bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advances in Graduate Marketing Curriculum
Authors: Weber James
Published: June 2013

This research explores the impact of coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphic pressures on the coverage and offering of courses addressing ethical, social, and sustainability issues (ESSI) in business schools’ graduate marketing curricula. Data from the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes program are analyzed to detect if significant increases have occurred in the number of marketing courses addressing ESSI offered when comparing data from 2005 to 2007, 2007 to 2009, and 2005 to 2009. In addition, analysis of the databases from 2007 and 2009 are undertaken to assess if there are increases in the percentage of coverage of ESSI in the marketing curricula. Significant increases in graduate marketing course offerings focusing on ESSI were found over time but not an increase in the coverage of ESSI in these courses. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Design and experimental evaluation of a dynamically balanced redundant planar 4-RRR parallel manipulator
Authors: van der Wijk Volkert , Krut Sébastien , Pierrot François , Herder Just L
Published: June 2013

Shaking forces and shaking moments in high-speed parallel manipulators are a significant cause of base vibrations. These vibrations can be eliminated by designing the manipulator to be shaking-force balanced and shaking-moment balanced. In this article an approach for the design and evaluation of high-speed dynamically balanced parallel manipulators is presented and applied to a comparative experimental investigation of a balanced and unbalanced DUAL-V planar 4-RRR parallel manipulator. For precise simulation of the manipulator motion, the inverse dynamic model of the manipulator is derived and validated.

Experiments show that the balanced manipulator has up to 97% lower shaking forces and up to a 96% lower shaking moment. For small inaccuracies of the counter-masses or for a small unbalanced payload on the platform, base vibrations may be considerable for high-speed manipulation, however their values remain significantly low as compared to the unbalanced manipulator. For the balanced manipulator the actuator torques are about 1.6 times higher and the bearing forces are about 71% lower as compared to the unbalanced manipulator.
Of Parts and Wholes: International Relations beyond the Human
Authors: Cudworth Erika , Hobden Stephen
Published: June 2013

While some theorists in International Relations have engaged with thinking about complexity, we would argue that few have thought it through to its logical conclusion – the interconnectedness of systems, and the implications for agency and structure. This article examines the structure–agency question using the framework of ‘posthuman international relations’, which draws on recent thinking in complexity and argues for an approach to the study of global politics that is post-Newtonian and non-anthropocentric. Key elements of a complexity-based approach are examined, and it is argued that these provide a novel way of considering issues of agency and structure. They also raise issues for the analysis of agency and the link between actions and outcomes. Complex systems can present problems of analysis related to unpredictability, causality and non-linearity. Having laid out a framework for thinking about action and context in international politics, the article turns to questions of agency and practice within complex systems. Perhaps the most significant claim here is that it is possible to conceive of agency beyond the human. Drawing upon Margaret Archer’s discussions of primary and corporate agency, a threefold approach to thinking about structure and agency is developed, which allows us to think about agency beyond the human. Finally, an explanation is given as to why a complex approach to thinking about international relations ultimately implies a posthuman perspective.
The ‘New Materialism’ and the Fragility of Things
Authors: Connolly William E.
Published: June 2013

The ‘new materialism’ is the most common name given to a series of movements in several fields that criticise anthropocentrism, rethink subjectivity by playing up the role of inhuman forces within the human, emphasize the self-organizing powers of several nonhuman processes, explore dissonant relations between those processes and cultural practice, rethink the sources of ethics, and commend the need to fold a planetary dimension more actively and regularly into studies of global, interstate and state politics. After reviewing several key tenets of this diverse movement in philosophy, biology and the human sciences, we focus on how it casts light on the dissonant relations between the drives of neoliberal capitalism and boomerang effects from nonhuman forces. Exploration of such relations both dramatises the fragility of things today and helps to explain why many constituencies refuse to acknowledge and address it. After presenting a few capital–force-field conjunctions that illustrate the fragility of things, this article briefly explores some intercoded counter-strategies to address the contemporary predicament.
Use of a Fluoroscopic Overlay to Assist Arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Moloney Gele , Araujo Paulo , Rabuck Stephen , Carey Robert , Rincon Gustavo , Zhang Xudong , Harner Christopher
Published: June 2013

Background:

A growing body of evidence supports the importance of anatomic tunnel positioning in the success of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, which stimulates the need for technologies to aid surgeons in achieving accurate anatomic tunnel placement. Intraoperative fluoroscopy is potentially one such technology, while its efficacy and usability have yet to be established.

