bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Safety and Efficacy of Tree Pollen Specific Immunotherapy on the Ultrarush Administration Schedule Method Using Purethal Trees
Authors: Bozek Andrzej , Kolodziejczyk Krzysztof , Jarzab Jerzy
Published: March 2014

Background. Specific immunotherapy (SIT) with an ultrarush administration schedule with Purethal for tree pollen allergens has been evaluated to assess its efficacy and safety.Methods. The study group consisted of 22 patients with symptoms of allergic rhinitis and confirmed allergy to tree pollens. Patients were randomized and given an administration schedule of either ultrarush therapy or conventional preseasonal SIT. Treatment was performed during three consecutive years.Results. After three years of treatment, a similar reduction in nasal symptoms was observed; according to the visual analog scale, there was a decrease from 3.991 ± 0.804 points to 1.634 ± 0.540 in the ultrarush group and from 3.845 ± 0.265 to 1.501 ± 0.418 in the group desensitized using the conventional method (P>0.05). There was also a comparable reduction in the use of relief drugs during pollen season and an increase in the serum concentration of IgG4 to tree pollens. No significant differences in the safety profile were observed.Conclusion. An administration schedule of ultrarush SIT with Purethal Trees is a safe treatment in preliminary observations. This therapy is comparable with conventional administration of SIT in the field of efficacy and safety.
Anodic Dissolution of API X70 Pipeline Steel in Arabian Gulf Seawater after Different Exposure Intervals
Authors: Sherif El-Sayed M. , Almajid Abdulhakim A.
Published: March 2014

The anodic dissolution of API X70 pipeline steel in Arabian Gulf seawater (AGSW) was investigated using open-circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP), and current-time measurements. The electrochemical experiments revealed that the X70 pipeline steel suffers both general and pitting corrosion in the AGSW solution. It was found that the general corrosion decreases as a result of decreasing the corrosion current density (jcorr), corrosion rate (Rcorr) and absolute currents as well as the increase of polarization resistance of X70 with increasing the exposure time. On the other hand, the pitting corrosion was found to increase with increasing the immersion time. This was confirmed by the increase of current with time and by the SEM images that were obtained on the steel surface after 20 h immersion before applying an amount of 0–.35 V versus Ag/AgCl for 1 h.
Algebraic Type Approximation to the Blasius Velocity Profile
Authors: Yun Beong In
Published: March 2014

For the Blasius velocity profile we propose a simple algebraic type approximate function which is uniformly accurate over the whole region. Moreover, for further improvement a correction method based on a weight function is introduced. The availability of the proposed method is shown by the result of numerical experiments.
Obstetric Patients Requiring Intensive Care: A One Year Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Care Institute in India
Authors: Ashraf Niyaz , Mishra Sandeep Kumar , Kundra Pankaj , Veena P. , Soundaraghavan S. , Habeebullah S.
Published: March 2014

Background and Objectives.Critically ill obstetric patients are a particularly unique cohort for the intensivist. The objective of this study was to review the indications for admission, demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of obstetric patients admitted to intensive care unit of a medical college hospital in southern India and to identify conditions associated with maternal mortality.Design.Retrospective analysis of pregnant/postpartum (up to 6 weeks) admissions over a 1-year result. We studied 55 patients constituting 11.6% of mixed ICU admissions during the study period.Results.The mean APACHE (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation) II score of patients at admission was 11.8. Most of the patients (76%) were admitted in the antepartum period. The commonest indications for ICU admission were obstetric haemorrhage (51%) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (18%). 85% of patients required mechanical ventilation and 78% required inotropic support.Conclusions.Maternal mortality was 13%, and the majority of the deaths were due to disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiorgan failure, following an obstetric haemorrhage. A dedicated obstetric ICU in tertiary hospitals can ensure that there is no delay in patient management and intensive care can be instituted at the earliest.
Kinematics Analysis of a Novel Five-Degree-of-Freedom Spatial Parallel Micromanipulator
Authors: Prusak Daniel , Kobus Konrad , Karpiel Grzegorz
Published: March 2014

A study of the inverse kinematics for a five-degree-of-freedom (DOF) spatial parallel micromanipulator is presented here below. The objective of this paper is the introduction of a structural and geometrical model of a novel five-degree-of-freedom spatial parallel micromanipulator, analysis of the effective and useful workspace of the micromechanism, presentation of the obtained analytical solutions of the microrobot’s inverse kinematics tasks, and verification of its correctness using selected computer programs and computation environments. The mathematical model presented in this paper describes the behaviour of individual elements for the applied 2-DOF novel piezoelectric actuator, resulting from the position and orientation of the microrobot’s moving platform.
Polyvinyl chloride Waste as an Adsorbent for the Sorption ofPb2+from Aqueous Solution
Authors: Wankasi Donbebe , Dikio Ezekiel Dixon
Published: March 2014

