bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A study of dye molecule diffusion in human hair using positron lifetime spectroscopy
Authors: Chandrashekara M. N. , Ranganathaiah C.
Published: October 2009

The diffusion behavior of a commercial permanent liquid hair dye in human hair has been investigated using Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) and gravimetric sorption method. The o‐Ps lifetime parameters τ3 and I3 decrease rapidly during the first 60 minutes of sorption time. This is understood in terms of dye molecules filling the free volume cavities in hair. The sorption results suggest that the dye molecule diffusion is essentially a Fickian process. In the latter part of the sorption, where positron parameters remain almost constant, mass increase might be due to surface adhesion. These two stages of sorption are well separated by the positron technique. The study shows that the free volume theory and positron technique, widely used in polymer research, may expediently be used to understand hair properties, more importantly diffusion of dye molecules. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The AMMA field campaigns: multiscale and multidisciplinary observations in the West African region
Authors: Lebel T. , Parker D. J. , Flamant C. , Bourlès B. , Marticorena B. , Mougin E. , Peugeot C. , Diedhiou A. , Haywood J. M. , Ngamini J. B. , Polcher J. , Redelsperger J.‐L. , Thorncroft C. D.
Published: October 2009

AMMA—the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis—is the biggest programme of research into environment and climate ever attempted in Africa. AMMA has involved a comprehensive field experiment bringing together ocean, land and atmospheric measurements, on time‐scales ranging from hourly and daily variability up to the changes in seasonal activity over a number of years. Many of the publications in this special issue make use of subsets of the AMMA measurements, collected from a diverse set of sensors.

As a general introduction to the special issue, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the AMMA observational programme, and summarises the scientific strategy which has defined the field deployment. The relationship between the existing observational monitoring networks of the region and the new sensors deployed for AMMA, and for the future, is described. Making use of regional and sub‐regional maps, the main groups of sensors are described in terms of their deployment periods and their spatial co‐ordination. The key linkages between different groups of measurements are also outlined, in terms of the strategy for their combined use and in terms of their interdependence. Some brief summaries of conditions sampled during the three years of the AMMA Extended Observing Period are also given. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright
Meridional energy transport in the coupled atmosphere–ocean system: scaling and numerical experiments
Authors: Vallis Geoffrey K. , Farneti Riccardo
Published: October 2009

We explore meridional energy transfer in the coupled atmosphere–ocean system, with a focus on the extratropics. We present various elementary scaling arguments for the partitioning of the energy transfer between atmosphere and ocean, and illustrate those arguments by numerical experimentation. The numerical experiments are designed to explore the effects of changing various properties of the ocean (its size, geometry and diapycnal diffusivity), the atmosphere (its water vapour content) and the forcing of the system (the distribution of incoming solar radiation and the rotation rate of the planet). We find that the energy transport associated with wind‐driven ocean gyres is closely coupled to the energy transport of the midlatitude atmosphere so that, for example, the heat transport of both systems scales in approximately the same way with the meridional temperature gradient in midlatitudes. On the other hand, the deep circulation of the ocean is not tightly coupled with the atmosphere and its energy transport varies in a different fashion.

Although for present‐day conditions the atmosphere transports more energy polewards than does the ocean, we find that a wider or more diffusive ocean is able to transport more energy than the atmosphere. The polewards energy transport of the ocean is smaller in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere; this arises because of the effects of a circumpolar channel on the deep overturning circulation. The atmosphere is able to compensate for changes in oceanic heat transport due to changes in diapycnal diffusivity or geometry, but we find that the compensation is not perfect. We also find that the transports of both atmosphere and ocean decrease if the planetary rotation rate increases substantially, indicating that there is no a priori constraint on the total meridional heat transport in the coupled system. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Stability criteria for shallow‐water flow above zonally symmetric orography on the sphere
Authors: White A. A. , Staniforth A.
Published: October 2009

It is shown that the sufficient stability criteria given by P. Ripa in 1983 for zonal shallow‐water flow on the sphere may be extended to include zonally symmetric orography (free surface height being replaced in the relevant expressions by depth). The context of the study is the use of stable flows to test the formulation of discretized numerical models; illustrative examples of how to apply the criteria in this context are presented. © Crown Copyright 2009. Reproduced with the permission of HMSO. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ecological modernization versus sustainable development: the case of genetic modification regulation in New Zealand
Authors: Wright Jeanette , Kurian Priya
Published: October 2009

Ecological modernization and sustainable development are the two dominant paradigms in environmental policy. This paper assesses the implications of competing understandings of ecological modernization and sustainable development using the case of genetic modification regulation in New Zealand. Although the New Zealand regulatory framework embraces the symbolic language of sustainability, it ultimately adheres to a narrow notion of ecological modernization. By adopting a technically driven risk management process and a diluted precautionary approach, alongside limiting public input into decision‐making on genetic modification, it undercuts its commitment to sustainable development definitionally and procedurally. Analysis of the New Zealand biotechnology policy regulatory framework, which consists of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act and the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), shows how institutionalization of a narrow conception of ecological modernization can preempt real commitment to sustainable development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Industrial transformation and sustainable development in developing countries
Authors: Luken Ralph , Castellanos‐Silveria Fernando
Published: October 2009

