bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prospects and Limits of Democratic Governance in the EU
Authors: Bredt Stephan 
Published: December 2010

AbstractThe EU Treaty contains for the first time a title on democratic principles. These provisions emphasise the importance of national parliaments and the EU parliament for the democratic legitimacy of the EU. The new chapter on democratic principles does not address the central challenge of the EU polity to the traditional understanding of democratic legitimacy, the disjunction of political and economic governance as expressed by the important role of independent institutions like the Commission, the European Central Bank and agencies in EU governance . This is a consequence of the fact that the status of independent regulatory institutions in a democratic polity has not been clarified—neither in the EU nor in the Member States. However, such independent institutions exist in diverse forms in several Member States and could hence be understood as a principle of democratic governance common to the Member States. Such an understanding has not yet evolved. The central theoretical problem is that regulatory theories which explain the legitimacy of independent institutions as an alternative to traditional representation remain outside the methodology of traditional democratic theory. Economic constitutional theory, based on social contract theory and widely neglected in the legal constitutional debate, offers a methodological approach to understanding independent regulatory institutions as part of representative democratic governance.
Evaluation and effectiveness of pain recognition and management training for staff working in learning disability services
Authors: Mackey Ellen , Dodd Karen 
Published: December 2010

Accessible summary

Managers of learning disability services in Surrey were invited to come to training on pain recognition and management.
The managers were asked how they recognised pain and how they managed pain for people with learning disabilities, before and 3–5 months after training.
We found that after training more services were using communication aids and pain recognition tools and had included information about pain in their service users’ health action plans.
People with learning disabilities should have their pain recognised and managed effectively. Staff training helps services to be more aware of pain and improves the range of methods used.

SummaryFollowing Beacroft & Dodd’s (2009) audit of pain recognition and management within learning disability services in Surrey, it was recommended that learning disability services should receive training in pain recognition and management. Two hundred and seventy‐five services were invited to participate, of which 197 services in Surrey accepted and attended pain training. This is a 72% attendance rate. Training covered pain thresholds, pain recognition and management, health action plans and medicines policies. At the end of training and at follow‐up (3–5 months later), attendees were asked about their service’s management of pain. At the follow‐up, it was found that significantly more services were using communication tools such as picture scales [Dodd & Brunker (1999) Feeling Poorly. Brighton, Pavilion Publishing] and more pain recognition tools such as the Abbey pain scale [Abbey et al. (2004) Int J Palliat Nurs, 10, 6–13] and the Disability Distress Assessment Tool [Regnard et al. (2007) J Intellect Disabil Res, 51, 277–292]. Use of pain management strategies did not change significantly. There was a significant increase in the number of services including information on how a person displays pain, the possible causes of pain and how a person likes their pain managed in their health action plan. More services were now reviewing health action plans at least 6 monthly and sharing them with other services that the person with learning disabilities uses. Significantly more services’ medicine policies now specifically mention pain.
Applying metaphors for learning to continuing professional development (CPD), in the context of a course for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs)
Authors: Pearson Sue , Scott Phil , Sugden David 
Published: December 2010

The literature suggests that understandings of teaching and learning can be classified around two metaphors: acquisition and participation. It is further argued that neither metaphor is sufficient and that both are necessary.Drawing on material from a larger study related to the professional development of Special Educational Needs Coordinators, the paper uses concept maps and the associated interviews to explore the understandings of the course participants and changes in their conceptualisation over time. The data reveal that individuals do draw on both metaphors and that their progress can be viewed in terms of both acquiring knowledge and also progress from ‘novice to expert.’If teaching and learning, and participants' progress are viewed in this way, there are implications for course development and evaluation. Some of these are considered.
Disjunctive distribution of the basal genus Aplomerus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Xoridinae) in East Asia and North America, with a new species from Japan
Authors: WATANABE Kyohei , MATSUMOTO Rikio 
Published: December 2010

