bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The paradox of neuronal insulin action and resistance in the development of aging‐associated diseases
Authors: Steculorum Sophie M. , Solas Maite , Brüning Jens C.
Published: February 2014

During past decades, ever‐increasing life expectancy, despite the development of a sedentary lifestyle and altered eating habits, has led to a dramatic parallel increase in the prevalence of age‐related diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and neurodegenerative disorders. Converging evidence from animal and human studies has indicated that insulin resistance in the central nervous system (CNS) is observed in both T2DM and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), leading to the hypothesis that impaired neuronal insulin action might be a unifying pathomechanism in the development of both diseases. This assumption, however, is in striking contrast to the evolutionary conserved, protective role of impaired insulin/insulin‐like growth factor 1 signaling (IIS) in aging and in protein aggregation‐associated diseases, such as AD. Thus, this review summarizes our current understanding of the physiological role of insulin action in various regions of the CNS to regulate neuronal function, learning, and memory, and to control peripheral metabolism. We also discuss mechanisms and clinical outcomes of neuronal insulin resistance and address the seeming paradox of how impaired neuronal IIS can protect from the development of neurodegenerative disorders.
Inflammation, defective insulin signaling, and neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Ferreira Sergio T. , Clarke Julia R. , Bomfim Theresa R. , De Felice Fernanda G.
Published: February 2014

A link between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and metabolic disorders has been established, with patients with type 2 diabetes at increased risk of developing AD and vice versa. The incidence of metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes is increasing at alarming rates worldwide, primarily as a result of poor lifestyle habits. In parallel, as the world population ages, the prevalence of AD, the most common form of dementia in the elderly, also increases. In addition to their epidemiologic and clinical association, mounting recent evidence indicates shared mechanisms of pathogenesis between metabolic disorders and AD. We discuss the concept that peripheral and central nervous system inflammation link the pathogenesis of AD and metabolic diseases. We also explore the contribution of brain inflammation to defective insulin signaling and neuronal dysfunction. Last, we review recent evidence indicating that targeting neuroinflammation may provide novel therapeutic avenues for AD.
Incretin mimetics as pharmacologic tools to elucidate and as a new drug strategy to treat traumatic brain injury
Authors: Greig Nigel H. , Tweedie David , Rachmany Lital , Li Yazhou , Rubovitch Vardit , Schreiber Shaul , Chiang Yung-Hsiao , Hoffer Barry J. , Miller Jonathan , Lahiri Debomoy K. , Sambamurti Kumar , Becker Robert E. , Pick Chaim G.
Published: February 2014

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), either as an isolated injury or in conjunction with other injuries, is an increasingly common event. An estimated 1.7 million injuries occur within the USA each year and 10 million people are affected annually worldwide. Indeed, nearly one third (30.5%) of all injury‐related deaths in the USA are associated with TBI, which will soon outpace many common diseases as the major cause of death and disability. Associated with a high morbidity and mortality and no specific therapeutic treatment, TBI has become a pressing public health and medical problem. The highest incidence of TBI occurs in young adults (15–24 years age) and in the elderly (≥75 years of age). Older individuals are particularly vulnerable to these types of injury, often associated with falls, and have shown increased mortality and worse functional outcome after lower initial injury severity. In addition, a new and growing form of TBI, blast injury, associated with the detonation of improvised explosive devices in the war theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan, are inflicting a wave of unique casualties of immediate impact to both military personnel and civilians, for which long‐term consequences remain unknown and may potentially be catastrophic. The neuropathology underpinning head injury is becoming increasingly better understood. Depending on severity, TBI induces immediate neuropathologic effects that, for the mildest form, may be transient; however, with increasing severity, these injuries cause cumulative neural damage and degeneration. Even with mild TBI, which represents the majority of cases, a broad spectrum of neurologic deficits, including cognitive impairments, can manifest that may significantly influence quality of life. Further, TBI can act as a conduit to longer term neurodegenerative disorders. Prior studies of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) and long‐acting GLP‐1 receptor agonists have demonstrated neurotrophic/neuroprotective activities across a broad spectrum of cellular and animal models of chronic neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) and acute cerebrovascular (stroke) disorders. In view of the mechanisms underpinning these disorders as well as TBI, we review the literature and recent studies assessing GLP‐1 receptor agonists as a potential treatment strategy for mild to moderate TBI.
A case of inappropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator shock due to epileptic seizures: A possible limitation of the Wavelet discrimination algorithm
Authors: Ishida Yuji , Sasaki Shingo , Tomita Hirofumi , Kimura Masaomi , Owada Shingen , Horiuchi Daisuke , Sasaki Kenichi , Itoh Taihei , Endo Tomohide , Suzuki Akiko , Tateyama Shunta , Kinjo Takahiko , Okumura Ken
Published: February 2014

