bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Nifedipine Versus Telmisartan on Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Du Huaan , Fan Jinqi , Ling Zhiyu , Woo Kamsang , Su Li , Chen Shaojie , Liu Zengzhang , Lan Xianbin , Zhou Bei , Xu Yanping , Chen Weijie , Xiao Peilin , Yin Yuehui
Published: February 2013

It is controversial whether angiotensin II receptor blockers provide better protection than calcium antagonists against atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence in hypertensive patients. This study was designed to compare the effect of nifedipine- and telmisartan-based antihypertensive treatments for preventing AF recurrence in hypertensive patients with paroxysmal AF. A total of 149 hypertensive patients with paroxysmal AF were randomized to nifedipine- or telmisartan-based antihypertensive treatment groups. The target blood pressure (BP) was <130/80 mm Hg. Clinic BP, ECG, Holter monitoring, and echocardiography were followed up for 2 years. The primary end point was the incidence of overall and persistent AF recurrence. During follow-up, there was no statistical difference in the rate of patients lowering to target BP between both groups, whereas nifedipine group had slightly better BP control but similar heart rate control at 24 months. The incidence of AF recurrence was similar in both groups (nifedipine versus telmisartan: 58.7% versus 55.4%;
P
=0.742), and Kaplan–Meier analysis showed no significant difference in the freedom from AF recurrence (log-rank test;
P
=0.48). However, the rate of developing persistent AF in telmisartan group was lower than that in nifedipine group (5.4% versus 16.0%;
P
=0.035). Patients in telmisartan group had lower values of left atrial diameter, left atrial volume index, and left ventricular mass index at the end of follow-up. The effects of telmisartan in preventing AF recurrences in hypertensive patients with paroxysmal AF after intensive lowering BP is similar to that of nifedipine, but telmisartan has more potent effects on preventing progression to persistent AF.
(In)visibility and the Process of Public Theology
Authors: Stoddart Eric
Published: February 2013

Abstract

In this article the notion of (in)visibility as a skill and an analytical device is brought into the field of public theology, and, using political and sociological insights from Andrea Brighenti and Pierre Bourdieu, a theoretical basis is established. Further, a liturgical and eschatological hermeneutic is applied to relativize (in)visibility and to locate its development as a skill in a Christian narrative context. The article argues that (in)visibility offers a complementary paradigm to the auditory that otherwise attends predominantly to the substantive content of public theological interventions; hence, it contends, the process and consequences for others (not necessarily acting as public theologians) are to be encompassed in a model of public theology. In addition, a case study on a recent statement by a Roman Catholic bishop in Scotland is presented.
The Norwegian species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae)
Authors: JAPOSHVILI GEORGE , HANSEN LARS OVE , GUERRIERI EMILIO
Published: February 2013

The species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are reviewed for Norway. Sixteen species are recognized, of which one, Copidosoma longicaudata sp. nov., is newly described, illustrated and compared with closely related species. Seven species represent new distribution records for Norway—C. aithyia (Walker), C. genale (Thomson), C. herbaceum Mercet, C. primulum (Mercet), C. radnense Erdős, C. thebe (Walker) and C. truncatellum (Dalman). An illustrated dichotomous key for the identification of both sexes of Norwegian Copidosoma is presented.
Cerchysiella mesosae Yang sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of Mesosa myops (Dalman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) larvae in China
Authors: YANG ZHONG-QI , WANG XIAO-YI , CAO LIANG-MING , TANG YAN-LONG , TANG HUA
Published: February 2013

Cerchysiella mesosae Yang sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae), is described from China. It is a gregarious koinobiont endoparasitoid in mature larvae of Mesosa myops (Dalman) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), a wood boring pest of many broad-leaved tree species in China, particularly Quercus mongolica and Q. liaotungensis (Fagaceae) in forest areas of northeasternChina. The new species is one of the principal natural enemies of the wood borer and it may have potential as a biological control agent for suppression of the pest.
Overcoming the triad of rural health disparities: How local culture, lack of economic opportunity, and geographic location instigate health disparities
Authors: Thomas Tami L , DiClemente Ralph , Snell Samuel
Published: February 2013

Objective:

To discuss how the effects of culture, economy, and geographical location intersect to form a gestalt triad determining health-related disparities in rural areas.

Methods:

We critically profile each component of the deterministic triad in shaping current health-related disparities in rural areas; evaluate the uniquely composed intersections of these disparities in relation to Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer prevention in three isolated rural Georgia counties; and develop implications for future leadership in rural healthcare research, policy, and practice.

Results:

The deterministic triad of culture, economy, and geographical location is unique to a rural community, and even if two rural communities experience the same health disparity, each community is likely to have a discretely different composition of cultural, economic, and geographic determinants.

