bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
TREC-CHEM
Authors: Lupu Mihai , Huang Jimmy , Zhu Jianhan , Tait John
Published: December 2009

Over the past decades, significant progress has been made in Information Retrieval (IR), ranging from efficiency and scalability to theoretical modeling and evaluation. However, many grand challenges remain. Recently, more and more attention has been paid to the research in domain specific IR applications, as evidenced by the organization of Genomics and Legal tracks in the Text REtrieval Conference (TREC). Now it is the right time to carry out large scale evaluations on chemical datasets in order to promote the research in chemical IR in general and chemical Patent IR in particular. Accordingly, we organize a chemical IR track in TREC (TREC-CHEM) in order to address the challenges in chemical and patent IR. This paper describes these challenges and the accomplishments of the first year and opens up the discussions for the next year.
Report on the TrebleCLEF query log analysis workshop 2009
Authors: Clough Paul , Berendt Bettina
Published: December 2009

This report summarises a workshop organised as a part of the EU-funded TrebleCLEF project entitled "Query Log Analysis: From Research to Best Practice" held on 27-28th May 2009 at the British Computer Science Offices in London, UK. The event involved 12 invited speakers from various academic and commercial institutions from around the world who are all involved, in some way, with query log analysis. A number of other people attended the event including local businesses and academic institutions. The workshop provided a forum in which to discuss and share experiences and best practices regarding query log analysis. This report describes the event and the presentations given by the invited speakers, and it summarises discussions held.
The impact of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms on information seeking effectiveness
Authors: Liu Ying-Hsang
Published: December 2009

To what extent do MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms improve search effectiveness of different kinds of users? We observed four different kinds of searchers using an experimental information retrieval (IR) system: (1) search novices; (2) domain experts; (3) search experts and (4) medical librarians. The information needs were a subset of the relatively difficult topics originally created for the Text REtrieval Conference (TREC). By experimental design, we used 20 search topics in an IR user experiment to alleviate search topic variability. Effectiveness of retrieval was based on the relevance judgments set provided by TREC. Thirty-two participants searched either using a version of the system in which abstracts and MeSH terms were displayed or another version in which they had to formulate their own terms based only on the display of abstracts. We found that MeSH terms were more useful for domain experts than for search experts in terms of the precision measure, even though domain experts did not perceive that MeSH terms were useful. We speculate that because of the technical topics, only the domain experts had the knowledge to understand and therefore make use of the MeSH terms. The primary contributions of this research are: (1) assessment of relative impact of searchers characteristics of domain knowledge and search training on search effectiveness and (2) design and methodology for assessing the usefulness of controlled vocabulary. The effort to create MeSH terms is worthwhile for domain experts' searches on technical topics.
The Implementation of a 2/4/8 Antennas Configurable Diversity OFDM Receiver for Mobile HDTV Application
Authors: Gao Jing , Iida Takashi , Mizutani Hiroyuki , Sakaguchi Sadanori , Murakami Shuji , Shimizu Atsushi , Wada Tomohisa
Published: December 2009

Two pre-FFT adaptive array (AA) antenna combiners and a post-FFT carrier diversity (CD) combiner are integrated with a Japan Terrestrial digital TV (ISDB-T) OFDM receiver using 90 nm 7M1P CMOS process. A 2/4/8-antenna diversity receiver can be configured and a low-cost 4 antenna diversity reception system can be realized in one LSI by making use of the AA-CD two-stage diversity combining method. Mobile reception performance is increased by 1.63 times using a denoise filter circuit and SPLINE interpolator under urban 6-path Rayleigh fading (TU6) model with 2-antenna post-FFT carrier diversity (2CD) combing mode. The die area is 49  and the power consumption is 310 mW.
Acute Hydrocephalus due to Secondary Leptomeningeal Dissemination of an Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma
Authors: Stark Andreas M. , Hugo Heinz-Herrmann , Mehdorn H. Maximilian , Knerlich-Lukoschus Friederike
Published: December 2009

Secondary leptomeningeal dissemination of oligodendroglioma is very rare. We report the case of a 38-year-old Caucasian male who presented with acute hydrocephalus. 8 months before, the patient had undergone craniotomy for right frontal anaplastic oligodendroglioma, WHO grade III. By that time, there was no evidence of tumor dissemination. MRI now ruled out local tumor progression but revealed meningeal contrast enhancement along the medulla, the myelon, and the cauda equina. Repeated lumbar puncture revealed increased cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) pressure and protein content. Malignant cells were not detectable. Surgical treatment consisted in (1) placement of an ommaya reservoir for daily CSF puncture, (2) Spinal dural biopsy confirming leptomeningeal oligodendroglioma metastasis, and (3) ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement after CSF protein has decreased to 1500–2000 mg/l.
Aortocaval Fistula in a Behcet's Disease Patient
Authors: Ata Yusuf , Turk Tamer , Demir Mihriban , Ata Filiz , Yavuz Senol
Published: December 2009

Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, recurrent, systemic disease that is characterized by oral and genital ulcers and oculocutaneous inflammatory lesions. Cardiovascular involvement especially large artery involvement is a serious and vital complication of BD. Pseudoaneurysms in the major arteries may be the cause of sudden death in BD. In our case a pulsatile abdominal mass was determined to be an aortic pseudoaneurysm associated with BD and an aortocaval fistula. Here we report this case and a short review of literature because this is the first reported aortocaval fistula in a BD patient in English literature.
Intussusception in a Premature Neonate: A Rare Often Misdiagnosed Cause of Intestinal Obstruction
Authors: Loukas I. , Baltogiannis N. , Plataras C. , Skiathitou A.-V. , Siahanidou S. , Geroulanos G.
Published: December 2009

Intestinal obstruction in neonatal period is an emergency caused by many surgical causes. An extremely rare surgical cause in this group of age is intussusception which can be easily confused with other surgical entities. In several reports, a significant number of the infants who were included in the study population were believed to have necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We present a rare cause of small intestine obstruction in a preterm female infant that can be easily misdiagnosed and confused preoperatively with other clinical entities particular for this period.
Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease in a 30-Year-Old Caucasian Female
Authors: Archibald David J. , Carlson Matthew L. , Gustafson Ray O.
Published: December 2009

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease is a rare, self-limited, histiocytic, necrotizing lymphadenitis first described in Japan in 1972. Necrosis of lymph node tissue is caused by apoptosis and may be virally induced. It commonly presents with cervical lymphadenitis and fever. Despite its low incidence, Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease should be considered in patients with persistent lymphadenopathy. Originally thought to occur only in young Asian women, it is now recognized in other geographic regions. We report a 30-year-old white woman with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease. We discuss the clinical features, differential diagnosis, radiography, pathology, and outcome.
Scheduling in Targeted Transient Surveys and a New Telescope for CHASE
Authors: Förster Francisco , López Nicolás , Maza José , Kubánek Petr , Pignata G.
Published: December 2009

We present a method for scheduling observations in small field‐of‐view transient targeted surveys. The method is based on maximizing the probability of detection of transient events of a given type and age since occurrence; it requires knowledge of the time since the last observation for every observed field, the expected light curve of the event, and the expected rate of events in the fields where the search is performed. In order to test this scheduling strategy we use a modified version of the genetic scheduler developed for the telescope control system RTS2. In particular, we present example schedules designed for a future 50 cm telescope that will expand the capabilities of the CHASE survey, which aims to detect young supernova events in nearby galaxies. We also include a brief description of the telescope and the status of the project, which is expected to enter a commissioning phase in 2010.
Nicergoline Increases Serum Substance P Levels in Patients with an Ischaemic Stroke
Authors: Nishiyama Yasuhiro , Abe Arata , Ueda Masayuki , Katsura Ken-ichiro , Katayama Yasuo
Published: December 2009

Background: Aspiration pneumonia is one of the most important complications following ischaemic stroke, and a leading cause of mortality in stroke patients. This is particularly prevalent in patients with involvement of the basal ganglia, which may be due to impaired neurotransmission through lack of production of substance P. Methods: Consecutive patients in the chronic stage, 1–3 months after cerebral ischaemic infarction, were assessed for basal ganglia involvement by magnetic resonance imaging. The patients were randomised to 4 weeks of treatment with (n = 25) or without (n = 25) nicergoline (15 mg t.i.d.). Serum concentration of substance P was measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: At entry to the study, mean concentration of substance P was significantly (p < 0.001) lower in patients with bilateral basal ganglia lesions than in patients with no or unilateral basal ganglia involvement. Nicergoline administration caused a significant (p = 0.021) increase from baseline in mean substance P concentration. No significant change was seen in the nicergoline-untreated patients (p = 0.626). Among the patients who received nicergoline, 11 patients had bilateral basal ganglia involvement and there was no significant mean change in substance P in these patients, whereas there was a significant increase (p = 0.032) in the 14 nicergoline-treated patients with no or unilateral basal ganglia involvement. Conclusions: The present study suggests a possible effect of nicergoline to increase substance P level in ischaemic stroke patients with partial damage to basal ganglia, who have a decreased swallowing response and consequent risk of aspiration pneumonia. Further trials of nicergoline treatment in patients at risk for aspiration pneumonia are warranted.
A Simultaneous EEG and Transcranial Doppler Technique to Investigate the Neurovascular Coupling in the Human Visual Cortex
Authors: Rosengarten B. , Kaps M.
Published: December 2009

