bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accepting a donor kidney: an evaluation of patients’ and transplant surgeons’ priorities
Authors: Solomon Daniel A. , Rabidou Nicole , Kulkarni Sanjay , Formica Richard , Fraenkel Liana
Published: October 2010

Solomon DA, Rabidou N, Kulkarni S, Formica R, Fraenkel L. Accepting a donor kidney: an evaluation of patients’ and transplant surgeons’ priorities. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 786–793. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Abstract: Background:  Despite a trend toward patient autonomy in clinical practice, the decision whether or not to accept a kidney for transplantation is made predominantly by the transplant surgeon. The purpose of this study is to examine how patients and surgeons prioritize relevant factors when deciding to accept or decline an available kidney.

Methods:  We elicited patient and surgeon rankings for a list of factors involved in the decision using a validated computer survey. We computed the relative importance of each factor and examined associations between patient characteristics and priorities using Spearman’s correlation coefficient and the Mann–Whitney U‐test for continuous and categorical variables, respectively.

Results:  Patients placed the greatest value on kidney quality and predictors of transplant outcome. Patients who were on the waiting list longer gave less importance to kidney quality and function. Surgeons placed the greatest value on kidney quality, difficulty for the patient to be matched to a kidney, and the age of the donor.

Conclusion:  The results of this study suggest that decision support tools can be used to improve the understanding of patient priorities in the decision to accept a donor kidney.
Macrophage activation is associated with poorer long‐term outcomes in renal transplant patients
Authors: Grebe Scott O. , Kuhlmann Uwe , Fogl Dominik , Luyckx Valerie A. , Mueller Thomas F.
Published: October 2010

Grebe SO, Kuhlmann U, Fogl D, Luyckx VA, Mueller TF. Macrophage activation is associated with poorer long‐term outcomes in renal transplant patients. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 744–754. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Abstract:  Long‐term graft and patient survival after renal transplantation are largely determined by progression of chronic allograft dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Inflammation plays a crucial role in both disease processes.

We prospectively analyzed the association of early peri‐transplant inflammatory burden on long‐term outcomes in 144 consecutive deceased donor renal allograft recipients. Single time point and cumulative levels of markers of acute phase response (serum amyloid A [SAA] and C‐reactive protein [SCRP]) and macrophage activation (serum and urine neopterin) were measured daily during the immediate post‐operative period.

Mean patient follow‐up was 16 yr. Graft and patient survival rates at one‐, five‐, and 10‐yr were 90%, 70%, and 51%, and 97%, 77%, and 59%, respectively. Graft loss occurred in 90 patients, of whom 71 died with a functioning graft and 19 returned to dialysis. CRP, SAA and neopterin (NEOP) levels were all elevated post‐operatively. High levels of NEOP, in contrast to SAA or SCRP, were associated with poorer graft and patient survival (p < 0.05), specifically with death from cardiovascular events and cytomegalovirus IgG positivity.

These findings strongly suggest that early post‐transplant macrophage activation, as reflected by NEOP levels, is associated with poorer long‐term graft and patient survival.
A decrease in the prevalence and improved control of allergic conditions in 13‐ to 15‐yr‐old Maltese children (ISAAC)
Authors: Montefort Stephen , Ellul Pierre , Montefort Maxine , Caruana Simone , Agius Muscat Hugo
Published: October 2010

To cite this article: Montefort S, Ellul P, Montefort M, Caruana S, Agius Muscat H. A decrease in the prevalence and improved control of allergic conditions in 13‐ to 15‐yr‐old Maltese children (ISAAC). Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011; 22: e107–e111.

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) has produced a reliable global map of childhood allergies through the use of a validated standardized questionnaire. Phase 1 of the study was carried out in the Maltese Islands in 1995 and repeated in 2002 in phase 3. To investigate the trends in prevalence and severity of childhood allergies in Maltese schoolchildren, in this article, we compare the data obtained from 4184 children, 13‐ to 15‐yr‐olds (88.7% response rate) in phase 1, to that of phase 3 when 4139 (90% response rate) children participated. The cumulative (27.9% vs. 27.4%: p = 0.6) and current (16% vs. 14.6% p = 0.08) prevalence rates of wheezing remained quite static but wheezers were more likely to be diagnosed with asthma in 2002 (11.1% vs. 14.1% p < 0.0001). Along the 7 yrs, these asthmatics were better controlled with less wheezing attacks (p < 0.01), less disturbed nights (p < 0.05) and less acute severe episodes (p < 0.05). Nasal problems were present in 52.7% of participants in 1995 and in 50.4% in 2002 (p < 0.05), and 47.4% vs. 42.8% (p < 0.0001) persisted with these symptoms and associated itchy eyes (29% vs. 21.8%: p < 000001). Though prevalence decreased, the children were labelled as hayfever sufferers more often (32.3 vs. 40.7%: p < 0.00001). Rhinitis symptoms seemed to interfere less with daily activities (p < 0.01). In 2002, an itchy rash suggestive of eczema was also less present ‘ever’ (12.8% vs. 11.2%: p < 0.05) or currently (10.1% vs. 8.5%: p < 0.05) but again more likely to be diagnosed as eczema (p < 0.001). This rash caused less sleepless nights in phase 3 of the study (p < 0.05). These results indicate that asthma prevalence has reached a plateau between 1995 and 2002 while rhinitis and eczema are less common. All these allergic conditions are better controlled and more likely to be diagnosed in these schoolchildren by Maltese doctors in 2002 than in 1995.
Heredity of food allergies in an unselected child population: An epidemiological survey from Finland
Authors: Pyrhönen Kaisa , Hiltunen Liisa , Kaila Minna , Näyhä Simo , Läärä Esa
Published: October 2010

