bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Space of kinship, space of empire
Authors: Ikegame Aya
Published: October 2009

This article centres on perceptions of ‘space’ amongst members of the Mysore royal caste from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. There were several perceptions of space coexisting at the time. One was based upon a traditional idea of space that prohibited the aristocracy, especially the king, from travelling beyond a certain area. Another was the imposed perception of empire, which gave Indian royals the idea that parts of their world were connected horizontally through the expansion of empire. The Mysore royals tried to embody perceptions of both spaces through restrictions on kinship and strategic matrimonial alliances beyond their territories. On the one hand, one of the royal clans insisted that they had the right to receive women from the royal house by using a Dravidian kinship language of ‘reciprocity’, which had in practice never been fully exercised between the clan and the royal house in the pre-colonial period. On the other hand, some royal caste members were keen to embody the Imperial hierarchy, in which Mysore occupied the second highest position, by establishing marriage alliances with the Rajputs in northern India. By doing so, they could re-assert their status, both in terms of Imperial hierarchy and of Kshatriyaness. The article argues that both perceptions of spaces helped a national class of Indian aristocracy to emerge, and that that class of aristocracy still influences the political culture of India in the twenty-first century.
Princely states and the making of modern India
Authors: Bhagavan Manu
Published: October 2009

This article examines discussions that took place regarding princely states at the moment of transition from colonial to postcolonial India. It argues for a rethinking of Nehru's vision for ‘the integration of states’, locating his intellectual position in his broader concerns with the United Nations and a framework of international rights. For Nehru, the relationship between princely states and independent India existed reciprocally with that between the new postcolonial state and the UN. The purpose of the article, then, is to understand what ‘princely states’ meant to the imagination of India, and, more broadly, the idea of postcoloniality itself.
Female genital cutting
Authors: Khaja Khadija , Barkdull Carenlee , Augustine Marva , Cunningham Dianne
Published: October 2009

English

The purpose of this qualitative study with 17 Somali-born North American immigrant women was to better understand the women’s experiences with and views of female genital cutting (FGC), as well as their recommendations for developing more effective, inclusive and respectful prevention and intervention strategies for the practice.

French

La finalité de cette étude qualitative menée auprès de 17 femmes immigrantes nord américaines nées en Somalie était de mieux comprendre les expériences des femmes, leurs opinions à propos de l’excision, ainsi que leurs recommandations pour développer des stratégies de prévention et d’intervention plus efficaces, inclusives, et respectueuses pour la pratique.

Spanish

El propósito de este estudio cualitativo de 17 mujeres nacidas en Somalia que emigraron a los EEUU es comprender mejor las experiencias y visiones de estas mujeres en relación a la mutilación de genitales femeninos (FGC, por sus siglas en inglés), así como también sus recomendaciones para el desarrollo de estrategias de prevención e intervención más efectivas, inclusivas y respetuosas a la hora de realizar dicha práctica.
Psychosocial interventions and mass populations
Authors: Bourassa Jennifer
Published: October 2009

English

This article is one of the first to analyze international psychosocial approaches to large-scale disasters outside Westernized Eurocentric realms. Using the 2004 South-east Asian tsunamis as a basis, it highlights the potential empowerment and advocacy roles and strategies international social workers can deploy with populations affected by disasters.

French

Cet article est l’un des premiers à analyser les approches psychosociales internationales des désastres de large échelle ayant eu lieu en dehors des royaumes occidentaux eurocentriques. En prenant comme base les tsunamis du Sud Est asiatique de 2004, il éclaire les rôles potentiel d’empowerment (renforcement de la capacité d’agir) et d’advocacy (défense des droits) et les stratégies internationales que les travailleurs sociaux peuvent déployer avec les populations affectées par ces désastres.

Spanish

Este artículo es uno de los primeros en analizar los acercamientos psicosociales internacionales a los desastres de gran escala que han ocurrido fuera de los reinos eurocéntricos occidentales. Utilizando como base los tsunamis del sureste de Asia de 2004, resalta los roles y estrategias de poder y defensa que los trabajadores sociales internacionales pueden desplegar en poblaciones afectadas por desastres naturales.
Reciprocal e-mentoring
Authors: Plummer Carol A. , Omwenga Nyang'au Tom
Published: October 2009

English

Few have been able to benefit from international exchanges due to the distance, cost and complications of cross-cultural teaching and learning. This article discusses how university and non-profit social work professionals can create, sustain and benefit from internet communication. A case example provides concrete examples of possibilities inherent in this international exchange.

French

Seuls quelques individus ont pu bénéficier d’échanges internationaux: à cause de la distance, du coût et des complications de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage interculturels. Cet article traite de la façon dont l’université et les professionnels du travail social à but non lucratif peuvent créer, maintenir et bénéficier de la communication internet. Une étude de cas apporte des exemples concrets de possibilités inhérentes à cet échange international.

