bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvements in the visual evaluation of soil structure
Authors: Guimarães R. M. L. , Ball B. C. , Tormena C. A. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractSpade methods to visually evaluate soil structural quality (Sq) are simple, quick, cheap and can be used by farmers, gardeners, consultants and the scientific community. However, European and Brazilian users of one such method, viz. visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS) which is a development of the Peerlkamp test, have been concerned about its subjectivity. The method of soil slice break‐up and operator influence on scores have been questioned. Thus, our aim was to make soil scoring by the VESS technique more objective and thus to revise the scoring guide. We compared scoring with normal breaking up of the soil slice by hand with scoring after breaking up the slice by dropping (drop shatter) to make the soil break‐up more operator independent. After slice break‐up, aggregates were split by hand and their internal porosity was evaluated to develop the use of visible porosity as an aid to scoring. This proved inconclusive on its own, so a method of reducing larger aggregates to 1.5–2.0 cm core fragments and describing their shape and porosity was developed to score soil Sq. Breaking up a spadeful of soil by hand or by dropping resulted in the same Sq score. The method of reducing aggregates and evaluation of their shape improved VESS, particularly in the middle range of soil quality and the revised chart is shown. VESS was sensitive to changes in Sq in layers within the profile and its use for diagnosing Sq in different layers allows targeted soil improvement by tillage.
Vascular Incompetence in Dialysis Patients—Protein‐Bound Uremic Toxins and Endothelial Dysfunction
Authors: Jourde‐Chiche Noémie , Dou Laetitia , Cerini Claire , Dignat‐George Françoise , Brunet Philippe 
Published: June 2011

AbstractPatients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a much higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than the general population. Endothelial dysfunction, which participates in accelerated atherosclerosis, is a hallmark of CKD. Patients with CKD display impaired endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation, elevated soluble biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction, and increased oxidative stress. They also present an imbalance between circulating endothelial populations reflecting endothelial injury (endothelial microparticles and circulating endothelial cells) and repair (endothelial progenitor cells). Endothelial damage induced by a uremic environment suggests an involvement of uremia‐specific factors. Several uremic toxins, mostly protein‐bound, have been shown to have specific endothelial toxicity: ADMA, homocysteine, AGEs, and more recently, p‐cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate. These toxins, all poorly removed by hemodialysis therapies, share mechanisms of endothelial toxicity: they promote pro‐oxidant and pro‐inflammatory response and inhibit endothelial repair. This article (i) reviews the evidence for endothelial dysfunction in CKD, (ii) specifies the involvement of protein‐bound uremic toxins in this dysfunction, and (iii) discusses therapeutic strategies for lowering uremic toxin concentrations or for countering the effects of uremic toxins on the endothelium.
Promoting Behavior Change from Alcohol Use Through Mobile Technology: The Future of Ecological Momentary Assessment
Authors: Cohn Amy M. , Hunter‐Reel Dorian , Hagman Brett T. , Mitchell Jessica 
Published: June 2011

Background: Interactive and mobile technologies (i.e., smartphones such as Blackberries, iPhones, and palm‐top computers) show promise as an efficacious and cost‐effective means of communicating health‐behavior risks, improving public health outcomes, and accelerating behavior change. The present study was conducted as a “needs assessment” to examine the current available mobile smartphone applications (e.g., apps) that utilize principles of ecological momentary assessment (EMA)—daily self‐monitoring or near real‐time self‐assessment of alcohol‐use behavior—to promote positive behavior change, alcohol harm reduction, psycho‐education about alcohol use, or abstinence from alcohol.Methods: Data were collected and analyzed from iTunes for Apple iPhone©. An inventory assessed the number of available apps that directly addressed alcohol use and consumption, alcohol treatment, or recovery, and whether these apps incorporated empirically based components of alcohol treatment.Results: Findings showed that few apps addressed alcohol‐use behavior change or recovery. Aside from tracking drinking consumption, a minority utilized empirically based components of alcohol treatment. Some apps claimed they could serve as an intervention; however, no empirical evidence was provided.Conclusions: More studies are needed to examine the efficacy of mobile technology in alcohol intervention studies. The large gap between availability of mobile apps and their use in alcohol treatment programs indicates several important future directions for research.
