bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Jumping across Wallace's line: Allodessus Guignot and Limbodessus Guignot revisited (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Bidessini) based on molecular‐phylogenetic and morphological data
Authors: Balke Michael , Ribera Ignacio
Published: May 2004

Abstract  The monotypic genus Allodessus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini) has previously been considered to be strictly Australian, with A. bistrigatus (Clark) having a wide range on that continent and in Tonga. Based on data gathered from extensive museum collections and a molecular phylogeny of the group, this concept is revised. The following species of the Bidessini are now assigned to Allodessus: Bidessus megacephalus Gschwendtner (East Palearctic), Liodessus oliveri Ordish (New Zealand), Bidessus skottsbergi Zimmermann (Chile: Easter Island) and Bidessus thienemanni Csiki (Indonesia: Java). The latter, as well as L. oliveri, are morphologically extremely similar to A. bistrigatus and are, perhaps, the same species. As currently delimited, Allodessus has a wide range, spanning parts of the Australian, Oriental, Palearctic and Oceanian regions. Based on a cladistic analysis of mtDNA sequence data, we synonymize Boongurrus Larson and Tjirtudessus Watts & Humphreys with Limbodessus Guignot. Australian species of Liodessus Guignot are transferred to Limbodessus, which is the sister group of Allodessus. The following 33 species are transferred to Limbodessus: Oceania –Liodessus cheesmanae (Balfour‐Browne 1939) [Vanuatu], Bidessus curviplicatus Zimmermann 1927[Samoa]; Australian epigean–Bidessus dispar Sharp 1882, B. praelargus Lea 1899, Hydroporus amabilis Clark 1862, H. gemellus Clark 1862, B. inornatus Sharp 1882, B. Shuckardii Clark 1862; Australian hyporheic –Boongurrus rivulus Larson 1994; Australian stygobiont –Nirridessus bigbellensis Watts & Humphreys 2000, N. challaensis Watts & Humphreys 2001, N. cueensis Watts & Humphreys 2000, N. fridaywellensis Watts & Humphreys 2001, N. hinkleri Watts & Humphreys 2000, N. lapostaae Watts & Humphreys 1999, N. masonensis Watts & Humphreys 2001, N. morgani Watts & Humphreys 2000, N. pinnaclesensis Watts & Humphreys 2001, N. pulpa Watts & Humphreys 1999, N. windarraensis Watts & Humphreys 1999, Tjirtudessus bialveus Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. cunyuensis Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. eberhardi Watts & Humphreys 1999, T. hahni Watts & Humphreys 2000, T. jundeeensis Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. karalundiensis Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. macrotarsus Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. magnificus Watts & Humphreys 2000, T. raesidensis Watts & Humphreys 2001, T. silus Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. sweetwatersensis Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. wilunaensis Watts & Humphreys 2003, T. yuinmeryensis Watts & Humphreys 2003. Limbodessus compactus (Clark) has a wide Asian/Australian range, while all other Limbodessus spp. are endemic to the Australian region and represent an adaptive radiation of epigean, hyporheic and subterranean species, as well as numerous undescribed New Guinea high‐altitude specialists. Another species of Bidessini, Papuadessus pakdjoko Balke, is newly recorded from Papua New Guinea here.
Staphylococcal enterotoxin‐specific IgE antibodies in atopic dermatitis
Authors: Ide Fumihito , Matsubara Tomoyo , Kaneko Miho , Ichiyama Takashi , Mukouyama Tokuko , Furukawa Susumu
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: The authors clarified the clinical significance of the measurement of serum concentrations of specific IgE antibodies to staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) A‐ and SEB in atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods
: The serum concentrations of SEA‐ and SEB‐specific IgE antibodies in 140 pediatric patients with AD were measured with an immuno CAP −radioallergosorbent test system (RAST). To check the cross‐reaction of specific IgE antibodies to SEA/SEB and other allergens, the CAP RAST fluorescent enzyme immunoassay inhibition test was performed.

Results
: Forty‐seven patients (33.6%) tested positive for either SEA‐ or SEB‐specific IgE antibodies. School children showed higher positive rates of SEA/SEB‐specific IgE antibodies than infants or young children. The patients with severe AD and those with exacerbation of symptoms in summer, had higher positive rates of SEA/SEB‐specific IgE antibodies than patients with mild AD or those with exacerbation in winter. In addition, the positive rates of specific IgE antibodies to both dog‐dander and cat‐dander were higher in patients with positive SEA/SEB‐specific IgE antibodies than in patients with negative ones. No cross‐reactions occurred among specific IgE antibodies to SEA/SEB and dog/cat dander with one patient's serum, which had positive IgE‐specific antibodies against cat/dog dander and SEA/SEB. The positive rate of SEA/SEB‐specific IgE antibodies in the patients with dogs and/or cats as pets was 48.4%, which was higher than in those with no pets.