Spanish

Pocos han podido beneficiarse de intercambios internacionales debido a la distancia, el costo y las complicaciones del aprendizaje y la enseñanza intercultural. Este artículo discute como las universidades y los profesionales del trabajo social sin fines de lucro pueden crear, mantener y beneficiarse de la comunicación vía Internet. Un caso tipo provee ejemplos concretos de las posibilidades inherentes a este intercambio internacional.
Culturally sensitive approaches to health and social care
Authors: Chau Ruby C.M. , Yu Sam W.K.
Published: October 2009

English

With the focus on how Chinese older people in the UK use health and social care services, this article demonstrates how these services’ sensitivity is undermined by mistaken assumptions about whether ethnic-minority groups organize health and care according to their cultural principles, and the unity of these principles.

French

Centré sur la façon dont les Chinois âgés utilisent les services de santé et d’accompagnement social en Grande Bretagne, cet article démontre comment la perception de ces services est biaisée par des représentations erronées selon lesquelles les groupes des minorités ethniques organisent la santé et l’accompagnement social selon leurs principes culturels et en vertu de l’unité de ces principes.

Spanish

Este artículo se centra en cómo las personas chinas de tercera edad usan los servicios sociales y de salud en Gran Bretaña. Hay suposiciones erróneas acerca de la unidad de principios culturales, y acerca de cómo los grupos étnicos organ izan el cuidado social y el cuidado de la salud. Estas suposiciones debilitan la sensibilidad cultural hacia estos grupos.
Value-based Polymer Precursors from Paper Waste and its Application in Polyurethane Foams
Authors: Mishra Deepak , Vijay Kumar Sinha
Published: October 2009

Increase in generation of the paper waste around the world, especially in developing countries, has created a need to develop new ways to use this waste to obtain value-oriented products. Due to limited availability of petroleum resources and related environmental concerns, petroleum-based precursors for polymeric materials are being replaced by renewable resources, which are abundant in nature and economic. Paper waste is a rich source of cellulose, which can be chemically modified to produce valuable products. Polymeric precursors (polyols) were synthesized by glycosylation of cellulose of paper waste, obtained from magazines and transesterifying the obtained product using castor oil. The synthesized products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography, and physicochemical analysis. The resultant polyols were of dark color, low viscosity, % nonvolatile mater <1, hydroxyl value ranging 200—400, moisture content <1%, and acid value <2.5. These synthesized precursors with good characteristics to use it for the synthesis of polymeric materials were used for the synthesis polyurethane foams, which were tested for their physical, mechanical, thermal (thermogravimetric analysis), and morphological (scanning electron micrograph) characteristics.
Simulating Customer Experience and Word-Of-Mouth in Retail — A Case Study
Authors: Siebers Peer-Olaf , Aickelin Uwe , Celia Helen , Clegg Chris W.
Published: October 2009

Agents offer a new and exciting way of understanding the world of work. In this paper we describe the development of agent-based simulation models, designed to help to understand the relationship between people management practices and retail performance. We report on the current development of our simulation models which includes new features concerning the evolution of customers over time. To test the features we have conducted a series of experiments dealing with customer pool sizes, standard and noise reduction modes, and the spread of customers’ word of mouth. To validate and evaluate our model, we introduce new performance measure specific to retail operations. We show that by varying different parameters in our model we can simulate a range of customer experiences leading to significant differences in performance measures. Ultimately, we are interested in better understanding the impact of changes in staff behavior due to changes in store management practices. Our multi-disciplinary research team draws upon expertise from work psychologists and computer scientists. Despite the fact we are working within a relatively novel and complex domain, it is clear that intelligent agents offer potential for fostering sustainable organizational capabilities in the future.
A GPU-Based Application Framework Supporting Fast Discrete-Event Simulation
Authors: Park Hyungwook , Fishwick Paul A.
Published: October 2009

The graphics processing unit (GPU) has evolved into a flexible and powerful processor of relatively low cost, compared to processors used for other available parallel computing systems. The majority of studies using the GPU within the graphics and simulation communities have focused on the use of the GPU for models that are traditionally simulated using regular time increments, whether these increments are accomplished through the addition of a time delta (i.e., numerical integration) or event scheduling using the delta (i.e., discrete event approximations of continuous-time systems). These types of models have the property of being decomposable over a variable or parameter space. In prior studies, discrete event simulation has been characterized as being an inefficient application for the GPU primarily due to the inherent synchronicity of the GPU organization and an apparent mismatch between the classic event scheduling cycle and the GPU’s basic functionality. However, we have found that irregular time advances of the sort common in discrete event models can be successfully mapped to a GPU, thus making it possible to execute discrete event systems on an inexpensive personal computer platform at speedups close to 10x. This speedup is achieved through the development of a special purpose code library we developed that uses an approximate time-based event scheduling approach. We present the design and implementation of this library, which is based on the compute unified device architecture (CUDA) general purpose parallel applications programming interface for the NVIDIA class of GPUs.
A Framework for End-to-End Simulation of High-performance Computing Systems
Authors: Denzel Wolfgang E. , Jian Li  , Walker Peter , Yuho Jin
Published: October 2009

