bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sedation in allergic rhinitis is caused by the condition and not by antihistamine treatment
Authors: Spaeth J. , Klimek L. , Mösges R.
Published: April 2008

Sedation is regarded as a common side‐effect of most H1‐antihistamines. This view must be accepted. yet can hardly be assessed under treatment of allergic disorders. Since central sedative potency is hard to evaluate, different methods of measurement have been introduced in the four phases of clinical investigation. While tests of high complexity in early trials can detect true central effects, they seem to have the disadvantage of not taking into consideration the important interactions of drugs with the disorder. Therefore, we used a visual analog scale (VAS) as an instrument to demonstrate sedative effects in five clinical studies carried out between 1989 and 1994 with a total number of 1070 patients. Thereby, we could assess the result of the different components of the central interaction. In 1989, in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial, we could show that the vigilance of patients suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis increased significantly more under treatment with an antihistamine (mizolastine) than under placebo. From 1992 until 1994, we compared azelastine nasal spray either by the double‐dummy technique with oral antihistamines (cetirizine, loratadine, and astemizole) or by the double‐dummy or placebo‐controlled design with monotherapy or combined therapy with azelastine tablets. A marked or statistically significant improvement of vigilance was found for all compounds (loratadine: P < 0.0001; cetirizine: P < 0.0254; and azelastine nasal spray: P < 0.1409 to P < 0.0001). Even when taking azelastine as oral application, patients, in spite of the warning, reported a similar increase in vigilance (P < 0.2628 to P < 0.0001). Finally, we assessed the range of physiologic vigilance using the same VAS in healthy volunteers. In conclusion, we could prove that in all trials the baseline values of vigilance of untreated symptomatic patients were far below physiologic condition and improved under treatment to the upper range of healthy persons. Therefore, any sedative properties of modern H1‐antihistamines should not limit their therapeutic use. since the truly threatening sedation results from the disorder itself.
Comparisons of IgE, IgG, and IgG4 responsiveness to Dermatophagoides farinae in children by immunobulotting
Authors: Noguchi E. , Shibasaki M. , Isoyama S. , Takita H.
Published: April 2008

Although asthmatic children are often sensitized to the house‐dust mite (HDM) during early childhood, it is not clear what antigenic components are associated with the early immune response of these children. To investigate this problem, we evaluated IgE, IgG, and IgG4 antibody responses to Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) by immunoblotting among three groups of children: group I aged 0–4 years, group II aged 5–9 years, and group III aged 10–14 years. In the group I subjects, positive IgE‐binding reactions to 15– and 25‐kDa components were found in 76% and 44% of sera, respectively. Those to other components were generally low in frequency. In contrast, positive IgG‐binding reactions to 15– and 25‐kDa components were found in 44% and 24% of sera, and those to 30– and 110‐kDa components in 48% and 88% of sera, respectively. Positive IgG4 reactions to 15– and 25‐kDa components were found in 48% and 24%, respectively, and those to other components were very low. Positive IgE‐binding reactions to these components gradually became more frequent with increasing age in groups II and III, while IgG and IgG4 reactivities were not markedly different in these age groups. These results suggest that the 15‐and 25‐kDa proteins of Df are important antigens associated with the initial IgE response to HDM in early childhood, while the 30– and 110‐kDa proteins are associated with IgG and 15‐kDa components with IgG4.
Exposure chamber for allergen challenge The development and validation of a new concept
Authors: Rønborg S. M. , Mosbech H. , Johnsen C. R. , Poulsen L. K.
Published: April 2008

Exposure chambers have proven to be valuable tools in studying allergic diseases. The chamber provides a controlled environment and maintains conditions for measuring the amount of allergen inducing symptoms in allergic subjects. The aim of the present study was to develop and test an exposure chamber. The chamber was constructed as an airtight tent, made of transparent polyethylene, easy to adapt to the shape of an existing room, easy to clean, and providing exact allergen‐dosage control. Airflow to the interior of the tent was controlled by a variable inlet ventilator fitted with a micropore filter and balanced by a variable high‐volume air‐sampler on the outlet side. Trace material and allergen were administered as aerosols with a nebulizer connected to the inlet pipe. Samples were obtained from interior surfaces and filters at the outlet. Two different methods were used to test the concept. One method used a colored, neutral trace substance (phenol red indicator) measured photometrically on extracts from filters. Secondly, house‐dust mite allergen (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) was applied, with samples analyzed by an ELISA technique. The results demonstrated the ability of the system to administer and sample allergen with a high degree of reproducibility. A clinical pilot trial proved the capability of the system to initiate syniptoms in allergic subjects.
Skin prick test reactivity to common aeroallergens in relation to total IgE, respiratory symptoms, and smoking in a general population sample of northern Italy
Authors: Baldacci S. , Modena P. , Carrozzi L. , Pedreschi M. , Vellutini M. , Biavati P. , Simoni M. , Sapigni T. , Viegi G. , Paoletti P. , Giuntini C.
Published: April 2008

