bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computability and Logic
Authors: Boolos George S. , Burgess John P. , Jeffrey Richard C.
Published: June 2012

This fourth edition of one of the classic logic textbooks has been thoroughly revised by John Burgess. The aim is to increase the pedagogical value of the book for the core market of students of philosophy and for students of mathematics and computer science as well. This book has become a classic because of its accessibility to students without a mathematical background, and because it covers not simply the staple topics of an intermediate logic course such as Godel's Incompleteness Theorems, but also a large number of optional topics from Turing's theory of computability to Ramsey's theorem. John Burgess has now enhanced the book by adding a selection of problems at the end of each chapter, and by reorganising and rewriting chapters to make them more independent of each other and thus to increase the range of options available to instructors as to what to cover and what to defer.
The Philosophy and Politics of Bruno Bauer
Authors: Moggach Douglas
Published: June 2012

This is a comprehensive study in English of Bruno Bauer, a leading Hegelian philosopher of the 1840s. Inspired by the philosophy of Hegel, Bauer led an intellectual revolution that influenced Marx and shaped modern secular humanism. In the process he offered a republican alternative to liberalism and socialism, criticized religious and political conservatism and set out the terms for the development of modern mass and industrial society. Based on in-depth archival research this book traces the emergence of republican political thought in Germany before the revolutions of 1848. Professor Moggach examines Bauer's republicanism and his concept of infinite self-consciousness. He also explores the more disturbing aspects of Bauer's critique of modernity, such as his anti-Semitism. This book will be eagerly sought out by professionals in political philosophy, political science and intellectual history.
Demography in the Age of the Postmodern
Authors: Riley Nancy E. , McCarthy James
Published: June 2012

Demography has developed into a remarkably coherent field and now stands as a firmly established discipline with strong ties to policy-making agencies. However, in recent years there has been increasing recognition within demography of the limits of existing theories and methods, particularly its absence of a strong critical tradition and its isolation from recent theoretical developments in other social sciences. In this study, Nancy Riley and James McCarthy use the lens of postmodernism to structure a critical analysis of the field of demography. Paying particular attention to the fundamental epistemologies and methodologies that currently underlie the field, they explore how postmodern perspectives might serve to energize the field and how demography could be enhanced by the introduction of insights from other social sciences. Drawing on examples of new kinds of research in demography and related fields, this is an important new book that seeks to reinvigorate the field of demography.
An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development
Authors: Beck Charles B.
Published: June 2012

An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development incorporates basic knowledge of plant anatomy with contemporary information and ideas about the development of structure and form. This textbook has been designed for undergraduates with a background in introductory botany or biology and basic knowledge of plant systematics and evolution. Descriptions of plant structure and development are integrated with discussions of the results from some of the most significant research on plant development. Topics include the integrative significance of plasmodesmata and the concept of the symplast, the concept of multicellularity, the role of cytoskeleton in development, signal transduction and the genetic control of development. Brief sections on evolution and function are also included. The book is profusely illustrated with line drawings and photographs, closely integrated with the text, which will enhance students' understanding, as will the comprehensive glossary. Extensive bibliographies provide the basis for in-depth study in major areas by students and researchers.
Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modeling
Authors: Jacobson Mark Z.
Published: June 2012

This well-received and comprehensive textbook on atmospheric processes and numerical methods has been thoroughly revised. This edition includes a wide range of new numerical techniques for solving problems in areas such as cloud microphysics, ocean-atmosphere exchange processes and atmospheric radiative properties. It also contains improved descriptions of atmospheric physics, dynamics, radiation, and aerosol and cloud processes. It is essential reading for researchers, scientists and advanced students to successfully study air pollution and meteorology.
River Variability and Complexity
Authors: Schumm Stanley A.
Published: June 2012

Rivers differ among themselves and through time. An individual river can vary significantly downstream, changing its dimensions and pattern dramatically over a short distance. If hydrology and hydraulics were the primary controls on the morphology and behaviour of large rivers, we would expect long reaches of rivers to maintain characteristic and relatively uniform morphologies. In fact, this is not the case - the variability of large rivers indicates that other important factors are involved. River Variability and Complexity presents an interesting approach to the understanding of river variability. It provides examples of river variability and explains the reasons for them, including fluvial response to human activities. Understanding the mechanisms of variability is important for geomorphologists, geologists, river engineers and sedimentologists as they attempt to interpret ancient fluvial deposits or anticipate river behaviour at different locations and through time. This book provides an excellent background for graduates, researchers and professionals.
Speech Physiology, Speech Perception, and Acoustic Phonetics
Authors: Lieberman Philip , Blumstein Sheila E.
Published: June 2012

