bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geochemical Study of Peridotites from the Manipur Ophiolite Complex, Northeast India with Special Reference to their PGE Concentration
Authors: Devi L. Debala , Singh N. Ibotombi
Published: April 2011

The peridotites of the Manipur Ophiolite Complex (MOC) have been examined based on mineral chemistry, major elements and PGE contents. They represent high-magnesian cumulates with Mg# > 0.90 (Mg/Mg+Fe) in olivine and Cr# > 0.12 (Cr/Cr+Al) in spinel. High Mg* contents of the olivine show that these rocks are most likely derived from partial melting of the residual upper mantle. The peridotites contain higher concentration of Palladium Group PGE (PPGE) (Rh=4.4-6.6ppb; Pd=336-458ppb and Pt=14.6-36.4ppb) than the Iridium Group PGE (IPGE) (Os=2.4-5.8ppb; Ir=3.2-4.16ppb and Ru=5.2-7ppb). These are characterized by overall enrichment of PGE concentration (ΣPGE=365.8 - 516.6 ppb) and high ratio of (Pt+Pd)/(Os+Ir+Ru). This suggests that the rocks are formed by partial melting and crystal fractionation of olivine-rich (picritic) magma.
Lean manufacturing and Toyota Production System terminology applied to the procurement of vascular stents in interventional radiology
Authors: de Bucourt Maximilian , Busse Reinhard , Güttler Felix , Wintzer Christian , Collettini Federico , Kloeters Christian , Hamm Bernd , Teichgräber Ulf K.
Published: April 2011

Objectives

To apply the economic terminology of lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System to the procurement of vascular stents in interventional radiology.

Methods

The economic- and process-driven terminology of lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System is first presented, including information and product flow as well as value stream mapping (VSM), and then applied to an interdisciplinary setting of physicians, nurses and technicians from different medical departments to identify wastes in the process of endovascular stent procurement in interventional radiology.

Results

Using the so-called seven wastes approach of the Toyota Production System (waste of overproducing, waiting, transport, processing, inventory, motion and waste of defects and spoilage) as well as further waste characteristics (gross waste, process and method waste, and micro waste), wastes in the process of endovascular stent procurement in interventional radiology were identified and eliminated to create an overall smoother process from the procurement as well as from the medical perspective.

Conclusion

Economic terminology of lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System, especially VSM, can be used to visualise and better understand processes in the procurement of vascular stents in interventional radiology from an economic point of view.
Being Born Under Adverse Economic Conditions Leads to a Higher Cardiovascular Mortality Rate Later in Life: Evidence Based on Individuals Born at Different Stages of the Business Cycle
Authors: van den Berg Gerard J. , Doblhammer-Reiter Gabriele , Christensen Kaare
Published: April 2011

We connect the recent medical and economic literatures on the long-run effects of early-life conditions by analyzing the effects of economic conditions on the individual cardiovascular (CV) mortality rate later in life, using individual data records from the Danish Twin Registry covering births since the 1870s and including the cause of death. To capture exogenous variation of conditions early in life, we use the state of the business cycle around birth. We find significant negative effects of economic conditions around birth on the individual CV mortality rate at higher ages. There is no effect on the cancer-specific mortality rate. From variation within and between monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs born under different conditions, we conclude that the fate of an individual is more strongly determined by genetic and household-environmental factors if early-life conditions are poor. Individual-specific qualities come more to fruition if the starting position in life is better.
Oxygen resuscitation after hypoxia ischemia stimulates prostaglandin pathway in rat cortex
Authors: Perez‐Polo J. Regino , Reilly Conor B. , Rea Harriet C.
Published: April 2011

Exposure to hypoxia and hyperoxia in a rodent model of perinatal ischemia results in delayed cell death and inflammation. Hyperoxia increases oxidative stress that can trigger inflammatory cascades, neutrophil activation, and brain microvascular injury. Here we show that 100% oxygen resuscitation in our rodent model of perinatal ischemia increases cortical COX‐2 protein levels, S‐nitrosylated COX‐2cys526, PGE2, iNOS and 5‐LOX, all components of the prostaglandin and leukotriene inflammatory pathway.
Biomechanical Evaluation of the Athlete's Knee: From Basic Science to Clinical Application
Authors: Ortiz Alexis , Micheo William
Published: April 2011

