bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethanol Disrupts the Mechanisms of Induction of Long‐Term Potentiation in the Mouse Nucleus Accumbens
Authors: Mishra Devesh , Zhang Xiaoqun , Chergui Karima
Published: May 2012

Background

Long‐term changes in the efficacy of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in reward‐related brain regions such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are proposed to contribute to neuroadaptations that lead to drug addiction. Although alcohol is a widely used addictive substance, the cellular mechanisms by which it influences synaptic plasticity in the NAc are not elucidated. We therefore examined whether acute ethanol (EtOH) alters long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the core region of the NAc and investigated the possible underlying mechanisms.

Methods

We measured field excitatory postsynaptic potential/population spike (fEPSP/PS) amplitude in mouse brain slices containing the NAc. We also used amperometry to detect, with carbon fiber electrode, evoked dopamine release in brain slices.

Results

In control slices, high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) induced a stable LTP. LTP was reduced in slices perfused with EtOH (50 mM). Given that induction of LTP is dependent on glutamate acting on N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), we studied the ability of EtOH to modulate these 2 classes of receptors. NMDA (20 μM) depressed the amplitude of the fEPSP/PS, but this effect was not altered by EtOH in our experimental conditions. However, EtOH reversed the ability of the group I mGluR agonist (S)‐3,5‐Dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) (50 μM) to potentiate the depressant action of NMDA on the fEPSP/PS. We also examined whether EtOH could modulate dopamine release given that dopamine plays important roles in mediating the reinforcing actions of abused drugs and in the induction of LTP in the NAc. We found that EtOH reversibly decreased action potential‐dependent dopamine release evoked by single stimulation pulses and by HFS trains in NAc slices.

Conclusions

These results show that EtOH impairs the induction of LTP possibly through several mechanisms that include inhibition of group I mGluR‐mediated potentiation of NMDA receptor function and of evoked dopamine release. This study provides additional support for a key role of glutamatergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission in the NAc in mediating the reinforcing effects of acute alcohol.
Stent Reconstruction of an Injured Parotid Duct in a Thoroughbred Colt
Authors: Lempe Antonia , Brehm Walter , Scharner Doreen
Published: May 2012

Objective

To report successful use of stent repair for a chronically injured parotid duct in a thoroughbred colt.

Study design

Clinical report.

Animal

A 2‐year‐old thoroughbred colt.

Methods

Chronic injury to the parotid duct was identified 4‐cm caudal to the facial vessel notch on the ventral border of the right mandible. After careful surgical dissection of the surrounding firm fibrous tissue, the defect was temporarily stented using an 8‐Fr human ureteral catheter (223600ERU®SOFT URETERAL®,Laboratoires pharmaceutique,Betschdorf,France) to bridge the tissue loss. The rostral end of the catheter exited the oral cavity through a buccotomy stab incision at the level of the second premolar tooth of the maxilla.

Results

Primary wound healing occurred and the stent was maintained for 5 weeks with saliva drainage visible when the colt was fed. After stent removal, function was restored with good cosmesis.

Conclusions

A tissue defect in the parotid duct can be repaired successfully by temporary use of a stent until wound healing occurs.
Clinicopathologic Observations on Laryngoplasty Failure in a Horse
Authors: Hardcastle Michael Robert , Pauwels Frederik Ekhart Theo , Collett Mark Grey
Published: May 2012

Objective

To report morphologic findings associated with laryngoplasty failure in a horse.

Study Design

Clinical report.

Animals

A 9‐year‐oldThoroughbred cross gelding.

Methods

Necropsy and histopathology were performed on a horse that died peracutely during anesthetic recovery after correction of a right dorsal displacement of the ascending colon. Three weeks earlier the horse had left laryngoplasty and ventriculocordectomy.

Results

Dissection of the larynx revealed that the laryngoplasty suture had pulled through the muscular process of the left arytenoid cartilage, which appeared grossly normal. Histopathology of the arytenoid muscular process revealed cartilage necrosis, granulation tissue, and inflammation around the cartilage and within the cartilage failure line, and small numbers of coccoid bacteria in a minority of cartilage canals. Multifocal cardiomyopathy and pulmonary congestion, edema, and hemorrhage were also observed histologically.

Conclusion

Death was attributed to peracute pulmonary edema associated with cardiac abnormalities and airway obstruction from laryngoplasty failure. Morphologic changes in the muscular process indicate gradual progression toward laryngoplasty failure, possibly associated with suture‐induced pressure necrosis and/or microscopic low‐grade postoperative infection.
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Postamputation Pain—A Case Report
Authors: Rauck Richard L. , Kapural Leonardo , Cohen Steven P. , North James M. , Gilmore Christopher A. , Zang Rosemary H. , Boggs Joseph W.
Published: May 2012

