bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From 2D Images to 3D Tangible Models: Autostereoscopic and Haptic Visualization of Martian Rocks in Virtual Environments
Authors: Basdogan Cagatay
Published: January 2007

A planetary rover acquires a large collection of images while exploring its surrounding environment. For example, 2D stereo images of the Martian surface captured by the lander and the Sojourner rover during the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997 were transmitted to Earth for scientific analysis and navigation planning. Due to the limited memory and computational power of the Sojourner rover, most of the images were captured by the lander and then transmitted to Earth directly for processing. If these images were merged together at the rover site to reconstruct a 3D representation of the rover's environment using its on-board resources, more information could potentially be transmitted to Earth in a compact manner. However, construction of a 3D model from multiple views is a highly challenging task to accomplish even for the new generation rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) running on the Mars surface at the time this article was written. Moreover, low transmission rates and communication intervals between Earth and Mars make the transmission of any data more difficult. We propose a robust and computationally efficient method for progressive transmission of multi-resolution 3D models of Martian rocks and soil reconstructed from a series of stereo images. For visualization of these models on Earth, we have developed a new multimodal visualization setup that integrates vision and touch. Our scheme for 3D reconstruction of Martian rocks from 2D images for visualization on Earth involves four main steps: a) acquisition of scans: depth maps are generated from stereo images, b) integration of scans: the scans are correctly positioned and oriented with respect to each other and fused to construct a 3D volumetric representation of the rocks using an octree, c) transmission: the volumetric data is encoded and progressively transmitted to Earth, d) visualization: a surface model is reconstructed from the transmitted data on Earth and displayed to a user through a new autostereoscopic visualization table and a haptic device for providing touch feedback. To test the practical utility of our approach, we first captured a sequence of stereo images of a rock surface from various viewpoints in JPL MarsYard using a mobile cart and then performed a series of 3D reconstruction experiments. In this paper, we discuss the steps of our reconstruction process, our multimodal visualization system, and the tradeoffs that have to be made to transmit multiresolution 3D models to Earth in an efficient manner under the constraints of limited computational resources, low transmission rate, and communication interval between Earth and Mars.
Effects of Tactile Augmentation and Self-Body Visualization on Affective Property Evaluation of Virtual Mobile Phone Designs
Authors: Lee Sangyoon , Chen Tian , Kim Jongseo , Kim Gerard Jounghyun , Han Sung Ho , Pan Zhigeng
Published: January 2007

Product design is an iterative process that involves, among other things, evaluation. In addition to the intended functionality of the product, its affective properties (or “Kansei”) have emerged as important evaluation criteria for the successful marketing of the product. Affective properties refer to consumers' psychological feelings about a product, and they can be mapped into perceptual design elements for possible design modification toward higher customer satisfaction. Affective properties of products in design can partially be assessed using the near photorealistic graphic rendering feature of the desktop computer-aided design tools, or rapid prototyping tools that can produce physical mock-ups. Recently, immersive virtual reality systems have been suggested as an ideal platform for affective analysis of an evolving design because of, among other things, the natural style of interaction they offer when examining the product, such as the use of direct and proprioceptive interaction, head tracking and first-person viewpoint, and multimodality. In this paper, the effects of tactile augmentation and self-body visualization on the evaluation of the affective property are investigated by comparing three types of virtual environments for evaluating the affective properties of mobile phones. Each virtual environment offers different degrees of tactile and self-body realism. The effectiveness of these virtual environments is evaluated, compared to a control condition: the affective assessment of using the real product. The experiment has shown that the virtual affective evaluation results from the three systems correlated very highly with that of the real product, and no statistically significant differences could be found among the three systems. This finding indicates that tactile augmentation and the high-fidelity self-body visualization had no effect on the evaluation of the affective property. Nevertheless, the experimental results have indicated the importance of enhanced interaction with tactile augmentation for evaluating the property of texture, and have shown that VR systems have the potential for use as affective evaluation platforms.
Satellite-Based Actual Evapotranspiration over Drying Semiarid Terrain in West Africa
Authors: Schüttemeyer D. , Schillings Ch , Moene A. F. , de Bruin H. A. R.
Published: January 2007

A simple satellite-based algorithm for estimating actual evaporation based on Makkink’s equation is applied to a seasonal cycle in 2002 at three test sites in Ghana, West Africa: at a location in the humid tropical southern region and two in the drier northern region. The required input for the algorithm is incoming solar radiation, air temperature at standard level, and the green-vegetation fraction. These data are obtained from Meteorological Satellite (Meteosat) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images. The observation period includes the rapid wet-to-dry transition after the wet season. Incoming solar radiation and air temperature are validated against local measurements at the three sites. It is found that the incoming solar radiation obtained from Meteosat corresponds well with the measurements. For air temperature from Meteosat data, the diurnal cycle is realistically reproduced but is in need of a bias correction. The algorithm output is compared with the evapotranspiration data obtained from hourly large-aperture scintillometer observations and simultaneous “in situ” measurements of net radiation and soil heat flux. It is found that the actual evapotranspiration can be monitored using the modified Makkink method, with daily mean errors of between 5% and 35% of measured evapotranspiration and a seasonal error smaller than 5%. Furthermore, it appears that the algorithm realistically describes the daily cycle of evapotranspiration.
Science and Technology in the United States: Hegemony under Fire
Authors: Sunshine Fabio Grobart
Published: January 2007