Clinical screening to assess knee biomechanical dysfunctions and its comorbidities has been of interest for researchers and clinicians in recent years. Although research in the area of knee injury mechanics has elucidated some of the biomechanical predisposing factors that lead to knee injury, clinicians are still puzzled on how to translate these findings to their clinical practice. Highly instrumented, costly equipment and time‐consuming data analyses are some of the difficulties of using 3‐dimensional biomechanical analysis in the clinic. However, several biomechanical lower‐extremity assessment tools are available and feasible to use in the clinic to guide proper clinical decision making that may impact prevention of knee injuries in the physically active population. The purpose of this article was to review screening techniques for assessment of lower extremity biomechanics and to translate these findings to clinical practice and to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical application. After reading this article, clinicians should be able to (1) identify lower‐extremity factors related to knee injury, (2) appropriately select functional tasks to evaluate patients, and (3) make intervention recommendations or appropriate referral to address altered lower‐extremity biomechanics related to knee injury.
Evidence‐based Guideline: Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Authors: Bril Vera , England John , Franklin Gary M. , Backonja Miroslav , Cohen Jeffrey , Del Toro David , Feldman Eva , Iverson Donald J. , Perkins Bruce , Russell James W. , Zochodne Douglas
Published: April 2011

Objective

To develop a scientifically sound and clinically relevant evidence‐based guideline for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN).

Methods

We performed a systematic review of the literature from 1960 to August 2008 and classified the studies according to the American Academy of Neurology classification of evidence scheme for a therapeutic article, and recommendations were linked to the strength of the evidence. The basic question asked was: “What is the efficacy of a given treatment (pharmacological: anticonvulsants, antidepressants, opioids, others; and non‐pharmacological: electrical stimulation, magnetic field treatment, low‐intensity laser treatment, Reiki massage, others) to reduce pain and improve physical function and quality of life (QOL) in patients with PDN?”

Results and Recommendations

Pregabalin is established as effective and should be offered for relief of PDN (Level A). Venlafaxine, duloxetine, amitriptyline, gabapentin, valproate, opioids (morphine sulphate, tramadol, and oxycodone controlled‐release), and capsaicin are probably effective and should be considered for treatment of PDN (Level B). Other treatments have less robust evidence or the evidence is negative. Effective treatments for PDN are available, but many have side effects that limit their usefulness, and few studies have sufficient information on treatment effects on function and QOL.
Phytosterol supplementation reduces metabolic activity and slows cell growth in cultured rat cardiomyocytes
Authors: Danesi Francesca , Ferioli Federico , Fiorenza Caboni Maria , Boschetti Elisa , Di Nunzio Mattia , Verardo Vito , Valli Veronica , Astolfi Annalisa , Pession Andrea , Bordoni Alessandra
Published: April 2011

Besides being cholesterol-lowering agents, phytosterols (PS) can inhibit the growth and development of tumours. The anti-neoplastic activity is accounted for by PS incorporation into cell membranes, resulting in the interference of membrane functionality. The similarity between the PS cholesterol-lowering and anti-neoplastic effective doses deserves attention on the possible adverse effects even in non-neoplastic cells. To date, few studies have addressed the clarification of this important issue. In the present study, we supplemented primary, non-neoplastic neonatal rat cardiomyocytes with two different PS concentrations (3 or 6 μg/ml), both within the range of human plasma concentration. Cardiac cells were chosen as an experimental model since the heart has been reported as the target organ for subchronic toxicity of PS. Following supplementation, a dose-dependent incorporation of PS and a decrease in cholesterol content were clearly evidenced. PS did not induce apoptosis but caused a reduction in metabolic activity (measured as 3-(4,5-dimethyldiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) conversion) and a slowing down of cell growth. The lower MTT conversion and the similar lactate dehydrogenase release could suggest that PS more efficiently target mitochondria than plasma membrane integrity. The replacement of cholesterol by PS could also have caused the observed slowing down of cell growth and the reduction in metabolic activity, which could rely on the PS increase, cholesterol decrease, or both. The present study is the first report on the effect of PS in cardiac cells, and although it is difficult to translate the obtained results to the health of heart tissue, it raises concerns about the safety of long-term exposure to physiologically relevant PS concentrations.
Alexander Hamilton, Central Banker: Crisis Management during the U.S. Financial Panic of 1792
Authors: Sylla Richard , Wright Robert E , Cowen David J
Published: April 2011

Most scholars know little about the panic of 1792, America's first financial market crash, during which securities prices dropped nearly 25 percent in two weeks. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton adroitly intervened to stem the crisis, minimizing its effect on the nascent nation's fragile economic and political systems. U.S. policymakers soon forgot the crisis-management techniques Hamilton invented but failed to codify. Many of them were later rediscovered and became theoretical and practical standards of modern central-bank crisis management. Hamilton, for example, formulated and implemented “Bagehot's rules” for central-bank crisis management eight decades before Walter Bagehot wrote about them inLombard Street.
Rogue Finance: The Life and Fire Insurance Company and the Panic of 1826
Authors: Hilt Eric
Published: April 2011

