bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Military Primacy Doesn't Pay (Nearly As Much As You Think)
Authors: Drezner Daniel W.
Published: July 2013

Acommon argument among scholars and policymakers is that America's military preeminence and deep international engagement yield significant economic benefits to the United States and the rest of the world. Ostensibly, military primacy, beyond reducing security tensions, also encourages economic returns through a variety of loosely articulated causal mechanisms. A deeper analytical look reveals the causal pathways through which military primacy is most likely to yield economic returns: geoeconomic favoritism, whereby the military hegemon attracts private capital in return for providing the greatest security and safety to investors; direct geopolitical favoritism, according to which sovereign states, in return for living under the security umbrella of the military superpower, voluntarily transfer resources to help subsidize the costs of hegemony; and the public goods benefits that flow from hegemonic stability. A closer investigation of these causal mechanisms reveals little evidence that military primacy attracts private capital. The evidence for geopolitical favoritism seems more robust during periods of bipolarity than unipolarity. The evidence for public goods benefits is strongest, but military predominance plays only a supporting role in that logic. While further research is needed, the aggregate evidence suggests that the economic benefits of military hegemony have been exaggerated in policy circles. These findings have significant implications for theoretical debates about the fungibility of military power and should be considered when assessing U.S. fiscal options and grand strategy for the next decade.
A Model Humanitarian Intervention? Reassessing NATO's Libya Campaign
Authors: Kuperman Alan J.
Published: July 2013

NATO's 2011 humanitarian military intervention in Libya has been hailed as a model for implementing the emerging norm of the responsibility to protect (R2P), on grounds that it prevented an impending bloodbath in Benghazi and facilitated the ouster of Libya's oppressive ruler, Muammar al-Qaddafi, who had targeted peaceful civilian protesters. Before the international community embraces such conclusions, however, a more rigorous assessment of the net humanitarian impact of NATO intervention in Libya is warranted. The conventional narrative is flawed in its portrayal of both the nature of the violence in Libya prior to the intervention and NATO's eventual objective of regime change. An examination of the course of violence in Libya before and after NATO's action shows that the intervention backfired. The intervention extended the war's duration about sixfold; increased its death toll approximately seven to ten times; and exacerbated human rights abuses, humanitarian suffering, Islamic radicalism, and weapons proliferation in Libya and its neighbors. If it is a “model intervention,” as senior NATO officials claim, it is a model of failure. Implementation of R2P must be reformed to address these unintended negative consequences and the dynamics underlying them. Only then will R2P be able to achieve its noble objectives.
Why States Won't Give Nuclear Weapons to Terrorists
Authors: Lieber Keir A. , Press Daryl G.
Published: July 2013

Many experts consider nuclear terrorism the single greatest threat to U.S. security. The fear that a state might transfer nuclear materials to terrorists was a core justification for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and, more recently, for a strike against Iran's nuclear program. The logical basis for this concern is sound: if a state could orchestrate an anonymous nuclear terror attack, it could destroy an enemy yet avoid retaliation. But how likely is it that the perpetrators of nuclear terrorism could remain anonymous? Data culled from a decade of terrorist incidents reveal that attribution is very likely after high-casualty terror attacks. Attribution rates are even higher for attacks on the U.S. homeland or the territory of a major U.S. ally—97 percent for incidents in which ten or more people were killed. Moreover, tracing a terrorist group that used a nuclear weapon to its state sponsor would not be difficult, because few countries sponsor terror; few terror groups have multiple sponsors; and only one country that sponsors terrorism, Pakistan, has nuclear weapons or enough material to manufacture them. If leaders understand these facts, they will be as reluctant to give weapons to terrorists as they are to use them directly; both actions would invite devastating retaliation.
KIMA - A Holographic Telepresence Environment Based on Cymatic Principles
Authors: Gingrich Oliver , Renaud Alain , Emets Eugenia
Published: July 2013

KIMA is a holographic surround-sound installation that visualizes telepresence as both a phonetic and a synaesthetic phenomenon. The performance piece is based on the physical conditions of cymatics-the study of physically visible sound wave patterns. Two environments, a quad surround and a holographic interface, build the framework of a telematic experience that illustrates communication as wave forms while focusing on the relationship between sound and matter.
Null By Morse: Historical Optical Communication to Smartphones
Authors: Schofield Tom
Published: July 2013

Null By Morse is an installation artwork that incorporates a military signaling lamp and smartphones. A series of Morse messages is transmitted automatically by the signal lamp. The messages are drawn from the history of Morse and telegraphy. A custom app for iPhone and Android uses the phone's camera to identify the changing light levels of the lamp and the associated timings. The app then decodes the Morse and displays the message on the screen on top of the camera image. This paper discusses the artwork in relation to the following theoretical aspects: It contextualizes the position of smartphones in the history of optical communication. It proposes an approach to smartphones in media art that moves away from futurist perspectives whose fundamental approach is to seek to creatively exploit the latest features. Lastly, it discusses the interaction with the phone in the exhibition context in terms of slow technology.
Ut Pictura Poesis: Drawing into Space
Authors: Griffin David
Published: July 2013

