bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in a dog: case report
Authors: Bicalho A.L. , Silva A.P.C. , Paixão T.A. , Cardoso Jr. R.B. , Santos R.L.
Published: December 2011

Intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a rare disorder that affects gastrointestinal propulsion. It may be secondary to several pathological conditions or it may develop without a known cause. A 1.2 year-old intact Pug bitch had a history of vomiting and constipation, which were followed by diarrhea and distended abdomen. Hypomotility and dilation of the small intestine, which was filled with gas, were observed during laparotomy. Histologically, full thickness biopsy specimens demonstrated a severe loss and degeneration of leiomyocytes in the inner and outer muscular layers of the intestinal wall, whereas there was a marked hypertrophy and hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells in the lamina propria, and extremely thickened muscularis mucosae arranged in bundles oriented in different directions with marked hypertrophy and hyperplasia of leiomyocytes. Distribution of leiomyocytes was further characterized by immunohistochemistry. These findings support the diagnosis of intestinal pseudo-obstruction in a Pug, associated with degeneration and loss of leiomyocytes in the muscular layer.
Fibrossarcoma uretral primário em cadela
Authors: Silva M.M.V. , Crivelenti L.Z. , Momo C. , Honsho D.K.
Published: December 2011

Relatou-se um caso de fibrossarcoma localizado na uretra média de uma cadela, sem raça definida, que apresentava sinais de polaquiúria, estrangúria e hematúria no início da micção. O animal também apresentava poliúria, polidipsia, êmese e anorexia há dois dias. Os exames complementares levaram ao diagnóstico de hidronefrose bilateral, hipoplasia renal direita e massa em uretra causando dilatação dorsal de sua porção média. A biópsia não foi realizada antemortem devido ao estado geral do paciente, que, mesmo com a instituição de tratamento para doença renal crônica, não apresentou progresso. A uretrocistografia retrógrada e a histologia foram os exames decisivos para detectar o fibrossarcoma uretral. A ultrassonografia e a citologia por sondagem traumática não foram conclusivos, devido ao fato de a massa apresentar-se em região media de uretra e o caráter pouco esfoliativo da neoplasia.
Efeito da temperatura ambiente e da idade do frango sobre o valor energético do farelo de soja
Authors: Carvalho F.B. , Sartori J.R. , Stringhini J. H. , Fascina V.B. , Pereira L.A. , Pelícia V.C.
Published: December 2011

Foram utilizados 288 pintos de corte Cobb, distribuídos em delineamento experimental inteiramente ao acaso, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas no tempo, sendo as três temperaturas de criação - fria, termoneutra e quente - as parcelas, e as três fases de avaliação - inicial, crescimento e final - as subparcelas, com seis repetições de seis aves cada. A dieta-teste foi obtida pela substituição de parte da ração basal pelo alimento-teste: 40% do farelo de soja + 60% da ração basal. Foram calculados os coeficientes de metabolizabilidade aparente e verdadeiro da matéria seca, do nitrogênio, do extrato etéreo da dieta-teste e os valores de energia metabolizável aparente e verdadeira (EMA e EMV), e corrigidas pelo balanço de nitrogênio do farelo de soja (EMAn e EMVn). Foram encontrados valores médios de EMAn do farelo de soja para aves criadas em temperatura fria, termoneutra e quente de 2110, 2016 e 2022kcal/kg, respectivamente, e para as fases de criação inicial, crescimento e final de 1840, 2052 e 2256kcal/kg, respectivamente. O valor de energia metabolizável do farelo de soja, os balanços e os coeficientes de metabolizabilidade dos nutrientes da dieta-teste aumentaram com a idade do frango de corte, porém não são afetados pela temperatura ambiente.
Degradabilidade in situ da cana-de-açúcar tratada ou não com óxido de cálcio, em novilhas leiteiras Holandês x Gir
Authors: Campos M.M. , Borges A.L.C.C. , Lopes F.C.F. , Pancoti C.G. , Silva R. Reis e
Published: December 2011

Avaliou-se a degradabilidade in situ da cana-de-açúcar in natura ou tratada por 24h com óxido de cálcio em diferentes porcentagens de inclusão na matéria natural da dieta, 0,0; 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0%, no rúmen de cinco novilhas Holandês x Gir. Os parâmetros de degradação ruminal da matéria seca (MS), matéria orgânica (MO), fibra em detergente neutro (FDN) e fibra em detergente ácido (FDA) foram estimados ajustando modelo não linear aos dados de degradabilidade, sendo os parâmetros obtidos utilizados em análises de regressão linear e quadrática realizadas em função da inclusão do óxido de cálcio nas dietas. As degradabilidades potencial e efetiva e as taxas de degradação da MS e da MO aumentaram linearmente com o aumento de inclusão de CaO. O aumento da porcentagem de inclusão de CaO em dietas à base de cana-de-açúcar aumentou linearmente a degradabilidade in situ da MS e da MO e não alterou a degradabilidade in situ das frações fibrosas.
A "dura" e o "desenrolo": efeitos práticos da nova lei de drogas no Rio de Janeiro
Authors: Grillo Carolina Christoph , Policarpo Frederico , Veríssimo Marcos
Published: December 2011

