bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of warm mix asphalt additives on performance properties of polymer modified asphalt binders
Authors: Kim Hakseo , Lee Soon-Jae , Amirkhanian Serji N.
Published: February 2010

This study presents an experimental evaluation for the performance properties of polymer modified asphalt (PMA) binders containing warm mix asphalt (WMA) additives. The PMA binders with the additives were produced using two of the available warm asphalt processes (i.e., Aspha-min and Sasobit) and three PMA binders graded as performance grade (PG) 76-22. The warm PMA binders were artificially short-term and then long-term aged using the rolling thin film oven (RTFO) and pressure aging vessel (PAV) procedures. Superpave binder tests were carried out on the binders through the rotational viscometer (RV), the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and the bending beam rheometer (BBR). In general, the results of this research indicated that (1) the addition of the WMA additives into the PMA binders showed positive effects on increasing rutting resistance at high temperature (based on the high failure temperature values from the DSR test); (2) the PMA binders containing the additives were observed to be less resistant to fatigue cracking at intermediate temperatures compared to the control PMA binders (based on the G*sin δ values at 25 °C from the DSR test); and (3) the addition of wax additive represented a possible lower resistance on low temperature cracking (based on the stiffness and the m-value at –12 °C from the BBR test).
Decision to bid or not to bid: a data envelopment analysis approach
Authors: El-Mashaleh Mohammad S.
Published: February 2010

One of the most crucial decisions that is regularly exercised by construction contractors is to determine whether to bid or not to bid on a certain project. The purpose of this paper is to propose a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach for the bid–no-bid decision. DEA is a robust non-parametric linear programming approach that is used for benchmarking performance and for making selection decisions. Based on a contractor's database of previous considerations of bidding opportunities, DEA creates a “favorable frontier” that consists of favorable bidding opportunities. New bidding opportunities are evaluated in reference to this “favorable frontier” and the bid–no-bid decision is consequently made. The proposed approach incorporates subjective management expertise and deals systematically with bidding situations to guide contractors in their bid–no-bid determination. A major strength of the proposed DEA approach is that it is deployable by organizations facing the bid–no-bid problem regardless of size, country of operation, number and type of factors considered in bidding, or even industry.
Deflection calculation and control for reinforced concrete flexural members
Authors: Zhou W. , Kokai T.
Published: February 2010

A methodology was proposed to calculate the incremental deflection of reinforced concrete flexural members for the purpose of protecting nonstructural elements. The methodology is based on the long-term deflection calculation equation provided in the current Canadian standard, CSA A23.3–04, and takes into account realistic load application sequence during construction. Based on the proposed methodology, simple equations for calculating the incremental deflections were derived. The use of the proposed equations is demonstrated through a realistic design example. Implications of construction load and camber for deflection calculation and control are also discussed.
Detailed analysis of electricity, water, and gas consumption quantities and costs in Toronto’s public schools
Authors: Issa M. H. , Attalla M. , Rankin J. H. , Christian A. J.
Published: February 2010

This study analyzes the consumption quantities and costs of energy, water, and gas for a sample of 10 conventional and 20 energy-retrofitted public schools in Toronto over a 5 year study period to establish a benchmark for the consumption of energy in traditional versus more sustainable buildings. Through extensive statistical analysis of the data collected, the study demonstrates that electricity and gas consumption quantities and costs decrease more significantly in energy-retrofitted schools than in conventional schools. Whereas energy-retrofitted schools consume and spend on average as much money on energy as conventional schools, energy-retrofitted schools consume and spend more money on electricity and less money on gas than conventional schools. Energy-retrofitted schools also exhibit stronger and more significant positive relationships between the quantities of electricity, water, and gas consumed per user in those schools and the schools’ total number of users than conventional schools.
Meaning of actual capacity of freeways and its estimation
Authors: Bassan Shy , Polus Abishai
Published: February 2010

The flow on urban and suburban freeways is characterized typically by high densities, occupancies, and frequent breakdowns, particularly when the volume approaches capacity. This creates unstable flow conditions, resulting in recurrent as well as random congestion. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to develop models for evaluating flow characteristics on a busy suburban freeway, specifically speed versus flow and flow versus occupancy; (2) to understand the meaning of capacity by evaluating the actual capacity of a freeway section. The data were collected on Highway 1 in Israel and on Interstate 66 in Virginia, USA. Previous observations showed that both freeways operated at a saturated-flow condition almost daily and that breakdowns of the stream occurred often, though not daily. The paper presents a concept that suggests that freeway capacity is an actual-site specific term. This capacity can change frequently in space and time, depending on the section geometry, the time interval, the prevailing traffic and environmental conditions, and driving behavior. Determination of a representative value of actual capacity for level-of-service or planning analyses is suggested, based on one of three methods: parabolic curve-fitting for free-flow, dense congested stable (DCS) flow, and breakdown-flow data; the intersection of the best-fit stable-flow parabola and the equal-density adjusted line; and curve fitting of one-regime models to flow-occupancy data. Also included is a comparison with the 2000 Highway capacity manual (HCM) models and with capacity estimates from other studies. The results showed similar values of actual capacity estimates for the three methods.
Performance of Type D and Type LD steel plate walls
Authors: Bhowmick Anjan K. , Grondin Gilbert Y. , Driver Robert G.
Published: February 2010

