bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Review of Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts and Their Use in Short- to Medium-Range Streamflow Forecasting
Authors: Cuo Lan , Pagano Thomas C. , Wang Q. J.
Published: March 2011

Unknown future precipitation is the dominant source of uncertainty for many streamflow forecasts. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models can be used to generate quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) to reduce this uncertainty. The usability and usefulness of NWP model outputs depend on the application time and space scales as well as forecast lead time. For streamflow nowcasting (very short lead times; e.g., 12 h), many applications are based on measured in situ or radar-based real-time precipitation and/or the extrapolation of recent precipitation patterns. QPF based on NWP model output may be more useful in extending forecast lead time, particularly in the range of a few days to a week, although low NWP model skill remains a major obstacle. Ensemble outputs from NWP models are used to articulate QPF uncertainty, improve forecast skill, and extend forecast lead times. Hydrologic prediction driven by these ensembles has been an active research field, although operational adoption has lagged behind. Conversely, relatively little study has been done on the hydrologic component (i.e., model, parameter, and initial condition) of uncertainty in the streamflow prediction system. Four domains of research are identified: selection and evaluation of NWP model–based QPF products, improved QPF products, appropriate hydrologic modeling, and integrated applications.
Assimilation of Surface-Based Boundary Layer Profiler Observations during a Cool-Season Weather Event Using an Observing System Simulation Experiment. Part I: Analysis Impact
Authors: Otkin Jason A. , Hartung Daniel C. , Turner David D. , Petersen Ralph A. , Feltz Wayne F. , Janzon Erik
Published: March 2011

In this study, an Observing System Simulation Experiment was used to examine how the assimilation of temperature, water vapor, and wind profiles from a potential array of ground-based remote sensing boundary layer profiling instruments impacts the accuracy of atmospheric analyses when using an ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation system. Remote sensing systems evaluated during this study include the Doppler wind lidar (DWL), Raman lidar (RAM), microwave radiometer (MWR), and the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI). The case study tracked the evolution of several extratropical weather systems that occurred across the contiguous United States during 7–8 January 2008. Overall, the results demonstrate that using networks of high-quality temperature, wind, and moisture profile observations of the lower troposphere has the potential to improve the accuracy of wintertime atmospheric analyses over land. The impact of each profiling system was greatest in the lower and middle troposphere on the variables observed or retrieved by that instrument; however, some minor improvements also occurred in the unobserved variables and in the upper troposphere, particularly when RAM observations were assimilated. The best analysis overall was achieved when DWL wind profiles and temperature and moisture observations from the RAM, AERI, or MWR were assimilated simultaneously, which illustrates that both mass and momentum observations are necessary to improve the analysis accuracy.
Near-Surface Eddy Heat and Momentum Fluxes in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in Drake Passage
Authors: Lenn Yueng-Djern , Chereskin Teresa K. , Sprintall Janet , McClean Julie L.
Published: March 2011

The authors present new estimates of the eddy momentum and heat fluxes from repeated high-resolution upper-ocean velocity and temperature observations in Drake Passage and interpret their role in the regional Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) momentum balance. The observations span 7 yr and are compared to eddy fluxes estimated from a 3-yr set of output archived from an eddy-resolving global Parallel Ocean Program (POP) numerical simulation. In both POP and the observations, the stream-averaged cross-stream eddy momentum fluxes correspond to forcing consistent with both a potential vorticity flux into the axis of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) and a sharpening of all three main ACC fronts through Drake Passage. Further, the POP analysis indicates that the mean momentum advection terms reflect the steering of the mean ACC fronts and are not fully balanced by the eddy momentum forcing, which instead impacts the strength and number of ACC fronts.

The comparison between POP and observed eddy heat fluxes was less favorable partly because of model bias in the water mass stratification. Observed cross-stream eddy heat fluxes are generally surface intensified and poleward in the ACC fronts, with values up to approximately −290 ± 80 kW m−2 in the Polar and Southern ACC Fronts. Interfacial form stresses FT, derived from observed eddy heat fluxes in the SAF, show little depth dependence below the Ekman layer. Although FT appears to balance the surface wind stress directly, the estimated interfacial form stress divergence is only an order of magnitude greater than the eddy momentum forcing in the SAF. Thus, although the eddy momentum forcing is of secondary importance in the momentum balance, its effect is not entirely negligible.
Culture, Cognition, and Collaborative Networks in Organizations
Authors: Srivastava Sameer B. , Banaji Mahzarin R.
Published: March 2011

