bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cocaine‐induced dopamine overflow within the nucleus accumbens measured by in vivo microdialysis: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Frank Stefanie TH. , Krumm Bertram , Spanagel Rainer 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA meta‐analysis was conducted on data obtained from published articles which used in vivo microdialysis to assess dose‐response curves of cocaine on dopamine (DA) overflow within the nucleus accumbens (NAC). Different experimental and biological parameters such as route of administration (ip, sc, iv, local), rat and mouse strains, gender, age aspects, and regions cannulated (NAC core and shell) were considered. Data from 116 experiments involving 833 animals (out of 266 publications) fulfilled our selection criteria and were analyzed in relation to absolute basal DA levels, the maximum peak of DA overflow (peak [%] baseline) and the time when this peak (peak time) occurred. Our meta‐analysis revealed that absolute basal DA levels lie at 2.39 nM (median of all experiments) and that cocaine‐induced DA overflow in the NAC is significantly enhanced in a linear dose‐response fashion within the applied dose range as the regression function increases following either iv or ip administration. Peak time was reached fastest in iv experiments and slowest following local application. Furthermore, it was shown in ip experiments that the higher the dose, the longer it took to reach the zenith. Results from the NAC shell region displayed greater DA overflow as compared with the NAC core. DA overflow properties following cocaine treatment in mice did not differ from that in rats. Thus, neither species differences nor other biological factors such as, age, gender, and rat/mouse strain have a pronounced impact on cocaine‐induced DA overflow. Technical parameters of the microdialysis procedure such as calcium concentration of the perfusion medium and collected sample amount have also no significant effect in terms of DA overflow properties (peak [%] baseline and peak time) following cocaine treatment. In conclusion, these data may be deemed useful for textbook knowledge and a better comparability of data given by the generalization of already existing data as well as for investigators in maximizing the effect of cocaine‐induced DA overflow. Finally, this study examplifies how meta‐analyses may be applied to a wide range of data within the field of neurochemistry. Synapse 62:243–252, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Disparities in Surgery: Access to Outcomes
Authors: Rogers Selwyn O. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractSurgery is an important intervention to sustain human life through its ability to cure disease, heal fractures, avert maternal death, and provide comfort for those suffering. However, surgical care is unevenly delivered throughout the world. More surprisingly, we have little knowledge about the adequacy and quality of surgical resources globally.The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health, a joint program of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, seeks to remedy the knowledge deficit, to provide direction for stakeholders, and direct improvement in public health related to surgical care. To the end of raising awareness of the issue of disparities in surgical care in the United States and the world, an invitational conference on Disparities in Surgical Care: Access to Outcomes was conceived.The Symposium brought together experts from around the world to critically examine this challenging problem. Surgeons, other clinicians, administrators, and health services researchers came together to develop approaches to translate research into practice to address disparities in access and outcomes in surgical care. The synergy of population‐based research and clinical practice may allow the surgical healthcare team of the near future to implement strategies to achieve health equity, an important dimension of quality, in surgery.
Signal valence in the nucleus accumbens to pain onset and offset
Authors: Becerra Lino , Borsook David 
Published: January 2008

AbstractPain and relief are at opposite ends of the reward–aversion continuum. Studying them provides an opportunity to evaluate dynamic changes in brain activity in reward–aversion pathways as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Of particular interest is the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain substrate known to be involved in reward–aversion processing, whose activation valence has been observed to be opposite in response to reward or aversive stimuli. Here we have used pain onset (aversive) and pain offset (rewarding) involving a prolonged stimulus applied to the dorsum of the hand in 10 male subjects over 120s to study the NAc fMRI response. The results show a negative signal change with pain onset and a positive signal change with pain offset in the NAc contralateral to the stimulus. The study supports the idea that the NAc fMRI signal may provide a useful marker for the effects of pain and analgesia in healthy volunteers.
Patient and clinician treatment preferences do not moderate the effect of exercise treatment in chronic whiplash‐associated disorders
Authors: Stewart Mark J. , Maher Chris G. , Refshauge Kathryn M. , Herbert Rob D. , Nicholas Michael K. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractAn issue that arises when selecting therapy is whether patient or clinician preferences for treatment moderate the effect of treatment.To evaluate this question we conducted a secondary analysis of the results of a randomized controlled trial of exercise treatment of chronic whiplash. Immediately prior to randomization, treatment preference ratings were collected from each patient and from the physiotherapist who assessed each patient. Patients were then randomized to receive advice alone or exercise and advice with the primary treatment outcomes of pain and function measured immediately after conclusion of treatment. Treatment effect modification was evaluated with a treatment group by preference interaction term in the regression analyses.The analysis revealed that neither patient nor therapist treatment preferences moderated the effect of exercise treatment for chronic whiplash. The interaction effect of treatment group by patient preference was 0.1 (−0.3 to 0.5, p=0.68) on the 0–10 pain intensity scale and −0.1 (−0.5 to 0.3, p=0.64) on the 0–10 function scale. The interaction effect of treatment group by therapist preference was 0.0 (−0.3 to 0.4, p=0.786) on the 0–10 pain intensity scale and −0.2 (−0.4 to 0.1, p=0.296) on the 0–10 function scale.Our findings do not provide evidence that patient or therapist treatment preferences moderate the effect of exercise treatment for chronic whiplash.
Interobserver agreement in intrapartum estimation of fetal head station
Authors: Buchmann Eckhart , Libhaber Elena 
Published: January 2008

