bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
L’émergence d’un droit communautaire africain de la concurrence : “double variation sur une partition européenne”
Authors: Priso-Essawe Samuel-Jacques
Published: October 2010

In order to be more attractive to foreign investments, the Western African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community(CEMAC) have recently issued regional regulations on economic competition. Largely inspired by the European Community competition law, these regulations tend to propose adapted rules in the specific African context.

The rising community competition law in Africa is surprising to some extent: where unlawful practices are defined on the European community law basis, a typical pattern is built to ensure fair competition practices, with the private economic forces contributing to this enforcement; but the model sometimes remains open to criticism as regarding the fundamental treaties or some local problems.
Les USA pays des droits de l’Homme ? Un instrument universel de protection des droits de l’Homme méconnu : le US Alien Claim Act
Authors: Renaudie Virgile
Published: October 2010

L’Alien tort claim act est l’un des plus anciens textes juridiques des USA. Il date de 1789. Depuis les années 1980, il connaît une surprenante renaissance. Redécouvert dans une décision Pena-Irala de 1980, il permet de poursuivre, devant les juridictions américaines, uniquement dans le domaine civil, des personnes, d’une nationalité autre que celle des USA, suspectées de violations du droit international des droits de l’Homme. Complété par la Torture victim prevention act de 1991, adopté par le Congrès, il est en passe de devenir l’un des instruments universels les plus efficaces de garantie civile des droits de l’Homme, comme semble le prouver l’augmentation exponentielle d’affaires engagées sur son fondement. Une jurisprudence, de plus en plus audacieuse semble s’édifier autour de lui, ce qui n’est pas sans faire naître nombre d’interrogations, notamment sur la substance de ce droit international des droits de l’Homme et sur son articulation avec le droit international pénal. Mais ses effets et ses potentialités en font un objet de discordes et de controverses, tant dans les milieux juridiques que politiques. Si aujourd’hui, il est porteur d’espoir, on peut craindre qu’il ne subisse un sort analogue à la loi de compétence universelle belge.
Dix années de réforme de la procédure civile anglaise : révolte ou révolution?
Authors: Haravon Michaël
Published: October 2010

England & Wales celebrated in April the fifth anniversary of the reform of its civil justice system, reform conducted by Lord Woolf and implemented in 1999. Beyond a mere change of legal rules, the Woolf reform laid the emphasis on a change of culture: the adverserial culture had rendered its civil justice system too costly, too long and too complicated. Yet, has this change of judicial approach been followed by an effective change in mentalities? Was it in the litigants’ interest to sacrifice some of the quality of its justice for a wider access? This article explores the origins of the reform and attempts to assess whether, five years after its implementation, the English civil justice system has succeeded in becoming more accessible without compromising its legendary quality.
Droit et économie dans le Vietnam du “Doi Moi” : l’insertion à la globalisation par l’Etat de droit
Authors: Schoukroune Leïla
Published: October 2010

Depuis 1986 et le VIe Congrès de son Parti communiste, le Vietnam du «Doi Moi» ou «renouveau» a choisi de placer le droit au coeur de son développement économique. Les années 1990 ont été celles de la ré-émergence d’un discours juridique jusque-là subordonné au «centralisme démocratique» et au rôle dirigeant du Parti sur l’État et la société. Cette forte volonté politique s’inscrivait dans un projet ambitieux, celui de la promotion d’un État de droit capable d’accompagner l’ouverture économique du Vietnam, et son insertion dans la mondialisation, par la mise en conformité de ses normes et pratiques avec les standards internationaux. Ce phénomène d’harmonisation juridique, en phase avec une tendance générale à la globalisation du droit, répondait également à un message clairement lancé par les grandes organisations internationales économiques et financières pour qui un environnement légal transparent et prévisible dans lequel s’exerce une justice efficace, accessible compétente et impartiale, est à la fois un moteur du développement économique et une garantie de légitimité politique. Candidat à l’OMC, le Vietnam n’a pas manqué, en amendant, par exemple, sa constitution en 2001, de lier implicitement droit et économie. «L’État de droit socialiste» permettrait donc de fonder les bases légales d’une «économie de marché socialiste». Reste à savoir de quel type d’État de droit il s’agit, et si l’on peut véritablement exporter un système juridique désolidarisé de son socle de valeurs démocratiques.
A Transcript Accounting from Diverse Tissues of a Cultivated Strawberry
Authors: Folta Kevin M. , Clancy Maureen A. , Chamala Srikar , Brunings Asha M. , Dhingra Amit , Gomide Leandro , Kulathinal Rob J. , Peres Natalia , Davis Thomas M. , Barbazuk W. Brad
Published: October 2010

