bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rivaroxaban for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after hip or knee arthroplasty
Authors: Lassen Michael Rud , Eriksson Bengt , Gent Michael , Berkowitz Scott , Misselwitz Frank , Bandel Tiemo , Homering Martin , Westermeier Torsten , Kakkar Ajay , Turpie Alexander
Published: December 2010

Four phase III studies compared oral rivaroxaban with subcutaneous enoxaparin for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA or TKA). A pooled analysis of these studies compared the effect of rivaroxaban with enoxaparin on symptomatic VTE plus all-cause mortality and bleeding events, and determined whether these effects were consistent in patient subgroups. Patients (N=12,729) aged ≥18 years and scheduled for elective THA or TKA received rivaroxaban 10 mg once daily or enoxaparin 40 mg once daily or 30 mg every 12 hours. The composite of symptomatic VTE and all-cause mortality, the prespecified primary efficacy endpoint and adjudicated bleeding events were analysed in the day 12 ± 2 active treatment pool. Subgroup analyses of these outcomes were performed over the total treatment period. In the day 12 ± 2 pool, the primary efficacy endpoint occurred in 29/6,183 patients receiving rivaroxaban (0.5%) versus 60/6,200 patients receiving enoxaparin (1.0%; p=0.001). Major bleeding occurred in 21 (0.3%) versus 13 (0.2%) patients, p=0.23; major plus non-major clinically relevant bleeding in 176 (2.8%) versus 152 (2.5%) patients, p=0.19; and any bleeding in 409 (6.6%) versus 384 (6.2%) patients, p=0.38, respectively. The reduction of symptomatic VTE plus all-cause mortality was consistent across prespecified subgroups (age, gender, body weight, creatinine clearance) in the total treatment period. Compared with enoxaparin regimens, rivaroxaban reduces the composite of symptomatic VTE and all-cause mortality after elective THA or TKA, with a small increase in bleeding, no signs of compromised liver safety and fewer serious adverse events.
Mechanisms Underlying the Lack of Effect of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Therapy on Mortality in High-Risk Patients With Recent Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Dorian Paul , Hohnloser Stefan H. , Thorpe Kevin E. , Roberts Robin S. , Kuck Karl-Heinz , Gent Michael , Connolly Stuart J.
Published: December 2010

Background—

Although implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) lower mortality in stable patients with low ejection fraction late after myocardial infarction, randomized trials of ICD versus control subjects implanted early after myocardial infarction do not show mortality benefit. Our objective was to investigate possible mechanisms underlying the lack of mortality benefit in the Defibrillation in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (DINAMIT).

Methods and Results—

This is a secondary analysis of the prospective randomized clinical trial. Outpatients with recent (6 to 40 days) acute myocardial infarction, left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction <35%), and low heart rate variability were randomized to ICD (n=311) or to standard medical therapy (n=342). In a competing-risks analysis, those factors that increased the risk of arrhythmic death also increased the risk of nonarrhythmic deaths. After adjustment for these factors, receiving an ICD was associated with a decreased risk of arrhythmic death (hazard ratio, 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.15 to 0.71) but an increase in nonarrhythmic death (hazard ratio, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 2.80). In an adjusted time-dependent analysis, patients receiving an ICD and having appropriate ICD therapy had a 15.1% yearly hazard of mortality compared with 5.2% in ICD patients with no appropriate therapy (
P
<0.001). The reduction in sudden death in ICD patients was completely offset by increased nonarrhythmic deaths, which were greatest in patients receiving ICD shock therapy (hazard ratio, 6.0; 95% confidence interval, 2.8 to 12.7).

Conclusions—

In patients receiving ICDs early after myocardial infarction, those factors that are associated with arrhythmia requiring ICD therapy are also associated with a high risk of nonsudden death, negating the benefit of ICDs in this setting.
Autonomic Denervation With Magnetic Nanoparticles
Authors: Yu Lilei , Scherlag Benjamin J. , Dormer Kenneth , Nguyen Kytai T. , Pope Carey , Fung Kar-Ming , Po Sunny S.
Published: December 2010

Background—

Prior studies indicated that ablation of the 4 major atrial ganglionated plexi (GP) suppressed atrial fibrillation.

