bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diversity of feeding strategies in adult Mecoptera
Authors: Palmer Christopher
Published: November 2010

In this article I review the diet and feeding behaviour of adult scorpionflies in the nine extant families. Members of the Apteropanorpidae and Panorpidae are saprophagous on dead and decaying invertebrates, and the only known eomeropid Notiothauma reedi is also saprophagous on animal matter. Bittacids are predacious on a variety of invertebrates, predominantly insects. Both bittacids and panorpids supplement their diet with a variety of food sources such as nectar, and members of the Nannochoristidae most likely utilise nectar as the primary food source. Adult Panorpodidae are phytophagous, and all species of Boreidae are also regarded as phytophagous, although feeding on invertebrate carrion has also been reported for this family. The diets of the Meropeidae and Choristidae in natural habitats are unknown, although choristids may be saprophagous based on laboratory investigations. Nuptial feeding is a feature of the Bittacidae and Panorpidae, whereby the male provides the female with a food item as a prelude to or during courtship, and the female feeds on it during copulation. Relating head morphology to known diets indicates some patterns. The rostrum is more elongate in those taxa known to feed predominantly on animal matter, and shorter and wider in plant-feeding taxa such as the Panorpodidae. An exception is the predominantly phytophagous Boreidae, in which most species have a long rostrum.
Mixing Apples and Hand Grenades The Logical Limit of Applying Human Rights Norms to Armed Conflict
Authors: Corn Geoffrey
Published: November 2010

One of the most complex contemporary debates related to the regulation of armed conflict is the relationship between international humanitarian law (or the law of armed conflict) and international human rights law. Since human rights experts first began advocating for the complementary application of these two bodies of law, there has been a steady march of human rights application into an area formerly subject to the exclusive regulation of the law of armed conflict (LOAC). While the legal aspects of this debate are both complex and fascinating, like all areas of conflict regulation the outcome must ultimately produce guidelines that can be translated into an effective operational framework for war-fighters. In an era of an already complex and often confused battle space, there can be little tolerance for adding complexity and confusion to the rules that war-fighters must apply in the execution of their missions. Instead, clarity is essential to aid them in navigating this complexity. This article will explore this debate from a military operational perspective. It asserts the invalidity of extreme views in this complementarity debate, and that the inevitable invocation of human rights obligations in the context of armed conflict necessitates a careful assessment of where symmetry between these two sources of law is operationally logical and where that logic dissipates.
Testing a Conception of How School Leadership Influences Student Learning
Authors: Leithwood Kenneth , Patten Sarah , Jantzi Doris
Published: November 2010

Purpose: This article describes and reports the results of testing a new conception of how leadership influences student learning (“The Four Paths”). Framework: Leadership influence is conceptualized as flowing along four paths (Rational, Emotions, Organizational, and Family) toward student learning. Each path is populated by multiple variables with more or less powerful effects on student learning. Leaders increase student learning by improving the condition or status of selected variables on the Paths. Research Methods: Evidence includes teacher responses to an online survey (1,445 responses) measuring distributed leadership practices in their schools ( N = 199) and variables mediating leaders’ effects on students. Grade 3 and 6 math and literacy achievement data were provided by the province’s annual testing program. The 2006 Canadian Census data provided a composite measure of school socioeconomic status. Path modeling techniques were used to test six hypotheses. Results: The Four Paths model as a whole explains 43% of the variation in student achievement. Variables on the Rational, Emotions, and Family Paths explain similarly significant amounts of that variation. Variables on the Organizational Path were unrelated to student achievement. Leadership had its greatest influence on the Organizational Path and least influence on the Family Path. Implications: School leaders and leadership researchers should be guided much more directly by existing evidence about school, classroom, and family variables with powerful effects on student learning as they make their school improvement and research design decisions.
Parental Depression, Relationship Quality, and Nonresident Father Involvement With Their Infants
Authors: Paulson James F. , Dauber Sarah E. , Leiferman Jenn A.
Published: November 2010

The role of depression in nonresident fathers’ involvement with their infant children is poorly understood. A three-factor model of father involvement was evaluated, and its association with parental relationship quality and depressive symptoms in both parents were tested. Data on 569 families from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study were used. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of nonresident father involvement, which was then examined in a model consistent with Belsky’s determinants of parenting framework. Noncohabitating mothers and fathers evidenced a significant correlation between their quantitative levels of depression. Relationship quality predicted all factors of father involvement and was negatively associated with depression in either parent. Disruptions in relationship quality mediated the link between depression in both parents and reduced father involvement. Perhaps because of depression’s association with relationship quality, depressive severity was significantly correlated between nonresident mother and father.
Hip Acetabular Dysplasia and Joint Laxity of Female Anterior Cruciate Ligament–Injured Patients
Authors: Yamazaki Junya , Muneta Takeshi , Ju Young-Jin , Morito Toshiyuki , Okuwaki Toru , Sekiya Ichiro
Published: November 2010

Background: It has been noted that some female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients have complaints of both coxalgia and joint laxity.