Strawberry (Fragaria spp.) is a valuable fruit crop as well as an outstanding system for studying functional genomics in plants. The goal of this study was to substantially increase and analyze the available expressed sequence information in the genus by examining the transcriptome of the cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne). To maximize transcript diversity and discovery, plants representing an octoploid strawberry cultivar were subjected to a broad range of treatments. Plant materials were pooled by tissue type. cDNA pools were sequenced by the Roche‐454 GS‐FLX system and assembled into over 32,000 contigs. Predictions of cellular localization and function were made by associating assembled contigs to annotated homologs, and the tissue pool tags provided a means to assess the overall expression pattern for any given transcript. Contigs comprised of reads originating from only one organ type and those present equally in all plant organs were both identified. Bacterial and fungal sequences found in the strawberry samples provide a metagenomic survey of the microbial community of a greenhouse strawberry plant. This study utilized an innovative assembly strategy on pooled tissues, thus providing a foundation for developing tissue‐specific tools, an opportunity to identify alleles for marker‐assisted selection, a reference of strawberry gene annotations, and a basis for comparative transcriptomics between cultivated strawberry, its diploid ancestors, and the wider Rosaceae family.
Genomic‐Enabled Prediction Based on Molecular Markers and Pedigree Using the Bayesian Linear Regression Package in R
Authors: Pérez Paulino , de los Campos Gustavo , Crossa José , Gianola Daniel
Published: October 2010

The availability of dense molecular markers has made possible the use of genomic selection in plant and animal breeding. However, models for genomic selection pose several computational and statistical challenges and require specialized computer programs, not always available to the end user and not implemented in standard statistical software yet. The R‐package BLR (Bayesian Linear Regression) implements several statistical procedures (e.g., Bayesian Ridge Regression, Bayesian LASSO) in a unified framework that allows including marker genotypes and pedigree data jointly. This article describes the classes of models implemented in the BLR package and illustrates their use through examples. Some challenges faced when applying genomic‐enabled selection, such as model choice, evaluation of predictive ability through cross‐validation, and choice of hyper‐parameters, are also addressed.
A Guide to Developing Nursing Grand Rounds
Authors: Armola Rochelle R. , Brandeburg Jan , Tucker Deb
Published: October 2010

The debut article for this column describes the development of nursing grand rounds guided by a clinical nurse specialist.
Generation X, intergenerational justice and the renewal of the traditioning process
Authors: Seibel Cory L. , Nel Malan
Published: October 2010

The church has the task of transmitting its faith tradition from one generation to the next. In the transition to postmodernity, many established congregations have proven to be ineffective at this traditioning process in relation to Generation X (Gen X), the first postmodern generation. The reasons for the ineffectiveness are complex. This article focuses on two key factors that contribute to the problem: the reduction of the church’s tradition to its particular expression within the culture of modernity and the marginalisation experienced by Gen Xers within many established churches. The latter has prevented them from becoming effective bearers of the church’s tradition. If this trend is to be reversed, churches should succeed in renewing their traditions in a way that is meaningful in a postmodern context. The challenge will be to overcome the dynamics of reductionism and marginalisation. In developing the argument, the jubilee themes of ‘return’ and ‘release’ are applied to the intergenerational dynamics of established congregations. The article concludes that local congregations should embrace a renewed commitment to intergenerational justice, which will encourage equity between the generations.
Liturgical aspects of funeral services in Reformed Churches of African origin
Authors: Letsosa Rantoa
Published: October 2010

How can the Reformed Churches of African origin arrive at a Biblical and contextual liturgy for their funeral services? Liturgy in death situations teaches people the meaning of death, and to the African, a proper funeral service or burial is a sign of respect to the deceased. Guidelines are given on how funeral services may be conducted so that they can help focus on the resurrection of the body, and the new life waiting ahead, rather than on ancestral veneration. These guidelines comprise a liturgy for mourning and funeral service, especially that at the graveside. This article is liturgical and does not intend to be dogmatic in its research.
Long-time behaviour of two-phase solutions to a class of forward-backward parabolic equations
Authors: Smarazzo Flavia
Published: October 2010

We consider two-phase solutions to the Neumann initial-boundary value problem for the parabolic equation
ut
=[ϕ(
u
)]
xx
, where ϕ is a nonmonotone cubic-like function. First, we prove global existence for a restricted class of initial data _u_0, showing that two-phase solutions can be obtained as limiting points of the family of solutions to the Neumann initial-boundary value problem for the regularized equation _ut_ε = [ϕ(_u_ε)]
xx
+ ε_utxx_ε (ε > 0). Then, assuming global existence, we study the long-time behaviour of two-phase solutions for any initial datum _u_0.
Informed Consent in International Research: The Rationale for Different Approaches
Authors: Krogstad Donald J. , Diop Samba , Diallo Amadou , Mzayek Fawaz , Keating Joseph , Koita Ousmane A. , Touré Yéya T.
Published: October 2010

