bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Grown folks radio: U.S. election politics and a “hidden” black counterpublic
Authors: LEONARDO MICAELA DI
Published: November 2012

President Obama's 2008 electoral triumph garnered enormous journalistic and scholarly attention, but analysts have shown very little interest in African American media coverage of the campaign. In this piece, I focus on one major, nearly ignored, black media outlet: a syndicated radio show with a huge audience, commercial success, and progressive politics. I analyze the show's construction of a powerful mediatized black counterpublic, consider its rise parallel to the neoliberal deregulation of U.S. media, and narrate its coverage of the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. I also consider the political effects of a new cross‐media platform synergy among black and progressive outlets.
Producing affect: Transnational volunteerism in a Malaysian orangutan rehabilitation center
Authors: PARREÑAS RHEANA “JUNO” SALAZAR
Published: November 2012

In a postcolonial economy of volunteer tourism from the Global North to the Global South, mostly British women pay thousands of U.S. dollars to travel to Sarawak, on Malaysian Borneo, to work in a wildlife rehabilitation center. There, in a program operated as a public–private partnership, they provide hard labor to maintain and improve the facility and assist subcontracted indigenous Iban men in caring for displaced orangutans. Through the concept of “custodial labor,” I argue that affect produced at the interface of bodies in the work of orangutan rehabilitation also produces an unequal distribution of risk and vulnerability among those involved, across differences of species, classes, nationalities, and genders. My findings contribute to understandings of how humanity is constituted through multispecies encounters, help demonstrate how animals can be treated as subjects in ethnography, and show how affective encounters produce human and nonhuman subjectivities.
Commentary: The corporation, oil, and the financialization of risk
Authors: SAWYER SUZANA
Published: November 2012

Hannah Appel's notion of “modularity” in her analysis of contemporary transnational oil operations exquisitely captures the work required to create the illusion that petroleum production is removed from and uncompromised by local entanglements. Her study belies the notion (peddled by the industry) that the extraction of crude oil is a technoscientific wonder detached from disruptive inequalities and tumultuous political conditions that too frequently haunt places where oil development occurs. In this commentary, I sketch two directions for further research inspired by Appel's work that could extend the disentangling calculus of corporate profit, liability, and risk. One centers on the corporate form and the other on the financialization of risk.
“This is our little hajj”: Muslim holy sites and reappropriation of the sacred landscape in contemporary Bosnia
Authors: HENIG DAVID
Published: November 2012

Bosnian Muslims’ understandings of Islam and relationships with the sacred landscape have undergone significant transformations since the dissolution of socialist Yugoslavia. I explore these transformations as I analyze discourses and debates on what constitutes “correct” Islamic tradition in Bosnia today, when Muslim practice has been exposed to a global Islamic orthodoxy and entangled in new supraregional hierarchies of power, values, and moral imagination. I specifically focus on how intracommunal Muslim politics intertwines with contemporary Bosnian Muslim shrine pilgrimages.
Naming chaos: Accident, precariousness, and the spirits of wildness in urban Thai spirit cults
Authors: JOHNSON ANDREW ALAN
Published: November 2012

Conceptions of wildness (theuan) and accident pervade the Thai informal economy and infuse certain forms of popular religious practice. I look at the propitiation of wilderness spirits in urban Bangkok at shrines that migrant and marginal workers see as sites of hope and danger. I argue that, by naming the potential for accident and death as a spirit with which they can communicate, informal‐economy workers attempt to change the potential for misfortune into its opposite. My study draws on recent work on neoliberal and precarious labor in Europe as well as connections between the occult and the economy.
“Good individualism”? Psychology, ethics, and neoliberalism in postsocialist Russia
Authors: MATZA TOMAS
Published: November 2012

Psychologists working in Russia's cities have found it both desirable and profitable to offer “psychological education” to the children of the elite. I examine two characterizations of this work—as a form of neoliberal subjectivation and as a post‐Soviet project focused on progressive sociopolitical reform. Exploring the tensions between them illuminates the historical specificity of self‐work in Russia, its relation to commerce and biopolitics, and its political ambiguity. I conclude that studies of governmentality that attend to both subjectivation as an ethical practice and social history can effectively render capitalist complicity and ordinary ethics in the same frame.
What Explains Divorced Women's Poorer Health? The Mediating Role of Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in a Rural Iowan Sample
Authors: Lavelle Bridget , Lorenz Frederick O. , Wickrama K. A. S.
Published: November 2012