A finite element model is developed to study the behaviour of unstiffened steel plate walls. The model includes both material and geometric nonlinearities and strain rate effects. The model is first validated using the results from quasistatic and dynamic experimental programs. The validated finite element model is then used to study the performance of four storey and eight storey steel plate walls with moment-resisting beam-to-column connections under spectrum compatible seismic records for Vancouver and Montreal. Two different steel plate wall types defined in the current Canadian standard CAN/CSA-S16–01 are considered, namely, Type D (ductile) and Type LD (limited-ductility) plate walls. All the Type D walls, designed according to the capacity design provisions, exhibit better inelastic seismic responses than the Type LD plate walls. The analyses of eight storey steel plate walls show that in high seismic regions, such as Vancouver, medium- to high-rise Type LD plate walls may exhibit yielding in columns in intermediate floors. The study also shows that in more moderate seismic regions, like Montreal, Type LD plate walls behave in a stable and ductile manner and can be used for low- to medium-rise buildings.
Management of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil through bioremediation and landfill disposal at a remote location in Northern CanadaA paper submitted to the Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science.
Authors: Sanscartier David , Reimer Kenneth , Zeeb Barbara , George Karen
Published: February 2010

Northern communities often have limited resources to resolve petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contamination. This project investigated an innovative approach for the management of diesel-contaminated soil in a remote community in Labrador. The soil was first treated in a passively aerated biopile to reduce the concentrations of mobile PHCs. The treated soil was then disposed of in the local landfill. Maximum total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations in soil, concentrations of PHCs with less than 16 carbons in soil, and TPH in leachate decreased during the 1 year field treatment. Microcosms incubated at 7 and 22 °C in the laboratory showed the potential for biodegradation of the PHCs. However, volatilization was likely the predominant PHC removal mechanism in the field. Disposal of treated soil to landfills has the advantage of transforming waste (i.e., soil) into a valued product (i.e., cover for the refuse). The development of risk-based guidelines for the disposal of PHC-contaminated soil into landfills in Canada appears to be needed and is discussed in this paper. Guidelines should be protective of the environment while prevent over-treatment of the soil, which may result in unnecessary spending and environmental impacts. The cost of the system tested was compared to that of treating soil in an off-site facility.
Chemical model to explain asphalt binder and asphalt–aggregate interface behaviors
Authors: Cho Dong-Woo , Kim Kyoungchul , Lee Min-Jae
Published: February 2010

The behavior of asphalt mixtures is very complicated due to structural configuration and interfacial friction of aggregates as well as chemical and rheological reactions of the asphalt binder itself or with the aggregates. Furthermore, this complex response is more complicated under various loads, temperatures, and other environmental factors. To control the complex responses and reduce the complex factors, a DSR moisture damage test using small rock disks was developed. This paper focuses on the more fundamental concepts to explain asphalt and asphalt–aggregate bond behavior exhibited under the newly-developed DSR moisture damage test. The traditional model of asphalt structure is based on the theory of colloid and surface chemistry. Although this traditional model can explain many physical phenomena of asphalt structure, it cannot explain all the asphalt behaviors, such as steric hardening. Therefore, more general, but fundamental concepts may be required to attain insight of the material. As one of the possible concepts, a self-assembly concept in supramolecular chemistry is proposed and phenomena and results of the DSR moisture damage test are explained by the concept.
Mechanism of boron tolerance in soil bacteria
Authors: Ahmed Iftikhar , Fujiwara Toru
Published: February 2010

Boron (B) is toxic to living cells at levels above a certain threshold. We isolated several B-tolerant bacterial strains from soil samples and studied them for possible mechanisms of B tolerance. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and comparative phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the isolates belong to the following 6 genera: Arthrobacter , Rhodococcus , Lysinibacillus , Algoriphagus , Gracilibacillus , and Bacillus . These isolates exhibited B-tolerance levels of 80, 100, 150, 300, 450, and 450 mmol/L, respectively, whilst maintaining a significantly lower intracellular B concentration than in the medium. Statistical analysis showed a negative correlation between the protoplasmic B concentration and the degree of tolerance to a high external B concentration. The kinetic assays suggest that the high B efflux and (or) exclusion are the tolerance mechanisms against a high external B concentration in the isolated bacteria.
Aeromonas caviaestrain induces Th1 cytokine response in mouse intestinal tract
Authors: Hayes Samuel L. , Lye Dennis J. , McKinstry Craig A. , Vesper Stephen J.
Published: February 2010

