bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dream recall frequency and sleep quality of patients with restless legs syndrome
Authors: Schredl M.
Published: March 2003

The present study investigated the dream recall frequency and the pattern of influencing factors of patients with restless legs syndrome in comparison with healthy controls. The patients’ dream recall frequency did not differ from that of healthy controls. Dream recall, however, was negatively associated with the number of periodic leg movements with arousal (PLMAI). Subjective estimates of sleep quality or feeling of being refreshed in the morning, on the other hand, did not correlate with the PLMAI index. Whereas subjective sleep parameters were related to dream recall frequency in healthy controls, no substantial relationships were found in the patient group, except for the positive correlation between sleep latency and dream recall frequency. The results of the present study can not be interpreted as clear evidence for the arousal–retrieval model of dream recall; it seems plausible that other factors, e.g. the functional state of the brain, are of importance in explaining dream recall in this patient group.
Postgraduate education in neurology in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Bartoš A. , Kalvach P. , Trošt M. , Ertsey C. , Rejdak K. , Popov L. , Iuhtimovschi L. ,   the Postgraduate Education in Neurology Group at the first European Co‐operation Neurology Workshop
Published: March 2003

The policy of the European co‐operation in the new atmosphere of an international solidarity became one of the priorities of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS). It could be hardly pursued more efficiently in any other field of neurological performance as in education. To review several aspects of neurological practice and education the ‘First European Co‐operation Neurology Workshop’ was held in the castle of Třešt’, Czech Republic, 13–20 April 2000. Participants from 15 countries (Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia), covering a region of 316 million inhabitants and 25 000 neurologists, presented their national postgraduate education systems (besides other topics). We refer data on density of medical doctors and that of neurologists, pre‐board certification phase, board examination, continuing medical education (CME), and qualification rewards. Illustrative data were put in the comparative tables. This first meeting has founded the basis for a dynamic future collaboration in order to continue the integration process and an exchange of current information regarding CME amongst central and eastern countries as well as western Europe.
The prevalence of dementia and cognitive deficit in a rural population of 2442 residents in northern Italy. A door‐to‐door survey
Authors: Cristina S. , Nicolosi A. , Hauser W. A. , Leite M. L. C. , Gerosa E. , Nappi G.
Published: March 2003

A population study to estimate the prevalence of dementia was carried out amongst the residents of four rural towns near Pavia in northern Italy. The population included a 40% sample of the residents between 65 and 69 years old and all residents of 70 years old or older. A door‐to‐door neuropsychological screening was followed by neurological examination on individuals scoring low at the screening. Of the 1670 subjects who completed the screening, 42.3% scored under the cut‐off point. The prevalence of cognitive deficit was higher in women, even accounting for age. Of those who scored under the cut‐off point, 336 underwent neurological examination, yielding a prevalence of dementia of 15% (from 1.6% between the ages of 65 and 69; 35% at the age of 85) in women and 5% (from 7% between the ages of 75 and 79; 27% at the age of 85 or more) in men.
Encephalitis associated with motor polyneuropathy
Authors: Kim H.‐J. , Chun J.‐U. , Chu K. , Lee Y.‐S. , Nam H. , Park S.‐H.
Published: March 2003

We describe three patients with acute encephalitis and motor‐dominant polyneuropathy. All three patients were in their middle age and presented with features of encephalopathy with flu like illness. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies showed lymphocytic pleocytosis with increased protein. Brain magnetic resonance imagings (MRIs) showed symmetric high signal intensities in bilateral mesial temporal lobes and bilateral thalami in all patients. All three patients became quadriplegic and areflexic within two hospital days (HDs) and electrophysiologic studies revealed motor polyneuropathy. Viral or atypical bacterial infection was suspected, but no causative agent could be found. One patient expired on the twentieth hospital day, and the other two patients showed no or little improvement. To our knowledge, this combination of acute encephalitis with motor polyneuropathy has not been reported.
Disorders in intentional gestural organization in Alzheimer’s disease: combined or selective impairment of the conceptual and production systems?
Authors: Blondel A. , Desgranges B. , De La Sayette V. , Schaeffer S. , Benali K. , Lechevalier B. , Viader F. , Eustache F.
Published: March 2003

This study examines disorders which affect the intentional gestural organization in Alzheimer’s disease. An original and prospective protocol which assessed both the conceptual and production systems (with reference to the Roy and Square model 1985) was presented to 16 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (mild to moderate dementia) and 40 healthy elderly subjects. Our study showed impairment of both systems in the Alzheimer’s patients group. Two patients presented reverse performance profiles, which were characterized in one case by preservation of the conceptual system and impairment of the production system and in the other by the reverse dissociation. The findings demonstrated that disorders in the intentional gestural organization in Alzheimer’s disease usually affect both the conceptual and production systems. The hypothesis concerning the existence of two functionally distinct systems underlying the organization of intentional body movement was corroborated (1) by a lack of significant correlation between the scores obtained in the assessment of the two systems and (2) by the demonstration of the double dissociation.
Treatment of relative sialorrhoea with botulinum toxin type A: description and rationale for an injection procedure with case report
Authors: Glickman S. , Deaney C. N.
Published: March 2003