In the present report, we describe the case of a 63‐year‐old man who received an inappropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock due to an epileptic seizure. He experienced an acute myocardial infarction 12 months previously, and his left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was markedly reduced (21.1%) due to the presence of advanced LV remodeling and an LV aneurysm. An implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD, Medtronic Protecta XT VR) was implanted for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. After the implantation, ICD shock data were transmitted via a remote monitoring system. Although many episodes of tachycardia due to atrial fibrillation (AF) were detected, inappropriate discharge was avoided by the use of the Wavelet™ morphology discrimination algorithm (Medtronic Inc., MN, USA). However, an ICD shock was inappropriately delivered for AF tachycardia accompanied by frequent noise detected in the intracardiac electrocardiogram. A detailed analysis showed that the observed noise was derived from the myopotential induced by an epileptic seizure, which overlapped with the QRS wave. This resulted in inappropriate ICD shock delivery that could not be avoided with the use of Wavelet algorithm. To eliminate the involvement of the myopotential derived from an epileptic seizure, the nominal direction of the intracardiac electrocardiogram was changed. This adjustment prevented inappropriate ICD shock delivery during subsequent epileptic seizures. Here, we describe for the first time a case of inappropriate ICD shock delivery induced by an epileptic seizure, suggesting a possible limitation of the Wavelet discrimination algorithm.
Differences in the Association of Hip Cartilage Lesions and Cam‐Type Femoroacetabular Impingement With Movement Patterns: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Kumar Deepak , Dillon Alexander , Nardo Lorenzo , Link Thomas M. , Majumdar Sharmila , Souza Richard B.
Published: February 2014

Objective

To investigate the differences in hip movement patterns during different daily and athletic activities in persons with cam‐type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) with and without cartilage lesions compared with control subjects in a preliminary study.

Design

Controlled laboratory study using a cross‐sectional design.

Setting

Research institution with a tertiary care medical center.

Participants

Fifteen subjects [M:F, 13:2; age, 31.6 ± 9.7 years (range, 22‐52 years); body mass index, 24.9 ± 4.6 (range, 18.8‐38.4); FAI:control, 7:8].

Methods

All subjects had 3‐Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of the hip and also underwent 3‐dimensional motion capture during walking, deep‐squat, and drop‐landing tasks. Experienced radiologists graded cartilage lesions on clinical magnetic resonance images.

Outcomes

Peak kinematic and kinetic variables were compared between subjects who did and did not have FAI, and subjects who had FAI and cartilage lesions were compared with subjects who did not have cartilage lesions.

Results

Subjects who had FAI demonstrated no significant differences for walking or drop landing compared with control subjects. However, during the deep‐squat task, subjects with FAI adducted more and had a greater internal rotation moment. Subjects who had cartilage lesions in the presence of a cam lesion demonstrated (1) no difference for walking; (2) greater adduction, greater internal rotation moment, and lower transverse plane range of motion during the deep‐squat task; and (3) greater adduction and lower internal rotation during the drop‐landing task compared with subjects who did not have cartilage lesions.

Conclusions

We observed differences in movement patterns between subjects who had FAI compared with control subjects. However, the differences were more pronounced between subjects with FAI who had cartilage lesions compared with subjects who did not have cartilage lesions. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the complex interplay between bony morphologic features, cartilage lesions, and movement patterns in persons with cam‐type FAI.
The Use of Focal Knee Joint Cryotherapy to Improve Functional Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Review Article
Authors: Ewell Melvin , Griffin Christopher , Hull Jason
Published: February 2014

The purpose of this study was to review and synthesize available evidence on the effect of focal knee joint cryotherapy on quadriceps arthrogenic muscle inhibition and to discuss the implications of the findings regarding the use of this modality for patients after a total knee arthroplasty. An electronic literature search that targeted peer reviewed journals was completed by using the PubMed, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, and OvidSP databases. An article was included when it was determined that the article was relevant to the topic of focal knee joint cryotherapy and its effect on quadriceps muscle function. There were 6 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Of the reviewed studies, effect sizes for quadriceps activation ranged from very small to large. Five of the 6 studies observed medium to large effects. Effect sizes for quadriceps torque and force production ranged from no effect to a large effect. Two of the 5 studies with outcome measurements related to quadriceps torque or force production observed medium and large effects. Analysis of this evidence suggests that focal joint cooling of the knee shows the potential to improve quadriceps activation as well as quadriceps torque and force production in patients with arthrogenic muscle inhibition. Arthrogenic muscle inhibition of the quadriceps is an impairment commonly observed in patients after a total knee arthroplasty. Analysis of the evidence uncovered in this review suggests that this patient population may be positively impacted by the use of this modality to improve quadriceps activation as well as quadriceps torque and force production.
Influence of a Walking Aid on Temporal and Spatial Parameters of Gait in Healthy Adults
Authors: Jayakaran Prasath , DeSouza Lorraine , Cossar John , Gilhooly Kenneth
Published: February 2014

Objective

To determine the effect of using a walking aid on temporal and spatial parameters of gait when used for balance versus support on the dominant and nondominant hand side.