This textbook has been carefully designed to provide a thorough introduction to the study of speech. It assumes no technical background, and students from the wide variety of disciplines contributing to this new and exciting field will find the exposition always accessible. Each chapter progresses from simple examples to more detailed discussions of recent primary research and concludes with problem sets which student's will find interesting and enlightening. All the topics that are essential for a basic understanding of the field are covered - the physiological, biological, and neurological bases of speech; the physics of sound; the source-filter theory of speech production; and the principles underlying electrical and computer models of speech production. All students, whatever their area of special interest speech therapy, phonological theory, psycholinguistics. neurolinguistics, anthropology, etc. - will discover in this text the challenge and fascination of the scientific study of speech. The authors undoubtedly succeed in their explicit aim: not only, to prepare students to evaluate critically the latest research, but also to encourage them to undertake their own research projects.
Mann: Doctor Faustus
Authors: Beddow Michael
Published: June 2012

In Doctor Faustus, his last major novel, Thomas Mann attempted to interpret and judge Germany's role in European culture and history since the Reformation. Through the figures of the solitary avant-garde composer, Adrian Leverkühn, and his often bemused biographer Serenus Zeitblom, Mann explores Germany's self-understanding and self-assertion. The novel intermingles fiction and history in a narrative that combines complex psychological analysis, virtuoso stylistic parody and vivid evocation of atmosphere and milieu. Michael Beddow analyses the structure of the plot and explores the significance of its chief historical, theological, psychological and musical themes. He considers Mann's understanding and modification of the Faust tradition, his thematic and formal indebtedness to Nietzsche and his interest in Adorno's neo-Marxism. The study concludes with an account of the work's generally hostile reception in defeated Germany.
Mathematical Theory of Domains
Authors: Stoltenberg-Hansen V. , Lindström I. , Griffor E. R.
Published: June 2012

Domain theory is an established part of theoretical computer science, used in giving semantics to programming languages and logics. In mathematics and logic it has also proved to be useful in the study of algorithms. This book is devoted to providing a unified and self-contained treatment of the subject. The theory is presented in a mathematically precise manner which nevertheless is accessible to mathematicians and computer scientists alike. The authors begin with the basic theory including domain equations, various domain representations and universal domains. They then proceed to more specialized topics such as effective and power domains, models of lambda-calculus and so on. In particular, the connections with ultrametric spaces and the Kleene–Kreisel continuous functionals are made precise. Consequently the text will be useful as an introductory textbook (earlier versions have been class-tested in Uppsala, Gothenburg, Passau, Munich and Swansea), or as a general reference for professionals in computer science and logic.
The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew
Authors: Luz Ulrich
Published: June 2012

Matthew's Gospel is the most significant Jewish-Christian document of the New Testament. For Matthew, the story of Jesus is the underlying tale of his own community, summoned from Israel by the living Jesus and now, following Israel's rejection, sent to the Gentiles. Matthew's Jesus story bears much the same relation to the Matthean community as does the Pentateuch to Israel, hence the profoundly Jewish basis of his theology. This book, first published in 1995, both outlines and elucidates the story told in Matthew's Gospel, emphasising its focal points: the Sermon on the Mount, the miracles, the renunciation of possessions and particularly the theology of judgement by works, an idea which represents both a challenge, in its quest for a church set apart from non-Christians by deeds alone, and a burden, through its traumatic origin in the breach between the Matthean community and the Israelite majority.
Integer Partitions
Authors: Andrews George E. , Eriksson Kimmo
Published: June 2012

The theory of integer partitions is a subject of enduring interest. A major research area in its own right, it has found numerous applications, and celebrated results such as the Rogers-Ramanujan identities make it a topic filled with the true romance of mathematics. The aim in this introductory textbook is to provide an accessible and wide ranging introduction to partitions, without requiring anything more of the reader than some familiarity with polynomials and infinite series. Many exercises are included, together with some solutions and helpful hints. The book has a short introduction followed by an initial chapter introducing Euler's famous theorem on partitions with odd parts and partitions with distinct parts. This is followed by chapters titled: Ferrers Graphs, The Rogers-Ramanujan Identities, Generating Functions, Formulas for Partition Functions, Gaussian Polynomials, Durfee Squares, Euler Refined, Plane Partitions, Growing Ferrers Boards, and Musings.
Partisan Families
Authors: Zuckerman Alan S. , Dasovic Josip , Fitzgerald Jennifer
Published: June 2012

People decide about political parties by taking into account the preferences, values, expectations, and perceptions of their family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. As most people live with others, members of their households influence each other's political decisions. How and what they think about politics and what they do are the outcomes of social processes. Applying varied statistical models to data from extensive German and British household surveys, this book shows that wives and husbands influence each other; young adults influence their parents, especially their mothers. Wives and mothers sit at the centre of households: their partisanship influences the partisanship of everyone else, and the others affect them. Politics in households interacts with competition among the political parties to sustain bounded partisanship. People ignore one of the major parties and vary their preference of its major rival over time. Election campaigns reinforce these choices.
Demystifying Legal Reasoning
Authors: Alexander Larry , Sherwin Emily
Published: June 2012

