bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gender and Decision-Making in Technology Adoption among Youth
Authors: Umrani Farida , Ghadially Rehana
Published: February 2009

Computer adoption is tested by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that theorises how users come to accept and use a technology. The sample for the study consisted of 172 trainees (102 females, 70 males; mean age 21.34 years), enrolled in a one-year diploma course in computer applica-tions and multilingual desktop publishing from three computer training centres in Mumbai. Data was collected after six weeks of computer training using standard psychological scales. Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that compared to the West, TAM offers limited explanation for adoption of computer technology by Indian youth. The article highlights the reasons for this in the light of constraints in resource availability and cultural differences. It is suggested that TAM has to be sensitive to the nature of the sample, nature of the technology and the cultural context of adoption to improve its predictive power. Perceived usefulness and subjective norm are the key factors in predicting future computer use. Hence, a model accounting for technology adoption in India should include a strong normative component to supplement the effect of usability. The gender comparisons indicate that TAM is a better predictor of computer adoption for females than males. Women make a balanced analysis of the technology that includes both productivity aspects and influence of significant others. However, what attitudes and cognitive dimensions work in the Indian men to adopt computer technology remains to be further researched.
Adolescent Risk-perception Cognition and Self-assessment in Relation to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Authors: Mwale Marisen
Published: February 2009

Most researchers, on adolescent reproductive health and associated vulnerability to contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS, have explicitly highlighted the paradoxical misfit between adolescent knowledge of HIV/AIDS transmission dynamics and positive change in behaviour. Popular explanation focuses more on socio-cultural factors such as male chauvinism, peer influence and pressure, and stoicism towards death in most African cultures. An alternative explanation derived from psycho-social theory is that, as a result of egocentrism and the crisis at adolescence, the period is imbued with confounded perception of risk to the pandemic. This alternative is tested using survey data from adolescent students from some selected schools in southern Malawi. Results show that respondents are typified by adolescent egocentrism. This is consistent with the conception of adolescence as a period of crisis. These results are discussed within the larger context of the applicability of psychodynamic theory to the AIDS pandemic.
Adolescent-Parent Relationships in Indian and Indian Immigrant Families in the US
Authors: Kapadia Shagufa
Published: February 2009

The article discusses how adolescents interpret their relationships with their parents in two different cultural contexts. Interpersonal conflicts have been largely studied to understand adolescent-parent relationships across different cultural groups, including immigrant families who are often caught between bicultural values and expectations. The balancing act of reconciling values of the “culture of origin” with values of the “culture of destination” is likely to create discrepant views between parents and adolescents. What kind of everyday disagreements occur between parents and adolescents in two distinctly different cultures—India and the United States (US)? How are these disagreements resolved? To what extent are adolescents able to take parents’ perspectives in interpreting and resolving disagreements? How do the perspectives of Indian adolescents compare with those of the Indian immigrant adolescents? These research questions were addressed through individual interviews of 40 adolescents in Baroda, India and New York, US. The results indicate that adolescents in both societies experience everyday disagreements related to regulation of behaviour/activities and interpersonal relations, academics, chores and finance. Mutual accommodation and adolescent compromise were the commonly used strategies of resolving disagreements. More adolescents from the Indian group acknowledged their responsibility to accommodate to parents on account of faith in parents’ experience, respect for them and the belief that parents have children's welfare at heart. Although adolescents from both groups also endorsed the need for parent accommodation to adolescent views, parent compromise featured more in the Indian immigrant group.
Challenges in Sustaining Public Health Interventions
Authors: Altman David G.
Published: February 2009

Sustainability remains a key challenge in public health. The perspective article by Fagen and Flay adds to our understanding of technical factors associated with sustaining health interventions in schools. In this commentary, the Fagen and Flay article (2009) is considered within the broader literature on sustainability. By taking a broad view, public health theory and practice might be advanced further. Fagen and Flay illustrate that we have much to learn about sustainability. Questions for future research include: (a) what can we put into place at the systems level to ensure that the short-term efficacy of interventions have a fighting chance to be sustained? (b) considering the challenges inherent in sustainability, what are realistic goals against which to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions found effective in the short-term? and (c) what theories, methods, and strategies in fields outside of public health can be drawn upon to improve work in public health?
Improving Diabetes Care and Health Measures Among Hispanics Using Community Health Workers
Authors: Babamoto Kenneth S. , Sey Kwa A. , Camilleri Angela J. , Karlan Vicki J. , Catalasan Joana , Morisky Donald E.
Published: February 2009

