bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): a comparison of drones and workers
Authors: Dinges Christopher W. , Avalos Arian , Abramson Charles I. , Craig David Philip Arthur , Austin Zoe M. , Varnon Christopher A. , Dal Fatima Nur , Giray Tugrul , Wells Harrington
Published: October 2013

Honey bees provide a model system to elucidate the relationship between sociality and complex behaviors within the same species, as females (workers) are highly social and males (drones) are more solitary. We report on aversive learning studies in drone and worker honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica) in escape, punishment and discriminative punishment situations. In all three experiments, a newly developed electric shock avoidance assay was used. The comparisons of expected and observed responses were performed with conventional statistical methods and a systematic randomization modeling approach called object oriented modeling. The escape experiment consisted of two measurements recorded in a master–yoked paradigm: frequency of response and latency to respond following administration of shock. Master individuals could terminate an unavoidable shock triggered by a decrementing 30 s timer by crossing the shuttlebox centerline following shock activation. Across all groups, there was large individual response variation. When assessing group response frequency and latency, master subjects performed better than yoked subjects for both workers and drones. In the punishment experiment, individuals were shocked upon entering the shock portion of a bilaterally wired shuttlebox. The shock portion was spatially static and unsignalled. Only workers effectively avoided the shock. The discriminative punishment experiment repeated the punishment experiment but included a counterbalanced blue and yellow background signal and the side of shock was manipulated. Drones correctly responded less than workers when shock was paired with blue. However, when shock was paired with yellow there was no observable difference between drones and workers.
Prognostic Significance of Metastasis-Related MicroRNAs in Early Breast Cancer Patients with a Long Follow-up
Authors: Markou Athina , Yousef George M , Stathopoulos Efstathios , Georgoulias Vassilis , Lianidou Evi
Published: October 2013

BACKGROUND

Stability of microRNAs (miRNAs) in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues enables their reliable analysis in archived FFPE tissue samples, which are an invaluable source for the evaluation of novel biomarkers. Especially in breast cancer, for which late relapses occur in many cases, analysis of miRNAs in FFPE tissues holds great potential, because it can lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers suitable for future routine clinical diagnostics for breast cancer. We investigated the prognostic significance of 6 metastasis-related miRNAs that can critically regulate various stages of migration and invasion and play critical roles in the multistep metastatic process.

METHODS

We quantified the expression of 6 mature miRNAs (namely miR-21, miR-205, miR-10b, miR-210, miR-335, and let-7a) by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR in FFPE tissues of 84 patients with early breast cancer and a long follow-up and 13 cancer-free breast tissue FFPE samples that were used as the control group. We further correlated individual miRNA over- or underexpression with the disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

Univariate analysis revealed that both miR-21 and miR-205 were significantly associated with DFI and only miR-205 with OS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that miR-205 and miR-21 were independent factors associated with early disease relapse, whereas only miR-205 overexpression was associated with OS.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results clearly indicate that deregulation of metastasis-associated miRNAs in primary tumors is associated with clinical outcome in patients with early breast cancer and can differentiate patients with higher risk in well-characterized subgroups.
CFL learners' productions of relative clauses with demonstratives: From theory to empirical research
Authors: Xu Yi
Published: October 2013

Relative clauses (RCs), with their typological universality and structural complexity, have always been central to inquiries in generative linguistics and language acquisition. Although recent years witness a growing interest in psycholinguistic and acquisition research in Chinese RCs, few studies have attempted to make connections between psycholinguistic theories and Chinese as a second language learning and teaching. This paper tries to bridge the gap and uses an interdisciplinary approach to address the comparative difficulty of Chinese subject and object RCs in their interaction with demonstratives. Chinese L1 and L2 participants completed a written sentence completion task. More productions in a certain type of RC, when observed in both participant groups, were interpreted as evidence of structural preference, and differences between L1 and L2 patterns were analyzed as competence issues. It was found that both groups prefer subject RCs when the structure begins with a demonstrative, and this result corresponds to corpus studies of Chinese RCs as well as findings in previous acquisition research. At the same time, there was no asymmetry between the subject and object RCs produced when the demonstrative follows the RC. A multi-constraint model in which a “perspective” factor (MacWhinney 1977, 1982, MacWhinney and Pleh 1988) and a word order factor simultaneously contribute to production cost can explain the data. Meanwhile, L2 participants' errors were often related to neglecting the obligatory gap within the RC. Pedagogical implications were put forward.
Acquiring the pitch patterns of L2 Mandarin Chinese
Authors: Yang Chunsheng
Published: October 2013

This study examines the acquisition of utterance-level pitch patterns in Mandarin Chinese by American second language (L2) learners. It is an exploratory study with the goal of identifying the utterance-level prosody in L2 Mandarin Chinese. The focus of this study is not on the pitch patterns of individual learners but those of subject groups. The analysis shows that the pitch patterns between two syntactic structures for the same tone sequence vary with the tone sequence and the subject group. The biggest difference between first language (L1) and L2 Mandarin Chinese lies in the frequency of target undershoot in L2 speech. The infrequent tone target undershoot in L2 speech, especially among the intermediate learners, was attributed to the incomplete acquisition of L2 prosody. It was argued that the infrequent tone target undershoot may render L2 speech more staccato or robot-like, which contributes to the perception of a foreign accent in L2 Mandarin Chinese.
从形容词看现代汉语词类系统的主要特征
Authors: 陈 刚
Published: October 2013

