bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aggregation of Alcohols Ethoxylates in n‐Heptane
Authors: Gárate José Antonio , de los Ángeles Valenzuela María , Gárate María Pilar , Olea Andrés F.
Published: March 2009

The solubility and aggregation process of polyethoxylated non‐ionic surfactants, of general formula CiH2i+1–(O–CH2–CH2)j–OH with i = 6, 8, 10 and j = 3–6 (CiEOj), in heptane were studied. The aggregation of CiEOj surfactants in heptane was investigated by using methylene blue (MB) as an absorption probe. In solutions of MB in the presence of these surfactants in heptane, at concentrations larger than the re‐dissolution concentration, the UV bands associated to free MB (A1) and MB–EO complex (A2) were detected. The ratio of these intensities A2/A1, was used to study the kinetics of the complex formation in pure surfactant. The value of A2/A1 depends on the surfactant structure and the media wherein MB is dissolved, being larger in the pure surfactant than in heptane solutions. These results are explained in terms of solvent effect and aggregate structures on the complex formation.
Talonavicular joint arthrodesis for the treatment of pes planus valgus in older children and adolescents with cerebral palsy
Authors: Turriago Camilo Andrés , Arbeláez Myriam Fernanda , Becerra Luis Carlos
Published: March 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to review our experience with talonavicular joint arthrodesis for the treatment of severe valgus foot deformities in older children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods

The clinical, radiographic, and gait parameters results after talonavicular joint arthrodesis were retrospectively reviewed in 32 patients (59 feet) with valgus deformities of the foot. The surgery was performed as part of multiple simultaneous surgeries for the treatment of gait disorders. The mean age of the patients was 13.9 years (range 9–20 years) and the mean follow-up was 40 months (range 18.3–66.7 months).

Results

The clinical and radiographic measurements improved significantly ( P = 0.000). There were no significant changes in gait parameters. Symptoms were relieved in most patients with symptomatic preoperative feet. The most frequent complication was pseudoarthrosis, which occurred in seven feet. We found a high rate of satisfaction of patients (or parents) and most of them recommended the procedure to other patients with the same condition.

Conclusion

Talonavicular joint arthrodesis is a reliable technique that provides both functionally and cosmetically good results with a low rate of complications in the treatment of severe pes planus valgus in older children and adolescents with CP. Careful examination should rule out concomitant ankle valgus deformities. A stable fixation of the arthrodesis is recommended.
Antinociceptive effect of the cannabinoid agonist, WIN 55,212‐2, in the orofacial and temporomandibular formalin tests
Authors: Burgos Elisa , Pascual David , Martín María Isabel , Goicoechea Carlos
Published: March 2009

Orofacial pain disorders are frequent in the general population and their pharmacological treatment is not always adequately resolved. Cannabinoids have demonstrated their analgesic effect in several pain conditions, both in animal models and in clinical situations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cannabinoid‐mediated antinociception in two inflammatory models of orofacial pain (orofacial and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) formalin test) and to compare it with a spinal inflammatory model (paw formalin test). WIN 55,212‐2 (0.5, 1 mg/kg), a synthetic cannabinoid agonist, was intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered prior to formalin and significantly reduced the nociceptive behavioural responses in these inflammatory tests. To elucidate which subtype of receptor could be involved in such effect, two selective cannabinoid antagonists were administered prior to WIN. SR141716A (1 mg/kg i.p.), the CB1 receptor‐selective antagonist, was able to prevent the cannabinoid‐induced analgesia in all three models, whereas SR144528 (1 mg/kg i.p.), the CB2 receptor‐selective antagonist, only prevented it in the paw formalin test. A comparison with the antinociceptive effects of morphine (2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg, i.p.), indomethacin (2.5, 5 mg/kg, i.p.) and ketamine (25, 50 mg/kg, i.p.) was also performed. Morphine displayed a dose‐dependent reduction of acute and inflammatory pain in all three models, whereas indomethacin and ketamine only attenuated inflammatory pain at the highest tested doses. These results indicate that the cannabinoid‐induced antinociception in the orofacial region is mediated by activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor. Moreover WIN was as effective as morphine and more effective than indomethacin and ketamine, in oral inflammatory pain.
The inner ear is involved in the aggravation of nociceptive behavior induced by lowering barometric pressure of nerve injured rats
Authors: Funakubo Megumi , Sato Jun , Honda Takashi , Mizumura Kazue
Published: March 2009