Due to lacking energy stores, high energy consumption and dependency on a strict aerobic glycolysis, the brain is very dependent on an adequate blood supply of active neurons. Adequate regulation of the functionally induced local cerebral blood flow is assured by neurovascular coupling. Our understanding of its role in different disease processes has improved considerably in the last few years. Consequently, a diagnostic tool is needed which allows an easy and cost-effective investigation of the coupling in clinical conditions. A combined EEG and Doppler technique might be suitable in this regard. This review gives a short overview of the neurophysiological background and the techniques, before validation studies and first clinical applications are addressed.
MicroRNAs miR-1, miR-133a, miR-133b and miR-208 Are Dysregulated in Human Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Boštjančič Emanuela , Zidar Nina , Štajer Dušan , Glavač Damjan
Published: December 2009

Objectives: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding single-stranded RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in physiological functions, development and disease. In recent studies, three miRNAs have been described as muscle or cardiac specific: miR-1, miR-133, and miR-208, being involved in heart development and disease; but there are limited data on their role in human myocardial infarction (MI). We therefore analyzed their expression in human MI. Methods: Autopsy samples of infarcted heart tissue from 50 patients with MI, 8 healthy trauma victims and 9 fetuses that died in utero were included. miRNAs miR-1, miR-133a/b and miR-208 were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results:miR-208 was upregulated, whereas miR-1 and miR-133a were downregulated in MI compared to healthy adult and fetal hearts. All four tested miRNAs were downregulated in fetal hearts compared to healthy adult hearts. Conclusions: Our study showed the involvement of muscle- and/or cardiac-specific miRNAs miR-1, miR-133a/b and miR-208 in human MI. The most significant finding was upregulation of miR-208 and downregulation of miR-1 and miR-133a in MI compared to healthy adult hearts. Some patterns of miRNA expression were similar in MI and fetal hearts, supporting the concept of cardiac gene reprogramming in the remodeling of the heart.
Modification of Fentanyl Analgesia by Antidepressants
Authors: Juś Anna , Bujalska Magdalena , Makulska-Nowak Helena E.
Published: December 2009

Clinical practice often requires simultaneous administration of antidepressants with opioids (oncology, rheumatology). Coadministration may either attenuate or potentiate opioid analgesia. The purpose of this paper was to verify how the analgesic action of fentanyl (0.05 mg/kg) is affected by single administration as well as 4- or 21-day premedication with antidepressants characterized by various mechanisms of action. The effects of amitriptyline 3 mg/kg, moclobemide 5 mg/kg, fluoxetine 5 mg/kg and reboxetine 0.08 mg/kg were investigated. Experiments were conducted on normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats. The pain threshold was measured using an analgesimeter. It was concluded that the single administration of an antidepressant increases the analgesic action of fentanyl. Four-day premedication with fluoxetine and reboxetine significantly attenuated the antinociceptive action of fentanyl, whereas 21-day premedication with all antidepressants investigated (fluoxetine, amitriptyline, moclobemide, reboxetine) markedly decreased it. The potential clinical importance of this observation is discussed.
Cost-Effectiveness of Home Visits in the Outpatient Treatment of Patients with Alcohol Dependence
Authors: Moraes Edilaine , Campos Geraldo M. , Figlie Neliana B. , Laranjeira Ronaldo , Ferraz Marcos B.
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of conventional outpatient treatment for alcoholic patients (CT) with this same conventional treatment plus home visits (HV), a new proposal for intervention within the Brazilian outpatient treatment system. A cost-effectiveness evaluation alongside a 12-week randomized clinical trial was performed. We identified the resources utilized by each intervention, as well as the cost according to National Health System (SUS), Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) tables of fees, and others based on 2005 data. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was estimated as the main outcome measure – abstinent cases at the end of treatment. There were 51.8% abstinent cases for HV and 43.1% for CT, a clinically relevant finding. Other outcome measures, such as quality of life, also showed significant improvements that favored HV. The baseline scenario presented an ICER of USD 1,852. Sensitivity analysis showed an ICER of USD 689 (scenario favoring HV) and USD 2,334 (scenario favoring CT). The HV treatment was found to be cost-effective according to the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health.
Residual Pleural Thickening Is Related to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Levels in Parapneumonic Pleural Effusions
Authors: Papaioannou Andriana I. , Kostikas Konstantinos , Tsopa Paschalina , Kiropoulos Theodoros , Tsilioni Irene , Oikonomidi Smaragda , Gerogianni Irene , Gourgoulianis Konstantinos I.
Published: December 2009