Purpose:

To investigate the performance of an intraoperative fluoroscopic overlay in guiding tunnel placement during ACL reconstruction.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Twenty cadaveric knees underwent computed tomography (CT) scans and arthroscopic digitization of ACL insertion sites. The outlines of the digitized insertion sites were mapped to the corresponding CT-acquired bone models through a co-registration procedure. Twenty orthopaedic surgeons performed simulated ACL reconstructions, each on a randomly assigned cadaveric knee, first without and then with the aid of a fluoroscopic overlay system. The overlay system displayed on a lateral fluoroscopic image targets points representing the locations of the ACL insertion sites estimated from the literature data. Surgeons were allowed to adjust their tunnel positions under the guidance of the fluoroscopic image. Their initial, intermediate, and final positions were documented and compared with the target points as well as the native insertion sites.

Results:

Surgeons demonstrated significant ( P < .01) improvements in femoral and tibial tunnel placements relative to the target points from an average distance of 3.9 mm to 1.6 mm on the femur and 2.1 mm to 0.9 mm on the tibia. The improvements toward the knee-specific actual insertion sites were significant on the tibial side but not on the femoral side.

Conclusion:

Surgeons can be successfully guided with fluoroscopy to create more consistent femoral and tibial tunnels during ACL reconstruction. More research is warranted to develop better population representations of the locations of natural insertion sites.

Clinical Relevance:

Intraoperative fluoroscopy can be an effective, easy, and safe method for improving tunnel positioning during ACL reconstruction.
Rethinking Financial Capitalism and the “Information” Economy
Authors: Foley Duncan K.
Published: June 2013

This talk examines the popular idea that “economic growth” can continue indefinitely in post-industrial capitalist economies through the shift of labor to “service” sectors, particularly finance and information-based activities, in the light of the classical-Marxian theory of value and the related categories of productive and unproductive labor. As the generally accepted classical theory of land rent exemplifies, many types of income in capitalist economies, including interest, financial fees, speculative trading profits, and intellectual property royalties, arise as parts of the surplus value generated by the exploitation of productive labor appropriated through the assertion of various property rights. The dramatic phenomena of highly profitable “business models” based on network externalities associated with the internet and other information-based technologies do not represent new modes of value production, but modes (in some cases not particularly new) of participation in the pool of surplus value. National income accounting conventions that impute a fictitious output as a counterpart to incomes generated in sectors such as finance, professional and business services, education and health, and government, where there are no market-based measures of output create a distorted and misleading picture of value production and growth in advanced capitalist economies. A clear understanding of the origin of value in the expenditure of productive labor and of surplus value in the exploitation of productive labor is essential to thinking through the problems of post-industrial capitalist growth, distribution, resource conservation, and environmental protection.
The Current Economic Crisis in the United States
Authors: Kotz David M.
Published: June 2013

This paper offers an analysis of the current economic crisis in the United States that began in 2008, which is understood not as a business cycle recession but as a structural crisis. It presents a case that the current economic crisis is a particular type of crisis of over-investment, called an asset bubble induced over-investment crisis. It explains what is meant by that type of crisis and presents empirical evidence for the period since 1979 that supports this interpretation of the crisis. It argues that the forces that led to the current crisis cannot be seen in the behavior of the rate of profit.

JEL Classification: E11, E32, N12
A Clinician's Guide to Systematic Reviews
Authors: Crowther David M.
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this article is to discuss systematic reviews, how they are performed, and their associated strengths and limitations. A systematic review is an assessment of evidence involving exact methods to systematically identify, select, and critically evaluate all available literature on a particular topic. Unlike most narrative reviews, systematic reviews have defined methods established a priori for searching, evaluating, extracting, synthesizing, and reporting available evidence. Key characteristics differentiating systematic reviews from most narrative reviews include: clearly stated objectives, pre‐defined inclusion/exclusion criteria, an explicit reproducible methodology, systematic exhaustive searches to identify all sources of evidence, an assessment of the validity for each included study, and a systematic presentation of the study characteristics/results. Though there are significant advantages to systematic reviews, there are also clear limitations such as: the quality of included evidence; heterogeneity and homogeneity of included studies; and publication bias. Even with these limitations, systematic reviews are beneficial to front line clinicians when the quantity of evidence is so substantial that reviewing and synthesizing it is not feasible, available evidence is conflicting, or when the robustness of available evidence is unknown.
Predictive and Reactive Mechanisms in Smile Reciprocity
Authors: Heerey Erin A. , Crossley Helen M.
Published: June 2013

