bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Going Beyond the Internal—External Dichotomy in Clinical Psychology
Authors: Westerman Michael A. , Steen Edward M.
Published: June 2007

Thinking in terms of a dichotomy between `internal' processes, on the one hand, and behaviors and events in the `external' world, on the other, is a pervasive, problematic feature of work in clinical psychology. Although there have been calls for rejecting this approach, it remains far from clear how to move beyond it. The authors address this issue by presenting a framework for participatory accounts. This framework is based on a philosophical perspective that takes as its starting point the person involved in practical activities. It includes five points about substantive and methodological matters. The authors illustrate the participatory approach by discussing a new conceptualization of defense processes called the theory of interpersonal defense in order to (a) show that going beyond the internal—external dichotomy can lead to fresh insights in a substantive area of inquiry, and (b) provide an example that can serve as a guide for investigators interested in approaching other issues in clinical psychology in a manner based on the participatory framework.
On Critical Engagement with the Mainstream
Authors: Tissaw Michael A. , Osbeck Lisa M.
Published: June 2007

This Special Issue foregrounds a need for critical reflection on the assumptions, biases, goals and effectiveness of the subdiscipline `theoretical and philosophical psychology.' Pivotal to the Issue is a contrast developed between criticism of and critical engagement with `mainstream' psychology. Contributions address a range of evaluative themes relating to theoretical and philosophical psychology's identity, representative breadth, impact, instrumentality, accuracy, fairness and flexibility. Themes include reflection on changes in the mainstream and on theoretical psychology's response. The aim is to offer a variety of perspectives rather than to seek definitive answers to any questions relating to the evaluative themes. Thus both pessimistic and optimistic accounts are given of the potential of theoretical and philosophical psychology to engage mainstream psychology critically. An additional organizing principle of the Issue is the representative inclusion of traditional branches of psychological research: cognitive, clinical, developmental, neuroscience, personality and social psychology. Within this structure, reflections on the status and efficacy of theoretical and philosophical psychology are both prospective and retrospective. Through its range of essays the Issue strives to make clear that `engagement with' is not equivalent to alliance or compliance, and that the relation of theoretical and philosophical psychology to the psychological community at large is a matter for continual and regular reappraisal.
What's God Got To Do With It?
Authors: Isherwood Lisa
Published: June 2007

This article considers the question of capitalism and the underlying aspects of Christological construction through comparing the approach of a Radical Orthodoxy theologian and feminist theologians. The author is concerned that feminist scholarship has been hijacked by male theologians who wish to offer a quite conservative agenda while appearing radical. The article shows that we can not change the outcomes if we are not willing to examine and change the underlying theories even if they are matters of doctrine.
Queering the Cross: The politics of Redemption and the External Debt
Authors: Althaus-Reid Marcella Maria
Published: June 2007

This article examines the connections between a theory of redemption as indebtedness and the wider political/economic realities of indebtedness. In order to illustrate the argument the author demonstrates why it is necessary to even question the roots of theories since they too carry a wider agenda. The author contrasts a debt economy with an economy of love.
Thinking Theology and Queer Theory
Authors: Althaus-Reid Marcella , Isherwood Lisa
Published: June 2007

This article examines what it is to think through queer eyes, that is what may queer theory offer to the study of theology. It shows what queer is in this context and challenges the reader to think in other ways. The article examines how queer theory helps to illuminate the radical nature of incarnation at the same time as examining some of the concerns expressed by theorists about the nature of the queer theological project.
Disabled Theologies and the Journeys of Liberation to Where our Names Appear
Authors: Newell Christopher
Published: June 2007

This article questions the notion of a disembodied theology which can provide ultimate answers about an absolute God. It places this questioning within the truly challenging arena of mental health. While issuing challenge to theology the author calls for a pastoral theology that is willing to cross boundaries, those that were perhaps not even previously imagined. This is a daring, moving and embodied challenge to the more constraining and controlling areas of theology and pastoral care.
Secular Womynism: A View From The Left
Authors: Johnson Patricia-Anne
Published: June 2007

This article will provide an introductory discussion of the feminist concept known as `secular womynism'. Secular Womynism, developed by Patricia-Anne Johnson, a.k.a. `Medusa', a professor of Womyn's and Theological Studies at California State University at Long Beach presents an alternative approach to the study of 'classical, or traditional' Christian Womanism. It is a non-Christo-centric philosophically ecumenical treatment of Womynism, the fundamental purpose of which is to disrupt the established boundaries of 'traditional' Womanism and to de-center and challenge its classical limitations and existing perimeters.
Shared Moral Work of Nurses and Physicians
Authors: Storch Janet L , Kenny Nuala
Published: June 2007

