bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Digital imaging of micro bivalves
Authors: TURNER JAMES A.
Published: January 2013

Advancements in digital camera technology, microscope optics and image capture software have allowed researchers to create more detailed and higher quality images than ever before. Digital imaging using light microscopy at high magnifi - cations does, however, have its limitations. Features that may be diagnostic for species identifi cation can often be diffi cult to illustrate using standard imaging techniques alone, and other methods, such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and traditional line illustration, may be better suited to the task. The best results are often achieved by using a combination of these methods to create visual taxonomic guides to bivalve species. Drawing from the experiences gained whilst undertaking digital imaging projects, this paper covers current working practices in place at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, providing details of the equipment and techniques in use. Specimen preparation, lighting methods, digital image post-processing and image fi le management are discussed. These topics will detail the methods used for capturing aspects of bivalve morphology of both the shell and the anatomy of specimens 5 mm in size or less in order to produce publication quality images for taxonomic research.
Soft Part 3D visualization by serial sectioning and computer reconstruction
Authors: RUTHENSTEINER BERNHARD
Published: January 2013

Recent increases in performance of personal computer hard- and software enabled a variety of 3D graphical applications, such as surface visualizations of biological specimens. This indirectly recalled an old morphological method back to life, the investigation of soft part anatomy by light microscopical serial section analysis. A practical guide covering all procession steps beginning with anesthetization leading to the fi nal goal, 3D visualization of specimens, is provided. Most useful for 3D procession—of particularly small specimens—are ribbon-forming serial resin (= “semithin”) sections. A reliable method for achievement of ribbon formation is described in detail for the fi rst time. Contact cement is applied only to the cutting surface of the block, which represents a modifi cation of an old protocol. Details on the materials and tools, such as embedding media (epoxy resins) and knives (Ralph glass or special diamond knife) used and general handling for the entire procedure are given and critically evaluated. 3D procession is explained for the software AMIRA®. The major processing steps, from section image capturing until refi ning of surfaces, are explained. Based on the experience of the author, practical aids that cannot be found in the user’s guide of the software or elsewhere for facilitating the process are given. These include preliminary calculation of resolution, calibration and strategies for facilitating the process and improvement of results. The interpolate function is emphasized as most useful for completion of segmentation and also correction works. Visualization examples are followed by an estimate of work expenditure for graphical processes involved
One new genus and two new free-living nematode species (Desmodorida, Desmodoridae) from the continental margin of New Zealand, Southwest Pacific Ocean
Authors: LEDUC DANIEL , VERSCHELDE DOMINICK
Published: January 2013

One new genus and two new species of the family Desmodoridae are described from the upper continental slope of New Zealand, at 350–1240 m water depths. Onepunema gen. n. is characterised by a striated head capsule, small buccal cavity without teeth, and presence of two testes. Onepunema gen. n. can be differentiated from all other genera of the family by the presence of two testes, which is an exception to the holapomorphic character (i.e. monorchic males) of the Desmodoroidea. Onepunema enigmaticum gen. et sp. n. shares characters typical of the subfamilies Spiriniinae (small buccal cavity without distinct teeth) and Desmodorinae (presence of head capsule). Onepunema gen. n. is placed within the Desmodorinae based on the latter trait, which is never found within the Spiriniinae. The type species, Onepunema enigmaticum gen. et sp. n., is characterised by the presence of two laterodorsal and two lateroventral rows of pores with conspicuous ducts, slender pharynx with rounded terminal bulb, presence of two types of cells in intestinal epithelium, and presence of four or five pre-cloacal supplements consisting of thickened areas of cuticle in males. The genus Pseudonchus is recorded for the first time from the deep sea (1240 m water depth) and from the New Zealand region. Pseudonchus virginiae sp. n. is characterised by its stout body, short cephalic setae, monospiral amphideal fovea, short arcuate spicules with capitulum, five regularly-spaced precloacal setae, and short conical tail. A key to all known valid species of the genus Pseudonchus is provided.
Notes on four pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) described by T. Thorell from Southeast Asia
Authors: YAO ZHIYUAN , TAVANO MARIA , LI SHUQIANG
Published: January 2013

The Southeast Asian pholcids Belisana tauricornis Thorell, 1898, Pholcus gracillimus Thorell, 1890, P. quinquenotatus Thorell, 1878 and Spermophora thorelli Roewer, 1942 are redescribed on the basis of the type material.
Contribution to the knowledge of the Anthidulum Michener and Ctenanthidium Urban (Hymenoptera, Apidae) with new species from Argentina and Peru
Authors: PARIZOTTO DANIELE R. , URBAN DANÚNCIA
Published: January 2013