Aeromonas caviae has been associated with human gastrointestinal disease. Strains of this species typically lack virulence factors (VFs) such as enterotoxins and hemolysins that are produced by other human pathogens of the Aeromonas genus. Microarray profiling of murine small intestinal extracts, 24 h after oral infection with an A. caviae strain, provides evidence of a Th1 type immune response. A large number of gamma-interferon (γ-IFN) induced genes are up-regulated as well as several tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) transcripts. Aeromonas caviae has always been considered an opportunistic pathogen because it lacks obvious virulence factors. This current effort suggests that an A. caviae strain can colonize the murine intestinal tract and cause what has been described by others as a dysregulatory cytokine response. This response could explain why a number of diarrheal waterborne disease cases have been attributed to A. caviae even though it lacks obvious enteropathogenic properties.
Analysis ofSalmonellaand enterococci isolated from rendered animal products
Authors: Kinley Brandon , Rieck James , Dawson Paul , Jiang Xiuping
Published: February 2010

The objectives of this study were to determine the current status of bacterial contamination in rendered animal products and to analyze Salmonella and enterococci isolates from the samples. One hundred and fifty samples were provided by various rendering companies across the United States, including the following meal types: feather, meat, meat and bone, meat and bone from poultry, poultry, and blood meals. The average pH of the meals ranged from 6.16 to 7.36, and the moisture content ranged from 1.9% to 11.5%. The total bacterial counts were in the range of 1.7 to 6.68 log10CFU/g, with the highest in blood meal and the lowest in meat meal. Enterococcus species were detected in 81.3% of the samples and accounted for up to 54% of the total bacterial counts in some samples. Both blood meal and feather meal were more contaminated (P < 0.05) with enterococci than other meal types, although all blood meals were from a single company. Salmonella was detected in 8.7% of the samples. Escherichia coli was not detected in any of the samples, but coliforms were detected in four samples. Among enterococci isolates, three were vancomycin resistant. Thirteen serotypes of Salmonella displayed 16 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis has indicated that Salmonella contamination was not persistent in the plant environment over time. The D-values for the Salmonella isolates at 55, 60, and 65 °C were in the ranges of 9.27–9.99, 2.07–2.28, and 0.35–0.40 min, respectively. These results suggest that the presence of Salmonella in the finished products may be due to postprocessing contamination. This study has also revealed that the rendering industry has microbiologically improved its products since earlier studies were conducted.
Transformation of Sinorhizobium meliloti MTCC 100 and Mesorhizobium ciceri TAL 620 by CaCl2 method
Authors: Patel Urmi , Sinha Sarika
Published: February 2010

The CaCl2 method, commonly used for transformation of Escherichia coli, was modified and used to develop a simpler and easier transformation method for Rhizobia sp. Two species of Rhizobia, Sinorhizobium meliloti MTCC 100 and Mesorhizobium ciceri TAL 620, were transformed with the 13.2 kb binary vector pGA482. At an optical density of 0.4, the transformation efficiencies in Sinorhizobium meliloti MTCC 100 and Mesorhizobium ciceri TAL 620 were 104 and 103, respectively. Competent cells of Sinorhizobium meliloti MTCC 100 were prepared at different growth intervals and transformed by the same vector. A maximum transformation efficiency of 104 was achieved at an optical density of 0.5.
Culturable bacterial populations associated with ectomycorrhizae of Norway spruce stands with different degrees of decline in the Czech Republic
Authors: Avidano Lorena , Rinaldi Maurizio , Gindro Roberto , Cudlín Pavel , Martinotti Maria Giovanna , Fracchia Letizia
Published: February 2010

The aim of this study was to determine which species of culturable bacteria are associated with ectomycorrhizae (ECM) of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) in the Sudety Mountains, exposed for years to atmospheric pollutants, acid rain, and climatic stress, and to identify particular species that have adapted to those conditions. Biolog identification was performed on bacterial species from ECM of adult spruce trees and seedlings of stands with low, intermediate, and high forest decline. Bacterial diversity in ECM associated with adult spruce trees, seedlings, and seedlings grown on monoliths was calculated; although the expected values appeared to vary widely, no significant differences among sites were observed. Dendrograms based on the identified bacterial species showed that stands with low forest decline clustered separately from the others. Principal component analysis of the normalized data for ECM-associated species showed a clear separation between stands with high forest decline and stands with low forest decline for seedlings and a less evident separation for adult spruce trees. In conclusion, shifts in ECM-associated culturable bacterial populations seem to be associated with forest decline in Norway spruce stands. Some bacterial species were preferentially associated with mycorrhizal roots depending on the degree of forest decline; this was more evident in seedlings where the species Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas fluorescens were associated with, respectively, ECM of the most damaged stands and those with low forest decline.
Differential between Protein and mRNA Expression of CCR7 and SSTR5 Receptors in Crohn's Disease Patients
Authors: Taquet Nathalie , Dumont Serge , Vonesch Jean-Luc , Hentsch Didier , Reimund Jean-Marie , Muller Christian D.
Published: February 2010