Skin prick test (SPT) reactivity to common airborne allergens and its relationships to sex, age, smoking habits, and respiratory symptoms/ diseases were evaluated in a general population sample (n= 2841, 8–75 years of age) living in the Po delta area (northern Italy). Subjects completed a standardized questionnaire and underwent prick tests (12 local allergens, a negative and a positive control) and determination of total serum IgE. Atopy was evaluated by measuring the maximal diameter for each allergen, after subtracting that of the negative control. Thirty‐one percent of subjects showed a positive skin response at a 3‐mm threshold. Pollens, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and D. farinae caused the highest frequencies of reactions. Young people and those who had never smoked had higher prevalence rates of SPT reactivity. Asthma, asthma symptoms, and rhinitis were significantly associated with SPT reactivity in both sexes (cough only in females) and with the number of positive reactions. IgE values were also significantly associated with SPT reactivity. In conclusion, our findings indicate that almost one‐third of the general population of an Italian rural area is skin test positive, emphasizing the importance of assessing atopy in respiratory epidemiologic surveys.
Occupational asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis caused by senna
Authors: Helin T. , Mäkinen‐Kiljunen S.
Published: April 2008

Occupational sensitization to senna is seldom reported. We describe a 21‐year‐old male atopic factory worker who developed IgE‐mediated asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis 5 months after exposure to senna while he was working for a company manufacturing hair dyes. In the bronchial challenge test with senna, he exhibited a strong reaction. The skin prick test gave a 12‐mm wheal reaction. The radioallergosorbent test (RAST) with senna was highly positive (33.6 PRU/ml, class 4), and could not be inhibited with pollens or foods. In protein staining with SDS‐PAGE, two heavy bands were detected in senna at about 14 and 25 kDa, and two faint bands were visible at 19 and 21 kDa. In IgE immunoblotting with the patient's serum, one heavy band was detected at about 16 and four faint bands at 23, 25, 28, and 38 kDa. The patient became symptom free after he had changed his job within the same company.
Effects of immunotherapy on symptoms, PEFR, spirometry, and airway responsiveness in patients with allergic asthma to house‐dust mites (D. pteronyssinus) on inhaled steroid therapy
Authors: Costa J. C. Torres , Plácido J. I. , Silva J. P. Moreira , Delgado L. , Vaz M.
Published: April 2008

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of immunotherapy (IT) with an extract of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Alergo‐Merck Depot®) during a 27‐month period in patients with allergic asthma to house‐dust mites. We included 11 patients (mean age 18 years) treated with a combination of IT and inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) in comparison to another II (mean age 22 years) treated with BDP alone. We evaluated symptom scores, salbutamol use, peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR), spirometry, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) during 18 months of therapy with BDP and in the 9 months after BDP interruption. The two kinds of treatment were efficient and comparable in relation to symptom score, salbutamol use, morning PEFR, FVC, and FEV1, but patients treated with IT and BDP had a faster improvement of BHR and PEFR variability. The interruption of BDP after 18 months of therapy was linked to an impairment of all end points, which were more pronounced in patients previously treated only with BDP. These findings suggest that in selected asthmatic patients allergic to house‐dust mites, the association of IT and BDP is more effective than therapy with this inhaled steroid alone due to a faster and more striking improvement during the first months of treatment and to a lower rate of relapse after the interruption of therapy with BDP.
Measurement of serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein to monitor patients with seasonal respiratory allergy induced by Parietaria pollen (treated and untreated with specific immunotherapy)
Authors: D'Amato G. , Liccardi G. , Russo M. , Saggese M. , D'Amato M.
Published: April 2008

This trial studied the behavior of a marker of eosinophilic inflammation, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), in the peripheral blood of two groups of subjects with seasonal allergic respiratory symptoms (rhinitis and mild bronchial asthma) induced by pollen allergens of Parietaria, judaica (P.j.) (one group treated and another untreated with specific immunotherapy [SIT]), to determine what contribution these serial measurements might provide, in comparison with various other tools now available for pollinosis monitoring. In a previously randomized order, we selected 25 patients with monosensitization to P.j. pollen allergens; among them, 12 had started SIT with a P.j. extract in autumn 1993. As a control group, 13 patients were untreated. All patients were studied with various tests at four different times: time I ‐ November 1993; time II ‐ February 1994; time III ‐ end of May 1994; and time IV ‐ September 1994. Blood samples for determination of serum ECP were collected at each time. Methacholine challenge tests were performed at times I and III. A pollen count was also carried out. A statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in mean ECP levels at times I and 111 in SIT treated and untreated patients. The interaction between groups and time was not significant. No statistically significant difference was found between PD20 FEV1 values at times I and III in either group. After 1 year of treatment, we did not find any effect of SIT on bronchial hyperresponsiveness or on ECP serum values.
Placebo‐controlled challenges with perfume in patients with asthma‐like symptoms
Authors: Millqvist E. , Löwhagen O.
Published: April 2008

