bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Note on άσφαλεια (Luke 1.4)
Authors: Strelan Rick
Published: October 2007

The noun άσφα λεια in Lk 1.4 is usually understood to refer to the certainty of the facts about Jesus that Luke wishes to convey to Theophilus through his Gospel. This article proposes another interpretation of this noun, namely that it refers to the sureness of the words and the soundness of their argument. It does so by noting the use of the noun and its cognates in Greek literature on style where it indicates balance, soundness and the assurance that an argument not be contradicted. Luke writes in a known and accepted literary style, using `sound' and `safe' words in order to shore up against potential contradiction and argument.
The Rhetoric of πιστις in Paul: Galatians 2.16, 3.22, Romans 3.22, and Philippians 3.9*
Authors: Matlock R. Barry
Published: October 2007

The question of πίστις Xριστo in Paul (Gal. 2.16, 20; 3.22; Rom. 3.22, 26; Phil. 3.9; cf. Eph. 3.12) is impossible to avoid and has proved particularly resistant to resolution. The single most frequent exegetical argument made against the objective genitive reading (`faith in Christ') on behalf of the subjective genitive reading (`the faithfulness of Christ') is that the former creates an unacceptable redundancy in several instances, where one finds two or more πιστις/ πιστεύω phrases side by side (Gal. 2.16; 3.22; Rom. 3.22; Phil. 3.9). Using this question of redundancy as a point of departure, this article offers a fresh look at these four verses, accounting for five of the seven πίστις Xριστo phrases. This is not primarily a negative critique of this redundancy argument, however, but rather a positive inquiry into the inter-relation of and interaction between these πιστις/πιστεύ$slashω phrases and the other elements of their respective contexts— and the role such considerations might play in their own right in disambiguating πίστις Xριστo . The aim is not to offer a complete exegesis of the texts in question, but to attend specifically to matters that bear on πίστις Xριστo , and more particularly to matters of rhetoric/style/structure. In this way, I will offer a number of exegetical observations that weigh heavily in favor of the objective genitive reading.
The Year of the Four Emperors and the Revelation of John: The `pro-Neronian' Emperors Otho and Vitellius, and the Images and Colossus of Nero in Rome
Authors: van Kooten George H.
Published: October 2007

This article draws attention to the events of the `Year of the Four Emperors', the period of unrest and civil war which followed Nero's death in 68 CE. Their bearing on the Revelation of John has been underestimated. My aims are to demonstrate the centrality of Nero in John's understanding of the seven-headed beast, and its image, and to propose a precise dating for the composition of Revelation in the period under Galba, Otho and Vitellius in 68/69 CE. This involves an analysis of Nero's Golden House, his colossal statue and the pro-Neronian attitude of his successors Otho and Vitellius. After my consistent rereading of Revelation in the context of 68/69 CE, I set out to disprove the common interpretation of Revelation, which draws upon the provincial imperial cult in Asia under Domitian. I finish by showing the relevance of Nero's expected return for a reading public in the Roman province of Asia.
Male μαστoι in Revelation 1.13
Authors: Rainbow Jesse
Published: October 2007

This essay explains the strange occurrence of `male breasts' in the vision of the Son of Man (Rev. 1.13) by appealing to an anomaly in the LXX Song of Songs. The author of Revelation alludes to the difficult reading in Cant. 1.2 in order to signal that Jesus is to be identified with the lover of the Song of Songs. As such, Rev. 1.13 represents an early attestation of the Christian tradition of allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs. Evidence is adduced from the pseudepigraphic Testament of Solomon to corroborate the notion that early Christian interpreters were aware of the problem in Cant. 1.2 and regarded it as a distinctive feature of the poem.
Early word-object associations and later language development
Authors: Bernhardt Barbara May , Kemp Nenagh , Werker Janet F.
Published: October 2007

Early language skills vary considerably across children, especially before the age of about two years. Thus, it can be difficult to distinguish between `late bloomers' and children who show a language delay or impairment. Here we present the results of a longitudinal study wherein toddlers' performance on a looking-time-based `Switch' task of word-object association (Stager & Werker, 1997) was related to the children's later language skills. Word-object association performance at 17 or 20 months was significantly related to scores on some standardized tests of language comprehension and production up to two and a half years later. The implications of these results for further early identification research are discussed.
A comparison of characteristics of early communication exchanges in mother-preterm and mother-full-term infant dyads
Authors: Salerni Nicoletta , Suttora Chiara , D'Odorico Laura
Published: October 2007

Communication in 32 mother-infant dyads (18 mother-preterm infants and 14 mother-full-term infants) was observed during semi-structured play sessions when the children were 6 months of age. Maternal speech directed to the child was assessed in terms of complexity, verbal productivity and function of the utterances. This study also analysed turn-taking interaction structure and the children's prelinguistic development. The results show differences between the interactive patterns of term and preterm mother-infant dyads. In particular, mother-preterm infant conversations were characterized by high maternal responsiveness and lack of activity on the part of the infant.
Epilinguistic and metalinguistic phonological awareness may be subject to different constraints: Evidence from Hebrew
Authors: Saiegh-Haddad Elinor
Published: October 2007