Hypothesis: Female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients tend to have both acetabular dysplasia and generalized joint laxity.

Study Design: Cohort study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: Hip radiographs of 100 female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients and 40 female athletes without any hip joint complaints or history of anterior cruciate ligament injury were evaluated by measuring their center-edge angle (CEA). In addition, generalized joint laxity tests using 8 items were performed for anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients. Anterior-posterior (A-P) tibiofemoral translation of the uninjured knee was measured using a KT-1000 knee arthrometer to evaluate joint laxity under anesthesia before anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Results: The average (± standard deviation) CEA of female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients was 25.5° ± 5.3° (uninjured side) and 25.8° ± 4.8° (injured side), and that of the control group was 28.2° ± 4.2° (right side) and 29.2° ± 5.7° (left side), both P < .05. Among the 100 patients with anterior cruciate ligament tears, both the generalized joint laxity score and A-P tibiofemoral translation of the group with acetabular dysplasia (CEA of <25°, n = 37) were significantly greater than that of the normal group (CEA of ≥25°, n = 63). There was a negative correlation between the CEA of female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients and both the generalized joint laxity score and A-P tibiofemoral translation.

Conclusion: The CEA of female anterior cruciate ligament–injured patients was significantly smaller than that of the control group. Statstical analysis showed a moderate negative correlation between the CEA and generalized joint laxity score. Female athletes with an anterior cruciate ligament injury had an increased prevalence of acetabular dysplasia and generalized joint laxity.
Reinjury After Acute Posterior Thigh Muscle Injuries in Elite Track and Field Athletes
Authors: Malliaropoulos Nikolaos , Isinkaye Tomide , Tsitas Kostas , Maffulli Nicola
Published: November 2010

Background: Hamstring muscle strains often recur. The authors studied the effect of the grade of initial injury on the subsequent risk of reinjury.

Hypothesis: No difference in reinjury rate between acute low-grade (grades I and II) and high-grade (III and IV) hamstring muscle strains would be seen.

Study Design: Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 1.

Methods: Between 1999 and 2007, the authors managed 165 elite track and field athletes with acute, first-time unilateral hamstring muscle strains. Strains were classified into 4 grades (I, II, III, and IV) based on knee active range of motion deficit at 48 hours. The same rehabilitation protocol was prescribed, and the rate of reinjury was recorded during the following 24 months.

Results: The average time to return to sport after initial injury was 7.4 days for grade I injuries, 12.9 days for grade II injuries, 29.5 days for grade III injuries, and 55.0 days for grade IV injuries. At follow-up, 23 of the 165 athletes (13.9%) had experienced a second hamstring muscle strain. Of the 75 athletes with a grade I injury, 7 (9.3%) had experienced a recurrence after 24 months. Of the 58 athletes with a grade II injury, 14 (24.1%) experienced a recurrence. Of the 26 athletes with a grade III injury, 2 (7.7%) experienced a recurrence, and of the 6 athletes with a grade IV injury, none had experienced a recurrence after 24 months.

Conclusion: Low-grade hamstring muscle lesions appear to lead to a higher risk of reinjury than high-grade hamstring muscle lesions. However, there were disproportionately fewer high-grade injuries than low-grade injuries. Objective clinical findings can accurately determine the risk of reinjury after acute hamstring muscle strains in elite track and field athletes.
Comparison of Growth Factor and Platelet Concentration From Commercial Platelet-Rich Plasma Separation Systems
Authors: Castillo Tiffany N. , Pouliot Michael A. , Kim Hyeon Joo , Dragoo Jason L.
Published: November 2010

Background: Clinical studies claim that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) shortens recovery times because of its high concentration of growth factors that may enhance the tissue repair process. Most of these studies obtained PRP using different separation systems, and few analyzed the content of the PRP used as treatment.

Purpose: This study characterized the composition of single-donor PRP produced by 3 commercially available PRP separation systems.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Five healthy humans donated 100 mL of blood, which was processed to produce PRP using 3 PRP concentration systems (MTF Cascade, Arteriocyte Magellan, Biomet GPS III). Platelet, white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell, and fibrinogen concentrations were analyzed by automated systems in a clinical laboratory, whereas ELISA determined the concentrations of platelet-derived growth factor αβ and ββ (PDGF-αβ, PDGF-ββ), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Results: There was no significant difference in mean PRP platelet, red blood cell, active TGF-β1, or fibrinogen concentrations among PRP separation systems. There was a significant difference in platelet capture efficiency. The highest platelet capture efficiency was obtained with Cascade, which was comparable with Magellan but significantly higher than GPS III. There was a significant difference among all systems in the concentrations of WBC, PDGF-αβ, PDGF-ββ, and VEGF. The Cascade system concentrated leukocyte-poor PRP, compared with leukocyte-rich PRP from the GPS III and Magellan systems.

