bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Silicon Surface Morphology after Annealing in Ambient Hydrogen Containing a Trace Amount of Hydrogen Halide Gas
Authors: Habuka Hitoshi , Nishida Takayuki
Published: February 2011

The semiconductor silicon substrate surface morphology was studied after annealing in ambient hydrogen containing a trace amount (ppm level) of hydrogen chloride gas and hydrogen fluoride gas at atmospheric pressure. The silicon substrate surface became significantly rough after the annealing at substrate temperatures higher than 1100 °C. The surface had many randomly-shaped deep pits without any crystalline orientation. In contrast, the silicon surface was still specular after annealing at 1000 °C with the root mean square roughness of ca. 0.2 nm. Hydrogen chloride gas and hydrogen fluoride gas at very low concentrations are considered to be inactive toward the silicon surface at temperatures lower than 1000 °C.
An EDDY/Particle-in-Cell Simulation of Erosion of Plasma Facing Walls Bombarded by a Collisional Plasma
Authors: Inai Kensuke , Ohya Kaoru
Published: February 2011

To investigate the erosion of a plasma-facing wall intersecting an oblique magnetic field, we performed a kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of magnetized plasma, in which collision processes between charged and neutral particles were taken into account. Sheath formation and local physical quantities, such as the incident angle and energy distributions of plasma ions at the wall, were examined at a plasma density of 1018 m-3, a temperature of 10 eV, and a magnetic field strength of 5 T. The erosion rate of a carbon wall was calculated using the ion–solid interaction code EDDY. At a high neutral density (>1020 m-3), the impact energy of the ions dropped below the threshold for physical sputtering, so that the sputtering yield was drastically decreased and wall erosion was strongly suppressed. Sputter erosion was also suppressed when the angle of the magnetic field with respect to the surface normal was sufficiently large.
Fabrication of Electron Passes in Nano-TiO2 Layer by High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel Method for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Nishimura Terumi , Nomura Daishiro , Sakaguchi Shohhei , Nagayoshi Hideaki , Hayase Shuzi
Published: February 2011

Necking among titania nanoparticles in porous titania layers of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) was carried out by the collision of nanoparticles in a very fast gas flow of more than 1000–1500 m/s. where the substrate was held in an ambient atmosphere. The rapid gas flow was obtained by a high velocity oxy-fuel method (HVOF) operated at an intermediate temperature. The photovoltaic performance of a cell prepared by the HVOF method was slightly lower than that of DSCs fabricated by a conventional method involving coating-baking processes. The slightly low efficiency was explained by the small dye load and slightly lower electron diffusion coefficient in a porous titania layer. The time needed for fabricating a nanoporous titania layer (10 ×10 cm2) by the HVOF method was only a few minutes and was extremely shortened from the 2 h needed in the case of conventional coating and heating processes, which demonstrates that the HVOF method is useful for necking titania nanoparticles within an extremely short time.
Fabrication of 70-nm-Pitch Two-Level Interconnects by using Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography
Authors: Nakamura Naofumi , Oda Noriaki , Soda Eiichi , Aoyama Hajime , Tanaka Yuusuke , Kawamura Daisuke , Hosoi Nobuki , Takigawa Yukio , Shiohara Morio , Kondo Seiichi , Mori Ichiro , Saito Shuichi
Published: February 2011

A 70 nm pitch two-level interconnects have been successfully fabricated using extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) (λ=13.5 nm). EUVL enabled us to obtain fine pattern formation and usable overlay accuracy at each metal and via patterning. CF3I etching gas and ruthenium (Ru) barrier film deposited with physical vapor deposition (PVD) are key technologies for achieving good electrical properties. Very low effective resistivity of less than 4.5 µΩ cm in 35-nm-width wiring was obtained by using PVD-Ru barrier film. Via resistance of 12.4 Ω for via-holes with diameter of 35 nm was obtained.
Observation of Biospecimens at Cryotemperatures with Soft X-ray Microscope
Authors: Kimura Mitsuhiro , Takemoto Kuniko , Ohashi Yoshio , Ohigashi Takuji , Nakanishi Koji , Namba Hidetoshi , Kihara Hiroshi
Published: February 2011

We have been developing a cryogenic system for biospecimens at soft X-ray microscope with a compact SR source. We present here the features of this system and the results obtained for some biospecimens. The microscope used can image specimens surrounded by cold nitrogen gas from liquid nitrogen under atmospheric pressure. The liquid nitrogen flux is controlled by a temperature controller with a platinum resistance thermometer. The specimens can be maintained at the temperature preset within the range of 110–273 K. The cryogenic system has been installed at the X-ray microscopy beamline and the first cryogenic images have been acquired.
Preparation of Highly-Oriented Co2MnSi Films on a Non-Single-Crystalline Substrate Using a Titanium–Nitride Buffer Layer
Authors: Sugihara Atsushi , Sakuraba Yuya , Yakushiji Kay , Yuasa Shinji , Takanashi Koki
Published: February 2011

