bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphological variability of the Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei) and the Atlas dwarf viper (Vipera monticola): patterns of biogeographical distribution and taxonomy
Authors: Parellada Xavier , Fahd Soumia , Santos Xavier , Brito José , Llorente Gustavo , Pleguezuelos Juan
Published: May 2006

The Lataste's viper Vipera latastei is a medium-sized viper distributed throughout almost the entire Iberian Peninsula and north-west of Africa. Former morphological studies noted the existence of two subspecies, V. l. gaditana and V. l. latastei, as well as a full species, V. monticola, in the High Atlas, corresponding to the prior overall range described for V. latastei. However, some results remained unclear in these former studies, e.g. the specific status of the Medium Atlas populations, the intra-subspecific differences in V. l. gaditana and, the true status of some isolated populations of the northern range. For this reason, 45 morphological characters were analysed in 672 preserved specimens covering the entire range. Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA) and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) were used to assess geographic variability, treating specimens individually or assigning them a priori to groups, respectively. Geographic groups were established according to the origin of specimens in isolated areas of mountain chains. As the percentage of correct assignment was low in DFA, initial groups were combined to maximize the percentage. The results from the multivariate analysis suggest morphological differentiation between populations. Some variables accounted for geographic variability: e.g. rows of dorsal scales at mid-body are taxonomically stable and clearly separate the African populations; and number of ventral scales showed a clinal variation from 126 to 143 ventrals in extreme populations. The three African groups manifested clear morphological differences, and especially specimens from the High Atlas (V. monticola) and Alger. On the contrary, a large number of initial Iberian groups were merged because of the low scores in the correct classification. The final groups showed a vast central area with low morphological differentiation as well as isolated populations in the NW, NE and SW Iberian Peninsula. This conclusion matches well with allopatric speciation processes during the Quaternary ice ages, which contributed to the contraction/expansion of range, isolation events, and peripheral population refugia. Morphological differentiation in external characters of V. latastei exhibited similar results with respect to V. aspis and V. ammodytes, the vipers occupying other southern European peninsulas. Molecular markers will contribute to elucidate the relationships between V. latastei populations and the history of colonisation across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Chondrocranium, cranial muscles and buccopharyngeal morphology on tadpoles of the controversial leptodactylid frog Limnomedusa macroglossa (Anura: Leptodactylidae)
Authors: Blotto Boris , Alcalde Leandro
Published: May 2006

The present paper provides original data on the chondrocranium, cranial muscles, oral disc and buccopharyngeal morphology of Limnomedusa macroglossa. We found that the cranial muscles and the buccopharyngeal papillation are not useful to relate Limnomedusa either to telmatobiine or leptodactyline genera. There are two chondrocranial characters (presence of a long processus pseudopterygoideus and sindesmotic connection of the partes alares and partes corpora of the cartilago suprarostralis) that relate Limnomedusa to the telmatobiine genera more than to any other genus within Leptodactylidae. Additionally, the processus pseudopterygoideus of Limnomedusa is fused to the basi cranii, a character state only known for some telmatobiine genera such as Alsodes and Telmatobius.
Historical biogeography, mitochondrial DNA, and allozymes of Psammodromus algirus (Lacertidae): a preliminary hypothesis
Authors: Busack Stephen , Lawson Robin
Published: May 2006

Pairwise sequence polymorphism in mitochondrial DNA and levels of differentiation among presumptive gene loci (expressed as Nei's Dˆ) tend to be greater between populations separated by the Strait of Gibraltar than between populations inhabiting either Morocco or Spain. Ancestral Psammodromus algirus inhabiting Iberia and North Africa while the Strait of Gibraltar was being formed and stabilized (Miocene-Pliocene) evolved in association with physiogeographic change brought about by this barrier to gene exchange. Considered in units of genetic change per kilometer, mtDNA differentiation is greater in Morocco than in Spain, and allozyme differentiation is slightly greater than, or equal to, that in Spain, suggesting that P. algirus has a longer and more complex history in Morocco than in Spain.
Larval diet of the frog Alsodes gargola (Leptodactylidae: Telmatobiinae) and some ecological considerations on its role in alpine and mountain aquatic environments in Patagonia
Authors: Baffico Gustavo , Úbeda Carmen
Published: May 2006

