bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Imagining ‘America’: the NBA and Local–Global Mediascapes
Authors: Falcous Mark , Maguire Joseph
Published: December 2006

This article concerns the role of mediated sport in local reconfigurations associated with globalization. The increasing worldwide transmission of sport raises questions regarding the cultural presence of ‘global’ sports. We combine elements of figurational sociology, cultural studies and critical political economy to examine the production and textual presence of the North American National Basketball Association (NBA) on United Kingdom television. Interviews with two media personnel were used to provide insights into the dynamics of production. Subsequent textual analysis revealed the dominant interpretive framework presented to viewers. This included the establishment of local–global hierarchy, education of local consumers, indigenous referencing, and caricatured representations of US culture. Observations regarding the nuanced complexity of the televisual udiscourse, and the scope for contradictory readings are made.
Bending Actuation Characteristics of Shape Memory Composite with SMA and SMP
Authors: Tobushi H. , Hayashi S. , Hoshio K. , Makino Y. , Miwa N.
Published: December 2006

A shape memory composite (SMC) belt with a TiNi-shape memory alloy (SMA) wire fiber and a polyurethane-shape memory polymer (SMP) sheet matrix is fabricated. The bending actuation characteristics of the belt are investigated by the thermomechanical tests. The results obtained are summarized as follows. (1) Residual deflection close to the maximum deflection is obtained by cooling under constant maximum deflection. The residual deflection disappears by heating under no load. Both the rate of shape fixity and the rate of shape recovery are close to 100%. (2) Recovery force appears by heating under constant residual deflection. The recovery force is 93–94% of the maximum force. The development of high functionality of SMC elements is expected by various combinations of SMAs and SMPs.
The Rational Nature of Type II Twin in NiTi Shape Memory Alloy
Authors: Liu Yong , Xie Z. L.
Published: December 2006

Due to its irrational character, the atomic arrangement along the twin plane of h011i type II twin in NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) has been an issue of disagreement over the past years. Understanding the atomic arrangement along the type II twin plane is important, both scientifically and practically, as it is strongly related to the lattice shear during martensitic transformation, the deformation mechanism of SMA, and the shape recovery associated with reverse phase transformation. The present research carefully studies the h011i type II twin plane through HRTEM observation, crystallographic analysis, atomic image simulation, and reexamination of the major reported HRTEM observations, providing convincing evidences that the irrational h011i type II twin is atomically rational.
In situ Strain and Temperature Monitoring of Adaptive Composite Materials
Authors: Yoon Hyuk-Jin , Costantini Daniele Marco , Limberger Hans Georg , Salathé René Paul , Kim Chun-Gon , Michaud Veronique
Published: December 2006

An optical fiber sensor is designed to simultaneously measure strain and temperature in an adaptive composite material. The sensor is formed by splicing two fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) close to each other, which are written in optical fibers with different core dopants and concentrations. Their temperature sensitivities are hence different. The sensor is tested on an adaptive composite laminate made of unidirectional Kevlar-epoxy prepreg plies. Several 150 μm diameter prestrained NiTiCu shape memory alloy (SMA) wires are embedded in the composite laminate together with one fiber sensor. Simultaneous monitoring of strain and temperature during the curing process and activation in an oven is demonstrated.
Temperature Distributions of SMA Wires Embedded in Epoxy Resin Plates and Heated by Supplying Electric Current
Authors: Umezaki Eisaku
Published: December 2006

As a fundamental study of a smart structure having the functions of crack prevention and crack closure, the temperature distributions of multiple shape memory alloy (SMA) wires embedded in epoxy resin plates and heated by supplying electric current are investigated using an infrared thermography technique and the finite element method (FEM). The temperature distributions of SMA in the air and of the plate surface obtained using FEM are in reasonable agreement with those obtained using the thermography technique. The numerical results show that the temperature of the SMA wire surface embedded in the plates depends on the length between SMA wires and the plate thickness, and is less than that in air.
Feasibility Study on Smart Coating for Failure Prevention under Thermo-mechanical Fatigue Loading
Authors: Toda Hiroyuki , Toyoda Michihiro , Kobayashi Toshiro , Akahori Toshikazu , Niinomi Mitsuo
Published: December 2006

In this article, a new concept of smart coating is presented, which enables failure prevention under thermo-mechanical fatigue loading by a simple coating without using any external devices. The feasibility of arresting fatigue crack propagation under thermo-mechanical loading is experimentally demonstrated for an Al–Si practical casting alloy by applying a simple and inexpensive coating prior to usage. An Sn alloy has been chosen as a coating material as a result of extensive screening tests. Valuable mechanistic insight has been gained from numerical simulation indicating that the crack driving force can be reduced by the crack closure mechanism induced by the impregnation of coating material.
Superelasticity and Corrosion Behavior of 50Ti–(45-X)Ni–5Cu–XMo (at.%) Alloys
Authors: Nam Tae-Hyun , Jung Dae-Won , Kim Jae-Hoon , Liu Yinong , Kim Ki-Won , Jeong Sang-Sik
Published: December 2006

