bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Yoga and Physical Education: Swami Kuvalayananda's Nationalist Project
Authors: Alter Joseph S.
Published: February 2013

In the 1920s, Jagannath G. Gune adopted the tide Swami Kuvalayananda
and established a research centre for the scientific analysis of yoga in
Lonavala, a hill station near Pune. Gune's training under Rajrama Manikrao had
been in 'traditional' athletics and gymnastics, as these were understood to be
the means by which to promote a form of strong, masculine, assertive
anti-colonial nationalism. However, once Gune became the disciple of the sage
Madhavadasji, and received training in āsana and
prdāṇāyāma, he began to reconceptualise the logic of
physical education and physical fitness. For Kuvalayananda, yoga was inherently
scientific, but also in need of scientific analysis to prove its relevance in
the context of modernity. Based on laboratory research on the physiological
effects of āsana and prdāṇāyāma, and by virtue
of his appointment as the director of physical education and sports in the
Bombay Presidency, Kuvalayananda developed a 'scientific' regimen of both
individual and mass drill āsana. In this article, I examine the
logic of Kuvalayananda's reconceptualisation of physical education by means of
yoga with special reference to questions of gender and nationalism in the
discourse of science and in the embodiment of that discourse in practice.
Stretching for Health and Well-Being: Yoga and Women in Britain, 1960-1980
Authors: Newcombe Suzanne
Published: February 2013

In Britain, yoga became an increasingly popular group activity from
the 1960s onwards in government-subsidised adult-education evening classes.
Although yoga classes were open to everyone, women tended to make up 70 ro 90
per cent of the student base of most classes as well as the majority of yoga
teachers. This article briefly outlines how yoga became popular in Britain and
then explores yoga's particular appeal to women during this period. Yoga's
popularity can be partially accounted for by the way it simultaneously supported
women's traditional identities of wife and mother, as well as a more independent
identity promoted by second-wave feminism. Women typically attributed better
physical health and emotional well-being to their practice of yoga and this was
an important reason for their participation in the classes. Additionally, yoga
served as an important support for women becoming more aware of feelings of
alienation from traditional biomedical practitioners.
Observance of the Buddhist Five Precepts, Subjective Wealth, and Happiness among Buddhists in Bangkok, Thailand
Authors: Ariyabuddhiphongs Vanchai , Jaiwong Donnapat
Published: February 2013

This study tests the Buddhist hypothesis that observance of Buddhist Five Precepts leads to subjective wealth, and happiness. Gotama Buddha defined happiness as the result of subjective wealth: having wealth, using wealth, not being in debt, and engaging in a harmless profession. Four hundred residents of Bangkok participated in the study by responding to scales assessing the extent of their observance of the Five Precepts, subjective wealth, and domain satisfactions and life satisfaction. Regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis. The results confirm that subjective wealth mediates the relationship between observance of the Five Precepts and happiness. Happiness begins by not transgressing upon oneself and violating others, and may depend less on what one has than on what one has left after paying off the bills.
Young People and Paranormal Experiences: Why are they Scared? A Cognitive Pattern
Authors: Mathijsen François P.
Published: February 2013

Two qualitative projects have brought together non-directive and semi-directive interviews with 49 young people who had a paranormal experience (mainly spiritualism) between the ages of 11 and 18. A sequential analysis shows an emotional and cognitive pattern comprising four stages, accompanied by periods of anxiety. Young people move through those stages that correspond to a cognitive acceptance or rejection of what they are experiencing in order to maintain or reestablish paradigmatic stability. This study complements the many observations linking paranormal beliefs and anxiety, bringing with it the new discovery of a mechanism underlying the link between anxiety and some aspects of paranormal or anomalous experiences in young people.
The Dialectics of Objectivity
Authors: Axtell Guy
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This paper develops under-recognized connections between moderate historicist methodology and character (or virtue) epistemology, and goes on to argue that their combination supports a “dialectical” conception of objectivity. Considerations stemming from underdetermination problems motivate our claim that historicism requires agent-focused rather than merely belief-focused epistemology; embracing this point helps historicists avoid the charge of relativism. Considerations stemming from the genealogy of epistemic virtue concepts motivate our claim that character epistemologies are strengthened by moderate historicism about the epistemic virtues and values at work in communities of inquiry; embracing this point helps character epistemologists avoid the charge of objectivism.
The Seat of Sovereignty: Hobbes on the Artificial Person of the Commonwealth or State
Authors: Chwaszcza Christine
Published: February 2013

Is sovereignty in Hobbes the power of a person or of an office? This article defends the thesis that it is the latter. The interpretation is based on an analysis of Hobbes’s version of the social contract in Leviathan. Pace Quentin Skinner, it will be argued that the person whom Hobbes calls “sovereign” is not a person but the office of government.
Evaluating Peace Operations: The Case of Cambodia
Authors: Whalan Jeni
Published: February 2013

