bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Intravenous Zoledronate on Bone Turnover and BMD Persist for at Least 24 Months
Authors: Bolland Mark J , Grey Andrew B , Horne Anne M , Briggs Simon E , Thomas Mark G , Ellis-Pegler Rod B , Callon Karen E , D Gamble Greg , Reid Ian R
Published: March 2008

The duration of the antiresorptive effects of the intravenous bisphosphonate, zoledronate, is not known. Recently, we reported that two annual 4-mg doses of zoledronate suppressed bone turnover and increased BMD in HIV-infected men over 24 mo. We set out to determine the persistence of these effects after two doses of zoledronate. Thirty-three HIV-infected men who completed a randomized trial of 4 mg annual zoledronate (n = 17) or placebo (n = 16) were studied for a further 12 mo, during which time no skeletal therapy was administered. Participants received calcium (400 mg/d) and vitamin D supplements (50,000 IU/mo) for the first 24 mo of the study only. Biochemical markers of bone turnover and BMD were measured every 6 mo. Bone turnover markers were stably suppressed at 24 and 36 mo (12 and 24 mo after the second annual dose of zoledronate, respectively). There were no significant within-group changes in urine N-telopeptide, serum C-telopeptide, and osteocalcin between 24 and 36 mo (p > 0.07), and at each time point, each of the turnover markers was significantly lower in the zoledronate group. There were also no significant between-group differences in the changes in BMD at each site between 24 and 36 mo (p > 0.5), and at each time point, BMD at each site was significantly higher in the zoledronate group. These results suggest that the antiresorptive effects of zoledronate last >12 mo and raise the possibility that zoledronate could be administered less frequently than annually. Randomized trials that address this issue should be performed.
Transmission of Vertical Whole Body Vibration to the Human Body
Authors: Kiiski Juha , Heinonen Ari , Järvinen Teppo L , Kannus Pekka , Sievänen Harri
Published: March 2008

According to experimental studies, low-amplitude high-frequency vibration is anabolic to bone tissue, whereas in clinical trials, the bone effects have varied. Given the potential of whole body vibration in bone training, this study aimed at exploring the transmission of vertical sinusoidal vibration to the human body over a wide range of applicable amplitudes (from 0.05 to 3 mm) and frequencies (from 10 to 90 Hz). Vibration-induced accelerations were assessed with skin-mounted triaxial accelerometers at the ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar spine in four males standing on a high-performance vibration platform. Peak vertical accelerations of the platform covered a range from 0.04 to 19 in units of G (Earth's gravitational constant). Substantial amplification of peak acceleration could occur between 10 and 40 Hz for the ankle, 10 and 25 Hz for the knee, 10 and 20 Hz for the hip, and at 10 Hz for the spine. Beyond these frequencies, the transmitted vibration power declined to 1/10th−1/1000th of the power delivered by the platform. Transmission of vibration to the body is a complicated phenomenon because of nonlinearities in the human musculoskeletal system. These results may assist in estimating how the transmission of vibration-induced accelerations to body segments is modified by amplitude and frequency and how well the sinusoidal waveform is maintained. Although the attenuation of vertical vibration at higher frequencies is fortunate from the aspect of safety, amplitudes >0.5 mm may result in greater peak accelerations than imposed at the platform and thus pose a potential hazard for the fragile musculoskeletal system.
Characteristics of the Phagocytic Cup Induced by Uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Authors: Wang Huaibin , Liang Feng-Xia , Kong Xiang-Peng
Published: March 2008

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli invade the urothelial umbrella cells by using the zipper mechanism. However, the details of the early events of this invasion, such as the formation of the phagocytic cup, are not yet well understood. We show here, using thin section electron microscopy and immunogold labeling, that the plasma membrane curves around the bacterial surface in the phagocytic cup. There exists a uniform gap between the bacterium and the urothelial membrane, and actin filaments are present in the phagocytic cup. We suggest that the action–reaction between the mechanical forces generated by pilus retraction of the bacterium and the actin polymerization in the urothelial cell plays a role in maintaining the phagocytic cup. This manuscript contains online supplemental material at http://www.jhc.org . Please visit this article online to view these materials.
Pediatric Residents' Clinical and Educational Experiences With End-of-Life Care
Authors: McCabe Megan E. , Hunt Elizabeth A. , Serwint Janet R.
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to document the frequency of pediatric resident experiences with end-of-life care for children and the educational context for these experiences, as well as to determine whether residents deem their preparatory training adequate.

METHODS. An Internet-based survey was distributed to all categorical pediatric residents at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Survey items asked residents to (1) quantify their experiences with specific responsibilities associated with the death of a pediatric patient, (2) identify their educational experiences, and (3) respond to Likert scale statements of, “I feel adequately trained to… .” The responsibilities were discussion of withdrawal/limitation of life-sustaining therapy, symptom management, declaration of death, discussion of autopsy, completion of a death certificate, seeking self-support, and follow-up with families.