Updated diagnostic generic characters for the neotropical anthidiine genera Anthidulum and Ctenanthidium are presented. Ctenanthidium versicolor sp. nov. from Argentina and Anthidulum rozeni sp. nov. from Peru are described, illustrated and distinguished from their congeners. A key to the species of Ctenanthidium is provided. The male of Ctenanthidium nigripes Urban, 1993 is described for the first time.
On the identity of Pselaphodes walkeri (Sharp, 1892) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae), with description of a new related species
Authors: YIN ZI-WEI , LI LI-ZHEN
Published: January 2013

The identity of Pselaphodes walkeri (Sharp, 1892) is clarified based on examinations of the holotype and recently collect-ed material from the type locality (Damao Island, Zhoushan Archipelago). Previous records of P. walkeri from West Tian-mushan Mountain (Zhejiang), Baishanzu Natural Reserve (Zhejiang) and Wuyishan Mountain (Jiangxi) are proven to be based on misidentifications, populations there represent a new species closely related to P. walkeri. Both P. walkeri and the new species are redescribed/described, illustrated and distinguished from the other members of the genus.
Actitudes de la policía ante la intervención en casos de violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja: influencia del sexismo y la empatia
Authors: Lila Marisol , Gracia Enrique , García Fernando
Published: January 2013

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la influencia del sexismo (benevolente y hostil) y la empatía en las actitudes de la policía hacia la intervención en casos de violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja (preferencia por la intervención en función de que la víctima esté dispuesta o no a denunciar). La muestra está compuesta por 409 Policías Locales. Los resultados obtenidos a partir de un diseño factorial 2×2×2 revelaron diferencias significativas en el efecto principal del factor sexismo benevolente y en la interacción de la empatia por el sexismo hostil. Se analizan las implicaciones de estos resultados para la formación y selección de agentes de policía en el ámbito específico de la intervención en casos de violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja.
Perfiles de aculturación según el Modelo Ampliado de Aculturación Relativa: autóctonos, inmigrantes rumanos y ecuatorianos
Authors: Navas Marisol , Rojas Antonio J. , Pumares Pablo , Lozano Oscar M. , Cuadrado Isabel
Published: January 2013

El objetivo del presente trabajo ha sido detectar, empleando el Modelo Ampliado de Aculturación Relativa (MAAR), y tomando como referencia a inmigrantes rumanos y ecuatorianos y a autóctonos españoles, aquellos ámbitos socioculturales en los que pueden predecirse relaciones conflictivas o problemáticas entre inmigrantes y autóctonos—frente a los que muestran relaciones consensuadas—, con el fin de orientar la intervención. Han participado 1967 personas, de las cuales 992 son autóctonas y 975 son inmigrantes (475 de origen ecuatoriano, y 500 de origen rumano). Los resultados indican, a partir de un análisis de clúster en las diferentes muestras, que hay una preferencia generalizada por la “asimilación” en los ámbitos periféricos del MAAR (compartida por autóctonos e inmigrantes), por lo que las relaciones en ellos tienden a ser consensuadas. En los ámbitos centrales se prevén relaciones problemáticas y conflictivas, dado que la preferencia de los autóctonos por la “asimilación”, tanto de rumanos como de ecuatorianos, difiere de las preferencias de éstos en dichos ámbitos, que varían entre la “integración” y la “separación”.
Aerosol Effects on Simulated Storm Electrification and Precipitation in a Two-Moment Bulk Microphysics Model
Authors: Mansell Edward R. , Ziegler Conrad L.
Published: January 2013

The effects of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations are found to strongly affect the microphysical and electrical evolution of a numerically simulated small multicell storm. The simulations reproduce the well-known effects of updraft invigoration and delay of precipitation formation as increasing CCN from low to intermediate concentrations causes droplet sizes to decrease. Peak updrafts increased from 16 m s−1 at the lowest CCN to a maximum of 21–22 m s−1 at moderate CCN, where condensation latent heating is maximized. The transition from low to high CCN first maximizes warm-rain production before switching over to the ice process as the dominant precipitation mechanism. Average graupel density stays fairly high and constant at lower CCN, but then drops monotonically at higher CCN concentration, although high CCN also foster the appearance of small regions of larger, high-density graupel with high simulated radar reflectivity.

Graupel production increases monotonically as CCN concentration rises from 50 to about 2000 cm−3. The lightning response is relatively weak until the Hallett–Mossop rime-splintering ice multiplication becomes more active at CCN > 700 cm−3. At very high CCN concentrations (>2000 cm−3), graupel production decreases slowly, but lightning activity drops dramatically when the parameterization of Hallett–Mossop rime-splintering ice multiplication is based on the number of large cloud droplets collected by graupel. Conversely, lightning activity remains steady at extremely high CCN concentration when the Hallett–Mossop parameterization is based simply on the rate of rime mass accumulation. The results lend support to the aerosol hypothesis as applied to lightning production, whereby greater CCN concentration tends to lead to greater lightning activity, but with a large sensitivity to ice multiplication.
Reply to “Comments on ‘Erroneous Model Field Representations in Multiple Pseudoproxy Studies: Corrections and Implications’”*
Authors: Smerdon Jason E. , Kaplan Alexey , Amrhein Daniel E.
Published: January 2013

