bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mothers/Fighters/Citizens: Violence and Disillusionment in Post‐War El Salvador
Authors: Silber Irina Carlota
Published: December 2004

This article explores post‐war El Salvador as characterised by disillusionment in the nation's neoliberal rebuilding project. A key part of my argument is that this disillusion‐ment is gendered. Specifically, I focus on a spectrum of gendered experiences and responses to social and inter‐personal violence in El Salvador's recent history. Is there a relationship between wartime political violence, continued processes of exclusion (i.e. education, healthcare, housing), and post‐war waves of domestic violence, youth violence and ‘random’ violence? While some scholars posit questions regarding Salvadoran toler‐ance to violence through time, I tackle this question by focusing on emerging criticisms of El Salvador's post‐war reconciliation. I privilege a focus on the everyday and people's ambiguities as they deal with political change and a neoliberal economy that marginalises the rural sector. In particular, I argue for placing many rural women's stories of gender‐based violence, their assertions of an embodied vulnerability and daily insecurity, within a political economic understanding of the contradictions of El Salvador's peace and nation‐building project. Through a series of ethnographic examples based on seventeen months of research in a former warzone, I suggest that a daily and gendered violence is rendered invisible. My aim is to theorise a range of women's and men's losses and to impart the urgency of their narratives that problematise assumptions of what constitutes pain, sorrow and the challenges of war‐torn life. This is an attempt to write outside privileged texts that ask subaltern women to speak in a collective voice and articulate their past loss and future hopes. In doing so, I discuss methodology and historicise my own fraught positioning as an international witness/researcher at a very particular moment of El Salvador's transition to democracy.
Gendered Visibilities and the Dream of Transparency: The Chinese‐Indonesian Rape Debate in Post‐Suharto Indonesia
Authors: Strassler Karen
Published: December 2004

How does the seen produce the unseen? And what happens when the unseen makes a bid to emerge from its occlusion? This paper examines the gendered visuality of the Reformasi crisis in Indonesia in 1998, juxtaposing the visibility of male‐on‐male violence at student demonstrations with the invisibility of violence against (feminised) Chinese‐Indonesians and, in particular, raped Chinese‐Indonesian women. The discussion focuses on activists’ attempts to establish ‘proof’ that these rapes did occur, government attempts to discredit their evidence, and the circulation of false photographs of the rapes on the internet. (An unremarked irony of this falsification of evidence was that it was made possible by the pre‐existence of an archive of sexually violent images on pornographic sites depicting ‘Asian schoolgirls’.) The paper argues that this particular debate over credibility, witnessing and proof needs to be seen within a wider popular Indonesian discourse on the status of evidence, the privileged place of the photograph within it, and the archive of images of (male) students and heroic male‐on‐male violence that helped shape what people could ‘see’ as meaningful political action and recognisable state violence. It also comments on the evidentiary status of witnessing and embodied experience in the age of mechanical and digital reproduction.
Woman and Violence in Artistic Discourse of the Russian Revolution and Civil War (1917–1922)
Authors: Eremeeva Anna N. , Healey Dan
Published: December 2004

This article examines visual and literary representations of violence against women produced during the period. The image of a woman suffering from violence is presented from different points of view in literary art works of the Revolution and Civil War time. It was created and circulated among Red and White camps mainly in accordance with the task of propaganda bodies. Among the object of violence there are allegoric women's figures, symbolising Russia, revolution, freedom, well‐known heroines from literature, historic personages and contemporary women – ordinary victims of civil confrontation and direct participants of the Revolution and war. Men or symbols traditionally personifying masculine origin were nearly always the perpetrators of violence, and the image of the female victim was exploited for the strong emotions it evoked. In most cases physical violence against women was treated as anomaly. But the control of the regime over the woman's emotional sphere had become a standard everywhere.
The desaturation response time of finger pulse oximeters during mild hypothermia*
Authors: MacLeod D. B. , Cortinez L. I. , Keifer J. C. , Cameron D. , Wright D. R. , White W. D. , Moretti E. W. , Radulescu L. R. , Somma J.
Published: December 2004

Pulse oximeters may delay displaying the correct oxygen saturation during the onset of hypoxia. We investigated the desaturation response times of pulse oximeter sensors (forehead, ear and finger) during vasoconstriction due to mild hypothermia and vasodilation caused by glyceryl trinitrate. Ten healthy male volunteers were given three hypoxic challenges of 3 min duration under differing experimental conditions. Mild hypothermia increased the mean response time of finger oximeters from 130 to 215 s. Glyceryl trinitrate partly offset this effect by reducing the response time from 215 to 187 s. In contrast, the response times of the forehead and ear oximeters were unaffected by mild hypothermia, but the difference between head and finger oximeters was highly significant (p < 0.0001). The results suggest that the head oximeters provide a better monitoring site for pulse oximeters during mild hypothermia.
The effect of trimethoprim on CYP2C8 mediated rosiglitazone metabolism in human liver microsomes and healthy subjects
Authors: Hruska M. W. , Amico J. A. , Langaee T. Y. , Ferrell R. E. , Fitzgerald S. M. , Frye R. F.
Published: December 2004

Aims

Rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione antidiabetic medication used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, is predominantly metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme CYP2C8. The anti‐infective drug trimethoprim has been shown in vitro to be a selective inhibitor of CYP2C8. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of trimethoprim on the CYP2C8 mediated metabolism of rosiglitazone in vivo and in vitro.