RESULTS. Forty (50%) of 80 residents completed the survey. Residents had been present for a mean (± SD) of 4.7 (± 3.0) patient deaths. More than 50% of residents had participated in discussions of withdrawal/limitation of life-sustaining therapy, symptom management, completing a death certificate, and seeking personal support; however, <50% of residents had been taught how to hold discussions of withdrawal/limitation of life-sustaining therapy, declare death, discuss autopsy, complete a death certificate, and have follow-up with families. Residents did not feel adequately trained in any of these areas.

CONCLUSION. Pediatric residents have limited experience with pediatric end-of-life care and highly varied educational experiences and do not feel adequately trained to fulfill the responsibilities associated with providing end-of-life care for children. Overall, this perception does not improve with increased level of training. This study identifies several target areas for curricular intervention that may ultimately improve the end-of-life experience for our pediatric patients and their families and the young physicians who care for them.
Serum Cytokine and Chemokine Profiles in Neonates With Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Authors: Okazaki Kaoru , Kondo Masatoshi , Kato Masahiko , Kakinuma Ryota , Nishida Akira , Noda Masahiro , Taniguchi Kiyosu , Kimura Hirokazu
Published: March 2008

OBJECTIVES. Various inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are thought to be associated with the pathophysiology of meconium aspiration syndrome. To clarify any such association, we compared various serum cytokine and chemokine profiles in patients with and without meconium aspiration syndrome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS. Using a highly sensitive fluorescence microsphere method, 17 types of cytokines and chemokines in sera were measured in 11 neonatal patients with meconium aspiration syndrome, 16 neonatal patients without meconium aspiration syndrome, and 9 healthy children.

RESULTS. The concentrations of 8 types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were significantly higher in the meconium aspiration syndrome group than in healthy controls: interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-γ, macrophage inflammatory protein-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Six types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were significantly higher in the meconium aspiration syndrome group than in the nonmeconium aspiration syndrome group: interleukin-6, interleukin-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Serum concentrations of interleukin-10 (anti-inflammatory cytokine) in the meconium aspiration syndrome group were higher than those in both the nonmeconium aspiration syndrome group and healthy children group (P = .007 and 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS. Most types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in sera of neonates with meconium aspiration syndrome were higher than those without meconium aspiration syndrome, giving support to the suggestion that elevated levels are associated with the pathogenesis of meconium aspiration syndrome.
Deformation-induced surface corrugation of superplastic ceramics
Authors: Muto Hiroyuki , Futami Takatoshi , Sakai Motosugu
Published: March 2008

A new finding is reported for the surface corrugation induced in the superplastic deformation and flow of 3 mol% yttria-partially stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal and β-spodumene glass ceramic, the former including no secondary phase and the latter having a plenty of glassy phase at grain boundaries. A significant test specimen size effect on the resistance to superplastic deformation is also addressed. These findings are related to the microscopic processes and mechanisms of cooperative grain-boundary sliding.
Novel hexagonal structure and ultrahigh strength of magnesium solid solution in the Mg–Zn–Y system
Authors: Inoue Akihisa , Kawamura Yoshihito , Matsushita Mitsuhide , Hayashi Kentaro , Koike Junichi
Published: March 2008

A magnesium (Mg) solid solution with a long periodic hexagonal structure was found in a Mg97Zn1Y2 (at.%) alloy in a bulk form prepared by warm extrusion of atomized powders at 573 K. The novel structure has an ABACAB-type six layered packing with lattice parameters of a = 0.322 nm and c = 3 × 0.521 nm. The Mg solid solution has fine grain sizes of 100 to 150 nm and contains 0.78 at.% Zn and 1.82 at.% Y. In addition, cubic Mg24Y5 particles with a size of about 7 nm are dispersed at small volume fractions of less than 10% in the Mg matrix. The specific density (ρ) of the extruded bulk Mg–Zn–Y alloy was 1.84 Mg/m3. The tensile yield strength (σy) and elongation (δ) are 610 MPa and 5%, respectively, at room temperature, and the specific yield strength defined by the ratio of σy to ρ is as high as 3.3 × 105 Nm/kg. High σy values exceeding 400 MPa are also maintained at temperatures up to 473 K. It is noticed that the σy levels are 2.5 to 5 times higher than those for conventional high-strength type Mg-based alloys. The Mg-based alloy also exhibits a high-strain-rate superplasticity with large δ of 700 to 800% at high strain rates of 0.1 to 0.2 s−1 and 623 K. The excellent mechanical properties are due to the combination of the fine grain size, new long periodic hexagonal solid solution containing Y and Zn, and dispersion of fine Mg24Y5 particles. The new Mg-based alloy is expected to be used in many fields.
Additive controlled crystallization of barium titanate powders and their application for thin-film ceramic production: Part I. Powder Synthesis
Authors: Grohe B. , Miehe G. , Wegner G.
Published: March 2008

Stoichiometric barium titanate (BaTiO3) was synthesized in aqueous solution with acetone and/or methanol as additives to control the crystallization process. Adjusted nano-sized particles and narrow particle size distributions were achieved at 60 °C with additive concentrations up to 243 ml/ l. The growth kinetics showed that the additives influence the nucleation of the BaTiO3 particles and tend to suppress Ostwald ripening.
Porosity and microstructure control of porous ceramics by partial hot pressing
Authors: Yang Jian-Feng , Zhang Guo-Jun , Ohji Tatsuki
Published: March 2008