This paper describes a technique for treatment of relative sialorrhoea by injection of botulinum toxin type A. It includes the rationale for treatment, a description of the regional anatomy, the physiological basis for treatment and the applied pharmacology of the drug. Included also is a case report which is intended to provide an illustration of the benefits of using this method for treating this condition.
Neurosexology
Authors: Lundberg P.O. , Ertekin C. , Ghezzi A. , Swash M. , Vodusek D.
Published: March 2003

Background

Sexual function can be altered in patients by many neurological disorders affecting the cerebrum, the brain stem, the spinal cord, the spinal roots or the peripheral nerves. It can also be prominently affected in patients with an underlying undiagnosed neurological disease. Traditionally, practising neurologists have not paid much attention to sexual dysfunction in their patients, partly because therapeutic possibilities were scant. Sexual dysfunction, however, is observed in many neurological disorders, and may arise as a primary neurogenic disorder. Although not as obviously limiting as, for instance, paresis and pain, it is most disruptive for patients' lives. With emerging awareness of the primary importance of quality of life as the most important indicator of good patient management, and with the advent of more effective treatment of sexual dysfunction, it is no longer acceptable to ignore this very important dimension of life.

In this review we will present the anatomical and physiological basis of the sexual response, the clinical approach to patients with sexual dysfunction, the characteristics of symptoms in neurological disorders, how to take a case history, diagnostic procedures and the treatment possibilities.
The symptomatic treatment of multiple system atrophy
Authors: Colosimo C. , Pezzella F. R.
Published: March 2003

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease of undetermined aetiology that occurs sporadically and manifests itself as a combination of parkinsonian, autonomic, cerebellar and pyramidal signs. Despite the lack of any effective therapy to reverse this condition, some of the symptoms may be, at least temporarily, improved with adequate symptomatic therapies. Medical treatment is largely aimed at mitigating the parkinsonian and autonomic features. The therapeutic results of levodopa therapy in cases of MSA are difficult to interpret because of their variability. Nevertheless, the statement that patients with MSA are non or poorly levodopa‐responsive is misleading. Clinical and pathologically proven series document about 40–60% levodopa efficacy in patients with MSA presenting with predominant parkinsonian features. Unfortunately, other antiparkinsonian compounds (dopamine agonists, amantadine) are not more effective than levodopa. Orthostatic hypotension (OH) can be suspected from the patient's history and subsequently documented in the clinic by measuring lying and standing blood pressure. The diagnosis ideally should be confirmed in the laboratory with additional tests to determine the cause and evaluate the functional deficit, so as to aid treatment. A variety of pharmacological agents with different mechanisms of action have been used in MSA to reduce OH when this is symptomatic. OH can also be alleviated by avoiding aggravating factors, such as the effects of food, micturition, exposure to a warm environment and physiological diurnal changes and by using other non‐pharmacological strategies. The treatment of the very common genito‐urinary symptoms (incontinence, retention, impotence) should also be considered in order to improve the quality of life of these patients.
Thymectomy and anti‐muscle autoantibodies in late‐onset myasthenia gravis
Authors: Romi F. , Gilhus N. E. , Varhaug J. E. , Myking A. , Skeie G. O. , Aarli J. A.
Published: March 2003

Thymectomy is still widely carried out in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients, but its role, especially in late‐onset MG patients, is not established. These patients are immunologically heterogeneous, some with thymoma‐like and others with early onset‐like features. We evaluated whether any therapeutic effects of thymectomy correlate with the presence of non‐acetylcholine receptor (AChR) muscle antibodies. The severity of MG, and titin and ryanodine receptor (RyR) antibodies, were assessed yearly starting from MG onset in 21 thymectomized and 22 non‐thymectomized AChR antibody positive late‐onset MG patients, who were followed for 2, 3 and 5 years. Clinical or pharmacological remission were seen in six of 11 titin antibody negative but none of the 10 titin antibody positive thymectomized patients, however, the non‐thymectomized cases showed an opposite trend. The three MG‐related deaths were all in patients with titin antibodies. There was no significant difference in MG severity between thymectomized and non‐thymectomized patients; 2 years after MG onset, both groups were significantly improved. This study showed no dramatic benefit from thymectomy in late‐onset MG in general. Any limited improvement appeared less likely in cases with titin and/or RyR antibodies.
The position of the neurologist in neuro‐oncology1
Authors: Grisold W. , Heimans J. J. , Postma T. J. , Grant R. , Soffietti R. ,   The Neuro‐oncology Panel of the EFNS
Published: March 2003

