bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Internet overuse and excessive daytime sleepiness in adolescents
Authors: Choi Kwisook , Son Hyunsook , Park Myunghee , Han Jinkyu , Kim Kitai , Lee Byungkoo , Gwak Hyesun
Published: March 2009

Aim:  The purpose of this study was to examine the association of Internet overuse with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).

Methods:  A total of 2336 high school students in South Korea (boys, 57.5%; girls, 42.5%) completed the structured questionnaire. The severity of Internet addiction was evaluated using Young's Internet addiction test.

Results:  The proportions of boys who were classified as Internet addicts and possible Internet addicts were 2.5% and 53.7%, respectively. For girls, the corresponding proportions were 1.9% and 38.9%, respectively. The prevalence of EDS was 11.2% (boys, 11.2%; girls, 11.1%). When Internet addicts were compared with non‐addicts, they consisted of more boys, drank alcohol more, and considered their own health condition as poor. But smoking was not related with Internet addiction. The prevalence rate of EDS for Internet addicts was 37.7%, whereas that for possible Internet addicts and non‐addicts was 13.9% and 7.4%, respectively. The prevalence of insomnia, witnessed snoring, apnea, teeth grinding, and nightmares was highest in Internet addicts, middle in possible addicts, and lowest in non‐addicts. With adjustment for duration of Internet use, duration of sleep time, age, gender, smoking, taking painkillers due to headache, insomnia symptoms, witnessed apnea, and nightmares, the odds of EDS were 5.2‐fold greater (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.7–10.2) in Internet addicts and 1.9‐fold greater (95%CI: 1.4–2.6) in possible Internet addicts compared to non‐addicts.

Conclusion:  Internet addiction is strongly associated with EDS in adolescents. Clinicians should consider examining Internet addiction in adolescent cases of EDS.
Photography of the anterior eye segment according to Scheimpflug's principle: options and limitations – a review
Authors: Wegener Alfred , Laser‐Junga Heike
Published: March 2009

Abstract

Scheimpflug photography and densitometric image analysis are very precise techniques for light scattering measurement and biometry in the anterior segment of the eye. They provide reproducible data on the characteristics of the anterior eye segment in clinical and experimental studies and the set of data obtained allows discrimination of light scattering changes because of ageing, disease or toxic effects. The techniques can also be used to determine no‐effect levels or maximally tolerable dosages of physical and chemical noxious factors. Several Scheimpflug cameras have been marketed, but the only cameras commercially available today are the Nidek EAS 1000 and the Oculus Pentacam. This review outlines the development of the technique and its introduction into ophthalmology. Furthermore, the application of the technique in clinical and experimental ophthalmology as well as in ocular toxicology are presented and discussed.
Outcome and treatment in elderly patients with small cell lung cancer: A retrospective study
Authors: Li Jian , Chen Ping , Dai Chun‐Hua , Li Xiao‐Qin , Bao Qian‐Lei
Published: March 2009

Aim:  The number of elderly patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is expected to increase with the growing geriatric population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of standard chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy in elderly patients with SCLC.

Methods:  In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data of 126 patients with SCLC diagnosed between 1996 and 2005 at our hospital, and compared the outcome of younger patients less than 70 years and elderly patients 70 years or older who were treated with etoposide and cisplatin (EP regimen) and cyclophosphamide, adriamycin and vincristine (CAV regimen). Patients with limited disease SCLC received thoracic radiotherapy (RT) following chemotherapy.

Results:  Overall response rates (complete and partial response) were not significantly different between patients less than 70 years and patients 70 years or older (69% vs 65%, P = 0.591). The median survival time was 13 months for patients less than 70 years compared with 12 months for patients 70 years or older (P = 0.263), with 2‐ and 5‐year survival rates of 37.8% and 8.2% vs 26.2% and 3.6%, respectively. Progression‐free survival of patients 70 years or older was similar to that of patients less than 70 years (P = 0.445). Grade 3 and 4 hematological toxicities were more frequent among the elderly group (leukopenia, 48% vs 31%, P = 0.049; neutropenia, 52% vs 32%, P = 0.028; thrombocytopenia, 38% vs 21%, P = 0.047).

Conclusion:  In spite of having more grade 3 and 4 hematological toxicity, elderly SCLC patients 70 years or older can benefit from the EP regimen and the CAV regimen with or without thoracic RT. Further investigations are needed to focus on ways to decrease toxicity, especially in the elderly.
Stimulation day‐six serum estradiol: A predictive indicator for the probability of embryo cryopreservation in IVF/ICSI cycles
Authors: Maghraby Hassan A. El , Mahdi Mohamed , Arab Mervat Sheikh El , Mabrouk Mohamed , Ghi Tullio , Farina Antonio
Published: March 2009

Objective:  To evaluate the predictive value of stimulation day six serum estradiol (E2) for the probability of embryo cryopreservation after fresh embryo transfer in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

Subjects and Methods:  The study included 282 ICSI cycles for different causes of infertility, provided that the age of the female partner was <40 years and her basal follicle stimulating hormone <10 IU/L.

