bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
System Identification Algorithm Analysis of Acupuncture Effect on Mean Blood Flux of Contralateral Hegu Acupoint
Authors: Wang Guangjun , Han Jianguo , Litscher Gerhard , Zhang Weibo
Published: May 2012

Background. Acupoints (belonging to 12 meridians) which have the same names are symmetrically distributed on the body. It has been proved that acupoints have certain biological specificities different from the normal parts of the body. However, there is little evidence that acupoints which have the same name and are located bilaterally and symmetrically have lateralized specificity. Thus, researching the lateralized specificity and the relationship between left-side and right-side acupuncture is of special importance.Methodology and Principal Findings. The mean blood flux (MBF) in both Hegu acupoints was measured by Moor full-field laser perfusion imager. With the method of system identification algorithm, the output distribution in different groups was acquired, based on different acupoint stimulation and standard signal input. It is demonstrated that after stimulation of the right Hegu acupoint by needle, the output value of MBF in contralateral Hegu acupoint was strongly amplified, while after acupuncturing the left Hegu acupoint, the output value of MBF in either side Hegu acupoint was amplified moderately.Conclusions and Significance. This paper indicates that the Hegu acupoint has lateralized specificity. After stimulating the ipsilateral Hegu acupoint, symmetry breaking will be produced in contrast to contralateral Hegu acupoint stimulation.
Direct Vapor-Phase Bromination of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Mazov Ilya , Krasnikov Dmitry , Stadnichenko Andrey , Kuznetsov Vladimir , Romanenko Anatoly , Anikeeva Olga , Tkachev Evgeniy
Published: May 2012

We present the simple procedure of the vapor-phase bromination of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) at moderate temperatures. MWNTs with average diameter9±3 nm were treated with Br2vapors at 250°C to produce Br-functionalized product. Transmission electron microscopy analysis was used to prove low damage of MWNT walls during bromination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were used to investigate chemical composition of the surface of initial and brominated nanotubes. The experimental results show that the structure of MWNTs is not affected by the bromination process and the total amount of Br-containing surface functions reaches 2.5 wt. %. Electrophysical properties of initial and brominated MWNTs were investigated showing decrease of conductivity for functionalized sample. Possible mechanism of the vapor-phase bromination via surface defects and oxygen-containing functional groups was proposed according to data obtained. Additional experiments with bromination of annealed low-defected MWNTs were performed giving Br content a low as 0.75 wt. % proving this hypothesis.
Astragaloside IV Downregulates β-Catenin in Rat Keratinocytes to Counter LiCl-Induced Inhibition of Proliferation and Migration
Authors: Li Fu-Lun , Li Xin , Wang Yi-Fei , Xiao Xiu-Li , Xu Rong , Chen Jie , Fan Bin , Xu Wen-bin , Geng Lin , Li Bin
Published: May 2012

Re-epithelialization is a crucial step towards wound healing. The traditional Chinese medicine,Astragalus membranaceus(Fisch) Bge, has been used for hundreds of years for many kinds of ulcerated wounds. Recent research has identified the active compound in this drug as astragaloside IV (AS-IV), but the underlying molecular mechanisms of its therapeutic action on keratinocytes remain poorly understood. In this study, we used anin vitromodel of ulcer-like wound processes, lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced cultured mouse keratinocytes, to investigate the effects of AS-IV treatment. The effects on cell proliferation were evaluated by the MTS/PMS colorimetric assay, effects on cell migration were determined by a wound-healing scratch experiment, effects on the cell cycle were analyzed by flow cytometry, and effects on protein expression were analyzed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. LiCl strongly inhibited cell proliferation and migration, up-regulatedβ-catenin expression, and down-regulated proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression. AS-IV treatment attenuat the inhibition of proliferation and migration, significantly reducing the enhancedβ-catenin expression, and recovering PCNA andβ-tubulin expression. Thus, AS-IV mediates mouse keratinocyte proliferation and migrationviaregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway. Down-regulatingβ-catenin to increase keratinocyte migration and proliferation is one mechanism by which AS-IV can promote ulcerated wound healing.
An Air Quality Management System for Policy Support in Cyprus
Authors: Moussiopoulos Nicolas , Douros Ioannis , Tsegas George , Kleanthous Savvas , Chourdakis Eleftherios
Published: May 2012

The recent air quality directive (2008/50/EC) encourages the introduction of modelling as a necessary tool for air quality assessment and management. Towards this aim, an air quality management system (AQMS) has been developed and installed in the Department of Labour Inspection (DLI) of the Republic of Cyprus. The AQMS comprises of two operational modules, providing hourly nowcasting and daily forecasting of the air quality status, implemented as an integrated model system that performs nested grid meteorological and photochemical simulations. A third operational module provides the capability of an interactive configuration of custom emission scenarios and corresponding model runs covering user-defined domains of interest. Statistical indicators are calculated at the end of each day for the measurement locations of DLI's air quality monitoring network. Besides, the system provides an advanced user interface, which is realised as a web-based application providing access to model results from any computer with an internet connection and a web browser.
Power‐Law Properties of Human View and ReplyBehavior in Online Society
Authors: Wu Ye , Ye Qihui , Li Lixiang , Xiao Jinghua
Published: May 2012