Patients suffering from neuropathic pain often complain of pain aggravation when the weather is changing. The exact mechanism for weather change‐induced pain has not been clarified. We have previously demonstrated that experimentally lowering barometric pressure (LP) intensifies pain‐related behaviors in rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI). In the present experiment we examined whether this pain aggravating effect of LP exposure in nerve injured rats is still present after lesioning of the inner ear. We used both CCI and spinal nerve ligation (SNL) models for this study. We injected into the middle ear sodium arsanilate solution (100 mg/ml, 50 μl/ear), which is known to degenerate vestibular hair cells, under anesthesia the day before surgery. Rats were exposed to LP (27 hPa decrease over 8 min) 7–9 days after CCI or 5–8 days after SNL surgery, and pain‐related behavior (number of paw lifts induced by von Frey hair stimuli) was measured. When the inner ear lesioned SNL or CCI rats were exposed to LP, they showed no augmentation of pain‐related behavior. On the other hand, the pain aggravating effect of a temperature decrease (from 24 to 17 °C) was maintained in both SNL and CCI rats. These results suggest that the barometric sensor/sensing system influencing nociceptive behavior during LP in rats is located in the inner ear.
Bioinformatics analysis of mass spectrometry‐based proteomics data sets
Authors: Kumar Chanchal , Mann Matthias
Published: March 2009

Proteomics has made tremendous progress, attaining throughput and comprehensiveness so far only seen in genomics technologies. The consequent avalanche of proteome level data poses great analytical challenges for downstream interpretation. We review bioinformatic analysis of qualitative and quantitative proteomic data, focusing on current and emerging paradigms employed for functional analysis, data mining and knowledge discovery from high resolution quantitative mass spectrometric data. Many bioinformatics tools developed for microarrays can be reused in proteomics, however, the uniquely quantitative nature of proteomics data also offers entirely novel analysis possibilities, which directly suggest and illuminate biological mechanisms.
Focal adhesion disassembly requires clathrin‐dependent endocytosis of integrins
Authors: Chao Wei-Ting , Kunz Jeannette
Published: March 2009

Cell migration requires the controlled disassembly of focal adhesions, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that adhesion turnover is mediated through dynamin‐ and clathrin‐dependent endocytosis of activated β1 integrins. Consistent with this, clathrin and the clathrin adaptors AP‐2 and disabled‐2 (DAB2) distribute along with dynamin 2 to adhesion sites prior to adhesion disassembly. Moreover, knockdown of either dynamin 2 or both clathrin adaptors blocks β1 integrin internalization, leading to impaired focal adhesion disassembly and cell migration. Together, these results provide important insight into the mechanisms underlying adhesion disassembly and identify novel components of the disassembly pathway.
Homocysteine induces oxidative stress, inflammatory infiltration, fibrosis and reduces glycogen/glycoprotein content in liver of rats
Authors: Matté Cristiane , Stefanello Francieli M. , Mackedanz Vanize , Pederzolli Carolina D. , Lamers Marcelo L. , Dutra‐Filho Carlos S. , dos Santos Marinilce F. , Wyse Angela T.S.
Published: March 2009

Hyperhomocysteinemia has been related to various diseases, including homocystinuria, neurodegenerative and hepatic diseases. In the present study we initially investigated the effect of chronic homocysteine administration on some parameters of oxidative stress, named total radical‐trapping antioxidant potential, total antioxidant reactivity, catalase activity, chemiluminescence, thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances, and total thiol content in liver of rats. We also performed histological analysis, evaluating steatosis, inflammatory infiltration, fibrosis, and glycogen/glycoprotein content in liver tissue sections from hyperhomocysteinemic rats. Finally, we evaluated the activities of aminotransferases in liver and plasma of hyperhomocysteinemic rats. Wistar rats received daily subcutaneous injection of Hcy from their 6th to their 28th day of life. Twelve hours after the last injection the rats were sacrificed, liver and plasma were collected. Hyperhomocysteinemia decreased antioxidant defenses and total thiol content, and increased lipid peroxidation in liver of rats, characterizing a reliable oxidative stress. Histological analysis indicated the presence of inflammatory infiltrate, fibrosis and reduced content of glycogen/glycoprotein in liver tissue sections from hyperhomocysteinemic rats. Aminotransferases activities were not altered by homocysteine. Our data showed a consistent profile of liver injury elicited by homocysteine, which could contribute to explain, at least in part, the mechanisms involved in human liver diseases associated to hyperhomocysteinemia.
The contentious role of civil society in reconstituting democracy in the European Union
Authors: Liebert Ulrike
Published: March 2009

Assuming that an EU supportive civil society is neither a preconditions nor a “quantité négligeable” in the EU's struggle for a democratically legitimate constitutional settlement, the article explores the contentious role of civil society in the EU's “would-be democratic” polity, arguing that this offers opportunities for European political information and reasoned communication that provide uninformed and disgruntled citizens with democratic alternatives to post-democratic withdrawal, and politically accountable and responsive leaders with necessary feedback. An Europeanisation perspective is adopted to develop a framework for analysing the domestic politics of European constitutional treaty reform. This analytical framework rests on three key components: first, the “misfits” between member states’ and EU democratic norms in the context of the “fragmented democratic legitimacy” of the composite EU polity [Schmidt, V. A. (2006). Democracy in Europe. Oxford: The EU and National Polities]. Second, a typology of practices chosen by civil society actors for responding to EU treaty reforms, categorised in terms of “exit, voice, and loyalty”. And third, as a key for explaining variations in organised civil society's strategies in EU reform politics, the different kinds of ideas that intermediary actor cherish regarding their preferred model of European democracy. The article derives a number of empirical propositions from this framework, leaving it to future research to systematically test how the impacts by national democratic contexts on the contentious role of civil society in EU politics are shaped by competing ideas about a primarily national, supranational or a cosmopolitan-transnational model of democracy in Europe.
The Effectiveness of Local Party Campaigns in 2005: Combining Evidence from Campaign Spending and Agent Survey Data
Authors: Fieldhouse Edward , Cutts David
Published: March 2009

