bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Approach for the Solution of the Electrostatic Potential Differential Equations
Authors: Awawdeh Fadi , Khandaqji M. , Mustafa Z.
Published: December 2009

This paper is focused on deriving an explicit analytical solution for the prediction of the electrostatic potential, commonly used on electrokinetic research and its related applications. Different from all other analytic techniques, this approach provides a simple way to ensure the convergence of series of solution so that one can always get accurate enough approximations. This new approach can be a useful tool in electrical field applications such as the separation of a mixture of macromolecules and the removal of contaminants in soil cleaning processes.
Some Weak Convergence Theorems for a Family of Asymptotically Nonexpansive Nonself Mappings
Authors: Hao Yan , Cho SunYoung , Qin Xiaolong
Published: December 2009

A one-step iteration with errors is considered for a family of asymptotically nonexpansive nonself mappings. Weak convergence of the purposed iteration is obtained in a Banach space.
Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Fully Breastfed Infants on Oral Vitamin D Supplementation
Authors: Wagner Carol L. , Howard Cindy , Hulsey Thomas C. , Lawrence Ruth A. , Taylor Sarah N. , Will Heather , Ebeling Myla , Hutson Jay , Hollis Bruce W.
Published: December 2009

Objective. To examine the effectiveness of oral vitamin (400 IU) supplementation on the nutritional vitamin D status of breastfeeding infants.Design. As part of a larger ongoing vitamin D RCT trial of lactating women, infants of mothers assigned to control received 1 drop of 400 IU vitamin /day starting at one month of age. Infant 25(OH)D levels (mean S.D.) were measured by RIA at visits 1, 4, and 7.Results. The infant mean S.D. 25(OH)D at baseline was 16.0 9.3 ng/mL (range 1.0–40.8; ); 24 (72.7%) had baseline levels <20 ng/mL (consistent with deficiency). The mean levels increased to 43.6 14.1 (range 18.2–69.7) at 4 months and remained relatively unchanged at month 7: 42.5 12.1 ng/mL (range 18.9–67.2). The change in values between 1 and 4 months and 1 and 7 months was statistically significant , and despite a decrease in dose per kilogram, values were not significantly different between months 4 and 7 .Conclusions. Oral vitamin supplementation as an oil emulsion was associated with significant and sustained increases in 25(OH)D from baseline in fully breastfeeding infants through 7 months.
Plasma Temperature Determination of Hydrogen Containing High-Frequency Electrodeless Lamps by Intensity Distribution Measurements of Hydrogen Molecular Band
Authors: Gavare Zanda , Revalde Gita , Skudra Atis
Published: December 2009

The goal of the present work was the investigation of the possibility to use intensity distribution of the Q-branch lines of the hydrogen Fulcher-α diagonal band (d3Πu−→a3∑g+ electronic transition; Q-branch with v=v′=2) to determine the temperature of hydrogen containing high-frequency electrodeless lamps (HFEDLs). The values of the rotational temperatures have been obtained from the relative intensity distributions for hydrogen-helium and hydrogen-argon HFEDLs depending on the applied current. The results have been compared with the method of temperature derivation from Doppler profiles of He 667.8 nm and Ar 772.4 nm lines. The results of both methods are in good agreement, showing that the method of gas temperature determination from the intensity distribution in the hydrogen Fulcher-α (2-2)Q band can be used for the hydrogen containing HFEDLs. It was observed that the admixture of 10% hydrogen in the argon HFEDLs significantly reduces the gas temperature.
Time Domain Simulation of a Target Tracking System with Backlash Compensation
Authors: Gruzman Maurício , Weber Hans Ingo , Menegaldo Luciano Luporini
Published: December 2009

This paper presents a model of a target tracking system assembled in a moving body. The system is modeled in time domain as a nonlinear system, which includes dry friction, backlash in gear transmission, control input tensions saturation, and armature current saturation. Time delays usually present in digital controllers are also included, and independent control channels are used for each motor. Their inputs are the targets angular errors with respect to the system axial axis and the outputs are control tensions for the motors. Since backlash in gear transmission may reduce the systems accuracy, its effects should be compensated. For that, backlash compensation blocks are added in the controllers. Each section of this paper contains a literature survey of recent works dealing with the issues discussed in this article.
Satellite DNA in the Karyotype Evolution of Domestic Animals – Clinical Considerations
Authors: Adega F. , Guedes-Pinto H. , Chaves R.
Published: December 2009

