bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Australian Aboriginal Tiddas (Sisters) Theologians Deal with the Threat of Genocide
Authors: Skye Lee Miena
Published: January 2015

This paper will reveal our women as active theologians, dealing with the silent threat of approaching genocide, the end of so called ‘full-bloods’ of our race. Finding ways of healing, and being activists, living in the conscious and subconscious oppression. I am so proud that in the light of this, they emerge as responsible people, living constructive and influential lives. Yet the suffering takes its toll and they die young or are sick and disabled young. I donated my Harvard Post-doctoral Fellowship, the first Australian Indigenous Harvard Fellow, to helping this suffering, to prolong life. Part Three reflects where my fellowship in liberation theology and psychotherapy comes together in active Tiddas Theology for wholeness.
Social Motherhood and Spiritual Authority in a Secularizing Age: Moral Welfare Work in the Church of England, 1883–1961
Authors: Jones Timothy W.
Published: January 2015

The article considers how the field of moral welfare and social work empowered religious women, and how these women met the challenge posed by Yeo (1998: 45), ‘to find ways of breaking the material, representational and psychic chains of subordination without reassembling them at the same time in a different form’. Based on an examination of the archival records and reports of these moral welfare organizations the article argues that the spiritual dimension of moral welfare work provided particular resources that empowered women and mitigated the subordinating operation of power in client relationships. These resources were, however, dependent on mutual subscription of religious doctrines, a condition that did not remain stable into the 1960s.
Irigaray’s Madonna
Authors: Kelso Julie
Published: January 2015

In this essay, I argue that Luce Irigaray’s recent, seemingly esoteric readings of the Madonna, actually provide us with a constructive, perhaps even politically progressive, interpretive mode for engaging with the religious texts and figures of our tradition as women. As such, I argue that through her own specific interpretive practice Irigaray provides us with a new image of Mary, and this new Madonna figures the very interrelational interpretive practice that Irigaray believes essential when it comes to our engagements with the (religious) texts of our tradition. Irigaray’s Madonna is an ethical listener, interpreter and exchanger of ‘sacred’ discourse and it is this aspect of Mary that warrants our allegiance. To imitate Mary is to practice reading, listening, and interpreting in the feminine, practices that can aid us in our ‘becoming spiritual’, which in Irigarayan terms is another way of saying ‘becoming woman’.
Desire for power or the power of desire? Mimetic theory and the heart of twentieth-century realism
Authors: Troy Jodok
Published: January 2015

For René Girard, mimetic rivalry is the main cause of violence. Mimetic theory addresses a fundamental problem of international relations theory: the problem of anarchy as it is outlined in basic texts of Realism, also acknowledging the conflicting potential of desire. The article argues for deepening the discussion between the mimetic theory of the French philosopher, anthropologist, and literary theorist Girard and the tradition of twentieth-century Realism as exemplified by Hans Morgenthau, who frequently stressed in his concept of “the political” the importance of the human desire for power. For Girard, the problem of conflicting desire is solved by the scapegoat mechanism, the canalization of mimetic violence. Nevertheless, international relations theory reveals that identity is formed prior to the construction of the Other. I argue that Girard’s insights can enrich thinking about the terms Self, Other, and identity, particularly in the twentieth-century Realist tradition. Ultimately, this leads to the proposition that appreciating Girard’s thoughts helps make implicit claims and assumptions of Realism, particularly regarding violence and sub-state issues, more explicit.
Until the end of the world: Girard, Schmitt and the origins of violence
Authors: Cerella Antonio
Published: January 2015

Where do the origins of violence lie? And in what sense can our global age be defined as apocalyptic? In this article, I aim to compare Schmitt’s and Girard’s theoretical proposals about the origins, containment and diffusion of violence in order to explore the end of the Nomos and of its sacrality. My argument is that the ‘mimetical’ and the ‘political’ offer two complementary and radical visions of the origins of conflict and its containment. This exploration is not an end in itself, but serves to trace an alternative genealogy of world politics, from its tragic beginnings up to the dissolution of the political form in the so-called age of disenchantment. How to reconceptualize the chaotic multitude and undifferentiation triggered by the dynamics of globalization? What political forms will the communities take in the era of virtual liquidity? Analysing the work of Girard and Schmitt might shed some light on these epochal questions.
Rivalry and its antidote in charity: Lessons from the crucifixion for wars and rumours of wars
Authors: Durward Rosemary
Published: January 2015

According to anthropologist, René Girard, the crucifixion of Jesus acts as an antidote to rivalry and scapegoating through revelation of the innocence of the victim. This article assumes an Augustinian perspective to argue that this revelation calls for something more than a response of peace in the face of rivalry and spiralling violence. The death of Jesus was not an act of peace but an act of charity in the form of sacrifice for peace with justice. This article argues that charity is an under-appreciated virtue in the Just War tradition, yet it is the perfect antidote to the rivalry that both provokes and characterises war.
Scapegoat racism and the sacrificial politics of “security”
Authors: Denike Margaret
Published: January 2015