O artigo apresenta uma análise dos efeitos da nova lei de drogas sobre a repressão legal ao consumo de substâncias ilícitas e o processamento formal dos casos encaminhados ao sistema de justiça criminal. Buscou-se compreender as práticas dos atores envolvidos com o controle social ou legal do uso de drogas e elucidar as dinâmicas das negociações envolvidas no processo de incriminação dos usuários, à luz do debate em torno das mudanças trazidas pelo novo diploma legal. Observou-se uma redução dos números de casos que entram no sistema como uso de drogas, o que não se explicaria somente pela mudança na lei, mas pela interpretação de que esse crime teria se descaracterizado. Argumentamos que o descaso com o processamento legal desse tipo de crime teria deixado sua administração a cargo dos policiais militares que fazem o policiamento ostensivo nas ruas, que ganharam um aval implícito para negociar o encaminhamento ou não do usuário para a delegacia e até mesmo influenciar o tipo penal em que ele será classificado. A imprecisão dos critérios legais para distinguir entre usuários e traficantes, somada à imensa disparidade entre as penas previstas para esses crimes - acentuada pela nova lei -, contribuiria para a negociação informal da maior ou menor punição dos indivíduos e reificaria os estereótipos policiais, favorecendo a arbitrariedade. Tal indefinição não resultaria de uma imprecisão da lei, mas da impossibilidade empírica de realizar-se um recorte preciso entre essas classificações.
Judicialização da política, poder judiciário e comissões parlamentares de inquérito no Brasil
Authors: Zauli Eduardo Meira
Published: December 2011

A partir da noção de judicialização da política, procura-se discutir alguns aspectos das relações entre os Poderes Judiciário e Legislativo no Brasil no contexto de vigência da Constituição de 1988. Tendo como foco específico a problemática do controle de constitucionalidade e judicialização dos procedimentos adotados no âmbito das comissões parlamentares de inquérito, o artigo fundamenta-se em pesquisa sobre a jurisprudência do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) acerca do estatuto e das limitações constitucionais do trabalho das comissões parlamentares de inquérito no Congresso Nacional. Aborda-se a questão da separação de Poderes nas democracias contemporâneas, ilustrando o quanto as inter-relações entre os três ramos do Estado afastam-se, na prática, da formulação clássica da teoria; o que permite toda uma complexa teia de controles mútuos que constituem um campo fértil para a ascendência do poder Judiciário sobre o poder Legislativo e a referida judicialização da política.
Percepção de sabores em pacientes com acidente vascular encefálico
Authors: Alves Leda Maria Tavares , Dantas Roberto Oliveira
Published: December 2011

OBJETIVO: avaliar a percepção dos sabores amargo, azedo, doce e neutro. MÉTODO: foram estudados 36 pacientes com Acidente Vascular Encefálico (AVE) (5 hemorrágicos e 31 isquêmicos) e 30 sujeitos controles. Foi realizada avaliação fonoaudiológica estrutural e funcional incluindo postura, vedamento labial, presença de resíduos, tosse, engasgo, e ausculta cervical. Cada sujeito deglutiu em sequência aleatória 5 mL de líquido com os 4 sabores [chá de boldo (amargo), suco de limão diluído (azedo), sacarose diluída (doce) e água (neutro)] na temperatura ambiente. Entre as deglutições os participantes eram questionados sobre a dificuldade em deglutir e qual o sabor do líquido daquela deglutição. RESULTADOS: entre os pacientes houve maior freqüência de erros na identificação dos sabores amargo (controles: 16,7%, AVE: 47,3%, p=0,01) e azedo (controles: 6,7%, AVE: 27,8%, p=0,05), sem diferenças para o sabores neutro (controles: 10,0%, AVE: 16,7%, p=0,50) e doce (controles: 13,3%, AVE: 16,7%, p=0,80). Os pacientes com AVE tiveram maior dificuldade para deglutir os líquidos do que os controles (p<0,04). CONCLUSÃO: houve maior dificuldade na percepção dos sabores amargo e azedo no grupo com AVE do que nos controles.
Comparison of Aminocyclopyrachlor to Common Herbicides for Kudzu (Pueraria montana) Management
Authors: Minogue Patrick J. , Enloe Stephen F. , Osiecka Anna , Lauer Dwight K.
Published: December 2011

