bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Incidence of Esophageal Bolus Impaction
Authors: Larsson Helen , Bergquist Henrik , Bove Mogens
Published: January 2011

Objectives

Eosinophilic esophagitis is a disease associated with dysphagia and has a seasonal variation in incidence. The primary aim of this study was to search for a potential seasonal variation in the incidence of esophageal foreign bodies or food impaction. In addition, after exclusion of structural or accidental causes, the authors sought to explore if such a variation would differ between patients with or without atopic disorders.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

NÄL Medical Centre Hospital, a secondary referral hospital.

Subjects and Methods

A total of 314 consecutive cases of esophageal bolus impaction from 2004 through 2009 were included and analyzed regarding seasonal variation in incidence. The analysis was repeated after exclusion of cases with sharp items, cancer, or atresia and again separately after subdividing this group according to presence of atopy.

Results

The overall incidence of esophageal bolus impaction was significantly higher during summer and fall than during the corresponding winter and spring period. In cases with atopic disorders and soft foods or meat bolus obstruction (n = 90), the incidence during the fall was significantly higher than that during the winter, and the incidence during the summer and fall was significantly higher than the corresponding incidence during the winter and spring. This variation was not present in patients without any signs or symptoms of atopy.

Conclusions

There was a significant seasonal variation in the incidence of acute esophageal bolus impaction. This variation was pronounced in patients with a coexisting atopic diathesis but was nonsignificant in patients without atopy.
Cost‐Identification Analysis of Total Laryngectomy
Authors: Dedhia Raj C. , Smith Kenneth J. , Weissfeld Joel L. , Saul Melissa I. , Lee Steve C. , Myers Eugene N. , Johnson Jonas T.
Published: January 2011

Objectives

To understand the contribution of intraoperative and postoperative hospital costs to total hospital costs, examine the costs associated with specific hospital services in the postoperative period, and recognize the impact of patient factors on hospital costs.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Large tertiary care teaching hospital system.

Subjects and Methods

Using the Pittsburgh Head and Neck Organ‐Specific Database, 119 patients were identified as having total laryngectomy with bilateral selective neck dissection and primary closure from 1999 to 2009. Cost data were obtained for 112 patients. Costs include fixed and variable costs, adjusted to 2010 US dollars using the Consumer Price Index.

Results

Mean total hospital costs were $29 563 (range, $10 915 to $120 345). Operating room costs averaged 24% of total hospital costs, whereas room charges, respiratory therapy, laboratory, pharmacy, and radiology accounted for 38%, 14%, 8%, 7%, and 3%, respectively. Median length of stay was 9 days (range, 6‐43), and median Charlson comorbidity index score was 8 (2‐16). Patients with ≥1 day in the intensive care unit had significantly higher hospital costs ($46 831 vs $24 601, P <. 01). The authors found no significant cost differences with stratification based on previous radiation therapy ($27 598 vs $29 915 with no prior radiation, P =. 62) or hospital readmission within 30 days ($29 483 vs $29 609 without readmission, P =. 97).

Conclusion

This is one of few studies in surgery and the first in otolaryngology to analyze hospital costs for a relatively standardized procedure. Further work will include cost analysis from multiple centers with investigation of global cost drivers.
Comprehensive Vestibular and Balance Testing in the Dizzy Pediatric Population
Authors: O’Reilly Robert C. , Greywoode Jewell , Morlet Thierry , Miller Freeman , Henley John , Church Chris , Campbell Jeffrey , Beaman Jason , Cox Anne Marie , Zwicky Emily , Bean Charles , Falcheck Stephen
Published: January 2011

Objective

To describe the spectrum of balance disease in a large population of children presenting to a tertiary care vestibular and balance laboratory.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary care pediatric hospital.

Main Outcome Measures

Results of audiometric, vestibular, and balance tests and final diagnosis.

Subjects and Methods

Retrospective review of audiometric, vestibular, balance testing, and final diagnosis from a patient database.

Results

Between September 2003 and September 2007, 132 children were evaluated at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children Vestibular Disorders Program. Sixty‐nine of the patients were boys and 63 were girls. The average age was 9.7 ± 5.0 years (range, 1‐17 years). Although not all were able to complete the entire test battery (99 children completed at least 50% of the tests in the protocol), a diagnosis was achieved in most cases. The most common diagnoses were peripheral vestibulopathy (29.5%), migraine/benign recurrent vertigo of childhood (24.2%), motor/developmental delay (10.6%), traumatic brain injury (9.8%), and central nervous system structural lesion (9.1%).

Conclusions

Peripheral vestibular deficits and migraine disease account for most of the pathology in the pediatric population. With a multidisciplinary approach, diagnosis of the source of vertigo and imbalance is possible in most children.
Sense and the Limits of Knowledge
Authors: Tucker Ian
Published: January 2011

The work of Michel Serres has been of significant value, yet remains under-utilized across the social sciences. In this review article the long-awaited translation of his The Five Senses (1985) is explored, with particular interest in its offerings for contemporary theories of the materiality of the human condition. Serres invites the reader into a diverse and rich world of sense, from localized sites of individual bodies to global landscapes of cities and countrysides. Not reducible to individual bodies or language, sense becomes the primary mode of relationality through which experience is produced. Such insights are explored in light of contemporary concerns regarding the constitution of bodies and materiality, which emphasize notions of movement and process. The distinction Serres makes between sense and language is argued to be valuable in terms of theories of virtuality that frame material embodiment as ineffable and beyond language. The article concludes by suggesting that Serres can aid re-attunement to sense, although not in a generalistic fashion, but as part of disciplinary specific engagements.
Quasi-objects, Cult Objects and Fashion Objects
Authors: Schiermer Bjørn
Published: January 2011

