bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remapping the City
Authors: Katznelson Ira
Published: March 2005

Section I of this chapter discusses how, by not embarking on the journey linking city space, capitalist development, and class formation, Marxism denied itself a critical dimension in the material analysis both of the target it wished to confront and of the class it expected to be the agent of this successful engagement. Section II looks at how the separation between the social classes within the new social geography of the capitalist city in the nineteenth century helped assure the residential propinquity of members of the working class, as well as their isolation from other classes. However, with the elaboration of new networks made possible by the nationalization of labour markets, there was a growing sense that working classes shared a fate that transcended given localities, while advances in communications and transportation made the ties between class and space more complicated and tentative. Analyses are included of this break in working‐class history given in the work of Krishan Kumar and Craig Calhoun, and by Olivier Zunz and Richard Oestreicher in their studies of Detroit at the turn of the nineteenth century. Sections III–V show that the relationship of Marxism and the city and urban space now stands on unsure ground, since it is the politics and viability of class itself as the dominant form of collective identity that is currently under challenge; the discussion given here draws on the work of Mark Gottendiener and Eric Hobsbaum within the new urban Marxism.
Recent Work On Kant's Theoretical Philosophy
Authors: Ameriks Karl
Published: March 2005

This chapter is influenced by the work of Gerold Prauss, and it consists largely in an overview of interpretations of Kant’s transcendental deduction and transcendental idealism. It distinguishes a wide variety of non-regressive interpretations of the deduction, and indicates some of their limitations. More positively, it explains how Prauss’ highly original discussion of Kant’s notion of appearance in experience helps with understanding details of the complex Critical conception of judgements of perception. The survey of work on transcendental idealism gives special attention to the early Kant scholarship of Prauss and Henry E. Allison, but it does not endorse their preference for a relatively non-metaphysical version of Kant’s doctrine.
The Critique of Metaphysics: Kant and Traditional Ontology
Authors: Ameriks Karl
Published: March 2005

Contains a brief survey of the first Critique’s Transcendental Dialectic, but it is primarily devoted to a treatment of Kant’s changing views on the fundamental question of how to arrive at a theoretical account of the unity of the world that overcomes the shortcomings of occasionalism, theories of pre-established harmony, and naïve versions of the doctrine of ‘physical influx’. It stresses that although it is very difficult to determine exactly how Kant comes to a distinctive and stable position on this question, the topic is clearly of fundamental importance in all stages of his work, and throughout all of them he favours the affirmation of real interaction between finite substances. Draws on ideas and materials from lectures by Kant, and it also relies heavily on several newly found sets of notes (published in German only in 1983, and translated in 1997, with several corrections to the German edition) from Kant’s lectures on metaphysics.
The New Agenda
Authors: Dunne Tim
Published: March 2005

The final two chapters in Part One investigate the evolving research agenda of the English School of International Relations and its contribution to contemporary international relations. In this chapter, the author explores what may be described as the ‘new agenda’ in English School thinking about world politics. He begins by briefly tracing the long history of the concept of international society, noting how it has become synonymous with the English School despite the fact that other paradigms have also made use of the term. He moves on to reiterate one of the central claims of the first part of this book: that the English School and the concept of international society have been propelled to the forefront of contemporary debates about world politics by important sociological and normative developments in mainstream international relations in North America. He then identifies four core and as yet unsolved ‘puzzles’ that will frame the English School's new agenda as it continues to develop; these are the relationship between agency and structure, the boundaries between international society and world society, the moral basis of international society, and the tension between forces of society and hierarchy in contemporary world politics.
The Constructivist Challenge after September 11
Authors: Reus-Smit Christian
Published: March 2005

The final two chapters in Part One investigate the evolving research agenda of the English School of International Relations and its contribution to contemporary international relations. In this chapter, the author investigates the emerging dialogue between English School and constructivist approaches in order to explore how they help to understand the post‐September 11 world, arguing, in particular, that, taken together, both English School and constructivist scholarship can add much to the understanding of contemporary international society. The chapter undertakes two tasks, first, it revisits an argument made elsewhere by the author: that although constructivism and the English School share much in common, and there is considerable scope for productive engagement, scholars on both sides are currently mired in an unproductive dialogue of stereotypes. In this dialogue, constructivists draw little more from the English School than the well‐rehearsed proposition that states can form international societies not just systems, and English School scholars focus too heavily on the statist, positivistic form of constructivism associated with the writings of Alexander Wendt – although it is likely to be far more fruitful to see both perspectives as bounded realms of debate, each characterized by significant internal debates over ontology, methods, and ethics. The chapter's second task is to suggest how an enriched dialogue between constructivism and the English School could be productively deployed to grapple with some of the central research questions of the post‐September 11 world: namely, the relationship between power and institutions, international society and world society, and order and justice.
International Political Economy and Globalization
Authors: Buzan Barry
Published: March 2005

