bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE CENTRAL POLYNOMIALS OF THE INFINITE-DIMENSIONAL UNITARY AND NONUNITARY GRASSMANN ALGEBRAS
Authors: BEKH-OCHIR C. , RANKIN S. A.
Published: March 2010

We describe the T-space of central polynomials for both the unitary and the nonunitary infinite-dimensional Grassmann algebra over a field of characteristic p≠2 (infinite field in the case of the unitary algebra).
DIVISIBLE ENVELOPES, $\mathcal{P}_1$-COVERS AND WEAK-INJECTIVE MODULES
Authors: BAZZONI SILVANA
Published: March 2010

We consider the problem of characterizing the commutative domains such that every module admits a divisible envelope or a [Formula: see text]-cover, where [Formula: see text] is the class of modules of projective dimension at most one. We prove that each one of the two conditions is satisfied exactly for the class of almost perfect domains, that is commutative domains such that all of their proper quotients are perfect rings. Moreover, we show that the class of weak-injective modules over a commutative domain is closed under direct sums if and only if the domain is almost perfect.
LEAF-WISE INTERSECTIONS AND RABINOWITZ FLOER HOMOLOGY
Authors: ALBERS PETER , FRAUENFELDER URS
Published: March 2010

In this paper we explain how critical points of a particular perturbation of the Rabinowitz action functional give rise to leaf-wise intersection points in hypersurfaces of restricted contact type. This is used to derive existence and multiplicity results for leaf-wise intersection points in hypersurfaces of restricted contact type in general exact symplectic manifolds. The notion of leaf-wise intersection points was introduced by Moser [16].
Independent Component Analysis for Source Localization of EEG Sleep Spindle Components
Authors: Ventouras Erricos M. , Ktonas Periklis Y. , Tsekou Hara , Paparrigopoulos Thomas , Kalatzis Ioannis , Soldatos Constantin R.
Published: March 2010

Sleep spindles are bursts of sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) quasirhythmic activity within the frequency band of 11–16 Hz, characterized by progressively increasing, then gradually decreasing amplitude. The purpose of the present study was to process sleep spindles with Independent Component Analysis (ICA) in order to investigate the possibility of extracting, through visual analysis of the spindle EEG and visual selection of Independent Components (ICs), spindle “components” (SCs) corresponding to separate EEG activity patterns during a spindle, and to investigate the intracranial current sources underlying these SCs. Current source analysis using Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) was applied to the original and the ICA-reconstructed EEGs. Results indicated that SCs can be extracted by reconstructing the EEG through back-projection of separate groups of ICs, based on a temporal and spectral analysis of ICs. The intracranial current sources related to the SCs were found to be spatially stable during the time evolution of the sleep spindles.
Thyroid Cancer: Current Molecular Perspectives
Authors: Giusti Francesca , Falchetti Alberto , Franceschelli Francesco , Marini Francesca , Tanini Annalisa , Brandi Maria Luisa
Published: March 2010

The thyroid cancer is a rare oncological entity, representing no more than 1% of all human malignant neoplasms. Recently, it has been demonstrated a sharp increase in incidence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma, equally occurring in both sexes. So far, multiple genetic alterations have been identified in differentiated thyroid carcinoma, leading to investigate the clinical utility of genetic studies. In particular, molecular genetic approaches searching for gene mutations in the material collected by fine needle ago-biopsy may have a particular utility in small nodules and in those specimens with an indeterminate cytology. The expansion of knowledge about genetic mutations occurring in different thyroid tumors has characterized recent years, allowing the identification of a correlation between specific mutations and phenotypic characteristics of thyroid cancers, essential for their prognosis. This review will briefly report on the histological features and the new entity represented by thyroid microcarcinoma and will focus on both environmental and genetic aspects associated with the occurrence of thyroid cancer.
Protein Bioinformatics Infrastructure for the Integration and Analysis of Multiple High-Throughput “omics” Data
Authors: Chen Chuming , McGarvey Peter B. , Huang Hongzhan , Wu Cathy H.
Published: March 2010

High-throughput “omics” technologies bring new opportunities for biological and biomedical researchers to ask complex questions and gain new scientific insights. However, the voluminous, complex, and context-dependent data being maintained in heterogeneous and distributed environments plus the lack of well-defined data standard and standardized nomenclature imposes a major challenge which requires advanced computational methods and bioinformatics infrastructures for integration, mining, visualization, and comparative analysis to facilitate data-driven hypothesis generation and biological knowledge discovery. In this paper, we present the challenges in high-throughput “omics” data integration and analysis, introduce a protein-centric approach for systems integration of large and heterogeneous high-throughput “omics” data including microarray, mass spectrometry, protein sequence, protein structure, and protein interaction data, and use scientific case study to illustrate how one can use varied “omics” data from different laboratories to make useful connections that could lead to new biological knowledge.
High-Power ZBLAN Glass Fiber Lasers: Review and Prospect
Authors: Zhu Xiushan , Peyghambarian N.
Published: March 2010

