bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The immaterial text: digital technology, the Google book settlement, and the distribution of print culture in the United States
Authors: Raff Daniel M.G.
Published: February 2012

Le texte immatériel : la technologie numérique, l’accord Google livres et la distribution de la culture imprime aux États-Unis Quelle est la signification de l’entrée en 2004 de l’entreprise de sélection de l’information sur Internet Google dans la numérisation des contenus conservés par les principales bibliothèques de recherche ? S’agit-il d’un distributeur nouveau, immatériel, par rapport aux librairies et aux grands distributeurs classiques ou à des firmes alternatives comme Amazon ? Transforme-t-elle les bibliothèques de dépôts de textes en lieux de libre distribution de contenus de livres ? Que deviennent la position sociale et intellectuelle des auteurs et celle des bibliothécaires ? Que reste-t-il des règles nationales de propriété intellectuelle ? Comment se transforme l’économie des biens culturels ? Ces questions sont posées à propos des actions en justice contre Google pour violation de copyright puis de l’accord américain de 2009 entre éditeurs, auteurs et Google, finalement invalidé par la justice en 2011. Elles sont aussi liées à l’appréciation des changements apportés par les technologies numériques, aux interrogations sur le devenir de l’imprimé et aux enjeux de la démocratisation de l’accès aux collections des bibliothèques de recherche. Quel que soit le sort définitif de l’initiative de Google, de profonds changements sont en cours dans ce segment de la distribution 1 .
Les notions de speech event et literacy event dans l'ethnographie de la communication et les Literacy Studies
Authors: Delbreilh Fanny
Published: March 2012

Cet article étudie le transfert d’une notion du champ disciplinaire de l’ethnographie de la communication à celui des Literacy studies  : du speech event proposé par Dell Hymes au literacy event . Après avoir présenté les définitions de ces notions dans leurs courants respectifs, leur comparaison nous permet de pointer certaines similitudes entre les démarches méthodologiques et théoriques de ces courants et entre leurs définitions des « events ». Cela nous amène à éclairer les limites conceptuelles communes aux deux notions. Ces limites semblent liées aux ambiguïtés de la notion d’ event par rapport à celles d’activité, d’action et d’acte, et au manque de précision quant à la temporalité de ces « événements ».
Hymes et le palimpseste de la compétence de communication Tours, détours et retours en didactique des langues
Authors: Coste Daniel , de Pietro Jean-François , Moore Danièle
Published: March 2012

La notion de compétence de communication a marqué la didactique des langues. Hymes, considéré comme son inventeur, est souvent revenu sur le contexte et les raisons de cette proposition et de cette désignation, ainsi que sur les usages qui ont été faits de la notion. La contribution analyse d’abord les principales caractéristiques de l’argumentaire développé par Hymes dans Pride et Holmes 1972 et dans Hymes 1984. On montre que nombre des pistes ouvertes sont restées inexplorées par la didactique ou ont donné lieu à des dérives (réduction de la communication à ses seuls aspects pragmatiques, atomisation des compétences, etc.). Une attention particulière est par ailleurs accordée au concept de genre, tel que mis au premier plan, aujourd'hui, en didactique, mais sans pourtant que les proximités, manifestes, avec la manière dont Hymes l'envisage ne soient perçues et mentionnées. Confrontées enfin à la notion récemment introduite de compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle, les analyses de Hymes – parfois, là encore, un peu oubliées – restent d’une actualité et d’une fécondité évidentes, à raison notamment de leur ancrage social et culturel.
La santé publique, un enjeu politique local ? La politisation des politiques publiques en France et au Danemark
Authors: Clavier Carole
Published: February 2012

Résumé Cette contribution compare les modalités de la qualification de la santé en objet légitime de l’action publique locale en France et au Danemark. On s’intéresse pour cela aux usages rhétoriques associés à la biopolitique dans l’espace politique local. Les discours des élus locaux revendiquent la légitimité en soi de l’action politique en santé publique du fait de la nature de la santé. L’analyse souligne néanmoins que ces discours sont avant tout caractéristiques des règles de fonctionnement des espaces politiques locaux.
Les pôles de compétitivité : Une réponse industrielle française à la mondialisation ?
Authors: Gallaud Delphine
Published: March 2012

Résumé Les délocalisations industrielles, très médiatisées, ont remis à l’ordre du jour les I problèmes de désindustrialisation en France. Les pouvoirs publics ont donc proposé la mise en place d’un nouveau dispositif de politique industrielle : les pôles de compétitivité. Mais ce dispositif est-il réellement nouveau ? Peut-il être efficace contre les « menaces » qui ont présidé à sa création ou n’est-il qu’une énième tentative de la politique industrielle pour lutter contre la « désindustrialisation » de la France, qui semble inexorable ? Premièrement, nous analyserons la situation de l’industrie en France afin d’étudier le diagnostic établi quant à la désindustrialisation. Celui-ci semble devoir nettement être relativisé. Deuxièmement, nous analyserons la nouveauté du dispositif des pôles de compétitivité. Sa forme organisationnelle présente une continuité forte avec d’autres politiques, en revanche, son orientation conduit à une rupture de logique. Nous terminerons par les problèmes qui se posent lors de la mise en œuvre concrète des dispositifs de politique industrielle. Du point de vue des moyens concrets, les pôles de compétitivité présentent une assez grande continuité avec des mesures antérieures. Mais, ils proposent également quelques nouveaux moyens, en particulier liés aux TIC.
La Cosmetic Valley, du Système productif local au Pôle de compétitivité
Authors: Ansel Jean-Luc
Published: March 2012

