bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Finite Element Analysis of Tire Curing Process
Authors: Tong Jian , Yan Xiangqiao
Published: August 2003

Curing is one of the most important steps in the tire manufacturing process. During this process, a green tire is formed to the desired shape and the compound is converted to a strong, elastic material to meet tire performance needs. The process of curing is usually accomplished under pressure and an elevated temperature provided by the mold. The curing process is energy consuming and has a strong effect on material properties. To attain an optimal state of cure for different compounds of various dimensions at minimal capital and energy costs requires proper evaluation of the state of cure in a tire.

Various numerical models have been proposed to determine the state of cure of rubber compounds in molds. Their applications are limited to simple geometry and boundary conditions. For a tire, which has complex shape and variable boundary conditions and is built from layers of rubber compounds and fiber/rubber composites, the finite element method appears to be an ideal candidate because of its versatility. In this paper, a simulator for the tire curing processes was developed based on the finite element method of an axisymmetric heat transfer problem for composite materials. The anisotropy of heat transfer properties of composite materials, the dependence of properties of rubber compounds on the temperature and/or the extent of cure, the time-varying boundary conditions which include the cooldown of the tire out of the press and the rigorous cure kinetic models are taken into account. The numerical simulation results of a truck tire curing process show that the simulator successfully describes the variation trends in temperature and in state of cure with the tire curing process. It also serves as the core module of an optimization algorithm, which is being developed for the tire curing and rubber formulation designs.
“You Have to Do It for the People Coming”: Union Organizing and the Transformation of Immigrant Women Workers
Authors: Chandler Susan Kerr , Jones Jill
Published: August 2003

This qualitative study explored the experiences of a group of women who migrated to the United States from Mexico and Central America, found employment in Nevada casinos, and eventually became active in the Hotel Employees, Restaurant Employees Union. Their stories chronicle both their journey and their transformation: the gradual giving way of initial hopelessness and despair to a sense of personal and collective political power. This study is part of a larger study of the experience of women casino workers in the context of economic globalization.
Translating Principles into Practice: Implementing the Feminist and Strengths Perspectives in Work with Battered Women
Authors: Black Carolyn J.
Published: August 2003

This study examined the narratives of battered women to determine whether court advocates used principles of the feminist and strengths perspectives to assist the women in obtaining protective orders and devising safety plans. The results indicated that advocates were using principles of these perspectives. Advocates uncovered women’s strengths, often reinforcing the steps the women had taken to effect positive change in their lives, and gave the women information on resources. Most of the women were satisfied with the services and believed that the advocates showed concern about their plight. Taking time to listen was cited as a major aspect of that display of concern.
Developing Empowerment and Leadership: The Case of Immigrant Women in Israel
Authors: Itzhaky Haya
Published: August 2003

To help low-income women immigrants to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union adapt, an interdisciplinary team prepared and conducted a community program whose goals were to empower the women and help them to become involved in the community and to become leaders. The outcomes of the project were favorable. All the women became involved in community activities, were empowered, and developed their leadership abilities and a sense of community belonging. Only their sense of policy control did not undergo any significant change.
Feeling Poor: The Felt Experience Low-Income Lone Mothers
Authors: McIntyre Lynn , Officer Suzanne , Robinson Lynne M.
Published: August 2003

This article describes what it means to feel poor from the perspective of low-income lone mothers. The construct of feeling poor is complex and multifaceted for these mothers, whose common behaviors include self-sacrifice and coping. The authors identify 10 feeling domains for these mothers: feeling deprived, righteous, the need for occupational choice, relatively better positioned than others, the need to manage the appearance of poverty, judged/degraded, guilty, isolated, dependent, and despondent.
A Social Justice Model for Clinical Social Work Practice
Authors: Parker Lynn
Published: August 2003

Feminists have long challenged social workers to address issues of equity and justice in clinical practice. This article presents a case study of a family services program, the Institute for Family Services (IFS), whose intention is to do just that. At IFS, power issues are central to all therapeutic conversations and to the structure of the program. Findings from interviews with staff members and clients and observation of the program illustrate how the program sets out to reveal and influence issues of power, privilege, and oppression. Fundamental and unique to this model are the use of same-gender therapy groups, social education, and community sponsors.
Providing Comprehensive Case Management Services to Urban Women with HIV/AIDS and Their Families
Authors: Parrish Margarete , Burry Caroline , Pabst Mary S.
Published: August 2003

