bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early environmental determinants of asthma risk in a high‐risk birth cohort
Authors: Chan‐Yeung Moira , Hegele Richard G. , Dimich‐Ward Helen , Ferguson Alexander , Schulzer Michael , Chan Henry , Watson Wade , Becker Allan
Published: February 2008

Environmental exposures during early life have been suggested to have the greatest impact on childhood asthma. Our aim was to evaluate the risk factors associated with asthma at age 7 yr in a high‐risk cohort that participated in a randomized controlled study on the primary prevention of asthma. Indoor exposures were characterized before birth and at 2 weeks, 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months after birth and again at 7 yr. Nasal scrapings for respiratory viruses were done at the same intervals during the first 2 yr. At age 7, the children were assessed by a pediatric allergist and had allergy skin tests. Logistic regression analysis was undertaken to evaluate the effect of exposures on asthma for the entire cohort with adjustment for group allocation. In addition to the lower risk of asthma in the intervention group, we found a higher prevalence of asthma at age 7 for males, those having a positive history of asthma in mother, father, or older siblings, for children residing in Winnipeg and for atopic subjects. Upon adjustment for intervention group assignment and baseline factors, significant environmental risk factors during year 1 included dog ownership and respiratory syncytial viral infection detected at 12 months while maternal smoking was protective. Dog ownership was a significant risk factor in year 2, but highly correlated with dog ownership in year 1. Indoor environmental exposures during year 7 were not associated with asthma at age 7. Maternal smoking at year 7 was associated with a reduced risk of asthma at 7 yr. Early‐life exposures were more important determinants than those in later years. A ‘window of opportunity’ exists for intervention measures to be applied.
Initiation of stimulant and antidepressant medication and clinical presentation in juvenile bipolar I disorder
Authors: Pagano Maria E , Demeter Christine A , Faber Jon E , Calabrese Joseph R , Findling Robert L
Published: February 2008

Objectives:  The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the initiation of stimulant and antidepressant medication was associated with the subsequent onset of juvenile bipolar I disorder (BP I). Another aim was to investigate differences in clinical presentation between youths prescribed stimulant or antidepressant medication before and after the onset of juvenile BP I disorder.

Methods:  Youths between the ages of 5 and 17 years meeting full, unmodified DSM‐IV diagnostic symptom criteria for BP were included in this study. Data regarding the age of onset of BP I, psychiatric comorbidities, and current symptoms of mania and depression were obtained. Medication history was recorded as part of the assessment interview with parents and youths.

Results:  Of the 245 youths with BP I, 65% (n = 160) were treated with stimulant medication; 32% (56/173) were treated after the onset of BP I, and 19% (32/173) were treated before the onset of BP I. Forty‐six percent (113/245) were treated with antidepressant medication; 33% (67/206) were treated after the onset of BP I, and 3% (7/206) were treated before the onset of BP I. Patients who were treated with stimulants after the onset of BP I were significantly more likely to be younger (p < 0.0001). Patients who were treated with antidepressants before the onset of BP I were significantly more likely to be older and to have lower levels of mania on the Young Mania Rating Scale at assessment (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Data from this retrospective case series do not support the association between initial stimulant or antidepressant use and the onset of BP I or presenting symptoms of depression or manic symptoms.
Cryptic diversification in ancient asexuals: evidence from the bdelloid rotifer Philodina flaviceps
Authors: FONTANETO D. , BOSCHETTI C. , RICCI C.
Published: February 2008

Bdelloid rotifers, darwinulid ostracods and some oribatid mites have been called ‘ancient asexuals’ as they speciated and survived over long‐term evolutionary timescale without sexual recombination. Data on their genetic diversification are contrasting: within‐species diversification is present mostly at a continental scale in a parthenogenetic oribatid mite, whereas almost no genetic diversification at all seems to occur within darwinulid ostracod species. Strangely enough, no clear data for bdelloid rotifers are available so far. In this paper, we analyse partial COI mtDNA sequences to show that a bdelloid rotifer, Philodina flaviceps, so far considered a single traditional morphological species, has actually been able to diversify into at least nine distinct evolutionary entities, with genetic distances between lineages comparable with those between different traditional species within the same genus. We discovered that local coexistence of such different independent lineages is very common: up to four lineages were found in a same stream, and up to three in a single moss sample of 5 cm2. In contrast to the large‐scale geographic pattern that has recently been reported in the oribatid mite, the spatial distribution of the bdelloid lineages provided evidence of micro‐phylogeographic patterns. If the mtDNA diversity indicates that the lineages are independent and represent sympatric cryptic species within P. flaviceps, then the actual bdelloid diversity can be expected to be much greater than that recognized today.
Mandible asymmetry and genetic diversity in island populations of the common shrew,Sorex araneus
Authors: WHITE T. A. , SEARLE J. B.
Published: February 2008

