bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Chinese discourse of human rights as cultural response
Authors: Shi-xu
Published: July 2011

In this paper, I present a theoretical and empirical analysis as well as assessment of Chinese political discourse from a culture-interactive and culture-competitive perspective. Against the background of the common political-economic, and West-centric frame of Chinese communication, it is argued that Chinese political discourse is not in isolation from wider international culture and history and especially the intercultural context of power struggle, but should rather be seen as a dynamic, culturally responsive agent in both localized and globalizing interaction. Accordingly, this perspective is applied to the particular case of the Chinese discourse of human rights in the past two decades. Through this culturally-minded discourse analysis, it is shown that the Chinese discourse of human rights constitutes as a hegemony-resistant response through active participation, claiming conceptual and operational diversity, and direct confrontation in response to especially the American-Western subordinating discourse on the issue, achieving a significant advancement in the human discourse of human rights thereby.
Cultural identity as a production in process
Authors: Chen Ling
Published: July 2011

The type of identity most salient in intercultural communication is probably cultural identity, also a major issue in intercultural communication studies. This study adopts a dialectical perspective and approaches cultural identity as a dynamic production in and through intercultural contact and interaction. Semi-structured interviews of educated young Hongkongers turned out accounts of cultural identity along with their language use in day-to-day activities. These provided indirect access to some lived experience of people in a culturally special society. The study identifies dialectics evident in the production of cultural identity and uncovers ways people deal with dialectic tension in the process.
The changing discursive construction of women in Chinese popular discourse since the twentieth century
Authors: Li Jinfeng
Published: July 2011

This paper, through discourse analysis based on discursive social constructionism and ideological analysis inspired by Althusser, explores the changing discursive construction of women in Chinese popular discourse since 20th century. It identifies three related, overlapping, recurring yet distinct kinds of discourses by which women are represented or inteperllated in three different historical periods: (1) awareness and individualization discourse culturally constructed in the Chinese enlightenment period at the beginning of 20th century; (2) desexualized or masculinized discourse politically constructed from the foundation of China to the end of the “Cultural Revolution”; (3) consumerist and ideal discourse economically constructed since the Chinese economic reform. The paper aims to discuss and disclose what each of these discourses reveals or obscures from sight, especially, by examining the underlying and often unconscious assumptions about women that shape gender or reality so as to increase the self-reﬂexivity of women.
One ethnic minority, two cultural identities and more
Authors: Feng-bing
Published: July 2011

Most of current research seems to proceed from a homogeneous conception of the Chinese ethnic minority in the North America and Europe. The present paper focuses on ethnic Chinese migrant children living in Northern Ireland whose parents come from Mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, and examines their intra-ethnic and inter-generational experiences based on in-depth interviews and participant observations. The purpose is to identify and explain both historical dynamics and intra-ethnic diversities within these Chinese children’s accounts. The research employs culturally grounded versions of explanations, argumentations, narratives, ‘habitus’, etc. as analytical tools. The research discovers the changes in and differences between these two Chinese sub-groups in views and values on self-concept, norms, country of origin, host society and life-style choices.
The psychology of chinese behaviour as seen in spoken discourses
Authors: Kuang Ching Hei
Published: July 2011

Chinese people can be found in most continents and history has shown that they migrate in the early days to seek better livelihoods. Of the many places they have set foot on, Malaya was one country which not only saw the marriage of Princess Hang Li Po of the Ming Dynasty to the sultan of Malacca in the 16th century but also the birth of mixed marriages between local Malays and Chinese who had come with the marriage entourage. Subsequently, others came to work as miners, actors, writers, bankers and various occupations. Malaysian Chinese are the descendants of these migrants. For some reason, literature often associate migrant Chinese with Confucian values like filial piety, respect for elders, benevolence and humility. To some extent this is probably true because Chinese children are taught these virtues through the way they should talk and behave with others. Nevertheless, times have changed. Young people today are exposed to more challenges, new cultures, new experiences and new opportunities. Directly or indirectly, these have an impact on their behaviour and how they talk. Yang Kuo-Shu (1986), Michael Harris Bond and Hwang Kwang-kuo (1986) look at various studies and models of Chinese Social Behaviour. Their findings indicate that the social behaviours of the Chinese have evolved over the years. Adding on to this is the contribution of this paper which discusses the behaviour of young male Malaysian Chinese speakers as shown through their speech. Using participant observation as an approach, spontaneous data of male children interacting with their elders were manually recorded and transcribed. Focussing on politeness, their utterances were then analysed based on the intended functions and the linguistic forms used. Analysis of data suggests that the speakers are direct and less reserved in their speech norms.
Intercultural dialogue
Authors: Borges Costa Marilia
Published: July 2011