The study tested epilinguistic and metalinguistic phonological awareness in junior kindergarten, senior kindergarten and first-grade Hebrew native speaking children ( N= 115). The primary aim was to investigate whether children's epilinguistic and metalinguistic phonological awareness was affected by the position of the target phoneme (initial vs. final). Two epilinguistic phonological awareness tasks (initial and final phoneme recognition) and two metalinguistic tasks (initial and final phoneme isolation) were used. The findings showed that, while epilinguistic awareness for initial phonemes was higher than that for final phonemes, the opposite was true for metalinguistic awareness. The results imply that Hebrew native speaking children's metalinguistic awareness is predicated on a language-specific body-coda phonological representation. The phonological organization summoned during epilinguistic awareness tasks appears to be essentially different, however. The disjoint pattern of sensitivity for initial and final phonemes in epilinguistic and metalinguistic phonological awareness tasks suggests that the two levels of awareness are subject to different constraints, and supports their psycholinguistic independence.
Comparison of aluminium and stainless steel built-in-storage solar water heater
Authors: Asif M. , Currie J. , Muneer T.
Published: October 2007

This article provides the results and findings of an experimental work undertaken in Pakistan that aimed to compare the performance of stainless steel and aluminium make built-in-storage solar waters. The experimental work undertaken as part of this project included design and development of the 2 solar water heaters as well as their operation and data collation over a period of 2 months. The results of the experimental work have been rigorously analysed to present detailed ecological and financial accounts of the two heaters. The results indicate that the aluminium heater performs better than the stainless steel heater in every respect. The average annual daily energy output from stainless steel and aluminium heaters is calculated to be 2.3 kWh and 2.9 kWh giving respective efficiencies of 47% and 61%. It has been shown that over the life cycle of 20 years, the stainless steel and the aluminium solar water heaters are capable of respectively producing 16.5 MWh and 21.3 MWh of energy. For industrial applications, the monetary payback period for the stainless steel and aluminium heaters has been found to be equivalent to 3.9 years and 1.4 years, respectively. It has also been shown that over the life time the stainless steel and aluminium solar water heaters are capable of respectively saving as much as 1.9 and 2.5 tonnes of Carbon per m2 aperture area.

Practical applications: Renewable energy is one of the prominent solutions to address the emerging energy and environmental challenges. Solar water heating is amongst the fastest growing renewable technologies in the world. The article provides a detailed account of the technical and economical parameters of the built-in-storage type of solar water heaters. The findings of the work would be of great interest for researchers, professionals such as building services engineers and architects, and entrepreneurs. The article also finds its significance as the UK has decided to promote low-carbon housing and solar water heating can be an ideal technology in achieving any such goals.
The optimisation of a thermal dual probe instrument for the measurement of the moisture content of building envelopes
Authors: Ye Z. , Tirovic M. , Davies M. , Baker PH , Phillipson M. , Galbraith GH , McLean R.C.
Published: October 2007

A thermal dual-probe offers significant potential benefits over existing methods for making moisture measurements in building envelopes. Previous numerical modelling work by the authors has proven the basic validity of this approach. This paper deals with the further development of the dual-probe design and the associated experimental work. Firstly, the results of design optimisation, using two and 3D Finite Element models, are detailed. Secondly, the extensive experimental work undertaken to complement the modelling work is described. The measured data obtained from the thermal dual-probes was compared with the results of the series of gravimetric analyses. Close agreement between the two methods was obtained. This work clearly indicates that the thermal dual-probe is capable of accurate, in situ moisture measurements in building envelopes.

Practical application: There is a pressing need for the development of a suitable instrument capable of reliable in situ moisture measurements in building envelopes. Techniques are available to the building industry for such moisture measurements but all exhibit deficiencies in at least one critical area — for example, electrical resistance based techniques are potentially susceptible to errors related to the presence of salts within the material to be measured. A `thermal dual-probe' based technique offers significant potential benefits over existing methods. It would appear to be especially well suited, for example, to monitoring the drying out of buildings post-flood.
Cultural Value Orientations and Christian Religiosity: On Moral Traditionalism, Authoritarianism, and their Implications for Voting Behavior
Authors: De Koster Willem , Van Der Waal Jeroen
Published: October 2007

Drawing upon problems of interpretation in political sociological research, this article questions the common practice of lumping together moral traditionalism and authoritarianism. First, it is demonstrated that of the two only moral traditionalism relates to religious orthodoxy. Second, the well-established strong correlation between both value orientations proves to be caused, in the case at hand solely by the circumstance that nontraditionalism and nonauthoritarianism go hand in hand; moral traditionalism and authoritarianism are almost unrelated. Third, moral traditionalists are shown to vote for Christian right-wing parties, whereas authoritarianism more commonly leads to a vote for a secular right-wing party. Fourth, whereas moral traditionalism proves decisive for the voting behavior of Christians, it is authoritarianism that underlies the non-Christian vote. These findings from The Netherlands (consistent with theories on cultural modernization) lead to the conclusion that attention should be paid to the distinction between these orientations because this aids the interpretation of research findings, and because authoritarianism will probably gain a more central role in politics at the cost of moral traditionalism.
Beyond violence: Threat reappraisal in women recently separated from intimate-partner violent relationships
Authors: Tyson Sheryl Y. , Herting Jerald R. , Randell Brooke P.
Published: October 2007

