bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Funding for rural health research from the Australian Research Council: A missed opportunity?
Authors: McDonald John
Published: May 2009

Objective:  To determine the number of projects, and level of funding, for rural health research from the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Design:  Analyses of ARC searchable datasets of completed, and new and ongoing projects from 2001 to 2008.

Main outcome measures:  Number of rural health research projects as a proportion of total funding; level of funding for rural health research projects as a proportion of total funding.

Results:  Only 46 of 6498 ARC completed projects were classified as rural health research projects. This represents 0.7% of the total number of projects, and 0.39% of the total funding allocated. Only 25 of 4659 ARC new and ongoing projects were classified as rural health research projects. This represents 0.54% of the total number of projects, and 0.27% of the total funding allocated. None of the 832 completed fellowships were classified as rural health. Only five (0.52%) of the 953 new and ongoing fellowships were classified as rural health.

Conclusions:  The level of under‐funding for rural health research could be partially addressed by directing applications towards the ARC, in addition to the National Health and Medical Research Council. With a few exceptions, rural health researchers are not yet competitive in the national funding arena.
Loss of income and levels of scholarship support for students on rural clinical placements: A survey of medical, nursing and allied health students
Authors: Schofield Deborah , Keane Sheila , Fletcher Susan , Shrestha Rupendra , Percival Richard
Published: May 2009

Objective:  To quantify the financial impact of rural clinical placements on medical, nursing and allied health students in rural Australia.

Design:  The Careers in Health Tracking Survey provided data on whether students were employed, usual weekly hours of employment and a range of covariates, such as age, sex, course of study, marital status, dependants and rural or urban origin.

Participants:  A total of 121 students from a range of health professions completed the Careers in Health Tracking Survey while on rural placement at the Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health.

Outcome measures:  Survey data.

Results:  Forty‐one per cent of respondents were working immediately before their clinical placements. Nursing students worked the longest hours by far and were significantly more financially disadvantaged than both medical and allied health students (P < 0.01). Scholarship support was unevenly distributed, with nursing and allied health students being relatively under‐supported in relation to lost earnings.

Conclusion:  Recruitment of students can be an effective strategy to address the rural health workforce shortage throughout Australia. However, there are a number of financial disincentives for students to undertake rural clinical placements. Additional support for some disciplines is needed to provide equitable distribution of scholarship support to offset this financial burden. Establishing an employment scheme for students on rural clinical placements and a scholarship for income replacement where employment is not available would also alleviate income loss.
Adults with intellectual disability in regional Australia: Incidence of disability and provision of accommodation support to their ageing carers
Authors: Eley Diann , Boyes Joanne , Young Louise , Hegney Desley
Published: May 2009

Objective:  This project aimed to identify a population of adults with intellectual disability and their carers in a defined regional area of Australia to determine their prevalence in this setting, their current accommodation situation and their future accommodation needs.

Design:  Mixed method cross‐sectional design employed a survey to collect data from both quantitative (Likert type) and qualitative (free response) questions.

Setting:  Regional town and its contiguous shires in Queensland.

Participants:  Adults (over 18 years) with an intellectual disability and their primary carers.

Main outcome measure:  Identification of adults with intellectual disability and a description of their accommodation situation and perceived needs.

Results:  Adults with intellectual disability (n = 156) were male (60%), mean age of 37.2 years (range 18–79). Carers (n = 146) were female (78%), mean age of 61.5 years (range 40–91). The majority of adults with intellectual disability (56%) are cared for at home (mean age = 35 years). Mean age of those who live away from home was 39.8 years. The levels of support required by those living at home and those living away from home were not different, nor were the age ranges of their carers.

Conclusions:  Findings show that the majority of primary carers are over the age of 50 years and continue to provide medium–high levels of support within the family home. The advancing age of both carers and the people they support, combined with the location of that support, is a major issue in the provision of adequate services for this population.
The effect of soil compaction on germination and early growth of Eucalyptus albens and an exotic annual grass
Authors: SKINNER ALISON K. , LUNT IAN D. , SPOONER PETER , McINTYRE SUE
Published: May 2009

Most agricultural land has been compacted to some degree by heavy machinery or livestock trampling. This legacy is expected to influence the success of tree seedling recruits in farmland areas where natural regeneration is being encouraged. We investigated the impact of soil compaction on seedlings of a woodland eucalypt (Eucalyptus albens) and an annual grass competitor (Vulpia myuros) in a laboratory experiment. Replicate soil cores were created at five bulk density levels; 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 Mg m−3 with a soil water content of 20%. The depth of root penetration declined linearly with increasing bulk density, resulting in a decrease in root depth of around 75% in the most compacted soil compared with the least compacted soil for both species. Shoot length and primary root length did not vary between soil bulk density levels for either species, but seedlings responded to increasing levels of compaction with oblique (non‐vertical) root growth. Results suggest that young seedlings of both E. albens and V. myuros will be more susceptible to surface drying in compacted than uncompacted soils and therefore face a greater risk of desiccation during the critical months following germination. Any competitive advantage that V. myuros may have over E. albens is not evident in differential response to soil compaction.
Grazing and landscape controls on nitrogen availability across 330 South African savanna sites
Authors: CRAINE JOSEPH M. , BALLANTYNE FIONA , PEEL MICHAEL , ZAMBATIS NICK , MORROW CARL , STOCK WILLIAM D.
Published: May 2009

