bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interdependent anxiety and psychological distress in women with breast cancer and their partners
Authors: Segrin Chris , Badger Terry , Dorros Sybilla M. , Meek Paula , Lopez Ana Maria
Published: November 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of interdependence on anxiety within dyads where one person was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Perceptions of relationship quality were expected to mitigate the anxiety experienced by both members of the dyad. 96 dyads participated in a 3‐wave longitudinal study that took place over 10 weeks. Dyads were composed of a woman with stage I–III breast cancer who was currently undergoing treatment, and a partner who she nominated to participate in the study along with her. Results indicated that anxiety felt by women with breast cancer was consistently associated with that of her partner. Structural equation analyses suggest that the within‐dyad influence runs mostly from partners' anxiety to the anxiety of women with breast cancer. Partners' anxiety was also associated with other indicators of the women's well being including depression, fatigue, and symptom management. Perceptions of relationship quality from women with breast cancer and their partners were negatively associated with partners' anxiety. However, women's anxiety was only correlated with their partners', but not their own, perceptions of relationship quality. These findings underscore the benefit of having partners who are able to cope with or get help for their own personal distress as women cope with the stress of breast cancer and its treatment. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Alexithymia, coping, and illness behavior correlates of pain experience in cancer patients
Authors: Porcelli Piero , Tulipani Cinzia , Maiello Evaristo , Cilenti Giuseppina , Todarello Orlando
Published: November 2006

This paper aimed to investigate the role played by key psychological factors in the experience of pain in cancer. One hundred and eight consecutive cancer patients were administered validated scales for pain, alexithymia, coping with cancer, and illness behavior. Two groups of patients with (n=45, 42%) and without (n=63, 58%) current pain were compared. Pain was associated to tumor sites and status, poor adjustment to cancer, and higher disease conviction and perception, but not to global alexithymia. However, the component of difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) of the alexithymia construct was significantly higher in pain patients compared to pain‐free patients (t=2.88, p<0.01), constituted one of the independent predictors of pain (r=0.37; β=0.27, p<0.01), and correlated with quality descriptors of pain (r=0.33, p<0.05). The present findings showed for the first time that although alexithymia was not globally related to cancer pain, the DIF component was however associated to pain dimensions, thus suggesting it might be involved in the way patients describe their pain experience, together with maladaptive coping and abnormal illness behavior. Cancer patients experiencing pain should be helped to adopt a more adaptive coping with the disease by identifying more accurately the source of their feelings. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Attributions of lung cancer: my own illness is hardly caused by smoking
Authors: Salander Pär
Published: November 2006

People experiencing unexpected negative events tend to cope with the situation through causal attributions. It seems that having some sort of answer to ‘why‐me’ makes the event less shattering and the world more controllable. We know for example that the great majority of women with breast cancer tend to have clear ideas about its causes. Lung cancer, in contrast to breast cancer, has a well‐known significant cause, as smoking accounts for about 80% of the incidences. This paper deals with the attribution process in lung cancer. It examines how lung cancer patients attribute the cause of their disease and how this relates to an understanding of how people deal with strain. Twenty‐three patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer were consecutively followed by means of repeated interviews throughout the course of the disease. It emerged that among the smokers the most common attribution was ‘don't know’—smoking was not seen as the prime cause of their cancer. This finding is discussed in relation to the few earlier, somewhat contradictory studies that exist; and it is argued that the findings coincide well with the concept of ‘disavowal’, which is deemed to be the central process concerned in dealing with strain. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Investigation of anterior knee pain after total hip replacement: a pilot study
Authors: Robertson Claire , Coutts Fiona , Bell Jonathan
Published: November 2006

Background and Purpose. There is no previous research to determine if total hip replacement can lead to anterior knee pain. The idea for the present study came from clinical observation of anterior knee pain (AKP) after total hip replacement, and the objective was to investigate anterior knee pain after total hip replacement. Method. The study used a prospective single‐system design with a convenience sample. Six men and seven women were assessed before and at six weeks after total hip replacement for the presence and degree of AKP, using a step‐down test combined with a visual analogue scale (VAS). Measurements were also taken of leg length, hip and knee motion, thigh circumference and hamstring length using previously validated tests. Results. Eight of thirteen subjects had AKP at six weeks post‐operation. Active knee flexion was reduced post‐operation (p < 0.0007), and proximal, mid‐ and distal thigh circumferences were increased (p < 0.0001). Eleven of 13 subjects demonstrated leg lengthening (p < 0.0001), and 10/11 subjects demonstrated a reduction in passive knee flexion (p < 0.002). All biomechanical data were correlated against the VAS. Although none were statistically significant, both decreased active and passive knee flexion, and increased thigh circumference exhibited the greatest trend with the VAS. Conclusions. The results of the present study cannot be compared to other studies, as there are no previous studies on AKP after total hip replacement. Current outcome measures for total hip replacement do not measure for AKP, although it may potentially hinder full functional recovery. Orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists need to be aware if this is a possible complication of total hip replacement, and hence further research is required to test external validity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Are differences in leg length predictive of lateral patello‐femoral pain?
Authors: Carlson Mary , Wilkerson Jerry
Published: November 2006