Methods

The effect of trimethoprim on the metabolism of rosiglitazone in vitro was assessed in pooled human liver microsomes. The effect in vivo was determined by evaluating rosiglitazone pharmacokinetics in the presence and absence of trimethoprim. Eight healthy subjects (four men and four women) completed a randomized, cross‐over study. Subjects received single dose rosiglitazone (8 mg) in the presence and absence of trimethoprim 200 mg given twice daily for 5 days.

Results

Trimethoprim inhibited rosiglitazone metabolism both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of rosiglitazone para‐hydroxylation by trimethoprim in vitro was found to be competitive with apparent Ki and IC50 values of 29 µm and 54.5 µm, respectively. In the presence of trimethoprim, rosiglitazone plasma AUC was increased by 31% (P = 0.01) from 2774 ± 645 µg l−1 h to 3643 ± 1051 µg l−1 h (95% confidence interval (CI) for difference 189, 1549), and half‐life was increased by 27% (P = 0.006) from 3.3 ± 0.5 to 4.2 ± 0.8 h (95% CI for difference 0.36, 1.5). Trimethoprim reduced the para‐O‐sulphate rosiglitazone/rosiglitazone and the N‐desmethylrosiglitazone/rosiglitazone AUC(0–24) ratios by 22% and 38%, respectively.

Conclusions

These results indicate that trimethoprim is a competitive inhibitor of CYP2C8‐mediated rosiglitazone metabolism in vitro and that trimethoprim administration increases plasma rosiglitazone concentrations in healthy subjects.
Exhaled eicosanoids following oral aspirin challenge in asthmatic patients
Authors: Sanak M. , Kiełbasa B. , Bochenek G. , Szczeklik A.
Published: December 2004

Background
Biochemical analysis of expiratory breath condensate is an emerging non‐invasive technique for assessment of airway inflammation.

Objective
We wondered whether application of expiratory breath condensate could facilitate diagnosis of aspirin‐intolerant asthma and reproduce eicosanoids mediators' abnormalities described in this disease.

Methods
We measured prostaglandins (PGs) E2, F2α, 9α11βF2 and iso‐F2 by gas‐chromatography/mass‐spectrometry and cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys‐LTs) by radioimmunoassay in breath condensates of asthmatic patients undergoing oral aspirin challenge. Fourteen patients with aspirin‐induced asthma and 20 aspirin‐tolerating asthmatics, most of them on chronic inhaled corticotherapy, were studied and compared with 10 healthy subjects. Additionally, plasma 9α11βPGF2, the metabolite of PGD2 and urinary leukotriene (LT) E4 were measured before and following the challenge.

Results
At baseline, PG did not differ between the groups, except for lower 9α11βPGF2 in aspirin‐intolerant asthma. Their concentrations were not changed by the challenge. Breath condensate cys‐LTs were similar in the groups studied at base, and after aspirin challenge increased only in aspirin‐intolerant patients. Elevated baseline urinary LTE4 and its further increase following aspirin challenge was highly diagnostic for aspirin‐intolerant asthma. The discriminatory value of cys‐LTs increase in breath condensates was lower (72.8%) than either basal (99%) or post‐challenge increase (94%) of urinary LTE4.

Conclusions
In asthmatic patients on chronic corticotherapy measurement of urinary LTE4 excretion rather than cys‐LTs in breath condensate is of greater value for diagnosis of aspirin hypersensitivity.
Perforation repair with mineral trioxide aggregate: a modified matrix concept
Authors: Bargholz C.
Published: December 2004

Aim  To present a modified matrix concept for repair of root perforations using mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA).

Summary  Root perforations may occur during preparation of endodontic access cavities or during post‐space preparation. The perforation creates the potential for an inflammatory reaction in the periodontal ligament. A concept for the repair of root perforations is presented using a matrix of resorbable collagen. This matrix reconstructs the outer shape of the root and facilitates the adaptation of MTA. The indications for the use of MTA are discussed. Two clinical cases of 5‐year successful root perforation repair using the technique are presented.

Key learning points

• Long‐term perforations with periodontal inflammation can be successfully treated with MTA.

• Matrices for MTA placement can be developed with commercially available collagen.

