bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparation and Characterization of CdSe-Decorated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composites
Authors: Kim Dukeun , Rabbani Mohammad Mahbub , Ko Chang Hyun , Nam Dae-Geun , Yeum Jeong Hyun , Park Jong S. , Bae Jong-Seong , Oh Weontae
Published: January 2011

Composites of carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) and CdSe nanoparticles were prepared by the electrostatic interaction. CdSe nanoparticles were stabilized by 2-(dimethylamino)ethanethiol hydrochloride to develop positive charges on their surfaces in aqueous solution. The structural characteristics of these composites were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ultraviolet/visible (UV/vis) spectra of c-MWNT–CdSe composites showed the characteristic bands at ∼250 nm. These results indicate that the energy state of c-MWNTs is significantly modified, which was caused by the homogeneous distribution of CdSe nanoparticles in c-MWNTs, and the bond formation between c-MWNTs and CdSe nanoparticles. The photoluminescence (PL) of CdSe nanoparticles in the composites was characterized in comparison with that of CdSe nanoparticles. PL of CdSe in c-MWNT–CdSe composites was collected at ∼568 nm in solution, but disappeared in powder state.
Fabrication and Utilization of Titania Nanofibers from Natural Leucoxene Mineral in Photovoltaic Applications
Authors: Pavasupree Sorapong , Laosiripojana Navadol , Chuangchote Surawut , Sagawa Takashi
Published: January 2011

TiO2 nanofibers were synthesized from natural leucoxene mineral via a hydrothermal process. The shapes, crystalline structure, shape transformation, phase transformation, and specific surface area of the resulting nanostructured materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements. The size of prepared nanofibers was about 12–58 nm in width and about 3–22 µm in length. The BET surface area of the prepared sample was about 55 m2/g. Obtained nanofibers were preliminarily applied as photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).
Low-Temperature Sintering of (Bi,Na)0.83Ba0.17TiO3–0.2 wt % CuO Piezoelectric Ceramics from Nanopowders
Authors: Lv Junhua , Karaki Tomoaki , Adachi Masatoshi
Published: January 2011

Using (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.83Ba0.17TiO3 nanopowders synthesized by an oxalate precursor route, 0.2-wt %-CuO-doped ceramics can be sintered at a low temperature of 880 °C. The shrinkage rate is 16.5%, the relative density D
r is 98%, the relative dielectric constant εT
33/ε0 (1 kHz) is 705, the loss tan
δ (1 kHz) is 2.50%, the electromechanical coupling factor k
p is 13.6%, and the piezoelectric charge coefficient d
33 is 105 pC/N.
Enhanced Charge Mobility in Polymer Nanocomposites Incorporating Donor–Acceptor Interfaces
Authors: Tameev Alexey R. , Nikitenko Vladimir R. , Vannikov Anatoly V.
Published: January 2011

Charge carrier transport in donor–acceptor (D–A) composites based on either poly(N-vinyl carbazole) or polyimide derivative incorporating either carbon single-walled nanotubes or nanocrystals of J-aggregated cyanine dyes is shown to exhibit a similar behavior. In the composite films, polymer/nanomaterial interface provides pathways of the high conductivity. Charge–transfer states (CTS) formed at the D–A interface are involved in the transport. The charge transport along the interface is suggested to arise due to the D–A integer charge transfer and strong interaction between adjacent opposite charges located on the donor and acceptor molecules. The approach based on the concept of sequence of charge carrier transfers through charge transfer states describes the increased electron and hole mobility in the composites. The approach predicts enhanced conductivity with reduced activation energy. Moreover, once the density of electron–hole pairs at the interface is rather high, significant part of the charge carriers can avoid hopping transport resulting in conductivity of metal type. The value of two-dimensional conductivity is estimated by numerical modeling.
Mammalian target of rapamycin mediates the angiogenic effects of leptin in human hepatic stellate cells
Authors: Aleffi Sara , Navari Nadia , Delogu Wanda , Galastri Sara , Novo Erica , Rombouts Krista , Pinzani Massimo , Parola Maurizio , Marra Fabio
Published: January 2011

