bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Commentary – Should consciousness be included in the classification of focal (partial) seizures?
Authors: Blumenfeld Hal , Jackson Graeme D.
Published: June 2013

The ILAE 2010 report does not classify focal seizures and instead uses “descriptors” to distinguish focal seizures with versus without impaired consciousness. Below, we recall a recent informal conversation that took place while traveling a back road in Australia (true story), discussing problems with the old terms as well as new biological and practical evidence separating events formerly known as complex partial versus simple partial seizures. Impaired level of consciousness is a core distinguishing feature of focal seizures, which arises from established physiological mechanisms and can be readily determined based on behavior in most cases. After some debate, we arrive at succinct terms compatible with the old as well as the new ILAE classification report: Focal Impaired Consciousness Seizures (FICS), and Focal Aware Conscious Seizures (FACS). We hope that this discussion will bring impaired consciousness off the back roads of epilepsy classification, and provide useful names for these two very common seizure types.
The Theory of Social Systems as a Framework for Understanding Family Businesses
Authors: von Schlippe Arist , Frank Hermann
Published: June 2013

There is a long tradition of systemic approaches in family business research, but recent developments have been widely ignored. This article gives a brief overview of these approaches and models and then introduces the modern theory of social systems. This theory no longer considers individuals as parts of the system but assumes that the basic elements of a social system are acts of communication. In each system (family, business, ownership), a specific communication pattern evolves and each system operates within a specific functional logic. Families process relationship communication, businesses process decision communication, and ownership operates on the basis of legally secured communication. Each of these three structurally coupled systems provides a specific context. The functional logics are context markers and assign meaning to the communicative acts. To understand how a family business functions, it is important to understand the concrete functional logics and the structural coupling of the three systems.
Conflict in Family Business: Common Metaphors and Suggestions for Intervention
Authors: Pieper Torsten M. , Astrachan Joseph H. , Manners George E.
Published: June 2013

The interdependence between family and business systems in family business can create conflicts unknown to families without involvement in a business. Using a phenomenological approach based on extensive research and consulting experiences with families in business, we describe three of the most common conflicts that can result from the mutual impact of business and family systems. We provide ways to diagnose problem areas and offer intervention suggestions to produce change in the family business system.
Low‐Income Mothers' Employment Experiences: Prospective Links with Young Children's Development
Authors: Lombardi Caitlin McPherran , Coley Rebekah Levine
Published: June 2013

This study assessed mothers' employment experiences and links with children's long‐term cognitive achievement and socio‐emotional adjustment using a representative sample of low‐income mothers and children (N= 538) from the Three‐City Study. Maternal employment involvement, quality, and stability were assessed over a 2‐year period when children were aged 24 to 48 months. Cluster analysis of the employment characteristics yielded 4 distinct employment patterns differing by the quality and stability of employment.OLSregression analyses linking these employment patterns with children's functioning at age 9 revealed that high‐quality stable employment was associated with enhanced cognitive skills and behavioral functioning among children. Further analysis suggested the significance of mothers' consistent insurance benefits to the long‐term well‐being of their children.
A global heterothermic continuum in mammals
Authors: Boyles Justin G. , Thompson Amy B. , McKechnie Andrew E. , Malan Ezit , Humphries Murray M. , Careau Vincent
Published: June 2013

Aim

The ability of endotherms to physiologically regulate body temperature (Tb) is presumed to be important in the adaptive radiation of birds and mammals. Recently, attention has shifted towards determining the extent and energetic significance ofTbvariation documented in an ever‐expanding list of species. Thus, we provide the first global synthesis of ecological and evolutionary correlates of variation in mammalianTb.

Location

World‐wide

Methods

We conducted a phylogenetically informed analysis ofTbvariation using two complementary metrics, namelyThermoregulatoryScope (TS) andHeterothermyIndex (HI), that treatTbvariation as a continuous variable. We included morphological (e.g. body mass), ecological (e.g. food habits) and environmental (e.g. latitude) correlates in the analysis.

Results

Among 560 mammal species included in theTSanalysis,Tbrelates most strongly to body mass (included in all models), season (relative parameter weight: 0.95), absolute latitude (0.80) and hoarding behavior (0.72), with small‐bodied, high latitude and non‐hoarding species expressing the mostTbvariation. Small‐bodied and high latitude species also express a greater range of thermoregulatory patterns than large‐bodied and low latitude species. Results were generally similar inHIanalysis, but in summer the extent of heterothermy decreases with latitude.

