bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Major Armed Conflicts, Militarization, and Life Chances: A Pooled Time-Series Analysis
Authors: Carlton-Ford Steve
Published: September 2009

Armed conflict typically worsens civilian life chances. The effects of social militarization (maintenance of armed forces) and economic militarization (military expenditures) on civilian life chances are disputed, and the joint effect of armed conflict and militarization on civilian life chances has not previously been examined. This study examines the joint effects of three types of major armed conflicts and two types of militarization on civilian life chances, using a fixed-effects negative binomial cross-national panel analysis (1985-1998) of data from 175 countries with populations larger than two hundred thousand. General economic development, political regime, and country-specific effects are controlled. Armed conflict and militarization interact in affecting civilian life chances. Armed conflict results in higher levels of civilian mortality; militarization interacts with armed conflict, producing the best civilian life chances at either medium-low or medium-high levels of militarization.
Effectiveness of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) in a Preschool Setting
Authors: Lyon Aaron R. , Gershenson Rachel A. , Farahmand Farahnaz K. , Thaxter Peter J. , Behling Steven , Budd Karen S.
Published: September 2009

This research addressed the need for trained child care staff to support optimal early social-emotional development in urban, low-income, ethnic minority children. We evaluated effectiveness of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT), an approach adapted from Eyberg’s Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). TCIT focuses on increasing preschool teachers’ positive attention skills and consistent discipline in order to enhance children’s psychosocial functioning and prevent mental health problems. A total of 12 teachers participated in small-group workshop sessions with in vivo coaching on their use of skills in the classroom. A multiple-baseline design across four classrooms (3 teachers each) evaluated effects of training on teacher behaviors during weekly classroom observations. Findings indicated systematic increases in trained skills during intervention, and consumer evaluations showed that the training was rated positively. Our results suggest that TCIT is a promising approach for enhancing positive teacher-child interactions in a preschool setting and should receive further investigation.
Biased Processing of Threat-Related Information Rather Than Knowledge Deficits Contributes to Overestimation of Threat in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Moritz Steffen , Pohl Rüdiger F.
Published: September 2009

Overestimation of threat (OET) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The present study deconstructed this complex concept and looked for specific deviances in OCD relative to controls. A total of 46 participants with OCD and 51 nonclinical controls were asked: (a) to estimate the incidence rate for 20 events relating to washing, checking, positive, or negative incidents. Furthermore, they were required (b) to assess their personal vulnerability to experience each event type, and (c) to judge the degree of accompanying worry. Later, participants were confronted with the correct statistics and asked (d) to rate their degree of worry versus relief. OCD participants did not provide higher estimates for OCD-related events than healthy participants, thus rendering a knowledge deficit unlikely. The usual unrealistic optimism bias was found in both groups but was markedly attenuated in OCD participants. OCD-related events worried OCD participants more than controls. Confrontation with the correct statistics appeased OCD participants less than healthy participants. Even in the case of large initial overestimations for OCD-related events, correct information appeased OCD participants significantly less than healthy participants. Our results suggest that OCD is not associated with a knowledge deficit regarding OCD-related events but that patients feel personally more vulnerable than nonclinical controls.
Understanding Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: White Patricia , Smith Susan M. , Hevey David , O'Dowd Thomas
Published: September 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological and social factors and diabetes outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes and their family members.

Methods

A total of 153 patients with type 2 diabetes were assessed at a diabetes outpatient clinic and postal questionnaires were sent to nominated family members. The measures examined were diabetes knowledge, social support, well-being, and illness perceptions.

Results

When compared with those with diabetes, family members reported lower positive well-being and lower levels of satisfaction with support. They also perceived diabetes as a more cyclical illness, which was controlled more by treatment than by the individual. Family members also reported that the person with diabetes was more emotionally distressed and knew more about diabetes than the patient had actually reported himself or herself. There were no differences between the family members of those in good or poor glycaemic control.

Conclusions

This study reinforces the importance of understanding social context and illness beliefs in diabetes management. It also highlights the potential for including family members in discussions and education about diabetes management.
Organizational Factors Associated With Self-management Behaviors in Diabetes Primary Care Clinics
Authors: Kaissi Amer A. , Parchman Michael
Published: September 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between organizational characteristics as measured by the Chronic Care Model (CCM) and patient self-management behaviors among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

The study design was cross-sectional. The study setting included 20 primary care clinics from South Texas. The sample included approximately 30 consecutive patients that were enrolled from each clinic for a sample of 617 patients. For the data collection procedures, the CCM survey was completed by caregivers in the clinic. Self-management behaviors were obtained from patient exit surveys. For measures, the CCM consisted of 6 structural dimensions: (1) organization support, (2) community linkages, (3) self-management support, (4) decision support system, (5) delivery system design, and (6) clinical information systems. Patient self-management behavior included whether the patient reported always doing all 4 of the following behaviors as they were instructed: (1) checking blood sugars, (2) following diabetes diet, (3) exercising, and (4) taking medications. For data analyses, to account for clustering of patients within clinics, hierarchical logistic regression models were used.

