bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cushing's syndrome in childhood and adolescence
Authors: ROBYN JA , KOCH CA , MONTALTO J , YONG A , WARNE GL , BATCH JA
Published: March 2008

Objective: To review the diagnosis, management and outcome of Cushing's syndrome in children and adolescents.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of nine cases treated between 1976 and 1996 at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

Results: Six children with Cushing's disease and three with primary adrenal disease were identified. Mean age at diagnosis in the Cushing's disease patients was 11.3 years and in the children with primary adrenal disease 9.5 years. The most common presenting symptoms were weight gain and delayed growth. Two children had the unusual presenting symptoms of an eating disorder and hemihypertrophy, respectively. Laboratory diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome was established by demonstration of elevated urine free cortisol, loss of normal diurnal variation of serum cortisol, and loss of suppressibility of cortisol secretion by low dose dexamethasone. Investigations used to determine the aetiology of hypercortisolism included serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels, high dose dexamethasone suppression tests, imaging studies, and inferior petrosal sinus sampling. Four patients with Cushing's disease had successful transphenoidal adenomectomies. Two patients with bilateral primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical dysplasia underwent bilateral adrenalectomies. One child with an adrenal adenoma was treated by left adrenalectomy.

Conclusions: Cushing's syndrome in children and adolescents remains a diagnostic challenge. Successful treatment often requires the use of multiple tests to achieve the correct diagnosis, appropriate surgery and a good long‐term outcome.
Response of pinto and small red Mexican beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to preplant‐incorporated herbicides
Authors: SOLTANI NADER , NURSE ROBERT E. , ROBINSON DARREN E. , SIKKEMA PETER H.
Published: March 2008

Four field trials were conducted over a 2 year period at Exeter (2005, 2006), Harrow (2006), and Ridgetown (2006), Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the tolerance of pinto and small red Mexican (SRM) beans to the preplant‐incorporated (PPI) application of trifluralin, dimethenamid, S‐metolachlor, KIH‐485, imazethapyr, and flumetsulam. All the treatments, including the untreated control, were maintained weed‐free during the growing season. The PPI application of trifluralin, dimethenamid, and S‐metolachlor resulted in minimal transient visual injury, with no adverse effect on the plant height, shoot dry weight, seed moisture content, and yield of the pinto and SRM beans. The PPI application of imazethapyr and flumetsulam, especially at the high rate, initially caused 13% injury and reduced the plant height and shoot dry weight by 15 and 28%, respectively, but these injuries were transient and had no effect on the seed maturity and yield of the pinto and SRM beans. The PPI application of KIH‐485 caused 80% injury to the pinto and SRM beans and reduced the plant height, shoot dry weight, and yield. The dry bean maturity was also delayed. Based on these results, trifluralin, dimethenamid, S‐metolachlor, imazethapyr, and flumetsulam, applied as PPI herbicides, have the potential to be used in a weed management program for pinto and SRM beans. However, KIH‐485, applied as a PPI herbicide at the doses evaluated, does not have an adequate margin of crop safety for use in pinto and SRM bean production in Ontario.
Flat fan and air induction nozzles affect soybean herbicide efficacy
Authors: SIKKEMA PETER H. , BROWN LYNETTE , SHROPSHIRE CHRISTY , SPIESER HELMUT , SOLTANI NADER
Published: March 2008

Fifteen field experiments were conducted from 2002 to 2005 to determine the influence of the nozzle type, spray volume, spray pressure, and herbicide rate on herbicidal efficacy in soybean. There was no effect of the nozzle type on herbicidal efficacy with fomesafen, bentazon, glyphosate, and cloransulam‐methyl when applied at the manufacturer's recommended rate. The control of Echinochloa crus‐galli (barnyardgrass) with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved when applied with flat fan (FF) nozzles compared with air induction (AI) nozzles. There was an increase in weed control with the FF nozzles compared with the AI nozzles in four of the 13 comparisons when the herbicides were applied at half the recommended rate, while in two situations, application with the AI nozzles resulted in improved weed control. With the FF nozzles, there was no effect of the water carrier volume on weed control with bentazon, glyphosate, and cloransulam‐methyl. The control of Abutilon theophrasti (velvetleaf) and Chenopodium album (common lambsquarters) with fomesafen and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher water carrier volume. With the AI nozzles, the control of A. theophrasti and Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) with fomesafen and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher water carrier volume, while the control of A. theophrasti and Polygonum persicaria (ladysthumb) was improved with glyphosate at the lower water carrier volume. With the AI nozzles, the control of C. album with bentazon and E. crus‐galli with quizalofop‐p‐ethyl was improved at the higher spray pressure. There was no effect of the nozzle type on the soybean yield with glyphosate, cloransulam‐methyl, and quizalofop‐p‐ethyl. The use of the FF nozzles compared with the AI nozzles to apply fomesafen and bentazon increased the soybean yield by 6 and 7%, respectively. Based on this study, the optimum nozzle type, water carrier volume, and spray pressure is herbicide‐ and weed species‐specific.
Allelopathic potential of itchgrass (Rottboellia exaltata L. f.) powder incorporated into soil
Authors: KOBAYASHI KATSUICHIRO , ITAYA DAIGO , MAHATAMNUCHOKE PHARNUWAT , PORNPROM TOSAPON
Published: March 2008

