful way in which to explore and respond to mental health and wellbeing issues for Aboriginal families and communities.

Method: A review of the international literature was undertaken in order to determine the elements of collective and mass trauma studies which may have relevance for Indigenous communities in Australia.

Results: Findings support the proposition that the patterns of human responses to disasters, particularly in protracted traumas such as war-zones, shows strong parallels to the contemporary patterns of experience and responses articulated by Aboriginal people affected by colonization and its sequelae in Australia.

Conclusion: Adopting evidence-informed principles of family and community healing developed internationally in disaster situations may provide helpful ways of conceptualizing and responding in a coordinated way to mental health and wellbeing issues for Indigenous people within Australia.
‘Living Between two Worlds’: Who is Living in Whose Worlds?
Authors: McCoy Brian
Published: July 2009

Objective: Indigenous people have often been depicted as ‘living between two worlds’. They have been described as living neither in their ‘Indigenous’ world nor in the ‘Western’ world but in some middle, liminal, or in-between ‘world’. People in such situations are often described as ‘caught’ or ‘suspended’ and with obvious negative social, emotional and health consequences. What is this cultural space that is often described as ‘being between two worlds’? Can Indigenous people develop their identity within the demands and values of contemporary Australian society?

Conclusions: Most people who live within the context of modernity move across a mixture of different social, spiritual and cultural ‘worlds’. By projecting particular and negative meanings onto Indigenous people and their journey of identity, non-Indigenous people diminish the value of Indigenous energies and initiatives in attempting to cope with life's diverse pressures and expectations. The perpetuation of such attitudes serves to undermine the efforts that Indigenous people make to engage modernity while at the same time attempting to maintain values that are of critical importance for their health and wellbeing. Consequently, non-Indigenous people can end up diminishing the importance of their own life transitions.
Boys Becoming Men: What Makes a Difference?
Authors: McCoy Brian , Ross Randal , Elston Jacinta
Published: July 2009

Objective: In 1983 an Under 17 Australian Rules Football team visited Melbourne. They came from Townsville in North Queensland and the majority were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. For several months prior to the trip they worked to raise the money and resources they needed for the trip. This paper describes the preliminary results of a research project that looked at the health of this group 25 years later. What can we learn from their experience in 1983? What can they tell us about the health of the next generation of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men?

Method: The research project used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research methods. It included a questionnaire, interviews, workshop and a focus group.

Results: All of those involved in 1983 are still alive. Over a range of social and economic indicators many score very well but there are signs, as with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, of underlying health issues.

Conclusions: Sport can provide for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men a culturally ‘safe’ place where important values across generations are developed and sustained.
Who is Not Coping with Colonization? Laying Out the Map for Decolonization
Authors: Sherwood Juanita
Published: July 2009

Objective: This paper explores reasons for using decolonization as a method for improving Indigenous health status. Decolonization is a method required to shift the current paradigm of Western dominance and colonial amnesia that constructs and maintains Indigenous poor health status.

Conclusion: Decolonization requires every Australian to examine the impact colonization has upon their past and present in order to formulate a future that does not reinstate the past. To take these steps requires a balance of histories, informing our current political and social context, critical reflexive practice and open communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Importance and Challenges of Assessing Cognition in Indigenous Australians
Authors: Dingwall Kylie , Cairney Sheree
Published: July 2009

Objectives: The aim of this paper was to investigate the importance and challenges involved in conducting serial cognitive assessments among healthy Indigenous adolescents.

Method: Cognitive assessments were conducted at fortnightly intervals for 2 months and again at 6 and 12 months among a group of Indigenous students from a boarding school in the Northern Territory. These students were to be the healthy control group in a long-term study of substance abuse. Recruitment and attrition rates were reviewed and related challenges for assessing participants were identified.

Results: From the recruited sample (n=49), 18% reported heavy or frequent use of alcohol, cannabis or petrol. Males were more likely to have used these substances compared to females. Attrition increased as the follow-up interval increased with 49 recruits reducing to 32 in the first 2 months and only 15 and 13 of the initial group remaining for the 6 and 12 month follow-ups respectively.