Mandibles from 13 island and six mainland populations of common shrews from the west coast of Scotland were subjected to geometric morphometric analysis in order to investigate the relationship between genetic diversity and fluctuating asymmetry. Although population mean shape fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and size FA were significantly inversely correlated with population genetic diversity this result was substantially due to one island. Sanda, the smallest island with by far the lowest genetic diversity, also had the highest FA. When Sanda was removed from the analysis, the relationship was not significant. There was no relationship between genetic diversity and FA at the individual level, whether measured as mean locus heterozygosity ord2. In general, if genetic variation affects FA at all, the effect is weak and may only be of biological interest in very small populations.
Body size evolution in Mesozoic birds
Authors: HONE D. W. E. , DYKE G. J. , HADEN M. , BENTON M. J.
Published: February 2008

The tendency for the mean body size of taxa within a clade to increase through evolution (Cope’s Rule) has been demonstrated in a number of terrestrial vertebrate groups. However, because avian body size is strongly constrained by flight, any increase in size during the evolution of this lineage should be limited – there is a maximum size that can be attained by a bird for it to be able to get off the ground. Contrary to previous interpretations of early avian evolution, we demonstrate an overall increase in body size across Jurassic and Cretaceous flying birds: taxon body size increases from the earliest Jurassic through to the end of the Cretaceous, across a time span of 70 Myr. Although evidence is limited that this change is directional, it is certainly nonrandom. Relative size increase occurred presumably as the result of an increase in variance as the avian clade diversified after the origin of flight: a progression towards larger body size is seen clearly within the clades Pygostylia and Ornithothoraces. In contrast, a decrease in body size characterizes the most crownward lineage Ornithuromorpha, the clade that includes all extant taxa, and potentially may explain the survival of these birds across the Cretaceous‐Palaeogene boundary. As in all other dinosaurs, counter selection for small size is seen in some clades, whereas body size is increasing overall.
Continuities in caring? Emotion work in a NHS Direct call centre
Authors: Weir Hannele , Waddington Kathryn
Published: February 2008

Changes in technological and economic aspects of society have impacted on how we understand professional and client relationships. These relationships are constructed in terms of patients/users requiring care, and customers whose complaints have become a yardstick of satisfaction. A consequence of these changes is an interest in the related concepts of emotional labour and emotion work. For nurses, caring for people in illness and in health is central to their work, and it is this aspect of emotion at work that distinguishes nursing from other occupational groups. This paper is concerned with emotion work in a National Health Service Direct (NHS Direct) call centre in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives from organizational psychology and sociology it focuses upon the social processes that narrate emotion events in a specific context. It is based on a qualitative study exploring the experience and emotion work of nurses working in a call centre. Issues in caring without the face‐to‐face contact using communication technology were crucial to the way nurses perceived their work. These factors contributed to nurses’ orientation to work and to the way that conflict and dissonance with expectations of callers and managers impacted on nurses’ emotion work.
Exploring new advanced practice roles in community nursing: a critique
Authors: Aranda Kay , Jones Andrea
Published: February 2008

Attempts to ‘modernize’ the English National Health Service (NHS) have included significant workforce re‐design, including the development of new, advanced roles in nursing. There is a wealth of evidence documenting and evaluating such roles in hospital and, to a lesser extent, in community settings. This paper builds on this work, drawing on recent post structural and sociological analyzes to theorize these roles, locating them within broader social and cultural changes taking place in healthcare and exploring how understandings of new roles in community nursing are in the process of being constructed. Building on a literature review, the paper draws out what an analysis of new advanced nursing roles in the community reveals about competing conceptualizations of the nursing mandate, the ambivalence and ambiguity that practitioners experience in shaping ‘new’ identities (the shaping of subjectivities), and the often implicit ideological positions that underpin such developments.
Using puppetry to elicit children's talk for research
Authors: Epstein Iris , Stevens Bonnie , McKeever Patricia , Baruchel Sylvain , Jones Heather
Published: February 2008