Statistical properties of the human comment behavior are studied using data from “Tianya” and “Tieba” which are very popular online social systems (or
forums) in China. We find that both the reply number R and the view number
V of a thread in a subforum obey the power‐law distributions P(R) = Rα and P(V)∝Vβ, respectively, which indicates that there exists a kind of highly popular
topics. These topics should be specially paid much attention, because they play
an important role in the public opinion formation and the public opinion control.
In addition, the relationship between R and V also obeys the power‐law function R∝Vγ. Based on the human comment habit, a model is introduced to explain
the human view and reply behaviors in the forum. Numerical simulations of the
model fit well with the empirical results. Our findings are helpful for discovering
collective patterns of human behaviors and the evolution of public opinions on the
virtual society as well as the real one.
Pollination Requirements and the Foraging Behavior of Potential Pollinators of Cultivated Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsaBonpl.) Trees in Central Amazon Rainforest
Authors: Cavalcante M. C. , Oliveira F. F. , Maués M. M. , Freitas B. M.
Published: May 2012

This study was carried out with cultivated Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsaBonpl., Lecythidaceae) in the Central Amazon rainforest, Brazil, aiming to learn about its pollination requirements, to know the floral visitors of Brazil nut flowers, to investigate their foraging behavior and to determine the main floral visitors of this plant species in commercial plantations. Results showed thatB. excelsais predominantly allogamous, but capable of setting fruits by geitonogamy. Nineteen bee species, belonging to two families, visited and collected nectar and/or pollen throughout the day, although the number of bees decreases steeply after 1000 HR. Only 16, out of the 19 bee species observed, succeeded entering the flower and potentially acted as pollinators. However, due to the abundance, flower frequency and foraging behavior of floral visitors, it was concluded that only the speciesEulaema mocsaryiandXylocopa frontaliscould be considered relevant potential pollinators.
Presentation of the Child with Renal Disease and Guidelines for Referral to the Pediatric Nephrologist
Authors: Barakat Amin J.
Published: May 2012

Renal disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Pediatric patients with renal disease, especially younger ones may present with nonspecific signs and symptoms unrelated to the urinary tract. Pediatricians, therefore, should be familiar with the modes of presentation of renal disease and should have a high index of suspicion of these conditions. Affected patients may present with signs and symptoms of the disease, abnormal urinalysis, urinary tract infection, electrolyte and acid-base abnormalities, decreased renal function, renal involvement in systemic disease, glomerular and renal tubular diseases, congenital abnormalities, and hypertension. Pediatricians may initiate evaluation of renal disease to the extent that they feel comfortable with. The role of the pediatrician in the management of the child with renal disease and guidelines for patient referral to the pediatric nephrologist are presented.
Factors Associated with Survival of Veterans with Gastrointestinal Neuroendocrine Tumors
Authors: Balmadrid Bryan L. , Thomas Catherine M. , Coffman Cynthia J. , Liddle Rodger A. , Fisher Deborah A.
Published: May 2012

Background. Gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumor (NET) incidence has been increasing; however, GI NET within the national Veterans Affairs (VA) health system has not been described.Methods. We used the VA Central Cancer Registry to identify the cohort of patients diagnosed with GI NET in 1995–2009. Cox regression models were constructed to explore factors associated with survival.Results. We included 1793 patients with NET of the stomach (9%), duodenum (10%), small intestine (24%), colon (19%) or rectum (38%). Twenty percent were diagnosed in 1995–1999, 35% in 2000–2004, and 45% in 2005–2009. Unadjusted 5-year survival rates were: stomach 56%, duodenum 66%, small intestine 52%, colon 67%, and rectum 84%. Factors associated with shorter survival were increasing age, hazard ratio (HR) 1.05 (95% CI 1.04–1.06), NET location [compared to rectum: stomach HR 2.26 (95% CI 1.68–3.05), duodenum HR 1.70 (95% CI 1.26–2.28), small intestine HR 1.85 (95% CI 1.42–2.42), and colon 1.83 (95% CI 1.41–2.39)], stage [compared toin situ/local: regional HR 1.15 (95% CI 0.90–1.47), distant HR 2.38 (95% CI 1.87–3.05)], and earlier period of diagnosis [compared to 1995–1999: 2000–2004 HR 0.70 (95% CI 0.59–0.85), 2005–2009 HR 0.43 (95% CI 0.34–0.54)].Conclusions. The incidence of GI NET has also increased over time in the VA system with similar survival rates to those observed in non-VA settings. Worsened survival was associated with older age, tumor site, advanced stage, and earlier year of diagnosis.
Valvular Heart Disease in
Circulation
and the
Circulation
Subspecialty Journals
Authors:   The Editors
Published: May 2012