Women continue to be disproportionately affected with HIV. Women with HIV/AIDS are also more likely than their male counterparts to be single heads of households and primary providers for their children. Social workers are ideally suited to recognize the psychosocial complexities that HIV/AIDS entails for women and how such circumstances can interfere with medical management and meeting children’s needs. This article discusses the literature relevant to women with HIV/AIDS and case management and describes a community-based case management program that was designed to serve urban women with newly diagnosed or newly disclosed cases of HIV/AIDS and their families.
Organizational Narcissism
Authors: Ganesh Shiv
Published: August 2003

This article is a critical examination of discourses on technology in a nongovernment organization (NGO). In it, the author elaborates on the organization’s use of “appropriate technology” discourse, its framing of information and communication technology (ICT) in the NGO, and the development of a for-profit ICT system in the organization. The author argues that the NGO’s use of appropriate technology discourse serves to produce and perpetuate an overall market bias. Alongside this, a limited conception of information and communication results in the NGO defining its rural constituents in terms of a passive market. This has consequences for the NGO’s identity, which it conceives of in terms of its own legitimacy rather than public accountability. The term organizational narcissism is used to explain this phenomenon. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Simultaneous Structural-Control Optimization of a Coupled Structural-Acoustic Enclosure
Authors: Zhu Ye , Qiu Jinhao , Du Hejun , Tani Junji
Published: August 2003

Simultaneous structural-control optimization of a coupled structural-acoustic enclosure is investigated in this paper. The whole system has a rectangular parallelepiped sound field of which the entire bottom face and the partial top face are covered with two elastic plates while the other boundaries are enclosed with rigid walls. Two point forces applied on the two plates are used as disturbance and control inputs respectively. In the sound field, one sound sensor is placed to measure the sound pressure output. Feedback H 1 control is used to generate the control input signal to reduce the noise at the sensor spot induced by the disturbance. The coupled structural-acoustic enclosure is modeled by the finite element method. The element thickness parameters of the top elastic plate along with the controller parameters are adopted as design variables for the simultaneous optimization in which the closed-loop H 1 norm is minimized. To solve the simultaneous design problem, a nested approach is used in which the controller syntheses are considered as subprocesses included in the main optimization process dealing with the structural design variables. Moreover, since the matrices are unsymmetrical for structural-acoustic coupling problems, indirect modal analysis is used to reduce the computational cost instead of the direct method. Numerical example shows that the system performance is improved significantly by the simultaneous optimization. The effectiveness and potentiality of the design approach presented in this paper are also demonstrated by the results.
A Study on the Dynamic Characteristics of an ER Fluid Controlled Displacement Transmitter with Two Output Units
Authors: Lee Chun-Ying , Jwo Kuo-Long , Wu Mei-Wen
Published: August 2003

In this paper, a novel array-type dynamic displacement output transmitter utilizing the tunable viscoelastic property of the electrorheological fluid as a control valve mechanism is studied. The characteristics of this ER valve are modeled theoretically and its major design parameters are identified thereafter. In addition, by applying electric field upon the concentric electrodes of the ER valve, the controllability of the output displacement due to the change in the stiffness and damping properties of the ER fluid is investigated experimentally. It is found that the cross-talk between two output units is insignificant in this design setup and therefore, two units can be operated independently. Finally, the transient responses of the output fluid chamber under the pulse-type controlled electric field with different duty time and phase are measured. It is concluded that under the sinusoidal excitation of the displacement amplitude, the output chamber can have minimal response as the controlled electric field is at its highest permissible magnitude and zero phase lag.
Design of Compliant Mechanisms for Morphing Structural Shapes
Authors: Lu Kerr-Jia , Kota Sridhar
Published: August 2003

Various compliant mechanism synthesis methods have been developed over the past decade; however, very little attention has been directed towards adaptive shape change problems. In this paper, we present a systematic method for synthesizing compliant mechanisms to morph a given curve or profile into a target curve utilizing minimum number of actuators (typically one). Two objective functions are formulated, using Least Square Errors and a modified Fourier Transformation, to capture the shape differences. The topology and dimensions of the optimal compliant mechanism are generated using Genetic Algorithms. Applications of this synthesis approach are demonstrated through two adaptive antenna design examples.
Adaptive Stiffness Design for Multimaterial Structural System
Authors: Tanaka Masao , Todoh Masahiro , Naomi Akihisa
Published: August 2003

Stiffness is one of the basic characteristics of structural system, and is an important feature for structural design problems. Although it has been often recruited as the design objective or constraints, the structural optimality attained has guarantee only for the mechanical conditions considered at the design stage. The adaptive stiffness design for force-dependent stiffness is a concept to tailor the structural stiffness in accordance with the external load applied. The passive adaptive stiffness has been realized by usingsingle conventional material only. In this article, it is evolved to the active one that enables us to switch the force-dependent stiffness actively in part in the context of the multimaterial structural system. The topology design problem is formulated for the distribution of conventional and functional materials under the constraints of mean compliance and its switchingpoint as the structure. The effectiveness of the proposed structural design concept is examined through numerical case studies solved by the SIMP method of topology design.
A Design-Centric Activity-Based Cost Estimation Model for PCB Fabrication
Authors: Giachetti Ronald E. , Arango Juan
Published: August 2003