We present an end-to-end simulation framework that is capable of simulating High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems with hundreds of thousands of interconnected processors. The tool applies discrete event simulation and is driven by real-world application traces. It provides a semantically correct replay of MPI application traces and maintains reasonable simulation details of both the processors in general and the interconnection network in particular. Among other things, it features several interconnection network topologies, flexible routing schemes, arbitrary application task placement, point-to-point statistics collection, and data visualization. With a few case studies, we demonstrate the usefulness of this tool for assisting high-level system design as well as for performance projection and application tuning of future HPC systems.
Work and the Sociological Imagination
Authors: Watson Tony J.
Published: October 2009

Alongside many significant changes, there are considerable continuities between the work activities and work institutions of the 21st century and those of earlier periods studied by the sociology of work. These continuities are easily neglected if we get too taken up with what is allegedly ‘new’ in the world which we study or if we constantly seek new theoretical ‘directions’ or ‘turns’. A successful future sociology of work needs to achieve a balance between attention to change and continuity, both in what it looks at empirically and in the devices it uses in its analyses and theorizing as well as in its communication beyond the academy. The idea of the sociological imagination, which brings together American Pragmatist thinking with the European ideas of Weber and Marx can help considerably in reinvigorating the sociology of work.
High-Touch and Here-to-Stay: Future Skills Demands in US Low Wage Service Occupations
Authors: Gatta Mary , Boushey Heather , Appelbaum Eileen
Published: October 2009

Interactive service occupations, requiring face-to-face contact, are rapidly growing in the US as they are typically not susceptible to larger trends of off-shoring and computerization. Yet conventional paradigms of understanding the nature of that work, and in particular the skill demands, are often ill equipped to deal with the ‘interactive’ aspects of these gendered and racialized occupations. As a result, discussions of lower-end service occupations have typically grouped together a variety of jobs that require little or no higher education, without examining the actual skill content and job requirements of these occupations. In this article we delve more deeply into the rapidly growing non-professional service occupations in the US and the level of skills these jobs require, with the intention of creating a framework that will reorient future sociological research in this area.
Challenging Boundaries: An Autobiographical Perspective on the Sociology of Work
Authors: Wolkowitz Carol
Published: October 2009

This article responds to the Special Issue call for sociologists’ individual perspectives on developments in the sociology of work. In this article I reflect on my own approach to studying work, the intellectual resources I draw on, and how I see the sociology of work developing at the present time. I have located my own very modest contribution within the traditions of gender studies, highlighting thereby the longstanding links between the sociology of work and other substantive fields of inquiry. I take a relatively personal approach. This is because, while there is nothing notable about my personal life, like many feminists I see my ideas as having evolved in the interstices of the professional and personal and the values and divisions of labour that underpin them.
The Decline of Labour Process Analysis and the Future Sociology of Work
Authors: O'Doherty Damian , Willmott Hugh
Published: October 2009

Labour process analysis (LPA) is a well-established approach to the sociological study of work which attends to the instabilities of capitalism and, more specifically, to the volatile and contested nature of social relations at work. However, an unreflexive ‘neo-orthodoxy’ has emerged in recent years that is constrained by a series of dualistic and (critical) realist assumptions which inhibit the development of this distinctive sociology of work. This article contends that the potential of LPA can best be fulfilled through a renewal of critical reflection upon the foundational assumptions of LPA that can open up an acknowledgement and appreciation of the embroilment of subjectivity in the reproduction and transformation of production relations. This development is consistent with the central analytical importance ascribed to the ‘indeterminacy of labour’ in LPA but invites the adoption of a negative ontology in order to advance a less narrow conception of its meaning and significance. Studies of the new media and creative industries are engaged to indicate how a revitalized labour process analysis might embrace this ontology as a way of exploring and explaining the radical contingency of organization in contemporary social relations.
Industrial Sociology in the UK: Reminiscences and Reflections
Authors: Eldridge John
Published: October 2009

The paper offers reflections on the author’s working experience as an industrial sociologist from the 1960s. It seeks to contextualise this in more general considerations of the part played by industrial sociology in the development of sociology in the UK. This is evidenced in thematic concerns, the importance of historical perspectives as well as the use of case studies and the development of ethnographic work. It discusses the role which industrial sociology has played in bringing issues of power, authority, control and class into sharp focus.
In Search of the Sociology of Work
Authors: Halford Susan , Strangleman Tim
Published: October 2009

