bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An essay on the Accountability of International Organizations
Authors: Parish Matthew
Published: March 2011

International organizations sometimes suffer from acute agency problems. Three exogenous methods of addressing those problems are considered: economic incentives, political accountability and legal accountability. For international organizations, the first is undesirable and the second inevitably weak. There is therefore an argument for heightened legal scrutiny of their actions. Yet international organizations have an unenviable track record of acting without regard to the most fundamental international standards of rule of law, and this article offers an unsightly catalogue of their legal aberrations. Moreover, the internal legal mechanisms international organizations have created ostensibly to hold themselves to account prove wanting at best. There may also be structural reasons why international courts and tribunals will never be able to conduct an adequate review of the important decisions international organizations routinely take. This makes those organizations' assertions of blanket legal immunity from jurisdiction of domestic courts appear increasingly inexplicable, as it removes all possibility of legal accountability. The supposed rationales for legal immunities of international organizations are reviewed and proved wanting. The conclusion drawn is that international organizations should be subjected to radically improved regimes of international judicial oversight, or their immunities should be abrogated in certain areas so that they may be rendered subject to the jurisdiction of the domestic courts of the countries in which they operate, or both. Measures of this kind may dramatically improve the quality of decision-making and accountability of international organizations.
Tycho's Talisman: Astrological Magic in the Design of Uraniborg
Authors: Kwan Alistair
Published: March 2011

Renaissance Vitruvianism provides a broad context in which to situate the architecture of Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg, but fails to account for the motivation behind Tycho's design, for how Tycho knew Vitruvian design principles, and for any of Uraniborg's specific features. Identifying Uraniborg as a Palladian design fares even worse. Some of Uraniborg's features can, however, be understood in terms of talismanic ideas such as those circulating in sources such as Agrippa's De occulta philosophia (which Tycho possessed) and Dee's Propaedeumata aphoristica. Of the several kinds of talisman possible, those of interest were intended to manipulate astral influences by mathematical resonance. Regardless of whether Tycho believed in talismanic efficacy, his early meteorological convictions make talismanic motifs a plausible inspiration for Uraniborg's design.
Politics in the Archives: Records, Property, and Plantation Politics in Massachusetts Bay, 1642-1650
Authors: Beaver Daniel
Published: March 2011

This essay concerns the permutations of English popular politics in its seventeenth-century Atlantic setting, using the record of local and individual experience of politics to examine the process whereby settlers took possession of land in Massachusetts Bay. Historians have long appreciated the importance of English local customs in the early North American settlements, but the explicit political significance of English corporate and manorial approaches to land law in these settlements, and in the expansion of the Massachusetts Bay regime during the 1640s, have not been properly understood. The essay's perspective is microhistorical, developing its case from Obadiah Bruen's detailed "town book" of the Gloucester plantation: the book that he kept as the settlement's recorder between 1642 and 1650. The plantation occupied a key set of coordinates at the junction of English popular politics and religion and the building of the Massachusetts Bay colony during the 1640s. Using a close reading of Bruen's text, the essay identifies a politics of land possession, fashioned from traditional English political forms and their uses of land law, that sustained the Gloucester plantation, much like the colony as a whole, through a decade of bitter internal divisions. In the face of religious conflict and the myriad difficulties of building a new regime, political order came to depend, in Gloucester as in Massachusetts Bay generally, on the power to convey secure title to the possession of land, a power enshrined in the routine administrative records of local notaries or recorders, officially required in each Massachusetts Bay township during the 1640s.
Conflict in the world polity - neo-institutional perspectives
Authors: Koenig Matthias , Dierkes Julian
Published: March 2011

This article assesses the potential contribution of neo-institutional world polity theory to the study of global conflict dynamics. Prevalent conflict theories explain the emergence and resolution of conflicts by resorting to actors’ mutually incompatible preferences and differential access to economic, social or symbolic sources of power. World polity theory challenges fundamental assumptions of such theories by conceptualizing action as highly scripted and actors as culturally constituted. By focusing on the cultural rules of modern actorhood, world polity theory accounts for the emergence of new motives of conflict no less than for the diffusion of ‘rational’ methods of conflict resolution. It concludes by arguing that theoretical explication and empirical analysis of the hitherto neglected conflictive dimensions of the world polity approach is a fruitful agenda for conflict research and neoinstitutional scholars alike.
Vocabularies of motive among employers conducting criminal background checks
Authors: Backman Christel
Published: March 2011