Setting:  Alexandria IVF/ICSI center.

Main Outcome Measures:  Primary outcome measures are stimulation day‐six serum E2, and rate of embryo cryopreservation, after transfer of three good‐quality embryos. Secondary outcome measures are pregnancy rate per fresh embryo transfer, and other intermediate variables of the ICSI cycle.

Results:  Patients were stratified into three groups according to day‐six serum E2 levels: Group I with values <400 pg/mL; Group II, between 400 and 900; and Group III with values >900. The mean number of oocytes retrieved was 6.3, 8.9, and 12.4; the mean number of obtained embryos was 3.3, 4.8, and 6.7; and pregnancy rates were 18.1, 36.2, and 44.7% in the three groups, respectively. Rate of embryo cryopreservation, after transfer of three good‐quality embryos was 70.7% in Group III, and 26.5% in Group I. (P = 0.01). The negative predictive value of day‐six E2 < 400 pg/mL for freezing was 83% while day‐six serum E2 > 900 pg/mL has a sensitivity of 55%, specificity of 72% and positive predictive value of 50% for embryo freezing.

Conclusion:  Higher stimulation day‐six estradiol was associated with a higher probability of cryopreservation, and a higher pregnancy rate.
Opening the bladder for cesarean hysterectomy for placenta previa percreta with bladder invasion
Authors: Matsubara Shigeki , Ohkuchi Akihide , Yashi Masahiro , Izumi Akio , Ohwada Michitaka , Kuwata Tomoyuki , Usui Rie , Kuwata Yoshimine , Nakata Manabu , Suzuki Mitsuaki
Published: March 2009

Cesarean hysterectomy for placenta previa percreta with bladder invasion often induces not only massive hemorrhage but also severe bladder/ureter injuries. A 37‐year‐old woman with previous cesarean delivery suffered placenta previa percreta with bladder invasion. At the 34th week, we performed cesarean hysterectomy. Without separating the bladder from the uterus/cervix, we incised the bladder lateral wall using an automatic stapling/cutting device, leaving the bladder posterior wall adhering to the uterus and resecting it with the uterus. The bladder was easily repaired without urological sequelae. We suggest a new, simple and safe technique for cesarean hysterectomy for this disease.
Three‐dimensional volume‐rendered imaging of embryonic brain vesicles using inversion mode
Authors: Hata Toshiyuki , Dai Shu‐Yan , Kanenishi Kenji , Tanaka Hirokazu
Published: March 2009

Aim:  The purpose of this study was to present our first experience of normal embryonic brain vesicle shapes in the early first trimester of pregnancy, reconstructed by three‐dimensional (3D) volume‐rendered imaging using the inversion mode.

Methods:  Twenty‐three women who were between 7.4 and 9.7 weeks of gestation were studied using 3D ultrasound with a mechanical 3.7–9.3 or 4.5–11.9 MHz 3D transvaginal probe. In order to clarify the anatomical correlation of the embryonic and fetal brain vesicles, the inversion mode was used.

Results:  One patient who was at 7.4 weeks of gestation was excluded from the study because of the relative shallow scanning range of the 3D transvaginal transducer and very small embryonic brain structures. When viewed by means of transvaginal 3D volume‐rendered imaging using the inversion mode, the brain vesicles were the most prominent structures at each week, and were clearly seen as multilobular consecutive structures. All embryos studied had five secondary brain vesicles. Moreover, the dramatic change of embryonic brain vesicle shapes with advancing gestation was noted during this period.

Conclusion:  Our results suggest that transvaginal 3D volume‐rendered imaging using the inversion mode provides accurate visualization of embryonic brain vesicle structures in utero.
Abdominal hernias in pregnancy
Authors: Augustin Goran , Matosevic Petar , Kekez Tihomir , Majerovic Mate , Delmis Josip
Published: March 2009

A hernia is an area of weakness or complete disruption of the fibromuscular tissues of the body wall. In addition to the body wall, hernias can occur in the diaphragm, pelvic wall, perineum, pelvic floor, and internal abdominal viscera (hernias through omental or mesenteric defects, ligaments and folds). Surgical repair of different types of hernia is the most common general surgical procedure with more than 20 million hernioplasties performed each year. Abdominal wall hernias are not common during pregnancy. Hernias can be symptomless or have minimal symptoms, including slight discomfort or pain. Such hernias are not life‐threatening and should be controlled on regular basis. After spontaneous delivery and uterine involution, they should be repaired on an elective basis. It is of utmost importance for a clinician to diagnose emergent situations, which include incarceration, strangulation and perforation caused by hernia because consultation with a surgeon and emergency operation are mandatory. There is still no consensus for irreducible hernia during pregnancy, but complications during pregnancy outweigh elective operation. Therefore, hernioplasty is recommended during pregnancy, especially in early gestation.
Use of an antiretropulsion device to prevent stone retropulsion significantly increases the efficiency of pneumatic lithotripsy: an in vitro study
Authors: Eisner Brian H. , Pengune Witsanu , Stoller Marshall L.
Published: March 2009