Neuro‐oncology is a growing new subspeciality with a strong interdisciplinary character. This position paper explains the role of neurology in the multidisciplinary field of neurosurgeons, radiotherapists and general oncologists, dealing with neuro‐oncological patients. The paper delineates the varied spectrum of the field of neuro‐oncology which expands from primary brain tumours, to metastatic and non‐metastatic effects of systemic cancer on the central and peripheral nervous system, neurotoxicity due to cancer treatment and issues of quality of life. It has been written by the scientific neuro‐oncology panel of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) to delineate the situation of neuro‐oncology in Europe, and facilitate the understanding and implementation of this subspeciality in the future.
A teenager epilepsy clinic: observational study
Authors: Smith P. E. M. , Myson V. , Gibbon F.
Published: March 2003

Teenagers with epilepsy are a group with special needs whom we have specifically targeted in our clinical practice. All teenagers referred to our unit between 1997 and 2001 with definite or probable epilepsy, were considered for assessment by an adult neurologist and paediatric neurologist working together in a dedicated monthly clinic. A total of 207 patients aged 11–22 (mean 16.0) years, 95 male, were seen over 46 months. Epilepsy was our diagnosis in 173 (84%), classified as generalized (n=76), focal (n=70), or unclassified (n=27). Four others had had single seizures. `Non‐epilepsy' diagnoses (n=30) included vasovagal syncope in 17, non‐epileptic attack disorder in six, and migraine in three; epilepsy had been erroneously diagnosed previously in eight of these. Existing antiepileptic drug treatment, or lack of it, was considered appropriate in 165 of the 207 patients. Major changes to medication made in 42 patients included new prescriptions for those previously untreated (n=28), changing type of medication (n=6), and stopping medication (n=8). Antiepileptic medication was withheld in 21 despite epilepsy or single seizure. All patients received appropriate advice on driving, contraception, and alcohol, and were offered further specialist nurse appointments. Of the 86 females on antiepileptic medication at the time of consultation, only 12 were already taking folate supplements. The clinic had an important role in confirming diagnosis, ensuring appropriate management, information provision and aiding seamless transition to adult epilepsy care.
Open Facilities for Training in European Neurology (OFTEN): a European Board of Neurology initiative
Authors: Gilhus N. E. , Federico A. , Grisold W. , Müller L. , Lopes Lima J. M.
Published: March 2003

The European Board of Neurology has established Open Facilities for Training in European Neurology (OFTEN) by creating a databank of excellent or good neurological departments from 14 European countries willing to receive trainees from abroad (http://www.uems.be/neuro.htm). Further expansion of this databank with an increased number of participating departments and countries is planned. The databank should make it easier both to find a relevant department for training abroad and to obtain funding from various sources. No financial support is available in the program itself. The ultimate aim of this cross‐European training is to improve neurological skill, knowledge and attitude. It will also promote European co‐operation and harmonization in quality of care.
A French cluster of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease: a molecular analysis
Authors: Beaudry P. , Parchi P. , Peoc'h K. , Desbordes P. , Dartigues J.‐F. , Vital A. , Vital C. , Capellari S. , Gambetti P. , Delasnerie‐Lauprêtre N. , Mary J. Y. , Laplanche J.‐L.
Published: March 2003

We report the molecular and phenotypic analysis of a French cluster of three cases of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD), two of them occurring in 1998 in the same village and the other in 1995 in a neighboring village. Analyses of the occurrence of these events in a close area with less than 3000 inhabitants over the 1992–1999 notification period confirmed that they are rare. This could be explained either by a common source of contamination or by the coincidental occurrence of either sporadic or genetic CJD. We applied genetic analysis and brain PrPres typing to explore these CJD cases. The three patients did not carry any mutation in their prion protein gene coding sequence. All were homozygous for methionine at the polymorphic codon 129. Brain tissue was available from two cases that died in 1998. The two patients showed different PrPres profiles on Western blot and distinct clinico‐pathological features. These findings do not support the conclusion that in these three cases, CJD was acquired from a unique source of contamination and suggest that concurrent occurrence of sporadic CJD accounted for this CJD cluster.
Intracerebral haemorrhage as a manifestation of Lyme Neuroborreliosis?
Authors: Scheid R. , Hund‐Georgiadis M. , Von Cramon D. Y.
Published: March 2003

Lyme Neuroborreliosis (LNB) has repeatedly been reported to cause cerebral vasculitis. However, there is no reliable information about the incidence of cerebral vessel affection. The majority of reports deal with ischaemic consequences, and there are a few reports of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). We report a case of otherwise unexplained intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) where clinical and laboratory tests have shown LNB. Late stage LNB might not only cause ischaemic, but haemorrhagic stroke as well.
The basis for day and night‐time control of symptoms of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Chaudhuri K. Ray
Published: March 2003

