bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Significance of Prevalent and Incident Atrial Fibrillation Among Patients Hospitalized with Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Hersi Ahmad , Alhabib Khalid F. , Alsheikh-Ali Alawi A. , Sulaiman Kadhim , Alfaleh Hussam F. , Alsaif Shukri , Mahmeed Wael Al- , Asaad Nidal , Haitham Amin , Al-Motarreb Ahmed , Suwaidi Jassim , Shehab Abdullah
Published: December 2011

There is a paucity of data on atrial fibrillation (AF) complicating acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Arabian Gulf countries. Thus, we assessed the incidence of AF in patients with ACS in these countries and examined the associated in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year adverse outcomes. The population comprised 7930 patients enrolled in the second Gulf Registry of Acute Coronary Events (Gulf RACE-2). Of 7930 patients with ACS, 217 (2.7%) had AF. Compared with patients without AF, patients with AF were less likely to be male (65.9 vs 79.1%) and were older (mean age 64.6 vs 56.6 years). Compared with patients without AF, in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality were significantly higher in patients with any AF (odds ratio [OR]: 2.7, 2.2, 1.9, respectively; P < .001) and in patients with new-onset AF (OR: 5.2, 3.9, 3.1, respectively; P < .001. In conclusion, AF in patients with ACS was associated with significantly higher short- and long-term mortality.
Leaning Right and Learning From the Left
Authors: Jensen Nathan M. , Lindstädt René
Published: December 2011

There is an increased focus in comparative politics and international relations on how choices of governments are dependent on choices made by other governments. The authors argue that although the relationship between policy choices across countries is often labeled as either diffusion or competition, in many cases the theoretical mechanisms underpinning these labels are unclear. In this article, the authors build a model of social learning with a specific application to the diffusion of corporate tax reductions. The model yields predictions that are differentiable from existing models of tax competition. Specifically, the authors argue that social learning is most likely in the wake of tax policy cuts by left governments. They test the model using an existing data set of corporate tax rate changes and an author-created data set of changes in tax legislation, covering 20 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. The authors’ empirical findings show that social learning is an important determinant of corporate tax policy making.
The Informal Politics of Legislation
Authors: Reh Christine , Héritier Adrienne , Bressanelli Edoardo , Koop Christel
Published: December 2011

This article investigates a widespread yet understudied trend in EU politics: the shift of legislative decision making from public inclusive to informal secluded arenas and the subsequent adoption of legislation as “early agreements.” Since its introduction in 1999, “fast-track legislation” has increased dramatically, accounting for 72% of codecision files in the Sixth European Parliament. Drawing from functionalist institutionalism, distributive bargaining theory, and sociological institutionalism, this article explains under what conditions informal decision making is likely to occur. The authors test their hypotheses on an original data set of all 797 codecision files negotiated between mid-1999 and mid-2009. Their analysis suggests that fast-track legislation is systematically related to the number of participants, legislative workload, and complexity. These findings back a functionalist argument, emphasizing the transaction costs of intraorganizational coordination and information gathering. However, redistributive and salient acts are regularly decided informally, and the Council presidency’s priorities have no significant effect on fast-track legislation. Hence, the authors cannot confirm explanations based on issue properties or actors’ privileged institutional positions. Finally, they find a strong effect for the time fast-track legislation has been used, suggesting socialization into interorganizational norms of cooperation.
Partisan Embedding of Liberalism
Authors: Burgoon Brian
Published: December 2011

Political scientists have long debated how economic globalization influences national social policies, but they have so far not explored the political demands of political parties implicitly underlying such influence. This article explores such demands to see how globalization affects partisan-political demands for the welfare state in industrialized countries. It argues that political parties link globalization to welfare policy, but in ways that differ across parties and faces of globalization. First, globalization can be expected to spark support for welfare policies as compensation for globalization’s risks, but given the constituencies and traditions of parties, this applies more for left than for right or other parties. Second, this dynamic is different for immigration than for trade or investment because migration poses fiscal pressures and threats to solidarity that can dampen enthusiasm for welfare compensation and spark calls for welfare retrenchment. Analysis of party manifestos in 23 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries from 1960 to 2004 supports this view that some but not all parties embed some but not all liberalism.
Authoritarian Responses to Foreign Pressure
Authors: Escribà-Folch Abel
Published: December 2011