In developed countries, informed consent is based on the autonomy of the individual, a written description of the studies proposed, and previous experience of the participant with Western medicine. Consent is documented by the signature of the participant and supervised by institutional review boards (IRBs), which have conflicts of interest because they are also responsible for limiting institutional liability. In developing countries, the initial decision-making for informed consent is typically vested in the community rather than the individual, and illiteracy is common—limiting the value of written documents and signatures. The challenges in developing countries are exacerbated by the fact that persons at greatest risk of disease are often illiterate, have limited experience with Western medicine, and have limited understanding of the scientific rationale for the studies proposed. Given these differences, it is unrealistic to expect that consent strategies used in developed countries would be effective in such diverse settings.
Perceptions of Level I and Level II Fieldwork in the Same Site
Authors: Evenson Mary , Barnes Mary Alicia , Cohn Ellen S.
Published: October 2010

Perceptions of the Same Site Model (SSM) of fieldwork, where students complete a Level I and Level II fieldwork requirement in the same setting, were examined by survey. The benefits, drawbacks, and implications of the SSM are discussed. Fieldwork educators and students identified gaining familiarity with the setting, increased comfort and decreased anxiety, and preparation for Level II fieldwork as benefits of this model. The SSM survey results suggest that this model may be helpful in decreasing stress associated with fieldwork as experienced by students and fieldwork educators.
Confluence: Moving Forward With Affective Strength
Authors: Peloquin Suzanne M.
Published: October 2010

The term confluent education describes a flowing together of the affective and cognitive elements of learning. Confluent education accords high value to affect because of its core principle that the realization of human potential includes attention to the affective elements of human nature. This article reviews the literature on confluent education, extends a previous introduction of the topic, and proposes an integration of affect into all realms of occupational therapy practice. The visual metaphors, philosophical principles, and practical strategies developed in the literature on confluent education are useful when applied to the functions of occupational therapy practitioners engaged in direct care, education, or research. Because the contexts within which occupational therapy practice occurs today often challenge its affective elements, the author proposes confluence as a timely approach. To advance into the future with the affective strength that has characterized occupational therapy since its inception is a matter of reclaiming the profession’s heart.
Occupational Therapy’s Dance With Diversity
Authors: Black Roxie M.
Published: October 2010

As the demographics of the United States continue to change and we become a more pluralistic society, the increased diversity of the occupational therapy workforce and our consumers calls for an examination of the profession’s stance on multiculturalism and diversity. Using the metaphor of dance, this article identifies the dance partners as the organization’s leaders and its members. A historical review of the profession from the 1940s to the present traces the partners’ steps to determine which led the dance of diversity during the profession’s development. In this review, I discovered that the period when the profession most effectively and productively explored issues of diversity was during the early- to mid-1990s—a time when the organization and its members worked in harmony. At that time, occupational therapy’s dance with diversity flowed with rhythm and synchronicity.
Ecological Synergies in Two Groups of Zoo Chimpanzees: Divergent Patterns of Time Use
Authors: Wood Wendy
Published: October 2010

This study investigated how two groups of zoo chimpanzees, one that lived in a small and mostly barren physical habitat yet had a successful social history and the other that lived in a larger and more enriched physical habitat yet had a turbulent social history, invested time occupationally. Different ecological synergies were found to emerge from these respective conditions and to influence time use in highly particularistic ways. As related to considerations of adaptedness, the limits of enriched physical environs when coupled with a dearth of social facilitation were revealed, as were the limits of social facilitation within impoverished physical spaces. Findings suggest that occupational therapists’ expertise in activity analysis could be enlarged to encompass analysis of naturally socially embedded ways of doing things across multiple contexts. To advance the ethic of occupational justice, functional assessments of individuals could also be expanded into functional assessments of the occupational aliveness of proximate life environments.
Measuring Interface Pressure: A Laboratory-Based Investigation Into the Effects of Repositioning and Sitting
Authors: Stinson May , Porter Alison , Eakin Pamela
Published: October 2010

