bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Decreased Cognitive/CNS Function in Young Adults at Risk for Hypertension: Effects of Sleep Deprivation
Authors: McCubbin James A. , Peach Hannah , Moore DeWayne D. , Pilcher June J.
Published: January 2012

Hypertension has been linked to impaired cognitive/CNS function, and some of these changes may precede development of frank essential hypertension. The stress and fatigue of sleep deprivation may exacerbate these cognitive changes in young adults at risk. We hypothesize that individuals at risk for hypertension will show significant declines in cognitive function during a night of sleep deprivation. Fifty-one young adults were recruited for 28-hour total sleep deprivation studies. Hypertension risk was assessed by mildly elevated resting blood pressure and by family history of hypertension. A series of cognitive memory tasks was given at four test sessions across the sleep deprivation period. Although initially comparable in cognitive performance, persons at risk showed larger declines across the night for several indices of working memory, including code substitution, category, and order recall. These results suggest that cognitive/CNS changes may parallel or precede blood pressure dysregulation in the early stages of hypertension development. The role of CNS changes in the etiology of essential hypertension is discussed.
CTLA-4 Blockade with Ipilimumab: Long-term Follow-up of 177 Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
Authors: Prieto Peter A. , Yang James C. , Sherry Richard M. , Hughes Marybeth S. , Kammula Udai S. , White Donald E. , Levy Catherine L. , Rosenberg Steven A. , Phan Giao Q.
Published: January 2012

Purpose: Treatment with ipilimumab can cause objective tumor responses in patients with metastatic melanoma. We have treated 177 evaluable patients in three clinical trials and have long-term follow-up to evaluate the durability of responses.

Experimental Design: Patients with metastatic melanoma were treated in three trials from 2002 to 2005. In protocol 1, 56 patients received ipilimumab with gp100 peptides. In protocol 2, 36 patients received ipilimumab with interleukin-2. In protocol 3, 85 patients received ipilimumab with intrapatient dose-escalation and were randomized to receive gp100 peptides. We have analyzed their long-term follow-up and survival data.

Results: With median follow-up for protocols 1, 2, and 3 being 92, 84, and 71 months, median survival was 14, 16, and 13 months with 5-year survival rates being 13%, 25%, and 23%, respectively. Patients in protocol 2 had a 17% complete response (CR) rate, compared with 7% in protocol 1 and 6% in protocol 3. These CR rates are higher than previously reported for the same trials because some patients who eventually became complete responders had continual tumor regression months to years after therapy. All but one of the 15 complete responders are ongoing at 54+ to 99+ months.

Conclusions: This report provides the longest follow-up of patients with melanoma treated with ipilimumab and shows that ipilimumab can induce durable, potentially curative tumor regression in a small percentage of patients with metastatic melanoma. The combination of ipilimumab and interleukin-2 seems to have an increased CR rate, but this needs to be tested in a randomized trial. Clin Cancer Res; 18(7); 2039–47. ©2012 AACR.
A Phase I Trial of Erlotinib and Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Stage III and IV (M0) Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
Authors: Gilbert Jill , Rudek Michelle A. , Higgins Michaela J. , Zhao Ming , Bienvenu Sara , Tsottles Nancy , Wahl Richard , Forastiere Arlene , Gillison Maura
Published: January 2012

Purpose: Erlotinib, an orally active selective inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, has synergistic activity with radiation and with cisplatin. The EGFR is overexpressed in the majority of head and neck cancers. The primary objective of this phase I study was to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of erlotinib in combination with low-dose daily cisplatin and radiotherapy. We also sought evidence of biologic activity of erlotinib alone using serial 18-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.

Experimental Design: Oral erlotinib was taken daily starting with a 14-day run-in and continued until radiation therapy (RT) was completed. Low-dose daily cisplatin, 6 mg/m2 i.v. was given concurrently with standard fractionation RT to a total dose of 66 to 70 Gy. Dose escalation followed a modified Fibonacci dose escalation design.

Results: Twenty-two patients were enrolled and 18 patients received therapy on protocol. MTD of the combination of erlotinib, cisplatin, and RT was not reached. The recommended phase II dose of erlotinib is 150 mg per day in combination with cisplatin and RT, the highest dose of erlotinib evaluated in this study. 18F-FDG PET showed evidence for metabolic response to single-agent erlotinib. Per PERCIST criteria, the overall metabolic response rate at day 14 was 38.8% (95% CI: 17.3–64.3). On completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, overall response rate derived from tumor measurements based on imaging studies was 83% for all dose levels combined.