In July of 1826, a financial panic on Wall Street caused several companies to fail abruptly and precipitated runs on two of New York City's fifteen banks. Life and Fire Insurance became the largest of the bankruptcies. In violation of New York's banking statutes, the firm had engaged in lending on a massive scale during the speculative boom that prevailed in 1824–25. Innovative lending techniques had been developed outside the traditional banking sector—in this case, in the insurance industry. These lending practices, based on an instrument known as a post note, were initially sound, but were later extended to riskier borrowers and ultimately proved ruinous. In the credit crisis that began in late 1825, the value of the Life and Fire's assets fell dramatically, and in a desperate effort to raise cash, the directors resorted to fraud.
Bottles for Beer: The Business of Technological Innovation in Mexico, 1890–1920
Authors: Beatty Edward
Published: April 2011

Successful technological change in countries outside the northern Atlantic during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries depended on entrepreneurial skills, not inventive expertise. In this examination of the Owens automatic glass-bottle-blowing machine in Mexico between 1905 and 1912, innovation is seen to have occurred within a broad context of incipient social and economic modernization. Although the obstacles encountered by technology importers and innovators were both substantial and stubbornly persistent, in this case, they turned out to be malleable.
Victorian Pioneers of Corporate Sustainability
Authors: Desrochers Pierre
Published: April 2011

Historical scholarship on business—environment interactions has largely sidestepped the study of corporate innovations that had both economic and environmental benefits. This issue is examined through late-nineteenth-century initiatives sponsored by the British Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, whose aim was to document and promote the creation of profitable by-products out of polluting industrial waste and emissions. A case is made that the individuals involved in this effort not only anticipated concepts and debates now at the heart of the modern sustainable development literature, but also that their work questions some fundamental premises of this discourse.
The Structure of the News Market in Britain, 1870–1914
Authors: Silberstein-Loeb Jonathan
Published: April 2011

In this essay, I grapple with three main questions: What effect did the nationalization of telegraphy in 1868–70 have on the structure of the news market in Britain? How did this market structure affect the pricing and supply of news? What effects did subsequent technological change have on the structure of the news market? I show that nationalization resulted in a tripartite market arrangement characterized by collusion that benefited the provincial press over the London press, but retarded the productivity of the General Post Office and the adoption of new technology.
Overcoming Stagnation: Product Policy and Marketing in the German Automobile Industry of the 1970s
Authors: Koehler Ingo
Published: April 2011

The automobile industry was a leader in Germany's economic recovery after World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, carmakers found a ready market for their products as mass motorization created a manufacturing backlog. But, by the 1970s, rapid changes in sales and the arrival of new competitors in the German market marked a transition from a seller's to a buyer's market. Additionally, the energy crisis intensified existing consumer reluctance to spend and altered buying preferences. German car manufacturers adjusted to the changing market conditions after 1973 by adopting different strategies. In order to generate economic success, they developed new marketing-management instruments that supported a fundamental change in the business paradigm, leading them to shift from their earlier emphasis on production to a stronger focus on consumers.
Mintzberg's Emergent and Deliberate Strategies: Tracking Alcan's Activities in Europe, 1928–2007
Authors: Kipping Matthias , Cailluet Ludovic
Published: April 2011

The management scholar Henry Mintzberg has situated company strategies on a continuum that ranges from those that are the result of deliberate internal decisions, on one extreme, to those that emerge largely as a response to external forces, on the other. This framework is applied to the strategies of the Canadian aluminum producer Alcan, in Europe, from its origins as a spin-off from Alcoa, in 1928, until its acquisition by Rio Tinto, in 2007. Throughout this period, the company gradually moved from emergent to more deliberate strategies, although external forces continued to influence its decisions. The increasing centralization of Alcan's organizational structure paralleled its shift toward reliance on deliberate strategies.
Innovative Business Models and Varieties of Capitalism: Financialization of the U.S. Corporation
Authors: Lazonick William
Published: April 2011

How does economic organization affect economic performance? This analysis of the historical transformation of the U.S. economy from the business model of the “old economy” to that of the “new economy” demonstrates that the Japanese challenge of the 1980s was an important catalyst for the shift. Anchored by the “Chandlerian” corporation, the old model delivered economic growth that was much more equitable and stable than the new one. Furthermore, the business model that underpinned the Japanese challenge represented a superior version of the old U.S. prototype. The fi nancialization of corporate decision-making under the new paradigm has been the prime source of inequity and instability in U.S. economic performance over the past three decades. As manifested in outsized executive pay and massive stock buybacks, the fi nancialization of the U.S. corporation threatens long-term economic growth.
Introduction: Changing Business Systems in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century
Authors: Sluyterman Keetie
Published: April 2011

The organization of economic activities differs among countries and over time. Differences between nations have been highlighted in academic discussions about national business systems and the varieties of capitalism. This group of articles about the Dutch business system contributes to these debates by offering new empirical research from the perspective of a small, open economy and highlighting changes that have occurred during the second half of the twentieth century. While they discuss developments in the Netherlands, the articles also explore general themes, including corporate governance, cartels, and the organization of multinational companies. While the articles show that business systems are in constant flux, comparisons between the Dutch and U.S. systems seem to suggest that each moves at a different pace. A particularly striking aspect of the Dutch stories is the large impact of developments abroad.
Building Hitler's Europe: Forced Labor in the Danish Construction Business during World War II
Authors: Lund Joachim
Published: April 2011