ZBLAN (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF), considered as the most stable heavy metal fluoride glass and the excellent host for rare-earth ions, has been extensively used for efficient and compact ultraviolet, visible, and infrared fiber lasers due to its low intrinsic loss, wide transparency window, and small phonon energy. In this paper, the historical progress and the properties of fluoride glasses and the fabrication of ZBLAN fibers are briefly described. Advances of infrared, upconversion, and supercontinuum ZBLAN fiber lasers are addressed in detail. Finally, constraints on the power scaling of ZBLAN fiber lasers are analyzed and discussed. ZBLAN fiber lasers are showing promise of generating high-power emissions covering from ultraviolet to mid-infrared considering the recent advances in newly designed optical fibers, beam-shaped high-power pump diodes, beam combining techniques, and heat-dissipating technology.
Layout Aware Optimization of High Speed Fixed Coefficient FIR Filters for FPGAs
Authors: Mirzaei Shahnam , Kastner Ryan , Hosangadi Anup
Published: March 2010

We present a method for implementing high speed finite impulse response (FIR) filters on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Our algorithm is a multiplierless technique where fixed coefficient multipliers are replaced with a series of add and shift operations. The first phase of our algorithm uses registered adders and hardwired shifts. Here, a modified common subexpression elimination (CSE) algorithm reduces the number of adders while maintaining performance. The second phase optimizes routing delay using prelayout wire length estimation techniques to improve the final placed and routed design. The optimization target platforms are Xilinx Virtex FPGA devices where we compare the implementation results with those produced by Xilinx Coregen, which is based on distributed arithmetic (DA). We observed up to 50% reduction in the number of slices and up to 75% reduction in the number of look up tables (LUTs) for fully parallel implementations compared to DA method. Also, there is 50% reduction in the total dynamic power consumption of the filters. Our designs perform up to 27% faster than the multiply accumulate (MAC) filters implemented by Xilinx Coregen tool using DSP blocks. For placement, there is a saving up to 20% in number of routing channels. This results in lower congestion and up to 8% reduction in average wirelength.
He′s Variational Iteration Method for Solving Fractional Riccati Differential Equation
Authors: Jafari H. , Tajadodi H.
Published: March 2010

We will consider He′s variational iteration method for solving fractional
Riccati differential equation. This method is based on the use of Lagrange multipliers for
identification of optimal value of a parameter in a functional. This technique provides a
sequence of functions which converges to the exact solution of the problem. The present
method performs extremely well in terms of efficiency and simplicity.
Stem cells for myocardial repair
Authors: Siu Chung-Wah , Liao Song-Yan , Liu Yuan , Lian Qizhou , Tse Hung-Fat
Published: March 2010

There is a growing interest in the clinical application for stem cell as a novel therapy for treatment of acute myocardial infarction and chronic myocardial ischaemia. The initial premise is the transplanted exogenous stem cells can engraft and integrate with host myocardium for cardiac regeneration. However, recent experimental studies suggest that multiple mechanisms, including remodelling of extracellular matrix, enhancement of neovascularisation and recruitment of endogenous stem cells are more likely to contribute to the beneficial effects of stem cell therapy that direct trans-differentiation of stem cells into functional myocardium. Among different potential cell sources, bone marrow-derived cells and skeletal myoblasts have been tested in pilot clinical trials. Phase I/II randomised controlled clinical trials suggest that intracoronary or intramyocardial injection of bone marrow-derived cells may be safe and feasible strategies for treatment of acute myocardial infarction as well as chronic myocardial ischaemia. In addition, these studies show a modest, but significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction and clinical status of patients after cell transplantation. Nevertheless, most of these studies included a relatively small sample size (<200) and short duration of follow-up (<6 months), and the clinical efficacy of stem cell therapy need to be confirmed by future clinical trials. Furthermore, the optimal timing, cell types and mode of delivery need to be addressed, and strategies to improve cell survival and engraftment should also be developed to overcome the potential hurdles related to cell-based therapy.
Association of common genetic variations and idiopathic venous thromboembolism
Authors: Delluc Aurélien , Gourhant Lénaïck , Lacut Karine , Mercier Bernard , Audrezet Marie-Pierre , Nowak Emmanuel , Oger Emmanuel , Leroyer Christophe , Mottier Dominique , Gal Grégoire Le , Couturaud Francis
Published: March 2010

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a multifactorial disease, caused by interacting environmental and genetic risk factors. Gene-centric geno-typing strategy is one of the approaches to explore unexplained associations between risk factors and VTE. It was the objective of this study to evaluate, using a gene-centric genotyping strategy, polymorphisms in genes involved in the following pathways: coagulation cascade process, renin-angiotensin or adrenergic systems, lipid metabolism, platelet aggregation. Allele frequency was compared between 677 cases with idiopathic VTE and their matched controls. After Bonferroni adjustment, four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly associated with VTE: Factor XI rs925451 polymorphism, factor XI rs2289252 polymorphism, factor II rs1799963 (G20210A) polymorphism and factor V Leiden rs6025. An additive mode of inheritance fitted best both factor XI polymorphisms. In this hospital-based case-control study, two polymorphisms located on the factor XI gene were significantly associated with VTE. Other newly investigated polymorphisms with potentially false negatives may warrant further analyses.
Calpain inhibition by calpeptin does not prevent APLT activity reduction in PS-exposing platelets, but calpeptin has independent pro-apoptotic effects
Authors: Gwozdz Adam , Leung Roland , Wang Hong , Bang K. W. Annie , Packham Marian , Freedman John , Rand Margaret
Published: March 2010