• Infection control within the root canal and at the perforation site is required for satisfactory perforation repair and healing.
Human tonsil implants xenotransplanted in SCID mice display broad lymphocytic diversity and cellular activation profile similar to those in the original lymphoid organ
Authors: Vallet Véronique , Mauray Sandrine , Kindler Vincent , Aubry Dominique , Ruegg Marlies , Cherpillod Jacques , Waridel François , Schapira Marc , Duchosal Michel A.
Published: December 2004

Abstract:  Background:  Models consisting of human immune cells in suspension transferred to severe combined immune deficient (SCID) mice have been invaluable for studying immune response, autoimmunity, and lymphomagenesis. The dissemination of human cells within the mouse body hampers immune functionality with time and favorites the development of human graft vs. mouse host (GvH) disease. To circumvent these limitations we surgically implanted tonsil pieces subcutaneously in SCID animals (hu‐ton‐SCID mice). Recall humoral responses was elicited and animals did not suffer from signs of GvH disease. A detailed cell subset and cell activation analysis of implants has not yet been reported.

Methods:  Implants from 86 hu‐ton‐SCID mice were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry analyses to assess human lymphoid cell subpopulation surviving with time after implantation, and to evaluate status of human cell activation.

Results:  B cells persist over 3 months in implants. The proportion of class and type‐specific Ig+ cells varied between implants, but as a whole IgG+ cells were more abundant than IgA+, and IgM+ cells, and kappa+ cells predominated over lambda+ cells. The mean proportions of these cells resemble those in the original tonsil. Fine analysis of CD19+ B cells demonstrated no expansion of activated (CD5+, CD23+, CD69+) B cells in implants compared with tonsils, and a decrease of CD19+CD77+ B cells corresponding to a centroblastic phenotype, which is consistent with the disappearance of follicular structure in implants. Double positive CD20+CD27+ memory B cells were detected in implants by immunohistochemistry. T cell CD4+CD8−/CD4−CD8+ ratios were about 4 in implants, that is similar to those in tonsils, and there was no expansion of CD3+CD4+CD8+ and of CD3+CD4−CD8− T‐cell subpopulations. T cells activation markers (CD25, CD69) were similarly expressed in implants and tonsils, and implants contained cells with a memory T cell phenotype (CD45RO). Finally cells within implants depicted a low rate of proliferation when assessed by Ki‐67 expression levels.

Conclusions:  Compared with original tonsils, tonsil implants in hu‐ton‐SCID mice lose the germinal center architecture, which is correlated with the decrease of CD77+ B cells, but conserve T and B cell subpopulation diversity, notably memory cells. In addition, implant T and B cells are not differently activated when compared with those in original tonsils and do not proliferate extensively. These observations indicate indirectly absence of GvH reaction at the cellular level in this model. Collectively, the detailed implant cellular characterization in the hu‐ton‐SCID model provides a strong rationale for the use of this model in the study of human recall antibody response.
Characterization of the interactions of the nephrin intracellular domain
Authors: Liu Xiao Li , Kilpeläinen Pekka , Hellman Ulf , Sun Yi , Wartiovaara Jorma , Morgunova Ekaterina , Pikkarainen Timo , Yan Kunimasa , Jonsson Anders P. , Tryggvason Karl
Published: December 2004

Nephrin is a signalling cell–cell adhesion protein of the Ig superfamily and the first identified component of the slit diaphragm that forms the critical and ultimate part of the glomerular ultrafiltration barrier. The extracellular domains of the nephrin molecules form a network of homophilic and heterophilic interactions building the structural scaffold of the slit diaphragm between the podocyte foot processes. The intracellular domain of nephrin is connected indirectly to the actin cytoskeleton, is tyrosine phosphorylated, and mediates signalling from the slit diaphragm into the podocytes. CD2AP, podocin, Fyn kinase, and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase are reported intracellular interacting partners of nephrin, although the biological roles of these interactions are unclarified. To characterize the structural properties and protein–protein interactions of the nephrin intracellular domain, we produced a series of recombinant nephrin proteins. These were able to bind all previously identified ligands, although the interaction with CD2AP appeared to be of extremely low stoichiometry. Fyn phosphorylated nephrin proteins efficiently in vitro. This phosphorylation was required for the binding of phosphoinositide 3‐kinase, and significantly enhanced binding of Fyn itself. A protein of 190 kDa was found to associate with the immobilized glutathione S‐transferase–nephrin. Peptide mass fingerprinting and amino acid sequencing identified this protein as IQGAP1, an effector protein of small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 and a putative regulator of cell–cell adherens junctions. IQGAP1 is expressed in podocytes at significant levels, and could be found at the immediate vicinity of the slit diaphragm. However, further studies are needed to confirm the biological significance of this interaction and its occurrence in vivo.
Comparison of face‐to‐face and videoconferenced multidisciplinary clinical meetings
Authors: Delaney G , Jacob S , Iedema R , Winters M , Barton M
Published: December 2004