Highly-oriented titanium–nitride films were prepared on a non-single-crystalline substrate as a buffer layer of a Co2MnSi film. Co2MnSi films prepared on the titanium–nitride buffer layer showed a high (001)-orientation and at least a B2-ordered phase even for room temperature preparation. The magnetization curve of the Co2MnSi film annealed at 600 °C showed an extremely low coercivity of 1.4 Oe in addition to a high saturation magnetization, which indicated no interdiffusion between a Co2MnSi layer and a buffer layer. These results indicate that titanium nitride is a potential material for applications based on Co2MnSi.
Increased myocardial stiffness with maintenance of length-dependent calcium activation by female sex hormones in diabetic rats
Authors: Bupha-Intr Tepmanas , Oo Ye Win , Wattanapermpool Jonggonnee
Published: February 2011

A decrease in peak early diastolic filling velocity in postmenopausal women implies a sex hormone-related diastolic dysfunction. The regulatory effect of female sex hormones on cardiac distensibility therefore was evaluated in ovariectomized rats by determining the sarcomere length-passive tension relationship of ventricular skinned fiber preparations. Diabetes also was induced in the rat to assess the protective significance of female sex hormones on diastolic function. While ovariectomy had no effect on myocardial stiffness, collagen content, or titin ratio, a significant increase in myocardial stiffness was observed in diabetic rat only when female sex hormones were intact. The increased stiffness in diabetic-sham rats was accompanied by an elevated collagen content resulting from increases in the levels of procollagen and Smad2. Surprisingly, the increased myocardial stiffness in diabetic-sham rats was accompanied by a shift toward a more compliant N2BA of cardiac titin isoforms. The pCa-active tension relationship was analyzed at fixed sarcomere lengths of 2.0 and 2.3 μm to determine the magnitude of changes in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity between the two sarcomere lengths. Interestingly, high expression of N2BA titin was associated with a suppressed magnitude of changes in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity only in the diabetic-ovariectomized condition. Estrogen supplementation in diabetic-ovariectomized rats partially increased myocardial stiffness but completely reversed the change in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. These results indicate a restrictive adaptation of myocardium governed by female sex hormones to maintain myofilament activity in compensation to the pathophysiological induction of cardiac dilatation by the diabetic condition.
Adenosine kinase regulation of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy
Authors: Fassett John T. , Hu Xinli , Xu Xin , Lu Zhongbing , Zhang Ping , Chen Yingjie , Bache Robert J.
Published: February 2011

There is evidence that extracellular adenosine can attenuate cardiac hypertrophy, but the mechanism by which this occurs is not clear. Here we investigated the role of adenosine receptors and adenosine metabolism in attenuation of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Phenylephrine (PE) caused hypertrophy of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes with increases of cell surface area, protein synthesis, and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) expression. These responses were attenuated by 5 μM 2-chloroadenosine (CADO; adenosine deaminase resistant adenosine analog) or 10 μM adenosine. While antagonism of adenosine receptors partially blocked the reduction of ANP expression produced by CADO, it did not restore cell size or protein synthesis. In support of a role for intracellular adenosine metabolism in regulating hypertrophy, the adenosine kinase (AK) inhibitors iodotubercidin and ABT-702 completely reversed the attenuation of cell size, protein synthesis, and expression of ANP by CADO or ADO. Examination of PE-induced phosphosignaling pathways revealed that CADO treatment did not reduce AKTSer473 phosphorylation but did attenuate sustained phosphorylation of RafSer338 (24–48 h), mTORSer2448 (24–48 h), p70S6kThr389 (2.5–48 h), and ERKThr202/Tyr204 (48 h). Inhibition of AK restored activation of these enzymes in the presence of CADO. Using dominant negative and constitutively active Raf adenoviruses, we found that Raf activation is necessary and sufficient for PE-induced mTORC1 signaling and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. CADO treatment still blocked p70S6kThr389 phosphorylation and hypertrophy downstream of constitutively active Raf, however, despite a high level phosphorylation of ERKThr202/Tyr204 and AKTSer473. Reduction of Raf-induced p70S6kThr389 phosphorylation and hypertrophy by CADO was reversed by inhibiting AK. Together, these results identify AK as an important mediator of adenosine attenuation of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, which acts, at least in part, through inhibition of Raf signaling to mTOR/p70S6k.
S1P lyase: a novel therapeutic target for ischemia-reperfusion injury of the heart
Authors: Bandhuvula Padmavathi , Honbo Norman , Wang Guan-Ying , Jin Zhu-Qiu , Fyrst Henrik , Zhang Meng , Borowsky Alexander D. , Dillard Lisa , Karliner Joel S. , Saba Julie D.
Published: February 2011