Résumé La Cosmetic Valley, après 11 années d’existence, a été labellisée comme pôle de compétitivité en 2005 après l’avoir été comme Système Productif Local (SPL). Cela a entraîné pour elle des changements importants tant dans ses missions que dans sa dimension et sa gouvernance. Elle a maintenant les capacités de représenter efficacement un pôle mondialement reconnu porteur du Made in France et du luxe français, dont les assises sont confortées par des nouveaux acteurs que sont les universités et les centres de recherche. Il reste cependant à pouvoir faire évoluer certains outils de l’Etat et des collectivités non adaptés à la valorisation du pôle dans le monde.
Premières interrogations concernant les pôles de compétitivité
Authors: Battini Pierre
Published: March 2012

Résumé Durant soixante ans les politiques économiques en France n’ont pas manqué : reconstruction de la France (avec l’aide du Plan Marshall), développement économique, les trente glorieuses, (dotant notamment la nation du nucléaire, d’un plan calcul avorté et de quelques réalisations prestigieuses comme le paquebot France), constitution de grands groupes industriels de taille mondiale, mise à niveau technologique (nucléaire civil, télécommunications), nationalisations, dénationalisations, et quelques mesures ponctuelles comme le soutien aux jeunes entreprises de technologie (encouragement au capital risque et concours des entreprises innovantes du Ministère de la Recherche). Dernière en date : sur un modèle ayant réussi à l’étranger : les Pôles de Compétitivité. Cette initiative a fait l’objet d’une grande mobilisation de tous les acteurs censés être impliqués, les collectivités, les entreprises, les centres de recherche et chacun espère une grande réussite : on mesure ainsi les attentes de la société française, à qui il est vrai on ne propose pas souvent quelque chose de nouveau et de motivant. Cependant – et c’est normal – on sent déjà, concernant ce projet ambitieux, percer des interrogations qui revêtent des formes différentes de l’inquiétude à la critique. Quatre types d’interrogations se sont ainsi manifestés. Les mentionner, les souligner n’est pas faire preuve de pessimisme, mais simplement attirer l’attention des opérateurs en charge de cette dynamique pour qu’elle réussisse sans trop de retard, sans trop d’accrocs et que les espoirs nés et attendus des participants motivés ne soient pas déçus.
L'intelligence économique au service des pôles de compétitivité
Authors: Saïd Antoine
Published: March 2012

Résumé Partant d’une relecture de l’Intelligence économique et de la définition des Pôles de compétitivité, cet article a pour objet d’illustrer l’importance de l’information devenue - dans un processus maîtrisé d’intelligence économique - une donnée stratégique du management des entreprises et de la compétitivité des territoires. A ce titre, en retenant la dynamique d’apprentissage, (1) nous cherchons à comprendre le rôle prépondérant de l’apprentissage, de la capacité d’absorption de l’information, de la synergie des réseaux et des relations non marchandes dans le développement des pôles de compétitivité et (2) nous illustrons l’apport de l’intelligence économique (en tant que système créateur de connaissances à travers son action positive sur la capacité d’absorption) aux besoins de cette nouvelle démarche organisationnelle des territoires et leur structuration en pôles de compétitivité. Ces derniers reposant sur un partenariat actif, entre industriels, centres de recherche publics et privés et organismes de formation, nourri par un projet territorial. Nous terminons l’article en donnant quelques expériences réussies dans le domaine et en présentant une description méthodologique de mise en œuvre pratique d’un système I.E. au service du Pôle de compétitivité.
Perspectives de l'économie française et stratégie de réforme : Pour un pacte national de croissance et de compétitivité
Authors: Maury Maxime
Published: March 2012

Résumé L’hypothèse la plus vraisemblable en ce début d’année est bien celle d’une légère accélération de la croissance. Dans le contexte de plus forte expansion qu’ait connu le monde depuis 30 ans, la zone euro devrait voir progresser ses exportations et ses investissements ; la France devrait en tirer parti. Le redressement indiqué par les dernières enquêtes semble prometteur d’une activité plus soutenue dans l’industrie.
L'évaluation de la “start-up” par le capital-risqueur entre objectivité, jugement et mimétisme
Authors: Dubocage Emmanuelle
Published: March 2012

