bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a sociology of computational and algorithmic journalism
Authors: Anderson CW
Published: December 2012

This article advances a sociological approach to computational journalism. By “computational journalism” the article refers to the increasingly ubiquitous forms of algorithmic, social scientific, and mathematical forms of newswork adopted by many 21st-century newsrooms and touted by many educational institutions as “the future of news.” By “sociological approach,” the article endorses a research model that brackets, at least temporarily, many of the current industry concerns with the practical usability of newsroom analysis. The bulk of the article outlines a series of six lenses through which such an approach to computational journalism might be carried out. Four of these lenses are drawn from Schudson’s classic typology of the sociology of news—economic, political, cultural, and organizational approaches. In addition, the author adds Bordieuean field approaches and technological lenses to the mix. In each instance, the author discusses how particular approaches might need to be modified in order to study computational journalism in the digital age.
Children Raping Children: Penal Elitism and the Contested Innocence Frame in Hong Kong
Authors: Adorjan Michael , Chui Wing Hong
Published: December 2012

Recent incidents involving rape committed by young adolescents against other youth has led Hong Kong officials to repeal the presumption that young persons under the age of 14 are incapable of sexual intercourse. Examining reports advocating legislative change as well as those which dissent, we argue that a lack of consultation with the public, the small number of cases and the speed with which the changes are set to be implemented evidence penal elitism in Hong Kong, which potentially undercuts a long standing view in Hong Kong of young offenders as victims, and ignores wider contexts of abuse and victimization.
Is the Scaled Approach a Failed Approach?
Authors: Haines Kevin , Case Stephen
Published: December 2012

This article evaluates the ‘Scaled Approach’ to youth justice adopted in England and Wales, compared with the ‘Children First’ approach adopted in Swansea. Using Youth Justice Board reconviction data, comparisons are made between the performance of the Scaled Approach pilot areas, Children First and all other Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales. Data indicates wide variability and inconsistency of practice across Youth Offending Teams, including the pilot areas. The Children First model emerges as a promising method of reducing reconviction rates, whereas the Scaled Approach (applied assiduously) has unintended negative consequences. Implications for youth justice assessment policy and practice are discussed.
Acoustic and Perceptual Correlates of Foreign Accent Syndrome With Manic Etiology
Authors: Lewis Skye , Ball Laura J. , Kitten Suzanna
Published: December 2012

In foreign accent syndrome (FAS), changes in articulation and prosody cause listeners to perceive the speaker as “foreign-sounding.” Fewer than 100 cases of FAS have been described in the literature; commonly associated with brain damage, only a handful of these have been analyzed with respect to acoustic measures. Acoustic and perceptual measurements were used to compare conversational samples of an individual with mania, first presenting with FAS and again after a return to baseline speech. Acoustic measurements included fundamental frequency, intensity, vowel space, and pause time. Perceptual measures were used to describe prosody, articulation, rate of speech, and intelligibility. Differences in acoustic and perceptual correlates and a negative impact on participation suggest the validity of assigning a diagnosis of FAS associated with mania despite lack of brain damage.
Direct Marketing and the Productive Capacity of Commercial Television
Authors: McGuigan Lee
Published: December 2012

This essay contributes to a materialist understanding of institutional dynamics in commercial television in the United States. It considers the mutual constitution of business administration and social developments in technology. It is argued herein that ongoing organizational shifts in television are motivated by the imperative to exploit the full productive capacity of commercial television. A case study of Canoe Ventures demonstrates that television increasingly employs the evaluative criteria of direct marketing to rationalize the process of producing audiences-as-commodities. The business of commercial television is being organized to verify return on investment and to locate causality between advertising and sales.
Tether and Accretions
Authors: Goetz Christopher
Published: December 2012

I argue that videogames are structured by conscious fantasy. This project traces two fantasies (tether and accretions) that combine into the genre of the role-playing game, providing a rough timeline for the evolution of these fantasies in videogames. It also engages in close readings of individual works that highlight important aspects of each fantasy. This study can serve as the basis for a formal analysis of games that is reinforced by their divided nature (game and story). Fantasy can serve as an intermediate term between game and story, and as such can incorporate the player into a game’s formal analysis. I also argue that videogames teach us that fantasy is a better term for describing media convergence than story. Note that “fantasy” here does not refer to the literary genre but rather to a dynamic psychological concept related to play.
A Critique of the Mainstream Management Control Theory and the Way Forward
Authors: Hewege Chandana Rathnasiri
Published: December 2012

This article critiques the mainstream management control theory with a view to highlighting its gaps and to suggesting a direction for its future development. Management control theory has undergone lopsided development due to the dominance of accounting-based approaches to the study of management controls. Thus, management control theory has failed to explain complex issues that are interwoven with deep-rooted, sociocultural context within which these issues emanate. Although the influence of organizational theory, particularly systems theory, cybernetics, and contingency theory, resulted in a marginal outward shift of the boundaries of the mainstream management control theory, the main drawbacks of the theory remained unresolved. Alternative theoretical perspectives rooted in disciplines such as political economy, sociology, and anthropology can enrich the mainstream management control theory. Management control issues emanating from non-Western contexts would remain largely unexplained or poorly explained, unless alternative theoretical perspectives were used.
Effect of Financial Costs on Caregiving Burden of Family Caregivers of Older Adults
Authors: Lai Daniel W. L.
Published: December 2012