To cite this article:Pyrhönen K, Hiltunen L, Kaila M, Näyhä S, Läärä E. Heredity of food allergies in an unselected child population: An epidemiological survey from Finland.Pediatr Allergy Immunol2011;22: e124–e132.

The heredity of food allergies (FA) has not previously been addressed in a large unselected child population. Our target population comprised all children born from April 2001 to March 2006 resident in one province of South‐East Finland (nc. 6000), as identified from the national population register. In a questionnaire survey conducted in 2005–2006, data were obtained on allergic manifestations (FA symptoms, atopic rash, allergic asthma, hay fever/pollen allergy, or animal allergy) in the biologic parents of 3800 children (64% of the total). Concurrently with the survey but independently of it, results of specific immunoglobulin E antibodies (sIgE), skin prick tests (SPT), and open food challenges (OFC) in the offspring were collected from patient records throughout the province. Up to the age of 4 yr, the incidences of any positive FA test, a positive SPT or sIgE for food items, and a positive OFC in these children were threefold higher if both parents reported having an allergic manifestation and twofold higher if either mother or father had such a manifestation when compared with children whose parents did not report any of these conditions. The estimated risk of any positive FA test increased by a factor of 1.3 (95% CI 1.2–1.4) for each additional allergic manifestation in the parents. Positive FA tests in the offspring were relatively strongly associated with the reports of allergic phenotypes and the number of these phenotypes in their biologic parents.
Genetic mapping in Lilium: mapping of major genes and quantitative trait loci for several ornamental traits and disease resistances
Authors: Shahin Arwa , Arens Paul , Van Heusden Adriaan W. , Van Der Linden Gerard , Van Kaauwen Martijn , Khan Nadeem , Schouten Henk J. , Van De Weg W. Eric , Visser Richard G. F. , Van Tuyl Jaap M.
Published: October 2010

With 1 figure and 3 tables

Construction of genetic linkage maps for lily was achieved using two populations, LA and AA that share one parent ‘Connecticut King’. Three different molecular marker systems (AFLP™, DArT and NBS profiling) were used in generating linkage maps for ‘Connecticut King’. The LA and the AA populations consist of 20 and 21 linkage groups (LGs), respectively. Average density between markers was 3.9 cM for the LA and 5 cM for the AA population. Several horticultural traits were mapped for the first time in Lilium and showed to be single gene based. We propose to name these genes as LFCc for flower colour, lfs for flower spots, LSC for stem colour, lal for antherless phenotype and lfd for flower direction whereby upper and lower case names refer to dominant and recessive genes, respectively. Additionally, resistance to Lily mottle virus (LMoV) was mapped as a locus on LG AA10. For Fusarium resistance, the Kruskal–Wallis test identified six putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) in the AA population of which one QTL (explaining 25% of the variation in resistance) could be confirmed by interval mapping.
Sexually transmitted bacteria affect female cloacal assemblages in a wild bird
Authors: White Joël , Mirleau Pascal , Danchin Etienne , Mulard Hervé , Hatch Scott A. , Heeb Philipp , Wagner Richard H.
Published: October 2010

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 1515–1524

Sexual transmission is an important mode of disease propagation, yet its mechanisms remain largely unknown in wild populations. Birds comprise an important model for studying sexually transmitted microbes because their cloaca provides a potential for both gastrointestinal pathogens and endosymbionts to become incorporated into ejaculates. We experimentally demonstrate in a wild population of kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) that bacteria are transmitted during copulation and affect the composition and diversity of female bacterial communities. We used an anti‐insemination device attached to males in combination with a molecular technique (automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis) that describes bacterial communities. After inseminations were experimentally blocked, the cloacal communities of mates became increasingly dissimilar. Moreover, female cloacal diversity decreased and the extinction of mate‐shared bacteria increased, indicating that female cloacal assemblages revert to their pre‐copulatory state and that the cloaca comprises a resilient microbial ecosystem.
Comparative morphology and cytology of the eye, with particular reference to the retina, in lizardfishes (Synodontidae, Teleostei)
Authors: Fishelson Lev , Delarea Yakob , Goren Menachem
Published: October 2010

Fishelson, L., Delarea, Y. and Goren, M. 2012. Comparative morphology and cytology of the eye, with particular reference to the retina, in lizardfishes (Synodontidae, Teleostei). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 93: 68–79.