The scientific breakthroughs of important theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, etc., engendered a new concept of subject. Instead of the centered and integrated Cartesian subject, the postmodern individual is fragmented and multiple, affected by ideology and by his/her unconscious. This makes it necessary to analyze the historical and psychological dimensions to apprehend his/her complexity. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s The woman warrior — memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, first published in 1976, it is possible to identify the multiple subject positionings of the main character, who is also the narrator. As a North American of Chinese descent, she portrays Chinese legends, myths, and family stories of her ethnic community through an American frame of mind. Growing up in the intersection of cultures, a position of in-between cultures, and having to deal with different customs and values, the narrator faces conflicts and paradoxes. Her contradictory and fragmentary identity reveals the hybrid and diasporic character of the Chinese American author. Kingston constantly brings together the discourses of her Chinese cultural heritage and the American ones presented in her environment. With this constant dialogue between different cultural elements, the narrator tries to forge a sense of wholeness, a unified cultural identity, of her various subjective positions. The result of this effort, however, is a culturally unstable identity: The woman warrior reflects the heterogeneous nature of the main character and the author, revealing to the reader the Chinese American “country” and culture in all its singularity and uniqueness. The theoretical framework used to analyze the different expressions of subjectivity in the main character of this fictional autobiography is based on critics of Postmodernism and on cultural studies about diasporas.
Lexical knowledge without a lexicon?
Authors: Elman Jeffrey L.
Published: July 2011

Although for many years a sharp distinction has been made in language research between rules and words — with primary interest on rules — this distinction is now blurred in many theories. If anything, the focus of attention has shifted in recent years in favor of words. Results from many different areas of language research suggest that the lexicon is representationally rich, that it is the source of much productive behavior, and that lexically specific information plays a critical and early role in the interpretation of grammatical structure. But how much information can or should be placed in the lexicon? This is the question I address here. I review a set of studies whose results indicate that event knowledge plays a significant role in early stages of sentence processing and structural analysis. This poses a conundrum for traditional views of the lexicon. Either the lexicon must be expanded to include factors that do not plausibly seem to belong there; or else virtually all information about word meaning is removed, leaving the lexicon impoverished. I suggest a third alternative, which provides a way to account for lexical knowledge without a mental lexicon.
The EEG/ERP technologies in linguistic research
Authors: Stemmer Brigitte , Connolly John F.
Published: July 2011

The field of neuroimaging has experienced a tremendous boom due to technological advances in the last ten years and this is also reflected in the electroencephalography / event-related potentials (EEG/ERP) method. This contribution provides an overview of the main EEG/ERP hardware systems and software development currently on the market and the benefits of such technology for the study of language issues. We discuss the “added-value” such technology brings to the research of language and the possibilities of combining various neuroimaging technique with emphasis on the integration of EEG/ERP and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our contribution ends with a look at what we think may be the methodologies that drive the field forward in the not too distant future.
Subject-verb word order in Spanish interrogatives
Authors: Brown Esther L. , Rivas Javier
Published: July 2011

We conduct a quantitative analysis of conversational speech from native speakers of Puerto Rican Spanish to test whether optional non-inversion of subjects in wh-questions (¿qué tú piensas?) is indicative of a movement in Spanish from flexible to rigid word order (Morales 1989; Toribio 2000). We find high rates of subject expression (51%) and a strong preference for SV word order (47%) over VS (4%) in all sentence types, in line with assertions of fixed SVO word order. The usage-based examination of 882 wh-questions shows non-inversion occurs in 14% of the cases (25% of wh-questions containing an overt subject). Variable rule analysis reveals subject, verb and question type significantly constrain interrogative word order, but we find no evidence that word order is predicted by perseveration. SV word order is highest in rhetorical and quotative questions, revealing a pathway of change through which word order is becoming fixed in this variety.
Restricciones pragmáticas y sociales en la expresión de futuridad en el español de Puerto Rico
Authors: Claes Jeroen , Ortiz López Luis A.
Published: July 2011

En español, la futuridad se puede expresar mediante cuatro paradigmas verbales: el futuro morfológico, el futuro perifrástico, el presente de indicativo y el presente continuo. La investigación realizada sobre el fenómeno (Iuliano y De Stefano 1979; Van Naerssen 1983; Sedano 1994; Hernández 1999; Becerra 2005; Orozco 2005; Orozco 2007; Méndez-Vallejo 2008) postula que la variación no es libre y que las variantes presentan una distribución diferente debido a su semantismo propio y a factores extralingüísticos. En este trabajo, investigamos, mediante una muestra de 29 entrevistas de PRESEEA de Puerto Rico, si las variantes están condicionadas por factores pragmáticos y sociales. Los factores pragmáticos que ponemos a prueba son la persona gramatical, la distancia temporal y la certidumbre. Concretamente, examinamos cómo las Máximas de Grice (1975) condicionan la aparición de las variantes. Las variables extralingüísticas bajo estudio son el sexo y la edad. El análisis probabilístico de este estudio comprueba que: (i) las variables pragmáticas condicionan la variación, (ii) las personas gramaticales dan cuenta de grados de certidumbre y (iii) el rasgo determinante de las variantes es [± distancia temporal], (iv) los factores sociales condicionan la variación, (v) las mujeres se inclinan por la variante analítica, (vi) los hombres favorecen las otras variantes y (vii) mientras más joven es el hablante más apoya el presente de indicativo.
Las keys versus el key
Authors: Montes-Alcala Cecilia , Lapidus Shin Naomi
Published: July 2011