Leptin modulates the angiogenic properties of hepatic stellate cells (HSC), but the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We investigated the pathways regulating hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in leptin-stimulated myofibroblastic HSC. Exposure to leptin enhanced the phosphorylation of TSC2 on T1462 residues and of p70 S6 kinase and the translational inhibitor 4E-binding protein-1, indicating the ability of leptin to activate the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Similar findings were observed when HSC were exposed to PDGF. Both leptin and PDGF increased the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in HSC. In the presence of rapamycin, a specific mTOR inhibitor, leptin and PDGF were no longer able to activate mTOR, and expression of VEGF was reduced, whereas HIF-1α abundance was not affected. Moreover, knockdown of Raptor, a component of the mTORC1 complex, reduced the ability of leptin to increase VEGF. mTOR was also necessary for leptin- and PDGF-dependent increase in HSC migration. Leptin increased the generation of reactive oxygen species in HSC, which was reduced by NADP(H) oxidase inhibitors. Both N-acetyl cysteine and diphenylene iodonium, a NADP(H) inhibitor, inhibited the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF stimulated by leptin or PDGF. Finally, conditioned media from HSC treated with leptin or PDGF induced tube formation in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In conclusion, in HSC exposed to leptin or PDGF, increased expression of VEGF requires both activation of mTOR and generation of reactive oxygen species via NADPH-oxidase. Induction of HIF-1α requires NADP(H) oxidase but not mTOR activation.
Intestinal myofibroblasts: targets for stem cell therapy
Authors: Mifflin R. C. , Pinchuk I. V. , Saada J. I. , Powell D. W.
Published: January 2011

The subepithelial intestinal myofibroblast is an important cell orchestrating many diverse functions in the intestine and is involved in growth and repair, tumorigenesis, inflammation, and fibrosis. The myofibroblast is but one of several α-smooth muscle actin-positive (α-SMA+) mesenchymal cells present within the intestinal lamina propria, including vascular pericytes, bone marrow-derived stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells or hematopoietic stem cells), muscularis mucosae, and the lymphatic pericytes (colon) and organized smooth muscle (small intestine) associated with the lymphatic lacteals. These other mesenchymal cells perform many of the functions previously attributed to subepithelial myofibroblasts. This review discusses the definition of a myofibroblast and reconsiders whether the α-SMA+subepithelial cells in the intestine are myofibroblasts or other types of mesenchymal cells, i.e., pericytes. Current information about specific, or not so specific, molecular markers of lamina propria mesenchymal cells is reviewed, as well as the origins of intestinal myofibroblasts and pericytes in the intestinal lamina propria and their replenishment after injury. Current concepts and research on stem cell therapy for intestinal inflammation are summarized. Information about the stem cell origin of intestinal stromal cells may inform future stem cell therapies to treat human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The Relationship between Urinary 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine and Metabolic Risk Factors in Asymptomatic Subjects
Authors: Miyamoto Michiaki , Kotani Kazuhiko , Ishibashi Shun , Taniguchi Nobuyuki
Published: January 2011

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic risk factors and oxidative stress using urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a recently utilized biological marker, in asymptomatic subjects. Methods: Ninety subjects (males/females = 30/60; mean age = 52 years), who were nonsmoking, nondiabetic and not on any medicine, were enrolled in the study. The body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glucose as well as urinary 8-OHdG and creatinine were measured. Results: The median level of 8-OHdG was 9.3 ng/mg creatinine (interquartile range: 5.8–23.2). TG (Pearson’s correlation: r = 0.262, p = 0.013) and HDL-C (r = –0.259, p = 0.014) showed a significant correlation with 8-OHdG. A multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for all the variables revealed that only TG had an independently significant and positive correlation with 8-OHdG (β = 0.231, p = 0.046). Conclusion: The data in this population suggest that, among metabolic risk factors, hypertriglyceridemia may be weakly but significantly associated with hyperoxidative stress as assessed by 8-OHdG.
Bone Mineral Density in Kuwaiti Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease
Authors: Gupta Renu , Mohammed Ahmed M. , Alenizi Eman K. , Ben Nekhi Abdulmohsen
Published: January 2011

Objective: This study compared an ethnically uniform group of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) Kuwaiti patients with a control group of healthy Kuwaiti subjects, in terms of their bone mineral density (BMD) and anthropometric measurements. Subjects and Methods: Included in the study were 94 males and 129 females with a mean age of 48 ± 10 years. Forty-five males and 53 females had ESRD. The remaining 49 males and 26 females were the control subjects. BMD was measured at total lumbar spine (L1–L4) and total left hip, using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (HOLOGIC, QRS series, Europe, Belgium). The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 15 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). The difference in BMD and the anthropometric measurements between the ESRD patients and the controls was assessed. Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine independent effects of ESRD on BMD while adjusting for relevant covariates. Results: The ESRD patients had a lower BMD than the controls at the hip (0.81 ± 0.11 vs. 0.92 ± 0.16) and the spine (0.84 ± 0.12 vs. 0.92 ± 0.16), p < 0.001. They also had a lower body mass index (27.80 ± 6.03 vs. 30.85 ± 6.54; p < 0.001) and were taller (162.56 ± 15.31 vs. 156.94 cm ± 10.03; p < 0.01). The reduced BMD persisted after controlling for confounding effects of sex, age and anthropometric measurements (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Kuwaiti patients with ESRD had a lower BMD and, therefore, an increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.
The Protective Effect of the Mediterranean Diet: Focus on Cancer and Cardiovascular Risk
Authors: Pauwels Ernest K.J.
Published: January 2011