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid that promotes cardiomyocyte survival and contributes to ischemic preconditioning. S1P lyase (SPL) is a stress-activated enzyme responsible for irreversible S1P catabolism. We hypothesized that SPL contributes to oxidative stress by depleting S1P pools available for cardioprotective signaling. Accordingly, we evaluated SPL inhibition as a strategy for reducing cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. We measured SPL expression and enzyme activity in murine hearts. Basal SPL activity was low in wild-type cardiac tissue but was activated in response to 50 min of ischemia ( n = 5, P < 0.01). Hearts of heterozygous SPL knockout mice exhibited reduced SPL activity, elevated S1P levels, smaller infarct size, and increased functional recovery after I/R compared with littermate controls ( n = 5, P < 0.01). The small molecule tetrahydroxybutylimidazole (THI) is a Federal Drug Administration-approved food additive that inhibits SPL. When given overnight at 25 mg/l in drinking water, THI raised S1P levels and reduced SPL activity ( n = 5, P < 0.01). THI reduced infarct size and enhanced hemodynamic recovery in response to 50 min of ischemia and to 40 min of reperfusion in ex vivo hearts ( n = 7, P < .01). These data correlated with an increase in MAP kinase-interacting serine/threonine kinase 1, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E, and ribosomal protein S6 phosphorylation levels after I/R, suggesting that SPL inhibition enhances protein translation. Pretreatment with an S1P1 and S1P3 receptor antagonist partially reversed the effects of THI. These results reveal, for the first time, that SPL is an ischemia-induced enzyme that can be targeted as a novel strategy for preventing cardiac I/R injury.
High-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol protects cardiac myocytes from hypoxia- and reoxygenation-induced cell death and preserves ventricular function
Authors: Malhotra Ricky , Valuckaite Vesta , Staron Michelle L. , Theccanat Tiju , D'Souza Karen M. , Alverdy John C. , Akhter Shahab A.
Published: February 2011

Apoptosis plays a significant role in maladaptive remodeling and ventricular dysfunction following ischemia-reperfusion injury. There is a critical need for novel approaches to inhibit apoptotic cell death following reperfusion, as this loss of cardiac myocytes can progressively lead to heart failure. We investigated the ability and signaling mechanisms of a high-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol-based copolymer, PEG 15–20, to protect cardiac myocytes from hypoxia-reoxygenation (H-R)-induced cell death and its efficacy in preserving ventricular function following extended hypothermic ischemia and warm reperfusion as relevant to cardiac transplantation. Pretreatment of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes with a 5% PEG solution led to a threefold decline in apoptosis after H-R relative to untreated controls. There was a similar decline in caspase-3 activity in conjunction with inhibition of cytochrome c release from the inner mitochondrial membrane. Treatment with PEG also reduced reactive oxygen species production after H-R, and sarcolemmal lipid-raft architecture was preserved, consistent with membrane stabilization. Cell survival signaling was upregulated after H-R with PEG, as demonstrated by increased phosphorylation of Akt, GSK-3β, and ERK1/2. There was also maintenance of cardiac myocyte β-adrenergic signaling, which is critical for myocardial function. PEG 15–20 was very effective in preserving left ventricular function following prolonged hypothermic ischemia and warm reperfusion. PEG 15–20 has a potent protective antiapoptotic effect in cardiac myocytes exposed to H-R injury and may represent a novel therapeutic strategy to decrease myocardial cell death and ventricular dysfunction at the time of reperfusion during acute coronary syndrome or following prolonged donor heart preservation.
Ionic mechanisms of electrophysiological properties and repolarization abnormalities in rabbit Purkinje fibers
Authors: Corrias Alberto , Giles Wayne , Rodriguez Blanca
Published: February 2011

Purkinje cells play an important role in drug-induced arrhythmogenesis and are widely used in preclinical drug safety assessments. Repolarization abnormalities such as action potential (AP) prolongation and early afterdeploarizations (EAD) are often observed in vitro upon pharmacological interventions. However, because drugs do not act on only one defined target, it is often difficult to fully explain the mechanisms of action and their potential arrhythmogenicity. Computational models, when appropriately detailed and validated, can be used to gain mechanistic insights into the mechanisms of action of certain drugs. Nevertheless, no model of Purkinje electrophysiology that is able to reproduce characteristic Purkinje responses to drug-induced changes in ionic current conductances such as AP prolongation and EAD generation currently exists. In this study, a novel biophysically detailed model of rabbit Purkinje electrophysiology was developed by integration of data from voltage-clamp and AP experimental recordings. Upon validation, we demonstrate that the model reproduces many key electrophysiological properties of rabbit Purkinje cells. These include: AP morphology and duration, both input resistance and rate dependence properties as well as response to hyperkalemia. Pharmacological interventions such as inward rectifier K+ current and rapid delayed rectifier K+ current block as well as late Na+ current increase result in significant AP changes. However, enhanced L-type Ca2+ current ( iCaL) dominates in EAD genesis in Purkinje fibers. In addition, iCaL inactivation dynamics and intercellular coupling in tissue strongly modulate EAD formation. We conclude that EAD generation in Purkinje cells is mediated by an increase in iCaL and modulated by its inactivation kinetics.
Antioxidant network expression abrogates oxidative posttranslational modifications in mice
Authors: Mital R. , Zhang W. , Cai M. , Huttinger Z. M. , Goodman L. A. , Wheeler D. G. , Ziolo M. T. , Dwyer K. M. , d'Apice A. J. F. , Zweier J. L. , He G. , Cowan P. J. , Gumina R. J.
Published: February 2011