Demystifying Legal Reasoning defends the proposition that there are no special forms of reasoning peculiar to law. Legal decision makers engage in the same modes of reasoning that all actors use in deciding what to do: open-ended moral reasoning, empirical reasoning, and deduction from authoritative rules. This book addresses common law reasoning when prior judicial decisions determine the law, and interpretation of texts. In both areas, the popular view that legal decision makers practise special forms of reasoning is false.
Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages
Authors: Dyer Christopher
Published: June 2012

Between 1200 and 1520 medieval English society went through a series of upheavals: this was an age of war, pestilence and rebellion. This book explores the realities of life of the people who lived through those stirring times. It looks in turn at aristocrats, peasants, townsmen, wage-earners and paupers, and examines how they obtained their incomes and how they spent them. This revised edition (1998) includes a substantial new concluding chapter and an updated bibliography.
Ireland, 1912–1985
Authors: Lee Joseph J.
Published: June 2012

Ireland, 1912–1985 is the first study on this scale of Irish performance, North and South, in the twentieth century. Although stressing the primacy of politics in Irish public affairs, it argues that Irish politics must be understood in the broad context of economic, social, administrative, cultural and intellectual history. The book also explores fully the relationship between rhetoric and reality in the Irish mind, and sees political behaviour largely as a product of collective psychology. The 'Irish experience' is placed firmly in a comparative context. Therefore the book seeks to assess the relative importance of British influence and of indigenous impulses in shaping an independent Ireland, and to identify the relationship between personality and process in determining Irish history. Particularly close attention is paid to the role of individuals such as Eamon de Valera, Michael Collins, W. T. Cosgrove, Sir James Craig, J. J. McElligott, Sean Lemass, Terence O'Neill, and Ian Paisley, and to the limits within which even the most powerful personalities were forced to operate. This is by any standards a massive analytical study, of the first importance, which will become required reading by all who wish to deepen their understanding of the nature of modern Irish history and the way it has been shaped by the collective and individual personality.
Conflict and Compromise
Authors: Ransom Roger L.
Published: June 2012

No series of events has had a more dramatic impact on the course of American history than the Civil War and the emancipation of four million black slaves. In this book Professor Roger Ransom examines the economic and political factors that led to the attempt by Southerners to dissolve the Union in 1860, and the equally determined effort of Northerners to preserve it. Drawing on recent research in economic, political, and social history, Ransom argues that the system of capitalist slavery in the South not only 'caused' the Civil War by producing tensions that could not be resolved by compromise; it also played a crucial role in the outcome of that War by crippling the southern war effort at the same time that emancipation became a unifying issue for the North.
Marx: Early Political Writings
Authors: Marx Karl , Davis Richard A.
Published: June 2012

The political doctrine of Karl Marx is to be found in a broad range of both published and unpublished writings. This volume, the first of two which together span his entire output, presents his early texts of 1843–7, which predate the Communist Manifesto. excerpts from the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right and from the Paris Notebooks, Points on the State and Bourgeois Society and other writings are newly translated and arranged in a sequence that illuminates the development of Marx's thought, while the introduction discusses the intellectual context of the theories he constructed. A chronology of Marx's life and career and an annotated bibliography complete a volume which will be an invaluable guide to the formation of one of the most influential doctrines in the history of political thought.
Continuity, Chance and Change
Authors: Wrigley E. A.
Published: June 2012

The Industrial Revolution brought into being a distinct world, a world of greater affluence, longevity and mobility, an urban rather than a rural world. But the great surge of economic growth was balanced against severe constraints on the opportunities for expansion, revealing an intriguing paradox. This book, published to considerable critical acclaim, explores the paradox and attempts to provide a distinct model' of the changes that comprised the industrial revolution.
The French Revolution
Authors: Aftalion Florin
Published: June 2012

The economic history of revolutionary France is still a neglected area in studies of the Revolution of 1789. Whilst some attention has been given to the condition of the peasants, the urban working classes and the financial crisis of the Ancient Régime, there has been a general tendency to regard economic factors as external and somewhat peripheral to the truly political nature of the Revolution. This book is designed to redress the balance, providing a clear, accessible, and thought-provoking guide to the economic background to the French Revolution. Professor Aftalion analyses the policies followed by successive revolutionary assemblies, examining in detail taxation, the confiscation of church property, the assignats, and the siege economy of the Terror. He shows how decisions taken in 1789 by the Constituent Assembly inevitably led to a deepening financial and economic crisis, and to increasingly radical and disastrous policies. The study is important also for its exposure of many of the economic fallacies propounded both at the time by many Frenchmen and later by many modern historians.
Inside Lawyers' Ethics
Authors: Parker Christine , Evans Adrian
Published: June 2012

