bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mutual influence of forests and pastures on the seedbanks in the Eastern Amazon
Authors: MIRANDA I S , MITJA D , SILVA T S
Published: September 2009

The objective of this study was to compare the floristic composition and species diversity existing in the seedbanks of forests and pastures. The seedbanks were sampled in three forest and three pastures areas in a community of smallholder farmers, in Pará state, Brazil. Seedling emergence in a glasshouse was used to quantify and identify the seeds. The total densities and diversity of the seedbanks were not significantly different among the pastures and forests, but the floristic composition was different. The herbaceous species predominated in both the pastures and the forests, but in the forest the abundance of shrub and tree was higher than herb. The seed density of several pioneer woody species was higher in the forests and the density of several herbaceous species was greater in the pastures. The influence of the forest species on the pastures and of the pastures species on the forests is a result of the initial process of human occupation and illustrates a dynamic that can lead to both the conservation of forest species and the spread of weed species. Actions should be carried out to avoid disturbance in the forests and improve biodiversity preservation in rural areas.
Weed vegetation and its conservation value in three management systems of Hungarian winter cereals on base‐rich soils
Authors: PINKE G , PÁL R , BOTTA‐DUKÁT Z , CHYTRÝ M
Published: September 2009

Floristic composition and conservation value of the weed vegetation of winter cereal fields on base‐rich soils in western Hungary was compared among three management systems: (i) small, extensively managed fields; (ii) small, intensively managed fields and (iii) large, intensively managed fields. Data were analysed by principal components analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Most variation in species composition was explained by the differences between the three field types, particularly by the difference between the extensively managed fields and the two types of intensively managed fields and by crop cover. There were several species positively associated with small extensively managed fields, but no species associated with either of the two types of intensively managed fields. Logistic regression was made of the occurrence of species groups important for nature conservation on the first RDA axis, representing the distinction between the extensively and intensively managed fields. This showed that Red List and insect‐pollinated plant species occurred more frequently in small extensively managed fields, but there was no difference between fields in the frequency of bird seed‐food species.
The impact of pancreas and kidney transplant on cardiovascular risk factors (analyzed by mode of immunosuppression and exocrine drainage)
Authors: Davenport Colin , Hamid Nadira , O'Sullivan Eoin P. , Daly Padraig , Mohan Ponnusamy , Little Dilly , Thompson Christopher J. , Agha Amar , Hickey David , Smith Diarmuid
Published: September 2009

Abstract:  Introduction:  The aim of this study was to determine the cardiovascular (CV) risk factor response in Irish patients with type 1 diabetes following simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPK), analyzing response based on mode of immunosuppression and surgical drainage in a uniquely homogenous population.

Methods:  A retrospective review of SPKs carried out between 1993 and 2005 in the National Renal and Pancreatic Centre of Ireland was performed. Weight, glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), lipid profile, and blood pressure (BP) were measured pre‐ and post‐operatively.

Results:  Fifty‐eight SPK patients with functioning grafts were analyzed. Thirty‐two were male. Following transplantation, mean HbA1c fell from 8.1 (±1.5) to 5.2 (±0.5)% (p < 0.0001), total cholesterol from 5.2 (±1.2) to 4.5 (±1.0) mmol/L (p = 0.0004), serum triglycerides from 1.5 (±0.6) to 1.1 (±0.6) mmol/L (p < 0.0001), and serum creatinine from 699.3 (±273.4) to 162.5 (±135.8) mmol/L (p < 0.0001). Systolic and diastolic BP fell from 148.5 (±23.3) to 136.9 (±22.4) mmHg (p = 0.02), and 84.8 (±11.7) to 77.8 (±10.4) mmHg (p = 0.003), respectively. Cholesterol reduction was significantly greater in the group that received cyclosporine (n = 29) compared with a tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid mofetil (MMF) combination (1.3 ± 0.3 vs. 0.2 ± 0.2 mmol/L, p = 0.003). Choice of exocrine vs. endocrine graft drainage did not affect risk factor response.

Conclusion:  SPK resulted in significant improvements both in glucose control and other measured CV risk factors.
Advances in antifungal prophylaxis and empiric therapy in patients with hematologic malignancies
Authors: Murali S. , Langston A.
Published: September 2009

Abstract: Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies. There have been significant changes in the epidemiology and outcomes of IFI in this patient population, due in part to advances in transplant procedures, supportive care, and use of newer antifungal agents. A thorough knowledge of risk factors, potential causative organisms, and the safety and efficacy of appropriate antifungal agents is required to optimize treatment. Proper diagnosis of IFI is challenging and the correlation of delays in diagnosis and treatment with poor outcome suggest that earlier intervention may result in more effective management of high‐risk patients. Because all risks may not be equal, stratifying high‐risk patients may further help target patients most likely to benefit from prophylaxis. This review focuses on various risk factors specific to patients with hematologic malignancies and discusses the use of preemptive, empiric, and prophylactic strategies in the management of IFI in this patient population.
Patterns of Inheritance of Mating Signals in Sailfin and Shortfin Mollies (Poeciliidae: Poecilia: Mollienesia)
Authors: Loveless Stephanie A. , Kittell Michele M. , Ptacek Margaret B.
Published: September 2009