The increasing prevalence of diabetes and obesity, growing health disparities, and shortage of bilingual and culturally trained health care professionals underscore the role of trained community health workers (CHWs) to provide economically sustainable and culturally relevant services. This prospective randomized design evaluated the relative effectiveness of a CHW intervention among Hispanic persons with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, as compared with usual clinic practice in three inner-city health centers. In sum, 189 Hispanic patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to one of three 6-month diabetes management approaches—CHW, case management, and standard provider care—and assessed for diabetes-related health measures and clinical indicators at baseline and postintervention. Participants in the CHW group achieved greater improvements than did the controls in program measures: health status, emergency department utilization, dietary habits, physical activity, and medication adherence. They also had 2.9 times greater odds of decreasing body mass index.
Estimates of Intraclass Correlation for Variables Related to Behavioral HIV/STD Prevention in a Predominantly African American and Hispanic Sample of Young Women
Authors: Pals Sherri L. , Beaty Brenda L. , Posner Samuel F. , Bull Sheana S.
Published: February 2009

Studies designed to evaluate HIV and STD prevention interventions often involve random assignment of groups such as neighborhoods or communities to study conditions (e.g., to intervention or control). Investigators who design group-randomized trials (GRTs) must take the expected intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) into account in sample size estimation to have adequate power; however, few published ICC estimates exist for outcome variables related to HIV and STD prevention. The Prevention Options for Women Equal Rights (POWER) study was a GRT designed to evaluate a campaign to increase awareness and use of condoms among young African American and Hispanic women. The authors used precampaign and postcampaign data from the POWER study to estimate ICCs (unadjusted and adjusted for covariates) for a variety of sexual behavior and other variables. To illustrate the impact of ICCs on power, the authors present sample-size calculations and demonstrate how ICCs of differing magnitude will affect estimates of required sample size.
Communicative punishment as a penal approach to supporting desistance
Authors: Weaver Beth
Published: February 2009

This essay aims to explore the interfaces between Habermas' theory of communicative action (in particular his notion of the `colonisation of the lifeworld'); Duff's penal communication theory and Rex's recent work on reconstructing community penalties. Its central argument is that a critical reading of the desistance research provides empirical support for the need to reconceptualise penal practices as communicative enterprises which can engage with their stakeholders in supporting desistance—both at the level of the individual and in the community. Particular attention is paid to the need to reconsider the relationship between `offender management' services and the communities which they purport to serve.
Desistance and social marginalization
Authors: Bracken Denis C. , Deane Lawrence , Morrissette Larry
Published: February 2009

This paper examines the issue of desistance by considering the relationship between societal constraints and individual choices in the process of moving away from crime. The question of the distribution of those opportunities and resources to support desistance is raised within the context of a specific population—Aboriginal peoples of Canada. The impact of colonization resulting in economic and social marginalization, high rates of incarceration, and the generational transmission of trauma related to the experience of residential schools are factors which are related both to individual choice and external societal constraints. Structure, culture and biography are factors which must be addressed in the case of members of a marginalized population who wish to follow a path of desistance. The opportunity to participate in a community-based program that provides social capital in the form of marketable skills, connections to the wider society and personal healing through the reacquisition cultural traditions is seen as one way to overcome structural constraints while at the same time supporting an individual decision to desist from crime.
Turning away from criminal intent
Authors: Rowbotham Judith
Published: February 2009

This article reflects upon the ideas of commentators and the experiences of those convicted in the summary courts in the late Victorian and Edwardian period (particularly the recidivist element), locating these with societal reactions to such individuals, especially via the voluntary sector. How did this period construct a concept to present, promote and explain cessation? An exploration of the strategies used to promote desistance in this period provides a range of useful insights for the modern age, removing (as it does) the focus from a formal management of the offender via prison and its associated rehabilitative strategies to the role played by the family and community context of the offender. This is illuminated through the work of those voluntary agencies associated with the criminal justice process, such as the London Police Court Mission. The formal theorisation prevalent in current criminological thinking about desistance is countered with evidence indicating success rates associated with a greater recognition of individual (and so unpredictable) choice, predicated upon the particular societal context of the individual, given impetus by the emphasis on hope as a moral driver in sustaining desistance.
The aesthetics of redemption
Authors: Nellis Mike
Published: February 2009

The released prisoner was a stock figure in American popular culture throughout the 20th century, and there is an enduring aesthetic associated with such narratives. Despite the artifice of the aesthetic, the best of them attempt to say serious things about the perils and pleasures of `straight time'. This paper explores the way in which a cluster of books and films, dating from the 1990s, has addressed the experiences of released prisoners and notes an emergent focus on the personal agony of redemption. This has a contingent rather than an integral relation to the concern with rehabilitation and control espoused by criminal justice officials, but none the less enables the communication of culturally enriching stories to audiences who might not otherwise be interested in the problems of released prisoners. Academic criminology should take heed of these stories, and make more use of them, pedagogically and politically.
Key Factors in Guests' Perception of Hotel Atmosphere
Authors: Heide Morten , Grønhaug Kjell
Published: February 2009

