bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two Exercises for Exploring the Relationships among Jungian Psychological Types, Organizational Ideals, and Organizational Politics Perceptions
Authors: Boozer Robert W. , Forte Monique
Published: April 2004

This article describes two experiential exercises relating Jungian psychological types to organizational ideals and perceptions of office politics. The first exercise explores the relationship between Jungian psychological types and organizational ideals. The second exercise explores how these organizational ideals influence perceptions of organizational politics. The exercises can be used separately or combined and are appropriate for a variety of management education settings. Guidelines are presented for administering the exercises and interpreting results.
The Politics of Regional Water Management: The Case of Guanajuato, Mexico
Authors: Maganda Carmen
Published: April 2004

This article examines water politics in Guanajuato. Focusing on the social construction of risk, it is argued that the region is vulnerable to water shortages due to political competition. State officials have promoted economic activity and demographic growth without concern for the area’s water supply. State and national water authorities compete over political power within the Lerma-Chapala Basin Council, the organization responsible for water management in the area. Moreover, representatives of the five states that make up the council attempt to maximize their own water supplies rather than guarantee the maintenance of the r egion’s aquifers.
North-South Trade and the Distribution of Environmental Goods and Burdens: a Biophysical Perspective
Authors: Giljum Stefan , Eisenmenger Nina
Published: April 2004

In the last 20 years, the implications of international trade for environmental distribution between North and South gained increasing attention in the debate on sustainable development. In this article, the authors take a biophysical perspective to analyze the distribution of environmental goods versus environmental burdens in North-South trade relations. Studies based on physical accounting are particularly suitable to elucidate environmental consequences of economic specialization processes in different world regions, as they clarify implications for both the use of natural resources and the generation of waste and of emissions in a coherent and comprehensive manner. Empirical evidence from biophysical accounting studies suggests that the formation of specific metabolic profiles of societies in the North and in the South, as a consequence of economic specialization, leads to an unequal environmental distribution. The article closes with an evaluation of policy measures and instruments appropriate for reducing negative environmental consequences of North-South trade.
Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges in American and Spanish Smokers
Authors: Cepeda-Benito Antonio , Henry Keisha , Gleaves David H. , Fernandez Mari Carmen
Published: April 2004

This study evaluated the factor structure of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU) across American and Spanish smokers. Using confirmatory factor analyses, the fits of one-, two-, and four-factor models of smoking craving in American and Spanish data sets were compared. The two-factor model provided the best fit in both samples. However, negatively worded items confounded the interpretation of the two-factor structure in both the American and Spanish data. The first factor had positively and negatively worded items, whereas the second had only positively worded items. The two-factor structure was reexamined, removing either the positively or the negatively worded items. Using only positively worded items resulted in a loss of fit, whereas using only negatively worded items improved model fit substantially. Thus, the results supported the generalization of smoking craving across Spanish and American smokers and suggested that negatively worded items play a larger role in the two-factor structure of the QSU than originally thought.
Factor Structure and Differential Validity of the Expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
Authors: Thomas Adrian , Donnell Alison J. , Young Tony R.
Published: April 2004

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is one of the most widely used measures in psychiatric outcome and clinical psychopharmacology research. To date, however, research on the psychometric properties of the expanded version of the BPRS (BPRS-E) has been limited. An exploratory factor analysis (n = 360) using maximum likelihood extraction with oblimin rotation found a four-factor solution (Thought Disturbance, Animation, Mood Disturbance, Apathy) to underlie the BPRS-E. Furthermore, these factors were logical in nature and estimates of internal consistency were acceptable. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a second, independent sample (n = 280) found that for the five models currently available in the literature, the model developed herein provided the best fit to the data. Again, estimates of internal consistency were found acceptable. Finally, the four factors demonstrated appropriate differential validity with regards to both demographic variables and various psychiatric diagnoses.
Explaining Racial Differences in Receipt of Coronary Angiography: The Role of Physician Referral and Physician Specialty
Authors: LaVeist Thomas A. , Arthur Melanie , Morgan Athol , Plantholt Stephen , Rubinstein Michael
Published: April 2004

The authors examine three hypotheses regarding race differences in utilization of coronary angiography (CA): (1) patients with a cardiology consultation are more likely to obtain a referral for CA, (2) African American patients are less likely to have a cardiology consultation, and (3) among patients referred for CA, there is no difference by race in receipt of the procedure. To determine if they obtained a referral for or received CA, 2,623 candidates for CA were followed. Multivariate models were estimated using logistic regression. Cardiology consultation was associated with referral for CA (OR = 5.1,p < .001). White patients had higher odds of cardiology consultation (OR = 2.2,p < .001). The racial disparity was reduced among patients who received a referral (OR = 1.4,p < .05). Researchers must eliminate racial differences in access to specialty care and variation in referral patterns by physician specialty, and efforts must be targeted to those specialties where greater disparities exist.
Members’ Perceptions of Community Care Network Partnerships’ Effectiveness
Authors: Hasnain-Wynia Romana , Sofaer Shoshanna , Bazzoli Gloria J. , Alexander Jeffrey A. , Shortell Stephen M. , Conrad Douglas A. , Chan Benjamin , Zukoski Ann P. , Sweney Jane
Published: April 2004