Divergence in mating signals is a primary factor leading to reproductive isolation, and thus, speciation. However, the genetic changes underlying such divergence are poorly understood, especially in vertebrates. We used two species of poeciliid fishes, Poecilia velifera and P. mexicana, to explore the link between genes and mating behaviors that has resulted in pre‐mating reproductive isolation between these species. Using backcross hybrids created from the F1 male offspring of reciprocal interspecific crosses between a sailfin molly (P. velifera) and a shortfin molly (P. mexicana), we examined the effects of Y‐linkage and autosomal contributions on the expression of two male mating behaviors: courtship displays and gonopodial thrusts. The F1 hybrid males displayed a strong influence of sire on courtship display rates, with F1 males sired by the sailfin species showing courtship display rates that were up to three times higher than the rates of displays performed by F1 males sired by the shortfin species. These results suggest a Y‐linked genetic effect on the expression of courtship display behavior. Comparisons between backcross hybrid males with sailfin Y‐chromosomes or shortfin Y‐chromosomes suggested that the interaction of autosomal genes also influences the inheritance of courtship display rates. Sailfin autosomal genes significantly increased the probability of performing courtship displays for hybrid males, and increased display rate for males from the sailfin Y‐chromosome line. Autosomal genes had less of an impact on gonopodial thrusting behavior, however, thrust rates did significantly decrease with an increasing proportion of sailfin autosomes in males from the shortfin Y‐chromosome line. These results suggest that the inheritance of species differences in mating signals between shortfin and sailfin mollies involves both genes found on the Y‐chromosome and autosomal gene influences on their expression.
Genetic and morphometric characterization of a local Vietnamese Swamp Buffalo population
Authors: Berthouly C. , Rognon X. , Nhu Van T. , Berthouly A. , Thanh Hoang H. , Bed’Hom B. , Laloë D. , Vu Chi C. , Verrier E. , Maillard J.‐C.
Published: September 2009

The water buffalo plays a key role in the socio‐economy of South‐East Asia as it is the main draught power for paddy rice cultivation. While in the Indian subcontinent the water buffalo is the riverine type, in South‐East Asia the majority of buffaloes are of the swamp type. In the poor remote northern province of Ha Giang in Vietnam, improvement of the swamp buffalo breed may be one of the best ways to increase sustainability of farming systems. Therefore, analysis of the genetic structure of the province buffalo population is a prerequisite to any conservation or improvement project. A total of 1122 animals were described for 11 body and horn measurements for morphometric characterization. From this sample set, 744 animals were genotyped for 17 microsatellite markers. Also 17 animals from southern provinces of Vietnam were genotyped as a comparative sample. The results showed that genetic diversity as well as inbreeding value in the Ha Giang was high. The FST values within the province and across Vietnam were low indicating that most of the population variation is explained by individual variability. Bayesian clustering analysis did not highlight the presence of subdivided populations. These results are useful for the implementation of a conservation and improvement strategy of the swamp buffalo in order to guarantee the householders’ needs for sustainability of the farming system in the Ha Giang province.
Database on diagnosis of arthropod diseases in the Internet of the Julius Kühn‐Institute
Authors: Kleespies R. G. , Huger A. M. , Zimmermann G.
Published: September 2009

A database on diagnosis of diseases of insects and other arthropods is available in a German and English version at http://arthropodenkrankheiten.jki.bund.de. It is based on 55 years of diagnostic investigations of living, diseased, or dead arthropods of about 450 species at the ‘Institute for Biological Control’ in Darmstadt, Germany. Results of 1951 accessions with several thousands of diagnosed specimens from 1953 to 2008 are presented. The diagnosed pathogens belong to six groups: viruses, bacteria including rickettsiae, fungi, microsporidia (recently assigned to fungi), protists, and nematodes. The database will be updated regularly.
Review article: Kidney dendritic cells: Their role in homeostasis, inflammation and transplantation
Authors: ROGERS NATASHA M , MATTHEWS TYSON J , KAUSMAN JOSH Y , KITCHING RICHARD A , COATES P TOBY H
Published: September 2009

There is definitive experimental proof that a lattice of dendritic cells (DC) exist within the renal parenchyma. Kidney‐resident DC (KDC) are an important constituent of passenger leucocytes that initiate the direct component of allograft rejection in transplantation and form a central element of the innate immune response following injurious stimuli to the kidney. DC are recruited to the kidney in pathophysiological states such as glomerulonephritis and ischaemia–reperfusion injury. However, the exact mechanism for engaging and attracting DC to infectious and transplant antigens, and whether specific DC subsets are involved remains unresolved. In addition, the extent to which resident and infiltrating DC contribute to the propagation of injury or rejection is also unclear. Despite consistently expanding published work regarding DC location, phenotype and function, there are a number of deficiencies in our knowledge base, particularly in relation to KDC.
Acidosis and raised norepinephrine levels are associated with exercise dyspnoea in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: MIKI Keisuke , MAEKURA Ryoji , HIRAGA Toru , HASHIMOTO Hisako , KITADA Seigo , MIKI Mari , YOSHIMURA Kenji , TATEISHI Yoshitaka , FUSHITANI Kenji , MOTONE Masaharu
Published: September 2009

Background and objective:  Exertional dyspnoea limits patients with IPF in their activities of daily living. The mechanism, however, has not been elucidated. This study tested the hypothesis in IPF that exertional dyspnoea correlates with cardiopulmonary exercise responses, specifically changes in arterial blood pH and plasma norepinephrine (NE).