This study examined reappraisal of threat to self, child, and partner wellbeing in a sample of 92 battered women's shelter residents. Participants were assessed for type and severity of intimate-partner violence experienced and current psychological distress. Perceived threats to self, child, and partner wellbeing were assessed and subscale scores developed to serve as dependent variables in multivariate regression analyses. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) predicted reappraised threat to self wellbeing. Years in the relationship predicted reappraised threat to partner wellbeing. Threat to child wellbeing was predicted by mother's physical abuse and PTSD. Implications for future research include longitudinal studies that investigate threat reappraisal, including postshelter outcomes of women with PTSD.
With whom do we grieve? Social and cultural determinants of grief processing in the United States and China
Authors: Pressman David L. , Bonanno George A.
Published: October 2007

This research focuses on social and cultural determinants of grief processing among bereaved parents and spouses in the United States and China. Bereaved participants in both countries responded to a brief questionnaire, at 4 months and 18 months post loss, regarding four grief-processing behaviors (thinking about the deceased, searching for meaning in the loss, positive memories about the deceased, and avoiding thinking about the deceased) within three social contexts (family, friends, alone). As predicted, participants reported significantly less frequent grief processing with friends than with family or while alone, with a more pronounced difference at the second wave of data collection. Interactions of culture and lost relationship type were also observed. Implications for the understanding of grief processing and future research on bereavement are discussed.
Assessing an interpersonal-cognitive risk factor for depression: Preliminary validation of the Social Feedback Questionnaire
Authors: DeFronzo Dobkin Roseanne , Panzarella Catherine , Alloy Lauren B. , Cascardi Michele , Truesdell Karen , Gara Michael
Published: October 2007

Past research has found support for an interpersonal-cognitive model of depression which suggests that a newly identified subtype of social support, inferential feedback, plays an important role in the development of depression. Inferential feedback from friends and family members addresses the cause, meaning, and consequences of negative life events and may influence depression through its effect on depression-inducing cognitions. The purpose of the current study was to validate a new measure of perceived inferential feedback (the Social Feedback Questionnaire; SFQ). Results indicate that the SFQ is a reliable, valid, and simple measure of social support that may prove useful for clinical research, assessment, and intervention.
Shelter from the storm? Flawed reactions to stress in precarious couples
Authors: Swann William B. , McClarty Katie Larsen , Rentfrow Peter J.
Published: October 2007

Past research suggests that relationship quality is low in “precarious couples,” those in which the woman is both critical and more verbally disinhibited than her male partner. Such diminished relationship quality may compromise the capacity of precarious couples to cope with stressors. To test this hypothesis, we exposed 67 married women to an experimentally induced stressor, reunited them with their husbands, and examined the subsequent physiological reactions of both partners. Interacting with one's spouse after the stress-induction procedure resulted in relatively low heart rates among most people, but men in precarious couples displayed elevated levels of arousal. Apparently, for men in precarious couples, interacting with a recently stressed partner is itself stressful, which could ultimately compromise physical health.
Superior Achilles Tendon Microcirculation in Tendinopathy among Symptomatic Female versus Male Patients
Authors: Knobloch Karsten , Schreibmueller Louisa , Meller Rupert , Busch Kay H. , Spies Marcus , Vogt Peter M.
Published: October 2007

Background

Higher estrogen levels in women seem to play a role regarding an increased ligament and tendon injury rate among women. However, gender differences of tendon microcirculation have not yet been reported.

Hypothesis

Female patients suffering Achilles tendinopathy have worse tendon and paratendon microcirculation than symptomatic male patients.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods

A total of 139 Achilles tendinopathy patients (58 women, 81 men) were analyzed according to their gender for tendon and paratendon microcirculation by mapping at 12 positions (4 tendons, 8 paratendons) in each limb. Tendon and paratendon capillary blood flow, oxygen saturation, and postcapillary venous filling pressures were measured at 2-mm and 8-mm tissue depths.

Results

Symptomatic women had similarly elevated tendon capillary blood flow as men at 4 Achilles tendon positions. However, distal medial (83 ± 40 vs 105 ± 74, P < .05) and lateral (98 ± 49 vs 121 ± 74) paratendon capillary blood flow were significantly lower among men. Symptomatic female patients had superior tendon and paratendon oxygen saturation at 11 of 12 positions ( P < .05) as well as reduced postcapillary venous filling pressures at the proximal midportion tendon (55 ± 17 vs 63 ± 20, P < .05) and paratendon (69 ± 19 vs 77 ± 26) location. Pain level was not different between female (5.3 ± 2.2) and male patients (5.4 ± 2, P = .864). Female patients had significantly higher Foot and Ankle Outcome Sports Scores (71 ± 22 vs 64 ± 23 in the men, P = .041), while 4 out of 5 other Foot and Ankle Outcome Score items were not different.