Kudzu is an invasive perennial climbing vine characterized by fast growth rates and tolerance to control measures. Repeated applications with high rates of 2,4-D plus picloram provide effective kudzu control, but picloram use is not permitted in certain states due to groundwater pollution concerns. Studies were conducted in Alabama and Florida to compare kudzu control with aminocyclopyrachlor, a new herbicide, to control provided by aminopyralid, clopyralid, metsulfuron methyl, and picloram plus 2,4-D, which are common treatments for kudzu management. Two annual applications of the same herbicide treatment were evaluated for effects on kudzu cover, kudzu volume index, and cover of other vegetation. Aminocyclopyrachlor at 140 to 280 g ae ha−1 (2 to 4 oz ae ac−1) was as effective as the standard 4.48 kg ae ha−1 (4 lb ae ac−1) 2,4-D amine plus 1.2 kg ae ha−1 picloram for kudzu control. There were no differences in kudzu control among the three rates of aminocyclopyrachlor tested. Colonization by graminoids, forbs, and Rubus spp. at 2 yr was greatest for herbicides providing the best kudzu control: aminocyclopyrachlor, and 2,4-D plus picloram. Herbicide treatments were more effective in controlling kudzu at the Alabama location, but repeated annual applications for 2 yr did not completely eliminate kudzu with any treatment at either site.
Impacts of Invasive Plants on Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) Roosting Habitat
Authors: Kessler Andrew C. , Merchant James W. , Allen Craig R. , Shultz Steven D.
Published: December 2011

Invasive plants continue to spread in riparian ecosystems, causing both ecological and economic damage. This research investigated the impacts of common reed, purple loosestrife, riparian shrubland, and riparian woodlands on the quality and quantity of sandhill crane roosting habitat in the central Platte River, Nebraska, using a discrete choice model. A more detailed investigation of the impacts of common reed on sandhill crane roosting habitat was performed by forecasting a spread or contraction of this invasive plant. The discrete choice model indicates that riparian woodlands had the largest negative impact on sandhill crane roosting habitat. The forecasting results predict that a contraction of common reed could increase sandhill crane habitat availability by 50%, whereas an expansion could reduce the availability by as much as 250%. This suggests that if the distribution of common reed continues to expand in the central Platte River the availability of sandhill crane roosting habitat would likely be greatly reduced.
Plant diversity partitioning in Mediterranean croplands: effects of farming intensity, field edge, and landscape context
Authors: Concepción Elena D. , Fernández-González Federico , Díaz Mario
Published: December 2011

Farmland biodiversity is affected by factors acting at various spatial scales. However, most studies to date have focused on the field or farm scales that only account for local (α) diversity, and these may underestimate the contribution of other diversity components (β diversity) to total (γ) farmland diversity. In this work, we aimed to identify the most suitable management options and the scale at which they should be implemented to maximize benefits for diversity. We used a multi‐scale additive partitioning approach, with data on plant diversity from 640 plots in 32 cereal crop fields from three agricultural regions of central Spain that differed in landscape configuration. We analyzed the relative contribution to overall plant diversity of different diversity components at various spatial scales and how these diversity components responded to a set of local (application of agri‐environment schemes [AES] and position within the field) and landscape (field size and landscape connectivity and composition) factors. Differences in species composition among regions and then among fields within regions contributed most to overall plant diversity. Positive edge effects were found on all diversity components at both the field‐ and regional scales, whereas application of AES benefited all diversity components only at the field scale. Landscape factors had strong influences on plant diversity, especially length of seminatural boundaries, which increased species richness at both the field and the regional scales. In addition, positive effects of percentage of nonproductive land‐uses in the landscape were found on all diversity components at the regional scale. Results showed that components that contributed most to overall plant diversity were not benefited by current AES. We conclude that agri‐environmental policies should incorporate and prioritize measures aimed at the maintenance of seminatural boundaries and patches of nonproductive habitats within agricultural landscapes, through landscape planning, cross‐compliance, or high nature‐value farmland programs. These options will help to conserve overall plant diversity at regional scales, as well as the spillover of plant species from such seminatural elements into crops, especially in Mediterranean areas that still harbor extensive farming and relatively complex landscapes.
PTSD Symptoms Among Men and Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Risk and Protective Factors
Authors: Coker Ann L. , Weston Rebecca , Creson Daniel L. , Justice Blair , Blakeney Patricia
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this cross-sectional analysis of the National Violence Against Women Survey was to characterize current symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 185 men and 369 women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). In this subsample, 24% of women and 20% of men had current moderate-to-severe PTSD symptoms. PTSD scores were higher for women than men. Protective factors that appear to increase resiliency of survivors were higher education and income, being currently married, and reporting that IPV had stopped. Higher physical or psychological IPV scores, current depressive symptoms, and the survivor having left the relationship at least once were associated with risk of moderate-to-severe symptoms of PTSD. Protective factors may be used to boost resiliency of IPV survivors and reduce PTSD symptoms.
Reliability of Translated Measures Assessing Dating Violence Among Mexican Adolescents
Authors: Hokoda Audrey , Ramos-Lira Luciana , Celaya Patricia , Vilhauer Keleigh , Angeles Manuel , Ruíz Serena , Malcarne Vanessa L. , Mora Marina Duque
Published: December 2011