The sorption of Pb2+from solution by polyvinyl chloride waste was investigated. The morphological features of the polymer sample were studied using the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic batch adsorption experiments were carried out by the concentration, time, and temperature effects, respectively. The morphological image of the polymer showed irregular small size particles which indicated a high surface area and porosity that facilitated sorption. The adsorption studies recorded relatively rapid uptake of Pb2+by the polymer which was mainly diffusion controlled and followed a second order kinetic process. The thermodynamic studies suggested relatively low temperature (low energy) favoured sorption which was exothermic with a physisorption mechanism.
Improvement the Activity and Selectivity of Fenton System in the Oxidation of Alcohols
Authors: Yang Guoqiang , Lin Qiuxing , Hu Xingbang , Wu Youting , Zhang Zhibing
Published: March 2014

The reactivity and selectivity of Fenton system (Fe2+/H2O2) were improved with N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) as cocatalyst. The oxidation process of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde has been studied. The reaction catalyzed by this new Fe2+/H2O2/NHPI system can be well performed under room temperature without adding any organic solvent. Besides, this catalyst system is effective for the oxidation of different alcohols.
Dynamics of a Stochastic Functional System for Wastewater Treatment
Authors: Ji Xuehui , Yuan Sanling
Published: March 2014

The dynamics of a delayed stochastic model simulating wastewater treatment process are studied. We assume that there are stochastic fluctuations in the concentrations of the nutrient and microbes around a steady state, and introduce two distributed delays to the model describing, respectively, the times involved in nutrient recycling and the bacterial reproduction response to nutrient uptake. By constructing Lyapunov functionals, sufficient conditions for the stochastic stability of its positive equilibrium are obtained. The combined effects of the stochastic fluctuations and delays are displayed.
Fabrication of Core‐Shell Structural SiO2@H3[PM12O40] Material and Its Catalytic Activity
Authors: Yang Xin , Wang Junhai , Zhang Qi , Wang Xu , Xu Linlin , Wu Hongbo , Jiang Xuee , Chai Fang
Published: March 2014

Through a natural tree grain template and sol‐gel technology, the heterogeneous catalytic materials based on polyoxometalate compounds H3[PM12O40] encapsulating SiO2: SiO2@H3[PM12O40] (SiO2@PM12, M = W, Mo) with core‐shell structure had been prepared. The structure and morphology of the core‐shell microspheres were characterized by the XRD, IR spectroscopy, UV‐Vis absorbance, and SEM. These microsphere materials can be used as heterogeneous catalysts with high activity and stability for catalytic wet air oxidation of pollutant dyes safranine T (ST) at room condition. The results show that the catalysts have excellent catalytic activity in treatment of wastewater containing 10 mg/L ST, and 94% of color can be removed within 60 min. Under different cycling runs, it is shown that the catalysts are stable under such operating conditions and the leaching tests show negligible leaching effect owing to the lesser dissolution.
On an Inverse Boundary Value Problem for a Fourth Order Elliptic Equation with Integral Condition
Authors: Mehraliyev Yashar T.
Published: March 2014

An inverse boundary value problem for a fourth order elliptic equation is investigated. At first the initial problem is reduced to the equivalent problem for which the existence and uniqueness theorem of the solution is proved. Further, using these facts, the existence and uniqueness of the classic solution of the initial problem are proved.
A New Finite-Time Bounded Control of Stochastic Itô Systems with (x,u,v)-Dependent Noise: Different Quadratic Function Approach
Authors: Yan Zhiguo , Lin Zhongwei
Published: March 2014

This paper addresses the finite-time bounded control problem of linear stochastic systems with state, control input, and external disturbance-dependent noise ((x,u,v)-dependent noise for short). The notion of finite-time boundedness of linear stochastic systems is first introduced. Then a different quadratic function approach is proposed to give a sufficient condition for finite-time boundedness of such a class of systems, and its superiority to common quadratic approach is shown. Moreover, the finite-time bounded controller design problem is studied and two sufficient conditions for the existence of state and output feedback controllers are presented in terms of nonlinear matrix inequalities. An algorithm is given for solving the obtained nonlinear matrix inequalities. Finally, an example is employed to illustrate the effectiveness of our obtained results.
Adaptive Backstepping Controller Design for Leveling Control of an Underwater Platform Based on Joint Space
Authors: Zeng Zhi-Lin , Xu Guo-Hua , Zhao Yin , Xie Fei
Published: March 2014

This paper focuses on high precision leveling control of an underwater heavy load platform, which is viewed as an underwater parallel robot on the basis of its work pattern. The kinematic of platform with deformation is analyzed and the dynamics model of joint space is established. An adaptive backstepping controller according to Lyapunov's function is proposed for leveling control of platform based on joint space. Furthermore, the “lowest point fixed angle error” leveling scheme called “chase” is chosen for leveling control of platform. The digital simulation and practical experiment of single joint space actuator are carried out, and the results show high precision servo control of joint space. On the basis of this, the platform leveling control simulation relies on the hardware-in-loop system. The results indicate that the proposed controller can effectively restrain the influence from system parameter uncertainties and external disturbance to realize high precision leveling control of the underwater platform.
Emergence, Involution, and Progression to Carcinoma of Mutant Clones in Normal Endometrial Tissues
Authors: Mutter George L. , Monte Nicolas M. , Neuberg Donna , Ferenczy Alex , Eng Charis
Published: March 2014