During face-to-face interactions, people reciprocate their conversation partners’ genuine and polite smiles with matching smiles. In the research reported here, we demonstrated that predictive mechanisms play a role in this behavior. In natural interactions (Study 1), participants anticipated a substantial proportion of genuine smiles but almost no polite ones. We propose that reinforcement-learning mechanisms underpin this social prediction and that smile-reciprocity differences arise because genuine smiles are more rewarding than polite smiles. In Study 2, we tested this idea using a learning task in which correct responses were rewarded with genuine or polite smiles. We measured participants’ smile reactions with electromyography (EMG). As in natural interactions, people mimicked polite smiles reactively, after seeing them appear. Interestingly, the EMG data showed predictive responding to genuine smiles only. These results demonstrate that anticipating social rewards drives predictive social responding and therefore represent a significant advance in understanding the mechanisms that underpin the neural control of real-world social behavior.
Different Patterns, but Equivalent Predictors, of Growth in Reading in Consistent and Inconsistent Orthographies
Authors: Caravolas Markéta , Lervåg Arne , Defior Sylvia , Seidlová Málková Gabriela , Hulme Charles
Published: June 2013

All alphabetic orthographies use letters in printed words to represent the phonemes in spoken words, but they differ in the consistency of the relationship between letters and phonemes. English appears to be the least consistent alphabetic orthography phonologically, and, consequently, children learn to read more slowly in English than in languages with more consistent orthographies. In this article, we report the first longitudinal evidence that the growth of reading skills is slower and follows a different trajectory in English than in two much more consistent orthographies (Spanish and Czech). Nevertheless, phoneme awareness, letter-sound knowledge, and rapid automatized naming measured at the onset of literacy instruction did not differ in importance as predictors of variations in reading development among the three languages. These findings suggest that although children may learn to read more rapidly in more consistent than in less consistent orthographies, there may nevertheless be universal cognitive prerequisites for learning to read in all alphabetic orthographies.
From conflicting narratives to legal conflicts
Authors: Harmon Shawn H.E.
Published: June 2013

Life sciences innovation has prompted both optimism and angst, and has been the subject of intensive economic and commercial activity. That activity has been supported by legal institutions and mechanisms in the form of intellectual property law deployments. However, recent jurisprudence has put the unaltered pursuit of commercial gain in the life sciences into some (slight) doubt, and has reinvigorated the so-called `life patents' debate. This paper considers these recent judicial developments, focusing in particular on how different narratives and approaches to biovalue have coloured litigant approaches. It goes on to consider briefly what these cases and the divergent world views represented within them might mean for the regulation of life science commercial practices moving forward.
Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Practices and Knowledge and Attitudes
Authors: Leathers Sonya J. , Strand Tonya C.
Published: June 2013

Objective.

This pilot study examined the effect of increasing field instructors access to information about evidence-based practices (EBPs) on their level of knowledge and attitudes about EBPs.

Method.

Eighteen field instructors received training and access to a library with extensive online journals. Half were randomly selected to also receive a brief training and subscription to PracticeWise, which includes an online modularized treatment manual for children's mental health disorders (MATCH). Participants completed three interviews by telephone at baseline, six weeks, and 12 weeks.

Results.

An increase in knowledge of EBPs occurred in the PracticeWise condition, which was reported to be significantly more helpful than the journals. Unexpectedly, attitudes about EBPS became more negative overall, but greater use of MATCH was related to an increase in positive attitudes.

Conclusions.

Supporting field instructors' consultation of materials with direct practice relevance might positively influence attitudes that could otherwise be a barrier to learning EBPs.
Trends in Length of Hospice Care From 1996 to 2007 and the Factors Associated With Length of Hospice Care in 2007
Authors: Sengupta Manisha , Park-Lee Eunice , Valverde Roberto , Caffrey Christine , Jones Adrienne
Published: June 2013

Using the National Home and Hospice Care Surveys, we examined trends in length of hospice care from 1996 to 2007 and the factors associated with length of care in 2007. Results suggest that the increasing average lengths of care over time reflect the increase in the longest duration of care. For-profit ownership is associated with hospice care received for over a year.
The Effects of Receiving a Rape Disclosure
Authors: Branch Kathryn A. , Richards Tara N.
Published: June 2013

Research suggests that college women are at greater risk for rape and sexual assault than women in the general population or in a comparable age group. College women, away from home and family, may turn to friends for support. Friends may experience emotional reactions that affect their own functioning and may not feel they have anywhere to turn. In this study, we interviewed male and female college students who had received a rape disclosure from a friend. Their unique stories provide insight into the secondary effects of rape disclosure on friends. Implications of these findings for college campuses are discussed.
Effect of blanching temperature and dipping time on drying time of broccoli
Authors: Doymaz Ibrahim
Published: June 2013

