bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Neuronal Damage Precede Vascular Damage in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Having No Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy?
Authors: Verma Aditya , Raman Rajiv , Vaitheeswaran K. , Pal Swakshyar Saumya , Laxmi Gella , Gupta Muneeswar , Shekar S. Chandra , Sharma Tarun
Published: December 2011

Aim: To investigate the occurrence of neuronal damage, as the earliest change occurring, before the clinical evidence of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: 70 eyes of subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus and with no evidence of diabetic retinopathy (cases) and 40 eyes of subjects with no diabetes mellitus (controls) were studied using spectral-domain OCT and microperimetry. The influence of age and gender on the outcome measures was also analyzed. Results: Age- and gender-matched subjects showed a decreased mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in cases when compared to the controls (27 vs. 33 µm; p = 0.018). Among the cases, subjects between 40 and 45 years of age showed a reduced mean central foveal thickness (175.1 vs. 198.1 µm; p = 0.05), mean retinal thickness in the central 6-mm fundus (260.5 vs. 275.3 µm; p = 0.006) and mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (29 vs. 39 µm; p = 0.036) when compared to the controls. However, no differences were noted in the microperimetry outcomes in cases when compared to the controls. The duration of diabetes and the glycemic control did not show any significant changes on the outcome measures in cases, except for a significantly lower mean retinal sensitivity in diabetics with glycosylated hemoglobin values <7% as compared to those with glycosylated hemoglobin ≥7% (14.1 ± 2.9 vs. 15.4 ± 1.7 dB; p = 0.027). Conclusion: The results suggest that there is some evidence of early neuronal damage particularly on spectral-domain OCT, before the clinical evidence of diabetic retinopathy, in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Patent Foramen Ovale Closure and Medical Treatments for Secondary Stroke Prevention
Authors: Kitsios Georgios D. , Dahabreh Issa J. , Abu Dabrh Abd Moain , Thaler David E. , Kent David M.
Published: December 2011

Background and Purpose—

Patients discovered to have a patent foramen ovale in the setting of a cryptogenic stroke may be treated with percutaneous closure, antiplatelet therapy, or anticoagulants. A recent randomized trial (CLOSURE I) did not detect any benefit of closure over medical treatment alone; the optimal medical therapy is also unknown. We synthesized the available evidence on secondary stroke prevention in patients with patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke.

Methods—

A MEDLINE search was performed for finding longitudinal studies investigating medical treatment or closure, meta-analysis of incidence rates (IR), and IR ratios of recurrent cerebrovascular events.

Results—

Fifty-two single-arm studies and 7 comparative nonrandomized studies and the CLOSURE I trial were reviewed. The summary IR of recurrent stroke was 0.36 events (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24–0.56) per 100 person-years with closure versus 2.53 events (95% CI, 1.91–3.35) per 100 person-years with medical therapy. In comparative observational studies, closure was superior to medical therapy (IR ratio=0.19; 95% CI, 0.07–0.54). The IR for the closure arm of the CLOSURE I trial was higher than the summary estimate from observational studies; there was no significant benefit of closure over medical treatment (
P
=0.002 comparing efficacy estimates between observational studies and the trial). Observational and randomized data (9 studies) comparing medical therapies were consistent and suggested that anticoagulants are superior to antiplatelets for preventing stroke recurrence (IR ratio=0.42; 95% CI, 0.18–0.98).

Conclusions—

Although further randomized trial data are needed to precisely determine the effects of closure on stroke recurrence, the results of CLOSURE I challenge the credibility of a substantial body of observational evidence strongly favoring mechanical closure over medical therapy.
Managing Ambivalent Prejudices
Authors: Fiske Susan T.
Published: December 2011

Not all biases are equivalent, and not all biases are uniformly negative. Two fundamental dimensions differentiate stereotyped groups in cultures across the globe: status predicts perceived competence, and cooperation predicts perceived warmth. Crossing the competence and warmth dimensions, two combinations produce ambivalent prejudices: pitied groups (often traditional women or older people) appear warm but incompetent, and envied groups (often nontraditional women or outsider entrepreneurs) appear competent but cold. Case studies in ambivalent sexism, heterosexism, racism, anti-immigrant biases, ageism, and classism illustrate both the dynamics and the management of these complex but knowable prejudices.
Minorities in Management
Authors: Maume David
Published: December 2011

