bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gem #22
Authors: Dewar Robert , Fofanov Vasiliy , Gasperoni Franco , Zhang Yang
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #22 --- Ada speaks many languages. How many? All those languages that you can write with a computer keyboard. Read on to learn about this Ada gem.
Gem #27
Authors: Dewar Robert
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #27 --- Part 1, Automatic Representation Changes.
Gem #30
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

This week's gem is the introduction to John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of this page you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet. We hope you will enjoy the read!
Gem #31
Authors: Dewar Robert
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #31 --- The notion of preconditions and postconditions is an old one. A precondition is a condition that must be true before a section of code is executed, and a postcondition is a condition that must be true after the section of code is executed.
Gem #34
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

This week's gem is the second chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet. We hope you will enjoy the read!
Gem #36
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

This week's gem is the third chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet. We hope you will enjoy the read!
Gem #37
Authors: Rogers Pat
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #37 --- Part 1 of this Gem briefly introduced bounded buffers, protected types, and the declaration of the generic package GNAT. Bounded_Buffers, exporting protected type Bounded_Buffer. In Part 2 of the Gem we examine the private part of Bounded_Buffer and the implementations of the protected entries and functions.
Gem #39
Authors: Rogers Pat
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #39 --- Reading and writing values from/to streams is easy with Ada's "stream attributes" but for some array types the default attribute implementations could be made more efficient. In this Gem we show how the user can define these more efficient implementations.
Gem #40
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

This week's gem is the fifth chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet. We hope you will enjoy the read!
Gem #41
Authors: Fernández-Marina Ramón
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #41 --- Ada 2005 brings a number of improvements concerning access types, aimed at simplifying the programmer's task and adding flexibility to the language. But with greater power comes greater responsibility, so accessibility checks have also been extended to prevent these new features from creating dangling pointers.
Gem #43
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

Welcome back the Ada Gems series! We hope you had a great summer.

Gem #43 is the seventh chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet.
Gem #45
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

Gem #45 is the eighth chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet.
Gem #46
Authors: Dewar Robert
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #46 --- Part 1, Unconstrained arrays in generics.
Gem #47
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

Gem #47 is the ninth chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet.
Gem #48
Authors: Ochem Quentin
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #48 --- Ada 2005 introduced the notion of interfaces for designing object classes. While interfaces are extremely convenient for implementing new hierarchies, they can be difficult to extend once they've started to be used. The addition of a new primitive can break all type derivations, as a type has to implement all abstract primitives inherited from its parents. In this Gem, we'll see two ways to overcome this problem, one OOP-generic, and one specific to Ada 2005.
Gem #49
Authors: Barnes John
Published: May 2009

Gem #49 is the tenth chapter of John Barnes' new booklet: Safe and Secure Software: An Introduction to Ada 2005.

Over the coming months, we will be publishing all thirteen chapters of the booklet. In the attachment at the bottom of Gem #30 you can access the contents and bibliography for the entire booklet.
Gem #50
Authors: Duff Bob
Published: May 2009

Ada Gem #50 --- This Gem discusses some language-design issues related to overload resolution.
A physiological increase in the hepatic glycogen level does not affect the response of net hepatic glucose uptake to insulin
Authors: Winnick Jason J. , An Zhibo , Moore Mary Courtney , Ramnanan Christopher J. , Farmer Ben , Shiota Masakazu , Cherrington Alan D.
Published: May 2009

To determine the effect of an acute increase in hepatic glycogen on net hepatic glucose uptake (NHGU) and disposition in response to insulin in vivo, studies were performed on two groups of dogs fasted 18 h. During the first 4 h of the study, somatostatin was infused peripherally, while insulin and glucagon were replaced intraportally in basal amounts. Hyperglycemia was brought about by glucose infusion, and either saline ( n = 7) or fructose ( n = 7; to stimulate NHGU and glycogen deposition) was infused intraportally. A 2-h control period then followed, during which the portal fructose and saline infusions were stopped, allowing NHGU and glycogen deposition in the fructose-infused animals to return to rates similar to those of the animals that received the saline infusion. This was followed by a 2-h experimental period, during which hyperglycemia was continued but insulin infusion was increased fourfold in both groups. During the initial 4-h glycogen loading period, NHGU averaged 1.18 ± 0.27 and 5.55 ± 0.53 mg·kg−1·min−1 and glycogen synthesis averaged 0.72 ± 0.24 and 3.98 ± 0.57 mg·kg−1·min−1 in the saline and fructose groups, respectively ( P < 0.05). During the 2-h hyperinsulinemic period, NHGU rose from 1.5 ± 0.4 and 0.9 ± 0.2 to 3.1 ± 0.6 and 2.5 ± 0.5 mg·kg−1·min−1 in the saline and fructose groups, respectively, a change of 1.6 mg·kg−1·min−1 in both groups despite a significantly greater liver glycogen level in the fructose-infused group. Likewise, the metabolic fate of the extracted glucose (glycogen, lactate, or carbon dioxide) was not different between groups. These data indicate that an acute physiological increase in the hepatic glycogen content does not alter liver glucose uptake and storage under hyperglycemic/hyperinsulinemic conditions in the dog.
Epidermal growth factor receptor cross-talks with ligand-occupied estrogen receptor-α to modulate both lactotroph proliferation and prolactin gene expression
Authors: Chen Shenglin , Bangaru Madhavi Latha Yadav , Sneade Leighton , Dunckley Joseph A. , Ben-Jonathan Nira , Kansra Sanjay
Published: May 2009