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the role of local campaigns and their effectiveness on increasing turnout and support for political parties. However, there is a long-standing debate over the best way to measure campaign effort. This article advances the current literature by using a latent variable modelling approach to utilize, for the first time, evidence frorvey of agents, official records of campaign spending and individual voter survey data to produce a combined measure of campaign effort. This measure (latent variable) is then used in a structural equation model of party performance to assess the effect of the campaign effort of the three main parties at the 2005 British general election. In terms of both the delivery and effectiveness of campaigns the parties are found to behave in a way consistent with a rational model of party behaviour, though constrained by contextual factors.
Flight take-off and walking behavior of insecticide-susceptible and – resistant strains of Sitophilus zeamais exposed to deltamethrin
Authors: Guedes N.M.P. , Guedes R.N.C. , Ferreira G.H. , Silva L.B.
Published: March 2009

Insects have evolved a variety of physiological and behavioral responses to various toxins in natural and managed ecosystems. However, insect behavior is seldom considered in insecticide studies although insects are capable of changing their behavior in response to their sensory perception of insecticides, which may compromise insecticide efficacy. This is particularly serious for insect pests that are physiologically resistant to insecticides since insecticide avoidance may further compromise their management. Locomotion plays a major role determining insecticide exposure and was, therefore, considered in investigating the behavioral responses of male and female adult insects from an insecticide-susceptible and two insecticide-resistant strains of the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a major pest of stored cereals. Different dose-dependent behavioral responses were expected among strains with behavioral resistance less likely to occur in physiologically resistant insects since they are able to withstand higher doses of insecticide. The behavioral responses to deltamethrin-sprayed surfaces differed among the maize weevil strains. Such responses were concentration-independent for all of the strains. Stimulus-independent behavioral resistance was unrelated to physiological resistance with one resistant strain exhibiting higher rates of flight take-off and the other resistant strain exhibiting lower flight take-off. Female mobility was similar for all strains, unlike male mobility. Males of each strain exhibited a pattern of mobility following the same trend of flight take-off. Behavioral patterns of response to insecticide are, therefore, variable among strains, particularly among insecticide-resistant strains, and worth considering in resistance surveys and management programs.
Trophic controls delaying foraging by termites: reasons for the ground being brown?
Authors: DeSouza O. , Araújo A.P.A. , Reis-Jr R.
Published: March 2009

Why is the ground brown, when detritivores and decomposers have the numbers and ability to speed up the turnover of dark-coloured soil organic carbon? We consider this soil analogue to the ‘green world’ hypothesis measuring in the field how fast termites occupied cellulosic baits of varying quantity and quality and how predation risks by ants affect such encounters. Single baits with ants were occupied by termites later than triple baits without ants, implying that termites may spend longer searching for suitable food than feeding on it, thereby delaying decomposition rates of both chosen and neglected items. Because termites' feeding speeds up dissimilation of polymers by decomposers, such results may imply that bottom-up and top-down forces, ultimately, impair carbon processing and release from soil. We argue that the ground is brown partly because of delays imposed upon termites' use of resources by bottom-up and top-down forces.
Novel use of stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) as a tool for isolation of oviposition site attractants for gravidCulex quinquefasciatus
Authors: Carson C. , Birkett M.A. , Logan J.G. , Mawa K. , Pates H.V. , Pickett J.A. , Rwegoshora R.T. , Tungu P.K. , Cameron M.M.
Published: March 2009

Mosquitoes such asCulex quinquefasciatusSay (Diptera: Culicidae) are important vectors of organisms that cause disease in humans. Research into the development of effective standardized odour baits for blood-fed females (oviposition attractants), to enable entomological monitoring of vector populations, is hampered by complex protocols for extraction of physiologically active volatile chemicals from natural breeding site water samples, which have produced inconsistent results. Air entrainment and solvent extraction are technically demanding methods and are impractical for use in resource poor environments where mosquito-borne disease is most prevalent. This study reports the first use of a simple, robust extraction technique, stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), to extract behaviourally active small lipophilic molecules (SLMs) present in water samples collected fromCx. quinquefasciatusbreeding sites in Tanzania. Extracts from a pit latrine and from a cess pool breeding site attracted more gravidCx. quinquefasciatusin pair choice bioassays than control extracts, and coupled gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG) allowed tentative identification of 15 electrophysiologically active chemicals, including the known oviposition attractant, skatole (3-methylindole). Here, we have demonstrated, using simple pair choice bioassays in controlled laboratory conditions, that SBSE is effective for the extraction of behaviourally and electrophysiologically active semiochemicals from mosquito breeding site waters. Further research is required to confirm that SBSE is an appropriate technique for use in field surveys in the search for oviposition cues forCx. quinquefasciatus.
Genome size ofPachypsylla venusta(Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and the ploidy of its bacteriocyte, the symbiotic host cell that harbors intracellular mutualistic bacteria with the smallest cellular genome
Authors: Nakabachi A. , Koshikawa S. , Miura T. , Miyagishima S.
Published: March 2009