In 1735, Leonard Euler presented a solution to the practical problem of whether a route could be plotted to cross each of seven bridges in Königsberg once. His negative solution used the simplest of mark-making strategies to resolve a conceptual problem. Euler did not actually cross the town's bridges, but used them to resolve questions of connectivity, after which diagrammatic representations can be seen as the restructuring of logical problems to allow for inductive reasoning, for fruitful application beyond theory. But what if such a working graphic has as its target something that is simply incomprehensible? What are the upper limits of the denotational logic of such diagrams? This paper presents a drawing-research project that tests the cognitive advantages of technical graphics by directly engaging with things that cannot be made easier to understand through their use.
The Emergence and Growth of Evolutionary Art - 1980–1993
Authors: Lambert Nicholas , Latham William , Leymarie Frederic Fol
Published: July 2013

One of the most interesting-if frustrating-aspects of charting the history of computer art is trying to understand the intersections of specific technologies and artistic experimentation. It is rarely as clear-cut as a simple linear influence of one to the other, partly because artists are able to envision all kinds of possibilities that technology might enable them to realize in some kind of form, but as they do so, the technology is itself shaped, especially in terms of how it is perceived by others. Do artists find a way to give technologies an aesthetic outlet, or do some technologies possess-or facilitate-a characteristic aesthetic that finds its expression through specific artists? Certainly, in the history of computer art it would seem that particular aesthetics, technologies, and artists are closely intertwined in certain periods. This intertwining of art, technology, and ideas stolen from the natural world has never been so arguably merged as the period in the history of computer art from 1980 to 1993. We take as the defining start of this period the initial work of Mandelbrot on fractals that became known as the Mandelbrot set and led to his famous illustrated art-science book The Fractal Geometry of Nature. In 1993, this first highly creative period in evolutionary computer art came to an end with major publications by pioneers Karl Sims, Stephen Todd, and William Latham.
New species and new records of Manota Williston (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) in the Neotropical region
Authors: HIPPA HEIKKI
Published: July 2013

The following 17 new species are described: Manota anfracta (Ecuador), M. appendiculata (Ecuador, French Guyana), M. aristata (Ecuador), M. bisulca (Ecuador), M. depilis (Ecuador), M. inermis (Ecuador), M. iota (Ecuador, French Guy-ana), M. micula (Ecuador), M. panda (Argentina), M. papillosa (Ecuador), M. patula (French Guyana), M. paula (Ecua-dor), M. pisinna (French Guyana), M. quantilla (Ecuador), M. quantula (Ecuador), M. senta (Nicaragua), M. virgata (Ecuador). New records of the following species are given: Manota acuminata Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador), M. acuti-stylus Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador, French Guyana), M. diversiseta Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador, French Guyana), M. ibanezi Hippa and Huerta (Ecuador, French Guyana, Peru), M. inornata Jaschhof & Hippa (French Guyana), M. multise-tosa Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador), M. parva Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador), M. rotundistylus Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecua-dor), and M. squamulata Jaschhof and Hippa (Ecuador).
Redescription of East Palaearctic ground spider Drassyllus biglobus Paik, 1986 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae)
Authors: OMELKO MIKHAIL M. , MARUSIK YURI M. , KIM BYUNG-WOO
Published: July 2013

Drassyllus Chamberlin, 1922 is a fairly large (91 species) Holarctic genus of gnaphosid spiders (Platnick 2013). Although it is a relatively well studied genus thanks to the revisional works of Platnick & Shadab (1982), Grimm (1985), Paik (1992), Kamura (2009) and some other works, 25 species or over 25% remain known from one sex only (four by males and 21 by females).
Paradiopatra (Annelida: Onuphidae) from eastern Australian waters, with the description of six new species
Authors: PAXTON HANNELORE , BUDAEVA NATALIYA
Published: July 2013

This study recognises eight species of Paradiopatra from eastern Australian waters, of which only one, Paradiopatra ehlersi, had been previously recorded. Six species are newly described: P. acirrata n. sp., P. imajimai n. sp., P. longicappa n. sp., P. piccola n. sp., P. spinosa n. sp., P. variabilis n. sp., and one species is reported as P. cf. papillata. Descriptions of all species (with the exception of P. ehlersi) are given, accompanied by detailed illustrations, including scanning electron micrographs and drawings. A key to all 32 species of the genus is included plus a table summarising specific diagnostic characters of the Australian representatives.
Review of the genus Myrmozercon Berlese (Acari: Laelapidae), with description of two new species from Iran
Authors: JOHARCHI OMID , MORADI MARYAM
Published: July 2013

