bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Let’s Have Done with the Notion of “Noise”
Authors: Chion Michel
Published: December 2011

These two essays together expose, examine, and critique the workings of “causalism,” the implicit positive valuation that attaches to sonic sources with respect to musical production and audition. According to some, timbre, along with pitch, intensity, and duration, would name the fourth fundamental aspect of sounds deemed musical. But while attempts have been made to find in timbre an objectively quantifiable and measurable aspect of sound—and one that characterizes specific instruments as such—the concept actually lumps together a number of different and irreducibly particular sonic phenomena. The continued use of the term timbre reveals less an investment in objectivity than an ongoing attachment to sonic origins and traditional instrumentation—an attachment that extended techniques and electronic manipulation, for example, have revealed as conceptually outmoded and thus ideologically motivated. Similarly, the notion of noise that circulates in musical theory as sounds without precise pitch presents itself as scientific. Yet the notion surreptitiously puts into play the ambiguity enclosed in the term noise: both a sound from whatever source and a sound that is a nuisance or that is otherwise negatively valued. As with timbre, the insistence on something like objective noise and the upholding of the noise/sound distinction function as artificial limitations on music as composed and heard.
Twittering Machines: Antinoise and Other Tricks of the Ear
Authors: Bassett Caroline
Published: December 2011

Antinoise is a technical term for various noise-canceling technologies and a label applied to human antinoise campaigners. But antinoise connects rather than divides human and machines; antinoise techniques are completed in the ear, while human-initiated antinoise actions and classifications require and enroll sonic technology of various kinds. Modes of hearing are thus embodied and exteriorized in new ways, and the automated ear and the supplemented machine may figure, not necessarily on opposite sides, in sonically articulated struggles for space. This article explores a series of sonic regimes, articulated across bodies and machines in variously historically freighted micro-locations, asking how a particular order of sound might order or enclose spaces. Under consideration are antinoise campaigners on trains, Mosquito sonic management devices, and a glossolaliac artwork (smSage) that might open a utopian space of sonic solidarity. The attempt, following Attali, to understand a new political economy of noise through a consideration of what might constitute various forms of common space is made, first, in order to investigate and expose the contemporary significance to politics of questions of what stands before meaning—this is a politics of noise and speech, rather than one focusing on speech and language. Second, the article keys in to a certain reorganization of the senses emerging in contemporary, pervasively mediated ecology—seeking to outline what might be termed a reprioritization of the sonic.
Pedal bypass with deep venous arterialization: the therapeutic option in critical limb ischemia and unreconstructable distal arteries
Authors: Mutirangura Pramook , Ruangsetakit Chanean , Wongwanit Chumpol , Sermsathanasawadi Nuttawut , Chinsakchai Khamin
Published: December 2011

Heavily calcified and severely stenotic distal arteries defined as unreconstructable, precludes the possibility of revascularization, resulting in major amputation in patients with critical limb ischemia. However, providing blood supply to the ischemic foot through the venous system instead of the arterial system may improve the circulation adequately for the healing process in the vascular compromised distal tissue. This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of pedal bypass with deep venous arterialization, one of the possible procedures to improve the circulation through the venous system in critically ischemic limbs and unreconstructable distal arteries. Twenty-six patients with critical limb ischemia and an unreconstructable distal artery of the lower extremities were included for the surgical procedure. Arterial bypass with distal anastomosis at the paramalleolar deep vein was carried out through a composite graft combined with adequate destruction of valve competency in the distal vein. The primary endpoint was complete healing of ischemic ulcer with amelioration of rest pain within six months. The secondary endpoints were the outcomes of survival, limb salvage and primary graft patency rate at six-month intervals to 24 months. Nineteen patients (73.1%) had complete healing of ischemic ulcer and disappearance of rest pain within six months. Six patients (23.1%) underwent major amputation. Perioperative mortality was 3.8%. After 24 months of follow-up study, the survival rate was 87.5%, whereas the limb salvage and graft patency rates were 76.02 and 49.17%, respectively. Pedal bypass with deep venous arterialization may be another therapeutic option to enhance the healing of ischemic ulcer and limb salvageability in patients with critical limb ischemia and unreconstructable distal artery.
Some technical considerations of open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a transition country
Authors: Davidovic Lazar B , Ilić Nikola , Končar Igor , Dragaš Marko , Marković Miroslav , Sindjelic Radomir , Savic Nebojsa
Published: December 2011

