bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Photosynthetic responses of aspen clones to simultaneous exposures of ozone and CO2
Authors: Kull O. , Sober A. , Coleman M.D. , Dickson R.E. , Isebrands J.G. , Gagnon Z. , Karnosky D.F.
Published: November 2009

Current projections indicate steady increases in both trophospheric ozone and carbon dioxide well into the next century with concurrent increases in plant stress. Because information about effects of these interacting stresses on forest trees is limited, we have conducted ozone and carbon dioxide experiments using ozone-tolerant and ozone-sensitive trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) clones (clones 216 and 259, respectively). Aspen plants were grown either in pots (square-wave study) or in the ground (episodic study) in open-top chambers. Plants in the square-wave study were exposed for a single growing season to charcoal-filtered air (CF) or to CF plus elevated carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), or O3 plus CO2 (O3 + CO2). Plants in the episodic study were exposed for three growing seasons to CF, twice simulated ambient (2x) O3 (2x O3), or 2x O3 plus CO, (2x O3 + CO2). Photosynthetic measurements were made either in the open-top chambers at treatment CO2 concentrations or in controlled-environment cuvettes with various CO2 concentrations, producing assimilation versus intercellular CO2 concentration (A/Ci) curves. Ozone decreased photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance and accelerated leaf senescence. Elevated CO2 increased photosynthetic rate and decreased stomatal conductance when measured at treatment CO2 concentrations, and exacerbated the negative effect of O3 on photosynthesis. For example, for clone 259, photosynthesis decreased 9% for the O3 treatment compared with the CF treatment, but decreased 24% for the O3 + CO2 treatment compared with the CF treatment. Similar decreases for clone 216 of 2% and 6% for O3 and O3 + CO2, respectively, were not significant. A/Ci curves showed that O3 decreased carboxylation efficiency and maximum photosynthetic rate and that photosynthetic inhibition in response to O3 was greater with elevated CO2. The simultaneous declines in all factors of photosynthetic gas exchange measurements suggest that the equilibrium between stomatal conductance, carboxylation, and light harvesting systems was not disrupted by O3 and O3× CO2 interactions. Carbon dioxide did not ameliorate the detrimental effects of O3 on the leaf photosynthetic apparatus. In fact, the O3-tolerant clone appeared more sensitive to O3 with elevated CO2.
The assessment and condition of Fundy white birches in relation to ambient exposure to acid marine fogs
Authors: Cox R.M. , Lemieux G. , Lodin M.
Published: November 2009

The condition of white birches within 30 km of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, have been monitored by the Canadian Forest Service since 1981, when an apparent deterioration in their condition and foliar browning was noticed. The apparent lack of associated insects or diseases that could have caused this change led to an investigation of possible environmental causes. Suspected variables were fog chemistry and frequency, rain chemistry, and ozone exposure. Significant (p = 0.05–0.01) spatial and temporal correlations of foliar browning with the fog frequency and fog chemistry variables have been detected, and their possible cause–effect relationship evaluated using both conventional on the ground sampling and remote sensing techniques. The use of remote sensing techniques, though not conclusive over the time it was carried out, did show the potential for future investigation of this type. In this study the deterioration of the two principal taxa, paper birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.) and mountain paper birch (Betulacordifolia Regel), were examined in terms of crown dieback and compared. These two taxa occur as separate stands or as a mixture in the birch plots. Comparisons of mortality responses of the two birch taxa together with results of leaf browning on transplanted young clones of the two taxa indicated a significantly (p < 0.001) greater sensitivity of B. cordifolia, whereas no significant differences between the taxa exist for percentage of trees with dieback. The potential role of sensitive indicators, such as B. cordifolia, as biomonitors of atmospheric change in an ecotonal situation like the Fundy coast is important, as these may give us the first indications of vegetation response to a changing chemical and physical environment.
VIRTUAL CROSSING NUMBER AND THE ARROW POLYNOMIAL
Authors: DYE H. A. , KAUFFMAN LOUIS H.
Published: November 2009

We introduce a new polynomial invariant of virtual knots and links and use this invariant to compute a lower bound on the virtual crossing number and the minimal surface genus.
HEEGAARD GENUS, CUT NUMBER, WEAK p-CONGRUENCE, AND QUANTUM INVARIANTS
Authors: GILMER PATRICK M.
Published: November 2009

We use quantum invariants to define a 3-manifold invariant jp which lies in the non-negative integers. We relate jp to the Heegaard genus, and the cut number. We show that jp is an invariant of weak p-congruence.
ON A GENERALIZATION OF THE ALEXANDER POLYNOMIAL FOR LONG VIRTUAL KNOTS
Authors: AFANASIEV DENIS
Published: November 2009