Many amputees suffer from postamputation pain, which can be extremely debilitating, decrease quality of life, increase the risk of depression, and negatively affect interpersonal relationships and the ability to work. Present methods of treatment, including medications, are often unsatisfactory in reducing postamputation pain. Electrical stimulation of the nerve innervating the painful area could reduce the pain, but peripheral nerve stimulation is rarely used to treat postamputation pain because present methods require invasive surgical access and precise placement of the leads in close proximity (≤ 2 mm) with the nerve. The present study investigated a novel approach to peripheral nerve stimulation in which a lead was placed percutaneously a remote distance (> 1 cm) away from the femoral nerve in a patient with severe residual limb pain (RLP) 33 years following a below‐knee amputation. Electrical stimulation generated ≥ 75% paresthesia coverage, reduced RLP by > 60%, and improved quality of life outcomes as measured by the pain interference scale of the Brief Pain Inventory‐Short Form (100% reduction in pain interference), Pain Disability Index (74% reduction in disability), and the Patient Global Impression of Change (very much improved) during a 2‐week home trial. There were no adverse events. The ability to generate significant paresthesia coverage and pain relief with a single lead inserted percutaneously and remotely from the target nerve holds promise for providing relief of postamputation pain.
The Use of a Continuous Brachial Plexus Catheter to Facilitate Inpatient Rehabilitation in a Pediatric Patient with Refractory Upper Extremity Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Authors: Franklin Andrew , Austin Thomas
Published: May 2012

Background:  The goal of interventional management of refractory pediatric complex regional pain syndrome is to facilitate early restoration of function to the affected extremity. These interventions are more complicated in children, as most do not tolerate these procedures without sedation.

Case report:  We report the first detailed description of a pediatric patient with complex regional pain syndrome refractory to medical management who had complete resolution of symptoms after brief inpatient rehabilitation involving continuous brachial plexus blockade and a multidisciplinary apaproach.

Conclusion:  Repeated interventional therapy for refractory, severe complex regional pain syndrome may not be feasible in children owing to the requirement for deep sedation or general anesthesia. A multidisciplinary apaproach of brief inpatient rehabilitation and continuous blockade via an indwelling pain catheter may provide a safer, more cost‐effective means of restoring function in children with advanced disease.
Miscommunicating Risk, Uncertainty, and Causation: Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality Risk as an Example
Authors: Anthony (Tony) Cox Louis
Published: May 2012

A recent paper in this journal (Fann et al., 2012) estimated that “about 80,000 premature mortalities would be avoided by lowering PM2.5 levels to 5 μg/m3 nationwide” and that 2005 levels of PM2.5 cause about 130,000 premature mortalities per year among people over age 29, with a 95% confidence interval of 51,000 to 200,000 premature mortalities per year.(1) These conclusions depend entirely on misinterpreting statistical coefficients describing the association between PM2.5 and mortality rates in selected studies and models as if they were known to be valid causal coefficients. But they are not, and both the expert opinions of EPA researchers and analysis of data suggest that a true value of zero for the PM2.5 mortality causal coefficient is not excluded by available data. Presenting continuous confidence intervals that exclude the discrete possibility of zero misrepresents what is currently known (and not known) about the hypothesized causal relation between changes in PM2.5 levels and changes in mortality rates, suggesting greater certainty about projected health benefits than is justified.
Systems‐Based Guiding Principles for Risk Modeling, Planning, Assessment, Management, and Communication
Authors: Haimes Yacov Y.
Published: May 2012

This article is grounded on the premise that the complex process of risk assessment, management, and communication, when applied to systems of systems, should be guided by universal systems‐based principles. It is written from the perspective of systems engineering with the hope and expectation that the principles introduced here will be supplemented and complemented by principles from the perspectives of other disciplines. Indeed, there is no claim that the following 10 guiding principles constitute a complete set; rather, the intent is to initiate a discussion on this important subject that will incrementally lead us to a more complete set of guiding principles. The 10 principles are as follows: First Principle: Holism is the common denominator that bridges risk analysis and systems engineering. Second Principle: The process of risk modeling, assessment, management, and communication must be systemic and integrated. Third Principle: Models and state variables are central to quantitative risk analysis. Fourth Principle: Multiple models are required to represent the essence of the multiple perspectives of complex systems of systems. Fifth Principle: Meta‐modeling and subsystems integration must be derived from the intrinsic states of the system of systems. Sixth Principle: Multiple conflicting and competing objectives are inherent in risk management. Seventh Principle: Risk analysis must account for epistemic and aleatory uncertainties. Eighth Principle: Risk analysis must account for risks of low probability with extreme consequences. Ninth Principle: The time frame is central to quantitative risk analysis. Tenth Principle: Risk analysis must be holistic, adaptive, incremental, and sustainable, and it must be supported with appropriate data collection, metrics with which to measure efficacious progress, and criteria on the basis of which to act. The relevance and efficacy of each guiding principle is demonstrated by applying it to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration complex Next Generation (NextGen) system of systems.
Protective Measures, Personal Experience, and the Affective Psychology of Time
Authors: Peters E. , Kunreuther H. , Sagara N. , Slovic P. , Schley D. R.
Published: May 2012