A variety of operative approaches and protective adjuncts have been used in thoracoabdominal aneurysm (TAA) repair to minimize the major complications of perioperative death and spinal cord ischemia. There is no consensus with respect to the optimal approach. We present 118 surgically treated patients over a 10-year period. The present study reviews our experience as a transition country (Serbia) in the treatment and problems we have encountered during open operative treatment of TAAs. Between 1999 and 2009, the authors reviewed 118 consecutive patients who underwent thoracoabdominal aortic resection using a variety of spinal cord protection. Clinical data collected prospectively were analyzed retrospectively. The purpose of the current study was to review the results of a large series of TAA repairs and to present some technical considerations and complications of open TAA repair. There were seven operative deaths (5.9%): two in the setting of ruptured TAAs, three myocardial infarctions and two due to hemorrhage. All 30 (25.4%) postoperative deaths occurred during the initial hospitalization. Postoperative complications included paraplegia in 11 patients (9.3%); renal failure in eight patients (6.8%), with four patients (3.4%) requiring hemodialysis; pulmonary complications in 75 patients (63.5%); bleeding requiring reoperation in two patients (1.7%) and coagulopathic hemorrhage in five patients (4.2%); cardiac complications in six patients (5.1%); stroke in five patients (4.2%); wound dehiscence in six patients (5.1%); and subdural hemorrhage in one patient (0.87%). Open TAA repair intrinsically has substantial complications, of which spinal cord ischemia and renal failure are the most devastating, despite major progress in our understanding of the pathophysiology and operative strategy. Our current review of data clearly proves that the surgical repair of TAAs remains a challenge even in the 21st century, especially in a country in transition.
Endovascular treatment of isolated internal iliac artery aneurysms
Authors: Antoniou George A , Nassef Ahmed H , Antoniou Stavros A , Loh Charles Yuen Yung , Turner Douglas R , Beard Jonathan D
Published: December 2011

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the outcome of endovascular treatments for isolated internal iliac artery aneurysms. A systematic review of the literature using public domain databases was undertaken. All studies reporting on endovascular treatment of isolated hypogastric artery aneurysms were considered. Experience from our institution was involved in the data analysis. The primary outcome measures were technical success, perioperative, and overall mortality and morbidity. Data were extracted from 30 articles fulfilling the selection criteria, and the study cohort consisted of 55 patients having undergone treatment of 59 internal iliac artery aneurysms. Ten patients (18%) were treated on an urgent or emergency basis for a ruptured aneurysm. Technical success was achieved in 71% of the cases. The most common reason for technical failure was incomplete exclusion of the aneurysm sac. Thirty-day mortality occurred in one patient (2%). The 30-day morbidity rate was 20%, and was mostly associated with insufficiency of the pelvic circulation. One aneurysm-related death occurred during a mean follow-up period of 13 months (range 0.5–56 months). Open surgical intervention for aneurysm-related complications was required in five patients. In conclusion, endovascular treatment of isolated internal iliac artery aneurysms is an effective alternative option, with satisfactory early and mid-term results.
Towards a new African cinema criticism: From the truth to Déchets Humains
Authors: Harrow Kenneth W.
Published: December 2011

This article traces the trajectory of progressive African film-making from its early iterations as liberationist to contemporary postcolonial cinema. The critical engagements with Fanon have morphed under the influence of Mbembe, Shohat, Stam, Willemen and others. Political approaches
that remain closer to The Empire Strikes Back or Fanon, recently embraced by Armes, are examined in light of Raymond Williams’s exploration of art and commitment, and are contrasted with Stam’s work on hybridity. In the end, the category of Third Cinema, which guided the critical
community since the 1960s, is now being supplanted by work that takes into account conditions of cultural production and social conflict, as films like those of Nollywood disrupt the older categories of a serious, engaged African cinema.
Interface and erasure in Le Clézio’s ‘Mondo’ and Gatlif’s Mondo (1997): Problems of nterpretation and reception
Authors: Miller Robert Alvin
Published: December 2011

The Algerian-born French filmmaker of Romani origin, Tony Gatlif and the Nobel prize-winning French author of Mauritian, French and British origins, J.-M. G. Le Clézio both draw attention to displaced individuals and groups that inhabit the margins of the postcolonial world.
Gatlif has done this through films eflecting the history of Romani peoples. Le Clézio has always been devoted to cinema as a means of apprehending experience, yet his works have not been extensively translated to film media. Gatlif’s film Mondo, based on a story by Le Clézio,
offers insight into the intersection of these two visions. The reception of both Gatlif’s militancy and Le Clézio’s commitment to writing about underrepresented individuals and communities remains as challenging and uncertain as the future, in Francophone and world cinema,
of unclassifiable films like Mondo.
Difficulties in Receiving a Medical Consultation among Japanese Workers with Mental Health Problems
Authors: Okubo Suguru , Yokoyama Kazuhito , Suzuki Mayo , Tani Iori , Ikeda Wakaha , Kitamura Fumihiko
Published: December 2011

Difficulties in Receiving a Medical Consultation among Japanese Workers with Mental Health Problems: Suguru OKUBO, et al. Department of Healthcare Quality Assessment, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo—

Objectives

The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors affecting the difficulties in receiving a medical consultation among workers with mental health problems.

Methods

The present study was performed using a cross‐sectional survey. We requested occupational physicians and nurses who were members of the Japan Society for Occupational Health to distribute self‐administered questionnaires to their clients.

