bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Student’s Accreditation of integrated Medical Education in Nepal
Authors: Banerjee Indrajit , Jauhari Akhilesh Chandra , Johorey Ajay Chandra , Gyawali Sudesh , Saha Archana
Published: November 2011

Objective: Course curriculum of medical sciences is made by learned professors of Universities, politicians and the government officers in education ministry without consulting the students for whom it is made. Student’s Accreditation of curriculum may be useful in further modification of teaching & learning methods. In Nepal, Medical education is an experimental integrated teaching of four and half years for MBBS degree is going on for more than two decades, until now no Accreditation has been done as to what type of Doctors we are producing. The aim of the study was to find out whether integrated teaching or classical medical studies produce better doctors. Material & Methods: The study was conducted from November 2009 to February 2010 at Manipal college of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal. The present study was done to asses the teaching/learning and evaluation procedures adopted by getting Accreditation from students of 2nd, 3rd and 4th semester A structured questionnaire was prepared and a pilot study consisting of 10 students from each batch (randomly selected) was done. Results were analyzed and discussed by the authors before undertaking the main study. Later in the main study accreditation of 186 medical students was collected by same multigraded questionnaire and analyzed for the benefit of further modification of medical education by universities and medical colleges in Nepal in particular and general elsewhere. Results: All the results of the study were discussed in detailed one by one in discussion .Out of them for example one of the result of the study was that subjects like Pathology, Microbiology & Pharmacology should be reduced or not at all taught in first 2 semesters and should be continued till 7th semester like community medicine when the students attend clinical subjects for better understanding of medicine and producing better doctors. Conclusion: Overall the results were alarming & may be taken up seriously by the policy makers. They can bring about amendments in course curriculum of universities in future. Key Words: Medical Education; Multigraded Questionnaire; Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v2i1.3592 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 49-52
Strong relationships between inflammation, atherosclerosis and end stage renal disease
Authors: Tripathi Gaurav , Borkar Minal , Ahmad Fahim , Swaroop Sachit , Singh Janmejay , Sankhwar SN
Published: November 2011

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is characterized by an exceptional mortality rate, much of which is the result of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although traditional risk factors are common in ESRD patients, they may not be sufficient alone to account for the high prevalence of CVD in this condition. Recent evidence demonstrates that chronic inflammation is a common feature in ESRD patients and it may cause malnutrition and progressive atherosclerotic CVD by several pathogenetic mechanisms. The causes of inflammation in ESRD are multifactorial and, while it may reflect underlying CVD, an acute-phase reaction may also be a direct cause of vascular injury by several pathogenetic mechanisms. There is strong evidence that inflammatory markers are closely linked to ESRD. There seems to be a strong evidence of inflammatory markers, inflammation and atherosclerosis in ESRD patients and it is likely that proinflammatory cytokines and the genetic polymorphism in these cytokines may be important players in this scenario. Key Words: Cytokines; ESRD; Inflammation; Polymorphisms; CVD DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v2i1.3731 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 46-48
Need to suspect fungal etiology in presumed bacterial keratitis - A case report of keratitis due to Scedosporium prolificans
Authors: Chandel Lata R , Sood Anuradha , Chauhan Smriti , Thakur Kamlesh
Published: November 2011

We describe a case of keratitis with acute presentation and without any history of trauma caused by Scedosporium prolificans; a rare cause of fungal keratitis, from a tertiary care hospital. To the best of our knowledge this is the first such case reported from the region. Because of early diagnosis and prompt treatment the patient could be managed well. Keywords: Keratitis; Scedosporium prolificans; Prompt treatment DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v2i1.4058 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 28-30
Adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy among People Living with HIV and AIDS in Far West, Nepal
Authors: Bam Kiran , Karki Deepak Kumar , Lohani Shyam Prasad , Thapa Rajshree , Aryal Umesh Raj , Pathak Laxmi Raj
Published: November 2011

Objective: Adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy is a principal predictor for the success of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) treatment. It remains as a challenge to AIDS treatment and care with the wide spread of the associated risks. The study aims to assess adherence level and factors associated with adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) among people living with HIV and AIDS in Far West, Nepal. Material & Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in Far West between May 2009 to September 2009. A total of 176 samples allowed with 95% CI and 5% error proportionately from four ART sites were drawn. Random sampling technique was used to recruit patients. Semi-structured questionnaire schedule adapted from the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (AACTG) was used and pre-tested to collect data on drug adherence. We compared non-adherent patients with adherent patients and associations with key risk factors were determined.Results: An overall self reported adherence for a month was 84%. Those who were more than 95% adherent responded that use of watch, electronic devices such as mobiles, watch and calendar facilitated them to take the drugs regularly. Improved adherence was significantly determined by time to reach the health faility at terai (OR: 2.86, 1.10-7.47), disclosing of the HIV status (OR: 3.25; 1.02-10.19), the perceived positive benefits of ART (OR: 21.07; 6.79-68.04) and excellent satisfaction with the provider (OR: 13.11; 4.75-36.19). Travel cost more than 2$ (OR: 9.84; 3.44-28.73) was significant barrier to adherence. Conclusion: Timely detection of non-adherence behaviours and understanding of patients' difficulties with ART could potentially help patients for adherence and therefore improve the treatment outcomes in rural hilly Nepal. Government’s initiatives towards moral support for encouraging to join support group including discussions of side-effects, and everyday problems in sticking to a regimen and financial support to PHLA should be promoted to optimize the adherence rate.Key Words: Adherence; ART; PLHA; Far West NepalDOI: 10.3126/ajms.v2i1.4290Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 7-13
Avoidance of wrong-level thoracic spine surgery: intraoperative localization with preoperative percutaneous fiducial screw placement
Authors: Upadhyaya Cheerag D. , Wu Jau-Ching , Chin Cynthia T. , Balamurali Gopalakrishnan , Mummaneni Praveen V.
Published: November 2011