This paper reports on three species of mites of the genus Myrmozercon Berlese, 1902 associated with ants in Iran – Myrmozercon crinitus Joharchi sp. nov. from Pheidole pallidula (Nylander), Myrmozercon michaeli Joharchi sp. nov. from Messor sp. and Myrmozercon tauricus Trach & Khaustov from Crematogaster schmidti (Mayr) in the bark of grape vines. Myrmozercon is re-deﬁned, the distribution, and the host-speciﬁcity and host range of its constituent species are discussed. A key to species of Myrmozercon occurring in the Palaearctic Region is presented.
Croatian aquatic dance flies (Diptera: Empididae: Clinocerinae and Hemerodromiinae): species diversity, distribution and relationship to surrounding countries
Authors: IVKOVIĆ MARIJA , GRAČAN ROMANA , HORVAT BOGDAN
Published: July 2013

A checklist of aquatic Empididae (dance flies) from Croatia (36 species in subfamily Clinocerinae and 14 species in subfamily Hemerodromiinae) is presented, including information related to the Ecoregions in which species were found and specific species traits. Clinocerinae are represented by five genera, with Wiedemannia Zetterstedt being most species rich (20 species) and Clinocerella Engel least numerous with only one species. In Hemerodromiinae there are 8 species of Chelifera Macquart and 6 species and Hemerodromia Meigen. In addition, a discussion related to the species included and excluded from the list is provided. Most species are univoltine with adults emerging in Spring and Summer, although Kowarzia barbatula Mik and Wiedemannia (Eucelidia) zetterstedti (Fallén) are present throughout the year and Wiedemannia (Chamaedipsia) aequilobata Mandaron occurrs in Winter. The Croatian species assemblage is similar to the well-studied fauna of neighboring Slovenia (63 spp.). It is recommended that some rare species and the streams they inhabit should be considered for greater protection.
A new montane species of Philautus (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from western Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo
Authors: DEHLING J. MAXIMILIAN , DEHLING D. MATTHIAS
Published: July 2013

A new species of Philautus is described from western Sarawak. The new species was collected in lower montane forest in two national parks in Sarawak and recorded from another park. It differs from its congeners by a unique combination of morphological characters, including a long, acuminate snout, long legs, and comparatively extensive toe webbing. The advertisement call of the new species differs from all calls of other species that have been analyzed so far. Comparison of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequence corroborates its distinct specific status.
Description of the previously unknown advertisement call and tadpole of the Colombian endemic glassfrog Centrolene savagei (Anura: Centrolenidae)
Authors: DÍAZ-GUTIÉRREZ NATALIA , VARGAS-SALINAS FERNANDO , RIVERA-CORREA MAURICIO , ROJAS-MORALES JULIÁN ANDRÉS , ESCOBAR-LASSO SERGIO , VELASCO JULIÁN A. , GUTIÉRREZ-CÁRDENAS PAUL DAVID ALFONSO , AMÉZQUITA ADOLFO
Published: July 2013

Glassfrogs (family Centrolenidae) are a charismatic group that currently contains about 149 species biogeographically restricted to the Neotropics (Frost 2013). The advertisement call and tadpole has been described for less than 25% glassfrog species, 32 and 35 species respectively (e.g. Márquez et al. 1996; Ospina-Sarria et al. 2011). Centrolene savagei (Ruiz-Carranza & Lynch 1991; Fig. 1) is a species of relatively small size frogs (mean snout-vent length, SVL, females: 23.6 mm, males: 21.1 mm) occurring in both the Western and Central Andes (Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central) of Colombia, between 1400–2410 m a.s.l. (Ruiz-Carranza & Lynch 1991; Rojas-Morales et al. 2011). Although there is some information regarding egg attendance and natural history of C. savagei (Vargas-Salinas et al. 2007), neither the advertisement call or the larval morphology have been described.
Toward Multiscale Simulation of Moist Flows with Soundproof Equations
Authors: Kurowski Marcin J. , Grabowski Wojciech W. , Smolarkiewicz Piotr K.
Published: July 2013

This paper discusses the incorporation of phase changes of the water substance that accompany moist atmospheric flows into the all-scale atmospheric model based on soundproof equations. A specific issue involves developing a theoretical basis and practical implementation to include pressure perturbations associated with atmospheric circulations, from small scale to global, into representations of moist thermodynamics. In small-scale modeling using soundproof equations, pressure perturbations are obtained from the elliptic pressure solver and are typically excluded from the moist thermodynamics. This paper argues that in larger-scale flows, at least the hydrostatic component of the pressure perturbation needs to be included because pressure variation in synoptic weather systems may affect moist thermodynamics in a way comparable to the temperature variations. As an illustration, two idealized test problems are considered: the small-scale moist thermal rising in a stratified environment and the moist mesoscale flow over idealized topography. The paper compares numerical solutions obtained with a fully compressible acoustic mode–resolving model and with two versions of the anelastic model, either including or excluding anelastic pressure perturbations in moist thermodynamics. The two versions of the anelastic model are referred to as the generalized and standard anelastic. In agreement with the scaling arguments, only negligible differences between anelastic and compressible solutions are simulated. Incorporation of the anelastic pressure perturbations into moist thermodynamics paves the way for future studies where larger-scale moist dynamics will be considered.
Stochastic Behavior of Tropical Convection in Observations and a Multicloud Model
Authors: Peters Karsten , Jakob Christian , Davies Laura , Khouider Boualem , Majda Andrew J.
Published: July 2013