The use of criminal records in the recruitment process has increased dramatically in Sweden over the past decade. The article analyses the various vocabularies of motive used to account for the practice in order to examine how it is justified and legitimized by those resorting to it: employers, representatives of employers’ organizations and union representatives in the business sector who endorse criminal background checks as part of the employee screening processes. The dominant vocabulary as articulated in the interviews appealed to notions of corporate risk and security. However, it was contested by an alternative vocabulary focusing on an individual’s right to privacy and reintegration, and by a third vocabulary centring on the notion of trust. To stress their character as moral actors, employers who checked criminal records avoided relying on the risk vocabulary alone. They tended in addition to incorporate elements of the rights vocabulary to justify their actions against the values embodied in it. Even though the results of the study suggest parallels between the increase in the use of criminal background checks and a shift toward a ‘control society’ or a ‘society of exclusion’, they also show that legal rights of the individual still inform the justificatory discourses at least in Sweden.
The art of choosing the right tram: Schooling, segregation and youth culture
Authors: Johansson Thomas , Hammarén Nils
Published: March 2011

In this article, we study how young people with an immigrant background (first and second generation), which attend schools that can be considered more ‘Swedish’ experience the transition from a ‘multicultural district’ to the city centre. The empirical study was conducted in a large Swedish city, where the students attended two different programmes. In the analysis, we take a narrative approach, with student movements in time and space analysed in relation to concepts such as territorial stigmatization, alienation, bodily practices and identity positions. Findings show that the students often compare the city school with other schools — the city school described as a ‘white’ school, the other schools as ‘immigrant schools’. The different schools are clearly placed on a status hierarchy, with the city school at the top and other schools somewhere below. The students have confronted and succeeded in transgressing social and cultural boundaries. However, the feeling of otherness that originates in housing conditions, experiences of exclusion and the everyday life of many immigrants is transposed, so to speak, to the school area and transformed into strategies for handling exclusion and otherness.
Mechanical behavior of GRP pressure pipes with addition of quartz sand filler
Authors: Diniz Melo José Daniel , Levy Neto Flaminio , de Araujo Barros Gustavo , de Almeida Mesquita Fausto Nogueira
Published: March 2011

In comparison with steel, concrete, and polymeric pipes, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) pressure pipes use more expensive raw materials. Thus, despite of their attractive structural performance, mainly in terms of mechanical strength combined with low weight, the higher cost can be a limitation in many applications. In this scenario, an alternative to reduce the final price of GRP pipes is the addition of quartz sand filler. In this experimental and numerical study, filament-wound E-glass/polyester pipes with nominal inside diameter of 300 mm and wall thickness of 5.7 mm were produced with the incorporation of quartz sand as filler and tested to failure under internal pressure. The mechanical behavior of the composite pipes was evaluated experimentally, throughout short-time hydraulic failure pressure tests, as well as using finite element analysis (FEA). In the FEA simulations, the shell wall was modeled as an axisymmetric layered orthotropic material. A good agreement, varying from 96% to 98%, was obtained between the average hydraulic failure pressure measured and FEA predicted failure pressures, using Tsai—Hill and Hoffman failure criteria, respectively.
Adaptive Behaviors in Young Children: A Unique Cultural Comparison in Italy
Authors: Taverna Livia , Bornstein Marc H. , Putnick Diane L. , Axia Giovanna
Published: March 2011

On account of a series of unique historical events, the present-day denizens of South Tyrol inhabit a cultural, political, and linguistic autonomous region that intercalates Italians and Austrian/ German Italians. The authors compared contemporary Italian and Austrian/German Italian girls’ and boys’ adaptive behaviors in everyday activities in this region. Using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, the authors first interviewed mothers about their children’s communication, daily living, socialization, and motor skills. Main effects of local culture (and no interactions with gender) emerged: Austrian/German Italian children were rated higher than Italian children in both adaptive daily living and socialization skills. Next, the authors explored ethnic differences in childrearing. Austrian/German Italians reported fostering greater autonomy in their children than Italians, and children’s autonomy was associated with their adaptive behavior. Children living in neighboring Italian and Austrian/German Italian cultural niches appear to experience subtle but consequentially different conditions of development that express themselves in terms of differing levels of adaptive behaviors.
Gender Differences in the Jealousy-Evoking Effect of Rival Characteristics: A Study in Spain and Argentina
Authors: Buunk Abraham P. , Castro Solano Alejandro , Zurriaga Rosario , González Pilar
Published: March 2011

This study examines gender differences in the jealousy-evoking nature of rival characteristics in two Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina and Spain). A total of 388 Spanish students and 444 Argentinean students participated in the study. First, the cross-cultural validity of a Dutch scale containing 56 rival characteristics was examined. A factor analysis distinguished four dimensions (i.e., social power and dominance, physical attractiveness, physical dominance, and social-communal attributes). After the analysis, the final scale contained in total 24 items. Results showed that in Argentina and Spain combined, men experienced more jealousy than women when their rival was more physically dominant. In contrast, women experienced more jealousy than men when their rival was more physically attractive, had more social-communal attributes, and had more social power and dominance. In both genders, social-communal attributes was the most jealousy-evoking characteristic, followed by physical attractiveness in women and by social power and dominance in men. In addition, in Argentinean participants but not in Spanish participants, those high in social comparison orientation found the rival characteristics more jealousy evoking.These results provide strong support for the evolutionary hypothesis of gender differences in the rival characteristics that may evoke jealousy. Small size effect differences were found between the two countries and only regarding social-communal attributes.
Leadership and Election Litigation in State Supreme Courts
Authors: Boyea Brent D. , Farrar-Myers Victoria A.
Published: March 2011