Antioxidant enzymatic pathways form a critical network that detoxifies ROS in response to myocardial stress or injury. Genetic alteration of the expression levels of individual enzymes has yielded mixed results with regard to attenuating in vivo myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, an extreme oxidative stress. We hypothesized that overexpression of an antioxidant network (AON) composed of SOD1, SOD3, and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx)-1 would reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by limiting ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation and oxidative posttranslational modification (OPTM) of proteins. Both ex vivo and in vivo myocardial ischemia models were used to evaluate the effect of AON expression. After ischemia-reperfusion injury, infarct size was significantly reduced both ex vivo and in vivo, ROS formation, measured by dihydroethidium staining, was markedly decreased, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, measured by malondialdehyde production, was significantly limited, and OPTM of total myocardial proteins, including fatty acid-binding protein and sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA)2a, was markedly reduced in AON mice, which overexpress SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPx-1, compared with wild-type mice. These data demonstrate that concomitant SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPX-1 expression confers marked protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, reducing ROS, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, and OPTM of critical cardiac proteins, including cardiac fatty acid-binding protein and SERCA2a.
Cigarette smoke extract suppresses the RIG-I-initiated innate immune response to influenza virus in the human lung
Authors: Wu Wenxin , Patel Krupa B. , Booth J. Leland , Zhang Wei , Metcalf Jordan P.
Published: February 2011

Cigarette smoking is the major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predisposes subjects to severe respiratory tract infections. Epidemiological studies have shown that cigarette smokers are seven times more likely to contract influenza infection than nonsmokers. The mechanisms underlying this increased susceptibility are poorly characterized. Retinoic acid-inducible gene (RIG)-I is believed to play an important role in the recognition of, and response to, influenza virus and other RNA viruses. Our study focused on how cigarette smoke extract (CSE) alters the influenza-induced proinflammatory response and suppresses host antiviral activity in the human lung using a unique lung organ culture model. We first determined that treatment with 2–20% CSE did not induce cytotoxicity as assessed by LDH release. However, CSE treatment inhibited influenza-induced IFN-inducible protein 10 protein and mRNA expression. Induction of the major antiviral cytokine IFN-β mRNA was also decreased by CSE. CSE also blunted viral-mediated RIG-I mRNA and protein expression. Inhibition of viral-mediated RIG-I induction by CSE was prevented by the antioxidants N-acetyl-cysteine and glutathione. These findings show that CSE suppresses antiviral and innate immune responses in influenza virus-infected human lungs through oxidative inhibition of viral-mediated induction of the pattern recognition receptor RIG-I. This immunosuppressive effect of CSE may play a role in the enhanced susceptibility of smokers to serious influenza infection in the lung.
Apocynin Improves Insulin Resistance through Suppressing Inflammation in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice
Authors: Meng Ran , Zhu Da-Long , Bi Yan , Yang Dong-Hui , Wang Ya-Ping
Published: February 2011

We investigated the effects of apocynin on high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced insulin resistance in C57BL/6 mice. After 12 weeks of HFD, the mice that exhibited insulin resistance then received 5 weeks of apocynin (2.4 g/L, in water). Following apocynin treatment, fasting glucose, insulin, and glucose tolerance test showed significant improvement in insulin sensitivity in HFD-fed mice. We demonstrated that serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and leptin were remarkably reduced with apocynin treatment. We also found that mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the liver and mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and leptin in adipose tissue were suppressed by apocynin. Furthermore, the activity of transcription factor NF-κB in the liver was significantly suppressed with apocynin treatment. These results suggest that apocynin may reduce inflammatory factors in the blood, liver, and adipose tissue, resulting in amelioration of insulin resistance in HFD-fed mice.
Outcomes of Universal Access to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Georgia
Authors: Tsertsvadze Tengiz , Chkhartishvili Nikoloz , Sharvadze Lali , Dvali Natia , Chokoshvili Otar , Gabunia Pati , Abutidze Akaki , Nelson Kenrad , DeHovitz Jack , del Rio Carlos
Published: February 2011

Since 2004, Georgia achieved universal access to free antiretroviral therapy (ART). A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of Georgia's ART program. The study included adult patients enrolled in the ART program from 2004 through 2009. Of 752 patients, 76% were men, 60% were injection drug users (IDU), 59% had a history of an AIDS-defining illness, and 53% were coinfected with hepatitis C. The median baseline CD4 cell count was 141 cells/mm3. During followup, 152 (20%) patients died, with the majority of deaths occurring within 12 months of ART initiation. Mortality was associated with advanced immunodeficiency or the presence of incurable disease at baseline. Among patients remaining on treatment, the median CD4 gain was 216 cell/mm3and 86% of patients had viral load <400 copies/ml at the last clinical visit. The Georgia ART program has been successful in treating injection drug users infected with HIV.
Protein Kinase C δ Is a Downstream Effector of Oncogenic K-ras in Lung Tumors
Authors: Symonds Jennifer M. , Ohm Angela M. , Carter Cristan J. , Heasley Lynn E. , Boyle Theresa A. , Franklin Wilbur A. , Reyland Mary E.
Published: February 2011