Attaining a distinctive atmosphere has become a pivotal concern for hospitality managers, since atmosphere is perceived an essential factor to attract and satisfy guests. An exploratory study of 369 hotel guests at six Norwegian hotels identified four stable and robust factors of atmosphere, namely, distinctiveness, hospitability, relaxation, and refinement. Distinctiveness was found to be the main factor in atmosphere; consequently, it is reasonable to assume that a certain degree of distinctiveness is a prerequisite for creating atmosphere. Beyond that, however, hospitability emerged as the main determinant for guest satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth. As frequently mentioned by experienced hoteliers, guests tend to be satisfied in hotels with conventional design and simple amenities, provided they are treated in a hospitable and welcoming manner. Thus, managers should avoid focusing on design features to the extent that hospitability suffers. Furthermore, employees have an essential role for ensuring hospitability, and consequently, hotel establishments should not focus solely on the guests' needs but also pay attention to employee training.
Assessing the Historical Performance of Hospitality Stocks
Authors: Weinbaum David
Published: February 2009

This article analyzes the historical performance of hospitality stocks, taking into account the magnitude and timing of investor capital flows in and out of the hospitality sector. Using historical return data on hospitality common stocks, this article shows that there is substantial market timing in the hospitality industry, with firms issuing equity capital near market highs and retiring capital near market lows. For hospitality investors, market timing translates into a shortfall of 1.5 percent per year over the time period 1962—2006. A value-weighted portfolio of both restaurant and hotel firms earns a lower average return over this time period compared to a similar portfolio of either hotel or restaurant stocks only, because of the same timing issue.
Revenue Management's Renaissance
Authors: Cross Robert G. , Higbie Jon A. , Cross David Q. (Dax)
Published: February 2009

The era has ended when revenue management can stand alone as a tactical approach to room management. With technological and management support, revenue management must be and is being integrated into all aspects of hotel management marketing and operating strategies. Going beyond its role of managing room inventory, revenue management will consider total revenue contributions, including group business and its ancillary revenues. Because prices are essentially transparent, hotels will need to consider customer price elasticity and not simply match competitors' prices, with a goal of optimizing prices. Beyond that, revenue management can be used to manage all of the hotel's revenue streams, in part by considering the interaction of room sales and food and beverage sales. While revenue per available room (RevPAR) has been a good measure of performance, a revenue generation index, which compares competitors' RevPARs, is even more useful. Even more sophisticated is a revenue opportunity model, which monitors the effectiveness of inventory controls and analyzes the effects of revenue management decisions. Perhaps most promising is a customer-focused approach that tracks customers' purchases and targets promotions based on an understanding of customers' responses to prior offers.
Role of activated protein C and its receptor in inhibition of tumor metastasis
Authors: Bezuhly Michael , Cullen Robyn , Esmon Charles T. , Morris Steven F. , West Kenneth A. , Johnston Brent , Liwski Robert S.
Published: February 2009

Engagement of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) by activated protein C (aPC) decreases expression of endothelial adhesion molecules implicated in tumor-endothelium interactions. We examined the role of the aPC/EPCR pathway on tumor migration and metastasis. In vitro, B16-F10 melanoma cells showed decreased adhesion to and transmigration through endothelium treated with recombinant human aPC (rhaPC). In murine B16-F10 metastasis models, transgenic EPCR overexpressing (Tie2-EPCR) mice exhibited marked reductions in liver (50%) and lung (92%) metastases compared with wild-type (WT) animals. Intravital imaging showed reduced B16-F10 entrapment within livers of Tie2-EPCR compared with WT mice. A similar reduction was observed in WT mice treated with rhaPC. Strikingly, rhaPC treatment resulted in a 44% reduction in lung metastases. This was associated with decreased lung P-selectin and TNF-α mRNA levels. These findings support an important role for the aPC/EPCR pathway in reducing metastasis via inhibition of tumor cell adhesion and transmigration.
Phase III Trial of Cisplatin Plus Gemcitabine With Either Placebo or Bevacizumab As First-Line Therapy for Nonsquamous Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: AVAiL
Authors: Reck Martin , von Pawel Joachim , Zatloukal Petr , Ramlau Rodryg , Gorbounova Vera , Hirsh Vera , Leighl Natasha , Mezger Jörg , Archer Venice , Moore Nicola , Manegold Christian
Published: February 2009

Purpose

Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor, improves survival when combined with carboplatin/paclitaxel for advanced nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This randomized phase III trial investigated the efficacy and safety of cisplatin/gemcitabine (CG) plus bevacizumab in this setting.

