bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serotonergic depletion increases conditioned suppression to background stimuli in the rat
Authors: Cassaday H. J. , Shilliam C. S. , Marsden C. A.
Published: April 2009

Dark Agouti rats were lesioned by intra-ventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (DHT) and, 2 weeks later, learning was tested in a conditioned suppression of drinking procedure. Lesioned and vehicle-injected control rats were conditioned with a discrete stimulus (tone or light conditioned stimulus, CS) twice paired with footshock (unconditioned stimulus), with or without a 30-s trace interval between theseevents to produce strong and weak learning conditions (a trace conditioning effect). During this conditioning session, the alternate stimulus (light or tone) was presented continuously in the background. Since the 5,7-DHT lesion also reduced the baseline licking response in the experimental chambers, we used drinkingc during the first minute, when this non-specific effect was minimal, as the dependent variable. We tested conditioning to target CS and to the alternative experimental background stimulus in exactly the same way in the same rats. We found that a level of serotonergic depletion without any intrinsic action on the trace conditioning effect nevertheless increased conditioning to the alternative background stimulus, irrespective of trace interval or stimulus modality. Thus, for both light and tone stimuli, the effect of serotonergic depletion depended only on the discrete target versus diffuse background role of the stimulus in use. These findings have implications for the modification of human cognition by serotonergic drugs.
Lethal catatonia responding to high-dose olanzapine therapy
Authors: Cassidy E. M. , O'Brien M. , Osman M. F. , Finucane J. , O'Keane V.
Published: April 2009

We present the case of a 31-year-old woman with recent refractory bipolar disorder who developed a malignant syndrome preceded by catatonic motor features. This resistant case of lethal catatonia responded selectively to high-dose olanzapine treatment. The case illustrates the need to consider lethal catatonia in apparent cases of neuroleptic malignant syndrome that do not respond to conventional treatment with dantrolene and bromocriptine.
Reversed effects of RU486 and anisomycin on memory retention of light exposure or corticosterone facilitation in the dark-incubated chicks
Authors: Sui Nan , Hu Jiafen , Chen Jing , Kuang Peizi , Joyce Darrell
Published: April 2009

Memory formation for a weak passive avoidance task in the dark-incubated chicks is facilitated by light exposure or corticosterone administration at optimally pre-hatch time points. To explore the potential mechanisms underlying activation of brain memory function development by light or corticosterone exposure during late embryo, steroid receptor antagonist RU486, or protein synthetic inhibitor anisomycin, was administered intraembryonically to the embryos of either only 24-h light-exposure or complete darkhatched on embryonic day 20 (E20). The results showed that RU486 and anisomycin significantly retarded the facilitated retention both by light and corticosterone exposure in the dark-incubated chicks. They also suggest that the act of corticosterone or light exposure on the development of brain memory function is mediated by the effect of steroid receptor, or afterward on related protein syntheses that is involved in memory formation of post-hatched performance of day-old chicks.
Effects of emedastine and cetirizine, alone and with alcohol, on actual driving of males and females
Authors: Vermeeren Annemiek , Ramaekers Johannes G. , O'Hanlon James F.
Published: April 2009

Emedastine is registered in its country of origin (Japan) as an antihistamine for the indication of seasonal allergic rhinitis. Further research on the drug's sedating properties was needed to secure its registration elsewhere. The present study was designed to compare the effects of emedastine 2 mg and 4 mg twice daily after single and repeated doses, on actual driving performance versus those of cetirizine 10 mg once daily and placebo; and to determine how repeated doses of each drug interact with alcohol to affect driving. Each treatment was administered for 5 days to 19 healthy volunteers (nine men and ten women, aged 21–45 years) according to a four-period double-blind cross-over design. Driving performance was measured in a standardized test between 3 and 4 h after administration of the morning dose on days 1, 4 and 5. Alcohol, sufficient for achieving a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 g/dl was given before driving on day 5 of each period. Both emedastine doses similarly and significantly impaired driving in every test. The effects of cetirizine were less. They were significant over days 1, 4 and 5 combined, although not separately. Women were more impaired by both drugs. Alcohol increased driving impairment similarly in every condition. Subjects were only able to discriminate the sedating and impairing effects of the first dose of emedastine 4 mg from placebo. Emedastine, in oral doses of 2mg and 4 mg twice daily, is sedating and impairs driving. The drug could therefore constitute a traffic hazard and its users should be warned accordingly.
Effects of rapid tryptophan depletion on salivary and plasma cortisol in Alzheimer's disease and the healthy elderly
Authors: Porter Richard J. , Marshall Elizabeth F. , O'Brien John T.
Published: April 2009