This study examined the effects of perceived financial costs on caregiving burden experienced by family caregivers. The target population was family caregivers for older adults who were 65 years of age and older in Calgary, Alberta. Telephone interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire, with a random sample of 340 family caregivers. The financial costs associated with family caregiving were a significant factor in caregiving burden, both for the male and female caregivers, even when controlled for most of the demographic characteristics of the caregivers, and the demographics, health, and caregiving needs of the care receivers. While caregiving is creating burden and financial consequences for family caregivers, the effects of financial costs should not be understood only in financial terms. Policies and programs to alleviate the financial burden and to provide social and financial support for these family caregivers are equally important for both family caregivers and their care receivers.
Quantitation of hematogones at the time of engraftment is a useful prognostic indicator in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Shima Takahiro , Miyamoto Toshihiro , Kikushige Yoshikane , Mori Yasuo , Kamezaki Kenjiro , Takase Ken , Henzan Hideho , Numata Akihiko , Ito Yoshikiyo , Takenaka Katsuto , Iwasaki Hiromi , Kamimura Tomohiko , Eto Tetsuya , Nagafuji Koji , Teshima Takanori , Kato Koji , Akashi Koichi
Published: December 2012

Key Points

Quantitation of hematogones at engraftment is useful to predict prognosis of patients treated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
Retinoid agonist Am80-enhanced neutrophil bactericidal activity arising from granulopoiesis in vitro and in a neutropenic mouse model
Authors: Ding Wanjing , Shimada Hiroyuki , Li Lin , Mittal Rahul , Zhang Xiaokun , Shudo Koichi , He Qiaojun , Prasadarao Nemani V. , Wu Lingtao
Published: December 2012

Key Points

Neutrophils mobilized by Am80 display greater bactericidal activity than those by G-CSF. These findings suggest a molecular rationale for developing new therapy for neutropenia by using Am80 as a cost-effective treatment option.
Risk factors for secondary transmission of Shigellainfection within households: implications for current prevention policy
Authors: Boveé Lian , Whelan Jane , Sonder Gerard JB , van Dam Alje P , van den Hoek Anneke
Published: December 2012

Background

Internationally, guidelines to prevent secondary transmission of Shigella infection vary widely. Cases, their contacts with diarrhoea, and those in certain occupational groups are frequently excluded from work, school, or daycare. In the Netherlands, all contacts attending pre-school (age 0–3) and junior classes in primary school (age 4–5), irrespective of symptoms, are also excluded pending microbiological clearance. We identified risk factors for secondary Shigella infection (SSI) within households and evaluated infection control policy in this regard.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study of households where a laboratory confirmed Shigella case was reported in Amsterdam (2002–2009) included all households at high risk for SSI (i.e. any household member under 16 years). Cases were classified as primary, co-primary or SSIs. Using univariable and multivariable binomial regression with clustered robust standard errors to account for household clustering, we examined case and contact factors (Shigella serotype, ethnicity, age, sex, household size, symptoms) associated with SSI in contacts within households.

Results

SSI occurred in 25/ 337 contacts (7.4%): 20% were asymptomatic, 68% were female, and median age was 14 years (IQR: 4–38). In a multivariable model adjusted for case and household factors, only diarrhoea in contacts was associated with SSI (IRR 8.0, 95% CI:2.7-23.8). In a second model, factors predictive of SSI in contacts were the age of case (0–3 years (IRRcase≥6 years:2.5, 95% CI:1.1-5.5) and 4–5 years (IRRcase≥6 years:2.2, 95% CI:1.1-4.3)) and household size (>6 persons (IRR2-4 persons 3.4, 95% CI:1.2-9.5)).

Conclusions

To identify symptomatic and asymptomatic SSI, faecal screening should be targeted at all household contacts of preschool cases (0–3 years) and cases attending junior class in primary school (4–5 years) and any household contact with diarrhoea. If screening was limited to these groups, only one asymptomatic adult carrier would have been missed, and potential exclusion of 70 asymptomatic contacts <6 years old from school or daycare, who were contacts of cases of all ages, could have been avoided.
Human amniotic epithelial cells differentiate into cells expressing germ cell specific markers when cultured in medium containing serum substitute supplement
Authors: Evron Ayelet , Goldman Shlomit , Shalev Eliezer
Published: December 2012

Background

Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) maintain the plasticity of pregastrulation embryonic cells, having the potential to differentiate into all three germ layers. The potential of these cells to differentiate into cells expressing germ cell specific markers has never been described before.