Résumé La spécificité du capital-risque, mode de financement de l’innovation radicale, est fondée selon nous sur l’ampleur de l’incertitude à laquelle capital-risqueurs et dirigeants de start-up font face : ils ne peuvent le plus souvent pas faire appel aux outils du risque, aux probabilités objectives pour la traiter. La littérature consacrée au capital-risque, qui dans la majorité des cas adopte les cadres analytiques des théories de l’agence et de l’information, n’analyse pas la question du traitement de l’incertitude par les acteurs du capital-risque. Le cadre analytique du traitement de l’incertitude que nous proposons est basé sur la conjugaison de trois approches théoriques qui restituent la pluralité des dimensions de l’évaluation de la qualité de la start-up par le capital-risqueur. Il est pris en tension entre trois pôles. L’évaluation de la jeune entreprise innovante revêt tout d’abord un caractère objectif et ce sont les options réelles qui s’avèrent être l’outil analytique le plus adapté. Mais vouloir se maintenir exclusivement dans l’objectivité dans le cadre de l’incertitude radicale est un leurre. La dimension subjective est éclairée théoriquement par le traitement de l’incertitude radicale par le jugement, proposé par Knight. Enfin, l’évaluation du capital-risqueur non compétent est mimétique, intersubjective.
Intelligence Économique et dynamisme institutionnel
Authors: Rochet Claude
Published: March 2012

Résumé Une politique d’intelligence économique n’est qu’un élément d’une dynamique d’ensemble qui permet à une nation de tirer profit et de créer des opportunités technologiques. Le bilan de la politique de pôles technologiques permet de dégager quelques facteurs clés de succès invariants et de voir comment les politiques publiques peuvent les stimuler. Ces politiques publiques sont beaucoup plus constituées d’un environnement institutionnel favorable que d’interventions directes, le constat étant fait dans le temps long, depuis la Renaissance jusqu’au contexte nouveau créé par la III? révolution industrielle. En étendant le concept de système national d’innovation, on parvient ainsi à définir les contours d’un système national d’intelligence économique qui, incluant système d’information, d’influence, d’absorption de la connaissance et de croissance politique, économique et sociale, réhabilite les notions d’État et de nation, en soulignant les réformes et les évolutions politiques induites.
L'incubateur public, une innovation organisationnelle permettant la réduction des risques associés aux spécificités de l'entrepreneuriat cognitif
Authors: Frémiot Emmanuel
Published: March 2012

Résumé L’expérience prouve que les transformations d’un chercheur en entrepreneur, d’un bien public en un bien privé et d’un projet intellectuel en organisation marchande compétitive est un processus d’apprentissage complexe qui nécessite l’appui de structures spécifiques réunissant des ressources et savoirs spécialisés dédiées à l’accompagnement et à l’assistance de ce nouvel entrepreneuriat qualifié de cognitif. C’est dans cette perspective que se sont organisés les incubateurs publics (loi Allègre de 1999) en pôles de sélection et d’apprentissage sur mesure. Leur caractère d’innovation organisationnelle est révélé par leur capacité spécifique à devenir des lieux d’interaction de différents savoirs formels et tacites pertinents, et à mobiliser leurs expériences et leurs réseaux institutionnel, industriel et financier, afin d’adapter leurs expertises et conseils à la résolution des problèmes complexes suscités par chaque projet accompagné.
Working to Implement the Recommendations of
The Future of Nursing
Report
Authors: Kowalski Karren
Published: February 2012

When national efforts and recommendations are developed, it is often difficult and complex to actualize a plan for their implementation. This column attempts to provide examples of the work being done by nurses and their partners across the country in actualizing the recommendations of
The Future of Nursing
report.
Used Glasses Versus Ready-Made Spectacles for the Treatment of Refractive Error
Authors: Shane Thomas S. , Shi Wei , Schiffman Joyce C. , Lee Richard K.
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:

To compare visual outcomes for used glasses versus ready-made spectacles in the treatment of refractive error.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

In this prospective, comparative case series, undilated refractive error screening examinations were conducted over a 5-week period. Patients with bilateral refractive error were treated with used glasses and ready-made spectacles powered to match their prescriptions. Snellen visual acuity was measured with no correction, best (manifest) correction, unrefined autorefraction, used glasses, and ready-made spectacles. Main outcome measurements were the mean visual improvement from uncorrected acuity and median final visual acuity after treatment with used and ready-made spectacles.

RESULTS:

One hundred forty-one patients ages 18 and older with bilateral refractive error were examined. Uncorrected visual acuity in each eye improved an average of 4.5 lines with best correction, 4.0 lines with used glasses, and 3.5 lines with ready-made spectacles, with used glasses demonstrating a statistically significant advantage over ready-made spectacles (
P
< .001). The median visual acuity in the better eye improved from 20/60 uncorrected to 20/25 with all types of glasses. In patients with less than 1 diopter of anisometropia and greater than 1 diopter of astigmatism in each eye (49%), the ready-made spectacles performed equally as well as the used glasses (
P
= .95), improving vision an average of 3.9 lines for a median final visual acuity of 20/25 in the better eye.