Conclusion:

The deterministic triad presents a challenge for health policymakers, researchers, and practitioners trying to develop health-related interventions that are equitable, efficacious, and practical in low-resource rural communities. The situation is worsened by the limited opportunities for employment, which leads to greater disparities and creates propagating cultural norms that further reduce access to healthcare and opportunities for sustainable health promotion.
Sex differences in facial scanning: Similarities and dissimilarities between infants and adults
Authors: Rennels Jennifer L. , Cummings Andrew J.
Published: February 2013

When face processing studies find sex differences, male infants appear better at face recognition than female infants, whereas female adults appear better at face recognition than male adults. Both female infants and adults, however, discriminate emotional expressions better than males. To investigate if sex and age differences in facial scanning might account for these processing discrepancies, 3–4-month-olds, 9–10-month-olds, and adults viewed faces presented individually while an eye tracker recorded eye movements. Regardless of age, males shifted fixations between internal and external facial features more than females, suggesting more holistic processing. Females shifted fixations between internal facial features more than males, suggesting more second-order relational processing, which may explain females’ emotion discrimination advantage. Older male infants made more fixations than older female infants. Female adults made more fixations for shorter fixation durations than male adults. Male infants and female adults’ greater encoding of facial information may explain their face recognition advantage.
Do young infants prefer an infant-directed face or a happy face?
Authors: Kim Hojin I. , Johnson Scott P.
Published: February 2013

Infants’ visual preference for infant-directed (ID) faces over adult-directed (AD) faces was examined in two experiments that introduced controls for emotion. Infants’ eye movements were recorded as they viewed a series of side-by-side dynamic faces. When emotion was held constant, 6-month-old infants showed no preference for ID faces over AD faces, but a second group of infants looked significantly longer at AD faces conveying happy emotion over sad ID faces conveying sad emotion. Together, these findings suggest that infants’ visual preference for ID faces is mediated, at least in part, by the presence of happy emotion. The relations between happy emotion and ID faces are discussed.
Fathers’ Postnatal Mental Health and Child Well-Being at Age Five
Authors: Giallo Rebecca , Cooklin Amanda , Wade Catherine , D’Esposito Fabrizio , Nicholson Jan M.
Published: February 2013

Fathers’ postnatal mental health is associated with emotional and behavioral outcomes for children in early childhood. The aim of this study was to examine whether parenting behavior mediated the relationship between fathers’ postnatal psychological distress and emotional–behavioral outcomes for children at age 5. The sample consisted of 2,025 fathers participating in Growing Up In Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Data collected when the children were aged 0 to 12 months and 4 to 5 years were used. Results revealed that the relationship between fathers’ postnatal distress and children’s outcomes was mediated by parenting hostility (angry and frustrated reactions toward the child such as yelling), and this remained significant after controlling for fathers’ concurrent mental health and mothers’ postnatal mental health. These findings underscore the important contribution of fathers’ postnatal mental health to later parenting behavior and child outcomes. Implications for policy and practice focused on improving mental health and parenting support to fathers in the early childhood period is discussed.
Deficient fear recognition in regular cocaine users is not attributable to elevated impulsivity or conduct disorder prior to cocaine use
Authors: Morgan MJ , Marshall JP
Published: February 2013

We previously reported that regular recreational intranasal cocaine users exhibit impaired recognition of facial expressions of fear compared to occasional cocaine users and cocaine-naïve controls. The aim of the present study was to re-investigate this phenomenon after controlling for impulsivity, conduct disorder (CD) and anti-social personality disorder (ASPD). We employed a cross-sectional design to compare 31 cocaine-naïve participants, 35 occasional cocaine users and 20 regular recreational cocaine users. An emotional facial expression (EFE) task which comprised a male and a female face expressing six basic emotions morphed to differing degrees of emotional intensity was administered together with questionnaires to assess: CD, ASPD and impulsiveness. ASPD was not a significant covariate for EFE performance but impulsiveness and CD were significant covariates. After treating impulsiveness and CD as covariates we again observed a group difference in fear recognition ability attributable to the particularly impaired performance of regular cocaine users. This suggests that, although elevated impulsiveness and CD before the age of 15 years, may predispose a relative inability to recognize facial expressions of fear in adulthood, subsequent regular recreational use of cocaine represents an additional factor that is specifically associated with a selective deficit in fear recognition.
Harms and benefits associated with psychoactive drugs: findings of an international survey of active drug users
Authors: Morgan Celia JA , Noronha Louise A , Muetzelfeldt Mark , Feilding Amanda , Curran H Valerie
Published: February 2013