Methods

In the present study, hAECs were cultured in medium containing serum substitute supplement (SSS). Gene and protein expression of germ cell and oocyte specific markers was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunofluorescence staining and flow activated cell sorter analysis (FACS) in hAECs at different time points during the differentiation into cells expressing germ cell specific markers.

Results

When cultured with SSS, already at passage 1, hAECs start to express the germ cell specific genes C-KIT, DAZL, VASA and ZP3 and at passage 5 large round cells, resembling oocytes, appeared. The cells express the germ cell specific marker DAZL, the oocyte specific markers GDF9 and ZP3 and the meiosis specific markers DMC1 and SCP3 at the protein level.

Conclusions

From our preliminary results we can conclude that hAECs have the potential to differentiate into cells expressing germ cell specific markers.
The chemokine, macrophage inflammatory protein-2γ, reduces the expression of glutamate transporter-1 on astrocytes and increases neuronal sensitivity to glutamate excitotoxicity
Authors: Fang Jie , Han Deping , Hong Jinsheng , Tan Qi , Tian Yeping
Published: December 2012

Background

Changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission via decreased glutamate transporter (GLT) activity or expression contributes to multiple neurological disorders. Chemokines and their receptors are involved in neurological diseases but the role of chemokines in the expression of glutamate transporters is unclear.

Methods

Primary astrocytes were prepared from neonatal (<24 hours old) SJL/J mouse brains and incubated with 5 μg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or 50 ng/ml tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) for 24 hours. Soluble macrophage inflammatory protein-2γ (MIP-2γ) in culture supernatants was determined using a sandwich ELISA. The MIP-2γ effect on the expression of GLT-1 was measured by quantitative RT-PCR, flow cytometric analysis or western blot assay. Detergent-resistant membranes from astrocytes were isolated on the basis of their ability to float in density gradients. Raft-containing fractions were tracked by the enrichment of caveolin-1 and the dendritic lipid raft marker, flotillin-1. Cell viability was determined by measuring either the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase or the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide by viable cells and confirmed by visual inspection.

Results

The production of the chemokine MIP-2γ by mouse cortical astrocytes increased significantly after stimulation with LPS or TNF-αin vitro. Astrocytes over-expressing MIP-2γ down-regulated the expression of GLT-1 at the mRNA and protein level and caused redistribution of GLT-1 out of the lipid rafts that mediate glutamate uptake. We used pharmacological inhibitors to identify the downstream signaling pathways underlying MIP-2γ activity. We also found complementary results by knocking down MIP-2γ activity in astrocytes with MIP-2γ small interfering RNA (siRNA). MIP-2γ overexpression in astrocytes enhanced the neuronal toxicity of glutamate by decreasing GLT-1 activity, but MIP-2γ itself was not toxic to neurons.

Conclusions

These results suggest that MIP-2γ mediates the pathogenesis of central nervous system disorders associated with neutrophil infiltration in the brain and decreased GLT-1 activity.
Phenotype prediction from genome-wide association studies: application to smoking behaviors
Authors: Yoon Dankyu , Kim Young Jin , Park Taesung
Published: December 2012

Background

A great success of the genome wide association study enabled us to give more attention on the personal genome and clinical application such as diagnosis and disease risk prediction. However, previous prediction studies using known disease associated loci have not been successful (Area Under Curve 0.55 ~ 0.68 for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease). There are several reasons for poor predictability such as small number of known disease-associated loci, simple analysis not considering complexity in phenotype, and a limited number of features used for prediction.

Methods

In this research, we investigated the effect of feature selection and prediction algorithm on the performance of prediction method thoroughly. In particular, we considered the following feature selection and prediction methods: regression analysis, regularized regression analysis, linear discriminant analysis, non-linear support vector machine, and random forest. For these methods, we studied the effects of feature selection and the number of features on prediction. Our investigation was based on the analysis of 8,842 Korean individuals genotyped by Affymetrix SNP array 5.0, for predicting smoking behaviors.

Results

To observe the effect of feature selection methods on prediction performance, selected features were used for prediction and area under the curve score was measured. For feature selection, the performances of support vector machine (SVM) and elastic-net (EN) showed better results than those of linear discriminant analysis (LDA), random forest (RF) and simple logistic regression (LR) methods. For prediction, SVM showed the best performance based on area under the curve score. With less than 100 SNPs, EN was the best prediction method while SVM was the best if over 400 SNPs were used for the prediction.

