bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection of heat shock proteins but not superantigen by isolated oral bacteria from patients with Behcet's disease
Authors: Miura T. , Ishihara K. , Kato T. , Kimizuka R. , Miyabe H. , Ando T. , Uchiyama T. , Okuda K.
Published: April 2005

We isolated bacteria from periodontal sites and mixed saliva in eight patients with Behcet's disease and surveyed them to determine whether they produced heat shock proteins (HSPs) and superantigen. Cultivable bacterial compositions from periodontal sites and saliva were examined by anaerobic culture using blood agar plates. Gram‐negative anaerobic rods such as Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Capnocytophaga species were predominant in the isolates from the subgingival plaque samples. The Streptococcus mitis group was the most common type isolated from the saliva samples. To detect the production of HSPs, Western blot analyses were performed using a polyclonal rabbit antibody to Escherichia coli DnaK and a monoclonal antibody to Helicobacter pylori Gro‐EL. Sonic extracts of 27 of the strains (79.4%) reacted with the antibody against E. coli DnaK. Nine of these 34 strains (26.5%) were found to produce HSPs that reacted with antibody to H. pylori Gro‐EL. A total of 54 isolates were examined for superantigen activity against human peripheral leukocytes. Twenty‐five gram‐negative clinical strains isolated from chronic periodontitis lesions and 20 ATCC strains of microorganisms were also examined. We could not detect any superantigen activity in 500× diluted supernatant of the strains isolated from the eight patients with Behcet's disease. The present study indicates that the anaerobic strains isolated from the oral cavity of these patients produce HSPs, the production being related to Bechet's disease.
Is there a relationship between N‐acetyl‐β‐d‐glucosaminidase activity of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin (Hyphomycetes) isolates from peridomestic areas in Central Brazil and larvicidal effect on Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera, Culicidae)?
Authors: Silva R. O. , Silva H. H. G. , Ulhoa C. J. , Luz C.
Published: April 2005

Abstract:  The larvicidal effect of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin (Hyphomycetes) isolated in peridomestic areas in Central Brazil was tested in Aedes aegypti (L.) (Dipt., Culicidae), which is worldwide the primary vector for the viruses that cause human dengue and yellow fever. Highest susceptibility of larvae was found after application of suspended ungerminated conidia. However, conidia, which were found on the larval cuticle and in the gut did not germinate in live or dead larvae. Mortality dropped when testing germinating conidia or supernatants, which originated from chitin‐amended minimal medium (MM) inoculated conidia and cultures up to 72 h. Paralysis of larval movement was observed a few hours after application, especially of untreated conidia. Isolates showed a high variability of total protein production and N‐acetyl‐β‐d‐glucosaminidase activity after 48 and 72 h incubation in MM. No relationship between enzyme levels and insecticidal activity could be detected. The results indicate that toxic compounds emitted by ungerminated conidia on the cuticle or in the gut are involved in the activity of M. anisopliae against A. aegypti larvae.
Studies on the regeneration‐restore and karyotype of protoplast in Metarhizium anisopliae var. majus
Authors: Shi L.‐G. , Miao Y.‐G.
Published: April 2005

Abstract:  The characteristics and regeneration‐restore of protoplasts and its karyotype of an insect pathological fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae var. majus were studied. Among the protoplasts, 25.3% were without a nucleus, and 74.7% contained a nucleus. Among the nucleus protoplasts, 53.6% contained a single nucleus. The regeneration‐restore of protoplasts was of three distinct shapes. Considering the frequency of regeneration and the growing speed of the colony, 0.7 mol/l glucose was the optimum as osmotic stabilizer of culture medium in the regeneration‐restore of the protoplasts. The chromosomal DNA molecules of M. anisopliae var. majus have been separated into seven bands by pulsed‐field gel electrophoreses. Using the Schizosaccharomyces pombe chromosomes as size standard, the size of chromosomal DNA was estimated to be 1.1–6.5 Mb and its karyotype exhibited polytypism among strains.
A new software for measuring leaf area, and area damaged by Tetranychus urticae Koch
Authors: Bakr E. M.
Published: April 2005

Abstract:  Measuring leaf area manually is a tedious and time‐consuming process and it is inaccurate. In an attempt to make this process easier and more accurate, a new software namely ‘Compu Eye, Leaf & Symptom Area’ was developed. A standard green shape with a known area of 1.5 cm2 was used to evaluate the accuracy of the software. The measurements obtained were of high accuracy. Measurements varied between 1.4771 and 1.5095 cm2. Probabilities of t values were usually <0.01 and did not exceed 0.023. It was also observed that accuracy could be enhanced either by increasing scanner resolution and/or by decreasing measurement unit area. In order to evaluate the performance of the software, leaves with symptoms of mite injury were collected from six different plant species (squash, cucumber, green bean, vigna, dahlia and rose). Symptom area of each leaf was assessed manually and by the software. It was observed that the software was able to assess the symptom area accurately with no significant difference compared with manual measurement.
Report on construction of gene‐targeting vector for homologous recombination and transformation in silkworm, Bombyx mori L.
Authors: Miao Y.‐G. , Jiang L.‐J. , Nair K. S. , Chen Z.‐W. , Ren S.‐Z.
Published: April 2005

