bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Commercial negotiation skills
Authors: Ashcroft Stephen
Published: August 2004

This paper explores commercial negotiation skills in the context of the buying/selling dynamics using the writer's experience as a Lead Negotiator. Planning, conducting and analysing the outcomes of commercial negotiations are key elements of successful business. Developing the skills of commercial negotiation is a demanding, valuable and often personally challenging task. The outcomes of commercial negotiation are often difficult to assess; such as the impact on the short‐ and long‐term buyer/seller relationship and the negotiator's personal and organizational development, hence the need to identify, understand and develop commercial negotiation skills. Commercial negotiation is explored from three perspectives; process, the respective parties' objectives and bargaining. The need for planning, the foundation of any process, in a commercial negotiation is detailed. A typology of techniques of persuasion is introduced and briefly explained.
Formal recognition programs do not work
Authors: Nelson Bob
Published: August 2004

Most employees at present feel overworked and under‐appreciated. During times of change when we are asking them to do more with less, they report feeling less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before. Recognition represents the single most validated principle for driving desired behaviour and performance in the present work environment. This paper looks to question common approaches to recognise and motivate present employees and how you can better and more frequently recognise those you work with – even with little time, resources or budget – to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of recognition at work.
Focus on technology misses the mark
Authors: Pickett Les
Published: August 2004

We all know that people make things happen and while technology brings some truly great advances it is still just a facilitator. We need to move from the technology and information revolutions to the people's revolution. We need to work far more effectively through the process of implementing significant change in the workplace because the major cause of the failure of so many change initiatives can only be poor management. Many people in the workforce do not know what is expected of them – what they were required to do. They turn‐off. These are the people that management has failed because the ultimate responsibility for lack of effective leadership in any organisation rests with the senior executive management. While much has been and is being said and written about intellectual capital and knowledge management the recording and retention of the knowledge and experience of people who leave is increasing in importance to organisations around the world. During a period when there is great pressure to reduce enterprise overhead costs we are seeing the creation of yet another corporate role – that of knowledge manager. Whether this is a transitional role or one of long term substances remains to be seen.
CONSAL XII and the new Secretary General of IFLA
Authors: Paul Johnson , Tedd Lucy A.
Published: August 2004

This editorial provides brief background information on the Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians and its twelfth conference which was held in Brunei Darussalam in October 2003. In April 2004 Rasu Ramachandran, who had been Secretary General of CONSAL and the Director of the National Library of Singapore at the time of CONSAL XII, became Secretary General of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and a report of an interview conducted with him prior to taking up his new post is included.
Digitisation of collections in Indonesian academic libraries
Authors: Sulistyo‐Basuki L.
Published: August 2004

This paper provides an overview of digitised collections within universities in Indonesia, starting from the Ganesha Digital Library Network in 1998, which developed into the Indonesian Digital Libraries Network (IDLN), with 87 private and institutional members. The State Ministry of Research and Technology has distributed document digitising software (Docushare) to universities, and this has been used (for example by the Association of Catholic Universities in Indonesia) to digitise more than 14,000 documents. The challenges faced in the digitisation of materials in Indonesian libraries are outlined.
Exploring equal value dispute procedures
Authors: Gilbert Kay
Published: August 2004

The paper seeks to draw attention to the complexity involved in developing fair procedures for assessing equal value in employment. It first highlights different aspects of fairness in relation to employment procedures and some of the problems associated with the use of procedures in relation to job evaluation and sex bias. The paper then explores the nature of the conflicts that are part of equal pay for work of equal value procedures within the UK before examining the nature of power that some have who are involved in procedures both within the workplace and in Employment Tribunal.
Bounded choices in work and retirement in Australia
Authors: Patrickson Margaret , Ranzijn Rob
Published: August 2004

Australia, together with most other developed and developing countries, faces a difficult demographic pattern in the first half of the twenty‐first century, due to a low and declining birth rate and an ageing population. This has led to an ageing workforce, with a relative shortage of younger entrants. One issue for government is what further steps they could initiate to persuade more people to remain in the labour force beyond the currently median retiring age of around 55 years. Employers will need to consider the degree to which they are prepared to reverse present negative attitudes towards employment of older staff, and workers need to resolve whether they need or desire to keep working and under what conditions. Boundaries constructed by government policy and employer actions, and their resolution by older individuals, form the content of this paper. The paper concludes that employers now face the management of up to four generational groups and resolving their intergenerational differences will present as a major future challenge. Revisiting practices for managing older workers will be essential and the paper offers suggestions for employers towards more effective utilisation of their older staff and more effective integration of workers of all age groups.
The red planet rovers
Authors: Kochan Anna
Published: August 2004

Robotic exploration of the planet Mars is the goal of two space missions launched in 2003. Their aim was to use robots and a host of instrumentation to take samples of soil and rock and to analyse them for evidence of life. The NASA project, which landed on Mars in January 2004, has put the two wheeled rovers Spirit and Opportunity into operation. Between them they have driven a total of more than 3.5 km during a mission that has lasted more than 130 days. Beagle 2, the British‐led project, was designed to take samples from the vicinity of the landing craft, but this has not happened due to loss of contact with the lander.
The UK robot football championship
Authors: Connolly Christine
Published: August 2004

