bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization of an Instance-Based GOES Cloud Classification Algorithm
Authors: Bankert Richard L. , Wade Robert H.
Published: January 2007

An instance-based nearest-neighbor algorithm was developed for a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) cloud classifier. Expert-labeled samples serve as the training sets for the various GOES image classification scenes. The initial implementation of the classifier using the complete set of available training samples has proven to be an inefficient method for real-time image classifications, requiring long computational run times and significant computer resources. A variety of training-set reduction methods were examined to find smaller training sets that provide quicker classifier run times with minimal reduction in classifier testing set accuracy. General differences within real-time image classifications as a result of using the various reduction methods were also analyzed. The fast condensed nearest-neighbor (FCNN) method reduced the size of the individual training sets by 68.3% (fourfold cross-validation testing average) while the average overall accuracy of the testing sets decreased by only 4.1%. Training sets resulting from these reduction methods were also applied within a real-time classifier using a one-nearest-neighbor subroutine. Using the FCNN-reduced set, the subroutine run time on a 30° latitude × 30° longitude image (GOES-10 daytime) with 11 289 600 total pixels decreased by an average of 60.7%.
The Impasses of U.S. Hegemony
Authors: Martins Carlos Eduardo
Published: January 2007

A prospective long-term model of U.S. hegemony based on the systemic cycles proposed by the Fernand Braudel Center group (mainly Giovanni Arrighi), the cycles of Nicolai Kondratieff, and the notion of civilizational crisis based on Radovan Richta’s work on the techno-scientific revolution allows us to view the U.S. crisis of hegemony as one of the most important events in the contemporary world. It points to the possibility of constructing a complex of antioligarchic forces that, complemented by the emergence of cultural and political elements that would support peace-centered world mobilization, would unite periphery and center, East and West, in the pursuit of a planetary civilization.
Hegemony and the U.S. Labor Model
Authors: Fernández Dídimo Castillo
Published: January 2007

The 1970s saw important changes in the dynamics of global capitalist domination. On the one hand, new geopolitical players arrived on the international scene. On the other, the circumstances that drove developed countries to a crisis of accumulation fostered the restructuring of production and distribution, establishing new patterns in labor organization and practice. Since then, the hegemony of the United States has been increasingly threatened. Additionally, the internal economic effects of the new labor model have eroded the tenets of the American Dream. The rise in unemployment, social inequality, and poverty exposes the idea that the United States is an exceptional employment generator as a myth.
The World Economy and the United States at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century
Authors: Leiva Orlando Caputo
Published: January 2007

Although there is such a thing as a world economy, the major theoretical schools in the field of economics take into consideration only the restricted national space. When the international economy is referenced, both theoretical and practical analyses focus on relationships between countries. Three key topics of the world economy within these frames are (1) the United States’s new hegemony, an economic restructuring based on increase in profits and investment that has led to the establishment of a new national security policy, (2) the increasing importance of China in world production and commerce, which, viewed from a historical perspective, suggests that capitalism will soon be more dependent on China than China is on capitalism, and (3) the shifting preeminence of financial over productive capital.
Paradoxes of Disconnectedness
Authors: Gandásegui Marco A.
Published: January 2007

Continual wars of resistance and wars of imperial conquest mark the development of capitalism as we know it. One of the driving forces of this violent history and a direct effect of capitalist development is the fact that new states are forced to struggle for a share of the fruits of the world system. As a result of this pattern of capitalist accumulation, the twentieth century witnessed multiple disconnections. Against this background, the following questions call for answers: What new disconnections can we expect in the short and medium term? How is the United States preparing to block, prevent, or abort these disconnections? Will future disconnections require an imperialist war? Is the polycentric world envisioned by Samir Amin, with its multiple coexisting cultures, a viable alternative?
The Radical Right in the European Elections 2004
Authors: Minkenberg Michael , Perrineau Pascal
Published: January 2007

In the new EU member states, the European Parliament elections in June 2004 were anticipated with particular anxiety because of the role of anti-EU, nationalist, and extreme right-wing parties, which in some countries had scored signifi cant electoral successes in the recent past. But also in some of the old member states, the radical right was watched closely, in particular, after the French Front National's historic performance in the 2002 presidential election. Since the radical right feeds on the economic and social crisis and feelings of anxiety raised by EU integration, by globalization, and by anti-establishment feelings, many observers expected a general rise in support for these parties, especially in light of the growing complexity of the expanded EU. This article analyzes the electoral outcome for the radical right in the 2004 elections and discusses country-specifi c characteristics as well as regional patterns. It also looks at the role the radical right played, if any, in the votes on the new EU constitution in various member states. The article shows that, regarding the radical right, the European elections proved to be surprisingly unsurprising. Clearly, EU membership was not the only issue involved. Rather, larger issues of national identity, the strength of nationalist traditions, and some particular features superseded narrow foreign policy concerns and explain, more or less, the electoral success achieved by the radical right. Compared to the EU elections, the referenda on the EU constitution in several member states provided little to no opportunities for the radical right.
Doing Good Work
Authors: Benjamin Lehn M. , Misra Kajri
Published: January 2007

