bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acoustics and psychosocial environment in intensive coronary care
Authors: Blomkvist V , Eriksen C A , Theorell T , Ulrich R , Rasmanis G
Published: February 2005

Background:Stress, strain, and fatigue at the workplace have previously not been studied in relation to acoustic conditions.

Aims:To examine the influence of different acoustic conditions on the work environment and the staff in a coronary critical care unit (CCU).

Method:Psychosocial work environment data from start and end of each individual shift were obtained from three shifts (morning, afternoon, and night) for a one-week baseline period and for two four-week periods during which either sound reflecting or sound absorbing tiles were installed.

Results:Reverberation times and speech intelligibility improved during the study period when the ceiling tiles were changed from sound reflecting tiles to sound absorbing ones of identical appearance. Improved acoustics positively affected the work environment; the afternoon shift staff experienced significantly lower work demands and reported less pressure and strain.

Conclusions:Important gains in the psychosocial work environment of healthcare can be achieved by improving room acoustics. The study points to the importance of further research on possible effects of acoustics in healthcare on staff turnover, quality of patient care, and medical errors.
UNIFIED ELECTROWEAK MODEL BASED ON SPACE–TIME AND ISOSPIN SYMMETRIES
Authors: SPEHLER D. , MARQUES G. C.
Published: February 2005

We propose a spinorial approach to the unified electroweak interactions, in which no use is made of spontaneous symmetry breakdown. No scalar particles are needed in order to break the symmetry. No reference is made to gauge symmetry. Our approach stresses the role of space–time and isospin symmetries in the build up of the electroweak model. Internal degrees of freedom, such as isospin, are incorporated in the theory by using spinors carrying isospin indices. All vector bosons are described by a rank 2 field in the spinorial and the isospinorial indices. Leptons are accomodated in a rank 1 spinor field and in a rank 2 isospin field as well. The dynamical variables of the theory are the chiral and isochiral components of these fields.
Hypercholesterolemia impairs reactive hyperemic vasodilation of 2A but not 3A arterioles in mouse cremaster muscle
Authors: VanTeeffelen Jurgen W. G. E. , Constantinescu Alina A. , Vink Hans , Spaan Jos A. E.
Published: February 2005

Hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis have been associated with changes in the microvasculature, in particular with endothelial dysfunction. In the present study, the impact of atherogenic conditions on arteriolar vasomotor control was determined. Arteriolar [second-order (2A) and third-order (3A) arterioles; diameter range: 9–37 μm] responses during reactive hyperemia (RH) were determined in cremaster muscle of anesthetized mice. C57Bl/6 mice on normal rodent chow were used as controls and high-fat/high-cholesterol (HFC)-fed C57Bl/6 and ApoE3-Leiden mice as hypercholesterolemic mice. The HFC diet resulted in time-dependent increases in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations ( P < 0.001), which were more pronounced in ApoE3-Leiden mice ( P < 0.001). In control mice, inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis with Nω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) reduced baseline diameter from 17.9 ± 1.2 to 15.9 ± 1.3 μm ( P < 0.05) and decreased the duration of RH [time to 50% ( t50) of recovery: 23.3 ± 3.6 vs. 12.5 ± 1.3 s ( P = 0.003)]. t50was longer in 2A versus 3A arterioles (33 ± 3 vs. 18 ± 2 s, P < 0.001) and increased with wall shear rate at the beginning of RH in 2A arterioles only. Compared with control mice, RH duration was reduced in 2A arterioles of HFC mice ( t50: 11 ± 2 s, P < 0.001 vs. control) but not affected in 3A vessels. l-NNA did not affect baseline diameter in HFC mice and reduced t50only in “slow” responders ( t50≥ 10 s). It is concluded that hypercholesterolemia results in an impairment of NO-mediated vasomotor control in 2A but not 3A arterioles during dynamic changes of perfusion like RH. 2A arterioles likely therefore represent the functional locus of endothelial dysfunction during atherogenic conditions.
Line antiderivations over local fields and their applications
Authors: Ludkovsky S. V.
Published: February 2005

A non‐Archimedean antiderivational line analog of the Cauchy‐type
line integration is defined and investigated over local fields. Classes of non‐Archimedean holomorphic functions are defined and studied. Residues of functions are studied; Laurent
series representations are described. Moreover, non‐Archimedean antiderivational analogs of integral representations of functions and differential forms such as the Cauchy‐Green, Martinelli‐Bochner, Leray, Koppelman, and Koppelman‐Leray formulas are investigated. Applications to manifold and operator theories are studied.
On Marx, Islam, Christianity & revolution
Authors: Foucault Michel , Parham Baqir
Published: February 2005

Note by Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson: In 1978, as the protests against the shah were becoming a mass movement, Michel Foucault made his first visit to Iran. During the next eight months, Foucault wrote a number of articles on the Iranian Revolution for “Corriere della Sera,” “Le Monde,” and other publications. These articles constitute the most sustained treatment anywhere in his writings of a non-Western society. Foucault's support for Iran's Islamist movement touched off a controversy that continues to this day.