A trial of videoconferencing of multidisciplinary breast cancer clinical meetings between three public hospitals was conducted in an attempt to increase attendance by medical staff at the meetings, and thus facilitate multidisciplinary care for breast cancer patients. The videoconferences were compared with the previously existing face‐to‐face clinical meetings through questionnaires, attendance, number of cases discussed and anthropological analysis. Although more people attended the videoconferences than the face‐to‐face meetings, most of the participants in the trial preferred the face‐to‐face meetings to the videoconferences. The mean number of cases discussed at the videoconferences was significantly less than the mean number of cases presented at the face‐to‐face clinical meetings. The face‐to‐face meetings were informal, spontaneous and conducive to open discussion. In contrast, the videoconferences were formal and regimented. Multidisciplinary case discussion can be facilitated by videoconferencing. Some of the negative experiences we encountered could be overcome with changes in meeting format. Our experience may help others in setting up a successful multidisciplinary team via videoconference.
Clinicopathological study of bronchogenic carcinoma
Authors: PRASAD Rajendra , JAMES Prince , KESARWANI Vikas , GUPTA Richa , PANT Mohan C. , CHATURVEDI Arun , SHRIVASTAVA Anand N.
Published: December 2004

Objective:  The present study was undertaken to explore the clinicopathological profile of bronchogenic carcinoma.

Methodology:  Four hundred consecutive patients with histopathologically proven bronchogenic carcinoma, hospitalized between 1985 and 1999 at a large teaching and tertiary care referral hospital at King George's Medical University in Lucknow, India, were analysed.

Results:  The average age of the bronchogenic carcinoma patients was 57 years; 9.8% of patients were less than 40 years of age; the ratio of male to female patients was 4.3:1.0; 71% were smokers; and 87% of the smoking patients were bidi smokers. The most common histological type was squamous‐cell carcinoma (46.5%), followed by adenocarcinoma (18.5%) and small‐cell carcinoma (18.2%). The majority of patients (74.2%) were diagnosed in the late stages of the disease (IIIb and IV).

Conclusion:  Bidi smoking is an important contributory factor in the development of bronchogenic carcinoma in India, and approximately 25% of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma are non‐smokers.
Relative Pleasures: Drugs, Development and Modern Dependencies in Asia's Golden Triangle
Authors: Lyttleton Chris
Published: December 2004

As opium cultivation is increasingly controlled in the Golden Triangle, producers and traffickers have created new markets for methamphetamines (ATS) amongst highland and lowland populations. At the same time, evolving forms of drug abuse also reflect a larger order of social change that directly shapes the consumer market. This article explores how demand for methamphetamines in mainland Southeast Asia emerges in sync with changing value systems fostered by development trajectories within a globalized commodity culture. The primary focus is on Akha highlanders in northwestern Laos for whom dual processes of opium eradication and village relocation directly encourage the currently prominent uptake of ATS. As Akha move into the lowlands to engage in modern capitalist systems of production, increased methamphetamine use emerges as a means to facilitate a greater reliance on sedentization and petty commodity trade. Rather than the uptake of heroin that took place in neighbouring countries, the transition from opium to methamphetamines is a highly charged sign of new social and material relations adopted by the Lao Akha as they enter primitive forms of capital accumulation and wage‐labour.
Workers, Unions and the State: Migrant Workers in China's Labour‐intensive Foreign Enterprises
Authors: Zhu Yuchao
Published: December 2004

Migrant workers present a new challenge both to China's increasingly diversified industrial relations and to its state–society relationship, especiallyvis‐à‐visChina's developmental state. Through an examination of the situation of migrant workers in the country's labour‐intensive foreign investment enterprises, this article argues that it is difficult to establish tripartite industrial relations in China and that pluralistic labour organizations will not easily develop into civil society type labour entities. China's developmental state is in an ambiguous process in redefining its role. Its ability to micro‐manage society is weakening substantially. However, its developmental character at the macro‐level largely remains strong, allowing it to continue to restrict progress towards civil society. The future will ultimately depend on a collective determination by key players — the workers, unions and the state — to find a compromise.
PARTIAL CORRELATION AND CONDITIONAL CORRELATION AS MEASURES OF CONDITIONAL INDEPENDENCE
Authors: Baba Kunihiro , Shibata Ritei , Sibuya Masaaki
Published: December 2004

This paper investigates the roles of partial correlation and conditional correlation as measures of the conditional independence of two random variables. It first establishes a sufficient condition for the coincidence of the partial correlation with the conditional correlation. The condition is satisfied not only for multivariate normal but also for elliptical, multivariate hypergeometric, multivariate negative hypergeometric, multinomial and Dirichlet distributions. Such families of distributions are characterized by a semigroup property as a parametric family of distributions. A necessary and sufficient condition for the coincidence of the partial covariance with the conditional covariance is also derived. However, a known family of multivariate distributions which satisfies this condition cannot be found, except for the multivariate normal. The paper also shows that conditional independence has no close ties with zero partial correlation except in the case of the multivariate normal distribution; it has rather close ties to the zero conditional correlation. It shows that the equivalence between zero conditional covariance and conditional independence for normal variables is retained by any monotone transformation of each variable. The results suggest that care must be taken when using such correlations as measures of conditional independence unless the joint distribution is known to be normal. Otherwise a new concept of conditional independence may need to be introduced in place of conditional independence through zero conditional correlation or other statistics.
Factors Contributing to the Success of Undergraduate Business Students in Management Science Courses
Authors: Brookshire Robert G. , Palocsay Susan W.
Published: December 2004