The following articles are being highlighted as part of
Circulation's
Topic Review series. This series will summarize the most important manuscripts, as selected by the editors, published in
Circulation
and the
Circulation
subspecialty journals. The studies included in this article represent the articles related to valvular heart disease that were published in
Circulation
and the
Circulation
subspecialty journals in 2010 and 2011.
Business Sustainability Embeddedness as a Strategic Imperative
Authors: Valente Mike
Published: May 2012

This article examines the dynamic process through which business sustainability becomes embedded as a strategic imperative of the firm. Using inductive theory building on 15 case studies of companies operating in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Egypt, the author traces an eight-phase process that tracks how firms develop lucrative operational capabilities in response to pervasive contextual issues, how the role of convergent contradiction across the firm and its stakeholders precipitates a shift in thinking, and how firms and their stakeholders collectively theorize to develop complementary capabilities, the product of which enables significant economic and social value creation and firm strategic differentiation.
Electrorheological properties of polyaniline/K-feldspar conducting composite
Authors: Erol Ozlem , Karakisla Meral , Unal H Ibrahim , Sacak Mehmet
Published: May 2012

In this study, synthesis of conducting polyaniline (PAn)/potassium-feldspar (K-feldspar) composites, having various amounts of PAn, was carried out using (NH4)2S2O8 as oxidizing agent. The conducting composites were characterized by a series of techniques namely: Fourier transform–infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, two-probe conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and particle size measurements. For electrorheological (ER) measurements, the conductivities of the composites were reduced by a dedoping process. A series of suspensions were prepared in silicone oil, having various volume fractions, and then subjected to colloidal stability, flow rate, ER and creep-recovery tests. Enhancement in the electric field-induced viscosities and shear thinning non-Newtonian viscoelastic behavior was observed for all the composite materials studied. Recoverable viscoelastic deformations were detected from the creep and creep-recovery tests under externally applied electric field thus; they were classified as smart materials.
Byron and Ottoman love: Orientalism, Europeanization and same-sex sexualities in the early nineteenth-century Levant
Authors: Drucker Peter
Published: May 2012

Byron has been seen as central to a Romantic vision of the Levant, the struggle for Greek independence and an idealization of Greek male love. Yet not much sustained attention has been given to Byron’s same-sex experience with Muslims or to the Ottoman culture of his beloved Greek boys. Byron grasped opportunities for same-sex erotic experience that the Ottoman Empire offered; yet by helping to establish a homogeneous Greek Christian state, he helped magnify the power of the Orthodox clergy that still acts in Greece as a brake on homoeroticism. In helping to Europeanize the Greeks, he helped destroy aspects of the Islamic world that deeply appealed to him. Byron’s Orientalism made him a bridge-builder between East and West; today we should recognize both the patriarchal despotism and the sexual and cultural wealth of the Levant he celebrated and helped destroy.
“Institutional Dimensions of e-Government Development
Authors: Eom Seok-Jin
Published: May 2012

Why do similar e-government initiatives, implemented by different nations but aimed at achieving similar policy goals, produce different outcomes? To answer this question, this study examines institutional arrangements for e-government development during the Bush administration in the United States and the Roh Moo-hyun administration in Korea. The results of this study demonstrate how different institutional arrangements for e-government developments in terms of the concentration of authority based on differing legal frameworks and the development of diverse and powerful managerial tools for control and coordination contributed to producing different outcomes with regard to building Business Reference Models (BRM) in the two nations.
Multiple Marginality
Authors: Harris G. L. A.
Published: May 2012

Achieving diversity in the workplace has become the antidote for what ails many organizations. Specifically for public organizations, although many genuinely pursue diversity to achieve public good, some use diversity for more questionable means. An exploratory study on local governments revealed that women and minorities, relative to White men, are disproportionately assigned to manage diversity programs. Using the research on groups, a theory of multiple marginality was developed to explicate the rationale(s) for these programs’ overrepresentation of women and minorities that further marginalizes these already marginalized groups. The adverse effects, the policy implications, and future research are discussed.
The Problem of Bias in Person Parameter Estimation in Adaptive Testing
Authors: Doebler Anna
Published: May 2012

It is shown that deviations of estimated from true values of item difficulty parameters, caused for example by item calibration errors, the neglect of randomness of item difficulty parameters, testlet effects, or rule-based item generation, can lead to systematic bias in point estimation of person parameters in the context of adaptive testing. This effect occurs even when the errors of the item difficulty parameters are themselves unbiased. Analytical calculations as well as simulation studies are discussed.
Weighted Maximum-a-Posteriori Estimation in Tests Composed of Dichotomous and Polytomous Items
Authors: Sun Shan-Shan , Tao Jian , Chang Hua-Hua , Shi Ning-Zhong
Published: May 2012