A group of nine patients with respiratory symptoms after nonspecific irritating stimuli, but without any IgE‐mediated allergy or demonstrable bronchial obstruction, were referred to the asthma/allergy outpatient department for evaluation of suspected asthma. In order to find a provocation model and objectively assess these patients' symptoms in controlled studies, provocation with perfume or placebo was performed. The same patients were also subjected to perfume provocation with or without a carbon filter mask to ascertain whether breathing through a filter with active carbon could prevent the symptoms. The patients breathed through the mouth during the provocations, as they used a nasal clamp to prevent any smell of perfume. We found that the patients' earlier symptoms could be verified by perfume provocation. Breathing through the carbon filter had no protective effect. The conclusion is that symptoms suggesting hyperreactivity of the respiratory tract and asthma can be provoked by perfume without the presence of bronchial obstruction, and that using a carbon filter mask has no preventive effect. The symptoms are not transmitted via the olfactory nerve, since the patients could not smell the perfume, but they may have been induced by a trigeminal reflex via the respiratory tract or by the eyes.
Skin prick tests and specific IgE in adults from three different areas of Sweden
Authors: Plaschke P. , Janson C. , Norrman E. , Bjömsson E. , Lundback B. , Lindholm N. , Rosenhall L. , Järvholm B. , Boman G.
Published: April 2008

The aims of this part of the European Respiratory Health Survey were to estimate the prevalence of atopic sensitization to inhalant allergens among adults in three different areas of Sweden and to investigate the association between sensitization and certain risk factors. Randomly selected subjects aged 20–46 years from Göteborg, Uppsala, and Västerbotten were investigated with the skin prick test (SPT), analyses for specific IgE antibodies in serum (specific IgE) and total serum immunoglobulin E (total IgE), and a questionnaire. SPT was performed in 1572 subjects and analyses of specific IgE in 1470. One or more positive SPT were found in 35.6% and one or more positive specific IgE in 31.7% ‐ approximately the same values in all three areas. Birch, grass, cat, and dog were the most frequent sensitizing agents and occurred at similar prevalence's, i.e., around 15%, in all areas. The SPT to mite was positive in 14.1% in Göteborg, 7.4% in Uppsala, and 7.9% in Västerbotten. A positive SPT to pellitory of the wall (Parietaria), not described previously in Sweden, was found in 3.4% in Göteborg. Living in Göteborg was independently associated with a higher risk of a positive SPT to mite and Parietaria. Heredity, male sex, and low age were independently associated with atopy. Birth in the Scandinavian countries was independently associated with sensitization to cat, whereas birth in other countries was associated with sensitization to mite. The overall prevalence of atopy was similar in the three Swedish areas, but the sensitizing allergens varied. There is an indication that sensitization is increasing in the population, as low age was associated with sensitization. Sensitization to cat, but not to mite, appears to be particularly important in persons born in the Scandinavian countries.
Atopic eczema and other manifestations of atopy: results of a study in East and West Germany
Authors: Schäfer T. , Vieluf D. , Behrendt H. , Kramer U. , Ring J.
Published: April 2008

Within an environmental health study, dermatologic examination of 1273 pre‐school‐age children (5–7 years old) was carried out in selected areas of East (n= 287) and West (n= 987) Germany in spring 1991. On the basis of comparable genetic background, the influence of a different exposure to air pollutants on the manifestation of atopic diseases was investigated. Halle an der Saale (East Germany) and Duisburg (North/South) as well as Essen (West Germany) were chosen as polluted study areas, whereas the countryside town of Borken (West Germany) served as a control region. Outdoor pollution with particles and SO2 was significantly higher in Halle an der Saale. Of the total study group. 12.9% suffered from atopic eczema at the time of examination. The prevalence was highest in East Germany (17.5%; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.39, confidence intervals [CI] 0.77–2.52, compared to Borken). The reported frequencies of hay fever and asthma in the total study population were 2% and 1.3%, respectively, without significant differences between study sites. Some 34.7% of the children showed at least one positive skin prick test reaction; significantly (P< 0.001) higher sensitization rates were obtained in western regions (Essen, Duisburg‐South) than in the control region (Borken) and East Germany. Multivariate analysis of the prevalence of atopic eczema showed associations with parental predisposition (OR 1.52, CI 1.03–2.25), sex (for boys, OR 0.63, CI 0.43–0.92), location (Duisburg‐South vs Borken OR 0.52, CI 0.30–0.96). month of investigation (May vs April, and March vs February OR 0.55, CI 0.37–0.81), contact with rabbits (for girls, OR 2.90, CI 1.36–6.19), animal fur in bedrooms (2.17, 1.01–4.67), indoor use of gas without hood (1.68, 1.11–2.56), and distance of homes from a busy road (<50 m 1.71, 1.07–2.73). Nonsignificant associations were observed for history of helminthic infections (OR 1.61, CI 0.98–2.64) and high parental education level (OR 1.83, CI 0.83–4.02). In East and West Germany, atopic eczema seems to follow a course different from that of respiratory allergic diseases and specific sensitization, a fact which underlines the need for a differentiated analysis.
White matter abnormalities in bipolar disorder: a voxel‐based diffusion tensor imaging study
Authors: Bruno Stefania , Cercignani Mara , Ron Maria A
Published: April 2008

Objectives:  In bipolar disorder (BD), dysregulation of mood may result from white matter abnormalities that disrupt fronto‐subcortical circuits. In this study, we explore such abnormalities using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an imaging technique capable of detecting subtle changes not visible with conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and voxel‐based analysis.