Measurement of interface (or contact) pressure is important in assessing tissue viability in relation to pressure sore prevention and may be achieved through pressure mapping techniques. This article reports on two pilot studies using the Force Sensing Array pressure mapping system in a laboratory setting. The purpose of Study 1 was to examine the consistency of readings from the system across 1-min trials of repositioning, and Study 2 aimed to investigate changes in interface readings over a 20-min sitting period. Analyses on measurements of average pressure (mean of all sensor values) and maximum pressure (highest individual sensor value) were performed using the t test and repeated-measures analysis of variance. The results demonstrated that the use of average and maximum pressure measurements reflected only low reliability and that 6 min was likely to be the optimal sitting time required before stable pressure measurement. However, because of the limitations of using small convenience samples of healthy participants (n = 44 for Study 1, n = 20 for Study 2), these studies should be replicated with larger samples of healthy participants and then verified with disabled populations before adoption into clinical practice.
Classroom-Based Assessment: Validation for the School AMPS
Authors: Fingerhut Pat , Madill Helen , Darrah Johanna , Hodge Megan , Warren Sharon
Published: October 2010

The role of the occupational therapist working in the school system is to facilitate a student’s task performance or ability to do purposeful and meaningful activities so that the student benefits from the educational experience. To fulfill this role, occupational therapists need assessments that address functional performance issues in the classroom and provide information for effective programming and consultation. The School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) is an observational evaluation of functional skills in the classroom. Common classroom activities are observed to assess a child’s school motor and school process skills. This study examined the validity of the School AMPS by comparing it to the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale–Fine Motor (PDMS-FM), a common assessment used in local area school districts in Edmonton, Alberta. Results show a higher correlation of the PDMS-FM with the motor scale of the School AMPS than with the process scale of the School AMPS, which was expected. The School AMPS appears to be a promising instrument for measuring the constructs of school motor and school process skills within a naturalistic setting.
The School as Social Context: Social Interaction Patterns of Children With Physical Disabilities
Authors: Richardson Pamela K.
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the school social environment experienced by children with physical disabilities and the social interactional characteristics of children with physical disabilities in the school environment. The goal was to understand the interactive processes that support or inhibit these children’s social interactions.

METHOD. Naturalistic observation and participant interviews were used to collect data on social interaction patterns of three children with physical disabilities 5 to 8 years of age who were enrolled in age-appropriate regular education classrooms. Descriptive codes were obtained through constant comparative analysis.

RESULTS. Four themes were identified that characterized aspects of the social environment affecting the social interactions of children with disabilities: reciprocity, characteristics of social and play interactions, effects of adult involvement, and quality of occupational engagement.

CONCLUSION. The study supports the need for occupational therapists to focus intervention on multiple aspects of the social environment to facilitate children’s socialization.
The Process and Outcomes of a Multimethod Needs Assessment at a Homeless Shelter
Authors: Finlayson Marcia , Baker Michelle , Rodman Lisa , Herzberg Georgiana
Published: October 2010

Many factors contribute to homelessness, including extreme poverty, extended periods of unemployment, shortages of low-income housing, deinstitutionalization, and substance abuse. As a result, the needs of people who are homeless are broad and complex. This needs assessment used literature reviews, review of local documents and reports, participant observation, focus groups, and reflective journals to guide the development of an occupational performance skills program at one homeless shelter in south Florida. Through these methods, the role of occupational therapy was extended beyond direct service to include program and resource development, staff education, advocacy, and staff–resident mediation. The findings of the needs assessment and the actions taken as a result of this work point to the huge potential for occupational therapists and students to work together with staff and residents of homeless shelters.
Effect of Instructions on Functional Reach in Persons With and Without Cerebrovascular Accident
Authors: Fasoli Susan E. , Trombly Catherine A. , Tickle-Degnen Linda , Verfaellie Mieke H.
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. Verbal instructions comprise an important element of clinical practice, however, their effectiveness in promoting movement organization in persons with cerebrovascular accident (CVA) has not been well investigated.

METHOD. A counterbalanced, repeated-measures design was used to examine the effects of externally focused (task-related) versus internally focused (movement-related) instructions on movement kinematics during three functional reaching tasks. Participants included 16 persons with stroke who were able to perform the tasks with their affected arm and 17 age-matched adults without neurological impairments.

RESULTS. Significantly shorter movement time and greater peak velocity were evident when reaching under the external-focus condition of all tasks than for the internal-focus condition.

CONCLUSION. One clinical implication is that internally focused instructions can contribute to slower and less forceful reach in adults with and without CVA. This research reinforces the need for therapists to consider their use of instruction during the evaluation and treatment of movement disorders.
Manual Asymmetry During Object Release Under Varying Task Constraints
Authors: Lewis Sarah R. , Duff Susan V. , Gordon Andrew M.
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. This study examined differences between the dominant and nondominant hands of children during an object release task under various accuracy and speed constraints.

METHOD. Fifteen children 7 to 14 years of age who were typically developing released an instrumented object held with a precision grip onto a stable or unstable surface at a self-paced or quick speed while temporal and force measures were recorded.