Deals with arguably the most pointed omission from the thinking of the English School of International Relations – international political economy (IPE) – a failure has had serious and negative consequences for how the understanding of international society has developed, and has also had the consequence that the English School has so far not exploited its considerable potential to act as the theoretical framework through which globalization can be analyzed. The author holds that nothing stands in the way of bringing IPE into the international society tradition, and that much is to be gained by doing so. In the first section of the chapter, he begins his account by identifying and then accounting for this omission, arguing that it is both unnecessary and unjustified; he places the economic sector within English School thinking, looks at what has been said about it, and examines why it has been neglected. In the second section, the consequences of the neglect of the economic sector are explored for the debate about pluralism and solidarism. In the third section, regions and institutions are examined as ways of bringing IPE and the English School together, and in the final section, it is argued that this combination holds the key to a more effective study of globalization.
Justice and Coercion
Authors: Nardin Terry
Published: March 2005

The problems caused by the US‐led response to terrorism addressed in Ch. 13 are looked at in more detail in the last two chapters, with the author offering here a novel reformulation of ‘justice’ as ‘coercively enforceable morality’, by arguing that ideas about international justice, and particularly about the rightness of the use of force in pursuit of the supposedly common interests of international society are intrinsically linked to common ideas about what is right or wrong. This suggests a need to rethink the order versus justice debate, as justice becomes the pursuit of those things that are legitimate to pursue, and rather than seeing order and justice as polar opposites, the author argues that the very concept of international justice implies a basic level of agreement about the legitimacy of particular types of order. He responds to the key question of how international society manages competing ideas about justice by outlining a case for the recognition of a ‘common morality’ that should guide action in international society and has three primary properties: first, unlike other ethical codes it is binding on all individuals; second, it rests on the human capacity for reasoned argument rather than ‘custom, contract, or legislation’; and third, its precepts are obligatory restraints on choice, not mere recommendations. He then moves on to discuss how common morality is applicable in international society: in sum, the creation of a common morality implies a shift to a solidarist international society that binds all its actors to a common moral code of action and shares moral responsibilities between them. The key tension within international society, the author concludes, is not one between order and justice, but one between just and unjust coercive orders.
Morality as a System of Advantage‐Reducing Imperatives
Authors: Wilson Catherine
Published: March 2005

Discusses the evolution of human morality from the proto‐morality of our primate ancestors. The dominance of some individuals and groups by others is taken to be the essential condition of the formulation of moral rules, which are to be distinguished from taboo prohibitions and other social norms. The historical evolution towards universalism in the application of moral rules in the face of empirical differences between human beings is argued to be insufficiently explained by evolutionary and game‐theoretic accounts of the origins of morality, to the extent that they posit agents as equal in strength and intelligence. Morality is a scalar phenomenon, with unrestrained self‐interest and advantage‐seeking lying at one pole and hypermoral abnegation at the other. Hobbes’ Theorem, which states that increments of morality added to a society contribute to the happiness and security of individuals, it is not unrestrictedly true.
Limitations on Theory II: Immanent Standpoints
Authors: Wilson Catherine
Published: March 2005

Discusses the sense in which morality is pre‐theoretically immanent in every culture's institutions and practices, as virtue‐theorists like Hume maintain, and distinguishes between benign and pernicious forms of relativism. Discussing ideas advanced by Michael Walzer, the chapter aims to discriminate between community practices that we have no right to judge or cannot judge and practices that can be judged affronts to morality or else permissible variants of preferred institutions and practices. It is argued that relations of social dominance and privilege pervade many aspects of human culture and that they are often obscured by unreasonable respect for the values of stability and continuity, aesthetic interest, or deference to otherness.
Moral Equality and ‘Natural’ Subordination
Authors: Wilson Catherine
Published: March 2005

The costs of bringing about greater equality with respect to gender seem formidably high, especially with regard to the Reality Constraint as it applies to maternity. Chapter 8 argues that costs to agents in this regard, though real, are offset by acknowledged counterweight principles and our preference for symmetrical over basic co‐operation. The sociobiological themes of Ch. 1 are revisited in an attempt to show the relevance of biological, institutional, and psychological biases to men's social dominance. The variety and complexity of actual relations between men and women is sketched in a brief examination of the moral significance of love, courtship, marriage, infidelity, and vice. Bernard Williams's presentation of the conflict between authority and individuality, and between morality and self‐determination, furnishes the framework of the discussion.
Minimal Semantics
Authors: Borg Emma
Published: March 2005

Seeks to defend a formal (e.g. truth-conditional) approach to semantic theorizing from advocates of so-called ‘dual pragmatics’ (e.g. relevance theorists or contextualists). I argue, first, that formal semantics is preferable to pragmatically saturated approaches since only formal accounts are compatible with a modularity view of linguistic understanding (a view which is itself, I suggest, independently well motivated). Secondly, I contend that the arguments currently on the table in favour of dual pragmatics fail to show that formal semantics should be abandoned. These arguments for dual pragmatics stem from the existence of overt context-sensitivity in natural languages (for instance, in the form of indexicals and demonstratives) and the purported existence of covert context-sensitivity (in the form of ‘unarticulated constituents’). I look at these arguments in detail and suggest how the formal theorist can accommodate the apparent intrusion of pragmatics into the semantic realm. My defence of formal semantics holds, however, only given an appreciation of what I deem to be the limits of semantic theorizing. Thus, I argue overall for a minimal conception of the nature of semantic theories.
Modularity
Authors: Borg Emma
Published: March 2005