Results

Ninety‐nine workers (68 males and 30 females), aged 40.6 ± 9.1 yr, returned completed questionnaires; 65% of the respondents had been diagnosed with depression. The most common difficulty perceived by them was that there were no intra‐office counselors. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the number of months between the onset of mental health problems and the first medical consultation was significantly associated with age and having no sick leave allowance.

Conclusions

The implementation and enhancement of sick leave allowance may promote early intervention in regard to workplace mental health problems. Mental health education and regular checkups for older workers is also critical for early detection and intervention of mental health problems.
Visual Display Terminal Use Increases the Prevalence and Risk of Work‐related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Chinese Office Workers: A Cross‐sectional Study
Authors: Wu Shanshan , He Lihua , Li Jingyun , Wang Jianxin , Wang Sheng
Published: December 2011

Visual Display Terminal Use Increases the Prevalence and Risk of Work‐related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Chinese Office Workers: A Cross‐sectional Study: Shanshan WU, et al. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, P.R. China—

Objectives

Little is known about Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among computer users mainland China. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of WMSDs in office workers in Beijing, and to determine risk factors for WMSDs in the neck (WMSDs‐N).

Methods

In a cross‐sectional study, a self‐administered questionnaire was delivered to 720 office workers who use a computer as a main working tool. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for risk factors.

Results

The prevalence of WMSDs of the neck, shoulder, wrist/hand, upper back and low back amongst office workers were 55.5, 50.7, 31.5, 26.2 and 6.6%, respectively. Both individual risk factor and working condition factors were found to be independently related to WMSDs‐N.

Conclusions

The WMSDs prevalence rates among office workers in Beijing, China, were high. The most affected area was the neck. Preventive measures for office work should be focused on the neck (e.g., rest breaks).
A percepção do acompanhante sobre a humanização da assistência em uma unidade neonatal
Authors: Spir Eliete Genovez , Soares Alda Valéria Neves , Wei Chang Yi , Aragaki Ilva Marico Mizumoto , Kurcgant Paulina
Published: December 2011

O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer a percepção das mães acompanhantes na unidade neonatal em relação às ações humanizadoras. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória descritiva, com enfoque qualitativo, desenvolvido na unidade neonatal do Hospital da Universidade de São Paulo com as acompanhantes dos bebês que permaneceram internados a partir do quinto dia de vida até a alta hospitalar. O período estudado foram os meses de outubro de 2007 a janeiro de 2008. Foram realizadas 18 entrevistas, analisadas segundo o referencial de Bardin, o que permitiu a construção das categorias: assistência recebida, relacionamento com os profissionais e condições institucionais. Constatou-se satisfação quanto à assistência recebida e ao apoio da equipe, mas foram apontadas necessidades de mudanças na estrutura física do setor, para proporcionar uma assistência mais humanizada.
Superação de dormência e temperaturas para germinação de sementes de Acacia caven (Mol. ) Mol. (espinilho)
Authors: Escobar Taiane Acunha , Pedroso Vanessa Marques , Bonow Roselaine Neves , Schwengber Eduardo Brum
Published: December 2011

O espinilho (Acacia caven (Mol.) Mol.) é uma planta nativa do sudoeste do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, e não existe metodologia eficiente para a análise de sementes da espécie. Desta forma o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar tratamentos para a superação da dormência das sementes e temperaturas para a condução do teste de germinação de A. caven. Foram utilizados cinco tratamentos na superação da dormência: testemunha (T1); imersão das sementes em água a 40 ºC por 24 h (T2); imersão das sementes em hipoclorito de sódio a 0,5% por 24 h (T3); escarificação mecânica com lixa de água nº. 80 (T4) e corte na região oposta à micrópila (T5). Para a germinação utilizaram-se as temperaturas constantes de 20 ºC, 25 ºC e 30 ºC, fotoperíodo de 12 h, em substrato de papel (SP). O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições de 50 sementes. Os dados expressos em porcentagem foram transformados em arcsen e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Os tratamentos mais eficientes para superação da dormência foram o T4 e T5. A maior porcentagem de germinação foi obtida a 30 ºC. O teste de germinação pode ser finalizado com 7 dias e a primeira contagem da germinação no 5º dia.
A new infilled steel frame with engineering properties
Authors: Mohammadi Majid , Mahalleh Reza Mohammadi Ghazi
Published: December 2011

An experimental investigation was carried out to achieve engineered infilled frames. For this, a frictional sliding fuse was applied horizontally in a steel fibre reinforced concrete infilled steel frame. Six 1/3 scale single-storey single-bay concrete infilled steel frames having frictional sliding fuse were tested by displacement-controlled cyclic loading. The specimens were categorized into three groups: in the first group the influence of fuse sliding strength on the behaviour of the infilled frames was studied through three specimens. The second group had two specimens, in which the influence of the infill top gap on the behaviour of fused infilled frames was studied. The last group had one specimen, studied to find the effects of fuse number and situation. High stability of such infills was confirmed by transversal loading of three specimens transversally, after being failed by in-plane loading. Each of these specimens belonged to one of the aforementioned groups. Based on the results, the infills, provided with frictional sliding fuse, can be considered as engineered elements, regarding their high ductility, transversal stability and capability of being adjusted for desired strengths.
Reciprocal subsidies between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems structure consumer resource dynamics
Authors: Bartels Pia , Cucherousset Julien , Steger Kristin , Eklöv Peter , Tranvik Lars J. , Hillebrand Helmut
Published: December 2011