Physicians and nurses need to sustain their unique strengths and work in true collaboration, recognizing their interdependence and the complementarity of their knowledge, skills and perspectives, as well as their common moral commitments. In this article, challenges often faced by both nurses and physicians in working collaboratively are explored with a focus on the ways in which each profession's preparation for practice has differed over time, including shifts in knowledge development and codes of ethics guiding their practice. A call for envisioning their practice as shared moral work as well as practical strategies to begin that work are offered as a basis for reflection towards enhanced nurse-physician relationships.
Incorporating Cultural Issues in Education for Ethical Practice
Authors: Yarbrough Susan , Klotz Linda
Published: June 2007

The population of most non-dominant ethnic groups in the USA is growing dramatically. Faculty members are challenged to develop curricula that adequately prepare our future nurses. An increased focus on clinical ethics has resulted from the use of sophisticated technology, changes in health care financing, an increasing elderly population and the shift of care from inpatient to outpatient settings. Nurses frequently face situations demanding resolution of ethical dilemmas involving cultural differences. Nursing curricula must include content on both ethics and cultural sensitivity. Active student participation is an important element providing a foundation for ethical practice. A proposed educational format was introduced with graduating baccalaureate students. In a pilot study, curricular content on cultural sensitivity and ethical practice was taught in separate modules. Students were then asked to identify and problem solve an ethical dilemma involving patients and professional caregivers from vastly different cultures. Course faculty members provided discussion questions to guide the students' thinking.
Origins of Difficulty in the Nurse-Patient Encounter
Authors: Macdonald Marilyn
Published: June 2007

The purpose of this study was to look beyond the patient as the source of difficulty and to examine the context of care encounters for factors that contributed to the construction of difficulty in the nurse-patient encounter. The study explains the origins of difficulty in the nurse-patient encounter. This explanation broadens the thinking limits previously imposed by locating difficulty within the individual. Key elements of this explanation are: knowing the patient minimizes the likelihood of difficulty in the encounter; and families, availability of supplies and equipment, who is working, and care space changes are contextual factors that contribute to the construction of difficulty in the nurse-patient encounter. Awareness of these findings has implications for the strategies nurses employ in difficult encounters.
Restraint and the Question of Validity
Authors: Paterson Brodie , Duxbury Joy
Published: June 2007

Restraint as an intervention in the management of acute mental distress has a long history that predates the existence of psychiatry. However, it remains a source of controversy with an ongoing debate as to its role. This article critically explores what to date has seemingly been only implicit in the debate surrounding the role of restraint: how should the concept of validity be interpreted when applied to restraint as an intervention? The practice of restraint in mental health is critically examined using two post-positivist constructions of validity, the pragmatic and the psychopolitical, by means of a critical examination of the literature. The current literature provides only weak support for the pragmatic validity of restraint as an intervention and no support to date for its psychopolitical validity. Judgements regarding the validity of any intervention that is coercive must include reference to the psychopolitical dimensions of both practice and policy.
Do Statins Lower Blood Pressure?
Authors: Mangat Simardeep , Agarwal Sanjay , Rosendorff Clive
Published: June 2007

Hypercholesterolemia is present in many patients with hypertension and adds a significant component of cardiovascular risk. The 3-hydroxy-3 methyl-glutarylcoenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but also inhibit many of the structural and functional components of the arteriosclerotic process. Structural effects include reductions in vascular smooth muscle hypertrophy and proliferation, fibrin deposition, and collagen cross-linking. Among the functional effects are improvements in endothelial function, reduction in inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, and down-regulation of angiotensin II and endothelin receptors. These would be expected to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension; 14 studies have shown statin-induced decrease in blood pressure, but 11 studies showed no effect. Many of the studies had no placebo controls, were of short duration, or had small sample sizes, or combinations of these. Despite predictions made on the basis of the vasoprotective actions of statins, the blood-pressure-lowering effects of statins are at best modest.
Their Perspectives: ESL Students' Reflections On Collaborative Community Service Learning
Authors: Crossman Joanne M. , Kite Stacey L.
Published: June 2007

Our business communication classes will continue to be enriched by students from various cultural backgrounds, many of them ESL learners. Among the numerous benefits of this diversity are oppor tunities for all students to develop essential life skills through course-embedded community ser vice learning (CSL) projects. This study analyzes students' guided reflections in response to qualitative probes regarding CSL projects required for all MBA candidates at the study site. Data were gathered during a 5-year period from 326 reflective repor ts. More than 80% of the reflective question responses were authored by international students; approximately 60% of those were ESL learners. The findings reveal differences not only between ESL learners and native speakers of English but also between ESL students. Key themes discussed include cultural sensitivity, teamwork, contributive roles, conflict resolution skills, and pragmatic communication skills. The findings presented are accompanied by students' comments, corroborating literature, and teaching tips.
Body, Mind and Spirit? Towards an Analysis of the Practice of Yoga
Authors: Smith Benjamin Richard
Published: June 2007