The availability of nitrogen (N) is an important determinant of ecosystem and community dynamics for grasslands and savannas, influencing factors such as biomass productivity, plant and herbivore composition, and losses of N to waters and the atmosphere. To better understand the controls over N availability at landscape to regional scales, we quantified a range of plant and soil characteristics at each of 330 sites in three regions of South Africa: Kruger National Park (KNP), private game reserves adjacent to KNP (private protected areas – PPAs) and Hluhluwe‐iMfolozi Park (HiP). In comparing regions and sites within regions, grazing appeared to have a strong influence on N availability. Sites in the PPAs adjacent to KNP as well as sodic and alluvial sites in general typically had the highest N availability. The high N availability of these sites was not generally associated with greater potential N mineralization, but instead with less grass biomass and more forb biomass that indicated greater grazing pressure. Whereas sodic sites had a long history of high N availability as evidenced by their high soil δ15N, the greater N availability in the PPAs over the two parks appeared to be relatively recent. Grazer biomass, average potential mineralization rates and grass biomass for HiP were greater than KNP, yet there were no differences in N availability as indexed by soil and foliar δ15N between sites in the two parks. Although the short‐term increase in N availability in PPAs is not necessarily deleterious, it is uncertain whether current productivity levels in those ecosystems is sustainable. With differences in management causing herbivore biomass to be 150% greater in the PPAs than the adjacent KNP, changes in plant communities and nitrogen cycling might lead to long‐term degradation of these ecosystems, their ability to sustain herbivore populations, and also serve as an economic resource for the region.
The effect of a single burn event on the aquatic invertebrates in artesian springs
Authors: MUNRO NICOLA THERESE , KOVAC KELLI‐JO , NIEJALKE DARREN , CUNNINGHAM ROSS B.
Published: May 2009

Fire can often occur in aquatic ecosystems, which may affect aquatic invertebrates. Despite the importance of aquatic invertebrates to ecosystem function, the effect of fire on these environments has been little studied. We studied the effects of fire on aquatic invertebrates in artesian springs in the arid zone of South Australia. Artesian springs are a unique and threatened ecosystem, containing several rare and endemic species. Evidence suggests these wetlands were routinely burnt by indigenous Aboriginal people before European settlement over 100 years ago. Recently, burning has been suggested as a reinstated management tool to control the dominant reed Phragmites australis. A reduction in the cover of the reed may benefit the threatened flora and fauna through enhancement of water flow. Three artesian springs were burnt and aquatic invertebrates sampled from the burnt and three unburnt springs. A single fire in late winter completely burnt the dominant vegetation, followed by recovery of Phragmites over the following 2 years. A single fire event did not deplete populations of endemic aquatic invertebrates in artesian springs, but probably did not substantially benefit these populations either. Isopods, amphipods, ostracods and three species of hydrobiid snail survived the fire event, and most had increased in number 1 month post fire but then returned to pre‐burnt numbers by 1 year post fire. Morphospecies richness of all identified invertebrates increased over time in all springs, but did not differ appreciably between burnt and unburnt springs. If burning artesian springs is to be adopted as a management tool to suppress the growth of Phragmites australis, we conclude that the endemic aquatic invertebrates will survive a single burn event, without negative effect to their populations.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Linking data from hospital and cancer registry databases: should this be standard practice?
Authors: Field K. , Kosmider S. , Johns J. , Farrugia H. , Hastie I. , Croxford M. , Chapman M. , Harold M. , Murigu N. , Gibbs P.
Published: May 2009

Background: Varying amounts of data related to cancer diagnosis, treatment and/or outcome are routinely collected by many disparate groups. Routinely combining data from these sources could improve data quality and utility for audit and research purposes. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of linkage between oncology databases.

Methods: We examined colorectal cancer (CRC) data recorded by the Victorian Cancer Registry and two hospital clinical databases between January 2000 and December 2005. Where data were in common, the completeness and accuracy of each dataset were examined. Where content differed, the potential value of making this additional data available to the other database was examined.

Results: Of the 831 cases recorded at the hospitals, 822 (98.9%) were also recorded on the cancer registry. Eight of the 913 cases (0.87%) recorded as having CRC by the registry did not have CRC. Errors in recording of tumour site and tumour or nodal stage were frequent in both databases. Metastasis stage was recorded in only 29 of 822 (3.5%) registry cases examined. Discordance for diagnosis date and death date was also frequent, although the difference was typically minor. Adding additional death data from the registry to the clinical database significantly altered stage‐specific and overall survival figures.