Conclusions
: Atopic dermatitis patients who exhibit high positive rates of SEA/SEB‐specific IgE antibodies were found to be school children, severe cases, cases with high serum concentrations of total IgE, cases with exacerbation in summer, and cases with dogs and/or cats as pets. The measurement of serum concentrations of specific IgE antibodies to SEA and SEB, thus has some value for evaluating AD patients.
Population attributable fraction of smoking to low birth weight in Japan
Authors: Ojima Toshiyuki , Uehara Ritei , Watanabe Makoto , Tajimi Morihiro , Oki Izumi , Nakamura Yosikazu
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: The purpose of this study is to quantify the population attributable fraction of active and passive smoking for low birth weight in Japan.

Methods
: A population‐based case‐control study was conducted by mailing self‐report questionnaires. The cases were all singleton low birth weight babies who were born between 1 January 1998 and 30 June 1999 in Tochigi prefecture, Japan. The controls were randomly selected from all singleton babies who were born during the same period as cases in the prefecture.

Results
: The number of cases and controls were 286 and 404, respectively. Population attributable fractions of active smoking during and before pregnancy were 7.0% and 8.8%, respectively. Population attributable fraction of passive smoking at home was 15.6% and at the workplace was 1.1%. Combined population attributable fraction of both active and passive smoking was 17.3%.

Conclusion
: Public education to eliminate passive smoking for pregnant women and smoking prevention in adolescence is very important in order to reduce the risk of low birth weight.
Semiquantitative scoring in children under treatment for atopic dermatitis
Authors: Murao Yoshinori , Mae Hiromu , Konishi Tomoko , Gao Xiaojie , Tanizawa Takakuni
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: Atopic dermatitis is the most frequently seen childhood allergic disease in outpatient clinics. Improvement, exacerbation, and response to treatment are typically assessed subjectively and occasionally inaccurately.

Methods
: The authors developed two forms for scoring of dermal manifestations and used them to assess 56 children. The correlation between two pediatricians’ scores and correspondence to established categories (mild, moderate, and severe) were determined.

Result
: The two physicians’ scores for the children correlated well for both forms of scoring. Correspondence of scores as ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ categories were significant (few children participating were ‘severe’).

Conclusion
: Use of well‐constructed scoring forms should improve clinical assessment of patient course and treatment response.
Significance of hypocarbia in the development of periventricular leukomalacia in preterm infants
Authors: Giannakopoulou Christina , Korakaki Eftichia , Manoura Antonia , Bikouvarakis Stellios , Papageorgiou Maria , Gourgiotis Dimitrios , Hatzidaki Eleftheria
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: Despite rapid advances in the management of preterm infants, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) remains a considerable problem in neonatal intensive care. The aim of this study was to determine whether hypocarbia is associated with the development of PVL in mechanically ventilated, preterm infants and to emphasize the importance of avoiding this disturbance.

Methods
: The authors evaluated 52 mechanically ventilated infants with a gestational age of <34 weeks, who exhibited hypocarbia in the first three postnatal days (lowest carbon dioxide tension being <25 mmHg). These infants were then compared with 52 infants in a control group not exhibiting hypocarbia, matched for birthweight and gestational age. A diagnosis of PVL was made on the basis of the results of cranial ultrasonography. Confounding factors potentially associated with the development of PVL were controlled in logistic regression analyses.

Results
: Of the 52 mechanically ventilated preterm infants with hypocarbia, 10 (19.2%) developed cystic PVL, and six (11.5%) developed periventricular echodensity. Of the 52 infants in the control group only two (3.8%) developed cystic PVL, and one (1.9%) infant developed periventricular echodensity. The authors observed no significant differences in other prenatal and perinatal risk factors between the two groups.

Conclusion
: Hypocarbia in mechanically ventilated preterm infants during the first days of life is suggested as being an independent predictor of PVL, predisposing these infants to subsequent neurodevelopmental delay.
Utility of scalp‐recorded ictal electroencephalograms in childhood epilepsy with complex partial seizures
Authors: Yoshinaga Harumi , Ohtsuka Yoko , Abiru Kiyoko , Nakano Kosuke , Oka Eiji
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: The authors evaluated the usefulness of scalp‐recorded ictal electroencephalograms (EEG) in diagnosing the epileptogenic area in epilepsy with complex partial seizures.

Methods
: The authors analyzed the ictal EEG of 395 seizures in 43 patients with complex partial seizures. Based on EEG findings the patients were classified according to the degree of localization of their onset areas. The results were then compared with neuroimaging findings.

Results
: Only 10 patients fell into the category ‘discrete’, meaning that all the onset areas (as measured by ictal EEG) were localized in the same lobe of the same hemisphere. Seven patients were categorized as ‘lateralized’, meaning that all the onset areas were clearly lateralized in the same hemisphere but without consistent localization. Eleven patients were classified as ‘localized’, meaning that the onset area were localized simultaneously in bilateral same lobes, or changed consistently from one lobe in one hemisphere to the same lobe in the opposite hemisphere. The onset area could not be defined in 15 patients and these were categorized as ‘not defined’. No patient who underwent seven or more ictal recordings was categorized as discrete. However, when confined only to those patients in whom over 75% of the ictal recordings showed the same onset area, there was a high correlation between the epileptogenic lesions detected by ictal EEG and those detected by neuroimaging techniques.