Results

Self-management support was positively associated with medication adherence, while decision support system was positively associated with exercise and all 4 self-management behaviors. Surprisingly, community linkages were negatively associated with medication adherence, while clinical information system was negatively associated with diet and all 4 behaviors. A total score, including all dimensions, was positively associated with only exercise.

Conclusions

Health care providers and diabetes educators in primary care clinics should consider how organizational characteristics of the clinic might influence self-management behaviors of patients. The focus should be on better access to evidence-based information at the point of care and self-management needs and activities.
Assessing the Value of Diabetes Education
Authors: Duncan Ian , Birkmeyer Christian , Coughlin Sheryl , Li Qijuan , Sherr Dawn , Boren Sue
Published: September 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of diabetes self-management education/training (DSME/T) on financial outcomes (cost of patient care).

Methods

Commercial and Medicare claims payer-derived datasets were used to assess whether patients who participate in diabetes education are more likely to follow recommendations for care than similar patients who do not participate in diabetes education, and if claims of patients who participate in diabetes education are lower than those of similar patients who do not.

Results

Patients using diabetes education have lower average costs than patients who do not use diabetes education. Physicians exhibit high variation in their referral rates to diabetes education.

Conclusions

The collaboration between diabetes educators and physicians yields positive clinical quality and cost savings. The analysis indicates that quality can be improved, and cost reduced, by increasing referral rates to diabetes education among low-referring physicians, specifically among men and people in disadvantaged areas. More needs to be done to inform physicians about ways to increase access to diabetes education for underserved populations.
Painting Regional Identities: Nationalism in the Arts, France, Germany and Spain, 1890—1914
Authors: Storm Eric
Published: September 2009

During the decades before 1914, nationalism pervaded cultural discourse more than ever before as a new type of subjectivist, organic nationalism came to the fore. At the same time nations were seen as consisting of a harmonious whole of organically grown regional folk cultures. Thus, a new more activist nationalism coincided and overlapped with the rise of a more folkloristic and regionalist interpretation of the respective national identities. But how did this affect the arts? Paintings by highly relevant fin-de-siècle artists such as Simon and Cottet in France, Bantzer and Mackensen in Germany and Zuloaga in Spain could be seen as interpretations of a specific national or regional ‘soul’. A detailed, comparative analysis of the reviews of their work in the major art magazines of the period shows that their paintings skilfully translated the new, more activist and popular nationalist ideology into art, using similar arguments and rhetorical devices.
A ‘New’ Woman for a ‘New’ Spain: The Sección Femenina de la Falange and the Image of the National Syndicalist Woman
Authors: Ofer Inbal
Published: September 2009

The Sección Femenina de la FET was founded in 1934 as part of the Spanish Falange. Starting in April 1937 the SF functioned as the sole secular women’s organization of the Franco regime, employing a network of professional, provincial and local delegates throughout the country. Despite its adherence to a radical right-wing ideology and its functioning within an authoritarian regime membership within the SF offered many women a life of unusual public activism, both professionally and politically. The current paper offers a reading of the SF’s gendered discourse, which takes into consideration the relationship between both its progressive and conservative elements. My contention is that in the case of the SF one cannot talk of a model of ‘old-fashioned’ femininity, which was replaced over the years by a model of ‘modern’ femininity, but rather about modernist and conservative elements, which existed in the organizational rhetoric side by side from the beginning. Within this context the ‘modern’ elements were highly significant and their definition was more or less constant as long as the messages were aimed at a population of a specific socio-economic standing and education.
Increase in plasma free haemoglobin during cardiopulmonary bypass in heart valve surgery: assessment of renal dysfunction by RIFLE classification
Authors: Vanek T. , Snircova J. , Spegar J. , Straka Z. , Horak J. , Maly M.
Published: September 2009

Heart valve surgery carries a high risk of renal insufficiency as an independent risk factor due to prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass. Multiple causes of cardiopulmonary bypass-associated renal damage have been described, and haemoglobin-induced renal injury is presently being investigated. Forty-three patients scheduled for heart valve surgery (mostly combined) were enrolled in the prospective study. Plasma free haemoglobin (PFH) levels were evaluated by photocolorimetric measurement at the start of procedures ( t0) and before the end of extracorporeal circulation ( t1). A statistically significant increase in PFH levels during cardiopulmonary bypass was detected [median values (interquartile range) - t0: 62.0 (53.4) mg/L, t1: 320.4 (352.2) mg/L], P < 0.001. A significant regression relationship between the duration of cardiopulmonary bypass and the increased PFH was found (Spearman’s correlation coefficient 0.628, P < 0.001). In some elderly patients, the tendency towards a high release of PFH during cardiopulmonary bypass was more pronounced, but the overall association between age and PFH levels was of borderline significance (P = 0.077). The correlation between PFH and post-operative serum creatinine was low and non-significant, but the latter correlated highly with the pre-operative serum creatinine values (Spearman’s correlation coefficient reached values of 0.6-0.7, P < 0.001). Patients were classified according to the Risk of renal failure, Injury to the kidney, Failure of kidney function, Loss of kidney function and End-stage renal failure (RIFLE) classification for acute renal dysfunction during post-operative days 1 — 4; the influence of PFH levels at t1 on the consequent RIFLE classification was not proven (P=0.648), but 4 patients in the Injury category had shown a higher median value of PFH (433.6 mg/L) in comparison with the others (29 patients with no acute renal dysfunction - 313.7 mg/L, 10 patients at Risk - 330.1 mg/L).
The Intersection of Gender, Race and Cultural Boundaries, or Why is Computer Science in Malaysia Dominated by Women?
Authors: Mellström Ulf
Published: September 2009