Elections in the American states are important mechanisms for legitimizing state governments by facilitating the involvement of citizens in electing political leaders. Elections, however, receive scrutiny through challenges in state courts on issues such as contested elections and the structure and context of election ballots. Capitalizing on attention to the role of leadership in institutional maintenance, the analysis presented examines the effects of leadership and other essential political and legal characteristics on building decision consensus in election cases. An empirical test using 203 election decisions by state supreme courts from 1995 to 1998 illustrates that, among other factors, the authority of leadership facilitates consensus where considered jointly with the resources of courts, the state as a litigant, and internal rules that prioritize seniority.
Determinants of Policy Conflict in Michigan Municipalities
Authors: Heidbreder Brianne , Grasse Nathan , Ihrke Douglas , Cherry Brian D.
Published: March 2011

Recent literature on the governance of communities reveals a great deal of divisiveness and conflict among governmental and other political actors over questions of policy. In this study, the authors measure and explain the perceived level of policy conflict on city councils. The authors use data from a survey of approximately 1,430 municipal officers representing 92 Michigan municipalities with populations greater than 10,000 to measure conflict. This research focuses on the perceptions of city council members and mayors. Using multivariate statistical techniques, the authors find that respondent demographic characteristics, citywide conditions, and structural factors influence council member and mayoral perceptions of policy conflict.
Local Government Collaboration for a New Decade: Risk, Trust, and Effectiveness
Authors: Warm David
Published: March 2011

Local government collaboration, in which efforts and responsibility are shared across organizations, is an increasingly pervasive approach to addressing community challenges. It has evolved from interlocal, bilateral and targeted cooperative arrangements to include complex relationships involving multiple partners and various sectors focused on achieving long-term outcomes. The increasing prevalence and complexity of collaboration is the result of broad financial, competitive, practical and political pressures, yet successful collaboration is often impeded by countervailing structural, societal, process and leadership barriers. Overcoming these barriers requires particular approaches to leadership and the use of replicable organizing processes and strategies aimed at building the mutual trust that enables collaborative action to flourish.
Landlords, Tenants and Agrarian Relations
Authors: Saikia Arupjyoti
Published: March 2011

This article re-examines the social history of a widely discussed peasant uprising in colonial Assam. Drawing on extensive archival sources, the article examines how peasants who came under increasing taxation reacted to the revenue enhancement. The article explores the role played by the Assamese landlords in giving leadership to the peasant dissatisfaction. It shows how the landlords’ specific interest has been masked by the existing historiography. The article unfolds the complex layers of social interests which came to play their critical role in creating the events of 1894.
Music in the Himalayas
Authors: Copley Antony
Published: March 2011

This article is part of a larger project on music, painting and the spiritual in twentieth century Continental Europe. From 1901 to his premature death, Alexander Scriabin was obsessed with his project, the Mysterium, an apocalyptic event, set preferably in the Himalayas, and all his music is by preparation for its fulfilment. The methodology followed in this article is to set Scriabin in his biographical, political, cultural and philosophical context, before exploring his comparatively small musical output.
Review article: Spanish-English and Portuguese-English interlanguage phonology
Authors: Eckman Fred R
Published: March 2011

This review article evaluates the intersection of the content of two recent anthologies in second language (L2) phonology. One of the books lays out both the methodological context and theoretical underpinnings of the field, whereas the other volume reports 11 empirical studies on the L2 acquisition of several aspects of pronunciation by adult learners of English whose native language is either Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese. The criteria applied for the evaluation lead to the conclusion that, for the most part, the studies are successful in presenting an interesting array of second-language pronunciation patterns, and that such an intersection of domains is a fruitful way to advance the field of interphonology.
Review: The Diabetic Bone: A Cellular and Molecular Perspective
Authors: Blakytny Robert , Spraul Maximilian , Jude Edward B.
Published: March 2011