Eukaryotic genomes contain far more DNA than needed for coding proteins. Some of these additional DNA sequences comprise non-coding repetitive DNA sequences, mostly satellite DNAs and also transposable elements usually located at the heterochromatic regions of chromosomes. Satellite DNAs consist of tandemly repeated DNA sequences inhabiting the mammalian genome, typically organized in long arrays of hundreds or thousands of copies. Different important functions have been ascribed to satellite DNA, from the imperative centromeric function in mitosis and meiosis to the recent discovery of its involvement in regulatory functions via satellite transcripts. Moreover, satellite DNAs, among other repetitive sequences, are believed to be the ‘engine’ triggering mammalian genome evolution. Repetitive DNAs are, most likely, the genetic factors responsible for promoting genomic plasticity and therefore higher rates of chromosome mutation. Furthermore, constitutive heterochromatin regions are thought to be ‘hotspots’ for structural chromosome rearrangements. A considerable collection of evidences places these sequences in the landscape of mammalian evolution. However, the mechanisms that could explain how this alliance between chromosome evolution and satellite DNA is made are still enigmatic and subject of debate. Throughout the mammalian taxa, different patterns of chromosome evolution have been widely registered from heterochromatin additions/eliminations, Robertsonian translocations, whole-arm reciprocal translocations to tandem translocations; the fact is genome’s repetitive fraction is playing a central role in mammalian genome structuring. Throughout this review we will focus on the evidences that associate satellite DNAs and constitutive heterochromatin to the process of chromosome evolution and consequently to domestic species genome’s remodeling.
Association between Caries Experience and Body Mass Index in 12-Year-Old French Children
Authors: Tramini P. , Molinari N. , Tentscher M. , Demattei C. , Schulte A.G.
Published: December 2009

The prevalence of overweight and obesity reached 19.7% in 12-year-old French children in the year 2005. Recently, nationwide programs have been broadly implemented in France to reduce the overconsumption of sugars, salt and fat. The aims of this study were to assess the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and D3+4MFT index in a sample of 12-year-old French children, and to compare several regression models in order to analyze the association between these two indices. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Montpellier, France, and the height, weight, D3+4MFT, sugar and soft drink consumption were recorded in a randomly selected sample of 835 schoolchildren. In order to analyze the association between BMI and DMFT, four models of regression were tested: logistic, Poisson, zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB). The mean BMI was 18.9 for the whole sample and the corresponding DMFT value was 1.47. The caries prevalence was 51.7%. The best fitted models for testing the association between BMI and DMFT were ZIP and ZINB models. They showed a significant association between DMFT and sugar consumption, but not with BMI. As a result of the best fitted models (ZIP and ZINB), where BMI was not statistically associated with DMFT, we conclude, within the limits of a cross-sectional survey, that there is no association between these two variables.
Puerarin Inhibits Adhesion Molecule Expression in TNF-α-Stimulated Human Endothelial Cells via Modulation of the Nuclear Factor ĸB Pathway
Authors: Hu Wenzhi , Zhang Qin , Yang Xiangjun , Wang Yueying , Sun Lie
Published: December 2009

Background: The isoflavone puerarin is the most abundant isoflavone-C-glucoside extracted from the root (radix puerariae) of the plant Pueraria lobata and possesses many biological activities. In this report, the ability of puerarin to modulate intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (E-selectin), and to induce changes in the nuclear factor ĸB (NF-ĸB) pathway in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was examined. Methods: The protein and mRNA levels of tumor-necrosis-factor-α (TNF-α)-induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin were determined in HUVECs. Inhibitor ĸB (I-ĸB) phosphorylation and p65 NF-ĸB expression in HUVECs were also examined. Results: Puerarin inhibited the expression of TNF-α-induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin proteins and mRNAs in HUVECs. Subsequently, we determined that the inhibition of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin expression was due to a dose-dependent suppression of phosphorylation and degradation of I-ĸB, which resulted in a reduction of p65 NF-ĸB nuclear translocation. Conclusion: These data suggested that the effect of puerarin-mediated inhibition of TNF-α-induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin expression is attributed to suppressed NF-ĸB activation on the transcriptional level.
Change of Body Movement Coordination during Cervical Proprioceptive Disturbances with Increased Age
Authors: Patel M. , Fransson P.A. , Karlberg M. , Malmstrom E.M. , Magnusson M.
Published: December 2009

Background: To date, there are very few studies on postural stability in older adults using body movement recordings to capture the postural movement pattern. Moreover, the importance of proprioception at key areas such as the calf or neck on the postural movement pattern in older adults has rarely been investigated. Objective: To investigate whether the body movement coordination strategy to calf or neck vibration was affected by aging. Methods: Body movement measurements were taken at five locations (ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and head) from 18 younger (mean age 29.1 years) and 16 older (mean age 71.5 years) adult subjects using a 3D movement measuring system while subjected to 50 s of pseudo-random calf or neck vibratory stimulation pulses with eyes open or closed. The positions from the knee, hip, shoulder and head markers were correlated against one another to give an indication of the body coordination. Results: During quiet standing, older adults had greater correlation between the head and trunk than the young. There was an age effect in the body movement coordination strategy. Older adults had a different movement pattern with neck vibration involving mainly more independent knee movements, indicating balance difficulty. Conclusions: Neck vibration affects the movement pattern in older adults more compared with younger adults and calf vibration, suggesting that, the regulation of body orientation in older adults is more difficult, especially during cervical proprioceptive disturbances.
A Link between Impaired Lung Function and Increased Cardiac Stress
Authors: Wieshammer Siegfried , Dreyhaupt Jens , Basler Beate
Published: December 2009