The retinas of nine species of lizardfishes (Synodontidae) are composed of double cones, single cones, and rods. The cones are 16–28 μm long, and their number in the fundus of adult Synodus variegatus reaches ca. 32,900 mm2 (varying from ca. 300,000 to ca. 390,000 in a 10 mm2 of the retina), while in Saurida spp., they number ca. 12,000–14,000/mm2. The cone ellipsoids are with up to 600 mitochondria, 0.5–1.6 μm in diameter. The rods are 30–50 μm long; their outer segments 0.6–1.2 μm thick and 15–18 μm long; their inner segments elongated. Their number varies from 15 to 128 million/retina. In fish of similar dimensions but of different species, the number of visual cells in the retina differs. In all species, the eyes increase from 2.0 mm in diameter in the smallest fish studied to 12 mm in the largest one. With eye growth, the retina in the various species increases from ca. 3.8 mm2 in the smallest fish to ca.160.0 mm2 in the large Saurida macrolepis. The possible ecological aspects of the observed phenomena are discussed.
THE SUPPLY OF ECONOMIC HISTORY IN AUSTRALASIA: THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW AT 50
Authors: Morgan Stephen , Shanahan Martin
Published: October 2010

In 2010, the Australian Economic History Review published its 50th volume. To mark the occasion, we present a quantitative analysis of the output of economic and business history that has appeared in its pages since 1956, and review the development of the discipline through its journal editors. Content was until recently overwhelmingly focused on Australia and New Zealand economic and business history, despite the efforts of past editors to attract more scholarship on the wider Asia‐Pacific region. Articles on Asia and the rest of the world have become more common since the late 1990s.
Ontology‐based Qualitative Feature Analysis: Bays as a Case Study
Authors: Feng Chen‐Chieh , Bittner Thomas
Published: October 2010

A methodology for analyzing geographic data using the techniques of: (1) qualitative geometric abstraction; and (2) ontological analysis of geographic features is described. The first technique is a bottom‐up approach to extract qualitative spatial relations from geographic representations (raster or vector) while the second technique is a top‐down approach to determine which qualitative relations can possibly hold between the parts of the geographic features. The process of analyzing geographic data includes the extraction of both the features and the qualitative relations among features. These qualitative relations are then used to classify the geographic features within the “space” of ontological possibilities. In this article bays in Wisconsin and their cartographic representation are used as a running example and the subject of a case study.
Quality Assessment of the French OpenStreetMap Dataset
Authors: Girres Jean‐François , Touya Guillaume
Published: October 2010

The concept of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has recently emerged from the new Web 2.0 technologies. The OpenStreetMap project is currently the most significant example of a system based on VGI. It aims at producing free vector geographic databases using contributions from Internet users. Spatial data quality becomes a key consideration in this context of freely downloadable geographic databases. This article studies the quality of French OpenStreetMap data. It extends the work of Haklay to France, provides a larger set of spatial data quality element assessments (i.e. geometric, attribute, semantic and temporal accuracy, logical consistency, completeness, lineage, and usage), and uses different methods of quality control. The outcome of the study raises questions such as the heterogeneity of processes, scales of production, and the compliance to standardized and accepted specifications. In order to improve data quality, a balance has to be struck between the contributors' freedom and their respect of specifications. The development of appropriate solutions to provide this balance is an important research issue in the domain of user‐generated content.
Digital Urban Morphometrics: Automatic Extraction and Assessment of Morphological Properties of Buildings
Authors: Carneiro Cláudio , Morello Eugenio , Voegtle Thomas , Golay François
Published: October 2010

The aim of this article is to present a method to calculate the morphological properties of the built environment using LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data, geographic information systems (GIS) data and three‐dimensional (3D) models of cities as a source of information. A hybrid approach that takes into account different types of inputs and consequently evaluates the accuracy of each type of used data is presented. This work is intended to give a first response to the lack of a comprehensive and accurate procedure that uses LiDAR data in order to automatically derive precise morphological properties, such as volumes and surfaces (façades and roofs) of buildings. The method was tested on two case‐study areas in the Geneva region with different characteristics, one in the old town along the Rhone River and the other on the CERN campus. A statistical analysis that compares the results of the computation with the 3D model of the built environment was used to validate the results, complemented by significance statistical tests. Outcomes showed that the proposed method to derive morphological properties can reach high levels of accuracy, thus enhancing the potential uses of LiDAR data for numerous applications, typically for the assessment of the urban environmental quality (UEQ) at the city and district scale, such as the estimation of the potential deployment of renewable energies in the built environment and the determination and monitoring of several urban indicators.
The literacy environment of preschool classrooms: contributions to children's emergent literacy growth
Authors: Guo Ying , Justice Laura M. , Kaderavek Joan N. , McGinty Anita
Published: October 2010

