bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dimensions of Poverty: Status and Solutions Towards the Millennium Development Goals
Authors: Shaw D. J.
Published: June 2005

Books reviewed:

State of the World Population 2004: The Cairo Consensus at Ten ‐ Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty. By UNFPA.

How Have the World's Poorest Fared Since the Early 1980s? By Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion.

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004: Monitoring Progress towards the World Food Summit and Millennium Development Goals. By FAO.

Fifth Report on the World Nutrition Situation: Nutrition for Improved Development Outcomes. By SCN.

IFPRI Annual Report 2003‐4. By IFPRI.

Halving Hunger: It Can Be Done. By Task Force on Hunger.

Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures. By Lester R. Brown.

The State of the World's Children 2005: Childhood Under Threat. By UNICEF.

Education for All: The Quality Imperative ‐ EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005. Commissioned by UNESCO.

World Employment Report 2004‐05: Employment, Productivity and Poverty Reduction. By ILO.

The Future of the WTO: Addressing Institutional Challenges in the New Millennium. By the Consultative Board.

State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security. By the Worldwatch Institute.

Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. By Jeffrey D. Sachs and the UN Millennium Project.
Feminisms, Islamophobia and Identities
Authors: Afshar Haleh , Aitken Rob , Franks Myfanwy
Published: June 2005

There has been a tendency of late to conflate all Muslims as belonging to a single nation and aspiring to a single political aim. This effect has been achieved by some authors so as to accommodate Islamophobia, but by others to generate a sense of inclusive unity that encloses all Muslims. We contend that in the post 9/11 climate of Islamophobia women wearing the scarf, the mohajabehs, are making a political choice. They are publicly branding themselves as Muslims at a time when such a label carries the potential fear of making them vulnerable to open hostility. But the Islam that they embody is distinct and different from the stark, gendered divides envisaged by protagonists on both side of the Islamophobic divide. The unity demanded by some of the highly vocal and visible Islamic groups marginalises the contestations posed within these groups by women who may be described as feminists. The specificities demanded by those who envisage Islam primarily as an antagonistic political force in the UK are very different from the flexibility that many women envisage. They aspire to belong to the Umma or people of Islam, conceptualised as crossing ethnic, racial, geographical and political boundaries, an identity that is primarily inclusive rather than exclusive. The multiplicities of identities of many mohajabehs sit more easily within the permeable unbounded umma than the constrained gendered boundaries of the combative male political Islamism.
The Impact of the Scottish Parliament in Amending Executive Legislation
Authors: Shephard Mark , Cairney Paul
Published: June 2005

This paper provides the first systematic attempt to investigate the legislative impact of the Scottish Parliament on Executive legislation, by analysing the fate of all amendments to Executive bills from the Parliament's first session (1999–2003). Initial findings on the success of bill amendments show that the balance of power inclines strongly in favour of ministers. However, when we account for the type of amendment and initial authorship we find evidence that the Parliament (both coalition and opposition MSPs) actually makes more of an impact, particularly in terms of the level of success of substantive amendments to Executive bills. Our findings have implications for much of the current literature that is sceptical of the existence of power sharing between the Executive and the Parliament and within the Parliament.
Brand Leaders: Clinton, Blair and the Limitations of the Permanent Campaign
Authors: Needham Catherine
Published: June 2005

The ‘permanent campaign’ is said to have reached its apogee in the incumbent communications strategies of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. However, their assiduous courting of public opinion from within office has been used to explain both the high approval ratings of these leaders and their unpopularity for long periods of their incumbency. This apparent paradox suggests that the permanent campaign model is too blunt an instrument to usefully describe or evaluate incumbent communications. Its assumption of continuity between election campaigning and office-holding fails to explain how the strategic terrain changes once a challenger takes office. The concepts of branding and relationship marketing can be used to highlight the difference between gaining support in the one-off transaction of an election and retaining voter loyalty in a post-‘purchase’ setting. The success of Blair and Clinton in establishing a relationship with voters from within office can be assessed using six attributes of successful brands: simplicity; uniqueness; reassurance; aspiration; values; and credibility. As incumbents, facing challenges in shifting strategic and institutional environments, Blair and Clinton developed messages that were simple and appealed to voter aspirations. Voters remained sceptical about the extent to which these leaders embodied values and delivered on their promises.
Political Participation as an Engine of Social Solidarity: A Sceptical View
Authors: Segall Shlomi
Published: June 2005