There have been several recent efforts in the UK and the Netherlands to describe the harms of psychoactive substances based on ratings of either experts or drug users. This study aimed to assess the perceived benefits as well as harms of widely used recreational drugs, both licit and illicit, in an international sample of drug users. The survey was hosted at https://www.internationaldrugsurvey.org/ and was available in three languages. Residents reported their experience of 15 commonly used drugs or drug classes; regular users then rated their harms and benefits. In all, 5791 individuals from over 40 countries completed the survey, although the majority were from English speaking countries. Rankings of drugs differed across 10 categories of perceived benefits. Skunk and herbal cannabis were ranked consistently beneficial, whilst alcohol and tobacco fell below many classified drugs. There was no correlation at all between users’ harm ranking of drugs and their classification in schedules of the USA or ABC system in the UK. Prescription analgesics, alcohol and tobacco were ranked within the top 10 most harmful drugs. These findings suggest that neither the UK nor US classification systems act to inform users of the harms of psychoactive substances. It is hoped the results might inform health professionals and educators of what are considered to be both the harms and benefits of psychoactive substances to young people.
Distance Video-Teleconferencing in Early Intervention
Authors: McDuffie Andrea , Machalicek Wendy , Oakes Ashley , Haebig Eileen , Weismer Susan Ellis , Abbeduto Leonard
Published: February 2013

Maternal verbal responsiveness in naturally occurring interactions is known to facilitate language development for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The present study used a series of A-B replications to examine proximal effects of a naturalistic language intervention on the use of specific language support strategies by mothers of eight young children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Distal effects on child communication also were examined. The intervention consisted of four monthly parent education lessons, each paired with face-to-face clinician coaching of a play-based parent–child interaction. In addition, 12 distance coaching sessions were implemented via desktop video-teleconferencing (VTC). Parents increased their use of verbal responses that followed into their child’s focus of attention and responded to child communication acts. Parents also increased the frequency with which they prompted child communication. Increases in parent strategy use were observed during both on-site and distance coaching sessions. Implications for future research are discussed.
Migraine with aura: A predictor of patent foramen ovale in children and adolescents
Authors: Choi Deok Young , Shin Dong Hoon , Cho Kang Ho , Lee Sang Pyo , Park Sanghui
Published: February 2013

Background

The prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is higher among adult migraine patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of PFO in children and adolescent migraine patients.

Methods and results

A total of 32 patients with migraine (divided into two subgroups, the migraine with aura subgroup and the migraine without aura subgroup) and 31 normal control subjects were enrolled in this study. All of the participants underwent transthoracic echocardiography with an agitated saline test. We compared the prevalence of PFO and the severity of right-to-left shunt (RLS) in each group. No statistical difference in age and sex ratio was observed in either group. The prevalence of PFO was higher in the migraine group than in the control group, but without statistical significance (46.9% vs. 25.8%, p = 0.084). The prevalence of PFO was significantly higher in the migraine with aura subgroup than in the migraine without aura subgroup ( p = 0.031) and the normal control group ( p = 0.0074). Migraine with aura was the only significant factor showing an association with PFO (<0.01). RLS size did not have an influence on migraine.

Conclusions

Considering the significantly high prevalence of PFO in pediatric migraine with aura patients, migraine with aura is a clear predictor of PFO among children and adolescents.
Disrespect and political resistance
Authors: Pilapil Renante D.
Published: February 2013

This article examines the critical potential of Honneth’s theory or ethics of recognition by raising two concerns as regards the success of such a project. Firstly, this article argues that Honneth’s ethical turn in critical theory might not be completely warranted and that there are good reasons to supplement his theory of recognition with an account of justificatory practices. Secondly, it argues that the complexity of the beginnings of political resistance proves that an explanative gap remains to be filled to account for the way in which personal experience of disrespect can be transformed into a collective struggle for recognition. By way of conclusion, this article posits that instead of rejecting the critical potential of Honneth’s theory, the concerns raised therein are invitations to specify his theory further, so that contemporary struggles for recognition can be understood more profoundly.
Bernard Smith
Authors: Beilharz Peter
Published: February 2013

Bernard Smith (1916–2011) was a giant on the Australian intellectual scene, and a major analyst of and contributor to the processes of cultural traffic between the antipodes and the centres of the world system. He was a lifelong Marxist, or historical materialist. Yet his scholarship also wore an open weave. Was he then a Marxist in politics? This essay argues that his historicism placed his thinking firmly with the owl of Minerva, rather than in the driver’s seat of history. Marxism, for Bernard Smith, was ex post facto, placing him with the tragic irony of Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire rather than with the activist intent of the Theses on Feuerbach. Distance, for Smith, was everything.
Talking sociology
Authors: Jacobsen Michael Hviid , Tester Keith
Published: February 2013

Zygmunt Bauman has always approached sociology as an imagination, as an ongoing conversation with experience rather than a discipline within tight boundaries. This has enabled his work to move outside of the academy, and over the past decade or so he has become a leading public sociologist. But what does this status mean for the practice and possibilities of sociology? In this conversation Bauman reflects on the role, status and opportunities of sociology, who it is for, and what this means for the sociologist.
The category rogue
Authors: Kustermans Jorg
Published: February 2013