Precise control of porosity and microstructure of porous ceramics is essential. This paper describes a method for the preparation of porous ceramics with porosity from 0.0 to 0.4. The ceramics were prepared via hot pressing a powder mixture to a definite dimension, and the porosity was easily adjusted by the powder amount. As examples, porous Si3N4 or SiC ceramics were produced by powder mixtures that contained Si3N4 or SiC and a sintering additive of oxide. It was demonstrated that the present method is advantageous for producing ceramics with controllable porosity and microstructure.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of electrodeposited cadmium mercury telluride thin films and their native surface oxides
Authors: Ramiro J. , Galán L. , Camarero E. García , Montero I. , Laaziz Y.
Published: March 2008

Electrodeposited thin films of CdTe and CdxHg1−xTe with 1 − x = 0 and approximately 0.1 were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The composition of the bulk and the thickness and composition of the native surface oxide before and after Ar+ ion sputtering were determined. A surface oxide layer 20-Å thick constituted mainly of alloyed TeO2 and CdO was found over a nearly stochiometric bulk. Chemical diffusion of Hg, Cd, and Te to the surface was observed. Hg appears to inhibit oxidation of the telluride, mainly of Te. Ar sputtering removed undesirable oxides and impurities off the films.
Analysis and modeling of residual stress in diamond thin film deposited by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition process
Authors: Cha Seung I. , Hong Soon H.
Published: March 2008

The effect of microstructure on residual stress in diamond thin film was investigated. The diamond thin film was deposited by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition process with hydrogen/methane precursor gas and followed by annealing at 1150 °C for 1–30 min. The residual stresses of the diamond thin film were measured by Raman spectroscopy. A model to estimate the residual stress was proposed on the basis of grain boundary relaxation mechanism and microstructural analysis of diamond thin film. It is confirmed that the residual stress in diamond thin film is proportional to a microstructural factor, 1/ [D( f + 1)]1/2, where D is the grain size of diamond and f is the volume ratio of nondiamond carbon/diamond.
Chemical stresses induced by grain-boundary diffusion in thin films
Authors: Wang W. L. , Chou Y. T. , Lee Sanboh
Published: March 2008

Chemical stresses induced by grain-boundary diffusion in thin films were analyzed. The stress distribution consisted of both tension and compression fields, and its characteristics were similar to those obtained for a semi-infinite solid. At a given time, the maximum stress (tension or compression) increased with increasing film thickness for both constant and instantaneous sources; it was generally higher than that in the semi-infinite system. The maximum stress (tension or compression) decreased as the diffusion time increased and at a given time and film thickness it increased with decreasing diffusivity ratio. The buildup of local stress is likely to cause damage and malfunctions of the film when used in an electronic device.
Study of phase components of La1.5Ca1.5Mn2O7
Authors: Zhu J. L. , Yu R. C. , Li F. Y. , Jin C. Q. , Zhang Z.
Published: March 2008

The manganate with nominal composition La1.5Ca1.5Mn2O7, which is regarded as a single-phase compound with layered perovskite structure in the literature, was prepared using a standard ceramic process. The structures and morphology of the manganate were investigated by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray microanalysis. However, no direct evidence of layered Sr3Ti2O7-type structure was observed in TEM experiments; instead, we observed multiphase mixtures of an orthorhombically distorted perovskite phase as majority and cubic perovskite phase as minority, as well as a small amount of calcium oxide. The measured magnetic and transport properties of this manganate arise mainly from the presence of hole-doped multiphase perovskite manganates. These physical properties demonstrated again the correctness of our phase component analysis.
Nonisothermal phase formation kinetics in sol-gel-derived strontium bismuth tantalate
Authors: Sung Yun-Mo
Published: March 2008

Phase formation characteristics of Sr0.7Bi2.4Ta2O9 (SBT) powder, synthesized via the sol-gel and pyrolysis processes, was investigated using the thermal analysis technique. The two exotherms, appearing in the differential thermal analysis (DTA) curve, were identified as crystallization of fluorite phase and transformation of fluorite to Aurivillius phase, respectively, using x-ray diffraction. Nonisothermal kinetic analysis of the DTA results shows activation energy values for the formation of fluorite and Aurivillius phases as 192 and 375 kJ/mol, respectively, and Avrami exponent values for each reaction as 0.91 and 0.96, respectively. The results of this investigation are presented and discussed in detail to understand the phase formation mechanism in the SBT system.
Gradient porosity poly(dicyclopentadiene)
Authors: Martina A. Della , Hilborn J. G.
Published: March 2008

This article describes the preparation of gradient porosity thermoset polymers. The technique used is based on polymerizing a solution of cross-linkable dicyclopentadiene and 2-propanol. The forming polymer being insoluble in 2-propanol, phase separation occurs. Subsequent drying of the 2-propanol gives porosities up to 80%. An apparatus was built to produce a gradient in 2-propanol concentration in a flask, resulting in polymerized gradient porosity rods. The resulting materials have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and density measurements. A mathematical model which allows prediction of the gradient produced is also presented.
Dielectric properties of La-substituted Pb0.5Ca0.5[(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.5Ti0.5]O3 ceramics
Authors: Lu X. J. , Chen X. M.
Published: March 2008

