bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SCENT
Authors: Lin Yu-Ru , Candan K. Selçcuk , Sundaram Hari , Xie Lexing
Published: November 2011

We propose SCENT, an innovative, scalable spectral analysis framework for internet scale monitoring of multirelational social media data, encoded in the form of tensor streams. In particular, a significant challenge is to detect key changes in the social media data, which could reflect important events in the real world, sufficiently quickly. Social media data have three challenging characteristics. First, data sizes are enormous; recent technological advances allow hundreds of millions of users to create and share content within online social networks. Second, social data are often multifaceted (i.e., have many dimensions of potential interest, from the textual content to user metadata). Finally, the data is dynamic; structural changes can occur at multiple time scales and be localized to a subset of users. Consequently, a framework for extracting useful information from social media data needs to scale with data volume, and also with the number and diversity of the facets of the data. In SCENT, we focus on the computational cost of structural change detection in tensor streams. We extend compressed sensing (CS) to tensor data. We show that, through the use of randomized tensor ensembles, SCENT is able to encode the observed tensor streams in the form of compact descriptors. We show that the descriptors allow very fast detection of significant spectral changes in the tensor stream, which also reduce data collection, storage, and processing costs. Experiments over synthetic and real data show that SCENT is faster (17.7x--159x for change detection) and more accurate (above 0.9 F-score) than baseline methods.
Mining flickr landmarks by modeling reconstruction sparsity
Authors: Ji Rongrong , Gao Yue , Zhong Bineng , Yao Hongxun , Tian Qi
Published: November 2011

In recent years, there have been ever-growing geographical tagged photos on the community Web sites such as Flickr. Discovering touristic landmarks from these photos can help us to make better sense of our visual world. In this article, we report our work on mining landmarks from geotagged Flickr photos for city scene summarization and touristic recommendations. We begin by exploring the geographical and visual statistics of the Web users' photographing manner, based on which we conduct landmark mining in two steps: First, we propose to partition each city into geographical regions based on spectral clustering over the geotags of Flickr photos. Second, in each landmark region, we present a representative photo mining scheme based on sparse representation. Our main idea is to regard the landmark mining problem as a process to find photos whose visual signatures can be reconstructed using other photos of this landmark region with a minimal coding length. This sparse reconstruction scheme offers a general perspective to mine the representative photos. Indeed, by simplifying the data correlation constraints in our scheme, several previous works in representative photo discovery and landmark mining can be derived. Finally, we introduce a Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search model to refine our landmark ranking, which incorporates the community knowledge to simulate the landmark ranking problem as a dynamic page ranking problem. We have deployed our proposed landmark mining framework on a city scene summarization and navigation system, which works on one million geotagged Flickr photos coming from twenty worldwide metropolises. We have also quantitatively compared our scheme with several state-of-the-art works.
Contextual tag inference
Authors: Mandel Michael I. , Pascanu Razvan , Eck Douglas , Bengio Yoshua , Aiello Luca M. , Schifanella Rossano , Menczer Filippo
Published: November 2011

This article examines the use of two kinds of context to improve the results of content-based music taggers: the relationships between tags and between the clips of songs that are tagged. We show that users agree more on tags applied to clips temporally “closer” to one another; that conditional restricted Boltzmann machine models of tags can more accurately predict related tags when they take context into account; and that when training data is “smoothed” using context, support vector machines can better rank these clips according to the original, unsmoothed tags and do this more accurately than three standard multi-label classifiers.
Coding Guidelines: Finding the Art in the Science
Authors: Green Robert , Ledgard Henry
Published: November 2011

Computer science is both a science and an art. Its scientific aspects range from the theory of computation and algorithmic studies to code design and program architecture. Yet, when it comes time for implementation, there is a combination of artistic flare, nuanced style, and technical prowess that separates good code from great code.
Activated STAT5 Promotes Long-Lived Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cells That Induce Regression of Autochthonous Melanoma
Authors: Grange Magali , Buferne Michel , Verdeil Grégory , Leserman Lee , Schmitt-Verhulst Anne-Marie , Auphan-Anezin Nathalie
Published: November 2011

Immunotherapy based on adoptive transfer of tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cell (TC) is generally limited by poor in vivo expansion and tumor infiltration. In this study, we report that activated STAT5 transcription factors (STAT5CA) confer high efficiency on CD8+ effector T cells (eTC) for host colonization after adoptive transfer. Engineered expression of STAT5CA in antigen-experienced TCs with poor replicative potential was also sufficient to convert them into long-lived antigen-responsive eTCs. In transplanted mastocytoma- or melanoma-bearing hosts, STAT5CA greatly enhanced the ability of eTCs to accumulate in tumors, become activated by tumor antigens, and to express the cytolytic factor granzyme B. Taken together, these properties contributed to an increase in tumor regression by STAT5CA-transduced, as compared with untransduced, TCs including when the latter control cells were combined with infusion of interleukin (IL)-2/anti–IL-2 complexes. In tumors arising in the autochthonous TiRP transgenic model of melanoma associated with systemic chronic inflammation, endogenous CD8+ TCs were nonfunctional. In this setting, adoptive transfer of STAT5CA-transduced TCs produced superior antitumor effects compared with nontransduced TCs. Our findings imply that STAT5CA expression can render TCs resistant to the immunosuppressive environment of melanoma tumors, enhancing their ability to home to tumors and to maintain high granzyme B expression, as well as their capacity to stimulate granzyme B expression in endogenous TCs. Cancer Res; 72(1); 76–87. ©2011 AACR.
BEAMing Sheds Light on Drug Resistance
Authors: Lauring Josh , Park Ben Ho
Published: November 2011

