bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Noninvasive Detection of Diffuse Intracranial Disease
Authors: Sharma Vijay K. , Tsivgoulis Georgios , Lao Annabelle Y. , Malkoff Marc D. , Alexandrov Andrei V.
Published: October 2007

Background and Purpose—

Intracranial arterial stenosis increases flow velocities on the upslope of the Spencer’s curve of cerebral hemodynamics. However, the velocity can decrease with long and severely narrowed vessels. We assessed the frequency and accuracy for detection of focal and diffuse intracranial stenoses using novel diagnostic criteria that take into account increased resistance to flow with widespread lesions.

Methods—

We evaluated consecutive patients referred to a neurovascular ultrasound laboratory with symptoms of cerebral ischemia. Transcranial Doppler mean flow velocities were classified as normal (30 to 99 cm/s), high and low. Pulsatility index ≥1.2 was considered high. Focal intracranial disease was defined as ≥50% diameter reduction by the Warfarin Aspirin in Symptomatic Intracranial Disease criteria. Diffuse disease was defined as stenoses in multiple intracranial arteries, multiple segments of one artery, or a long (>1 cm) stenosis in one major artery on contrast angiography (CT angiography or digital subtraction angiography) as the gold standard.

Results—

One hundred fifty-three patients (96 men, 76% white, age 62±15 years) had previous strokes (n=135) or transient ischemic attack (n=18). Transcranial Doppler detection of focal and diffuse intracranial disease had sensitivity 79.4% (95% CI: 65.8% to 93%), specificity 92.4% (95% CI: 87.7% to 97.2%), positive predictive value 75.0% (95% CI: 60.9% to 89.2%), negative predictive value 94.0% (95% CI: 89.7% to 98.3%), and overall accuracy 89.5% (95% CI: 84.5% to 94.4%). After adjustment for stroke risk factors, transcranial Doppler findings of low mean flow velocities and high pulsatility index in a single vessel were independently associated with angiographically demonstrated diffuse single vessel intracranial disease, whereas low mean flow velocities/high pulsatility index in multiple vessels were related to multivessel intracranial disease (OR: 19.7, 95% CI: 4.8 to 81.2,
P
<0.001).

Conclusions—

Diffuse intracranial disease may have a higher than expected frequency in a select stroke population and can be detected with noninvasive screening.
Disparity and Its Time Trends in Stroke Mortality Between Urban and Rural Populations in China 1987 to 2001
Authors: Zhang Xin-Hua , Guan Tingrui , Mao Jiawen , Liu Lisheng
Published: October 2007

Background and Purpose—

The purposes of this study were to describe stroke mortality in urban and rural populations in China and to monitor the transition using the best available surveillance data during the past 2 decades.

Methods—

Age- and sex-specific mortality data were obtained from the death registration and classification system covering 100 million population in selected urban and rural areas in China. The age-adjusted stroke mortality and its time trends for population at aged 35 years and over were compared between urban and rural populations during the period of 1987 to 2001.

Results—

The age-adjusted stroke mortality was higher in urban than in rural populations until the end of 1990s. The urban:rural ratio was 1:16 for men and 1:21 for women in 1987, but this dropped to 0:77 and 0:79, respectively, in 2001 due to a remarkable decrease in stroke mortality in urban areas (−2.0% for men and −2.5% for women annually,
P
<0.001), but with little change in rural men (
P
=0.969) and women (−0.7%,
P
=0.021) over the period. The decrease is mainly observed in the elderly population. It increased in the population aged 35 to 54 years for all area–gender groups except for urban women.

Conclusions—

The heavier burden of stroke shifted from urban to rural areas where a larger population resides and healthcare services are less developed than in urban areas in China. The increasing trend in the younger population will impose a greater burden in the near future. Healthcare policymakers need to focus their attention on this situation and take suitable measures to cope with the challenges it poses.
Rethinking the “Third World”
Authors: Colburn Forrest D.
Published: October 2007

Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi has a distinguished history in the politics of what has long been known as the “Third World,” most of which were once beleaguered colonies of Europe. After the Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955—the first coming together of the non-aligned movement—Lakhdar was sent to Indonesia by the National Liberation Front of Algeria to open its first office in Asia.

Over the years, Lakhdar met and chatted with everyone: from Che to Nyerere to Nasser to Nehru to Sukarno. He served Algeria as ambassador and foreign minister. He was under-secretary-general of the League of Arab States. Most recently, at the United Nations, he undertook special missions on behalf of the secretary-general in Congo, Yemen, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sudan.