Object

The accurate intraoperative localization of the correct thoracic spine level remains a challenging problem in both open and minimally invasive spine surgery. The authors describe a technique of using preoperatively placed percutaneous fiducial screws to localize the area of interest in the thoracic spine, and they assess the safety and efficacy of the technique.

Methods

To avoid wrong-level surgery in the thoracic spine, the authors preoperatively placed a percutaneous 5-mm fiducial screw at the level of intended surgery using CT guidance. Plain radiographs and CT images with reconstructed views can then be referenced in the operating room to verify the surgical level, and the fiducial screw is easily identified on intraoperative fluoroscopy. The authors compared a group of 26 patients who underwent preoperative (often outpatient) fiducial screw placement prior to open or minimally invasive thoracic spine surgery to a historical group of 26 patients who had intraoperative localization with fluoroscopy alone.

Results

In the treatment group of 26 patients, no complications related to fiducial screw placement occurred, and there was no incidence of wrong-level surgery. In comparison, there were no wrong-level surgeries in the historical cohort of 26 patients who underwent mini-open or open thoracic spine surgery without placement of a fiducial screw. However, the authors found that the intraoperative localization fluoroscopy time was greatly reduced when a fiducial screw localization technique was employed.

Conclusions

The aforementioned technique for intraoperative localization is safe, efficient, and accurate for identifying the target level in thoracic spine exposures. The fiducial marker screw can be placed using CT guidance on an outpatient basis. There is a reduction in the amount of intraoperative fluoroscopy time needed for localization in the fiducial screw group.
Impact test comparisons of 20th and 21st century American football helmets
Authors: Bartsch Adam , Benzel Edward , Miele Vincent , Prakash Vikas
Published: November 2011

Object

Concussion is the signature American football injury of the 21st century. Modern varsity helmets, as compared with vintage leather helmets, or “leatherheads,” are widely believed to universally improve protection by reducing head impact doses and head injury risk for the 3 million young football players in the US. The object of this study was to compare the head impact doses and injury risks with 11 widely used 21st century varsity helmets and 2 early 20th century leatherheads and to hypothesize what the results might mean for children wearing similar varsity helmets.

Methods

In an injury biomechanics laboratory, the authors conducted front, oblique front, lateral, oblique rear, and rear head impact tests at 5.0 m/second using helmeted headforms, inducing near- and subconcussive head impact doses on par with approximately the 95th percentile of on-field collision severity. They also calculated impact dose injury risk parameters common to laboratory and on-field traumatic neuromechanics: linear acceleration, angular acceleration, angular velocity, Gadd Severity Index, diffuse axonal injury, acute subdural hematoma, and brain contusion.

Results

In many instances the head impact doses and head injury risks while wearing vintage leatherheads were comparable to or better than those while wearing several widely used 21st century varsity helmets.

Conclusions

The authors do not advocate reverting to leather headgear, but they do strongly recommend, especially for young players, instituting helmet safety designs and testing standards, which encourage the minimization of linear and angular impact doses and injury risks in near- and subconcussive head impacts.
SERO-PREVALENCE STUDY OF BRUCELLOSIS IN CATTLE AND CONTACT HUMAN IN MYMENSINGH DISTRICT
Authors: Nahar A. , Ahmed M.U.
Published: November 2011

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle and in contact human in Veterinary Clinic and Dairy Farm of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) from June 2007 to November 2007. A total of 200 sera samples from cattle and 50 sera samples from human were collected from BAU Veterinary Clinic and USDA funded Red Chittagong cattle project at BAU Dairy Farm. Questionnaire based data on risk factors were collected both in cattle and in contact human. Sera were separated from blood samples and tested with the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and Standard Tube Agglutination Test (STAT) parallely. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors of brucellosis both in cattle and in contact human using SPSS®. The overall seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle and in contact human were found 4.5% and 6% respectively. Statistically insignificant higher seroprevalence of brucellosis was found in cattle aged above 4 years and in human aged above 30 years, in Red Chittagong cattle of BAU dairy farm, in female of cattle and in male of human, in cattle with grazing, in pregnant cows, in animal owner and in human with smoking.
PREVALENCE AND PATHOLOGY OF ARTHROPOD INFESTATION IN DOMESTIC AND STRAY CATS IN BANGLADESH
Authors: Rahman S.A. , Islam M. J. , Begum N. , Ali M.A. , Bari A.S.M.
Published: November 2011