AbstractObjectiveTo determine interobserver agreement in estimation of fetal head station during labor, and the determinants of agreement.MethodsA prospective study of fetal head station in 508 women in term labor. Vaginal examination of station was performed by a researcher at the same time as clinicians performed routine intrapartum assessments of the participants. Station 0 was considered to represent engagement.ResultsStation could be estimated by both the researcher and clinicians in 446 women (88%). The kappa statistic for agreement was 0.23 (95% confidence interval, 0.17–0.29). There was agreement in 166 cases (37%) and disagreement by 1 cm in 208 (47%) cases. Agreement was best (50%) when the researcher assessed the head at station minus 1. Multiple regression analysis showed that agreement was not influenced by level of experience of the attending clinicians, nor by obstetric factors.ConclusionEstimation of station as a method of determining the level of the fetal head in labor appears imprecise and poorly reproducible.
International Law and Alterity: The State and the Other
Authors: JODOIN SÉBASTIEN 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis article argues that orthodox international law is committed to the state at the expense of the Other, that which is not the state, and, at a more philosophical level, to ontology at the expense of ethics. Drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas, it seeks a shift from ontology, focusing on Being, to ethics, constituted by our responsibility to the Other. Section 1 argues that international law assumes the natural existence of a Being of the State and that this ontology of statehood constitutes the ontology of international law. Section 2 explains how the ontology of statehood having been transformed into an epistemology ultimately leads to the violent suppression of alterity. Section 3 proposes a number of projects and strategies through which we may pursue the ethics of alterity in international law. The article concludes with a discussion of three tensions within international law: statehood–alterity, ontology–ethics, and law–politics.
Sex, Love, and Marriage: Questioning Gender and Sexuality Rights in International Law
Authors: GROSS AEYAL M. 
Published: January 2008

The cover of Sex Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures 2002 shows a picture of two men photographed from the back, with their hands holding each other's waists. They are walking towards a camera crew. Based on the way they are dressed, it seems that they have just been married. Both men are wearing white dress shirts and have similar hairstyles, with one wearing a black waistcoat over the white shirt and the other with black braces. This collection, based on the Oxford Amnesty Lectures series on gender and sexuality, thus apparently features on its cover the same-sex marriage of two men, ostensibly held in one of the few jurisdictions that have legalized such a union (perhaps the Netherlands, which was the first to do so, and was later followed by Belgium, Spain, Canada, Massachusetts (United States), and South Africa). And while we know that ‘love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage’, what has sex got to do with this? Would it not be more appropriate for a cover of a book entitled Sex Rights to feature two persons engaged in sex or having just engaged in sex rather than a marriage ceremony? Would it not be more appropriate to depict, on a cover of a book called Sex Rights, a picture of two men in a position that suggests they have just had sex, an act for which they could be persecuted and prosecuted in various jurisdictions?So why, then, does a book on Sex Rights feature same-sex marriage on its cover?
Polycystic ovarian syndrome: pathophysiology, molecular aspects and clinical implications
Authors: Diamanti-Kandarakis Evanthia 
Published: January 2008

AbstractPolycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is universally recognised as the commonest endocrinopathy of women. The definition and the aetiological hypotheses of PCOS are continuously evolving to accommodate expanding knowledge on the syndrome, which is now known to be more complex than purely a reproductive disorder. Increased androgen synthesis, disrupted folliculogenesis and insulin resistance lie at the pathophysiological core of PCOS. An intriguing concept involves the perpetuation of a vicious circle with endocrine/reproductive and metabolic components. An unfavourable metabolic environment may unmask genetic traits of ovarian dysfunction, and the unfolding endocrine derangement could further aggravate the metabolic disarray. This article reviews the molecular mechanisms known to underlie the ovarian and metabolic abnormalities characterising PCOS. The putative interdependence between reproductive and metabolic aspects of PCOS, and therapeutic implications for the management of PCOS, are also discussed.
Legislative Production in Comparative Perspective: Cross-Sectional Study of 42 Countries and Time-Series Analysis of the Japan Case
Authors: FUKUMOTO KENTARO 
Published: January 2008