Robot football uses autonomous vehicles that respond to unpredictable events. It presents engineering challenges embracing a wide range of disciplines, and attracts and holds the interest of undergraduates and postgraduates, educationists, school children and laymen. National and international tournaments stretch the competitors and lead to an ever‐increasing standard of achievement.
DARPA Grand Challenge – a pioneering event for autonomous robotic ground vehicles
Authors: Fulton John , Pransky Joanne
Published: August 2004

For the time in its 45‐year history, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) reached beyond its standard defense contractors and out to the public, and in 2004 held the DARPA Grand Challenge in an effort to attract innovation in order to achieve a military mandate of having one‐third of America's ground combat vehicles unmanned by the year 2015. DARPA offered a cash prize of US$1 million to an automonous robotic vehicle that could navigate a 142 mile course in the Mojave desert in less than 10 h. Over 100 applications were submitted, and after further evaluations, DARPA narrowed the field to 25 finalists. After qualifying trials, 15 vehicles confronted the starting line on 13 March 2004. Though the farthest a vehicle got was 7.4 miles, the event was viewed as a technological breakthrough. This paper describes the systems that were set‐up to monitor and control the event, and features of the various robots.
Robots struggle at MACH
Authors: Rooks Brian
Published: August 2004

A review of the MACH machine tool exhibition held at the NEC, Birmingham, and specifically on the robotic exhibits. Although the number of stands demonstrating robots was down on the last MACH in 2002, there were some new product releases from Rexroth Bosch, Fanuc and ABB. Two of the first applications of the new Rexroth Bosch articulate arm robot are described, as is a machine tool tending project at UK aerospace manufacturer, Centrax. One of the more popular applications at the show was press brake tending and exhibits by Amada and Edward Pearson are highlighted.
A method to derive housing sub‐markets and reduce spatial dependency
Authors: Wilhelmsson Mats
Published: August 2004

Housing markets are typically segmented into a number of different sub‐markets. If the sub‐markets are not included in the hedonic estimation process, parameters will be biased. Furthermore, if neighbourhood characteristics are omitted, there is a risk that spatial dependency will be present, and this will cause estimates to be biased, inefficient and inconsistent. The objective of this paper is to derive functional sub‐markets using cluster analysis to improve upon the hedonic model and reduce spatial dependency. The empirical analysis shows that cluster analysis of the residuals can remedy the problem of spatial autocorrelation. However, if the housing market under investigation is geographically large, the number of clusters will increase rapidly, if the objective is to reduce spatial dependency. The predictive performance is highly increased both in the full sample and the testing sample, but the predictive performance will be reduced if the sub‐markets created are too small and too numerous. Hence, there is a trade‐off between reducing spatial dependency and increasing the predictive power.
Search quality in the financial services industry: a contingency perspective
Authors: Paswan Audhesh K. , Spears Nancy , Hasty Ron , Ganesh Gopala
Published: August 2004

Financial services are inherently intangible and high on experience and credence qualities. In order to promote them effectively, a service provider must first identify the dimensions used by consumers to evaluate the service quality of banks prior to becoming a customer. Based on responses from customers of a credit union, the current study identifies four dimensions – empathy/assurance, tangibility, routine transaction cost, and loan transaction cost – which form the domain of consumer's evaluation of search quality in the financial services industry. Further, the relationships between these search quality factors and overall assessment of respondents' current bank is also investigated. The results indicate that higher levels of importance accorded to search quality factors, especially loan transaction costs, were associated with extreme (good or bad) assessment of current bank. The importance accorded to these search quality factors was also tested against contingency variables such as gender, marital status, age, household income, employment status, education, and house ownership. Of these, gender and home ownership emerged as the strongest determinants. These findings suggest that bank managers should be cognizant of search quality factors and their relations with the appropriate contingency variables.
Jaycustomer behavior: an exploration of types and motives in the hospitality industry
Authors: Harris Lloyd C. , Reynolds Kate L.
Published: August 2004

Christopher Lovelock originated the term “jaycustomer” behavior to refer to customers who deliberately act in a thoughtless or abusive manner, causing problems for the firm, employees, or other customers. An overview of existing literature reveals the focal concentration of empirical research regarding the listing or categorization of jaycustomer behaviors has been on individual forms. While the need for a development of a typology of general or all‐embracing jaycustomer behaviors has been recognized, and forwarded by a small number of researchers, such efforts have been anecdotal or conceptual in nature, or have emerged as part of wider research. The aim of this study is to advance understanding of the different forms of jaycustomer behaviors through providing empirical insights that explore and describe the activities and motivations of such “deviant” or “dysfunctional” customer behaviors through garnering empirical insights from both customer‐contact employees and customers themselves. After a review of existing literatures and a discussion of the research design and approach adopted, the findings from over 100 in‐depth interviews, utilizing critical incident technique, are presented and the implications of the study discussed.
The effectiveness of credit‐card regulation for vulnerable consumers
Authors: Braunsberger Karin , Lucas Laurie A. , Roach Dave
Published: August 2004