Alsodes gargola is an endemic species from northwest Patagonia, Argentina. Its tadpoles inhabit oligotrophic high altitude lakes and mountain streams from their sources. Tadpole diet is an important yet still unknown feature of its biology. This study analyzes alimentary tract content from A. gargola tadpoles collected from several of the species' typical habitats. For each group of items eaten, frequency of occurrence and its importance in the diet according to biovolume was calculated. Tadpole feeding behavior was also observed. The most common items were periphyton and plant material. The predominant algae were diatoms (typically periphytic), chlorophytes (periphytic and some planktonic) and a few cyanobacteria. Planktonic components were found in low proportion in all samples. The animal component (mainly from periphyton) was represented by ciliates, flagellates and amoebae, and varied according to the habitats, as did vascular plant fragments. There was a wide size range of ingested particles (from 10 to 400 μm) and a wide variety of components, according to the features of each habitat. These results suggest that tadpole of A. gargola are grazers of the periphytic community and detritus gatherers. The larval diet matches the tadpole's morphological and structural adaptations to a lotic-benthic habitat (depressed body, ventral subterminal oral disc capable of adherence, dorsal eyes, low, subparallel fins) and direct observation of behavior in natural environments (slow-swimming bottom-dwelling tadpoles in still water or streams with slow-flowing microhabitats). We discuss the ecological role of slow-developing tadpoles (regulation of periphyton development), which attain large biomass in their particular ecosystems, where they are the only aquatic vertebrates.
Habits hidden underground: a review on the reproduction of the Amphisbaenia with notes on four neotropical species
Authors: Andrade Denis , Nascimento Luciana , Abe Augusto
Published: May 2006

We review the information currently available on the reproduction of the Amphisbaenia and provide original data on the reproductive biology of four Neotropical species: Amphisbaena alba; A. mertensi; Cercolophia roberti, and Leposternon infraorbitale. In total, we compiled data for 22 species: 17 Amphisbaenidae, 1 Rhineuridae, 3 Bipedidae, and 1 Trogonophidae. The majority of the species were oviparous with the exceptions of Loveridgea ionidesii, Monopeltis anchietae, M. capensis, and Trogonophis wiegmanni. Viviparity was interpreted as a derived trait that evolved independently for at least 3 times within the Amphisbaenia. In most species, reproduction is synchronized with the hot and rainy season and seems to vary with latitude. Although Amphisbaenia eggs have been found in ant nests, it remains disputable whether this is an obligatory or even a preferable location for egg-laying. Incubation time in A. mertensii lasts 59 days and this is the first report encompassing egg-laying to hatching for any Amphisbaenia species. Nonetheless, a two months incubation period seems to be the common rule for oviparous Amphisbaenia. The general pattern of reproductive output in Amphisbaenia is characterized by a low number of eggs/embryos per clutch whose individual size is comparatively large in relation to adult body size. Eggs are markedly elongated on the long axis and arranged in-line within the abdominal cavity possibly to prevent/diminish biomechanic drawbacks of egg bearing. Hatchlings of A. mertensi possess an egg-tooth implanted at the upper jaw, exhibit positive geotropism, and display defensive behaviors known to be present in adults. Our review shows that our current knowledge of Amphisbaenia reproduction is fragmentary, often based on the examination of small samples, and heavily dependent on the publication of anedoctal observations. Future publications on this subject are encouraged.
A Lightweight Observation System for Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Using a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Authors: Watai T. , Machida T. , Ishizaki N. , Inoue G.
Published: May 2006

To make the investigation of the temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric CO2 in and above the planetary boundary layer more flexible and economical, a lightweight observation system using a small unmanned aerial vehicle has been developed whose flight path is preset using GPS. The total weight of the CO2 measurement device carried inside the vehicle is about 3.5 kg. The device is equipped with both flow and pressure controllers and can be used to measure atmospheric CO2 from the ground surface to a maximum altitude of about 3000 m. The response time of the instrument is about 20 s, with a precision of about ±0.26 ppm. The observation system is easy to handle and can be easily and quickly deployed at a site to make frequent measurements in and above the boundary layer. Compared to the deployment of a piloted aircraft the system shows distinctive advantages, in addition to being more affordable. To test the system, preliminary measurements over a boreal forest area in Japan in the summer of 2000 have been conducted. The results indicate that the unmanned aerial vehicle measurement system provides an affordable platform that can be used to obtain quantitative understanding of the temporal and vertical variations of atmospheric CO2 in and above the planetary boundary layer.
Assimilation of Ice Concentration in an Ice–Ocean Model
Authors: Lindsay R. W. , Zhang J.
Published: May 2006

Ice concentration is a critical parameter of the polar marine environment because of the large effect sea ice has on the surface albedo and heat exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. Simulations of the energy exchange processes in models would benefit if the ice concentration were represented more accurately. Reanalysis simulations that use historical wind and temperature fields may develop erroneous ice concentration estimates; these can be corrected by using observed ice concentration fields. The ice concentration assimilation presented here is a new method based on nudging the model ice concentration toward the observed concentration in a manner that emphasizes the ice extent and minimizes the effect of observational errors in the interior of the pack. The nudging weight is a nonlinear function of the difference between the model and the observed ice concentration. The simulated ice extent is improved with the assimilation of ice concentration but is not identical to the observed extent. The simulated ice draft is compared to that measured by upward-looking sonars on submarines and moorings. Significant improvements in the ice draft comparisons are obtained with assimilation of ice concentration alone and even more with assimilation of both ice concentration and ice velocity observations.
Calibration Technique for Polarization-Sensitive Lidars
Authors: Alvarez J. M. , Vaughan M. A. , Hostetler C. A. , Hunt W. H. , Winker D. M.
Published: May 2006