Modification of Pb0.5Ca0.5[(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.5Ti0.5]O3 dielectric ceramics was performed by up to 20 mol% La substitution for Pb and Ca. The temperature coefficient of dielectric constant was significantly reduced by the present approach, while an increased Qf factor was achieved. Good microwave dielectric properties were obtained in a composition Pb0.425Ca0.425La0.1[(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.5Ti0.5]O3: ε = 125; Qf = 3150 GHz; calculated temperature coefficient of resonant frequency δf = +253 ppm/°C.
Water-associated surface degradation of CsLiB6O10 crystal during harmonic generation in the ultraviolet region
Authors: Morimoto Yukihiro , Miyazawa Shintaro , Kagebayashi Yoshio , Kitatochi Naoki , Yokota Toshio , Sakuma Jun
Published: March 2008

A study of the mechanisms of CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) crystal performance degradation during harmonic generation in the ultraviolet (UV) region was performed. The degradation rate of transmissivity during irradiation with the fourth harmonic light of an Nd3+ doped YLiF4 laser (4.7 eV) was linearly proportional to the concentration of hydroxyl (OH) groups in the CLBO crystal. In this study, the formation of OH groups was recognized by infrared absorption spectroscopy, and a method for determination of OH groups was proposed. The concentration of OH groups in the CLBO was linearly proportional to water vapor pressure and the CLBO containing OH groups absorbed UV light. We propose that one of the main mechanisms of surface degradation is the generation and growth of the mutants and that these mutants are generated by a UV photon-assisted reaction via OH group formation associated with absorbing water molecules into CLBO crystal.
Microstructural characterization of rapidly solidified Al–Fe–Si, Al–V–Si, and Al–Fe–V–Si alloys
Authors: Srivastava A. K. , Ranganathan S.
Published: March 2008

The present study of rapidly solidified melt-spun Al80Fe14Si6 Al80V14Si6, and Al80Fe10V4Si6 alloys by electron microscopy techniques, x-ray diffractometry, and differential scanning calorimetry leads to a number of microstructural results. Coexistence of a micro-quasicrystalline state of an icosahedral phase with monoclinic θ–Al13Fe4 and hexagonal β–Al6V in Al–Fe–Si and Al–V–Si alloys, respectively, is reported. Also, the growth morphology of the icosahedral phase surrounded by a crystalline ring was investigated in an Al–Fe–V–Si alloy. The crystalline ring has the particles of the cubic α–Al12(Fe,V)3Si silicide phase. Evidence of irrational twinning of cubic crystals, giving rise to a symmetry not deviating much from icosahedral symmetry was found in this alloy. In all the three alloys crystalline intermetallics were elucidated in the context of rational approximants of an icosahedral quasicrystal. It was noticed that while the icosahedral phase in Al–Fe–Si and Al–V–Si alloys transforms to crystalline intermetallics at about the same temperature (approximately 610 K), the transformation of icosahedral phase in Al–Fe–V–Si alloy occurred at a relatively lower temperature (540 K). The origin of different metastable microstructures and their stability at elevated temperatures, in these alloys, are compared and discussed.
Dependence of structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO:Al films on substrate temperature
Authors: Chen M. , Pei Z. L. , Wang X. , Sun C. , Wen L. S.
Published: March 2008

ZnO:Al (ZAO) films were deposited on fused silica substrates heated to 350 °C by dc magnetron reactive sputtering from a Zn target mixed with 1.5 wt% Al. Films deposited on a substrate heated to a temperature between room temperature and 300 °C were (001)-oriented crystals, but those grown at 350 °C consisted of crystallites with (001) and (101) orientations. The dependence of electrical properties such as resistivity, carrier concentration, and Hall mobility on temperature was measured. The results indicate that the carrier concentration and Hall mobility increase with increasing temperature up to 250 °C, though the Al content remains unchanged in this temperature range. The probable mechanisms are discussed. The minimum resistivity of ZAO films is 4.23 × 10−4 Ω cm, with a carrier concentration of 9.21 × 1020 cm−3 and a Hall mobility of 16.0 cm2 v−1 s−1. The films show a visible transmittance of above 80%.
Development of p-type microcrystalline silicon carbon alloy films by the very high frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique
Authors: Jana Tapati , Dasgupta Arup , Ray Swati
Published: March 2008

We developed p-type μc-silicon carbon alloy thin films by the very high frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique using a SiH4, H2, CH4, and B2H6 gas mixture at low power (55 mW/cm2) and low substrate temperatures (150–250 °C). Effects of substrate temperature and plasma excitation frequency on the optoelectronic and structural properties of the films were studied. A film with conductivity 5.75 Scm−1 and 1.93 eV optical gap (E04) was obtained at a low substrate temperature of 200 °C using 63.75 MHz plasma frequency. The crystalline volume fractions of the films were estimated from the Raman spectra. We observed that crystallinity in silicon carbon alloy films depends critically on plasma excitation frequency. When higher power (117 mW/cm2) at 180 °C with 66 MHz frequency was applied, the deposition rate of the film increased to 50.7 Å/min without any significant change in optoelectronic properties.
Photoinduced condensation of sol-gel hybrid glass films doped with benzildimethylketal
Authors: Park Oun-Ho , Jung Ji-In , Bae Byeong-Soo
Published: March 2008