Conclusions

Based on combination of feature selection and prediction methods, SVM showed the best performance in feature selection and prediction.
Geomechanical modeling of induced seismicity source parameters and implications for seismic hazard assessment
Authors: Goertz-Allmann Bettina P. , Wiemer Stefan
Published: December 2012

We simulate induced seismicity within a geothermal reservoir using pressure-driven stress changes and seismicity triggering based on Coulomb friction. The result is a forward-modeled seismicity cloud with origin time, stress drop, and magnitude assigned to each individual event. Our model includes a realistic representation of repeating event clusters, and is able to explain in principle the observation of reduced stress drop and increased [Formula: see text]-values near the injection point where pore-pressure perturbations are highest. The higher the pore-pressure perturbation, the less critical stress states still trigger an event, and hence the lower the differential stress is before triggering an event. Less-critical stress states result in lower stress drops and higher [Formula: see text]-values, if both are linked to differential stress. We are therefore able to establish a link between the seismological observables and the geomechanical properties of the source region and thus a reservoir. Understanding the geomechanical properties is essential for estimating the probability of exceeding a certain magnitude value in the induced seismicity and hence the associated seismic hazard of the operation. By calibrating our model to the observed seismicity data, we can estimate the probability of exceeding a certain magnitude event in space and time and study the effect of injection depth and crustal strength on the induced seismicity.
Experimental study on the radiation characteristics of downhole acoustic phased combined arc array transmitter
Authors: Wu Jinping , Qiao Wenxiao , Che Xiaohua , Ju Xiaodong , Lu Junqiang , Wu Wenhe
Published: December 2012

A new kind of acoustic phased combined arc array transmitter with controllable directivity presented can be used in 3D acoustic image logging. The phased combined arc array is composed of numerous phased arc arrays placed equally along an axis. Each phased arc array contains several array elements arranged around a circumference. The phased combined arc array is considered as the combination of phased arc arrays and linear phased arrays. A directional radiation acoustic beam in the space is generated by simultaneously controlling the phase delay of excitation signals exerted on array elements located in the circumferential and axial directions. To investigate the radiation characteristics, an acoustic transmitter comprising four eight-element phased arc arrays was assembled to conduct physical simulation experiments in a water tank. Experimental results show that the main lobe width of the horizontal radiation energy narrows significantly by exerting phase delayed excitation signals on array elements of phased arc arrays. Adjusting the delay time of excitation signals applied on neighboring-phased arc arrays allows the main lobe direction of the vertical radiation energy to be steered and facilitates the change in the main lobe width of the vertical radiation energy. The phased combined arc array is characterized by controllable horizontal directivity, vertical directivity, and main lobe width of the radiated acoustic beam. More importantly, the acoustic phased combined arc array transmitter is applicable to 3D acoustic image logging, which is helpful in the enhancement of the reliability and accuracy of complex reservoir exploration.
Miniature array analysis of microtremors
Authors: Cho Ikuo , Senna Shigeki , Fujiwara Hiroyuki
Published: December 2012

We suggest observing microtremors by using a miniature array consisting of vertical-component seismometers that are placed at the center and on the circumference of a circle with a radius of several tens of centimeters, for identifying the phase velocities of Rayleigh waves with wavelengths exceeding several tens or a hundred meters. We present, as tools for the analysis, a set comprised of the analysis methods for the phase velocity and the evaluation method for the analysis limit, which were recently developed by the authors on the basis of a rigorous theory derived by generalizing a spatial autocorrelation method. We conducted miniature-array observations using four or six servo-type seismometers, JU-215 manufactured by Hakusan Corporation, at about 50 observation points throughout a test site and urban areas in Tsukuba City and its surroundings, which have various topographical and geologic environments. The time required from arrival at an observation point to retrieval averaged about 30 min. We could determine the phase velocities of Rayleigh waves with wavelengths of 40 and 100 m at 91% and 51% of all the observation points, respectively. Miniature array analyses can significantly improve the mobility of observation to infer shallow subsurface velocity structures to the depth of several tens of meters.
Prognostic Significance of Progesterone Receptor–Positive Tumor Cells Within Immunohistochemically Defined Luminal A Breast Cancer
Authors: Prat Aleix , Cheang Maggie Chon U. , Martín Miguel , Parker Joel S. , Carrasco Eva , Caballero Rosalía , Tyldesley Scott , Gelmon Karen , Bernard Philip S. , Nielsen Torsten O. , Perou Charles M.
Published: December 2012

Purpose

Current immunohistochemical (IHC)-based definitions of luminal A and B breast cancers are imperfect when compared with multigene expression-based assays. In this study, we sought to improve the IHC subtyping by examining the pathologic and gene expression characteristics of genomically defined luminal A and B subtypes.

Patients and Methods

Gene expression and pathologic features were collected from primary tumors across five independent cohorts: British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) tamoxifen-treated only, Grupo Español de Investigación en Cáncer de Mama 9906 trial, BCCA no systemic treatment cohort, PAM50 microarray training data set, and a combined publicly available microarray data set. Optimal cutoffs of percentage of progesterone receptor (PR) –positive tumor cells to predict survival were derived and independently tested. Multivariable Cox models were used to test the prognostic significance.