As many studies have pointed out, the United States has undergone a loss of hegemony (in the Gramscian sense) despite the increase in its economic, military, and techno-scientific power over time. One of the least researched aspects of this process is the complex social impact of the techno-scientific factor on the capitalist cycle in general and on the mid-1990s concept of the New Economy based on the rise of information and communications technologies in particular. This concept, one of the main underpinnings of neoliberal global-iza‘tion, was undermined by the capitalist crisis at the beginning of the new millennium.
Migration, Ethnicity, and Interactions between the United States and Hispanic Caribbean Popular Culture
Authors: Rivera Ángel G. Quintero
Published: January 2007

Some of the most important musical expressions of contemporary popular culture—jazz, salsa, and hip-hop, among others—developed from continuous and intense interaction between Hispanic Caribbean and U.S. Afro-American sociocultural processes, strengthened greatly by phenomena linked to urban migration. The history of these interactions calls into question the traditional bipolar interpretation of cultural relations between Latin America and the United States and demands a transnational revaluation of heterogeneity.
Impact of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) on the Quality of Social Existence of Rural Dwellers in Developing Economies
Authors: Olujenyo Fasoranti Olayiwola
Published: January 2007

This study examines the impact of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) on the farmers in the rural areas of Ondo state, Nigeria, West Africa. It examines the impact of the ADP on the farming operations of its target farmers and the adoption of the ADP's agricultural innovation, the farmer-related factors and the organizational factors that are associated with the impact of the ADP. A structured interview schedule was used to elicit responses from 144 contact farmers and 144 non-contact farmers using random sampling to select the non-contact farmers, and systematic sampling with a random start to select the contact farmers from the 24 cells that had been purposively selected from the zones. Correlation analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated. The results show that the majority of the farmers (51.39 per cent) fell within the ‘medium’ impact level score on the impact table constructed. About 32 per cent fell within the ‘high’ impact level score, while 16.67 per cent fell within the ‘low’ impact level score. Four indicators of impact were used for this study, namely, farm yield, size of land cultivated, adoption of innovation and articles of convenience. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in mean yields of the farmers before and five years after the inception of the ADP in all the four crops examined. There was also a significant difference between the mean score of hectarage of land cultivated by the farmers before and since the inception of the ADP. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the mean score of articles of convenience possessed by the farmers before and 10 years after the inception of the ADP. The level of adoption of 10 innovations taught by the ADP to the farmers was ‘medium’. That is, more than 60 per cent of the farmers adopted between four and six innovations. Five farmer-related factors positively and significantly correlated with the impact of the ADP, namely, age of the farmers (r = 0.58612), number of children (r = 0.35114), years of formal education (r = 0.46571), size of family labour (r = 0.2967) and size of hired labour (r = 0.46167). The number of wives of the farmers did not have a significant association with the impact of the ADP. The critical value of r at 0.05 = 0.194.
Routinizing Terror: Media Coverage and Public Practices in Israel, 2000-2005
Authors: Liebes Tamar , Kampf Zohar
Published: January 2007

This article argues that counterintuitively, the unrelenting multivictim terrorist attacks on Israel between 1996 and 2004 did not bring about a linear escalation in the intensity of media coverage nor in the demoralization of the public, as seen in the changes in daily routine and in the radicalization of political attitudes. By the use of a combined index based on the length of television’s disaster marathons, their viewing rates, and the extent of changes in the daily lives and the political attitudes of Israelis (drawing on secondary analysis of various sources), the authors distinguish between two periods in terms of the impact of terror. In the first period, from1996 to the end of 2002, they observed a relatively strong effect in all the indicators mentioned above. From the beginning of 2003, in spite of the continuing high frequency of the attacks, the authors see a process of routinization apparent in all our indicators, on the part of the media and of the public.
Highly Organized Phthalocyanine Assembly onto Gold Surface through Spontaneous Polymerization
Authors: Ishikawa Masaaki , Fujiki Michiya , Naito Masanobu
Published: January 2007

Soluble μ-dihydroxysilicon-tetra-t-butylphthalocyanine was immobilized onto OH-coated gold surface. The phthalocyanine was immobilized in a sigmoidal manner with two threshold times, and the process was successfully analyzed with QCM and AFM studies. UV–vis studies indicated the highly organized polymer structure deposited onto the surface.
The Genetic Structure ofDrosophila ananassaePopulations From Asia, Australia and Samoa
Authors: Schug Malcolm D , Smith Shelly G , Tozier-Pearce Allison , McEvey Shane F
Published: January 2007