This article explores how international sanctions affect authoritarian rulers’ decisions concerning repression and public spending composition. Rulers whose budgets are not severely constrained by sanctions will tend to increase spending in those categories that most benefit their core support groups. When budget constraints are severe, dictators are more likely to increase repression. Using data on regime types, public expenditures and spending composition (1970–2000) as well as on repression levels (1976–2001), I show that the empirical patterns conform well to the theoretical expectations. Single-party regimes, when targeted by sanctions, increase spending on subsidies and transfers which largely benefit their key constituencies. Likewise, military regimes increase their expenditures on goods and services, which include military equipment and soldiers’ and officers’ wages. Conversely, personalist regimes targeted by sanctions reduce spending in all categories and thus increase repression more than other autocracies.
Is There a Necessary Condition for Democracy? The Role of State Capacity in Postcommunist Countries
Authors: Fortin Jessica
Published: December 2011

Although postcommunist countries share a common past, the variability of outcomes in both democracy and economic reform is very large in the region. Only a few countries have become Western-type democracies in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic. By contrast, the norm is clearly not democracy for other Soviet successor states. In this article, the author attributes this variation to differences in the infrastructural capacity of the state. Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses within 26 postcommunist countries, the author argues that for democracy to flourish, the state must first possess the necessary means to maintain law and order and to protect the rights of citizens, in other words, to ensure the maintenance and delivery of essential public goods. The results show that the links between a strong state that has been able to apply a definitive set of rules and democratic institutions are clear.
Influence of porosity on resistivity of polypropylene foams
Authors: Chand Navin , Sharma Janu
Published: December 2011

Polymer foams are often used as bone material substitutes for insulation applications, due to better reproducibility and availability. This work deals with the electrical and dielectric properties of foamed polypropylene. Main objective of this research is to develop a theoretical model for resistivity of polypropylene foam, based on porosity. Physical properties of polypropylene foam were experimentally investigated. Porosity was systematically varied and the electrical resistivity and dielectric constant were determined for its various levels of foams. For foamed polypropylene, the relationship between resistivity and porosity is proposed. Resistivity increases with porosity. An equation is presented to describe the relationship between porosity and resistivity of polypropylene foams. Resistivity values of polypropylene foams calculated by using the proposed equation fits well with the experimental values. Dielectric constant of foamed polypropylene samples varying in foaming concentration present in polypropylene is determined.
Company Men
Authors: Conklin Hilary G.
Published: December 2011

In this comparative, longitudinal case study, the author investigates the two different pathways that have been most strongly advocated for certifying middle school social studies teachers: the specialized middle school and subject-specific secondary pathways. Drawing on classroom observations, interviews, documents, teacher and student work samples, and surveys, this article compares the learning and practice of 2 seventh-grade social studies teachers across time. Both teachers learned key principles and practices from their respective teacher education programs but ultimately taught in ways that often demanded little of young adolescents intellectually. The findings suggest that teacher educators preparing social studies teachers for the middle grades need to look not only at the opportunities they provide for teachers to learn about young adolescents, social studies teaching purposes, and social studies teaching strategies but also at the implementation and integration of these learning opportunities.
Is the Job Burning Me Out? An Exploratory Test of the Job Characteristics Model on the Emotional Burnout of Prison Staff
Authors: Lambert Eric G. , Hogan Nancy L. , Dial Kelly Cheeseman , Jiang Shanhe , Khondaker Mahfuzul I.
Published: December 2011

Although emotional burnout of prison staff is costly to all involved, it has not received the kind of research attention that is warranted. This exploratory study focused on the impact of job characteristics on the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout of prison staff. Using data from 272 staff members at a Midwestern state prison, this study found that both job feedback and job autonomy had negative effects on the index of emotional exhaustion burnout; however, both supervision and job variety had nonsignificant effects. The study further discussed possible reasons for both the significant and nonsignificant relationships.
Providing Inmate Access to the Courts
Authors: Sabath Michael J. , Payne William
Published: December 2011

As the federal courts have established the right of inmates to seek postconviction relief, prisons systems have struggled with a variety of strategies to come into compliance. Using data from a national survey of prisons, this study describes court access strategies employed by state correctional systems and examines how prison contextual characteristics, such as security level, population size, and the court ruling in Lewis v. Casey (1996) affect their use. Results indicate that strategies are influenced by size, security level and demand for legal services, and offer evidence of the adverse effects of the Lewis decision on prison law libraries.
If One Doesn’t Get You Another One Will
Authors: LeBel Thomas P.
Published: December 2011

Research on prisoner reentry has largely neglected the perspective of formerly incarcerated persons concerning the stigma and discrimination they face in society. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by examining whether formerly incarcerated persons perceive themselves to be discriminated against due to their membership in 10 disadvantaged groups, and if these perceptions are related to self-esteem. The findings indicate the vast majority of men and women feel discriminated against for one reason, with most indicating multiple reasons. Moreover, the findings provide support for past research indicating that perceptions of discrimination are negatively related to self-esteem.
Family Instability, School Context, and the Academic Careers of Adolescents
Authors: Cavanagh Shannon E. , Fomby Paula
Published: December 2011