The commenters confirm the errors identified and discussed in Smerdon et al., which either invalidated or required the reinterpretation of quantitative results from pseudoproxy experiments presented or used in several earlier papers. These errors have a strong influence on the spatial skill assessments of climate field reconstructions (CFRs), despite their small impacts on skill statistics averaged over the Northern Hemisphere. On the basis of spatial performance and contrary to the claim by the commenters, the Regularized Expectation Maximization method using truncated total least squares (RegEM-TTLS) cannot be considered a preferred CFR technique. Moreover, distinctions between CFR methods in the context of the discussion in the original paper are immaterial. Continued investigations using accurately described and faithfully executed pseudoproxy experiments are critical for further evaluation and improvement of CFR methods.
Simulating SST Teleconnections to Africa: What is the State of the Art?
Authors: Rowell David P.
Published: January 2013

This study provides an overview of the state of the art of modeling SST teleconnections to Africa and begins to investigate the sources of error. Data are obtained from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) archives, phases 3 and 5 (CMIP3 and CMIP5), using the “20C3M” and “historical” coupled model experiments. A systematic approach is adopted, with the scope narrowed to six large-scale regions of sub-Saharan Africa within which seasonal rainfall anomalies are reasonably coherent, along with six SST modes known to affect these regions. No significant nonstationarity of the strength of these 6 × 6 teleconnections is found in observations. The capability of models to represent each teleconnection is then assessed (whereby half the teleconnections have observed SST–rainfall correlations that differ significantly from zero). A few of these teleconnections are found to be relatively easy to model, while a few more pose substantial challenges to models and many others exhibit a wide variety of model skill. Furthermore, some models perform consistently better than others, with the best able to at least adequately simulate 80%–85% of the 36 teleconnections. No improvement is found between CMIP3 and CMIP5. Analysis of atmosphere-only simulations suggests that the coupled model teleconnection errors may arise primarily from errors in their SST climatology and variability, although errors in the atmospheric component of teleconnections also play a role. Last, no straightforward relationship is found between the quality of a model's teleconnection to Africa and its SST or rainfall biases or its resolution. Perhaps not surprisingly, the causes of these errors are complex, and will require considerable further investigation.
Validation of Satellite-Derived Daily Latent Heat Flux over the South China Sea, Compared with Observations and Five Products
Authors: Wang Dongxiao , Zeng Lili , Li Xixi , Shi Ping
Published: January 2013

This study describes the development of the South China Sea (SCS) daily satellite-derived latent heat flux (SCSSLH) for the period of 1998–2011 at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution using data mainly from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI). Flux-related variables of daily TMI data smoothed with 3-day running mean were finally chosen because of the best fit with the 1727 high-quality observations from seven moored stations and 24 ship surveys. Near-surface air specific humidity was computed using the global relationship based on satellite precipitable water. Verification against 1016 high-resolution radiosonde profiles from 1998 to 2012 and the time series from the Xisha automatic weather station during 2008–10 indicate that this satellite-derived air specific humidity can reasonably capture observed mean condition and temporal variability. They are therefore used to derive SCSSLH based on the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment version 3.0 (COARE 3.0) algorithm. Compared with five other latent heat flux products—the Goddard Satellite-Based Surface Turbulent Fluxes version 2 (GSSTF2), the objectively analyzed air–sea heat fluxes (OAFlux), the Hamburg Ocean Atmosphere Parameters and Fluxes from Satellite Data version 3 (HOAPS3), the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/Department of Energy Global Reanalysis 2 (NCEP-2), and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)—the daily SCSSLH shows the highest spatial resolution and realistic values in the SCS, with an exception along the northern continental shelf. More importantly, the other five products seem to overestimate the latent heat flux systematically. The flux representation in this study comes not only with a better flux algorithm but also with the improved estimates of bulk variables based on in situ measurements, which further highlights the unique role of high-quality meteorological measurements and atmospheric weather stations in evaluating the air–sea interaction in the SCS.
Estimating Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction Uncertainty Beginning in 1900
Authors: Smith Thomas M. , Shen Samuel S. P. , Ren Li , Arkin Phillip A.
Published: January 2013