Scholars differ on whether the increase in minority managers represents real or vacuous progress toward the elimination of racial bias in the labor market. This study uses the National Study of the Changing Workforce to examine racial differences in work outcomes across the authority divide. On balance, this study finds more support for the pessimistic view of the minority presence in management, in that racial wage inequality is as large among supervisors as among nonsupervisors, and minority supervisors get less challenging job assignments and are more vulnerable to layoffs than white supervisors. Among subordinates, this study finds support for “bottom-up ascription” processes, in that minority workers who report to a minority boss earn less despite being more committed workers. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings and the need for further research on minorities in management.
Power, Influence, and Diversity in Organizations
Authors: Lucas Jeffrey W. , Baxter Amy R.
Published: December 2011

This article summarizes literatures on power, status, and influence in sociology’s group processes tradition and applies them to issues of diversity in organizations. Power—defined as the ability to impose one’s will even against resistance from others—results primarily from position in a social structure. Influence—defined as compelling behavior change without threat of punishment or promise of reward—results largely from the respect and esteem in which one is held by others. Research identifies status as a foundation of influence differences in groups and indicates that members of disadvantaged status groups, such as women and minorities, will have decreased influence and face challenges in acquiring and using power. The literature also suggests solutions to these challenges, including self-presentation strategies of group motivation and institutional arrangements that support women and minority group members in powerful leadership positions.
Effects of Classroom Acoustics and Self-Reported Noise Exposure on Teachers’ Well-Being
Authors: Kristiansen Jesper , Persson Roger , Lund Søren Peter , Shibuya Hitomi , Nielsen Per Møberg
Published: December 2011

Beyond noise annoyance and voice problems, little is known about the effects that noise and poor classroom acoustics have on teachers’ health and well-being. The aim of this field study was therefore to investigate the effects of perceived noise exposure and classroom reverberation on measures of well-being. Data on self-reported noise exposure, job satisfaction, fatigue after work, and interest in leaving the job were obtained from 283 teachers at 10 schools in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, the schools’ acoustical working environment was classified as “low reverberation time (RT)” (3 schools, RT = 0.41-0.47 s), “medium RT” (3 schools, RT = 0.50-0.53 s), or “high RT” (4 schools, RT = 0.59-0.73 s). Significant associations were found between high RT and noise exposure, and, respectively, low job satisfaction, lack of energy after work, and interest in leaving the job. Noise exposure was also associated with lack of motivation and sleepiness. The results demonstrate the importance of good classroom acoustic conditions for teachers’ well-being.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Environmental Values and Their Effect on the Environmental Behavior of Children
Authors: Boeve-de Pauw Jelle , Van Petegem Peter
Published: December 2011

Environmental values (EV) are regarded as significant precursors for environmental behavior (EB) by many scholars. The present study addresses the issue of the invariance of EV (tapped by the two-dimensional model of ecological values), and their effect on EB, across cultural contexts. In all, a total of 1,833 ten- to thirteen-year-old children from Flanders, Guatemala, and Vietnam participated. The results show that EV and EB can be measured through a partially invariant model; children from the different groups differ in their EV and EB. Furthermore, the results show that the effect of EV on EB is different across cultural contexts. These results have implications for (among others) environmental education initiatives that aim for behavior change. Such initiatives need to take into account the target group, which—as illustrated by the results—shows different pathways toward reaching EB. Practitioners would therefore benefit from a culture-specific approach to designing environmental education.
Transverse compression behavior of polyamide 6.6 rovings: Experimental study
Authors: Jeguirim S El-Ghezal , Fontaine S , Wagner-Kocher Ch , Moustaghfir N , Durville D
Published: December 2011

