bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gradient of adaptability in four different motor systems performing the same learned motor task in cats
Authors: Gruart Agnès , Streppel Michael , Guntinas‐Lichius Orlando , Angelov Doychin N. , Neiss Wolfram F. , Delgado‐García José M. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe ability of four different brainstem motoneuron pools to perform a newly acquired motor task was studied in alert cats. A classical conditioning of eyelid responses was carried out in (i) unoperated animals, and in animals with (ii) transection, 180° rotation, and re‐suture of the zygomatic facial nerve branch, (iii) a crossed anastomosis of the buccal to the zygomatic facial nerve branch and (iv) a hypoglossal–facial nerve anastomosis. Animals were conditioned with a delay paradigm using a tone (350 ms, 600 Hz, 90 dB) as conditioned stimulus, followed 250 ms later by an air puff (100 ms, 3 kg/cm2) as unconditioned stimulus. Animals with zygomatic nerve rotation performed conditioned responses (CRs) at control rate, with significantly larger amplitude, area and velocity, but a de‐synchronized oscillatory pattern. Animals with buccal–zygomatic anastomosis acquired CRs at control rate, but these CRs had significantly smaller amplitude than those of controls and a de‐synchronized pattern. Animals with a hypoglossal–facial anastomosis were unable to perform CRs. The trigeminal hyper‐reflexia triggered by the axotomy was probably the origin of the large CRs after zygomatic nerve rotation. Trigeminal hyper‐reflexia could also contribute to generation of the small CRs recorded after buccal–zygomatic anastomosis. Although trigeminal hyper‐reflexia was also present following hypoglossal–facial anastomosis, hypoglossal motoneurons did not reach their firing threshold to perform CRs. In accordance with the embryonic origin of involved motoneurons, animals with buccal–zygomatic and hypoglossal–facial anastomoses moved the ipsilateral eyelid synchronously to mouth‐related activities. It is suggested that there is a gradient of adaptability in motoneuron pools forced to perform new motor tasks through foreign muscles, which depends on their embryological origins and functional properties.
Delay‐period activities in two subdivisions of monkey inferotemporal cortex during pair association memory task
Authors: Naya Yuji , Yoshida Masatoshi , Takeda Masaki , Fujimichi Ryoko , Miyashita Yasushi 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe macaque inferotemporal cortex, which is involved in encoding and retrieval of visual long‐term memory, consists of two distinct but mutually interconnected areas: area TE (TE) and area 36 (A36). In the present study, we compared delay‐period activities of the two subdivisions in terms of their signal contents. We recorded single‐unit activities from TE and A36 during a delayed pair association task, in which monkeys were required to choose the paired associate of a cue stimulus after a delay period. The stimulus‐selective delay‐period activities of single neurons were characterized by using partial correlation coefficients of delay‐period activities for each cue stimulus with the cue‐period responses to that stimulus (cue‐holding index, CHI) and with the cue‐period responses to its paired associate (pair‐recall index, PRI). The delay‐period activities of TE neurons preferentially represented the paired associate (PRI, median = 0.54) rather than the cue stimulus itself (CHI, 0.23) (P < 0.001, n = 70), while the delay‐period activities of A36 neurons retained both the cue stimulus and its paired associate equivalently (CHI, 0.44; PRI, 0.46) (P = 0.78, n = 38). These results indicate that the signal contents of delay‐period activities differ between the two subdivisions: TE mostly represents a sought target that is retrieved from long‐term memory, while A36 in addition retains cue‐stimulus that is transmitted from earlier visual areas.
Chemokine modulation of high‐conductance Ca2+‐sensitive K+ currents in microglia from human hippocampi
Authors: Bordey A. , Spencer D. D. 
Published: November 2003