AbstractThe first Japanese representative of the predominantly Nearctic genus Aplomerus Provancher, A. japonicus sp. nov., is described. This species can easily be distinguished from the other species by the black body. Morphologically this species resembles A. lineatulus (Say) from eastern North America but is separable by the sculpture of the propodeum and third metasomal tergite. The discovery of this species demonstrates a disjunctive distribution of the genus Aplomerus in East Asia and North America. Notes on habitat and adult behavior are also given.
Local Heating as a Predilatation Method for Measurement of Vasoconstrictor Responses with Laser‐Doppler Flowmetry
Authors: HENRICSON JOAKIM , TESSELAAR ERIK , BAIAT YASHMA , NILSSON GERT , SJÖBERG FOLKE 
Published: December 2010

Please cite this paper as: Henricson, Tesselaar, Baiat, Nilsson and Sjöberg (2011). Local Heating as a Predilatation Method for Measurement of Vasoconstrictor Responses with Laser‐Doppler Flowmetry. Microcirculation 18(3), 214–220.AbstractStudying microvascular responses to iontophoresis of vasoconstricting drugs contributes to a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of cutaneous vessels, but measuring these responses with laser‐Doppler flowmetry at basal blood flow conditions is technically challenging. This study aimed to investigate whether the measurement of cutaneous vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline (NA) and phenylephrine (PE), delivered by iontophoresis, is facilitated by predilatation of the microvascular bed using local heating. We used different drug delivery rates (100 s × 0.12 mA, 200 s × 0.06 mA, 300 s × 0.04 mA) to investigate whether predilatation affects the local drug dynamics by an increased removal of drugs from the skin. In a predilatated vascular bed, iontophoresis of NA and PE resulted in a significant decrease in perfusion from the thermal plateau (p < 0.001). The decrease was 25–33%, depending on drug delivery rate. In unheated skin, a significant vasoconstriction was observed (p < 0.001), with 17% and 14% decrease from baseline for NA and PE, respectively. These results indicate that predilatating the cutaneous vascular bed by local heating facilitates measurement of vasoconstriction with laser‐Doppler flowmetry and does not seem to significantly affect the result by an increased removal of drugs from the skin.
The KICA Screen: The psychometric properties of a shortened version of the KICA (Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment)
Authors: LoGiudice Dina , Strivens Edward , Smith Kate , Stevenson Margaret , Atkinson David , Dwyer Anna , Lautenschlager Nicola , Almeida Osvaldo A , Flicker Leon 
Published: December 2010

Aim:  To describe the development and psychometric properties of the KICA (Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment) Screen.Methods:  A short 10‐item version of the KICA, the KICA screen was developed from original data of 363 Aboriginal people. The KICA Screen was subsequently independently validated in a non‐random sample of 55 people living in Northern Queensland.Results:  In the original sample the KICA Screen showed an optimal cut‐point score of 21/22 (out of a score of 25), and resulted in a sensitivity of 95.6% and specificity of 88.6% with AUC of 0.95 (95% CI 0.91–0.98). This cut point was subsequently tested on 55 people living in Northern Queensland, with a sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 88.5% for the diagnosis of dementia, and the area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve was 0.87 (95% CI 0.77–0.97).Conclusions:  The KICA Screen is a valid and acceptable screening tool among Indigenous Australians living in remote and rural areas of Australia.
The structure of maize polyamine oxidase K300M mutant in complex with the natural substrates provides a snapshot of the catalytic mechanism of polyamine oxidation
Authors: Fiorillo Annarita , Federico Rodolfo , Polticelli Fabio , Boffi Alberto , Mazzei Franco , Di Fusco Massimo , Ilari Andrea , Tavladoraki Paraskevi 
Published: December 2010