In this study superelasticity and corrosion characteristics of 50Ti–(45-X)Ni–5Cu–XMo alloys have been investigated by means of electrical resistivity measurements, X-ray diffraction, tensile tests, polarization tests, and optical microscopy. Substitution of Mo for Ni in a Ti–45Ni–5Cu alloy induces the B2–B19 transformation and the stability of the B19 martensite increases with an increase in Mo content. Superelastic recovery of 50Ti–(45-X)Ni– 5Cu–XMo alloys increases from 33 to 91% with an increase in Mo-content from 0 to 0.5%. The 50Ti–(45-X)Ni–5Cu–XMo alloys show small stress hysteresis below 100 MPa. The pitting potential of 50Ti–(45-X)Ni–5Cu–XMo alloys also increases with the increase in Mo content.
Estimation of Project Completion Time and Factors Analysis for Concurrent Engineering Project Management: A Simulation Approach
Authors: Huang Enzhen , Chen Shi-Jie (Gary)
Published: December 2006

In concurrent engineering projects, tasks are usually interdependent among each other that require much iteration before completion where the critical path method/program evaluation and review technique (CPM/PERT) may not be applicable to help estimate the project duration. In addition, carrying out a large-scaled project in a dynamic environment has to deal with various factors at the same time. When estimating the project completion time, previous research often focused on one subject of interest and assumed the other factors causing little effect on the overall project duration. The objective of this article is to develop a research framework to help estimate the project completion time and analyze the major factors that affect the estimation for complex concurrent engineering projects. The framework consists of three major components: (1) data collection, where the needed data for simulation are prepared including project task structure, task relations, and quantified team member characteristics; (2) simulation, where tasks are dynamically assigned to the appropriate members/engineers according to each member's knowledge level of the task, teamwork capability, work schedule availability, and learning curve improvement; and (3) data analysis, where significant factors to the project completion time are studied by the ANOVA analysis based on the simulation results. The effectiveness of our framework and the simulation model is demonstrated by an illustrative example.
Renal safety of 1-hour pamidronate infusion for breast cancer and multiple myeloma patients: comparison between clinical trials and population-based database
Authors: de Lemos Mário L , Taylor Suzanne C , Barnett Jeff B , Hu Francis , Levin Adeera , Moravan Veronika , O'Reilly Susan E
Published: December 2006

Purpose. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends infusion of pamidronate over 2 hours to avoid renal deterioration, although there are data to suggest that 1-hour infusions may be safe.

Methods, Prevalence of renal deterioration with 1-hour pamidronate infusions from a population database was compared to renal deterioration with 2-hour pamidronate infusions, in randomised, controlled, trials. A cost-minimisation analysis, comparing the 1-and 2-hour pamidronate infusions, and the 15-minute infusion of zoledronic acid, was performed with a sensitivity analysis that varied the opportunity cost of time in the treatment room.

Results. Renal deterioration occurred in 7.7% of 169 patients with multiple myeloma and metastatic breast cancer. There is no evidence that this differs from the 10% reported in randomised, controlled, trials (one-tailed binomial test, P=0.3874). A subgroup analysis showed that renal deterioration occurred in 15 and 1.1% of patients with multiple myeloma and metastatic breast cancer, respectively. The median increase in serum creatinine was 13 and 7% in the multiple myeloma and breast cancer groups, respectively. The respective costs/dose (drug/ labour/supplies) of pamidronate and zoledronic acid are $325 and $610. Cost neutrality occurs if the opportunity cost of chair time is $6.33/ minute for pamidronate 1-hour versus zoledronic acid, and $2.71/minute for pamidronate 2-hour versus zoledronic acid. If a median $4/minute is used, the respective costs of pamidronate 1-hour, 2-hour, and zoledronic acid infusions are $685, $925, and $790/cycle.

Conclusions. Prevalence of renal deterioration with 1-hour pamidronate infusions from a population database was not significantly different to 2-hour pamidronate infusions in clinical trials. Our findings suggest further support for the safety of 1-hour pamidronate infusions. Pamidronate via 1-hour infusion is less expensive than zoledronic acid.
Role of thiamine in managing ifosfamide-induced encephalopathy
Authors: Hamadani Mehdi , Awan Farrukh
Published: December 2006

Encephalopathy is a well known side effect of ifosfamide, developing in approximately 10–30% of patients exposed to the drug. It is generally reversible after discontinuing the therapy;however cases of fatal neurotoxicity have been reported. Methylene blue is commonly used in the treatment and prophylaxis of ifosfamide induced encephalopathy;however its efficacy is moderate at best. We report here the utility of thiamine in both treating and preventing ifosfamide induced neurotoxicity in three patients. With the use of intravenous thiamine encephalopathy resolved in all of our patients within a mean time of 17 hours (range 10–30 hours). In three cycles where thiamine was used as prophylaxis no evidence of ifosfamide induced encephalopathy was seen. Thiamine appears to be a safe and effective treatment for reversing encephalopathy resulting form ifosfamide infusion, without any significant side effects.
Physical and chemical stability of paclitaxel infusions in different container types
Authors: Donyai Parastou , Sewell Graham J
Published: December 2006

Objectives. To determine the physicochemical stability of generic (Teva Pharmaceuticals) paclitaxel infusions (0.3 and 1.2 mg/mL) in 0.9% sodium chloride or 5% glucose in polyolefin (Viaflo®), low-density polyethylene (Ecoflac®), and glass containers at 2-8 and 25°C.