An emerging literature suggests that the increasingly complex family histories of American children are linked with multiple domains of adolescent development. Much of this scholarship focuses on associations at the individual level. Here, the authors consider whether key dimensions of the school context, specifically the aggregate level of family instability and the academic press within schools, moderate the link between family instability and young people’s course-taking patterns in mathematics in high school. Using the school-based design and the retrospective reports of family structure in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the linked academic transcript data in the Adolescent Health and Achievement Study ( n = 6,545), the authors find that students from unstable families do more poorly when they attend schools with a high proportion of academically oriented students. The prevalence of family instability in a school does not moderate the individual experience of family instability in predicting course-taking patterns.
Effectiveness of ozone in decolorization of reactive dye effluents depending on the dye chromophore
Authors: Güneş Yalçın , Atav Rıza , Namırtı Osman
Published: December 2011

In this study, ozonation process was used for decolorization of five commercial reactive dyes (Remazol Brilliant Red 3BS-A 150%, Remazol Yellow 3R-SA 133%, Remazol Blue R Special, Remazol Turquoise G 133% and Remazol Brilliant Blue BB), having various chromophore groups (monoazo, anthraquinone, phthalocyanine, formazan copper complex). The aim of the study was to examine in detail the effect of the major system parameters on the decolorization efficiency of ozone and to compare the effectiveness of ozone in decolorization of reactive dye effluents depending on the dye chromophore. The parameters, which were examined separately, are the solution pH and the ozonation time. Ozonation process was carried out in batch system and the ozone production rate was 1000 mg/h. In the study, it was found that color removal efficiencies, depending on the dye chromophore, vary from 83% to 96% and 34% to 93% in the ozonation processes carried out with and without pH adjustment, respectively. Furthermore, according to the experimental results, it can be concluded that the ozonation process could be effectively used in decolorization of reactive dyes especially having copper formazan and anthraquinone chromophores.
Why Darwinians Should Not Be Afraid of Mary Douglas—And Vice Versa
Authors: De Block Andreas , Cuypers Stefaan E.
Published: December 2011

Evolutionary psychology and human sociobiology often reject the mere possibility of symbolic causality. Conversely, theories in which symbolic causality plays a central role tend to be both anti-nativist and anti-evolutionary. This article sketches how these apparent scientific rivals can be reconciled in the study of disgust. First, we argue that there are no good philosophical or evolutionary reasons to assume that symbolic causality is impossible. Then, we examine to what extent symbolic causality can be part of the theoretical toolbox of the evolutionary social sciences. This examination leads to the conclusion that it is possible to make evolutionary sense of Mary Douglas’s theory of disgust, and that her view of symbolic causality can and should inform evolutionary theories of (sociocultural) disgust.
A Naturalistic Argument for the Irreducibility of Collective Intentionality
Authors: Gallotti Mattia
Published: December 2011

According to many philosophers and scientists, human sociality is explained by our unique capacity to “share” attitudes with others. The conditions under which mental states are shared have been widely debated in the past two decades, focusing especially on the issue of their reducibility to individual intentionality and the place of collective intentions in the natural realm. It is not clear, however, to what extent these two issues are related and what methodologies of investigation are appropriate in each case. In this article, I propose a solution that distinguishes between epistemic and ontological interpretations of the demand for the conditions of reduction of collective intentionality. While the philosophical debate has contributed important insights into the former, recent advances in the cognitive sciences offer novel resources to tackle the latter. Drawing on Michael Tomasello’s research in the ontogeny of shared intentionality in early instances of interaction based on joint attention, I propose an empirically informed argument of what it would take to address the ontological question of irreducibility, thus making a step forward in the naturalization of collective intentionality.
Ghosts of the Past and Dreams of the Future
Authors: Rabinovich Anna , Morton Thomas A.
Published: December 2011

The authors investigated the impact of temporal focus on group members’ responses to contextual ingroup devaluation. Four experimental studies demonstrated that following an induction of negative ingroup evaluation, participants primed with a past temporal focus reported behavioral intentions more consistent with this negative appraisal than participants primed with a future temporal focus. This effect was apparent only when a negative (but not a positive) evaluation was induced, and only among highly identified group members. Importantly, the interplay between temporal focus and group identification on relevant intentions was mediated by individual self-esteem, suggesting that focus on the future may be conducive to separating negative ingroup appraisals from individual self-evaluations. Taken together, the findings suggest that high identifiers’ responses to ingroup evaluations may be predicated on their temporal focus: A focus on the past may lock such individuals within their group’s history, whereas a vision of the future may open up opportunities for change.
Intergroup Time Bias and Racialized Social Relations
Authors: Vala Jorge , Pereira Cícero Roberto , Lima Marcus Eugênio Oliveira , Leyens Jacques-Philippe
Published: December 2011