This paper traces relations between the study of work and the evolution of British sociology as an academic discipline. This reveals broad trajectories of marginalization, as the study of work becomes less central to Sociology as a discipline; increasing fragmentation of divergent approaches to the study of work; and — as a consequence of both — a narrowing of the sociological vision for the study of work. Our paper calls for constructive dialogue across different approaches to the study of work and a re-invigoration of sociological debate about work and — on this basis — for in-depth interdisciplinary engagement enabling us to build new approaches that will allow us to study work in all its diversity and complexity.
Staging Composite Culture
Authors: Hansen Kathryn
Published: October 2009

Both the rural-based Nautanki and its urban counterpart, the Parsi theatre, remain part of the cultural scenario of modern India and continue to contribute to the ongoing negotiation of India's composite culture. Part of the appreciation of these older stylized theatre genres comes from awareness of their hybrid character. As emblems of composite culture, these theatrical traditions remind viewers of a popular secular outlook that is still within reach. This article discusses two performances observed during 2004 in New Delhi, of Amar Singh Rathor and Yahudi ki Larki, both canonical popular texts. It is argued that the revival of these plays owes much to their ability to serve as allegories within the current polarized cultural and political climate. The discussion suggests the continuing potential of the impulse to counter neo-nationalist ideology by means of popular media such as Nautanki and Parsi theatre.
Development versus Democratic Essence
Authors: Pankaj Ashok K.
Published: October 2009

This article reflects on the role of voters’ preference for democratic essence over development-related issues in the 2005 Haryana and Bihar Assembly elections. Based on analysis of these elections, it is argued that in a society where the distributive effects of development are less than egalitarian, economic deprivations are reinforced by socio-political inequality, but democracy still promises to be a great equaliser and source of empowerment for the masses. Democratic issues therefore appear to have greater electoral and political appeal than promises of ‘development’ or small morsels of favour to entice an electorate. This finding indicates an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the Indian electorate about the critical relevance of democracy.
Multi-modal Motion Planning in Non-expansive Spaces
Authors: Hauser Kris , Latombe Jean-Claude
Published: October 2009

Motion planning problems encountered in manipulation and legged locomotion have a distinctive multi-modal structure, where the space of feasible configurations consists of intersecting submanifolds, often of different dimensionalities. Such a feasible space does not possess expansiveness, a property that characterizes whether planning queries can be solved efficiently with traditional probabilistic roadmap (PRM) planners. In this paper we present a new PRM-based multi-modal planning algorithm for problems where the number of intersecting manifolds is finite. We also analyze the completeness properties of this algorithm. More specifically, we show that the algorithm converges quickly when each submanifold is individually expansive and establish a bound on the expected running time in that case. We also present an incremental variant of the algorithm that has the same convergence properties, but works better for problems with a large number of submanifolds by considering subsets of submanifolds likely to contain a solution path. These algorithms are demonstrated in geometric examples and in a legged locomotion planner.
A review of hydrological modelling of basin-scale climate change and urban development impacts
Authors: Praskievicz Sarah , Chang Heejun
Published: October 2009

Hydrological modelling is a valuable tool for researchers in geography and other disciplines for studying the processes governing impacts of climate change and urban development on water resources and for projecting potential ranges of impacts from scenarios of future change. Modelling is an inherently probabilistic exercise, with uncertainty amplified at each stage of the process, from scenario generation to issues of scale, to simulation of hydrological processes, to management impacts. At the basin scale, significant factors affecting hydrological impacts of climate change include latitude, topography, geology, and land use. Under scenarios of future climate change, many basins are likely to experience changes not only in their mean hydrology, but also in the frequency and magnitude of extreme hydrological events. Impacts of climate change on water quality are largely determined by hydrological changes and by the nature of pollutants as flushingor dilution-controlled. The most significant impact of urban development on water resources is an increase in overall surface runoff and the flashiness of the storm hydrograph. The increase in impervious surface area associated with urban development also contributes to degradation of water quality as a result of non-point source pollution. Modelling studies on the combined impacts of climate change and urban development have found that either change may be more significant, depending on scenario assumptions and basin characteristics, and that each type of change may amplify or ameliorate the effects of the other. Hydrological impacts of climate change and urban development are likely to significantly affect future water resource management.
Glacier mapping: a review with special reference to the Indian Himalayas
Authors: Bhambri Rakesh , Bolch Tobias
Published: October 2009

This paper deals with the development of glacier mapping and glacier fluctuations since the mid-nineteenth century, with special reference to the Indian Himalayas, and the contributions of the Survey of India and the Geological Survey of India. In addition, it presents a review of the limitations and challenges relating to: the mapping of clean-ice and debris-covered glaciers; the comparison of different data sets; and the measurement of glacier volume changes based on multitemporal digital elevation models. Possible solutions are discussed, and the emerging areas of glacier mapping research and applications for the Indian Himalayas are highlighted.
Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the Teacher Form, Ages 5 to 21, of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II
Authors: Aricak O. Tolga , Oakland Thomas
Published: October 2009