Methods:  Cardiopulmonary exercise testing with measurements of dyspnoea (Borg scale), plasma NE, plasma lactate and arterial blood gases were performed in 29 patients with IPF and in nine controls.

Results:  Both groups showed obvious break points in dyspnoea changes during exercise. In IPF, an abrupt change in the Borg scale, pH, PaCO2 and plasma NE occurred in the late exercise phase after the ‘break point’. Compared with controls, patients with IPF had significantly higher HCO3‐ levels and physiologic dead space/tidal volume during exercise. In IPF, during both exercise phases, the dyspnoea slope (ΔBorg scale/Δminute ventilation) correlated with the pH slope (ΔpH/Δoxygen uptake) (before the break point: r = −0.537, P = 0.0022; r = −0.886, P < 0.0001, after the break point) and the NE slope (ΔNE/Δoxygen uptake) (before the break point: r = 0.481, P = 0.0075; R = 0.784, P < 0.0001, after the break point).

Conclusions:  In patients with IPF, exercise‐induced acidosis and increases in circulating NE levels were associated with intensity of exertional dyspnoea.
The current role of thoracic surgery in tuberculosis management
Authors: SIHOE Alan D.L. , SHIRAISHI Yuji , YEW Wing Wai
Published: September 2009

Although tuberculosis is mainly managed medically today, thoracic surgery continues to play a key role in its diagnosis and treatment in selected subgroups of patients. In certain scenarios such as multi‐drug‐resistant tuberculosis, advanced tuberculous empyema and symptomatic bronchial stenosis, modern thoracic surgery may represent the only effective means of management in selected patients. Advances in thoracic surgery in recent years, in particular the use of Video‐Assisted Thoracic Surgery, not only reduce postoperative morbidity for individual patients, but may potentially allow a wider range of tuberculosis patients to benefit from surgery. Respiratory physicians and thoracic surgeons should continue to work together to ensure that tuberculosis patients who may benefit from surgery are identified for prompt and effective intervention.
Ameloblastoma of the mandible with pulmonary metastases 45 years after initial diagnosis
Authors: PAPAIOANNOU Maria , MANIKA Katerina , TSAOUSSIS Bassilis , CHEVA Angeliki , SICHLETIDIS Lazaros , KIOUMIS John
Published: September 2009

Ameloblastoma of the mandible is a rare odontogenic tumour that rarely metastasizes. We report a patient with a slowly progressing ameloblastoma of the mandible diagnosed at the age of seven and resected multiple times due to tumour recurrence. Multiple pulmonary metastatic nodules were resected at thoracotomy 27 years after the initial diagnosis; however, further pulmonary disease was discovered. The patient was admitted with chest pain due to pulmonary metastases 45 years after the initial diagnosis. The metastases were intraluminal and could be attributed to tumour cell aspiration during the surgical procedures on the mandible. The patient also suffered from hypercalcaemia which was attributed to a parathormone‐like substance secreted by the tumour.
Diagnosing fibrotic lung disease: When is high‐resolution computed tomography sufficient to make a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
Authors: SCHMIDT Shelley L. , SUNDARAM Baskaran , FLAHERTY Kevin R.
Published: September 2009

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive and fatal diffuse parenchymal lung disease, is defined pathologically by the pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Unfortunately, a surgical lung biopsy cannot be performed in all patients due to comorbidities that may significantly increase the morbidity and mortality of the procedure. High‐resolution computed tomography (HRCT) has been put forth as a surrogate to recognize pathological UIP. The quality of the HRCT impacts the ability to make a diagnosis of UIP and varies based on the centre performing the study and patient factors. The evaluation of the HRCT includes assessing the distribution and predominance of key radiographical findings, such as honeycomb, septal thickening, traction bronchiectasis and ground glass attenuation lesions. The combination of the pattern and distribution is what leads to a diagnosis and associated confidence level. HRCT features of definite UIP (subpleural, basal predominant honeycomb with septal thickening, traction bronchiectasis and ground glass attenuation lesions) have a high specificity for the UIP pathological pattern. In such cases, surgical lung biopsy can be avoided. There are caveats to using the HRCT to diagnose IPF in isolation as a variety of chronic pulmonary interstitial diseases may progress to a UIP pattern. Referral centres with experience in diffuse parenchymal lung disease that have multidisciplinary teams encompassing clinicians, radiologists and pathologists have the highest level of agreement in diagnosing IPF.
Temporal stage and grade migration in surgically treated patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Lughezzani Giovanni , Jeldres Claudio , Isbarn Hendrik , Sun Maxine , Shariat Shahrokh F. , Widmer Hugues , Arjane Philippe , Graefen Markus , Perrotte Paul , Montorsi Francesco , Karakiewicz Pierre I.
Published: September 2009