As a concept of international society, the category ‘rogue’ can best be understood in relation to the more basic category of the person. Personhood signifies membership, and it is performed in collective, ritual, bodily practices. Modern personhood becomes individuated, and it values mind more than body. However, because it was soon realized that the modern person cannot ultimately sustain modern society, a new notion of personhood was introduced, which articulates a modern concept of virtue in terms of manners. Interestingly, this concept of personhood reintroduces the body in that it values bodily restraint as a sign of ethical worth. The good person is no virile warrior but a tactful diplomat. Diplomacy becomes modernity’s being-in-the-world. Rogue states, it appears, do not sign up. This we take offense with.
Democratic theory and democratization in contemporary Brazil and beyond1
Authors: Domingues José Maurício
Published: February 2013

Universalism and particularism have become poles of modern social thought and lead to distinct definitions of democracy, citizenship, and social policy. Challenging Habermas and the Habermasians, this article argues that democracy can never be identified with domination. Meanwhile, contesting Chatterjee and Foucault, the author reaffirms citizenship and law in their various forms in relation to both bounded and unbounded serialities as the basis for democracy, beyond and despite governmentality. Latin America, and especially Brazil, with processes that check state domination and have implied democratizing changes, provide the empirical focus for the discussion, albeit mediated by other countries, particularly India.
Jürgen Habermas on civil society vis-à-vis the Philippine experience
Authors: Hermida Ranilo B.
Published: February 2013

Jürgen Habermas assigns civil society groups ‘to bear a good portion of the normative expectations, especially the burden of a normatively expected democratic genesis of law’. This article looks at concrete attempts in the Philippine constitution to provide structures so that these groups can carry out the role Habermas envisages for them, and examines whether such attempts are sufficient to enable said groups to intervene in the political process as effectively as he expects of them.
Economic and employment potential in textile waste management of Faisalabad
Authors: Noman Muhammad , Batool Syeda Adila , Chaudhary Muhammad Nawaz
Published: February 2013

The aim of this study is to characterize the waste from the textile industry, to identify the sources and types of waste generation and to find out the economic and employment potential in this sector. Textile waste, its management, and the economic and employment potential in this sector are unrevealed facts in developing countries such as Pakistan. The textile industry is ranked first in export earning in Pakistan. Textile export of yarn and cloth from Faisalabad is US$3 billion per year. On average 161 325 people are employed in the textile sector in Faisalabad, of which 11 860 are involved in solid waste handling and management. The textile industries generate solid wastes such as fibre, metal, plastic and paper waste. A total of 794 209 kg day−1 (289 886 285 kg year−1) solid waste is produced from this sector and purchased by cotton waste junkshop owners at US$125 027 day−1 (US$45 634 855 year−1). Only pre-consumer textile waste is considered. Interestingly no waste is sent to landfill. The waste is first segregated into different categories/ types by hand and then weighed. Cotton waste is sold to brick kilns where it is used as an alternative fuel as it is cheaper than wood/coal. Iron scrap is sold in the junk market from where it is resold to recycling industries. Paper waste is recycled, minimizing the virgin material used for producing new paper products. Iron and plastic drums are returned to the chemical industries for refilling, thus decreasing the cost of dyes and decreasing the demand for new drums. Cutting rags are used for making different things such as ropes and underlay, it is also shredded and used as fillings for pillows and mattresses, thus improving waste management, reducing cost and minimizing the need for virgin material. As no system of quality control and no monitoring of subsequent products exist there is a need to carry out quality control and monitoring.
A citrus waste-based biorefinery as a source of renewable energy: technical advances and analysis of engineering challenges
Authors: Rivas-Cantu Raul C , Jones Kim D , Mills Patrick L
Published: February 2013

An assessment of recent technical advances on pretreatment processes and its effects on enzymatic hydrolysis as the main steps of a proposed citrus processing waste (CPW) biorefinery is presented. Engineering challenges and relevant gaps in scientific and technical information for reliable design, modeling and scale up of a CPW biorefinery are also discussed. Some integrated physico-chemical pretreatments are proposed for testing for CPW, including high speed knife-grinding and simultaneous caustic addition. These new proposed processes and the effect of parameters such as particle size, surface area and morphology, pore volume and chemical composition of the diverse fractions resulting from pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis need to be evaluated and compared for pretreated and untreated samples of grapefruit processing waste. This assessment suggests the potential for filling the data gaps, and preliminary results demonstrate that the reduction of particle size and the increased surface area for the CPW will result in higher reaction rates and monosaccharide yields for the pretreated waste material.
“A Safe Way to Explore”
Authors: Pingel Emily S. , Bauermeister Jose A. , Johns Michelle M. , Eisenberg Anna , Leslie-Santana Matthew
Published: February 2013