Investment in voluntary partnerships raises important questions: Should we invest in collaboration in moving toward the goals of health system redesign? What makes collaborative groups effective? Given the voluntary nature of these partnerships, membership perceptions of their experiences and the partnership’s effectiveness should be important predictors of success. This article provides a preliminary analyses of perceived effectiveness of participants’ perceptions of their own partnership, particularly focusingon leadership, conflict management, decision-making dynamics, and the breadth and depth of partnership membership. Members’ perceptions that the partnership membership was “sufficiently broad to accomplish objectives” had a negative and highly significant relationship to perceived effectiveness. Members’ perceptions about leadership beingethical was positively related to perceived effectiveness while perceptions that the leadership was not effective a keeping the group focused was negatively related to perceived effectiveness.
Market Conditions and Public Affairs Programming: Implications for Digital Television Policy
Authors: Napoli Philip M.
Published: April 2004

This study investigates whether market conditions affect the provision of public affairs programming by television broadcasters. The study examined a random sample of 112 commercial broadcast stations in order to determine whether station characteristics, market size and demographics, and competitive conditions affect the quantity of public affairs programming provided. The results suggest that market conditions have very little effect on the quantity of public affairs programming provided by individual broadcast stations and that if regulators wish to increase the amount of public affairs programming in the digital broadcasting realm, specific government-mandated programming requirements may be necessary.
What to Expect from Electoral Expectations
Authors: Mayer Russell K.
Published: April 2004

While scholars recognize that the media devote significant attention to electoral expectations, most notably in the form of horse race coverage, little is known about the content of and variance in these media expectations. In this article, the author argues that the media's reporting on electoral expectations should vary in sensible and meaningful ways. In particular, he examines the basis for media expectations, the extent of this coverage, and how expectations coverage varies across electoral settings and over the course of elections. Based on an analysis of the media coverage of eight gubernatorial elections, the author demonstrates that while electoral expectations are a significant component of campaign coverage, the media expectations environment is less uniform than is typically assumed and that this variance in electoral expectations matters politically.
Removing the Veil?
Authors: Hudson Ian , Hudson Mark
Published: April 2004

For Marx, commodity fetishism is the tendency of people to see the product of their labor in terms of relationships between things, rather than social relationships between people. In other words, people viewthe commodity only in terms of the characteristics of the final product while the process through which it was created remains obscured and, therefore, unconsidered. This has crucial implications for our collective ability to see and address the ongoing processes of social and environmental destruction under capitalism. This article examines one effort to lift the veil obscuring the relations and processes of commodity production. Fair trade attempts to make visible the social and environmental relations of production and exchange that lie behind the commodity. This assists producers in making a shift in the qualitative nature of production, particularly in terms of its impacts on producers and on the environment. The purpose of this article is to determine the extent to which fair trade can address the problem of commodity fetishism and to identify the barriers it encounters in attempting to do so.
Learning from Normal Accidents
Authors: Sagan Scott D.
Published: April 2004

Normal Accidents’ growing influence since 1984 on social science scholarship and across academic, business and governmental disciplines was not accidental. Author Charles Perrow intended to shake up the study of safety and bring organization theory into the fore-front. This article examines ongoing debates about the management of technological systems, reviews the book’s important seeds of theory, and discusses the theoretical and practical issues related to a world growing more complex and technologically hazardous.
Normal Risk
Authors: Gephart Robert P.
Published: April 2004

Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow (1984) demonstrates how complex, tightly coupled technological systems produce accidents. The theory of normal accidents argues that organizations can create technological systems that produce ecosystems disasters and impacts. Organizations cannot prevent or mitigate these disasters and impacts once the technological system is operational (Perrow, 1997). The current article discusses the important insights that Normal Accidents provides into risk sense making and ecosystems accidents. Research that extends Perrow’s (1984) work is reviewed to provide insights into how societies legitimate high-risk technologies that are prone to failure and to environmental disaster. The article concludes by encouraging researchers to follow Perrow’s (1994, p. 10) call to examine “systems that have not had accidents” from a critical perspective.
Ecological Economics and Classical Marxism
Authors: Foster John Bellamy , Burkett Paul
Published: April 2004