Targeted therapies against somatically altered genes are currently used for the treatment of many human cancers. The nascent technology known as BEAMing has the potential to increase the clinical utility of these agents because it allows for the detection of cancer mutations in peripheral blood, providing a rapid assessment of tumor mutation status. Clin Cancer Res; 17(24); 7508–10. ©2011 AACR.
Prognostic Value of Standard Parameters as Predictors for Long-Term Renal Replacement Therapy after Liver Transplantation
Authors: Weigand Kilian , Bauer Eva , Encke Jens , Schmidt Jan , Stremmel Wolfgang , Schwenger Vedat
Published: November 2011

Chronic kidney disease has become increasingly prevalent after liver transplantation (LTPL) because outcome and survival rates have improved. Chronic kidney insufficiency is most likely associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The challenge is to identify patients who will be in need of long-term renal replacement therapy (RRT) after LTPL. We analyzed 208 liver transplant recipients with respect to mortality, associated laboratory values, underlying liver disease, immunosuppressive protocol and the need for RRT. Long-term RRT was defined by the need for RRT 3 months after LTPL. Altogether, 5.8% of the surviving study patients remained in need of RRT 3 months after LTPL. All of these patients continued to need RRT throughout the study period (2 years). The need for RRT significantly increased the 2-year mortality rate 4.3-fold, from 15.4 to 66.7% (p = 0.004). Comparison of laboratory and clinical parameters at the time of LTPL revealed no significant differences for creatinine, albumin and MDRD between patients undergoing hemodialysis 3 months after LTPL and patients without RRT. Comparing mean urea, a difference was observed. However, multivariate regression analyses using easy-to-observe demographic or laboratory parameters failed to generate a model to predict the need for RRT after LTPL. In addition, a comparison of underlying liver disease and immunosuppressive regimes identified no significant differences. Taken together, patients who were on hemodialysis 3 months after LTPL were also on hemodialysis 2 years after LTPL or until death. RRT 3 months after LTPL may predict the risk for chronic renal insufficiency and is associated with significantly increased mortality.
Olfactory Projections in the Lepidosirenid Lungfishes
Authors: Northcutt R. Glenn , Rink Elke
Published: November 2011

Olfactory nerve and olfactory bulb projections in lepidosirenid lungfishes were experimentally determined with neural tracers. Unilateral injections of DiI into the olfactory nerve labeled the accessory and main olfactory bulbs as well as fibers of the anterior root of the terminal nerve, which terminates extensively in cell groups of the medial hemispheric wall, the dorsal and lateral pallia, and the preoptic nuclei and posterior tubercle. Lepidosirenid lungfishes do not exhibit separate vomeronasal nerves, but previous data indicate that calbindin-positive receptors within basal crypts of the olfactory epithelium are homologous to the vomeronasal organ of tetrapods. Unilateral injections of DiI into the accessory olfactory bulb reveal an accessory olfactory tract which terminates primarily if not solely in the ipsilateral medial amygdalar nucleus as in amphibians. Unilateral injections of tracers into the main olfactory bulb reveal extensive projections to all cell groups in the ipsilateral telencephalic hemisphere, except for the medial amygdalar nucleus, as well as secondary olfactory projections (decussating in the habenular commissure) to the contralateral dorsal pallium and main olfactory bulb. Secondary olfactory projections also terminate bilaterally in diencephalic and midbrain centers after partial decussation in the anterior and postoptic commissures, as well as in the ventral hypothalamus and posterior tubercle. Cladistic analysis of the extensive secondary olfactory projections indicates that this pattern is primitive for all bony fishes whereas the reduction in secondary olfactory projections in amphibians, particularly anurans, is a derived, simplified pattern.
Prevalence, Characteristics, and Predictors of Pulmonary Vein Narrowing After Isolation Using the Pulmonary Vein Ablation Catheter
Authors: De Greef Yves , Tavernier Rene , Raeymaeckers Steven , Schwagten Bruno , Desurgeloose Didier , De Keulenaer Gilles , Stockman Dirk , De Buyzere Marc , Duytschaever Mattias
Published: November 2011

Background—

The risk of pulmonary vein narrowing (PVN) after pulmonary vein isolation, using a novel multi-electrode ablation catheter, is unknown.