This article draws on Girard’s general account of sacrificial violence to elucidate the race-thinking that structures contemporary discourses on security in Western security states, particularly in Canada and the United States. With attention to the relation between collective group formation (as we see, for example, in resurgent nationalisms of the era of “terror”) and to the structures and processes of inclusion/exclusion that define them, my discussion unfolds Girard’s figure and analysis of “the scapegoat” within and against contemporary theories of racial violence and group-based persecution. It profiles the specter of race in the assemblages of fear that imbue security discourse, to consider how security “works” to foster and consolidate communities against its “foreign” others, in ways that produce the very race distinctions that they are conditioned on. In doing so, it will elucidate how Girard’s work on sacrificial violence is productive for critically elucidating the affective politics of security discourse, including those that organize and inform the biopolitical formations of race distinctions and racial hierarchy in contemporary security states.
Drone warfare and the limits of sacrifice
Authors: Baggiarini Bianca
Published: January 2015

René Girard argues that violence and the sacred are inseparable, yet how do the political boundaries of sacrifice shift when state violence is privatized and increasingly disembodied? This article provides a Foucauldian challenge to Girard by invoking the mutually reinforcing problem of military privatization and drone warfare. Using Foucauldian work on race and biopolitics, I will explore how military privatization permits states to (precariously) call for the end of sacrifice. I trace the genealogical trajectories of the citizen-soldier to argue that military privatization, as exemplified by the burgeoning industry of private military and security companies and the current American administration’s use of drone warfare, allows for the removal of sacrifice as a feature of the post-World War II social contract between states and citizens. Historically, the sacrifices of citizen-soldiers have been consecrated within the boundaries of the nation and memorialized in a way that allows for both the production of shared collective memory and a projected future-oriented discourse of unification through shared national or ethnic destiny. Drones, as the technological extension of the philosophy of military privatization and the high-tech expression of ‘pre-modern’ violence, reveal tensions between embodied combat, citizenship and sacrifice.
The relationship between serum potassium, potassium variability and in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients and a before-after analysis on the impact of computer-assisted potassium control
Authors: Hessels Lara , Hoekstra Miriam , Mijzen Lisa J , Vogelzang Mathijs , Dieperink Wim , Lansink Annemieke Oude , Nijsten Maarten W
Published: January 2015

Introduction

The relationship between potassium regulation and outcome is not known. Our first aim in the present study was to determine the relationship between potassium level and variability in (ICU) stay and outcome. The second aim was to evaluate the impact of a computer-assisted potassium regulation protocol.

Methods

We performed a retrospective before-after study including all patients >15 years of age admitted for more than 24 hours to the ICU of our university teaching hospital between 2002 and 2011. Potassium control was fully integrated with computerized glucose control (glucose and potassium regulation program for intensive care patients (GRIP-II)). The potassium metrics that we determined included mean potassium, potassium variability (defined as the standard deviation of all potassium levels) and percentage of ICU time below and above the reference range (3.5 through 5.0 mmol/L). These metrics were determined for the first ICU day (early phase) and the subsequent ICU days (late phase; that is, day 2 to day 7). We also compared potassium metrics and in-hospital mortality before and after GRIP-II was implemented in 2006.

Results

Of all 22,347 ICU admissions, 10,451 (47%) patients were included. A total of 206,987 potassium measurements were performed in these patients. Glucose was regulated by GRIP-II in 4,664 (45%) patients. The overall in-hospital mortality was 22%. There was a U-shaped relationship between the potassium level and in-hospital mortality (P <0.001). Moreover, potassium variability was independently associated with outcome. After implementation of GRIP-II, in the late phase the time below 3.5 mmol/L decreased from 9.2% to 3.9% and the time above 5.0 mmol/L decreased from 6.1% to 5.2%, and potassium variability decreased from 0.31 to 0.26 mmol/L (all P <0.001). The overall decrease in in-hospital mortality from 23.3% before introduction of GRIP-II to 19.9% afterward (P <0.001) was not related to a specific potassium subgroup.

Conclusions

Hypokalemia, hyperkalemia and potassium variability were independently associated with increased mortality. Computerized potassium control clearly resulted in improved potassium metrics.
Diminished adrenal sensitivity to endogenous and exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone in critical illness: a prospective cohort study
Authors: de Jong Margriet FC , Molenaar Nienke , Beishuizen Albertus , Groeneveld AB Johan
Published: January 2015

Introduction

Adrenal dysfunction may represent critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI), as evidenced by a diminished cortisol response to exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), but this concept and its clinical significance remain highly controversial. We studied the adrenal response to exogenous ACTH as a function of the endogenous cortisol-to-ACTH ratio, a measure of adrenal sensitivity, and of clinical variables, during critical illness and recovery from the acute phase.