Within the framework of intergroup relations, the authors analyzed the time people spent evaluating ingroup and outgroup members. They hypothesized that White participants take longer to evaluate White targets than Black targets. In four experiments, White participants were slower to form impressions of White than of Black people; that is, they showed an intergroup time bias (ITB). In Study 1 ( N = 60), the ITB correlated with implicit prejudice and homogeneity. Study 2 ( N = 60) showed that the ITB was independent of the type of trait in question (nonstereotypical vs. stereotypical). Study 3 ( N = 100) demonstrated that ITB correlates with racism measured 3 months beforehand, is independent of motivation to control prejudice, and is not an epiphenomenon of homogeneity. In Study 4 ( N = 40) participants not only showed the ITB in a racialized social context but also displayed it following a minimal group manipulation.
The Value of Family Routines for the Academic Success of Vulnerable Adolescents
Authors: Roche Kathleen M. , Ghazarian Sharon R.
Published: December 2011

This study examined associations between mother reports of family routines and adolescent academic success. The authors used prospective data from “Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study” ( N = 1,147), a study of low-income urban youth and mothers. The vast majority of youth were African American (43%) or Latino (47%); youth were an average of 12-years-old at Time 1. Academic success was assessed by youth’s self-reported grades, self-reported educational expectations, and standardized achievement scores. Results from structural equation models indicated that Time 1 family routines were associated with better academic success at Time 2, which, in turn, was associated with higher academic achievement and educational expectations at Time 3. Routines were less strongly associated with higher educational expectations and achievement when mothers reported more destabilizing family life events. Moderating effects of family instability varied by youth gender and whether youth were in earlier versus later phases of adolescence.
Correlates of Attitudes Toward Cohabitation
Authors: Willoughby Brian J. , Carroll Jason S.
Published: December 2011

The present study examines how demographics, attitudes toward marriage, attitudes toward sexual activity, sexual behaviors, and dating experience are associated with three different attitudes toward cohabitation among never-married young adults. Results from a sample of 1,036 young adult college students suggest that the endorsement of cohabitation is strongly associated with permissive attitudes toward sex. Young adults who held positive attitudes toward marriage were also found to be unlikely to endorse cohabitation where the couple did not have marital plans. Results suggest that different background and individual factors predict whether young adults believe cohabitation is beneficial and if they endorse cohabitation based on the marital plans of the partners. Findings provide further evidence for how cohabitation fits within the larger union formation goals of young adults.
A simple technique to prevent limb ischemia during veno-arterial ECMO using the femoral artery: the posterior tibial approach
Authors: Spurlock DJ , Toomasian JM , Romano MA , Cooley E , Bartlett RH , Haft JW
Published: December 2011

Lower extremity ischemia is common when the femoral artery is used for veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO). We describe a new technique to reperfuse the extremity. The ipsilateral posterior tibial artery is exposed via a small incision behind the medial malleolus. The vessel is cannulated in a retrograde fashion and connected to the arterial limb of the ECMO circuit.

Thirty-six patients received a posterior tibial reperfusion cannula: average flow was 155.8 ml/min and increased over the initial 24 hours. Fifty-eight percent received the posterior tibial cannula within 6 hours of ECMO initiation and none sustained permanent lower extremity injury. Of the remaining 42%, three required amputation or developed permanent neurologic injury. Overall survival was 41%.

Cannulation of the posterior tibial artery is a simple technique to reperfuse the lower extremity during VA ECMO. The cannula should be inserted within 6 hours of ECMO initiation to avoid irreversible ischemic damage.
Tricuspid valve papillary fibroelastoma: an unusual case of dizzy spells
Authors: Karapanagiotidis GT , Lees N , Howlett P , Zakkar M , Sarsam M
Published: December 2011

An 81-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of dizzy spells was found to have a mass in the right atrium on transthoracic echocardiography. The patient underwent successful surgery to excise the mass, which was arising from the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve. Histology showed a papillary fibroelastoma. Although management is still controversial when such tumours are found incidentally in asymptomatic patients, surgery may be considered, especially if the tumour is large, due to the high risk of embolism.
Awareness of incurable cancer status and health-related quality of life among advanced cancer patients: A prospective cohort study
Authors: Lee Myung Kyung , Baek Sun Kyung , Kim Si-young , Heo Dae Seog , Yun Young Ho , Park Sook Ryun , Kim Jun Suk
Published: December 2011

Background:

Many patients near death report an interest in knowing their prognoses. Patients’ awareness of disease status may lead to more appropriate care and maintained or improved quality of life. However, it is not known whether advanced cancer patients’ awareness of disease status is associated with patients’ quality of life.

