bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Residual Currents Induced by Asymmetric Tidal Mixing in Weakly Stratified Narrow Estuaries
Authors: Cheng Peng , Valle-Levinson Arnoldo , de Swart Huib E.
Published: June 2010

Residual currents induced by asymmetric tidal mixing were examined for weakly stratified, narrow estuaries using analytical and numerical models. The analytical model is an extension of the work of R. K. McCarthy, with the addition of tidal variations of the vertical eddy viscosity in the longitudinal momentum equation. The longitudinal distribution of residual flows driven by asymmetric tidal mixing is determined by the tidal current amplitude and by asymmetries in tidal mixing between flood and ebb. In a long channel, the magnitude of the residual flow induced by asymmetric tidal mixing is maximum at the estuary mouth and decreases upstream following the longitudinal distribution of tidal current amplitude. Larger asymmetry in tidal mixing between flood and ebb produces stronger residual currents. For typical tidal asymmetry, mixing is stronger during flood than during ebb and results in two-layer residual currents with seaward flow near the surface and landward flow near the bottom. For reverse tidal asymmetry, mixing is weaker during flood than during ebb and the resulting residual flow is landward near the surface and seaward near the bottom. Also, the residual flow induced by tidal asymmetry has the same order of magnitude as the density-driven flow and therefore is important to estuarine dynamics. Numerical experiments with a primitive-equation numerical model [the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)] generally support the pattern of residual currents driven by tidal asymmetry suggested by the analytical model.
Near-Surface Air Temperature Retrieval Derived from AMSU-A and Sea Surface Temperature Observations
Authors: Jackson Darren L. , Wick Gary A.
Published: June 2010

A 10-m air temperature (Ta) retrieval using Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit A (AMSU-A) and satellite-derived sea surface temperature (Ts) observations is presented. The multivariable linear regression retrieval uses AMSU-A brightness temperatures from the 52.8- and 53.6-GHz channels and satellite-derived daily sea surface temperatures to determine Ta. A regression error of 0.83°C using 841 matched satellite and ship observations demonstrates a high-quality fit of the satellite observations with in situ Ta. Validation of the retrieval using independent International Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Dataset (ICOADS) ship and buoy observations results in a bias of −0.21°C and root-mean-square (RMS) differences of 1.55°C. A comparison with previous satellite-based Ta retrievals indicates less bias and significantly smaller RMS differences for the new retrieval. Regional biases inherent to previous retrievals are reduced in several oceanic regions using the new Ta retrieval. Satellite-derived Ts–Ta data were found to agree well with ICOADS buoy data and were significantly improved from previous retrievals.
Quantitative Precipitation Estimation in the CASA X-band Dual-Polarization Radar Network
Authors: Wang Yanting , Chandrasekar V.
Published: June 2010

This paper presents the sensing aspects and performance evaluation of the quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) system in an X-band dual-polarization radar network developed by the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) Engineering Research Center. CASA’s technology enables precipitation observation close to the ground and QPE is one of the important applications. With expanding urbanization all over the world, vulnerability to floods has increased from intense rainfall such as urban flash floods. The QPE products that are derived at high spatiotemporal resolution, which is enabled by the deployment of a dense radar network, have the potential to improve the prediction of flash-flooding threats when coupled with hydrological models. Derivation of QPE from radar observations is a challenging process, in which the use of dual-polarization radar variables is advantageous. At X band, the specific differential propagation phase (Kdp) between the orthogonal linear polarization states is particularly appealing. The Kdp field is robustly acquired using an adaptive estimation method, and a simple R(Kdp) relation is used to perform precipitation estimation in this X-band radar network. Radar observations and QPE from multiyear field experiments are used to demonstrate the performance of rainfall estimation from the single-parameter Kdp-based rainfall product. The operational feasibility of radar QPE using an X-band radar network is critically assessed.
An Undular Bore and Gravity Waves Illustrated by Dramatic Time-Lapse Photography
Authors: Coleman Timothy A. , Knupp Kevin R. , Herzmann Daryl E.
Published: June 2010

On 6 May 2007, an intense atmospheric undular bore moved over eastern Iowa. A “Webcam” in Tama, Iowa, captured dramatic images of the effects of the bore and associated gravity waves on cloud features, because its viewing angle was almost normal to the propagation direction of the waves. The time lapse of these images has become a well-known illustration of atmospheric gravity waves. The environment was favorable for bore formation, with a wave-reflecting unstable layer above a low-level stable layer. Surface pressure and wind data are correlated for the waves in the bore, and horizontal wind oscillations are also shown by Doppler radar data. Quantitative analysis of the time-lapse photography shows that the sky brightens in wave troughs because of subsidence and darkens in wave ridges because of ascent.
HF Radar Performance in a Low-Energy Environment: CODAR SeaSonde Experience on the West Florida Shelf*
Authors: Liu Yonggang , Weisberg Robert H. , Merz Clifford R. , Lichtenwalner Sage , Kirkpatrick Gary J.
Published: June 2010