Political theorists sometimes advocate the intensification of citizens' participation in politics, on the grounds that this serves as an engine for the cultivation of social solidarity and civic virtue. I argue against such an initiative and set out the case for a more nuanced examination of the effect of particular modes of political participation on social solidarity, in light of recent empirical literature. Against the assertions of the theorists in question, the research reveals that political participation per se does not cultivate the said virtues, whereas entrusting citizens with deliberating and deciding specific policy issues (specifically in the form of citizens' juries or CJs) does. Finally, it is argued that there is a rather limited scope to the implementation of deliberative bodies of the kind that cultivates solidarity. Consequently, intensifying political participation is not a reliable means through which social solidarity can be cultivated.
Responsive Government? Public Opinion and Government Policy Preferences in Britain and Denmark
Authors: Hobolt Sara Binzer , Klemmemsen Robert
Published: June 2005

The ability of a political system to respond to the preferences of its citizens is central to democratic theory and practice; yet most empirical research on government responsiveness has concentrated on the United States. As a result, we know very little about the nature of government policy responsiveness in Europe and we have a poor understanding of the conditions that affect cross-national variations. This comparative study examines the relationship between public opinion and policy preferences in the United Kingdom and Denmark during the past three decades. We address two key questions: First, are the government's policy intentions driven by public opinion or vice versa? Second, do political institutions influence the level of government responsiveness? We suggest that public opinion tends to drive the government's policy intentions due to the threat of electoral sanction, and that this is more pronounced in proportional systems than in majoritarian democracies.
The Contested Council: Conflict Dimensions of an Intergovernmental EU Institution
Authors: Zimmer Christina , Schneider Gerald , Dobbins Michael
Published: June 2005

Recent research has tried to uncover the political space in which the Council of Ministers of the European Union decides. Rather than the left-right conflict or a cleavage between governments with national and supranational attitudes, this article shows that a redistributive dimension, decisively shapes the interactions in this most important legislative body of the European Union. In contrast to extant studies, we employ ex ante rather than ex post preference data and rely on correspondence analysis as a means to identify the underlying dimensions of contestation. The article concludes with an empirical investigation of how enlargement will affect the emerging political space within the European Union. Our quantitative analysis suggests that the gulf between net-contributors and net-receivers will further deepen.
Balancing Procedures and Outcomes within Democratic Theory: Core Values and Judicial Review
Authors: Brettschneider Corey
Published: June 2005

Democratic theorists often distinguish between two views of democratic procedures. ‘Outcomes theorists' emphasize the instrumental nature of these procedures and argue that they are only valuable because they tend to produce good outcomes. In contrast, ‘proceduralists' emphasize the intrinsic value of democratic procedures, for instance, on the grounds that they are fair. In this paper. I argue that we should reject pure versions of these two theories in favor of an understanding of the democratic ideal that recognizes a commitment to both intrinsically valuable democratic procedures and democratic outcomes. In instances in which there is a conflict between these two commitments, I suggest they must be balanced. This balancing approach offers a justification of judicial review on the grounds that it potentially limits outcomes that undermine democracy. But judicial review is not justifiable in any instance in which a bad democratic outcome results from democratic procedures. When the loss that would result from overturning a democratic procedure is greater than the gain to democracy that would result from ensuring against an undemocratic outcome; judicial review is not justifiable. Loss or gain to democracy is defined by the negative or positive impact of each action on the core democratic values of equality and autonomy, aspects of the democratic ideal. Even when judicial review is justified, the fact that it overturns intrinsically valuable procedures suggests that such review is never ideal from the standpoint of democracy.
Research Note: Libertarian-Authoritarian Value Change in Britain, 1974–2001
Authors: Tilley James R.
Published: June 2005

This research note explores the mechanisms behind age differences and changes over time in one of the two major value dimensions in British politics, libertarian-authoritarianism. I show that the British electorate has become substantially more libertarian over the last 30 years, but that older people have remained more authoritarian than younger people over this period. Conventionally, due to the problem of the under-identification of models containing age, period and cohort variables, it is difficult to assess whether this indicates generational differences, and generational change, or not. This paper overcomes some of these problems however, by measuring social ageing factors, such as marriage, and using panel data to rigorously assess how individuals change due to these social ageing factors. I find little evidence of psychologists' claims that social ageing leads to increases in authoritarianism, and conclude that both age differences and changes over time are generational in nature.
The ‘Negotiated Night’: An Embodied Conceptual Framework for the Sociological Study of Sleep
Authors: Meadows Robert
Published: June 2005

Sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing but it has, historically, been the subject of little sociological study. Yet sleep is not, as common sense would have us believe, ‘asocial inaction’. Like our waking lives, it is a time of interaction. The sociology of sleep presently exists in a state similar to the early stages of development of the sociology of the body, waiting for something like Frank's (1991) typology of body action, which served as a heuristic guide through which action and its multifaceted components could be understood. This paper argues that one productive analytical framework is to adapt Watson's (2000) ‘male body schema’ for the sociological investigation of sleep. This revolves around four interrelated forms of embodiment: normative (opinions and perceptions about healthy sleep behaviour); pragmatic (‘normal’ as related to social role); experiential (feelings related to sleep); and visceral (the biological body and sleep). The possibilities this model provides for the sociology of sleep is illustrated in the paper through the analysis of a case study of sleep negotiation between a couple.
Distance between You and Your Home: The Estrangement of Postcolonial Writing
Authors: Smith Andrew
Published: June 2005