CONCLUSION:

Although both were effective, used glasses are better than ready-made spectacles for improving vision loss due to refractive error.
Modeling and Simulation of Relocation of a Production in SIMPRO-Q Web Based Educational Environment
Authors: Lengyel Lubomir , Zgodavova Kristina , Bober Peter
Published: February 2012

The aim of this paper is to show the how to get new knowledge and skills through solving production relocation situations in a continuously changing global environment. The used methods model and simulate the related risks, using web based learning environment of Quality Management Role Play Simulation (SIMPRO-Q). The presented methods are applicable also in engineering education. During simulations, the role-players make both quantitative and qualitative decisions regarding management of critical situations during production relocation. Experiences from relocation production project in industry are discussed at the end of the paper.
Utilisation de supports visuels et de l’induction linguistique pour répondre aux besoins d’apprenants en anglais de spécialité
Authors: Landure Corinne
Published: March 2012

L’un des deux axes de cette étude est de distinguer et de comparer les besoins d’apprenants en formation initiale et en formation continue en s’appuyant sur une consultation menée sous la forme d’un questionnaire auprès de ces deux publics. Les besoins et objectifs d’étudiants LANSAD sont précis et concrets et rejoignent les attentes d’apprenants L2 en entreprise. Ils sollicitent une formation en langues se rapportant à leur domaine de spécialité mais ne se limitant pas à l’apprentissage d’un lexique spécialisé ; le problème selon eux se situe davantage au niveau de la construction / formulation du discours. La deuxième orientation de cette étude concerne une expérience réalisée avec la participation d’étudiants en DUT de Génie Industriel et Maintenance. Nous avons observé les pratiques des apprenants dans leur démarche autonome de création de catalogues et d’affiches représentant les outils et machines de leur atelier. Une analyse linguistique des différentes étapes menant à la rédaction des textes renseigne sur l’efficacité de la consultation de corpus pour l’autocorrection de productions écrites.
Représentations des enseignants d’anglais et évaluation d’un dispositif hybride : image de soi, image de l’apprenant et appropriation du dispositif
Authors: Starkey-Perret Rebecca , McAllister Julie , Narcy-Combes Marie-Françoise
Published: March 2012

