bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cooperation under the Shadow of the Future: Experimental Evidence from Infinitely Repeated Games
Authors: Bó Pedro Dal
Published: December 2005

While there is an extensive literature on the theory of infinitely repeated games, empirical evidence on how “the shadow of the future” affects behavior is scarce and inconclusive. I simulate infinitely repeated prisoner's dilemma games in the lab with a random continuation rule. The experimental design represents an improvement over the existing literature by including sessions with finite repeated games as controls and a large number of players per session (which allows for learning without contagion effects). I find that the shadow of the future matters not only by significantly reducing opportunistic behavior, but also because its impact closely follows theoretical predictions.
A large and uncharacteristically aggressive cholesterol granuloma of the middle ear
Authors: Martin T P C , Tzifa K T , Chavda S , Irving R M
Published: December 2005

Cholesterol granulomas of the middle ear tend to be benign in nature, frequently seen by otologists during cholesteatoma or chronic otitis media surgery and easily dealt with by evacuation. In contrast, cholesterol granulomas of the petrous apex appear to have a more aggressive nature and present significant pathological threats. We present a case of a large destructive cholesterol granuloma of the middle ear eroding the middle and posterior cranial fossa bone and dura to exert a mass effect upon the temporal lobe. We emphasize the destructive potential of this extremely rare middle-ear cholesterol granuloma, and draw attention to the distinction between this variant and the commonplace and benign form of the lesion more usually found at this site. We also present the current theories of the aetiology of cholesterol granuloma formation with possible explanations for the rare aggressive behaviour.
Cochlear implantation in chronic otitis media
Authors: Olgun Levent , Batman Caglar , Gultekin Gurol , Kandogan Tolga , Cerci Ugur
Published: December 2005

Chronic otitis media (COM) patients who had a multichannel device implanted were evaluated regarding surgical problems and technical modifications. In a multicentric study, implantees whose aetiology was COM were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were operated on and evaluated at three different tertiary referral centres: SSK Izmir Hospital Cochlear Implantation (CI) Center (32 cases), Istanbul Marmara University ENT Clinic (six cases), Eskişehir Anadolu University CI Center (one case). Thirty-nine implantees were evaluated with respect to surgical problems, technical modifications, complications and hearing results. All patients had lost their hearings as a result of COM. Three out of 39 cases were children. Thirty-seven of the patients either had a radical cavity or ear converted to radical at the first stage or concomittantly with the implantation. Patients were evaluated in order to find out the best possible surgical solutions to specific problems caused by COM. In seven cases electrode array disrupted the epithelial lining of the cavity despite specific measures. Five of those cases were re-implanted, passing the electrode array through a tunnel under the facial nerve. Seven recent cases were also implanted with the same subfacial route. In all patients but one, satisfactory hearing results were achieved one to five years after implantation (SDS scores with monosyllabic word list were between 59 and 89 per cent, median 67.4 per cent). CI in COM patients necessitates technical modifications. In radical cavities subfacial implantation seems to be a good solution for the protection of the electrode array.
Dumbbell-shaped cervical spinal neurilemmoma presenting as neck mass
Authors: Lu Cheng-Lin , Chen Ming-Hong , Chao Ting-Kuang
Published: December 2005

Cervical neurilemmoma may originate from any nerve sheath tissue in the neck including the vagus nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, brachial plexus, sympathetic trunk and cervical spine. We report an unusual case of a dumbbell-shaped neurilemmoma arising from the cervical spinal roots in a patient who complained of having had a neck mass for several months. Computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a dumbbell-shaped tumour extending from the C4 spinal level through the intervertebral foramen into the right parapharyngeal space. Decompression surgery was performed first via the cervical approach. Five months later, the patient received laminectomy and a complete tumour excision. The symptoms and signs were significantly relieved without neurological sequelae. No evidence of recurrence was noted after one-year follow up. This two-staged operation could offer an alternative surgical approach yielding ideal therapeutic results in such a rare disease.
Passive smoking, allergic rhinitis and nasal obstruction in children
Authors: De S , Fenton J E , Jones A S , Clarke R W
Published: December 2005

Allergic rhinitis is a common cause of nasal obstruction in childhood. This prospective study looked at the effect of passive smoking on nasal obstruction in children with and without allergic rhinitis. Eighty-one children took part. Each child was asked to score his or her degree of nasal obstruction on a visual analogue scale. Exposure to passive smoking was determined subjectively using a parental questionnaire, and objectively by measuring the urinary cotinine/creatinine ratio. Results were tabulated using Microsoft Excel and analysed with SPSS statistical software. Nasal obstruction was significantly worse in children with a positive history of allergic rhinitis (p < 0.05). There was also a trend towards a higher nasal obstruction score in children without allergic rhinitis exposed to passive smoking compared to those who were not so exposed. As would be expected, nasal obstruction is worse in children with allergic rhinitis than in those without. Passive smoking tends to increase the symptom of nasal obstruction in children without allergic rhinitis.
Systematic Review of the Effects of Ginseng on Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Authors: Buettner Catherine , Yeh Gloria Y , Phillips Russell S , Mittleman Murray A , Kaptchuk Ted J
Published: December 2005

Objective:

To examine the evidence for the efficacy of ginseng (Panax spp.) on cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, lipid profiles, and blood glucose, and to summarize reported cardiovascular adverse events.