Economic restructuring in rural areas in recent decades has been accompanied by rising marital instability. To examine the implications of the increase in divorce for the health of rural women, we examine how marital status predicts adequacy of health insurance coverage and health care access, and whether these factors help to account for the documented association between divorce and later illness. Analyzing longitudinal data from a cohort of over 400 married and recently divorced rural Iowan women, we decompose the total effect of divorce on physical illness a decade later using structural equation modeling. Divorced women are less likely to report adequate health insurance in the years following divorce, inhibiting their access to medical care and threatening their physical health. Full‐time employment acts as a buffer against insurance loss for divorced women. The growth of marital instability in rural areas has had significant ramifications for women's health; the decline of adequate health insurance coverage following divorce explains a component of the association between divorced status and poorer long‐term health outcomes.
Association of swine vertnin (VRTN) gene with production traits in Duroc pigs improved using a closed nucleus breeding system
Authors: Hirose Kensuke , Mikawa Satoshi , Okumura Naohiko , Noguchi Go , Fukawa Kazuo , Kanaya Naoe , Mikawa Ayumi , Arakawa Aisaku , Ito Tetsuya , Hayashi Yoichi , Tachibana Fumio , Awata Takashi
Published: November 2012

Vertnin (VRTN) is involved in the variation of vertebral number in pigs and it is located on Sus scrofa chromosome 7. Vertebral number is related to body size in pigs, and many reports have suggested presence of an association between body length (BL) and meat production traits. Therefore, we analyzed the relationship between the VRTN genotype and the production and body composition traits in purebred Duroc pigs. Intramuscular fat content (IMF) in the Longissimus muscle was significantly associated with the VRTN genotype. The mean IMF of individuals with the wild‐type genotype (Wt/Wt) (5.22%) was greater than that of individuals with the Wt/Q (4.99%) and Q/Q genotypes (4.79%). In addition, a best linear unbiased predictor of multiple traits animal model showed that the Wt allele had a positive effect on the IMF breeding value. No associations were observed between the VRTN genotype and other production traits. The VRTN genotype was related to BL. The Q/Q genotype individuals (100.0 cm) were longer than individuals with the Wt/Q (99.5 cm) and Wt/Wt genotypes (98.9 cm). These results suggest that in addition to the maintenance of an appropriate backfat thickness value, VRTN has the potential to act as a genetic marker of IMF.
The Loss of Oil: Constituting Disaster in Amazonian Ecuador
Authors: Cepek Michael
Published: November 2012

Existen pocos objetos que provocan tanta discusión de finales radicales que el petróleo, la materia prima industrial más importante del mundo. En este artículo, examino la pérdida asociada con el petróleo a través de una exploración de la medida en la que su extracción llega a ser “desastrosa” para las vidas y las tierras de los pueblos que habitan las regiones productoras de petróleo. En Ecuador, país miembro de la OPEP, el símbolo más visible del poder destructivo del petróleo es el pueblo cofán. Varios artículos, documentales, sitios web y juicios representan al territorio cofán como una tierra ecológica y socioculturalmente devastada. Para contrarrestar el espíritu derrotista y el cierre analítico de las narrativas de la asolación, propongo un marco conceptual alternativo que reconozca la presencia indeterminada del petróleo en el discurso y la práctica del pueblo cofán. Mucho más que una historia sencilla de pérdida, una fenomenología cofán del petróleo combina la realidad de la destrucción con una serie de elipsis, contradicciones y oportunidades que permiten que los cofanes nieguen su destrucción mientras que también la prevengan. [ecología/medio ambiente, desarrollo, pueblos indígenas, política, antropología social]
Parental Migration in Colombia: Children's Voices in National and International Perspectives
Authors: Duque‐Páramo María Claudia
Published: November 2012

Asumiendo que los niños son al mismo tiempo actores y sujetos de fuerzas sociales, y que los niños en circunstancias migratorias son agentes que, aunque comparten algunas realidades con otros miembros de sus familias, viven sus propias experiencias, este artículo se centra en la discusión sobre las experiencias relacionadas con la migración parental de un grupo de niños en Bogotá y en dos municipios del Departamento de Risaralda. Se abordan tres temas relevantes en las discusiones nacionales e internacionales sobre migración parental: sus razones e impactos, los significados de la separación familiar y de la migración de la madre y las diversas representaciones sobre los niños. El artículo concluye con algunas recomendaciones para hacedores de políticas públicas, medios de comunicación, instituciones educativas, padres de familia y niños que viven situaciones de migración parental.
Commodifying Intimacy: Women, Work, and Care in Peruvian Migration
Authors: Paerregaard Karsten
Published: November 2012

Este artículo explora la migración femenina desde el Perú a los EE.UU., Europa y otros países sudamericanos. Examina tres casos de estudio en España, Argentina y Chile, y analiza etnográficamente cómo mujeres migrantes se ganan la vida como trabajadoras domésticas y cuidadoras de ancianos, y cómo negocian las relaciones de trabajo con sus empleadores. En particular, el artículo investiga los lazos emocionales que las migrantes crean con las personas que cuidan, y cómo las políticas de migración y mercado laboral en los países receptores forman estos lazos. El texto sugiere que mientras los empleadores reclaman el derecho de controlar la fuerza “motivadora” de las mujeres, ellas solo reconocen el derecho de estos sobre su trabajo físico. Concluye que la causa de los conflictos entre las mujeres y sus empleadores es una tensión inmanente entre las fuerzas “motivadoras” y las fuerzas “no‐motivadoras” de la industria global para el cuidado de ancianos.
Stop Loss: Developing Interethnic Relations in Brazil's Xingu Indigenous Park
Authors: Ball Christopher
Published: November 2012