Conclusion

Symptomatic female patients have similarly elevated tendon capillary blood flow compared with symptomatic male patients suffering Achilles tendinopathy, but superior tendon and paratendon oxygen saturations and reduced postcapillary venous filling pressures indicate better tendon and paratendon Achilles tendon microcirculation in women.
Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy in Infancy: Toward an Optimal Treatment
Authors: Ceulemans Berten , Boel Marc , Claes Lieve , Dom Lina , Willekens Herman , Thiry Paul , Lagae Lieven
Published: October 2007

Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy, or Dravet syndrome, is one of the catastrophic epilepsy syndromes. In the past, treatment was mainly based on valproate and phenobarbital. Recently, some of the new antiepilepsy drugs, such as topiramate and stiripentol, have been shown to be promising in the treatment of this epilepsy syndrome. The treatment regimen of 12 children with Dravet syndrome and proven mutations in the alpha subunit of the sodium channel SCN1A is reported here. Five patients on the “traditional” treatment regimen are compared with seven children on an “optimal” treatment regimen based on a combination of valproate and topiramate. With respect to the literature and our own experience, we propose guidelines for “optimal” treatment of children with severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy. This includes prevention of hyperthermia, rigorous treatment of fever, avoiding stressful situations, maintenance treatment based on a combination of only two antiepilepsy drugs (ie, valproate and topiramate), and a strict acute seizure treatment based on benzodiazepines. To prevent long-lasting periods of status epilepticus, this acute seizure treatment must be taught to parents and caregivers. ( J Child Neurol 2004;19:516—521).
Effective treatment of young patients with pediatric-onset, long-standing lupus nephritis with tacrolimus given as a single daily dose: an open-label pilot study
Authors: Tanaka H. , Oki E. , Tsugawa K. , Nonaka K. , Suzuki K. , Ito E.
Published: October 2007

The objective of the current work is to report the preliminary experience with tacrolimus (TL) administered as a single-dose daily for maintenance therapy of young patients with pediatric-onset, long-standing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Six consecutive patients with long-standing SLE were recruited for a 6-month open-label trial of single-dose-daily administration of tacrolimus (3 mg/day) without dose up of concomitantly administered prednisolone (PDN). TL treatment was started at the time of the most recent flares. Data on the clinical and serologic lupus activity were collected prospectively. The baseline characteristics of the patients were: mean age, 20 years; urinary protein/creatinine ratio, 1.22 ± 1.94; serum C3 level, 70.8 ± 21.2 (normal, 79—152 mg/dL); serum complement hemolytic activity (CH50), 22.2 ± 10.3 (normal, 23—46 U/mL); serum anti-dsDNA antibody titer, 60.4 ± 71.7 IU/mL (normal, < 12.0 IU/mL); serum creatinine, 0.55 ± 0.11 mg/dL; European Consensus Lupus Activity Measurement (ECLAM) index, 5.2 ± 2.6. Despite the gradual tapering of the PDN dose, marked improvement as compared with the baseline values was observed in the ECLAM index examined at one and three months and serological parameters examined at three months after the start of treatment. After a 6-months' therapy, complete response was achieved in all of the patients (serum CH50 value, 27.7 ± 8.3 U/mL; serum anti-dsDNA antibody titer, 28.4 ± 27.9 U/mL and the ECLAM index, 1.2 ± 1.2 ( P < 0.05), respectively), except in one patient who showed WHO class V lupus nephritis. No serious adverse effects were observed. These data suggest that TL, even when administered as a single-daily dose, is effective and safe for selected young patients with pediatric-onset, long-standing SLE. However, further studies on a larger number of patients are needed to confirm these results. Lupus (2007) 16, 896—900.
Association of the nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphism with increased risk for both lupus glomerulonephritis and rheumatoid arthritis in a single genetically homogeneous population
Authors: Vazgiourakis V. , Sidiropoulos P. , Bertsias G. , Koutsounaki E. , Fragouli E. , Raptopoulou A. , Kritikos H. , Boumpas D.T. , Goulielmos G.N.
Published: October 2007