For mixed-type tests composed of dichotomous and polytomous items, polytomous items often yield more information than dichotomous items. To reflect the difference between the two types of items and to improve the precision of ability estimation, an adaptive weighted maximum-a-posteriori (WMAP) estimation is proposed. To evaluate the performance of WMAP, a Monte Carlo simulation comparison is presented with maximum likelihood estimation, maximum-a-posteriori estimation, and Jeffreys modal estimation. Simulation results show that the proposed method is much less biased than any of the other estimators, with relatively smaller standard errors and root mean square errors.
Working with the homeless: The case of a non-profit organisation in Shanghai
Authors: Zhang Heather Xiaoquan , McWhinney Jimmy
Published: May 2012

This article addresses a two-pronged objective, namely to bring to the fore a much neglected social issue of homelessness, and to explore the dynamics of state-society relations in contemporary China, through a case study of a non-profit organisation (NPO) working with the homeless in Shanghai. It shows that the largely invisible homelessness in Chinese cities was substantially due to exclusionary institutions, such as the combined household registration and ‘detention and deportation’ systems. Official policy has become much more supportive since 2003 when the latter was replaced with government-run shelters, but we argue that the NPO case demonstrates the potential for enhanced longer-term support and enabling active citizenship for homeless people. By analysing the ways in which the NPO offers services through collaboration and partnership with the public (and private) actors, we also argue that the transformations in post-reform China and the changes within the state and civil society have significantly blurred their boundaries, rendering state-society relations much more complex, dynamic, fluid and mutually embedded.
Rural resilience through continued learning and innovation
Authors: Glover Jane
Published: May 2012

The article investigates how rural businesses demonstrate resilience when faced with adversities and the processes they utilise to survive. The work explores rural resilience through the use of learning and innovation in small rural enterprises. Drawing on case study work from rural England the results indicate that individual businesses find ways to overcome adversities and, through learning how to cope with them, create a resilient culture. Individuals businesses use various resources, and in some cases innovate, in order to continue business operations during difficult times. Continual learning becomes an important aspect of incremental innovations which are required merely for the business to survive. The work is timely as many small enterprises face difficulties in the wake of instability in the economic world.
High-growth firms: A new policy paradigm or a need for caution?
Authors: Derbyshire James
Published: May 2012

UK enterprise policy is going through a period of relative hiatus and reflection, offering an opportune time to consider its possible future direction. One shift in the policy focus could be from an emphasis on start-up to the support of firms with high-growth potential. This short paper suggests some reasons for caution when considering such a refocusing of policy.
Uplifting small towns in post-apartheid South Africa: The experience of the Amathole Regional Economic Development Agency (Aspire)
Authors: McKibbin James , Binns Tony , Nel Etienne
Published: May 2012

In recent decades regional development around the world has adopted new operational foci. This article explores how Aspire, the Regional Economic Development Agency in the Amathole region of South Africa, is seeking to define a role and focus for itself through an explicit endeavour to promote regional development through a unique small town focus. Interventions are geared to respond to both market forces and endogenous needs and opportunities. In the South African context the Agency’s work is regarded with much interest for its potential to serve as a role model for future regional development strategies. The article considers Aspire’s operational foci and current interventions, with particular focus on two small towns.
Public libraries in Africa – agents for development and innovation?
Authors: Elbert Monika , Fuegi David , Lipeikaite Ugne
Published: May 2012

This paper presents a methodology and preliminary results of a study to research perceptions of stakeholders and the public towards public libraries in six African countries. The study is closely linked with the EIFL Public Library Innovation Program, which awards grants to public libraries globally to address a range of socio-economic issues facing their communities, including projects in Kenya, Ghana and Zambia. The goal of the study is to understand the perceptions of national and local stakeholders (municipalities, ministries, public agencies, media, etc.) and the public (including non-users) in public libraries in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe about the potential of public libraries and to understand how these stakeholders could best be positively influenced to create, fund, support or to use public libraries. As far as it is known, surveys of this kind have not been done in African countries so the paper acquaints the audience with the field, which has not been explored, and provides background for increased library advocacy in Africa.
The information needs and information-seeking behaviour of rural dwellers
Authors: Islam Md. Shariful , Ahmed S.M. Zabed
Published: May 2012

Reviews research studies on the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of rural dwellers in developed and developing countries. The analysis suggests that the information needs of rural communities from all countries are very similar, although rural communities they do vary from region to region and from country to country depending on socio-economic conditions. These needs are mostly related to the daily life of rural dwellers.
Multiple MDMA (Ecstasy) Overdoses at a Rave Event
Authors: Armenian Patil , Mamantov Tanya M. , Tsutaoka Ben T. , Gerona Roy R. L. , Silman Eric F. , Wu Alan H. B. , Olson Kent R.
Published: May 2012