Study Type – Therapy (individual cohort) Level of Evidence 2b

OBJECTIVE

To examine the temporal trends in stage and grade at presentation, as well as cancer‐specific mortality (CSM) rates, in surgically treated patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), as few population‐based studies addressed contemporary cancer‐control outcomes in patients with UTUC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, we identified 4915 patients diagnosed with UTUC between 1983 and 2004, who had either a nephroureterectomy (NU) or a segmental ureterectomy (SU). Patients were divided into four groups according to the year‐of‐surgery quartiles. The chi‐square test and the chi‐square trend test were used for comparison of proportions and trends over time. Kaplan‐Meier plots were used to graphically depict CSM rates. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to test the effect of the year‐of‐surgery quartiles on CSM. Covariates consisted of SEER stage, tumour grade, age, race, primary tumour site, type of surgery, and SEER registries.

RESULTS

Of 4915 assessable patients, 1316, 1328, 1146 and 1125 were, respectively, treated in 1983–1988, 1989–94, 1995–99 and 2000–2004. Of those, 4430 had a NU and 485 had a SU. The rates of non‐localized stage and of grade III‐IV disease at surgery increased, respectively, from 49.8% to 69.5% (P < 0.001) and 45.7 to 70.2% (P < 0.001) during the study period. CSM rates at 4 years after surgery reflected the temporal stage and grade differences, and increased from 18.2 to 23.9% (P = 0.03) between 1983–1988 and 2000–2004. In multivariable analyses, when stage and grade were taken into account, most contemporary patients showed more favourable CSM rates than their historic counterparts (hazard ratio 0.7, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

We report a stage and grade migration at NU or SU towards more aggressive disease among surgically treated patients between 1983 and 2004. Despite this observation, the CSM rates of contemporary patients have not worsened, which validates the role of NU and SU as effective treatments for UTUC.
Is the incidence of uretero‐intestinal anastomotic stricture increased in patients undergoing radical cystectomy with previous pelvic radiation?
Authors: Katkoori Devendar , Samavedi Srinivas , Adiyat Kishore Thekke , Soloway Mark S. , Manoharan Murugesan
Published: September 2009

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

OBJECTIVE

To present our long‐term experience comparing uretero‐intestinal anastomotic (UIA) stricture rates after radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with and without previous pelvic radiotherapy (pRT), as the risk of stricture is thought to be higher in patients undergoing RC and urinary diversion (UD) with a history of pRT.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analysed patients who had RC and UD between 1992 and 2008 by one surgical team. Patients were divided into two groups, those with (group 1) and with no (group 2) previous pRT. Relevant clinical and pathological data were entered into a database. Patients who were symptomatic and required intervention for a UIA stricture were analysed; patients with malignant strictures were excluded.

RESULTS

In all, 526 patients had RC by one surgical team during the study period; 65 had pRT before RC, 37 for prostate cancer, 23 for bladder cancer and the rest for other pelvic malignancies. All the patients in group 1 had an ileal conduit (IC) diversion. There were 250 IC and 211 neobladder diversions in group 2. There were 130 (12%) UIAs in group 1, vs 922 (88%) in group 2. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in demographic profile and follow‐up. The overall stricture rate for UIA was 1.3%; there were two (1.5%) UIA strictures in group 1 vs 12 (1.3%) in group 2. The mean (median, range) time to onset of the stricture was 10 (6, 2–39) months. There was no statistically significant difference in stricture rate between the groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients undergoing RC with UD there was no significant difference in UIA stricture rates between those with and without previous pRT.
Auditory verb perception recruits motor systems in the developing brain: an fMRI investigation
Authors: James Karin Harman , Maouene Josita
Published: September 2009

This study investigated neural activation patterns during verb processing in children, using fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Preschool children (aged 4–6) passively listened to lists of verbs and adjectives while neural activation was measured. Findings indicated that verbs were processed differently than adjectives, as the verbs recruited motor systems in the frontal cortex during auditory perception, but the adjectives did not. Further evidence suggested that different types of verbs activated different regions in the motor cortex. The results demonstrate that the motor system is recruited during verb perception in the developing brain, reflecting the embodied nature of language learning and processing.
Beyond Distribution and Proximity: Exploring the Multiple Spatialities of Environmental Justice
Authors: Walker Gordon
Published: September 2009