Results

Clinicopathologic comparisons among luminal A and B subtypes consistently identified higher rates of PR positivity, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negativity, and histologic grade 1 in luminal A tumors. Quantitative PR gene and protein expression were also found to be significantly higher in luminal A tumors. An empiric cutoff of more than 20% of PR-positive tumor cells was statistically chosen and proved significant for predicting survival differences within IHC-defined luminal A tumors independently of endocrine therapy administration. Finally, no additional prognostic value within hormonal receptor (HR) –positive/HER2-negative disease was observed with the use of the IHC4 score when intrinsic IHC-based subtypes were used that included the more than 20% PR-positive tumor cells and vice versa.

Conclusion

Semiquantitative IHC expression of PR adds prognostic value within the current IHC-based luminal A definition by improving the identification of good outcome breast cancers. The new proposed IHC-based definition of luminal A tumors is HR positive/HER2 negative/Ki-67 less than 14%, and PR more than 20%.
Consultations Between Patients With Breast Cancer and Surgeons: A Pathway From Patient-Centered Communication to Reduced Hopelessness
Authors: Robinson Jeffrey D. , Hoover Donald R. , Venetis Maria K. , Kearney Thomas J. , Street Richard L.
Published: December 2012

Purpose

Patient-centered communication (PCC) affects psychosocial health outcomes of patients. However, these effects are rarely direct, and our understanding of such effects are largely based on self-report (v observational) data. More information is needed on the pathways by which concrete PCC behaviors affect specific psychosocial outcomes in cancer care. We hypothesized that PCC behaviors increase the satisfaction of patients with surgeons, which, in turn, reduces the postconsultation hopelessness of patients.

Patients and Methods

In Portland, OR, we videotaped consultations between 147 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and nine surgeons and administered surveys to participants immediately preconsultation and postconsultation. Consultations were coded for PCC behaviors. Multivariate regression models analyzed the association between PCC and the satisfaction of patients and between satisfaction and hopelessness.

Results

Levels of hopelessness of patients significantly decreased from preconsultation to postconsultation (P < .001). Two PCC behaviors (ie, patient asserting treatment preference [odds ratio {OR}, 1.50/log unit; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.23/log unit; P = .042] and surgeon providing good/hopeful news [OR, 1.62/log unit; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.60/log unit; P = .047]) were independently significantly associated with the satisfaction of patients with surgeons, which, in turn, independently predicted reduced levels of postconsultation hopelessness (linear change, −0.78; 95% CI, 1.44 to −0.12; P = .02).

Conclusion

Although additional research is needed with larger and more-diverse data sets, these findings suggest the possibility that concrete and trainable PCC behaviors can lower the hopelessness of patients with breast cancer indirectly through their effects on patient satisfaction with care.
Talking Like a Book: Exception and the State of Nature in Benjamin and Molière
Authors: Braider Christopher
Published: December 2012

Walter Benjamin confides to his friend Hugo von Hofmannsthal that “I sometimes think about writing a book on French tragedy as a counterpart to my Trauerspiel book,” noting that his “plan for the latter had originally been to elucidate both the German Trauerspiel and the French tragic drama in terms of their contrastive nature.” However, to do so “something must be added” that the book he wrote failed to supply. The aim of this essay is twofold: to reconstruct what Benjamin might have said about French classical tragedy and to identify the mysterious addition. Why does the effort to “elucidate” the two forms “in terms of their contrastive nature” demand a supplement? What would the supplement have been, and how might it illumine Benjamin's own project as well as tragedy and Trauerspiel? My hypothesis is that Benjamin remains silent on these points because he was temperamentally and philosophically unable to think them through. Benjamin's focus on tragedy is itself an indicator of this psychic resistance. Benjamin clearly assumed that, whatever deeper features of German tragic drama a contrast with the French version might bring to light, Trauerspiel constitutes a sovereign law unto itself, whose wider metaphysical as well as historical authority needs no argument. As a result, his interpretation of the nature of French tragedy inevitably would have confirmed his core theses about the German baroque, a fact that in turn draws attention to what Benjamin truly needed to add to both accounts: the perspective of comedy.

I propose, then, to counter Benjamin's argument by exploring the ways in which comedy challenges the underlying metaphysics to which tragedy appeals. To this end, I argue that the greatest tragedy of the French classical age is its greatest comedy, Molière's Dom Juan, ou le festin de pierre. Reading Molière's play alongside French and German tragedy reveals not only how deeply both versions of the “mourning play” are implicated in the political ideology of royal absolutism but also the availability of a quite different model of social and political association grounded in the historical ontology of modernity against which absolutism sets its face. In addition to opening new sightlines on seventeenth-century tragedy and comedy alike, the result raises questions about the metaphysics underlying both Benjamin's thought and the tradition of critical theory from Burckhardt, Nietzsche, and Weber down to Benjamin's rivals and epigones, Adorno, Schmitt, and Agamben.
And What About the Human?: Freedom, Human Emancipation, and the Radical Imagination
Authors: Bogues Anthony
Published: December 2012