Electronic products are built in a competitive environment that demands constant miniaturization, increased functionality of each new generation of products, and compressed design cycles in order to be the first to market with a new product. One repercussion of these business conditions is the designer often does not have time to adequately explore all the design alternatives and select the best alternative. Tools are needed to aid the designer in evaluating the design early in the product development phase. Often reliable estimations of product cost are either lacking early in the design process or difficult and time-consuming to obtain. To address these problems an activity-based printed circuit board (PCB) cost estimation model is developed that estimates PCB cost based on the design parameters. The activities are defined so that the design decisions become the cost drivers and thus enable the cost estimation model to be utilized early in design process when sufficient time remains to make design changes. The cost model is used to rapidly compare different PCB design alternatives and lets the designer assess the impact of their decisions on final cost and aid the designer in generating lower cost alternatives. Analysis of the cost model reveals important relationships between design parameters and cost. The cost model is described and illustrated using a design example.
An Initial Study of Direct Relationships between Life-Cycle Modularity and Life-Cycle Cost
Authors: Zhang Y. , Gershenson J. K.
Published: August 2003

This work shows the relationship between product life-cycle modularity and product life-cycle costs. Previous statements tying increased modularity to improved costs, specifically product retirement costs, motivated this work.

The benefits of modularity with respect to product functionality, product development, production, the supply chain, and other life-cycle elements have been expounded by many works in several fields. Increased modularity has been widely considered to lead to decreased costs. Many have stated that, including modular design tradeoffs early in the design process will decrease life-cycle costs. Some even propose the hypothesis that modular architecture will lead to decreased life-cycle costs even if the modules are not made with other life-cycle characteristics specifically in mind. However, this desirable relationship - decreased costs driven by the increased modularity - has never been shown. No research has been done to prove if there exists a relationship between modularity and cost. Many products and research projects have been based on this unproven assumption.

This work begins the exploration into whether a relationship exists between life-cycle product modularity and life-cycle cost for a wide range of consumer products and a wide range of life-cycle issues. The purpose of this paper is to expand initial results in this vain to the whole life-cycle for a more comprehensive look. The results of our work differ significantly from conventional thought and are therefore interesting to both the research and application communities. It is our hope that this paper will motivate others to take a second look at the science behind product modularity and its application.
Further Refinement of the Family Management Style Framework
Authors: Knafl Kathleen A. , Deatrick Janet A.
Published: August 2003

This article reports the authors’ efforts to expand the family management style framework and describes the revised framework. Framework development was based on a review of results from 46 studies focusing on family response to childhood chronic conditions. The review contributed to modification of the original framework and further specification of the three major components of the framework—definition of the situation, management behaviors, and perceived consequences. The implications of the revised framework for family research and practice and current efforts to develop a standardized measure of family management style are discussed.
The Social and Political Conditions that Shape Special-Needs Parenting
Authors: Ray Lynne D.
Published: August 2003

This article presents the findings of a secondary analysis of data from 30 interviews with parents who are raising children with chronic health conditions. Using Giddens’s structuration theory, the social and institutional conditions that shape special-needs parenting are examined. The conditions include professional attitudes, categorical allocation of services, lack of information, poor service coordination, school access challenges, societal perceptions of disability, responsibility debates, the feminization of family care giving, public reliance of family care, and the status of everyday parenting. Illustrations of how these issues affect families’everyday lives are provided along with a discussion of the implications for child-and family-friendly services and public policy and for social action.
A Typology of Management Styles in Families with Children with ADHD
Authors: Kendall Judy , Shelton Kathleen
Published: August 2003

Although studies have demonstrated that family dysfunction is common in families with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children and that family members often suffer serious psychological effects, knowledge is lacking as to how to intervene to help these families manage the negative sequelae common to this disorder. This grounded theory study explored the effects of ADHD on family life and describes four family management styles exhibited in 15 families with children and adolescents with ADHD: the chaotic family, ADHD-controlled family, the surviving family, and the reinvested family. Descriptions and clinical recommendations are provided that addresses each family management type. By describing an initial typology of family management styles in this population, specific health-related issues and family assessment and intervention strategies can be more specifically directed.
Relationships between Family Rituals, Family Routines, and Health
Authors: Denham Sharon A.
Published: August 2003