Abstract:  This paper reports the methods of construction of gene‐targeting vector for transformation of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. The genomic DNA was isolated from the posterior silk gland of the fifth‐instar silkworm larvae. The short fragment (0.5 kb) and long fragment (5 kb) of the fibroin light‐chain gene were obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis with special primers and genome DNA as templates and then recombined with pBlueselect vector into pBs‐FS‐FL. The target green flourescent protein (GFP) gene, was derived from pGEP‐1 vector and recombined with pUC19 vector into pUCG vector. GFP was recovered after cutting with restriction endonucleases, PstI and BamHI. Finally, GFP was recombined with pBs‐FS‐FL into gene‐targeting vector, pBs‐FS‐GFP‐FL.
U‐STITCHING SPLENORRAPHY TECHNIQUE: EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL STUDY
Authors: Tsaroucha Alexandra K. , Pitiakoudis Michail S. , Chanos Georgios , Chiotis Anestis S. , Argyropoulou Paraskevi I. , Prassopoulos Panos , Simopoulos Constantinos E.
Published: April 2005

Background:  The aim of the present study was to describe the laboratory development and the subsequent clinical utility of the U‐stitching technique for splenorraphy over the recent years in a general non‐trauma hospital. Patients with splenectomies and patients treated conservatively during the same time period, are also presented.

Methods:  In the 15‐year period from September 1988 until September 2003, 65 patients were diagnosed with splenic injury following admission to 2nd Department of Surgery, Democritus University Hospital, after blunt abdominal trauma. During the first 3 years, 14 patients were admitted; one of them was treated conservatively and 13 had splenectomies. Because computed tomography (CT) was not available at that time, these 14 patients form a control group. During the remaining 12‐year period, 51 patients (39 male and 12 female; age, 4−82 years; mean, 31.1 years; SD, 19.7 years) were treated conservatively or surgically, either with splenectomy or with splenorraphy. Splenorraphy was performed using the U‐stitching technique. This alternative splenorraphy technique was first tested on experimental models at 2nd Department of Surgery, Democritus University Hospital, then followed by successful clinical application. The medical records for these patients were reviewed to extract the data for the present study.

Results:  Thirty‐six patients (70.6% of 51 patients) were treated surgically; of these, 21 (41.2% of 51 patients) had splenectomy and 15 (29.4% of 51 patients) had splenorraphy. Non‐operative treatment was initially given to 15 patients (29.4% of 51 patients). Two of them had delayed rupture of the spleen and underwent splenectomy (at 8 and 40 days). The total number of preserved spleens was 28 of 51 (54.9%). None of the patients with conservative treatment or splenorraphy died. One patient with splenectomy died later from overwhelming sepsis.

Conclusions:  Splenic salvage is now a treatment goal. If the patient is haemodynamically unstable and splenorraphy is possible, the U‐stitching technique is a promising approach.
ACCURACY OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY GUIDED CORE NEEDLE BIOPSY OF MUSCULOSKELETAL TUMOURS
Authors: Altuntas Altay O. , Slavin John , Smith Peter J. , Schlict Stephen M. , Powell Gerard J. , Ngan Sam , Toner Guy , Choong Peter F. M.
Published: April 2005

Background:  The accurate diagnosis of musculoskeletal tumours is important for successful treatment. Image guided biopsy is gaining increasing acceptance for obtaining tissue for diagnosis. The aim of the present study is to assess the accuracy of computed tomography (CT)‐guided core needle biopsy of musculoskeletal tumours.

Methods:  This is a retrospective study on a series of 127 patients with a musculoskeletal tumour. The biopsies were performed over a 4‐year period from 1998 to 2001. The accuracy of the CT‐guided core needle biopsy was determined by comparing the histology of the biopsy with the final histology of the specimen obtained at open biopsy or surgical resection of the tumour. The effective accuracy was determined by the accuracy of the biopsy to distinguish between a benign and malignant tumour.

Results:  Computed tomography guided core needle biopsy in the present series has an overall accuracy of 80.3%. The effective accuracy as determined by a malignant versus benign lesion was 89%. There were 86 malignant tumours with a biopsy accuracy of 81.4% and there were 41 benign tumours with a biopsy accuracy of 78%. The positive predictive value (PPV) of a malignant tumour is 98.9% and the PPV of benign tumour 90.2%. The most common site of biopsy was from the femur and thigh, together accounting for 39.4% of the tumours. The most common tumours in this series were liposarcoma (n = 12), osteosarcoma (n = 11) and giant cell tumour (n = 11). There were no reported complications arising from the biopsy.