We construct a new invariant polynomial for long virtual knots. It is a generalization of the Alexander polynomial. We designate it as ζ by meaning an analogy with ζ-polynomial for virtual links. The degree of ζ-polynomial estimates the virtual crossing number. We describe some application of ζ-polynomial for the study of minimal long virtual diagrams with respect to the number of virtual crossings.
ACCURATE OF VAR CALCULATED USING EMPIRICAL MODELS OF THE TERM STRUCTURE
Authors: ABAD PILAR , BENITO SONIA
Published: November 2009

This work compares the accuracy of different measures of Value at Risk (VaR) of fixed income portfolios calculated on the basis of different multi-factor empirical models of the term structure of interest rates (TSIR). There are three models included in the comparison: (1) regression models, (2) principal component models, and (3) parametric models. In addition, the cartography system used by Riskmetrics is included. Since calculation of a VaR estimate with any of these models requires the use of a volatility measurement, this work uses three types of measurements: exponential moving averages, equal weight moving averages, and GARCH models. Consequently, the comparison of the accuracy of VaR estimates has two dimensions: the multi-factor model and the volatility measurement. With respect to multi-factor models, the presented evidence indicates that the Riskmetrics model or cartography system is the most accurate model when VaR estimates are calculated at a 5% confidence level. On the contrary, at a 1% confidence level, the parametric model (Nelson and Siegel model) is the one that yields more accurate VaR estimates. With respect to the volatility measurements, the results indicate that, as a general rule, no measurement works systematically better than the rest. All the results obtained are independent of the time horizon for which VaR is calculated, i.e. either one or ten days.
A STOCHASTIC VOLATILITY MODEL FOR RISK-REVERSALS IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Authors: ALBANESE CLAUDIO , MIJATOVIĆ ALEKSANDAR
Published: November 2009

It is a widely recognized fact that risk-reversals play a central role in the pricing of derivatives in foreign exchange markets. It is also known that the values of risk-reversals vary stochastically with time. In this paper we introduce a stochastic volatility model with jumps and local volatility, defined on a continuous time lattice, which provides a way of modeling this kind of risk using numerically stable and relatively efficient algorithms.
Characterization of IsdH (NEAT domain 3) and IsdB (NEAT domain 2) in Staphylococcus aureus by magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry
Authors: Tiedemann Michael T. , Muryoi Naomi , Heinrichs David E. , Stillman Martin J.
Published: November 2009

Absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra, together with electrospray ionization mass spectral (ESI-MS) data are reported for the first two proteins in the Isd sequence of proteins in Staphylococcus aureus. IsdH-NEAT domain 3 (IsdH-N3) and IsdB-NEAT domain 2 (IsdB-N2) are considered to be involved in heme transport following heme scavenging from the hemoglobin of the host. The ESI-MS data show that a single heme binds to each of these NEAT domains. The charge states of the native proteins indicate that there is minimal change in conformation when heme binds to the heme-free native protein. Acid denaturation releases the bound heme and results in protein that exhibits significantly higher charge states, which we associate with unfolding of the protein structure. MCD spectra of the heme-bound native proteins show that the heme-iron is in a high-spin state, which is similar to that in IsdC-N. Addition of cyanide results in a spectral envelope characteristic of low-spin ferric hemes. The lack of complete binding for IsdH-N3 suggests that there is considerable congestion in the heme-binding site region. Unusually, reduction to the ferrous heme results in spectral characteristics of six coordination of the ferrous heme. CO is shown to bind strongly to both heme bound proteins, resulting in six-coordinate bound hemes. The spectra following reduction most closely resemble spectra recorded for heme with histidine in the fifth position and methionine in the sixth position. We report a theoretical model calculated from the X-ray structure coordinates of IsdH-N3, in which the heme is coordinated to nearby histidine and methionine. We propose that this structure accounts for the spectroscopic properties of the protein with the ferrous heme.
Solvent effects on the electronic and vibrational properties of high-valent oxomolybdenum(V) 5,10,15-triphenylcorrole probed by UV-visible and resonance Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Mody Vicky V. , Fitzpatrick Marzena B. , Zabaneh Samantha S. , Czernuszewicz Roman S. , Gałęzowski Michał , Gryko Daniel T.
Published: November 2009