The purpose of the present work is to understand physical phenomena occurring in roving structures under transverse compression. In order to reach this aim, transverse behavior of prototype rovings featuring a small number of polyamide 6.6 filaments are studied using an experimental device developed in our laboratory. Moreover, the effect of roving characteristics on their transverse compression behavior is examined. The studied characteristics are filament diameter and number, roving twist and tension. It is found that the roving behavior under compression shows plateaus separated by a significant increase of compression force, indicating discontinuous changes in the roving structures. This fact may be attributed to a reorganization of rovings followed by a local slippage between filaments. Transverse properties of rovings are affected by contact-friction inter filaments and the initial filament section fraction. In fact, it is more difficult to compact high-twisted rovings. Rovings with a greater number of filaments require a higher force in order to be compacted. The pre-tension of the rovings has no noticeable effect on their compression behavior.
Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Aliskiren Monotherapy Administered With a Light Meal in Elderly Hypertensive Patients: A Randomized, Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled, Dose‐Response Evaluation Study
Authors: Villa Giuseppe , Breton Stephanie Le , Ibram Ghionul , Keefe Deborah L.
Published: December 2011

This randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study assessed the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of aliskiren 75, 150, and 300 mg to clarify the dose‐response relationship and characterize the optimum aliskiren dose when given with a light meal to elderly hypertensive patients. After washout, 754 patients aged ≥65 years with hypertension (mean sitting systolic blood pressure [msSBP] ≥150 and <180 mm Hg; mean sitting diastolic blood pressure [msDBP] <110 mm Hg) were randomized to aliskiren 75, 150, or 300 mg or placebo for 8 weeks; medication was taken each morning with a light meal. The primary efficacy variable was change in msSBP from baseline to week 8 end point. Change from baseline in msDBP and dose‐response curves for aliskiren 75, 150, and 300 mg were also assessed. At week 8 end point, all 3 aliskiren doses provided significantly greater least squares mean reductions in msSBP/msDBP (75 mg, 13/5 mm Hg; 150 mg, 15/6 mm Hg; 300 mg, 14/7 mm Hg) compared with placebo (8/4 mm Hg; P < .05). Aliskiren was generally well tolerated at all doses. There was a significant dose‐response relationship for aliskiren, with an estimated minimum effective dose of 81.9 mg. In conclusion, aliskiren 150 and 300 mg provided effective blood pressure control in elderly patients when given with a light meal.
The Accessibility of Family and Peer Norms in Young Adolescent Risk Behavior
Authors: Rhodes Nancy , Ewoldsen David R. , Shen Lijiang , Monahan Jennifer L. , Eno Cassie
Published: December 2011

The accessibility of attitudes and norms (i.e., how quickly they are activated from memory) has been shown to predict young adult cigarette smoking, but prior work has not examined this effect in young adolescents or with other health risk behaviors. In this study, the accessibility of attitudes and norms was used to predict young adolescent ( N = 325, age M = 14.97, SD = .73) self-reported behavior and behavior intention for cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana smoking, and sexual behavior. The accessibility of attitudes and the accessibility of injunctive norms were significantly related to adolescents’ health risk behavior. When controlling for current behavior, the accessibility of attitudes and of family norms were significantly related to intent to engage in these behaviors in the future. In contrast, the accessibility of peer norms was only related to reports of current behavior, not future behavior intention. This finding replicates across four behaviors when controlling for age, gender, and race, and provides strong evidence that the accessibility of relevant attitudes and social norms are important factors in young adolescent risk behavior. Implications for communication interventions to reduce teen health risk behavior are discussed.
Beyond the Boundary
Authors: Hansen Birgitte Gorm
Published: December 2011

–Whether celebratory or critical, STS research on science-industry relations has focused on the blurring of boundaries and hybridization of codes and practices. However, the vocabulary of boundary and hybrid tends to reify science and industry as separate in the attempt to map their relation. Drawing on interviews with the head of a research center in plant biology, this article argues that biology and biotech are symbionts. In order to be viable and productive, symbiosis needs to be carefully managed and given room for divergence within mutual dependence. This process does not take place as the negotiation of a preexisting science-industry boundary. Rather, viability is obtained through a strategy of circumventing the science-industry food chain and sequestering biotech components within the research center. Symbiosis allows academic scientists to do biology while at the same time demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit.
Sequential changes in neuronal activity in single neocortical neurons after spreading depression
Authors: Ghadiri Maryam Khaleghi , Kozian Martyna , Ghaffarian Nikoo , Stummer Walter , Kazemi Hadi , Speckmann Erwin-Josef , Gorji Ali
Published: December 2011

Background: Cortical spreading depression (CSD) has an important role in migraine with aura. Prolonged neuronal depression is followed by a late excitatory synaptic plasticity after CSD.