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities has promulgated various models of adaptive behavior, including its 1992 model that highlighted 10 adaptive skills and its 2002 model that highlighted three conceptual domains. The Adaptive Behavior Assessment System—II (ABAS-II) was designed to be consistent with these models. Previous studies using ABAS-II data have provided stronger support for a one-factor model of adaptive behavior and weaker support for a three-factor model.This study extends this review by examining the factor structure of the construct of adaptive behavior as measured by the ABAS-II Teacher Form, ages 5 to 21, for males and females from two age groups by addressing the following four issues for males and females: whether (a) the skill areas in the ABAS-II Teacher Form, ages 5 to 21, display the same pattern of factor loadings, (b) the skill areas display the same factor loadings, (c) the intercepts of the observed skill areas are equal, and (d) the skill areas measure the corresponding factors with the same accuracy. The finding of invariance across males and females helps ensure the scale’s factor structure is similar for the two groups. The ABAS-II Teacher Form was found to display a similar one-factor structure for males and females ages 5 to 12, 13 to 21, and 5 to 21.
Neurologic and neuropsychiatric syndrome features of mold and mycotoxin exposure
Authors: Empting LD
Published: October 2009

Human exposure to molds, mycotoxins, and water-damaged buildings can cause neurologic and neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms. Many of these clinical features can partly mimic or be similar to classic neurologic disorders including pain syndromes, movement disorders, delirium, dementia, and disorders of balance and coordination. In this article, the author delineates the signs and symptoms of a syndrome precipitated by mold and mycotoxin exposure and contrasts and separates these findings neurodiagnostically from known neurologic diseases. This clinical process is designed to further the scientific exploration of the underlying neuropathophysiologic processes and to promote better understanding of effects of mold/mycotoxin/water-damaged buildings on the human nervous system and diseases of the nervous system. It is clear that mycotoxins can affect sensitive individuals, and possibly accelerate underlying neurologic/pathologic processes, but it is crucial to separate known neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders from mycotoxin effects in order to study it properly.
Utilization of Blood Spot Testing for Metabolic-Genetic Disorders in Honduras: Is it Time for Newborn Screening?
Authors: Slaughter Jonathan L. , Espinoza Lesby , Molinero Isaac , Wood Tim C. , Duron Carlos , Flores Armando , Porter Robyn , Tomashitis Kathy , Holden Kenton R.
Published: October 2009

Honduran infant mortality (20/1000) has fallen below the Latin American newborn screening target rate (<30/1000). The authors report 2 Honduran maple syrup urine disease cases and a newborn screening pilot study. The first infant, diagnosed by plasma/urine testing in the U.S., prompted this study. Although marked clinical/radiological improvement occurred after treatment, moderate neurodevelopmental delays persist at 5 years. This 1-month, prospective study used blood spot specimens from hospitalized term Honduran neonates shipped overnight to South Carolina for routine newborn screening with electronic result submission to Honduras for follow-up. Of 88 consecutive neonates (mean age: 4.2 days, standard deviation: 4.2 days) tested, 24 (0.6%) of 3837 completed tests were positive. Another infant with maple syrup urine disease, diagnosed after study completion by blood spot testing, later died. The study findings indicate that collaborative blood spot testing aids in the diagnosis of Honduran metabolic-genetic disease. Newborn screening is now needed to diagnose and treat these diseases before morbidity/mortality develops.
Heparinized Micropatterned Surfaces for the Spatial Control of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Authors: Jin Woo Bae  , Choi Jong Hoon , Tae Eun Kim  , Ki Dong Park  , Ji Youn Kim  , Yong Doo Park  , Sun Kyung
Published: October 2009

In this study, a heparinized micropattern surface was prepared for the spatial control of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) that can differentiate into the desired tissues. Poly(styrene-co-vinylbenzyl N,N-diethyl-dithiocarbamate) (poly(ST-co-VBDC)) was synthesized as a photoreactive polymer; poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) was polymerized on the poly(ST-co-VBDC) coated surface by UV irradiation. XPS spectra revealed the residual DC moieties on the PEGMA-grafted surface and the linear chain growth of PEGMA was monitored according to irradiation time. After chemical immobilization of heparin onto this PEGMA surface, surface micropatterning was carried out by additional photopolymerization of PEGMA using a photomask. After incubation for 4 hour, the hMSCs adhered to the heparinized surface, while the hydrophilic PEGMA surface demonstrated no cell adhesion even after basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment. Good alignment of hMSCs on the pattern-surface was distinctly observed along micron-sized grooves due to the presence of both heparin and bFGF. This heparinized micropattern surface can be used to study in vitro hMSCs responses with various heparin-binding growth factors in tissue engineering fields as well as cellular array for the spatial control of hMSCs.
Biomimetic Apatite-coated PCL Scaffolds: Effect of Surface Nanotopography on Cellular Functions
Authors: Beşkardeş Işil Gerçek , Gümüşderelioğlu Menemşe
Published: October 2009