Data Sources:

We searched MEDLINE, AMED, BIOSIS, CAB, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials databases through July 2005 and performed hand searches of bibliographies.

Study Selection and Data Extraction:

Short- or long-term, randomized, controlled trials and nonrandomized studies published in English were included. Data were extracted in a standardized manner, and 2 independent investigators assessed methodologic quality of the studies. Thirty-four studies were identified with results for blood pressure, lipids, and/or blood glucose. Due to heterogeneity of the studies, we were unable to perform a meta-analysis. Data on cardiovascular adverse events were extracted from events reported in identified studies and from case reports.

Data Synthesis:

The majority of studies were short term. Ginseng may slightly decrease blood pressure compared with placebo (range 0–4%). We found mixed results for an effect on lipids, with 5 of 9 studies showing improvement in one or more lipid parameters compared with baseline (range 7–44%). We identified several studies showing that ginseng lowers blood glucose, but overall studies were inconsistent.

Conclusions:

Current evidence does not support the use of ginseng to treat cardiovascular risk factors. Some studies suggest a small reduction in blood pressure. Despite some evidence showing that ginseng lowers blood glucose and improves lipid profiles, well-designed, randomized, controlled trials evaluating its effects are lacking.
Personalizing Illness and Modernity: S. Weir Mitchell, Literary Women, and Neurasthenia, 1870-1914
Authors: Schuster David G
Published: December 2005

This article examines how the affliction of neurasthenia, commonly diagnosed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, acted as a catalyst for intellectual and lifestyle changes during a time of modernization. At the center of the study are three individuals: neurologist S. Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) and two of his patients, critic and historian Amelia Gere Mason (1831–1923) and writer and homemaker Sarah Butler Wister (1835–1908). Using archived correspondence between Mitchell and his patients, this article seeks to reveal how each woman tailored her treatment to fit her personal sensibilities; to reassess Mitchell's notorious reputation as a misogynist (gained largely from his 1887 treatment of Charlotte Perkins Gilman); and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the doctor-patient relationship in neurasthenia cases.
The Great American Medicine Show Revisited
Authors: Tomes Nancy
Published: December 2005

Since the late 1800s, changes in the advertising and marketing of medicinal drugs have produced heated debates in the United States. With the emergence of the modern prescription drug between 1938 and 1951, concerns that once focused primarily on patients' use of over-the-counter drugs were broadened to include physicians and their "doctors' drugs" as well. The medical profession's growing control over their patients' drug choices inevitably heightened the scrutiny of their own performance as consumers. Although deeply divided over issues of the patient's role in medical decision making, consumer activists and physician reformers expressed similar concerns about the impact of aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and advertising on the doctor-patient relationship, and starting in the late 1950s they employed strikingly similar strategies to counter the new corporate "medicine show." Yet their efforts to promote a more rational use of prescription drugs have usually been too little and too late to offset the effectiveness of pharmaceutical advertising and mar-keting activities.
HIV Risk Behaviors, Knowledge, and Prevention Service Experiences Among African American and Other Offenders
Authors: Belenko Steven R , Shedlin Michele , Chaple Michael
Published: December 2005

African Americans are at the intersection of the AIDS epidemic and burgeoning prison and offender populations, yet little is known about offenders' HIV knowledge and risk behaviors or ability to access effective services. We present findings from an exploratory study based on 300 interviews with New York City offenders conducted in 2001–2002. The data indicate relatively high rates of HIV infection and HIV risk behaviors among African American and other offenders. There were no clear patterns of risk behaviors by race/ethnicity. Although overall HIV knowledge level is high, important gaps in HIV knowledge remain and there is widespread skepticism among offenders about government information about HIV/AIDS. In the corrections setting, there is inconsistent access to HIV prevention and education services, and an emphasis on more passive learning materials. To reduce HIV infection rates, there is a need to expand peer-led and culturally- and gender-specific interventions, and to improve access to correctional facilities for community-based HIV service providers. HIV interventions must also be expanded for offenders on probation and parole. Mandatory HIV education and harm reduction approaches should be considered.
What's Culture Got to Do with It? Prevention Programs for African American Adolescent Girls
Authors: Corneille Maya A , Ashcroft Amie M , Belgrave Faye Z
Published: December 2005