提要

跨语言的调查表明，和其他主要词类相比形容词的词类问题最为复杂。现代汉语形容词词类身份尚存较大争议。本文以名、动、形、副为词类研究框架，认为现代汉语的形容词是个柔性程度很高的词类，它与其他主要词类之间存在两种包含关系，即词类包含和功能包含，这些都为解释形容词的句法功能提供新的启示。此外，从名、动、形的重叠能力来看，汉语首先区分的是大名词和状词，而且这两者都具有指称性，因此汉语中体词和谓词的区别并不显得那么重要。
从修纳语音高看汉语声调偏误
Authors: Mushangwe Herbert
Published: October 2013

提要

本文通过实验对汉语与修纳语ߙ(Shona)ߙ的声调（音高）进行了对比分析，旨在为以修纳语为母语的汉语学习者及教师提供参考。对修纳语音高进行声学实验，结果发现，虽然汉语和修纳语的调类看起来有相似之处，但在调值上是不同的。本文还分析了以修纳语为母语者的声调偏误问题，并在此基础上简要地提出了汉语教学中应该重视的问题。我们认为，教师可以通过一些修纳语的词作为参照给学生解释汉语和修纳语的声调异同，从而使学生意识到自己的声调偏误及其出现的原因。除此之外，本文还建议，在汉语教学中可以使用praat软件为学生提供声调发音的图片，让学生通过图片上的调形直观地感觉到他们的与声调有关的发音问题。
Performance and Life Assessment of Reformer Tubes in Petrochemical Industries
Authors: Raj A. , Goswami B. , Kumar S.B. , Krishna G. , Roy N. , Ray A.K.
Published: October 2013

High temperature mechanical properties of service exposed reformer tubes are compared and revalidated with those of virgin material for the sake of health assessment studies. Technical interpretations of creep and stress rupture (accelerated creep) data usually are in close proximity in absence of defects. Results of extrapolation of accelerated creep data were optimized. This review article is aimed at studying life prediction methodology of reformer tubes operating at high temperature and aggressive chemical environment, in response to the designed time frame for preventing failures and accidents, even before stipulated design time schedules in some cases.
Security analysis of linearly filtered NLFSRs
Authors: Orumiehchiha Mohammad Ali , Pieprzyk Josef , Steinfeld Ron , Bartlett Harry
Published: October 2013

Non-linear feedback shift register (NLFSR) ciphers are cryptographic tools of choice of the
industry especially for mobile communication. Their attractive feature is a high efficiency when
implemented in hardware or software. However, the main problem of NLFSR ciphers
is that their security is still not well investigated.
The paper makes a progress in the study of the security of NLFSR ciphers.
In particular, we show a distinguishing attack on linearly filtered NLFSR (or LF-NLFSR) ciphers.
We extend the attack to a linear combination of
LF-NLFSRs.
We investigate the security of a modified version of the Grain stream cipher
and show its vulnerability to both
key recovery and distinguishing attacks.
Legal Issues in the Promotion of Microtrade: From the Perspective of International Economic Law
Authors: Lee Jaemin , Lee Y.S.
Published: October 2013

This article provides a legal analysis of microtrade from the perspective of international economic law with the introduction of the basic concept and the mechanism of microtrade. The article analyzes whether the proposed microtrade scheme complies with relevant rules of international trade under the GATT/WTO system. The article also discusses the facilitation of microtrade through government procurement in the context of Aid for Trade and examines the applicability of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, which has been recently amended, to microtrade with consideration to potential legal implications.
Fabrication and Characterization of Low-Cost, Large-Area Spray Deposited Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Films for Heterojunction Solar Cells
Authors: Das Sandip , Zavalla Kelvin J. , Mannan M. A. , Mandal Krishna C
Published: October 2013

Large-area Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited by low-cost spray pyrolysis technique on Mo-coated soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates at varied substrate temperatures of 563-703°K. Deposition conditions were optimized to obtain best quality films and effect of post deposition thermal processing of the as-deposited films under H2S ambient were investigated. Structural, morphological, and compositional characterization of as-deposited and H2S treated CZTS absorber layers were carried out by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX). Optical and electrical properties were measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy, van der Pauw, and Hall-effect measurements. Films grown at ∼360°C substrate temperature showed superior optoelectronic properties, improved stoichiometry and smoother morphology compared to films grown at much higher or lower temperatures. Film properties were significantly improved after the H2S processing. Our results show that large area high quality CZTS films can be fabricated by low-cost spray pyrolysis technique for high throughput commercial production of CZTS based heterojunction solar cells.
Point Contact Admittance Spectroscopy of Thin Film Solar Cells
Authors: Vasko Anthony , Wieland Kristopher , Karpov Victor
Published: October 2013