Conclusion: The GPS III and Magellan concentrate leukocyte-rich PRP, which results in increased concentrations of WBCs, PDGF-αβ, PDGF-ββ, and VEGF as compared with the leukocyte-poor PRP from Cascade. Overall, there was no significant difference among systems in the platelet concentration, red blood cell, active TGF-β1, or fibrinogen levels.

Clinical Relevance: Products from commercially available PRP separation systems produce differing concentrations of growth factors and WBCs. Further research is necessary to determine the clinical relevance of these findings.
War Voting
Authors: Williams Laron K. , Brulé David J. , Koch Michael
Published: November 2010

This article explores the interactive effects of the economy and the use of force on incumbent parties’ electoral performance. Research on the diversionary use of force assumes that leaders (especially democratic leaders) use force abroad to bolster their domestic political fortunes during hard economic times. But other research suggests that crises either lead to removal from office or have no effect on incumbents’ political fortunes. Although a good deal of scholarship assesses the role of the economy on electoral outcomes, no research has explicitly examined the interactive effects between dispute involvement and the economy on leaders’ share of the vote. We argue that the salience of the economy conditions voters’ sensitivity to the costs of conflict, which reduces electoral support for incumbent parties engaging in dramatic foreign policy events. Moreover, we expect executives’ efforts to emphasize foreign policy during economic downturns to be met with electoral punishment as voters prefer to see leaders working on a remedial economic policy. To evaluate this argument, we examine incumbent parties’ vote shares in elections among nine advanced democracies from 1960 to 2000. Our results support the hypothesis that during economic downturns voters care more about domestic politics than foreign policy. Furthermore, our results have implications for the diversionary hypothesis, gambling for resurrection argument, the democratic peace, and economic voting research agendas.
An Evaluation of a Multicomponent Early Literacy Program for Students With Severe Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Browder Diane , Ahlgrim-Delzell Lynn , Flowers Claudia , Baker Joshua
Published: November 2010

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a multicomponent early literacy curriculum that included phonics and phonemic awareness in comparison to a sight word approach. A total of 93 students with severe developmental disabilities who were enrolled in Grades K through 4 were randomly assigned to either a multicomponent early literacy curriculum or a sight word comparison curriculum. The instructional interventions were implemented over an academic school year. Results indicated that students in the multicomponent early literacy curriculum had significantly higher mean literacy scores than the students in the sight word condition, with small to moderate effect sizes (.30–.49). Further analysis indicated that phonics skills appeared to contribute most to the differences between the two curriculum approaches. Implications for teaching decoding skills, one of the components needed for students to become fully literate, are discussed.
Coping with Drought
Authors: Hayati Dariush , Yazdanpanah Masoud , Karbalaee Fereshteh
Published: November 2010

The slow-onset disasters, like drought, consistently deplete farmers’ resources at a faster rate than they can be replenished. Drought has been a recurring phenomenon in the southern regions of Iran and it has repeatedly been a leading cause of declining production and great human suffering. In view of the fact that poor and small farmers are more vulnerable, it is expected that they would be the main victims of such conditions. Investigation of rural poor strategies in drought conditions and assessing the impact of the governmental interventions to mitigate the drought consequences, especially on the poor state, constituted the main objectives of this study. Case study was the research method and an in-depth interview was used as the main technique of data collection. Findings revealed that farmers’ attitude towards drought was mostly metaphysical rather than physical and environmental. Poor farmers were harshly affected by the drought. It hurt them not only because of their attitude or belief, but also because of their low socio-economical position. Moreover, governmental interventions worsen the poor farmers’ situation because they treated all the farmers’ homogeneously. Much of governmental supportive services were benefited by non-poor farmers. On the contrary, the poor farmers’ who were in dire need, benefited the least. Therefore, governmental interventions fail to support the poor farmers, because it considers all stratums similar and it only focuses on productive policies. Some recommendations are pre-sented at the end of the article based on research findings.
Disability–Poverty Nexus
Authors: Dalal Ajit K.
Published: November 2010

The article examines the close nexus between disability and poverty that renders the disabled people the poorest among the poor. It discusses psycho-social and environmental impediments which prevent active participation of the poor with disability in developmental programmes. In this context, the article particularly focuses on social exclusion which nourishes on negative attitudes, prejudices, stigma and discrimination, together with inaccessible physical environment. The poor with disabilities have remained passive targets and recipients, not stakeholders and participants, and as a result they hardly benefit from health, educational and employment schemes and are caught in a vicious downward spiral. It is argued that dealing with psycho-social and physical barriers is an important prerequisite for active participation of the poor with disabilities in the developmental programmes.
Witness to Violence
Authors: Sinha Madhumeeta
Published: November 2010

This article attempts to place feminist documentary filmmaking in the context of the women’s movement in India. More specifically, it seeks to examine some of the widely debated concerns and strategies that have animated feminist documentary filmmaking in India through an analysis of two important films: Deepa Dhanraj’s Something Like a War and Reena Mohan’s Skin Deep.
Women’s Subjectivities of Suffering and Legal Rhetoric on Domestic Violence
Authors: Sen Rukmini
Published: November 2010