Both estrogen (E2) and EGF regulate lactotrophs, and we recently demonstrated that EGF phosphorylates S118 on estrogen receptor-α (ERα) and requires ERα to stimulate prolactin (PRL) release. However, the interactions between ligand-occupied ERα and activated ErbB1 and its impact on lactotroph function are unknown. Using rat GH3 lactotrophs, we found that both E2 and EGF independently stimulated proliferation and PRL gene expression. Furthermore, their combination resulted in an enhanced stimulatory effect on both cell proliferation and PRL gene expression. Inhibitors of ER as well as ErbB1 blocked the combined effects of E2 and EGF. Pretreatment with UO126 abolished the combined effects, demonstrating Erk1/2 requirement. Although bidirectionality in ER-ErbB1 cross-talk is a well-accepted paradigm, interestingly in lactotrophs, ErbB1 kinase inhibitor failed to block the effect of E2 on proliferation and stimulation of PRL gene expression, suggesting that ER does not require ErbB1 to mediate its effects. Furthermore, E2 did not affect the ability of EGF to induce c-Fos expression or modulate AP-1 activity. However, both E2 and EGF combine to enhance S118 phosphorylation of ERα, leading to enhanced E2-mediated estrogen response element transactivation. Taken together, our results suggest that, in lactotrophs, activated ErbB1 phosphorylates ERα to enhance the stimulatory effect of E2, thereby providing the molecular basis by which EGF amplifies the response of E2.
Cardioprotective effect of adiponectin is partially mediated by its AMPK-independent antinitrative action
Authors: Wang Yajing , Tao Ling , Yuan Yuexin , Lau Wayne Bond , Li Rong , Lopez Bernard L. , Christopher Theodore A. , Tian Rong , Ma Xin-Liang
Published: May 2009

Adiponectin (APN) exerts its metabolic regulation largely through AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK). However, the role of AMPK in APN's antiapoptotic effect in ischemic-reperfused (I/R) adult cardiomyocytes remains incompletely understood. The present study was designed to determine the involvement of AMPK in the antiapoptotic signaling of APN. Cardiomyocytes from adult male mice overexpressing a dominant-negative α2-subunit of AMPK (AMPK-DN) or wild-type (WT) littermates were subjected to simulated I/R (SI/R) and pretreated with 2 μg/ml globular domain of APN (gAPN) or vehicle. SI/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis was modestly increased in AMPK-DN cardiomyocytes ( P < 0.05). Treatment with gAPN significantly reduced SI/R-induced apoptosis in WT cardiomyocytes as well as in AMPK-DN cardiomyocytes, indicating that the antiapoptotic effect of gAPN is partially AMPK independent. Furthermore, gAPN-induced endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation was significantly reduced in AMPK-DN cardiomyocytes, suggesting that the APN-eNOS signaling axis is impaired in AMPK-DN cardiomyocytes. Additional experiments demonstrated that treatment of AMPK-DN cardiomyocytes with gAPN reduced SI/R-induced NADPH oxidase overexpression, decreased superoxide generation, and blocked peroxynitrite formation to the same extent as that observed in WT cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our present study demonstrated that although the metabolic and eNOS activation effect of APN is largely mediated by AMPK, the superoxide-suppressing effect of APN is not mediated by AMPK, and this AMPK-independent antioxidant property of APN increased nitric oxide bioavailability and exerted significant antiapoptotic effect.
Plasma membrane depolarization as a determinant of the first phase of insulin secretion
Authors: Hatlapatka K. , Willenborg M. , Rustenbeck I.
Published: May 2009