His last post for the United Nations was in Afghanistan, where he led the United Nations Peace Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn at the end of 2001, and then served in Kabul as the special representative of the secretary-general until 2004. Lakhdar is presently at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as a guest of the director. We talked at the Institute about past and present trends in the poorer countries of the world.
Abraham Visits Ishmael: A Revisit
Authors: Bakhos Carol
Published: October 2007

Previous studies of the story of Abraham's visit to Ishmael in Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer (PRE) focus on its relationship to Islamic versions and read it either as polemical or apologetic. It is also assumed that either the author of PRE reworked an Islamic version of the story, or that the story is of Jewish origin. Such readings, however, are based largely on notions of Ishmael's character in the story that overlook other references to Ishmael and the Ishmaelites in PRE. This article thus examines the story in light of all references to Ishmael and the Ishmaelites in PRE.
Jews, Judaeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorization in Ancient History
Authors: Mason Steve
Published: October 2007

The very title of this journal reflects a commonplace in scholarly discourse. We want to understand "Judaism" in the Persian and Graeco-Roman periods: the lives and religion of ancient Jews. Some scholars in recent years have asked whether Ioudaioi and its counterparts in other ancient languages are better rendered "Jews" or "Judaeans" in English. This essay puts that question in a larger frame, by considering first Ioudaismos and then the larger problem of ancient religion. It argues that there was no category of "Judaism" in the Graeco-Roman world, no "religion" too, and that the Ioudaioi were understood until late antiquity as an ethnic group comparable to other ethnic groups, with their distinctive laws, traditions, customs, and God. They were indeed Judaeans.
Kinship and Religious Practices as Institutionalization of Trade Networks: Manangi Trade Communities in South and Southeast Asia
Authors: Ratanapruck Prista
Published: October 2007

This paper examines social and religious institutions that create and sustain a trade network among Nepali traders in South and Southeast Asia. It looks at how kinship and religious practices sanction a system of social and economic cooperation in their community. By pooling labor, information, material and financial resources, ensured by trust and mutual obligation, they can lower their operating costs. By extending kinship relations to societies abroad, such as through marriages with local women, they can have access to both local and translocal trade networks, as well as reduce protection costs. Because the trade network is embedded in institutionalized social practices, it is resilient and keeps a geographically dispersed community connected and competitive throughout their trading history. The paper is based on field research in Nepal, India, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore. Dans cet article l'auteur mène une analyse des institutions sociales et religieuses qui créent et maintiennent un réseau de commerçants népalais dans l'Asie du Sud et du Sud-est. L'article s'adresse aux moyens par lesquelles les liens de parenté et des pratiques religieuses soutiennent un système de coöpération sociale et économique dans cette communauté diasporique. En partageant du travail, des renseignements et de certaines ressources matérielles et financières, c'est-à-dire en suivant un processus dont la bonne foi et le sens d'obligation réciproque garantissent le bon fonctionnement, ils savent réduire les dépenses d'opération. En élargissant les réseaux de parenté vers l'étranger, par exemple par des rapports matrimoniaux, ils réussissent en même temps à gagner l'accès aux économies locales et trans-locales en réduisant également les frais de la sauvegarde contre l'extorsion et les razzias. C'est grâce à l'enracinement du réseau de commerce dans des pratiques sociales institutionelles que celuici reste toujours flexible et de longue durée, ce qui lui permet de survivre dans une communauté géographiquement dispersé et de maintenir un haut niveau de concurrence à travers une longue histoire d'activités commerciales. Les enquêtes sur lesquelles s'appuie cet article furent menées à Kathmandu et à plusieurs comptoirs en d'autres pays.
The Circulation of Men and Credit: The Role of the Commenda and the Family Firm in Julfan Society
Authors: Aslanian Sebouh
Published: October 2007

This essay explores the role of a partnership arrangement known as the commenda in Julfan trade during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by situating it within the context of the "family firm," the basic organizational unit of Julfan commerce. It studies the legal and commercial role of the commenda in Julfan trade and argues that, in the Julfan context as in the context of medieval European and Near Eastern trade, the commenda provided the ideal means for the circulation of merchants, goods, and credit across vast distances. Cette contribution examine le rôle du contrat dit commenda dans les activités menées par les négociants arméniens de Joulfa au cours des dix-septième et dix-huitième siècles en le replaçant dans le cadre de la 'firme familiale' qui fut à la base de l'unité organisationnelle de ce commerce. Le rôle légal et commercial du commenda dans ces activités sera étudié, en soutenant que dans le contexte de Joulfa, tout comme dans celui de l'Europe médiévale et du Proche-Orient, le commenda représentait le moyen idéal facilitant la circulation des commerçants, des biens et du crédit sur de vastes distances.
Indian Muslim Merchants in Mozambique and South Africa: Intra-regional Networks In Strategic Association with State Institutions, 1870s-1930s
Authors: Oishi Takashi
Published: October 2007

