bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychological and Genetic Differences Between Age‐Associated Memory Impairment and Mild Cognitive Impairment Entities
Authors: Bartrés‐Faz David , Junqué Carme , López‐Alomar Antoni , Valveny Neus , Moral Pedro , Casamayor Robert , Salido Antoni , Bel Carme , Clemente Imma C. 
Published: May 2003

OBJECTIVE: To neuropsychologically and genetically compare age‐associated memory impairment (AAMI) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) entities and to determine what proportion of AAMI diagnosed individuals could also receive a MCI diagnosis. To compare the distribution of a previously known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (apolipoprotein E common polymorphism) associated with these two conditions with a sample of the normal aging.DESIGN: Neuropsychological and genetic assessments in AAMI and MCI individuals. Genetic assessment in AAMI, MCI, and control subjects.SETTING: General health centers and geriatric homes from northeastern Spain (Catalunya).PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and four subjects presenting subjective memory complaints were selected and the AAMI and MCI criteria were applied. One hundred and twenty‐four healthy Spanish subjects age 50 and older were defined as controls.MEASUREMENTS: Memory, language, and frontal lobe functions were assessed using standard neuropsychological tests. The apolipoprotein E (apo E) polymorphism was obtained by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and HhaI restriction endonuclease.RESULTS: Sixty‐seven percent of previously diagnosed AAMI individuals could also be identified as MCI subjects. These MCI cases differed from those only‐AAMI individuals both in neuropsychological and genetic analyses, performing worse not only on memory but also on language and frontal lobe tests and presenting high and low prevalences of the apo E ε3/ε4 and ε3/ε3 genotypes, respectively. The general AAMI sample of 93 individuals also differed from controls in the apo E genotype and allele distributions but these differences were no longer present after subtracting the MCI cases (63 subjects). These findings reflect that the differences between the memory impaired sample and the control sample regarding the apo E polymorphism were mainly attributable to MCI individuals and not to those who received only a diagnosis of AAMI alone.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that among AAMI subjects, those who also fulfill the MCI criteria present a neuropsychological and genetic profile closer to that previously related to Alzheimer's disease than those individuals only eligible for a diagnosis of AAMI. However, our findings also suggest that using only the AAMI criteria still appears to select a population that differs genetically from the normal older population.
Weierstrass functions with random phases
Authors: Heurteaux Yanick 
Published: May 2003

Consider the function
\[

f
θ

(
x
)
=

∑

n
=
0

+
∞

b

−
n
α

g
(

b
n

x
+

θ
n

)
,

f_\theta (x)=\sum _{n=0}^{+\infty }b^{-n\alpha }g(b^nx+\theta _n),

\]
where

b
>
1

b>1

,

0
>
α
>
1

0>\alpha >1

, and

g
g

is a non-constant 1-periodic Lipschitz function. The phases

θ
n

\theta _n

are chosen independently with respect to the uniform probability measure on

[
0
,
1
]

[0,1]

. We prove that with probability one, we can choose a sequence of scales

δ
k

↘
0

\delta _k\searrow 0

such that for every interval

I
I

of length

|

I

|

=

δ
k

|I|=\delta _k

, the oscillation of

f
θ

f_\theta

satisfies

osc
⁡
(

f
θ

,
I
)
≥
C

|

I

|

α

\operatorname {osc}(f_\theta ,I)\geq C|I|^\alpha

. Moreover, the inequality

osc
⁡
(

f
θ

,
I
)
≥
C

|

I

|

α
+
ε

\operatorname {osc}(f_\theta ,I)\geq C|I|^{\alpha +\varepsilon }

is almost surely true at every scale. When

b
b

is a transcendental number, these results can be improved: the minoration

osc
⁡
(

f
θ

,
I
)
≥
C

|

I

|

α

\operatorname {osc}(f_\theta ,I)\geq C|I|^\alpha

is true for every choice of the phases

θ
n

\theta _n

and at every scale.
Researching Quality of Life in Early Old Age: The Importance of the Sociological Dimension
Authors: Higgs Paul , Hyde Martin , Wiggins Richard , Blane David 
Published: May 2003