This study was designed to determine the prevalence and pathology of potential arthropods of the domestic and stray cats (Felis catus) that had not received veterinary care and had no known exposure to insecticide application and other form of medication. In doing so, 36 domestic and stray cats were taken from Mymensingh district, Bangladesh. The research work was carried out during the period of July 2006 to June 2007 in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh. In the 36 examined cats, overall 32 (88.89 %) cats had arthropod infestation. The rate of infestation was Ctenocephalides felis felis, 86% (31 out of 36), Demodex cati, 11% (4 out of 36) and Linguatula serrata, 14 % (5 out of 36). Slightly higher rate of Ct. felis felis infestation was found in kittens (90%) followed by adults (84.61%). There was similar age prevalence of D. cati and L. serrata infection in kittens and adults. Females (90%) were 2.07 times more susceptible to Ct. felis felis infestation than males (81.25%). The rate of arthropod infection did not vary greatly over seasons. But in L. serrata infection, there was higher prevalence in summer (27.27%) than rainy (11.11%) and winter (6.25%) seasons. Grossly, demodectic mange was characterized by alopecia, epidermal scaling, scab formation and denudation of the skin mostly found in the ear and the neck. The legs and the abdomen were also affected. At histopathology, sections of mite were found in the hair follicles of the skin along with folliculitis (two cases). Pneumonia was found both grossly and microscopically in lungs of five cats but it was very difficult to correlate with the presence of small number of L. serrata organisms.
PATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF LIVER FLUKE INFECTION OF SLAUGHTERED BLACK BENGAL GOAT IN A SELECTED AREA OF BANGLADESH
Authors: Talukder S , Bhuiyan MJ , Hossain MM , Uddin MM , Paul S , Howlader MMR
Published: November 2011

This study was conducted in Sylhet district of Bangladesh to investigate the pathological effect of liver fluke in Black Bengal goats of different age groups, sex and in seasons. In this study, livers of male and female goats were collected randomly from slaughter house during a period of 1 (one) year (November, 2007 to October, 2008). A total of 325 Black Bengal goat livers were examined, of which 70 livers were found infected with Fasciola gigantica. The common histopathological changes found in this study were the migratory tract with lymphocytic infiltration, atrophy, necrosis and fatty changes in the liver. The study revealed that age of the animal has significant effect on Fascioliasis in goats. Significantly (P<0.01) highest infection rate was found in 2-2.5 years old animals (50%). The sex of the animal was also found as important determinants for Fascioliasis. In this study out of 219 male goat livers 30 (13.70%) were infected with Fasciola. On the other hand, out of 106 female goat livers, 40 (37.73%) were found positive with Fascioliasis. The data of origin of animals also collected which was not statistically significant. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v8i1.7717 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 35-40
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF ECTOPARASITIC INFESTATIONS IN BLACK BENGAL GOATS IN GAIBANDHA AND MYMENSINGH DISTRICTS OF BANGLADESH
Authors: Sarkar M , Rahman SA , Sarker BK , Anisuzzaman Anisuzzaman , Begum N , Mondal MMH
Published: November 2011

Epidemiology and pathology of ectoparasitic infestations in Black Bengal goats were studied in different areas of Mymensingh and Gaibandha districts, Bangladesh from December, 2006 to November, 2007. A total of 125 Black Bengal goats were examined. Among them 91 (72.8%) were infested with one or more species of ectoparasites. Six species of ectoparasites were identified, of which four species were arachnids, namely Heamaphysalis bispinosa (34.4%), Boophilus microplus (27.2%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (7.2%), and Psoroptes cuniculi (5.6%) and two species belonged to the class Insecta namely Damalinia caprae (20.8%) and Linognathus stenopsis (18.4%). Overall mean parasitic burden was 2.36±1.49 per square inch of affected area. The highest parasitic burden was recorded in case of L. stenopsis (3.93±2.219), followed by D. caprae (3.00±2.424), H. bispinosa (2.32±1.278), P. cuniculi (2.00±1.414), B. microplus (1.59±1.098), and R. sanguinus (1.33±0.516). Significantly (p<0.01) higher prevalence of ectoparasites was recorded in the rainy season (90%), followed by winter (82.61%), and summer (53.06%). The ectoparasitic infestation was higher in case of kids (82%) and older goats (79.55%) than that of young (51.61%) goats. The female goats (77.63%) were more susceptible than male (65.31%) to ectoparasitic infestation. The prevalence of ectoparasites was higher in Mymensingh (87.5%) than that of Gaibandha region (57.38%). In the present study, pathological lesions produced by ectoparasites were also studied. In P. cuniculi infestation, alopecia, rough, dry and leathery skin was found. Microscopically, it was characterized by hyperkeratinization, ulceration, acanthosis and eosinophilic infiltration. In tick infestation, rough, reddened skin and loss of hair were observed. In lice infestation, the skin was red and slightly elevated. The ectoparasites produced pathological lesions on the skin which reduces the value and quality of skin. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v8i1.7718 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 41-50
CULTURAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SHEEP Escherichia coli ISOLATED FROM IN AND AROUND BAU CAMPUS
Authors: Purkayastha M , Khan MSR , Alam M , Siddique MP , Begum F , Mondal T , Choudhury S
Published: November 2011