This study examined the relations among features of the classroom physical literacy environment (book materials, literacy area and writing materials) and psychological literacy environment (instructional support), and preschool children's gains in two areas of emergent literacy over an academic year. Results showed that features of the physical literacy environment had little direct association with children's gains in emergent literacy, with the exception of quality of literacy area being a positive and significant predictor of children's gains in alphabet knowledge (but not name‐writing ability). Rather, the physical and psychological literacy environment seem to be interdependent, particularly with respect to provision of writing materials. Specifically, presence of writing materials is positively and significantly associated with children's growth in alphabet knowledge and name‐writing ability only within the context of high‐quality, instructionally supportive classrooms. Educational implications are discussed.
A study of the relative efficiency of Chinese ports: a financial ratio‐based data envelopment analysis approach
Authors: Ablanedo‐Rosas José Humberto , Gao Hongman , Zheng Xiaochuan , Alidaee Bahram , Wang Haibo
Published: October 2010

Abstract: This research examines the relative efficiency of 11 major Chinese ports by using an innovative adopted version of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). DEA is a non‐parametric approach to weigh the inputs/outputs and measure the relative efficiency of decision‐making units. This paper adopts an output‐oriented version of DEA based on financial ratios in which no inputs are utilized. The new adopted DEA model provides a rounded judgement on port efficiency taking into consideration multiple financial ratios simultaneously and combining them into a single measure of efficiency. The mathematical model is solved for every port, and the relative efficiency of each port is determined. The results of DEA show that the higher a port's efficiency ratio in relation to the corresponding ratio of another port, the higher the efficiency of this port. Finally, suggestions based on the data analysis are provided for managerial decision makers to improve the areas needed for port operating efficiency.
Monitoring and Medicalising Male Sexuality in Semi‐Colonial Egypt
Authors: Kholoussy Hanan
Published: October 2010

This article examines the ways Egyptians monitored male sexuality in Ottoman and semi‐colonial Egypt. An exploration of the legislative proposals and press debates about marriage, prostitution and venereal disease reveals that the state attempted to medicalise the sexuality of Egyptian men to create ‘healthy’, disciplined men who would later marry and form fit families to serve as the foundation for a strong postcolonial nation. In their attempts to medicalise male sexuality, reformers delineated the normative heterosexuality of the ‘healthy’ male colonial subject for the emerging nation. This article explores the sexual practices of male colonial subjects to demonstrate how Egyptian notions of sexual diseases were gendered.
The Volatility of Sex: Intersexuality, Gender and Clinical Practice in the 1950s
Authors: Eder Sandra
Published: October 2010

The term ‘gender role’ was coined at Johns Hopkins's paediatric endocrinology clinic in the 1950s, where Dr Lawson Wilkins and psychologist John Money diagnosed, treated and evaluated intersexual children, most of them suffering from a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Going beyond existing discourses on the medicalisation of intersexuality, I reframe the emergence of gender as an element in the development of a specific medical treatment for an endocrinological condition and excavate the complex and contingent historical factors that led to the formulation of gender role in the Hopkins context. Using previously unavailable patient records from the clinic, this article follows the patients through their medical encounters and describes the process of normalisation around the diagnosis, treatment and management of CAH. By paying specific attention to the practices at the clinic, I show that diagnosing a child's sex often depended on the physicians’ skill, experience and techniques. Correct gender role was folded into the management of CAH as one aspect of successful treatment. Normalisation was a process, in which treating somatic effects and assuring psychological healthiness were deeply enmeshed in the conviction that a normal life would only be possible as a clearly gendered and sexed person.
Gender and Sexuality in Latina/o Miami: Documenting Latina Transsexual Activists
Authors: Peña Susana
Published: October 2010

This article examines the borderlands between transgender MTF (male‐to‐female) and gay male communities in Latina/o Miami through an analysis of the participation of Latinas in the Transsexual Action Organization (TAO). Previous research suggests that Cuban and Cuban American gay male culture have historically been associated with gender transgressive behaviour and identity. Because of this, it is often unclear how to distinguish between what is gay male/homosexual expression and transgender expression. If outward gender manifestations that we now call ‘transgender’ were understood in other historical and cultural contexts as ‘homosexual’, how do we label those manifestations today? By labelling them as homosexual are we simply reinscribing the marginalisation of transgender individuals? On the other hand, by labelling them as transgender are we imposing a contemporary category and therefore performing another kind of intellectual violence? In order to address these questions, I analyse a Latino/a organisation that explicitly labelled itself ‘transsexual’. TAO was an early transsexual rights organisation founded in 1970 by Angela Douglas in Los Angeles which moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1972. Drawing on the organisation's publications, Moonshadow and Mirage Magazine (1972–75), and Douglas's self‐published autobiographical texts, Triple Jeopardy: The Autobiography of Angela Lynn Douglas (1983) and Hollywood's Obsession (1992), I analyse the rarely discussed participation of Latinas in the organisation.
Female Perceptions of Organizational Justice
Authors: Jepsen Denise M. , Rodwell John
Published: October 2010