Crohn's disease (CD) is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown cause. The aim of the present study was to explore if mRNA over-expression of SSTR5 and CCR7 found in CD patients could be correlated to respective protein expression. When compared to healthy donors, SSTR5 was over-expressed 417±71 times in CD peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Flow cytometry experiments showed no correlation between mRNA and protein expression for SSTR5 in PBMCs. In an attempt to find a reason of such a high mRNA expression, SSTR5 present on CD PBMCs were tested and found as biologically active as on healthy cells. In biopsies of CD intestinal tissue, SSTR5 was not over-expressed but CCR7, unchanged in PBMCs, was over-expressed by 10±3 times in the lamina propria. Confocal microscopy showed a good correlation of CCR7 mRNA and protein expression in CD intestinal biopsies. Our data emphasize flow and image cytometry as impossible to circumvent in complement to molecular biology so to avoid false interpretation on receptor expressions. Once confirmed by further large-scale studies, our preliminary results suggest a role for SSTR5 and CCR7 in CD pathogenesis.
The Psychometric Properties of the Older People's Quality of Life Questionnaire, Compared with the CASP-19 and the WHOQOL-OLD
Authors: Bowling Ann
Published: February 2010

Purpose. To present the psychometric properties of a new measure of quality of life in older age, the Older People's Quality of Life (OPQOL) Questionnaire, compared with the CAPSE-19 and the WHOQOL-OLD.Design and Methods. The vehicle was three national population surveys of older people living at home in Britain, including a survey of ethnically diverse older people.Results. The OPQOL had acceptable levels of reliability and validity in British population samples of older people, but more modest in the ethnically diverse population sample. The CASP-19 and WHOQOL-OLD had acceptable levels of reliability and validity in the British population sample, but not in the ethnically diverse sample.Implications. The OPQOL has potential for use as a multidimensional population surveillance instrument for use with older populations, or as an outcome measure of multisector policy. Its strengths are that its development was embedded firmly in the perspectives of older people, integrated with theory.
NTCR Behavior of La‐Doped BaBiO3 Ceramics
Authors: Luo Ying , Li Xvqiong , Liu Xinyu
Published: February 2010

The influence of the composition on the microstructure and electrical properties of BaBi1−xLaxO3  (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) NTC thermistors was investigated. A single phase of BaBi1−xLaxO3 with a monoclinic structure was prepared by solid state reaction method. The relationship between the resistivity and the reciprocal of absolute temperature of the prepared NTC thermistors was linear, indicative of NTC characteristics. The resistivity and the coefficient of temperature sensitivity first decreased with increasing x in the range of x < 0.03 and then increased with further increase in x. However the alpha parameter value increased to a maximum value and then decreased again.
Gallbladder Agenesis and Cystic Duct Absence in an Adult Patient Diagnosed by Magnetic Resonance Cholangiography: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature
Authors: Fiaschetti Valeria , Calabrese Giovanna , Viarani Silvia , Bazzocchi Gabriele , Simonetti Giovanni
Published: February 2010

Gallbladder agenesis (GA) is a rare congenital anomaly of the biliary system often associated with other congenital abnormalities. Patients become symptomatic in 23% of cases. GA is often misinterpreted as other diseases, therefore, leading to unnecessary surgery. We report a case of congenital GA associated to cystic duct absence and a biliary tract abnormality diagnosed by Magnetic Resonance with Cholangiopancreatography.
Multifunctional Spirocyclic Systems
Authors: Lukyanov Boris , Vasilyuk Gennadii , Mukhanov Eugene , Ageev Leonid , Lukyanova Maria , Alexeenko Yury , Besugliy Serguei , Tkachev Valeri
Published: February 2010

New spiropyrans with different substituents in the benzopyran fragment have been synthesized and investigated. It was shown that introduction of aldehyde group in the structure of spiropyrans gives a possibility to obtain new functionalized compounds. Effects of the substituents on the photochromic behavior were studied.
Robust Stability Analysis of Fuzzy Neural Network with Delays
Authors: Zhao Kaihong , Li Yongkun
Published: February 2010

We investigate local robust stability of fuzzy neural networks (FNNs)
with time‐varying and S‐type distributed delays. We derive some sufficient conditions for
local robust stability of equilibrium points and estimate attracting domains of equilibrium
points except unstable equilibrium points. Our results not only show local robust
stability of equilibrium points but also allow much broader application for fuzzy neural
network with or without delays. An example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of
our results.
State of the Art of the Ignalina RBMK-1500 Safety
Authors: Ušpuras E.
Published: February 2010