This paper puts focus on Indian Muslim merchants who extended their intra-regional networks over to Mozambique and South Africa from the late-nineteenth century. Through the analysis of market niches secured by these merchants in various consumer products and services in rivalry with larger European capitalists and indigenous players, I emphasize the importance of their strategic association with the colonial state, its institutions and sociopolitical structure as de fined by the state; more specifically, with the trading license, officially induced racial divisions, nationality, customs duties. Their business based on appropriation of as well as complicity with the states was different from that of Indian traders and bankers until the early modern times which had been largely steered along with privileges and acknowledgements in official monopoly regime. Cette contribution traite des marchands musulmans indiens qui, à partir de la fin du XIXième siècle, ont étendu leurs réseaux intra régionaux jusqu'au Mozambique et à l'Afrique du Sud. En analysant les niches de marché qu'ils se constituent, variété des produits de consommation et de services, en concurrence avec de grands capitalistes européens et desautochtones en présence, il sera mis l'accent sur l'importance de leur association stratégique avec l'Etat colonial, ses institutions et sa structure socio-politique telles que l'Etat les dé finit; et plus particulièrement avec l'obtention de la licence commerciale qui induit officiellement des divisions raciales, de nationalité et de droits de douane. Leurs activités fondées sur l'appropriation et la connivence avec les états, sont différentes de celles menées par les commerçants et banquiers indiens jusqu'à l'aube des temps modernes qui ont connu privilèges et reconnaissance dans le régime officiel de monopole.
English Private Trade in the Western Indian Ocean, 1720-1740
Authors: Prakash Om
Published: October 2007

The paper first situates the trade carried on by private European traders in the overall framework of the Indian Ocean trade in the early-modern period. It then discusses in some detail the trading network of private English merchants in the Western Indian Ocean with special reference to the Surat-Mocha link in the 1720s and the 1730s. The evidence base is provided mainly by the private papers of Sir Robert Cowan, governor of Bombay between 1729 and 1734 and a major English private trader, operating in collaboration with Henry Lowther, chief of the English factory at Surat. Cette contribution replace tout d'abord les activités commerciales menées par les négociants européens dans le cadre général du commerce de l'Océan indien au cours de la période moderne. Elle examine ensuite avec quelque détail le réseau commercial établi par des négociants anglais privés dans le secteur occidentalde l'Océan indien, plus particulièrement les relations instituées entre Surat et Moka dans les années 1720-1730. Les données présentées ont été tirées principalement de la correspondance privée de Sir Robert Cowan, gouverneur de Bombay (1729-1734) et grand négociant privé, associé à Henry Lowther, responsable du comptoir de Surat.
Aristophanes and Tragic Lamentation: The Case of Acharnians 1069-142 and 1174-234
Authors:   Kornarou
Published: October 2007

The influence exerted by tragedy on the comedies of Aristophanes has attracted much attention and this article examines one of its manifestations—his preoccupation with tragic lamentation. Focusing, in particular, on Acharnians 1069-142 and 1174-234, I attempt to examine how he exploits some of the basic features of tragic laments in the context of the comic plot and to discuss how this parodic juxtaposition of the polar worlds of tragedy and comedy functions within the play. A detailed consideration of parallels from tragedy suggests that Aristophanes had in mind specific tragic patterns, in the exaggeration and/or distortion of which the audience would no doubt have recognized some of the most striking characteristics of tragic lamentation.
Aristotle's De spiritu as a Critique of the Doctrine of pneuma in Plato and His Predecessors
Authors:   Bos,   Ferwerda
Published: October 2007

The treatise De spiritu of the Corpus Aristotelicum deserves better treatment than it has received since W. Jaeger in his 1913 article rejected its authenticity and dated it one hundred years after Aristotle. In this paper the authors argue that De spiritu defends purely Aristotelian viewpoints against persons like Plato and Empedocles, who held respiration to be the most important vital process. Most of the De spiritu is directed against the pneuma doctrine of Plato's Timaeus. The 'Aristogenes' mentioned in De spiritu 2 is either Plato 'the son of Ariston' or a contemporary pupil of Plato and Aristotle.
Juvenal's scripta matrona: Elegiac Resonances in Satire 6
Authors: Watson Patricia
Published: October 2007

Scholarly work on Juvenal has focused on the poet's self-fashioning as an 'angry man'. This paper, on Satire 6, shifts the emphasis to the object of the invective, in this case the Roman matrona. In creating a character who allegedly represents the typical Roman married woman of his day, the poet constructs an anti-matrona who resembles to a large extent her polar opposite in Roman thinking—the meretrix. A major way in which this effect is achieved is via intertextual connections with Latin love elegy, and the paper offers a detailed discussion of several passages in which the wife is constructed as elegiac puella and her husband as elegiac lover.
Nature and Culture: An Analysis of Individual Focal Color Choices in World Color Survey Languages
Authors: Kuehni Rolf
Published: October 2007