Twelve patients with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) toxicity from a single rave event presented to multiple San Francisco Bay area hospitals with various life-threatening complications including seizures and hyperthermia. Eight required emergent endotracheal intubation and six had hypotension. Hyperkalemia, acute kidney injury, and rhabdomyolysis were present in most of the patients. In all, 2 patients died, 4 survived with permanent neurologic, musculoskeletal, and/or renal sequelae, and 6 survived without any apparent lasting deficits. Hyperthermia was present in 10 patients and was severe (40.9-43° C) in 7. Using multiple cooling methods, the average time to achieve cooling was 2.7 hours. Serum drug analysis was performed on 3 patients, demonstrating toxic MDMA concentrations without the presence of other xenobiotics. Two capsules confiscated by police at the event contained 82% and 98% MDMA, respectively, without other pharmacologically active compounds. Capsule #2 contained 270 mg MDMA, which is more than twice the amount of MDMA usually contained in 1 dose. The MDMA-induced hyperthermia significantly contributed to the morbidity and mortality in this case series. Factors contributing to the severity of the hyperthermia include ingestion of large doses of MDMA, a warm ambient environment, and physical exertion.
Analytical study of stationary temperature field in transpiration cooled porous wall
Authors: Zhukov Victor P , Haidn Oskar J
Published: May 2012

A one-dimensional heat conduction problem in a porous wall with a cooling fluid was considered theoretically. The case related to the porous injector head of rocket engine, where the heat flux is directed toward a coolant flow, was studied. The equations for the temperatures of permeable media and coolant were solved analytically. Using reasonable assumptions the equation system was simplified and the order of equations was reduced. The margins, where the used assumptions are valid, were defined. The solution is expressed in hyperbolic functions and shows that the flow of coolant leads to the increase in the temperature gradient near the hot side of porous wall. The expressions for the temperatures of wall and coolant at hot-gas-side wall are given. The thickness of wall, at which the temperature of the hot wall is independent on the wall thickness, was found.
Memory Disorders in Children With Central Nervous System Germ Cell Tumors
Authors: Wilkening Greta N. , Madden Jennifer R.
Published: May 2012

Memory disorders in children and adolescents with brain tumors are rare, but devastating to social, academic, and vocational development. Many pediatric patients with intracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) complain of memory difficulties. This study investigated memory across a series of GCT patients. A total of 33 GCT patients were retrospectively examined for diagnosis, imaging results, intelligence quotient, treatment variables, evidence of increased intracranial pressure at diagnosis, and memory. The incidence of amnesia in GCT patients was 55%. Memory disturbance could not be predicted by intelligence quotient, treatment, location of lesion, or hydrocephalus at diagnosis. The high incidence of memory deficits in GCT patients suggests a risk to memory in patients with GCT. Formal memory assessment should be considered in all patients with central nervous system GCTs. Specific counseling and planning to assist in adjustment and to ensure safety should be considered standard care for those with memory deficits. The nurse should be instrumental in facilitating understanding of this specific injury in the brain tumor population.
Body Perceptions and Health Behaviors in an Online Bodybuilding Community
Authors: Smith Aaron C. T. , Stewart Bob
Published: May 2012

In this article we explore the social constructions, body perceptions, and health experiences of a serious recreational and competitive bodybuilder and powerlifter community. Data were obtained from a discussion forum appearing within an online community dedicated to muscular development. Forum postings for a period of 36 months were transposed to QSR NVivo, in which a narrative-based analytical method employing Gee’s coding approach was employed. We used a priori codes based on Bourdieu’s multipronged conceptual categories of social field, habitus, and capital accumulation as a theoretical frame. Our results expose an extreme social reality held by a devoted muscle-building community with a fanatical obsession with muscular hypertrophy and any accouterment helpful in its acquisition, from nutrition and supplements to training regimes and anabolic androgenic substances. Few health costs were considered too severe in this muscular meritocracy, where the strong commanded deference and the massive dominated the social field.
Factors Associated With Inconsistent Sun Protection in First-Degree Relatives of Melanoma Survivors
Authors: Shuk Elyse , Burkhalter Jack E. , Baguer Carlos F. , Holland Susan M. , Pinkhasik Alisa , Brady Mary Sue , Coit Daniel G. , Ariyan Charlotte E. , Hay Jennifer L.
Published: May 2012