This article presents an initial analysis of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a variety of ‘modern postural yoga’. The article theorizes the embodied experience of a¯sana (‘yoga postures’), drawing on ethnographic research with Western practitioners in India and Australia and on the author’s own practice. Building on phenomenological and cultural theories of embodiment, it is suggested that the experience of yoga practitioners has particular somatic foundations, and that this somatic basis helps explain the cross-cultural effectiveness of yoga.
McDonaldizing Men's Bodies? Slimming, Associated (Ir)Rationalities and Resistances
Authors: Monaghan Lee F.
Published: June 2007

Using Ritzer’s McDonaldization of Society thesis as a reference point, this article contributes sociologically to burgeoning critical obesity studies. It does this using qualitative data from a study of men and weightrelated issues undertaken in northern England. Taking a counter-intuitive approach, it explores whether slimming proceeds in accord with the rationalizing principles of the fast-food restaurant: calculability, efficiency, predictability and technological control. Rather than reproducing a simplified and ultimately stigmatizing account, where fatness is a pathological bodily state caused by fast food, this article explores the degree to which fatness is actively made into a correctable problem using McDonaldized principles. Irrationalities and meaningful resistances associated with the public and private fight against fat are also considered.
Death, lamentation and the photographic representation of the Other during the Second Iraq War in Greek newspapers
Authors: Konstantinidou Christina
Published: June 2007

• This article is part of a wider research project on the cultural and political significance of the photographic representations of suffering during the Second Iraq War (2003) in Greek newspapers. The paper examines in detail a particular case study — the `wailing father' photographs — carrying out a socio-semiotic analysis of the signifying practices of news reporting and exploring the visual construction of `death' and `lamentation', accounting for the complex articulation between the particular social/cultural context and the processes of meaning construction. More specifically, the aim of the article is to study the role of the representation of death and grief in war; firstly as a rhetorical tool wielded by the Greek press to support its political and moral stance against the Second Iraq War, and, secondly as a hegemonic device that creates an ambivalent divide between `us' (the `implied readers' identifying with the Western moral virtues of `civilised' humanity) and `them' (the social groups being represented, the `Non-Western World') along the lines of Orientalist bipolar oppositions. The article concludes that the `wailing father' photographs, as a deeply complex mixture of voyeurism, objectification, affective participation, human brotherhood, moral indifference, imaginative compassion, passivity and fatalism, seem to reproduce, in all their confusion, the Western superiority and the Orientalist imagery, but also the moral and political failure to react over suffering and war. •
Servicing `the other Hollywood'
Authors: Ward Susan , O' Regan Tom
Published: June 2007

• Television programming has become such a significant part of Hollywood operations that Allen J. Scott has dubbed television production and distribution the `other Hollywood'. However, it is also a sector that, over the 1900s, became subject to forces of decentralization as producers looked to alternative, more cost-efficient locations. Scott asks whether Hollywood is likely to face intensifying competition within global markets from regional production centres specializing in servicing international television production. This study charts the changing push and pull factors that directed `runaway' television production to, and then away from, one such regional production centre — the Gold Coast, Australia. This regional centre's mixed history with international production suggests the need to attend to both processes of decentralization and recentralization of production. The article concludes that concerns over potential competition to Hollywood emerging from production locations like the Gold Coast may be overstated. •
Media rituals and festive culture
Authors: Reijnders Stijn
Published: June 2007

• Most research on media rituals is based on the assumption that they fulfil a `natural' need in keeping society together. Recently, different scholars have questioned this `neo-Durkheimian' approach, stating that media rituals should not be interpreted as subservient to an existing society, but as active constructors of social order. This article tries to analyse how national identity is being constructed in the longest-running entertainment programme on Dutch television: Te Land ter Zee. The case study shows how images of the nation come about through interaction and negotiation between various parties. The organization plays a key role in the media ritual, but is still dependent for the end-result on the cooperation of the power configurations, participant performance and the appropriation of the programme by the audience. •
Unsettled Connections
Authors: Clarke John
Published: June 2007

This article explores some of the conditions and consequences of the centrality of the figure of the consumer in recent public service reform in the UK. New Labour's view of the modern world as being defined in part by the rise of a consumer culture or consumer society locates the figure of the consumer at the heart of its programme of public service reform in the decade from 1997. Drawing on a recent study of public services, the article considers the impact of this consumerist model of reform on the relationships between public service organizations and their publics, drawing out three particular sites of strain that mark the shifting relationships between the public and services. These are the tensions between rights, resources and rationing; the links and disjunctures between choice and voice; and the tangled formations of knowledge and power.
Empowering `Consumer-Citizens` or Governing Poor Female Subjects?
Authors: Schild Verónica
Published: June 2007