Methods. Paclitaxel infusions of various concentration/diluent/container combinations were prepared. Containers were light-protected and incubated at test temperatures with further analysis at predetermined intervals of 1-3 days for up to 30 days. Infusions were monitored for pH, weight loss, precipitation, colour change, and subvisual particulates as indicators of physical stability, and assayed for drug concentration to determine chemical stability.

Results. Precipitation was the limiting factor. Infusions of paclitaxel (0.3 mg/mL) in 0.9% sodium chloride remained stable for 13, 16 and 13 days at 2-8°C in polyolefin, low-density polyethylene and glass containers, respectively; in 5% glucose for 13, 18, and 20 days, respectively. At 25°C, paclitaxel infusions (0.3 mg/mL) remained stable for 3 days in all diluent/container combinations with the exception of 5% glucose in glass, where stability reached 7 days. Paclitaxel infusions (1.2 mg/mL) in 0.9% sodium chloride remained stable for 9, 12, and 8 days at 2-8°C in polyolefin, low-density polyethylene and glass containers, respectively; in 5% glucose for 10, 12, and 10 days, respectively. At 25°C, paclitaxel 1.2 mg/mL remained stable for 3 days in all diluent/container combinations with the exception of glass, where stability reached 5 days in 0.9% sodium chloride diluent, and 7 days in 5% glucose.

Conclusion. Paclitaxel stability was influenced by storage temperature, with longer shelf-life at 2-8°C, and also by drug concentration, where 0.3 mg/mL infusions were more stable than 1.2 mg/mL for all diluent/container combinations. Physical stability (precipitation) was the limiting parameter in each case.
Note. Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient to Canned Liquid During End-over-end Sterilisation
Authors: Garrote R. L. , Silva E. R. , Roa R. D. , Bertone R. A.
Published: December 2006

The overall heat transfer coefficient as a function of rotation speed (5–20rpm) was calculated for cans containing a 2% NaCl and 1.5% sucrose aqueous solution during end-over-end heat sterilisation at 120°C. The values obtained for the overall heat transfer coefficient, U (W/m2 °C), were: 544.4±85.3 at 5rpm, 710.7±24.5 at 10rpm, 760.5±17.7 at 15rpm and 941.6±22.1 at 20rpm. A correlation was developed in terms of Nusselt, rotational Reynolds and Prandtl numbers to predict U(Nu = 1.866Re0.379 Pr0.38). The characteristic dimension in Nu and Re was the diameter of the can. This correlation (R2 = 0.88) was valid for Re within the range of 3,012–14,820 and Pr within 2.02–2.63 values.
Some Structural and Physicochemical Characteristics of Tuber and Root Starches
Authors: Peroni F. H.G. , Rocha T. S. , Franco C. M.L.
Published: December 2006

Starches from six different species (cassava, arrowroot, sweet potato, yam, canna and ginger) were isolated and some structural and physicochemical characteristics analysed and correlated. Phosphorous and amylose contents were determined using a colorimetric method and measuring iodine affinity, respectively. Molecular weight distributions of starches were analysed by Sepharose CL 2B. Granular shape and size distribution were performed using an image analyser system attached to a light microscope. Swelling power was determined at 60, 70, 80 and 90°C. Pasting and thermal properties were measured using a rapid viscoanalyser, and a differential scanning calorimeter, respectively. Phosphorous content varied from 0.007 to 0.031% for cassava and canna starches, respectively. Yam, canna and ginger starches displayed higher amylose contents (32.6, 31.7 and 26.5%, respectively) than cassava, arrowroot and sweet potato starches (19.8, 20.8 and 22.6%, respectively). These last three starches displayed amylose molecules of higher molecular weight than those shown for yam, canna and ginger starches. Canna starch showed higher proportions of longer branch chains of amylopectin than others starches. The size and shape of granules were quite variable among all starches and the average size of granules varied from 13.9 to 42.3μ for sweet potato and canna, respectively. Swelling power, pasting, and thermal properties were affected by structural characteristics of the starches.
The Effects of Fat and Non Fat Dry Matter Concentration and Storage Time on the Physical Properties and Acidity of Yoghurts Made with Probiotic Cultures
Authors: Gün Ö. , Işsikli N. D.
Published: December 2006