The introductory management science (MS) course has historically been recognized as one of the most difficult core courses in the business school curriculum. This study uses multiple regression to examine the factors that contribute to the success of undergraduate business students in an MS course, based on data gathered from the college transcripts and academic files of 310 students. The results suggest that the strongest predictive variable is a student's college grade point average, indicating that overall academic performance to date has more influence than mathematical skills on the outcomes in MS classes. These findings have implications for faculty who desire to improve the effectiveness of instruction for their MS students.
Status Syndrome
Authors: Marmot Michael
Published: December 2004

Health and longevity are intimately related to position in the social hierarchy. The lower the status, the higher risk of illness and death, and consequently the shorter the life expectancy. In his book of the same name, Michael Marmot calls this social gradient in health the “Status Syndrome”. So what exactly is the cause of this gradient?
Bragg Reflections
Authors: Thomas John Meurig
Published: December 2004

Light Is a Messenger
The Life and Science of William Lawrence Bragg. by Graeme K. Hunter. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. 323 pp. $59.50, £35. ISBN 0-19-852921-X.

The author describes his account of the youngest ever Nobel laureate as "a scientific biography rather than a biography of a scientist."
The Carboxyl-Terminal Region of Human Cytomegalovirus IE1491aaContains an Acidic Domain That Plays a Regulatory Role and a Chromatin-Tethering Domain That Is Dispensable during Viral Replication
Authors: Reinhardt Jens , Smith Geoffrey B. , Himmelheber Christopher T. , Azizkhan-Clifford Jane , Mocarski Edward S.
Published: December 2004

The human cytomegalovirus major immediate-early (α) protein IE1491aaplays an important role in controlling viral gene expression at low multiplicities of infection. With a transient complementation assay, full-length IE1491aaenhanced the growth ofie1 mutant virus CR208 20-fold better than a deletion mutant lacking 71 carboxyl-terminal amino acids (IE11-420aa). A 16-amino-acid domain between amino acids 476 and 491 was both necessary and sufficient for chromatin-tethering activity; however, this domain was completely dispensable for complementation of CR208 replication. The proximal 55-amino-acid acidic domain (amino acids 421 to 475) was found to be most important for function. A deletion mutant lacking only this domain retained chromatin-tethering activity but failed to complement mutant virus. Interestingly, serine phosphorylation (at amino acids 399, 402, 406, 423, 428, 431, 448, 451, and 455) was not required for complementation. These results show that IE1491aais composed of at least two domains that support replication, a region located between amino acids 1 and 399 that complementsie1 mutant virus replication to low levels and an acidic domain between amino acids 421 and 479 that dramatically enhances complementation.
Treatment with tetrahydrobiopterin reduces blood pressure in male SHR by reducing testosterone synthesis
Authors: Fortepiani Lourdes A. , Reckelhoff Jane F.
Published: December 2004

Treatment with tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) reduces blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that chronic BH4 reduces blood pressure in male SHR by reducing testosterone biosynthesis mediated by increasing nitric oxide (NO). Male SHR, aged 17–18 wk, intact or castrated, were treated for 1 wk with BH4 (20 mg·kg−1·day−1 ip). After 1 wk, mean arterial pressure (MAP), serum testosterone, and nitrate/nitrite excretion (NO x) were measured. MAP was significantly higher in intact males than castrated males (179 ± 2 vs. 155 ± 4 mmHg, P < 0.001). In intact males, BH4 caused a 17% reduction in MAP (148 ± 2 mmHg), had no effect on NO x, and reduced serum testosterone by 85% (24.09 ± 2.37 vs. 3.72 ± 0.73 ng/dl; P < 0.001). In castrated males, BH4 had no effect on MAP (152 ± 5 mmHg) but increased NO x by 38%. When castrated males were supplemented with testosterone, MAP increased to the same level as in intact males (180 ± 7 mmHg), and BH4 had no effect on MAP (182 ± 7 mmHg) or NO x. NO has been shown to decrease testosterone biosynthesis. Chronic sodium nitrite (70 mg·kg−1·day−1 × 1 wk) decreased MAP in intact males (150 ± 4 mmHg) but had no effect on serum testosterone (21.46 ± 3.08 ng/dl). The data suggest that BH4 reduces testosterone synthesis and thereby reduces MAP in male SHR, an androgen-dependent model of hypertension. The mechanism(s) by which BH4 reduces serum testosterone levels are not clear, but the data do not support a role for NO as a mediator.
Restoring intranets to health
Authors: Raschen Bill
Published: December 2004