Abstract Measurement of quality of life has become a major feature of much social and epidemiological research in health and social care settings. It is seen as an important alternative to more process‐based outcome measures but remains poorly defined. A major weakness is the absence of any coherent theoretical underpinning whether sociological, psychological or philosophical. Into this conceptual vacuum proxies for quality of life have been introduced. Quality of life [QoL] research into older populations has focused on measures of health and illness as equivalents of QoL. This paper argues that this response is inadequate as it reduces old age to a dimension of health, disability and disease. Instead, we argue that it is necessary to create a theoretically based measure of QoL in early old age which relates to those aspects of later life that are not defined by health. We present a model of QoL that is derived from aspects of contemporary social theory as they relate to the ontology of late modernity. In particular, we utilize a model based upon needs satisfaction. The model contains four domains: Control, Autonomy, Pleasure and Self‐realization. The measure consists of a 19‐item scale. The four domains load on to a single latent QoL factor. We argue that the CASP 19 scale offers an approach to QoL that integrates a sociologically based model of quality of life with a meaningful and valid research instrument.
The Dutch and Danish Miracles Revisited: A Critical Discussion of Activation Policies in Two Small Welfare States
Authors: Oorschot Wim van , Abrahamson Peter 
Published: May 2003

Abstract Denmark and the Netherlands are usually considered to belong to two different families of welfare states: the Scandinavian and the Continental model respectively. Yet, in both states active labour market policies, or activation, have increased during the 1990s and are currently prominent. Both in Denmark and in the Netherlands activation has been viewed as an important reason for the low unemployment rates which both states have experienced since the early to mid‐1990s, hence explaining the so‐called Dutch and Danish jobs miracles. The paper examines critically the activation measures taken in both countries and their alleged positive effect upon (un)employment. It further examines their effect on rights and obligations from a citizenship perspective. The paper concludes that in both cases the positive development of labour market performance cannot primarily be attributed to activation measures. Furthermore, activation has reduced the entitlements and increased the obligations affiliated with social citizenship.
Slippery Concepts, Shifting Context: (National) States and Welfare in the Veit‐Wilson/Atherton Debate
Authors: Wincott Daniel 
Published: May 2003

Abstract The debate between Veit‐Wilson and Atherton raises key conceptual questions for the analysis of welfare states. Veit‐Wilson, in particular, focuses on the important, but strangely neglected question of when and why a state qualifies as a welfare state. Atherton usefully draws attention to historical debates about the legitimate purposes of state welfare policies and worthy recipients of state benefits, particularly in the Anglo‐Saxon countries. His contribution may draw our attention to the shifting meaning of concepts (such as poverty) over time. In this contribution I seek to broaden the debate. First, without underestimating the importance of such criteria, rather than presenting one single (normatively based) “discriminating criterion” defining welfare statehood, I argue that other conceptions of “the welfare state” may be useful as well—so long as analysts are clear and explicit about how they are using the phrase. Second, in the current conjuncture of the perceived “transformation” perhaps even “destruction” of the welfare state, historical and comparative research grounded on clear and explicit concepts is crucial.
Test Procedures for Unit Roots in Time Series with Level Shifts at Unknown Time*
Authors: Lanne Markku , Lütkepohl Helmut , Saikkonen Pentti 
Published: May 2003

AbstractTwo types of unit root tests which accommodate a structural level shift at a known point in time are extended to the situation where the break date is unknown. It is shown that for any estimator for the break date the tests have the same asymptotic distribution as the corresponding tests under the known break date assumption. Different estimators of the break date are compared in a Monte Carlo experiment and a recommendation for choosing the break date in small samples is given. Example series from the Nelson–Plosser data set are used to illustrate the performance of our tests.
Are Returns to Schooling Concentrated Among the Most Able? A Semiparametric Analysis of the Ability–earnings Relationships1
Authors: Tobias Justin L. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractIn this paper I explore the relationship between ability and log waves using flexible estimation techniques. I find evidence of nonlinearities in these relationships that vary across levels of schooling, and argue that ability‐sorting into higher education creates problems for accurately identifying the return to schooling over the entire ability support. Over an ability support that is “common” to those with and without a college education, I find that the college log wage premium is incerasing for the more able, and this premium grew during the period 1984–1994 for individuals at all points in the ability distribution. The growth of this wage premium over time also appears to have followed a “smoother” linear path for high‐ability individuals than individuals of lower ability.
The Vikings on the Continent in Myth and History
Authors: Coupland Simon 
Published: May 2003