Design

Repeated measures observational study design.

Setting

University gymnasium.

Participants

Twenty‐seven healthy male and female adults of mean ± standard deviation age 44.74 ± 10.00 years.

Methods

Five walking conditions (C) were completed by all participants on the GAITRite pressure mat. Normal walking (C1), walking with a cane in the dominant hand (C2) and nondominant hand (C3) as if using for balance, walking with a cane in the dominant hand (C4) and nondominant hand (C5) while allowing approximately 10% of the body weight through the cane.

Main Outcome Measurements

Temporal measurements (swing time, stance time, single limb support time, double limb support time) as percentage of a gait cycle and the base of support for the left and the right foot for all 5 walking conditions.

Results

A significant difference (P < .001) was observed between C1, C2, and C3 in percentage swing time and percentage stance time of the ipsilateral side, and in percentage single limb support time of the contralateral side. The double limb support time was significantly different (P ≤ .04) for both ipsilateral and contralateral sides. Comparisons among C1, C4, and C5 demonstrated significance (P < .001) for all variables. Post hoc analysis showed significance between C1 and C4, and C1 and C5 for all variables except percentage stance time of the ipsilateral side and percentage single limb support of the contralateral side.

Conclusions

In healthy adults, use of a cane for balance modifies swing and stance parameters of the ipsilateral side and does not affect the base of support formed by the feet. When used for support, the cane alters the swing and stance parameters, and also the base of support formed by the feet.
Resident Accuracy of Joint Line Palpation Using Ultrasound Verification
Authors: Rho Monica E. , Chu Samuel K. , Yang Aaron , Hameed Farah , Lin Cindy Yuchin , Hurh Peter J.
Published: February 2014

Objective

To determine the accuracy of knee and acromioclavicular (AC) joint line palpation in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residents using ultrasound (US) verification.

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

PM&R residency program at an academic institution.

Participants

Twenty‐four PM&R residents participating in a musculoskeletal US course (7 PGY‐2, 8 PGY‐3, and 9 PGY4 residents).

Methods

Twenty‐four PM&R residents participating in an US course were asked to palpate the AC joint and lateral joint line of the knee in a female and male model before the start of the course. Once the presumed joint line was localized, the residents were asked to tape an 18‐gauge, 1.5‐inch, blunt‐tip needle parallel to the joint line on the overlying skin. The accuracy of needle placement over the joint line was verified using US.

Main Outcome Measures

US verification of correct needle placement over the joint line.

Results

Overall AC joint palpation accuracy was 16.7%, and knee lateral joint line palpation accuracy was 58.3%. Based on the resident level of education, using a value of P < .05, there were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of joint line palpation.

Conclusions

Residents in this study demonstrate poor accuracy of AC joint and lateral knee joint line identification by palpation, using US as the criterion standard for verification. There were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy rates of joint line palpation based on resident level of education. US may be a useful tool to use to advance the current methods of teaching the physical examination in medical education.
Coercive capacity and the durability of the Chinese communist state
Authors: Wang Yuhua
Published: February 2014

Why has the Chinese communist state remained so durable in an age of democratization? Contrary to existing theories, this article argues that the strong state coercive capacity has survived the authoritarian rule in China. We demonstrate that the Chinese Communist Party has taken deliberate actions to enhance the cohesion of its coercive organizations—the police, in particular—by distributing “spoils of public office” to police chiefs. In addition, the state has extended the scope of its coercion by increasing police funding in localities where the state sector loses control of the population. We use and rely on mixed methods to test this theory.
Introduction to the Snowmastodon Project Special Volume The Snowmastodon Project
Authors: Johnson Kirk R. , Miller Ian M. , Pigati Jeffrey S. ,   the Snowmastodon Project Science Team
Published: February 2014

Studies of terrestrial biotic and environmental dynamics of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, also called the Last Interglacial Period, provide insight into the effects of long-term climate change on Pleistocene ecosystems. In North America, however, there are relatively few fossil sites that definitively date to MIS 5. Even fewer contain multiple ecosystem components (vertebrates, invertebrates, plants) that have been studied in detail, and none are located at high elevation. Thus, our view of North American ecosystems during MIS 5 is, at best, an incomplete composite view, and alpine ecosystems are entirely undocumented.
Confined Space Medicine and the Medical Management of Complex Rescues: A Case Series
Authors: Petinaux Bruno , Macintyre Anthony G. , Barbera Joseph A.
Published: February 2014

Objective

A variety of hazards can precipitate the full or partial collapse of occupied structures. The rescue of entrapped survivors in these situations can be complex, require a multidisciplinary approach, and last for many hours.

Methods

The modern discipline of Urban Search and Rescue, which includes an active medical component, has evolved to address such situations. This case series spans several decades of experience and highlights the medical principles in the response to collapsed structure incidents.