Sporadic somatic inactivation of genes such as PTEN within histologically normal endometrium (latent precancers) is an early step in endometrial carcinogenesis. We have used clone-specific mutations of PTEN to determine the fate of latent precancers over time in women who do (high risk) and do not (low risk) develop endometrial neoplasia. PTEN immunohistochemistry was performed on 45 occurrences of endometrial neoplasia and their paired antecedent benign biopsies, along with age matched sample pairs from 167 patients who did not develop a neoplasm. When PTEN-deficient cells were present at both time points, DNA sequencing was performed to determine whether they were single or multiple independent events. Loss of PTEN protein in isolated glands was common in the initial normal biopsies of high- and low-risk groups (42% and 27%, respectively, P = 0.066). Protein-deficient glands have a tendency to disappear over time in low-risk women (P = 0.047) and, even when “persistent,” are infrequently (19%, 3/16) confirmed to be the same clone. Similarly, only a small proportion (6.7%, 1/15) of latent precancers seen in high-risk women are the direct progenitors of subsequent neoplasia. There is a high rate of latent precancer turnover in both low- and high-risk patients, with rare long-term persistence of unique clones, which may or may not progress to a histologic lesion. The temporal dynamics of clonal emergence, persistence, and involution are sufficiently complex that in the individual patient, the presence of a latent precancer has an unknown contribution to long-term cancer risk. Cancer Res; 74(10); 2796–802. ©2014 AACR.
Lower NIH Stroke Scale Scores Are Required to Accurately Predict a Good Prognosis in Posterior Circulation Stroke
Authors: Inoa Violiza , Aron Abraham W. , Staff Ilene , Fortunato Gilbert , Sansing Lauren H.
Published: March 2014

Background: The NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) is an indispensable tool that aids in the determination of acute stroke prognosis and decision making. Patients with posterior circulation (PC) strokes often present with lower NIHSS scores, which may result in the withholding of thrombolytic treatment from these patients. However, whether these lower initial NIHSS scores predict better long-term prognoses is uncertain. We aimed to assess the utility of the NIHSS at presentation for predicting the functional outcome at 3 months in anterior circulation (AC) versus PC strokes. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of a large prospectively collected database of adults with acute ischemic stroke. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with outcome. Additional analyses were performed to determine the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for NIHSS scores and outcomes in AC and PC infarctions. Both the optimal cutoffs for maximal diagnostic accuracy and the cutoffs to obtain >80% sensitivity for poor outcomes were determined in AC and PC strokes. Results: The analysis included 1,197 patients with AC stroke and 372 with PC stroke. The median initial NIHSS score for patients with AC strokes was 7 and for PC strokes it was 2. The majority (71%) of PC stroke patients had baseline NIHSS scores ≤4, and 15% of these ‘minor' stroke patients had a poor outcome at 3 months. ROC analysis identified that the optimal NIHSS cutoff for outcome prediction after infarction in the AC was 8 and for infarction in the PC it was 4. To achieve >80% sensitivity for detecting patients with a subsequent poor outcome, the NIHSS cutoff for infarctions in the AC was 4 and for infarctions in the PC it was 2. Conclusion: The NIHSS cutoff that most accurately predicts outcomes is 4 points higher in AC compared to PC infarctions. There is potential for poor outcomes in patients with PC strokes and low NIHSS scores, suggesting that thrombolytic treatment should not be withheld from these patients based solely on the NIHSS.
Novel Molecular Aspects of Ghrelin and Leptin in the Control of Adipobiology and the Cardiovascular System
Authors: Rodríguez Amaia
Published: March 2014

Ghrelin and leptin show opposite effects on energy balance. Ghrelin constitutes a gut hormone that is secreted to the bloodstream in two major forms, acylated and desacyl ghrelin. The isoforms of ghrelin not only promote adiposity by the activation of hypothalamic orexigenic neurons but also directly stimulate the expression of several fat storage-related proteins in adipocytes, including ACC, FAS, LPL and perilipin, thereby stimulating intracytoplasmic lipid accumulation. Moreover, both acylated and desacyl ghrelin reduce TNF-α-induced apoptosis and autophagy in adipocytes, suggesting an anti-inflammatory role of ghrelin in human adipose tissue. On the other hand, leptin is an adipokine with lipolytic effects. In this sense, leptin modulates via PI3K/Akt/mTOR the expression of aquaglyceroporins such as AQP3 and AQP7 that facilitate glycerol efflux from adipocytes in response to the lipolytic stimuli via its translocation from the cytosolic fraction (AQP3) or lipid droplets (AQP7) to the plasma membrane. Ghrelin and leptin also participate in the homeostasis of the cardiovascular system. Ghrelin operates as a cardioprotective factor with increased circulating acylated ghrelin concentrations in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) causally related to LV remodeling during the progression to LVH. Additionally, leptin induces vasodilation by inducible NO synthase expression (iNOS) in the vascular wall. In this sense, leptin inhibits the angiotensin II-induced Ca2+ increase, contraction and proliferation of VSMC through NO-dependent mechanisms. Together, dysregulation of circulating ghrelin isoforms and leptin resistance associated to obesity, type 2 diabetes, or the metabolic syndrome contribute to cardiometabolic derangements observed in these pathologies.
Pterygium: Nonsurgical Treatment Using Topical Dipyridamole - A Case Report
Authors: Carlock Beth H. , Bienstock Carol A. , Rogosnitzky Moshe
Published: March 2014