Itchgrass (Rottboellia exaltata L. f.) is a widespread weed in northern Thailand. The farmers in this area have been using itchgrass as a mulching material in order to control other weeds in vegetable fields. Laboratory experiments were undertaken to investigate the phytotoxic activity of itchgrass powder incorporated into soil in order to evaluate the allelopathic activity in the field. The phytotoxic activity on the growth of radish seedlings (Raphanus sativa L. var. radicula), used as a test plant, was more pronounced in the root than in the shoot growth. The phytotoxic activity was found to be similar for the soils incorporated with the shoot or the root powder of itchgrass. The growth of the radish seedlings grown in sea sand and watered with soil water obtained from the soil previously incorporated with itchgrass powder showed a similar inhibition to those planted in the treated soil. The phytotoxic activity on the growth of the radish seedlings in the soil incorporated with the powder decreased over time. It is suggested that itchgrass releases phytotoxic compound(s) into soil water and the concentration of the active compound(s) in the soil water decreases over time.
Increased striatal dopamine release and hyperdopaminergic‐like behaviour in mice lacking both alpha‐synuclein and gamma‐synuclein
Authors: Senior Steven L. , Ninkina Natalia , Deacon Robert , Bannerman David , Buchman Vladimir L. , Cragg Stephanie J. , Wade‐Martins Richard
Published: March 2008

Alpha‐synuclein is intimately involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, and has been implicated in the regulation of synthesis, release and reuptake of dopamine (DA). However, mice lacking members of the synuclein family have been reported to display no overt behavioural phenotype. This may be a result of compensatory upregulation of other synucleins during development. Here we report on behaviour and DA synapse function of alpha‐synuclein null, gamma‐synuclein null, and alpha‐gamma‐synuclein double‐null knockout mice. Double‐null mice were hyperactive in a novel environment and alternated at a lower rate in a T‐maze spontaneous alternation task, a phenotype reminiscent of mice expressing reduced levels of the DA transporter. To investigate a possible hyperdopaminergic phenotype in alpha‐gamma‐synuclein double‐null mice, we used fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry at carbon‐fibre microelectrodes to assess DA release and reuptake in striatal slices from wild‐type, alpha‐null, gamma‐null and double‐null mice in real time. Double‐null mice were found to have a twofold increase in the extracellular concentration of DA detected after discrete electrical stimuli in the striatum. By measuring the rate of reuptake of DA and tissue DA content in these animals, we showed that the observed increase in size of striatal DA transients was not attributable to a decrease in reuptake of DA via the DA transporter, and can not be attributed to an increase in tissue DA levels in the striatum. Rather, we propose that loss of both alpha‐ and gamma‐synuclein causes an increase in release probability from dopaminergic synapses.
Doublecortin as a marker of adult neuroplasticity in the canary song control nucleus HVC
Authors: Balthazart Jacques , Boseret Géraldine , Konkle Anne T. M. , Hurley Laura L. , Ball Gregory F.
Published: March 2008

It is established that in songbirds the size of several brain song control nuclei varies seasonally, based on changes in cell size, dendritic branching and, in nucleus HVC, the incorporation of newborn neurons. In the developing and adult mammalian brain, the protein doublecortin (DCX) is expressed in postmitotic neurons and, as a part of the microtubule machinery, required for neuronal migration. We recently showed that in adult canaries, DCX‐immunoreactive (ir) cells are present throughout the telencephalon, but the link between DCX and the active neurogenesis observed in songbirds remained uncertain. We demonstrate here that DCX labels recently born cells in the canary telencephalon and that, in parallel with changes in HVC volume, the number of DCX‐ir cells is increased specifically in the HVC of testosterone‐treated males compared with castrates, and in castrated testosterone‐treated males paired with a female as compared with males paired with another male. The numbers of elongated DCX‐ir cells (presumptive migrating neurons) and round multipolar DCX‐ir cells (differentiating neurons) were also affected by the sex of the subjects and their photoperiodic condition (photosensitive vs photostimulated vs photorefractory). Thus, in canaries the endocrine state, as well as the social or photoperiodic condition independently of variation in steroid hormone action, affects the number of cells expressing a protein involved in neuronal migration specifically in brain areas that incorporate new neurons in the telencephalon. The DCX gene may be one of the targets by which testosterone and social stimuli induce seasonal changes in the volume of song nuclei.
SATB2 interacts with chromatin‐remodeling molecules in differentiating cortical neurons
Authors: Gyorgy Andrea B. , Szemes Marianna , De Juan Romero Camino , Tarabykin Victor , Agoston Denes V.
Published: March 2008