Legal ethics is often described as an oxymoron or contradiction in terms - lay people find the concept amusing and lawyers can find ethics impossible. The best lawyers are those who have come to grips with their own values and actively seek to improve their ethical practise. This book is designed to help law students and new lawyers understand and modify their own ethical priorities, not just because this knowledge makes it easier to practise law and earn an income, but because self-aware, ethical legal practice is right and feels better than anything else. Packed with case studies of ethical scandals and dilemmas from real life legal practice in Australia, each chapter delves into the most difficult issues lawyers face. From lawyers' part in corporate fraud to the ethics of time-based billing, Parker and Evans expose the values that underlie current practice and set out the alternatives ethical lawyers might follow.
Interpreting Figurative Meaning
Authors: Gibbs, Jr Raymond W. , Colston Herbert L.
Published: June 2012

Interpreting Figurative Meaning critically evaluates the recent empirical work from psycholinguistics and neuroscience examining the successes and difficulties associated with interpreting figurative language. There is now a huge, often contradictory literature on how people understand figures of speech. Gibbs and Colston argue that there may not be a single theory or model that adequately explains both the processes and products of figurative meaning experience. Experimental research may ultimately be unable to simply adjudicate between current models in psychology, linguistics and philosophy of how figurative meaning is interpreted. Alternatively, the authors advance a broad theoretical framework, motivated by ideas from 'dynamical systems theory', that describes the multiple, interacting influences which shape people's experiences of figurative meaning in discourse. This book details past research and theory, offers a critical assessment of this work and sets the stage for a new vision of figurative experience in human life.
Relative Zariski Open Objects
Authors: Marty Florian
Published: June 2012

In [TV], Bertrand Toën and Michel Vaquié define a scheme theory for a closed monoidal category (,⊗, 1) One of the key ingredients of this theory is the definition of a Zariski topology on the category of commutative monoidal objects in . The purpose of this article is to prove that under some hypotheses, Zariski open subobjects of affine schemes can be classified almost as in the usual case of rings (ℤ-mod,⊗,ℤ). The main result states that for any commutative monoidal object A in , the locale of Zariski open subobjects of the affine scheme Spec(A) is associated to a topological space whose points are prime ideals of A and whose open subsets are defined by the same formula as in rings. As a consequence, we can compare the notions of scheme over in [D] and in [TV].
KK-Theory and Spectral Flow in von Neumann Algebras
Authors: Kaad J. , Nest R. , Rennie A.
Published: June 2012

We present a definition of spectral flow for any norm closed idealJin any von Neumann algebraN.Given a path of selfadjoint operators inNwhich are invertible inN/J, the spectral flow produces a class inKo(J).

Given a semifinite spectral triple (A, H, D) relative to (N, τ) withAseparable, we construct a class [D] ∈KK1(A, K(N)). For a unitaryu∈A, the von Neumann spectral flow betweenDandu*Duis equal to the Kasparov product [u]A[D], and is simply related to the numerical spectral flow, and a refinedC*-spectral flow.
On the coupled time-harmonic motion of deep water and a freely floating body: trapped modes and uniqueness theorems
Authors: Kuznetsov Nikolay , Motygin Oleg
Published: June 2012

We investigate the time-harmonic small-amplitude motion of the mechanical system that consists of water and a body freely floating in it; water occupies a half-space, whereas the body is either surface-piercing or totally submerged. As a mathematical model of this coupled motion, we consider a spectral problem (the spectral parameter is the frequency of oscillations), for which the following results are obtained. The total energy of the water motion is finite and the equipartition of energy holds for the whole system. For any value of frequency, infinitely many eigensolutions are constructed and each of them consists of a non-trivial velocity potential and the zero vector describing the motion of the body; the latter means that trapping bodies (infinitely many of them are found) are motionless although they float freely. They are surface-piercing, have axisymmetric submerged parts and are obtained by virtue of the so-called semi-inverse procedure. We also prove that certain restrictions on the body geometry (which are violated for the constructed trapping bodies) guarantee that the problem has only a trivial solution for frequencies that are sufficiently large being measured in terms of a certain dimensionless quantity.
‘Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder’: Students With Chronic Illness Seeking Academic Continuity Through Interaction With Their Teachers at School
Authors: Wilkie Karina J.
Published: June 2012