Sol-gel hybrid glass films doped with benzildimethylketal (BDK) were prepared from [(methacryloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane, methacrylic acid, and zirconium n-propoxide. Polymerization of methacryl groups and polycondensation of alkoxides by UV illumination and baking were observed using Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy. Polymerization kinetics and refractive index increase depend on UV illumination time. The refractive index increase is sensitive to BDK concentration and agrees well with photodecomposition of BDK. Thus, it is found that the refractive index increase is made by incorporation of the radicals produced by photodecomposition of BDK in the network as well as polymerization of methacryl groups.
Transformation behavior of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal–TiB2composites
Authors: Basu B. , Vleugels J. , Biest O. Van Der
Published: March 2008

The objective of the present article is to study the influence of TiB2addition on the transformation behavior of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP). A range of TZP(Y)–TiB2composites with different zirconia starting powder grades and TiB2 phase contents (up to 50 vol%) were processed by the hot-pressing route. Thermal expansion data, as obtained by thermo-mechanical analysis were used to assess the ZrO2phase transformation in the composites. The thermal expansion hysteresis of the transformable ceramics provides information concerning the transformation behavior in the temperature range of the martensitic transformation and the low-temperature degradation. Furthermore, the transformation behavior and susceptibility to low-temperature degradation during thermal cycling were characterized in terms of the overall amount and distribution of the yttria stabilizer, zirconia grain size, possible dissolution of TiB2phase, and the amount of residual stress generated in the Y-TZP matrix due to the addition of titanium diboride particles. For the first time, it is demonstrated in the present work that the thermally induced phase transformation of tetragonal zirconia in the Y-TZP composites can be controlled by the intentional addition of the monoclinic zirconia particles into the 3Y-TZP matrix.
Thomas Mann's Wälsungenblut: The Married Artist and the “Jewish Question”
Authors: Kontje Todd
Published: March 2008

This essay examines Thomas Mann's response to the “Jewish question” by focusing on a phase when he struggled to come to terms in his art with the repression of his homosexual desires and with his marriage to the daughter of assimilated Jews. Mann's attitude toward the Jews is primarily hostile in the controversial novella Wälsungenblut (The Blood of the Walsungs), in which he projects anti-Semitic stereotypes onto distorted images of his wife and new in-laws. In the novel Königliche Hoheit (Royal Highness), Mann produces a more sympathetic portrait of his wife by giving her an ethnic background closely resembling his mother's. Mann's response to the Jewish question is linked to his tendency to think in racial categories; his ambivalence toward the Jews stems from his ambivalence toward himself as an artist with repressed homosexual desires and an admixture of foreign “blood.”
ÉcritureAesthetics: Mapping the Literate Episteme of Visual Narrative
Authors: Nayar Sheila J.
Published: March 2008

The norms of art-cinema narration—evident in the work of such directors as Ingmar Bergman, Satyajit Ray, and François Truffaut—reflect noetic processes and expectations engendered by a culture of the written word. Such norms are absent from Hindi popular films, which have been historically contoured by the psychodynamics of orally based thought and by devices and motifs common to oral storytelling. By funneling art-cinema narration's norms—already meticulously (and impartially) cataloged by David Bordwell—through the prism of orality and through the orally inflected characteristics of Hindi popular films and by conjointly engaging with literary theory concerned with issues of textuality, this essay develops a novel conceptual matrix for understanding the epistemic pressures that weigh on visual storytelling as both a spectatorial and a generative act.
Implementing Disform: An Interview with Orhan Pamuk
Authors: Mirze Z. Esra
Published: March 2008

Orhan Pamuk, born in Istanbul, is the author of My Name is Red, Snow, Istanbul: Memories and the City, and numerous other works. Over his career, Pamuk has investigated questions of identity, cultural representation, and political agency, achieving fame in Turkey for his complex, ambitious prose, which contrasts with the predominantly realist tradition of the Turkish novel. In 2005 he faced charges in Turkey related to statements he made regarding the killings of Kurds and Armenians in Anatolia. The charges were eventually dropped.
Poiein—Political Infinitive
Authors: Gourgouris Stathis
Published: March 2008

From a certain standpoint, Marjorie Perloff's lament, in her 2006 MLA Presidential Address, that literary study has been relegated to a secondary position in the research framework of our profession has merit. This standpoint, however, rests on a retrospective (if not nostalgic) comparison of today's institutional parameters with the enviable autonomy that literary study once enjoyed, a self-authorization that demarcated not merely the practice of literary study (or literary criticism) but even what we might call a literary way of thinking. This was how the institution of theory in American universities took hold, and it is elementary to recall that many other disciplines, principally in the social sciences but also in the arts, conceded to literary studies the vanguard of the methodological and epistemological reconfigurations of their own disciplinary boundaries. Anthropologists, historians, film critics, and art historians, who suddenly acceded to the position of theorist, came to regard literary studies as an inventory for whatever new terms or concepts they deemed necessary in unsettling their own disciplinary givens.
Historical Poetics, Dysprosody, and The Science of English Verse
Authors: Prins Yopie
Published: March 2008

