bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nature™ Inc.: Changes and Continuities in Neoliberal Conservation and Market‐based Environmental Policy
Authors: Arsel Murat , Büscher Bram 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACT Nature™ Inc. describes the increasingly dominant way of thinking about environmental policy and biodiversity conservation in the early twenty‐first century. Nature is, and of course has long been, ‘big business’, especially through the dynamics of extracting from, polluting and conserving it. As each of these dynamics seems to have become more intense and urgent, the capitalist mainstream is seeking ways to off‐set extraction and pollution and find (better) methods of conservation, while increasing opportunities for the accumulation of capital and profits. This has taken Nature™ Inc. to new levels, in turn triggering renewed attention from critical scholarship. The contributions to this Debate section all come from a critical perspective and have something important to say about the construction, workings and future of Nature™ Inc. By discussing the incorporation of trademarked nature and connecting what insights the contributions bring to the debate, we find that there might be what we call an intensifying dialectic between change and limits influencing the relations between capitalism and nature. Our conclusion briefly points to some of the issues and questions that this dialectic might lead to in future research on neoliberal conservation and market‐based environmental policy.
‘TEEB Begins Now’: A Virtual Moment in the Production of Natural Capital
Authors: MacDonald Kenneth Iain , Corson Catherine 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACT This article uses theories of virtualism to analyse the role of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project in the production of natural capital. Presented at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the project seeks to redress the ‘economic invisibility of nature’ by quantifying the value of ecosystems and biodiversity. This endeavour to put an economic value on ecosystems makes nature legible by abstracting it from social and ecological contexts and making it subject to, and productive of, new market devices. In reducing the complexity of ecological dynamics to idealized categories TEEB is driven by economic ideas and idealism, and, in claiming to be a quantitative force for morality, is engaged in the production of practices designed to conform the ‘real’ to the virtual. By rendering a ‘valued’ nature legible for key audiences, TEEB has mobilized a critical mass of support including modellers, policy makers and bankers. We argue that TEEB's rhetoric of crisis and value aligns capitalism with a new kind of ecological modernization in which ‘the market’ and market devices serve as key mechanisms to conform the real and the virtual. Using the case of TEEB, and drawing on data collected at COP10, we illustrate the importance of international meetings as key points where idealized models of biodiversity protection emerge, circulate and are negotiated, and as sites where actors are aligned and articulated with these idealized models in ways that begin further processes of conforming the real with the virtual and the realization of ‘natural capital’.
Fight or Acquiesce? Religion and Political Process in Turkey's and Egypt's Neoliberalizations
Authors: Tuğal Cihan 
Published: February 2012

ABSTRACT The Polanyian expectation that disruptive marketization will lead to movements and policies that seek to ‘embed’ the market in society needs to be tempered by closer scrutiny to historical, religious and political contexts. This article studies how movements respond to marketization. The analysis proceeds through a comparison of the Turkish and Egyptian neoliberalizations, religious movements of the last decades, secular opposition, and finally recent processes, which have led to generally different social takes on neoliberalism. The irony of the Turkish case is that with the empowerment of the Islamists, religious opposition to neoliberalism was muted and secular opposition further marginalized and labelled as ‘anti‐democratic’. As a result, free market policies were not only sustained, but deepened and intensified, turning Turkey into a neoliberal ‘success story’. The (thus far) sustained mobilization of youth and labour in Egypt makes a direct imitation unlikely. Another major factor that would prevent a ‘Turkish’ solution to Egypt's crisis is the contrasting structure of the religious fields. Moreover, while the passive revolution has further solidified the professional and unified religious field in Turkey, the revolutionary process in Egypt seems to reinforce the fragmentation of the religious field. The article points out that making Islam compatible with neoliberalism would be more difficult in a country with a fragmented religious field, such as Egypt. Although neoliberalism was imposed from above and resisted from below in both nations, in Turkey it came to be embraced in the name of Islam and democracy, whereas in Egypt it remains an imposition and popular struggles against it persist. It is suggested that this process and field‐based approach to a Polanyian problem can also shed new light on discussions about ‘actually existing neoliberalisms’.
Acute phase inflammatory markers in patients with non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)‐induced acute urticaria/angioedema and after aspirin challenge
Authors: Kasperska‐Zając A. , Grzanka A. , Czecior E. , Misiolek M. , Rogala B. , Machura E. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackground  Active chronic urticaria, identified as a mast cell‐ and basophil‐dependent inflammatory disorder of the skin is able to elicit acute phase response (APR). However, systemic inflammatory response in different types of urticaria is poorly characterized.Aim  To determine APR pattern in a clearly defined group of patients with acute urticaria and/or angioedema – induced by NSAIDs.Methods  Plasma IL‐6 and serum C‐reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were studied in 17 patients with NSAIDs‐induced acute urticaria/angioedema (NSAIDsAU) and in 20 healthy controls. Eleven patients who used NSAIDs were presented at the emergency room with acute urticaria/angioedema while the remaining six manifested the symptoms during the aspirin challenge test. Patients were examined in a dynamic manner: during the acute phase, and next, after subsidence of the symptoms.Results  CRP and IL‐6 concentrations increased significantly in patients with NSAIDsAU as compared with their asymptomatic period and the healthy subjects. In addition, NSAIDsAU patients showed elevated concentration of the biomarkers following aspirin provocation with the baseline values recovered in the asymptomatic period.Conclusion  These results indicate that an acute systemic inflammatory response is activated in patients with NSAIDs‐induced urticaria and/or angioedema. The study supports the evidence proving that up‐regulation of CRP and IL‐6 in urticaria/angioedema does not necessarily reflect any concomitant infection or other inflammatory processes, but may be due to the disease itself.
Early speech–language development in females with Rett syndrome: focusing on the preserved speech variant
Authors: MARSCHIK PETER B , PINI GIORGIO , BARTL‐POKORNY KATRIN D , DUCKWORTH MARTIN , GUGATSCHKA MARKUS , VOLLMANN RALF , ZAPPELLA MICHELE , EINSPIELER CHRISTA 
Published: February 2012