AbstractThe Vikings have a bad reputation, and it was no different on the Continent in the middle ages where they were regularly portrayed as brutally cruel, devilishly cunning and of superhuman stature. This article examines the evidence for the Vikings’ supposed cruelty, cunning and remarkable height and investigates how true the stereotypes were. What emerges is that all three contained a grain of truth, but led to exaggeration and distortion in later medieval texts and even some ninth‐century sources. There were, for example, tall individuals among the invaders, but little difference overall between the height of the average Frank and the average Dane. There were likewise instances of Scandinavian brutality, but not on a large scale, and they were no worse than acts carried out by the Franks in the same period. Nor, surprisingly, is there clear evidence of Viking rape: certainly they were not known for ‘rape and pillage’ in the ninth century. Finally, though the invaders were capable of duplicity, Carolingian parallels are once again not hard to find. In sum, tales of tall, treacherous and brutal Northmen can be shown to have grown in the telling, and there is an evident gap between the Vikings of myth and the Vikings of history.
‘Memories of the Maimed’: The Testimony of Charles I's Former Soldiers, 1660–1730
Authors: Stoyle Mark 
Published: May 2003

AbstractHistorians have paid little attention to the experiences and attitudes of the ordinary men who enlisted in the royalist armies during the English Civil War: chiefly because such individuals – most of them poor and unlettered – left no formal memoirs of their wartime service behind them. The present article suggests that the petitions for financial relief which were submitted by wounded and impoverished Cavalier veterans after the Restoration can help to bridge this evidential gap and to illuminate the mental world of the king's more humble supporters. By putting the language of the ‘maimed soldiers’ petitions’ under the microscope, it shows how the artisans, husbandmen and labourers who had fought for Charles I viewed the conflict in retrospect. The article begins by considering the strengths and limitations of the petitions themselves and the purposes for which they were initially composed. It then goes on to discuss what these documents reveal: not only about the physical suffering which the king's soldiers had undergone in the field, but also about their views of their comrades, their commanders and their enemies. The article concludes by arguing that the personal and political links which had been forged amid the fiery trials of the Civil War continued to bind together former royalists, of all ranks, for decades after the conflict came to an end.
‘The Hearts of the Millions’: Chartism and Popular Monarchism in the 1840s
Authors: Pickering Paul A. 
Published: May 2003

AbstractDespite the emergence of an abrasive sense of class‐consciousness during the 1830s, an investigation into the Chartists’ attitudes to monarchy highlights the limits of their challenge. For most Chartists the queen was not the problem. While some Chartists saw a positive role for the ‘pre‐Bagehot monarchy’ in attaining the Charter, others had discovered Bagehot's circumscribed monarchy long before he had. This recognition of the queen's supra‐political status did not necessarily lead to republican conclusions. For many Chartists, Britain's ‘mild monarchy’ was the exception to the republican rule precisely because of its limitations. Either way, many Chartists were prepared to build their campaign for democracy around the monarchy.
Trouble with Helen: The Gladstone Family Crisis, 1846– 1848
Authors: Isba Anne 
Published: May 2003

AbstractThe life of Helen Gladstone (1814–80), younger sister of William Ewart Gladstone, the pre‐eminent statesman of nineteenth‐century Britain, was an unhappy series of rebellions against a Victorian patriarchy that sought to manage her aberrant behaviour by grinding her into submission. Of her life's many low points, the period in her early thirties was perhaps the most profoundly shocking. Unrequited in love, lacking any useful occupation, and alienated from her favourite brother, William, by her conversion to Roman Catholicism, she was depressed and drug‐dependent. Yet, even in despair, she demonstrated a defiance that threatened to turn a private drama into public shame. The way that her brothers and father tried to control her, both physically and mentally, highlights the predicament of many independent yet redundant women in upper‐class Victorian society. In William Gladstone, in particular, Helen brought out a bullying streak unparalleled in his relationships with other people; perhaps he recognized, in her behaviour, the darker side of his own nature and the possible consequences if it were not kept under strict control.
The Trial of Oscar Slater (1909) and Anti‐Jewish Prejudices in Edwardian Glasgow
Authors: Braber Ben 
Published: May 2003