It is undoubtedly true that feminist politics in the last three decades has struggled to make visible an entire range of social practices that are inimical to women and brought them under the rubric of ‘violence’. This article revisits the meaning of violence when translated in the language of law. In the courtroom, the meaning of violence has to be technically grounded as the law would want it to be, filtering from it many nuances that possibly existed at the time when the aggrieved woman was narrating her incident. This article therefore is an exploration of the legal rhetoric engaging with violence as faced by women within marriage; it argues that there is often a strong disjuncture with the subjectivities of suffering primarily due to the legal need for objective evidence. There are three parts: (a) how violence has been understood by the women’s movement in India, (b) an analysis of some legal documents that understand primarily physical violence and (c) an exploration on the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which through legal language makes a formal provision on translating suffering.
Sanma Told Me
Authors: Kumar Pushpesh
Published: November 2010

Through the biographical narratives of a Kolam woman of a tribal village in western India, the article delineates experiences of violence which the victim is unable to articulate in her own world. Cultural discourse might simultaneously violate and obliterate comprehension of violence from the victim’s perspective. In such situations, what is experienced as violence by the woman constitutes is lawful activity in the eyes of the community. The article pithily dwells upon the duality of sexual norms in the village which has consequences for women’s agency and (in)ability to resist violence. It looks at the community’s inclination for boundary maintenance which is threatened through its women’s transgressive sexual acts. The fall-out is continual de-legitimacy for the concerned woman to invoke the communitarian justice system. This can happen even among communities practicing liberal gender norms. Resistance to cultural violence does require support systems outside the kinship domain. It does necessitate secular interventions; an unconditional legitimation of secular reasoning cannot, however, be warranted because it might have implications for erasing existing egalitarian norms.
Trader sailor spy: The case of John Pringle and the transfer of accounting technology to the Cape of Good Hope
Authors: Samkin Grant
Published: November 2010

The transfer of accounting technology to the southern hemisphere during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been considered previously by Carnegie and Parker (1996), Foreman (2001) and Carnegie et al. (2006). Set at the Cape of Good Hope in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, this study adopts a microhistory approach to evaluate the contribution made by John Pringle, an employee of the East India Company, to the transfer of British-style accounting technology. The circumstances of the time mean that, as an individual, Pringle’s long-term contribution to the transfer of accounting technology was minimal and limited to training the assistants he employed. As far as can be established, this is the first article that considers how an individual, who was not an accounting author, contributed to the transfer of British-style accounting technology to southern Africa.
Hypertension and the Hmong Community
Authors: Thalacker Kimberly Murphy
Published: November 2010

Hmong Americans are a minority population with a hypertensive health problem that is often undiagnosed and not medically managed. Vulnerable populations, such as ethnic minorities, are susceptible to poor health because of their unique perception of disease and treatment. Healthy People 2010 has goals that include promoting quality of life and eliminating health disparities. The Health Belief Model recognizes an individual’s perceived susceptibility to disease, perceived severity of disease, perceived benefits of certain behaviors in reducing disease, and perceived barriers, such as cost, to preventive action. Nurses and other health care professionals are in a unique position to promote health in these vulnerable populations by using the Health Belief Model. Health promotion includes identifying barriers, empowering individuals through knowledge, as well as encouraging and educating positive health behaviors.
Community Involvement in the Development and Feedback About a Colorectal Cancer Screening Media Campaign in Ohio Appalachia
Authors: Katz Mira L. , Reiter Paul , Fickle Darla , Heaner Sarah , Sim Courtney , Lehman Amy , Paskett Electra D.
Published: November 2010

A community needs assessment focused on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening knowledge, behaviors, and barriers was completed in one Ohio Appalachia county. A CRC screening media campaign was developed based on the findings from the needs assessment and feedback was obtained about the media campaign. The survey was completed by 170 self-reported average-risk adults. In a multivariate model, the CRC screening rate was higher for participants who had received a doctor’s recommendation (OR = 6.09) and had adequate CRC knowledge (OR = 2.88), and it was lower among participants employed full-time (OR = 0.23). Having health insurance (OR = 4.20) and being married (OR = 2.58) was associated with having received a doctor’s recommendation for screening. Campaign feedback using a second survey completed by self-reported average-risk adults ( n = 61) revealed that 69% recognized the campaign image and message, with a billboard being the most cited source. This study highlights the importance of involving community members in the development of CRC screening programs to reduce cancer disparities in Appalachia.
Developing a Web-Based Health Promotion Intervention: A Case Study From a Brief Motivational Alcohol Program
Authors: Barretto Andrea Ippel , Bingham C. Raymond , Goh Kim Nee , Shope Jean T.
Published: November 2010