The lower occurrence of cancer and cardiovascular disease in the population around the Mediterranean basin has been linked to the dietary habits of the region. Indeed, this so-called Mediterranean diet is essentially different from the diets consumed in Western and Northern European countries and is rich in nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole-wheat bread, fish, and olive oil, with moderate amounts of red wine, which is mainly consumed during meals. Although a variety of cultural and religious traditions exist among the peoples of the Mediterranean area, olive oil, fish, and red wine hold a traditional and central position in the culinary routines of the region. The components of the diet contain an ample source of molecules with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions, among which omega-3 fatty acids, oleic acid, and phenolic compounds hold a prominent place. This review will summarize the results of important epidemiological studies that have investigated the protective effect of fish and olive oil on the risk of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer and of wine on the risk of cardiovascular disease. The present review also aims to elucidate the various mechanisms by which various dietary components exhibit their beneficial action. In this respect, emphasis will be placed on the properties of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, oleic acid from olive oil, and phenolic compounds from olive oil and red wine.
Sox9 Expression during Fracture Repair
Authors: Shintaku Yuko , Murakami Takashi , Yanagita Takeshi , Kawanabe Noriaki , Fukunaga Tomohiro , Matsuzaki Kiyomi , Uematsu Setsuko , Yoshida Yasuhiro , Kamioka Hiroshi , Takano-Yamamoto Teruko , Takada Kenji , Yamashiro Takashi
Published: January 2011

The molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in bone development provide an insight into the nature of bone regeneration. Sox9 is a key transcription factor for chondrogenesis and is also expressed in osteochondroprogenitors during embryonic bone development. However, it has not been determined whether Sox9-expressing cells appear during fracture repair other than in the cartilaginous callus. On the other hand, the difference between bone development and repair is that the motion of the fractured segments is associated with the subsequent fate decision of osteochondrogenic precursors between osteogenesis or chondrogenesis, but the underlying mechanism of this still has to be elucidated. We herein evaluate whether Sox9-expressing cells appear during osseous regeneration in the initial stages of fracture healing in vivo. We also investigated the association between Sox9 induction and mechanical stress and the role of Runx1 expression. As a result, Sox9- and Runx1-expressing cells were detected in the periosteal callus together with Runx2 expression. Their expression levels were significantly downregulated during its ossification, as observed in embryonic bone development. The application of cyclic tension to isolated and cultured stromal cells resulted in the upregulation and maintenance of Sox9 mRNA expression in vitro. These results showed that as in early skeletal development, Sox9- and Runx1-expressing precursor cells first appear in the periosteal callus as an early fracture repair response. Our findings also suggested that the mechanical environment modulates Sox9 expression levels in osteochondrogenic precursors and consequently influences their fate decision between osteogenic and chondrogenic lineage commitment.
Real-Time Circuit Pressures Correlate Poorly with Circuit Longevity in Anticoagulant-Free, Predilution Continuous Venovenous Hemofiltration
Authors: Tan Chieh-Suai , Tan Han K. , Choong Hui L.
Published: January 2011

Background: Continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) in renal failure is compromised by circuit clotting. We hypothesized that adverse circuit pressures are predictive of clotting in circuits that last less than 24 h during predilution, anticoagulant-free CVVH. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study of 63 CVVH circuits of 13 critically ill intensive care unit patients with severe renal failure. Circuits were categorized into ‘clotters’ (C) or ‘nonclotters’ (NC), if spontaneous clotting occurred at <24 or ≧24 h from the start of CVVH, respectively. Results: Effluent pressures and pre-filter pressures were more adverse in NC compared to C starting from 6 and 4 h before spontaneous clotting, respectively. Arterial pressures and return pressures were not significantly different in C versus NC. Blood flow rate settings, hemofiltration fluid replacement and effluent drainage rates in C versus NC were comparable. Conclusion: Real-time circuit pressure readings seem to offer only potentially limited prognostic value in predicting circuit clotting.
Cleaved High-Molecular-Weight Kininogen Accelerates the Onset of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Senescence by Induction of Reactive Oxygen Species
Authors: Dai Jihong , Zhu Xuemei , Yoder Mervin C. , Wu Yi , Colman Robert W.
Published: January 2011

Objective—

Cleaved high-molecular-weight kininogen (HKa), an activation product of the plasma kallikrein-kinin system, inhibits endothelial cell functions. We questioned whether HKa affects the function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and accelerates their senescence.