In the new millennium, the empowered consumer-citizen has become a figure in dominance, and as such a taken for granted starting point for philanthropic and solidarity efforts throughout. This article traces the making of this active citizen in Chile through the intersection between feminist knowledge production and institutional practice, and administrative processes that seek to normalize the poor by shaping the conduct, capacities, needs, aspirations and desires of women clients of social assistance. It focuses explicitly on the area of self-formation and women's empowerment. Finally, the article makes the case that neoliberal cultural forms, though transnational in appearance and in ambitions, are best understood as articulations that are negotiated in specific national-cultural formations.
An analysis of how nonresponse error is assessed in academic marketing research
Authors: Collier Joel E. , Bienstock Carol C.
Published: June 2007

Nonresponse error is a topic that draws little attention but can dramatically affect the ability to generalize results of a research study. The authors carried out an empirical investigation that took a critical look at the marketing discipline to see how nonresponse error was being addressed in three of the top five marketing journals. The data for this study consisted of a content analysis of all articles from the Journal of Marketing , the Journal of Marketing Research , and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science from 1999 through 2003 to determine if and how nonresponse error was being addressed in academic marketing research. This article details the findings of this content analysis, i.e., what measures are being used to assess nonresponse error along with the literature cited in support of these measures. The article concludes with an overall analysis of how well this topic is being addressed along with further suggestions for assessing nonresponse in the field of marketing research.
Fraser on Redistribution, Recognition, and Identity
Authors: Alcoff Linda Martín
Published: June 2007

This article analyzes Nancy Fraser's account of the contrasting social movements for recognition versus those for redistribution. In her most recent analysis, only those forms of recognition struggles that she equates with identity politics are subject to critique. I argue that identity politics does not have an inevitable logic to it that destines it to fracture, border patrol, internal conservatism, etc., and further that the very redistribution claims she proposes require identity politics.
Beyond Distributive Justice and Struggles for Recognition
Authors: Bohman James
Published: June 2007

This article argues that a theory of recognition cannot provide the comprehensive basis for a critical theory or a conception of social justice. In this respect, I agree with Fraser's impulse to include more in such a theory, such as distributive justice and participatory parity. Fraser does not go far enough, to the extent that methodologically she seeks a theory of the same sort as Honneth's. Both Honneth's and Fraser's comprehensive theories cannot account for a central phenomenon of contemporary societies: domination as structural exclusion rather than tyranny or the lack of parity. This phenomenon shows that at the very least freedom (rather than merely justice or recognition) ought to remain central to any critical theory of globalization. Most of all, both theories fail to provide a way to decide whether democratic practices can produce justice. A pluralist and pragmatic form of critical theory is thus superior to any comprehensive normative theory.
Struggling over the Meaning of Recognition
Authors: Kompridis Nikolas
Published: June 2007

Struggles for recognition are at the same time struggles over what it means to recognize and be recognized. Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth propose two mutually exclusive ways to understand recognition: either as a matter of justice (Fraser) or as a matter of identity (Honneth). This article argues against the limitations of both of these construals of recognition, and offers a third way of construing it: as a matter of freedom. Recognition is not reducible, empirically or normatively, to any of these, however. Moreover, it needs to be regarded both more critically and more openly since what we are dealing with is a practice and an ideal that is by its very nature deeply contestable and therefore (more than most practices and ideals) subject to unforeseeable historical and normative change. Rather than trying to fix the meaning of recognition in order to give it a determinate role in ambitious theories of justice, it would be better to proceed more sceptically, attentive both to the complexities of recognition relations and to alternative ways of conceiving them and going on with them differently from before.
First Things First
Authors: Forst Rainer
Published: June 2007

This article analyses the debate between Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth in a dialectical fashion. Their controversy about how to construct a critical theory of justice is not just one about the proper balance between `redistribution' and `recognition', it also involves basic questions of social ontology. Differing both from Fraser's `twodimensional' view of `participatory parity' and from Honneth's `monistic' theory of recognition, the article argues for a third view of `justificatory monism and diagnosticevaluative pluralism', also called the `first-things-first' approach. According to it, theories of recognition provide an essential sensorium for analyses of social suffering and of injustice, while with respect to the justification of justice claims, a discursive conception of justification is required. This, however, does not imply a purely `formal' account of justice; rather, it leads to a substantive understanding of the `grammar of justice', motivationally, socially and institutionally. Such an account of a critical theory of justice aims at a multidimensional critique of social and political `relations of justification'.
researching cultural harmony through the student voice
Authors: Inman Sally , Turner Nola
Published: June 2007