While optimal treatment strategies are widely established for daytime treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), nighttime problems of PD are often not adequately addressed in clinical practice. Nocturnal/sleep disturbance is common in PD and occurs due to a combination of the disease process and effect of dopaminergic and other treatments. The role of dopamine and other neuropeptides such as hypocretin is being investigated in the causation of sleep problems in PD. The impact of sleep dysfunction in PD on daytime fatigue and sleepiness is also being explored as such issues have important implications. The recently described Parkinson's disease sleep scale aims to measure the causes of sleep dysfunction in PD in a semi‐quantitative manner and using this scale we have shown that sustained dopaminergic stimulation initiated at bedtime may help with improving motor symptoms at night and secondarily improve sleep and daytime functioning in PD.
Sumatriptan Inhibits Neurogenic Vasodilation of Dural Blood Vessels in the Anaesthetized Rat—Intravital Microscope Studies
Authors: Williamson DJ , Hargreaves RJ , Hill RG , Shepheard SL
Published: March 2003

This study used intravital microscopy to measure the diameter of dural arteries in anaesthetized rats. Electrical stimulation of the surface of a closed cranial window produced increases in dural vessel diameter which were blocked by the CGRP receptor antagonist human-CGRP(8–37) but unaffected by the NK1 receptor antagonist RP67580. Sumatriptan (3 and 0 mg kg-1, iv) significantly reduced the response to electrical stimulation. In contrast, sumatriptan (3 mg kg-1) had no effects on the response to exogenously administered CGRP. These results indicate that neurokinins play no role in neurogenic vasodilation in this preparation and that neurogenic vasodilation in rat dural vessels is mediated predominantly by CGRP. Furthermore, the data indicate that sumatriptan attenuates neurogenic vasodilation, probably by inhibiting the release of CGRP from perivascular trigeminal nerve endings innervating the dura. These experimental data parallel the clinical findings that CGRP levels are elevated in migraine and normalized, concomitantly with headache relief, by sumatriptan.
Problem solving in small multidisciplinary teams: a means of improving the quality of the communication environment for people with profound learning disability
Authors: Dobson Susan , Dodsworth Susan , Miller Maureen
Published: March 2003

Nurses and speech and language therapists who work with adults with profound learning disabilities frequently experience difficulties with mutual interprofessional role expectations. These stresses arise because of the unique fluid and temporal nature of the multidisciplinary teams in day care settings. The unit in which the present project occurred was very successful in attracting community visitors. A previously identified problem was the effect that these visitors had on the continuity of the communication environment. The pilot project had shown that the staff team needed to identify a method of effectively sharing information about communication. The nurses, and the speech and language therapist used this problem as a team development exercise. It defined the roles of the team members, explored their knowledge and skills, and developed mutual respect between the different professions. The present study describes both how the solution to the problem was identified, and how it developed the team and the individual's knowledge and respect for their different roles.
Evaluating a cognitive/behavioural approach to teaching anger management skills to adults with learning disabilities
Authors: Howells Patrick M. , Rogers Cathy , Wilcock Sue
Published: March 2003

The present paper describes an intervention based upon a cognitive/behavioural teaching approach with a group of five adults with learning disabilities. The intervention addresses a number of issues raised by other authors regarding the implementation of such programmes. These issues are described and a plan explaining the main elements of the training course is included. The findings made during implementation are discussed and a number of points raised by the intervention are considered. The present authors conclude with their hope that this work will encourage further research into the use of cognitive behavioural interventions with people with learning disabilities.
Missionaries with the hopeless? Inebriety, mental deficiency and the Burdens
Authors: Carpenter Peter K.
Published: March 2003

The late nineteenth‐ and early twentieth‐century campaign for the treatment of ‘inebriates’ used many of the themes used by campaigners for the care of the ‘feeble‐minded’. The inebriate reformatories admitted mainly women, and their low rate of success was blamed on the inmates being ‘mental defectives’, rather than a result of the methods used. When the reformatories closed, these were reused as institutions under the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913. Having been missionaries, the Reverend H. N. Burden and his wives managed inebriate reformatories and then switched to running colonies for ‘mental defectives’. The present article examines some of the links between the two movements.
Violent incidents and the use of antipsychotic medication within a specialist challenging behaviour unit: an evaluation of the Poole approach to challenging behaviour
Authors: Rowland George , Treece Simon
Published: March 2003

The present paper documents a retrospective evaluation of a specialist challenging behaviour unit for individuals with severe learning disabilities according to two criteria: (1) its efficacy at reducing the frequency and severity of violent incidents; and (2) the level of reliance upon antipsychotic medication for behavioural purposes. The results were placed within the perspective of the specific approach to challenging behaviour adopted by the unit, which emphasizes communication as the fundamental tenet within the management and reduction of challenging behaviour. The results demonstrate a 92% reduction in incidents of violence towards others over the 6 years since the unit opened, alongside a 95% reduction in violence towards property. During the same period, the levels of antipsychotic medication used for behavioural purposes fell in the cases of three out of the four clients under examination. An attempt is made to highlight the predominant factors underlying this success as potential indicators for the development of services for those who exhibit challenging and violent behaviours.
Achieving positive change in people's lives through the National Learning Disability Strategy: an invitation to partnership between higher education and the world of practice
Authors: Towell David , Hollins Sheila
Published: March 2003