Methods and Results—

Left atrial volume and PV diameters were compared by computed tomography (CT) before and 3 months after pulmonary vein isolation using duty-cycled phased radio frequency energy (2:1 or 4:1 bipolar/unipolar ratio) in 50 patients. Pulmonary vein diameter was measured in a coronal and axial view at 3 levels (A, ostium; B, 1 cm more distal; C, 2 cm more distal). Moderate PVN was defined as a pulmonary vein diameter reduction of 25 to 50%, and severe PVN as >50%. Left atrial volume decreased by 12±12% (
P
<0.01). Axial pulmonary vein diameter shortened by a median of 16% (interquartile range [IQR] 28 to 5%), 13% (IQR 25 to 5%), and 9% (IQR 21 to −3%) at level A, B, and C, respectively (
P
<0.01 for all); coronal pulmonary vein diameter decreased by a median of 16% (IQR 24 to 7%), 11% (IQR 21 to 4%), and 8% (IQR 18 to −2%;
P
<0.01 for all). Moderate PVN occurred in 30% of the PVs, in 78% of the patients; severe PVN occurred in 4% of the PVs, in 15% of the patients. PV diameter reduction was not related to changes in left atrial volume.

Conclusions—

Isolation of the pulmonary veins using a multielectrode ablation catheter and duty cycled phased radiofrequency energy delivery results in a consistent moderate reduction of the PV diameters predominantly at the ostium. Severe PVN in 15% of patients raises concerns about the risk for clinical PV stenosis.
Characterization of Three Kindreds With Familial Combined Hypolipidemia Caused by Loss-of-Function Mutations of ANGPTL3
Authors: Pisciotta Livia , Favari Elda , Magnolo Lucia , Simonelli Sara , Adorni Maria Pia , Sallo Raffaella , Fancello Tatiana , Zavaroni Ivana , Ardigò Diego , Bernini Franco , Calabresi Laura , Franceschini Guido , Tarugi Patrizia , Calandra Sebastiano , Bertolini Stefano
Published: November 2011

Background—

Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) affects lipid metabolism by inhibiting the activity of lipoprotein and endothelial lipases.
Angptl3
knockout mice have marked hypolipidemia, and heterozygous carriers of
ANGPLT3
, loss-of-function mutations were found among individuals in the lowest quartile of plasma triglycerides in population studies. Recently, 4 related individuals with primary hypolipidemia were found to be compound heterozygotes for
ANGPTL3
loss-of-function mutations.

Methods and Results—

We resequenced
ANGPTL3
in 4 members of 3 kindreds originally identified for very low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.97±0.16 and 0.56±0.20 mmol/L, respectively) in whom no mutations of known candidate genes for monogenic hypobetalipoproteinemia and hypoalphalipoproteinemia had been detected. These subjects were found to be homozygous or compound heterozygous for
ANGPTL3
loss-of-function mutations (p.G400VfsX5, p.I19LfsX22/p.N147X) associated with the absence of ANGPTL3 in plasma. They had reduced plasma levels of triglyceride-containing lipoproteins and of HDL particles that contained only apolipoprotein A-I and pre-β–high-density lipoprotein. In addition, their apolipoprotein B–depleted sera had a reduced capacity to promote cell cholesterol efflux through the various pathways (ABCA1-, SR-BI–, and ABCG1-mediated efflux); however, these subjects had no clinical evidence of accelerated atherosclerosis. Heterozygous carriers of the
ANGPTL3
mutations had low plasma ANGPTL3 and moderately reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (2.52±0.38 mmol/L) but normal plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Conclusions—

Complete ANGPTL3 deficiency caused by loss-of-function mutations of
ANGPTL3
is associated with a recessive hypolipidemia characterized by a reduction of apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A-I–containing lipoproteins, changes in subclasses of high-density lipoprotein, and reduced cholesterol efflux potential of serum. Partial ANGPTL3 deficiency is associated only with a moderate reduction of low-density lipoprotein.
A Loss-of-Function Polymorphism in the Human P2X4 Receptor Is Associated With Increased Pulse Pressure
Authors: Stokes Leanne , Scurrah Katrina , Ellis Justine A. , Cromer Brett A. , Skarratt Kristen K. , Gu Ben J. , Harrap Stephen B. , Wiley James S.
Published: November 2011