Background and Purpose. Lateral patello‐femoral pain can shorten an athletic career and generally decrease an individual's physical activity and functional level, such as preventing stair climbing and reducing the ability to rise from a chair. Leg length inequality is associated with patello‐femoral pain. A leg length test that best distinguishes the difference between people who have lateral patello‐femoral pain and those who do not would have clinical utility. The purpose of the present study was, first, to determine if unilateral, lateral patello‐femoral pain was associated with the longer leg when inequality of leg lengths existed and, second, to determine if leg length direct measurement, indirect measurement or quadriceps angle (Q angle) could correctly classify participants according to the presence or absence of patello‐femoral pain. Method. The study used an ex post facto, two‐group quasi‐experimental design. A volunteer sample of 52 participants (14 males, 38 females), ranged in age from 18 to 52 years. Three methods were used to measure leg lengths: palpation meter (PALM) on anterior superior iliac spines (ASIS) while participants maintained centred weight‐bearing position on a high resolution pressure mat; tape measurement from ASIS to medial malleolus (supine); tape measurement from ASIS to lateral malleolus (supine). Additionally, Q angle was measured in supine position. Patellar grind test, medial retinacular and lateral patellar palpation screened for patello‐femoral pain. Results. Logistic regression analysis determined correctness of membership in painful and non‐painful patello‐femoral groups. The PALM method of indirect measurement of leg length differences overall correctly classified approximately 83% of the participants. Tape measure to medial and lateral malleoli as well as Q angle did not yield significant results. Conclusion. The results suggested that the PALM method of measuring leg length differences may have clinical utility in differentiating between patients who are likely to sustain patello‐femoral pain syndrome and those who will not. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Determination of active components of Ginkgo biloba in human urine by capillary high‐performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with on‐line column‐switching purification
Authors: Ding Shujing , Dudley Ed , Chen Lijuan , Plummer Sue , Tang Jiandong , Newton Russell P. , Brenton A. Gareth
Published: November 2006

Ginkgo biloba is one of the most popular herbal nutritional supplements, with terpene lactones and flavonoids being the two major active components. An on‐line purification high‐performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) method was successfully developed for the quantitative determination of flavonoids and terpene lactones excreted in human urine after ingesting the herbal supplement. Satisfactory separation was obtained using a C18 capillary column made in‐house with sample clean‐up and pre‐concentration achieved using a C18 pre‐column with column switching. High selectivity and limits of detection of 1–18 ng/mL were achieved using a selected ion monitoring (SIM) scan in negative ion mode; the on‐line solid‐phase extraction (SPE) recovery of the active components in Ginkgo biloba determined in this study was greater than 75%. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Feedback stabilization of bifurcations in multivariable nonlinear systems—Part I: equilibrium bifurcations
Authors: Wang Yong , Murray Richard M.
Published: November 2006

Under certain non‐degeneracy conditions, necessary and sufficient conditions for stabilizability are obtained for multi‐input nonlinear systems possessing a simple equilibrium bifurcation with the critical mode being linearly uncontrollable. Stabilizability is defined as the existence of a sufficiently smooth state feedback such that the bifurcation of the closed‐loop system is a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation, which is equivalent to local asymptotic stability of the system at the bifurcation point. Stabilizability is reduced to the existence of solutions to a third order algebraic inequality, coupled with a quadratic algebraic equation, with the unknowns being the feedback gains. Explicit conditions for the existence of solutions to the algebraic equation and the inequality are derived. Part of the sufficient conditions are equivalent to the rank conditions of augmented matrices. Conditions under which there exists a stabilizing linear feedback law are also derived. The theoretical results are applied to active control of rotating stall in axial compressors using bleed valve as actuator. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bond–Detach Lithography: A Method for Micro/Nanolithography by Precision PDMS Patterning
Authors: Thangawng Abel L. , Swartz Melody A. , Glucksberg Matthew R. , Ruoff Rodney S.
Published: November 2006

We have discovered a micro/nanopatterning technique based on the patterning of a PDMS membrane/film, which involves bonding a PDMS structure/stamp (that has the desired patterns) to a PDMS film. The technique, which we call “bond–detach lithography”, was demonstrated (in conjunction with other microfabrication techniques) by transferring several micro‐ and nanoscale patterns onto a variety of substrates. Bond–detach lithography is a parallel process technique in which a master mold can be used many times, and is particularly simple and inexpensive.
Scanning Probe Microscopy Investigation of Self‐Organized Perylenetetracarboxdiimide Nanostructures at Surfaces: Structural and Electronic Properties
Authors: Palermo Vincenzo , Liscio Andrea , Gentilini Desirée , Nolde Fabian , Müllen Klaus , Samorì Paolo
Published: November 2006