Increasing numbers of young people experience disruption to their schooling owing to chronic illness. Absence from the day-to-day life of their school for prolonged or accumulative periods of time can erode their sense of belonging and create anxiety about falling behind academically. Maintaining positive connections to school can meet their desire for normalcy and realisable educational goals. Part of a project calledLink ‘n’ Learn, funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant (2008–2010), this in-depth qualitative case study of 22 participants — senior secondary students and their mathematics teachers — investigatedacademic continuity: students’ access to and utilisation of opportunities to learn effectively so that academic progress is made despite disruption to full-time schooling. The students experienced diverse types of chronic illness, medical interventions, and patterns of absence from school. They all sought to continue their school studies. Their teachers highlighted surprise, concern and discomfort related to students studying during serious illness, and school workload issues. Ambiguities about educational responsibility for students during absence were widespread. Teachers demonstrated hesitance to initiate contact with students, but students nevertheless expressed their desire for teachers to remain involved with them. Implications for the educational support of young people with chronic illness are presented.
Mast cells positive for cluster of differentiation 117 protein: are they players or conductor in the orchestra of cholesteatoma?
Authors: Calli A O , Sari A , Cakalagaoglu F , Altinboga A A , Calli C , Oncel S
Published: June 2012

Background:

The pathogenesis of cholesteatoma remains unclear, despite several theories. Alterations in the density of mast cells positive for cluster of differentiation 117 protein (also known as CD117) can be critical to cholesteatoma formation, due to the effect on keratinocyte growth factor production. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of these mast cells in cholesteatoma pathogenesis.

Methods:

The number and density of mast cells positive for cluster of differentiation 117 protein were immunohistochemically analysed in 52 patients: 22 with chronic otitis media alone (group one), 25 with chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (group two) and five controls.

Results:

The number of these mast cells was much higher in group two (in cholesteatoma matrix tissue) than in group one (in chronic otitis media granulation tissue) or the controls (in normal post-auricular skin). The density of these mast cells was significantly greater in group two than in group one or the controls (p < 0.05). The number and density of these mast cells was much greater in group one than in controls (p < 0.01).

Conclusion:

Mast cells positive for cluster of differentiation 117 protein could play a role in cholesteatoma formation. Further investigation of the role of these mast cells in cholesteatoma may suggest new ways of addressing this disorder, and may enable the development of targeted treatments.
Obstructive sleep apnoea in a case of thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma
Authors: See A X , Chua D Y K , Chan Y M , Goh C H K
Published: June 2012

Objectives:

To report a rare case of thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma which presented with obstructive sleep apnoea, and to highlight the difficulties in making this clinical diagnosis.

Method:

Case report and review of the English language literature concerning thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma.

Results:

Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma is a rare clinical entity found in only approximately 1 per cent of all patients operated upon for thyroglossal duct cyst. This condition usually presents in an identical manner to its benign counterpart; atypical presentations have not previously been reported. Our patient is the first reported case of a thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma first presenting with symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea, without a neck mass. Complete surgical excision with total thyroidectomy and lymph node clearance was performed, in view of the positive lymph node metastases (seen on imaging) and the need for post-operative radioiodine therapy.

Conclusion:

Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinomas may present atypically, posing a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician. For patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea, it is imperative that a thorough otolaryngological examination be performed to exclude any underlying pathology.
Moral Compromise
Authors: Archard David
Published: June 2012

A moral compromise is a compromise on moral matters; it is agreement in the face of moral disagreement but where there is agreement on the importance of consensus – namely that it secures a morally desirable outcome. It is distinguishable from other forms of agreement, and an important distinction between moral compromise with public agreement and moral compromise with public disagreement is also made. Circumstances in which the former might be permissible are outlined, and the sense in which it is allowed all things considered to agree is made clear. The relevant discussions of Dan Brock and Mary Warnock on the role of the philosopher to public policy are critically reviewed. Finally, a brief list is offered of the considerations relevant to an estimation of whether and, if so, when such compromise is allowed.
Evidence of recursion in tool use
Authors: Barceló-Coblijn Lluís , Gomila Antoni
Published: June 2012

We discuss the discovery of technologies involving knotted netting, such as textiles, basketry, and cordage, in the Upper Paleolithic. This evidence, in our view, suggests a new way of connecting toolmaking and syntactic structure in human evolution, because these technologies already exhibit an “infinite use of finite means,” which we take to constitute the key transition to human cognition.
Unique features of human movement control predicted by the leading joint hypothesis
Authors: Dounskaia Natalia
Published: June 2012

Vaesen suggests that motor control is not among the primary origins of the uniqueness of human tool use. However, recent findings show that cognitive processes involved in control of human limb movements may be much more sophisticated than it was believed previously. The sophistication of movement control may substantially contribute to the uniqueness of humans in tool use.
What exists in the environment that motivates the emergence, transmission, and sophistication of tool use?
Authors: Nonaka Tetsushi
Published: June 2012