This essay argues that the writing of postcolonial migrant authors has been critically deployed in such a way that it appears to vindicate a long standing romantic ideology of artistic detachment. In order to present an alternative account, the field of Nigerian anglophone fiction is examined here and the experiences of two aspiring authors offered as case-studies. It is argued that their experience, and the wider circumstances of Nigerian cultural production, demonstrate that postcolonial migrant writing is not an expression of ‘aesthetic alienation’, but of the estrangement that Marx recognised as a subjective consequence of capitalism.
Space Invaders: The Negotiation of Teenage Boundaries through the Mobile Phone
Authors: Williams Stephen , Williams Lynda
Published: June 2005

Drawing on interview data, this paper explores the area of child/parent negotiation. Specifically, we examine the increasing significance of the mobile phone in the way teenagers negotiate spatial boundaries with their parents. Utilising theories of time and space, especially Giddens’ concept of ‘distanciation’, we show how parents and their children use the mobile phone as a tool for negotiating curfews in public space, thus extending household discussion and negotiation outside of the home. We point out that parents are using the mobile phone to enter their children's time and space as an ‘absent Other’, and see this as a means of extending parental authority and control. Children, conversely, see themselves gaining a degree of empowerment from the mobile phone, as parents are more lenient with curfews if they posses one. The mobile phone, then, has become an important facilitator of negotiations between parents and teenagers regarding boundary setting. We conclude that the mobile phone has enabled teenagers to gain increased leverage in their negotiations with their parents, but underline that parents still hold control and authority by ‘invading’ their children's space.
Older New Zealand Women Doing the Work of Christmas: A Recipe for Identity Formation
Authors: Clair Valerie Wright-St , Hocking Clare , Bunrayong Wannipa , Vittayakorn Soisuda , Rattakorn Phuonjai
Published: June 2005

‘Christmas, because it is rather a sentimental time you tend to look for the familiar and go back into what you remember in your childhood.’ In the process of preparing family favourites or trying exciting new foods at Christmas, older New Zealand women construct self and family identities. This paper presents the New Zealand findings from an interpretive, multi-site research project exploring older women's experiences of food occupations at Christmas in Auckland, New Zealand, and Kentucky, USA and Songkran (the tradition Thai New Year) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Narrative data were collected through focus group interviews with 16 New Zealand women, aged 65 years or over. Talk about recipes and kitchen things used, and how the foods are prepared and served revealed layers of identity work. While recipes from, and stories about, mothers’ and grandmothers’ homemade cooking are kept alive through doing the food work at Christmas, being a women in contemporary New Zealand allowed new identities to emerge. Identity as a family unit is formed and reformed over time by blending cultural and family traditions and remaking new ones through Christmas foods and family rituals. Significantly, the women's skilled preparation and customising of recipes for Christmas foods creates a rich opportunity for self-affirmation and public recognition. For these older women, the gift of Christmas food was like giving something of themselves.
What Makes a Lifelong Learner?
Authors: Gorard Stephen , Selwyn Neil
Published: June 2005

This article uses the reports from 1,001 home-based interviews, with adults living in the United Kingdom, to describe their varying patterns of participation in lifelong, learning. It finds that 37% of all adults report no further education or training of any kind after reaching compulsory school-leaving age. This proportion declines in each age cohort but is largely replaced by a pattern of lengthening initial education and still reporting no further education or training of any kind after leaving. The actual patterns of participation are predictable to a large extent from regression analysis using a life order model of determining variables. The key variables are age, ethnicity, sex, family background, and initial schooling, all of which are set very early in life. This suggests that universal theories to describe participation, such as simple human capital theory, are incorrect in several respects. Where individuals create, for themselves and through their early experiences, a “learner identity” inimical to further study, then the prospect of learning can become a burden rather than an investment. This has implications for the notion of overcoming barriers to access, such as those involving technology.
Adult Learning and the Generation of New Knowledge and Meaning: Creating Liberating Spaces for Fostering Adult Learning through Practitioner-Based Collaborative Action Inquiry
Authors: Yorks Lyle
Published: June 2005