The P2X4 receptor is involved in endothelium-dependent changes in large arterial tone in response to shear stress and is, therefore, potentially relevant to arterial compliance and pulse pressure. Four identified nonsynonymous polymorphisms in
P2RX4
were reproduced in recombinantly expressed human P2X4. Electrophysiological studies showed that one of these, the Tyr315>Cys mutation (rs28360472), significantly reduced the peak amplitude of the ATP-induced inward current to 10.9% of wild-type P2X4 receptors in transfected HEK-293 cells (10 μmol/L of ATP; n=4–8 cells;
P
<0.001). Concentration-response curves for ATP and the partial agonist BzATP demonstrate that the 315Cys-P2X4 mutant had an increased EC
50
value for both ligands. Mutation of Tyr315>Cys likely disrupts the agonist binding site of P2X4 receptors, a finding supported by molecular modeling based on the zebrafish P2X4 receptor crystal structure. We tested inheritance of rs28360472 encoding the Tyr315>Cys mutation in
P2RX4
against pulse pressure in 2874 subjects from the Victorian Family Heart Study. The minor allele frequency was 0.014 (1.4%). In a variance components analysis we found significant association with pulse pressure (
P
=0.023 for total association) where 1 minor allele increased pulse pressure by 2.84 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.41–5.27). This increase in pulse pressure associated with inheritance of 315Cys-P2X4 receptors might reflect reduced large arterial compliance as a result of impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in large arteries.
Binding at Birth: The Newborn Brain Detects Identity Relations and Sequential Position in Speech
Authors: Gervain Judit , Berent Iris , Werker Janet F.
Published: November 2011

Breaking the linguistic code requires the extraction of at least two types of information from the speech signal: the relations between linguistic units and their sequential position. Furthermore, these different types of information need to be integrated into a coherent representation of language structure. The brain networks responsible for these abilities are well known in adults, but not in young infants. Our results show that the neural architecture underlying these abilities is operational at birth. In three optical imaging studies, we found that the newborn brain detects identity relations, as evidenced by enhanced activation in the bilateral superior temporal and left inferior frontal regions. More importantly, the newborn brain can also determine whether such identity relations hold for the initial or final positions of speech sequences, as indicated by increased activity in the inferior frontal regions, possibly Broca's area. This implies that the neural foundations of language acquisition are in place from birth.
Visuo-tactile Integration in Personal Space
Authors: Longo Matthew R. , Musil Jason Jiri , Haggard Patrick
Published: November 2011

Integration of information across sensory modalities is enhanced when stimuli in both modalities are in the same location. This “spatial rule” of multisensory integration has been primarily studied in humans by comparing stimuli located either in the same versus opposite side of the body midline or in peripersonal versus extrapersonal space, both of which involve large, categorical differences in spatial location. Here we used psychophysics and ERPs to investigate visuo-tactile integration in personal space (i.e., on the skin surface). We used the mirror box technique to manipulate the congruence of visual and tactile information about which finger on either the right or left hand had been touched. We observed clear compatibility effects for both visual and tactile judgments of which finger on the left hand had been touched. No such effects, however, were found for judgments about the right hand. ERP data showed a similar pattern. Amplitude of the vertex P200 potential was enhanced and that of the N2 was reduced for congruent visuo-tactile events on the left, but not the right, hand. Similarly, a later positivity over posterior parietal cortices (P300) showed contralateral enhancement for congruent visuo-tactile events on both the left and right hands. These results provide clear evidence for spatial constraints on visuo-tactile integration defined in personal space and also reveal clear lateralization of these effects. Furthermore, these results link these “ultraprecise” spatial constraints to processing in the right posterior parietal cortex.
Incongruent Abstract Stimulus–Response Bindings Result in Response Interference: fMRI and EEG Evidence from Visual Object Classification Priming
Authors: Horner Aidan J. , Henson Richard N.
Published: November 2011

Stimulus repetition often leads to facilitated processing, resulting in neural decreases (repetition suppression) and faster RTs (repetition priming). Such repetition-related effects have been attributed to the facilitation of repeated cognitive processes and/or the retrieval of previously encoded stimulus–response (S-R) bindings. Although previous research has dissociated these two forms of learning, their interaction in the brain is not fully understood. Utilizing the spatial and temporal resolutions of fMRI and EEG, respectively, we examined a long-lag classification priming paradigm that required response repetitions or reversals at multiple levels of response representation. We found a repetition effect in occipital/temporal cortex (fMRI) that was time-locked to stimulus onset (EEG) and robust to switches in response, together with a repetition effect in inferior pFC (fMRI) that was time-locked to response onset (EEG) and sensitive to switches in response. The response-sensitive effect occurred even when changing from object names (words) to object pictures between repetitions, suggesting that S-R bindings can code abstract representations of stimuli. Most importantly, we found evidence for interference effects when incongruent S-R bindings were retrieved, with increased neural activity in inferior pFC, demonstrating that retrieval of S-R bindings can result in facilitation or interference, depending on the congruency of response between repetitions.
Direct Numerical Simulation of the Turbulent Ekman Layer: Evaluation of Closure Models
Authors: Marlatt Stuart , Waggy Scott , Biringen Sedat
Published: November 2011

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) at a Reynolds number of 1000 was performed for the neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using the Ekman layer approximation. The DNS results were used to evaluate several closure approximations that model the turbulent stresses in the Reynolds averaged momentum equations. Two first-order closure equations proposed by O’Brien and by Large, McWilliams, and Doney were tested; both models approximate the eddy diffusivity as a function of height using cubic polynomials. Of these two models, the O’Brien model, which requires data both at the surface layer and at the top of the boundary layer, proved superior. The higher-order k–ɛ model also agreed well with DNS results and more accurately represented the eddy diffusivity in this rotational flow.
A Diachronic Study of Initial Stress and other Prosodic Features in the French News Announcer Style: Corpus-based Measurements and Perceptual Experiments
Authors: de Mareüil Philippe Boula , Rilliard Albert , Allauzen Alexandre
Published: November 2011