This article applies Diehl and Druckman’s evaluative framework to the case of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC, 1992-1993), finding it to be of high utility in analyzing the record of this operation. By directing the analyst to evaluate discreet objectives within three goal categories, Diehl and Druckman encourage the disaggregated evaluation that, I argue, holds most value for scholars and practitioners seeking to explain the outcomes of peace operations. In particular, this approach requires that the underlying purposes and normative agendas that always color evaluation be explicitly addressed. The article finds that UNTAC was a partial success and, more importantly, suggests a number of refinements to strengthen Diehl and Druckman’s framework. First, it recommends greater analysis of the relationship between a peace operation’s roles of action and reaction. Second, the case of UNTAC demonstrates the need for time-series evaluation to be based on sufficiently regular measurement if it is to capture very short-term patterns of conflict, such as wet- and dry-season violence cycles. Finally, the article questions the appropriateness of including ‘good relations with the local population’ as a dependent variable to be evaluated, recommending instead that such outcomes be considered by assessing the social costs of peace operations to host societies.
Using a Framework to Evaluate Peace Operations: The Role of the United Nations
Authors: Thakur Ramesh
Published: February 2013

The United Nations remains the primary agency for carrying out peace operations. This article situates the Diehl and Druckman framework and the preceding four case studies in the larger context of the origins and changing nature and requirements of peacekeeping. Consideration is given to the shift from collective security to peacekeeping as the predominant strategy for UN conflict management efforts; peacekeeping itself has evolved in both number and mission over time. Complementary frameworks and ideas drawn from the other scholars’ work and case study chapters herein are discussed in the concluding section.
The Obama Administration and R2P: Progress, Problems and Prospects
Authors: Jentleson Bruce W.
Published: February 2013

This article examines the policies of the Obama administration relevant to ‘Responsibility to Protect’ along four dimensions – core doctrine, as established in key foreign and national security policy statements and documents; executive branch institutional changes, focusing particularly on the 2011-12 Presidential Study Directive-10 (PSD-10) and the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR); actual policy in key cases; and particular focus on the Libya case – to assess the progress made, problems that have arisen, and prospects going forward. I argue that the Obama administration is to be credited for shifting the US R2P debate from “if” to “how” and “which”: i.e., no longer if the United States should adopt R2P as an international norm and genocide and mass atrocities prevention as a priority US policy objective but how best to do so and in which cases to do so. This by no means resolves all the issues; indeed it opens up many, domestically and internationally, that were less pressing when we still were at if. And much remains to be seen.
Strengthening the Norms of Global Responsibility: Structural Violence in Relation to Internal Displacement and Statelessness
Authors: Kingston Lindsey N. , Datta Saheli
Published: February 2013

Norms of global responsibility have changed significantly since the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and today’s international community critically considers responsibilities within and beyond state borders, as evidenced by the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. From this starting point, protection must be extended to large populations susceptible to structural violence – social harms resulting from the pervasive and persistent impact of economic, political and cultural violence in societies. In order to show the potential of expanded conceptions of global responsibility, this article proceeds as follows: First, a discussion of the evolving concepts of responsibility outlines a shift in thinking about sovereignty that creates a multilayered system of responsibility. This section defines key concepts and highlights an ‘unbundled R2P’ framework for approaching structural violence. Second, an overview of two vulnerable populations – internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the stateless – illustrates that large-scale cases of state abuse and neglect are not limited to acts of physical violence, and that pervasive structural violence requires further attention from the international community. Lastly, recommendations are provided for expanding the scope of global responsibility in order to assist the internally displaced and the stateless. These recommendations address who is responsible, when global responsibility is warranted, and how such responsibility should be implemented.
Edward Pococke’s Arabic Translation of Grotius, De Veritate
Authors: Toomer G.J.
Published: February 2013

This article recounts the history of the composition, publication and dissemination of Edward Pococke’s translation into Arabic of Grotius, De Veritate, the motivation for making it alleged both by Grotius and by Pococke, and the changes in the text which were introduced by Pococke. An Appendix provides, for the two chapters which are most different from Grotius’s original, the Arabic text, a literal translation, Grotius’s Latin, and details of the sources of Grotius and Pococke for their accusations against the Muslims in those chapters.
John K. Fairbank’s Construction of China, 1930s-1950s: Culture, History, and Imperialism
Authors: Diana Lin Xiaoqing
Published: February 2013

This paper explores John K. Fairbank’s use of the concept “culture” in his explanations of modern Chinese history. Several factors influenced Fairbank’s use of culture. Culture started as a way to explain the social and political chasm between China and the West in the 1930s, and culture eventually also became Fairbank’s way to express hope in the modernization of China despite the stark social and political reality in the 1940s and after the establishment of Communist China. The modernization theory prevalent in the mid-twentieth century situated his study of China in a universal and rational framework based on fundamentally Western values. On the other hand, Fairbank’s extensive experience living in China and befriending Chinese progressives showed him the dilemmas in implementing this purportedly universal and rational plan.
Racial ‘Sterility’ and ‘Hyperfecundity’ in Fascist Italy. Biological Politics of Sex and Reproduction
Authors: Sophia Quine Maria
Published: February 2013