This introduction to “Socialism and the Unity of Physical Forces” reassesses Sergei Podolinsky’s place in the history of ecological economics together with Marx and Engels’s reaction to Podolinsky’s work. The authors show that contrary to conventional wisdom, Podolinsky did not establish a plausible thermodynamic basis for the labor theory of value that could have been adopted by Marx and Engels. Moreover, Marx and Engels did not neglect nor abruptly reject Podolinsky’s work as is commonly supposed but took it seriously enough to scrutinize it deeply in the spirit of critique. Although verifying Podolinsky’s rightful place as a forerunner of ecological energetics, the authors’analysis highlights the severe limitations imposed by his energy reductionism and closed-system thinking as compared to Marx and Engels’s metabolic and open-system approach.
The Wisconsin Labor-Environmental Network
Authors: Obach Brian
Published: April 2004

Political conflict between environmental advocates and polluting industries is easily under-stood. However, workers may also be affected by environmental measures leading to the involvement of unions in environmental policy debates. The impact of environmental policy on the status of workers varies a great deal and the position that unions take on environmental issues also shows significant variability. How unions will relate to environmental organizations and whether cooperation or conflict will develop between them requires examination. In this article, the case of the Wisconsin Labor-Environmental Network, a political coalition of unions and environmentalists, is used to examine the outcome of labor-environmental interactions around a range of issues. Utilizing class and social movement theory to inform the analysis, a typology of strategic outcomes is created that encompasses the range of possible results. These include (a) instrumental cooperation, (b) enlightened cooperation, (c) compromise cooperation, and (d) cases of irreconcilable differences.
Principals’ Perceptions and Practices of School Bullying Prevention Activities
Authors: Dake Joseph A. , Price James H. , Telljohann Susan K. , Funk Jeanne B.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine principals’ perceptions and practices regarding bullying prevention. A survey instrument was developed to assess principals’ stages of change and perceived barriers regarding selected bullying prevention activities as well as the effectiveness of bullying prevention activities. Of a national random sample of 700 principalsto which the survey was mailed, 55% responded. None of the school-based bullying prevention activities were being done by more than one in five schools even though principals perceived there to be no barriers regarding these activities. Characteristics that affected the offering of these activities included number of perceived barriers to implementing the activity, whether the principal had received violence/bullying prevention training, perceptions regarding the extent of bullying, and the number of bullying problems reported to them. The findings suggest that preprofessional training and continuing education are needed to educate principals regarding this area.
Emotional Intelligence in the International Curriculum
Authors: Sherlock Patrick
Published: April 2004

This article explores how emotional intelligence may be integrated into an international curriculum. Through the examination of several models of international education it is determined that values of open-mindedness, inclusion, respect and tolerance are more likely to be achieved within a curriculum that fosters the development of emotional intelligence (EI). The form that the curriculum might take is studied from the perspective of three theoretical models, and the thesis is presented that, in order for an international education to be experienced, both ideas and emotions must cross frontiers.
Global Product Branding and International Education
Authors: Cambridge James
Published: April 2004

International education has been compared with other globally marketed goods and services such as soft drinks and hamburgers: a reliable product conforming to consistent quality standards throughout the world. This article explores the issues of international education, globalization and product branding, and examines the extent to which it may be claimed that international schools constitute a network of independent franchised distributors of globally branded international education products and services. The concept of branding and the implications of global branding are also discussed.
Evaluation of Renal Pathology With an Intravenous Ultrasound Contrast Agent
Authors: Peterson Cynthia L. , Barr Richard G.
Published: April 2004

Contrast agents are used widely in most imaging modalities when evaluating renal pathology. Ultrasound contrast agents have the potential to yield increased information in sonography of renal masses. This article presents four cases of patients with various renal pathology and the impact of the addition of an ultrasound contrast agent (Definity, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, North Billerica, MA) on the imaging studies. The value of using pulse cancellation software to allow for gray-scale sonographic evaluation is discussed.
Sonography of the Rotator Cuff
Authors: Holling Amanda
Published: April 2004

The rotator cuff is formed by the subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles. Together, these muscles help stabilize the glenohumeral joint by holding the head of the humerus in the glenoid cavity of the scapula. The tendinous insertions of the rotator cuff create tension within the capsule when these muscles contract, providing stability in the joint. The rotator cuff can be damaged by disease, injury, or trauma, which can tear or rupture one or more of the tendons. Musculoskeletal sonography has become a popular imaging modality for diagnosing rotator cuff tears. Understanding the anatomy of the rotator cuff is crucial to successful rotator cuff sonography.
Ultrasound Practitioner Master's Degree Curriculum and Questionnaire Response by the SDMS Membership
Authors: Hall R. , Bierig M. , Coffin C. , Ismail C. , Jones A. , Kawamura D. , Persutte W. , Roberts D. , Spitz J. L.
Published: April 2004