Oncogenic activation of K-ras occurs commonly in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but strategies to therapeutically target this pathway have been challenging to develop. Information about downstream effectors of K-ras remains incomplete, and tractable targets are yet to be defined. In this study, we investigated the role of protein kinase C δ (PKCδ) in K-ras–dependent lung tumorigenesis by using a mouse carcinogen model and human NSCLC cells. The incidence of urethane-induced lung tumors was decreased by 69% in PKCδ-deficient knockout (δKO) mice compared with wild-type (δWT) mice. δKO tumors are smaller and showed reduced proliferation. DNA sequencing indicated that all δWT tumors had activating mutations in KRAS, whereas only 69% of δKO tumors did, suggesting that PKCδ acts as a tumor promoter downstream of oncogenic K-ras while acting as a tumor suppressor in other oncogenic contexts. Similar results were obtained in a panel of NSCLC cell lines with oncogenic K-ras but which differ in their dependence on K-ras for survival. RNA interference–mediated attenuation of PKCδ inhibited anchorage-independent growth, invasion, migration, and tumorigenesis in K-ras–dependent cells. These effects were associated with suppression of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation. In contrast, PKCδ attenuation enhanced anchorage-independent growth, invasion, and migration in NSCLC cells that were either K-ras–independent or that had WT KRAS. Unexpectedly, our studies indicate that the function of PKCδ in tumor cells depends on a specific oncogenic context, as loss of PKCδ in NSCLC cells suppressed transformed growth only in cells dependent on oncogenic K-ras for proliferation and survival. Cancer Res; 71(6); 2087–97. ©2011 AACR.
Helicobacter hepaticus–Induced Liver Tumor Promotion Is Associated with Increased Serum Bile Acid and a Persistent Microbial-Induced Immune Response
Authors: García Alexis , Zeng Yu , Muthupalani Sureshkumar , Ge Zhongming , Potter Amanda , Mobley Melissa W. , Boussahmain Chakib , Feng Yan , Wishnok John S. , Fox James G.
Published: February 2011

Chronic microbial infection influences cancer progression, but the mechanisms that link them remain unclear. Constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is a nuclear receptor that regulates enzymes involved in endobiotic and xenobiotic metabolism. CAR activation is a mechanism of xenobiotic tumor promotion; however, the effects of chronic microbial infection on tumor promotion have not been studied in the context of CAR function. Here, we report that CAR limits the effects of chronic infection–associated progression of liver cancer. CAR knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) male mice were treated with or without the tumor initiator diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at 5 weeks of age and then orally inoculated with Helicobacter hepaticus (Hh) or sterile media at 8 weeks of age. At approximately 50 weeks postinoculation, mice were euthanized for histopathologic, microbiological, molecular, and metabolomic analyses. Hh infection induced comparable hepatitis in WT and KO mice with or without DEN that correlated with significant upregulation of Tnfα and toll receptor Tlr2. Notably, DEN-treated Hh-infected KO mice exhibited increased numbers of liver lobes with dysplasia and neoplasia and increased multiplicity of neoplasia, relative to similarly treated WT mice. Enhanced tumor promotion was associated with decreased hepatic expression of P450 enzymes Cyp2b10 and Cyp3a11, increased expression of Camp, and increased serum concentrations of chenodeoxycholic acid. Together, our findings suggest that liver tumor promotion is enhanced by an impaired metabolic detoxification of endobiotics and a persistent microbial-induced immune response. Cancer Res; 71(7); 2529–40. ©2011 AACR.
Participation in the Community Social Control, the Neighborhood Watch Groups
Authors: Kang Ji Hyon
Published: February 2011

Studies confirm differences between participants and nonparticipants in voluntary organizations in general as well as those for crime prevention. Participants are more stable, longer residents, and attached residents with better socioeconomic status. Yet, previous studies have not thoroughly considered neighborhood conditions. A few studies show the overall participation-rate differences across neighborhoods without considering whether individuals residing in neighborhoods with different conditions show dissimilar patterns of participation. In addition, studies rarely consider the crime-related problems of communities. This study examines the differences between participants and nonparticipants in neighborhood crime-prevention associations with particular attention paid to the neighborhood-related factors, including crime problems. In addition, whether individual-related characteristics show the same or similar impact on participation when the community social context is in consideration is another question to be answered. It is revealed that individual- and neighborhood-related factors differentiate the residents’ participation. In particular, crime problems of the neighborhood affect participation in crime-prevention associations.
Officer Race Versus Macro-Level Context
Authors: Brunson Rod K. , Gau Jacinta M.
Published: February 2011

It has been proposed that hiring more Black police officers is an effective way to alleviate long-standing tensions between police and African Americans because Black officers will connect with Black citizens and treat them well. This hypothesis, however, fails to account for the macro-level context of the troubled locations in which African Americans disproportionately reside and wherein police–minority citizen problems are deep seated. The present study examines two competing hypotheses concerning the influence ofofficer race relative to that of ecological context in shaping African Americans’ experiences with and perceptions of local police. These hypotheses are testedusing in-depth interview data with Black residents of a majority-Black, high-crime, economically troubled city. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
Gang Involvement
Authors: Alleyne Emma , Wood Jane L.
Published: February 2011

