bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transport mechanisms of the turbulent energy cascade in upward/downward bubbly flows
Authors: Lelouvetel J. , Tanaka T. , Sato Y. , Hishida K.
Published: February 2014

The turbulent energy cascade in an upward or downward bubbly pipe flow with a Reynolds number of 1.5 × 104 was experimentally investigated in order to examine the effects of the flow direction on the turbulence modifications by bubbles. The bubble diameter was approximately 1 mm. The combination of a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) system with Kolmogorov-order spatial and temporal resolutions and a shape projection imaging (SPI) system was used to simultaneously capture the liquid and bubble motions. The physical mechanisms of turbulence modification at each length scale, or in wavenumber space, were investigated by introducing a filtering-based scaling analysis, in which the filtering techniques derived from large eddy simulation (LES) were applied to the PTV measurements. The analysis can be used to examine the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) exchange between bubbles and flows at each wavenumber. We observed significant differences in the flow statistics and turbulent energy budget of upward and downward flows, which are due to the sign of the relative velocity of bubbles. A negative relative velocity (downward flow) induces greater modifications in the energy budget than a positive relative velocity (upward flow), which suggests that the bubble-transport term of the turbulent energy is greater when the flow has to push down the bubbles. The flow provides more energy to the bubbles when it pushes them in the downward direction. The flow will also receive and dissipate more energy from the bubbles in a downward flow compared with an upward flow due to the greater transverse motion of the bubbles. The analysis introduced in the present study shows that the energy transfer from large to small scales is decreased in an upward flow and is increased in a downward flow. Similarly, the sign of the bubble term indicates that turbulent flow receives energy from bubbles in an upward flow, while it transfers energy to bubbles in a downward flow. We also observed that this energy transport is approximately 10 times larger in a downward flow than in an upward flow.
Non-Boussinesq gravity currents propagating on different bottom slopes
Authors: Dai Albert
Published: February 2014

Experiments on the non-Boussinesq gravity currents generated from an instantaneous buoyancy source propagating on an inclined boundary in the slope angle range $0^{\circ } \le \theta \le 9^{\circ }$ with relative density difference in the range of $0.05 \le \epsilon \le 0.17$ are reported, where $\epsilon = (\rho _1-\rho _0)/\rho _0$, with $\rho _1$ and $\rho _0$ the densities of the heavy and light ambient fluids, respectively. We showed that a $3/2$ power-law, ${(x_f+x_0)}^{3/2}= K_M^{3/2} {B_0'}^{1/2} (t+t_{I0})$, exists between the front location measured from the virtual origin, $(x_f+x_0)$, and time, $t$, in the early deceleration phase for both the Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq cases, where $K_M$ is a measured empirical constant, $B_0'$ is the total released buoyancy, and $t_{I0}$ is the $t$-intercept. Our results show that $K_M$ not only increases as the relative density difference increases but also assumes its maximum value at $\theta \approx 6^{\circ }$ for sufficiently large relative density differences. In the late deceleration phase, the front location data deviate from the $3/2$ power-law and the flow patterns on $\theta =6^{\circ },9^{\circ }$ slopes are qualitatively different from those on $\theta =0^{\circ },2^{\circ }$. In the late deceleration phase, we showed that viscous effects could become more important and another power-law, ${(x_f+x_0)}^{2}= K_{V}^{2} {B_0'}^{2/3} {{A}^{1/3}_0} {\nu }^{-1/3} (t+t_{V0})$, applies for both the Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq cases, where $K_V$ is an empirical constant, $A_0$ is the initial volume of heavy fluid per unit width, $\nu $ is the kinematic viscosity of the fluids, and $t_{V0}$ is the $t$-intercept. Our results also show that $K_V$ increases as the relative density difference increases and $K_V$ assumes its maximum value at $\theta \approx 6^{\circ }$.
“After the End Times”: Postcrisis African Science Fiction
Authors: Omelsky Matthew
Published: February 2014

We live in a moment of “apocalyptic time,” the “time of the end of time.” Ours is a moment of global ecological crisis, of the ever-impending collapse of capital. That we live on the brink is too clear. What is not, however, is our ability to imagine the momentafterthis dual crisis. In recent years, African artists have begun to articulate this “moment after,” ushering in a new paradigm in African literature and film that speculates upon postcrisis African futures. Writers and filmmakers such as Nigeria’s Efe Okogu and Kenya’s Wanuri Kahiu have imagined future African topographies—spaces that have felt the fullest effects of climate change, nuclear radiation, and the imbalances of global capitalism. Biopolitics, sovereignty, and the human have all been reconfigured in these African science fictions. Okogu and Kahiu’s futurist aesthetics are specters that loom over our present, calling for a radically reimagined politics of the now.
No Alternative
Authors: Murphet Julian
Published: February 2014