Previous research on language mixing has revealed similarities in written and oral production with respect to syntactic and pragmatic patterns (e.g. Callahan 2004). In this study we find, however, that the two modes of expression diverge in loanword gender assignment. English-origin NPs inserted into written Spanish discourse (e.g. un baggie) were analyzed and compared to English-origin NPs in oral Spanish discourse. Results showed that loanwords are assigned feminine gender at significantly higher rates in written than in oral data. Also, our study shows that the reasons for assigning feminine gender are different for written and oral production. Phonological factors appeared to be influential in the oral, but not written, data. The ‘analogical criterion’, according to which the gender of the Spanish translation equivalent determines the gender assigned to the loanword, e.g. una letter (una carta), was a strong predictor of feminine gender in the written data, but had a weaker effect in the oral data.
Constructing perspectives on language diversity in the U.S. Midwest
Authors: Shenk Elaine
Published: July 2011

This paper examines perspectives on language diversity that surfaced prior to, during, and immediately following the implementation of a two-way immersion program in a public school district in Iowa. Using a social constructionist paradigm, combined with Habermas’ understanding of the public sphere, the paper explores local and regional media coverage of the two-way immersion program alongside coverage of emerging language legislation on Official English in Iowa, spanning the last years of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st. The analysis reveals a variety of postures within the public discourse related to the presence and use of languages other than English in this Midwestern context. The paper argues that it is precisely this interface of varying perspectives that will potentially facilitate a more lasting receptive social environment towards language diversity in the state.
Electronic media and popular discourse on Russian nationalism
Authors: Mikhailova Yulia
Published: July 2011

This article analyzes electronic letters to the editor on the coverage of the riot in Kondopoga (2006) and the bombings in the Moscow subway (2010). Letters to electronic media are used for the first time as a source for popular opinion on nationalism and ethnic conflicts in Russia. The first argument of this study is methodological: a comparison between the polls and the letters suggests that letters to electronic media represent public opinion on nationalism even though Internet users still constitute a minority of Russian citizens. This study also claims that the letters under examination indicate a move from extreme nationalism to so called “banal nationalism,” the term coined by Michael Billig, during the period between 2006 and 2010. Finally, the article argues that the concept of the civic nation is not yet well understood or accepted by Russian citizens. Although this concept, expressed in Russian by the newly coined wordrossiane, became somewhat more popular in 2010 than it had been in 2006, the ethnic understanding of Russian still prevails. The basis for the new identityrossiane, as it is presented in the letters, lacks common memories, myths and traditions that would resonate strongly in popular imagination.
Integrating the past: regional integration and historical reckoning in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Gledhill John
Published: July 2011

This article considers how regional integration in Europe has informed processes of collective remembrance and transitional justice in Central and Eastern Europe. By taking the cases of Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic, two claims are made. First, although European institutions have not initiated top-down projects of historical reckoning, activists who have an interest in promoting engagement with the recent past have been able to draw the political, financial and/or judicial weight of European institutions behind particular reckoning initiatives, on anad hocbasis. Second, the nature of the projects that have been realized with the assistance of European resources has varied across the region, according to the extent of prior efforts to promote collective remembrance and transitional justice at the national level. Where there have previously been constraints on historical reckoning, activists have drawn “Europe” behind efforts to promote national-level confrontations with particularly national experiences of communist rule. By contrast, where there has previously been extensive state sponsorship of collective remembrance projects and/or processes of transitional justice, European resources have been used in support of efforts to raise awareness of the repressions of communist rule, and transitions from that system of rule, among a wider, international audience.
Putting Ukraine on the map: the contribution of Stepan Rudnyts'kyi to Ukrainian nation-building
Authors: Stebelsky Ihor
Published: July 2011

This paper examines the contribution of the founder of modern Ukrainian geography, Stepan Rudnyts'kyi, to Ukrainian nation-building. It demonstrates how Rudnyts'kyi put Ukraine on the mental map of the Ukrainian public before the declaration of Ukraine's independence in 1918. This is done by analyzing his key publications and showing how he formed a vision of Ukraine and delineated its territory to influence the perceptions of the Ukrainian public on the eve of the struggle for Ukraine's independence. Rudnyts'kyi's contribution is also viewed within the context of competition from rival modern nation-building projects in Eastern Europe, most notably Polish and Russian. The developments are also examined within Miroslav Hroch's periodization of national movements. Rudnyts'kyi played an important role in stage B (patriotic agitation) in Ukrainian national revival.
The 'Ndrangheta: the current state of historical research
Authors: Truzzolillo Fabio
Published: July 2011