Methods

We prospectively included 59 consecutive septic and nonseptic patients in the intensive care unit with treatment-insensitive hypotension in whom CIRCI was suspected; patients having received etomidate and prolonged corticosteroids were excluded. An ACTH test (250 μg) was performed, followed by a second test after ≥7 days in acute-phase survivors. Serum total and free cortisol, ACTH, and clinical variables were assessed. Patients were divided according to responses (delta, Δ) of cortisol to ACTH at the first and second tests.

Results

Patients with low (<250 nM) Δ cortisol (n = 14 to 17) had higher baseline cortisol and ACTH but lower cortisol/ACTH ratios than patients with a normal Δ cortisol (≥250 nM) in the course of time. A low Δ cortisol in time was associated with more-severe disease, culture-positive sepsis, and prolonged activated prothrombin time. Results for free cortisol were similar.

Conclusions

Even though the pituitary-adrenal axis is activated after stress during critical illness, diminished adrenal sensitivity to endogenous ACTH predicts a low increase of cortisol to exogenous ACTH, suggesting adrenal dysfunction, irrespective of the stage of disease. The data further suggest a role of disease severity and culture-positive sepsis.
Furosemide versus ethacrynic acid in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Ricci Zaccaria , Haiberger Roberta , Pezzella Chiara , Garisto Cristiana , Favia Isabella , Cogo Paola
Published: January 2015

Introduction

Clinical effects of furosemide (F) and ethacrynic acid (EA) continuous infusion on urine output (UO), fluid balance, and renal, cardiac, respiratory, and metabolic function were compared in infants undergoing surgery for congenital heart diseases.

Methods

A prospective randomized double-blinded study was conducted. Patients received 0.2 mg/kg/h (up to 0.8 mg/kg/h) of either F or EA.

Results

In total, 38 patients were enrolled in the F group, and 36, in the EA group. No adverse reactions were recorded. UO at postoperative day (POD) 0 was significantly higher in the EA group, 6.9 (3.3) ml/kg/h, compared with the F group, 4.6 (2.3) ml/kg/h (P = 0.002) but tended to be similar in the two groups thereafter. Mean administered F dose was 0.33 (0.19) mg/kg/h compared with 0.22 (0.13) mg/kg/h of EA (P < 0.0001). Fluid balance was significantly more negative in the EA group at postoperative day 0: −43 (54) ml/kg/h versus −17 (32) ml/kg/h in the F group (P = 0.01). Serum creatinine, cystatin C and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels and incidence of acute kidney injury did not show significant differences between groups. Metabolic alkalosis occurred frequently (about 70% of cases) in both groups, but mean bicarbonate level was higher in the EA group: 27.8 (1.5)Min the F group versus 29.1 (2) mMin the EA group (P = 0.006). Mean cardiac index (CI) values were 2.6 (0.1) L/min/m2in the F group compared with 2.98 (0.09) L/min/m2in the EA group (P = 0.0081). Length of mechanical ventilation was shorter in the EA group, 5.5 (8.8) days compared with the F group, 6.7 (5.9) (P = 0.06). Length of Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) admission was shorter in the EA group: 14 (19) days compared with 16 (15) in the F group (P = 0.046).

Conclusions

In cardiac surgery infants, EA produced more UO compared with F on POD0. Generally, a smaller EA dose is required to achieve similar UO than F. EA and F were safe in terms of renal function, but EA caused a more-intense metabolic alkalosis. EA patients achieved better CI, and shorter mechanical ventilation and PCICU admission time.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.govNCT01628731. Registered 24 June 2012.
Preload dependence indices to titrate volume expansion during septic shock: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Richard Jean-Christophe , Bayle Frédérique , Bourdin Gael , Leray Véronique , Debord Sophie , Delannoy Bertrand , Stoian Alina Cividjian , Wallet Florent , Yonis Hodane , Guerin Claude
Published: January 2015

Introduction

In septic shock, pulse pressure or cardiac output variation during passive leg raising are preload dependence indices reliable at predicting fluid responsiveness. Therefore, they may help to identify those patients who need intravascular volume expansion, while avoiding unnecessary fluid administration in the other patients. However, whether their use improves septic shock prognosis remains unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical benefits of using preload dependence indices to titrate intravascular fluids during septic shock.

Methods

In a single-center randomized controlled trial, 60 septic shock patients were allocated to preload dependence indices-guided (preload dependence group) or central venous pressure-guided (control group) intravascular volume expansion with 30 patients in each group. The primary end point was time to shock resolution, defined by vasopressor weaning.