Methods:  Thirty‐six patients with BD, all but two receiving antidepressants or mood stabilizers, and 28 healthy controls matched for age and gender were studied. Diffusion‐weighted echoplanar images (DW‐EPI) were obtained using a 1.5T scanner. Voxel‐based analysis was performed using SPM 2. Differences between the groups in mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy (FA) were explored.

Results:  In the patient group, mean diffusivity was increased in the right posterior frontal and bilateral prefrontal white matter, while FA was increased in the inferior, middle temporal and middle occipital regions. The areas of increased mean diffusivity overlapped with those previously found to be abnormal using volumetric MRI and magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) in the same group of patients.

Conclusions:  White matter abnormalities, predominantly in the fronto‐temporal regions, can be detected in patients with BD using DTI. The neuropathology of these abnormalities is uncertain, but neuronal and axonal loss, myelin abnormalities and alterations in axonal packing density are likely to be relevant. The neuroprotective effects of some antidepressants and mood stabilizers make it unlikely that medication effects could explain the abnormalities described here, although minor effects cannot be excluded.
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in bipolar disorder: effects of mood state and early course
Authors: Fleck David E , Shear Paula K , Madore Michelle , Strakowski Stephen M
Published: April 2008

Objectives:  Patients experiencing an acute mood episode of bipolar disorder are impaired on cognitive tests of executive functioning when compared with healthy subjects. However, it is unclear to what extent executive dysfunction exists (i) during syndromal remission, when mood symptoms are attenuated, and (ii) during the early course of bipolar disorder.

Methods:  To clarify these issues, we examined retrospective data on a standard clinical version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) administered to 25 euthymic, 21 first‐episode manic or mixed, and 34 multiple‐episode manic or mixed patients with bipolar I disorder, and 48 healthy comparison subjects. These groups were compared on five WCST measures of executive ability.

Results:  On all but one measure the healthy group’s performance was superior to that of both first‐ and multiple‐episode groups. The euthymic group outperformed the multiple‐episode group, but performed similarly to the first‐episode group on all but one measure. The healthy and euthymic groups did not differ significantly on any measure. Effect sizes ranged from small to moderate.

Conclusions:  Executive dysfunction may be a mediating vulnerability indicator of bipolar disorder that is strongly related to mood state, but only modestly related to chronicity of illness during the early disease course.
Television and Information
Authors: TORSVIK PER
Published: April 2008

In this report we have been concerned with some of the consequences of the introduction of television. Actually, it has only been possible to isolate some areas in which to locate such effects: in the mobilization of the voters to election campaigns and in the resulting distribution of political information. The data have been collected in the region of Norway that includes the greatest proportion of peripheral communities, but in spite of this ecology the acquisition of television increased at a faster rate here than in the south central parts.

The points made in the analysis emphasize the importance of television as a link to the central society and to central decision‐making bodies. In an earlier analysis we have found the effects of television most marked in the peripheral areas,70 and in this study we have indicated an effect in the social periphery, on the less educated, the less informed.

The increase of the information level is not limited to television owners. It can hardly be explained by a panel effect alone, and further explanations may well be looked for in individual motivations and alternative information‐seeking habits as well as in altered conditions for the traditional media. One promising aspect is a between‐level analysis: How is the information relayed in pre‐ and post‐television communities or in communities with different degrees of television accessibility? What is the ecological effect of television?

This effect may be mediated in a number of ways, some of which are more significant than others, such as occasional viewing by non‐owners, in the reporting by local newspapers of the television debates ‐ which has been frequently done and in the increased exchange of information by personal communication between the two groups. In the first case we have to deal with a direct effect of cornmunication; in the latter cases we can draw on well‐established theories of the two‐step flow of communication in order to explain how this effect takes place.

The main findings have been established in the introductory phase of television. It may well be that the effect is limited to this phase, but the society in which we can put this to a test will be an entirely diEferent one; there will be a general increase in the level of education and a rapidly decreasing group of families without television.
MARXISM IN LATIN AMERICA: A PHILOSOPHICAL DEFENSE
Authors: Schweickart David
Published: April 2008

Indeed the people are no longer what they were ten years ago. Some have been awakened by the revoluFionXy ferment. All have matured in blood and fire and become acutely conscious of their daily interests …… They have a strong belief in their historical mission, a salvation mission …… They are attracted by an extremely fascinating theory, Marxism, which is endowed with an immense power and is capable of turning the common people into fighters ready for all sacrifices.
THE RECOGNITION OF RIGHTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Authors: Putman Daniel
Published: April 2008