This article surveys the state of the research undertaken to date on Calabrian organised crime, now known as the 'Ndrangheta. Using continuous reference to the historiography of the Sicilian Mafia, and prompted in particular by a preliminary review of various documentary sources, it also poses questions and develops theories that will need further study and reflection. The first section addresses the classic image of the 'Ndrangheta, as crime linked to the traditional values of the Calabrian rural world. It is suggested that the interweaving of this criminal phenomenon and traditional society is more complex than a relationship of identification between the two, and results from the deliberate pursuit of criminal objectives such as legitimisation and social control. Further problems are highlighted as attention is turned from issues regarding values to the socio-economic features of the ‘Picciotteria’, as the 'Ndrangheta was known prior to the 1950s. There is a discussion of the reasons for its success, the economic parasitism practised using positions of social intermediation, and the existence of formal structures distinct from traditional family bonds and community ties. The article's final section focuses on the relationship between the 'Ndrangheta and politics in the period after the Second World War. The paucity of research that specifically addresses the period between the war and the 1970s is highlighted; linked to this, approaches are suggested for investigating the nature of crime's penetration of politics, the relationship with the parties at the local level, and the ways in which the 'Ndrangheta was interpreted by these same political parties.
Mussolini and the idealisation of Empire: the Augustan Exhibition of Romanità
Authors: Marcello Flavia
Published: July 2011

The Augustan Exhibition ofRomanità, held in Rome's Palazzo delle Esposizioni between 1937 and 1938, exemplifies the aestheticisation, ritualisation and sacralisation of politics during the Fascist era in Italy. This article conducts a multi-layered spatial analysis of the exhibition that considers space as passively experienced, as an agent to re-map memory, as a mediator between intention and reception and as having both physical and mental characteristics. The relative sizes of the spaces, their sequence and their axial placement within the Palazzo's plan were the most powerful forces that conveyed the exhibition's overall political and social aims. TheMostra Augustea della Romanità(MAR) is here analysed as a form of historical representation with a specific narrative which is played out within an orchestrated space in order to create and reinforce a (Fascist) political identity. The idea of Rome took on material aspects through a kind of ‘recognition effect’ for the visitor by presentingRomanitàas a collective mirror in which to view an image of their own social visage. Thus an active connection would, according to the organisers, be forged between a Roman past and a Fascist present, and its two leaders and creators, Augustus and Mussolini, as well as between the individual and society. TheMARalso demonstrates the prevalence of the cult of Il Duce in Fascist society and its importance for maintaining high levels of consent. With its focus on a particular view of the ancient world, theMARwas an ephemeral event that acted as teleological justification for the advent and supposed permanence of Fascism, which at the same time presented itself as a unique archaeological, scientific and educational document of the Roman world.
Education in the Italian colonies during the interwar period
Authors: Pretelli Matteo
Published: July 2011

Fascism saw education as a key way to ‘make Italians’ both at home and in its colonies. Schools for Italians and for the indigenous population in Africa were a key part of this project. These educational institutions were set up, partly, to convince young Italians of their role as colonisers and bearers of an idea of ‘Italian civilisation’. A small minority of Africans, who were permitted to attend schools created for a section of the local population, were given an education that was designed to reinforce their role as inferior and as targets for an idea of a superior ‘Italian civilisation’. This article will analyse the role of the schools set up in the colonies both for Italians and for the local population, as well as their use of politics, propaganda and their educational techniques. The article looks at continuities and breaks with the pre-Fascist period, as well as the radicalisation of racist educational policies after the proclamation of the empire.
α-Synuclein and ALPS motifs are membrane curvature sensors whose contrasting chemistry mediates selective vesicle binding
Authors: Pranke Iwona M. , Morello Vincent , Bigay Joëlle , Gibson Kimberley , Verbavatz Jean-Marc , Antonny Bruno , Jackson Catherine L.
Published: July 2011

Membrane curvature sensors have diverse structures and chemistries, suggesting that they might have the intrinsic capacity to discriminate between different types of vesicles in cells. In this paper, we compare the in vitro and in vivo membrane-binding properties of two curvature sensors that form very different amphipathic helices: the amphipathic lipid-packing sensor (ALPS) motif of a Golgi vesicle tether and the synaptic vesicle protein α-synuclein, a causative agent of Parkinson’s disease. We demonstrate the mechanism by which α-synuclein senses membrane curvature. Unlike ALPS motifs, α-synuclein has a poorly developed hydrophobic face, and this feature explains its dual sensitivity to negatively charged lipids and to membrane curvature. When expressed in yeast cells, these two curvature sensors were targeted to different classes of vesicles, those of the early secretory pathway for ALPS motifs and to negatively charged endocytic/post-Golgi vesicles in the case of α-synuclein. Through structures with complementary chemistries, α-synuclein and ALPS motifs target distinct vesicles in cells by direct interaction with different lipid environments.
Cargo sorting to lysosome-related organelles regulates siRNA-mediated gene silencing
Authors: Harris Dinari A. , Kim Kevin , Nakahara Kenji , Vásquez-Doorman Constanza , Carthew Richard W.
Published: July 2011

