bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predisposition to nephropathy in Polynesians is associated with family history of renal disease, not diabetes mellitus
Authors: Thompson C. F. , Simmons D. , Collins J. F. , Cecil A. 
Published: July 2002

SUMMARY Aims  Familial clustering of diabetes and nephropathy suggests that either common environmental or inherited mechanisms are important in developing diabetic nephropathy. If an inherited mechanism is important, the albumin excretion rate might be increased in those at future risk. This study aimed to determine whether people with a family history of diabetes or people with a family history of renal disease were most at risk.Methods  In a two‐by‐two factorial study of urinary albumin in non‐diabetic Polynesians, 90 people with a first degree relative (FDR) with end‐stage renal failure (ESRF) and diabetes (group 1) were compared with 90 people with a FDR with non‐diabetic ESRF (group 2), with 90 people with a FDR with diabetes but no known nephropathy (group 3) and 90 people with no known relatives with either diabetes or nephropathy (group 4). Groups were matched for ethnicity and age.Results  Subjects with a family history of ESRF (groups 1 and 2) had an increased mean albumin–creatinine ratio (1.25 vs. 1.00 mg/mmol, P = 0.01), but in subjects with a family history of diabetes (groups 1 and 3), the mean ratios were not significantly different from those without a family history of diabetes (1.06 vs. 1.17 mg/mmol; P = 0.2). In those with a family history of nephropathy, fasting blood glucose and systolic blood pressure were increased, while fasting insulin and 2 h insulin concentrations were lower. A family history of diabetes was associated with an increased fasting blood glucose and 2‐h blood glucose. By multiple linear regression, the mean systolic blood pressure (P = 0.02), the 2‐h glucose concentration (P = 0.05), a family history of renal failure (P = 0.04), female sex (P = 0.0001) and the total cholesterol (P = 0.01) were each independently associated with microalbuminuria, while a family history of diabetes was not (P = 0.09).Conclusions  These data suggest that among Polynesians there is no specific inherited tendency to diabetic nephropathy per se. The risk of nephropathy does not appear to be associated with the degree of familial risk of diabetes itself. Rather, the risk of diabetic nephropathy may be the result of a familial risk of nephropathy from any cause and is associated with diabetes through relative hypoinsulinaemia and hyperglycaemia.
Trends and Outcomes in the Hospitalization of Older Americans for Cardiac Conduction Disorders or Arrhythmias, 1991–1998
Authors: Baine William B. , Yu William , Weis Kathleen A. 
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVE:To identify epidemiological trends and measure outcomes in elderly patients hospitalized for cardiac conduction disorders or arrhythmias.DESIGN:Review of the standard 5% samples of the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review Files to characterize 144,512 discharges from 1991 through 1998 in which the principal diagnosis was a conduction disorder or arrhythmia, using the corresponding Enrollment Databases for denominator data.SETTING:Short‐stay hospitals in the United States.PARTICIPANTS:Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older in the standard 5% sample.MEASUREMENTS:Diagnosis‐specific trends and rates; discharges by year; cumulative age‐, race‐, and sex‐specific discharge rates; mean length of stay in hospital and in intensive care; mean Medicare reimbursement to the hospital; case‐fatality rate in hospital; discharge destinations of patients discharged alive.RESULTS:Annual hospitalizations for sinoatrial node dysfunction, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, or ventricular fibrillation increased more rapidly than did the elderly Medicare beneficiary population. Hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of ventricular extrasystoles or asystole showed steep secular declines. Discharge rates for sinoatrial node dysfunction, a group of rhythms with a nonsinus pacemaker, atrial fibrillation, Mobitz I, or complete atrioventricular block all increased steeply and continuously with patient age. In contrast, discharge rates for atrial flutter or ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation peaked among 75‐ to 84‐year‐old patients. White men were at uniquely high risk of hospitalization for atrial flutter or ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, and, among the white majority, men had higher discharge rates than women for nine of the 11 commonest rubrics. Whites, particularly white women, had the highest discharge rates for atrial fibrillation. Blacks, especially black women, were at disproportionate risk for hospitalization for the group of nonsinus pacemaker rhythms. Diagnosis‐specific mean resource costs were strongly correlated with each other and with mean Medicare reimbursement but not with case‐fatality rate.CONCLUSION:Medicare claims data demonstrated striking differences among and within diagnoses of heart blocks or arrhythmias in terms of the populations at greatest risk for hospitalization. This variation should be explored further to generate and test hypotheses about differential causation or delivery of care.J Am Geriatr Soc 49:763–770, 2001.
Predictors of Rehabilitation Outcomes in Frail Patients Treated in a Geriatric Hospital
Authors: Landi Francesco , Bernabei Roberto , Russo Andrea , Zuccalà Giuseppe , Onder Graziano , Carosella Luciana , Cesari Matteo , Cocchi Alberto 
Published: July 2002