Arguing that the processes of racial slavery and colonialism were “historically catastrophic,” thereby creating the grounds for different sets of questions about the human and the meanings of freedom, this essay maps some of the ways in which these questions have been posed from within the framework of the “traditions of the oppressed.” Working through the question of the human as a distinctive figure that emerges from the radical anticolonial and the radical black intellectual tradition, the essay makes the point that freedom is a set of creative human practices which are different from various forms of emancipation and liberation. The essay also argues that central to freedom practices is the work of the radical imagination as critical thought.
THE “HIGH-BROW EFFECT”
Authors: Randall Belle
Published: December 2012

Skeptical of the arguments put forth in Robert Duncan's long-awaited, post-humously published The H. D. Book, this review essay questions the elevation of Pre-Raphaelite, Aestheticist, and Decadent poetry that forms the basis of Duncan's revisionist canon—a revision in which Wallace Stevens and T. S. Eliot are dismissed as “merely rational,” while H. D. and Duncan himself are elevated to the uppermost ranks, just beneath Ezra Pound. The essay focuses on the peculiarity of “Wardour Street” diction returning to poetry in the postmodern era (especially in the verse of Gjertrud Schnackenberg) and connects this development to the nostalgia evidenced in Duncan's occultism. Placing the New Critics with the poets Karl Shapiro and Richard Wilbur, Duncan dismisses them all as “academics” and “descendants of those ministers of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, holding out against the magic of poetry as once they held out against the magic-religion of witch cults.” Emphasizing that it is the witch cults with which Duncan evidently sides, the essay concludes that Duncan's reranking of poets is no more reliable than his attitude toward rationality.
Inorganic ion composition in Tardigrada: cryptobionts contain large fraction of unidentified organic solutes
Authors: Halberg Kenneth A. , Larsen Kristine W. , Jørgensen Aslak , Ramløv Hans , Møbjerg Nadja
Published: December 2012

Many species of tardigrades are known to tolerate extreme environmental stress, yet detailed knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the remarkable adaptations of tardigrades is still lacking, as are answers to many questions regarding their basic biology. Here, we present data on the inorganic ion composition and total osmotic concentration of five different species of tardigrades (Echiniscus testudo, Milnesium tardigradum, Richtersius coronifer, Macrobiotus cf. hufelandi and Halobiotus crispae) using high-performance liquid chromatography and nanoliter osmometry. Quantification of the ionic content indicates that Na+ and Cl- are the principle inorganic ions in tardigrade fluids, albeit other ions, i.e. K+, NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F-, SO42- and PO43- were also detected. In limno-terrestrial tardigrades, the respective ions are concentrated by a large factor compared to that of the external medium (Na+, ×70-800; K+, ×20-90; Ca2+ and Mg2+, ×30-200; F-, ×160-1040, Cl-, ×20-50; PO43-, ×700-2800; SO42-, ×30-150). In contrast, in the marine species H. crispae Na+, Cl- and SO42- are almost in ionic equilibrium with (brackish) salt water, while K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and F- are only slightly concentrated (×2-10). An anion deficit of ~120 mEq 1-1 in M. tardigradum and H. crispae indicates the presence of unidentified ionic components in these species. Body fluid osmolality ranges from 361±49 mOsm kg-1 in R. coronifer to 961±43 mOsm kg-1 in H. crispae. Concentrations of most inorganic ions are largely identical between active and dehydrated groups of R. coronifer, suggesting that this tardigrade does not lose large quantities of inorganic ions during dehydration. The large osmotic and ionic gradients maintained by both limno-terrestrial and marine species are indicative of a powerful ion-retentive mechanism in Tardigrada. Moreover, our data indicate that cryptobiotic tardigrades contain a large fraction of unidentified organic osmolytes, the identification of which is expected to provide increased insight into the phenomenon of cryptobiosis.
Flicker is part of a multi-cue response criterion in fiddler crab predator avoidance
Authors: Smolka Jochen , Raderschall Chloe A. , Hemmi Jan M.
Published: December 2012

Predator avoidance behaviour costs time, energy and opportunities, and prey animals need to balance these costs with the risk of predation. The necessary decisions to strike this balance are often based on information that is inherently imperfect and incomplete due to the limited sensory capabilities of prey animals. Our knowledge, however, about how prey animals solve the challenging task of restricting their responses to the most dangerous stimuli in their environment, is very limited. Using dummy predators, we examined the contribution of visual flicker to the predator avoidance response of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris. The results illustrate that crabs let purely black or purely white dummies approach significantly closer than black-and-white flickering dummies. We show that this effect complements other factors that modulate escape timing such as retinal speed and the crab's distance to its burrow, and is therefore not exclusively due to an earlier detection of the flickering signal. By combining and adjusting a range of imperfect response criteria in a way that relates to actual threats in their natural environment, prey animals may be able to measure risk and adjust their responses more efficiently - even under difficult or noisy sensory conditions.
Comparative spring mechanics in mantis shrimp
Authors: Patek S. N. , Rosario M. V. , Taylor J. R. A.
Published: December 2012

