Showing papers by "University of Liverpool published in 2001"

Memory, delusions, and the development of acute posttraumatic stress disorder-related symptoms after intensive care.

Abstract: ObjectiveTo examine prospectively the relationship between memories of intensive care (ICU) and levels of anxiety after ICU discharge, the stability of these memories with time, and their relationship to the development of acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms.DesignCase series

Metabolism of fluorine-containing drugs.

Abstract: This article reviews current knowledge of the metabolism of drugs that contain fluorine. The strategic value of fluorine substitution in drug design is discussed in terms of chemical structure and basic concepts in drug metabolism and drug toxicity.

Influence of resection margins on survival for patients with pancreatic cancer treated by adjuvant chemoradiation and/or chemotherapy in the ESPAC-1 randomized controlled trial.

Abstract: ObjectiveTo assess the influence of resection margins on survival for patients with resected pancreatic cancer treated within the context of the adjuvant European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer-1 (ESPAC-1) study.Summary Background DataPancreatic cancer is associated with a poor long-term survival

Individual recognition in mice mediated by major urinary proteins

Abstract: The ability to recognize individuals is essential to many aspects of social behaviour, such as the maintenance of stable social groups, parent-offspring or mate recognition, inbreeding avoidance and the modulation of competitive relationships. Odours are a primary mediator of individuality signals among many mammals. One source of odour complexity in rodents, and possibly in humans, resides in the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The olfactory acuity of mice and rats allows them to distinguish between the urinary odours of congenic strains differing only in single genes within the MHC, although the chemical mediators or odorants are unknown. However, rodent urine also contains a class of proteins, termed major urinary proteins (MUPs), that bind and release small volatile pheromones. We have shown that the combinatorial diversity of expression of MUPs among wild mice might be as great as for MHC, and at protein concentrations a million times higher. Here we show in wild house mice (Mus domesticus) that urinary MUPs play an important role in the individual recognition mechanism.

What is E-government

Abstract: This course is designed to provide an overview of how information technology, particularly the Internet and World Wide Web, are used in government and politics in the U.S. Its intent is to provide a foundation for comparing these uses of technology with theories of government and governance, and to assess how well governmental and political functions are performed with technology. Implicit in the course is an argument that technology is not used very well in government and politics, and the promise of improved government efficiency and responsiveness have not materialized. The challenge for us this semester is to understand the ways in which technology has been used, to discern how and in what ways it could be used better, and to improve upon these existing uses.

A Classification Scheme for Negotiation in Electronic Commerce

Abstract: In the last few years we have witnessed a surge of business-to-consumer and business-to-business commerce operated on the Internet. However many of these systems are often nothing more than electronic catalogues on which the user can choose a product which is made available for a fixed price. This modus operandi is clearly failing to exploit the full potential of electronic commerce. Against this background, we argue here that in the next few years we will see a new generation of systems emerge, based on automatic negotiation. In this paper we identify the main parameters on which any automatic negotiation depends. This classification schema is then used to categorise the subsequent papers in this book that focus on automatic negotiation.

The neuronal calcium sensor family of Ca2+-binding proteins.

Abstract: Ca(2+) plays a central role in the function of neurons as the trigger for neurotransmitter release, and many aspects of neuronal activity, from rapid modulation to changes in gene expression, are controlled by Ca(2+). These actions of Ca(2+) must be mediated by Ca(2+)-binding proteins, including calmodulin, which is involved in Ca(2+) regulation, not only in neurons, but in most other cell types. A large number of other EF-hand-containing Ca(2+)-binding proteins are known. One family of these, the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) proteins, has a restricted expression in retinal photoreceptors or neurons and neuroendocrine cells, suggesting that they have specialized roles in these cell types. Two members of the family (recoverin and guanylate cyclase-activating protein) have established roles in the regulation of phototransduction. Despite close sequence similarities, the NCS proteins have distinct neuronal distributions, suggesting that they have different functions. Recent work has begun to demonstrate the physiological roles of members of this protein family. These include roles in the modulation of neurotransmitter release, control of cyclic nucleotide metabolism, biosynthesis of polyphosphoinositides, regulation of gene expression and in the direct regulation of ion channels. In the present review we describe the known sequences and structures of the NCS proteins, information on their interactions with target proteins and current knowledge about their cellular and physiological functions.

Interaction in Academic Writing: Learning To Argue with the Reader.