Nonprofit accountability remains a pressing public concern. In response, funders around the globe have adopted performance measurement to use with their grantees in order to ensure accountability and secure some social benefit for their investment. Yet, we still have limited empirical evidence about the consequences of using performance accountability frameworks in the nonprofit sector. This article seeks to further our understanding by examining how the emphasis on accountability and results is influencing the practice of a set of US funders. We find that the idea that nonprofits ‘do good work’, which is so central to the nonprofit sector, may limit the role of performance measurement in organizational learning and thus in actually improving performance.
Comparative Analysis of Urban and Rural Nursing Workforce Shortages in Nebraska Hospitals
Authors: Cramer Mary , Nienaber Jill , Helget Peg , Agrawal Sangeeta
Published: January 2007

Current workforce models that rely on economic indicators have seriously underestimated the rural RN shortage and its impact on rural hospitals. This cross-sectional study developed an algorithm using the concept of need and applied it to health service demand data in 66 counties of a midwestern state (1993-2002) to determine trends in RN shortages between urban and rural areas. Results showed that rural areas consistently had the largest gap between predicted need for RNs and numbers employed and that the rural RN shortages were significantly greater than in urban areas. This study suggests that adequate and geographically specific targets of RN need are essential, especially for rural areas, because of policy implications for rural hospital staffing and workforce planning. Inadequate workforce targets perpetuate the shortage, especially in rural areas, and exacerbate the very reasons that RNs leave over concerns for patient safety, inadequate staffing, and job dissatisfaction.
Nanomanufacturing by layer-by-layer assembly - from nanoscale coating to device applications
Authors: Varahramyan K , Lvov Y
Published: January 2007

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly is emerging as a key nanomanufacturing technique that is finding a broad range of applications. It is a versatile, simple, and easy to use technique, allowing the realization of novel nanometer-scale multi-layered materials and structures that can be made to have highly desirable properties, including chemical, mechanical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, and optical. The present paper discusses the LbL assembly technique and its applications, including for nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) (in combination with microfabrication), for biocompatible coating, for nanoengineered capsules, for pulp microfibre nanocoating to obtain better paper, and for polymer-based electronic devices.
A new Cr/Ni-Fe template with surface-relief-grating structures prepared by electrodeposition
Authors: Su Chang-Wei , He Feng-Jiao , Zhao Ru-Shan , Ju Hui , Zhan Hou-Qin , Lu Xin
Published: January 2007

In this paper, a new Cr/Ni-Fe template with surface-relief-grating (SRG) structure is prepared and suggested to replace the conventional nickel template. The preparation process comprised electrodepositing Cr and Ni-Fe films evenly on nickel templates with SRG at first, then selectively dissolving the nickel layer in an HNO3 solution (1:1 by volume). After that, a new Cr/Ni-Fe template with SRG on the surface of the Cr layer was obtained. The new template is of a high surface hardness and anticorrosive, so it has a longer life span than the conventional nickel template. Moreover, it is easy to form an oxide film, named a release layer, in the replication process, thereby, the deactivation step can be eliminated, which is necessary in the nickel template replication process. When the Cr/Ni-Fe template was used to replicate the SRG structure, replications preserved the same microstructure as that of the originals.
Magnetic Field Effects on Shape and Size of Pendent Water Drop
Authors: Katsuki Akio , Kaji Kazufumi , Sueda Manabu , Tanimoto Yoshifumi
Published: January 2007

The shape and size of a water pendent drop were affected by magnetic forces. Especially in pseudomicrogravity conditions, they changed considerably: the relative contribution of surface tension was increased by the magnetic field.
Requirement for the Polarisome and Formin Function in Ssk2p-Mediated Actin Recovery From Osmotic Stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Bettinger Blaine T , Clark Michael G , Amberg David C
Published: January 2007

Osmotic stress induces activation of an adaptive mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in concert with disassembly of the actin cytoskeleton by a mechanism that is not understood. We have previously shown that the conserved actin-interacting MAP kinase kinase kinase Ssk2p/MEKK4, a member of the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) MAPK pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mediates recovery of the actin cytoskeleton following osmotic stress. In this study, we have employed in vitro kinase assays to show that Ssk2p kinase activity is activated for the actin recovery pathway via a noncanonical, Ssk1p-independent mechanism. Our work also shows that Ssk2p requires the polarisome proteins Bud6p and Pea2p to promote efficient, polarized actin reassembly but that this requirement can be bypassed by overexpression of Ssk2p. Formin (BNI1 or BNR1) and tropomyosin functions are also required for actin recovery but, unlike for Bud6p and Pea2p, these requirements cannot be bypassed by overexpression of Ssk2p. These results suggest that Ssk2p acts downstream of Bud6p and Pea2p and upstream of tropomyosin to drive actin recovery, possibly by upregulating the actin nucleation activity of the formins.
Suppressors of Spindle Checkpoint Defect (such) Mutants Identify New mdf-1/MAD1 Interactors in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Tarailo Maja , Kitagawa Risa , Rose Ann M
Published: January 2007