Aim  Our aim was to contribute new findings related to the pre‐regressional verbal development of females with a variant of Rett syndrome (RTT) as the loss of spoken language is one of the key clinical features of RTT, and it would be of particular interest to study the early speech–language development of females who are considered to have preserved some speech–language abilities.Method  We analysed 461 minutes of audio–video recordings containing play situations and the daily routines of six females (aged 7 to 24 months; mean birthweight 3057g, SD 195g) with the preserved speech variant (PSV) of RTT. All videos were recorded by parents and analysed retrospectively after the diagnosis PSV was made.Results  From the age of 7 months onwards, we observed two types of vocalizations, appearing intermittently: (1) apparently normal sequences; and (2) atypical (i.e. inhalatory, pressed, or high‐pitched crying‐like) vocalizations. Some participants failed to reach the milestone of canonical babbling. We observed a limited phonological and lexical complexity and a restricted compositional variability. Volubility was reduced during the whole period under observation. Hand stereotypies with simultaneous atypical vocalizations appeared only during the second year of life.Interpretation  The intermittent character of normal versus abnormal verbal behaviours might contribute to an early identification of children with a possible genetic mutation, and provides evidence that speech–language functions are abnormal from the very beginning.
A systematic review of two outcomes in autism spectrum disorder – epilepsy and mortality
Authors: WOOLFENDEN SUE , SARKOZY VANESSA , RIDLEY GRETA , COORY MICHAEL , WILLIAMS KATRINA 
Published: February 2012