Although puppets have been employed by various disciplines in clinical and community (e.g. homes and schools) environments, little has been written about their use as a communication tool in research. In this article, a critical review of the literature is undertaken integrating the use of puppets in a qualitative research study exploring children's perspectives on and responses to a camp for children with cancer. Methodological considerations and ethical issues of using puppets as a data collection technique are discussed. Although some limitations exist, using puppets in interviews with children appear to help them to identify, clarify and verbalize their feelings.
AN IMPROVED NUMERICAL TECHNIQUE FOR SIMULATING THE GROWTH OF PLANAR FATIGUE CRACKS
Authors: Lin X. B. , Smith R. A.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— This paper describes a versatile technique for simulating the fatigue growth of a wide range of planar cracks of practical significance. Crack growth is predicted on a step‐by‐step basis from the Paris law using stress intensity factors calculated by the finite element method. The crack front is defined by a cubic spline curve from a set of nodes. Both the 1/4‐node crack opening displacement and the three‐dimensional J‐integral (energy release rate) methods are used to calculate the stress intensity factors. Automatic remeshing of the finite element model to a new position which defines the new crack front enables the crack propagation to be followed. The accuracy and capability of this finite element simulation technique are demonstrated in this paper by the investigation of various problems of both theoretical and practical interest. These include the shape growth trend of an embedded initially penny‐shaped defect and an embedded initially elliptical defect in an infinite body, the growth of a semi‐elliptical surface crack in a finite thickness plate under tension and bending, the propagation of an internal crack in a round bar and the shape change of an external surface crack in a pressure vessel.
PREDICTION OF THE FATIGUE LIMIT OF CRACKED SPECIMENS BASED ON THE CYCLIC R‐CURVE METHOD
Authors: Akiniwa Y. , Zhang L. M. , Tanaka K.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— The propagation behaviour of fatigue cracks emanating from pre‐cracks was numerically simulated to evaluate the development of crack closure with crack growth. The crack opening stress intensity factor at the threshold was approximated as a function of the applied stress and the amount of crack extension. Pre‐cracked specimens of a medium‐carbon steel with a small surface crack and a single‐edge crack were fatigued to investigate experimentally the initiation and propagation of cracks from pre‐cracks. Crack closure was dynamically measured by using an interferometric strain/displacement gauge. The threshold condition of crack initiation from pre‐cracks was given by a constant value of the effective stress intensity range which was equal to the threshold value for long cracks. The cyclic R‐curve was constructed in terms of the threshold value of the maximum stress intensity factor as a function of crack extension approximated on the basis of the experimental and numerical results. The cyclic R‐curve method was used to predict the fatigue thresholds of pre‐cracked specimens. The predicted values of the fatigue limits for crack initiation and fracture, and the length of non‐propagating cracks agreed very well with the experimental results.
RELAXATION OF RESIDUAL STRESSES AT COLD‐WORKED FASTENER HOLES DUE TO FATIGUE LOADING
Authors: ÖZdemir A. T. , Edwards L.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— Cold‐expansion of fastener holes is now commonly used within the aerospace industry to increase the fatigue endurance of airframes. Although a number of methods of cold expansion are possible, the split‐sleeve cold‐expansion process is the most widely accepted and is frequently used in the repair and manufacture stages of both military and civil aircraft. In the present work, the redistribution of residual hoop stresses due to the application of constant amplitude fatigue loading at 4% cold‐expanded holes has been studied. A modified Sachs method was adopted to evaluate the residual stress profiles and a replication technique was used to quantify crack growth. It was found that the decay of the residual hoop stress profile near the bore of the hole was due to the initiation and growth of small fatigue cracks. Cracks were found to initiate both near and below the fatigue limit, but subsequently arrested so stabilising the overall residual stress profile.
FRACTURE MECHANICS APPLICATIONS TO DRILLING AND BLASTING
Authors: Rossmanith H. P. , Daehnke A. , Nasmillner R. E. K. , Kouzniak N. , Ohtsu M. , Uenishi K.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— This paper gives a brief review of research in rock fracture mechanics as conducted at the Fracture and Photo‐Mechanics Laboratory (FPML) at Vienna University of Technology. The mechanisms pertaining to percussion drilling and blasting are investigated, with specific reference to the application of fracture mechanics. In order to gain an improved understanding of the mechanisms controlling rock fragmentation, a multidisciplinary approach is followed which includes laboratory experiments conducted in plexiglass and rock, in‐situ field experiments and analytical/numerical modelling techniques.

Field experiments revealed that percussively drilled holes exhibit a very shallow region of damaged rock. An analytical model to simulate damage accumulation and crack initiation due to elastic waves generated by impacting drill bits was developed. This model, based on damage and fracture mechanics, was incorporated into a numerical finite difference code. Fracture and damage mechanics parameters are related to the moment tensor which is determined experimentally by means of acoustic emission. Small scale model blasts were used to investigate the blast‐induced fractures in the near‐borehole zone as well as in the far field. Analytical and numerical investigations give insight into stress wave and gas driven fracturing. The applicability of the dynamic finite difference program SWIFD to the interaction between stress waves and cracks is illustrated.
THE INFLUENCE OF AGEING AT INTERMEDIATE TEMPERATURES ON THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF A DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL: Part II. FATIGUE LIFE AND FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH
Authors: Iturgoyen L. , Anglada M.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— The mechanical behaviour of AISI 329 steel has been investigated for ageing times up to 20,000 h at temperatures of 475, 425, 375, 325 and 275°C. The study has concentrated on the changes in the response to cyclic strains, in the low‐and the high‐cycle fatigue regimes, and in the resistance to fatigue crack propagation as a function of temperature and time of ageing.