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of medical indicators of health status on functional gain during rehabilitation of frail older patients.DESIGN: Observational study.SETTING: A hospital geriatric rehabilitation department (Catholic University of Rome).PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred forty‐four older patients admitted consecutively for rehabilitation after acute illnesses between March 1999 and June 2000.MEASUREMENTS: Patients were evaluated with the Minimum Data Set for Post‐Acute Care (MDS‐PAC) assessment form soon after the admission and every 2 weeks thereafter. Two summary scales based on MDS‐PAC items are designed to describe the performance in personal activities of daily living (ADLs) and the level of cognitive function (Cognitive Performance Scale). To identify predictors of functional recovery, we constructed a multiple logistic regression model having as a dependent variable the improvement of one or more points in the ADL scale.RESULTS: Patients aged 85 and older with cognitive or sensory impairment were less likely to significantly improve physical functioning after an intensive rehabilitation program. However, the cognitive impairment was the only “negative” factor that remained significant in a multivariable model (odds ratio = 0.36, 95% confidence interval = 0.14–0.92) after adjusting for several potential negative predictors.CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study document that severe cognitive impairment may be considered a negative predictor of functional recovery after a period of intensive rehabilitation. However, the effectiveness of such a rehabilitation program in patients with dementia is controversial. Additional studies are necessary to better clarify the effect of cognitive impairment on the potential recovery of the older subjects after a period of rehabilitation and whether this is influenced by different pathologies.
Mobilities of He+, Ne+, Ar+, and Kr+ in He gas at 4.35 K
Authors: Saito N. , Kojima T. M. , Kobayashi N. , Kaneko Y. 
Published: July 2002

Mobilities of He+, Ne+, Ar+, and Kr+ have been measured in He gas at 4.35 K. An injected-ion drift tube which can be cooled by liquid helium was used. It has a Wien filter on the ion injection line and a quadrupole mass filter on the detection line so that mass identification is explicitly made. Ions are injected into the drift tube with 20 eV, and it is assured that the thermalization of ions is completed well before reaching the gate for mobility measurement. The correction for thermal transpiration in the pressure measurement was made by Takaishi–Sensui’s empirical formula. The reduced mobility K was measured against E/N, where E is the electric field strength and N is the gas number density. Then the E/N was converted to the effective temperature Teff by Wannier’s formula. The K(Teff) obtained are compared with the previous experimental and theoretical results, some of which are given in K0(Tg), where K0 is the zero field mobility and Tg is the gas temperature. The agreement between the present results and the previous experimental results is generally good at high temperature where they are available. Recommended numerical values are presented.
The present work confirms the findings in the preliminary report by Kojima et al. that the K of He+ in He has a maximum around E/N=5 Td which corresponds to Teff=18 K, and it decreases steeply below that temperature. An apprehension that the structure might be caused by clustering is discussed and denied. The maximum found in K of He+ in He is considered to be the structure predicted theoretically as a result of orbiting resonance scattering. The Ks obtained for Ne+, Ar+, and Kr+ have a typical shape of mobilities in heterogeneous gas. They have a maximum around Teff=500–1000 K and become more or less flat below 50 K. From the maximum position the well depths of the interaction potentials are estimated and compared with theoretical calculations. There is a shallow minimum of K between 50 and 100 K for Ar+ and Kr+. The Ks at the flat are a few percent larger than the polarization limit Kpol. Below Teff=6 K, Ks tend to decrease steeply. This steep decrease of K is also suggested to be an orbiting resonance scattering effect although no theoretical calculation is available.
On the structure of an electrostatic spray of monodisperse droplets
Authors: Tang Keqi , Gomez Alessandro 
Published: July 2002