Method: Intra- and extracellular recordings were performed to investigate the effect of CSD on intracellular properties of mouse neocortical tissues in the late excitatory period.

Results: During CSD, changes in the membrane potentials usually began with a relatively short hyperpolarization followed by an abrupt depolarization. These changes occurred roughly at the same time point after CSD as the beginning of the negative extracellular deflection. Forty-five minutes after CSD, neurons showed significantly smaller amplitude of afterhyperpolarization and a reduced input resistance. Depolarization and hyperpolarization of the cells by constant intracellular current injections in this period significantly changed the frequency of the action potentials.

Conclusion: These data indicate higher excitability of the neocortical neurons after CSD, which can be assumed to contribute to hyperexcitability of neocortical tissues in patients suffering from migraine.
Detoxification for medication overuse headache is the primary task
Authors: Olesen Jes
Published: December 2011

Background: Common practice in patients overusing medication is to place major emphasis on detoxification.

Overview: This is based on decades of disappointing experience trying to treat patients with prophylactics despite medication overuse. Several trials have shown that, when patients are taken off medication overuse, approximately 50% of them get so much better that prophylactic drug treatment is no longer needed. There is no doubt that detoxification by one means or another is of crucial importance in the initial steps of treating patients who have a medication overuse. The methodology for detoxification may vary from country to country. Likewise, it varies whether patients are placed on prophylactic treatment simultaneously with detoxification or after a drug-free period of 2 months. Only future long-term studies can show whether one approach or the other is preferable.

Conclusion: Detoxification must always be the first consideration in overusing patients, but obviously accompanied by or followed up by the necessary prophylactic or treatment.
Evidence for increased internal noise in migraineurs for contrast and shape processing
Authors: Webster Kathryn E , Dickinson J Edwin , Battista Josephine , McKendrick Allison M , Badcock David R
Published: December 2011

Aim: Increased contrast-level dependent internal noise has been reported in migraine. This study aimed to investigate whether a general increase in internal noise impacted on other tasks thought to assess functioning in cortical area V1 and was evident in global contour coding (V4).

Methods: Eleven migraineurs (six with aura) and 12 headache-free controls completed three psychophysical tasks: (i) contrast detection, (ii) discrimination of the angle of a spiral path and (iii) detection of deformation from circularity. Internal noise estimates were obtained using an N-pass method that compared responses to repeated presentations of identical stimuli. Internal noise results in inconsistent responses across different runs.

Results: Migraineurs had significantly higher contrast thresholds when there was high external luminance noise. There were no other significant group differences in thresholds. Increased multiplicative noise associated with contrast processing was replicated and increased additive noise, which is independent of the visual input, was found for the global form task.

Conclusions: This study provides further evidence for increased multiplicative internal noise associated with contrast processing in migraineurs. However there is no generalised increase in internal noise in V1 as noise estimates for angular discrimination were normal. Increased additive internal noise was associated with the global shape task, co-occurring with increased efficiency.
Influence of Cell Quality on Clinical Outcome After Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation
Authors: Niemeyer Philipp , Pestka Jan M. , Salzmann Gian M. , Südkamp Norbert P. , Schmal Hagen
Published: December 2011

Background: Several factors influence clinical outcome after autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) for the treatment of cartilage defects of the knee joint.

Hypothesis/Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of cell quality on clinical outcome after ACI. The hypothesis of the authors was that cell quality at the time of transplantation influences clinical outcome after ACI for cartilage defects.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: A total of 80 patients were included in the present study. Knee function was assessed before surgery as well as 6, 12, and 24 months after ACI using standard instruments (International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC], Lysholm, and Tegner scores). Cell quality was evaluated by determination of antigen expression of CD44 expression, aggrecan, collagen type II, and cell viability. A linear regression analysis including preoperative knee function, defect size, defect location, defect origin, body mass index, patient age, and other parameters was performed to evaluate the influence of these parameters on postoperative knee function.

Results: Preoperative IKDC score increased from 49.6 ± 13.8 points to 75.5 ± 14.6 points at 24 months ( P < .05). Postoperative IKDC score at 6, 12, and 24 months was significantly influenced by collagen type II expression, CD44 expression, and cell viability (all P < .05). No correlation between aggrecan and outcome was found. Quantitative influence of individual factors differed between different time points.