It is shown that ageing increases the fatigue resistance in the high‐cycle fatigue regime, but the opposite occurs in the low‐cycle fatigue regime. Ageing increases the LEFM threshold stress intensity factor range for fatigue crack propagation which reaches high values in these alloys, and is influenced by the fatigue load ratio. Crack closure contributes to the LEFM threshold stress intensity factor range for crack propagation only in the annealed condition of the AISI 329 steel.
A STUDY ON FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH UNDER OUT‐OF‐PHASE COMBINED LOADINGS
Authors: Ohkawa I. , Takahashi H. , Moriwaki M. , Misumi M.
Published: February 2008

Abstract— Fatigue tests were performed on thin‐walled tubular specimens of S45C steel under tension‐compression, pure torsion, in‐phase and out‐of‐phase axial‐torsional loadings. The relationship between cracking behaviour and stress components on the crack plane was investigated. Measurement of microcrack density showed that microcracking was governed predominantly by the shear stress amplitude acting on the crack plane for all loading conditions. The failure crack was formed by coalescence of many cracks initiated near the maximum shear planes. The cracks grew turning their orientation to the direction perpendicular to the maximum normal stress. The transition of crack orientation occurred at relatively longer crack lengths at a higher stress ratio. The crack growth behaviour for all loading modes can be correlated using an equivalent strain intensity parameter based on shear and normal strains on the crack plane.
The influence of body mass index on the long‐term survival of patients with renal cell carcinoma after tumour nephrectomy
Authors: Haferkamp Axel , Pritsch Maria , Bedke Jens , Wagener Nina , Pfitzenmaier Jesco , Buse Stephan , Hohenfellner Markus
Published: February 2008

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether under‐ or overweight at the time of surgery has any effect on the survival of the patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as obesity increases the risk of developing RCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We prospectively evaluated 780 patients who had nephrectomy for RCC between 1990 and 2005. We used uni‐ and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models to assess the effect of body mass index (BMI), tumour stage, Fuhrman grade, age, sex, histological type and performance status on cancer‐specific survival (CSS). Patients were grouped according to BMI (in kg/m2), as underweight (<18.5), normal (18.5–<25), overweight (25–<30) and obese (≥30).

RESULTS

The median (range) follow‐up was 5.3 (0.5–15.4) years, the patients being followed until June 2006; 254 patients died during the follow‐up. Multivariate analyses of all patients showed that tumour stage, Fuhrman grade, Karnofsky performance status, age, sex and BMI were independent prognostic factors for CSS. While underweight patients had a significantly worse prognosis than those of normal weight, overweight or obese patients had a similar outcome to that of patients of normal weight. In a subgroup analyses including patients with localized RCC only, there was a strong tendency to less aggressive disease in the overweight group (P = 0.081).

CONCLUSIONS

Being underweight is an unfavourable and new risk factor for CSS in patients with RCC treated by nephrectomy. Although not significant, there seems to be a limited favourable prognostic effect of overweight on CSS in patients with localized RCC.
Does Supermarket Purchase Affect the Dietary Practices of Households? Some Empirical Evidence from Guatemala
Authors: Asfaw Abay
Published: February 2008

Very little is known about how changes in the retail environment affect consumers’diet and health status, especially in developing countries. This article examines the impact of supermarket purchases on the dietary practices of households in Guatemala, using an instrumental variable method to take account of the potential endogeneity of the supermarket purchase variable. The results reveal that supermarket purchases increase the share of highly and partially processed foods at the expense of staple foods, and are also positively and significantly associated with individual Body Mass Index. Different policy moves should be envisaged towards‘healthier’diets.
Conversing with pedagogical agents: A phenomenological exploration of interacting with digital entities
Authors: Veletsianos George , Miller Charles
Published: February 2008

In this paper, we examine the meaning of conversing with pedagogical agents. Previous research has focused on examining cause and effect relationships, failing to take into account the meaning of the experiences individuals have when holding a dialogue with conversational agents for educational purposes. To understand these experiences, we have conducted a phenomenological examination of what it means to converse with a pedagogical agent. In phenomenological terms, findings suggest the experience is complex, engrossing, virtual yet real, human‐like, and social. Implications for the future design, implementation, and research of conversational agents in educational and other settings are discussed.
The effectiveness of multimedia programmes in children's vocabulary learning
Authors: Acha Joana
Published: February 2008

The present experiment investigated the effect of three different presentation modes in children's vocabulary learning with a self‐guided multimedia programmes. Participants were 135 third and fourth grade children who read a short English language story presented by a computer programme. For 12 key (previously unknown) words in the story, children received verbal annotations (written translation), visual annotations (picture representing the word), or both. Recall of word translations was better for children who only received verbal annotations than for children who received simultaneously visual and verbal annotations or visual annotations only. Results support previous research about cognitive load in e‐learning environments, and show that children's learning processes are hindered by limited working memory. This finding implies a challenge for multimedia programmes designed for children and based on self‐regulated learning.
Political Entrepreneurs and Co‐Managers: Labour Transnationalism at Four Multinational Auto Companies
Authors: Greer Ian , Hauptmeier Marco
Published: February 2008