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) governs the timing of metaphase-to-anaphase transition and is essential for genome stability. The Caenorhabditis elegans mutant strain gk2 carries a deletion within the mdf-1/MAD1 gene that results in death of the homozygous strain after two or three generations. Here we describe 11 suppressors of the mdf-1(gk2) lethality, 10 identified in an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis screen and 1 isolated using the dog-1(gk10) (deletions of guanine-rich DNA) mutator strain. Using time-lapse imaging of early embryonic cells and germline mitotic division, we demonstrate that there are two classes of suppressors. Eight suppressors compensate for the loss of the checkpoint by delaying mitotic progression, which coincides with securin (IFY-1/Pds1) accumulation; three suppressors have normal IFY-1/Pds1 levels and normal anaphase onset. Furthermore, in the class of suppressors with delayed mitotic progression, we have identified four alleles of known suppressors emb-30/APC4 and fzy-1/CDC20, which are components of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C). In addition, we have identified another APC/C component capable of bypassing the checkpoint requirement that has not previously been described in C. elegans. The such-1/APC5-like mutation, h1960, significantly delays anaphase onset both in germline and in early embryonic cells.
The Genetic Architecture of Reproductive Isolation in Louisiana Irises: Flowering Phenology
Authors: Martin Noland H , Bouck Amy C , Arnold Michael L
Published: January 2007

Despite the potential importance of divergent reproductive phenologies as a barrier to gene flow, we know less about the genetics of this factor than we do about any other isolating barrier. Here, we report on the genetic architecture of divergent flowering phenologies that result in substantial reproductive isolation between the naturally hybridizing plant species Iris fulva and I. brevicaulis. I. fulva initiates and terminates flowering significantly earlier than I. brevicaulis. We examined line crosses of reciprocal F1 and backcross (BC1) hybrids and determined that flowering time was polygenic in nature. We further defined quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affect the initiation of flowering in each of these species. QTL analyses were performed separately for two different growing seasons in the greenhouse, as well as in two field plots where experimental plants were placed into nature. For BCIF hybrids (BC1 toward I. fulva), 14 of 17 detected QTL caused flowering to occur later in the season when I. brevicaulis alleles were present, while the remaining 3 caused flowering to occur earlier. In BCIB hybrids (BC1 toward I. brevicaulis), 11 of 15 detected QTL caused flowering to occur earlier in the season when introgressed I. fulva alleles were present, while the remaining 4 caused flowering to occur later. These ratios are consistent with expectations of selection (as opposed to drift) promoting flowering divergence in the evolutionary history of these species. Furthermore, epistatic interactions among the QTL also reflected the same trends, with the majority of epistatic effects causing later flowering than expected in BCIF hybrids and earlier flowering in BCIB hybrids. Overlapping QTL that influenced flowering time across all four habitat/treatment types were not detected, indicating that increasing the sample size of genotyped plants would likely increase the number of significant QTL found in this study.
Environmental Effects on Gene Expression Phenotype Have Regional Biases in the Human Genome
Authors: Choi Jung Kyoon , Kim Sang Cheol
Published: January 2007

Phenotypic discordance between monozygotic twins, such as a difference in disease susceptibility, implicates the role of the environment in determining phenotype. To assess genomewide environmental effects on “gene expression phenotype,” we employed a published microarray data set for twins. We found that variations in expression phenotypes between monozygotic twins have biases in their chromosomal locations. They also showed a strong inverse correlation with gene density. Genomic regions of low gene density were environmentally sensitive, containing genes involved in response to external signals, cell differentiation, and development, etc. Genetic factors were found to make no contribution to the observed regional biases, stressing the role of epigenetics. We propose that epigenetic modifications might occur more frequently in heterochromatic, gene-poor regions in response to environmental signals while gene-rich regions tend to remain in an active chromatin configuration for the constitutive expression of underlying genes.
The predominant cAMP-stimulated 3.5 kb StAR mRNA contains specific sequence elements in the extended 3′UTR that confer high basal instability
Authors: Duan Haichuan , Jefcoate Colin R
Published: January 2007