Conclusions
: The findings of the present study indicate that ictal EEG recordings are useful for determining the epileptogenic area in epilepsy with complex partial seizures, provided that more than 75% of the ictal recordings show the same ictal onset area.
Changes in thyroid function after bone marrow transplant in young patients
Authors: Matsumoto Masae , Ishiguro Hiroyuki , Tomita Yuichirou , Inoue Hiroyasu , Yasuda Yukiharu , Shimizu Takashi , Shinagawa Tsuyoshi , Hattori Kinya , Yabe Hiromasa , Kubota Chidori , Yabe Miharu , Kato Shunichi , Shinohara Osamu
Published: May 2004

Abstract
Background
: Changes in thyroid function among young patients who received bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were evaluated.

Methods
: The study included 91 patients (50 males) who underwent BMT from 1985 to 1995 at the age of 0.6−21 years. Sixty patients had neoplastic disease such as leukemia or lymphoma, and the remainder had non‐neoplastic diseases. Preconditioning regimen for BMT included 12 Gy of fractionated‐total body irradiation (TBI) for patients with neoplastic disease and 3−8 Gy of irradiation for the remaining patients, in addition to chemotherapy. Evaluation of thyroid function was performed by serial assessment of basal serum FT4, FT3, TSH concentrations as well as by TRH test.

Results
: No patient had overt hypothyroidism or elevated basal TSH concentrations (>10 mU/L). However, 6 (7%) of patients experienced exaggerated peak TSH response to TRH stimulation several years after BMT. In 33 patients whose thyroid status was evaluated before, within 3 months, and 1 year after BMT, serum FT3 concentrations as well as peak TSH response to TRH stimulation significantly decreased immediately after BMT (<3 months) and normalized within 1 year. However, serum FT4 concentrations did not change significantly. One patient developed primary hypothyroidism and another developed follicular adenoma of the thyroid 5 and 12 years after BMT, respectively.

Conclusion
: Short‐term changes in thyroid function after BMT can indicate euthyroid sick syndrome rather than tertiary hypothyroidism. It must be noted that overt hypothyroidism may occur several years after BMT, hence long‐term follow‐up of thyroid function is warranted.
Distinct properties of presynaptic group II and III metabotropic glutamate receptor‐mediated inhibition of perforant pathway–CA1 EPSCs
Authors: Capogna Marco
Published: May 2004

I have compared the effects of group II or III metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation on monosynaptic excitatory responses recorded intracellularly from CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampus and evoked by perforant pathway stimulation in vitro. The excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were reduced either by the group II mGluR agonist LY354740 (500 nm, 31 ± 6% of control) or by the group III agonist L‐AP4 (400 µm, 53 ± 5% of control). Both drugs enhanced EPSC paired‐pulse facilitation (range 125–189% of control). These effects were blocked by the broad‐spectrum mGluR antagonist LY341495 (1 or 20 µm) which when applied alone did not significantly change the EPSCs elicited at low (0.1–0.2 Hz) or higher (1–100 Hz) frequency of stimulation. Prior reduction of the EPSCs induced by L‐AP4 did not occlude the subsequent inhibition elicited by LY354740. The effect of LY354740, but not that of L‐AP4, was blocked in the presence of the cAMP analogue Sp‐cAMPS (20 µm) and with the K+ channel antagonist α‐dendrotoxin (125 nm). In contrast, the effect of L‐AP4, but not that of LY354740, was prevented by the calmodulin inhibitor ophiobolin A (25 µm) and with the N‐type Ca2+ channel antagonist ω‐conotoxin‐GVIA (1 µm). In the presence of the P/Q type Ca2+ channel antagonist ω‐agatoxin‐IVA (400 nm), the EPSCs were depressed either by LY354740 or by L‐AP4. Groups II and III mGluRs are segregated at the presynaptic terminal, and there are distinct differences between the properties of the presynaptic inhibition mediated by these two groups of receptors.
Persistent sodium current in subicular neurons isolated from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Vreugdenhil Martin , Hoogland Govert , Van Veelen Cornelis W. M. , Wadman Wytse J.
Published: May 2004

The persistent sodium current is a common target of anti‐epileptic drugs and contributes to burst firing. Intrinsically burst firing subicular neurons are involved in the generation and spread of epileptic activity. We measured whole‐cell sodium currents in pyramidal neurons isolated from the subiculum resected in drug‐resistant epileptic patients and in rats. In half of the cells from both patients and rats, the sodium current inactivated within 500 ms at −30 mV. Others displayed a tetrodotoxin‐sensitive slowly or non‐inactivating sodium current of up to 53% of the total sodium current amplitude. Compared with the transient sodium current in the same cells, this persistent sodium current activated with normal kinetics but its voltage‐dependent activation occurred 7 mV more hyperpolarized. Depolarizing voltage steps that lasted 10 s completely inactivated the persistent sodium current. Its voltage dependence did not differ from that of the transient sodium current but its slope was less steep. The voltage dependence and kinetics of the persistent sodium current in cells from patients were not different from that in subicular cells from rats. The current density and the relative amplitude contribution were 3–4 times greater in neurons from drug‐resistant epilepsy patients. The abundant presence of persistent sodium current in half of the subicular neurons could lead to a larger number of neurons with intrinsic burst firing. The extraordinarily large amplitude of the persistent sodium current in this subset of subicular neurons might explain why these patients are susceptible to seizures and hard to treat pharmacologically.
A skin for the imaginal
Authors: Feldman Brian
Published: May 2004

