bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lesion Patterns and Stroke Mechanism in Atherosclerotic Middle Cerebral Artery Disease
Authors: Lee Dae K. , Kim Jong S. , Kwon Sun U. , Yoo Sung-Hee , Kang Dong-Wha
Published: November 2005

Background and Purpose

Patterns and mechanisms of stroke in patients with atherosclerotic middle cerebral artery (MCA) disease remain unclear. We sought to identify lesion patterns and stroke mechanisms associated with MCA disease using early diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

Methods

We reviewed 185 acute ischemic stroke patients who had (1) symptomatic lesions located in the unilateral MCA territory on DWI performed within 48 hours of symptom onset, and (2) either corresponding MCA disease, internal carotid artery disease, or cardioembolism. Acute DWI lesion patterns were classified as (1) single (small perforator <2 cm; large perforator ≥2 cm; pial; large territorial; border-zone) and (2) multiple.

Results

MCA disease was diagnosed in 63 patients, 32 (50.8%) of whom showed multiple lesions. Concomitant perforator and pial infarcts (14/63,
P
<0.001), concomitant perforator, pial, and border-zone infarcts (9/63,
P
<0.001), and single small perforator infarcts (12/63,
P
=0.001) were identified more often in patients with MCA disease than in those with cardioembolism or internal carotid artery disease. Small perforator infarcts were more common in patients with milder stenosis than with severe stenosis or occlusion of MCA (
P
<0.001). Whether they occurred singly or in addition to other lesions, pial infarcts were identified more often in patients with severe stenosis or occlusion of MCA (
P
=0.001).

Conclusions

Perforating artery infarcts, whether single or occurring in addition to pial or border-zone infarcts, are lesion patterns specific for MCA disease. This suggests that local branch occlusion and coexisting distal embolization may be a common stroke mechanism in patients with MCA disease.
A Model of Mini-Embolic Stroke Offers Measurements of the Neurovascular Unit Response in the Living Mouse
Authors: Zhang Zheng Gang , Zhang Li , Ding Guangliang , Jiang Quan , Zhang Rui Lan , Zhang Xueguo , Gan Wen-Biao , Chopp Michael
Published: November 2005

Background and Purpose—

To measure cerebral vascular and neuronal responses after stroke in the living mouse, we generated a mouse model of embolic stroke localized to the parietal cortex.

Methods—

Male C57/6J or male transgenic mice (2 to 3 months old) expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) were used in the present study. A single fibrin-rich clot (8 mm in length) was injected into a branch of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA). MRI measurements were performed to measure ischemic lesion. Using confocal and 2-photon microscopy, changes in the embolus, dendrites, and dendritic spines were measured in the living mouse.

Results—

Eight of 11 mice (73%) had the embolus localized to a branch of the right MCA in the parietal cortex. Expansion of the embolus within the artery was observed 24 hours after stroke. The presence of ischemic lesion in the parietal cortex was verified by MRI measurements, and histopathological analysis revealed that these mice (n=8) had a cortical infarct volume of 4.9±3.6% of the contralateral hemisphere. In the living mouse, substantial loss of YFP-labeled axonal and dendritic structures as well as the formation of abnormal dendritic bulbs were detected in the ischemic boundary regions 24 hours after stroke compared with that 1 hour after stroke.

Conclusion—

This model offers a novel approach to study the neurovascular unit in cerebral cortex after stroke in the living mouse.
Role of Endothelial NO Synthase Phosphorylation in Cerebrovascular Protective Effect of Recombinant Erythropoietin During Subarachnoid Hemorrhage– Induced Cerebral Vasospasm
Authors: Santhanam Anantha Vijay R. , Smith Leslie A. , Akiyama Masahiko , Rosales A. Gabriela , Bailey Kent R. , Katusic Zvonimir S.
Published: November 2005

Background and Purpose—

In the present study, the effect of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on the phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and the ability of recombinant erythropoietin (Epo) to augment this vasodilator mechanism in the spastic arteries were studied.

Methods—

Recombinant adenoviral vectors (10
9
plaque-forming units per animal) encoding genes for human Epo (AdEpo), and β-galactosidase were injected immediately after injection of autologous arterial blood into the cisterna magna (day 0) of rabbits. Cerebral angiography was performed on day 0 and day 2, and basilar arteries were harvested for Western blots, measurement of cGMP levels, and analysis of vasomotor functions.

Results—

Injection of autologous arterial blood into cisterna magna resulted in significant vasospasm of the basilar arteries. Despite the narrowing of arterial diameter and reduced expression of eNOS, expressions of phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt) and phosphorylated eNOS were significantly increased in spastic arteries. Gene transfer of AdEpo reversed the vasospasm. AdEpo-transduced basilar arteries demonstrated significant augmentation of the endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine, whereas the relaxations to an NO donor, 2-(
N
,
N
-diethylamino)diazenolate-2-oxide sodium salt, were not affected. Transduction with AdEpo further increased the expression of phosphorylated Akt and eNOS and elevated basal levels of cGMP in the spastic arteries.