Three long-range (5 MHz) Coastal Ocean Dynamics Application Radar (CODAR) SeaSonde HF radars overlooking an array of as many as eight moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) have operated on the West Florida Shelf since September 2003 for the purpose of observing the coastal ocean currents. HF radar performance on this low-energy (currents and waves) continental shelf is evaluated with respect to data returns, the rms differences between the HF radar and the ADCP radial currents, bearing offsets, and radial velocity uncertainties. Possible environmental factors affecting the HF radar performance are discussed, with the findings that both the low-energy sea state and the unfavorable surface wave directions are the main limiting factors for these HF radar observations of currents on the WFS. Despite the challenge of achieving continuous backscatter from this low-energy environment, when acquired the data quality is good in comparison with the ADCP measurements. The rms differences range from 6 to 10 cm s−1 for hourly and from 3 to 6 cm s−1 for 36-h low-pass-filtered radial currents, respectively. Bearing offsets are in the range from −15° to +9°. Coherent variations of the HF radar and ADCP radial currents are seen across both tidal and subtidal frequency bands. By examining the HF radar radial velocities at low wave energy, it is found that the data returns decrease rapidly for significant wave heights smaller than 1 m, and that the rms differences between the HF radar and ADCP radials are degraded when the significant wave height is smaller than 0.3 m.
Intercomparison of Ground-Based Velocity Track Display (GBVTD)-Retrieved Circulation Centers and Structures of Hurricane Danny (1997) from Two Coastal WSR-88Ds
Authors: Murillo Shirley T. , Lee Wen-Chau , Bell Michael M. , Barnes Gary M. , Marks Frank D. , Dodge Peter P.
Published: June 2010

A plausible primary circulation and circulation center of a tropical cyclone (TC) can be deduced from a coastal Doppler radar using the ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) technique and the GBVTD-simplex algorithm. The quality of the retrieved primary circulation is highly sensitive to the accuracy of the circulation center that can only be estimated from the degree of scattering of all possible centers obtained in GBVTD-simplex analyses from a single radar in real TCs. This study extends previous work to examine the uncertainties in the GBVTD-simplex-derived circulation centers and the GBVTD-derived primary circulations in Hurricane Danny (1997) sampled simultaneously from two Doppler radars [Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Dopplers (WSR-88Ds) in Mobile, Alabama, and Slidell, Louisiana] for 5 h.

It is found that the mean difference between the individually computed GBVTD-simplex-derived centers is 2.13 km, similar to the estimates in previous studies. This value can be improved to 1.59 km by imposing time continuity in the radius of maximum wind, maximum mean tangential wind, and the center position in successive volumes. These additional physical criteria, not considered in previous work, stabilized the GBVTD-simplex algorithm and paved the way for automating the center finding and wind retrieval procedures in the future.

Using the improved set of centers, Danny’s axisymmetric tangential wind structures retrieved from each radar showed general agreement with systematic differences (up to 6 m s−1) in certain periods. The consistency in the wavenumber-1 tangential winds was not as good as their axisymmetric counterparts. It is suspected that the systematic differences in the axisymmetric tangential winds were caused by the unresolved wavenumber-2 sine components rather than from the relatively small cross-beam mean wind components in Danny.
Evaluation of WRF Model Simulations of Tornadic and Nontornadic Outbreaks Occurring in the Spring and Fall
Authors: Shafer Chad M. , Mercer Andrew E. , Leslie Lance M. , Richman Michael B. , Doswell Charles A.
Published: June 2010

Recent studies, investigating the ability to use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to distinguish tornado outbreaks from primarily nontornadic outbreaks when initialized with synoptic-scale data, have suggested that accurate discrimination of outbreak type is possible up to three days in advance of the outbreaks. However, these studies have focused on the most meteorologically significant events without regard to the season in which the outbreaks occurred. Because tornado outbreaks usually occur during the spring and fall seasons, whereas the primarily nontornadic outbreaks develop predominantly during the summer, the results of these studies may have been influenced by climatological conditions (e.g., reduced shear, in the mean, in the summer months), in addition to synoptic-scale processes.

This study focuses on the impacts of choosing outbreaks of severe weather during the same time of year. Specifically, primarily nontornadic outbreaks that occurred during the summer have been replaced with outbreaks that do not occur in the summer. Subjective and objective analyses of the outbreak simulations indicate that the WRF’s capability of distinguishing outbreak type correctly is reduced when the seasonal constraints are included. However, accuracy scores exceeding 0.7 and skill scores exceeding 0.5 using 1-day simulation fields of individual meteorological parameters, show that precursor synoptic-scale processes play an important role in the occurrence or absence of tornadoes in severe weather outbreaks. Low-level storm-relative helicity parameters and synoptic parameters, such as geopotential heights and mean sea level pressure, appear to be most helpful in distinguishing outbreak type, whereas thermodynamic instability parameters are noticeably both less accurate and less skillful.
Modeling Extreme Rainfall, Winds, and Surge from Hurricane Isabel (2003)
Authors: Lin Ning , Smith James A. , Villarini Gabriele , Marchok Timothy P. , Baeck Mary Lynn
Published: June 2010