This paper reports an investigation on how and why computer science in Malaysia is dominated by women. Inspired by recent critical interventions in gender and technology studies, the paper aims to open up more culturally situated analyses of the gendering of technology or the technology of gendering, with the Malaysian case exemplifying the core of the argument. The paper argues along four different strands of critical thought: (1) a critique of the analytical asymmetry in the process of co-production in gender and technology studies; (2) a critique of a western bias in gender and technology studies, advocating more context sensitivity and focus on the cultural embeddedness of gender and technology relations; (3) a critique that pays more attention to spatial practices and body politics in regard to race, class and gender in relation to technology; and (4) a critique of ‘western’ positional notions of gender configurations that opens up for more fluid constructions of gender identity, including the many crossovers between relational and positional definitions of femininity and masculinity.
A Prospective Investigation of Biomechanical Risk Factors for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Authors: Boling Michelle C. , Padua Darin A. , Marshall Stephen W. , Guskiewicz Kevin , Pyne Scott , Beutler Anthony
Published: September 2009

Background

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is one of the most common chronic knee injuries; however, little research has been done to determine the risk factors for this injury.

Hypothesis

Altered lower extremity kinematics and kinetics, decreased strength, and altered postural measurements will be risk factors.

Study Design

Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods

A total of 1597 participants were enrolled in this investigation and prospectively followed from the date of their enrollment (July 2005, July 2006, or July 2007) through January 2008, a maximum of 2.5 years of follow-up. Each participant underwent baseline data collection during their pre-freshman summer at the United States Naval Academy. Baseline data collection included 3-dimensional motion analysis during a jump-landing task, 6 lower extremity isometric strength tests, and postural alignment measurements (navicular drop and Q angle).

Results

Risk factors for the development of patellofemoral pain syndrome included decreased knee flexion angle, decreased vertical ground-reaction force, and increased hip internal rotation angle during the jump-landing task. Additionally, decreased quadriceps and hamstring strength, increased hip external rotator strength, and increased navicular drop were risk factors for the development of patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Conclusion

Multiple modifiable risk factors for patellofemoral pain syndrome pain have been identified in this investigation. To decrease the incidence of this chronic injury, the risk factors for patellofemoral pain syndrome need to be targeted in injury prevention programs.

Clinical Relevance

Prevention programs should focus on increasing strength of the lower extremity musculature along with instructing proper mechanics during dynamic movements to decrease the incidence of patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Biomechanical Evaluation of 2 Arthroscopic Biceps Tenodeses
Authors: Lopez-Vidriero Emilio , Costic Ryan S. , Fu Freddie H. , Rodosky Mark W.
Published: September 2009

Background

Recently, there is increasing interest in different arthroscopic biceps tenodesis techniques. However, little data have been published about the biomechanical properties of soft tissue tenodesis.

Purpose

This study was undertaken to evaluate the biomechanical properties of 2 different arthroscopic biceps tenodeses: the percutaneous intra-articular transtendon (PITT) technique and the suture-anchor technique.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Fifteen fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens were randomly allocated to the 2 different biceps tenodesis techniques. The humerus with biceps tenodesis was mounted on a materials testing machine to perform a load to failure test. The structural properties including ultimate load (N) and stiffness (N/mm) were derived from the load-displacement curve. The mode of failure was also recorded. Ultimate load and stiffness were compared with the parametric Student t test.

Results

Both repairs showed typical load-displacement curves followed by a constant increase in load and displacement until failure occurred. Suture-anchor and PITT techniques had ultimate loads of 175.4 ± 40.4 N and 142.7 ± 30.9 N (P = .10) and stiffness of 15.9 ± 8.4 N/mm and 13.3 ± 3 N/mm (P = .36), respectively, with no significant differences between them. All of the surgical constructs failed in the tendon site by pulling out with the sutures through the substance of the tendon.

Conclusion

The suture-anchor and PITT techniques exhibited satisfactory initial strength with no statistical difference between the 2 groups. These findings, along with the consistent pullout of the suture through the tendon during failure, suggest that the most important factor for initial strength is not the attachment site but the quality of the biceps tendon.

