bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acquired Hemophilia A successfully treated with rituximab
Authors: D'Arena Giovanni , Grandone Elvira , Di Minno Matteo Nicola Dario , Musto Pellegrino , Di Minno Giovanni
Published: February 2015

Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is a rare bleeding disorder due to the development of specific autoantibodies against factor VIII. The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody Rituximab has been proven to be effective in  obtaining a long-term suppression of inhibitors of AHA,  besides other immunosuppressive standard treatments. Here we describe a case of idiopathic AHA in a 60-year old man successfully treated with rituximab. He showed a complete clinical response with  a normalization of clotting  parameters after 5 weekly courses of rituximab given at a dose of 375 mg/sqm. , but after stopping rituximab, an initial worsening of coagulation  parameters  induced the addition of 3 further courses. At present, the patient is in complete clinical and hematological remission after 200 days.  This case confirms that Rituximab may be a safe and useful tool to treat AHA and, a prolonged administration can overcome the initial resistance. However, the precise position of this drug in the therapeutic strategy (first or second-line, alone or in combination with other drugs) remains to be established and warrants further investigation.
The Constitution of English Literature
Authors: Gardiner Michael
Published: February 2015

In this extended essay, Michael Gardiner examines the ideology of the discipline of English Literature in the light of the serious redefining work on England and Englishness that has been conductedin Political Studiesin the last decade. He argues that English Literature emerges from the development of the state and that consequently it has suppressed the idea of the nation. His claim is that English Literature has lost its form since its methodology and canonicity depended so heavily on a constitutional form which can no longer be defended.

He calls upon those working in English Literature to recognise that they are not really participating in the same discipline, defined by the Burkean constitutional settlement, even if they think of themselves as writing ‘within the canon’. His view is that a lack of appreciation of ‘hard-edged’ political factors have led to a ‘continuant’ and regressive form of English Literature which tends to hang on to stifling methodologies. In its place, he appeals for the creation of a more open-ended, inclusive, internationalist, and comparative ‘literature of England’.
The Tories
Authors: Heppell Timothy
Published: February 2015

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible study of the electoral strategies, governing approaches and ideological thought of the British Conservative Party from Winston Churchill to David Cameron. Timothy Heppell integrates a chronological narrative with theoretical evaluation, examining the interplay between the ideology of Conservatism and the political practice of the Conservative Party both in government and in opposition. He considers the ethos of the Party within the context of statecraft theory, looking at the art of winning elections and of governing competently.

The book opens with an examination of the triumph and
subsequent degeneration of one-nation Conservatism in the 1945 to 1965 period, and
closes with an analysis of the party’s re-entry into government as a
coalition with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, and of the developing ideology and
approach of the Cameron-led Tory party in government.
Accurate Quantification of Two Key Time Points Used in the Determination of Hydroxyl Polyaluminum Species by Ferron Timed Spectrophotometry
Authors: Zhang Jing , Yong Xiaojing , Zhao Dongyan , Shi Qiuyi
Published: February 2015

The content of mononuclear Al (Ala%) changed with its determination time (ta) under different dosages of Ferron (7-iodo-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid, [Ferron]), and the change of Ala% with [Ferron] at different ta was systematically investigated for the firsttime. Thus, the most appropriate ta was found with the optimal [Ferron]. Also, the judgment of the platform (flat or level portion) of the complete reaction on the absorption-time curve determined in the hydroxyl polyaluminum solution by Ferron timed spectrophotometry (Ferron assay) was first digitized. The time point (tb) of complete reaction between the medium polyaluminum (Alb)and Ferron reagent depended on the reaction extent, and time could not be used only to judge. Thus, the tb was accurately determined and reduced to half of original, which improved the experiment efficiency significantly. The Ferron assay was completely optimized.
Between Development and Evolution: How to Model Cultural Change
Authors: Jablonka Eva
Published: February 2015

This chapter explores how the Darwinian model of evolution emerged as a major organising concept for explaining cultural change. It considers the application of the general framework of selection theory for thinking about cultural change and the evolution of other aspects of the world, but argues that the genic, neo-Darwinian model is inadequate for understanding cultural evolution. The chapter first discusses some of the properties of the genetic system and highlights the problems it poses for modelling cultural change, as well as some of the properties of the other inheritance systems known today (the epigenetic, the behavioural and the symbolic). It then suggests how changing the major assumptions of the classical genetic model gives rise to a view that denies a categorical distinction between evolution and development. It also argues that the classic neo-Darwinian assumptions about heredity and evolution must be abandoned in favour of more ‘Lamarckian’ genetic models that assign a central role to targeted genetic variation and somatic selection. Finally, it describes epigenetic inheritance systems, along with the transmission and selection of behavioural variants.
Between Evolution and History: Biology, Culture, and the Myth of Human Origins
Authors: Ingold Tim
Published: February 2015