Following publication of the ultrasound practitioner (UP) master's degree educational proposal in August 1999, the UP Commission published a questionnaire to obtain feedback from SDMS membership to the UP concept. This article contains the results of that data collection. Additionally, as progress has been made in the development of UP programs around the country, refinement of the curriculum, as originally proposed, has begun. This article contains a breakdown of required didactic and clinical education for the midlevel provider in diagnostic ultrasound.
Sonographic Evaluation of the Infant Hip for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
Authors: Lo Donald , McLeary Michael , DeLange Marie
Published: April 2004

Ultrasound is a rapid, noninvasive, and cost-effective tool for the assessment of the infant hip. With ultrasound, both the physician and sonographer can directly evaluate the femoral head, composed of hyaline cartilage, and its relationship to the acetabulum. As with any sonographic study, the accuracy of the results will depend greatly on attention to normal and pathological anatomy. This article reviews sonographic scan procedure and normal sonographic hip anatomy, illustrating the sonographic appearance of subluxation and hip dislocation.
Removing Some of the Gray Concerning the Health of Frail Older Women
Authors: Evans Kevin D. , Mazzei Lisa A. , Teaford Margaret H.
Published: April 2004

The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to investigate whether frail older women with a positive perception of health would desire to take a more active role in their health care. A related goal was to provide a rich description of their attitudes and factors that might govern their health perceptions. The study design was conducted using a feminist perspective for inquiry. The participants represented a convenience sample ( n = 4), and their information was recorded as part of taking each patient's history prior to a sonographic examination. In the process of identifying areas of consensus between the older women, additional variables were shared. Relying on Wilson and Cleary's work on identifying areas of influence on perceptions of health, the interviews were guided to collect the participant's unique conditions that corresponded to these areas. Responses during the interview were grouped under the headings of age, symptoms, social-psychological support, attitudes, independence, and social-economic support. Agreement was noted among the respondents on a need to be independent and on a sense of having good health. Consulting older women's medical charts and a researcher's personal journal allowed for triangulation of the data collected. A surprising result was that most of the data were new to the patient's record. It appeared that aspects of the social history for these patients had been neglected. Findings for this group indicated a desire to be more independent and more in control of their health care. Dialogue of the participants demonstrated a consistent wish to handle their affairs and also matched a positive health perception. The findings of the pilot study demonstrate a need for health care professionals and physicians to be more sensitive to the issues surrounding the health perceptions and social settings of frail older women. Further investigation and a larger cohort for a replication study are recommended.
Diagnosis of Brachial Artery Occlusion by Ultrasound
Authors: Parmeter Barbara , Rodway Laura
Published: April 2004

Brachial artery occlusion is a rare occurrence. The authors report a case of a brachial artery occlusion diagnosed first by ultrasound with the findings confirmed by angiography.
Biliary Pseudolithiasis
Authors: Having Karen , Ryter Samantha
Published: April 2004

Cholelithiasis is a pathology that can be confidently diagnosed by sonographic examination. The following case presents sonographic findings consistent with cholelithiasis in a child being treated with the antibiotic Rocephin. A follow-up preoperative sonographic examination of the gallbladder displayed no evidence of cholelithiasis. This is a classic example of Rocephin-induced “biliary pseudolithiasis.”
Unusual Sonographic Appearance of Scrotal Calculi Without Hydrocele
Authors: Erdem C. Zuhal , Erdem L. Oktay , Gundogdu Sadi , Yesilli Cetin , Mungan N. Aydin
Published: April 2004

Scrotal calculi are rare benign lesions of the scrotum. Scrotal calculi associated with hydrocele are occasionally reported, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, scrotal calculi without hydrocele have not been previously reported. In this study, three cases of scrotal calculi without hydrocele are presented.
Sonographic Signs of Fetal Neural Tube and Central Nervous System Defects
Authors: Stephenson Susan Raatz
Published: April 2004

Sonography may provide prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects and has become a routine part of prenatal care. Neural tube defects include malformations of the brain and spine. Among congenital anomalies, neural tube defects are second in incidence following cardiac defects. Laboratory tests combined with sonography are often able to diagnose the failure of the neural tube to fuse. Specific sonographic signs provide direct or indirect evidence of a neural tube defect.
How do palliative medicine physicians assess and manage depression
Authors: Lawrie Iain , Lloyd-Williams Mari , Taylor Fiona
Published: April 2004

Depression is a significant symptom for approximately 25% of palliative care patients, but is frequently unrecognized and untreated. This study was carried out to determine how senior doctors working in palliative medicine in the UK assessed and managed depression in their patients. A questionnaire was sent to all palliative care units with a designated consultant or medical director. Questions were asked about assessment and management of depression (pharmacological and nonpharmacological); difficulties encountered, qualifications and current post. The response rate was 63%; two-thirds (90) of respondents were consultants and a further 21 medical directors. The majority (73%) routinely assessed for depression with 27% using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale and 10% asking the patient 'are you depressed'? The most frequently prescribed medication was SSRI (80%). Less than 6% prescribed psychostimulants. Respondents reported difficulties with the assessment and management of depression which mainly focused on distinguishing symptoms of depression from sadness and whether it was appropriate to treat patients when life expectancy was short. Difficulties were identified in accessing psychiatric input by 47%. Depression is identified as being a difficult symptom to manage by many senior palliative care physicians in the UK and suggestions are made as to how some of theses issues can be addressed.
The quality of medical care at the end-of-life in the USA: existing barriers and examples of process and outcome measures
Authors: Yabroff K Robin , Mandelblatt Jeanne S , Ingham Jane
Published: April 2004