Aim  It has been reported that rates of epilepsy and mortality are higher among the population with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than in the general population. The aim of this systematic review is to provide comprehensive evidence for clinicians, carers, and people with ASD regarding these outcomes.Method  Studies were eligible for inclusion if the main focus of the study involved observation over a period of 12 months or more of an initially defined population (with appropriate diagnostic label). Studies were also required to have at least 30 participants in order to differentiate case series from cohort studies. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Database of Reviews of Effectiveness, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched. The date of the last search was September 2010. The risk of bias of included studies was assessed and a meta‐analysis was undertaken.Results  Twenty‐one studies were identified, 16 measuring the percentage of participants with epilepsy and five measuring mortality using a standardized mortality ratio. The pooled estimate for the percentage of participants with epilepsy was 1.8% (95% CI 0.4–9.4%) in studies in which the majority did not have an intellectual disability and the mean age was <12 years at follow‐up, and 23.7% (95% CI 17.5–30.5%) in studies in which the majority did have an intellectual disability and the mean age at follow‐up was more than 12 years. The pooled estimate for the standardized mortality ratio was 2.8 (95% CI 1.8–4.2).Interpretation  The prevalence of epilepsy is higher among the population with ASD than in the general population. People with ASD have a higher risk of mortality than the general population. This has important health promotion implications.
Can conscious consumption be learned? The role of Hungarian consumer protection education in becoming conscious consumers
Authors: Süle Margit 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe purpose of this research is to examine how consumer consciousness can be defined, along what dimensions it might be measured and, according to these dimensions, how conscious Hungarian university students are. In addition, it is also discussed how their consumer protection education might contribute to their consumer consciousness. Two hypotheses have been proposed concerning factors potentially affecting conscious consumer behaviour (gender; participation in consumer protection education). To test these hypotheses, a questionnaire survey has been conducted with a total of 280 respondents, whom are undergraduate students of a Hungarian university. It is found that different aspects of consciousness dominate the consumer decisions of females and males. Female respondents appear to be characterized more by hedonistic consumption but they are more price sensitive than males. Veblen effect is stronger for males, and they have greater trust in well‐known brands. Although the survey revealed that both research variables might affect consumer behaviour (not only gender but the participation in consumer protection education as well), the role of education cannot be unambiguously identified in the process of establishing consumer consciousness. On the one hand, the results show that the behaviour of ‘trained’ consumers is mainly characterized by price sensitiveness, while the other (‘non‐educated’) group is more reliant on marketing and brands. However, on the other hand, it might also be concluded that young adults participating in the survey already have their own consumer habits and preferences; therefore, their consumer behaviour is more difficult to be formed by means of education during their university years. These findings are nevertheless limited to Hungarian university students and cannot be generalized to the entire society or other countries.
Consumers' valuation of food quality labels: the case of the European geographic indication and organic farming labels
Authors: Aprile Maria Carmela , Caputo Vincenzina , Nayga Jr Rodolfo M. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThis paper assesses consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for European Union geographical indication quality labels [Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI)], organic farming label and other product quality cues. Using a choice experiment, random parameter logit model and olive oil as product of interest, results suggest that respondents are willing to pay the highest premium price for a product with a PDO label, followed by organic farming label, a quality cue describing the product as extra‐virgin olive oil and then a PGI label.
Vitamin A deficiency impairs postnatal cognitive function via inhibition of neuronal calcium excitability in hippocampus
Authors: Jiang Wei , Yu Qin , Gong Min , Chen Li , Wen En Yi , Bi Yang , Zhang Yun , Shi Yuan , Qu Ping , Liu You Xue , Wei Xiao Ping , Chen Jie , Li Ting Yu 
Published: February 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 932–943.AbstractVitamin A (VA) is important for postnatal brain development, and VA deficiency (VAD) can cause learning and spatial memory deficits in rats. Most of the biological functions of VA are mediated by retinoic acid (RA). To investigate the mechanisms underlying VA deficits, mother rats were fed elemental diets to achieve blood VA levels classified as normal, deficient or severely deficient. Shuttle box and Morris water maze tests revealed impairments in learning ability and spatial memory, respectively, in adolescent VAD rats (p 30–35). Electrophysiology showed weaker long‐term potentiation in VAD rats compared to VA normal rats. Examination of NMDA‐induced calcium (Ca2+) excitability revealed decreased excitability in hippocampal slices from VAD rats during postnatal development. Relative to VA normal rats, VAD rats also had decreased NMDA receptor NR1 mRNA and protein expression in later stages of postnatal development (p 10–30), as well as differences in retinoic acid receptor (RARα) mRNA and protein expression. Furthermore, primary hippocampal neurons in culture showed increased neuronal Ca2+ excitability in response to all‐trans‐RA or 9‐cis‐RA, coupled with increases in RARα and NR1 expression similar to those observed in vivo. We also found weaker calcium excitability and lower expression of NR1 mRNA and protein after specific silencing of RARα. Finally, we found that RA signals affected the expression of NR1 do not directly through transcriptional regulation. These data support the new idea that continuous postnatal VAD inhibits RARα expression, which decreases NR1 expression via no direct transcriptional regulation and then inhibits hippocampal neuronal Ca2+excitability which affects long‐term potentiation, finally producing deficits in active learning and spatial memory in adolescence.
Did Copayment Changes Reduce Health Service Utilization among CHIP Enrollees? Evidence from Alabama
Authors: Sen Bisakha , Blackburn Justin , Morrisey Michael A. , Kilgore Meredith L. , Becker David J. , Caldwell Cathy , Menachemi Nir 
Published: February 2012

ObjectiveTo explore whether health care utilization changed among enrollees in Alabama's CHIP program, ALL Kids, following copayment increases at the beginning of fiscal year 2004.Data SourcesData on all ALL Kids enrollees over 1999–2009 are obtained from claims files and the state's administrative database.Study DesignWe use pooled month‐level data for all enrollees and conduct covariate‐adjusted segmented regression models. Health services considered are inpatient care, emergency department (ED) visits, brand‐name prescription drugs, generic prescription drugs, physician office visits and outpatient‐services, ambulance services, allergy treatments, and non‐preventive dental services. Physician well‐visits, preventive dental services, and service use by Native‐Americans—which saw no copayment increases—serve as counterfactuals.Principal FindingsThere are significant declines in utilization for inpatient care, physician visits, brand‐name medications, and ED visits following the copayment increases. By and large, utilization did not decline, or declined only temporarily, for those services and for those enrollees that who not subject to increased copayments.ConclusionsCopayment increases reduced utilization of many health services among ALL Kids enrollees. Concerns remain regarding the long‐term health consequences to low‐income children of copayment‐induced reductions in health care utilization.
A Systematic Review of Community‐Based Participatory Research to Enhance Clinical Trials in Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
Authors: De Las Nueces Denise , Hacker Karen , DiGirolamo Ann , Hicks LeRoi S. 
Published: February 2012