This article examines how Danish cement factories and building contractors, in particular F. L. Smidth & Co. A/S and its business partner Højgaard & Schultz A/S, used forced and slave labor in Estonia, the Polish General Government, and Serbia as they worked for the German authorities during the Second World War. The article presents new evidence on the use of forced and slave labor inside the European “New Order” and emphasizes the willingness of the companies to expand and engage in morally questionable behavior. The findings illuminate the close connection between political and economic collaboration and contribute to the discussion about the relationship between business and politics during dictatorship, war, and occupation.
Weetman Pearson in Mexico and the Emergence of a British Oil Major, 1901–1919
Authors: Bud-Frierman Lisa , Godley Andrew , Wale Judith
Published: April 2011

British overseas investment was a powerful force behind rapid global integration before World War I. Close to half of the total was in the form of foreign direct investment. Weetman Pearson was among the most successful of Britain's overseas-based entrepreneurs of the period. By 1919, the Pearson group of companies had become one of Britain's most valuable industrial enterprises, having diversified from international contracting into the Mexican oil industry. The Pearson group highlights the technical competence of British entrepreneurs in managing large, complex infrastructure projects, capable of navigating their way through various political systems, and adept at turning to whichever organizational form best suited their business interests. These characteristics were far removed from the now outdated stereotype of the incompetent late Victorian entrepreneur.
Major Trends in the Historiography of the Latin American Oil Industry
Authors: Bucheli Marcelo
Published: April 2011

The historiography of Latin America's oil industry has evolved since the period between the 1960s and the 1980s, when most scholars were focusing on the rise of nationalism in reaction to the multinationals' control of the oil sector. Beginning in the 1990s, the emergence of new methodologies enabled historians to study other aspects of the industry, such as its environmental and cultural impact, local elites' role in its development, the industry's impact on the long-term development of Latin American countries, and the organizational evolution of state-owned oil companies. However, the literature continues to be dominated by studies of Mexico, while the subject of oil consumption is largely ignored.
Stock size assessment and spatial distribution of bivalve species in the Gulf of Tunis
Authors: Charef Aymen , Zamouri Langar Nedra , Gharsallah Ines Houas
Published: April 2011

The shellfish ranching, its current exploitation status and its management are becoming a major interest in fisheries industry in Tunisia. In this respect, the coasts of the Gulf of Tunis were explored along 20 shore-perpendicular transects to evaluate the stock size of shellfish populations. 285 samples of malacological fauna were collected by a VanVeen grab. This sampling revealed the presence of six target bivalve species owing to their high commercial value. The determination of the weight–size relationships of each species pinpointed that five species have a negative allometric relationship (Tellina planata, Tellina nitida, Glycymeris violacescens, Donax semistriatus and Solen marginatus) whilst Mactra stultorum indicated an isometric growth. The stock size assessment of these target species revealed that abundance values ranged from 2 to 60 individuals m−2, and biomass values varied from 2 to 230 g m−2. The mapping of the spatial distribution of density and biomass showed that the majority of species colonized essentially shallow waters corresponding to sandy and muddy bottoms. These findings are consistent with ecological and physiological properties of species. Major physical parameters influencing spatial distribution patterns are discussed.
Incorporating parasite systematics in comparative analyses of variation in spleen mass and testes sizes of rodents
Authors: PONLET NICOLAS , CHAISIRI KITIPONG , CLAUDE JULIEN , MORAND SERGE
Published: April 2011

Parasite diversity is hypothesized to act on host life-history traits through investment in immunity. In order to incorporate the diversity of the parasite community that an individual host or a host species may face, two indices can be used: Taxonomic Species Richness and Taxonomic Entropy, where the taxonomic information is incorporated with the taxonomic weight. We tested whether these indices correlate with several morphological traits potentially implicated in immune defence and in reproduction, using data on gastrointestinal helminths and their rodent hosts sampled in Southeast Asia. We found no relationship between parasite diversity indices and either spleen mass or testes size at the intraspecific level, i.e. at the level of individuals. At the interspecific level, we found no relationship between the parasite diversity indices and testes size. However, we found that female spleen mass is significantly influenced by the specific species richness of parasites, whereas male spleen mass is influenced by individual mean parasite diversity indices. We concluded that female spleen mass may have evolved in response to gastrointestinal helminth pressure acting at species levels, while in males, the individual spleen mass could be constrained by other factors, such as the blood storage function of the spleen.
Reasoning about conditional constraint specification problems and feature models
Authors: Finkel Raphael , O'Sullivan Barry
Published: April 2011