Conclusions—

Phosphorylation of eNOS appears to be an adaptive mechanism activated during development of vasospasm. The vascular protective effect of Epo against cerebral vasospasm induced by SAH may be mediated in part by phosphorylation of Akt/eNOS.
Predictive Value of Fetal Pulmonary Venous Flow Patterns in Identifying the Need for Atrial Septoplasty in the Newborn With Hypoplastic Left Ventricle
Authors: Michelfelder Erik , Gomez Carlen , Border William , Gottliebson William , Franklin Cheri
Published: November 2005

Background—

Pulmonary venous Doppler (PVD) flow patterns in the fetus with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) have been correlated with restrictive interatrial communication or intact atrial septum (RAS) postnatally; however, the ability of PVD to identify the neonate requiring emergent atrial septoplasty (EAS) for severe left atrial hypertension and hypoxemia has not been critically evaluated. It was the purpose of this study to determine the predictive power of fetal PVD in identifying the need for EAS in newborns with HLHS and RAS.

Methods and Results—

Forty-one patients with fetal PVD flow analysis and postnatally confirmed HLHS were studied. Pulsed-wave assessment of PVD flow included S-, D-, and A-wave velocity, time-velocity integral (VTI) of forward and reverse flow, and S/D velocity and forward/reverse VTI ratio. Neonatal EAS was used as the primary clinical outcome variable. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine cutpoints at which PVD indices best predicted EAS. Cutpoints were evaluated for clinical accuracy and usefulness by use of Bayesian analysis. Eight of 41 subjects underwent EAS. Need for EAS was most accurately predicted by forward/reverse VTI ratio <5 (sensitivity, 0.88, 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.99; specificity, 0.97, 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.99), which, when present, increases the posttest likelihood of EAS to 74%, assuming a pretest prevalence of 10%. Accuracy and usefulness of other PVD indices were affected by false-positive results.

Conclusions—

In the fetus with HLHS, a PVD forward/reverse VTI ratio of <5 is the strongest predictor of the need for EAS in the newborn period. These observations should improve our ability to identify and expectantly manage the fetus with HLHS and RAS.
Chronic Atrioventricular Nodal Vagal Stimulation
Authors: Zhang Youhua , Yamada Hirotsugu , Bibevski Steve , Zhuang Shaowei , Mowrey Kent A. , Wallick Don W. , Oh Seil , Mazgalev Todor N.
Published: November 2005

Background—

We have previously demonstrated that selective atrioventricular nodal (AVN) vagal stimulation (AVN-VS) can be used to control ventricular rate during atrial fibrillation (AF) in acute experiments. However, it is not known whether this approach could provide a long-term treatment in conscious animals. Thus, this study reports the first observations on the long-term efficacy and safety of this novel approach to control ventricular rate during AF in chronically instrumented dogs.

Methods and Results—

In 18 dogs, custom-made bipolar patch electrodes were sutured to the epicardial AVN fat pad for delivery of selective AVN-VS by a subcutaneously implanted nerve stimulator (pulse width 100 μs or 1 ms, frequency 20 or 160 Hz, amplitude 6 to 10 V). Fast-rate right atrial pacing (600 bpm) was used to induce and maintain AF. ECG, blood pressure, and body temperature were monitored telemetrically. One week after the induction of AF, AVN-VS was delivered and maintained for at least 5 weeks. It was found that AVN-VS had a consistent effect on ventricular rate slowing (on average 45±13 bpm) over the entire period of observation. Echocardiography showed improvement of cardiac indices with ventricular rate slowing. AVN-VS was well tolerated by the animals, causing no signs of distress or discomfort.

Conclusions—

Beneficial long-term ventricular rate slowing during AF can be achieved by implantation of a nerve stimulator attached to the epicardial AVN fat pad. This novel concept is an attractive alternative to other methods of rate control and may be applicable in a selected group of patients.
The Thromboxane A
2
Receptor Antagonist S18886 Prevents Enhanced Atherogenesis Caused by Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Zuccollo Adriana , Shi Chaomei , Mastroianni Roberto , Maitland-Toolan Karlene A. , Weisbrod Robert M. , Zang Mengwei , Xu Shanqin , Jiang Bingbing , Oliver-Krasinski Jennifer M. , Cayatte Antonio J. , Corda Stefano , Lavielle Gilbert , Verbeuren Tony J. , Cohen Richard A.
Published: November 2005

Background—

S18886 is an orally active thromboxane A
2
(TXA
2
) receptor (TP) antagonist in clinical development for use in secondary prevention of thrombotic events in cardiovascular disease. We previously showed that S18886 inhibits atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE
−/−
) mice by a mechanism independent of platelet-derived TXA
2
. Atherosclerosis is accelerated by diabetes and is associated with increased TXA
2
and other eicosanoids that stimulate TP. The purpose of this study was to determine whether S18886 lessens the enhanced atherogenesis in diabetic apoE
−/−
mice.