SummaryDuring acute pathological processes, microglia transform into an activated state characterized by a defined morphology and current profile, and are recruited to injury sites by chemokines. No information is available on the ion channels and the mode of action of chemokines in microglia in brain slices from humans with a chronic pathology. Thus, patch‐clamp recordings of microglia were performed in hippocampal slices from seven patients who underwent surgery for pharmaco‐resistant epilepsy. Cells were identified as microglia by positive labelling with fluorescein‐conjugated tomato lectin before recording. All the recorded cells had an ameboid morphology characteristic of activated microglia. However, they had a high input resistance (3.6 GΩ), a zero‐current resting potential of −16 mV, and lacked Na+ currents, inwardly rectifying and delayed rectifying K+ currents such as non‐activated microglia. Importantly, recorded cells expressed Ca2+‐sensitive outward currents that activated at 0 mV with non‐buffered intracellular Ca2+ and were sensitive to 1 mm tetraethylammonium (TEA). The estimated single‐channel conductances were 187 pS in cell‐attached and 149 pS in outside‐out patches, similar to those of high‐conductance Ca2+‐dependent K+ channels. The chemokine MIP1‐α increased whole‐cell outward current amplitudes measured at +60 mV by a factor of 3.3. Thus, microglia in hippocampi from epileptic patients express high‐conductance Ca2+‐dependent K+ channels that are modulated by the chemokine MIP1‐α. This modulation may contribute to the migratory effect of MIP1‐α on microglia.
Mechanisms of time‐based figure–ground segregation
Authors: Kandil Farid I. , Fahle Manfred 
Published: November 2003

AbstractFigure–ground segregation can rely on purely temporal information, that is, on short temporal delays between positional changes of elements in figure and ground (Kandil, F.I. & Fahle, M. (2001)Eur. J. Neurosci.,13, 2004–2008). Here, we investigate the underlying mechanisms by measuring temporal segregation thresholds for various kinds of motion cues. Segregation can rely on monocular first‐order motion (based on luminance modulation) and second‐order motion cues (contrast modulation) with a high temporal resolution of ≈ 20 ms. The mechanism can also use isoluminant motion with a reduced temporal resolution of 60 ms. Figure–ground segregation can be achieved even at presentation frequencies too high for human subjects to inspect successive frames individually. In contrast, when stimuli are presented dichoptically, i.e. separately to both eyes, subjects are unable to perceive any segregation, irrespective of temporal frequency. We propose that segregation in these displays is detected by a mechanism consisting of at least two stages. On the first level, standard motion or flicker detectors signal local positional changes (flips). On the second level, a segregation mechanism combines the local activities of the low‐level detectors with high temporal precision. Our findings suggest that the segregation mechanism can rely on monocular detectors but not on binocular mechanisms. Moreover, the results oppose the idea that segregation in these displays is achieved by motion detectors of a higher order (motion‐from‐motion), but favour mechanisms sensitive to short temporal delays even without activation of higher‐order motion detectors.
Economic Globalization and Institutions of Global Governance
Authors: Griffin Keith 
Published: November 2003