Pathogenic Escherichia coli remain as an important etiological agent of sheep diarrhoea in Bangladesh. The present study was designed for the cultural and biochemical characterization of Sheep E. coli from diarrhoeic and apparently healthy sheep in and around BAU campus for the period from January to October, 2007. Out of 90 faecal samples, 36 from diarrhoeic and 54 from apparently healthy sheep collected from different areas in and around BAU campus, 15 (41.67%) and 21 (38.38%) were found to be positive for E. coli. The cultural characterization of all positive sheep E. coli revealed greenish black colony with metallic sheen in Eosine methylene blue agar, bright pink color smooth transparent colony in MacConkey agar, green color colony in Brilliant green agar, slight pinkish smooth colony in Salmonella-Shigella agar and colorless colony with hemolysis in blood agar. In case of biochemical characterization, all of the isolates showed fermentation of dextrose, sucrose, fructose, maltose and mannitol with the production of acid and gas, negative result to Voges-Proskaure test, positive result to Methyl-red test and differential result to Indole test.The overall prevalence of E. coli was recorded as 80.05% through the cultural and biochemical characterization. The antibiotic sensitivity and resistance pattern showed that the isolates of sheep E. coli were highly sensitive to ciprofloxacine, co-trimoxazol, nalidixic acid and chloramphenicol but to the erythromycin the isolates were highly resistant. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v8i1.8350 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 51-55
COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA) AND METFORMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (COMET®) IN STREPTOZOTOCIN INDUCED DIABETES MELITUS IN RATS
Authors: Das AR , Mostofa M , Hoque ME , Das S , Sarkar AK
Published: November 2011

The present study was investigated the comparative efficacy of extract of Neem (Azadirachta indica) and Metformin hydrochloride (Comet®) in respect of their hypoglycemic activity in Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Extract of Neem was administered @ 500 mg/kg body-weight (bwt) and 250 mg/kg bwt. Metformin hydrochloride @ 500 mg/kg bwt and 250 mg/kg daily orally for 21 days. Changes in the blood glucose level and body weight were measured and the results were compared statistically using Anova test. The extract of Neem leaves and Metformin hydrochloride showed significant (p<0.01) hypoglycemic effect and neem extracts at 250 mg/kg bwt showed more potent effects. The Neem extracts significantly (p<0.01) increased body weight @ 250 mg/kg. From this experiment it was observed that extracts of Neem leaves had hypoglycemic and body weight gain effect. For definite conclusion, details study is needed. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v8i1.8353 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 75-80
ANATOMICAL MEASUREMENTS FOR THE BLOCKING SITES OF PARAVERTEBRAL REGIONAL ANAESTHESIA IN BLACK BENGAL DOE
Authors: Sikder S , Ahmed SSU , Kibria ASMG , Pallab MS , Uddin MB , Basu J , Uddin MM
Published: November 2011

The study was conducted in 25 black Bengal does to determine the exact site of infiltration of local anaesthetics for the last thoracic (T13), first lumbar (L1) and second lumbar (L2) paravertebral spinal nerve block at the Dept. of Anatomy and Histology, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong. The animals were anaesthetized with pentobarbital sodium @ 20 mg / kg body weight IM and bled to death by giving incision on the right common carotid artery and preserved by 10 % formalin and dissected carefully to visualize the spinal nerves for the determination of the exact site of infiltration of local anaesthetic at the perineural area for paravertebral nerve block. For the vertical or proximal approach, the T13 spinal nerve was located at 0.8 ± 0.17 cm caudally from head of the last rib, 0.7 ± 0.22 cm cranio-medially from cranio-lateral angle of L1 transverse process and 3.4 ± 0.20 cm laterally from dorsal midline; L1 spinal nerve was placed at 1.2 ± 0.40 cm medially from cranio-lateral angle of L2 transverse process and 3.5 ± 0.17 cm laterally from the dorsal midline; and L2 spinal nerve was situated at 1.6 ± 0.26 cm medially from cranio-lateral angle of L3 transverse process and 3.7 ± 0.14 cm laterally from the dorsal midline. In horizontal or distal approach, T13 spinal nerve was located at 0.5 ± 0.10 cm and 1.8 ± 0.63 cm cranially from the cranio-lateral and caudo-lateral angles of L1 transverse process respectively and 4.6 ± 0.30 cm laterally from dorsal midline at lateral border of L1 transverse process; L1 spinal nerve was placed at 0.4 ± 0.10 cm and 1.4 ± 0.28 cm caudally and cranially from the cranio-lateral and caudo-lateral angle of L2 transverse process respectively and 5.1 ± 0.20 cm laterally from dorsal midline at lateral border of L2 transverse process and L2 spinal nerve was situated at 2.5 ± 0.42 cm and 0.5 ± 0.10 cm caudally and cranially from the cranio-lateral and caudo-lateral angle of L3 transverse process respectively and 5.5 ± 0.28 cm laterally from dorsal midline at lateral border of L3 transverse process. These measurements will be helpful to determine of the exact site for the deposition of the local anaesthetic agent at the perineural area of the specific paravertebral spinal nerve during paravertebral regional anaesthesia in doe. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v8i1.8354 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2010). 8(1): 81-86
Optimization of the Conditions for Extraction of Serine Protease from Kesinai Plant (Streblus asper) Leaves Using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Mehrnoush Amid , Mustafa Shuhaimi , Sarker Md. Zaidul Islam , Yazid Abdul Manap Mohd
Published: November 2011