This study examines women's conceptualization of the pervasive construct of organizational justice. A comprehensive four factor model was used to represent organizational justice while outcome variables were the important employee attitudes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse responses from 301 male and 147 female respondents. Differences were found for procedural, interpersonal and informational justices. It would appear female and male employees have differing responses to perceptions of justice. Justice had a diffuse effect for males, but not for females. For men, interpersonal justice predicted an increase in organizational commitment while procedural justice predicted a decrease in turnover intentions. For female employees, informational justice was found to increase commitment and reduce turnover intentions. The study highlights the need for all justice factors to be considered and for sex differences to be considered in future justice research.
Factors associated with treatment lag in infantile spasms
Authors: NAPURI SILVIA , LE GALL EDOUARD , DULAC OLIVIER , CHAPERON JACQUES , RIOU FRANCOISE
Published: October 2010

Aim  The aim of this study was to evaluate the conditions in which infantile spasms are diagnosed and their possible impact on the course of the disease.

Method  We carried out a retrospective study of the reasons for delayed treatment of infantile spasms (treatment lag) in western France over the period 1990–2003. A total of 156 infants, 87 male (55%) and 69 female (45%), with infantile spasms were identified, in 45 (29%) of whom the spasms were symptomatic. They were aged 1 week to 24 months (median 20wks, mean 22.4, SD 13.3) at first symptoms. To be included in the study, participants had to exhibit a combination of clusters of spasms, altered psychomotor development, and paroxysmal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, as defined by the International League Against Epilepsy. We did not restrict onset to the first year of life as infantile spasms may begin after the age of 1 year.

Results  The mean time from appearance of first symptom to first visit to a medical practitioner was 4 weeks. In 14% of cases, the reason for the visit was non‐neurological, the parents having noticed no neurological symptoms before the visit. The diagnosis was missed at first visit in 38% of the cases examined, with the incorrect diagnosis mostly commonly being gastro‐oesophageal reflux or no abnormality. This increased to 74% after a second visit, in all cases based on an abnormal EEG. However, in 5% the time between first presentation and diagnosis was over 2 months and up to 10 visits were required. The time lag between first presentation and diagnosis was significantly longer for individuals presenting to general practitioners than to paediatricians (p=0.03). Response to treatment was poorer in those in whom diagnosis was delayed.

Interpretation  Various steps could be taken to reduce treatment lag such as training general practitioners, informing the parents of individuals at risk about the possibility of infantile spasms, and recommending that EEG is performed before brain imaging in children with unexplained psychomotor delay.
Selection for commercial forestry determines global patterns of alien conifer invasions
Authors: Essl Franz , Moser Dietmar , Dullinger Stefan , Mang Thomas , Hulme Philip E.
Published: October 2010

Question  Are the patterns of alien conifer (Pinaceae, Cupressaceae) invasions different between continents, and how is invasion success influenced by commercial forestry practices?

Location  Temperate and subtropical countries and regions (n = 60) from five continents spanning both hemispheres.

Methods  We used generalized linear mixed models to test how continent identity, region area and use in commercial forestry affect probabilities of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae species to escape following introduction and cumulative logit regression models to assess how these predictors affect the likelihood that a species becomes naturalized or invasive.

Results  Sixty Pinaceae of a global total of 232 and 26 Cupressaceae of a total of 142 species have escaped from cultivation across the study regions examined. Average numbers of both alien Pinaceae and Cupressaceae species per region were highest in Oceania, followed by Africa. Moreover, the probability of alien Cupressaceae and Pinaceae becoming naturalized or invasive was particularly high in these two continents. For both families, species used in commercial forestry have a significantly higher probability of escape than those which are only introduced for ornamental or other purposes. In the case of Pinaceae, forestry species also become naturalized or invasive more frequently than non‐forestry species, while no such effect was detectable for Cupressaceae.

Conclusions  We found that non‐native conifers are more likely to escape from cultivation, naturalize and turn into invasive weeds on the continents of the Southern Hemisphere. In addition to this biogeographic signal, introduction effort strongly determines the behaviour of introduced Pinaceae, and less so, Cupressaceae. A clear conflict exists between the economic benefits of conifer forestry and the risks to the environment from invasions. Future expansion of commercial forestry should address spatial planning to ecosystems vulnerable to invasion and adopt comprehensive risk assessment procedures.
Additive diversity partitioning as a guide to regional montane reserve design in Asia: an example from Yunnan Province, China
Authors: Wu Fei , Yang Xiao Jun , Yang Jun Xing
Published: October 2010

Aim Data on spatial and temporal turnover in species composition within a region is essential to design regional protected areas. Montane systems are often recognized as biodiversity hotspots. The primary objective of this study is to identify patterns of montane bird diversity across multiple spatial and temporal scales using an additive diversity partitioning framework.