Conclusions: Erlotinib in combination with low-dose daily cisplatin and RT is well tolerated and shows evidence of clinical efficacy. The combination should be evaluated further. Clin Cancer Res; 18(6); 1735–42. ©2012 AACR.
Pulmonary Endotoxin Tolerance Protects against Cockroach Allergen-Induced Asthma-Like Inflammation in a Mouse Model
Authors: Natarajan Sudha , Kim Jiyoun , Bouchard Jacqueline , Cruikshank William , Remick Daniel G.
Published: January 2012

Background: Compounds which activate the innate immune system, such as lipopolysaccharide, are significant components of ambient air, and extremely difficult to remove from the environment. It is currently unclear how prior inhalation of endotoxin affects allergen sensitization. We examined whether lung-specific endotoxin tolerance induction prior to sensitization can modulate the response to allergen. Methods: Endotoxin tolerance was induced by repeated intratracheal exposure to endotoxin. All mice were then sensitized and challenged by direct intratracheal instillation of cockroach allergen. Results: After allergen sensitization and challenge, endotoxin tolerant mice had significantly decreased airways hyperresponsiveness to methacholine challenge, which was confirmed by invasive lung function tests. Decreased goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus production were also found by histological assessment. Tolerant mice were protected from airway eosinophilia through the mechanism of reduced CCL11 and CCL24. Interestingly, endotoxin tolerant mice had only a modest reduction in cockroach-specific IgE; however, total IgE was significantly reduced. Conclusions: These data show that induction of endotoxin tolerance prior to sensitization protects against the hallmark features of asthma-like inflammation, and that transient modulation of innate immunity can have long-lasting effects on adaptive responses.
Third-Generation Salvage Cryotherapy for Radiorecurrent Prostate Cancer: A Centre’s Experience
Authors: Philippou Prodromos , Yap Tet , Chinegwundoh Francis
Published: January 2012

Introduction: The experience of a tertiary centre in the management of recurrent prostate cancer after radiotherapy by salvage cryotherapy is presented. Patients and Methods: Between February 2006 and August 2008, 19 patients underwent salvage cryotherapy for radiorecurrent prostate cancer. Post-radiotherapy recurrence was confirmed by prostatic biopsy. The ‘Phoenix definition’ was used to define biochemical failure after salvage cryotherapy. Results: The mean age at cryotherapy was 69.2 years and the mean time from radiotherapy to cryotherapy was 72.3 months. Patient characteristics prior to cryotherapy included a mean PSA level of 6.84 ng/ml and a median Gleason score of 7. The mean post-cryotherapy follow-up was 33.3 months. The 2-year biochemical disease-free survival rate was 58%. The median post-cryotherapy PSA nadir was 0.20 ng/ml (range 0.005–8.260). There were no procedure-related or cancer-related deaths. Complications included incontinence (10.5%), erectile dysfunction (89%) and fistula formation (5.3%). Conclusions: The relatively high rates of biochemical response support the use of cryotherapy as a salvage procedure for radiorecurrent prostate cancer.
A Phase II Randomized Study of Cisplatin-Pemetrexed plus either Enzastaurin or Placebo in Chemonaive Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Vansteenkiste Johan , Ramlau Rodryg , von Pawel Joachim , San Antonio Belen , Eschbach Corinna , Szczesna Aleksandra , Kennedy Liam , Visseren-Grul Carla , Chouaki Nadia , Reck Martin
Published: January 2012

Objectives: Enzastaurin is a serine/threonine kinase inhibitor that targets protein kinase C and AKT pathways. Enzastaurin and pemetrexed demonstrated synergy in preclinical studies. This trial was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of first-line enzastaurin plus cisplatin-pemetrexed in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: A safety lead-in phase (n = 13) of enzastaurin 125 or 250 mg twice daily was added to cisplatin-pemetrexed. A subsequent randomized, placebo-controlled phase II study (n = 22) of the combination was conducted to evaluate efficacy. Results: The combination was well tolerated and showed activity, with 7 (53.8%, 95% CI 26.7–80.9) confirmed partial responses and 2 stable diseases in 13 treated patients in the lead-in phase. However, the study was terminated early based on interim results from two phase II NSCLC studies of enzastaurin plus cytotoxic chemotherapy, which indicated no efficacy improvement. Conclusions: Enzastaurin and cisplatin-pemetrexed is tolerable with preliminary activity in patients with advanced NSCLC, but because of a lack of efficacy improvement in other phase II NSCLC studies, the study was terminated early.
Biological Markers for Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Karagülle Deniz , Heberlein Annemarie , Wilhelm Julia , Frieling Helge , Kornhuber Johannes , Bleich Stefan , Hillemacher Thomas
Published: January 2012

Aims: Alcohol withdrawal seizures (AWS) are among the most important possible complications during the detoxification treatment of alcohol-dependent patients. Pharmacological therapy is often used during detoxification, but can cause dangerous side effects [Eur Addict Res 2010;16:179–184]. In separate studies several biological markers have been described as being associated with AWS risk. We investigated the role of homocysteine (HCT), carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and prolactin (PRL) as biological markers for the risk of developing AWS. Methods: The present study included 189 alcohol-dependent patients of whom 51 had a history of AWS. We investigated the HCT, CDT and PRL levels of all patients and calculated sensitivity and specificity. Bayes’ theorem was used to calculate positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values. Results: The highest combined sensitivity and specificity for %CDT was reached at a plasma cutoff value of 3.75%. The combination of HCT at a cutoff value of 23.9 µmol/l and %CDT at a cutoff value of 3.75% showed the best predictive values (sensitivity 47.1%, specificity 88.4%, PPV 0.504, NPV 0.870). Conclusion: A combined assessment of HCT and CDT levels can be a useful method to identify patients at a higher risk of AWS, which may lead to a more individualized therapy.
Ureteral Reconstruction after Renal Transplantation: Clinical Outcome and Risk Factors
Authors: Alberts V.P. , Minnee R.C. , Bemelman F.J. , van Donselaar-van der Pant K.A.M.I. , Laguna Pes P. , Idu M.M.
Published: January 2012