This article explores a new dimension in fascist studies, eugenic studies, and the more mainstream history of Italy, Europe, and modernity. It asks scholars to reconsider the centrality of race and biology to the political programme of Italian fascism in power. Fascism’s ‘binomial theorem’ of optimum population change was characterized as a commitment both to increase the ‘quantity’ (number) and improve the ‘quality’ (biology) of the Italian ‘race’. These twin objectives came to fruition in the new scientific and political paradigm known to contemporaries as ‘biological politics’ and to scholars today as ‘biopolitics’. Fascism, this article contends, attempted to utilize the full force of the new ‘biopower’ of reproductive and biogenetic medicine and science in order to realize the aims of its biopolitical agenda for racial betterment through fertility increase. In Italy, fascism encouraged science to tamper with the processes of human reproduction and to extend genetic understanding of diseases which were seen as ‘conquerable’ without sterilization and euthanasia. It began a biotechnological ‘revolution’ that historians often attribute to twenty-first-century science. By exploring the technical innovations in assisted conception which Italian fascism promoted, this article challenges the assumption in much of the scholarship that there was a huge divide between the ‘old’ eugenics of the interwar period and the ‘new’ genetics of recent decades.
Beyond the domestication of Islam in Europe: A reflection on past and future research on Islam in European societies
Authors: Sunier Thijl
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Within two decades Islam in European societies has developed from an issue of minor academic interest into one of the fastest growing research fields. The main reason for this is no doubt the emergence of new regimes of governmentality in most countries in Europe that emanate from the complex relationship between integration, and political priorities of security and national identity, the ‘domestication of Islam’. The narrowing down of research foci in the field of Islam in Europe has caused a serious academic neglect particularly where it concerns the entanglement of Islamic practices with everyday life, the religious engagements, expressions and experiences among young people, and the transformation and reconfiguration of Islamic authority. These three fields are of course closely connected, but also have their specific features and dynamics. The article explores these fields of research beyond the domestication paradigm.
Big Army Groups, Standardization, and Assaulting Fortified Positions: Chinese “Ways of War” and the Transition from Guerrilla to Conventional War in China’s Northeast, 1945-1948
Authors: Tanner Harold M.
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Western military historians often describe the Chinese “way of war” as emphasizing a gradualist military strategy, tending to avoid battle except when victory was assured, and preferring to use subterfuge, maneuver, or psychological means to defeat the enemy without actually fighting. The roots of this understanding of the Chinese way of war lie in selective readings of Sunzi’s Art of War and Mao Zedong’s writings on guerrilla warfare. The record of Chinese Communist operations in China’s Northeast (Manchuria) from 1945 through 1948 instead suggests a Chinese approach to war that is characterized not only by close attention to strategy and maneuver, but also by a preference for offensive operations leading to the ultimate destruction of the enemy in battles of annihilation. In the Northeast theater of China’s civil war we also see that the Communist forces had to go through a process of transformation before they were able to carry out large-scale maneuvers, deploy overwhelming firepower, and conduct large-scale operations or campaigns of annihilation. In order to gain victory, the Chinese Communist forces in the Northeast under Lin Biao’s command had to make the transition from guerrilla to conventional warfare, including the ability to attack cities. This transformation was achieved through a combination of factors: critical assessment of battlefield performance, incorporation of new weapons and equipment, and techniques of staff work. This suggests that any workable understanding of Chinese ways of war must go beyond cultural determinism to take account of the Chinese military’s flexibility and capacity for learning.
Revision of the Chinese Geotragus Schoenherr with description of three new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)
Authors: REN LI , ALONSO-ZARAZAGA MIGUEL A. , ZHANG RUNZHI
Published: February 2013

The Chinese representatives of the entimine weevil genus Geotragus are here revised, including redescriptions of the two previously known species, G. himalayanus Boheman, 1845 and G. tuberculatus Chen, 1990, and descriptions of three new species from the Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan province, China: G. brevidens sp. nov., G. declivis sp. nov. and G. rugosus sp. nov.. Diagnostic characters of the genus, a key to Chinese species of Geotragus and a checklist of the now 11 known world species are also provided.
Understanding the Regeneration Stage Undergone by Surface Cyclones Crossing a Midlatitude Jet in a Two-Layer Model
Authors: Rivière Gwendal , Gilet Jean-Baptiste , Oruba Ludivine
Published: February 2013

The present paper provides a rationale for the regeneration stage undergone by surface cyclones when they cross a baroclinic jet from its anticyclonic-shear (warm) side to its cyclonic-shear (cold) side in a two-layer quasigeostrophic model. To do so, the evolution of finite-amplitude synoptic cyclones in various baroclinic zonal flows is analyzed.