With the increasing worldwide prevalence of diabetes the resulting complications, their consequences and treatment will lead to a greater social and financial burden on society. One of the many organs to be affected is bone. Loss of bone is observed in type 1 diabetes, in extreme cases mirroring osteoporosis, thus a greater risk of fracture. In the case of type 2 diabetes, both a loss and an increase of bone has been observed, although in both cases the quality of the bone overall was poorer, again leading to a greater risk of fracture. Once a fracture has occurred, healing is delayed in diabetes, including nonunion. The reasons leading to such changes in the state of the bone and fracture healing in diabetes is under investigation, including at the cellular and the molecular levels. In comparison with our knowledge of events in normal bone homeostasis and fracture healing, that for diabetes is much more limited, particularly in patients. However, progress is being made, especially with the use of animal models for both diabetes types. Identifying the molecular and cellular changes in the bone in diabetes and understanding how they arise will allow for targeted intervention to improve diabetic bone, thus helping to counter conditions such as Charcot foot as well as preventing fracture and accelerating healing when a fracture does occur.
A Chronic, Destructive Mycetoma Infection in a Diabetic Foot in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Malone M. , Gannass Al , Bowling F.
Published: March 2011

This case study describes the presentation of a tropical foot infection that presented in a 38-year-old male farm worker from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia who contracted the fungal infection that is Madurella mycetomatis. Mycetomas or Madura foot is characterized by a slow progressive infection that can result in severe soft tissue and muscle involvement along with destruction of the underlying bone. This foot pathology is rare in the United States and across Europe; however, the increasing influx of a migrant population means that a heightened awareness of its existence is needed.
Finite element simulation of welded P91 steel pipe undergoing post-weld heat treatment
Authors: Yaghi A H , Hyde T H , Becker A A , Sun W
Published: March 2011

Residual stresses induced by fusion welding of P91 steel pipes in power generation plants can be detrimental to their integrity and mechanical performance in service. Post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of the pipes substantially reduces the magnitude of residual stresses, mitigating their ill effects. In this paper, the residual stress field of a typically welded P91 steel pipe, reproduced from a previous publication by the authors, is subsequently subjected to PWHT for 3 h at a temperature of 760°C. A finite element model has been generated to simulate the PWHT of the pipe. Stress relaxation testing has been conducted on P91 steel uniaxial tensile specimens to obtain material property data necessary for PWHT modelling. The simulation method and the influence of PWHT on residual stresses are described.
Comparison of joining efficiency and residual stresses in laser and laser hybrid welding
Authors: Suder W , Ganguly S , Williams S , Paradowska A M , Colegrove P
Published: March 2011

Laser welding is a high energy density process, which can produce welds with less energy input and thereby lower residual stress generation compared to arc welding processes. However, the narrow beam dimension makes it extremely sensitive in terms of fit up tolerance. This causes a problem in achieving high quality welds. Laser with arc hybrid process overcomes such issues. In this paper, longitudinal residual strains were compared for autogenous laser welding and laser/TIG hybrid processes. Joining efficiency, which is defined by the penetration depth achieved per unit of energy input, was correlated with the residual strain generation. It has been shown that to achieve a specific penetration depth, there is an optimum welding condition for each of the welding processes, which will give minimum tensile residual stress generation. The results imply that for the same penetration depth, hybrid process resulted in ∼50% higher tensile longitudinal domain compared to autogenous laser.
Residual stresses in girth welds of carbon steel pipes: Neutron diffraction analysis
Authors: Neeraj T , Gnäupel-Herold T , Prask H J , Ayer R
Published: March 2011

In the oil and gas industry, residual stresses in welded components, such as risers and oil offloading lines, play a key role in determining their fatigue and fracture performance. The focus of this work is on measuring the residual stresses in girth welds of large diameter (508 mm, 20 in. outside diameter) thick walled (25·4 mm, 1 in. wall thickness) pipes. Residual stresses were measured using neutrons on two girth welds on X-65 grade line pipes. One was a carbon steel weld with fully ferritic weld metal, and the second was an Inconel 625 dissimilar weld with fully austenitic weld metal. It was observed that while there were subtle differences, the overall magnitude and distribution of axial and hoop residual stresses were comparable in the two girth welds. These data are consistent with available previous measurements and computer models from the literature.
Influence of filler material composition on residual stress distribution of dissimilar gas tungsten arc weldments of ultrahigh strength steels
Authors: Madhusudhan Reddy G , Venkata Ramana P
Published: March 2011

The influence of filler material composition on the residual stress distribution in similar and dissimilar gas tungsten arc weldments of maraging steel and medium alloy medium carbon steel has been investigated. In the fusion zone, residual stresses are compressive in similar metal welds of maraging steel and tensile in similar metal welds of medium alloy medium carbon steel. In the dissimilar metal welds, the nature of residual stresses in the weld varied from compressive in maraging steel to tensile in medium alloy medium carbon steel. The magnitude of residual stresses decreased when the maraging steel is taken in soft condition in the dissimilar metal welds. Post-weld aging resulted in lowering of residual stresses in medium alloy medium carbon steel.
Design of weld fillers for mitigation of residual stresses in ferritic and austenitic steel welds
Authors: Moat R J , Stone H J , Shirzadi A A , Francis J A , Kundu S , Mark A F , Bhadeshia H K D H , Karlsson L , Withers P J
Published: March 2011