We examined the role of time and affect in intentions to purchase a risk‐protective measure (Studies 1 and 2) and explored participant abilities to factor time into the likelihood judgments that presumably underlie such intentions (Study 3). Participants worried more about losing their possessions and were more likely to purchase a protective measure given a longer term lease than a short‐term lease, but only if their belongings were described in affect‐poor terms. If described instead as being particularly special and affect‐rich, participants neglected time and were about equally likely to purchase a risk‐protective measure for shorter and longer term leases. However, and consistent with prior literature, the cognitive mechanism underlying this time‐neglect‐with‐affect‐richness effect seemed to be the greater use of the affect heuristic in the shorter term than the longer term. Study 2 results demonstrated that prior experience with having been burglarized amplified the interactive effect of time and affect. Greater deliberation did not attenuate this effect as hypothesized whether deliberation was measured through numeracy or manipulated through instructions. The results of Study 3 indicated that few participants are able to calculate correctly the risk numbers necessary to take time into account. Two possible solutions to encourage more purchases of protective measures in the long term are discussed.
Optimal Reciprocal Reinsurance Treaties Under the Joint Survival Probability and the Joint Profitable Probability
Authors: Cai Jun , Fang Ying , Li Zhi , Willmot Gordon E.
Published: May 2012

Abstract

A reinsurance treaty involves two parties, an insurer and a reinsurer. The two parties have conflicting interests. Most existing optimal reinsurance treaties only consider the interest of one party. In this article, we consider the interests of both insurers and reinsurers and study the joint survival and profitable probabilities of insurers and reinsurers. We design the optimal reinsurance contracts that maximize the joint survival probability and the joint profitable probability. We first establish sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of the optimal reinsurance retentions for the quota‐share reinsurance and the stop‐loss reinsurance under expected value reinsurance premium principle. We then derive sufficient conditions for the existence of the optimal reinsurance treaties in a wide class of reinsurance policies and under a general reinsurance premium principle. These conditions enable one to design optimal reinsurance contracts in different forms and under different premium principles. As applications, we design an optimal reinsurance contract in the form of a quota‐share reinsurance under the variance principle and an optimal reinsurance treaty in the form of a limited stop‐loss reinsurance under the expected value principle.
Organizational Structure, Board Composition, and Risk Taking in the U.S. Property Casualty Insurance Industry
Authors: Ho Chia‐Ling , Lai Gene C. , Lee Jin‐Ping
Published: May 2012

Abstract

This study examines the impact of organizational structure and board composition on risk taking in the U.S. property casualty insurance industry, addressing different risk‐taking behaviors from different perspectives. The risk‐taking measures include total risk, underwriting risk, investment risk, and leverage risk. The evidence shows that mutual insurers have lower total risk, underwriting risk, and investment risk than stock insurers. In terms of board composition variables, we find that some board composition variables not only have impact on risk‐taking behaviors but also affect different risk measures differently. Thus, using different risk measures is better than using one risk measure to assess risk‐taking behavior. Finally, we conclude that an insurer can control its total risk through management of underwriting, investment, and leverage risks that determine an insurer's risk profile.
Yin and Yang: Sina Weibo and the Chinese State
Authors: YEO GEORGE , LI ERIC X.
Published: May 2012

The new element in governance is social media. Inexorably, its fertile networks of shared information shift power from authorities to citizens and amateurs, including to the “unknown” experts in the “dorm rooms and edges of society” who drive innovation.

Tweets may bust trust and undermine authority, but can social media also be a tool for building consensus through deliberation and negotiation among interests? When it comes to governance, is crowd‐sourcing any better than populism at generating collective intelligence instead of disruptive “dumb mobs?” Can networks aid the self‐administration of society, or does that take institutions with governing authority?

In this section, leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, technologists and network theorists from Google, Microsoft and the MIT Media Lab join with political scientist Francis Fukuyama and top thinkers from Asia to address these issues.
Benefiting from Public Sector Innovation: The Moderating Role of Customer and Learning Orientation
Authors: Salge Torsten Oliver , Vera Antonio
Published: May 2012

This article examines whether the payoff from engaging in innovation‐generating activities is contingent on an organization's level of customer and learning orientation. The authors suggest that innovative activity is associated with higher public service quality when the level of customer and learning orientation within the focal organization is high. They test this hypothesis by drawing on a novel panel data set covering all public nonspecialist hospital organizations in England. Using dynamic panel data estimation techniques, the authors find strong support for a direct relationship between innovative activity and public service quality and for a moderating role of both customer and learning orientation. These findings call for a contingency perspective on public sector innovation and highlight some of the boundary conditions that need to be in place if public service organizations are to benefit fully from their innovative activities.
Emergency Management Research and Practice in Public Administration: Emergence, Evolution, Expansion, and Future Directions
Authors: Comfort Louise K. , Waugh William L. , Cigler Beverly A.
Published: May 2012