Serotonergic function is reduced in dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) and abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are also common. There is considerable interaction between the two systems. Effects of lowering brain serotonin on salivary and plasma cortisol were assessed in patients with DAT and in control subjects. A double-blind, cross-over design involving administration of two nutritionally balanced amino acid mixtures with or without tryptophan was used. Salivary and plasma cortisol were measured at intervals before and after the drink. DAT patients had higher salivary cortisol than controls. Despite a reduction of approximately 70% in plasma free tryptophan after 4 h in both groups, there was no effect on salivary or plasma cortisol. We conclude that, in subjects with DAT and healthy elderly subjects, acute tryptophan depletion had no effect on cortisol secretion.
A systematic review of the use of atypical antipsychotics in autism
Authors: Barnard L. , Young A. H. , Pearson J. , Geddes J. , O'Brien G.
Published: April 2009

Conventional antipsychotic medication is commonly prescribed to patients with autistic spectrum disorder. However, a high incidence of severe adverse reactions highlights the need to find more favourable treatments. Atypical antipsychotics may combine efficacy in ameliorating some autistic symptoms with a lower incidence of some adverse reactions. This article reviews the use of atypical antipsychotics in autistic disorder, with particular focus on behaviour, cognition and physical well-being. Thirteen studies using risperidone, three using olanzapine, one using clozapine, one using amisulpride and one using quetiapine were identified. Few firm conclusions can be drawn due to the limitations of the studies; however, there is an indication that risperidone may be effective in reducing hyperactivity, aggression and repetitive behaviours, often without inducing severe adverse reactions. Olanzapine and clozapine may also be effective; however, there is little evidence for using amisulpride or quetiapine in this population. Randomized trials are required to clarify the effectiveness of these agents.
Effects of 10 mg and 15 mg oral procyclidine on critical flicker fusion threshold and cardiac functioning in healthy human subjects
Authors: Sharma T. , Galea A. , Zachariah E. , Das M. , Taylor D. , Ruprah M. , Kumari V.
Published: April 2009

The critical flicker fusion threshold (CFFT) is thought to index alertness and cortical arousal. Sedative drugs reduce CFFT while psychostimulants increase it. Procyclidine is an anticholinergic that is used to control the extrapyramidal side-effects of antipsychotics in schizophrenia. This study examined the effects of clinically relevant doses of oral procyclidine administration on CFFT and heart rate in two separate experiments (Experiment 1, drug dose: 10 mg, n = 16; Experiment 2, drug dose: 15 mg, n = 12) involving healthy subjects using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. 10 mg procyclidine had no significant effect on CFFT, heart rate or self-ratings of mood, but the 15 mg dose significantly lowered CFFT at 1 h and 2 h after procyclidine administration, increased drowsiness ratings and produced a drop in heart rate. The effects observed in this study may have implications for treatment compliance of schizophrenic patients, choice of antipsychotics, prescribing to patients with heart disease and monitoring of cardiac function under treatment. Further investigations are required to quantify the effects of procyclidine on CFFT and cardiac function in patients with schizophrenia.
Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites in cocaine patients: no relationship to cue-induced craving
Authors: Roy Alec , Berman Jeffrey , Gonzalez Bienvenido , Roy Monique
Published: April 2009

We aimed to examine the relationship between central monoamine metabolites and craving cocaine in cocaine-dependent patients. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monoamine metabolite concentrations were determined in 20 withdrawn cocaine-dependent patients. Patients also participated in a cue-elicited cocaine craving procedure. There were no significant relationships between cocaine craving scores and CSF concentrations of the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid, the serotonin metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, or the norepinephrine metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylglycol. CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations were not related to cocaine craving in withdrawn cocaine-dependent patients.
Enhancement of stress-induced pituitary hormone release and cardiovascular activation by antidepressant treatment in healthy men
Authors: Ježová Daniela , Dunčko Roman
Published: April 2009

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to verify the suggestion that (i) in accordance with the results of animal studies, treatment with antidepressants inhibits hormone release in response to stressful stimulation in humans and (ii) drugs with opposing effects on brain serotonine (citalopram and tianeptine) exert similar modulatory effects on neuroendocrine activation during stress. Healthy male volunteers were treated with citalopram (20 mg), tianeptine (37.5 mg) or placebo for 7 days. As a stress stimulus, insulin-induced hypoglycaemia was used. Measurement of hormone concentrations revealed an enhanced release of adrenocorticotropic hormone and growth hormone in response to stress of hypoglycaemia in subjects treated with both antidepressants used. A similar augmentation was observed in systolic blood pressure. Stress-induced prolactin release was potenciated by citalopram only. Plasma renin activity, epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol levels failed to be modified by antidepressants. The present study demonstrates that (i) repeated antidepressant treatment in healthy men does not inhibit, but enhances, neuroendocrine activation during stress and (ii) such effects were observed after treatment with antidepressants having opposing actions on brain serotonin, indicating involvement of nonserotoninergic mechanisms.
A comparison of the effects of olanzapine, haloperidol and placebo on cognitive and psychomotor functions in healthy elderly volunteers
Authors: Beuzen J-N. , Taylor N. , Wesnes K. , Wood A.
Published: April 2009