Clinical Relevance

The quality of the tendon should be taken into account when deciding the surgical technique and the rehabilitation program. The PITT technique has the benefit of avoiding hardware complications and cost.
Evaluation of genotoxicity of pan masala employing chromosomal aberration and micronucleus assay in bone marrow cells of the mice
Authors: Mojidra BN , Archana K. , Gautam AK , Verma Y. , Lakkad BC , Kumar Sunil
Published: September 2009

Pan masala is commonly consumed in south-east Asian and other oriental countries as an alternate of tobacco chewing and smoking. Genotoxic potential of pan masala (pan masala plain and pan masala with tobacco known as gutkha) was evaluated employing chromosome aberration (CA) and micronucleus (MN) assay in vivo. Animals were exposed to three different doses (0.5%, 1.5% and 3%) of pan masala plain (PMP) and gutkha (PMT) through feed for a period of 6 months and micronucleus and chromosomal aberrations were studied in the bone marrow cells. Induction of mean micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes (MNPCE) and normochromatic erythrocyte (MNNCE) was higher in both types of pan masala treated groups with respect to control group. Both pan masala plain and gutkha treatment significantly induced the frequency of MNPCE and MNNCE in the bone marrow cells, indicating the genotoxic potential. Furthermore, slight decline in the ratio of polychromatic erythrocytes to normochromatic erythrocytes was also noticed, suggesting the cytotoxic potential even though the ratio was statistically non significant. A dose-dependent, significant increase in chromosome aberration was observed in both types of pan masala treated mice with respect to control. However, no significant difference in micronucleus and chromosomal aberration induction was noticed between two types of pan masala exposed (PMP and PMT) groups. Results suggest that both types of pan masala, i.e. plain and gutkha, have genotoxic potential.
Transforming growth factor-β3 expression up-regulates on cleft palates induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in mice
Authors: Gan Li-qiang , Fu Yue-xian , Liu Xing , Qiu Lin , Wu Sheng-de , Tian Xiao-fei , Liu Yan , Wei Guang-hui
Published: September 2009

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has been shown to induce cleft palate, in which the molecular etiology of the defect is poorly characterized. Recently, transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) has been indicated to play an essential role in the development of palatal shelves. In this developmental toxicity study, we investigated the effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on the expression of TGF-β3 in fetal mice. Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed to corn oil or TCDD (32 μg/kg/day 64 μg/kg/day, per os) at embryonic day 10 (ED10), a drastic inhibition of palatal shelves was induced. By using RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and Western blot, the expressions of TGF-β3 was investigated. We found that the expression of TGF-β3 was gradually up-regulated in TCDD-treated group. These results suggest that cleft palate can be induced by TCDD exposure, the modification of TGF-β3 is related to its pathogenesis.
The effect of the prenatal and post-natal long-term exposure to 50 Hz electric field on growth, pubertal development and IGF-1 levels in female Wistar rats
Authors: Dundar Bumin , Cesur Gokhan , Comlekci Selcuk , Songur Ahmet , Gokcimen Alparslan , Sahin Onder , Ulukut Ozlem , Yilmaz H. Ramazan , Sutcu Recep , Calıskan Sadettin
Published: September 2009

To investigate prenatal and post-natal effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electric field (EF) on growth and pubertal development, pregnant Wistar rats were randomly distributed among three groups. The pregnant rats of the prenatal group were exposed to 24-hour EF at 50 Hz EF 10 kV/min during pregnancy and their subsequent randomly selected female pups continued to be exposed until puberty. The post-natal group was unexposed to EF during pregnancy, but randomly selected female pups from this group were exposed to EF between delivery and puberty at the same doses and duration as the prenatal group. The third group was a sham-exposed group. The mean birth weight and weight gain of the pups during study period were found significantly reduced in prenatal group than post-natal and sham-exposed groups (p < 0.001). No difference could be found among the three groups for body weight at puberty (p > 0.05). The mean age at vaginal opening and estrous were significantly higher at prenatal group than post-natal and sham-exposed groups (p < 0.001). Serum insulin-like growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) levels were found significantly reduced in prenatal exposure group compared with the other two groups (p < 0.001). There was no difference for birth weight, weight gain, the mean age at vaginal opening and estrous and IGF-1 levels between post-natal and sham-exposed groups (p > 0.05). There was also no difference for FSH, LH and E2 levels at puberty among the three groups (p > 0.05). Histological examination revealed that both the prenatal and post-natal groups had the evidence of tissue damage on hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovaries. In conclusion, early beginning of prenatal exposure of rats to 24 hours 50 Hz EF at 10 kV/m until puberty without magnetic field (MF) resulted in growth restriction, delayed puberty and reduced IGF-1 levels in female Wistar rats. These effects probably associated with direct toxic effects of EF on target organs. Post-natal exposure to EF at similar doses and duration seems to be less harmful on target organs. Post-natal exposure to EF at similar doses and duration seems to be less harmful.
Effects of piperonyl butoxide on spontaneous behavior in F1-generation mice
Authors: Tanaka Toyohito , Takahashi Osamu , Oishi Shinshi , Ogata Akio
Published: September 2009