Exposure of procoagulant phosphatidylserine (PS) on the surface of activated platelets is not readily reversible and this may propagate thrombosis. Persistence of PS exposure may be attributed, at least in part, to a continued reduction of the activity of aminophospholipid translocase (APLT), that transports PS from the outer to the inner membrane leaflet. We investigated whether calpain is involved in the inhibition of APLT activity. In flow cytometric investigations, using the inhibitors calpeptin or E64d at a concentration that blocks calpain activation, we found that calpain is not responsible for the reduction in APLT activity that results in persistence of PS exposure. Unexpectedly, we found that the inhibitors had additional effects independent of blocking calpain. Incubation of resting platelets with calpeptin resulted in a subpopulation of platelets with increased intracellular Ca2+ and persistent PS exposure. The inhibitors also increased the proportion of platelets with persistent PS exposure in suspensions stimulated with thrombin and/or collagen or the Ca2+-ionophore A23187 under conditions in which calpain was not activated or in which its activation was completely blocked; P-selectin expression on thrombin and/ or collagen-stimulated platelets was inhibited. Furthermore, in stimulated platelets, calpeptin increased the proportion of the PS-exposing platelets expressing a second apoptotic hallmark, collapsed mitochondrial inner membrane potential (ΔΨm). These additional effects of calpeptin on platelet regulation of intracellular Ca2+ levels and apoptotic-like events should be taken into account when it is used as an inhibitor of calpain.
Dabigatran etexilate – a novel, reversible, oral direct thrombin inhibitor: Interpretation of coagulation assays and reversal of anticoagulant activity
Authors: Stangier Joachim , Haertter Sebastian , Liesenfeld Karl-Heinz , Wienen Wolfgang , Feuring Martin , Clemens Andreas , Ryn Joanne van
Published: March 2010

Dabigatran etexilate is an oral, reversible direct thrombin inhibitor that is approved in the EU and several other countries for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after elective hip and knee replacement, and is in advanced clinical development for other thromboembolic disorders. Dabigatran has a predictable pharmacokinetic profile, allowing for a fixed-dose regimen without the need for routine coagulation monitoring. In certain clinical situations such as serious bleeding into critical organs (e.g. intracerebral bleeding), potential overdose and emergency surgery, clinicians will need to make an assessment of the anticoagulant status of a patient receiving dabigatran before deciding on future management strategies. If available, thrombin clotting time (TT), ecarin clotting time (ECT) and TT determined by Hemoclot→ thrombin inhibitor assay are sensitive tests to evaluate the anticoagulant effects of dabigatran. Prothrombin time (INR) is less sensitive than other assays and cannot be recommended. The activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) can provide a useful qualitative assessment of anticoagulant activity but is less sensitive at supratherapeutic dabigatran levels. There are limited data for activated clotting time (ACT). Overall, the aPTT and TT are the most accessible qualitative methods for determining the presence or absence of anticoagulant effect. Although there is no specific antidote to antagonise the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran, due to its short duration of effect drug discontinuation is usually sufficient to reverse any excessive anticoagulant activity. In case of potential overdose, the feasibility of early administration of activated charcoal and subsequent charcoal filtration are undergoing preclinical evaluation. Dabigatran can also be dialysed in patients with renal impairment. In instances of life-threatening bleeding, where conventional measures have failed or are unavailable, other non-specific prohaemo -static agents such as recombinant activated factor VII and prothrombin complex concentrates can be considered.

Disclosure statement: All authors are employees of Boehringer Ingelheim.

Figure 1 has been corrected in this version of the article.
Comorbidities, alone and in combination with D-dimer, as risk factors for recurrence after a first episode of unprovoked venous thromboembolism in the extended follow-up of the PROLONG study
Authors: Legnani Cristina , Tosetto Alberto , Pengo Vittorio , Ghirarduzzi Angelo , Testa Sophie , Prisco Domenico , Poli Daniela , Tripodi Armando , Palareti Gualtiero , Cosmi Benilde ,   for the PROLONG Investigators
Published: March 2010