AbstractLegislative scholars have debated what factors (e.g. divided government) account for the number of important laws a legislative body passes per year. This paper presents a monopoly model for explaining legislative production. It assumes that a legislature adjusts its law production so as to maximize its utility. The model predicts that socio-economic and political changes increase the marginal benefit of law production, whereas low negotiation costs and ample legislative resources decrease the marginal cost of law production. The model is tested in two ways. The first approach compares the legislatures of 42 developed and developing countries. The second analyzes Japanese lawmaking from 1949 to 1990, using an appropriate method for event count time series data. Both empirical investigations support the model's predictions for legislative production.
Economic Interdependence and Third-Party International Interactions: A 30-Country Third-Party Bloc Case Study
Authors: CHANG YUAN-CHING 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe trade–conflict model claims that one state,designated ‘actor’, is deterred from initiating conflict against a trading partner,designated ‘target’, for fear of losing the welfare gains associated with trade. This paper extends the trade–conflict model to garner implications concerning trade and conflict interactions where third-party blocs are involved. The theoretical propositions supported by proofs are: (1) if the actor increases trade with a third-party who is a friend of the target, then the actor will decrease conflict toward the target; (2) if the actor increases trade with a third-party who is a rival of the target, then the actor will increase conflict toward the target. A 30-country sample from the Conflict and Peace Data Bank (COPDAB) is used and divided into three blocs, namely a Western bloc, a Middle Eastern bloc, and an Eastern bloc. The empirical analysis supports the hypotheses. A similar relationship is also discussed and tested for situations in which conflict increases or decreases between the actor and third-party bloc. In addition, the evidence shows that Western bloc countries play a central role in world political and economic relationships.
Fragmentation and Power: Reconceptualizing Policy Making under Japan's 1955 System
Authors: CAMPBELL JOHN CREIGHTON , SCHEINER ETHAN 
Published: January 2008

AbstractIn the 1980s, a wave of new–extremely clever and detailed–studies revolutionized the Japanese politics field. The empirical findings of this ‘new paradigm’ literature remain the conventional wisdom on Japanese policy-making patterns under the ‘1955 System’. In this paper, we offer a critical reinterpretation of the new paradigm literature. We do not offer new empirical analysis, but, rather, reconsider this conventional wisdom by putting a new spin on the evidence previous authors utilized to analyze the policy-making process in Japan under the 1955 System. Contrary to the conventional view of strong central bureaucratic power, we argue that in the 1960s policy making was quite fragmented. In contrast to literature suggesting substantial politician influence in the 1980s, we argue that there was a decline in the influence of politicians in general in policy making.
Developing methods that really do value the ‘Q’ in the QALY
Authors: DOLAN PAUL 
Published: January 2008

AbstractMost health economists recommend that improvements in health be valued by asking members of the general public to imagine themselves in different states of health and then to think about how many years of life they would give up or what risk of death they would be willing to accept in order to be in full health. In this paper, I argue that preferences are not a very good guide to future experiences and a more suitable way to value health is to ask people in different states of health how they think and feel about their lives. Valuing health in this way may result in greater priority being given to mental health services. Whatever the precise implications, it is my contention that it is much better to ration health care according to real experiences rather than according to hypothetical preferences.
Are subjective well-being measures any better than decision utility measures?
Authors: SMITH DYLAN M. , BROWN STEPHANIE L. , UBEL PETER A. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThere are a number of substantial problems with using decision-based utility measures such as the time trade off and standard gamble to value improvements in health. Dolan (this issue) argues that because of these problems, it would be better to use measures of real experiences (subjective well being). We review evidence that supports criticisms of decision-based utility measures, whether provided by patients or non-patients. But we also review a number of substantial problems with currently used measures of subjective well-being, and point out that there is no definitive evidence that they represent any improvement over decision utility measures. We conclude with a call for expanded research into developing new tools for quantifying health-related quality of life that are more valid, more sensitive to changes in health status, and less biased.
Global public–private partnerships against neglected diseases: building governance structures for effective outcomes
Authors: BUCKUP SEBASTIAN 
Published: January 2008

AbstractFocusing on the problem of pharmaceutical R&D for drugs and vaccines against neglected diseases in developing countries, this article argues that the effectiveness of global health partnerships potentially lies in their capacity to address the problem of dual market failures: on a first level they may tackle the poverty induced lack of effective demand for health products which impedes the creation of market-financed innovative products. On a second level, they may help overcoming hold-up problems and underinvestment induced by the complexity of neglected diseases R&D. Yet, organizing transactions within a partnership is not a panacea against these problems: a crucial determinant of success is properownership structures. They need to respond to (i) the degree to which the respective parties value the partnership outcome, (ii) the relative importance of the investment of the parties, and (iii) the nature of the partnership outcome. The argument developed in the analysis is built on an integrated framework combining insights from incomplete contracting theory and public goods economics. It is supported by a preliminary statistical analysis of 17 GHPs.
Liming upland grassland: the effects on earthworm communities and the chemical characteristics of carbon in casts
Authors: Bishop H. O. , Grieve I. C. , Chudek J. A. , Hopkins D. W. 
Published: January 2008

