bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Giving the ‘Right’ Route Directions: The Requirements for Pedestrian Navigation Systems
Authors: Schroder Catherine J , Mackaness William A , Gittings Bruce M
Published: June 2011

It is more natural and effective to include a variety of landmarks when providing route directions. Many of the existing solutions, however, behave like car navigation systems and do not include references to such landmarks. This research provides empirical evidence to identify the information requirements for an automated pedestrian navigation system. The two experiments discussed within this article helped identify the criteria that govern the relative saliency of features of interest within an urban environment. There are a large variety of features of interest that can be used as directional aids within route descriptions (buildings, statues, monuments, hills, roads, etc). Different measures are therefore required in order to calculate the saliency of the different classes of features. The research revealed that the most important measures of saliency include name, size, age, and colour. The research confirmed that that relative visibility and the direction of approach to the feature also affect a landmark's saliency. The research also highlighted the role that features of interest play in reorientation, confirmatory, and direction‐giving tasks.
Heinrich von Kleists vorgeführtes Erzählen
Authors: Fischer Bernd
Published: June 2011

This essay explores the various meanings and connotations of the term ‘vorführen’ in order to highlight a particular movement in Kleist's narrative technique (and one which, I argue, represents a ‘post‐metaphysical’ stance in his œuvre). In Kleist's prose fiction in particular, this term encapsulates a multitude of complex tensions that arise when plot devices, individual figures, or the narrator (willingly or often unwillingly, knowingly or often unknowingly) tackle sets of metaphysical assumptions, seemingly consensual presuppositions, and presumed ideological certainties. Kleist's protagonists demonstrate a particular metaphysical system, act it out, exhibit it, but at the same time sport it, summon it, set it up, and expose it. The result invariably is that narrator, hero, and reader alike get caught in their own strategies and – though often unnoticed by both hero and narrator, and barely noticed by the reader – end up as the ones exposed, set up, fooled, undermined, and ‘vorgeführt’. This narrative performance (‘Vorführung’) is demonstrated on the basis of a close reading of individual scenes, dialogues, monologues, figurations, descriptions, and narrative (auctorial) comments from a range of texts, including Das Erdbeben in Chili and Der Zweikampf.

Der Beitrag schöpft die Bedeutungsbreite des Wortes ‘vorführen’ aus, um eine charakteristische Bewegung in Kleists Erzählen zu diskutieren (eine Technik, die, so meine These, sich konsequent in einer post‐metaphysischen Haltung versucht). ‘Vorführen’ umfasst komplexe und spannungsreiche Bewegungen, die individuelle Figuren, den Erzähler und schließlich den Leser (freiwillig oder unfreiwillig, bewusst oder unbewusst) mit ihren metaphysischen Annahmen, scheinbar konsensuellen Voraussetzungen und ideologischen Gewissheiten konfrontieren. Die Partizipanten in Kleists Erzählungen spielen metaphysische Systeme durch und führen sie vor und in die Irre, stellen sie aus und bloß. Erzähler, Leser und Figuren verfangen sich in ihren Deutungsstrategien und werden selbst (häufig kaum merklich) vorgeführt, bloß und infrage gestellt. Diese narrative Performanz (‘Vorführung’) wird anhand von individuellen Szenen, Dialogen, Monologen, Figurationen, Beschreibungen und Erzählerkommentaren aus dem Erdbeben in Chili und dem Zweikampf als ironisches Phänomen diskutiert und der zeitgeschichtlichen Ästhetik (insbesondere der romantischen Theorie) gegenübergestellt.
Gewaltinszenierungen. Formen des Spiels im Spiel in Kleists Dramen
Authors: Riedl Peter Philipp
Published: June 2011

Embedded within Kleist's plays and novellas are a number of mini‐dramas that reflect, elaborate, and exacerbate the protagonists’ experience of disrupted communication. While critics such as Anthony Stephens have explored the importance of such mini‐dramas in the novellas, their significance in the plays merits further analysis. This essay examines three dramas –Penthesilea, Die Herrmannsschlacht, and Prinz Friedrich von Homburg– and considers the ways in which these embedded dramas impact upon the dramatic action as a whole, and the extent to which their function resembles that in Shakespeare's Hamlet. At the same time, the essay argues that Kleist's dramaturgical approach should not be seen as an example of ‘dialogic midwifery’ in the quest for truth. On the one hand, they result in the production of yet more epistemic confusion; and, on the other (notably in Die Herrmannsschlacht) they are themselves the result of the central character's deliberate manipulation of friend and foe. In their different ways, the cruel scenarios set in motion by the protagonists are acts of violence that, intentionally or not, lead to yet more violence. Once unleashed, this process proves unstoppable. Accordingly these plays‐within‐a‐play constitute sites of performed violence that, in miniature, reflect the structure of the macro‐drama into which they are embedded.