Conclusion: Cell quality seems to be one of many factors that influences clinical outcome after ACI in patients with cartilage defects of the knee joint. It constitutes one aspect among various others affecting clinical outcome.
The Role of Axial Compressive and Quadriceps Forces in Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
Authors: Wall Simon J. , Rose David M. , Sutter E. Grant , Belkoff Stephen M. , Boden Barry P.
Published: December 2011

Background: Compressive and quadriceps forces have been associated with noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. The purpose of this study was to quantify the relative importance of each load component during noncontact ACL injury.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the introduction of a quadriceps force lowers the axial compressive force threshold to produce ACL injury.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Methods: Six pairs of fresh-frozen cadaveric knees, flexed to 15°, were loaded with axial compression (group A) or compression with a quadriceps force (group B) until failure. All specimens underwent axial compressive loading under displacement control with a time to peak load of 50 msec. The initial displacement of the MTS actuator was 8 mm and was increased in 2-mm increments with successive tests until catastrophic damage of the joint occurred. Failure was determined by a combination of clinical specimen examination and force-displacement data analysis and by dissection and direct visualization after failure was recognized. Differences in failure load between groups were examined using a paired t test (significance, P ≤ .05).

Results: In group A, there were 2 isolated ACL injuries, 2 ACL ruptures combined with a tibial plateau fracture, and 2 isolated tibial plateau fractures. In group B, there were 5 isolated ACL ruptures and 1 tibial plateau fracture. There was a significant difference in the average failure load between groups A and B: 10 832 N (95% confidence interval [CI], 9743-11 604 N) and 6119 N (95% CI, 4335-7903 N), respectively.

Conclusion: Isolated compressive forces displayed an ability to produce an ACL injury in this cadaveric model, but the addition of a quadriceps load significantly reduced the compressive force required for ACL injury.

Clinical Relevance: Compressive and quadriceps forces contribute to noncontact ACL injury and should be taken into account when developing ACL injury prevention programs and rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction.
The Impact of Test-taking Behaviors on WISC-IV Spanish Domain Scores in Its Standardization Sample
Authors: Oakland Thomas , Callueng Carmelo , Harris Josette G.
Published: December 2011

The use of individually administered measures of intelligence and other cognitive abilities requires clinicians to monitor a client’s test behaviors, given the need for a client to be engaged fully, attentive, and cooperative during the testing process. The use of standardized and norm-referenced measures of test-taking behaviors facilitates this important clinician-centered evaluation process. Research on children’s test-taking behaviors identifies Avoidance, Inattentiveness, and Uncooperative Mood as being counterproductive to performance on tests of cognitive abilities. Two prior studies examines the influence of these three test-taking behaviors on WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV, Spanish) full-scale IQs of Hispanic children and youth. The first, with English-speaking Hispanic children and youth, finds their test-taking behaviors to be low and to account for approximately 30% of the variance in their full-scale IQs. The second, with Hispanic children and youth who were acquiring English, finds their test-taking behaviors to be average and to account for approximately 9% of variance in their full-scale IQs on the WISC-IV Spanish. The current study extends this research by examining the impact of the above-mentioned test-taking behaviors on four domain scores (i.e., verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed) obtained by Hispanic children and youth who constitute part of the standardization sample of WISC-IV Spanish. The GATSB (Guide to the Assessment of Test Session Behavior) total score accounts for 7% of the variance on perceptual reasoning and working memory. Collectively, and the three test-taking behaviors account for a modest amount of variance on perceptual reasoning, with Avoidance accounting for most of this variance. Furthermore, the three test-taking behaviors account for a significant amount of variance on working memory, with Inattentiveness accounting for most of this variance. The three test-taking behaviors do not influence performance on verbal comprehension and processing speed. Age also accounts for considerable variance on the four WISC-IV Spanish domains.
Developmental Origins of Cerebrovascular Disease I
Authors: Scher Mark S.
Published: December 2011