Cet article propose d’étudier la manière dont les représentations des enseignants d’anglais en milieu universitaire peuvent influencer le développement et le maintien d’un dispositif d’apprentissage hybride combinant l’enseignement à distance et en présentiel. Le dispositif ayant été validé d’un point de vue théorique, il convient, dans une perspective complexe et dynamique des systèmes d’apprentissage, d’étudier son appropriation par les enseignants (validité sociale). Les fondements théoriques ainsi que notre méthodologie de recueil de données et d’analyse sont exposés. Les résultats concernent les représentations que les enseignants ont de leur choix de carrière, de leurs rôles, de l’acquisition langagière, de leurs étudiants, des TIC (technologies de l’information et de la communication) et du dispositif en lui-même. Nous examinons la manière dont ces représentations contribuent à l’appropriation ou, au contraire, au rejet du dispositif. Les résultats de la présente recherche devraient contribuer à l’amélioration du dispositif.
Relationship between particulate matter and childhood asthma – basis of a future warning system for central Phoenix
Authors: Dimitrova R. , Lurponglukana N. , Fernando H. J. S. , Runger G. C. , Hyde P. , Hedquist B. C. , Anderson J. , Bannister W. , Johnson W.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. Statistically significant correlations between increase of asthma attacks in children and elevated concentrations of particulate matter of diameter 10 microns and less (PM10) were determined for metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. Interpolated concentrations from a five-site network provided spatial distribution of PM10 that was mapped onto census tracts with population health records. The case-crossover statistical method was applied to determine the relationship between PM10 concentration and asthma attacks. For children ages 5–17, a significant relationship was discovered between the two, while children ages 0–4 exhibited virtually no relationship. The risk of adverse health effects was expressed as a function of the change from the 25th to 75th percentiles of mean level PM10 (36 μg m−3). This increase in concentration was associated with a 12.6% (95% CI: 5.8%, 19.4%) increase in the log odds of asthma attacks among children ages 5–17. Neither gender nor other demographic variables were significant. The results are being used to develop an asthma early warning system for the study area.
Parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation for cloud and climate models based on classical nucleation theory
Authors: Khvorostyanov V. I. , Curry J. A.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. A new analytical parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation is developed based on extended classical nucleation theory including new equations for the critical radii of the ice germs, free energies and nucleation rates as the functions of the temperature and water saturation ratio simultaneously. By representing these quantities as separable products of the analytical functions of the temperature and supersaturation, analytical solutions are found for the integral-differential supersaturation equation and concentration of nucleated crystals. Parcel model simulations are used to illustrate the general behavior of various nucleation properties under various conditions, for justifications of the further key analytical simplifications, and for verification of the resulting parameterization. The final parameterization is based upon the values of the supersaturation that determines the current or maximum concentrations of the nucleated ice crystals. The crystal concentration is analytically expressed as a function of time and can be used for parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation both in the models with small time steps and for substep parameterization in the models with large time steps. The crystal concentration is expressed analytically via the error functions or elementary functions and depends only on the fundamental atmospheric parameters and parameters of classical nucleation theory. The diffusion and kinetic limits of the new parameterization agree with previous semi-empirical parameterizations.
Comparison of methods for evaluation of wood smoke and estimation of UK ambient concentrations
Authors: Harrison R. M. , Beddows D. C. S. , Hu L. , Yin J.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. Airborne concentrations of the wood smoke tracers, levoglucosan and fine potassium have been measured at urban and rural sites in the United Kingdom alongside measurements with a multi-wavelength aethalometer. The UK sites, and especially those in cities, show low ratios of levoglucosan to potassium in comparison to the majority of published data. It is concluded that there may be two distinct source types, one from wood stoves and fireplaces with a high organic carbon content, best represented by levoglucosan, the other from larger, modern appliances with a very high burn-out efficiency, best represented by potassium. Based upon levoglucosan concentrations and a conversion factor of 11.2 from levoglucosan to wood smoke mass, average concentrations of wood smoke including winter and summer sampling periods are 0.23 μg m−3 in Birmingham and 0.33 μg m−3 in London, well below concentrations typical of other northern European urban areas. There may be a further contribution from sources of potassium-rich emissions amounting to an estimated 0.08 μg m−3 in Birmingham and 0.30 μg m−3 in London. Concentrations were highly correlated between two London sites separated by 4 km suggesting that an advected regional source is responsible. Data from the aethalometer are either supportive of these conclusions or suggest higher concentrations, depending upon the way in which the data are analysed.
Bioerosion by euendoliths decreases in phosphate-enriched skeletons of living corals
Authors: Godinot C. , Tribollet A. , Grover R. , Ferrier-Pagès C.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. While the role of microboring organisms, or euendoliths, is relatively well known in dead coral skeletons, their function in live corals remains poorly understood. They are suggested to behave like ectosymbionts or parasites, impacting their host health. However, the species composition of microboring communities, their abundance and dynamics in live corals under various environmental conditions have never been explored. Here, the effect of phosphate enrichment on boring microorganisms in live corals was tested for the first time. S. pistillata nubbins were exposed to 3 different treatments (phosphate enrichments of 0, 0.5 and 2.5 μmol l−1) during 15 weeks. After 15 weeks of phosphate enrichment, petrographic thin sections were prepared for observation with light microscopy, and additional samples were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Euendoliths comprised mainly autotrophic Ostreobium sp. filaments. Rare filaments of heterotrophic fungi were also observed. Filaments were densely distributed in the central part of nubbins, and less abundant towards the apex. Unexpectedly, there was a visible reduction of filaments abundance in the most recently-calcified apical part of phosphate-enriched nubbins. The overall abundance of euendoliths significantly decreased, from 9.12 ± 1.09% of the skeletal surface area in unenriched corals, to 5.81 ± 0.77% and 5.27 ± 0.34% in 0.5 and 2.5 μmol l−1-phosphate enriched corals respectively. SEM observations confirmed this decrease. Recent studies have shown that phosphate enrichment increases coral skeletal growth and metabolic rates, while it decreases skeletal density and resilience to mechanical stress. We thus hypothesize that increased skeletal growth in the presence of phosphate enrichment occurred too fast for an effective euendolith colonization. They could not keep up with coral growth, so they became diluted in the apex areas as nubbins grew with phosphate enrichment. The possible advantages and downsides of the reduction of euendoliths associated with phosphate eutrophication in live corals are discussed in this article.
High-resolution Mapping of Forest Carbon Stocks in the Colombian Amazon
Authors: Asner G. P. , Clark J. K. , Mascaro J. , Galindo García G. A. , Chadwick K. D. , Navarrete Encinales D. A. , Paez-Acosta G. , Cabrera Montenegro E. , Kennedy-Bowdoin T. , Duque Á. , Balaji A. , von Hildebrand P. , Maatoug L. , Phillips Bernal J. F. , Knapp D. E. , García Dávila M. C. , Jacobson J. , Ordóñez M. F.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. High-resolution mapping of tropical forest carbon stocks can assist forest management and improve implementation of large-scale carbon retention and enhancement programs. Previous high-resolution approaches have relied on field plot and/or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) samples of aboveground carbon density, which are typically upscaled to larger geographic areas using stratification maps. Such efforts often rely on detailed vegetation maps to stratify the region for sampling, but existing tropical forest maps are often too coarse and field plots too sparse for high resolution carbon assessments. We developed a top-down approach for high-resolution carbon mapping in a 16.5 million ha region (>40 %) of the Colombian Amazon – a remote landscape seldom documented. We report on three advances for large-scale carbon mapping: (i) employing a universal approach to airborne LiDAR-calibration with limited field data; (ii) quantifying environmental controls over carbon densities; and (iii) developing stratification- and regression-based approaches for scaling up to regions outside of LiDAR coverage. We found that carbon stocks are predicted by a combination of satellite-derived elevation, fractional canopy cover and terrain ruggedness, allowing upscaling of the LiDAR samples to the full 16.5 million ha region. LiDAR-derived carbon mapping samples had 14.6 % uncertainty at 1 ha resolution, and regional maps based on stratification and regression approaches had 25.6 % and 29.6 % uncertainty, respectively, in any given hectare. High-resolution approaches with reported local-scale uncertainties will provide the most confidence for monitoring changes in tropical forest carbon stocks. Improved confidence will allow resource managers and decision-makers to more rapidly and effectively implement actions that better conserve and utilize forests in tropical regions.
An eco-hydrologic model of malaria outbreaks
Authors: Montosi E. , Manzoni S. , Porporato A. , Montanari A.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. Malaria is a geographically widespread infectious disease that is well known to be affected by climate variability at both seasonal and interannual timescales. In an effort to identify climatic factors that impact malaria dynamics, there has been considerable research focused on the development of appropriate disease models for malaria transmission and their consideration alongside climatic datasets. These analyses have focused largely on variation in temperature and rainfall as direct climatic drivers of malaria dynamics. Here, we further these efforts by considering additionally the role that soil water content may play in driving malaria incidence. Specifically, we hypothesize that hydro-climatic variability should be an important factor in controlling the availability of mosquito habitats, thereby governing mosquito growth rates. To test this hypothesis, we reduce a nonlinear eco-hydrologic model to a simple linear model through a series of consecutive assumptions and apply this model to malaria incidence data from three South African provinces. Despite the assumptions made in the reduction of the model, we show that soil water content can account for a significant portion of malaria's case variability beyond its seasonal patterns, whereas neither temperature nor rainfall alone can do so. Future work should therefore consider soil water content as a simple and computable variable for incorporation into climate-driven disease models of malaria and other vector-borne infectious diseases.
Turbulence in a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the Earth's magnetosphere during northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field
Authors: El-Alaoui M. , Richard R. L. , Ashour-Abdalla M. , Walker R. J. , Goldstein M. L.
Published: March 2012