Background: Many patients with pneumonia develop pleural effusions. Pleural fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels are known to be elevated in complicated parapneumonic effusion and seem to play a major role in the fibrotic process in the pleura. Objectives: To test whether VEGF levels in pleural effusions of infectious origin correlate with the residual pleural thickening. Methods: VEGF levels were measured in the pleural fluid of 45 patients with pleural effusion of infectious origin. Patients were reassessed 3 months after hospital discharge and residual pleural thickening (RPT) was recorded using a simple chest radiograph. Results: Pleural fluid VEGF was higher in empyemas compared to simple parapneumonic and complicated parapneumonic effusions. RPT was higher in patients with empyemas compared to simple parapneumonic effusions. Patients with RPT >2 mm had higher pleural fluid LDH and pleural fluid to serum LDH ratio, lower glucose and pH and higher VEGF levels. However, patients with RPT ≧10 mm differed only in pleural fluid VEGF levels. Pleural fluid VEGF levels correlated to RPT and to pleural fluid pH. VEGF presented moderate performance for the prediction of RPT 3 months after hospital discharge. Its performance was comparable to that of pleural fluid glucose and pH for the development of a radiologically significant RPT >2 mm, whereas it was the only statistically significant predictor of a clinically significant RPT ≧10 mm. Conclusion: VEGF levels are elevated in complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas compared to simple parapneumonic effusions and are a significant predictor for the development of clinically significant RPT.
The Alexander Willem Byvanck Genootschap: Its History, Research and Results
Authors: Broekhuijsen Klara
Published: December 2009

This contribution narrates the history of the Alexander Willem Byvanck Genootschap, a society dedicated to the study of all Northern Netherlandish illuminated manuscripts in the world, and of all illuminated manuscripts preserved in collections in the Netherlands.
Times and Places for Initials
Authors: Gumbert
Published: December 2009

The author demonstrates the possible relationships between the scribe and the painter who executed the initials in medieval manuscripts, as well as the consequences of those relationships on the manuscript page. He constructs his argument on the basis of many examples and coins new terms to encapsulate new ideas.
The Divine Essence, that Inaccessible Kabod Enthroned in Heaven: Nazianzen’s Oratio 28,3 and the Tradition of Apophatic Theology from Symbols to Philosophical Concepts
Authors: Giulea Dragoş A.
Published: December 2009

In his second theological oration (Oratio 28,3), Gregory Nazianzen equates the divine glory (kabod ) of the Holy of Holies with the divine essence and asserts their inaccessible character. An investigation into the meaning of these two terms unveils their origins in two distinct traditions, the former tracing its roots back to the ancient Semitic symbolisms of the forbidden divine glory and throne, the latter to the Hellenistic philosophical conception of an immaterial and incomprehensible divinity. The thesis advanced in this study is that these two different languages represent two semiotic forms of apophaticism, one expressed through the mysterium tremendum inspiring symbols and images of fire, dazzling glory and enigmatic heavenly creatures, guardians of the enthroned Kabod, the other through negative philosophical terminologies. The identity of the two semiotic forms is established at the end of an investigation that concludes with the observation that Hellenistic theologians developed their apophatic discourses mostly in the context of interpreting biblical reports on the theophanies of the divine and unapproachable enthroned Kabod. It was in this hermeneutical context that they “translated” the symbols of interdiction into philosophical negative concepts.
Eusebius C. Hier. 6.5 on Man and Fowl: An Instance of Christian-Pagan Dialogue on a Theurgic Ritual
Authors: Spanoudakis Konstantinos
Published: December 2009

Eusebius (C. Hier. 6.5), relying on the universal law of locus proprius, rejects the practice of men acting like winged creatures. The allusion appears to be specifically to a Chaldaean ritual in which initiates imitate the cries and other sounds of birds rising for flight in an apparent enactment of the ‘rising’ soul. Greek and Coptic sources (Damascius, Hermias and Shenoute) help reconstruct the ritual. This relates to the image of Apollonius of Tyana as theurgist and magician, but originally it may have been part of the controversies about Paul’s dogma of resurrection (1Thess. 4.17). Porphyry (C. Chr. fr. 35 Harn.) employs the same arguments as Eusebius to ridicule Paul’s notion about men caught up in clouds to meet God in air. Rather than taking this as a matter of coincidence, it would seem that Eusebius, who wrote an extensive riposte (now lost) to Porphyry’s tract, probably replied to Porphyry’s ridicule of Paul by counter-ridiculing the pagan flight-ritual.
The Liber Bartholomaei on the Ascension: Edition of Bibliothèque Nationale Copte 1321 f. 37
Authors: Gardner Iain , Johnston Jay
Published: December 2009

This article publishes the editio princeps (with English translation) of a parchment codex leaf belonging to Ms. A of the Liber Bartholomaei. The text is written in Sahidic Coptic, originates from the White Monastery (ca. Xth A.D.), and is now held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. The leaf includes the ascension of Jesus sequence from the apocryphon as witnessed by the apostles; and the article provides a synopsis of this section in Ms. A with the published texts of Mss. B-D, together with the parallel from the Gospel of the Savior. The ensuing discussion casts light on the redaction history of the LB, the relative worth of the four known recensions (A-D), and the development of narratives about the ascension of Jesus in the Coptic apocryphal tradition.
Biblical Studies 'after' Theory: Onwards Towards the Past Part One: After 'after Theory', and Other Apocalyptic Conceits
Authors: Moore Stephen , Sherwood Yvonne
Published: December 2009