Response surface methodology (RSM) using a central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize the conditions for extraction of serine protease from kesinai (Streblus asper) leaves. The effect of independent variables, namely temperature (42.5,47.5, X1), mixing time (2–6 min, X2), buffer content (0–80 mL, X3) and buffer pH (4.5–10.5, X4) on specific activity, storage stability, temperature and oxidizing agent stability of serine protease from kesinai leaves was investigated. The study demonstrated that use of the optimum temperature, mixing time, buffer content and buffer pH conditions protected serine protease during extraction, as demonstrated by low activity loss. It was found that the interaction effect of mixing time and buffer content improved the serine protease stability, and the buffer pH had the most significant effect on the specific activity of the enzyme. The most desirable conditions of 2.5 °C temperature, 4 min mixing time, 40 mL buffer at pH 7.5 was established for serine protease extraction from kesinai leaves.
Encapsulation of Natural Polyphenolic Compounds; a Review
Authors: Munin Aude , Edwards-Lévy Florence
Published: November 2011

Natural polyphenols are valuable compounds possessing scavenging properties towards radical oxygen species, and complexing properties towards proteins. These abilities make polyphenols interesting for the treatment of various diseases like inflammation or cancer, but also for anti-ageing purposes in cosmetic formulations, or for nutraceutical applications. Unfortunately, these properties are also responsible for a lack in long-term stability, making these natural compounds very sensitive to light and heat. Moreover, polyphenols often present a poor biodisponibility mainly due to low water solubility. Lastly, many of these molecules possess a very astringent and bitter taste, which limits their use in food or in oral medications. To circumvent these drawbacks, delivery systems have been developed, and among them, encapsulation would appear to be a promising approach. Many encapsulation methods are described in the literature, among which some have been successfully applied to plant polyphenols. In this review, after a general presentation of the large chemical family of plant polyphenols and of their main chemical and biological properties, encapsulation processes applied to polyphenols are classified into physical, physico-chemical, chemical methods, and other connected stabilization methods. After a brief description of each encapsulation process, their applications to polyphenol encapsulation for pharmaceutical, food or cosmetological purposes are presented.
Water-Soluble Stimuli Responsive Star-Shaped Segmented Macromolecules
Authors: Iatridi Zacharoula , Tsitsilianis Constantinos
Published: November 2011

Star shaped segmented macromolecules constitute an interesting class of polymeric materials whose properties differ remarkably from those appearing in their linear counterparts. This review highlights the work done in the last decade, dealing with the self-assembly of star-shaped block copolymers and terpolymers of various topologies in aqueous media. This article focuses on a specific class of star shaped macromolecules designated as stimuli responsive. These stars bearblock/arms undergo sharp phase transitions upon responding to stimuli, such as temperature, pH, ionic strength and so forth. These transitions impose dramatic transformations on the morphology and, accordingly, in the functionality of the nanostructured associates. The number of arms, the specific functionality and topology of the different arm/blocks and the overall macromolecular architecture of the star polymer, significantly influence their behavior in terms of self-assembly and responsiveness.
Matière linguistique et analyse de discours - Pièce à conviction
Authors: Verón Eliseo
Published: November 2011

En laissant de côté les problèmes posés par des matières signifiantes non-linguistiques, ce travail part de l'hypothèse que la question cruciale d'une sociomiotique est toujours celle de ses rapports à l'ordre du linguistique.

Parmi les développements qui touchent au problème de la nature et des conditions de possibilité d'une sociosémiotique, cet article aborde trois d'entre eux; chacun illustre une stratégie particulière vis-à-vis du savoir linguistique. La sémiotique d'abord, caractérisée dans son histoire par une volonté d'indifférence à l'égard de la linguistique. L' "analyse du discours française" (ADF) ensuite : ayant choisi un modèle (celui de la linguistique distributionnelle harrisienne), l'analyse linguistique y apparaît comme un préalable à l'analyse du discours. La pragmatique des actes de langage, enfin, qui adopte la démarche et les techniques du linguiste, mais qui ne respecte plus les contraintes sous lesquelles ce dernier produit son objet.

Ces trois démarches (celle du sémioticien, celle de l'analyste du discours et celle du théoricien des actes de langage) s'avèrent incapables d'aboutir à la constitution d'une sociosémiotique, entendue comme science des discours sociaux.

L'article s'interroge alors sur la linguistique en tant que discursivité scientifique, c'est-à-dire, sur les conditions de production de son objet : la signification linguistique. A cette question, qui reste la question cruciale, la linguistique ne peut pas répondre. La linguistique n'a pas les moyens de fonder sa propre légitimité épistémologique. Une telle question ne peut pas être posée que dans le cadre d'une théorie du discours scientifique, qui est un chapitre d'une théorie des discours sociaux.