Background: Patients with impaired lung function often have systemic inflammation. C-reactive protein (CRP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are markers for inflammation and cardiac stress, respectively. Objectives: To evaluate the association between both markers and the potential impacts of lung disease on this relationship. Methods: CRP and NT-proBNP were prospectively measured in 697 consecutive outpatients (57.5 ± 16.4 years) with chronic dyspnea. The patients were stratified into quartiles according to CRP levels (quartile 1: median CRP 0.35 mg/l; quartile 2: 1.50 mg/l; quartile 3: 3.62 mg/l; quartile 4: 10.90 mg/l) and classified into 2 categories based on the presence (n = 176) or absence (n = 521) of heart disease. Results: Patients with at least moderately severe airway obstruction and those with interstitial lung disease had higher CRP values than patients without lung disease (median 3.50 vs. 4.34 vs. 1.80 mg/l, respectively; p < 0.01). In patients without heart disease, NT-proBNP values increased from CRP quartiles 1–3 to quartile 4 (median 47.4 vs. 82.1 pg/ml; p < 0.01) after adjusting for important covariates such as age, sex, body mass index, renal function and arterial hypertension. Likewise, the values for NT-proBNP were lower in CRP quartiles 1–3 than in quartile 4 (median 212.0 vs. 647.7 pg/ml; p < 0.01) in patients with heart disease after additional adjustment for the type of cardiac disorder. Lung disease had no direct effect on the relationship between CRP and NT-proBNP. Conclusion: Systemic inflammation that originates in the lung places an excess burden on the heart, which may contribute to the functional impairment of patients with advanced pulmonary disease.
Potential Mechanisms of Low Sodium Diet–Induced Cardiac Disease
Authors: Suematsu Nobuhiro , Ojaimi Caroline , Recchia Fabio A. , Wang Zipping , Skayian Yester , Xu Xiaobin , Zhang Suhua , Kaminski Pawel M. , Sun Dong , Wolin Michael S. , Kaley Gabor , Hintze Thomas H.
Published: December 2009

Rationale
:

Patients on a low salt (LS) diet have increased mortality.

Objective
:

To determine whether reduction in NO bioactivity may contribute to the LS-induced cardiac dysfunction and mortality.

Methods and Results
:

Adult male mongrel dogs were placed on LS (0.05% sodium chloride) for 2 weeks. Body weight (25.4±0.4 to 23.6±0.4 kg), left ventricular systolic pressure (137.0±3.4 to 124.0±6.7 mm Hg), and mean aortic pressure (111±3.1 to 98±4.3 mm Hg) decreased. Plasma angiotensin II concentration increased (4.4±0.7 to 14.8±3.7 pg/mL). Veratrine-induced (5 μg/kg) NO-mediated vasodilation was inhibited by 44% in LS; however, the simultaneous intravenous infusion of ascorbic acid or apocynin acutely and completely reversed this inhibition. In LS heart tissues, lucigenin chemiluminescence was increased 2.3-fold to angiotensin II (10
−8
mol/L), and bradykinin (10
−4
mol/L) induced reduction of myocardial oxygen consumption in vitro was decreased (40±1.3% to 16±6.3%) and completely restored by coincubation with tiron, tempol or apocynin. Switching of substrate uptake from free fatty acid to glucose by the heart was observed (free fatty acid: 8.97±1.39 to 4.53±1.12 μmol/min; glucose: 1.31±0.52 to 6.86±1.78 μmol/min). Western blotting indicated an increase in both p47
phox
(121%) and gp91
phox
(44%) as did RNA microarray analysis (433 genes changed) showed an increase in p47

phox

(1.6-fold) and gp91

phox

(2.0 fold) in the LS heart tissue.

Conclusions
:

LS diet induces the activation of the renin–angiotensin system, which increases oxidative stress via the NADPH oxidase and attenuates NO bioavailability in the heart.
Baptism, Conversion, and Grace: Reflections on the "Underlying Realities" Between Pentecostals, Methodists, and Catholics
Authors: Coulter Dale
Published: December 2009