Este artigo aborda a facilitação de percepções da perda por diferenças entre ideologias de cambio na política cultural na Amazônia indígena. Etnografia de relações entre o povo Wauja do Parque Indígena do Xingu e não‐índios mostra que pessoas indígenas tentam enfocar‐se nos aspectos abertos de relações de troca, enquanto agentes de desenvolvimento não‐índios tentam enfocar‐se em resultados finais. Pessoas de ambos lados percebem problemas em interação como índices de perda. Para os Wauja, cerramento em relações de cambio é um sinal da perda da possibilidade de relações sociais futuros. Para não‐índios resistência em negociações é um sinal de perda cultural. Isso contribua á reprodução dos discursos de perda que estão na base do instituição do parque e do desenvolvimento na Amazônia em geral. Desenvolvimento representa até elementos de continuidade indígena em termos de perda. Os Wauja respondem em parte com a indigenização das ideologias de cambio externais.
Dried blood spots for the enzymatic diagnosis of lysosomal storage diseases in dogs and cats
Authors: Sewell Adrian C. , Haskins Mark E. , Giger Urs
Published: November 2012

Background

In people, lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) can be diagnosed by assaying enzyme activities in dried blood spots (DBS).

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using DBS samples from dogs and cats to measure lysosomal enzymatic activities and diagnose LSD.

Methods

Drops of fresh whole blood collected in EDTA from dogs and cats with known or suspected LSD and from clinically healthy dogs and cats were placed on neonatal screening cards, dried, and mailed to the Metabolic Laboratory, University Children's Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany. Activities of selected lysosomal enzymes were measured using fluorescent substrates in a 2‐mm diameter disk (~2.6 μL blood) punched from the DBS. Results were expressed as nmol substrate hydrolyzed per mL of blood per minute or hour.

Results

Reference values were established for several lysosomal enzyme activities in DBS from dogs and cats; for most enzymes, activities were higher than those published for human samples. Activities of β‐glucuronidase, N‐acetylglucosamine‐4‐sulfatase (arylsulfatase B), α‐mannosidase, α‐galactosidase, α‐fucosidase, and hexosaminidase A were measureable in DBS from healthy cats and dogs; α‐iduronidase activity was measureable only in cats. In samples from animals with LSD, markedly reduced activity of a specific enzyme was found. In contrast, in samples from cats affected with mucolipidosis II, activities of lysosomal enzymes were markedly increased.

Conclusions

Measurement of lysosomal enzyme activities in DBS provides an inexpensive, simple, and convenient method to screen animals for suspected LSD and requires only a small sample volume. For diseases in which the relevant enzyme activity can be measured in DBS, a specific diagnosis can be made.
Copper toxicosis in a Boer goat
Authors: Cregar Laura C. , Wiedmeyer Charles E. , Ringen Davin R. , Evans Tim J. , Johnson Gayle C. , Kuroki Keiichi
Published: November 2012

A 1‐year‐old female Boer goat was presented with a 1‐day history of pigmenturia, anorexia, and shivering. Anemia was not present initially, but progressive hemolytic anemia developed subsequently and was characterized by the finding of Heinz bodies in both intact RBCs and in ghost cells and the presence of atypical fusiform RBCs. Plasma biochemical analysis revealed increased activities of aspartate aminotransferase and gamma‐glutamyltransferase, hyperbilirubinemia, and azotemia. Histopathologic examination of a liver biopsy revealed necrosis of individual hepatocytes and intracytoplasmic rhodamine‐positive granules, consistent with copper. Copper concentration in ante‐mortem hepatic tissue was increased, and a diagnosis of copper toxicosis was made. Despite supportive therapy, the goat continued to decline and was euthanized. Necropsy findings included hepatic necrosis and hemoglobinuric nephrosis. Freshly collected specimens of liver and kidney had markedly increased copper concentrations. The mineral composition of the water, grass hay, and goat chow was evaluated, and toxins and significant mineral imbalances were not found. The underlying cause of the hepatic accumulation and subsequent release of copper remains unclear in this goat. Recently, Boer goats have been recognized as being prone to copper toxicosis and may be more susceptible than other breeds; similar to sheep, Boer goats may experience a hemolytic crisis secondary to copper toxicosis.
Cultivating Culture: Preparing Future Teachers for Diversity Through Family Science Learning Events
Authors: McCollough Cherie , Ramirez Olga
Published: November 2012