At present, 'high theory', epitomized by poststructuralism, is in a perceived state of decline in literary studies. This three-part article explores the complex ramifications of the 'after theory' debate for biblical studies, a field that, for the most part, still seems to be in a 'before theory' phase. Our intent, however, is not to sell biblical scholars on Theory, finally, before the supply runs out. Our aim, rather, is diagnostic and analytic. We want to look at what has happened, what has failed to happen, and what might yet happen in biblical studies in relation to Theory, and reflect on what these various appropriations, adaptations and missed encounters reveal about the very different disciplinary spaces occupied by biblical studies and literary studies, and the very different disciplinary histories that have brought each of these spaces into being. Contending that Theory's most important contribution is the self-reflexive and metacritical moves it makes possible, our reflection on Theory's reception in biblical studies is intended to defamiliarise the peculiarities of our own disciplinary space. What follows is the first installment of this three-part article.
Objectives and Consequences of the Neo-Assyrian Imperial Exercise
Authors: Miller Daniel
Published: December 2009

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was most ascendant in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.E., ultimately controlling most of the ancient Near East before fading from history in 612. Assyrian ideology was predicated on cosmic supremacy of their chief deity Ashur, with the Assyrian monarch considered to be his vice-regent in "world" conquest. Assyrian imperialism may thus be said to have been religious in character. Nevertheless, the impetus for Assyrian domination was not primarily cultic. It was not compulsive desire to make subject peoples worship Ashur, but rather (as with empires in general) political and economic concerns that motivated Assyrian actions.
The Otherness that Is Only Difference: Theological Speculation for a Post-Traditional World
Authors: Powell Matthew
Published: December 2009

This essay creates a dialogue between George Steiner, Jacques Derrida, and Mark C. Taylor that seeks to address the need for new theological perspectives in a world overcome by the absence of God. In claiming that the current crisis of religious identity that plagues the Western world is the product of the breakdown of theological traditions, the essay attempts to explore the potential of that breakdown as the source for a new type of theological speculation that seeks the ultimate source of authentic religious identity in an otherness that is only difference. The result is a type of "atheology" that seeks to ground theological speculation in a Wholly Other whose inexplicable call leads us past the concept of "God" and toward an unknowing that is the only source of true knowledge.
Regulating Religious Noise: The Council of Vienne, the Mosque Call and Muslim Pilgrimage in the Late Medieval Mediterranean World
Authors: Constable Olivia Remie
Published: December 2009

This paper examines the issue of religious noise in the later middle ages, in those areas of the western Mediterranean, especially in the Crown of Aragón, where Muslims and Christians lived in close proximity. In particular, it considers the role of the Council of Vienne (1311) in shifting and reflecting contemporary Christian attitudes toward public and audible Muslim religious observance, including the call to prayer (adhān) and local pilgrimage (ziyāra). This article will place the Vienne rulings in a wider context, first discussing the regulation of religious noise until the end of the thirteenth century, then examining data from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. As will become evident, although the Council of Vienne did mark a turning point in the Christian effort to control the religious acoustic environment, its legislation was neither as original nor as effective as is often believed. Nevertheless, the Council marked a shift in contemporary thinking about religious noise, signaling increased awareness of noise as a problem and adding authority to prohibitions on public Muslim religious expression. Parallel concerns expressed by both Muslims and Christians about the religious noise and public rituals of minority communities (whether the mosque call, the ringing of bells, or local pilgrimage) demonstrate inter-religious tensions in the Mediterranean World at the turn of the fourteenth century.
Christopher Henrik Braad (1728-81) and his extracts in 1760 from the Surat Capuchins' mission diary that they had kept since the 1650s. An Introduction
Authors: Franks Jeremy
Published: December 2009

Made in Surat, India, in 1760, these extracts from a confidential diary kept in French by a Capuchin mission there since the 1650s are presented in a 21st-century translation into English. Beginning when Aurangzeb became the Mughal emperor, they record nearly a century of significant events while the mission survived as the city declined. The manuscript of extracts, held by Uppsala University, is the only known evidence of the diary's existence. C.H. Braad (1728-81), a senior trader for the Swedish East India Company when he made the extracts, was a Stockholm-born Lutheran. The Catholic Capuchins' trust that he, alone of countless Europeans in Surat, would keep the diary secret—as he did to the end of his life—is good reason for relying on his accuracy. The introduction provides a context for the extracts by drawing on his extensive, still unpublished writings about India: Surat in 1750-51, Bengal in the mid 1750s and his autobiography from 1781 for this and his voyages in the Indian Ocean.
Imperial Reach Versus Institutional Grasp: Superstates of The West and Central African Sudan in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Austen Ralph
Published: December 2009