“The sound of poetry, the poetry of sound” resonated as Marjorie Perloff's theme for the 2006 MLA Convention, where one could hear about this topic at panels, poetry readings, and the Presidential Forum. Addressing a large audience at the forum, Charles Bernstein tapped the microphone and loudly intoned, “Is this working? Can you hear me?” The moment was a self-conscious performance, perhaps parody, of lyric utterance addressed to “you” from “me”: even before beginning his speech, Bernstein called our attention to the amplification of voice. Instead of addressing any particular you, singular or plural, he seemed to address the microphone, a mediating apparatus that makes possible but also interrupts the intimacy of address that lyric poetry (after John Stuart Mill) invites us to overhear. Through the microphone, Bernstein gave new overtones to Mill's definition of poetry as “overheard,” which could also mean hearing it too much, making it too loud, overworking the metaphor of the voice that we think is speaking directly to us. Although we tend to think of sound as immediate (is it?), the sound of poetry is never heard without mediation, and we should attend to the medium.
The Wounded Tongue: Turkey's Language Reform and the Canonicity of the Novel
Authors: Parla Jale
Published: March 2008

With little Ottoman and less French, the tragicomic hero of an early Turkish novel,Araba Sevdasι(1896; “The Carriage Affair”), finds himself at a semantic impasse before a line in a French poem that reads, “[K]elime şeyi resmetmeye borçlu ise” (“[I]f the word could represent the thing”). Frustrated, he throws the poem away, grumbling, “[T]ous les poètes sont fous” (“[A]ll poets are fools”). This defiant gesture marks the beginning of the linguistic issue the Turkish novelists confronted during the first century of the Turkish novel (1870–1970). The reformist objective of these novelists was the employment of a vernacular style to appeal to the readership of an emerging print culture. The subsequent nationalist attempts to simplify the Turkish language led, in Geoffrey Lewis's words, to the “catastrophic success” of the “language revolution” of the republican era and had dire consequences for the development of the novel in Turkey.
Kinship and Figure in Andrey Bely's Petersburg
Authors: Emery Jacob
Published: March 2008

Andrey Bely's novel Petersburg (one of the high points of Russian literary modernism and a rough analogue to James Joyce's Ulysses) repeatedly claims that parent and child, being of the same flesh and blood, share an ambivalent identity. At the same time, because the novel opens by invoking a major character's genealogical relation to Adam, the book implies that this kin identity is universal and can be applied to the entire human race. This essay analyzes the role of kinship metaphor in Petersburg, demonstrating that tropes of parent-child identity facilitate the novel's dizzying metaphoric conflation, that they form a kind of metafictional mirror in which the novel probes its own nature as a work of the imagination, and that Bely's theory and practice of metaphor touch on broader philosophical issues of figure and fictionality.
“She Must Be a Rare One”: Aspasia, Corinne, and the Improvisatrice Tradition
Authors: Ianetta Melissa
Published: March 2008

Improvisation was long the apex of the arts of eloquence, yet modern scholars ignore its importance as a rhetorical and literary genre, thereby severing a long-enduring connection between rhetorical and literary history. This essay reads Plato's Menexenus to formulate a theory of improvisational rhetoric around the cultural position of Aspasia, a foreign woman renowned for eloquence in Periclean Athens. It then places this construction of improvisation alongside Germaine de Staël's early-nineteenth-century novel Corinne to demonstrate the endurance and evolution of improvisational rhetoric. Doing so not only illustrates the long-standing—and long-neglected—influence of improvisation on both rhetorical theory and literary production but also challenges present-day disciplinary prejudice by revealing the permeable boundary between imaginative works and those that provide rhetorical instruction.
Examining negotiation in peer group oral assessment
Authors: Gan Zhengdong
Published: March 2008

This article reports on a case study of negotiation that occurred in peer group oral interactions under assessment conditions. Discourse analysis was used to illustrate how participants negotiated and co-constructed the assessment format itself as well as meaning exchange sequences. Analyses of the data point to the advantage of using peer group discussion task in generating the interaction patterns representative of natural conversational situations. By concentrating on the situated dynamics and process of peer group functioning, this study also demonstrates the importance of peer learning opportunities that resulted from collaborative reasoning under assessment conditions, which have typically been ignored in the conventional testing paradigm. Implications of these findings over validity issues in oral language assessment are discussed.
An approach for developing quantitative risk-based microbial standards for fresh produce
Authors: Mena Kristina D. , Pillai Suresh D.
Published: March 2008