Uncertainty estimates are computed for a statistical reconstruction of global monthly precipitation that was developed in an earlier publication. The reconstruction combined the use of spatial correlations with gauge precipitation and correlations between precipitation and related data beginning in 1900. Several types of errors contribute to uncertainty, including errors associated with the reconstruction method and input data errors. This reconstruction includes the use of correlated data for the ocean-area first guess, which contributes to much of the uncertainty over those regions. Errors associated with the input data include random, sampling, and bias errors. Random and bias data errors are mostly filtered out of the reconstruction analysis and are the smallest components of the total error. The largest errors are associated with sampling and the method, which together dominate the total error. The uncertainty estimates in this study indicate that (i) over oceans the reconstruction is most reliable in the tropics, especially the Pacific, because of the large spatial scales of ENSO; (ii) over the high-latitude oceans multidecadal variations are fairly reliable, but many month-to-month variations are not; and (iii) over- and near-land errors are much smaller because of local gauge. The reconstruction indicates that the average precipitation increases early in the twentieth century, followed by several decades of multidecadal variations with little trend until near the end of the century, when precipitation again appears to systematically increase. The uncertainty estimates indicate that the average changes over land are most reliable, while over oceans the average change over the reconstruction period is slightly larger than the uncertainty.
Comparing the Renal Safety of Isoosmolar Versus Low-Osmolar Contrast Medium by Renal Biomarkers N-Acetyl-β-d-Glucosaminidase and Endothelin
Authors: Semerci Tuna , Çuhadar Serap , Akçay Filiz Akyıldız , Aydın Tuğba Kantaroğlu , Atay Ayşenur , Köseoğlu Mehmet , Bayata Serdar
Published: January 2013

Iodixanol and iopamidol are commonly used contrast agents in coronary angiography. We evaluated the nephrotoxic effects of both contrast media in relation to renal biomarkers. A total of 38 low-risk patients who underwent coronary angiography were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive either low-osmolar nonionic monomer or isoosmolar nonionic dimer contrast medium. N-Acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG), endothelin, blood urea nitrogen, and urine and serum creatinine (SCr) levels were measured before  the procedure (T0), at 6 hours (T6), and at 1 year after the procedure. Plasma endothelin, urine NAG/creatinine, and SCr were higher; accordingly, the urine creatinine values were lower in both the groups when comparing T0 versus T6. The groups were similar with each other when comparing T0 and T6 values. Both the contrast agents may be safely used at a low volume for coronary angiography in low-risk patients. Endothelin and NAG are sensitive to acute renal changes in function. There is a need for further prospective investigations with more patients.
Carotid Intima Media Thickness and Its Association With Total Bilirubin Levels in Patients With Coronary Artery Ectasia
Authors: Demirkol Sait , Balta Sevket , Celik Turgay , Unlu Murat , Arslan Zekeriya , Cakar Mustafa , Kucuk Ugur , Iyisoy Atila , Barcin Cem , Demirbas Seref , Kocak Necmettin , Cayci Tuncer
Published: January 2013

Atherosclerosis plays an important role in the etiopathogenesis of coronary artery ectasia (CAE). The relationship between total bilirubin (TBil) and carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) in patients with CAE has not been fully investigated. Hence, we evaluated the relationship between TBil levels and cIMT in 142 consecutive eligible patients with CAE, newly diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD), and normal coronary arteries. There were no significant differences in TBil ( P = .772) and cIMT ( P = .791) between the CAE and CAD groups. Bilirubin levels were significantly lower in both CAE and CAD groups compared to the controls ( P < .01). The cIMT was significantly higher in both CAE and CAD groups compared to control participants ( P < .01). A negative correlation between cIMT and TBil was found in all the groups ( P < .01, r = .354). We show for the first time that patients with CAE and CAD have lower TBil and greater cIMT compared to controls with normal coronary angiograms.
CSR-based Differentiation Strategy of Export Firms From Developing Countries
Authors: Barin Cruz Luciano , Boehe Dirk Michael , Ogasavara Mario Henrique
Published: January 2013

This study investigates the influences of the strategy tripod, an established concept in the international business (IB) literature, on a corporate social responsibility (CSR)-based differentiation strategy for export firms. This strategy is conceived as consisting of product-level and firm-level CSR. Using a sample of 195 Brazilian export firms, the authors find that innovation capabilities, international market exposure, and institutional pressures significantly influence product-level CSR; however, the latter two factors influence firm-level CSR only through their mediating effects on product-level CSR. This study contributes to the existing CSR and IB literature in three ways. First, it integrates and systematizes the factors influencing CSR-based strategies into the three categories represented by the legs of the strategy tripod to help elucidate the previous research on the factors that drive CSR. Second, it suggests that exporters’ CSR strategies can be affected by social and environmental institutions based outside their home countries. Third, this study contributes to filling an important empirical gap in the research on CSR by focusing on export ventures from emerging countries.
Role of Occlusion in Masseter Muscle Acetylcholine Receptor Clustering
Authors: Mori M. , Nariyama M. , Abo T. , Hirai S. , Ogawa T. , Hamada Y. , Yamane A. , Asada Y.
Published: January 2013