Ignalina NPP is the only nuclear power plant in Lithuania consisting of two units, commissioned in 1983 and 1987. Unit 1 of Ignalina NPP was shut down for decommissioning at the end of 2004 and Unit 2 is to be operated until the end of 2009. Both units are equipped with channel-type graphite-moderated boiling water reactors RBMK-1500. The paper summarizing the results of deterministic and probabilistic analyses is developed within 1991–2007 by specialists from Lithuanian Energy Institute. The main operational safety aspects, including analyses performed according the Ignalina Safety Improvement Programs, development and installation of the Second Shutdown System and Guidelines on Severe Accidents Management are discussed. Also the phenomena related to the closure of the gap between fuel channel and graphite bricks, multiple fuel channel tube rupture, and containment issues as well as implication of the external events to the Ignalina NPP safety are discussed separately.
Rapid Assessment of Relative Density in Mixed-Species Stands of the Northeastern United States
Authors: Ducey M. J. , Knapp R. A.
Published: February 2010

Basal area has shortcomings as a measure of stand density, but it is often preferred for operational assessments because it is easy to measure. Previous work has demonstrated that an additive version of Reineke's stand density index can be estimated by a simple tree count using a modified horizontal point sampling technique. We show that this technique can be extended further to estimate a mixed-species density measure that has been developed for complex stands in the northeastern United States, using wood specific gravity to harmonize the density contributions of different species. The sampling technique provides design-unbiased estimates of stand density from a weighted tree count, where the weights depend on specific gravity but not on diameter. Rounding the specific gravity values for different species in the calculation of estimates introduces a trivial amount of bias but streamlines the procedure for rapid use in the field.
Earthworm Protease
Authors: Pan Rong , Zhang Zi-Jian , He Rong-Qiao
Published: February 2010

The alimentary tract of earthworm secretes a group of proteases with a relative wide substrate specificity. In 1983, six isozymes were isolated from earthworm with fibrinolytic activities and called fibriniolytic enzymes. So far, more isozymes have been found from different earthworm species such asLumbricus rubellusandEisenia fetida. For convenience, the proteases are named on the basis of the earthworm species and the protein function, for instance,Eisenia fetidaprotease (EfP). The proteases have the abilities not only to hydrolyze fibrin and other protein, but also activate proenzymes such as plasminogen and prothrombin. In the light of recent studies, eight of theEfPs contain oligosaccharides chains which are thought to support the enzyme structure. Interestingly,EfP-II has a broader substrate specificity presenting alkaline trypsin, chymotrypsin and elastase activities, butEfP-III-1 has a stricter specificity. The protein crystal structures show the characteristics in their specificities. Earthworm proteases have been applied in several areas such as clinical treatment of clotting diseases, anti-tumor study, environmental protection and nutritional production. The current clinical utilizations and some potential new applications of the earthworm protease will be discussed in this paper.
A Note on Strong Convergence of a Modified Halpern's Iteration for Nonexpansive Mappings
Authors: Wang Shuang
Published: February 2010

In the paper by Hu in 2008, the author proved a strong convergence result for nonexpansive mappings using a modified Halpern's iteration algorithm. Unfortunately, the case "Equation missing" does not guarantee the strong convergence of the sequence "Equation missing". In this note, we provide a counter-example to the theorem.
Automated Observations of the Earthshine
Authors: Goode P. R. , Shoumko S. , Pallé E. , Montañés-Rodríguez P.
Published: February 2010

The overall reflectance of sunlight from Earth is a fundamental parameter
for climate studies. We have designed and implemented small aperture, remote
control telescopes in Big Bear Solar Observatory in California and in Tenerife in
the Canary Islands. These telescopes observe the earthshine to obtain a global
mean terrestrial reflectance utilizing a coronagraph‐like design for long exposures
of the dark of the Moon and have internal moving parts in the optical train, which
presented some design and control problems.
From Router to Front Row: Lubricious Transfer and the Aesthetics of Telematic Performance
Authors: Giges Bob , Warburton Edward C.
Published: February 2010

This article describes experiments in live telematic performance linking U.S. East and West Coast dancers via Internet2. Alternating between a first-person account of one particular stage performance and a theoretical exploration of the same, the authors come to terms with the audiences' newly constituted relationship as technological ruptures alter the immersive pull of live performance.
Image Contour Fidelity Analysis of Mechanically Aided Enlargements of Jan van Eyck's Albergati Portrait
Authors: Duarte Marco F. , Stork David G.
Published: February 2010

A recent revisionist theory claims that as early as 1430 European artists secretly invented optical projectors and used them as aids during the execution of their paintings. Key artworks adduced in support of this theory are a pair of portraits of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati by Jan van Eyck: a silverpoint study (1431) and a formal oil work (1432). We tested whether the use of known contemporaneous mechanical methods might explain this image evidence as well as the use of optical methods, also explaining additional physical evidence. We used traditional image processing techniques, as well as “re-enacted copies” by professional artists using mechanical methods. We found that the fidelities of these modern “re-enactments” were equal or superior to those of the van Eyck works.
Digital Art and Experimental Color Systems at Bell Laboratories, 1965–1984: Restoring Interdisciplinary Innovations to Media History
Authors: Kane Carolyn L.
Published: February 2010