The effects of fat and non fat dry matter (NFDM) concentration and storage time on the physical properties and acidity of yoghurts made using commercial probiotic cultures (ABY and ABT-1) were investigated by using response surface methodology. All yoghurts made with ABY and ABT-1 cultures exhibited shear thinning behaviour. The power low model was used to describe the shear thinning behaviour of yoghurt samples. The flow behaviour index ( n) and the consistency coefficient ( m) were determined. NFDM levels in milk strongly affected syneresis, apparent viscosity at a constant speed of 100rpm, flow behaviour index and the consistency coefficient. Titratable acidity and pH were mainly affected by the storage time. Under all conditions examined, yoghurt made with ABT-1 culture had higher apparent viscosity, consistency coefficient and pH value than those of the yoghurt made using ABY culture.
Management Education as if Both Matter
Authors: Gosling Jonathan , Mintzberg Henry
Published: December 2006

Management is often taught as if it were immaterial—a set of abstract formulae, case histories and flow diagrams. These may be useful, but only if tested and put to use in the material practice of managing. Education makes matters worse if it becomes the simple consumption of this insubstantial fare. This article proposes seven principles for educators who want to take seriously both the subject matter of managing and the subjective commitment to education.
Shadowing Experiences and the Extension of Communities of Practice: A Case Study of Women Education Managers
Authors: Roan Amanda , Rooney David
Published: December 2006

Recent developments in workplace learning have focused on relational and social network views of learning that introduce practitioners to the norms, values and assumptions of the workplace as well as the learning processes through which knowledge is acquired. This article reports on a qualitative study of a mentoring programme designed to assist women education managers gain promotion by broadening their networks and stimulating insights into the senior management positions for which they were being prepared. The findings are that members reflexively assess and reassess goals and values to demystify knowledge and resolved cognitive dissonance in these processes. Moreover, this article shows that women participants learn from the networks, and that the networks learn from the participant in a reciprocal and informal way. The article concludes that organizational learning programmes must focus on enabling such networks to flourish.
The protease inhibitor, Bowman-Birk Inhibitor, suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: a potential oral therapy for multiple sclerosis
Authors: Gran B , Tabibzadeh N , Martin A , Ventura E S , Ware J H , Zhang G-X , Parr J L , Kennedy A R , Rostami A M
Published: December 2006

Available treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) require frequent injections and have significant side effects. Proteases generated during inflammation are involved in the induction of tissue damage during inflammatory demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). The Bowman-Birk Inhibitor (BBI), a soy-derived protease inhibitor with anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown to be well tolerated in clinical trials for pre-cancerous conditions, such as oral leukoplakia and the inflammatory disease, ulcerative colitis. We hypothesized that BBI may modulate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS. The BBI concentrate (BBIC), a soybean extract enriched in BBI, was administered to myelin basic protein (MBP)-immunized Lewis rats by gastric gavage in different treatment regimens, during the induction or the effector phase of disease. BBIC significantly delayed disease onset and suppressed disease severity, clinically and pathologically, in all treatment protocols. Both in vitro and ex vivo, BBIC inhibited MBP-specific proliferation of lymph node cells. BBIC reduced the activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 in spleen cell supernatants and was detected in the CNS of treated rats. BBIC suppresses EAE, it can be administered orally, and it is safe and relatively inexpensive. It may have a therapeutic role in patients with MS.
MSBase: an international, online registry and platform for collaborative outcomes research in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Butzkueven H , Chapman J , Cristiano E , Grand’Maison F , Hoffmann M , Izquierdo G , Jolley D , Kappos L , Leist T , Pöhlau D , Rivera V , Trojano M , Verheul F , Malkowski J-P
Published: December 2006

Observational cohort studies are a powerful tool to assess the long-term outcome in chronic diseases. This study design has been utilized in local and regional outcome studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) and has yielded invaluable epidemiological information. The World Wide Web now provides an excellent opportunity for an international, collaborative cohort study of MS outcomes. A web platform-MSBase-has been designed to collect prospective data on patients with MS. It is purely observational, enabling participating neurologists to contribute data on diagnosis, treatment and progress, to review anonymous aggregate data and to benchmark their patient population against other patient subsets or the entire dataset. MSBase facilitates collaborative research by allowing the online creation of investigator-initiated regional, national and international substudies. The registry aims to answer epidemiological questions that can only be addressed by prospective assessments of large patient cohorts. The registry is funded through the independent MSBase Foundation, and governed by an International Scientific Advisory Board. The MSBase Foundation commenced operations in July 2004 and since then, 22 neurologists from 11 countries have joined MSBase and are contributing 2400 patients to the total data pool.
Regression to the mean in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Martínez-Yélamos S , Martínez-Yélamos A , Ozaeta G Martín , Casado V , Carmona O , Arbizu Tx
Published: December 2006