Methods and Results—

Diabetes mellitus was induced in apoE
−/−
mice with streptozotocin and was treated or not with S18886 (5 mg · kg
−1
· d
−1
). After 6 weeks, aortic lesion area was increased >4-fold by diabetes in apoE
−/−
mice, associated with similar increases in serum glucose and cholesterol. S18886 largely prevented the diabetes-related increase in lesion area without affecting the hyperglycemia or hypercholesterolemia. S18886 prevented deterioration of endothelial function and endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression, as well as increases in intimal markers of inflammation associated with diabetes. In human aortic endothelial cells in culture, S18886 also prevented the induction of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and prevented the decrease in endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression caused by high glucose.

Conclusions—

The TP antagonist inhibits inflammation and accelerated atherogenesis caused by diabetes, most likely by counteracting effects on endothelial function and adhesion molecule expression of eicosanoids stimulated by the diabetic milieu.
Satellite Monitoring of Vegetation Phenology and Fire Fuel Conditions in Hawaiian Drylands
Authors: Elmore Andrew J. , Asner Gregory P. , Hughes R. Flint
Published: November 2005

Grass-fueled fires accelerate grassland expansion into dry Hawaiian woodlands by destroying native forests and by producing a disturbance regime that favors grass-dominated plant communities. Knowledge of grassland phenology is a key component of ecosystem assessments and fire management in Hawaii, but diverse topographic relief and poor field-sampling capabilities make ground studies impractical. Remote sensing offers the best approach for large-scale, spatially contiguous measurements of dryland vegetation phenology and fire fuel conditions. A 500-m spatial resolution, 8-day temporal resolution Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite time series of photosynthetic vegetation (PV), nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and exposed substrate conditions was developed for the island of Hawaii between 2000 and 2004. The results compared favorably with similar measurements of drylands from higher-resolution aircraft data. The satellite time series was compared with available environmental data on precipitation, fire history, and grazing intensity. From these analyses, the temporal patterns of PV and its conversion to NPV and finally to bare substrate were observed. An NPV buildup following fire of 7–8 yr was projected, and more heavily grazed lands were found to exhibit reduced NPV cover, most notably during the summer fire season. These results demonstrate the effects that land use and disturbance history have on fire conditions, and they support the concept that grazed lands managed to reduce litter buildup pose a lower risk of fire across ample geographic scales. Time series of satellite observations with modern analysis techniques can be used with environmental data to support a regional fire-monitoring program throughout Hawaii.
The Atmospheric Impact of Uncertainties in Recent Arctic Sea Ice Reconstructions
Authors: Singarayer J. S. , Valdes P. J. , Bamber J. L.
Published: November 2005

There are significant discrepancies between observational datasets of Arctic sea ice concentrations covering the last three decades, which result in differences of over 20% in Arctic summer sea ice extent/area and 5%–10% in winter. Previous modeling studies have shown that idealized sea ice anomalies have the potential for making a substantial impact on climate. In this paper, this theory is further developed by performing a set of simulations using the third Hadley Centre Coupled Atmospheric Model (HadAM3). The model was driven with monthly climatologies of sea ice fractions derived from three of these records to investigate potential implications of sea ice inaccuracies for climate simulations. The standard sea ice climatology from the Met Office provided a control. This study focuses on the effects of actual inaccuracies of concentration retrievals, which vary spatially and are larger in summer than winter.

The smaller sea ice discrepancies in winter have a much larger influence on climate than the much greater summer sea ice differences. High sensitivity to sea ice prescription was observed, even though no SST feedbacks were included. Significant effects on surface fields were observed in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific. Arctic average surface air temperature anomalies in winter vary by 2.5°C, and locally exceed 12°C. Arctic mean sea level pressure varies by up to 5 mb locally. Anomalies extend to 45°N over North America and Eurasia but not to lower latitudes, and with limited changes in circulation above the boundary layer. No statistically significant impact on climate variability was simulated, in terms of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Results suggest that the uncertainty in summer sea ice prescription is not critical but that winter values require greater accuracy, with the caveats that the influences of ocean–sea ice feedbacks were not included in this study.
Northern Hemispheric Trends of Pressure Indices and Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Observations, Reconstructions, and Coupled GCM Simulations
Authors: Raible C. C. , Stocker T. F. , Yoshimori M. , Renold M. , Beyerle U. , Casty C. , Luterbacher J.
Published: November 2005