We present the new characterization technique of multi-dimensional admittance measurements. In standard admittance measurements, a semiconductor device is probed in the transverse dimension, between flat plate contacts. We extend such measurements to distributed, possibly non-uniform solar cells where one of the two contacts has very small (point-like) dimensions. As a result, both the real and displacement currents spread into lateral directions while flowing between the electrodes. Correspondingly, the probing electric field may result in contact voltages that are laterally not equipotential. The spatial voltage distribution will depend on the probing DC bias and AC frequency. The resulting measurement will give information about the system’s lump parameters, such as open circuit voltage, sheet and shunt resistances, as well as the presence and location of shunts. Understanding of the measurement is developed through intuitive and analytic models. Numerical models, utilizing finite element circuits, are used to verify the analytic results, and also may be directly compared to or used to fit experimental data. While our focus is on introducing the physical theory, early experimental results demonstrating spatial scaling are shown.
Electrical Properties of Photoconductor Using Ga2O3/CuGaSe2 Heterojunction
Authors: Kikuchi Kenji , Imura Shigeyuki , Miyakawa Kazunori , Kubota Misao , Ohta Eiji
Published: October 2013

The feasibility of using a photoconductor with a Ga2O3/CuGaSe2 heterojunction for visible light sensors was investigated. CIGS chalcopyrite semiconductors have both a high absorption coefficient and high quantum efficiency. However, their dark current is too high for image sensors. In this study, we applied gallium oxide (Ga2O3) as a hole-blocking layer for CIGS thin film to reduce the dark current. Experimental results showed that the dark current was drastically reduced, and an avalanche multiplication phenomenon was observed at an applied voltage of over 6 V. However, this structure had sensitivity only in the ultraviolet light region because its depletion region was almost completely spread in the Ga2O3 layer since the carrier density of the Ga2O3 layer was much lower than that of the CIGS layer. These results indicate that the Ga2O3/CuGaSe2 heterojunction has potential for use in visible light sensors but that we also need to increase the carrier density of the Ga2O3 layer to shift the depletion region to the CIGS film.
Air-stable solution processed Cu2ZnSn(Sx,Se(1-x))4 thin film solar cells: influence of ink precursors and preparation process
Authors: Lin Xianzhong , Kavalakkatt Jaison , Lux-Steiner Martha Ch. , Ennaoui Ahmed
Published: October 2013

Quaternary semiconductors, Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2ZnSnSe4 which contain only earth-abundant elements, have been considered as the alternative absorber layers to Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) for thin film solar cells although CIGS-based solar cells have achieved efficiencies over 20 %. In this work we report an air-stable route for preparation of Cu2ZnSn(Sx,Se(1-x))4 (CZTSSe) thin film absorbers by a solution process based on the binary and ternary chalcogenide nanoparticle precursors dispersed in organic solvents. The CZTSSe absorber layers were achieved by spin coating of the ink precursors followed by annealing under Ar/Se atmosphere at temperature up to 580°C. We have investigated the influence of the annealing temperature on the reduction or elimination of detrimental secondary phases. X-ray diffraction combined with Raman spectroscopy was utilized to better identify the secondary phases existing in the absorber layers. Solar cells were completed by chemical bath deposited CdS buffer layer followed by sputtered i-ZnO/ZnO: Al bi-layers and evaporated Ni/Al grids.
CuO and Cu2O Nanoparticles for Thin Film Photovoltaics
Authors: Flohre Jan , Nuys Maurice , Leidinger Christine , Köhler Florian , Carius Reinhard
Published: October 2013

Laser annealing experiments on commercially available phase pure tenorite (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) were performed in air and nitrogen atmosphere to improve the structural and electronic properties, with respect to their suitability for photovoltaic applications. The particles exhibit size variations from about 30 nm to 100 nm. The influence of the thermal treatment is investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. Annealing of the particles in air by a laser treatment improved the material quality by defect reduction. Additional laser annealing in N2 atmosphere leads to a phase transition of the NPs from tenorite to cuprite (Cu2O). Due to the low partial oxygen pressure, the transition is initiated at about 1/3 of the maximum laser power used for the series in air, which is indicated by a drastic increase of the band edge emission from Cu2O. However, annealing with higher laser power leads to strong defect luminescence, which originates from copper and oxygen vacancies. A weak remaining tenorite band edge emission shows an incomplete phase transition.
Impact of maximum copper content during the 3-stage process on CdS thickness tolerance in Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cell
Authors: Lepetit Thomas , Arzel Ludovic , Barreau Nicolas
Published: October 2013

The tolerance of photovoltaic performances of Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based (CIGSe) solar cells prepared from 3-stage grown absorbers to cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layer thickness was investigated. We focus on the influence of the maximum Cu content y = [Cu]/([In]+[Ga]) reached during the co-evaporation process on this tolerance. By increasing the duration of the 2nd stage we varied ymax from 0.93±0.11 up to 1.06±0.12. Although final Cu content and CIGSe surface morphology seem to be similar for all absorbers, the photovoltaic performance of cells with higher maximum Cu content are better; moreover they tolerate much thinner CdS buffers (down to 10 nm-thick) without open circuit voltage or fill factor loss. Cells with lower ymax exhibit more erratic performance and J(V,T) measurements show a specific voltage distribution for thin CdS. From these results it appears possible to decrease the CdS buffer layer thickness if it is deposited on adapted absorbers.
Characterization of Electron-Induced Defects in Cu (In, Ga) Se2 Thin-Film Solar Cells using Electroluminescence
Authors: Kawakita Shirou , Imaizumi Mitsuru , Ishizuka Shogo , Shibata Hajime , Niki Shigeru , Okuda Shuichi , Kusawake Hiroaki
Published: October 2013