Location The Ailao Mountains, central Yunnan Province, China.

Methods We used point counts to sample bird communities in four elevational zones, on eastern and western slopes, during both the breeding and the non‐breeding seasons. Diversity (richness and Shannon) was partitioned across space (points, elevational zones and slopes) and time (seasons). We used permutation tests to compare observed values to values expected by random chance. A complementary cluster analysis was also used to evaluate beta diversity.

Results Overall, the gamma diversity was attributed to significantly higher beta diversity (relative to that of randomization tests) among elevational zones and, to a lesser extent, between slopes. For Shannon–Wiener Index, beta diversity between seasons was significantly higher than expected and had a similar contribution to the gamma diversity as with beta diversity between slopes. Hierarchical cluster analysis supported the findings for Shannon–Wiener Index. The contribution of beta diversity among points to gamma diversity within each elevational zone generally lessened with increasing elevation.

Main conclusions Our results show significantly high levels of beta diversity among elevational zones and between slopes, as well as between seasons for Shannon diversity, in a small area of the Ailao Mountain range. Thus, a regional montane reserve system should cover the entire elevational gradient and multiple slopes, rather than only the montane crest. Furthermore, higher pattern diversity in lower elevational zones suggests that larger areas should be preserved at lower elevational zones. Finally, the design of regional reserve systems require more studies conducted at multiple seasons at a regional scale.
Reconceptualising spaces of the air: performing the multiple spatialities of UK military airspaces
Authors: Williams Alison J
Published: October 2010

This paper seeks to unpack the complex spatialities of UK airspace, looking beyond traditional civil aviation classifications to focus specifically on the spaces used by military aviation in the UK context. It argues that UK national sovereign airspace should not be viewed as a single homogenous entity, but instead must be reconceptualised as a plethora of multiple, vertically and horizontally, overlapping airspaces that can be activated or deactivated according to need. The paper employs a performativity‐based framework that highlights specifically how these spaces are identified and named, to illustrate how these multiple military airspaces are actively performed. Within this it focuses on analysing the citational and iterative actions of professional airspace managers working within the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Royal Air Force. The paper makes extensive use of documentary sources and interviews with key personnel to illustrate how the airspaces above the UK are brought into being through the actions of these actors and how these operations can be seen as part of a wider enactment of militarism’s control over space.
Does Social Capital Reduce Moral Hazard? A Network Model for Non‐Life Insurance Demand*
Authors: Millo Giovanni , Pasini Giacomo
Published: October 2010

We study the effect of social capital in an environment in which formal, marketed insurance contracts coexist with informal agreements. We show that in the absence of peer monitoring and social pressure, non‐marketed contracts crowd out formal ones due to moral hazard. We prove, by means of an equilibrium concept typical of the network literature, that social capital can reduce moral hazard in informal agreements. We then show that under certain conditions, social capital increases the demand for marketed insurance contracts. The theoretical model we outline provides us clear guidance to measure social capital in a provincial‐level data set. The empirical model, which is estimated controlling for panel and spatial structure, supports our claim that social capital increases the demand for non‐life insurance.
What Drives Fiscal Decentralisation? Further Assessing the Role of Income*
Authors: Bodman Philip , Hodge Andrew
Published: October 2010

This paper investigates the determinants of fiscal decentralisation, focusing in particular on the impact of the level of income on the level of fiscal decentralisation. Various measures of fiscal decentralisation, several of them novel in this context, are employed in a cross‐country econometric model to test established and more recent hypotheses. Paying careful attention to variable measurement, model specification and sample coverage, the results suggest that there are significant relationships between fiscal decentralisation and income, as well as a range of other factors. However, these relationships may be more complicated than previously reported. For the entire large sample of countries, and for the OECD subsample, a positive relationship between income and decentralisation is found. This corroborates the results found in earlier studies. However, for the middle‐ and lower‐income nations, higher income is found to be associated with less decentralisation.
Trend Analysis of Anticipated Lifetime Income Inequality among Post‐war Japanese Youth
Authors: ISHIDA ATSUSHI
Published: October 2010

This study aims to measure the inequality of anticipated lifetime income and the inequality of annual income among the younger generation (24–29‐year‐old men), and to examine any trends that can be found in terms of inequality between 1955 and 2005 in Japan. Anticipated lifetime income is defined in this study as the present value of the total anticipated annual income that one is likely to earn each year between the ages of 24 and 59 years, assuming that there is no intragenerational class mobility. The anticipated lifetime income for each young male is estimated using the Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey dataset, which is a Japanese national cross‐sectional survey of social stratification and social mobility. An inequality in the anticipated lifetime income can be regarded as an “inequality of outlook” among the younger generation. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the Gini coefficient, the most general measurement of income inequality, had significantly increased for anticipated lifetime income between 1995 and 2005. At the same time, the gap between the Gini coefficient of anticipated lifetime income and that of annual income had narrowed. It is suggested that “inequality of outlook,” which cannot be easily identified using a superficial index, has increased significantly.
Interpretative Freedom and New Combination: The Way in Which the “Middle Class” Has Been Narrated
Authors: ONOUE MASATO
Published: October 2010