Internet use provides a vital opportunity for sexual-minority youth to learn about sexual desires and pursue partnerships otherwise publically stigmatized. Researchers, however, have portrayed the Internet as an inherently risky venue for HIV or sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission among young gay men (YGM). We therefore investigated how YGM use the Internet during adolescence and emerging adulthood. In the course of 34 in-depth, semistructured interviews with a sample of self-identified YGM, 18 to 24 years of age, we inquired about initial experiences of online dating. We found that YGM benefit online through exploration of their sexual identities, while simultaneously encountering and negotiating sources of risk. In examining YGM’s perceptions of risk, we hope to reach a greater understanding of the opportunities for HIV prevention and health promotion among YGM.
Exploring Indigenous Identities of Urban American Indian Youth of the Southwest
Authors: Kulis Stephen , Wagaman M. Alex , Tso Crescentia , Brown Eddie F.
Published: February 2013

This study examined the indigenous identities of urban American Indian youth using measures related to three theoretical dimensions of Markstrom’s identity model: identification (tribal and ethnic heritage), connection (reservation ties), and involvement in traditional cultural practices and spirituality. Data came from self-administered questionnaires completed by 142 urban American Indian middle school students in a southwestern metropolitan area with the largest urban American Indian population in the United States. Using both quantitative and qualitative measures, descriptive statistics showed most youth were connected to all three dimensions of indigenous identity. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that youth with the strongest sense of American Indian ethnic identity had native fathers and were heavily involved in traditional cultural practices and spirituality. Although urban American Indians may face challenges in maintaining their tribal identities, the youth in this study appeared strongly moored to their native indigenous heritage. Implications for future research are discussed.
Communicating Trust Between Parents and Their Children
Authors: Demant Jakob , Ravn Signe
Published: February 2013

This article discusses how Danish parents and their children communicate trust. Based on Niklas Luhmann’s sociological theory, the article explores new aspects of communication about alcohol-related rules. The analysis shows how the parents emphasize the importance of communicating trust, while the adolescents, on the other hand, observe the parents’ communication on the basis of their own, more instrumental, logic. Trust becomes a functional solution to the parents’ paradoxical situation, because it enables them to balance between a democratic family ideal, emphasizing the adolescents’ independence, while taking care of risk behavior. The article draws on Danish qualitative data comprising 37 focus group interviews with adolescents (14-16 years of age) and six focus group interviews with parents.
Children’s food, power and control: Negotiations in families with younger children in England
Authors: O’Connell Rebecca , Brannen Julia
Published: February 2013

This article focuses on children’s food in families and the power relations in which it is embedded. Drawing on paired interviews with parents and younger children in a qualitative sample ( N = 47), and taking a case approach, the article analyses ways in which power and control are negotiated in parent–child relationships in relation to food. Types and extent of control over children’s eating are described, and the importance of resources and parents’ conceptions of ‘the child’ considered. In distinction to polarized debates about who does, or should, control children’s food in families, the article notes considerable variation between families.
Switching Managua on! Connecting informal settlements to the formal city through household waste collection
Authors: Zapata Campos María José , Zapata Patrik
Published: February 2013

This paper explores the organizing of household solid waste management collection and disposal practices in informal settlements. It is based on a case study of an NGO project that supports Manos Unidas (Joined Hands), an informal waste picker cooperative in Managua, Nicaragua. Using horse carts, these waste pickers collect household solid waste from informal settlements where there was no previous regular, official waste collection. Unlike many development projects, which try to control people’s agency, the support examined here focused on the residents of illegal neighbourhoods and the waste pickers, who themselves became city constructors and co-producers of basic services such as household waste collection rather than service recipients of aid programmes or municipal governments. By slightly changing the actions of the actors already involved in informal waste handling in the informal settlements, the project succeeded in transforming an agent of pollution into the solution to several interconnected problems, namely illegal dumping by the cart-men and residents, the cart-men’s low and irregular incomes and the lack of household waste collection services.
Public participation processes related to nuclear research installations: What are the driving factors behind participation intention?
Authors: Turcanu Catrinel , Perko Tanja , Laes Erik
Published: February 2013

This article addresses organised public participation processes related to installations for nuclear research. The aim was to determine predictors that could provide an empirical insight into the motivations underlying people’s intended level of involvement. The results highlight attitude towards participation and moral norm as the strongest predictors for participation intention. Other significant predictors were time constraints, attitude towards nuclear energy, subjective and descriptive norms, and knowledge. An opposing relationship is noted between participation intention and attitude towards nuclear energy. At the same time, people who are more knowledgeable about the nuclear domain seem more willing to get involved. The analysis also revealed that financial benefits do not influence people’s intended involvement in participation processes related to nuclear research installations. The results reported here are based on empirical data from a large-scale public opinion survey ( N = 1020) carried out in Belgium during May–June 2011.
Abortion Law and Professional Boundaries
Authors: Thomson Michael
Published: February 2013