AT&T's Bell Laboratories produced a prolific number of innovative digital art and experimental color systems between 1965 and 1984. However, due to repressive regulation, this work was hidden from the public. Almost two decades later, when Bell lifted its restrictions on creative work not related to telephone technologies, the atmosphere had changed so dramatically that despite a relaxation of regulation, cutting-edge projects were abandoned. This paper discusses the struggles encountered in interdisciplinary collaborations and the challenge to use new media computing technology to make experimental art at Bell Labs during this unique time period, now largely lost to the history of the media arts.
Riders Have Spoken: Replaying and Archiving Pervasive Performances
Authors: Chamberlain Alan , Rowland Duncan , Foster Jonathan , Giannachi Gabriella
Published: February 2010

In this paper we present a practical study that formed part of the larger Creator project [1]. Data, such as GPS trails, video and audio files from a pervasive-performance were used to explore multi-disciplinary understandings of such ‘ephemeral’ pieces. Video and audio content tagging was also explored as a device to aid in developing the archive for replay. It is recommended that projects involving artistic practice should make documentation and subsequent archiving part of their overall research strategy.
What's Up Prof? Current Issues in the Visual Effects & Post-Production Industry
Authors: Dodgson Neil , Patterson John , Willis Phil
Published: February 2010

We interviewed creative professionals at a number of London visual effects and post-production houses. We report on the key issues raised in those interviews: desirable new technologies, infrastructure challenges, personnel and process management.
Childhood Bestiality
Authors: Hensley Christopher , Tallichet Suzanne E. , Dutkiewicz Erik L.
Published: February 2010

Although bestiality is an infrequent form of animal cruelty, the possibility of identifying a potential link between these acts and later interpersonal violence is an area of research that deserves further exploration. In a replication of the Hensley, Tallichet, and Singer study and based on survey data from male inmates at a medium- and maximum-security prison in a southern state, the present investigation examines whether inmates who engaged in childhood bestiality ( n = 23) differ from those who did not ( n = 157) in terms of race, childhood residence, education, commission of a personal crime (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated/simple assault), and the number of personal crimes committed. The results revealed that respondents who had engaged in childhood bestiality were more likely to commit adult interpersonal crimes on two or more occasions as compared to those who had not engaged in bestiality. These findings lend further support to the sexually polymorphous theory that childhood bestiality may be a potential precursor to adult interpersonal violence.
‘Campaigns against “Blackness”’: Criminality, Incivility, and Election to Executive Office
Authors: James Joy
Published: February 2010

‘Campaigns against “Blackness”’ focuses on the 2008 Democratic presidential primary waged by Barack Obama and the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial race run by Deval Patrick. It explores racial bias expressed against and by African-American males seeking high office. In these campaigns, the convergence of racial uplift and multicultural democracy manifests in mandates against blackness represented as criminality and political incivility. Historically, US anti-black anima forged tropes of ‘criminality’ and ‘incivility’ that demonized blacks as unsuitable for full citizenship. Today, the new black candidates successfully deflect these tropes, in part, by redeploying them against non-elites, and anti-racist discourse and activism.
One Strike Evictions, State Space and the Production of Abject Black Female Bodies
Authors: Lethabo King Tiffany
Published: February 2010

This article examines activist Connie Burton’s as well as other black women’s ‘political narratives’ of resistance to One Strike evictions. Contextualizing the One Strike policy within narratives of resistance to methods of discipline employed by public housing authorities will allow for an anchoring of this investigation of One Strike and no fault evictions in an analytical framework of governmentality. By focusing on disciplinary power in order to theorize state formations, the One Strike policy can be construed as a method of discipline that produces abject black female bodies and creates the ‘structural effect’ of a separate and bounded ‘state space’ from which black women should be excluded. This article will also demonstrate the ways in which the One Strike policy works to produce race, gender and space. This production of a social space that excludes black female bodies is predicated on legacies of racism and colonial dispossession.
Colorblind Racism and Institutional Actors’ Explanations of Korean Immigrant Entrepreneurship
Authors: Nopper Tamara K.
Published: February 2010

This article critically interrogates how colorblind racial ideology and the disadvantage thesis, a common explanation for immigrant entrepreneurship, rhetorically inform one another. I interview 81 representatives of Korean banks and seven US federal government institutions to determine how they explain the concentration of Korean immigrants in USA-based entrepreneurship. Consistent with the sociological literature, I find that respondents cite disadvantage as the main reason for Korean immigrants’ over-representation in small business ownership. Also consistent with the literature are respondents’ emphases on Koreans’ group-level characteristics as mediating factors against disadvantage. I analyze how three dimensions of colorblind racial ideology are embedded in respondents’ discourse; these three dimensions include the minimization of the role of racial ideologies and major institutions in shaping socioeconomic patterns, the promotion of cultural racism, and the incorporation of Asian Americans into a universal immigrant paradigm.
Proprieties of Coalition: Blacks, Asians, and the Politics of Policing
Authors: Sexton Jared
Published: February 2010