This conversation, conducted in Iran in September of 1978 with the noted writer Baqir Parham, includes Foucault's first reflections on the Iranian Revolution. In addition, it connects his concern with Iran to his larger critique of Western modernity. It shows how his search for new forms of resistance to modernity had led him to look at religious revolts.

This dialogue was published in “Nameh-yi Kanun-i Nevisandegan” (Publication of the Center of Iranian Writers), No. 1, Spring 1979, pages 9–17. It has been translated from the Persian by Janet Afary. We thank Baqir Parham and the University of Chicago Press for permission to publish this material in “Dædalus.”
Dissociations of Face and Object Recognition in Developmental Prosopagnosia
Authors: Duchaine Brad , Nakayama Ken
Published: February 2005

Neuropsychological studies with patients suffering from prosopagnosia have provided the main evidence for the hypothesis that the recognition of faces and objects rely on distinct mechanisms. Yet doubts remain, and it has been argued that no case demonstrating an unequivocal dissociation between face and object recognition exists due in part to the lack of appropriate response time measurements (Gauthier et al., 1999). We tested seven developmental prosopagnosics to measure their accuracy and reaction times with multiple tests of face recognition and compared this with a larger battery of object recognition tests. For our systematic comparison, we used an old/new recognition memory paradigm involving memory tests for cars, tools, guns, horses, natural scenes, and houses in addition to two separate tests for faces.

Developmental prosopagnosic subjects performed very poorly with the face memory tests as expected. Four of the seven prosopagnosics showed a very strong dissociation between the face and object tests. Systematic comparison of reaction time measurements for all tests indicates that the dissociations cannot be accounted for by differences in reaction times. Contrary to an account based on speed accuracy tradeoffs, prosopagnosics were systematically faster in nonface tests than in face tests. Thus, our findings demonstrate that face and nonface recognition can dissociate over a wide range of testing conditions. This is further support for the hypothesis that face and nonface recognition relies on separate mechanisms and that developmental prosopagnosia constitutes a disorder separate from developmental agnosia.
Preattentive Binding of Auditory and Visual Stimulus Features
Authors: Winkler István , Czigler István , Sussman Elyse , Horváth János , Balázs László
Published: February 2005

We investigated the role of attention in feature binding in the auditory and the visual modality. One auditory and one visual experiment used the mismatch negativity (MMN and vMMN, respectively) event-related potential to index the memory representations created from stimulus sequences, which were either task-relevant and, therefore, attended or task-irrelevant and ignored. In the latter case, the primary task was a continuous demanding within-modality task. The test sequences were composed of two frequently occurring stimuli, which differed from each other in two stimulus features (standard stimuli) and two infrequently occurring stimuli (deviants), which combined one feature from one standard stimulus with the other feature of the other standard stimulus. Deviant stimuli elicited MMN responses of similar parameters across the different attentional conditions. These results suggest that the memory representations involved in the MMN deviance detection response encoded the frequently occurring feature combinations whether or not the test sequences were attended. A possible alternative to the memory-based interpretation of the visual results, the elicitation of the McCollough color-contingent aftereffect, was ruled out by the results of our third experiment. The current results are compared with those supporting the attentive feature integration theory. We conclude that (1) with comparable stimulus paradigms, similar results have been obtained in the two modalities, (2) there exist preattentive processes of feature binding, however, (3) conjoining features within rich arrays of objects under time pressure and/or long-term retention of the feature-conjoined memory representations may require attentive processes.
Sequential Memory: A Putative Neural and Synaptic Dynamical Mechanism
Authors: Deco Gustavo , Rolls Edmund T.
Published: February 2005

A key issue in the neurophysiology of cognition is the problem of sequential learning. Sequential learning refers to the ability to encode and represent the temporal order of discrete elements occurring in a sequence. We show that the short-term memory for a sequence of items can be implemented in an autoassociation neural network. Each item is one of the attractor states of the network. The autoassociation network is implemented at the level of integrate-and-fire neurons so that the contributions of different biophysical mechanisms to sequence learning can be investigated. It is shown that if it is a property of the synapses or neurons that support each attractor state that they adapt, then everytime the network is made quiescent (e.g., by inhibition), then the attractor state that emerges next is the next item in the sequence. We show with numerical simulations implementations of the mechanisms using (1) a sodium inactivation-based spike-frequency-adaptation mechanism, (2) a Ca2+-activated K+ current, and (3) short-term synaptic depression, with sequences of up to three items. The network does not need repeated training on a particular sequence and will repeat the items in the order that they were last presented. The time between the items in a sequence is not fixed, allowing the items to be read out as required over a period of up to many seconds. The network thus uses adaptation rather than associative synaptic modification to recall the order of the items in a recently presented sequence.
'Ulamā', State and Politics: Majelis Ulama Indonesia After Suharto
Authors: Ichwan Moch. Nur
Published: February 2005