AbstractEconomic globalization is reducing the significance of state boundaries. We have a global economy but lack the institutions necessary for a global polity. Unilateral action by a would–be hegemon is untenable in the long term and hence there is a need to discuss our institutions of global governance. The benefits and costs of globalization have been distributed asymmetrically, placing poor people in poor countries at a disadvantage, especially as regards the free movement of low–skilled labour and the creation of intellectual property rights. The World Trade Organization, a target of the critics of globalization, should be seen as a welcome extension of the rule of law to the international arena and a counterweight to unilateralism. More generally, global economic liberalism should be balanced by institutions which provide global public goods and international mechanisms to finance them. All of this implies a further weakening of state sovereignty and a need to ensure that global institutions are democratic and can be held accountable to people worldwide for their performance.
It Takes Modern Means to be Traditional: On Recognizing Indigenous Cultural Communities in the Philippines
Authors: Hirtz Frank 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe main thesis of this essay is that being recognized as traditional or indigenous requires the employment of modern means. A form of ‘Bureaucratic Orientalism’ has been devised, constructing and reaffirming ‘the Other’ through the minutiae of administrative procedures and contemporary representational processes. These procedures exist for the twin purposes of establishing the right to act as an indigenous group, and of circumscribing the obligations of the state, and possibly of other institutions of governance. The entire debate is the expression of a dilemma that has no solution but is actually an expression of modernity. The three pillars upon which indigeneity is affirmed are a national (internationally legitimized) legal system, the contemporary world of NGOs, and the institutions of local government. Thus, through the very process of being recognized as ‘indigenous’, these groups enter the realms of modernity. The Philippines provide a case study for these explorations.
The Australian Growth Experience, 1960–2000: Human Capital, R&D or Steady‐State Growth?
Authors: Chou Yuan K. 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThis article examines the sources of economic growth in Australia from 1960 to 2000 by adapting a framework developed in Jones (2002), whereby long‐run growth is driven by the global discovery of new ideas, which in turn is tied to world population growth. We find that, contrary to the conventional view as suggested by sustained growth rates and a stable capital–output ratio over the last several decades, Australia is clearly not on its steady–state balanced growth path. Australia has benefited from increases in educational attainment and research intensity: 42 per cent of Australian growth between 1960 and 2000 is attributable to the rise in educational attainment, about 20 to 40 per cent is attributable to increasing research intensity, while only 10 to 30 per cent is due to long‐run population growth in the idea‐producing countries.
Sustained Monopolistic Business Relationships: An Interdisciplinarity Case
Authors: Humphries Andrew , Wilding Richard 
Published: November 2003

AbstractBusiness‐to‐business relationships within sustained monopolies, such as those within UK defence procurement, have received scant attention by management researchers. This is unusual because under these market circumstances there appear to be few incentives to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes despite their strategic policy importance. This paper argues that an understanding of the monopolistic environment using a transaction cost economics theoretical framework and supply‐chain management, relationship marketing and transaction cost economics concepts provides an innovative, interdisciplinarity approach to solving this problem as well as testing aspects of these disciplines empirically in a novel area. This paper describes the results from a substantial research project to test this hypothesis in the UK defence procurement situation. It reveals a number of key dynamics within the sustained monopolistic relationships surveyed and suggests considerable potential for further research.
Redesigning Public Services: Challenges of Practice for Policy
Authors: McNulty Terry 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThe paper observes a challenge within contemporary public policy to change professional practices and relations to improve public services. Policy‐makers' advocacy of process redesign as a best‐practice mechanism for effecting change in public‐sector organizations is the particular focus of attention. In both theory and method the paper engages an interest in public policy and practice with mainstream developments in the field of organization and management studies. The theoretical framework links debate about process organization, organizational change, professional collaboration and business process re‐engineering. The public sector is not immune from the hype of transformation that characterizes much current debate about organization form and change. Empirical data about several redesign interventions that occurred in the context of a hospital re‐engineering programme are used to analyse the rhetoric and reality of change in public services. Contested processes and limited effects of re‐engineering are discussed for what they reveal about the prospects and possibilities for redesign to effect change in public services.
Strategies for change: making Valuing People a reality1
Authors: Fyson Rachel , Simons Ken 
Published: November 2003

SummaryThis article reports the interim findings of the ‘Strategies for Change’ research project, which has focused on the need for effective strategic planning in order to make a reality of the 2001 White Paper Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. It draws attention in particular to the roles that both commissioners of learning disability services and the new Learning Disability Partnership Boards must play in developing and implementing local plans. It is argued that effective strategic planning at national and local levels is required in order to create innovative, individualized services for people with learning disabilities, which can promote the Valuing People agenda of rights, independence, choice and inclusion.
‘Choice Biography’ and the importance of the social1
Authors: Small Neil , Pawson Nicole , Raghavan Raghu 
Published: November 2003