Black populations in the post-civil rights era USA face forms of racial discipline generated not only by organizations and institutions representing the white mainstream and contributing to the preservation or restoration of white supremacy, but also increasingly by organizations and institutions representing non-black people of color and contributing to the deepening and rationalization of ‘the new black/non-black divide. This article takes a critical look at the framing of urban multiracial coalition politics by professional intellectuals during the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, specifically academics in the field of Asian American Studies that attempted to explain the nature and sources of conflict between African Americans and Asian Americans.
Symbolically Muslim: Media, Hijab, and the West
Authors: Byng Michelle D.
Published: February 2010

This research examines newspaper reporting to question how the media represented the ideological interests of Western nations concerning symbolic representations of Islam in public following 11 September 2001. Critical discourse analysis is used to examine 72 stories that were published in the New York Times and Washington Post between 2004 and 2006. The stories covered the ban on hijab in France, the debate about niqab in Britain, and veiling by Muslim women in the USA. They show that knowledge about veiling in Western nations must include their national identities as well as their concerns about Muslims’ assimilation/integration and Islamic terrorism. American newspaper media positioned France, Britain, and the USA as ideologically alike in spite of their different framings of religious freedom. Reporting supported the interests, values, and hegemony of the West with representations that created the common sense that Muslim women would not veil in public.
Digital Epidermalization: Race, Identity and Biometrics
Authors: Browne Simone
Published: February 2010

This article considers the ways in which what Paul Gilroy terms ‘epidermal thinking’ operates in the discourses surrounding certain surveillance practices and their applications, with a focus on identification documents and biometric technologies in particular. My aim is not to re-ontologize race, but instead to outline the notion of digital epidermalization, stemming from Frantz Fanon’s concept of epidermalization, as it allows for thinking through race, ontological insecurity and the ways in which the body materializes with and against biometric technologies. I examine key research in surveillance studies, governmental policy documents concerning biometric enabled identification documents and the 2003 ‘deportation’ to India of a Canadian citizen through the issuance of an expedited removal order by the US Immigration and Naturalization Services. By interrogating how digital epidermalization gains meaning and is put into practice, this article seeks to posit a space for refusals of such epidermal thinking through a critical biometric consciousness.
The Terms of Engagement: Warfare, White Locality, and Abolition
Authors: Rodríguez Dylan
Published: February 2010

This essay attempts to contextualize and theoretically resituate the state and state-ordained violences of different modalities of ‘warfare’ have been rendered mundane, acceptable, and banal within the American ‘domestic’ social formation in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. More precisely, it attempts to bring analytical and theoretical attention to how the organized subjection of racially pathologized social subjects is essential to white supremacist nation-building, even and especially within the historical conjuncture of the multiculturalist racist state’s emergence as the hegemonic institutional form of the USA. What might a radical sociology, antiracist praxis, and social theory contribute to a critical reframing of the white supremacist state as something that has neither obsolesced nor decomposed, but has reinvigorated and recomposed its structures of dominance through a symbiosis of multiculturalist incorporations/empowerments and political enhancement of a statecraft that is durably and foundationally racist?
Race, Rehabilitated — Redux
Authors: Taylor Paul C.
Published: February 2010

‘Race, Rehabilitated — Redux’ explores the metaphysics of passing as a propadeutic to the interdisciplinary practice of critical race theory. Racial metaphysics asks whether races and racial identities exist, what they might be if they do exist, and what race-talk refers to if these things do not exist. Arguments that seek to deny racial categories any role in serious social analysis — arguments of the sort delivered by literary theorist Walter Benn Michaels — too often have their roots in bad metaphysics. This essay explores one of Michaels’s arguments in order to remove some of the sophistical obstacles that he and others try to lay across the pathways to critical race theory, and to show that there are intuitively plausible answers to the questions of racial metaphysics apart from the agnosticism and ambivalence that theorists like Howard Winant often, and understandably, indulge on their way to doing the important work of sociological analysis.
The Properties of Simple Vs. Absolute Majority Rule: Cases Where Absences and Abstentions Are Important
Authors: Dougherty Keith L. , Edward Julian
Published: February 2010

Little attention has been paid to the differences between absolute majority rule and simple majority rule, which differ in their treatment of absences and ‘votes to abstain’. This article fills that gap by undertaking a probabilistic analysis of the two voting rules assuming two alternatives and a quorum requirement for simple majority rule. The rules are compared in both a modified sincere setting and a strategic setting using five criteria: (1) the Pareto criterion, (2) the BT criterion (Buchanan and Tullock, 1962), (3) the Expected Social Gain criterion, (4) the Responsiveness criterion, and (5) a modified version of Rae’s criterion. In the sincere setting, we find that simple majority rule (with and without a quorum) outperforms absolute majority rule under most conditions for four out of the five criteria. In the strategic setting, we find that the voting rules perform much more similarly.
Adaptively Rational Retrospective Voting
Authors: Bendor Jonathan , Kumar Sunil , Siegel David A.
Published: February 2010