Abstract:  This paper focuses on the development of internal space, the evolution of psychological boundaries and the capacity for symbolization as they first arise during infancy. The concept of the psychic skin as an early form of psychological boundary is presented. The development of the psychic skin, or psychological container, is necessary for imaginal processes to function for the purpose of psychological growth and development. Infant observation material utilizing the Tavistock model and analytical material from an adolescent analysis is presented to help elucidate the theoretical concepts.
Psychic phenomena and early emotional states
Authors: Reiner Annie
Published: May 2004

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between severe early trauma and the development of psychic intuition. A case presentation with extensive dream work helps to illustrate this connection by exploring the psychological meaning of one patient's acute receptivity to unconscious communications. The paper includes a historical overview of Freud's attitudes toward occultism, as distinct from later psychoanalytic views, including those of Wilfred Bion. Many of Bion's views have more in common with Jung's perspective than with Freud’s, with particular reference made to spiritual and religious differences. Bion clearly states that Freud and psychoanalysts have focused on phenomena, not on noumena, which Bion considers to be the essence of the psychoanalytic point of view.
Revisiting Jung's concept of innate sensitiveness
Authors: Aron Elaine N.
Published: May 2004

Abstract:  Jung suggested that innate sensitiveness predisposes some individuals to be particularly affected by negative childhood experiences, so that later, when under pressure to adapt to some challenge, they retreat into infantile fantasies based on those experiences and become neurotic. Recent research by the author and others is reviewed to support Jung's theory of sensitiveness as a distinctly thorough conscious and unconscious reflection on experiences. Indeed, this probably innate tendency is found in about twenty percent of humans, and, in a sense, in most species, in that about this percentage will evidence a strategy of thoroughly processing information before taking action, while the majority depend on efficient, rapid motor activity. Given this thorough processing, sensitive individuals readily detect subtleties—including whatever is distressing or threatening. Hence, as Jung observed, given the same degree of stress in childhood as non‐sensitive individuals, sensitive persons will develop more depression, anxiety, and shyness. Without undue stress, they evidence no more of these difficulties than the non‐sensitive—or even less, being unusually aware of supportive as well as negative cues from caregivers. Given this interaction, one treatment task is to distinguish the effects of such childhood difficulties from what does not need treatment, which are the typical effects of the trait itself on an adult without a troubled developmental history.
Sabina Spielrein: a bibliography
Authors: Allain‐Dupré Brigitte
Published: May 2004

The work on this bibliography was carried out mostly in 2002. Though it aims at being exhaustive, the research in different languages and translations may not have yielded every document and some may still be unknown to me. It is also likely that more material have been translated since. Besides, the Spanish and Brazilian‐Portuguese literature has not been researched. This is why this bibliography must be considered as a ‘work in progress’ which any addition can only enrich.

Victor Ovcharenko has made a list of the writings of Sabina Spielrein starting with 1911, the year of her medical thesis in Zürich, and covering the years to 1931. He points out, however, that between the date of the last paper that she is known to have written and her death in 1942, there are eleven years and that it would be truly astonishing if she had neither written nor published anything during that period. Up to this date no document by her during that time has been found (Journal of Analytical Psychology, 44, 3, 1999).
Political Hybrids: Tocquevillean Views on Project Organizations
Authors: Clegg Stewart , Courpasson David
Published: May 2004

ABSTRACTFor the past decade, project organization has become increasingly central to management and organization studies, particularly as these seek to discern the contours of post‐modern organizations. Yet, these contours frequently seem to be sighted without bearings on the current realities of project management. In this paper we take such bearings, using data derived from detailed qualitative, ethnographic enquiry into the experience of project management. From this data we construct the contours of project management more sharply. Rather than being a harbinger of an autonomous and more democratic future, free from extant bureaucratic organization controls, we find that project management has distinct modalities of control that we outline in the paper: reputational, calculative, and professional. Indeed, rather than foreshadowing a future transformational form, we find traces of a much older design: that of de Tocqueville.
The Professionally Managed Family‐ruled Enterprise: Ethnic Chinese Business in Singapore
Authors: Tsui‐Auch Lai Si
Published: May 2004

ABSTRACTThis study identifies the change and continuity in the management structure of Singaporean Chinese family businesses before and after the Asian currency crisis based on an interpretive content analysis of oral history transcripts, personal interviews, documentary research and a historical analysis of Singapore's economy and society. It shows that large businesses shifted from being ‘family‐ruled and managed’ to becoming ‘professionally managed family‐ruled’ businesses before the crisis. Since the crisis, however, Chinese businesses in sectors that are under the watch of the developmental state, that face increasing competition from Western corporations, and lack offspring who are competent and interested in running family enterprises have loosened family rule. Businesses in sectors that are free from the direct intervention of the state, that seek survival in negative market situations, and have trusted and competent offspring to harness the advantage of the family enterprise have maintained family rule. Based on the findings, the author offers an explanatory and predictive model that takes into account the roles of markets, institutions (including culture and the state) and key corporate actors. The study concludes with suggestions for future research into the management structures of professionally managed family businesses and the role of the state.
Feminist Discourse on Sex Screening and Selective Abortion of Female Foetuses
Authors: Moazam Farhat
Published: May 2004