The Federal Reserve Board has recently adopted a final rule amending the Truth in Lending Act's Regulation Z, effective October 1, 2001. The first study investigates how vulnerable consumers (i.e. college students) might respond to the revised credit card disclosure requirements and investigates credit card knowledge of college students. The second and third studies examine external validity issues, that is, whether urban college students are more knowledgeable about credit cards than rural students, and whether adult populations are more knowledgeable than student populations. These latter studies further investigate the relationships among objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and product usage. The results show that consumers in general are not very knowledgeable about credit cards. In order to avoid government regulation of the industry, it is recommended that credit card issuers become involved in educating consumers.
Effects of contact employee supports on critical employee responses and customer service evaluation
Authors: Hee Yoon Mahn , Hyun Seo Jai , Seog Yoon Tae
Published: August 2004

This paper examines several sources of support for contact employees in service encounters. These sources of support, including organization support, supervisory support, and customer's participation, are proposed to affect the attitudes and behaviors of employees, and consequently affect customer's perceptions of employees' service quality. This study, which combines perceptions from customers and their contact employees, shows that three sources of support for employees contribute significantly to job satisfaction and employee service quality, while perceived organizational support and customer participation affect service effort. Also, the empirical results indicate that both employee service effort and job satisfaction play strong, central roles in determining customers' perceptions of employee service quality. They were found to be effective mediators linking employees' cognitive appraisal of various sources of support to service quality.
Implementing a program in sustainability for engineers at University of Technology, Sydney
Authors: Bryce Paul , Johnston Stephen , Yasukawa Keiko
Published: August 2004

Integrating sustainability into an undergraduate engineering program at the University of Technology, Sydney has been a challenging project. The authors of this paper have been participant observers of the integration process. In this paper, they have attempted an analysis of that process, focussing on the dynamics of the network of people and interests, which have shaped the process. Actor network theory was used to provide an analytical framework for the analysis. The interests and experiences of the authors in the process necessarily influence the analysis. All three authors have been active in positioning sustainability as a central theme for the critique and practice of engineering. Paul Bryce and Stephen Johnston have had long‐standing involvement in technology transfer projects in development. Both have published on engineering as a social activity, critiquing the undue emphasis in engineering education on engineering science, at the expense of attention to engineering practice. Their experience and scholarship have given credibility to their efforts in the faculty to press for a new paradigm of engineering practice. Keiko Yasukawa is an educational developer in the faculty who has been working with staff and students to help them reflect on their idea of what engineering is about in their teaching and learning. She has taken a leading role in shaping the new curriculum.
Integrating SD into engineering courses at the Delft University of Technology
Authors: Peet D.‐J. , Mulder K.F. , Bijma A.
Published: August 2004

When sustainable development (SD) is only taught in specific courses, it is questionable if engineering students are able to integrate it into their engineering practices and technical designs. For this reason, sustainability should also be integrated into regular engineering courses, e.g. design courses, materials courses or processing technology. The SD education plan adopted by the board of Delft University of Technology (DUT) in 1998 was based on this philosophy. It consists of three interconnected activities for all engineering curricula: the implementation of an elementary course “Technology in sustainable development”; the development of a graduation program in sustainable development for students who want to specialize; and the integration of sustainable development in all regular courses, wherever applicable. This paper describes various activities that the project group carried out to stimulate and support the third strategy: SD integration. It turned out that top‐down attempts to influence the content of courses often triggered resistance among lecturers, as they feared the intermingling of laymen into their scientific/engineering discipline. Interaction was important but was often impossible by lack of mutual understanding. Participation in a national project aimed to stimulate discussion by making disciplinary sustainability reviews of academic/engineering disciplines. This approach was promising as it created the base for serious discussions. However, the reports often ended in the bureaucracies of the departments. More positive results were achieved with a semi‐consultant approach directed at discussing SD issues with individual lecturers. Many lecturers were willing to discuss their courses, and were interested in practical ideas to integrate sustainability. This interactive approach is promising because it does not conflict with academic culture and keeps the lecturer in charge of his own course.
A sustainable development course for environmental engineers in Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Hadjamberdiev Igor
Published: August 2004

Courses on sustainable development (SD) are taught in several institutes of Kyrgyzstan. However, courses for the specialties “eco‐technology”, and “ecological exploitation of natural resources” are only offered by two institutes. There are two alternative courses: for students; and (two months) for decision makers. The theoretical‐cognitive base of the courses includes Rio 92 documents, Club of Rome Reports, Brundlandt Report, Vernadsky biosphere‐nooshere theory, and the Kyrgyzstani Comprehensive Development Framework 2001‐2010. Three problems are also included: administrative apparatus reform; economy restoration (mining, water‐soil‐energy); and poverty alleviation. Philosophy, recent nature concept, regional and global problems are also included in the courses. A focus point in the courses is to restore balances between nature conservation and nature‐using activities, especially in the energy field (oil, gas, coal, and alternative energy from sun and wind). Sun, including collectors for water, building heating and processes for drying crops and vegetables by sunlight, are also included in the course. Small hydroelectric power stations (1‐22KW) might be used in the country's mountain range. The courses also deal with Central Asian ethnic problems (sharp divisions by ethnicity such as Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Iranian, Tadjik). There is also a course in emotional form, using poetry and (sometimes religious) verses. The courses have been taught since 1998. Thus far 400 students and 92 administrators passed the course. In this paper, the specific approach of the course, investigating SD at a conceptual as well as an emotional level, will be evaluated. Reflects on the question of how successful this approach might be for developing countries in general.
Effects of immersion water temperature on whole‐body fluid distribution in humans
Authors: Stocks J. M. , Patterson M. J. , Hyde D. E. , Jenkins A. B. , Mittleman K. D. , Taylor N. A. S.
Published: August 2004