The role of plasma membrane depolarization as a determinant of the initial phase of insulin secretion was investigated. NMRI mouse islets and β-cells were used to measure the kinetics of insulin secretion, ATP and ADP content, membrane potential, and cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). The depolarization of metabolically intact β-cells by KCl corresponded closely to the theoretical values. In contrast to physiological (glucose) or pharmacological (tolbutamide) ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel block, KCl depolarization did not induce action potential spiking. The depolarization by 15 mM K+ (21 mV) corresponded to the plateau depolarization by 50 or 500 μM tolbutamide; that by 40 mM K+ (41 mV) corresponded to the action potential peaks. Nifedipine and diazoxide abolished action potentials but not KCl depolarization, suggesting that the depolarizing strength of 15, but not 40 mM K+ corresponds to that of KATP channel closure. K+ (40 mM) induced a massive secretory response in the presence of 5 mM glucose, whereas 15 mM K+, like 50 μM tolbutamide, was only slightly effective, even though a marked increase in [Ca2+]i was produced. Raising glucose from 5 to 10 mM in the continued presence of 15 mM K+ resulted in a strongly enhanced biphasic response. The depolarization pattern of this combination could be mimicked by combining basal glucose with 15 mM K+ and 50 μM tolbutamide; however, the secretory response to these nonnutrients was much weaker. In conclusion, the initial secretory response to nutrient secretagogues is largely influenced by signaling mechanisms that do not involve depolarization.
Percutaneous Curettage and Continuous Irrigation for MRSA Lumbar Spondylodiscitis: A Report of Three Cases
Authors: Yamagami Yoshiki , Shibuya Sei , Komatsubara Satoshi , Yamamoto Tetsuji , Arima Nobuo
Published: May 2009

There has been a recent increase in pyogenic spondylitis caused by methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) associated with an increasing number of compromised patients. As long as serious paralysis is absent, we recommend percutaneous curettage and continuous irrigation as an effective treatment for MRSA lumbar spondylodiscitis. Under local anesthesia, the affected lumbar discs were curetted using percutaneous nucleotomy, and tubes were placed for continuous irrigation. The period of continuous irrigation was generally 2 weeks. Infection was controlled after one procedure in two cases and after two procedures in one case. Postoperative radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed callus formation, normalized signal intensity in vertebral bodies, and regression of abscesses. Open surgery under general anesthesia has been considered risky in patients with poor performance status or old age. The present method, which is an application of needle biopsy, can be performed under local anesthesia and is minimally invasive.
Changes in Glutamate/NMDA Receptor Subunit 1 Expression in Rat Brain after Acute and Subacute Exposure to Methamphetamine
Authors: Kerdsan Walailuk , Thanoi Samur , Nudmamud-Thanoi Sutisa
Published: May 2009

Methamphetamine (METH) is a psychostimulant drug of abuse that produces long‐term behavioral changes including behavioral sensitization, tolerance, and dependence. METH has been reported to induce neurotoxic effects in several areas of the brain via the dopaminergic system. Changes of dopamine function can induce malfunction of the glutamatergic system. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of METH administration on the expression of glutamate N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor subunit 1 (NMDAR1) in frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampal formation after acute and subacute exposure to METH by western blotting. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 8 mg/kg METH, 4 mg/kg/day METH for 14 days and saline in acute, subacute, and control groups, respectively. A significant increase in NMDAR1 immunoreactive protein was found in frontal cortex in the subacute group (P = .036) but not in the acute group (P = .580). Moreover, a significant increase in NMDAR1 was also observed in striatum in both acute (P = .025) and subacute groups (P = .023). However, no significant differences in NMDAR1 in hippocampal formation were observed in either acute or subacute group. The results suggest that an upregulation of NMDA receptor expression may be a consequence of glutamatergic dysfunction induced by METH.
Lipoma of the Uterine Corpus: Exceptional Eventuality Combined with an Ovarian Thecoma
Authors: Vilallonga R. , García A. , Castellví J. , Fort J. M. , Armengol M. , y Cajal S. Ramón
Published: May 2009

Uterine lipomas are very uncommon with symptoms that are similar to leiomyomas. Their diagnosis is always histological although some radiological methods may suggest their existence prior to surgery. They are sometimes associated with endometrial pathology, but there are no previous reported cases related to ovarian thecoma. Their prognosis is excellent. Clinical, radiological, morphologic, and immunohistochemical findings are shown which correspond to uterine lipoma associated with endometrial polyps and ovarian thecoma.
Severe Anaphylaxis to Volplex, a Colloid Solution during Cesarean Section: A Case Report and Review
Authors: Karri K. , Raghavan R. , Shahid J.
Published: May 2009

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening event that can occur anytime during pregnancy. It has been reported following administration of various substances with adverse maternal and neonatal consequences. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intrapartum collapse. We encountered a case of severe anaphylactic reaction following a routine cesarean section. It is very important that all members of the perinatal team are aware of early recognition and management of anaphylactic reaction. We think that it is important to highlight this as a further case report of severe anaphylactic reaction to a colloid solution and discuss the pathophysiology and management.
Clinical Evaluation of Subcutaneous Lactate Measurement in Patients after Major Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Ellmerer Martin , Haluzik Martin , Blaha Jan , Kremen Jaromir , Svacina Stepan , Plasnik Andreas , Ikeoka Dimas , Bodenlenz Manfred , Schaupp Lukas , Plank Johannes , Pieber Thomas R.
Published: May 2009