Mammals lacking BLOC-3 have impaired formation of melanosomes, a type of lysosome-related organelle (LRO), and, in earlier work, we found that a subunit of the BLOC-3 complex inhibits loading of Argonaute (Ago) proteins with small ribonucleic acids (RNAs) in Drosophila melanogaster cells. Small RNAs such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) direct Ago proteins to repress the stability of messenger RNA transcripts. In this paper, we show that BLOC-3 is required for biogenesis of Drosophila LROs called pigment granules. Other complexes that sort cargo to pigment LROs also negatively regulate siRNA activity. However, regulation is not obligately linked to biogenesis of LROs but instead to specific cargo-sorting processes. Negative regulation is also not linked to sorting into all LROs but only a specific class of pigment LRO. Thus, regulation of siRNA activity is tied to sorting of specific types of cargo to particular LROs.
A PAR-1–dependent orientation gradient of dynamic microtubules directs posterior cargo transport in the Drosophila oocyte
Authors: Parton Richard M. , Hamilton Russell S. , Ball Graeme , Yang Lei , Cullen C. Fiona , Lu Weiping , Ohkura Hiroyuki , Davis Ilan
Published: July 2011

Cytoskeletal organization is central to establishing cell polarity in various cellular contexts, including during messenger ribonucleic acid sorting in Drosophila melanogaster oocytes by microtubule (MT)-dependent molecular motors. However, MT organization and dynamics remain controversial in the oocyte. In this paper, we use rapid multichannel live-cell imaging with novel image analysis, tracking, and visualization tools to characterize MT polarity and dynamics while imaging posterior cargo transport. We found that all MTs in the oocyte were highly dynamic and were organized with a biased random polarity that increased toward the posterior. This organization originated through MT nucleation at the oocyte nucleus and cortex, except at the posterior end of the oocyte, where PAR-1 suppressed nucleation. Our findings explain the biased random posterior cargo movements in the oocyte that establish the germline and posterior.
Systemic cytokine levels and subsequent risk of gastric cancer in Chinese Women
Authors: Wong Hui‐Lee , Rabkin Charles S. , Shu Xiao‐Ou , Pfeiffer Ruth M. , Cai Qiuyin , Ji Bu‐Tian , Yang Gong , Li Hong‐Lan , Rothman Nathaniel , Gao Yu‐Tang , Zheng Wei , Chow Wong‐Ho
Published: July 2011

Although control of the host cytokine network is known to influence gastric cancer susceptibility, the specific inflammatory responses in gastric carcinogenesis remain unclear. We prospectively examined the relationships between gastric cancer risk and plasma levels of interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α in a nested case control study within The Shanghai Women’s Health Study. Two controls were matched to each case on the basis of age, menopausal status, and sample collection parameters. The associations between gastric cancer risk and tertiles of cytokine levels were estimated by odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from conditional logistic regression, adjusting for education. During a median follow‐up period of 4 years (range 0.1–8 years), 141 women developed gastric cancer and were matched to 282 cancer‐free study participants. Elevated levels of plasma IL‐6 were associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer (Ptrend = 0.04). Risk increased 70% (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.0, 3.0) for women in the highest tertile (>4 pg/mL) of IL‐6 compared with those in the lowest tertile (<1.8 pg/mL). The association between gastric cancer risk and IL‐6 was stronger after 4 years of follow‐up (OR = 2.6 [95% CI 1.0, 6.7] for highest versus lowest tertile) compared with an OR of 1.4 (95% CI 0.7, 2.9) for those diagnosed within 1–4 years of follow‐up. No associations were observed with the other pro‐inflammatory cytokines examined, namely IL‐1β, IL‐8, and TNF‐α. Systemic plasma IL‐6 levels may inform long‐term gastric cancer risk. This novel finding awaits confirmation in future studies with sequential plasma collection. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 1911–1915)
Intradermal capsaicin as a neuropathic pain model in patients with unilateral sciatica
Authors: Aykanat Verna , Gentgall Melanie , Briggs Nancy , Williams Desmond , Yap Sharon , Rolan Paul
Published: July 2011

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

• The intradermal capsaicin model of neuropathic pain has been previously developed and used in healthy volunteers.

• Few previous studies have used this model in pain patients.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

• We have compared the response to intradermal capsaicin in the painful and nonpainful legs of patients with unilateral sciatica and compared these with healthy, pain‐free control subjects. Pain and hyperalgesia responses were enhanced in both legs of patients with unilateral sciatica compared with healthy controls. The time course of hyperalgesia was different in sciatica patients, demonstrating a slower and larger evolution.

• Qualitative and quantitative differences between pain patients and healthy controls suggest that the use of a neuropathic pain model such as intradermal capsaicin to screen for novel antineuropathic agents might be superior in patients with pre‐existing neuropathic pain syndromes.

AIM

This study compared the responses between patients with unilateral sciatica and pain‐free volunteers following administration of intradermal capsaicin.

METHODS Fourteen patients with unilateral sciatica and 12 pain‐free volunteers received one injection per hour over 4 h of 1 µg and 10 µg capsaicin, into each calf. For each dose, spontaneous pain (10 cm VAS), area of flare (cm2) and the sum of allodynia and hyperalgesia radii across eight axes (cm) were recorded pre‐injection and at 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min post injection.