Methods and Results—

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) made of Fe
3
O
4
(core), thermoresponsive polymeric hydrogel (shell), and neurotoxic agent (N-isopropylacrylamide monomer [NIPA-M]) were synthesized. In 23 dogs, a right thoracotomy exposed the anterior right GP (ARGP) and inferior right GP (IRGP). The sinus rate and ventricular rate slowing responses to high-frequency stimulation (20 Hz, 0.1 ms) were used as the surrogate for the ARGP and IRGP functions, respectively. In 6 dogs, MNPs carrying 0.4 mg NIPA-M were injected into the ARGP. In 4 other dogs, a cylindrical magnet (2600 G) was placed epicardially on the IRGP. MNPs carrying 0.8 mg NIPA-M were then infused into the circumflex artery supplying the IRGP. The hydrogel shell reliably contracted in vitro at temperatures ≥37°C, releasing NIPA-M. MNPs injected into the ARGP suppressed high-frequency stimulation–induced sinus rate slowing response (40±8% at baseline; 21±9% at 2 hours;
P
=0.006). The lowest voltage of ARGP high-frequency stimulation inducing atrial fibrillation was increased from 5.9±0.8 V (baseline) to 10.2±0.9 V (2 hours;
P
=0.009). Intracoronary infusion of MNPs suppressed the IRGP but not ARGP function (ventricular rate slowing: 57±8% at baseline, 20±8% at 2 hours;
P
=0.002; sinus rate slowing: 31±7% at baseline, 33±8% at 2 hours;
P
=0.604). Prussian Blue staining revealed MNP aggregates only in the IRGP, not the ARGP.

Conclusions—

Intravascularly administered MNPs carrying NIPA-M can be magnetically targeted to the IRGP and reduce GP activity presumably by the subsequent release of NIPA-M. This novel targeted drug delivery system can be used intravascularly for targeted autonomic denervation.
Aspirin Plus Clopidogrel Versus Aspirin Alone After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Kulik Alexander , Le May Michel R. , Voisine Pierre , Tardif Jean-Claude , DeLarochelliere Robert , Naidoo Sarika , Wells George A. , Mesana Thierry G. , Ruel Marc
Published: December 2010

Background—

Clopidogrel inhibits intimal hyperplasia in animal studies and therefore may reduce saphenous vein graft (SVG) intimal hyperplasia after coronary artery bypass grafting. The Clopidogrel After Surgery for Coronary Artery DiseasE (CASCADE) study was undertaken to evaluate whether the addition of clopidogrel to aspirin inhibits SVG disease after coronary artery bypass grafting, as assessed at 1 year by intravascular ultrasound.

Methods and Results—

In this double-blind phase II trial, 113 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with SVGs were randomized to receive aspirin 162 mg plus clopidogrel 75 mg daily or aspirin 162 mg plus placebo daily for 1 year. The primary outcome was SVG intimal hyperplasia (mean intimal area) as determined by intravascular ultrasound at 1 year. Secondary outcomes were graft patency, major adverse cardiovascular events, and major bleeding. One-year intravascular ultrasound and coronary angiography were performed in 92 patients (81.4%). At 1 year, SVG intimal area did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (4.1±2.0 versus 4.5±2.1 mm
2
, aspirin-clopidogrel versus aspirin-placebo,
P
=0.44). Overall 1-year graft patency was 95.2% in the aspirin-clopidogrel group compared with 95.5% in the aspirin-placebo group (
P
=0.90), and SVG patency was 94.3% in the aspirin-clopidogrel group versus 93.2% in the aspirin-placebo group (
P
=0.69). Freedom from major adverse cardiovascular events at 1 year was 92.9±3.4% in the aspirin-clopidogrel group and 91.1±3.8% in the aspirin-placebo group (
P
=0.76). The incidence of major bleeding at 1 year was similar for the 2 groups (1.8% versus 0%, aspirin-clopidogrel versus aspirin-placebo,
P
=0.50).

Conclusions—

Compared with aspirin monotherapy, the combination of aspirin plus clopidogrel did not significantly reduce the process of SVG intimal hyperplasia 1 year after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00228423.
The Daily Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Flash Density in the Contiguous United States and Finland
Authors: Mäkelä Antti , Rossi Pekka , Schultz David M.
Published: December 2010

A method is developed to quantify thunderstorm intensity according to cloud-to-ground lightning flashes (hereafter ground flashes) determined by a lightning-location sensor network. The method is based on the ground flash density ND per thunderstorm day (ground flashes per square kilometer per thunderstorm day) calculated on 20 km × 20 km fixed squares. Because the square size roughly corresponds to the area covered by a typical thunderstorm, the flash density for one square defines a unit thunderstorm for the purposes of this study. This method is tested with ground flash data obtained from two nationwide lightning-location systems: the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) in the contiguous United States and the portion of the Nordic Lightning Information System (NORDLIS) in Finland. The distribution of daily ground flash density ND is computed for all of Finland and four 800 000 km2 regions in the United States (identified as western, central, eastern, and Florida). Although Finland and all four U.S. regions have median values of ND of 0.01–0.03 flashes per square kilometer per thunderstorm day—indicating that most thunderstorms produce relatively few ground flashes regardless of geographical region—the most intense 1% of the storms (as measured by the 99th percentiles of the ND distributions within each region) show much larger differences among regions. For example, the most intense 1% of the ND distributions is 1.3 flashes per square kilometer per thunderstorm day in the central U.S. region, but only 0.2 flashes per square kilometer per thunderstorm day in Finland. The spatial distribution of the most intense 1% of the ND distributions illustrates that the most intense thunderstorm days occur in the central United States and upper Midwest, which differs from the maxima of the average annual flash density NA and the number of thunderstorm days TD, both of which occur in Florida and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. This method for using ND to quantify thunderstorm intensity is applicable to any region as long as the detection efficiency of the lightning-location network is high enough or known. This method can also be employed in operational forecasting to provide a quantitative measure of the lightning intensity of thunderstorms relative to climatology.
The GloSea4 Ensemble Prediction System for Seasonal Forecasting
Authors: Arribas Alberto , Glover M. , Maidens A. , Peterson K. , Gordon M. , MacLachlan C. , Graham R. , Fereday D. , Camp J. , Scaife A. A. , Xavier P. , McLean P. , Colman A. , Cusack S.
Published: December 2010