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficiency of pneumatic lithotripsy with and without the Accordion antiretropulsion device (PercSys, Palo Alto, CA, USA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study comprised two in vitro experiments: in experiment 1, 10 trials were conducted using stone phantoms (6 × 6 × 10 mm), placed in a horizontal acrylic tube submerged in normal saline. Pneumatic lithotripsy was applied using a Swiss LithoClast (Boston Scientific Corporation, Natick, MA, USA). Each phantom was hit with repeated single firings of the LithoClast until it had travelled 20 cm (control group). The same experiment was then repeated with the Accordion antiretropulsion device positioned proximal to a new stone phantom. In experiment 2, stone phantoms (5 × 5 × 5 mm) were placed in a model ureter made of silicone and submerged in normal saline. Pneumatic lithotripsy was applied continuously on 10 stones for 20 s (200 strikes) without the Accordion device (control group) and on 10 stones with the Accordion device in place (experimental group). The distance of retropulsion was recorded. All stone phantoms were weighed before and after pneumatic lithotripsy.

RESULTS

In both experiments the Accordion group had a significantly greater percentage weight loss than the control group (experiment 1; 11% vs 3%; experiment 2, 53% vs 16%, both P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The Accordion device significantly increased the fragmentation efficiency in both in vitro models. Preventing retropulsion and increasing fragmentation efficiency has the potential to increase the success rate, decrease secondary procedures for migrated stones, and shorten operative times.
The relationship between local and regional diatom richness is mediated by the local and regional environment
Authors: Passy Sophia I.
Published: March 2009

Aim  In this continental study, species richness at local (LSR) and regional (RSR) scales was correlated and examined as a function of stream (local) and watershed (regional) environment in an effort to elucidate what factors control diatom biodiversity across scales.

Location  Conterminous United States.

Methods  Data on diatom richness, stream conditions and watershed properties were generated by the US Geological Survey. In the present investigation, RSR was estimated as the total diatom richness in a hydrologic study unit and, together with stream and watershed characteristics, was included in stepwise multiple regressions of LSR. The unique and shared contributions of RSR, stream and watershed environment to the explained variance in LSR were determined by variance partitioning. RSR was regressed against stream and basin features averaged per study unit.

Results  LSR responded most strongly to variability in stream manganese concentration and RSR. Other predictors included stream discharge and iron concentration, soil organic matter content and fertilization, and proportions of open water, barren land and forest in the watershed. Variance partitioning revealed that RSR had the lowest independent contribution to explained variance in LSR. Multiple regressions identified average stream iron concentration as the most important predictor of RSR.

Main conclusions  Local micronutrient concentration was the major predictor of LSR, followed by RSR. Since average micronutrient supply in the region was the chief determinant of RSR, it is proposed that micronutrients had both a direct effect on LSR and an indirect effect through RSR. The same argument is extended to watershed features with an impact on stream trophic status, because of their substantial contributions to the explained variance in both LSR and RSR. Considering that the major proportion of LSR variance explained by RSR originated from the covariance of RSR with stream and watershed properties, it is concluded that the LSR–RSR relationship was mediated by the local and regional environment.
Species richness of resident and transient coral‐dwelling fish responds differentially to regional diversity
Authors: Belmaker Jonathan
Published: March 2009

Aim  To determine whether the diversity of resident and transient coral‐dwelling fish responds differentially to gradients in regional species richness.

Location  Three regions in the Indo‐Pacific (Red Sea, western Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef) which contain increasingly larger regional diversities of reef fish.

Methods  I surveyed fish residing within branching coral species. Fish species were a priori categorized as resident or transient based on the degree of affiliation between the fish and live coral. To compare among regions that differ in coral diversity I used a modified species–volume relationship (SVR). Each point in the SVR represents the total number of fish species, resident or transient, found within the cumulative volume of a specific coral species. Empirical SVRs were further compared with random‐placement null models.

Results  For transient species, I found that the observed SVRs did not differ consistently from those expected from random samples drawn from the corresponding regional species pools. In addition, for a given volume of coral, more fish species were found in richer regions, indicating strong regional influences on local diversity. In contrast, resident richness was lower than that expected from random samples of the species pool, and richness in rich regions was reduced comparably more than in poor regions. The SVRs of resident species were similar among regions with different regional diversities.

Main conclusion  These results suggest that, within coral species, transient fish richness is mostly influenced by stochastic allocation of species from the regional pool. Conversely, richness of resident species within a coral species is limited, making it independent of regional diversity. Since higher regional diversity of resident fish was not accompanied by higher richness per coral species or by decreased niche breadth, higher regional diversity of resident fish species must be rooted in higher coral richness. Consequently, ecological interactions between functional groups (coral and fish) can be powerful drivers of regional biodiversity.
Protein mining the world’s oceans: Australasia as an example of illegal expansion‐and‐displacement fishing
Authors: Field Iain C. , Meekan Mark G. , Buckworth Rik C. , Bradshaw Corey J. A.
Published: March 2009