RESULTS

Sciatica subjects experienced higher spontaneous pain and hyperalgesia responses in both legs compared with pain‐free volunteers. The largest mean difference in spontaneous pain was 2.8 cm (95% CI 1.6, 3.9) at 5 min in the unaffected leg following 10 µg. The largest mean difference in hyperalgesia was 19.7 cm (95% CI 12.4, 27.0) at 60 min in the unaffected leg following 10 µg. Allodynia was greater in patients than in controls with the largest mean difference of 2.9 cm (95% CI 1, 4.8) at 5 min following 10 µg in the affected leg. Allodynia was also higher in the affected leg compared with the unaffected leg in sciatica patients with the highest mean difference of 3.0 cm (95% CI 1.2, 4.7) at 5 min following 10 µg.

CONCLUSIONS

The responses to intradermal capsaicin are quantitatively and qualitatively different in unilateral sciatica patients compared with pain‐free controls.
Investigation of the microbial changes during koji‐making process of Douchi by culture‐dependent techniques and PCR‐DGGE
Authors: Chen Tingtao , Wang Mengjuan , Jiang Shuying , Xiong Shunqiang , Zhu Daochen , Wei Hua
Published: July 2011

Douchi as a traditional fermentation soyfood with an acquired taste had been appreciated by consumers for thousands of years in China and few Asian countries. Unfortunately, few studies had been conducted on the changes of microbial community during the koji‐making process, and whether the pathogenic microorganisms involving the fermentation process is still unclear. Therefore, the PCR‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) targeting the 16S and 18S rRNA genes was applied to characterise the dynamic changes of Bacteria, Bacilli and Fungi during koji‐making process. The results of DGGE showed that eleven species of bacteria, nine species of bacilli and seven species of Fungi had been detected during the koji‐making progress, of which the Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus oryzae belonged to the dominant microorganisms. Also, eleven strains were isolated from Koji‐making samples and were identified as B. subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, A. oryzae, Brachybacterium sp., Aspergillus niger, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus gallinarum, Absidia corymbifera, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Malassezia sp.; Our results revealed that pathogenic microorganisms were involved in the koji‐making process, but the probiotic microorganisms occupied the dominant position of community in the koji‐making process.
Analysis of volatile compounds produced by different species of lactobacilli in rye sourdough using multiple headspace extraction
Authors: Kaseleht Kristel , Paalme Toomas , Mihhalevski Anna , Sarand Inga
Published: July 2011

Profiles of volatile organic compound (VOC) produced by nine individual lactic acid bacteria (LAB) during rye sourdough fermentation were compared by automated SPME and GC/MS‐Tof. The dough samples were inoculated with individual strains, placed inside the headspace vials and incubated during next 24 h. The production or loss of VOC‐s was followed by adsorbing volatiles onto 85‐m Car/PDMS fibre in every 4 h. Volatile profiles differed among LAB species and divided LAB into two main groups – hetero‐ and homofermentative. Hetrofermentative LAB (Lactobacillus brevis; Leuconostoc citreum; Lactobacillus vaginalis, Lactobacillus panis) showed high production of acetic acid, CO2, ethanol, ethylacetate, producing also hexyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and isopentyl acetate. Whereas homofermentative LAB species (Lactobacillus helveticus; Lactobacillus casei; Lactobacillus sakei; Lactobacillus curvatus) produced a considerable amount of 2,3‐butanedione. Production of l‐leucine methyl ester was unique for Lb. sakei, Lb. casei and Lb. curvatus strains. Lb. helveticus was the only LAB that produced benzaldehyde.
Correlation between instrumental and sensory ratings by evaluation of some texture reference scales
Authors: Garcia Loredo Analia B. , Guerrero Sandra N.
Published: July 2011

The objective of this study was to investigate instrumental–sensory relationships of some texture scales using argentine foods as references. Textural characteristics of these foods were instrumentally investigated by the texture profile analysis technique. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to describe the main attributes of the food samples. High Pearson’s correlation coefficients were found between hardness and fracturability (r = 0.94; P < 0.0001), hardness and gumminess (r = 0.71; P < 0.0001) and springiness and cohesiveness (r = 0.85; P < 0.0001). PCA identified two significant principal components, which accounted for 81.2% of the variance in the instrumental data. Additionally, a trained panel described the texture characteristics of the food samples according to the standard reference scales. The correlation curves showed nonlinear relationships (R2 between 85.6% and 99.9%) which were used to predict sensory attributes of other food samples. Some texture attributes like hardness and fracturability were accurately predicted by mechanical properties, while others like cohesiveness and adhesiveness were less representative.
Determination of anthocyanin content in C.V Monastrell grapes during ripening period using several procedures
Authors: Gil‐Muñoz Rocío , Moreno‐Pérez Ana , Vila‐López Rosario , Fernández‐Fernández José I. , Martínez‐Cutillas Adrián
Published: July 2011

