bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Noise reduction by perfect-translation-invariant complex discrete wavelet transforms for fetal electrocardiography and magnetocardiography
Authors: Ishikawa Yasuhiro , Horigome Hitoshi , Kandori Akihiko , Toda Hiroshi , Zhang Zhong
Published: February 2014

Echocardiography is widely used for the diagnosis of fetal cardiac arrhythmias. However, this method does not detect configurational changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) such as life-threatening changes in QRS and the prolongation of the QT interval. Fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) and fetal electrocardiography (fECG) are valuable tools for the detection of electrophysiological cardiac signals although both have certain limitations. Such techniques must deal with excess internal noise such as maternal respiratory movements, fetal movements, muscle contraction and fetal body movement and external noise (e.g., electromagnetic waves). Heart rate variability (HRV) is a well-known phenomenon with fluctuation in the time interval between heartbeats. The lack of translation invariance is a serious defect in the conventional wavelet transforms (discrete wavelet transform (DWT)). Fluctuation of the impulse response at each energy level is observed in the multi-resolution analysis (MRA). Configurational changes in the ECG waveforms are frequently observed after noise reduction by the conventional wavelet transforms. Both the lack of translation invariance of conventional wavelet transforms and HRV cause deformation of the ECG waveforms. We describe here the CDWTs with perfect translation invariance (PTI). Compared with conventional wavelets, PTI of the fECG and fMCG resulted in only minor configurational changes in the ECG waveforms. This technique yields persistently stable ECG waveforms, including P wave and QRS complex. First, an independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to fECG or fMCG data to remove noise. We provide an example to show that the morphological change in QRS complex is barely affected when PTI is applied to normal fECG. Examples of fetal arrhythmias, such as ventricular trigeminy, ventricular bigeminy and premature atrial contraction are demonstrated using this technique. The results lead us to the conclusion that ICA and noise reduction in fECG and fMCG by PTI are promising methods for the diagnosis of fetal arrhythmia.
An analysis of music sound by a 12 even-tempered discrete wavelet
Authors: Sekino Hideo , Miyazaki Akihide , Toda Hiroshi
Published: February 2014

Music sounds are analyzed using a 12 even-tempered wavelet based upon the variable-density perfect translation invariance complex discrete wavelet transform (VD-PTI-CDWT) which divides an octave frequency band into 12 filter banks of equivalent width. Music chords generated from different sound sources thus analyzed are represented as scalogram and in 3 dimension (3D) graph over time-frequency domain. The scalogram representation provides information corresponding to the western music notation and accords with human's cognition for pitch of the music sound whereas 3D graph representation is capable of providing more detail sound information. We further apply the method to Specmurt analysis in order to estimate the fundamental frequency distribution of polyphonic music sound. The polyphonic sound of C 4, G 4, D 5, A 5 in scientific notation generated with saw-tooth wave tone is successfully filtered out its overtones to provide the fundamental frequency distribution.
On singular semi-Riemannian manifolds
Authors: Stoica O. C.
Published: February 2014

On a Riemannian or a semi-Riemannian manifold, the metric determines invariants like the Levi-Civita connection and the Riemann curvature. If the metric becomes degenerate (as in singular semi-Riemannian geometry), these constructions no longer work, because they are based on the inverse of the metric, and on related operations like the contraction between covariant indices. In this paper, we develop the geometry of singular semi-Riemannian manifolds. First, we introduce an invariant and canonical contraction between covariant indices, applicable even for degenerate metrics. This contraction applies to a special type of tensor fields, which are radical-annihilator in the contracted indices. Then, we use this contraction and the Koszul form to define the covariant derivative for radical-annihilator indices of covariant tensor fields, on a class of singular semi-Riemannian manifolds named radical-stationary. We use this covariant derivative to construct the Riemann curvature, and show that on a class of singular semi-Riemannian manifolds, named semi-regular, the Riemann curvature is smooth. We apply these results to construct a version of Einstein's tensor whose density of weight 2 remains smooth even in the presence of semi-regular singularities. We can thus write a densitized version of Einstein's equation, which is smooth, and which is equivalent to the standard Einstein equation if the metric is non-degenerate.
On a conjecture of Guo and Krattenthaler
Authors: Vsemirnov Maxim
Published: February 2014

We disprove a conjecture of Guo and Krattenthaler on the distribution of binomial coefficients modulo primes by providing counterexamples for p = 5.
North Atlantic marine radiocarbon reservoir ages through Heinrich event H4: a new method for marine age model construction
Authors: Olsen Jesper , Rasmussen Tine L. , Reimer Paula J.
Published: February 2014