Psyllids harbor the primary symbiont,Carsonella ruddii(γ-Proteobacteria), within the cytoplasm of specialized cells called bacteriocytes.Carsonellahas the smallest known cellular genome (160 kb), lacking numerous genes that appear to be essential for bacterial life. This raises the question regarding the genetic mechanisms of the host which supports the survival ofCarsonella. Our preceding analyses have indicated that some of the genes that are encoded in the psyllid genome and which are highly expressed in the bacteriocyte are of bacterial origin. This implies that psyllids acquired genes from bacteria by lateral gene transfer (LGT) and are using these genes to maintain the primary symbiont,Carsonella. To reveal the complete picture of LGT from symbiotic bacteria to the genome of psyllids, whole genome analysis of psyllids is essential. In order to assess the feasibility of whole genome analysis of the host psyllid, the genome size of the hackberry petiole gall psyllid,Pachypsylla venusta, was estimated. Feulgen image analysis densitometry and flow cytometry demonstrated that the haploid genome size ofP. venustais 0.74 pg (724 Mb), verifying the feasibility of whole genome analysis. Feulgen image analysis densitometry further revealed that bacteriocytes ofP. venustaare invariably 16-ploid. This higher ploidy may be essential to facilitate the symbiotic relationship with bacteria, as it appears to be a feature common to insect bacteriocytes. These results provide a foundation for genomics-based research into host-symbiont interactions.
The Role of the United Nations, the African Union and Africa's Sub-Regional Organizations in Dealing with Africa's Human Rights Problems: Connecting Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect
Authors: Sarkin Jeremy
Published: March 2009

This article examines the basis for humanitarian intervention (HI) in the United Nations Charter, the African Union (AU) Charter and in a number of African sub-regional institutions. It traces the historical development of HI and argues that, while the right to HI emerged more than 100 years ago, that right also emerges from the Genocide Convention. The article argues that this treaty connects HI to the developing norm of the responsibility to protect (R2P) and examines the extent to which R2P is garnering wider support around the world. It focuses on the UN, and the various AU and sub-regional institutions and instruments that sanction HI. It assesses whether intervention can be authorized even in the absence of a UN Security Council mandate and examines the principles, application and interrelationship of R2P and HI in the African context. It traces the use of these norms in Africa, including in the various sub-regional structures, and evaluates the AU's political will and capability to deal with conflict and human rights abuse.
The Enforcement of Basic Rights and Freedoms and the State of Judicial Activism in Tanzania
Authors: Wambali Michael KB
Published: March 2009

This article re-assesses the means available for the effective enforcement of human rights in Tanzania based on the valid assumption that the proclamation of human rights in legal instruments, be they at the domestic or international level, is meaningless without the entrenchment of effective enforcement procedures. Particular attention is directed towards the re-examination of the capacity and ability of the courts to meet the challenges posed by human rights and political discourses in their ongoing transformation. The issue is whether they can be said to be adequately providing effective avenues for the promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights.
Alienations Under the Land Use Act and Express Declarations of Trust in Nigeria
Authors: Nwabueze Remigius N
Published: March 2009

Nigerian conveyancers routinely resort to powers of attorney and agreements to sell (estate contracts) as tools to avoid the prohibitory clauses of the Land Use Act. Judges have shown their sympathy through a strict (but beneficial) construction. Nevertheless, the current system exacerbates the risk of acquiring precarious titles in land transactions. Accordingly, this article suggests that the avoidance objective will be best achieved through the application of the principles of trust and the use of trust instruments such as express written declarations of trust.
Compulsion and Necessity in African Criminal Law
Authors: Yeo Stanley
Published: March 2009

This article sets out a comparative study of the defences of compulsion and necessity in selected African nations and under the Statute of the International Criminal Court. The aim is to produce the best formulations of these defences for possible adoption by the African nations concerned.
Cold hardiness of olive (Olea europaeaL.) cultivars in cold-acclimated and non-acclimated stages: seasonal alteration of soluble sugars and phospholipids
Authors: GULEN H. , CANSEV A. , ERIS A.
Published: March 2009