Rituals and routines are widely discussed in the literature, but clear distinctions between them are seldom made. Rituals are most often described in terms of celebrations, traditions, religious observances, and symbolic events. Routines have been operationalized as behaviors closely linked with daily or regular activities pertinent to health. Family households are the primary places where families construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct rituals and routines. Support exists that links rituals and routines and health and illness. Both concepts involve multiple family members, are unique to family households, and seem to have a potential role in understandings about health potentials, illness risks, and chronic disease. Although some researchers have studied relationships between rituals or routines and health, nurses have completed few focused studies. The purpose of this literature review is to focus on therapeutic benefits of rituals and routines, stimulate conversation about their utility in nursing practice, and identify areas for research.
Analysis of Multiple Respondent Data
Authors: Gray Bobbe Ann
Published: August 2003

The nature of family research is such that several family members may be asked to comment on identical items. The purpose of this article is to discuss several approaches for analysis of multiple respondent data applicable to family research. Analysis techniques will focus on one dependent variable. Of special consideration in analysis of multiple respondent data is the violation of statistical assumptions, specifically, the assumption of sphericity. One method of handling this assumption violation will be addressed. An example from a recent family-focused study will be provided to demonstrate differences in significance obtained through use of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated measures ANOVA, and Hotellings T2.
Family Secrets: An Illustrative Clinical Case Study Guided by Bowen Family Systems Theory
Authors: Knauth Donna G.
Published: August 2003

Bowen family systems theory is useful in understanding both family emotional and relationship processes and symptom formation. This article presents principles of Bowen family systems theory and shows how they were applied to assessment and counseling of a clinical case that involved family secrets. Because Bowen family systems theory offers an encompassing way of viewing human behavior from a family and natural systems perspective, it is an effective framework to guide nursing toward better understanding human behavior, symptom formation, and the family.
New Food Drying Technologies - Use of Ultrasound
Authors: Mulet A. , Cárcel J. A. , Sanjuán N. , Bon J.
Published: August 2003

Reducing water availability is one way to preserve food. Water in solid foods is transferred to a fluid, either gas or liquid; during this process both internal and external resistance affect water transfer from the food. As a consequence, any means to reduce those resistances constitute an improvement of the process, and ultrasound appears to be a way to reduce those resistances. Ultrasound are mechanical waves that produce different effects when travelling through a medium. Among others, those related to mass transfer include micro-stirring at the interface, the so called “sponge effect” and cavitations. Ultrasound has so far been applied to dehydration in solid-gas systems like onion drying. Nevertheless, the difficulties for the propagation in the air have led to the development of specially adapted transducers that have been applied in the drying of carrots. In solid-liquid systems, ultrasound has been used in the treatment of products immersed in hypertonic solutions, either in sugar solutions for fruits like apples or in salt brine in the case of cheese or meat. An increase in mass transfer is achieved if the threshold power value for the product is attained.
Transport Mechanisms in Osmotic Dehydration: The Role of the Structure
Authors: Chiralt A. , Fito P.
Published: August 2003

Osmotic dehydration promotes water release from a cellular material immersed in a concentrated solution, while a simultaneous external solute uptake happens. Mass transfer occurs during this operation through different mechanisms to a different extent depending on process variables. The action of the different mechanisms, balanced by controlling those variables, makes possible to achieve a specific dewateringsolute uptake ratio in the final product. Mechanisms involved in mass transfer during osmodehydration of cellular tissues depend on the structural level of the tissue. The external broken cells can be easily impregnated by the external solution, and in the intercellular spaces, bulk flow of solution, water and solute diffusion occur. The bulk flow is promoted due to capillary pressure in processes carried out at atmospheric pressure. Nevertheless, when vacuum is applied to the system, capillary impregnation is promoted and when the atmospheric pressure is restored, pores are extensively flooded with the external solution and depending on the applied compression ratio. Mass transport in the intercellular spaces is mainly responsible for solute gain. At cellular level, cell wall and membranes act as non-selective and selective barriers respectively to mass transport and the transmembrane flux is responsible for most of the cell-to-cell water transport during osmotic dehydration of tissues.
Food Matrix Engineering: The Use of the Water-Structure-Functionality Ensemble in Dried Food Product Development
Authors: Fito P. , Chiralt A.
Published: August 2003