The past four decades of dialogue between Methodists and Catholics as well as Pentecostals and Catholics reveal a shared soteriological substructure between each communion that is grounded in pneumatology. This article explores the shared substructure in order to point out the inherent tensions it raises with respect to baptism and conversion and then offer a possible solution as a way to advance the dialogues. The initial claim being made is that a tension exists in each communion between their commitment to the prevenient activity of the Spirit and their commitment to the sanctifying activity of the Spirit. This tension points toward a need for greater clarity on the modalities of the Spirit's presence in conversion. By reflecting on these modalities, a second claim is made that Pentecostals, Catholics, and Methodists may find agreement on the bestowal of the Spirit in infant baptism or infant dedication as part of the conversion process for those whose physical birth places them within the family of believers. The specific point of agreement would center on the Spirit's bestowal of the "will for faith" as a particular manifestation of sanctifying grace that serves to separate infants within the church from those outside the church who, nevertheless, still benefit from the Spirit's prevenient activity.
The Making of a Trinitarian Theologian: The Holy Spirit in Charles Wesley's Sermons
Authors: Vickers Jason
Published: December 2009

This article contends that, from 1738 to 1742, Charles Wesley developed a robust account of the work of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, by integrating his reflections on pneumatology into his wider theology, he evolved from a largely binitarian to a decidedly trinitarian understanding of salvation. While the article focuses primarily on the emergence of a strong pneumatology in Charles Wesley's undisputed sermons, it also provides occasional sideways glances at similar themes in his hymns and poetry.
One, One, One… One Way to God? A review essay of "In Jesus Name": The History and Beliefs of Oneness Pentecostals
Authors: Millner Marlon
Published: December 2009

"In Jesus' Name" is a groundbreaking work on Oneness Pentecostalism. It seeks to be an exhaustive study, which historically situates OP culturally and theologically within a long tradition of Pietism dating back hundreds of years in Europe, and Christocentrism found in American Evangelicalism of the 19th century. However, in lifting up an African-American as the exemplar of Oneness Pentecostalism, the book introduces the person's "black heritage" as an interpretive key, but then fails to follow through on this insight, despite several works around Oneness Pentecostalism, in particular, and race. This leaves open the possibility that there is a significant hole in an otherwise comprehensive monograph. Indeed, closer attention to social location and the theological problem of race, would have paid off with material that indeed moves the tradition from so-called heterodoxy to a more robust, if contested, conversation with the dogmatic tradition, which the author seeks.
Observed Patterns of Month-to-Month Storm-Track Variability and Their Relationship to the Background Flow*
Authors: Wettstein Justin J. , Wallace John M.
Published: December 2009

Month-to-month storm-track variability is investigated via EOF analyses performed on ERA-40 monthly-averaged high-pass filtered daily 850-hPa meridional heat flux and the variances of 300-hPa meridional wind and 500-hPa height. The analysis is performed both in hemispheric and sectoral domains of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Patterns characterized as “pulsing” and “latitudinal shifting” of the climatological-mean storm tracks emerge as the leading sectoral patterns of variability. Based on the analysis presented, storm-track variability on the spatial scale of the two Northern Hemisphere sectors appears to be largely, but perhaps not completely, independent.

Pulsing and latitudinally shifting storm tracks are accompanied by zonal wind anomalies consistent with eddy-forced accelerations and geopotential height anomalies that project strongly on the dominant patterns of geopotential height variability. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)–Northern Hemisphere annular mode (NAM) is associated with a pulsing of the Atlantic storm track and a meridional displacement of the upper-tropospheric jet exit region, whereas the eastern Atlantic (EA) pattern is associated with a latitudinally shifting storm track and an extension or retraction of the upper-tropospheric jet. Analogous patterns of storm-track and upper-tropospheric jet variability are associated with the western Pacific (WP) and Pacific–North America (PNA) patterns. Wave–mean flow relationships shown here are more clearly defined than in previous studies and are shown to extend through the depth of the troposphere. The Southern Hemisphere annular mode (SAM) is associated with a latitudinally shifting storm track over the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans and a pulsing South Pacific storm track. The patterns of storm-track variability are shown to be related to simple distortions of the climatological-mean upper-tropospheric jet.
Linear Response Functions of a Cumulus Ensemble to Temperature and Moisture Perturbations and Implications for the Dynamics of Convectively Coupled Waves
Authors: Kuang Zhiming
Published: December 2009

An approach is presented for the construction of linear response functions of a cumulus ensemble to large-scale temperature and moisture perturbations using a cloud system–resolving model (CSRM). A set of time-invariant, horizontally homogeneous, anomalous temperature and moisture tendencies is added, one at a time, to the forcing of the CSRM. By recording the departure of the equilibrium domain-averaged temperature and moisture profiles from those of a control experiment and through a matrix inversion, a sufficiently complete and accurate set of linear response functions is constructed for use as a parameterization of the cumulus ensemble around the reference mean state represented by the control experiment.