Information about genetic structure and historical demography of natural populations is central to understanding how natural selection changes genomes. Drosophila ananassae is a widespread species occurring in geographically isolated or partially isolated populations and provides a unique opportunity to investigate population structure and molecular variation. We assayed microsatellite repeat-length variation among 13 populations of D. ananassae to assess the level of structure among the populations and to make inferences about their ancestry and historic biogeography. High levels of genetic structure are apparent among all populations, particularly in Australasia and the South Pacific, and patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that the ancestral populations are from Southeast Asia. Analysis of population structure and use of F-statistics and Bayesian analysis suggest that the range expansion of the species into the Pacific is complex, with multiple colonization events evident in some populations represented by lineages that show no evidence of recent admixture. The demographic patterns show isolation by distance among populations and population expansion within all populations. A morphologically distinct sister species, D. pallidosa, collected in Malololelei, Samoa, appears to be more closely related to some of the D. ananassae populations than many of the D. ananassae populations are to one another. The patterns of genotypic diversity suggest that many of the individuals that we sampled may be morphologically indistinguishable nascent species.
Glucose-Responsive Regulators of Gene Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Function at the Nuclear Periphery via a Reverse Recruitment Mechanism
Authors: Sarma Nayan J , Haley Terry M , Barbara Kellie E , Buford Thomas D , Willis Kristine A , Santangelo George M
Published: January 2007

Regulation of gene transcription is a key feature of developmental, homeostatic, and oncogenic processes. The reverse recruitment model of transcriptional control postulates that eukaryotic genes become active by moving to contact transcription factories at nuclear substructures; our previous work showed that at least some of these factories are tethered to nuclear pores. We demonstrate here that the nuclear periphery is the site of key events in the regulation of glucose-repressed genes, which together compose one-sixth of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome. We also show that the canonical glucose-repressed gene SUC2 associates tightly with the nuclear periphery when transcriptionally active but is highly mobile when repressed. Strikingly, SUC2 is both derepressed and confined to the nuclear rim in mutant cells where the Mig1 repressor is nuclear but not perinuclear. Upon derepression all three subunits (α, β, and γ) of the positively acting Snf1 kinase complex localize to the nuclear periphery, resulting in phosphorylation of Mig1 and its export to the cytoplasm. Reverse recruitment therefore appears to explain a fundamental pathway of eukaryotic gene regulation.
Point Mutations in the Stem Region and the Fourth AAA Domain of Cytoplasmic Dynein Heavy Chain Partially Suppress the Phenotype of NUDF/LIS1 Loss in Aspergillus nidulans
Authors: Zhuang Lei , Zhang Jun , Xiang Xin
Published: January 2007

Cytoplasmic dynein performs multiple cellular tasks but its regulation remains unclear. The dynein heavy chain has a N-terminal stem that binds to other subunits and a C-terminal motor unit that contains six AAA (ATPase associated with cellular activities) domains and a microtubule-binding site located between AAA4 and AAA5. In Aspergillus nidulans, NUDF (a LIS1 homolog) functions in the dynein pathway, and two nudF6 partial suppressors were mapped to the nudA dynein heavy chain locus. Here we identified these two mutations. The nudAL1098F mutation resides in the stem region, and nudAR3086C is in the end of AAA4. These mutations partially suppress the phenotype of nudF deletion but do not suppress the phenotype exhibited by mutants of dynein intermediate chain and Arp1. Surprisingly, the stronger ΔnudF suppressor, nudAR3086C, causes an obvious decrease in the basal level of dynein's ATPase activity and an increase in dynein's distribution along microtubules. Thus, suppression of the ΔnudF phenotype may result from mechanisms other than simply the enhancement of dynein's ATPase activity. The fact that a mutation in the end of AAA4 negatively regulates dynein's ATPase activity but partially compensates for NUDF loss indicates the importance of the AAA4 domain in dynein regulation in vivo.
A Role forCaenorhabditis elegansChromatin-Associated Protein HIM-17 in the Proliferationvs. Meiotic Entry Decision
Authors: Bessler Jessica B , Reddy Kirthi C , Hayashi Michiko , Hodgkin Jonathan , Villeneuve Anne M
Published: January 2007

Chromatin-associated protein HIM-17 was previously shown to function in the chromosomal events of meiotic prophase. Here we report an additional role for HIM-17 in regulating the balance between germ cell proliferation and meiotic development. A cryptic function for HIM-17 in promoting meiotic entry and/or inhibiting proliferation was revealed by defects in germline organization in him-17 mutants grown at high temperature (25°) and by a synthetic tumorous germline phenotype in glp-1(ar202); him-17 mutants at 15°.
Associations between promoter usage and alternative splicing of the glucocorticoid receptor gene
Authors: Russcher Henk , Dalm Virgil A S H , de Jong Frank H , Brinkmann Albert O , Hofland Leo J , Lamberts Steven W J , Koper Jan W
Published: January 2007