Landfalling tropical cyclones present major hazards for the eastern United States. Hurricane Isabel (September 2003) produced more than $3.3 billion in damages from wind, inland riverine flooding, and storm surge flooding, and resulted in 17 fatalities. Case study analyses of Hurricane Isabel are carried out to investigate multiple hazards from landfalling tropical cyclones. The analyses focus on storm evolution following landfall and center on simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). WRF simulations are coupled with the 2D, depth-averaged hydrodynamic Advanced Circulation Model (ADCIRC), to examine storm surge in the Chesapeake Bay. Analyses of heavy rainfall and flooding include an examination of the structure and evolution of extreme rainfall over land. Intercomparisons of simulated rainfall from WRF with Hydro-NEXRAD rainfall fields and observations from rain gauge networks are presented. A particular focus of these analyses is the evolving distribution of rainfall, relative to the center of circulation, as the storm moves over land. Similar analyses are carried out for the wind field of Hurricane Isabel as it moves over the mid-Atlantic region. Outer rainbands, which are not well captured in WRF simulations, played a major role in urban flooding and wind damage, especially for the Baltimore metropolitan region. Wind maxima in outer rainbands may also have played a role in storm surge flooding in the upper Chesapeake Bay.
Using the 21 June 2008 California Lightning Outbreak to Improve Dry Lightning Forecast Procedures
Authors: Wallmann James , Milne Rhett , Smallcomb Christopher , Mehle Matthew
Published: June 2010

An anomalous lightning event occurred on 20–21 June 2008 in central and northern California. Most of the thunderstorms produced frequent lightning with little precipitation, resulting in over 1500 new fires. Many of these fires became large, and massive firefighting efforts continued through August in order to contain all the fires. This event was not well forecast, with only isolated lightning strikes expected. Several computer model forecast parameters pointed toward the impending lightning outbreak, including satellite and lightning observations, as well as model data from 19 June. An existing procedure to forecast dry thunderstorms showed the strong possibility of a thunderstorm outbreak over California. This procedure proved to be helpful, but has been modified to better handle moisture advection and low-level forcing, which provides a more comprehensive framework for forecasting potential dry thunderstorm outbreaks.
The Image in the Mirror and the Number on the Scale
Authors: Frisco Michelle L. , Houle Jason N. , Martin Molly A.
Published: June 2010

Double jeopardy and health congruency theories suggest that adolescents’ joint experience of their weight and weight perceptions are associated with depressive symptoms, but each theory offers a different prediction about which adolescents are at greatest risk. This study investigates the proposed associations and the applicability of both theoretical perspectives using data from 6,557 male and 6,126 female National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Wave II participants. Empirically, results indicate that focusing on the intersection of weight and weight perceptions better shows which adolescents are at risk of depressive symptoms than an approach that treats both predictors as independent, unrelated constructs. Weight pessimists are at greatest risk of depressive symptoms. Thus, results support the health congruency framework, its extension to subpopulations outside of older adults, and its extension to optimism and pessimism about specific health conditions.
Subchronic Oral Toxicity Study of Furan in Fischer-344 Rats
Authors: Gill S. , Bondy G. , Lefebvre D. E. , Becalski A. , Kavanagh M. , Hou Y. , Turcotte A. M. , Barker M. , Weld M. , Vavasour E. , Cooke G. M.
Published: June 2010

Rodent studies have shown that furan is a hepatocarcinogen. Previous studies conducted with high doses showed tumors at nearly 100% incidence at all doses. In this paper, a ninety-day gavage experiment conducted with lower doses (0.0, 0.03, 0.12, 0.5, 2.0, and 8.0 mg/kg bw) to identify a no-observed adverse effect level for hepatotoxicity and to characterize non-neoplastic effects including gross changes and histopathology, clinical biochemistry, hematology, and immunotoxicology is reported. As indicated by changes in serum biomarkers, increased liver weights and gross and histological lesions, the liver is the major target organ affected by furan. There were no changes in body weights, food consumption, or histology in other organs. Some of the serum electrolyte markers, including phosphorus, were altered. There was a significant increase in serum thyroxine and triidothyronine in males. This increase was not accompanied by histological thyroid changes. Immunophenotypic analysis showed that thymic lymphocyte maturation was altered in male rats. Although altered clinical biochemistry and hematological parameters were observed at a dose of > 0.5 mg/kg bw, mild histological lesions in the liver were observed at > 0.12 mg/kg bw. Based on this finding, a furan dose of 0.03 mg/kg bw was proposed as the no-observed adverse effect level for hepatic toxicity.
Cross-border competition and trade union responses in the enlarged EU: Evidence from the automotive industry in Germany and Poland
Authors: Bernaciak Magdalena
Published: June 2010