An experimental study has been performed on the structure of an electrostatic spray of monodisperse droplets. Such a spray is established when a liquid with sufficient electric conductivity and moderate surface tension, in the present case heptane doped with an antistatic additive, is fed through a small metal tube maintained at several kilovolts relative to a ground electrode a few centimeters away. The liquid meniscus at the outlet of the capillary takes a conical shape under the action of the electric field, with a thin jet emerging from the cone tip. This jet breaks up into charged droplets that disperse into a fine spray. Flash shadowgraph of the breakup region showed that the jet initially breaks into droplets of bimodal size distribution by varicose wave instabilities. The spray monodispersity is established farther downstream by a segregation process of electrostatic and inertial nature that confines the bulk of the mass flow rate (97%) and 85% of the total current in a core of nearly monodisperse primary droplets, with the remainder in a shroud of satellites. Droplet size, axial velocity, and concentration were measured throughout the spray by phase Doppler anemometry (PDA). The complementary use of these measurements permitted the determination of the electric field via the spray momentum equation.
It was found that droplets are ejected from the jet at a relatively high velocity in a region characterized by a very intense electric field. They maintain this velocity farther downstream because of inertia, even though the field is precipitously decreasing, and ultimately decelerate under the action of the drag force and a progressively weaker electrostatic force. Velocity and concentration fields were shown to be self-similar. Comparison between the external field, due to the potential difference applied between the electrodes, and the space charge field shows that the droplet axial motion is driven primarily by the external field, whereas the droplet radial motion and, consequently, the jet lateral spreading, is controlled primarily by the space charge field. The latter is typically at least one order of magnitude smaller than the external one, except at off-axis locations near the breakup region of the spray, where the two fields can be comparable. The droplet charge distribution was also determined via the spray momentum equation and the simultaneous measurements of droplet size and velocity in a region where droplets experience negligible acceleration. The charge distribution was found to be narrow, with a ratio of standard deviation over mean of 0.15.
The myth of the best argument: power, deliberation and reason1
Authors: Pellizzoni Luigi 
Published: July 2002

ABSTRACTPower in communication takes two main forms. As ‘external’ power, it consists in the ability to acknowledge or disregard a speaker or a discourse. As ‘internal’ power, it is the ability of an argument to eliminate other arguments by demonstrating its superiority. A positive or negative value may be ascribed to these forms of power. Four ideal‐typical positions are discussed – strategy, technocracy, constructionism, and deliberation.Public deliberation has three virtues – civic virtue, governance virtue and cognitive virtue. Deliberation lowers the propensity to, and the benefit of, strategic behaviour. It also increases knowledge, enhancing the quality of decisions.For Habermas, the unity of reason is expressed in the possibility of agreement on the most convincing argument. However, sometimes conflicts are deeplying, principles and factual descriptions are profoundly different, and uncertainty is radical. The best argument cannot be found. There is no universal reason. The question is whether non‐strategic agreement may spring from the incommensurability of languages.In search of an answer, Rawls's concept of overlapping consensus, the feminist theory of the public sphere, and the idea of deliberation as co‐operation are discussed. The argument developed is that the approach to deliberative democracy may be renewed by rethinking its motivational and cognitive elements. Public deliberation is grounded on a pre‐political level of co‐operation. Intractable controversies may be faced at the level of practices, looking for local, contextual answers.
Relationship Change at the Transition to Parenthood and Security of Infant-Mother Attachment
Authors: Gloger-Tippelt Gabriele Sabine , Huerkamp Matthias 
Published: July 2002

Attachment research has so far favoured maternal and child characteristics as determinants of secure or insecure attachment relationships between infant and mother. Several recent findings now suggest that the broader context of the family and the couple’s relationship should receive more attention as possible determinants. The quality of parental relationships was assessed in a prospective longitudinal study using 28 women and 23 of their partners. A Partnership Questionnaire was administered at four points of measurement from the beginning of pregnancy to one year after the birth of the first child. At 13 months of age the infants and their mothers were observed in the Strange Situation Procedure. Statistical analysis revealed two systematic results. (1) Both wives and husbands from families with a secure infant-mother attachment judged the quality of their partnership as more satisfying than parents with insecurely attached infants: lower decrease in “tenderness”, relative absence of “quarrelling” as perceived by the wives, and husbands’ “general happiness” across the transition to parenthood were related to secure mother-child relationships. (2) After becoming parents, both parents perceived a decline in the quality of their marital relationship. The results also suggest that parental partnership and mother-child relationship are systematically interdependent and support the idea that early parenthood is a critical time for establishing different attachment qualities.
Global discourses and national reconstruction: the impact of globalization on curriculum policy
Authors: Priestley Mark 
Published: July 2002

ABSTRACTGlobalization has been widely discussed and much contested. It has been claimed that the process of globalization has impacted greatly on the capacity of the nation‐state to formulate policy (e.g. Reich, 1992). Moreover, globalization has been accompanied by, or at least runs parallel to, a seemingly endless process of change within education. This process has assumed a worldwide character, as policies have migrated around the world; thus there have existed many similarities in terms of, for instance, curriculum provision, or school governance, between New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA. This article examines the nature and extent of education change in general terms, and the concept of globalization, before analysing the links between globalization and the process of change in one area of education, that is, the development of national frameworks for curriculum and assessment within anglophone nations.
An evaluation of community methadone services in Victoria, Australia: results of a client survey
Authors: EZARD NADINE , LINTZERIS NICK , ODGERS PETA , KOUTROULIS GLENDA , MUHLEISEN PETER , STOWE AARON , LANAGAN AMANDA 
Published: July 2002