Residual stresses that arise as a result of welding can cause distortion, and also have significant implications for structural integrity. Martensitic filler metals with low transformation temperatures can efficiently reduce the residual stresses generated during welding, because the strains associated with the transformation compensate for thermal contraction strains during cooling. However, it is vital that a low weld transformation temperature is not obtained at the expense of other important material properties. This article outlines the alloy design process used to develop appropriate low transformation temperature filler materials for the mitigation of residual stresses in both low alloy ferritic and austenitic stainless steel welds. Residual stresses in single pass, 6 mm bead in groove welds, on 12 mm thick plates, have been measured and compared against those obtained with commercially available conventional austenitic and ferritic filler materials. The filler metals developed here exceeded requirements in terms of weld mechanical properties, while significantly reducing the maximum residual stress in the weld and heat affected zone.
Fast estimation of common-reflection-surface parameters using local slopes
Authors: Santos Lúcio , Schleicher Jörg , Costa Jessé C. , Novais Amélia
Published: March 2011

Present-day techniques to estimate the traveltime parameters of the common-reflection-surface (CRS) stack are tedious, time-consuming, and expensive processes based on local coherence analyses along a large number of trial surfaces. With the 2D CRS method, faster and cheaper determination is possible. The complete set of CRS parameters can be extracted from seismic data by an application of modern local-slope-extraction techniques. The necessary information about the CRS parameters is contained in the slopes of the common-midpoint section at the central point and one or several common-offset sections in its vicinity. We studied two procedures for the CRS parameter extraction technique. Their difference lies in the way the common-offset parameters are determined. One technique requires slope-derivative information (a possible source of instability); the other uses slope information at two different locations and less data redundancy. Testing on a synthetic data example proved that the procedures are sufficiently robust to allow for high-quality extraction of all CRS parameters from the extracted slope fields. In this way, the CRS parameter extraction can be sped up by several orders of magnitude as compared to the conventional procedure based on coherence analysis along trial surfaces.
Joint ray + Born least-squares migration and simulated annealing optimization for target-oriented quantitative seismic imaging
Authors: Ribodetti A. , Operto S. , Agudelo W. , Collot J.-Y. , Virieux J.
Published: March 2011

A seismic processing workflow based on iterative [Formula: see text] migration/inversion and target-oriented postprocessing of the migrated image is developed for fine-scale quantitative characterization of reflectors. The first step of the workflow involves linear iterations of the [Formula: see text] migration/inversion. The output of the first step is a true-amplitude migrated image parameterized by velocity perturbations. In a second step, postprocessing of the migrated image is performed through a random search with a very-fast simulated annealing (VFSA) algorithm. The forward problem of the global optimization is a simple convolutional model that linearly relates a vertical profile of the band-limited migrated image after depth-to-time conversion to a 1D velocity model composed of a stack of homogeneous layers of arbitrary velocity and thickness. The aim of the postprocessing is to eliminate the limited bandwidth effects of the source from the migrated image for resolution improvement and enhanced geological interpretation of selected targets. The global optimization approach allows for uncertainty analysis required by the intrinsic nonuniqueness of the velocity model output by the postprocessing. The relevance of the convolutional model when applied to the output of the [Formula: see text] migrated inversion is first illustrated with a one-layer model. The accuracy and the robustness of the workflow to image geologically complicated models are then illustrated with an application to the synthetic Marmousi model. Some practical issues (e.g., the source wavelet estimate and the scaling of the migrated image required by the VFSA optimization) are discussed with an application to a 2D real seismic multichannel reflection data set collected in the Gulf of Guayaquil (Ecuador). The postprocessing is applied to derive the fine-scale velocity structure of a décollement zone on top of the subduction channel. The postprocessing allows for mapping structural variations along different segments of the décollement, which can be associated with changes in fluid content and porosity.
Integrins and cadherins join forces to form adhesive networks
Authors: Weber Gregory F. , Bjerke Maureen A. , DeSimone Douglas W.
Published: March 2011

Cell–cell and cell–extracellular-matrix (cell–ECM) adhesions have much in common, including shared cytoskeletal linkages, signaling molecules and adaptor proteins that serve to regulate multiple cellular functions. The term ‘adhesive crosstalk’ is widely used to indicate the presumed functional communication between distinct adhesive specializations in the cell. However, this distinction is largely a simplification on the basis of the non-overlapping subcellular distribution of molecules that are involved in adhesion and adhesion-dependent signaling at points of cell–cell and cell–substrate contact. The purpose of this Commentary is to highlight data that demonstrate the coordination and interdependence of cadherin and integrin adhesions. We describe the convergence of adhesive inputs on cell signaling pathways and cytoskeletal assemblies involved in regulating cell polarity, migration, proliferation and survival, differentiation and morphogenesis. Cell–cell and cell–ECM adhesions represent highly integrated networks of protein interactions that are crucial for tissue homeostasis and the responses of individual cells to their adhesive environments. We argue that the machinery of adhesion in multicellular tissues comprises an interdependent network of cell–cell and cell–ECM interactions and signaling responses, and not merely crosstalk between spatially and functionally distinct adhesive specializations within cells.
EphA4 preserves postnatal and adult neural stem cells in an undifferentiated state in vivo
Authors: Khodosevich Konstantin , Watanabe Yasuhito , Monyer Hannah
Published: March 2011

