bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Artificial Neural Network for predicting biosorption of methylene blue by Spirulina sp.
Authors: Garza-González M. T. , Alcalá-Rodríguez M. M. , Pérez-Elizondo R. , Cerino-Córdova F. J. , Garcia-Reyes R. B. , Loredo-Medrano J. A. , Soto-Regalado E.
Published: March 2011

An artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict the biosorption of methylene blue on Spirulina sp. biomass. Genetic and anneal algorithms were tested with different quantity of neurons at the hidden layers to determine the optimal neurons in the ANN architecture. In addition, sensitivity analyses were conducted with the optimised ANN architecture for establishing which input variables (temperature, pH, and biomass dose) significantly affect the predicted data (removal efficiency or biosorption capacity). A number of isotherm models were also compared with the optimised ANN architecture. The removal efficiency or the biosorption capacity of MB on Spirulina sp. biomass was adequately predicted with the optimised ANN architecture by using the genetic algorithm with three input neurons, and 20 neurons in each one of the two hidden layers. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that initial pH and biomass dose show a strong influence on the predicted removal efficiency or biosorption capacity, respectively. When supplying two variables to the genetic algorithm, initial pH and biomass dose improved the prediction of the output neuron (biosorption capacity or removal efficiency). The optimised ANN architecture predicted the equilibrium data 5,000 times better than the best isotherm model. These results demonstrate that ANN can be an effective way of predicting the experimental biosorption data of MB on Spirulina sp. biomass.
The structure and origin of dissolved organic matter studied by UV-vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy in lake in arid and semi-arid region
Authors: Xu-jing Guo , Bei-dou Xi , Hui-bin Yu , Wen-chao Ma , Xiao-song He
Published: March 2011

To develop a proper indicator which could predict water quality and trace pollution sources is critically important for the management of sustainable aquatic ecosystem. In our study, seven water samples collected from Wuliangsuhai Lake in Inner Mongolia were used. UV-visible spectra and synchronous fluorescence spectra were applied to investigate the humification degree and aromatic structure of dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from water samples. The results showed that both samples from W1 site and W3 site display lower humification degree and less aromatic structure, where industrial wastewater and domestic sewage, and reclaimed water of farmland irrigation, were accepted respectively. After computing the values of SUVA254, A280, A250/365, A253/203 and A226–400, we reached the conclusion that they have a consistent trend (W4> W6> W5> W2> W7> W1> W3). Fluorescence index (f450/500) was always utilised to interpret the origin of organic matter in a complex aquatic environment system. Values of f450/500 are closer to 1.60, indicating that humic substances derived from terrestrial sources and biological sources. Our study demonstrated that reclaimed water of farmland irrigation, industrial wastewater and domestic sewage will definitely influence the humification degree and amount of the aromatic structure of DOM.
Environmental impact analysis of chemicals and energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants: case study of Oslo, Norway
Authors: Venkatesh G. , Brattebø Helge
Published: March 2011

Wastewater treatment plants, while performing the important function of treating wastewater to meet the prescribed discharge standards, consume energy and a variety of chemicals. This paper analyses the consumption of energy and chemicals by wastewater treatment plants in Oslo over eight years, and their potential environmental impacts. Global warming and acidification were the dominant impacts for chemicals and energy, respectively. Avoided impacts due to usable by-products – sludge, ammonium nitrate and biogas – play a key role in shrinking the environmental footprint of the wastewater plants. The scope for decreasing this footprint by streamlining energy and chemicals consumption is limited, however, considering that over 70% of the impact is accounted for by the eutrophication potential (thanks to the nitrogen and phosphorus which is discharged to the sink) of the treated effluent wastewater.
CSO management from an operator's perspective: a step-wise action plan
Authors: Dirckx G. , Thoeye Ch. , De Gueldre G. , Van De Steene B.
Published: March 2011

Combined sewer overflows (CSO) are the “ugly ducklings” of urban wastewater infrastructure, rather unknown, rarely loved. Contrary to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) where, commonly, process parameters are carefully registered, still relatively little is known about the spill behaviour of CSOs. In spite of the considerable bandwidth of pollution magnitude reported in literature, it can be generally accepted that CSO impact certainly is not negligible. As the sole wastewater utility in Flanders (6,100,000 inhabitants), Aquafin operates, next to 230 WWTP’s and almost 1,000 pumping stations, some 3,100 CSOs. In search for an optimum CSO management strategy, Aquafin prospected several modelling and monitoring possibilities. As a result, a CSO action plan could be drawn up tailored to the estimated relevance of the CSO under consideration. In a further step a cost-benefit analysis of several static and dynamic remediation measures was undertaken. Real Time Control (RTC) strategies turned out to be the most cost efficient solution for CSO impact mitigation.
Multi-objective optimisation of cost–benefit of urban flood management using a 1D2D coupled model
Authors: Delelegn S. W. , Pathirana A. , Gersonius B. , Adeogun A. G. , Vairavamoorthy K.
Published: March 2011