La seule façon d'articuler correctement linguistique et sociosémio tique c'est de produire, d'abord, la rupture conceptuelle nécessaire entre les deux.
A la recherche du français populaire
Authors: Eloy Jean-Michel
Published: November 2011

Searching for "popular french"

The notion of "popular French", commonly used even by some linguists, holds a certain sort of obviousness, but is it a relevant notion in linguistics ?

Questions relating to that notion in fifteen recent linguistic texts raise the following problems of: data-gathering, variation spotting, defining the norm, articulation between social and stylistic variation, defining a variety, the building of a sociology, defining causality, consideration of the listener's competence, the integration of speech into a larger field of communicative behavior.

Through these problems, it would appear that the notion of "popular French" is not one that has been scientifically founded, but it remains that it reflects in a somewhat confused manner a reality that is not very well known, possibly linked with "social dialects".

The questions put forward allow us to spot the terms in order to carry out a deeper research into this subject.
Le néo-racisme différentialiste. Sur l'ambiguïté d'une évidence commune et ses effets pervers
Authors: Taguieff Pierre-André
Published: November 2011

Taguieff Pierre, "Differentialist neo-racism. The ambiguity of a common evidence and its effects: the praising difference".

The differentialist ideology, analyzed in recent texts from the "Nouvelle Droite", is the basis for new racist arguments. The "right to praise difference" is a retorsion argument , i.e. bending and returning an argument, and serves as an efficient counter/ argumentation to differentialist anti-racism. Several apparently opposed expressions of racism thus appear : heterophobia (difference rejected) as opposed to heterophilia (difference absolved) ; imperial universalism (colonialism) as opposed to anti-universalism (e.g. apartheid). Five features characterize the general form of racism : rejection of the universal; fixed categorization of individuals; absolutization of differences; naturaliztion of differences: unequal reinterpretation of those.
De la langue au discours : une dialectique du repli et de la modernisation dans une minorité tribale de l'Inde
Authors: Carrin-Bouez Marine
Published: November 2011

La politique coloniale en matière de langue, l'influence des missionnaires et -après l'Indépendance- la réorganisation en Etats monolingues ont contribué à modeler le paysage linguistique de l'Inde, aux nombreuses langues minoritaires. Certaines populations tribales -dont les Santal- sont passées à l'expérience de l'écrit, ce qui les a aidées à prendre conscience de leur identité. Les narrateurs des premiers récits découvrent ainsi les contradictions nées de l'évolution de leur propre société dont les nombreux clivages s'expriment dans les registres du politique et du religieux, clivages que le récit se donne pour fonction d'articuler voulant faire entendre encore la parole de la "coutume" et s'imposer vis à vis d'une élite oublieuse de ses origines.
Vers une typologie des situations de contacts linguistiques
Authors: de Pietro Jean-François
Published: November 2011

Towards a typology of situations of language contacts.

A typology of situations with interactions between native and allophone speakers or between bilingual speakers is built up on the basis of the incidence of trans-codic marks, by crossing of two dimensions: unilingual/bilingual and endolingual/exolingual - an exchange being exolingual when the difference of repertories of the participants plays a constituent role in the interaction. This typology is evaluated, and discussed in relation with the other approaches of language contacts.
Le fonctionnement de l'implicite dans le discours des magazines féminins. Analyse d'un exemple : la campagne pour le contrôle des naissances dans Marie-Claire et Elle
Authors: Hazan Marie
Published: November 2011

L'analyse d'un corpus d'articles parus au début des années soixante dans "Marie-Claire" et "Elle", lors d'une campagne pour la libéralisation de la contraception, montre comment l'implicite et des enchaînements logiques passant par les présupposés sont utilisés pour transgresser un interdit. Les journalistes établissent avec les lectrices une relation intime et quelque peu maternante, avec de plus une dimension militante, dans un cadre où la politique est peu prisée. La théorie de renonciation et des actes de langage (O. Ducrot) permet de prendre en compte le contexte et les conditions de production du discours, considéré comme pluriel, en envisageant le niveau latent de renonciation.
Catégories de locuteur et catégories de langue dans l'usage du français en Afrique
Authors: Wald Paul
Published: November 2011

Au niveau normatif le français en Afrique est régulièrement associé à des finalités sociales établies dont la représentation offre un modèle pour la catégorisation du locuteur. Dans les appropriations marginales du français, c'est la référence indirecte à ces normes qui assure le sens social de son choix. Une appropriation vemaculaire du français qui ne donne pas lieu à la catégorisation du locuteur sur la base du choix du code apparaît en outre possible. Une stratégie de recherche permettant de vérifier l'incidence de l'appropriation vemaculaire dans la production du discours mixte est proposée. Des résultats expérimentaux sur la catégorisation du locuteur en fonction - et indépendamment - du choix de code sont brièvement rapportés.
Que faire de l'ethnométhodologie ? Réponse à D. Flader et T. von Trotha
Authors: Conein Bernard
Published: November 2011

Conein, Bernard - "What to do with ethnomethodology ? An answer to D. Flader and T. von Trotha".

