bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Refugee or Internally Displaced Person?
Authors: Moore Will H. , Shellman Stephen M.
Published: April 2006

This study investigates the circumstances that lead some countries to produce a large number of refugees and relatively few internally displaced persons (IDPs) as opposed to a large number of IDPs and relatively few refugees. The authors develop the hypothesis that refugee flows are greater in the face of state (sponsored) genocide/politicide than they are in response to other state coercion, dissident campaigns of violence, or civil wars. They also argue that countries surrounded by poor, authoritarian regimes will produce fewer refugees (relative to IDPs) than those surrounded by wealthy, democratic neighbors. A sample selection model is employed to conduct statistical analyses using data on a global sample of countries for the period from 1976 to 1995. The results support many of the authors' hypotheses and suggest that the choice-centered approach produces useful answers to new questions that other scholars have yet to ask.
Strategy Takes a Holiday
Authors: Horowitz Donald L.
Published: April 2006

The alternative vote (AV) is an electoral system that tends to produce centripetal effects. It therefore has some potential to foster interethnic compromise and coalition in severely divided societies. Fraenkel and Grofman's attempt to show that AV will not “necessarily” and “uniformly” produce moderate results refutes a proposition that has not been advanced and does so on the basis of assumptions contrary to those specified by proponents of AV's generally moderating propensities. Fraenkel and Grofman's examination of two elections under AV in Fiji is based on perverse interpretations of the data and embodies a serious underestimate of the extent to which strategic behavior can support interethnic moderation.
The Failure of the Alternative Vote as a Tool for Ethnic Moderation in Fiji
Authors: Fraenkel Jon , Grofman Bernard
Published: April 2006

In Donald Horowitz's rejoinder to Fraenkel and Grofman, he retreats from his previous claims about the desirability of alternative vote (AV), mischaracterizes our formal results, and nowhere addresses the extreme disproportionality of electoral outcomes in Fiji except to incorrectly dismiss this as due largely to malapportionment. Although he refuses to recognize the role AV played in the build-up to the overthrow of the Indian-led government in May 2000, Horowitz does acknowledge that the system he so strongly urged on Fiji's reformers failed to achieve its intended objectives at the elections of August 2001.
Effect of Oscillatory Shear on Polystyrene Cell Morphology
Authors: Gao Chang-Yun , Zhou Nan-Qiao , Peng Xiang-Fang , Kong Lei , Zhang Ping
Published: April 2006

In the present study, a novel microcellular processing experimental setup is developed. With this setup, an oscillatory shear flow is superimposed perpendicular to a steady shear flow during microcellular processing. The effects of processing conditions such as processing pressure, shear rate, and vibration frequency on polystyrene (PS) cell morphology are investigated. The cell morphology is analyzed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the cell density increases and cell size decreases with the increase of processing pressure, shear rate, and vibration frequency. The effects of steady and oscillatory shear on PS cell morphology are further studied with lower melt flow index PS processed with a larger gap thickness. The results show that the final cell structure processed under simple steady shear flow shows an elongated oval shape, while those processed under combined shear flow show nearly spherical cell shape.
Interdependence and the Duration of Militarized Conflict
Authors: Krustev Valentin L.
Published: April 2006

Many researchers have reported empirical support for the liberal proposition that increased trade between states reduces their propensity to engage in militarized conflict. However, the literature has been less vocal on the effects of interdependence once actual conflict has started. The author, who builds on the opportunity-cost explanation for the commercial peace, first shows how that explanation can fit a bargaining framework of conflict. It is then argued that if trade reduces conflict by raising its opportunity costs prior to its onset, the prospective opportunity costs should remain high during conflict as well and decrease its observed duration, a prediction that can also be derived from a simple war-of-attrition game. The proposed inverse relationship between interdependence and conflict duration is evaluated empirically, using all militarized interstate disputes between 1950 and 1992. The author utilizes both continuous and discrete-time duration models and considers a number of alternative model specifications and concept measurements, and the results are generally supportive of the tested hypothesis. In addition, a two-stage model of dispute onset and duration is estimated, which reveals that more probable disputes are also longer, but the observed selection pattern does not seem to influence the positive effect of interdependence on the hazards of dispute termination.
A Myth of Peace: ‘The Vision of the New Middle East’ and Its Transformations in the Israeli Political and Public Spheres
Authors: Yadgar Yaacov
Published: April 2006