This article attempts to rehabilitate the concept of fetishism and to contribute to the debate on the social role of objects as well as to fashion theory. Extrapolating from Michel Serres’ theory of the quasi-objects, I distinguish two phenomenologies possessing almost opposite characteristics. These two phenomenologies are, so I argue, essential to quasi-object theory, yet largely ignored by Serres’ sociological interpreters. They correspond with the two different theories of fetishism found in Marx and Durkheim, respectively. In the second half of the article, I introduce the fashion object as a unique opportunity for studying the interchange between these two forms of fetishism and their respective phenomenologies. Finally, returning to Serres, I briefly consider the theoretical consequences of introducing the fashion object as a quasi-object.
Autochthony as Capital in a Global Age
Authors: Hilgers Mathieu
Published: January 2011

For a little over a decade we have been witnessing a profusion of discourses on autochthony — that is, an original belonging to a group or territory — in many parts of the world. A global approach to this question first requires a look at the principle of autochthony and its genealogy. Starting from African examples, places of prolific expression of the phenomenon, this article shows how autochthony plays the role of capital that can be invested, valued and profited from. The structure of this capital carries within itself the seeds of conflict. The article analyses how the stabilization of its value requires the execution of specific strategies. Among these strategies, I will focus in greater depth on voting. The relationship between capital, autochthony and elections will thus bring us back to debates that animate political science: in new municipalities, autochthony as capital is at the heart of candidate selection, suffrage, political participation and citizenship.
Between Imaginary Lines
Authors: Kotef Hagar , Amir Merav
Published: January 2011

Looking at one site, the Israeli checkpoints in the occupied Palestinian territory, this article seeks to understand the mechanisms by which violence can present itself as justifiable (or justified), even when it materializes within frames presumably set to annul it. We look at the checkpoints as a condensed microcosmos operating within two such frames. One is the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian ‘peace process’ (the checkpoints became a primary technology of control in the period following the beginning of the peace process), and the other is regulatory power (disciplinary and biopower), which in the Foucauldian framework presumably sidelines the violent form which sovereign power takes. We argue that the checkpoints, which dissect the Palestinian occupied territories into dozens of enclaves and which are one of the most effective and destructive means of control within the current stage of occupation, can be seen as more than obstacles in the way of Palestinian movement; we suggest that they also function as corrective technologies that are meant to fail. It is with this failure that violence can appear as justified. In order to show the operation of this embedded failure, we examine one mechanism operating within the checkpoints: ‘the imaginary line’. The imaginary line is both a component within, and an emblem of a mode of control that constantly undoes itself in order to summon violence. Since it is never visibly marked in the physical space, the imaginary line is bound to be unintentionally crossed, thereby randomly rendering Palestinians as ‘transgressors’ of the rule and thus facilitating eruptions of violence by the soldiers stationed at the checkpoints. This article proposes an analysis of this hidden demarcation of space in order to question the different relations between subjects and power which it both assumes and constitutes.
The Ambivalence of the Arbitrary
Authors: Simone AbdouMaliq
Published: January 2011

In the multiplying uncertainties of urban life, entrenched, mediated positions are increasingly difficult to sustain — a dynamic which simultaneously intensifies and counters a racialized biopolitics. In such contexts, is it possible for racial significations to become ironic instruments in the everyday experimentations of residents trying to figure out new ways of both engaging and retreating from each other, of trying to figure out new calibrations of collectivity that enhance the value of differences, not only as markers of navigation, but as a means of curtailing the increased urban emphasis on individual competence and eligibility?
Notes for a Critique of the ‘Metaphysics of Race’
Authors: da Silva Denise Ferreira
Published: January 2011

Two questions frame this response to Amin’s article ‘The Remainders of Race’. It first introduces an epistemological question that recognizes the impossibility of separating ontology and epistemology in modern thought and asks why contemporary studies of racial subjugation so infrequently consider the concept of race’s onto-epistemological function. The second, methodological, question necessarily follows. Acknowledging that ‘the what of race’ cannot be separated from the ‘how of race’ makes it crucial to ask why the former is no longer considered in most analyses of the latter. There follows a mapping of the context of emergence of political-symbolic strategies that carve out racial difference and cultural difference as human (moral) attributes. The article shows that, rather than an extraneous notion or a referent of a natural (god-given) human attribute, the concept of race is the modern ethico-political device that refigures the workings of scientific universality in political and ethical texts. What this does is to enable the argument that, instead of manifestations of human ‘sorting’ instincts, the operatives (juridical, economic and symbolic) of raciality proliferating in the global present consist of biopolitical architectures, mechanisms and procedures designed and assembled with the main tools of racial power/knowledge, namely racial and cultural difference.
Does Ownership Matter? Public Service Motivation Among Physiotherapists in the Private and Public Sectors in Denmark
Authors: Andersen Lotte Bøgh , Pallesen Thomas , Holm Pedersen Lene
Published: January 2011