Methods and Results—

Treatment with HKa for 2 weeks markedly inhibited the formation of large colonies and proliferation of EPCs on collagen surfaces, whereas HKa did not affect collagen-mediated EPC adhesion and survival. Concomitantly, treated EPCs displayed flattened and giant cell morphological changes and formation of intracellular vacuoles. As determined by acidic β-galactosidase staining, HKa increased senescent EPCs by 2- and >3-fold after culture for 1 and 2 weeks, respectively. In addition, HKa suppressed the telomerase activity of EPCs. HKa concentration-dependently increased the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and markedly upregulated p38 kinase phosphorylation and prosenescence molecule p16
INK4a
expression. SB203580, a p38 inhibitor, attenuated the level of HKa-enhanced p16
INK4a
expression. Either quenching of ROS or inhibition of p38 kinase prevented HKa-induced EPC senescence.

Conclusion—

HKa accelerates the onset of EPC senescence by activating the ROS–p38 kinase–p16
INK4a
signaling cascade. This novel activity of HKa points out the likelihood of HKa serving as an endogenous inducer of EPC senescence.
Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing for the Molecular Genetic Diagnostics of Cardiomyopathies
Authors: Meder Benjamin , Haas Jan , Keller Andreas , Heid Christiane , Just Steffen , Borries Anne , Boisguerin Valesca , Scharfenberger-Schmeer Maren , Stähler; Peer , Beier Markus , Weichenhan Dieter , Strom Tim M. , Pfeufer Arne , Korn Bernhard , Katus Hugo A. , Rottbauer Wolfgang
Published: January 2011

Background—

Today, mutations in more than 30 different genes have been found to cause inherited cardiomyopathies, some associated with very poor prognosis. However, because of the genetic heterogeneity and limitations in throughput and scalability of current diagnostic tools up until now, it is hardly possible to genetically characterize patients with cardiomyopathy in a fast, comprehensive, and cost-efficient manner.

Methods and Results—

We established an array-based subgenomic enrichment followed by next-generation sequencing to detect mutations in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). With this approach, we show that the genomic region of interest can be enriched by a mean factor of 2169 compared with the coverage of the whole genome, resulting in high sequence coverage of selected disease genes and allowing us to define the genetic pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies in a single sequencing run. In 6 patients, we detected disease-causing mutations, 2 microdeletions, and 4 point mutations. Furthermore, we identified several novel nonsynonymous variants, which are predicted to be harmful, and hence, might be potential disease mutations or modifiers for DCM or HCM.

Conclusions—

The approach presented here allows for the first time a comprehensive genetic screening in patients with hereditary DCM or HCM in a fast and cost-efficient manner.
Opinion Word Expansion and Target Extraction through Double Propagation
Authors: Qiu Guang , Liu Bing , Bu Jiajun , Chen Chun
Published: January 2011

Analysis of opinions, known as opinion mining or sentiment analysis, has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to many practical applications and challenging research problems. In this article, we study two important problems, namely, opinion lexicon expansion and opinion target extraction. Opinion targets (targets, for short) are entities and their attributes on which opinions have been expressed. To perform the tasks, we found that there are several syntactic relations that link opinion words and targets. These relations can be identified using a dependency parser and then utilized to expand the initial opinion lexicon and to extract targets. This proposed method is based on bootstrapping. We call it double propagation as it propagates information between opinion words and targets. A key advantage of the proposed method is that it only needs an initial opinion lexicon to start the bootstrapping process. Thus, the method is semi-supervised due to the use of opinion word seeds. In evaluation, we compare the proposed method with several state-of-the-art methods using a standard product review test collection. The results show that our approach outperforms these existing methods significantly.
When Memory Is Not Enough: Electrophysiological Evidence for Goal-dependent Use of Working Memory Representations in Guiding Visual Attention
Authors: Carlisle Nancy B. , Woodman Geoffrey F.
Published: January 2011

Biased competition theory proposes that representations in working memory drive visual attention to select similar inputs. However, behavioral tests of this hypothesis have led to mixed results. These inconsistent findings could be due to the inability of behavioral measures to reliably detect the early, automatic effects on attentional deployment that the memory representations exert. Alternatively, executive mechanisms may govern how working memory representations influence attention based on higher-level goals. In the present study, we tested these hypotheses using the N2pc component of participants' event-related potentials to directly measure the early deployments of covert attention. Participants searched for a target in an array that sometimes contained a memory-matching distractor. In Experiments 1 to 3, we manipulated the difficulty of the target discrimination and the proximity of distractors, but consistently observed that covert attention was deployed to the search targets and not the memory-matching distractors. In Experiment 4, we showed that when participants' goal involved attending to memory-matching items, these items elicited a large and early N2pc. Our findings demonstrate that working memory representations alone are not sufficient to guide early deployments of visual attention to matching inputs and that goal-dependent executive control mediates the interactions between working memory representations and visual attention.
Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence for Early and Automatic Detection of Phonological Equivalence in Variable Speech Inputs
Authors: Kharlamov Viktor , Campbell Kenneth , Kazanina Nina
Published: January 2011