This paper examines prevention programming for African American girls by placing the prevention process within the larger African and African American cultural context. We provide an overview of the theories and issues we consider most relevant to African American culture, including Africentric theory, ethnic identity, gender identity and relational theory, developmental issues, the community context, and historical considerations. Drawing from our own drug prevention work, we provide examples of how to incorporate culture into prevention programs to make them most relevant for the target population. We also summarize our own efforts to create culturally appropriate prevention interventions and their impact on the girls in our programs. We conclude with suggested directions for future research into culture-specific prevention programs.
Black-White Disparities in HIV/AIDS: The Role of Drug Policy and the Corrections System
Authors: Blankenship Kim M , Smoyer Amy B , Bray Sarah J , Mattocks Kristin
Published: December 2005

African Americans in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. We focus in this paper on the structural and contextual sources of HIV/AIDS risk, and suggest that among the most important of these sources are drug policy and the corrections system. In particular, high rates of exposure to the corrections system (including incarceration, probation, and parole) spurred in large part by federal and state governments' self-styled war on drugs in the United States, have disproportionately affected African Americans. We review a wide range of research literature to suggest how exposure to the corrections system may affect the HIV/AIDS related risks of drug users in general, and the disproportionate HIV risk faced by African Americans in particular. We then discuss the implications of the information reviewed for structural interventions to address African American HIV-related risk. Future research must further our understanding of the relations among drug policy, corrections, and race-based disparities in HIV/AIDS.
HIV-Positive Black Women with Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Patterns of Substance Use and Barriers to Health Care
Authors: Wyatt Gail Elizabeth , Carmona Jennifer Vargas , Loeb Tamra Burns , Williams John K
Published: December 2005

A constellation of factors contributes to Black women's health including stressors and traumatic experiences. Their psychological adjustment and substance use can further affect their health status. The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of substance abuse and barriers to health care among HIV-positive Black women with histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Baseline data on a community sample of 75 Black HIV-positive women were analyzed to assess and identify drug use, alcohol use, participation in an alcohol or drug treatment program, and communication skills with providers, all of which may act as barriers to health care. Findings indicate that substance use is a significant health problem, with 83% of the participants having used at least one substance regularly and 28% having engaged in regular injection drug use. Barriers to health care included confidentiality issues, poor financial resources, difficulty getting an appointment, excessive waiting to see a health care provider and obligation to care for others. Contrary to past research, poor communication between the participants and the providers did not seem to be a barrier to health care utilization for these women. Early traumatic experiences, including CSA, regardless of whether incidents involved penetration, may exacerbate the problems faced by HIV-positive Black women. Implications for future research and culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs are discussed.
Nutrition Education: A Computer-Based Education Program
Authors: Goodman Jennifer , Blake JoAnn
Published: December 2005

African Americans have higher than average rates of morbidity and mortality for numerous health conditions despite the improvements in overall health in the United States over the past century. Despite the proliferation of material on health promotion and health disparities concerns related to diet and health care for African Americans persist. In the present paper, the authors describe a computer-based nutrition education program designed for use with African American adults. Specific features of the program that qualify it as culturally-tailored are presented and preliminary results demonstrating success in improving nutrition in a church-based sample of 82 adults are provided.
Rural-Urban Differences in Breast Cancer Screening among African American Women
Authors: Husaini Baqar A , Emerson Janice S , Hull Pamela C , Sherkat Darren E , Levine Robert S , Cain Van A
Published: December 2005

This study reports on rural-urban differences in the effectiveness of a church-based educational program aimed at increasing breast cancer screening among African American women ages 40 and over. The data were drawn from an intervention study in urban Nashville, and a pilot extension of the study in five rural counties of West Tennessee. The partial program was equally effective in rural Tennessee (17.6% increase in mammography attainment from baseline to Time 3) and in urban Nashville (22.3% increase). The rural women reported more barriers to mammography screening than the urban women. The rural women were more likely not to get a mammogram because they did not perceive a need, because they thought mammography was embarrassing, and because of their religious beliefs. The results of this study demonstrate that an inexpensive church-based educational program was equally effective in both rural and urban Tennessee for increasing mammography rates among African American women.
HEDIS Prevention Performance Indicators, Prevention Quality Assessment and Healthy People 2010
Authors: Levine Robert S , Husaini Baqar A , Briggs Nathaniel C , Foster Irene , Hull Pamela C , Pamies Rubens J , Tropez-Sims Susanne , Emerson Janice S
Published: December 2005

The purposes of the study were to contrast actual prevention services needs with quality assurance indicators from the Health Employer Data Information System (HEDIS®–Medicaid 3.0) and the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010, to calculate allowable Medicaid reimbursement for comprehensive prevention services, and to describe patient expectations for prevention counseling. We obtained a convenience sample of all ages (under 17 years = 514, 18 years or older = 473), both sexes (male = 393, female = 594), and three racial/ethnic groups: African American = 687, White =173, Hispanic = 88 in a clinic that predominantly served Medicaid-insured patients. Participants 18 years of age and older were interviewed about expectations for preventive counseling. According to procedures rated A or B by the second United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), these patients had 11,504 service needs. Performance indicators from HEDIS–Medicaid 3.0 would have covered 2,571 (22%) while the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010 would have covered 11,437 (99%). Allowable Medicaid reimbursement estimates for 100% coverage averaged $206.13 per person. A majority of patients in all race-sex groups expected counseling at least once per year. The results show that a focus on HEDIS–Medicaid 3.0 quality indicators in these patients would have been inconsistent with the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010, that it would have promoted patient mistrust by failing to meet patient expectations, and that payment for 100% coverage of A and B USPFTF recommended preventive services at Medicaid rates would have constituted a small fraction of per capita yearly U.S. health care expenditures.
Injection Drug Use Among Homeless Adults in the Southeast with Severe Mental Illness
Authors: Linn J. Gary , Brown Michael , Kendrick Lorna
Published: December 2005