Results

There was no significant difference in time to shock resolution between groups (median (interquartile range) 2.0 (1.2 to 3.1) versus 2.3 (1.4 to 5.6) days in control and preload dependence groups, respectively). The daily amount of fluids administered for intravascular volume expansion was higher in the control than in the preload dependence group (917 (639 to 1,511) versus 383 (211 to 604) mL,P = 0.01), and the same held true for red cell transfusions (178 (82 to 304) versus 103 (0 to 183) mL,P = 0.04). Physiologic variable values did not change over time between groups, except for plasma lactate (time over group interaction,P<0.01). Mortality was not significantly different between groups (23% in the preload dependence group versus 47% in the control group,P = 0.10). Intravascular volume expansion was lower in the preload dependence group for patients with lower simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II), and the opposite was found for patients in the upper two SAPS II quartiles. The amount of intravascular volume expansion did not change across the quartiles of severity in the control group, but steadily increased with severity in the preload dependence group.

Conclusions

In patients with septic shock, titrating intravascular volume expansion with preload dependence indices did not change time to shock resolution, but resulted in less daily fluids intake, including red blood cells, without worsening patient outcome.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.govNCT01972828. Registered 11 October 2013.
Perinatal depression and psychosis: an update
Authors: Doyle Myles , Carballedo Angela , O'Keane Veronica
Published: January 2015

About 85% of women experience some type of postpartum mood disturbance. Generally, the symptoms are mild and short-lived, but a minority of women develop depressive illness or sudden psychosis. About half of episodes of apparently postnatal depression start during pregnancy and some seemingly postpartum psychoses start before delivery. Untreated antenatal depression can lead to poor obstetric outcomes, subsequent depression in the mother, and developmental disadvantage and depression later in life in the offspring. In this article we discuss the aetiology of perinatal depression and consider recommended pharmaceutical and psychosocial management of postpartum blues, perinatal depression and postpartum psychosis.
The art of Edvard Munch: a window onto a mind
Authors: Azeem Hina
Published: January 2015

The psychological state of an individual affects the way in which they express themselves. Art has long been an outlet for self-expression, and painting is just one art form that individuals use to articulate their ideas and emotions. Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was an influential Norwegian artist who led a tortured life; his greatest artworks reflect the struggles he faced. This piece narrates the story of his life, exploring the ways in which his mental illnesses were related to his art, and how his art evolved as a result of this.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: assessment and treatment
Authors: Hill Peter
Published: January 2015

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous neurobehavioural syndrome, complex in aetiology and presentation. It is characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity of varying combinations and degrees of severity. This article seeks to elucidate the different components of the assessment and diagnosis of ADHD in comparison with various differential diagnoses that must also be considered. Despite its complexities, ADHD can be effectively managed using a comprehensive approach advocated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The article discusses the combination of medication, psychoeducation and parental handling that has been shown to be effective in containing the problematic symptoms of ADHD. It also highlights the difficulties that can persist into adulthood and potential strategies to improve prognosis.
On Persuasion and Healing: A Comparative Study of
Psychotherapy (1961), by Jerome D.
Frank–reflection
Authors: Henderson Scott
Published: January 2015

Persuasion and Healing was one of the most significant
books for psychiatry and clinical psychology during the 20th century. Thirty
years after it was first published, Frank was joined by his daughter, Julia
B. Frank, in an expanded edition in 1991. After training in psychology and
medicine at Harvard and Berlin, then psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins
University, he had come to formulate a truly fundamental question: what is
happening when we make a troubled person better? In trying to answer this,
Frank took the study of psychotherapy to a conceptually much higher level,
doing so in a non-partisan manner in times when psychoanalysis was endemic
and highly influential in America. He helped a whole generation think more
deeply about psychotherapy, to see beyond the immediacy of the
doctor–patient situation. The forces that are at work are also to be seen in
religious healing ceremonies, in the prescription of a placebo and in
rhetoric using hermeneutics. In each, the recipient is urged to accept the
therapist's assumptive world and is expected to be the better for doing
so.
Making a medicine out of MDMA
Authors: Sessa Ben , Nutt David
Published: January 2015

From its first use 3,4,-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has been recognised as a drug with therapeutic potential. Research on its clinical utility stopped when it entered the recreational drug scene but has slowly resurrected in the past decade. Currently there is enough evidence for MDMA to be removed from its Schedule 1 status of ‘no medical use’ and moved into Schedule 2 (alongside other misused but useful medicines such as heroin and amphetamine). Such a regulatory move would liberate its use as a medicine for patients experiencing severe mental illnesses such as treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.
SLAVES, STORIES, AND CULTS
Authors: Forsdyke Sara
Published: January 2015

This article examines a dramatic story about a slave rebellion on the island of Chios and argues that such stories were the medium through which masters and slaves negotiated compromise between the slaves' desire to be free and the masters' desire to control their slaves. This interpretation arises from a recognition of the complexity of a story that on the one hand celebrates the triumphs of a heroic slave over his masters, but on the other hand suggests that such resistance can be contained if masters treat their slaves humanely. Numerous parallels are drawn with contemporaneous and later historical societies involving compromises between subordinate groups and those who would control them. Finally, the article demonstrates that religious cults could be a medium for negotiating a middle ground, and that the story of the slave hero on Chios illustrates this function by making the slave the object of cultic worship by both masters and slaves.
CAN THERE BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT A COMMON LANGUAGE?
Authors: Wierzbicka Anna
Published: January 2015