This essay examines the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) and the legal decisions that it issued after the fall of President Suharto, whose regime played a role in its establishment. In light of MUI's changing relationship with the state under Suharto's successors B. J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid, I call for a more nuanced reading of MUI's decisions.I also discuss the relative weight accorded to MUI decisions—variously called "opinions," pieces of "advice," and "fatwās"—arguing that these "discursive products" reflect a conscious attempt by MUI to break free from the circumstances of its birth and to guide the reformation process in postSuharto Indonesia.
Alter Galenus: Jean Fernel et son interprétation plantonico-chrétienne de Galien
Authors: Hirai Hiro
Published: February 2005

Inspired by Christian Platonism as developed in the late fifteenth-century Florentine milieu, the French physician Jean Fernel proposed a particular interpretation of Galen in a medico-philosophical work entitled On the Hidden Causes of Things (Paris, 1548). With this interpretation, he responded to the serious and urgent need for a reconciliation of the newly reconstituted Galen of Renaissance humanism with Christian faith. The present study examines Fernel's strategy and method in constructing this singular Galenic body of doctrine, special attention being given to the roles attributed to the Creator, the formative force, and the soul. Subsequently, an analysis of the notions of spirit and of its innate heat as indispensable instruments of Fernel's physiology will uncover the very target of his criticism of materialism.
Temperature and Mold Size Effects on Physical and Mechanical Properties of a Polyurethane Foam
Authors: Jackovich Dacia , O'toole Brendan , Hawkins Michelle Cameron , Sapochak Linda
Published: February 2005

Rigid polyurethane foams are used as thermal or vibration insulators and energy absorption material, and are often molded directly in place, where a smooth, thin skin forms between the mold and the cellular structure. Density gradients and the presence of a skin are known to affect the mechanical properties of the foam. We investigate the effect of processing temperature (25, 40, 65, and 85 C) and mold size (aluminum cylinders with diameters of 29, 41, and 51mm) on the average density and density gradients (radial and vertical) of a free-rise, water blown, rigid polyurethane foam system, and measure the effects on compressive modulus of elasticity and collapse stress. In general, both average density and radial density gradients decrease with increasing processing temperature and larger mold sizes. A reduction in average foam density corresponds with decreases in the elastic modulus and compressive strength. These mechanical properties are compared to reference samples extracted from very large batches of foam with a uniform density of 0.10 g/cc, where normalization of the compressive data shows the elastic modulus to exhibit the strongest dependence on processing temperature and mold size.
The Effects of Porosity on Mechanical Properties of Cast Discontinuous Reinforced Metal–Matrix Composite
Authors: Ahmad S. N. , Hashim J. , Ghazali M. I.
Published: February 2005

This paper presents the findings of porosity effects on the mechanical properties of cast discontinuous reinforced metal–matrix composites (DRMMCs). Aluminum–silicon alloy composite specimens are produced by the stir casting method with varied content of reinforcing silicon carbide (SiC) particles for metallographic study, porosity measurement, and tensile and fatigue testing. The factors of porosity formation are assessed from three different levels of stirring speeds, 100, 200, and 500 rpm, varied SiC content, and modification of the stir casting method. The evaluated porosity data exhibits increased SiC particle content and stirring speed has increased the porosity formation in the cast DRMMC whereas the modification of the stir casting method significantly has decreased the porosity content. The least content of porosity evaluated is at 0.09% in the modified stir cast DRMMC, while the highest is at 12.45% in the conventionally stir cast DRMMC. In monotonic tensile testing, increasing porosity content has decreased the ductility, tensile strength, and yield strength of cast DRMMC. Though, based on fully reversed (R 1/4 1) fatigue test, porosity formation has increased the cast DRMMC fatigue strength at 1 10 7cycles. The fatigue strengths of cast DRMMCs at 5, 10, and 15% reinforcing SiC particle are 129.7, 141.5, and 157.3 MPa, respectively. These are due to either isolated porosity formation or porosity presence among particle clusters as observed in the metallographic studies.
Changes in queries in Gnutella peer-to-peer networks
Authors: Yang Christopher C. , Kwok James S.H.
Published: February 2005