Aim:

We aimed to examine the effect of patients’ awareness of disease status on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among advanced cancer patients undergoing palliative chemotherapy.

Design:

In this prospective cohort study, patients were followed-up at 4–6 weeks and 2–3 months after the initial palliative chemotherapy. Patients’ awareness of disease status, and demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed at baseline, and depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and HRQOL using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) were assessed three times.

Setting / participants:

In total, 100 patients with advanced cancer starting palliative chemotherapy were recruited from two tertiary university hospitals and from the Korea National Cancer Center.

Results:

Patients with advanced cancer undergoing palliative chemotherapy experienced deteriorated HRQOL. Of these, the patients who were aware of their disease status as incurable had significantly higher role ( p=0.002), emotional ( p=0.025), and social functioning ( p=0.002), and lower fatigue ( p=0.008), appetite loss ( p=0.039), constipation ( p=0.032), financial difficulties ( p=0.019), and anxiety ( p=0.041) compared with patients unaware of disease status.

Conclusion:

Our findings demonstrate the importance of patients’ awareness of disease status to HRQOL.
Social-cultural factors in end-of-life care in Belgium: A scoping of the research literature
Authors: Andrew Erin VW , Cohen Joachim , Evans Natalie , Meñaca Arantza , Harding Richard , Higginson Irene , Pool Robert , Gysels Marjolein
Published: December 2011

Background:

As end-of-life (EoL) care expands across Europe and the world, service developments are increasingly studied. The sociocultural context in which such changes take place, however, is often neglected in research.

Aim:

To explore sociocultural factors in EoL care in Belgium as represented by the literature.

Design:

A scoping of the empirical research literature following a systematic search procedure with a focus on thematic analysis based on the literature findings.

Data sources:

Searches were carried out in eight electronic databases, five journals, reference lists, and grey literature (through September 2010). Articles informing about sociocultural issues in EoL care were included.

Results:

One hundred and fifteen original studies met the inclusion criteria, the majority (107) published between 2000 and 2010. Four major themes were: Setting; Caregivers; Communication; and Medical EoL Decisions (the largest category). Minority Ethnic Groups was an emerging theme. Gaps included: research in Wallonia and Brussels; the role and experiences of informal caregivers; issues of access to palliative care; and experiences of minority ethnic groups. There was a paucity of in-depth qualitative studies.

Conclusions:

Various sociocultural factors influence the provision of EoL care in Belgium. This country provides a unique opportunity to witness how euthanasia is put into practice when legalized, in a context where palliative care is also highly developed and where many health care institutions have Catholic affiliation, providing an important example to others. Attention to how the sociocultural context affects EoL care adds to the current evidence base of service provision, which is essential in the further development of EoL care.
Fishing for NTBs
Authors: Schubert William R.
Published: December 2011

Over the past decade, US catfish producers have been collectively engaging in protectionist rent seeking against lower-priced import competition, most notably from Vietnam. This one-sided strategy, which has ironically characterized the so-called Catfish Wars thus far, has lead to the imposition of several nontariff barriers (NTBs). For Vietnamese exporters, uncertainty as to trade conditions in the United States, including the ultimate impact of the low-visibility NTBs in existence, has been a persistent problem. This problem is characteristic of a contemporary phenomenon affecting exporters worldwide: the prevalence of disguised forms of protectionism. Viewing the Catfish Wars as a rent-seeking problem, this article discusses the incentives and other factors that lead to disguised protectionism. Further, it discusses how exporters doing business in the United States can reduce the potential impact of disguised protectionism though coordinating with consumer-oriented groups.
KATP channel openers in the trigeminovascular system
Authors: Ploug KB , Amrutkar DV , Baun M , Ramachandran R , Iversen A , Lund TM , Gupta S , Hay-Schmidt A , Olesen J , Jansen-Olesen I
Published: December 2011

Background: The ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel openers levcromakalim and pinacidil are vasodilators that induce headache in healthy people. The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) induces headache in healthy people and migraine in migraineurs, potentially through a mechanism that involves opening of vascular or neuronal KATP channels and mast cell degranulation. Using rat as a model, we studied the molecular presence of KATP channels in the trigeminovascular system. Furthermore, we examined whether KATP channel openers stimulate the in vitro release of CGRP and whether they degranulate dural mast cells.