This article explores the conditions under which trade unions in the car industry in Western and Central-Eastern Europe cooperate with each other. It analyses relations between Polish and German unions at three automotive companies displaying variation in the timing and content of cross-border cooperative ventures. Unions cooperated transnationally when no local negotiation channel was available to the German unionists and the Polish unionists benefited more from the assistance of their Western counterparts than from local solutions. Overall, the evidence suggests that East—West labour transnationalism contains a strong element of reciprocity and is guided primarily by cost—benefit considerations.
The Unavoidable Ghettoization of Security In Iraq
Authors: Hills Alice
Published: June 2010

Post-conflict cities represent a laboratory in which to explore the substate orientation of security. Based on an analysis of developments in Baghdad, Basra and Falluja since 2003, this article argues not only that security is inherently selective, but also that the exclusionary actions of local or sectarian groups are more influential than those of state-based agents or projects based on security for the individual. The notion of security can accommodate multiple interpretations, but in practice a dominant discourse controls its meaning, and negotiation soon develops into patterns of domination and exclusion. This typically leads to a ‘ghettoization’ of security, whereby specific groups are secure only in specific areas. Security thus reflects the sum of myriad local arrangements. The key issue, therefore, is not whether there can be security for all, but the nature of the concessions made by substate and state-based types of security, and the contrast between them and models based on security for the individual.
Human Security Research Practices: Conceptualizing Security for Women’s Crisis Centres in Russia
Authors: Stuvøy Kirsti
Published: June 2010

In ongoing discussions surrounding the issue of human security, the security of individuals has become entangled in conceptual debates that are preoccupied with notions of appropriate variables, measurements and issue areas. This article suggests and illustrates a basis for human security research that is distinct from such objectivist empiricism. A case study of crisis centres in northwest Russia is used to demonstrate that human security is not only a matter for objectified generalizations, but also a question of practices. Feminist security theory and the work of Pierre Bourdieu are used to address methodological concerns raised during fieldwork on crisis centres in northwest Russia. Three dimensions are discussed: the conceptualization of security for the specific-actor approach of crisis centres, the ways in which relevant empirical data are established, and the subsequent interpretation of such data. The discussion shows, first, that rethinking security for crisis centres reveals contingencies in the research process that are relevant to the establishment of human security knowledge; second, the practice of human security research reflects the fragility in the understanding and production of security in everyday contexts. Accordingly, when we examine human security, our analysis ought to be directed at security as an ambiguous practice.
Critical Terrorism Studies, Critical Theory and the ‘Naturalistic Fallacy’
Authors: Heath-Kelly Charlotte
Published: June 2010

This article problematizes how Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS) utilizes Coxian and Frankfurt School Critical Theory to support an emancipatory project. The article broadly takes the example of CTS to illustrate the dangers of the ‘pearl fishing’ method, occasionally used within critical international relations, where a section of a philosophical position is appropriated without regard for the whole. As Horkheimerian Critical Theory relies upon a far broader philosophy than CTS acknowledges, it is argued that the appropriated emancipatory foundation cannot make sense in soundbite form. Such stunted interaction with the wider philosophy of Critical Theory leaves CTS susceptible to the charge of logical error, specifically that contained in the ‘naturalistic fallacy’. The naturalistic fallacy is a charge drawn from the philosophy of logic that takes improper derivation of ‘ought’ from ‘is’ within argumentation as its referent. The relationship between international relations and Critical Theory does not have to be so unsatisfactory, however, and this article concludes with suggestions for a route whereby emancipatory commitment might be adopted without such problems of normative origination.
Multilateralism, Intervention and Norm Contestation: China’s Stance on Darfur in the UN Security Council
Authors: Contessi Nicola P.
Published: June 2010

This article argues that an explanation of China’s stance on a possible international intervention in Darfur cannot eschew considering the wider context of the ongoing dialectics of normative change and contestation surrounding the progressive redefinition of norms of intervention since the early 1990s. It suggests that by emphasizing the need to respect Sudan’s sovereignty and the requirement that Sudan consent to an international intervention, China has sought to promote a return to more traditional forms of peacekeeping, as a way to oppose emerging interpretations of the norm of intervention, which it sees as a threat to its own security. Such an interpretation challenges the accusations of foot-dragging of which China has been the object. The hypothesis is tested by analysing China’s voting and declaratory record in the Security Council, and assessed against the country’s historical record on peacekeeping discussions in the Council. Embracing Finnemore’s argument that multilateral intervention represents the pillar of the post-Cold War international order, the article concludes by relating China’s norm-brokering effort to its asserted interest in reshaping the international system.
Actions to Reduce the Impact of Construction Products on Indoor Air: Outcomes of the European Project HealthyAir
Authors: Bluyssen Philomena M. , de Richemont Sabine , Crump Derrick , Maupetit François , Witterseh Thomas , Gajdos Petr
Published: June 2010

The European project — HealthyAir is a network project involving six institutions in Europe on actions and activities that address the effects of construction products on indoor air. Different ways to improve indoor air quality were reviewed, ranging from source control to education of occupants on how to manage the built environment to achieve healthy and acceptable indoor air. Through literature study, organised workshops with scientific experts and building professionals as well as via interviews with three stakeholder groups: producers of construction products, architects and housing corporations; requirements for information, guidance and actions to improve indoor air quality were identified. These requirements formed the basis of a possible approach to improve indoor air quality: education and awareness, regulations and policies and further research and development.
Touching numbers
Authors: Davis Sophia , Eagleton Catherine
Published: June 2010