Drying characteristics of broccoli was experimentally studied in cabinet-type convective dryer. Experiments were conducted using constant air velocity of 2 m/s and air temperature of 60 ℃. Drying rate increased with increasing blanching temperature and thus reduced the drying time. The experimental drying data were used to fit twelve drying models and drying rate constants and coefficients of the models were determined by non-linear regression analysis. Estimations by the Midilli et al. model were in good agreement with the experimental data obtained. Fick’s second law was used to calculate the effective moisture diffusivity, which varied from 1.987 to 3.577 × 10-8 m2/s for the given blanching temperature range. The rehydration ratio was observed to increase with increasing blanching temperature.
Sensory characteristics and volatile composition of a cereal beverage fermented with Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB 702257
Authors: Salmerón Ivan , Rozada Raquel , Thomas Keith , Ortega-Rivas Enrique , Pandiella Severino S
Published: June 2013

Most of the commercialized lactic acid fermented products are dairy-based. Hence, the development of non-dairy fermented products with probiotic properties draws significant attention within the functional foods industry. The microorganisms used in such products have complex enzyme systems through which they generate diverse metabolites (volatile and non-volatile) that provide significant flavour attributes of importance for fermented foods. The correlation of the volatile flavour compounds of a malt beverage fermented with a Bifidobacterium breve strain with its unique sensory characteristics was performed. The volatile composition analysis exposed the presence of 12 components. Eight of these flavour volatiles were produced through the metabolic activity of the bifidobacteria strain. Notably acetic acid, of reported sour flavour characteristics, exhibited the greatest intensity. Four components of considerable organoleptic characteristics were identified as Maillard-derived products, namely maltol, pyranone, 2 (5H)-furanmethanol and 3-furanmethanol. The sensory evaluation exhibited that the fermented cereal beverage had a sour flavour with mild sweet and malty notes. These results indicate that the volatile compounds identified can be appointed as significant flavour markers of the novel fermented cereal beverage.
Effects of nitric oxide treatment on the cell wall softening related enzymes and several hormones of papaya fruit during storage
Authors: Guo Qin , Wu Bin , Chen Weixin , Zhang Yuli , Wang Jide , Li Xueping
Published: June 2013

Papaya fruits ( Carica papaya L. cv ‘Sui you 2’) harvested with <5% yellow surface at the blossom end were fumigated with 60 µL/L of nitric oxide for 3 h and then stored at 20 ℃ with 85% relative humility for 20 days. The effects of nitric oxide treatment on ethylene production rate, the activities of cell wall softening related enzymes including polygalacturonase, pectin methyl esterase, pectate lyase and cellulase and the levels of hormones including indole acetic acid, abscisic acid, gibberellin and zeatin riboside were examined. The results showed that papaya fruits treated with nitric oxide had a significantly lower rate of ethylene production and a lesser loss of firmness during storage. A decrease in polygalacturonase, pectin methyl esterase, pectate lyase and cellulase activities was observed in nitric oxide treated fruit. In addition, the contents of indole acetic acid, abscisic acid and zeatin riboside were reduced in nitric oxide treated fruit, but no significant reduction in the level of gibberellin was found. These results indicate that nitric oxide treatment can effectively delay the softening and ripening of papaya fruit, likely via the regulation of cell wall softening related enzymes and certain hormones.
Determination of the moisture sorption behavior of osmotically dehydrated mackerel fillets by means of binary and ternary solutions
Authors: Agustinelli Silvina Paola , Salvadori Viviana Olga , Yeannes Maria Isabel
Published: June 2013

In this study, the moisture sorption isotherm of osmotically dehydrated mackerel fillets ( Scomber japonicus) was experimentally determined. The fillets were osmotically dehydrated with solutions of salt (NaCl) (120 and 180 g per liter of solution) or in combination with sugar (350 to 700 g per liter of solution). The sorption isotherms were determined using the static gravimetric methodology with six salts for the water activity range of 0.33–0.98 at 5 ℃ and 25 ℃. All the sorption curves were found to be type III. Temperature and the final tissue salt content had significant ( p < 0.05) effects on the sorption isotherms. A regression program was used to fit the Halsey, Oswin and Smith moisture sorption isotherm models. Oswin equation gave the best fit for the whole range of water activity and temperatures. The Smith equation only presented valuable results for the mackerel fillets samples with the higher salt content.
Immunocytochemical demonstration of feline infectious peritonitis virus within cerebrospinal fluid macrophages
Authors: Ives Edward J , Vanhaesebrouck An E , Cian Francesco
Published: June 2013