The structured food systems (i.e. cellular tissues) are dissipative structures whose functionality mainly concerns their properties (physico-chemical properties, chemical and biochemical reactions), external interactions with surroundings (interactions with micro-organisms, heat and mass transport pathway) and especially, their interactions with consumers (nutritional value, quality, taste and flavour, texture, appearance: size, shape, colour). Dehydration or rehydration processes concern heat and mass transport phenomena (water, solutes) coupled with micro and macrostructure changes both producing important effects on food functionality. Control of these changes is the major concern in food product development. This control must be applied not only to the changes in physico-chemical properties but also to those related with consumers' issues. Food matrixengineering is a branch of food engineering which aims to apply the knowledge of the food matrixcomposition, structure and properties to promote and control adequate changes which can improve some sensorial and/or functional properties in the food. These changes, which are caused by some basic operations, are related to the phenomena of heat and mass transfer, vaporization-condensation, internal gas or liquid release, structure deformation-relaxation and phase transitions in matrixcomponents, and are usually coupled throughout the operation's progress. The final product may be a new product with improved composition and sensorial properties and/or more stability. All these concepts are discussed in this paper using several examples related to the application of combined food dehydration techniques.
Mass Transfer Flux at Solid-Liquid Contacting Interface
Authors: Shi J. , Le Maguer M.
Published: August 2003

When cellular materials are immersed in a solution of high concentration, the mass transfer is considered a multi-component transport process in which simultaneous and countercurrent flows occur in the biological tissue. The mass transfer process of each component in the solid-liquid system is affected not only by operational parameters, but also by the presence of other components. The main driving force for the mass transfer phenomena is attributed to the concentration gradient between external and internal solid material, and the interaction among fluxes and tissue matrix. Matrix deformation and tissue shrinkage are important characteristics influencing mass transfer. The coupled mass transfer fluxes across the interface in an isothermal solid-liquid system were analysed by means of a film model as a function of the concentration gradients, based on the generalised multi-component mass transfer theories. Several possible situations of cell structure changes are discussed, and the effect of structural shrinkage on mass transfer is modelled in this study. The mass transfer model and parameters proposed in the present study is applicable to the unit operation such as osmotic treatment of cellular porous biomaterial.
Molecular Bases of Desiccation Tolerance in Plant Cells and Potential Applications in Food Dehydration
Authors: Serrano R. , Montesinos C.
Published: August 2003

Desiccation has many detrimental effects on the structure and function of biological membranes and proteins and this molecular damage decreases the freshness appearance of dehydrated foods. Phospholipid membranes are destabilised upon water stress by insertion of cellular amphiphiles, phase transition into the gel phase and membrane fusion. Proteins are denatured and electron transport chains are perturbed leading to increased formation of reactive oxygen species which cause irreversible damage of cellular structures. Cells respond to water stress by generating defense proteins and metabolites and eventually develop outstanding desiccation tolerance such as in the case of plant seeds and pollen, fungal spores, crustacean cysts, etc. The molecular bases for this remarkable phenomenon are not completely understood but several important principles have been identified. Three biological systems seem to act in concert to achieve desiccation tolerance: enzymes involved in osmolyte synthesis; proteins specialised in desiccation protection of membranes and proteins (LEA proteins), and antioxidant enzymes and molecules. Both osmolytes and LEA proteins contribute to stabilisation of membrane and protein structures by conferring preferential hydration at moderate desiccation and replacing water at extreme desiccation. Osmolytes also contribute to osmotic adjustment and act as hydroxyl radical scavengers. Genetically modified plants with increased production of these defenses could be useful to improve the quality of dried food.
Video Justice
Authors: Biressi Anita , Nunn Heather
Published: August 2003

This article considers the relationship between media culture, surveillance, and the law. It argues that scopic technologies such as closed circuit television (CCTV), together with nonfiction “reality” television and reportage, are helping to produce new intersections between media and social space. This article maps some of these intersections. It also unpacks some of the important ethical and political questions raised by these new formations and their inhabitation. How do these new technologies and genres inform and shape the public’s real and imaginary relationship with the law and its executives? What stories do they tell about crime, fear, and social order? How do they affect the previously established divisions between public and private space?
Imagination as Appropriation
Authors: Batuman Bülent
Published: August 2003

Analyzing the spatial genealogy of the student riots in May 1960 in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, this article investigates the relation between space and identity politics. Besides the social practices it contains, the “publicness” of space is also marked by the meanings and values attributed to the space by various social actors. The political participation of the social groups in public sphere becomes possible through spatial appropriation, which does not only mean the practical occupation of space but also the appropriation of the image of the (public) space. In the context of Ankara, the student riots transform Kı zı lay Square, which had been the prestigious center of a wealthy neighborhood, into a site of contesting spatial imageries and social identities.
Cyber-Buddhism and Changing Urban Space in Thailand
Authors: Taylor Jim
Published: August 2003