Aim:  In this study, we quantified acute changes in the intracellular and extracellular fluid compartments during upright neutral‐ and cold‐water immersion. We hypothesized that, during short‐term cold immersion, fluid shifts would be wholly restricted to the extracellular space.

Methods:  Seven males were immersed 30 days apart: control (33.3 ° SD 0.6 °C); and cold (18.1 ° SD 0.3 °C). Posture was controlled for 4 h prior to a 60‐min seated immersion.

Results:  Significant reductions in terminal oesophageal (36.9 ° ± 0.1 °–36.3 ° ± 0.1 °C) and mean skin temperatures (30.3 ° ± 0.3 °–23.0 ° ± 0.3 °C) were observed during the cold, but not the control immersion. Both immersions elicited a reduction in intracellular fluid [20.17 ± 6.02 mL kg−1 (control) vs. 22.72 ± 9.90 mL kg−1], while total body water (TBW) remained stable. However, significant plasma volume (PV) divergence was apparent between the trials at 60 min [12.5 ± 1.0% (control) vs. 6.1 ± 3.1%; P < 0.05], along with a significant haemodilution in the control state (P < 0.05). Plasma atrial natriuretic peptide concentration increased from 18.0 ± 1.6 to 58.7 ± 15.1 ng L−1 (P < 0.05) during cold immersion, consistent with its role in PV regulation. We observed that, regardless of the direction of the PV change, both upright immersions elicited reductions in intracellular fluid.

Conclusion:  These observations have two implications. First, one cannot assume that PV changes reflect those of the entire extracellular compartment. Second, since immersion also increases interstitial fluid pressure, fluid leaving the interstitium must have been rapidly replaced by intracellular water.
Inhibited anabolic effect of insulin‐like growth factor‐I on stromal bone marrow cells in endothelial nitric oxide synthase‐knockout mice
Authors: Lagumdzija A. , Ou G. , Petersson M. , Bucht E. , Gonon A. , Pernow Y.
Published: August 2004

Aims:  Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH‐related protein (PTHrP) are hormones that have anabolic effects on bone formation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether production of nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the effect of IGF‐I and PTH/PTHrP on osteoblast‐like cells.

Methods:  Bone marrow stromal cells from adult endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)‐knockout (eNOSKO) mice and wild type (WT) counterparts were cultivated with osteogenic substances. The cells showed an osteoblastic phenotype measured as osteocalcin production and alkaline phosphatase activity. DNA synthesis was measured as [3H] thymidine incorporation in the bone marrow cells and in a human osteosarcoma cell‐line (SaOS‐2).

Results:  The stimulatory effect of IGF‐I on thymidine incorporation seen in WT animals was absent in eNOSKO mice. Addition of a NO donor to eNOSKO cells recovered the effect of IGF‐I on thymidine incorporation. PTH/PTHrP stimulated cell proliferation in both WT and eNOSKO mice. In SaOS‐2 cells, incubation with IGF‐I together with a NOS inhibitor resulted in an inhibition of the anabolic effect of IGF‐I on cell proliferation.

Conclusions:  The stimulatory effect of IGF‐I on WT cell proliferation was abolished in eNOSKO cells, recovered by an NO donor and inhibited in osteosarcoma cells by a NOS inhibitor. The results indicate that the effect of IGF‐I is dependent on NO production. The impaired IGF‐I response may contribute to the bone defect formation seen in eNOSKO animals.
Left ventricular volumes during exercise in endurance athletes assessed by contrast echocardiography
Authors: Sundstedt M. , Hedberg P. , Jonason T. , Ringqvist I. , Brodin L.‐Å. , Henriksen E.
Published: August 2004

Aim:  The objective was to assess left ventricular (LV) volumes at rest and during upright submaximal exercise in endurance athletes to see whether changes in heart volume could explain the large predicted increase in cardiac output in endurance athletes.

Method:  Contrast echocardiography was used to assess changes in LV volumes during upright bicycle exercise in 24 healthy male endurance athletes. Maximal oxygen uptake and oxygen pulse were measured by using cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Results:  From rest to exercise at a heart rate of 160 beats min−1 end‐diastolic volume increased by 18% (P < 0.001) and end‐systolic volume decreased by 21% (P = 0.002). Stroke volume showed an almost linear increase during exercise (45% increase, P < 0.001). The increase in end‐diastolic volume contributed to 73% of the increase in stroke volume. No significant differences were observed between stroke volume calculated from LV volumes with contrast echocardiography and stroke volume calculated from oxygen pulse at heart rates of 130 and 160 beats min−1. Using the linear regression equation between oxygen uptake and cardiac output assessed by echocardiography during exercise (r = 0.87, P = 0.002), cardiac output at maximal exercise was estimated at 33 ± 3 L min−1, with an estimated increase in stroke volume by 69% from rest to maximal exercise.