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is widely expressed in various tissues throughout the human body. At least three different 3′-splice variants of the GR have been reported: GR-α, which is functionally active; GR-β, which is a dominant negative inhibitor of GR-α function; and GR-P, which is thought to activate the function of GR-α. At least seven different variants for exon 1 exist, 1A–1F and 1H, each with its own promoter. In this study, we explored if tissue-specific splicing of the 3′-end variants of the GR is influenced by alternative promoter usage. cDNAs of different tissues and cell lines were used to investigate which part of transcripts carrying each of the three major variants for exons 1, 1A, 1B, or 1C, encodes for the splice variants GR-α, GR-β, and GR-P. Our data demonstrate that the expression of GR-α is preferentially regulated by promoter 1C and that for the expression of GR-P promoter 1B is predominantly used. This indicates that regulation of GR splice variants could partly occur through selective use of the multiple promoters, and that this is another way to sensitize cells and tissues to the different activities of the GR isoforms.
Hepatocyte growth factor protects rat RINm5F cell line against free fatty acid-induced apoptosis by counteracting oxidative stress
Authors: Santangelo Carmela , Matarrese Paola , Masella Roberta , Di Carlo Maria Chiara , Di Lillo Angela , Scazzocchio Beatrice , Vecci Elio , Malorni Walter , Perfetti Riccardo , Anastasi Emanuela
Published: January 2007

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance, pancreatic β-cells dysfunction, and decreased β-cell mass with increased rate of apoptosis. Chronic exposure to high levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) has detrimental effects on β-cell function and survival. FFAs have adverse effects on mitochondrial function, with a consequent increase in the production of reactive oxygen species. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) plays a critical role in promoting β-cell survival. In the present study, we investigated whether HGF was capable of protecting β-cells from death induced by prolonged exposure to FFAs. RINm5F cell line was cultured in the presence of FFAs (oleate:palmitate 2:1) for 72 h in order to induce apoptosis. Simultaneous administration of HGF and FFAs significantly suppressed the impaired insulin secretion and FFA-induced apoptosis. Specifically, HGF exerted its protective effect by counteracting: (i) the overproduction of either hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion, (ii) the reduction of intracellular γ-glutamylcysteinylglycine level, and (iii) the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, induced by prolonged FFAs exposure. These effects appear to be mediated by bcl-2 and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathways. Indeed, HGF increased mRNA and protein expression of bcl-2 downregulated by FFAs-treatment; moreover, pre-treatment with the specific PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, significantly abolished the protective effect of HGF. In conclusion, in rat insulin-producing RINm5F cells, HGF exerts its prosurvival effect by counteracting the increased intracellular oxidative stress and, consequently, by inhibiting apoptosis induced by chronic exposure to FFAs.
Contribution of geophysical surveys to the study of fine grained lacustrine sediments. Application to the Sarliève marsh (Massif Central, France)
Authors: Hinschberger Florent , Fourmont Agathe , Macaire Jean-Jacques , Breheret Jean-Gabriel , Guerin Roger , Bakyono Jean-Paul
Published: January 2007

This paper presents the results of a geophysical survey which was performed in the Sarliève marsh, located in the north of the Massif Central (France). The studied area corresponds to an ancient lake filled with 6 m of Lateglacial to historic sediments. The numerous cores and excavations previously performed in basin areas show the presence of thick fine grained and carbonated lake deposits. The mineralogical study of these deposits allows us to distinguish two main types of formations, which differ in their composition and origin. In the lower part of the sedimentary filling, the SDLF formation is generally characterized by abundant chalky and dolomitic layers, probably formed by chemical precipitation in an endoreic environment. It was found only in the distal (or depocenter) parts of the ancient lake. The upper part of the filling corresponds to calcitic clayey silty sediments (CF), mainly of detrital origin. They can be found both in the distal and proximal parts of the ancient lake. In order to precise the geometry of the marsh sedimentary filling and to discriminate between these two fine grained sediment types (SDLF and CF), an electromagnetic survey was carried out using an EM31 conductivity meter. It was completed by 16 electrical soundings performed within the marsh.