Speech sounds are not always perceived in accordance with their acoustic–phonetic content. For example, an early and automatic process of perceptual repair, which ensures conformity of speech inputs to the listener's native language phonology, applies to individual input segments that do not exist in the native inventory or to sound sequences that are illicit according to the native phonotactic restrictions on sound co-occurrences. The present study with Russian and Canadian English speakers shows that listeners may perceive phonetically distinct and licit sound sequences as equivalent when the native language system provides robust evidence for mapping multiple phonetic forms onto a single phonological representation. In Russian, due to an optional but productive t-deletion process that affects /stn/ clusters, the surface forms [sn] and [stn] may be phonologically equivalent and map to a single phonological form /stn/. In contrast, [sn] and [stn] clusters are usually phonologically distinct in (Canadian) English. Behavioral data from identification and discrimination tasks indicated that [sn] and [stn] clusters were more confusable for Russian than for English speakers. The EEG experiment employed an oddball paradigm with nonwords [asna] and [astna] used as the standard and deviant stimuli. A reliable mismatch negativity response was elicited approximately 100 msec postchange in the English group but not in the Russian group. These findings point to a perceptual repair mechanism that is engaged automatically at a prelexical level to ensure immediate encoding of speech inputs in phonological terms, which in turn enables efficient access to the meaning of a spoken utterance.
Frontoparietal Activation Distinguishes Face and Space from Artifact Concepts
Authors: Chen Chi-Hua , Zeki Semir
Published: January 2011

Empirical and theoretical studies suggest that human knowledge is partly based on innate concepts that are experience-independent. We can, therefore, consider concepts underlying our knowledge as being broadly divided into inherited and acquired ones. Using fMRI, we studied the brain reaction in 20 subjects to violation of face, space (inherited), and artifact (acquired) concepts by presenting them with deformed faces, impossible figures (i.e., impossible chairs), and deformed planes, respectively, as well as their normal counterparts. Violation of the inherited concepts of face and space led to significant activation in frontoparietal cortex, whereas artifacts did not, thus distinguishing neurologically between the two categories. Participants were further exposed to these deformities daily for 1 month to test the supposition that inherited concepts are not modifiable, hence that prolonged exposure would not change the brain circuits that are engaged when viewing them. Consistent with this supposition, our results showed no significant change in activation for both categories, suggesting that such concepts are stable at the neural level at least within a time frame of 1 month. Finally, we investigated the regions of the brain that are critical for object representation. Our results show distinct and overlapping areas in the ventral visual cortex for all three categories, with faces activating the ventral visual cortex inferiorly, especially centered on right fusiform gyrus, and chairs and planes activating more diffuse regions, overlapping with the superior part of face region and mainly located in middle occipital cortex and parietal areas.
The Applicability of Human Rights Standards to International Policing
Authors: Kondoch Boris
Published: January 2011

International policing is an area of exponential growth for the United Nations and other international organizations such as the European Union. International police officers are tasked with a wide array of responsibilities, including police reform, training, monitoring and executive policing. This raises the question how human rights standards become applicable to international policing. The international human rights law applicable to international policing can be derived from legal sources specifically related to UN and non-UN peace operations and through general human rights law. From a legal perspective, the compliance with international human rights may be regarded as the final test when assessing the success or failure of international police operations.
ESDP in Practice: Crisis Management without Strategic Planning
Authors: Asseburg Muriel , Kempin Ronja
Published: January 2011

In 2003, the EU declared its civilian and military crisis management instruments ready for deployment. Since then, EU member states have demonstrated their capability to act as a global security player. They have deployed civil missions and military operations to Sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the Eastern neighbourhood, the Near and Middle East, and even to Asia. Th ese engagements have encompassed a variety of approaches and tools to crisis management and stabilisation, ranging from the training of security forces and the support for the rule of law, to the provision of a military or civilian presence, to safeguard elections or to monitor border arrangements and ceasefire agreements, to the fight against piracy or other forms of organised crime. Altogether, by the end of 2009, the EU had conducted 23 missions and operations under the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). The EU has made considerable progress on its way to becoming a global security actor. However, case studies show that many ESDP engagements face substantial shortcomings – chief among them the lack of long-term, strategic planning for future deployments, a binding and institutionalised “lessons learned” process as well as a consistent follow-up by member states and EU institutions involved.
Accountability in International Policing
Authors: Grenfell Katarina
Published: January 2011

Accountability is critical in international policing. In order to be able to carry out its policing mandates, the UN needs to have competent and disciplined police officers subject to the rule of law. The UN has undertaken a host of measures to enhance accountability post reports of sexual exploitation and abuse in West African refugee camps in 2003. While prevention of misconduct is key, significant deficiencies remain in the legal framework for the accountability of UN police serving in post conflict countries. The UN needs to continue its work with Member States to close legal loopholes and ensure the accountability of its police so as to strengthen its ability to carry out its policing mandates. Further, the responsibility of the Organization may be incurred in respect of the acts and omissions of its police personnel.
Legal Aspects of EU Military Operations
Authors: Naert Frederik
Published: January 2011