In his attempt to find cognitive traits that set humans apart from nonhuman primates with respect to tool use, Vaesen overlooks the primacy of the environment toward the use of which behavior evolves. The occurrence of a particular behavior is a result of how that behavior has evolved in a complex and changing environment selected by a unique population.
The role of executive control in tool use
Authors: Stoet Gijsbert , Snyder Lawrence H.
Published: June 2012

Comparing cognitive functions between humans and nonhuman primates is helpful for understanding human tool use. We comment on the latest insights from comparative research on executive control functions. Based on our own work, we discuss how even a mental function in which non-human primates outperform humans might have played a key role in the development of tool use.
Neurocognitive anthropology: What are the options?
Authors: Vingerhoets Guy
Published: June 2012

Investigation of the cerebral organization of cognition in modern humans may serve as a tool for a better understanding of the evolutionary origins of our unique cognitive abilities. This commentary suggests three approaches that may serve this purpose: (1) cross-task neural overlap, referred to by Vaesen; but also (2) co-lateralization of asymmetric cognitive functions and (3) cross-functional (effective) connectivity.
So, are we the massively lucky species?
Authors: Penn Derek C. , Holyoak Keith J. , Povinelli Daniel J.
Published: June 2012

We are in vehement agreement with most of Vaesen's key claims. But Vaesen fails to consider or rebut the possibility that there are deep causal dependencies among the various cognitive traits he identifies as uniquely human. We argue that “higher-order relational reasoning” is one such linchpin trait in the evolution of human tool use, social intelligence, language, and culture.
Policy formulation, governance shifts and policy influence: location and content in policy advisory systems
Authors: Craft Jonathan , Howlett Michael
Published: June 2012

Most studies of policy formulation focus on the nature and kind of advice provided to decision-makers and think of this as originating from a system of interacting elements: a “policy advisory system”. Policy influence in such models has historically been viewed as based on considerations of the proximate location of policy advisors vis à vis the government, linked to related factors such as the extent to which governments are able to control sources of advice. While not explicitly stated, this approach typically presents the content of policy advice as either partisan “political” or administratively “technical” in nature. This article assesses the merits of these locational models against evidence of shifts in governance arrangements that have blurred both the inside vs outside and technical vs political dimensions of policy formulation environments. It argues that the growing plurality of advisory sources and the polycentrism associated with these governance shifts challenge the utility of both the implied content and locational dimensions of traditional models of policy advice systems. A revised approach is advanced that sees influence more as a product of content than location. The article concludes by raising several hypotheses for future research linking advisory system behaviour to governance arrangements.
Review of doctoral research in second language acquisition, language learning and teaching in Poland (2006–2010)
Authors: Droździał-Szelest Krystyna , Pawlak Mirosław
Published: June 2012

This paper reviews 25 doctoral dissertations on second language acquisition (SLA), English language learning and teaching submitted in Poland in the years 2006–2010. The theses were selected for review on the basis of the recommendations of Ph.D. supervisors from leading Polish universities and they are divided into six groups: learner autonomy, individual differences, language subsystems and skills, culture, assessment and miscellaneous. The dissertations are discussed with respect to their main findings as well as their strengths and weaknesses, and the paper concludes with an overall evaluation of the research in terms of its dominant themes and methodology.
Influence of carbon mapping and land change modelling on the prediction of carbon emissions from deforestation
Authors: GUTIERREZ-VELEZ VICTOR HUGO , PONTIUS ROBERT GILMORE
Published: June 2012

The implementation of an international programme for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) can help to mitigate climate change and bring numerous benefits to environmental conservation. Information on land change modelling and carbon mapping can contribute to quantify future carbon emissions from deforestation. However limitations in data availability and technical capabilities may constitute an obstacle for countries interested in participating in the REDD programme. This paper evaluates the influence of quantity and allocation of mapped carbon stocks and expected deforestation on the prediction of carbon emissions from deforestation. The paper introduces the conceptual space where quantity and allocation are involved in predicting carbon emissions, and then uses the concepts to predict carbon emissions in the Brazilian Amazon, using previously published information about carbon mapping and deforestation modelling. Results showed that variation in quantity of carbon among carbon maps was the most influential component of uncertainty, followed by quantity of predicted deforestation. Spatial allocation of carbon within carbon maps was less influential than quantity of carbon in the maps. For most of the carbon maps, spatial allocation of deforestation had a minor but variable effect on the prediction of carbon emissions relative to the other components. The influence of spatial carbon allocation reaches its maximum when 50% of the initial forest area is deforested. The method can be applied to other case studies to evaluate the interacting effects of quantity and allocation of carbon with future deforestation on the prediction of carbon emissions from deforestation.
Using in-situ techniques to probe high-temperature reactions: thermochemical cycles for the production of synthetic fuels from CO2 and water
Authors: Coker Eric N. , Rodriguez Mark A. , Ambrosini Andrea , Miller James E. , Stechel Ellen B.
Published: June 2012