Solution UV-visible electronic absorption and resonance Raman (RR) scattering spectra in 25 aprotic organic solvents have been measured and analyzed for a high-valent molybdenum( V ) oxo complex of 5,10,15-triphenylcorrole, (MoVO)CorPh3 . Optical absorption data in the visible region show a significant positive solvatochromism upon increasing solvent polarizability (ca. 660 cm-1 for the violet Soret band on going from acetonitrile to carbon disulfide), described by an excellent linear correlation between the bathochromic shifts of corrole π → π* electronic transitions and the solvent refractive index [Formula: see text]. Isotope labeling of the terminal oxo group with 18 O revealed the oxo-Mo(V) stretch of (MoVO)CorPh3 to vibrate at frequency ν(MoVO) ≈ 970 cm-1 [Δ(16O-18O) = 46 cm-1] , consistent with a MoV≡O triple bond. This vibration is greatly enhanced in the RR spectra with excitations within the Soret absorption band and its frequency is sensitive to solute-solvent interactions that weaken the MoV≡O triple bond by inhibiting O2- → Mo5+ electron donation. The ν(MoVO) frequency decreases in direct proportion to the Swain's solvent polarity parameter (A + B), from 969.4 cm-1 in n-hexane solution down to 955.6 cm-1 in dimethyl sulfoxide solution. However, only weak linear correlation was found when the ν(MoVO) frequencies were plotted as a function of the Gutmann's solvent acceptor numbers (ANs). A molecular association occurs between chloroform and (MoVO)CorPh3 through MoV≡O⋯H-CCl3 hydrogen-bonding interactions, manifested as an upshift of the ν(MoVO) RR band in deuteriochloroform solution. The ν(MoVO) stretching frequencies of (MoVO)CorPh3 and its fluorinated derivative (MoVO)Cor(Ph(CF3)2)3 {Cor(Ph(CF3)2)3 = 5,10,15-tris-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]corrole} are compared, and the increased strength of the MoV≡O bond in the latter oxo-Mo(V) species is attributed to the cis effect of the electron-withdrawing -C6H3(CF3)2 groups, as judged by a 6 cm-1 elevation of the ν(MoVO) frequency. Raman excitation profiles of ν(MoVO) and corrole skeletal vibrations show the presence of charge-transfer and π → π* electronic transitions within the Soret absorption band of oxomolybdenum( V ) corroles.
Refined syntheses of hydrodipyrrin precursors to chlorin and bacteriochlorin building blocks
Authors: Krayer Michael , Balasubramanian Thiagarajan , Ruzié Christian , Ptaszek Marcin , Cramer David L. , Taniguchi Masahiko , Lindsey Jonathan S.
Published: November 2009

Bromo-substituted hydrodipyrrins are valuable precursors to synthetic bromo-chlorins and bromo-bacteriochlorins, which in turn are versatile substrates for derivatization in pursuit of diverse molecular designs. 8-bromo-2,3-dihydro-1-(1,1-dimethoxymethyl)-3,3-dimethyldipyrrin (1) is a crucial precursor in the rational synthesis of the bacteriochlorin building block 3,13-dibromo-8,8,18,18-tetramethylbacteriochlorin ( H2BC-Br3Br13) . 8-bromo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,3,3-trimethyldipyrrin (2) is a crucial precursor in the rational synthesis of the analogous 3,13-disubstituted chlorin building block (e.g. H2C-Br3M10Br13 ). The routes to 1 and 2 share a common precursor, namely 4-bromo-2-(2-nitroethyl)-1-N-tosylpyrrole (6-Ts), which is derived from pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde. The prior seven-step synthesis of 1 from pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde has limited access to H2BC-Br3Br13 given the large excesses of materials, extensive reliance on column chromatography, and low overall yield (1.4%). Refined procedures for synthesis of the common precursor 6-Ts as well as 1 and 2 afford the advantages of (1) diminished consumption of solvents and reagents, (2) limited or no use of chlorinated solvents, (3) limited or no chromatography, and (4) improved yields of most steps. Streamlined procedures enable the final two or three transformations to be performed without purification of intermediates. The new procedures facilitate the expedient preparation of 1 and 2 at the multigram scale.
Increasing the Production Accuracy of Profile Bending with Methods of Computational Intelligence
Authors: Selvaggio Alessandro , Dirksen Uwe , Tekkaya A. Erman , Schikorra Marco , Kleiner Matthias
Published: November 2009

Important quality criteria for profile bending are an accurate profile contour and an accurate cross section. During the bending process, torsion of the profile, deformation of the cross section, and deviations at the profile contour can occur. If these undesired effects are too large, the bent profile is not usable. Critical causes of profile cross section deformation are thin wall thicknesses with hollow sections. The profile torsion is favored by asymmetrical profile cross sections. These effects can be minimized by a production-correct profile design, whereby a trade-off between a production-correct design and the boundary conditions exists. Furthermore, undesired variations in the profile material properties and the profile cross section lead to deviations in the profile contour. These deviations cannot be reduced by design but by usage of a closed-loop control during bending.

In this article, a software system for three-roll bending is presented that minimizes undesirable effects during bending by structure optimization of the profile cross section and application of closed-loop control. The structure optimization is based on an evolutionary algorithm and the process control uses a neuro-fuzzy controller. The structure of the software system and results of experiments are presented and discussed. 1
Dependency Structure Matrix, Genetic Algorithms, and Effective Recombination
Authors: Yu Tian-Li , Goldberg David E. , Sastry Kumara , Lima Claudio F. , Pelikan Martin
Published: November 2009