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) clustering is a key event in the synaptogenesis of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) for the efficient transmission of neural signals from motor neurons to skeletal muscle. The microphthalmic mouse ( mi/mi) with a mutation in the mitf gene cannot perform occlusion, because its teeth do not erupt. The present study attempted to elucidate the contribution of occlusion to the clustering of nAChR in the NMJ of the masseter, with mi/mi as a model system. In mice at 1 week of age, no significant change in the fragmentation or volume of the nAChR cluster was observed in either the masseter or gastrocnemius between breast-fed +/+ and mi/mi. In mice at 4 and 12 weeks of age, after the occlusion emerged in the +/+, excessive fragmentation and volume decline in the nAChR cluster were observed in the masseter of mi/mi fed a powdered diet compared with +/+ fed a pellet or powdered diet, whereas, in the gastrocnemius, no such differences were observed between the 2 strains. These results indicate abnormal formation of the nAChR cluster in the NMJ of the masseter of mi/mi, suggesting that occlusion is essential for the normal progress of nAChR clustering in the NMJ of the masseter.
The Biology of TMJ Growth Modification
Authors: Owtad P. , Park J.H. , Shen G. , Potres Z. , Darendeliler M.A.
Published: January 2013

Several studies have indicated a positive response of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) to mandibular advancement, while others have reported that TMJ adaptive responses are non-existent and negligible. Controversy continues to grow over the precise nature of skeletal changes that occur during mandibular growth modification, due to an apparent lack of tissue markers required to substantiate the precise mechanism by which this is occurring. However, evidence suggests that orthopedic forces clinically modify the growth of the mandible. To further our knowledge about the effect of orthopedic treatment on the TMJ, it is necessary that we understand the biologic basis behind the various tissues involved in the TMJ’s normal growth and maturation. The importance of this knowledge is to consider the potential association between TMJ remodeling and mandibular repositioning under orthopedic loading. Considerable histologic and biochemical research has been performed to provide basic information about the nature of skeletal growth modification in response to mandibular advancement. In this review, the relevant histochemical evidence and various theories regarding TMJ growth modification are discussed. Furthermore, different regulatory growth factors and tissue markers, which are used for cellular and molecular evaluation of the TMJ during its adaptive response to biomechanical forces, are underlined.
Becoming a Teacher Educator
Authors: Trent John
Published: January 2013

This article reports on a qualitative study that investigated the identity construction experiences of one group of beginning English language teacher educators in Hong Kong. Drawing upon a theoretical framework that incorporates both identity- in-practice and identity-in-discourse, and using in-depth interviews, a narrative approach was adopted to examine participants’ identity trajectory as they crossed multiple boundaries from language learners, to language teachers, to language teacher educators. The study suggests that the challenges teacher educators faced at different stages of their professional identity construction reflected the negotiation of past experiences, future ideals, competency, agency, and marginalization. Implications for schoolteachers, teacher educators, and educational authorities, as well as for both future applied research and for understandings of identity, are discussed.
Scaling Up Professional Development in an Era of Common State Standards
Authors: Marrongelle Karen , Sztajn Paola , Smith Margaret
Published: January 2013

We describe the process and outcomes of a project aimed at bringing together a set of diverse experts to generate a set of design recommendations for what should be considered when creating, sustaining, and assessing professional development systems to support the Common Core State Standards in mathematics. Although the recommendations were generated in mathematics, the underlying guiding principles for professional development are generalizable to other disciplines. As such, we discuss implications for professional development more broadly.
Simulation-based optimization for design parameter exploration in hybrid system: a defense system example
Authors: Hong Jeong Hee , Seo Kyung-Min , Kim Tag Gon
Published: January 2013

This paper presents a method for solving the optimization problems that arise in hybrid systems. These systems are characterized by a combination of continuous and discrete event systems. The proposed method aims to find optimal design configurations that satisfy a goal performance. For exploring design parameter space, the proposed method integrates a metamodel and a metaheuristic method. The role of the metamodel is to give good initial candidates and reduced search space to the metaheuristic optimizer. On the other hand, the metaheuristic method improves the quality of the given candidates. This proposal also demonstrates a defense system that illustrates the practical application of the presented method. The optimization objective of the case study is to find the required operational capability configurations of a decoy that meet the desired measure of effectiveness. Through a comparison with a full search method, two metamodeling methods without the aid of metaheuristics and a metaheuristic method without the support of metamodels, we confirmed that the proposed method provides same high-quality solutions as those of the full search method at a small computational cost.
Enzymatic hydrolysis of polyamide fabric by using acylase
Authors: Kim Hye Rim , Seo Hye Young
Published: January 2013

In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of acylase I from Aspergillus melleus in the treatment of polyamide (PA) fabric. The hydrolytic activity of acylase was evaluated by measuring the number of carboxylate ions released into the treatment liquid and the color strength ( K/S value) of α-bromoacrylamide reactive-dyed fabrics. Since acylase hydrolyzed amide bonds in PA fabrics, the larger number of carboxylate ions were released into the treatment liquid and the number of ionic groups formed on the fabric surfaces was increased. The optimal conditions for the enzymatic treatment of PA fabric were determined to be pH 8.0 at 50℃ with a treatment time of 60 minutes. The hydrolysis products were formed on the acylase-treated fabric surface stably, as demonstrated by the results for wash fastness. The moisture regain and wettability of the fabric improved due to the newly generated ionic groups formed on the fabric surface by acylase hydrolysis.
Effect of weave structure on the side-emitting properties of polymer optical fiber jacquard fabrics
Authors: Wang Jinchun , Huang Baohe , Yang Bin
Published: January 2013