The electromagnetic survey enables us to draw a large-scale conductivity map, which highlights the presence of a highly conductive zone (HCZ) in the central part of the marsh, more pronounced in the south. The HCZ is bordered by more resistive and heterogeneous fields, where conductive structures are visible. We show that there is no clear correlation between the measured conductivity and the total lacustrine sediment thickness. However, the HCZ is related to the distal parts of the ancient lake, locally identified from borehole data. In the corresponding sedimentary filling, the SDLF formation appears as a very low resistive layer (about 1.2Ω.m) on the electrical soundings. It explains the high conductivity of the distal lacustrine sediments. We finally combine the cores and the geophysical data to estimate the spatial extent and the volume of the SDLF formation of the whole marsh. This study shows that geophysics can contribute to distinguish, in a globally homogeneous fine grained sedimentary filling (carbonated clayey silts), lacustrine sediments formed in very different contexts, one as chemical precipitation, the other of detrital origin.
Lament Ritual Transformed into Literature: Positing Women’s Prayer as Cornerstone in Western Classical Literature
Authors: Weinbaum Batya
Published: January 2007

Research into the origins of Western classical literature has considered the performance of epic poetry by male performers, but the possibility of women’s participation in the creation of the oral literature that gave rise to the classics has not been adequately investigated. Here I look at the role of women chanters in the creation of spontaneous lament, point to similarities in the structure of the poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, and suggest that these two epics of classical literature may have been based originally on women’s words.
I’m a Folklorist and You’re Not: Expansive versus Delimited Strategies in the Practice of Folklore
Authors: Zeitlin Steven J.
Published: January 2007

As advocates for the discipline in the public sector and the academy, folklorists have practiced both expansive and delimited strategies in promulgating the field. The delimited stance carefully defines and limits the discipline, studies its own history, strives for professionalization, and creates a justification for an autonomous field. The expansive posture, on the other hand, tries to establish alliances and explores other disciplines freely, asserting that other arts and humanities fields have as much right to practice folklore as folklorists have to practice those fields. Expansive positions often reach out to new members, constituencies, and audiences; delimited strategies often insist on criteria and standards for inclusion in the field. In the history of folklore studies and public programs, both strategies have proven effective in particular situations and contexts. In fact, the two strategies often work together to further the discipline. When successful, they disseminate and advance the core ideas of the field.
Which Came First, the Chicken Device or the Textual Egg? Documentary Film and the Limits of the Hybrid Metaphor
Authors: Dorst John D.
Published: January 2007

Though hybridity is certainly a productive theoretical metaphor, there are limits to its usefulness. In our postmodern, "telectronic" culture, we are surrounded by examples of boundary confusion between text-generating devices and texts themselves. The organic metaphor of hybridity is of limited value in theorizing these conflations. This article considers examples of such collapse between text and "apparatus" in the documentary films of Errol Morris, particularly his "folklife" portrait of a small town in Florida.
The African Diaspora: Toward an Ethnography of Diasporic Identification
Authors: Gordon Edmund T. , Anderson Mark
Published: January 2007

This article offers an analysis of theoretical models developed around the concept of the African Diaspora. These models either concentrate on essential features common to various peoples of African descent or focus on diaspora as a condition of hybridity characterized by displacement and "dispersed identities." The authors, calling for ethnographic attention to processes of diasporic identification, argue for a shift in focus toward analysis of the processes through which individuals identify with one another as "Black" or "African."
Hybridity in New World Baroque Theory
Authors: Salgado César Augusto
Published: January 2007

This article surveys a genealogy of 20th-century writings on the cultural study of baroque art, literature, and architecture produced in Latin America during the colonial period. It explores the role that theorizing the hybrid plays in works by "neobaroque" authors like José Lezama Lima, Alejo Carpentier, and Severo Sarduy and how they define in their works a "New World baroque" aesthetic that is distinct from European sources. The article focuses on Lezama Lima’s influential contribution to the debate.
"He Can Read My Writing but He sho’ Can’t Read My Mind": Zora Neale Hurston’s Revenge in Mules and Men
Authors: Walters Keith
Published: January 2007

This reading of Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men considers the nature of oppositional discourse when the form of critique is a genre likely unrecognized and unappreciated by members of the majority culture and those trained in majority ways. Through an examination of the history of the book’s production and a close reading of its opening and final tale, this article examines Mules and Men as an ethnography of communication in the form of a trickster tale.
Heart and Soul: Glimpses of Ideology and Cosmology in the Iconography of Tombstones from the Loango Coast of Central Africa
Authors: Denbow James
Published: January 2007

The tombstones found along the Congo coast incorporate complex ideographic images that layer and juxtapose elements of traditional belief with often contradictory and syncretic interpretations of Christianity. Some aspects of this process indicate a convergence of traditional and Christian symbolic imagery. Other elements are more problematic and suggest that even while active resistance to European political hegemony was taking place, contradictory European values and priorities were being internalized within the Congolese cognitive structure, resulting in a form of "cultural schizophrenia."
Never in Public: Women and Performance in Old Norse Literature
Authors: Borovsky Zoe
Published: January 2007

In the medieval Icelandic family sagas, women as well as men gained and bestowed honor by performing verbally. While men’s performances took place in the official, public realm, women promoted and defended the honor of the household in the domestic, private realm. With the introduction of writing, the boundary between public and private was more strictly enforced, and women’s participation in the honor system became more restricted.
Tourists and Religion at Temple Square and Mission San Juan Capistrano
Authors: Bremer Thomas S.
Published: January 2007