This essay argues that, since Kant wrote in German and since German has no word for “right” corresponding in meaning to the English word, it is a case of conceptual anglocentrism to say, as many anglophone philosophers do, that Kant reformulated the foundations of ethics by formulating them in terms of the “right” rather than the “good.” Further, the essay shows how the German word Pflicht, central to Kant's ethics, does not correspond in meaning to the English word duty, whose cultural roots lie in English Puritanism. More generally, the argument is that, ultimately, “common knowledge” is possible only to the extent to which it can be stated in words corresponding to universal human concepts — a set of which has been identified through empirical cross-linguistic investigations — rather than in words whose meanings have been shaped by a particular history and culture. Finally, the essay shows how “NSM” methodology, developed within linguistic semantics, allows us to cast new light on aspects of German culture reflected in keywords such as Ordnung, Gehorsam, Befehl, and Pflicht — terms that appear to be anchored in the legacy of Luther and Kant.
Infrastructure Quality and the Subsidy Trap
Authors: McRae Shaun
Published: January 2015

Electricity and water are often subsidized in developing countries to increase their affordability for low-income households. Ideally, such subsidies would create sufficient demand in poor neighborhoods to encourage private investment in their infrastructure. Instead, many regions receiving large subsidies have precarious distribution networks supplying users who never pay. Using a structural model of household electricity demand in Colombia, I predict the change in consumption and profits from upgrading low-quality electricity connections. I show that the existing subsidies, which provide greater transfers to areas with unreliable supply, deter investment to modernize infrastructure. Finally, I analyze alternative programs with stronger investment incentives. (JEL H23, H54, L94, L98, O12, O13)
Revealed (P)Reference Theory
Authors: Ok Efe A. , Ortoleva Pietro , Riella Gil
Published: January 2015

This paper develops axiomatically a revealed preference theory of reference-dependent choice behavior. Instead of taking the reference for an agent as exogenously given in the description of a choice problem, we suitably relax the Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference to obtain, endogenously, the existence of reference alternatives as well as the structure of choice behavior conditional on those alternatives. We show how this model captures some well-known choice patterns such as the attraction effect. (JEL D11, D81)
Price Reaction to Information with Heterogeneous Beliefs and Wealth Effects: Underreaction, Momentum, and Reversal
Authors: Ottaviani Marco , Sørensen Peter Norman
Published: January 2015

This paper analyzes how asset prices in a binary market react to information when traders have heterogeneous prior beliefs. We show that the competitive equilibrium price underreacts to information when there is a bound to the amount of money traders are allowed to invest. Underreaction is more pronounced when prior beliefs are more heterogeneous. Even in the absence of exogenous bounds on the amount that traders can invest, prices underreact to information provided that traders become less risk averse as their wealth increases. In a dynamic setting, underreaction results in initial momentum and then reversal in the long run. (JEL D83, D84, G11, G12, G14)
Teacher Quality Policy When Supply Matters
Authors: Rothstein Jesse
Published: January 2015

Teacher contracts that condition pay and retention on demonstrated performance can improve selection into and out of teaching. I study alternative contracts in a simulated teacher labor market that incorporates dynamic self-selection and Bayesian learning. Bonus policies create only modest incentives and thus have small effects on selection. Reductions in tenure rates can have larger effects, but must be accompanied by substantial salary increases; elimination of tenure confers little additional benefit unless firing rates are extremely high. Benefits of both bonus and tenure policies exceed costs, though optimal policies are sensitive to labor market parameters about which little is known. (JEL I21, J22, J23, J24, J31, J41, J45)
Reallocation and Technology: Evidence from the US Steel Industry
Authors: Collard-Wexler Allan , De Loecker Jan
Published: January 2015

We measure the impact of a drastic new technology for producing steel—the minimill—on industry-wide productivity in the US steel industry, using unique plant-level data between 1963 and 2002. The sharp increase in the industry's productivity is linked to this new technology through two distinct mechanisms: (i ) the mere displacement of the older technology (vertically integrated producers) was responsible for a third of the increase in the industry's productivity, and (ii ) increased competition, due the minimill expansion, drove a productivity resurgence at the surviving vertical integrated producers and, consequently, the productivity of the industry as a whole. (JEL D24, L13, L23, L61, M11, O31, O33)
High reproductive synchrony of Acropora (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea
Authors: Bouwmeester Jessica , Berumen Michael L.
Published: January 2015