Results

Recurring concepts of confined space medicine include rescuer safety, inter-disciplinary coordination, patient protection, medical resuscitation in austere environments, and technical extrications.

Conclusion

Strategies have been developed to address the varied challenges in the medical response to collapsed structure incidents. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1–10)
51.5 W monolithic single frequency 1.97 m Tm-doped fiber amplifier
Authors: Wang Xiong , Zhou Pu , Wang Xiaolin , Xiao Hu , Si Lei
Published: February 2014

We demonstrate a monolithic single frequency Tm-doped fiber amplifier with output power of 51.5 W. A single frequency fiber laser at 1.97 $\mathrm {\mu} $m is amplified by a cascaded master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system with all-fiber configuration. The optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the main fiber amplifier is 45%. No amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) or stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effect is observed in the fiber amplifier. The output power could be further scaled by launching more pump power.
Energy measurement system of a large-aperture high power laser experiment
platform
Authors: Xia Yanwen , Liang Yue , Li Sen , Zhao Junpu , Peng Zhitao , Li Hongguang , Liu Hua , Sun Zhihong , Zheng Kuixing , Wei Xiaofeng
Published: February 2014

An energy measurement system in a Large-aperture high power laser experiment platform
is introduced. The entire measurement system includes five calorimeters, which carry
out the energy measurement of the fundamental frequency before the frequency
conversion unit, remaining fundamental frequency, remain second-harmonics, third
harmonics, as well as the energy balance measurement after the frequency conversion
unit. Combinational indirect calibration and direct calibration are employed to
calibrate the sampling coefficients of the calorimeters. The analysis of the data
showed that, regarding the energy balance coefficients, combinational calibration
approach gives a higher precision, and leads to an energy balance with 1%; and
regarding the energy sampling coefficients for the various wavelengths after the
frequency conversion, the results from direct and combinational calibration are
consistent. The uncertainties for all energy sampling coefficients are within 3%,
which guarantees the reliability of the energy measurement for the laser
facility.
An important effect of filamentation instability on laser fusion physical processes
Authors: Lin Zunqi , Lei Anle , Fan Wei , Zhou Shenlei , Wang Li
Published: February 2014

The process of high power laser interaction with the large scale length corona plasma produced by the leading edge of the laser pulse has been investigated. Early experimental results are re-analyzed and conclusions drawn. In particular, studies of the close connection of unstable filamentation instability with – mainly – two-plasmon decay and – partly – stimulated Raman scattering, stimulated Brillouin scattering, and resonance absorption are carried out in this paper. The positive and negative effects of filamentation instability are also discussed.
THE BURDENS OF SUBJECTHOOD: THE OTTOMAN STATE, RUSSIAN FUGITIVES, AND INTERIMPERIAL LAW, 1774–1869
Authors: Smiley Will
Published: February 2014

This article analyzes the changing treaty law and practice governing the Ottoman state's attitude toward the subjects of its most important neighbor and most inveterate rival: the Russian Empire. The two empires were linked by both migration and unfreedom; alongside Russian slaves forcibly brought to the sultans’ domains, many others came as fugitives from serfdom and conscription. But beginning in the late 18th century, the Ottoman Empire reinforced Russian serfdom and conscription by agreeing to return fugitives, even as the same treaties undermined Ottoman forced labor by mandating the return of Russian slaves. Drawing extensively on Ottoman archival sources, this article argues that the resulting interimperial regulations on unfreedom and movement hardened the empires’ human and geographic boundaries, so that for many Russian subjects, foreign subjecthood under treaty law was not a privilege, but a liability.
BETWEEN PERMEABLE AND SEALED BORDERS: THE TRANS-ARABIAN PIPELINE AND THE ARAB–ISRAELI CONFLICT
Authors: Kaufman Asher
Published: February 2014

The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), which extended from Dhahran in Saudi Arabia to Zahrani in Lebanon and operated from 1950 to 1982, was haunted by the Arab–Israeli conflict throughout the years of its operation. The route of the pipeline—which traversed Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon—was chosen so as to circumvent Palestine/Israel. However, following the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights in the 1967 war, Israel became an active participant in this project, with the full consent of the transit states and Egypt. This article uses Tapline as a means to analyze the interconnected world facilitated by oil pipelines, which defies common wisdom about state sovereignty or the function of interstate boundaries. In addition, Tapline demonstrates how this interconnected network created possibilities for Arab–Israeli cooperation that might have seemed inconceivable initially, given the hostile dynamics of the conflict.
ARABIC THEATER IN EARLY KHEDIVIAL CULTURE, 1868–72: JAMES SANUA REVISITED
Authors: Mestyan Adam
Published: February 2014