In the postnatal brain, new neurons continue to be generated in two neurogenic areas, the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles (SVZ) and the subgranular zone of the hippocampus. There is evidence that ephrins and their Eph receptors belong to a signaling network that regulates neurogenesis. On the basis of previous data, we have identified Eph receptor A4 (EphA4) as a potential regulator of neurogenesis. We showed by immunohistochemistry that in adult neurogenic niches EphA4 is expressed only by neural stem cells (NSCs). Using in vitro and in vivo assays, we demonstrated that EphA4 expression maintains NSCs in an undifferentiated state. Specifically, in neurosphere cultures Epha4 knockdown resulted in a decrease of NSC proliferation and premature differentiation. In postnatal and adult brain, Epha4 knockdown caused a decrease in NSCs in the SVZ, eventually resulting in a reduced number of postnatally generated neuroblasts. Both in vitro and in vivo effects were rescued by co-infection with a modified EphA4 that was resistant to Epha4 shRNA.
Microtubule stabilization in vivo by nucleation-incompetent γ-tubulin complex
Authors: Anders Andreas , Sawin Kenneth E.
Published: March 2011

Although the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains many of the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC)-specific proteins of the γ-tubulin complex (γ-TuC), several questions about the organizational state and function of the fission yeast γ-TuC in vivo remain unresolved. Using 3×GFP-tagged γ-TuRC-specific proteins, we show here that γ-TuRC-specific proteins are present at all microtubule organizing centers in fission yeast and that association of γ-TuRC-specific proteins with the γ-tubulin small complex (γ-TuSC) does not depend on Mto1, which is a key regulator of the γ-TuC. Through sensitive imaging in mto1Δ mutants, in which cytoplasmic microtubule nucleation is abolished, we unexpectedly found that γ-TuC incapable of nucleating microtubules can nevertheless associate with microtubule minus-ends in vivo. The presence of γ-TuC at microtubule ends is independent of γ-TuRC-specific proteins and strongly correlates with the stability of microtubule ends. Strikingly, microtubule bundles lacking γ-TuC at microtubule ends undergo extensive treadmilling in vivo, apparently induced by geometrical constraints on plus-end growth. Our results indicate that microtubule stabilization by the γ-TuC, independently of its nucleation function, is important for maintaining the organization and dynamic behavior of microtubule arrays in vivo.
Cancellations of elective surgery may cause an inferior postoperative course: the ‘invisible hand’ of health-care prioritization?
Authors: Magnusson Håkan , Felländer-Tsai Li , Hansson Mats G , Ryd Leif
Published: March 2011

Elective surgery can be cancelled when resources are overwhelmed by emergency cases. We hypothesized that such cancellations, on psychological grounds, are followed also by inferior clinical results and we conducted a retrospective survey of patients following joint replacement surgery. Sixty patients having suffered from administrative cancellation prior to their operation during an 18-month period and with six months follow-up were identified and compared with another 60 matched patients after having the same type of surgery but without prior cancellation. All patients received questionnaires on complications and on visual analogue scale (VAS) assessment on subjective wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) at follow-up. The study group reported 50 complications versus 33 for controls ( P < 0.03). A borderline significant difference was found for myocardial infarction, 4 versus 0 ( P < 0.05). There was no difference in VAS registration and QoL measurements did not quite reach statistical significance ( P = 0.06). Cancellations (postponements) of elective surgery for administrative reasons may be followed by inferior clinical results, and this merits further prospective study.
Discourses of disability and clinical ethics support
Authors: Dunn Michael
Published: March 2011

It is now broadly accepted that disability is a concept infused with both descriptive and evaluative meaning, such that invoking the concept of disability necessarily involves making judgements of moral value as well as describing certain facts about individuals. This paper aims to map the complex terrain that shapes our current understandings of disability by outlining five distinct ‘discourses of disability’. It is shown how the similarities and differences between the discourses hinge on different ways of making sense of the descriptive and evaluative dimensions of the concept, and the relationships between these dimensions. The paper concludes by considering the specific implications that these different ways of elucidating the concept of disability might have for the provision of clinical ethics support, both in terms of shaping ethical decision-making relating to people with disabilities and in terms of framing the process of providing clinical ethics support itself.
The case of Ashley X
Authors: Edwards Steven D
Published: March 2011