Methods: mRNA and protein expression of KATP channel subunits were studied in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) by qPCR and western blotting. In vitro CGRP release was studied after application of levcromakalim (1 µM) and diazoxide (10 µM) to freshly isolated rat dura mater, TG and TNC. Rat dural mast cells were challenged in situ with levcromakalim (10−5 M) to study its potential degranulation effect.

Results: mRNA and protein of KATP channel subunits Kir6.1, Kir6.2, SUR1 and SUR2B were identified in the TG and TNC. KATP channel openers did not release or inhibit capsaicin-induced CGRP release from dura mater, TG or TNC. They did also not induce dural mast cell degranulation.

Conclusions: KATP channel openers do not interact with CGRP release or mast cell degranulation. Activation of these channels in the CNS is antinociceptive and therefore cannot explain the headache induced by KATP channel openers. Thus, they are likely to induce headache by interaction with extracerebral KATP channels, probably the SUR2B isoforms.
An experimental study on the behavior of PP/EPDM/JUTE composites in impact, tensile and bending loadings
Authors: Khalili S.M.R. , Farsani R. Eslami , Rafiezadeh S.
Published: December 2011

This article deals with the experimental investigation of the mechanical properties of short jute fibers reinforced poly-propylene (PP) and ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer (EPDM) composites with various fiber contents (5, 10, 20, and 30% by weight) under Charpy impact (unnotched and notched), tensile, and three point bending tests. To increase the interfacial adhesion between the composite constituents, compatibilizer maleic anhydride poly-propylene (MAPP) is used in the fabrication process of composite specimens. The standard specimens were prepared using an injection molding machine. The results show that by adding EPDM to PP, the impact strength is increased for unnotched and notched specimens. The elongation at break is also increased for all the specimens, but the tensile and bending strength are decreased. Furthermore, by adding higher values of wt% of jute fibers, the tensile properties are improved and the impact and bending strengths are reduced as compared with pure PP.
Stability of smart sandwich beams with cross-ply faces and electrorheological core subjected to axial loads
Authors: Tabassian Rassoul , Rezaeepazhand Jalil
Published: December 2011

In this article, an effort has been made to deal with stability analysis of a smart sandwich beam with cross-ply faces and ER core. An ER layer is adhered to the laminated composite beam to increase dynamic stability of the beam. Bingham’s model is applied to model dynamic behavior of ER layer. A smart beam element is derived for the sandwich beam and finite element modeling is carried out. Transient response of the beam to an initial excitation is calculated using direct integration method. By analyzing the dynamic responses of the beam in different load amplitudes, critical loads and stability regions are obtained. Parametric study has been done and effects of various parameters such as the electric field, stacking sequence of the layers, and thickness ratio of elastic faces on static and dynamic stability of the beam are investigated. Obtained results show that stacking sequence and thickness ratio of elastic faces affects both static and dynamic stability of the beam. On the other hand, ER layer affects damping properties of structures as a result of which only dynamic stability of the beam is improved.
Assessment Practices and the Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted and Talented Education
Authors: Erwin Jesse O. , Worrell Frank C.
Published: December 2011

Several scholars have asserted that the underrepresentation of minority students in gifted and talented education (GATE) programs is the result of biased assessment practices. However, an examination of the psychometric properties of scores on cognitive ability, achievement tests, and rating scales do not support these claims. We contend that the underrepresentation of some racial/ethnic groups in GATE program is another manifestation of the longstanding and intractable achievement gap in the United States. Although we agree that the goal of having more equitable representation of the school population in GATE programs is laudable, we argue that the solution is one that needs to come from policy changes rather than changes in assessment instruments. We provide recommendations for identifying gifted students who may be at a disadvantage because of their group membership and illustrate this process using recent data from a summer program for academically talented students.
Is Response to Intervention and Gifted Assessment Compatible?
Authors: Brown Elissa F.
Published: December 2011

There is considerable interest in applying Response to Intervention (RtI) as a schoolwide methodology for instruction, assessment, and intervention for students who, early in their academic careers, are struggling academically. Supporters contend that the tiered service delivery model holds great promise for many students who otherwise would fall behind and end up with a disability label. It is unclear whether RtI is compatible with gifted learners, although a number of authorities in the gifted field are advocating for its adoption for all students, including high-ability students. This article provides a rationale for why gifted education should consider RtI assessment protocols compatible with gifted learners, discusses the implications of RtI’s core requirements and assessment measures for gifted learners, and offers a model for implementing RtI for gifted learners.
Hunting Lizards in Romania
Authors: Ioniţă Maria
Published: December 2011