Main conclusions

Mammalian heterothermy is related to evolutionary history, climate conditions constraining minimumTb, resource conditions mediating energy supply for maintaining highTb, and latitudinal variation in the nature of seasonality. Our analysis further shows that traditional classification of mammals as hibernators, daily heterotherms or homeotherms is clouded or possibly misleading.
Does fragmentation increase extinction thresholds? A European‐wide test with seven forest birds
Authors: Rueda Marta , Hawkins Bradford A. , Morales‐Castilla Ignacio , Vidanes Rosa M. , Ferrero Mila , Rodríguez Miguel Á.
Published: June 2013

Aim

Theory predicts that fragmentation aggravates habitat loss, increasing the extinction threshold of habitat specialists. However, contradictory empirical results have fuelled claims that fragmentation has been overemphasized, and more attention should be given to habitat loss for preserving species. We assess variation in species sensitivity to forest amount and fragmentation and evaluate if fragmentation is related to extinction thresholds in seven forest bird species.

Location

Europe.

Methods

We use the percentage of forest cover and the proportion of cover occurring in the largest patch to partition effects of forest amount versus fragmentation, and apply logistic regression to model the presence–absence of 17 forest bird species. For seven species showing robust models, we define two fragmentation scenarios, low and maximum, across the forest cover gradient and quantify species' sensitivity to forest contraction with no fragmentation, and to fragmentation under constant forest cover. Finally, we develop two tests of the extinction threshold hypothesis by comparing the occurrence probability of each species under the two fragmentation scenarios at different forest covers.

Results

As expected, forest contraction had negative impacts on the occurrence probability of all seven species modelled, but – in line with theory – fragmentation also led to a higher extinction threshold for three (Western capercaillie, Hazel grouse and Eurasian pygmy‐owl). One species (Black woodpecker) exhibited the opposite pattern indicating that it probably benefits from fragmentation. Differences among species responses may reflect dispersal abilities, specializations in resources/habitat characteristics and/or sensitivity to potential modifications of interspecific interactions.

Main conclusions

Although forest amount is of primary importance for the persistence of forest specialist birds, fragmentation is also relevant for some, and neglecting forest fragmentation would be a mistake for these species. Species‐specific traits can be helpful for interpreting species' reactions to fragmentation, and it should not be assumed that it always, or never, matters.
Nonlinear causality in Castells's network society: disorder as problem and opportunity under globalization
Authors: HODGE BOB
Published: June 2013

In this article I consider Castells's network society trilogy as a key site for examining claims that globalization today is driven by a new paradigm, in which networks and digital technologies play a decisive role in producing revolutionary new forms of economics, politics, culture and society. To theorize this change I draw on a rich, explicit account of non‐linear causal processes found in far‐from‐equilibrium cybernetics, foregrounding the all‐pervasive, constitutive phenomenon of disorder, coming from below as well as above through a multiplicity of networks, old and new, digital and non‐digital.
Humanitarian collective security: restoring order?
Authors: GOODMAN JAMES
Published: June 2013

In 2005, the United Nations reinterpreted its charter to facilitate humanitarian intervention, defining military action to prevent serious human rights abuses as a legitimate means of maintaining international peace and security. Under circumstances of ‘genocide, ethnic cleansing and other such crimes against humanity’, states have a ‘responsibility to protect’ the victims and, if required, to use military means to do so. This new state responsibility is a response to new asymmetries in the exercise of sovereign power worldwide. In theory, it imposes new conditions on the exercise of state sovereignty that extend the principle of collective security beyond states to include all people. In practice, it gives those with the capacity to intervene, namely the dominant powers, the responsibility to intervene in the affairs of weaker ‘failing’ states. In this article, I use official texts to explore this new humanitarian collective security. Drawing on a range of accounts, including the Australian experience of intervention in East Timor, I argue that the grounds for humanitarian intervention lie as much in the defence of order as in the pursuit of justice. Dominant states assert their shared vulnerability and justify intervention as pre‐empting presumed threats; they thus recruit humanitarianism for state security. Humanitarianism, however, is not so easily contained. As military practice collides with normative rhetoric, deep contradictions emerge between order and justice. Normative claims implode and spill over, feeding alternative humanitarianisms founded on mutuality and solidarity. The disordering order–justice dialectic can thereby prefigure reorderings beyond hegemonism.
Worlds to endure: weathering disorder from Arnhem Land to Chicago
Authors: WALKER JEREMY
Published: June 2013

In this article I consider the cosmopolitical enfolding of Western and indigenous ontologies of order and disorder implicit in the production of a ‘carbon offset’ by the West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) project. The resumption in Arnhem Land of broad‐scale land management by indigenous fire ecologists and its reframing as ‘carbon farming’ is contextualized within an historical analysis of the distinctions made between ‘magical thinking’ and ‘rational’ notions of agency, causality and cosmic order. I move from the account of Australian totemism in classical anthropology, through cold war climatology, to the theories of rational expectations that support contemporary carbon trading. Examining the entangling of Aboriginal and late‐modern pyrotechnical orders, I contrast ubietous (place‐oriented) ontologies of land, law and cosmic order with their Western counterparts in sovereignty, land law and finance theory. Arguing that the elder Australians possessed a philosophically coherent political economy grounded in detailed earth sciences and topological networks of economic practices, I reverse the anthropological mirror back upon the economic doctrines of the neoliberal era, which advocate the reimposition of order on the wild climate by means of a comprehensive financialization.
Population pharmacokinetics of recombinant factor IX: implications for dose tailoring
Authors: Björkman S.
Published: June 2013