Preservice teachers (PSTs) participated in Family Science Learning Events (FSLEs) at a university designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution. PSTs were required by the instructor to conceive and design culturally relevant science activities as well as implement these activities with K‐8 students and their families during three separate FSLEs each semester. After school venues included elementary and middle schools located in ethnically diverse school districts. Data collected from these future teachers included qualitative PST reflections, lesson plans, project board/activity evaluation by peers, and a quantitative survey instrument (modified SEBEST) to assess PSTs perceptions of teaching diverse learners. Results suggest that using FSLEs as an integral component of teacher preparation can be a powerful facilitator of learning for all involved, increasing excitement for learning, confidence in using culturally relevant activities and valuable experience in working with family members, particularly Hispanics. In addition, using culturally relevant science activities deepened content knowledge and gave PSTs the opportunity to use culturally responsive activities with Hispanic students and their families, increasing feelings of self‐efficacy in science teaching with diverse learners.
Teaching Science as Science Is Practiced: Opportunities and Limits for Enhancing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Self‐Efficacy for Science and Science Teaching
Authors: Avery Leanne M. , Meyer Daniel Z.
Published: November 2012

Science teaching in elementary schools, or the lack thereof, continues to be an area of concern and criticism. Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is a major part of this problem. In this mixed‐methods study, we report the impacts of an inquiry‐based science course on preservice elementary teachers' self‐efficacy for science and science teaching, understanding of science, and willingness to teach it in their future careers. Our findings suggest that for some students, the inquiry‐based science course positively influenced their self‐efficacy for science and science teaching. Gains were made in a majority of students' conceptual understanding of science, understanding of the science process and scientific research, and confidence with science and science teaching. The subjects did not experience the course uniformly, however. Rather, there appeared to be two distinct groups, one on a trajectory of improving their outlook on science teaching and one worsening. The results presented here therefore provoke some interesting questions regarding preservice elementary teachers' preparation for science teaching.
Investigating Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Animal Classification
Authors: Burgoon Jacob N. , Duran Emilio
Published: November 2012

Numerous studies have been conducted regarding alternative conceptions about animal diversity and classification, many of which have used a cross‐age approach to investigate how students' conceptions change over time. None of these studies, however, have investigated teachers' conceptions of animal classification. This study was intended to augment the findings of past research by exploring the conceptions that elementary teachers possess about animal classification. Using interviews and written items, we documented teachers' conceptions about animal classification and compared them with student conceptions identified in previous research studies. Many of the teachers' conceptions observed in this study were similar to students' conceptions in that they were often too limited or too general compared with scientifically accepted conceptions. Also, the teachers in this study frequently used “non‐defining” characteristics, such as locomotion and habitat, to classify animals. As a result, several misclassifications were observed in the teachers' responses to the written items. Notably, the results of our study demonstrate that teachers often have the same alternative conceptions about animal classification as students. We explore some possible explanations for these alternative conceptions and discuss the instructional implications of the findings.
Assessing Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science
Authors: Hudson Rick Alan , Kloosterman Peter , Galindo Enrique
Published: November 2012

With increased study of teachers' beliefs about science and mathematics teaching in recent years, there is a need for instruments that assess beliefs in both content areas. Moreover, early field experiences in schools and professional development efforts may influence the beliefs that preservice and in‐service teachers develop, and instruments for this purpose are limited. This article describes the development and validation of the Confidence, Commitment, Collaboration, and Student thinking in Mathematics and Science (CCCSMS) beliefs scales, a set of 10 six‐item scales. Collectively, these scales measure teachers' self‐confidence in doing and teaching science and mathematics, confidence in understanding children's thinking and building models of that thinking, commitment to teaching science and mathematics from a standards‐based perspective, and commitment to collaborating with peers. The scales represent an efficient and effective way of assessing beliefs of large groups. Although this article focuses predominantly on development of the scales, results from initial use indicate that there are positive correlations between beliefs related to mathematics and beliefs related to science, but the correlations are low enough to show that many teachers think differently about the two subjects.
The Changing Dynamics of Inter‐American Security
Authors: Thérien Jean‐Philippe , Mace Gordon , Gagné Stefan
Published: November 2012

This article argues that, thanks to the progress of hemispheric multilateralism since the end of the Cold War, the conditions for identifying a nascent security community have been fulfilled in the Americas. The evolution has not been perfectly linear, and in light of the tensions that have marked inter‐American relations during the past few years, it remains an open question whether the renewal of security cooperation can be pursued in the future. Yet it seems clear that, with regard to interstate conflicts, the Americas currently make up a more peaceful region than at any other time in modern history. The body of our article relates this unprecedented situation to the recent developments of inter‐American diplomacy in the field of security. The first part focuses on the 1990s and shows how the notion of cooperative security has served as intellectual glue and helped stimulate a transformation of inter‐American politics. The second part explains how the emergence of the notion of multidimensional security during the 2000s made it possible to further institutionalize hemispheric cooperation.
Decentralization in Costa Rica: The Effects of Reform on Participation and Accountability
Authors: Ryan Jeffrey
Published: November 2012