A scanning probe microscopy investigation of the self‐organization and local electronic properties of spin‐coated ultrathin films of N‐alkyl substituted perylenetetracarboxdiimide (PDI) is described. By carefully balancing the interplay between molecule–molecule and molecule–substrate interactions, PDI is able to form highly ordered supramolecular architectures on flat surfaces from solution. On an electrically insulating yet highly polar surface (mica) PDI forms strongly anisotropic architectures with needlelike structures with lengths of up to a few micrometers. On a conductive yet apolar surface (highly oriented pyrolytic graphite), the competition between the strong molecule–substrate interactions and the intermolecular forces leads to the generation of more disordered structures. The local electronic properties of these architectures are studied by Kelvin probe force microscopy by estimating their surface potential (SP). Quantitative measurements of the SP are obtained by analyzing the experimentally estimated SP data with a computational model, which discriminates between the intrinsic SP and the effect of long‐range tip–surface interactions. The SP of PDI aggregates depends on the structural order at the supramolecular level. Narrow needles of constant width reveal identical SPs independent of length. Wider needles with a polydisperse width distribution exhibit a greater SP.
Longitudinal reference ranges for ductus venosus flow velocities and waveform indices
Authors: Kessler J. , Rasmussen S. , Hanson M. , Kiserud T.
Published: November 2006

Objectives

Serial Doppler measurements of the ductus venosus are used increasingly for monitoring fetuses at risk of hemodynamic compromise, but existing reference ranges are based on cross‐sectional studies and thus are less suitable for comparison with serial measurements. We aimed to establish longitudinal reference ranges for ductus venosus flow velocities and waveform indices and to provide the necessary terms for calculating conditional reference ranges for serial measurements.

Methods

This was a longitudinal study of 160 low‐risk pregnancies. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound was used to record ductus venosus blood flow velocities at 4‐week intervals from 20–22 weeks of gestation onwards.

Results

With a success rate of 93%, 547 measurements (four or five in each fetus) were used to establish reference ranges. The time‐averaged maximum velocity was 50 cm/s at 21 weeks of gestation, increased to 60 cm/s at 32 weeks, and remained so until term. Similarly, the peak systolic velocity increased from 59 cm/s at 21 weeks to 71 cm/s at 31 weeks and remained so until term. The end‐diastolic velocity showed a continuous increase from 31 cm/s at 21 weeks to 43 cm/s at 40 weeks. The pulsatility index for veins decreased from 0.57 at 21 weeks to 0.44 at 40 weeks. When conditioned by a previous measurement, the reference ranges for the next observation became narrower and commonly shifted compared with those of the entire population.

Conclusion

The new longitudinal reference ranges presented here reflect the development of the ductus venosus flow velocities and velocity indices and are thus appropriate for serial measurements, particularly if conditional terms are included. Copyright © 2006 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eco(nomics/logy)
Authors: Arrow Kenneth J.
Published: November 2006

This note discusses the analytic tools available for studying the interrelations between the economy and the ecological system. It points out the importance of the concept of cooperative games as an addition to the emphasis on non‐cooperative games in both economics and ecology. The relation between both concepts of the games and the market system is discussed.
Ion microprobe U–Pb zircon geochronology of a late tectonic granitic–gabbroic rock complex within the Hercynian Iberian belt
Authors: ZECK H. P. , WINGATE M. T. D. , POOLEY G.
Published: November 2006

Ion microprobe (SIMS) dating shows that three plutonic rock bodies representative of the major, ∼15 000 km2, late tectonic (late-D3), plutonic rock series in the Central Iberian Zone of the Hercynian belt in west-central Iberia have indistinguishable zircon crystallization ages. Ledrada biotite granite and Colmenar cordierite-bearing biotite granite show gradual transitions in field appearance, petrography and chemistry and have statistically indistinguishable weighted average ages of 306.8 ± 1.9(2σ) Ma and 306.5 ± 1.5(2σ) Ma, respectively, which indicates that they originated during a single event involving a heterogeneous magma which notably varied in Al-content. The third rock body, Navahermosa meta-gabbronorite, has a weighted average zircon crystallization age of 305.6 ± 1.4(2σ) Ma, statistically indistinguishable (variance analysis, F-test, α = 0.05) from the granites. Zircon crystals in the gabbronoritic rock are anhedral, skeletal, millimetre-sized and partake in main magmatic textures, whereas the zircon grains in the granites are of more common appearance, much smaller, usually euhedral and enclosed in main magmatic crystals. As gestation times of granitic zircon, the time between zircon crystallization and magmatic intrusion, may be up to 5 Myr, the crystallization age of the gabbronoritic zircon may be the best estimate of the time of emplacement of the magmatic complex. Our study indicates co-existence of basic and silicic magmas in the Hercynian crustal section at c. 306 Ma, suggesting common genetic control. The two granitic rocks carry inherited zircon ranging from c. 1300 to 330 Ma, indicating that pre-Hercynian basement rocks of Proterozoic to Palaeozoic age contributed to the granitic magma.
On converging shock waves of spherical and
polyhedral form
Authors: SCHWENDEMAN DONALD W.
Published: November 2006