Piperonyl butoxide was given in the diet to provide levels of 0 (control), 0.02%, 0.06%, and 0.18% from 5 weeks of age of the F0 generation to 12 weeks of age of the F1 generation in mice. Select reproductive and neurobehavioral parameters were then measured. In exploratory behavior in the F0 generation, vertical time of adult females increased significantly in a dose-related manner. In behavioral developmental parameters, cliff avoidance was delayed significantly in the high-dose group in male offspring, and this effect was significantly dose-related. In female offspring, surface righting was significantly delayed in the high-dose group, and this effect was significantly dose-related. In spontaneous behavior in the F1 generation, females showed more activities in some variables in the high-dose group. Dose levels of piperonyl butoxide used in the present study produced several adverse effects in neurobehavioral parameters in mice.
Symmetric Atrophy of Bilateral Distal Upper Extremities and HyperIgEaemia in a Male Adolescent With Hirayama Disease
Authors: Chen Tai-Heng , Hung Chih-Hsing , Hsieh Tsyh-Jyi , Lu Shiang-Ru , Yang San-Nan , Jong Yuh-Jyh
Published: September 2009

Hirayama disease is a rare neuromuscular disorder with peak age of onset at 15 to 17 years among young males. We report a male adolescent presenting with symmetric weakness and atrophy of bilateral upper extremities progressing for 2 years before stabilizing. Otherwise, he did not complain of any sensory disturbance. Electrophysiological findings revealed motor neuron damage at the C7-T1 spinal segments. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed a high-signal mass of posterior dural sac at the C5-T5 vertebral level during neck flexion. Specifically, he had elevated serum total immunoglobulin E level, which had been postulated to be a precipitating factor in Hirayama disease. Early recognition and intervention of this unique neuromuscular disorder is important to avoid ongoing damage to motor neurons. Through this report, we would like to emphasize the crucial role of a pediatric neurologist in averting the progression of Hirayama disease at an early stage.
Efficacy and Safety of Levetiracetam as an Add-On Therapy in Children Aged Less Than 4 Years With Refractory Epilepsy
Authors: Li Sixiu , Cao Jie , Xiao Nong , Cai Fangcheng
Published: September 2009

In the past decade, most studies on levetiracetam were conducted on patients aged ≥4 years of age. The authors sought to assess the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam as an adjunctive treatment of children <4 years of age with refractory epilepsy. The mean levetiracetam dosage used on the 24 patients in this study was 38.85 mg/kg per day, and the mean duration of treatment was 40 weeks. During the study, levetiracetam was tapered off in 2 patients due to seizure worsening and was discontinued in other 2 patients due to unacceptable adverse effects. Levetiracetam therapy was effective in 58.3% of patients, with 20.8% achieving seizure freedom. Eight patients showed no obvious response and the remaining 2 patients showed divergent responses. Although adverse effects were seen in 37.5% of patients, all adverse effects were tolerable or resolved with time or discontinuation. Therefore, the authors conclude that levetiracetam treatment is effective and safe in young children with refractory epilepsy.
Neural Tube Defects in the North of Jordan: Is There a Seasonal Variation?
Authors: Obeidat Ahmed Z. , Amarin Zouhair
Published: September 2009

Neural tube defects are serious birth defects of the brain and the spinal cord due to interference with neural tube closure about the 28th day after fertilization. Seasonal variation in the development of neural tube defects has been reported. The objective of this study was to demonstrate any association between the season of conception and the development of neural tube defects in the north of Jordan. For a 7-year period between January 2000 and December 2006, data of 78 neonates born with neural tube defect were analyzed regarding dates of conception in relation to the development of neural tube defects. More affected babies were conceived in the late summer and early autumn. The study demonstrated that seasonality affected the incidence of neural tube defects in the north of Jordan.
Modified Atkins Diet for the Treatment of Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus in Children
Authors: Kumada Tomohiro , Miyajima Tomoko , Kimura Nobusuke , Saito Keiko , Shimomura Hideki , Oda Nozomi , Fujii Tatsuya
Published: September 2009

The authors describe the use of a modified Atkins diet for the treatment of 2 children with nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Patient 1 was a 4-year-and-11-month-old girl diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy. Since the age of 3 years and 10 months, she had daily nonconvulsive status epilepticus resistant to antiepileptic agents. Patient 2 was a 5-year-and-5-month-old girl with subcortical band heterotopia. She had nonconvulsive status epilepticus daily since the age of 5 years. They were treated with the modified Atkins diet, in which carbohydrate intake was restricted to 10 g/d without restriction on protein, caloric, or fluid intake. The nonconvulsive status epilepticus disappeared 5 and 10 days after the initiation of the diet treatment, respectively. They have been on the diet treatment and free from nonconvulsive status epilepticus for 19 and 4 months, respectively. The modified Atkins diet appears to be very effective for the treatment of nonconvulsive status epilepticus.
Lifestyle Behaviors: Evaluating Behaviors That May Justify Increasing the Employee’s Cost for Employer-Provided Health Insurance
Authors: Hughes R. Eugene
Published: September 2009