This article examines labour transnationalism within four multinational automakers. In our sample, we find different forms of labour transnationalism, including transnational collective bargaining, mobilization, information exchange and social codes of conduct. We explain the differences through the interaction between management and labour in the context of the company structure; of particular importance are transnational coercive comparisons by management and the orientations of worker representatives as political entrepreneurs or co‐managers. We conclude that, although intensified worker‐side cross‐border co‐operation has not prevented wage‐based competition in general (due to the lack of between‐firm co‐ordination), it has reshaped employment relations within these multinational corporations.
Equality and Human Rights: Foundations of a Common Culture?
Authors: O'BRIEN NICK
Published: February 2008

The creation of the new GB Commission for Equality and Human Rights invites fresh reflection on the relationship between human rights and equality. This article suggests that an account of equality that goes beyond the negative notion of anti‐discrimination towards a more positive value‐driven conception of equal participation offers the best chance of fruitful coalition with a human rights approach. It also argues that human rights themselves must be rescued from the perception that they are primarily about civil liberties and relevant only to matters of state security and criminal justice. It is proposed that recent developments in equality law and in the understanding of the implications of human rights principles for public service delivery provide the foundation for shared values and for a common culture that is truly democratic, deliberative and participatory. The new Commission to that extent enjoys an historic opportunity.
Intersecting Inequalities: Reflecting on the Subjects and Objects of Equality
Authors: SQUIRES JUDITH
Published: February 2008

The creation of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) brings together equality strands that have previously been conceived in a discrete manner, politically, legally and institutionally. Its establishment raises the possibility that UK equality institutions might be better able to engage with issues of ‘intersectionality’. This article considers whether this potential is likely to be realised. It suggests that two distinct approaches are emerging in response to the challenge of multiple inequalities. One entails the EHRC retaining a separate strands approach to equality, with its notion of structural inequality and discrete, frequently competing, groups; a second entails the embrace of a diversity agenda in which we are all complex individuals seeking an equal opportunity to thrive in the market‐place. Given the potential limitations of these approaches ‐ the first may not be sufficiently flexible to allow for a joined‐up approach to multiple inequalities, while the second may subordinate equality considerations to those of greater economy productivity ‐ the article asks whether others way of negotiating the demands intersectionality might be open to the EHRC.
The Future of Freedom of Information in the United Kingdom
Authors: WORTHY BENJAMIN
Published: February 2008

This article investigates the future of Britain's Freedom of Information Act [FOIA]. It argues that the UK FOI regime faces a set of unique opportunities and challenges that may decisively impact upon the shape of FOI policy in Britain.

On the one hand, the increasingly assertive FOIA appeal bodies, constant pressure from requesters, alongside the more open habits practised within the Civil Service, may serve together to ‘open up’ government information access. This in turn may widen and strengthen the British FOI regime.

On the other hand, a series of potential obstacles may inhibit or undermine the new FOI regime. Delay and inconsistency, potential record management problems and ‘gaps’ within the scope of the Act, all present possible barriers to further openness. Most of all, following the two recent attempts to limit the scope of the legislation, the intentions and actions of the government will be crucial in shaping the future of FOI policy.
The Threat of Appearing Prejudiced and Race-Based Attentional Biases
Authors: Richeson Jennifer A. , Trawalter Sophie
Published: February 2008

The current work tested whether external motivation to respond without prejudice toward Blacks is associated with biased patterns of selective attention that reflect a threat response to Black individuals. In a dot-probe attentional bias paradigm, White participants with low and high external motivation to respond without prejudice toward Blacks (i.e., low-EM and high-EM individuals, respectively) were presented with pairs of White and Black male faces that bore either neutral or happy facial expressions; on each trial, the faces were displayed for either 30 ms or 450 ms. The findings were consistent with those of previous research on threat and attention: High-EM participants revealed an attentional bias toward neutral Black faces presented for 30 ms, but an attentional bias away from neutral Black faces presented for 450 ms. These attentional biases were eliminated, however, when the faces displayed happy expressions. These findings suggest that high levels of external motivation to avoid prejudice result in anxious arousal in response to Black individuals, and that this response affects even basic attentional processes.
Adaptive Memory
Authors: Nairne James S. , Pandeirada Josefa N.S. , Thompson Sarah R.
Published: February 2008

We recently proposed that human memory systems are “tuned” to remember information that is processed for survival, perhaps as a result of fitness advantages accrued in the ancestral past. This proposal was supported by experiments in which participants showed superior memory when words were rated for survival relevance, at least relative to when words received other forms of deep processing. The current experiments tested the mettle of survival memory by pitting survival processing against conditions that are universally accepted as producing excellent retention, including conditions in which participants rated words for imagery, pleasantness, and self-reference; participants also generated words, studied words with the intention of learning them, or rated words for relevance to a contextually rich (but non-survival-related) scenario. Survival processing yielded the best retention, which suggests that it may be one of the best encoding procedures yet discovered in the memory field.
A note on the Armenian version of Mark 9:37
Authors: Kölligan Daniel
Published: February 2008