Conclusions: Main challenges included (i) appropriateness of tests and assessment processes, (ii) high rates of substance abuse and other illness in the control group and (iii) high attrition rates. The importance of assessing cognition appropriately is highlighted by a lack of information regarding mental health issues in Indigenous populations.
Listening, Sharing Understanding and Facilitating Consumer, Family and Community Empowerment Through a Priority Driven Partnership in Far North Queensland
Authors: Haswell-Elkins Melissa , Reilly Lyndon , Fagan Ruth , Ypinazar Valmae , Hunter Ernest , Tsey Komla , Gibson Victor , Connolly Brian , Laliberte Arlene , Wargent Rachael , Gibson Teresa , Saunders Vicki , McCalman Janya , Kavanagh David
Published: July 2009

Objectives: This paper provides an example of a mental health research partnership underpinned by empowerment principles that seeks to foster strength among community organizations to support better outcomes for consumers, families and communities. It aims to raise awareness among researchers and service providers that empowerment approaches to assist communities to address mental health problems are not too difficult to be practical but require long-term commitment and appropriate support.

Methods: A collaborative research strategy that has become known as the Priority Driven Research (PDR) Partnership emerged through literature review, consultations, Family Wellbeing Program delivery with community groups and activities in two discrete Indigenous communities. Progress to date on three of the four components of the strategy is described.

Results: The following key needs were identified in a pilot study and are now being addressed in a research-based implementation phase: (i) gaining two-way understanding of perspectives on mental health and promoting universal awareness; (ii) supporting the empowerment of carers, families, consumers and at-risk groups through existing community organizations to gain greater understanding and control of their situation; (iii) developing pathways of care at the primary health centre level to enable support of social and emotional wellbeing as well as more integrated mental health care; (iv) accessing data to enable an ongoing process of analysis/sharing/planning and monitoring to inform future activity.

Conclusion: One of the key learnings to emerge in this project so far is that empowerment through partnership becomes possible when there is a concerted effort to strengthen grassroots community organizations. These include social health teams and men's and women's groups that can engage local people in an action orientation.
The Insidious Problem Inside: Mental Health Problems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Custody
Authors: Heffernan Edward , Andersen Kimina , Kinner Stuart
Published: July 2009

Objective: Despite recognition of the extremely high rates of mental illness among custodial populations and the fact that Indigenous people represent around one-quarter of Australia's custodial population, little is known about the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. Mental health is an important component of social and emotional wellbeing for Indigenous people and this paper considers current evidence regarding the mental health status of Indigenous Australians in custody.

Method: A systematic review was undertaken of the quantitative literature relating to the mental health problems of Indigenous people in custody in Australia.

Results: Despite high incarceration rates for Indigenous people and evidence that both mental health problems and rates of mental illness are extremely high in this group, studies in this area are few and limited in scope.

Conclusion: The first step toward addressing the marked social and mental health problems for Indigenous people in custody is to systematically identify the nature and extent of these problems.
The Healing Journey: Empowering Aboriginal Communities to Close the Health Gap
Authors: Laliberté Arlene , Haswell-Elkins Melissa , Reilly Lyndon
Published: July 2009

Objectives: This paper presents two arguments relevant to both past and present efforts to improve Indigenous health. It advocates for ways of thinking about and doing health promotion that begin with empowerment to help people gain a greater level of control over their lives and circumstances.

Conclusion: A combination of the strengths of different approaches is in fact an empowering, dialectical view that can be achieved by considering Aboriginal people not as children in need, but as capable and efficacious individuals.
Reflections on a Community and University Research Collaboration
Authors: Mayo Kevin , Tsey Komla ,   Empowerment Research Team
Published: July 2009

Objective: This paper reflects on the collaborative research relationship between university and community researchers. It identifies emergent themes expressed in the words of researchers and recommends strategies to assist with other research collaborations.

Conclusions: Emergent themes included: Initial reticence by community members followed by positive experiences; the value of empowerment frameworks in research; building trust between community and university researchers; capacity building, management, and workloads; and community politics, misunderstandings and wealth disparity. The paper recommends strategies for successful research collaborations and identifies challenges to research collaborations.
‘Bringing Back Respect’: The Role of Participatory Action Research in Transferring Knowledge from an Aboriginal Men's Group to Youth Programs
Authors: McCalman Janya , Tsey Komla , Baird Bradley , Connolly Brian , Baird Leslie , Jackson Rita
Published: July 2009

Objective: This case study describes the efforts of an Aboriginal men's group to facilitate and support the empowerment of young people in their community. It is part of a broader participatory action research (PAR) study of men's groups.