The data from the World Color Survey of 110 un-written languages have been analyzed in regard to individual focal choices. A total of 46 major color terms (used by at least 60% of speakers in a given language) have been identified. Of these 24 can be defined in terms of English color terms, while 22 cannot. The most important color term in terms of usage is red, followed by white and black. In the 110 languages, 73 different arrangements of major color terms have been found. The six Hering fundamental colors, presumably closely related to the workings of the color vision system, occur preferentially but not consistently in languages with 6 or more major terms. They represent the top six categories in terms of major usage. WCS indicates usage of major color terms to be complex and clearly also influenced by cultural choices.
A Cognitive Typology of Religious Actions
Authors: Barrett Justin , Malley Brian
Published: October 2007

The rapid but disproportionate growth of the cognitive science of religion in some areas, coupled with the desire to meaningfully connect with more traditional, function-inspired classifications, has left the field with an incomplete and sometimes inconsistent typology of religious and related actions. We address this shortcoming by proposing a systematic typology of counterintuitive actions based on their cognitive representational structures. This typology may serve as the framework of a research program that seeks to establish (1) psychologically, whether each class of events receives different cognitive treatment within a given context and similar representation across contexts; and (2) anthropologically, whether the different classes are characterized by different performance frequencies, social functions, and kinds of interpretations, making them useful explanatory and predictive distinctions.
Counting in Tongan: The Traditional Number Systems and Their Cognitive Implications
Authors: Bender Andrea , Beller Sieghard
Published: October 2007

Is the application of more than one number system in a particular culture necessarily an indication of not having abstracted a general concept of number? Does this mean that specific number systems for certain objects are cognitively deficient? The opposite is the case with the traditional number systems in Tongan, where a consistent decimal system is supplemented by diverging systems for certain objects, in which 20 seems to play a special role. Based on an analysis of their linguistic, historical and cultural context, we will show that the supplementary systems did not precede the general system, but were rather derived from it. Especially when notation is lacking, having such supplementary systems can even yield cognitive advantages. In using larger counting units, they both abbreviate counting and expand the limits of the general system, thus facilitating the cognitive task of mental arithmetic.
Essentialism and Folksociology: Ethnicity Again
Authors: Kanovsky Martin
Published: October 2007

The aim of this article is to show that empirical evidence suggests that no particular causal process of essence acquisition is constitutive for essentialism in folksociology. Innate potential and biological inheritance, however powerful they may be for the human cognitive mind in the domain of folkbiology, are far from necessary in essentialist folksociological classifications. Essentialism in folksociology is not defined by any particular causal process of essence acquisition. Even when we are able to detect the innateness in a particular folksociology, we should always look for other features of essentialism (inherence, sharp boundaries, immutability of identity, etc.). The article reviews some influential cognitive proposals concerning folksociology (Astuti, Gil-White, Hirschfeld), and provides arguments and empirical evidence collected in Western Ukraine in favour of the claim that the innateness is not the constitutive part of sociology, let alone of psychological essentialism.
Culture, Class and Cognition: Evidence from Italy
Authors: Knight Nicola , Nisbett Richard
Published: October 2007

East Asians have been found to reason in relatively holistic fashion and Americans in relatively analytic fashion. It has been proposed that these cognitive differences are the result of social practices that encourage interdependence for Asians and independence for Americans. If so, cognitive differences might be found even across regions that are geographically close. We compared performance on a categorization task of relatively interdependent southern Italians and relatively independent northern Italians and found the former to reason in a more holistic fashion than the latter. Furthermore, as it has been argued that working class social practices encourage interdependence and middle class practices encourage independence, we anticipated that working class participants might reason in a more holistic fashion than middle class participants. This is what we found – at least for southern Italy.
Spandrels, Gazelles and Flying Buttresses: Religion as Adaptation or as a By-Product
Authors: Sjöblom Tom
Published: October 2007

This article discusses recent naturalistic theories of religion from the viewpoint of how the deal with the issue of the origins of religion. It will be argued that the theories can be divided according to if they view religion as being an adaptation or not, on the other hand, and if they consider it to be mostly natural or cultural on the other. On the basis of this discussion, it is suggested that a cognitive mechanism referred to here as the narrative drive seem to have a fundamental role to play in the formation of religious beliefs and, thus, in the origins of religion.
Zu Flavius Josephus: Plädoyer für eine neue Editio maior critica des griechischen Textes
Authors: Schreckenberg Heinz
Published: October 2007