CIGS solar cells were irradiated with 250 keV electrons, which can create only Cu-related defects in the cell, to reveal the radiation defect. The EL image of CIGS solar cells before electron irradiation at 120 K described small grains, thought to be those of the CIGS. After 250 keV electron irradiation of the CIGS cell, the cell was uniformly illuminated compared to before the electron irradiation and the observed grains were unclear. In addition, the EL intensity rose with increasing electron fluence, meaning the change in EL efficiency may be attributable to the decreased likelihood of non-irradiative recombination in intrinsic defects due to electron-induced defects. Since the light soaking effect for CIGS solar cells is reported the same phenomena, the 250 keV electron radiation effects for CIGS solar cells might be equivalent to the effect.
Low-temperature Photoluminescence Studies of CdTe Thin Films Deposited on CdS/ZnO/Glass Substrates
Authors: Rotaru Corneliu , Vatavu Sergiu , Merschjann Christoph , Ferekides Chris , Fedorov Vladimir , Tyborski Tobias , Caraman Mihail , Gaşin Petru , Lux-Steiner Martha Ch. , Rusu Marin
Published: October 2013

The CdTe photoluminescence spectra of CdTe/CdS/ZnO heterojunctions annealed in the presence of CdCl2 have been analyzed in the 4.7-100K temperature range. The analysis has been performed for laser excitation power between 0.01 mW and 30 mW. The analysis showed that the photoluminescence spectrum in the 1.1-1.6 eV region consists of a defect band (1.437 eV) having complex structure and revealing well contoured LO phonon replicas and bound exciton annihilation in the 1.587-1.593 eV region. The band analysis has been carried out by deconvoluting the spectra. It has been shown that the defect band consists of two elementary bands and their phonon replica. An “unusual” temperature dependence of the defect band has been found.
Incorporation of Sb, Bi, and Te Interlayers at the Mo/Cu-In-Ga Interface for the Reaction of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2
Authors: Kim Kihwan , Han Jaesung , Shafarman William N.
Published: October 2013

In this work, we investigate the effects of Sb, Bi, or Te interlayers at the Mo/Cu-In-Ga interface on the reaction to form Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 in order to control void formation and improve adhesion. Interlayers with 10 nm thickness were evaporated onto the Mo back contact prior to sputtering the metal precursors. CIGSS absorber layers were formed by a three-step H2Se/Ar/H2S reaction and solar cells were fabricated. The influences of each interlayer were characterized in the precursor and reacted films in terms of the density of the void formation, film structure and morphology, adhesion, and device performance.
Um modelo bayesiano para investigação de sobremortalidade durante epidemia de dengue na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2007-2008
Authors: Malhão Thainá Alves , Resende Camila Maria Casquilho , Gamerman Dani , Medronho Roberto de Andrade
Published: October 2013

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a ocorrência de sobremortalidade durante a epidemia de dengue ocorrida na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, entre 2007 e 2008. Para obter a predição dos óbitos desses anos epidêmicos, um modelo dinâmico Poisson foi ajustado aos dados de mortalidade por dengue e por doenças que fazem parte do seu diagnóstico diferencial. Toda a inferência foi realizada sob o paradigma bayesiano. Verificou-se um excesso de mortalidade em março de 2008, em menores de 15 anos de idade. Paralelamente, em março e abril de 2008, houve o maior número de casos notificados de dengue no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Considerando que o aumento da mortalidade deve ser precedido por um incremento na morbidade, pode-se levantar a hipótese de que houve um excesso de mortalidade por dengue em crianças na epidemia de dengue ocorrida na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, em março de 2008.
Autoeficácia e atividade física em adolescentes de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil
Authors: Souza Carla Adriane de , Rech Cassiano Ricardo , Sarabia Tais Taiana , Añez Ciro Romelio Rodriguez , Reis Rodrigo Siqueira
Published: October 2013

Este trabalho teve o objetivo de analisar a associação entre atividade física e autoeficácia em adolescentes. Realizou-se um estudo inquérito de base escolar com 1.698 adolescentes de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. A atividade física foi avaliada segundo frequência semanal (dias/semana) de prática de atividade física de intensidade moderada ou vigorosa. A autoeficácia foi analisada segundo a soma de uma escala composta por dez itens. A associação entre autoeficácia e atividade física foi testada pela regressão de Poisson (p < 0,05), estratificada por sexo. Entre os meninos, apenas elevada autoeficácia foi associada com todas as categorias de atividade física (p < 0,001), enquanto para as meninas níveis moderados e elevados de autoeficácia foram associados com todas as categorias de atividade física (p < 0,001). Conclui-se que a autoeficácia tem associação positiva com atividade física entre adolescentes, no entanto esta relação é mais consistente entre as meninas. Este é um aspecto importante para o delineamento de intervenções para a promoção de atividade física nesse grupo populacional.
The Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale - Revised (ASAS-R): adaptation and construct validity in the Brazilian context
Authors: Damásio Bruno Figueiredo , Koller Silvia Helena
Published: October 2013