Seasonal forecasting systems, and related systems for decadal prediction, are crucial in the development of adaptation strategies to climate change. However, despite important achievements in this area in the last 10 years, significant levels of skill are only generally found over regions strongly connected with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. With the aim of improving the skill of regional climate predictions in tropical and extratropical regions from intraseasonal to interannual time scales, a new Met Office global seasonal forecasting system (GloSea4) has been developed. This new system has been designed to be flexible and easy to upgrade so it can be fully integrated within the Met Office model development infrastructure. Overall, the analysis here shows an improvement of GloSea4 when compared to its predecessor. However, there are exceptions, such as the increased model biases that contribute to degrade the skill of Niño-3.4 SST forecasts starting in November. Global ENSO teleconnections and Madden–Julian oscillation anomalies are well represented in GloSea4. Remote forcings of the North Atlantic Oscillation by ENSO and the quasi-biennial oscillation are captured albeit the anomalies are weaker than those found in observations. Hindcast length issues and their implications for seasonal forecasting are also discussed.
Testing the Stability of Crime Patterns: Implications for Theory and Policy
Authors: Andresen Martin A. , Malleson Nicolas
Published: December 2010

Recent research in the ‘‘crime at places’’ literature is concerned with smaller units of analysis than conventional spatial criminology. An important issue is whether the spatial patterns observed in conventional spatial criminology focused on neighborhoods remain when the analysis shifts to street segments. In this article, the authors use a new spatial point pattern test that identifies the similarity in spatial point patterns. This test is local in nature such that the output can be mapped showing where differences are present. Using this test, the authors investigate the stability of crime patterns moving from census tracts to dissemination areas to street segments. The authors find that general crime patterns are somewhat similar at all spatial scales, but finer scales of analysis reveal significant variations within larger units. This result demonstrates the importance of analyzing crime patterns at small scales and has important implications for further theoretical development and policy implementation.
The Role of Nutritional Genomics in Developing an Optimal Diet for Humans
Authors: DeBusk Ruth
Published: December 2010

As the focus of nutrition research increasingly shifts to defining what optimal health is for humans and how to achieve it, interest in nutritional genomics is growing. Among the expectations for this field is the ability to match foods to the individual's genetically determined ability to digest, absorb, and use the nutrients within those foods. Avoiding foods that are not an appropriate match and focusing on those with a positive impact on health promises to be an important aspect of achieving optimal health. The challenge, however, is to determine what that match is for the human species and, ultimately, for each individual. This review explores how earlier research using nutritional genomics and a model system approach has been used to investigate gene‐diet interactions successfully and how this approach might affect the quest for an optimal human diet.
Paleolithic Nutrition
Authors: Konner Melvin , Eaton S. Boyd
Published: December 2010

A quarter century has passed since the first publication of the evolutionary discordance hypothesis, according to which departures from the nutrition and activity patterns of our hunter‐gatherer ancestors have contributed greatly and in specifically definable ways to the endemic chronic diseases of modern civilization. Refinements of the model have changed it in some respects, but anthropological evidence continues to indicate that ancestral human diets prevalent during our evolution were characterized by much lower levels of refined carbohydrates and sodium, much higher levels of fiber and protein, and comparable levels of fat (primarily unsaturated fat) and cholesterol. Physical activity levels were also much higher than current levels, resulting in higher energy throughput. We said at the outset that such evidence could only suggest testable hypotheses and that recommendations must ultimately rest on more conventional epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies. Such studies have multiplied and have supported many aspects of our model, to the extent that in some respects, official recommendations today have targets closer to those prevalent among hunter‐gatherers than did comparable recommendations 25 years ago. Furthermore, doubts have been raised about the necessity for very low levels of protein, fat, and cholesterol intake common in official recommendations. Most impressively, randomized controlled trials have begun to confirm the value of hunter‐gatherer diets in some high‐risk groups, even as compared with routinely recommended diets. Much more research needs to be done, but the past quarter century has proven the interest and heuristic value, if not yet the ultimate validity, of the model.
Diet and Inflammation
Authors: Galland Leo
Published: December 2010