The concepts of numbers, numeracy, and numerical operations were redefined by the rise to prominence of the hand-held electronic calculator. The calculator was linked to futuristic and technological visions, while at the same time strongly associated with the body and enmeshed in its physicality. Descriptions of touch placed calculators firmly in the position of a friendly companion to the user, a notion of companionship that was elaborated but also disputed in references to the sometimes ambiguous relationship between a calculator and its user. At the same time, the instant numeracy offered by possession of this new technology opened up debates about the nature of calculation and the importance and methods of number education. The relationship of the calculator to its user was left ambiguous, and between these blurry lines the calculator was able to assert its role as an essential mediator between the user and any possibility of being numerate.
0 and 1 in our digital age
Authors: Bachir Diagne Souleymane
Published: June 2010

This paper examines the history of algebraic logic as developed by German philosopher G.W. Leibniz (1646—1716) and British mathematician George Boole (1814—64). It shows the role and significance of the two numbers 0 and 1 in the newly created algebra of logic and how that explains why those numbers have come to be the very symbols of our digital age.
Models of statistical distribution
Authors: Hart Keith
Published: June 2010

This article focuses on a historical shift in the scientific attention given to two statistical models, the ‘normal’ distribution, which dominated ‘parametric’ statistical inference for a century from the 1880s, and the ‘power-law’ distribution, which is now seen as being much more commonplace than it once was. Each measures the relationship between the size and frequency of a variable, but the assumptions brought to that process differ considerably. Where one emphasizes equality and a typical form, the other highlights inequality and no form is representative. Where one is bounded, static and random, the other is open, dynamic and may reveal preferences. The analysis of social networks provides a case study. Drawing on Durkheim and Mauss’s essay on ‘primitive classification’, it is argued that a shift from national to world society may partly account for the relative prominence attached to these two models over time.
Reckoning the after/math of war in Guatemala
Authors: Nelson Diane M.
Published: June 2010

Working from multiple meanings of reckoning (to count, to settle rewards or penalties, to pay a bill, to measure possibilities for the future), this essay explores the post-war in Guatemala and the work of, and struggles over, number in making different people and experiences count. The peace treaty signed in 1996 instituted a truth commission and efforts to bring justice to the victims. The commission’s quantifications of 250,000 dead, 93 percent at the hands of the state, mix in complex ways with the qualitative judgment that those deaths constitute genocide, leading to further quandaries in quantifying forms of repair. The state has begun paying reparations to survivors, but is also compensating civilians who were drafted into para-militaries that carried out massacres. How these para-victimizers count in relation to the aggregate of victims is, in turn, hard to calculate, and I look at some ways Guatemalans are working to make it all add up.
Nineteen
Authors: Khan Naveeda
Published: June 2010

In this article I present the story of Dr Rashad Khalifa, a US-based Egyptian scientist who claimed to have scientifically shown how the text of the Quran was the immutable speech of God. He did this by means of computer-based calculations that showed how the number 19 was embedded in the formal structure of the Quran, thereby indicating a superhuman level of coding. I locate such efforts at the conjuncture of the long history of textual polemics that aim at undermining religious traditions by exposing errors within authoritative texts, the history of magical squares within Islamic sciences, and the more recent history of the subfield of Islam and science that attempts to study the Quran to show how it forecast scientific discoveries. I suggest that Dr Khalifa was attempting to definitively address the aspect of doubt that accompanies written texts, for which he elicited mixed reactions from a wide audience of Muslims. In this instance, tracking the fate of a number through a man’s life suggests how some doubts may not be addressable within the rubric of scientific facts.
The eruption of tradition?
Authors: Guyer Jane I.
Published: June 2010

Numerical ordinal rankings (or ratings) are proliferating in the current social and economic world. Many are used to derive and justify relative monetary valuation, by modes of equation and calculation. The article shows how these composite manipulations of order and value tend to produce a parabolic curve: very few at very high value at the top, descending in a curve to very many of very low value at the bottom. The article illustrates the form of this ordinal curve and assesses the metaphors that evoke its persuasiveness. The Great Chain of Being is explored as a source of terminology.
The attraction of numbers
Authors: Chu Julie Y.
Published: June 2010

This article examines different ways of accounting for the numbers on display as monetary contributions to temples in an emigrant village in Fuzhou, China. My aim is to locate the various calculative principles required to bring these lists of discrete sums and partial quantities into felicitous relationships and interaction. Particularly, I outline two different ways of reading ritual numbers from public displays of temple donations: one premised on number’s aggregation as a single monetary sum and the other on number’s amplification as an unfolding topos of cosmic resonance and intensities. Ultimately, I suggest that the numbers inscribed into temple walls can best be seen as boundary objects which provide a common point of departure for engaging various styles of enumeration.
Value is life under an interpretation
Authors: Kockelman Paul
Published: June 2010