Minimally invasive techniques to access subcutaneous adipose tissue for glucose monitoring are successfully applied in type1 diabetic and critically ill patients. During critical illness, the addition of a lactate sensor might enhance prognosis and early intervention. Our objective was to evaluate SAT as a site for lactate measurement in critically ill patients. In 40 patients after major cardiac surgery, arterial blood and SAT microdialysis samples were taken in hourly intervals. Lactate concentrations from SAT were prospectively calibrated to arterial blood. Analysis was based on comparison of absolute lactate concentrations (arterial blood vs. SAT) and on a 6‐hour lactate trend analysis, to test whether changes of arterial lactate can be described by SAT lactate. Correlation between lactate readings from arterial blood vs. SAT was highly significant (r2 = 0.71, P < .001). Nevertheless, 42% of SAT lactate readings and 35% of the SAT lactate trends were not comparable to arterial blood. When a 6‐hour stabilization period after catheter insertion was introduced, 5.5% of SAT readings and 41.6% of the SAT lactate trends remained incomparable to arterial blood. In conclusion, replacement of arterial blood lactate measurements by readings from SAT is associated with a substantial shortcoming in clinical predictability in patients after major cardiac surgery.
Comparative Study of the Morphology of the Ovipositor ofPlatygaster diplosisae(Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae) andAprostocetus procerae(Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) Two Parasitoids Associated with the African Rice Gall Midge,Orseolia oryzivora(Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)
Authors: Nacro Souleymane , Nénon Jean-Pierre
Published: May 2009

We studied the morphology of the ovipositor ofPlatygaster diplosisae(Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae) andAprostocetus procerae(=Tetrastichus pachydiplosisae) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), two parasitoids associated with the African rice gall midge (AFRGM), andOrseolia oryzivora(Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Scanning electron microscope techniques were used for this study. The ovipositor ofP. diplosisaewas short (40 μm), and most of the sensillae found on it were mechanoreceptors and located on the distal portion of the 3rd valvulae. These sensillae may be involved in selection of an egg or larval host. The shortness of this ovipositor may be an adaptation to a host whose egg envelope thickness is not more than 0.7 μm. The ovipositor ofA. proceraewas 30 times (1.2 mm) the length of theP. diplosisaeovipositor. It was not only well equipped with mechanoreceptive sensillae, but these sensillae were very diverse and distributed along the length of the valvulae. The 10 denticulations of the lancet of this ovipositor allow this parasitoid to exploit hosts that are not otherwise readily accesible. These two parasitoids share the same resource by infesting different life stages of the host. The ovipositor of each species of parasitoid enhanced resource sharing, due to its length and its sensillae type and distribution.
Analysis of Rubberized Concrete as a Three-phase Composite Material
Authors: Topçu Ilker Bekir , Bilir Turhan
Published: May 2009

Concrete is generally known as a two-phase composite material containing cement matrix and aggregate particles. The effect of transition zone between aggregates and cement paste on compressive strength is well known for traditional concrete but its effect on modulus of elasticity is not yet obvious. İn this study, it is aimed to apply composite material rules on estimating modulus of elasticity of rubberized concrete. İn experimental study, some cylindrical specimens are produced by using waste tire rubber aggregate (RA). RAs replace traditional sand at 15, 30, and 45% ratios by volume. Modulus of elasticity of concrete is determined by conducting experimental test. Hashin—Shtrikman (H—S) bounds are applied and it is attempted to determine whether rubberized concrete match the interval between H—S bounds or not. Consequently, it is indicated that analysis of rubberized concrete as a two-phase material is not corrected by using H—S bounds and it should be considered as a three-phase composite material. İt is also pointed out that transition zone must be considered as the third phase.
Balancing between Fold-crack Resistance and Stiffness
Authors: Alam Parvez , Toivakka Martti , Carlsson Roger , Salminen Pekka , Sandås Stefan
Published: May 2009

This article is a summary of computational research conducted to assess the relationship between fold-crack resistance and bending stiffness in coated papers. Though this article is based on theoretical research, an experimental pilot coating program was undertaken in conjunction with the modeling. The objective of the computational work was to suggest ways in which coated paper could be optimized to maximize fold-crack resistance as well as bending stiffness, both of which are inversely related. Models were developed to calculate the bending stiffness, to predict the onset of failure, and based on this prediction, to calculate the residual load-carrying capacity of coated paper composites. Optimization of the coated paper composite was taken as a function of the number of coating layers used, the individual layer thickness, and the mechanical properties of the coating layers during both tension and compression. Simulations were conducted for single-, double-, and triple-coated papers keeping the properties and dimensions of the base paper substrate constant throughout. But the elastic moduli of the coatings were varied independently, though failure stress values were kept constant in order to vary the strain to failure stress and stiffness simultaneously. The optimal coating lay-up as per the hypothesis was a triple coating comprising of a thin, stiff inner coating layer; a thick, low-stiffness middle coating; and a thin, low-stiffness outer coating. The hypothesis was confirmed by the pilot coating trials.
Human Resource Management at Oceatic Airways
Authors: Butt Arif N. , Hemani Shezeen , Rashid Yasar
Published: May 2009