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing can lead to irreversible ecosystem changes; however, it is also one of the most difficult forms of fishing to manage and deter. In northern Australia over the past decade there has been a large increase in small‐scale IUU fishing. We suggest that this small‐scale fishing has arisen because of long‐term fisheries over‐exploitation in South East Asia. This IUU fishing forms part of the expansion‐and‐displacement cycle that can rapidly reduce biomass and alter the trophic structure of local ecosystems. With increasing human populations in the region, the pressure to fish illegally is likely to increase. Regional responses are required to deter and monitor the illegal over‐exploitation of fisheries resources, which is critical to secure ecosystem stability as climate change and other destructive human activities threaten food security.
Weather Risk, Wages in Kind, and the Off‐Farm Labor Supply of Agricultural Households in a Developing Country
Authors: Ito Takahiro , Kurosaki Takashi
Published: March 2009

This article investigates the effects of weather risk on the off‐farm labor supply of agricultural households in a developing country, distinguishing different types of off‐farm labor markets. A multivariate two‐limit tobit model is applied to data from India. The regression results show that the share of the off‐farm labor supply increases with weather risk, the increase is much larger in the case of nonagricultural work than in the case of agricultural wage work, and the increase is much larger in the case of agricultural wages paid in kind than in the cash wage case, suggesting farmers’ considerations of food security.
Risk Averters that Love Risk? Marginal Risk Aversion in Comparison to a Reference Gamble
Authors: Just David R. , Lybbert Travis J.
Published: March 2009

We propose an analytical distinction between standard risk aversion based on the valuation of a single gamble and marginal risk aversion based on the change in valuation between two gambles. We measure marginal risk aversion in two dimensions—mean and variance. Data from a field experiment is used to study marginal risk aversion. Our results suggest that individuals rely on a reference gamble when assessing marginal risk. Individual responses to marginal changes in mean and variance are nearly identical in direction and magnitude—suggesting that information on both standard and marginal risk aversion is needed to accurately model behavior.
Joint Estimation of Risk Preferences and Technology: Flexible Utility or Futility?
Authors: Lence Sergio H.
Published: March 2009

A thought experiment is designed to investigate whether the structure of risk aversion (i.e., the changes in absolute or relative risk aversion associated with changes in wealth) can be estimated with reasonable precision from agricultural production data. Findings strongly suggest that typical production data are unlikely to allow identification of the structure of risk aversion. A flexible‐utility parameterization is found to slightly worsen technology parameter estimates. Results also indicate that even under a restricted‐utility specification, utility parameter estimates are biased. Further, their quality is much worse when shocks are not large or samples are small.
A Malaysia–United States free trade agreement: Malaysian media and domestic resistance
Authors: Smeltzer Sandra
Published: March 2009

This article examines Malaysia's civil society resistance to a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, focusing specifically on the role played by domestic mainstream and alternative media in raising awareness of trade negotiations. While challenges to a Malaysia–United States FTA may appear muted – especially if compared with the outpouring of dissent witnessed on the streets of Thailand and South Korea against similar deals with the United States – Malaysia's civil society agents have employed a range of mechanisms to oppose the agreement. Although these activists have focused their efforts on different sections of the proposed FTA – from intellectual property rights to food sovereignty to government procurement procedures – all share a common call for greater transparency in the negotiation process and greater public and parliamentary consultation. This article takes a critical look at who is involved in these resistance efforts, their key issues of concern, limitations to their success, and, most importantly, their relationship with and use of local media.
Border crossing of Muslim women in southern‐border provinces of Thailand
Authors: Klanarong Nisakorn
Published: March 2009

In general, the main roles of married Thai Muslim women were as home makers good wives and good mothers. Nevertheless, both married and single women from rural areas have been increasingly obliged to work outside the household, locally and in other countries. People in rural areas are now faced with the difficulty of maintaining their livelihoods if they depended on agricultural production alone. In some instances, female migration might be a response to families not being able to survive on the incomes earned by the male household heads. In response, women in southern Thailand provinces use long‐standing social networks that facilitate their migration for work, because they benefit from the close proximity, language, and religion that they share with the destination area. Commonly, they travel to work in Malaysia by using a border pass, while some travel and work without any documents. The effects of crossing national borders on migrants themselves and on their communities are mixed, generally positive from an economic perspective, but negative from a social viewpoint. Socially negative responses reflect a system of social control in the region based on patriarchy.
Resource periphery, corridor, heartland: Contesting land use in the Kalimantan/Malaysia borderlands
Authors: Potter Lesley
Published: March 2009