Context: Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA and despite many recent advances in detection and treatment, over half a million cancer patients in this country will die from their disease each year. Objective: Using cancer as a prototype, we provide a conceptual framework to identify and review barriers to optimal end-of-life care and propose examples of linked process and outcome measures that could be used to evaluate whether standards of optimal end-of-life care are being achieved. Methods: We propose a conceptual model of end-of-life care and use this model to review the published literature to identify the key goals of optimal end-of-life care and summarize existing barriers to optimal end-of-life care. We then provide examples of process and outcome measures linked to the goals of optimal end-of-life care and domains within the conceptual framework. Results: Within all components of care at the end-of-life-societal attitudes, health care system(s), providers, and patients and their families — there are significant barriers to the quality of care. Some of the most critical barriers to optimal care at the endof-life in the USA are limited availability, and coverage of, co-ordinated service delivery; poor provider communication and diagnostic skills; limited opportunities for training in palliative care; patient fears and attitudes towards the sick role, and a lack of, or inadequate health insurance. Proposed patient, provider, and system level measures of the quality of care were guided by goals of optimal end-of-life care, and focus on communication about prognosis and risks and benefits of treatment, development of clear and informed treatment goals, delivery of services consistent with treatment goals, and promotion of quality of life. Conclusions: At present, there are substantial societal, health care system, provider, and patient barriers to obtaining optimal cancer care at the end-of-life. Ongoing discussions about appropriate measures of the quality of end-of-life care are gaining momentum, however. The proposed process and outcome measures for assessing optimal end-of-life care use cancer as a prototype, but are broadly applicable to other patient populations with life-threatening disease.
Haloperidol in palliative care
Authors: Vella-Brincat Jane , Macleod A D (Sandy)
Published: April 2004

Haloperidol is one of 20 ‘essential’ medications in palliative care. Its use is widespread in palliative care patients. The pharmacology of haloperidol is complex and the extent and severity of some of its adverse effects, particularly extrapyramidal adverse effects (EPS), may be related to the route of administration. Indications for the use of haloperidol in palliative care are nausea and vomiting and delirium. Adverse effects include EPS and QT prolongation. Sedation is not a common adverse effect of haloperidol. It is important that palliative care practitioners have a comprehensive understanding of the indications, doses, adverse effects and pharmacology of haloperidol. This review is intended to address these issues.
Changes in carbon and nitrogen cycling during tree-line retreat recorded in the isotopic content of lacustrine organic matter, western Taimyr Peninsula, Russia
Authors: Wolfe Brent B. , Edwards Thomas W. D. , Aravena Ramon
Published: April 2004

Bulk organic and cellulose stable carbon isotope and bulk organic nitrogen isotope profiles from the sediments of a small tundra lake on the western Taimyr Peninsula, Russia, show changes that are correlated with climate cooling and treeline retreat at c. 4000 14C years BP. Increased soil organic matter decomposition, combined with a moist climate, probably provided a 13C-depleted source of CO2(aq) to lake phytoplankton thriving under favourable conditions during the forest interval. Increased concentration of CO2(aq) and re-utilization of respired CO2(aq) from organic matter settling through the water column may have also contributed to the relatively low δ13C values in the lower part of the lake sediment record. Bulk organic and cellulose carbon are more enriched in 13C after the boreal forest retreated probably because CO2 from the atmosphere became the dominant source of carbon to the lake as soil organic decomposition rates declined, the lake became more oligotrophic, and the climate became colder and drier. Reduced concentration of CO2(aq) may have also led to 13C-enrichment. Interpretation of the bulk organic δ15N record is somewhat more speculative but changes in drainage basin terrestrial vegetation, soil decomposition and hydrology also appear to have strongly influenced the lake water nitrogen cycling. Although considerably more effort is required to assess modern carbon and nitrogen isotope systematics, these promising results suggest that lake sediment organic matter δ13C, δ15N and cellulose δ13C combine to form useful tracers of past nutrient cycling in boreal tree-line watersheds.
Response of aeolian systems to Holocene climatic and hydrologic changes on the northern margin of the Sahara: a high-resolution record from the Chott Rharsa basin, Tunisia
Authors: Swezey C. , Lancaster N. , Kocurek G. , Deynoux M. , Blum M. , Price D. , Pion J. -C.
Published: April 2004