This case study describes the journey of Oceatic Airways from a monopolistic environment, showing remarkable profitability, to a point where local and international competition stiffens and operational inefficiencies lead to a significant plunge in company profits. The main concerns for the newly appointed chairman are to revive the company in order to recover the huge losses, and to prepare the organization to meet the challenges of globalization and stiffer competition. The top management of Oceatic Airways now has to focus on overhauling the company's Human Resource System in order to build sustainable capacity, improve productivity and service quality, and integrate different HR areas, including recruitment, job description, training, performance appraisal and promotion to achieve organizational goals. The issue requires urgent attention since time is of utmost importance, wherein the overall company performance is deteriorating and the fuel costs are expected to rise, making the situation even worse.
The Constitutional Revolution That Never Was: Democratic Radicalism and the Sinn Féin Movement
Authors: Kissane Bill
Published: May 2009

It has become conventional wisdom that the Irish rejection of British rule between 1916 and 1922 did not involve a rejection of the British system of government, known as the Westminster model. This article challenges that assumption by uncovering a tradition of radical thinking about representative democracy from the radical newspaper and pamphlet literature of the preindependence era. This literature suggests that the crisis of constitutionalism that emerged in Ireland during the First World War was preceded by a pervasive critique of the British system of government, with its roots in a wider crisis of British liberalism. This crisis became more profound in Ireland when the Asquith government accepted partition in principle. The 1922 constitution thus had a radical pedigree obscured by later constitutional scholarship. The final section of the essay discusses why this radical impulse failed.
Can There Be a Subaltern Middle Class? Notes on African American and Dalit History
Authors: Pandey Gyanendra
Published: May 2009

Focusing on specific assemblages that have historically been seen as communities of lower-class and underclass individuals and families, this essay examines the history of members of these “communities” who come to inhabit not the positions of the down-and-out, where they allegedly belong, but those of the more comfortable, educated, professional middle classes. It asks what the history of the struggles of these subaltern middle classes tells us about the limits of the middle-class idea and about the conditions necessary for the consolidation of particular groups as middle-class, modern, and unmarked.
“It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp... with... a Whole Lot of Bitches Jumpin' Ship”: Navigating Black Politics in the Wake of Katrina
Authors: Ralph Michael
Published: May 2009

If not quite in these words, some scholars and activists who have promoted a social movement based on the civil rights movement have implied that their project is undermined by “a whole lot of bitches jumpin' ship,” while few bother to question whether and to what extent that movement provides the best strategy for liberation. Fewer still have solicited insight from populations that—instead of mere cowardice or sheer apathy—might possess a social critique that could provide the basis for a reinvigorated post–civil rights political project. In the spirit of developing the critical stance that might attend to this mission, this essay considers the relationship among oratory, textuality, and gendered authority by discussing how The Covenant with Black America is strategically deployed (though its contents are scarcely discussed) during the 2006 State of the Black Union political performance and exploring the spellbinding power of masculine leadership in Hustle and Flow, where the labor of an entire household is required to produce a male rapper as an icon of fame whose lyrical talent propels him into the spotlight. I consider these two episodes against the political backdrop of 2005–6, defined primarily by the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina, which intensified longing for a black leader who could quell the crisis. Revisiting this event helps me track efforts to recuperate a male leader that conform to popular ideas about how social movements proceed but which ignore the need for different perspectives in any political project that will succeed in undoing persistent inequalities—and that refuse to question whether and to what extent civil rights frontiership provides the default strategy for a political project designed to empower African Americans and other oppressed constituencies.
To Buy or Not to Be: Trespassing the Gated Community
Authors: Monterescu Daniel
Published: May 2009

The emergence of gated communities in Israel/Palestine signals new modes of urban exclusion, which reshape previous forms of spatial distinction. Focusing on the ethnically “mixed town” of Jaffa, where an unprecedented number of such gated communities have been constructed in the past decade, this article interrogates the modus operandi of the Andromeda Hill project and Palestinian resistance to it. Conceptualized as a neoliberal mode of ethnogentrification, this gated community attempts to achieve the impossible task of positioning itself both within and without local lived space and inhabited time. Operating as a neo-orientalist simulacrum, such projects subvert, spatially and semiotically, the standard logic of urban representation and modernistic notions of segregation. The concept of spatial heteronomy is proposed to address such dialectic strategies of spatial orientationality—circumventing the contested local urban space and projected onto a mythological plane of Mediterranean fantasy.
Miki Kiyoshi and the Shōwa Kenkyūkai: The Failure of World History
Authors: Harrington Lewis E.
Published: May 2009

This essay examines the relation between some of the journalistic writings of Japanese philosopher Miki Kiyoshi (1897-1945) and his participation in Prime Minister Prince Konoe Fumimaro's “brain trust,” the Shōwa Kenkyūkai (Shōwa Research Association), which is often thought to have provided some of the intellectual foundation for the ideology of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. A brief intellectual biography of Miki and an examination of the founding and organization of the Shōwa Kenkyūkai are included, in addition to a close reading of some of Miki's journalism about China and the manifesto Principles of Thought for a New Japan.