During the communist regime, but particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, a significant portion of the critical discourse expressed in Romanian literature took the form of “lizards.” The lizard was a type of short, highly codified, oblique text, often humorous or ironic, “planted” in a seemingly innocuous literary piece. This article serves a double purpose. Its first half is an attempt at literary paleontology: an outline of the origins, evolution, and morphology of the Romanian lizard, particularly in relation to humor and satire. The second half is an illustration of the lizard “in its natural state,” so to speak—an analysis of 2084: A Space Epic and Planet of the Mediocres, two short satirical science fiction novels by the Romanian writer Ioan Groşan, both published shortly before 1989.
Political Intimacy
Authors: Klumbytė Neringa
Published: December 2011

This article explores intersections between power, subjectivity, and laughter by focusing on Šluota ( The Broom), a humor and satire journal published by the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Communist Party during late socialism (1970s to mid-1980s). In Lithuania, while the official newspapers and journals were commonly distrusted, The Broom was perceived as a grassroots media. In this article, the author asks how officially sanctioned socialist humor was translated into readers’ sincere laughter; how sensual and political dialogue was created between state authorities, artists, and readers. The author shows that in the case of the official culture of humor presented in The Broom, laughter cannot be easily classified as performance of resistance or support for the regime. In The Broom, the discourse of power was never monologic and simply oppressive. It was situational, contextual, and changing. Officially sanctioned laughter was infused with and mediated by private emotions and values. Moreover, the journal provided space for artistic creativity and self-expression that reshaped official political aesthetics. Laughter blurred the distinctions between the state and the citizen, the public and the private, the hegemonic and the sincere. The author argues that laughter is an experience and a performance of political intimacy through which various agents imagine a self, society, and the state and reproduce various power orders. Political intimacy refers to coexistence of state authorities and other subjects in fields of social and political comfort, togetherness, and dialogue as well as in the zones of shared meanings and values.
Bureaucracy, Enlightenment, and Habsburg Central Europe
Authors: Vushko Iryna
Published: December 2011

This article describes the career and work of Joseph Karl Brigido, the governor of Austrian Galicia between 1780 and 1794. Through the prism of Brigido and his services in Galicia, it analyzes the functioning of the Austrian bureaucracy at the turn of the eighteenth century. Even though the scholarship of Austrian administration and bureaucracy is a continually expanding field in historiography, people like Joseph Brigido—middle- and low-ranking officials in the provinces—remain practically unknown to historians. This gap in scholarship creates certain methodological problems. Historians tend to describe the Austrian bureaucracy as an abstract institution, formed of German officials who imposed the will of the central government on the non-German elites in the provinces. Such a vision of permanent conflict and reciprocal antagonism, however, does not reflect the reality of bureaucratic organization in Galicia and in the Habsburg monarchy at large. An emotionally detached and politically neutral bureaucracy was indeed an ideal, which Habsburg enlightened rulers hoped to achieve during the late eighteenth century. It never became a reality. By placing the Austrian bureaucracy in its historical context, this article presents it as a highly heterogeneous institution, formed of men who had different social and career backgrounds and different understandings of government and administration. Local Austrian bureaucrats were often more reflective of particular political and economic reality than their sovereigns in Vienna.
After Nationalism? Urban History and East European History
Authors: Bryant Chad
Published: December 2011

Urban history in our field has taken many different forms in the past few decades. Many such works, no doubt, have drawn great inspiration from scholars outside our area specialization. Many, however, have looked within our area specialization for inspiration, thus giving urban histories of our region several peculiar characteristics. The first part of this article discusses how urban historians have provided new perspectives on a topic long dear to Eastern Europeanist hearts—nationalism. Here the article looks at the ways in which Gary Cohen’s Politics of Ethnic Survival has influenced how historians have studied nationalism and the city. The second part will briefly survey other forms of urban history that have predominated within the field, many of which recall the questions and approaches first found in Carl Schorske’s Fin-de-siècle Vienna. The final part concludes with some thoughts about what the rise of urban history among Eastern Europeanists might mean for the future our field.
“State Pride”
Authors: Mikuš Marek
Published: December 2011