This article revisits the official culture of the early khedivate through a microhistory of the first modern Egyptian theater in Arabic. Based on archival research, it aims at a recalibration of recent scholarship by showing khedivial culture as a complex framework of competing patriotisms. It analyzes the discourse about theater in the Arabic press, including the journalist Muhammad Unsi's call for performances in Arabic in 1870. It shows that the realization of this idea was the theater group led by James Sanua between 1871 and 1872, which also performed ʿAbd al-Fattah al-Misri's tragedy. But the troupe was not an expression of subversive nationalism, as has been claimed by scholars. My historical reconstruction and my analysis of the content of Sanua's comedies show loyalism toward the Khedive Ismail. Yet his form of contemporary satire was incompatible with elite cultural patriotism, which employed historicization as its dominant technique. This revision throws new light on a crucial moment of social change in the history of modern Egypt, when the ruler was expected to preside over the plural cultural bodies of the nation.
Whose Space Is It?
Authors: Shabout Nada
Published: February 2014

Designers and architects argue that interaction in public spaces is the product of relations between physical, cultural, social, and aesthetic components. As an art historian, my interest in and understanding of the production of public space is necessarily linked to its visual construction and to public art in particular. Urban planners have always included art in public spaces as a means of forming relationships between the people and the space. Governments have similarly understood the political significance of public space and its power to make meaning and have commissioned art accordingly. This essay reflects on the role of aesthetics and public art in the production and transformation of the modern public space in the Arab world by considering two examples from Cairo and Baghdad.
Whither Industrial Democracy? The Federal Government and Organized Labour in the Telegraph Industry during the First World War
Authors: PARFITT STEVEN
Published: February 2014

The recent historiography of American labour in the First World War pays special attention to the idea of industrial democracy. The federal government, historians argue in various ways, played a major role in defining that term and affecting how trade unionists, employers and all kinds of industrial and political reformers fought over and applied their own definitions of industrial democracy. In this article I look at one case study of wartime federal intervention in labour relations, between the Commercial Telegraphers' Union of America (CTUA) and the Western Union Telegraph Company. During the war both parties were subject to intervention from the National War Labor Board, the main federal arbitration agency, and then, after nationalization of the telegraphs, the federal Telegraph and Telephone Administration. The experience of the CTUA is more or less at odds with recent general accounts of First World War labour. In this article I argue that this experience points towards a change of emphasis regarding federal-style industrial democracy, placing greater stress on its role in leading directly to the non and antiunion industrial policies practised by many employers in the 1920s, in addition to its encouragement of trade union growth in wartime.
Performative Morality:Godey'sMatch Plates, Nineteenth-Century Stage Practice, and Social/Political/Economic Commentary in America's Popular Ladies’ Magazine
Authors: PATTERSON CYNTHIA LEE
Published: February 2014

Recirculating the assertion of magazine historian Frank Luther Mott, subsequent generations of scholars maintained thatGodey's Lady's Magazineeschewed content treating the social, political, and economic issues of the day. This article challenges that nearly universal reading ofGodey'sby arguing for the importance of a close reading of the “match plates” commissioned by Godey for his magazine. Appearing between 1840 and 1860, these plates, many engraved from pendant paintings created expressly for Godey, draw on the popularity of stage melodrama, dramatic tableau, andtableaux vivantsto enact a performative morality addressing major social, economic, and political issues. Early match plates contrast virtue and vice, capitalizing on the enormous popularity of William Hogarth's engraving seriesIndustry and Idleness. Match plates appear also in the popular fashion plates of the magazine – echoing the city mystery novels, plays, and prints first popularized by Eugene Sue – inChristmas for the Rich/Christmas for the PoorandDress the Maker/Dress the Wearer. By 1860, even the magazine's “useful” contents, such as the pattern work prized by Godey'sreaders, echo the popularity of match plates: henceFruit for Working/Flowers for Working. Closer attention toGodey'sengravings calls for a reassessment of Mott's assertion.
Transatlantic Delusions and Pro-slavery Religion: Isaac Nelson's Evangelical Abolitionist Critique of Revivalism in America and Ulster
Authors: RITCHIE DANIEL
Published: February 2014

This article considers the arguments of one evangelical anti-slavery advocate in order to freshly examine the relationship between abolitionism and religious revivalism. Although it has often been thought that evangelicals were wholly supportive of revivals, the Reverend Isaac Nelson rejected the 1857–58 revival in the United States and the 1859 revival in Ulster partly owing to the link between these movements and pro-slavery religion. Nelson was no insignificant figure in Irish abolitionism, as his earlier efforts to promote emancipation through the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society, and in opposition to compromise in the Free Church of Scotland and at the Evangelical Alliance, received the approbation of various high-profile American abolitionists. Unlike other opponents of revivals, Nelson was not attacking them from a perspective which was heterodox or anti-evangelical. Hence his critique of revivalism is highly significant from both an evangelical and an abolitionist point of view. The article surveys Nelson's assessment of the link between revivalism and pro-slavery religion in America, before considering his specific complaints against the revival which occurred in 1857–58 and its Ulster counterpart the following year.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN LOW BIRTH WEIGHT IN SPAIN: BIOLOGICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES
Authors: FUSTER VICENTE , ZULUAGA PILAR , COLANTONIO S. E. , ROMÁN-BUSTO J.
Published: February 2014