Practitioner research is a topic of growing interest and scholarly writing in the field of education in general and adult education in particular. This article describes a particular form of practitioner research that rests on a participatory worldview and draws heavily from theory and practice in adult learning and action research. Practitioner-based collaborative action inquiry strives to create social space in organizations and other social institutions for generative learning. It is argued that this form of adult education practice is critical in the implementation of emergent forms of knowledge creation and meaning making that have been described as Mode 2 knowledge creation. A robust example of this form of inquiry and the role of adult-learning theory and practice in facilitating it is described in detail as a practice-based example.
Teacher Educators’ Professional Learning Described through the Lens of Complexity Theory
Authors: Zellermayer Michal , Margolin Ilana
Published: June 2005

In this study we review our own experience of coordinating learning in a professional community of student supervisors in the context of curricular change that took place in the elementary school program of our teacher education college. We present an analysis of four excerpts of conversations about change selected from a larger corpus of data, consisting of transcripts of the weekly department meetings that took place during an entire academic year in which the curricular change was implemented, representing four critical events that brought about the emergence of the interactive dynamic of this self-organizing community. We explain the catalytic power of these events through the theoretical framework of complexity theory. We show how complexity theory can be used for focusing on the dynamics of professional learning at work, as a process of influencing each other's learning and development, possibly leading to the reciprocal transformation of the members of the community.
Workplace Training and Human Capital: Livelihood Protection and Promotion in Urban China
Authors: Xu Zeyu
Published: June 2005

Workplace training produces 2 types of human capital: general and firm-specific. Based on specific human capital theories pioneered by Gary Becker, this article empirically examines the impact of on-the-job training and off-the-job training on wage levels in urban China. It is found that off-the-job training in previous firms significantly raises wages at a worker's current firm, whereas previous on-the-job training has no effect on current wages. The results are consistent with theory and U.S. experience. The results are robust to various specifications and procedures correcting for potential error clustering and selection bias problems. It is suggested that advocating firm and government cosponsored general training programs targeting disadvantaged urban populations is a desirable and feasible strategy in an attempt to relieve the increasing unemployment pressure in China.
Synapsin associates with cyclophilin B in an ATP‐ and cyclosporin A‐dependent manner
Authors: Lane‐Guermonprez Lydie , Morot‐Gaudry‐Talarmain Yvette , Meunier François‐Marie , O'Regan Seana , Onofri Franco , Le Caer Jean‐Pierre , Benfenati Fabio
Published: June 2005

Immunophilins are ubiquitous enzymes responsible for proline isomerisation during protein synthesis and for the chaperoning of several membrane proteins. These activities can be blocked by the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A, FK506 and rapamycin. It has been shown that all three immunosuppressants have neurotrophic activity and can modulate neurotransmitter release, but the molecular basis of these effects is currently unknown. Here, we show that synapsin I, a synaptic vesicle‐associated protein, can be purified from Torpedo cholinergic synaptosomes through its affinity to cyclophilin B, an immunophilin that is particularly abundant in brain. The interaction is direct and conserved in mammals, and shows a dissociation constant of about 0.5 µmin vitro. The binding between the two proteins can be disrupted by cyclosporin A and inhibited by physiological concentrations of ATP. Furthermore, cyclophilin B co‐localizes with synapsin I in rat synaptic vesicle fractions and its levels in synaptic vesicle‐containing fractions are decreased in synapsin knockout mice. These results suggest that immunophilins are involved in the complex protein networks operating at the presynaptic level and implicate the interaction between cyclophilin B and synapsins in presynaptic function.
Fibroblast growth factor 2 applied to the optic nerve after axotomy increases Bcl‐2 and decreases Bax in ganglion cells by activating the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase signaling pathway
Authors: Ríos‐Muñoz Wilson , Soto Ileana , Duprey‐Díaz Mildred V. , Blagburn Jonathan , Blanco Rosa E.
Published: June 2005

We have shown that application of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF‐2) to axotomized optic nerve promotes the survival of frog retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In the present study we used western blotting and immunocytochemistry to investigate the effects of this FGF‐2 treatment upon the activation of the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, the amounts and distribution of Bcl‐2 family proteins, and the activation of caspase‐3. Axotomy alone temporarily increased ERK activation; FGF‐2 treatment to the nerve prolonged this activation. This effect was blocked by U0126, a selective ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor. Axotomy caused a decrease in Bcl‐2 and a small increase in Bcl‐xL. FGF‐2 treatment caused an ERK‐dependent increase in Bcl‐2 and an ERK‐independent increase in Bcl‐xL. The pro‐apoptotic Bax was increased by axotomy; FGF‐2 treatment greatly decreased Bax levels, an effect that was inhibited by U0126. Axotomy induced the cleavage of caspase‐3; FGF‐2 treatment blocked this effect in an ERK‐dependent manner. Finally, intraocular application of the MEK inhibitor caused a large reduction in the survival‐promoting effect that FGF‐2 application to the nerve stump had on RGCs. Our results suggest that FGF‐2 acts, at least in part, via the ERK pathway to prevent apoptosis of axotomized RGCs not only by increasing amounts of anti‐apoptotic proteins, but also by a striking reduction in the levels of apoptotic effectors themselves.
Environmental enrichment decreases cell surface expression of the dopamine transporter in rat medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Zhu Jun , Apparsundaram Subbu , Bardo Michael T. , Dwoskin Linda P.
Published: June 2005