An introduction to the notion of modularity of mind and an argument as to why only formal semantic theories are compatible with the claim that semantic comprehension is the product of a (Fodorian) modular system. This chapter also looks at some initial challenges to formal semantics stemming from the apparent place of pragmatic reasoning in our grasp of meaning. These include arguments concerning the nature of speech acts, the analysis of implicatures, word learning, and ambiguity.
Adhaeribacter aquaticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a Gram-negative isolate from a potable water biofilm
Authors: Rickard A. H. , Stead A. T. , O'May G. A. , Lindsay S. , Banner M. , Handley P. S. , Gilbert P.
Published: March 2005

A Gram-negative bacterium was isolated from a freshwater biofilm developed on a stainless steel surface under a fluid velocity of 0·26 m s−1. The strain, MBRG1.5T, was cultivated on R2A agar and formed pink colonies. Light microscopy and negative staining in a transmission electron microscope showed that the cells were rod-shaped, approximately 2·8–4·1 μm long by 0·9–1·7 μm wide in size and produced large quantities of extracellular fibrillar material. Additionally, following growth in batch culture, transmission electron microscopy showed that many cells plasmolysed. Stationary-phase cells were more variable in size and shape. The DNA G+C content was 40·0 mol%. The most abundant fatty acids were 15 : 0 iso (22·5 %), followed by 16 : 1ω5c (16·9 %) and 15 : 0 iso 2-OH (16·5 %). Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the strain was a member of the family ‘Flexibacteraceae’ of the Cytophaga–Flavobacterium–Bacteroides group. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses indicated that the strain could not be assigned to any recognized genus; therefore a novel genus and species, Adhaeribacter aquaticus gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed, with MBRG1.5T (=DSM 16391T=NCIMB 14008T) as the type strain.
Thiomicrospira arctica sp. nov. and Thiomicrospira psychrophila sp. nov., psychrophilic, obligately chemolithoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria isolated from marine Arctic sediments
Authors: Knittel Katrin , Kuever Jan , Meyerdierks Anke , Meinke Ruth , Amann Rudolf , Brinkhoff Thorsten
Published: March 2005

Two psychrophilic, chemolithoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were isolated from marine Arctic sediments sampled off the coast of Svalbard with thiosulfate as the electron donor and CO2 as carbon source. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that the novel strains, designated SVAL-DT and SVAL-ET, represent members of the genus Thiomicrospira. Further genotypic (DNA–DNA relatedness, DNA G+C content) and phenotypic characterization revealed that the strains represent members of two novel species. Both organisms are obligately autotrophic and strictly aerobic. Nitrate was not used as an electron acceptor. Chemolithoautotrophic growth was observed with thiosulfate, tetrathionate and sulfur. The temperature limits for growth of both strains were between −2 °C and 20·8 °C, with optima of 11·5–13·2 °C (SVAL-ET) and 14·6–15·4 °C (SVAL-DT), which is about 13–15 °C lower than the optima of all other recognized Thiomicrospira species. The maximum growth rate on thiosulfate at 14 °C was 0·14 h−1 for strain SVAL-ET and 0·2 h−1 for strain SVAL-DT. Major fatty acids of SVAL-DT are C16 : 1, C18 : 0 and C16 : 0, and those of SVAL-ET are C16 : 1, C18 : 1, C16 : 0 and C14 : 1. Cells of SVAL-DT and SVAL-ET are rods, like those of their closest relatives. To our knowledge the novel strains are the first psychrophilic, chemolithoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria so far described. The names Thiomicrospira arctica sp. nov. and Thiomicrospira psychrophila sp. nov. are proposed for SVAL-ET (=ATCC 700955T=DSM 13458T) and SVAL-DT (=ATCC 700954T=DSM 13453T), respectively.
Paenibacillus hodogayensis sp. nov., capable of degrading the polysaccharide produced by Sphaerotilus natans
Authors: Takeda Minoru , Suzuki Ichiro , Koizumi Jun-ichi
Published: March 2005

Sphaerotilus natansis a sheathed bacterium often found in activated sludge that has a bulking problem. A bacterial strain that is able to degrade the extracellular polysaccharide produced byS. natanswas isolated. The isolate was a spore-forming, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. The Gram reaction was variable or negative. The optimum growth temperature was 30 °C and the optimum pH was 8. The G+C content of the DNA was 55 mol%. The major cellular fatty acid and respiratory quinone were anteiso-C15 : 0and MK-7, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene indicated that the isolate was a member of the genusPaenibacillus. The nearest relative, with a similarity of 94·2 %, wasPaenibacillus koleovorans, a bacterium capable of degrading the sheath ofS. natans. The phenotypic characteristics of the isolate were apparently different from those of related species in the genusPaenibacillus. It is proposed that the isolate be designatedPaenibacillus hodogayensissp. nov. The type strain is SGT(=JCM 12520T=KCTC 3919T).
Nitrogen and phosphorus in mire plants: variation during 50 years in relation to supply rate and vegetation type
Authors: Malmer Nils , Wallén Bo
Published: March 2005