cAMP stimulation of rodent steroidogenic cells produces two StAR transcripts, a major 3.5 kb and a minor 1.6 kb mRNA, differing only in their 3′ untranslated regions (3′ UTR). They exhibit very different responses to stimulation and removal of 8-Br-cAMP, with the 3.5 kb form increasing and declining much more rapidly than the 1.6 kb form. The 3′ end of the 3.5 kb StAR mRNA contains three conserved AU-rich element (AURE) motifs that mediate fast mRNA turnover in over 900 genes in the human genome. In this paper, we explore post-transcriptional regulation in steroidogenic and non-steroidogenic cells using expression vectors containing StAR or luciferase with different StAR 3′ UTRs. We show that the basal steady-state levels of StAR or luciferase protein and mRNA are five to eight times lower with the 3′ UTR of 3.5 kb StAR compared with that of the 1.6 kb 3′ UTR. Examination of transcript stability by direct mRNA transfection showed only a 1.5-fold increase in the rate of cytoplasmic decay of the 3.5 kb mRNA relative to the 1.6 kb mRNA. However, the long 3′ UTR caused a fivefold decrease in the rate of appearance of mature cytoplasmic mRNA despite transcription from the same promoter. This is attributed to less efficient nuclear processing of immature transcripts prior to export to cytoplasm. Selective 3′ UTR sequence substitutions, deletions, and mutations showed that this loss of expression is produced additively by specific sequences in a 700-base basal instability region and by non-specific length effects. These mechanisms are selectively enhanced in steroidogenic cells. The AURE contribute a smaller basal destabilization effect selective for steroidogenic cells that is removed by their mutations. Inclusion of introns in the 3.5 kb StAR vector enhances StAR expression, suggesting the effects of introns complexes on nuclear processing. Br-cAMP provides an additional means to rapidly modulate StAR expression independent of transcription by attenuating the nuclear and cytoplasmic instability mechanisms within the extended 3′ UTR.
Efficient and controlled gene expression in mouse pancreatic islets by arterial delivery of tetracycline-inducible adenoviral vectors
Authors: Takahashi Rui , Ishihara Hisamitsu , Takahashi Kazuma , Tamura Akira , Yamaguchi Suguru , Yamada Takahiro , Katagiri Hideki , Oka Yoshitomo
Published: January 2007

Gene transfer with adenovirus vectors has been used extensively for pancreatic islet research. However, infection efficiency varies among reports. We reevaluated the infection efficiency, defined here as the percentage of islet cells expressing transgenes, in mouse islets. When the isolated islets were infected with adenoviruses, the infection efficiency was found to be 30–40% and the transduced cells were distributed in the islet periphery. Collagenase treatment of isolated islets before infection increased the infection efficiency to 70%, but with suppression of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. To explore more efficient strategies, we employed arterial delivery of virus particles to islets in situ. Delivery of adenovirus (~108 particles per pancreas) through the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries is highly efficient, resulting in more than 90% transduction without impairing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Arterial delivery of an adenovirus harboring glycerol kinase cDNA allowed us to observe glycerol-stimulated insulin secretion from mouse islets, which was not observed when we employed the conventional method. Furthermore, the arterial delivery method combined with a tetracycline-inducible adenovirus system induced efficient and controlled transgene expression. Our data provide new insights into gene transduction methods using recombinant adenoviruses in mouse islets, and are therefore anticipated to contribute to future basic and clinical islet research applications.
Rupture Properties of the Giant Sumatra Earthquake Imaged by Empirical Green’s Function Analysis
Authors: Vallée Martin
Published: January 2007

Empirical green’s function (egf) analysis has remained little used to image the rupture properties of the giant 26 December 2004 Sumatra earthquake. The 2 November 2002 foreshock (Mw 7.2), close to the mainshock epicenter, gives us the opportunity to use its waveforms to empirically simulate the Rayleigh-wave propagation of the Sumatra earthquake. We first show that the exceptional size of the Sumatra earthquake does not prevent use of the egf technique. Four aftershocks (Mw 5.9–6.1), distributed along the Sumatra–Andaman trench, are shown to have consistent Rayleigh waves for periods between 100 and 200 sec. At a lower frequency, we present two large earthquakes of the Mexican subduction zone (Mw 7.2– 7.3, close to the selected egf magnitude) for which long-period Green’s functions (100–2000 sec) remain very similar, even if event epicenters are separated by about 650 km. This justifies the possibility of using the 2002 foreshock as an egf for the whole rupture process of the Sumatra earthquake and shows more generally the very broad range of application of egf technique. Then, a specific analysis reveals that seismic moment magnitude is close to 9.1 (seismic moment equal to 5.6 × 1022 N m). Moment release analysis along the Sumatra–Andaman trench shows two main slip episodes: one next to the northern extremity of Sumatra (∼20-m slip) and the other one along the Nicobar Islands (∼10-m slip), with a global extent of 1150–1200 km. Rupture velocity varies between values around 2.5 km/sec in the first half of the rupture and values closer to 2 km/sec in the second half. Total duration imaged by Rayleigh waves is 580 sec (±20 sec) and no activity of the fault is found in the time scale between 600 and 2000 sec. In the hypothesis of even longer timescale slip, this phenomenon would be of the order of 10%–20% of the global moment and likely restricted to the Andaman Islands.
Ultralong Period Seismic Study of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Implications for Regional Tectonics and the Subduction Process
Authors: Stein Seth , Okal Emile A.
Published: January 2007