Method: Data was derived from quarterly reflective PAR sessions with men's and youth workers and steering committee members, interviews with workers, and focus groups with young people. The data was coded and categorized, with five themes identified.

Results: Key opportunities and challenges related to building staff capacity, engaging young people, giving voice to young people and reconciling diverse community views. Emerging outcomes included young people's definition of vision and values, social cohesion, personal achievements and recognition. The youth projects also resulted in local employment, improvements in workforce capacity and proposals to extend the empowerment model in Yarrabah and transfer it to another community.

Conclusion: PAR frameworks provide a useful tool for facilitating and sustaining empowerment outcomes. They can be used to support the transfer of knowledge and skills from one Aboriginal community group to another.
Ethical Research in Partnership with an Indigenous Community
Authors: Weston Richard , Brooks Robert , Gladman Justin , Senior Kate , Denley Louise , Silove Derrick , Whyman Nola , Kickett Mark , Bryant Richard , Files Justin ,   Aboriginal Community Advisory Committee
Published: July 2009

Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe the implementation of the Community Safety Research Project (CSRP) focusing on violence prevention among Aboriginal communities in western NSW in order to examine how practice converges with contemporary ethical guidelines.

Method: A comparison was made of key project elements with the principles outlined in existing ethical guidelines, outlining the concrete issues that need to be confronted in practice.

Results: The approach being pursued is consonant with the principles of contemporary guidelines; the results of the first phase qualitative study inquiring into workers’ perceptions of violence revealed some differences in the understanding of violence between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers, with some ethical implications.

Conclusions: Ethical approaches to research among Aboriginal communities include, but extend well beyond, the principle of avoiding harm. A comprehensive approach to ethical research requires significant ongoing expenditure of effort and resources with implications for project development, management and funding.
A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Collective Trauma Among Indigenous Australians and a Suggestion for Intervention
Authors: O'Loughlin Michael
Published: July 2009

Objective: Psychoanalysis is used to explore the effects of the annihilation of culture and how this leads to a loss of identification with a collective subjectivity and triggers catastrophic symptoms including loss of collective hope, the rise of addictive and self-destructive behaviours, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma among Indigenous Australian communities.

Conclusions: I propose restorative educational interventions for young Indigenous children that seek to engage them with ancestral memory, cultural narratives, and a sense of purpose so that healing from historically transmitted trauma may be initiated and a grounded sense of subjectivity restored.
The Development of an ‘Indigenous Team’ in a Mainstream Mental Health Service in South Australia
Authors: Fielke Ken , Cord-Udy Nigel , Buckskin John , Lattanzio Adriana
Published: July 2009

The Social Justice Report 20051 recommended that the governments of Australia commit to achieving equal health status for all Australians “within a generation”. Improving the accessibility of mainstream health services for Aboriginal people is highlighted as a central requirement. This paper describes the establishment, roles and functions of the ‘Indigenous team’ embedded within the South Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Service (RRMHS) as one strategy to improve access and responsiveness of mental health services to Aboriginal patients in South Australia. We report on our progress to date and possible future directions for the team.
Efficient stochastic simulation of reaction–diffusion processes via direct compilation
Authors: Lis Mieszko , Artyomov Maxim N. , Devadas Srinivas , Chakraborty Arup K.
Published: July 2009

We present the Stochastic Simulator Compiler (SSC), a tool for exact stochastic simulations of well-mixed and spatially heterogeneous systems. SSC is the first tool to allow a readable high-level description with spatially heterogeneous simulation algorithms and complex geometries; this permits large systems to be expressed concisely. Meanwhile, direct native-code compilation allows SSC to generate very fast simulations.

Availability: SSC currently runs on Linux and Mac OS X, and is freely available at http://web.mit.edu/irc/ssc/.