The emerging role of chronic inflammation in the major degenerative diseases of modern society has stimulated research into the influence of nutrition and dietary patterns on inflammatory indices. Most human studies have correlated analyses of habitual dietary intake as determined by a food frequency questionnaire or 24‐hour recall with systemic markers of inflammation like high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (HS‐CRP), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α). An occasional study also includes nutrition analysis of blood components. There have been several controlled interventions which evaluated the effect of a change in dietary pattern or of single foods on inflammatory markers in defined populations. Most studies reveal a modest effect of dietary composition on some inflammatory markers in free‐living adults, although different markers do not vary in unison. Significant dietary influences have been established for glycemic index (GI) and load (GL), fiber, fatty acid composition, magnesium, carotenoids, and flavonoids. A traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, which typically has a high ratio of monounsaturated (MUFA) to saturated (SFA) fats and ω‐3 to ω‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and supplies an abundance of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, has shown anti‐inflammatory effects when compared with typical North American and Northern European dietary patterns in most observational and interventional studies and may become the diet of choice for diminishing chronic inflammation in clinical practice.
Forgotten paths: culture and ethnicity in Catalan mental health policies (1900-39)
Authors: Comelles Josep M
Published: December 2010

Between 1900 and 1939 the regional government in Catalonia discussed a complete reform of the psychiatric institutions inherited from the nineteenth century. The debate was centred on the Spanish government’s lack of interest in mental health policies and the growing demand for services. The projects developed between 1900 and 1939 opened a wide-ranging discussion on the role of ethnic and cultural factors in shaping mental illness, and the need to adapt the new facilities to the ethnic features of Catalonia. This study explores the production of Catalan psychiatric discourses and their ideological roots, and the development of public policies up to the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936—39). The paper concludes with a discussion of the influence of pre-war Catalan mental health policies on the wartime practice of psychiatry and, later, on the development of the French psychothérapie institutionnelle after World War II.
Diagnostic politics: the curious case of Kanner’s syndrome
Authors: Jacobsen Kurt
Published: December 2010

The consensus US (not European) narrative regarding diagnosis and aetiology of autism posits that misguided ‘parent-blaming’ psychogenic causes were supplanted due to solid research proving the presence of organic causes. Yet, upon scrutiny, it is questionable that the high-functioning, often high-IQ minority — about 15% of those labelled autistic — whose condition Kanner in 1943 first dubbed ‘infantile autism’ were absorbed into the ‘autistic spectrum’ on the basis of scientific evidence. Extra-scientific factors must be addressed in order to understand the status of the category today.
‘Divisions of Personality and Spiritism’ by Alfred Binet (1896)
Authors: Alvarado Carlos S
Published: December 2010

During the nineteenth century such individuals as Alfred Binet (1857—1911), who is the author of this Classic Text, conducted clinical and research work that led to the development and refinement of ideas about the subconscious mind and dissociation. The work concentrated on hysterical blindness, hypnosis, spontaneous somnambulism, and double and multiple personality. Another phenomenon that focused thinking on the topic was mediumship. The Classic Text is an excerpt from Binet’s writings that illustrates how a representative of French abnormal psychology used mediumship to defend his particular ideas about the mind. The excerpt is taken from the English language translation, published in 1896, of Binet’s Les Altérations de la personnalité (1892).
Global Technology Markets
Authors: Petrusson Ulf , Rosén Henrik , Thornblad Tobias
Published: December 2010

This article analyses Open Intellectual Property (IP) platforms—where multiple stakeholders collaborate, package and transact upon technology in systems with ‘venture-market hybrid’ characteristics.

Activities on these platforms typically include collective gathering, creation and development of knowledge assets to which openness is regulated through the determined level of access, ownership and utilisation rights. We analyse how IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) and contracts operate as a set of self-regulatory tools in the construction of platforms where technology is accessed openly but still is priced on what could be described as technology markets. A case study of the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) platform illustrates a transition over time as a new logic for collaborative, market-based development coalesces. To further understand the underlying building blocks and enabling legal tools that provide the foundation for open IP platforms a framework is suggested. By applying the framework to the Innovative Medicines Initiative platform the tools that govern openness and stimulate creation of new knowledge markets are made visible.
The Use of Agents in Recruiting Chinese Undergraduates
Authors: Serra Hagedorn Linda , Zhang 'Leaf' Yi
Published: December 2010

An education agent is a third-party entity who is paid to assist a student to find, apply to, and/or prepare for college. In China, agents are often hired to assist students in finding an international institution fitting their academic goals. Although using an agent has been a common practice in China, there is virtually no research regarding the balance of costs and benefits of using an agent, nor is there evidence of any examination if Chinese students have been well served by their agents when applying to a foreign institution. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this study intends to provide a better understanding about Chinese students’ rationale of using, or not using, an agent; their expectation of using an agent; major problems related to the application process; and factors that most defined or discriminated the two groups of students in terms of using or not using an agent.
Student Recruitment at International Branch Campuses: Can They Compete in the Global Market?
Authors: Wilkins Stephen , Huisman Jeroen
Published: December 2010