Conclusion:  Computed tomography guided core needle biopsy is a safe and effective procedure that is important in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal tumours. It should be performed in a specialized institution with a multidisciplinary musculoskeletal tumour team.
EXPERIENCE WITH MUCOSAL MELANOMA OF THE NOSE AND PARANASAL SINUSES
Authors: Bridger Andrew G. , Smee David , Baldwin Michael A. R. , Kwok Bernard , Bridger G. Patrick
Published: April 2005

Purpose:  Sinonasal mucosal melanoma is a rare and aggressive disease and its incidence does not mimic that of its cutaneous counterpart in the Australian population. The present study examines one unit's experience with the disease and proposes a treatment strategy. The significance of macroscopic widespread mucosal melanosis and histological melanoma in situ is considered in the present study to be crucial in overall survival and the main cause of local failure and is specifically addressed.

Methods:  The present study represents the retrospective experience of the multidisciplinary Head and Neck Clinic at the Prince of Wales Hospital over a 30‐years period (from 1970 to end 1999) in the management of the disease, including both primary and salvage treatment approaches. The study includes 27 patients treated with surgery with or without postoperative radiation therapy. Management of recurrence was also considered.

Results:  The mean time to local recurrence was 14.7 months and the mean time to distant metastases was 23.2 months. Mean survival time was 52 months and mean time from local recurrence to death was 75 months. Overall, disease free and disease specific survival and survival post‐recurrence were analysed by the Kaplan−Meir method. A cancer specific 5 years survival of 46% was achieved, which compares favourably with recent international series.

Conclusion:  Sinonasal mucosal melanoma remains an aggressive disease with the possibility of local recurrence years after initial treatment, however, initial radical surgery encompassing the primary lesion and distant in situ or satellite disease and postoperative radiotherapy can offer long‐term control, as can reoperation for local recurrence where appropriate.
PERCUTANEOUS DRAINAGE AND NECROSECTOMY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PANCREATIC NECROSIS
Authors: Cheung Moon‐Tong , Ho Candance Nga‐Sze , Siu Kam‐Wang , Kwok Philip Chong‐Hei
Published: April 2005

Background:  The degree of necrosis and presence of infection are the crucial determinants of the outcome in patients with pancreatic necrosis. In patients with sterile necrosis, the necrotic material can persist and subsequently results in sepsis. Some of these patients will ultimately require an operation to remove the necrotic material. Percutaneous necrosectomy has been introduced to remove this residual debris in a minimally invasive way.

Methods:  We retrospectively reviewed all patients with pancreatic necrosis who had percutaneous drainage (PCD) performed. Percutaneous pancreatic necrosectomy (PCPN) was done for those patients whose necrotic cavity failed to resolve.

Results:  Percutaneous drainage was performed in eight patients, four with evidence of infection by the positive culture in the aspirate. In three of them, the necrotic cavity completely resolved after drainage. Percutaneous necrosectomy was performed in another three patients through the tract placed by the radiologist and another one through a sinus tract after an operation. The necrotic cavity in three of them completely resolved after percutaneous necrosectomy.

Conclusion:  Those patients who had ‘organized necrosis’ after the acute episode of pancreatitis could receive benefit from percutaneous necrosectomy. The persistent symptoms could be alleviated after the removal of the residual necrotic material. It could also be useful after an open surgery to remove any residual devitalized tissue.
GALLSTONE ILEUS: RARE AND STILL CONTROVERSIAL
Authors: Kirchmayr Werner , Mühlmann Gilbert , Zitt Mathias , Bodner Johannes , Weiss Helmut , Klaus Alexander
Published: April 2005

Background:  Gallstone ileus is a rare disease and accounts for about 1−3% of mechanic ileus of the small bowel, but for 25% of all small bowel obstructions in patients older than 65 years. Concomitant cardiorespiratory diseases or diabetes are frequent in older patients and responsible for the high mortality rate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and discuss different surgical approaches and to analyze the clinical outcome.

Methods:  Four patients with a mean age of 72 years were treated for gallstone ileus at our hospital in the last 10 years. Patients history, operative strategy and their outcome is elucidated and a review of the recent literature is given.

Results:  In all patients the operative strategy was a one‐stage procedure including enterolithotomy, cholecystectomy and closure of the fistula. The 30‐day mortality rate was 25%.

Conclusion:  One‐stage procedure prevents from cholangitis, cholecystitis and recurrent ileus caused by further gallstones but bears the risk of enteric or biliary leakage after fistula closure. It should therefore be reserved for patients presenting in good general condition with a low degree of cholecystitis.
Mask fear in children presenting for anesthesia: aversion, phobia, or both?
Authors: PRZYBYLO H.J. , TARBELL S.E. , STEVENSON G.W.
Published: April 2005

Background : Anesthesia induction in children is commonly accomplished by introducing volatile agents by mask. Occasionally a child describes an excessive fear of the anesthesia facemask. Little is known of the cause of the fear or of the quality or magnitude of the feelings the child is experiencing. The purpose of this study was to allow children who have established mask fear as demonstrated by volunteering the presence of fear and requesting no mask be placed on the face during the induction of anesthesia and their parents to describe and compare the distress from the mask to the alternative intravenous anesthesia induction.