The geographic and demographic dimensions of Spain, in terms of surface and number of inhabitants, and its heterogeneous socioeconomic development offer an adequate opportunity to study the provincial differences in birth weight from 1996 to 2010, focusing on possible factors determining the relative frequency of low birth weight. The study analysed geographic differences with regard to biological, demographic and socioeconomic factors that interfere with the female reproductive pattern. The variables considered here were: birth order, proportion of premature deliveries, mother's age, multiparity, mother's country of origin and professional qualifications. Two periods (1996–2000 and 2006–2010) were compared by means of principal components analysis. An increase in the relative frequency of deliveries weighing less than 2500 g occurred in most of the 52 geographic units studied, differences being significant in 42. Only in five cases was there a non-significant reduction in the proportion of low weight births. The first component after principal component analysis indicated that low birth weight was positively related to maternal age and to multiple deliveries, and negatively to the mother's low professional qualification. The second component related positively to the incidence of premature deliveries and to non-Spanish status and negatively in the case of primiparous mothers. The progressive increase in low birth weight incidence observed in Spain from 1996 onwards has occurred with considerable variation in each province. In part, this diversity can be attributed to the unequal reproductive patterns of immigrant mothers.
Prosodic disambiguation of scopally ambiguous quantificational sentences in a discourse context
Authors: SYRETT KRISTEN , SIMON GEORGIA , NISULA KIRSTEN
Published: February 2014

Researchers have long sought to determine the strength of the relation between prosody and the interpretation of scopally ambiguous sentences in English involving quantification and negation (e.g. All the men didn't go). While Jackendoff (1972) proposed a one-to-one mapping between sentence-final contour and the scope of negation (falling contour: narrow scope, fall-rise contour: wide scope), in subsequent work, researchers (e.g. Ladd 1980; Ward & Hirschberg 1985; Kadmon & Roberts 1986) disentangled the link between prosody and scope. Even though these pragmatic accounts predict variability in production, they still allow for some correlation between scope and prosody. To date, we lack systematic evidence to bear on this discussion. Here, we present findings from two perception experiments aimed at investigating whether prosodic information – including, but not limited to, sentence-final contour – can successfully disambiguate such sentences. We show that when speakers provide consistent auditory cues to sentential interpretation, hearers can successfully recruit these cues to arrive at the correct interpretation as intended by the speaker. In light of these results, we argue that psycholinguistic studies (including language acquisition studies) investigating participants’ ability to access multiple interpretations of scopally ambiguous sentences – quantificational and otherwise – should carefully control for prosody.
MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM PHTHIOTIS IN THE LAMIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Authors: Leventi Iphigeneia
Published: February 2014

Marble statuettes, now in the Lamia Archaeological Museum, that date to the Classical and above all the Hellenistic periods, and a Hellenistic votive relief depicting Herakles are presented here. This study investigates the relations between the local workshop in central Greece which produced them and the major Classical and Hellenistic sculptural centres of Athens and of the Aegean islands, Asia Minor and the kingdoms of the Greek East generally. A marble statuette of a goddess which may represent Artemis from Melitaia, and a marble statuette of a seated girl of unknown provenance are dated to the Classical period. The subjects portrayed in the Late Hellenistic material show a typical repertory, marble statuettes of Aphrodite or Aphrodite-like figures, and a statuary group of Eros and Psyche in marble, unusual for this period. The ways in which the local sculptors of the Late Hellenistic period in the area of modern Phthiotis adopted the typological and stylistic trends current in the great cosmopolitan centres are a major concern here. In the Hellenistic period, the production of marble statuettes for making offerings at public and domestic sanctuaries and for decorating opulent villas was in vogue, and a common formal language was created especially for small-scale sculpture in the eastern Mediterranean and the new art markets of Italy. The vehicles by which these artistic influences were transmitted to the sculptural production of central Greece will also be investigated.
Fiscal federalism and American exceptionalism: why is there no federal equalisation system in the United States?
Authors: Béland Daniel , Lecours André
Published: February 2014

This article addresses the absence of a federal equalisation programme in the United States, which is a significant aspect of “American exceptionalism”. Comparing the United States with Australia and Canada, we argue that three factors are relevant when accounting for this absence. On one hand, we turn to two societal factors to explain why there was never much political appetite for the creation of a stand-alone equalisation programme in the United States, namely the lack of a direct threat to the territorial integrity of the United States after 1865 and the comparative weakness of the idea of social citizenship in that country. On the other hand, our analysis shows that key institutional features of American political institutions, particularly strong bicameralism combined with the absence of formal party discipline, help illuminate why it would have been difficult to create an equalisation programme even if there had been some societal pressures to do so.
IR in France: state and costs of a disciplinary variety
Authors: CHILLAUD MATTHIEU
Published: February 2014