The majority of international branch campuses are located in competitive higher education hubs, such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Many find themselves having to recruit students regionally, and some, even globally, which results in them competing head-to-head with the home campuses of well-respected Western universities. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing the decision of international students to study at a particular university in the United Kingdom and to investigate their attitudes toward international branch campuses. The study involved a self-completed questionnaire administered to 160 international students. A logit model was developed that was able to significantly predict whether an individual student would consider study at an international branch campus. Reputation, quality of programmes, and rankings were found to be the strongest influences on student choice of institution, suggesting that these are the factors that international branch campuses should focus on to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
From Poetry to Music: Northern Lullaby
Authors: Berger Cardany Audrey
Published: December 2010

Nancy White Carlstrom’s children’s book, Northern Lullaby, conjures through poetry the beauty of the Alaskan landscape in the evening. The book provides an opportunity for music teachers to help their students transform text and visual images to music. The author describes connections for reading comprehension in the general music classroom and suggests music lessons for upper elementary and middle school students.
Viewing the Language of Space: Organizational Spaces, Power, and Resistance in Popular Films
Authors: Panayiotou Alexia , Kafiris Krini
Published: December 2010

Working within the tradition that sees space as narrative, in this paper we argue that the way space is constructed in popular films frames certain meanings about corporations that reflect the way that power relations are produced and reproduced in organizational contexts. We see power in Foucaultian terms and analyze the relationship of space and power in regard to three interrelated dimensions: the power enacted by the individuals in space, the symbolic power enacted by organizations through the use of space, and the power that space carries in and of itself so that space structures (or restructures) relationships. At the same time, we discuss how resistance is enabled in organizations both despite and due to space. Although physical space is often seen as a source of organizational power, both physically and symbolically, its relationship to resistance is much less well understood. We focus then on how the constitution of a “resistant subject” becomes central to the narrative about organizational space and how the subject’s acts highlight the notion that power and resistance are not analytical opposites but rather semiological co-constructions, accessed through the physical and mental space provided by film.
A phase 2, 24-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study examining the efficacy and safety of an anti-interleukin-12 and -23 monoclonal antibody in patients with relapsing–remitting or secondary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Vollmer Timothy L , Wynn Daniel R , Alam M Shamsul , Valdes Joaquin
Published: December 2010

Background: Interleukins 12 and 23 (IL-12/23) have been implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of ABT-874, a monoclonal anti-IL-12/23 antibody, in active relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) or secondary progressive MS (SPMS).

Methods: In this 24-week study, patients with RRMS or SPMS received ABT-874 200 mg every other week (EOW), ABT-874 200 mg every week (EW), or placebo. The cumulative number of gadolinium-enhanced lesions, relapse rate, disability progression, and adverse events were measured.

Results: 215 patients were randomized (ABT-874 200 mg EOW, N = 76; ABT-874 200 mg EW, N = 70; placebo, N = 69). At week 24, gadolinium-enhanced lesions were statistically significantly reduced with ABT-874 200 mg EOW vs. placebo (mean number [SD]: 5.4 [8.1] vs. 7.6 [14.4], p = 0.003), but not with ABT-874 200 mg EW (6.8 [11.3], p = 0.134). Mean relapse rate (relapses/y) was significantly lower for ABT-874 200 mg EW vs. placebo (0.1 [95% CI −0.0, 0.3] vs. 0.5 [0.2, 0.8], p = 0.007). Changes from baseline in disability scores and incidences of adverse events were not significantly different across treatment groups, although a numerically greater percentage of serious adverse events was reported for ABT-874 treatment groups.

Conclusions: Although rates of adverse events were not significantly different between ABT-874 treatment groups and placebo, the magnitude of ABT-874 efficacy was less than that observed with other agents currently in development for MS treatment. Anti-IL-12/23 monotherapy does not appear to warrant further testing as monotherapy treatment for MS.
‘I have my own picture of what the demands are ... ’: Grading in Swedish PEH — problems of validity, comparability and fairness
Authors: Annerstedt Claes , Larsson Staffan
Published: December 2010

The main purpose of this study is to focus on Swedish PE teachers’ experiences with a criterion-referenced grading system and its practical consequences. It aims specifically at investigating the dimensionality of grades and how teacher reason and effectuate when grading students. The study consists of two parts: quantitative data collection of grades in PE given between 2000 and 2009 and 20 semi-structured interviews with PE teachers that were analyzed qualitatively. The study has shown that the principles of fair and equitable grading in Swedish PE should be strongly questioned due to lack of transparency, validity and reliability. Grading in Swedish PE seems to be arbitrary and the grading system is not accessible or transparent to the students.
Motivational profiles for secondary school physical education and its relationship to the adoption of a physically active lifestyle among university students
Authors: Haerens Leen , Kirk David , Cardon Greet , De Bourdeaudhuij Ilse , Vansteenkiste Maarten
Published: December 2010