A 4-month-old female entire domestic shorthair cat presented with an acute onset of blindness, tetraparesis and subsequent generalised seizure activity. Haematology and serum biochemistry demonstrated a moderate, poorly regenerative anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia and hyperglobulinaemia with a low albumin:globulin ratio. Serology for feline coronavirus antibody was positive with an elevated alpha-1 acid glycoprotein. Analysis of cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) demonstrated markedly elevated protein and a mixed, predominately neutrophilic pleocytosis. Immunocytochemistry for feline coronavirus was performed on the CSF, with positive staining observed inside macrophages. The cat was subsequently euthanased, and both histopathology and immunohistochemistry were consistent with a diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis. This is the first reported use of immunocytochemistry for detection of feline coronavirus within CSF macrophages. If this test proves highly specific, as for identification of feline coronavirus within tissue or effusion macrophages, it would be strongly supportive of an ante-mortem diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis in cats with central nervous system involvement without the need for biopsy.
The globalization of childhood: The international diffusion of norms and law against the child death penalty
Authors: Linde Robyn
Published: June 2013

International law on children’s rights, in important ways, usurps state authority over the ideology of childhood, establishing complicated and exacting standards that all states should adopt. The international community’s enshrinement of children as rights-holders and consolidation of power over the boundaries and standards of childhood mirrors international consolidation of authority over human rights in general after World War II, as the international community increasingly became the arbiter of acceptable treatment of citizens by states. In this paper, I argue that a globalized model of childhood that emerged after World War II was important to the development of the international system, serving to consolidate power and legitimize international institutions and order. I further examine the growth of this globalized model of childhood, one codified today in international law and developed primarily in Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and diffused from these points of origin throughout the world. The paper uses the development of domestic and international law forbidding the death penalty for child offenders as a point of entry into the study of childhood, children’s rights and the international system. It investigates the mechanisms of diffusion for the norm against the child death penalty and identifies three principal mechanisms of norm diffusion based on the findings of case studies and their types of law; colonial influence; temporal period of abolition; and participation in international legal regimes and institutions.
Confucian cultural psychology and its contextually creative intentionality
Authors: Wen Haiming , Wang Hang
Published: June 2013

This comparative project is carried out under the trend that both Eastern and Western psychological theories are engaging each other much more than ever before. Theoretically, Western cultural psychology might be strengthened by having a greater understanding of Confucian cultural psychology. Methodologically, Western psychological research has paid more attention to indigenous and cultural studies in order to understand people in cross-cultural context. Practically, understanding the Confucian idea of contextually creative intentionality will aid modern Western cultural psychology in a global era, as well as the growth of cognitive psychological theories. My arguments pertaining to the contextual, relational, engaged and co-created nature of human processes focuses on intentionality and the continuity of human experience and the world. This approach has the potential to enrich current discussions on human agency, especially in modern psychological theories.
Toward moving ‘race-acting’ research into a global perspective
Authors: Nsamenang A Bame
Published: June 2013

This brief article lightly critiques the research of Burrell and colleagues that examines an innovative theory for understanding the low academic achievement scores of African-American adolescents compared to those of their White peers. It goes on to raise some hitherto muted emotive but attainable scholarly issues about cognitive repertoires and achievement dispositions of the Dark Continent – Africa – its race and Diaspora peoples. It forcefully muses over what and how African-American scholars can contribute to uplift “race-acting” and “acting White” research to a global Black scholarship platform, not in isolation but within scientific communities with the objective of enriching and extending global research trends with humanity’s experiences from Black peoples. This stance is premised on scientific psychology as a racialized discipline that has subverted and continues to exclude or trivialize the social historical experiences and psychological profiles of Black peoples, which are an obvious endowment of human knowledge. It is the onerous task of Black scholars in Africa and its Diaspora to transcend their awful history and fragmented perspectives to research and input, within leading-edge global scholarships, the timeless wisdom and ingenuities intrinsic in Africa’s heritages into global knowledge systems. The terrible circumstances of Black peoples must no longer be allowed to define them; rather they must be applied to define where they want to be in a globalized world. It is incumbent on Black researchers worldwide to evolve science-based actionable vistas of how to attain that desired, respectable end.
Re-casting the veil: Situated meanings of covering
Authors: Rasmussen Susan J
Published: June 2013

This commentary offers a socio-cultural anthropological critical overview of studies of covering, popularly called “veiling” and “the veil” as practiced predominantly (though not exclusively) by some (though not all) Muslim women. The goal is to review studies that enhance understanding of this practice by detaching it from ethnocentric and culture-bound images of gender and religion—especially women and Islam—pervasive in some media portrayals and implied in some political policies in the West, for example, France. Drawing on these works, this commentary will also discuss the essay on this topic by Wagner, Sen, Permanadeli, and Howarth, outlining the contributions, issues raised, and areas of further inquiry suggested by these authors’ and others’ research on the veil in relation to Muslim women’s identity in contexts of religion and symbolism, aesthetics, political pressures and resistance to stereotyping.
‘Healthy’ individuals’ perceptions of type 1 and type 2 diabetes cause and management
Authors: Anderson-Lister Gina , Treharne Gareth J
Published: June 2013

