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Difficult Question (difficult + question)
Selected AbstractsEDITORIAL: The Journal of Sexual Medicine Finds Answers for the Difficult QuestionsTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2008Irwin Goldstein MD Editor-in-Chief [source] Heterotachy and Functional Shift in Protein EvolutionIUBMB LIFE, Issue 4-5 2003Hervé Philippe Abstract Study of structure/function relationships constitutes an important field of research, especially for modification of protein function and drug design. However, the fact that rational design (i.e. the modification of amino acid sequences by means of directed mutagenesis, based on knowledge of the three-dimensional structure) appears to be much less efficient than irrational design (i.e. random mutagenesis followed by in vitro selection) clearly indicates that we understand little about the relationships between primary sequence, three-dimensional structure and function. The use of evolutionary approaches and concepts will bring insights to this difficult question. The increasing availability of multigene family sequences that has resulted from genome projects has inspired the creation of novel in silico evolutionary methods to predict details of protein function in duplicated (paralogous) proteins. The underlying principle of all such approaches is to compare the evolutionary properties of homologous sequence positions in paralogs. It has been proposed that the positions that show switches in substitution rate over time--i.e., 'heterotachous sites'--are good indicators of functional divergence. However, it appears that heterotachy is a much more general process, since most variable sites of homologous proteins with no evidence of functional shift are heterotachous. Similarly, it appears that switches in substitution rate are as frequent when paralogous sequences are compared as when orthologous sequences are compared. Heterotachy, instead of being indicative of functional shift, may more generally reflect a less specific process related to the many intra- and inter-molecular interactions compatible with a range of more or less equally viable protein conformations. These interactions will lead to different constraints on the nature of the primary sequences, consistently with theories suggesting the non-independence of substitutions in proteins. However, a specific type of amino acid variation might constitute a good indicator of functional divergence: substitutions occurring at positions that are generally slowly evolving. Such substitutions at constrained sites are indeed much more frequent soon after gene duplication. The identification and analysis of these sites by complementing structural information with evolutionary data may represent a promising direction to future studies dealing with the functional characterization of an ever increasing number of multi-gene families identified by complete genome analysis. IUBMB Life, 55: 257-265, 2003 [source] Refugee families' experience of research participationJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2000Kari Dyregrov Abstract Because refugees can experience crisis, bereavement, and traumatization, there has been a rapid increase of research carried out with refugees. This study investigated how refugee families respond to participation in research. A previous study explored how adults and children had communicated about the difficult question of repatriation after arriving in a new country. Did the in-depth interviews harm or benefit them? Are there any ethical risks in research on traumatized refugees? From an original sample of 74 Bosnian refugees (5,73 years), 30 family members from 9 families including 14 children aged 6 to 19, were re-interiewed. The refugees rated participation as positive. A few parents lacked information that could have enabled them to inform the children better before the interviews. The study shows that studies on traumatized/bereaved populations can have beneficial effects. [source] Thyroid nodular lesion: Analysis of cancer risk based on Kuma Hospital experiencePATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 9 2003Ichiro Mori It is a difficult question, whether it is malignant or not, when you follow up patients with thyroid nodular lesions. Cytological examination helps to solve this issue more accurately but a cancer risk still exists in patients with a negative cytology, non-diagnostic or suspicious follicular neoplasms. Analysis of cancer risk in patients with benign thyroid nodular lesions was carried out among 1044 cases who underwent thyroid surgery at Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Japan, in 2000. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of cancer risk in those patients in Japan. Among the 356 cases with benign nodular lesions, 99 cases of papillary carcinoma were found in the thyroid parenchyma. Seventy-nine of the 99 cases were clinical cancer and were found preoperatively by cytology, while 20 out of 277 (7.22%) cases were found postoperatively as incidental carcinoma. The incidence of follicular carcinoma of a minimally invasive type in the index nodule was 22 out of 279 (7.89%) cases in patients who were surgically treated. [source] BETTER REGULATION IN EUROPE: BETWEEN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND REGULATORY REFORMPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2009CLAUDIO M. RADAELLI Can the European regulatory state be managed? The European Union (EU) and its member states have looked at better regulation as a possible answer to this difficult question. This emerging public policy presents challenges to scholars of public management and administrative reforms, but also opportunities. In this conceptual article, we start from the problems created by the value-laden discourse used by policy-makers in this area, and provide a definition and a framework that are suitable for empirical/explanatory research. We then show how public administration scholars could usefully bring better regulation into their research agendas. To be more specific, we situate better regulation in the context of the academic debates on the New Public Management, the political control of bureaucracies, evidence-based policy, and the regulatory state in Europe. [source] Ethical investment: whose ethics, which investment?BUSINESS ETHICS: A