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks have been drawing significant attention in the area of information management and sharing recently. Unlike the World Wide Web (WWW), every peer in a P2P network is both client and server. It hosts information for sharing and submits queries to search for information from all of the other peers at the same time. There are a large number of studies related to the information behavior of WWW search engines in the US and Europe. Several issues have been investigated in these studies including number of unique and repeat queries, length of queries, terms being used in queries, successive searching, multitasking searching, multiple searching sessions, changes of topics, multimedia searching, etc. The number of similar studies in P2P networks is significantly less. We have previously studied the information behavior of Gnutella P2P network based on data collected in 2002. In this paper, we present changes in Gnutella queries, based on the previously collected data and new data collected in 2003. Similar metrics to those used by Spink, Wolfram, Jansen, and Saracevic and in our previous study are used. We found that the number of non-English queries has increased. The number of repeat queries in P2P has decreased but is still more than that for WWW search engines. The length of queries has been increased by about 40%. The topics of interest have shifted from entertainment and sexuality to computers and entertainment. In general, the information behavior of P2P users has been changing as the P2P technology becomes more mature and the P2P users become more familiar with the technology. As the P2P technology begins to be adopted in e-Business, we foresee that there will be more changes in the future.
The Global Connections of Intellectual Workers
Authors: Connell R. W. , Wood Julian , Crawford June
Published: February 2005

The sociology of intellectuals, long focused on the metropole, needs to move to a world scale. Study of global connections in the intellectual labour process is the most promising way. In this article, a method is developed for defining the intellectual labour force and studying its international participation. Results are presented from a survey of 500 Australian intellectual workers. Within this workforce, international connections are common and communication technology is extensively used. Several dimensions of international connection form coherent scales. International connection is stronger in the university sector than the corporate sector. Metropolitan primacy is acknowledged but the intellectual workforce is being reproduced in the periphery. Patterns of international involvement differ by generation and by field, but not by gender. A statistical model predicting levels of international practice is developed, which highlights the importance of social recruitment processes and current institutional functioning. The study demonstrates that a national intelligentsia can be analysed in relation to global processes and an empirical approach to the study of intellectuals on a world scale is possible.
Applied Zone Model to Evaluate the Smoke Management in an Underground Structure
Authors: Chung Kee-Chiang , Tung Hsing-Sheng , Wu Yu-Lieh
Published: February 2005

In Taiwan, since underground structures are more functional and complicated than usual buildings, for example, mass rapid transportation centers and underground shopping streets, performance-based designs are always adopted in allowing architects greater design freedom without any reduction in levels of fire safety of underground structures. Consequently, the function and efficiency of the smoke control systems in a public-use underground structure are becoming one of the important subjects for fire safety design engineers. This paper used a zone model as well as simplified mathematical models, which are commonly employed by fire safety engineering designers to investigate the smoke temperature and accompanying effect in an underground structure with a long corridor. Also, an evacuation assessment and escape time calculation were evaluated in this paper to address the strong relationship between evacuation and smoke control design. Further, experimental data collected from a full-scale underground corridor in Japan was used to verify the results from the model predictions.
Hazard of Thermal Radiation from a Hot Smoke Layer in Enclosures to an Evacuee
Authors: Wong L. T.
Published: February 2005

The architectural fire safety design of corridors as a component of emergency building evacuation is examined from the perspective of a maximum escape distance by the occupant in order not to experience skin pain or skin burn from exposure to the thermal radiation of a hot smoke layer. In this work, empirical expressions have been proposed to approximate an evacuee to study the thermal hazard. The maximum escape distance is calculated from the exposure time limit of the evacuee and the thermal radiant heat flux falling upon the evacuee's head at some walking speeds. The range of the maximum escape distance and its dependence on corridor's parameters are determined for the typical width of a corridor, the smoke layer temperature and the smoke layer depth. The length of a corridor for safe escape can be determined as a function of the corridor's width, smoke layer depth and temperature, at the walking speeds of evacuees. The maximum escape distance can be used as a quantitative design criterion for the design of corridors and similar structures where a hot smoke layer is expected.
In Vitro Investigation of Cell Compatibility of Pure β-TCP Granules
Authors: Gürpinar Ö. Aylin , Onur M. Ali
Published: February 2005

In this study, osteoblastic cells were isolated from rat bone marrow and characterized. The cells were cultured on β-TCP granules and the osteoblast/ β-TCP constructs. For this purpose, bone marrow was harvested under sterile conditions. Cell aggregates were broken up by pipetting and a cell suspension was cultured in DMEM/F12. After three days, the cells that adhered to the surface of the flask were cultured in osteoblast medium. When the cells became confluent, they were passaged and cultured in 24-well polystyrene cell culture dishes. Characterization of the osteoblasts, cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 30. To investigate the cell compatibility of the β-TCP granules, osteoblastic cells were cultured on β-TCP granules and a polystyrene cell culture dish (control group). Cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 30 in both groups. Cell growth significantly increased at each time point, but on day 30 a decrease was observed. The ALP activity also increased at each time point and also decreased on day 30. This study may be regarded as the first step leading to a therapy for various bone defects.
Logics of delusion
Authors: Bodei Remo
Published: February 2005