Gewirth has argued that rights are justified by their role in the “generic features” of action. Simply by virtue of being a purposive agent capable of voluntary action, one must accept the logic that all persons with such characteristics have certain moral rights. But the language of rights theories does not deal with the process by which rights are acknowledged. How do we go about recognizing those characteristics of human life that underlie the logic Gewirth claims is necessary? By what process do I recognize, for example, your “right” to be told the truth? Acknowledging someone else's right involves two elements: a recognition of the content of the right and a recognition of the binding power of the right which is experienced by the agent as a sense of obligation. Analyzing the process by which these two factors are recognized and examining the foundation for that process will clarify some of the assumptions utilized in rights theories.
DOES THE THREAT OF AIDS CREATE DIFFICULTIES FOR LORD DEVLIN'S CRITICS?
Authors: Schedler George
Published: April 2008

Although over twenty years have passed since the Hart‐Devlin exchange, the controversy over society's right to punish homosexuals remains alive, as is shown by recent concern over the spread of AIDS and the recent announcement of the Supreme Court that “majority sentiments about the morality of homosexuality” constitute an adequate justification for sodomy statutes under the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment.1 Lord Devlin's moral justification for punishing homosexual conduct seems to follow a similar line of reasoning. The one argument to which his critics have paid the most attention begins with the assertion that society consists of a seamless web of ideas and values, the content of which is determined by whether the ordinary, reasonable person is disgusted by a particular type of conduct.2 Among the types of conduct that disgust the ordinary person, he continues, is homosexual conduct.3 Therefore, Devlin concludes, society may punish homosexual conduct, even if it is consensual.
GAUTHIER'S ETHICS AND EXTRA‐RATIONAL VALUES: A COMMENT ON DEMARCO
Authors: Curtis Robert A.
Published: April 2008

While the preponderance of recent literature on David Gauthier's Morals by Agreement has focused on his theory of bargaining,1 Joseph DeMarco calls into question the foundation of Gauthier's project.2 DeMarco argues that Gauthier's project depends on the incorporation of extra‐rational values, thereby undermining his attempt to derive morality from the non‐moral premises of rational choice. On DeMarco's account, there are at least three points where Gauthier depends on extra‐rational values. DeMarco finds the first two of these points problematic because he misunderstands Gauthier's theory of rational choice. The third point is more serious; Gauthier does not offer an apparatus sufficient to respond to DeMarco's charge. To disarm DeMarco's third objection, I shall offer a justification of the rationality of autonomous preference formation.
AN APT PUNISHMENT FOR TOM JOAD: (RE)IDENTIFYING TOM JOAD FOR A MORAL JUDGMENT BASED ON THE PRA
Authors: Wilson Eddy
Published: April 2008

Our basic intuition seems to suggest that the moral biography of an individual matters in our treatment of the individual. We do keep criminal records on file, and we do care about the moral progress of individuals. At times our desire to fix responsibility seems too strong, and in our zeal we invent a definite, metaphysical character on which to pin crimes. However, some moral philosophers have tried to redirect our attention to affix responsibility in a way that attends to actions, deeds done.

Two ways to affix responsibility have been reviewed—the SR and the PRA. In the case of Tom Joad we could arrive at the conviction that Tom was responsible through use of either the SR or the PRA. In the end the difference was not that one method held Tom culpable and one exculpated him. The difference was seen in the way the PRA included the earlier commission of the same crime in its evaluation of responsibility.

To include in the evaluation of Tom's murder of George the earlier murder of Herb is to entertain a definite theory about the relation of Herb's murderer to George's murderer. I have suggested one possible candidate for that theory, Derek Parfit's theory of person stages.
NO ONE IS GUILTY: CRIME, PATRIARCHY, AND INDIVIDUALISM*
Authors: Digby Tom
Published: April 2008

Let us begin with a fundamental realization: No amount of thinking and no amount of public policy have brought us any closer to understanding and solving the problem of crime. The more we have reacted to crime, the farther we have removed ourselves from any understanding and any reduction of the problem. In recent years, we have floundered desperately in reformulating the law, punishing the offender, and quantifying our knowledge. Yet this country remains one of the most crime‐ridden nations. In spite of all its wealth, economic development, and scientific advances, this country has one of the worst crime records in the world.

With such realization, we return once again—as if starting anew—to the subject of crime, a subject that remains one of our most critical indicators of the state of our personal and collective being. If what is to be said seems outrageous and heretical, it is only because it is necessarily outside the conventional wisdom both of our understanding of the problem and of our attempt to solve it.
CORPORATE DEMOCRACY
Authors: Caste Nicholas J.
Published: April 2008

Fear breeds mediocrity…. Some argue that fear is an inherent byproduct of any structure based on hierarchy. I can't swear that's true, but I suspect it is.
OPPRESSION BY CHOICE
Authors: Cudd Ann E.
Published: April 2008

Property in money, means of subsistence, machines, and other means of production, does not as yet stamp a man as a capitalist if there be wanting the correlative — the wage‐worker, the other man who is compelled to sell himself of his own free‐will. (Marx, Capital, Vol. I, Ch.XXXIII)
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY: JOHN LOCKE AND MALCOLM X ON THE RIGHT TO REVOLUTION*
Authors: Gordon Jill
Published: April 2008

Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in the stormy, controversial and bold young captain. And we will smile. And we will answer and say unto them: Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did he ever touch you? Did you have him smile at you? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did, you would know him and if you knew him you would know why we must honor him.
IS “JUST WAR” THEORY JUSTIFIABLE?
Authors: Kainz Howard
Published: April 2008

War is only the sad recourse in the state of nature (where there is no tribunal which could judge with the force of law) by which each state asserts its right by violence and in which neither party can be adjudged unjust (for that would presuppose a juridical decision); in lieu of such a decision, the issue of the conflict (as if given by a so‐called “judgment of God”) decides on which side justice lies. We may well be astonished that the word “law” has not yet been banished from war politics as pedantic, and that no state has yet been bold enough to advocate [this banishment]. Up to the present, Hugo Grotius, Pufendorf, Vattel, and many other irritating comforters have been cited in justification of war, though their code, philosophically or diplomatically formulated, has not and cannot have the least legal force, because states as such do not stand under a common external power.

—Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace1
Poor consumers as global consumers: the diffusion of tea and coffee drinking in the eighteenth century1
Authors: McCANTS ANNE E. C.
Published: April 2008

This paper challenges the prevailing view among economic historians that tea and coffee were luxury articles of consumption prior to the nineteenth century. It reviews an array of available evidence, including national trade statistics and probate inventory studies. In particular, it examines the surprisingly wide social and economic diffusion of tea and coffee drinking among Amsterdam citizens of lower to middling economic status during the period of that city's ascendency and subsequent decline at the centre of global trade networks. Using the distribution of tea and coffee wares of both local and exotic manufacture across households of the artisanal and labouring classes, it seeks to map both the economic reach of the East Indian trade into the poorer parts of the city, as well as to locate the cultural meanings associated with the consumption of these new goods. New data to address this issue have been derived from a substantial collection of after‐death inventories drawn up on the estates of middling and poor Amsterdam citizens in the middle decades of the eighteenth century by the Regents of the Municipal Orphanage.
Evaluation of the effects of a preparation containing asiaticoside on periocular wrinkles of human volunteers
Authors: Lee J. , Jung E. , Lee H. , Seo Y. , Koh J. , Park D.
Published: April 2008

Synopsis

Skin ageing is accompanied by wrinkle formation. In particular, periorbital wrinkle formation is a relatively early sign of skin ageing. We evaluated the effects of a preparation containing asiaticoside on the periorbital wrinkles of a group of volunteers. The effectiveness of the active compound, asiaticoside, in a base‐cream preparation for the treatment of temporal periorbital wrinkles was tested on 27 female volunteers as follows: the women applied the cream twice a day to the region of interest for 12 weeks. Same women also applied a vehicle control cream to the periorbital skin around the other eye. Negative replicas were taken of the periorbital skin before treatment and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after application of the cream. The results were evaluated by semi‐automated morphometry of the plastic replicas. After 12 weeks of treatment, there was a significant improvement of the periorbital wrinkles in majority of the volunteers who tested the cream. Of the 27 women examined with periocular wrinkles, 65% showed an improvement at the end of the treatment. In three cases, the improvement was 100% (disappearance of the crow’s feet), 75% ± 1.97 and 79% ± 2.82. On six eyes, there was no significant change after the treatment. With 12 weeks of treatment with the asiaticoside‐containing cream, most of the periorbital wrinkles were attenuated to some degree, and some women experienced a significant improvement of the periorbital wrinkles on one of their eyes.
Preparation and characterization of herbal creams for improvement of skin viscoelastic properties
Authors: Ahshawat M. S. , Saraf S. , Saraf S.
Published: April 2008

Synopsis

The aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate herbal cosmetic creams for their improvement of skin viscoelastic and hydration properties. The cosmetic cream formulations were designed by using ethanolic extracts of Glycyrriza glabra, Curcuma longa (roots), seeds of Psorolea corlifolia, Cassia tora, Areca catechu, Punica granatum, fruits of Embelica officinale, leaves of Centella asiatica, dried bark of Cinnamon zeylanicum and fresh gel of Aloe vera in varied concentrations (0.12–0.9%w/w) and characterized using physicochemical and physiological measurements. The ethanolic extracts of herbs were incorporated in a cream base that is prepared by a phase inversion emulsification technique. The cream base was prepared by utilizing oil of Prunus amagdalus, Sesamum indicum, honey, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, polysorbate monoleate, sorbitan monostearate, propylene glycol and glycerin. Physicochemical assessments and microbiological testing were completed for all formulations according to the methods of the Indian Standard Bureau. The studies were carried out for 6 weeks on normal subjects (6 males and 12 females, between 22 and 50 years) on the back of their volar forearm for evaluation of viscoelastic properties in terms of extensibility via a suction measurement, firmness using laboratory fabricated instruments such as ball bouncing and skin hydration using electric (resistance) measurement methods. The physicochemical parameters of formulations CAA1–CAA6, i.e. pH, acid value, saponification value, viscosity, spreadability, layer thickness microbial count and skin sensitivity were found to be in the range of 5.01 ± 0.4–6.07 ± 0.6, 3.3–5.1 ± 0.2, 20–32, 5900–6755 cps, 60–99%, 25–50 μm, 31–46 colony‐forming units (CFU) and a 0–1 erythema score. The formulations, CAA4 and CAA5, showed an increase in percentage extensibility (32.27 ± 1.7% and 29.89 ± 1.64%, respectively), firmness (28.86 ± 0.86% and 29.89 ± 2.8%, respectively) and improved skin hydration (15.97 ± 0.55 and 18.27 ± 0.99%, respectively) and were found more effective compared with the control product (C7) after the 6‐ week study.
Papillary Fibroelastoma Arising from the Left Ventricular Apex Associated with Nonspecific Systemic Symptoms
Authors: Palecek Tomas , Lindner Jaroslav , Vitkova Ivana , Linhart Ales
Published: April 2008