Cooling and sinking of dense saline water in the Norwegian–Greenland Sea is essential for the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water. The convection in the Norwegian–Greenland Sea allows for a northward flow of warm surface water and southward transport of cold saline water. This circulation system is highly sensitive to climate change and has been shown to operate in different modes. In ice cores the last glacial period is characterized by millennial-scale Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) events of warm interstadials and cold stadials. Similar millennial-scale variability (linked to D–O events) is evident from oceanic cores, suggesting a strong coupling of the atmospheric and oceanic circulations system. Particularly long-lasting cold stadials correlate with North Atlantic Heinrich events, where icebergs released from the continents caused a spread of meltwater over the northern North Atlantic and Nordic seas. The meltwater layer is believed to have caused a stop or near-stop in the deep convection, leading to cold climate. The spreading of meltwater and changes in oceanic circulation have a large influence on the carbon exchange between atmosphere and the deep ocean and lead to profound changes in the
14
C activity of the surface ocean. Here we demonstrate marine
14
C reservoir ages (
R
) of up to
c.
2000 years for Heinrich event H4. Our
R
estimates are based on a new method for age model construction using identified tephra layers and tie-points based on abrupt interstadial warmings.
The development of the Deception Island volcano caldera under control of the Bransfield Basin sinistral strike-slip tectonic regime (NW Antarctica)
Authors: Lopes F. C. , Caselli A. T. , Machado A. , Barata M. T.
Published: February 2014

Deception Island is a small and volcanically active caldera volcano of Quaternary age, located in the marginal basin of Bransfield Strait, NW Antarctica. The distribution and orientation of fracture and fault systems that have affected the Deception volcanic edifice, and the elongated geometry of its volcanic caldera, are consistent with a model of Riedel deformation induced by a regional left-lateral simple shear zone. It is suggested that this caldera was formed above a magma chamber stretched under the influence of the regional transtensional regime with left-lateral simple shear. The collapse may have occurred in at least two phases: first, a small volume event occurred along the compressed flanks of the volcano edifice; and second, a large collapse event affected the stretched flanks of the volcano edifice.
Multimedia search reranking
Authors: Mei Tao , Rui Yong , Li Shipeng , Tian Qi
Published: February 2014

The explosive growth and widespread accessibility of community-contributed media content on the Internet have led to a surge of research activity in multimedia search. Approaches that apply text search techniques for multimedia search have achieved limited success as they entirely ignore visual content as a ranking signal. Multimedia search reranking, which reorders visual documents based on multimodal cues to improve initial text-only searches, has received increasing attention in recent years. Such a problem is challenging because the initial search results often have a great deal of noise. Discovering knowledge or visual patterns from such a noisy ranked list to guide the reranking process is difficult. Numerous techniques have been developed for visual search re-ranking. The purpose of this paper is to categorize and evaluate these algorithms. We also discuss relevant issues such as data collection, evaluation metrics, and benchmarking. We conclude with several promising directions for future research.
Price-based protocols for fair resource allocation
Authors: Goel Ashish , Nazerzadeh Hamid
Published: February 2014

We analyze several distributed, continuous time protocols for a fair allocation of bandwidths to flows in a network (or resources to agents). Our protocols converge to an allocation that is a logarithmic approximation, simultaneously, to all canonical social welfare functions (i.e., functions that are symmetric, concave, and nondecreasing). These protocols can be started in an arbitrary state. Although a similar protocol was known before, it only applied to the simple bandwidth allocation problem, and its stability and convergence time were not understood. In contrast, our protocols also apply to the more general case of Leontief utilities, where each user may place a different requirement on each resource. Furthermore, we prove that our protocols converge in polynomial time. The best convergence time we prove is
O
(
n
log
nc
MAX
a
MAX
/
c
MIN
a
MIN
), where
n
is the number of agents in the network,
c
MAX
and
c
MIN
are the maximum and minimum capacity of the links, and
a

max

,
a

min

are respectively the largest and smallest Leontief coefficients. This time is achieved by a simple Multiplicative Increase, Multiplicative Decrease (MIMD) protocol that had not been studied before in this setting. We also identify combinatorial properties of these protocols that may be useful in proving stronger convergence bounds. The final allocations by our protocols are supported by usage-sensitive dual prices that are fair in the sense that they shield light users of a resource from the impact of heavy users. Thus, our protocols can also be thought of as efficient distributed schemes for computing fair prices.
Weighted popular matchings
Authors: Mestre Juliań
Published: February 2014

We study the problem of assigning jobs to applicants. Each applicant has a weight and provides a
preference list
, which may contain ties, ranking a subset of the jobs. An applicant
x
may prefer one matching to another (or be indifferent between them, in case of a tie) based on the jobs
x
gets in the two matchings and
x
’s personal preference. A matching
M
is
popular
if there is no other matching
M
′ such that the weight of the applicants who prefer
M
′ to
M
exceeds the weight of those who prefer
M
to
M
′.