The author discusses the confusing fact of numerous differing Josephus editions being available at present. Thus it is no longer clear which edition to use for correct citation. The relatively best edition (Niese's Editio maior critica, 1885-1895) is obsolete in various respects but can not really be replaced by the Editiones minores published since. A completely new major critical edition is required though impossible to make at present. However, as a realistic alternative, "Niese" could be revised, an update to be managed in a fairly short time. As a result, we would get a reliable Textus receptus serving itself as a temporary basis for future translations and Editiones minores.
The Meanings of tôrâ in 4 Ezra
Authors: Hogan Karina Martin
Published: October 2007

Tôrâ, rendered as "the law" in the extant versions, is a central theme of 4 Ezra. The author of 4 Ezra had a much broader concept of tôrâ than simply the Mosaic law. While for Ezra it is bound up with the covenant, in Uriel's speeches, tôrâ is a highly abstract concept associated with wisdom, the natural order, and "the way of the Most High." Understanding the term tôrâ broadly as divine "instruction," the author of 4 Ezra extends it to all of Scripture and by implication to the seventy additional books revealed to Ezra in the epilogue.
Evaluation of habitat fragmentation of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) on the north slopes of Daxiangling Mountains, Sichuan province, China
Authors: Zhang Wenguang , Hu Yuanman , Chen Bingyao , Tang Zhonghai , Xu Chonggang , Qi Dunwu , Hu Jinchu
Published: October 2007

Human activities have been a main cause of floral and faunal species extinction and loss of local and global biodiversity. Habitat and population can become fragmented and isolated under anthropogenic disturbances. In this study, we focus on the effect of human activities on the habitat and population of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in the north slopes of Daxiangling Mountains, Sichuan province, China. Based on eight months of field investigation in 2004, we found that the distribution of the giant panda population has been limited to remnants of habitat due to human activities such as road construction, mining and hydropower stations. There is 100.60 km2 area suitable for the giant panda (including moderately suitable, suitable and most suitable), which only accounts for 21.33% of the bamboo area. Based on a dispersal model COST, there were 79.94 km2 areas (17.12%) (including moderately suitable, suitable and most suitable) for giant panda utilization in reality. Only 16.35 km2 areas (3.5%) of total bamboo area were most suitable. The areas that suitable for panda had decreased 20.66 km2 from 2000 in total due to people activities. The results of this study can be used to provide basic information to build nature reserve for protecting giant panda in Daxiangling Mountains.
Morphology, anatomy and histology of a new species of Flabellina Voigt, 1834 (Opisthobranchia: Aeolidoidea) from the Chilean coast
Authors: Fischer María Angélica , van der Velde Gerard , Roubos Eric
Published: October 2007

Flabellina cerverai sp. nov. was found in Bay La Herradura, Coquimbo, North of Chile, and clearly differs from other members of the Flabellinidae by the following combination of main characters: (1) small body size (4.5-6.3 mm), (2) translucent-yellow body coloration, with a white line along the dorsum and orange cerata, (3) rugose rhinophores, (4) anus located laterally in the anterior half of the body, (5) cerata distributed in 5 clusters with one additional ceras at the body end, (6) cerata low pedunculate, (7) radula formula 13 × (1:1:1), (8) rachidian teeth with thin and low apices, and (9) bilobed seminal receptacle in combination with a bursa copulatrix. The morphology, anatomy, histology and egg mass of this new species have been described. Special attention is given to the reproductive and central nervous system. Phylogenetic analysis shows that F. cerverai belongs to the most apomorphic Flabellinidae, with as closest relative, F. marcusorum, from which it differs in four main apomorphic characters.
Endocrine profiles during silvering of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) living in saltwater
Authors: van Ginneken Vincent , Durif Caroline , Dufour Sylvie , Sbaihi Miskal , Boot Ron , Noorlander Kees , Doornbos Jorg , Murk Albertinka , van den Thillart Guido
Published: October 2007

The transformation of yellow eel into silver eel is called 'silvering', and takes place prior to migration. This is the first study to provide hormonal profiles of European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) during silvering. This transformation occurs in association with hormonal surges of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) but not with thyroid hormones (TH) and growth hormone (GH) which have a maximum activity in spring and a minimum activity in summer and autumn. It is therefore suggested THs and GH are not important for eel gonadal development in the autumn. Based on PCA analysis with physiological, morphological and endocrinological parameters it is concluded that the transition is gradual and that eels go through several stages.
Life cycle and genetic differences of two Branchipus schaefferi populations from Morocco (Anostraca: Crustacea)
Authors: Beladjal Lynda , Weekers Peter , Mertens Johan
Published: October 2007

The somatic growth, longevity, and reproduction of two Moroccan anostracan populations from different climatic areas were studied under standardized laboratory conditions. Both populations were subjected to allozyme analyses covering four loci, and molecular analyses of the variable regions, the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS1 & ITS2) intervening the nuclear ribosomal genes (18S, 5.8S, 28S rDNA). The ecological characteristics of the life cycle of each population are presented, together with their genetic differences and phylogenetic relationships.
A descriptive myology of Corydoras aeneus (Gill, 1858) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae), with a brief discussion on adductor mandibulae homologies
Authors: Huysentruyt Frank , Geerinckx Tom , Adriaens Dominique
Published: October 2007