Product configuration is a major industrial application domain for constraint satisfaction techniques. Conditional constraint satisfaction problems (CCSPs) and feature models (FMs) have been developed to represent configuration problems in a natural way. CCSPs are like constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs), but they also include potential variables, which might or might not exist in any given solution, as well as classical variables, which are required to take a value in every solution. CCSPs model, for example, options on a car, for which the style of sunroof (a variable) only makes sense if the car has a sunroof at all. FMs are directed acyclic graphs of features with constraints on edges. FMs model, for example, cell phone features, where utility functions are required, but the particular utility function “games” is optional, but requires Java support. We show that existing techniques from formal methods and answer set programming can be used to naturally model CCSPs and FMs. We demonstrate configurators in both approaches. An advantage of these approaches is that the model builder does not have to reformulate the CCSP or FM into a classic CSP, converting potential variables into classical variables by adding a “does not exist” value and modifying the problem constraints. Our configurators automatically reason about the model itself, enumerating all solutions and discovering several kinds of model flaws.
Personalized diagnoses for inconsistent user requirements
Authors: Felfernig Alexander , Schubert Monika
Published: April 2011

Knowledge-based configurators are supporting configuration tasks for complex products such as telecommunication systems, computers, or financial services. Product configurations have to fulfill the requirements articulated by the user and the constraints contained in the configuration knowledge base. If the user requirements are inconsistent with the constraints in the configuration knowledge base, users have to be supported in finding out a way from the no solution could be found dilemma. In this paper we introduce a new algorithm (PersDiag) that allows the determination of personalized diagnoses for inconsistent user requirements in knowledge-based configuration scenarios. We present the results of an empirical study that show the advantages of our approach in terms of prediction quality and efficiency.
Applicability of chromosome-specific SSR wheat markers for the introgression ofTriticum urartuin durum wheat breeding programmes
Authors: Rodríguez-Suárez C. , Ramírez M. C. , Martín A. , Atienza S. G.
Published: April 2011

Triticum urartu, the A-genome donor of tetraploid and hexaploid wheats, is a potential source of novel alleles for crop improvement. A fertile amphiploid betweenT. urartu(2n = 2x = 14;AuAu) and durum wheat cv ‘Yavaros’ (Triticum turgidumssp.durum; 2n = 4x = 28,AABB) was obtained as a first step to making the genetic variability of the wild ancestor available to durum wheat breeding. The amphiploid was backcrossed with ‘Yavaros’ and the offspring from this cross was selfed. A plant from this progeny (founder line) with 28 chromosomes and activexandysubunits of theGlu-A1locus ofT. urartuwas selfed, which resulted in the obtaining of 98 pre-introgression lines (pre-ILs). In this work, a set of 78 wheat chromosome-specific microsatellite markers (simple sequence repeats, SSR), uniformly distributed over the A genome, was used for marker-assisted selection ofT. urartuin a durum wheat background. A total of 57 SSRs allowed a clear discrimination betweenT. urartuand ‘Yavaros’. This set of markers was further used for characterizing the pre-ILs, identifying and defining theT. urartuintrogressed regions. The applicability of these markers is discussed.
Labile carbon and other soil quality indicators in two tillage systems during transition to organic agriculture
Authors: Lewis David Bruce , Kaye Jason P. , Jabbour Randa , Barbercheck Mary E.
Published: April 2011

Weed management is one of the primary challenges for producers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture. Tillage and the use of cover crops are two weed control tactics available to farmers transitioning to organic management, but little is known about their interactive effects on soil quality during the transition period. We investigated the response of soils to tillage and initial cover crop during the 3-year transition to organic in a cover crop–soybean (Glycine max)–maize (Zea mays) rotation in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The tillage treatment contrasted full, inversion tillage with moldboard plowing (FT) versus reduced tillage with chisel plowing (RT). The cover crop treatment contrasted annual versus mostly perennial species during the first year of the rotation. The experiment was initiated twice (Start 1 and Start 2), in consecutive years in adjacent fields. By the end of the experiment, labile carbon, electrical conductivity, pH and soil moisture were all greater under RT than under FT in both starts. Soil organic matter and several other soil attributes were greater under RT than under FT in Start 1, but not in Start 2, perhaps owing to differences between starts in initial field conditions and realized weather. Soil attributes did not differ between the two cover crop treatments. Combining our soils results with agronomic and economic analyses on these plots suggests that using RT during the organic transition can increase soil quality without compromising yield and profitability.
Combatants, not bandits: the status of rebels in Islamic law
Authors: Tabassum Sadia
Published: April 2011