Abstract:  Over the last decade the scope of the socio‐environmental concerns included within an environmental justice framing has broadened and theoretical understandings of what defines and constitutes environmental injustice have diversified. This paper argues that this substantive and theoretical pluralism has implications for geographical inquiry and analysis, meaning that multiple forms of spatiality are entering our understanding of what it is that substantiates claims of environmental injustice in different contexts. In this light the simple geographies and spatial forms evident in much “first‐generation” environmental justice research are proving insufficient. Instead a richer, multidimensional understanding of the different ways in which environmental justice and space are co‐constituted is needed. This argument is developed by analysing a diversity of examples of socio‐environmental concerns within a framework of three different notions of justice—as distribution, recognition and procedure. Implications for the strategies of environmental justice activism for the globalisation of the environmental justice frame and for future geographical research are considered.
Assembling Justice Spaces: The Scalar Politics of Environmental Justice in North‐east England
Authors: Bickerstaff Karen , Agyeman Julian
Published: September 2009

Abstract: In contrast to the US environmental justice movement, which has been successful in building a networked environmentalism that recognises—and has impacted upon—national patterns of distributional (in)equalities, campaigns in the UK have rarely developed beyond the local or articulated a coherent programme of action that links to wider socio‐spatial justice issues or effects real changes in the regulatory or political environment. Our purpose in this paper is to extend research which explores the spatial politics of mobilisation, by attending to the multi‐scalar dynamics embedded in the enactment of environmental justice (EJ) in north‐east England. It is an approach that is indebted to recent work on the scalar politics of EJ, and also to the network ideas associated with actor‐network theory (ANT)‐inspired research on human–nature relations. Our account provides preliminary reflections on the potential for an “assemblage” perspective which draws together people, texts, machines, animals, devices and discourses in relations that collectively constitute—and scale—EJ. To conclude, and building upon this approach, we suggest future research avenues that we believe present a promising agenda for critical engagement with the production, scaling and politics of environmental (in)justice.
Defining and Contesting Environmental Justice: Socio‐natures and the Politics of Scale in the Delta
Authors: Sze Julie , London Jonathan , Shilling Fraser , Gambirazzio Gerardo , Filan Trina , Cadenasso Mary
Published: September 2009

Abstract:  This article examines a contemporary process intended to “identify a strategy for managing the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta as a sustainable ecosystem that would continue to support environmental and economic functions that are critical to the people of California” (Delta Vision 2008, http://deltavision.ca.gov/AboutDeltaVision.shtml). Environmental injustices in the Delta are exacerbated by connected conflicts between knowledge and power, over the scale at which “environmental justice” and the “Delta” are understood through public policy. The rejection of environmental justice and the socio‐natural in the Delta Vision process represents how contemporary policy processes are recreating and reenacting the power/knowledge dynamics that have defined the Delta, placed it on a path to ecological collapse and injected high levels of social and racial injustice in its landscape over the past 150 years. Our article combines an ethnographic and a historical geographical approach that contributes to the literature on environmental justice and scale and links with the literature on water governance and power to advance the task of defining environmental justice from the academic and policy perspectives.
Suppressing Unwanted Memories
Authors: Anderson Michael C. , Levy Benjamin J.
Published: September 2009

When reminded of something we would prefer not to think about, we often try to exclude the unwanted memory from awareness. Recent research indicates that people control unwanted memories by stopping memory retrieval, using mechanisms similar to those used to stop reflexive motor responses. Controlling unwanted memories is implemented by the lateral prefrontal cortex, which acts to reduce activity in the hippocampus, thereby impairing retention of those memories. Individual differences in the efficacy of these systems may underlie variation in how well people control intrusive memories and adapt in the aftermath of trauma. This research supports the existence of an active forgetting process and establishes a neurocognitive model for inquiry into motivated forgetting.
Two-Mode Models of Self-Regulation as a Tool for Conceptualizing Effects of the Serotonin System in Normal Behavior and Diverse Disorders
Authors: Carver Charles S. , Johnson Sheri L. , Joormann Jutta
Published: September 2009

The serotonin system is a collection of neural pathways whose overall level of functioning (from low to high) relates to diverse kinds of psychological and behavioral variability. Individual differences in serotonergic function are important both in personality and in vulnerability to psychological disorders. These disorders range widely—from impulsive aggression to depression. One way to understand such diverse reflections of differences in serotonergic function is by viewing serotonergic function through the lens of two-mode (or dual-process) models of self-regulation. Such theories posit a lower-order system that responds quickly to associative cues of the moment and a higher-order system that responds reflectively and planfully. Low serotonergic function appears to enhance influence of the lower-order system. This often yields impulsive reactivity. Why, then, does low serotonergic function also relate to depression, which is characterized by lethargy and unresponsiveness? The answer must be that ascendance of the lower system interacts with other factors. One hypothesis is that low serotonergic function plus high sensitivity to incentives yields vulnerability to impulsive approach, whereas low serotonergic function plus low incentive sensitivity yields vulnerability to depression. Conceptualizing serotonergic function this way helps integrate information pertaining to very different disorders into a coherent picture.
Stress Processes in Pregnancy and Preterm Birth
Authors: Schetter Christine Dunkel
Published: September 2009