We examined the relationship between industrial transformation and the positive and negative impacts of industry on sustainable development in developing countries. We started by assigning developing countries to five groups based on the extent to which they have transformed and reoriented their manufacturing sectors. We then compared the changes in economic, social and environmental variables that occurred in these groups between the years 1990 and 2004. We found that those groups that experienced the greatest industrial transformation were the ones with the greater positive impacts in terms of per capita industrial output and employment and greater reductions in impacts in terms of energy intensity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Solutions of equations in languages
Authors: Hesselink Wim H.
Published: October 2009

A context-free grammar corresponds to a system of equations in languages. The language generated by the grammar is the smallest solution of the system. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for an arbitrary solution to be the smallest one. We revive an old criterion to decide that a grammar has a unique solution. All this fits in an approach to search for a grammar for an arbitrary language that is given by other means. The approach is illustrated by the derivation of a grammar for a certain set of bit strings. The approach is used to give an elegant derivation of the grammar for a language accepted by a pushdown automaton.
Blaming the client: on data refinement in the presence of pointers
Authors: Filipović Ivana , O’Hearn Peter , Torp-Smith Noah , Yang Hongseok
Published: October 2009

Data refinement is a common approach to reasoning about programs, based on establishing that a concrete program indeed satisfies all the required properties imposed by an intended abstract pattern. Reasoning about programs in this setting becomes complex when use of pointers is assumed and, moreover, a well-known method for proving data refinement, namely the forward simulation method, becomes unsound in presence of pointers. The reason for unsoundness is the failure of the “lifting theorem” for simulations: that a simulation between abstract and concrete modules can be lifted to all client programs. The result is that simulation does not imply that a concrete can replace an abstract module in all contexts. Our diagnosis of this problem is that unsoundness is due to interference from the client programs. Rather than blame a module for the unsoundness of lifting simulations, our analysis places the blame on the client programs which cause the interference: when interference is not present, soundness is recovered. Technically, we present a novel instrumented semantics which is capable of detecting interference between a module and its client. With use of special simulation relations, namely growing relations, and interpreting the simulation method using the instrumented semantics, we obtain a lifting theorem. We then show situations under which simulation does indeed imply refinement.
Z2SAL: a translation-based model checker for Z
Authors: Derrick John , North Siobhán , Simons Anthony J. H.
Published: October 2009

Despite being widely known and accepted in industry, the Z formal specification language has not so far been well supported by automated verification tools, mostly because of the challenges in handling the abstraction of the language. In this paper we discuss a novel approach to building a model-checker for Z, which involves implementing a translation from Z into SAL, the input language for the Symbolic Analysis Laboratory, a toolset which includes a number of model-checkers and a simulator. The Z2SAL translation deals with a number of important issues, including: mapping unbounded, abstract specifications into bounded, finite models amenable to a BDD-based symbolic checker; converting a non-constructive and piecemeal style of functional specification into a deterministic, automaton-based style of specification; and supporting the rich set-based vocabulary of the Z mathematical toolkit. This paper discusses progress made towards implementing as complete and faithful a translation as possible, while highlighting certain assumptions, respecting certain limitations and making use of available optimisations. The translation is illustrated throughout with examples; and a complete working example is presented, together with performance data.
Consistent integration of models based on views of meta models
Authors: Ehrig Hartmut , Ehrig Karsten , Ermel Claudia , Prange Ulrike
Published: October 2009

The complexity of large system models in software engineering nowadays is mastered by using different views. View-based modelling aims at creating small, partial models, each one of them describing some aspect of the system. Existing formal techniques supporting view-based visual modelling are based on typed attributed graphs, where views are related by typed attributed graph morphisms. Such morphisms up to now require a meta model given by a fixed type graph, as well as a fixed data signature and domain. This is in general not adequate for view-oriented modeling where only parts of the complete meta model are known and necessary when modelling a partial view of the system. The aim of this paper is to extend the framework of typed attributed graph morphisms to generalized typed attributed graph morphisms, short GAG-morphisms, which involve changes of the type graph, data signature, and domain. This allows the modeller to formulate type hierarchies and views of visual languages defined by GAG-morphisms between type graphs, short GATG-morphisms. In this paper, we study the interaction and integration of views, and the restriction of views along type hierarchies. In the main result, we present suitable conditions for the integration and decomposition of consistent view models (Theorem 4.1) and extend these conditions to view models defined over meta models with constraints (Theorem 5.1). As a running example, we use a visual domain-specific modelling language to model coarse-grained IT components and their connectors in decentralized IT infrastructures. Using constraints, we formulate connection properties as invariants.
Genetic Counselors’ Religiosity & Spirituality: Are Genetic Counselors Different from the General Population?
Authors: Cragun Ryan T. , Woltanski Amelia R. , Myers Melanie F. , Cragun Deborah L.
Published: October 2009