Methods : Eight children describing mask fear on the preanesthetic examination were studied. An Anesthesia Mask Fear questionnaire developed by the investigators was answered by the children and their parents.

Results : Six children and their parents completed the study. The age at presentation of mask fear ranged from 1.4 to 14 years. There were one to 16 anesthetic exposures prior to reporting mask fear. One child described an aversion to the odor of the mask. Another boy developed mask fear after a single anesthetic exposure. He was subsequently diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder. Four female children developed mask fear after repeated anesthetic exposures. These children rated mask fear with the greatest discomfort possible while venous cannulation was scored at half or less that of the mask discomfort.

Conclusions : Care must be taken when developing a plan for anesthesia induction in children requiring multiple procedures. Children may develop an aversion to the odor or feel of the mask, or have a true phobia (irrational fear) of the mask. Those children with a phobia might also have other underlying anxieties.
Neuropathic pain following multilevel surgery in children with cerebral palsy: a case series and review
Authors: LAUDER G.R. , WHITE M.C.
Published: April 2005

Six children with cerebral palsy are presented who developed neuropathic pain following multilevel orthopedic surgery. This significant complication is previously unreported. The diagnosis and treatment options are reviewed. Treatment should be kept as simple and noninvasive as possible, and aim to enable physiotherapy to continue. Early recognition and interdisciplinary treatment is important to prevent a downward spiral of increasing pain and decreased function. A good outcome in respect of improved pain and functioning was achieved in five of these six children. It is our opinion that this complication should form part of informed consent for multilevel surgery and that anesthetists should be aware of this complication when managing postoperative pain control.
Child Growth, Shocks, and Food Aid in Rural Ethiopia
Authors: Yamano Takashi , Alderman Harold , Christiaensen Luc
Published: April 2005

Child stunting in Ethiopia has persisted at alarming rates, despite enormous amounts of food aid, often procured in response to shocks. Using nationally representative data, the study finds that while harvest failure leads to child growth faltering, food aid affected child growth positively and offset the negative effects of shocks in communities that received food aid. However, many communities that experienced shocks did not receive food aid. In sum, while food aid has helped reduce child malnutrition, inflexible food aid targeting, together with endemic poverty and limited maternal education, has left the prevalence of child stunting at alarming levels.
Irrigation Technology Adoption and Gains from Water Trading under Asymmetric Information
Authors: Dridi Chokri , Khanna Madhu
Published: April 2005

We develop a water allocation and irrigation technology adoption model under the prior appropriation doctrine with asymmetric information among heterogeneous farmers and between farmers and water authorities. We find that adverse selection reduces the adoption of modern irrigation technology. We also show that even with asymmetric information, incentives for water trade exist and lead to additional technology adoption with gains to all parties. This suggests that under asymmetric information, a thin secondary market improves the allocation of water resources and induces additional adoption of modern irrigation technologies.
Aggregation over Firms under Mean Scaling
Authors: Coyle Barry T.
Published: April 2005

This paper analyzes aggregation over firms assuming mean scaling, i.e., the relative distribution of micro variables is independent of the distribution of the aggregates. We emphasize cost‐minimization models encompassing general functional forms and heterogeneity of outputs and technology across firms. Mean scaling implies that aggregate relations inherit properties of micro behavior. The mean scaling hypothesis is not rejected using annual time‐series data on wheat production for crop districts in Manitoba.
Risk Perceptions, Risk Preference, and Acceptance of Risky Food
Authors: Lusk Jayson L. , Coble Keith H.
Published: April 2005

Consumers' risk preferences are often overlooked in studies of consumer demand for risky food. We find that risk preferences elicited through context‐less lottery choices are significantly related to consumers' stated preferences for genetically modified (GM) food. These results suggest risk preferences elicited in the laboratory are not artificial in the sense that they appear to be related to the same risk preferences that govern other individual decisions such as food choice. Consistent with theoretical expectations, risk perceptions and risk preferences were found to be significant determinants of acceptance of GM food, which has important implications for explaining consumer behavior.
Implications of Nash Bargaining for Horizontal Industry Integration
Authors: Just Richard E. , Mitra Siddhartha , Netanyahu Sinaia
Published: April 2005

This article shows how horizontal industry integration can arise from transferable asymmetry of technologies and endowments. The Nash bargaining solution suggests that greater technological diversity among coordinating parties yields greater gains from horizontal integration. The framework fits the case where a firm with a superior technology franchises the technology by horizontal integration. The results appear to fit hog production where integration has been primarily horizontal and, in part, broiler production where integration has been both vertical and horizontal. Specifically, technology has been shared through uniform genetic traits, fine‐tuned feed rations, and veterinary services specified in grower contracts.
Estimating the Structure of Market Reaction to News: Information Events and Lumber Futures Prices
Authors: Rucker Randal R. , Thurman Walter N. , Yoder Jonathan K.
Published: April 2005