The English words “middle class” have experienced much more connotations and denotations—typically “bourgeoisie,” “white‐collar,” and professional—than any other class‐referring word since the latter half of the 18th century. On the one hand, in response to such diverse narrations during about two and a half centuries, I partially agree with some of the nominalistic theories of class, in that the middle classes were not created until they were named by contemporaries. On the other hand, my view diverges from those theories, in my asserting that the contemporaries have had an interpretative freedom to recognize “middle classes” only within the bounds of plausibility on the side of the realistic social world. The typical middle class in each period has emerged in such a way that Schumpeter's new combination is performed in a stage of recession by new entrepreneurs, who will move into the “middle” strata and hold some cultural leadership but still obtain inconsistent statuses, to be recognized as “middle class”ex post facto in a boom time. Two Kondratieff's cycles have had one recognition of the typical “middle class.” The new combination is one of the pressures bringing middle classes into a modern society, contrary to the so‐called class decomposition into the two poles.
Identity Management among Indonesian and Filipina Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore
Authors: UENO KAYOKO
Published: October 2010

This study examines how the identities of migrant domestic workers are likely to be endangered and how these individuals struggle to reconstitute them. It is largely based on an interview and observational study with Indonesian and Filipina domestic workers in Singapore. Inspired by the sociological discussion of Goffman and Ishikawa, the study reveals how each migrant domestic worker manages her identity in her specific social context. This study shows that domestic workers contrive tactics to negotiate their situations, given that domestic work is considered a low prestige occupation and workers tend to be divested of the usual “identity kit” to make up their identity front. Specifically, to compensate for their discredited status, domestic workers attempt to reconstitute their damaged identity, obtain a new identity kit, recall previous social and family roles, or anticipate a future identity. They also attempt to acquire new skills and increase their value, so they can identify themselves as more than “just a maid.” They obtain additional roles in an attempt to change how they feel about themselves, to alter the meaning of being a domestic worker, and to redefine their relationships with others either by individual struggles or through collective activities. This study also points out a possible pitfall of identity management among the actors. The mechanism of identity politics might lead to an erosion of value, alienation from other domestic workers, and a strengthening of conventional stereotypes and generalizations regarding ethnicity, nationality, and gender. In this context, how non‐governmental organizations play a role in mitigating the pitfalls of identity management among domestic workers is also examined.
Tamito Yoshida: An Unknown Master of Japanese Sociology
Authors: HASEGAWA KOICHI
Published: October 2010

This paper outlines the life and academic accomplishments of the largely internationally unknown but foremost innovative and leading sociologist of Japan considered as the “unknown master” of Japanese sociology, Tamito Yoshida. (i) Emphasizing originality and creativity, Yoshida's success was free from the existing sociological frameworks and he liberated theoretical study from the yoke of historical perspectives that had long governed Japanese theoretical sociology. (ii) Yoshida's uniform scientific approach that used the keywords of information, selection, and variation based on evolutionist ideas was consistent throughout his life from proposing the “design of information science” in his mid‐thirties to proposing the concept of “program sciences” in his later years. (iii) One of Yoshida's major sociological contributions was in identifying the close relationship between subjectivity and the structure of possession. (iv) Yoshida's “A Historical Perspective on the Forces and Relations of Production” is an original and critical re‐creation of the Marxist possession theory located within his own theoretical framework, and is an excellent critique of the central arguments of Marxism. It successfully illustrates Yoshida's superlative critical and creative skills of theoretical dialogue.
Yoshida Theory: Its Structure, Criticism and Advancement
Authors: SHIDA KIYOSHI
Published: October 2010

Tamito Yoshida, a giant of theoretical sociology, passed away in 2009. Here, I give a concise review of his theoretical achievements, called “Yoshida Theory”, and foresee the future. The main features of Yoshida Theory are the following: information controls resources; there was evolution from the stage of only materials to that of materials controlled by generic information and also to that of materials controlled by symbolic information; the process of information procedures is divided into “to cognize,”“to evaluate” and “to order,” which are distinguished from one another, and from the theoretical standpoint called the “Information Processing Resources Paradigm”; information is maintained as long as it is useful, and when it becomes useless it is selected or expected to be changed. There was much criticism against the theory. The most unrelenting opposition was that it was not a system of explanation in the conventional sense of scientific methodology. It was claimed not to be positive scientific theory because of the logical inconsistency. Yoshida's counter‐criticism was, contrary to his opposites' expectations, that sociological theory ought not to fulfill the criteria to be science. It seemed to support his evolutionalist assertion that the synchronically inconsistent theory will be corrected diachronically and achieve some consistency. The criteria of science themselves should be re‐constructed to thematize the fact that information or program‐controlling society has evolution, he thought. He called it “New Science”; however, the attempt was never completed. It is still our task to clarify whether sociological theory can remain in science or not.
Organ Transplantation as a Family Issue: Living Liver Donors in Japan
Authors: MUTO KAORI
Published: October 2010