The decadal trend behavior of the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation is investigated utilizing long-term simulations with different state-of-the-art coupled general circulation models (GCMs) for present-day climate conditions (1990), reconstructions of the past 500 yr, and observations. The multimodel simulations show that strong positive winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) trends are connected with the underlying sea surface temperature (SST) and exhibit an SST tripole trend pattern and a northward shift of the storm-track tail. Strong negative winter trends of the Aleutian low are associated with SST changes in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) region and a westward shift of the storm track in the North Pacific. The observed simultaneous appearance of strong positive NAO and negative Aleutian low trends is very unlikely to occur by chance in the unforced simulations and reconstructions. The positive winter NAO trend of the last 50 yr is not statistically different from the level of internal atmosphere–ocean variability. The unforced simulations also show a strong link between positive SST trends in the ENSO region and negative Aleutian low trends. With much larger observed SST trends in the ENSO region, this suggests that the observed negative Aleutian low trend is possibly influenced by external forcing, for example, global warming, volcanism, and/or solar activity change.
Corporate Social Performance as a Bottom Line for Consumers
Authors: Meijer May-May , Schuyt Theo
Published: November 2005

This study replicates Paul, Zalka, Downes, Perry, and Friday’s scale to measure U.S. consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSP) in another sample—namely, that of Dutch consumers. In addition, theories on the effects of sociodemographic variables on environmental concern have been applied to investigate the influence of individual consumer characteristics on the sensitivity to CSP. It was found that the Consumer Sensitivity Scale to CSP is a reliable one, and it also seems applicable to West European countries. For Dutch consumers, CSP serves more as a hygiene factor—it should be at a minimum acceptable level (a bottom line)—than as a motivator to buy a product. Having a left-wing political orientation, a higher level of education, being female, and being older are consumer characteristics that all have a positive influence on sensitivity to CSP. Surprisingly, household income did not influence this.
Constituency Interests and Delegation in European and American Trade Policy
Authors: De BiÈvre Dirk , DÜr Andreas
Published: November 2005

Trade policy in the EU and the United States is to a large extent delegated to executive agents. Existing explanations claim that legislators delegate because they wish to liberalize but are unable to achieve this on their own. The authors show that legislators delegate powers to obtain foreign market access for exporters and protection for import-competing interests. Confronted with heterogeneousdemands from both groups, principals delegate to two sets of agents to confer concentrated benefits on these constituencies, and install control to avoid concentrated losses, while maintaining the flow of resources from lobbying. The authors derive the empirically observable implication that with the increase in the share of tradables in the overall economy, delegation as well as control should steadily increase with time. They then test the validity of this proposition for U.S. trade policy since 1916 and for European trade policy since 1958.
Continental Sociology of Professions Today: Conceptual Contributions
Authors: Sciulli David
Published: November 2005

Continental sociologists did not contribute to the sociology of professions until the 1980s in part because no continental language developed indigenously a synonym for profession. Today, however, some continental sociologists are contributing to this literature, but they are inadvertently recapitulating within it the theories and concepts that for decades were applied to the middle classes more generally. This article explores why these theories and concepts revolve around cultural and social psychological variables, and why they neglect invariant structural qualities. The article concludes by proposing schematically a structural and institutional turn in the study of professions that distinguishes professions from middle-class occupations and reveals the consequences that professions uniquely introduced into civil society.
Dynamic Systems and Organizational Decision-Making Processes in Nonprofits
Authors: Tucker Jennifer S. , Cullen Jennifer C. , Sinclair Robert R. , Wakeland Wayne W.
Published: November 2005

Social purpose organizations (SPOs) are nonprofit organizations that fulfill their social missions by seeking revenue from traditional business activities. SPOs often face difficulties attracting and retaining organizational members with the necessary mix of social and business skills and values. When coupled with resource limitations and an unstable environment, these issues create serious strategic challenges for leaders of small SPOs. In the present article, the authors describe several systems thinking concepts that may enable leaders to understand and therefore more effectively contend with the challenges of the SPO context. The authors also present a case study demonstrating the utility of systems thinking and system dynamics modeling as decision-making tools leaders can use to analyze the impact of alternative strategies on the financial well-being of the SPO. The modeling process may facilitate organizational learning as leaders use the insight gained from adopting a systems approach to make effective strategic decisions.
Organizational Change and Self-Concept Threats
Authors: Eilam Galit , Shamir Boas
Published: November 2005

The article presents a self-concept-based theoretical perspective for analyzing and interpreting employees’ reactions to organizational change. The authors suggest that change will be supported to the extent that it is concordant with organizational members’ self-concepts. Change will be experienced as stressful and be resisted to the extent that it poses threats to employees’ self-concepts, in particular to their senses of self-determination, self-distinctiveness, self-enhancement, and self-continuity. The authors demonstrate the usefulness of this perspective using quantitative and qualitative data from a case study of employees’ reactions to office relocation. The authors summarize their findings in terms of testable propositions, suggest directions for further research, and offer some practical implications of the suggested perspective.
Approval Voting and Parochialism
Authors: Baron Jonathan , Altman Nicole Y. , Kroll Stephan
Published: November 2005