The aim for a more accurate representation of tropical convection in global circulation models is a long-standing issue. Here, the relationships between large and convective scales in observations and a stochastic multicloud model (SMCM) to ultimately support the design of a novel convection parameterization with stochastic elements are investigated. Observations of tropical convection obtained at Darwin and Kwajalein are used here. It is found that the variability of observed tropical convection generally decreases with increasing large-scale forcing, implying a transition from stochastic to more deterministic behavior with increasing forcing. Convection shows a more systematic relationship with measures related to large-scale convergence compared to measures related to energetics (e.g., CAPE). Using the observations, the parameters in the SMCM are adjusted. Then, the SMCM is forced with the time series of the observed large-scale state and the simulated convective behavior is compared to that observed. It is found that the SMCM cloud fields compare better with observations when using predictors related to convergence rather than energetics. Furthermore, the underlying framework of the SMCM is able to reproduce the observed functional dependencies of convective variability on the imposed large-scale state—an encouraging result on the road toward a novel convection parameterization approach. However, establishing sound cause-and-effect relationships between tropical convection and the large-scale environment remains problematic and warrants further research.
The Effect of Atmospheric Water Vapor on Neutron Count in the Cosmic-Ray Soil Moisture Observing System
Authors: Rosolem R. , Shuttleworth W. J. , Zreda M. , Franz T. E. , Zeng X. , Kurc S. A.
Published: July 2013

The cosmic-ray method for measuring soil moisture, used in the Cosmic-Ray Soil Moisture Observing System (COSMOS), relies on the exceptional ability of hydrogen to moderate fast neutrons. Sources of hydrogen near the ground, other than soil moisture, affect the neutron measurement and therefore must be quantified. This study investigates the effect of atmospheric water vapor on the cosmic-ray probe signal and evaluates the fast neutron response in realistic atmospheric conditions using the neutron transport code Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX). The vertical height of influence of the sensor in the atmosphere varies between 412 and 265 m in dry and wet atmospheres, respectively. Model results show that atmospheric water vapor near the surface affects the neutron intensity signal by up to 12%, corresponding to soil moisture differences on the order of 0.10 m3 m−3. A simple correction is defined to identify the true signal associated with integrated soil moisture that rescales the measured neutron intensity to that which would have been observed in the atmospheric conditions prevailing on the day of sensor calibration. Use of this approach is investigated with in situ observations at two sites characterized by strong seasonality in water vapor where standard meteorological measurements are readily available.
Subthermocline Eddies over the Washington Continental Slope as Observed by Seagliders, 2003–09
Authors: Pelland Noel A. , Eriksen Charles C. , Lee Craig M.
Published: July 2013

In the California Current System, subthermocline, lenslike anticyclonic eddies generated within the California Undercurrent (CU) are one mechanism for lateral transport of the warm, saline waters of the CU. Garfield et al. established the name “Cuddies” for eddies of this type and hypothesized that they account for a significant fraction of the offshore transport of CU water. This study presents observations of subthermocline eddies collected from a time series of Seaglider surveys in the northern California Current System. Gliders made 46 crossings of subthermocline anticyclones and 17 crossings of subthermocline cyclones over 5.5 yr. Close inspection grouped these into 20 distinct anticyclones and 10 distinct cyclones. Water properties at the core of anticyclonic eddies were similar to those in the core of the CU over the continental slope; these anticyclones are examples of Cuddies. Anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies had average radii of 20.4 (20.6) km, peak azimuthal current speeds of 0.25 (0.23) m s−1, and average core anomalies of potential vorticity 65% below (125% above) ambient values. Anticyclones contained an order of magnitude greater available heat and salt anomaly relative to background conditions than cyclones on average. Circumstantial evidence of eddy decay through lateral intrusions was found although this was not observed consistently. Observed eddy properties and the geometry of flow over the continental slope were consistent with eddy formation due to frictional torque acting on the CU. Loss of heat and salt from the CU due to subthermocline eddies is estimated to account for 44% of the freshening and cooling of the CU as it flows poleward.
Aspects of the Correlation between Sodar and Mast Instrument Winds
Authors: Bradley Stuart
Published: July 2013

On a uniform terrain site, differences between a sodar and a mast-mounted cup anemometer will arise because of turbulent fluctuations and wind components being measured in different spaces, and because of the inherent difference between scalar and vector averaging. This paper develops theories for turbulence-related random fluctuations resulting from finite sampling rates and sampling from spatially distributed volumes. Coefficients of determination (R2) are predicted comparable to those obtained in practice. It is shown that more than two-thirds of the reduction in R2 arises from differences in the winds measured by mast instruments and by sodars, rather than by sodar errors: both instruments are measuring accurately, but just not in the same place or at the same time. The result is that sodars being used operationally should be able to measure winds to a root-mean-square accuracy of around 2%.
The DeTect Inc. RAPTOR VAD-BL Radar Wind Profiler
Authors: Lau Elías , McLaughlin Scott , Pratte Frank , Weber Bob , Merritt David , Wise Maikel , Zimmerman Gary , James Matthew , Sloan Megan
Published: July 2013