The medical profession’s formative role in the development of abortion law has been acknowledged. A number of the studies to have considered the development of law in the nineteenth century have traced how the emerging profession’s campaigns against abortion advanced its social and economic goals. Analysis of abortion law as a focus for medicine’s professionalisation has not, however, extended into the twentieth century. Consideration of this period generally characterises medicine’s influence as a product of its professional power. Rather than evidence of a static professional status, this article argues that consideration of the first half of the twentieth century reveals how abortion remained the terrain on which the profession actively pursued its occupational ambitions. Further, it highlights how medical responses to abortion changed as the imperatives of professionalisation changed. Employing work that has highlighted the importance of boundaries for enduring social entities, this article recognises abortion as a boundary issue for the profession; that is, a key site where professional jurisdiction is asserted. A dynamic model of the processes of professionalisation, and an identification of the role of abortion in medicine’s professionalisation project, is essential in order to understand the contemporary social and legal reality of abortion.
Use of serotonergic antidepressants and St John’s wort in older Australians: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Rahman Syed Ziaur , Basilakis Jim , Rahmadi Anton , Lujic Sanja , Musgrave Ian , Jorm Louisa , Hay Phillipa , Münch Gerald
Published: February 2013

Objective:

The study investigated the use of serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; SNRIs: serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) and St John’s wort in a large NSW-based community sample, and sought to identify a potentially dangerous concomitant use of these medications.

Methods:

Cross-sectional data from 266,848 participants from the ‘45 and Up’ study were used. The questionnaire captures self-reported treatment for depression or anxiety and antidepressant medications in the last four weeks.

Results:

5.8% of participants received treatment for depression or anxiety, with 4.7% taking an SSRI and 1.3% an SNRI. St John’s wort was taken by 0.3% of the participants. Use of SSRIs and SNRIs was reported more frequently by females than males (respectively, 64.1% vs 35.9%, 66.9% vs 33.1%). The gender difference was even more pronounced for St John’s wort (75.6% vs. 24.4%). Use of antidepressants decreased after the age of 65 years. One hundred and forty people reported concurrent use of an SSRI and an SNRI, and 11 people of an SSRI with St John’s wort.

Conclusions:

Around 7% of the study population aged 45–65 years reported the use of SSRIs or SNRIs, decreasing to 5% above 70 years of age. It is of concern that some individuals used an SSRI concurrently with St John’s wort.
Kainate Receptors
Authors: Sihra Talvinder S. , Flores Gonzalo , Rodríguez-Moreno Antonio
Published: February 2013

Ionotropic glutamate receptors of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)- and AMPA-type, as well as metabotropic glutamate receptors have been extensively invoked in plasticity. Until relatively recently, however, kainate-type receptors (KARs) had been the most elusive to study because of the lack of appropriate pharmacological tools to specifically address their roles. With the development of selective glutamate receptor antagonists, and knockout mice with specific KAR subunits deleted, the functions of KARs in neuromodulation and synaptic transmission, together with their involvement in some types of plasticity, have been extensively probed in the central nervous system. In this review, we summarize the findings related to the roles of KARs in short- and long-term forms of plasticity, primarily in the hippocampus, where KAR function and synaptic plasticity have received avid attention.
Is There a Medialization of Climate Science? Results From a Survey of German Climate Scientists
Authors: Ivanova Ana , Schäfer Mike S. , Schlichting Inga , Schmidt Andreas
Published: February 2013

The relation between science and the media has recently been termed a medialization of science. The respective literature argues that interaction of scientists with the media and journalists as well as scientists’ adaptation to media criteria has increased. This article analyzes whether German climate scientists are indeed “medialized.” The results of a survey among 1,130 scientists suggest that medialization phenomena exist in climate science but that they differ significantly among different subgroups. While media interactions are more common for high-ranking scientists, an adaptation to media criteria is more typical for scientists with less experience.
The Math Problem
Authors: Fullerton Jami A. , Kendrick Alice
Published: February 2013

This study used the Students’ Attitudes toward Statistics Scale (STATS) to measure attitude toward statistics among a national sample of advertising students. A factor analysis revealed four underlying factors make up the attitude toward statistics construct— Interest & Future Applicability, Confidence, Statistical Tools, and Initiative. Advertising students’ attitudes toward statistics were shown to be more positive than negative. Students in this study were most positive about the use of Statistical Tools and displayed attitudes well above neutral on Interest & Future Applicability and Initiative. Confidence received the lowest evaluation. Advertising students who were drawn to the major because of its creative aspects had significantly weaker attitudes toward statistics than did those who came to study advertising because of the business aspects. Strategies for improving negative attitudes toward statistics in advertising courses are discussed.
PR Students’ Perceptions and Readiness for Using Search Engine Optimization
Authors: Moody Mia , Bates Elizabeth
Published: February 2013