This paper presents a multi-objective optimisation (MOO) tool for urban drainage management that is based on a 1D2D coupled model of SWMM5 (1D sub-surface flow model) and BreZo (2D surface flow model). This coupled model is linked with NSGA-II, which is an Evolutionary Algorithm-based optimiser. Previously the combination of a surface/sub-surface flow model and evolutionary optimisation has been considered to be infeasible due to the computational demands. The 1D2D coupled model used here shows a computational efficiency that is acceptable for optimisation. This technological advance is the result of the application of a triangular irregular discretisation process and an explicit finite volume solver in the 2D surface flow model. Besides that, OpenMP based parallelisation was employed at optimiser level to further improve the computational speed of the MOO tool. The MOO tool has been applied to an existing sewer network in West Garforth, UK. This application demonstrates the advantages of using multi-objective optimisation by providing an easy-to-comprehend Pareto-optimal front (relating investment cost to expected flood damage) that could be used for decision making processes, without repeatedly going through the modelling–optimisation stage.
Comparison of saline wastewater treatment performance of SBR with repeated starvation under aerobic and non-aerobic conditions
Authors: Moon B. H. , Kim S. S , Yoon C. H. , Park K. H.
Published: March 2011

This study investigated the effects of repeated starvation and feeding on the performance of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) used for treating saline wastewater. The effects of aerobic and non-aerobic conditions on the sludge during starvation were evaluated to recover the performance of the SBR in terms of floc size and pollutant removal after resuming wastewater feeding. The floc size, fractal dimension, sludge volume index (SVI), specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), and pollutant removal efficiency were monitored. Experiment results revealed that the floc size and fractal dimensions decreased during starvation under both aerobic and non-aerobic conditions and increased after re-feeding wastewater. However, the difference in floc physical characteristics and performance depended on the starvation condition and was pronounced as starvation and re-feeding were repeated. The floc size and fractal dimensions decreased from 152.7 to 72.2 and 1.98 to 1.79 at the end of the fourth starvation period, resulting in deterioration of the sludge settleability and effluent quality. On the other hand, the floc size and fractal dimensions decreased from 158.7 to 135.7 and 1.95 to 1.81 at the end of the fourth starvation period but remained relatively constant after sludge adaptation. Some correlations were observed between the parameters monitored in this study. The results showed that maintaining the sludge under non-aerobic conditions was an effective strategy for reducing the effects of repeated starvation.
Evaluating the success of sewer reconstruction by using carbamazepine as anthropogenic marker in groundwater
Authors: Ruzicka Katerina , Zessner Matthias , Blaschke Alfred P. , Fenz Robert , Clara Manfred , Kroiss Helmut
Published: March 2011

The antiepileptic drug carbamazepine is a useful anthropogenic marker in groundwater to detect and quantify sewer exfiltration. In 2003 its application on a city wide scale enabled the identification of a trunk sewer in extremely bad structural status with an exfiltration (of wastewater into groundwater) rate in the adjacent area of around 5% compared to an average of approximately 1% in other parts of the city. After a reconstruction of the trunk sewer investigations were carried out again in 2008. Due to the reconstruction a decrease in exfiltration to roughly 3% could be achieved, which equals a reduction of exfiltration by about 45%. Thus carbamazepine emerged as suitable anthropogenic marker to assess sewer exfiltration and to evaluate the success of reconstruction measurements on a regional scale.
A built-in zero valent iron anaerobic reactor to enhance treatment of azo dye wastewater
Authors: Zhang Yaobin , Jing Yanwen , Quan Xie , Liu Yiwen , Onu Pascal
Published: March 2011

Waste scrap iron was packed into an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor to form a zero valent iron (ZVI) - UASB reactor system for treatment of azo dye wastewater. The ZVI acted as a reductant to decrease ORP in the reactor by more than 40 mv and functioned as an acid buffer to increase the pH in the reactor from 5.44 to 6.29, both of which improved the performance of the anaerobic reactor. As a result, the removal of color and COD in this reactor was 91.7% and 53%, respectively, which was significantly higher than that of a reference UASB reactor without ZVI. The UV-visible spectrum demonstrated that absorption bands of the azo dye from the ZVI-UASB reactor were substantially reduced. The ZVI promoted methanogenesis, which was confirmed by an increase in CH4 content in the biogas from 47.9% to 64.8%. The ZVI bed was protected well from rusting, which allowed it to function stably. The effluent could be further purified only by pH adjustment because the Fe2+ released from ZVI served as a flocculent.
Elimination of NH3 and odor from composting by biotrickling filter and preliminary exploration on molecular biology
Authors: Xue Niantao , Wang Qunhui , Wu Chuanfu , Zhao Peng , Xie Weimin
Published: March 2011

A biotrickling filter was focused on treatment of odorous NH3 gas, along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other odorous gases during cattle manure composting. The biotrickling filter could treat NH3, the main composition, with removal efficiencies of close to 100% because NH4+ was bio-oxidized in the biofilm to NO3− resulting final NO3− concentrations of about 1000 mg/L. Results of polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) revealed that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, Nitrosospira sp, and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, Nitrococcus mobilis, coexisted in the biofilm. There were 23 kinds of VOCs detected in the exhaust gas. A significant observation was that the biofilm itself of the biotrickling biofilter released VOCs. The odor concentrations of inlet and outlet gases were 1425 and 110, respectively, with removal efficiency of 92.2%, suggesting that the biotrickling filter was effective for treatment of odorous gases during composting.
Effect of triclosan on protozoa in wastewater treating bioreactors
Authors: Krishnakumar B. , Anupama V. N. , Anju S. , Rugminisukumar M.
Published: March 2011