The principles of pharmacokinetic (PK) dose tailoring in clinical practice, using limited blood sampling and Bayesian PK analysis, have been described for factor VIII (FVIII). This study applied the same procedure to recombinant FIX (rFIX), i.e. population PK modelling and the use of a simplified (one‐compartment) model to describe only the terminal part of the coagulation factor vs. time curve. Data from a previous study on rFIX in 56 patients (4–56 years, 18–133 kg) were used to define a three‐compartment population PK model. The average FIX clearance was 8.4 mL h−1 kg−1. Elimination half‐life ranged between 14 and 27 h. Data obtained from 24 h after the infusion were found to define the terminal phase of FIX disposition. Doses to produce a target trough FIX level (set at 0.01 IU mL−1) at 72 h predicted by the Bayesian analysis, with blood sampling at either 24, 48 and 72 h or at only 24 and 48 h, were within −40% to +67% of those predicted using the three‐compartment model, and within −57% to +125% for targeting a level at 96 h. These errors were lower than the overall interindividual variance in dose requirements. As three‐compartment models are needed to characterize the PK of both plasma‐derived FIX and rFIX, simplification to a one‐compartment model is less straightforward than for FVIII, and the methodology should be investigated further before clinical application. Limited blood sampling and Bayesian analysis could still, however, be potentially useful for targeting rFIX trough levels during prophylaxis.
The effect of reflexology applied on haemodialysis patients with fatigue, pain and cramps
Authors: Özdemir Gülistan , Ovayolu Nimet , Ovayolu Özlem
Published: June 2013

The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of foot reflexology on fatigue, pain and cramps in haemodialysis patients. The sample consisted of 80 patients in total, 40 intervention and 40 control patients, receiving treatment in the haemodialysis units of two institutions. Data were collected by using a questionnaire, Piper Fatigue Scale and visual analogue scale for measuring the severity of cramp and pain. The intervention group received reflexology treatment for 1 week in three sessions following haemodialysis, each session lasting approximately 30 min. Parametric and non‐parametric tests were used in data analysis. It was determined that reflexology reduced the fatigue subscale scores and total scale scores as well as pain and cramp mean scores in the intervention group. The research results revealed that the severity of fatigue, pain and cramp decreased in patients receiving reflexology.
Korean nurses’ perceived facilitators and barriers in provision of end‐of‐life care
Authors: Lee JuHee , Choi Mona , Kim So‐sun , Kim Hogon , Kim Dooree
Published: June 2013

This study examined nurses’ perceived facilitators and barriers to end‐of‐life (EOL) care in clinical settings. The study participants were 383 Korean nurses working at tertiary hospitals. The nurses had an average of 7.6 years of clinical experience. The three highest‐scoring facilitating items were ‘family member acceptance of patient death’, ‘having time to prepare the family for the patient's expected death’ and ‘having the physician meet with the family after the patient's death to offer support and validate the given care’. The top two perceived barriers were ‘families not accepting what the physician is telling them about the patient's prognosis’ and ‘dealing with angry family members’. Nurses who had received EOL care education showed a higher score in perception of facilitators than nurses who did not receive that education. EOL care for patients and their families is a challenge; thus, continuing education should be provided to improve nursing practice.
Preliminary investigation of topical nitroglycerin formulations containing natural wound healing agent in diabetes‐induced foot ulcer
Authors: Hotkar Mukesh S , Avachat Amelia M , Bhosale Sagar S , Oswal Yogesh M
Published: June 2013

Nitroglycerin (NTG) is an organic nitrate rapidly denitrated by enzymes to release free radical nitric oxide and shows improved wound healing and tissue protection from oxidative damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether topical application of NTG in the form of gel/ointment along with a natural wound healing agent, aloe vera, would bring about wound healing by using diabetes‐induced foot ulcer model and rat excision wound model. All these formulations were evaluated for pH, viscosity, drug content and ex vivo diffusion studies using rat skin. Based on ex vivo permeation studies, the formulation consisting of carbopol 974p as a gelling agent and aloe vera was found to be suitable. The in vivo study used streptozotocin‐induced diabetic foot ulcer and rat excision wound models to analyse wound healing activity. The wound size in animals of all treated groups was significantly reduced compared with that of the diabetic control and marketed treated animals. This study showed that the gel formed with carbopol 974p (1%) and aloe vera promotes significant wound healing and closure in diabetic rats compared with the commercial product and provides a promising product to be used in diabetes‐induced foot ulcer.
The identification of potential aeroallergen/irritant(s) from oilseed rape (Brassica napus spp. oleifera): volatile organic compounds emitted during flowering progression
Authors: BUTCHER R. D. , MACFARLANE‐SMITH W. , ROBERTSON G. W. , GRIFFITHS D. W.
Published: June 2013