Four millennial-scale latest Pleistocene to Holocene climatic cycles are recorded by aeolian-lacus trine strata along the southern margin of Chott Rharsa, a playa situated within an active tectonic basin along the northern margin of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia. Cycles are characterized by (1) a humid phase of dunefield stabilization and high lake levels, and (2) an arid phase of playa desiccation and deflation with dunefield construction. The cycles overall define a progressive drying trend and correlate well with a detailed chronology from Morocco and with the Sahara region in general for the latest Pleistocene and early Holocene. Climatic events appear more regional in nature for the later Holocene. An isolated outcrop of aeolian deposits dated at >86 ka BP argues for records of older cycles in the Chott Rharsa Basin that were subsequently removed by long-term deflation in the area.
System dynamics and environmental change: an exploratory study of Holocene lake sediments at Holzmaar, Germany
Authors: Dearing John A. , Zolitschka Bernd
Published: April 2004

The idea that much environmental information may be gained by identifying underlying environmen tal system behaviours is examined. Six categories of system behaviour for changes between and within steady-states are identified: disorder maximization; self-organization; linear process-response; stochastic; self- organized criticality; and chaotic. In practical terms, predictability only exists for linear behaviour. Simple frequency distributions of time-series data are used to identify dominant behaviour in the proxy-records from 10 000 years of annual laminations from Holzmaar, Germany. The results suggest that before ~3000 yr cal. BP the catchment-lake system may have reached a state of self-organized criticality where fluctuations in system properties, for instance diatom productivity and sediment flux, were caused by internal reorganization as much as by external forces. Comparison of the records for sediment flux with outputs from the GOLEM landscape model suggests that major shifts in the Holocene record were triggered by human actions rather than by climate. The approach offers a new perspective on the causes of minor and major changes in reconstructed environmental systems and the degree of interactions between subsystems.
Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
Authors: Laing Tamsin E. , Rühland Kathleen M. , Smol John P.
Published: April 2004

Changes in diatom assemblages in a sediment core taken from a tundra lake near the Lena River Delta, northeastern Siberia, reflect climatic and environmental changes throughout the Holocene. Significant limnological changes occurred at the same time as trees advanced into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP (8500 radiocarbon yr BP) and subsequently retreated c. 3800 cal. yr BP (3500 radiocarbon yr BP). Prior to this tree-line shift, diatom assemblages were dominated by small benthic Fragilaria species, and diatom-inferred alka linity values were high, suggesting that climatic conditions were cool and relatively dry, and that lake pro ductivity was probably low. Coincident with tree-line advance into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP, inferred alkalinity decreased and remained low throughout the forested period, reflecting soil development and increased organic runoff associated with the shift in catchment vegetation. The establishment of a larch forest in the catchment corresponded with an initial period of limnological change between 9100 and 7700 cal. yr BP, suggesting that soil and forest development took place over approximately 1400 years. Between c. 7700 cal. yr BP (c. 7000 radiocarbon yr BP) and 3800 cal. yr BP, a stable diatom assemblage dominated by Achnanthes species and low diatom-inferred alkalinity indicate the influence of organic runoff associated with a fully developed forest. A return to cooler conditions and reversion to shrub tundra c. 3800 cal. yr BP coincided with a shift back to a Fragilaria-dominated diatom assemblage and an increase in diatom-inferred alkalinity. Recent conditions have been marked by declining alkalinity estimates and a minor change in diatom assemblages, most likely reflecting an influx of humic substances from catchment peats. The close correlation between trends in reconstructed alkalinity and catchment vegetation suggests that diatom-inferred alkalinity may provide a sensitive record of soil and forest development in unpolluted circumneutral or alkaline tree-line lakes.
Holocene vegetational and climatic changes in the forest zone of Western Siberia according to pollen records from the extrazonal palsa bog Bugristoye
Authors: Blyakharchuk Tatyana A. , Sulerzhitsky Leopold D.
Published: April 2004

Pollen stratigraphy of an extrazonal palsa bog in the middle taiga of the West Siberian Plain is dated by radiocarbon at five levels. Local pollen assemblage zones (LPAZ) are the basis for palaeogeographical reconstructions. Tundra-steppe plant communities with shrub birch ( Betula nana) dominated in the latest Pleistocene. Warming after 10 000 14C yr BP caused the local thawing of permafrost, forming shallow lakes. Larixand then Picea spread along river valleys and depressions. Steppe plant communities existed on the dry interfluves. Further climatic warming and drying caused Picea to retreat, and Betula forest-steppe dominated 9500–8900 yr BP. Dense Pinus sylvestris and Pinus sibirica forests then spread over the whole area, and steppe communities decreased about 8300 yr BP. The Holocene climatic optimum (6000–5000 yr BP) was characterized by warm and wet conditions and Abies was widespread. Cooling then caused retreat of Abiesforests to the south and the expansion of Pinus sibirica forests on clay soils and Pinus sylvestris forests on sandy soils. Cooling about 4300 yr BP caused the peat to freeze and the palsa to form by bulging. Peat accumulation on the Bugristoye bog stopped at this time.
Cancer Patient Preferences for Communication of Prognosis in the Metastatic Setting
Authors: Hagerty Rebecca G. , Butow Phyllis N. , Ellis Peter A. , Lobb Elizabeth A. , Pendlebury Susan , Leighl Natasha , Goldstein David , Lo Sing Kai , Tattersall Martin H.N.
Published: April 2004