Rats raised in an enriched environmental condition (EC) exhibit a decreased (35%) maximal velocity (Vmax) of [3H]dopamine (DA) uptake in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) compared with rats raised in an impoverished condition (IC); however, no differences between EC and IC groups in Vmax for [3H]DA uptake were found in nucleus accumbens and striatum. Using biotinylation and immunoblotting techniques, the present study examined whether the brain region‐specific decrease in DA transporter (DAT) function is the result of a reduction in DAT cell surface expression. In mPFC, nucleus accumbens and striatum, total DAT immunoreactivity was not different between EC and IC groups. Whereas no differences in cell surface expression of DAT were found in nucleus accumbens and striatum, DAT immunoreactivity in the biotinylated cell surface fraction of mPFC was decreased (39%) in EC compared with IC rats, consistent with the magnitude of the previously observed decrease in Vmax for [3H]DA uptake in mPFC in EC rats. These results suggest that the decrease in DAT cell surface expression in the mPFC may be responsible for decreased DAT function in the mPFC of EC compared with IC rats, and that there is plasticity in the regulatory mechanisms mediating DAT trafficking and function.
Embryonic gene expression and pro‐protein processing of proSAAS during rodent development
Authors: Morgan Daniel J. , Mzhavia Nino , Peng Bonnie , Pan Hui , Devi Lakshmi A. , Pintar John E.
Published: June 2005

In vitro assays have demonstrated that peptides derived from the recently–identified proSAAS precursor inhibit prohormone convertase 1 (PC1) suggesting that this novel peptide may function as an endogenous inhibitor of PC1. To further understand the role of proSAAS in vivo, we have investigated the expression of proSAAS mRNA and processing of proSAAS during pre‐ and early postnatal rodent development. In situ hybridization showed that, by embryonic day 12.5 (e12.5) in the rat, proSAAS mRNA was present in essentially all differentiating neurons in the mantle layer of the myelencephalon, metencephalon, diencephalon, spinal cord and several sympathetic ganglia. During later stages of prenatal development, widespread proSAAS expression continues in post‐mitotic neurons of both the CNS and PNS and begins in endocrine cells of the anterior and intermediate pituitary. Although proSAAS expression overlaps with PC1 in several regions, its overall expression pattern is significantly more extensive, suggesting that proSAAS may be multifunctional during development. Processed forms of proSAAS are present by at least mid‐gestation with marked accumulation of two C‐terminal forms, comprising the PC1 inhibitory fragment of proSAAS.
Long‐term glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor overexpression in the intact nigrostriatal system in rats leads to a decrease of dopamine and increase of tetrahydrobiopterin production
Authors: Sajadi Ali , Bauer Matthias , Thöny Beat , Aebischer Patrick
Published: June 2005

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. Brain delivery of glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been shown to protect and restore the dopaminergic pathway in various animal models of PD. However, GDNF overexpression in the dopaminergic pathway leads to a time‐dependent down‐regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a key enzyme in dopamine synthesis. In order to elucidate GDNF‐mediated biochemical effects on dopaminergic neurons, we overexpressed GDNF in the intact rat striatum using a lentiviral vector‐mediated gene transfer technique. Long‐term GDNF overexpression led to increased GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH I) activity and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) levels. Further, we observed a down‐regulation of TH enzyme activity in morphologically intact striatal dopaminergic nerve terminals, as well as a significant decrease of dopamine levels in striatal tissue samples. These results indicate that long‐term GDNF delivery is a major factor affecting dopamine biosynthesis via a direct or indirect modulation of TH and GTPCH I and further underscore the importance of assessing both GDNF dose and delivery duration prior to clinical application in order to circumvent potentially adverse pharmacological effects on the biosynthesis of dopamine.
Altered production and proteolytic processing of brevican by transforming growth factor β in cultured astrocytes
Authors: Hamel Michelle G. , Mayer Joanne , Gottschall Paul E.
Published: June 2005