In 1984, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) collaborated to foster a community of scholars focused on research and professional practice in emergency management. The intent was to build a community of researchers and professional practitioners who would support improved performance for an increasingly challenging set of problems confronting emergency managers at all levels of jurisdiction. The financial investment was small, but the NASPAA/FEMA initiative led to the evolution of a community of scholars engaged in emergency management research and professional practice. The authors review changes in FEMA since the 1984 workshop and the impact of the NASPAA/FEMA fellows on research and practice in emergency management, placing this initiative in the wider context of public administration.
Emerging U.S. Immigrant Geographies: Racial Wages and Migration Selectivity
Authors: Goodwin‐White Jamie
Published: May 2012

Objective

The maturing of the post‐1965 children of immigrants and the recent emergence of immigrant settlement outside of traditional locations have implications for understanding immigrant economic incorporation. This analysis examines how changing immigrant geographies will affect the economic prospects of immigrants and a maturing second generation, and addresses sociological and economic perspectives on internal migration and immigrant progress.

Methods

Using the 2000 5 percent Public Use Microdata Files(PUMS), I employ endogenous switching regression models in analyzing the selectivity of internal migration and state residence patterns to the wages of immigrant, 1.5 generation, and U.S.‐born workers.

Results

Nonwhite immigrant and 1.5‐generation workers evade racial wage penalties through migration, but not through residing in emerging immigrant states.

Conclusions

Understanding the selectivity of internal migration to wages across racialized labor markets is important in assessing new immigrant geographies and prospects for the second generation.
When, Where, and How We Vote: Does it Matter?
Authors: Stein Robert M. , Vonnahme Greg
Published: May 2012

Objectives

In this article, we explore the different ways Americans exercise their right to vote on Election Day and how these alternatives shape the voter's experience.

Methods

Our study draws on data collected from exit polls with Election Day voters in the 2008 Colorado presidential election. Colorado is unique among the 50 states in that it affords it voters the widest array of voting options, both before and on Election Day, and thus provides an ideal setting for testing our hypotheses.

Results

We find voting places that are more accessible and open (i.e., voters can vote at more than one location on Election Day) significantly enhance voter performance and evaluation. In several instances, this finding is attenuated for infrequent voters.

Conclusions

There are valuable lessons regarding the centralization and location of polling places that could be applied to precinct voting models. Counties might concentrate more attention on adequately equipping polling locations, particularly having a sufficient number of quality poll workers to assist voters with check‐in and the voting system.
Safety and Effectiveness of Transvenous Lead Extraction in Octogenarians
Authors: PELARGONIO GEMMA , NARDUCCI MARIA L. , RUSSO ELEONORA , CASELLA MICHELA , SANTANGELI PASQUALE , CANBY ROBERT , AL‐AHMAD AMIN , PRICE LARRY D. , BIASE LUIGI DI , KWARK CANDICE J. , HARWOOD MARK , PERNA FRANCESCO , BENCARDINO GIANLUIGI , IERARDI CAROLINA , TRECARICHI ENRICO M. , SANTELLI ENRICA , TUMBARELLO MARIO , MOHANTY PRASANT , BAILEY SHANE , BURKHARDT JOHN DAVID , BELLOCCI FULVIO , NATALE ANDREA , RUSSO ANTONIO DELLO
Published: May 2012

Transvenous Lead Extraction. Introduction: As the population ages, the number of elderly patients with implantable cardiac devices referred for transvenous lead extraction will dramatically increase in Western countries. The safety and effectiveness of lead extraction in elderly patients has not been well evaluated. We report the safety and effectiveness of transvenous lead extraction in octogenarians.

Methods and Results: From January 2005 to January 2011, we reviewed data from consecutive patients ≥ 80 years referred to our institutions for transvenous lead extraction because of cardiac device infection or lead malfunction. Clinical characteristics, procedural features, and periprocedural major and minor complications were compared between octogenarians and younger patients. Out of 849 patients undergoing lead extraction in the participating institutions during the study period, 150 (18%) patients were octogenarians (mean age 84 years; range 80–96; 64% males). A significantly higher percentage of octogenarians presented with chronic renal failure (55% vs 26%; P < 0.001), history of malignancy (22% vs 6%; P < 0.001), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (46% vs 19%; P < 0.001). Complete lead extraction rates were similar in the 2 age groups (97% in octogenarians vs 96% in patients <80 years; P = 0.39). Periprocedural death occurred in 2 (1.3%) patients ≥80 years and in 5 (0.72%) patients <80 years (P = 0.45 for comparison). No differences in terms of other periprocedural major and minor complications were found between the 2 age groups.