In den Dramen und Erzählungen Heinrich von Kleists findet sich eine Fülle sehr unterschiedlich modellierter kleiner Schauspiele, die, in differenten Formen und Funktionen, die gestörte oder suspendierte Kommunikation der Protagonisten vorführen, konterkarieren oder auch verschärfen. Während die Bedeutung der kleinen Schauspiele in den Erzählungen bereits genauer untersucht worden ist, so zuletzt von Anthony Stephens im Jahr 2007, haben die Spiel‐im‐Spiel‐Konfigurationen in den Dramen noch nicht die Aufmerksamkeit gefunden, die sie verdienen. Der Aufsatz beleuchtet einzelne dieser Szenarien und fragt danach, wie sie das Kräftefeld der jeweiligen Dramen prägen. Im Mittelpunkt der Betrachtung stehen einschlägige Spiel‐Handlungen in Penthesilea, Die Herrmannsschlacht und Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, die u.a. auch mit Blick auf entsprechende Techniken in William Shakespeares Hamlet interpretiert werden. Kleists Spielanordnungen sind indes keine ‘Hebeammenkunst’ der Wahrheitsfindung; sie erzeugen vielmehr selbst einerseits arbiträre Zeichen, folgen andererseits, im Falle Herrmanns, aber auch einer mörderischen Strategie totaler Manipulation von Freund und Feind. Die – in unterschiedlicher Weise – grausamen Spiele der Protagonisten sind Akte der Gewalt und evozieren, beabsichtigt oder nicht, Gewalt, die, einmal entfesselt, sich nicht mehr kontrollieren lässt. Die Spiele im Spiel in Kleists Dramen sind jedenfalls unterschiedlich ausgeprägte Gewaltinszenierungen, die in ihrer Mikrostruktur die Makrostruktur der Dramen spiegeln.
Performanz und Essentialismus von Geschlecht bei Kleist: Eine doppelte Dialektik zwischen Subordination und Handlungsfähigkeit
Authors: Schmidt Ricarda
Published: June 2011

Over the last one hundred years, Kleist's representation of gender roles has often been read as criticising the essentialist gender concepts of his own times and as anticipating our modern views of gender as performance. This essay aims to show that Kleist conceptualises gender as both performance and as natural essence, and that he plays these two conceptions off against one another. The essay questions the binary opposition between oppressive social norms and individual freedom that is taken for granted in views of Kleist as anticipating feminist thinking. Drawing on the work of Anthony Giddens and Judith Butler, I show that, in the cases of Die Marquise von O… and Penthesilea, agency can be seen as a consequence of the subordination of the subject to social norms, but that, on the other hand, the internalisation of social norms can also lead to fatal conflicts that place the social order in question. It is argued that Kleist's importance lies not in his anticipation of specific ideas about gender, but in his representation – in his historical context – of the complexities, paradoxes, and contradictions within the constitution of the gendered subject.

Kleists Darstellung von Geschlechterrollen ist in den letzten 100 Jahren oft als Kritik an den essentialistischen Geschlechterkonzeptionen seiner Zeit und als Antizipation der unseren von Geschlecht als Performanz gelesen worden. In diesem Aufsatz soll gezeigt werden, dass Kleist Geschlecht sowohl als Performanz wie als Natur konzeptionalisiert und diese beiden Konzepte gegeneinander ausspielt. Die binäre Opposition zwischen repressiven sozialen Normen und individueller Freiheit, die in der Sicht auf Kleist als Antizipator feministischen Denkens angenommen wird, soll hier hinterfragt werden. Von Anthony Giddens und Judith Butler ausgehend, wird am Beispiel von Die Marquise von O… und Penthesilea gezeigt, dass Handlungsfähigkeit eine Folge der Subordination des Subjekts unter soziale Normen sein kann, andererseits aber auch die Internalisierung sozialer Normen zu tödlichen, die soziale Ordnung in Frage stellenden Konflikten führen kann. Es wird argumentiert, dass Kleists Bedeutung nicht in der Antizipation konkretistischer Geschlechterkonzepte liegt, sondern in der Darstellung der Komplexitäten, Paradoxien und Widersprüche geschlechtsspezifischer Subjektkonstitution in seinem historischen Kontext.
‘Des Vaterlandes grauses Sinnbild’: Legitimacy, Performance and Terror in Kleist'sDie Herrmannsschlacht
Authors: Howe Steven
Published: June 2011

This essay offers a new angle on Kleist's patriotic dramaDie Herrmannsschlachtby re‐evaluating the text's political stakes in relation to the history of the French Revolution and the new‐found awareness of the performative functions of language and imagery that emerged in the revolutionary context. Focusing on the connections between liberty, performance and identity‐formation, a significant parallel is established to the model of nationhood outlined by Rousseau in his frequently neglectedConsidérations sur le gouvernement de Pologne(1772). Linking this together with a wider discussion of the agencies and issues involved in acts of performance and political violence – first to Rousseau's portrait of the great legislator figure, and then to the context of revolutionary dynamics and experience – the article identifies a mode of discourse that sheds new light on the vision and status of nationhood and liberty in the drama, and encourages us to look more closely at the standpoint Kleist adopts towards both his main character and the presentation of central ideological issues relating to the complex nexus of violence and identity, legitimacy and performance, war and terror.

Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich zum Ziel, eine neue Perspektive auf Kleists patriotisches DramaDie Herrmannsschlachtzu erstellen, indem eine historisch‐diskursive Rekontextualisierung, die den politischen Gehalt des Stücks in engerem Zusammenhang mit dem Verlauf der Französischen Revolution und besonders mit der im revolutionären Kontext entstandenen Neubewertung des kommunikativen Potentials der Sprache betrachtet, vorgenommen wird. Fokussiert auf die Relationen zwischen Freiheit, Performanz und Identitätsformation wird zunächst eine signifikante Parallele zu Rousseaus oft vernachlässigten nationalistisch‐patriotischenConsidérations sur le gouvernement de Pologne(1772) hergestellt. Indem dies mit einer breiteren Diskussion um die Instanzen und Agenturen performativer und politischer Gewalt verknüpft wird – zuerst im Zusammenhang mit Rousseaus Darstellung des Gesetzgebers, dann im Kontext der Revolutionsdynamik bzw. Erfahrung – lässt sich folglich eine diskursive Modalität erstellen, die uns eine neue Sicht auf Kleists Auffassung seiner Hauptfigur sowie die Gestaltung komplexer Problemstellungen zu den Nexus von Gewalt und Identität, Legitimität und Performanz, bzw. Krieg und Terror erlaubt.
Between Terror and Transcendence: A Reading of Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas
Authors: Krimmer Elisabeth
Published: June 2011