Polarization-sensitive lidars have proven to be highly effective in discriminating between spherical and nonspherical particles in the atmosphere. These lidars use a linearly polarized laser and are equipped with a receiver that can separately measure the components of the return signal polarized parallel and perpendicular to the outgoing beam. In this work a technique for calibrating polarization-sensitive lidars is described that was originally developed at NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC) and has been used continually over the past 15 yr. The procedure uses a rotatable half-wave plate inserted into the optical path of the lidar receiver to introduce controlled amounts of polarization cross talk into a sequence of atmospheric backscatter measurements. Solving the resulting system of nonlinear equations generates the system calibration constants (gain ratio and offset angle) required for deriving calibrated measurements of depolarization ratio from the lidar signals. In addition, this procedure also determines the mean depolarization ratio within the region of the atmosphere that is analyzed. Simulations and error propagation studies show the method to be both reliable and well behaved. Operational details of the technique are illustrated using measurements obtained as part of LaRC's participation in the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Regional Experiment.
Comparison of Collocated Automated (NCECONet) and Manual (COOP) Climate Observations in North Carolina
Authors: Holder Christopher , Boyles Ryan , Syed Ameenulla , Niyogi Dev , Raman Sethu
Published: May 2006

The National Weather Service's Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is a valuable climate data resource that provides manually observed information on temperature and precipitation across the nation. These data are part of the climate dataset and continue to be used in evaluating weather and climate models. Increasingly, weather and climate information is also available from automated weather stations. A comparison between these two observing methods is performed in North Carolina, where 13 of these stations are collocated. Results indicate that, without correcting the data for differing observation times, daily temperature observations are generally in good agreement (0.96 Pearson product–moment correlation for minimum temperature, 0.89 for maximum temperature). Daily rainfall values recorded by the two different systems correlate poorly (0.44), but the correlations are improved (to 0.91) when corrections are made for the differences in observation times between the COOP and automated stations. Daily rainfall correlations especially improve with rainfall amounts less than 50 mm day−1. Temperature and rainfall have high correlation (nearly 1.00 for maximum and minimum temperatures, 0.97 for rainfall) when monthly averages are used. Differences of the data between the two platforms consistently indicate that COOP instruments may be recording warmer maximum temperatures, cooler minimum temperatures, and larger amounts of rainfall, especially with higher rainfall rates. Root-mean-square errors are reduced by up to 71% with the day-shift and hourly corrections.

This study shows that COOP and automated data [such as from the North Carolina Environment and Climate Observing Network (NCECONet)] can, with simple corrections, be used in conjunction for various climate analysis applications such as climate change and site-to-site comparisons. This allows a higher spatial density of data and a larger density of environmental parameters, thus potentially improving the accuracy of the data that are relayed to the public and used in climate studies.
Forward-in-Time-/Backward-in-Time-Trajectory (FITT/BITT) Modeling of Particles and Organisms in the Coastal Ocean*
Authors: Batchelder Harold P.
Published: May 2006

Lagrangian particle-tracking models (LPTMs) were used to identify sources, destinations, and transport pathways of particles (plankton). The LPTM simulations were forced using stored fields from the Spectral Element Ocean Model simulation for a coastal upwelling system having idealized geometry, bathymetry, and simple wind forcing. Forward-in-time-trajectory (FITT) simulations are common in ocean science, although they often do not include diffusion. Results from LPTM comparisons with and without diffusion suggest that ignoring diffusion can lead to incorrect identification of source or destination regions. FITT is efficient for identifying destinations from known sources, but inefficient for identifying sources from known destinations (or receptors). Backward-in-time-trajectory (BITT) modeling from known destinations efficiently identifies sources, or particle positions, at earlier times. Although advection and some biological processes (e.g., growth) are reversible and amenable to BITT simulations, other processes, such as physical diffusion, reproduction, and mortality, are not time reversible. The reliability of BITT-derived estimates of prior particle positions was evaluated using a BITT followed by a FITT coupled approach. The results suggest that BITT approaches are valuable in identifying probability densities of prior positions. Such information is particularly useful in the ocean sciences where many of the interesting questions concern where particles (e.g., plankton, meroplankton) have been (or came from) rather than where they are headed (identifying the destination). BITT simulations provide a computationally efficient technique to examine these questions.
Retrieving Cloud Characteristics from Ground-Based Daytime Color All-Sky Images
Authors: Long C. N. , Sabburg J. M. , Calbó J. , Pagès D.
Published: May 2006