This study focuses on prosodic evolution in the French news announcer style, based on acoustic and perceptual analysis of French audiovisual archives. A 10-hour corpus covering six decades of broadcast news is investigated automatically. Two prosodic features, which may give an impression of emphatic style, are explored: word-initial stress and penultimate vowel lengthening, especially before a pause. Objective measurements suggest that the following features have decreased since the 40s: mean pitch, pitch rise associated with initial stress, vowel duration characterizing an emphatic initial stress, and prepausal penultimate lengthening. The onsets of stressed initial syllables have become longer while speech rate (measured at the phonemic level) has not changed. This puzzling outcome raises interesting questions for research on French prosody, suggesting that the durational correlates of word-initial stress have changed over time, in the French news announcer style.

Three perceptual experiments were conducted using prosody transplantation (copy of fundamental frequency and duration parameters on a synthetic voice), delexicalization and imitation. Rather than manipulating the parameters of, say, word-initial stress, we selected a subset of the corpus to represent the different decades under investigation. Results show that, among other factors, fundamental frequency and duration correlates of prosody contribute to distinguishing early recordings from more recent ones. The higher the pitch and the greater the pitch movements associated with word-initial stress, the more the speech samples are perceived as dating back to the 40s or 50s.
Territorial Stigma and the Politics of Resistance in a Parisian Banlieue: La Courneuve and Beyond
Authors: Garbin David , Millington Gareth
Published: November 2011

Drawing on research carried out in the Parisian banlieue of La Courneuve, this article contributes to the sociological analysis of urban marginalisation in post-riot France. Beginning with a discussion of the broad relationship between society and space, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s relational understanding of social space and how these complexities are inscribed in the urban, it moves on to consider how this relates to Lefebvre’s production of space thesis. The main body of the article outlines some of the ways in which territorial stigmatisation is imposed and reproduced. Empirical material is treated here as ‘diagnostic’ of the symbolic domination that blights La Courneuve. Yet this material is also illuminative of the irregular and scattered forms that resistance to territorial stigma takes. It is suggested that the complex relationship between social and physical space is expressed through the construction of symbolic geographies of domination/resistance and negotiated through intricate ‘entanglements of power’.
Performance level and stability margins of an optimal ℋ∞ flow controller
Authors: Ünal Hakki Ulaş , İftar Altuğ
Published: November 2011

Flow controllers are needed to avoid congestion in different types of networks. The dynamics of such networks, however, can usually be represented by infinite-dimensional models, which are either based on partial-differential equations or delay-differential equations. An optimal ℋ∞ flow controller design approach has recently been proposed for networks whose dynamics involve multiple and uncertain time-varying time delays. In the present paper, performance level and stability margins of controllers designed by this approach are analyzed. It is shown that, by choosing certain controller design parameters large, stability margins can be improved; while choosing them small improves performance levels. Therefore, there is a clear trade-off between robustness and performance.
The Death of a Female Boxer
Authors: McCree Roy Dereck
Published: November 2011

This article examines the “gendered nationalism” and “gendered media sporting nation” theses in relation to female involvement in sport based mainly on a content analysis of media narratives surrounding the death of a young female boxer in Trinidad in 2009. The nature of this reaction disproves a dominant view that female athletes or sports have been either excluded or marginalized from constructions of nation, nationalism, and sport hero for the narratives were constitutive of a broader “narrative of nation” that was invoked by her death. However, at the same time, it was found that Salandy was still subject to “conventional gendered representational techniques” by the media and that female boxing in general still suffers from a lack of legitimacy, sexism, and male domination consistent with the global pattern, which contrasted sharply with the boxer’s celebration as a national icon and underpinned her “multiple imagery and contradictions” as a role model.
Determining the Most Suitable Costal Cartilage Level for Rhinoplasty
Authors: Alkan Zeynep , Acioglu Engin , Yigit Ozgur , Bekem Aylin , Azizli Elad , Unal Ahmet , Sahin Feyzi
Published: November 2011

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical properties of septal cartilage (SC) and costal cartilage (CC) grafts harvested from different ribs and to find at which level CC has characteristics closest to SC.

Study Design

Experimental cadaver study.

Setting

Istanbul Training and Research Hospital.