This essay reads Kleist's representation of the nexus of politics, religion, and violence in Michael Kohlhaas against today's discourse on religiously motivated terrorism. It shows that, unlike contemporary theories of terrorism, Kleist's text presents criminally and politically motivated violence as inseparably intertwined. Because Kohlhaas's actions are informed by conflicting motivations, they are morally ambiguous, a fact that Kleist highlights through numerous biblical references. Secondly, the essay argues that Kleist's text underlines the performative nature of violence and of sovereignty, and portrays both as reliant on public spectacles designed to affect their audiences. Finally, both violence and sovereignty are upstaged by the performative potency of language, by its ability not only to describe, but also to create reality.

Dieser Aufsatz analysiert die Darstellung von Politik, Religion und Gewalt in Michael Kohlhaas im Hinblick auf die aktuelle Terrorismus‐Debatte. Während der Terrorismusdiskurs der Gegenwart versucht, kriminell und politisch motivierte Gewalt voneinander abzugrenzen, sind diese in Kleists Text unauflöslich miteinander verbunden. Kleist verwendet zahlreiche Anspielungen auf die Bibel, um die moralische Ambiguität von Kohlhaas’ Handlungen zu betonen. Ferner zeigt Kleists Text, dass Gewalt und Herrschaft auf Inszenierung beruhen. Macht entsteht durch öffentliche Spektakel, die sich gezielt an ein Publikum wenden. Wirkungsmächtiger als derartig fundierte Macht ist jedoch die Sprache, die Realitäten nicht nur beschreiben, sondern durch Beschreibung zu schaffen vermag.
Religion, Power and the Instablity of Performance in Heinrich von Kleist's Stories
Authors: Griffiths Elystan
Published: June 2011

Starting with an analysis of Kleist's early letters, this article examines scenes of performance in his literary œuvre. In particular it draws attention to religious settings as a privileged site for Kleist's investigation of human self‐representation in a social context, but argues that Kleist's religious officials behave little differently from his other figures. It argues that while his early letters are inspired by Rousseau's critique of the inauthenticity of social life, Kleist's mature works focus on the unavoidable nature of performance. Within Kleist's œuvre as a whole, it is not only the powerless who are forced to perform, since the representatives of authority are just as much subject to the power of the spectator. In both cases it becomes apparent that attempts at performance do not prove to be a reliable means of asserting or subverting the exercise of power.

Ausgehend von einer Analyse der frühen Briefe Kleists untersucht dieser Aufsatz Inszenierungsszenarien in dessen literarischem Werk. Es wird argumentiert, dass religiöse Umgebungen Kleist als privilegierter Ort zur Analyse der Selbstdarstellung in einem sozialen Kontext dienen, wobei deutlich wird, dass das Verhalten kirchlicher Amtsträger sich kaum von dem anderer Figuren unterscheidet. Während Kleists Jugendbriefe den Einfluss von Rousseaus Kritik an der mangelnden Authentizität im Sozialleben aufzeigen, steht die Unausweichlichkeit der Performanz im Mittelpunkt von Kleists späteren Schriften. Am literarischen Werk wird aufgezeigt, dass es nicht nur die Machtlosen sind, die zur Selbstinszenierung gezwungen werden, da die Autoritätsfiguren bei Kleist ebenso der Macht des Zuschauers unterworfen sind. In beiden Fällen wird deutlich, dass die versuchten Inszenierungen sich keineswegs als zuverlässiges Mittel zur Behauptung bzw. Umgehung der Macht erweisen.
Theaternot, Theaterkritik, Theatertraum: Heinrich von Kleist und das Theater seiner Zeit
Authors: Weigel Alexander
Published: June 2011

Inspired by Shakespeare and Schiller, Kleist's tragedies and comedies were written after 1800 and emerged at a time when conditions for their reception on the German stage were particularly unfavourable. This was a reflection of the organisational structure of the contemporary theatre, its repertoire and acting‐style. The stolid ‘naturalism’ of the latter was heavily influenced by the most popular dramatists, notably August von Kotzebue, August Wilhelm Iffland and their imitators, and by dramas rooted in bourgeois naturalism. Kleist had no illusions about the situation and, unlike Goethe and Schiller, his development as a dramatist occurred in isolation from the theatre. His first efforts to establish a set of contacts in Vienna were unsuccessful; and in Dresden, his attempt, together with Adam Müller, to launch a critique of the contemporary theatre in their periodical Phöbus failed. Only in 1810, the penultimate year of his life, did Kleist succeed in exploiting the Berliner Abendblätter to launch an unmistakable, though artfully veiled, attack on the Königliches Nationaltheater and its director and leading actor, Iffland; however this was soon curtailed through the intervention of the censor. In ‘Über das Marionettentheater’, published two weeks later, Kleist extends this critique while at the same time developing his own concept of an aesthetics of representation.