Cross‐ecosystem movements of material and energy, particularly reciprocal resource fluxes across the freshwater–land interface, have received major attention. Freshwater ecosystems may receive higher amounts of subsidies (i.e., resources produced outside the focal ecosystem) than terrestrial ecosystems, potentially leading to increased secondary production in freshwaters. Here we used a meta‐analytic approach to quantify the magnitude and direction of subsidy inputs across the freshwater–land interface and to determine subsequent responses in recipient animals. Terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems differed in the magnitude of subsidies they received, with aquatic ecosystems generally receiving higher subsidies than terrestrial ecosystems. Surprisingly, and despite the large discrepancy in magnitude, the contribution of these subsidies to animal carbon inferred from stable isotope composition did not differ between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, likely due to the differences in subsidy quality. The contribution of allochthonous subsidies was highest to primary consumers and predators, suggesting that bottom‐up and top‐down effects may be affected considerably by the input of allochthonous resources. Future work on subsidies will profit from a food web dynamic approach including indirect trophic interactions and propagating effects.
Risk Factors Associated With Elder Abuse: The Importance of Differentiating by Type of Elder Maltreatment
Authors: Jackson Shelly L. , Hafemeister Thomas L.
Published: December 2011

Elder abuse research rarely differentiates by the type of elder maltreatment involved when identifying risk factors. The purpose of this study was to compare risk factors across four predominant types of elder maltreatment (financial exploitation, physical abuse, neglect by others, and hybrid financial exploitation [HFE]). Data were collected from two sources: interviews with victims of substantiated elder abuse, responding adult protective services (APS) caseworkers(N= 71), and third-party informants; and a statewide database that contained all substantiated cases over a corresponding 2-year period (N= 2,142). Using chi-square (interview data) and logistic regressions (Adult Services/Adult Protective Services [ASAPS] data), significant differences across the four types of elder maltreatment were found. These two datasets provide converging evidence for the importance of differentiating by type of maltreatment when identifying risk factors for elder maltreatment and for the importance of considering both the elderly victim and the abusive individual when predicting type of elder maltreatment.
Antisociality and Intimate Partner Violence: The Facilitating Role of Shame
Authors: Kivisto Aaron J. , Kivisto Katherine L. , Moore Todd M. , Rhatigan Deborah L.
Published: December 2011

Numerous theories classify distinct subtypes of men who perpetrate violence against female partners. These theories contend that a large portion of these men possess antisocial characteristics that may increase risk for violence. Affectively, these men have been found to externalize their emotions, including shame and guilt, and it has been suggested that this process contributes to the perpetration of partner violence. Therefore, this study sought to examine the role of shame and guilt in the association between antisociality and partner violence perpetration (i.e., psychological, physical, and sexual). Based on a sample of 423 undergraduate men, this study found that shame moderated the association between antisociality and partner violence perpetration such that as shame increases, the associations between antisociality and all three types of partner violence perpetration increase. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of typological models of partner violence and have clinical implications for batterer intervention programs.
Number of Sexual Partners and Sexual Assertiveness Predict Sexual Victimization: Do More Partners Equal More Risk?
Authors: Walker Dave P. , Messman-Moore Terri L. , Ward Rose Marie
Published: December 2011

In previous studies, number of sexual partners and sexual assertiveness were examined as independent risk factors for sexual victimization among college women. Using a sample of 335 college women, this study examined the interaction of number of sexual partners and sexual assertiveness on verbal sexual coercion and rape. Approximately 32% of the sample reported unwanted sexual intercourse, 6.9%(n= 23) experienced verbal sexual coercion, 17.9% (n= 60) experienced rape, and 7.2% (n= 24) experienced both. As number of sexual partners increased, instances of verbal sexual coercion increased for women low in relational sexual assertiveness but not for women high in relational sexual assertiveness. A similar relationship was not found for rape. Among women who experienced both verbal sexual coercion and rape, increases in number of partners in the context of low refusal and relational assertiveness were associated with increases in verbal sexual coercion and rape. Findings suggest sexual assertiveness is related to fewer experiences of sexual coercion.
The Mount Sinai (New York) Visiting Doctors Program: Meeting the Needs of the Urban Homebound Population
Authors: Ornstein Katherine , Hernandez Cameron R. , DeCherrie Linda V. , Soriano Theresa A.
Published: December 2011