A rational approach is presented for the diagnosis and treatment of problems arising with intranets causing them to fail to perform their required functions within the organization. The measures described are particularly relevant to organizations planning to introduce a Content Management System, but also apply to those that already have a Content Management System in place. At the outset, the way in which the intranet is used and for what purposes is established by observing how the intranet is used by staff in the work environment, how many are using it and whether they are talking about it: an exercise which can determine whether the intranet is being undervalued. Further information on intranet use can be obtained by checking the results produced by usage statistics for the past months to see if the usage is increasing or decreasing. Having determined the problems associated with the intranet, measures may be taken to remedy them and these steps may include: making the business case for a thorough redesign of the system; conducting a thorough content audit of the intranet’s structure and sites (noting omissions or duplications within the intranet’s navigation structure); conducting a usability study, by means of interviews and surveys to reveal usability issues in relation to the intranet’s design; introducing measures to ensure that the information and services the intranet contains are presented in as user friendly a fashion as possible; and promoting the redesigned/reconfigured intranet to make clear to everyone the value of the new service and how it can of benefit them in day-to-day activities. Concludes that training must play a central role in the making sure that staff get the maximum benefit from the intranet.
Business Gateway
Authors: O’Hare Chris
Published: December 2004

The key role of the Business Gateway, an information service based in lowland Scotland and aimed at those who are setting up in business, those who are seeking to grow their business and companies planning to locate their businesses into the Scotland Enterprise area, is described. Particular attention is paid to the important role of Business Information Officers (BIOs) working within the Business Gateway in carrying out initial client assessments, directing clients to relevant support in a range of organizations and carrying out extensive business research. The typical range of enquiries handled by the Business Gateway and the resources available are illustrated by examples drawn from the Business Gateway North East Scotland. Describes the establishment of the Business Gateway in July 2003 as the access point for all businesses to publicly funded business support within the Scottish Enterprise area, as an extension of the Small Business Gateway Service, established in 2000. The Business Gateway now covers all businesses, not just start-ups and small businesses, and involves a partnership between all the main public bodies in the provision of support services to business, including: Scottish Enterprise Network; Scottish Development International; Scottish Executive and Local Authorities; and important subsidiary partner bodies. All BIOs are specially trained to diagnose client needs and perform a wide range of business information activities, including: advising clients on the range of services available through the Business Gateway and partner organizations; identifying relevant sources of help, such as the Euro Information Centre or the local Chamber of Commerce; searching for specific information using a range of resources; and assessing whether clients qualify for special services such as Business Investment for Growth. There is currently increased emphasis on the Referral Service, where clients are directed to support services available in their locality within a range of partner organizations.
The Impossibility of a Preference-Based Power Index
Authors: Braham Matthew , Holler Manfred J.
Published: December 2004

This paper examines a recent debate in the literature on power indices in which classical measures such as the Banzhaf, Shapley-Shubik, and Public Good indices have been criticized on the grounds that they do not take into account player preferences. It has been argued that an index that is blind to preferences misses a vital component of power, namely strategic interaction. In this vein, there has been an attempt to develop so-called strategic power indices on the basis of non-cooperative game theory. We argue that the criticism is unfounded and that a preference-based power index is incompatible with the definition of power as a generic ability: ‘the ability to affect outcomes’. We claim that power resides in, and only in, a game form and not in a game itself.
New Soluble Polyimides Containing the Hydroxylic Group. II: Polymers Substituted with Disperse Red 1
Authors: Schab-Balcerzak Ewa , Sek Danuta , Jarzabek Bożena , Zakrevskyy Yuriy , Stumpe Joachim
Published: December 2004

A series of aromatic polyimides synthesized from various diamidedianhydrides and 2,4-diamino-phenol dihydrochloride were substituted with 4-[N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyI)Iamino-4'-nitro-azobenzene (Disperse Red 1) via the Mitsunobu reaction. The content of the chromophore in the polyimides has been detenrnined by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The influence of the polyimide structure on the ability for the introduction of the chromophore into the polymers was investigated. Different conditions of the Mitsunobu reaction have enabled the synthesis of polyimides with various contents of DR 1. The induction of optical anisotropy in films of the photochromic polymers was studied by irradiating with the linearly polarized light of an Ar+ laser (488 nm). A dichroism up to 0.2 was induced depending on the content of the push-pull substituted azobenzene side group in these polyimides.
Changed Beyond All Recognition?
Authors: Worpole Ken
Published: December 2004

The writer Ken Worpole discusses some of the exciting new developments in public library architecture which have caught the public imagination in recent years, particularly in areas of urban regeneration. However, while many politicians and planners see library buildings and services as playing a key role in civic renewal, there are still dangers that a preoccupation with design, along with economic pressures to adapt a more market-driven approach, may lead to the public library being changed beyond all recognition.
On a Viscoelastic Rod with Constitutive Equation Containing Fractional Derivatives of Two Different Orders
Authors: Stankovic B. , Atanackovic T. M.
Published: December 2004

We study lateral vibration of a viscoelastic rod with a generalized fractional derivative constitutive equation. We show that the motion of the rod is governed by a system of linear partial differential equations with fractional derivatives. The existence, analytical form and properties of solutions to these equations is studied. The conditions of stability, i.e. boundness of the solution, is studied in detail.
Strategies to Evaluate a University-Industry Knowledge-exchange Programme
Authors: Hanberger Anders , Schild Ingrid
Published: December 2004