This article studies the transformations of the narrative of ‘the Vision of the New Middle East’ as a political myth in Israel from its conception in the early 1990s to this date. Borrowing its analytic framework from Georges Sorel's concept of political myth, the article opens by offering a narrative analysis of the paradigmatic vision, as formulated by Shimon Peres (then Israel's Foreign Minister). The article goes on to trace the reception of this narrative and the uses made of it in two of the main arenas of the Israeli political and public spheres: the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) and the mainstream Hebrew press. The article argues that, while ‘the New Middle East’ has become an idiomatic phrase synonymous to peace, a closer look at its appearances in the Israeli public and political spheres suggests that the uses and transformations of ‘the New Middle East’ in effect signal its failure to become a politically mobilizing myth or image. Instead, this notion has become an icon of a utopian, abstract, and rather apolitical notion of peace in the Middle East. This case study thus suggests an interesting lesson as to the potential and limitations of using peace as a mobilizing political myth.
America's Youth and Community Engagement
Authors: Pasek Josh , Kenski Kate , Romer Daniel , Jamieson Kathleen Hall
Published: April 2006

This research examines the role of the mass media in young people's disengagement from politics. In a nationally representative telephone survey ( N = 1,501), young people (ages 14 to 22) reported their habits for 12 different uses of mass media as well as awareness of current national politics and time spent in civic activities. Following Putnam's hypothesis about the beneficial effects of civic ties on political involvement, the authors predict and find that civic activity is positively associated with political awareness. Contrary to Putnam, they find that media use, whether information or entertainment oriented, facilitates civic engagement, whereas news media are especially effective in promoting political awareness. Although heavy use of media interferes with both political and civic engagement, the overall effect of media use is favorable for each outcome. The results are discussed in regard to the potentially greater use of the media to build community engagement in young people.
Crisis Situations, Communication Strategies, and Media Coverage
Authors: Huang Yi-Hui
Published: April 2006

This study focuses on the relationships among crisis situations, crisis response strategies, and media coverage. The author examines four political crisis situations and the strategies used to manage them; adopts a comparative, multicase, holistic research design; uses typical content analysis procedures for data analysis; and applies pattern-matching logic to compare the data against a theoretical model, the corporate communicative response model. More than 1,220 news articles covering four political figures'crises are examined. Results indicate that the use of denial in a commission situation, justification in a standards situation, and concession in an agreement situation increased positive media coverage. The results also suggest that for all but the agreement situation, a combination of crisis communication strategies was the most effective strategy to employ. This study has theoretical and practical implications for the symbolic approach in general and for crisis communicative responses in particular.
Multiple Homicide Offenders
Authors: Delisi Matt , Scherer Aaron M.
Published: April 2006

Because investigations of multiple homicide offenders (MHOs) are usually case studies, there is limited understanding of the linkages between them and other criminal offenders. Using data from an exploratory sample of 160 MHOs and a control group of 494 single homicide offenders, this study examines MHOs from a criminal career perspective and finds that nearly 30% of them were habitual offenders before their final homicide event. Those with prior rape convictions, misdemeanor convictions, more extensive prison histories, and current involvement in rape and burglary are more likely to kill multiple victims. Curiously, nearly 40% of MHOs had zero prior arrests. Overall, arrest onset occurs later in the life course and is not predictive of offending. In conclusion, the study of MHOs could enrich the criminal career perspective, while posing some empirical and theoretical challenges to that paradigm.
Development and Preliminary Validation of a Defendant and Offender Screening Tool for Psychopathology in Inmate Populations
Authors: Ferguson Christopher J. , Negy Charles
Published: April 2006

The development of instruments to assess psychopathology within inmate populations has lagged far behind the development of general clinical assessment measures. At present, few empirically validated assessment instruments are available, and forensic evaluations typically rely on clinical measures that were not designed for inmate populations. The present study details the development and initial validation of a new forensically relevant assessment tool designed for and tested on an inmate population. This instrument is designed to function as a screening assessment tool for use in forensic and correctional evaluations that may assist forensic evaluators in answering questions related to psychopathology more reliably and validly than tools currently in use. Psychometric properties and potential usefulness of the instrument are discussed.
The Roman ad bestias Execution as a Possible Historical Background for 1 Peter 5.8
Authors: Paschke Boris A.
Published: April 2006

Most commentators on 1 Pet. 5.8 understand the lion picture as a metaphor for (1) the Christian believer’s human enemies (e.g. Bigg, Achtemeier, Elliott, Michaels; cf. LXX Ps. 21.14) or (2) ungodly world systems (e.g. Jobes) under the Devil’s power. This article offers a more literal explanation: the Roman ad bestias execution. So far this interpretation of the lion image has been mentioned only by a minority of exegetes (e.g. Rymer, Perdelwitz) and in passing. Nobody has tried to substantiate this obvious interpretation with first-century CE ad bestias witnesses. Such an enterprise is carried out in the present article, with the result that the Roman ad bestias execution can be considered a possible—perhaps even probable—historical background for 1 Pet. 5.8.
Challenges to Implementing and Sustaining Comprehensive Mental Health Service Programs
Authors: Gold Paul B. , Glynn Shirley M. , Mueser Kim T.
Published: April 2006