Patients and Methods

Patients were randomly assigned to receive cisplatin 80 mg/m2 and gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m2 for up to six cycles plus low-dose bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg), high-dose bevacizumab (15 mg/kg), or placebo every 3 weeks until disease progression. The trial was not powered to compare the two doses directly. The primary end point was amended from overall survival (OS) to progression-free survival (PFS). Between February 2005 and August 2006, 1,043 patients were randomly assigned (placebo, n = 347; low dose, n = 345; high dose, n = 351).

Results

PFS was significantly prolonged; the hazard ratios for PFS were 0.75 (median PFS, 6.7 v 6.1 months for placebo; P = .003) in the low-dose group and 0.82 (median PFS, 6.5 v 6.1 months for placebo; P = .03) in the high-dose group compared with placebo. Objective response rates were 20.1%, 34.1%, and 30.4% for placebo, low-dose bevacizumab, and high-dose bevacizumab plus CG, respectively. Duration of follow-up was not sufficient for OS analysis. Incidence of grade 3 or greater adverse events was similar across arms. Grade ≥ 3 pulmonary hemorrhage rates were ≤ 1.5% for all arms despite 9% of patients receiving therapeutic anticoagulation.

Conclusion

Combining bevacizumab (7.5 or 15 mg/kg) with CG significantly improved PFS and objective response rate. Bevacizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy offers clinical benefit for bevacizumab-eligible patients with advanced NSCLC.
Mixtures of Fine-Grained Minerals — Kaolinite and Carbonate Grains
Authors: Palomino Angelica M. , Burns Susan E. , Santamarina J. Carlos
Published: February 2009

The behavior of mineral mixtures can be significantly different from the behavior of the individual components of the mixture due to differences between the mechanical and chemical properties of the individual minerals, and their ensuing effects on interparticle interactions and fabric formation. This study examines mixtures of kaolinite and calcium carbonate at different mass fractions using sedimentation, viscosity, and liquid-limit tests. These macroscale tests represent a wide range of solid-volume fractions and strain levels, with emphasis on high water-content conditions to magnify the effects of electrical forces. The results demonstrate that interparticle interactions depend on mineral surface-fluid effects, particle geometry, relative particle size, and solids content. With small solids contents, the kaolinite/calcium carbonate mixture behavior is a function of electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged mineral particles that promote flocculation; however, with large solids contents, the specific surface area of the minerals is the controlling factor. These results are relevant to many natural soil environments and to the possible development of engineered mineral mixtures for industrial applications.
The Synthesis of a Platy Chabazite Analog From Delaminated Metakaolin with the Ability to Surface Template Nanosilver Particulates
Authors: Kuznicki Steven M. , Lin Christopher C. H. , Wu Lan , Yin Haiyan , Danaie Mohsen , Mitlin David
Published: February 2009

Mineral chabazite has shown the unusual ability to surface template nanometal particles, especially Ag. A chabazite analog was synthesized from delaminated metakaolin. The chabazite formed retained the platy morphology of the base clay. This morphology is ideal for displaying surface-supported nanometal particles. The synthetic chabazite analog demonstrated the ability to form and support large concentrations of Ag nanoparticles, as observed in the related natural mineral. Due to greater Al content, the synthetic chabazite manifests significantly improved capacity for the formation of such Ag nanoparticles. As in the case of the mineral chabazite, surface Ag nanoparticles of high uniformity were observed in the range of 5–6 nm.
Sedimentological and Mineralogical Investigation of the Late Miocene Successions of Aktoprak Basin (Central Turkey): Implications for Sediment Source and Paleoclimates
Authors: Gürel Ali
Published: February 2009

Late Miocene (Messinian) alluvial and lacustrine deposits characterize the so-called Kızılbayır Formation of the Aktoprak Basin (central Turkey) and consist of conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone, limestone, marl, and dolomite units. These sediments are composed mainly of feldspar, quartz, hornblende, diopside, olivine, serpentine, calcite, and dolomite with subordinate palygorskite, chlorite, smectite, and illite. Studies by scanning electron microscopy indicate that calcite and dolomite show both meniscus and micrite-sparite-type cements, characteristic of both vadose and phreatic zones. Chlorite, smectite, and illite are products of the alteration of the underlying Güney Formation with subsequent transportation by local streams into the Kızılbayır Formation, and therefore these are considered to be reworked materials. Authigenic palygorskite and dolomite formed as a result of the calcretion of mudstone-carbonate units under alkaline conditions, with high Si, Ca, and Mg activity, and low Al, originated from ophiolitic and carbonate units based on the increase in Ni and Co. The paragenesis and textural features of the minerals of the alluvial fan and lacustrine sediments determined in the study area indicate that precipitation probably occurred due to climate fluctuations ranging from arid and semi-arid to wet conditions.
Tracer Diffusion in Sintered Stainless Steel Filters: Measurement of Effective Diffusion Coefficients and Implications for Diffusion Studies with Compacted Clays
Authors: Glaus Martin A. , Rossé Roger , Van Loon Luc R. , Yaroshchuk Andriy E.
Published: February 2009