This article discusses different approaches to evaluating a knowledge-exchange programme designed to foster closer university-industry interaction. It shows how the same policy or programme can be understood and thus evaluated in a number of ways. First, a particular knowledge-exchange programme evaluated by the authors is described. The article then outlines four different methodologies that can be used to evaluate the programme, and assesses it from the perspective of each, outlining the respective strengths and weaknesses of the approaches. The first two evaluation approaches, programme theory evaluation and outcome analysis, tend to be applied in ways that privilege the policy/programme makers’ worldview, and in this sense may be considered ‘management-oriented’ approaches; the second two approaches, policy discourse analysis and qualitative network analysis, are often applied in ways that incorporate a critical stance to this worldview, and may in this sense be considered ‘non-management-oriented’ approaches. The validity of a policy or programme evaluation can be enhanced by adopting a multi-methodological design incorporating both types of approach. Stakeholders are more likely to learn from a programme/policy evaluation and to be receptive to its conclusions if their differing perspectives and success criteria are incorporated into the evaluation.
Evaluating Processes
Authors: Oakley Ann , Strange Vicki , Stephenson Judith , Forrest Simon , Monteiro Helen
Published: December 2004

This article explores the rationales offered in the evaluation literature for studying the processes involved in programme implementation, and their relationship with current arguments about the use of experimental designs to evaluate social interventions. It describes, as a case study, a process evaluation carried out as an integral part of a randomized controlled trial of peer-led sex education. The process evaluation was designed to answer important questions about the implementation of the intervention, the social context of the trial, and the experiences of trial participants. The article describes the methods used to collect process data, and some of the challenges involved. It concludes by arguing that process evaluation is necessarily complex, but essential to the task of understanding why and how interventions and outcomes may be related.
Utilizing Evaluation Evidence to Enhance Professional Practice
Authors: Simons Helen
Published: December 2004

The purpose of this article is to re-examine the current use of what is to count as evaluation evidence to inform professional practice. The provision of evaluation evidence to inform decision making has long been an aspiration, albeit with varying degrees of success. However the need to re-examine the utility of this endeavour has arisen in the contemporary culture of evidence-based policy and practice. The main argument of the article is that the politically favoured approach to this task fails to recognize the holistic nature of professional practice and disregards the complexity of professional decision making and action. The article offers a critique of the dominant model of evidence-based in relation to the nature of professional practice and argues that it is time to reassert the value of qualitative methodologies to maximize the utilization of evaluation evidence by professional practitioners.
Benefits of magnesium sulfate in the management of acute human poisoning by organophosphorus insecticides
Authors: Pajoumand Abdolkarim , Shadnia Shahin , Rezaie Ali , Abdi Mahboobeh , Abdollahi Mohammad
Published: December 2004

Organophosphorus chemicals (OPs) are the pesticides most often involved in serious human poisoning. Treatment of intoxication with OPs conventionally involves atropine for reduction of muscarinic signs and oximes that increase the rate of hydrolysis of the phosphorylated enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Although atropine and oximes (pralidoxime or obidoxime) are traditionally used in the management of such poisoning, their efficacy remains a major issue of debate; thus, the goal of this prospective clinical trial was to elaborate the value of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) in the management and outcome of OP insecticide poisoning.

This unicenter, randomized, single-blind trial study was conducted on patients who were acutely poisoned with OPs and admitted to the Poisoning Center of Loghman-Hakim Hospital in Tehran, Iran. In a systematic sampling, every fourth eligible patient was chosen to undergo MgSO4 treatment. Magnesium sulfate was administered at dose of 4 g/day i.v. continued for only the first 24 hours after admission.

The mean daily oxime requirement and the mean daily atropine requirement were not statistically significant between two treated groups. The mortality rate and hospitalization days of patients who received MgSO4 treatment were significantly lower than those who had not received MgSO4 (P < 0.01).

It is concluded that administration of MgSO4, in a dose of 4 g/day concurrent to conventional therapy, in OP acute human poisoning is beneficial by reducing the hospitalization days and rate of mortality.
Quercetin/bromelain use associated with increased liver enzymes
Authors: Reid Cheryl , Smith Kelly , Kocha BSc Walter
Published: December 2004

Pharmacists and physicians have a vital role to play in the monitoring of patients on alternative/herbal medication. Contrary to popular belief, natural medications do not necessarily mean safe medications. Many alternative/herbal medications have adverse effects that are not well known or well documented. As such, health care professionals should cautiously guide patient use of alternative/herbal medications. This case report describes an adverse reaction associated with the use of quercetin containing bromelain in a patient with non-small cell carcinoma of the lung.
Impact of Avian Influenza on U.S. Poultry Trade Relations‐2002: H5 or H7 Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Authors: HALL CHERYL
Published: December 2004