Although a preference for sons is reportedly a universal phenomenon, in some Asian societies daughters are considered financial and cultural liabilities. Increasing availability of ultrasonography and amniocentesis has led to widespread gender screening and selective abortion of normal female foetuses in many countries, including India. Feminists have taken widely divergent positions on the morality of this practice. Feminists from India have strongly opposed it, considering it as a further disenfranchisement of females in their patriarchal society, and have agitated successfully for legislative prohibitions. Libertarian feminists on the other hand, primarily from the United States, have argued that any prohibition of the use of this technology is a curtailment of a woman's reproductive choices and a violation of her right to make autonomous decisions regarding procreation.

Using India as an illustrative case, this paper argues that in the context of what prevails in some societies, an ethical argument that hinges on the principle of autonomy as understood in the West can be problematic. Furthermore, a liberal theoretical assumption that it is always better to have more rather than fewer choices may not hold up well against the realities of life for such women. Although feminists have little disagreement concerning substantive matters, it is in the area of strategy that differences of opinion have arisen, their moral reasoning and responses shaped by the culture, ethnicity, class and race to which they belong. A view that a single ‘orthodox’ feminism of any variety can embody the aspiration of all women reverts to the problematic issues in the evolution of the rationalistic, individualistic, ‘male’ ethics against which women have consistently raised objections.
To Strengthen Consensus, Consult the Stakeholders
Authors: Macpherson Cheryl Cox
Published: May 2004

CIOMS has been criticised for not adequately consulting stakeholders about its revised ethical guidelines regarding medical research. Political and logistical issues that arise in democratic processes and open exchange of information probably contributed to this exclusion. What might CIOMS have done to be more inclusive and attain broader consensus on its proposed revisions? Consensus is dynamic, and evolves as a community digests new information and perspectives. Engaging the public (and particularly the stakeholders) in discussion about the revisions would have generated broader consensus. It would have encouraged more stakeholders (i.e. researchers, potential research participants, research institutions, or governments) to buy in. CIOMS needs a process to encourage dialogue and stakeholder input. The CIOMS guidelines themselves promote stakeholder consultation and capacity building, but CIOMS has done relatively little to distribute or promote its own guidelines. CIOMS should do more to promote its revised guidelines, and engage stakeholders in dialogue. This paper explores the bioethics debate about universal and relative values to illustrate the value of consultation and consensus building. It concludes that like research sponsors, CIOMS and similar organisations have an ethical responsibility to facilitate capacity building in less developed areas, and to participate more actively in consensus building.
The Economic Agenda: a View from the US
Authors: Boskin Michael
Published: May 2004

The paper surveys the agenda needed to restore noninflationary growth in industrial countries. The role of fiscal policy as short‐run stimulus both on the spending side and on the tax side is discussed. The author comments on trade, specifically the new trade round, and international finance. Long‐run fiscal imbalances due to aging are analyzed. The role of fiscal institutions such as the European Growth and Stability Pact, the Japanese bad‐loan problem, and structural problems are put into the perspective that advanced economies should nurture their reforms globally so as to provide successful examples of reforms and prove helpful trading partners.
The Economic Agenda: a View from Europe
Authors: Aiginger Karl
Published: May 2004

Over the course of the 1990s, the US outperformed Europe not only in output growth, but also in productivity and employment generation, thereby stopping Europe's decade‐long period of catching up. The author shows that the growth difference originates at least partly from insufficient investment by Europe into the determinants of long‐run growth (research, education, and the diffusion of new technologies). Northern European countries with comprehensive welfare systems performed better than the big economies in continental Europe, owing to their timely realization that these costly systems require the highest possible levels of productivity and fast growth. The European agenda for the next decade is based on this analysis. It stresses the importance of accelerating economic growth, primarily through investment into growth drivers. Labor market reforms are necessary, as is the redefinition of macroeconomic policy, a regional policy adequate for European enlargement, and reforms in the public sector. Distributional and ecological issues are also on the agenda, even though Europe outperforms the US in these fields, as is reflective of European preferences.
A Personal Agenda for the Next Decade
Authors: Arrow Kenneth J.
Published: May 2004

The paper sets a broad agenda touching several areas of policy. It starts from the least likely policy at this point of time, the use of the tax system for redistribution. It discusses prudent macroeconomic coordination without the strings of the Maastricht Treaty in business troughs. Regulation of financial markets, agricultural policies, and health issues are coming up on a desirable agenda of the United States, but are probably important for all countries, as are social security policy and climate change.
The EU Growth Strategy and the Impact of Aging
Authors: Pichelmann Karl , Roeger Werner
Published: May 2004