Coral spawning in the northern Gulf of Aqaba has been reported to be asynchronous, making it almost unique when compared to other regions in the world. Here, we document the reproductive condition of Acropora corals in early June 2014 in Dahab, in the Gulf of Aqaba, 125 km south of previous studies conducted in Eilat, Israel. Seventy-eight percent of Acropora colonies from 14 species had mature eggs, indicating that most colonies will spawn on or around the June full moon, with a very high probability of multi-species synchronous spawning. Given the proximity to Eilat, we predict that a comparable sampling protocol would detect similar levels of reproductive synchrony throughout the Gulf of Aqaba consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of spawning synchrony are a feature of all speciose coral assemblages.
Coronary heart disease: self-care, communication and quality of life
Authors: Mendes Aysha
Published: January 2015

Aysha Mendes discusses coronary heart disease, the UK's biggest killer, and describes the range of roles that nurses play in prevention, treatment and support
The role of the community nurse in care provision for people with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Strickland Karen , Baguley Fiona
Published: January 2015

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a degenerative neurological condition that is often diagnosed in young adults in their 20s and 30s and is more common in women than in men. The long-term and unpredictable nature of the condition poses significant challenges for care delivery. The UK has one of the highest incidences of MS in the world, and care delivery for people with long-term conditions such as MS in the UK is changing: whereas previously it predominantly took place from a hospital setting, it now more commonly occurs in a primary care setting. In addition, patients and carers are recognised as equal partners in the planning and delivery of care. This article explores the approaches used by community nurses providing care to patients and families in a multiagency context.
Sized WS2 Lamellae and their Texture Orientations Growth
Authors: El-Hami Khalil , Louro Cristina , Cavaleiro Albano
Published: January 2015

The tungsten disulfide (WS2) thin films, considered as inert, non-toxic, non-corrosive lubrication that is resistant to most fuel solvents, is the best solid lubricant for general industry. In this paper, WS2 thin films were deposited on steel and silicon <110> type substrates by DC sputtering methods with optimized experimental conditions and parameters. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were employed to characterize the surface morphology and determine the geometrical size of WS2 lamellae or microtubes. The investigation showed that both SEM and AFM analysis revealed oriented WS2 crystalline lamellae on silicon substrate while they are entangled on the steel substrate. This result leads to say precociously that the WS2 thin films deposition depend on the substrate type. Moreover, using the AFM results, we could determine the average lamella (or microtube) size which has from 200 nm to 500 nm in width and from 1mm to 1.5mm in length. The EDS tool allows attaining the composition of deposited WS2 where the tungsten and the disulfide represent about 40 and 55%, respectively.
Flame Retardant Polyurethanes and their Applications for the Improvement in Properties of Conventional Castor Oil Based Polyurethane
Authors: Patel Rasmika , Hirani Amin , Patel Hitesh
Published: January 2015

The urethane polymers of castor oil (COPU) are used in many commercial applications but one of the major limitations of these polymers is their inherent flammability and poor mechanical properties. Polymers containing phosphorous groups belong to the fire retardants, and when blended with castor oil based polyurethane improves the latter’s fire retardant properties. Present work, deals with the synthesis of a monomer bis (m-hydroxy phenyl) phenyl phosphate (BHPPP) and its related polyurethanes. Characterization of the monomer and polyurethanes are discussed. Blending of the polyurethanes with COPU in different proportions improves both the flame retardant and mechanical properties of the COPU.
Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) in blood serum sample using sodium diethyldithiocarbamate as the complexing agent
Authors: Sabzi Reza Emamali , Mohseni Naimeh , Bahram Morteza , Bari Mahmoud Rezazadeh
Published: January 2015

Â A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) process based on the complexation reaction of Cu(II) with diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) from aqueous solutions was investigated. The effect of various experimental parameters in the extraction such as, dispersive solvent, extracting solvent, the volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH of the aqueous solution, ionic strength and extraction time were optimized using one variable at a time method, and the analytical charactristics of the method were obtained. Under the optimum conditions the calibration graph was linear over the range 0.01 to 0.1 Î¼g mL-1 of Cu(II) ion with a correlation coefficient of 0.994. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 8.6 Ã— 10-3 Î¼g mL-1. Relative standard deviation (RSD) for 7 replicate determinations of 0.08 Î¼g mL-1 Cu(II) was 3.3%. In this work, the concentration factor of 20 and also the improvement factor of 33 were reached. The interference effect of some anions and cations was also tested. The extraction method has been successfully applied to the determination of copper in human blood serum sample.
A Voz dos Avós: Migração, Memória e Património Cultural
Authors: Villas‑Boas Susana
Published: January 2015

...
Comparison of Unmodulated Current Control Characteristics of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
Authors: Muqorobin Anwar , Irasari Pudji , Taufik Taufik
Published: January 2015