A comparative investigation of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Mission San Juan Capistrano in southern California explores experience, authenticity, and authority at religious places that are also sites of intense tourist activity. This study of the Mormon holy site and the former Catholic mission established during the Spanish colonial era includes a contemplation of their respective strategies of allurement, proselytization efforts, economic exchange on the sites, efforts at preservation and restoration, ownership and control of these places, and official interpretations of their histories and meanings. It concludes by noting how the claims and counterclaims made at hybrid places of religion and tourism rely on the authority of experiences regarded as authentic.
Une ’Tite Poule Grasse ou la Fille Aînée [A Little Fat Chicken or the Eldest Daughter]: A Comparative Analysis of Cajun and Creole Mardi Gras Songs
Authors: Sexton Rocky L. , Oster Harry
Published: January 2007

A common aspect of rural Louisiana Mardi Gras is the Courir du Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Run), a begging quest in which a band of costumed merrymakers travel house-to-house to solicit donations of food and money to provision a communal feast. The songs associated with the Mardi Gras run fall into two broad categories: those derived from continental French and French Canadian drinking songs and others with origins in continental French and French Canadian begging songs. Both forms represent combinations of direct survivals of earlier song texts, slight modifications that occurred through generations of oral transmission, and significant changes introduced because of the desire to develop distinct local song variants.
Modeling of SPS apparatus: Temperature, current and strain distribution with no powders
Authors: Cincotti A. , Locci A. M. , Orrù R. , Cao G.
Published: January 2007

The mathematical simulation of the spark plasma sintering/synthesis (SPS) apparatus, which represents an effective tool for sintering/synthesizing advanced materials, is addressed. Because several, concomitant physicochemical phenomena—such as heat transfer and generation, electric current transport, and stress–strain mechanics along with chemical transformation and sintering—take place during SPS processes, a step‐by‐step heuristic procedure is proposed for successful quantitative modeling purposes. First, in this work we consider the SPS behavior of specific sample configurations characterized by the absence of powders. This approach permits detailed analysis of the system from the perspective of electric phenomena. The inductive character is carefully described and properly taken into account when comparing experimental data with model results. The importance of considering rms (root mean squared) electric current for a quantitative determination of the Joule effect is highlighted. Moreover, this approach allows one to determine the electric and thermal resistances experimentally evidenced in the horizontal contacts between stainless steel electrodes and graphite spacers as functions of temperature and applied mechanical load. Horizontal contact resistances between graphite elements are experimentally found to be negligible and, accordingly, they are not modeled. Model reliability is tested by comparing numerical simulations with experimental data obtained at operating conditions far from those adopted during the fitting procedure of unknown parameters. The proposed model can be successfully compared from a quantitative perspective to the measured temperature, voltage, and displacement, once rms current, geometry, and mechanical load are set. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007
Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas
Authors: Kemp Brian M. , Malhi Ripan S. , McDonough John , Bolnick Deborah A. , Eshleman Jason A. , Rickards Olga , Martinez‐Labarga Cristina , Johnson John R. , Lorenz Joseph G. , Dixon E. James , Fifield Terence E. , Heaton Timothy H. , Worl Rosita , Smith David Glenn
Published: January 2007

Mitochondrial and Y‐chromosome DNA were analyzed from 10,300‐year‐old human remains excavated from On Your Knees Cave on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska (Site 49‐PET‐408). This individual's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the founder haplotype of an additional subhaplogroup of haplogroup D that was brought to the Americas, demonstrating that widely held assumptions about the genetic composition of the earliest Americans are incorrect. The amount of diversity that has accumulated in the subhaplogroup over the past 10,300 years suggests that previous calibrations of the mtDNA clock may have underestimated the rate of molecular evolution. If substantiated, the dates of events based on these previous estimates are too old, which may explain the discordance between inferences based on genetic and archaeological evidence regarding the timing of the settlement of the Americas. In addition, this individual's Y‐chromosome belongs to haplogroup Q‐M3*, placing a minimum date of 10,300 years ago for the emergence of this haplogroup. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Relative dental maturity and associated skeletal maturity in prehistoric native Americans of the Ohio valley area
Authors: Sciulli Paul W.
Published: January 2007

Estimation of age‐at‐death of subadults in prehistoric skeletal samples based on modern reference standards rests on a number of assumptions of which many are untestable. If these assumptions are not met error of unknown magnitude and direction will be introduced to the subadult age estimates. This situation suggests that an independent estimate or estimates of age‐related features, free of most of the assumptions made when using modern reference standards may be useful supplements in evaluating the age of subadults in prehistoric samples. The present study provides an internally consistent, population‐specific measure of maturity for prehistoric Ohio valley Native Americans based on the seriation of dental development that may be used as a supplement to age‐estimation. The developing dentition of 581 subadults from eight Ohio valley prehistoric–protohistoric groups was seriated within and among individuals resulting in a sequence of tooth development and a sequence of individuals from least to most mature. Dental maturity stages or sorting categories were then defined based on exclusive, easily observable, and highly repeatable tooth‐formation stages. Tooth eruption (into occlusion), bone lengths, and fusion of skeletal elements are summarized by dental maturity stage. This procedure provides maturity estimates for skeletal features ordered by dental maturity stages derived from the same sample thus making explicit the relationship between dental and skeletal maturity. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Microevolution of African American dental morphology
Authors: Edgar Heather J.H.
Published: January 2007