Instead of mechanical and chemical treatments, the side-illuminating effect of polymer optical fiber (POF) jacquard fabric was achieved by using the bending of POF in the weave structure. The relationship between side-emitting intensity and bending radius of POF was explored via theoretical derivation, simulation experiments and POF fabric experiments. A theoretical equation was deduced to quantify the correlation between the light emission efficiency and the bending radius of POF based on the bending losses theory in optical fiber. The results of simulation and fabric experiments reached good agreements with the theoretical analysis. In the real fabric structure, the side-emitting intensity was mainly determined both by the bending radius and the float of POF. Significantly, it was just right for designing side-illuminating figure POF jacquard fabric with the effect of a relative degree of lightness or darkness based on the weave and side-emitting intensity database.
The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and the Development of the Residential Security Maps
Authors: Greer James
Published: January 2013

The Great Depression led to dramatic changes in financial regulation and home financing. Policymakers opted for insurance programs—deposit guaranty and mutual mortgage insurance—as safe and stable ways to manage the critical financial sector. An analysis of data collected in support of the Residential Security Maps of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation shows that the age, upkeep, and price of housing along with mortgage availability are robust predictors of mortgage risk in these maps while the presence of non-white and foreign-born residents represent more modest estimators of mortgage risk. The system of mortgage insurance established in this period sowed the seeds of center city economic deterioration.
Self-Affirmation Underlies Facebook Use
Authors: Toma Catalina L. , Hancock Jeffrey T.
Published: January 2013

Social network sites, such as Facebook, have acquired an unprecedented following, yet it is unknown what makes them so attractive to users. Here we propose that these sites’ popularity can be understood through the fulfillment of ego needs. We use self-affirmation theory to hypothesize why and when people spend time on their online profiles. Study 1 shows that Facebook profiles are self-affirming in the sense of satisfying users’ need for self-worth and self-integrity. Study 2 shows that Facebook users gravitate toward their online profiles after receiving a blow to the ego, in an unconscious effort to repair their perceptions of self-worth. In addition to illuminating some of the psychological factors that underlie Facebook use, the results provide an important extension to self-affirmation theory by clarifying how self-affirmation operates in people’s everyday environments.
Trust Primacy
Authors: Holtz Brian C.
Published: January 2013

Management scholars have historically framed trust as a consequence of organizational justice that develops slowly over time. However, theory and empirical research outside of the management literature suggest that trust is inevitably present prior to the initiation of exchange relationships. For instance, neuroscientific evidence suggests that the human brain has evolved mechanisms capable of automatically evaluating the trustworthiness of potential exchange partners without conscious deliberation. This article presents a new theoretical model suggesting that trust forms rapidly and exerts significant influence on employee perceptions of justice. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Changing the rules of the game: Determinants of successful electoral system change in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Harfst Philipp
Published: January 2013

This article explores the conditions of successful electoral system change. It develops four hypotheses on the conditions of the successful implementation of proposals to modify electoral laws. The first hypothesis reflects partisan self-interest and assumes that larger parties are better able to impose their preferred electoral institutions. The second and third hypotheses presume that electoral system design is motivated by instrumental considerations that can either reflect consensual or majoritarian visions of democracy. A fourth hypothesis draws on the timing of reforms and states that successful reform is possible only in relative temporal proximity to extraordinary historical circumstances. A macro, quantitative comparative analysis shows that both the control of larger seat shares and high levels of fragmentation in conjunction explain the successful implementation of electoral laws in 11 new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. This result is corroborated by four case studies.
Working Inside the Box
Authors: Paige David D. , Sizemore John M. , Neace William P.
Published: January 2013

One perspective of cognitive rigor is the extent to which classroom instruction demands students to use critical thinking skills. As schools attempt to increase academic outcomes, one area of interest is the potential for engaging students in learning by increasing the use of critical thinking. The present study analyses the effect of critical thinking on student engagement in ninth-grade students.
Evaluation of Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System Flap and Fat Graft Outcomes for Benign and Malignant Parotid Disease
Authors: Ambro Bryan T. , Goodstein Lindsay A. , Morales Robert E. , Taylor Rodney J.
Published: January 2013

Objective

(1) To evaluate the effectiveness of the superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) flap and free fat graft in reconstructing the parotidectomy defect. (2) To evaluate the long‐term viability of the free fat graft following parotidectomy for benign and malignant disease, including in the postradiation setting.

Study Design

Prospective study of consecutive patients.

Setting

Academic tertiary care medical center.