This essay unfolds the critical and conceptual implications of a particular metaphor — theorizing value in terms of the relation between maps, terrains, and travelers. It synthesizes some ideas from Charles Sanders Peirce, Max Weber, Martin Heidegger, and Charles Taylor. In particular, a terrain turns on social relations and cognitive representations. A map figures such a terrain in terms of differentially weighted origins, paths, and destinations. And the traveler’s interpretations of such a map are equivalent to charting a course through such a terrain. Such a metaphor is used to reframe various evaluative techniques by which we weigh the relative desirability of possible paths through a given terrain — from instrumental values (turning on graded and contoured landscapes) to existential values (turning on prototypic and exemplary paths). And this framing of value is used to theorize the relation between agency and identity.
Beyond equivalence
Authors: Obarrio Juan
Published: June 2010

This article examines questions of gift-giving and debt in order to illuminate differences between an enforcement of the law understood as search for equivalences and enactments of justice expressive of more open-ended transactions. These theoretical elaborations are sustained by ethnographic examples taken from local courts in Nampula province in post-war Mozambique. The article shows how a broad range of practices identified as ‘customary’ engage with the space of ‘official law’, in a specific postcolonial juridico-political space which encompasses multiple spheres and a particular circulation of value. In quotidian instances of local conflict resolution aimed at resolving a myriad of violent conflicts, circuits are opened beyond the doctrine of accounting in official law and its ideology of equivalence. These circuits, in their blending of temporalities and normativities, do not form a closed circle of reciprocity, but show how debt is constitutive of social relatedness and enables a re-constitution of local sociability in the aftermath of violence through the circulation of the gift of justice.
Moral and ethical assemblages
Authors: Zigon Jarrett
Published: June 2010

Recently Anthropological Theory (8(4)) published a debate between Didier Fassin and Wiktor Stoczkowski on the question of whether or not anthropology should be moral. This debate joins the growing number of anthropologists who have recently argued that moralities should be a social phenomenon of much interest for the discipline. Fassin and Stoczkowski conclude their debate by agreeing that only when anthropologists become reflectively aware of their own moral positions and assumptions can what they call a moral anthropology be safely carried out to investigate local moralities. This moral anthropology, they also both agree, necessitates a new theoretical and methodological framework. In this response article I outline an anthropological theory of moralities that satisfies this need.
Asymptomatic Bilateral External Iliac Vein Aneurysms in a Young Athlete: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Humphries Misty Dawn , Dawson David L
Published: June 2010

Iliac vein aneurysms are an exceedingly uncommon problem faced by vascular specialists. We report a case of a healthy 32 year old woman who had large asymptomatic bilateral external iliac vein aneurysms found incidentally on CT scan. They may present with thromboembolism, spontaneous rupture, or they may be asymptomatic. In evaluating these aneurysms, it is important to obtain volumetric imaging data that can be rendered in 3-dimensions and reconstructed in multiple planes. With our patient, it was the multiplanar reconstructions that best demonstrated the fusiform morphology of the aneurysms. Treatment for asymptomatic external iliac veins is controversial.
Successful Selective Thrombolysis for Limb-Threatening Ischemia due to Bilateral Lower Extremity Emboli After Open Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Authors: Acosta S. , Lagerström B. , Varga Z. , Ravn H. , Flarup S.
Published: June 2010

Severe lower extremity emboli with occlusion of all 3 lower limb arteries bilaterally occurred after an elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Selective thrombolysis with alteplase and repeated percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) along the occlusions on both side anterior and posterior tibial arteries was performed without complications. Angiography the following day showed continuous filling of the anterior tibial artery down to the dorsalis pedis artery and interrupted, but improved, flow in the medial plantar artery through collaterals. The patient recovered well. At 1 month follow-up, the right foot was unremarkable, whereas the patient experienced slight residual numbness in the medial and distal plantar aspect of his left foot where the great toe/brachial index were lowered to 0.46.
Female Patients Undergoing TEVAR May Have an Increased Risk of Postoperative Spinal Cord Ischemia
Authors: Shah Tejas R. , Maldonado Thomas , Bauer Stephen , Cayne Neal S. , Schwartz Charles F. , Mussa Firas , Adelman Mark A. , Rockman Caron
Published: June 2010

Background: There is a paucity of literature regarding thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) in women. We report our institutional experience with TEVAR. Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed from 2004 to 2008. TEVAR was performed in 59 patients; 29 (49%) were female. Results: Mean age was 73.5 years. Mean thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) diameter was larger for women (5.9 cm vs 4.7 cm). A trend toward an increase in paraplegia was noted in women, 10.3% vs 4.8%. This may be related to increase in length of aortic coverage in women, 18.2 cm vs 15.2 cm (P < .05). Conclusion: TEVAR in women is safe and effective. The length of aortic coverage is greater in women, which may be related to larger aneurysms and more diffuse disease. This may be associated with a concerning increase in postoperative paraplegia. Women undergoing TEVAR should be considered for prophylactic maneuvers to prevent spinal cord ischemia (SCI), including minimizing length of coverage.
Thoracic Aortic Endograft Explant: A Single-Center Experience
Authors: Kirkwood Melissa L. , Pochettino Alberto , Fairman Ronald M. , Jackson Benjamin M. , Woo Edward Y. , Wang Grace J.
Published: June 2010