Purpose: We report a case of a symptomatic, inflamed pterygium treated nonsurgically with topical dipyridamole and followed for 12 months. Case Report: A 35-year-old woman presented with a stage II to III, V3, C3, K2, P1 (using Johnston, Williams & Sheppard's classification) pterygium in her right eye. She complained of a foreign body sensation, dryness, burning, and persistent uncontrolled blinking. A raised lesion was observed on the nasal conjunctiva that was 1.5 mm in size. It extended slightly onto the nasal cornea. There was moderate vascularity of the lesion that obscured the underlying scleral vessels. Moderate conjunctival hyperemia was detected at and medial to the pterygium. The cornea, anterior chamber, and external anatomy were otherwise unremarkable. The eye was initially treated twice daily with a topical application of dipyridamole in a normal saline solution, which was later reduced to once daily. Results: There was a marked improvement in both the pterygium and the patient's symptoms. The tissue regressed from the limbal region of the cornea, had decreased in length from 1.5 to 1.0 mm, and decreased in height from approximately 1.0 to approximately 0.3 mm. Conjunctival hyperemia and vascularization resolved completely, and the underlying scleral vessels could once again be visualized. At 12 months, the pterygium was graded as stage 0 to I, V0, C2, K0, P0. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first case of successful management of a pterygium and associated symptoms using topical dipyridamole. Further investigation is required to clarify the potential role of dipyridamole in the treatment of pterygia and pingueculae.
Legal Reform: China's Law-Stability Paradox
Authors: Liebman Benjamin L.
Published: March 2014

In the 1980s and 1990s, China devoted extensive resources to constructing a legal system, in part in the belief that legal institutions would enhance both stability and regime legitimacy. Why, then, did China's leadership retreat from using law when faced with perceived increases in protests, citizen complaints, and social discontent in the 2000s? This law-stability paradox suggests that party-state leaders do not trust legal institutions to play primary roles in addressing many of the most complex issues resulting from China's rapid social transformation. This signifies a retreat not only from legal reform, but also from the rule-based model of authoritarian governance that has contributed much to the resilience of the Chinese system. The law-stability paradox also highlights the difficulties facing efforts by China's new leadership to reinvigorate legal reform.
Internet Activism & the Party-State in China
Authors: Yang Guobin
Published: March 2014

The history of Internet activism and Internet control in China is one of mutual adaptation between citizen activists and party authorities. The party-state initially reacted to Internet activism with alarm, but has since built a comprehensive approach combining repressive policing with gentler methods of social management. This approach has evolved in response to the diverse forms of and participants in Internet activism. But the adaptability of the Chinese Internet control regime does not mean that it will root out Internet activism. On the contrary, Internet activism will continue to grow and will itself adapt to the changing forms of control. Comparisons with Russia and the United States highlight how political economy, history, and everyday practice shape the forms of Internet activism and control.
China & Globalization
Authors: Wasserstrom Jeffrey
Published: March 2014

In recent decades, China has become increasingly enmeshed in global institutions and global flows. This article places that phenomenon into historical perspective via a look back to important globalizing trends of a key earlier period: the late 1800s through early 1900s. The essay draws heavily on C. A. Bayly's discussion of that period, which emphasizes the way that moves toward uniformity do not necessarily produce homogeneity. Bayly's work is used both to illustrate the limitations of some competing ideas about contemporary globalization and how China is or is not being transformed by it, and to provide a basis for arguing that we are again seeing, now in China, important moves toward uniformity that are not erasing important differences between cultures and countries.
Idiosyncratic Grammars: Syntactic Processing in Second Language Comprehension Uses Subjective Feature Representations
Authors: Lemhöfer Kristin , Schriefers Herbert , Indefrey Peter
Published: March 2014