The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program, a joint program of Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Departments of Medicine and Geriatrics, is a large multidisciplinary teaching, research, and clinical care initiative serving homebound adults in Manhattan since 1995. Caring for more than 1,000 patients annually, the physicians of Visiting Doctors make more than 6,000 urgent and routine visits each year, making it the largest program of its kind in the country. Services include 24–hour physician availability, palliative care, social work case management, collaboration with nursing agencies, and in-home specialty consultation. The program serves many individuals who have previously received inadequate and inconsistent medical care. Patients are referred by social service agencies, local physicians, and hospitals and are primarily frail older individuals with complex needs. Funded by Mount Sinai and private support, the program serves as a major teaching site for medical, nursing, and social work trainees interested in home-based primary care.
Evaluating the Effect of Eye Movements on Positive Memories Such as Those Used in Resource Development and Installation
Authors: Hornsveld Hellen K. , Houtveen Jan. H. , Vroomen Max , Kapteijn Immanuel , Aalbers Dorienke , van den Hout Marcel A.
Published: December 2011

Resource development and installation (RDI) is an eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)-related procedure developed to strengthen positive associations in positive and resourceful memories (Korn & Leeds, 2002). This study tested the assumption that bilateral stimulation (horizontal eye movements [EM]) in RDI “appears to lead to spontaneous, rapid increases in affective intensity . . . and to rich, emotionally vivid associations” (Korn & Leeds, p. 1469). This study also tested whether eye movement effects could be better accounted for by working memory or by interhemispheric interaction theory. Fifty-three undergraduate students each recalled three memories of pride, perseverance, and self-confidence. They provided pretest and posttest ratings of each memory for vividness, pleasantness, and experienced strength of the positive quality, before and after performing three simultaneous tasks during recall: horizontal EM, vertical EM, and recall only. Results were fully in line with working memory predictions, with significant decreases for all variables following both eye movement tasks. There was no support for the interhemispheric hypothesis. It is concluded that the effectiveness of bilateral stimulation in RDI is questionable. Clinical implications are discussed.
The Model for Predicting Stream Breakthrough Timing during Steam Drive Development of Heavy Oil Reservoirs
Authors: Wu Keliu , Li Xianfang , Zhai Yujia
Published: December 2011

During steam drive development of heavy oil Reservoirs, only by predicting steam breakthrough timing and taking measures to prevent steam channeling will avoid the decrease of oil production rate, enlarge swept volume of steam, increase heat utilization ratio and enhanced oil recovery. Based on routine field performance data, the production performance index hosting information of steam breakthrough is transformed into the probability distribution of evaluation index and its Cumulative Distribution Function and Expectation are calculated. By applying Random Predomination Principle and comparing each pair of CDF, random predomination relation among all the indexes is obtained. Then establish an overall optimal sequence degrees matrix, calculate the sort order of production well steam breakthrough timing and sort the production well steam breakthrough timing. Finally, the multi-index forecast model for steam breakthrough timing during steam drive development of heavy oil reservoirs is established. Case application demonstrates that the results got by forecast model correspond with reality and forecast model enlightens steam drive exploration of heavy oil reservoirs.
Investigation of microbial safety of a full-scale ozonation and biological activated carbon process under high humidity and temperature conditions
Authors: Qiao Tiejun , Zhang Xihui , Wu Guangxue , Au Doris W. T.
Published: December 2011

Microbial safety of a full-scale ozonation and biological activated carbon (BAC) process was investigated by examining pathogens, microbial community and particle counts, with emphasis on the BAC effluent. The process is located at South China, where the average humidity and air temperature were 70–80% and 22–24 °C, respectively. A high diversity of microbial community existed on the BAC media. Three types of dominant bacteria were identified, including Chryseobacterium indologenes, Bacillus brevis and Pseudomonas stutzeri, accounting for 90–95% of total bacteria number. As to pathogenic bacteria and viruses, an opportunistic pathogen, Bacillus cereus, was detected on the BAC. Six types of invertebrates were also observed on the medium, including rotifer, cyclops, nematode, clodecera, nauplius and blood worm. Diversity and number of invertebrates in the BAC effluent were higher than those in the BAC influent. Particle counts were generally less than 50 CNT/mL, with the maximum of 500 CNT/mL during the initial filtration stage after backwashing.
Chlorine disinfection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis: revisiting reclaimed water regulations
Authors: Coronel-Olivares Claudia , Reyes-Gómez Lidia María , Hernández-Muñoz Aurelio , Martínez-Falcón Ana Paola , Vázquez-Rodríguez Gabriela A. , Iturbe Ulises
Published: December 2011