This study presents the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale - Revised (ASAS-R). The sample was made up of 627 subjects (69.8% women) aged between 18 and 88 years (mean = 38.3; SD = 13.26) from 17 Brazilian states. Exploratory factor analysis of part of the sample (n1 = 200) yielded a three-factor solution which showed adequate levels of reliability. Two confirmatory factor analyses of the other part of the sample (n2 = 427) tested both the exploratory and the original model. The analysis of convergent validity using the Subjective Happiness Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Version 2 (SF-36v2) demonstrated adequate levels of validity. A significant correlation was found between levels of self-care agency and age, level of education and income. The analysis of sample members with chronic disease (n = 134) showed that higher levels of self-care agency indicated lower levels of negative impact of the chronic illness in the individual's everyday life.
Paradigm Shifts in Disability and Health: Toward More Ethical Public Health Research
Authors: McDonald Katherine E. , Raymaker Dora M.
Published: October 2013

Disability is often considered a health outcome disproportionately experienced by minority groups. It is also possible to view people with disabilities as a minority group that itself experiences health disparities.

Calls to reduce these disparities necessitate the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in research, although resulting ethical issues can thwart scientific progress. Using disability rights principles can help address ethical challenges and promote safe, respectful public health research. Examples include applying human rights frameworks, providing accommodations, attending to power, countering legacies of deficits-based models of disability, and transforming access to science more broadly.

Collectively, these strategies can encourage broader engagement in safe, respectful, inclusive public health research aimed at promoting the health and well-being of people with developmental disabilities.
The Effectiveness of Cigarette Price and Smoke-Free Homes on Low-Income Smokers in the United States
Authors: Vijayaraghavan Maya , Messer Karen , White Martha M. , Pierce John P.
Published: October 2013

Objectives. We examined the effectiveness of state cigarette price and smoke-free homes on smoking behaviors of low-income and high-income populations in the United States.

Methods. We used the 2006–2007 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. The primary outcomes were average daily cigarette consumption and successful quitting. We used multivariable regression to examine the association of cigarette price and smoke-free home policies on these outcomes.

Results. High state cigarette price (pack price ≥ $4.50) was associated with lower consumption across all income levels. Although low-income individuals were least likely to adopt smoke-free homes, those who adopted them had consumption levels and successful quit rates that were similar to those among higher-income individuals. In multivariable analysis, both policies were independently associated with lower consumption, but only smoke-free homes were associated with sustained cessation at 90 days.

Conclusions. High cigarette prices and especially smoke-free homes have the potential to reduce smoking behaviors among low-income individuals. Interventions are needed to increase adoption of smoke-free homes among low-income populations to increase cessation rates and prevent relapse.
Effects of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age on Alcohol-Related Health Service Use in Hospital Settings in Ontario: A Regression–Discontinuity Approach
Authors: Callaghan Russell C. , Sanches Marcos , Gatley Jodi M. , Cunningham James K.
Published: October 2013

Objectives. We assessed the impact of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) on hospital-based treatment for alcohol-related conditions or events in Ontario, Canada.

Methods. We conducted regression–discontinuity analyses to examine MLDA effects with respect to diagnosed alcohol-related conditions. Data were derived from administrative records detailing inpatient and emergency department events in Ontario from April 2002 to March 2007.

Results. Relative to youths slightly younger than the MLDA, youths just older than the MLDA exhibited increases in inpatient and emergency department events associated with alcohol-use disorders (10.8%; P = .048), assaults (7.9%; P < .001), and suicides related to alcohol (51.8%; P = .01). Among young men who had recently crossed the MLDA threshold, there was a 2.0% increase (P = .01) in hospitalizations for injuries.

Conclusions. Young adults gaining legal access to alcohol incur increases in hospital-based care for a range of serious alcohol-related conditions. Our regression–discontinuity approach can be used in future studies to assess the effects of the MLDA across different settings, and our estimates can be used to inform cost-benefit analyses across MLDA scenarios.
We Can Have It All: Improved Surveillance Outcomes and Decreased Personnel Costs Associated With Electronic Reportable Disease Surveillance, North Carolina, 2010
Authors: Samoff Erika , DiBiase Lauren , Fangman Mary T. , Fleischauer Aaron T. , Waller Anna E. , MacDonald Pia D. M.
Published: October 2013

Objectives. We assessed the timeliness, accuracy, and cost of a new electronic disease surveillance system at the local health department level. We describe practices associated with lower cost and better surveillance timeliness and accuracy.

Methods. Interviews conducted May through August 2010 with local health department (LHD) staff at a simple random sample of 30 of 100 North Carolina counties provided information on surveillance practices and costs; we used surveillance system data to calculate timeliness and accuracy. We identified LHDs with best timeliness and accuracy and used these categories to compare surveillance practices and costs.