Vivek Chibber’s new book has stirred up a good amount of controversy and passionate position-taking in recent months. This review probes its avowedly Marxist critique of subaltern studies in order to test the validity of some of its central claims and to offer a provisional appraisal of its political implications. A related question is what such a critique might have to offer literary studies, postcolonial or otherwise.
Age-dependent effects of cord blood long-chain PUFA composition on BMI during the first 10 years of life
Authors: Standl Marie , Thiering Elisabeth , Demmelmair Hans , Koletzko Berthold , Heinrich Joachim
Published: February 2014

In the present study, we investigated whether n-6 and n-3 long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) concentrations in cord blood (CB) serum are associated with BMI up to 10 years of age, after accounting for LC-PUFA composition at 2, 6 and 10 years. The study was based on 388 participants of the German LISAplus (Influence of Lifestyle-Related Factors on the Immune System and the Development of Allergies in Childhood Plus the Influence of Traffic Emissions and Genetics) birth cohort study carried out in Munich. BMI was measured at 2, 6 and 10 years of age. Serum phospholipid fatty acid concentrations were measured by GC in CB and in blood collected at 2, 6 and 10 years of age. The association between n-3 LC-PUFA and n-6 LC-PUFA concentrations and n-6:n-3 LC-PUFA ratio in CB serum glycerophospholipids and BMI z-scores was assessed using linear mixed models adjusted for LC-PUFA composition at follow-up and potential confounders. Interaction terms between time of follow-up and LC-PUFA concentrations in CB were included. There was no consistent association between n-6 and n-3 LC-PUFA concentrations in CB and BMI over time. However, there was a significant interaction between n-6:n-3 LC-PUFA ratio in CB and time of follow-up with respect to BMI (P= 0·0415): a negative effect at 2 years; no effect at 6 years; a positive effect at 10 years. BMI up to 10 years of age may be influenced by the n-6:n-3 ratio in CB serum glycerophospholipids in a time-varying fashion. The present results thereby highlight the importance of considering age when examining associations between fatty acid concentrations and BMI.
Compared with that of MUFA, a high dietary intake ofn-3 PUFA does not reduce the degree of pathology in mdx mice
Authors: Henderson Gregory C. , Evans Nicholas P. , Grange Robert W. , Tuazon Marc A.
Published: February 2014

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle disease that affects afflicted males from a young age, and the mdx mouse is an animal model of this disease. Although new drugs are in development, it is also essential to assess potential dietary therapies that could assist in the management of DMD. In the present study, we compared two diets, high-MUFA dietv. high-PUFA diet, in mdx mice. To generate the high-PUFA diet, a portion of dietary MUFA (oleic acid) was replaced with the dietary essentialn-3 PUFA α-linolenic acid (ALA). We sought to determine whether ALA, compared with oleic acid, was beneficial in mdx mice. Consumption of the high-PUFA diet resulted in significantly highern-3 PUFA content and reduced arachidonic acid content in skeletal muscle phospholipids (PL), while the high-MUFA diet led to higher oleate content in PL. Mdx mice on the high-MUFA diet exhibited 2-fold lower serum creatine kinase activity than those on the high-PUFA diet (P< 0·05) as well as a lower body fat percentage (P< 0·05), but no significant difference in skeletal muscle histopathology results. There was no significant difference between the dietary groups with regard to phosphorylated p65 (an inflammatory marker) in skeletal muscle. In conclusion, alteration of PL fatty acid (FA) composition by the high-PUFA diet made mdx muscle more susceptible to sarcolemmal leakiness, while the high-MUFA diet exhibited a more favourable impact. These results may be important for designing dietary treatments for DMD patients, and future work on dietary FA profiles, such as comparing other FA classes and dose effects, is needed.
Effect of Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum wheat on irritable bowel syndrome: a double-blinded randomised dietary intervention trial
Authors: Sofi Francesco , Whittaker Anne , Gori Anna Maria , Cesari Francesca , Surrenti Elisabetta , Abbate Rosanna , Gensini Gian Franco , Benedettelli Stefano , Casini Alessandro
Published: February 2014

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of a replacement diet with organic, semi-whole-grain products derived from Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum (ancient) wheat on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and inflammatory/biochemical parameters. A double-blinded randomised cross-over trial was performed using twenty participants (thirteen females and seven males, aged 18–59 years) classified as having moderate IBS. Participants received products (bread, pasta, biscuits and crackers) made either from ancient or modern wheat for 6 weeks in a random order. Symptoms due to IBS were evaluated using two questionnaires, which were compiled both at baseline and on a weekly basis during the intervention period. Blood analyses were carried out at the beginning and end of each respective intervention period. During the intervention period with ancient wheat products, patients experienced a significant decrease in the severity of IBS symptoms, such as abdominal pain (P< 0·0001), bloating (P= 0·004), satisfaction with stool consistency (P< 0·001) and tiredness (P< 0·0001). No significant difference was observed after the intervention period with modern wheat products. Similarly, patients reported significant amelioration in the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms only after the ancient wheat intervention period, as measured by the intensity of pain (P= 0·001), the frequency of pain (P< 0·0001), bloating (P< 0·0001), abdominal distension (P< 0·001) and the quality of life (P< 0·0001). Interestingly, the inflammatory profile showed a significant reduction in the circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, IL-17, interferon-γ, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor after the intervention period with ancient wheat products, but not after the control period. In conclusion, significant improvements in both IBS symptoms and the inflammatory profile were reported after the ingestion of ancient wheat products.
Direct and Indirect Representation
Authors: Hirano Shigeo , Ting Michael M.
Published: February 2014