Conclusion: Despite presenting with a significantly higher rate of comorbidities, transvenous lead extraction can be performed safely and successfully in octogenarians. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 23 pp. 1103‐1108, October 2012)
Multiscale Adaptive Marginal Analysis of Longitudinal Neuroimaging Data with Time‐Varying Covariates
Authors: Skup Martha , Zhu Hongtu , Zhang Heping
Published: May 2012

SummaryNeuroimaging data collected at repeated occasions are gaining increasing attention in the neuroimaging community due to their potential in answering questions regarding brain development, aging, and neurodegeneration. These datasets are large and complicated, characterized by the intricate spatial dependence structure of each response image, multiple response images per subject, and covariates that may vary with time. We propose a multiscale adaptive generalized method of moments (MA‐GMM) approach to estimate marginal regression models for imaging datasets that contain time‐varying, spatially related responses and some time‐varying covariates. Our method categorizes covariates into types to determine the valid moment conditions to combine during estimation. Further, instead of assuming independence of voxels (the components that make up each subject’s response image at each time point) as many current neuroimaging analysis techniques do, this method “adaptively smoothes” neuroimaging response data, computing parameter estimates by iteratively building spheres around each voxel and combining observations within the spheres with weights. MA‐GMM’s development adds to the few available modeling approaches intended for longitudinal imaging data analysis. Simulation studies and an analysis of a real longitudinal imaging dataset from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative are used to assess the performance of MA‐GMM. Martha Skup, Hongtu Zhu, and Heping Zhang for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
Processes of Self‐Management in Chronic Illness
Authors: Schulman‐Green Dena , Jaser Sarah , Martin Faith , Alonzo Angelo , Grey Margaret , McCorkle Ruth , Redeker Nancy S. , Reynolds Nancy , Whittemore Robin
Published: May 2012

Purpose: Self‐management is a dynamic process in which individuals actively manage a chronic illness. Self‐management models are limited in their specification of the processes of self‐management. The purpose of this article is to delineate processes of self‐management in order to help direct interventions and improve health outcomes for individuals with a chronic illness.

Design: Qualitative metasynthesis techniques were used to analyze 101 studies published between January 2000 and April 2011 that described processes of self‐management in chronic illness.

Methods: Self‐management processes were extracted from each article and were coded. Similar codes were clustered into categories. The analysis continued until a final categorization was reached.

Findings: Three categories of self‐management processes were identified: focusing on illness needs; activating resources; and living with a chronic illness. Tasks and skills were delineated for each category.

Conclusions: This metasynthesis expands on current descriptions of self‐management processes by specifying a more complete spectrum of self‐management processes.

Clinical Relevance: Healthcare providers can best facilitate self‐management by coordinating self‐management activities, by recognizing that different self‐management processes vary in importance to patients over time, and by having ongoing communication with patients and providers to create appropriate self‐management plans.
Internet Recruitment and Retention for a 6 Months’ Longitudinal Study
Authors: Smith Joyce A. , Wilde Mary H. , Brasch Judith
Published: May 2012

Purpose: To examine factors influencing recruitment and retention of study participants in a longitudinal study.

Methods: After completion of a longitudinal (6 months) study of long‐term indwelling urinary catheter users, three types of data were analyzed: number of problems with data entry into an online survey, number of reminders sent by study staff to participants, and number and nature of e‐mail contacts between participants and study staff and among study staff regarding the study.

Conclusions: The Internet can be used effectively for research, especially involving small, specialized populations. In order to retain study subjects and obtain complete and accurate data, study staff must be closely involved and responsive to participants’ issues, and technical support staff must be readily available and invested in the research project.

Clinical Relevance: Using the Internet to reach small, special, marginalized, or geographically dispersed populations for research is becoming common. Researchers need to know how best to recruit, support, and retain participants in Internet‐based studies.
Fundamental Aspects of Spark Plasma Sintering: II. Finite Element Analysis of Scalability
Authors: Olevsky Eugene A. , Garcia‐Cardona Cristina , Bradbury William L. , Haines Christopher D. , Martin Darold G. , Kapoor Deepak
Published: May 2012

A comprehensive three‐dimensional fully coupled thermo‐electro‐mechanical finite element framework is developed for modeling spark plasma sintering (SPS). The finite element model is applied to the simulation of spark plasma processing with four different tooling sizes and various temperature regimes. The comparison of modeling and experimental results shows that the model is reliable for qualitative predictions of the densification behavior and of the grain growth in powder specimens subjected to SPS with a given temperature regime. The conducted modeling indicates the possibility of changing the heating pattern of the specimen (warmer central areas of the specimen's volume and cooler outside areas or vice versa) depending on the size of the tooling. High heating rates and large specimen sizes elevate the temperature and, in turn, material structure gradients during SPS processing. The obtained results suggest that the industrial implementation of SPS techniques should be based on the predictive capability of reliable modeling approaches.
Structural and Luminescence Properties of Er‐Doped Zinc–Alumino–Silicate Glass Ceramic
Authors: Ghaemi Bahram , Zhao Gaoling , Huang Shengchen , Wang Jianxun , Han Gaorong
Published: May 2012

Transparent Er‐doped Zinc Aluminosilictae (Er:ZAS) glass ceramics were synthesized by melting and subsequent heat treatment. The microstructure of the samples was characterized using X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. ZnO nanocrystals with the diameter of 2–3 nm formed in the quenched sample. An emission peak around 398 nm was observed for the quenched glass. The ZnO nanocrystals grew during heat treatment. The 398 nm emission disappeared after heat treatment, and a broad emission peak around 580 nm appeared. The energy transfer of ZnO nanocrystal to Er3+ ions in the glass is discussed.
Synthesis of BaTiO3‐20wt%CoFe2O4 Nanocomposites via Spark Plasma Sintering
Authors: Ghosh Dipankar , Han Hyuksu , Nino Juan C. , Subhash Ghatu , Jones Jacob L.
Published: May 2012