Conclusion: A multidirectional flow of data between hospital and registry databases provides multiple opportunities to improve data quality and utility. While issues around data ownership and usage need to be considered, the advantages of routine data linkage are readily apparent.
Fatigue resistance and structure (30 years on)
Authors: PLUMBRIDGE W. J.
Published: May 2009

A summary of the findings of the 11 papers reviewed in the original article is presented, and subsequent developments in a selected few are considered from a personal perspective. While there has been substantial progress in some areas (short cracks, time‐dependent effects, fatigue–creep interactions) many challenges remain. New fields of interest (notably the transition towards micro/nano‐integrity and electronics applications) have emerged, and it is contended that the next 30 years will be equally demanding and exciting.
Human sound‐localization behaviour after multiple changes in eye position
Authors: Van Grootel Tom J. , John Van Opstal A.
Published: May 2009

Orienting the eyes towards a peripheral sound source calls for a transformation of the head‐centred sound coordinates into an oculocentric motor command, which requires an estimate of current eye position. Current models of saccadic control explain spatial accuracy by oculocentric transformations that rely on efference copies of relative eye‐displacement signals, rather than on absolute eye position in the orbit. In principle, the gaze‐control system could keep track of instantaneous eye position by vector addition of intervening eye‐displacement commands. However, given that each motor update is endowed with some noise, the neural estimate of eye orientation is then expected to become noisier with increasing number of intervening saccades. As a consequence, the localization response will also be noisier. According to the alternative, in which target updates rely on feedback of the current eye position, such an increase in errors would be absent. In an attempt to dissociate these hypotheses, we studied the influence of the accumulation of oculomotor commands prior to a sound‐localization response. Head‐restrained subjects generated voluntary eye movements in darkness in random directions for a period between 0.2 and 15 s, after which they rapidly reoriented the eyes towards a brief sound burst. The results demonstrate that the audiomotor system programmes the orienting response on the basis of actual eye position, rather than on an accumulated estimate from intervening eye displacements.
Circadian rhythms of PERIOD1 expression in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus in the absence of entrained food‐anticipatory activity rhythms in rats
Authors: Verwey Michael , Lam Germain Y. M. , Amir Shimon
Published: May 2009

When food availability is restricted to a single time of day, circadian rhythms of behavior and physiology in rodents shift to anticipate the predictable time of food arrival. It has been hypothesized that certain food‐anticipatory rhythms are linked to the induction and entrainment of rhythms in clock gene expression in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH), a putative food‐entrained circadian oscillator. To study this concept further, we made food availability unpredictable by presenting the meal at a random time each day (variable restricted feeding, VRF), either during the day, night or throughout the 24‐h cycle. Wheel running activity and the expression of the clock protein, Period1 (PER1), in the DMH and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) were assessed. Rats exhibited increased levels of activity during the portion of the day when food was randomly presented but, as expected, failed to entrain anticipatory wheel running activity to a single time of day. PER1 expression in the SCN was unchanged by VRF schedules. In the DMH, PER1 expression became rhythmic, peaking at opposite times of day in rats fed only during the day or during the night. In rats fed randomly throughout the entire 24‐h cycle, PER1 expression in the DMH remained arrhythmic, but was elevated. These results demonstrate that VRF schedules confined to the day or night can induce circadian rhythms of clock gene expression in the DMH. Such feeding schedules cannot entrain behavioral rhythms, thereby showing that food‐entrainment of behavior and circadian rhythms of clock gene expression in the DMH are dissociable.
Pea‐derived vaccines demonstrate high immunogenicity and protection in rabbits against rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus
Authors: Mikschofsky Heike , Schirrmeier Horst , Keil Günther M. , Lange Bodo , Polowick Patricia L. , Keller Wilf , Broer Inge
Published: May 2009

Vaccines against rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) are commercially produced in experimentally infected rabbits. A genetically engineered and manufactured version of the major structural protein of RHDV (VP60) is considered to be an alternative approach for vaccine production. Plants have the potential to become an excellent recombinant production system, but the low expression level and insufficient immunogenic potency of plant‐derived VP60 still hamper its practical use. In this study, we analysed the expression of a novel multimeric VP60‐based antigen in four different plant species, including Nicotiana tabacum L., Solanum tuberosum L., Brassica napus L. and Pisum sativum L. Significant differences were detected in the expression patterns of the novel fusion antigen cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)::VP60 (ctbvp60SEKDEL) at the mRNA and protein levels. Pentameric CTB::VP60 molecules were only detected in N. tabacum and P. sativum, and displayed equal levels of CTB, at approximately 0.01% of total soluble protein (TSP), and traces of detectable VP60. However, strong enhancement of the CTB protein content via self‐fertilization was only observed in P. sativum, where it reached up to 0.7% of TSP. In rabbits, a strong decrease in the protective vaccine dose required from 48–400 µg potato‐derived VP60 [Castanon, S., Marin, M.S., Martin‐Alonso, J.M., Boga, J.A., Casais, R., Humara, J.M., Ordas, R.J. and Parra, F. (1999) Immunization with potato plants expressing VP60 protein protects against rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus. J. Virol. 73, 4452–4455; Castanon, S., Martin‐Alonso, J.M., Marin, M.S., Boga, J.A., Alonso, P., Parra, F. and Ordas, R.J. (2002) The effect of the promoter on expression of VP60 gene from rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus in potato plants. Plant Sci. 162, 87–95] to 0.56–0.28 µg antigenic VP60 (measured with VP60 enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay) of crude CTB::VP60 pea extracts was demonstrated. Rabbits immunized with pea‐derived CTB::VP60 showed anti‐VP60‐specific antibodies, similar to RikaVacc®‐immunized rabbits, and survived RHDV challenge.
Teaching Thinking and Problem Solving at University: A Course on TRIZ
Authors: Belski Iouri
Published: May 2009