Contact:  mieszko@csail.mit.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Antimony: a modular model definition language
Authors: Smith Lucian P. , Bergmann Frank T. , Chandran Deepak , Sauro Herbert M.
Published: July 2009

Motivation: Model exchange in systems and synthetic biology has been standardized for computers with the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) and CellML, but specialized software is needed for the generation of models in these formats. Text-based model definition languages allow researchers to create models simply, and then export them to a common exchange format. Modular languages allow researchers to create and combine complex models more easily. We saw a use for a modular text-based language, together with a translation library to allow other programs to read the models as well.

Summary: The Antimony language provides a way for a researcher to use simple text statements to create, import, and combine biological models, allowing complex models to be built from simpler models, and provides a special syntax for the creation of modular genetic networks. The libAntimony library allows other software packages to import these models and convert them either to SBML or their own internal format.

Availability: The Antimony language specification and the libAntimony library are available under a BSD license from http://antimony.sourceforge.net/

Contact:  lpsmith@u.washington.edu
TTA Lynx: a web-based service for analysis of actinomycete genes containing rare TTA codon
Authors: Zaburannyy Nestor , Ostash Bohdan , Fedorenko Victor
Published: July 2009

Motivation: TTA Lynx is a web-based service for finding, assessing and comparing coding sequences that contain TTA codons. This codon is most notable for being a regulatory switch that governs different aspects of the physiology of several GC-rich, Gram-positive bacteria belonging to genus Streptomyces, prolific producers of clinically important natural products. The ever-increasing pace of genome sequencing is creating a huge volume of data that could be utilized to improve our understanding of rare codons in actinomycete biology (and other biological systems.) The service described here is designed to facilitate analysis of TTA-containing genes and to assess the importance of TTA-mediated regulation in an organism of interest. This service and its database of organisms with well-known or hypothetical TTA-based regulation provides an opportunity for the identification of such regulation on a genome-wide scale.

Availability:  http://ttalynx.bio.lnu.edu.ua

Contact:  ttas@franko.lviv.ua

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
SNP-o-matic
Authors: Manske Heinrich Magnus , Kwiatkowski Dominic P.
Published: July 2009

Motivation: High throughput sequencing technologies generate large amounts of short reads. Mapping these to a reference sequence consumes large amounts of processing time and memory, and read mapping errors can lead to noisy or incorrect alignments. SNP-o-matic is a fast, memory-efficient and stringent read mapping tool offering a variety of analytical output functions, with an emphasis on genotyping.

Availability:  http://snpomatic.sourceforge.net

Contact:  mm6@sanger.ac.uk

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
FBA-SimVis: interactive visualization of constraint-based metabolic models
Authors: Grafahrend-Belau Eva , Klukas Christian , Junker Björn H. , Schreiber Falk
Published: July 2009

Summary: FBA-SimVis is a VANTED plug-in for the constraint-based analysis of metabolic models with special focus on the visual exploration of metabolic flux data resulting from model analysis. The program provides a user-friendly environment for model reconstruction, constraint-based model analysis, and interactive visualization of the simulation results. With the ability to quantitatively analyse metabolic fluxes in an interactive and visual manner, FBA-SimVis supports a comprehensive understanding of constraint-based metabolic flux models in both overview and detail.

Availability: Software with manual and tutorials are freely available at http://fbasimvis.ipk-gatersleben.de/

Contact:  grafahr@ipk-gatersleben.de

Supplementary information: Examples and supplementary data are available at http://fbasimvis.ipk-gatersleben.de/
Statistical lower bounds on protein copy number from fluorescence expression images
Authors: Zamparo Lee , Perkins Theodore J.
Published: July 2009

Motivation: Fluorescence imaging has become a commonplace for quantitatively measuring mRNA or protein expression in cells and tissues. However, such expression data are usually relative—absolute concentrations or molecular copy numbers are typically not known. While this is satisfactory for many applications, for certain kinds of quantitative network modeling and analysis of expression noise, absolute measures of expression are necessary.