This article provides a brief overview of the legal aspects of EU military crisis management operations, which, together with the EU’s civilian missions, are the main manifestation of the EU’s Security and Defence Policy. After the introduction (I), section II addresses the EU law aspects, section III covers the main international law aspects and section IV deals with domestic law aspects, including both the law of sending States and of the host State. Section V draws some conclusions and offers some reflections on the legal aspects of EU military operations and their role and importance. The author concludes that the EU has a well established legal framework for its military operations, which is soundly anchored in the EU Treaty, elaborated in practice and firmly based in and in compliance with international law. He also submits that the Lisbon Treaty reinforces this legal framework on several points and that the EU can rely on a number of mechanisms that should enable it to address most legal challenges that may arise.
The Legal Basis for Bilateral and Multilateral Police Deployments
Authors: Watson James , Fitzpatrick Mark , Ellis James
Published: January 2011

This paper recognises the complexity of the legal framework in which international police deployments take place. The personnel, and often the mission itself, are subject to a number of different legal regimes: international law, host State law and sending State law. After briefly discussing the nature and purpose of overseas police deployments, the paper identifies the legal regimes applicable to such deployments and discusses the significance of international and domestic law to police deployments. Ultimately, this paper argues that compliance with all applicable legal regimes is essential to ensure the rule of law on overseas police deployments.
Perceptions of labour market risks: Shifts and continuities across generations
Authors: Predelli Line Nyhagen , Cebulla Andreas
Published: January 2011

In the risk society thesis, most notably forwarded by Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens, the labour market plays a key role in individualization processes. While for previous generations, family and personal networks, and also government institutions, were important in providing access to and mobility within the labour market, cohorts entering the labour market since the 1970s and onwards are perceived to be living in a modern ‘risk regime’, requiring each individual to make choices and decisions in relation to a market that no longer accommodates employment based on kinship and friendship. Based on data from 58 qualitative interviews with parents and their adult children, this article examines more closely these purported changes. The study’s main observation is that important changes towards increased perceived individualization have taken place from one generation to the next. While affirming the disjuncture posited by Beck between a ‘collectivized past’ and an ‘individualized present’, this study’s empirical evidence from two generations of individuals indicates that the disjuncture is muddier and more complex than previously understood.
Students With Reading and Spelling Disabilities
Authors: Kiuru Noona , Haverinen Kaisa , Salmela-Aro Katariina , Nurmi Jari-Erik , Savolainen Hannu , Holopainen Leena
Published: January 2011

The present study investigated whether the members of adolescents’ peer groups are similar in reading and spelling disabilities and whether this similarity contributes to subsequent school achievement and educational attainment. The sample consisted of 375 Finnish adolescents whose reading and spelling disabilities were assessed at age 16 with the Finnish dyslexia screening test. The students also completed a sociometric nomination measure that was used to identify their peer groups. Register information on participants’ school grades also was available, and educational attainment in secondary education was recorded 5 years after completion of the 9 years of basic education. The results revealed that the members of adolescent peer groups resembled each other in reading disabilities but not in those of spelling. Reading disabilities and academic achievement shared within the peer group also contributed to educational attainment in secondary education. Finally, reading disabilities played a larger role in educational attainment among males than among females.
More Than a Game
Authors: Ledbetter Andrew M. , Kuznekoff Jeffrey H.
Published: January 2011

Guided by media multiplexity theory, this manuscript reports an empirical investigation of relational maintenance and closeness between friends who communicate via Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE service. Attitudes toward self-disclosure and social connection across Xbox LIVE interacted to predict Xbox LIVE relational maintenance, with social connection attitude directly predicting offline communication frequency. Both Xbox LIVE relational maintenance and offline communication frequency interacted to predict relational closeness, with high closeness in the presence of either frequent Xbox LIVE maintenance or offline communication. These results suggest extending media multiplexity theory to account for individual attitudes toward new and existing media.
Florestan Fernandes and Interpretations of Brazil
Authors: Ricupero Bernardo
Published: January 2011

Essays that became known as “interpretations of Brazil” appeared mostly between the proclamation of the Republic in 1889 and the spurt in academic life in the 1930s and later. These essays sought an overall analysis of Brazil. However, as universities developed, works of this kind began to lose ground to monographs with more circumscribed aims. The sociologist Florestan Fernandes greatly influenced this development, but his last important work, A revolução burguesa no Brasil (The Bourgeois Revolution in Brazil), written after the military coup of 1964, differs from his other works, as is indicated by its subtitle, “an essay of sociological interpretation.” On the one hand lies the “essay,” on the other the “sociological interpretation.” The former allows him to “interpret Brazil,” but he does so with the eyes of a sociologist. Establishing a dialogue between A revolução burguesa no Brasil and other interpretations of Brazil such as those of Prado Júnior, Vianna, Buarque, and Freyre reveals the significance of this distinction.
Social Movements, Culture, and Politics in the Work of Brazilian Sociologists
Authors: Barreira Irlys Alencar F.
Published: January 2011