This article analyses from an anthropological perspective the 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade, the first state-supported Parade in Serbia, as a part of the building of a democratic and European Serbian nation. In their discursive framing of the Parade and making claims on the state to take it under its auspices, the organising NGOs bound the event to the EU integration process of Serbia. This policy link helped them forge a political alliance with the state, but was also instrumentalised by the government to avoid an ideological conflict with the opponents of the Parade. Owing to the perception of the alliance as “elitist” and to the militarised and depoliticised nature of the state’s involvement, the event materially actualised and reified rather than transcended the enduring conflict of liberal and collectivist citizenship visions in Serbia. The article argues that the overall discourse of the government on Europeanisation is informed by the same top-down and instrumental logic. However, members of civil society develop political subjectivities which demand active citizen participation and critically engage with the discourse to restore its democratising potential. Similarly, the emerging “populist” politics of LGBT rights, illustrated by the pop singer Jelena Karleuša’s participation in the domestic debate, are better placed to face the legacies of socialist and ethnonationalist nation-building than the human rights and Europeanisation approaches.
Gender Discrimination at Work
Authors: Bobbitt-Zeher Donna
Published: December 2011

Research on gender inequality has posited the importance of gender discrimination for women’s experiences at work. Previous studies have suggested that gender stereotyping and organizational factors may contribute to discrimination. Yet it is not well understood how these elements connect to foster gender discrimination in everyday workplaces. This work contributes to our understanding of these relationships by analyzing 219 discrimination narratives constructed from sex discrimination cases brought before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. By looking across a variety of actual work settings, the analysis sheds light on the cultural underpinnings and structural contexts in which discriminatory actions occur. The analyses reveal how gender stereotyping combines in predictable ways with sex composition of workplaces and organizational policies, often through interactional dynamics of discretionary policy usage, to result in discrimination. The findings suggest the importance of cultural, structural, and interactional influences on gender discrimination.
The Distinctiveness, Design, and Direction of Family Business Research
Authors: Craig Justin B. , Salvato Carlo
Published: December 2011

In this article, the authors contribute to the 25th anniversary edition of Family Business Review by gleaning from a coterie of six established scholars insights related to the distinctive nature of family business research, the research designs that emanate from this distinctiveness, and their thoughts related to the direction of the field. While their insights are confirmatory to many who have contributed to the field’s strong current positioning, they serve to highlight to others the rich research opportunities that remain unexplored in the vast family business arena.
Non-parametric modelling of damper top mounts
Authors: Kaldas Mina MS , Çalışkan Kemal , Henze Roman , Küçükay Ferit
Published: December 2011

This paper details a new non-linear damper top-mount model, and the processes utilized to identify the constituent parameters. The damper top-mount model parameters are extracted from experimental data on commercial damper top mounts. The non-parametric restoring-force-mapping technique is used to construct the damper top-mount model. A damper top-mount model that consists of three elements, which are the non-linear elastic element, the non-linear friction element and the non-linear viscous element, is developed. The amplitude dependence of the top-mount characteristics is modelled by using the friction element and the elastic element, while the frequency dependence of the top mount is modelled by using the restoring-force-mapping technique. In order to obtain and optimize the required model parameters, a new procedure based on a two-stage optimization routine using two different sets of the measurement data for the amplitude-dependent parameters and the frequency-dependent parameters, is proposed. The model is validated by comparing the measured and simulated forces for three different damper top mounts. Good agreement between the measured force and the simulated force is obtained. Furthermore, the proposed model is found to be superior to the existing rubber isolator models.
Long-acting phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, tadalafil, and superoxide dismutase mimetic, tempol, protect against acute hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats
Authors: Rashid M , Kotwani A , Fahim M
Published: December 2011

Long-acting phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, tadalafil, was recently approved for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Apart from being a PDE5 inhibitor, tadalafil also possesses antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to probe whether tadalafil has any beneficial effect over tempol owing to its antioxidant action in addition to PDE5 inhibitory activity. Albino Wistar rats were pretreated with tadalafil (10 mg/kg) or vehicle 2 h before hypoxic exposure, whereas tempol (20 mg/kg) was given 5 min before induction of hypoxia. Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), right ventricular contractility (RVd P/d tmax) and cardiac output (CO) were recorded while subjecting rats to acute hypoxia for 30 min. Lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione were estimated in serum before and after hypoxia exposure. Tadalafil as well as tempol significantly prevented hypoxia-induced rise in RVSP ( p < 0.001) and RVd P/d tmax ( p < 0.05). Both tadalafil and tempol pretreatment partially prevented ( p < 0.01) the rise in CO due to hypoxia. Tadalafil did not produce any significant change in MAP, whereas tempol led to a significant fall ( p < 0.01) in MAP. Acute hypoxia increased the oxidative stress levels. Tadalafil pretreatment partially prevented hypoxia-induced oxidative stress, while tempol pretreatment completely prevented hypoxia-induced oxidative stress. Results suggest that tadalafil because of its antioxidant action in addition to PDE5 inhibitory activity is more appropriate for the prevention of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension than tempol. Tempol also produced undesirable systemic hypotension as side effect, which was not seen with tadalafil because of its pulmonary selective action.