The PROLONG randomised clinical trial showed that an abnormal D-dimer at one month after vitamin K antagonist (VKA) suspension for a first episode of unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with a higher risk of recurrence. However, other patient characteristics, such as comorbidities, in combination with D-dimer could also influence the recurrence risk. It was the objective of this study to assess the predictive value of comorbidities and D-dimer in combination for recurrence after withdrawal of VKA in patients enrolled in the PROLONG study. On the day of VKA suspension, the presence of known (coronary, peripheral,cerebral) vascular disease, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, diabetes, arterial hypertension, obesity and dyslipidaemias was registered. D-dimer was measured at 30 ± 10 days afterwards. The primary outcome was recurrent objectively documented VTE. Mean follow-up was 2.55 years. An abnormal D-dimer was observed in 44% (135/309) of patients with comorbidities and in 29% (87/299) of patients without (p=0.0003). An on-treatment analysis was conducted in 483 patients in whom VKAs were not resumed. In patients with a normal D-dimer, recurrences were observed in 14.3% (24/168) of patients with comorbidities and 10.8% (22/203) of subjects without (p=ns). In patients with an abnormal D-dimer, recurrences were observed in 24.6% (16/65) patients with comorbidities and 21.3% (10/47) of patients without (p=ns). Although abnormal D-dimer levels were significantly more frequent in patients with comorbidities, D-dimer was an independent risk factor for recurrence and the presence of comorbidities did not increase the risk of recurrence associated with an abnormal post-anticoagulation D-dimer.

ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00264277
Effects of Aging on Hippocampal and Anterior Temporal Activations during Successful Retrieval of Memory for Face–Name Associations
Authors: Tsukiura Takashi , Sekiguchi Atsushi , Yomogida Yukihito , Nakagawa Seishu , Shigemune Yayoi , Kambara Toshimune , Akitsuki Yuko , Taki Yasuyuki , Kawashima Ryuta
Published: March 2010

Memory for face–name associations is an important type of memory in our daily lives, and often deteriorates in older adults. Although difficulty retrieving face–name associations is often apparent in the elderly, there is little neuroscientific evidence of age-related decline in this memory. The current fMRI study investigated differences in brain activations between healthy young and older adults during the successful retrieval of people's names (N) and job titles (J) associated with faces. During encoding, participants viewed unfamiliar faces, each paired with a job title and name. During retrieval, each learned face was presented with two job titles or two names, and participants were required to choose the correct job title or name. Retrieval success activity (RSA) was identified by comparing retrieval-phase activity for hits versus misses in N and J, and the RSAs in each task were compared between young and older adults. The study yielded three main findings. First, the hippocampus showed significant RSA in both tasks of N and J, and the activity was greater for young compared to older subjects. Second, the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) showed greater RSA in N than in J, but there was no age difference in the activity in this region. Third, functional connectivity between hippocampal and ATL activities in both retrieval tasks was higher for young than for older adults. Taken together, age-related differences in hippocampal activities and hippocampus–ATL connectivity could contribute to age-related decline in relational memory and to complaints of poor retrieval of people's names by older adults.
The Packet Switching Brain
Authors: Graham Daniel , Rockmore Daniel
Published: March 2010

The computer metaphor has served brain science well as a tool for comprehending neural systems. Nevertheless, we propose here that this metaphor be replaced or supplemented by a new metaphor, the “Internet metaphor,” to reflect dramatic new network theoretic understandings of brain structure and function. We offer a “weak” form and a “strong” form of this metaphor: The former suggests that structures and processes unique to Internet-like architectures (e.g., domains and protocols) can profitably guide our thinking about brains, whereas the latter suggests that one particular feature of the Internet—packet switching—may be instantiated in the structure of certain brain networks, particularly mammalian neocortex.
How Different Types of Conceptual Relations Modulate Brain Activation during Semantic Priming
Authors: Sachs Olga , Weis Susanne , Zellagui Nadia , Sass Katharina , Huber Walter , Zvyagintsev Mikhail , Mathiak Klaus , Kircher Tilo
Published: March 2010

Semantic priming, a well-established technique to study conceptual representation, has thus far produced variable fMRI results, both regarding the type of priming effects and their correlation with brain activation. The aims of the current study were (a) to investigate two types of semantic relations—categorical versus associative—under controlled processing conditions and (b) to investigate whether categorical and associative relations between words are correlated with response enhancement or response suppression. We used fMRI to examine neural correlates of semantic priming as subjects performed a lexical decision task with a long SOA (800 msec). Four experimental conditions were compared: categorically related trials (couch–bed), associatively related trials (couch–pillow), unrelated trials (couch–bridge), and nonword trials (couch–sibor). We found similar behavioral priming effects for both categorically and associatively related pairs. However, the neural priming effects differed: Categorically related pairs resulted in a neural suppression effect in the right MFG, whereas associatively related pairs resulted in response enhancement in the left IFG. A direct contrast between them revealed activation for categorically related trials in the right insular lobe. We conclude that perceptual and functional similarity of categorically related words may lead to response suppression within right-lateralized frontal regions that represent more retrieval effort and the recruitment of a broader semantic field. Associatively related pairs that require a different processing of the related target compared to the prime may lead to the response enhancement within left inferior frontal regions. Nevertheless, the differences between associative and categorical relations might be parametrical rather than absolutely distinct as both relationships recruit similar regions to a different degree.
Viewing One's Own Face Being Touched Modulates Tactile Perception: An fMRI Study
Authors: Cardini Flavia , Costantini Marcello , Galati Gaspare , Romani Gian Luca , Làdavas Elisabetta , Serino Andrea
Published: March 2010