The launch of the National Learning Disability Strategy (NLDS) in England (and parallel initiatives in Scotland and Wales) provides the best opportunity for a generation to close the huge gap between the aspirations of people with learning disabilities and their families for a full life, and most people's current experience. The implementation of the NLDS is a complex challenge, requiring new forms of partnership among a wide range of stakeholders to deliver sustainable change. The present paper describes an enhanced role for universities as champions of local progress, promoting, supporting and evaluating informed change through a range of functions which go well beyond the traditional focus on research and teaching. It is also an invitation to relevant centres, or coalitions of centres on a regional basis, to explore with people, families and public agencies the optimum form of their contribution to these new partnerships.
Effects of relocation on the communication and challenging behaviours of four people with severe learning disabilities
Authors: Macleod Fiona J. , Morrison Fred , Swanston Michael , Lindsay William
Published: March 2003

The present paper describes an evaluation of the effects of relocation on the challenging and communicative behaviours of four individuals with severe learning disabilities who moved from a hospital for people with learning disabilities into a community project home. The study was longitudinal, spanning a period of 3 years, and used the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale, the Checklist of Challenging Behaviours and direct observations of the participants' behaviours. There was an overall decrease in the individuals' adaptive behaviours and inactivity levels, whilst there were increases in their communicative and challenging behaviours. These results are not easily accounted for by the Communication Hypothesis of Problem Behaviour, which would suggest an inverse relationship between functional communication and challenging behaviour. Alternative explanations which may account for the results obtained are considered. Somewhat surprisingly, it is concluded that the participants appeared to increase all their interactions within the community environment, including their communication and challenging behaviours.
The effect of pore size on cementation in porous rocks
Authors: Putnis A. , Mauthe G.
Published: March 2003

Halite cementation in porous sandstone from the Lower Triassic Bunter Formation in North‐West Germany has been studied using measurements of porosity and permeability, before and after salt extraction, as well as from petrographic observations. The results show that in cemented sandstones there is a clear tendency for the larger pores to be halite‐filled while the smaller pores, which are responsible for the residual porosity, are left empty. Observations on cemented ‘pin‐stripe’ aeolian sandstones, in which laminations of fine and coarser sand grains alternate on a millimetre scale, indicate that this selective cementation is not due to differences in the brine composition in the pores. The implication, which is also supported by other observations, is that fluids in small pores can maintain a higher supersaturation with respect to crystallization.
The mechanism of fluid infiltration in peridotites at Almklovdalen, western Norway
Authors: Kostenko O. , Jamtveit B. , Austrheim H. , Pollok K. , Putnis C.
Published: March 2003

A major Alpine‐type peridotite located at Almklovdalen in the Western Gneiss Region of Norway was infiltrated by aqueous fluids at several stages during late Caledonian uplift and retrogressive metamorphism. Following peak metamorphic conditions in the garnet–peridotite stability field, the peridotite experienced pervasive fluid infiltration and retrogression in the chlorite–peridotite stability field. Subsequently, the peridotite was infiltrated locally by nonreactive fluids along fracture networks forming pipe‐like structures, typically on the order of 10 m wide. Fluid migration away from the fractures into the initially impermeable peridotite matrix was facilitated by pervasive dilation of grain boundaries and the formation of intragranular hydrofractures. Microstructural observations of serpentine occupying the originally fluid‐filled inclusion space indicate that the pervasively infiltrating fluid was characterized by a high dihedral angle (θ > 60°) and ‘curled up’ into discontinuous channels and fluid inclusion arrays following the infiltration event. Re‐equilibration of the fluid phase topology took place by growth and dissolution processes driven by the excess surface energy represented by the ‘forcefully’ introduced external fluid. Pervasive fluid introduction into the peridotite reduced local effective stresses, increased the effective grain boundary diffusion rates and caused extensive recrystallization and some grain coarsening of the infiltrated volumes. Grain boundary migration associated with this recrystallization swept off abundant intragranular fluid inclusions in the original chlorite peridotite, leading to a significant colour change of the rock. This colour change defines a relatively sharp front typically located 1–20 cm away from the fractures where the nonreactive fluids originally entered the peridotite. Our observations demonstrate how crustal rocks may be pervasively infiltrated by fluids with high dihedral angles (θ > 60°) and emphasize the coupling between hydrofracturing and textural equilibration of the grain boundary networks and the fluid phase topology.
Use of neural networks to predict roasting time and weight loss for beef joints
Authors: Xie Guozhong
Published: March 2003