Developmental origins of cerebrovascular disease should synchronize neuroscience advances with classic neurodevelopmental principles, as discussed in part 1 of this review. The ontogenetic interplay of nature and nurture influencing cerebrovascular development during the prenatal and early postnatal time periods should be considered when designing neuroprotective strategies, as discussed in part 2. Appreciation of adaptive and maladaptive effects of developmental neuroplasticity requires a systems biology approach that integrates molecular, receptor, cellular, neural network, and behavioral perspectives into structural and functional cerebrovascular phenotypes that express health or disease. Cognizance of the interrelationships among maternal, placental, fetal, and neonatal factors requires an interdisciplinary appreciation of genetic/epigenetic forces affecting neuroplasticity during early life, with later life effects. Knowledge of the multi-organ influences on cerebrovascular development broadens the systems biology perspective. Studies of positive and negative effects of neuroplasticity during early life must then consider ongoing gene-environment interactions during childhood and adulthood that either sustain neurologic health or contribute to disease.
Developmental Origins of Cerebrovascular Disease II
Authors: Scher Mark S.
Published: December 2011

The second part of this review of the developmental origins of cerebrovascular disease discusses prenatal gene-environment interactions concerning maternal, placental, and fetal conditions that culminate in specific injuries such as perinatal stroke, as well as complications of intrauterine growth restriction and congenital heart disease. A greater understanding of gene-environment influences on cerebrovascular health and disease in early life will contribute to the successful development of neuroprotective strategies throughout the lifespan.
The Ideal Self at Play
Authors: Przybylski Andrew K. , Weinstein Netta , Murayama Kou , Lynch Martin F. , Ryan Richard M.
Published: December 2011

Video games constitute a popular form of entertainment that allows millions of people to adopt virtual identities. In our research, we explored the idea that the appeal of games is due in part to their ability to provide players with novel experiences that let them “try on” ideal aspects of their selves that might not find expression in everyday life. We found that video games were most intrinsically motivating and had the greatest influence on emotions when players’ experiences of themselves during play were congruent with players’ conceptions of their ideal selves. Additionally, we found that high levels of immersion in gaming environments, as well as large discrepancies between players’ actual-self and ideal-self characteristics, magnified the link between intrinsic motivation and the experience of ideal-self characteristics during play.
New insights into paleoenvironmental changes in Laguna Potrok Aike, southern Patagonia, since the Late Pleistocene: The PASADO multiproxy record
Authors: Recasens Cristina , Ariztegui Daniel , Gebhardt Catalina , Gogorza Claudia , Haberzettl Torsten , Hahn Annette , Kliem Pierre , Lisé-Pronovost Agathe , Lücke Andreas , Maidana Nora , Mayr Christoph , Ohlendorf Christian , Schäbitz Frank , St-Onge Guillaume , Wille Michael , Zolitschka Bernd , Team Science
Published: December 2011

A series of long sediment cores was retrieved from Laguna Potrok Aike, Southern Patagonia, within the framework of PASADO (Potrok Aike Maar Lake Sediment Archive Drilling Project), an ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) lake drilling project. This maar lake, located at 52°S, 70°W in the Province of Santa Cruz (Argentina), in the southernmost continental area of the world, is one of the few permanent lakes in the region, providing a unique continuous paleoclimatic and paleoecological lacustrine record for the last glacial cycle. Previous multiproxy studies of this site have characterized the environmental history of these dry lands in the Patagonian Steppe for the last 16 cal. ka BP. This new series of sediment cores provides a much longer record of climate variability in Southern Patagonia since 51.3 cal. ka BP. Using a multiproxy strategy, a set of samples (mostly from core catcher material) was analyzed for physical properties, rock magnetism, geochemistry, CNS elemental analysis, stable isotopes, pollen and diatoms. This preliminary multiproxy limnogeological interpretation sheds new light on the regional Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history, revealing lake-level variations through time and identifying time windows of interest where higher resolution analyses will be carried out.
Increasing aridity over the past 223 years in the Nepal Himalaya inferred from a tree-ring δ18O chronology
Authors: Sano Masaki , Ramesh R , Sheshshayee MS , Sukumar R
Published: December 2011