Conclusion:  By using contrast echocardiography, a large increase in stroke volume in endurance athletes could be explained by an almost linear increase in end‐diastolic volume and an initial small decrease in end‐systolic volume during incremental upright exercise.
Acute effects of dehydration on sweat composition in men during prolonged exercise in the heat
Authors: Morgan R. M. , Patterson M. J. , Nimmo M. A.
Published: August 2004

Aim:  To determine whether acute exercise‐heat‐induced dehydration affects sweat composition, eight males cycled for 2 h at 39.5 ± 1.6%O2peak on two separate occasions in a hot‐humid environment (38.0 ± 0.0 °C, 60.0 ± 0.1% relative humidity).

Methods:  During exercise, subjects ingested either no fluid (dehydration) or a 20 mmol L−1 sodium chloride solution (euhydration). The volume of solution, calculated from whole‐body sweat loss and determined in a familiarization trial, was ingested at 0 min and every 15 min thereafter. Venous blood was collected at 0, 60 and 120 min of exercise and sweat was aspirated from a patch located on the dominant forearm at 120 min.

Results:  Following the 2‐h cycling exercise, sweat [Na+] and [Cl−] was greater (P < 0.05) in the dehydration trial (Na+ 91.1 ± 6.8 mmol L−1; Cl− 73.3 ± 3.5 mmol L−1) compared with the euhydration trial (Na+ 81.1 ± 5.9 mmol L−1; Cl− 68.5 ± 3.3 mmol L−1). In addition, dehydration invoked a greater serum [Na+] (142.2 ± 0.7 mmol L−1; P < 0.05), [Cl−] (105.8 ± 0.6 mmol L−1; P < 0.05) and [K+] (5.27 ± 0.2 mmol L−1; P < 0.05) over the euhydration values for [Na+], [Cl−] and [K+], respectively (138.9 ± 0.6, 102.9 ± 0.5 and 4.88 ± 0.1 mmol L−1). Plasma aldosterone was also significantly higher during exercise in the dehydration trial compared with the euhydration trial (53.8 ± 3.8 vs. 40.0 ± 4.3 ng dL−1; P < 0.05).

Conclusions:  Acute exercise‐heat stress without fluid replacement resulted in a greater sweat [Na+] and [Cl−] which was potentially related to greater extracellular fluid [Na+], plasma aldosterone or sympathetic nervous activity.
The effect of sympathetic stimulation on proximal brachial artery mechanics in humans – differential behaviour within the length of the brachial artery?
Authors: Bjarnegård N. , Rydén Ahlgren Å. , Sonesson B. , Länne T.
Published: August 2004

Aims:  The mechanical properties of arteries play a major role in the regulation of blood pressure and cardiac performance. The effect of sympathetic stimulation on the mechanical properties of the proximal brachial artery was analysed in 18 healthy volunteers, nine young (25 ± 2 years) and nine elderly (69 ± 2 years).

Methods:  A non‐invasive ultrasonic echo‐tracking system for measurement of systolic/diastolic variation of the proximal brachial artery diameter in combination with intra‐arterial pressure measurements was used to determine wall mechanics. The pressure–diameter (P–D) relationship, distensibility coefficient (DC), compliance coefficient (CC) and stiffness(β) were obtained at rest and during sympathetic stimulation induced by lower body negative pressure (LBNP).

Results:  The peripheral vascular resistance increased by 100 and 72%, respectively in the young and elderly during LBNP (P < 0.001). Simultaneously, the mechanical properties of the proximal brachial artery remained unaltered, as estimated from both P–D relationship and stiffness in young (β‐index rest: 5.2 ± 0.9, LBNP: 5.5 ± 1.3, NS) as well as elderly (β‐index rest: 13.6 ± 4.6, LBNP: 16.1 ± 4.7, NS).

Conclusions:  LBNP‐induced sympathetic activation does not change proximal brachial artery mechanics, in contrast to earlier reports on the muscular distal brachial artery. This may imply that the transition between elastic and muscular artery behaviour is within the length of the brachial artery, where the site of transition from elastic to muscular wall structure needs to be specified in future studies.
Muscular adaptations to computer‐guided strength training with eccentric overload
Authors: Friedmann B. , Kinscherf R. , Vorwald S. , Müller H. , Kucera K. , Borisch S. , Richter G. , Bärtsch P. , Billeter R.
Published: August 2004

Aims:  In order to investigate the muscular adaptations to a novel form of strength training, 18 male untrained subjects performed 4 weeks of low resistance–high repetition knee extension exercise.