Atopic dermatitis: a disease of altered skin barrier and immune dysregulation
Authors: Boguniewicz Mark , Leung Donald Y. M. 
Published: June 2011

Summary:Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an important chronic or relapsing inflammatory skin disease that often precedes asthma and allergic disorders. New insights into the genetics and pathophysiology of AD point to an important role of structural abnormalities in the epidermis as well as immune dysregulation not only for this skin disease but also for the development of asthma and allergies. Patients with AD have a unique predisposition to colonization or infection by microbial organisms, most notably Staphylococcus aureus and herpes simplex virus. Measures directed at healing and protecting the skin barrier and addressing the immune dysregulation are essential in the treatment of patients with AD, and early intervention may improve outcomes for both the skin disease as well as other target organs.
Comparison of the Novel Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Azilsartan Medoxomil vs Valsartan by Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
Authors: Sica Domenic , White William B. , Weber Michael A. , Bakris George L. , Perez Alfonso , Cao Charlie , Handley Alison , Kupfer Stuart 
Published: June 2011

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011;13:467–472. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Azilsartan medoxomil (AZL‐M) is a unique angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) under development for the treatment of hypertension. To compare this ARB with another in the class, the authors studied the effects of AZL‐M and valsartan (VAL) in 984 patients with primary hypertension in a randomized, double‐blind, multicenter study using ambulatory and clinic blood pressure (BP) measurements. The primary end point was change from baseline in 24‐hour mean ambulatory systolic BP following 24 weeks of treatment. Hierarchical analysis testing for noninferiority was followed by superiority testing of AZL‐M (80 mg then 40 mg) vs VAL. The mean age of participants was 58 years, 52% were men, and 15% were black. Baseline 24‐hour mean systolic BP was similar (approximately 145.6 mm Hg) in each group. AZL‐M 40 mg and 80 mg lowered 24‐hour mean systolic BP (−14.9 mm Hg and −15.3 mm Hg, respectively) more than VAL 320 mg (−11.3 mm Hg; P<.001 for 40‐mg and 80‐mg comparisons vs VAL). Clinic systolic BP reductions were consistent with the ambulatory results (−14.9 mm Hg for AZL‐M 40 mg and −16.9 mm Hg for AZL‐M 80 mg vs −11.6 mm Hg for VAL; P=.015 and P<.001, respectively). The reductions in 24‐hour mean and clinic diastolic BPs were also greater with both doses of AZL‐M than with VAL (P≤.001 for all comparisons). Small, reversible changes in serum creatinine occurred more often with AZL‐M than with VAL; otherwise, safety and tolerability parameters were similar among the three groups. These data demonstrate that AZL‐M across the effective dose range had superior efficacy to VAL at its maximal recommended dose without any meaningful increase in adverse events. These findings suggest that AZL‐M could provide higher rates of hypertension control compared with other ARBs in the class.
