bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A data envelopment analysis approach to the assessment of natural parks' economic efficiency and sustainability. The case of Italian national parks
Authors: Bosetti Valentina , Locatelli Gianni 
Published: May 2006

AbstractWilderness protection is a growing necessity for modern societies, and this is particularly true for areas where population density is extremely high, for example Europe. Conservation, however, implies very high opportunity costs. It is thus crucial to create incentives for efficient management practices, to promote benchmarking and to improve conservation management. In the present paper we propose a methodology based on data envelopment analysis, DEA, a non‐parametric benchmarking technique specifically developed to assess the relative efficiency of decision‐making units. In particular, the objective of the discussed methodology is to assess the relative efficiency of the management units of the protected area and to indicate how it could be improved, by providing a set of guidelines. The main advantage of this methodology is that it allows us to assess the efficiency of natural park management not only internally (comparing the performance of the park with itself over time) but also by external benchmarking, thus providing new and different perspectives on potential improvements. Although the proposed methodology is fairly general, we have applied it to the context of Italian national parks in order to produce a representative case study. Specifically, the choice of adequate cost and benefit indicators is a very important and delicate phase of any benchmark analysis. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used to investigate the opinions of Italian national park managers and stakeholders and to define the relevant indicators for the analysis. Finally, relevant policy implications for the case study are given. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Strategic partnerships between MNEs and civil society: the post‐WSSD perspectives
Authors: Eweje Gabriel 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThis paper addresses the question of how business organizations, civil society organizations and government agencies can engage one another for ‘boundary‐spanning’ dialogue and develop mutually beneficial ‘working partnerships’ in resolving the challenges of sustainable development. Over the past decade the concept of sustainable development has expanded to include the simultaneous consideration of economic growth, environmental protection and social equity in business and decision making. An increasing number of businesses have responded by engaging in corporate citizenship programmes to promote sustainable development. Strategic partnerships between civil society organizations and businesses are widely promoted as important new strategies, which will bring significant sustainable development benefits especially to developing countries. This interaction arises from an understanding of the need for comprehensive and integrated approaches to business, environmental and social issues that involve increasingly broader participation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Endovascular management of the carotid blowout syndrome
Authors: Broomfield S J , Bruce I A , Luff D A , Birzgalis A R , Ashleigh R J 
Published: May 2006

Bleeding from the carotid artery or its branches (‘carotid blowout’) is a well recognized complication following treatment or recurrence of head and neck cancer. The traditional surgical treatment for carotid blowout is often technically difficult and is associated with an unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. The majority of such patients are currently treated conservatively with end of life supportive measures.We report the case of a young patient with recurrent supraglottic carcinoma complicated by carotid blowout on two separate occasions over a five month period, which was successfully treated endovascularly under local anaesthetic, without neurological sequelae. With the continuing development of interventional radiology, endovascular techniques are now emerging as a viable, low morbidity treatment option in selected patients.
Surgical closure of the larynx for intractable aspiration, using double hinged flaps of the vocal folds and false vocal folds
Authors: Sato K , Nakashima T 
Published: May 2006

We report a new surgical procedure to treat intractable aspiration: closure of the larynx, using double hinged flaps of the vocal folds and false vocal folds.The anterosuperior portion of the thyroid cartilage is ablated. A small horizontal incision is made just above the anterior commissure and is continued posteriorly along the laryngeal ventricle; these incisions are continued across the posterior wall of the glottis. Incisions are made into the bilateral vocal folds and false vocal folds in order to create the hinged flaps. The glottis and the supraglottis are closed by approximating the bilateral vocal folds and false vocal folds hinged flaps. Superiorly or inferiorly based sternohyoid muscle pedicles are then inserted into the dead space between the approximated bilateral vocal folds and false vocal folds hinged flaps. The removed lamina of the thyroid cartilage is obliterated between both sternohyoid muscle flaps to enforce the closure of the larynx.
Surgical management of trigeminal neuromas: a report of eight cases
Authors: Moffat D , De R , Hardy D , Moumoulidis I 
Published: May 2006