This article discusses some of the findings of research undertaken by the authors with secondary students in the London Borough of Newham. The research was concerned with exploring young people's understanding of cultural harmony and their views on the issues and challenges in creating cultural harmony in their schools and in their lives outside of school. The research concludes that despite the efforts of teachers and schools the students are aware that conflict, including `racial' conflict, is often `lurking' under the surface of seemingly harmonious settings. One of the key issues for the students is the existence of strong peer pressure around style and the complex connections between style and racism. Finally it concludes that current expressions of the student voice, through, for example, school councils do not appear to be providing effective vehicles for tackling issues of cultural harmony and racism.
beneath the rhetoric
Authors: McEvoy Lesley
Published: June 2007

`Local and global citizenship' will become a statutory component of the Revised Curriculum for Northern Ireland from September 2007. This article uses the development of this new curriculum area as a site to explore three significant stages in the process of transforming policy into practice suggested by the author: policy gestation; policy delivery; and policy approximation. While efforts have been made to ensure that the citizenship curriculum will not repeat the mistakes of previous educational initiatives designed to address the conflict in Northern Ireland and its legacy, an analysis of the citizenship policy within this policy transformation process reveals several flaws which may impede its effective implementation. In particular this article draws attention to certain themes in the rhetoric surrounding citizenship education in Northern Ireland and explores how the `approximation' of these ideas, as the citizenship policy is variously (mis)interpreted by those who mediate it, could potentially destabilize the citizenship project.
Risk for Secondary Thyroid Carcinoma After Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation: An EBMT Late Effects Working Party Study
Authors: Cohen Amnon , Rovelli Attilio , Merlo Domenico Franco , van Lint Maria Teresa , Lanino Edoardo , Bresters Dorine , Ceppi Marcello , Bocchini Vittorio , Tichelli André , Socié Gerard
Published: June 2007

Purpose

The effects of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) on thyroid carcinogenesis needs to be determined in a large population. This study evaluates the incidence and the risk factors contributing to secondary thyroid carcinoma (STC) in patients who receive transplantation.

Patients and Methods

We performed a retrospective investigational study, comparing data obtained by means of a two-step questionnaire from the 166 centers who replied, and data reported to the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) registry on their transplantation activity. During the follow-up period (1985 to 2003), 32 instances of STC were found within the EBMT cohort of 68,936 patients who received transplants. These patients were then compared with age- and sex-specific incidence rates in the European population and risk factors for STC were analyzed.

Results

The standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of STC in the population who underwent transplantation was 3.26, in comparison with the European population. Multivariate analysis revealed that young age at transplantation was the strongest risk factor for STC (relative risk [RR], 24.61 for age 0 to 10 years; RR, 4.80 for age 11 to 20). Other risk factors were irradiation (RR, 3.44), female sex (RR, 2.79), and chronic graft-versus-host disease (RR, 2.94). Nine patients showed no clinical signs of thyroid illness at diagnosis. Total thyroidectomy and iodine ablation was the standard treatment for the majority of patients, and only one patient died due to STC progression.

Conclusion

Long-term survivors of HSCT are at risk for STCs. These results should promote efforts in screening for early detection and treatment guidelines of secondary thyroid cancer after HSCT, especially in patients who receive transplants during childhood and adolescence.
Phase II Study: Integrated Palliative Care in Newly Diagnosed Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients
Authors: Temel Jennifer S. , Jackson Vicki A. , Billings J. Andrew , Dahlin Constance , Block Susan D. , Buss Mary K. , Ostler Patricia , Fidias Panos , Muzikansky Alona , Greer Joseph A. , Pirl William F. , Lynch Thomas J.
Published: June 2007

Purpose

To assess the feasibility of early palliative care in the ambulatory setting in patients with newly diagnosed advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients and Methods

Patients were eligible if they had a performance status of 0 to 1 and were within 8 weeks of diagnosis of advanced NSCLC. Participants received integrated care from oncology and palliative care throughout the course of their disease. Participants were scheduled to meet with the palliative care team (PCT) and complete quality-of–life (QOL) and mood questionnaires monthly for 6 months. The study was deemed feasible if 64% of patients completed at least 50% of their scheduled visits and QOL assessments.