Material and Method

Cartilage grafts were harvested from the 6th, 7th, and 8th ribs and the SC of 10 fresh cadavers. Shaped cartilage grafts were subjected to a bending test. Results were measured, and the force‐deflection curve was plotted. Flexural strength (σf) and flexural modulus of elasticity (Ef) were determined. Fractured surfaces were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Results

According to Fmax, it was determined that ribs 6, 7, and 8 have significantly more durability compared with the SC (Ps =. 030,. 004, and. 001). With regard to deflection, there was no significant difference between the SC and the 6th and 7th ribs and between the 6th and 7th ribs (Ps = 1.000,. 088, and. 306), while a significant difference was found between the SC and the 8th rib (P =. 001). According to σf, no differences were seen between the 6th and 7th rib (P =. 782), while difference was detected between the 6th and 8th and the 7th and 8th ribs (p =. 001). Similar trends were established in Ef values as in σf. These results were confirmed by SEM images.

Conclusion

The 7th CC can be used as autograft because it shows similar properties to SC. However, the 6th CC is preferred if more flexibility is desired, and the 8th CC is preferred where more strength is needed.
Characteristics of Inpatient Thyroid Surgery at US Academic and Affiliated Medical Centers
Authors: Stack Brendan C. , Spencer Horace J. , Lee Christopher E. , Medvedev Sofia , Hohmann Samuel F. , Bodenner Donald L.
Published: November 2011

Objective

Describe data from patients undergoing thyroid surgeries for benign and malignant disease at US academic medical centers.

Study Design

Retrospective, database search.

Setting

The University Health System (UHC) Consortium (Oak Brook, Illinois) data compiled from discharge summaries.

Subjects and Methods

Discharge data were collected from the first quarter of 2002 through the fourth quarter of 2009. Searching strategy was based on diagnosis of thyroid disease and patients undergoing thyroid surgery across all UHC facilities. Demographic information was collected as well as length of stay (LOS) and costs. Complications were evaluated in this analysis.

Results

During the study period, 68,014 thyroidectomies were performed, with 27,200 for thyroid cancer. During the same period 6365 neck dissections were performed, with 1539 as stand‐alone procedures. Total thyroidectomy was the procedure of choice for malignant disease. More total thyroidectomies and fewer hemithyroidectomies were being performed for benign thyroid disease in the inpatient setting. Almost all postoperative complications were more frequent after surgery for cancer except myocardial infarction and aspiration pneumonia. On average, LOS was longer for benign disease, but costs were higher for malignant disease.

Conclusion

This is the largest series reporting inpatient LOS and mortality for thyroid surgery. The limitation of this study is that it reports patients whose stays were more than 23 hours, leaving out a significant number of thyroid surgeries that are performed as outpatients. Although the results contribute greatly to characterizing inpatient surgery, the results may not reflect current US trends for thyroid surgery.
Reparation in the German Criminal Justice System: What is, and what Remains to be Done
Authors: Walther Susanne
Published: November 2011

Part one of this article shows how the idea that offenders should make reparation to their victims figures within the German criminal justice system. In analysing the present state of the law, the author differentiates between the procedural and material aspects of reparation. Under the rubric of ‘procedural aspects of reparation’, the structure, function, and practical role of the German ‘Nebenklage’ are described, a feature that allows the victim to participate at trial yet — unlike the ‘victim-impact-statement’ approach taken in some common-law countries — shies away from giving the victim a voice in sentence-finding. In its second part, this article deplores the lack of an overall conceptual foundation for a more fundamental and systematic integration of the concept of reparation into the criminal justice system. With regard to material reparation, the author proposes a revised system of criminal sanctions which would feature measures of reparation next to measures of reprobation (‘punishment’) as a major and regular avenue, or ‘track’, of the state's response to crime.
Statutory Compensation for Victims of Child Sexual Assault: Examining the Efficacy of a Discretionary System
Authors: Swanston Heather Y. , Parkinson Patrick N. , Shrimpton Sandra , O'toole Brian I. , Oates R. Kim
Published: November 2011

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between certain victim and offence characteristics and the award of statutory compensation for victims of child sexual abuse, in a system which conferred a complete discretion concerning awards of compensation up to certain monetary limits.
Aging and the Fear of Crime: Recent Results from East and West Germany
Authors: Kury Helmut , Obergfell-Fuchs Joachim , Ferdinand Theodore
Published: November 2011

Fear of crime and the escalating official crime rate have become in the last decade notable themes in criminology and victimology: This is especially true since the reunification of Germany brought with it an opportunity to survey east German citizens regarding their inner security in a closed society with strong formal and informal controls. The results of several surveys by the authors and others will be discussed with special attention to the measurement of the complex construct ‘fear of crime’. These results show that young women especially in the new German states have the greatest fear and thereby throw into question widely reported findings that fear of crime is primarily a problem of the aged. The relationship between age and fear of crime is more complex than formerly anticipated and must be treated as multi-dimensional. Accordingly the results are controlled for residence in east or west Germany, gender, age, victimization, the size of the community, one's habits and life style, and confidence in the police.
School Violence: A Multi-Level Perspective
Authors: Lindström Peter
Published: November 2011