Volatile organic compounds emitted by growing intact oilseed rape plants have been detected using an entrainment apparatus enabling volatile headspace analysis by thermal desorption coupled to capillary gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. In total, 22 volatile compounds were identified as being emitted during the flowering period. The main constituents were α‐farnesene (a sesquiterpene); β‐myrcene (a monoterpene); linalool (a monoterpene alcohol) and the ‘green leaf’ volatile (E)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol acetate. These compounds constituted between 50 and 87% (mean 68%) of the total volatiles emitted in all of the entrainments carried out with flowering oilseed rape plants. The remaining constituents consisted of a range of compounds including other terpenoids, the characteristic ‘green leaf’ volatile (E)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol, short chain alcohols and ketones, organic sulphides and nitrogen‐containing compounds. These were generally present as minor constituents but some plant entrainments revealed that higher relative amounts could be emitted. This was particularly apparent for dimethyl disulphide, 3‐methyl‐2‐pentanone, 3‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone, sabinene, isomyrcenol and (E)‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol. The possible role of the 22 compounds in respiratory mucosa and conjunctiva irritation associated with airborne releases from oilseed rape is discussed.
The anaphylaxis hypothesis of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): mast cell degranulation in cot death revealed by elevated concentrations of tryptase in serum
Authors: HOLGATE S. T. , WALTERS C. , WALLS A. F. , LAWRENCE S. , SHELL D. J. , VARIEND S. , FLEMING P. J. , BERRY P. J. , GILBERT R. E. , ROBINSON C.
Published: June 2013

A series of cases of sudden unexpected post‐neonatal deaths from two centres in the UK have been investigated for evidence of mast cell activation using the biochemical markers tryptase and 9α,11β‐PGF2. Tryptase was selected as a possible marker because it is a component of mast cell secretory granules and, unlike histamine, it is not released from basophils. The prostaglandin 9α,11β‐PGF2 is an initial and pharmacologically active metabolite of PGD2, the major mast cell‐derived cyclo‐oxygenase product. This prostaglandin was chosen to serve as a marker of newly generated mediator release. In the study, unexplained infant deaths were associated with a higher concentration of tryptase in serum compared with cases of unexpected, but subsequently explained death. However, 9α,11β‐PGF2 was found to be an unsuitable post mortem marker in this situation. These results provide direct evidence that mast cell degranulation, possibly as a result of anaphylaxis, may be occurring around the time of death in some cases of cot death.
Cow milk allergy within the spectrum of atopic disorders
Authors: HILL D. J. , BANNISTER D. G. , HOSKING C. S. , KEMP A. S.
Published: June 2013

In order to examine the relationship between cow milk allergy (CMA) and atopic disorders in childhood, a consecutive group of 42 infants with IgE mediated CMA was followed for at least 2 years. The incidence of sensitization to common food and inhalant antigens and the development of eczema, asthma, and food allergies was examined for the cohort and compared between patients whose CMA remitted and those with persistent disease. In this cohort the prevalence of eczema was 57%, asthma 69%, egg allergy 67%, peanut allergy 55%, and 83% of infants demonstrated positive skin‐prick tests to three or more allergens. At the end of the study CMA had remitted in 13 patients (median age 44 months) whereas in 29 patients it persisted (median age 44 months). Although there was no significant difference in the incidence of eczema or asthma during the study between these two patient groups, the incidence of allergy to egg and peanut butter was significantly greater for children with persistent CMA. Consistent with our hypothesis that children with persistent CMA have a more severe dysregulation of IgE synthesis than those whose disease remits, patients with persistent CMA had a significantly higher incidence of and level of skin sensitivity to inhalant and other dietary allergens. Sensitization to the inhalant allergens Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, cat dander and rye grass was frequently seen in early infancy and increased during the study period. Thus, children with IgE mediated CMA frequently generate IgE responses to multiple dietary and inhalant allergens in infancy and early childhood and develop immediate hypersensitivity to other foods as well as clinical eczema, and asthma.
Eosinophil inflammation of the nasal mucosa in allergic and non‐allergic rhinitis measured by eosinophil cationic protein levels in native nasal fluid and serum
Authors: RASP G. , THOMAS P. A. , BUJÍA J.
Published: June 2013