The African American (AA) gene pool is primarily the result of gene flow between two biologically disparate groups: West Africans (WA) and Americans of western European descent (EA). This research utilizes characteristics of dental morphology to trace genetic relationships among WA, western Europeans (EU), AA, and European Americans. Dental morphological traits are useful for this purpose because they are heritable, do not remodel during life (although they can be lost to wear or pathology), and can be compared equally among samples from past and present populations. The results of this research provide new information about human microevolution through time and space in a biocultural setting. The mean measure of divergence is used to analyze dental morphological data from 1,265 individuals in 25 samples grouped by ancestry and time. Three hypotheses associated with admixture in AA are tested. When compared with known history, results from dental morphological data are equivocal in documenting admixture in AA. Dental morphological traits do appear to reflect admixture in AA. However, changes in trait frequencies do not closely correspond with important cultural events and trends such as the institutionalized racism of the Civil War and Jim Crow era. Results are mixed concerning whether AA with greater admixture were more likely to take part in the Great Migration to southern urban centers and to the North. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Leptin in a lean population of Filipino adolescents
Authors: Kuzawa Christopher W. , Quinn Elizabeth A. , Adair Linda S.
Published: January 2007

To clarify the role of leptin as a signal of energy status in humans, this study investigated the relationship of leptin to measures of body composition, maturity, and lifestyle factors in a lean sample of 293 male and 303 female Filipino adolescents (age 14–16 years). Participants were selected from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, a representative birth cohort study begun in 1983. Using IOTF criteria, the prevalence of overweight (2.2%) and obesity (0.3%) were extremely low, and leptin levels were among the lowest reported in any healthy population (mean: 0.78 and 3.57 ng/dl in males and females). As expected, adiposity was the strongest predictor of leptin, with triceps skinfold explaining 40.2 and 30.6% of leptin variance in males and females. In females, subscapular skinfold was a significant predictor of leptin independent of triceps, while no anthropometric measure predicted leptin independent of triceps in males. There were few relationships between lifestyle factors and leptin independent of adiposity. In males, leptin levels varied little across most of the triceps distribution, suggesting that the leptin‐adipose regulatory system is sensitive to very small changes in leptin in lean populations, at least among males. These findings add to the small but growing list of studies documenting differences in leptin biology among chronically lean populations. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phase morphology development during processing of compatibilized and uncompatibilized PBT/ABS blends
Authors: Canto L. B. , Mantovani G. L. , Covas J. A. , Hage E. , Pessan L. A.
Published: January 2007

The development of the multiphase morphology of uncompatibilized blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene terpolymer (ABS) and PBT/ABS blends compatibilized with methyl‐methacrylate glycidyl‐methacrylate (MMA‐GMA) reactive copolymers during compounding in a twin‐screw extruder and subsequent injection molding was investigated. Uncompatibilized PBT/ABS 60/40 (wt %) and compatibilized PBT/ABS/MMA‐GMA with 2 and 5 wt % of MMA‐GMA showed refined cocontinuous morphologies at the front end of the extruder, which coarsened towards the extruder outlet. Coarsening in uncompatibilized PBT/ABS blends is much more pronounced than in the compatibilized PBT/ABS/MMA‐GMA equivalents and decreases with increasing amounts of the MMA‐GMA. For both systems, significant refinement on the phase morphology was found to occur after the blends pass through the extruder die. This phenomenon was correlated to the capacity of the die in promoting particles break‐up due to the extra elongational stresses developed at the matrix entrance. Injection molding induces coarsening of the ABS domains in the case of uncompatibilized PBT/ABS blends, while the reactive blend kept its refined phase morphology. Therefore, the compatibilization process of PBT/ABS/MMA‐GMA blends take place progressively leading to a further refinement of the phase morphology in the latter steps, owing to the slow reaction rate relative to epoxide functions and the carboxyl/hydroxyl groups. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 102–110, 2007
Soy protein adhesion enhanced by glutaraldehyde crosslink
Authors: Wang Ying , Mo X. , Sun X. Susan , Wang Donghai
Published: January 2007