Analysis of the earth’s longest period normal modes shows that the December 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake was much larger (Mw 9.3) than initially inferred from surface-wave data and involved slip on a much longer fault than initially inferred from body-wave data. The seismic moment and relative excitation of the normal modes indicate that the entire aftershock zone ruptured, consistent with the large tsunami amplitudes in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India. An apparent increase in seismic moment with period results from interference between parts of the fault. The earthquake resulted from subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Burma microplate, a sliver plate between the Indian and Sunda plates. Hence, the rate and direction of convergence depends on the motion of the Burma plate, which is not well known. Convergence would be highly oblique if the rate of motion between Burma and Sunda is that inferred from spreading in the Andaman Sea, and less if a slower rate is inferred from the Sagaing fault. The December earthquake was much larger than expected from a previously proposed relation, based on the idea of seismic coupling, in which such earthquakes occur only when young lithosphere subducts rapidly. Moreover, a global reanalysis finds little support for this correlation. Hence, we suspect that much of the apparent differences between subduction zones, such as some trench segments but not others being prone to Mw >8.5 events and hence oceanwide tsunamis, may reflect the short earthquake history sampled. This possibility is supported by the variability in rupture mode at individual trench segments.
The Energy Radiated by the 26 December 2004 Sumatra–Andaman Earthquake Estimated from 10-Minute P-Wave Windows
Authors: Choy George L. , Boatwright John
Published: January 2007

The rupture process of the MW 9.1 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake lasted for approximately 500 sec, nearly twice as long as the teleseismic time windows between the P and PP arrival times generally used to compute radiated energy. In order to measure the P waves radiated by the entire earthquake, we analyze records that extend from the P-wave to the S-wave arrival times from stations at distances Δ >60°. These 8- to 10-min windows contain the PP, PPP, and ScP arrivals, along with other multiply reflected phases. To gauge the effect of including these additional phases, we form the spectral ratio of the source spectrum estimated from extended windows (between TP and TS) to the source spectrum estimated from normal windows (between TP and TPP). The extended windows are analyzed as though they contained only the P-pP-sP wave group. We analyze four smaller earthquakes that occurred in the vicinity of the MW 9.1 mainshock, with similar depths and focal mechanisms. These smaller events range in magnitude from an MW 6.0 aftershock of 9 January 2005 to the MW 8.6 Nias earthquake that occurred to the south of the Sumatra– Andaman earthquake on 28 March 2005. We average the spectral ratios for these four events to obtain a frequency-dependent operator for the extended windows. We then correct the source spectrum estimated from the extended records of the 26 December 2004 mainshock to obtain a complete or corrected source spectrum for the entire rupture process (∼600 sec) of the great Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. Our estimate of the total seismic energy radiated by this earthquake is 1.4 × 1017 J. When we compare the corrected source spectrum for the entire earthquake to the source spectrum from the first ∼250 sec of the rupture process (obtained from normal teleseismic windows), we find that the mainshock radiated much more seismic energy in the first half of the rupture process than in the second half, especially over the period range from 3 sec to 40 sec.
Loading and Gravitational Effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami at Syowa Station, Antarctica
Authors: Nawa Kazunari , Suda Naoki , Satake Kenji , Fujii Yushiro , Sato Tadahiro , Doi Koichiro , Kanao Masaki , Shibuya Kazuo
Published: January 2007

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reached Syowa Station, Antarctica, approximately 12.5 hr after the December Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. We have analyzed the tsunami signals recorded on ocean-bottom pressure gauges, broadband seismometers (sts-1), and a superconducting gravimeter (sg). We calculated the sea level variation, tilt, and gravity changes induced by the tsunami and compared these results to observations. From this comparison we confirmed the loading and gravity effects of the tsunamis on the sts-1 (horizontal components) and the sg records at Syowa Station. The magnitudes of these effects given as root mean square amplitudes are as follows: for the tilt effects obtained from 20-hr-long sts-1 records at frequencies in the range 0.3–0.6 mHz, 5 and 8 μGal (10−8 m/sec2) in the east–west and north–south directions, respectively; and for the gravity effect obtained from the sg records for the same time period of 20 hr at frequencies in the range 0.1–0.2 mHz, 0.2 μGal. By using detailed bathymetry around Syowa Station, the synthetic amplitudes similar to the observed were obtained, although the waveforms of synthetic and observation are not always consistent.
Analysis of an Annular Pressure Buildup Failure During Drill Ahead
Authors: Pattillo P. D. , Cocales B. W. , Morey S. C.
Published: January 2007

While drilling ahead in salt on the Pompano A-31 (Gulf of Mexico) wellbore below the 16-in. shoe, the rotary stalled abruptly, and the drillpipe simultaneously became stuck. Subsequent calipers indicated the 16-in. casing to be deformed onto the drillpipe at approximately 250 ft.

To the authors' knowledge, this situation represents the first instance of an annular pressure buildup (APB) failure during drilling. APB is typically associated with extremes of temperature change resulting from production operations. In the current instance, the temperature change is solely from circulating drilling fluid.

This paper provides a detailed post-analysis of the 16-in. casing failure as follows:

An overview of the conventional casing design for this well, indicating that normal operating conditions should not have resulted in a failure. A review of the failure event, substantiated by field measurement and photographs. An investigation of APB, associated with inadvertently closing the 16-in. casing annulus at the surface, demonstrating the magnitude of the possible resulting thermally induced pressure load. Consideration of an alternate failure mode, column buckling, to demonstrate that this failure mode was not active in this wellbore. A finite-element model of the drillpipe/16-in. casing/20-in. casing trio indicating that, in addition to the collapse of the 16-in. casing and subsequent sticking of the drillstring, the outer 20-in. casing was also damaged by the event.