In hypothetical scenarios involving two groups (nations or groups of workers), subjects voted on three proposals: one helped group A (their group), one helped B, and one helped both groups, more than the average of the first two but less than their maximum. When subjects voted for one proposal, most voted for the one that helped group A. This result is “parochial” because it helps the voter’s own group even though it hurts the other group more. When voters could approve two proposals, they tended to approve the third proposal as well, and it was more likely to win. Approval voting can thus reduce the effect of parochialism, a bias toward one’s own group, on election outcomes. In a second experiment, the authors replicated this effect using real-money payoffs.
Credit Where Credit Is Due: Open Economy Industrial Policy and Export Diversification in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Schrank Andrew , Kurtz Marcus J.
Published: November 2005

Do activist trade and industrial policies offer developing countries a viable alternative to either neoliberal or mercantilist development regimes? We hope to answer the question by, first, distinguishing the “open economy industrial policies” in vogue today from either their “closed economy” predecessors—i.e., import-substituting industrialization—or more orthodox approaches to development policy making; second, tracing the growth of nontraditional exports from Latin America and the Caribbean to the diffusion of more active approaches in the 1990s; and, third, accounting for activism’s apparent success in an otherwise inauspicious spatial and temporal context by identifying three distinct limits to rent-seeking in the open economy: infant exporter maturation; the costs of government support; and the reactions of foreign rivals.
A Rewarding Engagement? The Treatment Action Campaign and the Politics of HIV/AIDS
Authors: Friedman Steven , Mottiar Shauna
Published: November 2005

The current spread of democracy has not enabled the poor to use rights to win equity, raising questions about whether the poor and weak can use liberal democratic freedoms to address inequality. An oft-cited model of success, however, is the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)’s campaign to press the South African government into distributing anti-retroviral medication to people living with HIV/AIDS. This article finds that TAC’s strategy of using the rights and rules of constitutional democracy to win gains may offer an exemplar for forms of collective action which can win substantive equality, but that the model remains of limited application.
Distancing Strategies
Authors: Case Kim A. , Hemmings Annette
Published: November 2005

This study describes White women preservice teachers’ talk in and about an antiracist teacher education course aimed at raising students’ awareness of racial inequities. Rather than be fully engaged participants in classroom discussions, White women distanced themselves through strategies of silence, social disassociation, and separation from responsibility. They used these strategies in response to perceptions that they were being positioned as racist, directly implicated in institutional racism, or responsible for racial discrimination. The article concludes with thoughts about how instructors might engage White women and antiracist curriculum, and therefore affect their ability to effectively teach students from various cultural backgrounds, through metadialogic approaches to race discussions.
Achieving Consensus on Leadership Competencies and Outcome Measures
Authors: Mcdougal Julie A. , Brooks C. Michael , Albanese Mark
Published: November 2005

Pediatric Pulmonary Centers (PPCs) are federally funded interdisciplinary leadership training programs aiming to improve the health of families and children. This article describes the process PPCs used to efficiently and effectively achieve consensus on leadership training competencies and outcome measures among a large and diverse group of health professionals. Phase 1 used a modified Delphi technique to develop an initial set of competencies and outcome measures. Phase 2 used the nominal group technique and modified focus group strategies to refine and prioritize the competencies and outcomes measures. Participants reported being highly satisfied with the process and outcomes. In Phase 3, a formal program evaluation instrument was implemented, designed to measure the competency and describe the career paths and leadership accomplishments of previous trainees. The consensus process adopted can serve as a model for academic and public health entities seeking to achieve consensus on program goals, strategies, methods, priorities, and outcomes.
The Emotional Broadcaster Theory of Social Sharing
Authors: Harber Kent D. , Cohen Dov J.
Published: November 2005

This article introduces the Emotional Broadcaster Theory (EBT) of emotional disclosure. EBT proposes that the intrapsychic need to share experiences with others serves the interpersonal function of transmitting news. According to the model, psychologically arousing stories will travel across social networks. In addition, the extent to which stories travel reflects the degree to which the original teller was affected by the experience shared. These hypotheses were tested in a field study wherein college students visited a hospital morgue. Students’ reactions to this experience predicted how many people they told (primary sharing), how many people their friends told (secondary sharing), and how many people their friends’ friends told (tertiary sharing). Within 10 days, nearly 900 people heard about this event through these cascading levels of disclosure. The relation of EBT to discrepancy theories of emotion and to basic beliefs is discussed, as are additional predictions arising from EBM.
Issue Involvement and Low- Versus High-Power Style as Related to Attitude Change in Sex-Role Egalitarianism
Authors: Buunk Abraham P. , Blanton Hart , Schuurman Mieke K. , Siero Frans W.
Published: November 2005

In a pretest-posttest design, subscribers to women’s magazines were mailed a high- versus low-power message arguing a radical feminist view. Uninvolved women changed their opinions more after the high-power-style message, and involved women more after the low-power-style message.
Kinetic Comparison among the Fastball, Curveball, Change-up, and Slider in Collegiate Baseball Pitchers
Authors: Fleisig Glenn S. , Kingsley David S. , Loftice Jeremy W. , Dinnen Kenneth P. , Ranganathan Rajiv , Dun Shouchen , Escamilla Rafael F. , Andrews James R.
Published: November 2005

Background

Controversy exists about whether breaking pitches are more stressful than are fastballs. Previous biomechanical studies compared kinematics but not kinetics.