Is public service motivation (PSM) higher in the public sector than in the private sector? Or does the level of PSM depend on the task rather than on the sector in which the employee works? It is often difficult to investigate sector differences, as private and public employees typically perform different tasks. Here, we investigate the differences in the PSM levels for a single occupational group performing the same tasks in the private and public sectors: Danish physiotherapists. The article also aims to investigate whether public and private sector employment is related to different types of PSM. The most important findings are that there is no difference in the general level of PSM between employees performing the same tasks in public and private organizations, but whereas private sector physiotherapists seem to be more narrowly oriented toward the user, public sector physiotherapists have a broader orientation toward the public interest.
Does Public Service Motivation Matter in Volunteering Domain Choices? A Test of Functional Theory
Authors: Coursey David , Brudney Jeffrey L. , Littlepage Laura , Perry James L.
Published: January 2011

Functional theory suggests that people choose activities based on their perception of how well the work matches their personal motives.This process implies that worker motivations vary by activity even when controlling for typical motivational antecedents. Although this perspective is common in the volunteering literature, the public service motivation (PSM) literature has not formally considered functional theory hypotheses.Yet PSM theory asserts a relationship not to government work itself, but to activities related to public service such as volunteering.This study evaluates functional theory in regard to PSM based on using a survey of recipients of the Daily Point of Light Award (DPOL) and the President’s Community Volunteer Award (PCV). After controlling for common PSM antecedents such as gender, level of education, religious participation, and age, PSM and its subdimensions exhibit some variance across volunteering domains (viz., religious, educational/school, human services, and other), though most differences involve religious organizations.
Performance management in education: milestone or millstone?
Authors: Forrester Gillian
Published: January 2011

The paper considers the extent to which the education sector has embraced performance management and performance-related pay. It contemplates the transfer and adaptation of performance management by the public sector as an audit mechanism for improving the performance, productivity, accountability and transparency of public services. The paper concludes by calling for a broader vision for reshaping education since it is argued that the activities of those working in schools, colleges and universities have been re-oriented by performance management techniques towards a competitive, performance culture.
The discursive performance of leadership in schools
Authors: Hall Dave , Gunter Helen M. , Bragg Joanna
Published: January 2011

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (now the Department for Education) and the National College for School Leadership (now the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services) have been active participants in framing and shaping discourse in relation to leadership in schools in England. This paper is based upon findings from research funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-3610) as part of the Distributed Leadership and the Social Practices of School Organisation in England (SPSO) project. It examines how educational practitioners have engaged with these discursive framing and shaping activities. This is conducted through a particular focus upon how distributed leadership has been talked into being as part of a wider regime which seeks to manage the performance of educational practitioners and designated educational leaders.
Performance management or managing performance? Supporting a vision to become outstanding
Authors: Morton Sam
Published: January 2011

This paper provides an account of how performance management is operating in a rural primary school in the county of Rutland, UK, which aspires to provide an outstanding standard of education for its pupils. The paper begins by outlining the existing regulations for the operation of performance management in schools, before going on to explain how performance management roles are currently organised and undertaken within the school. The paper considers the burden of having to accommodate the constant bombardment of requests to share, impact or analyse reams of data while attempting to provide inspirational levels of teaching and learning. The paper concludes by suggesting that complacent performance management needs to be driven out and replaced with a more robust and rigorous system of ‘managing performance’.
Teacher, lecturer or labourer? Performance management issues in education
Authors: Mather Kim , Seifert Roger
Published: January 2011

Education management has increasingly been dominated by the norms and requirements of general management ideologies that focus on performance controls and target achievements. Under this regime, solving the labour problem — relatively low productivity — has taken precedence over all other forms of management. In pursuit of this objective senior managers have employed more and more Taylor-like initiatives, including close supervision of task content and its execution. As a result the professionals have resisted collectively and formally through unions, informally in the common rooms and individually through grievance, absenteeism, increased instrumentalism and dull compliance in the job. The application of tighter controls over performance turns these workers into waged labour, displacing any notions of professional self-regulation and undermining collegial high trust relations and educational autonomy that these professionals might reasonably expect.
Leading performance: transposing musicianship into the leadership debate
Authors: Bush Marie
Published: January 2011

This article reflects the personal experiences of its author: a musician, teacher and current leader in the secondary independent sector. It provides an initial exploration of the link between leadership and musicianship, pivoting on the concept of performance and how specific socialised and embedded skills and experiences developed through musical performance resonate with notions of leadership in education. The intention is to raise awareness of the positive attributes of musicianship which are sometimes lost in the mist of artistic endeavour. Setting technical mastery aside, a raft of experiences, including presentation, formality, organisation, collaboration, a blend of aesthetic and academic enrichment and emotional sensitivity equip a capable musician with skills that transpose seamlessly into the role of leadership. Many of these experiences apply to other artistic fields within education and perhaps this debate will encourage those who appoint leaders to reconsider the attributes of artistic experiences. Bourdieu’s conceptual lens provides a theoretical foundation highlighting habitus and field as useful tools to filter leadership experience in a musical context.
Maximizing conservation evaluation utilization
Authors: Jacobson C. , Carter R.W. , Hockings M. , Kelman J.
Published: January 2011