In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds, consisting of agglomerated microspheres with nanotopographic surface structures, were fabricated by the freeze-drying method. These scaffolds were coated with bone-like apatite by using a calcium phosphate solution similar to saturated simulated body fluid (10× SBF-like) in two different immersion periods (6 and 24 h). Scanning electron microscopic views of the 6-h treatment in 10× SBF-like solution showed formation of calcium phosphate nucleation sites on the PCL scaffolds, while the apatite particles formed characteristic cauliflower-like morphology after 24 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed that the mineral phase was made of hydroxyapatite (HA). The osteogenic activity of untreated and SBF-treated PCL scaffolds was examined by pre-osteoblastic MC3T3 cell culture studies. Cells had attached and spread on both the PCL scaffolds and the 6-h SBF immersion-treated scaffolds.
Hydrogels Based on Carboxymethylcellulose and Gelatin for Inclusion and Release of Chloramphenicol
Authors: Buhus Gabriela , Popa Marcel , Desbrieres Jacques
Published: October 2009

Hydrogels based on carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and gelatin (GEL) crosslinked with glutaraldehyde were used to obtain interpenetrated— interconnecting polymer networks. They are designed to obtain controlled release polymeric drug systems. CMC and GEL were chosen for their biocompatibility and nontoxicity, which are compulsory conditions for polymers used in biomedical applications. By modifying the parameters of the crosslinking reaction, the obtained networks presented different crosslinking degrees and hence different swelling capacities. These properties determined the quantity of drug able to be loaded (0.25 g per gram of hydrogel). We obtained systems for which biologically active matter release was controlled by diffusion. The kinetics were zero-order during the major part of release period (∼500 min). These systems improve the bactericide activity compared with free drugs.
Effects of Chitosan on Properties of Novel Human-like Collagen/Chitosan Hybrid Vascular Scaffold
Authors: Zhu Chenhui , Fan Daidi , Ma Xiaoxuan , Xue Wenjiao , Yu Yuanyuan , Luo Yane , Liu Bowen , Chen Lan
Published: October 2009

Novel human-like collagen (HLC)/chitosan hybrid scaffolds were fabricated at blend ratios of 0%, 0.02%, 0.2% by crosslinking and freeze-drying process. The properties of the scaffolds were investigated, including morphology, mechanical strength, degradability, and cell biocompatibility. When the blend ratio was 0.02%, the morphology of the scaffolds was highly homogeneous with interconnected porous structure 46 ± 9 μm in size (SEM). The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated intermolecular crosslinks between HLC and chitosan. The strain and stress of the scaffolds were 37.9 ± 3.3% and 309.7 ± 19.7 KPa, respectively. Human venous fibroblasts were expanded and seeded into the scaffolds in the density of 1 × 10 5 cells/cm3 under static conditions. The cell morphology and proliferation were investigated using SEM, H&E, and MTT assay, which showed that the optimal content of the chitosan was signifcantly enhanced the cells adhesion, proliferation, and viability, compared to pure HLC, pure chitosan, and 0.2% chitosan/HLC scaffolds. These hybrid scaffolds appear to have favorable characteristics for vascular tissue engineering application.
Double Cross-linked Chitosan—Gelatin Particulate Systems for Ophthalmic Applications
Authors: Peptu C.A. , Buhus G. , Popa Marcel , Perichaud A. , Costin D.
Published: October 2009

Gelatin/chitosan particles suitable for application in ocular drug administration were prepared by a two-step cross-linking process performed in an emulsion-phase separation system. The particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and laser diffractometry, and the diameters were 0.202—4.596 µm. The microparticles pH-dependent behavior was monitored by their mean diameter changes in aqueous environment. Adrenalin was drug used to study loading and release characteristics. The prepared particles were nontoxic, with the DL50 values of 6.9—8.19 g/kg body mass. The in vivo biocompatibility tests consisted of subcutaneous administration of a microparticle suspension in physiological serum followed by morpho histological analysis of the implantation site. The in vivo adrenalin ocular delivery was tested on both animals and a voluntary human patient to determine the adrenalin action and by tears. The particles showed good adherent properties without irritation to the patient; adrenalin was released cleared the ocular congestion.
Circulatory Arrest in a Brain-Dead Organ Donor: Is the Use of Cardiac Compression Permissible?
Authors: Cummings Brian , Noviski Natan , Moreland Michael P. , Paris John J.
Published: October 2009

Care of the brain-dead patient is common in intensive care practice. Aggressive donor management is advocated to increase supply of viable organs. Significant controversy exists over cardiac resuscitation in patients determined dead by cardiac criteria. The issue, till now, has not been addressed in brain dead patients. We discuss a case of cardiac resuscitation of a brain-dead donor to ensure organ donation. This case allows us to examine the use of brain death criteria to declare death, the controversy regarding cardiac resuscitation in organ donor patients, and the standards for use of cardiac resuscitation in the organ donor declared dead by brain death criteria. The consent process for organ donation in brain dead patients should address the possibility of subsequent cardiac arrest.
The Evolution of New Teacher Induction Policy
Authors: Bartlett Lora , Johnson Lisa S.
Published: October 2009