Buddhism in Thailand has long been seen as a holistic cultural system, with an all-embracing normative cosmology that provides everyday meaning. However, it is also a diverse cultural system that produces alternative or Other counterstatist practices that have at times contested the power of the politico-administrative center. In this changing milieu, cyber-Buddhism has emerged as a response to the needs of an increasingly mobile, simulated, and fragmented transnational urban social order. Here, multiple sites essentially constitute the new (post-) metropolis and where material spatial practices and social arrangements have been recoded. This has affected the social practices of everyday life. The monasteries, the spiritual heart/center of the community, once the prime loci (and place) of much social activities and civic interests, now stand in the new middleclass imagination as icons of the past as a consequence of unfettered urban capitalism and the space of flows since the postwar years. Nevertheless, arising from the Thai experience with modernity are new spatial possibilities engendered in large part by hypertechnologies, especially the Internet; digitalized electronics potentially and markedly transforming religious space. In the privileging of space over many temporal (place-made) coordinates, human communities are left only with nostalgia and a simulated more real than real world where original, first-order things cease to exist. Perhaps now we are just beginning to realize the transformative possibilities in urban religion brought about by electronic space.
Intrinsic Motivation towards Sports in Singaporean Students: The Role of Sport Ability Beliefs
Authors: Wang C. K.John , Biddle Stuart J.H.
Published: August 2003

This study investigated determinants of active lifestyles in Singaporean university students. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a measure of lay beliefs concerning athletic ability was confirmed. Other results confirmed hypotheses that beliefs reflecting that athletic ability can be developed over time (incremental beliefs) predict an achievement task (selfreferenced) orientation, while beliefs reflecting that athletic ability is relatively stable (entity beliefs) predict an ego (otherperson, comparative) orientation. Goal orientations directly affect perceived competence which, in turn, influence intrinsic motivation to be physically active. A task orientation had a direct link to intrinsic motivation. Results suggest that intrinsic motivation towards sport and physical activity might be enhanced through interventions that focus on self-referenced and selfimprovement notions of ability as well as perceived competence.
Living with Diabetes in Rural and Urban Ghana: A Critical Social Psychological Examination of Illness Action and Scope for Intervention
Authors: Aikins Ama De-Graft
Published: August 2003

Current chronic illness research in Africa neglects the social psychological dimensions of illness experiences that present more appropriate frameworks for intervention. Informed by social representations theory, links between social knowledge of diabetes, illness experience and illness action were examined through semistructured individual interviews with rural and urban Ghanaians with diabetes. All respondents drew interchangeably from commonsense, scientized, and religious knowledge modalities in defining health, illness and diabetes. Diabetes caused disruption to: body-self, social identity, family/social relationships, economic circumstance and nutrition. Commonsense and scientized notions of health, illness and diabetes framed illness action goals that merged with biomedical goals, specifically drug and diet management. These goals were compromised by the nature, severity and duration of disruption(s) and emotional responses evoked. The paper dicusses implications of the findings and outlines recommendations for interventions that span individual/group, community and structural dimensions.
Europe Divided?
Authors: Hooghe Liesbet
Published: August 2003

This article compares preferences for Europeanizing 13 policies among European elites, national elites, and public opinion. Elites are more willing to cede national authority in sovereignty areas, but citizens are more favorable to EU social policies. Are there contrasting logics at work? The answer is two-sided. Elites and public preferences are similar in that both are least enthusiastic about Europeanizing high-spending policies. Here is a common distributional logic: shifting authority could destabilize vested interests. However, as the single market intensifies labor market volatility, the public seeks to contain this distributional risk through selectively Europeanizing market-flanking policies. In contrast, elite preferences are consistent with a functional rationale that conceives European integration as an optimal solution for internalizing externalities beyond the national state.
EU Politics on Television News
Authors: Peter Jochen , Semetko Holli A. , de Vreese Claes H.
Published: August 2003

Previous research tells us little about the ways in which the European Union is portrayed on main evening television news. We therefore content analyzed 11,722 stories broadcast in main evening television news in five EU countries over an 11-month period in 2000. There was an invisible importance to EU news: although the share of the news devoted to EU affairs was low, when EU news did appear it tended to be more prominent than other political news. We also found that the thematic structure of the EU news was similar across the countries and that EU coverage was not predominantly domestic in most of the countries. Evaluations of the EU were rare, but when they did appear they tended to be negative.
Participant Observation
Authors: Ezeh Peter-Jazzy
Published: August 2003