In many plant species, several physiological and biochemical changes occur during low-temperature-induced cold acclimation. A previous study with olive cultivars (Cansevet al.2009) demonstrated a correlation between the level of accumulation of certain leaf proteins besides antioxidative enzyme activities and cold hardiness of the cultivars. The present paper analysed soluble sugar (SS) and phospholipid (PL) contents of cold-acclimated (CA) and non-acclimated (NA) leaf tissues in order to explain the mechanism of cultivar-dependent response to cold in olive. In general, cold acclimation significantly increased total soluble sugar (TSS), reducing sugars and sucrose contents of all cultivars to various extents depending on the cold hardiness of cultivars. In addition, TSS, reducing sugars and sucrose contents in cold-tolerant cultivars were significantly increased, whereas TSS, reducing sugars and sucrose contents in cold-sensitive cultivars either did not change or increased slightly in CA stage compared with those in NA stage. Even though reducing sugars were the major soluble sugar in olive leaves, levels of sucrose accumulations in CA stage compared with those in NA stage were greater than those observed in reducing sugars accumulation. Changes in levels of total PL, as well as the three individual PL fractions phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI), were investigated in olive leaf tissues. Significant increases in levels of PC and PE fractions during CA compared with those in NA stage suggested that PC and PE maintained the cold hardiness of olive cultivars more effectively than did PI. Although the precise mechanisms by which olive responds to cold may still be open to discussion, soluble sugars and PL are clearly important in the ability of olive cultivars to stand against cold stress.
MALE PARTICIPATION IN PREGNANCY AND DELIVERY IN NIGERIA: A SURVEY OF ANTENATAL ATTENDEES
Authors: OLAYEMI O. , BELLO F. A. , AIMAKHU C. O. , OBAJIMI G. O. , ADEKUNLE A. O.
Published: March 2009

This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 462 pregnant women attending antenatal care in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study's aims were to assess the level of participation of Nigerian men in pregnancy and birth, the attitude of the women and likely targets for improved care delivery. Three hundred and forty-nine women (75.5%) were aware that husbands could participate in childbirth. Most women did not think it was their husbands' place to attend antenatal clinic (48.3%) or counselling sessions (56.7%). Nearly all husbands (97.4%) encouraged their wives to attend antenatal clinic – paying antenatal service bills (96.5%), paying for transport to the clinic (94.6%) and reminding them of their clinic visits (83.3%). Three hundred and thirty-five husbands (72.5%) accompanied their wives to the hospital for their last delivery, while 63.9% were present at last delivery. More-educated women were less likely to be accompanied to the antenatal clinic, while more-educated men were likely to accompany their wives. Yoruba husbands were less likely to accompany their wives, but Yoruba wives with non-Yoruba husbands were 12 times more likely to be accompanied. Women in the rural centre were less likely to receive help with household chores from their husbands during pregnancy, while educated women were more likely to benefit from this. Monogamous unions and increasing level of husbands' education were associated with spousal presence at delivery. It appears that male participation is satisfactory in some aspects, but increased attendance at antenatal services and delivery would be desirable.
An overview of IPA Braille: An updated tactile representation of the International Phonetic Alphabet
Authors: Englebretson Robert
Published: March 2009

This article provides an overview of IPA Braille, revised and updated by Englebretson (2008) under the auspices of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB). After a brief introduction to braille as a writing system and a review of the disparate braille notations formerly used for phonetics, the author discusses the need for a single, up-to-date, linguistically-informed braille notation for the IPA. The author then outlines the rationale and procedures used in developing IPA Braille, and presents an appendix of the complete charts showing the braille equivalents for all symbols of the current IPA (revised to 2005). This article is relevant to phoneticians interested in applications of the IPA, linguists interested in writing systems, instructors who may have blind students enrolled in phonetics and linguistics courses, and especially to blind students and professionals needing access to a complete, updated braille IPA notation. The publication of the full braille charts inJIPAensures that IPA Braille is available to the wider community of phoneticians and linguists, who typically do not have access to the literature from specialized braille publishing houses.
Regional hierarchy: authority and local international order
Authors: LAKE DAVID A.
Published: March 2009

A regional security complex (RSC) is a set of states continuously affected by one or more security externalities that emanate from a distinct geographic area. In such a complex, the members are so interrelated in terms of their security that actions by any one member, and significant security-related developments inside any member, have a major impact on others. Regional orders describe how states within an RSC manage their security relations and range from balances of power, to regional power concerts, collective security organisations, pluralistic security communities, and integration. As regional states move ‘up’ this continuum of regional orders, relations generally become more peaceful and interactions less coloured by actual or threatened violence.
When security community meets balance of power: overlapping regional mechanisms of security governance
Authors: ADLER EMANUEL , GREVE PATRICIA
Published: March 2009