Evaluation utilization in conservation management emphasizes the use of ‘appropriate’ information from the perspective of an expert provider. An alternative is to emphasize the information needs of recipients. Doing so ensures evaluation information is relevant to expected users and uses. The authors worked with an Australian conservation management agency to address barriers associated with engagement and ensuring relevance to the recipient’s sphere of decision-making. Workshop feedback demonstrated that the process increased the perceived value of the evaluation information. Managers’ reflections on the workshops emphasized factors relating to the decision-making context and the importance of being able to interact with the information in a constructive and non-threatening environment. Identified uses for evaluation information expanded as a result of the workshops to include newfound applications in strategy development and planning, park-specific responses and resource allocation.
If Robert Merton said it, it must be true: A citation analysis in the field of performance measurement
Authors: Lindgren Lena
Published: January 2011

This article is inspired by the current attention paid to bibliometric methods in evaluating research relevance and impact. The logic behind the trend is examined by comparing highly and less cited publications in the same knowledge field (i.e. performance measurement) to see if and how they are different, especially in terms of research design and methods used. Findings indicate that various research designs and methods are equally represented among highly and less highly cited works, and that the only feature that does seem to play a role is if the cited author is an internationally renowned scholar. Findings also indicate an indiscriminate use of citation where the quality and relevance of secondary data are taken for granted. A vague hint of something, found in a single case study or inferred from a purely theoretical work, may thus over time and with more citations added become universal fact or even ‘evidence’.
Strengthening evaluation through interactive problem structuring: A case study of hospital care after attempted suicide
Authors: Moret-Hartman M. , Reuzel R. , Grin J. , Kramers C. , van der Wilt G.J.
Published: January 2011

The quality of an evaluation largely depends on the quality of the underlying problem definition and the quality of the problem definition often improves as stakeholder involvement increases. By means of a study on the management of attempted suicides by drug overdose, we explored whether an interactive methodology could be adequate for problem structuring. Despite the fact that a high level of care is often unnecessary, many patients are admitted to the internal ward or intensive care unit. To solve the efficiency problem, some physicians proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-hour observation unit.Although evaluating such a unit was technically feasible, we felt uncertain about the appropriateness of this intervention.The interactive methodology was useful in that it effectively made the divergent problem definitions and underlying normative values transparent. As a result, our research efforts will be better geared to information needs from persons involved and therefore more useful.
Dementia Caregivers’ Responses to 2 Internet-Based Intervention Programs
Authors: Marziali Elsa , Garcia Linda J.
Published: January 2011

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the impact on dementia caregivers’ experienced stress and health status of 2 Internet-based intervention programs. Design and methods: Ninety-one dementia caregivers were given the choice of being involved in either an Internet-based chat support group or an Internet-based video conferencing support group. Pre-post outcome measures focused on distress, health status, social support, and service utilization. Results: In contrast to the Chat Group, the Video Group showed significantly greater improvement in mental health status. Also, for the Video Group, improvements in self-efficacy, neuroticism, and social support were associated with lower stress response to coping with the care recipient’s cognitive impairment and decline in function. Implications: The results show that, of 2 Internet-based intervention programs for dementia caregivers, the video conferencing intervention program was more effective in improving mental health status and improvement in personal characteristics were associated with lower caregiver stress response.
Extrapyramidal Signs in the Primary Progressive Aphasias
Authors: Kremen Sarah A. , Mendez Mario F. , Tsai Po-Heng , Teng Edmond
Published: January 2011

Background: Extrapyramidal signs (EPS) may vary across 3 major subtypes of primary progressive aphasia (PPA): progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), semantic dementia (SD), and progressive logopenic aphasia (PLA). Methods: We reviewed initial neurological examinations from a clinical PPA cohort (PNFA = 49, SD = 26, PLA = 28) to determine the prevalence of specific categories of EPS. Results: The presence of any EPS was more common in PNFA (38.8%) and PLA (35.7%) than in SD (3.8%). The PNFA group exhibited the highest prevalence of bradykinesia (PNFA: 22.4%, SD: 3.8%, PLA: 0.0%) and rigidity (PNFA: 30.6%, SD: 0.0%, PLA: 10.7%). Calculated positive likelihood ratios indicated bradykinesia (12.1) or rigidity (5.5) was more strongly associated with PNFA than other PPAs. Conclusion: These findings suggest that on initial presentation, specific EPS may help distinguish PPA subtypes when linguistic and/or neuroimaging profiles are indistinct. Moreover, EPS could represent a marker of underlying tauopathy, linking clinical presentation to neuropathology in PPA.
Carbohydrate-enriched diet impairs cardiac performance by decreasing the utilization of fatty acid and glucose
Authors: Pôrto Laura C.J. , Savergnini Sílvia S.Q. , de Castro Carlos H. , Mario Érica G. , Ferreira Adaliene V.M. , Santos Sérgio H.S. , Andrade Sílvia P. , Santos Robson A.S. , de Almeida Alvair P. , Botion Leida M.
Published: January 2011

Aims: We hypothesized that a high-carbohydrate diet affects the cardiac performance by interfering in the metabolic steps involved in energy transfer in this organ. To verify this, we investigated the myocardial utilization of different substrates and contractile function in rats fed a high-carbohydrate diet, under normal flow and ischemia.