First-degree relatives (FDRs) of melanoma survivors are at heightened risk for developing melanoma, but use sun protection inconsistently. To develop appropriate interventions, in this article we identify factors related to sun protection inconsistency in melanoma FDRs using ethnographic decision tree modeling. We conducted in-home interviews with 25 melanoma FDRs balanced across gender and sunbathing attitudes and identified factors related to daily decision making about use of sunscreen, shade seeking, hats, and clothing. Results indicated primary facilitators for sun protection involved water settings and sunny weather. Physical activities such as exercise served to promote as well as inhibit sun protection. If participants anticipated shade cover, they tended to forgo other sun protection. The use of hats and clothing was often dictated by nonsun-protection goals. Understanding factors related to inconsistent sun protection with detail and nuance is an important prerequisite to interventions aimed to improve sun-protection maintenance in this population.
African American and Non-African American Patients’ and Families’ Decision Making About Renal Replacement Therapies
Authors: Sheu Johanna , Ephraim Patti L. , Powe Neil R. , Rabb Hamid , Senga Mikiko , Evans Kira E. , Jaar Bernard G. , Crews Deidra C. , Greer Raquel C. , Boulware L. Ebony
Published: May 2012

We conducted focus group meetings of African American and non-African American patients with end-stage renal disease (six groups) and their family members (six groups), stratified by race/ethnicity and treatment. We elicited differences in participants’ experiences with shared decision making about initiating renal replacement therapy (RRT; that is, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, or a kidney transplant). Patients were often very sick when initiating RRT, and had little, if any, time to make a decision about what type of RRT to initiate. They also lacked sufficient information about alternative treatment options prior to initiation. Family members played supportive roles and shared in decision making when possible. Reports were similar for African American and non-African American participants. Our findings suggest that a greater emphasis on the improved engagement of patients and their families in shared decision making about RRT initiation is needed for both ethnic/racial minorities and nonminorities.
Caring for a Parent with Lung Cancer
Authors: Stone Anne M. , Mikucki-Enyart Sylvia , Middleton Ashley , Caughlin John P. , Brown Laura E.
Published: May 2012

We investigated communication and care in the context of lung cancer through qualitative interviews with 35 adult children. Participants described two core influences on communication: situational and relational influences. Participants also suggested that the ways in which support was communicated impacted how they managed challenges and how they were able to cope with the loss of their parent. This research adds to the literature on caregiving and communicating social support by exploring the experiences of families coping with lung cancer. We suggest theoretical and practical implications for the ways family members might communicate about illness.
Community Forestry, Common Property, and Deforestation in Eight Mexican States
Authors: Barsimantov James , Kendall Jake
Published: May 2012

Community management of forests for timber extraction has been widely implemented in Mexico. In this article, we investigate the relationship between property rights, community forestry, and deforestation over time. We conduct an econometric analysis of land use change at the municipality level in eight Mexican states that incorporates several variables commonly used in deforestation models plus variables on common property and community forestry. Our results show that both key explanatory variables, common property and community forestry, are related to lower deforestation. Coniferous forests, which have more marketable timber, show a stronger association, indicating that common property management may work by increasing the market value of the standing forest, thus building local consensus for timber management by distributing returns. The measured effects of common property and community forestry on deforestation rates are both statistically significant and large enough to confirm community forestry’s usefulness as an environmental policy tool.
Propagation of Rayleigh waves in magneto-thermo-elastic half-space of a homogeneous orthotropic material under the effect of rotation, initial stress and gravity field
Authors: Abd-Alla AM , Abo-Dahab SM , Bayones FS
Published: May 2012

The propagation of magneto-thermoelastic plane waves in an initially stressed, homogeneous orthotropic, conducting half-space under a magnetic field, rotation and gravity field have been investigated. The generalized theory of thermoelasticity is employed, by assuming the mechanical behavior as dynamic, to study the problem. The Lame’s potential is used to obtain the frequency equation that determines the velocity of Rayleigh waves that obtained as a real part and the attenuation coefficient as an imaginary part under the rotation, magnetic field, initial stress and gravity field. Numerical results have been given and illustrated graphically for each case considered. Dispersion curves of wave propagation are represented graphically in different theories of thermoelasticity. The results indicate that the effect of rotation, initial stress and gravity field are very pronounced. Comparison is made with the results predicted by the theory of thermoelasticity in the absence of rotation, initial stress and gravity field.
Experimental impact damage study of a z-pinned foam core sandwich composite
Authors: Nanayakkara Asintha , Feih Stefanie , Mouritz Adrian P
Published: May 2012

This paper assesses the impact damage and post-impact compression properties of a foam core sandwich composite reinforced with through-thickness z-pins. Low-speed flat-wise compression tests performed on the sandwich composite revealed that z-pins improved the elastic modulus, crush strength and absorbed energy capacity (by 260–300%). However, these property improvements do not necessarily translate into a reduction in the amount of damage suffered by the z-pinned sandwich composite under localised (point) impact loading. There was no reduction to the impact damage area or an improvement to the post-impact compression properties of the z-pinned sandwich composite at low-impact energies (when damage was confined to the impacted face skin). Z-pins were only marginally effective at reducing the impact damage when the impact energy was high enough to cause core crushing. Z-pins absorbed high-impact energy via splitting, microbuckling and fragmentation during core crushing which reduced slightly the amount of impact damage to the sandwich composite. However, this did not cause a significant improvement to the post-impact compressive stiffness and strength for most energy levels.
Theology, accountability and management: Exploring the contributions of Scottish Presbyterianism
Authors: Mutch Alistair
Published: May 2012