Results

Fifty-one patients were enrolled onto the trial. One died within 72 hours and was not assessable. Ninety percent (95% CI, 0.78 to 0.96) of study participants complied with at least 50% of the palliative care visits. Eight-six percent (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.94) of the participants met the full feasibility requirements by both meeting with the PCT and completing QOL assessments at least 50% of the time. QOL and mood analyses confirmed the high symptom burden in patients with newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC. At least 50% of participants experienced some degree of shortness of breath, cough, difficulty breathing, appetite loss, weight loss, or unclear thinking at their baseline assessment. More than one third of patients had a probable mood disorder at baseline.

Conclusion

Integrated palliative and oncology care is feasible in ambulatory patients with advanced NSCLC.
Exceptional longevity in songbirds is associated with high rates of evolution of cytochromeb, suggesting selection for reduced generation of free radicals
Authors: Rottenberg Hagai
Published: June 2007

In animals, longevity (maximal lifespan) is inversely related to mass-specific basal metabolic rates. However, contrary to expectation, in several mammalian taxa, exceptional longevity is associated with high basal metabolic rate, and also fast evolution of mtDNA-coded proteins. The association of these traits was suggested to result from adaptive selection of mutations in mtDNA-coded proteins, which accelerates basal respiration, thus inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen species that constrain longevity. In birds, all the genera with high rate of cytochrome b evolution are songbirds (oscines). Within the songbirds group, both longevity residuals and lifetime expenditure of energy are positively correlated with the rate of cytochrome b evolution. Moreover, within the large songbirds family Fringillidae (true finches) mass-specific basal metabolic rates, longevity,longevity residuals and lifetime expenditure of energy are all positively correlated with the rate of evolution of cytochrome b. In Serinus, a genus of finches (canaries) that exhibits the highest rate of cytochrome b evolution, and the highest values of exceptional longevity and lifetime expenditure of energy in all birds, many of the substitutions in cytochrome b are clustered around Qi, a ubiquinone binding site adjacent to the mitochondrial matrix, apparently selected to increase the rate of ubiquinone reduction. We therefore suggest that, in songbirds, the accelerated evolution of cytochrome binvolved selection of mutations that reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species, thus contributing to the evolution of exceptional longevity, and possibly also exceptional long-term memory, which is necessary for learning songs.
Oxidation rate and turnover of ingested sugar in hovering Anna's(Calypte anna) and rufous (Selasphorus rufus)hummingbirds
Authors: Welch Kenneth C. , Suarez Raul K.
Published: June 2007

Hummingbirds obtain most of their dietary calories from floral nectar ingested during hovering flight. Despite the importance of dietary sugar to hummingbird metabolism, the turnover of newly ingested carbon in the pool of actively metabolized substrates has not been adequately characterized in hovering hummingbirds. By combining respirometry with stable carbon isotope analysis of respired breath, we show that in rufous (Selasphorus rufus) and Anna's (Calypte anna) hummingbirds at high foraging frequencies, utilization of newly ingested sugars increased over a period of 30–45 min until it accounted for virtually 100% of the fuel oxidized. This newly ingested sugar disappears from the actively metabolized pool of substrates over a similar time course. These results demonstrate that turnover of carbon in the pool of actively metabolized substrates is rapid; carbon from ingested sucrose is available for oxidation for 30–45 min before being cleared. By monitoring expired CO2 for the appearance and disappearance of the signature characteristic of newly ingested sugar and then calculating energy budgets using video recordings of hummingbird activity, we estimated the proportion of recently ingested sugar used to fuel ongoing metabolism as well as the proportion devoted to energy storage. Consistent differences between species in the percentage of ingested cane sugar oxidized during the 2 h experimental periods suggest that individuals of each species adopted energy intake patterns appropriate to their needs. This approach provides a means by which to examine the partitioning of dietary carbon intake between energy expenditure and storage using non-invasive, field-compatible techniques.
Oxygen consumption rates in hovering hummingbirds reflect substrate-dependent differences in P/O ratios: carbohydrate as a `premium fuel'
Authors: Welch Kenneth C. , Altshuler Douglas L. , Suarez Raul K.
Published: June 2007

The stoichiometric relationship of ATP production to oxygen consumption,i.e. the P/O ratio, varies depending on the nature of the metabolic substrate used. The latest estimates reveal a P/O ratio approximately 15% higher when glucose is oxidized compared with fatty acid oxidation. Because the energy required to produce aerodynamic lift for hovering is independent of the metabolic fuel oxidized, we hypothesized that the rate of oxygen consumption, V̇O2, should decline as the respiratory quotient, RQ(V̇CO2/V̇O2),increases from 0.71 to 1.0 as hummingbirds transition from a fasted to a fed state. Here, we show that hovering V̇O2 values in rufous (Selasphorus rufus) and Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna) are significantly greater when fats are metabolized (RQ=0.71) than when carbohydrates are used (RQ=1.0). Because hummingbirds gained mass during our experiments, making mass a confounding variable, we estimated V̇O2 per unit mechanical power output. Expressed in this way, the difference in V̇O2 when hummingbirds display an RQ=0.71 (fasted) and an RQ=1.0 (fed) is between 16 and 18%, depending on whether zero or perfect elastic energy storage is assumed. These values closely match theoretical expectations, indicating that a combination of mechanical power estimates and `indirect calorimetry', i.e. the measurement of rates of gas exchange, enables precise estimates of ATP turnover and metabolic flux rates in vivo. The requirement for less oxygen when oxidizing carbohydrate suggests that carbohydrate oxidation may facilitate hovering flight in hummingbirds at high altitude.
Fault detection in internal combustion engines using fuzzy logic
Authors: Çelik M B , Bayir R
Published: June 2007