Results. Local health departments in the top tertiles for surveillance timeliness and accuracy had a lower cost per case reported than LHDs with lower timeliness and accuracy ($71 and $124 per case reported, respectively; P = .03). Best surveillance practices fell into 2 domains: efficient use of the electronic surveillance system and use of surveillance data for local evaluation and program management.

Conclusions. Timely and accurate surveillance can be achieved in the setting of restricted funding experienced by many LHDs. Adopting best surveillance practices may improve both efficiency and public health outcomes.
Comparative Effectiveness of a Faith-Based HIV Intervention for African American Women: Importance of Enhancing Religious Social Capital
Authors: Wingood Gina M. , Robinson LaShun R. , Braxton Nikia D. , Er Deja L. , Conner Anita C. , Renfro Tiffaney L. , Rubtsova Anna A. , Hardin James W. , DiClemente Ralph J.
Published: October 2013

Objectives. We assessed the effectiveness of P4 for Women, a faith-based HIV intervention.

Methods. We used a 2-arm comparative effectiveness trial involving 134 African American women aged 18 to 34 years to compare the effectiveness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–defined evidence-based Sisters Informing Sisters about Topics on AIDS (SISTA) HIV intervention with P4 for Women, an adapted faith-based version of SISTA. Participants were recruited from a large black church in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed assessments at baseline and follow-up.

Results. Both SISTA and P4 for Women had statistically significant effects on this study’s primary outcome—consistent condom use in the past 90 days—as well as other sexual behaviors. However, P4 for Women also had statistically significant effects on the number of weeks women were abstinent, on all psychosocial mediators, and most noteworthy, on all measures of religious social capital. Results were achieved by enhancing structural social capital through ministry participation, religious values and norms, linking trust and by reducing negative religious coping. High intervention attendance may indicate the feasibility of conducting faith-based HIV prevention research for African American women.

Conclusions. P4 for Women enhanced abstinence and safer sex practices as well as religious social capital, and was more acceptable than SISTA. Such efforts may assist faith leaders in responding to the HIV epidemic in African American women.
“You’re an Open Target to Be Abused”: A Qualitative Study of Stigma and HIV Self-Disclosure Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men
Authors: Bird Jason D. P. , Voisin Dexter R.
Published: October 2013

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a health crisis among Black men who have sex with men (MSM). HIV-related stigma presents a primary barrier to sexual communication and effective HIV prevention. Using in-depth, qualitative interviews conducted with 20 HIV-positive Black MSM between 2007 and 2008 in Chicago, Illinois, we explored the themes related to HIV-related stigma and the underlying messages HIV-positive Black MSM receive regarding their status. Stigmatizing messages stem from family, churches, and the gay community and from negative, internalized, beliefs HIV-positive Black MSM held about infected individuals before their own infection. HIV stigma influences sexual silence around HIV disclosure, especially to sexual partners.
“Screening” for Prostate Cancer in New York’s Skid Row: History and Implications
Authors: Aronowitz Robert
Published: October 2013

The Bowery series, open perineal biopsies performed on more than 1200 alcoholic men recruited from homeless shelters in New York City’s Bowery section, began in 1951 and persisted for more than a decade. If frozen sections revealed prostate cancer, men typically underwent radical perineal prostatectomy, orchiectomy, and diethylstilbestrol treatment. This poorly informed, vulnerable population was subjected to health risks that investigators knew others would not accept. Although the knowledge produced had little impact on practice, the Bowery practices foreshadowed and have troubling continuities with later developments. Currently, more than a million American men each year undergo prostatic biopsies. But the efficacy of prostate-specific antigen screening and the treatment that typically follows has never been established. The Bowery series and subsequent developments are part of one continuous story of how medical and lay people came to believe in the efficacy of population screening followed by aggressive treatment without solid supporting scientific evidence.
Creating Research Capacity Through a Tribally Based Institutional Review Board
Authors: Morton Deborah J. , Proudfit Joely , Calac Daniel , Portillo Martina , Lofton-Fitzsimmons Geneva , Molina Theda , Flores Raymond , Lawson-Risso Barbara , Majel-McCauley Romelle
Published: October 2013

Tribal groups work tirelessly to maintain sovereignty rights, preserving and upholding tribal authority and protection over their land, people, businesses, and health. Moreover, the conduct of health science research by outsiders has had its share of an unethical, misguided, and abusive past.

Tribally based institutional review boards (IRBs) are addressing these issues in an effort to control new health science research, set their own research agenda, and protect their people in the same spirit as has been accomplished through the perpetuation of sovereignty rights.

We describe the success of a tribally based IRB at creating new capacity for health research and enhanced levels of trust, including bidirectional cultural education between academic researchers and tribal IRB committee members.
First, Do No Harm: The US Sexually Transmitted Disease Experiments in Guatemala
Authors: Rodriguez Michael A. , García Robert
Published: October 2013

Beginning in 1946, the United States government immorally and unethically—and, arguably, illegally—engaged in research experiments in which more than 5000 uninformed and unconsenting Guatemalan people were intentionally infected with bacteria that cause sexually transmitted diseases. Many have been left untreated to the present day.