This article examines the interplay of culture, cognition, and social networks in organizations with norms that emphasize cross-boundary collaboration. In such settings, social desirability concerns can induce a disparity between how people view themselves in conscious (i.e., deliberative) versus less conscious (i.e., automatic) cognition. These differences have implications for the resulting pattern of intra-organizational collaborative ties. Based on a laboratory study and field data from a biotechnology firm, we find that (1) people consciously report more positive views of themselves as collaborative actors than they appear to hold in less conscious cognition; (2) less conscious collaborative–independent self-views are associated with the choice to enlist organizationally distant colleagues in collaboration; and (3) these self-views are also associated with a person’s likelihood of being successfully enlisted by organizationally distant colleagues (i.e., of supporting these colleagues in collaboration). By contrast, consciously reported collaborative–independent self-views are not associated with these choices. This study contributes to our understanding of how culture is internalized in individual cognition and how self-related cognition is linked to social structure through collaboration. It also demonstrates the limits of self-reports in settings with strong normative pressures and represents a novel integration of methods from cognitive psychology and network analysis.
Changing Workplaces to Reduce Work-Family Conflict
Authors: Kelly Erin L. , Moen Phyllis , Tranby Eric
Published: March 2011

Work-family conflicts are common and consequential for employees, their families, and work organizations. Can workplaces be changed to reduce work-family conflict? Previous research has not been able to assess whether workplace policies or initiatives succeed in reducing work-family conflict or increasing work-family fit. Using longitudinal data collected from 608 employees of a white-collar organization before and after a workplace initiative was implemented, we investigate whether the initiative affects work-family conflict and fit, whether schedule control mediates these effects, and whether work demands, including long hours, moderate the initiative’s effects on work-family outcomes. Analyses clearly demonstrate that the workplace initiative positively affects the work-family interface, primarily by increasing employees’ schedule control. This study points to the importance of schedule control for our understanding of job quality and for management policies and practices.
Escalation of interstate crises of conflictual dyads
Authors: Suzuki Akisato , Loizides Neophytos
Published: March 2011

This article examines the causation and extent of interstate crisis escalation among two conflictual dyads, namely Greece–Turkey and India–Pakistan. It draws from the International Crisis Behaviour dataset to present a new sub-dataset of 12 interstate crises involving the two dyads in the period 1987 to 2002. While crisis behaviour in Greece–Turkey has frequently been analysed within the context of two major regional organizations (NATO and the EU), Indian–Pakistani crises have been studied within the perspective of nuclear proliferation. To examine the linkage between these features and interstate crises, the article operationalizes the security dilemma and the diversionary theory of war through a probabilistic model. Using Ragin’s (2000) comparative qualitative analysis, it demonstrates that both the security dilemma and diversionary theory explain crisis escalation, although the latter covers more cases with a smaller margin of error. Moreover, the article demonstrates that Greek–Turkish crises have generally escalated to relatively low levels of conflict (threat of war or show of force), while Indian–Pakistani crises have spiralled to higher levels of confrontation (use of force). In both dyads, nuclear weapons and regional organizations have shaped the boundaries of possible escalatory action. The EU and NATO have contributed to mitigating crisis escalation and the use of force between the Aegean neighbours, while unintentionally encouraging low intensity confrontations; meanwhile, in South Asia, nuclear weapons in combination with fragile domestic regimes have exacerbated crises, particularly in the form of state-sponsored unconventional warfare.
Beyond Russophobia
Authors: Kangas Anni
Published: March 2011

The article offers a practice-based analysis of Finland’s relationships with Russia. It works on the basis of ideas that have been presented in conjunction with the so-called practice and pragmatist turns in international relations. After identifying three key schools of thought in previous research on Finnish–Russian relations – primordialist, instrumentalist and identity-based – the article moves on to give a practice turn inspired account of the ways in which the proximity of Russia was dealt with in Finland during the inter-war period. Combining insights from the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Charles S. Peirce, it introduces a research design built with the help of such analytical tools as the doubt-belief model of social action, relational properties and fields. These tools are then applied on research materials that comprise Finnish parliamentary documents and political cartoons. The materials are argued to be particularly well suited for attempts to apply practice insights in actual research, as they simultaneously function as embodiments of meaningful patterns of social and political activity and actively correlate with the urgencies of the contexts in which they appear.
Oral Sildenafil Therapy for Chinese Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Multicenter Study
Authors: Xiong Chang‐Ming , Lu Xian‐Ling , Shan Guang‐Liang , Wu Bing‐Xiang , Zhu Xian‐Yang , Wu Guang‐Hua , Zeng Xiao‐Feng , Guo Tao , Liu Zhi‐Hong , Ni Xin‐Hai , Cheng Xian‐Sheng , Gu Qing , Zhao Zhi‐Hui , Tian Hong‐Yan , Li Wei‐Min , Zhang Duan‐Zhen , Zhang Cheng , Li Meng‐Tao , Liu Hong‐Min , Guo Ya‐Juan , Shen Jie‐Yan , Zhang Wei‐Jun , Liu Shuang , Zhou Da‐Xin , Bao Chun‐De , Huang Shi‐An , Chen Jian‐Ying , Wu Wei‐Feng , Huang Kai , Li Chang‐ling , Wang Li‐Hua , He Bei , He Jian‐Guo , Li Jian‐Jun
Published: March 2011