Subjects and Methods

Thirty‐one consecutive patients underwent parotidectomy with SMAS flap and free fat graft reconstruction from 2006 to 2012. Data were compiled through a manual chart review.

Results

Twenty‐three of the 31 total patients had benign disease, including pleomorphic adenoma, oncocytoma, and Warthin tumor. The 8 remaining patients (9 parotidectomies) underwent surgery for malignant disease, followed by postoperative radiation. The average age was 56 years (range, 16‐84 years). The mean follow‐up was 22.5 months. Satisfactory volumetric symmetry was achieved in all procedures for benign and malignant disease. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed long‐term fat graft viability in the postradiation setting. There was 1 case of Frey syndrome and no cases of unexpected, permanent facial nerve weakness among the patients.

Conclusion

The combined technique of SMAS flap and free fat graft is effective for immediate reconstruction of the parotidectomy defect with minimal morbidity and low complication rates. This study demonstrates long‐term viability of the free fat graft even in the setting of postoperative radiation.
Anti-Semitism and Critical Social Theory: The Frankfurt School in American Exile
Authors: Abromeit John
Published: January 2013

Ziege’s book focuses primarily on the two main empirical studies carried out by Max Horkheimer’s Institute of Social Research during its exile in the United States in the 1940s: a relatively unknown and never-published study of anti-Semitism among American workers and the much better known, five-volume Studies in Prejudice. Ziege poses and successfully answers the question of why the Institute began to focus more on empirical studies and anti-Semitism in the 1940s. Her thorough archival research illuminates as never before the Institute’s relations to the main organizations that funded its ambitious empirical projects during this time: the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Labor Committee. She also provides the richest existing account of how the experience of American exile affected the Institute’s theoretical premises and empirical work. By distinguishing between the Institute’s ‘esoteric’ theoretical assumptions, which maintained a large degree of continuity with its earlier work, and a willingness to work at the ‘exoteric’ level with many scholars who didn’t share these assumptions, Ziege explains how the Institute made certain concessions to mainstream American academic culture without ever abandoning the radical intentions of Critical Theory.
The Absence of Ottoman, Islamic Europe in Edward W. Said’s Orientalism
Authors: Bryce Derek
Published: January 2013

Edward W. Said’s Orientalism has attained canonical status as the key study of the cultural politics of western representation of the East, specifically the imaginative geographies underwriting constructions such as the Middle East and the Islamic world. The Ottoman Empire overlapped both European and exteriorized Oriental space during much of the period that Said dealt with, yet while the existence of the empire is referred to in Said’s study, the theoretical implications of that presence for his critique of Orientalist discourse are not. The material presence of the Ottoman state, in the Arabic-speaking lands, but also crucially, and for a longer period, much of south-east Europe and Anatolia, highlights long-standing Oriental geopolitical and cultural agency in the face of unidirectional narratives of western encroachment. Attention to the specific discursive manoeuvres undertaken by the West to handle that disruptive, intrinsic Ottoman presence in Europe itself may add traction to the notion that the Orient was imagined as a radically exterior point of comparison. It is argued that the history of western representation of the Ottoman Empire constitutes a pre-Orientalist discourse, whose dual, perennial purpose is to make pragmatic accommodation for an Ottoman Oriental material presence in Europe yet never to fully acknowledge its discursive presence as being of Europe. I argue that by supplementing Said’s critique with a full consideration of the Ottoman legacy, a reformulation is possible that integrates the Islamic Orient as an intrinsic component of historically informed notions of European space, while dissolving notions of the absolute distinction of that latter construct from the wider milieus in which it is embedded.
Love, Narratives, Politics: Encounters between Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg
Authors: Tamboukou Maria
Published: January 2013

In this article I explore relationships between love and politics by looking into Rosa Luxemburg’s letters to her lover and comrade Leo Jogiches. My discussion is framed within Hannah Arendt’s conceptualization of love as a manifestation of existence through the Augustinian journey of memory and as an existential force binding together the three faculties of the mind in her philosophical analysis: thinking, willing and judging. What I argue is that letters are crucial in enacting plurality and communication, and that Luxemburg’s letters to her lover and comrade intensify rather than obscure the force of the political in opening up radical futures.
Optimal distribution of contact forces with inverse-dynamics control
Authors: Righetti Ludovic , Buchli Jonas , Mistry Michael , Kalakrishnan Mrinal , Schaal Stefan
Published: January 2013