Objective: Trigeminal neuromas are rare tumours that may involve any part of the Vth nerve complex, including extracranial peripheral divisions of the nerve. A series of eight patients with intracranial trigeminal neuromas who underwent surgical management are presented.Methods: The hospital records and radiological images were reviewed with regard to clinical presentation, surgical approach, operative findings, peri-operative morbidity and neurological outcome, and percentage of tumour recurrence.Results: The principal presenting symptoms were those of involvement of the trigeminal nerve with sensory impairment in one or more of the three divisions. Tumour location was the prime determinant of surgical approach. Lateral skull base approaches were used as they are considered to be superior for identifying tumour origin, extension, and relationship to surrounding structures. Total excision of the tumour was carried out in three of the eight patients. In the remaining five patients some tumour was left purposely in order to minimize neurological deficit and optimize post-operative quality of life. There was no peri-operative mortality or major morbidity in our series. Five patients experienced symptomatic tumour recurrence and revision surgery was performed.Conclusion: Management of trigeminal neuromas is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. Pre-operative surgical planning allows tumour removal with preservation of important neural structures in the majority of cases. For large tumours occupying both the middle and posterior cranial fossae, the retrosigmoid/retrolabyrinthine/middle cranial fossa approach provides good exposure and results in minimal brain retraction. A Fisch type C approach is necessary for the largest tumours. Long-term follow up with interval imaging is mandatory to exclude long-term tumour recurrence.
Theory of Mind (ToM) and counterfactuality deficits in schizophrenia: misperception or misinterpretation?
Authors: LEITMAN DAVID I. , ZIWICH RACHEL , PASTERNAK ROEY , JAVITT DANIEL C. 
Published: May 2006

Background. Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to infer another person's mental state based upon interactional information. ToM deficits have been suggested to underlie crucial aspects of social interaction failure in disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, although the development of paradigms for demonstrating such deficits remains an ongoing area of research. Recent studies have explored the use of sarcasm perception, in which subjects must infer an individual's sincerity or lack thereof, as a ‘real-life’ index of ToM ability, and as an index of functioning of specific right hemispheric structures. Sarcastic detection ability has not previously been studied in schizophrenia, although patients have been shown to have deficits in ability to decode emotional information from speech (‘affective prosody’).Method. Twenty-two schizophrenia patients and 17 control subjects were tested on their ability to detect sarcasm from spoken speech as well as measures of affective prosody and basic pitch perception.Results. Despite normal overall intelligence, patients performed substantially worse than controls in ability to detect sarcasm (d=2·2), showing both decreased sensitivity (A′) in detection of sincerity versus sarcasm and an increased bias (B″) toward sincerity. Correlations across groups revealed significant relationships between impairments in sarcasm recognition, affective prosody and basic pitch perception.Conclusions. These findings demonstrate substantial deficits in ability to infer an internal subjective state based upon vocal modulation among subjects with schizophrenia. Deficits were related to, but were significantly more severe than, more general forms of prosodic and sensorial misperception, and are consistent with both right hemispheric and ‘bottom-up’ theories of the disorder.
A population-based family study of DSM-III generalized anxiety disorder
Authors: NEWMAN STEPHEN C. , BLAND ROGER C. 
Published: May 2006