How much can a constituency influence the power of its representative in the legislature? This article develops a theoretical model of the constituency basis of legislator influence. The key players in the model are interest groups that may receive targeted transfers from the legislature. The model predicts that the amount of transfers that such groups receive is increasing in their ability to help a party win a legislative seat in the next election. This claim is tested using the changes in Japanese central-to-municipality transfers after a representative passes away while in office. The study finds that electorally ‘strong’ constituency groups do not lose transfers when they lose their representatives. However when ‘weak’ constituency groups lose their representatives, the transfers decrease.
Wired Voters: The Effects of Internet Use on Voters’ Electoral Uncertainty
Authors: Sudulich Laura , Wall Matthew , Baccini Leonardo
Published: February 2014

This article examines whether voters’ use of the internet as a source of political news affects the extent to which they are certain of their vote choice in national-level elections. It employs data pertaining to the 2011 general election in Ireland, linking geographical information on broadband coverage with individual-level public opinion data from the 2011 Irish National Election Study. The resultant dataset allows the adoption of a quasi-experimental approach in our examination of the effects of online political newsgathering on voters’ electoral uncertainty. Implementing instrumental variables, the study finds consistent evidence of a causal relationship between the use of the internet as a source of political information and increased levels of political uncertainty among voters,ceteris paribus. These findings are robust to a range of model specifications and alternative operationalizations of dependent and independent variables.
Who's Afraid of Conflict? The Mobilizing Effect of Conflict Framing in Campaign News
Authors: Schuck Andreas R.T. , Vliegenthart Rens , De Vreese Claes H.
Published: February 2014

The ability of the news media to mobilize voters during an election campaign is not well understood. Most extant research has been conducted in single-country studies and has paid little or no attention to the contextual level and the conditions under which such effects are more or less likely to occur. This study tests the mobilizing effect of conflict news framing in the context of the 2009 European Parliamentary elections. The unique multi-method and comparative cross-national study design combines a media content analysis (N = 48,982) with data from a two-wave panel survey conducted in twenty-one countries (N = 32,411). Consistent with expectations, conflict framing in campaign news mobilized voters to vote. Since the effect of conflict news was moderated by evaluations of the EU polity in the general information environment, conflict framing more effectively mobilized voters in countries where the EU was evaluated more positively.
Multidisciplinary studies of global Carboniferous stage boundaries: towards a better definition and global correlations: an introduction
Authors: CHEN ZHONG-QIANG , WANG XIANGDONG , RICHARDS BARRY , ARETZ MARKUS
Published: February 2014

Earth was very dynamic during the Carboniferous with major components of the Pangea supercontinent being assembled from late Famennian to latest Pennsylvanian times, although maximum consolidation occurred during Late Permian – Early Triassic time. During the Carboniferous Period, our planet also underwent at least three major icehouse periods. The first two, in late Famennian – early Tournaisian and late Visean – Bashkirian times, indicate the onset of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (LPIA) with ice sheets being confined to the alpine regions of southern Gondwana. The third icehouse regime during Gzhelian – Early Permian time represents the main episode of the LPIA when a continental ice sheet developed on the Australian, Antarctic and southern African components of southern Gondwana. During the Tournaisian equatorial areas in Euramerica were occupied by extensive arid belts, in which massive carbonate deposits formed on vast platforms in that time. From the late Tournaisian into the Visean and Serpukhovian much of the equatorial belt developed into a humid-tropical realm and the former arid belt split and shifted to higher latitudes. Shelf-carbonate deposition continued over extensive areas of the continental shelves and western Palaeo-Tethys but coal swamps were developing in the forelands of the rising Appalachian and Variscan orogens. The late Serpukhovian – early Bashkirian interval saw the closure of the Rheic Ocean and a continent–continent collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form Pangea. As a consequence, a marked transition from Visean carbonate deposition to the development of coal swamps and deposition of siliciclastics during the Serpukhovian Stage occurred in many regions.
Well-differentiated liposarcoma of the epiglottis
Authors: Pajaniappane A , Farzan J , Green D M , De M
Published: February 2014

Objective:

Liposarcomas of the larynx and its sub-sites are rare. Within this group of tumours, well-differentiated liposarcomas of the epiglottis have been only sporadically reported. In view of its infrequent presentation, difficulty still exists over the diagnosis of this pathological entity, together with uncertainty over its exact accepted management.