Thinking and problem solving skills are considered to be of significant importance in many professions. Surveys indicate that university education fails in appropriately enhancing these skills. This paper presents a concept of teaching thinking and problem solving as a separate course, based on the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Student surveys showed that students' perception of their abilities in problem solving changed vastly as a consequence of the course. Students reflected that they would never have expected themselves to come up with the ideas they eventually thought of and suggested while conducting their final project, had they not been formally taught about the tools of problem solving. It was also found that this course on TRIZ thinking tools impacted students' problem solving abilities much more than discipline‐based courses, supporting the superiority of the ‘enrichment’ over the ‘infusion’ approach.
How Social Are Task Representations?
Authors: Hommel Bernhard , Colzato Lorenza S. , van den Wildenberg Wery P.M.
Published: May 2009

The classical Simon effect shows that actions are carried out faster if they spatially correspond to the stimulus signaling them. Recent studies revealed that this is the case even when the two actions are carried out by different people; this finding has been taken to imply that task representations are socially shared. In work described here, we found that the “interactive” Simon effect occurs only if actor and coactor are involved in a positive relationship (induced by a friendly-acting, cooperative confederate), but not if they are involved in a negative relationship (induced by an intimidating, competitive confederate). This result suggests that agents can represent self-generated and other-generated actions separately, but tend to relate or integrate these representations if the personal relationship between self and other has a positive valence.
Positive Self-Statements
Authors: Wood Joanne V. , Elaine Perunovic W.Q. , Lee John W.
Published: May 2009

Positive self-statements are widely believed to boost mood and self-esteem, yet their effectiveness has not been demonstrated. We examined the contrary prediction that positive self-statements can be ineffective or even harmful. A survey study confirmed that people often use positive self-statements and believe them to be effective. Two experiments showed that among participants with low self-esteem, those who repeated a positive self-statement (“I'm a lovable person”) or who focused on how that statement was true felt worse than those who did not repeat the statement or who focused on how it was both true and not true. Among participants with high self-esteem, those who repeated the statement or focused on how it was true felt better than those who did not, but to a limited degree. Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people, but backfire for the very people who “need” them the most.
The Group-Contagion Effect
Authors: Mishra Arul , Mishra Himanshu , Nayakankuppam Dhananjay
Published: May 2009

We used contagion theory as a framework for studying the influence of spread of qualities in a group. We found that people's preferences change depending on how objects are arranged in a group. They prefer to choose from a closely arranged group if one unidentified object in that group has a positive quality, but prefer to choose from a group in which objects are farther apart if one unidentified object in that group has a negative quality. We call this pattern of preference the group-contagion effect. We also found that the magnitude of the effect increases if the number of objects possessing the positive or negative quality increases.
International Trade Policy towards Monopoly and Oligopoly*
Authors: Kujal Praveen , Ruiz Juan M.
Published: May 2009

This paper highlights the importance of product differentiation and endogenous R&D in determining the optimal R&D policy, in a model where investment in cost‐reducing R&D is committed before firms compete in a differentiated‐goods third‐country export market. R&D is always taxed in oligopolies for high degrees of product differentiation. For lower degrees of product differentiation the duopoly is subsidized or the government remains inactive. In contrast, the monopoly is always subsidized. The government with a duopoly may be active or inactive depending on the degree of product differentiation. Thus, we may observe a reversal in the sign of the optimal R&D policy if the degree of product differentiation changes or, alternatively, if there is a change in the number of firms. Similar qualitative results hold if trade policy uses output subsidies, instead of R&D promotion.
The Employment Effect of the Disability Discrimination Act: Evidence from the Health Survey for England
Authors: Jones Melanie K.
Published: May 2009

This paper uses data from the Health Survey for England between 1991 and 2004 to examine the labour market impact of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). Consistent with previous evidence in the UK and the USA, this study finds no evidence of a positive employment effect of the introduction of the DDA. Sensitivity analysis, using the small firm exemption of the DDA, and controlling for changes in the composition of the disabled, is used to test the robustness of the main results.
Evaluating the reproductive cost of migration for females in a partially migrating pond‐breeding amphibian
Authors: Grayson K. L. , McLeod H. D.
Published: May 2009