A discussion is presented of daytime sky imaging and techniques that may be applied to the analysis of full-color sky images to infer cloud macrophysical properties. Descriptions of two different types of sky-imaging systems developed by the authors are presented, one of which has been developed into a commercially available instrument. Retrievals of fractional sky cover from automated processing methods are compared to human retrievals, both from direct observations and visual analyses of sky images. Although some uncertainty exists in fractional sky cover retrievals from sky images, this uncertainty is no greater than that attached to human observations for the commercially available sky-imager retrievals. Thus, the application of automatic digital image processing techniques on sky images is a useful method to complement, or even replace, traditional human observations of sky cover and, potentially, cloud type. Additionally, the possibilities for inferring other cloud parameters such as cloud brokenness and solar obstruction further enhance the usefulness of sky imagers.
Validation of the AATSR Meteo Product Sea Surface Temperature
Authors: O'Carroll A. G. , Watts J. G. , Horrocks L. A. , Saunders R. W. , Rayner N. A.
Published: May 2006

The Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Meteo product, a fast-delivery level-2 product at 10 arc min spatial resolution, has been available from the European Space Agency (ESA) since 19 August 2002. Validation has been performed on these data at the Met Office on a daily basis, with a 2-day lag from data receipt. Meteo product skin SSTs have been compared with point measurements of buoy SST, a 1° climate SST analysis field compiled from in situ measurements and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) SSTs, and a 5° latitude–longitude 5-day averaged in situ dataset. Comparisons of the AATSR Meteo product against Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) SSTs are also presented. These validation results have confirmed the AATSR Meteo product skin SST to be within ±0.3 K of in situ data.

Comparisons of the AATSR skin SSTs against buoy SSTs, from 19 August 2002 to 20 August 2003, give a mean difference (AATSR – buoy) of 0.04 K (standard deviation = 0.28 K) during nighttime, and a mean difference of 0.02 K (standard deviation = 0.39 K) during the day. Analyses of the buoy matchups have shown that there is no cool skin effect observed in the nighttime observations, implying that the three-channel AATSR product skin SST may be 0.1–0.2 K too warm. Comparisons with TMI SSTs confirm that the lower-latitude SSTs are not significantly affected by residual cloud contamination.
An Improvement to the High-Spectral-Resolution CO2-Slicing Cloud-Top Altitude Retrieval
Authors: Holz Robert E. , Ackerman Steve , Antonelli Paolo , Nagle Fred , Knuteson Robert O. , McGill Matthew , Hlavka Dennis L. , Hart William D.
Published: May 2006

An improvement to high-spectral-resolution infrared cloud-top altitude retrievals is compared to existing retrieval methods and cloud lidar measurements. The new method, CO2 sorting, determines optimal channel pairs to which the CO2 slicing retrieval will be applied. The new retrieval is applied to aircraft Scanning High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) measurements. The results are compared to existing passive retrieval methods and coincident Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) measurements. It is demonstrated that when CO2 sorting is used to select channel pairs for CO2 slicing there is an improvement in the retrieved cloud heights when compared to the CPL for the optically thin clouds (total optical depths less than 1.0). For geometrically thick but tenuous clouds, the infrared retrieved cloud tops underestimated the cloud height, when compared to those of the CPL, by greater than 2.5 km. For these cases the cloud heights retrieved by the S-HIS correlated closely with the level at which the CPL-integrated cloud optical depth was approximately 1.0.
Must Exceptionalism Prove the Rule? An Angle on Emergency Government in the History of Political Thought
Authors: Lazar Nomi Claire
Published: May 2006

Discussions of the problem of emergency powers often assume that norms and exceptions constitute its conceptual structure. This perspective is both self-undermining and dangerous. Because even the critics of emergency powers often rely on this dichotomy, clarifying the conceptual terrain might contribute to the development of a safer approach to emergencies. Hence, this article explores the origins and logic of modern exceptionalism by examining instances of its careful articulation in the history of political thought: in the “republican” exceptionalism of Machiavelli and Rousseau and the “decisionist” exceptionalism of Schmitt and Hobbes.
The Global Pension Crisis: From Gray Capitalism to Responsible Accumulation
Authors: Blackburn Robin
Published: May 2006