RESULTS. Few differences were found between the two hands under stable, self-paced conditions. However, given accuracy constraints, object replacement with the nondominant hand took longer than the dominant hand. The nondominant hand exhibited different force coordination patterns than the dominant hand when both accuracy and speed constraints were imposed.

CONCLUSION. Task constraints differentially affected the performance of the dominant and nondominant hands during this object release task. The results suggest that clinicians should incorporate various task constraints into hand preference evaluations and during “dominance retraining.”
Implicit Learning in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder
Authors: Candler Catherine , Meeuwsen Harry
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. The ability to use perceptual cues within the environment to guide movement accurately can be acquired implicitly in that skill may increase while the learner is not consciously aware of what cues are being used. In this study, the implicit learning capabilities of children with and without developmental coordination disorder were compared.

METHOD. Twenty-two children (11 with developmental coordination disorder, 11 without the disorder) played a computer game where they “caught” a descending ball image with a paddle on the screen. The dependent variable was accuracy of catch, as measured by the score on the computer game. On training trials, a visual cue appeared 50% of the time that signaled the direction of the ball. On probe trials, the visual cue was false. After completing the task, the children were interviewed about their conscious awareness of the cue. A mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data for group comparisons.

RESULTS. Of the 22 children, only 6 indicated that they were aware of the cue. A mixed factorial ANOVA was significant for greater error when the visual cue was false, F(1.12, 22.49) = 27.27, p = .000, indicating that the children responded to the cue. No difference was found between groups in game performance.

CONCLUSION. Children with developmental coordination disorder in this study were able to implicitly recognize and use a perceptual cue to enhance their performance on a computer game. Strategies that foster implicit learning may be relevant to occupational therapy intervention.
Participation in the Occupations of Everyday Life
Authors: Law Mary
Published: October 2010

Participation or involvement in everyday occupations is vital for all humans. As described by the World Health Organization, participation has a positive influence on health and well-being. The presence of disability has been found to lead to participation that is less diverse, is located more in the home, involves fewer social relationships, and includes less active recreation. Occupational therapy is in a unique position to contribute to the development and fulfillment of participation for persons with and without disabilities. This article describes the nature and outcomes of participation. Characteristics to define and measure meaningful participation are outlined. Information about time use will help to develop an understanding of patterns of participation across locations, gender, culture, and the life span. Factors that affect participation within the environment, family, and persons are summarized. Occupational therapy research is needed to examine the complex relationship among person, environment, and participation in occupations. In practice and education, knowledge about participation can enhance the client-centered and evidence-based nature of occupational therapy services.
Children’s Work: The Less-Considered Childhood Occupation
Authors: Larson Elizabeth A.
Published: October 2010

Children’s work has largely been overlooked by researchers of many disciplines due to sociohistorical trends that fostered the notion that childhood should be a time free of work. Likewise, it has received little attention in occupational therapy most likely due to the influence of these historical developments on occupational therapy rhetoric and values. This paper begins by describing the influence of child labor laws and reformation on children’s participation in work. Next, using a comprehensive review of the literature gathered from social sciences, a critical examination of the historical and current research on children’s work is provided. This synthesis is framed in concepts of occupational science analyzing the evidence that describes the nature, form, function, and meaning of children’s work. For occupational therapists working with children with disabilities, this research provides beginning guidelines for occupation-based work interventions and typical expectations for nondisabled children that may be applied using clinical reasoning to populations with disabilities.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Engagement in Occupation
Authors: Chan Sam Chi Chung
Published: October 2010

The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of participants’ experiences with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their perceptions of an occupational therapy intervention as it related to occupational behaviors. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with three participants recruited from a pulmonary rehabilitation program in Hong Kong. Using thematic analysis, five themes related to the disease experience were identified: (1) uncertainty during the course of the disease, (2) external attribution, (3) activity restriction and isolation, (4) anxiety and depression, and (5) passive fortitude. Regarding the participants’ perceptions of the effects of the occupational therapy intervention on occupation engagement, four themes were identified: (1) increased knowledge of COPD, (2) taking control of the disease and reengagement in activities, (3) alleviation of mental burden, and (4) social support from peers and therapists. The study suggests a temporal framework for better understanding participants’ experiences of COPD as well as for developing more appropriate occupational therapy interventions.
Crafting the Self: Older Persons’ Narratives of Occupational Identity
Authors: Howie Linsey , Coulter Michelle , Feldman Susan
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. This study aimed to examine how engagement in creative occupations informed six older retired people’s occupational identities.

METHOD. Occupational narratives were gathered from in-depth interviews with 6 participants (75 years of age or older) who had extended experience of participation in creative occupations. A process of narrative-type inquiry produced summarized, chronological stories for each participant. Subsequently, a process of paradigmatic-type narrative analysis produced thematic categories related to how a sense of self is associated with creative occupational engagement in later life.