Although there is evidence that the religious beliefs of genetic counselors (GCs) can induce internal conflict in at least some genetic counseling scenarios, empirical research on the religiosity of GCs is limited. This study compares genetic counselors to a representative sample of the adult U.S. population on multiple religiosity measures. After controlling for several sociodemographic factors the percentage of GCs who report having a religious affiliation is similar to the general U.S., but GCs are less likely to affiliate with conservative Christian religions and are more likely to be Jewish. GCs are significantly less likely than the general U.S. population to: believe in god, attend religious services, pray, and believe in an afterlife even after controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors. Despite the lower levels of religiosity, a majority of GCs do report themselves to be moderately to highly spiritual. We explore potential reasons for religiosity differences as well as possible implications in the context of the GC scope of practice.
The Effect of Linseed on Intramuscular Fat Content and Adipogenesis Related Genes in Skeletal Muscle of Pigs
Authors: Luo He‐Feng , Wei Hong‐Kui , Huang Fei‐Ruo , Zhou Zheng , Jiang Si‐Wen , Peng Jian
Published: October 2009

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of n‐3 PUFA enrichment in longissimus muscle on intramuscular fat (IMF) content and expression of related genes in growing‐finishing barrows. Two isoenergetic, isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated: one was basal diet and the other contained 10% linseed. Twenty‐four Landrace × NewDamLine barrows weighing 35 ± 3.7 kg were randomly assigned to four treatment groups with six pigs per group. During the whole experimental period of 90 days, all groups were first fed the basal diet and then the linseed diet for 0, 30, 60, and 90 days before slaughter, respectively. Meat quality, fatty acid composition, and expression of genes involved in adipogenesis in longissimus muscle were measured and analyzed. The IMF content increased linearly (P < 0.05) as the linseed diet feeding time prolonged. Meanwhile, n‐3 PUFA content and expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor δ (PPARδ), PPARγ, adipocyte fatty acid–binding protein (aP2) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) increased linearly (P < 0.01) as well, while the expression of wingless related MMTV integration site 10b (Wnt10b) linearly decreased (P < 0.01). Furthermore, significant (P < 0.01) quadratic or linear relation was observed between n‐3 PUFA enrichment and expression of these genes, while significant (P < 0.01) quadratic or linear relation was observed between the expression of PPARγ, aP2 or Wnt10b and IMF content. These data show that enhancing n‐3 PUFA enrichment in muscle leads to significant increase in IMF content. A possible explanation is due to alterations in the expression of genes involved in adipogenesis, however this will need to be confirmed by protein and enzyme activity studies.
Quasistatic crack growth in finite elasticity with non-interpenetration
Authors: Dal Maso Gianni , Lazzaroni Giuliano
Published: October 2009

We present a variational model to study the quasistatic growth of brittle cracks in hyperelastic materials, in the framework of finite elasticity, taking into account the non-interpenetration condition.
$p(x)$-Harmonic functions with unbounded exponent in a subdomain
Authors: Manfredi J.J. , Rossi J.D. , Urbano J.M.
Published: October 2009

We study the Dirichlet problem

−\mathrm{div}(|\mathrm{∇}u|^{p(x)−2}\mathrm{∇}u) = 0

in

Ω

, with

u = f

on

∂Ω

and

p(x) = \infty

in

D

, a subdomain of the reference domain

Ω

. The main issue is to give a proper sense to what a solution is. To this end, we consider the limit as

n\rightarrow \infty

of the solutions

u_{n}

to the corresponding problem when

p_{n}(x) = p(x) \wedge n

, in particular, with

p_{n} = n

in

D

. Under suitable assumptions on the data, we find that such a limit exists and that it can be characterized as the unique solution of a variational minimization problem which is, in addition,

∞

-harmonic within

D

. Moreover, we examine this limit in the viscosity sense and find the boundary value problem it satisfies in the whole of

Ω

.
Statistical stability for Hénon maps of the Benedicks–Carleson type
Authors: Alves José F. , Carvalho Maria , Freitas Jorge Milhazes
Published: October 2009

We consider the family of Hénon maps in the plane and show that the SRB measures vary continuously in the weak

^∗

topology within the set of Benedicks–Carleson parameters.
Gelfand type elliptic problems under Steklov boundary conditions
Authors: Berchio Elvise , Gazzola Filippo , Pierotti Dario
Published: October 2009

For a Gelfand type semilinear elliptic equation we extend some known results for the Dirichlet problem to the Steklov problem. This extension requires some new tools, such as non-optimal Hardy inequalities, and discovers some new phenomena, in particular a different behavior of the branch of solutions and three kinds of blow-up for large solutions in critical growth equations. We also show that small values of the boundary parameter play against strong growth of the nonlinear source.
Psychiatry and chronic pain: Examining the interface and designing a structure for a patient‐center approach to treatment
Authors: Clark Michael R.
Published: October 2009