This study investigated ‘healthy’ participants’ perceptions of types 1 and 2 diabetes using mixed methods. A total of 38 participants were asked about their perceptions of both types of diabetes using video-based vignettes of four cases. Participants answered standardised questionnaires while thinking aloud and could expand during semi-structured interview sections. Four themes were identified: knowledge of diabetes, power to influence diabetes, limitations of responsibility or blame for diabetes and feelings about individuals with diabetes. Perceived controllability of causes and perceptions of illness management informs understanding of stigma and risk and emphasises the importance of comparing perceptions of both types of diabetes.
Reactivity controlled compression ignition and conventional diesel combustion: A comparison of methods to meet light-duty NOx and fuel economy targets
Authors: Kokjohn Sage L , Reitz Rolf D
Published: June 2013

This study compares conventional diesel combustion and reactivity controlled compression ignition combustion in a light-duty engine at NOx levels equivalent to US Tier 2 Bin 5 and proposes a simple method to account for the added fluid consumption required to meet NOx constraints using aftertreatment. Reactivity controlled compression ignition and conventional diesel combustion are compared assuming that the conventional diesel combustion mode uses selective catalytic reduction to meet NOx constraints. The results show that reactivity controlled compression ignition is capable of meeting cycle-averaged NOx targets (equivalent to Tier 2 Bin 5) without NOx aftertreatment. In addition, efficiency comparisons show that reactivity controlled compression ignition offers a 4% improvement in fuel consumption and a 7.3% improvement in total fluid consumption (fuel + diesel exhaust fluid) over conventional diesel combustion with selective catalytic reduction. The fuel consumption improvement is due primarily to lower heat transfer losses. Additionally, it was found that the efficiency of reactivity controlled compression ignition can be further improved by careful selection of operating conditions and the combustion chamber configuration. The modeling shows that over 52% gross indicated efficiency can be achieved in the light-duty engine while meeting NOx targets in-cylinder.
Moral exemplars in theory and practice
Authors: Zagzebski Linda
Published: June 2013

In this article I outline an original form of ethical theory that I call exemplarist virtue theory. The theory is intended to serve the philosophical purposes of a comprehensive moral theory, but it is also intended to serve the practical purpose of moral education by structuring the theory around a motivating emotion – the emotion of admiration. In this theory, basic moral concepts are defined via direct reference to exemplars of moral goodness, picked out through reflective admiration. The theory gives narratives a critical function, and it connects empirical studies with the a priori side of ethics.
Predicting Presence at the Intersections: Assessing the Variation in Women's Office Holding across the States
Authors: Scola Becki
Published: June 2013

Over the past several decades, women's office holding at the state level has grown substantially, but there is still a large range of electoral service across the 50 states. In this article, I revisit the most common explanations provided by the literature in helping us understand this variation and assess whether these explanations can be effectively applied to different racial/ethnic groups of female legislators. Using data from a 20-year time span, I find that there are differences between the factors that predict white women and women of color's state legislative presence.
Change and Continuity
Authors: Zheng Yulian , Walker Allan , Chen Shuangye
Published: June 2013

This article analyses the continuities and changes in principal development in mainland China over the past two decades by assessing the role of the state in shaping principal development over this period. The article outlines and analyses the 14 key policies that have shaped the practice of principal development. The main changes identified include formal recognition of the need for and potential of principal development to effect change in schools; growth in the number and background of training providers; and shifts in the stated purpose, content, curriculum and pedagogy of principal development programmes. The ‘continuities’ are the enduring power of the state in shaping the ideology that dominates principal development, such as framing it as both a national obligation and a right. We argue that the state has maintained a strong role in shaping principal development in mainland China over the last two decades, but at the same time, has (at least rhetorically) sought to promote increased school autonomy and build more effective schools. This indicates that principal development stands at an important juncture in China.
Preparing Principals: What Can We Learn from MBA and MPA Programmes?
Authors: Hallinger Philip , Lu Jiafang
Published: June 2013

The past two decades have witnessed increasing global acceptance of the important role that capable leadership plays in education reform and school improvement. Consequently, policymakers internationally have actively sought means of strengthening capacity for school-level leadership, with a particular focus on the design of more effective programmes of administrator preparation and development. In this article we examine trends in the design of graduate education programmes offered in the related domains of business management and publication administration. We analyse data extracted from on-line descriptions of three types of master’s degree programmes: master of business administration (MBA); master of public administration (MPA); and MBA programmes with a concentration in education (MBA-Ed). The study identifies patterns in the programme structure, curriculum content and learning methods employed in these graduate management programmes. The analysis yields features that could add potential value to university-based master of education degree programmes aimed at principal preparation.
Implementation of a Coaching Program for School Principals
Authors: Huff Jason , Preston Courtney , Goldring Ellen
Published: June 2013