In many different fields, researchers are often confronted by problems arising from complex systems. Simple heuristics or even enumeration works quite well on small and easy problems; however, to efficiently solve large and difficult problems, proper decomposition is the key. In this paper, investigating and analyzing interactions between components of complex systems shed some light on problem decomposition. By recognizing three bare-bones interactions—modularity, hierarchy, and overlap, facet-wise models are developed to dissect and inspect problem decomposition in the context of genetic algorithms. The proposed genetic algorithm design utilizes a matrix representation of an interaction graph to analyze and explicitly decompose the problem. The results from this paper should benefit research both technically and scientifically. Technically, this paper develops an automated dependency structure matrix clustering technique and utilizes it to design a model-building genetic algorithm that learns and delivers the problem structure. Scientifically, the explicit interaction model describes the problem structure very well and helps researchers gain important insights through the explicitness of the procedure.
Unravelling the Global City Debate on Social Inequality: A Firm-level Analysis of Wage Inequality in Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Authors: van der Waal Jeroen , Burgers Jack
Published: November 2009

In this article, an assessment is made of the consequences of globalisation for urban wage inequality. Using data on employers in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, it is shown that simply equating global city formation with globalisation, when it comes to urban wage inequality—which is the common research practice in urban studies—leads to a blind spot for the impact of international competition, falsely equates economic restructuring with globalisation and strongly overrates the impact of globalisation on the urban wage structure. Global city formation does not lead to polarising tendencies, while exposure to international competition leads to upgrading tendencies.
Effects of a Multifaceted Minimal-Lift Environment for Nursing Staff: Pilot Results
Authors: Zadvinskis Inga M. , Salsbury Susan L.
Published: November 2009

Nursing staff are at risk for musculoskeletal injuries because of the physical nature of patient handling. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted minimal-lift environment on reported equipment use, musculoskeletal injury rates, and workers’ compensation costs for patient-handling injuries. The pilot study consists of a mixed measures design, with both descriptive and quasi-experimental design elements. The intervention consists of engineering (minimal-lift equipment), administrative (nursing policy), and behavioral (peer coach program) controls. The comparison nursing unit has received engineering controls only. The convenience sample includes nursing staff employed on two medical-surgical nursing units, who provide direct patient care at least 50% of the time. Nursing staff employed in a multifaceted lift environment report greater lift equipment use and experience less injury, with reduced worker’s compensation costs.
Influence of Stress Resiliency on RN Job Satisfaction and Intent to Stay
Authors: Larrabee June H. , Wu Ying , Persily Cynthia A. , Simoni Patricia S. , Johnston Patricia A. , Marcischak Terri L. , Mott Christine L. , Gladden Stephanie D.
Published: November 2009

Registered nurse (RN) job satisfaction is a major predictor of intent to stay and job turnover, serious concerns to health care leaders. Predictors of job satisfaction include autonomy, control over daily practice, nurse—physician collaboration, transformational leadership, group cohesion, job stress, structural empowerment, and psychological empowerment. In the model of psychological empowerment, stress resiliency is the product of persons’ interpretive styles and influences psychological empowerment. This study has evaluated the influence of stress resiliency on job stress, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction, and intent to stay using causal modeling. Participants are 464 RNs employed in five acute care hospitals in West Virginia. The final model has provided a very good fit to the data. Stress resiliency is a predictor of psychological empowerment, situational stress, and job satisfaction. This study provides the first evidence of the influence of stress resiliency on job stress, psychological empowerment, job satisfaction, and intent to stay in a sample of RNs.
La Mancha Negra: Substance Abuse, Violence, and Sexual Risks Among Hispanic Males
Authors: Gonzalez-Guarda Rosa Maria , Ortega Johis , Vasquez Elias P. , De Santis Joseph
Published: November 2009

Hispanics are disproportionately affected by substance abuse, intimate partner violence, and HIV. Although the relationship between these conditions has been documented in the literature, few studies have explored the intersection of these health problems and their culture-related risk factors in an integrative manner. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences that Hispanic heterosexual males in South Florida have with substance abuse, violence, and risky sexual behaviors. Three focus groups with a total of 25 Hispanic adult men are completed and analyzed using grounded theory. Three core categories emerge from the data. These include la cuna de problemas sociales (the cradle of social problems), ramas de una sola mata (branches from one same tree), and la mancha negra (the black stain). This study suggests that substance abuse, violence, and risky sexual behaviors are linked conditions with common cultural and socioenvironmental risk factors and consequences.
Effect of n-3 Oral Supplements on the n-6/n-3 Ratio in Young Adults
Authors: McDaniel Jodi C. , Ahijevych Karen , Belury Martha
Published: November 2009

Epidemiological studies show that n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratios have risen dramatically in Western diets and are associated with numerous chronic inflammation-related diseases. More balanced ratios are linked to less inflammation. This study examines the effects of adding oral supplements containing n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to diets of healthy young adults on plasma n-6/n-3 ratios. Thirty volunteers are randomly assigned to one of two groups: experimental group, EPA (1.6 g/day) and DHA (1.2 g/day); and the control group, mineral oil (2.4 ml/day). Plasma fatty acids, nutrients from foods, and anthropometric measures are evaluated at baseline and at the Week 4 endpoint. The mean (± SD) n-6/n-3 ratio for the experimental group is significantly lower (6.3 ± 1.6) than the placebo group (16.8 ± 3.5) by study completion. The results suggest that more balanced n-6/n-3 ratios may be achieved efficiently in healthy, young adults with supplements containing EPA and DHA.
The Invisible Family: A Qualitative Study of Suicide Survivors in Taiwan
Authors: Tzeng Wen-Chii , Su Pi-Yu , Chiang Hsien-Hsien , Kuan Ping-Yin , Lee Jia-Fu
Published: November 2009