The impact of sildenafil on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in Chinese patients has been less investigated. A prospective, open‐label, uncontrolled and multicenter study, therefore, was carried out to address this issue. Ninety patients with multicause‐induced PAH received oral sildenafil (75 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The 6‐minute walk test (SMWT) and cardiac catheterization were performed at the beginning and the end of the 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the changes in exercise capacity assessed by the SMWT; the secondary endpoint included assessment of functional class, evaluation of cardiopulmonary hemodynamics, and clinical worsening. Drug safety and tolerability were also examined. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in SMWT distances (342 ± 93 m vs 403 ± 88 m, P < .0001), Borg dyspnea score (2.9 ± 2.6 vs 2.4 ± 2.0, P = .0046), World Health Organization functional class, and cardiopulmonary hemodynamics (mean pulmonary artery pressure, P < .0001; cardiac index, P < .0001; pulmonary vascular resistance, P < .0001) after 12 weeks of oral sidenafil therapy. Almost all enrolled patients did not experience significant clinical worsening. This study confirms and extends the findings of previous studies relating to effects of sildenafil on PAH, suggesting that oral sildenafil is safe and effective for the treatment of adult patients with PAH in the Chinese population.
Histopathological Characteristics of Luteal Hypertrophy Induced by Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether with a Comparison to Normal Luteal Morphology in Rats
Authors: Taketa Yoshikazu , Inomata Akira , Hosokawa Satoru , Sonoda Jiro , Hayakawa Kazuhiro , Nakano Kyoko , Momozawa Yuki , Yamate Joji , Yoshida Midori , Aoki Toyohiko , Tsukidate Kazuo
Published: March 2011

Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) is a known reproductive toxicant that induces luteal hypertrophy in rat ovaries. In this study, we characterized the histopathological features of corpora lutea (CL) from EGME–treated rats and compared them with normal CL formation and regression. Normally cycling female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) intraperitoneally on the morning of estrus and their ovaries were examined 1 (metestrus), 4 (estrus), 8 (estrus), or 12 (estrus) days later to observe the transition of BrdU-labeled cells within in the CL. CL at each time point of estrus stage were classified into 4 types: Type I (newly formed CL), Type II (mature CL), Type III (regressing CL), and Type IV (residual CL). CL almost fully regressed within 4 estrus cycles. In contrast, in female rats given EGME orally (30, 100, or 300 mg/kg for 2 or 4 weeks), luteal cells were hypertrophic with abundant cytoplasm. Although the size of CL varied, all CL in EGME–treated rats had histological features similar to Type II CL, but they were more hypertrophic with less apoptosis. These results suggest that EGME has a luteal hypertrophic effect on all CL phases, including regression.
Scale-dependency of sediment yield from badland areas in Mediterranean environments
Authors: Nadal-Romero E. , Martínez-Murillo J.F. , Vanmaercke M. , Poesen J.
Published: March 2011

While much attention has been given to erosion processes in badlands, an integrated analysis of sediment production and export rates in badland areas at various spatial scales is currently lacking. This study reviews area-specific sediment yield (SY) from badlands in the Mediterranean measured at different spatial scales, using various measuring techniques, in order to investigate the relationship between size of study area (A) and SY. A database representing 16 571 plot-year and catchment-year data on SY at 87 Mediterranean study sites was compiled. The most commonly reported lithologies associated with badlands are marls, clay rocks and mudstones, and to a lesser extent shales. A high variability of SY from badlands in the Mediterranean region is observed. The relation between A and SY for Mediterranean environments with badlands is significantly different from that reported for Mediterranean environments without badlands. A complex A-SY relationship is identified: for areas < 10 ha, SY is very high (mean SY=475 t ha—1 y—1), whereas for areas > 10 ha, SY decreases non-linearly (power law) with increasing A (mean SY=75 t ha—1 y— 1 and drops from 164.5 t ha—1 y— 1 for 10 ha <A<200 ha to 9.3 t ha— 1 y—1 for A>100 000 ha). This difference is explained by several factors. For A < 10 ha there is little or no sediment storage within badland areas, while for A > 10 ha progressively more sediment can be trapped in different sinks. Further, for A > 10 ha, area-specific erosion rates do not increase (or even decrease) due to decreasing average hillslope gradients and a decreasing fraction of erosion-prone (bare/badland) area. No significant relationships between SY, lithology, and mean air temperature nor mean annual precipitation were observed.
Circulating biomarkers of hazard effects from cigarette smoking
Authors: Huang Yuchuan  , Zhang Jie  , Li Dongliang  , Dai Ya  , Wang Changguo  , Ma Kouyan  , Cheng Jingqiu  , Lu Yanrong  , Qin Bo  , Xue Fang
Published: March 2011