Populations of animals with resident and migratory individuals provide an ideal system for addressing questions concerning the evolution of migration. Partially migratory populations may persist because residents and migrants have equal fitness or because migration is based on conditional asymmetries. Studies measuring the costs and benefits of migration provide empirical data to test hypotheses concerning the maintenance of partial migration within a population. In this study, we measured the reproductive differences between resident and migrant females in a pond‐breeding amphibian, the red‐spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens. We used large field enclosures to repeatedly sample egg laying over the prolonged breeding season of this species. Resident females did not lay a greater number of eggs or begin laying eggs earlier, despite beginning the breeding season earlier and having a higher mass than migrant newts. The only difference in reproduction we detected was that the eggs of resident females hatched into larger larvae compared with the larvae of migrant females. We discuss this result in the context of other potential trade‐offs between residency and migration. This study illustrates the phenology of egg laying of N. viridescens and our results contribute to understanding the population dynamics of partially migratory species.
Effects of 10 years of conservation tillage on soil properties and productivity in the farming–pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia, China
Authors: He J. , Kuhn N. J. , Zhang X. M. , Zhang X. R. , Li H. W.
Published: May 2009

Soil degradation and subsequent yield decline are the main factors limiting further development of agriculture on the farming–pastoral transition zone of China. A 10‐year field experiment was conducted in Inner Mongolia to compare the long‐term effects of no‐tillage with straw cover (NT), subsoiling with straw cover (ST), rototilling with straw cover (RT) and traditional tillage (TT) using ploughs on soil properties and productivity in a spring wheat–oat cropping system. Long‐term conservation tillage increased soil organic matter in the top 20 cm by 21.4%, total N by 31.8% and Olsen’s P by 34.5% in the 0–5 cm layer compared to traditional tillage. Mean percentage of macro‐aggregates (>0.25 mm, +20%) and macroporosity (>60 μm, +52.1%) also improved significantly in the 0–30 cm soil layer (P < 0.05). The largest yield improvements coupled with greatest water use efficiency (WUE) were achieved by no‐tillage with straw cover. Ten‐year mean crop yields increased by 14.0% and WUE improved by 13.5% compared to traditional tillage due to greater soil moisture and improved soil physical and chemical status. These improvements in soil properties and productivity are of considerable importance for the seriously degraded soils in semiarid Inner Mongolia, as well as for food security, sustainable agriculture and carbon storage in the farming–pasture transition regions of China.
The effect of botulinum toxin A on skin flap survival in rats
Authors: Kim Young Seok , Roh Tai Suk , Lee Won‐Jai , Yoo Won Min , Tark Kwan‐Chul
Published: May 2009

This study examines the role of botulinum toxin type A (BoTA) in preventing the collapse of the peripheral vessels in the cutaneous flap and in increasing the survival of the flap. Because BoTA cleaves the SNAP‐25 protein, the release of vasoconstriction cotransmitters as well as acetylcholine would be blocked. Dorsal skin flaps in rats were elevated and returned to the original position. In the BoTA and the control group, either BoTA or saline was injected into the entire flap. The flap survival rate measurement and a histopathological examination were performed 1 week after flap elevation. The cutaneous blood flow was measured in three different areas of each flap, serially. In BoTA group, there was a significant increase in the survival rate (93.79 ± 6.06%,p=0.042). In the control group, the blood flow was decreased significantly immediately after flap elevation. The blood flow was high in all areas in the BoTA group in a week, and also most of the vessels maintained their shape without collapsing. In conclusion, pretreatment with BoTA increases the dorsal skin flap survival in rats by increased perfusion, and further studies should be performed to determine the possible mechanism by which BoTA attenuates the sympathetic vasoconstriction effect in skin flaps.
Effect of smoking, abstention, and nicotine patch on epidermal healing and collagenase in skin transudate
Authors: Sørensen Lars Tue , Zillmer Rikke , Ågren Magnus , Ladelund Steen , Karlsmark Tonny , Gottrup Finn
Published: May 2009