Eosinophil inflammation is essential in many cases of allergic and non‐allergic rhinitis. Activated eosinophils release toxic granule proteins. In this study, we compared the degree of local nasal and systemic eosinophil activation by the determination of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in serum and native nasal fluid from 119 patients. We found no significant differences in serum ECP levels of the various patient groups. In all patient groups, except in the vasomotor rhinitis group, nasal fluid ECP levels differed significantly from normal controls. We found a nasal fluid ECP (mean ± SEM) of 32·6 ± 81 ng/ml for normals, 106 ± 39·7 for non‐rhinitic atopics, 87·6 ± 20·8 ng/ml for patients with chronic non‐allergic sinusitis, 101·3 ± 40·4 ng/ml for patients with a history of pollinosis, 150·5 ± 35·1 ng/ml for patients with acute pollinosis, 84·7 ± 24·7 ng/ml for individuals with perennial allergic rhinitis and 112·9 ± 25·6 ng/ml for patients with both perennial and seasonal allergy. Patients with nasal polyps had mean nasal ECP levels of 146·9 ± 57·7 ng/ml in absence of allergy and 147·9 ± 54·9 ng/ ml in the presence of allergy. Nasal ECP was 67·0 ± 22·4 for patients with hyperreactive rhinitis. We found a significant correlation of 0·95 between nasal eosinophils and nasal ECP. Nasal ECP and a subjective symptom score only correlate significantly for chronic sinusitis. We conclude that monitoring native nasal fluid ECP levels may be useful in the diagnosis and mangement of nasal inflammation. Elevated ECP in nasal secretion may originate from upregulated eosinophil degranulation and thus is a marker for local inflammation although not specific for any particular nasal disease.
Effects of castration and testosterone on Fel d I production by sebaceous glands of male cats: I—immunological assessment
Authors: ZIELONKA T. M. , CHARPIN D. , BERBIS P. , LUCIANI P. , CASANOVA D. , VERVLOET D.
Published: June 2013

Fel d I is produced by salivary and sebaceous glands. Hormonal control of sebum production is clearly established. The influence of cat castration and supplementary treatment with testosterone on the production of sebum and Fel d I in cat skin have been researched in this study. On day 1, 12 male cats were anaesthetized and three skin areas carefully shaven. Then the level of lipids on skin surface was measured by means of a photometric method. Finally, the three areas of skin were washed with 5 ml of distilled water through a plastic cylinder. Fel d I collected in the washes was measured with a two‐site monoclonal antibody based ELISA. On day 2, six cats were castrated, the other six were used as a control group. Two and 4 weeks later, the levels of lipids and Fel d I in skin washes were measured again in all cats. On day 30, the six castrated cats were injected intramuscularly with prolonged‐action testosterone. Two weeks later, quantification of lipids and Fel d I in all animals was repeated. Sebum and Fel d I levels decreased in all castrated animals. Injecting the castrated cats with testosterone led to a significant increase in sebum and Fel d I production. Our findings indicate that Fel d I production is influenced by the production of hormones.
Effects of castration and testosterone on Fel d I production by sebaceous glands of male cats: II—morphometric assessment
Authors: CHARPIN C. , ZIELONKA T. M. , CHARPIN D. , ANSALDI J.‐L. , ALLASIA C. , VERVLOET D.
Published: June 2013

A morphometric study of cat sebaceous glands was performed to evaluate the effects of castration and testosterone treatments. Skin biopsies were taken in six cats before castration, after castration and after the testosterone injections administered after castration (total number of biopsies: 18). Ninety 8μm thick sections of each biopsy were assessed for image analysis processing (SAMBA 2005, ALCATEL TITN). The variations in glands and cells size were evaluated on digitized microscopic images by morphometric parameters included in the SAMBA software package. An original software was developed for the analysis of the spacial gland structure. The best morphometric parameters were selected in a first step of the study, and included the nuclear surface (NS), the cell surface (CS) and the nuclear/cellular surface ratio (N/C). These three parameters were then compared in each group of samples for the six cats. It was shown that after castration the N/C (21%) significantly increased compared with prior to castration (12±6%). This 59±8% increase was mainly due to cell cytoplasm shrinking reflecting a decrease of the cell activity. The testosterone administered after castration produced a reverse effect with a N/C ratio back to normal (11·4%) and a significant cell cytoplasm and gland enlargement as shown by the three dimension constructions. This morphometric data correlated with the measurement of sebum and Fel d I productions. The negative effects of castration and the positive effects of testosterone on the sebaceous cells and glands volume favour the hypothesis that cat sebaceous cells are subject to hormonal control this is also likely to apply to the Fel d I production.
Gouvernance et croissance économique en Afrique
Authors: Atangana Ondoa Henri
Published: June 2013

L'objectif majeur de ce travail est d'identifier les indicateurs de la gouvernance qui peuvent relancer la croissance économique en Afrique. Pour cela, l'auteur a intégré les indicateurs de la gouvernance dans un modèle de croissance. L'estimation en panel dynamique du modèle ainsi conçu, à partir des données de la Banque Mondiale ainsi que celles de la CNUCED pour la période 1998–2011, a permis de relever que certains indicateurs de la gouvernance tels que la stabilité politique et la régulation de l'activité économique exercent une influence positive sur la croissance économique en Afrique. La lutte contre la corruption peut davantage booster la croissance économique dans les pays riches en ressources naturelles et qui appliquent les principes démocratiques. Par contre, les autres indicateurs de la gouvernance en l'occurrence la maitrise de la corruption, le respect des principes de l'Etat de droit ne produisent pas encore des effets escomptés dans les pays pauvres en ressources naturelles qui sont surtout des PMA. De ce fait, les autorités politiques doivent améliorer les indicateurs de la gouvernance, notamment la stabilité politique, la maîtrise de la corruption.
Intervention Designs for Household Food Security: Lessons from Kenya
Authors: Lemba Jacinta , D'Haese Marijke , D'Haese Luc , de Winter Anne‐Marie , Speelman Stijn
Published: June 2013