The President's New Freedom Commission recently concluded that the nation's mental health service delivery system is ill equipped to meet the complex needs of persons with mental illness. A major contributor to this service quality crisis has been the longstanding divergence of research efforts and clinical programs. In this article, the authors begin by describing the unique needs of persons with serious and persisting psychiatric disorders and the evolution of the mental health service system that has attempted to meet these needs. They then discuss recent efforts to upgrade services by emphasizing the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and the research underlying their development. Next, they describe the difficulties of using traditional research methods to develop and test interventions for persons receiving services at public mental health agencies. Finally, they outline the challenges confronted when trying to disseminate these EBPs to the wider clinical community.
Implementing Welfare Reform in Rural and Urban Communities
Authors: Arsneault Shelly
Published: April 2006

This piece argues that the very nature of rural poverty and the communities in which the rural poor live influence the administration of welfare programs that were designed to address urban poverty. Using in-depth interviews with case managers in urban and rural Kentucky along with statisticalanalysis from Kentucky's 120 counties, this study shows the very real challenges faced by administrators and highlights the challenges faced in both rural and urban communities. Importantly for public administration, resource constraints, the number of clientele served, geographic distances, and sense of community differently affect the implementation of welfare policy by place. The author suggests that because of the unique aspects of rural poverty, the welfare poor in rural communities may be best served by rules that emphasize local program variation.
Attitudes of Functionally Independent Residents Toward Residents Who Were Disabled in Old Age Homes: The Role of Separation Versus Integration
Authors: Iecovich Esther , Lev-Ran Orly
Published: April 2006

The issue of attitudes of elderly people toward their peers, particularly in residential settings, has been the subject of few investigations. This study examines the extent to which residents who are functionally independent express positive and negative attitudes toward residents who live in the nursing wards of the same facilities and investigates the factors that best explain the differences in their attitudes, in particular the effect of type of the facility. The study was conducted in two facilities, one characterized by integration between the residents who are functionally independent and the residents who are disabled, and the second by separation. In each facility a sample of 70 residents who are functionally independent was selected and interviewed face-to-face, using a structured questionnaire. The findings showed that, with regard to positive attitudes, no significant differences were found between the residents of the two types of facilities; however, those who lived in the integrated facility expressed more negative attitudes toward the residents who were disabled than their peers in a separated facility. The variables that best explained interindividual variability in attitudes toward the residents who were disabled were the type of facility, the preference of the respondent for the type of facility in which to live, economic status, and gender.
Civil Service Reform
Authors: Battaglio R. Paul , Condrey Stephen E.
Published: April 2006

Because of the splintered nature of public human resource management in the United States, civil service experimentation at lower levels of government, particularly the states, may be influencing personnel policy at the federal and local levels. Four models of human resource management service delivery are utilized as an organizing point for discussion of six state and local cases. The article draws implications for the design and reform of civil service systems and suggests that strategic modernization of civil service systems may be more effective than radical reform.
Flame and Smoke Retardants in Vinyl Chloride Polymers – Commercial Usage and Current Developments
Authors: Weil Edward D. , Levchik Sergei , Moy Paul
Published: April 2006

The flame and smoke retardance of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is reviewed with emphasis on the chemical additives used to achieve acceptable fire properties in the principal application areas. Particular attention is given to the current ‘state-of-the-art’ of vinyl compounding in regard to the chemicals used. Representative formulations are shown for several of the main applica- tions of PVC.
Gender Beliefs and the Meaning of Work Among Okinawan Women
Authors: Lee Kristen Schultz
Published: April 2006

This qualitative research examines the work experiences and gender beliefs of 22 Okinawan women who were young adults during the Battle of Okinawa. In-depth interviews were conducted with Okinawan women, including a subsample of women widowed in World War II, and the work experiences and gender beliefs of widows and nonwidows are compared. Women's orientation to breadwinning is found to shape the gender beliefs that they hold. Widows who defined their work as breadwinning maintained traditional gender beliefs, in compensation for their gender boundary–crossing work experience. Nonwidows who saw their work as supplementary to their husbands' income, however, adopted liberal gender beliefs.
A Survey of the Values of Christian-Affiliated Girls in the UK
Authors: Halsall Anna
Published: April 2006

This paper explores the values of girls who affiliate themselves with Christianity, in comparison with the values of girls of no religious affiliation, in the context of the ongoing debate regarding the social significance of religious affiliation. The values of 9,447 Christian-affiliated girls, and 7,185 girls of no religious affiliation are explored over the six value areas of: myself; my worries; school; religion and society; moral issues; and societal and world concerns. The data demonstrate that Christianaffiliated girls as a group have a distinct identity as expressed through their values, in that they are more positive in their outlook on life, yet also more anxious, and more conservative in their values than girls of no religious affiliation. This finding supports the concept of religious affiliation is a key part of a person's identity, and has important implications for policy regarding young people, specifically Christian-affiliated girls.
Dreaming of a New Jerusalem: Jane Lead's Visions of Wisdom
Authors: Hirst Julie
Published: April 2006