The perception of tactile stimuli on the face is modulated if subjects concurrently observe a face being touched; this effect, termed visual remapping of touch (VRT), is maximum for observing one's own face. In the present fMRI study, we investigated the neural basis of the VRT effect. Participants in the scanner received tactile stimuli, near the perceptual threshold, on their right, left, or both cheeks. Concurrently, they watched movies depicting their own face, another person's face, or a ball that could be touched or only approached by human fingers. Participants were requested to distinguish between unilateral and bilateral tactile stimulation. Behaviorally, perception of tactile stimuli was modulated by viewing a tactile stimulation, with a stronger effect when viewing one's own face being touched. In terms of brain activity, viewing touch was related with an enhanced activity in the ventral intraparietal area. The specific effect of viewing touch on oneself was instead related with a reduced activity in both the ventral premotor cortex and the somatosensory cortex. The present findings suggest that VRT is supported by a network of fronto-parietal areas. The ventral intraparietal area might remap visual information about touch onto tactile processing. Ventral premotor cortex might specifically modulate multisensory interaction when sensory information is related to one's own body. Then this activity might back project to the somatosensory cortices, thus affecting tactile perception.
Level of Processing Modulates the Neural Correlates of Emotional Memory Formation
Authors: Ritchey Maureen , LaBar Kevin S. , Cabeza Roberto
Published: March 2010

Emotion is known to influence multiple aspects of memory formation, including the initial encoding of the memory trace and its consolidation over time. However, the neural mechanisms whereby emotion impacts memory encoding remain largely unexplored. The present study used a levels-of-processing manipulation to characterize the impact of emotion on encoding with and without the influence of elaborative processes. Participants viewed emotionally negative, neutral, and positive scenes under two conditions: a shallow condition focused on the perceptual features of the scenes and a deep condition that queried their semantic meaning. Recognition memory was tested 2 days later. Results showed that emotional memory enhancements were greatest in the shallow condition. fMRI analyses revealed that the right amygdala predicted subsequent emotional memory in the shallow more than deep condition, whereas the right ventrolateral PFC demonstrated the reverse pattern. Furthermore, the association of these regions with the hippocampus was modulated by valence: the amygdala–hippocampal link was strongest for negative stimuli, whereas the prefrontal–hippocampal link was strongest for positive stimuli. Taken together, these results suggest two distinct activation patterns underlying emotional memory formation: an amygdala component that promotes memory during shallow encoding, especially for negative information, and a prefrontal component that provides extra benefits during deep encoding, especially for positive information.
What Does the Right Hemisphere Know about Phoneme Categories?
Authors: Wolmetz Michael , Poeppel David , Rapp Brenda
Published: March 2010

Innate auditory sensitivities and familiarity with the sounds of language give rise to clear influences of phonemic categories on adult perception of speech. With few exceptions, current models endorse highly left-hemisphere-lateralized mechanisms responsible for the influence of phonemic category on speech perception, based primarily on results from functional imaging and brain-lesion studies. Here we directly test the hypothesis that the right hemisphere does not engage in phonemic analysis. By using fMRI to identify cortical sites sensitive to phonemes in both word and pronounceable nonword contexts, we find evidence that right-hemisphere phonemic sensitivity is limited to a lexical context. We extend the interpretation of these fMRI results through the study of an individual with a left-hemisphere lesion who is right-hemisphere reliant for initial acoustic and phonetic analysis of speech. This individual's performance revealed that the right hemisphere alone was insufficient to allow for typical phonemic category effects but did support the processing of gradient phonetic information in lexical contexts. Taken together, these findings confirm previous claims that the right temporal cortex does not play a primary role in phoneme processing, but they also indicate that lexical context may modulate the involvement of a right hemisphere largely tuned for less abstract dimensions of the speech signal.
Narrative Funktion und christologische Bedeutung der markinischen Erzählung vom Tod Johannes des Täufers (Mk 6:14-29)
Authors: Karakolis Christos
Published: March 2010

In the gospel of Mark (6:14-29) the death of John the Baptist is reported in the most detailed fashion, compared to its synoptic parallels. In fact, this is the only extended story in the second gospel that interrupts the gospel’s linear narrative flow by referring to a past event. On the basis of stylistic, structural and narratological observations the present study attempts to illuminate the narrative function and the christological significance of this story by examining the relationship of Mk 6:14-16 to 8:27-29 and 9:9-13, as well as the relationship of 6:17-29 to the Marcan passion narrative. The study concludes that from a narrative, as well as a christological perspective, the second evangelist presents the death of John the Baptist as decisively pointing towards Jesus’ passion.
Chicago’s “Archaic Mark” (ms 2427) II Microscopic, Chemical and Codicological Analyses Confirm Modern Production
Authors: Barabe Joseph G. , Quandt Abigail B. , Mitchell Margaret M.
Published: March 2010