We present algorithms to find a popular matching, or if none exists, to establish so. For instances with strict preference lists, we give an
O
(
n
+
m
time algorithm. For preference lists with ties, we give a more involved algorithm that solves the problem in
O
(min (
k
√
n
;,
n
)
m
) time, where
k
is the number of distinct weights the applicants are given.
Rate-limiting State
Authors: Vixie Paul
Published: February 2014

By design, the Internet core is dumb, and the edge is smart. This design decision has enabled the Internet’s wildcat growth, since without complexity the core can grow at the speed of demand. On the downside, the decision to put all smartness at the edge means we’re at the mercy of scale when it comes to the quality of the Internet’s aggregate traffic load. Not all device and software builders have the skills and the quality assurance budgets that something the size of the Internet deserves. Furthermore, the resiliency of the Internet means that a device or program that gets something importantly wrong about Internet communication stands a pretty good chance of working "well enough" in spite of this.
Differential skeletal muscle proteome of high- and low-active mice
Authors: Ferguson David P. , Dangott Lawrence J. , Schmitt Emily E. , Vellers Heather L. , Lightfoot J. Timothy
Published: February 2014

Physical inactivity contributes to cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, obesity, and some types of cancer. While the literature is clear that there is genetic regulation of physical activity with existing gene knockout data suggesting that skeletal muscle mechanisms contribute to the regulation of activity, actual differences in end-protein expression between high- and low-active mice have not been investigated. This study used two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry to evaluate the proteomic differences between high-active (C57L/J) and low-active (C3H/HeJ) mice in the soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL). Furthermore, vivo-morpholinos were used to transiently knockdown candidate proteins to confirm their involvement in physical activity regulation. Proteins with higher expression patterns generally fell into the calcium-regulating and Krebs (TCA) cycle pathways in the high-active mice (e.g., annexin A6, P = 0.0031; calsequestrin 1; P = 0.000025), while the overexpressed proteins in the low-active mice generally fell into cytoskeletal structure- and electron transport chain-related pathways (e.g., ATPase, P = 0.031; NADH dehydrogenase, P = 0.027). Transient knockdown of annexin A6 and calsequestrin 1 protein of high-active mice with vivo-morpholinos resulted in decreased physical activity levels ( P = 0.001). These data suggest that high- and low-active mice have unique protein expression patterns and that each pattern contributes to the peripheral capability to be either high- or low-active, suggesting that different specific mechanisms regulate activity leading to the high- or low-activity status of the animal.
Validating the distribution of specific ventilation in healthy humans measured using proton MR imaging
Authors: Sá Rui Carlos , Asadi Amran K. , Theilmann Rebecca J. , Hopkins Susan R. , Prisk G. Kim , Darquenne Chantal
Published: February 2014

Specific ventilation imaging (SVI) uses proton MRI to quantitatively map the distribution of specific ventilation (SV) in the human lung, using inhaled oxygen as a contrast agent. To validate this recent technique, we compared the quantitative measures of heterogeneity of the SV distribution in a 15-mm sagittal slice of lung obtained in 10 healthy supine subjects, (age 37 ± 10 yr, forced expiratory volume in 1 s 97 ± 7% predicted) using SVI to those obtained in the whole lung from multiple-breath nitrogen washout (MBW). Using the analysis of Lewis et al. (Lewis SM, Evans JW, Jalowayski AA. J App Physiol 44: 416–423, 1978), the most likely distribution of SV from the MBW data was computed and compared with the distribution of SV obtained from SVI, after normalizing for the difference in tidal volume. The average SV was 0.30 ± 0.10 MBW, compared with 0.36 ± 0.10 SVI ( P = 0.01). The width of the distribution, a measure of the heterogeneity, obtained using both methods was comparable: 0.51 ± 0.06 and 0.47 ± 0.08 in MBW and SVI, respectively ( P = 0.15). The MBW estimated width of the SV distribution was 0.05 (10.7%) higher than that estimated using SVI, and smaller than the intertest variability of the MBW estimation [inter-MBW (SD) for the width of the SV distribution was 0.08 (15.8)%]. To assess reliability, SVI was performed twice on 13 subjects showing small differences between measurements of SV heterogeneity (typical error 0.05, 12%). In conclusion, quantitative estimations of SV heterogeneity from SVI are reliable and similar to those obtained using MBW, with SVI providing spatial information that is absent in MBW.
Selecting the correct exercise intensity for unbiased comparisons of thermoregulatory responses between groups of different mass and surface area
Authors: Cramer Matthew N. , Jay Ollie
Published: February 2014