This chapter explains how the phenomena of both organic evolution and cultural change can be accommodated within a single explanatory paradigm. It first argues that a model of variation under selection cannot fully grasp the generative dynamics of cultural change, and instead calls for an emphasis on the activities that give rise to artefacts, rather than on the final forms of such artefacts. It then discusses history as but one aspect of a total process of evolution that embraces the entire organic world; how biological organisms and cultural artefacts condition the development of other entities or beings to which they relate; and genotypes and phenotypes in relation to natural selection. It also describes the genealogical model in comparison with the relational model, with particular reference to their application to understanding the kinship of both human and nonhuman beings, and how the relational model can be applied not only to persons but also to the development and evolution of organisms. The chapter concludes by discussing the life-histories of artefacts in terms of replication and reproduction.
Idiosyncratic Production Regimes: Co-evolution of Economic and Legal Institutions in the Varieties of Capitalism
Authors: Teubner Gunther
Published: February 2015

This chapter examines production regimes and their idiosyncracies, with particular reference to the co-evolution of economic and legal institutions in the varieties of capitalism. It first considers two theories that explain the institutional varieties of capitalism, namely, the theory of production regimes and the theory of institutional co-selection. It then looks at the theory of self-organising social systems as well as its critique of the theories of production regimes and co-selection. It also discusses the theory of autopoietic social systems and its emphasis on self-organisation and self-reproduction, together with the multi-polarity and cyclicity of production regimes. The chapter concludes by outlining the main assumptions of autopoiesis theory, focusing on just-in-time contracts in the United States and Germany.
The Evolution of Merged Culture, Genes, and Computing Artefacts
Authors: Goonatilake Susantha
Published: February 2015

This chapter examines the evolution of cultural entities and how it is influenced by an environment that includes genes and computing devices. More specifically, it discusses the co-evolution of culture with the environment comprising genes and computing artefacts. It first considers some general properties of this co-evolution, including timing and sequence, and how cultural information is gradually modified as it is transmitted from one generation to the next. It then looks at genetic information and its interaction with environments, as well as its storage in computers. Finally, it explores how genetic information merges with cultural information and artefactual information.
Badius and Textual Culture
Authors: White Paul
Published: February 2015

This chapter is divided into three parts. The first focuses on the first two parts of Varro’s definition of the role of the grammarian: lectio and enarratio. It shows how Badius used figurative language to conceptualize these roles, paying particular attention to the symbolism of initiation and sacred mystery, and to concepts of copia and excess. The second looks at emendatio and iudicium. This section incorporates an account of Badius’s attitudes towards textual scholarship and editing, and examines the medical and bodily metaphors he used to characterize this work. The third part considers the ways in which Badius presented and conceptualized the various aspects of the printing process: from patronage and the acquisition of exemplars to the issuing of privileges. In this domain Badius used figurative language grounded in concepts of property and theft, friendship and sociability, and familial relations.
Badius’s Commentary Editions: The Classical Poets
Authors: White Paul
Published: February 2015

This chapter traces the evolution of Badius’s commentary practice by studying the grammatical commentaries he composed on the classical authors central to his pedagogical programme: Terence, Virgil, Horace, Persius and Juvenal. Placing these in the wider context of humanist education, the chapter considers aspects of presentation and mise-en-page, and analyses Badius’s changing commentary methods and the audiences for which he was writing. It pays particular attention to the methods used to orient and guide the reader through the text: introductory sections, rules, illustrations, etc.
Indigenous Names in Heraclea Pontica
Authors: Alexandru Avram
Published: February 2015

The most informative sources for personal names at Heraclea Pontica are the stamps engraved on the neck of amphoras manufactured in the workshops of this city and the external inscriptions mentioning Heracleots abroad, whereas the local epigraphic crop is rather poor. The name-stock is predominantly Greek, with a quite marked Megarian stamp. Although the evidence for the non-Greek onomastic stock is scarce, it is possible to identify some Iranian, Bithynian, Paphlagonian and Phrygian names, as well as some Lallnamen, which the author tries to classify and to comment on. Among the bearers of non-Greek names there is no person of high standing. It is surprising that there are only a few Bithynian and Paphlagonian names. Therefore, nothing that might individualise the name-stock of the Mariandynian hinterland is to be found.
Histoire par les noms in Ancient Galatia
Authors: Altay Coşkun
Published: February 2015

For the two centuries following the Galatian occupation of central Anatolia after 278 BC, only a few nearly exclusively Celtic names of tribal or mercenary leaders have been transmitted. In the first century BC, the first examples of Anatolian names re-emerge in our evidence, and a few Greco-Macedonian ones alongside them. By the beginning of the second century AD, Roman names prevailed among Galatian aristocrats. This study also looks at the Phrygian and Celtic traditions that were sometimes hidden behind Greek or Roman façades: the extent of such complex naming practices reveals the compatibility of embracing Hellenism or Romanness with an awareness of the Galatian or Phrygian cultural heritage still in the second century. Such local peculiarities faded away in the third century with the universal extension of the Roman franchise and the spread of Christian names.
Simple Names in Ionia
Authors: Jaime Curbera
Published: February 2015