Results: We propose two methods for estimating molecular copy numbers from single uncalibrated expression images of tissues. These methods rely on expression variability between cells, due either to steady-state fluctuations or unequal distribution of molecules during cell division, to make their estimates. We apply these methods to 152 protein fluorescence expression images of Drosophila melanogaster embryos during early development, generating copy number estimates for 14 genes in the segmentation network. We also analyze the effects of noise on our estimators and compare with empirical findings. Finally, we confirm an observation of Bar-Even et al., made in the much different setting of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that steady-state expression variance tends to scale with mean expression.

Availability: The data are all drawn from FlyEx (explained within), and is available at http://flyex.ams.sunysb.edu/FlyEx/. Data and MATLAB codes for all algorithms described in this article are available at http://www.perkinslab.ca/pubs/ZP2009.html.

Contact:  tperkins@ohri.ca
TreeTime: an extensible C++ software package for Bayesian phylogeny reconstruction with time-calibration
Authors: Himmelmann Lin , Metzler Dirk
Published: July 2009

Motivation: For the estimation of phylogenetic trees from molecular data, it is worthwhile to take prior paleontologic knowledge into account, if available. To calibrate the branch lengths of the tree with times assigned to geo-historical events or fossils, it is necessary to select a relaxed molecular clock model to specify how mutation rates can change along the phylogeny.

Results: We present the software TreeTime for Bayesian phylogeny estimation. It can take prior information about the topology of the tree and about branching times into account. Several relaxed molecular clock models are implemented in TreeTime. TreeTime is written in C++ and designed to be efficient and extensible.

Availability: TreeTime is freely available from http://evol.bio.lmu.de/statgen/software/treetime under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence (GPL, version 3 or later).

Contact:  lin@linhi.de; metzler@bio.lmu.de
Severe anaemia and subcapital femur fracture in a patient with Left Ventricular Assist Device Heart Mate II: the cardiologist's management of this rare patient
Authors: Gogas Bill D. , Parissis John T. , Filippatos Gerasimos S. , Iliodromitis Efstathios K. , Soultanis Konstantinos C. , Kostopanagiotou Georgia G. , Theodoropoulos Stergios P. , Kremastinos Dimitrios T. , Yacoub Magdi H.
Published: July 2009

The use of Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) has increased over the last decade because of the lack of healthy donor hearts. In this report we describe for the first time a patient with an LVAD Heart Mate II (HM II) implanted 6 months before admission, who initially suffered from severe anaemia and later on underwent a successful bipolar hip replacement owing to subcapital fracture of the right femur. The patient was managed successfully by a team approach, which included a cardiologist, anaesthesiologist, orthopaedic surgeon, and LVAD technician.
Endothelium‐dependent and ‐independent vasodilation is more attenuated in ischaemic than in non‐ischaemic heart failure
Authors: Klosinska Magdalena , Rudzinski Tomasz , Grzelak Piotr , Stefanczyk Ludomir , Drozdz Jaroslaw , Krzeminska‐Pakula Maria
Published: July 2009

Aims

Endothelial dysfunction in chronic heart failure (CHF) contributes to vasoconstriction. Underlying atherosclerosis may increase vascular abnormalities in ischaemic CHF. We aimed to compare flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) and nitroglycerin‐mediated dilation (NMD) of the brachial artery between patients with ischaemic and non‐ischaemic CHF.

Methods and results

A total of 57 patients with systolic CHF participated in the study (mean age 59 ± 8 years, 81% male). Patients were in stable NYHA class II (40 patients, 70%) and III (17 patients, 30%). Ischaemic aetiology of CHF was confirmed by coronary angiography in 34 (60%) patients and ruled out in 23 (40%). Flow‐mediated dilation and NMD of the brachial artery was assessed by high‐resolution ultrasound. Endothelium‐dependent vasodilation was markedly reduced in patients with ischaemic CHF compared with those with non‐ischaemic aetiology of CHF—mean absolute change in artery diameter (Δd) 0.09 ± 0.07 mm in ischaemic group vs. 0.18 ± 0.07 mm in non‐ischaemic (P < 0.0001). Nitroglycerin‐mediated vasodilation was also significantly different—Δd = 0.14 ± 0.06 mm in ischaemic vs. 0.31 ± 0.10 mm in non‐ischaemic CHF (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Endothelium‐dependent and ‐independent vascular response is more attenuated in ischaemic than in non‐ischaemic CHF.
Environmentally induced responses co-opted for reproductive altruism
Authors: Nedelcu Aurora M.
Published: July 2009