The Islamic law on rebellion offers a comprehensive code for regulating the conduct of hostilities in non-international armed conflicts and thus it can be used as a model for improving the contemporary international legal regime. It not only provides an objective criterion for ascertaining existence of armed conflict but also recognizes the combatant status for rebels and the necessary corollaries of their de facto authority in the territory under their control. Thus it helps reduce the sufferings of civilians and ordinary citizens during rebellion and civil wars. At the same time, Islamic law asserts that the territory under the de facto control of the rebels is de jure part of the parent state. It therefore answers the worries of those who fear that the grant of combatant status to rebels might give legitimacy to their struggle.
Asia and International Law—Common Ground and Regional Diversity
Authors: TOMUSCHAT Christian
Published: April 2011

From a conceptual viewpoint, the legal universe has found its almost perfect configuration in our time. Almost all of the peoples of the world are members of the United Nations and as such are entitled to co-operate in shaping the direction and content of policies at the global level. Before World War II, and even a considerable time after the horrendous events unleashed by that war, many nations had no say in international matters. They were placed under colonial rule, which meant that their voices were not heard—or heard only through the mediation of the powers that acted as their wards and guardians. That situation of structural discrimination has changed dramatically. All the peoples of the world have reached sovereign statehood and have been admitted to the world forum.
Psychopharmaka und Fahreignung - Verkehrsmedizinische Grundlagen
Authors: Schaumann Hans H.
Published: April 2011

In der Behandlung von psychischen Störungen kommt der Pharmakotherapie eine maßgebende Rolle zu. Gleichzeitig ist die aktive Teilnahme am Straßenverkehr ein wesentlicher Faktor zur umfassenden Wiedereingliederung ins Arbeits- und Sozialleben. In der fachgerechten Beurteilung der Fahreignung steht weniger das einzelne Medikament, sondern eine möglichst umfassende Beurteilung sämtlicher verkehrsmedizinisch relevanter Faktoren im Vordergrund. Hierbei sind unter anderem die Straßenverkehrsanamnese, die Auswirkungen der psychiatrischen Grunderkrankung, Wirkungen und Nebenwirkungen in verschiedenen Therapiephasen, mögliche Kombinationswirkungen mit anderen Pharmaka und ein eventueller Substanzkonsum zu berücksichtigen. Es zeigt sich aber dennoch, dass eine positive Beurteilung der Fahreignung fast immer nur bei fachgerechter und gesicherter Medikation möglich ist. Aufgrund der nur wenigen spezifischen Studien sollte bei der notwendigen individuellen Beurteilung auf die umfangreichen Erfahrungen und Möglichkeiten anerkannter verkehrsmedizinischer Institute zurückgegriffen werden, wodurch eine zusätzliche Rechtssicherheit und ein Schutz der Arzt-Patient Beziehung gesichert ist.
Policy Implications of the WHO Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol
Authors: Anderson Peter
Published: April 2011

Aims: To describe the supporting evidence and policy implications of the 10 target areas of the WHO strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Methods: Based on published systematic reviews of the literature and publications of the World Health Organization, the supporting evidence and policy implications of the 10 target areas are described. Findings: There is evidence to support action in each of the 10 target areas: leadership, awareness and commitment; health services’ response; community action; drink-driving policies; availability of alcohol; marketing of alcoholic beverages; pricing policies; reducing the negative consequences of intoxication; reducing the public health impact of illegal and informal alcohol; and monitoring and surveillance. Conclusions: The following policy measures have the strongest evidence: increasing alcohol taxes; government monopolies for the retail sale of alcohol; restricting the density of outlets and the days and hours of sale; increasing the minimum age of purchase; lowering the legal BAC levels for driving; introducing random breath-testing for driving; implementing widespread brief advice for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption; and ensuring treatment for alcohol use disorders. There is reasonable evidence to support the introduction of a minimum price per gram of alcohol; restricting the volume of commercial communications; and enforcing the restrictions of sales to intoxicated and under-age people.
Regional climate variability in the western subtropical North Atlantic during the past two millennia
Authors: Saenger Casey , Came Rosemarie E. , Oppo Delia W. , Keigwin Lloyd D. , Cohen Anne L.
Published: April 2011

Western subtropical North Atlantic oceanic and atmospheric circulations connect tropical and subpolar climates. Variations in these circulations can generate regional climate anomalies that are not reflected in Northern Hemisphere averages. Assessing the significance of anthropogenic climate change at regional scales requires proxy records that allow recent trends to be interpreted in the context of long‐term regional variability. We present reconstructions of Gulf Stream sea surface temperature (SST) and hydrographic variability during the past two millennia based on the magnesium/calcium ratio and oxygen isotopic composition of planktic foraminifera preserved in two western subtropical North Atlantic sediment cores. Reconstructed SST suggests low‐frequency variability of ∼1°C during an interval that includes the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). A warm interval near 1250 A.D. is distinct from regional and hemispheric temperature, possibly reflecting regional variations in ocean‐atmosphere heat flux associated with changes in atmospheric circulation (e.g., the North Atlantic Oscillation) or the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Seawater δ18O, which is marked by a fresher MCA and a more saline LIA, covaries with meridional migrations of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone. The northward advection of tropical salinity anomalies by mean surface currents provides a plausible mechanism linking Carolina Slope and tropical Atlantic hydrology.
Therapeutic hypothermia alters microRNA responses to traumatic brain injury in rats
Authors: Truettner Jessie S , Alonso Ofelia F , Bramlett Helen M , Dietrich W Dalton
Published: April 2011