The most significant work written so far about Greek onomastics in Asia Minor (Louis Robert’s Noms indigènes de l’Asie Mineure) mainly demonstrates the excessively ‘indigenist’ interpretation of personal names. The question of non-Greek names has dominated studies in this field. The aim of this paper is to explain the use and the nature of Greek simple names in Ionia. The first part deals with general questions, such as the origin of simple names and the role of baby-talk in their formation, their relationship with nicknames and second names, their evolution and how they can contribute to a better knowledge of Ionic colloquial language. The second part is a commentary on thirty-nine typical or significant Ionic names: Akkês, Alpalê, Bábōn, Bállaros, Bastâs, Bátalos, Bátion, Baûs, Billâs, Bisthâs, Bíttaros, Bóa, Botâs, Boutalînos, Boutâs, Gellías, Grŷttos, Kíllos, Kírōn, Kollybâs, Konníōn, Kôkos, Kōlōtēs, Minníōn, Mitýlos, Myschês, Mytâs, Nánnichos, Nóssos, Pátaikos, Pósthōn, Sálaros, Sannâs, Smórdos, Sýrphax, Phíttalos, Phórys, Chorēgíōn, Psychâs.
Resources for Naming: Problematic Names of Asia Minor
Authors: Jaime Curbera
Published: February 2015

Among the Asiatic Greeks almost every Greek word could be used to form a personal name. Resources for naming include plant names, place names and theophoric names. This chapter analyses a group of names which are interesting because of their formation, meaning or origin (Ármalos, Dókkalos, Drábōn, Dōkeús, Heiamenós, Iddoúas and Kallóas, Kambalâs, Kápparis, Koíēs, Naódōros, Tónnios, Chrýsōros, Chrysēnios). The richness and colour of these onomastics, as shown in this small sample of names, has been a source of misinterpretations by scholars used to different naming styles.
Human Dignity: Experience and History, Practical Reason and Faith
Authors: Hollenbach David
Published: February 2015

This chapter argues that human dignity can be grounded in historical experiences of the violation and attainment of dignity, and through arguments based on practical (as opposed to theoretical) reason about how to advance respect for dignity and reduce its violation. It also presents theological warrants for human dignity based on Christian faith, and argues that reflection by practical reason on human experience interacts with these Christian religious beliefs in ways that have led the Catholic community to become an important advocate of human dignity in recent decades. Continued interaction of practical reason, human experience, and faith can enable the Catholic Church to work with other communities on behalf of human dignity in addressing new challenges today, perhaps leading the church to further historical development of its understanding of human dignity and rights in new technological and social contexts.
Human Dignity in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Costa Jean-Paul
Published: February 2015

The chapter first gives several examples of where ‘dignity’ (or ‘a person’s dignity’, or ‘human dignity’) has been a central element in the reasoning of the Court, or in the arguments advanced by judges in separate opinions. Based on this analysis, the principal question addressed is why the Court draws on ‘dignity’, a word neither explicitly nor, implicitly mentioned in the text of the Convention or the Protocols. What are the reasons for having—or not having—recourse to the concept of dignity in judicial decisions? Is there any objective reason for such choice? Or does it depend on the subjective preferences of the judges sitting on the bench? Is ‘dignity’ necessary for judicial decision-making in order to reach a specific conclusion in a case? Or does ‘dignity’ simply reinforce the legal reasoning of the Court, enabling the Court to give more weight to the arguments of one of the parties in the case? Finally, the chapter looks for a possible conceptual link between human dignity and human rights, insofar as this arises from the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court.
Dignity and Disgrace: Moral Citizenship and Constitutional Protection
Authors: Cameron Edwin
Published: February 2015

Apartheid’s race discrimination branded blacks inferior, leaving a residue of indignity that was perceived and experienced as shameful. This explains the pivotal significance of dignity in the South African Constitution. Hence the Constitutional Court has created a normative framework for South Africans to assert personhood without the shameful stigmata of past subordination. The Court’s strong protection of sexual orientation is best understood against this backdrop. While there is no ready comparison between race and sexual orientation discrimination, both brand those they subordinate as inferior and thus as the objects of shame. The Court’s jurisprudence on gays and lesbians has, therefore, afforded equality, but also addressed the shameful subordination of the past by enabling gays and lesbians to assert themselves as equal moral citizens who can fulfil their capacities as humans without shame.
Dignity and the Duty to Protect Unborn Life
Authors: Siegel Reva
Published: February 2015

This chapter analyses competing claims on dignity in constitutional judgments about abortion that impose on government a constitutional duty to protect unborn life. Over decades of debate, courts deciding abortion cases have adopted different approaches to reconciling commitments to dignity as liberty, dignity as equality, and dignity as life. Courts vary over time and across borders in the ways they require respect for dignity in the regulation of abortion, as the essay shows by comparing leading German abortion judgments and cases of several other jurisdictions. This analysis suggests that evolving conceptions of women as deliberative agents play a role in the abortion case law, even in jurisdictions that constitutionalize a duty to protect unborn life. Attention to the ways law coordinates competing claims on dignity in the abortion cases offers a fascinating window on the roles dignity can play in mediating conflict within a constitutional community.
The Good Sense of Dignity: Six Antidotes to Dignity Fatigue in Ethics and Law
Authors: Mahlmann Matthias
Published: February 2015