The cognitive and psychomotor effects of olanzapine (3 mg) were compared with haloperidol (3 mg) and placebo in a double-blind, cross-over study. Fourteen healthy elderly volunteers (> 65 years) were randomized to receive once daily medication for 4 days with a 16-day interval between treatment periods. Assessments of attention, memory and motor control were made prior to dosing on each day, at 2, 4, 6 and 8 h after dosing on days 1 and 4, and at 24 and 48 h following the last dose. On day 1, detectable impairment was observed at all time points in both groups. On day 4, haloperidol treated subjects showed increased impairment compared with day 1 and this was sustained throughout the 48 h of testing. Olanzapine treated subjects showed reduced day 4 deficit (compared with day 1), with no significant difference from placebo beyond 6 h post dose. These results suggest that both haloperidol and olanzapine have a measurable initial effect on cognitive and psychomotor function in elderly volunteers. However, acute effects associated with olanzapine decrease with repeated dosing and show substantial adaptation within 4 days. In contrast, effects seen with haloperidol are sustained and increase with repeated dosing over the same period.
Effects of rolipram on the elevated plus-maze test in rats: a preliminary study
Authors: Silvestre Jordi S. , Fernández Andrés G. , Palacios José M.
Published: April 2009

The objective of the present study was to assess the behavioural effects of rolipram, a specific cAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE4) inhibitor, in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test in rats. Results showed that rolipram at the highest dose tested (0.1mg/kg) increased the percentage of both time spent and entries into open arms, although a decrease of locomotor activity in the EPM test was also observed. In contrast, diazepam (3.0 mg/kg) exhibited the typical profile of an anxiolytic in the EPM test, increasing the percentage of time spent and entries into open arms as well as locomotor activity. A posterior statistical analysis, however, established that the effects of both rolipram and diazepam on parameters denoting anxiolytic-like activity were statistically independent from those reflecting locomotor activity reduction. Furthermore, the effects of both rolipram and diazepam were shown to be distinct from those exhibited by tryciclic antidepressant imipramine which did not show any anxiolytic-like effects in the EPM test, although a reduction of locomotor activity was also detected. Although these preliminary results suggest that rolipram may have some anxiolytic-like properties on the EPM test in rats, such an interpretation should be taken cautiously due to the observed effects on locomotor activity, which could complicate the interpretation of results from rolipram and other PDE4 inhibitors in the current test and in other anxiety animal models.
Imaging strategies in depression
Authors: Grasby P. M.
Published: April 2009

Functional brain imaging in depressive disorder aims to map brain areas associated with depressive illness or to define the neurochemical correlates of the illness and its treatment. Regional deficits of functional (neural) activity has been consistently detected in the brains of subjects with ongoing affective symptoms, particularly in prefrontal areas. Understanding how these prefrontal deficits can be related to neuroanatomical circuitry, neurochemistry and normal cognitive functions is the major challenge in taking these findings forward. Although many neurochemical systems remain to be adequately imaged in vivo, significant progress has been made in the development of relevant radiotracers, particularly for select serotonin and dopamine receptor subtypes. For the future, functional brain imaging of the neurochemistry associated with core symptoms and treatment responses will be necessary for an adequate description of the pathophysiology of depressive illness.
A Comparison of United Kingdom and Spanish General Population Time Trade-off Values for EQ-5D Health States
Authors: Badia Xavier , Roset Montserrat , Herdman Michael , Kind Paul
Published: April 2009

Few studies have compared preference values for health states obtained in different countries. The present study compared Spanish and United Kingdom (UK) time trade-off values for EuroQol-5D health states. The same preference elicitation protocol was followed in both countries. Differences in values for 43 health states rated directly were analyzed using t tests, and regression coefficients generated by random effects modeling were compared by aggregating the 2 value sets and using dummy variables to analyze country effect by dimension and level of severity. For the milder health states, Spanish and UK value assignation was similar; for intermediate health states, Spanish values were both higher and lower than UK values, whereas for health states worse than death, UK values were generally higher than Spanish values. There were statistically significant differences (P < 0.01) in values for 34.9% of health states rated directly, and some preference reversals between countries. UK raters ascribed greater importance to dimensions of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, whereas Spanish raters placed more importance on functional dimensions of mobility and self-care. Further analysis is required to determine how these differences affect cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses.
Preferences for Fractures and Other Glucocorticoid-Associated Adverse Effects among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Authors: Merlino Linda A. , Bagchi Indranil , Taylor Thomas N. , Utrie Paul , Chrischilles Elizabeth , Sumner Walton , Mudano Amy , Saag Kenneth G.
Published: April 2009