Methods and Results: Male Wistar rats were fed over 9 days with standard (39.5% carbohydrate, 8% fiber) or high-carbohydrate diet (58% carbohydrate) and, afterwards, their cardiac function was examined using isolated heart preparations. The high-carbohydrate diet decreased the activity of the lipoprotein lipase, utilization of fatty acids, expression of the gene of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and its target enzymes. In addition, decreased GLUT4 mass, glucose uptake, glycogen content and glycolytic intermediates were also observed. High-carbohydrate hearts displayed weaker activation of the glycolytic pathway during ischemia, according to minor production of lactate, in relation to control hearts. The functional impairment caused by high-carbohydrate diet shown by the decrease in the ventricular systolic strength, +d T/d t and −d T/d t was, at least in part, due to the low availability of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that a high-carbohydrate diet can damage myocardial contractile function by decreasing the cardiac utilization of glucose and fatty acids and, consequently, the ATP pool.
Impact of Admission Time on Mortality in an Indian Intensive Care Unit With Round-the-Clock Intensivist Coverage
Authors: Juneja Deven , Garg Nitin , Javeri Yash , Bajaj Praveen , Gupta Chetan , Singh Omender
Published: January 2011

Higher mortality in patients admitted during off hours has been attributed to inadequate staffing, but only a few studies have assessed the impact of 24-hour intensivist coverage on ICU mortality. We aimed to assess the impact of admission time on mortality for patients admitted to an ICU with 24-hour in-house intensivist coverage through a retrospective study analyzing data from all admissions to a medical ICU over 15 months. Patients were divided into 2 groups by time of ICU admission: regular hours (Monday-Saturday 9 am to 5 pm) and off hours (Monday-Saturday 5 pm to 9 am, Sunday). Patients were compared with regard to demographics, severity of illness, ICU course, and ICU outcome. Primary outcome measure was ICU mortality. Of 653 admissions, 391 (59.9%) were admitted during off hours. There was no significant difference in age, sex, severity of illness, need for organ support, and ICU stay. ICU mortality was 14.9% and 16.4% in regular and off hours, respectively ( P = .689). Relative risk of death for admission in after hours was 1.018 (95% CI, 0.952-1.088), with the odds ratio of dying being 1.119 (95% CI, 0.726-1.726). We concluded that full-time intensivist coverage ensures continuity of care. Hence, off-hour admissions may not be associated with any increased mortality.
Pulsed MIG welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy
Authors: Song G. , Wang P.
Published: January 2011

Pulsed metal inert gas welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy is carried out, and continuous butt joints of high quality are obtained at optimised parameters. The effects of parameters on weld formation and welding stability are studied. The microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture of weld beads with different filler wires are investigated. The results show that it is a stable drop transition process with optimised parameters, which belongs to globular transfer. The precipitates in fusion zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) are uniform, dispersive and almost granular. The grain size in fusion zone is fine, and the grain size does not grow too large in HAZ compared with the base metal. The ultimate tensile strength of weld beads can be 94% of base metal, and the average elongation is 11%. Dimples and coarse tearing ridges can be observed on the fracture of the weld bead.
Research on identification of nonlinear damping based on time frequency analysis
Authors: Wu Z. Y. , Liu H. Z. , Liu L. L.
Published: January 2011

According to the relationship between damping, strain and time, the piecewise linear wavelet transform and the piecewise linear short time Fourier transform methods are put forward to identify the nonlinear damping of alloy material. The overall nonlinear property of damping is derived from the piecewise local linearisation. The satisfied results obtained from simulations demonstrate that the methods presented are effective. Usually, damping measured in the non-uniform stress field is only a volumetric average. To overcome this deficiency, a trapezoid specimen with quasi-uniform stress field is developed on the basis of the traditional damping experimental equipment. The damping measurement experiment is carried out. The measurement signal is analysed by the two methods presented. The relation curve of damping versus strain has shown that the damping capacity of the alloy Al–33Zn–6Si increases with the increasing strain. The relationship between damping and strain appears obviously nonlinear.
Study on dislocation slips in ferrite and deformation of cementite in cold drawn pearlitic steel wires from medium to high strain
Authors: Zhang X. D. , Godfrey A. , Liu W. , Liu Q.
Published: January 2011

The deformation of cementite was studied via optical microscopy and SEM in the longitudinal sections of pearlitic steel wires from medium to high strain. The cementite shows good deformability, the angle between the deformation direction of cementite and drawing direction decreases with increasing strain, and finally the deformation directions of cementite turn to the drawing axis at high strains. The deformation of the cementite is strongly related to plastic deformation in the ferrite, with coarse slip steps, S-bands and cracks across cementite observed parallel to either {110} α-Fe or {112} α-Fe plane traces determined by the largest Schmid factors.
Tribological properties of tertiary Al2O3/CNT/nanodiamond pulsed electrodeposited Ni–W nanocomposite
Authors: Mirzamohammadi S. , Kh. Aliov M. , Aghdam A. S. R. , Velashjerdi M. , Reza Naimi-Jamal M.
Published: January 2011

Wear resistance of electrodeposited tertiary alumina/carbon nanotube/nanodiamond nanocomposite using pulsed current has been studied in Ni–W binary alloy matrix. Electroplating process was performed in citrate based Ni–W bath, and the nanostructure of obtained compound layer was examined by AFM. The effects of process variables, i.e. tungsten concentration in electrolyte, treatment time, frequency and duty cycle, were experimentally studied. Statistical methods were used in order to provide the minimised wear rate. Finally, the contribution percentage of different effective factors was calculated and confirmation run revealed the validity of obtained results. Nanocomposite layers with higher density of nanoparticles will show better tribological properties.
Hot working and crystallographic texture analysis of magnesium AZ alloys
Authors: Bhattacharya R. , Wynne B. P.
Published: January 2011