Ferrites are promising materials for enabling solar-thermochemical cycles. Such cycles utilize solar-thermal energy to reduce the metal oxide, which is then re-oxidized by H2O or CO2, producing H2 or CO, respectively. Mixing ferrites with zirconia or yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) greatly improves their cyclabilities. In order to understand this system, we have studied the behavior of iron oxide/8YSZ (8 mol-% Y2O3 in ZrO2) using in situ X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analyses at temperatures up to 1500 °C and under controlled atmosphere. The solubility of iron oxide in 8YSZ measured by XRD at room temperature was 9.4 mol-% Fe. The solubility increased to at least 10.4 mol-% Fe when heated between 800 and 1000 °C under inert atmosphere. Furthermore iron was found to migrate in and out of the 8YSZ phase as the temperature and oxidation state of the iron changed. In samples containing >9.4 mol-% Fe, stepwise heating to 1400 °C under helium caused reduction of Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 to FeO. Exposure of the FeO-containing material to CO2 at 1100 °C re-oxidized FeO to Fe3O4 with evolution of CO. Thermogravimetric analysis during thermochemical cycling of materials with a range of iron contents showed that samples with mostly dissolved iron utilized a greater proportion of the iron atoms present than did samples possessing a greater fraction of un-dissolved iron oxides.
X-ray measurements of nanometer-thick tantalum oxide and hafnium oxide films on silicon substrates for thickness and composition determination
Authors: Cadieu F. J. , Vander I. , Rong Y. , Zuneska R. W.
Published: June 2012

The thicknesses and oxygen concentration of tantalum oxide (TaO) and hafnium oxide (HfO) films, prepared by magnetron sputtering Ta and Hf in oxygen onto heated silicon (100) substrates, were measured by three different techniques. The first method uses X-ray reflectivity, which yields a thickness value independent of the film composition. The second method uses the simultaneous measurement of Ta and Hf fluorescence counts. For these <200-nm-thick films there is very little matrix effect so that the Ta and Hf fluorescence counts are expected to, and are observed to, increase linearly with the film thickness. The third method uses the attenuation of the Si Kα X-ray line from the underlying Si excited by a glancing incident X-ray beam for measurement. The TaO and HfO films were observed to grow for the sputtering conditions employed, in an initial mode characterized by a high mass absorption times density product and then grow as characterized by a lower mass absorption times density product. This change over occurred for the HfO films, at a film thickness of 13 nm. The change over occurred for the TaO films at a film thickness of 23 nm. Pure Ta and Hf films were also made by magnetron sputtering from Ta and Hf targets in argon. All X-ray measurements, including the reflectivity measurements, were made, with the addition of an X-ray fluorescence detector, using a Panalytical MRD system.
Extended survival and re-hospitalisation among paediatric patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for primary cardiac dysfunction
Authors: Erwin Nicole , Zuk Jeannie , Kaufman Jon , Pan Zhaoxing , Carpenter Esther , Mitchell Max B. , da Cruz Eduardo M.
Published: June 2012

Background

Although survival to hospital discharge among children requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for medical and surgical cardio-circulatory failure has been reported in international registries, extended survival and re-hospitalisation rates have not been well described in the literature.

Material and methods

This is a single-institution, retrospective review of all paediatric patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for primary cardiac dysfunction over a 5-year period.

Results

A total of 74 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation runs in 68 patients were identified, with a median follow-up of 5.4 years from hospital discharge. Overall, 66% of patients were decannulated alive and 25 patients (37%) survived to discharge. There were three late deaths at 5 months, 20 months, and 6.8 years from discharge. Of the hospital survivors, 88% required re-hospitalisation, with 63% of re-admissions for cardiac indications. The median number of hospitalisations per patient per year was 0.62, with the first re-admission occurring at a mean time of 9 months after discharge from the index hospitalisation. In all, 38% of patients required further cardiac surgery.