Reproductive altruism is an extreme form of altruism best typified by sterile castes in social insects and somatic cells in multicellular organisms. Although reproductive altruism is central to the evolution of multicellularity and eusociality, the mechanistic basis for the evolution of this behaviour is yet to be deciphered. Here, we report that the gene responsible for the permanent suppression of reproduction in the somatic cells of the multicellular green alga,Volvox carteri, evolved from a gene that in its unicellular relative,Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, is part of the general acclimation response to various environmental stress factors, which includes the temporary suppression of reproduction. Furthermore, we propose a model for the evolution of soma, in which by simulating the acclimation signal (i.e. a change in cellular redox status) in a developmental rather than environmental context, responses beneficial to a unicellular individual can be co-opted into an altruistic behaviour at the group level. The co-option of environmentally induced responses for reproductive altruism can contribute to the stability of this behaviour, as the loss of such responses would be costly for the individual. This hypothesis also predicts that temporally varying environments, which will select for more efficient acclimation responses, are likely to be more conducive to the evolution of reproductive altruism.
Solar activity affects avian timing of reproduction
Authors: Visser Marcel E. , Sanz Juan José
Published: July 2009

Avian timing of reproduction is strongly affected by ambient temperature. Here we show that there is an additional effect of sunspots on laying date, from five long-term population studies of great and blue tits (
Parus major
and
Cyanistes caeruleus
), demonstrating for the first time that solar activity not only has an effect on population numbers but that it also affects the timing of animal behaviour. This effect is statistically independent of ambient temperature. In years with few sunspots, birds initiate laying late while they are often early in years with many sunspots. The sunspot effect may be owing to a crucial difference between the method of temperature measurements by meteorological stations (in the shade) and the temperatures experienced by the birds. A better understanding of the impact of all the thermal components of weather on the phenology of ecosystems is essential when predicting their responses to climate change.
Identification and Characterization of Maize and Barley Lsi2-Like Silicon Efflux Transporters Reveals a Distinct Silicon Uptake System from That in Rice
Authors: Mitani Namiki , Chiba Yukako , Yamaji Naoki , Ma Jian Feng
Published: July 2009

Silicon (Si) uptake has been extensively examined in rice (Oryza sativa), but it is poorly understood in other gramineous crops. We identified Low Silicon Rice 2 (Lsi2)-like Si efflux transporters from two important gramineous crops: maize (Zea mays) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). Both maize and barley Lsi2 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes showed Si efflux transport activity. Furthermore, barley Lsi2 was able to recover Si uptake in a rice mutant defective in Si efflux. Maize and barley Lsi2 were only expressed in the roots. Expression of maize and barley Lsi2 was downregulated in response to exogenously applied Si. Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the ability of roots to absorb Si and the expression levels of Lsi2 in eight barley cultivars, suggesting that Lsi2 is a key Si transporter in barley. Immunostaining showed that maize and barley Lsi2 localized only at the endodermis, with no polarity. Protein gel blot analysis indicated that maize and barley Lsi2 localized on the plasma membrane. The unique features of maize and barley Si influx and efflux transporters, including their cell-type specificity and the lack of polarity of their localization in Lsi2, indicate that these crops have a different Si uptake system from that in rice.
Analysis of bibliographic references in Zootecnia Tropical
Authors: Chaparro‐Martinez Exio , Ángel Marzal Miguel
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bibliographic references contained in the scientific papers (articles and technical notes) published from 1985 to 2005 in Zootecnia Tropical (ZT), a scientific journal.

Design/methodology/approach

A retrospective descriptive study is conducted using one‐dimensional bibliometric indicators such as: output, bibliographic density, institutional affiliation, recentness of the documents cited, document typology, self‐citations and scientific collaboration. Univariate descriptive analysis is used to study the indicators.