Nitric oxide (NO), a short-lived gaseous free radical, synthesized from L-arginine by NO synthases (NOS), is a potent mediator of biologic responses involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Most biological necessary NO is produced by the family of three NOS. To date, several functionally relevant genetic polymorphisms in the eNOS gene have been associated with various vascular, infectious and autoimmune diseases. To our knowledge, no study has explored these polymorphisms for both SLE and RA in the same population. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the eNOS gene intron 4 a/b VNTR polymorphism (a 27-base-pair tandem repeat-based polymorphism) on susceptibility to SLE and RA in patients living in the island of Crete, a genetically homogeneous population. A group of 145 healthy subjects and 190 SLE patients were included in this study. Similarly, a second group of 235 healthy controls and 202 RA patients were analysed. In both cases, patients and controls were sex- and age-matched. Herein we report that the presence of a/b genotype of the eNOS gene may act as a risk factor not for the presence of SLE but for the development of glomerulonephritis (OR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.4—5.2), while it may be a susceptibility gene for RA (OR: 2.005, 95% CI: 1.31—3.07). Thus, in our population, the a/b genotype of the eNOS gene represents a severity rather than a susceptibility genotype for SLE. Lupus (2007) 16, 867—874.
Peritubular capillary C4d deposition in lupus nephritis different from antibody-mediated renal rejection
Authors: Li S-J. , Liu Z-H. , Zen C-H. , Wang Q-W. , Wang Y. , Li L-S.
Published: October 2007

C4d deposition in peritubular capillaries (PTC) has been used as a marker of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). However, PTC C4d deposition is not described in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). C4d deposition in PTC was detected in 455 patients with biopsy proven LN in the present study. Renal tissues from 21 cases of acute AMR served as controls. C4d deposition in PTC was found in 31 patients (6.81%) with LN. Patients with PTC C4d positive showed higher SLEDAI score and higher frequency of hypocomplementemia as compared to C4d negative. The prevalence of ANA, anti-dsDNA, anti-Sm and ACA were higher in C4d positive group, and most of these patients showed the diffuse proliferative glomerular lesion. In contrast with acute AMR, the staining pattern of C4d was granular deposition and the detection of C4d along PTC was accompanied by deposition of IgG and C1q or C3. Electron dense deposition on PTC was observed in most of LN patients. In conclusion, C4d deposition in PTC could be found in a small part of patients with LN. Our study suggested for the first time that C4d positive deposition were close relation with the higher disease activity of LN, and that immune complex formation might be involved in PTC C4d deposition in LN patients, Such PTC C4d deposition is distinct from that of AMR. Lupus (2007) 16, 875—880.
Presence of anti-La autoantibody is associated with a lower risk of nephritis and seizures in lupus patients
Authors: Malik S. , Bruner G.R. , Williams-Weese C. , Feo L. , Hal Scofield R. , Reichlin M. , Harley J.B. , Sawalha A.H.
Published: October 2007

Previous reports suggest a protective role for anti-La autoantibody against the development of lupus nephritis. We studied the effect of anti-La on the prevalence of nephritis in a large cohort of lupus patients. In addition, we determined the association between anti-La and the presence of the various other lupus manifestations. We studied 1100 lupus patients enrolled in the Lupus Family Registry and Repository. Only one lupus patient per family was selected to exclude intrafamilial correlation. Since anti-La is present in patients who also have anti-Ro autoantibody, we compared anti-Ro positive lupus patients in the presence or absence of anti-La. Clinical data were obtained from medical records, interviews and participant questionnaires. Tests for autoantibodies against extractable nuclear antigens were performed using immunodiffussion assays. There is no difference in the age, sex or race between the anti-La positive and anti-La negative lupus patients. The presence of anti-La is associated with a significant reduced risk of lupus nephritis (proteinuria: 29.3% versus 46.3%, OR = 0.48, P = 0.023; cellular casts: 8.6% versus 20.6%, OR = 0.36, P = 0.038). In addition, lupus patients with anti-La have a reduced risk for seizures (0% versus 10.9%, P = 0.0096) and are more likely to have arthritis (79.3% versus 64.0%, OR = 2.16, P = 0.031). The presence of anti-nRNP autoantibody is significantly reduced in anti-La positive compared with anti-La negative lupus patients (10.3% versus 27.4%, OR = 0.31, P = 0.0075). In conclusion, anti-La autoantibody is associated with less severe lupus. Patients with anti-La have a lower risk of renal involvement and seizures compared with anti-La negative lupus patients. Lupus (2007) 16, 863—866.
Estimating renal function in lupus nephritis: comparison of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease and Cockcroft—Gault equations
Authors: Kasitanon N. , Fine D.M. , Haas M. , Magder L.S. , Petri M.
Published: October 2007

Estimates of renal function are widely used in clinical practice and research. We assessed the performance of the Cockcroft—Gault (CG) and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations in lupus nephritis patients. Data from ninety-seven lupus nephritis patients in the Hopkins Lupus Cohort were reviewed. Two renal function estimates, the CG and the MDRD, were compared with the 24 h creatinine clearance (CrCl). In the entire group of patients, the CG and MDRD equations had good global agreement with CrCl (R-square = 0.91 and 0.69, respectively). On average the CG equation overestimated CrCl by 2.36 mL/min/1.73 m2, whereas the MDRD equation underestimated CrCl by 5.85 mL/min/1.73 m2, P = 0.0004. The CG equation had greater accuracy (mean squared error) than the MDRD equation (14.93 versus 28.47 mL/min/1.73 m2, P = 0.002) when predicting CrCl. Although both equations lacked precision (standard deviation of the difference scores) in patients with CrCl ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, the CG equation was more precise than the MDRD equation in this group, (15.68 versus 29.58 mL/min/1.73 m2, P = 0.003). In lupus nephritis patients, the CG equation was superior to the MDRD equation as an estimate of CrCl. However, both equations lacked precision in patients with CrCl ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Lupus (2007) 16, 887—895.
Hyperhomocysteinemia: a cardiovascular risk factor in autoimmune diseases?
Authors: Lazzerini P.E. , Capecchi P.L. , Selvi E. , Lorenzini S. , Bisogno S. , Galeazzi M. , Laghi Pasini F.
Published: October 2007