We assessed whether comparisons of thermoregulatory responses between groups unmatched for body mass and surface area (BSA) should be performed using a metabolic heat production (Ḣprod) in Watts or Watts per kilogram for changes in rectal temperature (ΔTre), and an evaporative heat balance requirement ( Ereq) in Watts or Watts per square meter for local sweat rates (LSR). Two groups with vastly different mass and BSA [large (LG): 91.5 ± 6.8 kg, 2.12 ± 0.09 m2, n = 8; small (SM): 67.6 ± 5.6 kg, 1.80 ± 0.09 m2, n = 8; P < 0.001], but matched for heat acclimation status, sex, age, and with the same onset threshold esophageal temperatures (LG: +0.37 ± 0.12°C; SM: +0.41 ± 0.17°C; P = 0.364) and thermosensitivities (LG: 1.02 ± 0.54, SM: 1.00 ± 0.38 mg·cm−2·min−1·°C−1; P = 0.918) for sweating, cycled for 60 min in 25°C at different levels of Ḣprod (500 W, 600 W, 6.5 W/kg, 9.0 W/kg) and Ereq (340 W, 400 W, 165 W/m2, 190 W/m2). ΔTre was different between groups at a Ḣprod of 500 W (LG: 0.52 ± 0.15°C, SM: 0.92 ± 0.24°C; P < 0.001) and 600 W (LG: 0.78 ± 0.19°C, SM: 1.14 ± 0.24°C; P = 0.007), but similar at 6.5 W/kg (LG: 0.79 ± 0.21°C, SM: 0.85 ± 0.14°C; P = 0.433) and 9.0 W/kg (LG: 1.02 ± 0.22°C, SM: 1.14 ± 0.24°C; P = 0.303). Furthermore, ΔTre was the same at 9.0 W/kg in a 35°C environment (LG: 1.12 ± 0.30°C, SM: 1.14 ± 0.25°C) as at 25°C ( P > 0.230). End-exercise LSR was different at Ereq of 400 W (LG: 0.41 ± 0.18, SM: 0.57 ± 0.13 mg·cm−2·min−1; P = 0.043) with a trend toward higher LSR in SM at 340 W (LG: 0.28 ± 0.06, SM: 0.37 ± 0.15 mg·cm−2·min−1; P = 0.057), but similar at 165 W/m2 (LG: 0.28 ± 0.06, SM: 0.28 ± 0.12 mg·cm−2·min−1; P = 0.988) and 190 W/m2 (LG: 0.41 ± 0.18, SM: 0.37 ± 0.15 mg·cm−2·min−1; P = 0.902). In conclusion, when comparing groups unmatched for mass and BSA, future experiments can avoid systematic differences in ΔTre and LSR by using a fixed Ḣprod in Watts per kilogram and Ereq in Watts per square meter, respectively.
Age-related greater Achilles tendon compliance is not associated with larger plantar flexor muscle fascicle strains in senior women
Authors: Csapo R. , Malis V. , Hodgson J. , Sinha S.
Published: February 2014

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the age-associated decrease of tendon stiffness would necessitate greater muscle fascicle strains to produce similar levels of force during isometric contraction. Greater fascicle strains could force sarcomeres to operate in less advantageous regions of their force-length and force-velocity relationships, thus impairing the capacity to generate strong and explosive contractions. To test this hypothesis, sagittal-plane dynamic velocity-encoded phase-contrast magnetic resonance images of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle and Achilles tendon (AT) were acquired in six young (YW; 26.1 ± 2.3 yr) and six senior (SW; 76.7 ± 8.3 yr) women during submaximal isometric contraction (35% maximum voluntary isometric contraction) of the plantar flexor muscles. Multiple GM fascicle lengths were continuously determined by automatically tracking regions of interest coinciding with the end points of muscle fascicles evenly distributed along the muscle's proximo-distal length. AT stiffness and Young's modulus were measured as the slopes of the tendon's force-elongation and stress-strain curves, respectively. Despite significantly lower AT stiffness at older age (YW: 120.2 ± 52.3 N/mm vs. SW: 53.9 ± 44.4 N/mm, P = 0.040), contraction-induced changes in GM fascicle lengths were similar in both age groups at equal levels of absolute muscular force (4–5% fascicle shortening in both groups), and even significantly larger in YW (YW: 11–12% vs. SW: 6–8% fascicle shortening) at equal percentage of maximum voluntary contraction. These results suggest that factors other than AT stiffness, such as age-associated changes in muscle composition or fascicle slack, might serve as compensatory adaptations, limiting the degree of fascicle strains upon contraction.
The Perspective of a Small Member State to the Democratic Deficiency of the ESM
Authors: Ginter Carri , Narits Raul
Published: February 2014

The adoption and ratification process of the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM Treaty) has produced deep debates about this process and the European Union; about the (lack of a) link between the two; about democratic processes which allegedly have been short-circuited in the rush to a political/financial mechanism; about the rule of law and the rule of finance and expediency.

Three decades ago, Estonia was part of a different constellation. Now, a part of the EU for the better part of the last decade, the debate about small versus large, about rules for all and procedures for some raise issues which touch not only Estonia; they are ones which can cross the borders into other economic associations and unions, such as the CIS or the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC or EurAsEC).

The authors of this article seek to address some issues regarding the democratic legitimacy of the ESM Treaty. Several of the legislative choices made in the ESM Treaty have passed without sufficient public debate or transparency. A thesis is presented here that some solutions adopted by the ESM Treaty have a dubious value in the context of EU law as well as in the progress of democratization of the EU. The article pinpoints a shift in the voting powers to the detriment of smaller Member States. Above all, the legal foundations of judicial review by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) are questioned. The article reaches a generalized conclusion that deviation from the current decision processes and standards of democracy can be justifiable only if such a change is supported by the general public.
Some Advantages of Recycling
Authors: Bodner Keith , White Ellen
Published: February 2014