Critical statements on Ethnomethodology tended to present a return to a traditional mode of explanation of social behavior. The critical statements presented by Dieter Flader and Thilo von Trotha (Langage et société, n° 48) fall into this trap. The authors do not seem able to integrate the conceptual change brought about by Ethnomethodology in the social sciences. This change implies a modification in the mode of explaining social facts that has consequences for the relationships between Sociology, Linguistics, and Conversation Analysis.
Diglossie et double langage. Langues et langages d'honneur en Grèce
Authors: Couroucli Maria
Published: November 2011

Couroucli Maria - "Diglossia and double talk. Languages and speech about honour in Greece".

Linguistic situation of modern Greece is characterised as diglossia: coexistence of a highly dialectalised "folk" language (dimotiki) and of a "purified" language (katharevousa), which is both official and written. Some speech habits involving demotics are transcribed-translated into katharevousa within official reports. So, by analysing the records of hearings of a county court in Crete, one can display those moments when folk language irrupts into the translation, in relation with the latent conflict between official law and customary law. An anthropological study of "crimes of honour" and of their proceeding within the universe of modern law can be derived, and shows the mediating role of the popular jury.
L'alternance de langue comme signe de différenciation générationnelle
Authors: Pujol Mercè
Published: November 2011

Dans ce travail, nous analysons l'alternance de langue français-castillan chez des migrants d'origine espagnole de première et deuxième génération résidant à Genève. Notre population d'enquête est constituée de 10 familles (20 époux et 21 enfants) à qui nous avons demandé d'enregistrer leurs conversations pendant un repas familial. Nous avons mis en évidence une différence significative dans l'emploi du castillan et du français selon les générations : la première utilise plus sa langue d'origine, tandis que la deuxième utilise les deux langues. Nous avons aussi constaté que la première génération produit, par opposition à la deuxième, des alternances de langue de type extra- phrastique, tandis que les enfants présentent plus d'alternances de langue intra- phrastiques que leurs parents. Une différence entre les sexes a aussi été relevée : les mères et les filles utilisent plus le français que les pères et les garçons.
Le complexe de Tante Portal ou l'imaginaire dans l'évolution des langues
Authors: Rousselot Philippe
Published: November 2011

Tante Portal, personnage d'un roman de Daudet, se signale par l'usage systématique de l'exclamation "péchère" en lieu et place de "pécaire". Elle s'imagine de la sorte parler plus correctement. Daudet nous présente un cas de vouloir-paraître, déterminé par les conditions sociales et historiques autant que par des motivations d'ordre personnel. Nous observons les fondements constitutifs d'une langue intermédiaire, le francitan, rejeté par tous les purismes, ceux du français comme ceux de l'occitan. Cet exemple d'hybridation nous montre le langage en action, dans l'indépendance absolue qu'il entretient vis-à-vis de l'imaginaire du locuteur autant que vis-à-vis de l'académisme de certaines écoles linguistiques.
La variation sociolinguistique du code mixte wolof-français à Dakar : une première approche
Authors: Thiam Ndiassé
Published: November 2011

Thiam Ndiassé - The sociolinguistic variation of the mixed Wolof-French code in Dakar: a first approach.

The author studies the effects of the form of intraphrastic mixture between French and Wolof in the urban mixed code of speakers in Dakar. He shows that there is consolidated borrowing, nonce borrowing and code swithing. The most productive social category for mixed forms is the schooled middle class, with unschooled men of the lower class coming a close second. Such language behavior stabilizes as of adolescence, and diminishes after age 40. These data, and the prevalence on nonce borrowing, show that the appropriation of French takes place within the vernacularization of mixed langaguage practices by the most active part of the population.
Quel modèle sociolinguistique pour le Sénégal ? ou il n'y a pas que la véhiculante
Authors: Calvet Louis-Jean
Published: November 2011

Calvet Louis-Jean - What sociolinguistics for Senegal ? or: vehicularity is not the only thing that counts.

African multilingualism, for the least twenty tears, has been analysed by sociolinguists as the main place for lingue franche spread. Things are in fact more complex, and more interesting, though they don't fit the existing moulds. We have tried in this paper, starting from the senegalese field, to capture the dynamism of these situations where official languages and lingue franche are in competition for legitimating and where "linguistic capital" is shared among different languages.
Entre norme et usage : quelques formes surcomposées dans les lettres de deux soldats méridionaux de la Grande Guerre
Authors: Géa Jean-Michel
Published: November 2011

S'agissant du surcomposé, les grammairiens opposent des emplois standards et des emplois régionaux surtout présents dans le français régional du domaine de la langue d'oc. Selon eux, ce deuxième type constitue un système aspectuo-temporel propre. Nous avons étudié la correspondance de soldats provençaux du début du siècle dans laquelle nous avons trouvé les deux types d'emplois. Plutôt que de supposer des locuteurs à cheval sur deux systèmes, nous nous sommes proposé d'en rendre compte en posant un système explicatif unique.
Positionnements énonciatifs et corpus oraux
Authors: Langhans Britta
Published: November 2011

Langhans, Britta - Positions of enunciation and oral corpi.

This article reflects on the problems raised by the quantitative analysis of the marks of enunciation applied to interviews on local identity. Having counted and interpreted all the occurrences of the written forms of pronouns, we then detail the subsequent layers of interpretations which crop up when taking into account the problems of wording in an oral corpus (hesitations, slips of the tongue) and the problems of the referential value of pronouns, not forgetting those created by the lematization of pronominal forms.
L'accent du Havre : un exemple de mythe linguistique
Authors: Hauchecorne Fabrice , Ball Rodney
Published: November 2011

Hauchecorne Fabrice et Ball Rodney - Le Havre accent, an example of a linguistic myth.