This article analyzes the findings from a three-state study of teacher induction policy. It looks within and across Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin to explore the landscape and experience of teacher induction. Although the orientation and conception of each state’s policy is similar, the states represent three different structural approaches to induction policy. Based on interviews with state-level and urban district respondents and a review of relevant documents, this article explores the evolution of state-level induction policy and finds that states need to strike a balance between specificity and autonomy in crafting policy that supports effective and equitable induction policy.
Implementation and the Governance Problem
Authors: Cairney Paul
Published: October 2009

This article has two aims: to qualify the UK government’s ‘problem’ of governance in a comparison with Scotland and Wales, and to use implementation studies (the ancestors of the new governance literature) to explore policy developments since devolution in Britain. It presents a puzzling finding from extensive interview research: that while we may expect UK government policy to suffer a bigger ‘implementation gap’ based on distinctive governance problems (such as greater service delivery fragmentation and the unintended consequences of top-down policy styles), pressure participants in Scotland and Wales are more likely to report implementation failures. Using a ‘top-down’ framework, it explores three main explanations for this finding: that the size of the implementation gap in England is exaggerated by a focus on particular governance problems; that pressure participant dissatisfaction follows unrealistic expectations in the devolved territories; and that the UK government undermines devolved policy implementation, by retaining control of key policy instruments and setting the agenda on measures of implementation success.
The Reconfiguration of Risk in the British State
Authors: Taylor George
Published: October 2009

A particularly prominent feature of contemporary politics appears to be an increasing concern with how risk, science and politics collide. To some, it reveals a political order that has become risk averse. This article challenges this view and argues that we need to appreciate the impact of the New Right on the reconfiguration of risk in politics. Influenced by a conservative view of individual responsibility and a liberal distaste for state regulation of the market, the New Right argues that risk is not to be feared, but embraced, that it should be viewed in a positive light; it stimulates both innovation and creativity. Here, the role of expert advice is to sustain the view that risks are an attendant feature of day-to-day life, that what matters is how, as individuals, we make judgements about those risks. Rather than perform the task of sustaining order through responsible government, science participates in (re)constituting order through the market. It articulates the extent to which individuals are exposed to risk, or defines more clearly where no risk can be proven. And if no risk can be proven, intervention cannot be warranted.
Exploring the Connections among Adaptive Leadership, Facets of Imagination and Social Imaginaries
Authors: Stephenson Max
Published: October 2009

This article explores the relationship between leadership as adaptive work and different forms of social consciousness, and between leadership and alternate facets of imagination. It argues that nongovernmental and government leaders typically are enjoined either to support or to challenge existing imaginaries at different levels of analytic aggregation — social, community, interorganizational and organizational — and that they routinely employ different dimensions of imagination to do so. These include aesthetic, cognitive, affective and moral imagination. The essay concludes with a brief overview of the implications of the argument for leadership practice.
Comparison of radiocarbon dating of buried paleosols using arbuscular mycorrhizae spores and bulk soil samples
Authors: Thorn Colin E. , Darmody Robert G. , Holmqvist Johan , Jull A.J. Timothy , Dixon John C. , Schlyter Peter
Published: October 2009

Ten paleosols from four separate soil pits located in Kärkevagge, a glaciated trough in Swedish Lapland, were dated using radiocarbon. Each soil was dated using both conventional bulk soil organic material (SOM) and a pure sample of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) fungal spores. The latter are produced by ubiquitous mycorrhizal fungi associated with the roots of many plant genera and may be viewed as a fossil material that has not interacted with any soil constituent subsequent to its emplacement in the soil — at a time presumed to mark the cessation of a favorable soil-forming environment. Regional deglaciation is presumed to have been about 10 000 BP, while a cosmogenic exposure date obtained from the valley floor in Kärkevagge dated at 13 100 ± 1638 BP. The youngest paleosol, buried at ~6 cm in soil pit M3, produced a spore date of 0—281 cal. yr BP (1σ). However, bulk SOM dates of the same paleosol A horizon gave widely divergent dates and varied with the sample pretreatment, ie, the combustion temperature and the acid-base treatment. For example, the bulk SOM dates for that paleosol ranged from a post-bomb date of 0—314 cal. yr BP (1σ) to 2366—2710 cal. yr BP (1σ) when subjected to different pretreatments (acid only, acid-base-acid) and ignition temperatures (400, 800, or 900°C). The oldest paleosol in the set, buried at ~61 cm in soil pit M6, dated at 5479—5698 cal. yr BP (1σ) using spores, but beyond calibration using bulk SOM. The spore dates were all within the range to be expected of postglacial paleosols, but the bulk SOM dates were frequently beyond the generally accepted time of deglaciation. In addition, all of the spore dates followed a conventional age/depth pattern while the bulk SOM dates did not. There are known possible sources of geogenic carbon contamination in Kärkevagge which may well account for the obviously invalid older bulk SOM dates. An additional complication is that the spore dates vary somewhat with their density and diameter. However, where other types of fossil or charcoal are unavailable it appears that the enormously broad distribution of spores and their lack of interaction within the soil and persistence may well offer the prospect of an unusually useful radiocarbon dating medium within paleosols.
Wild or cultivated Olea europaea L. in the eastern Mediterranean during the middle—late Holocene? A pollen-numerical approach
Authors: Kaniewski David , Paulissen Etienne , Van Campo Elise , Bakker Johan , Van Lerberghe Karel , Waelkens Marc
Published: October 2009