During our search for developmental regulators of neuronal differentiation, we identified special AT‐rich sequence‐binding protein (SATB)2 that is specifically expressed in the developing rat neocortex and binds to AT‐rich DNA elements. Here we investigated whether the regulatory function of SATB2 involves chromatin remodeling at the AT‐rich DNA site. In‐vitro and in‐vivo assays using a DNA affinity pre‐incubation specificity test of recognition and chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that SATB2 specifically binds to histone deacetylase 1 and metastasis‐associated protein 2, members of the nucleosome‐remodeling and histone deacetylase complex. Double immunohistochemistry showed that, in the developing rat neocortex, SATB2 is coexpressed with both proteins. Using a cell culture model, we showed that trichostatin A treatment, which blocks the activities of histone deacetylases, reverses the AT‐rich dsDNA‐dependent repressor effect of SATB2. These findings suggested that the molecular regulatory function of SATB2 involves modification of the chromatin structure. Semi‐quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis of cortices from SATB2 mutant and wild‐type animals indicated that, in the knock‐out brains, SATB2 is replaced in the chromatin‐remodeling complex by AU‐rich element RNA binding protein 1, another AT‐rich DNA binding protein also expressed in differentiating cortical neurons. These results suggested that an altered chromatin structure, due to the presence of different AT‐rich DNA binding proteins in the chromatin‐remodeling complex, may contribute to the developmental abnormalities observed in the SATB2 mutant animals. These findings also raised the interesting possibility that SATB2, along with other AT‐rich DNA binding proteins, is involved in mediating epigenetic influences during cortical development.
Contextual integration the unusual way: a magnetoencephalographic study of responses to semantic violation in individuals with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Braeutigam Sven , Swithenby Stephen J. , Bailey Anthony J.
Published: March 2008

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with deficits in language and social communication. Behavioural studies indicate abnormal semantic organization in individuals with autism, but little is known about the neural mechanism underlying the processing of language in context. Magnetoencephalography was used to record neural responses in 11 able adults with autism spectrum disorders reading meaningful sentences and sentences ending with a semantically incongruous word (e.g. ‘He sent a photo to the trumpet’). Spatially extended evoked signals at 400 ms (N4) and 750 ms (LPC), as well as synchronized gamma‐oscillations, provided clear evidence for specific neuronal processes sensitive to sentence context that differed in individuals with autism compared with typically developing individuals (11 healthy volunteers). Amongst other differences, N4 responses following incongruous words were weaker over left temporal cortices, whereas LPC responses to incongruous words and long‐latency gamma‐oscillations following congruous words were stronger over central and prefrontal regions in individuals with autism compared with the control group. Also, incongruous words elicited long‐lasting gamma‐oscillations above 40 Hz in the clinical group, but not in typically developing subjects. These findings may indicate unusual strategies for resolving semantic ambiguity in autism. Moreover, the observed gamma‐band responses provide evidence for sustained cortical synchronization across segregated areas in individuals with autism, contrary to claims that a general deficit in either temporal binding or long‐range connectivity may explain autism.
Ro5‐4864 promotes neonatal motor neuron survival and nerve regeneration in adult rats
Authors: Mills Charles , Makwana Milan , Wallace Adam , Benn Susanna , Schmidt Helmut , Tegeder Irmgard , Costigan Michael , Brown Robert H , Raivich Gennadij , Woolf Clifford J.
Published: March 2008

The translocator protein (18 kDa; TSPO), formerly known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, is an outer mitochondrial membrane protein that associates with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore to regulate both steroidogenesis and apoptosis. TSPO expression is induced in adult dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons after peripheral nerve injury and a TSPO receptor ligand, Ro5‐4864, enhances DRG neurite growth in vitro and axonal regeneration in vivo. We have now found that TSPO is induced in neonatal motor neurons after peripheral nerve injury and have evaluated its involvement in neonatal and adult sensory and motor neuron survival, and in adult motor neuron regeneration. The TSPO ligand Ro5‐4864 rescued cultured neonatal DRG neurons from nerve growth factor withdrawal‐induced apoptosis and protected neonatal spinal cord motor neurons from death due to sciatic nerve axotomy. However, Ro5‐4864 had only a small neuroprotective effect on adult facial motor neurons after axotomy, did not delay onset or prolong survival in SOD1 mutant mice, and failed to protect adult DRG neurons from sciatic nerve injury‐induced death. In contrast, Ro5‐4864 substantially enhanced adult facial motor neuron nerve regeneration and restoration of function after facial nerve axotomy. These data indicate a selective sensitivity of neonatal sensory and motor neurons to survival in response to Ro5‐4864, which highlights that survival in injured immature neurons cannot necessarily predict success in adults. Furthermore, although Ro5‐4864 is only a very weak promoter of survival in adult neurons, it significantly enhances regeneration and functional recovery in adults.
Neuronal field potential in acute hippocampus slice recorded with transistor and micropipette electrode
Authors: Stangl Christian , Fromherz Peter
Published: March 2008