School violence has been a recurring theme in the Swedish media over the last decade. Unfortunately research on this subject has been scarce and the media picture has therefore often been accepted uncritically. This article presents an overview of what is known about school violence in Sweden. Using a contextual approach it is also investigated to what extent individual level characteristics and features of the school context account for the risk of victimization. On the whole it is found that in schools where social capital, e.g. family and community resources, is low, violence tends to be higher, especially among students with low self-esteem and weak school involvement.
Victimization and Fear Among Lesbians and Gay Men in Stockholm
Authors: Tiby Eva
Published: November 2011

Victimization among lesbians and gay men creates, apart from harm and fear amongst the victimized, great fear among non-victimized gays and lesbians. This article is based on a comparison between victimized and non-victimized gays and lesbians in four populations in Stockholm. The study shows that differences in lifestyle, primarily concerning openness about sexual identity and frequency of participating in· night-time city life result in different rates of victimization. Furthermore, there are great differences in fear of crime between the victimized and non-victimized. Somewhat surprisingly there are no differences in fear of crime among male and female victims. Among the non-victims, male respondents report more fear than females.
Immigration and Integration: Perceptions of Community Policing Among Members of Six Ethnic Communities in Central Queens, New York City
Authors: Davis Robert C. , Miller Joel
Published: November 2011

There is some evidence, based on past research, that community policing has not been as successful (in terms of awareness, participation, and impact) in Black and Latino communities as in White communities. We believed that there may be even less awareness of community policing in ethnic communities containing high proportions of recent immigrants.

We conducted an investigation into the extent to which awareness of community policing had penetrated immigrant communities. From a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Queens, New York with a high proportion of foreign-born residents, we surveyed representative samples from six different ethnic groups. Two of the communities were well established and integrated into the city's political structure. The other four communities were composed largely of recent immigrants and had not yet developed a strong sense of political empowerment. Respondents were asked about awareness of community policing, sources of awareness, participation in community policing activities, and suggestions for improving police—community relations.

Respondents from the long-etablished ethnic communities were far more likely to be aware of community policing than respondents in the recently established communities. The former respondents were also more likely to have participated in community policing activities. Increasing foot patrols and holding more meetings with the community were seen as the most effective means of improving police—community relations, especially among recently established Hispanic communities.
Restorative Justice and the Absent Victim: New Data from the Thames Valley
Authors: Hill Roderick F.A.
Published: November 2011

This paper reports research data collected about victims who do not participate in restorative meetings when the opportunity exists for them to do so. The research formed part of a larger study on the use of ‘restorative cautioning’ by the UK's Thames Valley Police. The research employed observation of restorative cautions in which the victim did not attend and interviews with the absent victims themselves. The results show that despite the potential for absent-victims to benefit from the restorative process, poor communication meant that victims often had limited understanding of the process in which they had been asked to participate and what their role could be in that process. In addition, victim-absent cautions tended to be more offender-focussed and less restorative than victim-present cautions. The perception that restorative justice requires victims to meet offenders may be to blame for these failings.
The Stability of Global and Specific Measures of the Fear of Crime: Results from a Two Wave Trinidadian Longitudinal Study
Authors: Ditton Jason , Chadee Derek , Khan Furzana
Published: November 2011

The ‘fear of crime’ is a politically important measure, and much is made of year to year changes in levels when generated by repeat cross-sectional national surveys such as the British Crime Survey. Data from the first two waves of a longitudinal survey of the fear of crime undertaken in Trinidad indicate that identical year on year fear levels regularly conceal considerable gross changes in reported fear, many of which are mutually cancelled in the calculation of net year- on-year fear levels. These results question either or both of the stability of the fear of crime, and of measures used to assess it.
Trafficking in Women and Girls and the Involvement of Organised Crime in Western and Central Europe
Authors: Monzini Paola
Published: November 2011

The article presents an overview of trafficking of women for their exploitation in prostitution markets from eastern and central Europe into western and southern Europe and beyond. The author's analysis relies on information collected during three years as coordinator of a UN research team on trafficking issues, and in the course of in-depth field research in Italy. The focus of the article is on organised crime groups involved in illegal business. It considers the strategies of these groups within their ‘natural’ context: the sex market. The article describes main trafficking routes and mechanisms, with reference to specific forms of organised crime and their evolution. The structure of the clandestine market of prostitution — both supply and demand sides — is presented briefly, together with a consideration of migration issues. Concrete examples on the complexity of organized crime's ‘contribution’ to the phenomenon of sex trafficking are given and some comparative points are drawn.
Traffic Counts, Symbols & Agendas: A Critique of the Campaign Against Trafficking of Human Beings
Authors: McDonald William F.
Published: November 2011

Today's international campaign against the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation is examined from a critical and a historical perspective. Descriptions of the nature and magnitude of the problem are questioned, as is the accuracy of the campaign's central image of the nice girl forced into sexual exploitation. Available data suggest that the campaign is a long way from meeting its instrumental goals of preventing trafficking, prosecuting traffickers or protecting victims. However, today's phase of the campaign has had important symbolic successes, winning broad political support; providing leverage for feminists to push for improving the status of women and promoting conventional morality with its anti-prostitution orientation as the globally accepted norm. The conflicts among the moral entrepreneurs that have driven the campaign are described. The campaign's continued viability is said to rest upon whether its central image can be sustained, something that has become problematic as the result of the challenge to conventional morality by politically organized sex workers and by the accumulation of better empirical research.
Policing the Punishment: Charging Practices Under Canada's Corporal Punishment Laws
Authors: Landau Tammy C.
Published: November 2011