In the Classical Armenian version of Mark 9:37, a form corresponding to the Greek numeral hén‘one’ seems to be missing. It is proposed that the reading or miangam‘whoever’ is to be understood as covering an original reading or mi angam‘whoever even one’.
3. MENTALITY AS A SOCIAL EMERGENT: CAN THE ZEITGEIST HAVE EXPLANATORY POWER?1
Authors: FØRLAND TOR EGIL
Published: February 2008

This paper probes the explanatory value of mentality as a social emergent in general and of the Zeitgeist in particular. Durkheim's contention that social facts have emergent properties is open to the charge that it implies logically inconsistent “downward causation.” on the basis of an analogy with the brain‐mind dilemma and mental emergentism, the first part of the essay discusses and dismisses the notion of social emergent properties that cannot be reduced to the properties of their component parts—individuals—and their internal relations. However, ontological individualism need not compel us to methodological individualism. The second part introduces two challenges to methodological individualism. The most radical is Rajeev Bhargava's assertion that the meaning of a belief is determined not by the individual holding the belief but by the entire linguistic community. Bhargava's “contextualism” is closely related to the (post)structural demand that we focus on discourse as a communal entity instead of continuing a delusive quest for the intentions of individual speakers. a more modest alternative is Margaret Gilbert's plea for using “plural subjects”—social groups in which “participant agents” act jointly or have a jointly accepted view—in the practical syllogisms that are central to rationalizing action explanation. The notion of plural subjects lends credence to, and is reinforced by, “situationist” social psychology, which shows how people conform to peer groups, authorities, and roles. building on Wesley Salmon's and Peter Railton's ecumenical accounts of explanation, the essay argues that both individual rationalizing action explanations and explanations based on plural agents can give explanatory information: we need not choose one or the other. The third part discusses how the Zeitgeist can provide added explanatory value in an analysis of the New left. This is possible if the “spirit of the sixties” is seen as representing the values and worldviews of the “sixties generation” as a social group in Gilbert's terms. Radical youth would suspend judgment and pool their wills to conform to what they perceived were the views of the imagined “sixties community” or—rendering more explanatory force—to smaller parts of it in the guise of peer groups and organizations.
4. THREE DOGMAS (MORE OR LESS) OF EXPLANATION1
Authors: ROTH PAUL A.
Published: February 2008

What ought to count as an explanation? Such normative questions—what “ought to be” the case?—typically mark the domain that those with a type of philosophical aspiration call their own. Debates in the philosophy of history have for too long been marred by bad advice from just such aspirants. The recurrent suggestion has been that historians have a particular need for a theory of explanation since they seem to have none of their own. But neither the study of the natural sciences nor the study of narrative compels or even makes plausible the view that it will be possible to adduce the norms of explanation, either in history or elsewhere, in advance of identifying theories that explain. I readily concede to Stueber, Carr, and Førland the use of a certain vocabulary when speaking of others. But it is one thing to point to a pervasive habit of explaining behavior in certain terms. It is quite another to document that these explanations have any value as explanations.

What apart from habit or philosophical dogma establishes any of their proposals as explanatory? Explanation by invoking the myth of the shared should be replaced by explanations that have empirical content.
Early mechanism of negativity bias: An attentional blink study1
Authors: KIHARA KEN , OSAKA NAOYUKI
Published: February 2008

Abstract:  The negativity bias is the perceptual phenomena whereby an emotionally negative stimulus is processed faster than a positive or neutral stimulus. We used the attentional blink paradigm to investigate whether attentional resources are required to obtain the negativity bias. Positive, negative or neutral words were used as a preceding target (T1) and/or a subsequent target (T2). Experiment 1 showed that the negativity bias occurred, because the attentional blink was reduced by a negative T2, but not by a positive or neutral T2. Experiment 2 indicated that a negative T1 grabbed attentional resources, interfering with the identification of a neutral T2. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the report of a negative T2 deteriorated when T1 was also negative. We conclude that attentional resources were required for the occurrence of the negativity bias.
Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing: Authority Relations, Ideological Conservatism, and Creativity in Confucian‐Heritage Cultures
Authors: HO DAVID YAU FAI , HO RAINBOW TIN HUNG
Published: February 2008

Throughout history, the generation, exercise, and dissemination of knowledge are fraught with dangers, the root causes of which are traceable to the definition of authority relations. The authors compare Greek myths and Chinese legends, setting the stage for a metarelational analysis of authority relations between teacher and students and between scholar‐teachers and political rulers in Confucian‐heritage cultures. These two relations are rooted in ideological conservatism. They are related in a higher‐order relation or metarelation: Political control and the definition of the teacher‐student relationship reinforce each other in consolidating authoritarian values. Thus, ideological conservatism shapes educational philosophy and socialization. It conflicts with present demands for creativity in the service of knowledge‐based economies. Hence, a major issue in cultural change to be addressed concerns the dilemma between maintaining authoritarian control and enhancing creativity.
Absent, Full and Partial Responsibility of the Psychopaths
Authors: ZAVALIY ANDREI G.
Published: February 2008