Polyamine oxidases are FAD‐dependent enzymes catalyzing the oxidation of polyamines at the secondary amino groups. Zea mays PAO (ZmPAO) oxidizes the carbon on the endo‐side of the N5‐nitrogen of spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm). The structure of ZmPAO revealed that the active site is formed by a catalytic tunnel in which the N5 atom of FAD lies in close proximity to the K300 side chain, the only active‐site residue conserved in all PAOs. A water molecule, (HOH309), is hydrogen‐bound to the amino group of K300 and mutation of this residue results in a 1400‐fold decrease in the rate of flavin reduction. The structural studies on the catalytically impaired ZmPAO‐K300M mutant described here show that substrates are bound in an ‘out‐of‐register’ mode and the HOH309 water molecule is absent in the enzyme–substrate complexes. Moreover, K300 mutation brings about a 60 mV decrease in the FAD redox potential and a 30‐fold decrease in the FAD reoxidation rate, within a virtually unaltered geometry of the catalytic pocket. Taken together, these results indicate that the HOH309–K300 couple plays a major role in multiple steps of ZmPAO catalytic mechanism, such as correct substrate binding geometry as well as FAD reduction and reoxidation kinetics.Database
The coordinates of the ZmPAO‐K300M mutant in the free state and in complex with Spd and Spm have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (http://www.rcsb.org) with the PDB codes 3KPF, 3L1R and 3KU9, respectively
Regulation of blood flow in the microcirculation: role of conducted vasodilation
Authors: Bagher P. , Segal S. S. 
Published: December 2010

AbstractThis review is concerned with understanding how vasodilation initiated from local sites in the tissue can spread to encompass multiple branches of the resistance vasculature. Within tissues, arteriolar networks control the distribution and magnitude of capillary perfusion. Vasodilation arising from the microcirculation can ‘ascend’ into feed arteries that control blood flow into arteriolar networks. Thus distal segments of the resistance network signal proximal segments to dilate and thereby increase total oxygen supply to parenchymal cells. August Krogh proposed that innervation of capillaries provided the mechanism for a spreading vasodilatory response. With greater understanding of the ultrastructural organization of resistance networks, an alternative explanation has emerged: Electrical signalling from cell to cell along the vessel wall through gap junctions. Hyperpolarization originates from ion channel activation at the site of stimulation with the endothelium serving as the predominant cellular pathway for signal conduction along the vessel wall. As hyperpolarization travels, it is transmitted into surrounding smooth muscle cells through myoendothelial coupling to promote relaxation. Conducted vasodilation (CVD) encompasses greater distances than can be explained by passive decay and understanding such behaviour is the focus of current research efforts. In the context of athletic performance, the ability of vasodilation to ascend into feed arteries is essential to achieving peak levels of muscle blood flow. CVD is tempered by sympathetic neuroeffector signalling when governing muscle blood flow at rest and during exercise. Impairment of conduction during ageing and in diseased states can limit physical work capacity by restricting muscle blood flow.
Dynamics of muscle microcirculatory and blood–myocyte O2flux during contractions
Authors: Poole D. C. , Copp S. W. , Hirai D. M. , Musch T. I. 
Published: December 2010

AbstractThe O2requirements of contracting skeletal muscle may increase 100‐fold above rest. In 1919, August Krogh’s brilliant insights recognized the capillary as the principal site for this increased blood–myocyte O2flux. Based on the premise that most capillaries did not sustain RBC flux at rest, Krogh proposed that capillary recruitment [i.e. initiation of red blood cell (RBC) flux in previously non‐flowing capillaries] increased the capillary surface area available for O2flux and reduced mean capillary‐to‐mitochondrial diffusion distances. More modern experimental approaches reveal that most muscle capillaries may support RBC flux at rest. Thus, rather than contraction‐induced capillary recruitmentper se, increased RBC flux and haematocrit within already‐flowing capillaries probably elevate perfusive and diffusive O2conductances and hence blood–myocyte O2flux. Additional surface area for O2exchange is recruited but, crucially, this may occur along the length of already‐flowing capillaries (i.e. longitudinal recruitment). Today, the capillary is still considered the principal site for O2and substrate delivery to contracting skeletal muscle. Indeed, the presence of very low intramyocyte O2partial pressures (PO2s) and the absence of intramyocytePO2gradients, whilst refuting the relevance of diffusion distances, place an even greater importance on capillary hemodynamics. This emergent picture calls for a paradigm‐shift in our understanding of the function of capillaries by de‐emphasizingde novo‘capillary recruitment’. Diseases such as heart failure impair blood–myocyte O2flux, in part, by decreasing the proportion of RBC‐flowing capillaries. Knowledge of capillary function in healthy muscle is requisite for identification of pathology and efficient design of therapeutic treatments.
Opinions on the provision of dental care in Iowa nursing homes
Authors: Nunez Brian , Chalmers Jane , Warren John , Ettinger Ronald L. , Qian Fang 
Published: December 2010