Canadian data show that children and youth experience high degrees of violence in their lives. A significant degree of this violence occurs within the family, and can be attributed to excesive ‘correction’ or physical discipline. Indeed, section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code permits the use of ‘reasonable’ force for the purposes of correction. This paper presents data on police response to allegations of excessive or illegal corporal punishment under current Canadian legislation. As the gatekeepers to the courts, the police act as the social, legal and moral guardians of the use of corporal punishment in Canada. The findings suggest that there is significant variation in police response both to the range and seriousness of incidents of corporal punishment. Much of this can be attributed to the normal exercise of police discretion. However, the breadth and lack of clarity in the law itself is an additional, problematic source of uncertainty and undermines attempts to reduce violence in the lives of children.
Child Protection or Child Liberation? Reflections on the Movement to Ban Physical Punishment by Parents and Educators
Authors: Sebba Leslie
Published: November 2011

In recent years the debate on the legitimacy of the infliction of corporal punishment by parents on their children has been intensified. This traditional parental power has been challenged both at governmental and legislature levels and in the courts, in some cases leading to its prohibition — a policy which has now been endorsed by various international norm-setting bodies.

This article traces the historical development of this abolitionist movement on the international plane and seeks to identify the ideologies which have motivated it. In particular, it assesses the respective roles of the child protection ideology, which is concerned with the prevention of victimization, and the children's rights perspective. The contravening role of the family rights ideology is also considered. The article also uses case-studies to analyse the interplay of these forces on the national level, and considers the usefulness of this analysis to predict abolition.
Bank Money Shields: Workplaced Victimisation, Moral Dilemmas and Crisis in the Bank Profession
Authors: Paes-Machado Eduardo , Nascimento Ana Márcia
Published: November 2011

This paper discusses the experience of Brazilian bank employees who have been victims of armed robberies and related crimes such as bank robbery and extortion-related kidnapping. The research is based on 42 interviews with bank employees (18) and their spouses (3), bank security officers (7), bank health officers (6), employee union representatives (5), a bank representative (1), a journalist (1) and a police officer (1). It also draws on 30 medical reports on employee victims, 236 newspaper articles and police statistics. We show that employee kidnappings are used to facilitate robberies and carry out extortion while circumventing security devices and confrontations with the police force. Given that employee kidnappings for the purposes of robbery and extortion occur outside the workplace but aim at resources kept inside the bank, they challenge notions of workplace violence as an experience restricted to the work environment. We discuss the threats and quandaries produced in the victim-offender encounter and the politics of shifting responsibility onto the victim. We demonstrate that the experience of being victimised and being held responsible by the bank increases fear of crime among employees, undermining their self-esteem, disturbing their social network, and negatively affecting their profession. We advocate that law enforcement be improved and that banks both invest in security equipment and review the current policy of worker responsibilisation.
Taking Child Witnesses Out of the Crown Court: A Live Link Initiative
Authors: Applegate Richard
Published: November 2011

This article describes an innovative project in England whereby child witnesses gave evidence via a video link from a building away from the court complex. The research indicates that this was seen as an effective method for children to give their evidence; removing most of the negative issues relating to giving evidence either in person from the court room, or from a live video link from a room routinely located within the court complex. This arrangement was seen to encourage children to give evidence in the first instance; to improve its quality; and to soften the traditional adversarial nature of the criminal justice system. Professionals in the Crown Court have accepted live video link technology as part of their work role and although the children concerned, and their parents, were not so positive they also considered it to be a very good way for them to give evidence.
Beyond the Numbers: Hate Crimes and Cultural Trauma Within Arab American Immigrant Communities
Authors: Hendricks Nicole J. , Ortiz Christopher W. , Sugie Naomi , Miller Joel
Published: November 2011

The events of September 11, 2001 reverberated through many Arab American communities across the country in ways that other Americans have not experienced. During the period directly following the attacks, people of Arab descent were harassed; churches and mosques were damaged, and in a few instances people were physically attacked, shot, or killed. In cities and towns with high concentrations of Arab Americans, public hostility and suspicion grew due to outside pressures. Utilizing interview data from a current national study of relations between Arab American communities and law enforcement, we explore issues of victimization, the perceived prevalence of hate and bias crimes among immigrants of Arab descent and law enforcement, and community-level feelings of vulnerability and fear in a post-September 11 environment. In addition, we examine the degree to which federal policies, media attention and law enforcement practices have led to a sense of community-wide victimization, which we label as a type of cultural trauma. Bearing the brunt of enforcement actions, Arab American communities are grappling with the insecurity and fear that has come from increased scrutiny in the name of security for others.