The behaviour of converging spherical shock waves is considered using Whitham's
theory of geometrical shock dynamics. An analysis of converging shocks whose initial
shape takes the form of regular polyhedra is presented. The analysis of this problem
is motivated by the earlier work on converging cylindrical shocks discussed in
Schwendeman & Whitham (1987). In that paper, exact solutions were reported for
converging polygonal shocks in which the initial shape re-forms repeatedly as the
shock contracts. For the polyhedral case, the analysis is performed both analytically
and numerically for an equivalent problem involving shock propagation in a converging
channel with triangular cross-section. It is found that a repeating sequence
of shock surfaces composed of nearly planar pieces develops, although the initial
planar surface does not re-form, and that the increase in strength of the shock at
each iterate in the sequence follows the same behaviour as for a converging spherical
shock independent of the convergence angle of the channel. In this sense, the shocks
are stable and the result is analogous to that found in the two-dimensional case.
A numerical study of converging spherical shocks subject to smooth initial perturbations
in strength shows a strong tendency to form surfaces composed of nearly
planar pieces suggesting that the stability result is fairly general.
Vertical structure in stratified wakes with high initial Froude number
Authors: SPEDDING G. R.
Published: November 2006

Initially turbulent bluff body wakes decay in the presence of a stable background density
gradient to form chains of comparatively stable and long-lived vortex structures,
most of the late-time properties of which have been shown to be independent of the
initial generating Froude number (for a sphere of diameter, D, moving at speed, U,
F = 2U/ND, where N is the buoyancy frequency).
Results of experiments with vertical interrogation planes are described, where any anticipated F-dependence might be
most evident, as the competing effects of horizontal inertial forcing and the restoring
buoyancy force can be measured directly by simultaneous measurement of horizontal
and vertical velocity components. Experiments were conducted at sufficiently large
values of Re [ges ] 3 × 103 and F [ges ] 4 that
turbulence can occur over many scales in the near wake, and the scaling properties might then extrapolate
to ocean engineering applications.

When F [ges ] 4, the fluid motions in the intermediate, non-equilibrium régime always
occur in coherent patches whose vertical extent is smaller than the total wake height.
The patches of vorticity have longer horizontal than vertical coherence lengths, and
may be termed layers, even though they are far from uniform in the horizontal. The
degree to which the complex vertical structure is later dominated by the mean wake
defect depends strongly on F.

The total wake height, LV, depends on the initial
value of F so that LV/D ∼ F0.6.
LV is established early and remains almost unchanged
up to Nt ≈ 30. At later times,
the non-equilibrium wake exchanges potential with kinetic energy and re-adjusts
according to local dynamical constraints, so that, within each layer, the quasi-two-dimensional
flow proceeds without any further dependence on, or memory of, the
initial value of F. The flow is everywhere stable to overturning Kelvin–Helmholtz
instabilities and local length and velocity scales evolve so that the local horizontal
and vertical Froude numbers, FH, FV,
are both of order 0.1.

Although Osmidov-length arguments for vertical scale selection appear to be physically
appropriate, they do not correctly predict the measured F-dependence in either
LV, or in the layer height, lV.
Thus the physical mechanism responsible remains
elusive, as the alternative laminar instability mechanisms are not presented with the
appropriate, scale-free initial conditions over the parameter range in which they have
been shown to operate.

Ultimately, the measurements support the application of low FH
and FV scaling
theories to the late wake flow. The preceding non-equilibrium stage, when the vertical
structure of the late wake is determined, does not yield so readily to assumptions
involving the smallness of the vertical velocity component.
Do true elevation gravity–capillary solitary
waves exist? A numerical investigation
Authors: CHAMPNEYS A. R. , VANDEN-BROECK J.-M. , LORD G. J.
Published: November 2006

This paper extends the numerical results of Hunter & Vanden-Broeck (1983) and
Vanden-Broeck (1991) which were concerned with studies of solitary waves on the
surface of fluids of finite depth under the action of gravity and surface tension. The
aim of this paper is to answer the question of whether small-amplitude elevation
solitary waves exist. Several analytical results have proved that bifurcating from
Froude number F = 1, for Bond number τ between 0 and 1/3, there are families
of ‘generalized’ solitary waves with periodic tails whose minimum amplitude is an
exponentially small function of F−1. An open problem (which, for τ sufficiently close
to 1/3, was recently proved by Sun 1999 to be false) is whether this amplitude can
ever be zero, which would give a truly localized solitary wave.