Delayed wound healing may explain postoperative tissue and wound dehiscence in smokers, but the effects of smoking and smoking cessation on the cellular mechanisms remain unclear. Suction blisters were raised in 48 smokers and 30 never smokers. The fluid was retrieved and the epidermal roof was excised. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was measured after 2, 4, and 7 days. Then, the smokers were randomized to continuous smoking or abstinence with a transdermal nicotine patch or a placebo by concealed allocation. The sequence was repeated after 4, 8, and 12 weeks in all smokers and abstainers and in 6 never smokers. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐8 and MMP‐1 levels in suction blister fluid were assessed by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Random‐effects models for repeated measurements were applied andp≤0.05 was considered significant. One week after wounding the TEWL was 17.20 (14.47–19.92) g/cm2 hour (mean, 95% CI) in smokers and 13.89 (9.46–18.33) in never smokers (p<0.01). In abstinent smokers TEWL was 18.95 (15.20–22.70)(p<0.01, when compared with smokers). In smokers, MMP‐8 was 36.4 (24.3–48.5) ng/mL (mean, 95% CI) and 15.2 (1.4–30.2) ng/mL in never smokers (p<0.01). Abstinent smokers' MMP‐8 level was 21.2 ng/mL (6.6–43.0) (p=0.02, when compared with smokers). MMP‐1 was unaffected by smoking and abstention. Transdermal nicotine patch did not affect any parameter. We conclude that smoking attenuates epidermal healing and may enhance extracellular matrix degradation. Three months of abstinence from smoking does not restore epidermal healing, whereas 4 weeks of abstinence normalizes suction blister MMP‐8 levels. These findings suggest sustained impaired wound healing in smokers and potential reversibility of extracellular matrix degradation.
Dynamic changes after murine digit amputation: The MRL mouse digit shows waves of tissue remodeling, growth, and apoptosis
Authors: Gourevitch Dimitri L. , Clark Lise , Bedelbaeva Khamilia , Leferovich John , Heber‐Katz Ellen
Published: May 2009

Digit regrowth following amputation injury proximal to the first phalangeal joint is not a property of mammalian wound healing. However, the regenerative potential observed in the MRL mouse invites a reexamination of this rule. In this study, healing was assessed in three mouse strains after amputation midway through the second phalangeal bone. Three distinct outcomes were observed though evidence for regrowth was observed only in the MRL mouse. Here, a blastema‐like structure was seen along with apparent chondrogenesis, consistent with a histological profile of a regenerative response to injury. Analysis of trichrome staining and basement membrane changes, proliferation and apoptosis indicated that these processes contributed to the formation of new digit tissue. On the other hand, SW and B6 digits did not show evidence of growth with little mesenchymal BrdU incorporation or phosphorylation of H3.
SYSTEMATICS OF THE BATRACHOSPERMALES (RHODOPHYTA)—A SYNTHESIS1
Authors: Entwisle Timothy J. , Vis Morgan L. , Chiasson Wayne B. , Necchi Jr. Orlando , Sherwood Alison R.
Published: May 2009

Recent molecular and morphological data necessitate a major taxonomic revision of the Batrachospermales, an order of red algae, distributed in freshwater habitats throughout the world. This article is a synthesis of available information with some targeted additional sequence data, resulting in a few relatively conservative taxonomic changes to begin the process of creating a natural taxonomy for the Batrachospermales. To increase the information content of our taxonomic categories, and in particular to reduce paraphyly, we describe one new genus (Kumanoa) and a new section inBatrachospermum(sectionMacrospora), and we amend the circumscriptions of the family Batrachospermaceae (to include Lemaneaceae and Psilosiphonaceae), the genusBatrachospermum(to exclude the sectionsContortaandHybrida, raised to genus level asKumanoa), and the sectionsAristata, Helminthoidea,andBatrachospermumofBatrachospermum. We also provide a new name,B. montagnei, for the illegitimateB. guyanense, and recognize an informal paraphyletic grouping of taxa withinBatrachospermum, the “Australasica Group.” This taxonomic synthesis increases the level of monophyly within the Batrachospermales but minimizes taxonomic change where data are still inadequate.
Hypertension and Cognitive Decline in Rural Elderly Chinese
Authors: Gao Sujuan , Jin Yinlong , Unverzagt Frederick W. , Liang Chaoke , Hall Kathleen S. , Ma Feng , Murrell Jill R. , Cheng Yibin , Matesan Janetta , Bian Jianchao , Li Ping , Hendrie Hugh C.
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between hypertension and cognitive decline in older adults.

DESIGN: Prospective observational study.

SETTING: Four rural counties in China.

PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand rural Chinese aged 65 and older (median age 70, range 65–92) participated in a baseline evaluation. A follow‐up evaluation of 1,737 subjects was conducted 2.5 years after baseline.

MEASUREMENTS: Cognitive function was assessed using the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSID), Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) Word List Learning and Recall Tests, Indiana University (IU) Story Recall Test, Animal Fluency Test, and IU Token Test. Hypertension was defined as the mean of two readings of systolic blood pressure (BP) of 140 mmHg or greater, diastolic BP of 90 mmHg or greater, or according to self‐report. Cognitive decline was derived as the difference between baseline and follow‐up scores. Analysis of covariance models were used to estimate the association between hypertension, BP, and cognitive decline, adjusting for other covariates.

RESULTS: Greater decline was found on the CERAD 10‐Word List Learning (P<.001) and Recall (P=.01) scores for subjects with hypertension than for those without. In particular, significantly greater decline was seen in the group with hypertension that was not taking medication than in the group without hypertension. No significant difference on cognitive decline was found between subjects with hypertension who were taking medication and those without hypertention.