The hot working behaviour of magnesium AZ (e.g. AZ31; Al: 3%, Zn: 1%) alloys and their associated crystallographic texture evolution is reviewed. Under hot working conditions, the stress–strain curves show flow softening at all the temperatures and strain rates indicating dynamic recrystallisation (DRX) is predominant. The mean size of the recrystallised grains in all the alloys decreases as the value of Zener–Hollomon parameter Z increases. The hot working range of the alloys dwell between 200 and 500°C and the strain rates between 10−3 and 5 s−1. The hot working of AZ series alloy shows discontinuous DRX as the main mechanism. Equal channel angular processing shows continuous DRX. The constitutive equation development shows a linear relationship between the stress and the Z parameter. The activation energy for the alloys ranges from 112 to 169 kJ mol−1 and Z values range from 10 7 to 10 14 s−1. Textural examinations show basal texture as the predominant orientation.
Dehydration processes in borate minerals: pentahydroborite and nifontovite from Fuka Mine, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Authors: Bermanec V. , Tomašić N. , Gobac Ž. Žigovečki , Linarić M. Rajić , Furić K.
Published: January 2011

Data on the dehydration of pentahydroborite, CaB2O(OH)6·2H2O and nifontovite, Ca3B6O6(OH)12·2H2O from the Fuka mine, Japan are presented. Critical temperatures of the dehydration of the borates were determined by thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis measurements. The untreated mineral samples and their heating products were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Upon dehydration, both minerals decompose and undergo amorphization, and at greater temperatures crystallize as an orthorhombic calcium borate, CaB2O4 (Pnca). The dehydration paths of the two minerals are different, with nifontovite showing a greater resistance to decomposition and amorphization than pentahydroborite. Differences in the dehydration processes are related to the residuals of the water content and structural accommodation of the borate polyanion.
Eruption of basaltic magma at Tor Zawar, Balochistan, Pakistan on 27 January 2010: geochemical and petrological constraints on petrogenesis
Authors: Kerr A. C. , Khan M. , McDonald I.
Published: January 2011

On 27 January 2010 a small eruption of basaltic lava occurred 75 km NE of Quetta, Pakistan. This was highly unusual – no eruptions from this magmatically inactive area have ever been reported. Two petrographically distinct basalts types were indentified in the vesicular eruptive products. One basalt type consists of completely fresh, light brown glass with a few (<1 vol.%) partially resorbed quartz-rich xenoliths, whereas the other type is non-glassy and the lava is completely devitrified. These types also have slightly different geochemical signatures that can be partially explained by crustal assimilation. Re-melting of local basaltic rocks by short circuiting of a ruptured high-tension electrical cable is considered unlikely. Mantle melt modelling suggests that the lavas have been largely derived from a source in the garnet-spinel transition zone, i.e. well within the lithosphere. It is proposed that localized asthenospheric melting resulted in relatively depleted melts which were substantially contaminated by fusible lithospheric mantle en route to the surface. Further small-scale eruptions cannot be ruled out.
The effect of Al/Si disorder on the bulk moduli of plagioclase feldspars
Authors: Sochalski-Kolbus L. M. , Angel R. J. , Nestola F.
Published: January 2011

The volumes of a disordered An20 (Qod = 0.15), a disordered An78 (Qod = 0.55) and an ordered An78 (Qod = 0.81) were determined up to 9.569(10) GPa, 8.693(5) GPa and 9.765(10) GPa, respectively, using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The volume variations with pressure for these samples are described with 4th-order Birch Murnaghan equations of state with V0 = 669.88(7) Å3, K0 = 59.7(7) GPa. K′ = 5.7(5), K″ = −0.8(2) GPa−1 for disordered An20, V0 = 1340.48(10) Å3, K0 = 77.6(5) GPa, K0′ = 4.0(3), K″ = -0.59(9) GPa−1 for disordered An78 and V0 = 1339.62(6) A3, K0 = 77.4(6) GPa, K′ = 4.2(4), and K″ = −0.7(1) GPa−1 for ordered An78. Along with data from previous studies (An0 ordered, An0 disordered and An2o ordered), the volumes for the disordered samples were found to be up to ∼0.3% larger than the ordered samples of the same composition. The disordered samples are softer than the ordered samples of the same composition by 4(1)% for An0, 2.5(9)% for An20 and essentially zero for An78. The relationship between volume increase, density decrease, and decreasing bulk modulus with increasing disorder is in accordance with Birch's Law.
Crystal structure and crystal chemistry of fluoro-potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite from Monte Metocha, Xixano region, Mozambique, and discussion of the holotype from Quebec, Canada
Authors: Oberti R. , Boiocchi M. , Hawthorne F. C. , Robinson P.
Published: January 2011