Public health researchers and practitioners reporting findings from intervention studies seldom report in depth the processes of intervention development. However, such information would be useful for several reasons: (a) it would help guide the development of new interventions and refinement or revision of existing ones, (b) it would provide a framework and methodology on which other health practitioners and researchers could build, and (c) it would increase transparency of the development process and enhance the interpretation of the intervention’s effects. The purpose of this article is to begin addressing the “black box” of Web-based intervention development by presenting the method for developing a Web-based, brief, motivational alcohol intervention program that has shown evidence of efficacy for college students, called Michigan Prevention & Alcohol Safety for Students.
Evaluation and management of the non-motor features of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Wishart Steven , Macphee Graeme J. A.
Published: November 2010

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is traditionally viewed as a motor disorder with a characteristic triad of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. There is now increasing awareness that PD is a complex systemic disorder with many nonmotor symptoms (NMS) which include autonomic dysfunction, sleep disorders, sensory and neuropsychiatric features. NMS become more common in severity and frequency with advancing disease when neuropsychiatric features such as cognitive impairment and psychosis dominate the clinical picture. NMS are strongly correlated with quality of life for patients and their families as well as institutional care placement. Despite their importance, NMS are poorly recognized by clinicians and often undeclared by patients. Use of a validated screening tool NMSQuest followed by specific symptom assessment instruments strengthens the recognition and holistic management of NMS in PD. Some NMS such as mood disturbance, anxiety, pain and insomnia may be improved by optimization of dopaminergic therapy. Conversely, psychosis, excess daytime somnolence or impulse control disorder (ICD) may be triggered by dopaminergic drugs. Other NMS such as dementia and severe depression may be unresponsive to dopaminergic treatment and may reflect perturbations in cholinergic, serotonergic or noradrenergic neurotransmitter function. These symptoms are more challenging to manage but may be ameliorated to some extent by agents such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor or antidepressant drugs. This contribution reviews the evidence for the evaluation and management of key NMS in PD (apathy, anxiety, depression, psychosis, dementia, ICD, sleep disturbance, autonomic dysfunction, pain) and highlights the urgent need for both novel therapies and more controlled trials for current therapeutic strategies.
Use of health services and medicines amongst Australian war veterans: a comparison of young elderly, near centenarians and centenarians
Authors: Roughead Elizabeth E , Kalisch Lisa M , Ramsay Emmae N , Ryan Philip , Gilbert Andrew L
Published: November 2010

Background

Age and life expectancy of residents in many developed countries, including Australia, is increasing. Health resource and medicine use in the very old is not well studied. The purpose of this study was to identify annual use of health services and medicines by very old Australian veterans; those aged 95 to 99 years (near centenarians) and those aged 100 years and over (centenarians).

Methods

The study population included veterans eligible for all health services subsidised by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) aged 95 years and over at August 1st 2006. A cohort of veterans aged 65 to 74 years was identified for comparison. Data were sourced from DVA claims databases. We identified all claims between August 1st 2006 and July 31st 2007 for medical consultations, pathology, diagnostic imaging and allied health services, hospital admissions, number of prescriptions and unique medicines. Chi squared tests were used to compare the proportion of centenarians (those aged 100 years and over) and near centenarians (those aged 95 to 99 years) who accessed medicines and health services with the 65 to 74 year age group. For those who accessed health services during follow up, Poisson regression was used to compare differences in the number of times centenarians and near centenarians accessed each health service compared to 65 to 74 year olds.

Results

A similar proportion (98%) of centenarians and near centenarians compared to those aged 65 to 74 consulted a GP and received prescription medicine during follow up. A lower proportion of centenarians and near centenarians had claims for specialist visits (36% and 57% respectively), hospitalisation (19% and 24%), dental (12% and 18%), physiotherapy (13% and 15%), pathology(68% and 78%) and diagnostic imaging services (51% and 68%) (p < 0.0001) and a higher proportion had claims for care plans (19% and 25%), occupational therapy (15% and 17%) and podiatry services (54% and 58%) (p < 0.0001). Compared to those aged 65 to 74, a lower proportion of centenarians and near centenarians received antihypertensives, lipid lowering therapy, antiinflammatories, and antidepressants (p < 0.0001) and a higher proportion received antibiotics, analgesics, diuretics, laxatives, and anti-anaemics (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Medical consultations and medicines are the health services most frequently accessed by Australian veteran centenarians and near centenarians. For most health services, the proportion of very old people who access them is similar to or less than younger elderly. Our results support the findings of other studies which suggest that longevity is not necessarily associated with excessive health service use.
The challenge of long waiting lists: how we implemented a GP referral system for non-urgent specialist' appointments at an Australian public hospital
Authors: Stainkey Lesley A , Seidl Isaac A , Johnson Andrew J , Tulloch Gladys E , Pain Tilley
Published: November 2010

Our Problem

The length of wait lists to access specialist clinics in the public system is problematic for Queensland Health, general practitioners and patients. To address this issue at The Townsville Hospital, the GP Liaison Officer, GPs and hospital staff including specialists, collaborated to develop a process to review patients waiting longer than two years. GPs frequently send referrals to public hospital specialist clinics. Once received, referrals are triaged to Category A, B or C depending on clinical criteria resulting in appointment timeframes of 30, 90 or 365 days for each category, respectively. However, hospitals often fail to meet these targets, creating a long wait list. These wait listed patients are only likely to be seen if their condition deteriorates and an updated referral upgrades them to Category A.