Arrays of planar electrodes are often applied to record spatial patterns of neuronal field potentials in acute brain slices. The approach is hampered by layers of inactive tissue caused by the cutting process and also by a film of bath electrolyte that may exist between the slice and the substrate. To address this issue, we used a micropipette electrode to measure the vertical profile of evoked field potentials across acute slices from mouse hippocampus. In this way, we found that the signal due to an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) at the bottom of the slice was about 40% of the maximum at its centre. The vertical profile was matched by a volume‐conductor model with proper boundary conditions. Simultaneously, voltage transients caused by EPSPs were measured with a field‐effect transistor in the substrate. The transistor signals were in agreement with the evoked field potentials at the bottom of the slice. The study demonstrates: (i) that the loss of signal amplitude from the centre of a slice to the bottom is modest, despite an inactive tissue layer; and (ii) that in principle, planar sensors are able to record the field potential at the bottom of a slice. The results raise questions about the small voltages that are often observed with planar metal electrodes and about the reconstruction of the neuronal activity from field potentials at the bottom of acute slices using current‐source density analysis.
Personality‐dependent dissociation of absolute and relative loss processing in orbitofrontal cortex
Authors: Fujiwara Juri , Tobler Philippe N. , Taira Masato , Iijima Toshio , Tsutsui Ken‐Ichiro
Published: March 2008

A negative outcome can have motivational and emotional consequences on its own (absolute loss) or in comparison to alternative, better, outcomes (relative loss). The consequences of incurring a loss are moderated by personality factors such as neuroticism and introversion. However, the neuronal basis of this moderation is unknown. Here we investigated the neuronal basis of loss processing and personality with functional magnetic resonance imaging in a choice task. We separated absolute and relative financial loss by sequentially revealing the chosen and unchosen outcomes. With increasing neuroticism, activity in the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) preferentially reflected relative rather than absolute losses. Conversely, with increasing introversion, activity in the right lateral OFC preferentially reflected absolute rather than relative losses. These results suggest that personality affects loss‐related processing through the lateral OFC, and propose a dissociation of personality dimension and loss type on the neuronal level.
Developmental regulation of the morphology of mouse retinal horizontal cells by visual experience
Authors: Lee Eun‐Jin , Padilla Monica , Merwine David K. , Grzywacz Norberto M.
Published: March 2008

Visual deprivation during development alters the normal refinement of connections, neurotransmitter expression and physiological function in the retina. We investigated the effects of different forms of visual experience on the anatomy of retinal neurons in the mouse. Although it is generally assumed that outer retinal cells are not affected morphologically by visual experience, we found changes in the outer retinas of animals reared with light but no contrast. In postnatal day 30 animals reared in control, dark and high‐contrast environments, horizontal‐cell processes ramified normally in the outer plexiform layer. However, in postnatal day 30 no‐contrast‐reared retinas, horizontal‐cell processes emerged from the outer plexiform layer and ramified in the inner nuclear layer. Similar sprouting processes of horizontal cells were found in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. In conclusion, our data show that a lack of contrast during development alters the morphology of horizontal cells and may thus affect normal visual processing. This effect may be relevant for young patients with cloudy vision (e.g. cataract).
Activation of dopamine D1‐like receptors in nucleus accumbens is critical for the acquisition, but not the expression, of nutrient‐conditioned flavor preferences in rats
Authors: Touzani Khalid , Bodnar Richard , Sclafani Anthony
Published: March 2008

The present study investigated the role of dopamine neurotransmission within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in flavor preference learning induced by the postoral consequences of carbohydrates. In Experiment 1, rats fitted with a gastric catheter were trained with a flavor (CS+) paired with intragastric (IG) infusions of 8% glucose and a different flavor (CS–) paired with IG water infusions. The CS+ preference was then evaluated in two‐bottle preference tests following bilateral injection of the dopamine D1‐like receptor antagonist SCH23390 into the NAc shell at total doses of 0, 12, 24 and 48 nmol. SCH23390 produced dose‐related reductions in CS+ intake but did not block the CS+ preference except at the highest dose, which also greatly suppressed the CS intakes. In Experiment 2, new rats were injected daily in the NAc shell with either saline or SCH23390 (12 nmol), 10 min prior to training sessions with CS+ with IG glucose and CS– with IG water. In the two‐bottle preference tests, the drug‐treated rats, unlike the control rats, did not significantly prefer the CS+ (61 vs. 83% preference). In Experiment 3, new rats were trained with the same procedures as Experiment 2, except that brain injections were in the NAc core. In contrast to control rats, SCH‐treated rats failed to prefer the CS+ to the CS– in two‐bottle tests (55% vs. 89% preference). These results demonstrate that D1‐like receptors in the NAc shell and core are greatly involved in the acquisition, but less so in the expression, of a flavor preference conditioned by postingestive effects of glucose.
Effects of blood sample volume on hematocrit in critically ill children and neonates
Authors: LISTER PAULA , PETERS MARK J , PETROS ANDY J
Published: March 2008

Background:  There are no studies correlating the volume of blood taken from children and hematocrit (Hct) stability, relating those changes to duration of stay, severity of illness or weight. Earlier studies in neonates suggest that repeated sampling results in a drop in Hct.