Abstract. We report the results of MHD simulations of Earth's magnetosphere for idealized steady solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The simulations feature purely northward and southward magnetic fields and were designed to study turbulence in the magnetotail plasma sheet. We found that the power spectral densities (PSDs) for both northward and southward IMF had the characteristics of turbulent flow. In both cases, the PSDs showed the three scale ranges expected from theory: the energy-containing scale, the inertial range, and the dissipative range. The results were generally consistent with in-situ observations and theoretical predictions. While the two cases studied, northward and southward IMF, had some similar characteristics, there were significant differences as well. For southward IMF, localized reconnection was the main energy source for the turbulence. For northward IMF, remnant reconnection contributed to driving the turbulence. Boundary waves may also have contributed. In both cases, the PSD slopes had spatial distributions in the dissipative range that reflected the pattern of resistive dissipation. For southward IMF there was a trend toward steeper slopes in the dissipative range with distance down the tail. For northward IMF there was a marked dusk-dawn asymmetry with steeper slopes on the dusk side of the tail. The inertial scale PSDs had a dusk-dawn symmetry during the northward IMF interval with steeper slopes on the dawn side. This asymmetry was not found in the distribution of inertial range slopes for southward IMF. The inertial range PSD slopes were clustered around values close to the theoretical expectation for both northward and southward IMF. In the dissipative range, however, the slopes were broadly distributed and the median values were significantly different, consistent with a different distribution of resistivity.
Out of Place in Istanbul
Authors: Gurses Hande
Published: March 2012

Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories of a City is a narrative that is defined by the impossibility to define it within fixed terms. Thematically and structurally, it stands on slippery grounds that are constantly moving, hence obliterating any definition that would confine it within predetermined boundaries. Istanbul: Memories of a City portrays the first twenty-two years of Pamuk’s life using various approaches that range from autobiographical details from his own childhood memories, to photographs from the family album, newspaper articles, paintings as well as writing on Istanbul by various artists. The multiplicity of sources that Pamuk incorporates into the narrative echoes his experience of the city, while also offering the reader a non-linear journey with various diverging points along the streets of Istanbul. Pamuk reinvents himself in Istanbul: Memories of the City as Orhan, the narrator who recounts his experience of the city in terms of autobiographical anecdotes, journalistic comments, personal impressions as well as dreams. Alongside the different Orhans that appear throughout the narrative, Istanbul: Memories of the City also portrays the construction of Orhan as a writer. In many respects Istanbul: Memories of a City mirrors Pamuk’s experience of the city in the sense that it brings together various components without trying to reach a harmonious, unified whole. The thirty-seven chapters that compose the narrative appear to be placed randomly without following a thematic order. The lack of a linear development, the shift of tone in different chapters, and the coexistence of image and text are among the strategies that Pamuk uses in order to underline his experience of the city as fragmented and fluid. The narrative thus invites the reader to experience the city the way Orhan did, getting lost along the streets without necessarily following a predetermined itinerary. Instead, Istanbul: Memories of a City invites the reader to create his/her own journey, exploring the different spatial, literary and temporal dimensions of Orhan’s Istanbul. In this paper I will present Pamuk’s construction of his experience of the city as a state of being ‘in-between’, both culturally and geographically. While following Orhan the narrator in his search for the other Orhan in Istanbul, I will discuss the reverberations of this state in the creation of Pamuk’s Istanbul.
Between Telemetry: Communication Between Implanted Devices and the External World
Authors: Kiourti Asimina
Published: March 2012