The global criticism of organ trafficking and transplant tourism requires many countries to pursue legal protection of living organ donors for organ transplantation. Japan is one of the criticized countries: more than 26 000 people have become living organ donors. This paper presents an exploration of living liver transplantation in Japan from legal, social and ethical perspectives. Since the first living liver transplantation in 1989, the cases have increased, with extremely high dependency in spite of a few deaths and cases of severe disability. Government and professional guidelines stipulate that living donors be “relatives” so that living organ transplantation can be privatized and regarded as a family issue, although it is strictly limited to altruistic cases in some countries. Based on results of the Living Liver Donor Survey conducted in 2004, Japanese liver donors have had various experiences. Most male donors were employed, felt some obligation and had concerns about financial effects or employment during decision‐making. In contrast, only a quarter of female donors were employed, felt guilty for their children, and did not have opportunities for regular health checkups after donation. Severe tensions and family break‐up were observed in adult‐to‐adult cases, although donors were satisfied with donation overall. The author suggests that we should rethink privatization of living organ donation and that independent advocates should support potential donors. Further research is necessary to explore the reasons why organ donation is privatized even in some forms of cadaver cases in Japan.
Interaction of an Idealized Cavopulmonary Circulation With Mechanical Circulatory Assist Using an Intravascular Rotary Blood Pump
Authors: Bhavsar Sonya S. , Moskowitz William B. , Throckmorton Amy L.
Published: October 2010

This study evaluated the performance of an intravascular, percutaneously‐inserted, axial flow blood pump in an idealized total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) model of a Fontan physiology. This blood pump, intended for placement in the inferior vena cava (IVC), is designed to augment pressure and blood flow from the IVC to the pulmonary circulation. Three different computational models were examined: (i) an idealized TCPC without a pump; (ii) an idealized TCPC with an impeller pump; and (iii) an idealized TCPC with an impeller and diffuser pump. Computational fluid dynamics analyses of these models were performed to assess the hydraulic performance of each model under varying physiologic conditions. Pressure‐flow characteristics, fluid streamlines, energy augmentation calculations, and blood damage analyses were evaluated. Numerical predictions indicate that the pump with an impeller and diffuser blade set produces pressure generations of 1 to 16 mm Hg for rotational speeds of 2000 to 6000 rpm and flow rates of 1 to 4 L/min. In contrast, for the same flow range, the model with the impeller only in the IVC demonstrated pressure generations of 1 to 9 mm Hg at rotational speeds of 10 000 to 12 000 rpm. Influence of blood viscosity was found to be insignificant at low rotational speeds with minimal performance deviation at higher rotational speeds. Results from the blood damage index analyses indicate a low probability for damage with maximum damage index levels less than 1% and maximum fluid residence times below 0.6 s. The numerical predictions further indicated successful energy augmentation of the TCPC with a pump in the IVC. These results support the continued design and development of this cavopulmonary assist device.
Restoration of Native Plant Communities after Road Decommissioning in the Rocky Mountains: Effect of Seed‐Mix Composition on Vegetative Establishment
Authors: Grant Ashley S. , Nelson Cara R. , Switalski Thomas Adam , Rinehart Susan M.
Published: October 2010

Road decommissioning is increasingly recognized as a critical first step in the restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. However, crucial gaps in knowledge exist about the efficacy and ecological effects of road‐removal practices. One particularly important issue is the effectiveness of post‐road‐removal revegetation practices. This study evaluated (1) the short‐term effects of road decommissioning on plant community composition, (2) the effects of seed‐mix origin, species diversity, and seeding density on vegetative establishment, and (3) the impact of overstory canopy cover and coarse woody debris (CWD) on revegetation success on recently decommissioned roads. One year after decommissioning, total vegetative cover (on the former roadbed) declined by 60%, with non‐native plants showing the greatest magnitude of response (circa 90% decline). Although the use of non‐native seed is often justified by the need for rapid vegetative establishment on disturbed sites, we did not find significant differences in percent cover of total vegetation between plots seeded with native versus non‐native species. As expected, cover of native species was significantly higher in plots seeded with natives compared to those seeded with non‐natives (12.3 vs. 7.8%, respectively). Furthermore, in plots seeded with native species, 43% of total vegetative cover was due to cover of seeded species; in comparison, non‐native seeded species accounted for only 18% of total vegetative cover in non‐native plots. Cover of seeded species was not significantly impacted by overstory canopy cover or CWD. These findings suggest that native seed mixes may outperform non‐native seed mixes in terms of vegetative establishment after disturbance associated with road removal.