Hypothesis

Elbow and shoulder forces and torques are statistically different among the fastball, curveball, change-up, and slider.

Study Design

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods

Twenty-one healthy collegiate pitchers were studied with a high-speed automated digitizing system. All subjects threw fastballs (n = 21), most threw curveballs (n = 20) and change-ups (n = 19), and a few threw sliders (n = 6). Wrist, elbow, and shoulder kinetics were calculated using inverse dynamics. Nine kinetic and 26 kinematic parameters were compared among the different pitch types using repeated-measures analysis of variance.

Results

At the shoulder, internal rotation torque, horizontal adduction torque, abduction torque, and proximal force were significantly less in the change-up than in the other 3 pitches. Shoulder horizontal adduction torque was greater in the fastball than in the curveball and slider. Shoulder proximal force was greater in the slider than in the curveball. Elbow proximal force was less in the change-up than in the other 3 pitches. Elbow varus torque was greater in the fastball and curveball than in the changeup. Elbow flexion torque was greater in the curveball than in the change-up. The curveball and change-up demonstrated kinematic differences from the fastball, consistent with previous studies.

Conclusion

There were significant kinematic differences between the fastball and curveball but few kinetic differences. The change-up had lower joint kinetics, lower angular velocities, and different body positions than the other 3 pitch types had. Results for the slider were inconclusive because of small sample size.

Clinical Relevance

Because the resultant joint loads were similar between the fastball and curveball, this study did not indicate that either pitch was more stressful or potentially dangerous for a collegiate pitcher. The low kinetics in the change-up implies that it is the safest.
The Relationship between Quadriceps Muscle Force, Knee Flexion, and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Strain in an in Vitro Simulated Jump Landing
Authors: Withrow Thomas J. , Huston Laura J. , Wojtys Edward M. , Ashton-Miller James A.
Published: November 2005

Background

An instrumented cadaveric knee construct was used to quantify the association between impact force, quadriceps force, knee flexion angle, and anterior cruciate ligament relative strain in simulated unipedal jump landings.

Hypothesis

Anterior cruciate ligament strain will correlate with impact force, quadriceps force, and knee flexion angle.

Study Design

Descriptive laboratory study.

Methods

Eleven cadaveric knees (age, 70.8 [19.3] years; 5 male; 6 female) were mounted in a custom fixture with the tibia and femur secured to a triaxial load cell. Quadriceps, hamstring, and gastrocnemius muscle forces were simulated using pretensioned steel cables (stiffness, 7 kN/cm), and the quadriceps tendon force was measured using a load cell. Mean strain on the anteromedial bundle of the anterior cruciate ligament was measured using a DVRT. With the knee in 25° of flexion, the construct was vertically loaded by an impact force initially directed 4 cm posterior to the knee joint center. Tibiofemoral kinematics was measured using a 3D optoelectronic tracking system.

Results

The increase in anterior cruciate ligament relative strain was proportional to the increase in quadriceps force (r2 = 0.74; P <. 00001) and knee flexion angle (r2 = 0.88; P <. 00001) but was not correlated with the impact force (r2 = 0.009; P =. 08).

Conclusion

The increase in knee flexion and quadriceps force during this simulated 1-footed landing strongly influenced the relative strain on the anteromedial bundle of the anterior cruciate ligament.

Clinical Relevance

These results suggest that even in the presence of knee flexor muscle forces, the increase in quadriceps force required to prevent the knee from flexing during landing can place the anterior cruciate ligament at risk for large strains.
Prosecutorial Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases: Examining the Impact of a Specialized Prosecution Unit
Authors: Beichner Dawn , Spohn Cassia
Published: November 2005

Although the criminal justice system has undergone reform to eliminate sexual assault case attrition and to improve the overall treatment of sexual assault victims, few studies have examined the effect of these reforms. In this study, the authors examine prosecutorial charging decisions across two unique jurisdictions: Kansas City, Missouri, which utilizes a specialized unit for sexual assault cases, and Miami, Florida, which does not use a specialized unit to determine the effect of prosecutorial specialization on case outcomes. The findings of the study reveal that, despite differences in departmental policies and rates of plea bargaining and trials, prosecutors’ charging decisions and the predictors of charging are similar in the two jurisdictions. The authors conclude that, regardless of whether decisions are made in a specialized unit or not, victim credibility is a real “focal concern” of the prosecutor in sexual assault cases.
The 'Third World' and Socio-Legal Studies: Neo-Liberalism and Lessons from India's Legal Innovations
Authors: D'Souza Radha
Published: November 2005