Cranial and postcranial myology of adult Corydoras aeneus is described and results discussed in comparison to other ostariophysan, siluriform and/or loricarioid fishes. Further, a brief discussion on m. adductor mandibulae homologies is given providing arguments for the use of the terminology proposed by Diogo and Chardon (2000) in future studies dealing with the myology of Siluriformes. Doing this, we here identified an A1OST, A2, and A′3 section in C. aeneus and recognised the homology of the m. retractor tentaculi muscle with the A″3. Next to this, the opercular system is discussed, focussing on similarities in this system in both a callichthyid (C. aeneus) and loricariid (Ancistrus cf. triradiatus) representative. In both these families, the m. dilatator operculi is enlarged and the direction of the operculo-hyomandibular articulation has shifted. In addition, in both lineages, the m. hyohyoidei abductor has also shifted its orientation, acting as an adductor. These similarities seem to corroborate the 'decoupling hypothesis' by Schaefer and Lauder (1986) in which a decoupling of elements in primitive members of a lineage leads to a higher morphological diversity within that lineage combined with the possible acquisition of new functions.
A study of population numbers and ecological interactions of soil and forest floor microfauna
Authors: Krivtsov Vladimir , Garside Adam , Brendler Ann , Liddell Keith , Griffiths Bryan , Staines Harry
Published: October 2007

Microinvertebrate abundance was measured, together with forest soil properties and litter components in eight plots dominated by beech and birch during May to August 2001. The results were analysed using ANOVA, stepwise regression and correlation analysis. Both protozoa and nematodes were analysed according to their functional groups. The protozoa were flagellates, ciliates and naked amoebae, and the nematodes were microbial and plant feeding nematodes. Moisture levels were between 28% and 33% in soil, and 50% to 70% in litter. Population numbers were very variable between sites and dates, and showed variable levels between May and July followed by a significant increase in August.ANOVA showed significant site and date effects, mainly in the litter. Stepwise regression models and correlation analysis revealed a number of interactions among separate groups of protozoa and nematodes, as well as their interrelations with fungi and bacteria. In addition, statistical analysis of soil data revealed a number of microfaunal relationships with soil pH, moisture and organic content, whilst in the field layer a number of significant interactions with specific forest litter fractions were found.The results have revealed particularly high levels of microfaunal abundance in the litter fraction compared to the soil, with flagellates and microbial feeding nematodes showing the highest levels among the trophic groups studied. These data compare well with other studies in similar ecosystems. The invertebrates present appear to be concentrated in hotspots of biological activity. In soil, they may predominantly have been confined to the rhizosphere. In the litter, their numbers may have been enhanced by nutrient availability, which may have increased throughout the study period owing to the gradual progress of decomposition facilitated by the combination of faunal, bacterial and fungal activity.
The Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief—Institutional, Procedural and Substantive Legal Issues
Authors: Wiener Michael
Published: October 2007

The Role of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief has already been outlined by Carolyn Evans in the first issue of Religion and Human Rights on pages I:75–96. In the meantime, a doctoral thesis on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur was submitted by Michael Wiener to the Law Faculty at Trier University in Germany. e following article is the annotated English summary of this 350 pages strong thesis which has recently been published with the title Das Mandat des UN-Sonderberichterstatters über Religions- oder Weltanschauungsfreiheit—Institutionelle, prozedurale und materielle Rechtsfragen (Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2007). It explores various legal issues of the mandate in terms of institutional, procedural and substantive questions that have arisen in the Special Rapporteur's mandate practice from 1986 to 2006.
Schooling as Community
Authors: Sefa Dei George J.
Published: October 2007

Punctuated with terms such as at risk, dropout, and disadvantaged, Western educational discourse is replete with euphemisms for the reasons that Black youth underachieve or fail in school. This article highlights some of the contemporary developments in Ontario, Canada, focusing on issues of African Canadian education. Pertinent issues of sociological and historical relevance are discussed, with implications for education in the contemporary schooling context. Education must cultivate a sense of identity within culture and community, while working with ancestral cultural knowledge retentions. This calls for a revisioning of the educational system in public schools so as to (a) introduce a more effective method of teaching diverse youth, (b) create spaces where the needs of the most disadvantaged are seriously and concretely addressed (and not glossed over), (c) promote schools with strong ties to the community, and (d) help learners build their self-, collective, and cultural identities within an environment of social excellence.
The Institutional Vision of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Authors: Abelman Robert , Dalessandro Amy
Published: October 2007