Background. A recent meta-analysis provides evidence that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is familial. However, two of the key studies relied on subjects who were self-selected or recruited from the clinic setting, thereby limiting generalizability.Method. We conducted a family study of GAD in which probands and controls came from a community sample originally enrolled in a prevalence study in Edmonton, Canada. One hundred and sixty probands, 764 controls and 2386 first-degree relatives (FDRs) were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS); lifetime diagnoses were made according to DSM-III criteria without exclusions. Logistic regression analysis was performed with GAD (in a proband) as the ‘exposure’, and GAD in an FDR as the ‘outcome’. Several analytic strategies were used to control for potential confounding by major depressive disorder (MDD) and several anxiety disorders (panic disorder, phobic disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder).Results. The odds ratios for the association between GAD in a proband and GAD in an FDR were in the range 1·4–1·8 when the entire FDR sample was analysed, and in the range 2·1–2·8 when we restricted to FDRs who were children of probands and controls.Conclusion. In the community setting, GAD exhibits mild to moderate familial aggregation.
The influence of emotions on inhibitory functioning in borderline personality disorder
Authors: DOMES GREGOR , WINTER BRITTA , SCHNELL KNUT , VOHS KNUT , FAST KRISTINA , HERPERTZ SABINE C. 
Published: May 2006

Background. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an emotionally unstable and impulsive cognitive and behavioral style. Inhibitory dysfunction has been hypothesized as playing a crucial role in BPD psychopathology. This study aimed to systematically investigate differential inhibitory functions in patients with BPD as compared to healthy controls, and to investigate their expected impairment in the context of aversive emotions by comparing performances in neuropsychological tasks that present both neutral and emotional material.Method. Unmedicated female patients with BPD (n=28) were compared with age-matched healthy female controls (n=30) in the following tasks: the emotional Stroop test (inhibition of interference), directed forgetting (intentional, resource-dependent inhibition), and an emotional variant of the negative priming task (automatic, resource-independent inhibition).Results. In comparison with the controls, the BPD patients showed reduced inhibition of negative material in the directed forgetting task and in the negative priming task. No effect was found in the emotional Stroop test. Significant correlations with current affect as well as trait anxiety and anger (but not impulsiveness) were found in the BPD group specifically for negative stimuli, while no such correlations were found in the control group. In addition to inhibitory deficiencies, BPD patients had difficulties remembering positive words in the directed forgetting task.Conclusions. Our data suggest that individuals with BPD have difficulties in actively suppressing irrelevant information when it is of an aversive nature. Inhibitory dysfunction appears to be closely related to state and trait variables of unstable affect, but not to self-reported impulsiveness.
Behavioural and neuropsychological correlates of frontal lobe features in dementia
Authors: ENGELBORGHS SEBASTIAAN , MAERTENS KAREN , MARIËN PETER , VLOEBERGHS ELLEN , SOMERS NORE , NAGELS GUY , DE DEYN PETER P. 
Published: May 2006

Background. In order to characterize frontal lobe features and their behavioural and cognitive correlates across diagnostic categories, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of behavioural and neuropsychological data from a large, prospective Belgian study on behavioural and psychological signs and symptoms of dementia (BPSD).Method. Patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=170), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (n=28), mixed dementia (MXD) (n=29) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) (n=21) were included and underwent neuropsychological and behavioural assessment by means of a battery of tests and scales. Frontal lobe symptoms were quantified by means of the Middelheim Frontality Score (MFS).Results. In AD (and to a lesser extent in MXD), MFS total scores were negatively correlated with scores on MMSE (Spearman: r=−0·36, p<0·001) and a Verbal Fluency Task (r=−0·38, p<0·001) and were associated with increased severity and frequency of psychosis (r=0·24, p<0·01), activity disturbances (r=0·44, p<0·001) and aggressiveness (r=0·43, p<0·001). In DLB, MFS total scores were negatively correlated with MMSE scores (r=−0·50, p=0·020). No associations were found in FTD patients.Conclusions. A cross-sectional analysis of frontal lobe features, behavioural characteristics and neuropsychological data demonstrated that, in AD (and to a lesser extent in MXD) patients, frontal lobe symptoms were associated with more pronounced cognitive deficits (of frontal origin), with increased severity and frequency of agitated and aggressive behaviour, and with increased severity of psychosis and depressive symptoms. Given the small sample sizes of the DLB and FTD patient groups, negative findings in these patient groups should be interpreted cautiously.
A controlled longitudinal 5-year follow-up study of children at high and low risk for panic disorder and major depression
Authors: BIEDERMAN JOSEPH , PETTY CARTER , HIRSHFELD-BECKER DINA R. , HENIN AUDE , FARAONE STEPHEN V. , DANG DANIELLE , JAKUBOWSKI ALEKSANDRA , ROSENBAUM JERROLD F. 
Published: May 2006