The problem is first addressed in terms of model equations taking the form of
generalized fifth-order KdV equations, where it is demonstrated that if such a
zero-tail-amplitude solution occurs, it does so along codimension-one lines in the parameter
plane. Moreover, along solution paths of generalized solitary waves a topological
distinction is found between cases where the tail does vanish and those where it does
not. This motivates a new set of numerical results for the full problem, formulated
using a boundary integral method, namely to probe the size of the tail amplitude as
τ varies for fixed F > 1. The strong conclusion from the numerical results is that true
solitary waves of elevation do not exist for the steady gravity–capillary water wave
problem, at least for 9/50 < τ < 1=3. This finding confirms and explains previous
asymptotic results by Yang & Akylas.
Weakly stratified laminar flow past normal flat plates
Authors: CASTRO IAN P.
Published: November 2006

Numerical computations of the steady, two-dimensional, incompressible, uniform
velocity but stably stratified flow past a normal flat plate (of unit half-width) in
a channel are presented. Attention is restricted to cases in which the stratification
is weak enough to avoid occurrence of the gravity wave motions familiar in more
strongly stratified flows over obstacles. The nature of the flow is explored for channel
half-widths, H, in the range 5 [les ] H [les ] 100, for Reynolds numbers, Re, (based on
body half-width and the upstream velocity, U) up to 600 and for stratification levels
between zero (i.e. neutral flow) and the limit set by the first appearance of waves.
The fourth parameter governing the flow is the Schmidt number, Sc, the ratio of
the molecular diffusion of the agent providing the stratification to the molecular
viscosity. For cases of very large (in the limit, infinite) Sc a novel technique is used,
which avoids solving the density equation explicitly. Results are compared with the
implications of the asymptotic theory of Chernyshenko & Castro (1996) and with
earlier computations of neutral flows over both flat plates and circular cylinders.
The qualitative behaviour in the various flow regimes identified by the theory is
demonstrated, but it is also shown that in some cases a flow zone additional to those
identified by the theory appears and that, in any case, precise agreement would, for
most regimes, require very much higher Re and/or H. Some examples of multiple
(i.e. non-unique) solutions are shown and we discuss the likelihood of these being
genuine, rather than an artefact of the numerical scheme.
Stretching effects on the three-dimensional
stability of vortices with axial flow
Authors: DELBENDE IVAN , ROSSI MAURICE , LE DIZÈS STÉPHANE
Published: November 2006

The effect of stretching on the three-dimensional stability of a viscous unsteady vortex
is addressed. The basic flow, which satisfies the Navier–Stokes equations, is a vortex
with axial flow subjected to a time-dependent strain field oriented along its axis. The
linear equations for the three-dimensional perturbations of the stretched vortex are
first reduced by using successive changes of variables to equations which are almost
identical to those of the unstretched vortex but with time-dependent parameters.
These equations are then numerically solved in the particular case of the Batchelor
vortex with a strain field which first compresses then stretches the vortex. Through this
simulation, it is qualitatively demonstrated how the simultaneous action of stretching
and azimuthal vorticity may destabilize a vortex. It is also argued that it provides a
possible mechanism for the vortex bursts observed in turbulence experiments.
Hippocampal 1H MRS in patients with bipolar disorder taking valproate versus valproate plus quetiapine
Authors: ATMACA MURAD , YILDIRIM HANEFI , OZDEMIR HUSEYIN , OGUR ERKIN , TEZCAN ERTAN
Published: November 2006

Background. No study to date has examined the effects of mood stabilizer alone and the combination of mood stabilizer and atypical antipsychotic, quetiapine, on hippocampal neurochemical markers of bipolar disordered patients concurrently. We therefore undertook a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) study of drug-free patients with bipolar disorder (drug-free group), patients undergoing valproate treatment (valproate group), patients administered valproate+quetiapine (valprote+quetiapine group) and healthy controls, focusing on the in vivo neuroanatomy of the hippocampus.

Method. Thirty patients from the Firat University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and 10 healthy controls gave written informed consent to participate in the study. The patients and controls underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI), and measures of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (CHO), and creatine+phosphocreatine (CRE) in hippocampal regions were obtained.

Results. The drug-free patients had significantly lower NAA/CRE and NAA/CHO ratios compared with the valproate and valproate+quetiapine groups and the healthy controls. The lower NAA/CRE and NAA/CHO ratios remained statistically significant even after covarying for age or whole brain volume compared with the valproate and valproate+quetiapine groups and healthy controls. In post hoc comparisons, a significant difference was found between the valproate+quetiapine group and the valproate group only with regard to NAA/CHO.

Conclusion. Our findings suggest that valproate has a neuroprotective effect. In post hoc comparisons, a significant difference was found between the valproate+quetiapine and the valproate group with regard to NAA/CHO, indicating that the addition of quetiapine further increases the level of NAA and provides an additional neuroprotective effect.
The genetic relationship between neuroticism and autonomic function in female twins
Authors: RIESE HARRIËTTE , ROSMALEN JUDITH G. M. , ORMEL JOHAN , VAN ROON ARIE M. , OLDEHINKEL ALBERTINE J. , RIJSDIJK FRÜHLING V.
Published: November 2006

Background. Neuroticism is widely used as an explanatory concept in etiological research of psychopathology. In order to clarify what neuroticism actually represents, we investigated the genetic association between neuroticism and cardiovascular measures.

Method. In 125 female twin pairs (18–30 years), electrocardiogram and continuous finger blood pressure were assessed during two rest and two mental stress conditions. Mean values for baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), heart rate variability (HRV) and inter-beat interval (IBI) were calculated for each condition. Neuroticism was assessed by multiple questionnaires. Multivariate genetic model-fitting analyses were used to investigate the genetic correlation between latent neuroticism and the cardiovascular autonomic nervous system (ANS) measures.