A key objective of the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program is to reduce the potential for produce to become contaminated with microbial pathogens, such as through irrigation water. Without microbial standards, however, it is impractical to decide whether there is a need to disinfect, a need to institute watershed protection programs, or a need to institute post-harvest disinfection regimes. To develop such standards, quantitative microbial risk assessments can be performed using pathogen monitoring data for produce. This paper presents an approach which can be used towards the application of a risk assessment framework to developing microbial standards for fresh produce. Risks of infection are estimated using typical monitoring data of Salmonella detected on carrots and assuming various scenarios of the likelihood of an individual consuming a contaminated serving of carrots in a given year. Estimated annual risks of infection range from 2.20 × 10−5 to 2.16 × 10−3, assuming 1% and 100% of an individual's carrot servings are contaminated, respectively. In addition, critical factors are identified which need to be incorporated in such a risk assessment approach as well as their impact on risk estimates to provide growers with benchmarks which may be targeted to reduce health risks.
Faecal contamination of a municipal drinking water distribution system in association with Campylobacter jejuni infections
Authors: Pitkänen Tarja , Miettinen Ilkka T. , Nakari Ulla-Maija , Takkinen Johanna , Siitonen Anja , Kuusi Markku , Holopainen Arja , Nieminen Kalle , Hänninen Marja-Liisa
Published: March 2008

After heavy rains Campylobacter jejuni together with high counts of Escherichia coli, other coliforms and intestinal enterococci were detected from drinking water of a municipal distribution system in eastern Finland in August 2004. Three patients with a positive C. jejuni finding, who had drunk the contaminated water, were identified and interviewed. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genotypes from the patient samples were identical to some of the genotypes isolated from the water of the suspected contamination source. In addition, repetitive DNA element analysis (rep-PCR) revealed identical patterns of E. coli and other coliform isolates along the distribution line. Further on-site technical investigations revealed that one of the two rainwater gutters on the roof of the water storage tower had been in an incorrect position and rainwater had flushed a large amount of faecal material from wild birds into the drinking water. The findings required close co-operation between civil authorities, and application of cultivation and genotyping techniques strongly suggested that the municipal drinking water was the source of the infections. The faecal contamination associated with failures in cleaning and technical management stress the importance of instructions for waterworks personnel to perform maintenance work properly.
An epidemiological study of enteric viruses in sewage with molecular characterization by RT-PCR and sequence analysis
Authors: Arraj A. , Bohatier J. , Aumeran C. , Bailly J. L. , Laveran H. , Traoré O.
Published: March 2008

The aim of this study was to assess the presence and seasonal frequency of various enteric viruses in wastewater treatment. The detection of astrovirus, norovirus, enterovirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and rotavirus was carried out by molecular analyses in concentrated water samples collected over 18 months at the entrance and exit of an activated sludge sewage treatment plant. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results were confirmed by sequencing, and comparative phylogenetic analysis was performed on the isolated strains. Genomes of human astrovirus and human rotavirus were identified in 26/29 and 11/29 samples of raw sewage, respectively, and in 12/29 and 13/29 treated effluent samples, respectively. Some rotavirus sequences detected in environmental samples were very close to those of clinical strains. Noroviruses, enteroviruses and HAV were not detected during the study period. This could be related to the small sample volume, to the sensitivity of the detection methods or to local epidemiological situations. Frequent detection of viral RNA, whether infectious or not, in the exit effluent of sewage treatment indicates wide dispersion of enteric viruses in the environment. Consequently, viral contamination resulting from the use of these treated waters is a risk that needs to be addressed.
HACCP and water safety plans in Icelandic water supply: Preliminary evaluation of experience
Authors: Gunnarsdóttir María J. , Gissurarson Loftur R.
Published: March 2008

Icelandic waterworks first began implementing hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) as a preventive approach for water safety management in 1997. Since then implementation has been ongoing and currently about 68% of the Icelandic population enjoy drinking water from waterworks with a water safety plan based on HACCP. Preliminary evaluation of the success of HACCP implementation was undertaken in association with some of the waterworks that had implemented HACCP. The evaluation revealed that compliance with drinking water quality standards improved considerably following the implementation of HACCP. In response to their findings, waterworks implemented a large number of corrective actions to improve water safety. The study revealed some limitations for some, but not all, waterworks in relation to inadequate external and internal auditing and a lack of oversight by health authorities. Future studies should entail a more comprehensive study of the experience with the use of HACCP with the purpose of developing tools to promote continuing success.
Factors determining vulnerability to diarrhoea during and after severe floods in Bangladesh
Authors: Hashizume Masahiro , Wagatsuma Yukiko , Faruque Abu S. G. , Hayashi Taiichi , Hunter Paul R. , Armstrong Ben , Sack David A.
Published: March 2008