Method:

We present the case of a well-differentiated liposarcoma of the epiglottis, and we review the associated English-language literature.

Results:

The reported patient underwent multiple attempts at surgical treatment prior to establishment of a firm diagnosis. In light of the diagnosis and other mitigating factors, a conservative approach was adopted.

Conclusion:

A high index of clinical suspicion and detailed histological analysis are required when encountering a recurrent soft tissue lesion of the larynx. In the presented case, a multidisciplinary approach and conservative management plan were adopted, based on a holistic management approach and a review of the published literature.
Benthic habitat and megafaunal zonation across the Hebridean Slope, western Scotland, analysed from archived seabed photographs
Authors: Hughes David J.
Published: February 2014

Benthic habitat and epibenthic megafauna are described from seabed photographs taken in or near three potential deep-water Marine Protected Areas on the Hebridean Slope, surveyed in 1988, 1995–96 and 1998. Broad bathymetric zones are defined by visible substratum characteristics, and by cluster analysis using presence/absence of identified fauna. The shelf edge and upper slope (to 350 m depth) showed current-swept coarse substrata with a very sparse fauna. A transition to finer sandy sediments was apparent at 350–470 m, with a greater abundance of mobile epifauna. The brittlestar Ophiocten gracilis occurred at high density below 600 m depth in all three areas. Southern stations indicated an abrupt lower boundary for this zone at ca 1000 m. In the north, rippled sands with xenophyophores occurred below the O. gracilis zone at 1000–1100 m. Xenophyophores were also seen in smaller numbers at this depth in the south. From ~1300–1600 m a seabed of burrowed fine mud was recorded in both northern and southern areas. Bioturbated sediments on the Rockall Trough floor at ~2060 m supported more visible epifauna, principally the brittlestar Ophiomusium lymani and the octocoral Acanella arbuscula. The bathymetric pattern differs from a scheme proposed in 2010 for the deep north-east Atlantic in the lack of any obvious zonal boundary at 750 m. No cold-water corals or sponge aggregations were observed. Trawl marks were observed in all three areas, particularly in the 1998 northern survey, with highest frequency at 1300–1400 m.
The Case of Ayesha, Muslim ‘Courts’, and the Rule of Law: Some ethnographic lessons for legal theory
Authors: REDDING JEFFREY A.
Published: February 2014

This paper aims to challenge the disparagement of non-state Islamic systems of law that has established firm roots in contemporary rule of law ideology and practice around the world, from India to Ontario. In this respect, rule of law ideology has tended to ignore actual mechanics and procedures of law, not only in legal venues outside the state's direct control, but also in the state's courts themselves. With respect to non-state legal venues—and especially non-state Islamic legal venues—such ideology understands and describes the practices and procedures that it finds in these non-state venues as crude and underdeveloped at best, and illiberal and in violation of the rule of law at worst. While other scholarly work has vividly demonstrated the various transformations and mutations that any state's ‘ideal legal procedure’ experiences as it is put into real-world practice by a state's courts and judges, this paper makes a converse move. Using a case-study focused on the circumstances and experiences of an Indian Muslim woman, ‘Ayesha’, who recently used a Delhidar ul qazato exercise her Islamic divorce rights in India, this paper demonstrates how a non-state Islamic legal venue behaves in ways which are highly evocative of rule of law ideology's idealization of state courts and how they (should) operate procedurally. In doing so, this paper provides evidence for Partha Chatterjee's thesis as to how elite and subaltern domains—understood here to be embodied in both state and non-state legal venues, respectively—are products of ‘mutually conditioned historicities’. In this case, the focus is on the state's conditioning of the non-state. As a result, rule of law ideology's state-oriented critique of the (Islamic) non-state is mistaken because, as this paper demonstrates, the non-state is produced in conversation with the state; one cannot critique the one (non-state) domain without realizing how that critique implicates the other (state) domain.
Failing Transnationally: Local intersections of science, medicine, and sectarianism in modernist Shiʿi writings
Authors: FUCHS SIMON WOLFGANG
Published: February 2014