Preterm birth (PTB) is of epidemic proportions in the United States, particularly among African Americans. Its consequences range from risk of infant mortality to lifelong disease and disability. Stress is a contributor to preterm labor and delivery. This article summarizes research on stress as a risk factor for PTB. As is evident in considering the complex mechanisms, psychological science has much to contribute to addressing this important health issue.
The Aha! Moment
Authors: Kounios John , Beeman Mark
Published: September 2009

A sudden comprehension that solves a problem, reinterprets a situation, explains a joke, or resolves an ambiguous percept is called an insight (i.e., the “Aha! moment”). Psychologists have studied insight using behavioral methods for nearly a century. Recently, the tools of cognitive neuroscience have been applied to this phenomenon. A series of studies have used electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural correlates of the “Aha! moment” and its antecedents. Although the experience of insight is sudden and can seem disconnected from the immediately preceding thought, these studies show that insight is the culmination of a series of brain states and processes operating at different time scales. Elucidation of these precursors suggests interventional opportunities for the facilitation of insight.
Endocrine Mediators of Masculinization in Female Mammals
Authors: Drea Christine M.
Published: September 2009

Most mammal species show traditional patterns of sexual dimorphism (e.g., greater male size and aggression), the proximal mechanism of which involves the male's greater pre- and postnatal exposure to circulating androgens. But in several species, females diverge from the traditional pattern, converging on the male form or even reversing sexual dimorphisms. Such “masculinized” females might show elongation of the clitoris, enhanced body size, and aggressively mediated social dominance over males, and they are interesting case studies for examining the role of androgens in females. This review addresses our understanding of the mediating mechanisms of morphological and behavioral development in both traditional and exceptional mammal species. Although certain lines of evidence implicate testosterone in female masculinization, the role for sex steroids in female development remains unclear. The results call for continued study of both hormonal and nonhormonal mechanisms of sexual differentiation, particularly focused on active processes of feminine development.
Separation, Sickness, and Depression
Authors: Hennessy Michael B. , Schiml-Webb Patricia A. , Deak Terrence
Published: September 2009

Studies of prolonged separation from the attachment figure that were conducted with infant monkeys during the middle of the 20th century identified a passive behavioral response, termed “despair,” that appeared to model human depressive illness. Studies in guinea pigs, which exhibit filial attachment that resembles attachment in monkeys, have described a similar passive response to briefer periods of maternal separation. Recent evidence indicates that elements of the immune system mediate the passive behavioral response of guinea pigs. These findings accord well with current ideas that immune responses contribute to depressive illness, suggest new hypotheses about how maternal separation might promote depression, and give us a rodent model in which such hypotheses might be tested.
The Path of Least Resistance
Authors: Shah Anuj K. , Oppenheimer Daniel M.
Published: September 2009

Recent work on judgment and decision making has focused on how people preferentially use cues, or pieces of relevant information, that are easy to access when making decisions. In this article, we discuss a framework for understanding the ways that cues become accessible. We begin by identifying two components of cues and show how these components can become accessible during different parts a decision process. We highlight evidence for the use of accessible information and discuss implications for future research on heuristics.
The Experience of Agency
Authors: Haggard Patrick , Tsakiris Manos
Published: September 2009

The experience of agency refers to the experience of being in control both of one's own actions and, through them, of events in the external world. Recent experimental studies have investigated how people recognise a particular event as being caused by their own action or by that of another person. These studies suggest that people match sensory inputs to a prediction based on the action they are performing. Other studies have contrasted voluntary actions to physically similar but passive body movements. These studies suggest that voluntary action triggers wide-ranging changes in the spatial and temporal experience not only of one's own body but also of external events. Prediction and monitoring of the consequences of one's own motor commands produces characteristic experiences that form our normal, everyday feeling of being in control of our life. We conclude by discussing the implications of recent psychological work for our notions of responsibility for action.
Self-Control
Authors: Myrseth Kristian Ove R. , Fishbach Ayelet
Published: September 2009

To successfully pursue a goal in the face of temptation, an individual must first identify that she faces a self-control conflict. Only then will the individual exercise self-control to promote goal pursuit over indulging in temptation. We propose a new model that distinguishes between the problems of conflict identification and those of conflict resolution. We then review research on the factors that influence conflict identification and those that determine conflict resolution.
Causal Binding of Actions to Their Effects
Authors: Buehner Marc J. , Humphreys Gruffydd R.
Published: September 2009

According to widely held views in cognitive science harking back to David Hume, causality cannot be perceived directly, but instead is inferred from patterns of sensory experience, and the quality of these inferences is determined by perceivable quantities such as contingency and contiguity. We report results that suggest a reversal of Hume's conjecture: People's sense of time is warped by the experience of causality. In a stimulus-anticipation task, participants' response behavior reflected a shortened experience of time in the case of target stimuli participants themselves had generated, relative to equidistant, equally predictable stimuli they had not caused. These findings suggest that causality in the mind leads to temporal binding of cause and effect, and extend and generalize beyond earlier claims of intentional binding between action and outcome.
Consumption After a Diet Violation
Authors: Tomiyama A. Janet , Moskovich Ashley , Haltom Kate Byrne , Ju Tiffany , Mann Traci
Published: September 2009