Brevican, a proteoglycan of the lectican family, inhibits neurite outgrowth and may also stabilize synapses. Little is known about its expression or function in vitro. This study seeks to determine whether a brevican‐containing matrix is present in neural cultures, and if so, how the production of brevican may be modulated. To accomplish this, the content of brevican and its proteolytic fragments were measured in primary cultures of neurons, astrocytes and microglia after treatment with cytokines. These experiments revealed that astrocytes and neurons express several isoforms of brevican, whereas microglia do not produce this proteoglycan. Cleavage fragments of brevican were found primarily in neuronal and astrocyte culture medium. ADAMTS4 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs), a protease that selectively cleaves lecticans, was detected in cultures of neurons, astrocytes and microglia. When astrocytes were challenged with various cytokines, it was found that treatment with transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) resulted in a marked increase in intact brevican in the culture medium that was accompanied by a trend for a decrease in ADAMTS‐generated fragments of brevican and apparent ADAMTS activity. Thus, TGFβ may play a role in neuronal plasticity through its regulation of brevican and the activity of the ADAMTSs.
Chronic fluoxetine administration inhibits extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation in rat brain
Authors: Fumagalli F. , Molteni R. , Calabrese F. , Frasca A. , Racagni G. , Riva M. A.
Published: June 2005

Accumulating evidence indicates that antidepressants alter intracellular signalling mechanisms resulting in long‐term synaptic alterations which probably account for the delay in clinical action of these drugs. Therefore, we investigated the effects of chronic fluoxetine administration on extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) 1 and 2, a group of MAPKs that mediate signal transduction from the cell surface downstream to the nucleus. Our data demonstrate that 3‐week fluoxetine treatment resulted in long‐lasting reduction of phospho‐ERK 1 and 2. Such an effect depends on the length of the treatment given that no changes were observed after a single drug injection or after 2 weeks of treatment and it is region specific, being observed in hippocampus and frontal cortex but not in striatum. Finally, phospho‐ERK 1 and 2 were differently modulated within nucleus and cytosol in hippocampus but similarly reduced in the same compartments of the frontal cortex, highlighting the specific subcellular compartmentalization of fluoxetine. Conversely, imipramine did not reduce the hippocampal phosphorylation of both ERK subtypes whereas it selectively increased ERK 1 phosphorylation in the cytosolic compartment of frontal cortex suggesting a drug‐specific effect on this intracellular target. These results point to modulation of phosphorylation, rather than altered expression, as the main target in the action of fluoxetine on this pathway. The reduction of ERK 1/2 function herein reported may be associated with the therapeutic effects of fluoxetine in the treatment of depression.
A biochemical and functional characterization of diet‐induced brain insulin resistance
Authors: Mielke John G. , Taghibiglou Changiz , Liu Lidong , Zhang Yu , Jia Zhengping , Adeli Khosrow , Wang Yu Tian
Published: June 2005

While considerable research has examined diminished insulin responses within peripheral tissues, comparatively little has been done to examine the effects of this metabolic disruption upon the CNS. The present study employed biochemical and electrophysiological assays of acutely prepared brain slices to determine whether neural insulin resistance is a component of the metabolic syndrome observed within the fructose‐fed (FF) hamster. The tyrosine phosphorylation levels of the insulin receptor (IR) and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS‐1) in response to insulin were significantly reduced within FF hamsters. Also, insulin‐mediated phosphorylation of both residues necessary for activation of the serine‐threonine kinase Akt/PKB, a key effector of insulin signaling, was markedly decreased. Elevated levels of the protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, which dephosphorylates the IR and IRS‐1, were also observed within the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of FF hamsters. Examination of whether a nutritionally induced compromise of neural insulin signaling altered synaptic function revealed a significant attenuation of insulin‐induced long‐term depression, but no effect upon either paired‐pulse facilitation or electrically induced long‐term potentiation. Collectively, our results demonstrate, for the first time, that nutritionally induced insulin resistance significantly affects the neural insulin signaling pathway, and suggest that brain insulin resistance may contribute to cognitive impairment.
Industrial Legislation in 2004
Authors: Riley Joellen , Smith Belinda , Sarina Troy
Published: June 2005

The federal government finally secured passage of some of its workplace relations amendments in 2004—the transmission of business provisions for certified agreements, introduction of interim section 127 orders and some increased penalties for bad behaviour—and it dealt promptly with the Electrolux crisis created by the High Court in September. More amendments are clearly on the way. This report notes bills remaining on the agenda at the close of Parliamentary business in December. We also review the new Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cwlth), and note some state developments.
Wages and Wage Determination in 2004
Authors: Watts Martin J. , Mitchell William
Published: June 2005

In 2004 money wages continued to grow at a moderate rate within Reserve Bank limits. In May, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission raised the federal minimum wage by $19 as part of the safety net adjustment. The workplace reform agenda of the federal government continued to be largely frustrated by the Senate, but the Coalition victory in October and its Senate majority in mid-2005 led the pundits to predict more energetic workplace reform in the coming months. The Australian Council of Trade Unions pursued a number of test cases before the Commission, which challenged the desire of employers and the federal government for a flexible award system, rather than one constrained by externally imposed entitlements.
Employer Matters in 2004
Authors: Mackinnon Bruce Hearn
Published: June 2005