Findings

A total of 349 scientific papers (300 articles and 49 technical notes) are reviewed; output ranged from a maximum of 34 papers in 2001 to a minimum of four in 1990, with a mean of 15 papers per volume. The papers analyzed contain a total of 5,651 bibliographic references, with an average of 19 ± 9 references per paper; the largest number of references (19 ± 33) are found in the articles and the smallest (10.5 ± 13) in the notes. Venezuelan institutions account for 89 per cent of the papers and international institutions for the remain in 11 per cent; of the Venezuelan institutions, most (62 per cent) are National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) bodies and the rest universities and other organizations, especially the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and Universidad de Oriente (UDO). Universities are also among the most frequent international contributors, most prominently Marianga State University in Brazil and Tucumán National University in Argentina. Around 60 per cent of the references were more than ten years old when they were cited; 21 per cent were between five and ten years old and 19 per cent less than five years old. Journal articles, with 57 per cent, are the document type most frequently cited, followed by books, with 23 per cent; the rest consisted in postgraduate theses (3 per cent), undergraduate theses (2 per cent) and congress, conference and seminar proceedings (12 per cent). The self‐citation or endogamy rate in the journal is 4 per cent. Over half (53 per cent) of the papers are written by authors with the same affiliation. Inter‐institutional papers account for the remaining 47 per cent, with 34 per cent involving national collaboration, particularly between the INIA and the UCV; international co‐authorship comes to 13 per cent, primarily involving Brazilian and Argentine universities.

Originality/value

This paper analyzes the use of information in the Venezuelan scientific community from the vantage of a specific journal, ZT. These studies constitute useful and objective tools for evaluating scientific activity.
Literary patronage in Medieval England, 1350‐1550
Authors: Walsh John
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the change literary patronage underwent in England after the introduction of print, and attempt to explain the causes for the shift.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a historical review of the period.

Findings

The practice became more of a marketing tool in bookmaking. The patronage of printed books was one of endorsement. It was a patronage that came from the use of a prestigious or powerful name, not from the financial support of a wealthy personage. Literary patronage of late Medieval England was a practice of financial support. A person of wealth would accept the financial responsibility involved with the production of literary materials. The patron became an important part of the bookmaking process and without the contributions of a patron most books would not have been produced. After the invention of the printing press, the role of patronage changed.

Research limitations/implications

Analyses an era in the history of book publishing in England and should be of interest to scholars of Medieval England, and publishing and library history.

Originality/value

Provides a review of patronage in an important era for changes in publishing.
Development of transnational collective bargaining in Europe
Authors: Gennard John
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to examine the development of transnational collective bargaining at the company level in Europe

Design/methodology/approach

This editorial outlines the levels at which bargaining takes place in the European Union, the EU Commission proposals for a procedure for transnational collective bargaining, the procedures agreed by the EMF and UNI‐Europa Graphical for the negotiation of company‐wide transnational agreements, and the content of some existing transnational company‐wide agreements.

Findings

The existence of company‐wide transnational agreements demonstrates that European industry federations can provide added value to multinational companies by providing effective procedures within which transnational company agreements can be concluded. They also demonstrate that the negotiation of such agreements requires substantial resources and cannot be done without the assistance of the EWC. The existing transnational collective agreements in the metal trades show that European trade union organisations have to be determined to follow procedure, provide a trade union answer to EWC bargaining and that national based unions are unlikely to be able to negotiate with European level corporate management. Above all, existing transnational company collective agreements show that the EMF procedure for the negotiation of such agreements is effective, credible and workable.

Originality/value

The editorial offers insights into the process and procedures involved in negotiating company‐wide transnational agreements.
On leaving the nunnery: management in trade unions
Authors: Dempsey Michael , Brewster Chris
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore trade union management, using data from four major unions. Managers and management have generally been absent from trade union discourse but unions are substantial organisations that need good management. The paper seeks to understand the extent to which senior trade union officials accept managerial roles and to discuss the significance of this.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on 56 interviews with senior trade union managers using a case study approach.

Findings

The paper concludes that management is consciously understood and implemented by trade union leaders who take their managerial roles and achieving the goals of the members seriously. It suggests that this is likely to affect the dynamics of the relationships between the various actors in trade union democracy.

Research limitations/implications

Evidence is gained from trade union managers themselves. Further research needs to focus both on the managed and on the lay members to whom managers are accountable.

Originality/value

This paper begins to fill a lacuna in the literature examining the way unions operate by concentrating on managers and management rather than on administration.