The latter item is particularly important because damage to outer strings can be easily overlooked if concentration is on the collapsed casing and drillpipe fish. A mechanical caliper confirms damage to the outer 20-in. string.

Conclusions in the paper center on confirmation of the postulated failure mode by field measurement and recommendations for avoiding such an event.
The Education of the Folk: Peasant Schools and Folklore Scholarship
Authors: Coe Cati
Published: January 2007

The history of intellectual interaction in the 19th and early 20th centuries between scholars of vernacular culture and educational reformers remains a lacuna in the discipline of folklore. This examination of educational reforms brought on by the introduction and spread of schooling for peasant children raises issues of how folklorists should intervene and how to judge the complicated effects of those interventions.
Folklore in Schools and Multicultural Education: Toward Institutionalizing Noninstitutional Knowledge
Authors: Hamer Lynne
Published: January 2007

Analysis of published materials from the Folk Arts in Education/Folk Arts in Schools movement (FAIE) reveals common themes: valuing nonprofessional artistry, instilling local pride, challenging the dominance of elite and popular culture, acknowledging "indigenous teachers," and promoting collaborative action. After reviewing codified approaches to multicultural education, I suggest that explicating and building on parallels between FAIE and "critical emancipatory multiculturalism" will take FAIE work in promising directions while increasing its relevance for multicultural educators.
Theorizing the Hybrid
Authors: Kapchan Deborah A. , Strong Pauline Turner
Published: January 2007

"Theorizing the Hybrid" is a special issue of the Journal of American Folklore that critically engages the metaphor of hybridity as it is currently employed in the analysis of narratives and discourses, genres and identities, material forms and performances. Authors in the fields of folklore, cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, literary history, ethnomusicology, and comparative literature reflect on the nature, value, limitations, and dangers of hybridity as both an analytic model and a social practice. Articles consider topics ranging from the premodern to the cybernetic, the biological to the political, the highly localized to the transnational.
TheSingasingaTable Lamp and the Toba Batak Art of Conflation
Authors: Causey Andrew
Published: January 2007

The livelihoods of Toba Batak (Samosir Island, North Sumatra) wood-carvers depend on sales to Western tourists. Most carvers re-create historic forms, yet others make objects that combine aspects of ancestral and Western traditions. This article documents the story of the carver Partoho and his wife Ito as they attempted to understand tourists’ tastes and preferences, focusing in particular on one carving. Partoho’s lamp serves to focus an investigation of the theoretical use of hybrid in the context of transforming material culture. Conflation is suggested as an alternative to hybrid.
Israeli Mediterranean Music: Straddling Disputed Territories
Authors: Horowitz Amy
Published: January 2007

Israeli Mediterranean music is a contemporary hybrid music genre created by Mizrahim—African and Asian Israeli Jews with roots in Islamic countries. Israeli Mediterranean music integrates the disparate musical styles that flourished in the new state. The music made its retail debut in cassette form amidst vegetables and household appliances in Tel Aviv’s outdoor marketplaces. Initially rejected by the Eurocentric Israeli music industry because its Arabic sound violated prevailing national and artistic categories, the music infiltrated the Israeli mainstream in the 1990s and helped to reset the boundaries of national identity. Using Israeli Mediterranean music and musicians as its focal point, this article examines hybridity as a deliberate artistic process through which Mizrahi musicians create musical products as well as institutions that can challenge their marginalization by the mainstream music industry and the wider Israeli society.
The Whole and the Sum of the Parts, or, How Cookie and the Cupcakes Told the Story of Apache History in San Carlos
Authors: Samuels David
Published: January 2007

On the San Carlos Apache Reservation in southeastern Arizona, popular music circulates as a means of constructing statements of indigenous Apache identity in the community. The sense of Apache identity depends at least as much on engagement with, and revoicing of, "dominant" cultural expressions as it does on the persistence of the traditional forms associated with cultural heritage. In this article I trace out some of the aesthetic tropes that recur in these contemporary expressions of identity, arguing that it is a sense of shared history, rather than one of shared culture, that informs identity in this community. I also argue that the theoretical productivity of the concept of hybridity, if anything, is its potential for guiding researchers to foreground the strategic creation of utterances rather than assuming the explanatory power of cultural provenance in a philological sense.
"The Unknown Variable Hidden Underground" and the Zionist Idea: Rhetoric of Place in an Israeli Kibbutz and Cultural Interpretation
Authors: Bar-Itzhak Haya
Published: January 2007