Jane Lead was a seventeenth-century prophetess, a mystic and visionary who became the religious leader of the Philadelphian Society in London at the end of the seventeenth century. She wrote at least 15 books and treatises, including a spiritual diary entitled A Fountain of Gardens which spans sixteen years and is nearly 2,500 pages long. Nearly all her works were translated into German and Dutch and published during her lifetime.
Bidisperse Magnetorheological Fluids using Fe Particles at Nanometer and Micron Scale
Authors: Wereley N. M. , Chaudhuri A. , Yoo J. -H. , John S. , Kotha S. , Suggs A. , Radhakrishnan R. , Love B. J. , Sudarshan T. S.
Published: April 2006

Conventional magnetorheological (MR) fluids are suspensions of micron-sized particles in a hydraulic or silicone oil carrier fluid. Recently, research has been conducted on the advantages of using bidisperse fluids, which are mixtures of two different powder sizes in the MR suspension. The MR fluids investigated here use a mixture of conventional micron- sized particles and nanometer-sized particles. The settling rate of such bidisperse fluids using nanometer-sized particles is reduced because the nanoparticles fill pores created between the larger particles, thereby reducing fluid transport during creeping flow. This reduction in the settling rate comes at a cost of a reduction in the maximum yield stress that can be manifested by such an MR fluid at its saturation magnetization. There is a measurable and predictable variation in rheological properties as the weight percent (wt%) of the nanometer-sized particles is increased relative to the weight percent (wt%) of micron-sized particles, while maintaining a constant solids loading in the MR fluid samples. All bidisperse fluids tested in this study have a solids loading of 60 wt% of iron (Fe) particles. This study investigates the effect of increasing the wt% of 30 nm (nominal) Fe particles relative to 30 mm (nominal) Fe particles on rheological characteristics, such as yield stress and postyield viscosity. The goal of this study is to find an optimal composition of the bidisperse fluid that provides the best combination of high yield stress and low settling rate based on empirical measurements. The applicability of the Bingham-plastic rheological model to the measured flow curves of these MR fluids is also presented.
Beam Finite Elements for Rotating Piezoelectric Fiber Composite Structures
Authors: Brockmann Tobias H. , Lammering Rolf
Published: April 2006

Piezoelectric fiber composites with their dynamic characteristics, tailorable anisotropic properties, and high degree of integration provide excellent prospects for the structural actuation task. A potential application of beam-like structures with such a material system are helicopter rotor blades. By means of aeroelastic couplings, the blade dynamics may be influenced by torsional actuation to reduce vibrations and noise. To investigate the possibilities of the diverse actuation concepts for rotating beams with thin-walled closed cross sections, a finite element formulation is derived and the results are validated with the aid of the analytic solution to the static problem and a commercial finite element code.
Mis Muertos Están Conmigo [My Dead Are With Me]
Authors: Cruz Mariolga Reyes
Published: April 2006

In this autoethnographic text, the author explores multiple voices that have shaped her racialized identity throughout her life across various sociohistorical-personal contexts. As a performance text, it challenges static categorical notions of identity by showing how identity processes are intertwined with lived experiences of racialization, ethnicization, genderization, and the (re)interpretation of personal memories.
Railroads, Runaways, & Researchers
Authors: Staller Karen M.
Published: April 2006

Using observations of railroad employees and two 17-year-old girls who wanted to board a train without proper identification or parental permission, one of the major themes of the First International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry, which raised challenges to the growing practice of defining “good science” as the result of “evidence-based, biomedical models of inquiry,” is considered. Limitations of evidence-based practice (EBP) in dealing with complicated, situated, and practice-based assessment problems are discussed. The qualitative research community ought not to concede the framing of EBP. It should be reframed to focus on practice-based evidence(s) (PBE). Doing so changes the nature of debate, highlights the practitioner role, recognizes practitioner agency in evaluating evidence, focuses on real-world situations (thus embracing complications), and honors the notion of multiple and competing evidence sources. PBE encourages research designs favored by qualitative researchers that explore contextually situated practices and promote valuebased social justice agendas.
Higher-order Closed-form Solutions for Free Vibration of Laminated Composite and Sandwich Shells
Authors: Garg Ajay Kumar , Khare Rakesh Kumar , Kant Tarun
Published: April 2006