This study examined injection drug use and HIV risk behaviors in a predominantly African American sample of homeless men with mental illness. Personal interviews focusing on injection drug use and sexual risk behaviors were completed with 240 homeless mentally ill men in two shelters in a southeastern city. Sixty-two (26%) of the 240 men injected drugs. Among the injection drug users (IDUs), most reported high-risk behaviors, including needle sharing (70%) and participation in shooting galleries (71%). Very few performed risk reduction activities (e.g., cleaning needles with bleach [19%] or using a needle exchange program [0%]). Within the preceding 6 months, most of the IDUs had had sex with women (51%) or men (8%) without a condom. This investigation reported a high lifetime occurrence of injection drug use in a sample of predominantly African American homeless men with mental illness. The IDUs reported intravenous drug use and sexual activities with great risk of HIV transmission and provided little evidence of risk-reduction efforts. These men are outside of most social service and health care systems but must be included in special programs to decrease the transmission of HIV.
Increasing Mammography Screening among African American Women in Rural Areas
Authors: Powell Mary Edith , Carter Vivian , Bonsi Eunice , Johnson Gwendolyn , Williams Licia , Taylor-Smith Lucile , Hayes Quanita , Hull Pamela C , Cain Van A , Husaini Baqar A
Published: December 2005

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a church-based breast cancer screening education program on mammography attainment by African American women 40 years old and older in rural Alabama. The sample consisted of 192 women who volunteered to participate in the study through 13 African American churches in a rural, economically-depressed Alabama county. The design was quasi-experimental and had some features of community-based participatory research. Churches were randomly assigned to three groups (full program, partial program and control). The full program (group educational session plus an in-home visit from a Home Health Educator) positively affected mammography attainment (38% increase from baseline to Time 2). In addition, barriers to mammography attainment were reduced for women who had not obtained a mammogram by follow-up. Community-based participatory projects in collaboration with churches and cooperative extension programs have the potential to reduce racial disparities in breast cancer in rural areas.
Explaining Race Differences in Mortality among the Tennessee Medicare Elderly: The Role of Physician Services
Authors: Sherkat Darren E , Kilbourne Barbara S , Cain Van A , Hull Pamela C , Levine Robert S , Husaini Baqar A
Published: December 2005

We investigated the impact of socioeconomic conditions, patterns of morbidity, and physician service utilization on race differences in rates of mortality, and mortality associated with specific diagnoses. Longitudinal data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Billing File data and the Medicare Enrollment Database (EDB) were analyzed to assess physician-diagnosed morbidity, health service use, and mortality, among the population of Medicare beneficiaries in Tennessee (N=665,887). Proportional hazards models were used to examine the effects of race, socioeconomic status, morbidity, and physician service utilization on mortality. Race differences in physician visits explain the largest portion of mortality differentials between African Americans and Whites. Race disparities in mortality associated with particular forms of morbidity are also mostly a function of differences in physician service use. Our examination suggested that race differences in patterns of physician service use principally explain race disparities in mortality. Further, race differences in the use of physician services were substantially responsible for race disparities in mortality associated with particular forms of morbidity.
Promotion, Competition, Captivity: The Political Economy of Coal
Authors: Adams Sean Patrick
Published: December 2005

“Coal is, perhaps, the most indispensable article used by man. Without it, in time, we should return to a state of barbarism.” So proclaimed the president of Pennsylvania's Pequa Railroad and Improvement Company in 1849. The importance of coal, the official explained, lay in its utility as an energy source, for which he hailed it as unsurpassed: coal was “‘hoarded labor’”—a “treasure reserved by nature to promote and perfect our civilization.” The railroad official's florid tribute to the mineral fuel was hardly disinterested: the Pequa Railroad had ambitious plans to ship a great deal of coal. Yet it effectively underscored the enormous role of coal in nineteenth-century America. It was an age in which, as countless industry boosters proclaimed, coal was king.
Did Insecure Property Rights Slow Economic Development? Some Lessons from Economic History
Authors: Lamoreaux Naomi R.
Published: December 2005