The promotion of an active lifestyle is one of the central aims of physical education (PE). The present study aimed at investigating the relation between students’ motivation for PE and activity levels using self-determination theory as a guiding framework. A retrospective design was used involving 2617 university students, of which 878 (33.5 percent) were male (age 20.6 1.9). Validated questionnaires were used to measure motivation for PE, self-reported concurrent (activity levels at secondary school) and delayed transfer (activity levels at university). A combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analyses was used to generate motivational profiles for PE. Differences in activity levels were analysed using MANCOVAS. The results revealed that students with more optimal (i.e. more autonomous) motivational profiles reported more transfer and reported being more active at secondary school and in early adulthood. Implementing strategies that enhance self-determined motivation might result in more students’ adopting an active lifestyle.
Physical activity patterns in Portuguese adolescents: The contribution of extracurricular sports
Authors: Silva Pedro , Sousa Michael , Aires Luisa , Seabra André , Ribeiro José , Welk Gregory , Mota Jorge
Published: December 2010

In Portugal, two sports systems exist, one through schools and the other in community clubs. The purpose was to determine the impact of extra-curricular sports (EC sports) on boys’ and girls’ moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). 208 adolescents (79 boys and 129 girls), between 12 and 18 years old, wore an accelerometer over seven days. Four EC sport categories based on reported involvement were: no sports, school sports, club sports, both sports. Multivariable logistic regression was used to study the association of EC sports, age, gender and BMI on the adolescent’s MVPA. The school sport context was more relevant for girls than clubs sport; however the opposite pattern emerged for boys. BMI was not related to adolescent’s MVPA. EC sports increase the likelihood of achieving PA guidelines. The unique social and environmental contexts of school and club sports deserve additional attention in youth activity research.
Association between social and environmental factors and physical activity opportunities in middle schools
Authors: Furong Xu  , Chepyator-Thomson Jepkorir , Wenhao Liu  , Schmidlein Robert
Published: December 2010

School-based physical activity (PA) interventions impact children’s PA involvement and thus opportunities and associated factors for the promotion of physical activity in children need to be examined. The purpose of this study was to examine physical education teachers’ perceptions of PA opportunities available to students at the middle school level and indicate associated factors that might influence these opportunities. A questionnaire survey was administered to 292 public middle school teachers in 181 schools located in the southeastern region of the United States. The results of the study indicate the need for more PA opportunities for middle school children in order for them meeting the recommended daily PA involvement of 60 minutes. In addition, there were statistically significant associations between PA opportunities and facilities availability, school location, and family support, indicating that some social and environmental factors tend to impact students’ PA opportunities.
A Biopsychosocial Process Model of Health and Complaints in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Lämmle Lena , Worth Annette , Bös Klaus
Published: December 2010

The purpose of the study was to test a biopsychosocial process model based on theoretically and empirically supported factors previously found to influence health and complaints in children and adolescents. Participants ( N = 823) of the ages of nine, 14 or 18 were administered parts of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Questionnaire and a physical activity questionnaire. They subsequently underwent physical fitness tests and a medical examination. For complaints, direct and indirect influences over four levels (socioeconomic status, physical activity of relatives and peers, physical activity and physical fitness) were shown, but the findings did not hold for health. The interpretation of expected and unexpected results is discussed.
Experiences of adjusting to early stage Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Dennison Laura , Yardley Lucy , Devereux Angela , Moss-Morris Rona
Published: December 2010

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, unpredictable neurological disease. Little research has examined adjustment to living with MS, especially within early disease stages. We interviewed 30 people with early stage MS and analysed transcripts using thematic analysis. Early stage MS was typically considered difficult but manageable and was dealt with through positivity and practical strategies to preserve normal life. However, adjustment seemed precariously contingent on reasonable current and future health status. Participants described disinclination towards involvement in the stigmatized world of MS. Findings have implications for sensitive services for people with MS and question acceptance as a marker of appropriate adaptation.
The ‘popular’ culture of internet activism
Authors: Tatarchevskiy Tatiana
Published: December 2010

How does the internet contribute to changes in civic engagement in the USA? To answer this question we must examine the institutional context of US marketizing civil society and the cultures of good citizenship constructed online. Drawing upon the findings from a case study of ONE, a campaign targeting extreme poverty and the spread of AIDS, I demonstrate how the internet may function as a space of new divisions of labor between civil society organizational actors and lay activists. While organizational actors use Web 2.0 to make activism convenient and standardized, the public is asked to participate in what I term ‘visual labor’, creating and representing images of community online that legitimize the organization’s claims. At the same time, volunteer action is understood largely as performative. Ultimately, the article confronts the understanding of the internet as a post-bureaucratic democracy and emphasizes its cultural role in communicative capitalism.
Rethinking the public/virtual sphere: The problem with participation
Authors: Goldberg Greg
Published: December 2010