Closed-form formulations of two-dimensional (2D) higher-order shear deformation theories (HOSTs) for the free vibration analysis of simply supported cross-ply laminated composite and sandwich doubly curved shells are presented. The formulation includes the Sander’s theory for doubly curved shells. Two of the HOSTs account for the effects of both transverse shear strains/stresses and the transverse normal strain/stress, while the third includes only the effects of transverse shear deformation. In these developments a realistic parabolic distribution of transverse shear strains through the shell thickness is assumed. The equations of motion are obtained using Hamilton’s principle. Solutions are obtained in closed-form using Navier’s technique and by solving the eigenvalue equations. Numerical results are presented for the natural frequencies of laminated composite and sandwich shallow shells. The closed-form solutions presented herein for laminated composite plates and shells are compared with the available 3D elasticity and analytical solutions and it is believed that the solutions for sandwich laminates using various higher-order displacement models will serve as benchmark in future.
Authoritarian Determinants of Democratic Party Competition
Authors: Grzymala-Busse Anna
Published: April 2006

The remarkable trajectories of transformation of the communist successor parties have been the focus of research since the collapse of communism. In contrast, the impact of these different outcomes, the ways in which communist successors adapted to democracy and transformed their organization, has been neglected. In this article, I argue that communist transformation played a crucial role in the formation of a strong and robust party opposition which could constrain rentseeking and lead to the rise of a stronger institutional framework.
Remission in depression: definition and initial treatment approaches
Authors: Israel Joshua A.
Published: April 2006

Although remission is recognized as the optimal outcome of treatment for depression, remission lacks a universally accepted definition. This is partly due to the lack of objective biologic markers or tests that confirm a response to treatment and no well-defined end points of treatment. Significant symptoms may still exist even though patients may have a full response as measured by currently available standardized psychiatric rating scales. In addition, many patients may experience marked improvement in depressive symptoms but still have impaired psychosocial and work function. Wellness should be determined by evaluating a combination of three key domains: symptoms, functional status and pathophysiologic changes. In choosing an initial medication for depression, physicians are often guided by a mix of evidence-based medicine and unvalidated or even inaccurate clinical lore. In general, most available agents have comparable effectiveness; however, the subtype of depression and age of the patient should be considered.
Next-generation applications in healthcare digital libraries using semantic service composition and coordination
Authors: Möller Thorsten , Schuldt Heiko , Gerber Andreas , Klusch Matthias
Published: April 2006

Healthcare digital libraries (DLs) increasingly make use of dedicated services to access functionality and/or data. Semantic (web) services enhance single services and facilitate compound services, thereby supporting advanced applications on top of a DL. The traditional process management approach tends to focus on process definition at build time rather than on actual service events in run time, and to anticipate failures in order to define appropriate strategies. This paper presents a novel approach where service coordination is distributed among a set of agents. A dedicated component plans compound semantic services on demand for a particular application. In failure, the planner is reinvoked to define contin- gency strategies. Finally, matchmaking is effected at runtime by choosing the appropriate service provider. These combined technologies will provide key support for highly flexible next-generation DL applications. Such technologies are under development within CASCOM.
Seeing What is There in Spite of Ourselves: George Tyrrell, John Dominic Crossan, and Robert Frost on Faces in Deep Wells
Authors: Poirier John
Published: April 2006

John Dominic Crossan recently used Robert Frost's poem ‘For Once, Then, Something’ to illustrate (and partially refute) the familiar charge that historical Jesus scholars have seen a reflection of their own faces looking down into the depths of a well rather than any sort of purchase on the historical Jesus. In so doing, Crossan has misunderstood both Frost's poem and the intention behind the original wellgazer metaphor as coined by George Tyrrell. Although there is little indication that Crossan has applied his newly honed ‘interactivism’ at any point in his work, the problems with the epistemology that he renders are too great to ignore. This article also notes problems with epistemologies advanced by other historical Jesus scholars.
Holtzmann's Life of Jesus According to the ‘A’ Source: Part 2
Authors: Kloppenborg John
Published: April 2006

H.J. Holtzmann's Die synoptischen Evangelien(1863) is not only regarded as having established Markan priority and the basic contours of the Two Source hypothesis; it also offered a sketch of the life of Jesus based on a Mark-like source that represents a starting point for the so-called ‘Liberal Lives of Jesus’ which prevailed from 1863 until the early 1900s. Holtzmann's ‘Life’ portrayed Jesus as an exemplary personality, and posited psychological development in seven stages in the career of Jesus. This essay discusses the intellectual context leading to Holtzmann's book and then offers an annotated English translation of Holtzmann's ‘Life of Jesus’. This is Part 2 of a two-part essay.
Grounded theory sampling
Authors: Neill Sarah J.
Published: April 2006