The paper looks at the main challenges to raise potential growth in the EU. It examines recent progress made regarding the structural reform efforts in EU product, labor, and financial markets, and it attempts to assess their impact on overall macroeconomic performance in terms of output and (un‐)employment. The paper then proceeds to analyze the likely consequences of population aging for the growth rate of potential output and per capita incomes, emphasizing the fairly dramatic economic and budgetary implications of the decline in the EU's working‐age population if governments do not take offsetting policy actions.
Productivity Growth, the New Economy, and Catching Up
Authors: Eichengreen Barry
Published: May 2004

The paper offers some reflections on the convergence of productivity in the United States and Europe, which essentially stopped in the 1990s. It argues that the barriers preventing further convergence in the early 1990s were removed subsequently. But since then trends in productivity growth have been importantly affected by the advent of the New Economy, which poses further challenges for Europe. Without additional reform of European labor markets, financial markets, and university systems, we may be on the eve of another era of persistent divergence.
The US Current Account, New Economy Services, and Implications for Sustainability
Authors: Mann Catherine L.
Published: May 2004

The paper considers the implications for sustainability of the US current account of widespread uptake of New Economy services around the world. The main contribution is to estimate new income elasticities for international trade in New Economy services and incorporate these in a simple model of the current accounts. Widespread uptake of New Economy services around the world improves the potential for a sustainable US external balance through two channels. First, uptake of New Economy services raises global growth. Second, it narrows the asymmetry in income elasticity of US trade. But, reasonable estimates of these two structural improvements are not sufficient to stabilize the US current account deficit.
Hypnotic and tranquillizer use among general practitioners in south‐eastern France and its relation to occupational characteristics and prescribing habits
Authors: Verger Pierre , Aulagnier Marielle , Protopopescu Camélia , Villani Patrick , Gourrheux Jean‐Claude , Bouvenot Gilles , Paraponaris Alain
Published: May 2004

Previous research suggests that practising physicians are more likely than the general population to use psychotropic drugs. Hypnotic and tranquillizer use in France is among the highest in Europe; most hypnotic and tranquillizer prescriptions are written by general practitioners (GPs). The objective was to compare the hypnotic and tranquillizer use of GPs in private practice in Provence (south‐eastern France) with that of the general population and to study factors associated with physicians’ hypnotic and tranquillizer use. A cross‐sectional telephone survey was carried out with a panel of 600 GPs in Provence. The data were collected with a 53‐item questionnaire about their social and demographic status, family, occupation, training, information‐seeking behaviour, job satisfaction, hypnotic and tranquillizer drug use, tranquillizer and antidepressant prescriptions. The data were analysed using univariate and backward multiple logistic regressions. We found that GPs in Provence use hypnotics and tranquillizers at a significantly higher rate than the general population. We found significant associations with hypnotic and tranquillizer use only among the older group of GPs (older than 48 years). In this group, this drug use was related to the volume of services provided (billing sector), job dissatisfaction, lack of training, the ‘family burden’ and tranquillizer prescriptions. The strains associated with both medical practice and family burden have some influence on hypnotic and tranquillizer use among GPs; individual factors may influence prescribing attitudes and patient care as well.
Sedation in children undergoing CT scan or MRI: effect of time‐course and tolerance of rectal chloral hydrate
Authors: Treluyer Jean‐Marc , Andre Christine , Carp Pierre‐François Ceccaldi , Chalumeau Martin , Tonnelier Sylvie , Cuq Cédric , Kalifa Gabriel , Pons Gérard , Adamsbaum Catherine
Published: May 2004

The aim of this paper was to describe the time‐course of the sedative effect of rectal chloral hydrate (75 mg/kg) in children undergoing CT scan or MRI. Twenty children (2.13 ± 1.43 years old) were administered 75 mg/kg chloral hydrate rectally (chloralhydrat‐rectiole rectal formulation, Dr Mann‐Pharma Lab, Berlin, Germany), before a CT scan or an NMR imaging. Sedation was measured at specific times using a sedation score of 1–6. Patients were continuously monitored for respiratory and heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and oxygen saturation. About 82.35 and 94.11% of the patients had a score of sedation ≥ 3 within 15 and 30 min, respectively. The mean time to effective sedation (score ≥ 3) was of 0.30 ± 0.14 h (median time, 0.25 h). The mean duration of effective sedation (score ≥ 3) was 1.29 ± 1.05 h (median duration, 0.75 h). A total of 93.1% of the X‐ray sections were obtained without artifact and sedation was considered by radiologists to be efficient for 83.3% of the procedures. This sedation procedure appeared efficient and safe during ambulatory CT scan and NMR imaging. The long‐term effect of chloral hydrate, however, remains to be evaluated.
Pharmacoeconomics of adverse drug reactions
Authors: Lundkvist Jonas , Jönsson Bengt
Published: May 2004