Abstract: The view of written texts as embodying interaction between the writer and reader is now well established, and underlies many aspects that may be focused on in the training of novice writers of academic text. In this paper, I argue that interaction can draw on both interactive and interactional resources: interactive resources help to guide the reader through the text, while interactional resources involve the reader collaboratively in the development of the text. I use the concept of the 'reader-in-the-text' (Thompson and Thetela 1995) to explore a central form of interactional resource: the inclusion in the text of a voice that is intended to be attributable to the reader. I identify a particular set of discourse contexts in which this happens - where the writer brings in the reader's view in order to contradict it - and outline the lexico-grammatical features which signal the other voice in those contexts; and I place these in a broader perspective on written text as a stage-managed form of dialogue. The impetus for the study comes from working with novice writers; and I discuss a number of examples where written drafts were improved by exploiting the interactional resources described, and argue for the value of raising students' awareness of these resources.

Prevalence of overweight and obese children between 1989 and 1998 : population based series of cross sectional studies

Abstract: Objective: To determine trends in weight, height, and body mass index in children between 1989 and 1998. Design: Retrospective series of cross sectional studies of routinely collected data. Setting: Primary care in the Wirral Health Authority. Participants: 35 662 infants aged 1-3 months (representing 88% of live births) and 28 768 children aged 2.9-4.0 years. 21 582 infants and children (25.1%) were excluded because of missing or inaccurate data. Main outcome measures: Weight, height, sex, and age routinely recorded by health visitors. Height, weight, and body mass index standardised for age and sex. SD score >1.04 for body mass index (>85th centile) was defined as overweight and >1.64 (>95th centile) as obese. Body mass index was not calculated in infants as it is difficult to interpret. Results: From 1989 to 1998 there was a highly significant increasing trend in the proportion of overweight children (14.7% to 23.6%; P Conclusions: From 1989 to 1998 there was a highly significant increase in weight and body mass index in children under 4 years of age. Routinely collected data are valuable in identifying anthropometric trends in populations.

Radiation hard silicon detectors—developments by the RD48 (ROSE) collaboration

Abstract: The RD48 (ROSE) collaboration has succeeded to develop radiation hard silicon detectors, capable to withstand the harsh hadron fluences in the tracking areas of LHC experiments. In order to reach this objective, a defect engineering technique was employed resulting in the development of Oxygen enriched FZ silicon (DOFZ), ensuring the necessary O-enrichment of about 2×1017 O/cm3 in the normal detector processing. Systematic investigations have been carried out on various standard and oxygenated silicon diodes with neutron, proton and pion irradiation up to a fluence of 5×1014 cm−2 (1 MeV neutron equivalent). Major focus is on the changes of the effective doping concentration (depletion voltage). Other aspects (reverse current, charge collection) are covered too and the appreciable benefits obtained with DOFZ silicon in radiation tolerance for charged hadrons are outlined. The results are reliably described by the “Hamburg model”: its application to LHC experimental conditions is shown, demonstrating the superiority of the defect engineered silicon. Microscopic aspects of damage effects are also discussed, including differences due to charged and neutral hadron irradiation.

Stability of polar oxide surfaces

Abstract: The structures of the polar surfaces of ZnO are studied using ab initio calculations and surface x-ray diffraction. The experimental and theoretical relaxations are in good agreement. The polar surfaces are shown to be very stable; the cleavage energy for the (0001)-Zn and (0001;)-O surfaces is 4.0 J/m(2) comparable to 2.32 J/m(2) for the most stable nonpolar (1010) surface. The surfaces are stabilized by an electronic mechanism involving the transfer of 0.17 electrons between them. This leads to 2D metallic surface states, which has implications for the use of the material in gas sensing and catalytic applications.

Agile manufacturing in practice ‐ Application of a methodology

Abstract: An evolutionary transformation of business environment, with change as a main characteristic, is taking place. Manufacturing companies, even those operating in relatively stable conditions with good market positions, are facing rapid and often unanticipated changes in their business environment. Agile manufacturing is proposed in response to the circumstances as a solution and is perceived as a vital characteristic that manufacturing companies need to have in order to maintain their competitive advantages in the new order of world business. Each company will respond in a specific and different way to the changing circumstances by deploying its own agile characteristics. Agility in manufacturing may be achieved through the implementation and integration of appropriate practices which provide the required abilities for a company to respond properly to changes. Based on this concept, a methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations is developed. The methodology is applied in two manufacturing companies and data collected from the applications are used to validate the methodology. This paper provides a brief summary of the methodology and details its implementation and validation in the two case study companies. Practices are proposed to support the achievement of agility in the two organisations.