This approach is applied to two different mean state conditions in which the CSRM, when coupled with 2D gravity waves, exhibits interestingly different behaviors. With a more strongly convecting mean state forced by the large-scale vertical velocity profile taken from the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE), spontaneous development of convectively coupled waves requires moisture variations above the boundary layer, whereas with a mean state of radiative–convective equilibrium (RCE) not forced by large-scale vertical advection, the development of convectively coupled waves is stronger and persists even when moisture variations above the boundary layer are removed. The linear response functions were able to reproduce these behaviors of the full CSRM with some quantitative accuracy. The linear response functions show that both temperature and moisture perturbations at a range of heights can regulate convective heating. The ability for convection to remove temperature anomalies, thus maintaining convective neutrality, decreases considerably from the lower troposphere to the middle and upper troposphere. It is also found that the response of convective heating to a lower tropospheric temperature anomaly is more top-heavy in the RCE case than in the TOGA COARE case. Comparing the linear response functions with the treatment of convection in an earlier simple model by the present author indicates general consistency, lending confidence that the instability mechanisms identified in that model provide the correct explanation to the instability seen in the CSRM simulations and the instability’s dependence on the mean state.
North American Temperature, Snowfall, and Snow-Depth Response to Winter Climate Modes
Authors: Ghatak Debjani , Gong Gavin , Frei Allan
Published: December 2009

The snowpack is an important seasonal surface water storage reservoir that affects the availability of water resources during the spring and summer seasons in mid–high latitudes. Not surprisingly, interannual variations in snow cover extent and snow water equivalent have been extensively studied in arid regions such as western North America. This study broadens the focus by examining snow depth as an alternative snowpack metric, and considers its variability over different parts of North America. The authors use singular value decomposition (SVD) in conjunction with linear and partial correlation to show that regional snow-depth variations can be largely explained by the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific–North American (PNA) modes of atmospheric variability through distinct mechanistic pathways involving regional winter circulation patterns and hydrologic fluxes. The high index phase of the NAO generates positive winter air temperature anomalies over eastern parts of North America, causing thinning of the winter snowpack via snowmelt. Meanwhile, the high index phase of the PNA generates negative winter snowfall anomalies across midlatitudinal areas of North America, which also serve to thin the snowpack. Positive PNA anomalies have also been shown to increase temperatures and decrease snow depths over western North America. The PNA influence extends across the continent, whereas the NAO influence is limited to eastern North America. The winter snow-depth variations associated with all of these pathways exhibit seasonal persistence, which ultimately yield regional-scale spring snow-depth anomalies throughout much of North America.
An Interdecadal Change in Southern China Summer Rainfall around 1992/93
Authors: Wu Renguang , Wen Zhiping , Yang Song , Li Yueqing
Published: December 2009

The present study documents a pronounced interdecadal change in summer rainfall over southern China around 1992/93 and explores the plausible reasons for this change. The summer rainfall is persistently below normal during 1980–92 and above normal during 1993–2002. Coherent changes in atmospheric circulation are identified over East Asia and the South China Sea (SCS)–western North Pacific (WNP). The increase in rainfall is accompanied by an increase in lower-level convergence, midtropospheric ascent, and upper-level divergence over southern China. The changes in lower-level winds feature two anomalous anticyclones: one over the SCS–subtropical WNP, and the other over north China–Mongolia. The outflows from the two anomalous anticyclones converge over southern China, leading to anomalous moisture convergence, enhanced ascent, and increased rainfall. The development of the northern anticyclone is related to an increase in the Tibetan Plateau snow cover in the preceding winter–spring that leads to a contrast in temperature change between the plateau and the surrounding regions. The relatively small temperature change over the plateau, coupled with increases in temperature to the west and the east, leads to an increase in surface pressure extending northward from the plateau. The development of the southern anticyclone is related to an increase in sea surface temperature in the equatorial Indian Ocean that enhances lower-level convergence and ascent. The accompanying upper-level divergent flows from the tropical Indian Ocean to the SCS–WNP lead to the development of anomalous descent and lower-level anomalous anticyclone over the SCS–WNP.
Regional Precipitation Trends: Distinguishing Natural Variability from Anthropogenic Forcing
Authors: Hoerling Martin , Eischeid Jon , Perlwitz Judith
Published: December 2009

In this study, the nature and causes for observed regional precipitation trends during 1977–2006 are diagnosed. It is found that major features of regional trends in annual precipitation during 1977–2006 are consistent with an atmospheric response to observed sea surface temperature (SST) variability. This includes drying over the eastern Pacific Ocean that extends into western portions of the Americas related to a cooling of eastern Pacific SSTs, and broad increases in rainfall over the tropical Eastern Hemisphere, including a Sahelian rainfall recovery and increased wetness over the Indo–West Pacific related to North Atlantic and Indo–West Pacific ocean warming. It is further determined that these relationships between SST and rainfall change are generally not symptomatic of human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols. The intensity of regional trends simulated in climate models using observed time variability in greenhouse gases, tropospheric sulfate aerosol, and solar and volcanic aerosol forcing are appreciably weaker than those observed and also weaker than those simulated in atmospheric models using only observed SST forcing. The pattern of rainfall trends occurring in response to such external radiative forcing also departs significantly from observations, especially a simulated increase in rainfall over the tropical Pacific and southeastern Australia that are opposite in sign to the actual drying in these areas.