A neural networks (NN) model was trained and validated using experimental data on roasting times and weight losses from beef joints. Mathematical and response surface (RS) models were also developed. Predicted results from NN and RS models were almost identical and better than the mathematical model. Using the trained NN and RS models, the effects of air temperature, dimension, weight of beef joint, its initial temperature on roasting time, and weight loss were investigated. An increase in air or initial beef temperature decreased roasting time but increased weight loss. For larger beef joints, both roasting time and weight loss increased significantly. Critical ratios of beef radius to length where roasting time and weight loss reached maximum values were found to be 0.45 using both NN and RS models for roasting time and 0.55 (NN model) or 0.6 (RS model) for weight loss. To improve productivity and reduce weight loss, small beef joints are recommended and beef joints with the critical ratios should be avoided.
Learning from the competition through category appraisal: one practitioner's keys to faster and more efficient product development
Authors: Moskowitz Howard
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a data‐based approach to jump‐starting the development process. The approach, category appraisal, obtains ratings from products in the competitive frame. Here, that competitive frame is soft‐serve ice cream. Data from consumer ratings of liking and sensory attributes enable the researcher to determine how well products perform, what sensory attributes ‘drive’ overall liking, and what sensory levels and landmark products correspond to newly identified market opportunities. These opportunities may consist of a highly acceptable product, a product with specific sensory attributes, or image attributes, or even some combination thereof.
Consumer acceptance of irradiated foods: dawn of a new era?
Authors: DeRuiter Frances Elizabeth , Dwyer Johanna
Published: March 2003

Irradiation of meat, poultry, and other foods helps to preserve food quality and to prevent foodborne disease. This review examines current acceptance and use of irradiated foods in consumer food products and institutional food service applications. In the United States food irradiation is currently used in the space program, in some commercial food applications and in therapeutic diets fed to immunosuppressed patients in health care facilities. In spite of the potential benefits of food irradiation in the United States controversy remains, considerable consumer resistance con‐tinues, and adoption of food irradiation for consumer products has been slow des‐pite regulatory approval and endorsements by scientific organizations. However, consumer attitudes may be shifting. Experience gathered from the recent uses of irradiation for inactivating anthrax spores in contaminated mail after the terrorist attacks of September 2001 will undoubtedly make irradiation a more familiar process. Possible strategies for improving acceptance are discussed. Consumer education and information about food irradiation are key to greater acceptance.
Searching for information when selecting a restaurant
Authors: Iglesias Marta Pedraja , Guillén Ma Jesus Yagüe
Published: March 2003

Given the characteristics of the service sector, the search for external information is more difficult than in the product sector. The external information search, in addition to being affected by a series of factors, can be made at two levels; a passive and an active level. This implies that individuals increase their state of awareness by paying considerable attention to advertising and conversations, or they can initiate an active information search involving greater effort. In the restaurant sector, individuals who carry out a greater external information search generally visit restaurants before choosing one and take into account restaurant advertising before making their purchase decision. These activities involve an active and passive external information search. Additionally, the active external search is affected by family income and by a greater perception of differences between establishments. The passive external search is affected by the level of prior knowledge, use of price‐quality criteria, the level of perceived risk, and by income of the family.
Contrasting customer and operator concept and product requirements: the case of surimi
Authors: Moskowitz Howard R. , Porretta Sebastiano
Published: March 2003

This paper deals with the analysis of responses to experimentally designed surimi prototypes, and to concepts about ‘lobster’ surimi. Consumers and foodservice operators evaluated systematically varied concepts and product prototypes varying on four factors. The results permit assessment of the differences in evaluative criteria between the operators and the consumers. The two groups responded similarly to many of the concept elements, but responded differently to elements dealing with emotion, versatility and price. The two groups were also similar in their evaluations of the 17 systematically varied prototypes, but differed in the criteria that drove overall liking. Aroma, flavor, texture and acceptance were far more important as liking drivers for foodservice operators than they were for consumers. These results exemplify approaches that allow researchers and marketers to understand the different mind‐sets of operators versus consumers.
Dynamics of local expansion by an introduced species: Pterostichus melanarius Ill. (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in Alberta, Canada
Authors: Niemelä Jari , Spence John R.
Published: March 2003

A recently established population of Pterostichus melanarius Ill., a wing‐dimorphic, introduced carabid beetle species, was studied over a 7‐year period in Alberta, Canada. We monitored local colonization, and tested classical hypotheses about spatial and temporal changes in proportion of flight‐wing morphs in the Carabidae. Between 1991 and 1997, a sizable population in a road verge (0.17 individuals/trap/day in 1991) expanded only slowly into an adjacent aspen‐poplar forest: the catch of 0.005 ind./trap/day in the forest in 1997 was not significantly higher than that of 0.001 ind./trap/day in 1991. However, a significantly higher proportion of P. melanarius were macropterous, long‐winged (LW) in the forest (80%) than in the road verge and at the forest edge (54%). This supports the hypothesis that newly established populations are characterized by a high proportion of LW individuals, and further indicates that dispersal from the road verge into the forest has taken place primarily through flight. The overall proportion of flightless, brachypterous individuals (SW) captured at the study site increased from 39% in 1991 and 1992 to 57% in 1997, supporting the hypothesis that the proportion of SW individuals will increase with time since establishment of a population. Captures of P. melanarius in the forest were patchy and concentrated in particular areas throughout the study. However, these bridgehead’ populations did not grow or expand obviously, suggesting that populations adapt to forest conditions or reach some threshold size before effective expansion.
Understanding regional species diversity through the log series distribution of occurrences
Authors: Buzas Martin A. , Culver Stephen J.
Published: March 2003