AbstractThis article examines the case of Oscar Slater within the context of Jewish history in the United Kingdom. It argues that Slater's conviction was the result of errors made by the police and judicial authorities and that these errors were made under public pressure. It is shown that the public, police and authorities were influenced by xenophobia and anti‐Jewish feelings. The article illustrates that in Glasgow it was not the often assumed Jewish involvement in political violence, but the growing presence of Jewish immigrants and their alleged participation in crime, especially prostitution, which aroused already existing fears about the condition of society. It is also found that there was another side to public opinion, namely a preparedness to speak out against injustice no matter at whom the wrongdoing was directed. Finally, the article concludes that the case affected the local Jewish population and shaped their responses to local attitudes.
The Place of Catholic Historians and Catholic Historiography in Nazi Germany
Authors: Heilbronner Oded 
Published: May 2003

AbstractThis article examines the neglected subject of the place and role of Catholic historians in Nazi Germany. It argues that the Third Reich provided an opportunity for Catholic historians: first, to express their vision of the Reich within the legitimacy provided by the Nazi state; secondly, to represent themselves as the only experienced force in Germany that could effectively convey the idea of the Reich to the German people; and thirdly, to leave the intellectual ‘ghetto’ in which they had been placed following the creation of the Bismarckian Reich of 1871.
Meeting Report: The Next Interleukin?
Authors: Weber Georg F. 
Published: May 2003

A report of the meeting "Third International Conference on Osteopontin and Related Proteins", San Antonio, TX, USA, 10 to 12 May 2002.
At a recent meeting, the structure and biology of the cytokine osteopontin were discussed. The molecule is essential for cellular immune responses and for the remodeling of cardiovasculature and bone. Osteopontin is extensively modified by posttranslational modifications, the consequences of which are only beginning to be understood. In disease, the expression of osteopontin by cancers may enhance their malignant phenotype, possibly reflecting the ability of the cytokine to induce cell migration after ligation of integrins and CD44 variants. A gene family with osteopontin as a member has been characterized.
CAEP: AN EVOLUTION-BASED TOOL FOR REAL-VALUED FUNCTION OPTIMIZATION USING CULTURAL ALGORITHMS
Authors: Chung Chan-Jin , Reynolds Robert G. 
Published: May 2003

Cultural Algorithms are computational self-adaptive models which consist of a population and a belief space. The problem-solving experience of individuals selected from the population space by the acceptance function is generalized and stored in the belief space. This knowledge can then control the evolution of the population component by means of the influence function. Here, we examine the role that different forms of knowledge can play in the self-adaptation process within cultural systems. In particular, we compare various approaches that use normative and situational knowledge in different ways to guide the function optimization process. The results in this study demonstrate that Cultural Algorithms are a naturally useful framework for self-adaptation and that the use of a cultural framework to support self-adaptation in Evolutionary Programming can produce substantial performance improvements over population-only systems as expressed in terms of (1) systems success ratio, (2) execution CPU time, and (3) convergence (mean best solution) for a given set of 34 function minimization problems. The nature of these improvements and the type of knowledge that is most effective in producing them depend on the problem's functional landscape. In addition, it was found that the same held true for the population-only self-adaptive EP systems. Each level of self-adaptation (component, individual, and population) outperformed the others for problems with particular landscape features.
NAD(P)H Oxidase Mediates Angiotensin II–Induced Vascular Macrophage Infiltration and Medial Hypertrophy
Authors: Liu Jianhua , Yang Fang , Yang Xiao-Ping , Jankowski Michelle , Pagano Patrick J. 
Published: May 2003