Therapeutic hypothermia promotes protection after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The mechanisms underlying hypothermic protection are multifactorial and may include the modulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression after trauma. We utilized microarrays to examine the effects of posttraumatic hypothermia on the expression of 388 rat miRNAs. Animals were subjected to sham or moderate fluid percussion brain injury, followed by 4 hours of hypothermia (33°C) or normothermia (37°C) and euthanized at 7 or 24 hours. At 7hours, 47 miRNAs were significantly different ( P < 0.05) between TBI and sham (15 higher in TBI and 31 lower). After 24hours, 15 miRNAs differed by P < 0.05 (7 higher and 9 lower). The expression of miRNAs was altered by posttraumatic hypothermia. At 7hours, seven were higher in hypothermia than normothermia and five were lower. Some miRNAs (e.g., miR-874 and miR-451) showed the most difference with hypothermia, with changes verified by quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. Regionally specific miRNAs also showed responses to TBI and hypothermia treatments by in situ hybridization. In addition, in vitro neuronal stretch injury studies showed similar temperature-sensitive responses to specific miRNAs. These novel data indicate that the reported beneficial effects of early hypothermia on traumatic outcome may include temperature-sensitive miRNAs involved in basic cell-processing events.
Rapid magnetic resonance measurement of global cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption in humans during rest and hypercapnia
Authors: Jain Varsha , Langham Michael C , Floyd Thomas F , Jain Gaurav , Magland Jeremy F , Wehrli Felix W
Published: April 2011

The effect of hypercapnia on cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption ( CMRO2) has been a subject of intensive investigation and debate. Most applications of hypercapnia are based on the assumption that a mild increase in partial pressure of carbon dioxide has negligible effect on cerebral metabolism. In this study, we sought to further investigate the vascular and metabolic effects of hypercapnia by simultaneously measuring global venous oxygen saturation ( Sv O2) and total cerebral blood flow ( tCBF), with a temporal resolution of 30 seconds using magnetic resonance susceptometry and phase-contrast techniques in 10 healthy awake adults. While significant increases in Sv O2 and tCBF were observed during hypercapnia ( P < 0.005), no change in CMRO2 was noted ( P > 0.05). Additionally, fractional changes in tCBF and end-tidal carbon dioxide ( R2 = 0.72, P < 0.005), as well as baseline Sv O2 and tCBF ( R2 = 0.72, P < 0.005), were found to be correlated. The data also suggested a correlation between cerebral vascular reactivity ( CVR) and baseline tCBF ( R2 = 0.44, P = 0.052). A CVR value of 6.1% ± 1.6%/mm Hg was determined using a linear-fit model. Additionally, an average undershoot of 6.7% ± 4% and 17.1% ± 7% was observed in Sv O2 and tCBF upon recovery from hypercapnia in six subjects.
Molecular markers and mechanisms of stroke: RNA studies of blood in animals and humans
Authors: Sharp Frank R , Jickling Glen C , Stamova Boryana , Tian Yingfang , Zhan Xinhua , Liu DaZhi , Kuczynski Beth , Cox Christopher D , Ander Bradley P
Published: April 2011

Whole genome expression microarrays can be used to study gene expression in blood, which comes in part from leukocytes, immature platelets, and red blood cells. Since these cells are important in the pathogenesis of stroke, RNA provides an index of these cellular responses to stroke. Our studies in rats have shown specific gene expression changes 24 hours after ischemic stroke, hemorrhage, status epilepticus, hypoxia, hypoglycemia, global ischemia, and following brief focal ischemia that simulated transient ischemic attacks in humans. Human studies show gene expression changes following ischemic stroke. These gene profiles predict a second cohort with > 90% sensitivity and specificity. Gene profiles for ischemic stroke caused by large-vessel atherosclerosis and cardioembolism have been described that predict a second cohort with > 85% sensitivity and specificity. Atherosclerotic genes were associated with clotting, platelets, and monocytes, and cardioembolic genes were associated with inflammation, infection, and neutrophils. These gene profiles predicted the cause of stroke in 58% of cryptogenic patients. These studies will provide diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic markers, and will advance our understanding of stroke in humans. New techniques to measure all coding and noncoding RNAs along with alternatively spliced transcripts will markedly advance molecular studies of human stroke.
Policy Learning through Public Inquiries? The Case of UK Nuclear Energy Policy 1955–61
Authors: Rough Elizabeth
Published: April 2011