This article traces the development of practices of accountability in the Scottish Presbyterian church from its origins in the 16th century. Such practices are shown to have theological roots, but to be mediated by liturgical and governance practices which, once routine and taken for granted, become available as resources in the economic domain. The influence, in particular, on the early development of managerial thought in the United States is suggested. The treatment suggests the importance of taking a historical approach to the development of core concepts in organizations.
Theology and organization
Authors: Sørensen Bent Meier , Spoelstra Sverre , Höpfl Heather , Critchley Simon
Published: May 2012

This Introduction argues for the importance of theology for the study of organization. It also draws the contours of a possible ‘theology of organization’. Theology of organization, as we use it here, does not refer to a study of organization that is rooted in faith, nor does it refer to a study of religious practices in organizations. Instead, theology of organization recognizes that the way we think about and act in organizations is profoundly structured by theological concepts. In this editorial to the special issue we have three aims: to outline what theology of organization is, to show how it builds upon Carl Schmitt’s ‘political theology’ and Giorgio Agamben’s ‘economic theology’ and finally to propose three different forms that theology of organization can take. These forms of theology of organization respectively (1) analyse organizational concepts as secularized theological concepts, (2) show how theological concepts have survived unaltered in organizational contexts and (3) show how theological concepts have been corrupted or lost their original meaning when deployed in organizational contexts. In the final section of this editorial, we introduce the five contributions to this issue and indicate how they connect to the three forms of theology of organization that we have proposed.
Argentina’s former secret detention centres: Between demolition, modification and preservation
Authors: Hidalgo Emilse B
Published: May 2012

This article addresses the architectural debates surrounding three Argentinian memory museums: the Rosario Memory Museum, the People’s Memory Centre ( El Pozo) and ESMA (Navy School of Mechanics). The sites of these museums were used as secret centres of illegal detention, torture and death during the last military dictatorship in Argentina, known as the Process of National Reorganization (1976–1983). The author first examines the specific symbolic dimension of secret detention centres as the material spatial embodiment of the terrorist state. The sites are then discussed in terms of their preservation, modification or destruction as the proposals advanced by the various human rights groups are compared. She argues that the debates surrounding sites like these tend to be a consequence of larger political and social tensions in the public sphere, and that, as sources of conflicting national collective memories, they may be seen as offering alternative spaces to those created by globalization and neoliberalism.
Cod, curtains, planes and experts: Relational materialities in the museum
Authors: Maurstad Anita
Published: May 2012

Museums are sites where people encounter material objects. This article examines object and subject entanglements that take place at a university museum in northern Norway, and illustrates how objects shift identities as they interact with subjects and how subjects are also affected by the encounter. A relational materialities perspective, which demonstrates how object identity is related to the subject it engages with, allows multiple versions of objects to appear. Working as a certified expert in the university museum, the author aims to address the quandary over future museum collection policies. She argues that collection policies are not only about what to select but also who makes the selection decisions, and the perspectives associated with such choices. If museum collections are based on expert relationships to objects, the quality of the expert needs further investigation.
Of gifts and grandchildren: American Holy Land souvenirs
Authors: Kaell Hillary
Published: May 2012

Despite significant scholarship in anthropology and tourism studies related respectively to gifts and souvenirs, little is known about why and to whom people give souvenir gifts. Using an American case study, this article shows how Holy Land pilgrimage and its attendant gift-giving are a crucial way that older women navigate tensions specific to the consumer culture and religious patterns of the 21st-century US. By giving souvenirs, pilgrims uphold the importance of individuality (as consumers and as believers), while also fulfilling what they believe is their special responsibility to bolster collective faith, particularly amongst networks of female friends and family. Crucial in this endeavor is how pilgrims negotiate the fluid line between commodity and religious object. Sometimes they imbue these commercial objects with divine presence, thereby creating powerful tools for asserting ‘soft’ authority at home. At other times, they present religious souvenirs as commodities, downplaying their spiritual value in order to circumvent rejection.
Materiality, social roles and the senses: Domestic landscape and social identity in the estâncias of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Authors: Rahmeier Clarissa Sanfelice
Published: May 2012

This article provides a multisensory approach to the past and suggests new possibilities for assessing history through the senses. Using a phenomenological approach, the author analyses how the domestic space of Southern Brazilian estâncias, ranches dedicated to livestock farming, dynamically influenced the social identities of their inhabitants in the 19th century. She argues that what people saw, heard, smelt, touched and tasted in their daily lives, as well as the intensity and frequency of these sensory experiences, was dependent not simply on their own bodily capability as human beings, but also on their social status. The article also explores how the rancher’s house, the slave quarters and the barn, the three buildings that constituted the estância’s core complex, influenced the development of particular body routines and the creation and reproduction of particular somatic spaces. The methodology presented here invites a sensorial exploration of historical sites, contributing to a more humanised account of the relationship between individuals and things.
Holloway, La Boétie, Hegel
Authors: Gunn Richard , Wilding Adrian
Published: May 2012