This paper adds to the growing literature on transnational Shiʿism which has so far mostly focused on social history and political contestations. By tracing the thought, transnational legacy, and ultimate failure of the reformist Shiʿi scholar, Muhammad al-Khalisi (d. 1963), I argue for the crucial importance of local contexts and ideas for the genesis of Islamic modernist projects. In his native Iraq, al-Khalisi not only distinguished himself as a guerrilla fighter and political activist but also was shaped by prevailing notions about the compatibility of Islam and science. Exiled to Iran for his opposition to the British from 1922 to 1949, he encountered there specific medicalizing discourses on modernity. This exposure and his experience as a practitioner of medicine in the Iranian countryside led al-Khalisi to identify medicine as the master key to unlocking the secrets of the divine law, thesharīʿa: his major work on Islamic law singles out human health as God's supreme concern. Back in Iraq during the 1950s, al-Khalisi's medical-scientific vision of modernity was finally complemented with an uncompromising call for intra-Muslim unity. This stance led to furious attacks against al-Khalisi which continue unabated in contemporary Pakistan where his name has become a term of abuse.
Experiments with Khomeini's Revolution in Kargil: Contemporary Shi‘a networks between India and West Asia
Authors: GUPTA RADHIKA
Published: February 2014

Shi‘i scholars from India have been a sizeable presence in seminaries in Iran and Iraq, both historically and today. Yet there is a dearth of scholarship on Shi‘i linkages between India and West Asia, with the exception of historical work on the patronage of shrine cities in Iraq by centres of Shi‘ism in India. Departing from this geographical and historical focus, this paper lends insight into contemporary religious networks between India and West Asia, using the example of the Twelver Shi‘a in Kargil, a region located on India's ‘border’ with Pakistan in the province of Kashmir. Kargili scholars travelled overland via Afghanistan or by sea from Bombay to Basra to study in seminaries in Iraq and Iran from the nineteenth century onwards. Increasing fluency in Urdu in post-colonial India enabled them to connect with Shi‘i institutions in other parts of India, which mediate religious, cultural, and financial flows from a transnational Shi‘ite realm. These networks ofreligiouslearning are not only conduits for the transmission of textual, doctrinal knowledge, but also for politico-religious ideologies that are selectively harnessed, and often exaggerated, to effect significant social and political changes in micro-locales. While local conflicts are over-determined by the evocation of transnational links, they also reflect, even if only through rhetorical and partial reproduction, doctrinal and politico-religious schisms among Shi‘i leaders in West Asia. This is illustrated by an ethnographic account of the activities undertaken and contestations provoked by the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust in Kargil, a modernist reform movement that has selectively appropriated Khomeini's revolutionary ideologies to instigate social change and shape local politics and religious practice in Kargil.
Re-assessing the relationship between sporozoite dose and incubation period in Plasmodium vivax malaria: a systematic re-analysis
Authors: LOVER ANDREW A. , COKER RICHARD J.
Published: February 2014

Infections with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax are noteworthy for potentially very long incubation periods (6–9 months), which present a major barrier to disease elimination. Increased sporozoite challenge has been reported to be associated with both shorter incubation and pre-patent periods in a range of human challenge studies. However, this evidence base has scant empirical foundation, as these historical analyses were limited by available analytic methods, and provides no quantitative estimates of effect size. Following a comprehensive literature search, we re-analysed all identified studies using survival and/or logistic models plus contingency tables. We have found very weak evidence for dose-dependence at entomologically plausible inocula levels. These results strongly suggest that sporozoite dosage is not an important driver of long-latency. Evidence presented suggests that parasite strain and vector species have quantitatively greater impacts, and the potential existence of a dose threshold for human dose-response to sporozoites. Greater consideration of the complex interplay between these aspects of vectors and parasites are important for human challenge experiments, vaccine trials, and epidemiology towards global malaria elimination.
A moral economy approach to Africa-EU ties: the case of the European Investment Bank
Authors: LANGAN MARK
Published: February 2014

The European Union's (EU) trade and development ‘partnership’ with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries has long interested scholars of North-South relations. Historically, the theoretical literature on ACP-EU ties has been characterised by liberal institutionalist accounts of interdependence and critical assessments of Europe's neo-colonialism. In the timeframe of the Cotonou Agreement (2000–20), this division has expressed itself in relation to liberal assessments of Europe's pursuit of pro-poor market reforms in the Post-Washington Consensus and critical accounts of Europe's neoliberal ‘development’ agenda. This article argues that amoral political economyoffers an innovative lens for the latter critical assessment of ACP-EU ties. With a constructivist focus on Europe's normative ‘development’ agenda, a moral economy standpoint may draw attention to the EU's role in (re)embedding poverty through recourse to legitimating ethical discourse. This is seen to enable the critical school to more closely consider ideational/discursive power in response to contemporary liberal institutionalist accounts. The article focuses on the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its activities in ACP countries – with particular focus on the Bank's Investment Facility (IF) – as an exemplar of the disjuncture between norms and outcomes.
The imperial legacy of international peacebuilding: the case of Francophone Africa
Authors: CHARBONNEAU BRUNO
Published: February 2014