Not long ago, a 43-year-old Wonder Bread deliveryman named John Dugger logged on to eBay and, as people sometimes do these days, bought himself a house. Not a shabby one, either. Nine rooms, three stories, rooftop patio, walls of solid stonework—it wasn't quite a castle, but it put to shame the modest redbrick ranch house Dugger came home to every weeknight after a long day stocking the supermarket shelves of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Excellent location, too; nestled at the foot of a quiet coastal hillside, the house was just a hike away from a quaint seaside village and a quick commute from two bustling cosmopolitan cities. It was perfect, in short, except for one detail: The house was imaginary.
The Politics of Procurement: Military Origins of Bureaucratic Autonomy
Authors: Wilson Mark R.
Published: December 2005

No U.S. history textbook mentions Robert Allen, George H. Crosman, John H. Dickerson, Thomas Swords, or Stewart Van Vliet. Yet in certain respects they were five of the most important government officials in the nineteenth-century United States. Each was a high-ranking officer in the Quartermaster's Department, a bureau of the U.S. army entrusted with military procurement. During the Civil War, the supply depots in which they worked—in Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati, and St. Louis—were indispensable adjuncts to the Union war effort. The magnitude of the procurement project was unprecedented: in four years, these five officers alone paid contractors and civilian employees $350 million. This sum amounted to nearly one-third of the total of over $1 billion that the Quartermaster's Department as a whole spent to equip the Union army. No other single project, in either government or business, involved the expenditure of such an enormous sum. In an age in which few Americans made $2 a day, $350 million was equivalent to the total wartime income of one hundred thousand households. Adjusted for inflation, this was roughly equal to the entire federal budget during the administration of President James Buchanan (1857–61).
Christian Hebraism in a Contemporary Key: The Search for Hebrew Epitaph Poetry in Seventeenth-Century Italy
Authors: Malkiel David Joshua
Published: December 2005

In 1682 three scholars conducted a coordinated effort to obtain the texts of Hebrew tombstone inscriptions from Jewish cemeteries in northern Italy: Bernardino Ramazzini, a professor of medicine at the University of Padua, Antonio Magliabechi of Florence, librarian to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Johann Christoph Wagenseil, a well-known Christian Hebraist from Altdorf, Germany. This article tells the story of their campaign, based on letters exchanged between the three participants. It fleshes out items mentioned in the correspondence and explores the significance of the affair for the history of European and European-Jewish culture in the early modern era. Among the issues illuminated are messianism, Jewish-Christian relations and Christian Hebraism.
Bilhah the Temptress: The Testament of Reuben and "The Birth of Sexuality"
Authors: Rosen-Zvi Ishay
Published: December 2005

This paper explores the way several biblical stories of sexual misconduct are retold in The Testament of Reuben, and other, related, compositions. Through a close reading of these narratives we shows how, in contrast to the biblical narrative, the Testaments tends to expand the female characters' responsibility for causing the forbidden acts. This trend is further revealed as but part of a much broader transformation in which internal thoughts and inclinations rather than actions become the focus of the religious struggle. The stark misogyny of these Testaments, rather than merely a commonplace to be noted, is revealed here as a representation of a whole new era of sexual discourse; one which carries with it also a new economy of gender. This, finally, leads us to rethink Foucault's thesis regarding the Christian origins of sexuality in Late Antiquity.
At the Edge of Humanity: Human Stem Cells, Chimeras, and Moral Status
Authors: Streiffer Robert
Published: December 2005

Experiments involving the transplantation of human stem cells and their derivatives into early fetal or embryonic nonhuman animals raise novel ethical issues due to their possible implications for enhancing the moral status of the chimeric individual. Although status-enhancing research is not necessarily objectionable from the perspective of the chimeric individual, there are grounds for objecting to it in the conditions in which it is likely to occur. Translating this ethical conclusion into a policy recommendation, however, is complicated by the fact that substantial empirical and ethical uncertainties remain about which transplants, if any, would significantly enhance the chimeric individual's moral status. Considerations of moral status justify either an early-termination policy on chimeric embryos, or, in the absence of such a policy, restrictions on the introduction of pluripotent human stem cells into early-stage developing animals, pending the resolution of those uncertainties.
The Political Economy of College Prepaid Tuition Plans
Authors: Baird Katherine
Published: December 2005

Rising tuition has led many states to offer college prepaid tuition plans. These plans are consistent with the trend in higher education policy toward meeting the needs of wealthier households. The paper argues that the public interest in these plans is hard to find; moreover, median voter theory suggests that prepaid tuition plans may have the unintended consequence of higher tuition inflation, thus making college less affordable for those least able to afford it
Crafting a Class: The Trade-Off between Merit Scholarships and Enrolling Lower-Income Students
Authors: Ehrenberg Ronald G , Zhang Liang , Levin Jared M
Published: December 2005

This paper uses panel data for the 100 colleges and universities at which the largest number of National Merit Scholarship (NMS) winners enrolled in 2003 to test whether an expansion in the number of institutionally funded NMS winners at an institution is associated with a decline in the number of Pell Grant recipients at the institution. Our findings suggest a trade-off between enrolling institutionally sponsored NMS winners and enrolling Pell grant recipients and thus that institutions should focus on both student selectivity and socioeconomic diversity in crafting their classes.
Rethinking Tuition Effects on Enrollment in Public Four-year Colleges and Universities
Authors: Shin Jung-cheol , Milton Sande
Published: December 2005