Learning the syntax of a second language (L2) often represents a big challenge to L2 learners. Previous research on syntactic processing in L2 has mainly focused on how L2 speakers respond to “objective” syntactic violations, that is, phrases that are incorrect by native standards. In this study, we investigate how L2 learners, in particular those of less than near-native proficiency, process phrases that deviate from their own, “subjective,” and often incorrect syntactic representations, that is, whether they use these subjective and idiosyncratic representations during sentence comprehension. We study this within the domain of grammatical gender in a population of German learners of Dutch, for which systematic errors of grammatical gender are well documented. These L2 learners as well as a control group of Dutch native speakers read Dutch sentences containing gender-marked determiner–noun phrases in which gender agreement was either (objectively) correct or incorrect. Furthermore, the noun targets were selected such that, in a high proportion of nouns, objective and subjective correctness would differ for German learners. The ERP results show a syntactic violation effect (P600) for objective gender agreement violations for native, but not for nonnative speakers. However, when the items were re-sorted for the L2 speakers according to subjective correctness (as assessed offline), the P600 effect emerged as well. Thus, rather than being insensitive to violations of gender agreement, L2 speakers are similarly sensitive as native speakers but base their sensitivity on their subjective—sometimes incorrect—representations.
Reach Out and Touch Someone: Anticipatory Sensorimotor Processes of Active Interpersonal Touch
Authors: Ebisch Sjoerd J. H. , Ferri Francesca , Romani Gian Luca , Gallese Vittorio
Published: March 2014

Anticipating the sensorimotor consequences of an action for both self and other is fundamental for action coordination when individuals socially interact. Somatosensation constitutes an elementary component of social cognition and sensorimotor prediction, but its functions in active social behavior remain unclear. We hypothesized that the somatosensory system contributes to social haptic behavior as evidenced by specific anticipatory activation patterns when touching an animate target (human hand) compared with an inanimate target (fake hand). fMRI scanning was performed during a paradigm that allowed us to isolate the anticipatory representations of active interpersonal touch while controlling for nonsocial sensorimotor processes and possible confounds because of interpersonal relationships or socioemotional valence. Active interpersonal touch was studied both as skin-to-skin contact and as object-mediated touch. The results showed weaker deactivation in primary somatosensory cortex and medial pFC and stronger activation in cerebellum for the animate target, compared with the inanimate target, when intending to touch it with one's own hand. Differently, in anticipation of touching the human hand with an object, anterior inferior parietal lobule and lateral occipital-temporal cortex showed stronger activity. When actually touching a human hand with one's own hand, activation was stronger in medial pFC but weaker in primary somatosensory cortex. The findings provide new insight on the contribution of simulation and sensory prediction mechanisms to active social behavior. They also suggest that literally getting in touch with someone and touching someone by using an object might be approached by an agent as functionally distinct conditions.
Revising the Regulations on Social Organizations
Authors: Ming Wang , Jinping Jin , Chuanjin Tao , Haoming Huang , Jianyin Ma
Published: March 2014

Abstract

This paper is the first from the “Salon Series on the Creation of Legislation on the Right of Association and Social Organizations”. This was a series of salons jointly hosted by Tsinghua University’s ngo Research Center, the Philanthropy and ngo Support Center, and the editorial office of the China Nonprofit Review. In 2013, China’s three main sets of regulations on social organizations are all to undergo major revisions. This is part of the requirements laid out in the State Council Institutional Reform and Transformation of Functions Plan. But what is the thinking behind these revisions? Just what connection do the revisions to these regulations have to the legislation process to create a basic law for social organizations and the formulation of a law on the right of association? These were the kinds of questions that formed the discussion on which this paper is based. Four experts came together during this salon to explore the context for the revision to the three sets of regulations, the necessity of these revisions, the level of difficulty in making the revisions, and the fundamental problems that may be faced. They call for the government to guarantee that social organizations will become genuine entities in their own right, to guarantee the separation of the functions of the government from those of social organizations, and to create the right conditions within which a basic law for social organizations may become a reality.
Legislating on the Right of Association: A Realistic Way Forward
Authors: Changshan Ma , Peifeng Liu , Xijin Jia , Ming Wang , Jianyin Ma
Published: March 2014

Abstract

This paper is the third from the “Salon Series on the Creation of Legislation on the Right of Association and Social Organizations”. This was a series of salons jointly hosted by Tsinghua University’s ngo Research Center, the Philanthropy and ngo Support Center, and the editorial office of the China Nonprofit Review. Discussion about the creation of legislation on the right of association began in China during the 1980s, at which time a bill was drawn up, but for various reasons, both political and social, the bill was never passed. This paper discusses the fundamental nature of the right of association and the feasibility and necessity of establishing legislation on this right in the China of today. It ponders the different ways in which the right of association may be enshrined in law, looking at the scattering of legal provisions throughout numerous pieces of legislation (in a multi-legislative model) in contrast with the method of spelling out of the right of association in one or more centralized laws (in a centralized legislative model). The paper also explores the relationship between the formulation of a basic law for social organizations and legislating on the right of association. It was unanimous amongst the experts speaking at the salon upon which this paper is based that establishing a law on the right of association would be an important hallmark of China’s process in developing stronger rule of law, and that it is a sine qua non for achieving constitutionalism and advancing the implementation of the Constitution.
Oreocharis yunnanensis, a new name for the illegitimate Oreocharis glandulosa (Gesneriaceae) from China
Authors: Rossini Josiene , Freitas Joelcio
Published: March 2014