This paper recounts the events surrounding the case of Ashley X, a severely disabled young girl whose parents opted for oestrogen therapy, a hysterectomy and breast removal – the so-called ‘Ashley treatment’ – in order to reduce her projected adult weight and improve her quality of life. Following a description of the events leading up to the procedure itself, and the worldwide debate which ensued, the main arguments in favour and against the procedures are presented. The paper also critically engages with a recent defence of the treatments presented by one of those closely involved with the case – Dr D Diekema. Finally, the recommendations of a report which criticizes procedures at the hospital in which the treatments took place are described, and it is argued that the main recommendation regarding the constitution of the Hospital Ethics Committee (HEC) is ill-thought through and is unlikely to have made any difference to the decision taken by the HEC to approve the Ashley treatments.
An Investigation into Dental Digital Radiography in Dental Practices in West Kent following the Introduction of the 2006 NHS General Dental Services Contract
Authors: Mauthe Peter W , Eaton Kenneth A
Published: March 2011

Aims

The primary aims of the study were to investigate the use of digital radiography within primary dental care practices in the West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) area and general dental practitioners’ (GDPs) self-reported change in radiographic prescribing patterns following the introduction of the nGDS contract in 2006.

Methods

Data were gathered via a piloted, self-completed questionnaire, and circulated to all GDPs listed on the National Health Service (NHS) Choices website as practising in the West Kent PCT area. There were three mailings and follow-up telephone calls. The resulting data were entered into a statistical software database and, where relevant, statistically tested, using the chi-square test and Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results

Of 223 GDPs, 168 (75%) responded. There were 163 usable questionnaires. The respondents represented 85% of the general dental practices in West Kent. Eighty (49%) respondents were using digital intra-oral radiography. Of those who used digital radiography, 44 (55%) reported that they used phosphor plate systems and 36 (45%) that they used direct digital sensors. Eighty-three (51%) had a panoramic machine in their practice, 46 of whom (55%) were using digital systems; of these, 32 (67%) were using a direct digital system. Seventy-one GDPs reported that they worked exclusively or mainly in private practice. Forty (56%) of these ‘mainly private’ GDPs reported that they used digital radiographic systems, whereas only 40 (44%) of the 89 ‘mainly NHS’ GDPs reported using digital radiographic systems. On average, mainly private GDPs made the transition to a digital radiographic system six months before mainly NHS GDPs. Of those who provided NHS dentistry before and after April 2006, only 18 (14%) reported taking fewer radiographs and seven (6%) taking more.

Conclusions

In February 2010, of the West Kent GDPs who responded to the questionnaire, just under 50% used digital radiography. Mainly private GDPs were more likely to use digital radiography than their mainly NHS counterparts. A link between digital radiography and increased prescription of radiographs was not specifically apparent from this study. There was no evidence that West Kent GDPs were taking fewer radiographs than they did prior to the introduction of the new GDS contract in April 2006. Research is needed to investigate whether the uptake of digital radiography by GDPs in the rest of the country is similar to that in West Kent.
A Survey of General Dental Practitioners in the North West of England concerning the Dental Care of Patients following Head and Neck Radiotherapy
Authors: Husein Adam B , Butterworth Chris J , Ranka Meena S , Kwasnicki Andrew , Rogers Simon N
Published: March 2011

Aims

The aim of this survey was to investigate the views of general dental practitioners (GDPs) on their perceived roles and the barriers regarding dental care of patients following head and neck radiotherapy.

Methods

From a total of 1163 GDPs on the Mersey Postgraduate Dental Deanery mailing list, 369 were selected at random. Questionnaires were sent out in February 2010 followed by reminders a month later. A study-specific questionnaire was piloted prior to the survey.

Results

One hundred and ninety-eight of the potential 336 respondents returned valid questionnaires, a response rate of 59%. They did not respond to all questions. Of those who responded, 99/188 (53%) were either ‘not at all’ or ‘little’ happy about managing these patients and 118/183 (64%) and 100/173 (58%), respectively, perceived that complex management and the new General Dental Services (nGDS) contract introduced in 2006 were ‘quite a bit’ or ‘very much’ barriers to treatment. The majority of the respondents felt that they were ‘quite a bit’ or ‘very much’ happy to carry out routine fillings (177/195; 90%), periodontal treatment (166/195; 85%), removable dentures (161/195; 83%), crown and bridge work (123/192; 64%), and root canal therapy (114/195; 58%) but only 53/191 (28%) to perform dental extractions. Over half of the respondents felt that they had ‘quite a bit’ or a ‘main role’ in managing radiotherapy caries, xerostomia, detecting recurrence and offering smoking-cessation advice.