Indigenous social anthropologists investigating communities in their own country are not insulated from many of the difficulties their foreign counterparts face. This article is based on the experience of the author while carrying out, as a doctoral student, a year-long participant observation among the Orring, a little-known minority ethnic group in Nigeria's south-eastern districts. The researcher's ethnic group is not the same as that of his host community but both are Nigerian. Initially interactions with the culture-bearers went on without any trouble but the more the researcher became integrated in the host community, human-relations problems that are hard to ignore arose. But the author concludes that experiences such as the ones the article describes, inconvenient such as they certainly can be, may be the indication that an ethnographer has been integrated in their host community without which no claim of participant observation may be made. Low literacy rate and peculiarities of social structure of non-Western host communities both make the use of participant observation compelling in many cases despite current innovations in qualitative research.
The Effects of Policy on Enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
Authors: Wimmer Margaret
Published: August 2003

This study’s aim is to determine effects of policy variables on enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) using a framework for the study of access. Secondary analysis of 1994 data from public documents and agencies for the 50 states was conducted. Independent variables were ratio of the federal WIC grant to the eligible population, state supplementation of WIC, administrative and food dollars per person, WIC population per clinic, and WIC priority categories served. The dependent variable was the eligible WIC population enrolled. State supplementation of the WIC budget, administrative and food dollars per person, cost of living, population density, population distribution, and ratio of the federal WIC grant to the eligible population accounted for 85% of variance in WIC enrollment. Policy recommendations include reorienting the federal funding formula toward incentives for enrollment, state supplementation of WIC, and examination of administrative and food costs.
Three-Dimensional Garment Computer Aided Intelligent Design
Authors: Liu Yan , Geng Zhao-Feng
Published: August 2003

This paper proposes to use expert systems and the technique of 3D modeling to realize intelligent design of 3D garments. The advantages of this new approach, compared with conventional ones, are discussed. The new approach includes several steps: First, set up the 3D garment prototype by using the method developed in this paper. Next study the relationship between the parameters of the 3D garment prototype and different garment styles. Based on the relationship, the algorithms and production rules for transferring style requirements to the parameter values of the garment prototype are developed. As such, the knowledge base can be constructed, and the intelligent design system of the 3D garment style is built. Using the system, various 3D garment styles can be designed automatically to satisfy various style requirements.
Update on Epidemiology and Therapeutics for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Authors: Vose Julie M. , Chiu Brian C.-H. , Cheson Bruce D. , Dancey Janet , Wright John
Published: August 2003

This chapter presents updated information on the trends and patterns of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) diagnoses as well as new information on chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic options for NHL treatment.

In Section I, Dr. Brian Chiu summarizes the current knowledge regarding the etiologic factors and patterns of NHL as well as suggests future epidemiologic studies based on these preliminary results.

In Section II, Dr. Bruce Cheson and colleagues outline new chemotherapeutic and small molecule antineoplastic agents with unique mechanisms of action such as protease inhibitors, farnesyl transferase or histone deacetylase inhibitors, and antisense oligonucleotides.

In Section III, Dr. Julie Vose reviews the anti-lymphoma effects of monoclonal antibodies, radioimmunoconjugates, idiotype vaccines, and immunologic enhancing adjuvants with respect to mechanisms of action, clinical trials, and their potential for patient therapy.
Hypercoagulability: Too Many Tests, Too Much Conflicting Data
Authors: Bauer Kenneth A. , Rosendaal Frits R. , Heit John A.
Published: August 2003

It is now possible to identify hereditary and acquired risk factors in a substantial percentage of patients presenting with a venous thrombotic event. The clinician is faced with an ever-growing number of laboratory tests that can be ordered in such patients, and there is considerable uncertainty as to how this information should be utilized in patient management. Some have argued that widespread testing of thrombosis patients for prothrombotic abnormalities such as the factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutations has been prematurely adopted into clinical practice as there are few data that their identification leads to improved clinical outcomes.

Dr. Rosendaal provides an overview of the epidemiology of venous thrombosis with an emphasis on hereditary and acquired risk factors. The presentation will include information obtained from properly designed case-control studies as well as family studies.

While some have suggested treatment strategies for managing patients with hereditary thrombophilia with prior thrombotic events or for managing patients undergoing procedures associated with increased thrombotic risk, clinical decision making is complicated by the need to assess the risk of recurrence and the likely benefit of prolonged anticoagulation versus the associated bleeding risk. Drs. Bauer, Heit, and Rosendaal discuss their approaches to patient management. Case presentations are used to illustrate the impact of laboratory test results on decisions.
Donor CMV serologic status and outcome of CMV-seropositive recipients after unrelated donor stem cell transplantation: an EBMT megafile analysis
Authors: Ljungman Per , Brand Ronald , Einsele Hermann , Frassoni Francesco , Niederwieser Dietger , Cordonnier Catherine
Published: August 2003