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are common causes of hospitalization and lead to large costs to society. The cost of hospitalization is, however, only a part of the total costs as most adverse reactions never come to clinical attention. There are two main costs associated with ADRs, cost of treating illnesses due to ADRs and cost of avoiding them. The main objective of this study was to discuss the social costs of ADRs from an economic point of view. We also reviewed the literature and summarized studies investigating cost and occurrence of adverse reactions. Three different approaches to assess the costs of ADR are distinguished. The first is cost studies, where the following three steps must be done to estimate the costs: define ADR, estimated the incidence of ADRs and measure the costs of ADRs. Most cost studies have focused on hospitalizations due to ADRs and the literature shows that about 3–7% of all hospitalizations are caused by ADRs. The second approach concerns costs and benefits of safety: the decision to prescribe, use, distribute or produce a drug involves both costs and benefits, and decisions makers must weigh costs of ADRs against costs of avoiding them. The third approach discusses regulations and mechanisms for achieving an optimal balance between costs and benefits of drug therapies. The problem with ADRs is, from an economic point of view, not a problem of minimization but of optimization, to find the right balance between costs and benefits.
Blood pressure and heart rate variability changes during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Souza Neto Edmundo P. , Loufouat Joseph , Saroul Christine , Paultre Christian , Chiari Pascal , Lehot Jean‐Jacques , Cerutti Catherine
Published: May 2004

This study investigated patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery to evaluate the effects of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on the spontaneous variability of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). Forty‐one adult patients receiving different cardiovascular system drugs were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups: no preoperative pharmacological cardiovascular treatment (n = 12), beta‐blocker (BB) (n = 13), and angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) (n = 16). MAP was recorded before anaesthesia until the end of surgery. MAP and HR variability was analysed in very low‐ (VLF), low‐ (LF) and high‐frequency bands. The LF spectral component of MAP was observed to decrease in patients under ACEI (−92%) or BB (−87%) following induction of anaesthesia. In addition, during CPB, VLF power decreased in BB group (−67%), and LF power decreased in ACEI group (−77%). Concerning HR, VLF spectral power decreased following anaesthesia in BB group (−74%). In addition, after CPB, VLF power reached lower value in ACEI group than in BB group (P < 0.05). LF spectral power of HR showed a large decrease after CPB in ACEI group (−89%). This study showed that MAP variability did not change during CPB in patients with no preoperative pharmacological cardiovascular treatment, suggesting an unaltered vascular control of MAP. Moreover, the change in LF spectral power of MAP in ACEI and BB groups, suggests that both the renin‐angiotensin and sympathetic systems participate to the genesis of LF variability of MAP.
Is it important to correct apparent drug tissue concentrations for blood contamination in the dog?
Authors: Giudicelli Christine , Dricot Eric , Moati Frédérique , Strolin‐Benedetti Margherita , Giudicelli Jean‐François
Published: May 2004

The goal of this study was to quantify in the dog the error that is made in assessing drug tissue concentrations when no correction for blood contamination is performed and hence to determine in which organs such a correction should be made. The organs investigated were the heart, the brain, the liver and the skeletal muscle, and the test drug used was the H1‐antihistamine, cetirizine (0.1 or 0.6 mg/kg/day for 3 days, orally, n = 6 dogs). Radiolabelled serum albumin was used to quantitate blood trapped in the tissues. Blood and tissue samplings were performed 2 h after the last drug administration. Mean (±SEM) volumes of blood trapped in the liver, heart, muscle and brain were 263 ± 12, 91 ± 3, 27 ± 1 and 20 ± 2 μL/g, respectively. Apparent tissue/blood concentration ratios of cetirizine were 2.39 ± 0.33, 1.11 ± 0.09, 0.77 ± 0.07 and 0.37 ± 0.05 in the four organs. When correction for residual blood is not performed, cetirizine concentrations are underestimated (−13.6 ± 3.2%) in the liver, slightly overestimated (+4.7 ± 1.5 to +6.3 ± 2.8%) in the brain, and neither over nor underestimated in the heart and muscle. Simulation data over a wide range of theoretical drug tissue/blood concentration ratios indicate that in the dog: (a) for the liver, correction of apparent tissue concentration for residual blood should be performed when the drug tissue/blood concentration ratio achieved is <0.8 or >4, (b) for the heart, correction should be made when this ratio is ≤0.4 and (c) for the brain and muscle, no correction is necessary unless the ratio is ≤0.1.
Stratum‐by‐stratum projection of light response attributes by retinal bipolar cells of Ambystoma
Authors: Pang Ji‐Jie , Gao Fan , Wu Samuel M.
Published: May 2004

The visual system processes light images by projecting various representations of the visual world to segregated regions in the brain through parallel channels. Retinal bipolar cells constitute the first parallel channels that carry different light response attributes to different parts of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Here we present a systematic study on detailed axonal morphology and light response characteristics of over 200 bipolar cells in dark‐adapted salamander retinal slices by the whole‐cell voltage clamp and Lucifer yellow fluorescence (with a confocal microscope) techniques. Four major groups of bipolar cells were identified according to the patterns of axon terminal ramification in the IPL: 36% were narrowly monostratified (whose axon terminals ramified in one of the 10 strata of the IPL), 27% were broadly monostratified, 19% were multistratified, and 18% bore pyramidally branching axons. By analysing the bipolar cells with narrowly monostratified axon terminals in each of the 10 strata of the IPL, we found that several key light response attributes are highly correlated with the strata in which the cells' axon terminals ramify. The 10 IPL strata appear to be the basic building blocks for attributes of light‐evoked signal outputs in all bipolar cells, and several general stratum‐by‐stratum rules were identified by analysing the broadly monostratified, multistratified and pyramidally branching cells. These rules not only uncover mechanisms by which third‐order retinal cells integrate and compute bipolar cell signals, but also shed considerable light on how bipolar cells in other vertebrates process visual information and how physiological signals may shape the morphology and projection of output synapses of visual neurones during development.
Uncoupling protein and ATP/ADP carrier increase mitochondrial proton conductance after cold adaptation of king penguins
Authors: Talbot Darren A. , Duchamp Claude , Rey Benjamin , Hanuise Nicolas , Rouanet Jean Louis , Sibille Brigitte , Brand Martin D.
Published: May 2004