Soy protein has been considered as an alternative to partly replace petroleum‐based polymers for adhesive applications. The weakness of protein‐based adhesive is poor water resistance, which limits its outdoor applications. The objective of this research was to improve the water resistance of soy protein adhesive by introducing crosslinkage between amino groups of amino acid residue. Laboratory prepared soy protein isolate (SPI) was used in this study. Glutaraldehyde at concentrations of 4, 20, 40, and 80 μM was used as the crosslinking reagent for SPI modification. Adhesive properties of soy protein modified by glutaraldehyde, as well as thermal and morphological properties, were investigated. Crosslinking‐induced protein conformation and structure changes through decrease of amino groups and adding of hydrophobic groups, subsequently affect adhesive performance of SPI. At optimum glutaraldehyde concentration (20 μM), dry, wet, and soak strengths of modified SPI increased to 31.5, 115, and 29.7%, respectively, compared with unmodified SPI. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 130–136, 2007
Melt flow properties of starch‐filled linear low density polyethylene: Effect of photoinitiators
Authors: Bagheri R. , Naimian F.
Published: January 2007

Three series of the processed linear low density polyethylene samples containing: 0–15 wt % corn starch, 0.5 wt % of a photoinitiator (PI), and 5 wt % corn starch + 0.5 wt % of a PI were prepared using an internal mixer at 170°C for 5 min in a closed system. The melt flow index (MFI) and apparent viscosity (μa) of each sample were measured. The presence of starch in the samples decreased the MFI and increased the apparent viscosity. Increase in the starch concentration has a direct relation to both the MFI and the μa at various shear rates. A slight decrease in the MFI and the μa was observed due to the presence of the PIs in the samples. This was enhanced by the presence of the starch in the samples. Carbonyl group formation showed an increase in the samples containing the PIs. This was also enhanced by the presence of the starch in the samples. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 178–182, 2007
Properties of poly(AAc‐co‐HPMA‐cl‐EGDMA) hydrogel‐bound lipase ofPseudomonas aeruginosaMTCC‐4713 and its use in synthesis of methyl acrylate
Authors: Singh Kanwar Shamsher , Lal Verma Madan , Maheshwari Chanchal , Chauhan Sandeep , Singh Chimni Swapandeep , Singh Chauhan Ghansham
Published: January 2007

Microbial lipases (E.C. 3.1.1.3) are preferred biocatalysts for the synthesis of esters in organic solvents. Various extracellular thermoalkaliphilic lipases have been reported fromPseudomonassp. In the present study, a purified alkaline thermoalkalophilic extracellular lipase ofPseudomonas aeruginosaMTCC‐4713 was efficiently immobilized onto a synthetic poly(AAc‐co‐HPMA‐cl‐EGDMA) hydrogel by adsorption and the bound lipase was evaluated for its hydrolytic potential towards variousp‐nitrophenyl acyl esters varying in their C‐chain lengths. The bound lipase showed optimal hydrolytic activity towardsp‐nitrophenyl palmitate (p‐NPP) at pH 8.5 and temperature 45°C. The hydrolytic activity of the hydrogel‐bound lipase was markedly enhanced by the presence of Hg2+, Fe3+, and NHsalt ions in that order. The hydrogel‐immobilized lipase (25 mg) was used to perform esterification in variousn‐alkane(s) that resulted in ∼ 84.9 mMof methyl acrylate at 45°C inn‐heptane under shaking (120 rpm) after 6 h, when methanol and acrylic acid were used in a ratio of 100 mM:100 mM, respectively. Addition of a molecular sieve (3Å × 1.5 mm) to the reaction system at a concentration of 100 mg/reaction vol (1 mL) resulted in a moderate enhancement in conversion of reactants into methyl acrylate (85.6 mM). During the repetitive esterification under optimum conditions, the hydrogel‐bound lipase produced 71.3 mMof ester after 10th cycle of reuse. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 183–191, 2007
Polyelectrolyte CASA hydrogels for uptake of uranyl ions from aqueous solutions
Authors: Karadağ Erdener , Üzüm Ömer Barış , Kundakci Semiha , Saraydin Dursun
Published: January 2007

In this study, uranyl ion adsorption from aqueous solutions has been investigated by chemically crosslinked acrylamide/sodium acrylate (CASA) hydrogels. Adsorption studies were investigated by the spectroscopic method. CASA hydrogels with various compositions were prepared from ternary mixtures of acrylamide (A), sodium acrylate (SA), and water by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution, using multifunctional crosslinkers such as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Uranyl ion adsorption from aqueous solutions was studied by the batch sorption technique at 25°C. The effect of uranyl ion concentration and mass of adsorbent on the uranyl ion adsorption were examined. In experiments of sorption, L‐type sorption in the Giles classification system was found. Some binding parameters, such as initial binding constant (Ki), equilibrium constant (K), monolayer coverage (n), site‐size (u), and maximum fractional occupancy (Ô) for the CASA hydrogel–uranyl ion binding system, were calculated using the Langmuir linearization method. Finally, the amount of sorbed uranyl ion per gram of dry hydrogel (q) was calculated to be 4.44 × 10−4–14.86 × 10−4 mol uranyl ion per gram for CASA hydrogels. Adsorption of uranyl ion (percentage) was changed within a range of 12.86–46.71%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 200–204, 2007