ARIES‐3: Ambrisentan Therapy in a Diverse Population of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Badesch David B. , Feldman Jeremy , Keogh Anne , Mathier Michael A. , Oudiz Ronald J. , Shapiro Shelley , Farber Harrison W. , McGoon Michael , Frost Adaani , Allard Martine , Despain Darrin , Dufton Christopher , Rubin Lewis J. ,   for the ARIES‐3 Study Group
Published: June 2011

SUMMARYIntroduction: Ambrisentan is an oral, once daily, endothelin receptor antagonist approved for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Previous studies of ambrisentan were limited to patients with Group 1 PAH and often excluded patients receiving other pulmonary hypertension (PH) therapies. Aims: ARIES‐3 was an open‐label study evaluating efficacy and safety of ambrisentan in patients with various PH etiologies and background PH medications. Patients received 5 mg ambrisentan once daily for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in 6‐minute walk distance (6MWD) at week 24. Results: A total of 224 patients with PH due to idiopathic and familial PAH (31%), connective tissue disease (18%), chronic hypoxemia (22%), chronic thromboembolic disease (13%), or other etiologies (16%) were enrolled and 53% of patients received stable background PAH therapies. After 24 weeks of therapy, an increase in 6MWD (+21 m; 95% CI: 12–29) and a decrease in B‐type natriuretic peptide (–26%; 95% CI: –34 to –16%) was observed in the overall population compared to baseline; however, increases in 6MWD were not observed in several non‐Group 1 PH subpopulations. Peripheral edema, headache, and dyspnea were the most common adverse events. Conclusion: This study reconfirms the results of previous placebo‐controlled studies, which demonstrate that ambrisentan is well tolerated and provides benefit in patients with PAH. Definitive conclusions regarding the safety and efficacy of ambrisentan in specific non‐Group 1 PH etiologies cannot be determined and larger, controlled studies will be necessary to determine the efficacy and safety of ambrisentan in these populations.
Impaired cognitive processing in dieters: Failure of attention focus or resource capacity limitation?
Authors: Green Michael W. , Elliman Nicola A. , Rogers Peter J. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. The current study investigated the fundamental nature of the cognitive processing deficit associated with spontaneous dieting behaviour.Design. In a between‐subjects design, dieters and non‐dieters performed a number of cognitive performance tasks designed to test the competing hypotheses that the deficit in performance previously observed in dieters is due either to resource capacity limitation or to a failure to maintain attentional focus.Methods. Current dieters (N = 21), non‐dieting restrained eaters (N = 20) and non‐dieting low‐to‐medium restrained eaters (N = 28) completed measures of working memory span, attentional focus and motor speed. Participants also completed self‐report measures of dietary restraint, somatic sensation and affective state.Results. Dieters displayed a significantly smaller working memory span than non‐dieting participants with a similar level of dietary restraint, which covaried with their self‐rated ‘Desite to eat’.Conclusions. The cognitive impairments found to be associated with dieting behaviour result from a reduction in working memory processing capacity. It is suggested that this, in turn, results from task‐irrelevant cognitions concerning food preferentially consuming limited processing capacity.
A self‐determination theory approach to the study of intentions and the intention–behaviour relationship in children's physical activity
Authors: Chatzisarantis Nikos L. D. , Biddle Stuart J. H. , Meek Geoffrey A. 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. Based on self‐determination theory, the present paper investigates relationships between behavioural regulations of physical activity in a school setting with intentions to exercise and actual exercising in leisure time. Moderating effects of personal experience of intentions (autonomous vs. controlled intentions) on the relationship between intentions to exercise and actual exercising in leisure time were also examined.Design. A prospective study assessing psychological variables two weeks apart.Method. Self‐report questionnaires distributed to children in two private and one state school. Assessments included five types of regulation of physical activities in school, intentions to exercise, subjective experience of intentions (‘integrated intentions’) and actual exercising during leisure time. Final N = 100.Results. Consistency of intentions to exercise in leisure time and consistency between intentions to exercise and actual exercising in leisure time were a function of both controlling and autonomous forms of regulation of physical activity in schools. Intentions to exercise predicted actual exercising in leisure time when intentions were experienced as autonomous and not as controlled.Conclusions. Adherence to the health behaviour of exercising can be promoted by supporting autonomy and avoiding control of the behaviour in children. The integration of self‐determination theory with social‐cognitive theories of social action can result in a more elaborated understanding of social and health behaviours.