I argue that with Miki's participation in the Shōwa Kenkyūkai and the production of its “world-historical answer” in the form of its signature concept of cooperativism (kyōdōshugi) there occurs a sudden shift away from the rhetorical strategies and lack of epistemological confidence that characterized his journalistic writings of 1935-40. Prior to Principles of Thought for a New Japan, Miki used a rhetorical strategy of conditionals arguing that unless new principles of universal validity were created, it would be impossible to solve Japan's domestic and international problems. During this prior period of Miki's “world-historical questions,” he never offered any suggestions as to what these new universally valid principles might be and worked with a questioning attitude marked by extreme epistemological doubt. In addition to his use of “only if, then... ” conditionals, Miki frequently offered a sustained criticism of virtually everything for being abstract and lacking dialectical mediation, negation, and sublation. Miki was especially critical of advocates of the “Japanese spirit” and so-called Japanists who assumed that Japanese culture already possessed a universal validity capable of solving Japan's problems and winning over the Chinese to the side of Japanese imperialism. However, one must be careful not to mistake Miki's privileging of universalism over particularism or his attempts to theorize a putatively inclusive and difference-respecting multicultural and multiethnic Japanese empire, which were indeed the ideological foundations of the East Asian Community (Tōa kyōdōtai), as radical gestures of resistance to the Japanese empire, as frequently occurs. For regardless of Miki's intentions, the effect of his oppositional rhetorical strategy in his journalism was firmly on the side of renovating and hence strengthening the imperialist Japanese state. While the Shōwa Kenkyūkai is often regarded as a failure, its apparently empty concept of cooperativism nonetheless contributed to the justification of imperialist violence throughout East Asia.
On the Brink of Universality: German Cosmopolitanism in Japanese Imperialism
Authors: Kim John Namjun
Published: May 2009

This contribution examines how the Kyoto School philosopher Miki Kiyoshi sought to justify Japanese imperialism as a project in “cosmopolitan liberation” in his anonymously authored treatise The Principles of Thought for a New Japan. It traces how Miki adopted and critiqued Immanuel Kant's political philosophy and theory of subjectivity and argues that he unwittingly moved toward a view that he explicitly rejected, Hegelian cultural universality. Miki attempted to justify Japanese imperialism through a logic of cultural mediation by which the cultures of East Asia were to be mediated—or, more plainly, subjugated—by the putative “nothingness” of Japanese culture. However, by denying a positive essence to Japanese culture, Miki merely inverts the Hegelian narrative of European cultural development as arising out of “being,” or “Spirit.” This article shows that a logical slippage arises in his argument in which Japan, as ostensibly the most mediated modern culture, becomes the site for all cultural mediation without undergoing further mediation by its East Asian colonies. This logic of mediation masks Japanese colonial violence in the form of a transhistorical philosophical argument. This article concludes by arguing that Miki's logic of mediation is the operative principle underlying contemporary multiethnic imperialist projects, such as that of the United States.
Imperial Nationalism and the Comparative Perspective
Authors: Sakai Naoki
Published: May 2009

The transpacific relationship between the United States and Japan has been analyzed, discussed, and diagnosed ever since the U.S. occupation of Japan. Despite the variety and wealth of scholarship on this topic, however, the dearth of comparative studies with respect to fascistic and imperialistic formations in the two countries is striking. This article investigates the formation of Japanese area studies in the United States in view of transpacific complicity between the United States and Japan and considers how certain aspects of Japanese imperial nationalism had to be overlooked in the post-World War II politics of knowledge.

Three authors are singled out for the three periods in the history of Japanese area studies: Robert N. Bellah for the 1960s, James W. Heisig and John Maraldo for the 1980s, and Kevin M. Doak for the 2000s. In no way can these authors claim to be representative of the main tenets covering the entirety of the discipline, but their works show the continuing but increasingly aging fantasies of scholars in the field of Japan. Their scholarly works were shaped by the binary framework of universalism (the West) and particularism (the “Rest”). They were apparently guided by the scholars' desire to project the distinction of the West from the Rest, but most importantly they were designed to deny complicit mutuality between Japan's past and the United States' progressive imperial nationalisms. In an indirect manner they testify to the fact that the discipline of area studies cannot be synthesized with that of American studies—Asian American studies, for instance—because some topics essential for the latter, such as racism, colonial guilt, and the traces of imperialism, have scarcely been addressed in the former.