Objectives: We report our experience following thoracic aortic endovascular repair (TEVAR) explant. Methods: A total of 500 TEVARs were performed from 1999 to 2009, with 4 requiring explant. Chart review was performed to identify the indications of explant, operative technique, and perioperative morbidity and mortality. Results: Indications of graft removal included device maldeployment, type I endoleak, aortoenteric fistula, and retrograde type A dissection necessitating aortic root replacement. Reconstruction was achieved with aortic homograft, Dacron, or explant of the proximal component with incorporation of the distal stent into the suture line. Mean follow-up was 13 months (0-50 months). Paraplegia and perioperative death occurred in 1 patient who underwent intraoperative conversion to open repair. There were no other major complications, and graft removal was achieved in all patients. Conclusions: Although rare, familiarity with TEVAR explant is imperative as it is increasingly performed for broader indications. Our limited data suggest that explant can be performed successfully albeit with morbidity.
Antibody equivalent molecules of the innate immune system: parallels between innate and adaptive immune proteins
Authors: Palaniyar Nades
Published: June 2010

Soluble pattern-recognition innate immune proteins functionally resemble the antibodies of the adaptive immune system. Two major families of such proteins are ficolins and collectins or collagenous lectins (e.g. mannose-binding lectin [MBL], surfactant proteins [SP-A and SP-D] and conglutinin). In general, subunits of ficolins and collectins recognize the carbohydrate arrays of their targets via globular trimeric carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs) whereas IgG, IgM and other antibody isotypes recognize proteins via dimeric antigen-binding domains (Fab). Considering the structure and functions of these proteins, ficolins and MBL are analogous to molecules with the complement activating functions of C1q and the target recognition ability of IgG. Although the structure of SP-A is similar to MBL, it does not activate the complement system. Surfactant protein-D and conglutinin could be considered as the collagenous non-complement activating giant IgMs of the innate immune system. Proteins such as peptidoglycan-recognition proteins, pentraxins and agglutinin gp-340/DMBT1 are also pattern-recognition proteins. These proteins may be considered as different isotypes of antibody-like molecules. Proteins such as defensins, cathelicidins and lactoferrins directly or indirectly alter microbes or microbial growth. These proteins may not be considered as antibodies of the innate immune system. Hence, ficolins and collectins could be considered as specialized ‘antibodies of the innate immune system’ instead of ‘ante-antibody’ innate immune molecules. The discovery, structure, functions and future research directions of many of these soluble proteins and receptors such as Toll-like and NOD-like receptors are discussed in this special issue of Innate Immunity.
Prophylactic antibiotic therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Maraffi Tommaso , Piffer Federico , Cosentini Roberto
Published: June 2010

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a huge epidemiological burden and is associated with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. The disease is characterized by chronic inflammation and bacterial colonization. Chronic bacterial colonization leads to chronic inflammation and epithelial damage that in turn may increase bacterial colonization and predispose to acute bacterial infection. Acute exacerbations are a major cause of hospitalization and lead to a deterioration in pulmonary function. Antibiotic treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations is a cornerstone of medical treatment. Conversely, the role of antibiotic prophylaxis in COPD in the stable state is controversial. From a theoretical point of view, antibiotic prophylaxis is intriguing as it could break the vicious circle between chronic bacterial colonization, inflammation and epithelial damage; however, evidence is scarce. This paper reviews the literature and focuses on the most recent data shedding light on this fascinating dilemma.
Can immunogenetics illuminate the diverse manifestations of respiratory infections?
Authors: Affandi Jacquita S. , Price Patricia , Waterer Grant
Published: June 2010

Improved technologies for high-throughput genotyping and the establishment of well-defined cohorts prompted hope that polymorphisms would be discovered that define a patients’ risk of respiratory disease or aid in diagnosis. Genetic pitfalls encountered in this quest include genotyping errors, ethnic differences and linkage dysequilibrium. Differences in the definition of the disease phenotype also create discrepancies, so immunogenetic testing has not yet reached the clinic. However, associations between a polymorphism and a disease phenotype place the gene or one in linkage dysequilibrium on the path to the disease. Here we review studies of immune-related genes that are illuminating the immunopathogenesis of community-acquired pneumonia and mycobacterial infections.
Algorithm for the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a position statement of Brazilian Diabetes Society
Authors: Lerario Antonio C , Chacra Antonio R , Pimazoni-Netto Augusto , Malerbi Domingos , Gross Jorge L , Oliveira José EP , Gomes Marilia B , Santos Raul D , Fonseca Reine MC , Betti Roberto , Raduan Roberto
Published: June 2010

The Brazilian Diabetes Society is starting an innovative project of quantitative assessment of medical arguments of and implementing a new way of elaborating SBD Position Statements. The final aim of this particular project is to propose a new Brazilian algorithm for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, based on the opinions of endocrinologists surveyed from a poll conducted on the Brazilian Diabetes Society website regarding the latest algorithm proposed by American Diabetes Association /European Association for the Study of Diabetes, published in January 2009.