Fluoro-potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite, ideally AKBNa2c(Mg4Fe3+)TSi8O22wF2, has been found in a dyke ∼25 km southwest of Monte Metocha, Xixano region, northeastern Mozambique. Fluoro-potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite and low sanidine form a fine-grained mafic, ultrapotassic, peralkaline igneous rock without visible phenocrysts. The amphibole is brittle, has a Mohs hardness of 6 and a splintery fracture; it is non-fluorescent with perfect {110} cleavage and no observable parting, and has a calculated density of 3.174 gcm−3. In plane-polarized light, it is pleochroic, X= pale grey-green, Y = blue-green, Z = pale grey; X ^ c = 23.6° (in β obtuse), Y ‖ b, Z ^ c = 66.4° (in β acute). Fluoro-potassic-magnesio-arfvedsonite is biaxial negative, α = 1.652(2), β = 1.658(2), γ = 1.660(2); 2Vobs = 22.5(7)°, 2Vcalc = 30.2°. The unit-cell dimensions are a = 9.9591(4), b = 17.9529(7), c = 5.2867(2) Å, β = 104.340(1)°, V = 919.73(10) Å3, Z = 2. The nine strongest X-ray diffraction lines in the experimental powder pattern are: [d in Å(I)(hkl)]: 2.716(100)(151), 3.410(70)(131), 8.475(50)(110), 3.178(50)(310), 3.309(30)(240), 2.762(20)(31), 2.549(20)(260), 2.351(10)(51), 2.269(10)(331). Electron microprobe analysis gave: SiO2 54.25, A12O3 0.03, TiO2 1.08, FeO 6.69, Fe2O3 8.07, MgO 13.99, MnO 0.32, ZnO 0.05, CaO 1.16, Na2O 6.33, K2O 5.20, F 2.20, H2Ocalc 0.74, sum 99.18 wt.%. The formula unit, calculated on the basis of 24 (O,OH,F) with (OH+F) = 2−(2 Ti), is AKa0.98B(Na1.18Ca0.18)∑1.99C(Mg3.07Fe0.832+Mn0.04Al0.01Fe0.903+Ti0.12Zn0.01)∑=4.98TSi8O22W[Fi.o3(OH)0.73O0.24]∑2.00 and confirms the usual pattern of cation order in the amphibole structure. The presence of a significant oxo component (locally balanced by Ti at the M(1) site) is related to the crystallization conditions. The presence of Fe3+ at the T sites, originally suggested for the holotype specimen, is discounted for this amphibole composition.
Fluoro-potassic-pargasite, KCa2(Mg4Al)(Si6Al2)O22F2, from the Tranomaro area, Madagascar: mineral description and crystal chemistry
Authors: Oberti R. , Boiocchi M. , Hawthorne F. C. , Pagano R. , Pagano A.
Published: January 2011

Fluoro-potassic-pargasite, ideally AKBCa2C(Mg4Al) (Si6Al2)O22WF2, a new amphibole species, has been found in a skarn in the Tranomaro area, Madgascar. The sample used for the description of the new mineral species is a large single amphibole crystal, 4 mm × 2 mm × 2 cm in size, brownish-black with brownish-yellow phlogopite lamellae adhering to one face of the crystal. Fluoro-potassic-pargasite is brittle, has a Mohs hardness of 6.5 and a splintery fracture; it is non-fluorescent, has perfect {110} cleavage, no observable parting, and has measured and calculated densities of 3.46 and 3.151 g cm−3, respectively. In plane-polarized light, it is pleochroic, X = colourless to very pale grey, Y = very pale grey, Z = colourless; X ^ a = 46.9° (in β obtuse), Y ‖ b, Z ^ c = 31.4° (in β acute). It is biaxial positive, α = 1.638(2), β = 1.641(2), γ = 1.653(2); 2Vobs = 49.6(4)°, 2Vcalc = 53.4°.

Fluoro-potassic-pargasite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, a = 9.9104(2), b = 17.9739(4), c = 5.3205(1) Å, β = 105.534(2)°, V = 913.11(6) Å3, Z = 2. The eight strongest lines in the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern are [d in Å(I)(hkl)]: 3.133(100)(310), 3.270(55)(240), 2.809(47)(330). 8.413(45)(110), 2.698(39)(151), 3.374(31)(131), 2.934(29)(221) and 1.647(29)(461). Electron microp-robe analysis gives SiO2 40.20, Al2O3 17.61, TiO2 0.46, FeO 1.96, Fe2O3 2.51, MgO 16.95, MnO 0.05, CaO 13.18, Na2O 0.99, K2O 3.72, F 2.75, H2Ocalc 0.77, sum 99.99 wt.%. The formula unit, calculated on the basis of 24 (O,OH,F) with (OH + F) = 2 - (2 × Ti), is A(K0.69Na0.28Ca0.04)∑=1.01BCa2.00C(Mg3.64Fe0.242+Mn0.01Al0.79Fe0.273+Ti0.05)∑=5.00T(Si5.80Al2.20)∑=8.00O22W[F1.26(OH)0.74]∑=2.00. The mineral species and name have been approved by the IMA CMNMC (IMA 2009-091).
K2.9Rb0.1ErSi3O9: a novel, non-centrosymmetric chain silicate and its crystal structure
Authors: Wierzbicka-Wieczorek M. , Kolitsch U. , Nasdala L. , Tillmanns E.
Published: January 2011