Background. To evaluate the longitudinal course of psychiatric disorders in children of parents with panic disorder (PD) and major depression (MD) as they transition through the period of risk from childhood into adolescence.Method. Over a 5-year follow-up, we compared psychiatric disorders in four groups of children: (1) offspring of parents with PD plus MD (n=136); (2) offspring of parents with PD without MD (n=27); (3) offspring of parents with MD but without PD (n=53); and (4) offspring of non-PD non-MD parents (n=103).Results. Parental PD was significantly associated with increased risk for anxiety disorders, irrespective of parental MD. Parental MD was associated with increased risk for MD, disruptive behavior disorders, and deficits in psychosocial functioning, irrespective of parental PD.Conclusions. These longitudinal findings confirm and extend previous cross-sectional results documenting significant associations between PD and MD in parents and patterns of psychopathology and dysfunction in their offspring.
Linguistic change, sociohistorical context, and theory-building in variationist linguistics: new-dialect formation in New Zealand
Authors: MEYERHOFF MIRIAM 
Published: May 2006

Elizabeth Gordon, Lyle Campbell, Jennifer Hay, Margaret Maclagan, Andrea Sudbury, and Peter Trudgill, 2004. New Zealand English: its origins and evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 521 64292 2. Hb £55.00, US$85.00.Peter Trudgill, 2004. New-dialect formation: the inevitability of colonial Englishes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press/Georgetown: Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0 7486 1876 7. Hb £45.00.
Colonizing currencies. Beasts, banknotes and the colour of money in South Africa Taking stock. A response to Turgeon and Creighton
Authors: Comaroff Jean , Comaroff John L. 
Published: May 2006

In Archaeological dialogues 12.2 Jean and John Comaroff explored the role of commensuration – the mechanisms that render equitable and negotiable different orders of value – in the production of society and history. While equilibration, standardization and conversion are implicated in most theories of money and commodification, their nature as social processes has not been adequately specified, above all in the construction of universalizing ideologies and modernist political and economic regimes. They pursue these processes in relation to one African theatre, examining the ways in which different regimes of value, brought up against one another in the encounter between the southern Tswana peoples and European colonizers, became the subject of both conflict and complex mediation. Cows, coin and contracts – which had the capacity to construct and negate difference – soon were invested here with magical qualities. But colonized peoples were also sensitive to the capacity of such currencies to enable or impede convertibility, and to the forms of abstraction and incorporation they permit. Which is why, in South Africa and elsewhere, those currencies often became metonymic of the contestations of value on which colonial struggles, tout court, were played out.In this short essay they respond to the comments on their article by John Creighton and Laurier Turgeon.
Connecting stuttering measurement and management: III. Accountable therapy
Authors: Cook Frances , Fry Jane 
Published: May 2006

AbstractBackground: This paper is intended to contribute to the current debate in relation to persistent stuttering and evidence‐based clinical practice.Aims: The paper will describe the authors' intervention framework for persistent stuttering, which is guided by evidence from the fields of stuttering and clinical psychology. It supports the opinion that the components of therapy should be grounded in empirically based theories that offer an explanation for the nature of stuttering, its persistence and its individual complexity. It will argue that the goals of therapy should reflect the client's personal values and experience of stuttering, as well as the knowledge and skills of the therapist.Main contribution: The paper maintains that therapy for this disorder needs to account for the highly individual nature of the overt and covert dimensions of persistent stuttering and identify the formal and informal methods that measure progress and outcome. Current research and future directions will be touched on briefly.
Uncoupling the relationship between fatty acids and longevity
Authors: Kua Chong‐Han 
Published: May 2006