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients’ preferences for validated health state scenarios depicting glucocorticoid adverse events, predictors of these preferences, and psychometric properties of different preference techniques in this population. Methods. Preferences were elicited by rating scale and time trade-off methods. Time trade-offs included trading current health for either time spent alive in an adverse health state for chronic conditions (time trade-off) or time spent in a sleeplike state for acute conditions (sleep trade-off). Results. A total of 107 subjects with long-standing RA participated in the preference interviews. Mean preference values (rating scale/trade-off) were lowest for serious fracture adverse events, including hip fracture requiring a nursing home stay (0.55 ± 0.22/0.76 ± 0.36) and vertebral fracture with chronic pain (0.59 ± 0.23/0.67 ± 0.35), and highest for cataracts (0.84 ± 0.17/0.96 ± 0.09) and wrist fracture (0.82 ± 0.18/0.81 ± 0.29). Rating scales had a stronger correlation (r= 0.88) with physician ranking of scenarios than trade-off methods (r = 0.31). All methods were feasible and demonstrated good reliability, while rating scale method showed better construct validity than trade-off techniques. Conclusion. Relative to their current health, RA patients assigned low preference values to many glucocorticoid adverse events, particularly those associated with chronic fracture outcomes. Results varied with the preference measure used, indicating that methodological attributes of preference determinations must be considered in clinical decision making.
Comparison of Health State Utilities Using Community and Patient Preference Weights Derived from a Survey of Patients with HIV/AIDS
Authors: Schackman Bruce R. , Goldie Sue J. , Freedberg Kenneth A. , Losina Elena , Brazier John , Weinstein Milton C.
Published: April 2009

Objectives. The authors compare health state utilities derived from a national survey of patients with HIV/AIDS to represent community-based preferences with utilities derived from the same survey representing patient preferences; explore the relationships between these utilities and the dimensions of the SF-6D health state classification; and examine the implications of differences in the source of utilities for a cost-effectiveness analysis of early treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS. Methods. The authors derived community-based standard gamble (SG) utilities using an algorithm developed for the SF-6D health state classification system. The authors derived patient SG utilities from HIV/AIDS patient rating scale self-assessments using a power transformation. Data were from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, a probability sample of 2864 HIV-infected adults receiving care in the United States in 1996. Results. Patient SG utilities were higher than community SG utilities by 4% to 9% (0.979 vs.0.937, 0.910 vs. 0.841, and 0.845 vs. 0.778; P < 0.001 for all comparisons). In regression analyses, patient SG utilities were less influenced by physical functioning, pain, and mental health dimensions of the SF-6D. The base case results of a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing early antiretroviral therapy to deferred therapy were unaffected by the choice between community ($20,100 per quality-adjusted life year) and patient ($18,400 per quality-adjusted life year) perspectives. The impact of the choice of utilities remained small in sensitivity analyses that varied the influence of treatment side effects on utilities and the initial symptom status of patients. Conclusion. There are differences between community and patient utilities for HIV/AIDS health states, although even when treatment side effects are important, these differences may not affect cost-effectiveness ratios.
Effect of Framing as Gain versus Loss on Understanding and Hypothetical Treatment Choices: Survival and Mortality Curves
Authors: Armstrong Katrina , Schwartz J. Sanford , Fitzgerald Genevieve , Putt Mary , Ubel Peter A.
Published: April 2009

Background. Presentation of information using survival or mortality (i.e., incidence) curves offers a potentially powerful method of communication because such curves provide information about risk over time in a relatively simple graphic format. However, the effect of framing as survival versus mortality on understanding and treatment choice is not known. Methods. In this study, 451 individuals awaiting jury duty at the Philadelphia City Courthouse were randomized to receive 1 of 3 questionnaires: (1) survival curves, (2) mortality curves, or (3) both survival and mortality curves. Each questionnaire included a brief description of a hypothetical treatment decision, survival curve graphs and/or mortality curve graphs presenting the outcome of the treatment, and questions measuring understanding of the information contained in the graphs and preference for undergoing treatment. After completing a brief practice exercise, participants were asked to answer questions assessing their ability to interpret single points on a curve and the difference between curves, and then to decide whether they would choose to undergo preventive surgery for 3 different scenarios in which the benefit of surgery varied. Results. Participants who received only survival curves or who received both survival and mortality curves were significantly more accurate in answering questions about the information than participants who received only mortality curves (P < 0.05). For 2 of the 3 treatment presentations, participants who received only mortality curves were significantly less likely to prefer preventive surgery than participants who received survival curves only or both survival and mortality curves (P < 0.05). The effect of framing on understanding was greatest among participants with less than a college education and among non-Caucasian participants. Conclusion. Framing graphic risk information as chance of death over time results in lower levels of understanding and less interest in preventive surgery than framing as chance of survival over time.
The Benefit of Negative Tests in Non-Ulcer Dyspepsia
Authors: Sonnenberg Amnon , Vakil Nimish
Published: April 2009