In this short study we explore allusions to the Jacob Cycle in 1 Samuel, and the network of correspondences between Genesis 31 (Jacob fleeing from Laban, and Rachel stealing the teraphim) and 1 Samuel 19 (David fleeing from Saul, and Michal aiding his escape through teraphim). Both of these episodes feature deceptive fathers-in-law (Saul and Laban), younger daughters (Michal and Rachel), fugitive husbands (David and Jacob), and hidden idols (Michal hides the teraphim in the bed to fool Saul’s agents, and Rachel hides her father’s teraphim under her camel’s saddle). We suggest that this example of intertextuality between Genesis and Samuel has a number of theological and literary purposes.
Is al-Andalus Different?
Authors: Hendrickson Jocelyn
Published: February 2014

Based on a close analysis of three interrelated Mālikī fatwās on trading with the enemy issued by Granadan jurist Abū Isḥāq al-Shāṭibī (d. 790/1388), Tunisian jurist Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Māzarī (d. 536/1141), and Maghribī jurist ʿAlī b. ʿAbd al-Salām al-Tasūlī (d. 1258/1842), this study shows that muftīs strategically manipulate their predecessors’ opinions in order to construct precedents more supportive of their desired rulings; the “mere” application of school doctrine to a recurring case may involve considerable juristic flexibility and adaptation of legal practice to changing legal and political circumstances. Further, these opinions demonstrate that the issuance of a fatwā is not just an intellectual task or a rhetorical exercise, but a performance. A fatwā’s value as a precedent for later jurists may be based as much on the earlier muftī’s model performance in issuing the ruling as it is on the legal message conveyed by that ruling.
Domesticating Romantic Love during the High Qing Classical Revival
Authors: Xu Sufeng
Published: February 2014

This study examines the Heming ji (Collection of singing in harmony), which comprises the sometimes surprisingly intimate poetic exchanges between the woman intellectual Wang Zhaoyuan (1763-1851) and her husband Hao Yixing (1757-1829), both renowned in their lifetimes as classical “evidential research” (kaozheng) scholars. The paper seeks to demonstrate the transformation of the cult of qing (romantic love) in the High Qing period. It argues that, as the centrality of courtesans in literati culture died out with the Ming-Qing dynastic transition, gentry women came to represent the positive cultural values of qing through the increasingly fashionable idea and practice of companionate marriage. In this process, the cult of qing that characterized the subversive late Ming literati culture, of which courtesan culture was an important part, was not obliterated by the High Qing classical revival as is often assumed; rather, it was domesticated, ritualized, transformed into conjugal love, and arguably, integrated into the High Qing “familistic moralism.” The paper also explores how the concept of qing, in the narrow sense of love between man and woman, was expanded into this couple’s shared passion and ambition to serve the state and empire.
The Fractious Eye: On the Evil Eye of Menstruants in Zoroastrian Tradition
Authors: Secunda Shai
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Like all religions, Zoroastrianism evolved, and its rich textual record provides us with the material to trace some of its developments across the centuries. This article attempts to reconstruct an ancient Iranian myth preserved in Zoroastrian tradition about the dangerous powers of the gaze of menstruating women, and traces its development as it grows out of theAvestaand interacts with Western philosophical traditions in the Middle Persian writings of late antiquity and the early middle ages.
On the Dark Side of the “Secular”: Is the Religious-Secular Distinction a Binary?
Authors: Balagangadhara S. N.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Recent scholarship claims to have revealed the problematic nature of the religious-secular distinction: (1) the distinction is slippery or fluid; (2) the meanings of the words “religious” and “secular” have changed over multiple historical contexts; (3) the distinction is a binary; (4) it is essentialist in nature. Analyzing these objections, the article shows that it is very difficult to find a clear problem statement. To whom is the religious-secular distinction a problem and why? The distinction was originally made within Christian theology, where it concerned a triad rather than a binary: true religion, false religions, and the secular. The notion of the secular always required the presence of the opposition between truth and falsity in religion, because it was the sphere that remained after true and false religion had been demarcated. In this sense, the secular had a “dark side,” namely, idolatry or false religion. To a Christian believer, there is no conceptual problem involved in making the religious-secular distinction, because his or her theology helps him specify what true and false religion are and, as a consequence, what the secular is. However, because of its neutrality in religious matters, the liberal state has tried to reduce the theological triad to a binary opposition between religion and the secular. The inevitable failure of this attempt has created a formless secular sphere that is haunted by its dark side: the notion of false religion.
Gandhi, Conversion, and the Equality of Religions: More Experiments with Truth
Authors: Claerhout Sarah
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Even though Gandhi is often cited in the debate on religious conversion in India, his viewpoints have not been systematically analyzed. One reason is that his writings present a confounding blend of concepts derived from different traditions. The article argues that this fact provides a unique entry point into Gandhi’s thought. By looking for systematic patterns in his distortive use of English-language terms and ideas, the background ideas that have structured his reasoning can be traced. The conceptual distortions in Gandhi’s writings are shaped by these ideas, which reflect typical Indian attitudes and modes of thought on the question of religion and conversion. Analyzing his writings in this way not only allows for an explanation of his views on religion and his antagonism to conversion, but also clarifies the widespread unease towards Christian proselytism in contemporary India.
The Dynamics of China’s Accession to the WTO: Counting Sense, Coalitions and Constructs
Authors: Blanchard Jean-Marc F.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