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study is to describe the commonality of the lived experience of suicide survivors and how it influences their family relationships in Taiwan from a sociocultural perspective. Thirteen suicide survivors have participated in this study. Study results reveal that some survivors blame themselves, some blame others, and some are blamed by their family as part of their need to find a reason for the death. Consequently, family members ignore each other and treat each other as if they are invisible. These Chinese suicide survivors, unlike Western survivors, maintain their strained family connections because of strong cultural influences. Therefore, health professionals should acknowledge the experiences of living with an invisible family when supporting Chinese suicide survivors.
Asymmetry in Information and Varying Rates of Interest
Authors: Bhattacharjee Manojit , Rajeev Meenakshi , Vani B.P.
Published: November 2009

This paper examines the nature and extent of household indebtedness in West Bengal, focusing on households’ access to credit and factors influencing interest rate determination in informal credit markets. As far as accessibility is concerned, it finds that the urban poor face greater problems than their rural counterparts in accessing formal and informal sources of credit. Using an ordered logit model it shows how information and monitoring opportunities play a critical role in arriving at a rate of interest for the lender.
Global Economic Crisis and Indian Economy
Authors: Bhanumurthy N.R. , Kumawat Lokendra
Published: November 2009

This paper tries to examine the extent of the impact of global financial crisis on the Indian Economy. While doing that, it argues that the Indian Economy was already in a slowdown phase, largely due to deceleration in the exports growth and also due to some cyclical factors. With the help of a structural quarterly macroeconometric model, this paper concludes that significant part of the fall in GDP growth due to global crisis is expected to show up in 2009–10. The model estimates the crisis impact on growth to be around 2 per cent in 2009–10. But in 2008–09, fall in GDP growth was largely contributed by the cyclical factors and by sharp rise in the food and fuel prices. The paper also argues that fiscal and monetary stimulus packages could stimulate aggregate demand only in the short to medium term. In the long term, investments (particularly from private sector) would be an important determinant for strong and sustainable economic recovery.
Lacunae in Financial Regulatory Framework vis-à-vis Financial Repression
Authors: Singh Gurbachan
Published: November 2009

This paper makes four points. First, it introduces a new ‘academic’ concept—optimal noise in financial markets. Second, it suggests that the government intervenes to take care of the problem of ‘free ride’ in financial markets. Third, it suggests regulation of entry into the finance profession, whose tasks would include ‘prescribing’ a portfolio choice for (financially) uninformed investors. Fourth, given that deposit insurance, lender of last resort, capital adequacy and supervision of banks are in place, there is no need to impose the following beyond reasonable prudential norms: (a) cash reserve ratio requirement, (b) statutory liquidity ratio requirement and (c) barriers to entry.
Review Essay: Rituals and Knowledge Construction: Ethical Dilemmas on Creating Oppositions
Authors: Silva Guimarães Danilo
Published: November 2009

What is knowledge construction for? Mesopotamian rituals were practiced in order to grasp the future and guide war strategies. Nowadays, scientific rules are developed to avoid mysticism—constructing more accurate laws to explain the reality. Both rituals and science were, and usually are, grounded in a conception that to know is to decipher the correct meaning behind the expressive relief of the world. Contemporary studies on anthropology have shown that the opposition between nature and culture is the basis of a number of problems in human sciences aiming to comprehend the intricate relation between body and violence and overcome ethical dilemmas.
Commentary: Forms of Relationship Construction and the Power of the Child
Authors: Rodríguez Lilian Patricia
Published: November 2009

The work by Goh and Kuczynski (2009) is important beyond the specific context of China. Using social relational theory, the authors examine family dynamics in the contemporary nursing practices of five families in Xiamen, China. While they succeed in identifying relations and patterns of interaction, they do not explain the mechanism that enables the emergence of these patterns. In this article, I suggest a complementary way, which does not exclude theirs, to show how developments and concepts derived from general systems theory and from the general perspective of dynamic systems could contribute to understanding the relations that are built in these families.
Commentary: Discrepancies Drive Remembering and Show the Particularity of an Individual: A Commentary on Reavey & Brown
Authors: Mori Naohisa
Published: November 2009