Baroclinic zonal flows with uniform horizontal shears are first considered. While the anticyclonic shear allows a much more efficient and sustainable extraction of potential energy than the cyclonic shear, the growth of the lower-layer eddy kinetic energy (EKE) is shown to be highly dependent on the choice of the parameter values. An increased vertical shear leads to a more rapid EKE increase in the anticyclonic shear than in the cyclonic shear whereas increasing the vertically averaged potential vorticity gradient or the barotropic shear stabilizes the EKE more in the former shear than in the latter. Finally, vertical velocities arising from the nonlinear interaction between synoptic cyclones are shown to favor EKE growth in the cyclonic shear rather than in the anticyclonic one.

The evolution of cyclones initialized on the warm side of a meridionally confined baroclinic jet is then investigated. The lower-layer cyclone crosses the jet axis and undergoes two distinct growth stages. The first growth stage results from the classical baroclinic interaction and is mainly driven by linear interaction between the cyclones and the jet. The second growth stage is mainly a nonlinear process. It is triggered by the vertical velocities created by the three-dimensional structure of the cyclonic disturbances when they reach the cyclonic side of the jet.
Incorporating NASA Spaceborne Radar Data into NOAA National Mosaic QPE System for Improved Precipitation Measurement: A Physically Based VPR Identification and Enhancement Method
Authors: Wen Yixin , Cao Qing , Kirstetter Pierre-Emmanuel , Hong Yang , Gourley Jonathan J. , Zhang Jian , Zhang Guifu , Yong Bin
Published: February 2013

This study proposes an approach that identifies and corrects for the vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) by using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) measurements in the region of Arizona and southern California, where the ground-based Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) finds difficulties in making reliable estimations of surface precipitation amounts because of complex terrain and limited radar coverage. A VPR identification and enhancement (VPR-IE) method based on the modeling of the vertical variations of the equivalent reflectivity factor using a physically based parameterization is employed to obtain a representative VPR at S band from the TRMM PR measurement at Ku band. Then the representative VPR is convolved with ground radar beam sampling properties to compute apparent VPRs for enhancing NEXRAD quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). The VPR-IE methodology is evaluated with several stratiform precipitation events during the cold season and is compared to two other statistically based correction methods, that is, the TRMM PR–based rainfall calibration and a range ring–based adjustment scheme. The results show that the VPR-IE has the best overall performance and provides much more accurate surface rainfall estimates than the original ground-based radar QPE. The potential of the VPR-IE method could be further exploited and better utilized when the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission's dual-frequency PR is launched in 2014, with anticipated accuracy improvements and expanded latitude coverage.
Investigating the Applicability of Error Correction Ensembles of Satellite Rainfall Products in River Flow Simulations
Authors: Maggioni Viviana , Vergara Humberto J. , Anagnostou Emmanouil N. , Gourley Jonathan J. , Hong Yang , Stampoulis Dimitrios
Published: February 2013

This study uses a stochastic ensemble-based representation of satellite rainfall error to predict the propagation in flood simulation of three quasi-global-scale satellite rainfall products across a range of basin scales. The study is conducted on the Tar-Pamlico River basin in the southeastern United States based on 2 years of data (2004 and 2006). The NWS Multisensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) dataset is used as the reference for evaluating three satellite rainfall products: the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) real-time 3B42 product (3B42RT), the Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH), and the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Imagery Using Artificial Neural Networks–Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS). Both ground-measured runoff and streamflow simulations, derived from the NWS Research Distributed Hydrologic Model forced with the MPE dataset, are used as benchmarks to evaluate ensemble streamflow simulations obtained by forcing the model with satellite rainfall corrected using stochastic error simulations from a two-dimensional satellite rainfall error model (SREM2D). The ability of the SREM2D ensemble error corrections to improve satellite rainfall-driven runoff simulations and to characterize the error variability of those simulations is evaluated. It is shown that by applying the SREM2D error ensemble to satellite rainfall, the simulated runoff ensemble is able to envelope both the reference runoff simulation and observed streamflow. The best (uncorrected) product is 3B42RT, but after applying SREM2D, CMORPH becomes the most accurate of the three products in the prediction of runoff variability. The impact of spatial resolution on the rainfall-to-runoff error propagation is also evaluated for a cascade of basin scales (500–5000 km2). Results show a doubling in the bias from rainfall to runoff at all basin scales. Significant dependency to catchment area is exhibited for the random error propagation component.
Airborne Doppler Observations of the Inner-Core Structural Differences between Intensifying and Steady-State Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Rogers Robert , Reasor Paul , Lorsolo Sylvie
Published: February 2013