Research on the prevalence and correlates of dating violence in Mexican teens is challenged by the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools. This study modified, translated, and back-translated the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI; Wolfe et al., 2001) and the Attitudes Towards Dating Violence Scales (Price, Byers, & the Dating Violence Research Team, 1999) for Mexican adolescents. Analyses on 307 adolescents (15–18 years old) from Monterrey and Mexicali, Mexico, revealed that most of the translated CADRI subscales and Attitudes Towards Dating Violence Scales had acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients. The study offers some evidence that the measures may be useful in assessing dating violence in Mexican teens.
Risk Factors for Femicide-Suicide in Abusive Relationships: Results From a Multisite Case Control Study
Authors: Koziol-Mclain Jane , Webster Daniel , McFarlane Judith , Block Carolyn Rebecca , Ulrich Yvonne , Glass Nancy , Campbell Jacquelyn C.
Published: December 2011

The killing of women by men who then take their own lives (femicide-suicide) is the most common form of homicide-suicide. This study identified femicide-suicide risk factors in an 11-city case-control study of femicide in the United States. Perpetrator, victim, relationship, and incident characteristics were analyzed for femicide-suicide cases (n = 67) and controls (n = 356, women living in the community with nonfatal physical abuse) using logistic regression modeling. Two risk factors emerged that were unique to femicide-suicides cases compared to overall femicide risk analyses: prior perpetrator suicide threats and victims having ever been married to the perpetrator.
Peer and Family Influences on Adolescent Anger Expression and the Acceptance of Cross-Gender Aggression
Authors: Quigley Denise D. , Jaycox Lisa H. , McCaffrey Daniel F. , Marshall Grant N.
Published: December 2011

Past research has examined the relative impact of family and peers on adolescent behavior, but very little research has examined it in relation to youth dating violence. Eight hundred and sixty-five adolescents, primarily urban Latino youth, completed self-administered surveys at school. Multivariate analyses indicated that exposure to prior family violence was not significantly associated with adolescents’ aggressive expression of anger or their acceptance of cross-gender aggression. However, current conflict—either family or peer—was associated with adolescent behavior and attitudes, with the exception that current peer conflict was not significantly associated with adolescents’ acceptance of male on female aggression. Parental monitoring and attachment were not found to be moderators of these relationships. Implications for dating violence interventions and future directions for research are explored.
Adding Insult to Injury: Development and Initial Validation of the Partner- Directed Insults Scale
Authors: Goetz Aaron T. , Shackelford Todd K. , Schipper Lucas D. , Stewart-Williams Steve
Published: December 2011

Women who are verbally abused by their intimate male partners suffer serious mental health consequences and often experience physical violence in their relationship. Despite the importance of studying verbal abuse, no previous research has investigated the specific content of the insults men use to derogate their partners. We present the development and initial validation of a new measure designed to assess the specific content of insults used by men against their intimate partners. In a preliminary study, we used feedback from battered women, along with a review of the relevant literature, to identify specific insults for inclusion in the Partner-Directed Insults Scale (PDIS). We administered the PDIS to a sample of United States participants (Study 1) and a sample of New Zealand participants (Study 2), allowing for a cross-national investigation of the specific insults that men use to derogate their partners. The results demonstrate the practical need for such a scale and provide evidence for the discriminant validity of the PDIS by documenting that men’s use of insults predicts their use of controlling behaviors and physical violence.
Inflammatory Effects and Immune System Correlates of Rape
Authors: Groer Maureen W. , Thomas Sandra P. , Evans Ginger W. , Helton Sally , Weldon Arielle
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of measuring stress hormones and immunity following rape. The long-term goal is to evaluate the predictive value of stress-immune-inflammatory responses to later health outcomes. Fifteen women reporting rape were compared with 16 control participants. Serum stress hormones, proinflammatory cytokines, acute phase proteins, functional assays, and lymphocyte subsets were measured in blood samples. Women reporting rape had higher cytotoxic cells, lower B lymphocyte counts, higher proinflammatory biomarkers, and decreased lymphocyte proliferation compared to the control group. This finding suggests that rape produces activation of the innate immunity and suppression of some aspects of adaptive immunity. If these immune changes persist, they may contribute to the pathophysiology of long-term health sequelae by provoking chronic inflammation and decreased cellular immunocompetence.
A comparative study of n-hexane isomerization over solid acids catalysts: Sulfated and phosphated zirconia
Authors: Stojkovic N. , Vasic M. , Marinkovic M. , Randjelovic M. , Purenovic M. , Putanov P. , Zarubica A.
Published: December 2011