Comparisons of peacebuilding with historic practices of imperialism are common, but these comparisons have sustained a hegemonic antagonism between humanitarian and imperialist interpretations of international peace intervention. This article argues that this common framing externalises the problem of intervention, romanticises local resistance, and forecloses to investigation the articulation between militarised peace practices and transnational capitalist relations. To do so, the article analyses the case of Francophone Africa, thus providing a context that has been left unexplored in peacebuilding debates. By bringing back in the historicity of particular Franco-African imperial experiences into peacebuilding research, the article reveals the militarisation of politics, transnational elite networks, and the dominant intellectual predispositions that work to reproduce the legitimacy of hegemonic practices of ‘peace’ interventionism. In the last section, the article analyses the debates over the UN-French 2011 intervention in Côte d'Ivoire to reveal the connections between the ethics of humanitarian interventions and the political economy of imperialism. The article concludes that the imperial legacy of peacebuilding is found in old capabilities, new organising logics, and specific practices and power relations and that to focus on the humanitarian-imperialist antagonism caricatures the relationships between ‘local’ and ‘international’ actors.
Legal Developments in Civil Party Participation at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Authors: STEGMILLER IGNAZ
Published: February 2014

For the first time in the history of international criminal justice, victims of mass crimes have been granted the status of so-called ‘civil parties’ at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This status grants them – at least theoretically – the right to participate in the proceedings as a formal party with broad participatory rights similar to the those of the defence and the prosecution. While the ECCC is exemplary in how it has addressed the issue of victims’ participation, practical necessities and judicial skepticism have led to significant changes in the civil party mechanism and continuously constrained participatory rights. First, changes in the ECCC's Internal Rules have significantly altered the original civil party mechanism and led to a form of victim participation similar to the one practised at the International Criminal Court (ICC), thus departing from the true meaning of a partie civile. Judicial decisions by the ECCC's judges, as well as changes in the Internal Rules, have abrogated the strong civil party mechanism that was originally anticipated in Cambodian criminal procedure law. Second, the practical challenges surrounding victim participation have been enormous. The Court itself was struggling due to lack of funding and lack of prioritization of a meaningful outreach program for victims and civil parties. The ECCC's Public Affairs Section (PAS) and the Victims Support Section (VSS) held the responsibility of reaching out to the general Cambodian population. However, it was Cambodian NGOs that ultimately established a collaborative outreach system and collected more than 8,000 Victim Information Forms (VIFs). All these efforts notwithstanding, only political willingness and a Cambodian discussion of how to deal with the vast number of perpetrators beyond a handful of criminal trials, can lead to a process of coming to terms with one's past.
Serotonin receptors are selectively expressed in the avian germ cells and early embryos
Authors: Stępińska Urszula , Kuwana Takashi , Olszańska Bożenna
Published: February 2014

The expression of nine serotonin (5-HT) receptor transcripts was studied using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in germ cells, cleavage and gastrulation stages of Japanese quail, and qPCR for 5-HT3and 5-HT4receptors in oocytes and embryos. We show the presence/absence of nine serotonin transcripts known in birds for receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT1F, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, 5-HT3, 5-HT4, 5-HT5A, 5-HT6and 5-HT7Ain avian germ cells and early embryos. The absence of 5-HT3and 5-HT5Ain primordial germ cells and of 5-HT3and 5-HT7Ain sperm is characteristic. All transcripts appeared in oocytes at all stages (except for 5-HT3and 5-HT5Atranscripts) and all were present in cleaving embryos and at gastrulation, except for 5-HT3, which was permanently observed as late as in stage 4. Interestingly, 5-HT3and 5-HT5Areceptors accumulated in 3-mm and F1 oocytes but were degraded at ovulation and started to be re-transcribed in cleavage stage II embryos and beyond. The selective appearance of 5-HT receptors in germ cells and early embryos supports the hypothesis that serotonin may act as a signalling molecule at early stages of germ line and embryo differentiation via individual receptors present during different stages, when specialized communication systems are not yet developed.
Estimating the causal effect of improved fallows on environmental services provision under farmers' field conditions in Chongwe, Zambia
Authors: Kuntashula Elias , Mungatana Eric
Published: February 2014

The provision of environmental services on-farm by the improved fallow (an agroforestry technology) has largely remained empirically untested in sub-Saharan Africa. Where effects of planting trees have been used to estimate the impacts on consumption of fuel wood from public land, actual estimates of the size of fuel wood consumption changes have been lacking. Using data from a survey of 324 households in the Chongwe district of Zambia, we tested the hypothesis that households embracing improved fallows use less fuel wood from public land since the technology provides wood as a by-product. Estimates from ordered probit and matching strategies showed that the technology had a significant causal effect of reducing the consumption of fuel wood from public land. Therefore, in addition to promoting it for soil fertility improvement, the extension messages should explicitly reflect the technology's potential to provide on-farm environmental quality.
Support for families of patients dying with dementia: A qualitative analysis of bereaved family members' experiences and suggestions
Authors: Muders Pia , Zahrt-Omar Corinna Aruna , Bussmann Sonja , Haberstroh Julia , Weber Martin
Published: February 2014

Objective:

To explore and document the needs of family caregivers of patients dying with dementia and to identify how healthcare professionals can adequately support them.