Responding to the long-standing interest of new media scholars in online participation as a mechanism for political and cultural democracy and empowerment, this article elaborates a critique of online participation. It examines the ways in which online participation has been economized at a fundamental level — the level at which data is transmitted — and argues that this economization draws into question the viability of a public/virtual sphere paradigm. In the process, it implicates public/virtual sphere scholarship in the production of a mode of power — vital or productive power — which has been under-examined in new media scholarship.
Mundane internet tools, mobilizing practices, and the coproduction of citizenship in political campaigns
Authors: Nielsen Rasmus Kleis
Published: December 2010

The internet’s potential for political mobilization has been highlighted for more than a decade, but we know little about what particular kinds of information and communication technologies are most important when it comes to getting people involved in politics and about what this means for the active exercise of engaged citizenship. On the basis of ethnographic research in two congressional campaigns in the USA, I will argue that specific mundane internet tools (like email) are much more deeply integrated into mobilizing practices today than emerging tools (like social networking sites) and specialized tools (like campaign websites). Campaigns’ reliance on mundane internet tools challenges the prevalent idea that sophisticated ‘hypermedia’ turn people into ‘managed citizens’. Instead, I suggest we theorize internet-assisted activism as a process for the coproduction of citizenship and recognize how dependent even well-funded political organizations are on the wider built communications environment and today’s relatively open internet.
Internet skills and the digital divide
Authors: van Deursen Alexander , van Dijk Jan
Published: December 2010

Because of the growing amount of information on the internet and people’s increasing dependence on information, internet skills should be considered as a vital resource in contemporary society. This article focuses on the differential possession of internet skills among the Dutch population. In two studies, an in-depth range of internet skills are measured by charging subjects assignments to be accomplished on the internet. Subjects were recruited by applying a random stratified sampling method over gender, age, and education. While the level of operational and formal internet skills appeared quite high, the level of information and strategic internet skills is questionable. Whereas education appeared an important contributor to all skill levels, age only appeared a significant contributor to operational and formal skills. The results strengthen the findings that the original digital divide of physical internet access has evolved into a divide that includes differences in skills to use the internet.
Judith Butler, incest, and the question of the child’s love
Authors: Kilby Jane
Published: December 2010

In contrast to Judith Herman, who understands incest exclusively in terms of power, Judith Butler insists on the importance of the child’s love for our understanding of incest. Butler’s thinking in this respect is suggestive but underdeveloped, while also holding considerable implications for how we might understand the role of violence in social life. This article develops and assesses her thinking on the child’s love and its relation to the question of violence and trauma more generally. At issue is the question of how we are to understand violence. Is it always motivated? Is it always destructive? And finally are there limits to what can be understood?
A Time-Series Study of the Treatment of Panic Disorder
Authors: Elkins Sara R. , Moore Todd M.
Published: December 2010

Although efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of panic disorder has been well documented, far fewer studies have investigated treatment outcome for panic disorder among real-world patients with a range of complicating factors. The current study employed a time-series approach to examine the effectiveness of CBT for panic disorder for a patient who sought services at a university psychology clinic. Following a 16-session CBT treatment protocol, the patient demonstrated significant decreases in self-reported distress, anxiety and panic symptoms, and worry about having a panic attack. Several qualitative changes were also notable following termination, including decreased tobacco and psychiatric medication usage as well as decreased comorbid depressive symptoms and agoraphobia behaviors. Outcomes were maintained 9 months post treatment. This study supports effectiveness of implementing a CBT approach to the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia among complex patients. Treatment implications and applications are discussed.
The Influence of Age-Related Cues on Health and Longevity
Authors: Hsu Laura M. , Chung Jaewoo , Langer Ellen J.
Published: December 2010

Environmental cues that signal aging may directly and indirectly prime diminished capacity. Similarly, the absence of these cues may prime improved health. The authors investigated the effects of age cues on health and longevity in five very different settings. The findings include the following: First, women who think they look younger after having their hair colored/cut show a decrease in blood pressure and appear younger in photographs (in which their hair is cropped out) to independent raters. Second, clothing is an age-related cue. Uniforms eliminate these age-related cues: Those who wear work uniforms have lower morbidity than do those who earn the same amount of money and do not wear work uniforms. Third, baldness cues old age. Men who bald prematurely see an older self and therefore age faster: Prematurely bald men have an excess risk of getting prostate cancer and coronary heart disease than do men who do not prematurely bald. Fourth, women who bear children later in life are surrounded by younger age-related cues: Older mothers have a longer life expectancy than do women who bear children earlier in life. Last, large spousal age differences result in age-incongruent cues: Younger spouses live shorter lives and older spouses live longer lives than do controls.
Venus and Mars or Down to Earth: Stereotypes and Realities of Gender Differences
Authors: Fiske Susan T.
Published: December 2010