Smoking, leading to over 438,000 annual deaths in the US and 92 billion US dollars in lost productivity, is an important risk factor for several diseases. Global smoking statistics for 2002 have shown that 80,000 to 100,000 children worldwide start smoking every day. Human biomonitoring nowadays has provided an efficient and cost-effective means of measuring human exposures and biological effects of smoking. To review the utility of biomarkers in reflecting the hazard from cigarette smoking, we comprehensively searched the Cochrane Library, Medline and EMbase from 1966 to May 2010 with the language limit of English. We found that the currently used biomarkers, such as tobacco-specific metabolites, smoking-induced genotoxic products, may not scientifically reflect the hazard from cigarette smoking. More research is needed to find out more effective biomarkers for estimating hazards from cigarette smoking. This paper is expected to help researchers understand the current utilization of biomarkers related to cigarette smoking and to provide suggestive guides to tobacco companies in producing less-toxic cigarettes, thus to provide a safe way to smoke.
Toxicological effects of acrylamide on the reproductive system of weaning male rats
Authors: Yuxin Ma  , Jing Shi  , Meige Zheng  , Jing Liu  , Sumin Tian  , Xinhong He  , Dexing Zhang  , Guoying Li  , Jiayong Zhu
Published: March 2011

It has been reported that acrylamide can be detected in starchy food treated by high temperature (120 °C). People could be exposed to acrylamide in factory, laboratory, or even in daily life via diet and drinking water. Recently, the toxicity of acrylamide receives more attention. In addition to the neurotoxicity in humans, other toxic effects of acrylamide are worth further investigation. In this study, we investigated whether acrylamide affected the male reproductive system using high-performance liquid chromatography. In this study, the reproductive toxicity of acrylamide was observed in 3-week-old weaning male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with acrylamide at various doses (0, 5, 15 or 30 mg/kg/day). The results showed that food availability and reproductive organ indexes of the weaning male rats decreased. Levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and testosterone in serum increased while luteinizing hormone in serum decreased. The histopathological lesions and abnormal sperms presented in weaning rats after acrylamide treatment. The results suggested that there is a toxicological effect of acrylamide on the reproductive system of weaning male rats. Based on the findings above, we suggested that more attention should be paid to the toxicological study of acrylamide on weaning male rats or human beings, rather than just on adult male animals.
A Critical Perspective of Contemporary Unemployment Policy and Practices
Authors: Blustein David L. , Medvide Mary Beth , Wan Carol M.
Published: March 2011

This article explores the challenges of unemployment via the lens of critical psychology. The conventional discourse on unemployment is critiqued, revealing ways in which conventional policies and practices serve to further marginalize the lives of the unemployed and impede the development of ethical, effective, and empathic individual interventions and structural changes. In the practice realm, the importance of inclusion of mental health treatments in work-based interventions is highlighted based on the prevalence of psychological problems as a direct outcome of unemployment. New directions in research and public policy emerging from a critical analysis of existing are also outlined.
Synthesis and Characterization of New Phosphorus-containing Poly(ester imide)s
Authors: Serbezeanu Diana , Vlad-Bubulac Tachita , Hamciuc Corneliu , Doroftei Florica
Published: March 2011

New phosphorus-containing poly(ester imide)s were prepared via polycondensation in solution of 1,4-bis[N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)phthalimidyl-5-carboxylate]-2-(6-oxido-6H-dibenz <1,2 >oxaphosphorin-6-yl)-naphthalene with different aromatic dicarboxylic acids using a SOCl2/pyridine condensing agent. The polymers showed high thermal stability having a decomposition temperature above 375 °C and char yield at 700 °C in the range of 54—56%. The glass transition temperature was in the range of 190—226 °C. Solutions of the polymers in N,N-dimethylformamide showed fluorescence having maximum emission wavelength in the range 405—425 nm. The polymers exhibited thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior.
Justice, Dignity, Torture, Headscarves: Can Durkheim’s Sociology Clarify Legal Values?
Authors: Cotterrell Roger
Published: March 2011

Émile Durkheim’s claims about justice, human dignity and the value system of moral individualism in complex modern societies are part of the canon of classical theoretical ideas that underpin social research. Yet these claims are often neglected in socio-legal studies or seen as remote from much current Western legal experience. This article examines Durkheim’s sociological conceptions of justice, dignity and individualism to demonstrate their usefulness for the study of legal values in contemporary Western societies. Applying these ideas to such diverse clusters of topics as punishment and the use of torture, on the one hand, and sexuality and the wearing of Islamic headscarves, on the other, it argues that his work sheds important new light on current legal controversies and provides enduring insights for a developing sociology of legal values.
Interpreting Multi-Agency Partnerships: Ideology, Discourse and Domestic Violence
Authors: Harvie Peter , Manzi Tony
Published: March 2011

This article examines local multi-agency responses to local domestic violence, in particular considering how the introduction of local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) in the UK in the late 1990s affected service provision. Using a longitudinal case study, the article considers how feminist ideologies have been supplanted by a combination of judicial processes and bureaucratic politics. These developments are represented by three dominant discourses: ‘criminal justice’, ‘managerialism’ and ‘equalities’; discourses that have had a number of consequences in the implementation of domestic violence policy. The first is that a one-dimensional criminal justice discourse has displaced a feminist political, power and control, analysis. Second, the ascendancy of managerialism has allowed prescriptive short-term performance measurement to prevail over long-term ‘sufferer-orientated’ responses, and finally an ‘equalities’ discourse prioritized perpetrator initiatives and discouraged dissent. The result has been the dominance of the statutory sector, a marginalization of voluntary agencies and a partial alienation of women’s groups; a process which has proved detrimental both to the interests of female sufferers (who form approximately 90 per cent of victims of domestic violence) as well as voluntary agencies.
The Democratic Potential of Public Participation: Healthcare Governance in England
Authors: Mullen Caroline , Hughes David , Vincent-Jones Peter
Published: March 2011