CONCLUSION: Untreated hypertension was associated with greater cognitive decline in this Chinese cohort. Better hypertension detection and treatment in elderly people, especially in developing countries, may offer protection against cognitive decline.
Inappropriate Medication Use as a Risk Factor for Self‐Reported Adverse Drug Effects in Older Adults
Authors: Chrischilles Elizabeth A. , VanGilder Rachel , Wright Kara , Kelly Michael , Wallace Robert B.
Published: May 2009

OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between inappropriate medication use and self‐reported adverse drug effects (ADEs).

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with three annual mailed surveys.

SETTING: Population‐based sample of Iowa Medicare beneficiaries.

PARTICIPANTS: Cohort members (n=626) with established mobility disability and complete pharmacy dispensing records, continuous Medicare eligibility, and survey data.

MEASUREMENTS: The number of unique drug ingredients dispensed and inappropriate use were assessed for the year before the ADE survey. Inappropriate medication use was defined according to published criteria: contraindicated drugs for elderly people, drug–disease interactions (constructed from linked Medicare claims), drug–drug interactions, and therapeutic duplications. An ADE was defined from the following question: “In the past 12 months, have you experienced an unwanted effect or side effect of a medication?”

RESULTS: Of respondents to the ADE survey, 22.0% reported having experienced an ADE in the past year, and 322 (51.4%) received at least one potential inappropriate medication. Factors associated univariately with ADE self‐report were number of medications, number of mobility limitations, any inappropriate medication use, and each of the individual domain appropriateness indicators, as well as number of different domains of inappropriate use. The adjusted odds ratio for developing an ADE was 2.14 (95% confidence interval=1.26–3.65) for those with inappropriate use versus no inappropriate use.

CONCLUSION: Efforts to reduce ADEs by reducing medication inappropriateness should be encouraged as a complement to efforts focused on reducing the number of medications prescribed.
Mentoring: A Key Strategy to Prepare the Next Generation of Physicians to Care for an Aging America
Authors: White Heidi K. , Buhr Gwendolen T. , Pinheiro Sandro O.
Published: May 2009

Mentoring is an important instructional strategy that should be maximally used to develop the next generation of physicians who will care for a growing population of frail older adults. Mentoring can fulfill three specific purposes: (1) help learners choose an area of specialty, (2) help fellows and new faculty navigate advancement in the academic environment, and (3) help new physicians enter a local medical community and develop a high‐quality, professionally rewarding, financially viable practice that meets the needs of older adults. The components and process of mentoring are reviewed. Current and potential mechanisms to promote mentoring for the specific purpose of increasing the quality and quantity of physicians available to care for the older adult population are discussed.
Judicial Activism in Perilous Times: The Turkish Case
Authors: Tezcür Güneş Murat
Published: May 2009

Under what circumstances do courts act in ways that challenge the political hegemony of the military in countries with weak democratic institutions? This article addresses this question by focusing on a critical case of judicial activism in Turkey. It argues that lower courts unexpectedly can be centers of judicial activism that contributes to expansion of civil liberties and restrictions on arbitrary state power when the high judiciary supports the political status quo. This is because lower courts provide greater access to legal mobilization pursued by civil society actors. At the same time, judicial activism in lower courts is sustainable only when political power is distributed among elites with conflicting interests, and the civilian government offers support and protection to activist members of the judiciary.
The Ironies of Helping: Social Interventions and Executable Subjects
Authors: Dunn Kerry , Kaplan Paul J.
Published: May 2009

Law and society scholars have theorized about the link between capital punishment and the hegemony of individualism, but few offer empirical investigations to illustrate how individualism makes capital punishment possible (and vice versa) in the contemporary United States. In order to fill this gap, we analyze the legal and human service records that were compiled in the construction of one executable subject, Daniel Farnsworth. Using a critical discourse approach, we look at what was said and not said about Daniel in the records created by various helping agencies. In our analysis, we demonstrate how the helping agencies involved in Daniel's life repeatedly relied on an individuating psychological paradigm that led them to produce decontextualized catalogs of his actions and characteristics. Next, we illustrate how these pathologizing accounts were, ironically, later invoked in court in the name of preserving his life. Finally, we explain how “helping” discourses, along with the rules that regulate capital defense practice, straightjacket defense attorneys into reinforcing individualism in this context.
Effect of the Ba/Ti Ratio on the Microstructures and Dielectric Properties of Barium Titanate‐Based Glass–Ceramics
Authors: Chen Jichun , Zhang Yong , Deng Changsheng , Dai Xiaming , Li Longtu
Published: May 2009