RESULTS. Four themes derived from data analysis included the relevance of relational practices, changing self-awareness, enduring qualities, and reflective processes to the formation of a sense of self.

CONCLUSION. This study adds to an understanding of how leisure occupations maintained across the life cycle contribute to building an occupational identity.
Mucho Camino: The Experiences of Two Undocumented Mexican Mothers Participating in Their Child’s Early Intervention Program
Authors: Alvarado M. Irma
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. This study describes the experiences of two mothers of Mexican origin who are immigrants living under undocumented status in the United States and who participated in their children’s early intervention programs.

METHOD. In-depth interviews, archival data, and participant observation conducted with two mothers of children with special needs provided data for this case study design research. A phenomenological analytical approach and qualitative data analysis software were employed to gain understandings particular to each family’s experience.

RESULTS. These families share similar experiences and interactions with many other families in the United States who live within the context of having a child with a disabling condition. Constraints on family functioning related to the families’ status of undocumented immigration included: mothers as active participants in their children’s early intervention programs, mothers’ understanding of their children, mothers’ communication with service providers, and life as an immigrant family of Mexican origin living under undocumented status.

CONCLUSIONS. The examination of how these mothers negotiated family life while participating in their child’s early intervention program provides an appreciation for how these families view the long road—“mucho camino”—involved in achieving their family’s well-being.
Improving Quality of Life for Persons With Alzheimer’s Disease and Their Family Caregivers: Brief Occupational Therapy Intervention
Authors: Dooley Nancy Robert , Hinojosa Jim
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVE. This study examined the extent to which adherence to occupational therapy recommendations would increase the quality of life of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in the community and decrease the burden felt by family members caring for them.

METHOD. Using a pretest–posttest control group design, the Assessment of Instrumental Function (AIF) was administered to two groups of persons with Alzheimer’s disease in their own homes (n = 40). Caregivers completed measures of their feelings of burden and the quality of life, including level of function of the persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

RESULTS. A significant (MANCOVA) main effect was obtained for caregiver burden and three components of quality of life, positive affect, activity frequency and self-care status, by the treatment group, F(4, 31) = 7.34, p < .001.

CONCLUSIONS. Individualized occupational therapy intervention based on the person–environment fit model appears effective for both caregivers and clients. This is especially important in light of a recent directive for more favorable reimbursement for occupational therapy services for persons with dementia.
Functional Performance in Children With Down Syndrome
Authors: Dolva Anne-Stine , Coster Wendy , Lilja Margareta
Published: October 2010

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this study was to describe home and community functional performance in 5-year-old children with Down syndrome.

METHOD. In a cross-sectional study of 5-year-old children with Down syndrome in Norway (N = 43), functional performance was measured with the Norwegian translation of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Additional descriptive information related to health, disabilities, and function was also gathered.

RESULTS. The children showed a wide range of functional performance. Performance of self-care activities appeared most delayed on activities that required fine motor skills. Children appeared less affected in basic functional mobility skills. Parents’ identified their main concerns as language functioning and, for the children not yet toilet trained, the management of bladder and bowel control in relation to starting school.