Remembering is driven by discrepancies (interdependencies) resulting from contradiction and develops toward resolution (stabilization) of them. Reavey and Brown (2009) depict female survivors of child sexual abuse who struggle to stabilize their recollections. By using a mediating network including physical objects, they reduce the indeterminacy of meanings of actions and events and attempt to properly construct identity and agency of participants of abuse including them. The present study of Reavey and Brown has the potential to explore the particularity of an individual. The author and colleagues have concerned themselves with particularity since they were interested in the veracity of an experience through the examination of confession and testimony in criminal cases. The particularity of a certain individual appears in his/her actions, embedded in socio-cultural situations. To explore the personal particularity irreducible to culture will lead us toward further development of cultural psychology. The present study can develop the same interests as the authors.
The Mediating Role of Objects in Recollections of Adult Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Authors: Reavey Paula , Brown Steven D.
Published: November 2009

Recollection of child sexual abuse involves complex issues of agency—both in the past and in the present. Adult women survivors face the further obstacle of ingrained cultural tendencies to question women’s testimony. Ambiguity and ambivalence are found in adult women’s accounts of their past abuse and present particular dilemmas. Drawing on social remembering approaches developed in memory studies, it is argued that recollections have to negotiate issues of incidence and intentionality in the past as well as the potential contribution made by non-human participants (e.g. objects, spaces, bodies). Using examples from interviews with survivors of child sexual abuse, we illustrate how objects (largely domestic objects and spaces) emerge in the memories as a way of posing and subsequently disposing ambiguity. Objects, as well as humans, ‘modify the state of affairs’ (Latour, 2005) and serve as the means to punctualize recollected episodes. An analytic approach sensitive to the role of objects in recollection, which is grounded in material-semiotics, is offered.
Information-mediated network effects: network composition and customer benefit in the presence of information asymmetry
Authors: Sasson Amir , Fjeldstad Øystein
Published: November 2009

This article advances a novel information-mediated network effect argument that is particularly relevant in industries where information asymmetry may prevent customers from obtaining full service benefits. The article presents and tests the argument that customers’ access to capital is a function of the network of other customers affiliated with their bank, hence an economic network effect. Co-affiliation in a bank by actors from a credit-seeking firm’s network increases the amount and quality of the information available pertinent to that firm and hence provides the firm with the opportunity to access capital more closely aligned with its true credit-worthiness. Contrary to intuition but in line with economic network theory, the study shows that very low levels of co-affiliation also increase a firm’s credit availability. Such information-mediated network effects is empirically studied in a sample of 613 small and medium-size firms and their bank affiliations. There are significant implications for customers’ choice of banks and major bank policy choice implications associated with segmentation and customer recruitment.
The changing nature of competition in the US manufacturing sector, 1950—2002
Authors: Thomas L.G. , D'Aveni Richard
Published: November 2009

Recent work in several disciplines has established that the volatility of performance for US firms has greatly increased over the last 50 years. Yet, it is the differences in durable performance of firms that have been the primary focus of inquiry in competition and business strategy. This study documents the sharply increased within-industry heterogeneity of returns in the US manufacturing sector from 1950 to 2002, and links these changes to the documented increases in volatility. The evidence supports a broad, monotonic shift towards a new, more dynamic form of competition, which some have called hypercompetition.
Augmentation in contingency learning under time pressure
Authors: Vadillo Miguel A. , Matute Helena
Published: November 2009

Recent research suggests that cue competition effects in human contingency learning, such as blocking, are due to higher‐order cognitive processes. Moreover, some experimental reports suggest that the effect opposite to blocking, augmentation, could occur in experimental preparations that preclude the intervention of reasoning mechanisms. In the present research, we tested this hypothesis by investigating cue interaction effects in an experimental task in which participants had to enter their responses under time pressure. The results show that under these conditions, augmentation, instead of blocking, is observed.
Job resources and flow at work: Modelling the relationship via latent growth curve and mixture model methodology
Authors: Mäkikangas Anne , Bakker Arnold B. , Aunola Kaisa , Demerouti Evangelia
Published: November 2009

The aim of the present three‐wave follow‐up study (n = 335) among employees of an employment agency was to investigate the association between job resources and work‐related flow utilizing both variable‐ and person‐oriented approaches. In addition, emotional exhaustion was studied as a moderator of the job resources–flow relationship, and as a predictor of the development of job resources and flow. The variable‐oriented approach, based on latent growth curve analyses, revealed that the levels of job resources and flow at work, as well as changes in these variables, were positively associated with each other. The person‐oriented inspection with the growth mixture modelling identified four trajectories based on the mean levels of job resources and flow and on the changes of these mean levels over time: (a) moderate work‐related resources (n = 166), (b) declining work‐related resources (n = 87), (c) high work‐related resources (n = 46), and (d) low work‐related resources (n = 36). Exhaustion was found to be an important predictor of job resources and flow, but it did not moderate their mutual association. Specifically, a low level of exhaustion was found to predict high levels of job resources and flow. Overall, these results suggest the importance of a person‐oriented view of motivational processes at work. In addition, in order to fully understand positive motivational processes it seems important to investigate the role of negative well‐being states as well.
Gender ratio, societal culture, and male and female leadership
Authors: van Emmerik Hetty , Wendt Hein , Euwema Martin C.
Published: November 2009