An additional source used, as a basis for the new algorithm, was to assess the acceptability of controversial arguments published in international literature, through a panel of renowned Brazilian specialists. Thirty controversial arguments in diabetes have been selected with their respective references, where each argument was assessed and scored according to its acceptability level and personal conviction of each member of the evaluation panel.

This methodology was adapted using a similar approach to the one adopted in the recent position statement by the American College of Cardiology on coronary revascularization, of which not only cardiologists took part, but also specialists of other related areas.
Prohormones for prediction of adverse medical outcome in community-acquired pneumonia and lower respiratory tract infections
Authors: Schuetz Philipp , Wolbers Marcel , Christ-Crain Mirjam , Thomann Robert , Falconnier Claudine , Widmer Isabelle , Neidert Stefanie , Fricker Thomas , Blum Claudine , Schild Ursula , Morgenthaler Nils G , Schoenenberger Ronald , Henzen Christoph , Bregenzer Thomas , Hoess Claus , Krause Martin , Bucher Heiner C , Zimmerli Werner , Mueller Beat ,   the ProHOSP Study Group
Published: June 2010

Introduction

Measurement of prohormones representing different pathophysiological pathways could enhance risk stratification in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI).

Methods

We assessed clinical parameters and five biomarkers, the precursor levels of adrenomedullin (ADM), endothelin-1 (ET1), atrial-natriuretic peptide (ANP), anti-diuretic hormone (copeptin), and procalcitonin in patients with LRTI and CAP enrolled in the multicenter ProHOSP study. We compared the prognostic accuracy of these biomarkers with the pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB65 (Confusion, Urea, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, Age 65) score to predict serious complications defined as death, ICU admission and disease-specific complications using receiver operating curves (ROC) and reclassification methods.

Results

During the 30 days of follow-up, 134 serious complications occurred in 925 (14.5%) patients with CAP. Both PSI and CURB65 overestimated the observed mortality (X2 goodness of fit test: P = 0.003 and 0.01). ProADM or proET1 alone had stronger discriminatory powers than the PSI or CURB65 score or any of either score components to predict serious complications. Adding proADM alone (or all five biomarkers jointly) to the PSI and CURB65 scores, significantly increased the area under the curve (AUC) for PSI from 0.69 to 0.75, and for CURB65 from 0.66 to 0.73 (P < 0.001, for both scores). Reclassification methods also established highly significant improvement (P < 0.001) for models with biomarkers if clinical covariates were more flexibly adjusted for. The developed prediction models with biomarkers extrapolated well if evaluated in 434 patients with non-CAP LRTIs.

Conclusions

Five biomarkers from distinct biologic pathways were strong and specific predictors for short-term adverse outcome and improved clinical risk scores in CAP and non-pneumonic LRTI. Intervention studies are warranted to show whether an improved risk prognostication with biomarkers translates into a better clinical management and superior allocation of health care resources.

Trial Registration

NCT00350987.
Independent Adjudication of Symptomatic Heart Failure With the Use of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide Followed by Trastuzumab Adjuvant Therapy: A Combined Review of Cardiac Data From the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-31 and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group N9831 Clinical Trials
Authors: Russell Stuart D. , Blackwell Kimberly L. , Lawrence Julia , Pippen John E. , Roe Matthew T. , Wood Freda , Paton Virginia , Holmgren Eric , Mahaffey Kenneth W.
Published: June 2010

Purpose

An independent Adjuvant Cardiac Review and Evaluation Committee (ACREC) systematically reviewed cases of symptomatic heart failure events to uniformly define the cardiac event rate across two large trials (National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project [NSABP] B-31 and North Central Cancer Treatment Group [NCCTG] N9831) that assessed the addition of trastuzumab to standard adjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients and Methods

The committee was composed of six independent oncologists and cardiologists. A retrospective review of patients with a cardiac event was performed by the primary investigators of the trials. The ACREC prospectively established criteria for determining a symptomatic heart failure event. Recovery status was determined from documented resolution of signs and symptoms. Potential risk factors were also assessed.

Results

Medical records for a total of 173 patients were reviewed: 40 in the chemotherapy-alone arm and 133 in the trastuzumab arm. Trastuzumab-treated patients had a 2.0% incidence of symptomatic heart failure events compared with 0.45% in the chemotherapy-alone arm. Complete or partial recovery was observed in 86.1% of trastuzumab-treated patients with symptomatic heart failure events. Of five patients who died, only one patient had received trastuzumab. Independent predictors for cardiac events were age older than 50 years, a low ejection fraction at the start of paclitaxel treatment, and trastuzumab treatment.

Conclusion

The incidence of symptomatic heart failure events is 2.0% in patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab, and the majority of these patients recover with appropriate treatment.