When Brazilian society returned to democracy in the 1970s, social movements demanding recognition of basic social and political rights became the focus of sociological research. This research was informed both by the social context and by interdisciplinary theories that gave analytic centrality to social and political actors. It broadened the horizons of sociological interpretation to include political activities outside the established institutions and the collective representations that shape public actions and produced new ideas about conflict and the behavior of those involved in it.
The Other Sikhs
Authors: Banerjee Himadri
Published: January 2011

With changes in Punjab scenario and development of numerous Sikh settlements outside India, Sikh Studies have witnessed many twists and turns. In recent times, the Sikh past is critically studied not only in Punjab but has reached as far as the western coasts of the Atlantic. With the inclusion of diasporan Sikhs, there are interesting modifications in the nature and scope of Sikh Studies. Growing Sikh concentration from Shimla to Shillong outside Punjab suggests another boundary of research pointing out how the message of Sikhism has been interacting with the wider non-Sikh Indian milieu. It possibly introduces researchers to cultural diversities among Sikhs. While reviewing some of these issues, the article intends to focus on their methodology. Scholars engaged in tracking Sikh trails outside Punjab would look forward to varied textual and non-textual local materials. Punjabi sources are no doubt relevant, but historians are also expected to go beyond them and incorporate methodologies of other disciplines like sociology and anthropology for interrogating small Sikh groups at micro-level.
Working Class in ‘Quit India’ Movement
Authors: Reddy K. Venugopal
Published: January 2011

The article endeavours to critically analyse the role played by working class in the ‘Quit India’ movement in the Madras presidency in 1942. While focusing on the articulations of anti-colonial consciousness among the industrial workers in the Madras presidency, it interrogates the aspect of the role of the Communist Party of India in the ongoing struggle for India’s freedom. The working class undaunted by the repression of the colonial regime had forcefully demonstrated its sympathy and support to the anti-colonial struggle in different locations of the Madras presidency at the most critical point in its trajectory. Thus, it attempts to explore the less focused terrain of the working class history, that is, working class involvement in the anti-colonial struggle particularly the facet of industrial workers’ role and also the discreet and distinctive role of the Left forces in the ‘Quit India’ movement.
Representing Local Participation in INA–Japanese Imphal Campaign
Authors: Guite Jangkhomang
Published: January 2011

In the history of World War II in eastern India the participation of local people is the least attended subject due to the belief that the whole tribal belt was with the Allied forces. This is untrue. Those groups who had directly come into contact with the invading forces were supporting them in various ways. This is especially true to the people of Manipur. This article makes the point that Kukis had contacted the Indo-Japanese forces even before the invasion and later helped them, during the War, not only in terms of materials, labour, intelligence services and campaigns but also in term of men of war. This assistance was, however, located as a separate resistance movement embedded within the larger war. The Kukis joined the War largely to shake off their bondage under the Raj in a desperate ‘way out’. They did it against the constituted colonial authority on their own understanding of the situation in which they found themselves in an unacceptable situation. It was a political action base on a conscious, pre-mediated, and deliberate decision directed towards a specific local objective and having to do with local grievances.
Accommodating the Special Learner in Secondary General Music Classes
Authors: VanWeelden Kimberly
Published: January 2011

It can be challenging to know which accommodations for special learners can be used within the various secondary general music class settings. Fortunately, there have been several recent music education and therapy articles based on special education practices that have addressed techniques for working with students with special needs in music. These articles recommend using specific educational supports (e.g., written words, icons, color coding, other visual aids, assistive and supportive technology, echoing, and peer mentoring) to help create successful learning experiences for all students. A synthesis of these educational supports and how they may transfer to secondary general music classes are defined and discussed.
Barrier or Benefit? Emotion in Life-Career Design
Authors: Hartung Paul J.
Published: January 2011

Emotion permeates human life, yet receives little attention in career theory and intervention. Long seen as a barrier to avoid, recent conceptual and empirical work indicate that emotion benefits human behavior and development. Advances in the interdisciplinary science of emotion support examining the construct across differential, developmental, and social cognitive career traditions. The subjective, phenomenological, and socially constructed nature of emotion particularly suits career theory and intervention’s increasing emphases on postmodernism, constructivism, and social constructionism; implicating emotion as of principal benefit to self-construction in work and other life domains. In this regard, emotion figures prominently in motivational processes related to early memory narratives within career construction counseling and the intentionality process of life— career design. Considering emotion in life—career design may help complement vocational psychology’s long-standing foci on answering questions of what occupations people choose and how ready they are to choose them with addressing the question of why people move along particular life— career pathways.
Chronic Stress, Immune Dysregulation, and Health
Authors: Gouin Jean-Philippe
Published: January 2011