What is at stake in this article is to assess to what extent the comparison of U.S. and Japanese nationalisms would slacken the disciplinary exclusivity of area studies and transform its mode of knowledge production. The essay is a prelude to a transpacific study in which our historical inquiry will put the United States and East Asia in a continuous field of inquiry.
Information architecture of a telecare system
Authors: Collinge William H , Liu Kecheng
Published: May 2009

An information architecture is a high-level, conceptual design for a system which describes the fundamental requirements and principles of a system, and details its essential elements and characteristics. I conducted a comprehensive review of published literature on telecare, including government reports and case study papers. This enabled a complete picture to be constructed of telecare system components. The components can be divided into four separate categories: human components, ICT components, telecare operational units and supportive elements. The system requirements cover functional, non-functional and informational requirements. Telecare holds great potential for all sectors of society. Its true value may only be realised when the nature of information within the telecare system is fully understood. The thorough analysis, manipulation and usage of system data are the key to the future success of telecare services.
A comparison of telesonography with standard ultrasound care in a rural Dominican clinic
Authors: Sutherland James Eric , Sutphin H Dean , Rawlins Fred , Redican Kerry , Burton John
Published: May 2009

We compared telesonography to usual patient care in a rural clinic in the Dominican Republic. A total of 108 low-income Dominican and Haitian patients volunteered to participate. The patients were randomly assigned to either telesonography or control groups. Patients in the telesonography group were scanned and sonographic images and Request for Interpretation (RFI) forms were sent by email to six volunteer radiologists in the USA. Completed RFI forms were transmitted back to the clinic at the radiologists' earliest convenience. Patients in the control group received an ordinary ultrasound referral, which required travel to a tertiary medical centre where their scans were completed by a local sonographer. Sonographic reports from the control group were hand delivered to the referring physician at patient follow-up. The telesonography system provided a four-fold increase in the proportion of patient follow-ups and a six-fold increase in the proportion of returned radiological reports. In the telemedicine group, the median total elapsed time from referral to report return was 17.8 h (interquartile range, IQR 12.2–27.1) and the median time to patient follow-up was 67.1 h (IQR 45.9–113.7). The latter was similar in the control group, where the median total elapsed time was 76.7 h (IQR 65.8–144.7). The pilot study demonstrated that store-and-forward telesonography reduced time to diagnosis and increased the continuity of care compared to the usual ultrasound referral system in the region of the Dominican Republic which was studied.
Telehospice: reasons for slow adoption in home hospice care
Authors: Whitten Pamela , Holtz Bree , Meyer Emily , Nazione Samantha
Published: May 2009

We investigated why hospice nurses were slow to adopt videophones to care for their patients. We used the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model and the organizational readiness for change (ORC) assessment via interviews and focus groups with hospice staff. Twenty-five hospice employees participated. Eighteen (72%) were in clinical positions and seven were in non-clinical positions (28%). Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported no videophone training, despite the fact that every employee had received training. Only four staff members actually used a videophone with patients. The respondents overwhelmingly stated that they had the organizational resources necessary to use the videophone and that it was easy to operate. Despite initial enthusiasm, leaders in the hospice agency did not endorse the videophones for work, nor offer incentives for using the videophones or providing them to patients. It is important to note that videophone technology is not meant to replace face-to-face visits, but to supplement them and to provide an additional tool for the nurses.
Validation of home telehealth for pressure ulcer assessment: a study in patients with spinal cord injury
Authors: Hill Michelle L , Cronkite Ruth C , Ota Doug T , Yao Elisa C , Kiratli B Jenny
Published: May 2009

The reliability and validity of assessments and diagnoses made via home telehealth was measured in 42 patients with spinal cord injury. Two telehealth modalities were investigated: telephone-only contact and videoconferencing. The results were compared with a reference (gold-standard) method, the in-person assessment and diagnosis of skin integrity and pressure ulcers. The agreement on the presence of a pressure ulcer was excellent for both telephone and videoconferencing approaches (92% for telephone, 97% for videoconferencing). The diagnoses of the stage of pressure ulcer (on an ordinal scale of 0–4) made via telephone and videoconferencing showed substantial to almost perfect agreement with the in-person diagnoses (Spearman's rho of 0.76 and 0.83, respectively). There was a tendency for the measurements of wound volume to be somewhat larger in the telephone and videoconferencing modalities compared to those made in-person. Bland-Altman plots showed that videoconferencing gave substantially narrower 95% limits of agreement. The findings of the study indicate that telephone contact can be a useful tool for identifying the presence of a pressure ulcer, but videoconferencing is required to obtain an evaluation reasonably close to that of a home visit.
Preliminary results from a telemedicine referral network for early diagnosis of sleep apnoea in sleep laboratories
Authors: Boehning Nikolaus , Blau Alexander , Kujumdshieva Borjana , Staubitz André , Boehning Wilfried
Published: May 2009