AbstractResearch into different species has verified the negative correlation between longevity and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. ROS creates oxidative damage and, consequently, fuels the aging process. As such, the astonishing longevity of avian species correlates well with their lower levels of ROS production, in comparison to mammals of similar size. Apart from this inter‐species difference, caloric restriction (CR) is a widely‐documented means of increasing intra‐species longevity, and it works by decreasing ROS production. However, little is known about the mechanisms responsible, either for the retardation of aging in CR or for the longevity of long‐living species. Recent findings have shown an increase in uncoupling protein (UCP) activity with lower ROS levels, after CR stress. These UCPs are stimulated by fatty acids. Moreover, in numerous studies, fatty acids have been demonstrated to generate a reduction in ROS generation. Thus, the decreased ROS production seen in both CR and longer lifespan may occur via up‐regulation of free fatty acid stimulation of UCP activity. Consequently, free fatty acids may play an important regulatory role in longevity, by reducing ROS, via actions on UCPs.
IUBMB Life, 58: 153 ‐ 155, 2006
Embryonic transcription factors in human breast cancer
Authors: Briegel Karoline J. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractGrowing evidence suggests that breast cancer cells often reactivate latent developmental programs in order to efficiently execute the multi‐step process of tumorigenesis. This review focuses on key transcriptional regulators of embryonic development that are deregulated in breast cancer and discusses the molecular mechanisms by which these proteins control carcinogenesis. Reminiscent of their function during development, embryonic transcription factors regulate changes in gene expression that promote tumor cell growth, cell survival and motility, as well as a morphogenetic process called epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is implicated in both breast metastasis and tumor recurrence. Because of their pivotal roles in breast tumor progression, these factors represent valuable new biomarkers for breast cancer detection as well as promising new targets for anti‐invasive drugs.
IUBMB Life, 58: 123‐132, 2006
Mitochondrial DNA mutations in human disease
Authors: Greaves Laura C. , Taylor Robert W. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractSince their first association with human disease in 1988, more than 250 pathogenic point mutations and rearrangements of the 16.6 kb mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) have been reported in a spectrum of clinical disorders which exhibit prominent muscle and central nervous system involvement. With novel mutations and disease phenotypes still being described, mtDNA disorders are recognized collectively as common, inherited genetic diseases although relatively little is still known concerning the precise pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to cell dysfunction and pathology. This review considers the basic principles of mitochondrial genetics which govern both the behaviour and investigation of pathogenic mtDNA mutations summarizing recent advances in this area, and an assessment of the ongoing debate into the role of somatic mtDNA mutations in neurodegenerative disease, ageing and cancer.
IUBMB Life, 58: 143 ‐ 151, 2006
Dopaminergic regulation of glucose‐induced insulin secretion through dopamine D2 receptors in the pancreatic islets in vitro
Authors: Shankar Eswar , Santhosh K. T. , Paulose C. S. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractThe stimulatory effect of dopamine through dopamine D2 receptor on glucose‐induced insulin secretion was studied in the pancreatic islets in vitro. Dopamine significantly stimulated insulin secretion at a concentration of 10‐8 M in the presence of high glucose (20 mM). The higher concentrations of dopamine (10‐7 ‐ 10‐4) inhibited glucose‐induced insulin secretion in the presence of both 4 mM and 20 mM glucose. Stimulatory and inhibitory effect of dopamine on glucose‐induced insulin secretion was reverted by the addition of dopamine D2 receptor antagonists such as butaclamol and sulpiride. Norepinephrine (NE) at 10‐4 M concentration inhibited the dopamine uptake as well as its stimulatory effect at 10‐8 M concentration on glucose induced insulin secretion. Our results suggest that dopamine exerts a differential effect on glucose‐induced insulin secretion through dopamine D2 receptor and it is essential for the regulation of glucose‐induced insulin secretion by pancreatic islets.
IUBMB Life, 58: 157 ‐ 163, 2006