Two series of zirconia based catalysts promoted with either sulfates or
phosphates were prepared, calcined at different temperatures (600 and 700?C)
and evaluated for the n-hexane isomerization reaction. The catalysts with
different concentrations of sulfates or phosphates (4 or 10 wt. %) were
characterized by BET, XRD, SEM methods, and total acidity was evaluated by
using the Hammett indicators. Their final catalytic performances were
correlated with their physical-chemical properties (surface, structural,
textural and morphological). It was found that sulfated zirconia catalyst
calcined at lower temperature showed the highest initial activity of all
tested catalysts as the result of favorable total acidity, mesopore texture
and structural properties. Somewhat lower activity of the sulfated catalyst
calcined at higher temperature is related to the content of acid groups
partially removed during thermal treatment, thus, lower total acidity, and
also to less favorable textural and structural features. Negligible activity
of phosphated zirconia catalysts is connected with low total acidity despite
the positive status of particular property showing the complexity of the
active phase/site formation in the catalyst.
A contribution to the study of biology of Curculio elephas Gyll. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)
Authors: Drekic Milan , Mihajlovic Ljubodrag
Published: December 2011

One of the insects that feeds on pedunculate oak acorns and reduces its seed
yield is Curculio elephas Gyll. The study of Curculio elephas Gyll is
necessary because of the severe damages caused by this insect and also owing
to its insufficiently investigated biology. The research was conducted in the
common oak seed orchard at Banov Brod, forest estate ?Sremska Mitrovica?, and
in the entomological laboratory. The adults emerge from the soil chambers
from mid July till the beginning of September. The presence of adults, as
determined by crown fogging, ranged from the end of July till the beginning
of September with the highest number in mid August. After emerging from the
soil, females are already fertile with the developed eggs in the ovaries.
They start egg laying after 1 to 8 days and they lay from one to seven eggs
per day. Egg laying period lasts from 7 to 20 days. Fertility of C. elephas
females ranges from 5 to 40 eggs, while their fecundity ranges from 19 to 45
eggs. At the end of the larval stage, larvae bore into the soil and stay
there from one to three years. The species hibernates only in the larval
stage. C. elephas has a one-year life cycle, while a minor part of the
population has a two or three-year life cycle.
Dendrometric, phytopathological and entomological characteristics of a wych elm tree on mt. Goc
Authors: Medarevic Milan , Bankovic Stanisa , Karadzic Dragan , Mihajlovic Ljubodrag , Pantic Damjan , Obradovic Snezana
Published: December 2011

Valuable broadleaves, including also wych elms, belong to the category of
rare tree species in the growing stock of Serbia. The conservation of
Serbian forest diversity and the genetic potential of these tree species
require a multidisciplinary study. In this respect, we undertook a
dendrometric and health analysis of a wych elm tree on Goc, as it is a
rarity by its dimensions, not only from the local, but also from the
regional aspects. The tree is 266 years old, its diameter at breast height
is 2.09 m, height 42.1 m, and volume (d>3 cm) 56.35 m3. Current height
increment culminated early, at the age of 20-30 years, attaining 0.5 m, and
current diameter increment at the age of 40-50 years when its value was 14.4
mm. The above data point to a high productivity of this elm tree and to
favourable site and stand conditions of its development. On the other hand,
its current diameter increment and height over the last period (1.7 mm, and
0.03 m respectively) indicate that the tree was in the phase of
physiological dying. 10 species of fungi were identified on the tree
(facultative parasites or saprophytes), the most significant being
Armillaria mellea and Aurantioporus fissilis, which caused central heartwood
decay. Other fungi developed saprophytically in the dead part of the stem or
in dead branches. Eight insect species (secondary and tertiary pests) were
identified, including the two most dangerous elm beetles (Scolytus scolytus
and S. multistriatus). Together with the species Saperda punctata and
Cerambyx scopolii, they accelerated the dying process of twigs and branches,
as well as of the whole tree. Ambrosia beetle Xyleborus monographus infested
the stem and the large dead branches and caused minor technical damage in
wood. The species Dorcus paralelopipedus, Oryctes nasicornis and Valgus
hemipterus supported the faster progress of wood-rotting fungi and thus
contributed to physiological weakening and shortened the life cycle of the
study elm tree.
Thermal characteristics of air of the basin of Nis for the purpose of quicker economic development
Authors: Ivanovic Radomir , Martic-Bursac Natasa , Ivanovic Marko , Nikolic Milena
Published: December 2011

The characteristics of air temperature or heat mode the air is an important
segment of the overall climate and the natural resource factor in the
economic development of any place or region. In order to properly determine
those, needs is a continuous series of data for at least 25-35 years. As
longer as series are, the obtained data are more realistic. Weather
Station-observatory "Tvrdjava" in Nis (?-430 20 ', ?-21054', h-201 m), is the
only higher-order station in the Nis valley, so, for determining the thermal
properties of air, used measurement data from this station, for the period
1950-2009. Based on this 60-year period, analyzed the mean monthly, extreme
temperature and annual temperature, the certain temperature thresholds and
dates of onset for characteristic temperatures, and analyzed the frequency of
occurrence some typical days.
Positional accuracy of geographical information and recent standards for its evaluation
Authors: Radojcic Stevan , Borisov Mirko , Bozic Branko
Published: December 2011

Positional accuracy is important quantity element of quality of geographical
information in digital as well as in analoguos form. This paper points to
importance and necessity of evaluation of positional accuracy in recent
conditions, describes two modern standards for positional accuracy evaluation
and shows the results of its implementation on raster topographic map at
scale 1:50.000 made by Military Geographical Institute.
Building on Young Children's Cultural Histories through Placemaking in the Classroom
Authors: Sánchez Lenny
Published: December 2011