In order to ensure sufficient disease activity, patients with relapsing remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) are often included in randomized placebo-controlled trials, only if they have a high baseline activity. These patients, whose evolution is unusual in the pre-study period, will tend to show a more usual behavior when followed up over a period of time. This phenomenon is known as regression to the mean. Regression to the mean should be taken into account in correctly interpreting long-term studies of cohorts treated without a placebo control group, which use the baseline period as control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relevance of this phenomenon in a non-treated cohort of RRMS patients, selected with similar criteria to those used in randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials. Forty-four patients with definite RRMS, with two or more relapses in the previous two years, and a baseline EDSS ≤ 5.5 were prospectively followed. The mean number of relapses spontaneously decreased from 1.72 (SD: 1.4) in the year prior to enrolment, to 1.0 (SD: 1.3) during the first year of follow-up (PB < 0.05). Regression to the mean may explain as much as 40% of the reduction in the relapse rate from the baseline period to the period on-study.
Cognitive slowing in multiple sclerosis is strongly associated with brain volume reduction
Authors: Lazeron R HC , de Sonneville L MJ , Scheltens P , Polman C H , Barkhof F
Published: December 2006

Introduction In this study, we investigated the influence of in vivo disease pathology (measured as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesion load and brain volume reduction) on cognitive functioning, especially the speed of processing, in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Since MS is characterized by cognitive slowing rather than impaired accuracy, we used the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT) program, a computerized test proven to be very sensitive to cognitive slowing in MS patients.

Methods Thirty-two patients performed the ANT and underwent MRI scanning. Using the ANT computerized tests, we investigated focused, divided, sustained attention, executive function and psychomotor function, and examined associations of speed, speed fluctuation and accuracy of performance of these tests with MRI lesion load and brain volume parameters.

Results A decrease in the speed of processing and response speed stability, and a decrease in psychomotor accuracy and stability were clearly associated with less brain volume, and with higher lesion loads, in particular at frontal and occipital areas. Correlations with brain volume reduction were found for all domains, except for visuo-spatial processing. In particular, speed and speed fluctuation scores correlated with brain volume reduction, while accuracy of performance, in general, did not correlate. Only some test speed scores and speed fluctuation scores correlated with lesion load measurements.

Conclusion This study shows that, in MS patients, accuracy of processing is not compromised unless high working memory demands are involved. Problems in neurocognitive functioning in MS are mainly modulated by speed and stability of speed processing, in particular when attention-demanding controlled information processing is required. Abnormalities in these domains are most strongly associated with brain volume loss, confirming that pathology beyond focal lesions is important in MS.
How similar are commonly combined criteria for EDSS progression in multiple sclerosis?
Authors: Kragt J J , Nielsen J M , van der Linden F AH , Uitdehaag B MJ , Polman C H
Published: December 2006

Introduction Measuring disease progression is an important aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical trials. Commonly applied disability endpoints include time to clinically meaningful Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) change, or the number of patients in whom such a change has occurred. Typically, clinically meaningful EDSS change has been defined as a change of 1.0 point on Kurtzke’s EDSS in patients with an entry EDSS score of 5.5 or lower, or 0.5 point in patients with a higher EDSS score. Our goal was to evaluate whether these changes can be considered as similar. Therefore, we compared EDSS changes to corresponding changes in the Guy’s Neurological Disability Scale (GNDS), which is a measure of patient perceived disability, and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), which is an examination-based quantitative scoring of neurological impairment.

Methods From a large longitudinal database, we selected two groups of patients with a clinically meaningful change in EDSS score according to the usual criteria: patients with EDSS change]/1.0 for baseline EDSS 5/5.5 and patients with EDSS change]/0.5 for baseline EDSS]/6.0. We compared changes in GNDS sum score and in MSFC score between both groups.

Results In the group with baseline EDSS]/6.0, GNDS and MSFC changes were higher than in patients with baseline EDSS 5/5.5. The difference in change was 1.00 (95% confidence interval (CI): / 0.35 to 2.36) for the GNDS and 0.412 (95% CI: 0.300-0.525) for the MSFC.

Conclusion Our results indicate that a 0.5 point EDSS change in patients with baseline EDSS / 6.0 cannot be considered equal to a 1.0 point change in patients with baseline EDSS 5/5.5.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of antibody response against IFNβ in patients with multiple sclerosis
Authors: Gilli F , Hoffmann F , Sala A , Marnetto F , Caldano M , Valentino P , Kappos L , Bertolotto A , Lindberg R LP
Published: December 2006

To date, inter-and intra-laboratory consistency of binding assays for measuring anti-interferon (IFN)β antibodies has not been assessed. In this investigation, two independent laboratories tested a library of 80 serum specimens obtained from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with IFNβ. For binding antibodies (BAbs) evaluations, each laboratory used both a capture-ELISA (cELISA) and an enzyme-immuno-assay (EIA), which is commercially available. Samples were also tested for neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). Data demonstrated good intra-laboratory reliability (rpearson≥0.86), and a good overall agreement between the results obtained from the two centers, using both the cELISA (69/80 of observed agreements) and the EIA (67/80). Accordingly, kappa coefficients (K) showed good concurrence (K ≥ 0.651). There was also substantial agreement between cELISA and EIA measurements, as performed in both centers (Orbassano, 66/80, K = 0.631; Basel, 70/80, K = 0.717). However, by comparing NAbs and BAbs titers obtained with both assays, we found that a high degree of BAb-negative samples were positive in NAb-assay. Thus, our study does not support the usefulness of ELISA-based BAb assays as a screening tool for NAbs. Otherwise, BAb-assays can be used as a confirmation test, indicating that the decrease of the biological effects is due to antibodies. In this context, both ELISA-based assays are equally reliable techniques.
Reconsidering National Temporalities
Authors: Edensor Tim
Published: December 2006