Primary cardiac tumors are very rare findings. Papillary fibroelastomas are benign tumors comprising less than 10% of all primary cardiac neoplasms. They are almost always attached to valve surfaces; their location along the ventricular and atrial walls is exceptional. Affected patients are mostly asymptomatic, however peripheral or central embolic events are not rare. We describe an interesting case of papillary fibroelastoma with nonspecific systemic symptoms, arising directly from the left ventricular apex. So far, only four such cases were reported in current literature.
Dispositions to Act in Favor of the Environment: Fatalism and Readiness to Make Sacrifices in a Cross‐National Perspective1
Authors: Haller Max , Hadler Markus
Published: April 2008

This article hypothesizes that individuals’ environmental attitudes depend not only on their knowledge, interests, emotions, and values but also on the social context in which they live. We test this hypothesis by analyzing the 2000/01 ISSP‐II Survey on Environmental Attitudes; the data include respondents from 23 countries. Our findings show that individual characteristics influence both “pessimistic environmental orientations” and “the willingness to act in favor of the environment.” As for social context, the level of development and affluence, the degree of political centralization, the presence of green movements and parties, and the degree of objective pollution in a country are all important. However, their influences on fatalism and willingness vary.
Robin Williams, Race, and American Sociology
Authors: Kasinitz Philip
Published: April 2008

In this essay, I discuss Robin M. Williams Jr.’s unique sociological approach to the study of race and the ways his background and the historical moment in which he wrote contributed to his sociological vision.
(Dis)unity and Diversity in Post‐9/11 America
Authors: Rodriguez Robyn M.
Published: April 2008

Drawing inspiration from the work of Robin M. Williams Jr., I map out the complexities of ethnic and racial relations in the contemporary United States by focusing on the impacts of 9/11—particularly in relation to immigration policy. Because the attackers entered the country through regular immigration channels (i.e., as foreign students) the U.S. government has introduced policies to enhance border security, restrict immigration, increase the surveillance of immigrant populations, and more actively enforce immigration policy. These national‐security‐related immigration policies, however, are exacerbating existing tensions and producing new sets of ethnic and racialized conflicts in the United States. In this article, I first provide an overview of the key national‐security‐related immigration policies that were passed in the wake of September 11, 2001. Then, I review some of the recent sociological literature, as well as draw from my own preliminary research in the State of New Jersey, to illustrate the social impacts of these policies on ethnic and racial relations. I conclude with an outline of the ways the sociology of ethnic and racial relations specifically, as well as other subfields of the discipline, might approach analyses of social conflict in the contemporary United States, post–September 11.
Leukocyte, plasma, and organ‐associated cytokine profiles in an animal model of acute inflammation
Authors: EBDRUP LOTTE , KROG JAN , GRANFELDT ASGER , LARSEN PERNILLE Ø. , VESTERGAARD CHRISTIAN , HOKLAND MARIANNE , TØNNESEN ELSE
Published: April 2008

Systemic administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces a cytokine response in peripheral blood without correlations with cytokine content at the organ level. We hypothesised (1) that cytokine mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) preceded the plasma cytokine increase during endotoxaemia and (2) that statins as anti‐inflammatory agents modified the LPS‐induced cytokine responses. 30 pigs were randomised into 3 groups: placebo (I) or atorvastatin 80 mg (II) for 21 days, followed by LPS‐infusion on day 22, or controls (III). LPS was infused at increasing concentrations (2.5 to 15 μg/kg/h) for 30 min, followed by sustained infusion (2.5 μg/kg/h) for 330 min. We measured plasma IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF‐α, and their mRNA expression in PBMCs during the LPS‐infusion, and the cytokine content in kidney and heart biopsies at 360 min. LPS reduced TNF‐α mRNA in PBMCs at 60 min, whereas IL‐6 mRNA increased at 240 min. There were no correlations with plasma cytokines, which peaked at 60 min (IL‐10 and TNF‐α) and 240 min (IL‐6). Cytokine content did not increase in organs, and no effects of statins could be demonstrated. In conclusion, LPS‐infusion reduced leukocyte TNF‐α mRNA and increased IL‐6 mRNA, whereas plasma TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐10 increased markedly.
The psychological impact of genital anomalies on the parents of affected children
Authors: Duguid A , Morrison S , Robertson A , Chalmers J , Youngson G , Ahmed S F ,   the Scottish Genital Anomaly Network
Published: April 2008

Background: There is scarce information on how parents cope with children with genital anomalies.