Objectives. Negative diagnostic tests are usually evaluated by their ability to advance a diagnostic search, or they are considered redundant expenditures in establishing a definitive diagnosis. It has remained difficult to assess their benefit in terms of their own merit and the reassurance that they provide to a patient. The aim of the present study is to develop a mathematical model for quantifying the impact of diagnostic tests on a patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQL). Methods. An influence diagram is used to model how non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) and its medical care affect HRQL. Diagnostic tests and medical therapy benefit HRQL by alleviating fear of disease and NUD symptoms. Medical care can also adversely affect HRQL, lead to expenses in time and money, and compromise a patient’s sense of autonomy. HRQL is modeled as the focal point of multiple influences detracting from its value. Results. Negative diagnostic tests can improve HRQL in NUD. The improvement of HRQL by diagnostic tests depends on a multitude of individual influences and the interactions between them, such as the severity of NUD symptoms and fear of disease, as well as the impact of medical care itself on HRQL. If a patient harbors a strong fear of serious disease or cancer, more extensive testing is likely to improve the patient’s well-being and appears a worthwhile endeavor. Other patients, however, would be served perfectly well by empirical therapy only. For the vast majority of subjects with NUD who never seek medical advice, the unpleasantness of the disease itself does not outweigh the anticipated downside of obtaining medical care. Conclusion. The analysis illustrates the applicability of the influence diagram in modeling disease behavior. This method helps to assess the benefit of negative tests beyond their means of generating information.
Women, Men, and Residential Patterns in Early Modern Venice
Authors: Chojnacka Monica
Published: April 2009

This article examines the residential patterns of early modern Venetians by using a collection of parish censuses from the end of the sixteenth century. Their analysis reveals much about Venetian families and the networks forged among individuals, especially women, in this period. There was no one residential pattern for early modern Venetians; rather, women and men might choose from a range of housing options, with marital status the most important factor in that choice. Above all, this article demonstrates that the residential patterns of Venetians were more varied than the traditional model for premodern households in southern Europe implies. In some ways, Venice resembles more closely the model for northern Europe, which suggests that current assumptions about premodern households require some revision.
Widows and Orphans: Women's Education Beyond the Domestic Ideal
Authors: Moroney Siobhan
Published: April 2009

While our modern assessment of the “cult of domesticity” prevalent in the early republic assumes that ideology frowned upon women engaging in activities outside the home, periodical literature on the subject of women's education shows that educational thought considered at least the possibility that a woman might need to earn wages in support of her family if her father or husband were unable or unwilling to provide. Popular educational thinking adopted the domestic ideal, and most articles published in magazines and journals focused on the need to educate girls to discharge their household and familial duties. But given a woman's precarious economic status, as well the speed at which she aged and lost her physical charms, educational thought accommodated the changing woman by insisting she develop both the character and skills she would require in old age and in adversity.
Natural Mothers, Putative Fathers, and Innocent Children: The Definition and Regulation of Parental Relationships Outside Marriage, in England, 1945-1959
Authors: Fink Janet
Published: April 2009

This article investigates how, during the 1950s, English legislative reform relating to the issues of affiliation, adoption, and legitimacy was influential in redefining the rights and responsibilities of parental relationships that lay outside and across the boundaries of marriage. The problems and debates that arose from the implementation of these reforms are used to illustrate the centrality that the ideals of monogamous marriage and the nuclear family had in the conceptualization of such relationships. They are also drawn upon to demonstrate the contradictions and paradoxes that arose from attempts to define the meaning of parenthood for mothers and fathers not attached through a marital relationship.
Masking and Unmasking the Sexual Abuse of Children: Perceptions of Violence Against Children in “the Badlands” of Ontario, 1916-1930
Authors: Sangster Joan
Published: April 2009