Responding to the increasing cost of employer-provided health insurance, some employers have instituted a number of cost-savings efforts such as reduced benefits, limited access, increased copayments, differential premiums and wellness programs. Of interest in this article are cost abatement efforts that focus on lifestyle behaviors that can adversely influence insurance costs. If such efforts are to succeed, it will require employee acceptance of these efforts. This article presents information that identifies lifestyle behaviors that might reasonably receive support for such differential treatment.
Public participation
Authors: Nielsen Annika Porsborg , Lassen Jesper , Sandøe Peter
Published: September 2009

Over recent decades, public participation initiatives have been employed across Europe often with a focus on science and technology issues. In the area of new food technologies most participation initiatives have centered on genetically modified foods. By contrast, in the area of functional foods—where significant EU legislation was recently passed—we have seen no initiatives towards public inclusion. This applies also for Denmark, the country which is the focus of this article. Based on an interview study with members of the Danish parliament the article examines why such considerable differences exist between initiatives to involve the public, and it challenges the role that public participation plays in Danish politics. The main claim made in the article is that although politicians argue for the value and relevance of public participation their willingness to initiate participatory processes is overruled by their concern with playing by the rules of the political game.
The role of prevention-oriented attitudes towards nature in people’s judgment of new applications of genomics techniques in soil ecology
Authors: de Boer Joop
Published: September 2009

New applications of genomics techniques in soil ecology may provide people with fresh insights into the richness of microbial life forms and natural methods to build on the “self-cleaning capacity” of soils. Because genetic modification might also be involved, this paper examines people’s judgments about some applications, using a theory on the promotion- or prevention-orientations that they may associate with interventions in the natural world. A prevention-oriented way of thinking was hypothesized to correspond with a preference for more restrictions on a GM application, unless the person appreciates the application’s benefits for nature restoration. Survey data agreed with the hypotheses and clarified the way in which people may talk about “nature knows best” or “nature needs a little help.”
Gendered contexts: Masculinity, knowledge, and attitudes toward biotechnology
Authors: Simon Richard M.
Published: September 2009

Research into the public understanding of science has revealed that the effect of scientific knowledge on attitudes toward science is contextualized by gender; however there has not yet been an account of how gender contextualizes knowledge. This paper investigates how gender identification affects attitudes toward science, and tempers the effects of scientific knowledge on attitudes toward science. Utilizing data from the Eurobarometer 52.1, it is predicted that when males perceive a threat to their masculinity (as measured by a perceived threat to their financial security) they will become more likely to be aversive to biotechnology, and that increased levels of perceived threat will reduce the effects of knowledge on attitudes toward biotechnology. Moreover, it is predicted that these effects will be smaller than their female counterparts. All predictions are affirmed.
Developing Globally Compatible Institutional Infrastructures for Indian Higher Education
Authors: Chakrabarti Raj , Bartning Augustine , Sengupta Shiladitya
Published: September 2009

The authors profile developments in the globalization of Indian higher education, with an emphasis on emerging globally compatible institutional infrastructures. In recent decades, there has been an enormous amount of brain drain: the exodus of the brightest professionals and students to other countries. The article argues that the implementation of robust student support and quality-assessment methodologies in Indian universities is essential if India is to become an attractor as well as a source for international student and faculty circulation. On-site research conducted with senior administrators and student body members in India indicates that the mounting pressure to develop such infrastructures is increasing the divergence between privately funded and traditional public schools in the Indian higher education landscape, as progressive private institutions position themselves to become competitive in burgeoning international partnerships. In particular, many new innovative private university programs and infrastructures have developed that address the demands of cross-circulation with Western academic programs.
Dignity Violation in Health Care
Authors: Jacobson Nora
Published: September 2009

In this grounded theory analysis I sought to understand dignity violation in health care and to explore the context in which such violations take place. I found that dignity violation in health care occurs through processes of rudeness, indifference, condescension, dismissal, disregard, dependence, intrusion, objectification, restriction, labeling, contempt, discrimination, revulsion, deprivation, assault, and abjection. The conditions that promote these processes reside in the positions of the actors involved; in the asymmetrical relationships between the actors; in the health care setting itself, which is characterized by multiple tensions—including those between needs and resources, crisis and routine, experience and expertise, and rhetoric and reality; and in the embeddedness of health care in a broader social order of inequality. These findings suggest several interventions that might mitigate dignity violation in health care.
Prospective Payment System 2008 Home Health Therapy Utilization Trends
Authors: Herr Roger , Sarbach Mark , Lang Christine
Published: September 2009