This article addresses the issue of disciplinary variety in French International Relations (IR) from the perspective of Bourdieu's scientific field theory. The tug of war between ‘dominants’ and ‘pretenders’ for the control of IR as ‘their’ discipline in French academia originates from the difficulty of (only) one discipline, that is, political science, monopolising IR. Compared to other subfields of political science, IR is the field of research that borrows most from other scholarly disciplines. These difficulties strengthened the imperviousness of French IR to the works of IR scholars from the Anglo-American world; until very recently, insularity and particularism could not proceed much further. This period matches roughly to one in which IR was dominated, in France, by law and history. Today there is still a very strong influence of this period when scholars from disciplines other than political science distrusted IR theories. Other reasons related to the issue of the disciplinary variety of IR, for instance the absence of a general acknowledgment of the peer-review system, may contribute to the complexity, if not confusion, which characterises the identify of French IR.
Resilience and the ‘everyday’: beyond the paradox of ‘liberal peace’
Authors: CHANDLER DAVID
Published: February 2014

Over the last decade there has been a shift towards critical understandings of ‘liberal peace’ approaches to international intervention, which argue that local culture holds the key to the effectiveness of peace interventions. In this ‘bottom-up’ approach, peace, reconciliation, and a ‘culture of law’ then become secondary effects of sociocultural norms and values. However, these liberal peace critiques have remained trapped in the paradox of liberal peace: the inability to go beyond the binaries of liberal universalism and cultural relativism. This understanding will be contrasted with the rise of ‘resilience’ approaches to intervention – which build on this attention to the particular context of application but move beyond this paradox through philosophical pragmatism and the focus on concrete social practices. This article clarifies the nature of this shift through the focus on the shifting understanding of international intervention to address the failings of the ‘war on drugs’ in the Americas.
A Method to design composite insulation structures based on reliability for pulsed power systems
Authors: Zhao Liang , Su Jian-Cang , Zhang Xi-Bo , Pan Ya-Feng , Li Rui , Zeng Bo , Cheng Jie , Yu Bin-Xiong , Wu Xiao-Long
Published: February 2014

A method to design the composite insulation structures in pulsed power systems is proposed in this paper. The theoretical bases for this method include the Weibull statistical distribution and the empirical insulation formula. A uniform formula to describe the reliability (R) for different insulation media such as solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, and vacuum surface is derived. The dependence curves of the normalized applied field onRare also obtained. These curves show that the normalized applied field decreases rapidly asRincreases but the declining rates corresponding to different insulation media are different. In addition, ifRis required to be higher than a given level, the normalized applied field should be smaller than a certain value. In practical design, the common range of the applied fields for different insulation media should be chosen to meet a global reliability requirement. In the end, the proposed method is demonstrated with a specific coaxial high-voltage vacuum insulator.
Acceleration of electrons by high intensity laser radiation in a magnetic field
Authors: Melikian Robert
Published: February 2014

We consider the acceleration of electrons in vacuum by means of the circularly-polirized electromagnetic wave, propagating along a magnetic field. We show that the electron energy growth, when using ultra-short and ultra-intense laser pulses (1 ps, 1018 W/cm2, CO2 laser) in the presence of a magnetic field, may reach up to the value 2,1 GeV. The growth of the electron energy is shown to increase proportionally with the increase of the laser intensity and the initial energy of the electron. We find that for some direction of polarization of the wave, the acceleration of electrons does not depend on the initial phase of the electromagnetic wave. We estimate the laser intensity, necessary for the electron acceleration. In addition, we find the formation length of photon absorption by electrons, due to which one may choose the required region of the interaction of the electrons with the electromagnetic wave and magnetic field. We also show that as a result of acceleration of electrons in the vacuum by laser radiation in a magnetic field one may obtain electron beam with small energy spread of the order δε/ε ≤ 10−2.
Children's acquisition of nouns and verbs in Italian: contrasting the roles of frequency and positional salience in maternal language
Authors: LONGOBARDI EMIDDIA , ROSSI-ARNAUD CLELIA , SPATARO PIETRO , PUTNICK DIANE L. , BORNSTEIN MARC H.
Published: February 2014

Because of its structural characteristics, specifically the prevalence of verb types in infant-directed speech and frequent pronoun-dropping, the Italian language offers an attractive opportunity to investigate the predictive effects of input frequency and positional salience on children's acquisition of nouns and verbs. We examined this issue in a sample of twenty-six mother–child dyads whose spontaneous conversations were recorded, transcribed, and coded at 1;4 and 1;8. The percentages of nouns occurring in the final position of maternal utterances at 1;4 predicted children's production of noun types at 1;8. For verbs, children's growth rates were positively predicted by the percentages of input verbs occurring in utterance-initial position, but negatively predicted by the percentages of verbs located in the final position of maternal utterances at 1;4. These findings clearly illustrate that the effects of positional salience vary across lexical categories.
Clinical and molecular epidemiology of community-onset invasiveStaphylococcus aureusinfection in New Zealand children
Authors: WILLIAMSON D. A. , RITCHIE S. R. , ROBERTS S. A. , COOMBS G. W. , THOMAS M. G. , HANNAFORD O. , BAKER M. G. , LENNON D. , FRASER J. D.
Published: February 2014