Six issues that seem particularly important for examining human dignity as an ethical and legal concept are explored. First, the problems of its genealogy and second, the elements of its content are critically reconstructed. Third, questions of justification are addressed, in particular drawing attention to the axiological power of secular, egalitarian humanism for the theory of legitimacy of human dignity. Fourth, problems of concretisation are discussed that concern the precise circumscription of the scope (and equally importantly) the limits of dignity if it is to be applied convincingly in concrete legal circumstances. Fifth, the problem of universality is examined. Finally, some thought is given to a curious but, in practice, very important aspect of human dignity: its persistent human appeal.
From Hypatia to Victor Hugo to Larry and Sergey: ‘All the world's knowledge’ and universal authors' rights
Authors: Ginsburg Jane C.
Published: February 2015

Access to ‘all the world’s knowledge’ is an ancient aspiration; a less venerable, but equally vigorous, universalism strives for the borderless protection of authors’ rights. Late 19th-century law and politics brought us copyright universalism; 21st-century technology may bring us the universal digital library. But how can ‘all the world’s knowledge’ be delivered, on demand, to users anywhere in the world (with Internet access), if the copyrights of the creators and publishers of many of those works are supposed to be enforceable almost everywhere in the world? Does it follow that the universal digital library of the near future threatens copyright holders? Or are libraries the endangered species of the impending era, as publishers partner with for-profit Internet intermediaries to make books ubiquitously available? Does access-triumphalism therefore risk giving us not the universal digital library, but the universal digital bookstore? And, whether libraries or commercial intermediaries offer access, how will the world’s authors fare?
An intelligent Scotland: Professor Sir Godfrey Thomson and the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947
Authors: Deary Ian J.
Published: February 2015

In the first half of the paper the focus is historical on the work of Professor Sir Godfrey Thomson (1881–1955). In particular, new primary sources are described and illustrated. The principal new source is a collection of his public lectures from 1924 until 1954 that illustrate his interests and opinions in education and intelligence, and their place in society. The second half consists of an illustrative summary of follow-up studies on the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947, in which Thomson played such a large part. These data are now being used in the study of cognitive ageing and cognitive epidemiology
Imitations of Christ in 17th-century France: Some attendant difficulties
Authors: Parish Richard
Published: February 2015

The most important verse paraphrase of the Imitation of Christ in 17th-century France was written by the dramatist Pierre Corneille. In his paratexts he discusses the difficulties he has encountered in the project, which expands on the original by including engravings, many of which illustrate episodes from the lives of saints. One such is Theodora, who is the subject of his closely contemporary martyr tragedy, Théodore. But here too he encountered difficulties, in the context of bienséance, from objections expressed to the prostitution with which the eponym is threatened. In a different idiom, the Jesuit priest Jean-Joseph Surin, seeing his role as exorcist as another kind of imitation of Christ, records his ordeal in two autobiographical works, one of which moves progressively into stylistic incoherence. Finally, Bossuet engages in the polemic surrounding a further possible implication of the term, in the form of the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence.
The Legacy of Thatcherism For Education Policies: Markets, Managerialism and Malice (towards Teachers)
Authors: Dorey Peter
Published: February 2015

The Thatcherite approach to secondary education, which has broadly been adhered to by subsequent governments, was characterized not so much by the traditional 3 ‘Rs’, as by 3 ‘Ms’—marketization, managerialism and malice towards many of those working in education. These three themes and associated policies were predicated on a critique which was scornful of post-war secondary education in Britain, particularly the shift to comprehensive education and its professed egalitarianism, coupled with the apparent hegemony of the education ‘establishment’ in shaping education policy. This chapter examines how the Thatcher governments, and their successors, sought to instil market principles and practices into secondary education, with the associated discourse of competition and (parental) choice. Accompanying this process of marketization was the imposition of greater managerial control over teachers, as symbolized by a regime of audit and inspection, coupled with constant populist denigration of the alleged faults and failings of the teaching profession.
The Housing Legacy of Thatcherism
Authors: Murie Alan
Published: February 2015

Housing policy was a key part of the Thatcherite project of privatization and rolling back the state. Alongside important continuities in housing policy distinctive actions were taken to dismantle council housing, deregulate and demutualize housing finance and deregulate the private rented sector. These actions changed housing rights, ownership and control of housing, the nature of housing transactions and tenures and patterns of financing and debt. While home ownership and private wealth, the enduring legacy has been greater dependency on the state through housing benefit, a decline in local and mutual agencies, greater housing insecurity and inequality and volatility in housing investment. Housing associations’ response enabled their significant growth and made their regulation increasingly important. In the longer term investment in private renting, continuing housing shortage, rising housing costs and problems in housing finance have affected access to housing and national as well as household budgets.
What were the lasting effects of Thatcher’s legacy for families in the UK?
Authors: David Miriam E.
Published: February 2015