Top management teams are worldwide largely composed of men, with relatively few female members. The gender ratio in top management is indicative of the position of women in management within the organization, as well as related to leadership behaviours of male and female managers. In the present study, the relative importance of societal culture, organizational, and individual characteristics in explaining leadership behaviours and the associations of gender and gender ratio with leadership behaviours are studied. Hypotheses are tested with multi‐level analyses using a dataset with information from subordinates rating leadership behaviours of 12,546 managers in 437 organizations in 32 countries. The results show that in a three‐level model (i.e., societal, organizational, and individual level) to explain leadership behaviours, differences in leadership behaviours are predominantly explained by individual differences, followed by organizational and societal differences. Further, after controlling for societal influences, a higher gender ratio (relatively more female managers), was positively associated with consideration and negatively related to initiating structure. Moreover, for male managers, there was a negative association between gender ratio and initiating structure, indicating that male managers in organizations with more female managers tend to engage less in initiating structure, whereas the leadership behaviours of female managers were not associated with the gender ratio.
Sense of coherence and psychological outcomes in people with spinal cord injury: Appraisals and behavioural responses
Authors: Kennedy P. , Lude P. , Elfström M. L. , Smithson E.
Published: November 2009

Study design. Longitudinal, multi‐wave design.

Objectives. To investigate the contribution of sense of coherence (SOC), appraisals, and behavioural responses when predicting psychological outcomes to spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method. Patients (N =237) sustaining a SCI aged 17 or above were recruited from specialist spinal injuries centres across six European countries. Measures of SOC, appraisals, coping strategies, and psychological well‐being were administered at 6 and 12 weeks post‐injury and at a 1 year follow‐up.

Results. People scoring high on SOC at 6 weeks post‐injury showed significantly better psychological outcomes at 1 year post‐injury and SOC showed significant relationships with appraisals at 12 weeks post‐injury and coping strategies 1 year post‐injury. Significant relationships were found between appraisals at 12 weeks post‐injury and psychological outcomes, adaptive coping strategies were significantly related to psychological well‐being at 1 year post‐injury. Regression analyses found SOC, appraisals, and coping behaviours to explain 61.8% of the variance in psychological quality of life, 66.5% of the variance in depression, and 37.7% of the variance in anxiety at 1 year post‐injury.

Conclusion. This study provides further evidence in support of previous findings which suggest SOC to have a primary role in long‐term psychological well‐being. The relationship described here – from SOC to the appraisal of injury and subsequent behavioural responses – suggests SOC to be an influential factor in the long‐term adjustment of people with SCI.
Effects of the presentation characteristics of dual dynamic information text on comprehension using an LCD monitor
Authors: Huang Kuo‐Chen
Published: November 2009

Abstract— This study investigated the effects of the presentation method, presentation rate, type of flickering character presented in a dynamic headline, and spacing between the headline and the display window on reading moving Chinese text in a single‐line display. Eighty‐three subjects aged 14–18 years of age completed 27 experimental treatments consisting of three presentation methods (i.e., leading format, rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), with full display window, and RSVP with clause), three presentation rates (80, 155, and 230 cpm), and three types of flickering characters (twinkling, rotating, and shrinking) presented in a headline. The spacing between the headline and the display window (0.4 vs. 0.7 vs. 1.0 cm) served as the between‐subjects factor. Results showed that comprehension accuracy was lower for dynamic text presented in the leading format than for that presented in the RSVP format with a full display window or with clause. Comprehension accuracy was also lower in response to a presentation rate of 230 cpm than to a presentation rate of 80 cpm. Analyses indicated that the spacing between the headline and the display window significantly affected comprehension accuracy; the rate of accurate responses was greater with a spacing of 1.0 cm than with a spacing of 0.4 cm. However, the type of flickering characters did not significantly affect comprehension accuracy. Implications of these results for designing dynamically presented Chinese text on a Web site are discussed.
Polarization‐independent liquid‐crystal‐etalon modulator
Authors: Dorjgotov Enkh‐Amgalan , Bhowmik Achintya K. , Bryant Douglas , Chien Liang‐Chy , Bos Philip J.
Published: November 2009

Abstract— The experimental demonstration of a polarization‐independent high‐transmission field‐sequential liquid‐crystal‐etalon modulator for portable projection‐display application is presented. Polarization independence allows for high transmission efficiency for laser illumination sources using the polarization diversity method of speckle reduction. These devices can also be considered for LED illumination sources; however, the spectral width of current LEDs does not allow for high efficiency, especially for the green channel. These devices demonstrate millisecond switching needed for field‐sequential‐color generation.
Search for phosphors for use in displays and lighting using heuristics‐based combinatorial materials science
Authors: Sharma Asish Kumar , Sohn Kee‐Sun
Published: November 2009