The new, non-centrosymmetric chain silicate, K2.9Rb0.1ErSi3O9, was prepared by a high-temperature flux-growth technique, and its crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray intensity data (Mo-Kα, 293 K) in space P1, with a = 6.672(1), b = 6.719(1), c = 6.725(1) Å, α = 108.87(3), β = 106.72(3), γ = 107.61(3)°, V = 245.82(6) Å3, Z = 1, R(F) = 2.81%. The compound represents a novel structure type. K2.9Rb0.1ErSi3O9 is characterized by a mixed octahedral-tetrahedral framework, in which each corner of the isolated ErO6 octahedron ( = 2.26 Å) is linked to infinite [Si3O9] chains extending approximately along [111]. This connectivity results in a microporous character with two different, narrow channels that extend parallel to [111] and [100] and host K+ cations. The atomic arrangement is strongly pseudorhombohedral. A single-crystal Raman spectrum of K2.9Rb0.1ErSi3O9 is in agreement with the low space-group symmetry. Relations to minerals and synthetic compounds based on [Si3O9] chains are discussed, revealing that the geometry of the chain in K2.9Rb0.1ErSi3O9 is similar to that in pectolite, NaCa2[HSi3O9].
The crystal structure of dalnegroite, Tl5−xPb2x(As,Sb)21−xS34: a masterpiece of structural complexity
Authors: Bindi L. , Nestola F. , Guastoni A. , Secco L.
Published: January 2011

The crystal structure of the rare mineral dalnegroite, Tl5−xPb2x(As,Sb)21−xS34 with x ≈ 1, was determined for a crystal from Lengenbach, Binn Valley, Switzerland. The structure is triclinic, space group P1, with a = 16.218(3), b = 42.546(7), c = 8.558(1) Å , α = 95.70(4), β = 90.18(3), γ = 96.38(4)°, V = 5838.9(9) Å3, Z = 4. Refinement of an isotropic model led to an R1 index of 0.0536 for 22226 observed reflections and 980 parameters, and R1 = 0.0590 for all 25266 independent reflections. Although dalnegroite cannot be considered a layered compound, its structure can be usefully described as a regular alternation of two kinds of layers stacked along the b axis, with four layers in the unit cell: (1) a layer 7.8 Å thick, at y ≈ 0.15 and 0.65, can be considered as derived from the SnS archetype; (2) a layer 13.6 Å thick, at y ≈ 0.35 and 0.85, derived from the PbS archetype. Different chemical compositions, such as Tl:Pb and Sb:As ratios, for different samples belonging to the chabournéite-dalnegroite family could play a central role in controlling different degrees of order, leading to different superstructures.
Histamine regulates autoreactive T cell activation and adhesiveness in inflamed brain microcirculation
Authors: Lapilla Marilena , Gallo Barbara , Martinello Marianna , Procaccini Claudio , Costanza Massimo , Musio Silvia , Rossi Barbara , Angiari Stefano , Farina Cinthia , Steinman Lawrence , Matarese Giuseppe , Constantin Gabriela , Pedotti Rosetta
Published: January 2011

Histamine may contribute to the pathology of MS and its animal model EAE. We explored the effects of histamine and specific HR agonists on activation and migratory capacity of myelin-autoreactive T cells. We show that histamine in vitro inhibits proliferation and IFN-γ production of mouse T cells activated against PLP139–151. These effects were mimicked by the H1R agonist HTMT and the H2R agonist dimaprit and were associated with reduced activation of ERK½ kinase and with increased levels of cell cycle inhibitor p27Kip-1, both involved in T cell proliferation and anergy. H1R and H2R agonists reduced spontaneous and chemokine-induced adhesion of autoreactive T cells to ICAM-1 in vitro and blocked firm adhesion of these cells in inflamed brain microcirculation in vivo. Thus histamine, through H1R and H2R, inhibits activation of myelin-autoreactive T cells and their ability to traffic through the inflamed BBB. Strategies aimed at interfering with the histamine axis might have relevance in the therapy of autoimmune disease of the CNS.
Neuropsychological changes and treatment response in severe
depression
Authors: Douglas Katie M. , Porter Richard J. , Knight Robert G. , Maruff Paul
Published: January 2011

Background

Impaired neuropsychological function and differences in facial emotion
processing are features of major depression. Some aspects of these
functions may change during treatment and may be useful in assessing
treatment response, even at an early stage of treatment.

Aims

To examine early and later changes in neuropsychological functioning and
facial emotion processing as potential markers of treatment response in
major depression.

Method

In total, 68 newly admitted in-patients with a primary diagnosis of major
depression and 50 healthy controls completed an assessment, including
mood ratings, neuropsychological measures and facial emotion processing
measures at three time points (baseline, 10–14 days and 6 weeks).

Results

Pervasive neuropsychological impairment was evident at baseline in
patients with depression compared with healthy controls. During 6 weeks
of treatment, only simple reaction time, verbal working memory and the
recognition of angry facial expressions showed differential change in
those whose depression responded to treatment compared with treatment
non-responders in the depression group. None of the measures showed a
significant difference between treatment responders and non-responders at
10–14 days.

Conclusions

Despite significant impairment in neuropsychological functioning in the
depression group, most measures failed to differentiate between treatment
responders and non-responders at 10–14 days or at 6 weeks. Simple
reaction time, verbal working memory and recognition of angry facial
expressions may be useful in assessing response in severe depression but
probably not at an early stage.