ObjectiveTo examine the effectiveness of current community‐based participatory research (CBPR) clinical trials involving racial and ethnic minorities.Data SourceAll published peer‐reviewed CBPR intervention articles in PubMed and CINAHL databases from January 2003 to May 2010.Study DesignWe performed a systematic literature review.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsData were extracted on each study's characteristics, community involvement in research, subject recruitment and retention, and intervention effects.Principle FindingsWe found 19 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Of these, 14 were published from 2007 to 2010. Articles described some measures of community participation in research with great variability. Although CBPR trials examined a wide range of behavioral and clinical outcomes, such trials had very high success rates in recruiting and retaining minority participants and achieving significant intervention effects.ConclusionsSignificant publication gaps remain between CBPR and other interventional research methods. CBPR may be effective in increasing participation of racial and ethnic minority subjects in research and may be a powerful tool in testing the generalizability of effective interventions among these populations. CBPR holds promise as an approach that may contribute greatly to the study of health care delivery to disadvantaged populations.
IFN‐γ synergistically enhances LPS signalling in alveolar macrophages from COPD patients and controls by corticosteroid‐resistant STAT1 activation
Authors: Southworth T , Metryka A , Lea S , Farrow S , Plumb J , Singh D 
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE IFN‐γ levels are increased in chronic obstructive airway disease (COPD) patients compared with healthy subjects and are further elevated during viral exacerbations. IFN‐γ can ‘prime’ macrophages to enhance the response to toll‐like receptor (TLR) ligands, such as LPS. The aim of this study was to examine the effect IFN‐γ on corticosteroid sensitivity in alveolar macrophages (AM).EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH AM from non‐smokers, smokers and COPD patients were stimulated with IFN‐γ and/or LPS with or without dexamethasone. IL‐6, TNF‐α and IFN‐γ‐induced protein 10 kDa (IP‐10) levels were measured by elisa, and Western blots were used to investigate the IFN‐γ‐stimulated Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signalling pathway. Real‐time PCR and flow cytometry were used to investigate TLR levels following IFN‐γ treatment.KEY RESULTS In all three subject groups, IFN‐γ alone had no effect on IL‐6 and TNF‐α production but enhanced the effects of LPS on these cytokines. In contrast, IFN‐γ alone increased the production of IP‐10. IFN‐γ increased TLR2 and TLR4 expression in AM. Cytokine induction and STAT1 activation by IFN‐γ were insensitive to dexamethasone for all groups. The inhibition of JAK and STAT1 repressed all these IFN‐γ effects.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Our results demonstrate that IFN‐γ–induced STAT‐1 signalling is corticosteroid resistant in AMs, and that targeting IFN‐γ signalling by JAK inhibitors is a potentially novel anti‐inflammatory strategy in COPD.
Functional role of T‐type calcium channels in tumour growth and progression: prospective in cancer therapy
Authors: Santoni Giorgio , Santoni Matteo , Nabissi Massimo 
Published: February 2012

T‐type Ca2+ channels represent a specific channel family overexpressed in different types of tumours. Their involvement in controlling the proliferation, angiogenesis and invasion of tumour cells, has been partially clarified. The article by Zhang et al. in this issue of BJP provides the first evidence of anti‐tumoural effects of endostatin (ES) in U87 glioma cells. He demonstrated that ES or mibefradil (a L/T‐type calcium channel blocker), reduces the proliferation and migration of U87 glioma cells in a T‐type Ca2+ channel‐dependent manner. However, the difference in the blocking effect of mibefradil on T‐type calcium channel expression as compared with its ability to inhibit proliferation and migration, supports the idea of a broader T/L‐type‐independent effect of the mibefradil blocker. Overall, these findings provide new insights for the future development of a novel class of anti‐T‐type calcium channel blockers in the therapy of glioblastoma.LINKED ARTICLE This article is a commentary on Zhang et al., pp. 1247–1260 of this issue. To view this paper visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2012.01852.x
Working with sustainability: Experiences of sustainability processes in Swedish municipalities
Authors: Keskitalo E. Carina H. , Liljenfeldt Johanna 
Published: February 2012

AbstractWorking with sustainability goals at the local level places large requirements on developing and integrating priorities within the budgeting and organization of local government. This study reviews how selected Swedish municipalities have dealt with developing local sustainability processes, in particular in regard to the Aalborg Declaration commitments. The study highlights difficulties, including the lack of funding and staff time for clearly relating to outside sustainability documents and strategies. It also focuses on the requirement for dedicated resources to development, prioritization and follow‐up of sustainability goals, especially in smaller municipalities.