Delusion represents an exceptional test case for the principal categories of common sense and philosophical thought, such as ‘reason’, ‘truth’ and ‘reality’. Via an engagement with the legacy of Freud and the most discussed results of twentieth-century psychiatry, my aim will be to analyse its paradoxical forms and to shed light on the logics that underlie and orient its specific modalities of temporalization, conceptualization and argumentation. Delusion, then, has traditionally been presented as synonymous with irrationality (absurdity, groundlessness, error, chaos), whereas by contrast its mirror image, reason, has been defined in terms of evidence, demonstrability, truth and order. I will analyse and contrast their paradoxical definitions.
Service utilization in 1896 and 1996: morbidity and mortality data from North Wales
Authors: Healy David , Harris Margaret , Michael Pamela , Cattell Dinah , Savage Marie , Chalasani Padmaja , Hirst David
Published: February 2005

The 1896 and 1996 populations of North-West Wales are similar in number, ethnic and social mix and rurality, enabling a study of the comparative prevalence of service utilization, as well as the morbidity and mortality associated with mental illness in 1894–96 and 1996. The 1996 data reveal a 15 times greater prevalence of admissions for all diagnoses, and three times greater prevalence of admissions by detention, compared with 1896. Patients now spend more time in a service bed than they did 100 years ago. Death as a direct consequence of mental illness is commoner now than 100 years ago. There is therefore a major disjunction between the rhetoric and the reality of mental health service utilization. General factors related to changing health care and expectations and specific factors linked to mental health appear to have led to an increased rate of service utilization in the modern period.
Leakage Detection in Water Networks
Authors: Holnicki-Szulc Jan , Kolakowski Przemyslaw , Nasher Nagib
Published: February 2005

A health monitoring tool for leakage identification in water networks is presented. It is assumed that the water heads at the network’s nodes can be measured in different locations of some inspected area. Then, making use of the analytical network model of the actual installation and using the proposed Virtual Distortion Method (VDM) approach, leakages (single as well as in multiple locations, and their intensities) can be detected and identified in the system. The identification methodology takes advantage of a gradient-based optimization technique.
Constitutive Law for Ferroelastic and Ferroelectric Piezoceramics
Authors: Elhadrouz Mourad , Zineb Tarak Ben , Patoor Etienne
Published: February 2005

The focus of this paper is to investigate the nonlinear behavior exhibited by ferroelectric and ferroelastic ceramics under high electromechanical loading. External loads, such as electric field and stress, can induce a remanent strain or polarization due to domain switching. Two internal variables are introduced in order to capture the history dependance and dissipation that characterize ferroelectricity and ferroelasticity. Two loading surfaces are introduced so that associated flow rules provide the evolution laws of the internal variables. In addition, these variables must verify kinematical constraints that may depend on the stress state since experiments indicate that tensile and compressive states have to be considered in this order. Then, dielectric, butterfly, and ferroelastic hysteresis are represented. Mechanical depolarization is also captured. All the tangent operators are expressed so that a resolution with a finite element method can be achieved.
Dynamic Taguchi Methods and Parameter Design as Applied in Barcode Scanning and Scanners
Authors: Xydas Nicholas , Tsi David , Gurevich Vladimir , Krichever Mark , Kao Imin
Published: February 2005

In this article, the dynamic Taguchi methodology is applied to the design of a barcode scanner. The concurrent engineering process involves a team of design and manufacturing engineers engaged in both hardware and software aspects of the product. The purpose of this experimental study is to determine the correlation between the outcomes of the conventional design and Taguchi optimization. The main contribution of this work in the design of scanners include: (a) application of the Taguchi methodology to yield an optimum design for scanning and comparing it to the analytical design, and (b) proving the existing opto-mechanical design to be optimum, within the signal processing capabilities. Experimental design using orthogonal arrays is established, and experiments of scanning on different barcode designs are conducted. The ideal function of the dynamic methodology is identified and the control and noise factors are chosen for the experimental design. The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios and sensitivity are calculated using the equations of dynamic Taguchi methodology. Missing data in experiments, due to the combination of extreme ranges of design parameters, are treated by the sequential approximation method. A theoretical optimum unit is assembled and tested as confirmation of the experimental design, based on the response charts for both S/N ratio and sensitivity. The results of the confirmation experiment show that the performance of the scanner design, based on the criterion of the S/N ratios, has improved.
Optimization of Collective Communication Operations in MPICH
Authors: Thakur Rajeev , Rabenseifner Rolf , Gropp William
Published: February 2005