This article attempts to foreground the importance of everyday life and habit to the reproduction of national identities. Taking issue with dominant linear depictions of the time of the nation, which have over-emphasized ‘official’ histories, tradition and heroic narratives, this article foregrounds the everyday rhythms through which a sense of national belonging is sustained. The article focuses upon institutionalized schedules, habitual routines, collective synchronicities and serialized time-spaces to develop an argument that quotidian, cyclical time is integral to national identity. In conclusion, accounts that discuss the increasing dominance of a postmodern global time are argued to be hyperbolic, since the nation remains a powerful, if more flexible constituent of identity.
Politics and Sovereign Power
Authors: Singer Brian C.J. , Weir Lorna
Published: December 2006

Foucault’s critique of early modern political theory aimed at displacing sovereignty as the principle of intelligibility of power. In the genealogical literature since Foucault, sovereignty has become a residual category lacking analytic specificity, largely displaced by governance, in turn equated with politics. We argue that Foucault and the Foucauldians have not understood that the flourishing of governance has presupposed a symbolic regime with a division of knowledge-power-law characteristic of the democratic sovereign. The conflation of governance with politics, together with the sliding of sovereignty under governance, has left Foucauldians unable to diagnose the dangers present in varying possible sovereignty-governance configurations.
Collective Identity as Shared Ethical Self-Understanding
Authors: Kantner Cathleen
Published: December 2006

Against the common view that a European identity is a functional precondition for legitimate EU governance, this article argues that conceptual weaknesses of the term ‘collective identity’ have led to a confusion of several analytic dimensions of ‘identity’ and to an overestimation of strong forms of collective identity. Insights provided by analytic philosophy will be introduced in order to redefine and differentiate ‘collective identity’. The ways in which people refer to themselves as members of we-groups will be outlined and illustrated in order to contribute to an innovative model of the problem and therefore the policy-related formation of collective identities. The article concludes that a strong European identity is not a functional precondition for legitimate everyday democratic governance in the EU. Only in extraordinary situations and in order to institutionalize integration in ethically sensitive policy fields is it necessary that EU citizens discursively agree on an ethical self-understanding of their way of life.
English zero anaphora as an interactional resource II
Authors: Oh Sun-Young
Published: December 2006

This article follows up a previous study (Oh, 2005), which has investigated English speakers’ practices of employing zero anaphora (or omission of an overt reference term) in ordinary conversations, with special reference to the kind of interactional work that they accomplish by the practice. The findings of Oh (2005) have demonstrated that unlike previously-held assumptions, zero anaphora may be systematically deployed by English speakers in order to achieve certain interactional functions, for example, marking the current talk as a second or re-saying or displaying the secondary-level of the action being done by the current talk. The current article identifies three additional functions of zero anaphora, that is, resuming the prior turn-constructional unit after a parenthetical insert, marking maximum continuity, and avoiding a choice among alternative reference forms. The point is thus reasserted that zero anaphora must be regarded as a serious resource in the construction of conversational interaction by English speakers.
‘Calm down!’: the role of gaze in the interactional management of hysteria by the police
Authors: Kidwell Mardi
Published: December 2006

Gaze is a central mechanism for the entry into and coordination of face-to-face interaction. As such, persistent and sustained gaze withdrawal may indicate significant troubles in an interaction. This article examines how two police officers, in seeking to calm a hysterical woman whose grandson has been shot, treat her refusal to gaze at them as a central component of her persisting hysteria. Toward the end of getting the woman to calm down, one officer seeks her return gaze using embedded and exposed methods of gaze pursuit. These methods work on a continuum in which, at one end, a turn at talk can be preserved as the main activity, while at the other end, the main activity becomes remedying the interactional trouble. These methods address different interactional relevancies having to do with 1) being a listener to a speaker, 2) being a recipient of a directive action, and 3) a basic obligation to comport oneself as at least minimally aware and responsive when targeted by the actions of co-present others.
Thinking Professional Social Work
Authors: Fargion Silvia
Published: December 2006

Summary: Two different frameworks are identified with respect to social work practice and views of professional powers.

Findings: Accounts of social work practice, gathered in Italy, illustrate two styles of narrating and constructing the work experience. These are analysed following Mannheim’s seminal work on romantic and enlightenment styles of thought. Practitioners’ accounts differ in how sequences are constructed, in the meaning attributed to crucial aspects such as the understanding of the situation, and in the place attributed to theory. Two conceptions emerge of the relationship of professional social workers with clients, and of their power.