Emotional distress and control cognitions as mediators of the impact of chronic pain on disability
Authors: Fisher Keren , Johnston Marie 
Published: June 2011

Objectives. To explore the hypothesized mediating effects of cognitions and emotional distress on the pain‐disability relationship.Design. Pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire), disability (Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire), emotional distress (General Health Questionnaire 28) and Locus of Control (Multidimensional Health Locus of Control) were examined by MANOVA for differences between admission to a pain rehabilitation programme and follow‐up and by correlation to examine inter‐relationships. Stepwise multiple regressions tested for the significant predictors of disability on admission and follow‐up and proportional change.Methods. Seventy‐three patients met the criteria for inclusion (age between 16 and 65 years, low back pain for six months, English speaker). Fifty‐four patients were available for follow‐up. Patients attended a three‐week programme based on cognitive behavioural principles. Data were collected by self‐report on admission to the programme and at three‐month follow‐up.Results. At follow‐up, disability, pain and emotional distress were all found to have improved. Admission, follow‐up and proportional change scores showed no correlation between pain and disability at any stage. However, distress and internal Locus of Control (IHLC) were related to disability and distress was also related to pain. Multiple regressions showed that IHLC and distress predicted disability on admission and follow‐up. Distress predicted the proportional change in disability.Conclusions. No direct relationship was found between pain and disability. It appeared that IHLC modified, and emotional distress mediated, the pain‐disability relationship.
The Migration of the Italian Jews to Israel and their Perception of the “Arab Problem” (1945‐1958)
Authors: Marzano Arturo 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThis article sheds light on the way Italian Zionism addressed the so-called “Arab problem” in British Palestine and later in Israel in the years following the Second World War, when a small—yet proportionally relevant—migration took place after an extremely lively revival of Zionist life and activities in Italy. In particular, four different approaches towards the “Arab problem” are presented, i.e. its dismissal, its under-estimation, the formulation of naïve proposals to solve it, the recognition of an inevitable confrontation. These approaches clearly recall the way in which the Zionist movement had already addressed the “Arab problem,” specifically in the decades before and after the First World War. The article also presents what can be considered an alternative discourse to these approaches, carried out by a few individuals who proposed different solutions to the “Arab problem” based on co-existence and cooperation.
Structures of Trust: Britain and Russia Compared
Authors: Hosking Geoffrey 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThis paper uses the concept of social trust to extend the ‘institutional economics’ of North and Olson, and more specifically Hedlund’s ‘path dependence’ account of Russia’s economic development. For this purpose it compares the evolution of Britain and Russia since the eighteenth century. A key determinant of social trust is the relation between the state, money and the population. In Britain trust was mobilised through state fiscal policies, public credit, and the rule of law. In Russia (and the USSR) trust was also placed in a strong state, but one which operated rather through personal patronage and the joint responsibility of local institutions. This crucial difference explains why in the 1990s Russia adapted so poorly to market economics.
Trusting Others ‐ How Parents Shape the Generalized Trust of Their Children
Authors: Stolle Dietlind , Nishikawa Laura 
Published: June 2011

AbstractHow do parents in North America inculcate generalized values about trusting others in their children? Using a self-collected data set with over 1,400 children sampled in the U.S. and Canada as well as matching surveys and selective in-depth interviews with their parents, this article attempts to link parental child-rearing approaches and values to children’s generalized trust. We find that over the last decades children increasingly score lower on generalized trust than their parents. Moreover, most parents, independent of their own trust levels, attempt to instill in their children distrust in unknown people. This trend is potentially rooted in a dramatic rise in news reporting about child crime and stranger abduction. The thesis of this article is that drastic warnings about strangers and related child-rearing methods may not remain without consequences.
The Armenian Magical Scroll and Outsider Art
Authors: Russell James R. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractUnordained clergy make Armenian prayer scrolls, which go back to the amulets against the Child-stealing Witch. They are analogous to the MSS of Ethiopian Christians, made often by charismatic and socially marginal figures. This art found a niche in East Christian society; but none was provided for the appropriately named "outsider" art and the art of the insane in the West, which often expresses religious visions and sentiments that the artistic and mental health establishments—rather than an ecclesiastical order this time!—have forced to the margin of society or beyond it.