CONCLUSION. The results provide baseline information regarding typical levels of functional performance in children with Down syndrome at 5 years of age. However, the broad range of functional performance across children indicates a need for caution in generalizing the results to an individual child.
A global climatology of the mesospheric sodium layer from GOMOS data during the 2002–2008 period
Authors: Fussen D. , Vanhellemont F. , Tétard C. , Mateshvili N. , Dekemper E. , Loodts N. , Bingen C. , Kyrölä E. , Tamminen J. , Sofieva V. , Hauchecorne A. , Dalaudier F. , Bertaux J.-L. , Barrot G. , Blanot L. , Fanton d'Andon O. , Fehr T. , Saavedra L. , Yuan T. , She C.-Y.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. This paper presents a climatology of the mesospheric sodium layer built from the processing of 7 years of GOMOS data. With respect to preliminary results already published for the year 2003, a more careful analysis was applied to the averaging of occultations inside the climatological bins (10° in latitude-1 month). Also, the slant path absorption lines of the Na doublet around 589 nm shows evidence of partial saturation that was responsible for an underestimation of the Na concentration in our previous results. The sodium climatology has been validated with respect to the Fort Collins lidar measurements and, to a lesser extent, to the OSIRIS 2003–2004 data. Despite the important natural sodium variability, we have shown that the Na vertical column has a marked semi-annual oscillation at low latitudes that merges into an annual oscillation in the polar regions,a spatial distribution pattern that was unreported so far. The sodium layer seems to be clearly influenced by the mesospheric global circulation and the altitude of the layer shows clear signs of subsidence during polar winter. The climatology has been parameterized by time-latitude robust fits to allow for easy use. Taking into account the non-linearity of the transmittance due to partial saturation, an experimental approach is proposed to derive mesospheric temperatures from limb remote sounding measurements.
Observation of new particle formation in subtropical urban environment
Authors: Cheung H. C. , Morawska L. , Ristovski Z. D.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. The aim of this study was to characterise the new particle formation events in subtropical urban environment Southern Hemisphere. The study measured the number concentration of particles and its size distribution in Brisbane, Australia during 2009. The variation of particle number concentration and nucleation burst events were studied and the particle growth rate was characterised which was first reported in urban environment of Australia. The annual average NUFP, NAitken and Nnuc were 9.3×103, 3.7×103 and 5.6×103 cm−3, respectively. Weak seasonal variation in number concentration was observed. Local vehicle emission was major contributor of the pollution observed in the morning which was dominated by the Aitken mode particles, while particle formed by secondary formation process was contributed to the particle number concentration in the afternoon. 65 nucleation burst events were identified during the study period. Nucleation burst events were classified into two groups with and without particle growth after the burst of nucleation mode particles observed. Average particle growth rate of the nucleation events was 4.6 nm hr−1 (ranged from 1.79–7.78 nm hr−1). Case studies of the nucleation burst events were characterised including i) the nucleation burst with particle growth which was associated with the particle precursor emitted from local vehicle emission, ii) the nucleation burst without particle growth which was due to the transport of industrial emissions from the coast to Brisbane city, and iii) interplay between the above two cases which demonstrated the impact of the vehicle and industrial emissions on the variation of particle number concentration and its size distribution during the same day.
Technical Note: VUV photodesorption rates from water ice in the 120–150 K temperature range – significance for Noctilucent Clouds
Authors: Kulikov M. Yu. , Feigin A. M. , Ignatov S. K. , Sennikov P. G. , Bluszcz Th. , Schrems O.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. Laboratory studies have been carried out with the aim to improve our understanding of physicochemical processes which take place at the interface water ice/air initiated by solar irradiation with a wavelength of 121.6 nm. It was intended to mimic the processes of ice particles characteristic for Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs). The experimental set-up used includes a high-vacuum chamber, a gas handling system, a cryostat with temperature controller, a FTIR spectrometer, a vacuum ultraviolet hydrogen lamp and a microwave generator. We report the first results of measurements of the absolute photodesorption rate (loss of substance due to the escape of photoproducts into gas phase) from thin (20–100 nm) water ice samples kept in the temperature range of 120–150 K. The obtained results show that a flow of photoproducts into the gas phase is considerably lower as presumed in a recent study by Murray and Plane (2005). The experiments indicate that almost all photoproducts remain in the solid phase, and the principal chemical reaction between them is the recombination reaction H + OH→H2O which is evidently very fast. This means that direct photolysis of mesospheric ice particles seems to have no significant impact on the gas phase chemistry of the upper mesosphere.
Low complexity Turbo synchronization without initial carrier synchronization
Authors: Wasenmüller U. , Gimmler C. , Wehn N.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. Wireless data transmission results in frequency and phase offsets of the signal in the receiver. In addition the received symbols are corrupted by noise. Therefore synchronization and channel coding are vital parts of each receiver in digital communication systems. By combining the phase and frequency synchronization with an advanced iterative channel decoder (inner loop) like turbo codes in an iterative way (outer loop), the communications performance can be increased. This principal is referred to as turbo synchronization. For turbo synchronization an initial estimate of phase and frequency offset is required. In this paper we study the case, where the initial carrier synchronization is omitted and an approach with trial frequencies is chosen. We present novel techniques to minimize the number of trial frequencies to be processed. The communications performance and effort of our method is demonstrated. Furthermore the implementation complexity of the whole system is shown on a Xilinx FPGA.
Noise of short-time integrators for readout of uncooled infrared bolometer arrays