Process to Address the Problem

A letter sent to long wait patients offered two options 1) take no action if the appointment was no longer required or 2) visit their GP to update their referral on a clinic specific template if they felt the referral was still required. Local GPs were advised of the trial and provided education on the new template and minimum data required for specialist referrals.

What Happened

In 2008, 872 letters were sent to long wait orthopaedic patients and 101 responded. All respondents were seen at specially arranged clinics. Of these, 16 patients required procedures and the others were discharged. In 2009 the process was conducted in the specialties of orthopaedics, ENT, neurosurgery, urology, and general surgery. Via this new process 6885 patients have been contacted, 633 patients have been seen by public hospital specialists at specially arranged clinics and 197 have required a procedure.

Learnings

Since the start of this process in 2008, the wait time to access a specialist appointment has reduced from eight to two years. The process described here is achievable across a range of specialties, deliverable within the routine of the referral centre and identifies the small number of people on the long wait list in need of a procedure.
Diffusion tensor imaging correlates with cytopathology in a rat model of neonatal hydrocephalus
Authors: Yuan Weihong , Deren Kelley E , McAllister James P , Holland Scott K , Lindquist Diana M , Cancelliere Alessandro , Mason Melissa , Shereen Ahmed , Hertzler Dean A , Altaye Mekibib , Mangano Francesco T
Published: November 2010

Background

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a non-invasive MRI technique that has been used to quantify CNS abnormalities in various pathologic conditions. This study was designed to quantify the anisotropic diffusion properties in the brain of neonatal rats with hydrocephalus (HCP) and to investigate association between DTI measurements and cytopathology.

Methods

DTI data were acquired between postnatal day 7 (P7) and P12 in 12 rats with HCP induced at P2 and in 15 age-matched controls. Animals were euthanized at P11 or P22/P23 and brains were processed with immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule (Iba-1), and luxol fast blue (LFB) to assess astrocytosis, microglial reactivity and degree of myelination, respectively.

Results

Hydrocephalic rats were consistently found to have an abnormally low (at correctedp-level of <0.05) fractional anisotropy (FA) value and an abnormally high mean diffusivity (MD) value in the cerebral cortex (CX), the corpus callosum (CC), and the internal capsule (IC). Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated trends of increasing astrocyte and microglial reactivity in HCP rats at P11 that reached statistical significance at P22/P23. A trend toward reduced myelination in the HCP rats was also found at P22/P23. Correlation analysis at P11 for the CC demonstrated statistically significant correlations (or trends) between the DTI measurement (the decreased FA and increased MD values) and the GFAP or Iba-1 rankings. The immunohistochemical rankings in the IC at P22/P23 were also significantly correlated or demonstrated a trend with both FA and MD values.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the feasibility of employing DTI on the brain in experimental hydrocephalus in neonatal rats and reveals impairments in multiple regions of interest in both grey and white matter. A strong correlation was found between the immunohistochemical results and the changes in anisotropic diffusion properties.
No significantly increased frequency of the inversion polymorphism at the WBS-critical region 7q11.23 in German parents of patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome as compared to a population control
Authors: Frohnauer Judith , Caliebe Almuth , Gesk Stefan , Partsch Carl-Joachim , Siebert Reiner , Pankau Rainer , Jenderny Jutta
Published: November 2010

Background

Typical Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is commonly caused by a ~1.5 Mb - ~1.8 Mb heterozygous deletion of contiguous genes at chromosome region 7q11.23. The majority of WBS cases occurs sporadically but few familial cases of autosomal dominant inheritance have been reported. Recent data demonstrated the existence of the paracentric inversion polymorphism at the WBS critical region in 7q11.23 in some of the progenitors transmitting the chromosome which shows the deletion in the affected child. In parents having a child affected by WBS the prevalence of such a structural variant has been reported to be much higher (~25- ~30%) than in the general population (~1- ~6%). However, in these previously reported studies only a limited number of randomly selected patients and non transmitting parents of WBS patients were used as controls, but without specification of any clinical data. Therefore we have undertaken a German population-based molecular cytogenetic investigation. We evaluated the incidence of the paracentric inversion polymorphism at 7q11.23 analyzing interphase nuclei of lymphocytes using a three color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe.

Results

FISH analysis was carried out on couples with a child affected by WBS as compared to a population sample composed of different normal individuals: Control group I: couples with two healthy children, control group II: couples with fertility problems, planning ICSI and control group III: couples with two healthy children and one child with a chromosome aberration, not involving region 7q11.23. The three color FISH assay showed that the frequency of the paracentric inversion polymorphism at 7q11.23 in couples with a child affected by WBS was 20.8% (5 out of 24 pairs) as compared to 8.3% (2 out of 24 pairs, control group I), 25% (4 out of 16 pairs, control group II) and 9.1% (1 out of 11 pairs, control group III), respectively (total 7 out of 51 pairs, 13.8%). The frequencies differed between the groups, but this was statistically not significant (p > 0.05, Fisher's test).