The DeTect Inc. RAPTOR velocity–azimuth display boundary layer (VAD-BL) radar wind profiler is a pulsed Doppler radar used to make automatic unattended measurements of wind profiles in the lower atmosphere. All data products are produced on site, in real time, and utilize quality control software to screen out interference. The nominal frequencies are 915 and 1290 MHz but other frequencies can be accommodated. While the architecture is similar to other boundary layer wind profilers, the RAPTOR VAD-BL is designed to provide consistently superior data quality due to its antenna design and signal processing capabilities. The antenna is a high-performance parabolic reflector with a feed that is designed in house for the operational frequency of the radar. The antenna is mounted on a robust military-grade azimuth-only positioner. The RAPTOR VAD-BL can collect data from several opposing beam positions with the goal of producing higher-quality wind data using the velocity–azimuth display (VAD) algorithm. The Advanced Signal Processing Engine (ASPEN) software used to calculate winds outperforms conventional consensus algorithms. The health and status of all critical subsystems is monitored via the profiler health monitor (PHM), a stand-alone monitor with its own microprocessor. Results from systems deployed for operational applications show the potential for the retrieval of high-quality data with excellent height coverage and a solid design that allows the antenna to perform under sustained high wind loading.
Stopping Prison Rape
Authors: Struckman-Johnson Cindy , Struckman-Johnson Dave
Published: July 2013

The authors, one a past member of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC), review the historic literature on solutions to prison sexual assault. We contend that pressure for humanitarian treatment of inmates as well as other forces internal and external to the prison system brought about the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and NPREC. We review the 40 standards to stop prison rape in adult prisons and jails proposed by NPREC in 2009 and compare their scope to solutions from past literature. We recommend that the effectiveness of NPREC standards be evaluated and that the search for solutions continue.
Is Adoption an Option? The Role of Importance of Motherhood and Fertility Help-Seeking in Considering Adoption
Authors: Park Nicholas K. , Wonch Hill Patricia
Published: July 2013

Americans have positive views of adoption, yet many never consider adoption. This study examined characteristics that predict whether women ever consider adoption as a pathway to motherhood using an analytic sample of 876 childless women from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers. Using Risman’s theory of gender as a social structure as a framework, we focused on the role of the importance of motherhood and infertility in predicting adoption consideration. Women who held higher levels of importance of motherhood and engaged in medical help-seeking for infertility were more likely to consider adoption at both the bivariate and multivariate levels. Women currently considering adoption were more likely to have seen a doctor for infertility, to have a high importance of motherhood, to be African American, and were generally older. Longitudinal research is needed to evaluate how views of adoption and the importance of motherhood change over time for individual women.
Corpus callosum hemorrhage during left ventricular-assist device support
Authors: Lemaire Anaïs , Cuttone Fabio , Desgué Julien , Ivascau Calin , Buklas Dimitri , Massetti Massimo
Published: July 2013

Patients supported by left ventricular-assist devices are at high risk of bleeding, but among the numerous hemorrhagic complications, those involving the corpus callosum are very uncommon. We report the case of a 35-year-old woman who suddenly experienced neurological symptoms 4 months after HeartMate II implantation. Cranial computed tomography showed a voluminous hematoma involving the corpus callosum.
Initiating mobile phone technology using QR Codes to access library services at the University of Cape Town
Authors: Mohamed Shehaamah
Published: July 2013

This article reports on an innovative project which grew out of the desire to facilitate access to information using the Quick Response (QR) Code. Easily read by mobile phones with cameras, the QR Code provides a simple but effective means for library patrons to access library resources. The article explores the need to use the QR Code in the Brand van Zyl Law Library, University of Cape Town (UCT), for accessing academic library services. Although relatively new in South Africa, QR Codes have been used successfully by some local educational institutions. Against this background, the article reports on a needs analysis which was conducted at the Brand Van Zyl Law Library and recommends the accelerating use of QR Codes in the academic environment.
Palliative care for people with heart failure: Summary of current evidence and future direction
Authors: Gadoud Amy , Jenkins Shona MM , Hogg Karen J
Published: July 2013

Background:

Heart failure is a common condition with a significant physical and psychological burden for patients and their families.

The need for supportive and palliative care:

It is well recognised that palliative care is important in patients with advanced heart failure.

What is known:

Heart failure patients have limited access to palliative care services. Barriers to palliative care include difficult prognostication due to the unpredictable disease trajectory and inadequate initiation of conversations about end-of-life care.

What is not known:

There are gaps in the evidence for symptom control, especially for symptoms other than pain or dyspnoea, but recommendations are becoming increasingly evidence based.