The study on this paper seeks to identify intervention design(s) which have had an impact on household food security in Kenya's drylands, and could be replicated in other places with similar conditions. Five different ex‐post interventions in the drylands of Kenya were evaluated using descriptive statistics and econometric models. It was shown that the intervention project design which had integrated provision of irrigation water and access to markets for both farm inputs and produce in its development strategies had an impact through improvement in the levels and stability of household incomes. Access to markets included institutional organization and provision of transport. In conclusion, food security policy in the drylands should focus on creating an enabling environment for farmers in terms of market organization and provision of irrigation infrastructure.
Optimal Portfolio Allocation for Corporate Pension Funds
Authors: McCarthy David , Miles David
Published: June 2013

We model the asset allocation decision of a stylised corporate defined benefit pension plan in the presence of hedgeable and unhedgeable risks. We assume that plan fiduciaries – who make the asset allocation decision – face non–linear payoffs linked to the plan's funding status because of the presence of pension insurance and a sponsoring employer who may share any shortfall or pension surplus. We find that even simple asymmetries in payoffs have large and highly persistent effects on asset allocation, while unhedgeable risks exert only a small effect. We conclude that institutional details are crucial in understanding DB pension asset allocation.
Stochastic Volatility Jump‐Diffusions for European Equity Index Dynamics
Authors: Kaeck Andreas , Alexander Carol
Published: June 2013

Major research on equity index dynamics has investigated only US indices (usually the S&P 500) and has provided contradictory results. In this paper a clarification and extension of that previous research is given. We find that European equity indices have quite different dynamics from the S&P 500. Each of the European indices considered may be satisfactorily modelled using either an affine model with price and volatility jumps or a GARCH volatility process without jumps. The S&P 500 dynamics are much more difficult to capture in a jump‐diffusion framework.
Feminist Research Management in Higher Education in Britain: Possibilities and Practices
Authors: Mauthner Natasha S. , Edwards Rosalind
Published: June 2013

This article aims to explore the possibilities and ambivalent practices of feminist management in the context of research management in higher education in Britain. Drawing on a reflexive and critical analysis of our experiences of contract research and research management over the past 15 years, we discuss the challenges of putting feminist management principles into practice in team‐based and collaborative research projects. By rendering academic cultures increasingly competitive, individualist and managerial, we argue, new managerialist reforms in higher education over the past two decades have intensified those very aspects of academic life that feminists have long struggled with. In particular, in creating the new subject position of research manager, with concomitant institutional expectations and obligations, new managerialism has exacerbated tensions between our identities as feminists, scholars and managers and between collective, individual and institutional needs and aspirations. We illustrate these tensions through a discussion of four related aspects of team research which, we suggest, undermine attempts at implementing the feminist ideals of intellectual equity and political equality: divisions of labour in research teams; divisions of intellectual status and the differential valuation of researchers and research labour; divisions of formal power and the management structure of research teams; and exertions of informal power and the micropolitics of research teams. We suggest that feminist research management and feminist management, more generally, need to recognize and accept differences and inequalities among feminists and work with these issues in reflexive, ethical and caring ways.
Women and Men as Managers: The Importance of Disappointment
Authors: Chandler John
Published: June 2013

This article argues for a focus on disappointment as a key concept and socially embedded phenomenon, illustrated with reference to the experience of women and men as managers. It is shown that the importance of disappointment lies in part in its ability to focus attention on hopes and expectations, as well as on blockages, failures and defeats. It also, however, lies in its capacity to generate action, including engagement in social movement activity. It is argued that focusing on disappointment can usefully apply some of Margaret Archer's ideas on agency and the internal conversation.
Has social mobility in Britain decreased? Reconciling divergent findings on income and class mobility
Authors: Erikson Robert , Goldthorpe John H.
Published: June 2013