A terse, brief order of the Supreme Court of India in the Networking of Rivers case in September 2002 impugns the role of public interest litigation in the wake of neoliberal reforms. At a poignant moment in India's 'tryst with destiny', socio-legal studies in India stand disarmed and disempowered without adequate conceptual and theoretical tools to analyse and interpret the event in emancipatory ways. The case inaugurates a new phase in judicial activism and Public Interest Litigation in India, a subject that has been written about extensively both in India and elsewhere. In this article the Networking of Rivers case is used as a vehicle to explore the trajectories of developments in socio-legal studies in India and the ways in which it may have contributed to the present theoretical and conceptual impasse. The article argues for a more geo-historically differentiated understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of socio-legal studies in India and the 'Third World' generally.
Beauty and the Beast: Gendered and Raced Discourse in the News
Authors: Wilcox Paula
Published: November 2005

This article explores the implications of the extent to which the mythic intrudes on the everyday in newspaper reporting, taking as a case study the drive-by shooting of two young, black women in Birmingham in 2003. An analysis of news headlines and texts demonstrates the use of mythical language and imagery in this case (as in other high-profile cases) as compared with the usual reporting of homicides in the press. Notions of innocence and guilt are explored through the construction of gendered and raced bodies in the case study. The article finds that this media discourse relies for its impact on the simultaneous and mutually dependent construction of fabular gendered and raced ideas; of exceptional innocence and purity (unusually) attached to black femininity (beauty) and of exceptional and volatile violence (usually) attached to black masculinity (the beast). Moreover, the discourse is constructed such that guilt for the gun crime extends beyond the individual perpetrators to the black community as a whole. While media coverage reflects a realistic fear of gun crime, the article concludes that media discourse in this case directs fear towards the black community/male as the dangerous 'other', and that this is crucially underpinned by polarized gendered discourse.
Unconscious Racism: Scrutinizing Judicial Reasoning in 'Stolen Generation' Cases
Authors: Marchetti Elena , Ransley Janet
Published: November 2005

Like other western legal systems, Australian law is based on notions of the rule of law, justice and equality. Legal formalistic ideology would have us believe that as long as the law as it appears 'on the books' is applied equally for all, justice will prevail. For Indigenous Australian people, formal equality means that their claims for land, compensation and the recognition of their culture must be assessed through the eyes of white judges in white courts. Even when those judges strive to apply the law equally, they will inevitably be applying Eurocentric beliefs and values. In two recent significant cases concerning Indigenous claims for their removal from their families as children, those beliefs and values have tended to invalidate not only the legal claims themselves, but also aspects of the Indigenous culture. This article argues that the formal application of legal principles to these claims by Australian courts and judges leads to the exclusion of Indigenous narratives, which ultimately can be construed as evidence of unconscious racism. Charles Lawrence's cultural meaning test is used to critique the reasoning of the judges in two leading Australian cases concerning the 'stolen generation' and to expose the unconscious racism that still exists in the Australian liberal legal system.
The Revenge of Gagliardi on Utilitarianism
Authors: Hatch Mary Jo
Published: November 2005

Pasquale Gagliardi’s essay presents ideas of immeasurable importance to ongoing debates about interpretivism and its role in organization studies. In particular, I celebrate his paradoxical rendering of the utilitarian and the gratuitous, which reveals his always aesthetic sensitivities as well as describing some of the ways that paradigms interact. Gagliardi’s choice of the term gratuitous, I suggest, is an application of Rorty’s method of redescription, an intriguing strategy for paradigmatic interaction in its own right. In the end, however, I complain that Gagliardi may go too far when he employs one of the tactics he describes (disguising gratuitousness as useful) to produce a typology of gratuitous things. Ironic or not, typologies frighten me.
Spontaneous Self-Managing Practices in Groups
Authors: Bertolotti Fabiola , Macrì Diego Maria , Tagliaventi Maria Rita
Published: November 2005

This study, based on qualitative research, accounts for a process of collective and spontaneous self-managing practices in a group formally structured as a manager-led team. It explains the group members’ reactions to different types of work arrangements and their coordination in terms of their need to affirm their professional identity. The characteristics of the organizational context, of the labor market, and of the technology involved favor the emergence of self-management, too. The authors employed observation, ethnographic interviews, and analysis of documents in conducting this research.
The Need for Thin Description
Authors: Brekhus Wayne H. , Galliher John F. , Gubrium Jaber F.
Published: November 2005

Qualitative researchers tout the distinctive character of their work as thickly descriptive of the subject matter. They evaluate published results in the same terms, giving high marks to the richness of the best research. This article unpacks this universal standard and discusses the influence of preinvestigative empirical purview, analytic aims, and available data in addressing the question of why there is a need for thin as well as thick description in the enterprise. Laud Humphreys’s book Tearoom Trade, its research project, and unpublished observational notes are used as case material for considering the relative effects of the latter two influences on richness. The purpose is not to devalue thick description but to turn critical attention to the various influences at play in the realization of richness.
Escaping the False Binary of Nature and Culture Through Connection
Authors: Cohen Benjamin R.
Published: November 2005