This paper explores the value of reflexivity for Glaserian grounded theory methodology, using examples drawn from experiences recruiting a sample for a doctoral research project. Reflexivity is highly relevant for grounded theory research due to its foundations in symbolic interactionism. In this study, reflexivity facilitated the identification of factors influencing sample recruitment at a process and a personal level. It provides a vehicle for the identification of the impact of self on the research relationship. Glaser’s (1978, 1992) early works situated personal experience within theoretical sensitivity, and as data to be included within constant comparative analysis method. His later writings (Glaser, 2001) explicitly reject reflexivity as a distraction from the data, seeing constant comparative analysis as having the ability to expose researcher effects on the data. He does not explore researcher influences on study recruitment. The analysis presented here suggests that the impact of the researcher at this stage of a project needs to become part of the research record(data) to ensure that its impact can be explored through constant comparative analysis. Reflectivity provides a framework through which this may be achieved.
The policy–practice divide
Authors: Davey Barbara , Desousa Carol , Robinson Sarah , Murrells Trevor
Published: April 2006

The role of the NHS in supporting qualified nurses is important for the development and retention of staff. Although there is a general perception that clinical supervision is beneficial and leads to better outcomes of patient care, most literature focuses on the main functions of the supervisory role, the interactions between supervisee and supervisor, or the supervisory process. There is limited large-scale empirical evidence on nurses’ receipt of clinical supervision or their perceived need of its various dimensions. This paper reports findings from a large-scale nationally representative sample of diplomate nurses who qualified between 1997 and 1998. Using Proctor’s model, it discusses the experiences of clinical supervision of 1,918 nurses in early career, 18 months after qualification, from the adult, child, learning disability and mental health branches. The findings show that the receipt of clinical supervision varied among the branches. Just over half of learning disability and mental health diplomates were receiving supervision, compared with approximately one-third of diplomates graduating from the adult and child branches. Sizeable proportions of nurses had never had a clinical supervisor in their current job. It is generally agreed that clinical supervision should enable the development of new skills through reflection on practice. However, many supervisees identified that they were not given the opportunity to do this in their supervision sessions. There was a perceived need for more supervision in these and other aspects. These findings are particularly important given the increased expectation of organisational support for staff development under Agenda for Change, a new pay and grading system introduced in 2004 throughout the NHS.
Clinical and consumer guidelines related to the management of childhood fever
Authors: Dixon Gillian , Deehan Donal , Dickson Rumona , Miller Helen , Pegnam-Mason Heidi
Published: April 2006

Background: The majority of childhood fever episodes are considered part of normal childhood development. However, febrile children frequently present to hospital and general practitioners. Health providers and parents therefore require knowledge on how to manage childhood fever, how to recognise which febrile children are likely to become seriously ill and when to seek urgent medical advice. This information is frequently provided in the form of clinical and/or consumer guidelines.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and assess clinical and consumer guidelines related to the management of childhood fever.

Methods: A comprehensive search strategy included searching electronic clinical databases, guideline databases, Internet searching, contacting paediatric hospitals across the UK, and experts and researchers. Application of inclusion criteria, quality assessment and data extraction were independently conducted by two reviewers. Data is presented in tabular format with narrative discussion.

Results: A total of 22 guidelines were identified and included in the review. Five were clinical guidelines and 17 guidelines designed for parents/carers. The results highlight that key markers cannot be identified to help predict which febrile children might become seriously ill. Because childhood fever guidelines also lack comprehensive evidence and offer conflicting recommendations, parents and carers are unlikely to be able to identify such markers.

Conclusions: Current clinical and consumer guidelines related to childhood fever are not evidence-based and appear to be produced as consensus statements summarising current care provision. Healthcare workers need to ensure when undertaking the development and dissemination of patient information that they follow appropriate processes to incorporate the most appropriate evidence.

Current guidelines fail to provide information on key markers to enable early recognition of seriously ill children. This review also demonstrates that alternative search strategies can prove effective in identifying guidelines for care.
Sorafenib is a potent inhibitor of FIP1L1-PDGFRα and the imatinib-resistant FIP1L1-PDGFRα T674I mutant
Authors: Lierman Els , Folens Cedric , Stover Elizabeth H. , Mentens Nicole , Van Miegroet Helen , Scheers Werner , Boogaerts Marc , Vandenberghe Peter , Marynen Peter , Cools Jan
Published: April 2006