Results. Neuroticism was negatively correlated to BRS and HRV. Neuroticism was not correlated to IBI. For BRS, this phenotypical relation was entirely determined by shared genetic influences. For HRV, the genetic contribution to the phenotypical correlation was not significant, but the proportions of explained covariance showed a trend of more genetic than environmental influences on the phenotypical relationship.

Conclusions. High neuroticism is associated with a deregulated ANS. Pleiotropic genetic effects may be partly responsible for this effect.
A new scale to assess the therapeutic relationship in community mental health care: STAR
Authors: McGUIRE-SNIECKUS REBECCA , McCABE ROSEMARIE , CATTY JOCELYN , HANSSON LARS , PRIEBE STEFAN
Published: November 2006

Background. No instrument has been developed specifically for assessing the clinician–patient therapeutic relationship (TR) in community psychiatry. This study aimed to develop a measure of the TR with clinician and patient versions using psychometric principles for test construction.

Method. A four-stage prospective study was undertaken, comprising qualitative semi-structured interviews about TRs with clinicians and patients and their assessment of nine established scales for their applicability to community care, administering an amalgamated scale of more than 100 items, followed by Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of these ratings for preliminary scale construction, test–retest reliability of the scale and administering the scale in a new sample to confirm its factorial structure. The sample consisted of patients with severe mental illness and a designated key worker in the care of 17 community mental health teams in England and Sweden.

Results. New items not covered by established scales were identified, including clinician helpfulness in accessing services, patient aggression and family interference. The new patient (STAR-P) and clinician scales (STAR-C) each have 12 items comprising three subscales: positive collaboration and positive clinician input in both versions, non-supportive clinician input in the patient version, and emotional difficulties in the clinician version. Test–retest reliability was r=0·76 for STAR-P and r=0·68 for STAR-C. The factorial structure of the new scale was confirmed with a good fit.

Conclusions. STAR is a specifically developed, brief scale to assess TRs in community psychiatry with good psychometric properties and is suitable for use in research and routine care.
Resolving the paradox of common, harmful, heritable mental disorders: Which evolutionary genetic models work best?
Authors: Keller Matthew C. , Miller Geoffrey
Published: November 2006

Given that natural selection is so powerful at optimizing complex adaptations, why does it seem unable to eliminate genes (susceptibility alleles) that predispose to common, harmful, heritable mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder? We assess three leading explanations for this apparent paradox from evolutionary genetic theory: (1) ancestral neutrality (susceptibility alleles were not harmful among ancestors), (2) balancing selection (susceptibility alleles sometimes increased fitness), and (3) polygenic mutation-selection balance (mental disorders reflect the inevitable mutational load on the thousands of genes underlying human behavior). The first two explanations are commonly assumed in psychiatric genetics and Darwinian psychiatry, while mutation-selection has often been discounted. All three models can explain persistent genetic variance in some traits under some conditions, but the first two have serious problems in explaining human mental disorders. Ancestral neutrality fails to explain low mental disorder frequencies and requires implausibly small selection coefficients against mental disorders given the data on the reproductive costs and impairment of mental disorders. Balancing selection (including spatio-temporal variation in selection, heterozygote advantage, antagonistic pleiotropy, and frequency-dependent selection) tends to favor environmentally contingent adaptations (which would show no heritability) or high-frequency alleles (which psychiatric genetics would have already found). Only polygenic mutation-selection balance seems consistent with the data on mental disorder prevalence rates, fitness costs, the likely rarity of susceptibility alleles, and the increased risks of mental disorders with brain trauma, inbreeding, and paternal age. This evolutionary genetic framework for mental disorders has wide-ranging implications for psychology, psychiatry, behavior genetics, molecular genetics, and evolutionary approaches to studying human behavior.
Vertical/compatible integration versus analogizing with biology
Authors: Barkow Jerome H.
Published: November 2006

Vertical/compatible theoretical integration provides an alternative way of unifying sociocultural anthropology and related disciplines. It involves analyzing theoretical statements for their implicit and explicit assumptions at multiple levels of analysis and then determining whether these assumptions are compatible with consensus in the relevant disciplines (e.g., does the sociological theory include an assumption at odds with consensus psychology?). Incompatibilities indicate a need for further research. This approach is much more likely to salvage the bulk of humanities-oriented anthropology than is that of the authors.
Evolutionary psychiatry is dead – Long liveth evolutionary psychopathology
Authors: Brüne Martin
Published: November 2006

Keller & Miller (K&M) propose that many psychiatric disorders are best explained in terms of a genetic watershed model. This view challenges traditional evolutionary accounts of psychiatric disorders, many of which have tried to argue in support of a presumed balanced polymorphism, implying some hidden adaptive advantage of the alleles predisposing people to psychiatric disorders. Does this mean that evolutionary ideas are no longer viable to explain psychiatric disorders? The answer is no. However, K&M's critical evaluation supports the view that psychiatric disorders are not categorically distinct from normalcy, and that evolutionary psychopathology should be grounded in rigorous empirical testing.
Evolutionary theory and the riddle of the universe
Authors: Borsboom Denny
Published: November 2006