We describe our work on improving the performance of collective communication operations in MPICH for clusters connected by switched networks. For each collective operation, we use multiple algorithms depending on the message size, with the goal of minimizing latency for short messages and minimizing bandwidth use for long messages. Although we have implemented new algorithms for all MPI (Message Passing Interface) collective operations, because of limited space we describe only the algorithms for allgather, broadcast, all-to-all, reduce-scatter, reduce, and allreduce. Performance results on a Myrinet-connected Linux cluster and an IBM SP indicate that, in all cases, the new algorithms significantly outperform the old algorithms used in MPICH on the Myrinet cluster, and, in many cases, they outperform the algorithms used in IBM's MPI on the SP. We also explore in further detail the optimization of two of the most commonly used collective operations, allreduce and reduce, particularly for long messages and nonpower-of-two numbers of processes. The optimized algorithms for these operations perform several times better than the native algorithms on a Myrinet cluster, IBM SP, and Cray T3E. Our results indicate that to achieve the best performance for a collective communication operation, one needs to use a number of different algorithms and select the right algorithm for a particular message size and number of processes.
Becoming Abject: Rape as a Weapon of War
Authors: Diken Bülent , Laustsen Carsten Bagge
Published: February 2005

Organized rape has been an integral aspect of warfare for a long time even though classics on warfare have predominantly focused on theorizing ‘regular’ warfare, that is, the situations in which one army encounters another in a battle to conquer or defend a territory. Recently, however, much attention has been paid to asymmetric warfare and, accordingly, to phenomena such as guerrilla tactics, terrorism, hostage taking and a range of identity-related aspects of war such as religious fundamentalism, holy war, ethnic cleansing and war rape. In fact, war rape can be taken as a perfect example of an asymmetric strategy. In war rape the soldier attacks a civilian (not a fellow combatant) and a woman (not another male soldier), and does this only indirectly with the aim of holding or taking a territory. The primary target here is to inflict trauma and through this to destroy family ties and group solidarity within the enemy camp. This article understands war rape as a fundamental way of abandoning subjects: rape is the mark of sovereignty stamped directly on the body, that is, it is essentially a bio-political strategy using (or better, abusing) the distinction between the self and the body. Through an analysis of the way rape was carried out by the predominantly paramilitary Serbian forces on Bosnian soil, this article theorizes a two-fold practice of abjection: through war rape an abject is introduced within the woman’s body (sperm or forced pregnancy), transforming her into an abject-self rejected by the family, excluded by the community and quite often also the object of a self-hate, sometimes to the point of suicide. This understanding of war rape is developed in the article through a synthesis of the literature on abandonment (Agamben, Schmitt) and abjection (Bataille, Douglas, Kristeva) and concomitantly it is argued that the penetration of the woman’s body works as a metaphor for the penetration of enemy lines. In addition it is argued that this bio-political strategy, like other forms of sovereignty, operates through the creation of an ‘inclusive exclusion’. The woman and the community in question are inscribed within the enemy realm of power as those excluded.
From Local Legislation to Global Structuring Frame
Authors: Djelic Marie-Laure
Published: February 2005

If we take a long-range view of competition regimes, we can document in the 20th century a case of major transformation. There has been a double evolution - away from cooperation and cartelization and towards competition on the one hand, from nationally bounded regimes to a globally interconnected regulatory sphere on the other. The antitrust tradition that emerged in the USA at the turn of the 20th century has gained significant and widespread influence after 1945, imposing itself in many parts of the world. The objective of this article is to retrace the process by which antitrust has gone from being a local legal rule to a nearly global structuring frame. We trace the fate of a local set of ideas turning into international politics and globally accepted principles. We also show that those global principles are subject to and interact with local politics - through the process of diffusion but also in their implementation.
Effect of cathode workpiece surface emissivity on temperature uniformity in plasma nitriding
Authors: Roliński E. , Machcinski J. , Larrick T. , Sharp G.
Published: February 2005

The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that glow discharge plasma heating of the cathode workpiece is different from radiant heating under vacuum, given the same pressure and gas composition, and that the final temperature obtained by the workpiece and the rate of heating depend on the workpiece emissivity. Towards this goal, several glow discharge heating tests were carried out using a number of geometrically identical carbon and austenitic steel samples, each prepared so as to generate differing surface emissivity values. These tests clearly demonstrate that samples with lower emissivity heat faster and to a higher temperature than do samples with higher emissivity values. Furthermore, several observations are made about the change in workpiece emissivity. For example, in situ measurements show that emissivity increases during plasma nitriding, and the emissivity change is most rapid during ramping to final temperature. It is further observed that the effect of plasma nitriding on emissivity is stronger for austenitic stainless steel than for carbon steel, and that powder metal samples, nitrided at a higher temperature than the other samples, achieve the highest emissivity values.
Microstructure and residual stresses of stainless steels case hardened with nitrogen
Authors: Berns H. , Pyzalla A.
Published: February 2005