The use of porous filters is indispensable in laboratory- and field-scale diffusion studies, where sample confinement is needed for mechanical reasons. Examples are diffusion studies with compacted swelling clays or brittle clay stones. Knowledge of the diffusion properties of these filters is important in cases where they contribute significantly to the overall diffusive resistance in the experimental setup. In the present study, measurements of effective diffusion coefficients (Db) in porous, stainless steel filter discs are reported for tritiated H2O (HTO), 22Na+, Cs+, and Sr2+ before and after use of the filters in diffusion experiments with different clay minerals. The Db values for used filters were found to be less than those of the as-received filters by ∼30–50%. The Db values measured for the diffusion of HTO, 22Na+, Cs+, and Sr2+ in unused and used stainless steel filter discs correlated fairly well with the respective molecular diffusion coefficients in bulk water. Although such correlations are inherently associated with some uncertainties, they allow reasonable estimates to be made for diffusants for which no Db values are available. For the first time, a procedure is outlined that allows an integrative assessment to be made for the impact of the uncertainties in the filter diffusion properties on the combined standard uncertainties of the diffusion parameters obtained from through-diffusion experiments. This procedure can be used in the design and optimization of through-diffusion experiments in which the diffusive resistance of the porous filters must not be ignored. Shown here, as a general rule of thumb, is that, if the effective diffusion coefficient in the porous filter is at least three times larger than that in the clay, the choice of geometrical boundary conditions is rather uncritical, as long as the thickness of the clay sample is greater than that of the porous filters.
Medicinal Clay and Spiritual Healing
Authors: Ferrell Ray E.
Published: February 2009

The varied mineralogical composition of earthy materials and the quantity of elements extracted by simulated stomach acid substantiate the diversity of materials consumed by humans practicing geophagy. Direct consumption of ‘edible earths’ for medicinal and spiritual purposes occurs worldwide and is deeply rooted in ‘folk medicine’ and religion. The legends associated with the healing powers of the clay from Chimayo, New Mexico, provide an excellent example of the roots of geophagy. The clay mineral assemblages revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis of 22 samples from New Mexico, North America, and other parts of the world are highly variable. One might be monominerallic kaolinite or smectite, and another, a complex mixture of illite, kaolinite, smectite, and chlorite or vermiculite. The quantities of elements (Al, Si, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ti, P, S, Ba, Sr, Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, V, Zr, Se, Mo, Be, Sb, and As) extracted by 0.12 M HCl varied from ∼1.0 mg/g to the limit of detectability, 0.0001 mg/g. Potential long-term human health effects were evaluated with the Reference Dose Ratio (RDR). It divides the quantity of the element extracted from 50 g of the total sample by the recommended reference dose (RfD) reported in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA, USA) IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) database. Median RDR values for Na, Cr, Sb, and As exceeded 1.0 indicating an abnormally high potential intake. Materials consumed by humans are so varied that caution should be used in comparing the results of one clay study with those of another without mineralogical and chemical data.
Sensitivity of Road Unevenness Indicators to Road Waviness
Authors: Múčka Peter , Kropáč Oldřich
Published: February 2009

Currently used single-number indicators of longitudinal road unevenness suffer from their nonuniqueness due to the ignorance of waviness, which is the measure of wavelength distribution in road profile spectrum. Six single-number unevenness indicators were taken into account, viz. unevenness index, straightedge index, International Roughness Index for two velocities (80 and 120 km/h), spectral evenness index, and equivalent unevenness index. A simulation study was conducted, in which the waviness varied in the range from w = 1.5 to 3.5. In addition two representative road vehicles, a personal car and a truck, and three different travel speeds v = 60, 90, and 120 km/h were considered. The ranges of ten different vibration responses were established and related to the reference. The lowest sensitivity to varying waviness has been found for an equivalent unevenness index, which is the standard unevenness index multiplied by a correction factor accounting for the influence of waviness, and for IRI estimated for v = 120 km/h.
Hot Debate About a Cool Therapy
Authors: Lantos John D. , Meadow William L.
Published: February 2009