The effect of antimicrobial chemical, triclosan (TCS) on protozoa present in aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors for wastewater treatment is reported in this study. Bioreactor sludge ciliated protozoa such as Spirostomum, Cyclidium and Colpoda and flagellated protozoa Mastigella were exposed to TCS at 1 mg/L level in batch cultures. The response of TCS on protozoa was followed by microscopic observation of the sludge at specific time intervals. Among the protozoa in aerobic sludge, Colpoda exhibited strong sensitivity to triclosan and the cells distorted and burst in 20 minutes period. Mastigella and Spirostomum were resistant to triclosan for first two days, but afterwards the mobility was found declined and subsequently mortality increased to 100% in four and five days respectively. Anaerobic sludge ciliate, Cyclidium exhibited morphological distortion and motility decline after 1 hour exposure to triclosan. The sludge flocs were affected and pelagic cell count declined by the presence of triclosan at the tested level.
Biological decolorization of industrial dyes by Candida tropicalis and Bacillus firmus
Authors: Arora Sucharita , Saini Harvinder Singh , Singh Kamaljit
Published: March 2011

Disperse dyes are chiefly used by textile industries for the coloration of polyester and cellulose triacetate and their blended fibres. Their extensive use and recalcitrant nature, high tinctorial strength renders the voluminous textile effluents intensively colored and causes environmental concerns. Decolorization of representative members of Dianix CC and Dianix S brands (DyStar Pvt. Ltd.) of disperse dyes were tested with Candida tropicalis and Bacillus firmus isolated respectively from contaminated soil samples and sludge of a domestic sewage drain. While both the cultures efficiently remove color from the aqueous solutions of the dyes, the yeast culture was found to decolorize most of the tested disperse dyes through biotransformation, the bacterial culture showed color removal mainly by adsorption on the cell pellets. Formation of cleavage products such as p-nitroaniline was observed in the case of Dianix Orange E-3R, indicating reductive cleavage of the azo linkage of the dye.
Evaluation of on-site wastewater system Escherichia coli contributions to shallow groundwater in coastal North Carolina
Authors: Humphrey C. P. , O’Driscoll M. A. , Zarate M. A.
Published: March 2011

The study goal was to determine if on-site wastewater systems (OSWWS) installed in coastal areas were effective at reducing indicator bacteria densities before discharge to groundwater. Groundwater Escherichia coli (E. coli) densities and groundwater levels adjacent to 16 OSWWS in three different soil groups (sand, sandy loam, and sandy clay loam) were monitored and compared to background groundwater conditions on four occasions between March 2007 and February 2008 in coastal North Carolina. Groundwater beneath OSWWS had significantly (p≤0.05) lower densities of E. coli than septic tank effluent, but significantly higher densities of E. coli than background conditions for each soil type. Twenty three percent of all groundwater samples near OSWWS had E. coli densities that exceeded the EPA freshwater contact standards (single sample 235 cfu/100 mL) for surface waters. Groundwater E. coli densities near OSWWS were highest during shallow water table periods. The results indicate that increasing the required vertical separation distance from drainfield trenches to seasonal high water table could improve shallow groundwater quality.
Croatian issue and the idea of united Yugoslavian people
Authors: Bozic Sofija
Published: March 2011

Magazine 'Vidici' (Belgrade, June 1938-July 1940) was unofficial organ of Yugoslavian culture club which struggled for unity of Serbians, Croatians and Slovenians under collective Yugoslavian culture. Magazine, as did the club, brought together intellectuals who had Yugoslavian determination, no matter their nationality, and among them were some of the most prominent people of those times: Jovan Erdeljanovic, Milan Budimir, Vasilj Popovic Vladimir Corovic, Viktor Novak, Petar Skok, Niko Bartulovic and others. They considered meeting points and controversial questions of Serbs and Croatians, following, on one side, attempts to resolve dissidences between those two nations, and on the other side, extreme tendencies which questioned the results of the effort to release tension which threatened being of Yugoslavia. They've punctuated the idea of united Yugoslavian people due to historical progress of Serbs and Croatians and due to complexity of international circumstances which requested centralization of all inner forces for protection of outside dangers.
Hiszpania w powie ściach Gordany Kuic
Authors: Filipek Małgorzata
Published: March 2011

(poljski) Gordana Kuic nale?y do grona tych pisarzy, kt?rym literatura serbska zawdzi?cza obraz Hiszpanii i jej kultury. W siedmiu powie?ciach Miris kise na Balkanu, Cvat lipe na Balkanu, Smiraj dana na Balkanu, Duhovi nad Balkanom, Legenda o Luni Levi, Bajka o Benjaminu Baruhu, Balada o Bohoreti pisarka sk?ada ho?d najbli?szej rodzinie oraz swemu narodowi ?ydom sefardyjskim, kt?rzy wyp?dzeni w 1492 roku z Hiszpanii osiedlili si? na rozleg?ych terenach Imperium Osma?skiego. W ci?gu wiek?w zachowali oni j?zyk i kultur? swojej ojczyzny a dramatyczne do?wiadczenia nie zmieni?y ich pozytywnego stosunku do Hiszpanii. Pisarka ?ledz?c losy bohater?w powie?ci na przestrzeni pi?ciu stuleci (od 1492 do 1991), tworzy obraz, w kt?rym elementy zaczerpni?te z hiszpa?skiej rzeczywisto?ci ??cz? si? ulotnymi wra?eniami zmys?owymi z wywo?ywanymi przez wspomnienia o tym kraju.
'Slovo o umu' svetoga Save - pitanje njegova izvora
Authors: Kalezic Dimitrije
Published: March 2011