Conclusion

The majority of the GDPs who responded had been involved in the management of patients who had undergone radiotherapy to the head and neck. A substantial number perceived barriers to care, such as the complexity of the treatment and the nGDS contract. These findings need further investigation. Continuing professional development would be helpful to improve GDPs’ confidence in dealing with this group of patients.
Theory of transport processes in wood below the fiber saturation point. Physical background on the microscale and its macroscopic description
Authors: Eitelberger Johannes , Svensson Staffan , Hofstetter Karin
Published: March 2011

The macroscopic formulation of moisture transport in wood below the fiber saturation point has motivated many research efforts in the past two decades. Many experiments demonstrated the difference in steady state and transient moisture transport and the inadequacy of models derived for steady state transport when used to describe transient processes. A suitable modeling approach was found by distinguishing between the two phases of water in wood, namely bound water in the cell walls and water vapor in the lumens. Such models are capable of reproducing transient moisture transport processes, but the physical origin of the coupling between the two phases remains unclear. In this paper, the physical background on the microscale is clarified and transformed into a comprehensive macroscopic description, ending up with a dual-scale model comprising three coupled differential equations for bound water, water vapor, and internal energy, as well as a simplified microscale model for determination of the coupling term.
The Truth about Models: How Well Do Mechanical Models Mimic the Observed Gender Distributions in Two-Child Families?
Authors: Stansfield William D. , Carlton Matthew A.
Published: March 2011

We question the use of mechanical models, such as coin flipping, to represent the probabilities of gender distributions in sibship families consisting of two children. Both the assumptions of the models and the reliability of the data should be evaluated. Using models without these critical evaluations may tend to perpetuate myths rather than elucidate biological realities.
The Power of Plants: Introducing Ethnobotany & Biophilia into Your Biology Class
Authors: Babaian Caryn , Twigg Paul
Published: March 2011

We examine the interdisciplinary nature of ethnobotany from a broad perspective and consider its application to the biology classroom and lab. The concept of biophilia and students' relationships with plants are integral components. Botanical nature journaling, discussion of diverse cultural practices, and collection of plants are used to encourage students' interest in local plants. Interwoven with these topics is a plant/microbial lab, which focuses on the local environment and the potential antimicrobial properties of plant parts.
The Relation of High School Biology Courses & Students' Religious Beliefs to College Students' Knowledge of Evolution
Authors: Moore Randy , Brooks Christopher , Cotner Sehoya
Published: March 2011

We examined how college students' knowledge of evolution is associated with their self-described religious beliefs and the evolution-related content of their high school biology courses. On average, students entering college know little about evolution. Religious beliefs, the absence of evolution-related instruction in high school, and the presence of creationism-related instruction in high school were all associated with significantly lower scores on an evolution exam. We present an ordered logistic model that helps to explain (1) students' diverse views and knowledge of evolution, and (2) why college-level instruction about evolution often fails to significantly affect students' views about evolution.
Building Creative Scientists in the Classroom Laboratory: Applications for Animal Behavior Experiments
Authors: Lamanna Justin R. , Eason Perri K.
Published: March 2011

In this animal behavior laboratory, designed to promote a discovery-based approach to laboratory teaching, students first observe the study organism, which gives them the opportunity to decide what behaviors interest them. They work collaboratively to develop their own hypotheses, which can range from simple to complex depending on the course's level. Student groups then design and run experiments to test their hypotheses. At the end of the exercise, the groups present their results to their peers, who are given time to ask questions. This kind of flexible, student-led exercise develops students' reasoning skills and ability to think creatively.
What Is EMDR? Concluding Commentary by Greenwald and Response by Shapiro
Authors: Greenwald Ricky , Greenwald Ricky , Shapiro Francine , Shapiro Francine
Published: March 2011

This Point/Counterpoint concludes the interchange in Greenwald, R. and Shapiro, F. (2010) What is EMDR?: Commentary by Greenwald and Invited Response by Shapiro Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 4, 170–179. Greenwald Rejoinder: In this rejoinder, I highlight areas of agreement between Shapiro and me that were obscured by Shapiro’s (2010) response to my (Greenwald, 2010) commentary. I also address some of the erroneous statements made by Shapiro (2010) in her arguments against my positions. Finally, I summarize our disagreements, and again assert that until we have an empirical basis for preferring a particular theoretical model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), it is premature for professional organizations to endorse Shapiro’s model. Shapiro Response: In response to Greenwald, I again confine myself to addressing some of the errors and misconceptions in his arguments in relation to important aspects of EMDR therapy, theory, and research. Further, contrary to his assertion, there is already a sufficient empirical basis to support the preferential use of the adaptive information processing (AIP) model from which the EMDR procedures were formulated. His argument against this position is antithetical to the traditional process by which foundational models are challenged, refined, or replaced. Implications are salient to both training and practice.