The status of hypothermia as a treatment for perinatal asphyxia remains controversial. This review examines recent studies and professional opinions about whether this treatment should be considered “experimental” or “standard” and places the debate in the context of other debates about innovative neonatal therapies, including the use of oxygen, antenatal steroids, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and pressors. These controversies are examples of a fundamental epistemological question in the philosophy of science, namely, how much evidence is necessary to prove or disprove any hypothesis. Finally, we discuss the implications of the current level of knowledge about hypothermia for further research and clinical practice.
Teaching Procedures in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Gozzo Yeisid , Mercurio Mark R.
Published: February 2009

The longstanding tradition of hands-on procedural training is an integral part of clinical education in all fields of medicine. Allowing inexperienced physicians-in-training to perform clinical procedures has been justified based on the needs of future patients, potentially at some cost or burden to the patient involved in the training. This practice may appear, at times, to conflict with the physician's obligation to act in the best interests of the patient at hand. However, an ethical analysis centered on an example of an extremely low-birthweight newborn requiring intubation and other procedures lends support to this practice, provided several qualifications are met. The qualifications include adequate preparation, appropriate supervision, minimization of risks, honesty with families, the avoidance of exploitation, and justice in patient selection. Also, the obligation to the patient at hand is such that, in certain situations, the needs of that patient should outweigh any educational considerations. The analysis and arguments put forth should have relevance to clinical training in all branches of medicine and surgery.
Cleaning the Air We Breathe – Controlling Diesel Particulate Emissions from Passenger Cars
Authors: Twigg By Martyn V. , Phillips Paul R.
Published: February 2009

The mechanism of formation of particulate matter (PM) in the diesel engine combustion process is outlined, and the increasingly stringent PM emissions limits in current and projected environmental legislation are noted in the context of the increasing use of fuel-efficient high-performance diesel engines in passenger cars. The types of filter systems for abating diesel particulates are described, as are the principles of filter regeneration – the controlled oxidation of PM retained in the filter, to prevent an accumulation which would ultimately block the filter and degrade engine performance. PM is characterised in terms of both particle size (coarse, accumulation mode, and nucleation mode nanoparticles) and chemical composition, and the filtration issues specific to the various PM types are outlined. Likely future trends in filter design are projected, including multifunctional systems combining PM filtration with NOx control catalysts to meet yet more stringent legislative requirements, including European Stage 5 and 6, and the so called ‘Bin 5’ levels in the U.S.A.
Flame Synthesis of Supported Platinum Group Metals for Catalysis and Sensors
Authors: Strobel By Reto , Pratsinis Sotiris E.
Published: February 2009

Platinum group metals (pgms) supported on a carrier material are widely applied as catalysts. These catalysts are conventionally prepared by wet-phase processes in several steps, while recently developed flame processes allow synthesis of supported pgms in a single step including the support material. Here, we describe flame processes and how finely dispersed supported pgms are made in these flames. So Pt/Al2O3, Pd/ZnO, Rh/Al2O3, Pt/Ba/Al2O3 and others are highlighted regarding their materials properties and performance as catalysts as well as in gas sensors.
The Platinum Development Initiative: Platinum-Based Alloys for High Temperature and Special Applications: Part I
Authors: Cornish By L. A. , Süss R. , Douglas A. , Chown L. H. , Glaner L.
Published: February 2009

Under the auspices of the Platinum Development Initiative, platinum-based alloys are being developed for high-temperature and special applications requiring good corrosion and oxidation resistance. The best candidate system was found to be platinum-aluminium, after reviewing binary systems and assessing experimental ternary alloys. Ternary alloys based on Pt-Al, where the ternary additions comprised chromium, iridium, molybdenum, nickel, rhenium, ruthenium, tantalum, titanium and tungsten were tested. As well as phase characterisation work, mechanical and oxidation tests were undertaken. The best alloys were found to be Pt-Al-Cr and Pt-Al-Ru. The microstructures were similar to those of nickel-based superalloys, and comprise ~ Pt
3
Al precipitates in a Pt-based matrix. However, the volume fraction of the ~ Pt
3
Al was only ~ 40% instead of the ~ 70% found in Ni-based superalloys.
Integrating conservation and development in the field: implementing ecosystem service projects
Authors: Tallis Heather , Goldman Rebecca , Uhl Melissa , Brosi Berry
Published: February 2009

Ecosystem services can bridge biodiversity conservation and development needs, but there is little information available on how conservation organizations implement such projects. We documented 103 ecosystem service projects – from 37 countries – implemented by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These projects commonly involved traditional conservation tactics, such as land purchase and restoration, but also adopted new approaches, such as targeting working landscapes, using new financial tools, and drawing new funding and partners from the corporate sector. We identified nine specific project types, characterized by consistent combinations of tools and activities. TNC and WWF used project types differently; TNC focused more on land purchase, whereas WWF concentrated more on developing markets. Both organizations showed some alignment of project type with socioeconomic conditions. For example, land purchases were used in countries with relatively secure property rights, while access to clean water or food was targeted when these human needs were unmet.
Modeling multiple ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, commodity production, and tradeoffs at landscape scales
Authors: Nelson Erik , Mendoza Guillermo , Regetz James , Polasky Stephen , Tallis Heather , Cameron DRichard , Chan Kai MA , Daily Gretchen C , Goldstein Joshua , Kareiva Peter M , Lonsdorf Eric , Naidoo Robin , Ricketts Taylor H , Shaw MRebecca
Published: February 2009