Differences in the inner-core structure of intensifying [IN; intensity increase of at least 20 kt (24 h)−1, where 1 kt = 0.51 m s−1] and steady-state [SS; intensity remaining between ±10 kt (24 h)−1] tropical cyclones (TCs) are examined using composites of airborne Doppler observations collected from NOAA P-3 aircraft missions. The IN dataset contains 40 eyewall passes from 14 separate missions, while the SS dataset contains 53 eyewall passes from 14 separate missions. Intensifying TCs have a ringlike vorticity structure inside the radius of maximum wind (RMW); lower vorticity in the outer core; a deeper, stronger inflow layer; and stronger axisymmetric eyewall upward motion compared with steady-state TCs. There is little difference in the vortex tilt between 2 and 7 km, and both IN and SS TCs show an eyewall precipitation and updraft asymmetry whose maxima are located in the downshear and downshear-left region. The azimuthal coverage of eyewall and outer-core precipitation is greater for IN TCs. There is little difference in the distribution of downdrafts and weak to moderate updrafts in the eyewall. The primary difference is seen at the high end of the vertical velocity spectrum, where IN TCs have a larger number of convective bursts. These bursts accomplish more vertical mass flux, but they compose such a small portion of the total vertical velocity distribution that there is little difference in the shape of the net mass flux profile. The radial location of convective bursts for IN TCs is preferentially located inside the RMW, where the axisymmetric vorticity is generally higher, whereas for SS TCs the bursts are located outside the RMW.
Gender differences in predictors of school wellbeing?
Authors: Løhre Audhild , Moksnes Unni K , Lillefjell Monica
Published: February 2013

Objective:

Although welfare in childhood and adolescence is of great public concern, individual or other resources have not been extensively studied in relation to wellbeing in schools. In this longitudinal study, factors that may promote girls’ or boys’ school wellbeing as well as factors that may have an adverse effect were assessed.

Methods:

Altogether, 149 boys and 119 girls in public primary and secondary schools completed questionnaires twice, two years apart (T1 and T2). The impact of potentially promoting and potentially adverse factors at T1 were investigated in relation to school wellbeing at T2 using logistic regression.

Results:

No gender differences were revealed in self-rated school wellbeing whereas factors associated with school wellbeing showed substantial gender differences. Boys who experienced necessary academic help from teachers were 2–3 times more likely to report good school wellbeing compared to other boys. For girls, perceived loneliness at school demonstrated a strong and negative association with school wellbeing both in crude and multivariable analyses.

Conclusions:

There may be gender differences in predictors of students’ school wellbeing that health-promoting strategies need to take into account. Academic support from teachers, an example of resources in close surroundings, appears to be of great importance for boys. Among girls, perceived loneliness may indicate reduced school wellbeing. Later research must aim at identifying resources that prevent loneliness in school or ease the burdens of lonely students.
Motivation for Ethno-cultural Continuity
Authors: Gezentsvey Lamy Michelle A. , Ward Colleen , Liu James H.
Published: February 2013

The Motivation for Ethno-cultural Continuity (MEC) scale was developed to capture the agency of minority individuals in the long-term acculturation of their group and their dedication to cultural persistence over many generations. Study 1 presents the construction and validation of a pilot MEC scale, an 18-item unifactorial measure demonstrating good reliability (α = 0.95), convergent validity via its significant correlations with Collective Self-Esteem ( r = 0.67), Perceived Collective Continuity ( r = 0.54), Perceived Group Entitativity ( r = 0.32), and discriminant validity in that it was unrelated to attitudes toward Assimilation ( r = -.10, ns). Study 2 confirmed the structural equivalence of the final 10-item MEC scale and examined its prevalence and function across samples of New Zealand Jews, Māori, and Chinese ( n = 311). Good scale reliability was found across cultures (α = 0.94 to 0.95). As expected, higher values were found among Jews and Māori than Chinese. Together with traditional ethnocentric predictors, MEC predicted intentions for endogamy and in turn selective dating for Jews and Māori, but not for Chinese. Results are interpreted in terms of existential uncertainty experienced by “small peoples” and the impact of collective interests on individual behavior.
Regeneration of Condyle with a Functional Appliance
Authors: Fujita T. , Hayashi H. , Shirakura M. , Tsuka Y. , Fujii E. , Kawata T. , Kaku M. , Ohtani J. , Motokawa M. , Tanne K.
Published: February 2013

Condylar regeneration with the use of functional appliances after condylectomy has been validated. However, the process during treatment remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the condylar regeneration process and then examined mandibular growth and masticatory muscle activity after regeneration in growing rats. Seventy-five male Wistar rats aged 4 weeks were equally divided into 3 groups: unilateral condylectomy group, unilateral condylectomy + appliance group, or control group. The use of a functional appliance following condylectomy promoted mandibular growth and regeneration of the condyle 1 week after condylectomy. Condyle regeneration showing normal morphology was finally achieved 8 weeks after condylectomy. Asymmetrical masticatory muscle activity was observed after condylectomy. However, the use of a functional appliance produced symmetrical masticatory muscle activity. These results indicate a favorable regeneration process in the condylectomized area due to the use of a functional appliance. In addition, due to condylar regeneration, symmetrical masticatory muscle activity was achieved.
Young People’s Temporal and Spatial Accounts of Gendered Violence
Authors: Lombard Nancy
Published: February 2013