The distribution of benthic foraminifera around the continental margins of North America is extensively documented. Data from 2673 localities consists of a synonomized list of 2329 species (S) and 61 369 occurrences (n). Here, the margins are divided into five geographical regions: Pacific (PA), S=965, n=19 014; Arctic (AR), S=458, n=7342; Atlantic (AT), S=878, n=10 034; Gulf of Mexico (GM), S=849, n=18 011; Caribbean (CR), S=1188, N=6968. As for many other organisms, species richness is lowest in the Arctic and highest in the Caribbean. In each region, the distribution of species richness and occurrences is a log series. Consequently, the entire series of species occurrences is predicted by the single proportionality constant, α. After log series rarefaction, differences in species richness among areas are nearly all accounted for by species occurring ≤10 times. Most of the differences are accounted for by species occurring once, less by twice, and so on. For example, species occurring once account for 81% of the difference in species richness between the Atlantic and Caribbean, and those occurring once and twice account for 87% of the difference. Most rare species have no fossil record and most endemic species are rare. Probably most of these species evolved recently indicating more origination in species‐rich areas. High origination might also be coupled with less extinction. Although each of the five regions can easily be distinguished by differences in composition, in all regions the 10 most abundantly occurring species exhibit nearly equal proportions of occurrences. No region is dominated by only one or two species. All regions exhibit the log series distribution, have nearly equal proportions for abundant species, and differ only in the number of rare species that coexist. Thus, from the point of view of the distribution of occurrences, the most striking aspect is the similarity among regions.
A pragmatic approach to estimating the distributions and spatial requirements of the medium‐ to large‐sized mammals in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa
Authors: Boshoff A. F. , Kerley G. I. H. , Cowling R. M.
Published: March 2003

Conservation planning in the Cape Floristic Region, a recognized world plant diversity hotspot, required systematic information on the estimated distributions and spatial requirements of the medium‐ to large‐sized mammals within each of 102 Broad Habitat Units delineated according to key biophysical parameters. As a consequence of a general lack of data, we derived a pragmatic approach for obtaining estimates of these two parameters. Distribution estimates were based on a combination of a literature survey (with emphasis on early texts) and the ecological requirements of the species. Spatial requirement estimates were derived from a simple spreadsheet model that is based on forage availability estimates and the metabolic requirements of the mammals in question. Our analysis incorporated adaptations of the agriculture‐based Large Stock Unit or Animal Unit approach. The predictions of the model were tested by comparing them with actual density data. The outcomes provided realistic estimates of the two parameters. However, they should be considered as testable hypotheses and the concept of adaptive management — or management by hypothesis — must apply. Examples of the outcomes are provided in the form of maps and tables.
Spatial, environmental and human influences on the distribution of otter (Lutra lutra) in the Spanish provinces
Authors: Barbosa Ana Márcia , Real Raimundo , Márquez Ana Luz , Rendón Miguel Ángel
Published: March 2003

In a previous survey of otters (Lutra lutra L. 1758) in Spain, different causes were invoked to explain the frequency of the species in each province. To find common causes of the distribution of the otter in Spain, we recorded a number of spatial, environmental and human variables in each Spanish province. We then performed a stepwise linear multiple regression of the proportion of positive sites of otter in the Spanish provinces separately on each of the three groups of variables. Geographic longitude, January air humidity, soil permeability and highway density were the variables selected. A linear regression of the proportion of otter presence on these variables explained 62.4% of the variance. We then used the selected variables in a partial regression analysis to specify which proportions of the variation are explained exclusively by spatial, environmental and human factors, and which proportions are attributable to interactions between these components. Pure environmental effects accounted for only 5.5% of the variation, while pure spatial and pure human effects explained 18% and 9.7%, respectively. Shared variation among the components totalled 29.2%, of which 10.9% was explained by the interaction between environmental and spatial factors. Human factors explained globally less variance than spatial and environmental ones, but the pure human influence was higher than the pure environmental one. We concluded that most of the variation in the proportion of occurrences of otter in Spanish provinces is spatially structured, and that environmental factors have more influence on otter presence than human ones; however, the human influence on otter distribution is less structured in space, and thus can be more disruptive. This effect of large infrastructures on wild populations must be taken into account when planning large‐scale conservation policies.
Present and potential distribution of invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) in North America
Authors: Welk Erik , Schubert Konstanze , Hoffmann Matthias H.
Published: March 2003