Assessment of the wild or cultivated origin of Olea europaea L. during the middle to late Holocene according to pollen analyses is of palaeoecological and evolutionary interest as olive is thought to be one of the earliest cultivated trees and is still one of the most important fruit trees of the eastern Mediterranean. This paper considers data from the Bronze—Iron Age harbour-town, Tell Tweini, of the Ugarit Kingdom, in the Syrian coastal lowland near Jableh (17 m a.s.l.) and from the Hellenistic—Roman Moatra-Bereket (1410 m a.s.l.), in the territory of Sagalassos, in Turkey’s western Taurus Mountains. Both of these sites have recorded the rise and collapse of early eastern Mediterranean urban systems from 4200 to 1600 cal. yr BP. The Syrian data suggest that the Olea pollen-type originated from wild varieties during the Bronze and Iron Ages despite archaeological evidence for olive cultivation in the northern Levant. For Turkey, the results of the pollen-numerical analyses support the existing archaeological evidence of a wealthy oleoculture in Hellenistic and Roman Anatolia and suggest important anthropogenic pressures on local ecosystems.
The timing and causes of the final pre-settlement expansion of Betula pubescens in Iceland
Authors: Erlendsson Egill , Edwards Kevin J.
Published: October 2009

Palynological data from southern and western Iceland show rising values for the pollen of Betula pubescens for the period AD 600—800. The increased values for B. pubescens probably stem from both improved flowering conditions and increased coverage and density of woodlands associated with short-lived climatic amelioration within a phase of longer-term harsh climate. The swift response to climate change in the palynological record and good correlation with comparative data from other proxies indicates that Icelandic palynology offers an important, yet largely underexploited, tool for the reconstruction of Icelandic Holocene environments.
The development and local stand-scale dynamics of a Picea abies forest in southeastern Norway
Authors: Bjune A.E. , Ohlson M. , Birks H.J.B. , Bradshaw R.H.W.
Published: October 2009

The local development and forest history have been studied based on pollen, plant macrofossil, stomata and charcoal analysis from a small forest hollow situated within an old-growth, closed Picea abies forest, rich in epiphytic lichens and wood-decaying fungi in southeastern Norway. The main aims of this study are to identify the natural development, the disturbance history and the role of human impact of this forest stand during the last 9650 years. Forest trees have always been dominant in the landscape around the forest hollow. The forest was first dominated by Betula and Pinus sylvestris, and later these were co-dominant with thermophilous deciduous trees such as Corylus, Fagus, Fraxinus excelsior , Quercus, Tilia cordata and Ulmus. During the last 1000 years, Picea abies (spruce) has become the dominant tree in this area, but its presence can be traced back about 9300 years. The establishment of spruce caused a major shift in the ecosystem. Human impact and fire seem to have been the driving factors to create openings for spruce to establish. Based on estimates of palynological richness, the most diverse pollen assemblages are found in periods with intermediate levels of disturbance.
Holocene comment and reply
Authors: Robroek Bjorn J.M. , Waucomont Jean G.M. , Schouten Matthijs G.C.
Published: October 2009

McClymont et al. ( The Holocene 18 (2008) 991—1002) present data on several environmental proxies to explore the disappearance of Sphagnum imbricatum from a peat bog in northern England, Wales and Ireland, respectively. McClymont et al. used their results to argue that a combination of rapid water-table rise and increased aeolian nutrient input from surrounding (agricultural) areas may have caused the disappearance of S. imbricatum from European raised bogs. The paper contributes to a growing body of literature focusing on the ‘abrupt’ decline of S. imbricatum (S. austinii) AD 1000—1700. From the literature it becomes apparent that determining the exact mechanism for the decline of S. imbricatum ( S. austinii) is difficult. Hence, many potential mechanisms have been suggested, amongst which increased wetness, increased interspecific competition, local burning and increased nutrient input are just a few examples. Although we do not comment on the quality of the science, there are a few things to be considered in order to get a complete picture.