SummaryRecent European Union and Economic and Social Research Council funded research has scrutinized the concept of choice and future orientation in those undergoing transitions into adulthood. The focus of interest has been on the interplay of social structure and individual agency. We draw on initial findings from a Department of Health funded study to critique these new ways of thinking. In what ways do people with learning disabilities manifest the same attitudes to choice and risk evident in recent studies of young people? Do they demonstrate similar models of adaptation to the future? We will explore, via three case study examples, the tension between individual agency and family attitudes to future possibilities. We will argue that advances in the sociology of youth are in danger of assuming that the individualized ‘choice biography’ is the predominant model of transition. This does not reflect the importance of social networks and family relationships in young people with learning disability. For them, risk‐management and the pursuit of well‐being are pursued in the social domain.
Users' views on supported employment and social inclusion: a qualitative study of 30 people in work1
Authors: Wistow Richard , Schneider Justine 
Published: November 2003

SummaryThis paper outlines the findings from interviews exploring the perceptions of people with learning difficulties in relation to work and employment support. We look at what people told us about their experiences in seeking employment, getting a job, being in work and about the support they received. We also make inferences from the data about the nature and extent of social inclusion associated with being in work. The varying experiences of our sample illustrate the scope of the task in hand to achieve the vision of social inclusion expressed in Valuing People.
Gaining ethical approval for research into sensitive topics: ‘two strikes and you’re out?'1
Authors: Hays Sarah‐Jane , Murphy Glynis , Sinclair Neil 
Published: November 2003

SummaryResearching sensitive topics, such as the treatment of men with intellectual disabilities and sexually abusive behaviour, present a number of ethical issues for researchers. This paper describes our experiences in working with Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees on a research proposal designed to assess the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy for men with intellectual disabilities who are at risk of sexual offending. After submitting to three Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees and spending a year trying to get ethical approval, we questioned whether:

the issue of study design should be part of the Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees remit;
Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees were sufficiently responsive to concerns raised by researchers;
Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees always understood the research; and
the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees should disallow re‐submission after rejection by two Multi‐Centre Research Ethics Committees (‘two strikes and you’re out').
Evaluating digital libraries in the health sector. Part 1: measuring inputs and outputs
Authors: Cullen Rowena 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThis is the first part of a two‐part paper which explores methods that can be used to evaluate digital libraries in the health sector. In this first part, some approaches to evaluation that have been proposed for mainstream digital information services are examined for their suitability to provide models for the health sector. The paper summarizes some major national and collaborative initiatives to develop measures for digital libraries, and analyses these approaches in terms of their relationship to traditional measures of library performance, which are focused on inputs and outputs, and their relevance to current debates among health information specialists. The second part* looks more specifically at evaluative models based on outcomes, and models being developed in the health sector.
Access for all? A survey of health librarians in the north‐west of England on provision of information to patients
Authors: King Colette , Hornby Susan 
Published: November 2003

AbstractThis study examined the role that health librarians could play in helping patients to find information. A questionnaire survey was sent out to 50 health librarians in the north‐west of England. It examined the following: the type of library and users, access to information for patients, librarians’ attitudes to provision of information to patients and their knowledge of other sources available to their users.Ninety‐seven per cent of librarians said that they could recommend quality information sources to patients, but many suggested that there were practical problems in allowing patients to use health libraries due to lack of appropriate resources, facilities and funding. Advantages of health library involvement in patient information include having a local point of contact for patients and the ability of librarians to find, evaluate and organize good‐quality resources. However, health library staff may not have enough time to answer enquiries from the public and may lack training in dealing with patients. Innovation, especially in developing on‐line services, could offer a way to provide a service without overloading the physical requirements of a library. Librarians could also collaborate with other staff to improve patient information.
Screening for depression in adult acne vulgaris patients: tools for the dermatologist
Authors: Henkel Verena , Mœhrenschlager Matthias , Hegerl Ulrich , Mœller Hans‐Jürgen , Ring Johannes , Worret Wolf‐Ingo 
Published: November 2003