Conclusions

Extended survival rates for paediatric hospital survivors of cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for medical and post-surgical indications are encouraging. However, re-hospitalisation within the first year following hospital discharge is common, and many patients require further cardiac surgery. Although re-admission hospital mortality is low, longer-term follow-up of quality-of-life indicators is required.
Digits vs. pictures: The influence of stimulus type on language switching
Authors: DECLERCK MATHIEU , KOCH IRING , PHILIPP ANDREA M.
Published: June 2012

Stimuli used in cued language switching studies typically consist of digits or pictures. However, the comparability between both stimulus types remains unclear. In the present study, we directly compared digit and picture naming in a German–English language switching experiment. Because digits represent a semantic group and contain many cognates, the experiment consisted of four conditions with different stimulus sets in each condition: digits, standard language switching pictures, pictures depicting cognates, and semantically-related pictures. Digit naming caused smaller switch costs than picture naming. The data suggest that this difference can be attributed to phonology. Both methodological and theoretical implications are discussed.
Phonetic equivalence in the acquisition of /l/ by Spanish–English bilingual children
Authors: BARLOW JESSICA A. , BRANSON PAIGE E. , NIP IGNATIUS S. B.
Published: June 2012

Spanish [l] is characterized as clear, and is associated with a high second formant (F2) frequency and a large difference between F2 and the first formant (F1) frequencies. In contrast, English [l] is darker (with a lower F2 and a relatively smaller F2–F1 difference) and also exhibits contextual variation due to an allophonic velarization rule that further darkens [l] postvocalically. We aimed to determine if Spanish–English bilingual children evidence these differences productively, in a manner comparable to that of monolinguals, or if they produce an [l] that is intermediate to that of Spanish and English monolinguals. We acoustically analyzed [l] productions of seven Spanish–English bilingual, seven Spanish monolingual, and seven English monolingual children. Results showed that the bilinguals had similar prevocalic F2 and F2–F1 values for [l] in both languages, comparable to those of Spanish monolinguals, but significantly higher than those of English monolinguals. The bilinguals also produced English (but not Spanish) [l] with significantly lower postvocalic F2 and F2–F1 values. We assume that the bilinguals have a merged phonetic category for prevocalic [l] but not postvocalic [l], and further, that they maintain separate grammars, allowing the allophonic velarization rule to apply in English but not Spanish.
Coffee consumption and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies
Authors: Li Guowei , Ma Defu , Zhang Yumei , Zheng Wei , Wang Peiyu
Published: June 2012

Objective

Separate meta-analyses based on case–control and cohort studies have reported different results on the relationship between coffee consumption and colorectal cancer risk. To clarify the effect of coffee intake on colorectal cancer risk, we performed a meta-analysis based on both case–control and cohort studies.

Design

Review study.

Setting

We identified case–control and cohort studies related to coffee consumption and colorectal cancer risk listed on MEDLINE, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, EMBASE, Science Citation Index and PubMed (until May 2011).

Subjects

Research literature on the relationship between coffee consumption and colorectal cancer risk.

Results

Twenty-five case–control (15 522 cases) and sixteen cohort studies (10 443 cases) were included in the meta-analysis. Comparing the highest v. the lowest/non category of coffee consumption, the combined results from case–control studies showed a significant relationship with colorectal cancer (OR = 0·85, 95 % CI 0·75, 0·97) and colon cancer (OR = 0·79, 95 % CI 0·67, 0·95), but not rectal cancer (OR = 0·95, 95 % CI 0·79, 1·15). For cohort studies, there was a slight suggestion of an inverse association with colorectal cancer (relative ratio = 0·94; 95 % CI 0·88, 1·01) and colon cancer (OR = 0·93, 95 % CI 0·86, 1·01), rather than rectal cancer (OR = 0·98, 95 % CI 0·88, 1·09). In subgroup analyses using case–control studies, significant inverse associations were found in females for colorectal cancer and in Europe for colorectal and colon cancer, while the subgroup analyses of cohort studies found that coffee drinks substantially decreased risk of colon cancer only in Asian women.

Conclusions

Results from case–control studies suggest coffee consumption can significantly decrease the risks of colorectal cancer and colon cancer, especially in Europe and for females.
Calcium Carbonate Mineralization: Involvement of Extracellular Polymeric Materials Isolated from Calcifying Bacteria
Authors: Ercole Claudia , Bozzelli Paola , Altieri Fabio , Cacchio Paola , Del Gallo Maddalena
Published: June 2012

This study highlights the role of specific outer bacterial structures, such as the glycocalix, in calcium carbonate crystallizationin vitro. We describe the formation of calcite crystals by extracellular polymeric materials, such as exopolysaccharides (EPS) and capsular polysaccharides (CPS) isolated fromBacillus firmusandNocardia calcarea. Organic matrices were isolated from calcifying bacteria grown on synthetic medium—in the presence or absence of calcium ions—and their effect on calcite precipitation was assessed. Scanning electron microscopy observations and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed that CPS and EPS fractions were involved in calcium carbonate precipitation, not only serving as nucleation sites but also through a direct role in crystal formation. The utilization of different synthetic media, with and without addition of calcium ions, influenced the biofilm production and protein profile of extracellular polymeric materials. Proteins of CPS fractions with a molecular mass between 25 and 70 kDa were overexpressed when calcium ions were present in the medium. This higher level of protein synthesis could be related to the active process of bioprecipitation.