Methods:  Nine of them trained on a conventional weight resistance device (Leg curler, CON/ECC group), with loads equivalent to 30% of the concentric one‐repetition maximum (1RM) for both the concentric and eccentric phase of movement. The other nine trained on a newly developed computer‐driven device (CON/ECC‐OVERLOAD group) with the concentric load equivalent to 30% of the concentric 1RM and the eccentric load equivalent to 30% of the eccentric 1RM.

Results:  Training resulted in significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased peak torque and a tendency (P = 0.092) to increased muscle cross‐sectional area for the CON/ECC‐OVERLOAD but not the CON/ECC group, while strength endurance capacity was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased in the CON/ECC group only. RT‐PCR revealed significantly increased myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIa and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) A mRNAs, a tendency for increased MHC IIx mRNA (P = 0.056) and high correlations between the changes in MHC IIx and LDH A mRNAs (r = 0.97, P = 0.001) in the CON/ECC‐OVERLOAD group.

Conclusions:  These results indicate a shift towards a more type II dominated gene expression pattern in the vasti laterales muscles of the CON/ECC‐OVERLOAD group in response to training. We suggest that the increased eccentric load in the CON/ECC‐OVERLOAD training leads to distinct adaptations towards a stronger, faster muscle.
Endothelial cytochrome P450 contributes to the acetylcholine‐induced cardiodepression in isolated rat hearts
Authors: Pagliaro P. , Penna C. , Rastaldo R. , Mancardi D. , Crisafulli A. , Losano G. , Gattullo D.
Published: August 2004

Aims:  Acetylcholine (ACh) is known to reduce the contractility of the heart by acting on myocardial muscarinic M2 receptors. ACh induces also an endothelial‐dependent vasodilatation by causing the release of nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin and endothelium‐derived hyperpolarizing factors from the vascular endothelium. It has been proposed that ACh elicits a hyperpolarization of the coronary endothelial cells which may be accompanied by the activation of cytochrome P450 (CYP) and the resulting release of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). The study aims at investigating whether endothelial CYP is involved in the cardiodepression by ACh.

Methods and results:  In isolated rat hearts, cardiodepression by ACh (i.e. 25–30% reduction of developed left ventricular pressure) was partially attenuated either by inhibition of CYP with 1‐aminobenzotriazole (ABT) or by endothelial dysfunction obtained with Triton X‐100. No attenuation of cardiodepression was seen after nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase inhibition by l‐nitro‐arginine methyl ester and indomethacin, respectively.

Conclusion:  The results suggest that the negative inotropic effect of ACh depends not only on a direct myocardial effect but also on the endothelial CYP activation.
Foraging ecology and interactions with fisheries of wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) breeding at South Georgia
Authors: Xavier J. C. , Trathan P. N. , Croxall J. P. , Wood A. G. , Podestá G. , Rodhouse P. G.
Published: August 2004

Knowledge about the areas used by the foraging wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans, its prey and overlap with longline fisheries is important information not only for the conservation of this species but also for furthering our understanding of the ecology of its prey. We attached satellite‐tracking devices and activity recorders to wandering albatrosses between May and July of 1999 and 2000 (years of differing food availability around South Georgia) in order to assess inter‐annual variation in the main foraging areas, association with oceanographic features (i.e. fronts, bathymetry), diet and interactions with fisheries. The overall foraging patterns of the tracked birds were similar in 1999 and 2000, ranging between southern Brazil (28°S) and the Antarctic Peninsula (63°S) and between the waters off Tristan da Cunha (19°W) and the Patagonian Shelf and oceanic waters south of Cape Horn (68°W) in the South Atlantic. In 1999, wandering albatrosses spent most time in sub‐Antarctic oceanic waters, their trip durations were significantly longer and they fed on fish and cephalopods (53 and 42% by mass, respectively). In contrast, in 2000, they spent more time in Antarctic waters, foraging trips were shorter and the diet was predominantly fish (84% by mass). Wandering albatrosses were associated with the sub‐Antarctic Front (SAF; both years), Subtropical Front (STF; in 1999) and the Tropical Front (TF; in 2000) suggesting that this species exploits prey concentrated at oceanic fronts. Fisheries discards also seemed to provide a very good source of food. Several fish species that are targeted (e.g. Patagonian toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides) or are available as offal/discards from commercial fisheries (e.g. the macrourids, Antimora rostrata and Macrourus holotrachys) were mainly associated with the South Georgia shelf and the Patagonian Shelf, respectively. Wandering albatross foraging areas overlapped with longline fisheries in three different regions: around South Georgia, at the Patagonian Shelf and in oceanic waters north of 40°S. Females commuted more frequently to the Patagonian Shelf and to oceanic areas where longline fisheries were operating. Males, on the other hand, spent more time on the shelf/shelf slope of South Georgia where they were more at risk from the local Patagonian toothfish fishery, particularly in 2000. These results emphasize that inter‐annual variation in foraging preferences could lead to increased incidental mortality of this vulnerable species. Potential evidence for this is provided by a satellite‐tracked wandering albatross (male; 1.8‐day trip), whose diet contained a Patagonian toothfish head and a longline hook, and who spent extensive time in the water (44% of the time wet; 0.3 days of the trip) where a Patagonian toothfish longline fishing vessel was operating.
Direct pulp capping with mineral trioxide aggregate in a primary molar: a case report
Authors: BODEM O. , BLUMENSHINE S. , ZEH D. , KOCH M. J.
Published: August 2004