This article probes China’s admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO). China’s WTO accession deserves further analysis because much of the extant literature is divorced from the international relations (IR) literature. Moreover, while past analyses have considered external and internal factors shaping China’s stance towards joining the WTO, they have rarely gone beyond this to probing when particular variables mattered more. For its part, research that emphasises domestic factors falls short because it often treats such factors generically or fails to detail the path through which they affect issue identification, policy construction and implementation. This article addresses these lacunas by conducting a theoretically informed study of China’s WTO accession. While traditional interest-, power- and idea-based IR approaches to international governmental organisations (IGOs) capture various aspects of the story of China’s effort to join the WTO, they miss other critical features. This article argues that a leader-oriented cost-benefit model best explains China’s continued quest to become a WTO member, its aggressive pursuit of accession in the second half of the 1990s, and its willingness to tolerate very demanding WTO entry terms.
Mainland China and Taiwan Face to Face in the WTO: A 10-Year Rollercoaster Ride
Authors: Winkler Sigrid
Published: February 2014

Abstract

This article traces the interactions between Taiwan and China in the World Trade Organization with regard to Chinese concerns about Taiwan’s sovereignty and the application of the “one China” principle. The analysis proceeds in three stages: first, both parties’ simultaneous accession negotiations; second, continued sovereignty-related disputes after the accession; and third, Taiwan’s accession to the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement. The article uses cost/benefit calculations to explain the Chinese and Taiwanese attitudes in their encounters within the WTO framework. The decision-making bodies in the WTO had decided that Taiwan could only accede after China, while agreeing that then Taiwan should become a separate member, independent from China. After this decision, China could have only stopped Taiwan’s accession by letting go of the opportunity to become itself a WTO member. China needed to balance its own wish to join the trade body with its desire to block a Taiwanese entry on sovereignty grounds, therefore from China’s perspective, opposition to Taiwan’s WTO participation became a cost/benefit calculation. Once both Taiwan and China had entered the organisation, China’s means to put pressure on the organisation improved, it could at a much lesser cost influence decisions on Taiwan’s status within the organisation.
Public Morals with Chinese Characteristics: Explaining China’s Adoption of WTO Rules
Authors: Huang Chieh
Published: February 2014

Abstract

This article examines China’s compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) law in the field of publications control from an empirical and theoretical perspective. The study of publications control — a policy field of critical concern to China’s Communist government — highlights the competing interests and ideas over ‘liberalisation’ and ‘state control’ within the Chinese leadership and within WTO circles. The article, first, describes these competing and historically shifting interests and ideas in the case of a recent landmark WTO dispute on publications control and, second, uses two apparently distinct IR theoretical approaches to explain China’s behaviour during the dispute. The article argues that neither an interest-oriented approach nor an idea-centred approach by themselves can explain Chinese political decision-making. The article proposes a combination of two particular views that help to explain the dispute examined but also China’s interactions with the WTO more generally.
Mapping Monotheism: Modes of Monotheistic Rhetoric in the Hebrew Bible
Authors: Lynch Matthew J.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Several biblical traditions give expression to Yhwh’s sole divinity in ways utterly unlike the “classic” expressions of monotheism in Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, or Jeremiah. Priestly literature, for example, does not deny explicitly the existence of other gods, or assert Yhwh’s sole existence. Instead, priestly writers portray a world in which none but Yhwh could meaningfully exist or act. While some biblical scholars have recognized this “implicit” mode of monotheistic rhetoric, the implications of this and other modes of monotheistic rhetoric for a broader understanding of biblical monotheism have gone unappreciated. In this article, I create a taxonomy of various “explicit” and “implicit” modes of monotheizing in the Hebrew Bible. Then, I consider several implications of these diverse modes for understanding the variegated shape of biblical monotheism, and for using the Hebrew Bible to reconstruct monotheism’s history.
Context-dependent female mate preferences in leaf-footed cactus bugs
Authors: Addesso Karla M. , Short Katherine A. , Moore Allen J. , Miller Christine W.
Published: February 2014

Female mate preferences can shape sexual selection and evolution. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that affect mating decisions. Here, we examine context-dependent mate preferences in the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata Stål (Hemiptera: Coreidae), a species that experiences distinct seasonal changes and spatial variation in the quality of their food, cactus. Previous work has shown that cactus with fruit is a superior resource for these insects, however they must sometimes develop, mate, and reproduce without cactus fruit. We reared males on Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) (Cactaceae) cactus pads with and without cactus fruit. We found that females preferred the odour of males that had developed on cactus fruit over males that developed only on cactus pads. However, the current cactus context also affected female preference. Females were more likely to choose males that developed with cactus fruit when cactus fruit was currently available. Our results suggest that natural fluctuations in resource availability during development and adulthood may result in fluctuations in the strength of sexual selection via female mate choice.
A checklist of Hyalella (Amphipoda) from Chile
Authors: De los Ríos-Escalante Patricio , Morrone Juan J. , Rivera Reinaldo
Published: February 2014