In the presence of 13–16 wt-%Cr, nitrogen enhances interstitial solubility during austenitising. Therefore, five different martensitic or ferritic–martensitic stainless steels were case hardened by solution nitriding instead of carburising. The highest compressive residualstress at the surface was obtained by a high content of δ-ferrite in the core and a low content of retained austenite in the martensitic case. The limits of alloying, the resulting microstructure and the implications for production and service are discussed.
Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after amoxycillin-induced anaphylactic shock in a young adult with normal coronary arteries: a case report
Authors: Gikas Aristofanis , Lazaros George , Kontou-Fili Kalliopi
Published: February 2005

Background

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) following anaphylaxis is rare, especially in subjects with normal coronary arteries. The exact pathogenetic mechanism of MI in anaphylaxis remains unclear.

Case presentation

The case of a 32-year-old asthmatic male with systemic anaphylaxis, due to oral intake of 500 mg amoxycillin, complicated by acute ST-elevation MI is the subject of this report. Following admission to the local Health Center and almost simultaneously with the second dose of subcutaneous epinephrine (0.2 mg), the patient developed acute myocardial injury. Coronary arteriography, performed before discharge, showed no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease. In vivo allergological evaluation disclosed strong sensitivity to amoxycillin and the minor (allergenic) determinants of penicillin.

Conclusion

Acute ST-elevation MI is a rare but potential complication of anaphylactic reactions, even in young adults with normal coronary arteries. Coronary artery spasm appears to be the main causative mechanism of MI in the setting of "cardiac anaphylaxis". However, on top of the vasoactive reaction, a thrombotic occlusion, induced by mast cell-derived mediators and facilitated by prolonged hypotension, cannot be excluded as a possible contributory factor.
Permissive nicotine regulation as a complement to traditional tobacco control
Authors: Sumner Walton
Published: February 2005

Background

Cigarette smoking takes a staggering toll on human health and attracts considerable public health attention, yet real solutions seem distant. The 2004 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (US Senate bill S2461) would have given the US Food and Drug Administration limited authority to regulate cigarettes to "protect the public health." However, such legislation is unlikely to substantially reduce smoking or related deaths.

Discussion

The past 500 years of tobacco control efforts demonstrate that nicotine prohibition is a practical impossibility for numerous reasons, state revenue being one of the most ominous. The FDA already has regulatory authority over pharmaceutical grade nicotine products, and requires pharmacists to dispense the most addictive of these only with prescriptions. Meanwhile, every corner store can sell far more addictive and dangerous cigarettes to any adult. The FDA could immediately increase competition between cigarettes and clean nicotine products by approving available nicotine products for over-the-counter sales to adults. Similarly permissive regulation of cigarettes and addictive nicotine products will reduce tobacco use and improve smokers' health, but increase nicotine use in the population. Fortunately, restricted youth access and accurate labeling of nicotine's absolute risks will dissuade many non-smokers from experimenting with it, while accurate depiction of its risks relative to cigarette smoking will encourage many smokers to switch. The FDA could take a series of small steps that might ultimately replace a large proportion of cigarette smoking with equally addictive nicotine products, without risking serious public health setbacks. Vaccine, methadone, and injury prevention policies establish relevant public health precedents.

Cigarettes, or an equally addictive alternative, will be a permanent and common product in most societies. Regulations restricting only the safest addictive nicotine products are hard to justify. Addictive nicotine compliments other tobacco control strategies. Modern tobacco control policies are applicable to addictive nicotine. Controlled trials and test market studies are urgently needed to evaluate addictive nicotine as an alternative to smoking. Meanwhile, legislators should preserve the Food and Drug Administration's option to permit non-prescription sales of addictive nicotine.
Do malaria ookinete surface proteins P25 and P28 mediate parasite entry into mosquito midgut epithelial cells?
Authors: Baton Luke A , Ranford-Cartwright Lisa C
Published: February 2005

Background

P25 and P28 are related ookinete surface proteins highly conserved throughout the Plasmodium genus that are under consideration as candidates for inclusion in transmission-blocking vaccines. Previous research using transgenic rodent malaria parasites lacking P25 and P28 has demonstrated that these proteins have multiple partially redundant functions during parasite infection of the mosquito vector, including an undefined role in ookinete traversal of the mosquito midgut epithelium, and it has been suggested that, unlike wild-type parasites, Dko P25/P28 parasites migrate across the midgut epithelium via an intercellular, rather than intracellular, route.