The ageing society has profound consequences for accumulation in each state and region because pensions represent a claim on future income and output. Today's United States and United Kingdom pension crisis stems from a failing private sector with excessive costs and risk. Public provision using pay-asyou-go payroll taxes has, by contrast, proved highly cost-effective and equitable. However, aging and unequal cohorts create a need for extra resources. Retirement incomes should total 12 to 14 percent of gross domestic product if older people's relative incomes are to be maintained. Raising such a sum solely from payroll taxes would generate the unemployment seen in continental Europe. The alternative is to redistribute capital to a regional network of social funds by requiring each corporation to issue shares equivalent to 10 percent of their profits annually to those funds. The share levy does not subtract from the corporation's cash flow and therefore protects employment and investment, but it does dilute the value of shareholding each year by a small amount. The social funds would not sell their shares but would keep them to generate income for future pensions. The social funds would supply a universal second pension; they could establish criteria of socially responsible governance in their use of shareholder power, and they would be subject to expert and democratic audit.
Resocializing Capital: Putting Pension Savings in the Service of “Financial Pluralism”?
Authors: Engelen Ewald
Published: May 2006

Since the late 1980s, social scientists have argued that advanced economies have undergone a process of financial concentration that is resulting in a growing unevenness of the accessibility of capital. Households, small and medium-sized businesses as well as non-standard economic activities have increasing difficulties in finding funds. There are both sound economic and compelling moral reasons to address this issue. In order to ensure a more equal accessibility of capital, the author proposes a mandatory levy on the surpluses of mainstream pension funds to fund an alternative financial infrastructure as a first step to redressing unevenness. The underlying rationale is that “financial pluralism” is the key to a more even accessibility of capital.
Deliberative Impacts: The Macro-Political Uptake of Mini-Publics
Authors: Goodin Robert E. , Dryzek John S.
Published: May 2006

Democratic theorists often place deliberative innovations such as citizen's panels, consensus conferences, planning cells, and deliberative polls at the center of their hopes for deliberative democratization. In light of experience to date, the authors chart the ways in which such mini-publics may have an impact in the “macro” world of politics. Impact may come in the form of actually making policy, being taken up in the policy process, informing public debates, market-testing of proposals, legitimation of public policies, building confidence and constituencies for policies, popular oversight, and resisting co-option. Exposing problems and failures is all too easy. The authors highlight cases of success on each of these dimensions.
Political Openness and Transnational Activism: Comparative Insights from Labor Activism
Authors: Caraway Teri L.
Published: May 2006

Scholars have posited both a positive and a negative relationship between political openness and transnational activism, arguing that while closed opportunity structures positively affect activism by creating strong incentives for activists to “go transnational,” they also negatively affect activism by inhibiting local groups from participating. The author argues that these contrary arguments are largely the result of an insufficiently developed comparative approach to the study of transnational activism. By examining countries at different levels of openness and multiple types of activism, she shows that different types of activism are affected in distinct ways by the level of political openness.
Journal Reviewer Ratings: Issues of Particularistic Bias, Agreement, and Predictive Validity Within the Manuscript Review Process
Authors: Vecchio Robert P.
Published: May 2006

Reviewer evaluations and recommendations for 853 manuscript submissions, over a span of 4 years, are analyzed for evidence of particularistic bias, reviewer agreement, and predictive validity for forecasting a published manuscript's citation impact. Attributes of the submitters, their affiliated institutions, and the reviewers have little consistent association with reviewers' recommendations or editorial decision outcomes. Furthermore, reviewers' recommendations demonstrate a reasonable degree of agreement. However, neither reviewers' evaluative ratings across five dimensions nor publication recommendations can predict the number of citations that a published article subsequently receives. Strengths and limitations of various features of the manuscript review process, as well as the importance of monitoring the process for particularistic biases and evidence of predictive validity, are discussed.
The Need for a “Shadow” University
Authors: Stivers Richard
Published: May 2006

The modern university has become a subsystem within the technological system. As such, the university has lost its autonomy. Every aspect of the university— administration, pedagogy, research—has become specialized and technical. Success, power, and efficiency are its only values. An alternative to the modern university is briefly explored.
Can the University Escape From the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 1: Rethinking the Intellectual and Professional Division of Labor and its Knowledge Infrastructure
Authors: Vanderburg Willem H.
Published: May 2006

The role tradition played in preindustrial societies has been supplanted by the decisions of countless specialists organized by means of an intellectual and professional division of labor shaping a knowledge infrastructure that sustains these decisions. Three limitations of this knowledge system are discussed: (a) on the macrolevel, it imposes an end-of-pipe approach for dealing with the undesired consequences of decision making, rarely getting to the root of any problem; (b) on the microlevel, individual practitioners of a specialty are trapped in a triple abstraction, leading to a poor ratio of desired to undesired effects of their decision making; and (c) on the intermediate level, it bars the road to genuine solutions to many difficulties faced by contemporary civilization. In this first of four articles, the beginning of a response is developed for the profession of engineering, which will be paradigmatic for other professions, the social sciences, and the university as a whole.
Can the University Escape From the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 2: Intellectual Map-Making and the Tension Between Breadth and Depth
Authors: Vanderburg Willem H.
Published: May 2006