An effective restructuring of the social sciences around the evolutionary model requires that evolutionary theory has explanatory power with respect to the spread of cultural traits: The causal mechanisms involved should be structurally analogous to those of biological evolution. I argue that this is implausible because phenotypical consequences of cultural traits are not causally relevant to their chances of “survival.”
The evolutionary genetics of personality: Does mutation load signal relationship load?
Authors: Buss David M.
Published: November 2006

The mutation-selection hypothesis may extend to understanding normal personality variation. Traits such as emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness figure strongly in mate selection and show evidence of non-additive genetic variance. They are linked with reproductively relevant outcomes, including longevity, resource acquisition, and mating success. Evolved difference-detection adaptations may function to spurn individuals whose high mutation load signals a burdensome relationship load.
Finland's Galapagos: Founder effect, drift, and isolation in the inheritance of susceptibility alleles
Authors: Campbell Tom , Osipova Daria , Kähkönen Seppo
Published: November 2006

The target article excludes ancestral neutrality as a cause for the inheritance of schizophrenia, with an argument relating to selection against a single allele in the Finnish population. However, drift would predominate over selection within subisolates of the Finnish population. Comparisons of subisolates with heterogeneous populations may provide clues to the endophenotypic structure of complex polygenetic heritable mental disorders.
The natural selection of psychosis
Authors: Crespi Bernard
Published: November 2006

Diverse evidence from genomics, epidemiology, neurophysiology, psychology, and evolutionary biology converges on simple general mechanisms, based on negative secondary effects of strong selection, for how mental disorders such as psychosis have evolved and how they are sustained.
A continuum of mindfulness
Authors: Dennett Daniel , McKay Ryan
Published: November 2006

Mesoudi et al. overlook an illuminating parallel between cultural and biological evolution, namely, the existence in each realm of a continuum from intelligent, mindful evolution through to oblivious, mindless evolution. In addition, they underplay the independence of cultural fitness from biological fitness. The assumption that successful cultural traits enhance genetic fitness must be sidelined, as must the assumption that such traits will at least be considered worth having.
Why the adaptationist perspective must be considered: The example of morbid jealousy
Authors: Easton Judith A. , Schipper Lucas D. , Shackelford Todd K.
Published: November 2006

We describe delusional disorder–jealous type (“morbid jealousy”) with the adaptationist perspective used by Darwinian psychiatrists and evolutionary psychologists to explain the relatively common existence and continued prevalence of mental disorders. We then apply the “harmful dysfunction” analysis to morbid jealousy, including a discussion of this disorder as (1) an end on a continuum of normal jealousy or (2) a discrete entity.
Mutations, developmental instability, and the Red Queen
Authors: Gangestad Steven W. , Yeo Ronald A.
Published: November 2006

We address two points. First, one must explain how different, rare mutations ultimately lead to common psychopathological conditions. The developmental instability model offers one solution. Second, Keller & Miller (K&M) perhaps miss the major processes other than variation fueled by rare deleterious mutations that account for interesting genetic variation in psychopathology, particularly when single alleles have non-negligible effects: Red Queen processes.
The role of psychology in the study of culture
Authors: Kelly Daniel , Machery Edouard , Mallon Ron , Mason Kelby , Stich Stephen P.
Published: November 2006

Although we are enthusiastic about a Darwinian approach to culture, we argue that the overview presented in the target article does not sufficiently emphasize the crucial explanatory role that psychology plays in the study of culture. We use a number of examples to illustrate the variety of ways by which appeal to psychological factors can help explain cultural phenomena.
Autism: Common, heritable, but not harmful
Authors: Gernsbacher Morton Ann , Dawson Michelle , Mottron Laurent
Published: November 2006

We assert that one of the examples used by Keller & Miller (K&M), namely, autism, is indeed common, and heritable, but we question whether it is harmful. We provide a brief review of cognitive science literature in which autistics perform superiorly to non-autistics in perceptual, reasoning, and comprehension tasks; however, these superiorities are often occluded and are instead described as dysfunctions.
Cultural evolution is more than neurological evolution
Authors: Knudsen Thorbjørn , Hodgson Geoffrey M.
Published: November 2006

Advancing a general Darwinian framework to explain culture is an exciting endeavor. It requires that we face up to the challenge of identifying the specific components that are effective in replication processes in culture. This challenge includes the unsolved problem of explaining cultural inheritance, both at the level of individuals and at the level of social organizations and institutions.
A long way to understanding cultural evolution
Authors: Mende Werner , Wermke Kathleen
Published: November 2006