Social mobility has become a topic of central political concern. In political and also media circles it is widely believed that in Britain today mobility is in decline. However, this belief appears to be based on a single piece of research by economists that is in fact concerned with intergenerational income mobility: specifically, with the relation between family income and children's later earnings. Research by sociologists using the same data sources – the British birth cohort studies of 1958 and 1970 – but focusing on intergenerational class mobility does not reveal a decline either in total mobility rates or in underlying relative rates. The paper investigates these divergent findings. We show that they do not result from the use of different subsets of the data or of different analytical techniques. Instead, given the more stable and generally less fluid class mobility regime, it is the high level of income mobility of the 1958 cohort, rather than the lower level of the 1970 cohort, that is chiefly in need of explanation. Further analyses – including ones of the relative influence of parental class and of family income on children's educational attainment – suggest that the economists' finding of declining mobility between the two cohorts may stem, in part at least, from the fact that the family income variable for the 1958 cohort provides a less adequate measure of ‘permanent income’ than does that for the 1970 cohort. But, in any event, it would appear that the class mobility regime more fully captures the continuity in economic advantage and disadvantage that persists across generations.
Who intermarries in Britain? Explaining ethnic diversity in intermarriage patterns
Authors: Muttarak Raya , Heath Anthony
Published: June 2013

This paper investigates trends, patterns and determinants of intermarriage (and partnership) comparing patterns among men and women and among different ethnic groups in Britain. We distinguish between endogamous (co‐ethnic), majority/minority and minority/minority marriages. Hypotheses are derived from the theoretical literatures on assimilation, segmented assimilation and opportunity structures. The empirical analysis is based on the 1988–2006 General Household Surveys (N = 115,494). Consistent with assimilation theory we find that, for all ethnic minority groups, the propensity to intermarry is higher in the second generation than in the first. Consistent with ideas drawn from segmented assimilation theory, we also find that substantial differences in propensity to form majority/minority marriages persist after controls for individual characteristics such as age, educational level, generation and length of residence in Britain, with men and women of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi background having higher propensities to form endogamous partnerships. However, we also find that opportunity structures affect intermarriage propensities for all groups alike, with individuals in more diverse residential areas (as measured by the ratio of majority to minority residents in the area) having higher likelihood to form majority/minority partnerships. We conclude then that, beginning from very different starting points, all groups, both minority and the majority groups exhibit common patterns of generational change and response to opportunity structures. Even the groups that are believed to have the strongest community structures and the strongest norms supporting endogamy appear to be experiencing increasing exogamy in the second generation and in more diverse residential settings. This suggests that a weak rather than a strong version of segmented assimilation provides the best account of British patterns.
Personality and basal metabolic rate in a wild bird population
Authors: Bouwhuis Sandra , Quinn John L. , Sheldon Ben C. , Verhulst Simon
Published: June 2013

Personality and metabolic rate are predicted to show covariance on methodological and functional grounds, but empirical studies at the individual level are rare, especially in natural populations. Here we assess the relationship between exploration behaviour, an important axis of personality, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) for 680 free‐living great tits Parus major, studied over three years. We find that exploration behaviour is weakly negatively related to BMR among female, but not male, birds. Moreover, we find exploration behaviour to be independent of methodological aspects of BMR measurements (e.g. activity levels, time to acclimatize) which have been suggested to be indicative of personality‐related activity or stress levels during measurement. This suggests that the weak link between exploration behaviour and BMR found here is functional rather than methodological. We therefore test the hypothesis that selection favours covariance between exploration behaviour and metabolic rate, but find no evidence for correlational survival or fecundity selection. Our data therefore provide at best only very weak evidence for a functional link between personality and metabolic rate, and we suggest that studies of personality and metabolic strategies, or personality and daily energy expenditure, are required to further resolve the link between personality and metabolic rate.
Infections in hospitalised Russian children with AIDS
Authors: Makarova N , Yurin O , Pokrovsky V , Tappuni AR
Published: June 2013

OBJECTIVES: (1) To determine the most common infections in hospitalised children with AIDS. (2) To identify the pathogens causing the above infections. (3) To investigate the possibility of nosocomial transmission of potential pathogens in a Russian AIDS hospital. SETTING: Russian AIDS Hospital for Children.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Swabs/samples of skin, mouth, nose, urine and stool were collected from 95 hospitalised children with AIDS, 12 of their mothers and 11 health care workers in contact with the children. Hospital objects were also sampled. The predominant isolates from the infection sites were speciated. Antibiotic sensitivity profiles, phagotyping and gel electrophoresis of cell lysates were used for the epidemiological marking of Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

RESULTS: Oral infections were the most prevalent infections in this study group. The most frequently isolated micro‐organisms were C. albicans, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. The results of the epidemiological study suggests nosocomial transmission of these strains.

CONCLUSIONS: The present chemoprophylaxis programme for opportunistic oral infections requires revision. Systems of microbiological surveillance and cross‐infection control monitoring in relation to immunocompromised patients need to be developed to decrease the possibility of nosocomial transmission of potential pathogens between hospitalised children with AIDS, their mothers and health care providers.
Etiology of AIDS‐related Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma
Authors: Boshoff C , Whitby D , Talbot S , Weiss RA
Published: June 2013