Surface stress of clean and adsorbate-covered solids

Abstract: Starting with a simple introduction into the phenomenon of surface stress from a thermodynamic as well as from an atomistic viewpoint, the currently available literature on surface stress of clean and adsorbate-covered surfaces is reviewed. The equations which are used to calculate the adsorbate-induced changes of the surface stress tensor from cantilever bending experiments are derived and their limitations are discussed. It is shown for several examples that charge transfer effects have a pronounced influence on the adsorbate-induced surface stress. The linear relation between surface stress and surface charge which has been observed experimentally at the metal-electrolyte interface is rationalized in the framework of thermodynamics. The role of surface stress as a driving force for surface reconstruction and for the structural organization of surfaces on a mesoscopic scale are discussed for a few selected examples. Novel applications of surface stress effects for sensor and actuator applications are described.

Trigeminal neuralgia—pathophysiology, diagnosis and current treatment

Abstract: The ®rst known description of trigeminal neuralgia (TGN), or a similar condition, was written in the second century AD by Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a contemporary of Galen. Also known for his descriptions of migraine, he makes reference to a pain in which `spasm and distortion of the countenance take place'. Jujani, an 11th century Arab physician, mentions unilateral facial pain causing spasms and anxiety in his writings. Interestingly, he suggests that the cause of the pain is `the proximity of the artery to the nerve'. The ®rst full account of TGN was published in 1773 when John Fothergill presented a paper to the Medical Society of London. He described the typical features of the condition in detail, including paroxysms of unilateral facial pain, evoked by eating or speaking or touch, starting and ending abruptly, and associated with anxiety. Some time earlier, Nicolaus Andre had used the term `tic douloureux' to describe what he thought was a new clinical entity. However, it has been suggested, that no more than two of the patients he described in fact had TGN. Sporadic observations later in the 18th and 19th century by Pujol, Chapman and Tiffany helped to complete the clinical picture and differentiate TGN from common facial pain conditions such as toothache. In the early 20th century, Oppenheim alluded to an association between multiple sclerosis (MS) and TGN and Patrick commented on its familial incidence. A wide range of treatments was in use by the beginning of the last century. Modern neurosurgical treatment can be traced back to 1925 when the concept of vascular compression was introduced. However, it took over half a century before microvascular decompression (MVD) gained wide-spread acceptance as a treatment method. Gardner and Miklos promoted the theory and modi®ed the technique further in the 1950s and 1960s. It was not until the large case series published in 1970s by Jannetta that a major shift in neurosurgical practice began to appear. Neuroablative procedures kept evolving throughout the century, with attempts to balance the adverse effects of neural injury with suf®cient pain control. Radiosurgery is the latest innovation in this process. Pharmacotherapy had little success in this condition until Bergouignan's discovery in 1942 that phenytoin was effective in preventing pain paroxysms. Soon, following the introduction of carbamazepine for treatment of epilepsy, controlled trials were published showing its superiority over placebo in TGN. Since then, anticonvulsants have remained the mainstay of pharmacological treatment, though controlled trials have been surprisingly rare.

The 2nd to 4th digit ratio and autism

Abstract: It has been suggested that autism may arise as the result of exposure to high concentrations of prenatal testosterone. There is evidence that the ratio of the lengths of the 2nd and 4th digit (2D:4D) may be negatively correlated with prenatal testosterone. We measured 2D:4D in 95 families recruited via the National Autistic Society, UK. The sample comprised a total 72 children with autism (62 males, 10 females; age range 2 to 14 years), including 23 children (20 males, three females) with Asperger syndrome (AS), 34 siblings, 88 fathers, 88 mothers and sex- and age-matched control participants. We found that the 2D:4D ratios of children with autism, their siblings, fathers and mothers were lower than population normative values. Children with AS, who share the social and communicative symptoms of autism but have normal or even high IQ, had higher 2D:4D ratios than children with autism but lower ratios than population normative values. There were positive associations between 2D:4D ratios of children with autism and the ratios of their relatives. Children with autism had lower than expected 2D:4D ratios and children with AS higher ratios than expected in relation to their fathers' 2D:4D ratio. It was concluded that 2D:4D ratio may be a possible marker for autism which could implicate prenatal testosterone in its aetiology.