Epidemiological studies conducted over the past 25 years have provided ample support for the association of mild hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) with an elevated risk of atherothrombosis. Since autoimmune disorders (AD) are frequently associated with relevant and early signs of atherothrombotic damage not adequately explained by the traditional risk factors involved in the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), a large interest has been shown to the putative role of mild HHcy in this setting. On the basis of such considerations, we focused the attention on the relationship between homocysteine (Hcy) and CVD in patients affected with autoimmune diseases, reviewing the most recent literature data and also providing our original experience. Although the large amount of available studies clearly shows that HHcy represents a common finding in patients affected with several autoimmune diseases, the actual role of Hcy in the development of CVD in the course of AD is not clear yet, perhaps, with the only exception of the systemic lupus erythematosus. In the other conditions, the role of Hcy in the pathogenesis of vascular complications is still a matter of debate, as the result of conflicting reports and/or lack of an adequate body of investigation. Lupus (2007) 16, 852—862.
Neonatal lupus erythematosus complicated by mucocutaneous and visceral hemangiomas
Authors: Spalding S.J. , Hennon T. , Dohar J. , Arkachaisri T.
Published: October 2007

Neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) is a passively acquired autoimmune syndrome resulting from transplacental passage of maternal anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB antibodies to the fetus. Characteristic manifestations of NLE include transient dermatitis, hepatic and hematologic abnormalities and congenital heart block. Skin lesions in NLE resemble subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and typically consist of annular, erythematous, scaly plaques. Telangiectasias, vascular abnormalities resulting from dilation of superficial dermal vessels, may also affect the skin in a minority of patients. The etiology of telangiectasias in NLE is unknown, but disordered angiogenesis likely plays a role. Hemangiomas are a common disorder of angiogenesis frequently encountered in infancy. There have been no reported cases of neonatal lupus associated with the development of hemangiomas. We present a case of an infant diagnosed with NLE after manifesting classic dermatitis, hepatic and hematologic abnormalities who later developed mucocutaneous and visceral hemangiomas. We further postulate that disordered angiogenesis, possibly dysregulated production of vascular endothelial growth factor, may play a primary role in the development of these cutaneous vascular lesions in NLE. Lupus (2007) 16, 904—907.
New varieties, new creativities: ICQ and English-Cantonese e-discourse
Authors: Fung Loretta , Carter Ronald
Published: October 2007

Internet Relay Chat-based computer-mediated communication provides a distinct space for social interaction and cultural contact, with new and inventive forms of language generated. Research has not fully investigated the specifically creative aspects of language in online interaction, and even less in communication between bilingual and multilingual speakers of English and other languages. Based on a 20,000-word corpus of private ICQ ('I Seek You') data and as evidenced in extensive examples of online communication, this article explores the linguistic creativity of a group of bilingual English-Cantonese speaking university students from Hong Kong. The study reveals the emergence of a bimodal, 'hybrid' spoken-written variety of English embracing an essentially informal, speakerly style that is produced in intimate, collaborative and synchronic contexts. The linguistic creativities in this variety, evidenced, in particular, by code-switching, loan translation and relexicalization, as well as by acoustic and graphical wordplay, represent an e-discourse repertoire that is used to achieve both specific interactional purposes and to articulate a dual cultural identity. The article argues that this form of creative computer-mediated literacy practice has a significant impact on the ways in which interactive and expressive meanings are conveyed.
Discursive diversity in the textual articulation of epidemic disease in Early Modern England
Authors: Seargeant Philip
Published: October 2007

This article provides a detailed examination of the way in which the social response to epidemic disease in Early Modern England was constructed through discourse, and of how a matrix of meanings for the 'plague' was promoted to fill the conceptual gap between experience and social understanding. It analyses the variety of textual genres that were used to articulate this response, from the sermon tradition to prose pamphlets and the bills of mortality, and considers the dialogic nature of the interaction between these genres and how this facilitated the spread and generation of metaphoric associations for the disease. The article also considers the way in which this discourse itself is structured, and how it is marked by diversity and heterogeneity; it contends that rather than there being a clear hierarchy of dominant and 'alternative' discourses, it is more an unstable equilibrium of competing explanations. In part, this diversity is a result of plural and competing meanings being ascribed to the disease; in part, it is due to the range of different voices eager to promote their own opinion. This results in multiplicity not just of 'product', but also of 'process', with different genres and institutional centres of power (including the church, the civic authorities, the publishing industry) all claiming authority over the prescription of meaning. In this way the discourse itself becomes disordered, as there is no major controlling influence, and the structure of the discourse can be seen to reflect iconically the very themes that it articulates.
Through a Glass Darkly
Authors: Goyal Ashima , Singh Arjun
Published: October 2007