The history of five states in the African West and Central Sudan—Songhay, Borno, Segu, Samory and the Sokoto Caliphate—is analyzed for a period from ca. 1500 to ca. 1900. Recent scholarship has stressed the non-territorial nature of these “states without maps”, an issue that needs to be dealt in a more nuanced manner, given the efforts by local regimes to control both multiple urban centers of commerce and rural zones of agricultural production as well as maintaining regular systems of taxation. None of these states used writing or salary payments to maintain an effective bureaucracy, basing their power instead upon various combinations of lineages with claims to ruling or aristocratic status, associations of young unmarried male initiates, segregated occupational groups (bards, smiths and fisher folk) and finally, slaves. Warfare was the main occupation of Sudanic empires but despite the introduction of firearms in the late 1500s, weapons and tactics did not undergo a “gunpowder revolution,” continuing instead to center around horses and armor. Sudanic rulers controlled access to these resources more easily than European monarchs and they also proved effective in the major goal of campaigns: not territorial competition with other states but rather raiding for slaves. Islam played an increasing role in general life and politics of Sudanic Africa (the most powerful of these empires, Sokoto, was a nineteenth-century jihadist state). However, the potential that such a scriptural faith offered for transforming administration, law and commercial life was not fully realized by the time the region came under European rule and thus moved from its early modern to modern history.
The Rate of Profit and the Problem of Stagnant Investment: A Structural Analysis of Barriers to Accumulation and the Spectre of Protracted Crisis
Authors: Beitel Karl
Published: December 2009

This paper situates the subprime crisis in the context of the performance of the American economy over the last twenty-five years. The restructuring of the US economy is briefly reviewed, followed by an examination of some of the contradictions of the neoliberal model. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the reasons behind stagnant investment, and how the US finance-led accumulation-régime has become dependent upon, and threatened by, credit-creation delinked from the financing of fixed-capital formation. I argue that while the defeat of the remnants of the New-Deal/Civil-Rights liberal-democratic coalition has provided the political context for the bold re-assertion of the prerogatives of capitalist owners, the neoliberal model has not provided a path out of problems of stagnation and growing debt-dependency that presently plague the US (and global) economy. Further, I argue that evidence suggests that the post-1982 restoration of profitability that underpinned the relative improvement of US economic performance has peaked, and that compelling historical and theoretical reasons exist to expect that the profit-rate will decline in the coming decade. This will introduce additional stresses on the current debt-structure of the US economy, triggering a period of prolonged crisis and economic dislocation. The conclusion is that the US economy faces the spectre of a protracted crisis associated with the reassertion of the falling rate of profit.
Poulantzas lesen. Zur Aktualität marxistischer Staatstheorie
Authors: Müller Julian
Published: December 2009

This review discusses a collection of papers on Nicos Poulantzas's contribution to Marxist state-theory and socialist strategy. Chapters are grouped into three subject-areas: theory and method; globalisation; political strategy. Particular attention is paid to Poulantzas's definition of the state and methodology for investigating concrete state-forms. Poulantzas gives primacy to the balance of forces between classes, which raises two questions: Should his approach be integrated with theories which emphasise the formal aspects of the capitalist state? Can power-relations other than those between classes be integrated into a Poulantzian framework? Poulantzas's work is also relevant to the study of globalisation and supranational actors. First, his investigations of the internationalisation of capital and different fractions of the bourgeoisie help us analyse developments since the 1970s. Second, his theory of the state and its functions provide a benchmark for assessing to which degree national states have been superseded by inter-/supranational institutions such as the EU. Regarding political strategy, the focus is on the path towards democratic socialism. Questions raised concern primarily the right mixture of struggles inside and outside the institutions of parliamentary democracy.
Ends in Sight: Marx/Fukuyama/Hobsbawm/Anderson
Authors: Noys Benjamin
Published: December 2009

Gregory Elliott's Ends in Sight (2008) argues that Marxism is no longer a 'real movement' grounded in the historical tendencies of the present, but has retreated into being a utopian idea. Refusing to embrace anti-Marxism, Elliott controversially argues that such a position is the only realistic one that can be held by the Left in the wake of the defeat of historical socialism. In assessing this claim, this review-essay re-traces Elliott's indebtedness to the work of Perry Anderson, and notes the tension Elliott reproduces from Anderson between resignation to defeat and a realism that would scan for new signs of resistance. Elliott's closing embrace of a full-blown pessimism is criticised as inconsistent with the necessity of some consolatory 'illusions' to any radical political mobilisation. The crucial question that Elliott raises concerns the motivational power of Marxism as a political discourse, particularly once shorn of its grounding in the 'tide of history'.
Utopian Landscapes and Ecstatic Journeys: Friedrich Nietzsche, Hermann Hesse, and Mircea Eliade on the Terror of Modernity
Authors: von Stuckrad Kocku
Published: December 2009