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been subjected to harsh criticism within the higher education community. A common theme is that the shared and archaic mission of these institutions compromises academic standards and keeps individual schools from effective leadership and competing for financial resources and quality students. A content analysis of the mission and vision statements from HBCUs was performed, and key linguistic components found to constitute a well-conceived, viable, and easily diffused institutional vision were isolated. The prevalence of these components in comparison to other types of academic institutions is discussed, and ways in which this information can be used to address the current challenges facing HBCUs are presented.
Growing Up Young
Authors: Pinto Kristina
Published: October 2007

This article presents findings from a study of the role of prior childhood adversity in the pubertal narratives of 16 African-American and White girls, defining adversity as the experience of stressful circumstances (e.g., abandonment, abuse) or psychological states (e.g., depression) that influence the experience of later life events, relationships, and self-perception. A majority of the girls reported such adversity, explaining that it either trivialized the problems typically ascribed to early puberty or demanded early maturity, particularly adult female roles, which consequently affected their adjustment to early pubescence. The author discusses the implications of childhood adversity for the salience of early puberty, examining the ways these identity features intersect to blur the staging of girls' development by producing multiple crossings into adulthood.
What Do They Usually Do After School?
Authors: Newman Joan , Bidjerano Temi , Ali Özdoğru Asil , Kao Chin-Cheng , Özköse-Biyik Çağri , Johnson John J.
Published: October 2007

The activities and self-direction allowed after school provide children in different countries with distinct developmental opportunities that promote culturally valued orientations and outcomes. Fourth-grade children in Bulgaria, Taiwan, and the United States (countries with contrasting social values and expectations) reported their usual activities during each after-school hour on 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day. The children also reported whether the activities were self-chosen or chosen by an adult. There were considerable differences in the reported activity patterns, with particular contrast between the American and the Taiwanese children. Compared to American children, Taiwanese reported spending more time in academic and extracurricular pursuits and less time in playing, reading for fun, in sports, or in self-chosen activities. There was substantial agreement in the gender-based participation differences across countries. Girls reported less time spent in free play or computer games and more time in reading, extracurricular activities, routines, and adult-chosen activities.
A Bidimensional Model of Acculturation for Examining Differences in Family Functioning and Behavior Problems in Hispanic Immigrant Adolescents
Authors: Sullivan Summer , Schwartz Seth J. , Prado Guillermo , Shi Huang  , Pantin Hilda , Szapocznik José
Published: October 2007

This study examined the relationships of adolescent acculturation orientations to adolescent and parent reports of family functioning and behavior problems in a sample of 338 Hispanic families. Acculturation orientations are derived from the model proposed by Berry. Results indicate that integrated adolescents, who both maintain heritage culture practices and adopt receiving culture practices, reported the highest levels of parental involvement, positive parenting, and family support and that assimilated adolescents, who adopt receiving-culture practices and do not retain heritage culture practices, reported the greatest levels of aggressive behavior. Implications for intervention, as well as benefits of using a bidimensional model to evaluate the relationships of acculturation to individual and family functioning, are discussed.
Examining the Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Kim Johnny S.
Published: October 2007

Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Method: Hierarchical linear modeling software was used to synthesize the primary studies to calculate an overall effect size estimate and test for between-study variability. Results: Solution-focused brief therapy demonstrated small but positive treatment effects favoring SFBT group on the outcome measures (d = 0.13 to 0.26). Only the magnitude of the effect for internalizing behavior problems was statistically significant at the p < .05 level, thereby indicating that the treatment effect for SFBT group is different than the control group. Conclusions: This study allows social workers interested in solution-focused brief therapy to examine the empirical evidence quickly and with more definitive information.
Group Therapy for Children After Homicide and Violence: A Pilot Study
Authors: Salloum Alison
Published: October 2007

Objective: This pilot study evaluated a group intervention designed to reduce posttraumatic stress among children after homicide and/or violence. Method: Employing a secondary data analysis of 117 participants in 21 group interventions, pretest and posttest differences in posttraumatic stress levels and between child witnesses and nonwitnesses, males and females, and younger and older children were conducted. Results: Analyses indicate a significant decrease in posttraumatic stress postintervention and no pretest differences between proximity status and gender and developmental status, although results suggest child witnesses and older girls do not fare as well. Conclusion: This intervention may be effective for children after homicide and violence; however, treatment effect needs to be strengthened, and additional research is needed. Modifications to the intervention are suggested.
Regulation of Synaptic Transmission by Ambient Extracellular Glutamate
Authors: Featherstone David E. , Shippy Scott A.
Published: October 2007