We conducted a feasibility study to find out whether a simple preliminary examination using telemedicine for diagnosis was sufficient to identify sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD). Night-time pulse oximetry recordings were made in normal home surroundings on patients suffering from sleep apnoea/SRBD by doctors with a range of non-specialist backgrounds. The readings were transmitted to the relevant sleep laboratory, examined and the results returned to the referring doctor. From 80 patients (aged 29 to 60 years), 58 complained about characteristic symptoms (snoring, daytime sleepiness); 33 of these patients showed additional symptoms of associated diseases. In eight patients associated diseases were found without any symptoms. The findings were compatible with SRBD in 58 cases (73%); 12 of these were asymptomatic patients. A total of 57 patients had to be referred to a sleep laboratory for differential diagnosis by full polysomnography. Of the 22 patients (28%) without pathological findings following pulse-oximetry, 12 were symptomatic. The system described here is suitable for the creation of referral networks and for the identification of patients from institutions not trained in sleep medicine, who would otherwise not have been referred for specific diagnosis to a sleep laboratory.
Pelvic vein reflux in female patients with varicose veins: comparison of incidence between a specialist private vein clinic and the vascular department of a National Health Service district general hospital
Authors: Marsh P , Holdstock J , Harrison C , Smith C , Price B A , Whiteley M S
Published: May 2009

Objectives

Mounting evidence suggests that pelvic vein reflux is an important contributing factor to recurrent varicose veins. We compared the incidence in our specialist private unit (Unit A) with that of a District General Hospital (Unit B).

Methods

Results of all female patient lower limb duplex ultrasound (LLDUS) and transvaginal pelvic ultrasound (TVUS) scans performed over a one-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with refluxing veins emanating from the abdomen or pelvis on LLDUS (non-saphenous reflux) routinely proceeded to TVUS in Unit A.

Results

In Unit A, non-saphenous reflux on LLDUS was present in 90–462 female patients (19.5%). In 81.1% of these, TVUS confirmed reflux in truncal pelvic veins (incidence 15.8%). In Unit B, non-saphenous reflux was present in 60–279 female patients (21.5%).

Conclusion

One in five women presenting with varicose veins have reflux of non-saphenous origin. This is the case in specialist and non-specialist units. One in six has associated pelvic vein reflux.
Liposarcoma of thigh presenting as deep venous thrombosis
Authors: Singh N K , Kolluri R
Published: May 2009

Objectives

To discuss the differential diagnosis of a case with leg swelling and pain with special emphasis on soft-tissue malignancy.

Methods

Symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of lower limb was treated with standard anticoagulants. In view of persistent symptoms for three months, repeat duplex venography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy were undertaken to uncover the underlying pathology.

Results

Imaging and biopsy revealed a 5 × 11 cm myxoid liposarcoma, adherent to the vein, that was the cause of her persistent symptoms despite anticoagulation, possibly by its local mass effect and also by its potential to create a thrombogenic milieu. Excision of the tumour led to symptom relief. A Medline search of English language papers was undertaken to review related literature.

Conclusion

The report highlights the importance of considering neo-plastic masses as differential in painful leg swelling. Diagnosis is made by a high index of suspicion in atypical cases and confirmed by follow-up duplex or MRI. Treatment involves surgical excision that provides symptom relief as well as avoids potential tumour extension.
Catheter-directed sclerotherapy
Authors: Parsi K
Published: May 2009

Background

Catheter directed sclerotherapy (CDS) involves the use of a long catheter to deliver a sclerosing agent into a target vessel (saphenous trunks or venous malformations) under ultrasound guidance.

Aims and Methods

This article reviews the history, current techniques and devices and the evidence as it relates to these procedures.

Results

CDS was developed to increase the safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy (UGS). With the advent of foam sclerosants and tumescent anaesthesia, the procedure has enjoyed a higher primary success rate. CDS has a better safety profile when compared with UGS with virtually no risk of intra-arterial injection or sclerosant extravasation. Compared with endovenous laser (EVLA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), CDS is a quicker procedure with less associated pain. Some balloon catheters, however, have been found to force the sclerosant down the perforators causing femoral vein occlusion. Based on the current level of evidence, no firm conclusion regarding the efficacy of CDS techniques can be drawn in comparison with EVLA or RFA, but the primary success rate is probably higher than the standard UGS.

Conclusion

CDS ensures a safe intraluminal delivery of the sclerosing agent into the trunk of the saphenous veins using a single access point. This procedure preceded EVLA and RFA, and remains a safe alternative for the treatment of saphenous incompetence and venous malformations.