Chronic pain disorders require comprehensive care. While interdisciplinary approaches are recommended, the role of the psychiatrist is often misunderstood. Psychiatrists should be involved with the care of patients with chronic pain as early as possible to maximize response to treatment and improvements in quality of life. Psychiatrists offer an expertise that specifically addresses important deficiencies in the care of patients with chronic pain: (1) the lack of a detailed formulation, (2) the lumping of all psychopathology, and (3) the failure to effectively utilize a rehabilitation model of treatment.
Myiasis caused by the New World screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in cats from Brazil: report of five cases
Authors: de Souza Clarissa P , Verocai Guilherme G. , Ramadinha Regina HR
Published: October 2009

This paper reports five cases of intact adult male crossbreed cats presenting with myiasis caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax. Three were stray animals that died despite treatment due to the severity of lesions while two were client-owned cats previously treated with cryosurgery which completely recovered. Myiasis caused by the New World screwworm fly in cats appears to be more frequent than previously thought, deserving more attention from both veterinary practitioners and owners.
Variations in Sediment yield Over the Advance and Retreat of a Calving Glacier, Laguna San Rafael, North Patagonian Icefield
Authors: Koppes Michèle , Sylwester Richard , Rivera Andres , Hallet Bernard
Published: October 2009

Bathymetric and sub-bottom acoustic data were collected in Laguna San Rafael, Chile, to determine sediment yields during the Little Ice Age advance and subsequent retreat of San Rafael Glacier. The sediment volumes and subaqueous landforms imaged are used to interpret the proglacial dynamics and estimate erosion rates from a temperate tidewater glacier over a complete advance–retreat cycle. Sediment yields from San Rafael Glacier averaged 2.7 Ã— 10Â m/a since the end of the Little Ice Age, circa AD 1898, corresponding to average basin-wide erosion rates of 23 Â± 9Â mm/a; the highest erosion rates, 68 Â± 23Â mm/a, occurred at the start of the retreat phase, and have since been steadily decreasing. Erosion rates were much lower during glacial advance, averaging at most 7Â mm/a, than during retreat. Such large glacial sediment yields over two centuries of advance and retreat suggest that the contribution of sediments stored subglacially cannot account for much of the sediment being delivered to the terminus today. The detailed sub-bottom information of a proglacial lagoon yields important clues as to the timing of erosion, deposition and transfer of glacigenic sediments from orogens to the continental shelves, and the influence of glacier dynamics on this process.
The origin of oscillations of the large-scale circulation of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection
Authors: BROWN ERIC , AHLERS GUENTER
Published: October 2009

In agreement with a recent experimental discovery by Xi et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 102, 2009, paper no. 044503), we also find a sloshing mode in experiments on the large-scale circulation (LSC) of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a cylindrical sample of aspect ratio one. The sloshing mode has the same frequency as the torsional oscillation discovered by Funfschilling & Ahlers (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 92, 2004, paper no. 1945022004). We show that both modes can be described by an extension of a model developed previously Brown & Ahlers (Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008, pp. 105105-1–105105-15; Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008, pp. 075101-1–075101-16). The extension consists of permitting a lateral displacement of the LSC circulation plane away from the vertical centreline of the sample as well as a variation of the displacement with height (such displacements had been excluded in the original model). Pressure gradients produced by the sidewall of the container on average centre the plane of the LSC so that it prefers to reach its longest diameter. If the LSC is displaced away from this diameter, the walls provide a restoring force. Turbulent fluctuations drive the LSC away from the central alignment, and combined with the restoring force they lead to oscillations. These oscillations are advected along with the LSC. This model yields the correct wavenumber and phase of the oscillations, as well as estimates of the frequency, amplitude and probability distributions of the displacements.
Analytical and numerical investigation of diffraction effects on the nonlinear propagation of ultra-intense few-cycle optical pulses in plasmas
Authors: MALAV HARISH , MAHESHWARI K. P. , MEGHWAL R. S. , CHOYAL Y. , SHARMA RAKESH
Published: October 2009

The propagation of intense few-cycle laser beams in plasma media is considered when the quiver velocity of the electron approaches the velocity of light c. The modifications in the spatio-temporal profile of the initial Gaussian beam are found to depend on the combined effect of relativistic plasma frequency and diffraction. The results of the variation of the temporal profile of the envelope at points on the axis as well away from the axis are presented. The results so obtained are compared with those of vacuum propagation. Pulses get broadened and frequency gets chirped as a result of diffraction, phase dispersion and relativistic mass correction. The effect of the plasma on the group velocity dispersion including curvatures of pulse and phase fronts in pulsed Gaussian beam is numerically investigated.
Exploring the feasibility of a meta-structure for DSM-V and ICD-11: could it improve utility and validity?
Authors: Andrews G. , Goldberg D. P. , Krueger R. F. , Carpenter W. T. , Hyman S. E. , Sachdev P. , Pine D. S.
Published: October 2009

Background

The organization of mental disorders into 16 DSM-IV and 10 ICD-10 chapters is complex and based on clinical presentation. We explored the feasibility of a more parsimonious meta-structure based on both risk factors and clinical factors.