Belief in the existence of a distinctive local urban accent is widespread in Le Havre. The present study attempts, on the one hand, to establish the phonetic facts and, on the other, to gauge reactions and attitudes of people from Le Havre and elsewhere towards local speech patterns. It emerges that the "Le Havre accent" is barely distinguishable from the popular Parisian variety and that people from Le Havre, almost as much as outsiders, have difficulty in identifying local speakers on recordings. Indeed, insofar as there are any distinctive markers of Le Havre speech, they are lexical rather than phonetic. It is suggested that the nonetheless prevalent myth of a Le Havre accent originates in the particular historical and social circumstances that characterize the town.
Nations, nationalismes : l'approche discursive
Authors: Achard Pierre
Published: November 2011

ACHARD Pierre - Nations and Nationalisms approached by discourse analysis.

The "Nation" concept in modern-day political discourse, which presupposes that « every human being participates by right in the power process », has become part and parcel of a « worldwide, translinguistic » inter-discourse, assuming that ethnic and demie criteria are regulated locally. Pierre Achard finds support for this view in his own formal model of Discourse Semantics, rapidly presented here, and applied to the notion as it appeared in 18th-century France. He then goes on to show how the same model can account for the derivation of the romantic interpretations, which favor an extensional definition of "Nation" (ethnos rather than demos).
Pour une approche relationnelle des interactions verbales et des discours
Authors: Vion Robert
Published: November 2011

VION Robert - For a relational approach of verbal interactions and discourse.

Discourse genres and typologies of verbal interactions pertain to the same realm of linguistic reality. A critical appraisal of the available classifications of discourse genres and of verbal interactions is justified both by the closeness of the phenomena involved and by the fact that the fulfillment of the agenda of any science requires a classification of the objects that fall within its scope. However, the categorization of given linguistic entities does not imply that these are to be analyzed as homogeneous and static events to be placed in the neat pigeonholes of classification. So, we present a relational approach of discourses and verbal interactions which emphasizes the activities of actors, and insists on the complexity, the heterogeneity and the dynamism of verbal productions.
Visual Sensor Network Technology and Its Applications
Authors: Ang Li-minn , Seng Kah Phooi
Published: November 2011

The combination of image sensors with wireless sensor network (WSN) technology has resulted in a new network technology called a visual sensor network (VSN). On the one hand, VSNs can be seen as an extension of traditional WSNs where image sensors have replaced scalar sensors. On the other hand, the use of image sensors in VSNs brings with it a different set of practical and research challenges. This is because image sensors generate a very high amount of data that would have to be processed and transmitted within the network. In this chapter, we present an introduction to VSN technology and provide an overview of research issues and trends. Issues related to energy efficient processing, collaborative processing, and hardware technology will be highlighted. This chapter will also give a brief introduction to the other chapters in the book with a focus on showing how the topics covered in each chapter relate to the overall picture of visual information processing in wireless sensor network environments.
Multimedia Transmission over Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Sharda Nalin
Published: November 2011

This chapter presents an overview of multimedia information transmission over Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). These WSNs have evolved since the 1980s and their evolution can be divided into three generations. Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs) have become viable in recent years with the availability of inexpensive video cameras, increase in procession power and memory capacity of nodes, and better power sources and their management. Multimedia information requires higher bandwidth and lower delay and delay jitter to provide the required Quality of Service (QoS) for multimedia transmission. Further research is being conducted, and can be taken even further, in the areas of advanced algorithms for content capture, compression and communication of multimedia information over WSNs.
Object Association through Multiple Camera Collaboration for Large-Scale Surveillance System
Authors: Cho Shung Han , Kim Kyung Hoon , Nam Yunyoung , Hong Sangjin
Published: November 2011

In this chapter, we present an object association method through multiple camera collaboration for a large-scale surveillance system. The object association is achieved by locally generating homographic lines on targets in collaborating cameras. In order to maintain the object association with the insufficient separation between homographic lines due to densely populated objects, homographic points are generated in 3-D with estimated heights. The heights of targets are estimated by the linear least-squares using normal equations. The object association is confirmed by finding the pairs of the correspondences minimizing the distance between them. The proposed method is verified with real video sequences. The simulation result demonstrates that the proposed method is robust against false association because it considers all the possible pairing cases of occluded targets.
Applications for Wireless Visual Sensor Networks
Authors: Karlsson Johannes , Wark Tim , Ren Keni , Fahlquist Karin , Li Haibo
Published: November 2011

In this chapter we will describe our work to set up a large scale wireless visual sensor network in a Swedish zoo. It is located close to the Arctic Circle making the environment very hard for this type of deployment. The goal is to make the zoo digitally enhanced, leading to a more attractive and interactive zoo. To reach this goal the sensed data will be processed and semantic information will be used to support interaction design, which is a key component to provide a new type of experience for the visitors. In this chapter we will describe our research work related to the various aspects of a digital zoo.