Kleists von Shakespeare und Schiller inspirierte Versdramen entstanden nach 1800 in einer Situation, in der weder das zeitgenössische deutsche Theater noch sein Publikum für sie aufnahmebereit waren. Das vorherrschende Repertoire und der Darstellungsstil wurden wesentlich vom bürgerlich‐biederen Naturalismus der Erfolgsautoren der Zeit, August von Kotzebue und August Wilhelm Iffland sowie ihren Nachahmern, beherrscht, bzw. beeinflusst. Kleists Entwicklung als Dramatiker verlief, anders als die Goethes und Schillers, fernab vom Theater; Kontaktversuche zerschlugen sich oder endeten als Misserfolg, wie in Weimar. Die in der Zeitschrift Phöbus mit Adam Müller unternommenen Versuche einer Kritik an Theater und Dramatik der Zeit fanden kein Echo. Erst im Herbst 1810, d.h. ein Jahr vor seinem Tod, gelang es Kleist in den Berliner Abendblättern trotz strenger Zensur, eine geschickt versteckte, aber erkennbare Kritik am Königlichen Nationaltheater und dessen Direktor und ersten Schauspieler Iffland an die Öffentlichkeit zu bringen, bis das durch eine verschärfte Zensur verboten wurde. Der vierzehn Tage darauf veröffentlichte Dialog ‘Über das Marionettentheater’ setzt nicht nur diese Kritik verallgemeinert fort, sondern es lassen sich in ihm die Ansätze zu einer Kleistschen Darstellungsästhetik erkennen.
‘Ihr habt verbreitet / Die Lehre der Klassiker’: Bertolt Brecht und Heiner Müller lesen Kleists Prinz Friedrich von Homburg
Authors: Gratzke Michael
Published: June 2011

Drawing on Heiner Müller's acceptance speech following the award of the Kleist Prize in 1990, this article explores a history of reception running from Heinrich von Kleist via Bertolt Brecht to Heiner Müller. Despite the rejection of Prussian militarism by both Müller and Brecht – and their scepticism about Prussia's enlightened status – the history and literature of Prussia serve as a foil against which the ideological conflicts of the twentieth century can be played out. For both Brecht and Müller, Kleist's Prinz Friedrich von Homburg serves as a productive model for the subjugation of the outsider by the collective. A reading of this model is proposed that emphasises not the success or failure of the Prince's education, but rather the opposition between the Prince and Hohenzollern. This opposition is carried over by Brecht in his work on Fatzer (1927–32) and informs the opposition between the functionary K(euner) and the anarchist Fatzer. Müller understands these two figures as an indivisible pair Keuner±Fatzer (1982). Although historically and ideologically remote, Kleist's Prussian fantasy is not fundamentally different from the dream of a better Germany shared by both Brecht and Müller. The reason for this can be traced back to Kleist's recognition that a non‐violent mutual recognition of individuals is impossible and that – in line with the ‘Homburg model’– such conflicts must be played out in a mode that is both dialectical and performative.

Ausgehend von Heiner Müllers Preisrede anläßlich der Verleihung des Kleist‐Preises 1990 verfolgt dieser Aufsatz Traditionslinien von Heinrich von Kleist über Bertolt Brecht zu Müller. Trotz Brechts und Müllers Ablehnung des militaristischen Preußens und ihrer Skepsis gegenüber dem aufgeklärten Preußen bieten die Geschichte und die Literatur dieses Landes eine Projektionsfläche, auf der ideologische Auseinandersetzungen des 20. Jahrhunderts ausgespielt werden können. Kleists Stück Prinz Friedrich von Homburg wird für beide Autoren zu einem produktiven Modell für die Zähmung des Außenseiters durch das Kollektiv. Im Folgenden wird eine Lesart dieses Modells vorgeschlagen, in der das Hauptaugenmerk nicht auf der mehr oder weniger erfolgreichen Erziehung des Prinzen Friedrich, sondern auf der Opposition von Hohenzollern und dem Prinzen liegt. In Brechts Fatzer‐Material (1927–32) wird diese Opposition in den Funktionär K(euner) und den Anarchisten Fatzer überführt. Müller versteht diese beiden Figuren als ein untrennbares Paar Keuner±Fatzer (1982). Kleists preußischer Traum ist trotz seiner historischen und ideologischen Distanz nicht weit vom Traum von einem besseren Deutschland entfernt, den Brecht und Müller träumten. Der Grund hierfür liegt in Kleists Einsicht, dass eine gewaltlose gegenseitige Anerkennung der Subjekte nicht möglich ist und dass ihr Konflikt nach dem ‘Homburg‐Modell’ dialektisch und performativ ausgetragen werden muss.
Changes in cognitive‐emotional and physiological symptoms of depression following STN‐DBS for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Strutt A. M. , Simpson R. , Jankovic J. , York M. K.
Published: June 2011

Background and purpose:  Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN‐DBS) has been shown to have beneficial effects on the motor features of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but its impact on non‐motor symptoms, most notably mood, has not been fully explored.

Methods:  In the first study to independently compare the emotional‐cognitive and somatic/physiological symptoms of depression, we examined mood differences in 17 bilateral STN‐DBS and 22 matched non‐surgical PD patients at baseline and 6 months.

Results:  The STN‐DBS group reported higher levels of depression at baseline with significant endorsement of physical symptomatology. Postoperatively, no significant between‐group differences in physical symptoms of depression were found. In contrast, a significant group by time interaction for cognitive‐emotional symptoms of depression was found, with the STN‐DBS group reporting an increase in psychological symptoms of distress. The STN‐DBS group also reported an increase in anxiety following surgery. The suicide rate of 5% found in our study is consistent with other postoperative studies in PD. The impact of changes in levodopa and psychotropic medication are also explored.