The focus of this article is to identify therapy trends in prediction and utilization since the 2008 Home Health Prospective Payment System changes were implemented on January 1, 2008. The interdisciplinary attention is on the utilization of therapy services, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology, in the home health setting, specific to beneficiaries using the Medicare Part A benefit.
Predicting Behavior During Interracial Interactions: A Stress and Coping Approach
Authors: Trawalter Sophie , Richeson Jennifer A. , Shelton J. Nicole
Published: September 2009

The social psychological literature maintains unequivocally that interracial contact is stressful. Yet research and theory have rarely considered how stress may shape behavior during interracial interactions. To address this empirical and theoretical gap, the authors propose a framework for understanding and predicting behavior during interracial interactions rooted in the stress and coping literature. Specifically, they propose that individuals often appraise interracial interactions as a threat, experience stress, and therefore cope—they antagonize, avoid, freeze, or engage. In other words, the behavioral dynamics of interracial interactions can be understood as initial stress reactions and subsequent coping responses. After articulating the framework and its predictions for behavior during interracial interactions, the authors examine its ability to organize the extant literature on behavioral dynamics during interracial compared with same-race contact. They conclude with a discussion of the implications of the stress and coping framework for improving research and fostering more positive interracial contact.
Chronic exposure to nicotine impairs cholinergic angiogenesis
Authors: Konishi Hakuoh , Wu Jenny , Cooke John P
Published: September 2009

Cholinergic angiogenesis is mediated by an endothelial nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (EC nAChR). Short-term administration of nicotine stimulates angiogenesis via EC nAChRs.The long-term effects of nicotine upon cholinergic angiogenesis are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether chronic nicotine exposure blunts angiogenesis. We exposed C57/Bl6 male mice ( n = 42) to nicotine (200 μg/ml drinking water) or vehicle for 8 or 16 weeks. Subsequently, hindlimb ischemia was induced by ligation of the left femoral artery. After surgery, animals in the vehicle-treated group were re-randomized to vehicle (vehicle group) or nicotine (acute exposure group) for 2 weeks; whereas animals that had been previously treated (for 8 or 16 weeks with nicotine) continued to receive nicotine (8 WK or 16 WK groups). After 2 weeks, animals were sacrificed for immunohistochemical, gene expression, and angiogenesis studies. Capillary density of the ischemic hindlimb was increased by nicotine in naïve animals (vehicle vs acute exposure: 2.40 ± 0.09 vs 2.82 ± 0.10 capillaries/myocyte, p < 0.05). However, prior exposure to nicotine for 16 weeks (16 WK) abolished the effects of nicotine to increase capillary density in the ischemic hindlimb (acute vs 16 WK: 2.82 ± 0.10 vs 2.47 ± 0.03 capillaries/ myocyte; p < 0.05). The impairment of cholinergic angiogenesis was associated with a reduction in nAChR expression and plasma VEGF levels. Chronic exposure to nicotine impaired capillary sprouting of aortic segments ex vivo (vehicle vs 16 WK: 0.303 ± 0.029 vs 0.204 ± 0.017 mm2, p < 0.05, n = 3 in each group). In conclusion, the current study shows for the first time that chronic exposure to nicotine impairs cholinergic angiogenesis, an effect mediated by downregulation of the vascular nAChR, and attenuation of nicotine-induced VEGF release. These studies may explain the impairment in angiogenic processes observed in long-term smokers.
Adorno’s Mimesis and its Limitations for Critical Social Thought
Authors: Verdeja Ernesto
Published: September 2009

Adorno’s philosophy has enjoyed a resurgence of attention in political theory over the past decade. In this paper, I challenge contemporary efforts to adopt his critical theory by arguing that his conceptions of mimesis and negative dialectics, which are central to his thought, are ultimately unsatisfactory. I begin by critiquing the normative content of the negative dialectic, and then move on to explore its problematic relation with mimesis. In the following sections I argue that mimesis cannot do the normative work that Adorno requires of it. Rather, his idea of mimesis fails to inform critique (understood as ‘negative’ thought), relies on a problematic pre-modern idea of authenticity, and is incompatible with theoretical analyses of modern complex societies.
Three Paradigms of Modern Freedom
Authors: Kioupkiolis Alexandros
Published: September 2009

The paper makes a case for the new paradigm of freedom which has been elaborated by thinkers such as Cornelius Castoriadis and Michel Foucault. In response to the critique of the subject, freedom is construed now as limited and agonistic, calling for an ongoing struggle against various constraints. But this idea is coupled with a heightened appreciation of contingency and creativity. Individuals can bring new possibilities into existence, which go beyond any predefined alternatives. The paper argues that this is a tenable and empowering figure of freedom which overcomes the deficiencies of earlier modern views. Essentialist notions, which can be found in Kant and Marx, contract freedom by tying it down to unchanging universal laws and definite conditions of realization, while alternative accounts of negative liberty fail to address the constrained nature of human agency.
Totalitarianism as a Non-State
Authors: Iakovou Vicky
Published: September 2009