Nature provides a wide range of benefits to people. There is increasing consensus about the importance of incorporating these “ecosystem services” into resource management decisions, but quantifying the levels and values of these services has proven difficult. We use a spatially explicit modeling tool, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), to predict changes in ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and commodity production levels. We apply InVEST to stakeholder‐defined scenarios of land‐use/land‐cover change in the Willamette Basin, Oregon. We found that scenarios that received high scores for a variety of ecosystem services also had high scores for biodiversity, suggesting there is little tradeoff between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Scenarios involving more development had higher commodity production values, but lower levels of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. However, including payments for carbon sequestration alleviates this tradeoff. Quantifying ecosystem services in a spatially explicit manner, and analyzing tradeoffs between them, can help to make natural resource decisions more effective, efficient, and defensible.
Assessing benefit transfer for the valuation of ecosystem services
Authors: Plummer Mark L
Published: February 2009

The valuation of ecosystem services can play an important role in conservation planning and ecosystem‐based management. Unfortunately, gathering primary, site‐specific data is costly. As a result, a popular alternate method is to conduct a “benefit transfer” (applying economic value estimates from one location to a similar site in another location). Among the potential pitfalls of such an approach, the correspondence (or lack thereof) between the locations is probably the most important for evaluating the probable validity of the benefit transfer. A common type of benefit transfer in ecosystem service valuation applies an estimate of value per hectare to all areas having the same land‐cover or habitat type, and is particularly susceptible to errors resulting from lack of correspondence. Enhancing the use of benefit transfers in this and other ecosystem service applications requires paying closer attention to simple guidelines, developed by economists, for improving validity and accuracy.
Paying for environmental services from agricultural lands: an example from the northern Everglades
Authors: Bohlen Patrick J , Lynch Sarah , Shabman Leonard , Clark Mark , Shukla Sanjay , Swain Hilary
Published: February 2009

There is growing interest in implementing market‐like programs that would pay farmers and ranchers for producing environmental services (beyond those that generate food and fiber) from working agricultural lands. However, few examples exist of programs that pay directly for quantified services. Since 2005, a coalition of non‐governmental environmental organizations, state and federal agencies, ranchers, and researchers has been developing a Pay‐for‐Environmental Services (PES) program that would compensate cattle ranchers in Florida's northern Everglades region for providing water storage and nutrient retention on private lands. We use our experience with this program to identify key challenges to PES program design, including identifying a buyer and defining the environmental services; agreeing upon credible, yet practical, approaches to quantifying the services provided; reducing programmatic costs in light of existing policies and complex regulatory issues; and maintaining an adaptive approach to program design and implementation, while satisfying the concerns of multiple stakeholders.
EMPIRICAL VALIDATION OF A PROCEDURE TO CORRECT POSITION AND STIMULUS BIASES IN MATCHING‐TO‐SAMPLE
Authors: Kangas Brian D. , Branch Marc N.
Published: February 2009

The development of position and stimulus biases often occurs during initial training on matching‐to‐sample tasks. Furthermore, without intervention, these biases can be maintained via intermittent reinforcement provided by matching‐to‐sample contingencies. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a correction procedure designed to eliminate both position and stimulus biases. Following key‐peck training, a group of 6 pigeons had extended exposure to matching‐to‐sample contingencies without a correction procedure, a group of 4 pigeons was briefly exposed to a simultaneous matching‐to‐sample procedure to assess biases prior to exposure to the correction procedure, and a group of 5 pigeons was exposed directly to the correction procedure. The correction procedure arranged that every time an incorrect match was made, the trial configuration was repeated on the subsequent trial until a correct match was made. Extended exposure to matching‐to‐sample contingencies without a correction procedure was associated with reduced biases eventually for most subjects, but rapid development of near‐perfect accuracy and bias‐free performance was observed upon the implementation of the correction procedure regardless of the type of bias. Bias‐free performance was maintained following subsequent exposure to a zero‐delay MTS procedure.
AN INEXPENSIVE AND AUTOMATED METHOD FOR PRESENTING OLFACTORY OR TACTILE STIMULI TO RATS IN A TWO‐CHOICE DISCRIMINATION TASK
Authors: Iversen Iver H.
Published: February 2009