Conclusions:  Preliminary results suggest that the motor improvement often observed in patients with PD following bilateral STN‐DBS may be partially offset by an increase in affective‐cognitive symptoms of depression.
The impact of political violence on psychosocial functioning of individuals and families: the case of palestinian adolescents
Authors: Al‐Krenawi Alean , Graham John R.
Published: June 2011

Background:  The impact of political violence on the psychosocial functioning of adolescents and their families was compared for surveyed populations from two regions of Palestine.

Method:  A randomly‐selected sample of 971 adolescents (521 from the West Bank and 450 from the Gaza Strip regions, 42% male/57% female) completed scales measuring traumatic event, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), peer relations, mental health, aggression, and family functioning.

Results:  (1) West Bank participants reported a significantly higher level of exposure to political violence and significantly more aggression, mental health symptoms, problems in family and social functioning; (2) Participants exposed to greater political violence reported higher levels of depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, and PTSD; (3) Economic status and level of parental education were related to reduced levels of mental health symptoms and greater family functioning; (4) There were gendered differences.

Conclusions:  The study provides a starting point to begin to compare the experiences and outcomes between Palestinian adolescents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a basis for considering implications for service delivery and policy makers concerned with the well being of Palestinian communities.
Integrating carrier selection with supplier selection decisions to improve supply chain security
Authors: Meixell Mary J. , Norbis Mario
Published: June 2011

Supply chain security is a major concern for logistics managers who have responsibility for inbound and outbound shipments to and from both domestic and international locations. We propose here that logistics decisions concerning security in the supply chain will be made more effectively when made in concert with decisions in related supply chain processes, especially supplier and carrier selection. Indeed, managers may minimize cost, transit time, and security risk by integrating decision processes internally, as well as with their carrier's and supplier's operations. Thus, we account for both intra‐firm collaboration between logistics and purchasing managers, as well as inter‐firm collaboration among buyers, suppliers, and carriers in a supply chain. In this paper, we propose a decision process that features a set of security rules and a multi‐objective optimization model to accomplish this aim. We then provide an illustration to demonstrate the potential usefulness of these concepts in practice.
A systematic review of hepatitis C virus epidemiology in Asia, Australia and Egypt
Authors: Sievert William , Altraif Ibrahim , Razavi Homie A. , Abdo Ayman , Ahmed Ezzat Ali , AlOmair Ahmed , Amarapurkar Deepak , Chen Chien‐Hung , Dou Xiaoguang , El Khayat Hisham , elShazly Mohamed , Esmat Gamal , Guan Richard , Han Kwang‐Hyub , Koike Kazuhiko , Largen Angela , McCaughan Geoff , Mogawer Sherif , Monis Ali , Nawaz Arif , Piratvisuth Teerha , Sanai Faisal M. , Sharara Ala I. , Sibbel Scott , Sood Ajit , Suh Dong Jin , Wallace Carolyn , Young Kendra , Negro Francesco
Published: June 2011

Background: The hepatitis C pandemic has been systematically studied and characterized in North America and Europe, but this important public health problem has not received equivalent attention in other regions.

Aim: The objective of this systematic review was to characterize hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemiology in selected countries of Asia, Australia and Egypt, i.e. in a geographical area inhabited by over 40% of the global population.

Methodology: Data references were identified through indexed journals and non‐indexed sources. In this work, 7770 articles were reviewed and 690 were selected based on their relevance.

Results: We estimated that 49.3–64.0 million adults in Asia, Australia and Egypt are anti‐HCV positive. China alone has more HCV infections than all of Europe or the Americas. While most countries had prevalence rates from 1 to 2% we documented several with relatively high prevalence rates, including Egypt (15%), Pakistan (4.7%) and Taiwan (4.4%). Nosocomial infection, blood transfusion (before screening) and injection drug use were identified as common risk factors in the region. Genotype 1 was common in Australia, China, Taiwan and other countries in North Asia, while genotype 6 was found in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. In India and Pakistan genotype 3 was predominant, while genotype 4 was found in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Conclusion: We recommend implementation of surveillance systems to guide effective public health policy that may lead to the eventual curtailment of the spread of this pandemic infection.
Potential Barriers to Adherence in Pediatric Dermatology
Authors: Ellis Rachel M. , Koch Laine H. , McGuire Erin , Williams Judith V.
Published: June 2011

Abstract:  This study sought to identify barriers to treatment in children with chronic inflammatory skin disease, particularly those with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and acne vulgaris. Caregivers of 101 patients seen in the Children’s Specialty Group Division of Dermatology, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Norfolk, Virginia, completed an 11‐item Likert scale questionnaire. This survey addressed complexity and time requirements for treatment, medication cost, vehicle formulation, perceived safety, and caregiver understanding of chronicity of skin disorders. Parents and caregivers indicated that adequate instructions for using the medications were provided but that they felt less comfortable with treating their child’s skin disease during a severe flare. The complexity of treatment programs, time required to apply medications, and vehicle type were not considered prohibitive factors. Caregivers were concerned about the cost and safety of prescribed medications and had a less understanding of the chronicity of inflammatory skin disorders.
Does ERP Hands‐On Experience Help Students Learning Business Process Concepts?
Authors: Rienzo Thomas , Han Bernard
Published: June 2011