Introduction: The incidence of urological complications after renal transplantation ranges from 2.5 to 30%. Often surgical revision is necessary. The risk factors for surgical revision and which surgical techniques to apply are not elucidated. This study investigates the outcome and risk factors for surgical revision of the ureterocystostomy. Materials and Methods: Between January 1995 and March 2009, 1,157 consecutive kidney transplantations were performed. All patient charts and surgical reports were reviewed. Results: Urological complications occurred in 142 (12.3%) patients. In 60 patients (5.2%) surgical revision was necessary. Of these 60 patients, 43 (71.7%) received neoureterocystostomy, 10 (16.7%) ureteropyelostomy reconstruction and 7 (11.7%) other techniques. Independent risk factors for surgical revision were donor ureteral reconstruction (odds ratio (OR) 48.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.01–472.97), recipient age <18 years (OR 4.85, 95% CI 1.50–15.72) and delayed graft function (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.36–5.36). Ureteral stenting was a protective factor for surgical revision (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.12–0.81). The urological complication rates after neoureterocystostomy, ureteropyelostomy reconstruction and other techniques were 16, 0 and 0%, respectively. The overall surgical success rate was 92%. Conclusions: Ureteral stenting, recipient age, delayed graft function and perioperative ureteral reconstruction are significant factors associated with surgical revision of the ureterocystostomy. Surgical revision of the ureterocystostomy is a successful therapy with a low recurrence rate.
Evaluating Parents and Adult Caregivers as “Agents of Change” for Treating Obese Children: Evidence for Parent Behavior Change Strategies and Research Gaps
Authors: Faith Myles S. , Van Horn Linda , Appel Lawrence J. , Burke Lora E. , Carson Jo Ann S. , Franch Harold A. , Jakicic John M. , Kral Tanja V.E. , Odoms-Young Angela , Wansink Brian , Wylie-Rosett Judith
Published: January 2012

This scientific statement addresses parents and adult caregivers (PACs) as “agents of change” for obese children, evaluating the strength of evidence that particular parenting strategies can leverage behavior change and reduce positive energy balance in obese youth. The statement has 3 specific aims. The first is to review core behavior change strategies for PACs as used in family-based treatment programs and to provide a resource list. The second is to evaluate the strength of evidence that greater parental “involvement” in treatment is associated with better reductions in child overweight. The third is to identify research gaps and new opportunities for the field. This review yielded limited and inconsistent evidence from randomized controlled clinical trials that greater PAC involvement necessarily is associated with better child outcomes. For example, only 17% of the intervention studies reported differential improvements in child overweight as a function of parental involvement in treatment. On the other hand, greater parental adherence with core behavior change strategies predicted better child weight outcomes after 2 and 5 years in some studies. Thus, the literature lacks conclusive evidence that one particular parenting strategy or approach causally is superior to others in which children have a greater focus in treatment. A number of research gaps were identified, including the assessment of refined parenting phenotypes, cultural tailoring of interventions, examination of family relationships, and incorporation of new technologies. A conceptual model is proposed to stimulate research identifying the determinants of PAC feeding and physical activity parenting practices, the results of which may inform new treatments. The statement addresses the need for innovative research to advance the scope and potency of PAC treatments for childhood obesity.
Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation Under Therapeutic Warfarin Reduces Periprocedural Complications
Authors: Santangeli Pasquale , Di Biase Luigi , Horton Rodney , Burkhardt J. David , Sanchez Javier , Al-Ahmad Amin , Hongo Richard , Beheiry Salwa , Bai Rong , Mohanty Prasant , Lewis William R. , Natale Andrea
Published: January 2012

Background—

Observational data suggest that performing radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) under therapeutic warfarin (continuous warfarin [CW]) may reduce the periprocedural risk of complications, such as thromboembolic events, compared to warfarin discontinuation (DW) with periprocedural bridging with heparin. We systematically reviewed the available evidence on the impact of CW compared with DW on periprocedural complications of AF catheter ablation.

Methods and Results—

We searched major Web databases for studies on radiofrequency catheter ablation of AF under CW versus DW with periprocedural bridging with heparin. Data on periprocedural complications were extracted. We identified 9 studies (1 large case series indirectly compared with the latest Worldwide Survey). A total of 27 402 patients were included in the analysis (6400 undergoing ablation with CW). CW was associated with a striking decrease of thromboembolic complications (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.05–0.23;
P
<0.001) and minor bleeding complications (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.21–0.71;
P
=0.002) compared with DW. CW also did not increase the risk of major bleeding (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.31–1.43;
P
=0.30), including cardiac tamponade (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.19–2.47;
P
=0.57).