Summary. A case is presented in which pulp capping was performed on a right first mandibular primary molar in a 7‐year‐old male patient. An alkaline cement powder based on mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) was used for pulp capping. There were no pathological findings either on a radiograph taken after one year or on clinical examination after 18 months, and the right first mandibular primary molar remained vital after capping with MTA. Further clinical investigation of MTA for direct pulp capping of primary teeth should be performed.
Dental caries experience and its relationship to social and behavioural factors among 3–5‐year‐old children in Uganda
Authors: KIWANUKA S. N. , ÅSTRØM A. N. , TROVIK T. A.
Published: August 2004

Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the socio‐demographic and behavioural correlates of caries experience and sugar intake patterns among pre‐school children in Uganda.

Methods. Five hundred and eighty‐nine, 3–5‐year‐old children (51% boys, response rate = 85%), attending nursery schools in urban and peri‐urban settings in central Kampala and Nakawa, respectively, were clinically examined for dental caries using the dmft index. Visible plaque on the labial surfaces of their maxillary incisors was recorded as a proxy for oral hygiene habits. A questionnaire designed to assess socio‐demographic factors and sugar habits was completed by their caregivers in face‐to‐face interviews.

Results. The mean dmft scores were 1·7, 2·4 and 3·1, and 42%, 44% and 42% had visible plaque among 3‐, 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds, respectively. In Nakawa, a total of 64%, 62% and 22% of the subjects had dmft > 0, decayed teeth (dt) > 0 and missing teeth > 0, respectively. The corresponding rates in central Kampala were 56%, 55% and 17%. Multivariate analyses revealed that attending school in Nakawa, having a mother with a lower level of education, reporting the intake of cough syrup, visiting a dentist and scoring positively for plaque were associated with higher odds (1·6, 1·5, 3·7 and 2·7) for having dmft > 0. The adjusted mean frequency sugar scores varied systematically between mothers with low and high levels of education (mean scores = 11·0 vs. 10·4), and for children with negative and positive plaque scores (mean scores = 10·6 vs. 10·9).

Conclusion. The caries experience was highest among children attending nursery schools in Nakawa and those who had had longer periods of cough syrup consumption, whereas children from the two locations were equally exposed to sugar consumption generally. Both caries experience and frequency of sugar consumption was highest among children of less‐well‐educated mothers.
Pupillary reflex dilation and skin temperature to assess sensory level during combined general and caudal anesthesia in children*
Authors: Emery John , Ho David , MacKeen Leslie , Héon Elise , Bissonnette Bruno
Published: August 2004

Background:  Regional anesthesia causes sympathetic blockade, vasodilation and higher skin temperature in anesthetized dermatomes. Measurement of skin temperature changes might provide a useful estimate of the level of caudal anesthesia in children. Pupillary reflex dilation (PRD) allows estimation of the sensory level during combined general/epidural anesthesia in adults, but has not been assessed in children. This study was designed to evaluate skin temperature and PRD as methods of estimating sensory level in children receiving combined general/caudal epidural anesthesia.

Methods:  Twenty ASA I and II children aged 10 months–5 years were enrolled. Anesthesia was induced with sevoflurane and N2O in O2 and maintained with 1 MAC isoflurane and air in O2. Caudal epidural anesthesia was achieved by injection of 1 ml·kg−1 0.25% bupivacaine. Skin temperature was measured by rapid response infrared thermometry. PRD was measured using an ophthalmic ultrasound biomicroscope (UBM). The three criteria used to estimate sensory level were a drop in skin temperature of 0.5°C between dermatomes, PRD of 50% and PRD of 0.2 mm.

Results:  A drop in skin temperature of 0.5°C between dermatomes allowed estimation of the sensory level in only 20% of patients. PRD of 50%, and PRD of 0.2 mm allowed estimation of the sensory level in 45 and 100% of patients, respectively. PRD was significantly greater above the T10 dermatome compared with L2 (P < 0.01). The maximum pupillary dilation was significantly greater in children over 2 years of age [1.3 ± 0.8 mm sd)] compared with children less than two years of age [0.6 ± 0.3 mm sd)].

Conclusions:  Skin temperature cannot be used to estimate sensory level during combined general/caudal epidural anesthesia. PRD of 0.2 mm is sensitive to the loss of analgesia but is not clinically useful. PRD may be useful above 2 years of age.
Potentially Inappropriate Medication Prescriptions among Elderly Nursing Home Residents: Their Scope and Associated Resident and Facility Characteristics
Authors: Lau Denys T. , Kasper Judith D. , Potter D. E. B. , Lyles Alan
Published: August 2004

Objective. To estimate the scope of potentially inappropriate medication prescriptions (PIRx) among elderly residents in U.S. nursing homes (NHs), and to examine associated resident and facility characteristics.

Data Sources. The 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Nursing Home Component (MEPS NHC), a survey of a nationally representative sample of NHs and residents.