The long borderland in Kalimantan between Indonesia and East Malaysia is partly mountainous and environmentally unique, its three national parks forming the core of a tri‐nation ‘Heart of Borneo’ initiative proposed by environmental NGOs and ratified in 2006. More accessible lowlands in West Kalimantan and the north of East Kalimantan constitute a typical ‘resource periphery’ in which strategic considerations, persisting through the Suharto years, now intersect with a range of new political, economic and cultural demands. A perception by the central government of increasing lawlessness in the borderlands arose in the turbulent years following Suharto's fall, during ‘reformasi’ and the beginnings of decentralisation. In addition to smuggling and illegal logging, contests over land use erupted at various scales. Proposals to construct an oil palm corridor along the border, begun by the Megawati government and extended by some sectors of the Yudhoyono regime, were part of a quest for greater legibility and control on the part of the central authorities. The paper specifically examines the power struggles that arose over that project and its inevitable outcome, a central government back down. However, the current palm oil boom is bringing new corporate planting, which may eventually succeed in ‘taming’ the borderlands.
Informing Public Health Policy and Practice: The Strategic Management of Research Processes and Organizations
Authors: HOWARD JOHN
Published: March 2009

Better health depends on how well federal public health organizations perform both scientifically and organizationally. The performance challenges of public health science organizations are not carbon copies of those facing public service organizations. This article examines how one federal science agency in the public health field has instituted a performance orientation over a dozen years, offering a detailed illustration of how the in‐principle advantages of the “managing for performance” approach can be realized in practice. In taking science more seriously as a basis for public policy, the new administration should not lose sight of lessons it can learn from its predecessors about managing science organizations for performance.
Delegation without Agency Loss? The Use of Performance Contracts in Danish Central Government
Authors: BINDERKRANTZ ANNE SKORKJÆR , CHRISTENSEN JØRGEN GRØNNEGAARD
Published: March 2009

Performance contracts entered between ministerial departments and their agencies are used throughout the Danish central government. The article analyzes the use of performance contracting in 2005. The analysis draws on transaction cost theory and actor‐centered institutionalism, stressing the bargaining aspect of hierarchy and the importance of economic and political transaction costs. The analysis shows considerable variation in the content of performance demands. Ministries with different organizational designs use contracts in markedly different ways and agencies with a strong interface to individual citizens and businesses are more likely to meet demands regulating policy delivery and service levels. Further, contracts contain substantive clauses, the terms of which are largely assessable. It also shows that performance contracts only rarely specify demands related to cost efficiency within agencies. Many of these results are statistically significant, even though a general point is the wide variation in the implementation of performance contracts between individual ministries.
The Concept of Modularity in Management Studies: A Literature Review
Authors: Campagnolo Diego , Camuffo Arnaldo
Published: March 2009

During the last decade, modularity has attracted the attention of numerous management scholars, and both theoretical and empirical studies on this topic have flourished. However, this broad‐based appeal has generated some controversies and ambiguities on how modularity should be defined, measured and used in managerially meaningful ways. This paper reviews the concept of modularity as a design principle of complex systems in management studies. Applying this criterion, 125 studies were selected and classified, grouped according to their prevalent unit of analysis: products, production systems and organizations. Although all these studies are based on Simon's seminal work on the hierarchical and nearly decomposable nature of complex systems (Simon, H.A. (1962). The architecture of complexity. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 106, 467–482), this paper shows that they offer different definitions, measures and applications of the modularity concept. This review reveals the implicit structure of meanings underlying this literature and emphasizes that ambiguity in definitions and measures impedes rigorous empirical studies capable of understanding the relationship between modularity in product, in production and in organization design. Cautions and directions for future research are discussed.
Immigrants working with co‐ethnics: Who are they and how do they fare?
Authors: Hou Feng
Published: March 2009

Participation in ethnic economies has been regarded as an alternative avenue of economic adaptation for immigrants and minorities in major immigrant‐receiving countries. This study examines one important dimension of ethnic economies: co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace. Using a large national representative sample from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this study addresses four questions: (1) what is the level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace for Canada’s minority groups? (2) How do workers who share the same ethnicity with most of their co‐workers differ from other workers in socio‐demographic characteristics? (3) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with lower earnings? (4) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with higher levels of life satisfaction?

The results show that only a small proportion of immigrants and the Canadian‐born work in ethnically homogeneous settings. In Canada’s eight largest metropolitan areas about 10 per cent of non‐British/French immigrants share a same ethnic origin with the majority of their co‐workers. The level is as high as 20 per cent among Chinese immigrants and 18 per cent among Portuguese immigrants. Among Canadian‐born minority groups, the level of co‐ethnic workplace concentration is about half the level for immigrants. Immigrant workers in ethnically concentrated settings have much lower educational levels and proficiency in English/French. Immigrant men who work mostly with co‐ethnics on average earn about 33 per cent less than workers with few or none co‐ethnic coworkers. About two thirds of this gap is attributable to differences in demographic and job characteristics. Meanwhile, immigrant workers in ethnically homogenous settings are less likely to report low levels of life satisfaction than other immigrant workers. Among the Canadian‐born, co‐ethnic concentration is not consistently associated with earnings and life satisfaction.
Who? Where? What? When? Why? How? Question words – What do they mean?
Authors: Morgan Michelle F. , Moni Karen B. , Jobling Anne
Published: March 2009

Accessible summary

This paper is about:

A teaching program to help people with learning disabilities to understand the meanings of the question wordswho, where, what, when, why and how.

Part of a research project which used question words to improve understanding about what is being read.

Teaching the meanings of question words to help learners with disabilities to understand what is being read.