The development of legged robots for complex environments requires controllers that guarantee both high tracking performance and compliance with the environment. More specifically the control of the contact interaction with the environment is of crucial importance to ensure stable, robust and safe motions. In this contribution we develop an inverse-dynamics controller for floating-base robots under contact constraints that can minimize any combination of linear and quadratic costs in the contact constraints and the commands. Our main result is the exact analytical derivation of the controller. Such a result is particularly relevant for legged robots as it allows us to use torque redundancy to directly optimize contact interactions. For example, given a desired locomotion behavior, we can guarantee the minimization of contact forces to reduce slipping on difficult terrains while ensuring high tracking performance of the desired motion. The main advantages of the controller are its simplicity, computational efficiency and robustness to model inaccuracies. We present detailed experimental results on simulated humanoid and quadruped robots as well as a real quadruped robot. The experiments demonstrate that the controller can greatly improve the robustness of locomotion of the robots.1
Relationship Power As a Mediator of Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Issues Among Incarcerated, Substance-Using Women
Authors: Minieri Alexandra M. , Staton-Tindall Michele , Leukefeld Carl , Clarke Jennifer G. , Surratt Hilary L. , Frisman Linda K.
Published: January 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine perceived relationship power as a mediator of the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health issues among incarcerated women with a history of substance use. Cross-sectional data from 304 women as part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) were used to evaluate this hypothesis. Regression analyses examined the mediation relationship of perceived relationship power in the association between a history of IPV and mental health issues. Results supported the hypothesis, suggesting that perceived relationship power helps to explain the association between IPV and mental health issues. Implications of the findings for the provision of services to address the needs of these women are discussed, including assessment of perceived relationship power and focusing counseling interventions on women’s experiences with power in intimate relationships.
Minsky in the Shadows
Authors: Nesvetailova Anastasia , Palan Ronen
Published: January 2013

One of the many lingering questions posed by the continuing meltdown of global finance concerns the role of securitization and the so-called shadow banking system in amplifying the scope of the crisis. As the crisis has revealed, a crucial function of many shadow financial units such as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) has been to make complex debt structures marketable and liquid. To what extent can the financial malaise of 2007 be attributed to the widespread use of such schemes? And how can this problem be conceptualized in contemporary political economy? In this paper we address these questions, examining the case of Northern Rock and its offshore SPV structure, Granite Master Trust. Drawing on the financial instability framework of Hyman Minsky, we find that the collapse of Northern Rock was caused by a confluence of two institutional trends in modern finance. First, it is the tendency of financial firms to exploit the regulatory gap by relying on financial innovation; second, it is the spread of the Ponzi culture as the defining mode of financing for today’s economic units. In this, the crisis of Northern Rock is symptomatic of a wider problem of today’s financial system where the process of securitization and liquefying debt structures is facilitated through the shadow financial system and often involves illicit practices, as well as outright fraud.1

JEL Classification: P16; B310; H260; G010; G210; G280.
Theorizing the Criminal Justice System
Authors: Burke Roger Hopkins
Published: January 2013

This article identifies and discusses four models that seek to explain the development of the criminal justice system and in whose interests it operates. Three existing, apparently competing, and contradictory models are identified: (1) the orthodox social progress model; (2) the radical conflict model; and (3) the carceral society surveillance model. This article introduces a fourth, the left realist hybrid model, which recognizes the strengths and complementary potential of the other three models and which proposes that a synthesis of all provides a more comprehensive explanatory tool. At the same time, this hybrid model importantly recognizes the interest and collusion of the general public in the creation of the increasingly pervasive sociocontrol surveillance matrix of the carceral society of which the contemporary criminal justice system is a central component.
Analysis of the health and environmental status of sterilizers in hospital waste management: a case study of hospitals in Tehran
Authors: Aghapour Pooyaneh , Nabizadeh Ramin , Nouri Jafar , Monavari Masoud , Yaghmaeian Kamyar
Published: January 2013

According to the first article of the waste management rule ratified in 2004, healthcare facilities are responsible for sterilizing their own infectious wastes. Nowadays non-incineration techniques are preferred internationally owing to toxic emissions caused by incinerators. Surveys have been conducted in Iran, resulting in ratification of an executive code by the Iranian Board of Ministers, which imposed a ban on incinerators; furthermore, it emphasized, instead, the use of sterilizers. The main objective of this research was evaluating the present status of these facilities to figure out which ones have less effect on the community, personnel and on the environment. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results showed that biological tests had not been conducted for most of the sterilizers. As biological testing is the most important factor in assessing autoclave accuracy, a comprehensive program should be initiated to perform these tests to improve functioning of the sterilizers so that the best treating process can be achieved.
A New Era of Protection Against Disability Discrimination? The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and “Regarded As” Disabled
Authors: Bradbury Mark D. , Jacobson Willow S.
Published: January 2013

Several U.S. Supreme Court rulings have substantially narrowed the coverage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since its passage in 1990. Congress amended the ADA in 2008 to restore the original congressional intent of providing broad coverage for people with disabilities. This article seeks to determine whether the 2008 amendments are a mere technical adjustment of the ADA, or constitute significant legislation in their own right. A review of existing law, resulting regulations, and federal cases reveals that the amendments may promise much but deliver more of the same. Nevertheless, employers are well-advised to renew their efforts to cooperate with applicants and employees with disabilities, if for no other reason than to avoid a costly lawsuit that employers are perhaps now more likely to lose.