In order to examine if the impact of oil price shocks depends on the structure of an economy, a vertical (VSC) and a horizontal (HSC) long-run supply curve identifications are successively imposed on a three-variable structural vector autoregression (SVAR) with Indian time series data. While core inflation is measured with the VSC, the HSC requires a new concept of demand-driven inflation: residual (demand) inflation, which gives the impact of short and medium-run demand shocks on inflation. Both core and residual inflation are estimated. The data favours the HSC, but both identifications imply that policy demand squeeze aggravated international oil price shocks.
Incorporating Regional Variations in a Macroeconometric Model for India
Authors: Bhide Shashanka , Kalirajan K.P.
Published: October 2007

Regional dimensions of a national economy are important in policy making when there are large inter-regional differences in the level of development, growth and resources. In the Indian context, inter-state variations in economic growth and development have attracted continued research and policy attention. Regional balance in development has been one of the key objectives of national economic policies. Assessment of economic performance of the states, however, has not been as systematic as at the national level. In this article, we incorporate regional dimensions in a macroeconometric model for India based on the production frontier (PFR) approach. The approach also provides a plausible link between policy and improvements in productivity. This article presents the use of PFR to modelling the supply side in a macroeconometric model. The approach is applied to the Indian economy using state-level data on output of one sector, namely, agriculture, for estimating technical efficiencies, which relate state-level production functions to the PFR. All the other sectors of the economy are modelled at the aggregate or national level. With human capital development and infrastructure as the possible means of improving efficiency, the model also provides an explicit role for policy to improve the growth potential of the economy at the state level.
Utilisation Pattern of Human Resources in Science and Technology in India
Authors: Shukla Rajesh
Published: October 2007

Stocks of the scientific-technological workforce help in determining to what degree a nation or a certain region is able to fulfil its technological and innovative needs. Stocks monitor not only the number of scientists and technicians, but also their spread across regions and economic sectors. India is fast emerging as a knowledge economy, and the publication of the first India Science Report in 2005 by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) is an important step in providing valuable inputs to the scientific community in setting achievable goals. While Human Resources in Science and Technology (HRST) by education have grown considerably, a matter of some concern is the poor utilisation of these resources. In 2005, only a third of these people were pursuing occupations related to their educational qualifications. The report also found that a substantial percentage of those holding HRST jobs were educationally not qualified and had only studied upto Class XII or less. If India intends to make the most of the outsourcing and research and development (R&D) opportunities coming its way from foreign shores, it will have to look closely at the quality of the scientific and technical manpower that it is producing.
Declining Juvenile Sex Ratios
Authors: Kaur Ravinder
Published: October 2007

This article examines the socio-economic reasons for the steep decline in child sex ratios, as revealed by the 2001 census. It questions existing arguments in the light of new fieldwork in several states in North India. It argues that we have to unpack ‘son preference’ in the modern context to understand why parents continue to prefer boys over girls in many parts of North and North-West India, and especially so in urban areas. Although there is some narrowing of the gender gap (as seen in education, health and work force participation indicators), girls remain undervalued when it comes to intergenerational transfers. The article argues that the changing interrelationships between education, work, marriage and family status in some senses reinforce the perceived need for sons as the source of a family's future stability and parental support. Given these expectations, insecurities around the material and social success of sons, and largely unchanging or even enhanced marriage and dowry expenditure for girls, drive parents to invest more in sons and propel family- building strategies with few or no girls.
Alternate Evaluation Criteria of Piezoelectric Motors
Authors: Tieck R. Marie , Emmons Michael C. , Carman Gregory P.
Published: October 2007

In this article, four types of piezoelectrically driven motors are evaluated: linear, horn-type, unidirectional rotary, and bidirectional traveling wave. Experimental results for velocity, power, and specific power are presented as a function of mechanical load. Analytical and experimental energy densities are compared based upon applied electrical potential. The bidirectional ultrasonic motor exhibited 34% of its available energy density, while the other motors produced values ranging from 0.63 to 9.5% of their respective available energies. The piezoelectric material specific power values ranged from 4500 W/kg for the bidirectional motor to 6.53 W/kg for the linear piezo motor. Results suggest that comparing piezoelectric motors based on individual mechanical parameters does not accurately describe motor design and drive train energy transmission.
The Relationship Between Self—Other Rating Agreement and Influence Tactics and Organizational Processes
Authors: Berson Yair , Sosik John J.
Published: October 2007