Despite the early efforts of Frederic Macler, though Armenian magical and talismanic texts have been edited and published there has been little study of the art as such of the manuscripts that contain them. Perhaps because of their greater flamboyance and their situation partially in an African context, it is the analogous material of the Ethiopian Christian tradition that has received art historical attention. And modern avowedly religious art of almost any kind in the West became so generally marginalised in criticism that much of it, including the art of people labelled insane, has come to be studied, if at all, under the rubric of art brut or outsider art. Since the makers of folk-religious-magical art in Armenia (the tirac'u) and in Ethiopia (the debtera) are sometimes marginal figures like outsider artists, I have attempted in this essay to initiate an approach to Armenian magical and talismanic art that employs the comparative method and takes advantage of the insights of studies of outsider art, the art of the psychologically abnormal, and the art of self-taught religious visionaries.
The Serpent Symbolism in the Yezidi Religious Tradition and the Snake in Yerevan
Authors: Nicolaus Peter 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThe serpent, its veneration and related symbolism, constitute one of the enigmas and mysteries of Yezidism. Many present-day Yezidi myths concerning the serpent are most probably of a secondary nature, which when attempting to explain this ancient symbol, actually place it in a much more recent mythological setting. The first part of this paper tries to reconstruct the myth and the symbolism of the (black) snake in light of its ancient cultural heritage and Gnostic doctrine. However, since this approach would entail far more in-depth and substantial research, the author has, within the context of the present paper, only pinpointed a few elements, which could be of Gnostic, or even older, origin.The second part of the article focuses on the brass image of a serpent and a branch of a wish-tree, which were discovered in Yerevan by the author. It describes theses artefacts (a sacred serpent, which resembles a dragon more than a snake, and a bamboo stick), as well as the cult, which has formed around these objects. Despite several interviews with the owner of the relics and other Yezidi dignitaries, the origin of the objects could not be fully ascertained.
The Mysterious Death of a Commercial Agent and the Kārguzār of Mashhad, 1890
Authors: Gilbar Gadi G. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractOn the night between the 21st and 22nd of April 1890 Gregory Karikoor, known as "Suleiman", was found dead in his home in Mashhad. Suleiman was the commercial agent of one of the most enterprising British firms in Iran, Messers Ziegler & Co., for some twenty years. A few days before his sudden death, the firm had transferred a large sum of money (about 2000 tūmāns, i.e. £46,600 in 2009 retail prices) to him. Not a single shāhī (penny) of this amount was found at his home or office. Rumours spread in Mashhad that Suleiman had been murdered. Ziegler's head office in Tehran was also of the opinion that a serious crime was committed in Mashhad.
The firm was anxious to discover what had happened to its agent and to recover the money transferred to him. Against this background the kārguzār of Mashhad opened an inquiry into the Suleiman case. Seven Iranian subjects were summoned to the kārguzār's majlis and were interrogated. A copy of the proceedings of the inquiry, found in the files of the British consulate general in Mashhad deposited in the National Archives of the United Kingdom, give the historian a rare glimpse of the details of how the kārguzār and his court functioned. The nature of the inquiry and the broader historical significance of the process are discussed in this article.
Jihadism in the Post-Soviet Era: The Case of Interaction of Theoretical and Practical Aspects of the Revolutionary Struggle
Authors: Shlapentokh Dmitry 
Published: June 2011

AbstractThe revolutionaries—and jihadists could be regarded as revolutionaries of the sort—often had two aspect of their approach to the reality. First, it is vision of the doctrine, often rigid and dogmatic. The other side is practical, and here jihadists changed their approached to the reality.
In the beginning of post-Soviet era jihadists were still influenced by the long traditions of Russian nationalism incorporated in Soviet ideology. According to these tradition, Russia plays the special role in the world history. In the view of jihadists, it was the territory of the Former USSR, which shall play the role of the leader of the global anti-Western revolt. Still, as time progress, Russia lost its centrality in the mind of jihadists, and it became just one of the places of the global struggle. Some of them think that the space of Russia shall be used for creation of sort of a new edition of Pakistan where ethnicities are downplayed, and Islam is the major way of identity.