In 2004, employers were active in arguing their cases in a number of important hearings of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. However, despite a united position among employer ranks and the federal government, employers were generally disappointed with the Commission’s safety net review decision. Both the Australian industry Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry found some common ground with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, in a consent position on extending carers leave, but overall employers presented a detailed argument opposing any extension of employee rights in the Commission’s work and family test case. Employers in some sectors were able to reach collective agreements with unions with little industrial disruption, whereas others, such as banking, found the going tougher. Overall, employers, like unions, faced a great deal of uncertainty over what were or were not ‘matters pertaining’, as a number of decisions after the Electrolux case clarified or clouded the issue. Understandably, the year ended on a positive note for most employers, with the Howard Government re-elected with a majority in the Senate, enabling it to pass a further round of radical labour market reforms in 2005.
Comparison of 1‐ and 2‐day protocols for myocardial SPECT: a Monte Carlo study
Authors: El‐Ali H. H. , Palmer John , Carlsson Marcus , Edenbrandt Lars , Ljungberg Michael
Published: June 2005

Background:  Myocardial perfusion single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is carried out by combining a rest and a stress study that are performed either on one day or two separate days. A problem when performing the two studies on 1 day is that the residual activity from the first study contributes to the activity measured in the second study.

Aim:  Our aim was to identify and evaluate trends in the quantification parameters of myocardial perfusion images as a function of separation time between rest and stress.

Methods:  A digital phantom was used for the generation of heart images and a Monte Carlo‐based scintillation camera program was used to simulate SPECT projection images. In our simulations, the rest images were normal and the stress images included lesions of different types and localization. Two programs for quantification of myocardial perfusion images were used to assess the different images in an automated and objective way.

Results:  The summed difference scores observed with the 2‐day protocol were 3 ± 1 (mean ± SD) higher for AutoQUANT and 2 ± 1 higher for 4D‐MSPECT compared with those observed with the 1‐day protocol. The extent values were 2% points higher for the 2‐day protocol compared with the 1‐day protocol for both programs.

Conclusions:  There are differences in the quantitative assessment of perfusion defects depending on the type of protocol used. The contribution of residual activity is larger when a 1‐day protocol is used compared with the 2‐day protocol. The differences, although small, are of a magnitude that results in a clear shift in quantification parameters.
Radiation doses to staff involved in sentinel node operations for breast cancer
Authors: Klausen T. L. , Chakera A. H. , Friis E. , Rank F. , Hesse B. , Holm S.
Published: June 2005

Background:  The use of radioactive compounds for sentinel node biopsy is now a generally accepted part of the surgical treatment of breast cancer and melanoma, with the risk of radiation exposure to the operating team. The aim of this investigation was to study the levels of this exposure in relation to the permissible radiation dose limits.

Methods:  The radiation exposure to the hands and bodies of the operating surgeons (the ‘risk persons’) was measured by thermoluminescent dosemeters in 79 operations and to the pathologists handling the specimens in 17 cases. Radioactivity and dose rate measurement from tumours and breast specimens were also performed.

Results:  During an operation the mean skin dose (±SD) to the thermoluminescent dosemeters placed at the hand and the abdominal wall were 0·04 ± 0·04 mSv (79 operations) and 0·01 ± 0·02 mSv (67 operations) respectively. For the pathologist, the mean hand dose per operation was below the detection limit (17 operations). Correlation between the measured dose rate and the radioactive content of the tumours was 0·998.

Conclusions:  The radiation exposure to the staff involved in sentinel node (SN) biopsy for breast cancer using radioactive labelled tracers will be considerably below the permissible limits, even with high numbers of SN biopsy procedures. Pregnant staff members should participate in <100 SN operations.
Vastus lateralis oxygenation and blood volume measured by near‐infrared spectroscopy during whole body vibration
Authors: Yamada Eiji , Kusaka Takashi , Miyamoto Kensaku , Tanaka Satoshi , Morita Shin , Tanaka Shouichi , Tsuji Shintarou , Mori Satoshi , Norimatsu Hiromichi , Itoh Susumu
Published: June 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of whole body vibration (WBV) on oxygenation of vastus lateralis muscle during squatting exercise. Eighteen male subjects [mean age, 27·3 ± 6·0 (SD) years; mean height, 171·8 ± 4·9 cm; mean weight, 64·4 ± 6·1 kg] performed squatting exercise on a vibration platform for 3 min with and without vibration, and changes in oxygenation of the vastus lateralis muscle were determined by near‐infrared spectroscopy. The muscle oxygenation levels and total haemoglobin and myoglobin levels (total Hb/Mb) decreased during squatting exercise with and without vibration. After exercise, the muscle oxygenation level and total Hb/Mb rapidly increased from the minimum value during exercise and remained constant for latter 10 min. The muscle oxygenation levels with vibration from 90 to 180 s after the start of squatting exercise were significantly lower than those without vibration. Total Hb/Mb with vibration from 90 s after the squatting exercise to 540 s were significantly higher than those without vibration. This study demonstrated that WBV exercise affects the oxygenation level of vastus lateralis muscle and reduces muscle oxygenation level compared to that with no WBV. Therefore, WBV exercise may be an efficient training stimulus for muscle deoxygenation.
Committee structure and political preferences: The case of Norwegian local government
Authors: VABO SIGNY IRENE
Published: June 2005