This second part continues the search for ways of overcoming the three limitations of the current intellectual and professional division of labor and its knowledge infrastructure, which were shown to be at the root of the present economic, social and environmental crises. A complementary knowledge strategy is proposed to counterbalance the trade of breadth for depth, based on the creation of intellectual maps. One such map is described for engineering, showing how through the process of industrialization people change technology and how through its influence on human life and society, technology changes people. Because industrialization cannot destroy the matter and energy it requires, it also transforms its relations with the biosphere. Once the connections between technology and everything else are mapped, specialists can inquire into the consequences of their design and decision making that fall beyond their domains of expertise, to introduce a preventive orientation into their work to achieve a better ratio of desired to undesired effects. This is shown for materials and production, energy, work, and cities. In subsequent parts, it will become apparent that this example is paradigmatic for other professions, the social sciences, and the university.
Can the University Escape From the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 3: A Strategy for Transforming the Professions
Authors: Vanderburg Willem H.
Published: May 2006

This third part continues the exploration of how we can overcome the limitations of the present knowledge system. In preparation, two aspects of current engineering theory and practice are examined because they are paradigmatic: the concept that engineering is essentially problem-solving, which goes against our understanding of human skill acquisition, and the existence of parallel modes of knowing technology derived from professional education and practice and from living in a society permeated by technology. The former suspends practitioners in the previously examined triple abstraction as a primary microlevel characteristic of the current knowledge system and is thus separated from experience and culture. The second mode of knowing derives from daily life experience, symbolically represented by the organization of the brain-mind, which also functions as a mental map for skillfully coping with the world according to a culture. The practitioner primarily derives analytical exemplars from the former knowing and design exemplars from the latter. It is shown how this affects the building of cities and the design of production systems. Umbrella concepts and round tables are introduced as further steps toward transforming university departments, and (as we will see in Part 4) the operation of the university.
Can the University Escape From the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 4: Extending the Strategy to Medicine, the Social Sciences, and the University
Authors: Vanderburg Willem H.
Published: May 2006

This fourth part outlines a strategy for overcoming the limitations of the knowledge system for engineering by combining intellectual maps, preventive approaches, umbrella concepts, and round tables as described in the earlier parts. A discussion of the issues faced by modern medicine illustrates the paradigmatic nature of the diagnosis and prescription made for engineering. The social sciences face mirror-image problems. One response has been the rise of new disciplines such as communications, environmental studies, urban affairs, criminology, and policy studies. To avoid the limitations of discipline-based knowing and doing, a similar strategy for their transformation will have to be implemented. Considerable synergies would result if parallel efforts to transform the present knowledge system were carried out throughout the university. Some suggestions are made as to how this can be supported by organizational and institutional changes. Finally, it is suggested that such a transformation of the university could make a critical and decisive contribution to overcoming the current economic, social, and environmental crises.
Stuck in the Middle: Doctoral Education Ranking and Career Outcomes for Life Scientists
Authors: Smith-Doerr Laurel
Published: May 2006

Why do some Ph.D.'s languish in positions with little authority, and what does educational background have to do with it? Hypotheses predicted that life scientists with Ph.D.'s from elite programs would be the most likely, those from middle-ranked programs the next most likely, and those from lower ranked programs the least likely to achieve supervisory positions. A sample of 2,062 life scientists with doctorates from U.S. universities was collected from records archived from 1983 to 1995. In contrast to hypotheses, Ph.D.'s from elite and lower ranked schools did not have a significantly different chance of supervising. Within prestigious organizations, however, Ph.D.'s from top 10 programs did have a greater likelihood of leading. Ph.D.'s from middle-ranked programs were less likely to advance into supervisory positions. Qualitative interviews explored how, in a knowledgeexpanding field such as the life sciences, being stuck on the bottom rung early on can adversely affect a scientist's career.
High interleukin-10 production is associated with low antibody response to influenza vaccination in the elderly
Authors: Corsini Emanuela , Vismara Luigi , Lucchi Laura , Viviani Barbara , Govoni Stefano , Galli Corrado L , Marinovich Marina , Racchi Marco
Published: May 2006