Purpose

To identify preferences for and predictors of prognostic information among patients with incurable metastatic cancer.

Patients and Methods

One hundred twenty-six metastatic cancer patients seeing 30 oncologists at 12 outpatient clinics in New South Wales, Australia, participated in the study. Patients were diagnosed with incurable metastatic disease within 6 weeks to 6 months of recruitment. Patients completed a survey eliciting their preferences for prognostic information, including type, quantity, mode, and timing of presentation; anxiety and depression levels; and information and involvement preferences.

Results

More than 95% of patients wanted information about side effects, symptoms, and treatment options. The majority wanted to know longest survival time with treatment (85%), 5-year survival rates (80%), and average survival (81%). Words and numbers were preferred over pie charts or graphs. Fifty-nine percent (59%) wanted to discuss expected survival when first diagnosed with metastatic disease. Thirty-eight percent and 44% wanted to negotiate when expected survival and dying, respectively, were discussed. Patients with higher depression scores were more likely to want to know shortest time to live without treatment (P = .047) and average survival (P = .049). Lower depression levels were significantly associated with never wanting to discuss expected survival (P = .03). Patients with an expected survival of years were more likely to want to discuss life expectancy when first diagnosed with metastases (P = .02).

Conclusion

Most metastatic cancer patients want detailed prognostic information but prefer to negotiate the extent, format, and timing of the information they receive from their oncologists.
Influence of Biologic Markers on the Outcome of Hodgkin's Lymphoma: A Study by the Spanish Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Study Group
Authors: Montalbán Carlos , García Juan F. , Abraira Víctor , González-Camacho Leocricia , Morente Manuel M. , Bello Jose L. , Conde Eulogio , Cruz Miguel A. , García-Sanz Ramón , García-Laraña José , Grande Carlos , Llanos Marta , Martínez Rafael , Flores Eduardo , Méndez Miguel , Ponderós Concepción , Rayón Concepción , Sánchez-Godoy Pedro , Zamora Javier , Piris Miguel A.
Published: April 2004

Purpose

Current therapies fail to cure a significant proportion of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). Predictive systems for stratification of the disease and selection of treatment based on sets of clinical variables, such as the international prognostic score (IPS), are of relatively small practical value. The predictive use of biologic parameters has so far provided limited and inconsistent results. Here we explore the influence of a set of molecular markers on the outcome of HL.

Patients and Methods

Forty molecular markers involved in B-cell differentiation and activation, signal transduction, cell cycle, and apoptosis control were analyzed in 259 classic HL patient cases by using tissue microarrays. Univariate analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of markers on favorable outcome (complete remission of > 12 months). Significant variables were included in a multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the probability of favorable outcome was estimated.

Results

Univariate analysis revealed four molecular markers that predicted outcome, and the multivariate analysis showed p53, Bcl-XL, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) to have independent significance. The combination of these factors determined two groups of patients (group I, zero to one factor; group II, two to three factors) with a probability of a favorable outcome of .948 and .687, respectively. A multivariate Cox's model shows that these biologic risk groups have special predictive power in low-IPS patients.

Conclusion

The data from this exploratory study suggest that the accumulation of molecular events seems to influence the outcome of HL, particularly in the low-IPS group.
Clinical Relevance of Different Sequencing of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, and Fluorouracil in Operable Breast Cancer
Authors: Bonadonna Gianni , Zambetti Milvia , Moliterni Angela , Gianni Luca , Valagussa Pinuccia
Published: April 2004

Purpose

To assess the clinical relevance of different sequences of doxorubicin (DOX) and cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) in patients with operable breast cancer at risk of disease relapse.

Patients and Methods

Two randomized trials were activated in the early 1980s. The first study, in patients with one to three involved nodes, was intended to assess the effectiveness of intravenous (IV) CMF given every 3 weeks for 12 courses versus eight courses of the same CMF regimen followed by four courses of full-dose DOX (CMF→DOX). The second study, in patients with more than three involved nodes, compared four courses of full-dose DOX sequentially followed by eight courses of IV CMF (DOX→CMF) versus alternating two courses of the same CMF regimen with one course of DOX (CMF/DOX) for a total of 12 courses.