Method

Most DSM-IV disorders were allocated to one of five clusters as a starting premise. Teams of experts then reviewed the literature to determine within-cluster similarities on 11 predetermined validating criteria. Disorders were included and excluded as determined by the available data. These data are intended to inform the grouping of disorders in the DSM-V and ICD-11 processes.

Results

The final clusters were neurocognitive (identified principally by neural substrate abnormalities), neurodevelopmental (identified principally by early and continuing cognitive deficits), psychosis (identified principally by clinical features and biomarkers for information processing deficits), emotional (identified principally by the temperamental antecedent of negative emotionality), and externalizing (identified principally by the temperamental antecedent of disinhibition).

Conclusions

Large groups of disorders were found to share risk factors and also clinical picture. There could be advantages for clinical practice, public administration and research from the adoption of such an organizing principle.
Neurocognitive disorders: Cluster 1 of the proposed meta-structure for DSM-V and ICD-11
Authors: Sachdev P. , Andrews G. , Hobbs M. J. , Sunderland M. , Anderson T. M.
Published: October 2009

Background

In an effort to group mental disorders on the basis of aetiology, five clusters have been proposed. In this paper, we consider the validity of the first cluster, neurocognitive disorders, within this proposal. These disorders are categorized as ‘Dementia, Delirium, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders’ in DSM-IV and ‘Organic, including Symptomatic Mental Disorders’ in ICD-10.

Method

We reviewed the literature in relation to 11 validating criteria proposed by a Study Group of the DSM-V Task Force as applied to the cluster of neurocognitive disorders.

Results

‘Neurocognitive’ replaces the previous terms ‘cognitive’ and ‘organic’ used in DSM-IV and ICD-10 respectively as the descriptor for disorders in this cluster. Although cognitive/organic problems are present in other disorders, this cluster distinguishes itself by the demonstrable neural substrate abnormalities and the salience of cognitive symptoms and deficits. Shared biomarkers, co-morbidity and course offer less persuasive evidence for a valid cluster of neurocognitive disorders. The occurrence of these disorders subsequent to normal brain development sets this cluster apart from neurodevelopmental disorders. The aetiology of the disorders is varied, but the neurobiological underpinnings are better understood than for mental disorders in any other cluster.

Conclusions

Neurocognitive disorders meet some of the salient criteria proposed by the Study Group of the DSM-V Task Force to suggest a classification cluster. Further developments in the aetiopathogenesis of these disorders will enhance the clinical utility of this cluster.
Neurodevelopmental disorders: Cluster 2 of the proposed meta-structure for DSM-V and ICD-11
Authors: Andrews G. , Pine D. S. , Hobbs M. J. , Anderson T. M. , Sunderland M.
Published: October 2009

Background

DSM-IV and ICD-10 are atheoretical and largely descriptive. Although this achieves good reliability, the validity of diagnoses can be increased by an understanding of risk factors and other clinical features. In an effort to group mental disorders on this basis, five clusters have been proposed. We now consider the second cluster, namely neurodevelopmental disorders.

Method

We reviewed the literature in relation to 11 validating criteria proposed by a DSM-V Task Force Study Group.

Results

This cluster reflects disorders of neurodevelopment rather than a ‘childhood’ disorders cluster. It comprises disorders subcategorized in DSM-IV and ICD-10 as Mental Retardation; Learning, Motor, and Communication Disorders; and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Although these disorders seem to be heterogeneous, they share similarities on some risk and clinical factors. There is evidence of a neurodevelopmental genetic phenotype, the disorders have an early emerging and continuing course, and all have salient cognitive symptoms. Within-cluster co-morbidity also supports grouping these disorders together. Other childhood disorders currently listed in DSM-IV share similarities with the Externalizing and Emotional clusters. These include Conduct Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Separation Anxiety Disorder. The Tic, Eating/Feeding and Elimination disorders, and Selective Mutisms were allocated to the ‘Not Yet Assigned’ group.

Conclusion

Neurodevelopmental disorders meet some of the salient criteria proposed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to suggest a classification cluster.
The Great Kod of Pulu: Mutual Historical Emergence of Ceremonial Sites and Social Groups in Torres Strait, Northeast Australia
Authors: McNiven Ian J. , David Bruno , Kod Goemulgau , Fitzpatrick Judith
Published: October 2009

Communal ceremonial sites and social groups often share mutually reinforcing and structuring properties. As a result of this dynamic relationship, ceremonial sites and social groups exhibit ever-emergent properties as long-term works-in-progress. Ceremonial kod sites featuring shrines of trumpet shells and dugong bones were central to the communal ritual life of Torres Strait Islanders. Continuously formed over the generations by ritual additions, these shrines were linked to ongoing maintenance, legitimization and cohesion of totemic clans and moieties that formed the structural basis of island communities. As such, understanding the history of kod sites provides an opportunity to investigate the historical emergence of ethnographically-known social groups in Torres Strait. This mutual emergence is investigated archaeologically at the kod on Pulu islet which is owned and operated by the Goemulgal people of nearby Mabuyag island. Multiple radiocarbon dates from shell and bone shrines and an underlying village midden indicate that the kod, and by association the Goemulgal and their totemic clan and moiety system, emerged over the past 400 years. Aided by local oral history and ethnography, it is argued further that establishment of the kod saw the status of Pulu change from a residential to a ceremonial and sacred place.
Animating Archaeology: Local Theories and Conceptually Open-ended Methodologies
Authors: Alberti Benjamin , Marshall Yvonne
Published: October 2009