This article suggests placemaking as a framework to more deeply understand how teaching and learning can take into account young children's cultural histories. Placemaking, a form of analysis commonly found in land development literature, critically interprets the relationship between power, politics and the production of place. In this article, parallels are drawn between several tenets of placemaking, such as surveillance, self-definition, and a consciousness of solidarity, and the curricular spaces of a second-grade classroom as the children and their teacher participate in a biography project centered on the Harlem Renaissance. Through analysis of the class-wide inquiry, this article sheds light on the possibility for cultivating children's cultural imagination through placemaking in spite of political practices attempting to define in more narrow terms how teachers and children are to participate in the schooling spaces they inhabit.
The Construction of Performative Identities
Authors: Jeffrey Bob , Troman Geoff
Published: December 2011

The influence of policy texts upon learners depends largely on how much influence such texts wield. Policy discourses are one of the main means whereby policy texts, in the settings in which they operate, influence the value, the implementation and the inscribing of those texts on learners. The Economic and Social Research Council-based research project described in this article examines the ways in which Lyotard's performative practices affect the identities of primary school learners and how they are constructed by Key Stage exam process; it also examines performative progression through a system of learning targets. It uses a Foucauldian approach to show how learners are influenced by performativity discourses and how they take part in constructing these performative identities. Employing an ethnographic approach, it illustrates how Foucault's social relations characteristic of extra/intra/inter dependencies is explicated through governmentality and the construction of knowledge and subjectivity, which act as major relays through which learners' performative identities become embedded.
Learner Agency
Authors: Mick Carola
Published: December 2011

This article presents first results of an ethnographic research project in a Luxembourgish primary school that accompanied the development of a school project by children from the fifth grade. Analysing the data children themselves collected with Kodak Zi8 cameras in order to document their project activities, it investigates their possibilities and constraints to become designers of a ‘third space’ within the educational institution. The author draws on Emile Durkheim's educational sociology in order to simultaneously analyse the educational processes of socialisation and subjectification that occur when children are legitimated to take part in the design of their own learning processes within school. The analysis focuses on the social languages children are drawing on and creating when shaping their school project in and through the collected data. It succeeds in depicting the interplay of structure and agency in children's practices and in demonstrating children's capability to contribute to their subjectification as social beings and to co-design the educational institution they are socialised by. However, it also points to the institution's mistrust and constant endangering of children's initiative and constitution as social actors. In this sense, the article deals with the possibilities of and obstacles to transformation of institutions of learning from within and bottom up.
Interactions between European Citizenship and Language Learning among Adolescent Europeans
Authors: Hennebry Mairin
Published: December 2011

Recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has created debate as to the suitability of current structures and policies for effectively engaging citizens and developing social cohesion. Education and specifically modern foreign language (MFL) teaching are argued by the literature to play a key role in equipping young people to interact and communicate effectively in the ever-changing European context and to exercise their rights as European citizens. However, much of the empirical research to date has focused on adult understandings of European citizenship. Furthermore, very few studies consider whether current MFL teaching is addressing issues of European citizenship or offer a comparison of provision between one member state and another. This study presents questionnaire data from four European countries to investigate young people's current understanding and awareness of European citizenship and the perceived contribution of their language learning experience to this awareness. Findings suggest that knowledge about European citizenship is patchy across the four countries. Reports on learning in MFL lessons indicate a mismatch between the role identified for the subject in the development of European citizenship and the situation in the classroom. Data gathered from English pupils suggest that these issues are more acute in England than they are in France, Spain or Ireland.
Extracting Key Phrases as Predictors of Corporate Bankruptcy: Empirical Analysis of Annual Reports by Text Mining
Authors: Shirata Cindy Yoshiko , Takeuchi Hironori , Ogino Shiho , Watanabe Hideo
Published: December 2011

Bankruptcy predictions have been one of the most interesting topics for accounting researchers. Most bankruptcy prediction models are developed by using financial ratios. However, signs of the changing financial position of a company may appear in the nonfinancial information earlier than we can identify the changes in the financial numbers. In recent years, analysis of qualitative information has become remarkably important, because frequent changes in accounting standards have made it difficult to compare financial numbers between years. In this study, we analyzed the sentences in financial reports in Japan and extracted key phrases/descriptions to predict bankruptcy. Our research revealed that if some particular expressions appear together with the word “dividend” or “retained earnings” in the same section of an annual report, they were effective in distinguishing between bankrupt companies and non-bankrupt companies.
Fault tolerance in networked control systems under intermittent observations
Authors: Georges Jean-Philippe , Theilliol Didier , Cocquempot Vincent , Ponsart Jean-Christophe , Aubrun Christophe
Published: December 2011