We present a multi-phase coaching model that was implemented to help principals improve their instructional leadership practices. We then discuss a rubric based on this coaching model that we used to evaluate coaches’ implementation of key model phases and to identify principals’ responses to the coaching. After presenting the leadership coaching model, we introduce the implementation rubrics, and then we present contrasting cases from our analyses that illustrate two principals’ varying responses to coaching. We discuss how their coaches differed in two key dimensions of implementation: dose and the quality of program delivery. We conclude with a discussion of how these findings can inform development of future educational leadership coaching programs and guide additional research to evaluate the impact of coaching.
Ribosomal and hematopoietic defects in induced pluripotent stem cells derived from Diamond Blackfan anemia patients
Authors: Garçon Loïc , Ge Jingping , Manjunath Shwetha H. , Mills Jason A. , Apicella Marisa , Parikh Shefali , Sullivan Lisa M. , Podsakoff Gregory M. , Gadue Paul , French Deborah L. , Mason Philip J. , Bessler Monica , Weiss Mitchell J.
Published: June 2013

Key Points

Ribosome biogenesis and hematopoiesis are impaired in iPSCs from DBA patients. The abnormalities of DBA iPSCs are ameliorated by genetic restoration of the defective ribosomal protein genes.
Long-term decline in intelligence among adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with cranial radiation
Authors: Krull Kevin R. , Zhang Nan , Santucci Aimee , Srivastava Deo Kumar , Krasin Matthew J. , Kun Larry E. , Pui Ching-Hon , Robison Leslie L. , Hudson Melissa M. , Armstrong Gregory T.
Published: June 2013

Key Points

Adult survivors of childhood ALL treated with cranial radiation demonstrate a decline in verbal intelligence during an interval of 28 years. This decline was associated with current attention problems, but not gender, radiation dose, or age at radiation exposure.
Distinct regulation of dengue virus-induced inflammasome activation in humanmacrophage subsets
Authors: Wu Ming-Fang , Chen Szu-Ting , Hsieh Shie-Liang
Published: June 2013

Macrophages (Mϕ) are the major source of inflammatory cytokines and aretarget cells for dengue virus (DV) replication. However, Mϕ areheterogeneous and their phenotypic and functional diversities are influenced bycytokines that regulate their differentiation, tissue distribution, and defenseagainst invading pathogens. In vitro, human primary macrophages arederived from peripheral blood CD14+ monocytes in the presence ofmacrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) or granulocyte macrophagecolony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). These are essential for developingtissue/resting macrophages (M-Mϕ) and inflammatory macrophages(GM-Mϕ), respectively. While IFN production is similar between M-Mϕand GM-Mϕ, M-Mϕ cannot produce IL-1β after DV infection. Incontrast, GM-Mϕ is more susceptible to DV infection and DV triggers CLEC5Ain GM-Mϕ to activate NLRP3 inflammasomes, which in turn release IL-18 andIL-1β that are critical for Th17 activation and contribute to diseaseseverity. Thus, GM-Mϕ is more representative than M-Mϕ forinvestigating inflammasome activation in dengue infection, and is invaluable forrevealing the molecular mechanism of pathogen-induced inflammatory reaction.Distinct phenotypes of macrophage subsets under the influence of M-CSF andGM-CSF raise the question of optimal conditions for culturing primarymacrophages to study host-pathogen interaction.
Discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes associated with fertility and production traits in Holstein cattle
Authors: Cochran Sarah D , Cole John B , Null Daniel J , Hansen Peter J
Published: June 2013

Background

Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for specific genes involved in reproduction might improve reliability of genomic estimates for these low-heritability traits. Semen from 550 Holstein bulls of high (≥ 1.7; n = 288) or low (≤ −2; n = 262) daughter pregnancy rate (DPR) was genotyped for 434 candidate SNPs using the Sequenom MassARRAY® system. Three types of SNPs were evaluated: SNPs previously reported to be associated with reproductive traits or physically close to genetic markers for reproduction, SNPs in genes that are well known to be involved in reproductive processes, and SNPs in genes that are differentially expressed between physiological conditions in a variety of tissues associated in reproductive function. Eleven reproduction and production traits were analyzed.

Results

A total of 40 SNPs were associated (P < 0.05) with DPR. Among these were genes involved in the endocrine system, cell signaling, immune function and inhibition of apoptosis. A total of 10 genes were regulated by estradiol. In addition, 22 SNPs were associated with heifer conception rate, 33 with cow conception rate, 36 with productive life, 34 with net merit, 23 with milk yield, 19 with fat yield, 13 with fat percent, 19 with protein yield, 22 with protein percent, and 13 with somatic cell score. The allele substitution effect for SNPs associated with heifer conception rate, cow conception rate, productive life and net merit were in the same direction as for DPR. Allele substitution effects for several SNPs associated with production traits were in the opposite direction as DPR. Nonetheless, there were 29 SNPs associated with DPR that were not negatively associated with production traits.