This article examines the rhetoric of place in an Israeli kibbutz. Members of this kibbutz identified the story of its settlement with what they called the "Sidriyot story" (the "Jujube story"). The aggregate of the stories collected in the kibbutz creates a narrative of the local culture in which the ethos of Zionist-socialist settlement in all its complexity is expounded. The analysis of the stories as told by the generation of the founders and the kibbutz-born generation uncovers the polyphonic life of the narrative and its "dialogic narration." In the narration the jujube becomes a key symbol that by its nature contains a whole slew of simultaneous meanings and ambiguities. It relates to the main values and problems of the society, such as the conquest of the soil and building of the settlement, uprooting and planting, Jews and Arabs, nature and culture, and more. In this way the stories exemplify the importance of local legends for cultural interpretation.
Shiva and Parvati: Public and Private Reflections of Stories in North India
Authors: Caughran Neema
Published: January 2007

A vrat kathā is a ritual fast often performed by women in North India for the well-being of their husbands and families. In a community of low-caste potters near Banaras, a women wove her private concerns about her marriage into her public performance of required storytelling at the ritual. The mythical relationship of Shiva and Parvati served as a backdrop for real relationship issues: the discourse of power between men and women, adultery, parenting, and support. Using the rare public space that women create only on such ritual occasions, this storyteller made statements about her life that she would not be able to make in any other setting.
Going Far Away in Order to Better Understand the Familiar: Odyssey of a Jewish Folklorist into the Bobover Hasidic Community
Authors: Epstein Shifra
Published: January 2007

This article is about my journey into a community of close-knit and ultraconservative Hasidic Jews. It explores my reasons for studying the Bobover Hasidim, a community within my own Jewish tribe but with a very different culture from mine. The article also articulates how I gained access to the community and what impact the study of Hasidim has had on my life as a scholar and a Jewish woman.
A Tale of Two Carnivals: Esoteric and Exoteric Performance in the Fasnet of Elzach
Authors: Tokofsky Peter
Published: January 2007

The folkloric costumes and processions presented during the carnival celebration in the Black Forest town of Elzach have been much studied and honored by German folklore scholars and enthusiasts. Yet carnival in Elzach consists of much more than these folkloric displays. The festival also includes a series of original, text-based performances intended primarily for reception by local residents. The costumed folkloric events and the original performances form two distinct sets of enactments within the three-day celebration, each emerging in response to different historical developments and contemporary impulses. A close reading of the performed texts reveals their role in constructing local identity.
The Inupiaq Eskimo Messenger Feast: Celebration, Demise, and Possibility
Authors: Fair Susan W.
Published: January 2007

The Messenger Feast was an institutionalized festival event in historic times among both Inupiaq and Yup’ik Eskimos through which rival groups, as well as allies, maintained formalized means of sharing, trading, gaming, courting, and exchanging information. Similar activities took place during summer trade fairs. Contrary to popular notions, northern Eskimos were extremely competitive and often engaged in warfare. Messenger Feasts and other such institutions afforded relief from these social and intercultural tensions. This article examines the historic purposes of and the activities staged during Messenger Feasts and demonstrates why the festivals ceased in the Inupiaq north, primarily through the intervention of missionaries and educators. Today, the festival is being revitalized in some areas.
"Rude Bard of the North": James Macpherson and the Folklore of Democracy
Authors: Bold Valentina
Published: January 2007

This article examines the influence of James Macpherson’s Ossianic verse on American cultural critics and writers. Remarks on the textual history of Macpherson’s work in America--in Scottish, English, and domestic editions--are followed by an exploration of Macpherson’s impact on American culture, including his period as Secretary to the Governor of British West Florida. By looking at a selection of poetic and political responses to Macpherson’s Ossian, I suggest that the image of the Celt in America is founded in Macpherson’s vision. Furthermore, I propose that Macpherson’s folklore of an idealized, democratic Scotland had an indirect influence on the emergence of an American national identity.
"Mardi Gras, Chic-a-la-Pie:" Reasserting Creole Identity Through Festive Play
Authors: Gaudet Marcia
Published: January 2007

Mardi Gras, in the predominantly Creole and African American 12th Street area of Lafayette, Louisiana, reflects both the cultural diversity of Creoles of color and the dynamics of asserting Creole identity in a region more widely known as Cajun Country. The festive play of this Mardi Gras incorporates Afro-Caribbean performance styles as well as French Louisiana Mardi Gras chants and rituals. Creole identity is reflected, challenged, and celebrated in the intercultural borrowings and negotiations of this carnival performance.
Auditory exostoses as an aquatic activity marker: A comparison of coastal and inland skeletal remains from tropical and subtropical regions of Brazil
Authors: Okumura Maria Mercedes M. , Boyadjian Célia H.C. , Eggers Sabine
Published: January 2007