This study examined the effects of ftuition on enrollment in public colleges and universities. The causal model included competitorsÕ tuition, the wage premium for possessing a college degree, financial aid, and unemployment rate as additional independent variables. The data included institution- and state-level data information over five academic years (1998-2002). The definition of college enrollment for this inquiry was the number of first-time students, including only those from in-state. This study found that tuition level did not have an effect on the growth in enrollment. However, the tuition level of competing institutions and the wage premium to a college degree had positive and significant effects on college enrollment growth.
Interaction of Cellular Prion and Stress-Inducible Protein 1 Promotes Neuritogenesis and Neuroprotection by Distinct Signaling Pathways
Authors: Lopes Marilene H. , Hajj Glaucia N. M. , Muras Angelita G. , Mancini Gabriel L. , Castro Rosa M. P. S. , Ribeiro Karina C. B. , Brentani Ricardo R. , Linden Rafael , Martins Vilma R.
Published: December 2005

Understanding the physiological function of the cellular prion (PrPc) depends on the investigation of PrPc-interacting proteins. Stress-inducible protein 1 (STI1) is a specific PrPcligand that promotes neuroprotection of retinal neurons through cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). Here, we examined the signaling pathways and functional consequences of the PrPcinteraction with STI1 in hippocampal neurons. Both PrPcand STI1 are abundantly expressed and highly colocalized in the hippocampusin situ, indicating that they can interactin vivo. Recombinant STI1 (His6-STI1) added to hippocampal cultures interacts with PrPcat the neuronal surface and elicits neuritogenesis in wild-type neurons but not in PrPc-null cells. This effect was abolished by antibodies against either PrPcor STI1 and was dependent on the STI1 domain that binds PrPc. Binding of these proteins induced the phosphorylation/activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase, which was essential for STI1-promoted neuritogenesis. His6-STI1, but not its counterpart lacking the PrPcbinding site, prevented cell death via PKA activation. These results demonstrate that two parallel effects of the PrPc–STI1 interaction, neuritogenesis and neuroprotection, are mediated by distinct signaling pathways.
Modifying the Subunit Composition of TASK Channels Alters the Modulation of a Leak Conductance in Cerebellar Granule Neurons
Authors: Aller M. Isabel , Veale Emma L. , Linden Anni-Maija , Sandu Cristina , Schwaninger Markus , Evans Louisa J. , Korpi Esa R. , Mathie Alistair , Wisden William , Brickley Stephen G.
Published: December 2005

Two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel expression is believed to underlie the developmental emergence of a potassium leak conductance [IK(SO)] in cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs), suggesting that K2Pfunction is an important determinant of the input conductance and resting membrane potential. To investigate the role that different K2Pchannels may play in the regulation of CGN excitability, we generated a mouse lacking TASK-1, a K2Pchannel known to have high expression levels in CGNs.In situhybridization and real-time PCR studies in wild-type and TASK-1 knock-outs (KOs) demonstrated that the expression of other K2Pchannels was unaltered in CGNs. TASK-1 knock-out mice were healthy and bred normally but exhibited compromised motor performance consistent with altered cerebellar function. Whole-cell recordings from adult cerebellar slice preparations revealed that the resting excitability of mature CGNs was no different in TASK-1 KO and littermate controls. However, the modulation ofIK(SO) by extracellular Zn2+, ruthenium red, and H+was altered. TheIK(SO)recorded from TASK-1 knock-out CGNs was no longer sensitive to alkalization and was blocked by Zn2+and ruthenium red. These results suggest that a TASK-1-containing channel population has been replaced by a homodimeric TASK-3 population in the TASK-1 knock-out. These data directly demonstrate that TASK-1 channels contribute to the properties ofIK(SO)in adult CGNs. However, TASK channel subunit composition does not alter the resting excitability of CGNs but does influence sensitivity to endogenous modulators such as Zn2+and H+.
Synaptic Dynamics Do Not Determine Proper Phase of Activity in a Central Pattern Generator
Authors: Rabbah Pascale , Nadim Farzan
Published: December 2005