Participants & methods: Twenty‐six parents of 25 children with a median age of 0.5 years (r, 5 days–10.8 years) were recruited through the Scottish Genital Anomaly Network and had a quantitative assessment of parenting stress and coping patterns; a qualitative assessment by a semi‐structured interview was also performed in19 parents.

Results: In five parents, the total stress score was above the 85th centile, denoting clinical levels of stress. Three parents showed reduced coping pattern scores for social support, self‐esteem and psychological stability and three showed a reduction in utilization of communication with medical professionals. The scores did not correlate with each other or the extent of genital anomaly in the child. Semi‐structured interview analysis revealed parents' need for more knowledge about the imminent surgery, post‐operative care and their desire for written information that could complement the time‐restricted contact with the clinical team.

Conclusion: In the majority of cases, parents did not display abnormal levels of stress or coping on quantitative assessment. The semi‐structured interview provided further information about the parents' level of coping and potential for stress and highlighted the need for more effective exchange of clinical information at a critical period of the parent–child relationship.
Intercountry adoptees in out‐of‐home care: a national cohort study
Authors: Elmund Anna , Lindblad Frank , Vinnerljung Bo , Hjern Anders
Published: April 2008

Aim: To investigate risks of placements in out‐of‐home care for non‐European adoptees.

Methods: Intercountry adoptees born outside Europe 1973–1984 (n = 16 522) were compared with same age peers from the majority population (n = 1 026 523) using national demographic and child welfare registers. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models, and odds ratios (OR) for different forms of out‐of‐home care placements were calculated.

Results: After adjustments for socio‐demographic background variables, the OR:s for placements of intercountry adoptees in residential care from age 10 were 5.1 (95% CI 4.6–5.8) and 3.0 (95% CI 2.6–3.6) for placements in foster care from age 10. For placements in all forms of out‐of home care up to age 10, the odds were on par with the majority population. Higher child age at adoption, origin from Latin America, single parent adoption and maternal age above 35 at birth of the child were identified as significant predictors of out‐of‐home care from age 10.

Conclusion: Intercountry adoptees emerge as a risk group for placements in out‐of home care during adolescence, especially for entries into residential care (in Sweden usually triggered by persistent behaviour problems).
Understanding diagnostic tests 1: sensitivity, specificity and predictive values
Authors: Akobeng Anthony K
Published: April 2008

The usefulness of diagnostic tests, that is their ability to detect a person with disease or exclude a person without disease, is usually described by terms such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. In this article, the first of the series, a simple, practical explanation of these concepts is provided and their use and misuse discussed. It is explained that while sensitivity and specificity are important measures of the diagnostic accuracy of a test, they are of no practical use when it comes to helping the clinician estimate the probability of disease in individual patients. Predictive values may be used to estimate probability of disease but both positive predictive value and negative predictive value vary according to disease prevalence. It would therefore be wrong for predictive values determined for one population to be applied to another population with a different prevalence of disease.

Conclusion: Sensitivity and specificity are important measures of the diagnostic accuracy of a test but cannot be used to estimate the probability of disease in an individual patient. Positive and negative predictive values provide estimates of probability of disease but both parameters vary according to disease prevalence.
Overweight more prevalent among children than among adolescents
Authors: Holmbäck Ulf , Fridman Jennifer , Gustafsson Jan , Proos Lemm , Sundelin Claes , Forslund Anders
Published: April 2008

Aims: To study if there is a change in paediatric overweight/obesity prevalence from 1982 to 2002 in a population with a high proportion of post‐graduate education.

Design: Two samples of children in Uppsala County, Sweden, were compared: children who were 4, 10 and 16 year old in 1982; or 4, 10 and 16 year old in 2002. Mean BMI (in the lowest 10%, middle 50% and highest 10%) and ISO‐BMI (‘age adjusted BMI’) cut‐off values were calculated in each age and gender group.

Results: Using the mean BMI or ISO‐BMI cut‐off values, the BMI‐distribution shifted from 1982 to 2002. More 4‐ and 10‐year‐old girls and boys were overweight/obese, although this shift was larger in girls. No shift was seen in the 16‐year‐olds, only the middle 50% group in the 16‐year‐old girls had a slight increase of their mean BMI. In the 2002 4‐year‐old, and both 10‐year‐old samples, a higher proportion of the girls were overweight/obese compared to the boys, but no difference was seen in the 16‐year‐old sample.

Conclusion: Young children, especially girls, have become much more overweight/obese during the past 20 years, despite a high proportion of post‐graduate education in the population. The lack of major change in 16‐year‐olds may suggest a rather recent change in the children's environment/lifestyle.