Since the seminal work of Key (1966), Kramer (1971), and Nordhaus (1975), retrospective voting has been a major component of voting theory. However, although these views are alive empirically (Lewis-Beck and Stegmaier, 2000; Franzese, 2002; Hibbs, 2006), most theorizing assumes rational citizens. We suspect that Key had a less heroic view of voter cognition, and we formalize his verbal theory accordingly. Our model is based on two axioms: if an incumbent performed well (above voter A’s aspiration) then A becomes more likely to vote for the incumbent; A is less likely to do so if the incumbent performed poorly (below A’s aspiration). We then prove that such citizens, though lacking ideologies, endogenously develop partisan voting tendencies. This result is robust against perceptual errors (citizens evaluating an incumbent’s performance incorrectly). We also show that the best-informed voters, who perceive performance most accurately, are the most partisan.
Condorcet Consistency of Approval Voting: a Counter Example in Large Poisson Games
Authors: Nuñez Matias
Published: February 2010

Approval Voting is analyzed in a context of large elections with strategic voters: the Myerson’s Large Poisson Games. We first establish the Magnitude Equivalence Theorem which substantially reduces the complexity of computing the magnitudes of the pivot outcomes. Furthermore, we show that the Condorcet Winner need not be the Winner of the election in equilibrium under Approval Voting. Indeed, a ‘paradoxical’ example is provided where a candidate ranked first by more than half of the voters is not the Winner of the election.
A Theoretical Analysis of Income Tax Evasion, Optimal Auditing, and Credibility in Developing Countries
Authors: Batabyal Amitrajeet A. , Beladi Hamid
Published: February 2010

We first construct a theoretical model of tax evasion in a stylized developing country in which all taxpayers have either high or low income. The key problem is that the high-income taxpayers may underreport their income. An individual income tax return can only be verified with an audit that costs c. There is a constant tax rate τ on income and a fine F on underpaid tax. In this setting, we analyze two cases. In the first case, the tax authority pre-commits to its audit policy. We determine the optimal audit policy for the tax authority and then we discuss why this policy is not credible. In the second case, there is a fixed proportion of high-income taxpayers who report their income truthfully. In this context, we first study the properties of a credible audit policy. Then, we examine the impact of an increase in the three parameters (c, τ, F) on the equilibrium audit policy.
Influence of Indian Brown Seaweed (Sargassum marginatum) as an Ingredient on Quality, Biofunctional, and Microstructure Characteristics of Pasta
Authors: Prabhasankar P. , Ganesan P. , Bhaskar N.
Published: February 2010

This study aimed to develop pasta with Indian brown seaweed (Sargassum marginatum) as an ingredient to improve the biofunctional and nutritional qualities. Different levels of seaweed (1.0%, 2.5%, and 5.0%; w/w) were substituted to obtain seaweed-incorporated pasta and pasta without seaweed was used as control. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (%) of seaweed-incorporated pasta was higher in cooked form as compared to uncooked (raw) pasta. Reducing power of seaweed incorporated pasta increased with the increased levels of seaweed. However, metal-chelating activity was highest (5.88%) in pasta with 2.5% seaweed. With regards to product quality, weight of uncooked pasta (25 g) increased to between 70 and 77 g on cooking, depending on the type of pasta. Cooking loss decreased in samples having seaweed up to 2.5% as compared to control. Pasta with 2.5% seaweed had rupture free nonsticky strands. Microstructure studies revealed that the incorporation of seaweed up to 2.5% enhances gluten network of pasta.
Changes and Deterioration of Lipid in Farmed Spotted Babylon Snail (Babylonia areolat a) Muscle during Iced Storage
Authors: Chotimarkorn C. , Silalai N. , Chaitanawisuit N.
Published: February 2010

Lipid damage of farmed spotted Babylon snail muscle stored in ice for 7 days was evaluated by determining changes of lipid composition, fatty acid composition, peroxide value (PV), and p-anisidine value (p-AV). During 7-day iced storage, triglyceride, and phospholipids contents decreased but free fatty acid increased with storage time (p ≤ 0.05). Changes in saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid were observed at extended storage time (p ≤ 0.05). No changes in PV and p-AV of snail muscle were found during the first 4-day iced storage (p > 0.05). However, PV and p-AV of snail lipid increased during 4-day and 7-day iced storage (p ≤ 0.05). Rancid odor assessment of snail muscle exhibited a significant increase in rancidity (p ≤ 0.05) after 3 days of storage. Bacteria counts of snail muscle exceeded 7 log CFU/g, which was considered as the limit for acceptability after 7 days of iced storage. In conclusion, these results revealed that lipid damaged by hydrolysis and oxidation occurred in snail muscle during iced storage.