Public participation is commonly advocated as part of the solution to the problem of democratic deficit in the development and implementation of policy. This article considers the democratic function of different arrangements for public participation, with reference to alternative rationales for democratic engagement in the health services context. We review the limitations of aggregative and representative notions, before exploring the senses in which a deliberative approach based on justification to the public can increase confidence in the democratic legitimacy of decisions. This theoretical understanding is used to evaluate the democratic potential of the legal framework for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in healthcare governance in England.
Revising Swiss Policies
Authors: Frey Kathrin , Widmer Thomas
Published: March 2011

Evidence-based policy-making and other recent reforms in public steering emphasize the role systematic evidence can play in improving decision making and public policies. Increasing deficits heighten the pressure on public authorities to legitimate public spending and to find savings. Existing studies show that the influence of research-based information on decision making is shaped by several factors, but they typically do not distinguish between different types of information. Our contribution aims to compare the influence of efficiency analysis to information about performance effectiveness. We do so by looking at 10 cases in which public policies are being revised at the federal level in Switzerland, and do so by tracing the entire policy reform process. This qualitative analysis sheds light on which actors use efficiency information, how and under which conditions, and highlights the contribution of efficiency analysis for evidence-based policy-making.
Uneven and combined development and the Anglo-German prelude to World War I
Authors: Green Jeremy
Published: March 2011

This article attempts to situate the approach to World War I within the context of the uneven and combined development of 19th-century European capitalism. Through a comparative analysis of German and British development within the context of the epochal transition from feudalism to capitalism, the article proposes that existing historical materialist and Realist understandings of the roots of World War 1 are inadequate. Realist analyses, stressing the primacy of ‘geopolitics’, fail to provide a convincing explanation of the precise origins of German bellicosity. Instead they assume that expansionist German behaviour was an inevitable consequence of systemic anarchy. Historical materialist accounts, preferring a sociological explanation, overstate the importance of systemic capitalist crisis and the European-wide escalation of class struggle for understanding the genesis of the war. Utilizing Trotsky’s concept of uneven and combined development, I contend, enables a more comprehensive understanding of the origins of the conflict.
Space, line and story in the invention of an Andean aesthetic
Authors: Colloredo-Mansfeld Rudi
Published: March 2011

This article examines Tiguan painting and the conventions of this new native Andean visual art, its representation of space, and the way it portrays traditional and contemporary material culture. Engaging the problem of alternative modes of spatial perception, the author describes how the act of drawing can become a tool of ethnographic exploration. With insights gained through sketching-mediated encounters with artists, the article shows the relevance to Tiguan art of Ingold’s recent arguments about lines as an organic device of narrative and visual ordering. Where formal spatial perspective offers a vocabulary of hierarchical order — foreground, background, vantage point — lines invoke movement, duration and interchange, which become recurrent issues for Tiguan artists.
Responses of group members to procedural discrimination
Authors: Cheng Grand H.-L. , Fielding Kelly S. , Terry Deborah J.
Published: March 2011

The current research examines how peripheral group members differ from prototypical group members in reacting to procedural discrimination (favoring self vs. favoring other procedures). Results of two experiments reveal that peripheral members react more negatively when the authority procedurally favors a prototypical member over them than when the authority favors them over a prototypical member. In contrast, reactions to procedural discrimination do not differ among prototypical members, and peripheral members paired with another peripheral member. The current research provides support for the literature on ingroup prototypicality, which argues that peripheral members are highly insecure about their inclusion in the group. It also furthers our insights into how group members’ responses to procedural experience are qualified by social identity concerns.
A whole-school approach: A proposal for education for tolerance in Indonesia
Authors: Raihani
Published: March 2011

Education is a primary way to equip children with the knowledge, skills, and competences necessary to live a life of harmonious relationships with diverse human beings. The escalating violence in the name of religion and ethnicity in Indonesia and other parts of the world is worrying, and one potential long-term solution is to educate school students in tolerance values. In the literature on tolerance education, proposed solutions have been mainly restricted to the analysis of curriculum content and instructional textbooks. This article argues that tolerance education should be approached holistically. This means that research and practices in this area should be directed to looking at the whole school, not just particular parts of the teaching and learning in a school. What is meant by a whole-school approach includes the school’s policies and vision, the quality of the curriculum and teaching, leadership and management, culture, student activities, and collaboration with the wider community, which all together contribute to the promotion and nurturance of tolerance within the school community. This article proposes a whole-school approach to education for tolerance in Indonesia, a country with rich ethnic and religious diversity.
Surface properties of bentonite and illite complexes with humus acids
Authors: Księżopolska A. , Pazur M.
Published: March 2011