Fault tolerance in networked control systems under intermittent observations

This paper presents an approach to fault tolerant control based on the sensor masking principle in the case of wireless networked control systems. With wireless transmission, packet losses act as sensor faults. In the presence of such faults, the faulty measurements corrupt directly the behaviour of closed-loop systems. Since the controller aims at cancelling the error between the measurement and its reference input, the real outputs will, in such a networked control system, deviate from the desired value and may drive the system to its physical limitations or even to instability. The proposed method facilitates fault compensation based on an interacting multiple model approach developed in the framework of channel errors or network congestion equivalent to multiple sensors failures. The interacting multiple model method involved in a networked control system provides simultaneously detection and isolation of on-line packet losses, and also performs a suitable state estimation. Based on particular knowledge of packet losses, sensor fault-tolerant controls are obtained by computing a new control law using fault-free estimation of the faulty element to avoid intermittent observations that might develop into failures and to minimize the effects on system performance and safety.
Existence and exponential stability of a periodic solution for fuzzy cellular neural networks with time-varying delays
Authors: Zhang Qianhong , Yang Lihui , Liao Daixi
Published: December 2011

Existence and exponential stability of a periodic solution for fuzzy cellular neural networks with time-varying delays

Fuzzy cellular neural networks with time-varying delays are considered. Some sufficient conditions for the existence and exponential stability of periodic solutions are obtained by using the continuation theorem based on the coincidence degree and the differential inequality technique. The sufficient conditions are easy to use in pattern recognition and automatic control. Finally, an example is given to show the feasibility and effectiveness of our methods.
Evolving small-board Go players using coevolutionary temporal difference learning with archives
Authors: Krawiec Krzysztof , Jaśkowski Wojciech , Szubert Marcin
Published: December 2011

Evolving small-board Go players using coevolutionary temporal difference learning with archives

We apply Coevolutionary Temporal Difference Learning (CTDL) to learn small-board Go strategies represented as weighted piece counters. CTDL is a randomized learning technique which interweaves two search processes that operate in the intra-game and inter-game mode. Intra-game learning is driven by gradient-descent Temporal Difference Learning (TDL), a reinforcement learning method that updates the board evaluation function according to differences observed between its values for consecutively visited game states. For the inter-game learning component, we provide a coevolutionary algorithm that maintains a sample of strategies and uses the outcomes of games played between them to iteratively modify the probability distribution, according to which new strategies are generated and added to the sample. We analyze CTDL's sensitivity to all important parameters, including the trace decay constant that controls the lookahead horizon of TDL, and the relative intensity of intra-game and inter-game learning. We also investigate how the presence of memory (an archive) affects the search performance, and find out that the archived approach is superior to other techniques considered here and produces strategies that outperform a handcrafted weighted piece counter strategy and simple liberty-based heuristics. This encouraging result can be potentially generalized not only to other strategy representations used for small-board Go, but also to various games and a broader class of problems, because CTDL is generic and does not rely on any problem-specific knowledge.
Innovation Process Models With Emphasis on Open Innovation Model
Authors: Kozioł-Nadolna Katarzyna , Świadek Arkadiusz
Published: December 2011

Innovation Process Models With Emphasis on Open Innovation Model

This article presents different models of innovation processes and focuses in particular on the open innovation. The empirical part is based on the findings on the innovation cooperation of enterprises in the EU and OECD (these data, among others, determine the open innovation). At the end of the article there is a case study of Nokia which implements the open innovation in its innovation activity. The aim of this article is to present the paradigm of the open innovation processes. This approach concentrates on sharing knowledge, i.e. making new solutions available to other units by means of e.g. license sale. The open innovation business model takes advantage of both internal and external sources of ideas without a fear that a company's own ideas when transferred to another organization will lead to the company's loss of profits coming from this idea. The formal framework of an organization is just a symbolic one and makes the flow of knowledge between the organization and its environment possible. The enterprises that adopt the open innovation strategy both enthusiastically develop ideas which were created by others as well as make their own ideas available to other organizations that find them more interesting.
Manufacturing SMEs' Credit Collection Period and its Determinants: Some Evidence from Malaysia
Authors: Zainudin Nasruddin , Regupathi Angappan
Published: December 2011

Manufacturing SMEs' Credit Collection Period and its Determinants: Some Evidence from Malaysia

Collection period is the length of time taken by a company's credit customers to pay their debts. During this time, company resources are tied up as it is effectively financing its customers' purchases out of its own funds. Credit collection period is, therefore, an important factor that might have an impact on the cash flows, and hence, the survival of a company. An attempt has been made in this paper to explore the profile of credit collection period among small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Malaysia. Besides that, we also identify some determinants of this credit collection period. The study is based primarily on secondary data derived from financial statements of manufacturing SMEs from 2001 through 2004. The findings of this study indicate that liquidity, efficiency, profitability, industry sub-sector and size have some influence over the credit collection period.
Trends in and Perceptions on Urbanisation
Authors: Anant Geetha
Published: December 2011