Comprehensive testing and analysis (microscopic, chemical and codicological) of University of Chicago ms 972-Gregory-Aland ms 2427 confirms that it is a modern production made sometime between 1874 and the first decades of the 20th century.
Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity: African-Surinamese Perceptions and Experiences
Authors: Pijl Yvon van der
Published: March 2010

Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity (P/C) is one of the fastest-growing religions worldwide. Some scholars connect P/C’s success with broad processes of globalization. Others try to unravel more personal dynamics of conversion. This article seeks to understand both global forces and local cultural reasons to believe. It focuses first on the remarkable paradox that explains the movement’s popularity among African-Surinamese (Caribbean) believers: what appears as P/C’s rejection of their traditional religious system turns out to be a reinterpretation of beliefs and practices. From this line of argument I argue that P/C actually enables people, by ways of demonization, to express their spirituality and translate magico-religious conceptions into an acceptable framework. In conclusion, I put this Pentecostal paradox into larger perspective, stressing similarities with other religious movements and exposing an eclectic attitude towards religion that does not only meet personal belief experiences, but also challenges the hegemonic position of established Christian churches in Suriname.
Sympathetic Reactions to the Bait Dog in a Film of Dog Fighting: The Influence of Personality and Gender
Authors: Short Stephen D. , Lee Sherman A. , Gibbons Jeffrey A.
Published: March 2010

Media sources brought international attention to dog fighting during the Michael Vick case. Although a significant number of people who watched footage of the abused dogs used in the Vick case may have felt sympathy for them, the characteristics associated with those types of individuals are not known. The current study examined personality and gender as predictors of sympathetic reactions to the mistreatment of a bait dog depicted in a film clip. The results supported the predictions that animal-oriented sympathy, trait sympathy, agreeableness, and gender would predict sympathetic reactions to the bait dog. The analyses showed that trait sympathy could not explain unique variance beyond animal-oriented sympathy, but that agreeableness fully mediated the relation between gender and sympathetic reactions to the bait dog. Unexpectedly, emotional stability was also a unique predictor. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.
Framing Animal Rights in the “Go Veg” Campaigns of U.S. Animal Rights Organizations
Authors: Freeman Carrie Packwood
Published: March 2010

How much do animal rights activists talk about animal rights when they attempt to persuade America’s meat-lovers to stop eating nonhuman animals? This study serves as the basis for a unique evaluation and categorization of problems and solutions as framed by five major U.S. animal rights organizations in their vegan/food campaigns. The findings reveal that the organizations framed the problems as: cruelty and suffering; commodification; harm to humans and the environment; and needless killing. To solve problems largely blamed on factory farming, activists asked consumers to become “vegetarian” (meaning vegan) or to reduce animal product consumption, some requesting “humane” reforms. While certain messages supported animal rights, promoting veganism and respect for animals’ subject status, many frames used animal welfareideology to achieve rights solutions, conservatively avoiding a direct challenge to the dominant human/animal dualism. In support of ideological authenticity, this paper recommends that vegan campaigns emphasize justice, respect, life, freedom, environmental responsibility, and a shared animality.
Domestic Violence and Dog Care in New Providence, The Bahamas
Authors: Fielding William J.
Published: March 2010

Although there has been much research on the connection between nonhuman animal cruelty/ abuse and domestic violence, the link between nonhuman animal care and domestic violence has received less attention. This study, based on responses from 477 college students in New Provi-dence, The Bahamas, indicates that the presence of domestic violence in homes is linked with the level of care and the prevalence of negative interactions with dogs. Dogs received 10 or more of 11 components of essential care in 58.0% of homes without domestic violence compared with 43.7% in homes with domestic violence. A dog was reported being physically injured in 6.8% of homes when domestic violence was absent and in 13.6% of homes when domestic violence was present. The study suggests that in homes with domestic violence, dogs as well as people are at higher risk of intentional harm and/or neglect.
The Reception of Peter Singer’s Theories in France
Authors: Dardenne Emilie
Published: March 2010

Peter Singer’s views on the status of nonhuman animals have attracted both attention and intense controversy in many Western countries, including the United States, Canada, and Germany. The reactions to his theories in France are less well known. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of critical responses to Singer by French academics and thinkers. How have they received Singer’s contention that we must bring nonhuman animals within the sphere of moral concern? Do French scholars agree with his utilitarian argument on marginal cases, his definition of the term “person,” his defense of the Great Ape Project? Finally, is he considered in France a brilliant and groundbreaking ethicist, a dangerous extremist, or somewhere in between?
Singaporean Social Science Journals: Creating a Regional Voice or Scrambling to Reach the Top?
Authors: Luyt Brendan
Published: March 2010