Additional experiments illustrate that the discrepancy between observed and GHG-forced rainfall changes during 1977–2006 results mostly from the differences between observed and externally forced SST trends. Only weak rainfall sensitivity is found to occur in response to the uniform distribution of SST warming that is induced by GHG and aerosol forcing, whereas the particular pattern of the observed SST change that includes an increased SST contrast between the east Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and strong regional warming of the North Atlantic Ocean, was a key driver of regional rainfall trends. The results of this attribution study on the causes for 1977–2006 regional rainfall changes are used to discuss prediction challenges including the likelihood that recent rainfall trends might persist.
Controlling Noise in Ensemble Data Assimilation Schemes
Authors: Peña Malaquias , Toth Zoltan , Wei Mozheng
Published: December 2009

A variety of ad hoc procedures have been developed to prevent filter divergence in ensemble-based data assimilation schemes. These procedures are necessary to reduce the impacts of sampling errors in the background error covariance matrix derived from a limited-size ensemble. The procedures amount to the introduction of additional noise into the assimilation process, possibly reducing the accuracy of the resulting analyses. The effects of this noise on analysis and forecast performance are investigated in a perfect model scenario. Alternative schemes aimed at controlling the unintended injection of noise are proposed and compared. Improved analysis and forecast accuracy is observed in schemes with minimal alteration to the evolving ensemble-based covariance structure.
Patterns of Functional Loss Among Older People: A Prospective Analysis
Authors: Seidel David , Crilly Nathan , Matthews Fiona E. , Jagger Carol , Clarkson P. John , Brayne Carol
Published: December 2009

Objective: Patterns of capability loss and disability onset among older people were investigated prospectively. Background: With aging, the gap between personal capability and environmental demand becomes wider, resulting in higher levels of disability in daily activities. Methods: Data from a longitudinal, population-based study were obtained for analysis, which recruited a representative sample of 13,004 people aged 65 years and older from five sites in Great Britain. Participants completed a baseline interview during 1990 to 1994 and follow-up interviews after 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10 years. Those who reported full vision, hearing, thinking, locomotion, reaching, and dexterity ability as well as no disability in cooking, housework, shopping, and transportation at baseline were included in a survival analysis. Results: Locomotion was the first ability to be lost, followed by reaching, thinking, hearing, vision, and dexterity. Age at onset of disability was earliest for shopping, then housework, transportation, and cooking. Women were consistently younger at capability loss and disability onset than men except in terms of hearing and cooking. Conclusion: These findings suggest that capabilities required for product and service interaction follow a hierarchical pattern of loss, which has practical implications for design. Although interventions to reduce disability in the older population are likely to require changes that address more than one demand, capabilities lost early in old age should take precedence over those lost later. Application: A potential application of this research is in the development of an overall design strategy to enhance older people’s ability to live independently.
The Canonical Generation:Trapped between Personal and National Memories
Authors: Ben-Ze'ev Efrat , Lomsky-Feder Edna
Published: December 2009

This article develops the concept of the ‘canonical generation’ — a generational unit that identifies itself and is identified with the national canon. By highlighting this concept we explore the inter-relations between national and biographical memories. We illustrate how generations are distinguishable in terms of the freedom they have to express their critical and personal voices. Our analysis is based on a comparison of two sets of Jewish-Israeli war stories, those of the 1948 generation (veterans of ‘the War of Independence’) and those of the 1973 generation (veterans of ‘the Yom Kippur War’).
Qualitative Researchers’ Understandings of Their Practice and the Implications for Data Archiving and Sharing
Authors: Broom Alex , Cheshire Lynda , Emmison Michael
Published: December 2009

With the systematic archiving of qualitative data emerging as a distinct possibility in Australia, both the practices of qualitative research and how subsequent outputs are ‘used’ are coming under increased scrutiny and reflection. Drawing on a series of focus groups with qualitative researchers, this article critically explores the meanings ascribed to qualitative research practice and the perceived challenges posed by contemporary innovations in data management, access, and analysis through electronic archiving. The accounts presented provide much needed insight into key debates (and divergences) within the qualitative community regarding the values and meanings of qualitative practice, but also how contemporary innovations may come to challenge these core values.
A Second Chance at ‘Success’
Authors: Brooks Rachel , Waters Johanna
Published: December 2009

While the literature on highly skilled international migration has grown substantially over recent years, the motivations and experiences of an important sub-group — the internationally mobile student — have remained under-researched. In an attempt to redress this gap, this article draws on in-depth interviews with 85 young adults, to explore the choices and motivations of UK students who choose to study abroad for the whole of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. While studies of east to west migration have typically emphasised the importance of an international higher education as a high-prestige, first choice option for those students who can afford it, we argue that, for UK students, choices are configured differently. For many of our respondents, overseas education offered primarily a ‘second chance’ at accessing elite education.
The Pervasive Role of Rank in the Health of U.S. Veterans
Authors: MacLean Alair , Edwards Ryan D.
Published: December 2009