Presentation of the hypothesis

This paper presents an alternative interpretation for the previous observations of Dko P25/P28 parasites, based upon a recently published model of the route of ookinete invasion across the midgut epithelium. This model claims ookinete invasion is intracellular, with entry occurring through the lateral apical plasma membrane of midgut epithelial cells, and is associated with significant invagination of the midgut epithelium localised at the site of parasite penetration. Following this model, it is hypothesized that: (1) a sub-population of Dko P25/P28 ookinetes invaginate, but do not penetrate, the apical surface of the midgut epithelium and thus remain within the midgut lumen; and (2) another sub-population of Dko P25/P28 parasites successfully enters and migrates across the midgut epithelium via an intracellular route similar to wild-type parasites and subsequently develops into oocysts.

Testing the hypothesis

These hypotheses are tested by showing how they can account for previously published observations and incorporate them into a coherent and consistent explanatory framework. Based upon these hypotheses, several quantitative predictions are made, which can be experimentally tested, about the relationship between the densities of invading Dko P25/P28 ookinetes in different regions of the midgut epithelium and the number of oocyst stage parasites to which these mutant ookinetes give rise.

Implications of the hypothesis

The recently published model of ookinete invasion implies that Dko P25/P28 parasites are greatly, although not completely, impaired in their ability to enter the midgut epithelium. Therefore, P25 and/or P28 have a novel, previously unrecognized, function in mediating ookinete entry into midgut epithelial cells, suggesting that one mode of action of transmission-blocking antibodies to these ookinete surface proteins is to inhibit this function.
Impact of tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water on the risk of breast cancer: Using a dose model to assess exposure in a case-control study
Authors: Vieira Verónica , Aschengrau Ann , Ozonoff David
Published: February 2005

Background

A population-based case-control study was undertaken in 1997 to investigate the association between tetrachloroethylene (PCE) exposure from public drinking water and breast cancer among permanent residents of the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. PCE, a volatile organic chemical, leached from the vinyl lining of certain water distribution pipes into drinking water from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. The measure of exposure in the original study, referred to as the relative delivered dose (RDD), was based on an amount of PCE in the tap water entering the home and estimated with a mathematical model that involved only characteristics of the distribution system.

Methods

In the current analysis, we constructed a personal delivered dose (PDD) model that included personal information on tap water consumption and bathing habits so that inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption were also considered. We reanalyzed the association between PCE and breast cancer and compared the results to the original RDD analysis of subjects with complete data.

Results

The PDD model produced higher adjusted odds ratios than the RDD model for exposures > 50th and >75th percentile when shorter latency periods were considered, and for exposures < 50th and >90th percentile when longer latency periods were considered. Overall, however, the results from the PDD analysis did not differ greatly from the RDD analysis.

Conclusion

The inputs that most heavily influenced the PDD model were initial water concentration and duration of exposure. These variables were also included in the RDD model. In this study population, personal factors like bath and shower temperature, bathing frequencies and durations, and water consumption did not differ greatly among subjects, so including this information in the model did not significantly change subjects' exposure classification.
Maternal plasma viral load and neutralizing/enhancing antibodies in vertical transmission of HIV: A non-randomized prospective study
Authors: Kamara Paul , Melendez-Guerrero Loyda , Arroyo Miguel , Weiss Heidi , Jolly Pauline
Published: February 2005

Background

We examined the association and interaction between maternal viral load and antibodies in vertical transmission of HIV in a non-randomized prospective study of 43 HIV-1 infected pregnant women who attended the San Juan City Hospital, Puerto Rico, and their 45 newborn infants. The women and infants received antiretroviral therapy.

Methods

A nested PCR assay of the HIV-1 envelope V3 region and infant PBMC culture were performed to determine HIV status of the infants. Maternal and infant plasma were tested for HIV neutralization or enhancement in monocyte-derived macrophages.

Results

Twelve (26.7%) infants were positive by the HIV V3 PCR assay and 3 of the 12 were also positive by culture. There was a trend of agreement between high maternal viral load and HIV transmission by multivariate analysis (OR = 2.5, CI = 0.92, p = 0.0681). Both maternal and infant plasma significantly (p = 0.001 for both) reduced HIV replication at 10-1 dilution compared with HIV negative plasma. Infant plasma neutralized HIV (p = 0.001) at 10-2 dilution but maternal plasma lost neutralizing effect at this dilution. At 10-3 dilution both maternal and infant plasma increased virus replication above that obtained with HIV negative plasma but only the increase by maternal plasma was statistically significant (p = 0.005). There were good agreements in enhancing activity in plasma between mother-infant pairs, but there was no significant association between HIV enhancement by maternal plasma and vertical transmission.

Conclusion

Although not statistically significant, the trend of association between maternal viral load and maternal-infant transmission of HIV supports the finding that viral load is a predictor of maternal-infant transmission. Both maternal and infant plasma neutralized HIV at low dilution and enhanced virus replication at high dilution. The antiretroviral treatments that the women received and the small sample size may have contributed to the lack of association between HIV enhancement by maternal plasma and vertical transmission.