This study examined the extent to which subordinates' perceptions of soft (i.e., consultation, ingratiation, inspirational appeals), hard (i.e., legitimating, pressure, exchange), and rational persuasion influence tactics were associated with the self-awareness of 144 Israeli telecommunications managers. Self-awareness was operationalized by categorizing managers as overestimators, underestimators, in-agreement/poor or in agreement/good based on the difference between the manager's and his or her subordinates' rating of the manager's charismatic leadership (Atwater & Yammarino, 1997). Results indicated that underestimators tended to use more rational persuasion than overestimators and in-agreement/poor managers. Overestimators tended to use fewer soft tactics than underestimators and in-agreement/good managers. In-agreement/ good managers tended to use more exchange tactics and outperformed overestimators and in-agreement/poor managers in championing a climate of innovation and quality. The practical implications of these results are discussed.
Preference for Group Work, Winning Orientation, and Social Loafing Behavior in Groups
Authors: Stark Eric M. , Shaw Jason D. , Duffy Michelle K.
Published: October 2007

The authors developed a multilevel interactive model for predicting social loafing behavior in groups and tested this model in a study of 367 individuals working in 102 groups during a 4-month period. Study results revealed the importance of integrating both person (preference for group work and winning orientation) and situation (task interdependence) factors in predicting social loafing. Preference for group work was consistently and negatively related to social loafing behavior (self-reported and peer rated), and this relationship was moderated by both winning orientation and task interdependence. As predicted, group members were more likely to self-report social loafing when their preference for group work and winning orientation were both low. Peer-rated social loafing was most likely when preference for group work, winning orientation, and task interdependence were all low, as predicted. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are addressed, and several directions for future research are outlined.
Coevolution in Management Fashions
Authors: Nijholt Jurriaan J. , Benders Jos
Published: October 2007

In their theory-development case study on management fashions, Abrahamson and Fairchild (1999) proposed that “[t]he lifecycle of discourse promoting a fashionable management technique co-evolves with the lifecycle of this technique's diffusion across organizations” (p. 731). Because this generalization is based on the case of a single management fashion in one national setting, management fashion literature should benefit from additional data supporting or contradicting this claim. The authors reassess coevolution by comparing the life cycle of Dutch discourse on self-managing teams (SMTs) with data on their prevalence. They show that Dutch discourse on SMTs was temporarily intensive, while in praxis they see signs of a stabilization in the number of organizations that use SMTs. Unlike past conceptualizations, they assert that organization concepts that are the subject of a temporary popular discourse are thus not necessarily transient in praxis.
To Afford or Not to Afford: A New Formalization of Affordances Toward Affordance-Based Robot Control
Authors: Şahin Erol , Çakmak Maya , Doğar Mehmet R. , Uğur Emre , Üçoluk Göktürk
Published: October 2007

The concept of affordances was introduced by J. J. Gibson to eXplain how inherent “values” and “meanings” of things in the environment can be directly perceived and how this information can be linked to the action possibilities offered to the organism by the environment. Although introduced in psychology, the concept influenced studies in other fields ranging from human—computer interaction to autonomous robotics. In this article, we first introduce the concept of affordances as conceived by J. J. Gibson and review the use of the term in different fields, with particular emphasis on its use in autonomous robotics. Then, we summarize four of the major formalization proposals for the affordance term. We point out that there are three, not one, perspectives from which to view affordances and that much of the confusion regarding discussions on the concept has arisen from this. We propose a new formalism for affordances and discuss its implications for autonomous robot control. We report preliminary results obtained with robots and link them with these implications.
Investigating the Adaptiveness of Communication in Multi-Agent Behavior Coordination
Authors: Schermerhorn Paul , Scheutz Matthias
Published: October 2007

Some previous studies of the adaptiveness of communication for coordination have found communication beneficial, others have not. We claim that this results from the lack of a systematic examination of important variables such as communication range, sensory range, and environmental conditions. We present an extensive series of simulations exploring how these parameters effect the utility of communication for coordination in the multi-agent territory exploration (MATE( n)) task. MATE( n) requires agents to visit all checkpoints in the environment in as little time as possible; n agents must be at a checkpoint simultaneously for it to be counted “visited.” A comparison of the absolute performance of communicating and non-communicating agents on MATE( n) (i.e., performance without regard to cost) finds that communication can be beneficial. A subsequent analysis of the results establishes constraints on the cost of communication for it to provide relative performance benefit (i.e., absolute performance scaled by cost).
Gibsonian Affordances for Roboticists
Authors: Chemero Anthony , Turvey Michael T.
Published: October 2007

Using hypersets as an analytic tool, we compare traditionally Gibsonian (Chemero 2003; Turvey 1992) and representationalist (Sahin et al. this issue) understandings of the notion `affordance'. We show that representationalist understandings are incompatible with direct perception and erect barriers between animal and environment. They are, therefore, scarcely recognizable as understandings of `affordance'. In contrast, Gibsonian understandings are shown to treat animal-environment systems as unified complex systems and to be compatible with direct perception. We discuss the fruitful connections between Gibsonian affordances and dynamical systems explanation in the behavioral sciences and point to prior fruitful application of Gibsonian affordances in robotics. We conclude that it is unnecessary to re-imagine affordances as representations in order to make them useful for researchers in robotics.