Trends in and Perceptions on Urbanisation

Escalating mega-city concentrations, perpetuated by investment distortions and rural-urban imbalances in densely populated and economically undeveloped countries, endorse migration, generate pluralities, and create potential conditions for conflict, evoking planners' concern. In a globalising world, national policies tend to comply with international agreements, which do not necessarily synchronise with commitment of welfare states to domestic issues arising from inequities. This is more apparent in economies disadvantaged by large population sizes, sprawling urban agglomerations, preponderance of slums, a large proportion of untrained and illiterate human resources, and differential taxation laws. This paper appraises selected Indian Ocean countries characterised by development imbalances, lop-sided and unmanageable urbanisation on account of limited availability and poor allocation of resources, shift of rural poverty to urban areas, consumption inequities, etc. Most governments have embraced largely aggressive approaches to address this problem, evicting the ‘destitute in-migrants’, or forcibly shifting them. These cannot have a positive and far-reaching impact, and hence incentive-based ‘inclusive’ and ‘participatory’ resettlement strategies are urged.
The narratives behind the numbers: An approach to mixed methods research within the alcohol research field
Authors: Østergaard Jeanette
Published: December 2011

Aim

This article introduces a conceptual framework for conducting mixed methods within the alcohol research field by suggesting that any data analysis – qualitative or quantitative – is also a narrative or social representation. Theoretically, the paper draws on Andrew Abbott (1997; 1998) and Howard Becker (2007), arguing that three ordered forms of representation are performed in quantitative analyses based on survey studies: The first order of representation refers to how participants respond to or interpret a survey question; the second to the arrangement and interpretation of variables in quantitative analysis and shows that measurements can have networks of meanings and the third to ways of merging quantitative analysis with other material, such as qualitative data.

Data and Method

Empirically, the paper illustrates the first order of representation through an analysis of 13 focus group interviews. In these young people discussed selected international survey questions, which later were used in two representative surveys on alcohol and illegal drug use, conducted in 2005 amongst 2 000 15-16-year-olds and in 2008 amongst 5 000 17-19-year-olds.

Conclusion

The article discusses how insights of the first order of representation are useful when researchers wish to carry out the second and third orders of representation.
Bcl-2 Family Proteins in Development and Treatment of Malignant Diseases
Authors: Racay P. , Jurecekova J. , Stefanikova A. , Klikova K. , Hatok J. , Dobrota D.
Published: December 2011

Bcl-2 Family Proteins in Development and Treatment of Malignant Diseases

Proteins of Bcl-2 family are key regulators of mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Deregulation of apoptosis disrupts the complex and delicate balance between cell proliferation, survival and death and plays an important role in the development of malignant diseases. In addition to uncontrolled proliferation, alterations in apoptotic proteins are frequently associated with resistance of malignant cells to chemotherapy, leading to ineffective treatment with chemotherapy that primarily acts by apoptosis initiation. Despite the progress in combinatory and biologic therapy, response rates for treatment of different malignant diseases are not high enough. Therefore, new anti-cancer agents that selectively kill tumour cells and spare normal tissues are still urgently needed. Progress in biochemistry and cell biology leading to detailed dissection of cell signalling pathways allows development of new therapeutic strategies targeting different proteins involved in malignant transformation and uncontrolled proliferation of malignant cells. Emerging knowledge on molecular mechanisms of apoptosis deregulation in cancer development has revealed Bcl-2 family proteins as potential targets for drugs discovery. Structural analysis of these proteins together with studies of apoptosis mechanisms have outlined strategies for generation of new drugs, resulting in numerous novel chemical entities with mechanism-based activity. Many of the most logical targets for promoting apoptosis of malignant cells are technically challenging, involving often disruption of protein interactions or changes in gene expression, as opposed to traditional pharmaceutical approach that predominantly attacks enzymes. Understanding of the core components of the apoptotic machinery at the molecular and structural levels may lead to new era in cancer therapy where the intrinsic and acquired resistance of malignant cells to apoptosis can be pharmacologically reversed, reinstating natural pathways of cell suicide.
Remembering Nature: Soliloquy as Aesthetic Form in Mansfield Park
Authors: Clark Lorraine
Published: December 2011

In Mansfield Park, Jane Austen allegorizes her understanding of the novel of manners as a form of cerebral theatre that stages philosophical dialogues, centrally the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns. Is nature a tabula rasa, at best unintelligibly moral, or is it informed by an indwelling telos, an intelligibility? Modernity divorces ethics from aesthetics, virtue from pleasure, the pulpit from the theatre, because we have forgotten nature's inherent telos, intelligibility, or mind. Fanny Price's soliloquizing, like Shaftesbury's, actualizes not a static ideal form that invites aesthetic contemplation but an empirical praxis which attempts, like her rehearsals with the mindless Mr Rushworth, to restore the mind, the brain, the memory that our modern understandings of nature have denied. Austen's philosophic dialogue ideally bridges ancient and modern and transforms private, self-educating acts of solitary reading pleasure into acts of public conversation that can be profoundly improving of public manners and mores.