Although US President Barack Obama apologized in 2010, and although the US Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues found the Guatemalan experiments morally wrong, little if anything has been done to compensate the victims and their families.

We explore the backdrop for this unethical medical research and violation of human rights and call for steps the United States should take to provide relief and compensation to Guatemala and its people.
Research Ethics and Indigenous Communities
Authors: Kelley Allyson , Belcourt-Dittloff Annie , Belcourt Cheryl , Belcourt Gordon
Published: October 2013

Institutional review boards (IRBs) function to regulate research for the protection of human participants. We share lessons learned from the development of an intertribal IRB in the Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Tribal region of the United States.

We describe the process through which a consortium of Tribes collaboratively developed an intertribal board to promote community-level protection and participation in the research process. In addition, we examine the challenges of research regulation from a Tribal perspective and explore the future of Tribally regulated research that honors indigenous knowledge and promotes community accountability and transparency.

We offer recommendations for researchers, funding agencies, and Tribal communities to consider in the review and regulation of research.
Risk, Reward, and the Double-Edged Sword: Perspectives on Pharmacogenetic Research and Clinical Testing Among Alaska Native People
Authors: Shaw Jennifer L. , Robinson Renee , Starks Helene , Burke Wylie , Dillard Denise A.
Published: October 2013

Objectives. Pharmacogenetic research and clinical testing raise important concerns for individuals and communities, especially where past medical research and practice has perpetrated harm and cultivated distrust of health care systems and clinicians. We investigated perceptions of pharmacogenetics among Alaska Native (AN) people.

Methods. We held four focus groups for 32 ANs in south central Alaska to elicit views about pharmacogenetics in general and for treatment of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, depression, and nicotine addiction. We analyzed data for perceived risks and rewards of pharmacogenetics.

Results. Potential risks of pharmacogenetics included health care rationing, misuse of information, and stigma to individuals and the AN community. Potential rewards included decreased care costs, improved outcomes, and community development. Participants also discussed 8 contingent conditions that could mitigate risks and increase pharmacogenetic acceptability.

Conclusions. Alaska Natives perceive pharmacogenetics as potentially benefitting and harming individuals, communities, and health systems, depending on methods and oversight. Researchers, clinicians, and administrators, especially in community-based clinic and health care systems serving minority populations, must address this “double-edged sword” to effectively conduct pharmacogenetics.
Determination of evolutionary units in European representatives of the crab genus Pilumnus
Authors: Schubart Christoph , Aichinger Bianca
Published: October 2013

Bristle crabs of the genus Pilumnus (Brachyura: Heterotremata: Pilumnidae) are common inhabitants of European waters. They are easily identifiable as a genus, but with the exception of P. inermis, intrageneric classification turns out to be quite complex. There is no general agreement on the number and distinction of species. Therefore, this genus is well-suited for comparative molecular studies. Specimens of the Pilumnus hirtellus complex, here defined as including Pilumnus hirtellus, P. villosissimus, P. spinifer, P. aestuarii, and an undescribed species, were gathered from throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. DNA sequence data were obtained from the barcoding region of the cytochrome oxidase 1 mitochondrial gene and used for reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree and a haplotype network. The morphology of the gastric ossicles was compared in the search of separating characters. Our results give evidence for five genetic clusters within the P. hirtellus complex. There is negligible geographic variation within these clusters. Unambiguous mtDNA sequences within morphologically variable local populations argue against possible hybridization. The here encountered evolutionary units are relatively young and possibly allow to study ongoing processes of morphological, genetic, and ecological differentiation, leading to speciation and radiations in the coastal marine environment.
Afterword: Please Mind the Gap between Theatre and Philosophy
Authors: Puchner Martin
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACT:

The historical gulf and frequent antipathy between the practitioners of theatre and philosophy has been well documented. This article seeks to establish a framework for combining the two subjects that, rather than denying the gap between them, looks to that gap as a productive space. The first part of the article sketches a brief history of the engagement of the two disciplines, from Plato to contemporary academics, while noting that these successful engagements involve, not the erasure of the philosophical–theatrical boundary, but instead the deployment of one as a new lens through which to view the other. The article goes on to illustrate examples of the successful use of theatre in the work of several philosophers, then turns to thespians whose work productively engages philosophy. Each of these is considered, in turn, as an example of the practice of “minding the gap,” and the article calls for a continued interaction between theatre and philosophy that acknowledges their separation rather than trying to erase it.
Harold Pinter’sThe Homecomingand Postmodern Jewish Philosophy
Authors: Krasner David
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACT:

This article examines Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming through the lens of postmodern Jewish philosophy. Pinter’s drama engages with both Freudian psychoanalysis and Jewish ethics in its deployment of elements characteristic of Jewish philosophy and postmodernism. The article analyses examples of such elements in The Homecoming, including the coincidence of Pinteresque silences and the fragmentation of the subject, the distinctly Jewish emphasis on the material over the spiritual, the Freudian displacement evident in the characters’ power struggles, the corruption of the act of homecoming, and the relativistic ethics of Teddy’s actions.
On the Axiology of Theism: Reply to Klaas J. Kraay
Authors: Moser Paul K.
Published: October 2013