Aim:  To characterize the changes in Hct in children of all ages admitted to intensive care over a 5‐day period following routine blood volume sampling.

Methods:  We undertook an open prospective observational study. Eligible children were recruited sequentially and data recorded for 5 days following admission. The bedside nurse recorded the daily volume of blood samples taken and transfusions given. Daily Hct was noted from the routine full blood count. The relationship between changes in Hct and blood sample volume and transfusion requirement was studied.

Results:  There were no differences in mean Hct on admission at end of the study (P = 0.69, n = 30) nor in the median blood volume sampled between transfused and nontransfused groups (7.5 ml·kg−1 vs 7.9 ml·kg−1, P = 0.88). The largest blood sample volumes were taken on admission and from the smallest patients.

Conclusion:  We have quantitated the change in Hct and size of blood volume taken for routine laboratory studies. We suggest that children can tolerate 0.25 ml·kg−1·day−1 blood sampling without a fall in Hct and sampling can be tailored to the individual child according to the admission Hct.
Combination of the insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone, and the long‐acting GLP‐1 human analog, liraglutide, exerts potent synergistic glucose‐lowering efficacy in severely diabetic ZDF rats
Authors: Larsen P. J. , Wulff E. M. , Gotfredsen C. F. , Brand C. L. , Sturis J. , Vrang N. , Knudsen L. B. , Lykkegaard K.
Published: March 2008

Objective:  Severe insulin resistance and impaired pancreatic β‐cell function are pathophysiological contributors to type 2 diabetes, and ideally, antihyperglycaemic strategies should address both.

Research Design and Methods:  Therapeutic benefits of combining the long‐acting human glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) analog, liraglutide (0.4 mg/kg/day), with insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone (10 mg/kg/day), were assessed in severely diabetic Zucker diabetic fatty rats for 42 days. Impact on glycaemic control was assessed by glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) at day 28 and by oral glucose tolerance test at day 42.

Results:  Liraglutide and pioglitazone synergistically improved glycaemic control as reflected by a marked decrease in HbA1C (liraglutide + pioglitazone: 4.8 ± 0.3%; liraglutide: 8.8 ± 0.6%; pioglitazone: 7.9 ± 0.4%; vehicle: 9.7 ± 0.3%) and improved oral glucose tolerance at day 42 (area under the curve; liraglutide + pioglitazone: 4244 ± 445 mmol/l × min; liraglutide: 7164 ± 187 mmol/l × min; pioglitazone: 7430 ± 446 mmol/l × min; vehicle: 8093 ± 139 mmol/l × min). A 24‐h plasma glucose profile at day 38 was significantly decreased only in the liraglutide + pioglitazone group. In addition, 24‐h insulin profile was significantly elevated only in the liraglutide + pioglitazone group. Liraglutide significantly decreased food intake alone and in combination with pioglitazone, while pioglitazone alone increased cumulated food intake. As a result, rats on liraglutide alone gained significantly less weight than vehicle‐treated rats, whereas rats on pioglitazone alone gained significantly more body weight than vehicle‐treated rats. However, combination therapy with liraglutide and pioglitazone caused the largest weight gain, probably reflecting marked improvement of energy balance because of reduction of glucosuria.

Conclusions:  Combination therapy with insulinotropic GLP‐1 agonist liraglutide and insulin sensitizer, pioglitazone, improves glycaemic control above and beyond what would be expected from additive effects of the two antidiabetic agents.
Political ecology of Jharkhand conflicts
Authors: Jewitt Sarah
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Although India's Jharkhand movement resists classification as either an ethnic or an environmental movement, it has, at different times, mobilised clear elements of both with frequently violent outcomes. This paper examines the movement from a political ecology perspective and focuses on violence arising from natural resource‐related grievances, notably land alienation, forest policy and employment from Jharkhand's mines. Drawing from political ecology's emphasis on the need to examine conflict from a range of different spatial scales, the paper emphasises the importance of a micro‐political ecology approach for understanding how locally based conflicts over natural resources can harden into more established grievances that can be mobilised politically as part of a wider and potentially violent protest movement. It is also suggested that micro‐political ecology approaches can assist participatory resource management initiatives in ameliorating local conflicts over access to resources, thus helping to prevent them from escalating into more widespread violence.
History and geography of identifications related to resource conflicts and ethnic violence in Northern Thailand
Authors: Wittayapak Chusak
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  Resource conflicts often intensify ethnic violence and vice versa. However, in specific cases situations can be more complex than they appear. To understand this phenomenon, this chapter takes incidents of violence in Northern Thailand as a point of departure to explain how the historical construction of ethnic identification is tied to the spatial division of highlands and lowlands. I argue that these incidents of violence are not just about resource scarcity but also about notions of forests and highlands as places of wildness and lowlands as the source of civilisation. The current adoption of a nature conservation discourse among Thais puts forests and hills into a battlefield of perceived resource degradation. Some situations have been aggravated to the point that violence has been perpetuated against ethnic highlanders by lowlanders who have adopted orthodox science and nationalist sentiments drawn from a history and geography of ethnic identification. Taking a political ecology approach, this article highlights the interplay among resources, access rights, identity, history, polity, and space to unveil the complexity and specificity of ethnic violence.
Wind Tunnel and CFD Study on Identification of Flutter Derivatives of a Long‐Span Self‐Anchored Suspension Bridge
Authors: Zhu Zhi‐wen , Gu Ming , Chen Zheng‐qing
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  The Sanchaji Bridge with a main span of 328 m, located in Changsha City across Xiangjiang River, is one of the longest self‐anchored suspension bridges completed in China. This article presents the results from a combined wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) study on identification of flutter derivatives of the bridge deck. Based on the Covariance Block Hankel Matrix (CBHM) algorithm in time domain, sectional model wind tunnel tests are conducted in smooth flow to recover modal parameters and to further identify flutter derivatives from free‐decay vibration records. On the other hand, based on the ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) description and a second‐order projection algorithm, the CFD study uses the FVM (Finite Volume Method) on staggered grids and a forced vibration manner of the bridge deck to evaluate the flow field around the bridge deck. With the obtained aerodynamic forces acting on the bridge deck, flutter derivatives can be evaluated based on system identification. Finally, both of the suggested methods are applied to identification of flutter derivatives of the bridge deck of the Sanchaji Bridge. The results of the present methods have the same trends with Theodorsen analytical solutions, while the results from the CFD study compare well with those from the wind tunnel test. The agreement on the present results suggests that the aeroelastic phenomenon of bridge decks with sharp edges does not appear sensitive to the Re number and turbulence modeling.
A Study on the Effects of Damage Models and Wavelet Bases for Damage Identification and Calibration in Beams
Authors: Pakrashi Vikram , O'Connor Alan , Basu Biswajit
Published: March 2008