This article explores the legal and social understandings of incest in early-twentieth-century Canada, examining the way in which sexual abuse was identified in sensational court cases but ideologically masked in social consciousness. First, the legal treatment of incest is examined through court cases, with special focus on one case that animated a grand jury report on a rural area where incest and violence supposedly flourished. Second, the grand jury’s legal, medical, and social assumptions about incest, reflecting eugenic priorities as well class and ender prejudices, are surveyed. Third, the actual use of the grand jury report in subsequent cases is probed. The report became a generalized explanation for all kinds of familial violence, placing blame for violence on poor, degenerate, and immoral parents but ignoring the structural problems of power and patriarchy.
Fostering the Next Generation of Socialists: Patronirovanie in the Fledgling Soviet State
Authors: Bernstein Laurie
Published: April 2009

This essay traces foster care policies in the SovietUnion, concentrating on the first half of Soviet rule when, due to chaos in the wake of wars, revolutions, and famine, Bolshevikle aders retreated from their original commitment to rearing orphans in public institutions. Although the Bolsheviks considered Russian peasants unsuited for raising socialist citizens, they wound up farming out parentless children to the countryside, if only to relieve pressure on Soviet orphanages. The government made a virtue of this retreat in the 1920s but ceased its propaganda campaign on behalf of foster carewhen reports of child abuse became impossible to ignore. Foster care as a practice persisted, at first because Soviet authorities still needed to wefind places for orphans, but ultimately because they recognized that, as a rule, families provided better homes than institutions. This concession paralleledWestern attitudes to foster care.
The Two Paths to Marriage: the Preliminaries of Noble Marriage in Late Medieval France
Authors: Ribordy Geneviève
Published: April 2009

In medieval France, preliminaries were instrumental to the formation of noble marriage. Judicial and literary documents reveal the existence of two forms of preliminaries. The first involved family and friends, combined embassies, formal meetings and celebrations, and created unions on a political and economical basis. This dominant model was challenged by a personal model where enamoured couples courted and wed regardless of parental consent. Advocating values of love and individual choice partly coinciding with ecclesiastical doctrine, but contrary to aristocratic matrimonial ideals, it was perceived as a threat to the nobility’s model of marriage and was therefore bound to remain marginal.
Wolves in Women’s Clothing: Baby-Farming and the British Medical Journal, 1860-1872
Authors: Homrighaus Ruth Ellen
Published: April 2009

Baby-farming, a form of infanticide performed on unwanted children by hired nurses in nineteenth-century Britain, was defined by the medical experts who first wrote about it in the British Medical Journal. They described the problem in terms that reflected concern for infant welfare as well as suspicions of lower-class women that arose from the medical experts’ class and gender biases and their professional status. Medical men blamed baby-farming on the corruptions of working-class women and suggested that punishment, not extensive social reform, would eliminate it. Their definition influenced the outcome of two sensational trials and the Infant Life Protection Act of 1872.
The Family Networks and Geographic Mobility of French Canadian Immigrants in Early-Twentieth-Century Lowell, Massachusetts
Authors: Takai Yukari
Published: April 2009

This study analyzes complex patterns of French Canadian immigrants’ geographic mobility in their process of immigration to Lowell, Massachusetts, from 1900 to 1920. There has been relatively little systematic analysis of roles of family and kin in the process of migration in comparison to the considerable number of investigations of immigrants in the process of settlement and insertion. This article addresses this gap and sheds light on a more complex and gender-specific perspective of French Canadian immigrants’ southward movements by examining several issues of the migratory process including the geographic itineraries, occupational experiences, and migratory networks of French Canadian immigrants.
“Rough Winds Do Shake the Darling Buds of May”: a Note on William Acton and the Sexuality of the (Male) Child
Authors: Crozier Ivan
Published: April 2009

William Acton is now more widely known as a doctor specializing in sexual medicine than he ever was during his lifetime and any other time prior to the 1960s. Acton’s work is considered mostly in terms of what the British medical profession said about female sexual response. There is a lot more to Acton, even if we ignore the fact that he said virtually nothing about female sexuality. He published numerous articles in the British medical press, which have been all but ignored. He also was one of the first English doctors to give advice on how to educate one’s children in sexual matters. This article considers Acton’s writing in this area and compares it with other British medical practitioners in order to establish that Acton was not insane but, rather, that he was merely a member of the English medical profession.
Familial Poverty, Family Allowances, and the Normative Family Structure in Britain, 1917-1945
Authors: Forrest Colleen Margaret
Published: April 2009

In 1945, the Family Allowances Act was incorporated into law. The family allowances scheme depended on the maintenance of a normative family structure and a wage system that discriminated against women. Eleanor Rathbone, along with social surveyors of the 1930s and social policy makers, recognized the family wage system as a primary cause of poverty among working families. Unfortunately, the family allowances scheme did not address the poverty caused by long-term unemployment or the absence of a male wage earner within the family structure. As a social policy solution to familial poverty, consequently, family allowances reflected both the contemporary social processes and the normative family structure to the detriment of impoverished families.
A Subversive State? Domesticity in Dispute in 1950s New Zealand
Authors: Nolan Melanie
Published: April 2009