Understanding cultural evolution is one of the most challenging and indispensable scientific tasks for the survival of humankind on our planet. This task demands, besides an adoption of theories and models from biological evolution, theories for culture-specific processes as well. Language evolution and language acquisition offer interesting objects of study in this respect.
Reconciling the mutation-selection balance model with the schizotypy-creativity connection
Authors: Nettle Daniel
Published: November 2006

Keller & Miller (K&M) make a persuasive case for the role of mutation-selection balance in the persistence of such disorders as schizophrenia. However, there is evidence relating illness liability to creativity, which seems to imply balancing selection. I argue for a hybrid position, where schizotypal personality traits can have fitness advantages or disadvantages, with mutational load and neurodevelopmental conditions determining which outcome is observed.
Mental disorders, evolution, and inclusive fitness
Authors: Preti Antonio , Miotto Paola
Published: November 2006

Grouping severe mental disorders into a global category is likely to lead to a “theory of everything” which forcefully explains everything and nothing. Speculation even at the phenotypic level of the single disorder cannot be fruitful, unless specific and testable models are proposed. Inclusive fitness must be incorporated in such models.
Behavioural ecology as a basic science for evolutionary psychiatry
Authors: Price John S.
Published: November 2006

To the evolutionarily oriented clinical psychiatrist, the discipline of behavioural ecology is a fertile basic science. Human psychology discusses variation in terms of means, standard deviations, heritabilities, and so on, but behavioural ecology deals with mutually incompatible alternative behavioural strategies, the heritable variation being maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection. I suggest that behavioural ecology should be included in the interdisciplinary dialogue recommended by Keller & Miller (K&M).
Evo-devo, modularity, and evolvability: Insights for cultural evolution
Authors: Reader Simon M.
Published: November 2006

Evolutionary developmental biology (“evo-devo”) may provide insights and new methods for studies of cognition and cultural evolution. For example, I propose using cultural selection and individual learning to examine constraints on cultural evolution. Modularity, the idea that traits vary independently, can facilitate evolution (increase “evolvability”), because evolution can act on one trait without disrupting another. I explore links between cognitive modularity, evolutionary modularity, and cultural evolvability.
The uses of ethnography in the science of cultural evolution
Authors: Tehrani Jamshid
Published: November 2006

There is considerable scope for developing a more explicit role for ethnography within the research program proposed in the article. Ethnographic studies of cultural micro-evolution would complement experimental approaches by providing insights into the “natural” settings in which cultural behaviours occur. Ethnography can also contribute to the study of cultural macro-evolution by shedding light on the conditions that generate and maintain cultural lineages.
The evolution of evolutionary epidemiology: A defense of pluralistic epigenetic modes of transmission
Authors: Wilson Daniel R.
Published: November 2006

First kudos, followed by some friendly badinage, and then renewed appreciation and a look ahead. This commentary is meant to clarify main arguments, redress incorrect attributions, and strengthen an excellent contribution that draws further attention to the importance of evolutionary epidemiology. Keller & Miller (K&M), despite significant errors, have done well to further systematize the evolutionary epidemiology of psychopathology.
A constraint-based approach to feasibility assessment in preliminary
design
Authors: GURNANI ASHWIN , FERGUSON SCOTT , LEWIS KEMPER , DONNDELINGER JOSEPH
Published: November 2006

In this paper, we present the development and application of a
technical feasibility model used in preliminary design to determine
whether a set of desired product specifications obtained from marketing is
feasible in the engineering domain. This model is developed by integrating
the capabilities of a multiobjective design problem, a multicriteria
design optimization tool, a Pareto frontier gap analyzer, metamodeling
methods, and use of the Pareto frontier as a constraint for feasibility
assessment. Although the tools are independent of the domain, their
application is illustrated using two examples: a simple three-objective
mathematical problem and a five-objective passenger vehicle design
problem. The feasibility of the desired product specifications is
determined with respect to the problem's Pareto frontier, which is
considered to be the necessary constraint to satisfy.
Changes in ascertainment of Hib and its influence on the estimation of disease incidence in the United Kingdom
Authors: LADHANI S. , SLACK M. P. , HEATH P. T. , RAMSAY M. E.
Published: November 2006

Enhanced surveillance for Hib infection, initially covering Wales and five English regions, began in 1990 and in 1995 was extended to the whole of England and Wales. To determine whether changes in the ascertainment ofHaemophilus influenzaemay have affected estimates of Hib disease incidence, data from January 1990 to December 2003 were analysed. A total of 8887 and 4020 (45%) cases ofH. influenzaeand Hib respectively were reported. The proportion of isolates that were serotyped increased over time, and therefore reported incidence may have underestimated the true incidence in the early years of the study. Adjusting for this under-ascertainment, the incidence in children aged <5 years declined from a peak of 28·3/100 000 in 1991 to 0·97/100 000 in 1998 and increased to 3·8/100 000 in 2003. Following the implementation of universal vaccination a dramatic decline in the true incidence of invasive Hib disease occurred. The observation of the subsequent resurgence was real but the highest incidence reached was 85% below the corrected incidence in the pre-vaccine era. Continued high-quality surveillance is needed in order to accurately monitor and detect changes in disease incidence.