There have been many important technological achievements in microtechnologies and microsystems in the past fifteen years. These have lead to the design of small, reliable and low-power-consuming biomedical devices that can be implanted inside a patient‟s body by means of a surgical operation. Contrary to traditional, external medical devices, these implanted devices can sense data from inside the human body in real-time, offering a unique opportunity for early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In the most complicated scenario, implanted devices communicate with the external world in terms of both powering and telemetry. Powering is the delivering of energy to the implant from the external world in order to make it work. Telemetry includes data transmission from the implanted device to an external one, and vice versa. Depending on the design, several values of implant dimensions, delivered power, data transmission and error rates can be achieved.
The Hunt for Life Beyond Earth
Authors: Dartnell Lewis
Published: March 2012

Astrobiology is a bright new field of science, concerned with the possibility of existing life beyond the Earth – of extraterrestrial life. Thus, my research here at University College London is quite literally engaged in the hunt for aliens. I am funded on a research fellowship with the UCL Institute of Origins, and split my time between desks at the Centre for Planetary Sciences and the microbiology lab run by Professor John Ward. My own research is focusing on our next-door neighbour planet, Mars, and the likelihood of any bacterial life - Martian microbes - surviving in the dusty surface soils of the red planet.
Jonathan Edlow, The Deadly Dinner Party & Other Medical Detective Stories
Authors: Fine-Goulden Miriam
Published: March 2012

Stories of sleuths solving mysteries have long captured the public’s imagination. As the popularity of the television series House, M.D. demonstrates, tales of medical intrigue unravelled by a thoughtful and perceptive doctor provide a winning formula. This compilation of bite-sized real-life accounts of fascinating diagnostic dilemmas and the medical reasoning that is applied to effect their resolution is indeed a gripping read, illustrating how the truth can be even more absorbing than fiction.
Perinatal Outcome in Unbooked Teenage Pregnancies in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
Authors: Iklaki C. U. , Inaku J. U. , Ekabua J. E. , Ekanem E. I. , Udo A. E.
Published: March 2012

Background. Teenage pregnancy being a high risk condition requires skilled attention for good outcome. Objectives. To determine the influence of antenatal care on perinatal outcome in teenage pregnancies in Calabar. Materials and Methods. A review of patient records in Calabar was conducted between 1st January, 2006 and 31st December, 2010, to determine perinatal outcome in teenage pregnancy. Results. Teenage pregnancy accounted for 644 (6.5%) of the total deliveries with 245 (38.0%) booked while 399 (62.0%) were unbooked. Teenage mothers contributed significantly to the proportion of women who were delivered without prior antenatal care (; ). The mean duration of labour in booked teenagers was hours, while unbooked teenagers was hours (t-value  ; ). There was statistically more caesarean sections among unbooked teenage pregnancies than booked (; ). Stillbirth was statistically significant (; ) among unbooked teenagers than booked. However, early neonatal death was not significantly different between booked and unbooked teenage pregnancies(; ). Conclusion. Unbooked teenage pregnancies were significantly associated with increased operative intervention and poor perinatal outcome.
A New Species of the Genus Garra Hamilton, 1822 from the Chindwin Basin of Manipur, India (Teleostei: Cyprinidae: Labeoninae)
Authors: Shangningam Bungdon , Vishwanath Waikhom
Published: March 2012

Garra namyaensis sp. nov., a new cyprinid fish, is described from the Chindwin River basin in Manipur, India. It is distinguished from its congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: smoothly rounded snout tip with a prominent rostral lobe, chest and abdominal region with scales, dorsal fin with a black band near the posterior margin, and caudal fin with a distinct W-shaped black band.
One-Stage Urethroplasty for Strictures in Maiduguri, North Eastern Nigeria
Authors: Ibrahim Ahmed Gadam , Ali Nuhu , Aliyu Sulieman , Bakari Abubakar Alhaji
Published: March 2012

Background. Urethral stricture is a frequent cause of lower urinary tract obstruction worldwide. The aim of this study is to present our experience with one-stage urethroplasty.Methods. All males that underwent one-stage urethroplasty between January 2001 and December 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Details of their biodata, clinical presentation, diagnostic investigations, operative treatment, postoperative complications, and other outcome of surgery were extracted and analyzed.Results. Ninety-one patients aged 8–76 years, (mean; ) with urethral stricture were studied. Postinfective strictures accounted for 58.2% and postprostatectomy strictures for 3.3%. Twenty-six (27.9%) of the strictures were in the posterior urethra of which 18 (59.2%) were posttraumatic. Fifty-seven strictures (61.3%) were in the anterior urethra of which 51 (54.8%) were postinfective. Thirty-nine (42.9%) patients had end to end anastomosis, 29 (31.9%) flap augmentation and 17 (18.7%) tabularized flap substitution, and 6 (6.6%) dorsal onlay grafts (5 with buccal mucosa and 1 with penile skin). There were 18 (19.8%) cases of wound infection, 12 (13.2%) of restricture and 6 (6.6%) cases of urethrocutaneous fistula. Satisfactory urinary stream was found in 77 (84.6%) patients. There was no mortality.Conclusion. Infection is the commonest cause of urethral stricture followed by trauma, and one-stage urethroplasty give excellent results.
Epithelioid Lesions of the Serosa
Authors: Anttila Sisko
Published: February 2012

Context.—Diagnosing epithelioid serosal lesions remains a challenge because numerous different processes—primary or secondary, benign or malignant—occur in body cavities, some of which are very rare.