Southern Sweden has long been exposed to an increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition. We investigated the effects of this supply on theSphagnummire vegetation in SW Götaland by comparing above‐ground tissue concentrations of N and P and biomass variables in five vascular plant and twoSphagnumspecies collected during three periods since 1955 at 81 sites representing three vegetation types, viz. ombrotrophic bog, extremely poor fen and moderately poor fen, within two areas differing in annual N deposition. The N:P ratios in the plants were rarely below 17, suggesting P as the growth‐limiting mineral nutrient. In the vascular plants both growth and concentrations of N and P were highest in the moderately poor fen sites because of a higher mineralization rate, the differences between the extremely poor fen and bog sites being smaller in these respects. In the extremely poor fen and bog sites the N concentrations were slightly higher in the area with the highest N deposition. From 1955 to 2002 the concentration of N in theSphagnumspp. increased proportionally to the supply rate while P remained constant. In the vascular plants the concentrations of P remained constant while N showed slightly decreasing trends in the bog and extremely poor fen sites, but since the size of the plants increased the biomass content of N and P increased, too. The increased N deposition has had its greatest effects on the site types with the highestSphagnumbiomass and peat accumulation rate. The high N concentration in theSphagnummosses probably reduced their competitiveness and facilitated the observed expansion of vascular plants. However, the increased N deposition might also have triggered an increased mineralization in the acrotelm increasing the supply of P to the vascular plants and thus also their productivity. This may also explain the slightly higher productivity among the vascular plants in the area with the highest N deposition rate. In conclusion, it seems as the increased N deposition has directly influenced only the growth of theSphagnummosses and that the effects on the growth of the vascular plants are indirect.
A state–space model to derive bluefin tuna movement and habitat from archival tags
Authors: Royer F. , Fromentin J.‐M. , Gaspar P.
Published: March 2005

Archival tagging provides a unique way to study the spatial dynamics and habitat of pelagic fish. This technique generates lagrangian data of a particular type in marine ecology: although highly informative about processes at different scales (e.g. horizontal movements versus diving behaviour), such data are impaired by location errors and the lack of combination with actual environmental variability. The present paper introduces a framework for modelling bluefin tuna movement in relation to its habitat, using records of light, depth and temperature from archival tags. Based on data assimilation concepts and methods, we show how an explicit formulation of the observation process and the statistics of external variables (e.g. ambient temperature) can improve precision in geolocation. The proposed method is tested on synthetic data: significant reduction (40 to 50%) in the initial root‐mean square error is achieved under different noise scenarios. Assimilating sea surface temperature also allows to perform on‐line estimation of a range of observation biases. The performance of the model greatly benefits from the adequate formalisation of different variability sources, and allows potentially to reveal interactions between the fish and its habitat. Using this probabilistic approach, we, however, show that some patterns of interest (e.g. foraging in surface fronts) can hardly be retrieved in a context of large observational and environmental noise.
Implications of spatial pattern and local density on community‐level interactions
Authors: Lortie Christopher J. , Ellis Erica , Novoplansky Ariel , Turkington Roy
Published: March 2005

The importance of spatial aggregation and density dependence have been extensively explored in ecology. However, both factors might interact or modify one another to differentially influence net population or community‐level dynamics. In a desert annual plant community, we experimentally tested for these effects at nested spatial scales by planting different number of patches within a plot but holding plot‐level seed density constant, by manipulating the number of occupied patches adjacent to a target patch, and by varying local seed density within patches. In doing so, we addressed the following specific questions: (i) is there an effect of the number of patches of seeds planted on plot‐level community measures, (ii) are there patch–patch interactions within plots, (iii) are there density‐dependent responses to changing initial seed density within patches, and (iv) do patterns observed at finer spatial scales predict patterns at larger scales? Community parameters measured at the plot level‐emergence, plant density, and mean plant size‐were negatively affected by increasing seed aggregation into fewer patches within a plot. However, converse effects were detected at finer spatial scales. The presence of neighbouring patches increased emergence within a plot, while increased seed density within patches decreased emergence but strongly increased survival and mean plant size. Hence, the net negative effects detected at the arbitrary plot level do not necessarily correspond to the interactions occurring at finer spatial scales within the plot. These findings suggest that the use of single scales of inquiry can potentially misrepresent the importance of a particular interaction, such as competition, and that the experimental consideration of finer scales within a community reveal different patterns and do not predict final net effects within a community.
First‐line eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori in primary health care based on antibiotic resistance: results of three eradication regimens
Authors: Koivisto T. T. , Rautelin H. I. , Voutilainen M. E. , Heikkinen M. T. , Koskenpato J. P. , Färkkilä M. A.
Published: March 2005

Aim:  To determine the efficacy of three Helicobacter pylori eradication regimens and factors affecting the eradication results in Finland.