Abstract:  Damage detection and calibration in beams by wavelet analysis involve some key factors such as the damage model, the choice of the wavelet function, the effects of windowing, and the effects of masking due to the presence of noise during measurement. A numerical study has been performed in this article addressing these issues for single and multispan beams with an open crack. The first natural modeshapes of single and multispan beams with an open crack have been simulated considering damage models of different levels of complexity and analyzed for different crack depth ratios and crack positions. Gaussian white noise has been synthetically introduced to the simulated modeshape and the effects of varying signal‐to‐noise ratio have been studied. A wavelet‐based damage identification technique has been found to be simple, efficient, and independent of damage models and wavelet basis functions, once certain conditions regarding the modeshape and the wavelet bases are satisfied. The wavelet‐based damage calibration is found to be dependent on a number of factors including damage models and the basis function used in the analysis. A curvature‐based calibration is more sensitive than a modeshape‐based calibration of the extent of damage.
Introducing Ministry and Fostering Integration: Teaching the Bookends of the Masters of Divinity Program
Authors: Cahalan Kathleen A.
Published: March 2008

Abstract. The challenge of integrating knowledge, practice and vocational identity is a persistent challenge to theological educators. Cahalan describes how teaching two book‐end courses in the M.Div. curriculum have opened up possibilities for integration as a process and a goal of the entire curriculum. In the course, Introduction to Pastoral Ministry, students explore six questions in relationship to ministry: who, what, where, when, how and why. In the culminating Integration Seminar, students demonstrate their capacity for thinking theologically about a particular pastoral situation. Through both written and oral presentation, students’ ministerial identity and authority are shaped and challenged as they gain proficiency in drawing what they know from and into what they do in the practice of ministry. Integration is also a strategy for theological educators who strive to take seriously the experiences students come with, the settings to which they will go, and what they most need from the M.Div. degree to gain solid footing in practice while also engaging lifelong learning. This essay is reprinted from Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra, eds.,For Life Abundant(Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008).
The Use Value of Fight Club in Teaching Theories of Religion
Authors: Smith William E.
Published: March 2008

Abstract.  Teaching theories and methods for the academic study of religion poses certain challenges, especially when first‐year students are the primary targeted audience. In the following note from the classroom, the author describes a model for successfully employing the film Fight Club as a case study for exploring some of the theoretical concepts of Freud, Durkheim, and Weber. The author also considers what other pedagogical goals and learning methods can be integrated into a prolonged engagement with this film. Throughout the piece, the author attempts to assess what were the strengths and weaknesses of various aspects of this layered and developmentally oriented project as well as the potential benefits for employing material from popular culture in an introductory‐level course.
BRAIN DEATH AND ITS ENTANGLEMENTS
Authors: Haque Omar Sultan
Published: March 2008