Although the literature on decentralization and electoral participation is abundant, work on the connection between the two is sparse. This article hypothesizes that, as municipalities become more responsible for local governance, voter turnout will increase. Three sets of ordinary least squares regression models are estimated. The first uses traditional predictors of turnout in the form of demographic and socioeconomic variables. The second uses governance and political variables tied directly to decentralization, which have not been extensively tested in the literature. The final model combines both sets of variables. The two principal findings are that decentralization‐related variables are significantly linked to higher local turnout and that the factors accounting for electoral participation at the local level differ from those at the national level in important ways.
Drugs, Thugs, and the Diablos Rojos: Perils and Progress in Panama
Authors: Watts Michelle , Dannels Ruff Kimberly
Published: November 2012

In many ways, Panama has come into its own. Its running of the Panama Canal is indisputably successful, its post‐Noriega elections appear to be relatively corruption free, the multibillion dollar expansion of the Canal and the modernization of its transportation system are in full swing—all ostensibly signs of a developed country, but appearances can be deceiving. Dig deeper, and perils emerge: an increase in gangs and drug trafficking, a huge disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and an emerging threat to democracy. Examining these perils and progress demonstrates that Panamanians do not yet enjoy full citizenship; instead, “client‐ship” still dominates.
When the Environmental Displaces the Social: The Project for a New Airport in Mexico City During the Fox Administration
Authors: Virgen J. Carlos Domínguez
Published: November 2012

This article analyzes the project for a new international airport in Mexico City (NIAMC), promoted in 2001 and cancelled 1 year later after opposing groups mobilized against the infrastructure initiative. The work focuses on a policy perspective and offers three explanations that are not mutually exclusive. First, a compartmentalized division of bureaucratic tasks became a significant obstacle to designing an implementation strategy that included environmental and sociopolitical concerns. Second, there was a conflict between environmental considerations and other policy values, which contributed to the displacing of critical aspects of the project. Third, the concept of the environment that was taken into account as part of the project design, and appraisal was limited to rational administrative considerations that were insufficient to anticipate the full range of social and political implications. Based on these explanations, the article suggests that policy makers minimized the social implications of the project and underestimated the potential for mobilization that contentious groups could gather to oppose the NIAMC. The work is based on semistructured interviews with key actors. Further insight comes from the author's participation as a middle‐rank public servant in Mexico's Ministry of the Environment in 2001 and 2002.
Recent Developments in Sino‐Cuban Relations: Particularities and Advances
Authors: Sánchez Ramírez Pablo Telman
Published: November 2012

Cuba has maintained diplomatic relations with China for longer than with any other Latin American country, since 1960. For many years, these relations maintained a formal character and a largely cosmetic nature because of the influence that the Soviet Union had on the island and the problems between China and Russia. Today, the links between China and Cuba constitute one of the most important and dynamic relationships in Latin American and the Caribbean. China views the Cuban regime as a symbol of the Cold War and has demonstrated its intention to maintain open collaboration with the island. China's main trade policy in Latin America consists of providing capital in exchange for access to natural resources and an ensured consumer market for its cheap exports. To Cuba, China provides concessions, cheap lending, and humanitarian aid, illustrating a stronger bilateral relationship with Cuba than with other Latin American nations.
Public Finance and Social Protection System Reforms in Mexico: Part I
Authors: Chávez Presa Jorge A. , Trillo Fausto Hernández , López‐Calva Luis Felipe , de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias Centro
Published: November 2012

Mexico needs a proposal to integrate reforms into the social protection system as an indispensable factor for social cohesion with holistic fiscal reforms that create and nurture viability in the long term and improve the country's competitiveness. There is also a need for reforms that seek to break through the prevailing economic stagnation and provide the nation with medium‐ and long‐term development opportunities. Specifically, it needs a proposal that addresses the overwhelming need to formalize a new social contract based on justice and sustained by economic growth that allows Mexico's democracy to work for all of its residents. This article seeks to conduct an exercise that is rarely attempted in Mexico: establish achievable short‐ and medium‐term goals for universal social protection tied to revenue sources that provide long‐term viability and sustainability.
Laser Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Study of Silicon Oxycarbide Glasses
Authors: Soraru Gian Domenico , Karakuscu Aylin , Marquardt Amy , Tweeton Landon , Dulal Prabesh , Affatigato Mario
Published: November 2012

For the first time, a laser ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (LI‐TOFS) characterization has been performed on silicon oxycarbide glasses obtained by pyrolysis of sol–gel precursors. This technique allows to desorb intermediate range mesounits from the network, and to determine their mass and atomic identity precisely. It is therefore complementary to all the other analysis typically performed on SiOC glasses as it leads to collect information on a length scale which is usually difficult to probe: the medium range. The results indicate the presence, in the SiOC glasses, of mixed silicon oxycarbide units together with pure silicate mesounits (SiO2 and SiO3).
Direct Coagulation Casting of Alumina Suspension via Controlled Release of High Valence Counterions from Thermo‐sensitive Liposomes
Authors: Yang Jinlong , Xu Jie , Wen Ning , Qu Yanan , Qi Fei , Xi Xiaoqing
Published: November 2012