Distributional patterns in Chile of species of the freshwater amphipod genusHyalellawere analysed. The results show thatH. fossamanchiniandH. kochican be found in Andean mountain inland waters between 18-27°S,H. costerain coastal inland waters between 24-40°S,H. chiloensisandH. patagonicain inland waters between 39-51°S, and finallyH. simplexandH. franciscaein inland waters south of 44°S. The literature is mainly based on studies recording species in northern and southern Patagonia and the Atacama desert. Few studies on the presence ofHyalellahave been carried out in central Chilean and northern and central Patagonian inland waters.
Abundance of three species of Isopoda (Peracarida, Isopoda) associated with a coral reef environment in Pacific Mexico
Authors: Cruz-García Roberto , Cupul-Magaña Amilcar L. , Hendrickx Michel E. , Rodríguez-Troncoso Alma P.
Published: February 2014

Fragments of dead coral belonging toPocilloporaLamarck, 1816 were used during a 1-year period as artificial micro-habitats and positioned at a coral reef community at Islas Marietas, Bahía Banderas, on the west coast of Mexico, to attract and capture isopods. Three species of isopods, totaling 961 specimens were collected. The dominant species wasJoeropsis dubia(Menzies, 1951) (Joeropsididae) (83.03% of the total number of specimens), followed byCalifanthura squamosissima(Menzies, 1951) (Paranthuridae) (9.78%), andParacerceis sculpta(Holmes, 1904) (Sphaeromatidae) (7.18%). The average density of isopods was of 12.0 × 10−2ind. ⋅ cm−2. A positive relationship between water temperature and total density of individuals during the sampling period was found. Annual water temperature changes influenced the abundance of each species in a similar way, with the higher abundances associated to the lower temperatures, which is also related to an increase in primary productivity and the presence of upwellings in the area.
Histopathology of the rice root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne graminicola, on Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima
Authors: Cabasan Ma. Teodora Nadong , Kumar Arvind , Bellafiore Stéphane , De Waele Dirk
Published: February 2014

The root-knot nematode,Meloidogyne graminicola, can cause substantial rice yield losses. Understanding the mechanisms of resistance to this nematode species in known resistant rice genotypes may help to improve rice genotypes, aiming at developing and implementing environment-friendly and cost-effective nematode management strategies. Using susceptible and resistant rice genotypes, a comparative analysis of histological response mechanisms was made during two phases of the nematode colonisation:i) root penetration; andii) subsequent establishment and development byM. graminicolasecond-stage juveniles (J2). Two types of defence response mechanisms could be distinguished in the resistant rice genotypes. The early defence response consisted of a hypersensitive response (HR)-like reaction in the early stage of infection characterised by necrosis of cells directly affected by nematode feeding. This HR-like reaction was observed only in theM. graminicola-resistantOryza glaberrimagenotypes and not in theM. graminicola-susceptibleO. sativagenotypes. The late defence response took place after the induction of giant cells by the J2. Giant cells usually collapsed and degenerated before J2 developed into adults. Structural features of the roots of the susceptibleO. sativashowed greater root and stele diam. and cortex thickness than the resistantO. glaberrimagenotypes. Desired features of plants with resistance toM. graminicolaelucidated in this study can be used for selection of plants for breeding programmes.
Morphological and molecular characterisation of Bursaphelenchus andrassyi sp. n. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) from Romania and Turkey
Authors: Dayi Mehmet , Calin Monica , Akbulut Süleyman , Gu Jianfeng , Schröder Thomas , Vieira Paulo , Braasch Helen
Published: February 2014

Bursaphelenchus andrassyi sp. n., found in conifer wood samples from Romania and Turkey, is characterised morphologically and genetically. Bursaphelenchus andrassyi sp. n. clearly belongs to the sexdentati group, having a terminal bursa, four lateral lines, a very small female ‘vulval flap’, strongly arcuate spicules and the typical position of caudal papillae of males. It is morphologically most similar to B. vallesianus and B. sexdentati. It can be differentiated from B. vallesianus by the usually subcylindrical female tail with rounded or wedge-shaped terminus vs conical female tail with a more or less rounded terminus, slightly different shape of spicules (low square condylus, lacking a distinct cucullus, pointed rostrum) and from B. sexdentati by lacking a distinct post-vulval constriction, shorter stylet and shorter spicules. The species status is supported by ITS-RFLP patterns and sequencing results of both partial 18S and 28S rDNA regions.
Padico Holding: Developing Responsiveness through Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Dawoudi Dahouk , Sabella Anton
Published: February 2014