Previous research, restricted to the laboratory, has found that restrained eaters overeat after they violate their diet. However, there has been no evidence showing that this same process occurs outside the lab. We hypothesized that outside of this artificial setting, restrained eaters would be able to control their eating. In Study 1, 127 participants reported hourly on their diet violations and eating over 2 days. In Study 2, 89 participants tracked their intake for 8 days, and 50 of these participants consumed a milk shake (a diet violation) on Day 7, as part of an ostensibly unrelated study. As hypothesized, dieters did not overeat following violations of their diet in either study. These findings are in contrast with those of previous lab studies and dispel the widely held belief that diet violations lead to overeating in everyday life.
Workforce drug testing: a critique and reframing
Authors: Warren Samantha , Wray‐Bliss Edward
Published: September 2009

This article aims to stimulate re‐engagement with workforce drug testing as a current managerial technology emerging in UK organisations and not solely confined to the US. Drawing on sociological, labour process and wider organization studies literature, it reconceptualises assumptions about managerial ideology, employee agency and drug user's subjectivity.
Understanding ERP system implementation in a hospital by analysing stakeholders
Authors: Boonstra Albert , Govers Mark J.G.
Published: September 2009

Implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems requires significant organisational, as well as technical, changes. These will affect stakeholders with varying perspectives and interests in the system. This is particularly the case in health care, as a feature of this sector is that responsibility of services is shared between many autonomous units. In these and similar settings, it is essential to analyse stakeholders and to understand their expectations and attitudes towards the system. Such an understanding will help implementers to address stakeholder interests and to encourage acceptance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretically based model to analyse how stakeholder attitudes and behaviours in a hospital setting affect the outcome of ERP implementation. This model is applied in an empirical study of a project to introduce an ERP system in medium‐sized hospital in The Netherlands. The study shows how the ERP implementation impacts the interests of stakeholders such as physicians and administrators, which caused tensions. The paper examines the reasons of these tensions. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of ERP implementation in health care and any other similar sectors from a stakeholder perspective, and it may help implementers to manage this more effectively.
Electronic surveillance in the global workplace: laws, ethics, research and practice
Authors: Kidwell Roland E. , Sprague Robert
Published: September 2009

This paper considers the legal, ethical and cultural factors that must be addressed in evaluating the appropriateness of employing electronic surveillance (ES) in varying international contexts. It critically evaluates the rationale that underlies the use of ES in a variety of settings and types of organisations. It suggests guidelines for the adoption and use of ES and potential directions for future research.
Fertility needs and funding in couples with blood‐borne viral infection
Authors: Kalu E , Wood R , Vourliotis M , Gilling‐Smith C
Published: September 2009

Background

Couples infected with HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are increasingly seeking assisted conception. These couples avoid unprotected intercourse and use condoms at all times in order to minimize the risk of infecting their partner. As this practice inhibits pregnancy, assisted procreation is generally required for safe conception. For many couples, access to such services is restricted on ethical, geographical and financial grounds.

Objective

The aim of the study was to assess the fertility needs, geographical origin and state funding of patients with blood‐borne viral infection.

Methods

A retrospective review of the medical records of couples referred for fertility treatment between January 1999 and December 2006, where one or both partners were infected with HIV, HBV and/or HCV, was carried out.

Results

Of the 205 couples included in the study, 44% lived in London, 51% came from elsewhere in the United Kingdom and 5% travelled from outside the United Kingdom to seek treatment. Genitourinary medicine clinics were the main source of referral. 85.8% of couples had HIV infection, 15.1% were infected with HBV and 13.6% had HCV infection. Fertility screening identified a high incidence of male factor infertility (33.3%) in HIV‐infected men and tubal disease (40.8%) in HIV‐infected women. Only 23.6% of HIV‐infected couples, 20% of HBV‐infected couples and 12.5% of HCV‐infected couples obtained state funding for assisted conception.

Conclusion

Fertility screening identified a high incidence of male and tubal factor subfertility among couples living with HIV, HBV and HCV. Limited access to specialist clinics equipped to cater for these couples and restricted funding may impact negatively on couples obtaining risk‐reducing assisted reproduction treatment. This may have long‐term public health implications as individuals attempt to conceive through unprotected intercourse.
Toward a More Embedded Production System? Automotive Supply Networks and Localized Capabilities in Poland
Authors: DOMAŃSKI BOLESŁAW , GWOSDZ KRZYSZTOF
Published: September 2009