This chapter reviews the ways family policies in relation to gender (mothers and fathers) were developed under the three separate Thatcher administrations (1979–90). It then considers how these approaches to mothers as lone or single parents and as working mothers around childcare and education were continued under subsequent administrations. A focus on individualization and personalization is seen to be the key legacy of Thatcherism for families in the UK. Despite the socio-political and economic transformations in the twenty-first century, a continuing emphasis on mothers’ responsibilities for children and family remains, although differentiated by social class and disadvantage.
Commentary
Authors: Childs Sarah , Webb Paul
Published: February 2015

This commentary reflects on the continuing tension between the family and women within contemporary Conservative politics. It considers the more inclusive definition of the family by the Cameroonian Conservative party and contrasts this with the depiction of some families as ‘broken’. This acknowledges that liberal feminism has undoubtedly triumphed in society and contends that the Conservative party in the 2000s had to ‘catch up’ with the Labour party’s feminization of politics, both in terms of the number of women MPs and in addressing women’s issues. In respect of the latter the Tory 2010 manifesto was notably competitive. However, gender relations remain problematic for the party, especially when women’s roles and rights are considered against the backdrop of the family. Here the party leadership frequently relies on the concept of ‘choice’. Yet feminist critics will question the ‘reality’ of women’s choices in an era of austerity politics.
Jean Genet à Chicago : de la vision du même à l’autre regard
Authors: Lussier Alexis
Published: February 2015

Qu’y a-t-il de commun entre l’étonnante spéculation qui accompagne, chez Genet, la rencontre des tableaux de Rembrandt, et la vision, non moins surprenante, de la Convention démocrate à Chicago qu’il décrit, en 1968, dans « Les membres de l’Assemblée » ? Qu’y a-t-il de commun entre un regard et un autre ? Tout d’abord la différence qui les sépare, mais qui, en même temps, les rapproche et les réunit sur une même ligne directrice, qui va de la vision d’un autre homme, lors d’un voyage en train, où rien n’est aussi visible que le fait que tout homme est identique à tous les autres, à la vision de l’ennemi politique que Genet se voit devenir à travers le regard d’un policier. Au moment d’arriver en Amérique, ce n’est donc pas sans raison que l’écrivain semble se désintéresser, ou plutôt se laisser distraire, de la Convention démocrate, pour mieux détailler le corps de la police de Chicago. Sur cette ligne qui va de la rencontre dans le train, rapportée dans le texte sur Rembrandt, au regard du policier, c’est tout le passage au politique qui est bel et bien lisible. Passage de la vision du même à l’autre regard, de la rencontre mélancolique, avec une identité unique, annulant toute identité, à la reconnaissance, plutôt joyeuse, des rivalités politiques.
Incoherent signature of internal tides on sea level in idealized numerical simulations
Authors: Ponte A. L. , Klein P.
Published: February 2015

The nonpersistent phase relationship between internal tides and astronomical forcings, also known as incoherence, has been identified as a major question in the context of future wide‐swath satellite altimetry. This study addresses this issue using a novel set of numerical experiments where a plane wave/low‐mode internal tide propagates through a turbulent mesoscale eddy field. These experiments demonstrate the emergence of internal tide incoherence as the eddy turbulence is strengthened. In strongly turbulent situations, the internal tide signature on sea level forms complex interference patterns with large amplifications of the initial internal wave. These patterns evolve more rapidly than the signature of the turbulent eddy field on sea level. The implications of such idealized numerical simulations for wide‐swath altimetry are discussed.
Aftershock triggering by postseismic stresses: A study based on Coulomb rate‐and‐state models
Authors: Cattania Camilla , Hainzl Sebastian , Wang Lifeng , Enescu Bogdan , Roth Frank
Published: February 2015

The spatiotemporal clustering of earthquakes is a feature of medium‐ and short‐term seismicity, indicating that earthquakes interact. However, controversy exists about the physical mechanism behind aftershock triggering: static stress transfer and reloading by postseismic processes have been proposed as explanations. In this work, we use a Coulomb rate‐and‐state model to study the role of coseismic and postseismic stress changes on aftershocks and focus on two processes: creep on the main shock fault plane (afterslip) and secondary aftershock triggering by previous aftershocks. We model the seismic response to Coulomb stress changes using the Dieterich constitutive law and focus on two events: the Parkfield,Mw= 6.0, and the Tohoku,Mw= 9.0, earthquakes. We find that modeling secondary triggering systematically improves the maximum log likelihood fit of the sequences. The effect of afterslip is more subtle and difficult to assess for near‐fault events, where model errors are largest. More robust conclusions can be drawn for off‐fault aftershocks: following the Tohoku earthquake, afterslip promotes shallow crustal seismicity in the Fukushima region. Simple geometrical considerations indicate that afterslip‐induced stress changes may have been significant on trench parallel crustal fault systems following several of the largest recorded subduction earthquakes. Moreover, the time dependence of afterslip strongly enhances its triggering potential: seismicity triggered by an instantaneous stress change decays more quickly than seismicity triggered by gradual loading, and as a result we find afterslip to be particularly important between few weeks and few months after the main shock.
The fine structure of double‐frequency microseisms recorded by seismometers in North America
Authors: Koper Keith D. , Burlacu Relu
Published: February 2015