The present study was designed to determine the correlation among dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), cortisol plasma levels, and immune functionality at the time of vaccination with antibody response to influenza vaccination in young and old, healthy volunteers. Fifty-two elderly subjects, ages 63–85 years, and 14 young subjects, ages 26–41 years, entered the study. Plasma levels of DHEA and cortisol and in vitro cytokine production in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) by peripheral blood leukocytes were assessed at the time of vaccination, and antibody titer was measured before and 18 days after influenza virus vaccination. Elderly subjects were characterized by an increase in the cortisol:DHEA ratio, mainly as a result of a decrease in DHEA. A decrease in LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), increased PHA-induced interleukin-10 (IL-10) release, and similar PHA-induced interferon-γ production were observed in elderly subjects compared with young volunteers. Lower antibody titer to influenza A virus was observed in elderly individuals, and the seroconversion factor was found to be correlated inversely with IL-10 production and correlated directly with TNF-α production and to a lesser extent, with the plasma level of DHEA. These results suggest that altered cytokine production in elderly subjects at the moment of vaccination can be predictive of a low response to influenza vaccination and warrant the study of strategies to improve protection afforded by the use of vaccines.
Data and safety monitoring in social behavioral intervention trials: the REACH II experience
Authors: Czaja Sara J , Schulz Richard , Belle Steven H , Burgio Louis D , Armstrong Nell , Gitlin Laura N , Coon David W , Martindale-Adams Jennifer , Klinger Julie , Stahl Sidney M
Published: May 2006

Background Psychosocial and behavioral interventions trials targeting a broad range of complex social and behavioral problems such as smoking, obesity and family caregiving have proliferated in the past 30 years. At the same time the use of Data and Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs) to monitor the progress and quality of intervention trials and the safety of study participants has increased substantially. Most of the existing literature and guidelines for safety monitoring and reporting of adverse events focuses on medical interventions. Consequently, there is little guidance for investigators conducting social and behavior trials.

Purpose This paper summarizes how issues associated with safety monitoring and adverse event reporting were handled in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH II) program, a multi-site randomized clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes on Aging (NIA) and the National Institutes of Nursing Research (NINR), that tested the efficacy of a multicomponent social/behavioral intervention for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Methods A task force was formed to define adverse events for the trial and protocols for reporting and resolving events that occurred. The task force conducted a review of existing polices and protocols for data and safety monitoring and adverse event reporting and identified potential risks particular to the study population. An informal survey regarding data and safety monitoring procedures with investigators on psychosocial intervention trials was also conducted.

Results Two categories of events were defined for both caregivers and patients; adverse events and safety alerts. A distinction was also made between events detected at baseline assessment and those detected post-randomization. Standardized protocols were also developed for the reporting and resolution of events that occurred and training of study personnel. Results from the informal survey indicated wide variability in practices for data safety and monitoring across psychosocial intervention trials.

Conclusions Overall, the REACH II experience demonstrates that existing guidelines regarding safety monitoring and adverse event reporting pose unique challenges for social/behavioral intervention trials. Challenges encountered in the REACH II program included defining and classifying adverse events, defining “resolution” of adverse events and attributing causes for events that occurred. These challenges are highlighted and recommendations for addressing them in future studies are discussed.
An Institutional Review Board dilemma: responsible for safety monitoring but not in control
Authors: DeMets David L , Fost Norman , Powers Madison
Published: May 2006

Clinical trials have become a major research tool to evaluate new medical interventions. Most trials require some level of data monitoring for quality control and many trials require special monitoring for participant safety. For national multicenter trials, independent data monitoring committees have become the standard for monitoring for evidence of participant benefit or harm in trials with irreversible outcomes such as death or serious morbidity. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is held responsible for monitoring local trials. Often local institutions do not have an infrastructure in place to meet this responsibility, and therefore local IRBs cannot fulfill this obligation. In addition, IRBs are currently inundated with individual safety reports from local and multi-institutional trials which may appear to provide some level of safety monitoring, but in fact gives a false sense of security. We propose the establishment of institutional data monitoring committees and appropriate informatics infrastructure to monitor local trials.
The feasibility of clinical endpoint trials in HIV infection in the highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) era
Authors: Mocroft A , Neaton J , Bebchuk J , Staszewski S , Antunes F , Knysz B , Law M , Phillips A N , Lundgren J D
Published: May 2006

Background Planning clinical-endpoint trials in patients with HIV remain difficult as long-term follow-up of many patients is required. Cohort studies of patients with HIV can provide key estimates of the likely disease progression, required sample size and follow-up.

Objectives To verify the assumptions used in designing ESPRIT, a large randomized clinical trial assessing the clinical benefit of interleukin-2 treatment in patients with HIV infection, to use EuroSIDA to mimic the inclusion criterion of ESPRIT in order to compare the observed event rate in ESPRIT with the projected rate in EuroSIDA, and to project the required length of ESPRIT.

Methods Patients in EuroSIDA who satisfied the ESPRIT recruitment criteria were selected. Patients were followed from baseline to new AIDS or death.