This study examines some of the individual, social, and environmental factors that differentiate gang-involved youth (both gang members and peripheral youth) and nongang youth in a British setting. The authors found that gang-involved youth were more likely than nongang youth to be older, and individual delinquency and neighborhood gangs predicted gang involvement. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examined the relationships between social/environmental factors and gang involvement. As a result, this article found that parental management, deviant peer pressure, and commitment to school had indirect relationships with gang involvement. These findings are discussed as they highlight a need to address the mechanisms in which protective and risk factors function collectively.
Inside the Black Box
Authors: Hay Carter , Wang Xia , Ciaravolo Emily , Meldrum Ryan C.
Published: February 2011

In recent decades, researchers have identified many programs that successfully reduce juvenile delinquency. Evaluations of these programs generally do not, however, assess the mediating variables that intervene between program participation and reduced delinquency. Thus, although much insight has been gained on which programs are effective, the question of why they are effective is often neglected. This study addresses this issue by considering the risk factors that mediate the effects of a comprehensive intervention on juvenile offending. This was considered with data from the Children at Risk program, a 2-year multimodal intervention with random assignment that has been shown to reduce delinquency among high-risk early adolescents.
Computerized Classification Testing Under the One-Parameter Logistic Response Model With Ability-Based Guessing
Authors: Wang Wen-Chung , Huang Sheng-Yun
Published: February 2011

The one-parameter logistic model with ability-based guessing (1PL-AG) has been recently developed to account for effect of ability on guessing behavior in multiple-choice items. In this study, the authors developed algorithms for computerized classification testing under the 1PL-AG and conducted a series of simulations to evaluate their performances. Four item selection methods (the Fisher information, the Fisher information with a posterior distribution, the progressive method, and the adjusted progressive method) and two termination criteria (the ability confidence interval [ACI] method and the sequential probability ratio test [SPRT]) were developed. In addition, the Sympson–Hetter online method with freeze (SHOF) was implemented for item exposure control. Major results include the following: (a) when no item exposure control was made, all the four item selection methods yielded very similar correct classification rates, but the Fisher information method had the worst item bank usage and the highest item exposure rate; (b) SHOF can successfully maintain the item exposure rate at a prespecified level, without compromising substantial accuracy and efficiency in classification; (c) once SHOF was implemented, all the four methods performed almost identically; (d) ACI appeared to be slightly more efficient than SPRT; and (e) in general, a higher weight of ability in guessing led to a slightly higher accuracy and efficiency, and a lower forced classification rate.
Women, Microcredit and Family Planning Practices: A Case Study from Rural Ghana
Authors: Norwood Carolette
Published: February 2011

This paper examines the influence of informal banking club participation on family planning practices in rural Ghana. Research from Asia suggests that family planning practices are improved by club participation. This study examines this thesis in an African context, using rural Ghana as a case study. A sample of 204 women (19 years and older) was drawn from Abokobi village, Ghana. Multivariate analyses of direct, mediating and moderating effects of women’s demographic background characteristics, membership status and length, and women’s empowerment status as predictors of family planning practices are assessed. Findings suggest that club membership and membership length is not associated with family planning practices; however, age, education level, number of children and empowerment status are.
Subaltern Social Movement (SSM) Post-Mortems of Development in India: Locating Trans-Local Activism and Radicalism
Authors: Kapoor Dip
Published: February 2011

This paper expounds on an Adivasi-Dalit subalternist critique of development and compulsory modernization drawn from a participatory critical-interpretive case study developed from several episodic engagements with these groups between 2006 and 2009 in Orissa, India. This critique is advanced by the Lok Adhikar Manch (LAM), a trans-local movement network of 13 subaltern social movement groups in Orissa. These disclosures are then deployed in a critical conversation with a specific strain of Marxist scholarship in peasant studies that dismisses subaltern movements as conservative (status-quo politics in relation to capital) and as scattered anti-Marxist postmodern populisms that fail to challenge the reproduction of capitalist control of the rural hinterlands.
Studies on transport properties of polyaniline transition metal salt composites
Authors: Kose T.D.
Published: February 2011

Polyaniline-containing transition metal salts were synthesized by oxidizing the complex of aniline with corresponding metal salts in solution. The effect of transition metal salts on the electrical conductivity of polyaniline (Pani) was discussed in details. The as-prepared products were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. The transition metal has been successfully incorporated into the polymer, which affects transport properties of the composites; the fact is supported by the ample of experimental results and characterization evidences.
Improved nonlinear stress-strain relation for carbon-epoxy composites and identification of material parameters
Authors: Kroupa Tomáš , Laš Vladislav , Zemčík Robert
Published: February 2011

This study focuses on the comparison of selected nonlinear stress—strain relations for unidirectional continuous fiber carbon—epoxy composites and the identification of their parameters under tensile loading. Simple tensile tests of thin strips with various fiber orientations are performed. One linear relation, two types of nonlinear stress—strain relations taken from literature, and one improved relation are analyzed and used within the identification process. All the relationships are deduced from polynomial expansion of complementary energy density. The process, using a combination of the mathematical optimization method and finite element analysis, is described with the necessary details. Failure analysis for the determination of the first failure using Puck’s action plane concept is also performed. The tensile and shear strengths are investigated. The comparison of the results obtained from the identified material parameters with the results obtained using the material parameters given by manufacturer is included.
A dynamic crash model for energy absorption in braided composite materials. Part I: Viscoplastic material model
Authors: Flesher Nathan D. , Chang Fu-Kuo , Janapala Nageswara R.
Published: February 2011