The article addresses the embeddedness of automotive production in Poland in terms of supply networks. A comprehensive analysis of more than 550 suppliers, supported by company interviews, shows that foreign‐owned producers become embedded in Poland in the automotive supplier networks they have largely created themselves. Numerous local suppliers gain access to export markets and become integrated in a Europe‐wide production system. This trend has been accompanied by significant upgrading of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in terms of product quality, cost efficiency, adaptability, and fast response, but far less in nonproduction competences such as R&D. It is argued that the competences of automotive suppliers in Poland are built upon the localized capabilities, which are a product of the dynamic interplay between the activity of foreign firms and the changing local environment comprising various stakeholders. The localized capabilities constitute elements of a company's sunk costs and are embedding automotive producers in Poland. At the same time, the dependence on decisions and innovations from abroad and the limited development of local design and brands may constrain the future role of suppliers from the semiperipheral economy of Poland.
Environmental Protection and Impact on Adjacent Economies: Evidence from the Swedish Mountain Region
Authors: LUNDGREN TOMMY
Published: September 2009

The study presented here considers the effects of protected land on neighboring local economies, based on a panel data analysis of its influence on economic growth, net migration, and employment in the forest and tourism sectors in 15 municipalities in northwestern Sweden from 1985 to 2001. The main findings are that increases in the area of protected land in this region seem to have promoted slight increases in per capita income growth and net migration, slight reductions in employment in the forest sector, and possible increases (not significant at the 5 percent probability level) in employment in the tourism sector. In addition, there are indications of conditional divergence in the Swedish mountain region, implying that small economies grow more slowly here than larger economies.
Assemblages of Justice: The ‘Ghost Ships’ of Graythorp
Authors: HILLIER JEAN
Published: September 2009

I investigate the issue of dismantling the so‐called ‘ghost’ ships in Graythorp, Hartlepool, as an episode of relational forging of space and contestation between constructs of social and environmental justice. I offer a Deleuzoguattarian‐inspired cartography, tracing constructions of justice, injustice and nature with regard to both Hartlepool and the wider issue of ship dismantling. I explore tensions and commonalities between expressed concerns, as actants discursively seek to reconfigure relational space in the name of social and/or environmental justice. Amongst the generative flux of complex, dynamic forces and relations which become folded together, the complexity of spatial planning decision making emerges as an oscillation between relations of presence and absence, which planners attempt to mediate in constructing some singular form of ‘just’ decision. Yet this is but one choice among many: of social justice? Of environmental justice? To which actants? Across which spaces?

Cet article considère le problème du démantèlement des ‘navires fantômes’ sur le site de Graythorp (Hartlepool) comme un épisode dans le façonnage relationnel de l'espace et de la contestation entre les notions de justice sociale et de justice environnementale. Il propose une cartographie inspirée par Deleuze et Guattari, qui repère les constructions de justice, d'injustice et de nature par rapport à Hartlepool et au problème plus vaste du démantèlement des navires. Sont analysés les tensions et points communs entre les préoccupations exprimées, les différents actants cherchant à reconfigurer l'espace relationnel au nom de la justice sociale et/ou environnementale. Dans le ‘flux génératif’ des relations et forces dynamiques complexes qui sont ainsi incorporées ensemble, la complexité de la prise de décision en matière d'aménagement spatial se dessine comme une oscillation entre des liens de présence et d'absence, les aménageurs tentant d'arbitrer en élaborant une forme singulière de ‘juste’ décision. Pourtant, ce n'est qu'une option parmi beaucoup d'autres : de justice sociale? de justice environnementale? à l'égard de quels actants? au sein de quels espaces?
Association of seborrhoeic warts with skin cancer in renal transplant recipients**
Authors: Lally A , Casabonne D , Waterboer T , Imko‐Walczuk B , Michael KM , Pawlita M , Newton R , Wojnarowska F
Published: September 2009

Background  Renal transplant recipients (RTR) have a well recognized increased risk of cutaneous malignancy. A clinical observation that RTR with skin cancer often had multiple seborrhoeic warts prompted an investigation in RTR into the relationship between seborrhoeic warts and skin cancer and an exploration into potential risk factors for seborrhoeic warts in this population, including infection with human papillomavirus (HPV).

Methods  This was a case control study involving 308 RTR. Clinical examinations identified seborrhoeic warts. Histological records reviewed to look for evidence of prior cutaneous malignancy. Seroprevalence of antibodies to 34 different HPV types tested using multiplex serology. Odds ratios (OR) calculated using unconditional logistic regression analysis to look for associations between skin cancer, HPV infection and seborrhoeic warts, controlling for potential confounding factors of gender, age and time since transplantation.

Results  Seborrhoeic warts were associated with non‐melanoma skin cancer [OR = 3.7; 95% confidence intervals (CI) ranging from 1.6–8.9; P = 0.002] when confounding factors of gender, age and time since transplantation were controlled for. There was also an association between seborrhoeic warts and viral warts (OR = 3.0, CI: 1.6–5.4; P < 0.0001), but no association between seborrhoeic warts and infection with single or multiple HPV types.

Conclusions  Seborrhoeic warts are associated with cutaneous malignancy, but not with any of the HPV types tested. The reasons for this association are unclear. RTR with multiple seborrhoeic warts may require more regular cutaneous examination to monitor for early signs of skin cancer.