Elastic mechanisms are fundamental to fast and efficient movements. Mantis shrimp power their fast raptorial appendages using a conserved network of exoskeletal springs, linkages and latches. Their appendages are fantastically diverse - ranging from spears to hammers. We measured the spring mechanics of 12 mantis shrimp species from 5 different families exhibiting hammer-shaped, spear-shaped and undifferentiated appendages. Across species, spring force and work increase with size of the appendage and spring stiffness is not correlated with size. Species that hammer their prey exhibit significantly greater spring resilience compared to species that impale evasive prey (i.e., "spearers"); mixed statistical results show that species that hammer prey also produce greater work relative to size during spring loading compared to spearers. Disabling part of the spring mechanism, the "saddle", significantly decreases spring force and work in three smasher species; cross-species analyses show a greater effect of cutting the saddle on the spring force and stiffness in species without hammers compared to species with hammers. Overall, the study shows a more potent spring mechanism in the faster and more powerful hammering species compared to spearing species while also highlighting the challenges of reconciling within-species and cross-species mechanical analyses when different processes may be acting at these two different levels of analysis. The observed mechanical variation in spring mechanics provides insights into the evolutionary history, morphological components and mechanical behavior that were not discernible in prior single-species studies. The results also suggest that, even with a conserved spring mechanism, spring behavior, potency and component structures can be varied within a clade with implications for the behavioral functions of power-amplified devices.
Regio- and Stereocontrolled Reaction of Arenes with Ethyl Propiolate Catalyzed by Palladium or Platinum Complexes with a Bidentate Phosphine Ligand. An Efficient and Straightforward Synthesis of (1Z,3E)-1-Aryl-1,3-butadienes
Authors: Oyamada Juzo , Sakai Mariko , Yamada Yasunori , Kitamura Tsugio
Published: December 2012

The reaction of mesitylene with ethyl propiolate in the presence of [Pd(dppe)(OAc)2] in TFA at 30 °C for 5 h gave diethyl (2E,4Z)-4-[(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)methylene]-2-pentenedioate selectively. Screening several bidentate phosphines ligands showed that dppe and dppm ligands are good for the arylbutadiene formation. This reaction was applied to other electron-rich arenes and found to be effective for synthesis of arylbutadienes and extended π-conjugated molecules. The regio- and stereoselective addition of an arene to propiolate was confirmed by NMR and single-crystal X-ray structural analyses of the products, suggesting that the arylbutadiene formation consisted of anti addition of an arene and a metal to the triple bond of ethyl propiolate, followed by syn addition to another molecule of ethyl propiolate. Similarly, the reaction of various arenes with ethyl propiolate in the presence of [Pt(dppe)(OTf)2] catalyst gave arylbutadienes selectively. In the Pd- or Pt-catalyzed reaction of arenes with ethyl propiolate, it was found that a bidentate ligand controlled the reaction to lead the formation of arylbutadienes.
Magnetic Semiconductor EuO, EuS, and EuSe Nanocrystals for Future Optical Devices
Authors: Hasegawa Yasuchika
Published: December 2012

Magnetic semiconductor nanocrystals composed of lanthanoid ions, europium chalcogenide nanocrystals (EuX: EuO, EuS, and EuSe nanocrystals), are characterized by the narrow 4f orbitals that exist as degenerate levels between the conduction band [5d orbitals of Eu(II)] and the valence band (p orbitals of O2−, S2−, and Se2−). In this review, syntheses and characteristic photophysical properties of EuX nanocrystals are introduced. EuX nanocrystals are expected to be useful in applications such as future optical isolators, optomagnetic and spintronic devices.
Oxidative Desulfurization of Dibenzothiophene over Tungsten Oxides Supported on SiO2 and γ-Al2O3
Authors: Li Xiang , Zhu Hanwei , Wang Anjie , Wang Yao , Chen Yongying
Published: December 2012

WO3/γ-Al2O3 exhibited a lower activity than WO3/SiO2 in oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene using cumene hydroperoxide as the oxidant. This could be a result of the strong interaction between WO3 and γ-Al2O3. The crystalline WO3 was more active than the tetrahedrally coordinated tungsten oxide species bound on the surface of γ-Al2O3. The loss of WO3 was negligible for WO3/SiO2 after the reaction. These features make SiO2 a promising support for the supported WO3 ODS catalyst.
Pharmacotherapy for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nosocomial Pneumonia
Authors: Segarra-Newnham Marisel , Church Timothy J
Published: December 2012

Objective:

To review the evidence for pharmacologic agents available in the treatment of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia.

Data Sources:

A search of PubMed (1975-July 2012) was conducted using a combination of the terms methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, pneumonia, nosocomial, vancomycin, linezolid, telavancin, ceftaroline, tigecycline, and quinupristin/dalfopristin.

Study Selection and Data Extraction:

Randomized comparative clinical trials, meta-analyses, and review articles published in English were included. A manual review of the bibliographies of available literature was conducted and all relevant information was included. Observational and in vitro studies were incorporated as indicated.