A dynamic crash model is developed and implemented to model the failure behavior and energy absorption of braided composite structures. Part I describes the development and theoretical foundation of a viscoplastic material model that captures the rate-dependent behavior present in braided composite materials. Part II presents the implementation of the model into a FEM program and contains experimental results for tubes crushed from quasi-static rate to 4000 mm/s rates used to verify the model. The model is presented from the mesoscale to the structural scale, starting with the constitutive model applied to composite tow segments. Tow segment response is homogenized to determine the response of the braided unit cell, while consideration for braider tow rotation and stress concentration appear at the structural level.
A dynamic crash model for energy absorption in braided composite materials - Part II: Implementation and verification
Authors: Flesher Nathan D. , Chang Fu-Kuo , Janapala Nageswara R. , Starbuck J. Michael
Published: February 2011

A dynamic crash model is developed and implemented to model the failure behavior and energy absorption of braided composite structures. Part I describes the development and theoretical foundation of a viscoplastic material model that captures the rate-dependent behavior present in braided composite materials. Part II presents the implementation of the model into a finite element model program and the experimental results for tubes crushed from quasi-static to 4000 mm/s rates used to verify the model. Energy absorption decreases sharply with an increase in crush rate, which is reflected in this model. Design concepts are also introduced to increase energy absorption in braided composites.
Induction of IL-10-producing CD4+ T-cells in Chronic Periodontitis
Authors: Kobayashi R. , Kono T. , Bolerjack B.A. , Fukuyama Y. , Gilbert R.S. , Fujihashi K. , Ruby J. , Kataoka K. , Wada M. , Yamamoto M. , Fujihashi K.
Published: February 2011

Precise immunological aspects of inflamed gingival mucosa remain to be elucidated in the murine experimental periodontitis model; therefore, we have characterized the mucosal immune cells in the inflamed gingiva of mice with alveolar bone reduction. Mice were orally infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis 15 times over 2 weeks. Gingival mononuclear cells (GMCs) were isolated from P. gingivalis- and sham-infected mice 1, 7, 15, and 30 days after the last infection. Although the greatest degree of periodontitis was seen in P. gingivalis-infected mice at 30 days after infection, the highest levels of IL-6 and TNF-α production were noted in the GMCs isolated 7 days after infection. Further, the frequency of RANKL+CD4+ T-cells in GMCs of inflamed gingiva peaked 15 days after infection. Importantly, the number of Foxp3+CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T (Treg)-cells was increased only in the experimental group 30 days after infection. Thus, intracellular cytokine analysis revealed an increased number of IL-10-producing CD4+ T-cells in inflamed gingiva when compared with the control group. These results suggest that there are potential roles for Treg cells during the chronic stage of periodontitis in the regulation of gingival inflammation and alveolar bone loss.
Stick to Your Gums
Authors: Nobbs A.H. , Jenkinson H.F. , Jakubovics N.S.
Published: February 2011

Studies on the adherence properties of oral bacteria have been a major focus in microbiology research for several decades. The ability of bacteria to adhere to the variety of surfaces present in the oral cavity, and to become integrated within the resident microbial communities, confers growth and survival properties. Molecular analyses have revealed several families of Gram-positive bacterial surface proteins, including serine-rich repeat, antigen I/II, and pilus families, that mediate adherence to a variety of salivary and oral bacterial receptors. In Gram-negative bacteria, pili, auto-transporters, and extracellular matrix-binding proteins provide components for host tissue recognition and building of complex microbial communities. Future studies will reveal in greater detail the binding pockets for these adhesin families and their receptors. This information will be crucial for the development of new inhibitors or vaccines that target the functional regions of bacterial proteins that are involved in colonization and pathogenesis.
Springing Cultural Traps
Authors: Welker Michael
Published: February 2011

This article reviews the dialogue of recent decades between scientists and theologians in general and in two multiyear consultations held at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton in particular. It reflects upon the fact that the shift from a “methodological phase” through a “physics phase” to a content-centered “theology phase” has been extremely fruitful for the discourse. The article considers the various gaps between theological, scientific, and common-sense thought in modernity. It shows how scientists and theologians tried to overcome these gaps. Finally, the article identifies six “cultural traps” that limited the fruitfulness and the academic impact of the science-and-theology discourse in the past.
Enjoyment and Discernment in the Music of Worship
Authors: Brown Frank Burch
Published: February 2011

Nothing is more vital to the genuine enjoyment of worship than the arts. Indeed, our enjoyment of arts such as music (within worship and without) can be said to participate in our enjoyment of God and in the creation of human community. Yet, enjoyment that is responsive to the disciplines of worship requires discernment. Arts in our culture have long exercised their fullest creativity outside the church and have long been tailored, commercially, to satisfy the interests of entertainment and profit. Discerning together how diverse arts can best be employed and enjoyed is thus a task of the church that in the end can only enhance the enjoyment of worship.
“Now I Know”
Authors: Mays James L.
Published: February 2011