Rhythmic motor activity often requires neuronal output to the muscles to arrive in a particular sequence. At the pattern-generator level, this requires distinct activity phases in different groups of constituent neurons. The phase differences between rhythmically active neurons in a network are thought to arise from the interplay between their intrinsic properties and the temporal dynamics of synapses among these neurons. In the rhythmically active pyloric network of the lobsterPanulirus interruptus, synaptic connections from the pacemaker ensemble to the follower neurons [lateral pyloric (LP) and pyloric constrictor (PY)] are thought to be primarily responsible for the proper phase of activity (pacemaker–LP–PY) across all frequencies (0.5–2 Hz) of the pyloric rhythm. We test this hypothesis by characterizing the synapses from the pacemaker ensemble to the LP and PY neurons. Paired comparisons show that these two synapses are not significantly different in strength or in the extent of short-term depression. To examine the level to which intrinsic properties of the follower neurons determine their relative activity phase, we block all chemical synapses within the network and drive the LP and PY neurons rhythmically using artificial synaptic currents with identical strength and dynamics implemented with the dynamic-clamp technique. In response to these identical synaptic inputs, the LP and PY neurons maintain the proper relative phase of activity. These results strongly indicate that the relative phase of activity among these follower neurons within the pyloric network is not dictated by their synaptic inputs but is solely determined by their distinct intrinsic properties.
β-Secretase-Cleaved Amyloid Precursor Protein Accumulates at Actin Inclusions Induced in Neurons by Stress or Amyloid β: A Feedforward Mechanism for Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Maloney Michael T. , Minamide Laurie S. , Kinley Andrew W. , Boyle Judith A. , Bamburg James R.
Published: December 2005

Rod-like inclusions (rods), composed of actin saturated with actin depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin, are induced in hippocampal neurons by ATP depletion, oxidative stress, and excess glutamate and occur in close proximity to senile plaques in human Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain (Minamide et al., 2000). Here, we show rods are found in brains from transgenic AD mice. Soluble forms of amyloid β (Aβ1–42) induce the formation of rods in a maximum of 19% of cultured hippocampal neurons in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Approximately one-half of the responding neurons develop rods within 6 h or with as little as 10 nmAβ1–42.Aβ1–42induces the activation (dephosphorylation) of ADF/cofilin in neurons that form rods. Vesicles containing amyloid precursor protein (APP), β-amyloid cleavage enzyme, and presenilin-1, a component of the γ-secretase complex, accumulate at rods. The β-secretase-cleaved APP (either β-C-terminal fragment of APP or Aβ) also accumulates at rods. These results suggest that rods, formed in response to either Aβ or some other stress, block the transport of APP and enzymes involved in its processing to Aβ. These stalled vesicles may provide a site for producing Aβ1–42, which may in turn induce more rods in surrounding neurons, and expand the degenerative zone resulting in plaque formation.
Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate: Validity of the Five-Year Index and the Goslon Yardstick in Predicting Long-Term Dental Arch Relationships
Authors: Mars Michael , Batra Puneet , Worrell Emma
Published: December 2005

Objective:

To assess the validity of the 5-year index by subjecting study models at the age of 5 years to both the 5-year index and the Goslon yardstick, and then relating these results to the Goslon ratings at 10 years.

Design:

Retrospective study.

Setting:

Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Patients:

Study models of 94 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) were evaluated at the ages of 5 and 10 years. The dental arch relationships were judged and categorized by using the Goslon yardstick for the 10-year models and both the Goslon yardstick and the 5-year index for the 5-year models.

Results:

When used for 5- and 10-year models, the Goslon yardstick showed a kappa score of 0.539 (weighted kappa = 0.579) with a moderate strength of agreement. However, 5-year index scores at 5 years compared with the Goslon scores at 10 years showed a kappa score of only 0.043 (weighted kappa = 0.090), showing poor strength of agreement. Goslon scores at 10 years showed improvement in 14 cases when graded by the same Goslon yardstick at 5 years, whereas there was improvement in 23 cases when the 5-year models were graded by the 5-year index (actual improvement in scores in UCLP cases is highly unlikely).

Conclusions:

Although use of the Goslon yardstick at 5 years has demonstrated some inherent flaws in its use at that age, these drawbacks are fewer than those when the 5-year index is used at 5 years of age.
Does scale matter?Cost-effectiveness of agricultural nutrient abatement when target level varies
Authors: IHO A.
Published: December 2005

Agriculture is facing stringent requirements for nutrient loss reductions. These reductions should be done cost-effectively. For instance, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) emphasizes cost-effectiveness in reaching good water status in European river basins by 2015. River Basin Management Plans specify the eventual reduction targets, which will differ between the basins. These differences have implications on cost-effectiveness assessments: changing the level of total abatement changes the relative shares of measures in the cost-effective allocation. In this paper we develop a model which determines the cost-effective allocation of three alternative measures to reduce phosphorus loss from fields. The model allows for comparisons with cost and reductions of all possible allocations. We show that, even for homogenous regions, the cost-effective allocation of measures is strongly dependent on the target level, and that using the allocation from one reduction level as a guideline for other levels violates cost-effectiveness seriously. On the grounds of these results we give recommendations for cost-effectiveness assessments in the context of the WFD.;
Technical change in Finnish grass silage production
Authors: SIPILÄINEN T. , RYHÄNEN M.
Published: December 2005