Method:

We employed a cross-sectional survey containing open-ended questions that were analyzed using qualitative methods.

Results:

Receiving information about the diagnosis and disease trajectory of dementia is essential for the caregiving families of people dying with the disease. However, at present the communication of information offered by professionals is not experienced as satisfying. Further aspects that require improvement concern issues related to time constraints, as well as practical and emotional support from professionals in the care setting. Family members would also like professionals to better assist them during and after the dying process.

Significance of Results:

Family members face multiple burdens while caring for their demented relatives and need more professional support during the course of the disease trajectory as well as in the terminal phase.
A palliative environment: Caring for seriously ill hospitalized patients
Authors: Timmermann Connie , Uhrenfeldt Lisbeth , Høybye Mette Terp , Birkelund Regner
Published: February 2014

Objective:

To explore how patients experience being in the hospital environment and the meaning they assign to the environment during serious illness.

Method:

A qualitative study design was applied, and the data analysis was inspired by Ricoeur's phenomenological-hermeneutic theory of interpretation. Data were collected through multiple qualitative interviews combined with observations at a teaching hospital in Denmark from May to September 2011. A total of 12 patients participated.

Results:

The findings showed that the hospital environment has a strong impact on patients' emotions and well-being. They reported that aesthetic decorations and small cozy spots for conversation or relaxation created a sense of homeliness that reinforced a positive mood and personal strength. Furthermore, being surrounded by some of their personal items or undertaking familiar tasks, patients were able to maintain a better sense of self. Maintaining at least some kind of familiar daily rhythm was important for their sense of well-being and positive emotions.

Significance of Results:

The results stress the importance of an aesthetically pleasing and homelike hospital environment as part of palliative care, since the aesthetic practice and a sense of homeliness strengthened patients' experiences of well-being, relief, and positive emotions while in a vulnerable situation. Such knowledge could encourage the development of new policies regarding appropriate care settings, which in turn could result in overall improved care during serious illness.
Frequency and factors associated with falls in patients with advanced cancer presenting to an outpatient supportive care clinic
Authors: Kuriya Meiko , Yennurajalingam Sriram , de la Cruz Maxine Grace , Wei Wei , Palla Shana , Bruera Eduardo
Published: February 2014

Objective:

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and factors associated with fall episodes in advanced cancer patients.

Method:

We analyzed data that included demographic characteristics, utilization of assistive devices, cancer diagnosis, metastatic site, performance status, medications including hypnotics and opioids, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) score, and Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) score in 384 consecutive patients who were newly referred to the Supportive Care Clinic at the MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 1 to December 31, 2009. All patients completed standardized forms to report falls within the last month. Multivariate backward regression analyses were employed to identify factors predictive of falls in advanced cancer.

Results:

The mean age of patients was 58 years, and 192 (50%) were male. Mean (SD)/median score for pain was 5 (2.8), 5; fatigue 5.6 (2.6), 6; sleep disturbance 5(2.7), 5; drowsiness 3.7(3), 3; and anorexia 5(3), 5. Some 31 patients (8%) reported fall episodes within the past month, 17 (55%) of whom reported the use of assistive devices. Using assist devices (OR = 5.5, 95% CI: 2.6–11.9, p < 0.0001) and taking zolpidem (OR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.39–7.7, p = 0.008) were associated with an enhanced chance of falling. Higher MDAS score (4.00 vs. 1.42, p = 0.001) and MDAS positive screening for delirium (21 vs. 3.6%, p < 0.001) were also associated with falls. However, severity on the ESAS at the initial consult was not associated with falls.

Significance of Results:

We conclude that 31 of 384 patients (8%) with advanced cancer receiving outpatient supportive care reported falls in the previous month. Patients with assistive devices, taking zolpidem, and with a higher MDAS score, and a positive delirium screening reported more frequent falls. Further studies are warranted.
Breathlessness and crises in the context of advanced illness: A comparison between COPD and lung cancer patients
Authors: Dunger Christine , Higginson Irene J. , Gysels Marjolein , Booth Sara , Simon Steffen T. , Bausewein Claudia
Published: February 2014

Objective:

The objective of this study was to explore and contrast the experience and meaning of breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer at the end of life.

Method:

We conducted a qualitative study embedded in a longitudinal study using topic-guided in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of patients suffering from breathlessness affecting their daily activities due to advanced (primary or secondary) lung cancer or COPD stage III/IV. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis.