This article is based on qualitative research that took place with 89 11- and 12-year-olds in Glasgow to find out their understandings of men’s violence against women. The research found that young people’s position within childhood directly impacts on how they conceive of, construct and understand violence. These positions within childhood are constituted and experienced differently. Therefore, young people’s understandings of men’s violence need to be theorised within a framework that illuminates the gendered, temporal and spatial elements of their accounts. This was achieved by developing a transitory framework to illustrate what young people define and name as ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ violence. Young people use gender but also space, childhood, temporality and age to frame their understandings of violence.
Fabric defect detection using adaptive dictionaries
Authors: Zhou Jian , Wang Jun
Published: February 2013

In this paper, we present a new fabric defect detection algorithm based on learning an adaptive dictionary. Such a dictionary can efficiently represent columns of normal fabric images using a linear combination of its elements. Benefiting from the fact that defects on a fabric appear to be small in size, a dictionary can be learned directly from a testing image itself instead of a reference, allowing more flexibility to adapt to varying fabric textures. When modeling a test image using the learned dictionary, columns involving anomalies of the test image are likely to have larger reconstruction errors than normal ones. The anomalous regions (defects) can be easily enhanced in the residual image. Then, a simple threshold operation is able to segment the defective pixels from the residual image. To adapt more defects, especially some linear defects, we rotate the test image by a slight degree and re-analyze the rotated image. Compared to the Fourier method, experimental results on 47 real-world test images with defects reveal that our algorithm is able to adapt to varying fabric textures and exhibits more accurate defect detection.
Existential Guilt and Preferential Treatment
Authors: Mattila Anna S. , Hanks Lydia , Zhang Lu
Published: February 2013

Using the context of an unexpected airline upgrade, we examined factors that influence an individual’s reaction when they are overrewarded compared to others: guilt-proneness and relationship to the other, underrewarded, individuals. Results demonstrated that for individuals high in guilt-proneness, satisfaction with the upgrade and behavioral intent may be qualified by a feeling of existential guilt when they receive benefits that others do not, particularly if they have a close relationship with those others. Our results extend the research in advantageous inequality by showing that people high in guilt-proneness tend to have a heightened sensitivity to such injustices. Our findings also have important implications for the hospitality, airline, and travel industries: for customers high in guilt-proneness, receiving an expected upgrade may, in fact, have unintended negative results. Managers can use this information to make employees aware of the potential detrimental effects of rewarding or upgrading only one member of a party.
Procedural Democracy, the Bulwark of Equal Liberty
Authors: Saffon Maria Paula , Urbinati Nadia
Published: February 2013

This essay reclaims a political proceduralist vision of democracy as the best normative defense of democracy in contemporary politics. We distinguish this vision from three main approaches that are representative in the current academic debate: the epistemic conception of democracy as a process of truth seeking; the populist defense of democracy as a mobilizing politics that defies procedures; and the classical minimalist or Schumpeterian definition of democracy as a competitive method for selecting leaders.
Detection of Interleukin-33 in Serum and Carcinoma Tissue from Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and its Clinical Implications
Authors: Zhang P , Liu X-K , Chu Z , Ye JC , Li K-L , Zhuang W-L , Yang D-J , Jiang Y-F
Published: February 2013

Objective:

To study the clinical significance of intercellular interleukin (IL)-33 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods:

Using immunohisto - chemistry, this prospective study compared IL-33 protein levels in samples of HCC tissue and normal tissue adjacent to the tumour in 60 patients with HCC, and in normal liver tissue from six healthy controls. Interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ and IL-33 serum levels were also analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in HCC 30 patients and 10 healthy controls. The level of IL-33 immunohistochemical staining was compared with the rate of lymph node metastasis in HCC patients.

Results:

IL-33 was strongly positive in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. The median percentage of IL-33-positive tissue was higher in HCC than in normal liver tissue samples (adjacent to the tumour or fromcontrols). Serum IFN-α, IFN-γ and IL-33 levels were higher in pre- and postoperative samples from HCC patients than in control samples, and in patients with metastasis compared with those without metastasis.

Conclusions:

Increased IL-33 protein levels were observed in serum and liver tissue from HCC patients; IL-33 may be a useful biological marker for monitoring HCC growth and metastasis.
A Tuberculosis Outbreak Among Senior High School Students in China in 2011
Authors: Chen W , Xia Y , Li X , Zhou L , Li C , Wan K , Cheng S
Published: February 2013

Objective:

An outbreak of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) occurred in students attending Licai Training School, Gujiao City, China, in early 2011. The epidemic characteristics and possible contributory factors relating to the spread of this outbreak of PTB were studied in a field investigation and are reported here.

Methods:

Cases were detected by PTB symptom screening, tuberculin skin testing (TST), chest X-radiography, and examination of sputum smears and cultures for all students, school staff and close family contacts of patients with PTB.

Results:

Of the 287 students attending the school, 45 (15.7%) were diagnosed with PTB and two (0.7%) had a positive smear. No PTB was found among staff and close family contacts. Prevalence was high in Science Class 27 and the two floors of the dormitory building where the smear-positive TB patients studied and lived. The frequency of strong TST positivity was also high in Science Class 27 and among close contacts living in the same dormitories as the PTB patients.