nema
Nepoznati paraklis svetome Simeonu i svetitelju Savi
Authors: Ubiparip Milanka , Trijic Vladan
Published: March 2011

nema
Car Lazar i carica Milica u grckoj knjizevnosti
Authors: Djordjevic-Jovanovic Jovanka
Published: March 2011

nema
Istorijska osnova nastanka pesme Knjaza Nikole 'Onamo, 'namo za brda ona'
Authors: Stojancevic Vladimir
Published: March 2011

nema
Mesenchymal Hamartoma of the Liver with Inversion of Chromosome 19
Authors: Shetty Shashirekha , Pinto Alfredo , Roland Birgitte
Published: March 2011

A mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver (MHL) from a 20-month-old girl was studied cytogenetically. The karyotype was 46,XX,inv(19)(p13q13.4)[38], and fluorescence in situ hybridization using bacterial artificial chromosome probes refined the breakpoints to 19p13.11 and the subtelomeric region of 19q. This is the first report of inversion (19) in MHL, and the q-arm breakpoint is different from that reported previously in other rearrangements.
Azo Dyes, Their Environmental Effects, and Defining a Strategy for Their Biodegradation and Detoxification
Authors: Gudelj Ivana , Hrenović Jasna , Dragičević Tibela , Delaš Frane , Šoljan Vice , Gudelj Hrvoje
Published: March 2011

Azo Boje, Njihov Utjecaj Na Okoliš I Potencijal Biotehnološke Strategije Za Njihovu Biorazgradnju I Detoksifikaciju

Intenzivan industrijski razvoj popraćen je sve većom kompleksnošću sastava otpadnih voda, što u smislu učinkovite zaštite okoliša i održivog razvoja nalaže potrebu pospješivanja kvalitete postojećih te uvođenjem novih postupaka obrade otpadnih voda, kao iznimno važnog čimbenika u interakciji čovjeka i okoliša. Posebnu znanstveno-tehnološku pozornost zahtijevaju novosintetizirani ksenobiotici, poput azo-boja, koji su u prirodi veoma teško razgradivi. Azo-boje podložne su bioakumulaciji, a zbog alergijskih, kancerogenih, mutagenih i teratogenih svojstava nerijetko su prijetnja zdravlju ljudi i očuvanju okoliša. Primjenu fizikalnokemijskih metoda za uklanjanje azo-boja iz otpadnih voda često ograničavaju visoke cijene, potrebe za odlaganjem nastalog štetnog mulja ili nastanak toksičnih sastojaka razgradnje. Biotehnološki postupci su, zbog mogućnosti ekonomične provedbe i postizanja potpune biorazgradnje, a time i detoksifikacije, sve zastupljeniji u obradi svih vrsta otpadnih voda, pa tako i onih koje sadržavaju azo-boje.
Undiagnosed AIDS in Patients with Progressive Dyspnoea: An Occupational Risk for Healthcare Workers in Croatia
Authors: Miše Kornelija , Vučković Maja , Jurčev-Savičević Anamarija , Gudelj Ivan , Perić Irena , Miše Joško
Published: March 2011

Undiagnosed AIDS in Patients with Progressive Dyspnoea: An Occupational Risk for Healthcare Workers in Croatia

Pulmonary diseases are well documented and diverse in many patients with HIV in clinical stages 3 and 4. It is not unusual that these patients, most of whom do not know that they are already HIV-infected, are first examined and hospitalised by respiratory medicine specialists. While HIV-infection is relatively simple to diagnose if accompanied by advanced clinical manifestations and is regularly checked in patients with increased risk, this is not the case in low-risk patients, particularly in countries with low-level HIV epidemic and therefore low index of suspicion. Regular examination involves a series of tests, often including bronchoscopy with transbronchal lung biopsy in order to identify an interstitial lung disease and/or progressive dyspnoea. It is not uncommon that patients provide false or incomplete information about their lifestyle, which can mislead the clinician. At this point, HIV-infection is usually not suspected and healthcare workers may not strictly be following the safety principles which are otherwise applied when HIV-infection is known or suspect, although universal precautions are routine practice. At this point, the risk of exposure is the highest and HIV-transmission to healthcare workers is the most likely to occur. The cases presented here indicate that patients with progressive dyspnoea, which is typical of interstitial lung diseases, should undergo HIV-testing as a part of good clinical practice, even in a country with low-level HIV epidemic.
Determination of Lead in Croatian Wines by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
Authors: Tariba Blanka , Pizent Alica , Kljaković-Gašpić Zorana
Published: March 2011