The accumulation of anthocyanins in grape skin and their evolution during ripening were evaluated in Monastrell grapes grown at four different sites growing season. Of the different techniques used for this purpose, we used one chromatographic [high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)] and three spectrophotometric (Saint‐Cricq, Fragoso‐García and Lamadon) methods. The grapes from two of the sites (Agüeros and Rubializas) presented much higher values of anthocyanin (1279 and 1207 mg kg−1 respectively) compounds than the grapes from the other two sites. Of the different methods used, HPLC proved to be an invaluable tool for identifying and quantifying individual anthocyanins in a sample, while the Fragoso‐García technique was the best of the spectrophotometric methods for laboratories that do not have access to HPLC equipment. Application of principal component determination (PCA) to our experimental data resulted satisfactory classification of wines in terms of their geographical origin. High correlation coefficients were observed among the different spectrophotometric techniques (0.88 between Fragoso‐García and Saint Cricq; and 0.92 between Lamadon and Saint Cricq) and lower coefficients between HPLC and the spectrophotometric techniques.
Reliability of panoramic radiographs for identifying supernumerary teeth in children
Authors: ANTHONAPPA ROBERT P. , KING NIGEL M. , RABIE A. BAKR M. , MALLINENI SREEKANTH K.
Published: July 2011

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2011; 22: 37–43

Objectives.  To evaluate the reliability of panoramic radiographs (PRs) for identifying supernumerary teeth (ST) and to determine whether the level of dental training of the observer influenced the identification of ST.

Methods.  Seventy‐five PRs were randomly selected from the patient records and 18 examiners independently rated 25 radiographs each, for specific risk factors as well as for a measure of adequacy. Subsequently, the results were paired with those of the other examiners who assessed the same set of PRs. Descriptive statistics were computed using Fisher’s exact test, and kappa statistics were used to assess the inter‐ and intra‐observer reliability.

Results.  Four hundred and fifty PRs were available for analysis. The overall sensitivity and specificity figures were 50% and 98.3%, whereas the positive and negative predictive values were 90.6% and 83.6%, respectively. The sensitivity figures for Junior House Dental Officers and Postgraduate Paediatric Dental Trainees were 39.2% and 60.8%, whereas the specificity figures were 99.4% and 95% with slight inter‐examiner and moderate intra‐examiner reliability.

Conclusions.  Panoramic radiographs are unreliable for identifying ST, and higher level of dental training is essential for identifying ST.
Impact of nurse agreeableness and negative mood of nursing supervisors on intention to help colleagues
Authors: Chang Hao‐Yuan , Teng Ching‐I. , Chu Tsung‐Lan , Chang Hsin‐Ting , Hsu Wen‐Hsin
Published: July 2011

chang h.‐y., teng c.‐i., chu t.‐l., chang h.‐t. & hsu w.‐h. (2012) Impact of nurse agreeableness and negative mood of nursing supervisors on intention to help colleagues.Journal of Advanced Nursing68(3), 636–646.

Aims. This paper is a report of a correlational study of the relations of nurse agreeableness and negative supervisor mood to nurses’ intentions to help their colleagues.

Background. Nursing collaboration is important to high quality care. Previous studies have identified agreeableness and negative mood of supervisors as influential factors in the workplace. In nursing, however, exactly how these factors and their interactions influence nurses’ intention to help their colleagues remains unknown.

Methods. A cross‐sectional design and questionnaires were used to collect data in December 2007. Each sample set comprised of one supervisor and three nurses. A total of 53 sets of questionnaires were distributed, and 46 complete sets of responses were received, yielding a response ratio of 86·8%.

Results. The analytical results indicate that nurse agreeableness is positively related to nurses’ intentions to help colleagues (path coefficient = 0·54,P < 0·01). However, negative supervisor mood is negatively related to nurses’ intentions to help colleagues (path coefficient = −0·13,P < 0·05). Moreover, the analytical results indicated that for highly agreeable nurses, the relationship between negative supervisor mood and nurses’ intentions to help colleagues is significantly stronger than for less agreeable nurses. This demonstrates that nurse agreeableness amplifies the negative impact of negative supervisor mood on nurses’ intentions to help colleagues.

Conclusion. The study findings suggest the pivotal importance of managing negative supervisor mood to increase nurses’ intentions to help colleagues.
Cheating behaviours, the Internet and Education undergraduate students
Authors: Trushell J. , Byrne K. , Simpson R.
Published: July 2011

This paper describes an illuminative small‐scale study that piloted an initial survey instrument intended to investigate correspondences between 47 undergraduate Education final year students' use of information and communications technology (ICT), including the Internet, and – within the context of their adoption of tactics intended to impress lecturers or to exploit the hidden curriculum – students' engagement in cheating behaviours such as plagiarism. The study disclosed that 0.23 of the sample had reported single instances of cheating behaviours and that 0.21 of the sample had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours. Analysis of data discerned correspondences between these cheating behaviours and personal factors. However, indicators of ICT capability and the Internet did not correlate significantly with cheating behaviours. Those students who had reported multiple instances of cheating behaviours were found to rate their ICT capabilities higher than their peers but had a tendency to report less frequent use of the Internet for coursework. Inferences are tentatively drawn for further research and for academic practices.
Exploring formative feedback on textual assignments with the help of automatically created visual representations
Authors: Berlanga A.J. , van Rosmalen P. , Boshuizen H.P.A. , Sloep P.B.
Published: July 2011