In the past 40 years, a growing body of literature has shown that chronic psychological stress can lead to immune dysregulation. Notably, these stress-induced immune changes are large enough to be clinically relevant. Chronic stress has been associated with a state of chronic low-grade inflammation, delayed wound healing, poor responses to vaccine, and increased susceptibility to infectious illnesses. Activation of neuroendocrine and sympathetic systems provides physiological pathways linking stress and these immune outcomes. Behavioral changes under conditions of chronic stress also contribute to immune dysregulation. Behavioral and pharmacological interventions may attenuate stress-induced immune dysregulation.
Enhancing the clinical activity of sorafenib through dose escalation: rationale and current experience
Authors: Semrad Thomas J. , Gandara David R. , Lara Primo N.
Published: January 2011

Sorafenib is an oral multitargeted tyrosine and serine/threonine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell and hepatocellular carcinoma. An understanding of its dose–toxicity relationship has paved the way for trials seeking to enhance its clinical activity through the exploration of alternative dosing strategies. In this article, we review the dose–toxicity relationship of sorafenib observed during its phase I and early phase II testing, explore its toxicity profile at the recommended dose and schedule, discuss the evidence for dose escalation to higher levels, and examine the preliminary evidence for clinical activity of this strategy. Owing to a temporal relationship between toxicity and dose, it may be possible in select patients to escalate sorafenib to doses beyond those currently employed. However, because of the potential for increased toxicity, sorafenib dose escalation should currently be performed only in the context of a clinical trial.
Maintaining Harmony Across the Globe
Authors: Karremans Johan C. , Regalia Camillo , Paleari F. Giorgia , Fincham Frank D. , Cui Ming , Takada Naomi , Ohbuchi Ken-Ichi , Terzino Kari , Cross Susan E. , Uskul Ayse K.
Published: January 2011

Although previous research shows that relationship closeness plays a central role in an individual’s willingness to forgive an offender, it is based exclusively on data from Western, individualistic cultures. In the current study, the authors examined the association between relationship closeness and forgiveness across six countries, including both traditionally individualistic—Italy, the Netherlands, the United States—and collectivistic cultures—Japan, China (and one country, Turkey, with both individualistic and collectivistic features). Results demonstrated that, cross-culturally, there was a robust positive association between closeness toward the offender and level of forgiveness, both for trait-forgiveness and offense-specific forgiveness. However, this association was weaker in the collectivistic countries, which may suggest that strong norms in these countries to maintain social harmony may partly weaken the role of closeness in forgiveness. Overall, the present findings are discussed in terms of the possible evolutionary origins of forgiveness and the role of individualism/collectivism in forgiveness.
Coagulation-induced shedding of platelet glycoprotein VI mediated by factor Xa
Authors: Al-Tamimi Mohammad , Grigoriadis George , Tran Huy , Paul Eldho , Servadei Patricia , Berndt Michael C. , Gardiner Elizabeth E. , Andrews Robert K.
Published: January 2011

This study evaluated shedding of the platelet collagen receptor, glycoprotein VI (GPVI) in human plasma. Collagen or other ligands induce metalloproteinase-mediated GPVI ectodomain shedding, generating approximately 55-kDa soluble GPVI (sGPVI) and approximately 10-kDa platelet-associated fragments. In the absence of GPVI ligands, coagulation of platelet-rich plasma from healthy persons induced GPVI shedding, independent of added tissue factor, but inhibitable by metalloproteinase inhibitor, GM6001. Factor Xa (FXa) common to intrinsic and tissue factor-mediated coagulation pathways was critical for sGPVI release because (1) shedding was strongly blocked by the FXa-selective inhibitor rivaroxaban but not FIIa (thrombin) inhibitors dabigatran or hirudin; (2) Russell viper venom that directly activates FX generated sGPVI, with complete inhibition by enoxaparin (inhibits FXa and FIIa) but not hirudin; (3) impaired GPVI shedding during coagulation of washed platelets resuspended in FX-depleted plasma was restored by adding purified FX; and (4) purified FXa induced GM6001-inhibitable GPVI shedding from washed platelets. In 29 patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation, mean plasma sGPVI was 53.9 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 39.9-72.8 ng/mL) compared with 12.5 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 9.0-17.3 ng/mL) in thrombocytopenic controls (n = 36, P < .0001), and 14.6 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 7.9-27.1 ng/mL) in healthy subjects (n = 25, P = .002). In conclusion, coagulation-induced GPVI shedding via FXa down-regulates GPVI under procoagulant conditions. FXa inhibitors have an unexpected role in preventing GPVI down-regulation.