Abstract. This paper demonstrates the use of a bioclimatic model mapped over geographical regions as a tool for spatially refined risk assessment for the establishment of non‐indigenous plants with invasive behaviour. Drawing on the relationship between plant distribution and climate, the approach uses gridded spatial interpolated monthly means of temperature and precipitation linked with accurate maps of general native distribution ranges to predict the long‐term potential of a plant species to invade a certain region. The ascertained potential for establishment is illustrated by the example of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata[M. Bieb.] Cavara & Grande) in North America. The first step is to calculate and visualize the number of populated grid cells along climatic gradients in frequency diagrams for the general native distribution range. Interpretations of the response curves recorded are used for assessing apparent climatic range boundaries. Modelling was gradually optimized based on the results of experience‐based interpretations and by examining omission and over‐representation errors. The obtained climatic model of the range of A. petiolata shows considerable congruencies with its mapped, native Eurasian range. Degrees of climatic similarity between North America and the native range of A. petiolata were calculated with the help of GIS methodology and were used to assess the regionally different likelihood of establishment in North America of the invasive species under consideration.
Subpopulations ofCryptocephalusbeetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): geographically close but genetically far
Authors: Piper R. W. , Compton S. G.
Published: March 2003

Abstract.The leaf beetlesCryptocephalus coryli, C. decemmaculatusandC. nitidulusare of conservation concern and are included on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The distinctiveness of the disjunct remaining populations of these beetles was compared to that of more continuously distributedCryptocephalusspecies. This was carried out with a view to defining evolutionary significant units (ESUs) in the rare species. A portion of the cytochromebgene, an intergenic spacer and partial tRNA was analysed from 93 specimens ofCryptocephalusbeetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Considerable sequence divergence was apparent in all the species, even at an intersite scale when the distances between sampled localities were very small (< 1 km). Intrapopulation, intersite and interpopulation divergence observed in the rare species was reflected in the species that have a more continuous distribution, implying that dispersal ability in these species is poor and gene flow can be impeded by relatively trivial barriers to dispersal. The evidence suggests that the disjunct populations of the rareCryptocephalusspecies can, tentatively, be considered as ESUs. This has important implications for management strategies and reintroductions.
Endoscopic evaluation of the gastrotolerance of short‐term antalgic treatment with low dose k‐diclofenac: a comparison of ibuprofen and aspirin
Authors: Mahé Isabelle , Mouly Stéphane , Mahé Emmanuel , Diemer Myriam , Knellwolf Anne‐Laure , Simoneau Guy , Caulin Charles , Bergmann Jean‐François
Published: March 2003

In a short‐term gastro‐duodenal endoscopic study in 12 healthy volunteers, the gastrotoxicity was not different after intake of diclofenac‐K 12.5 mg (0.33) or ibuprofen 200 mg (0.42, P=0.66) but significantly higher after aspirin 500 mg (2.67, P=0.002).
On the possible role of muscle in the pathogenesis of spinal muscular atrophy
Authors: Guettier‐Sigrist Séverine , Coupin Gilliane , Braun Serge , Rogovitz David , Courdier Isabelle , Warter Jean Marie , Poindron Philippe
Published: March 2003

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common human inherited disease characterized by degeneration of motoneurons and muscular atrophy. SMA results from deletions or mutations of the SMN (survival motor neuron) gene. A nerve‐muscle coculture model, consisting of human muscle cells innervated by rat embryonic spinal cord explants, was used to study the pathogenesis of SMA. Previous studies have shown that myotubes formed by fusion of satellite muscle cells from patients with SMA I or SMA II (but not SMA III) underwent a characteristic degeneration 1–3 weeks after innervation. To correlate this cellular study with a molecular approach, we used reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR), and showed that SMN mRNAs were expressed throughout the fusion of normal satellite muscle cells with two peaks, the first appearing prior to the onset of fusion and the second one or two days before innervation. When satellite muscle cells from patients with SMA I or II were used, only the first peak was observed. Because in these cases the SMN telomeric gene (SMNtel) is deleted, it was concluded that the contribution of SMNtel‐dependent mRNAs to the second peak is predominant in normal myogenesis and involved in maturation of myotubes. In addition, diseased satellite muscle cells did not fuse at the same rate as normal satellite muscle cells. Studies on myf‐5, a muscle specific transcription factor family, showed that its expression was impaired during the fusion of satellite muscle cells from patients with SMA I or II compared with normal satellite muscle cells. Taken together, these observations suggest that (a) there is a muscle specific expression pattern of SMN, and (b) SMN probably plays a crucial role in maintenance of a functional motor unit, by allowing muscle cells to correctly differentiate and to allow motoneuron survival.