Objectives.—To review the newest literature and to describe the morphologic criteria and immunohistochemical markers that are useful for distinguishing epithelioid serosal lesions.

Data Sources.—Previously published literature concentrating on the newest research findings. Earlier reviews are principally referred to for established diagnostic criteria.

Conclusions.—Immunohistochemistry with a panel of antibodies has made the diagnosis of epithelioid serosal lesions very reliable. When deciding on antibodies used in differential diagnosis, it is important to consider tumor location, clinical and radiologic information, and morphologic features. Immunohistochemistry is less useful in the differential diagnosis of benign versus malignant mesothelial lesions. The diagnosis of benign versus malignant mesothelial proliferations still relies on the histologic criteria of invasion.
Delving Deeper: Fermat's Method of Finding Areas under Graphs
Authors: Bruyn Ysbrand de
Published: February 2012

This article explains how infinite geometric series can be used to calculate areas under graphs of simple power functions, a method first used by Fermat in his work on areas under graphs of parabolas.
Rethinking Foreign Investment for Sustainable Development
Authors: Ocampo José Antonio
Published: March 2012

Consisting of country case studies and comparative analyses from Latin American and US based political economists, this volume addresses the shortcomings of foreign investment for development, and sets out the challenges facing policy makers in this field.
Russia and Europe in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Robertson Lord
Published: March 2012

A comprehensive exploration into the fractious historical and contemporary relationship of these two influential political powers.
Victorian Fiction and the Insights of Sympathy
Authors: Lowe Brigid
Published: March 2012

This ground-breaking study of sympathetic readings in Victorian fiction breathes new life into contemporary literary criticism.
Prevalence and determinants of allergic diseases in a Congolese population
Authors: Nyembue Tshipukane Dieudonné , Jorissen Mark , Hellings Peter W. , Muyunga Christophe , Kayembe Jean Marie
Published: February 2012

Background:

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is increasing worldwide, but little is known about AR in Africa. We aimed to establish the prevalence of AR and related allergic diseases, to classify AR according to the Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines, and to determine factors associated with allergy in Congo.

Methods:

We conducted a cross‐sectional clustered survey of the population of 8 randomly chosen health zones of Kinshasa. Information was collected on demographics, home environment, participant characteristics, atopic history, and allergic symptoms. Skin‐prick testing (SPT) was done.

Results:

Of 1508 screened individuals, 1412 (5–83 years of age) were interviewed and 1005 underwent SPT. Of the participants, 65.6% and 34.4% lived in urban and rural areas, respectively. Mean (± standard deviation [SD]) of age was 29 (±16) years and 52% were female. The 12‐month prevalence of rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, wheeze, and skin itch‐rash was 30.8%, 24.4%, 15.4%, and 6.2%, respectively. Rhinoconjunctivitis and wheeze were more prevalent in urban than rural individuals. Of skin‐tested respondents, 23.2% showed positive results, with mainly Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cockroach being involved. AR and non‐AR prevalence was reported in 13.9% and 27.9%, respectively. Of AR individuals, 59.7% and 48.0% expressed moderate to severe and persistent symptoms, respectively. Independent determinants of having any allergic diseases in multivariate analysis were active smoking, presence of cockroach in home, history of atopy in siblings, personal history of atopy, using straw or herb mattress, and positive SPT responses.

Conclusion:

This study revealed a high prevalence of allergic diseases in Congolese individuals. It is important to increase awareness toward allergic disorders and to ensure adequate management. © 2012 ARS‐AAOA, LLC.
Microencapsulation of imidazole curing agents by spray‐drying method using W/O emulsion
Authors: Shin Min Jae , Kim Jin Gon , Shin Jae Sup
Published: February 2012

Imidazoles were microencapsulated for the latent curing of the epoxy resin— imidazole system. Using polycaprolactone as the wall material, the microcapsules were formed by spray‐drying method using water/oil (W/O) emulsion. Poly(vinyl alcohol) was used as the emulsion stabilizer. The imidazoles used in this study were imidazole and 2‐methylimidazole. The amount of imidazoles in the microcapsule was measured using elemental analysis. The permeability of the microcapsules was measured in ethanol, and the shelf life of the microcapsules was also studied for the epoxy resin. The curing behavior of these microcapsules to epoxy resin was examined using a differential scanning calorimeter. In the curing reaction, the microcapsule of imidazoles exhibited delayed kinetic behaviors compared to pure imidazoles. And the curing times were estimated at 150 and 180°C using an indentation method. These microcapsules of imidazoles exhibited a long shelf life. When comparing the previous method in which simple dichloromethane solution was used for spray‐drying, finer microcapsules were formed using the W/O emulsion. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012