Methods:  A total of 342 H. pylori‐positive adult patients from primary health care referred for gastroscopy at 23 centres in different parts of Finland were randomized to receive either (i) lansoprazole 30 mg b.d., amoxicillin 1 g b.d. and metronidazole 400 mg t.d.s. (LAM), (ii) lansoprazole 30 mg b.d., amoxicillin 1 g b.d. and clarithromycin 500 mg b.d. (LAC), or (iii) ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg b.d., metronidazole 400 mg t.d.s. and tetracycline 500 mg q.d.s. (RMT). A 13C‐urea breath test was performed 4 weeks after therapy.

Results:  The eradication result could be assessed in 329 cases. Intention‐to‐treat cure rates of LAM, LAC, and RMT were 78, 91 and 81%. The difference was significant between LAM and LAC (P = 0.01) and between LAC and RMT (P = 0.04). The eradication rates in cases with metronidazole‐susceptible vs. ‐resistant isolates were for LAM 93% vs. 53% (P = 0.00001), for LAC 95% vs. 84%, and for RMT 91% vs. 67% (P = 0.002). Previous antibiotic use, smoking, and coffee drinking reduced the efficacy of therapy.

Conclusions:  In unselected patients in primary health care, LAC was the most effective first‐line eradication.
Allelic variation in the erythropoietin receptor gene is associated with uterine capacity and litter size in swine*
Authors: Vallet J. L. , Freking B. A. , Leymaster K. A. , Christenson R. K.
Published: March 2005

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; C vs. T) that creates an extra GATA‐1 site (T allele) in intron 4 of the swine erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) gene was discovered and a genotyping assay for this SNP was developed. A total of 402 gilts from lines selected either at random (control), for ovulation rate (OR) or for uterine capacity (UC) for 11 generations were unilaterally hysterectomized‐ovariectomized (UHO) at 160 days of age, mated at approximately 250 days of age and slaughtered at 105 days of pregnancy. Blood samples and spleens were collected from each foetus and the numbers of corpora lutea (CL) and live foetuses, the weights of each foetus and placenta, and each foetal haematocrit were recorded. In addition, intact gilts from the OR line or from a Yorkshire, Landrace, Duroc, crossbred line (BX) were mated and farrowed. At farrowing, the numbers of fully formed and live piglets were recorded for each litter. Genomic DNA was isolated for both the UHO and intact gilts, from foetuses from the UHO gilts that were heterozygous for the EPOR SNP, and from the boars from the BX line and were then used to determine EPOR SNP genotypes. Only CC and CT gilts were observed in the control, OR and UC selected lines. Presence of the EPOR T allele was associated (P < 0.05) with increased UC in these gilts. The number of heterozygous and homozygous foetuses did not differ within UHO litters, or did EPOR genotype influence foetal haematocrit. In intact gilts from the OR line, litter size was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with EPOR SNP genotype. Finally, results from intact gilts of the BX line, in which both the gilt and the boar genotypes were known, allowed an analysis to determine the effect of the gilt and/or the foetal genotype on litter size. This analysis indicated that the predicted foetal genotype (with gilt genotype as covariate) was associated with litter size (an increase of 2.6 ± 1.0 piglets born alive predicted for homozygous T litters compared with homozygous C litters, P < 0.01) whereas the effect of the gilt genotype (adjusted for foetal genotype) on litter size was not significant. These results indicate that the EPOR SNP is associated with UC and litter size in two distinct populations and could be useful in increasing litter size in swine that are not limited in OR.
Patient participation on a ward for frail older people
Authors: Tutton Elizabeth M.M.
Published: March 2005

Aims.  The paper reports a study whose aims were to explore the meaning of participation for older people in hospital and their health care workers and ways in which staff can enhance patient participation in their care.

Background.  Participation in care is a concept that is central to nursing practice. However, little is known about patient and staff views of participation and how it takes place in practice.

Methods.  Action research was used, and data were collected by means of focus groups and in‐depth interviews. Three focus groups and 24 interviews were undertaken with staff, and 19 interviews were undertaken with patients. The main action undertaken with staff aimed at raising their awareness of participation. In addition small changes in practice were introduced, such as the use of a patient biographical booklet.

Findings.  The findings suggest that participation is a dynamic process that is integral to the work of nurses and carers. The process is enacted through the themes of facilitation, partnership, understanding the person, and emotional work.

Conclusion.  The study demonstrates how nurses can become increasingly aware of the potential for facilitation and creation of opportunities for participation. It is crucial that practitioners working with older people develop a deeper understanding of participation and are also empowered to act in ways that fit with the needs of this specific client group.
Technology dependence and health‐related quality of life: a model
Authors: Marden Susan F.
Published: March 2005

Aim.  This paper presents a new theoretical model to explain people's diverse responses to therapeutic health technology by characterizing the relationship between technology dependence and health‐related quality of life (HRQL).