Determination of Lead in Croatian Wines by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A method has been developed for direct determination of lead in wine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) with Zeeman-effect background correction. The thermal behaviour of Pb during pyrolysis and atomisation stages was investigated without matrix modifier and in the presence of Pd(NO3)2, Pd(NO3)2+ Mg(NO3)2× 6H2O, and NH4H2PO4+ Mg(NO3)2× 6H2O as matrix modifiers. A simple 1:1 dilution of wine samples with Pd(NO3)2as a matrix modifier proved optimal for accurate determination of Pb in wine. Mean recoveries were 106 % for red and 114 % for white wine, and the detection limit was 3 μg L-1. Within-run precision of measurements for red and white wine was 2.1 % and 1.8 %, respectively. The proposed method was applied for analysis of 23 Croatian wines. Median Pb concentrations were 33 μg L-1, range (16 to 49) μg L-1in commercially available wines and 46 μg L-1, range (14 to 559) μg L-1in home-made wines. There were no statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in Pb concentration between commercial and home-made wines or between red and white wines.
Cadmium Toxicity Revisited: Focus on Oxidative Stress Induction and Interactions with Zinc and Magnesium
Authors: Matović Vesna , Buha Aleksandra , Bulat Zorica , Đukić-Ćosić Danijela
Published: March 2011

Cadmium Toxicity Revisited: Focus on Oxidative Stress Induction and Interactions with Zinc and Magnesium

Discovered in late 1817, cadmium is currently one of the most important occupational and environmental pollutants. It is associated with renal, neurological, skeletal and other toxic effects, including reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. There is still much to find out about its mechanisms of action, biomarkers of critical effects, and ways to reduce health risks. At present, there is no clinically efficient agent to treat cadmium poisoning due to predominantly intracellular location of cadmium ions. This article gives a brief review of cadmium-induced oxidative stress and its interactions with essential elements zinc and magnesium as relevant mechanisms of cadmium toxicity. It draws on available literature data and our own results, which indicate that dietary supplementation of either essential element has beneficial effect under condition of cadmium exposure. We have also tackled the reasons why magnesium addition prevails over zinc and discussed the protective role of magnesium during cadmium exposure. These findings could help to solve the problem of prophylaxis and therapy of increased cadmium body burden.
Application of Kernel Estimation in Analysis of Labour Productivity of the Largest Polish Firms in 2004-2008
Authors: Batóg Barbara , Batóg Jacek , Mojsiewicz Magdalena
Published: March 2011

Application of Kernel Estimation in Analysis of Labour Productivity of the Largest Polish Firms in 2004-2008

The parametric methods of statistical and econometric analysis are not always useful in examination of labour productivity of economic entities. In previous works the Authors found that the labour productivity is characterized by the lack of stable regularities in the range of structure and interdependency. In that case it is possible to apply non-parametric methods. In the paper the Authors tried to model the distributions of the labour productivity in time by means of kernel estimation using classical approaches (Epanechnikov, Rosenblatt) and the new proposition called kernel B. It seems that proposed approach is a useful merger of the statistical modeling theory and economic practice which allows to analyze the changes in the labour productivity - the essential factor for long-term economic growth and the welfare of society. The empirical results show that the labour productivity in the largest Polish companies had increased in 2004-2008 but the growths had not the same dynamics in different economic sectors.
Six Weeks of Balance Training Improves Sensorimotor Function in Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability
Authors: Sefton Joellen M. , Yarar Ceren , Hicks-Little Charlie A. , Berry Jack W. , Cordova Mitchell L.
Published: March 2011

Study Design

Prospective cohort study.

Objective

To assess the effect of 6 weeks of balance training on sensorimotor measures previously found to be deficient in participants with chronic ankle instability (CAI).

Background

CAI is the tendency toward repeated ankle sprains and recurring symptoms, occurring in 40% to 70% of individuals who have previously sustained a lateral ankle sprain. Recent studies have found deficits in sensorimotor measures in individuals with CAI. As balance training is a common component of ankle rehabilitation, understanding its effect on the sensorimotor system in individuals with CAI may enable us to optimize protocols to better utilize this rehabilitation method.

Methods

Twelve participants with CAI and 9 healthy volunteers participated. Independent variables were group (CAI, control) and time (pretraining, posttraining). Participants with CAI who completed a 6-week balance training program and healthy controls who did not get any training were pretested and posttested at the beginning and at the end of 6 weeks.

Results

The individuals in the CAI group who performed balance training demonstrated better performance than control participants on baseline-adjusted posttraining measures of dynamic balance in the anterior medial (P = .021), medial (P = .048), and posterior medial directions (P = .030); motoneuron pool excitability Hmax/Mmax ratio (P = .044) and single-limb presynaptic inhibition (P = .012); and joint position sense inversion variable error (P = .017). It may be of note that no systematic differences were detected for static balance or plantar flexion joint position sense tasks.

Conclusions

After 6 weeks of balance training, individuals with CAI demonstrated enhanced dynamic balance, inversion joint position sense, and changes in motoneuron pool excitability compared to healthy controls who did not train.