Juvenile king penguins develop adaptive thermogenesis after repeated immersion in cold water. However, the mechanisms of such metabolic adaptation in birds are unknown, as they lack brown adipose tissue and uncoupling protein‐1 (UCP1), which mediate adaptive non‐shivering thermogenesis in mammals. We used three different groups of juvenile king penguins to investigate the mitochondrial basis of avian adaptive thermogenesisin vitro. Skeletal muscle mitochondria isolated from penguins that had never been immersed in cold water showed no superoxide‐stimulated proton conductance, indicating no functional avian UCP. Skeletal muscle mitochondria from penguins that had been either experimentally immersed or naturally adapted to cold water did possess functional avian UCP, demonstrated by a superoxide‐stimulated, GDP‐inhibitable proton conductance across their inner membrane. This was associated with a markedly greater abundance of avian UCP mRNA. In the presence (but not the absence) of fatty acids, these mitochondria also showed a greater adenine nucleotide translocase‐catalysed proton conductance than those from never‐immersed penguins. This was due to an increase in the amount of adenine nucleotide translocase. Therefore, adaptive thermogenesis in juvenile king penguins is linked to two separate mechanisms of uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in skeletal muscle mitochondria: increased proton transport activity of avian UCP (dependent on superoxide and inhibited by GDP) and increased proton transport activity of the adenine nucleotide translocase (dependent on fatty acids and inhibited by carboxyatractylate).
Global dendritic calcium spikes in mouse layer 5 low threshold spiking interneurones: implications for control of pyramidal cell bursting
Authors: Goldberg Jesse H. , Lacefield Clay O. , Yuste Rafael
Published: May 2004

Interneuronal networks in neocortex underlie feedforward and feedback inhibition and control the temporal organization of pyramidal cell activity. We previously found that lower layer neocortical interneurones can reach action potential threshold in response to the stimulation of a single presynaptic cell. To better understand this phenomenon and the circuit roles of lower layer neocortical interneurones, we combined two‐photon calcium imaging with whole cell recordings and anatomical reconstructions of low threshold spiking (LTS) interneurones from mouse neocortex. In both visual and somatosensory cortex, LTS interneurones are somatostatin‐positive, concentrated in layer 5 and possess dense axonal innervation to layer 1. Due to the LTS properties, these neurones operate in burst and tonic modes. In burst mode, dendritic T‐type calcium channels boosted small synaptic inputs and triggered low threshold calcium spikes, while in tonic mode, sodium‐based APs evoked smaller calcium influxes. In both modes, the entire dendritic tree of LTS interneurones behaved as a ‘global’ single spiking unit. This, together with the fact that synaptic inputs to layer 5 LTS cells are facilitating, and that their axons target the dendritic region of the pyramidal neurones where bursts are generated, make these neurones ideally suited to detect and control burst generation of individual lower layer pyramidal neurones.
Response of human cells to desiccation: comparison with hyperosmotic stress response
Authors: Huang Zebo , Tunnacliffe Alan
Published: May 2004

Increasing interest in anhydrobiosis (‘life without water’) has prompted the use of mammalian cells as a model in which candidate adaptations suspected of conferring desiccation tolerance can be tested. Despite this, there is no information on whether mammalian cells are able to sense and respond to desiccation. We have therefore examined the effect of desiccation on stress signalling pathways and on genes which are proposed to be expressed in response to water loss through osmotic stress. Depending on the severity of the drying regime, human cells survived for at least 24 h. Both SAPK/JNK and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were activated within 30 min by desiccation as well as by all osmotica tested, and therefore MAPK pathways probably play an important role in both responses. Gene induction profiles differed under the two stress conditions, however: quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) experiments showed that AR, BGT‐1 and SMIT, which encode proteins governing organic osmolyte accumulation, were induced by hypersalinity but not by desiccation. This was surprising, since these genes have been proposed to be regulated by ionic strength and cell volume, both of which should be significantly affected in drying cells. Further investigation demonstrated that AR, BGT‐1 and SMIT expression was dependent on the nature of the osmolyte. This suggests that their regulation involves factors other than intracellular ionic strength and cell volume changes, consistent with the lack of induction by desiccation. Our results show for the first time that human cells react rapidly to desiccation by MAPK activation, and that the response partially overlaps with that to hyperosmotic stress.