This programme will show teachers how to help learners with disabilities to understand the meanings of question words.

This research is important for learners with disabilities because understanding the meanings of question words will help them to: understand what is being read; answer questions; complete assessments; communicate with others; remember about past experiences and things already known and to tell others about personal experiences and what is being read.

An action research investigation into the use of specific reading comprehension strategies with a group of six young adults with Down syndrome revealed a previously undocumented finding in the area of reading comprehension. This was a uniform deficit among the participants to understand the meanings of question words. This deficit was shown to have negative implications on literacy learning and assessment. For example, it affected their responses to strategic questioning; responses on assessments; maintenance of coherent, responsive dialogue; recall of prior knowledge, past experiences and texts; construction of meaning and their ability to retell. An intervention that focussed on the development of understanding the meanings of the question wordswho, where, what, when, why and howand the application of such understanding specifically in reading comprehension, was successfully implemented and is the focus of this paper. The findings suggest that the meanings of Question words should be taught prior to using questioning as a teaching strategy, and before administering assessments that require the learners to answer questions.
The conscious consumer: taking a flexible approach to ethical behaviour
Authors: Szmigin Isabelle , Carrigan Marylyn , McEachern Morven G.
Published: March 2009

This paper considers the ethical purchasing of what is described as conscious consumers. Conscious consumers remain a ‘work in progress’, and present a complex mix of behaviours; while seeking ethical alternatives, other social and economic forces impact on their behaviour (e.g. family, convenience, price) such that positive ethical choices are not always made. Examining ethical consumption in this way reveals the ‘competing priorities, paradoxical outcomes, and the nature of compromises reached in real decision processes’. We identify two areas of theory relevant to the conceptualization of such consumers, flexibility and dissonance theory. A qualitative study of participants identified as conscious consumers was undertaken. As anticipated, the participants revealed a range of often contradictory behaviours regarding their ethical purchases. The relevance of flexibility and dissonance theory to their behaviour is discussed.
An examination of the values that motivate socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours
Authors: Pepper Miriam , Jackson Tim , Uzzell David
Published: March 2009

This article extends social psychological research on the motivations for sustainable consumption from the predominant domain of ecologically conscious consumer behaviour to socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours. A UK‐based survey study examines relationships between socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours and Schwartz's value types, personal and socio‐political materialism, and demographics among the general public. Socially conscious consumer behaviour, like its ecological counterpart, appears to be an expression of pro‐social values. In contrast, frugal consumer behaviour relates primarily to low personal materialism and income constraints. As such, it does not yet represent a fully developed moral challenge to consumerism.
Comparing sustainable consumption patterns across product sectors
Authors: McDonald Seonaidh , Oates Caroline , Thyne Maree , Alevizou Panayiota , McMorland Leigh‐Ann
Published: March 2009

In this paper, we present findings from two qualitative studies where we explored sustainable consumption practices through examining consumers' information search and decision‐making processes for recent purchases of five categories of goods/services: fast moving consumer goods (such as foodstuffs and household products), white goods (such as fridges and washing machines), small electrical products (such as TVs and computers), green energy tariffs (such as electricity from renewable sources) and tourism (such as flights). This research has provided us with a set of rich data which explores the nature and extent of sustainable consumption practices across different product sectors. A comparative analysis has allowed us to draw out patterns of consumer behaviour for different product and service types. Our findings suggest that even the same green consumer will not use the same information sources or decision‐making criteria, consider the same options or focus on the same industry actors, for products in different sectors. However, we have identified some degree of consistency in purchases within sectors. We present these sector‐specific patterns of consumer behaviour and highlight differences in the criteria utilized and the research norms in each sector.
Sociology fools the technician? Product durability and social constraints to eco‐efficiency for refrigerators and freezers
Authors: Strandbakken Pål
Published: March 2009

Under conditions of ecological modernization, improved eco‐efficiency (or, in this case, more specifically energy efficiency) of household appliances has been regarded as an important contribution to more sustainable lifestyles. A point of discussion between radical environmentalists and advocates of ecological modernization might indeed be questions of product improvement and whether the move towards eco‐efficient products provides a sufficient answer to the environmental challenge. Will we be able to transform Western lifestyles in a direction of low environmental impact by mainly technological measures? An analysis of Norwegian survey data indicates that the new, energy‐efficient cold appliances often do not really replace older products but rather add to the present appliance population. This means that the expected decline in domestic energy use for cooling and freezing is, at best, delayed. Products tend to be used for as long as they work. Thus, the replacement model of economists and engineers fails when confronted with societal practice. Technological improvement might fool the environmentalist, but sociology might fool the technician as well.
Amyloid precursor protein promotes endoplasmic reticulum stress‐induced cell death via C/EBP homologous protein‐mediated pathway
Authors: Takahashi Keita , Niidome Tetsuhiro , Akaike Akinori , Kihara Takeshi , Sugimoto Hachiro
Published: March 2009

The accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is known to activate the ER, which is termed ER stress. Here, we demonstrated that amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a novel mediator of ER stress‐induced apoptosis through the C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) pathway. Expression of APP mRNA was elevated by tunicamycin‐ or dithiothreitol‐induced ER stress. The levels of C83 and APP intracellular domain (AICD) fragments, which are cleaved from APP, were significantly increased under ER stress, although the protein level of full‐length APP was decreased. Cellular viability was reduced in APP‐over‐expressing cells, which was attenuated by treatment with a γ‐secretase inhibitor, N‐[N‐(3,5‐difluorophenacetyl)‐L‐alanyl]‐S‐phenylglycine t‐butyl ester (DAPT). Cellular viability was also reduced in AICD‐FLAG‐over‐expressing cells. The mRNA and protein levels of CHOP, an ER stress‐responsive gene, were remarkably increased by APP over‐expression, which was attenuated by treatment with DAPT. CHOP mRNA induction was also found in AICD‐FLAG‐over‐expressing cells. Cell death and CHOP up‐regulation by ER stress were attenuated by APP knockdown. Data obtained with a luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated that AICD associates with the promoter region of the CHOP gene. In conclusion, ER stress‐induced APP undergoes α‐ and γ‐secretase cleavage and subsequently induces CHOP‐mediated cell death.
Interaction of benzylidene‐anabaseine analogues with agonist and allosteric sites on muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Authors: Arias HR , Xing H , MacDougall K , Blanton MP , Soti F , Kem WR
Published: March 2009

Background and purpose: Benzylidene‐anabaseines (BAs) are partial agonists of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) but their mechanism(s) of action are unknown. Our study explores several possibilities, including direct interactions of BAs with the nAChR channel.

Experimental approach: Functional and radioligand‐binding assays were used to examine the interaction of two BA analogues, 3‐(2,4‐dimethoxybenzylidene)‐anabaseine (DMXBA) and its primary metabolite 3‐(4‐hydroxy‐2‐methoxybenzylidene)‐anabaseine (4OH‐DMXBA) with both agonist and non‐competitive antagonist (NCA)‐binding sites on muscle‐type nAChRs.

Key results: Both BAs non‐competitively inhibited ACh activation of human fetal muscle nAChRs and sterically inhibited the specific binding of the NCAs [piperidyl‐3,4‐3H(N)]‐(N‐(1‐(2‐thienyl)cyclohexyl)‐3,4‐piperidine ([3H]TCP) and [3H]dizocilpine toTorpedonAChRs in the desensitized state. These compounds modulated [3H]tetracaine, [14C]amobarbital and [3H]TCP binding to resting nAChRs by allosteric mechanisms. Both BAs enhanced [3H]TCP binding when the nAChR was initially in the resting but activatable state, suggesting that both compounds desensitized theTorpedonAChR. Although DMXBA failed to activate human fetal muscle nAChRs, 4OH‐DMXBA was found to be a partial agonist. [3H]Nicotine competition‐binding experiments confirmed that 4OH‐DMXBA has higher affinity than DMXBA for the agonist sites, and that DMXBA is also a competitive antagonist.

Conclusions and implications: 3‐(4‐hydroxy‐2‐methoxybenzylidene)‐anabaseine is a partial agonist for human fetal muscle nAChRs, whereas DMXBA only has competitive and NCA activities. The NCA‐binding site for BAs overlaps both the phencyclidine‐ and dizocilpine‐binding sites in the desensitizedTorpedonAChR ion channel. The desensitizing property of BAs suggests another possible mode of non‐competitive inhibition in addition to direct channel‐blocking mechanisms.
Inhibition of human insulin gene transcription by peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ and thiazolidinedione oral antidiabetic drugs
Authors: Schinner S , Krätzner R , Baun D , Dickel C , Blume R , Oetjen E
Published: March 2009

Background and purpose:  The transcription factor peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is essential for glucose homeostasis. PPARγ ligands reducing insulin levels in vivo are used as drugs to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Genes regulated by PPARγ have been found in several tissues including insulin‐producing pancreatic islet β‐cells. However, the role of PPARγ at the insulin gene was unknown. Therefore, the effect of PPARγ and PPARγ ligands like rosiglitazone on insulin gene transcription was investigated.

Experimental approach:  Reporter gene assays were used in the β‐cell line HIT and in primary mature pancreatic islets of transgenic mice. Mapping studies and internal mutations were carried out to locate PPARγ‐responsive promoter regions.

Key results:  Rosiglitazone caused a PPARγ‐dependent inhibition of insulin gene transcription in a β‐cell line. This inhibition was concentration‐dependent and had an EC50 similar to that for the activation of a reporter gene under the control of multimerized PPAR binding sites. Also in normal primary pancreatic islets of transgenic mice, known to express high levels of PPARγ, rosiglitazone inhibited glucose‐stimulated insulin gene transcription. Transactivation and mapping experiments suggest that, in contrast to the rat glucagon gene, the inhibition of the human insulin gene promoter by PPARγ/rosiglitazone does not depend on promoter‐bound Pax6 and is attributable to the proximal insulin gene promoter region around the transcription start site from −56 to +18.