Abstract:

In “Method and Madness in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy of Religion” Klaas Kraay offers some methodological considerations that lead to a taxonomy and a larger research project for an axiology of theism. This reply identifies some crucial vagueness and ambiguity in the taxonomy and project, and makes three constructive recommendations for improving the project. It also illustrates how the removal of ambiguity can enable the project to proceed in a straightforward and compelling manner.
The Bolivarian University of Venezuela: A radical alternative in the global field of higher education?
Authors: Ivancheva Mariya
Published: October 2013

This article discusses paradoxes in the emergent global field of higher education as reflected in an alternative model of the university – the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) and the related higher education policy, Misión Sucre. With its credo in the applied social sciences, its commitment to popular pedagogy and its dependence on extensive fieldwork with communities, UBV offers an alternative model of science and research at the service of society. Drawing on my ongoing research on this university (since 2008), I present the difficulties which the homogenising standards of a global field of higher education pose to a rapidly developing mass public university in a semiperipheral country. I focus on the difficulty of developing evaluation procedures for UBV as this exposes contradictions which are both unique to this new university model and common for a world system of higher education.
All Shook Up: Fluctuations, Maxwell’s Demon and the Thermodynamics of Computation
Authors: Norton John
Published: October 2013

The most successful exorcism of Maxwell’s demon is Smoluchowski’s 1912 observation that thermal fluctuations would likely disrupt the operation of any molecular-scale demonic machine. A later tradition sought to exorcise Maxwell’s demon by assessing the entropic cost of the demon’s processing of information. This later tradition fails since these same thermal fluctuations invalidate the molecular-scale manipulations upon which the thermodynamics of computation is based. A new argument concerning conservation of phase space volume shows that all Maxwell’s demons must fail.
A Numerical Study of the Effects of Wind Direction on Turbine Wakes and Power Losses in a Large Wind Farm
Authors: Porté-Agel Fernando , Wu Yu-Ting , Chen Chang-Hung
Published: October 2013

In this study, large-eddy simulations (LESs) were performed to investigate the effects of changing wind direction on the turbine wakes and associated power losses in the Horns Rev offshore wind farm. In the LES framework, the turbulent subgrid-scale stresses are parameterized using a tuning-free Lagrangian scale-dependent dynamic model, and the turbine-induced forces are computed using a dynamic actuator-disk model with rotation (ADM-R). This dynamic ADM-R couples blade-element theory with a turbine-specific relation between the blade angular velocity and the shaft torque to compute simultaneously turbine angular velocity and power output. A total of 67 simulations were performed for a wide range of wind direction angles. Results from the simulations show a strong impact of wind direction on the spatial distribution of turbine-wake characteristics, such as velocity deficit and turbulence intensity. This can be explained by the fact that changing the wind angle can be viewed as changing the wind farm layout relative to the incoming wind, while keeping the same wind turbine density. Of particular importance is the effect of wind direction on the distance available for the wakes to recover and expand before encountering other downwind turbines (in full-wake or partial-wake interactions), which affects the power losses from those turbines. As a result, even small changes in wind direction angle can have strong impacts on the total wind farm power output. For example, a change in wind direction of just 10° from the worst-case full-wake condition is found to increase the total power output by as much as 43%. This has important implications for the design of wind farms and the management of the temporal variability of their power output.
Violence against Women and Gastroschisis: A Case-Control Study
Authors: Ortega-García Juan , Soldin Offie , Sánchez-Sauco Miguel , Cánovas-Conesa Alicia , Gomaríz-Peñalver Virtudes , Jaimes-Vega Diana , Perales Joseph , Cárceles-Alvarez Alberto , Martínez-Ros Maria , Ruiz Daniel
Published: October 2013

Background: Gastroschisis, a birth defect characterized by herniated fetal abdominal wall, occurs more commonly in infants born to teenage and young mothers. Ischemia of the vascular vitelline vessels is the likely mechanism of pathogenesis. Given that chronic stress and violence against women are risk factors for cardiovascular disease we explored whether these may represent risk factors for gastroschisis, when they occur during pregnancy. A case-control study was conducted, with 15 incident cases of children born with gastroschisis in the Region of Murcia, Spain, from December 2007 to June 2013. Forty concurrent controls were recruited at gestation weeks 20–24 or post-partum. All mothers of cases and controls completed a comprehensive, in-person, ‘green sheet’ questionnaire on environmental exposures. Results: Mothers of children with gastroschisis were younger, smoked more cigarettes per week relative to controls, were exposed to higher amounts of illegal drugs, and suffered from domestic violence more frequently than the controls. Multivariable logistic regression analysis highlights periconceptional ‘gender-related violence’ (OR: 16.6, 95% CI 2.7 to 101.7) and younger maternal age (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.3). Conclusions: Violence against pregnant women is associated with birth defects, and should be studied in more depth as a cause-effect teratogenic. Psychosocial risk factors, including gender-based violence, are important for insuring the health and safety of the pregnant mother and the fetus.