The article presents a comradely critique of John Holloway’s Crack Capitalism, one which endorses Holloway’s notion of grassroots revolution but which raises questions about his discussion’s conceptual basis. In particular, Holloway’s reliance on Étienne de La Boétie’s Discourse on Voluntary Servitude is found wanting, whereas strands of thought concerning ‘contradiction’ in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit are held to provide a more adequate foundation. Hegel, it is argued, not merely accounts for the possibility and necessity of revolutionary transformation; his account of the French Revolution in relation to the theme of ‘recognition’ indicates how revolution may be understood in a ground-up or grassroots sense.
Can prefigurative politics prevail? The implications for movement strategy in John Holloway’s Crack Capitalism
Authors: Young Kevin , Schwartz Michael
Published: May 2012

The desire to overcome the alienated labor of capitalism manifests itself in the daily actions of people everywhere. John Holloway argues that social movements must build upon this liberatory impulse, challenging not only the rate of exploitation but also workers’ loss of control over the process of production and allocation (and, by implication, the loss of control in other arenas of life). Revolutionary change, in turn, will result from these movements creating thousands of ‘cracks’ in the capitalist system by asserting alternative ways of living. Holloway’s argument for prefigurative movements is ambiguous on several points, however: the role of political organizations, the role of alternative institutions, and the appropriate approach of social movements to the state. We propose some friendly amendments, placing greater emphasis on the need for strong political organizations and counter-institutions, but also for selective engagement with dominant institutions. A revolutionary strategy must combine the construction of prefigurative counter-institutions with struggles for reform of existing structures. Yet the dangers of oligarchization and hierarchy within movements are very real, and thus there is a need for structures that are ruthlessly democratic and ideologies that are explicitly intersectional in their approach to fighting different forms of oppression.
Revolution and detotalization: An approach to John Holloway’s Crack Capitalism
Authors: Tischler Sergio
Published: May 2012

This article proposes a reading of Crack Capitalism which evolves around two categories that are conceptually transformed by the book’s author, namely: everyday life and revolutionary subject. The conceptual axis of this transformation is detotalization. As a result, the concepts of revolution and revolutionary subject, linked to that of the production of a new totality in the classic conception, are substituted by the notion of a process which goes against-and-beyond totality: that is, of a struggle for the detotalization of social relations.
Let us change the world without taking power violently
Authors: Foran John
Published: May 2012

Written in the form of a letter to a comrade, this text presents a political balance sheet on the work of John Holloway on radical social change. The strength of his work lies in its acute insight into the psychology of subjects resisting capitalism, the expansion of the concept of political agency to embrace myriad forms of everyday ‘breaks’ from capitalism’s systemic grip, and the poetic prose that graces Holloway’s major works, Change the World without Taking Power and Crack Capitalism. Points of critique include the difficulty and thus limited utility of the arguments that provide the foundation for these insights, the constraints posed by staying within the theoretical universe of Marxism, and the determined refusal of all forms of engagement with the state. The author argues that the forms taken by radical social change in the twenty-first century are more varied than Holloway’s major works suggest, and that, in particular, nonviolent social movements such as Latin America’s Pink Tide and the Arab Spring help us imagine multiple paths to radical social change today.
Growth characteristics of θ-Al2O3 crystallites
Authors: Yen Fu-Su , Yu Pei-Ching , Yang Rung-Je , Yen SC Max
Published: May 2012

The growth characteristics of θ-Al2O3 crystallites in θ-Al2O3 powder systems with sizes <25 nm were examined. Two θ-Al2O3 powders, with mean particle sizes of 12.0 and 20.4 nm, and their mixtures at various weight ratios were homogenized and fabricated into compacts, representing powder systems with various mean sizes and packing densities. The growth characteristics of these powder systems were then examined in the compacts using X-ray diffracion, transmission electron microscopy, differential thermal analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller adsorption techniques. It was found that the θ-Al2O3 crystallites in the powder system were coarsened by the coalescence of θ-crystallites of similar sizes. Powder systems, even with different mean sizes, exhibited similar growth rates that could be expressed by the reduction of their surface area per unit volume per time. The smaller crystallites initiated growth by coalescence at lower temperatures, while the larger crystallites maintained their sizes until the smaller ones reached their size; then, both grew simultaneously. Thus, it is possible for a powder system ultimately to develop θ–crystallites of similar size that lead to a simultaneous θ-to-α-Al2O3 phase transformation during thermal treatment. The increase in the packing density of the powder systems caused θ-crystallite growth to begin at lower temperatures.