Conclusions and implications:  The human insulin gene represents a novel PPARγ target that may contribute to the action of thiazolidinediones in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Low level of cuticular hydrocarbons in a parasitoid of a solitary digger wasp and its potential for concealment
Authors: KROISS Johannes , SCHMITT Thomas , STROHM Erhard
Published: March 2009

Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) play a role as semiochemicals in many host–parasite systems and chemical mimicry or camouflage is a well‐known mechanism of parasites to evade detection by the host. The cuckoo wasp Hedychrum rutilans (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) is a parasitoid of larvae of the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae). Females chemically mimic the cuticular hydrocarbons of their hosts to avoid detection and countermeasures when entering the host nest for oviposition. Here we report on a possible second mechanism of the chrysidid wasp H. rutilans to evade detection: the amount of CHC/mm2 of cuticle is only approximately one‐fifth compared to its beewolf host. Furthermore, we show that surprisingly large amounts of CHC of beewolf females can be found on the walls of the underground nest. Potentially, these hydrocarbons might constitute a background odor against which the cuckoo wasps or their chemical traces have to be perceived by the beewolf. The reduction in the amount of CHC of the cuckoo wasps might be equivalent to a dilution of recognition cues, especially against the background odor of the nest walls, and might provide a means to escape detection within the nest due to “chemical insignificance”.
Suspending cocoons to evade ant predation in Meteorus pulchricornis, a braconid parasitoid of exposed‐living lepidopteran larvae
Authors: SHIRAI Shunsuke , MAETO Kaoru
Published: March 2009

We tested the hypothesis that cocoon suspension by a thread in hymenopteran parasitoids is a defense tactic against predators, by comparing predation against suspended and non‐suspended cocoons of the braconid wasp Meteorus pulchricornis on a Quercus phillyraeoides hedge on which workers of the common small ant Crematogaster matsumurai were foraging. The lost proportion of non‐suspended cocoons, which were artificially attached to leaves of Q. phillyraeoides, markedly decreased with cocoon age, indicating a critical phase of predation on young cocoons. No suspended cocoons at age 1–12 h at the beginning of exposure were lost within 12 h, whereas more than 75% of same‐aged non‐suspended cocoons were lost in the same period. Predation against such young cocoons would be a strong force driving the evolution of cocoon suspension in parasitoids of exposed‐living host insects.
Description of a new Dendrocerus species (Hymenoptera: Megaspilidae) hyperparasitic on Stomaphis aphids and additional notes on their primary parasitoid, Protaphidius nawaii (Braconidae), and another hyperparasitoid, Euneura stomaphidis (Pteromalidae)
Authors: TAKADA Hajimu
Published: March 2009

A food chain through three trophic levels on certain trees, Stomaphis aphids – a primary parasitoid, Protaphidius nawaii– a hyperparasitoid, Euneura stomaphidis, has been known in Japan. In the course of my survey on the seasonal prevalence of three Stomaphis species and their parasitoids from 1981–2007 in Kyoto, Japan, I found another hyperparasitoid, which I describe here as a new species, Dendrocerus stomaphis. From fragmentary observations, I inferred the life cycles of P. nawaii, E. stomaphidis and D. stomaphis. These three species have different strategies to escape ant aggression: P. nawaii by specific morphological and behavioral adaptation, E. stomaphidis by general anti‐predator behavior like quick movement and D. stomaphis by a unique univoltine life cycle with the active phase from late autumn to early winter when the ants are less active.
Climate and human induced hydrological change since AD 800 in an ombrotrophic mire in Pomerania (N Poland) tracked by testate amoebae, macro‐fossils, pollen and tree rings of pine
Authors: LAMENTOWICZ MARIUSZ , MILECKA KRYSTYNA , GAŁKA MARIUSZ , CEDRO ANNA , PAWLYTA JACEK , PIOTROWSKA NATALIA , LAMENTOWICZ ŁUKASZ , VAN DER KNAAP WILLEM O.
Published: March 2009

This high‐resolution, multiproxy, palaeoenvironmental study of the Słowińskie Błota raised bog in N Poland, 10 km from the Baltic Sea, covering the last 1200 years reveals different aspects of environmental change in a range of spatial scales from local to regional. Testate amoebae allowed quantitative reconstruction of the local water table using a transfer function based on a training set from N and W Poland. Special attention is paid to the testate amoeba Arcella discoides, which responds to rapid water‐table fluctuations more than to average surface wetness. Macrofossils supported by local pollen tracked the local vegetation dynamics caused by local human impact and disturbance, including nutrients. Regional pollen showed human‐induced landscape change outside the bog. Tree rings of Pinus sylvestris reflected the history of tree establishment and desiccation of the bog. Strong correlations between DCA axes 1 of regional pollen, of macrofossils and of testate amoebae, and a testate‐amoebae‐based water‐table reconstruction that excludes A. discoides, indicate that changes on all spatial scales are linked, which is explained by a strong hydrologic connection between bog and surroundings. The combination of proxies shows that groundwater levels were modified by both human impact and climate change.