Thermo‐sensitive liposomes were prepared using reverse phase evaporation method using natural lipid egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) and cholesterol (CH). Inorganic salts containing high valence counterions (HVCI) are encapsulated by the liposomes. The phase transition temperature of the liposome is at 38°C with 50 wt% addition of cholesterol. The encapsulation rate of liposomes reaches 85% for high valence anion (SO42−) and 55% for high valence cation (Ca2+). The liposomes are introduced into ceramic colloidal forming and dispersed in the suspension for identical charge with alumina particles at room temperature. The release of HCVI from the liposomes can coagulate the alumina suspension after heating at 38°C for 3 h, but the de‐moldable time is ~ 6–7 h. Dense ceramic products with relative density of above 98% and uniform microstructure can be prepared by this method without burnout process.
Biogeography of the Mesoamerican Cichlidae (Teleostei: Heroini): colonization through the GAARlandia land bridge and early diversification
Authors: Říčan Oldřich , Piálek Lubomír , Zardoya Rafael , Doadrio Ignacio , Zrzavý Jan
Published: November 2012

Aim

We present a molecular phylogenetic and biogeographical analysis of the Mesoamerican cichlid fishes (Cichlidae: Cichlasomatinae: Heroini), a dominant part of the freshwater biodiversity of the region. Based on these analyses we investigate the spatial and temporal origins and diversification of the group.

Location

Mesoamerica.

Methods

Model‐based phylogenetic methods (MrBayes) using seven molecular markers with a virtually complete species‐level taxon sampling, together with the Bayesian approach to statistical dispersal–vicariance analysis (S‐DIVA), and fossil‐ and palaeogeography‐calibrated beast molecular clock analyses were used to assess the timing of dispersal, vicariance and diversification events.

Results

We present a robust multigene phylogeny resolved from the deepest nodes to the species level. Two colonizations of Middle America and one of the Greater Antilles occurred from South America within a narrow time window during the Oligocene epoch. Cichlid colonization of Central America proceeded from the north in the Early–Middle Miocene. Central America later became repeatedly fragmented during the latter half of the Miocene, which led to the formation of the present ichthyological provinces prior to the final closure of the Panama Isthmus.

Main conclusions

The heroine cichlid fishes colonized the Greater Antilles and Middle America simultaneously through the GAARlandia land bridge during the Oligocene. Central America (including eastern Panama) was colonized from northern Middle America in the Early–Middle Miocene. Thus our results do not support a direct colonization of Middle America from South America, or a Cretaceous–Palaeocene colonization through the proto‐Antilles, or a colonization of the Greater Antilles from Middle America as suggested by previous studies.
Serum Uric Acid, Inflammation, and Nondipping Circadian Pattern in Essential Hypertension
Authors: Turak Osman , Özcan Fırat , Tok Derya , İşleyen Ahmet , Sökmen Erdoğan , Taşoğlu Irfan , Aydoğdu Sinan , Sen Nihat , McFann Kim , Johnson Richard J. , Kanbay Mehmet
Published: November 2012

Uric acid (UA) is independently associated with the emergence of hypertension. Nocturnal nondipping pattern of hypertension is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular, renal, and cerebrovascular complications than dippers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the circadian blood pressure rhythm and UA level in patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension. The study included 112 essential hypertensive patients and 50 healthy controls. The hypertensive patients were divided into two groups according to the results of 24‐hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, including 60 dippers (35 men, 25 women; mean age, 52.6±15.8 years) and 52 nondippers (29 men, 23 women; mean age, 55.9±13.2 years). Nondippers had significantly higher serum UA levels than the dippers and controls (5.8±0.8, 5.1±0.9 and 4.2±0.9 mg/dL, respectively; P<.001). Serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein levels were also significantly higher in the nondipper group than the other groups (P<.001) and significantly correlated with serum UA (r=0.358, P<.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed an independent positive association between serum UA levels and nondipper pattern (odds ratio, 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–3.94; P=.003). Serum UA is strongly and independently associated with the nondipper circadian pattern in essential hypertension.
Prenatal family adversity and maternal mental health and vulnerability to peer victimisation at school
Authors: Lereya Suzet Tanya , Wolke Dieter
Published: November 2012

Background:  Prenatal stress has been shown to predict persistent behavioural abnormalities in offspring. Unknown is whether prenatal stress makes children more vulnerable to peer victimisation.

Methods:  The current study is based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a prospective community‐based study. Family adversity, maternal anxiety and depression were assessed at repeated intervals in pregnancy and the postnatal period. Parenting, partner conflict and temperament were measured at preschool age. Peer victimisation was assessed using multiple informants (child, parent, teacher) at primary school age (between ages 7 and 10).

Results:  Prenatal severe family adversity and maternal mental health directly increased the risk of victimisation at school even when controlled for postnatal family adversity and maternal mental health, parenting, partner conflict and temperament. Effects were found to be independent of sources of information of peer victimisation. Partner conflict and maladaptive parenting also independently increased the risk of peer victimisation.