The FIP1L1-PDGFRA oncogene is a common cause of chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL), and encodes an activated tyrosine kinase that is inhibited by imatinib. FIP1L1-PDGFRA–positive patients with CEL respond to low-dose imatinib therapy, but resistance due to acquired T674I mutation has been observed. We report here the identification of sorafenib as a potent inhibitor of the FIP1 like 1–platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (FIP1L1-PDGFRα) (T674I) mutant. Sorafenib inhibited the proliferation of FIP1L1-PDGFRα and FIP1L1-PDGFRα(T674I)–transformed Ba/F3 cells and induced apoptosis of the EOL-1 cell line at a low nanomolar concentration. Western blot analysis confirmed that these effects were due to a direct effect on FIP1L1-PDGFRα and FIP1L1-PDGFRα(T674I). Sorafenib was recently approved for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Our data suggest that low doses of sorafenib could be efficient for the treatment of FIP1L1-PDGFRA–positive CEL and could be used to overcome resistance to imatinib associated with the T674I mutation.
Reproductive capability in dogs with canine leukocyte adhesion deficiency treated with nonmyeloablative conditioning prior to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Burkholder Tanya H. , Colenda Lyn , Tuschong Laura M. , Starost Matthew F. , Bauer Thomas R. , Hickstein Dennis D.
Published: April 2006

Nonmyeloablative conditioning regimens are increasingly replacing myeolablative conditioning prior to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). The recent advent of these conditioning regimens has limited the assessment of the long-term effects of this treatment, including analysis of reproductive function. To address the question of reproductive function after nonmyeloablative transplantation, we analyzed a cohort of young dogs with the genetic disease canine leukocyte adhesion deficiency that were treated with a nonmyeloablative dose of 200 cGy total body irradiation followed by matched-littermate SCT. Five males and 5 females entered puberty; all 5 males and 4 females subsequently sired or delivered litters following transplantation. We demonstrate that fertility is intact and dogs have uncomplicated parturitions following nonmyeloablative conditioning for SCT. These results are encouraging for children and adults of childbearing age who receive similar conditioning regimens prior to allogeneic transplantation.
Flanking HS-62.5 and 3′ HS1, and regions upstream of the LCR, are not required for β-globin transcription
Authors: Bender M. A. , Byron Rachel , Ragoczy Tobias , Telling Agnes , Bulger Michael , Groudine Mark
Published: April 2006

The locus control region (LCR) was thought to be necessary and sufficient for establishing and maintaining an open β-globin locus chromatin domain in the repressive environment of the developing erythrocyte. However, deletion of the LCR from the endogenous locus had no significant effect on chromatin structure and did not silence transcription. Thus, the cis-regulatory elements that confer the open domain remain unidentified. The conserved DNaseI hypersensitivity sites (HSs) HS-62.5 and 3′HS1 that flank the locus, and the region upstream of the LCR have been implicated in globin gene regulation. The flanking HSs bind CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) and are thought to interact with the LCR to form a “chromatin hub” involved in β-globin gene activation. Hispanic thalassemia, a deletion of the LCR and 27 kb upstream, leads to heterochromatinization and silencing of the locus. Thus, the region upstream of the LCR deleted in Hispanic thalassemia (upstream Hispanic region [UHR]) may be required for expression. To determine the importance of the UHR and flanking HSs for β-globin expression, we generated and analyzed mice with targeted deletions of these elements. We demonstrate deletion of these regions alone, and in combination, do not affect transcription, bringing into question current models for the regulation of the β-globin locus.
Inhalation of ultrafine carbon particles triggers biphasic pro-inflammatory response in the mouse lung
Authors: André E. , Stoeger T. , Takenaka S. , Bahnweg M. , Ritter B. , Karg E. , Lentner B. , Reinhard C. , Schulz H. , Wjst M.
Published: April 2006

High levels of particulate matter in ambient air are associated with increased respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. It has been hypothesised that it is the ultrafine particle fraction (diameter <100 nm) that is largely responsible for these effects. To evaluate the associated mechanisms on a molecular level, the current authors applied an expression profiling approach.

Healthy mice were exposed to either ultrafine carbon particles (UFCPs; mass concentration 380 µg·m-3) or filtered air for 4 and 24 h. Histology of the lungs did not indicate any pathomorphological changes after inhalation.

Examination of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid revealed a small increase in polymorphonuclear cell number (ranging 0.6–1%) after UFCP inhalation, compared with clean air controls, suggesting a minor inflammatory response. However, DNA microarray profile analysis revealed a clearly biphasic response to particle exposure. After 4 h of inhalation, mainly heat shock proteins were induced, whereas after 24 h, different immunomodulatory proteins (osteopontin, galectin-3 and lipocalin-2) were upregulated in alveolar macrophages and septal cells.

In conclusion, these data indicate that inhalation of ultrafine carbon particles triggers a biphasic pro-inflammatory process in the lung, involving the activation of macrophages and the upregulation of immunomodulatory proteins.
Effect of smoking on exhaled nitric oxide and flow-independent nitric oxide exchange parameters
Authors: Malinovschi A. , Janson C. , Holmkvist T. , Norbäck D. , Meriläinen P. , Högman M.
Published: April 2006

It is a well-known fact that smoking is associated with a reduction in exhaled nitric oxide (NO) levels. There is, however, limited knowledge relating to the smoking-induced changes in production or exchange of NO in different compartments of the airways.