Objective—Our preliminary data suggested that angiotensin II (Ang II)–induced reactive oxygen species are involved in intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression and leukocyte infiltration in the rat thoracic aorta. Other reports demonstrating reactive oxygen species–induced cell growth suggested a potential role of NAD(P)H oxidase in vascular hypertrophy. In the present study, we postulate that NAD(P)H oxidase is functionally involved in Ang II–induced ICAM-1 expression, macrophage infiltration, and vascular growth, and that oxidase inhibition attenuates these processes independently of a reduction in blood pressure.Methods and Results—Rats were infused subcutaneously with vehicle or Ang II (750 μg/kg per day) for 1 week in the presence or absence of gp91 docking sequence (gp91ds)-tat peptide (1 mg/kg per day), a cell-permeant inhibitor of NAD(P)H oxidase. Immunohistochemical staining for ICAM-1 and ED1, a marker of monocytes and macrophages, showed that both were markedly increased with Ang II compared with vehicle and were reduced in rats receiving Ang II plus gp91ds-tat. This effect was accompanied by an Ang II–induced increase in medial hypertrophy that was attenuated by coinfusion of gp91ds-tat; however, gp91ds-tat had no effect on blood pressure.Conclusions—Ang II–enhanced NAD(P)H oxidase plays a role in the induction of ICAM-1 expression, leukocyte infiltration, and vascular hypertrophy, acting independently of changes in blood pressure.
E-Selectin Polymorphism Associated With Myocardial Infarction Causes Enhanced Leukocyte-Endothelial Interactions Under Flow Conditions
Authors: Yoshida Masayuki , Takano Yoshio , Sasaoka Taishi , Izumi Toru , Kimura Akinori 
Published: May 2003

Objective—Polymorphisms found in genes encoding adhesion molecules have been reported to be associated with atherosclerosis. We investigated the Ser128Arg polymorphism in the E-selectin gene in Japanese patients with myocardial infarction and its functional significance.Methods and Results—Results from 135 patients with myocardial infarction and 327 control subjects revealed that the frequency of Arg128-positive was significantly higher in the patients than in controls (12.6% versus 6.7%; odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.04 to 3.85), indicating that the Ser128Arg polymorphism was associated with myocardial infarction. We then generated a recombinant E-selectin adenovirus carrying a mutation (AdS128R-E) and compared it with its wild-type counterpart by evaluating the adhesion characteristics of transduced human umbilical vein endothelial cells under flow. AdS128R-E–transduced human umbilical vein endothelial cells supported significantly more rolling and adhesion of neutrophils and mononuclear cells compared with human umbilical vein endothelial cells transduced with AdWT-E (P<0.001) and also exhibited significantly greater levels of phosphorylation of extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 and 2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, suggesting that an altered endothelial signaling pathway is associated with this polymorphism.Conclusions—Our results suggest that the E-selectin Ser128Arg polymorphism can functionally alter leukocyte-endothelial interactions as well as biochemical and biological consequences, which may account for the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction.
Expression of Human Scavenger Receptor B1 on and in Human Platelets
Authors: Imachi Hitomi , Murao Koji , Cao Wenming , Tada Satoshi , Taminato Tomohiko , Wong Norman C.W. , Takahara Jiro , Ishida Toshihiko 
Published: May 2003

Objective—The abundance of HDL particles correlates inversely with the incidence of coronary heart disease. The human scavenger receptor B1 (hSR-B1/CLA-1) is a receptor for HDL. Expression of hSR-B1/CLA-1 mRNA and protein in human platelets was determined using reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Presence of the protein on the surface of platelets was shown using flow cytometry.Methods and Results—Immunochemical staining for hSR-B1/CLA-1 showed that it was expressed in megakaryocytes, the platelet precursors of human bone marrow. These findings prompted us to ask whether hSR-B1/CLA-1 was differentially expressed on platelets obtained from patients with atherosclerotic disease compared with those in control subjects. Our findings showed that abundance of hSR-B1/CLA-1 was significantly reduced on the surface of platelets from patients with atherosclerotic disease. The reduced levels of hSR-B1/CLA-1 were associated with increased cholesterol ester content in platelets from patients with atherosclerotic disease compared with control subjects. A negative correlation existed between hSR-B1/CLA-1 expression and platelet aggregation. In summary, our studies show that the HDL receptor hSR-B1/CLA-1 is expressed in platelets and their precursor, the megakaryocyte. The levels of hSR-B1/CLA-1 expression correlate inversely with cholesterol ester content and platelet aggregation.Conclusion—These findings suggest that determining the level of hSR-B1/CLA-1 expression on the platelets may be a useful clinical marker for atherosclerotic diseases.