Conclusion

Our results do not support the hypothesis that the paracentric inversion polymorphism at 7q11.23 is a major predisposing factor for the WBS deletion.
Expression and phylogenetic analysis of the zic gene family in the evolution and development of metazoans
Authors: Layden Michael J , Meyer Néva P , Pang Kevin , Seaver Elaine C , Martindale Mark Q
Published: November 2010

Background

zic genes are members of the gli/glis/nkl/zic super-family of C2H2 zinc finger (ZF) transcription factors. Homologs of the zic family have been implicated in patterning neural and mesodermal tissues in bilaterians. Prior to this study, the origin of the metazoan zic gene family was unknown and expression of zic gene homologs during the development of early branching metazoans had not been investigated.

Results

Phylogenetic analyses of novel zic candidate genes identified a definitive zic homolog in the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens, two gli/glis/nkl- like genes in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, confirmed the presence of three gli/glis/nkl-like genes in Porifera, and confirmed the five previously identified zic genes in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. In the cnidarian N. vectensis, zic homologs are expressed in ectoderm and the gastrodermis (a bifunctional endomesoderm), in presumptive and developing tentacles, and in oral and sensory apical tuft ectoderm. The Capitella teleta zic homolog (Ct-zic) is detectable in a subset of the developing nervous system, the foregut, and the mesoderm associated with the segmentally repeated chaetae. Lastly, expression of gli and glis homologs in Mnemiopsis. leidyi is detected exclusively in neural cells in floor of the apical organ.

Conclusions

Based on our analyses, we propose that the zic gene family arose in the common ancestor of the Placozoa, Cnidaria and Bilateria from a gli/glis/nkl-like gene and that both ZOC and ZF-NC domains evolved prior to cnidarian-bilaterian divergence. We also conclude that zic expression in neural ectoderm and developing neurons is pervasive throughout the Metazoa and likely evolved from neural expression of an ancestral gli/glis/nkl/zic gene. zic expression in bilaterian mesoderm may be related to the expression in the gastrodermis of a cnidarian-bilaterian common ancestor.
“At Best an Echo”: Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Translation Strategies in the History of Economics
Authors: Forget Evelyn L.
Published: November 2010

Latin receded as the common language of the Republic of Letters as the eighteenth century unfolded, ushering in a new and expanded role for translation. However, international copyright legislation was nonexistent, which offered translators freedom to take liberties with the text. This article examines four women—Emilie du Châtelet, Sophie de Grouchy, Clémence Royer, and Harriet Martineau—who translated political economy between English and French from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, and it argues that these translators saw their work as an opportunity to contribute to the scientific conversation in their own right as they commented on the original texts and made significant and often unacknowledged adjustments to the texts. They invariably appealed to a broader audience than did the original authors, and they used the same tools and techniques as did such popularizers of political economy as Jane Marcet.
Commentary—A Latent Variable Perspective of Copula Modeling
Authors: George Edward I. , Jensen Shane T.
Published: November 2010

The likelihood for copula modeling appears when both the data and the copula representations are seen as being driven by common uniform latent variables. This perspective facilitates Bayesian inference for prediction and copula selection.
On the Frobenius Problem for {ak, ak + 1, ak + a, . . . , ak + ak −1}
Authors: Tripathi Amitabha
Published: November 2010

For positive integers
Finding Almost Squares V
Authors: Chan Tsz Ho
Published: November 2010

An almost square of type 2 is an integer
Security Design for Industrial Sensor Networks
Authors: Falk Rainer , Hof Hans-Joachim
Published: November 2010

The industrial application of wireless sensor-actuator networks is attractive due to their flexibility, saving potential and ease of use. However, weak or missing security would restrain the acceptance and hinder a wide-spread use. This paper presents a security design for wireless sensor-actuator networks in industrial settings. The security design provides mandatory frame protection as well as end-to-end communication protection, authentication, and access control. Additional security mechanisms for MIMO transmission and node wake-up are described.
Analysis and Efficiency of Randomized Optimization Heuristics
Authors: Lässig Jörg
Published: November 2010

Problems of global optimization arise in many areas of modern science and have an ample number of applications in engineering, industry and economics as for circuit design, process planning, and scheduling. There are various heuristic methods to solve these problems such as bio-inspired approaches like Evolutionary Algorithms or Particle Swarm Optimization but also simpler approaches as Simulated Annealing or Threshold Accepting. In this article we introduce new analytical approaches to understand the underlying principles in particular of parallel evolutionary methods and their parameters better. More specific, we focus on the benefit of migration in the island model of evolutionary algorithms and on the influence of migration parameters.
Waffen und Weltkriege im Museum. Wie sich die museale Darstellung der beiden Weltkriege und der Umgang mit Militaria gewandelt haben
Authors: Thiemeyer Thomas
Published: November 2010