We develop a new event‐study technique, the distributional event response model (DERM), appropriate to relatively slowly evolving information events. We apply the model to twelve years of daily lumber futures prices and analyze the effects of three different types of information releases: (a) monthly housing starts estimates, (b) aperiodic administrative and judicial announcements about U.S.‐Canada trade disputes, and (c) novel and unprecedented court decisions related to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The information releases are different in ways that predict their relative speeds of impoundment in prices. We find that housing start events are absorbed more quickly than trade events, which are absorbed more quickly than ESA events.
Resisting Marginalisation: The Rise of the Rural Community Movement in Lithuania
Authors: Juska Arunas , Poviliunas Arunas , Pozzuto Richard
Published: April 2005

In the late 1990s the rural community development movement led mostly by educated, professional women emerged in Lithuania. These were loose organizations, typically made up of 5–10 core activists, engaged in mobilizing local communities in dealing with their social, cultural, political and economic problems. It is argued that the rise of the rural community movement represents one of the responses to the post‐socialist crisis in agriculture as well as a strategy in dealing with growing economic, political, and social marginalization of the rural population in Lithuania. Three interacting developments that contributed to the rise of rural civic activism are analyzed: (a) structural change in the rural economy that lead to a growing stratum of rural population being displaced from commodity agriculture; (b) favorable political opportunity created by the completion of collective farm privatization and the advancement of the process of land restitution, changes in the government's policy, and the rise of NGOs activism supported, in part, by the foreign donors; and (c) innovative strategies and alliances formed by activists, foreign donors, academicians, and local politicians in promoting rural development. Ethnographic research in the village of Balninkai (pop. 496) is used to analyze the dynamics of building of one of the most successful rural community organizations currently active in Eastern Lithuania.
Rural Pluriactivity as a Coping Strategy in Small‐Scale Fisheries
Authors: Salmi Pekka
Published: April 2005

This paper focuses on different variations of pluriactivity in small‐scale fishermen's households and how these are connected to the life‐mode and survival strategies of the fishermen. Special attention is given to the diversification of household economy, fishermen's attitudes towards their work and the support from other stakeholder groups. The empirical material comprises of personal interviews conducted with fishermen in the Archipelago Sea Region, SW Finland. Throughout the centuries fishing, shipping, and agriculture have been combined and interlinked in the region. The pluriactivity nature of the livelihoods is still important, but the combinations have changed. New forms of pluriactivity have provided a basis for adaptation of commercial fishing in the changing conditions of existence. In spite of the common economic adaptation through wage‐work, the cultural dimensions of the fisherman‐peasant life‐mode still hold a strong position.
Alternative Job Search Strategies in Remote Rural and Peri‐urban Labour Markets: The Role of Social Networks
Authors: Lindsay Colin , Greig Malcolm , McQuaid Ronald W.
Published: April 2005

This paper examines the importance of informal methods (especially social networking) to the job search strategies used by unemployed people. It compares three areas: a small rural town; a larger, more sparsely populated, remote rural area; and a centrally‐located, peri‐urban labour market. The analysis is based first on survey research undertaken with 490 job seekers across the study areas. Emerging issues were then followed up during a series of twelve focus groups. The survey research showed that job seekers in the rural study areas were significantly more likely to use social networks to look for work. However, those who had experienced repeated or long‐term periods out of work, the unskilled and young people were significantly less likely to use such networks. Focus groups confirmed the perceived importance of social networking to the job search process in rural areas, in contrast to the more marginal role such methods appear to play in peri‐urban settings. For many rural job seekers, formal job search activities conducted through Jobcentres were seen as largely symbolic, lacking the practical value of social networking. These results suggest that service providers seeking to assist unemployed people in rural areas need to address the problems faced by many disadvantaged job seekers who are currently caught between their lack of social network relations and the absence of local public employment service facilities in more remote communities.
Farm and Off‐farm Work and Life Satisfaction Among Norwegian Farm Women
Authors: Haugen Marit S. , Blekesaune Arild
Published: April 2005

Previous research has showed that farmers and spouses having off‐farm work report higher life satisfaction than those who work only on the farm. Using both quantitative and qualitative data we test this correlation and ask whether there are other factors than just the off‐farm work which might explain this. Data from a national survey, involving 935 farm women, and in‐depth interviews with twenty‐five farm women, are used to explore the relation between work situation and life satisfaction. The analysis shows that farm women's work situations are diverse and might vary during different life phases. Although women having an off‐farm job express higher satisfaction with their lives than those who work mainly on‐farm, the correlation between work situation and life quality is complex. The analysis indicates that farm women's health status influences both their work situation and their life satisfaction. This implies that it is not only the work situation per se which influences life satisfaction, but rather conditions affecting women's opportunities to make free choices regarding their work situation.
Biodynamic Farmers in Ireland. Transforming Society Through Purity, Solitude and Bearing Witness?
Authors: McMahon Naoimh
Published: April 2005