Enough evidence is available to support the idea that public relations professionals must possess search engine optimization (SEO) skills to assist clients in a full-service capacity; however, little research exists on how much college students know about the tactic and best practices for incorporating SEO into course curriculum. Furthermore, much of the literature on the topic is in trade publications and blogs rather than scholarly journals. To fill this void, this study has two primary objectives. First, it seeks to shed light on definitions, trends, and current practices relating to the use of SEO in public relations. Second, the study seeks to learn how much students know about SEO and where they acquired their knowledge. Educators can incorporate this information into curricula to help students remain current with the profession. Study findings are informative not only for PR professors who are considering adding SEO elements to courses but also for PR professionals who want to learn more about the topic.
Cerebrospinal fluid fetuin-A is a biomarker of active multiple sclerosis
Authors: Harris Violaine K , Donelan Nicola , Yan Qi Jiang , Clark Kristi , Touray Amir , Rammal Mustapha , Sadiq Saud A
Published: February 2013

Background:

There is an urgent need for biomarkers in multiple sclerosis (MS) that can reliably measure ongoing disease activity relative to inflammation, neurodegeneration, and demyelination/remyelination. Fetuin-A was recently identified as a potential biomarker in MS cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Fetuin-A has diverse functions, including a role in immune pathways.

Objective:

The objective of this research is to investigate whether fetuin-A is a direct indicator of disease activity.

Methods:

We measured fetuin-A in CSF and plasma of patients with MS and correlated these findings to clinical disease activity and natalizumab response. Fetuin-A expression was characterized in MS brain tissue and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice. We also examined the pathogenic role of fetuin-A in EAE using fetuin-A-deficient mice.

Results:

Elevated CSF fetuin-A correlated with disease activity in MS. In natalizumab-treated patients, CSF fetuin-A levels were reduced one year post-treatment, correlating with therapeutic response. Fetuin-A was markedly elevated in demyelinated lesions and in gray matter within MS brain tissue. Similarly, fetuin-A was elevated in degenerating neurons around demyelinated lesions in EAE. Fetuin-A-deficient mice demonstrated delayed onset and reduced severity of EAE symptoms.

Conclusions:

Our results show that CSF fetuin-A is a biomarker of disease activity and natalizumab response in MS. Neuronal expression of fetuin-A suggests that fetuin-A may play a pathological role in the disease process.
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and multiple sclerosis in Sardinian patients: epidemiology and clinical features
Authors: Frau J , Cossu D , Coghe G , Lorefice L , Fenu G , Melis M , Paccagnini D , Sardu C , Murru MR , Tranquilli S , Marrosu MG , Sechi LA , Cocco E
Published: February 2013

Background:

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is an infectious factor recently found in association with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Sardinia.

Objectives:

The objectives of this study were to confirm this association and evaluate its role in clinical features.

Methods:

A total of 436 patients and 264 healthy controls (HCs) were included. We examined the blood of each individual for MAPDNA and MAP2694 antibodies using IS900-specific PCR and ELISA, respectively. Differences in MAP presence between the MS group and HCs were evaluated. In MS patients, we considered: gender, age, age at onset, duration of disease, course, EDSS, therapy, relapse/steroids at study time, and oligoclonal bands (OBs).

Results:

MAPDNA and MAP2694 antibodies were detected in 68 MS and six HCs ( p = 1.14 × 10−11), and 123 MS and 10 HCs ( p = 2.59 × 10−23), respectively. OBs were found with reduced frequency in MAP-positive patients (OR = 0.52; p = 0.02). MAP2694 antibodies were detected more in patients receiving MS treatments (OR = 2.26; p = 0.01), and MAPDNA in subjects on steroids (OR = 2.65; p = 0.02).

Conclusion:

Our study confirmed the association of MAP and MS in Sardinia. The low OB frequency in MAP patients suggests a peripheral role as a trigger in autoimmunity. MAP positivity might be influenced by steroids and MS therapy. Studies in other populations are needed to confirm the role of MAP in MS.
Evaluation of breastfeeding promotion, support, and knowledge of benefits on breastfeeding outcomes
Authors: Kornides Melanie , Kitsantas Panagiota
Published: February 2013

We examined how prenatal exposure to breastfeeding information from various media sources, maternal knowledge of benefits, family and clinician support, and peer practices influence breastfeeding outcomes in early infancy. Initiation of breastfeeding, any breastfeeding at two months, and exclusivity of breastfeeding at two months were examined in a cohort of US women using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses and logistic regression were conducted. Approximately 85 percent of the women initiated breastfeeding. At two months, 63.8 percent continued breastfeeding, while only 38.1 percent breastfed exclusively. Mothers with greater knowledge about breastfeeding benefits were 11.2 (95% CI: 6.87–18.45) times more likely to initiate breastfeeding and 5.62 (95% CI: 4.19–7.54) times more likely to breastfeed at two months than those with lower levels of knowledge. Women whose families prenatally supported exclusive breastfeeding were 8.21(5.12–13.2) times more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding (OR 3.21, 95% CI: 2.51–4.11). Clinicians who supported breastfeeding only also increased the odds of a woman initiating breastfeeding (OR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.31–2.88). Interventions to increase maternal knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and family and clinician support of breastfeeding in the prenatal period may help increase breastfeeding rates. The encouragement of breastfeeding needs to be a priority among health care providers to improve the health of mothers and infants.
De-ethnicized victims: Mediatized advocacy for asylum seekers
Authors: Horsti Karina
Published: February 2013