The Islamic philosophical, mystical, and theological sub‐traditions have each made characteristic assumptions about the human person, including an incorporation of substance dualism in distinctive manners. Advances in the brain sciences of the last half century, which include a widespread acceptance of death as the end of essential brain function, require the abandonment of dualistic notions of the human person that assert an immaterial and incorporeal soul separate from a body. In this article, I trace classical Islamic notions of death and the soul, the modern definition of death as “brain death,” and some contemporary Islamic responses to this definition. I argue that a completely naturalistic account of human personhood in the Islamic tradition is the best and most viable alternative for the future. This corporeal monistic account of Muslim personhood as embodied consciousness incorporates the insights of pre‐modern Muslim thinkers yet rehabilitates their characteristic mistakes and thus has the advantages of neuroscientific validity and modern relevance in trans‐cultural ethical discourse; it also helps to alleviate organ shortages in countries with majority Muslim populations, a serious ethical impasse of recent years.
A Flexible Marginal Modelling Strategy for Non-Monotone Missing Data
Authors: Jansen Ivy , Molenberghs Geert
Published: March 2008

Much research has been devoted to modelling strategies for longitudinal data with missingness, recently especially within the missingness not at random context. In this paper, the relatively unexplored but practically highly relevant domain of non-monotone missingness with multivariate ordinal responses is broached. For this, a dedicated version of the multivariate Dale model is formulated. Furthermore, we also assess the sensitivity of these models to their assumptions, by using the technique of global influence.
Lopinavir/ritonavir monotherapy as maintenance treatment in HIV‐infected individuals with virological suppression: results from a pilot study in Brazil
Authors: Sprinz E , Bay MB , Lazzaretti RK , Jeffman MW , Mattevi VS
Published: March 2008

Objective

The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of using lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV) alone as maintenance therapy in HIV‐infected individuals with virological suppression.

Design

This was a single‐armed single‐centre pilot trial.

Methods

Asymptomatic HIV‐infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) including LPV/RTV, and with plasma HIV RNA <40 copies/mL for at least 6 months, were enrolled in the study, during which they continued with LPV/RTV alone. The intention was to recruit 25 patients to be followed for 2 years. Viral failure was defined as two consecutive HIV RNA measurements >40 copies/mL. Nadir and baseline CD4 cell counts, highest ever HIV RNA load, time with undetectable viraemia before monotherapy, number of previous antiretroviral (ARV) regimens, and gene polymorphism at CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 were evaluated.

Results

All patients (27) completed the study. Their median age was 43 years, and 66% were men. Ten patients (37%) failed to maintain virological suppression (the median time to HIV rebound was 10.5 months, with a range of 4–23 months). One patient developed full resistance to LPV and another developed neurocognitive impairment while on LPV/RTV which improved after HAART reintroduction. There were no differences between failures and nonfailures according to the analysed parameters. Patients with viral failure were successfully resuppressed.

Conclusions

LPV/RTV maintenance therapy was associated with 37% failure, a higher than expected failure rate. In order to ensure that unnecessary risks are not being taken in patients on LPV/RTV, this finding should be further evaluated in large randomized trials for longer periods of follow‐up.
Presentation, diagnosis and management of tuberculosis in HIV‐infected children in the UK
Authors: Cohen JM , Whittaker E , Walters S , Lyall H , Tudor‐Williams G , Kampmann B
Published: March 2008

Objectives

Management of HIV‐infected children with tuberculosis (TB) is challenging. The objective of this study was to assess current treatment and outcomes in a resource‐rich setting in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Methods

A retrospective case‐note review of coinfected children was carried out in a large UK‐based HIV family clinic.

Results

Of 328 HIV‐infected children, 18 were diagnosed and treated for active TB.

TB presentation led to HIV diagnosis in eight of these 18 children. TB was confirmed microbiologically in 33% of children. Fifteen of the 18 children presented with pulmonary TB, and three with extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). Immunological status at TB diagnosis did not predict EPTB. The mean CD4 T‐cell count at TB presentation was 402 cells/μL (mean CD4 percentage 16%), with a range of 0–790 cells/μL (0–34%). In seven children concurrently treated with HAART and anti‐tuberculous therapy (ATT), therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) guided management. No immune reconstitution disease occurred. There was one death, unrelated to TB, 2 years after completion of ATT.

Conclusions

An HIV test should be considered in all children diagnosed with TB, especially if there are epidemiological risk factors. Our experience shows that, even with deferral of HAART in concurrently infected children, good therapeutic responses to ATT can be achieved. Where necessary, TDM guiding concurrent HAART and ATT can facilitate good clinical and virological responses.
Predictors (0–10 months) of psychopathology at age 1½ years – a general population study in The Copenhagen Child Cohort CCC 2000*
Authors: Skovgaard A.M. , Olsen E.M. , Christiansen E. , Houmann T. , Landorph S.L. , Jørgensen T. ,   the CCC 2000* Study Group
Published: March 2008

Background:  Epidemiological studies of mental health problems in the first years of life are few. This study aims to investigate infancy predictors of psychopathology in the second year of life.

Methods:  A random general population sample of 210 children from the Copenhagen Child Birth Cohort CCC 2000 was investigated by data from National Danish registers and data collected prospectively from birth in a general child health surveillance programme. Mental health outcome at 1½ years was assessed by clinical and standardised measures including the Child Behavior Check List 1½–5 (CBCL 1½–5), Infant Toddler Symptom Check List (ITSCL), Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT), Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID II), Mannheim Eltern Interview (MEI), Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (PC ERA) and Parent Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR‐GAS), and disordered children were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐10) and Diagnostic Classification Zero to Three (DC: 0–3).