Barium titanate‐20wt% cobalt ferrite (BaTiO3‐20wt%CoFe2O4) nanocomposites were sintered from nanocrystalline BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 powders using spark plasma sintering (SPS) and pressureless sintering (PS) techniques. Using SPS, dense polycrystalline composites were obtained at a sintering temperature as low as 860°C and a time of 5 min whereas PS required a higher sintering temperature (1150°C) and time (120 min) to obtain similarly dense composites. Microstructural analysis of the composites showed that both the techniques retained nanocrystalline grain sizes after sintering. High resolution X‐ray diffraction measurements revealed that the BaTiO3‐20wt%CoFe2O4 composites sintered by the SPS technique did not exhibit formation of any new phase(s) due to reaction between the BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 phases during sintering. However, the PS technique resulted in the formation of additional phases (other than the BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 phases) in the composites. While the composites synthesized by SPS were of superior phase‐purity, evidence of Fe diffusion from the spinel to the perovskite phase was found from X‐ray diffraction and permittivity measurements.
Effect of Bi2O3 Doping on the Sintering Temperature and Microwave Dielectric Properties of LiAlSiO4 Ceramics
Authors: Jeong Byoung‐Jik , Joung Mi‐Ri , Kweon Sang‐Hyo , Kim Jin‐Seong , Nahm Sahn , Choi Ji‐Won , Hwang Seong‐Ju
Published: May 2012

When Bi2O3 was added to LiAlSiO4 ceramics, Bi12SiO20 secondary phase was formed. Since the melting temperature of Bi12SiO20 ceramics is 880°C, the liquid phase is expected to form during sintering and to assist the densification of LiAlSiO4 ceramics. When 15.0 mol% Bi2O3 was added, the LiAlSiO4 ceramics could be sintered at 900°C, and with 20.0 mol% Bi2O3 they could even be sintered at 875°C. The 15.0 mol% Bi2O3‐doped LiAlSiO4 ceramics sintered at 900°C exhibited good microwave dielectric properties, namely, a low εr of 4.3, a high Q × f of 62 430 GHz and a small τf of −16.21 ppm/oC.
Training Bureaucrats, Practicing for Europe: Negotiating Bureaucratic Authority and Governmental Legitimacy in Turkey
Authors: Babül Elif M.
Published: May 2012

This article explores the reconfiguration of the bureaucratic field and the recalibration of the terms of hierarchy and distinction that go into establishing bureaucratic authority and governmental legitimacy in Turkey—a process prompted by the country's pending accession to the European Union (EU). Accession to the EU hinges on a substantive reorganization of the governmental field in Turkey according to European standards of good governance that emphasizes human rights and more egalitarian, cooperative state–society relations. Focusing on human rights training programs for state officials and government workers, I argue that the human rights agenda of the EU challenges the traditional role of state officials in Turkey as educators of the people by portraying them as subjects who are themselves in need of education and reform. As their traditional hold on the markers of modernity are contested in EU‐sponsored training sessions, Turkey's bureaucratic actors are compelled to recalibrate their proximity to halk (the common people) and to base their claims to governmental legitimacy on being of the people rather than standing above them.
The Art of Torture and the Place of Execution: A Forensic Narrative
Authors: Kane Stephanie C.
Published: May 2012

In El Calafate, Argentina, a remote global nature tour destination where tourists lodge en route to experience the spectacular glacial beauty of Patagonia, a 17‐year‐old local boy was kidnapped and taken to an otherwise unremarkable waterscape on the edge of town, where he was tortured and executed. His death, however, was officially declared a suicide. The malevolence of his assailants and their protectors moved outward from the youth's body and the crime site into the homes of despairing and disbelieving family and friends, overflowing into private and public protest, all to no avail. The crime and its aftermath dramatically altered the lives of the victim's working‐class family and friends.

While their faith in the local police and courts has nearly been destroyed, and faith in relevant human rights law barely ignited, continued communication about this crime as part of an ongoing community disaster seems to infer an unspecified promise, or at least, a stubborn desire, to continue seeking justice with words. In this article, I explore the layered attempts of family and friend's to narrate, counter, and untangle the causes and effects emanating from the youth's murder, the official evidence box, and the spatially situated terror that persists. Mediated through ethnographic writing, the forensic narration shows how violent crime distorts and divides human perception of everyday places with ominous and artful precision.
“We are Illegal, but not Illegitimate.” Modes of Policing in Medellin, Colombia
Authors: Civico Aldo
Published: May 2012