Recently, historians have begun to question whether the 1950s were the high tide of domesticity. They have reconceptualized the 1950s by distinguishing the immediate postwar period from the later 1950s. They have distinguished between groups of women and shown how some contested familialism, albeit sometimes unwittingly. But they have not considered sufficiently how the state is conceptualized. State policies changed in the 1950s. The state was not a monolith, and different agencies worked at cross-purposes. The state did not initially intend to promote disillusionment with the home, but it was an effect of its policies in the 1950s. The New Zealand state is held to be effective in promoting domestic feminism and women’s domesticity for much of the twentieth century. This article indicates it also became a powerful, albeit within limits, subverter of women’s domesticity during the 1950s.
Poor, Ill, and Sometimes Abandoned: Tubercular Children in Buenos Aires, 1880-1920
Authors: Reber Vera Blinn
Published: April 2009

Ill children with chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis, have faced difficult lives. Poverty proved a factor in their susceptibility to disease, their abandonment, and their treatment. When public health policies in Buenos Aires shifted from ignoring children to viewing them as victims who needed protection, government agencies, charitable organizations, public schools, and hospitals developed special programs that emphasized both prevention and cure of childhood tuberculosis. Argentine physicians and hygienists supported programs that were similar to those in Europe and the United States. Despite efforts, from 1880 to 1920, diagnosis of tuberculosis remained problematic, health professionals failed to prevent tuberculosis in children, and physicians were unable to cure the disease.
A Half Century of Chinese Socialism: The Changing Fortunes of Peasant Families
Authors: Attané Isabelle
Published: April 2009

Urban and rural China are worlds apart, separated in almost every imaginable way: lifestyle, daily concerns, family relationships, economic needs, empowerment, and demographic development. Three-quarters of the country's population still lives in the countryside. Who are the peasantry today? Howdo they live? What hardships do they endure? How do rural society and families deal with political and social changes? How do they react to compulsory birth limitation? In many cases, peasant families have remained the poor relation of Chinese society, victims of inequalities of all kinds: in income, access to health and education, and access to the “modern world,” the consumer society. To speak of China as a homogeneous, egalitarian, and united society must now more than ever be an absurdity, for there are in fact at least two Chinas, one urban and one rural.
A Matter of Privilege: Infant Mortality in the Garrison Town of Gibraltar, 1870-1899
Authors: Sawchuk Lawrence A. , Burke Stacie D. A. , Padiak Janet
Published: April 2009

The British colony of Gibraltar offers an opportunity to compare the infant mortality rates of the civilian and military populations inhabiting a small-scale urban setting from 1870 to 1899. Both groups shared the same poor-quality housing, the same sanitary infrastructure, and the same environmental inseparability. Sufficient water supply, in particular, proved to be a daily struggle for the families living on the Rock. Privilege for the military meant that service families had preferential access to a pure water supply after the installation of a water-condensing plant as well as to a better quality supply of water and milk. The availability of these privileges to one group, and not the other, is associated with a marked decline in infant mortality in the second half of the study period.
Lawmaking in the Shadow of the Empire: Divorce in Colonial Australia
Authors: Finlay Henry
Published: April 2009

After the introduction of the English Divorce Act of 1857, the colonial secretary suggested to the Australian colonies that they should follow the English lead with similar legislation. No provision for divorce previously existed in Australia, and this article looks briefly at alternative expedients such as wife sale, bigamy, and unmarried cohabitation. It goes on to sketch the colonial parliamentary debates during the period from 1858 to 1873 leading to the enactment of laws based on the English Divorce Act. Opposition to divorce, based on religious and traditional moral attitudes, gave way in the end to consideration for the plight of deserted wives and children as the chief motivation for reform. In the process, a degree of legislative independence from the mother country also emerges from the debates.
Influence of Donor Age on the Biomechanical and Biochemical Properties of Human Meniscal Allografts
Authors: Bursac Predrag , York Amanda , Kuznia Paulette , Brown Lauren M. , Arnoczky Steven P.
Published: April 2009

Background

Although the use of meniscal allografts to replace severely damaged or absent menisci is commonplace, little is known about the effects of donor age on the biochemical and biomechanical properties of human menisci.

Hypothesis

The mechanical and biochemical properties of human medial and lateral menisci from donors less than 45 years of age do not vary with donor age.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Thirty-three lateral and 25 medial menisci from 34 donors (26 male and 8 female) ranging from 15 to 44 years of age were harvested and immediately stored at —80°C. The outer third of each meniscus was subjected to static and dynamic tensile analysis. In addition, the biochemical composition (collagen, proteoglycan, and water content) of these samples was analyzed.