Authors: Würfel D. , Weiler D. , Hosticka B. J. , Vogt H.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. As state-of-the-art readout circuits short-time integrators in Far Infrared (FIR) uncooled bolometer arrays are commonly used. This paper compares the transfer functions of an ideal continuous-time integrator with that of a real integrator with focus an OTA parameters and noise analysis. Beside the noise sources at the non-inverting input of the OTA special care has to be taken to account for capacitances at the inverting input. The Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) as the key parameter for bolometer applications for a real short-time integrator will be derived. As the result it will be shown, that the NETD is 1/f-noise limited.
Leaky wave antenna with amplitude controlled beam steering based on composite right/left-handed transmission lines
Authors: Eberspächer M. A. , Eibert T. F.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. An antenna comprising two different composite right/left-handed transmission line structures is proposed which enables easy beam steering at an operation frequency of 10 GHz. The composite right/left-handed transmission lines are based on planar, periodically arranged via free unit cells, implemented in microstrip technology. Both transmission lines exhibit the infinite wavelength phenomenon which occurs at 9.72 GHz and 9.89 GHz, respectively. Thus, operating the different leaky wave structures at 10 GHz, radiation with azimuth angles of ±8° and ±17° can be achieved depending on the selected input port. In order to obtain a tunable main beam direction, the radiation patterns of both structures are superimposed by feeding them simultaneously. The influence of each guiding structure, and hence the direction of the main beam, can be controlled via the feeding amplitude. As a result of this, the beam can be steered between ±17° with a gain of up to 10 dBi. The guiding structures are arranged in parallel with a clearance of a=12.2 mm which is less than half of the wavelength in free space. This allows in a further step the attachment of additional guiding structures in order to increase the tunable angle range or creating an antenna array with a small beamwidth in the elevation plane without the occurrence of grating lobes. An antenna prototype was fabricated and validated by measurements.
Antenna with optimized pattern for simultaneous reception of terrestrial signals and signals of geostationary satellites
Authors: Saala G. , Müller D. , Hopf J. , Lindenmeier S.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. The link margin for satellite communication services targeting mobile users is tight. This leads to reception problems in areas with strong fading scenarios like urban areas or forested areas with dense foliage. In order to avoid loss of service in urban areas with week coverage by satellite signals, terrestrial repeaters are used. Therefore in the design of antennas for mobile reception of satellite services, an optimized characteristics for the satellite constellation, as well as an adequate coverage of the terrestrial repeaters has to be accounted for. In this paper an antenna with optimum shaped pattern for the satellite mode and adjustable gain for vertical polarization is investigated. Beside constraints regarding the radiation pattern, measurements concerning the dependence of the antenna on noise temperature and therefore the behavior in real noisy environments are carried out. A comparison with a conventional antenna shows the high performance of the new antenna in combination with a very low volume requirement.
Phaseless spherical near-field antenna measurements for low and medium gain antennas
Authors: Schmidt C. H. , Razavi S. F. , Eibert T. F. , Rahmat-Samii Y.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. The characterisation of antenna radiation patterns by measurements in the near-field and a following near-field far-field transformation require accurate amplitude and phase data. Especially at higher frequencies phase measurements are demanding in terms of instrumentation and measurement accuracy. Phaseless techniques which require amplitude only data on one or more measurement surfaces are therefore of special interest. In this paper a phaseless spherical algorithm based on spherical modal expansion is presented. The algorithm works with amplitude only near-field data measured on two spheres of different radii and is therefore not restricted to certain types of antennas as for planar measurements for example. Simulated as well as measured results of low and medium gain antennas are shown.
Comparison of matching layers for automotive radome design
Authors: Fitzek F. , Rasshofer R. H. , Biebl E. M.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. Hidden integration of 79 GHz sensors behind plastic and painted fascia represents a challenging task since both electromagnetic and car body design constraints have to be met. This paper compares different possibilities for low-cost integration of radar sensors. Based on a model for stratified media, a study of the most important parameters such as bandwidth, angle and tolerances is shown. Our results suggest that for plastic fascia, the requirements of future radar sensors can be met with low-cost matching. Even with metallic paints, the requirements imposed by modern 79 GHz radar sensors can be met under certain conditions.
Optimization of array geometry for direction-of-arrival estimation using a priori information
Authors: Lange O. , Yang B.
Published: October 2010

Abstract. This paper focuses on the estimation of the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of signals impinging on a sensor array. A novel method of array geometry optimization is presented that improves the DOA estimation performance compared to the standard uniform linear array (ULA) with half wavelength element spacing. Typically, array optimization only affects the beam pattern of a specific steering direction. In this work, the proposed objective function incorporates, on the one hand, a priori knowledge about the signal's DOA in terms of a probability density function. By this means, the array can be adjusted to external conditions. On the other hand, a modified beam pattern expression that is valid for all possible signal directions is taken into account. By controlling the side lobe level and the beam width of this new function, DOA ambiguities, which lead to large DOA estimation errors, can be avoided. In addition, the DOA fine error variance is minimized. Using a globally convergent evolution strategy, the geometry optimization provides array geometries that significantly outperform the standard ULA with respect to DOA estimation performance. To show the quality of the algorithm, four optimum geometries are presented. Their DOA mean squared error is evaluated using the well known deterministic Maximum Likelihood estimator and compared to the standard ULA and theoretical lower bounds.