Summary  Background  Adult dermatological out patients have a 40% prevalence of psychiatric co‐morbidity. If psychiatric co‐morbidity is unrecognized, undetected and untreated, the consequences may be fatal. Acne is the most common skin disorder of the second and third decades of life. Acne and its treatments may cause depression.Aims  To identify a screening tool to identify depression in adult acne patients.Methods  The literature was reviewed to identify validated screening instruments for depressive disorders. Questionnaires studied included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire (B‐PHQ), the General Health Questionnaire‐12 item version (GHQ‐12), and the World Health Organization‐5 Well Being Index (WHO‐5).Results  WHO‐5 performed best in terms of sensitivity (0.93 for a cut‐off score of 13) as well as taking least time to complete (2–5 min) and evaluate (0.5–2 min).Conclusions  WHO‐5 can be recommended as part of a two‐step screening process for depression in acne patients. Step 1 is the WHO‐5. In the case of a positive score, step 2 is a detailed psychosocial assessment.
Inhibition of elastase activity by essential oils in vitro
Authors: Mori Masahiro , Ikeda Norikazu , Kato Yoshiko , Minamino Miki , Watabe Kazuhito 
Published: November 2003

Summary  Background  Essential oils are widely used, for example in aromatherapy and aroma massage. In aroma massage, essential oil, diluted with vegetable oil, is rubbed onto the skin. Components of essential oil penetrate into the skin and have an influence on the dermis. Elastase is an enzyme which degenerates dermal elastin. Elastase activity is believed to contribute to cutaneous wrinkling and ageing.Aim  To investigate the inhibitory effect of essential oils on elastase activity.Methods  Inhibition of elastase activity by various essential oils was assessed using two elastase enzymes: porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) and human neutrophil elastase (HNE).Results  Elastase activity was inhibited by various essential oils, especially by those oils derived from lemons, juniper and grapefruit. Although the specific inhibitory component was not determined, lemon oil had the greatest inhibitory effect on PPE. Some essential oils also inhibited HNE.Conclusions  These studies demonstrate a possible rationale for the use of essential oil massage as a preventive treatment for cutaneous wrinkling and ageing.
Cytokine gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility to liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Authors: Bahr Matthias J. , El Menuawy Mohamed , Boeker Klaus H. W. , Musholt Petra B. , Manns Michael P. , Lichtinghagen Ralf 
Published: November 2003

Abstract:Background: The speed of fibrosis progression varies considerably between patients with chronic hepatitis C. This study analyzed whether cytokine gene polymorphisms are associated with a progressive course of the disease.Methods: Leukocyte DNA from 101 patients with chronic hepatitis C, 52 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐induced cirrhosis and 200 Caucasian blood donors was prepared. Using PCR, RFLP and PAGE, gene polymorphism analysis of the interleukin (IL)1α(−889), IL1β(−511 and +3954), IL1 receptor agonist (RA)(intron2 VNTR), IL4(intron3 VNTR) and TNFα(−308) loci was performed.Results: Of the polymorphisms analyzed, IL1β(−511) and IL1RA(intron2 VNTR) were unevenly distributed between the study groups. The IL1β(−511)*A2A2 genotype occurred significantly more often in chronic hepatitis C and HCV‐induced liver cirrhosis than in the controls (P<0.01, P<0.05, respectively). Patients with HCV‐induced cirrhosis displayed a significantly higher frequency of the IL1RA(intron2 VNTR)*A2 polymorphism than patients with chronic hepatitis C and controls (P<0.05).Conclusions: Although the IL1β(−511)*A2A2 genotype may increase the susceptibility to acquire chronic hepatitis C and IL1RA(intron2 VNTR)*A2 polymorphism is associated with disease progression to cirrhosis, our results indicate that the analyzed cytokine gene polymorphisms have an overall low impact on the natural course of chronic hepatitis C infection.