Against the background of fascism and the disasters of two world wars, during the first decades of the twentieth century many European intellectuals were formulating negative responses to “modernity” and to what they regarded as the decline of human civilization. Often, these intellectuals sought for alternatives to the modern conditio humana and looked for solutions in religion, art, or philosophy. Friedrich Nietzsche’s conceptualization of the Dionysian and the Orphic is of particular importance for such a discourse of modernity. After introducing Nietzsche’s contribution as a referential framework, the article compares two representatives of this intellectual discourse: Hermann Hesse and Mircea Eliade. At first glance, Hesse, the writer and poet, does not seem to have much in common with Eliade, the scholar of religion and writer of novels. Upon closer examination, however, there are remarkable similarities in their work and their evaluation of the modern human condition. For Hesse, it was art, music, and literature that provided the antidote against the predicaments of modern culture. Eliade shared Hesse’s search for an alternative to the modern condition and found it in the pure religion outside of time and space, in the illud tempus of the homo religiosus. For him, it was shamanism in particular that provided a model for a contact with the absolute world of truth untouched by the “terror of history.” The article argues that these dialectical responses are part and parcel of the project of European “modernity” itself, rather than representing an “anti-modern” claim.
Filmreife Epiphanien im dritten Raum: Ein transreligiöser Kult in Mumbai
Authors: Keul István , Stausberg Michael
Published: December 2009

This study introduces a religious group based in present-day Mumbai and led by two Indian (Parsi) Zoroastrians. The group can be characterized as transreligious, as it appeals to followers with varied religious affiliations, without claiming to establish a new religion. After looking at the two leaders’ biographies and tracing some of the important stages in their development from middle-class Parsi laypeople to their present status of “divine lights,” the essay examines their main mythological, theological, and iconographic features. A description and analysis of an important ritual event (a birthday darshan) is followed by devotees’ testimonies of “divine miracles” resulting from their encounter with the “divine lights.” After some glimpses at the followers’ day-to-day life, the essay ends with reflections on terminology, typology, and context.
Beyond Judicial Independence: Rule of Law and Judicial Accountabilities in Assessing Democratic Quality
Authors: Piana Daniela
Published: December 2009

Judicial independence is traditionally deemed to ensure citizens about the impartiality of adjudication and, by doing so, to guarantee the legitimacy of the authoritative allocation of power that is exercised by a non-elective actor, that is, the judge. However, despite its relevance,
this concept in itself cannot cast a proper light on the dynamics and the logics of action judicial actors follow in prosecuting and adjudicating cases. In this paper, the author retains this judicial accountability, with its multiple dimensions, and argues that this may provide promising
insights on judicial governance and, accordingly, on the type of constitutionalism exhibited by a country or, as proved in the last section of the paper, in a multi-level system of governance, as the EU. The paper associates the reconstruction of judicial governance with the assessment of
democratic quality.
The Role of Oceanic Heat Transport and Wind Stress Forcing in Abrupt Millennial-Scale Climate Transitions
Authors: Arzel Olivier , Colin de Verdière Alain , England Matthew H.
Published: December 2009

The last glacial period was punctuated by rapid climate shifts, known as Dansgaard–Oeschger events, with strong imprint in the North Atlantic sector suggesting that they were linked with the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Here an idealized single-hemisphere three-dimensional ocean–atmosphere–sea ice coupled model is used to explore the possible origin of the instability driving these abrupt events and to provide a plausible explanation for the relative stability of the Holocene. Focusing on the physics of noise-free millennial oscillations under steady external (solar) forcing, it was shown that cold climates become unstable, that is, exhibit abrupt millennial-scale transitions, for significantly lower freshwater fluxes than warm climates, in agreement with previous studies making use of zonally averaged coupled models. This fundamental difference is a direct consequence of the weaker stratification of the glacial ocean, mainly caused by upper-ocean cooling. Using a two-hemisphere configuration of a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity, it is shown that this result is robust to the added presence of a bottom water mass of southern origin. The analysis reveals that under particular conditions, a pronounced interdecadal variability develops during warm interstadials. While the nature of the instability driving the millennial oscillations is identical to that found in ocean models under mixed boundary conditions, these interstadial–interdecadal oscillations share the same characteristics as those previously found in ocean models forced by fixed surface fluxes. The wind stress forcing is shown to profoundly affect both the properties and bifurcation structure of thermohaline millennial oscillations across a wide range of variation of freshwater forcing. In particular, it is shown that the wind stress forcing favors the maintenance of thermally direct meridional overturning circulations during the cold stadial phases of Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles.
On the Use of Slow Ascent Meter-Scale Sampling (SAMS) Radiosondes for Observing Overturning Events in the Free Atmosphere
Authors: Balsley Ben B. , Kantha Lakshmi , Colgan William
Published: December 2009

This note describes the development of a method for obtaining high vertical resolution (meter scale) measurements of basic meteorological quantities and turbulent overturns, using radiosondes with slow ascent rates. Although the method has some limitations, it can provide profiles of standard atmospheric variables from the surface to more than 20 km, with significantly improved vertical resolution. It can also help better identify regions of turbulent overturns. This correspondence presents some initial results demonstrating the occurrence of relatively small-vertical-scale overturns throughout the entire atmospheric column.
Sustainable Change
Authors: Sackmann Sonja A. , Eggenhofer-Rehart Petra M. , Friesl Martin
Published: December 2009