Oreocharis Benth. (1876: 1021) comprises about 80 species of Gesneriaceae distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics. Based on molecular and morphological analyses, Möller et al. (2011) proposed to include several genera and species of Chinese Gesneriaceae in Oreocharis to correspond to monophyly of the group. Among the newly proposed combinations the authors included Didissandra glandulosa Batalin (1892:175) = Oreocharis glandulosa (Batalin) Mich.Möller & A.Weber (in Möller et al. 2011: 21).
Estimation of Uncertainty in Temperature Observations Made at Meteorological Stations Using a Probabilistic Spatiotemporal Approach
Authors: Xu Cheng-Dong , Wang Jin-Feng , Hu Mao-Gui , Li Qing-Xiang
Published: March 2014

A probabilistic spatiotemporal approach based on a spatial regression test (SRT-PS) is proposed for the quality control of climate data. It provides a quantitative probability that represents the uncertainty in each temperature observation. The assumption of SRT-PS is that there might be large uncertainty in the station record if there is a large residual difference between the record estimated in the spatial regression test and the true station record. The result of SRT-PS is expressed as a confidence probability ranging from 0 to 1, where a value closer to 1 indicates less uncertainty. The potential of SRT-PS to estimate quantitatively the uncertainty in temperature observations was demonstrated using an annual temperature dataset for China for the period 1971–2000 with seeded errors. SRT-PS was also applied to assess a real dataset, and was compared with two traditional quality control approaches: biweight mean and biweight standard deviation and SRT. The study provides a new approach to assess quantitatively the uncertainty in temperature observations at meteorological stations.
At What Time of Day Do Daily Extreme Near-Surface Wind Speeds Occur?
Authors: Fajber Robert , Monahan Adam H. , Merryfield William J.
Published: March 2014

The timing of daily extreme wind speeds from 10 to 200 m is considered using 11 yr of 10-min averaged data from the 213-m tower at Cabauw, the Netherlands. This analysis is complicated by the tendency of autocorrelated time series to take their extreme values near the beginning or end of a fixed window in time, even when the series is stationary. It is demonstrated that a simple averaging procedure using different base times to define the day effectively suppresses this “edge effect” and enhances the intrinsic nonstationarity associated with diurnal variations in boundary layer processes. It is found that daily extreme wind speeds at 10 m are most likely in the early afternoon, whereas those at 200 m are most likely in between midnight and sunrise. An analysis of the joint distribution of the timing of extremes at these two altitudes indicates the presence of two regimes: one in which the timing is synchronized between these two layers, and the other in which the occurrence of extremes is asynchronous. These results are interpreted physically using an idealized mechanistic model of the surface layer momentum budget.
Implementing Large-Eddy Simulation Capability in a Compressible Mesoscale Model
Authors: Gasset Nicolas , Benoit Robert , Masson Christian
Published: March 2014

The large size of modern wind turbines and wind farms triggers processes above the surface layer, which extend to the junction between microscales and mesoscales, and pushes the limits of existing approaches to predict the wind. The main objectives of this study are thus to introduce and evaluate an approach that will better account for physical processes within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), and allow for both microscale and mesoscale modeling. The proposed method, in which mathematical model and main numerical aspects are presented, combines a mesoscale approach with a large-eddy simulation (LES) model based on the Compressible Community Mesoscale Model (MC2). It is evaluated relying on a shear-driven ABL case allowing the authors to assess the model behavior at very high resolution as well as more specific numerical aspects such as the vertical discretization and time and space splitting of turbulence-related terms. The proposed LES-capable mesoscale model is shown to perform on par with other similar reference LES models, while being slightly more dissipative. A new vertical discretization of the turbulent processes eliminates a spurious numerical mode in the solution. Finally, the splitting of horizontal and vertical turbulence-related terms is shown to have no impact on the results of the test cases. It is thus demonstrated that the revised MC2 is suitable at both microscales and mesoscales, thus setting a strong foundation for future work.
Growth of Healthy Term Infants Fed Ready-to-Feed and Powdered Forms of an Extensively Hydrolyzed Casein-Based Infant Formula
Authors: Borschel Marlene W. , Baggs Geraldine E. , Barrett-Reis Bridget
Published: March 2014

Extensively hydrolyzed formulas present a complex matrix subject to adverse conditions during manufacture that could influence growth and tolerance of infants fed these formulas. A masked, randomized, parallel growth study was conducted in infants fed a ready-to-feed (RTF) or powdered (PWD) form of an extensively hydrolyzed casein-based formula. Infants were enrolled between 0 and 9 days and studied to 112 days of age. Growth, formula intake, and stool patterns were assessed. There were no significant differences between groups in weight, length, head circumference, or their respective gains. Tolerance was similar between groups except that the RTF group had greater formula intakes and passed more stools/day compared to the PWD group. This study demonstrates that the PWD formulation of this RTF formula supports similar growth and tolerance in infants during the first 4 months of life.
Relationship of supernatural beliefs and first treatment contact in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder: An exploratory study from India
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Patra Bichitra N , Aggarwal Munish , Avasthi Ajit , Chakrabarti Subho , Malhotra Savita
Published: March 2014

Background:

The etiology of mental illness has been attributed to many different causes by people of various cultural backgrounds, including supernatural beliefs. This in turn affects the help-seeking behavior. Aim of this study was to explore the supernatural belief and pathways of care in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) attending a tertiary care hospital located in north India.