Animists' theories of matter must be given equivalence at the level of theory if we are to understand adequately the nature of ontological difference in the past. The current model is of a natural ontological continuum that connects all cultures, grounding our culturally relativist worldviews in a common world. Indigenous peoples' worlds are thought of as fascinating but ultimately mistaken ways of knowing the world. We demonstrate how ontologically oriented theorists Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Karen Barad and Tim Ingold in conjuncture with an anti-representationalist methodology can provide the necessary conditions for alternative ontologies to emerge in archaeology. Anthropo-zoomorphic ‘body-pots’ from first-millennium ad northwest Argentina anticipate the possibility that matter was conceptualized as chronically unstable, inherently undifferentiated, and ultimately practice-dependent.
The Social Agency of Things? Animism and Materiality in the Andes
Authors: Sillar Bill
Published: October 2009

A major focus of inter-disciplinary debate has been the need to bridge the Cartesian divide between people as active subjects and inert passive objects, to better reflect how things provoke and resist human actions through their ‘secondary agency’. Many Central Andean people express a deep concern about their relationship with places and things, which they communicate with through daily work and rituals involving ‘sympathetic magic’. A consideration of Andean animism emphasizes how agency is located in the social relationship people have with the material world and how material objects can have social identities.
Re-animating Hunter-gatherer Rock-art Research
Authors: Dowson Thomas A.
Published: October 2009

The shamanistic interpretation of hunter-gatherer rock arts has in recent years been heavily criticized. Much of this criticism draws on some of the same fundamental flaws in the shamanistic approach to understanding rock arts. In this article I briefly outline what it is about shamanism and its use in rock-art research that both sides of the debate have got wrong. Taking southern African hunter-gatherer rock art as a starting point, I demonstrate a new way of understanding rock art is indeed possible. I then explore the possibilities of this approach by examining rock art from the post Palaeolithic in Spain, and the Palaeolithic cave art of western Europe.
Living (with) Things: Relational Ontology and Material Culture in Early Modern Northern Finland
Authors: Herva Vesa-Pekka
Published: October 2009

This article discusses relational ontology and its significance for interpreting archaeological material from post-medieval contexts. The general theory of the relational constitution of the world is first introduced and some of its implications discussed in relation to the ‘meaning’ of artefact biographies. Second, by drawing from folk beliefs, the article considers how people in early modern Finland recognized the relational constitution of the world, which in turn provides new insights into the local mode of perceiving and engaging with the material world. The case of household spirits and human relationship with buildings is taken as an example. The archaeological material discussed in the article derives from the seventeenth-century town of Tornio in northern Finland.
Special Finds: Locating Animism in the Archaeological Record
Authors: Groleau Amy B.
Published: October 2009

Ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts of the Andes are rich with descriptions of animated landscapes, substances and objects. It is widely held that these beliefs have deep roots in the pre-Columbian past, and archaeological literature on the Andes routinely draws upon these sources describing the religious importance of mountains, water, plants and animals. While this generalized sense of animism in prehistory is accepted, locating animism archaeologically presents more of a challenge, and like investigations into religion and ritual more broadly, often focuses on special object categories. Spectacular items of fine-quality, exotic materials, or restricted circulation are singled out as ‘special’ by archaeologists, while objects such as plain pots or tools are interpreted as mundanely functional. Further, animistic interpretations that lean heavily on ethnographic analogy run the risk of simply identifying traits in the past which match up with accounts from more recent times. Using materials from the Wari site of Conchopata in the central Andes of Peru, I take up the idea of animism as a ‘relational epistemology’ (Bird-David 1999). This view repositions animism as something that arises out of an ongoing engagement between humans and the world they inhabit rather than as a set of beliefs. This move begins to dissolve the categories of sacred and profane that are embedded in historical studies of religion. Recent shifts in archaeological approaches to ritual provide methodological frameworks for exploring how mundane objects may be transformed into sacred and further allow us to interrogate changes in practice and highlight variation in how animism was deployed in specific locales concurrent with larger social changes.
Animating by Association: Index Objects and Relational Taxonomies
Authors: Zedeño María Nieves
Published: October 2009

Despite great variability in archaeological and ethnographic material culture across North America, a handful of objects are ubiquitous in assemblages of different ages and geographies. These index objects are clues to ontological principles, such as animacy, that guide the interactions between Native Americans and the material world. The impact of relational ontologies on the formation of heterogeneous archaeological assemblages may be evaluated through analyses of index objects and contextual associations. To this effect, this article presents the outline of an assemblage-based relational taxonomy, where spatial, temporal, and formal dimensions are combined with object biographies, interactive roles, and social relations.
Animism, Relatedness, Life: Post-Western Perspectives
Authors: Haber Alejandro F.
Published: October 2009