Conclusions—

There is highly consistent evidence from observational studies that a CW strategy during radiofrequency catheter ablation of AF reduces the risk of thromboembolic complications without increasing the risk of bleeding.
Testosterone Supplementation in Male Obese Zucker Rats Reduces Body Weight and Improves Insulin Sensitivity But Increases Blood Pressure
Authors: Davis Deborah D. , Lopez Ruiz Arnaldo , Yanes Licy L. , Iliescu Radu , Yuan Kuichang , Moulana Mohadetheh , Racusen Lorraine C. , Reckelhoff Jane F.
Published: January 2012

Androgen levels are lower in obese men as compared with normal weight individuals. However, there are no safety data regarding the chronic use of androgen supplements in middle-aged men. The present study was undertaken to determine the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of chronic (10 weeks) testosterone treatment in male obese Zucker rats, starting at 22 weeks of age, when testosterone levels were significantly decreased. Testosterone supplements increased plasma levels, 10-fold in both obese Zucker rats and lean Zucker rats. In obese Zucker rats, testosterone supplements reduced body weight, plasma insulin, and cholesterol levels and improved the oral glucose tolerance test. None of these parameters were affected in lean Zucker rats. Mean arterial pressure was significantly increased in obese Zucker rats but not lean Zucker rats. Testosterone supplements increased proteinuria and accelerated renal injury in lean Zucker rats only. Thus, treatment of obese men with chronic testosterone supplements should be done with careful monitoring of blood pressure.
Reading John Cage's Variations III as a Process for Generating Proto-Architectural Form
Authors: Fowler Michael
Published: January 2012

Yago Conde based his 1988 concept design for the Barcelona Olympic Village water fountain on John Cage's indeterminate graphic work Fontana Mix. In this paper, a critique of Conde's work serves as the departure point for an examination of Cagean notions of indeterminacy, an interrogation of the original musical context of Fontana Mix, and the presentation of a distinct methodology (employing NURBS modeling) for proto-architectural representation of Cage's graphic score Variations III.
Conceptual Art: A Blind Spot for Neuroaesthetics?
Authors: Minissale Gregory
Published: January 2012

Conceptual art presents an important challenge for neuroaesthetics. Such art helps to stimulate complex psychological events—beyond the perceptual responses usually studied by neuroscience. If science is to engage meaningfully with art, scientists need to address the conceptual content of our experience of many different kinds of art. As a test case, this essay suggests that neuroaesthetics should come to terms with works such as Marcel Duchamp's Bôite-en-valise (1935–1941), which is representative of many artworks and art exhibitions organized into composite parts or groups of works. The essay shows that, typically, art stimulates a network of conceptual relations rather than merely perceptions of the visible aspects of single artworks.
Contemporary Art and Cybernetics: Waves of Cybernetic Discourse within Conceptual, Video and New Media Art
Authors: Ilfeld Etan J.
Published: January 2012

This paper aims to highlight the interplay of technology and cybernetics within conceptual art. Just as Lucy Lippard has illustrated the influence of information theory within 1960s conceptual art, this paper traces the technological discourses within conceptual art through to contemporary digital art—specifically, establishing a correlation between Katherine Hayles's mapping of first-, second- and third-wave cybernetic narratives and, respectively, 1960s–1970s conceptual art, 1970s–1990s video art and new media art. Technology is shown to have a major influence on conceptual art, but one often based on historical, social and cybernetic narratives. This paper echoes Krzystof Ziarek's call for a Heideggerian poiesis and Adorno/Blanchotnian “nonpower” within conceptual art and advocates Ziarek's notion of “powerfree” artistic practices within new media and transgenic art.
Need to Categorize: A Comparative Look at the Categories of Universal Decimal Classification System and Wikipedia
Authors: Salah Almila Akdag , Gao Cheng , Suchecki Krzysztof , Scharnhorst Andrea
Published: January 2012

This study analyzes the differences between the category structure of the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) system (which is one of the widely used library classification systems in Europe) and Wikipedia. In particular, the authors compare the emerging structure of category-links to the structure of classes in the UDC. The authors scrutinize the question of how knowledge maps of the same domain differ when they are created socially (i.e. Wikipedia) as opposed to when they are created formally (UDC) using classification theory. As a case study, we focus on the category of “Arts”.
06.213: Attacks with Knives and Sharp Instruments: Quantitative Coding and the Witness to Atrocity
Authors: Miller Ben
Published: January 2012

Text corpora of testimony to survival and other traumatic events have expanded because of more efficacious and available data collection tools. New methods mobilizing controlled vocabularies, relational data schema, and natural language processing both enable these fragmentary collections of witnessing and offer ways to make them readable. “06.213” describes the background for these methods as relates to testimonial corpora and the framework of a new text analytics project focused on organizing the unstructured fragments of a collection around reader-specified conceptual foci.
The Development of the Journal Environment ofLeonardo
Authors: Salah Alkim Almila Akdag , Leydesdorff Loet
Published: January 2012

The authors present animations based on the aggregated journal-journal citations of Leonardo during the period 1974–2008. Leonardo is mainly cited by journals outside the arts domain for cultural reasons, for example, in neuropsychology and physics. Articles in Leonardo itself cite a large number of journals, but with a focus on the arts. Animations at this level of aggregation enable us to show the history of the journal from a network perspective.
Temperament and its relation to social functioning in schizophrenia
Authors: Jetha Michelle K. , Goldberg Joel O. , Schmidt Louis A.
Published: January 2012

Background:

We previously noted increased shyness in stable community outpatients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls and that shyness may be a risk factor for social functioning impairment in this population (Goldberg & Schmidt, 2001).