Over the past decade, more and more business schools are attempting to teach business processes (BPs) by using enterprise resource planning (ERP) software in their curricula. Currently, most studies involving ERP software in the academy have concentrated on learning and teaching via self‐assessment surveys or curriculum integration. This research extended previous studies by attempting to measure student knowledge acquisition of BP concepts (BPC) about two common BP cycles through hands‐on exercises using ERP software. Assessments of students’ knowledge about BP were conducted at multiple time points during the study. In addition, a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)‐based survey was employed to analyze student self‐assessment about improved understanding of BPs though ERP hands‐on exercises. Results from our empirical study indicated that there is no clear evidence that students’ knowledge about BPs significantly improved after experiencing ERP software. However, students’ self‐assessment showed that there is a positive relationship between their comprehension of BPs and hands‐on experience with ERP software. Our research findings concurred with previous research, and studies undertaken in other disciplines.
Structure of State‐Level Tax and Expenditure Limits
Authors: KIOKO SHARON N.
Published: June 2011

While much consideration has been given to the approval process, base classification, and codification of tax and expenditure limits (or TELs), these factors tell us nothing about how they actually work. This study focuses exclusively on the technical elements of these limits and finds how states estimate their limits have over time eroded their potency. More specifically, if a state resets or rebases its limit annually by using actual revenues or expenditures for the preceding year, the limit will trend closely with actual revenues or expenditures, effectively restricting growth in spending as prescribed by law. However, if the law requires a state to estimate its limit using the appropriation limit for the preceding year instead of actual revenues or expenditures, that is, without rebasing, the limit will reflect cumulative changes to the base when it was first approved. Over time, the TEL cap is significantly above the states revenues or expenditures as it remains unaffected by the state's underlying fiscal and economic environment.
Thermal Conductivity: I, Concepts of Measurement and Factors Affecting Thermal Conductivity of Ceramic Materials
Authors: KINGERY W. D. , McQUARRIE M. C.
Published: June 2011

The laws of heat flow and methods of measuring thermal conductivity are considered. The effects of crystalline nature, impurities, lattice imperfections, grain boundaries, porosity, mixtures, and temperature on thermal conductivity are discussed. There are insufficient reliable data to assess quantitatively the effect of most of these factors at present, particularly for elevated temperatures.
Thermal Conductivity: VII, Analysis of Variation of Conductivity with Temperature for Al2O3, BeO, and MgO
Authors: McQUARRIE MALCOLM
Published: June 2011

The results of previously published investigations into the thermal conductivities of alumina, magnesia, and beryllia by five different methods in different temperature ranges are summarized in the empirical equation k=A/(T− 125) + 8.5 × 10−36T10, where A= 16.2 for alumina, 18.8 for magnesia, and 55.4 for beryllia; the equation is valid (within about 10%) from room temperature to 1800°C. for alumina and magnesia and from 1000° to 1800°C. for beryllia. The departure from the reciprocal temperature law at the higher temperatures (represented by the second term in the equation) is believed to be due to an increase in the apparent conductivity by the passage of radiant energy through the translucent specimens.
Thermal Conductivity: X, Data for Several Pure Oxide Materials Corrected to Zero Porosity
Authors: KINGERY W. D. , FRANCL J. , COBLE R. L. , VASILOS T.
Published: June 2011

The thermal conductivities of several oxide ceramics have been measured. Data for fifteen pure oxides of theoretical density have been calculated. A table and plots of thermal conductivity from 100° to 1800°C. are included. The conductivity of the polycrystalline oxide materials measured varies from a factor of more than 100:1 at room temperature to about 10:1 above 1000°C.
Achieving treatment goals of reducing or maintaining body iron burden with deferasirox in patients with β‐thalassaemia: results from the ESCALATOR study
Authors: Taher Ali , Elalfy Mohsen S. , Al Zir Kusai , Daar Shahina , Al Jefri Abdullah , Habr Dany , Kriemler‐Krahn Ulrike , Roubert Bernard , El‐Beshlawy Amal
Published: June 2011

This analysis evaluated the effects of deferasirox on liver iron concentration in moderate and heavily iron‐overloaded patients with β‐thalassaemia from the ESCALATOR trial (n = 231). Mean liver iron concentrations (LIC) decreased significantly from 21.1 ± 8.2 to 14.2 ± 12.1 mg Fe/g dry weight (dw) at 2 yr (P < 0.001) in patients with LIC ≥7 mg Fe/g dw at baseline; patients with LIC <7 mg Fe/g dw maintained these levels over the treatment period. The proportion of patients with LIC <7 mg Fe/g dw increased from 9.4% at core baseline to 39.3% by the end of year 2. The results showed that deferasirox enabled therapeutic goals to be achieved, by maintaining LIC in patients with LIC <7 mg Fe/g dw at a mean dose of 22.4 ± 5.2 mg/kg/d and significantly reducing LIC in patients with LIC ≥7 mg Fe/g dw at a mean dose of 25.7 ± 4.2 mg/kg/d, along with a manageable safety profile.
Responsiveness and minimal important score differences in quality‐of‐life questionnaires: a comparison of the EORTC QLQ‐C30 cancer‐specific questionnaire to the generic utility questionnaires EQ‐5D and 15D in patients with multiple myeloma
Authors: Kvam Ann Kristin , Fayers Peter M. , Wisloff Finn
Published: June 2011