Pathogenic organisms can be transmitted orally through drinking water or through skin and mucosae by both direct and indirect contact, and their presence in water thus has a negative impact on public health. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), water is disinfected to inactivate pathogens. The quantification of several microbial indicators in aquatic systems is required to estimate the biological quality of such systems. So far, coliform bacteria have been used as traditional indicators world-wide. This study has assessed the resistance of total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis to three dosages of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) at two exposure times. The bacteria were isolated from secondary effluents of a WWTP located in Hidalgo, Mexico. The results show that the number of colony-forming units of all studied bacterial types decreased when both the NaClO concentration and exposure times increased. However, they were not eliminated. The inclusion of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa in regulations for treated wastewater quality as a new indicator is highly recommended due to its importance as an opportunistic pathogen. The detection of this species along with the traditional organisms could be particulary significant for reclaimed water to be used with direct human contact.
Application of nitrogen and phosphorus criteria for streams in agricultural landscapes
Authors: Chambers P. A. , Benoy G. A. , Brua R. B. , Culp J. M.
Published: December 2011

Efforts to control eutrophication of water resources in agriculturally dominated ecosystems have focused on managing on-farm activities to reduce nutrient loss; however, another management measure for improving water quality is adoption of environmental performance criteria (or ‘outcome-based standards’). Here, we review approaches for setting environmental quality criteria for nutrients, summarize approaches developed in Canada for setting ‘ideal’ and ‘achievable’ nutrient criteria for streams in agricultural watersheds, and consider how such criteria could be applied. As part of a ‘National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative’, the Government of Canada committed to the development of non-regulatory environmental performance standards that establish total P (TP) and total N (TN) concentrations to protect ecological condition of agricultural streams. Application of four approaches for defining ideal standards using only chemistry data resulted in values for TP and TN spanning a relatively narrow range of concentrations within a given ecoregion. Cross-calibration of these chemically derived standards with information on biological condition resulted in recommendations for TP and TN that would likely protect aquatic life from adverse effects of eutrophication. Non-point source water quality modelling was then conducted in a specific watershed to estimate achievable standards, i.e. chemical conditions that could be attained using currently available and recommended management practices. Our research showed that, taken together, short-term achievable standards and ultimate ideal standards could be used to set policy targets that should, if realized, lower N and P concentrations in Canadian agricultural streams and improve biotic condition.
Analysis of trends in water quality: constructed wetlands in metropolitan Taipei
Authors: Cheng B.-Y. , Liu T.-C. , Shyu G.-S. , Chang T.-K. , Fang W.-T.
Published: December 2011

Meandering through the most densely populated metropolitan areas of Taipei, Taiwan, the Danshui River and its tributaries have undergone the construction of 14 wetlands since 2004, as a means to improve water quality. This study was conducted to examine the functional capabilities associated with treating non-point source pollution through these riparian wetlands. Trend analysis was used to differentiate dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammonia, and Escherichia coli, among 13 sampling sites using both functions of a Mann–Kendall test and a seasonal Mann–Kendall test. The results show that water quality in Taipei metropolitan rivers has been improving since increasing the number of constructed wetlands and connecting households to the public sewage system. The concentration of pollutants such as those influencing biochemical oxygen demand have gradually declined in drought seasons because riparian wetlands contribute a base flow to dilute riverine pollutants. This paper indicates that the creation of treatment systems influences dissolved oxygen conditions at the municipal scale, suggesting that constructed wetlands could stabilize water quality during extreme hydrological events and improve water quality particularly in times of drought.
Monitoring the nitrification and identifying the endpoint of ammonium oxidation by using a novel system of titrimetry
Authors: Zhang Xin , Zhang Daijun , Lu Peili , Bai Cui , Xiao Pengying
Published: December 2011

Based on the structure of the hybrid respirometer previously developed in our group, a novel implementation for titrimetry was developed, in which two pH electrodes were installed at the inlet and outlet of the measuring cell. The software capable of digital filtering and titration time delay correction was developed in LabVIEW. The hardware and software of the titrimeter and the respirometer were integrated to construct a novel system of respirometry–titrimetry. The system was applied to monitor a batch nitrification process. The obtained profiles of oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and hydrogen ion production rate (HPR) are consistent with each other and agree with the principle of the biological nitrification reaction. According to the OUR and HPR measurements, the oxidized ammonium concentrations were estimated accurately. Furthermore, the endpoint of ammonium oxidation was identified with much higher sensitivity by the HPR measurement. The system could be potentially used for on-line monitoring of biochemical reactions occurring in any kind of bioreactors because its measuring cell is completely independent of the bioreactor.
Microbial diversity and community composition in recirculating vertical flow constructed wetlands
Authors: Sklarz M. Y. , Gillor O. , Gross A. , Yakirevich A. , Soares M. I. M.
Published: December 2011

Microorganisms constitute a central component of constructed wetlands (CWs), playing a major role in these systems' capacity for treating wastewater. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and composition of the microbial community found in a recirculating vertical flow CW (RVFCW) bed fed with primarily settled domestic wastewater and its response to the presence of plants, season and location in the bed. The RVFCW removed 90–95% of TSS and BOD5 to below 10 mg L−1. The effluent quality was not significantly affected by seasonal temperature or the existence of plants in the bed. None of these factors had discernible effects on bacterial diversity, e.g. in the planted RVFCW, the richness (S′) and Shannon–Weiner diversity (H′) indices were 18.3 (±3.5) and 2.49 (±0.15), respectively, which are similar to the values of 19.4 (±3.5) and 2.57 (±0.18) in the unplanted RVFCW. However, there were indications that the structure of the microbial community underwent changes that were uncorrelated with the environmental factors tested and that did not affect the overall performance. The consistency in diversity and composition/structure of the bacterial community in the face of temporal and environmental influences possibly contributes to the robustness and high treatment capacity of the RVFCW system.
An Unintended Consequence of SFAS 133: Promoting Speculation
Authors: Nan Lin
Published: December 2011