Given its newfound position as a solid member of the global semi-periphery, has social science in Singapore been able to develop alternatives to academic dependency on the West? To answer this question, I focus on one segment of Singapore’s social science infrastructure, journal editors. In the interviews with these individuals, it becomes clear that there is an awareness of a division between journals published in the West and those from other parts of the world. However, in terms of wholeheartedly working towards developing regional alternatives, there appears a more contradictory pattern of reactions. The majority of editors are keen to develop regional perspectives or voices in their journals but they are equally keen to compete with North American and European journals on their own terms. A significant minority, however, are focused squarely on that world to the near exclusion of other concerns. In the final part of the article, I argue that the views of Singapore’s journal editors closely reflects the adoption of what Bourdieu describes as a “succession strategy” in the playing of the social science game. The result is a missed opportunity at applying some form of delinking strategy as recommended by Samir Amin in situations of dependency, be they economic or intellectual.
On the Composition and Sources of Boethius’ Second Peri Hermeneias Commentary
Authors: Magee John
Published: March 2010

The paper is in three parts, prefaced by general remarks concerning Boethius’ logical translations and commentaries: the text of the Peri Hermeneias as known to and commented on by Boethius (and Ammonius); the organizational principles behind Boethius’ second commentary on the Peri Hermeneias; its source(s). One of the main purposes of the last section is to demonstrate that the Peri Hermeneias commentaries of Boethius and Ammonius are, although part of a common tradition, quite independent of one another, and special consideration is given to the question of how Boethius interpreted and shaped the doxographical material concerning Aspasius, Herminus, and Alexander that had been handed down to him by Porphyry.
‘They had added not a single tiny proposition’: The Reception of the Prior Analytics in the First Half of the Twelfth Century
Authors: Martin Christopher J.
Published: March 2010

A study of the reception of Aristotle’s Prior Analytics in the first half of the twelfth century. It is shown that Peter Abaelard was perhaps acquainted with as much as the first seven chapters of Book I of the Prior Analytics but with no more. The appearance at the beginning of the twelfth century of a short list of dialectical loci which has puzzled earlier commentators is explained by noting that this list formalises the classification of extensional relations between general terms and that this classification had already be put forward by Boethius in his de Syllogismo Categorico and Introductio ad Syllogismos Categoricas. It is pointed out the kind of text referred to as an ‘Introductio’ at the beginning of the twelfth-century follows very closely the structure of Boethius own Introductio and adds to it material drawn from his accounts of loci and the conditional propositions. It is argued that the reception of the Prior Analytics has to be understood against the background of this well developed tradition of treating together syllogisms, loci, and conditional propostions. Referring to a challenge to the formal validity of Darapti in the Ars Meliduna the paper concludes by illustrating that the theory of the syllogism presented in Prior Analytics was still controversial in the middle of the twelfth-century.
Urban Energy Balance Obtained from the Comprehensive Outdoor Scale Model Experiment. Part I: Basic Features of the Surface Energy Balance
Authors: Kawai Toru , Kanda Manabu
Published: March 2010

The objective of this study is to examine the basic features of the surface energy balance (SEB) using the data obtained from the Comprehensive Outdoor Scale Model (COSMO). COSMO is an idealized miniature city that has no vegetation, no human activity, and no heterogeneity of the surface geometry. The basic features of the SEB such as energy balance closure, the ensemble mean of the diurnal variation of the energy balance, and the daytime and daily statistics of the energy balance were investigated. The following were the main findings of the study: 1) A surface energy imbalance was observed. The sum of sensible and latent heat fluxes estimated by the eddy correlation method underestimated the available energy by 1% during the daytime and by 44% during the night. 2) Large heat storage in the daytime and small radiative cooling at night sustained positive sensible heat fluxes throughout the night in all seasons and in all sunshine conditions. 3) The daytime ratio of heat storage ΔQS to net radiation Q*, ΔQS/Q*, depended on the friction velocity u* and decreased with increasing u*. 4) The values of ΔQS/Q* tended to be larger in winter than in summer. The annual averaged value of this ratio was approximately 0.6. 5) The large volumetric heat capacity of the surface materials and the resulting large energetic hysteresis produced nonzero total daily values of heat storage. The total daily values of heat storage largely depended on the weather (i.e., sunshine condition and with or without rainfall) and showed positive and negative values on clear-sky days and rainy days, respectively.
A Surrogate Ensemble Study of Sea Level Reconstructions
Authors: Christiansen Bo , Schmith T. , Thejll P.
Published: March 2010

This study investigates the possibility of reconstructing past global mean sea levels. Reconstruction methods rely on historical measurements from tide gauges combined with knowledge about the spatial covariance structure of the sea level field obtained from a shorter period with spatially well-resolved satellite measurements. A surrogate ensemble method is applied based on sea levels from a 500-yr climate model simulation. Tide gauges are simulated by selecting time series from grid points along continental coastlines and on ocean islands. Reconstructions of global mean sea levels can then be compared to the known target, and the ensemble method allows an estimation of the statistical properties originating from the stochastic nature of the reconstructions.

Different reconstruction methods previously used in the literature are studied, including projection and optimal interpolation methods based on EOF analysis of the calibration period. This study also includes methods where these EOFs are augmented with a homogeneous pattern, with the purpose of better capturing a possible geographically homogeneous trend. These covariance-based methods are compared to a simple weighted mean method.