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). The importance of the recipient's serologic status is paramount. However, the importance of the donor's serologic status in CMV-seropositive recipients is controversial. We analyzed the influence of the donor's CMV status in a large cohort of patients. A total of 7018 patients seropositive for CMV reported to the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) were included; 5910 patients had undergone HLA-identical sibling SCT and 1108 patients had undergone unrelated donor SCT. Univariate and multivariate proportional hazards models were constructed for survival, event-free survival, transplant-related mortality, and relapse incidence. Patients receiving grafts from CMV-seropositive HLA-identical sibling donors had the same survival as patients grafted from seronegative donors (hazard ratio [HR], 1.04; P = .37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95-1.14). However, unrelated donor stem cell (SC) transplant recipients receiving grafts from CMV-seropositive donors had an improved 5-year survival (35% versus 27%; HR = 0.8; P = .006), an improved event-free survival (30% versus 22%; HR = 0.8; P = .01), and a reduced transplant-related mortality (49% versus 62%; HR = 0.7; P < .001). There was no influence on the relapse incidence. The effects of donor CMV status remained in multivariate analyses. The effect of donor status was different among different disease categories. In patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), T-cell depletion abrogated the beneficial effect of donor status, suggesting that the effect is mediated through transfer of donor immunity. Our data suggest that donor CMV status influences outcome of unrelated SCT. For a CMV-seropositive patient, a seropositive donor might be preferable. (Blood. 2003;102:4255-4260)
Enhanced in vivo platelet adhesion in vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP)–deficient mice
Authors: Massberg Steffen , Grüner Sabine , Konrad Ildiko , Garcia Arguinzonis Maisa I. , Eigenthaler Martin , Hemler Kathrin , Kersting Julia , Schulz Christian , Müller Iris , Besta Felicitas , Nieswandt Bernhard , Heinzmann Ulrich , Walter Ulrich , Gawaz Meinrad
Published: August 2003

Platelet adhesion and activation at the vascular wall are the initial steps leading to arterial thrombosis and vascular occlusion. Prostacyclin and nitric oxide inhibit platelet adhesion, acting via cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)– and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)–dependent protein kinases. A major downstream target for both cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases is the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP). To test the significance of VASP for the regulation of platelet adhesion in vivo, we studied platelet–vessel wall interactions using VASP-deficient (VASP–/–) mice. Under physiologic conditions, platelet adhesion to endothelial cells was significantly enhanced in VASP null mutants when compared with wild-type mice (P < .05). Platelet recruitment in VASP null mice involved P-selectin and the fibrinogen receptor glycoprotein IIb-IIIa (GPIIb-IIIa). Under pathophysiologic conditions, the loss of VASP increased platelet adhesion to the postischemic intestinal microvasculature, to the atherosclerotic endothelium of ApoE-deficient mice, and to the subendothelial matrix following endothelial denudation (P < .05 vs wild type). Importantly, platelet adhesion in VASP null mutants was unresponsive to nitric oxide. These data show for the first time in vivo that VASP is involved in down-regulation of platelet adhesion to the vascular wall under both physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions.
ICSBP/IRF-8 inhibits mitogenic activity of p210 Bcr/Abl in differentiating myeloid progenitor cells
Authors: Tamura Tomohiko , Kong Hee Jeong , Tunyaplin Chainarong , Tsujimura Hideki , Calame Kathryn , Ozato Keiko
Published: August 2003

Interferon consensus sequence binding protein/interferon regulatory factor 8 (ICSBP/IRF-8) is a transcription factor that controls myeloid cell development. ICSBP-/- mice develop a chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)-like syndrome. Several observations on patients and mouse models have implicated ICSBP in the pathogenesis of CML. In this paper, we investigated whether ICSBP modulates the growth-promoting activity of Bcr/Abl, the causal oncoprotein for CML. When transformed with p210 Bcr/Abl, ICSBP-/- myeloid progenitor cells lost growth factor dependence and grew in the absence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. When ICSBP was ectopically expressed, Bcr/Abl-transformed cells underwent complete growth arrest and differentiated into mature, functional macrophages without inhibiting the kinase activity of Bcr/Abl. Providing a mechanistic basis for the growth arrest, ICSBP markedly repressed c-Myc messenger RNA (mRNA)-expression, a downstream target of Bcr/Abl. A further analysis with the ICSBP/estrogen receptor chimera showed that ICSBP repression of c-Myc is indirect and is mediated by another gene(s). We identified Blimp-1 and METS/PE1, potent c-Myc repressors, as direct targets of ICSBP activated in these cells. Consistent with this, ectopic Blimp-1 repressed c-Myc expression and inhibited cell growth. These results indicate that ICSBP inhibits growth of Bcr/Abl-transformed myeloid progenitor cells by activating several genes that interfere with the c-Myc pathway. (Blood. 2003;102:4547-4554)