Level of Evidence

Therapy, level 2b. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2011;41(2):81–89, Epub 10 November 2010. doi:10.2519/jospt.2011.3365
“I cannot live without a macaroon!” Food, Hunger, and the Dangers of Modern American Culture in Edna St. Vincent Millay's Aria da Capo
Authors: Fahy Thomas
Published: March 2011

Most theatre-goers in 1919 would have recognized the dual significance of the banquet in Edna St. Vincent Millay's Aria da Capo as a reference to both the war effort and elite popular culture. Two years earlier, the Food Administration had launched an aggressive publicity and volunteer campaign for food conservation. The decadent food being eaten in the opening scene of the play, however, raises questions about the effectiveness of these efforts and the propaganda used to achieve them. At the same time, this banquet offers a parody of the growing entertainment and restaurant culture in New York City. By 1913, New York was the restaurant capital of the United States. Lobster palaces and other ostentatious dining establishments were hotspots for prosperous urbanites and the uptown theatre crowd – people seeking an escape from everyday life to indulge in material pleasures and the illusions of extreme wealth. The meanings associated with food here reinforce Millay's message about some of the dangerous excesses of American culture more broadly – a culture that often valued escapism over social and political engagement and encouraged audiences to forget history rather than to contemplate its consequences. Just as this play condemns the brutality of war and the coercive power of nationalistic propaganda, it warns that the escapist pleasures of entertainment and modernist art could be socially irresponsible as well. They could, as the title of the play suggests, lead people and nations into thoughtless repetition, into committing the same atrocities over and over again.
A Hasty Kind of Genius: Noël Coward's Hay Fever
Authors: Anderson Donald
Published: March 2011

Noël Coward's Hay Fever is a somewhat overlooked jewel of the Coward canon, even as it illustrates why Coward the writer has defied early predictions and remained a vital cultural figure. Written with great haste in 1925, the play examines post-war edginess about interpersonal trust and the games people play to protect themselves. Coward drew, in part, upon the eccentricities of renowned actress Laurette Taylor to fashion his central character Judith Bliss and, through her, reveals many of his own insecurities about trusting others. The result is a play not only of rapid-fire machinations but also of brittle but telling characterizations that have not lost their timeliness.
When Caged Birds Sing: The Many-folded Subject in the Baroque World of Heian Japanese Women's Writing
Authors: Houen Christina
Published: March 2011

In this article, the world of Heian women's literature is interpreted through Deleuzian concepts of desire and becoming and figures of the rhizome, the Baroque fold and origami, supported by Elizabeth Grosz's concept of art as originating in the impulse to seduction. Within the constraints of movement, dress and behaviour imposed by a polygamous hierarchical court society, Heian women created a rich body of literature that celebrated and subtly critiqued their world. Through aesthetic intensification of form and imagination within a labyrinthine cloistered society, they folded their fictional and autobiographical subjectivities into intricate patterns of desire. The richly described and imagined world of their fictional and confessional literature, still read, translated and transformed into other art forms, celebrates the freedom of the imagination even in confined and controlled circumstances.
Ireland's Architecture of Containment: Concealed Citizens and Sites Bereft of Bodies
Authors: Greene Kellie
Published: March 2011

With Irish Independence being granted in1922, the Irish Catholic Hierarchy and the Irish Politicians with their new found power embarked on the complex and highly fraught project of forging a new Irish Nationalist identity. In the decades which followed, the officially named “Irish Freestate” became a nationwide network of asylums, reformatory schools, industrial schools, Magdalen Asylums and Mother and Baby homes. A mere two years after the declaration of Irish independence, it was reported that “there were more children in industrial schools in the twenty-six counties of Ireland than were in all the industrial schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland put together,” (Raftery, O'Sullivan: 1999: 69, 72). Likewise, Rafferty and O'Sullivan claim that between 1869 and 1969 approximately 105,000 children were committed to industrial schools and that at its peak, the system consisted of 71 such institutions (1999: 20).

This paper will draw on the experiences of my younger brother and I as we spent a combined total of 18 years in four such institutions in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s. In the terms of much of the current literature on what is sometimes referred to as “coercive confinement” (O'Sullivan & O'Donnell, 2008: 32) we are amongst thousands of survivors of a state-sponsored and Church-administered system that as An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern acknowledged in his ‘apology’ speech of 1999, all too often “denied children the care and security that they needed”, and worse still, perpetrated “grave wrongs”.

With the recent conclusion of our 17 year legal battle with the Irish Catholic church and State and with research I am undertaking for my PhD project, “Remembering and (Re)Presenting Lives Within Care” I will recall the event where my brother and I were taken beneath the Four Courts in Dublin, an airless subterranean trap, and asked to trade away our voices. We have learned that in the face of the most insidious forms of State violence, one doesn't breathe to speak, one needs to speak to breathe. This is the story of our combat breathing.
Punitiveness and the Criminalisation of the Other: State Wards, Unlawful Non-citizens and Indigenous Youth
Authors: Carrington Kerry
Published: March 2011