ABSTRACTUsing a stratified random sample, a questionnaire was mailed to 400 practicing dentists and 200 directors of nursing (DONs). Response rates were 58.3% for dentists and 50% for DONs. Dentists were representative of Iowa dentists, with 85% male, mean age 49.1 years, and 22.4 years in practice. All DONs were female, with mean age of 44.9 years. Of the participating dentists, 86% had provided dental care for nursing home residents, but the majority of care was completed in dental offices. Three‐quarters of dentists were somewhat/not interested in nursing home dentistry. Dentists and DONs held common perceptions of the most frequent problems related to care provision at nursing homes: low financial reimbursement, especially for Medicaid patients; no portable dental equipment; no suitable area for dentistry; dentist's preference to treat patients at their dental practice; and transportation of residents to a dental practice. Dentists and DONs had some differing perceptions about oral health care (p < .01). Minimal dental care was provided on‐site at Iowa nursing homes.
High‐dose fractionated radiotherapy to 80 Gy for stage I–II medically inoperable non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Watkins JM , Wahlquist AE , Zauls AJ , Fields EC , Garrett‐Mayer E , Aguero EG , Silvestri GA , Sharma AK 
Published: December 2010

AbstractIntroduction: Management of medically inoperable non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been historically challenging, with poor rates of local control and disease‐specific survival. Nearly all published series of standard fractionation radiotherapy have utilised doses <70 Gy. The present investigation describes disease control and survival outcomes for a large series of patients prescribed high‐dose radiotherapy for early‐stage NSCLC.Methods: Retrospective analysis of disease control and survival outcomes for stages I–II NSCLC patients prescribed ≥70 Gy at 1.8–2.5 Gy per fraction.Results: Between May 1997 and August 2008, 100 primary lung tumours in 98 patients (two metachronous) were eligible for analysis. The median age was 71 years (range 49–93), and 92 patients were considered medically inoperable. Nearly all cases were clinical stage cT1N0 (51 patients) or cT2N0 (35). The median radiotherapy dose prescribed was 80.5 Gy (range 70–90). At a median follow‐up of 18 months, 72 patients died (44 of/with disease) and 50 experienced recurrence. The estimated 3‐year in‐field control, progression‐free survival, disease‐specific, and overall survival rates were 50, 29, 30 and 24%, respectively. Univariate analyses demonstrated an inverse association between local control and tumour size. Medical inoperability was associated with decreased disease‐specific and overall survivals. Patient age and biologically equivalent dose were also associated with overall survival.Conclusions: Disease control and survival of fractionated radiotherapy for early‐stage NSCLC remain suboptimal. Medical inoperability is associated with worse overall survival; however, local control remains a predominant pattern of failure despite 80 Gy in standard fractionation, particularly in patients with larger tumour size.
Australian & New Zealand Faculty of Radiation Oncology Genito‐Urinary Group: 2010 consensus guidelines for definitive external beam radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma
Authors: Hayden AJ , Martin JM , Kneebone AB , Lehman M , Wiltshire KL , Skala M , Christie D , Vial P , McDowall R , Tai K‐H 
Published: December 2010

SummaryExternal beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer has undergone substantial technological and clinical advances in the recent years. The Australian & New Zealand Faculty of Radiation Oncology Genito‐Urinary Group undertook a process to develop consensus clinical practice guidelines for external beam radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma delivered with curative intent, aiming to provide guidance for clinicians on the appropriate integration of clinical evidence and newer technologies. Draft guidelines were presented and discussed at a consensus workshop in May 2009 attended by radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and medical physicists. Amended guidelines were distributed to radiation oncologists in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for comment, and modifications were incorporated where appropriate. Evidence based recommendations for risk stratification, the role of image‐guided and intensity‐modulated radiation therapy, prescribed dose, simulation and treatment planning, the role and duration of neo‐adjuvant/adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy and outcome reporting are presented. Central to the guidelines is the recommendation that image‐guided radiation therapy should be used when definitive external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer is prescribed. The consensus guidelines provide a co‐operatively developed, evidence‐based framework for contemporary treatment of prostate cancer with external beam radiotherapy.
Differences in clinical characteristics between patients assessed for NHS specialist psychotherapy and primary care counselling
Authors: Chiesa Marco , Fonagy Peter , Bateman Anthony W. 
Published: December 2010