Globalization and intensified competition require organizations to change and adapt to dynamic environments in order to stay competitive. This article describes a longitudinal action research study supporting the strategic change of a trading company. The strategic change was accompanied by planned changes in organizational structures and processes, management systems, emerging changes in leadership, and organization members’ attitudes and behaviors, and it was supported by management development activities. Longitudinal data over a 4-year period including participant observation and interviews reveal that a systemic approach, a learning and becoming perspective toward change, trust, an appropriate role perception, and the specific use of management instruments contribute to sustained change that resulted in performance improvements and a move toward a learning organization. We conclude with implications for strategic change and suggestions for further research in this area.
The Universality of Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings
Authors: Phillips John R.
Published: December 2009

The universality of Rogers’ science is discussed within the context of science and religion with an emphasis on an alive universe. Barrett’s power theory is presented as an exemplar of the universality of Rogers’ science. The implications of an alive universe are discussed. Rogers and Barrett are recognized for their contributions to nursing science and the sacred alive universe.
Seeking to Change While Accepting the Now
Authors: Baumann Steven L.
Published: December 2009

The efforts of several nurse authors and Marsha Linehan to integrate diverse methods taken from philosophy, the human sciences, and spirituality with the biomedical model and natural science are discussed in relation to healthcare and nursing practice.
The Use of Hegelian Dialectics in Nursing Science
Authors: Fagerström Lisbeth , Bergbom Ingegerd
Published: December 2009

The aim of this column is to describe dialectics as a philosophy and method which can be used by nurses to make a contribution to nursing science. Dialectics can be used in three ways: as a philosophical approach, as a method using the dialectic laws, and as a method of describing the dialectic process by focusing on the dynamic elements of the process. Dialectics can also be combined with hermeneutics.
Rethink for the new kid on the block
Authors: Seddon Mark
Published: December 2009

AlJazeera English, launched with much fanfare three years ago, promised to go where other channels feared to tread. But Mark Seddon, formerly ALJazeera’s UN correspondent and an ex-editor of Tribune, says it has failed to move into the United States, and it has suffered both from budgetary constraints and changes of editorial leaders. Despite that, its journalists remain dedicated and Seddon praises the channel for its many achievements.
The Last Page
Authors: Waterhouse Keith
Published: December 2009

Keith Waterhouse, who died in September, left behind a play about his lifelong love for newspaper journalism, especially in its Fleet Street days. In a tribute to the man who topped a 2003 BJR poll to determine Britain’s greatest living columnist, the magazine carries a scene from his play, The Last Page, featuring three veteran reporters and a young newcomer to the trade. Watch out for the penguin suit!
Spooks and hacks: blood brothers
Authors: Dover Robert , Goodman Michael S
Published: December 2009

Robert Dover and Michael Goodman analyse the complex relationship between intelligence agencies, the media and the public, arguing that it raises increasingly important questions about where journalists get their information from and how they go about reporting it. Spooks and hacks have more in common than might be obvious. Notably, say the authors in a series of challenging assertions, they both operate without the consent of the people about whom they are seeking information and then produce that knowledge for specific purposes.
Five reasons for crash blindness
Authors: Fraser Matthew
Published: December 2009

Veteran business columnist Matthew Fraser takes another look at the reasons why the media failed to predict the arrival of the credit crisis. In his view the root of the problems lies in the structural dynamics of business journalism and the status to which professional journalists aspire. He identifies five traits to highlight his argument, all of which call into question the journalistic integrity of his colleagues.
Internal and external interfaces in bilingual language development: Beyond structural overlap
Authors: Sorace Antonella , Serratrice Ludovica
Published: December 2009

This article deals with the interface between syntax and discoursepragmatics/semantics in bilingual speakers. Linguistic phenomena at the interface have been shown to be especially vulnerable in both child and adult bilinguals; here we explore four variables that contribute to this vulnerability to different extents depending on the nature of the interface: underspecification, cross-linguistic influence, quantity and quality of the input, and processing limitations.

We investigate the role played by the aforementioned variables in two recently completed studies. One compares the performance of English— Italian and Spanish—Italian bilingual children, monolingual English- and Italian-speaking children and adults on forced-choice grammaticality tasks on the distribution of overt and null subject pronouns in Italian and in English. The second explores bilingual and monolingual speakers’ sensitivity to the presence of definite articles in specific and generic plural noun phrases in Italian and in English. We show that over and above structural overlap, other factors must be

We show that over and above structural overlap, other factors must be included to account for differences in the behavioural data in the two tasks and in different populations of bilinguals and monolinguals. We argue that processing factors play a non-trivial role in the difficulty encountered by bilinguals in coordinating syntax with contextual discourse-pragmatic information, regardless of the absence or presence of partial structural overlap. In the case of the internal coordination between syntax and semantics, processing factors may be less likely to affect bilinguals’ performance, while the extent of structural overlap and the associated internal formal features seem to play a more important role.