In this study, the reaction between humus acids (humic acid and β-humus fulvic acid fraction) and bentonite and illite was studied at a variety of pH values. The degree of reaction was determined from the specific surface area and molar energy of adsorption. Characteristic parameters of adsorption isotherms for the formation of a mono-layer of the adsorbent, such as the constant C from the BET equation, mono-layer capacity (Nm), and standard error square (R2), were also included in the study. After the addition of humus acids, the specific surface area of illite and bentonite decreased at all pH values, reaching a minimum at pH 4. This indicates different degrees of reaction of humus acids with the clays and, probably, partial hydrophobization of the materials. The degree of reaction of humus acids with the minerals depended on the pH and, for certain combinations, it was highest at pH 4. This value is relatively close to that at which the humus acid fractions in question precipitate from solution.
A simple and efficient method for manufacturing porous bioceramics
Authors: Zeng Chuisheng , Chen Xiaoming , Yan Yuhua , Zeng Yanjun , Tang Xiaoying , Liang Yilong
Published: March 2011

The purpose of this study was to develop a simple and efficient method for manufacturing porous bioceramics, in which small organic foam spheres were taken as the poremaking reagent and green bodies were made by hot die-casting in moulds. The raw materials (small organic foam spheres, paraffin, oleic acid and β-TCP powder) were mixed into a slurry at 30–120ºC and moulded into green bodies using a hot die-casting machine at 30–90ºC; the green bodies were then sintered and the porous bioceramics obtained. The main characteristics (structure and size of pores, water permeability, apparent porosity and shrinkage) were tested. The results indicated that the apparent porosity was high and directly proportional to the mass ratio between the small organic foam spheres and the β-TCP powder. The pores connected with each other in three dimensions; the size, distribution of the shapes and structures of the pores were clearly related to the dimensions of the small organic foam spheres. The water permeability was proportional to the hot die-casting pressures and the shapes of the samples could easily be controlled by selecting different moulds. This study indicated that the method can be used to manufacture porous bioceramics with controlled pore structures and different shapes effectively and easily by adding different amounts and sizes of small organic foam spheres, mixing the raw materials evenly, and by selection of the hot die-casting pressure and by the use of different moulds.
Enhanced fluorescence of selected cationic dyes adsorbed on reduced-charge montmorillonite
Authors: Pustková P. , Klika Z. , Preclíková J. , Grygar T. M.
Published: March 2011

The aggregation of three cationic dyes (CD), crystal violet (CV), Nile blue (NB) and rhodamine B (RB) in aqueous solution was studied by visible absorption spectrophotometry and compared with methylene blue (MB). The distribution of the dye species (monomers, dimers, trimers, and tetramers) in aqueous solutions with different concentrations of dye was calculated using equilibrium stepwise aggregation constants Kn. These cationic dyes were intercalated into montmorillonite (SAz-1) and its reduced charge form (RC-SAz(210)) prepared by heating lithium montmorillonite (Li/SAz-1) at 210ºC. The fluorescence of fully saturated CD/SAz and low-CD loaded CD/RC-SAz(210) complexes was studied. Visible absorption spectra of CD aqueous solutions and visible absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns (d001) of the CD/SAz and CD/RC-SAz( 210) solid complexes were obtained and evaluated. Large fluorescence intensities were found for CV/RC-SAz(210) and NB/RC-SAz(210) complexes in the same way as for the complex of methylene blue with reduced-charge montmorillonite MB/RCM(210) described previously.
Bacillus anthracis spore interactions with mammalian cells: Relationship between germination state and the outcome of in vitro
Authors: Gut Ian M , Tamilselvam Batcha , Prouty Angela M , Stojkovic Bojana , Czeschin Stephanie , van der Donk Wilfred A , Blanke Steven R
Published: March 2011

Background

During inhalational anthrax, internalization of Bacillus anthracis spores by host cells within the lung is believed to be a key step for initiating the transition from the localized to disseminated stages of infection. Despite compelling in vivo evidence that spores remain dormant within the bronchioalveolar spaces of the lungs, and germinate only after uptake into host cells, most in vitro studies of infection have been conducted under conditions that promote rapid germination of spores within the culture medium.

Results

Using an in vitro model of infection, we evaluated the influence of the germination state of B. anthracis spores, as controlled by defined culture conditions, on the outcome of infection. Spores prepared from B. anthracis Sterne 7702 germinated in a variety of common cell culture media supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS) while, in the absence of FBS, germination was strictly dependent on medium composition. RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells internalized spores to the same extent in either germinating or non-germinating media. However, significantly more viable, intracellular B. anthracis were recovered from cells infected under non-germinating conditions compared to germinating conditions. At the same time, RAW264.7 cells demonstrated a significant loss in viability when infected under non-germinating conditions.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the outcome of host cell infection is sensitive to the germination state of spores at the time of uptake. Moreover, this study demonstrates the efficacy of studying B. anthracis spore infection of host cells within a defined, non-germinating, in vitro environment.
Specific, simple and rapid detection of porcine circovirus type 2 using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification method
Authors: Zhao Kai , Shi Wei , Han Fangting , Xu Yan , Zhu Lianlong , Zou Yong , Wu Xiao , Zhu Hong , Tan Furong , Tao Shiru , Tang Xueming
Published: March 2011

Background

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the causative agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), and porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS). It has caused heavy losses in global agriculture in recent decades. Rapid detection of PCV2 is very important for the effective prophylaxis and treatment of PMWS.