This article analyzes the framing of asylum seekers in the context of mediatized sanctuary policy and pro-asylum activism in Finland. In 2007, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, together with secular activist groups, successfully campaigned against the deportation of three female asylum seekers. In a textual analysis of the three categories of mediated communication, three approaches to framing analysis are used: the social movement approach, the coverage studies approach, and the framing effects approach (Scheufele and Scheufele, 2010: 111–112). In addition to a constructivist and qualitative line of frame analysis, framing of asylum seekers is studied in the light of Luc Boltanski’s (1999) concept of the communitarian figure. The article examines how framings in and around journalism construct such representative figures (‘others’), who qualify for ‘our’ support. The article concludes that the engagement of the Church raised the issue of asylum seekers to the journalistic agenda; however, socially and politically challenging debate did not fully develop. News coverage used practices of cultural proximity and presented particular asylum seekers as suitable victims, un-marking their difference through de-ethnicizing and de-muslimizing them.
The balance between human maternal plasma angiotensin II and angiotensin 1-7 levels in early gestation pregnancy is influenced by fetal sex
Authors: Sykes Shane D , Pringle Kirsty G , Zhou Ang , Dekker Gustaaf A , Roberts Claire T , Lumbers Eugenie R ,   on behalf of the SCOPE Consortium
Published: February 2013

Hypothesis:

There are fetal sex-associated differences in the circulating maternal renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in early pregnancy.

Methods:

Plasma prorenin, angiotensin (Ang) II, Ang 1-7 and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) concentrations were measured at 15 weeks’ gestation in 131 women with uncomplicated pregnancies from the Adelaide SCOPE cohort. Uterine and umbilical artery Doppler sonography was performed at 20 weeks’ gestation.

Results:

At 15 weeks, women bearing female fetuses had higher maternal Ang II concentrations ( p = 0.017) and lower Ang 1-7 to Ang II ratios ( p = 0.016) than women bearing males. In women with male fetuses, Ang II positively correlated with birth weight ( p = 0.028) and prorenin negatively correlated with placental weight ( p = 0.014). Female fetuses had higher umbilical artery resistance indices ( p = 0.019) that were related to maternal prorenin concentrations ( p = 0.007).

Conclusions:

In early human pregnancy, the maternal RAS is influenced by fetal sex. The lower Ang 1-7 to Ang II ratios in women with female fetuses may contribute to the lower maternal peripheral microvascular flow as described previously and the lack of any positive effect of Ang II on fetal growth, as seen in women with male fetuses.
The compatibility of liberalism and mandatory environmental education
Authors: Ferkany Matt , Whyte Kyle Powys
Published: February 2013

Recently scholars have wondered whether liberals can promote mandatory programs of formal environmental education, including education for the environment or sustainable development. Critics maintain that they cannot on grounds that environmental education is a threat to student autonomy or cannot be justified using liberal principles. We argue that the perceived conflict between liberalism and environmental education is exaggerated. Whatever the environmentalist ambitions of environmental education, any complete conception of it must prioritize education for skills and virtues that are consistent with students’ prospective autonomy. Liberalism is also compatible with meeting the demands of intergenerational justice, which arguably will include sustainability education if not other forms of environmental education. Finally, the skills and virtues future citizens need to manage today’s most pressing environmental problems are compatible both with those discussed in international statements on environmental education and with those commonly associated with liberal citizenship. Ultimately, environmental education that will better equip citizens to cope with environmental problems is quite possible for liberal politics.
Girls’ education: The power of policy discourse
Authors: Monkman Karen , Hoffman Lisa
Published: February 2013

Girls’ education has been a focus of international development policy for several decades. The discursive framing of international organizations’ policy initiatives relating to girls’ education, however, limits the potential for discussing complex gender issues that affect the possibilities for gender equity. Because discourse shapes our understanding of reality, the emphases and omissions of policy language can affect our understanding of complex issues such as the challenges of girls’ education in international development. Using feminist critical policy discourse analysis, this study analyzes 300 policy documents, published between 1995 and 2008, that represent the ‘public face’ of 14 organizations active in the field of international development education. We examine three types of discursive arguments given in the documents for educating girls: justice arguments, utility arguments, and empowerment arguments. We show that the robustness of ‘gender’, and related concepts such as equity and equality as theoretical constructs, are limited, which is a factor constraining what can be understood as important in gender equity in education. Policy remains focused on girls and not gender (or boys), and on easily measurable indicators (counting boys and girls in school). This policy discourse does little to recognize that gender as a social process reproduces – or has the potential to challenge – social inequities.