Conclusions:  Experiences in pregnancy may affect the developing foetus and increase vulnerability to be victimised by peers. Conflict between parents and their parenting further increase the risk of being victimised by peers at school.
Frequency analysis, causes and impacts of flooding in the Bagmati River Basin, Nepal
Authors: Dhital Y.P. , Kayastha R.B.
Published: November 2012

The Bagmati River, which lies in central Nepal, originates in Bagdwar at an altitude of 2690 m and flows south through the Kathmandu valley. The river basin covers an area of 3750 sq. km and includes eight districts of Nepal. Flooding along this river is a common occurrence during the monsoon season. In this study, we compared rainfall events with river discharge, predicted the rate of future flooding events, and assessed the probable causes and socioeconomic impacts of flooding in the Bagmati River Basin. Data used to compare rainfall and discharge were based on rain gauge stations with the highest 24‐h records and also contributed directly to the run‐off at the Pandhera Dobhan discharge station, the lowest elevation water discharge gauge, in order to facilitate a direct comparison between basin rainfall and river discharge. Future trends in extreme 24‐h rainfall events and peak flood values were calculated for 2‐, 5‐, 10‐, 25‐, 50‐ and 100‐year recurrence intervals. Extreme 24‐h rainfall events varied between 195 mm to 552 mm among the different rain gauges, corresponding to a peak discharge at Pandhera Dobhan of 16 523 m3/s for the 100‐year return interval. We also elaborate on the probable causes of flooding in the central basin and summarise major past flood events and their impacts.
Liver involvement in Turner syndrome
Authors: Roulot Dominique
Published: November 2012

Liver test abnormalities are frequent in adult patients with Turner syndrome, corresponding to various pathophysiological mechanisms. Steatosis, steatofibrosis and steatohepatitis are the most frequently reported lesions, caused by metabolic disorders, which are commonly related to overweight. Marked architectural changes, including nodular regenerative hyperplasia, multiple focal nodular hyperplasia and cirrhosis, found in some patients, are associated with a risk of severe liver‐related complications. Architectural changes are often observed and are associated with vascular disorders caused by congenitally abnormal vessels. Finally, small bile duct alterations resembling sclerosing cholangitis occur in several patients. Oestrogen replacement therapy does not cause liver toxicity in patients with Turner syndrome and is not contraindicated in case of elevated liver enzymes. Moreover, in recent studies, oestrogen therapy was reported to improve liver function tests. Because of the wide spectrum of potential liver injuries that may occur in Turner syndrome patients, a regular screening of liver enzymes is recommended for early detection and treatment.
GAME CALL OPTIONS REVISITED
Authors: Yam S. C. P. , Yung S. P. , Zhou W.
Published: November 2012

In this paper, having been inspired by the work of Kunita and Seko, we study the pricing of δ‐penalty game call options on a stock with a dividend payment. For the perpetual case, our result reveals that the optimal stopping region for the option seller depends crucially on the dividend rate d. More precisely, we show that when the penalty δ is small, there are two critical dividends 0 < d1 < d2 < ∞ such that the optimal stopping region for the option seller takes one of the following forms: (1) an interval if d < d1; (2) a singleton if d∈ [d1, d2]; or (3) an empty set if d > d2. When d∈ [d1, d2], the value function is not continuously differentiable at the optimal stopping boundary for the option seller, therefore our result in the perpetual case cannot be established by the free boundary approach with smooth‐fit conditions imposed on both free boundaries. For the finite time horizon case, the dependence of the optimal stopping region for the option seller on the time to maturity is exhibited; more precisely, when both δ and d are small, we show that there are two critical times 0 < T1 < T2 < T, such that the optimal stopping region for the option seller takes one of the following forms: (1) an interval if t < T1; (2) a singleton if t∈ [T1, T2]; or (3) an empty set if t > T2. In summary, for both the perpetual and the finite horizon cases, we characterize in terms of model parameters how the optimal stopping region for the option seller shrinks when the dividend rate d increases and the time to maturity decreases; these results complete the original work of Emmerling for the perpetual case and Kunita and Seko for the finite maturity case. In addition, for the finite time horizon case, we also extend the probabilistic method for the establishment of existence and regularity results of the classical American option pricing problem to the game option setting. Finally, we characterize the pair of optimal stopping boundaries for both the seller and the buyer as the unique pair of solutions to a couple of integral equations and provide numerical illustrations.
BOUNDARY EVOLUTION EQUATIONS FOR AMERICAN OPTIONS
Authors: Mitchell Daniel , Goodman Jonathan , Muthuraman Kumar
Published: November 2012