Objectives: The aims of this study were to (i) compare the responsiveness of the EORTC QLQ‐C30 cancer‐specific questionnaire and the generic questionnaires EQ‐5D and 15D used for economic evaluation of healthcare interventions and (ii) determine the minimal important differences (MIDs) in these questionnaires. The MID is the smallest change in a quality‐of‐life score considered important to patients.Methods: Between 2006 and 2008, 239 patients with multiple myeloma completed the questionnaires at inclusion (T1) and after 3 months (T2). At T2, patients were asked whether they had noticed any change in their quality of life. Responsiveness and MIDs were determined by mean score changes (T2–T1) for patients who, in the interview, stated they hadimproved, deteriorated, or wereunchanged.Responsiveness was also assessed using standardized response means. Wilcoxon tests for pair differences were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the changes.Results: Patients whoimprovedhad significantly (P < 0.01) higher scores at T2 in all three questionnaires. Patients whodeterioratedreported lower scores at T2; however, for the 15D, the differences in score were not statistically significant. The MIDs for the QLQ‐C30, EQ‐5D, and 15D were 8, 0.08, and 0.03 in patients whoimprovedand 12, 0.10 and 0.02 in patients whodeteriorated, respectively.Conclusions: All three questionnaires showed an acceptable responsiveness in patients whoimproved. However, the 15D did not respond optimally in patients whodeteriorateand cannot be recommended for use in patients with myeloma.
A novel mutation in the OFD1 (Cxorf5) gene may contribute to oral phenotype in patients with oral‐facial‐digital syndrome type 1
Authors: Diz P , Álvarez‐Iglesias V , Feijoo JF , Limeres J , Seoane J , Tomás I , Carracedo A
Published: June 2011

Oral Diseases (2011) 17, 610–614

Background:  Oral‐facial‐digital syndrome (OFDS) type 1 (OFD1) is an X‐linked dominant condition associated with embryonic male lethality. It almost always affects the oral cavity, face, and digits. It is considered to be a ciliopathy caused by mutations in the OFD1 gene. A variety of mutations have been described, and a genotype–phenotype correlation has been suggested.

Objective and Methods:  The proband was an 8‐year‐old Spanish girl with suspected OFD1. We extended the pedigree to three proband’s generations, performing a thorough physical examination and screening for OFD1 mutations in nine individuals.

Results:  The proband, her mother, and her sister showed oral findings consistent with OFD1. Ultrasound evaluation revealed the existence of renal cysts only in the proband’s mother. The rest of the family (all male) had no relevant morphological abnormalities. A single‐base deletion in exon 16 of OFD1 (c.2183delG) leading to a frameshift was detected in the proband, her mother, and her sister.

Conclusion:  Because all three women had a similar oral phenotype, this new mutation might be involved in the development of the OFD1 oral manifestations. In cases of OFDS, physical examination (including the oral cavity and renal function) and genetic screening of the probands and their relatives are mandatory.
Diabetes affects statherin expression in human labial glands
Authors: Isola M , Lantini MS , Solinas P , Diana M , Isola R , Loy F , Cossu M
Published: June 2011

Oral Diseases (2011) 17, 685–689

Background and Objective:  Salivary statherin, which plays a special role in the defense of tooth integrity, is secreted by both major and minor salivary glands. A significantly reduced expression of this was recently found in human major salivary glands removed from diabetic subjects and was correlated with the high incidence of dental diseases occurring in patients with diabetes. In this study, we measured the density of gold particles indicating statherin immunoreactivity in labial glands to reveal a significant difference between diabetic and non‐diabetic patients.

Materials and Methods:  Surgical samples of labial glands obtained from both diabetic and non‐diabetic patients were fixed with a glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde mixture, embedded in Epon, and treated for immunogold histochemistry using a polyclonal antibody specific for statherin.

Results:  Statherin immunoreactivity was detected onto small vesicles diffused throughout the cytoplasm of serous cells. Statistical analysis revealed that the number of stained particles was significantly lower in the samples from diabetic subjects than from non‐diabetic subjects.

Conclusions:  The results indicate that diabetes affects statherin secretion in labial glands and support the hypothesis that the increased susceptibility to oral diseases associated with diabetes could be related with a reduced statherin secretion.
Functional splicing assay of DSPP mutations in hereditary dentin defects
Authors: Lee K‐E , Lee S‐K , Jung S‐E , Lee ZH , Kim J‐W
Published: June 2011

Oral Diseases (2011) 17, 690–695

Objective:  Dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) gene mutations have been identified in isolated hereditary dentin defects; however, the genotype–phenotype correlations are poorly understood. We performed in vitro splicing assays to test the hypothesis that DSPP mutations in splice junctions as well as proposed missense/nonsense mutations experimentally result in aberrant pre‐mRNA splicing.

Materials and methods:  The genomic fragment of the human DSPP gene was cloned into the pSPL3 splicing vector, and previously reported as well as informative de novo mutations were then introduced by PCR mutagenesis. The COS‐7 cells were transfected with each plasmid vector, and total RNA was isolated. RT‐PCR result was analyzed, and the band intensity of the product was calibrated using ImageJ.

Results:  The predictions by others of exon 3 skipping in specific DSPP mutations have been validated and a cryptic splicing donor site has been identified. However, the degree of mutational effect on pre‐mRNA splicing varied considerably depending on the changed nucleotide.