Results

A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was used to detect PCV2 in this study. Three pairs of primers were specially designed for recognizing eight distinct sequences of the ORF2 gene. This gene lies in the PCV2 virus genome sequence, and encodes the Rep protein that is involved in virus replication. Time and temperature conditions for amplification of PCV2 genes were optimized to be 55 min at 59°C. The analysis of clinical samples indicated that the LAMP method was highly sensitive. The detection limit for PCV2 by the LAMP assay was 10 copies, whereas the limit by conventional PCR was 1000 copies. The assay did not cross-react with PCV1, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, transmissible gastroenteritis of pigs virus or rotavirus. When 110 samples were tested using the established LAMP system, 95 were detected as positive.

Conclusion

The newly developed LAMP detection method for PCV2 was more specific, sensitive, rapid and simple than before. It complements and extends previous methods for PCV2 detection and provides an alternative approach for detection of PCV2.
Persistent organ dysfunction plus death: a novel, composite outcome measure for critical care trials
Authors: Heyland Daren K , Muscedere John , Drover John , Jiang Xuran , Day Andrew G ,   the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group
Published: March 2011

Introduction

Due to resource limitations, few critical care interventions have been rigorously evaluated with adequately powered randomized clinical trials (RCTs). There is a need to improve the efficiency of RCTs in critical care so that more definitive high quality RCTs can be completed with the available resources. The objective of this study was to validate and demonstrate the utility of a novel composite outcome measure, persistent organ dysfunction (POD) plus death, for clinical trials of critically ill patients.

Methods

We performed a secondary analysis of a dataset from a prospective randomized trial involving 38 intensive care units (ICUs) in Canada, Europe, and the United States. We define POD as the persistence of organ dysfunction requiring supportive technologies during the convalescent phase of critical illness and it is present when a patient has an ongoing requirement for vasopressors, dialysis, or mechanical ventilation at the outcome assessments time points. In 600 patients enrolled in a randomized trial of nutrition therapy and followed prospectively for six months, we evaluated the prevalence of POD and its association with outcome.

Results

At 28 days, 2.3% of patients had circulatory failure, 13.7% had renal failure, 8.7% had respiratory failure, and 27.2% had died, for an overall prevalence of POD + death = 46.0%. Of survivors at Day 28, those with POD, compared to those without POD, had a higher mortality rate in the six-month follow-up period, had longer ICU and hospital stays, and a reduced quality of life at three months. Given these rates of POD + death and using a two-sided Chi-squared test at alpha = 0.05, we would require 616 patients per arm to detect a 25% relative risk reduction (RRR) in mortality, but only 286 per arm to detect the same RRR in POD + mortality.

Conclusions

POD + death may be a valid composite outcome measure and compared to mortality endpoints, may reduce the sample size requirements of clinical trials of critically ill patients. Further validation in larger clinical trials is required.
Impact of fluid saturation on the reflection coefficient of a poroelastic layer
Authors: Quintal Beatriz , Schmalholz Stefan M. , Podladchikov Yuri Y.
Published: March 2011

The impact of changes in saturation on the frequency-dependent reflection coefficient of a partially saturated layer was studied. Seismic attenuation and velocity dispersion in partially saturated (i.e., patchy saturated) poroelastic media were accounted for by using the analytical solution of the 1D White’s model for wave-induced fluid flow. White’s solution was applied in combination with an analytical solution for the normal-incidence reflection coefficient of an attenuating layer embedded in an elastic or attenuating background medium to investigate the effects of attenuation, velocity dispersion, and tuning on the reflection coefficient. Approximations for the frequency-dependent quality factor, its minimum value, and the frequency at which the minimum value of the quality factor occurs were derived. The approximations are valid for any two alternating sets of petrophysical parameters. An approximation for the normal-incidence reflection coefficient of an attenuating thin (compared to the wavelength) layer was also derived. This approximation gives insight into the influence of contrasts in acoustic impedance and/or attenuation on the reflectivity of a thin layer. Laboratory data for reflections from a water-saturated sand layer and from a dry sand layer were further fit with petrophysical parameters for unconsolidated sand partially saturated with water and air. The results showed that wave-induced fluid flow can explain low-frequency reflection anomalies, which are related to fluid saturation and can be observed in seismic field data. The results further indicate that reflection coefficients of partially saturated layers (e.g., hydrocarbon reservoirs) can vary significantly with frequency, especially at low seismic frequencies where partial saturation may often cause high attenuation.
The Milosevic and Islamization Factors: Writing Contemporary History in the Balkans
Authors: Pranger Robert J.
Published: March 2011