We consider the problem of finding optimal exercise policies for American options, both under constant and stochastic volatility settings. Rather than work with the usual equations that characterize the price exclusively, we derive and use boundary evolution equations that characterize the evolution of the optimal exercise boundary. Using these boundary evolution equations we show how one can construct very efficient computational methods for pricing American options that avoid common sources of error. First, we detail a methodology for standard static grids and then describe an improvement that defines a grid that evolves dynamically while solving the problem. When integral representations are available, as in the Black–Scholes setting, we also describe a modified integral method that leverages on the representation to solve the boundary evolution equations. Finally we compare runtime and accuracy to other popular numerical methods. The ideas and methodology presented herein can easily be extended to other optimal stopping problems.
TIME‐CHANGED ORNSTEIN–UHLENBECK PROCESSES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN COMMODITY DERIVATIVE MODELS
Authors: Li Lingfei , Linetsky Vadim
Published: November 2012

This paper studies subordinate Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) processes, i.e., OU diffusions time changed by Lévy subordinators. We construct their sample path decomposition, show that they possess mean‐reverting jumps, study their equivalent measure transformations, and the spectral representation of their transition semigroups in terms of Hermite expansions. As an application, we propose a new class of commodity models with mean‐reverting jumps based on subordinate OU processes. Further time changing by the integral of a Cox–Ingersoll–Ross process plus a deterministic function of time, we induce stochastic volatility and time inhomogeneity, such as seasonality, in the models. We obtain analytical solutions for commodity futures options in terms of Hermite expansions. The models are consistent with the initial futures curve, exhibit Samuelson's maturity effect, and are flexible enough to capture a variety of implied volatility smile patterns observed in commodities futures options.
DEFAULT AND SYSTEMIC RISK IN EQUILIBRIUM
Authors: Capponi Agostino , Larsson Martin
Published: November 2012

We develop a finite horizon continuous time market model, where risk‐averse investors maximize utility from terminal wealth by dynamically investing in a risk‐free money market account, a stock, and a defaultable bond, whose prices are determined via equilibrium. We analyze the endogenous interaction arising between the stock and the defaultable bond via the interplay between equilibrium behavior of investors, risk preferences and cyclicality properties of the default intensity. We find that the equilibrium price of the stock experiences a jump at default, despite that the default event has no causal impact on the underlying economic fundamentals. We characterize the direction of the jump in terms of a relation between investor preferences and the cyclicality properties of the default intensity. We conduct a similar analysis for the market price of risk and for the investor wealth process, and determine how heterogeneity of preferences affects the exposure to default carried by different investors.
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF ISOELASTIC UTILITY ECONOMIES
Authors: Vanden Joel M.
Published: November 2012

This paper studies the class of single‐good Arrow–Debreu economies in which all agents have isoelastic utility functions and homogeneous beliefs, but have possibly different cautiousness parameters and endowments. For each economy in this class, the equilibrium stochastic discount factor is an exponential function of the inverse mapping of a completely monotone function, evaluated at the aggregate consumption. This fact allows for general properties of the class to be studied analytically in terms of known properties of completely monotone functions. For example, conditions are presented under which the agents’ cautiousness parameters and a distribution of initial wealth can be recovered from an equilibrium stochastic discount factor, even if nothing is known about the agents’ endowments. This is a multiagent inverse problem since information about economic primitives is extracted from equilibrium prices. Several example economies are used to illustrate the results.
BLACK–SCHOLES REPRESENTATION FOR ASIAN OPTIONS
Authors: Vecer Jan
Published: November 2012

Asian options are securities with a payoff that depends on the average of the underlying stock price over a certain time interval. We identify three natural assets that appear in pricing of the Asian options, namely a stock S, a zero coupon bond BT with maturity T, and an abstract asset A (an “average asset”) that pays off a weighted average of the stock price number of units of a dollar at time T. It turns out that each of these assets has its own martingale measure, allowing us to obtain Black–Scholes type formulas for the fixed strike and the floating strike Asian options. The model independent formulas are analogous to the Black–Scholes formula for the plain vanilla options; they are expressed in terms of probabilities under the corresponding martingale measures that the Asian option will end up in the money. Computation of these probabilities is relevant for hedging. In contrast to the plain vanilla options, the probabilities for the Asian options do not admit a simple closed form solution. However, we show that it is possible to obtain the numerical values in the geometric Brownian motion model efficiently, either by solving a partial differential equation numerically, or by computing the Laplace transform. Models with stochastic volatility or pure jump models can be also priced within the Black–Scholes framework for the Asian options.
THE EFFECT OF TRADING FUTURES ON SHORT SALE CONSTRAINTS
Authors: Jarrow Robert , Protter Philip , Pulido Sergio
Published: November 2012

It is commonly believed that the trading of futures on a commodity enables the market to overcome short selling constraints on the spot commodity itself. This belief is embedded in the notion that trading strategies involving futures contracts enable traders to replicate the payoffs as if they were short the spot commodity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this common belief in a general arbitrage‐free semimartingale financial model with trading in futures and a short selling prohibition on the spot commodity. We show via various examples that, in general, this common belief is incorrect. Furthermore, we provide a set of sufficient conditions, albeit very restrictive, under which the common belief is true.