Abstract: Avian influenza (AI) viruses are Type A influenza viruses of the Orthomyxoviridae family. There are 15 subtypes of the virus widespread in migratory waterfowl throughout the world. It has become increasingly evident that some low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H5 or H7 viruses have the capacity to mutate into the more virulent strains that cause extensive economic losses and high mortality. Recent AI disease outbreaks in several countries have increased attention and concern over low pathogenic H5 and H7 AI viruses. This heightened international concern increases the risk of unnecessary trade bans. For the US poultry industry, avian influenza continues to be a challenge to the flow of trade. On one hand, there is the increased focus of world attention on the H5 and H7 low pathogenic AI virus and the possibility of mutation. On the other hand, there are the factors contributing to our finding of infected flocks. Among these, perhaps the most important is the ever‐present reservoir of virus in the migratory waterfowl population. With the discovery of exposed flocks comes the threat of trade bans.
Foot‐and‐Mouth Disease in the Americas: Epidemiology and Ecologic Changes Affecting Distribution
Authors: SARAIVA VICTOR
Published: December 2004

Abstract: Foot‐and‐mouth disease(FMD) was first recorded in South America (SA) circa 1870, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Uruguay, and in southern Brazil as a result of the introduction of cattle from Europe during the early days of colonization. Livestock production to trade with neighboring countries was established in the La Plata Region, and the trade of livestock and products with Chile, northeastern and central western states of Brazil, to Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay spread FMD, which reached Venezuela and Colombia in the 1950s and finally Ecuador in 1961. The traditional forms of livestock husbandry influence the diffusion and maintenance of the FMD virus (FMDV) in different areas. Cattle production in SA depends mainly on a strong relation between cattle‐calf operations and fattening operations in a complementary cycle, revealing the vulnerability and susceptibility of these areas to FMDV. Understanding the relationship between time‐space behavior of the disease and the forms of production defines the FMD ecosystems, a key concept to elaborating the control/eradication strategies of national FMD eradication programs, which must be modified when trade opportunities between zones of differing sanitary status change. The role of other susceptible species besides bovines, including wildlife, in maintaining and spreading FMDV has been the subject of several studies, but in SA, bovines are so far considered to determine disease presentation. Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) have been implicated in the spread of the disease between farms in at least one case in Brazil. Sheep are almost on a par with bovine in terms of number, especially in the Southern Cone, but their role in the maintenance of infection is not considered important, possibly owing to rearing practices. Camelid populations in the Andean region do not play an important role in the maintenance of FMD, because of short persistence of infection and low population densities in these species. The importance of wildlife is not clear, but it is accepted that animals are mostly affected as a spinoff during outbreaks in domestic species. Experimentally infected capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochoeris hydrochoeris) showed clinical signs and infected other susceptible species, but their role in the maintenance of infection in nature is so far not clear.
Feline Babesiosis in South Africa: A Review
Authors: PENZHORN BANIE L. , SCHOEMAN TANYA , JACOBSON LINDA S.
Published: December 2004

Abstract: Babesia felis, originally identified in wild cats in the Sudan, was subsequently found to cause clinical disease in domestic cats. Although babesiosis in domestic cats has been reported sporadically from various countries, as a significant disease it appears to be a distinctly South African phenomenon. Apart from an inland focus, feline babesiosis is reported regularly only from coastal regions. The infection is assumed to be tick‐borne, but the vector has not been identified. Feline babesiosis tends to be an afebrile, chronic, low‐grade disease. The most frequently reported complaints by owners are anorexia and lethargy. The main clinical findings are anemia, depression, and occasionally icterus. Concurrent infections (e.g., Mycoplasma haemofelis, FeLV, FIV) may contribute to the clinical picture. Laboratory findings commonly include regenerative anemia, elevation of alanine transaminase (but not alkaline phosphatase) and total bilirubin concentrations, and a variety of electrolyte disturbances. Secondary immune‐mediated hemolytic anemia can be seen occasionally. Drugs effective against other Babesia species give variable and questionable results. The drug of choice is primaquine phosphate, which effects a clinical cure but does not sterilize the infection. Repeated or chronic therapy may be required.
Identification of Specific Male and Female Genes in Adult Ancylostoma caninum
Authors: MIRANDA RODRIGO R.C. , COSTA‐JÚNIOR LIVIO M. , CAMPOS ARTUR K. , SANTOS HUDSON A. , RABELO ÉLIDA M. L.
Published: December 2004

Abstract: The hookworm Ancylostoma canium represents a serious health problem, not only for animals but also for humans. These blood‐feeding parasites produce various proteolytic enzymes in order to digest the host hemoglobin. The female worm ingests more blood than does the male. It is not known whether this difference is accompanied by expression of sex‐specific proteinases. The identification of new genes related either to the developmental process of maturation of each sex or to the proteinases secreted by these worms could provide researchers with new tools to be used in control programs for this important parasite. The differential‐display technique was used to compare the gene expression patterns of adult male and female worms in order to find specific genes that could be used as new targets in the control strategies for this parasite.