Methodology:

In all, 89 consecutive patients diagnosed with OCD (according to the International Classification of Diseases–10th Revision (ICD-10)) and ≥ 15 years of age were evaluated for their supernatural belief and help seeking.

Results:

More than half of the patients (54%) believed in supernatural causes and 57.3% attributed their illness to supernatural causes. In addition to supernatural causes, many patients also attributed their illness to stress (household/work-related stress) or chemical imbalance in the body and or mind. About two-thirds of the patients ( n = 58; 65.2%) first contacted a psychiatrist for their symptoms of OCD. Those who first contacted faith healers believed in one of the supernatural causations.

Conclusion:

Patients with OCD hold multiple beliefs regarding the etiology and treatment of mental illness which can affect their pathways to care.
Indigenous knowledge: Ends or means?
Authors: Bar-On Arnon
Published: March 2014

Scholars and practitioners in an array of disciplines, and increasingly in social work and social development, are looking to indigenous knowledge in their search for a host of ideological and pragmatic ends. Following the enumeration and analysis of these ends, this article concludes that while indigenous knowledge may perhaps provide a feel-good way of searching for answers in difficult times, its utility in achieving most of its pragmatic ends, as differentiated from its ideological ones, is questionable.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-associated Oral Cancers and Treatment Strategies
Authors: Sathish N. , Wang X. , Yuan Y.
Published: March 2014

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to be associated with several types of human cancer, including cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, and head-and-neck cancers. Among these cancers, HPV-associated head-and-neck cancers, inclusive of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OCSCC), have recently risen dramatically in men under 50 years old. Within 20 years, the percentage of HPV-positive OSCC in total OSCC went from less than 20% to more than 70% in the United States and some European countries. This article reviews the incidence trend and pathogenesis of HPV-associated head-and-neck cancers as well as current treatment modalities for the disease.
Territorial revision and state repression
Authors: Wright Thorin M
Published: March 2014

Does involvement in territorial conflict affect domestic repression? I argue that seeking to revise territory abroad will affect domestic repression, but conditionally on regime type and conflict severity. For democracies, there may be public pressure to deliver the good of territory. Because of this, territorial revision can lead to in-group/out-group dynamics at home, making it politically beneficial to increase repression domestically against groups seen as being opposed to the conflict. Autocracies may place a different value on contested territory, as they rely on the distribution of private goods to maintain support. While in-group/out-group dynamics may also be in play for autocracies, such states also face different types of constraints than democracies. Autocracies are more likely to use their military for domestic repression, and thus are more likely to simply maintain or reduce repression because the military is now being used abroad. These propositions are tested cross-nationally by examining repression when states are revisionists in conflicts over territory spanning from 1977 to 2001. The results of ordered logit analyses of state repression show that democratic states become more likely to increase repression when they are territorial revisionists, as those conflict-years become more deadly, while autocratic states are less likely to increase repression during the same periods.
Maude Petre on Loisy's Religious Significance: Spirituality and Critical History
Authors: Hill Harvey
Published: March 2014

Alfred Loisy's enduring significance, in Maude Petre's view, lay in his struggle to define the relationship between religious faith and facts accessible to historical critics. Arguing from both his understanding of religious faith and his commitment to historical scholarship, he opposed what Petre called the “theologico-scientific presentation of dogma” prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church of the early 20th century. Loisy thus sought to preserve the integrity of both critical scholarship and mystical faith.
Lumen Gentium's “Subsistit in” Revisited: The Catholic Church and Christian Unity after Vatican II
Authors: Schelkens Karim
Published: March 2014

The article contributes to the ecumenical debate on the relationship between the Church of Christ and the Catholic Church, a debate that followed upon the 2007 publication of a series of Responses on Vatican II ecclesiology by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The author seeks to develop a critical understanding of subsistit in that is both historically and theologically sound. An in-depth study of the redaction of Lumen gentium no. 8 leads to the conclusion that the council did not understand the Latin verb subsistere in terms of essence (esse).
A Sense of the Tragic in a Christian Theology of Freedom
Authors: Reklis Kathryn
Published: March 2014

For many Christian theologians and non-Christian theorists about Christianity, tragedy has no serious place in a Christian conception of the world; at best, tragedy is an episode overcome by the triumph of resurrection. Drawing on Karl Rahner's theology of freedom, this article argues that including a sense of the tragic in a Christian conception of the world can both undermine a saccharine theology immune to the threats of contingent history and, paradoxically, be a means of reengaging a Christian theology of hope, understood as commitment to the world.
“Like a Boat is Marriage”: Aelred on Marriage as a Christian Way of Life
Authors: Mayeski Marie Anne
Published: March 2014