Implications for research, policy and practice:

There are challenges to research in this area although progress is being made with increasing numbers of trials and use of novel research methods. Integrated models of care based on symptom triggers rather than prognosis are recommended. At the centre is excellent communication both with the patient and between services to ensure the best possible care.
Clinical effects of intrathecal fentanyl on shoulder tip pain in laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair under spinal anaesthesia: A double-blind, prospective, randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sung Tae-Yun , Kim Min-Su , Cho Choon-Kyu , Park Dong-Ho , Kang Po-Soon , Lee Sang-Eok , Kwon Won-Kyoung , Woo Nam-Sik , Kim Seong-Hyop
Published: July 2013

Objective

The study evaluated the clinical intraoperative effects of intrathecal administration of fentanyl on shoulder tip pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (TEP) under spinal anaesthesia.

Methods

Patients undergoing TEP were allocated in a double-blinded, prospective, randomized manner to two groups. Spinal anaesthesia was induced by intrathecal administration of 2.8 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (14 mg) in the control group and with 2.6 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (13 mg) and 10 µg fentanyl (0.2 ml) in the experimental group.

Results

The quality of muscle relaxation, adequacy of operative space and incidence of pneumoperitoneum were similar in the two groups ( n = 36 per group). Compared with the control group, the experimental group had significantly fewer cases of hypotension (12 [33.3%]) versus 23 [63.9%]) and shoulder tip pain (nine [25%] versus 18 [50%]). Intraoperative shoulder tip pain was more severe in the control group than in the experimental group.

Conclusions

Addition of intrathecal fentanyl to local anaesthetic can relieve shoulder tip pain with no change in complications, especially hypotension, during TEP under spinal anaesthesia.
Prediction of entire forming limit diagram from simple tensile material properties
Authors: Paul Surajit K , Manikandan G , Verma Rahul K
Published: July 2013

The purpose of this study is to develop a phenomenological model for prediction of the entire forming limit diagram from simple tensile material properties. The phenomenological model is based on the necking and ductile damage theories. In the proposed model, void nucleation is described as a function of the equivalent plastic strain, and void growth is a function of the stress triaxiality. The forming limit curves calculated from the proposed phenomenological model matched reasonably well in the region of uniaxial tension to balance biaxial tension with the experimental forming limit curves generated on C-Mn 440 steel, interstitial-free 340 steel, and interstitial-free steel sheets.
What do we know about the medical biography of Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938)? A summary of the state of knowledge and outlook on relevant issues for further research
Authors: Vatanoglu-Lutz E Elif , Hot İnci , Çoban Mustafa
Published: July 2013

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Turkish republic, is the subject of many more or less ‘heroic’ biographies and few critical ones. His anamnesis, however, is only available in fragments. Many books omit details of Atatürk’s health and life, for example his bloodline, his illness and eventually his death, his funeral prayer and ceremony and his burial. His liver problem, diagnosed as cirrhosis and said to be the cause of his death, is well described but his general health and other sicknesses are scarcely recorded. This paper provides an overview of his anamnesis as far as it is known, the literature describing it and the level of knowledge generally published, and it also indicates where original research in the archives is needed to complete the picture.
Intestinal Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats: a retrospective study of 104 cases
Authors: Xenoulis Panagiotis G , Lopinski Danielle J , Read Sarah A , Suchodolski Jan S , Steiner Jörg M
Published: July 2013

The clinical presentation and response to treatment of cats infected with Tritrichomonas foetus have not been sufficiently described in a large number of pet cats. The aim of this study was to collect and analyze clinical data from pet cats diagnosed with intestinal T foetus infection. Clinical information was collected for 104 cats that tested polymerase chain reaction-positive for T foetus. The most common clinical sign was diarrhea (98%) with a median duration of 135 days (range 1–2880 days). Forty-nine of 83 (59%) cats had diarrhea since adoption. Other clinical signs included anorexia (22%), depression (24%), weight loss or failure to gain weight (20%), vomiting (19%), abdominal pain (9%) and increased appetite (3%). A total of 45 cats had completed treatment with ronidazole, 29 of which (64%) showed a good clinical response to treatment. Sixteen (36%) cats had either partial or no improvement, or a relapse shortly after discontinuation of treatment.
Free and forced vibration analysis using improved third-order shear deformation theory for functionally graded plates under high temperature loading
Authors: Wattanasakulpong Nuttawit , Prusty Gangadhara B , Kelly Donald W
Published: July 2013

An improved third-order shear deformation theory is employed to investigate free and forced vibration responses of functionally graded plates. A power law distribution is used to describe the variation of material compositions across the plate thickness. The governing equations for vibration analysis obtained using an energy approach are then solved using the Ritz method. Two types of solutions, temperature independent and dependent material properties, are considered. Many effects of the volume fraction index, temperature, material pairs, thickness, plate aspect ratio, etc., which have significant impact on dynamic behaviour of the plates, are considered in the numerical illustrations of free and forced vibration results. At high temperatures, it is observed that the maximum deflections of the functionally graded plates subjected to the dynamic loading increase with the increase of frequency ratio and temperature.
Shared pedagogical understandings: Schoolwide inclusion practices supporting learner needs
Authors: Abawi Lindy , Oliver Mark
Published: July 2013