Aims:

We attempted to replicate and extend these findings by comparing the use of a brief trait measure of shyness and sociability (SS; Cheek, 1983; Cheek & Buss, 1981) with the longer Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Przybeck, Svrakic, & Wetzel, 1994) used traditionally in work to measure personality dimensions in this population.

Methods:

A group of stable outpatients with schizophrenia ( n = 41) and healthy controls ( n = 41) matched on age and gender were compared on the SS and TCI measures. Patients were assessed on clinical symptoms using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and on social functioning measures using a Quality of Life Scale (QLS).

Results:

Patients reported significantly higher shyness, retrospective inhibition and harm avoidance, and lower novelty seeking, self-directedness and cooperativeness than healthy adults, replicating previous findings. Shyness and sociability were related to conceptually linked dimensional sub-scales of the TCI and were predictive of social functioning in the patient group. Importantly, scores on these measures were unrelated to symptom profiles and explained additional variance in social functioning beyond clinical symptoms.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that individual differences in trait shyness and sociability may influence social functioning in stable outpatients with schizophrenia. The results also support the use of the brief trait measures of shyness and sociability in this population.
Influence of Parenteral Nutrition Delivery System on the Development of Bloodstream Infections in Critically Ill Patients
Authors: Pontes‐Arruda Alessandro , dos Santos Maria Cecília Freitas Cesarino , Martins Laércia Ferreira , González Eddy René Rodriguez , Kliger Ruben Gustavo , Maia Marcelo , Magnan Gisele Brocco ,   for the EPICOS Study Group
Published: January 2012

Background:

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is associated with an increased risk of developing bloodstream infections (BSIs) but the impact of the PN delivery system upon BSI rates remains unclear. This was an international, multicenter, prospective, randomized, open‐label, controlled trial that investigated the differences of BSIs associated with 2 different PN systems.

Methods:

Patients were randomly allocated in a 2:1:1 ratio to receive either PN delivered by a multichamber bag (MCB group), or by compounded PN made with olive oil (COM1 group) or with MCT/LCT (COM2 group). Blood cultures were performed to evaluate the incidence of BSIs, and catheter use data was collected to calculate CLAB and central venous catheter device use ratio (CVC‐DUR). Secondary outcomes included the development of severe sepsis/septic shock, number of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital days, and all‐cause mortality at Day 28.

Results:

406 patients were included: 202 in the MCB group, 103 in the COM1 group, and 101 in the COM2 group. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the 3 groups, BSIs were significantly higher in patients receiving compounded PN (46 BSIs for COM1+COM2 vs 34 BSIs for MCB; p = 0.03).CLAB was higher in patients receiving compounded PN (13.2 for COM1+COM2 vs 10.3 for MCB; p < 0.0001). No differences were observed for the secondary outcomes.

Conclusion:

Compounded PN was associated with a higher incidence of BSIs and CLABs, suggesting that the use of MCB PN may play a role in reducing the incidence of BSIs in patients who receive PN. Trial registration number: NCT00798681.
The circumstances of older people in England with self-reported visual impairment: A secondary analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
Authors: Zimdars Anna , Nazroo James , Gjonça Edlira
Published: January 2012

One key challenge to those charged with tackling the social exclusion of visually impaired people is having information about the extent to which visual impairment is related to the ability to enjoy and participate in various aspects of life. Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), this article considers how self-reported visual impairment is related to older people’s physical health and cognitive abilities, their economic and housing conditions, their social engagement, as well as their emotional well-being and life-satisfaction. We find self-reported poor vision to be associated with multiple disadvantages in those outcome measures. Further research is needed to establish causal links between visual impairment and the various health, economic, social and emotional well-being experiences documented in this article. Nevertheless, secondary data analysis of ELSA offers a useful and cost-effective research approach.
An exploration into self concept: A comparative analysis between the adolescents who are sighted and blind in India
Authors: Halder Santoshi , Datta Poulomee
Published: January 2012

The purpose of this study was to explore the self concept of adolescents who are sighted and blind with respect to gender in India. The sample was made up of 160 participants aged 15 to 18 years: of whom 100 were sighted and 60 were blind. The results of the t-tests illustrated that sighted male adolescents scored higher in the overall self-concept scores as compared to sighted female adolescents. However such significant differences in the self-concept scores were not found between the male and female adolescents who are blind. The sighted adolescents scored higher than the adolescents who are blind in three of the total six dimensions of self concept, thus also scoring higher on the overall self-concept score.
Research for Development: Why Is There So Little Of It?
Authors: Mytton Graham
Published: January 2012