The objective of this article is to show that Hannah Arendt’s understanding of totalitarianism is indebted to the analysis of National Socialism elaborated by Franz Neumann in Behemoth: The Structure and Practice of National Socialism . It is argued that Arendt adopted the central thesis of Neumann according to which Nazi Germany is a ‘non-state’ and that this thesis as well as its presuppositions are discernible in her overall approach, developed in The Origins of Totalitarianism.
Epistemological Modesty within Contemporary Political Thought
Authors: Kacenelenbogen Edwige
Published: September 2009

In this paper, I expound Philip Pettit’s political thought as an example of a ‘spontaneous and naturalistic’ view of politics and place his account within a liberal tradition of epistemological modesty which Pettit imagines he has transcended. To this end, I highlight the affinities between Pettit’s theory of freedom and a paradigmatically ‘modest’ social theory, namely, Hayek’s theory of the spontaneous social order. In light of the comparison with Hayek, I show that Pettit’s distinction between liberal and republican thought is not as vivid as he suggests. My contention is that the republican ideal of freedom offers not so much the makings of a viable non-liberal theory of political association as the expression, under a ‘new’ language of citizenship, of specifically Hayekian intuitions that lie at the core of contemporary neoliberalism.
Optoelectronic Method for Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Rivas Lopez M. , Sergiyenko O. Yu. , Tyrsa V.V. , Hernandez Perdomo W. , Devia Cruz L.F. , Hernandez Balbuena D. , Burtseva L.P. , Nieto Hipolito J.I.
Published: September 2009

Important engineering constructions require geometrical monitoring to predict their structural health during their lifetime. Monitoring by geodetic devices, vibration-based techniques, wireless networks or with GPS technology is not always optimal; sometimes it is impossible as shown in this article. A method based on geodetic measurements automation applying local optical scanners for monitoring is proposed. Its originality and contribution is based on the novel method of precise measurement of plane spatial angles. It considers robust invariant AD-conversion angle-to-code for dynamic angle, signal energetic center search method, initial reference scale adjustment, and uncertainty decrease using mediant fractions formalism for result approximation. An algorithm of electromechanic parts interaction for spatial angle encoding with beforehand set accuracy is described. It is shown that by its nature it is appropriate for practically unlimited uncertainty reduction: it is only limited by reasonable ratio ‘‘uncertainty/operation velocity’’. The operation range, accuracy, scanner operation velocity, and its adaptation to objects are determined and described. The experimental results confirm that optical device of presented passive scanning aperture overcomes all recently known compared optical devices for 3D coordinates recognition in a part of offset uncertainty. It is shown that the presented optoelectronic scanning aperture is a universal tool for various practical solutions.
Predominant Discourses in Swedish Nursing
Authors: Dahlborg-Lyckhage Elisabeth , Pilhammar-Anderson Ewa
Published: September 2009

The aim of this study was to elucidate the predominant discourse in the field of Swedish nursing in 2000, 25 years after nursing was introduced as an academic discipline in Sweden. The method used was content analysis and deconstructive analysis of discourses. Laws, statutes, regulations, and examination requirements, including official reports, recruitment campaigns, and media coverage, were analyzed. The findings uncovered competing discourses striving to gain hegemony. In the public sector, official requirements competed against the media fixation on gender stereotypes and the realities of local recruitment campaigns. Media has a major role in disseminating prevailing conceptions and conventions pertaining to the nursing profession. As a result, decision makers, students, patients, and family members could get lower expectations of the professional competence of nursing practitioners than would otherwise have been the case in the absence of media exposure.
Preconception Care
Authors: Sanders Lorraine B.
Published: September 2009

Statistical reports describe a troubling portrait of infant mortality in the United States today. This rate, an indicator of the health of a nation, has not declined in the past 5 years and is marked by enormous disparities among racial and ethnic groups. Although the overall infant mortality rate in the United States is 6.86 per 1,000 live births, the rate for non-Hispanic Black infants is 13.63 deaths per 1,000 live births. Among developed nations, the United States now ranks 29th in infant mortality. It is believed that lack of preconception care and late entry into prenatal care are contributing factors to infant mortality. Preconception care, although not a new concept, has not been universally adopted into the health care setting. This article examines the potential barriers to developing and using preconception care and policy implications related to nursing practice.
Massachusetts Nurse Practitioners Step Up as One Solution to the Primary Care Access Problem
Authors: Craven Gloria , Ober Stacey
Published: September 2009

Massachusetts’ political experience with efforts to insure all citizens provided a unique opportunity for nurse practitioners to address the growing need for access to primary care. Passage of a new statute to recognize nurse practitioners as primary care providers that health plan beneficiaries could choose was accomplished through strategic planning and political savvy. The results of a focused effort using the expertise of a professional lobbying team along with organizational support resulted in a groundbreaking new law that is a component of a reform model being examined by the nation as a whole, looking to address accessible, quality, and affordable health care. This article chronicles that journey and its accomplishment.