Results The incidence of clinical progression in the selected EuroSIDA patients ( N - 4482) was 1.5 per 100 PYFU (95% CI 1.3–1.7), and did not increase with increasing time from baseline, contrary to what was assumed in the design of the ESPRIT trial. In ESPRIT (N - 4150), for which the comparative data remain blinded, the incidence was 1.1 per 100 PYFU (95% CI 0.9–1.3), with no increase over time. The average follow-up required to complete ESPRIT and accrue the 320 events required by protocol would be seven years, 10 months using the projected rates from the EuroSIDA study, and seven years, 11 months if the observed event rate in ESPRIT continued unchanged.

Limitations Differences between patients recruited to observational studies or clinical trials cannot always be adjusted for.

Conclusions Event rates in EuroSIDA were similar in the first two years to those used in the design of ESPRIT, but did not increase over time, leading to an increase in the expected duration of ESPRIT. Clinical endpoint trials in HIV infection remain feasible, and large cohort studies are critical to the planning and ongoing assessment of design assumptions in such trials. The underlying assumptions of the clinical trial should be re-examined to ensure the original trial assumptions remain valid.
Do antidepressants cause suicidality in children? A Bayesian meta-analysis
Authors: Kaizar Eloise E , Greenhouse Joel B , Seltman Howard , Kelleher Kelly
Published: May 2006

Background To quantify the risk of suicidal behavior/ideation (suicidality) for children who use antidepressants, the FDA collected randomized placebo-controlled trials of antidepressant efficacy in children. Although none of the 4487 children completed suicide, 1.7% exhibited suicidality. The FDA meta-analyzed these studies and found sufficient evidence of an increased risk to require a black-box warning on antidepressants for children.

Purpose The FDA considered different drug formulations and psychiatric diagnoses to be equivalent in their effect on suicidality. If this assumption does not hold, the FDA analysis may have underestimated the variance of the risk estimate. We investigate the consequences of relaxing these assumptions.

Methods We extend the FDA analysis using a Bayesian hierarchical model that allows for a study-level component of variability and facilitates extensive sensitivity analyses.

Results We found an association between antidepressant use and an increased risk of suicidality in studies where the diagnosis was major depressive disorder (odds ratio 2.3 [1.3, 3.8]), and where the antidepressant was an SSRI (odds ratio 2.2 [1.3, 3.6]). We did not find evidence for such an association in the complement sets of trials. Although the results based on the hierarchical model are insensitive to model perturbations, the robustness of the FDA's meta-analysis to model assumptions is less clear. These data have limited generalizability due to exclusion of patients with baseline risk of suicide and the use of relatively short duration trials.

Conclusions Because of model specification and interpretation issues raised in this paper, we conclude that the evidence supporting a causal link between antidepressant use and suicidality in children is weak. The use of Bayesian hierarchical models for meta-analysis has facilitated the incorporation of potentially important sources of variability and the use of sensitivity analysis to assess the consequences of model specifications and their impact on important regulatory decisions.
Benchmarks for designing two-stage studies using modified mini-mental state examinations: experience from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study
Authors: Espeland Mark A , Rapp Stephen R , Robertson Julia , Granek Iris , Murphy Carol , Albert Marilyn , Bassford Tamsen
Published: May 2006

Background The most efficient approach for studies examining the incidence of dementia involves a brief screening instrument to identify participants for more extensive testing to identify cognitive impairment. The modified mini-mental state examination (3MS) is commonly used as this initial screen in such two-stage designs, however its properties for this role require further study.

Purpose We use data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study to contrast design options in two-stage designs.

Methods This trial enrolled 7251 participants with nine or more years of education who were aged 65–79 and followed an average of four to five years. Logistic regression was used to examine the case yields at varying two-stage 3MS cutpoints. The efficiency of using different examination schedules and restricting enrollment to higher risk women was examined.

Results Probable dementia is associated with marked decline in 3MS scores. The percentages of women classified with probable dementia ranged from 7.95% (3MS 85–88) to 50.0% (3MS = 70). The numbers [95% confidence interval] of enrolled women necessary to detect one case of probable dementia (four-year follow-up) for baseline 3MS scores of 100, 95, 90 and 85 were estimated as 1477 [389, 5618], 253 [134, 481], 53 [34, 85], and 14 [9, 23], respectively. Compared to annual testing, administration every two years increased the number of required enrollees by 11%, but decreased the number of test administrations by 46%.

Limitations Our findings are influenced by the characteristics of our study group, its rates of retention, and the study protocol, and may not fully generalize to other settings.

Conclusions The 3MS can serve as an efficient basis for two-stage study designs and a cutpoint of 88 is reasonable for populations with similar characteristics. Studies may improve efficiency by using the 3MS during screening to eliminate women with low risk for dementia and by conducting testing every two years.