The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (SFAS 133) allows firms to apply hedge accounting only to qualified hedges that pass effectiveness tests. Unqualified hedges (speculations) are required to be marked to market, and the unrealized gains/losses are to be recognized in earnings immediately. The purpose of SFAS 133 is to improve the timeliness of the information about financial derivatives risk. This paper, however, shows through a specific agency model that the early recognition of the unqualified use of derivatives may change the risk allocation in the manager's compensation and motivate speculation. Speculation is modeled as engaging in high-risk, high-return derivatives contracts, while hedging activities are modeled as engaging in low-risk, low-return contracts (the low return is normalized to be zero for simplicity). The higher expected return from speculation makes it possible for the principal to offer a lower incentive in the early stage of derivative contracts. The lower incentive, in return, makes speculation less detrimental when the induced volatility is recognized earlier than the maturity date of the contracts because the induced risk premium is decreased with the lower incentive.
The Moderating Effects of Task Complexity and Task Attractiveness on the Impact of Monetary Incentives in Repeated Tasks
Authors: Bailey Charles D. , Fessler Nicholas J.
Published: December 2011

This study examines the interactive effects of task complexity and attractiveness on the effectiveness of explicit monetary incentives in promoting task performance. We provide theory for and find an interaction such that monetary incentives are more effective when tasks are less complex, but only when the task is viewed as relatively unattractive. In addition, by varying task complexity, this study extends Bailey et al. (1998), finding that when incentive pay leads to higher performance, it is through faster initial performance, not faster improvement.
Examining Shareholder Value Creation over CEO Tenure: A New Approach to Testing Effectiveness of Executive Compensation
Authors: Gong James Jianxin
Published: December 2011

This paper examines the relationship between CEO compensation and shareholder value added over CEO tenure. The research design exploits two fundamental attributes of CEO compensation and shareholder value added: (1) both CEO compensation and shareholder value added aggregate naturally over CEO tenure, and (2) extending the time interval over which the two variables are measured is likely to result in a better match between CEO compensation and shareholder value created by the CEO. I measure CEO compensation with nominal value of CEO pay, ex post realized pay, and ex ante pay-for-performance sensitivity. I find that CEOs receiving higher nominal or realized pay create more shareholder value. Further, higher median pay-for-performance sensitivity during CEO tenure is associated with higher aggregate market value changes and cumulative abnormal stock returns. Finally, CEO pay efficiency (calculated as the ratio of shareholder value added to CEO pay, both aggregated over CEO tenure) is higher if median pay-for-performance sensitivity during CEO tenure is higher.

Data Availability: The data are available from public sources identified in this study.
An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between Profitability Persistence and Firms' Choice of Business Model: Evidence from the U.S. Airline Industry
Authors: Collins Denton L. , Román Francisco J. , Chan Hung C. (“Leon”)
Published: December 2011

This paper examines the influence of a firm's business model on the relative persistence of profitability in the U.S. airline industry. The strategic management literature describes a firm's business model as reflecting how that firm chooses to compete in the marketplace. Given this linkage between business model, competition, and the marketplace, we conjecture that the persistence of profit margin and asset turnover ratios will be influenced by firms' choices of business model. Further, we hypothesize that this choice of business model influences the relative persistence of the individual revenue and expense components of current profit margin and asset turnover ratios for future profitability ratios. We test these conjectures by (1) partitioning our sample firms according to business model (network carriers versus low-cost carriers), and (2) decomposing sample firms' profit margin and asset turnover ratios into components relating to pricing policy, input cost control, and productivity. We find that the profit margin and asset turnover ratios of network carriers tend to be more persistent than those of low-cost carriers, and that this differential persistence is reflected in the associations between current revenue and expense components, and future profit margin and asset turnover ratios.
An Updated Algorithm for Estimation of Pesticide Exposure Intensity in the Agricultural Health Study
Authors: Coble Joseph , Thomas Kent W. , Hines Cynthia J. , Hoppin Jane A. , Dosemeci Mustafa , Curwin Brian , Lubin Jay H. , Freeman Laura E. Beane , Blair Aaron , Sandler Dale P. , Alavanja Michael C. R.
Published: December 2011