Abstract— According to the recent demand for materials for use in various displays and solid‐state lighting, new phosphors with improved performance have been consistently pursued. Multi‐objective genetic‐algorithm‐assisted combinatorial‐material‐search (MOGACMS) strategies have been applied to various multi‐compositional inorganic systems to search for new phosphors and to optimize the properties of phosphors. In addition, the troublesome, complex problem of high‐throughput experimentation (HTE), the inconsistency, which is frequently faced by combinatorial material scientists, is especially emphasized. The luminance and inconsistency was treated as two objective functions in our MOGACMS strategy to pinpoint and optimize promising phosphors with high photoluminance and reliable reproducibility. Using MOGACMS, several multi‐dimensional oxide systems were screened in term of the minimization of inconsistency and the maximization of luminance.
Review Paper: Human factors of stereo displays: An update
Authors: Patterson Robert
Published: November 2009

Abstract— This updated review paper provides a selected review of a number of important perceptual and human‐factors issues that arise when stereo displays are designed and used. This review and analysis draws heavily from the basic vision literature in order to help provide insight for future design solutions for stereo displays. Issues discussed include: (1) the basics of human stereopsis (horopter, binocular disparity, binocular rivalry); (2) low‐level factors (interocular cross talk, interocular differences in luminance and contrast, accommodation‐vergence mismatch, stereoanomaly); (3) contextual factors (spatio‐temporal frequency effects, distance scaling of disparity); and (4) a high‐level cognitive factor (high‐level cue conflict). In this updated review, significant new material has been added: (1) interocular luminance and contrast differences and their effect on stereo viewing; (2) more insightful discussion of accommodative‐vergence mismatch; (3) high‐level cognitive factor. Two topics in the earlier review (visual pathways; dark focus and dark vergence) have been deleted. The paper concludes with the presentation of several recommendations for the design of stereo displays.
Investigating Matrix/Fracture Transfer via a Level Set Method for Drainage and Imbibition
Authors: Prodanovic Maša , Bryant Steven L. , Karpyn Zuleima T.
Published: November 2009

Multiphase flow and transport phenomena within fractures are important because fractures often represent primary flow conduits in otherwise low-permeability rock. Flows within the fracture, between the fracture and the adjacent matrix, and through the pore space within the matrix typically happen on different length and time scales. Capturing these scales experimentally is difficult. It is, therefore, useful to have a computational tool that establishes the exact position and shape of fluid/fluid interfaces in realistic fracture geometries. The level set method (LSM) is such a tool. Our progressive quasistatic (PQS) algorithm based on the level set method finds detailed, pore-level fluid configurations satisfying the Young-Laplace equation at a series of prescribed capillary pressures. The fluid volumes, contact areas, and interface curvatures are readily extracted from the configurations. The method automatically handles topological changes of the fluid volumes as capillary pressure varies. It also accommodates arbitrarily complicated shapes of confining solid surfaces.

Here, we apply the PQS method to analytically defined fracture faces and aperture distributions, to geometries of fractures obtained from high-resolution images of real rocks, and to idealized fractures connected to a porous matrix. We also explicitly model a fracture filled with proppant, using a cooperative rearrangement algorithm to construct the proppant bed and the surrounding matrix. We focus on interface movement between matrix and fracture, and snap-off of nonwetting phase into the fracture during imbibition in particular. The extent to which nonwetting phase is trapped in fracture/enclosed gaps is very sensitive to the direction of the displacement. Simulated drainage curves in matrix differ systematically from drainage curves in fracture and matrix with transfer between them. In a reservoir simulation, the latter might serve as an upscaled drainage curve input for a fractured medium.
Modernization of the SEC Oil and Gas Reserves Reporting Requirements
Authors: Lee W. J.
Published: November 2009

Modernized United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for reporting oil and gas reserves are now broadly consistent with the SPE definitions and generally reflect public requests for specific changes in the previous rules. Disclosure requirements based on the revised definitions feature use of annual average prices; wider use of reliable technologies; broader recognition of nontraditional resources, including those from oil sands, shales, and coal; optional disclosure of probable and possible reserves; and replacement of the "certainty" criterion for some reserves by a "reasonably certain" criterion. Official clarification of some of the new terms may be forthcoming; here, I provide my opinion of their intent.
Topical Tacrolimus for Psoriasis
Authors: Yamamoto Toshiyuki
Published: November 2009

Tacrolimus ointment is an agent approved for the treatment of atopic dermatitis; however, tacrolimus has been expected also as one of the promising therapeutic strategies for other T-cell mediated inflammatory skin disorders. Recent progress have demonstrated that topical tacrolimus shows beneficial effects for psoriasis depending on sites. In particular, facial, intertriginous, and genital psoriasis respond to topical tacrolimus dramatically in a short period. Further, topical tacrolimus is tolerable also for child psoriasis. Because topical tacrolimus does not induce either skin atrophy or telangiectasia different from corticosteroids, it is recommended to be a first choice. The most proper way of topical tacrolimus therapy at present is to use this ointment intermittently after the remission was once obtained, paying attention to its adverse effects.