Results:  Deviant language development in the first 10 months of life predicted the child having any disorder at 1½ years, OR 3.3 (1.4–8.0). Neuro‐developmental disorders were predicted by deviant neuro‐cognitive functioning, OR 6.8 (2.2–21.4), deviant language development, OR 5.9 (1.9–18.7) and impaired social interaction and communication, OR 3.8 (1.3–11.4). Unwanted pregnancy and parents’ negative expectations of the child recorded in the first months of the child's life were significant predictors of relationship disturbances at 1½ years.

Conclusions:  Predictors of neuro‐developmental disorders and parent–child relationship disturbances can be identified in the first 10 months of life in children from the general population.
Continuity of behavioral and emotional problems from pre‐school years to pre‐adolescence in a developing country
Authors: Anselmi Luciana , Barros Fernando C. , Teodoro Maycoln L.M. , Piccinini César A. , Menezes Ana Maria B. , Araujo Cora L. , Rohde Luis A.
Published: March 2008

Background: All previous longitudinal community studies assessing the continuity of child behavioral/emotional problems were conducted in developed countries.

Method: Six hundred and one children randomly selected from a Brazilian birth cohort were evaluated for behavioral/emotional problems through mother interview at 4 and 12 years with the same standard procedure – Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Results: CBCL Total Problem score presented amediumstability (r = .42) with externalizing problems showing higher stability and more homotypic continuity than internalizing problems. Of the children presenting deviant scores at the age of 4, only 31% remained deviant at the age of 12 (p < .001). AdeviantCBCL Total Problem score at 12 years old was predicted by Rule‐Breaking Behavior [OR = 7.46, 95% CI 2.76–20.19] and Social Problems [OR = 3.56, 95% CI 1.36–9.30] scores at 4 years of age. Either Rule‐Breaking or Aggressive Behavior – externalizing syndromes – were part of the predictors for the three broad‐band CBCL scores and six out of the eight CBCL syndromes.

Conclusions: Behavioral/emotional problems in preschool children persist moderately up to pre‐adolescence in a community sample. Externalizing problems at the age of 4 comprise the developmental history of most behavioral/emotional problems at pre‐adolescence. Our findings concur with findings from developed countries and are quite similar for continuity, stability and predictability.
Maternal separation anxiety as a regulator of infants’ sleep
Authors: Scher Anat
Published: March 2008

Background:  The regulation of infants’ sleep is determined not only by biological factors but by relational aspects too. This study focused on maternal separation anxiety and examined its association with sleep–wake regulation at 10 months of age.

Method:  In a community sample comprising 52 infants and their mothers, sleep was measured objectively with an activity monitor, as well as through questionnaires. The mothers reported on their own separation anxiety and on the child's perceived distress.

Results:  The main finding was that maternal seperation anxiety was linked to settling to sleep routines and to night‐waking. The contribution of the mothers’ own sepration anxiety to their infants’ night‐waking remained significant after controlling for the child's fussiness.

Conclusions:  Consistent with the transactional perspective, the current research documented an interplay between maternal separation anxiety and aspects of the child's sleep–wake transitions.
Personality of young adults born prematurely: the Helsinki study of very low birth weight adults
Authors: Pesonen Anu‐Katriina , Räikkönen Katri , Heinonen Kati , Andersson Sture , Hovi Petteri , Järvenpää Anna‐Liisa , Eriksson Johan G. , Kajantie Eero
Published: March 2008

Background:  Today, the first generations of very low birth weight (VLBW ≤ 1500 g) infants are entering adulthood but very little is known of their personality traits, associated with both psychopathological vulnerability and resilience.

Methods:  In this cohort study we compared personality traits among young adults (age range 18 to 27 years, mean 21.4, SD 2.19) with VLBW (n = 158) with those of term‐born controls (n = 168) of same gender, age, and maternity hospital. The participants completed the Neo‐Personality Inventory.

Results:  Of the five main traits, the VLBW participants scored significantly higher in conscientiousness (MD .1, 95% CI .0 to .3; p < .03), agreeableness (MD .2, 95% CI .0 to .3; p < .001), and lower in openness to experience (MD –.1, 95% CI –.2 to .0; p < .02). In addition, the VLBW group differed from the controls with regard to facets of neuroticism (lower hostility and impulsivity, ps < .05) and extraversion (less assertiveness p < .01). Furthermore, there were fewer undercontrolled personality profiles among the VLBW subjects (p < .01). All differences were independent of gender, age at assessment, parental education, individual school grade average, and maternal pre‐eclampsia and smoking during pregnancy.

Conclusions:  Young adults born with VLBW showed markedly different personality traits compared with their controls. The VLBW group displayed less negative emotions, were more dutiful and cautious, and displayed more warmth in their social relationships than their term‐born peers. We present two potential mechanisms underlying these findings. The first relates to parental influences and the other to evidence linking biological mechanisms associated with prematurity with personality characteristics in adulthood.