Both present academic theories and local native peoples' beliefs and practices are the result of complex colonial histories, and sometimes even evolved in curious interactions. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that scientific and local native theories are usually on opposite sides of the colonial border. In this article I explore the colonial and decolonizing potential of the ‘animistic turn’ in archaeology, focusing on my own trajectory of research. Following Latin American post-colonial writers on ‘border thinking’ (thinking from the border instead of about it), my account here can be described, in short, as a move from research on animism to research from animism.
Lingering prenatal effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic on cardiovascular disease
Authors: Mazumder B. , Almond D. , Park K. , Crimmins E. M. , Finch C. E.
Published: October 2009

Prenatal exposure to the 1918 influenza pandemic (Influenza A, H1N1 subtype) is associated with ⩾20% excess cardiovascular disease at 60 to 82 years of age, relative to cohorts born without exposure to the influenza epidemic, either prenatally or postnatally (defined by the quarter of birth), in the 1982–1996 National Health Interview Surveys of the USA. Males showed stronger effects of influenza on increased later heart disease than females. Adult height at World War II enlistment was lower for the 1919 birth cohort than for those born in adjacent years, suggesting growth retardation. Calculations on the prevalence of maternal infections indicate that prenatal exposure to even uncomplicated maternal influenza may have lasting consequences later in life. These findings suggest novel roles for maternal infections in the fetal programming of cardiovascular risk factors that are independent of maternal malnutrition.
Validation of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) version 5 land surface emissivity product over the Namib and Kalahari deserts
Authors: Hulley Glynn C. , Hook Simon J. , Manning Evan , Lee Sung‐Yung , Fetzer Eric
Published: October 2009

Hyperspectral infrared sounders require accurate knowledge of the land surface emissivity (LSE) to retrieve important climate variables such as surface temperature, air temperature, and total water vapor from space. This study provides a method for validating and assessing the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) version 5 LSE product using high–spatial resolution data (90 m) from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) which has five bands in the thermal infrared region (8–12 μm, 1250–833 cm−1) and high–spectral resolution laboratory measurements of sand samples collected over the Namib and Kalahari deserts in southern Africa. Results indicate that the mean, absolute daytime LSE difference between AIRS and the laboratory results for six wavelengths in window regions between 3.9 and 11.4 μm (2564–877 cm−1) was 2.3% over the Namib and 0.70% over the Kalahari, while the mean difference with ASTER was 2.3% over the Namib and 2.26% over the Kalahari for four bands between 8 and 12 μm. Systematic modeling and surface dependent AIRS LSE retrieval errors such as large discrepancies between day and nighttime shortwave LSE (up to 15%), unphysical values (LSE >1), and large daytime temporal variations in the shortwave region (up to 30%) are further discussed.
Results from the Mars Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm experiment
Authors: Arvidson R. E. , Bonitz R. G. , Robinson M. L. , Carsten J. L. , Volpe R. A. , Trebi‐Ollennu A. , Mellon M. T. , Chu P. C. , Davis K. R. , Wilson J. J. , Shaw A. S. , Greenberger R. N. , Siebach K. L. , Stein T. C. , Cull S. C. , Goetz W. , Morris R. V. , Ming D. W. , Keller H. U. , Lemmon M. T. , Sizemore H. G. , Mehta M.
Published: October 2009

The Mars Phoenix Lander was equipped with a 2.4 m Robotic Arm (RA) with an Icy Soil Acquisition Device capable of excavating trenches in soil deposits, grooming hard icy soil surfaces with a scraper blade, and acquiring icy soil samples using a rasp tool. A camera capable of imaging the scoop interior and a thermal and electrical conductivity probe were also included on the RA. A dozen trench complexes were excavated at the northern plains landing site and 31 samples (including water‐ice‐bearing soils) were acquired for delivery to instruments on the Lander during the 152 sol mission. Deliveries included sprinkling material from several centimeters height to break up cloddy soils on impact with instrument portals. Excavations were done on the side of the Humpty Dumpty and the top of the Wonderland polygons, and in nearby troughs. Resistive forces encountered during backhoe operations show that soils above the 3–5 cm deep icy soil interfaces are stronger with increasing depth. Further, soils are similar in appearance and properties to the weakly cohesive crusty and cloddy soils imaged and excavated by the Viking Lander 2, which also landed on the northern plains. Adsorbed H2O is inferred to be responsible for the variable nature and cohesive strength of the soils. Backhoe blade chatter marks on excavated icy soil surfaces, combined with rasp motor currents, are consistent with laboratory experiments using grain‐supported icy soil deposits, as is the relatively rapid decrease in icy soil strength over time as the ice sublimated on Mars.
Archaeal ammonia oxidizers and nirS-type denitrifiers dominate sediment nitrifying and denitrifying populations in a subtropical macrotidal estuary
Authors: Abell Guy C J , Revill Andrew T , Smith Craig , Bissett Andrew P , Volkman John K , Robert Stanley S
Published: October 2009