Results:

Ten COPD and eight lung cancer patients were interviewed. Both groups reported similarities in their experience. These included exertion through breathlessness throughout the illness course, losses in their daily activities, and the experience of breathlessness leading to crises. The main difference was the way in which patients adapted to their particular illness experience and the resulting crises over time. While COPD patients more likely sought to get their life with breathlessness under control, speaking of daily living with breathlessness under certain conditions, the participating lung cancer patients often faced the possibility of death and expressed a need for security.

Significance of Results:

Breathlessness leads to crises in patients with advanced disease. Although experiences of patients are similar, reactions and coping mechanisms vary and are more related to the disease and the stage of disease.
The impact of changes in county public health expenditures on general health in the population
Authors: Brown Timothy T. , Martinez-Gutierrez Maria S. , Navab Bahar
Published: February 2014

We estimate the effect of changes in the per capita expenditures of county departments of public health on county-level general health status. Using panel data on 40 counties in California (2001–2009), dynamic panel estimation techniques are combined with the Lewbel instrumental variable technique to estimate an aggregate demand for health function that measures the causal cumulative impact that per capita public health expenditures have on county-level general health status. We find that a $10 long-term increase in per capita public health expenditures would increase the percentage of the population reporting good, very good or excellent health by 0.065 percentage points. Each year expenditures were increased would result in ∼24,000 individuals moving from the ‘poor or fair health’ category to the ‘good, very good or excellent health’ category across these 40 counties. In terms of the overall impact of county public health departments on general health status, at current funding levels, each annual expenditure cycle results in over 207,000 individuals being in the ‘good, very good or excellent’ categories of health status rather than the ‘poor or fair’ categories.
Miniature directive antennas
Authors: Pigeon M. , Delaveaud C. , Rudant L. , Belmkaddem K.
Published: February 2014

This paper presents the work carried out to assess the feasibility of miniature directive antennas. It is based on an analysis of the physical limits of antenna directivity in general and in particular as a function of their compact dimensions. A state of the art is done to identify and classify techniques to increase the directivity of compact antennas.
Perinatal bisphenol A exposure beginning before gestation enhances allergen sensitization, but not pulmonary inflammation, in adult mice
Authors: O’Brien E. , Bergin I. L. , Dolinoy D. C. , Zaslona Z. , Little R. J. A. , Tao Y. , Peters-Golden M. , Mancuso P.
Published: February 2014

Bisphenol A (BPA), a monomer of polycarbonate plastics and epoxide resin, is a high-production-volume chemical implicated in asthma pathogenesis when exposure occurs to the developing fetus. However, few studies have directly examined the effect ofin uteroand early-life BPA exposure on the pathogenesis of asthma in adulthood. This study examines the influence of perinatal BPA exposure through maternal diet on allergen sensitization and pulmonary inflammation in adult offspring. Two weeks before mating, BALB/c dams were randomly assigned to a control diet or diets containing 50 ng, 50 μg or 50 mg BPA/kg of rodent chow. Dams remained on the assigned diet throughout gestation and lactation until postnatal day (PND) 21 when offspring were weaned onto the control diet. Twelve-week-old offspring were sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) and subsequently challenged with aerosolized OVA. Sera, splenocytes, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and whole lungs were harvested to assess allergen sensitization and pulmonary inflammation after OVA challenge. Serum anti-OVA IgE levels were increased two-fold in offspring exposed to 50 μg and 50 mg BPA/kg diet, compared with control animals. In addition, production of interleukin-13 and interferon-γ were increased in OVA-stimulated splenocytes recovered from BPA-exposed mice. Pulmonary inflammation, as indicated by total and differential leukocyte counts, cytokines, chemokines and pulmonary histopathology inflammatory scores, however, was either not different or was reduced in offspring exposed to BPA. Although these data suggest that perinatal BPA exposure beginning before gestation enhances allergen sensitization by increasing serum IgE and splenocyte cytokine production, a substantial impact of BPA on OVA-induced pulmonary inflammation in adulthood was not observed.
Global constitutionalism in historical perspective: Towards refined tools for international constitutional histories
Authors: MÜLLER THOMAS
Published: February 2014

This article raises the question of how the evolution of constitutional structures in international history can be conceptualized and narrated. This question is nurtured by the divergent historical accounts found in the literature on global constitutionalism and the historical-comparative literature on international societies. Although both literatures have so far largely ignored each other, they share a number of common conceptual problems and should therefore engage in a dialogue. The article sketches out the contours of such a dialogue to reveal the insufficient sensitivity of both literatures to the historicity of constitutional structures as well as their inherent political dimension. This article proposes to conceptualize constitutional structures as a set of fundamental and prioritized principles and rules that serves as a framework for the self-ordering of relations between polities. It thereby differentiates between a meta-constitutional and a legal-constitutional dimension and proposes seven analytical tools for more nuanced and empirically sensitive constitutional histories of interpolity relations. Such a historical perspective helps to account for the conditions of emergence as well as to delineate the novelty of contemporary global constitutionalism.