This paper identifies groups vulnerable to the effect of flooding on hospital visits due to diarrhoea during and after a flood event in 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The number of observed cases of cholera and non-cholera diarrhoea per week was compared to expected normal numbers during the flood and post-flood periods, obtained as the season-specific average over the two preceding and subsequent years using Poisson generalised linear models. The expected number of diarrhoea cases was estimated in separate models for each category of potential modifying factors: sex, age, socio-economic status and hygiene and sanitation practices. During the flood, the number of cholera and non-cholera diarrhoea cases was almost six and two times higher than expected, respectively. In the post-flood period, the risk of non-cholera diarrhoea was significantly higher for those with lower educational level, living in a household with a non-concrete roof, drinking tube-well water (vs. tap water), using a distant water source and unsanitary toilets. The risk for cholera was significantly higher for those drinking tube-well water and those using unsanitary toilets. This study confirms that low socio-economic groups and poor hygiene and sanitation groups were most vulnerable to flood-related diarrhoea.
Cost-effectiveness analysis for the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive
Authors: Engelen Donné van , Seidelin Christian , Veeren Rob van der , Barton David N. , Queb Kabir
Published: March 2008

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) prescribes cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) as an economic tool for the minimisation of costs when formulating programmes of measures to be implemented in the European river basins by the year 2009. The WFD does not specify, however, which approach to CEA has to be taken by the EU member states. In this paper the lack of a standardised approach to CEA for the implementation of the WFD is taken as the point of departure. The aim of the paper is to discuss and evaluate two pragmatic approaches to CEA based on case studies recently performed in The Netherlands and Denmark. The case studies allow for the comparison of a quantitative and a qualitative approach to CEA at the water body and river basin level and for an evaluation of the approaches in terms of their practical applicability, their transparency and the extent to which they render sound results for decision-making. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the suitability of the two approaches for the implementation of the EU WFD.
Overexpression of sgm 5’ UTR mRNA reduces gentamicin resistance in both Escherichia coli and Micromonospora melanosporea cells
Authors: Kojic M. , Vojnovic Sandra , Vukov Natasa , Vasiljevic Branka
Published: March 2008

The 16S rRNA methylases are expressed by most of the antibiotic producing bacteria in order to protect themselves against antibiotics by methylation of 16S rRNA at positions which are crucial for their action. The sgm sisomicin-gentamicin resistance gene from Micromonospora zionensis methylates G1405 positioned in the A site of 16S rRNA, which includes a CCGCCC hexanucleotide. The same hexanucleotide is also present 14 nucleotides in front of the ribosome binding site of sgm mRNA. The model proposed for translational regulation of sgm assumes that Sgm binds to this motif, both on 16S rRNA and on the 5? untranslated region (UTR) of its own mRNA. The 5? UTR mRNA sequence was overexpressed on 3?-truncated sgm mRNA, and the effect on gentamicin resistance conferred by Sgm was tested in Escherichia coli and in Micromonospora melanosporea. Overexpression of the sgm mRNA regulatory region decreases the resistance to gentamicin in both E. coli and M. melanosporea. This effect is likely to be due to titration of Sgm molecules by the overexpressed 5? UTR.
Changes in oxidative status of the heart in rats receiving vitamin C supplements
Authors: Djurasevic S.F. , Djordjevic Jelena , Vujovic P. , Cvijic Gordana
Published: March 2008

We studied the oxidative status of the heart in rats receiving by two doses of vitamin C over a period of four weeks. The activities of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and catalase, hydrogen peroxide concentration, the level of lipid peroxidation, and total vitamin C content were determined in the heart of the experimental animals, as well as the concentration of vitamin C in their serum. Our results indicate that, apart from the ability of rats to synthesize vitamin C, supplementation leads to additional antioxidative protection.
Lipid composition of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) root plasma membrane and membrane-bound peroxidase and superoxide dismutase
Authors: Kukavica Biljana , Quartacci M.F. , Veljovic-Jovanovic Sonja , Navari-Izzo Flavia
Published: March 2008

Plasma membrane was isolated from roots of pea and maize plants and used to analyze POD and SOD isoforms, as well as lipid composition. Among lipids, phospholipids were the main lipid class, with phosphatidylcho?line being the most abundant individual component in both pea and maize plasma membranes. Significant differences between the two plant species were found in the contents of cerebrosides, free sterols, and steryl glycosides. Most maize POD isoforms were with neutral and anionic pI values, but the opposite was observed in pea. While both anionic and cationic SOD isoforms were isolated from maize, only two anionic SOD isoforms were detected in pea.
Phenotypic selection in common toad (Bufo bufo)
Authors: Cvetkovic Dragana , Tomasevic Natasa , Aleksic I. , Crnobrnja-Isailovic Andjelka
Published: March 2008

One of the most important problems for evolutionary biologists is to investigate the patterns and strength of phenotypic selection acting on quantitative traits in natural populations. Measurement of selection is complicated by the presence of correlations between characters; selection on a particular trait produces not only a direct effect, but indirect effects as well. Despite the growing body of phenotypic selection studies in a variety of taxa, studies on amphibians are still sparse. The aim of this study was to estimate patterns and strength of selection acting on a set of correlated characters in a natural population of Bufo bufo from the vicinity of Belgrade, Serbia. Morphological traits (body length, fore- and hind leg length) were measured, while fitness was assayed as fecundity and gonad weight for females and males, respec?tively. The regression approach was used to estimate selection differentials and gradients. Selection patterns differed between the sexes - linear selection differentials showed significant total directional selection for body size in females, but not in males. In males, differentials were significant for both fore- and hind leg lengths. Sample size did not permit identification of significant nonlinear (quadratic) selection.