Psychological scientists, like lay people, often think in categorical dichotomies that contrast men and women and exaggerate the differences between groups. These value-laden divides tend to privilege one side over the other, often to the advantage of the scientists' own identity group. Besides balancing perspectives in the academic marketplace of ideas, scientists can recognize the complexity of stigma. Gender, like many categories, entails two fundamental dimensions that characterize intergroup stigma (and all interpersonal perception): perceived warmth and competence. These dimensions identify groups viewed with ambivalence (e.g., traditional women are stereotypically warm but incompetent, whereas professional women are allegedly competent but cold). In gender and in other areas, psychological scientists can go beyond value-laden dichotomies and consider the fundamental, continuous dimensions along which we think about stigma.
A Retrospective Clinical Study of 188 Consecutive Patients to Examine the Effectiveness of a Biologically Active Cryopreserved Human Skin Allograft (TheraSkin ®) on the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Venous Leg Ulcers
Authors: Landsman Adam Scott , Cook Jeremy , Cook Emily , Landsman Arnold Robert , Garrett Philip , Yoon Joonhyun , Kirkwood Alfred , Desman Eric
Published: December 2010

A biologically active human skin allograft, currently distributed under the brand name TheraSkin®, was examined for safety and efficacy in the treatment of venous leg ulcers (VLUs) and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The objective was to determine if TheraSkin could serve as a safe and effective alternative to bioengineered skin substitutes such as Apligraf® and Dermagraft®. The authors conducted a retrospective study of 214 consecutive patients seen at the Inova Wound Center (Mt Vernon, Virginia), with either a DFU or a VLU. After excluding patients who did not meet the study criteria, the final eligible cohort consisted of 188 subjects, with 134 VLUs and 54 DFUs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between baseline wound size and the proportion of healed wounds after 12 and 20 weeks from initial allograft application. The authors found that by the 12th week, DFUs closed 60.38% of the time and VLUs closed 60.77% of the time. After 20 weeks, the number of closed DFUs increased to 74.1% and the number of VLUs increased to 74.6%. The mean wound size in the DFU group was 6.2 cm2 (±11.8) and 11.8 cm2 (±22.5) in the VLU group. The mean number of TheraSkin allografts required ranged from 1 to 8, with an average of 2.03 (±1.47) at the 12-week point and an average of 3.23 (±2.77) at the 20-week point. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of wound healing by week 12 and week 20 in each group. The authors also analyzed adverse events and found TheraSkin to be noncontributory to any adverse events, verifying the safety of TheraSkin in this study population. In this study, TheraSkin has been shown to be highly effective for the treatment of both VLUs and DFUs with an acceptable safety profile.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic, Level IV
Physiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in biofilms as revealed by transcriptome analysis
Authors: Folsom James P , Richards Lee , Pitts Betsey , Roe Frank , Ehrlich Garth D , Parker Albert , Mazurie Aurélien , Stewart Philip S
Published: December 2010

Background

Transcriptome analysis was applied to characterize the physiological activities ofPseudomonas aeruginosagrown for three days in drip-flow biofilm reactors. Conventional applications of transcriptional profiling often compare two paired data sets that differ in a single experimentally controlled variable. In contrast this study obtained the transcriptome of a single biofilm state, ranked transcript signals to make the priorities of the population manifest, and compared ranki ngs fora prioriidentified physiological marker genes between the biofilm and published data sets.

Results

Biofilms tolerated exposure to antibiotics, harbored steep oxygen concentration gradients, and exhibited stratified and heterogeneous spatial patterns of protein synthetic activity. Transcriptional profiling was performed and the signal intensity of each transcript was ranked to gain insight into the physiological state of the biofilm population. Similar rankings were obtained from data sets published in the GEO databasehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo. By comparing the rank of genes selected as markers for particular physiological activities between the biofilm and comparator data sets, it was possible to infer qualitative features of the physiological state of the biofilm bacteria. These biofilms appeared, from their transcriptome, to be glucose nourished, iron replete, oxygen limited, and growing slowly or exhibiting stationary phase character. Genes associated with elaboration of type IV pili were strongly expressed in the biofilm. The biofilm population did not indicate oxidative stress, homoserine lactone mediated quorum sensing, or activation of efflux pumps. Using correlations with transcript ranks, the average specific growth rate of biofilm cells was estimated to be 0.08 h-1.

Conclusions

Collectively these data underscore the oxygen-limited, slow-growing nature of the biofilm population and are consistent with antimicrobial tolerance due to low metabolic activity.