The organic movement is hailed as a way of transforming industrial agriculture making it more ecologically sensitive. This paper explores, from a sociology of knowledge perspective, how biodynamic farmers' understandings are the basis for influencing a wider population. I argue that their relationship to their farming and ‘Others’ resembles a form of religious life defined by asceticism, repetition, sacrifice, and an emphasis on spiritualism and purity. Their reserved relationships with the outside world, particularly in communicating their ideas on agriculture meanwhile recall the search for solitude of religious hermits. They reject a strategy of direct proselytising as attempting to persuade may involve compromises, it would mean revealing their difference and alienating themselves further from the wider community, and some of them question their ability to influence people and wider systems. On one level they want to maintain the purity of their ideals and farming practices, on another, they don't want to be made to feel too different. They take on the role of trying to change the wider agricultural system through example and ‘bearing witness’ to the ideas of biodynamics.
Protecting Minorities through the Average Voting Rule
Authors: RENAULT RÉGIS , TRANNOY ALAIN
Published: April 2005

In the average voting rule, the outcome is some weighted average of votes. The unique average voting outcome is characterized by a median formula, which depends on voters' preferred allocations and some parameters constructed from voters' weights. A minority is said to be protected by a switch in voting rule if the outcome becomes closer to the median bliss point of the minority. Sufficient conditions for minority protection are that, either the minority's weight is sufficiently large or the majority outcome is too unfavorable to the minority. Applications to the composition of public goods and to public expenditures level are considered. We explore the combined use of average and majority voting in a two‐stage procedure for determining the level and the composition of public expenditures.
Incentives and Standards in Agency Contracts
Authors: CHAMBERS ROBERT G. , QUIGGIN JOHN
Published: April 2005

This paper studies the structure of state‐contingent contracts in the presence of moral hazard and multitasking. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the presence of multitasking to lead to fixed payments instead of incentive schemes are identified. It is shown that the primary determinant of whether multitasking leads to higher or lower powered incentives is the role that noncontractible outputs play in helping the agent deal with the production risk associated with the observable and contractible outputs. When the noncontractible outputs are risk substitutes and are socially undesirable, standards are never optimal. If the noncontractible outputs are socially desirable, standards are never optimal if the noncontractible outputs play a risk‐complementary role.
An Example of Nonexistence of Three‐Community Equilibrium
Authors: GOMBERG ANDREI M.
Published: April 2005

In this paper I provide an example of sorting equilibrium nonexistence in a three‐community model of the type introduced in Caplin and Nalebuff (1997; Journal of Economic Theory 72, 306–342). With two communities, such an example has been shown to exist only when the dimension of the policy space is even. It turns out, however, that with three communities existence may fail regardless of whether the policy space dimension is odd or even. This suggests that the original odd/even dichotomy can, at least in part, be explained by the evenness of the number of communities.
Optimal Income Taxation with Endogenous Human Capital
Authors: JACOBS BAS
Published: April 2005

This paper augments the theory of optimal linear income taxation by taking into account human capital accumulation as a dimension of labor supply. The distribution of earning potentials is endogenous because agents differ in the ability to learn. Taxation affects utilization rates of human capital through labor supply responses. The costs of education that are not deductible from the income tax distort the learning decision as well. We show theoretically that the trade‐off between efficiency and equity is worsened. Quantitative analysis shows that the distortionary costs of taxation increase substantially when human capital formation is endogenous.
Multistage Contracting with Applications to R&D and Insurance Policies
Authors: BROCAS ISABELLE
Published: April 2005

An agent undertakes a nonobservable first‐stage effort. The principal observes whether the effort results in a successful project or not. If the project succeeds, only the firm observes its interim quality, and can further improve it with a nonobservable second‐stage effort. If the agent accepts penalties when the first‐stage fails, moral hazard and asymmetric information do not prevent the principal from implementing her first‐best outcome. However, if the agent is bounded by the maximum loss he can bear when the first‐stage fails (limited liability), the principal induces the agent to exert a first‐stage effort below the first‐best level and a second‐stage effort above the first‐best level when the interim quality of his project is low. This distortion in efforts implies that the ex post rent left to the agent with a project of high interim quality is above the first‐best level. This provides a rationale for the optimality of expanding the use of the “carrot” (second‐stage rent) when the use of the “stick” (first‐stage penalty) is restricted. Implications of the theory for R&D, bank, job, and insurance contracts are discussed.
Tax Liability and Tax Evasion in a Competitive Labor Market
Authors: GOERKE LASZLO
Published: April 2005