Abstract

The field of business ethics is an area of growth, both in the business and education sectors in the Arab world, including Palestine. But most research on this subject has been carried out in the USA and Europe, which gives most of the issues related to this field a distinctively American or European character. As an alternative, this case attempts to shed the light on a wide range of socio-economic, educational and business issues that are typically encountered in Palestine and to explain innovative approaches to resolving key dilemmas related to resolving the skill shortage that affects the competitiveness of Palestinian enterprises. It will do so by looking at Padico Holding, a pioneer in developing a creative program adapted to the enterprise sector’s needs. The case draws its analysis from international theories and concepts by explaining Padico’s sense of responsibility towards community inspired by Kant’s ethics of duty, which is demonstrated in its business societal orientation built around the “stakeholder model.”
Himalayan Highways: STS, the Spatial Fix, and Socio-Cultural Shifts in the Land of Zomia
Authors: Murton Galen
Published: February 2014

Abstract

As China and India build modern highways through the Tibet-Nepal borderlands, traditional livelihoods, land use patterns, and trade relations are rapidly changing for numerous highland communities across the Trans-Himalaya interface. In response to recently opened border crossings, various social and market networks have (re)emerged, transforming the parameters of mobility for the populations of High Asia. New roads are critical to these transformations.

Merging Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Marxist analytics to unpack the “black-box” of roads, this study asks two main questions: what are the factors at play in this socio-cultural and geopolitical transition in the Trans-Himalaya borderlands, and how can roads be thought of as technological objects central to this dynamic? After situating the study in the conceptual framework of Zomia, I then draw on Actor Network Theory (ANT), co-production, and the spatial fix to analyze two contemporary trans-border road development projects in Sikkim, India and Mustang, Nepal.
Hawaiʻi in the Twenty First Century, the Age of Globalization
Authors: Redden John Thomas
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Hawaiʻi has been subject to globalization of one form or another since the first Polynesians arrived in their small ships with enough supplies to colonize what we now name the Hawaiʻian Islands. In this article I will first give a brief history and define, in basic terms, the forces of globalization as they affect the Islands. Following that is a fundamental presentation of class, race and economics of the Islands, and then a brief survey of the agriculture and food sources local to the Islands with an emphasis on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Lastly, there is a description of the forces that tend to be counter hegemons of globalization in the Hawaiʻian Islands.
Surviving the Future: Mexican Health Policies and Deceitfulness of Universal Coverage in the State of Puebla, México
Authors: Berruecos Luis
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Two years ago, the Governor of the Mexican State of Puebla declared that his State was fully covered by health services, which is not true. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Mexican Constitution, health is one of the most important human rights for every citizen. However, according to our statistics, many indigenous communities of that State are still waiting for those services, even though the budget designated for that purpose has been incremented ten times in the last seven years. Since I have been working for years in the highlands of the northern part of the State, I will prove that medical services are not covering the total population, which means that the future survival of these people is rather grim.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Anxiety as Experienced in Social Situations
Authors: Beck Timothy J.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

In this study, three individual descriptions of anxiety as experienced in social situations were analyzed so that a general structure representing social anxiety could potentially be obtained. The descriptions analyzed produced results that not only overlapped with already existing literature from various perspectives on the topic, but also highlighted certain key factors that have largely been unaccounted for by prior studies. By utilizing the Descriptive Phenomenological Method in Psychology (Giorgi, 2009), these factors were brought to light in more depth and clarity than if the same phenomenon were studied using a third person approach. Specifically, six constituents of social anxiety were revealed; including factors related to inter-subjectivity, the relationship between fear and anxiety, and the relationship between desire and self-lack.
To the Margins. On the Spatiality of Klee’s Art
Authors: Figal Günter
Published: February 2014

Abstract

With reference mainly to Paul Klee’s Ad marginem from 1930 (reworked 1935/36), this article focuses on space—namely, on the question of how space can be made visible as such. Having figures, lines, and the background establishing an intense interplay of transparency, Klee’s work refrains from displaying the mere spatiality of objects. It is this interplay of transparent figures entangled with their background that are withdrawing but not disappearing that creates an empty space that is as such limited and unoccupied. Compared to a (Japanese Zen-) garden, the idea of limiting and simultaneously making visible an eminent openness is stressed. Referring, furthermore, to observations like Rilke’s poem Shawl or to Toyo Ito’s comments on Klee’s work, this article aims to display the eminent space character becoming visible in the painter’s œuvre.
Transcoding Kant: Kracauer’s Weimar Marxism and After
Authors: Wayne Mike
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Kracauer’s rehabilitation in the 1990s sidelined his Marxist framework of the middle-to-late Weimar era in favour of the then still dominant if decaying paradigms of poststructuralism and postmodernism. It was also silent on the relationship between Kant and Marxism in Kracauer’s work. This essay addresses these weaknesses by arguing that Kracauer transcoded the structure of Kant’s ‘problematic’ around reification into a Marxist framework in the middle-to-late Weimar period. The essay considers how Kracauer conceived the mass ornament (photography and film especially) as a site of reification and critical pedagogy. It explores his strategies of de-reification and their overlap with Walter Benjamin and the ruptures and continuities between the radical Weimar work and his later Theory of Film. The essay argues that the Theory of Film can be better understood as a transcoding of Kant’s philosophy of the aesthetic in the third Critique into the film camera itself, although the Marxian framework of the Weimar period is now considerably attenuated.