Nitrification and denitrification are key steps in nitrogen (N) cycling. The coupling of these processes, which affects the flow of N in ecosystems, requires close interaction of nitrifying and denitrifying microorganisms, both spatially and temporally. The diversity, temporal and spatial variations in the microbial communities affecting these processes was examined, in relation to N cycling, across 12 sites in the Fitzroy river estuary, which is a turbid subtropical estuary in central Queensland. The estuary is a major source of nutrients discharged to the Great Barrier Reef near-shore zone. Measurement of nitrogen fluxes showed an active denitrifying community during all sampling months. Archaeal ammonia monooxygenase (amoA of AOA, functional marker for nitrification) was significantly more abundant than Betaproteobacterial (β-AOB) amoA. Nitrite reductase genes, functional markers for denitrification, were dominated by nirS and not nirK types at all sites during the year. AOA communities were dominated by the soil/sediment cluster of Crenarchaeota, with sequences found in estuarine sediment, marine and terrestrial environments, whereas nirS sequences were significantly more diverse (where operational taxonomic units were defined at both the threshold of 5% and 15% sequence similarity) and were closely related to sequences originating from estuarine sediments. Terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis revealed that AOA population compositions varied spatially along the estuary, whereas nirS populations changed temporally. Statistical analysis of individual T-RF dominance suggested that salinity and C:N were associated with the community succession of AOA, whereas the nirS-type denitrifier communities were related to salinity and chlorophyll-α in the Fitzroy river estuary.
Variant in the 3′ Region of the IκBα Gene Associated With Insulin Resistance in Hispanic Americans: The IRAS Family Study
Authors: Miller Melissa R. , Zhang Weiming , Sibbel Scott P. , Langefeld Carl D. , Bowden Donald W. , Haffner Steven M. , Bergman Richard N. , Norris Jill M. , Fingerlin Tasha E.
Published: October 2009

The IKKβ/NF‐κB pathway is known to play an important role in inflammatory response and has also recently been implicated in the process of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that one or more variants in the IκBα gene (NFKBIA) or surrounding untranslated regions would be associated with insulin sensitivity (SI) in Hispanic‐American families. We tested for association between 25 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in and near NFKBIA and SI in 981 individuals in 90 Hispanic‐American families from the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis (IRAS) Family Study. SNP rs1951276 in the 3′ flanking region of NFKBIA was associated with SI in the San Antonio (SA) sample after adjusting for age, gender, and admixture (uncorrected P = 1.69 × 10−5; conservative Bonferroni correction P = 3.38 × 10−4). Subjects with at least one A allele for NFKBIA rs1951276 had ∼29% lower SI compared to individuals homozygous for the G allele in the SA sample. Although not statistically significant, the effect was in the same direction in the San Luis Valley (SLV) sample alone (P = 0.348) and was significant in the combined SA and SLV samples (P = 5.37 × 10−4; presence of A allele associated with ∼20% lower SI). In SA, when adjusted for subcutaneous adipose tissue area (SAT, cm2), the association was modestly attenuated (P = 1.25 × 10−3), but the association remained highly significant after adjustment for visceral adipose tissue area (VAT, cm2; P = 4.41 × 10−6). These results provide corroborating evidence that the NF‐κB/IKKβ pathway may mediate obesity‐induced insulin resistance in humans.
Metabolic Syndrome and Changes in Body Fat From a Low‐fat Diet and/or Exercise Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Camhi Sarah M. , Stefanick Marcia L. , Katzmarzyk Peter T. , Young Deborah R.
Published: October 2009

It is difficult to identify the successful component(s) related to changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) from lifestyle interventions: the weight loss, the behavior change, or the combination. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a weight‐stable randomized controlled trial of low‐fat diet and exercise, alone and in combination, on MetS. Men (n = 179) and postmenopausal women (n = 149) with elevated low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) and low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) were randomized into a 1‐year, weight‐stable trial with four treatment groups: control (C), diet (D), exercise (E), or diet plus exercise (D+E). MetS was defined using a continuous score. Changes in MetS score (ΔMetS) were compared between groups using analysis of covariance, stratified by gender and using two models, with and without baseline and change in percent body fat (ΔBF) as a covariate. In men, ΔMetS was higher for D vs. C (P = 0.04), D+E vs. C (P = 0.0002), and D+E vs. E (P = 0.02). For women, ΔMetS was greater for D vs. C (P = 0.045), E vs. C (P = 0.02), and D+E vs. C (P = 0.004). After adjusting for ΔBF, all differences between groups were attenuated and no longer significant. ΔMetS were associated with ΔBF for both men (P < 0.0001) and women (P = 0.004). After adjustment for ΔBF, low‐fat diet alone and in combination with exercise had no effect on MetS. The key component for MetS from low‐fat diet and/or increased physical activity appears to be body fat loss.