This lecture attempts to outline the fact that development projects around the world are still based on too little actual field work research. In this presentation, Graham Mytton, who has been involved in several development projects in countries as diverse as Tanzania, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, East Timor and Nigeria, is convinced that performance of projects could be much improved through better and targeted research. Using the example of a project in Tanzania in 2000, where a promotional campaign of messages to encourage people to use simple ways to avoid the blinding disease trachoma made many elementary mistakes and that, if a better and more focused research programme had been used prior to the project it would have been more successful. The presentation showed how focused research could make such projects more likely to achieve success through appropriate research before such projects were instigated. Some websites that provide useful information are provided.
An alternative view of quality assurance and enhancement
Authors: Wong Viola Yuk-Yue
Published: January 2012

This paper attempts to deal with the elusive nature of quality in quality management, using a case study to examine quality control measures implemented in an academic context and to show an emergent framework for quality enhancement. This paper introduces the concept of the ecology of quality assurance and examines efforts to maintain and advance quality through a systems approach in which interrelated subsystems contribute to a dynamic ecosystem of quality control. A framework is developed to demonstrate and evaluate a quality assurance system, pointing the way forward for quality enhancement and reflecting the central dynamics of quality assurance and enhancement.
Le milieu du jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés de 1945 à 1960: Mythes et réalité
Authors: Dussault Éric
Published: January 2012

Cet article vise à accorder au jazz et au milieu du jazz de Saint-Germain-des-Prés l’importance qu’ils méritent dans l’histoire du quartier. Toutefois, il ne faut pas surévaluer la popularité du jazz auprès des clients qui fréquentaient les caves. D’autres formes de musique avaient souvent davantage leur faveur, comme la rumba et le tango. À Saint-Germain-des-Prés, le jazz de style Nouvelle-Orléans était beaucoup plus populaire que le jazz moderne. Cela a eu pour conséquence de limiter les possibilités professionnelles des musiciens qui interprétaient un répertoire contemporain. Cet article démontre aussi qu’entre musiciens la rivalité était grande pour trouver du travail, puisqu’il se faisait rare à la fin des années 1940. Les musiciens amateurs ont souvent coupé l’herbe sous le pied aux musiciens professionnels qui les accusaient d’accepter des tarifs trop bas pour leurs services. Les musiciens professionnels estimaient par ailleurs qu’ils étaient victimes de la concurrence déloyale des musiciens afro-américains qui vivaient ou qui étaient de passage en France.
Saints and Lovers
Authors: Shingler Katherine
Published: January 2012

This article examines Michel Georges-Michel’s 1924 novel Les Montparnos as a study of the myths circulating around the Montparnasse avant-garde of the 1920s, and their function in relation to art. Key amongst these myths is the idea of art as a religion, according to which avant-garde artists are conceived as secular saints and martyrs. While this notion of artist as saint is strongly present in early twentieth-century biographies of Van Gogh, Georges-Michel explicitly relates his fictionalised version of Modigliani’s life not to such recent models, but rather to the Renaissance masters, and especially to Raphael, a link which is explained in terms of the post-war ‘retour à l’ordre’ in French artistic culture. The novel’s references to Raphael as the archetypal painter-lover are also related to its construction of a myth of the artist as virile and sexually prolific, and to its identification of creative and sexual impulses.
Project Risk Management in Hydropower Plant Projects
Authors: Sudirman Weddy Bernadi , Hardjomuljadi Sarwono
Published: January 2012

The development of hydroelectric power plant is one of the efforts in utilising water resources for people’s welfare by generating the energy for electricity purpose. Nowadays, the installed capacity of hydro electric power plants is 3,529 MW from the total installed capacity 24,846 MW from various power plants owned by PT PLN (Persero) and the hydropower potential 75,000 MW all over Indonesia. Hydroelectric power plant has complex structures and involves large amounts of capital with a long-running construction period. This situation imposes uncertainty factors with considerably high risks. The construction phase is identified as a critical phase in hydropower projects where many unforeseen factors occur. Failure to manage project risks leads to significant problems for the client such as completion time delays and cost overruns. In order to prevent time delays and cost overruns in hydropower construction in PT PLN (Persero), the study on project risk management in the construction stage of hydropower plant projects had been conducted. The purpose of this study was to identify and measure the importance of construction risks and to determine the level of agreement or disagreement between the client, consultants and contractors on the ranking of construction risk in hydropower projects. The author selected the respondents from the clients, consultants and contractors’ personnel who had work experience in hydropower construction projects in PT PLN (Persero).