This paper explores the genealogies of bio-power that cut across punitive state interventions aimed at regulating or normalising several distinctive ‘problem’ or ‘suspect’ deviant populations, such as state wards, non-lawful citizens and Indigenous youth. It begins by making some general comments about the theoretical approach to bio-power taken in this paper. It then outlines the distinctive features of bio-power in Australia and how these intersected with the emergence of penal welfarism to govern the unruly, unchaste, unlawful, and the primitive. The paper draws on three examples to illustrate the argument – the gargantuan criminalisation rates of Aboriginal youth, the history of incarcerating state wards in state institutions, and the mandatory detention of unlawful non-citizens and their children. The construction of Indigenous people as a dangerous presence, alongside the construction of the unruly neglected children of the colony — the larrikin descendants of convicts as necessitating special regimes of internal controls and institutions, found a counterpart in the racial and other exclusionary criteria operating through immigration controls for much of the twentieth century. In each case the problem child or population was expelled from the social body through forms of bio-power, rationalised as strengthening, protecting or purifying the Australian population.
Death in a Dry River: Black Life, White Property, Parched Justice
Authors: Perera Suvendrini , Pugliese Joseph
Published: March 2011

This essay deals with the sentence handed down in April 2010 on the death of the 33 year-old Kumantaye Ryder in the dry creek bed of the Todd River in Alice Springs, Central Australia. The riverbed, we argue, is a racially marked and politically charged location that plays an historical and continuing role in defining relations between settler and colonized. We situate our analysis of this site in a context where autonomy over and access to land, and the significance of remote townships and town camps, are bitterly contested as part of a wider clash over Aboriginal subjectivities, citizenships and futures. Drawing on Cheryl Harris's critical insights (1993) into how in the United States ‘rights in property are contingent on, intertwined with, and conflated with race’, we examine the sentencing of the accused in the death of Kumantaye Ryder against the multiple meanings of property. We conclude our analysis by underscoring the manner in which racialised formations of law and property work to secure, entitle and affirm the very possibility of life and future itself.
State Violence in Sri Lanka: The International Community and the Myth of ‘Normalisation’
Authors: Thampapillai Samuel
Published: March 2011

This essay examines the foundational role of state violence in the context of the recently concluded military conflict between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sri Lanka's conflict, I argue, enables a broader global discourse concerning state violence. I proceed to analyse the operation of state violence in terms of a crucial instrument of counterinsurgency, in which the collective punishment of Tamil civilians presented a Faustian bargain between physical security and political rights. Situated in this context, I demonstrate how the discourse of human rights, in the absence of a jurisprudence of group rights, was itself conducive of state violence. In the course of my analysis, I bring into focus how the discourse of liberation too, created its own legitimising myths. Individual human rights were placed subordinate to the LTTE's privileging of ‘armed struggle’ as the chosen mechanism of liberating the ‘group.’ Both the divergent political narratives of the state and the LTTE, and the use of violence to prosecute it, had a contagious relationship with each other. The use of violence by each party served to confirm the legitimising myths of the other, contributing to the conflict's escalation. Counter claims of genocide and counter-terrorism paradoxically blunted the real questions which were: what kind of violence did the Sri Lankan state commit against Tamil civilians, on what scale and with what intentions? In the latter part of my essay, I examine the wide-ranging implications generated by such questions.
The Trouble with Zombies: Bare Life,Muselmännerand Displaced People
Authors: Stratton Jon
Published: March 2011

This article considers the increase in media representations of zombies during the first decade of the 2000s. It argues that a connection can be read between the new preoccupation with zombies and anxieties over the apparent threat posed by those without rights attempting to enter Western countries. The article sets up a theoretical argument using the work of Giorgio Agamben. Taking on board Agamben's discussion of ‘bare life’, the article follows Agamben in making a link between this idea and the Muselmann, the Jew reduced to the walking dead in the concentration and death camps. For Agamben, bare life is central to the functioning of the modern state. The article suggests that bare life is a way of connecting the Muselmann with the zombie as that monster has been elaborated in films since George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). Indeed, where Agamben argues that the werewolf was the characterising monster of the premodern era, this article argues that the zombie is the characterising monster of the modern era. The article goes on to make the connection between bare life, Muselmänner, zombies and displaced people, most commonly understood as asylum seekers.
« Le règne de la nécessité » borne-t-il l'émancipation sociale ?
Authors: Sobel Richard
Published: March 2011

Résumé Quels rapports peuvent se nouer entre travail et liberté, dès lors que le travail n’est plus essentiellement vécu comme la marque sociale de l’aliénation de la liberté dans l’économie ? C’est Marx qui élabore pour la première fois et avec beaucoup de rigueur cette question, en formulant la théorie des deux règnes, celui de la nécessité et celui de la liberté dans le cadre de l’utopie communiste. Pour autant, sa position du problème n’est pas sans maintenir toute une série d’ambiguïtés. En nous appuyant sur les analyses contrastées de Simone Weil et d’André Gorz, nous montrons la dépendance de toute pensée de l’émancipation vis-à-vis d’une philosophie de la liberté qui assume (Gorz) ou qui n’assume pas (Weil) une certaine épaisseur irréductible de tout collectif humain, c’est-à-dire une indépassable hétéronomie de la condition humaine.
Existe-t-il une fracture numérique dans l'usage de l'administration en ligne ?
Authors: Bacache-Beauvallet Maya , Bounie David , François Abel
Published: March 2011