In The Organic Machine, Richard White fruitfully undermined the ease of separating nature from culture by emphasizing their relationship rather than their distinct identity. Now a staple of university curricula, White’s text has become the standard bearer for a methodology that befits environmental history as well as all manner of environmental studies. With his nuanced presentation of the political, ethical, social, and technological dynamics of land and water management, White has offered students and scholars the framework and model with which to move beyond binary approaches to nature and culture issues. The work is particularly well-regarded for its philosophical clarity and subtle consideration of environmental and technological ethics, standing as one of the few treatments of the postmodern era to argue against simplistic dichotomies while remaining outside the fray of constructivist counter-critiques. This article treats The Organic Machine for its deepening relevance to environmental scholarship by revisiting its themes and structure.
Improving Performance by Reducing the Memory Footprint of Scientific Applications
Authors: Jin Guohua , Mellor-Crummey John
Published: November 2005

Over the last two decades, processor speeds have improved much faster than memory speeds. As a result, memory access delay is a major performance bottleneck in today's systems. Compilers often fail to choreograph data and computation automatically to avoid memory access delay; we have developed an annotation-driven source-to-source transformation tool for this purpose. This tool uses a set of compiler transformations that improve temporal reuse in scientific applications (1) by reducing the size of temporary arrays and (2) by overlaying storage for multiple temporary arrays that are not live at the same time. We also describe two supporting transformations, statement motion and loop alignment, that improve the effectiveness of storage reduction. Our experiments with a numerical kernel and two weather codes show that our storage reduction optimizations amplify the benefits of loop transformations and double performance achievable with loop transformations alone.
Investigating Adaptive Compilation Using the Mipspro Compiler
Authors: Cooper Keith D. , Waterman Todd
Published: November 2005

Despite the astonishing increases in processor performance over the last 40 years, delivered application performance remains a critical issue for many important problems. Compilers play a critical role in determining that performance. A modern optimizing compiler contains many transformations that attempt to increase application performance. However, the best combination of transformations is an application-specific issue. Recent systems such as FFTW and ATLAS have demonstrated how code that adapts its behavior to target machine parameters can deliver better performance than code that adopts a single strategy for all machines. Unfortunately, developing these systems required significant amounts of time by experts. Adaptive compilation (systems where the compiler chooses an appropriate set of optimizations and parameters for each application) offer the promise of custom performance similar to FFTW or ATLAS without requiring the time investment of experts. In this paper we detail an experiment with adaptive, feedback-driven blocksize choice. The experiment demonstrates two critical issues. First, an adaptive blocking strategy can automatically produce performance similar to that achieved by ATLAS. This result suggests that we can make customized ATLAS-like performance available, automatically, across a wider range of programs. Secondly, the command-line parametrization of existing commercial and research compilers is inadequate to express the complex strategies that an adaptive system will need. For example, the blocksize parameters to the MIPS compiler are applied uniformly to all loops; for more complex applications, the compiler will need to specify blocksizes on a much finer granularity.
Trying to Make Sense of Cases
Authors: Riemann Gerhard
Published: November 2005

The article, which is based on qualitative field research in a German family counselling centre, focuses on how professionals, mostly social workers, try to make sense of their cases when sharing their work experiences with each other during their regular case discussions. The sequential and comparative analysis of transcriptions of case discussions reveals certain constitutive features of these speech events and some problems that participants encounter - or even traps in which they can get caught - when trying to arrive at new insights. The detection of such problems does not have to be accepted in a defeatist manner. It is possible to formulate recommendations for professional case discourse on the basis of such (second order) social scientific case analyses of (first order) practical case analyses of professionals.
Changes in Supraspinal Activation Patterns following Robotic Locomotor Therapy in Motor-Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Winchester Patricia , McColl Roderick , Querry Ross , Foreman Nathan , Mosby James , Tansey Keith , Williamson Jon
Published: November 2005

Objectives. Body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is a task-specific rehabilitation strategy that enhances functional locomotion in patients following spinal cord injury (SCI). Supraspinal centers may play an important role in the recovery of over-ground locomotor function in patients with motor-incomplete SCI. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for supraspinal reorganization associated with 12 weeks of robotic BWSTT using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods. Four men with motor-incomplete SCI participated in this study. Time since onset ranged from 14 weeks to 48 months post-SCI injury. All subjects were trained with BWSTT 3 times weekly for 12 weeks. This training was preceded and followed by fMRI study of supraspinal activity during a movement task. Testing of locomotor disability included the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI II) and over-ground gait speed. Results. All subjects demonstrated some degree of change in the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal following BWSTT. fMRI results demonstrated greater activation in sensorimotor cortical regions (S1, S2) and cerebellar regions following BWSTT. Conclusions. Intensive task-specific rehabilitative training, such as robotic BWSTT, can promote supraspinal plasticity in the motor centers known to be involved in locomotion. Furthermore, improvement in over-ground locomotion is accompanied by an increased activation of the cerebellum.