Combining insights from interpretive policy analysis, collaborative planning theory, and science and technology studies, I consider the role and influence of the public planning inquiry on policy learning and change. Drawing on the case of UK nuclear energy policy, and the construction of the first generation of civil nuclear power stations, I focus on the seven inquiries held in response to the 1955 Nuclear White Paper. Following an analysis of archival records, inspectors' reports and interview data, I examine how this setting facilitated instrumental policy learning and why it failed to stimulate social policy learning. The concept of boundary-work, and its role in preserving the intellectual authority and professional autonomy of the nuclear industry during the inquiries, is explored in detail. I conclude by considering the contemporary significance of these findings in light of the current ‘nuclear renaissance’ and concurrent streamlining of the UK planning process.
The Rise of Multilevel Governance for Biodiversity Conservation in Belarus
Authors: Otto Ilona M , Shkaruba Anton , Kireyeu Viktar
Published: April 2011

We describe the emergence of multilevel policy in biodiversity governance in Belarus—a country with a strongly hierarchical and centralized political system. We analyze the biodiversity protection policies from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the present day. Our evidence is based on document analysis and in-depth interviews with representatives of key stakeholder groups, including the Belarusian government and representatives of legalized as well as banned nongovernmental organizations. We observe that the importance of local government and nonstate actors in increasing, as the government enters and implements more international programs and agreements. Although the changes have contributed to an improved monitoring of protected areas and are in general seen as positive by the majority of stakeholders, the policy innovation process taking place in Belarus is still very different from those observed in Western democracies. Many changes are introduced on an ad hoc basis and they are not supported by the development of legal standards and procedures. Furthermore, a portion of innovative legislation exists only on paper and is never enforced. In the area of biodiversity governance, effective and urgent measures are most needed to support access to information, development of formal channels of cooperation between stakeholders, and sanctioning mechanisms in cases of mismanagement.
The Place and Practices of Well-Being in Local Governance
Authors: Atkinson Sarah , Joyce Kerry E
Published: April 2011

The concept of well-being has become prominent within national policy goals in the UK since the end of the 1990s. However, the concept of well-being remains ill defined, an instability that is increasingly understood as problematic to policy making. We engage with this terminological instability through an exploration of how the concept of well-being is practised discursively in local governance and critically examine the place of the concept in local policy making. In contrast to the current enthusiasm to define and measure well-being, we argue that the conceptual instability has inherent value for local governance. The concept of well-being is practised through a number of potentially conflicting discourses, but it is exactly this conceptual instability that enables a local negotiation and combination of alternative policy frameworks for local place-shaping strategies. As such, well-being not only is an overarching goal of governance but also contributes to the dynamics of the policy process.
Reflexivity, Integration and Autonomy in Regional Development: Turkey—EU Partnership
Authors: Açıkalın Oya
Published: April 2011

Drawing on Bourdieu's theory of field, capital, and habitus and the literature on development, I analyse how positions and autonomies of various actors as well as their interaction and management styles affect each other and the success of a regional development programme implemented in Turkey with EU assistance. Discrepancies between form and content or rhetoric and practice open up opportunities for change. I conclude that the reflexivity of actors with a critical—ethical perspective enables them to use these discrepancies with integrating interaction and open management styles for sustainable interventions. These qualities are related to the level of autonomy of individual and collective actors.
Influence of land development on home range use dynamics of female elk
Authors: Webb S. L. , Dzialak M. R. , Harju S. M. , Hayden-Wing L. D. , Winstead J. B.
Published: April 2011

Context
Many ungulate species exhibit strong site fidelity to previously established areas, particularly females. However, development of the landscape may cause animals to shift their distribution to more secure areas.

Aims
To determine range use dynamics (i.e. size and overlap of core areas and home ranges) of female elk (Cervus elaphus) relative to land development features (e.g. roads, well pads, buildings, developments, towns, etc.) after controlling for environmental features (i.e. forest cover).

Methods
During the four-year study, we fitted elk (n = 165) with GPS collars annually and programmed collars to attempt one location fix every 3 h (eight locations per day) for one year. Females (n = 18) were subsequently recaptured and refitted with GPS collars to provide range use dynamics of individual elk over two to three years. We calculated sizes of core areas and home ranges using adaptive kernel estimators, overlap between annual ranges, and establishment of ranges relative to land development.

Key results
Overlap of annual core areas (48.6%) and home ranges (67.9%) was high despite annual increases in land development. Sizes of core areas and home ranges and annual overlap (i.e. site fidelity) were negatively influenced by land development after controlling for forest cover.

Conclusions
These data reveal that female elk show high levels of site fidelity even in the presence of increasing annual land development. Females did not appear to abandon previously established areas, but used ranges in a manner that minimised interaction with development within these areas based on reductions in range use size and fidelity as land development increased.

Implications
To help mitigate impacts on elk, land development should be minimised and large areas of forest protected so elk can avoid areas associated with human activity.