The following article tests the hypothesis that veterans have better health if they were officers when they were in the U.S. military than if they served in the enlisted ranks. It examines this hypothesis by presenting results from logistic regressions that are based on four surveys: the National Survey of Veterans, the Survey of Retired Military, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. In all four of these surveys, the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that military rank is associated with health, particularly among veterans who served longer. It also suggests that the health gradient by rank is independent of similar gradients by education and income as well as health differences by race. These findings indicate that health may be influenced not just by differences in civilian society but also by those in the military.
National Enterprise Emergency
Authors: Massumi Brian
Published: December 2009

The figure of today’s threat is the suddenly irrupting, locally self-organizing, systemically self-amplifying threat of large-scale disruption. This form of threat, fed by instability and metastability, is not only indiscriminate, it is also indiscrimin able; it is indistinguishable from the general environment. The figure of the environment shifts: from the harmony of a natural balance to the normality of a generalized crisis environment so encompassing in its endemic threat-form as to connect, across the spectrum, the polar extremes of war and the weather. Michel Foucault characterizes the dominant contemporary regime of power, coincident with the rise of neoliberalism, as ‘environmental’: a governmentality which will act on the environment and systematically modify its variables. Its actions, he emphasizes, are not standardizing since the shift in the figure of the environment has moved it out of reach of normalization. Given the indiscriminateness of the environment’s autonomous activity, environmentality must work through the ‘regulation of effects’ rather than of causes. It must remain operationally ‘open to unknowns’ and catch nonlinear, transversal phenomena before they amplify the stirrings to actual crisis proportions. What systematicity is this? And: does power’s becoming-environmental mean that, politically, we are dealing with natural subjects? Where Foucault’s question ends is where, today, we must begin, in light of how the recomposition of power whose dawning he glimpsed in 1979 has since played out. In the context of Foucault’s theories of power, the question amounts to asking: is this still ‘biopolitics’?
Putative secrets: When information is supposedly a secret
Authors: Caughlin John P. , Scott Allison M. , Miller Laura E. , Hefner Veronica
Published: December 2009

Secrets are common within relationships. Sometimes, unbeknownst to a secret keeper, a relational partner learns a secret but allows the keeper to believe that the secret is still unknown. This article summarizes two investigations of such instances, which we call putative secrets. Study 1 (N = 207) provided a descriptive base of putative secret topics, means by which secrets are kept, and perceived reasons for keeping secrets. Study 2 (N = 383) found that the relational impact of putative secrets depended on the secret topic, individuals’ perceptions of the topic, the ways the secret was kept, and the perceived reasons for keeping the secret. There were also theoretically interesting interactions among the reasons for keeping the secret.
Heterosexuals’ acceptance predicts the well-being of same-sex attracted young adults beyond ingroup support
Authors: Dane Sharon K. , MacDonald Geoff
Published: December 2009

Ingroup support for sexual minority individuals may be somewhat different from that of many (heterosexual) racial/ethnic minority groups whose sense of belonging may stem from a shared identity with family and similar community members. This distinction raises the important question of whether out-group (i.e., heterosexual) acceptance plays a unique role in predicting the well-being of sexual minorities even in the presence of support from their own ingroup. Findings from same-sex attracted young adults in Australia supported this hypothesis, suggesting that acceptance from the broader community is an important facet of well-being beyond the important support provided by fellow sexual-minority members. Notably, this study specifically targeted those most likely to have access to support from their sexual minority peers.
Measuring quality of life in pediatric palliative care: challenges and potential solutions
Authors: Huang I-Chan , Shenkman Elizabeth A , Madden Vanessa L , Vadaparampil Susan , Quinn Gwendolyn , Knapp Caprice A
Published: December 2009

Annually, about 500,000 children are coping with life-limiting illnesses in the USA. Integrated pediatric palliative care program could benefit some of these children by improving their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). To measure the effect of pediatric palliative care programs on HRQOL, a valid and reliable tool must be identified. This study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of a generic HRQOL instrument, the Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0, for children with life-limiting illnesses. Analyses were conducted using telephone survey data collected from 266 parents whose Medicaid-enrolled children had life-limiting illnesses. Results of the analyses suggest the Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 does not have valid psychometric properties for measuring HRQOL within this population. Our study documents several challenges in using the generic instrument to measure HRQOL in pediatric palliative care setting. We point out future directions to refine or develop HRQOL instruments for this population of vulnerable children.
The Importance of Self-Determination to Perceived Quality of Life for Youth and Young Adults With Chronic Conditions and Disabilities
Authors: McDougall Janette , Evans Jan , Baldwin Patricia
Published: December 2009