In this study, a complementary fuzzy-logic-based fault diagnosis system was developed to diagnose the faults of an internal combustion engine (ICE) and the system incorporated with an engine test stand. The input variables of the fuzzy logic classifier were acquired via a data acquisition card and RS-232 port. The rule base of this system was developed by considering the theoretical knowledge, the expert knowledge, and the experiment results. The accuracy of the fuzzy logic classifier was tested by experimental studies which were performed under different fault conditions. Using the developed fault diagnosis system, ten general faults which were observed in the internal combustion engine were successfully diagnosed in real time. With these characteristics, the system could easily be used for fault diagnosis in test laboratories and in service workshops.
Statistical engine misfire detection
Authors: Stotsky A A
Published: June 2007

New recursive filtering algorithms for misfire detection based on the trigonometric interpolation method are proposed for spark ignition automotive engines. The technique improves the performance of the filtering algorithms, allowing a flexible choice of the size of the moving window. Correction algorithms are introduced for the recursive trigonometric interpolation method that ensure robustness with respect to round-off errors which are present in the finite precision implementation environment. New real-time statistical algorithms based on a hypothesis testing for a misfire detection are proposed. The statistical decision-making mechanism makes it possible to achieve misfire detection at a certain significance level with an automatically selected sample size depending on the signal quality, which in turn improves the robustness of the misfire detection algorithm. This work was done within the Volvo Six Sigma program.
Computational analysis of fibre bonding in the through-air process
Authors: Hossain M , Acar M , Malalasekera W
Published: June 2007

Through-air bonding is one of the thermal methods of bonding fibres in the production of non-woven webs. A computational study of the formation of bond point between two bicomponent fibres during the through-air bonding process is reported in this paper. The computational method involves solving the Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase flows of air and molten polymer in a three-dimensional configuration. The heating, melting, and bonding of fibres are modelled by the volume of fluid model together with a melting model. The simulated results show the formation of the bond between two fibres in contact and the change of shape of the bond with time at different bonding temperatures. The computation shows that the rate of bonding increases slightly at higher temperature.
Heat transfer investigation in channel plate heat exchange
Authors: AlHajri M , Witery A
Published: June 2007

With the growing importance of heat exchanging equipments and the increasing demand upon their capabilities, heat exchangers with better characteristics are always welcome. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics are investigated here using experimental and analytical techniques for a channel plate heat exchanger. The analysis uses the log mean temperature difference method in all its calculations. Although the shell side flow highly resembles the flow over a flat plate, the tube side passage in these plates has five of doubly split 180° bends with an internal cross-section of a benzene ring. This splitting is used to reduce the velocities in those regions, thus reducing pressure drops. Local and global experimental measurements are carried out around the heat exchanger. Furthermore, analytical models for both the sides of the heat exchanger were obtained. An excellent cross-match between experimental and analytical results could be obtained.
Prototyping a robotic dental testing simulator
Authors: Alemzadeh K , Hyde R A , Gao J
Published: June 2007

A parallel robot based on the Stewart platform is being developed to simulate jaw motion and investigate its effect on jaw function to test the wearing away of dental components such as individual teeth, crowns, bridges, full set of dentures, and implant-supported over-dentures by controlling chewing motion. The current paper only describes the comparison between an alternative configuration proposed by Xu and the Stewart platform configuration. The Stewart platform was chosen as an ideal structure for simulating human mastication as it is easily assembled, has high rigidity, high load-carrying capacity, and accurate positioning capability. The kinematics and singularities of the Stewart platform have been analysed and software developed to (a) test the control algorithms/strategy of muscle movement for the six degree of freedom of mastication cycle and (b) simulate and observe various design options to be able to make the best judgement in product development. The human replica skull has been analysed and reverse engineered with further simplification before integration with the Stewart platform computer-aided design (CAD) to develop the robotic dental testing simulator. Assembly modelling of the reproduced skull was critically analysed for good occlusion in CAD environment. A pulse-width modulation (PWM) circuit plus interface was built to control position and speed of the chosen actuators. A computer numerical control (CNC) machine and wire-electro-discharge machining (wire EDM) were used to manufacture the critical parts such as lower mandible, upper maxilla, and universal joints.
Whole blood clot dissolution: in vitro study on the effects of permeation pressure
Authors: Jeong Woo Won , Jang An Sik , Rhee Kyehan
Published: June 2007