Over the years, paramilitary groups and the Colombian state have jointly policed marginal neighborhoods of the city of Medellin. Using evidence from events that have marked the history of this Colombian city, I argue that the murky pact between paramilitary and state forces reveal the nature of the state, as a force of capture, and of its sovereignty. Building on the analysis of the Italian word intreccio (intertwining) that Jane and Peter Schneider use to analyze the Sicilian Mafia and its link to the Italian state, and using Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the “war machine” acquired by the state for reterritorialization, I suggest that the intertwinement between the state and organized crime is a manifestation of the presence of the state, not of its absence at the margins. I conclude that this intertwinement is not a sign of the state's weakness but of its power; a proof of the state's effectiveness, not of its failure.
The Tengiz Oil Enclave: Labor, Business, and The State
Authors: Yessenova Saulesh
Published: May 2012

This study focuses on Tengiz, a multinational oil project situated on the northeastern coast of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, operated by Chevron since 1993. The first large international business partnership in the post‐Soviet space, TengizChevroil was celebrated as a “model” enterprise for East–West cooperation at the end of the Cold War. In 2005–2008, its development projects sustained operations of nearly 100 companies that employed thousands of people. Ironically, the economic boom at Tengiz that significantly expanded business market and labor demand was accompanied by worker riots in 2004–2006. The riots took place within a secure industrial enclave that had been created as part of the corporate effort to protect the oil company's investment and to ensure a smooth operation of its business. This study examines the Tengiz enclave and the underlying forces that shaped lawless practices within it, including corruption and labor abuses that sparked the riots. It also explains the failure of the state to bring the rule of law to Tengiz connecting lawlessness to international oil contracts.
Laparoscopic management of interstitial pregnancy: the “purse‐string” technique
Authors: CUCINELLA GASPARE , ROTOLO STEFANO , CALAGNA GLORIA , GRANESE ROBERTA , AGRUSA ANTONINO , PERINO ANTONIO
Published: May 2012

We report five cases of interstitial pregnancy, treated between 2004 and 2010, to evaluate surgical and obstetric outcome of laparoscopic cornual resection with a “purse‐string” technique. A hemostatic suture was passed at the base of the mass in a purse‐string fashion prior to resection, to minimize intraoperative blood loss. Subsequent pregnancies were analysed, with a mean follow‐up time of 48 months. The mean operating time was 39 min and mean blood loss 47 mL. Three of four patients who desired children delivered at term uneventfully. Laparoscopic cornual resection with a “purse‐string” technique appears to be useful for treatment of early interstitial pregnancy. The technique ensures effective and safe treatment, with satisfactory obstetric outcome.
The preoperative assessment of deep myometrial invasion by three‐dimensional ultrasound versus MRI in endometrial carcinoma
Authors: SAARELAINEN SAMI K. , KÖÖBI LEA , JÄRVENPÄÄ RITVA , LAURILA MARITA , MÄENPÄÄ JOHANNA U.
Published: May 2012

Objective. To evaluate the usefulness of three‐dimensional ultrasound (3D US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three‐dimensional power Doppler angiography (3D‐PDA) in the preoperative assessment of myometrial invasion in endometrial carcinoma. Design. A prospective observational study. Setting. University hospital. Population. Twenty consecutive patients diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma. Methods. Preoperative 3 T MRI and 3D US examinations were performed, and the depth of myometrial invasion was assessed. The vascularity indices, vascularization index, flow index and vascularization flow index, were calculated by 3D‐PDA. Main outcome measures. The results were compared with the final histopathology report after a surgical staging. Results. In detecting deep myometrial invasion, the sensitivity of 3D US, MRI and their combination was 50, 91.7 and 100%, respectively. The specificity was 87.5, 50 and 50%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the 3D‐PDA vascularity indices between the two groups. Conclusions. MRI appears to be more sensitive than 3D US in detecting deep invasion, while 3D US has a better specificity.
SERPINE1 expression discriminates site‐specific metastasis in human melanoma
Authors: Klein R. Matthew , Bernstein Daniel , Higgins Steven P. , Higgins Craig E. , Higgins Paul J.
Published: May 2012

Depth of invasion, a quantifier of vertical growth, is a major cutaneous melanoma staging factor. Stromal penetrance requires pericellular proteolysis regulated by the serine protease and matrix metalloproteinase cascades. The serine protease inhibitor SERPINE1, a poor prognosis biomarker in various cancers, promotes tumor progression likely by titrating the extent and local of plasmin‐initiated matrix remodelling. SERPINE1 in human melanoma was assessed using tissue arrays that included primary/metastatic tumors and normal skin. SERPINE1 was basal layer‐restricted in the normal epidermis. SERPINE1 immunoreactivity was evident in 27/28 primary (96%) and 24/26 metastatic tumors (92%); cutaneous metastases (80%) had significantly elevated SERPINE1 levels compared with low signals characteristic of lymph node lesions. Moderate SERPINE1 expression was a general finding in primary melanoma, whereas reduced or increased SERPINE1 immunolocalization typified metastatic deposits. The amplitude of SERPINE1 expression may impact melanoma site‐specific dissemination, with cutaneous metastases representing a high‐SERPINE1 tumor subtype.
Predicting the similarity of parasite communities in freshwater fishes using the phylogeny, ecology and proximity of hosts
Authors: Locke Sean A. , McLaughlin J. Daniel , Marcogliese David J.
Published: May 2012