By now arguments about the varieties of international order abound in International Relations. These disputes include arguments about the security mechanisms, institutions, and practices that sustain international orders, including balance of power and alliances, hegemony, security regimes based on regional or global institutions, public, private, and hybrid security networks, as well as different kinds of security communities. The way these orders coexist across time and space, however, has not been adequately theorised. In this article we seek to show (A) that, while analytically and normatively distinct, radically different orders, and in particular the security systems of governance on which they are based (such as balance of power and security community), often coexist or overlap in political discourse and practice. (B) We will attempt to demonstrate that the overlap of security governance systems may have important theoretical and empirical consequences: First, theoretically our argument sees ‘balance of power’ and ‘security community’ not only as analytically distinct structures of security orders, but focuses on them specifically as mechanisms based on a distinct mixture of practices. Second, this move opens up the possibility of a complex (perhaps, as John Ruggie called it, a ‘multiperspectival’) vision of regional security governance. Third, our argument may be able to inform new empirical research on the overlap of several security governance systems and the practices on which they are based. Finally, our argument can affect how we think about the boundaries of regions: Beyond the traditional geographical/geopolitical notion of regional boundaries and the social or cognitive notion of boundaries defined with reference to identity, our focus on overlapping mechanisms conceives of a ‘practical’ notion of boundaries according to which regions’ boundaries are determined by the practices that constitute regions.
Between the revisionist and the frontier state: regional variations in state war-propensity
Authors: MILLER BENJAMIN
Published: March 2009

This article explains variations in state war-propensity. I introduce a new typology of state war-proneness based on four major types of states: revisionist, failed, frontier, and status quo. The major novel contribution of this essay is the argument that the combined effect of variations in the extent of success in state-building (strong or weak states) and nation-building (nationally congruent or incongruent) shapes the level and the type of state violence by producing different categories of states with regard to their war-propensity. Strong states but nationally incongruent generate revisionist states, which initiate aggressive wars. The combination of state strength and national congruence leads to a status quo state. Weakness and incongruence bring about civil wars and foreign intervention in ‘failed’ states. Weakness but congruence produce the ‘frontier state’ with boundary and territorial wars, but also with a reasonable likelihood of evolution of status quo orientation over time. I focus here on key examples of these types of states, especially from two regions: Iraq and Lebanon in a highly war-prone region – the post-World War II Middle East; and Argentina and Brazil in a more peaceful one, at least in the 20th century – South America, although these states experienced quite a number of wars in the 19th century.
The resurgence of the ‘Region’ and ‘Regional Identity’: theoretical perspectives and empirical observations on regional dynamics in Europe
Authors: PAASI ANSSI
Published: March 2009

‘New regionalism’, ‘region’, ‘city-region’, ‘cross-border region’, ‘border’ and ‘identity’ have become important catchphrases on the global geo-economic and geopolitical scene. The resurgence of these terms has been part of the transformation of both political economy and governance at supra-state, state and sub-state scales. Regions have been particularly significant in the EU where both the making of the Union itself and the ‘Europe of regions’ are concrete manifestations of the re-scaling of state spaces and the assignment of new meanings to territory. Such re-scaling has also led to increased competition between regions; a tendency that results from both the neo-liberalisation of the global economy and from a regionalist response. Regional identity, an idea at least implicitly indicating some cohesiveness or social integration in a region, has become a major buzzword. It has been particularly identified in the EU’s cohesion policy as an important element for regional development. In spite of their increasing importance in social life and academic debates, regions, borders and identities are often studied separately, but this paper aims at theorising and illustrating their meanings in an integrated conceptual framework and uses the sub-state regions in Europe, and particularly in Finland, as concrete examples. Regions are conceptualised here as processes that gain their boundaries, symbolisms and institutions in the process of institutionalisation. Through this process a region becomes established, gains its status in the broader regional structure and may become a significant unit for regional identification or for a purported regional identity. This process is based on a division of labour, which accentuates the power of regional elites in the institutionalisation processes.
Latin America: contrasting motivations for regional projects
Authors: TUSSIE DIANA
Published: March 2009

The breakdown of the North-South, East-West governing principles, and the removal of superpower overlay have led to an increasingly decentralised system setting the stage for the so called new geography of trade and the reconfiguration of political – diplomatic strategies. Such strategies now include contestation, articulation, competitive liberalisation, ample inter-state coalition building such as the G-20, G-33, G-90 in the Doha Round and the proliferation of regional and wider ranging preferential arrangements. Regionalism is both policy and project. Agreements vary widely in motivation, form, coverage and content. It is very often the case that, as in multilateral institutions, one major actor sets the agenda at the regional level with the view not only of constructing and retaining power at that level but also of setting global precedents. New balancing or bandwagoning efforts vis-à-vis the local strong power are set in motion with fresh implications for the emerging global architecture. Regional alignments are thus constantly shaping and reshaping market relations. Intra-Latin American agreements (those not including the majors, the US and the EU) were motivated by the search for wider markets building up economies of scale amongst similar countries. Such agreements mostly focused on market liberalisation through diverse schedules of tariff reduction. The result has been the emergence of shallow regional agreements. Nonetheless, most have not been fully implemented, but they show a long term trend towards potential convergence, especially if the Community of South American Nations moves on. External pressures have also spurred agreements as defensive mechanisms. So we witness impulses to regionalism complementing and at times competing with older patterns and trends. This contribution focuses on the different avenues that Latin America is undertaking in terms of regional projects. It will assess the dynamics of intra- regional integration and the inter-action effects with varieties of North-South integration.
East Asian regionalism: Much Ado about Nothing?
Authors: RAVENHILL JOHN
Published: March 2009