JEL Classification: L74—Construction
Starting a sport in the Netherlands: A life-course analysis of the effects of individual, parental and partner characteristics
Authors: Kraaykamp Gerbert , Oldenkamp Marloes , Breedveld Koen
Published: January 2012

In this article we investigate the effects of parental, individual and partner characteristics on the starting of a sport. Employing event history models we analyze 72,491 person-years of 2276 individuals from the Family Survey Dutch Population 1998 and 2003. Our results show that growing up in a family in which sport is common increases the likelihood of starting a sport. We further conclude that parents from the higher social classes more often stimulate their children to start participating in a high status sport. Our results also indicate that a respondent’s educational attainment is positively related to enrollment in sports. The importance of a spouse is particularly demonstrated, as a sport-playing partner expresses a positive influence on a respondent’s sport participation. Moreover, in starting a sport it is more favorable not having a partner, even than having a non-sporting spouse.
Sporadic Hemangioblastoma of the Kidney in a 29-Year-Old Man
Authors: Wang Chung-Chieh , Wang Shuo-Meng , Liau Jau-Yu
Published: January 2012

Hemangioblastoma of the kidney is a rare, newly recognized tumor with morphological features similar to its cerebellar counterpart. There have been only 4 cases reported in the literature in English, all of them occurring in middle-aged to elderly patients. Here, we report a case of renal hemangioblastoma in a young adult without clinical evidence of von Hippel-Lindau disease. The tumor was composed of polygonal cells with mildly eosinophilic to clear cytoplasm and a rich vascular network. Immunohistochemical staining revealed a typical profile (positivity for α-inhibin, neuron-specific enolase and S100; negative results for epithelial membrane antigen, HMB-45, and Melan-A), which confirmed the diagnosis. Despite the similarity to renal-cell carcinoma in morphology, hemangioblastoma of the kidney is clinically indolent. Correct recognition of this pathological entity is important to avoid overdiagnosis and unnecessary clinical treatment.
Contemplation, Artful Writing
Authors: Walsh Susan
Published: January 2012

In this article, the author experiments with artful writing as a means of contemplating research with internationally educated female teachers. In doing so, she sits with, listens to, writes from particular moments of the research process. The author also composes found poems from words and phrases in the transcripts. Her intention is to dwell with particular artifacts, rather than analyze or interpret them according to a theoretical framework. In this work, she considers Deleuze and Guattari’s writing about art and also Shambhala/Buddhist Chögyam Trungpa’s teachings about Dharma art—all of whom contend that art is a form of bodily attunement to and awareness of the physical world through perception, the senses, sensation rather than a means of expressing the self and/or representing something. In a broad sense, the author is interested in how the practice of contemplation through artful writing might inform, transform the research process.
An Ethnodrama on Work-Related Learning in Precarious Jobs
Authors: Sangha Jasjit K. , Slade Bonnie , Mirchandani Kiran , Maitra Srabani , Shan Hongxia
Published: January 2012

This article is based on a research project on the lived experiences of precarious workers in Toronto, Canada. Using interviews with women in part-time, contract, and temporary jobs in three sectors (telemarketing, retail, and garment), the project explores the ways in which racial hierarchies structure jobs as well as forms of resistance that women exercise at work. The authors find that racialized processes stereotype workers and their skill sets, organize their work, determine their access to and exclusion from certain types of jobs, and impose cultural rules that classify and essentialize them in terms of race, language, and ethnicity. In this article, the authors use ethnodrama to represent their findings from this research project. Ethnodrama is a form that is well suited for this work because it allows us to bring the data to life through an embodied performance.
“I Know I’m Unlovable”
Authors: Herrmann Andrew F.
Published: January 2012

Failure, according to the academic canonical narrative, is anything other than a tenure-track professorship. The academic job hunt is fraught with unknowns: a time of fear, hope, and despair. This personal narrative follows the author’s three-year journey from doctoral candidate, to visiting assistant professor, to the unemployment line. Using a layered account and through a Foucauldian lens the author examines the academic success narrative, delving into the emotional bipolarity during the job search, and the use technologies of the self. It concludes with a reexamination of academic discourses and the canonical narrative of academic success as well as an appeal to continue to do good work.
Debate on Television
Authors: Coleman Stephen
Published: January 2012

This article considers the potential of television as a public space in which democratic debate might be instigated, stimulated, or promoted. It asks whether television could do a better job at opening up intelligent public debate—and how opportunities to do so have been constrained historically by policies of political timidity. It considers three types of pseudo-debate commonly organized by television producers and concludes by arguing that television’s most significant capacity as a communication medium may well be its capacity to produce a civic mix between forms and techniques of popular culture and ideas relevant to democratic public deliberation.
Roberto Esposito’s Political Biology and Corporate Forms of Life
Authors: Barkan Joshua
Published: January 2012

Roberto Esposito has suggested a fracture structures the concept of “the person” that is related to the convergence of biology and law in Western thought. He also suggests that Nazism’s rendering of this intersection is instructive for understanding the biopolitics of liberal globalization. This essay expands Esposito’s argument by considering corporate personhood. I suggest that while the dynamics of personalism and depersonalization are central to corporate power, Nazi political biology is not particularly useful for understanding its origins or development. Instead, I draw attention to the spatiality of the legal concepts grounding capitalism, including the corporate person.
The Law of the Living: Material for Hypothesizing the Biojuridical
Authors: Amendola Adalgiso
Published: January 2012