Lange Zeit haben Waffen und andere militärische Objekte die Hauptrolle in Ausstellungen gespielt, die sich mit den Weltkriegen befassten. Dieser Aufsatz vertritt die These, dass Waffen und Militaria in den letzten dreißig Jahren ihren Sonderstatus in Museen und Ausstellungen verloren. Sie werden in neuen Kontexten ausgestellt und übermitteln andere Botschaften. Was sind die Gründe für diese Änderungen? Welche Schlussfolgerungen ergeben sich für militärische Objekte in heutigen Ausstellungen über die zwei Weltkriege? Und was sind generell die Probleme, die Museen zu lösen haben, wenn sie Waffen ausstellen? Dies sind die Hauptfragen, die dieser Aufsatz beantworten möchte. Elf Dauerausstellungen von Militär- und Historischen Museen in England, Frankreich, Belgien und Deutschland bilden die empirische Basis für die Untersuchung. Diese Ausstellungen wurden in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten eröffnet oder werden in nächster Zeit eröffnet (etwa das Militärhistorische Museum Dresen) und präsentieren die Geschichte des Ersten und/oder Zweiten Weltkrieges aus einem nationalen oder internationalen Blickwinkel.
Keine Kommissare. Preußische Polizeioffiziere zwischen soldatischem Selbstverständnis und polizeilicher Professionalität 1919 bis 1935
Authors: Schmidt Daniel
Published: November 2010

Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg hatte die Weimarer Republik ein vitales Interesse daran, eine verlässliche und effiziente Polizeiorganisation zu schaffen. Die Reformvorhaben der neuen preußischen Regierung in den frühen 1920er Jahren scheiterten jedoch – nicht zuletzt, weil die meisten Mitglieder des neuen Polizeioffizierkorps frühere preußische Armeeoffiziere waren, die fast alle in Friedenszeiten in der kaiserlichen Armee gedient hatten. Aus diesem Selbstverständnis heraus wollten sie das neue politische System nicht akzeptieren. Ganz im Gegenteil: sie formten ihre neue Umgebung nach ihren Vorstellungen. Sie führten nicht nur die Idee einer professionellen Polizei ein, die auf militärischen Standards und Traditionen fußte, sondern kultivierten auch weiterhin den aristokratischen Lebensstil von preußischen Armeeoffizieren und schufen so innerhalb des Polizeioffizierkorps eine Zweiklassengesellschaft. Unter Betonung von Kriterien wie Charakter, Männlichkeit und Habitus konnte ein selbsternannter elitärer Kreis von früheren Militäroffizieren solche Offiziere marginalisieren, deren sozialer, kultureller und beruflicher Hintergrund als fragwürdig angesehen wurde. Diese Machenschaften erzeugten eine Kultur, die, zusammen mit intensiven Netzwerkarbeiten, der alten Militärelite ihre berufliche und politische Vormachtstellung garantierte.

Die vorwiegend militärische Mentalität der Polizeioffiziere bewirkte letztendlich einen schweren Minderwertigkeitskomplex, weil die verbliebenen Reichswehroffiziere den Anspruch der Polizei auf entsprechendes Sozialprestige brüsk ablehnten. Die früheren kaiserlichen Offiziere ergriffen daher begierig die Chance, in die Armee zurückzukehren, nachdem die nationalsozialistische Regierung entschieden hatte, die deutsche Wiederbewaffnung zu forcieren und zu beschleunigen. Diese Rückkehr wurde als letzte Chance zur sozialen und militärischen Rehabilitation begriffen. Dankbar verfolgten sie mit großer Loyalität die Ziele des Dritten Reichs. Die Offiziere, die im Polizeidienst bleiben mussten, fühlten sich tief gedemütigt. Ihr Durst nach Anerkennung führte zu einem ungezügelten Wettbewerb untereinander, der ohne Zweifel zu ihrem bemerkenswert radikalen Amtsführung während des Eroberungs- und Vernichtungskriegs beitrug.
Fatigue in Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Hidden Burden of Current Targeted Therapies
Authors: Larkin James M.G. , Pyle Lynda M. , Gore Martin E.
Published: November 2010

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer. Persistent fatigue can impair multiple aspects of daily functioning and quality of life, and patients report that treatment-related fatigue has a greater impact than other symptoms, including pain, nausea, and depression. Thus, management of fatigue is recognized as an important component of care for patients with cancer. Treatment of advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) was, until recently, limited to cytokine-based therapies, which are associated with modest response rates and significant toxicity, including high rates of treatment-related fatigue. The paradigm for RCC treatment has shifted dramatically in the last 5 years with the advent of efficacious targeted therapies. These agents provide the promise of better tolerability because of their more selective mechanisms of action. However, there is considerable variation in the selectivity of targeted agents for RCC, and a review of randomized clinical trials in patients with advanced and/or metastatic disease reveals that there is considerable variation in the tolerability of these agents. Fatigue remains a prominent toxicity with current targeted therapies. Future agents that show better selectivity and potency than current targeted therapies should help to provide better efficacy and tolerability.