Objectives. Although several studies have described patient populations in primary care counselling settings and NHS (National Health Service) specialist psychotherapy settings, there is a paucity of studies specifically comparing differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups of patients. The aim of this study is to ascertain if specialist psychotherapy referrals represent a more challenging client group than primary care counselling patients.Design. We compare the socio‐demographic features and severity of presentation in the symptomatic, interpersonal problems and global adjustment dimensions of a sample of patients (N=384) assessed by a primary care counselling service located in North London and a sample of patients (N=853) assessed in eight NHS psychotherapy centres located within urban settings in England.Methods. Both the groups completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure.Results. Patients referred for specialist psychotherapy services were more dysfunctional than those referred for primary care counselling. The linear function constructed to discriminate the groups showed that a combination of more psychotic symptoms, social inhibitions and higher risk of self‐harm effectively identified those referred to psychotherapy services, while patients exhibiting greater levels of somatic and anxiety symptoms and non‐assertiveness were more likely to be seen in primary care settings. However, similarities between the two samples were also marked, as shown by the overlap in the distribution of clinical outcomes in routine evaluation clinical scores in the two samples.Conclusions. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for policy and service delivery of these two types of psychological therapy services.
New Insights into the Genetic Organization of the FK228 Biosynthetic Gene Cluster in
Chromobacterium violaceum
No. 968
Authors: Potharla Vishwakanth Y. , Wesener Shane R. , Cheng Yi-Qiang 
Published: December 2010

ABSTRACT

The biosynthetic gene cluster of FK228, an FDA-approved anticancer natural product, was identified and sequenced previously. The genetic organization of this gene cluster has now been delineated through systematic gene deletion and transcriptional analysis. As a result, the gene cluster is redefined to contain 12 genes:
depA
through
depJ
,
depM
, and a newly identified pathway regulatory gene,
depR
.
Reconstitution of the FK228 Biosynthetic Pathway Reveals Cross Talk between Modular Polyketide Synthases and Fatty Acid Synthase
Authors: Wesener Shane R. , Potharla Vishwakanth Y. , Cheng Yi-Qiang 
Published: December 2010

ABSTRACT

Functional cross talk between fatty acid biosynthesis and secondary metabolism has been discovered in several cases in microorganisms; none of them, however, involves a modular biosynthetic enzyme. Previously, we reported a hybrid modular nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway for the biosynthesis of FK228 anticancer depsipeptide in
Chromobacterium violaceum
strain 968. This pathway contains two PKS modules on the DepBC enzymes that lack a functional acyltransferase (AT) domain, and no apparent AT-encoding gene exists within the gene cluster or its vicinity. We report here that, through reconstitution of the FK228 biosynthetic pathway in
Escherichia coli
cells, two essential genes,
fabD1
and
fabD2
, both encoding a putative malonyl coenzyme A (CoA) acyltransferase component of the fatty acid synthase complex, are positively identified to be involved in FK228 biosynthesis. Either gene product appears sufficient to complement the AT-less PKS modules on DepBC for polyketide chain elongation. Concurrently, a gene (
sfp
) encoding a putative Sfp-type phosphopantetheinyltransferase was identified to be necessary for FK228 biosynthesis as well. Most interestingly, engineered
E. coli
strains carrying variable genetic components produced significant levels of FK228 under both aerobic and anaerobic cultivation conditions. Discovery of the
trans
complementation of modular PKSs by housekeeping ATs reveals natural product biosynthesis diversity. Moreover, demonstration of anaerobic production of FK228 by an engineered facultative bacterial strain validates our effort toward the engineering of novel tumor-targeting bioagents.