The research into the typical behavioral pattern, motivational structure, and the value system of psychopaths can shed light on at least three aspects related to the analysis of the moral agency. First, it can help elucidating the emotive and cognitive conditions necessary for moral performance. Secondly, it can provide empirical evidence supporting the externalist theories of moral motivation. Finally, it can bring into greater focus our intuitive notion of the limits of moral responsibility. In this paper I shall concentrate on the last one—the question of responsibility of the amoralists, but the discussion will have an indirect bearing on the other two themes as well. My main reason for holding psychopaths morally responsible breaks down into two claims: the assumption that most ordinary people are morally responsible for their intentional actions (i.e., the rejection of hard determinism) and the denial that the psychopaths are qualitatively different from the non‐psychopaths. This thesis is further defended against two objections. First, I am arguing that the genetically based emotive deficiency of the psychopaths cannot be seen the factor condemning them to amoral existence, and thus cannot be cited as an exempting condition. Secondly, my position is defended against the claim that psychopaths are partly responsible for their actions. It is argued that the notion of partial responsibility is either incoherent or else rests on a false empirical premise. My conclusion is in agreement with, and provides a theoretical justification for, the position of most classifications of the persons with antisocial personality disorder in the DSM IV.
Nifedipine concentration in maternal and umbilical cord blood after nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system for tocolysis
Authors: Silberschmidt A‐L , Kühn‐Velten WN , Juon A‐M , Zimmermann R , Von Mandach U
Published: February 2008

Objective  To determine nifedipine concentrations in maternal plasma at steady state, and maternal and umbilical cord plasma at delivery, after tocolysis with nifedipine gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) tablets.

Design  Prospective clinical pharmacokinetic study.

Setting  Department of Obstetrics at the Zurich University Hospital.

Population  Pregnant women treated for threatened preterm labour.

Methods  GITS dosage titrated to clinical response (30–150 mg/day). Nifedipine concentrations by high‐performance liquid chromatography and turbo ion spray tandem mass spectrometry.

Main outcome measures  Steady‐state nifedipine concentrations in maternal blood and nifedipine concentrations in maternal and corresponding umbilical cord blood at delivery.

Results  Steady‐state nifedipine concentrations (micrograms/l, mean ± SE) were 54 ± 6 (all doses, n = 31), 38 ± 8 (60 mg/day, n = 13), and 92 ± 12 (150 mg/day, n = 7) (P < 0.002). Umbilical cord and maternal concentrations both declined in a ln‐linear regression with elimination half‐lives of 20.4 and 17.4 hours. Linear regression showed a correlation between umbilical and maternal concentrations of 0.77 ± 0.1 (n = 21, mean ± SE).

Conclusions  Steady‐state plasma nifedipine concentrations after repeated dosing with nifedipine GITS 30–150 mg/day in pregnant women with preterm labour do not exceed 100 micrograms/l; fetal levels are 77% of maternal levels.
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND JUST SHARING OF BENEFITS IN MEXICO
Authors: PÁEZ RICARDO , DE ALBA JAVIER E. GARCÍA
Published: February 2008

International research enrolling human subjects has raised an ethical concern regarding the just distribution of benefits between the countries that design the research and the host communities. Although several universal declarations have expressed this concern, a gap between theory and practice continues to exist, as well as a significant divergence between the design of the research protocol and the social context where it will be implemented. Although institutional review boards have made a valuable effort to evaluate international research, their sensitivity to the just sharing of research benefits as well as their attention to the social context must be evaluated. This article analyzes the distribution of benefits in a review of international research in Mexico and produces an ethical reflection based on the results.
ARIADNE’S THREAD: GUIDING A PROTEIN ACROSS FIVE MEMBRANES IN CRYPTOPHYTES1
Authors: Gould Sven B.
Published: February 2008

Cryptophytes are the most archetypal chromalveolates, with their complex plastid having retained many features of the red algal secondary endosymbiont. Most important of these is the remnant nucleus, the nucleomorph, that is kept between the inner and outer membrane pair of the endosymbiont in the highly reduced cytosol, the periplastidial compartment (PPC). Because the nucleomorph’s coding capacity is very limited, proteins need to be imported from the host cytosol across the outer two membranes into the PPC and across all four membranes into the stroma. How this is accomplished has puzzled researchers for >20 years. Recent findings show that in both cases, a bipartite topogenic signal, a signal and subsequent transit peptide (TP), is responsible for targeting proteins correctly into these two compartments. An aromatic amino acid–based motif at the +1 position of the TP holds the information determining into which compartment the precursor protein is finally transported. Together with the identification of a novel endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD)–derived translocon in the second‐outermost membrane, these findings help us to understand the sophisticated targeting mechanisms across four membranes and clarify a key innovation during chromalveolate evolution.
A MOLECULAR SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO EXPLORE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE SELLAPHORA PUPULA SPECIES COMPLEX (BACILLARIOPHYTA)1
Authors: Evans Katharine M. , Wortley Alexandra H. , Simpson Gillian E. , Chepurnov Victor A. , Mann David G.
Published: February 2008