Conclusions:

Several avoidable factors likely to have enhanced disease transmission were identified and several recommendations are made to reduce the risk of future TB outbreaks in schools.
Increased Serum Interleukin-34 in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Li Zhenglong , Jin Daoqun , Wu Yongbo , Zhang Kai , Hu Peng , Cao Xuemin , Chen Zhiqiang
Published: February 2013

Objective:

This study investigated levels of interleukin (IL)-34, a proinflammatory cytokine, in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods:

Following coronary artery angiography, 91 patients with CAD (including stable and unstable angina pectoris) were divided into two groups, the CAD group (coronary artery stenosis ≥ 50%) and the control group (coronary artery stenosis < 50%). Serum levels of factors including IL-34 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured.

Results:

IL-34 and hs- CRP levels were significantly higher in the CAD group than in the control group (191.3 ± 17.9 pg/ml versus 125.4 ± 14.8 pg/ml and 3.08 ± 1.81 mg/ml versus 1.42 ± 1.01 mg/ml, respectively), with a significantly positive correlation between IL-34 and hs-CRP levels in the CAD group. Multiple regression analysis showed that IL-34 and hs-CRP levels were independent predictors of CAD (IL-34: odds ratio [OR] 2.073, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.419, 2.672; hs-CRP: OR 1.878, 95% CI 1.172, 2.531).

Conclusions:

IL-34 levels were significantly increased in patients with CAD, and positively correlated with hs- CRP levels, suggesting that IL-34 may be an independent predictor of CAD.
Human Skin Fibroblast Telomeres are Shortened after Ultraviolet Irradiation
Authors: Ma H-M , Liu W , Zhang P , Yuan X-Y
Published: February 2013

Objective:

Telomere length was used as a biomarker of cell senescence to explore the role of telomere shortening in photoageing induced by ultraviolet A (UVA) light.

Methods:

Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine telomere length in cultured human fibroblasts of different generations and after exposure to UVA at doses up to 10 000 mJ/cm2. Twoway analysis of variance was used to determine whether passaging or UVA was the main factor contributing to telomere shortening.

Results:

In nonirradiated cells, telomere length was inversely related to cell generation number. In fibroblasts exposed to UVA at a dose of 1000 or 10 000 mJ/cm2, telomere length was significantly shorter than that of nonirradiated controls and was negatively related to UVA dose.

Conclusions:

Telomere length and subsequent cell viability may be affected by UVA irradiation. DNA damage caused by UVA irradiation may initiate the photoageing process and telomeres may be a useful new target for attempts to prevent photoageing.
Circulating Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products is Inversely Correlated to Oxidized Low-density Lipoproteins in Asymptomatic Subjects
Authors: Kotani K , Caccavello R , Taniguchi N , Gugliucci A
Published: February 2013

Objective:

There is growing evidence that circulating soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) exerts antiatherogenic effects as a decoy receptor that abolishes RAGE signalling. A previous study reported that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) can be one of the RAGE ligands. The present cross-sectional study investigated the clinical association between sRAGE and oxLDL in humans.

Methods:

Serum levels of the conventional atherosclerotic risk factors, sRAGE and malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL) were analysed in asymptomatic subjects; MDA- LDL was measured as a biomarker of oxLDL.

Results:

Mean serum levels of sRAGE and MDA-LDL were 1101 ng/l and 57.6 IU/l, respectively, in 33 subjects of mean age 65 years. Simple linear regression analysis showed a significant inverse correlation between sRAGE and MDA-LDL. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis confirmed MDA-LDL to be independently, significantly and inversely correlated with sRAGE.

Conclusions:

An independent, significant and inverse correlation was shown to exist between circulating levels of sRAGE and oxLDL (MDA-LDL), which suggests that part of the antiatherosclerotic effects of sRAGE may be related to oxLDL quenching.
Topographical Distribution Pattern of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Across the Cervix
Authors: He G , Li H , Lin H , Bian M , Wang Y , Sun A , Li M
Published: February 2013

Objective:

The distribution of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions across the cervix was determined.

Methods:

A total of 575 women whose pathological diagnosis after cervical conization was confirmed as CIN were studied; 146 had low-grade CIN and 429 had high-grade CIN. CIN lesion location on the cervix was recorded using 12-h clock face notation.

Results:

In both groups, 12 o'clock was the most common and 2 o'clock the least common lesion location. The most severe lesions were most often located at 8 o'clock and 7 o'clock, in the low- and high-grade groups, respectively. The 2 o'clock site was the least frequent site for the most severe lesion in both groups. Lesions were found more frequently on the posterior lip of the cervix than on the anterior lip, and on the right side of the cervix than on the left side, in both groups.