Educational perspectives that recommend inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream classrooms remain a controversial topic. The Melbourne Declaration declares that all young Australians should be supported to become successful learners; confident and creative individuals; and active and informed citizens. So the question remains how is this to be achieved in ways that support all learners to reach their full potential regardless of their individual talents or learning challenges. Funding to support students with special needs is not staying in touch with the increasing numbers of students with special needs, many of whom are entering into mainstream schools and classrooms, thus schools must find effective ways of meeting a wide diversity of need. Creative and blended modes of support and inclusion must be trialled, critiqued and adjusted to meet the needs of each specific context. Practices that may be successful in one context with one cohort of students will not necessarily work within a different context and/or with a different group of students. Nonetheless, research shows that underpinning principles of practice and support structures that provide for all students within a school can and are being established successfully. Much can be learnt from successful practices such as those explored within this school case study. Underpinning the success of this school’s approach to inclusion is the school’s culture of support and relationships building. This strongly supportive culture emerged as a result of the envisioning work the school community undertook as part of the school’s involvement in the successful school revitalization project known as IDEAS (Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools). Individualized support programs have created a student-centred culture of inclusion according to need, which provides an approach to guide practices in other contexts.
‘A catastrophic lack of inquisitiveness’: A critical study of the impact and narrative of the Project Champion surveillance project in Birmingham
Authors: Isakjee Arshad , Allen Chris
Published: July 2013

This article focuses on both the narratives of Project Champion, a surveillance scheme in Birmingham in the UK that saw the installation of 216 closed circuit television and Automated Number Plate Recognition cameras in two areas which contained the greatest concentration of Muslims in the city. Considering the period of time throughout which Project Champion was conceived in 2008, instigated and eventually dismantled by July 2011, this article provides an unprecedented insight into the damaging impact that can occur if local agencies and institutions fail in their attempts to put central government policies into practice at the local and community levels. Whilst Project Champion is an extraordinarily intense and somewhat extreme instance of government counter-terrorism policy, this article allows for a range of issues that have previously been explored in a broader and largely national context to be considered in some depth at the highly localised level.
Effects of C-reactive protein on the neutrophil respiratory burst in vitro
Authors: Ling Martin R , Chapple Iain LC , Creese Andrew J , Matthews John B
Published: July 2013

This study determined the influence of physiologically relevant concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by neutrophils. Neutrophils from healthy individuals were incubated with soluble pentameric CRP prior to TLR stimulation with Fusobacterium nucleatum, or FcγR stimulation with IgG-opsonised Staphylococcus aureus or heat-aggregated IgG. ROS generation by unstimulated cells and those after stimulation were determined using luminol, isoluminol and lucigenin chemiluminescence, detecting predominantly intracellular hypochlorous acid (HOCl), extracellular hydrogen peroxide (detected as HOCl) and extracellular superoxide respectively. Baseline (unstimulated) neutrophil ROS generation and release was reduced compared with vehicle control by 10 µg/ml CRP. There was no consistent effect of CRP on FcγR-stimulated HOCl production, but the extracellular superoxide response was reduced by 10 µg/ml CRP. By contrast, CRP reduced intracellular (10 µg/ml) and extracellular (3 and 10 µg/ml) HOCl generation, but increased superoxide release (1–10 µg/ml) in response to TLR stimulation. Physiologically relevant concentrations of CRP inhibited baseline ROS generation and reduced FcγR-stimulated extracellular superoxide and TLR-stimulated HOCl release, suggesting that CRP may offer some degree of host protection from neutrophil-associated, low-level oxidative stress. However, CRP enhanced TLR-mediated superoxide release from neutrophils, potentially increasing oxidative stress but aiding host protection from infection.
Clofarabine doubles the response rate in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia but does not improve survival
Authors: Burnett Alan K. , Russell Nigel H. , Hunter Ann E. , Milligan Donald , Knapper Steven , Wheatley Keith , Yin John , McMullin Mary F. , Ali Sahra , Bowen David , Hills Robert K.
Published: July 2013

Key Points

In older patients with AML who are not suitable for intensive treatment, clofarabine doubles remission rates Survival is not improved compared with low-dose Ara-C
Picard iterations for nonexpansive and Lipschitz strongly accretive mappings in a real Banach space
Authors: Kang Shin Min , Rafiq Arif , Hussain Nawab , Kwun Young Chel
Published: July 2013

We study the convergence of a more general Picard iterative sequence for nonexpansive and Lipschitz strongly accretive mappings in an arbitrary real Banach space. Our results improve the results of Ćirić et al. (Nonlinear Anal. 70(12):4332-4337, 2009).