An algorithm developed to estimate pesticide exposure intensity for use in epidemiologic analyses was revised based on data from two exposure monitoring studies. In the first study, we estimated relative exposure intensity based on the results of measurements taken during the application of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) (n = 88) and the insecticide chlorpyrifos (n = 17). Modifications to the algorithm weighting factors were based on geometric means (GM) of post-application urine concentrations for applicators grouped by application method and use of chemically-resistant (CR) gloves. Measurement data from a second study were also used to evaluate relative exposure levels associated with airblast as compared to hand spray application methods. Algorithm modifications included an increase in the exposure reduction factor for use of CR gloves from 40% to 60%, an increase in the application method weight for boom spray relative to in-furrow and for air blast relative to hand spray, and a decrease in the weight for mixing relative to the new weights assigned for application methods. The weighting factors for the revised algorithm now incorporate exposure measurements taken on Agricultural Health Study (AHS) participants for the application methods and personal protective equipment (PPE) commonly reported by study participants.
Synthesis of New Substituted Chromen[4,3-c]pyrazol-4-ones and Their Antioxidant Activities
Authors: Al-Ayed Abdullah Sulaiman
Published: December 2011

A series of new coumarin derivatives 4 containing a 4-arylbut-3-en-2-one moiety were synthesized by condensation of 3-acetylcoumarin 1 with aryl aldehydes 2 in chloroform in the presence of piperidine. The interactions of 3-formyl-4-chlorocoumarin (3) with nitrogen-containg nucleophiles leading to the corresponding substituted chromen-[4,3-c]pyrazol-4-ones 5 are described. The structures of the obtained compounds were established on the basis of 1D NMR, 2D NMR and IR and further the compounds were evaluated for possible antioxidant activities. The coumarinic chalcone 4a has been found to be the most active (IC50 = 2.07 μM) in this study.
Different spatial approaches in geodemographic studies
Authors: Garcia Ballesteros Aurora
Published: December 2011

Les différentes approches spatiales de la démogéographie.

La Géographie de la Population a toujours étudié la distribution spatiale des phénomènes démographiques. Mais le concept d'espace a changé. C'est pour cela qu'il y a plusieurs orientations dans la Géographie de la Population. Les deux majeures sont la démographie spatiale et la démogéographie qui tend a privilégier la notion de territoire et les grands problèmes des sociétés à la fin du XXe siècle.
La résurgence de la peste à Madagascar : une maladie centenaire à l'épreuve de l'histoire et de l'écologie
Authors: Handschumacher Pascal , Duplantier Jean-Marc , Chanteau Suzanne
Published: December 2011

La peste est une maladie qui touche l'humanité depuis l'Antiquité. Mais son histoire n'appartient pas au passé car depuis maintenant une vingtaine d'années, cette maladie connaît un regain d'activité apparaissant sur presque tous les continents. Madagascar n'échappe pas à ce phénomène et connaît une peste qui se manifeste de façon épidémique dans un contexte urbain (la ville de Majunga) et circule de façon endémique sur les hautes terres rurales du centre et du nord de l'île. La présence dans la Grande île d'une équipe pluridisciplinaire et pluri-institutionnelle travaillant sur cette maladie a permis d'aborder la question non seulement sous l'angle biologique et médical mais également sous celui de l'histoire et de l'écologie humaine. En s 'appuyant sur les disparités spatiales et temporelles qui caractérisent la peste, les auteurs essayent de montrer que la peste est le reflet des déséquilibres engendrés par la gestion des milieux par les hommes dans un contexte présentant des prédispositions au risque pesteux. En s 'appuyant sur ces résultats, il devrait alors être possible de proposer des actions en amont de la maladie pour prévenir l'augmentation et la diffusion du risque.
Vieillissement démographique et planification hospitalière en France
Authors: Jourdain Alain , de Turenne Isabelle
Published: December 2011

La carte sanitaire occupe depuis 1970 une place essentielle dans l'approche territorialisée de la planification sanitaire et l'organisation des soins hospitaliers. Trois périodes peuvent être distinguées, montrant la diversité des usages de la carte dans la gestion du système de soins depuis 1970. Initialement fondé pour assurer l'égalité géographique des moyens, le secteur est devenu lieu de cohérence entre les différentes spécialités médicales, puis lieu de débat et d'échange sur l'organisation locale des soins. Dans cette évolution, le vieillissement démographique n'apparaît pas comme un déterminant principal de l'organisation des soins hospitaliers.
La "géritude" est-elle un concept bidon ?
Authors: Loriaux Michel
Published: December 2011

Is "géritude" a Load of Codwallop ?

The word "géritude" is not commonly used by demographers. The author uses it here to remind that population ageing is not necessarily the catastrophe some people announce, but that it nevertheless implies that our institutions, our modes of organization and our mentalities will have to deeply change in order that our societies adapt themselves as harmoniously as possible to the change of sex and age structures. The author recalls that solutions will not come from outside (for example from migratory flows), and that the real societal challenge is not linked to the financing of dependency or to the modernisation of social protection, but first of all to the management of inter- generational relations. The author insists on the world widening of the phenomenon and the gradual moving of the major stakes of ageing from the West towards developing countries of the South.