We performed a frequency‐dependent polarization analysis on ambient seismic energy recorded by 1768 USArray Transportable Array (TA) seismometers for the time period of 1 April 2004 through 31 October 2014. The seismic energy has strong seasonal variations in power and polarization at essentially all stations; however, the annual variation is much smaller. One year of data is sufficient to determine the average properties of the ambient seismic wavefield at a particular site. The average power and dominant period in the double‐frequency (DF) microseism band, defined here as periods of 2–10 s, vary significantly and coherently across North America. Proximity to a coastline generally leads to increased DF microseism amplitude, but site geology is much more important, with sedimentary basins having especially large DF amplitudes. The western U.S. as a whole has longer dominant DF periods than the central and eastern U.S., with the southeastern U.S. having the shortest dominant DF periods. Power spectral density estimates at many TA stations show a splitting of the DF microseism peak into two distinct subpeaks. This has been observed previously in data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers, with the shorter‐period DF peak attributed to the local sea and the longer‐period DF peak attributed to more distant, coastally generated microseisms. In the case of the land‐based TA data analyzed here, the DF splitting arises from simultaneous microseism generation at various source areas (Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico) with distinct, preferred excitation frequencies. DF microseism source properties derived from global models of ocean wave interaction support this interpretation.
Slab‐derived fluids, fore‐arc hydration, and sub‐arc magmatism beneath Kyushu, Japan
Authors: Saita Hiroto , Nakajima Junichi , Shiina Takahiro , Kimura Jun‐Ichi
Published: February 2015

We estimate the three‐dimensional (3‐D) P wave attenuation structure beneath Kyushu, Japan, using a large number of high‐quality waveform data. Our results show that the mantle wedge is characterized by high‐attenuation regions in the fore‐arc corner and in the back‐arc beneath volcanoes, with the two regions separated by a low‐attenuation area. The volcanic gap in central Kyushu is underlain by low attenuation below the Moho. High attenuation in the fore arc is probably associated with serpentinized peridotite, while that in the back arc is interpreted as an upwelling flow that is the source of arc magmas. The presence of low‐attenuation mantle that separates the high‐attenuation hydrated, fore‐arc, and back‐arc mantle regions suggests that fluids are supplied from two depth levels of the slab by different mechanisms. Low attenuation beneath the volcanic gap probably results from intricate 3‐D mantle flow that is caused by tectonic processes such as back‐arc extension and ridge collision.
Materials Handling System Design
Authors: Heragu Sunderesh S. , Ekren Banu
Published: February 2015

Material handling systems consist of discrete or continuous resources to move entities from one location to another. They are more common in manufacturing systems compared to service systems. Material movement occurs everywhere in a factory or warehouse—before, during, and after processing. This chapter discusses types of equipment, how to select material handling equipment, an operating model for material handling, and warehousing issues. It ends with a case study that implements some of these issues. Material handling work should be minimized without sacrificing productivity or the level of service required of the operation. Material handling operations should be mechanized and/or automated where feasible to improve operational efficiency, increase responsiveness, improve consistency and predictability, decrease operating costs, and eliminate repetitive or potentially unsafe manual labor. Computerized material handling systems should be considered where appropriate for effective integration of material flow and information management.
Diagnosis, treatment and outcome of adrenocortical cancer
Authors: Mihai R
Published: February 2015

Background

Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is a rare disease with a dismal prognosis. The majority of patients are diagnosed with advanced disease and raise difficult management challenges.

Methods

All references identified in PubMed, published between 2004 and 2014, using the keywords ‘adrenocortical cancer’ or ‘adrenal surgery’ or both, were uploaded into a database. The database was interrogated using keywords specific for each field studied.

Results

In all, 2049 publications were identified. There is ongoing debate about the feasibility and oncological outcomes of laparoscopic adrenalectomy for small ACCs, and data derived from institutional case series have failed to provide an evidence level above expert opinion. The use of mitotane (1-(2-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethane) in combination with chemotherapy in the treatment of metastatic disease has been assessed in an international randomized trial (FIRM-ACT trial) involving patients with ACC. Based on this trial, mitotane plus etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin is now the established first-line cytotoxic therapy owing to a higher response rate and longer median progression-free survival than achieved with streptozocin–mitotane. For patients with tumours smaller than 5 cm and with no signs of lymph node or distant metastases, survival is favourable with a median exceeding 10 years. However, the overall 5-year survival rate for all patients with ACC is only 30 per cent.