Many neuroscientists assume that ambient extracellular glutamate concentrations in the nervous system are biologically negligible under nonpathological conditions. This assumption is false. Hundreds of studies over several decades suggest that ambient extracellular glutamate levels in the intact mammalian brain are ~0.5 to ~5 µM. This has important implications. Glutamate receptors are desensitized by glutamate concentrations significantly lower than needed for receptor activation; 0.5 to 5 µM of glutamate is high enough to cause constitutive desensitization of most glutamate receptors. Therefore, most glutamate receptors in vivo may be constitutively desensitized, and ambient extracellular glutamate and receptor desensitization may be potent but generally unrecognized regulators of synaptic transmission. Unfortunately, the mechanisms regulating ambient extracellular glutamate and glutamate receptor desensitization remain poorly understood and understudied. NEUROSCIENTIST 14(2):171—181, 2008. DOI: 10.1177/1073858407308518
Gender differences in compliance with infection control precautions
Authors: Ward D.
Published: October 2007

nfection control teams are constantly looking at ways of improving compliance with infection control precautions. One of the factors affecting compliance, that has not been seriously addressed is gender. This paper looks at research findings relating to gender differences in infection control and discusses the theories proposed to explain these differences, in order to attempt to understand why such differences occur.
The impact of using silver alloy urinary catheters in reducing the incidence of urinary tract infections in the critical care setting
Authors: Madeo M. , Davies D. , Johnson G. , Owen E. , Wadsworth P. , Martin C.R.
Published: October 2007

prospective study was undertaken on three critical care units to establish the efficacy of using a silver alloy urinary catheter in reducing the incidence of nosocomial urinary tract infections.

Some 188 patients participated in the evaluation (94 in each group). A urine sample was obtained post insertion and every three days while on the critical care unit to detect bacteriuria. The infection rate was 12.65 in the standard group and 11.32 in the silver alloy group per 1000 catheter days respectively. The mean duration of catheterisation was 16 days (inter-quartile range 13). Gram positive cocci were responsible for 24.5% of the bacteriuria, Gram negatives 64.5% and yeasts accounted for 11%. Based on these results, routine use of silver alloy catheters cannot be justified for all patients, but may be suited to high-risk female patients.
A review of environmental contamination during outbreaks of Norwalk-like virus
Authors: Dalling J.
Published: October 2007

Norwalk-like viruses (NLV) commonly cause outbreaks of gastroenteritis in hospitals and can result in major disruption of services. It is considered that contamination of the environment can be a cause of transmission and prolonged or recurring outbreaks. In order to control outbreaks it is important to establish the role of environmental contamination in transmission and the decontamination measures required to prevent this. A review of available evidence is described, showing that despite evidence of environmental contamination with NLV during outbreaks, its presence remains unproven as a cause of prolonged or recurring outbreaks. Evidence suggests that the virus might survive for at least 12 days in carpets and 21-28 days in a dried state at room temperature. NLV has been detected from swabs taken from a variety of sources, including lockers, commodes, toilets, door handles, soft furnishings, frequently handled items and horizontal surfaces below and above 1.5 metres. Expert opinion suggests that carpets should be steam cleaned and curtains should be changed following outbreaks. Hypochlorite 1000 ppm is recommended for disinfecting hard surfaces. Further research of environmental contamination and decontamination activities is required.
Integrated surveillance networks: the development of a new paradigm for health protection surveillance in the UK
Authors: Sopwith W. , Regan M.
Published: October 2007

The creation of the new Health Protection Agency in England and Wales has brought both the challenge and the opportunity for broadening current surveillance systems to incorporate the full range of agents likely to cause harm to human health. The new surveillance system must be capable of measuring, recording and reporting the effects of infectious disease, chemical, and radiological hazards on human health. The pathways resulting in adverse human health are complex and infection control efforts are often hampered as a result. We describe an approach to health protection surveillance that draws on models of hazard/exposure/ outcome and the use of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points to identify points at which the application of surveillance and intervention would have the maximum impact on final health outcome. This approach facilitates the identification of key surveillance partnerships and proposes the integration of existing surveillance networks. Illustrations of the application of this approach to common problems of infection control are given in the regional surveillance of Legionnaires' disease and Campylobacter in north-west England. We propose that the principles of this approach should be adopted in England and Wales to ensure that the new health protection function achieves its goals.
Developing the role of the infectious diseases clinical nurse specialist
Authors: Smales C. , Varia H.
Published: October 2007

In November 2001 an infectious diseases clinical nurse specialist (ID CNS) post was created within the infectious diseases unit (Lister unit) at Northwick Park and St Marks NHS Trusts in Harrow, Middlesex. We believe this to be the first of its kind. The purpose of this post was to provide:

■ Trust-wide infectious diseases nursing expertise

■ Specialist care within the context of the multidisciplinary team

■ Continuity of care from hospital to the community, as it was needed.

A year later, after evaluation demonstrated it to be a success, this temporary post was made permanent. This article outlines how this new role has evolved and how the ID CNS has impacted on the quality of patient care and staff development.