Conclusion

SNPs in a total of 40 genes associated with DPR were identified as well as SNPs for other traits. It might be feasible to include these SNPs into genomic tests of reproduction and other traits. The genes associated with DPR are likely to be important for understanding the physiology of reproduction. Given the large number of SNPs associated with DPR that were not negatively associated with production traits, it should be possible to select for DPR without compromising production.
Insight into the specific virulence related genes and toxin-antitoxin virulent pathogenicity islands in swine streptococcosis pathogen Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus strain ATCC35246
Authors: Ma Zhe , Geng Jianing , Yi Li , Xu Bin , Jia Ruoyu , Li Yue , Meng Qingshu , Fan Hongjie , Hu Songnian
Published: June 2013

Background

Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) is an important pathogen causing swine streptococcosis in China. Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) of S. zooepidemicus have been transferred among bacteria through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and play important roles in the adaptation and increased virulence of S. zooepidemicus. The present study used comparative genomics to examine the different pathogenicities of S. zooepidemicus.

Results

Genome of S. zooepidemicus ATCC35246 (Sz35246) comprises 2,167,264-bp of a single circular chromosome, with a GC content of 41.65%. Comparative genome analysis of Sz35246, S. zooepidemicus MGCS10565 (Sz10565), Streptococcus equi. ssp. equi. 4047 (Se4047) and S. zooepidemicus H70 (Sz70) identified 320 Sz35246-specific genes, clustered into three toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems PAIs and one restriction modification system (RM system) PAI. These four acquired PAIs encode proteins that may contribute to the overall pathogenic capacity and fitness of this bacterium to adapt to different hosts. Analysis of the in vivo and in vitro transcriptomes of this bacterium revealed differentially expressed PAI genes and non-PAI genes, suggesting that Sz35246 possess mechanisms for infecting animals and adapting to a wide range of host environments. Analysis of the genome identified potential Sz35246 virulence genes. Genes of the Fim III operon were presumed to be involved in breaking the host-restriction of Sz35246.

Conclusion

Genome wide comparisons of Sz35246 with three other strains and transcriptome analysis revealed novel genes related to bacterial virulence and breaking the host-restriction. Four specific PAIs, which were judged to have been transferred into Sz35246 genome through HGT, were identified for the first time. Further analysis of the TA and RM systems in the PAIs will improve our understanding of the pathogenicity of this bacterium and could lead to the development of diagnostics and vaccines.
Transcriptome based identification of mouse cumulus cell markers that predict the developmental competence of their enclosed antral oocytes
Authors: Vigone Giulia , Merico Valeria , Prigione Alessandro , Mulas Francesca , Sacchi Lucia , Gabetta Matteo , Bellazzi Riccardo , Redi Carlo Alberto , Mazzini Giuliano , Adjaye James , Garagna Silvia , Zuccotti Maurizio
Published: June 2013

Background

The cumulus cells (CCs) enveloping antral and ovulated oocytes have been regarded as putative source of non-invasive markers of the oocyte developmental competence. A number of studies have indeed observed a correlation between CCs gene expression, embryo quality, and final pregnancy outcome. Here, we isolated CCs from antral mouse oocytes of known developmental incompetence (NSN-CCs) or competence (SN-CCs) and compared their transcriptomes with the aim of identifying distinct marker transcripts.

Results

Global gene expression analysis highlighted that both types of CCs share similar transcriptomes, with the exception of 422 genes, 97.6% of which were down-regulated in NSN-CCs vs. SN-CCs. This transcriptional down-regulation in NSN-CCs was confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis of CC-related genes (Has2, Ptx3, Tnfaip6 and Ptgs2). Only ten of the 422 genes were up-regulated with Amh being the most up-regulated in NSN-CCs, with an average 4-fold higher expression when analysed by qRT-PCR.

Conclusions

The developmental incompetence (NSN) or competence (SN) of antral oocytes can be predicted using transcript markers expressed by their surrounding CCs (i.e., Has2, Ptx3, Tnfaip6, Ptgs2 and Amh). Overall, the regulated nature of the group of genes brought out by whole transcriptome analysis constitutes the molecular signature of CCs associated either with developmentally incompetent or competent oocytes and may represent a valuable resource for developing new molecular tools for the assessment of oocyte quality and to further investigate the complex bi-directional interaction occurring between CCs and oocyte.