Conclusions:

The distribution of CIN lesions is not randomly distributed across the cervix. The 12, 8 and 7 o'clock sites, and the posterior lip and right side of the cervix, should be targeted during colposcopy-directed biopsy of patients with CIN lesions as this may improve diagnostic accuracy.
Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Patients with Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure
Authors: Wua Z , Linga Z , Shao F , Sheng J , Li L
Published: February 2013

Objective:

Patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (AoCLF) are prone to various infections, including invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). This retrospective study investigated the relationship between AoCLF and IPA in a large patient cohort.

Methods:

Twenty-nine out of 470 patients with AoCLF, who were diagnosed with definite or probable IPA by clinical and laboratory parameters and were treated with voriconazole, were analysed for predisposing factors for IPA and clinical outcome.

Results:

Imaging findings, such as the halo sign and increased white blood cell count, contributed to the early diagnosis of IPA. Patients with AoCLF and IPA experienced fever, cough and chest pain and, despite treatment with antifungal therapy, most (25/29 patients) died within 7 days. Possible risk factors for IPA included prolonged antibiotic therapy and dexamethasone exposure.

Conclusions:

AoCLF with prolonged antibiotic therapy and dexamethasone exposure carries a high risk for IPA. AoCLF patients with IPA involved in this study exhibited fever, cough, chest pain and increased white blood cell count, and their imaging findings were useful for the early diagnosis of IPA.
Long-term Results of Thoracoscopic Thymectomy for Thymoma without Myasthenia Gravis
Authors: Chung JW , Kim HR , Kim DK , Chun MS , Kim YH , Park S-I , Kim S-R , Lee DH
Published: February 2013

Objective:

To compare the feasibility and safety of thoracoscopic thymectomy with conventional sternotomy thymectomy for thymoma without myasthenia gravis.

Methods:

Data from 70 patients diagnosed with thymoma, who underwent thoracoscopic thymectomy ( n = 25, Group T) or sternotomy thymectomy ( n = 45, Group S) between March 2002 and March 2008, were retrospectively evaluated.

Results:

Mean follow-up durations were 78.0 ± 21.9 months and 70.0 ± 23.6 months in Groups T and S, respectively. No deaths occurred in Group T; seven deaths occurred in Group S, all > 1 month post follow-up. Durations of chest intubation and hospitalization were significantly shorter in Group T than in Group S. No significant between-group difference in the incidence of operative complications was observed. Tumour recurrence-free rates at 5 and 7 years postsurgery were 96% (both years) in Group T and 95% (both years) in Group S.

Conclusions:

Long-term follow-up indicates that thoracoscopic thymectomy for thymoma without myasthenia gravis is effective and is well tolerated, and associated with low rates of operative complications and recurrence.
Optic Atrophy Differentially Diagnosed as Spinocerebellar Ataxia from Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy by Gene Mutation Analysis
Authors: Song YP , Chen ZS , Mo GY , Ding Q , Zhu L , Yan M
Published: February 2013

Optic atrophy describes a group of diseases of retinal ganglion cells and axons that eventually lead to loss of vision. Optic atrophy has both congenital and acquired causes, and its diagnosis (or differential diagnosis) is complicated. This case report describes a 20-year-old man who presented with a 1-year history of progressive vision loss in both eyes and no obvious systemic symptoms. Fundus examination revealed bilateral optic atrophy. Based on clinical characteristics, visual field analysis and pattern visual evoked potential examination, the presumptive diagnosis was Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicated the absence of all of three common mutations associated with LHON (m.3460G>A, m.11778G>A, m.14484T>C). Detailed questioning of the patient revealed a history of prolonged language development and poor balance. Neurological examination indicated abnormal co-ordination, suggesting the presence of inherited spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Analysis of the SCA7 gene revealed a high number of trinucleotide repeats [(CAG)n, n > 64], confirming the diagnosis of SCA. The aetiology of optic atrophies is complicated and the molecular genetic detection approach provides the best information for diagnosing these diseases.
Overweight, Obesity and Thyroid Cancer Risk: A Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies
Authors: Zhao Zg , Guo Xg , Ba Cx , Wang W , Yang Yy , Wang J , Cao Hy
Published: February 2013

Objective:

This meta-analysis examined the relationship between excess body weight or body mass index (BMI) and risk of thyroid cancer. METHODS: PubMed®, MEDLINE®, EMBASE™ and Academic Search™ Premier databases were searched to identify cohort studies examining the effect of being overweight or obese on the risk of thyroid cancer. RESULTS: The inclusion criteria were met by seven cohort studies (total number of thyroid cancer cases, 5154). The pooled relative risk (RR) of thyroid cancer was 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04, 1.22) for overweight. Obesity was also linked with increased thyroid cancer risk in males and females, the strength of the association increasing with increasing BMI. The combined RR of thyroid cancer was 1.18 (95% CI 1.11, 1.25) for excess body weight (overweight and obesity combined). Being overweight was associated with a significant increase in thyroid cancer risk among non-Asians, but not among Asians. Overweight, obesity and excess body weight were all associated with papillary thyroid carcinoma risk. CONCLUSIONS: The association between overweight/ obesity/excess body weight and thyroid cancer risk was confirmed.