In a competitive labor market, a change in the legal incidence of a tax on labor will not alter employment if tax obligations are fulfilled. However, this irrelevance result may no longer apply if taxes can be evaded. In particular, a shift from payroll to income taxes will lower employment. This will be the case if workers exhibit constant absolute risk aversion, have a utility function, which is strongly separable in income and the disutility from working, and the penalty for evasion is not proportional to the amount of taxes evaded. Accordingly, tax evasion opportunities can make the legal incidence of a tax on labor an important determinant of its economic incidence.
Jack Tizard Lecture: Cognitive Behaviour Therapies for Children: Passing Fashion or Here to Stay?
Authors: Graham Philip
Published: April 2005

The aim of this article is to consider the current and likely future status of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for disturbed children and adolescents. Two definitions of CBT, narrow and broad, are provided and their core components described. Subsequently the historical development of these therapies and their reception by psychotherapists with different orientations is discussed. Assessment and therapeutic CBT approaches are described and the strength of the evidence for their use is briefly reviewed. Finally the challenges these therapies are currently meeting that might enhance or diminish their value are outlined. It is concluded that CBTs offer a most promising approach in the child and adolescent field and are likely to establish and maintain an important place in the therapeutic armoury of the next generation of professionals concerned to help children and young people with psychiatric disorders.
Capacity of Tier 2/3 CAMHS and Service Specification: A Model to Enable Evidence Based Service Development
Authors: Kelvin Raphael G.
Published: April 2005

This paper proposes a model to analyse the ‘needs’ of any given CAMHS tier 2/3 service catchment area and establish the service capacity/workforce required to deliver ‘evidence based practice’ that is in keeping with good clinical governance. The key point is that in order to provide ‘evidence based’ practice and keep within good guidance, we need ‘Evidence Based Service Development’. This includes appropriate corporate governance linked to evidence based data to ensure effective commissioning of services based on the evidence of ‘what works for whom’.
Card‐carrying hunters, rural poverty, and wildlife decline in northern Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: BASSETT THOMAS J
Published: April 2005

This paper examines wildlife decline in northern Côte d’Ivoire with emphasis on the political‐economic and cultural dimensions of market hunting. Hunting and the trade in wild animal meat are situated within the economic diversification strategies of impoverished farmers and the flourishing of hunter associations. The role of hunter associations is critical in the rise in the number of hunters and firearms in the case study area of Kakoli. Initiation into the national hunters’ association, Binkadi, allows card‐carrying members to bear arms without legal repercussions. Higher quality arms and rural poverty motivate many of these recruits to engage in market hunting. Game market surveys for 1981–82 and 1997–99 in Kakoli show tremendous pressure on both vulnerable and robust species alike. Game depletion is conceptualized as the outcome of interacting social and biophysical processes that produce hunting pressure and habitat change. By drawing attention to the political‐economic, ecological, and cultural dimensions of wildlife decline, this study implicates a diversity of actors and institutions in the dynamics of game depletion.
Global cotton and local environmental management: the political ecology of rich and poor small‐hold farmers in southern Mali
Authors: MOSELEY WILLIAM G
Published: April 2005

This study examines the hypothesis that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households in a similar socioeconomic environment. This broad objective is explored in Mali's southern cotton belt through three specific research questions. First, is there empirical evidence to support the claim that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households? Second, what local and extra‐local factors influence household agricultural management approaches in southern Mali? Third, what broader scale political and economic processes are linked to the factors that influence local‐level agricultural management approaches? The author reports that soil quality measures on the farms of rich and poor households are not significantly different, refuting the conventional wisdom that the wealthy are better managers of the environment. A variety of environmentally deleterious practices are associated with export‐oriented cotton production, an activity more vigorously pursued by wealthy than poor farmers. Finally, the focus on poverty in international environment and development discourse has allowed the government of Mali to avoid a serious debate on the sustainability of cotton production. The study's findings are based on household interviews describing agricultural management practices, an analysis of farm field soil measures, and discussions with donors and national policymakers.
What kind of intensification? Agricultural practice, soil fertility and socioeconomic differentiation in rural Burkina Faso
Authors: GRAY LESLIE C
Published: April 2005

In rural Burkina Faso, intensification has been an uneven process that has resulted in social costs, particularly in the form of uneven distribution of assets and disparate environmental trade‐offs. This study examines the effects of wealth status on agricultural practice and soil fertility, arguing that differences in the practices of wealthier and poorer farmers lead to differential social and environmental outcomes. Two concerns are highlighted. First is the role of poverty in environmental degradation. Much of the debate about the role of wealth and poverty in environmental outcomes in developing countries has pinpointed poverty as the main causal explanation. Using studies of agricultural practices and soil fertility from several villages in southwestern Burkina Faso, this paper will counter this dominant view by showing that wealthier farmers farm much larger areas, have fewer trees in their fields, and use higher levels of animal traction which, in turn, has led to lower levels of soil fertility. A second concern is that while poorer farmers may have agricultural practices that minimize environmental degradation, their exclusion from key institutions that provide access to resources has serious livelihood consequences and potentials for increasing socioeconomic differentiation. The agricultural practices of wealthier farmers, while not optimal environmentally, result in higher levels of household wealth. A paradox emerges that while poorer farmers are conserving environmental resources, they are doing so at the expense of economic development and well‐being.
Flail Tricuspid Valve after Snare Retrieval of a Vascular Angioplasty Balloon
Authors: Furlong Kathleen T. , Schwalm Stephanie , Spencer Kirk T.
Published: April 2005