Applications: The article contributes to the debate on the relation between theory and practice in social work. Theoretical models are not viewed as potential sources of practical suggestions, but as whole perspectives with which to engage. They are ways of seeing and doing ‘things’ which stimulate critical reflection on one’s own work. The two ways of conceiving professional powers that emerge from this study appear embedded in different cognitive orders. This invites those seeking to identify new ways of conceiving professional powers to look at the whole social work culture, without trying to isolate single aspects or elements of it.
Skills and Knowledge Needed to Practise as a Care Manager
Authors: Dustin Donna
Published: December 2006

Summary: This article presents findings of qualitative research carried out to explore the impact of care management on social work practice in statutory Social Services Departments. Interviews were carried out with front line care managers and their team managers working with a range of service user groups to gain their perspective on the skills and knowledge needed to practice as a care manager.

Findings: A central finding was that care management requires a range of complex skills. Some pre-Griffiths casework skills are still necessary to practice as a care manager, such interpersonal skills, negotiation skills and organisational skills. However, new skills are required, such as risk management, the ability to construct a case and use IT, management of other professional input and use of accounting and budgetary systems. Knowledge needed to be a care manager was divided into practical knowledge, such as knowledge of resources and procedures, and theoretical knowledge, such as hierarchies of need and human development. Pre-Griffiths casework skills and knowledge are necessary but not sufficient to care mangement practice.

Applications: This research rasises issues as to where care managers should acquire the specialised skills needed to practice as a care manager. Implications for social work education and training are addressed.
What Can We Learn about Social Work Assessment from the Textbooks?
Authors: Crisp Beth R. , Anderson Mark R. , Orme Joan , Lister Pam Green
Published: December 2006

Summary: Although often criticized for inadequacies, textbooks are both highly influential and a readily available source of information about contemporary thinking in social work theory and practice. As part of a series of studies about facilitating learning and teaching about assessment in social work, the authors have been conducting a review of how this professional task is presented in textbooks which are currently known to be used in programmes of social work education in the UK. Relevant chapters of each of the selected textbooks were subjected to an in-depth analysis in order to determine how assessment was understood, assessment processes, relevance to the UK practice context and evidence bases.

Findings: What are considered the key issues in, and skills required for, social work assessment are contested, with considerable variety between textbooks as to the extent of detail and topics covered in relation to assessment. Some issues which are prominent in the policy context, such as the need to ensure the involvement of service user and carer perspectives, and multidisciplinary assessment, were hardly mentioned. Changes in emphasis over time and differences in emphasis between textbooks published in the UK and North America were found.

Applications: Given the many differences in emphasis and depth of content between textbooks ostensibly outlining the same aspects of practice, it is essential that educators have a clear rationale for recommending particular textbooks.
Changing places
Authors: Sydney-Smith Susan
Published: December 2006

This article applies a revisionist analysis to the British crime film in the terms of the tourist imagination, examining such key films as the foundational They Made Me a Fugitive, (Alberto Cavalcanti, 1948), the transitional Get Carter, (Mike Hodges 1970), up to the present. Main themes have to do with the way in which the sense of place created by the films has as much to do with defining ‘Britishness’ against a mostly American ‘other’, while remaining in dialogue with it, as documentary influence. National and transnational identities are articulated through both character and the landscape: the regional and the national, and the national and the transnational, forming parallel, dynamics. The theme of the journey is revealed to be as much ‘psychic’, ‘the journey within’, as geographical, especially in regard to the city, a defining construct.
The Platonic Roots of Heidegger's Political Thought
Authors: Taminiaux Jacques
Published: December 2006

Heidegger's most notorious political text is the Rectoral Address on ‘The Self-Assertion of the German University’, delivered in Freiburg in May 1933. This work is puzzling in that it manifests not ideology, but what Dominique Janicaud called an ‘exacerbated Platonism’. Accordingly, this article is an attempt to search for the roots of Heidegger's political views in his early work, and above all in the lecture courses on Plato and Aristotle delivered before the publication of Being and Time (1927), a book that still underpins the Rectoral Address. The investigation is in three stages: 1) an analysis of the political elements in Heidegger's thought before 1933; 2) a survey of the development of his political thought after 1933; 3) an examination of the prejudices involved in the Platonist approach to politics, with reference to the work of Hannah Arendt, who was a former student of Heidegger in Marburg.
In Whose Name?
Authors: Volpi Franco
Published: December 2006

Although Heidegger's relation to political philosophy is, at the very least, problematic, many figures who have contributed significantly to the field attended his courses in the 1920s (Hans-Georg Gadamer, Hannah Arendt, Hans Jonas, Joachim Ritter, Gunther Anders and others). Heidegger's work at that time was marked by an extensive engagement with Aristotle, and above all with Aristotle's practical philosophy. This article approaches the question of Heidegger as a political thinker by returning to his reading of Aristotle's practical philosophy in order to clarify the structural features of his thinking that inspired so many of his students to develop a political philosophy clearly influenced by him. Heidegger reads the Nicomachean Ethics as an ontology of human existence, centred on an interpretation of human existence ( Dasein) as práxis. This reading inspired a renaissance of practical philosophy in Germany and beyond. However, as Arendt has shown, Heidegger's ontologization closes práxis within a solipsistic horizon that deforms its political sense. It is this closure, which proves especially damaging when Heidegger begins to understand Dasein in relation to history and community, that many of his students have sought to reverse in their own work, thereby restoring a political dimension to a philosophy profoundly influenced by Heidegger.
Questioning Politics, or Beyond Power
Authors: de Beistegui Miguel
Published: December 2006