Study Design. The PIRx, defined by Beers's consensus criteria (1991, 1997), was identified using up to a year's worth of NH prescribed medicine data for each resident. The study sample represented 1.6 million NH residents (n=3,372).

Results. At a minimum, 50 percent of all residents aged 65 or older, with an NH stay of three months or longer received at least one PIRx in 1996. The most common PIRx involved propoxyphene, diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine, oxybutynin, amitriptyline, cyproheptadine, iron supplements, and ranitidine. Resident factors associated with greater odds of PIRx were Medicaid coverage, no high school diploma, and nondementia mental disorders. Facility factors were more beds and lower RN‐to‐resident ratio. Factors associated with lower odds of PIRx were fewer medications, residents with communication problems, and being in an accredited NH. Onsite availability of pharmacists or mental health providers was not related.

Implications. With quality of care and patient safety as major public health concerns, effective policies are needed to avoid PIRx occurrences and improve the quality of prescribing among elderly residents in NHs. Additional studies are needed to determine the impact of PIRx on this NH population.
Socioeconomic Disparities in the Use of Home Health Services in a Medicare Managed Care Population
Authors: Freedman Vicki A. , Rogowski Jeannette , Wickstrom Steven L. , Adams John , Marainen Jonas , Escarce José J.
Published: August 2004

Objective. To investigate socioeconomic disparities in access to home health visits and durable medical equipment by persons enrolled in two Medicare managed care health plans.

Data Sources. A telephone survey of 4,613 Medicare managed care enrollees conducted between April and October of 2000 and linked to administrative claims for a subsequent 12‐month period.

Study Design. We estimated a series of logistic regression models to determine which socioeconomic factors were related to home health visits and the use of durable medical equipment (DME) among Medicare managed care enrollees.

Principal Findings. Controlling for health and demographic differences, Medicare managed care enrollees in the lowest tertile for nonhousing assets had 50 percent greater odds than those in the highest tertile of having one or more home health visits. All else equal, enrollees with less than a high school education had 30 percent lower odds than those who had graduated from high school of using durable medical equipment.

Conclusions. Medicare managed care enrollees of low socioeconomic status do not appear to have reduced access to home health visits; however, use of durable medical equipment is considerably lower for enrollees with less than a high school education. Physicians and therapists working with Medicare managed care enrollees may want to actively target DME prescriptions to those with educational disadvantages.
Physical Rehabilitation following Medicare Prospective Payment for Skilled Nursing Facilities
Authors: Wodchis Walter P.
Published: August 2004

Objective. To examine the effect of the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNF) on the delivery of rehabilitation therapy to residents.

Data Sources. Resident‐level data are based on the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set for nursing facilities. All elderly residents admitted to SNFs in Michigan and Ohio in 1998 and 1999 form the study population (n=99,952).

Study Design. A differences‐in‐differences identification strategy is used to compare rehabilitation therapy for SNF residents before and after a change in Medicare SNF payment. Logistic and linear regression analyses are used to examine the effect of PPS on receipt of physical, occupational, or speech therapy and total therapy time.

Data Extraction. Data for the present study were extracted from the University of Michigan Assessment Archive Project (UMAAP). One assessment was obtained for each resident admitted to nursing facilities during the study period.

Principal Findings. The introduction of PPS for all U.S. Medicare residents in July of 1998 was associated with specific targeting of rehabilitation treatment time to the most profitable levels of therapy. The PPS was also associated with increased likelihood of therapy but less rehabilitation therapy time for Medicare residents.

Conclusions. The present results indicate that rehabilitation therapy is sensitive to the specific payment incentives associated with PPS.
Associations of Race, Education, and Patterns of Preventive Service Use with Stage of Cancer at Time of Diagnosis
Authors: Gornick Marian E. , Eggers Paul W. , Riley Gerald F.
Published: August 2004

Objective. To go beyond the documentation of disparities by race and SES by analyzing health behaviors regarding preventive and cancer screening services and determining if these behaviors are associated with stage of cancer when first diagnosed.

Data. Stage of cancer for Medicare patients diagnosed in 1995 with breast, colorectal, uterine, ovarian, prostate, bladder, or stomach cancer; and use of influenza and pneumonia immunization, mammography, pap smear, colon cancer screening, and the prostate specific antigen test during the two years preceding diagnosis of cancer.

Study Design. Hypothesis tested: health behaviors regarding use of preventive and cancer screening services are associated with stage of cancer when first diagnosed.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Information was extracted from the database formed by the linkage of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries with Medicare files.

Principal Findings. Black and white patients (of higher and lower SES) who used more of the preventive and cancer screening services were at a lower risk of having late stage cancer for six cancers studied (breast, colorectal [male and female], prostate, uterine, and male bladder cancer) than their counterparts who used fewer of these services.

Conclusions. The use of preventive and cancer screening services is a health behavior associated with better health outcomes for the elderly diagnosed with cancer. The lack of preventive service use can serve as a marker for identifying persons at risk of late stage cancer when first diagnosed. Strategies that encourage the use of preventive services by low users of these services are likely to reinforce a range of healthy behaviors that help to ameliorate disparities in health outcomes.