Introduction.  Technology dependence has been defined as reliance on a variety of devices, drugs and procedures to alleviate or remedy acute or chronic health problems. Health professionals must ensure that these technologies result in positive outcomes for those who must rely on them, while minimizing the potential for unintended consequences. Little research exists to inform health professionals about how dependency on therapeutic technology may affect patient‐reported outcomes such as HRQL. Organizing frameworks to focus such research are also limited.

Model.  Generated from the synthesis of three theoretical frameworks and empirical research, the model proposes that attitudes towards technology dependence affect HRQL through a person's illness representations or commonsense beliefs about their illness. Symptom distress, illness history, age and gender also influence the technology dependence and HRQL relationship. Five concepts form the major components of the model: a) attitudes towards technology dependence, b) illness representation, c) symptom distress, d) HRQL and e) illness history.

Conclusion.  The model is proposed as a guide for clinical nursing research into the impact of a wide variety of therapeutic health care interventions on HRQL. Empirical validation of the model is needed to test its generality.
Amiodarone‐induced acute lung toxicity in an ICU setting
Authors: Skroubis T. , Galiatsou E. , Metafratzi Z. , Karahaliou A. , Kitsakos A. , Nakos G.
Published: March 2005

Amiodarone is a highly effective antiarrhythmic drug, albeit notorious for its serious pulmonary toxicity. The incidence of amiodarone‐induced pulmonary toxicity (APT) appears to be 1% per year (1). We report a case of very acute APT in a man suffering from postoperative atrial fibrillation.
Vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression in middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat
Authors: Lennmyr F. , Terént A. , Syvänen A.‐C. , Barbany G.
Published: March 2005

Background:  Focal cerebral ischemia induces up‐regulation of angiogenic growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which may have both beneficial and harmful effects to the ischemic brain. Vascular endothelial growth factor is up‐regulated in models of brain ischemia, but the underlying mechanisms in vivo remain unclear. In the present report we have investigated the concomitant changes in VEGF and glyceraldehyde dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA expression in a model of permanent and transient cerebral ischemia.

Methods:  Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were exposed to permanent or transient (2 h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (PMCAO, TMCAO). Brain samples were collected at survival times ranging from 6 h to 1 week, and the levels of VEGF164 and GAPDH mRNA were determined using reverse‐transcriptase real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR).

Results:  The VEGF mRNA levels decreased gradually over the observation period in a similar manner in both PMCAO and TMCAO. Maximum levels, seen at early observation time points, did not significantly deviate from sham controls. No statistically significant changes in GAPDH mRNA levels were observed, but there was a tendency towards a postischemic decrease with subsequent return to control levels over time. The VEGF/GAPDH ratio followed a pattern of decrease similar to VEGF mRNA alone.

Conclusion:  The VEGF mRNA levels at 6 h after MCAO remain near baseline and thereafter decline, regardless of whether the occlusion is permanent or transient (2 h). The findings raise the question of other than transcriptional regulation of VEGF in cerebral ischemia.
Fungi in leaves, twigs and stem bark of Populus tremula from northern Spain
Authors: Santamaría O. , Diez J. J.
Published: March 2005

Fungal species were recorded from Populus tremula leaves, twigs and bark (trunk) at eight sites in the northern region of Spain, with the aim of evaluating the effect of sampling site, sampling tissue and isolation method on the frequency and species distribution of the fungi recovered from necrotic and healthy tissues. Two different isolation methods were used: the first consisted of finding fruitbodies on plant tissues after incubating them in wet and warm conditions, and the second included growing mycelia from plant fragments plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA). A total of 48 fungal species were isolated from 960 plant fragments. Cytospora chrysosperma, previously reported to be a pathogen of poplar, was recovered very frequently and was recorded as much in healthy as in dead or dying tissues. Cladosporium maculicola, Elsinoe veneta, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans and Pollaccia radiosa were also frequently isolated. The isolation frequencies from necrotic and healthy plant tissues were significantly different between sites and isolation methods. The incubation in moist chambers revealed significantly more fungal isolates and a higher species richness (38 species) than isolations on PDA. However, 16% of the fungal species were exclusively recorded from cultures. Therefore, a combination of several isolation methods is recommended for surveys of fungal communities associated with trees.
Neonatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning: Materno‐fetal exchange of pesticide
Authors: Rayyan M , Price V , Kruger M
Published: March 2005