Conclusion

Open and potentially laparoscopic adrenalectomy for selected patients is the main treatment for non-metastatic ACC, but the overall 5-year survival rate remains low.
Regional differences of [18F]‐FDG uptake within the brain during fatiguing muscle contractions
Authors: Kindred John H. , Kalliokoski Kari K. , Bojsen‐Møller Jens , Rudroff Thorsten
Published: February 2015

Background and Purpose

Many studies have shown that a position task is more difficult than a force task although both are performed at a similar net muscle force. Thus, the time to task failure is consistently shown to be briefer during the position task. The contributions of the central nervous system to these two types of fatiguing contractions are not completely understood. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine differences in regional brain activity between force and position tasks using positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]‐Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).

Methods

Two participants performed both a force and position task, separated by 7 days, with the elbow flexor muscles at 15% maximal voluntary contraction force. During both tasks, each participant was injected with ≈256 (SD 11) MBq of FDG. Immediately after both tasks PET imaging was performed and images were analyzed to determine FDG uptake within regions of the brain.

Results

FDG uptake was greater in the occipital and temporal cortices of the brain during the position task compared to the force task.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that differences in visual‐spatial feedback and processing may play a role in the reduced time to failure of position tasks. Future application of these findings may lead to improved designs of rehabilitative strategies involving different types of visual feedback.
Impact of body mass index on long‐term clinical outcomes after second‐generation drug eluting stent implantation: Insights from the international global RESOLUTE program
Authors: Diletti Roberto , Garcia‐Garcia Hector M. , Bourantas Christos , Van Mieghem Nicolas M. , van Geuns Robert Jan , Muramatsu Takashi , Zhang Yao‐Jun , Mauri Laura , Belardi Jorge , Silber Sigmund , Widimsky Petr , Leon Martin , Windecker Stephan , Meredith Ian , Neumann Franz‐Josef , Yeung Alan C. , Saito Shigeru , Liu Minglei , van Leeuwen Frank , Serruys Patrick W.
Published: February 2015

Background

An increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease and reduction in life expectancy. However, several studies reported improved clinical outcomes in obese patients treated for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of BMI on long‐term clinical outcomes after implantation of zotarolimus eluting stents.

Methods

Individual patient data were pooled from the RESOLUTE Clinical Program comprising five trials worldwide. The study population was sorted according to BMI tertiles and clinical outcomes were evaluated at 2‐year follow‐up.

Results

Data from a total of 5,127 patients receiving the R‐ZES were included in the present study. BMI tertiles were as follow: I tertile (≤ 25.95 kg/m2—Low or normal weight) 1,727 patients; II tertile (>25.95 ≤ 29.74 kg/m2—overweight) 1,695 patients, and III tertile (>29.74 kg/m2—obese) 1,705 patients. At 2‐years follow‐up no difference was found for patients with high BMI (III tertile) compared with patients with normal or low BMI (I tertile) in terms of target lesion failure (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 0.89 [0.69, 1.14], P = 0.341; major adverse cardiac events (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 0.90 [0.72, 1.14], P = 0.389; cardiac death (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 1.20 [0.73, 1.99], P = 0.476); myocardial infarction (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 0.86 [0.55, 1.35], P = 0.509; clinically‐driven target lesion revascularization (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 0.75 [0.53, 1.08], P = 0.123; definite or probable stent thrombosis (I–III tertile, HR [95% CI] = 0.98 [0.49, 1.99], P = 0.964.

Conclusions

In the present study, the patients' body mass index was found to have no impact on long‐term clinical outcomes after coronary artery interventions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Chemistry of Anthracene–Acetylene Oligomers XXV: On‐Surface Chirality of a Self‐Assembled Molecular Network of a Fan‐Blade‐Shaped Anthracene–Acetylene Macrocycle with a Long Alkyl Chain
Authors: Tsuya Takuya , Iritani Kohei , Tahara Kazukuni , Tobe Yoshito , Iwanaga Tetsuo , Toyota Shinji
Published: February 2015

An anthracene cyclic dimer with two different linkers and a dodecyl group was synthesized by means of coupling reactions. The calculated structure had a planar macrocyclic π core and a linear alkyl chain. Scanning tunneling microscopy observations at the 1‐phenyloctane/graphite interface revealed that the molecules formed a self‐assembled monolayer that consisted of linear striped bright and dark bands. In each domain, the molecular network consisted of either Re or Si molecules that differed in the two‐dimensional chirality about the macrocyclic faces, which led to a unique conglomerate‐type self‐assembly. The molecular packing mode and the conformation of the alkyl chains are discussed in terms of the intermolecular interactions and the interactions between the molecules and the graphite surface with the aid of MM3 simulations of a model system.
Silicon–Heteroaromatic [FeFe] Hydrogenase Model Complexes: Insight into Protonation, Electrochemical Properties, and Molecular Structures
Authors: Goy Roman , Bertini Luca , Görls Helmar , De Gioia Luca , Talarmin Jean , Zampella Giuseppe , Schollhammer Philippe , Weigand Wolfgang
Published: February 2015