An inexpensive and automated method for presentation of olfactory or tactile stimuli in a two‐choice task for rats was implemented with the use of a computer‐controlled bidirectional motor. The motor rotated a disk that presented two stimuli of different texture for tactile discrimination, or different odor for olfactory discrimination. Because the solid olfactory stimuli were placed outside the chamber in metal pods with a mesh at front for odor sampling, “washout” of odors between trials was not necessary. To avoid differential auditory cues from motor rotation, the stimuli were arranged such that on each trial the motor always rotated exactly one quarter revolution (in 1 s), left or right, to present the next stimulus at trial start. To illustrate the use of the equipment, 2 rats were trained on tactile discrimination and 2 rats on olfactory discrimination. The rats sampled the stimulus on the disk through a port on the back wall by sniffing at it (olfactory) or touching it (tactile). The task was a go‐left/go‐right discrimination with the stimulus on the disk being discriminative for which lever provided reinforcement. The rats reached a stable level above 90% correct after 21 and 32 training sessions for tactile and olfactory discrimination, respectively. The article outlines how the equipment was constructed from low‐cost components. Inputs from and outputs to the equipment were implemented through the parallel port of a personal computer without the use of a commercial interface board. The method of automated and low‐cost presentation of olfactory or tactile stimuli should be of use for a variety of experimental situations such as matching‐to‐sample and cross‐modal discrimination.
Effect of Anti‐Infective Mechanical Therapy on Clinical Parameters and Cytokine Levels in Human Peri‐Implant Diseases
Authors: Duarte Poliana Mendes , de Mendonça Adriana Cutrim , Máximo Maria Beatriz Braz , Santos Vanessa Renata , Bastos Marta Ferreira , Nociti Francisco Humberto
Published: February 2009

Background: The objectives of this study were to clinically and immunologically assess the effects of mechanical anti‐infective therapies for mucositis and peri‐implantitis and to compare the levels of cytokines in untreated and treated peri‐implant diseased sites to healthy ones.

Methods: Titanium dental implants were assigned to one of the following groups: healthy (n = 10) = control; mucositis (n = 10) = mechanical debridement using abrasive sodium carbonate air‐powder and resin curets; and peri‐implantitis (n = 20) = open surgical debridement using abrasive sodium carbonate air‐powder and resin curets. Visible plaque accumulation, marginal bleeding, bleeding on probing, suppuration, and probing depth were assessed at baseline for all groups and at 3 months after therapies for diseased groups. At these times, the total amounts of interleukin (IL)‐4, −10, and −12, tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappa B ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in the peri‐implant crevicular fluid (PICF) were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: At 3 months, the anti‐infective treatments resulted in a significant improvement in all clinical parameters for mucositis and peri‐implantitis (P <0.05). Moreover, the total amounts of TNF‐α in PICF were significantly higher in untreated diseased implants compared to healthy ones, and the OPG/RANKL ratio was higher for healthy implants than for untreated peri‐implantitis (P <0.05). TNF‐α levels were significantly reduced for both diseased groups (P <0.05), achieving the same level as the healthy group at 3 months after therapies (P >0.05).

Conclusion: The proposed anti‐infective therapies may locally modulate the levels of TNF‐α and the OPG/RANKL ratio and improve clinical parameters around peri‐implant tissues.
Stability of Treated Angular and Horizontal Bony Defects: A Retrospective Radiographic Evaluation in a Private Periodontal Practice
Authors: Greenstein Benjamin , Frantz Bryan , Desai Rishin , Proskin Howard , Campbell Jillian , Caton Jack
Published: February 2009

Background: This retrospective radiographic evaluation provided a comparative assessment of long‐term alterations of alveolar bone levels at sites with angular and horizontal bony defects that underwent open‐flap debridement and did not undergo resective or regenerative periodontal therapy.

Methods: The investigation included 50 patients (27 met inclusion criteria) who had periodontal surgery and periodontal maintenance every 3 to 6 months and who presented with sites demonstrating radiographic angular defects and sites on adjacent or contralateral teeth that demonstrated horizontal bone loss. Subsequent to surgical therapy, alterations in bone levels at the alveolar crest of horizontal defects and at the base of angular defects were evaluated by comparing radiographs from the initial examination to those obtained after a period of periodontal maintenance (6 to 16 years; mean: 8.83 years).

Results: After periodontal therapy, sites with angular and horizontal alveolar bone loss had additional bone loss of 5.56% and 3.88%, respectively.

Conclusion: Based on a defining criterion of 10%, the angular and horizontal sites were clinically equivalent with respect to the magnitude of osseous resorption that occurred after periodontal surgery and maintenance.