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are common consequences of HIV infection. These tumours appear to be precipitated by herpesviruses. Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is implicated as a cause of up to 50% of systemic NHLs and up to 100% of central nervous system lymphomas in patients with AIDS. KS may be a consequence of the newly identified gamma‐herpesvirus KSHV (KS‐associated herpesvirus or HHV‐8). This herpesvirus is found in all KS biopsies from different epidemiologic forms of this disease. KSHV is also implicated in the pathogenesis of a rare form of B cell lymphoma called body‐cavity based lymphoma or primary effusion lymphoma (PEL).
Epstein‐Barr virus BMRF‐2 and BDLF‐3 expression in hairy leukoplakia
Authors: Palefsky JM , Penaranda M‐E , Pierik LT , Lagenaur LA , MacPhail LA , Greenspan D , Greenspan JS
Published: June 2013

Hairy leukoplakia (HL) is a lesion found on the side of the tongue of immunocompromised individuals, including those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The lesion has unique histopathologic features and is characterised by high‐level Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) replication, multiple EBV strains, and extensive inter‐and intra‐strain recombination. Expression of EBV genes spanning the entire viral life cycle from latency‐associated genes to late, replicative genes has been detected in the lesion. HL thus provides a unique opportunity to study EBV expression in oral epithelium, and to study expression of novel EBV genes. We therefore constructed a cDNA library from an HL biopsy and detected expression of two genes not previously described in vivo: BMRF‐2 and BDLF‐3. Sequence analysis of the cDNAs revealed few amino acid changes from the B95‐8 sequence. Expression of both genes was localized to the lower prickle cell layer of the tongue epithelium. BMRF‐2 protein expression was primarily detected in the cell nuclei of the upper prickle cell layer. BDLF‐3 protein expression was observed in the perinuclear space and Golgi compartment. The function of these proteins is currently under investigation.
Oral ulcerations in HIV infection
Authors: Reichart PA
Published: June 2013

Oral ulceration in HIV infection may be due to: (1) mycotic; (2) bacterial, protozoan; (3) and viral infections; (4) oral neoplasia; (5) aphthous ulceration/ulceration not otherwise specified (NOS); or (6) ulceration of iatrogenic origin. Of particular significance are oral ulcerations caused by viruses of the herpes virus group (HSV 1/2, CMV, VZV) and ulcerations of the aphthous type. It was shown recently that coinfection of viral ulcers occurs. The aetiopathogenesis of the aphthous type of ulcerations including the still debated ulceration NOS is not clear. Further basic and clinical research is necessary in order to better understand ulceration particularly in relation to immunoregulation, tissue breakdown and repair.
Oral ulceration in HIV infection: Investigation and pathogenesis
Authors: MacPhail LA , Greenspan JS
Published: June 2013

Oral ulcerations associated with HIV infection include recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU). Whereas RAU prevalence is not increased, lesion severity is: among a group of HIV+ patients, 66% had the more severe herpetiform or major RAU. This increased severity suggests that HIV disease‐related changes in the immune system may exacerbate RAU.

In the peripheral blood of healthy subjects with RAU, CD4:CD8 cell ratios may be reversed and the proportion of T cell receptor‐γδ+ cells increased. HIV disease‐related immune system changes are characterized by reversed CD4:CD8, lowered CD4 cell counts and an inverse correlation between CD4 cell counts and per cent activated γδ lymphocytes.

Adhesion molecules and cytokines involved in lymphocyte homing may be important in RAU pathogenesis: ICAM‐I and ELAM are strongly expressed, and TNFα production is increased in peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy patients with RAU. In patients with active HIV disease/AIDS, serum TNFα levels are increased. Thalidomide, which inhibits TNFα production, is effective treatment for RAU.

Some RAU patients have vitamin B12 or folate deficiencies, levels of which are commonly low in HIV+/AIDS patients. However, in a case control study of HIV+ patients, vitamin B12‐ or folate‐deficiencies were not found to be significant risk factors for RAU.
Some unusual oral lesions in HIV infection: Comments on the current classification
Authors: van der Waal I
Published: June 2013

Of the numerous oral lesions reported in HIV‐infected patients, four entities will be discussed in this paper: linear gingival erythema; cystic lymphoid hyperplasia of the parotid gland; oral non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma; and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Based on the literature and the author's personal experience, it appears that linear gingival erythema is perhaps a specific HIV‐associated periodontal lesion, but that insufficient data are available in the literature yet to classify this periodontal lesion as a lesion that is strongly associated with HIV infection. On the other hand, cystic lymphoid hyperplasia of the parotid gland has been rather widely reported and has characteristic histopathological features that would justify consideration of this lesion as highly indicative of an underlying HIV infection. Oral non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma, at present regarded as a lesion ‘strongly associated with HIV infection’, is less characteristic in this respect and should merely be classified as ‘a lesion seen in HIV infection’. Oral squamous cell carcinomas, not included in the most recent International Classification of Oral Manifestations of HIV infection, should be listed in Group 3 of that classification, representing ‘lesions seen in HIV infection’. Further criteria should be developed that will enable distinctions to be made between lesions ‘strongly associated with’, ‘less commonly associated with’, and ‘seen in’ HIV infection.