We report a case of unsuspected flail tricuspid diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography after snare catheter removal of an embolized vascular angioplasty balloon.
Early behavioral symptoms and course of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Weiner M. F. , Hynan L. S. , Bret M. E. , White C.
Published: April 2005

Objective:  To determine if behavioral symptoms detected at initial evaluation relate to cognitive or functional status or survival time in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Method:  Review, in 100 cases of autopsy‐proven AD, of the relationship of behavioral symptoms detected at initial evaluation to cognitive and global function measures and survival time.

Results:  Behavioral symptoms had occurred in 74% of patients, including apathy (51%), hallucinations (25%), delusions (20%) and depressed mood (6.6%). Verbal aggression was common (36.8%); physical aggression less so (17%). The symptomatic group was more functionally (but not cognitively) impaired and had shorter median survival time (8 years: 95% CI: 7–9 years vs. 10 years: 95% CI: 8–12 years; P = 0.002) than the asymptomatic group. The presence of any one symptom at initial evaluation accounted for 6.1% of the variance in duration of illness.

Conclusion:  Presence of behavioral symptoms at initial evaluation of AD patients is associated with greater functional impairment and shorter survival time.
Are immigrants at a disadvantage in psychiatric in‐patient care?
Authors: Lay B. , Lauber C. , Rössler W.
Published: April 2005

Objective:  To assess the utilization of psychiatric in‐patient care among immigrants, and to compare immigrants and natives with respect to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Method:  Analysing a sample of 23 377 consecutive referrals to psychiatric hospitals of a catchment area in 1995–2001.

Results:  Within this sample, 20% were foreign nationals. Rates of psychotic disorders were similar in immigrants and natives. Regarding other diagnoses, sociodemographic and clinical measures, there were significant differences. Most immigrant groups had higher rates of compulsory admission, were more likely to be admitted with lower illness severity and not to be readmitted, and spent significantly shorter time in hospital, compared with Swiss in‐patients. Some of these differences were clearly gender‐specific.

Conclusion:  Service utilization and psychiatric treatment decisions are not explained merely by illness‐related aspects in immigrants. Social and cultural factors have to be recognized in order to prevent disadvantages in psychiatric care.
Lithium – a continuing story in the treatment of bipolar disorder
Authors: Carney S. M. , Goodwin G. M.
Published: April 2005

Objective:  To review the literature on the use of lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder and highlight the evidence base supporting its efficacy and safety.

Method:  A selective literature review.

Results:  Lithium is widely believed to be effective against acute mania, acute bipolar depression and in relapse prevention to either mania or depression. In fact, the data supporting efficacy in acute treatment are less impressive than is often claimed, whereas for relapse prevention and suicide prevention no other agent has comparable depth of support. Lithium is best described as the bench mark treatment for bipolar disorder, rather than the gold standard, because only a minority of patients show major clinical benefit. There is a developing need for further trials against new alternatives and in combination studies.

Conclusion:  Lithium has a continuing important role in the clinical management of bipolar disorder. Its under‐utilization in North America reflects opinion rather than evidence and the demonstrated anti‐suicide effects should help to reignite interest in its use.
Valproate in bipolar disorder: 2000 onwards
Authors: Bowden C. L. , Singh V.
Published: April 2005

Objective:  To describe the evidence for the efficacy and tolerability of valproate in treatment of bipolar disorders, as well as factors associated with favorable or unfavorable outcomes.

Method:  Studies published from 2000 onwards were reviewed, as well as published abstracts. For clinical trials, randomized, prospective studies were emphasized.

Results:  Several mechanisms of action of valproate on central nervous system neurons that may be relevant to its actions in bipolar disorders have been recently reported. These include inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase and activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase. Several of the actions overlap those observed from lithium. Valproate is effective in treatment of mania, and somewhat more effective in certain patient subgroups than other treatments, e.g. mixed mania, and mania with prominent irritability. Valproate is comparable with olanzapine in maintenance treatment, and somewhat better tolerated. Higher serum levels, particularly above 110 μg/ml, are associated with more reports of weight gain, sedation, and reductions in platelet count. Valproate may be associated with an increased rate of polycystic ovarian syndrome, with increased weight contributing to the risk. Valproate reduces total cholesterol levels, particularly among patients with baseline elevations of cholesterol. Several studies indicate that valproate can be beneficially combined with antipsychotic drugs and other treatments for bipolar disorder.

Conclusion:  Valproate continues to be studied in further clarification of its mechanisms, efficacy, risks, and spectrum of benefits in bipolar disorder. It is a major treatment for bipolar disorder, both in monotherapy and combination therapy regimens.