This paper discusses comparison of unmodulated current controls in PMSM, more specifically, on-off, sliding mode, predictive and hybrid controls. The purpose of this study is to select the most appropriate control technique to be adopted. The comparison method is preceded by modeling the motor and entering the values of the motor parameters. PI control is used for speed control and zero d-axis current is employed. Furthermore, performing simulation for each type ofthe selected current controls and analyzing their responses in terms of dq and abc currents, q-axis current response with step reference, as well as THD. Simulation results show that the on-off control gives the best overall performance based on its abc-axis current ripple and THD at large load torque. The hybrid control shows the best response occurring only at the fastest transient time of q-axis current but its response exhibits bad qualities compared with other controls. The predictive control yields the best responses offering the smallest d-axis ripple current and THD at small load torque condition. The sliding mode control, however, does not exhibit any prominent performance compared to the others. Results presented in this paper further indicate that for the PMSM used in the simulation the most appropriate control is the predictive control.
Braking System Modeling and Brake Temperature Response to Repeated Cycle
Authors: Dalimus Zaini
Published: January 2015

Braking safety is crucial while driving the passenger or commercial vehicles. Large amount of kinetic energy is absorbed by four brakes fitted in the vehicle. If the braking system fails to work, road accident could happen and may result in death. This research aims to model braking system together with vehicle in Matlab/Simulink software and measure actual brake temperature. First, brake characteristic and vehicle dynamic model were generated to estimate friction force and dissipated heat. Next, Arduino based prototype brake temperature monitoring was developed and tested on the road. From the experiment, it was found that brake temperature tends to increase steadily in long repeated deceleration and acceleration cycle.
Influence of environmental factors on a Halodule wrightii Ascherson meadow in northeastern Brazil
Authors: Barros Kcrishna Vilanova de Souza , Rocha-Barreira Cristina de Almeida
Published: January 2015

The influence of environmental factors on the shape, biomass and biometry of Halodule wrightii was determined throughout the year, in Goiabeiras Beach (Fortaleza-Ceará-Brazil), based on the measurement of meadow shape and employing non-parametric Spearman correlations, canonical correlation analyses and BIO-ENV. Biomass and biometry of H. wrightii were significantly greater in the rainy season in comparison to the dry season. These characters were also positively correlated to variables associated with rainfall. Considering the main environmental factors analyzed, meteorological factors exert a greater influence on a number of variables. Besides waves, strongly influenced by winds in this area, temperature and salinity had a significant role on the variance found in the H. wrightii meadow studied, which can be related to sporadic exposition. Thus, further studies should consider the specific influence of these variables, and also what are the specific influences on reproductive events in H. wrightii in the natural environment.
Interactions between the transmembrane domains of CD39: identification of interacting residues by yeast selection
Authors: Paavilainen Sari , Guidotti Guido
Published: January 2015

Rat CD39, a membrane-bound ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase that hydrolyzes extracellular nucleoside tri- and diphosphates, is anchored to the membrane by two transmembrane domains at the two ends of the molecule. The transmembrane domains are important for enzymatic activity, as mutants lacking one or both of these domains have a fraction of the enzymatic activity of the wild-type CD39. We investigated the interactions between the transmembrane domains by using a strain of yeast that requires surface expression of CD39 for growth. Random mutagenesis of selected amino acid residues in the N-terminal transmembrane domain revealed that the presence of charged amino acids at these positions prevents expression of functional protein. Rescue of the growth of these mutants by complementary mutations on selected residues of the C-terminal transmembrane domain indicates that there is contact between particular faces of the transmembrane domains.
State Sovereignty and Federal Sentencing
Authors: Sady Stephen R.
Published: January 2015

This article addresses one of the most difficult areas of federal sentencing law: concurrent and consecutive sentences in dual state and federal prosecutions. Prior to the Sentencing Reform Act, the Supreme Court in Ponziset out the norm of full comity and mutual respect for the respective judgments of state and federal courts. In implementing the SRA, the Bureau of Prisons has interpreted statutes to, in effect, assert federal supremacy over state judgments, claiming the authority to execute a sentence as consecutive even where the federal judgment is silent on the issue and the state judgment calls for concurrency. This practice violates the separation of powers and the required comity for state and federal law enforcement authority.

When viewed together, the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Setserand Bond establish that the Bureau of Prisons must defer to a state court judge’s concurrency decision when the federal judgment is silent on the question. First, Setseremphasized that the concurrent/consecutive decision is a core judicial function, highlighting the separation of powers problems inherent in the Executive Branch both prosecuting a defendant and determining the amount of time the prisoner will serve. Second, in limiting the scope of federal law enforcement pursuant to a treaty, Bondheld that, absent a clear statement from Congress, federal law does not override "the usual constitutional balance of federal and state powers." In the sentencing context, because Congress has not authorized intrusion into state sentencing power, the BOP has no authority to trump a state judgment of concurrency because only the state has the power to say how much, or how little, punishment the defendant should receive for a violation of a state statute. To avoid serious constitutional questions, the courts should construe any of three federal sentencing statutes -- 18 U.S.C. §§ 3584, 3585(b), and 3621(e) -- in a manner that restores the constitutional balance and protects prisoners from over-incarceration.
One Road to Prison Reform Runs Through Europe
Authors: Specter Donald
Published: January 2015