A series of BaTiO3 (BT)‐based ferroelectric glass–ceramics have been prepared via controlled crystallization by varying the Ba/Ti ratio in an aluminum silicate glass composition, and the subsequent microstructure, phase evolution, and dielectric properties have been investigated. X‐ray diffraction indicated that an increasing Ba/Ti ratio promoted the crystallization of BaTiO3 and BaAl2Si2O8 from the glass matrix, and the cracking of glass–ceramics appears to be correlated to mismatch in the thermal expansion coefficient among BaTiO3, BaAl2Si2O8, and the glass matrix. In addition, it was found that increasing the Ba/Ti ratio facilitated the formation of a dendrite structure with obvious porosity. The change in the Ba/Ti ratio in the glass notably modified the dielectric properties: a high Ba/Ti ratio in the glass resulted in an increased dielectric constant and decreased breakdown strength.
Titanium Diffusion into (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 Thin Films Deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si Substrates and Corresponding Effects
Authors: Goh Phoi Chin , Yao Kui , Chen Zhong
Published: May 2009

Lead‐free (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by a sol–gel processing method, and titanium diffusion from the substrates into the KNN films under different thermal treatment conditions were investigated by the secondary ion mass spectroscopy depth profile and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy surface analysis. Titanium diffusion was evident in all the KNN thin films, which was further aggravated not only by increasing the annealing temperature, but also surprisingly by higher ramping rate attributed to the resulting larger grain boundaries. The pronounced effects of the titanium diffusion and the resulting substitution of Ti4+ for Nb5+ with different valence states on the composition, structure, and electrical properties of the KNN thin films are analyzed and discussed. The results showed that the Ti diffusion from the substrate played a crucial role in affecting the structure and electrical properties of the ferroelectric KNN thin films deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate.
Perspective on the Development of Lead‐free Piezoceramics
Authors: Rödel Jürgen , Jo Wook , Seifert Klaus T. P. , Anton Eva‐Maria , Granzow Torsten , Damjanovic Dragan
Published: May 2009

A large body of work has been reported in the last 5 years on the development of lead‐free piezoceramics in the quest to replace lead–zirconate–titanate (PZT) as the main material for electromechanical devices such as actuators, sensors, and transducers. In specific but narrow application ranges the new materials appear adequate, but are not yet suited to replace PZT on a broader basis. In this paper, general guidelines for the development of lead‐free piezoelectric ceramics are presented. Suitable chemical elements are selected first on the basis of cost and toxicity as well as ionic polarizability. Different crystal structures with these elements are then considered based on simple concepts, and a variety of phase diagrams are described with attractive morphotropic phase boundaries, yielding good piezoelectric properties. Finally, lessons from density functional theory are reviewed and used to adjust our understanding based on the simpler concepts. Equipped with these guidelines ranging from atom to phase diagram, the current development stage in lead‐free piezoceramics is then critically assessed.
Convergence of temperate and tropical stream fish assemblages
Authors: Ibañez Carla , Belliard Jérôme , Hughes Robert M. , Irz Pascal , Kamdem‐Toham André , Lamouroux Nicolas , Tedesco Pablo A. , Oberdorff Thierry
Published: May 2009

The hypothesis of convergence takes the deterministic view that community (or assemblage) structure can be predicted from the environment, and that the environment is expected to drive evolution in a predictable direction. Here we present results of a comparative study of freshwater fish assemblages from headwater streams in four continents (Europe, North America, Africa and South America), with the general objective of testing whether these assemblages display convergent structures under comparable environmental conditions (i.e. assemblage position in the stream longitudinal continuum). We tested this hypothesis by comparing species richness and trophic guilds of those stream fish assemblages represented in available data from multiple sites on each continent. Independent of phylogenetic and historical constraints, fish assemblage richness and trophic structure in the four continents converged along the stream continua to a substantial degree. For the four continents, assemblage richness increased, the proportion of invertivorous species decreased, and the proportion of omnivorous species increased from upstream to downstream, supporting theoretical predictions of the river continuum concept. However, the herbivore/detritivore and piscivore guilds were virtually absent from our small European and North American stream sites, unlike our African and South American stream sites. This divergence can be linked to differences in energy availability between temperate and tropical systems.
Spatial heterogeneity increases the importance of species richness for an ecosystem process
Authors: Griffin John N. , Jenkins Stuart R. , Gamfeldt Lars , Jones Douglas , Hawkins Stephen J. , Thompson Richard C.
Published: May 2009

The role of biodiversity in mediating ecosystem processes has been the subject of focused theoretical and empirical attention since the mid‐1990s. Theory predicts that the balance between species richness and identity effects will critically depend on the degree of environmental heterogeneity, which dictates the extent to which differences between species in patterns of resource use can be expressed. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to explicitly test this hypothesis. We manipulated the richness and identity of intertidal molluscan grazers, as well as the spatial heterogeneity of the substrate upon which they grazed. The magnitude of algal consumption was used as our focal ecosystem process. The grazer treatments consisted of three monocultures and a single polyculture including all three species; heterogeneity was represented as the proportion of topographically complex and flat substrate. Species identity had strong effects on homogeneous substrates, with the identity of the best‐performing species dependent on the substrate. On the heterogeneous substrate, suitable conditions for all three species were represented, allowing the expression of spatial complementarity of resource use and the enhancement of total algal consumption. Our findings provide the first explicit experimental evidence that spatial heterogeneity of the physical environment can play a key role in mediating effects of species diversity.