It is concluded that the projection and optimal interpolation methods are very sensitive to the length of the calibration period. For realistic lengths of 10 and 20 yr, very large biases and spread in the reconstructed 1900–49 trends are found. Including a homogeneous pattern in the basis drastically improves the reconstructions of the trend and reduces the sensitivity to the length of the calibration period. The projection and optimal interpolation methods are now comparable to the weighted mean with biases less than 10% in the trend. However, the spread is still considerable. The amplitude of the year-to-year variability is in general strongly overestimated by all reconstruction methods. With regards to year-to-year variability, several methods outperform the simple mean.

Finally, for the projection method, reconstruction errors are decomposed into contributions from the sparse coverage of tide gauges and the incomplete knowledge of the covariance structure of the sea level field. The study finds that the contributions of the different sources depend on the diagnostics of the reconstruction.

It is noted that sea level is constrained by the approximate conservation of the total mass of the ocean. This poses challenges for the sea level reconstructions that are not present for other fields such as temperature.
Oscillatory Climate Modes in the Eastern Mediterranean and Their Synchronization with the North Atlantic Oscillation
Authors: Feliks Yizhak , Ghil Michael , Robertson Andrew W.
Published: March 2010

Oscillatory climatic modes over the North Atlantic, Ethiopian Plateau, and eastern Mediterranean were examined in instrumental and proxy records from these regions. Aside from the well-known North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the Nile River water-level records, the authors study for the first time an instrumental rainfall record from Jerusalem and a tree-ring record from the Golan Heights.

The teleconnections between the regions were studied in terms of synchronization of chaotic oscillators. Standard methods for studying synchronization among such oscillators are modified by combining them with advanced spectral methods, including singular spectrum analysis. The resulting cross-spectral analysis quantifies the strength of the coupling together with the degree of synchronization.

A prominent oscillatory mode with a 7–8-yr period is present in all the climatic indices studied here and is completely synchronized with the North Atlantic Oscillation. An energy analysis of the synchronization raises the possibility that this mode originates in the North Atlantic. Evidence is discussed for this mode being induced by the 7–8-yr oscillation in the position of the Gulf Stream front. A mechanism for the teleconnections between the North Atlantic, Ethiopian Plateau, and eastern Mediterranean is proposed, and implications for interannual-to-decadal climate prediction are discussed.
Inflow of Warm Circumpolar Deep Water in the Central Amundsen Shelf*
Authors: Wåhlin A. K. , Yuan X. , Björk G. , Nohr C.
Published: March 2010

The thinning and acceleration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been attributed to basal melting induced by intrusions of relatively warm salty water across the continental shelf. A hydrographic section including lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements showing such an inflow in the channel leading to the Getz and Dotson Ice Shelves is presented here. The flow rate was 0.3–0.4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), and the subsurface heat loss was estimated to be 1.2–1.6 TW. Assuming that the inflow persists throughout the year, it corresponds to an ice melt of 110–130 km3 yr−1, which exceeds recent estimates of the net ice glacier ice volume loss in the Amundsen Sea. The results also show a 100–150-m-thick intermediate water mass consisting of Circumpolar Deep Water that has been modified (cooled and freshened) by subsurface melting of ice shelves and/or icebergs. This water mass has not previously been reported in the region, possibly because of the paucity of historical data.
A Comparison of Dynamical and Statistical Predictions of Weekly Tropical Cyclone Activity in the Southern Hemisphere
Authors: Vitart Frédéric , Leroy Anne , Wheeler Matthew C.
Published: March 2010

The skill of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) forecast system to predict the occurrence of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the Southern Hemisphere during weekly periods has been evaluated and compared to the skill of a state-of-the-art statistical model. Probabilistic skill scores have been applied to a common series of hindcasts produced with the dynamical and statistical models. The ECMWF hindcasts have higher relative operating characteristic (ROC) scores than the statistical model for the first three weeks of integrations. The dynamical model also has skill over the Indian Ocean in week 4.

The ECMWF hindcasts have lower Brier skill scores than the statistical model after week 2, which is likely because this version of the ECMWF model creates about 30% more TCs than observations and therefore generates a large number of false alarms. A simple calibration has been applied to the ECMWF probabilistic forecasts that significantly improves their reliability, but at the expense of the sharpness. The calibrated dynamical model has higher Brier skill scores than the statistical model during the first three weeks, although the statistical model remains more reliable.

The multimodel combination of the calibrated dynamical forecasts with the statistical forecasts helps to improve the reliability of the ECMWF forecasts. The Brier skill score of the multimodel exceeds the Brier skill scores of the individual models, but with less sharpness than the calibrated dynamical model. This result suggests that the statistical model can be useful as a benchmark for dynamical models and as a component of a multimodel combination to improve the skill of the dynamical model. Potential economic value diagrams confirm that the multimodel forecasts are useful up to week 3 over the Southern Hemisphere.