A tree-ring δ18O chronology of Abies spectabilis from the Nepal Himalaya was established to study hydroclimate in the summer monsoon season over the past 223 years (ad 1778–2000). Response function analysis with ambient climatic records revealed that tree-ring δ18O was primarily controlled by the amount of precipitation and relative humidity during the monsoon season (June–September). Since tree-ring δ18O was simultaneously correlated with temperature, drought history in the monsoon season was reconstructed by calibrating against the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). Our reconstruction that accounts for 33.7% of the PDSI variance shows a decreasing trend of precipitation/moisture over the past two centuries, and reduction of monsoon activity can be found across different proxy records from the Himalaya and Tibet. Spatial correlation analysis with global sea surface temperatures suggests that the tropical oceans play a role in modulating hydroclimate in the Nepal Himalaya. Although the dynamic mechanisms of the weakening trend of monsoon intensity still remain to be analyzed, rising sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean could be responsible for the reduction of summer monsoon.
Reflections on the Ethics-Approval Process
Authors: Murray Lee , Pushor Debbie , Renihan Pat
Published: December 2011

It is sometimes a difficult journey receiving ethics approval for research involving vulnerable populations, research involving our own children, or innovative research methodologies such as autoethnography. This autoethnographical account is a story about one student who wanted to write a PhD dissertation in a very different way and also the story of her co-supervisors who supported the student in using autoethnography as a creative way to share her “secrets of mothering” and who also supported her through an ethics-approval process that was both challenging and rewarding. This article reflects on a personal journey through the ethics-approval process at a Canadian university integrating components of the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS), that guides university ethics committees across Canada, and asks the questions: What is the purpose of research and how can research ethics boards support research and stories that are difficult to tell and difficult to hear? It is an inquiry into secrets and difficult knowledge, and how reluctant we are to talk about difficult topics such as developmental disabilities, sexual abuse, divorce, accidents, and illness.
Building Sustainable Cities in a Post-Katrina Nation
Authors: Mann Stacey
Published: December 2011

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, governments at all levels have placed a greater emphasis on emergency planning. The federal government has increased mitigation funding, but the process can be costly. Federal funds may not cover the price of mitigation efforts so local and state governments must find new methods of creating sustainable cities. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became apparent that in many locales, one major department was overlooked when emergency planning teams were created—human resources. In the days following the storm, local governments faced difficulties in contacting their employees and paying those who worked through the catastrophe. Although human resource management is an everyday occurrence in local government, in times of crisis, simple tasks may become difficult. By understanding six major vulnerabilities that local governments face, human resources departments can assist local governments not only in effective mitigation but also in creating a sustainable city.
Mental representations of HPV in Appalachia: Gender, semantic network analysis, and knowledge gaps
Authors: Smith Rachel A. , Parrott Roxanne L.
Published: December 2011

Media coverage has emphasized human papillomavirus (HPV) as a vaccine-preventable, sexually transmitted virus causing cervical cancer. Appalachian undergraduate students ( N = 309, 50% female) were surveyed on their knowledge of HPV; analyses of mental representations were similar to content analyses of media coverage of HPV, suggesting media cultivation. Semantic network analysis revealed linkages between vaccine, disease causation and prevention, women’s centrality in the representations, and structural differences that varied between vaccinated women, unvaccinated women, and men. The findings provided insights into gaps in the public’s understanding of HPV, potential stigmatization of those testing HPV+, and future challenges in vaccinating men.
The acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotion words in a second language
Authors: Altarriba Jeanette , Basnight-Brown Dana M.
Published: December 2011

The purpose of the current work was to investigate whether wordtype moderates the learning of vocabulary words in a new language. English-speaking monolinguals were trained on a matched set of concrete (e.g., jewel), emotion (e.g., angry), and abstract (e.g., virtue) words in Spanish. Participants learned a set of Spanish words and then engaged in a Stroop color-word task where they determined the color in which the words appeared (none were related to color). They also engaged in a translation recognition task where foils included semantic associates of the newly acquired word. Results indicated that although the semantic representations of all three wordtypes were acquired, there was a gradient in the degree to which those meanings were automatically activated. The pattern of data indicated that newly learned emotion words vs. non-emotion words produced faster color naming times, longer recognition times, and higher error rates in recognition.
A bisserl (‘little’) English, a bisserl Austrian, a bisserl Jewish, a bisserl female: Minority identity construction on a bilingual collaborative floor
Authors: Eppler Eva Duran
Published: December 2011