Twice in the biblical story, the purpose of God for the world depends decisively on the obedience of faith. When Abraham binds Isaac on Moriah's mountain and when Jesus prays, “Not my will, but yours” in Gethsemane's garden, something crucial happens for the course of God's way with the rest of us. The scriptural accounts, Gen 22:1-19 and Matt 26:36-46, are connected by the theme of “testing,” and each has a narrative location that is climactic and pivotal for its literary context. This exposition seeks to read each text in its own right, but to understand each theologically in connection with the other. The reading prompts a vision of God in whose divine reality human historical actuality has become profoundly present.
A Text that Redescribes
Authors: Brueggemann Walter
Published: February 2011

This paper reflects on the church's engagement with the biblical text and the emergency in the church when the church is inattentive to the biblical text. It considers the impact of the modern interpretive period in the church's loss of the text and ponders what the church's recovery of the text might entail. The large theological sweep of the biblical text is seen as an offer of reality profoundly alternative to the dominant scripting of reality in our society. Particular attention is paid to the peculiar opportunity of the preacher-pastor in lining out an alternative scripting of reality vouched for in this text.
Heidegger, Augustine, and Poiēsis
Authors: McCullough Glenn
Published: February 2011

This article looks at the problem of modern technology. In the first section, it considers Martin Heidegger's seminal essay, “The Question Concerning Technology,” and his idea that technology is essentially related to the human faculty of understanding, arising from and determining human knowing. The second part searches for the historical roots of our modern technological knowing. Recent scholarship suggests that these lie in the nominalist view of God as an omnipotent will. A theological solution to this problem emerges, finally, in an examination of St. Augustine's moral psychology in De Trinitate.
American Legal Ethics
Authors: Shaffer Thomas L.
Published: February 2011

The ethics of American lawyers come from the English gentleman-lawyer of the nineteenth century, with the steady addition of an elitist Jeffersonian gloss. But they have, within the last century, been separated, so that regulation claims to operate without conscience. The result is that the law of lawyers is now the principal, if not only, feature of the official codes, and ethics as ethics is spread over insignificant consensus statements by bar associations and promising scholarship from academic lawyers, some small part of which deserves to be called ethics and even, from small beginnings, to be called religious ethics.
“Who Does She Think She is?”
Authors: Hollywood Amy
Published: February 2011

Is the Christian woman mystic's audacious desire for union with God a sign of a very un-Christian pride? How can medieval women, officially denied access to teaching and preaching, speak authoritatively on religious issues while at the same time maintaining the humility expected of them? The paper explores both popular and scholarly claims about Christian women mystics' narcissism and argues that, properly understood, many mystical texts are grounded in a paradoxical interplay of humility and chosenness by means of which the works purport to authorize themselves.
A Western Appreciation of Orthodox Worship
Authors: Wybrew Canon Hugh
Published: February 2011

Orthodox liturgical worship reached its present form by the fifteenth century, a remarkable synthesis of architecture, art, and ritual. Its gradual development from the fourth century was influenced by a number of factors: the adoption of Christianity by the Roman empire, doctrinal definition, eastern religious sensibility, and monasticism. Because of historical circumstances, Orthodoxy became a liturgical presentation of Christianity closely bound up with ethnic and national identity. Impressive though the final synthesis is as a tradition of worship involving the whole human person, in some respects further developments might be appropriate in light of the contemporary context of Christianity.
The Catholic Luther
Authors: Steinmetz David C.
Published: February 2011

The article traces the changing conceptions of Martin Luther in Protestant and Catholic circles, from the sixteenth century to the present. Catholic theologians first saw Luther as morally flawed, a stubborn heretic whose teaching was in no sense compatible with ancient and medieval Catholic tradition. Though Protestants defended Luther's catholicity, their defense rested in part on a redefinition of what constitutes true catholicity. For modern Catholic theologians, Luther remains both a profound and a problematic figure, but a genuinely Christian voice whose views can edify his Catholic readers, even if his teaching is not fully compatible with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
Images of God in Time and Space
Authors: Henry Patrick
Published: February 2011

Time and space—how we think and feel about them—determine our images of God. Space used to be territory and time an arrow, so hierarchical arrangements and stories that proceed relentlessly from beginning through middle to end made sense. But what if the world is not hospitable to a sovereign with schemes? Contemporary cosmology shifts us from a world where God has all the ducks in a row to a world of invention and variety, the ducks flying around all over the place. Italo Calvino's stories in Cosmicomics serve the religious imagination, which has been given a renewed lease on life by modern science.
History, Holocaust, and Revelation
Authors: Lindsay Mark R.
Published: February 2011

This article explores the still-unresolved question surrounding the relationship of history to theology, specifically the role of traumatic history in the formulation of theological discourse. It is suggested here that, in order for theology to address adequately the needs of contemporary culture, a revision of the traditional concept of revelation is required, so that historical events can be seen as revelatory in themselves, while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the revelation-idea and the historical particularities of the events themselves. The Holocaust serves as a paradigm of history-as-revelation, while the work of Dietrich Ritschl provides a model for the redefinition of revelation.
The Ugly Ones, the Holy Ones
Authors: De Vinck Catherine
Published: February 2011

“God wants us to know that

not only does he care for noble and great things

but equally for little and small,

lowly and simple things as well.”

–Julian of Norwich (d. 15th century)