The common and cosmopolitan freshwater benthic diatom Sellaphora pupula (Kütz.) Mereschk. is a model system for studying the nature of species in microalgae; the biological significance of morphological variation in this species complex has been widely demonstrated. The aim of this study was to establish a two‐gene phylogeny (18S rDNA and rbcL) for 23 Sellaphora taxa, including 19 S. pupula aggregate (agg.) demes or species, S. bacillum (Ehrenb.) D. G. Mann, and S. laevissima (Kütz.) D. G. Mann. A range of analyses on separate and combined data sets indicated that Sellaphora is a monophyletic group containing four major clades. Of the traditionally recognized species, S. bacillum and S. laevissima are natural groups, but S. pupula is paraphyletic or polyphyletic because S. bacillum groups with S. pupula“small lanceolate” and S. lanceolata. Thickened bars at the poles of valves within the core “pupula–bacillum” group may be a morphological synapomorphy; the fossil record suggests that this group is at least 12 million years old. Otherwise, there was no clear pattern in the distribution of different morphologies among the major clades; each clade was also heterogeneous with respect to mating system. More intensive and extensive sampling will doubtless uncover even greater diversity; the challenge lies in its interpretation. Our results demonstrate the limitations of paleoecological, ecological, and biogeographical research based on morphospecies.
MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE LECTIN, BRYOHEALIN, INVOLVED IN PROTOPLAST REGENERATION OF THE MARINE ALGA BRYOPSIS PLUMOSA (CHLOROPHYTA)1
Authors: Yoon Kang Sup , Lee Key Pyoung , Klochkova Tatyana A. , Kim Gwang Hoon
Published: February 2008

When a coenocytic cell of the green alga Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) C. Agardh was cut open and the cell contents expelled, the cell organelles agglutinated rapidly in seawater to form protoplasts. This process was mediated by a lectin, Bryohealin. The full sequence of the cDNA encoding Bryohealin was obtained, which consisted of 1,101 base pairs (bp), with 24 bp of 5′ untranslated region (UTR) and 201 bp of 3′ UTR. It had an open reading frame (ORF) of 771 bp encoding 257 amino acid residues. A signal peptide consisted of 22 amino acids presented before the start codon of Bryohealin, indicating that this lectin was a vacuolar (storage) protein. The C‐terminal sequence of Bryohealin was composed of antibiotic domains, suggesting that this lectin could perform two functions: (i) aggregation of cell organelles in seawater and (ii) protection from bacterial contamination for successful protoplast regeneration. The BLAST search result showed that Bryohealin had little sequence homology with any known plant lectins, but rather resembled animal lectins with fucolectin domains. The expression of recombinant Bryohealin (rBryohealin) was obtained in the Escherichia coli system.
NOVEL UNARMORED DINOFLAGELLATES FROM THE TOXIGENIC FAMILY KARENIACEAE (GYMNODINIALES): FIVE NEW SPECIES OFKARLODINIUMAND ONE NEWTAKAYAMAFROM THE AUSTRALIAN SECTOR OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN1
Authors: De Salas Miguel F. , Laza‐Martínez Aitor , Hallegraeff Gustaaf M.
Published: February 2008

Six new species of unarmored dinoflagellates in the family Kareniaceae were isolated from the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean in March 2006:Takayama tuberculatade Salas sp. nov,Karlodinium antarcticumde Salas sp. nov.,Karl. ballantinumde Salas sp. nov.,Karl. conicumde Salas sp. nov.,Karl. corrugatumde Salas sp. nov., andKarl. decipiensde Salas et Laza‐Martínez sp. nov. These new taxa were characterized using light and electron microscopy and sequencing of the LSU rDNA and are well supported based either on their morphology or molecular phylogeny.Takayama tuberculata, isolated just north of the polar front (55°–57° S), is genetically close toT. tasmanica, but smaller, with a significantly reduced number of amphiesmal vesicles. Medium‐sizedKarl. antarcticum, also isolated from near the polar front, is characterized by its long ovoid cell outline and very long apical groove. The smallKarl. ballantinumhas a very short apical groove. The largeKarl. conicumhas a distinct conical epicone and spherical posterior nucleus. The smallKarl. corrugatum, from just south of the polar front, has distinctive parallel striations on the epicone surface and a distinctively shaped and placed ventral pore. The large and widespreadKarl. decipiens, distributed through Southern Ocean waters from the polar front to Tasmanian coastal waters, and coastal Spain, has a helicoidal chloroplast arrangement and a large central nucleus. This study represents the first description of species in the potentially ichthyotoxic family Kareniaceae recorded from the Southern Ocean.