Auditory exostoses are bone masses located in the external auditory canal. Currently, most researchers agree that the environment (especially water temperature, but also atmospheric temperature and wind action) plays a pivotal role in the development of this trait. This article discusses whether the presence of auditory exostoses can be used as an aquatic activity marker in bioarchaeological studies, especially in groups that inhabited tropical and subtropical regions. We analyzed 676 skeletons (5,000 years BP to historical times) from 27 coastal and inland native Brazilian groups. Very low frequencies of auditory exostoses were found in the inland groups (0.00–0.03), but the expected high frequency of auditory exostoses in the coastal groups was not always observed (0.00–0.56). These differences might be explained by the combination of water and atmospheric temperatures in conjunction with wind effects. In areas with mild atmospheric temperatures and wind chill factors, the coastal populations analyzed do not show high frequencies of auditory exostoses. However, high frequencies of auditory exostoses develop where cold atmospheric temperatures are further lowered by strong wind chill. Therefore, the association between aquatic activities, low atmospheric temperature, and wind chill is strongly correlated with the presence of auditory exostoses, but where these environmental factors are mild, the frequencies of auditory exostoses are not necessarily high. Concluding, auditory exostoses should be cautiously used as a marker of aquatic activity in bioarchaeological studies in tropical and subtropical regions, since these activities do not always result in the presence of this trait. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cover Picture: Efficient Iron/Copper Co‐Catalyzed Arylation of Nitrogen Nucleophiles (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 6/2007)
Authors: Taillefer Marc , Xia Ning , Ouali Armelle
Published: January 2007

CN bond formation is important in numerous syntheses throughout the chemical, pharmaceutical, and materials industries. In their Communication on page 934 ff., M. Taillefer et al. describe an example of cooperative bimetallic catalysis with Fe and Cu that allows CN coupling between nitrogen nucleophiles and aryl halides (see cover picture). The commercial availability, low cost, experimental simplicity, and environmental friendliness of the system are factors that favor its adaptation for industrial application.
Inside Cover: The Structures and Optical Spectra of Hydrated Transplutonium Ions in the Solid State and in Solution (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 6/2007)
Authors: Lindqvist‐Reis Patric , Apostolidis Christos , Rebizant Jean , Morgenstern Alfred , Klenze Reinhardt , Walter Olaf , Fanghänel Thomas , Haire Richard G.
Published: January 2007

The coordination geometries of the aqua ions of AmIII and CmIII are strikingly similar to those of the highly symmetric nona‐hydrated species in their triflate salts [M(H2O)9](CF3SO3)3. These findings are supported by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, EXAFS, and optical spectroscopy and are discussed by P. Lindqvist‐Reis and co‐workers in their Communication on page 919ff. The picture shows the characteristic orange luminescence from CmIII in aqueous solution and in the triflate salt, together with the molecular structure of the salt.
Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polypropylene microfibrillar composites. III. Structural development of poly(ethylene terephthalate) microfibers
Authors: Leung F. K. P. , Cheung W. L. , Lin X. D. , Jia D. , Chung C. Y.
Published: January 2007

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) was extruded, solid‐state‐drawn, and annealed to simulate the structure of poly(ethylene terephthalate) microfibers in a poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polypropylene blend. Differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering analyses were conducted to study the structural development of the poly(ethylene terephthalate) extrudates at different processing stages. The as‐extruded extrudate had a low crystallinity (∼ 10%) and a generally random texture. After cold drawing, the extrudate exhibited a strong molecular alignment along the drawing direction, and there was a crystallinity gain of about 25% that was generally independent of the strain rates used (0.0167–1.67 s−1). 2θ scans showed that the strain‐induced crystals were less distinctive than those from melt crystallization. During drawing above the glass‐transition temperature, the structural development was more dependent on the strain rate. At low strain rates, the extrudate was in a state of flow drawing. The resultant crystallinity hardly changed, and the texture remained generally random. At high strain rates, strain‐induced crystallization occurred, and the crystallinity gain was similar to that in cold drawing. Thermally agitated short‐range diffusion of the oriented crystalline molecules was possible, and the resultant crystal structure became more comparable to that from melt crystallization. Annealing around 200°C further increased the crystallinity of the drawn extrudates but had little effect on the texture. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 137–146, 2007
Synthesis and characterization of novel soluble pyridine‐containing polyimides based on 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine and various aromatic dianhydrides
Authors: Wang Xiaolong , Li Yanfeng , Gong Chengliang , Zhang Shujiang , Ma Tao
Published: January 2007

A new kind of pyridine‐containing aromatic diamine monomer, 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine (PAPP), was successfully synthesized by a modified chichibabin reaction of benzaldehyde and a substituted acetophenone, 4‐(4‐nitrophenoxy)‐acetophenone (NPAP), followed by a reduction of the resulting dinitro compound 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐nitrophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine (PNPP) with Pd/C and hydrazine monohydrate. The aromatic diamine was employed to synthesize a series of new pyridine‐containing polyimides by polycondensation with various aromatic dianhydrides in N‐methy‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) via the conventional two‐step method, i.e., ring‐opening polycondensation forming the poly (amic acid)s and further thermal or chemical imidization forming polyimides. The inherent viscosities of the resulting polyimides were in the range of 0.79–1.13 dL/g, and most of them were soluble in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), NMP, and tetrahydrofuran (THF), etc. Meanwhile, strong and flexible polyimide films were obtained, which had good thermal stability, with the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of 268–338°C and the temperature at 5% weight loss of 521–548°C in air atmosphere, as well as outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 89.2–112.1 MPa and elongations at break of 9.5–15.4%. The polyimides also were found to possess low dielectric constants ranging from 2.53 to 3.11. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 212–219, 2007