MSC:47H06, 47H09, 47J05, 47J25.
TCC: an R package for comparing tag count data with robust normalization strategies
Authors: Sun Jianqiang , Nishiyama Tomoaki , Shimizu Kentaro , Kadota Koji
Published: July 2013

Background

Differential expression analysis based on “next-generation” sequencing technologies is a fundamental means of studying RNA expression. We recently developed a multi-step normalization method (called TbT) for two-group RNA-seq data with replicates and demonstrated that the statistical methods available in four R packages (edgeR, DESeq, baySeq, and NBPSeq) together with TbT can produce a well-ranked gene list in which true differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are top-ranked and non-DEGs are bottom ranked. However, the advantages of the current TbT method come at the cost of a huge computation time. Moreover, the R packages did not have normalization methods based on such a multi-step strategy.

Results

TCC (an acronym for Tag Count Comparison) is an R package that provides a series of functions for differential expression analysis of tag count data. The package incorporates multi-step normalization methods, whose strategy is to remove potential DEGs before performing the data normalization. The normalization function based on this DEG elimination strategy (DEGES) includes (i) the original TbT method based on DEGES for two-group data with or without replicates, (ii) much faster methods for two-group data with or without replicates, and (iii) methods for multi-group comparison. TCC provides a simple unified interface to perform such analyses with combinations of functions provided by edgeR, DESeq, and baySeq. Additionally, a function for generating simulation data under various conditions and alternative DEGES procedures consisting of functions in the existing packages are provided. Bioinformatics scientists can use TCC to evaluate their methods, and biologists familiar with other R packages can easily learn what is done in TCC.

Conclusion

DEGES in TCC is essential for accurate normalization of tag count data, especially when up- and down-regulated DEGs in one of the samples are extremely biased in their number. TCC is useful for analyzing tag count data in various scenarios ranging from unbiased to extremely biased differential expression. TCC is available at http://www.iu.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kadota/TCC/ and will appear in Bioconductor (http://bioconductor.org/) from ver. 2.13.
Protein level identification of the Listeria monocytogenes Sigma H, Sigma L, and Sigma C regulons
Authors: Mujahid Sana , Orsi Renato H , Boor Kathryn J , Wiedmann Martin
Published: July 2013

Background

Transcriptional regulation by alternative sigma (σ) factors represents an important mechanism that allows bacteria to rapidly regulate transcript and protein levels in response to changing environmental conditions. While the role of the alternative σ factor σB has been comparatively well characterized in L. monocytogenes, our understanding of the roles of the three other L. monocytogenes alternative σ factors is still limited. In this study, we employed a quantitative proteomics approach using Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) to characterize the L. monocytogenes σL, σH, and σC protein regulons. Proteomic comparisons used a quadruple alternative σ factor mutant strain (ΔBCHL) and strains expressing a single alternative σ factor (i.e., σL, σH, and σC; strains ΔBCH, ΔBCL, and ΔBHL) to eliminate potential redundancies between σ factors.

Results

Among the three alternative σ factors studied here, σH provides positive regulation for the largest number of proteins, consistent with previous transcriptomic studies, while σL appears to contribute to negative regulation of a number of proteins. σC was found to regulate a small number of proteins in L. monocytogenes grown to stationary phase at 37°C. Proteins identified as being regulated by multiple alternative σ factors include MptA, which is a component of a PTS system with a potential role in regulation of PrfA activity.

Conclusions

This study provides initial insights into global regulation of protein production by the L. monocytogenes alternative σ factors σL, σH, and σC. While, among these σ factors, σH appears to positively regulate the largest number of proteins, we also identified PTS systems that appear to be co-regulated by multiple alternative σ factors. Future studies should not only explore potential roles of alternative σ factors in activating a “cascade” of PTS systems that potentially regulate PrfA, but also may want to explore the σL and σC regulons under different environmental conditions to identify conditions where these σ factors may regulate larger numbers of proteins or genes.
Intraepithelial lymphocyte distribution differs between the bulb and the second part of duodenum
Authors: Bednarska Olga , Ignatova Simone , Dahle Charlotte , Ström Magnus
Published: July 2013

Background

Evaluation of intraepithelial duodenal lymphocytosis (IDL) is important in celiac disease (CD). There is no established cut-off value for increased number of IELs in the bulb.

We therefore investigated the relation between IEL counts in the bulb and duodenal specimens in non-celiac subjects.

Methods

The number of CD3+ IELs was determined in specimens from the second part of the duodenum and from the bulb in 34 non-celiac subjects. The numbers of IELs in the villus tip and sides were counted and the quotient tip/side was calculated. HLA DQ2/DQ8 and serum antibodies against transglutaminase were analysed.

Results

The mean number of IELs per 100 enterocytes (95% CI) in specimens was 14.7 (11.8-17.6) in the bulb, and 21.2 (17.0-25.5) in the second part of the duodenum (p<0.01). There was no difference in IEL count or distribution comparing patients carrying or lacking HLA DQ2/DQ8.

Conclusions

IEL count in non-celiac, HLA DQ2/DQ8 positive or negative patients is significantly lower in the bulb than in the second part of the duodenum. These findings implicate that the site of biopsy should be taken into account when considering duodenal lymphocytosis.