This study comprised 221 adult subjects from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II, who were investigated in terms of their exhaled NO, lung function, immunoglobulin E sensitisation and smoking habits. The following parameters were determined using extended NO analysis: airway tissue nitric oxide concentration (Caw,NO), airway transfer factor (or diffusing capacity) for nitric oxide (Daw,NO), alveolar nitric oxide concentration (CA,NO) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide concentration at a flow rate of 50 mL·s-1(FeNO,0.05). Maximum total airway nitric oxide flux (J'aw,NO) was calculated fromDaw,NO(Caw,NO–CA,NO).

Current smokers (n = 35) exhibited lower (geometric mean)FeNO,0.05(14.0versus22.8 ppb),Caw,NO(79.0;versus126 ppb) andJ'aw,NO(688versus1,153 pL·s-1) than never-smokers (n = 111). Ex-smokers (n = 75) were characterised by lowerFeNO,0.05(17.7versus22.8 ppb) andJaw,NO(858versus1,153 pL·s-1) than never-smokers. These relationships were maintained after adjusting for potential confounders (sex, age, height, immunoglobulin E sensitisation and forced expiratory volume in one second), and, in this analysis, a negative association was found between current smoking andCA,NO. Snus (oral moist snuff) consumption (n = 21) in ex-smokers was associated with an increase inDaw,NOand a reduction inCaw,NO, after adjusting for potential confounders. Passive smoking was associated with a higherCA,NO.

Using extended nitric oxide analysis, it was possible to attribute the reduction in exhaled nitric oxide levels seen in ex- and current smokers to a lower total airway nitric oxide flux in ex-smokers and reduced airway and alveolar nitric oxide concentrations in current smokers. The association between snus (oral tobacco) use and reduced nitric oxide concentrations in the airways and increased nitric oxide transfer from the airways warrants further studies.
A stable gene selection in microarray data analysis
Authors: Yang Kun , Cai Zhipeng , Li Jianzhong , Lin Guohui
Published: April 2006

Background

Microarray data analysis is notorious for involving a huge number of genes compared to a relatively small number of samples. Gene selection is to detect the most significantly differentially expressed genes under different conditions, and it has been a central research focus. In general, a better gene selection method can improve the performance of classification significantly. One of the difficulties in gene selection is that the numbers of samples under different conditions vary a lot.

Results

Two novel gene selection methods are proposed in this paper, which are not affected by the unbalanced sample class sizes and do not assume any explicit statistical model on the gene expression values. They were evaluated on eight publicly available microarray datasets, using leave-one-out cross-validation and 5-fold cross-validation. The performance is measured by the classification accuracies using the top ranked genes based on the training datasets.

Conclusion

The experimental results showed that the proposed gene selection methods are efficient, effective, and robust in identifying differentially expressed genes. Adopting the existing SVM-based and KNN-based classifiers, the selected genes by our proposed methods in general give more accurate classification results, typically when the sample class sizes in the training dataset are unbalanced.
Meta-analysis discovery of tissue-specific DNA sequence motifs from mammalian gene expression data
Authors: Huber Bertrand R , Bulyk Martha L
Published: April 2006

Background

A key step in the regulation of gene expression is the sequence-specific binding of transcription factors (TFs) to their DNA recognition sites. However, elucidating TF binding site (TFBS) motifs in higher eukaryotes has been challenging, even when employing cross-species sequence conservation. We hypothesized that for human and mouse, many orthologous genes expressed in a similarly tissue-specific manner in both human and mouse gene expression data, are likely to be co-regulated by orthologous TFs that bind to DNA sequence motifs present within noncoding sequence conserved between these genomes.

Results

We performed automated motif searching and merging across four different motif finding algorithms, followed by filtering of the resulting motifs for those that contain blocks of information content. Applying this motif finding strategy to conserved noncoding regions surrounding co-expressed tissue-specific human genes allowed us to discover both previously known, and many novel candidate, regulatory DNA motifs in all 18 tissue-specific expression clusters that we examined. For previously known TFBS motifs, we observed that if a TF was expressed in the specified tissue of interest, then in most cases we identified a motif that matched its TRANSFAC motif; conversely, of all those discovered motifs that matched TRANSFAC motifs, most of the corresponding TF transcripts were expressed in the tissue(s) corresponding to the expression cluster for which the motif was found.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that the integration of the results from multiple motif finding tools identifies and ranks highly more known and novel motifs than does the use of just one of these tools. In addition, we believe that our simultaneous enrichment strategies helped to identify likely humancisregulatory elements. A number of the discovered motifs may correspond to novel binding site motifs for as yet uncharacterized tissue-specific TFs. We expect this strategy to be useful for identifying motifs in other metazoan genomes.