To learn from Nature how to create an efficient hydrogen‐producing catalyst, much attention has been paid to the investigation of structural and functional biomimics of the active site of [FeFe]‐hydrogenase. To understand their catalytic activities, the μ‐S atoms of the dithiolate bridge have been considered as possible basic sites during the catalytic processes. For this reason, a series of [FeFe]‐H2ase mimics have been synthesized and characterized. Different [FeFe]‐hydrogenase model complexes containing bulky Si–heteroaromatic systems or fluorene directly attached to the dithiolate moiety as well as their mono‐PPh3‐substituted derivatives have been prepared and investigated in detail by spectroscopic, electrochemical, X‐ray diffraction, and computational methods. The assembly of the herein reported series of complexes shows that the μ‐S atoms can be a favored basic site in the catalytic process. Small changes in the (hetero)‐aromatic system of the dithiolate moiety are responsible for large differences in their structures. This was elucidated in detail by DFT calculations, which were consistent with the experimental results.
Numerical investigation of carbon and silicon carbide contamination during the melting process of the Czochralski silicon crystal growth
Authors: Liu Xin , Gao Bing , Nakano Satoshi , Kakimoto Koichi
Published: February 2015

Carbon contamination in single crystalline silicon is detrimental to the minority carrier lifetime, one of the critical parameters for electronic wafers. In order to study the generation and accumulation of carbon contamination, transient global modeling of heat and mass transport was performed for the melting process of the Czochralski silicon crystal growth. Carbon contamination, caused by the presence of carbon monoxide in argon gas and silicon carbide in the silicon feedstock, was predicted by the fully coupled chemical model; the model included six reactions taking place in the chamber. A simplified model for silicon carbide generation by the reaction between carbon monoxide and solid silicon was proposed using the closest packing assumption for the blocky silicon feedstock. The accumulation of carbon in the melted silicon feedstock during the melting and stabilization stages was predicted. Owing to this initial carbon content in the melt, controlling carbon contamination before the growth stage becomes crucial for reducing the carbon incorporation in a growing crystal.
Effects of tea or tea extract on metabolic profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta‐analysis of ten randomized controlled trials
Authors: Li Yanchuan , Wang Cheng , Huai Qingjie , Guo Fuchuan , Liu Liyan , Feng Rennan , Sun Changhao
Published: February 2015

As consumption of tea has been confirmed as a protective factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), it would be interesting to know if T2DM patients could benefit from tea. Because of small sample sizes and inconsistent results of previous studies, we performed this meta‐analysis to reevaluate the effects of tea or tea extract on all available outcomes in patients with T2DM. We systematically searched electronic databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library and EMBASE to identify randomized controlled trials of tea in T2DM patients up to January 2015. Weight mean differences for the changes in all outcomes were pooled by Review Manager 5.2 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England). A total of ten trials including 608 subjects were identified. The meta‐analysis found that tea could alleviate the decrease of fasting blood insulin [1.30 U/L, 95% CI (0.36, 2.24)], and reduced waist circumference only in more than 8‐week intervention [−2.70 cm, 95% CI (−4.72, −0.69)], whereas there were no statistically significant differences with regard to homeostasis model of insulin resistance 0.38 (−0.18, 0.95), fasting blood glucose −0.05 mmol/L (−0.51, 0.40), low density lipoprotein‐cholesterol 0.07 mmol/L (−0.15, 0.29), high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol 0.01 mmol/L (−0.08, 0.09), body mass index −0.15 kg/m2 (−0.50, 0.21), SBP 0.35 mmHg (−3.54, 4.24), DBP −1.02 mmHg (−3.53, 1.48), triglycerides −0.11 mmol/L (−0.28, 0.05) and fasting cholesterol −0.05 mmol/L (−0.20, 0.11) in patients with T2DM, and leptin, ADPN, CRE and UA were also non‐significant. The intervention of tea or tea extraction could maintain a stable fasting blood insulin and reduce waist circumference in the T2DM patients; however, the effects on other outcomes were not significant. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Germ‐free mice deficient of reactive oxygen species have increased arthritis susceptibility
Authors: Wing Kajsa , Klocke Katrin , Samuelsson Annika , Holmdahl Rikard
Published: February 2015

The NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) complex is responsible for the production of ROS in phagocytic cells. Genetic defects in NOX2 lead to opportunistic infections and inflammatory manifestations such as granulomas in humans, also known as chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). This condition is mirrored in mice with defective ROS production and interestingly both species are predisposed to autoimmune diseases. An unresolved question is whether the hyper‐inflammation and tendency to develop autoimmunity are secondary to the increased infections, or whether these are parallel phenomena. We generated germ‐free ROS deficient Ncf1 mutant mice that when reared in specific pathogen‐free condition, are highly susceptible to collagen‐induced arthritis compared with wild‐type mice. Strikingly, arthritis incidence and severity was almost identical in germ‐free and specific pathogen‐free ROS‐deficient mice. In addition, partial reduction of the microbial flora by antibiotics treatment did not alter the disease course. Taken together, this shows that ROS has a clear immune regulatory function that is decoupled from its function in host defence.