Looking back on Yugoslavia's break-up and the subsequent warfare involving Bosnian Muslims, Croats, Albanians (Kosovars), and Serbs, two constants seem fundamental over the past two decades: Slobodan Milosevic and the ascension of Islam to independent statehood. Most academic and popular accounts, as well as official US and European positions, have placed emphasis on Milosevic's machinations to build Great Serbia, yet in the Serbian narrative itself the rebirth of Islamic power in Bosnia and Kosovo proved fundamental. This essay examines both narratives and concludes with some observations about writing contemporary history and certain risks from a hasty, inadequately prepared foreign policy consensus.
Round ligament varicosity: a rare cause of inguinal swelling
Authors: Athwal R , Hoar F
Published: March 2011

We report a case series of three pregnant patients who presented with inguinal mass that were found to be round ligament varicosities. The diagnosis and management of this rare condition are discussed. A review of the literature is presented.
Effect of morphological variability of incrusted pit membranes on efficiency of transverse compression to improve liquid uptake
Authors: Wang Yue , Sugiyama Junji
Published: March 2011

The present study examined the effect of morphological variability of incrusted pit membranes (PMs) on efficiency of transverse compression to improve liquid uptake. The heartwoods of four conifers were investigated, and the deformations and ruptures of incrusted PMs were evaluated after subjecting them to several treatments such as transverse compression, ethanol-benzene extraction, and combination of extraction and compression. (1) The PMs in Cunninghamia lanceolata Hook, formed a brittle surface that was easily broken by compression, and the wood showed improved liquid uptake; (2) In Cryptomeria japonica D. Don, additional margo gaps were exposed after extraction resulting in substantial liquid uptake; and (3) in Larix leptolepis Gordon and Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco, tori strongly stuck to the pit aperture, preventing any increase in liquid uptake despite all types of treatment. Moreover, the pit borders in C. lanceolata and C. japonica deformed like a viscoelastic body, whereas those in L. leptolepis and P. menziesii displayed irregular deformations during compression. These results demonstrate the influence of the unique morphology of the incrusted PM on the efficiency of liquid uptake enforced by transverse compression.
Who is Really Doing it? Peer Embeddedness and Substance Use during Adolescence
Authors: Kramer Rory A. , Vaquera Elizabeth
Published: March 2011

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health ( n = 15,355), this article examines the relationship between adolescent embeddedness and substance use. Unlike most previous work on substance use, the authors focus on the size of an individual's social network (embeddedness) instead of the characteristics of individuals in that network. They examine four levels of embeddedness (isolated, marginal, typical, and saturated) and the variation in their link to substance use, specifically alcohol consumption, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, and marijuana smoking. Students with high in-school embeddedness were significantly more likely to participate in risk behaviors involving alcohol while students with no in-school embeddedness are protected from risk behaviors by their social isolation. The study then argues for future research in substance use and peer effects that explores the interplay between measures of social capital and embeddedness.
Secularizing Islam: Carlyle, al-Sibāʿī, and the Translations of “Religion” in British Egypt
Authors: Tageldin Shaden M.
Published: March 2011

Secularism is said to support cultural imperialism by propagating the colonizer's religion in nonreligious guise or by touting a nonreligious worldview that attracts native intellectuals already disenchanted with local tradition. I take a different view. Reading Muḥammad al-Sibāʿī's Arabic translation of Thomas Carlyle'sOn Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History(1841), published in Egypt in 1911, I argue that secularism attracts the colonized less by presenting itself as an alternative order—religious or not—than by validating an existing religious episteme, but doing so in translation, refracting native religion through an empowered yet seemingly empowering colonial eye. Secularity infiltrates British Egypt as Islam's likeness, not antithesis. Carlyle's alluring Islamophilia moves al-Sibāʿī to prescribe English literature to Egypt against French “unbelief,” eliding the Briton's subordination of the Prophet Muḥammadto Shakespeare. Willing the native Islamic “religious” into translatability with the Western colonial “secular,” al-Sibāʿī reconstructs modern Islam as belief in the human.
Sibling Logic; or, Antigone Again
Authors: Engelstein Stefani
Published: March 2011

A recent wave of commentary on Sophocles'sAntigoneby critics from Judith Butler to Bracha Ettinger to Simon Goldhill has begun to emerge from the shadow of two paradigmatic interpretations: Lacan's reading of the title character in splendid structural isolation and Hegel's dialectical opposition of familial and political spheres. Even the newer criticism, however, continues the critical elision of Antigone's siblings (particularly her sister, Ismene) and of her relationship to them. This oversight is emblematic of the problematic omission of the sibling from theoretical discourses in general. The neglected sibling is a model that allows us to move beyond both self-other dualisms and the mother-child dyad, which form the only grounds for intersubjectivity in contemporary debates. Sibling logic recognizes the subject as embedded in a transsubjective network ofpartial others, whose subjectivities are nonetheless partially, though differentially, shared. This article thereby provides a new approach to poststructuralist debates on subjectivity and the political.