SummaryDifferent earthworm species have different tolerances of acid soil conditions, and the application of lime to upland grassland to improve the grazing quality may therefore alter the size and diversity of the earthworm community. Altering soil properties may also affect the chemical characteristics of organic C in earthworm casts. We surveyed the earthworm community of an upland grassland in southern Scotland at the outset of annual lime applications, and after 3 years, and used 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to assess the distribution of C between different functional groups in the organic matter. In addition, soil was incubated for 8 weeks with several earthworm species in the presence or absence of lime, and the earthworm casts were subsequently analysed by 13C NMR spectroscopy. Liming did not significantly affect earthworm abundance or species diversity, but it did affect the chemical composition of the casts. Casts from earthworms incubated in unlimed soil had greater ratios of alkyl‐C to O−alkyl‐C, indicative of more decomposed, recalcitrant C, and spectra from litter‐feeding species had the greatest intensities of O−alkyl‐C signals. In limed soil, the largest O−alkyl‐C signal intensities were not restricted to litter‐feeding species, indicating an increase in the quality of organic matter ingested by geophagous species.
A method for spatial freshwater conservation prioritization
Authors: MOILANEN ATTE , LEATHWICK JOHN , ELITH JANE 
Published: January 2008

Summary1. Freshwater ecosystems are amongst the most threatened and poorly protected globally. They continue to be degraded through habitat loss, pollution and invading species and conservation measures are urgently needed to halt declining trends in their biodiversity and integrity.2. During the past decade a suite of decision support tools and computational approaches have been developed for efficient and targeted conservation action in terrestrial or marine ecosystems. These methods may be poorly suited for planning in freshwater systems because connectivity in terrestrial and marine systems is typically modelled in a way unsuitable for rivers, where connectivity has a strong directional component.3. We modify the conservation prioritization method and software,zonation, to account for connectivity in a manner better suited to freshwater ecosystems. Prioritization was performed using subcatchment/catchment‐based planning units and connectivity was modified to have directional upstream and downstream components consistent with the ecology of our target species.4. We demonstrate this modified method for rivers and streams in the southern North Island of New Zealand. Data included predicted occupancy from boosted regression tree models of species distributions for 18 fish species. The study area covered 2.1 million hectares and included 394 first‐ to fourth order catchment or subcatchment planning units.5. Realistic modelling of connectivity had a major influence on the areas proposed for conservation. If connectivity was ignored, recommended conservation areas were very fragmented. By contrast, when connectivity was modelled, high priority conservation targets consisted of entire river basins or headwater subcatchments.6. The proposed method serves as a starting point for the implementation of reserve selection methods in river ecosystems.
Respiration of midges (Diptera; Chironomidae) in British Columbian lakes: oxy‐regulation, temperature and their role as palaeo‐indicators
Authors: BRODERSEN KLAUS PETER , PEDERSEN OLE , WALKER IAN R. , JENSEN MICHAEL TRANEKJÆR 
Published: January 2008

Summary1. The specific respiration rate of 13 chironomid taxa and Chaoborus were measured to test the hypothesis of the relation between a species’ ability to regulate their oxygen uptake and their distributional patterns among nine study lakes in British Columbia, Canada.2. Respiration patterns of individual taxa were modelled using piecewise linear regression with break point and simple hyperbolic functions. Three types of respiration curves were identified: (i) classical oxy‐conformers (e.g. littoral Cricotopus) which cannot sustain a sufficient oxygen uptake with decreasing oxygen availability; (ii) oxy‐regulators (e.g. profundal Chironomus) which can regulate and maintain a constant respiration until a certain critical point and (iii) oxy‐stressors (Micropsectra) which increase their respiration rate with decreasing oxygen availability until a critical point.3. Respiration was measured at two different temperatures (10 and 20 °C), and over the range of oxygen saturation conditions studied here (0–90%) mean Q10 values varied from 1.3 to 2.5.4. The results show that different chironomid taxa have varying sensitivity to low oxygen concentrations and different respiratory responses to increased temperature. The critical point increased to higher oxygen saturation for six taxa, decreased for one taxon and was unchanged for two taxa.5. The results illustrate one of the possible biological mechanisms behind the use of chironomids as temperature and climate indicators in palaeoecological studies by exploring the link between temperature and respiration physiology.