Our aim was to describe the epidemiology and incidence of community-onset invasiveS. aureusdisease in children presenting to our hospital, and to compare the clonal complexes and virulence genes ofS. aureusstrains causing invasive and non-invasive disease. The virulence gene repertoire of invasive disease isolates was characterized using DNA microarray and compared with the virulence gene repertoire of non-invasiveS. aureusisolates. Over the study period, 163 children had an invasiveS. aureusinfection. There was no difference in the distribution of clonal complexes or in the prevalence of genes encoding virulence factors between invasive and non-invasive isolates. Future research should include a strong focus on identifying the host and environmental factors that, along with organism virulence factors, are contributing to the patterns of invasiveS. aureusdisease observed in New Zealand.
Molecular characterization of Shiga-toxigenicEscherichia coliisolated from diverse sources from India by multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA)
Authors: KUMAR A. , TANEJA N. , SHARMA R. K. , SHARMA H. , RAMAMURTHY T. , SHARMA M.
Published: February 2014

In a first study from India, a diverse collection of 140 environmental and clinical non-O157 Shiga-toxigenicEscherichia colistrains from a large geographical area in north India was typed by multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). The distribution of major virulence genesstx1,stx2andeaewas found to be 78%, 70% and 10%, respectively; 15 isolates were enterohaemorrhagicE. coli(stx1+/stx2+andeae+). By MLVA analysis, 44 different alleles were obtained. Dendrogram analysis revealed 104 different genotypes and 19 MLVA-type complexes divided into two main lineages, i.e. mutton and animal stool. Human isolates presented a statistically significant greater odds ratio for clustering with mutton samples compared to animal stool isolates. Five human isolates clustered with animal stool strains suggesting that some of the human infections may be from cattle, perhaps through milk, contact or the environment. Further epidemiological studies are required to explore these sources in context with occurrence of human cases.
Selecting suitable sites for an Antarctic research station: a case for a new Chinese research station
Authors: Xiaoping Pang , Haiyan Liu , Xi Zhao
Published: February 2014

Site selection for Antarctic research stations is of great importance and is necessary to support Antarctic expeditions. Site selection is affected by both the scientific investigations planned and the expected life of stations following construction. In the site allocation process, an efficient spatial data management system is required to manage various criteria and a robust allocation method is important to handle decision uncertainties. The aim of this study was to build a criteria system and to conduct a site selection process with aid from geographical information systems (GIS) and the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). In considering the natural environment and building conditions, fifteen factors were used as multiple evaluation sub-criteria and grouped into four main criteria: scientific research, environment, logistical support and topography. Comparisons were made between potentially suitable areas and the locations of existing stations and camps to demonstrate fitness-for-use of the allocation results. Finally, the suitability map was applied to identify candidate sites for a new Chinese research station by considering the position of current stations and areas of scientific interest. This model offers a comprehensive methodology for decision-makers in the assessment of potential Antarctic research station sites.
Identification and analysis of two sequences encoding ice-binding proteins obtained from a putative bacterial symbiont of the psychrophilic Antarctic ciliate Euplotes focardii
Authors: Pucciarelli Sandra , Chiappori Federica , Devaraj Raghul Rajan , Yang Guang , Yu Ting , Ballarini Patrizia , Miceli Cristina
Published: February 2014

We identified two ice-binding protein (IBP) sequences, named EFsymbAFP and EFsymbIBP, from a putative bacterial symbiont of the Antarctic psychrophilic ciliate Euplotes focardii. EFsymbAFP is 57.43% identical to the antifreeze protein (AFP) from the Stigmatella aurantiaca strain DW4/3-1, which was isolated from the Victoria Valley lower glacier. EFsymbIBP is 53.38% identical to the IBP from the Flavobacteriaceae bacterium strain 3519-10, isolated from the glacial ice of Lake Vostok. EFsymbAFP and EFsymbIBP are 31.73% identical at the amino acid level and are organized in tandem on the bacterial chromosome. The relatively low sequence identity and the tandem organization, which appears unique to this symbiont, suggest an occurrence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Structurally, EFsymbAFP and EFsymbIBP are similar to the AFPs from the snow mould fungus Typhula ishikariensis and from the Arctic yeast Leucosporidium sp. AY30. A phylogenetic analysis showed that EFsymbAFP and EFsymbIBP cluster principally with the IBP sequences from other Antarctic bacteria, supporting the view that these sequences belong to an Antarctic symbiontic bacterium of E. focardii. These results confirm that IBPs have a complex evolutionary history, which includes HGT events, most probably due to the demands of the environment and the need for rapid adaptation.