Conclusions:  The predictions of exon 3 skipping in specific DSPP mutations have been validated, and a cryptic splicing donor site has been identified. Our data may provide insight into the contribution of DSPP mutations in the pathogenesis and genotype–phenotype correlations of hereditary dentin defects.
Novel suppression mechanism operating in early phase of adipogenesis by positive feedback loop for enhancement of cyclooxygenase‐2 expression through prostaglandin F2α receptor mediated activation of MEK/ERK‐CREB cascade
Authors: Ueno Toshiyuki , Fujimori Ko
Published: June 2011

Prostaglandin (PG) F2α suppresses adipocyte differentiation by inhibiting the function of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ. In this study, we identified a novel suppression mechanism, operating in the early phase of adipogenesis, that increased the production of anti‐adipogenic PGF2α and PGE2 by enhancing cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 expression through the PGF2α‐activated FP receptor/extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase (ERK)/cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) cascade. COX‐2 expression was enhanced with a peak at 1 h for the mRNA level and at 3 h for the protein level after the addition of Fluprostenol, an FP receptor agonist. The Fluprostenol‐derived elevation of COX‐2 expression was suppressed by the co‐treatment with an FP receptor antagonist, AL8810, with a mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MEK; ERK kinase) inhibitor, PD98059. ERK was phosphorylated within 10 min after the addition of Fluprostenol, and its phosphorylation was inhibited by the co‐treatment with AL8810 or PD98059. Moreover, FP receptor mediated activation of the MEK/ERK cascade and COX‐2 expression increased the production of PGF2α and PGE2. An FP receptor antagonist and each inhibitor for MEK and COX‐2 suppressed the PGF2α‐derived induction of synthesis of these PGs. Furthermore, promoter‐luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that PGF2α‐derived COX‐2 expression was activated through binding of CREB to the promoter region of the COX‐2 gene in 3T3‐L1 cells. These results indicate that PGF2α suppresses the progression of the early phase of adipogenesis by enhancing the binding of CREB to the COX‐2 promoter via FP receptor activated MEK/ERK cascade. Thus, PGF2α forms a positive feedback loop that coordinately suppresses the early phase of adipogenesis through the increased production of anti‐adipogenic PGF2α and PGE2.
Molecular basis of glyphosate resistance – different approaches through protein engineering
Authors: Pollegioni Loredano , Schonbrunn Ernst , Siehl Daniel
Published: June 2011

Glyphosate (N‐phosphonomethyl‐glycine) is the most widely used herbicide in the world: glyphosate‐based formulations exhibit broad‐spectrum herbicidal activity with minimal human and environmental toxicity. The extraordinary success of this simple, small molecule is mainly attributable to the high specificity of glyphosate for the plant enzyme enolpyruvyl shikimate‐3‐phosphate synthase in the shikimate pathway, leading to the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids. Starting in 1996, transgenic glyphosate‐resistant plants were introduced, thus allowing application of the herbicide to the crop (post‐emergence) to remove emerged weeds without crop damage. This review focuses on mechanisms of resistance to glyphosate as obtained through natural diversity, the gene‐shuffling approach to molecular evolution, and a rational, structure‐based approach to protein engineering. In addition, we offer a rationale for the means by which the modifications made have had their intended effect.
New developments in protein structure–function analysis by MS and use of hydrogen–deuterium exchange microfluidics
Authors: Landreh Michael , Astorga‐Wells Juan , Johansson Jan , Bergman Tomas , Jörnvall Hans
Published: June 2011

The study of protein structure and function has evolved to become a leading discipline in the biophysical sciences. Although it is not yet possible to determine 3D protein structures from MS data alone, multiple MS‐based techniques can be combined to obtain structural and functional data that are complementary to classical protein structure information obtained from NMR or X‐ray crystallography. Monitoring gas‐phase interactions of noncovalent complexes yields information on binding constants, complex stability, and the nature of interactions. Ion mobility MS and chemical crosslinking strategies can be applied to probe the architecture of macromolecular assemblies and protein–ligand complexes. MS analysis of hydrogen–deuterium exchange can be used to determine the localization of secondary structure elements, binding sites and conformational dynamics of proteins in solution. This minireview focuses first on new strategies that combine these techniques to gain insights into protein structure and function. Using one such strategy, we then demonstrate how a novel hydrogen–deuterium exchange microfluidics tool can be used online with an ESI mass spectrometer to monitor regional accessibility in a peptide, as exemplified with amyloid‐β peptide 1–40.
USE OF A CONTROLLED CHLORINE DIOXIDE (CLO2) RELEASE SYSTEM IN COMBINATION WITH MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING (MAP) TO CONTROL THE GROWTH OF PATHOGENS
Authors: SHIN JOONGMIN , HARTE BRUCE , SELKE SUSAN , LEE YOUNSUK
Published: June 2011

Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes are major bacterial pathogens associated with poultry products. A controlled released ClO2 sachet applied with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) was evaluated for its ability to control the growth of S. Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes on raw chicken breast during refrigerated storage. The fresh chicken samples were inoculated with one or the other of the pathogens at 104 cfu/g, and the packages (with and without ClO2 sachet) were flushed with ambient air or 30% CO2/70% N2 before sealing, and then stored at 4C for up to 21 days. The maximum reduction in MAP plus ClO2 (compared with MAP alone) was 0.68 log cfu/g for S. Typhimurium and 1.87 log cfu/g for L. monocytogenes. Color and pH changes of the chicken breast were observed at 8 µg/h of ClO2 during the storage period.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

We think that the results of the study with the combined treatment of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) and modified atmosphere packaging may enhance the effectiveness of antimicrobials, reduce the amount of agent needed, and decrease the risk of off‐flavors. The applications of the results will be useful for poultry industry to give the significant improvement in shelf life for packaged fresh products.