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Plata v. Brown, the author toured prison systems in Western Europe with a University of Maryland study abroad program and then again with corrections and public officials from three states. The goal of the first trip was to compare and contrast competing correctional systems. The second trip was designed to expose relevant public officials to different penological values and practices. Both groups quickly appreciated the profound differences in conditions and philosophies. Even though imprisonment in these European countries is a last resort, prisons are designed to be as “normal” as possible. The State’s responsibility goes past the constitutional minimum under the Eighth Amendment to provide food, clothing, shelter and personal safety. Reintegration into the community—not punishment—is the primary objective. These values translated to conditions and programs that are more humane and effective than those typically found in the United States. Correctional leaders used this experience to put into place programs limiting the housing of the mentally ill prisoners in segregation, improving reentry programs, and “normalizing” some prison units. Direct and personal exposure to European prison and criminal justice systems promoted humane and effective prisons at home.
Doing the Right Thing
Authors: Shames Alison , Subramanian Ram
Published: January 2015

Human dignity plays a central and constitutive role within the German and Dutch criminal justice systems. It influences not only the overall approach to, and accepted purpose of, punishment, but also the types of sanctions that are typically doled out, the setup of their prisons, and the conditions in which prisoners find themselves once in custody. Although human dignity is not the paramount value in the American criminal justice system, this article contends that recent criminal justice reform efforts implicate human dignity into system practices to a greater degree than ever before. While the reform efforts are prompted by a concern for efficiency and efficacy, policymakers are increasingly relying on research that indicates that more humane and individualized treatment of offenders is a key component to achieving desired public safety outcomes. The article starts with a brief discussion of how human dignity became a central value of the European system and contrasts this with the historically weaker sway human dignity has played in the American system. It then demonstrates that the principle of human dignity is gaining influence through recent legislative reform efforts in the United States as well as changes in correctional training and supervision practices.
Deconstructing the Intercultural Learning of a Doctoral Group Undertaking Qualitative Research—Or how not to do a ‘White PhD’
Authors: Stronach Ian , Frankham Jo , Bibi-Nawaz Sajida , Cui Vanessa , Cahill Greg , Dymoke Katy , Mai Dung , Mat-Som Hafisan , Khalid Khalid , Alshareif Othman , Abrawi Nasra
Published: January 2015

This article looks at the intellectual and linguistic dilemmas of an international doctoral group and juxtaposes these with some of the existential challenges the group faces. The intention is to offer a kind of ‘dialectical tacking’ between doctoral thinking and doctoral experiences more broadly. The overall aim of the piece is to think in front of each other while developing a sense of ‘equality’ in relation to group contributions. Each of the excursions into research in this article enacts different approaches to research thinking – comparative, inductive, deductive, dialectical and deconstructive. In this piece, the voices of the tutors (Stronach and Frankham) are mostly dominant, but further publication will shift that balance significantly towards the voice of the doctoral student. We begin with an empirical detail that highlights the nature of some of the problems of cultural and linguistic translation.
This Toxic Material
Authors: Gullion Jessica Smartt
Published: January 2015

In this project, I explore cancer/environment assemblages as situated in a geographic space identified as having excess cancer incidence. I draw on theories of vibrant materialism to draw interconnections between the cultural and natural experiences of cancer. Through in-depth interviews with cancer patients who attribute their cancer to an environmental cause, I seek to understand how they position themselves within the assemblage. I invite the reader to connect to this assemblage through a rhizome of poetic representation.
Oral History in the Service of Communities
Authors: Lieblich Amia
Published: January 2015

The narrative turn has several applications in therapy, education, medicine, and gerontology. Oral history, as the collection of individual life stories for the purpose of preserving and promoting the collective memory of communities, is another such application. This article describes the resurgence of oral history and its various genres. In this context, four international oral history projects are described: in India for the Tibetan exiles, in Japan for the tsunami victims, in South Korea for North Korean refugees, and in Israel for a binational Jewish-Palestinian village. The article discusses the changes that occur in the lives of interviewees and interviewers and highlights the role and the challenges of qualitative inquiry as a humanitarian endeavor.1
Articlepoem
Authors: Reinertsen Anne Beate , Ben-Horin Oded , Borgenvik Katrine
Published: January 2015

This is a cross-disciplinary experiment with tensions and possibilities between art and pedagogy. It is an attempt to communicate the challenges of but also the joy of attempting to realize different ways of approaching the meeting points between these fields: performing dramatic representations and shapings of research and advocating for what we want and see needed. Poems, music, and lyrics and layout, graphics, and stream-of-thought writing blend with standard social science discourse, hopefully creating new angles, possibilities, methods, performative communication concepts, and reasonings.