Dissolution of a blood clot in thrombolytic procedure is affected by permeation of a thrombolytic agent into a clot, and permeation of plasminogen activator into a clot is dependent on the permeation pressure. A controlled experimental study on the effects of permeation pressure on clot lysis was carried out. The effects of intra-thrombus perfusion on thrombolyis were also explored. In vitro clot lysis tests were performed for perfusion pressures of 0, 1, and 10 kPa. Two perfusion media were used: buffer and urokinase solution. Clot lysis by diffusion was enhanced in urokinase solution compared with buffer solution, but the effects of perfusion medium were not significant in pressurized perfusion. Clot lysis was accelerated with the perfusion pressure in the early stage of perfusion, but the pressure effect on thrombolysis was not significant in the later stage (after 2h). Intra-thrombus perfusion was more efficient in clot lysis than surface perfusion was. It is suggested that fluid flow inside the thrombus should be the most important factor in thrombolytic therapy.
Use of rapid prototyping models in the planning of percutaneous pulmonary valved stent implantation
Authors: Armillotta A , Bonhoeffer P , Dubini G , Ferragina S , Migliavacca F , Sala G , Schievano S
Published: June 2007

Percutaneous replacement of the pulmonary valve is a recently developed inter-ventional technique which involves the implantation of a valved stent in the pulmonary trunk. It relies upon careful consideration of patient anatomy for both stent design and detailed procedure planning. Medical imaging data in the form of two-dimensional scans and three-dimensional interactive graphics offer only limited support for these tasks. The paper reports the results of an experimental investigation on the use of arterial models built by rapid prototyping techniques. An analysis of clinical needs has helped to specify proper requirements for such model properties as cost, strength, accuracy, elastic compliance, and optical transparency. Two different process chains, based on the fused deposition modelling technique and on the vacuum casting of thermoset resins in rubber moulds, have been tested for prototype fabrication. The use of anatomical models has allowed the cardiologist's confidence in patient selection, prosthesis fabrication, and final implantation to be significantly improved.
Defective Implant Osseointegration Under Protein Undernutrition: Prevention by PTH or Pamidronate
Authors: Dayer Romain , Badoud Isabelle , Rizzoli René , Ammann Patrick
Published: June 2007

Protein deficiency is associated with impaired titanium osseointegration. We studied whether systemic treatment with PTH or pamidronate could influence the resistance to pull-out of titanium rods implanted into rats proximal tibia under normal and isocaloric low protein intake. PTH or pamidronate prevented the deleterious effects of protein undernutrition on bone microarchitecture close to the implant and on mechanical fixation. PTH even significantly improved implant osseointegration.

Introduction: Protein deficiency is highly prevalent among elderly patients hospitalized in orthopedic wards. Reduced protein intake impairs titanium osseointegration in rats. Whether stimulator of bone formation or inhibitor of bone resorption could improve implant osseointegration under protein deprivation is not known. We studied the effects of systemic treatment with PTH or pamidronate on the resistance to pull-out of titanium rods implanted into rats proximal tibia under normal and isocaloric low protein intake.

Materials and Methods: We measured the resistance to pull-out 1-mm -diameter titanium rods implanted into the proximal tibias of 49 adult female rats receiving a normal or an isocaloric low protein diet. After 2 wk on either diet, the implants were inserted, and the rats received PTH(1–34), pamidronate or saline vehicle for 8 wk. The tibias were removed for μCT morphometry, followed by the evaluation of pull-out strength.

Results: Pull-out strength was lower in rats fed an isocaloric low protein diet compared with rats fed a normal protein intake (−29%). PTH and pamidronate significantly increased pull-out strength in animals fed a normal or a low protein diet, the effect of PTH being of higher magnitude. The PTH- or pamidronate-mediated increase in pull-out strength was associated with significant increases of relative bone volume, bone-to -implant contact, and trabecular thickness, whereas trabecular spacing was reduced, in the vicinity of the implants.

Conclusions: We confirmed that isocaloric low protein intake impairs titanium implant osseointegration. PTH or pamidronate prevented the deleterious effects of protein undernutrition and even significantly improved the implant osseointegration. These results indicate that systemic administration of PTH or pamidronate could be considered for preventing uncemented arthroplasty loosening in protein undernourished patients.