Parasite communities tend to be dissimilar in hosts that are geographically, phylogenetically, ecologically and developmentally distant from one another. The decay of community similarity is a powerful and increasingly common method of studying parasite beta diversity, but most studies have examined only a single type of distance. Here, we evaluate distances based on the phylogeny, ecology, spatial proximity and size of hosts, as predictors of the similarity of parasite communities in individual hosts, host populations and host species. We surveyed parasites in six species of fish collected simultaneously from six localities in the St. Lawrence River, Canada, and species in a common group of larval parasites were discriminated using DNA sequences from barcode region of cytochrome c oxidase I. Distances based on the habitat use patterns of host species were good predictors of short‐term, ecological similarity of parasite communities, such as that operating at the scale of the individual host. The genetic distance between host species was associated with almost all types of similarity at all scales, particularly qualitative and phylogenetic similarity of parasite communities at the level of populations and meta‐populations of hosts. The trophic level, diet, spatial proximity and size of hosts were poor predictors of parasite community similarity. The increased taxonomic resolution provided by molecular data increased the explanatory power of regression models, and different factors were implicated when parasite species were distinguished with DNA barcodes than when larval parasites were lumped into morphospecies, as is commonly practiced.
Brood‐parasite‐induced female‐biased mortality affects songbird demography: negative implications for conservation
Authors: Zanette Liana Y. , Clinchy Michael , Leonard Marty L. , Horn Andrew G. , Haydon Daniel T. , Hampson Elizabeth
Published: May 2012

Parasites, of all sorts, can profoundly affect host population dynamics. Parasites commonly cause sex‐biased mortality and this can add to their impact. Female‐biased mortality in particular can destabilize dynamics and promote population collapse. We previously reported in a correlative study that brown‐headed cowbird Molothrus ater brood parasitism of song sparrows Melospiza melodia appears to cause female‐biased host nestling mortality. Here, we report results from ‘infestation’ and ‘de‐infestation’ experiments designed to test whether brood parasitism causes female‐biased mortality, and we document the resulting demographic impact using a simulation model. Experimental cowbird infestation of song sparrow nests halved the proportion of female host nestlings (0.31±0.07 vs 0.59±0.06; infested vs unparasitized nests at day 6) replicating the halving reported in naturally cowbird‐parasitized nests (0.28±0.01 vs 0.57±0.05; parasitized vs unparasitized). De‐infestation of naturally cowbird‐parasitized nests in turn wholly eliminated any effect on the proportion of female host nestlings (0.53±0.13 vs 0.54±0.06; de‐infested vs unparasitized) confirming that brood parasitism is the cause. This halving of the proportion of females fledging is likely to be as significant as nest predation in affecting population dynamics, based on the elasticities derived from our demographic model (–0.50 vs –0.59). Experimental infestation reduced the testosterone levels, begging behaviour, and body mass of six day old female host nestlings, whereas males were largely unaffected, suggesting that it is the exacerbation of intra‐brood competition that may be primarily responsible for the resulting female‐biased mortality. The brown‐headed cowbird is invasive in most of North America and has been implicated in regional population declines of many native species. We suggest that female‐biased host offspring mortality is likely to be commonplace among the 144 host species the cowbird successfully parasitizes, and we discuss the negative implications for songbird conservation, given the projected demographic impact.
Selection on plant height through the interplay of landscape and large herbivores
Authors: D'hondt Bram , Hoffmann Maurice , Bonte Dries
Published: May 2012

Many herbaceous and graminoid plants from open communities are characterized by their relatively small size and by seeds that appear to lack any clear traits for dispersal. Such syndrome is likely the result of several selective pressures and their tradeoffs acting together. Drawing on the putative relationship of these plants with large mammals that graze on them, with respect to defoliation and the dispersal of seeds (endozoochory), we included plant stature as a trait in a simulation model to elaborate on these animals’ relative contribution in plant evolution. Different configurations of the landscape were used as a template, as these are known to affect the response of plants through additional costs levied in dispersal. As such, two herbivore parameters (the intensity of grazing and the efficacy of endozoochorous dispersal) were tested along with two parameters of the landscape (the proportion and connectivity of suitable habitat). Plants were allowed to evolve freely under these conditions, assuming that taller plants 1) produce more seeds and 2) have a more distant seed rain in wind dispersal, but 3) are also more likely to suffer failed reproduction because of herbivory. Our model confirmed the effects of landscape on the resulting dispersal capacity of plants, although these effects were readily overruled by the actions of grazers. We found the evolution of plant size to primarily result from the effects of defoliation, but also (though to a lesser degree) from endozoochory. This provides support for the adaptive value of unassisted dispersal syndromes in plants. Endozoochory also succeeded in maintaining increased population densities. However, these effects only hold when grazers sustain a considerable transfer of seeds towards suitable plant habitat.