This essay attempts to think the relation between Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito’s work on biopolitics and immunity alongside contemporary issues in continental legal studies. Drawing extensively on Esposito’s unpolitical and more recent biopolitical writings, the author finds in the notions of norm and immunity potential areas for constructing a “biojuridical” approach to the law. Glossing Esposito’s reading of immunization as an attempt to construct a possible law of “reciprocal immanence” between norm and life, the author argues that it is possible to glean in Esposito’s more recent work a move beyond the immunitary features of the law to a “law of the living” that is capable of vitalizing norms. Such a law would, by identifying individual potentialities, defend the infinite production of difference and singularity that is bios, paving the way for laws that are immanent to bios.
Empathy and Self-Recognition in Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Perspective
Authors: Bischof-Köhler Doris
Published: January 2012

Empathy means understanding another person’s emotional or intentional state by vicariously sharing this state. As opposed to emotional contagion, empathy is characterized by the self–other distinction of subjective experience. Empathy develops in the second year, as soon as symbolic representation and mental imagery set in that enable children to represent the self, to recognize their mirror image, and to identify with another person. In experiments with 126 children, mirror recognition and readiness to empathize with a distressed playmate were investigated. Almost all recognizers showed compassion and tried to help, whereas nonrecognizers were perplexed or remained indifferent. Several motivational consequences of empathy are discussed and its special quality is outlined in comparison with theory of mind and perspective taking.
The Many Faces of Empathy: Parsing Empathic Phenomena through a Proximate, Dynamic-Systems View of Representing the Other in the Self
Authors: Preston Stephanie D. , Hofelich Alicia J.
Published: January 2012

A surfeit of research confirms that people activate personal, affective, and conceptual representations when perceiving the states of others. However, researchers continue to debate the role of self–other overlap in empathy due to a failure to dissociate neural overlap, subjective resonance, and personal distress. A perception–action view posits that neural-level overlap is necessary during early processing for all social understanding, but need not be conscious or aversive. This neural overlap can subsequently produce a variety of states depending on the context and degree of common experience and emotionality. We outline a framework for understanding the interrelationship between neural and subjective overlap, and among empathic states, through a dynamic-systems view of how information is processed in the brain and body.
Comment: Empathy and Participation—A Response to Fritz Breithaupt’s Three-Person Model of Empathy
Authors: Söffner Jan Georg
Published: January 2012

Fritz Breithaupt’s “Three-Person Model of Empathy” (2012) offers a brilliant approach to relate empathy to side-taking. By thereby grounding empathy in subjective observation though, it becomes difficult to focus on how empathy interferes with phenomena of shared and embedded activity. This comment therefore raises the question of how Breithaupt’s theory of empathy can be related to phenomena of participatory sense-making and second-person interaction.
Author reply: Empathy and Self-Recognition in Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Perspective: Author Response to Commentaries of Kärtner and Keller and Klann-Delius
Authors: Bischof-Köhler Doris
Published: January 2012

Self–other distinction, as documented by mirror self-recognition (MSR), allows for empathy which offers a motivational base for helping a person in need. Kärtner and Keller propose a different, culture-related, possibility of helping based on shared intentional relations and emotional contagion which could explain helping behavior in Indian children not yet capable of MSR. Due to the experimental setting, however, other releasers of children’s sadness and helping behavior have to be considered. An alternative setting is proposed. With respect to MSR, the question of false negatives is discussed. The issues mentioned by Klann-Delius address fundamental theoretical questions that cannot be answered briefly.
Author reply: Empathy and the Brain: How We Can Make Progress
Authors: Walter Henrik
Published: January 2012

Neuroscientific research on empathy has made much progress recently. How far can we get and how should we do it? Two different routes have been suggested by Dziobek and Jacobs in their commentaries. The first is becoming ecologically more valid by using real-life settings as stimuli. The second is becoming more quantitative by specifying a neurocognitive model, allowing more precise quantitative predictions. Although neither approaches are mutually exclusive, I suggest that these two routes are in a certain tension to each other. I suggest an additional third, more indirect way, namely studying modulating factors of empathy like emotion regulation which have until now been largely neglected in empathy research.
High School Journalists Write About Nutrition and Physical Activity
Authors: Hampl Jeffrey S , Winham Donna M. , Wharton Christopher M.
Published: January 2012

Many content analyses of mass media and health messages have been conducted, but little is known regarding the perceptions of high school students about health-related topics. The authors conducted a content analysis of 218 newspapers collected from 25 Arizona high schools published during the 2003-2004 academic year. Two independent evaluators read each entire newspaper, identified qualifying articles (n = 95), and categorized content by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Evaluators sorted each article’s content into one or more groups reflecting the MyPyramid food categories and tracked article themes related to harms or benefits of lifestyle choices. Articles were also scored regarding information accuracy. Categorizing by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, the most frequently mentioned article topics were “carbohydrates” or “reduced sugars” in foods (55%), “weight management” (53%), and “physical activity” (45%). In all, 15% of articles included some incorrect information in their text. These data show that healthy eating and active lifestyles are important concerns for high school journalism students. Journalism and dietetics professionals should volunteer with high school journalism classes to encourage these interests and to promote greater coverage of nutrition and health issues as well as more accurate reporting.