Results

There was no correlation between donor age and static tensile stiffness for either the lateral (R2 = .003) or medial (R2 = .002) meniscus. Likewise, there was no correlation between donor age and dynamic tensile modulus for either the lateral or medial meniscus. Although there was a weak, positive correlation between water content and age in both lateral (R2 = .22) and medial (R2 = .25) menisci, there was no effect of age on collagen or proteoglycan content. There were no differences (P > .05) between female and male menisci in any of the measured biomechanical or biochemical parameters tested.

Conclusion

The tensile properties, as well as the collagen and proteoglycan content, of menisci from donors less than 45 years of age were not age dependent.

Clinical Relevance

The age of the donor does not appear to affect the initial tensile properties of menisci from donors less than 45 years of age.
Mediation’s Impact on Formal Discrimination Complaint Filing
Authors: Bingham Lisa B. , Novac Mikaela Cristina
Published: April 2009

This article examines a natural field experiment in mediation of employment disputes at the United States Postal Service. Theory suggests that early mediation will lead to earlier, more durable settlements and transaction cost savings. Implementation of the mediation program resulted in a significant decrease in the number of formal discrimination complaints. A well designed employment dispute mediation program can resolve disputes at an earlier stage in the administrative process, and thereby reduce the number of formal complaints filed.
Family-Friendly Workplace Policy Adoption in General and Special Purpose Local Governments
Authors: McCurdy Arthur H. , Newman Meredith A. , Lovrich Nicholas P.
Published: April 2009

What factors explain the variation in number and types of family-friendly work-place policies implemented within public agencies? Is there any systematic attempt to measure the effectiveness of these programs? To what extent do these policies contribute to gender equality at work? To answer these questions, the authors surveyed all general and special purpose local governments in the state of Washington. They conclude that family-friendly workplace policies are adopted unevenly across local jurisdictions. Agency size, the presence of union representation, an agency’s adoption of a formal sexual harassment policy, and agency type account for much of the variance.
Employee Drug Testing as Social Control
Authors: Brunet James R.
Published: April 2009

Workplace drug testing is a commonplace practice in the United States. Social control theory, the study of social responses to deviant behavior, provides a useful framework for examining the underlying rationales for employee drug testing. A historical-legal analysis of federal employee drug testing uncovers six contrasting justifications supporting such tests (performance, health, and safety; deterrence; rehabilitation; symbolic; technology; and conflict). The article presents a promising theoretical structure (typology) for studying personnel policies that emerge as the result of new technologies in the workplace. Implications for personnel administrators and first-line managers are also explored.
Consequential Damage and Nuclear Deterrence
Authors: Anderton Charles H. , Fogarty Thomas
Published: April 2009

We present a geometric generalization of the Intriligator-Brito deterrence/attack model that can accomodate a variety of assumptions about the effectiveness of weapons. Our analysis implies that empirical consideration of weapons effectiveness is crucial to strategic application of the model. We also incorporate consequential damage into the model, i.e., destruction that is not relatively immediate, but is realized over long periods of time after war has broken out. We find that consequential damage significantly alters the deterrence/attack interpretations applied to relative and absolute weapons stocks in a nuclear deterrence relationship.
Arab-Israeli Defense Spending and Economic Growth
Authors: DeRouen Karl R.
Published: April 2009

Research on the nexus between defense spending and economic growth in the Third World has generated discrepant findings. This debate takes on added relevance in the wake of recent substantive moves toward peace in the Middle East. This study considers the relationship between defense spending and economic growth over time in the Middle East. It also addresses the externality effects defense spending has on the economies. Contextual factors such as aims production and regime type of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria are put forth as possible explanations of the disparate findings to date. The findings suggest that the potential for peace dividends in Egypt and Syria is contingent upon increases in allocations to non-defense government spending. For Israel defense cuts alone may actually hinder growth in the short run. In Jordan, the defense sector is shown to be surprisingly productive and therefore any potential peace dividend must rely upon cooperative regional ventures, and not defense cuts.
Signalling in the Turkish-Syrian Water Conflict
Authors: Güner Serdar
Published: April 2009

This paper proposes a simple two-person game of one-sided incomplete information in extensive form to understand strategic choices made in the Turkish-Syrian linkage between water and terrorism. Turkish intelligence established Syrian support of a terrorist group that aims at an independent Kurdish state in eastern Anatolia. Yet, Turkey frequently stipulates the cessation of this support for negotiating with Syria a water agreement over the Euphrates. The game presents Turkey as a player having superior information. Syria is assumed to be uncertain about Turkish preferences with respect to the mutual conflict. This analysis identifies three pooling equilibria indicating that Syrian beliefs do not matter.