Results

After a median observation of 210 months, no statistically significant difference was documented in the first study (relapse-free survival hazard rate [HR], 1.06; total survival HR, 1.03). In contrast, the delivery of DOX first, followed by CMF significantly reduced the risk of disease relapse (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.87; P = .0017) and death (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.95; P = .018) compared with the alternating regimen.

Conclusion

Anthracycline-containing regimens can further reduce the odds of relapse and death compared with CMF. However, the findings observed in our trials emphasize that the relative merits of anthracycline adjuvant programs also can depend on the modality of administration and must be assessed in properly designed trials in which the magnitude of the benefits can be weighed against potential risks.
A comparison of pseudo-ternary diagrams of aqueous mixtures of Quil A, cholesterol and phospholipid prepared by lipid-film hydration and dialysis
Authors: Demana P. H. , Berger B. , Vosgerau U. , Rades T. , Davies N. M.
Published: April 2004

Pseudo-ternary diagrams for Quil A, phospholipid (phosphatidylcholine (PC) or phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)) and cholesterol were established in order to identify combinations that result in the formation of immune-stimulating complex (ISCOM) matrices and other colloidal structures produced by these three components in aqueous systems following lipid-film hydration or dialysis (methods that can be used to produce ISCOMs). In addition, the effect of equilibration time (1 month at 4°C) on the structures formed by the various combinations of the three components was investigated. Depending on the ratio of Quil A, cholesterol and phospholipid, different colloidal particles, including ISCOM matrices, liposomes and ring-like micelles, were found irrespective of the preparation method used. In contrast, worm-like micelles were only observed in systems prepared by lipid-film hydration. For samples prepared by dialysis, ISCOM matrices were predominantly found near the Quil A apex of the pseudo-ternary diagram (> 50% Quil A). On the other hand, for samples prepared by lipid-film hydration, ISCOM matrices were predominantly found near the phospholipid apex of the pseudo-ternary diagram (> 50% phospholipid). The regions in the pseudo-ternary diagrams in which ISCOM matrices were observed increased following an extended equilibration time, particularly for samples prepared by lipid-film hydration. Differences were also observed between pseudoternary diagrams prepared using either PE or PC as phospholipids.
Pharmaceutical evaluation of liquorice before and after roasting in mice
Authors: Majima Takami , Yamada Tomohiro , Tega Eiji , Sakurai Hiroaki , Saiki Ikuo , Tani Tadato
Published: April 2004

Liquorice has been used for allergic-inflammatory and liver disorders in both traditional Chinese and modern medicine. In traditional Chinese formulations, it is mainly roasted liquorice that has been used rather than un-roasted liquorice. We have compared the pharmaceutical characteristics of liquorice before and after roasting to clarify the pharmaceutical significance of the roasting. Although roasted liquorice contained less glycyrrhizin (an anti-allergic component) than un-roasted liquorice, the inhibitory potency of roasted liquorice extract (200 mg kg−1) on immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated triphasic ear swelling in mice was much greater compared with un-roasted liquorice. To search for additional active ingredients, roasted liquorice extract was subjected to gel-chromatography to give an anti-allergic fraction (Fa) of molecular weight ranging from 15000 to 200000 or more, in which glycyrrhizin was not detected. By testing the activity of the various fractions, it was proved that the anti-allergic effect of roasted liquorice was due to glycyrrhizin, its metabolite glycyrrhetic acid, and the Fa fraction. The inhibitory potency of the Fa fraction (15 and 75 mg kg−1) prepared from roasted liquorice was stronger than that prepared from un-roasted liquorice. Therefore, a pharmaceutical implication of roasting the liquorice seems to be associated with an increase in the anti-allergic property of the Fa fraction. It is notable that oral administration of the high molecular mass fraction (Fa) significantly inhibited IgE-mediated ear swelling six days after challenge at doses as low as 3, 15 or 75 mg kg−1.
Media to simulate the postprandial stomach I. Matching the physicochemical characteristics of standard breakfasts
Authors: Klein Sandra , Butler James , Hempenstall John M. , Reppas Christos , Dressman Jennifer B.
Published: April 2004

To better predict food effects on the bioavailability/bioequivalence of drugs and drug products from in-vitro data, a dissolution medium that simulates the initial composition of the postprandial stomach was developed. First, the physical parameters of two homogenized standard breakfasts often administered to assess food effects in pharmacokinetic studies were measured. These included pH, buffer capacity, osmolality, surface tension and viscosity. Subsequently, the match of the physical parameters of several commercially available liquid meals, including long-life milk, Ensure and Ensure Plus to those of the breakfasts was evaluated. Of the three liquid meals studied, Ensure Plus had the closest physicochemical behaviour to that of homogenized standard breakfasts. By increasing the viscosity of Ensure Plus with 0.45% pectin, it was possible to obtain a medium that closely resembles the FDA standard breakfast.