AbstractOne hundred and ninety‐five metropolitan clients enrolled in the community‐based methadone programme in Victoria, Australia were surveyed in order to evaluate client perspectives of methadone treatment delivered from primary health care settings. Results indicated that the average daily methadone dose was 41 mg, ranging from 7mg to 140 mg. The majority of clients were satisfied with the programme and the services delivered by dispensing pharmacies and prescribing doctors. Most clients were found to have reduced their heroin use and criminal activity since commencing methadone. A number of concerns about the programme were identified, however, including the high proportion of weekly income spent on methadone‐related activities and a high use of tranquillizers by clients on higher methadone doses. In general the community‐based methadone programme was found to be an acceptable methadone of service delivery to metropolitan clients in Victoria, Australia. [Ezard N, Lintzeris N, Odgers P, Koutroulis G, Muhleisen P, Stowe A, Lanagan A. An evaluation of community methadone services in Victoria, Australia: results of a client survey. Drug Alcohol Rev 1999;18:417–423]
Effect of captopril on voluntary consumption of ethanol, water and solid food by UChA and UChB rats
Authors: TAMPIER LUTSKE , GUIVERNAU MAURICIO , MARDONES JORGE 
Published: July 2002

AbstractAngiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) have been reported to reduce ethanol consumption in rats, but it is unclear whether this effect is specific for ethanol or secondary to effects on appetite or satiation for calories or water. In the present study we assessed the effect of captopril, an ACEI, on the voluntary consumption of 10% ethanol solution, water and solid food in our strain of rats genetically selected for their voluntary consumption of ethanol, namely UChA (low consumer) and UChB (high consumer). Captopril (30 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally for 3 consecutive days to UChA and UChB rats and ethanol, water and food intake were measured before, during and after captopril treatment; these results were compared with those produced by a control saline solution. Results showed that captopril produced a significant reduction of alcohol voluntary consumption in UChB but not in UChA rats. However, this effect was not specific for ethanol since captopril also induced a significant decrease in food intake leading to a loss of weight in both rat strains, suggesting that it seems to be secondary to changes in appetite for calories.
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumours: An Update
Authors: Somerhausen Nicolas De Saint Aubain , Fletcher Christopher D. M. 
Published: July 2002

Purpose. To study the evolution of concepts concerning gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) over 30 years.Discussion. GISTs have been, for more than 30 years, the subject of considerable controversy regarding their line of differentiation as well as the prediction of their behaviour. Furthermore, once they spread within the peritoneal cavity, they are extremely hard to control. The recent findings of c-Kit mutations and the immunohistochemical detection of the product of this gene, KIT or CD117, in the mainly non‐myogenic subset of this family of tumours, has led to a reappraisal of this group of lesions, which, with some exceptions, is now thought to be derived from the interstitial cells of Cajal, and this has facilitated a clearer definition of their pathological spectrum. In this article, we review chronologically the evolution of the concept of GIST with the gradual application of electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, DNA ploidy analysis. We discuss the impact of these techniques on the pathological assessment and clinical management of GISTs.
Barriers To Collaboration: An Analysis Of Systemic Barriers To Collaboration Between Teachers And Speech And Language Therapists
Authors: Mccartney Elspeth 
Published: July 2002

AbstractA systems approach is used to examine the barriers to collaboration found in the working practices of speech and language therapists and teachers. Functional, structural and systems‐environment barriers are found, but few process barriers, which may explain why good collaborative practice can be found in the field. The differences that serve as barriers are listed and discussed, with a view to fostering mutual understanding between teachers and speech and language therapists.
Biochemical Characterization of Dichlorvos‐Induced Delayed Neurotoxicity in Rat
Authors: Sarin Sanjay , Gill Kiran Dip 
Published: July 2002

AbstractIn vitro and in vivo studies were carried out to assess the delayed neurotoxicity potential of dichlorvos. In vitro, dichlorvos caused a concentration and time‐dependent decrease in the activity of neuropathy target esterase (NTE). The Ki of dichlorvos for NTE was calculated to be 1.28 × 103 M‐1 min‐1. In vitro reactivation and ageing studies revealed that dichlorvos‐inhibited NTE became refractory to activation by potassium fluoride after 5 min in the ageing medium, thus indicating the formation of an aged complex between dichlorvos and NTE. In vivo also, dichlorvos (200 mg/kg body wt) given as a single subcutaneous dose inhibited NTE in brain at various intervals after exposure (24 h, 10 days, and 21 days). The delayed neurotoxicity potential of dichlorvos was finally confirmed by the rota rod test, which revealed severe motor deficit in all the exposed animals.