This study examined the relationship between self-determination and perceived quality of life for youth and young adults with chronic conditions and disabilities over time. A total of 34 individuals completed the Life Satisfaction Index—Adolescents and the Arc’s Self-Determination Scale at study baseline and again 1 year later. Controlling for perceived quality of life at baseline and other relevant health and demographic variables, linear regression analysis was performed to examine the longitudinal relationship between self-determination and perceived quality of life. Self-determination was significantly associated with two subdomains of quality of life over time. Those individuals with higher self-determination at baseline reported higher perceptions of satisfaction with both personal development and personal fulfillment 1 year later. Findings suggest that there may be a relationship between self-determination and specific subdomains of perceived quality of life for youth and young adults with chronic conditions and disabilities that extends over time. Studies using larger international samples followed over a longer period of time are required to substantiate these findings.
Endorsing Equity and Applauding Stay-at-Home Moms: How Male Voices on Work-Life Reveal Aversive Sexism and Flickers of Transformation
Authors: Tracy Sarah J. , Rivera Kendra Dyanne
Published: December 2009

What can we learn about women’s organizational challenges by talking to men about gender roles and work-life? We attend to this question through an interview study with male executives, providing a close interpretive analysis of their talk about employees, wives, children, the division of domestic labor, and work-life policy. The study illustrates how executives’ tacit hesitancy about women’s participation in organizational life is closely connected to preferred gendered relationships in the private sphere. The case reveals a story of meaning in movement—aversive sexism marked by flickers of transformation—demonstrating how talk can both reveal and disrupt enduring gender scripts, and why hearing male voices is integral to addressing women’s work-life dilemmas.
Reconsidering the Implementation Strategy in Faith-Based Policy Initiatives
Authors: Campbell David
Published: December 2009

Despite their hypothesized potential to change lives and promote social policy goals, the track record of faith-based public policies is less than stellar. Using survey, administrative, and organizational case study data from a California faith-based initiative, we find that the commonly used implementation strategy—featuring a top-down, short-term approach that funds isolated local organizations—demonstrates little power to nurture enduring programs and partnerships at the community level. Our analysis of why this is so suggests the possible viability of an alternative implementation strategy that takes community social service networks as the unit of action and analysis. A next step for policy and research might be carefully monitored local demonstrations that foster government partnerships with a broad cross-section of community and faith-related organizations within a single locale, seeking to develop a coordinated continuum of community care by patiently building network capacity for the long haul.
The Politics of Global Information Sharing: Whose Cultural Agendas Are Being Advanced?
Authors: Bowrey Kathy , Anderson Jane
Published: December 2009

Open-knowledge communities, the public domain and public policies protecting the global sharing of information and resources seek to counter the last decade of IP maximalization. Such movements aim to rebalance ‘public’ interests within IP discourse. Historically, dispossession of Indigenous persons in settler communities was concomitant with their exclusion from ‘the public’. This has significant consequences for Indigenous peoples struggling to regain control over knowledge resources today. This article considers the imaginary inclusions that underlie Anglo-Australian intellectual property law and considers problems with redressing past injustice by defining Indigenous difference in terms of a cultural exception within intellectual property law.
Welcome to Malaya Rodina (‘Little Homeland’): Gender and Penal Order in a Russian Penal Colony
Authors: Piacentini Laura , Pallot Judith , Moran Dominique
Published: December 2009

This article presents findings from research conducted in a penal colony for young women in Russia. Russia’s penal system remains under-researched in socio-legal and criminological scholarship. This contribution is the first multi-disciplinary study of Russian imprisonment to be conducted in the post-Soviet period, bringing together criminology, human geography and law. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a landmark moment in Russia’s penal trajectory due to the excessive scale and use of imprisonment as a political and cultural corrective. Our findings reveal the punishment of young women in Russia to be exceptional and exclusionary. Personnel play a crucial role in shaping penal strategies that encourage young women to adopt blame and shame sensibilities. We develop a conceptualization of Russian penality as it relates to young women prisoners. We argue that the prisoner transport is the first stage in a penal continuum where gender, penal order and culture come together to create a specific penological place identity, which we conceptualize as Malaya Rodina (Little Homeland). We conclude that Russia’s penal geography, and its attendant penological imagination, is a vestige of the Soviet penal monolith.
Access to Opportunities in Multicultural Societies and the Relevance of Public Expression
Authors: Alvarez Silvina
Published: December 2009

The presence of minority groups with cultural backgrounds that differ from mainstream society cultural standards may determine a gap between social opportunities and personal options: it can be the case that social opportunities in society as a whole are not perceived as effective options by the members of minority groups. Furthermore, the building of options is hindered by the sort of hate messages which strongly affect the portrayal of minority groups and contribute in turn to diminish personal autonomy. The author affirms that, since options are context-dependent and personal autonomy relies on them, hate speech in multicultural societies compromises the degree of personal autonomy of members of minority groups.