The axiom at the heart of this article stipulates that everything that can be extracted from Heidegger's thought by way of political contribution can be so extracted only from a position that is itself essentially non-political. This means that everything Heidegger says about politics, or that can be seen to resonate with our political situation, is articulated from a position or a space that is itself not political, a space that, furthermore, defines and decides the essence of politics. His contribution, then, is not to the political debate as such. Rather, it consists in asking whether what is historically at stake in politics and played out in political terms is itself political, and so a matter for political thought, or whether the questions and concepts of political thought are themselves shaped in response to a phenomenon, possibly an event, which it, as political thought, cannot interrogate, or even intimate. Following Heidegger, I envisage our political situation from a non-political perspective, and provide the measure for an evaluation of contemporary politics as an ontohistorical phenomenon. This, I do by following a lead Heidegger develops in the 1930s and 1940s, and by focusing on the concept of Macht, the translation of which will turn out to raise key philosophical issues. Despite its obvious political connotations and overtones, this concept will turn out to designate a phenomenon that is not so much political, as it is metaphysical: it is metaphysics itself, and metaphysics in its entirety, that is of power. This means that all metaphysics is metaphysics of power, and that power itself is through and through metaphysical. Politics, especially modern politics, turns out to be an effect of Macht understood as a metaphysical phenomenon. Having revealed the structure of power, its logic, imperatives and different regimes, I consider briefly the possibility of a politics that would not be governed by such a principle of power, the possibility of what I would call a politics of powerlessness, or a politics of the otherwise than power ( Ohnmacht). Could that be ‘politics’ in the highest and ownmost sense? Could ‘Europe’ stand for such radical politics?
Assessing the Regulation of Private Security across Europe
Authors: Button Mark
Published: December 2006

The importance and expansion of the role of private security officers in policing have led many countries to introduce special legislation to govern them. Many industrialized countries have a long history of such measures. The structures and standards introduced, however, have varied significantly. In North America generally minimal standards have been mandated that centre on character. In many European countries, by contrast, standards have been comprehensive, sometimes including hundreds of hours of mandatory training. In England and Wales, however, it was only in 2001 that such legal intervention was finally introduced, and the system that has begun to unfold has caused much debate on its effectiveness. Significant sectors have been excluded, and comprehensive standards of regulation have been rejected for an approach barely above North American standards of governance. This paper will examine the emerging English system of legal control. It will compare some of its features with those of other European countries and produce a league table from this. Reference will also be made to North America and Australia. It will be argued that the system to be introduced for security guards in England and Wales falls below European norms and needs to be more demanding if the performance and accountability of the industry are to be enhanced and the industry is to play the expanding role in policing that many increasingly expect.
Comparative Performance and Barrier Properties of Biodegradable Thermoplastics and Nanobiocomposites versus PET for Food Packaging Applications
Authors: Cava D. , Giménez E. , Gavara R. , Lagaron J. M.
Published: December 2006

This article reports on preliminary studies of several comparative packaging properties between polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging films and biodegradable biopolymers such as polycarpolactone (PCL), polylacticacid (PLA), amorphous PLA (aPLA), and polyhydroxyalcanoates copolymer with 8 mol% valeriate (PHBV) and of some nanobiocomposites, in terms of thermal and retorting resistance (thermal humid processes) and oxygen, water vapor, aroma, and solvent barrier by means of time-resolved synchrotron radiation, FT-IR and direct permeation methods. This work suggests that while PHBV can easily withstand retorting and shows excellent water and aroma (limonene and linalool) barriers compared with PET, its solvent resistance (toluene and ethanol) and oxygen barrier properties are poorer. First, trials with compression molded food contact complying nanobiocomposites of PCL and aPLA show enhanced oxygen barrier but are not sufficient, as yet, to outperform high-oxygen-barrier grades of PET film.
Effect of Freeze-Line Position and Stretching Force on the Morphology of LDPE-PA6 Blown Films
Authors: Robledo-Ortiz Jorge R. , Ramírez-Arreola D. , González-Núñez Rubén , Rodrigue Denis
Published: December 2006

Blends of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyamide-6 (PA6) are produced via blown film extrusion to study the effect of freeze-line position and stretching force on blend morphology. An experimental setup is designed to measure the stretching force as a function of draw ratio (DR) and freeze-line position for 4, 6, and 10 wt% PA6 in LDPE. Numerical simulations of the non-isothermal and viscoelastic process are in good agreement with the experimental data of film dimensions. However, as reported many times in the literature, the calculated stretching force is underestimated and can be predicted more precisely by using a simple correction factor. The results also show that the dispersed phase deformation increases with DR and decreases with freeze-line height.