Stochastic production frontier analysis is applied in decomposing output growth of grass silage production to technical change, technical efficiency change, scale effect and input growth. For 19902000 in a complete panel of 138 Finnish farms, almost three fourths of the output growth was linked to input growth. The annual technical change, the shift of the production frontier, was on average 1.4 percent. Technical effi- ciency indicated a slightly decreasing tendency, less than 0.2 percent per year. Harvesting techniques were used as indicators of different technologies. The analysis showed that production frontiers differed between harvesting techniques. The choice of harvesting technique seemed to be related to circumstances on the farm. Thus, overall technical efficiency should not be interpreted as a measure of managerial competence when all the factors are not in the farmers control. Controlling background and production environment related factors yields a considerably lower level of technical inefficiency than the models without the control. It is also shown that in general a more productive harvesting technique may be on average less effi- ciently utilized when compared to its own frontier.;
The static welfare effects of the accession to the European Union on the Finnish agricultural markets
Authors: NIEMI J.
Published: December 2005

Finlands entry into the European Union in 1995 and the application of the Common Agricultural Policy have had major repercussions on Finlands agriculture, which faces the major disadvantages of an unfavourable climate and farm structure. This paper attempts to measure the direct static welfare effects associated with the opening of Finnish agricultural markets for more competition. Using a standard comparative static partial equilibrium analysis in the Marshallian economic surplus framework, the welfare effects are calculated for eight major cereal and livestock commodities produced in Finland for the year 2003. The results suggest that farmers, despite the growth in direct payments, have incurred large annual welfare losses ranging from EUR 570 to EUR 600 million. Consumers, on the other hand, have gained from the accession between EUR 815 and 875 million annually. The taxpayers have gained  as a result of the decrease in the direct subsidies and export restitutions paid by the national budget  between EUR 470 and EUR 580 million. The net welfare benefit in Finland, in terms agricultural sector only, was a welfare benefit of EUR 500700 million in 2003.;
Involvement of microbial respiratory pathogens in acute interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle
Authors: Loneragan Guy H. , Gould Daniel H. , Mason Gary L. , Garry Franklyn B. , Yost Garold S. , Miles Delbert G. , Hoffman Bruce W. , Mills Leon J.
Published: December 2005

Objective—To evaluate viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens andMycoplasmaspp isolated from lung tissues of cattle with acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) and cattle that had died as a result of other causes.

Sample Population—186 samples of lung tissues collected from cattle housed in 14 feedlots in the western United States.

Procedure—Lung tissues were collected during routine postmortem examination and submitted for histologic, microbiologic, and toxicologic examinations. Histologic diagnoses were categorized for AIP, bronchopneumonia (BP), control samples (no evidence of disease), and other disorders.

Results—Cattle affected with AIP had been in feedlots for a mean of 127.2 days before death, which was longer than cattle with BP and control cattle. Detection of a viral respiratory pathogen (eg, bovine respiratory syncytial virus [BRSV], bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine herpesvirus 1, or parainfluenza virus 3) was not associated with histologic category of lung tissues. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus was detected in 8.3% of AIP samples and 24.0% of control samples. Histologic category was associated with isolation of an aerobic bacterial agent andMycoplasmaspp. Cattle with BP were at greatest risk for isolation of an aerobic bacterial agent andMycoplasmaspp.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Analysis of these results suggests that AIP in feedlot cattle is not a consequence of infection with BRSV. The increased risk of isolation of an aerobic bacterial agent from cattle with AIP, compared with control cattle, may indicate a causal role or an opportunistic infection that follows development of AIP. (Am J Vet Res2001; 62:1519–1524)
Effects of exercise on the diameter of collagen fibrils in the central core and periphery of the superficial digital flexor tendon in foals
Authors: Cherdchutham Worakij , Becker Christina K. , Spek Eric R. , Voorhout Wim F. , Weeren Paul R. van
Published: December 2005

Objective—To determine the effects of exercise on collagen fibril diameter distribution in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) of foals.

Animals—43 Dutch Warmblood foals.

Procedure—From 1 week until 5 months of age, group-1 foals (n = 14) were housed in stalls and not exercised, group-2 foals (14) were housed in stalls but were exercised, and group-3 foals (15) were maintained at pasture. Biopsy specimens were collected from the SDFT at 2 months, and 8 foals in each group were euthanatized at 5 months. Remaining foals were housed together in a loose stall and paddock until euthanatized at 11 months. After euthanasia, specimens were collected from the SDFT; all specimens were analyzed by use of electron microscopy. Collagen fibrillar index (CFI), mass average diameter (MAvD), and area dependent diameter (ADD) were compared among groups.

Results—Exercise-related differences in fibril distribution were not detected among groups at 2 months. At 5 months, ADD in peripheral specimens was significantly greater in group 1 than group 3. At 11 months, MAvD in core specimens was significantly less in group 3, compared with the other groups. However, in peripheral specimens, MAvD was significantly less in groups 2 and 3.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Collagen fibril restructuring in the SDFT of foals is in part an exercise- driven process. Withholding exercise may cause a delay in fibril development that can be partially overcome by increasing exercise at a later age. Exercise type may also affect remodeling of the SDFT in foals. (Am J Vet Res2001;62:1563–1570).