East Asia has emerged over the last decade as the most active site for the negotiation of regional inter-governmental collaboration. The primary focus has been on trade but, in the wake of the financial crises, governments have also engaged in historically unprecedented collaboration in several areas of finance. Multiple factors have driven this new regional engagement. Although the agreements have been primarily economic in their focus, the primary motivation for many of them has been to secure diplomatic or strategic gains. The aggregate benefits from the agreements are likely to be limited given the low levels of tariffs and the availability of provisions that facilitate the intra-regional exchange of components. They may, however, be of significant interest to producers of specific products either because they provide advantage over competitors (or remove the advantage that competitors through agreements that their governments have signed). The trade agreements thus often reflect particularistic interests that governments have been enlisted to champion.
Threshold for laser driven block ignition for fusion energy from hydrogen boron-11
Authors: Azizi N. , Hora H. , Miley G.H. , Malekynia B. , Ghoranneviss M. , He X.
Published: March 2009

Controlled fusion energy from burning hydrogen with boron-11 is of interest because no neutrons are produced. Following the scheme of ignition by spherical irradiation by laser or particle beams, one has to deal with exorbitant conditions of densities and input energies. A new approach following the scheme of block ignition with laser pulses of picosecond (ps) duration and more than petawatt (PW) power led to the possibility of plane geometry irradiation of the fuel using the anomalous effect of block ignition for deuterium tritium (DT) based on updated conditions for the initial computations. We present the extension for H-11B resulting in a very less dramatic difference to DT than in the case of spherical pellet geometry. Ignition thresholds may be only about one order of magnitude higher and the needed temperatures of about 50 keV are no problem for the skin layer acceleration by nonlinear forces (SLANF) for the block generation.
Freeze-thaw dynamics and the implications for stratification and brine geochemistry in meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Authors: Wait B.R. , Nokes R. , Webster-Brown J.G.
Published: March 2009

A high resolution record of water column temperatures was measured in a coastal meltwater pond on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The maximum temperature gradient measured through the water column was 35°C, with an annual temperature range of 52.1°C within the pond. For most of the year the pond shows reverse temperature stratification with the lowest temperatures measured at the surface of the pond, with the exception of brief periods of normal stratification over winter caused by regional warming events. During freezing, the freezing front propagated downwards from the pond surface, excluding major ions and releasing large amounts of latent heat, both of which had a dramatic effect on the thermal and compositional evolution of the pond. Thawing is dominated by changes in surface air temperatures and the differential absorption of solar radiation. A new conceptual model of the physical freeze-thaw process has been developed that explains the presence of an ‘ice plug’ during melting, which reduces wind-induced mixing, forms a physical barrier to chemical processes, and encourages thermal and chemical stratification. It may also explain the persistence of anoxic and hydrogen sulphide bearing basal brines in summer stratified ponds that are otherwise fully oxidized.
A reassessment of Antarctic polydolopid marsupials (Middle Eocene, La Meseta Formation)
Authors: Chornogubsky Laura , Goin Francisco J. , Reguero Marcelo
Published: March 2009

New polydolopid marsupial specimens have been recovered from the La Meseta Formation, a late early Eocene to probably early Oligocene unit cropping out in the northern third of Seymour (Marambio) Island, at some 100 km off the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Our review of the original materials, as well as the new specimens from the same levels, led us to: 1) revalidate the genus Antarctodolops Woodburne & Zinsmeister 1984, 2) regard Eurydolops seymouriensis Case, Woodburne & Chaney 1988 as a junior synonym of Antarctodolops dailyi Woodburne & Zinsmeister, and 3) recognize a new species of this same genus: A. mesetaense. As previously stated, the polydolopid radiation might be related to the expansion of the Nothofagus flora, as both have the same spatial distribution in southern South America and West Antarctica.
Recording Therapy Sessions: An Evaluation of Patient and Therapist Reported Behaviours, Attitudes and Preferences
Authors: Shepherd Laura , Salkovskis Paul M. , Morris Martin
Published: March 2009