EUROPEAN REVIEW, Issue 3 2001Russell Sparkes Ethical or socially responsible investment (SRI) is one of the most rapidly growing areas of finance. New government regulations mean that all pension funds are obliged to take such considerations into account. However, this phenomenon has received little critical attention from business ethicists, and a clear conceptual framework is lacking. This paper, by a practitioner in the field, attempts to fill this analytical gap. It considers what difference, if any, lies between the terms ,ethical', ,green', or ,socially responsible'. It also tackles the difficult question of how any public form of investment can be called ,ethical' in an overtly pluralistic society. The paper provides an account of the historical development of ethical investment, and traces the evolution of the varying terms used to describe it. This is followed by a conceptual analysis of these terms, and a description of ethical decision-making in this context. The paper ends by considering the role of shareholder action within ethical investment, and assesses the utility of the stakeholder model as a theoretical justification. [source] A Curriculum of Aloha?CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 3 2000Colonialism, Tourism in Hawai, i's Elementary Textbooks In this article I question the efficacy of (post)colonial Hawai,i's seemingly progressive Hawaiian studies curriculum by proceeding through a detailed textual analysis of the curriculum's core textbooks and instructional guides. Building upon Foucault's work in discourse genealogy and new historicism's technique of reading a text alongside an unlikely partner from another genre, I demonstrate how the images of Hawai,i and Hawaiians represented in the Hawaiian studies curriculum are strikingly similar to the images that were first projected upon Hawaiians by early colonial voyagers and have since been perpetuated through Hawai,i's visitor industry. By juxtaposing the school texts with documents used for the training of tourist industry workers, I explore how the material interests of the visitor industry are expressed in a curriculum that attempts to interpellate young Hawaiian students as low-paid tourist industry labor. In giving an example of how a well-intended curricular inclusion effort has had unintended, paradoxical effects, I raise difficult questions about the inclusion of underrepresented minority groups in the school curricula of (post)colonial societies in which colonialist economic- and psychodynamics continue to exist. Turning the logic of visibility politics on its head, I send a warning to all indigenous and disadvantaged groups engaged in parallel struggles across the globe, cautioning them to think closely before lobbying for inclusion in area studies curricula that may ultimately do more damage than good. [source] Post-natal investigations: management and prognosis for fetuses with CNS anomalies identified in utero excluding neurosurgical problemsPRENATAL DIAGNOSIS, Issue 4 2009Amal S. Mighell Abstract The suspicion of an abnormality of the central nervous (CNS) system raises difficult questions for the clinician and the family and will inevitably lead to considerable anxiety. These questions include what it means for the child's future, whether it can be treated and whether it will happen again in subsequent pregnancies. For many disorders accurate prenatal diagnosis remains elusive, as even with fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), early recognition and characterisation are simply not possible because of the immature state of brain development at that stage of pregnancy. The natural history of many prenatally diagnosed CNS disorders remains to be elucidated which means that an accurate prognosis cannot be given in all cases. We review the current state of knowledge regarding the investigation, management and prognosis of the most common and important CNS malformations. We also discuss the post-natal management of these conditions both in the neonate and subsequent pregnancies for the families. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Theory and Practice of Group Representation: Reflections on the Governance of Race Equality in BirminghamPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2005Graham Smith A number of political theorists have recently argued that group representation is essential to the achievement of social justice. However relatively little work exists on the institutional implications of such arguments beyond the analysis of electoral mechanisms to achieve greater representation within legislatures. This leaves unanswered one of the most difficult questions facing policy-makers , how to effectively engage the range of Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in decision-making processes. Through a detailed analysis of the changing nature of the arrangements in place in Birmingham (UK) to engage BME communities, this paper is able to reflect on the theoretical and practical challenges of group representation in contemporary polities. [source] Opportunities and Challenges for Studying Disaster SurvivorsANALYSES OF SOCIAL ISSUES & PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2006Jennifer M. Knack Studying survivors of natural disasters and traumatic events provides a unique opportunity to address some of the important and difficult questions in psychology and other social sciences. However, such an opportunity does not come without challenges. Several methodological challenges to studying survivors of natural disasters are discussed, including recruiting participants, choosing appropriate procedures, and the safety of data collectors. Several ethical issues are also presented, such as the ability of participants to make decisions, the impact of participating, and the importance of informed consent. In addition, approaches are suggested that help to deal with these methodological and ethical challenges. We conclude that while attention must be focused on methodological and ethical considerations, research stemming from natural disasters should be employed to answer important basic and applied conceptual questions and address issues of practice and policy, while assuring that steps have been taken to protect participants and that the potential risks are minimal. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||