Résumé Cet article étudie l’usage de l’administration en ligne afin de déterminer si, parmi les utilisateurs d’Internet, les services e-administratifs bénéficient davantage à certaines catégories de la population. Nous proposons trois types de déterminants à ces usages : les contraintes de l’offre par les administrations, les besoins des administrés et les coûts d’accès et de traitement des informations en ligne. À partir de données françaises individuelles de 2005 ( insee ) et en contrôlant le biais de sélection lié à l’usage d’Internet, nous montrons que, parmi les utilisateurs d’Internet, les personnes qui utilisent plus les sites administratifs bénéficient de transferts sociaux et ont des compétences et un usage plus développés d’Internet et de l’informatique. De plus, les revenus n’ont pas d’effets sur la probabilité conditionnelle d’usage de l’e-administration. Ces résultats indiquent que la fracture numé­rique ne s’accompagne pas d’une fracture liée aux revenus dans l’usage de l’e-administration. En revanche, nous montrons qu’il existe une fracture liée aux compétences informatiques et au niveau de formation.
La dissuasion des homicides volontaires
Authors: Vaillant Nicolas Gérard , Dervaux Benoît
Published: March 2011

Résumé La contribution d’Ehrlich [1973] a impulsé le développement de recherches économétriques portant sur l’effet dissuasif de la sanction légale. Notre recherche prolonge cette littérature à partir de données de panel inédites, relatives aux trente ressorts de cour d’appel de France métropolitaine pour les années 1988 à 1993. Pour des raisons de disponibilité restreinte des statistiques criminelles, les homicides volontaires sont spécifiquement étudiés. Les résultats confirment l’hypothèse de l’effet dissuasif du risque d’incarcération et de sa durée.
La relation entre flux d'entrées nets et performance des fonds
Authors: Bellando Raphaëlle , Tran-Dieu Linh
Published: March 2011

Résumé Cet article étudie la relation entre les flux nets et la rentabilité relative des fonds actions français pendant la période 1992-2007. En utilisant la méthode des doubles clusters, on montre qu’il existe une relation convexe entre les flux nets et le rang de performance d’un fonds pour l’année précédente. Ainsi, au sein des fonds « stars », le rang de performance influence positivement l’attractivité du fonds, alors que pour les fonds de performance relative moyenne ou faible il n’y a pas d’effet des performances passées. Nous montrons également que les classements des fonds se fondent vraisemblablement sur des horizons courts, au sein de catégories distinguant seulement la spécialisation géographique des fonds et que le risque individuel des fonds ne semble pas affecter ces choix. Toutefois, la relation flux performance est quantitativement et qualitativement moins marquée que dans le cas américain, ce qui traduit probablement les spécificités françaises en matière de distribution des fonds. Comme dans le cas américain, la convexité est plus importante pour les « jeunes » fonds. Enfin, la convexité n’apparaît que dans les segments les moins spécialisés du marché (France et Europe).
Chocs, chocs de volatilité et contagion entre les marchés boursiers
Authors: Bensafta Kamel Malik , Gervasio Semedo
Published: March 2011

Résumé Cet article étudie, à travers un échantillon de onze indices, la dynamique multi-variée des rendements de différents marchés boursiers d’Europe, d’Amérique du Nord et d’Asie entre 1985 et 2007, particulièrement en période de crise. Les moyennes conditionnelles des rendements des marchés sont modélisées à l’aide d’une spécification var contrainte, tandis que leurs variances conditionnelles sont modélisées par une spécification garch multi-variée. L’objectif de l’article est de montrer l’existence de multiples régimes de variance obtenus par l’algorithme icss hétéroscédastique et d’utiliser cette particularité pour corriger la mesure de la persistance des volatilités. De même, il estime les transmissions en variance et permet de tester la non-contagion basée sur la stabilité des corrélations croisées. Si on ne peut rejeter l’hypothèse de corrélation constante, alors on ne peut rejeter l’hypothèse d’absence de contagion. Nos résultats sur la transmission en moyenne confirment l’effet significatif des prix américains sur les prix des actions des autres marchés. Également, il y a transmission presque en sens unique de la volatilité du marché américain vers les centres. Il existe aussi des transmissions régionales au sein de l’Europe et de l’Asie. Concernant les corrélations croisées des marchés, l’analyse dynamique montre leur caractère asymétrique et instable. Enfin, l’étude de la corrélation en période de crise indique que, mis à part le krach américain d’octobre 1987, toutes les crises ne sont pas systématiquement contagieuses. Au final, il n’est pas aussi évident que l’ouverture progressive des marchés et la libéralisation financière isolent les marchés des crises financières diverses. Les crises et le phénomène de contagion en période de crise peuvent être considérés comme des processus d’ajustement des marchés qui nécessitent cependant des mécanismes de régulation et de supervision. vargarchicss
L'impact de la concurrence sur l'efficience des banques
Authors: Lapteacru Ion , Nys Emmanuelle
Published: March 2011

Résumé L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser l’influence de la concurrence bancaire, et non de la concentration, sur l’efficience de coût des banques dans les peco , pour la période 1999-2006. Pour cela, deux outils (une version individuelle de la H-statistique de Panzar et Rosse et l’indice de Lerner) sont utilisés pour mesurer le pouvoir de marché des banques. Nos résultats mettent en évidence que l’efficience de coût des banques augmente lorsque le niveau de concurrence diminue, posant ainsi la question du niveau optimal de concurrence que la réglementation doit favoriser.