Abstract:  This is a case report of a neonatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning after non‐accidental ingestion of a carbamate containing pesticide by the mother prior to delivery. The mother presented with symptoms of cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning at 40 weeks of gestation. A fetal bradycardia was present. The mother improved after administration of intravenous atropine. Spontaneous labour ensued and a term female infant weighing 3200 g was delivered. The infant had signs of cholinergic stimulation and decreased levels of serum cholinesterase. The neonate presented with a marked tachycardia. The heart rate normalized after administration of atropine. Therefore, we concluded that the tachycardia was due to the cholinesterase inhibitor substance, causing catecholamine release by stimulation of nicotinic receptors. Another potential contributing factor to the tachycardia, although unlikely in our patient, was the atropine administered to the mother prior to delivery. Mother and infant recovered well. We conclude that infants can present with tachycardia associated with cholinesterase inhibitor toxicity. Despite the side‐effects intravenous atropine should not be withheld in the treatment of mother and infant.
Metropolitan Institutions and Policy Coordination: The Integration of Land Use and Transport Policies in Swiss Urban Areas
Authors: SAGER FRITZ
Published: March 2005

The article addresses the question of how different metropolitan institutional settings affect the quality of political negotiation processes and their subsequent policy decisions. Starting from the theoretical controversy of the two metropolitan reform traditions, two opposing ideal types of metropolitan government institutions are conceptualized: on the one hand the public choice model that stands for a decentralized, nonprofessional, and politically dependent administration in fragmented urban areas, and on the other hand the neoprogressive model that stands for direct public service production by centralized and professionalized bureaucracies within consolidated municipalities. A qualitative comparative analysis of nine decision cases in four Swiss urban areas uncovers three main results: voluntary, positive, and policy‐driven coordination as well as well coordinated policy solutions are found in centralized rather than decentralized institutional settings, in fragmented rather than consolidated metropolitan areas, and in project structures with a strict separation of the political sphere of negotiating from the technical sphere rather than in negotiations without such clear distinction. However, it is only under very specific institutional conditions that these well‐coordinated solutions are also being implemented. The findings must be put into perspective in two respects. On the one hand, the positive effect of fragmentation on the quality of deliberation is supposedly unique to Switzerland due to its very strong federalism. On the other hand, the importance of bureaucratic autonomy is probably due to Switzerland's marked tradition of a weak state. The results from the nine test cases in general, however, substantiate the hypotheses derived from the neoprogressive model of metropolitan government institutions rather than the public choice model.
Immunohistochemical identification of HCV target antigen in paraffin‐embedded liver tissue: reproducibility and staining patterns
Authors: Shiha Gamal E , Zalata Khaled R , Abdalla Ahmed F , Mohamed Mostfa K
Published: March 2005

Abstract: Background: Immunohistochemical staining has been applied successfully to detect hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigen in fresh frozen tissue. In paraffin‐embedded tissues, however, minimal trials with conflicting results have been reported.

Aims: The present study is a trial to evaluate the identification of HCV antigen in paraffin‐embedded liver biopsies using the anti‐HCV monoclonal antibody (MAb) TORDJI‐22.

Methods: We applied immunohistochemical staining for HCV in 56 paraffin‐embedded liver biopsy specimens, 46 from patients seropositive for HCV‐RNA and 10 control liver biopsy specimens. The TORDJI‐22 MAb was applied in dilution 1:40, with overnight incubation.

Results: Reproducible staining patterns of HCV antigen in tissues were identified among the majority (42/46–91%) of HCV RNA seropositive cases. The staining pattern was cytoplasmic of hepatocytes, with occasional nuclear hue. It is mainly coarse granular with microvesicular pattern. Three staining patterns were identified: A, diffuse or membranous; B, patchy; and C, occasional paranuclear. None of the control samples showed a similar staining pattern.

Conclusion: Immunohistochemical identification of HCV antigen is easy to apply in paraffin‐embedded liver biopsy specimens when the optimal detection techniques are applied. The staining pattern is reproducible, being mainly coarse granular cytoplasmic. Cross reactivity with hepatitis B virus antigens was not detected.
Developments in prediction theories of the effective size of populations under selection
Authors: NOMURA Tetsuro
Published: March 2005

The effective population size is a key parameter in the definition of selection programs, because the magnitude of this parameter determines both the rate of inbreeding and the amount of genetic drift in the population. Prediction of the effective size of selected populations is complicated by the fact that selection has a cumulative effect on the effective size. In the present article, two basic approaches to predict the effective size of populations under selection were summarized, and the interrelation among them was clarified. Several extensions to practical situations relevant to animal breeding, such as non‐random mating, index selection and marker‐assisted selection, were also reviewed.
Comparative Genomic Hybridizations Reveal Genetic Regions within theMycobacterium aviumComplex That Are Divergent fromMycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisIsolates
Authors: Paustian Michael L. , Kapur Vivek , Bannantine John P.
Published: March 2005

Mycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisis genetically similar to other members of theMycobacterium aviumcomplex (MAC), some of which are nonpathogenic and widespread in the environment. We have utilized anM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosiswhole-genome microarray representing over 95% of the predicted coding sequences to examine the genetic conservation among 10M. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisisolates, two isolates each ofMycobacterium aviumsubsp.silvaticumandMycobacterium aviumsubsp.avium, and a single isolate each of bothMycobacterium intracellulareandMycobacterium smegmatis. Genomic DNA from each isolate was competitively hybridized with DNA fromM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisK10, and open reading frames (ORFs) were classified as present, divergent, or intermediate. None of theM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisisolates had ORFs classified as divergent. The twoM. aviumsubsp.aviumisolates had 210 and 135 divergent ORFs, while the twoM. aviumsubsp.silvaticumisolates examined had 77 and 103 divergent ORFs. Similarly, 130 divergent ORFs were identified inM. intracellulare. A set of 97 ORFs were classified as divergent or intermediate in all of the nonparatuberculosis MAC isolates tested. Many of these ORFs are clustered together on the genome in regions with relatively low average GC content compared with the entire genome and contain mobile genetic elements. One of these regions of sequence divergence contained genes homologous to a mammalian cell entry (mce) operon. Our results indicate that closely related MAC mycobacteria can be distinguished fromM. aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisby multiple clusters of divergent ORFs.
Inhibition ofSalmonella entericaSerovar Typhimurium Lipopolysaccharide Deacylation by Aminoarabinose Membrane Modification
Authors: Kawasaki Kiyoshi , Ernst Robert K. , Miller Samuel I.
Published: March 2005

Salmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium remodels the lipid A component of lipopolysaccharide, a major component of the outer membrane, to survive within animals. The activation of the sensor kinase PhoQ in host environments increases the synthesis of enzymes that deacylate, palmitoylate, hydroxylate, and attach aminoarabinose to lipid A, also known as endotoxin. These modifications promote bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides and reduce the host recognition of lipid A by Toll-like receptor 4. TheSalmonellalipid A 3-O-deacylase, PagL, is an outer membrane protein whose expression is regulated by PhoQ. InS. entericaserovar Typhimurium strains that had the ability to add aminoarabinose to lipid A, 3-O-deacylated lipid A species were not detected, despite the PhoQ induction of PagL protein expression. In contrast, strains defective for the aminoarabinose modification of lipid A demonstrated in vivo PagL activity, indicating that this membrane modification inhibited PagL's enzymatic activity. Since not all lipid A molecules are modified with aminoarabinose upon PhoQ activation, these results cannot be ascribed to the substrate specificity of PagL. PagL-dependent deacylation was detected in sonically disrupted membranes and membranes treated with the nonionic detergentn-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside, suggesting that perturbation of the intact outer membrane releases PagL from posttranslational inhibition by aminoarabinose-containing membranes. Taken together, these results suggest that PagL enzymatic deacylation is posttranslationally inhibited by membrane environments, which either sequester PagL from its substrate or alter its conformation.
Structural and Genetic Characterization of the
Shigella boydii
Type 10 and Type 6 O Antigens
Authors: Senchenkova Sof'ya N. , Feng Lu , Yang Jinghua , Shashkov Alexander S. , Cheng Jiansong , Liu Dan , Knirel Yuriy A. , Reeves Peter R. , Jin Qi , Ye Qiang , Wang Lei
Published: March 2005

Comparison of the O antigens of
Shigella boydii
types 10 and 6 by chemical analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that their structures are similar, with the only difference being the presence or absence of
d
-ribofuranose, which is the immunodominant sugar in
S. boydii
type 10. In
S. boydii
type 6, a residue previously reported as α-
d
-Glc
p
A, was shown to be β-
d
-Glc
p
A as in
S. boydii
type 10.
S. boydii
types 10 and 6 are reported not to cross-react serologically, and the role of
d
-ribofuranose in the specificity of
S. boydii
was confirmed by making a mutant of type 10 that lacked
d
-ribofuranose. However,
S. boydii
type 11, which has a
d
-ribofuranose but with different linkage does show cross-reaction with type 10. The O-antigen gene loci of
S. boydii
types 10 and 6 were shown to be virtually identical except that
orf8
(
wbaM
), which was confirmed as the ribofuranosyltransferase gene, is interrupted by IS
629
in type 6. Therefore, it is proposed that the O-antigen gene cluster of
S. boydii
type 6 was derived from type 10 by an IS element insertion.
CODING AND DISTANCE CALCULATING OF SEPARATELY RANDOM FRACTALS AND APPLICATION TO GENERATING RIVER NETWORKS
Authors: HUNG CHUN-PO , WANG RU-YIH
Published: March 2005

This work develops a preliminary method for coding random self-similar patterns as a series of numbers and investigates the corresponding algorithm to calculate the topological distance between starting point and the link in the generated fractal pattern from the code series. With reference to the wide range of stochastic property in natural patterns, a process for generating fractal patterns with various generating probabilities of the pattern links denoted as separately random self-similar generation or separately random fractal is proposed. To assess the adaptability of the process, the coding method is applied to the generation of a random self-similar river network and the corresponding algorithm for calculating topological distance of the links is used to determine the width function of the pattern. The width function-based geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph (WF-GIUH) model is then applied to estimate the runoff of the Po-bridge watershed in northern Taiwan. The results show that the separately random self-similar generating algorithm can be implemented successfully to calculate hydrologic responses.