Background: Audio recording of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions has been recommended but not yet widely adopted. It is believed to have positive effects on later recall and reflection by the patient and on supervisory quality and accuracy for therapists. Aims: To evaluate self-reported attitudes and behaviour regarding audio recording of therapy sessions in both patients and therapists in a setting where such recording is routinely carried out. Method: In a centre specializing in CBT for anxiety disorders, 72 patients completed a questionnaire at the start of therapy and 31 patients completed a questionnaire at the end of therapy. Fifteen therapists also completed a similar questionnaire. Results: Ninety percent of patients reported listening to recordings between therapy sessions to some extent. The majority reported discussing the recordings with their therapist. Patients typically planned to keep the recordings after therapy ended. Most patients and therapists endorsed positive attitudes towards the use of recordings. Similar advantages (e.g. improving memory for sessions) and disadvantages (e.g. practical issues and feeling self-conscious) of recordings were generated by patients and therapists. Therapists were more likely than patients to express concern about recordings being distressing for patients to listen to. Both patients and therapists regarded the use of recordings for therapist peer supervision purposes favourably. Conclusion: The use of audio recording of sessions as an adjunct to therapy (where patients listen to recordings between sessions) and for therapist supervision is rated as both highly acceptable and useful by both therapists and patients.
REPLY TO WOLFF, PLATO, SMITH, CHURCHILL AND ARISTOTLE ON DEMOCRACY
Authors: Childers Timothy
Published: March 2009

Fraser Smith (THINK 16) argues that Plato's argument against democracy as reconstructed by Jonathon Wolff is flawed because in a ‘modern’ democracy the people do not rule, but instead elect officials subject to a system of checks and balances. Smith's conception of democracy is much like Churchill's (and Popper's). I will argue that Smith's reply does not address Wolff and Plato's argument. I will then point out that Aristotle replied to Plato's argument in an appealing – and strikingly modern – fashion. Aristotle, I conclude, did justify to at least some degree democracy, and hence did address Plato's argument.
CONTEXTUALIST VS. ANALYTIC HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: A STUDY IN SOCRATES
Authors: Sandis Constantine
Published: March 2009

I here respond to James Warren and John Shand's replies to my paper ‘In Defence of Four Socratic Doctrines’ (all published in THINK 17) by questioning the supremacy of contextualist history of philosophy over the so-called ‘analytic’ approach.
Density profile of pyrolite under the lower mantle conditions
Authors: Ricolleau Angele , Fei Yingwei , Cottrell Elizabeth , Watson Heather , Deng Liwei , Zhang Li , Fiquet Guillaume , Auzende Anne‐Line , Roskosz Mathieu , Morard Guillaume , Prakapenka Vitali
Published: March 2009

The pyrolite model is one of the possible compositions of the Earth's lower mantle. The lower mantle's composition is generally modelled by comparing seismic observations with mineral physics data of possible lower mantle end‐member phases. Here, we report the compression behavior of a natural KLB‐1 peridotite (a representative composition of the pyrolite model) in a quasi‐hydrostatic environment at simultaneous high pressure (P) and temperature (T), covering the entire range of lower mantle P‐T conditions up to 112 GPa. This is the first experimentally determined density profile of pyrolite under the lower mantle conditions. The results allow us to directly compare the measured density of peridotite mantle along the geotherm with the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) derived from seismic observations, without extrapolation. The comparison shows significant mismatch between the two, which calls for a re‐evaluation of the PREM density model or a non‐pyrolite lower mantle composition.
Particle image velocimetry measurements for Stokes progressive internal waves
Authors: Umeyama Motohiko , Shinomiya Hidetaka
Published: March 2009

This study investigates the kinetic behavior of internal waves propagating in a two‐layer fluid system with a constant water depth. The physical properties of the interfacial displacement and particle velocity during one wave cycle were investigated theoretically and experimentally. The third‐order Stokes internal‐wave theory was applied to the present problem for estimating the temporal and spatial displacements of the density interface and the two‐dimensional distributions of fluid velocity. The interfacial displacement and particle velocity were measured under realistic laboratory conditions using an internal‐wave gauge and a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. The experimental data were compared with the corresponding theoretical results to determine the adaptability and limitations of our experimental tools. Although the experimental data showed small deviations from the theoretical results, they gave valuable information on progressive internal waves.
Vertical and spatial distribution of dust from aircraft and satellite measurements during the GERBILS field campaign
Authors: Christopher Sundar A. , Johnson Ben , Jones Thomas A. , Haywood Jim
Published: March 2009

The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget Intercomparisons of Longwave and Shortwave (GERBILS) radiation field experiment was conducted in June 2007 over North Africa to study dust aerosols from aircraft, satellite, and ground measurements. We present results from a case study on June 21, 2007 where coincident measurements from a space borne lidar, aircraft profiles, and multiple satellite instruments from the A‐Train are available around 1430 UTC. Backscatter measurements from the space‐borne lidar indicate that dust aerosols are present between the surface and altitudes of 4–6 km, which agrees well with aircraft measurements. For low AOD (AOD < 1), the agreement between satellite and aircraft‐derived values and amongst the satellite products are within 0.1–0.2. However, most satellite products underestimate AOD when aircraft AOD's are higher (AOD > 1). New satellite sensors coupled with new algorithms are now providing valuable information over desert regions to assess aerosol impacts on climate, air quality and other applications.