Data Synthesis:

Pharmacotherapy for the treatment of nosocomial MRSA pneumonia is limited. Vancomycin has been the treatment of choice for several years. Linezolid has demonstrated similar efficacy to vancomycin in randomized clinical trials and recent data have suggested that it may be superior in some cases, although there are limitations to this conclusion. Telavancin has also demonstrated similar clinical efficacy to vancomycin; however, the drug is not commercially available in the US. Other agents with MRSA activity include ceftaroline, clindamycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and tigecycline, although the evidence for their use in nosocomial pneumonia is limited.

Conclusions:

Based on the currently available evidence and cost-effectiveness, vancomycin should continue to be the drug of choice for most patients with nosocomial MRSA pneumonia. Linezolid is a reasonable alternative for patients with treatment failure while receiving vancomycin, isolates with vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations over 2 μg/mL, allergic reactions, or vancomycin-induced nephrotoxicity.
A New, Sliding-Window Prony and DFT Scheme for the Calculation of Power-Quality Indices in the Presence of Non-stationary Waveforms
Authors: Bracale Antonio , Caramia Pierluigi , Carpinelli Guido , Rapuano Alessandro
Published: December 2012

In this paper, we propose a novel scheme that jointly employs sliding-window (SW) Prony and the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) for estimating power-quality indices based on the time-frequency analysis of non-stationary waveforms in power-system disturbances. These indices, recently proposed in the relevant literature, require the separation of the waveform in two parts, i.e., the fundamental component and the disturbance waveform. In the proposed scheme, Prony’s method was applied to calculate only the fundamental component from low-pass, filtered data, while the disturbance waveform is obtained by using DFT. The application of Prony’s method only to the fundamental component reduces the computational effort required by this method significantly and allows the size of the window of the DFT to be set as an integer multiple of the estimated fundamental period, which minimizes the spectral leakage of the DFT. The main advantages of the proposed, new approach include high resolution and accuracy in the estimation of indices and significant reduction of the computational cost. Experiments were conducted and comparisons were made using both synthetic and measured data. The results confirmed the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Age Differences in the Vividness of Youth Sport Performers’ Imagery Ability
Authors: Parker John K. , Lovell Geoff P.
Published: December 2012

The Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VMIQ-2; Roberts et al., 2008) is a recent addition to tools developed for investigating movement imagery ability. To date, few studies have adopted this measure within youth sport cohorts, as a result little is known about the vividness aspect of imagery ability in samples of 21 years of age and younger. Participants included 169 youth sport performers between 12 and 21 years of age (M = 16.62, SD = 3.02), representing 14 sports at 4 levels of competitive engagement. Participants completed the VMIQ-2 and were grouped according to age, competitive level, and gender. Significant differences between the VMIQ-2’s subscales were demonstrated with participants recording greatest imagery vividness for internal visual imagery and least vividness for external visual imagery. Significant age differences existed for kinesthetic imagery between the 12-13 and 20-21 age groups, with the 20-21 group recording greater imagery vividness than their younger counterparts. The results demonstrate age can influence imagery vividness with youth sport performers recording higher vividness for internal visual imagery compared to kinesthetic and external visual imagery. Future investigations should attempt to determine why age cohort differences in vividness of imagery occur.
An Instructional Exercise in Price Controls: Product Quality, Misallocation, and Public Policy
Authors: Weisman Dennis L. , Sanders Shane D. , Moundigbaye Mantobaye
Published: December 2012

A price control policy has several potential effects upon market welfare. These include deadweight loss, surplus transfer from producer to consumer, misallocative cost, and quality degradation. The present article provides accessible pedagogical models with which to incorporate the former two issues into a welfare analysis of price control. The analysis allows students to form a more complete understanding of price control policies.
Effects of Explicit and Non-explicit Versions of an Early Intervention Program Incorporating Indigenous Culture into Kindergarten Literacy Instruction
Authors: Mackay Leslie D. , Mcintosh Kent
Published: December 2012

Low literacy is a challenge facing Indigenous communities across North America and is an identified barrier to school success. Early literacy intervention is an important target to reduce the discrepancies in literacy outcomes. The Moe the Mouse® Speech and Language Development Program (Gardner & Chesterman, 2006) is a cultural curriculum created to improve the early language skills of students aged three to five, but its effectiveness in improving early literacy skills has yet to be assessed. An enhanced Moe the Mouse® program, created by the first author, integrates explicit instruction in phonological awareness into the Moe the Mouse® program. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the two programs. One hundred Kindergarten students at six elementary schools participated in this study. A quasiexperimental pre-post cluster design with three conditions was used. Before and after the program, phonological awareness skills of the students were assessed. Across the intervention, statistically significant differences were found in relation to phonological skills. After the intervention, a statistically significantly smaller proportion of students from the enhanced Moe the Mouse® program fell in the “At Risk” category for later reading difficulties when compared to the other conditions. Additionally, both programs were rated by teachers as socially valid and culturally responsive.