Abstract. In Norway, as in the other Nordic countries, sector‐based policy making in local government is considered a problem as it is alleged to take place at the expense of a more integrated approach. Inspired by American rational choice theories on committee power, this article first sets out to establish whether thedistributive rationaleof the present committee system actually does promote sector‐orientation among local politicians. This approach is challenged by alternative theories on committee power, focusing on theinformational rationalein specialisation and the relevance ofpartisanship. The findings suggest that all the three theories explain in part committee member’ preferences, but partisanship is most important for explaining both spending preferences and preferences on organisational forms. The article goes on to explore whether recent local council reforms, intended to replace the sector‐oriented system with strong committees by a new de‐specialised system with weaker committees, are likely to curb the effect of sector on committee members’ preferences. The conclusion here is not easy to draw, but it is clear that sector‐orientation is not encouraged by the reforms; in fact, the opposite seems to be the case. What local councils may have overlooked, however, is the influence of the informational rationale on committees and their members. The analyses are based on data obtained from a random sample of 119 of Norway's 435 municipalities.
Multi‐Field Surface Electrode for Selective Electrical Stimulation
Authors: Popović‐Bijelić Ana , Bijelić Goran , Jorgovanović Nikola , Bojanić Dubravka , Popović Mirjana B. , Popović Dejan B.
Published: June 2005

Abstract:  We designed a 24‐field array and an on‐line control box that selects which and how many of 24 fields will conduct electrical charge during functional electrical stimulation. The array was made using a conductive microfiber textile, silver two‐component adhesive, and the conductive ink imprint on the polycarbonate. The control box comprised 24 switches that corresponded one‐to‐one to the fields on the array. Each field could be made conductive or nonconductive by simple pressing of the corresponding push‐button type switch on the control box. We present here representative results of the selectivity of the new electrode measured in three tetraplegic patients during functional electrical stimulation of the forearm. The task was to generate finger flexion and extension with minimal interference of the wrist movement during lateral and palmar grasps. Therapists determined the appropriate pattern that lead to effective grasping, lasting on average 5 min per stimulation channel in the first session. This optimal conductive pattern (size and shape) provided effective finger flexion and extension with minimal wrist flexion/extension and ulnar/radial deviations (<10 degrees). The optimal size and shape of the electrode in all cases had a branched pattern. The selection of the optimal stimulation site was achieved without moving the electrode. The size and shape were reproducible in the same subject from session to session, yet were different from subject to subject. The optimal electrode size and shape changed when subjects pronated and supinated their forearm. The control box includes a program that can dynamically change the number and sites of the conductive fields; hence, it is feasible to use this during functional movements. Subjects learned how to determine the optimal electrode pattern; hence, these electrodes could be effective for home usage.
Methods for Dynamic Balance Training During Standing and Stepping
Authors: Matjačić Zlatko , Rusjan Špela , Stanonik Irena , Goljar Nika , Olenšek Andrej
Published: June 2005

Abstract:  The regaining of walking ability is one of the main goals of rehabilitation following stroke. An important aspect of bipedal locomotion is efficient balancing of the trunk. In this article a novel methodology for dynamic balance training during standing and stepping is presented in a commercially available mechanical balance training device. A case study that lasted for two‐weeks with two half‐hour training sessions per day, involving a single subject with chronic hemiparesis, investigated the effects of the proposed dynamic balance training. Instrumented kinesiological evaluation of the subject's gait indicated important improvement in the subject's postural control during walking. Finally, the possibility of combining therapeutic functional electrical stimulation of selected lower extremity muscles with the methodology for dynamic balance training presented here is discussed.
The European Artificial Organ Scene: Present Status
Authors: Vanholder Raymond , Del Cañizo Juan F. , Sauer Igor M. , Stegmayr Bernd
Published: June 2005

Abstract:  This article summarizes the current evolutions regarding artificial organs in Europe. The review emanates from the activities by four of the work groups of the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) and is essentially based on the reports by these work groups at the latest ESAO meeting in Warsaw, Poland (2004). The topics are: apheresis, heart support, liver support, uremic toxins.