Learners, particularly lifelong learners, often find it difficult to determine the scope of their expertise. Formative feedback could help them do so. To use this feedback productively, it is essential to then suggest to them the remedial actions they need to overcome the gaps in their knowledge. This paper presents the design considerations of a support tool that aims at providing formative feedback on textual assignments. It does so by facilitating comparisons between learner's input texts and group input texts with respect to the intended learning outcomes. Using language technologies, the tool automatically extracts the concepts and relations of input texts; it then creates visual representations that can be put side by side to identify conceptual overlaps and missing concepts. The paper first introduces the theoretical underpinnings of the tool – specifically those concerning expertise development, knowledge creation and assessment of knowledge. It then draws up design considerations and clarifies how the tool should work. Next, it discusses the results of an initial study in which word clouds and concept maps have been applied to generate graphical visual representations. These help learners identify overlapping and missing core concepts, both in individual texts and in a compiled group text. Finally, the paper provides conclusions and directions for future work.
Integrating computer‐supported collaborative learning into the classroom: the anatomy of a failure
Authors: Baker M. , Bernard F.‐X. , Dumez‐Féroc I.
Published: July 2011

We present an analysis of a longitudinal case study whose aim was to understand the processes of integration of a face‐to‐face and networked collaborative learning technology and pedagogy into a secondary school history‐geography classroom. Students carried out a sequence of argumentative tasks relating to sustainable development, including argument generation, sharing and elaboration, debate using a computer‐mediated communication, and organization of arguments in a shared diagram. Students' interactions and diagrams were analysed in terms of degree and quality of argumentativity, as well as catachresis (‘getting round’ the software to perform a non‐prescribed task). Results run counter to positive systems of ideas and values concerning collaborative learning and its technological mediation in that the scenario did not meet its pedagogical aims, having to be abandoned before its planned end. We discuss possible explanations for this ‘failure story’ in terms of the articulation between everyday, technology‐related and educational discourse genres, with their associated social milieux, as well as the social structure of the classroom. The relevance of these aspects for future attempts to integrate such technologies is discussed. In conclusion, we discuss a vision of learning that takes into account students who do not accept to play the educational game.
Susceptibility of bacterial isolates from community‐acquired infections in sub‐Saharan Africa and Asia to macrolide antibiotics
Authors: Lubell Yoel , Turner Paul , Ashley Elizabeth A. , White Nicholas J.
Published: July 2011

Objective To review the literature on the susceptibility of common community pathogens in sub‐Saharan Africa and Asia to the macrolide antibiotics.

Methods Inclusion criteria required that isolates were collected since 2004 to ensure results were of contemporary relevance. The data were aggregated by region, age group and sterility of site of culture sample.

Results A total of 51 studies were identified, which reported the macrolide antimicrobial susceptibilities of common bacterial pathogens isolated since 2004. In general, there was less macrolide resistance in African than in Asian isolates. Most African studies reported high levels of macrolide susceptibility inStreptococcus pneumoniae, whereas most Chinese studies reported high levels of resistance. There was very little information available for Gram‐negative organisms.

Conclusions Susceptibility of the pneumococcus to macrolides in SSA remains high in many areas, and good activity of azithromycin has been shown against Salmonellae spp. in Asia. In urban areas where high antibiotic consumption is prevalent, there was evidence of increased resistance to macrolides. However, there is no information on susceptibility from large areas in both continents.
Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from healthy dogs and dogs affected with pyoderma in Japan
Authors: Onuma Kenta , Tanabe Taishi , Sato Hisaaki
Published: July 2011

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius strains were isolated from healthy dogs and dogs with pyoderma in 2000–2002 and 2009. All the isolates from dogs with pyoderma in 1999–2000 and from healthy dogs in 2000–2002 and 2009 were susceptible to cefalexin and/or other cephalosporins and oxacillin. However, 7.1–12.5 and 11.4% of S. pseudintermedius isolates from dogs with pyoderma in 2009 were resistant to cephalosporins and oxacillin, respectively. All S. pseudintermedius isolates from dogs with pyoderma in 1999–2000 and those from healthy dogs in 2000–2002 were susceptible to fluoroquinolones; however, 50% of the S. pseudintermedius strains isolated from dogs with pyoderma in 2009 and 30% of the S. pseudintermedius strains isolated from healthy dogs in 2009 were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Of the 21 oxacillin‐resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) isolates, 11 carried SCCmec type V and 10 carried hybrid SCCmec types II–III. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius strains that were resistant to only one of three fluoroquinolones had a mutation in the quinolone resistance determination region of grlA, whereas S. pseudintermedius strains that were resistant to two or more fluoroquinolones had mutations in the quinolone resistance determination regions of both grlA and gyrA.