This study of Aelred of Rievaulx's understanding of marriage as a Christian state of life first considers his work in the context of earlier written souces and the debates about marriage in the twelfth-century schools; it then exposes Aelred's thinking on the sacramentality of marriage, the position of woman in the marriage relationship, and the importance of marriage in relation to the common good, that is, the socioeconomic order. Much of Aelred's thought remains applicable to Christian marriage today.
The Option for the Poor Arises from Faith in Christ
Authors: Gutiérrez Gustavo
Published: March 2014

The author argues that the preferential option for the poor (1) constitutes a part of following Jesus that gives ultimate meaning to human existence and thus gives believers “reason to hope”; and (2) helps us understand faith in terms of a hermeneutics of hope, an interpretation that must be constantly enacted and reenacted throughout our lives and human history.
Galilee: A Critical Matrix for Marian Studies
Authors: Johnson Elizabeth A.
Published: March 2014

Historical imagination can open a powerful door to the world of Mary of Nazareth depicted in the Gospels and relate her to the quest for justice today. Galilee as a geographic region and social location is a marker of Mary's time and place that serves as shorthand for the scandal of God's preference for the lowly of the earth. To illuminate the significance of God's preference, this article traces four areas of Galilee research that impinge on Marian interpretation and underscores resulting theological ramifications.
Galilean Journey Revisited: Mestizaje, Anti-Judaism, and the Dynamics of Exclusion
Authors: Lee Michael E.
Published: March 2014

The article explores Virgilio Elizondo's Galilean Journey and its critiques, particularly the claim that he uses anti-Jewish rhetoric. While acknowledging the legitimacy of some concerns, the author argues that in both its object of study (the New Testament portrayal of Jesus as Galilean) and its hermeneutical location (marginalized contemporary believers), Elizondo's work provides regulative principles for interpretation that guard against the dangers of anti-Jewish, supersessionist readings of the Gospels. The key lies in viewing Jesus' prophetic ministry as a model of faithful dissent against forces of marginalization and exclusion.
The Galilean Jesus: Creating a Borderland at the Foot of the Cross (Jn 19:23–30)
Authors: Park Sophia
Published: March 2014

Postcolonial theory allows a reading of John 19:23–30 from a perspective that is hopeful and empowering for dislocated persons such as Asian immigrant women. In this reading the dislocated persons are enabled to gain a hybrid identity through the Gospel's invitation to join and participate in a “borderland community” created by Jesus on the cross.
Jesus of Galilee from the Salvadoran Context: Compassion, Hope, and following the Light of the Cross
Authors: Sobrino Jon
Published: March 2014

The article analyzes a threefold isomorphism between the realities of Galilee and El Salvador: (1) the two realities are subjugated by imperial powers (2) the isomorphism least mentioned by commentators—between Jesus and the Salvadoran martyrs; and (3) the isomorphism between Jesus and the crucified people understood as the Servant of Yahweh who brings salvation. The article then considers three central realities—mercy, hope, and following—in light of the cross, Jesus, and the people.
On the Dynamic Relation between Ecclesiology and Congregational Studies
Authors: Haight Roger , Nieman James
Published: March 2014

The liveliness of the discipline of ecclesiology depends on the cross-referencing between theological doctrines about the church and actual churches. In an intellectual pincer movement these authors argue that the theological discipline of ecclesiology has to be chastened by consideration of the congregations in order to be credible, and that congregational studies needs the input of the formal discipline of ecclesiology to connect the beliefs and practices of each community to the wider tradition.
Interconnectedness and Intrinsic Value as Ecological Principles: An appropriation of Karl Rahner's Evolutionary Christology
Authors: Cho Hyun-Chul
Published: March 2014

The ecological crisis today is due in great part to a widespread anthropocentric attitude toward nature characterized by (1) a dualism that sees humanity as totally distinct from nature and (2) an instrumentalism that sanctions an indiscriminate use of nature for the sake of humans. To offset the possible destructiveness of this anthropocentrism, we need ecological principles that recognize deeply both nature's intrinsic value and the inherent link between humanity and nature. Karl Rahner's evolutionary Christology can theologically ground such ecological principles.
Forgetting as a Principle of Continuity in Tradition
Authors: Mueller Joseph G.
Published: March 2014

Whether intentionally or not, Catholic tradition frequently fails to take account of, or to remember, beliefs, practices, or objects previously received by the tradition. Such forgetting proves unavoidable, but it can actually help the tradition as a whole to perdure in continuity with its origins. The theories of Yves Congar, John Thiel, and Kathryn Tanner on Christian tradition could be strengthened by taking into account this role of forgetting. The argument developed in this article could have significant implications, for example, in ecumenism.
Mission AD Gentes and the Perils of Racial Privilege
Authors: Kollman Paul V.
Published: March 2014

Building on an episode in Uganda, the author considers ethical issues facing missionaries due to race-based privileges. He uses the notion of white privilege to consider how missionaries should negotiate the default racialization found in missionary settings where race operates differently than it does where white privilege is usually found. Racial privileges intensify the competing demands at work in contemporary theologies of mission between dialogue and proclamation. In acknowledging such privileges and the accompanying tension they augment, missionaries should pursue awareness of and accountability for them.