This article assesses how four women who are Austrian Jewish refugees living in London use linguistic features that have been said to index gender and ethnicity to construct their identities while exploiting one of the assets of their multiple identities – a bilingual collaborative floor. Based on 15 hours of recordings of informal natural conversations the study extends the scope of research on indexing of minority groups in two directions. First, it extends it to a unique social and cultural context; second, it expands it into code-switching. The analysis reveals that means of indexing both female and Jewish identity are strongly represented in the data; where female and (eastern European) Jewish conversational strategies diverge, the discourse patterns that index gendered meaning prevail. The article furthermore argues that code-switching facilitates the construction of a collaborative floor. Bilingual speech requires speakers to pay even closer attention to each other at all linguistic levels than monolingual speech, and the use of the ‘other’ code for simultaneous speech is less likely to be constructed as seizing the floor, because the overlapping utterances are not in direct competition. This in turn has the interactional effect of reinforcing shared aspects of the speakers’ identities.
Anthropology’s ethics: Moral positionalism, cultural relativism, and critical analysis
Authors: Caduff Carlo
Published: December 2011

In a programmatic article, published in late 2008 in Anthropological Theory, the French anthropologist Didier Fassin explores the vexed question whether anthropology should be moral or not. Observing a general discomfort with the question of morality in the discipline of anthropology, Fassin argues that such a discomfort might actually serve a valuable heuristic function for the development of a moral anthropology in the near future. What Fassin means by moral anthropology is essentially a form of empirical inquiry that investigates how social agents articulate and negotiate moral claims in local contexts. In this response to Fassin’s article, I address a crucial challenge at the heart of moral anthropology, or the anthropology of ethics, as I prefer to call it. The challenge is to bring the anthropology of ethics into a productive relationship with the ethics of anthropology. Building on Fassin’s argument, I suggest that the discomfort with ethics indeed serves a valuable heuristic function because it is the spontaneous articulation of an ethics of discomfort.
A contribution to the critique of moral reason
Authors: Fassin Didier
Published: December 2011

Responding to Carlo Caduff’s comments on an earlier paper of mine provides me with the opportunity to refine my defense and illustration of moral anthropology. After having recalled that my personal encounter with moralities and ethics was of the kind of Monsieur Jourdain’s discovery of prose, rather than a deliberate effort to apply moral philosophy to social science, I attempt to clarify my positioning in terms of critical thinking and my reformulation of the concept of moral economies, using my research on the intolerable and on humanitarianism. My explicit intention is to go beyond or rather, more modestly, to veer away from the alternative between the Durkheim-Kant legacy and the Foucault-Aristotle tradition, and from the dialectic between morality as code and ethics as freedom. It is to explore two epistemological frontiers: one related to the place occupied by the anthropologist, which I suggest should be on the threshold of rather than inside or outside Plato’s cave; the other one linked to the separation of a moral and ethical matter from the social gangue of human lives, which I find problematic because of the loss of history and politics it implies. I contend that both frontiers engage what it means and implies to be doing social science in the contemporary world.
Identification of temperature variation and vibration disturbance in impedance-based structural health monitoring using piezoelectric sensor array method
Authors: Bastani Ali , Amindavar Hamidreza , Shamshirsaz Mahnaz , Sepehry Naserodin
Published: December 2011

Impedance-based structural health monitoring (ISHM) using piezoelectric materials has been extensively developed to provide a structure health indicator. In practice, due to the environmental disturbances, the received signal in different surrounding conditions may be different from intact structure received signal. In the past, any difference was assumed being caused by damage even changes such as temperature effects on the received signal. In ISHM, the received signal is different from the intact structure received signal; however, there is not necessarily damage in the system. So, the validity of ISHM depends on the identification of environmental disturbances in order to extract the real results from disturbed results. In this article, a new method using sensor array and statistical metric analysis has been proposed to identify signal changes derived from damage and/or environmental change. Using this method, it is expected that the environmental variations affect similarly on output signals of different row sensors, whereas changes caused by damage will not be similar for all row and column sensors. This expectation is a general fact because there would be no sensible difference in the environmental variations from one side to other sides of the structure. To identify environmental disturbance from damage detection, an analysis is developed using statistical metrics. Experimental results show that this method is reliable to identify damage.
‘Turning Points’
Authors: Floyd Alan
Published: December 2011

In the current higher education climate, there is a growing perception that the pressures associated with being an academic middle manager outweigh the perceived rewards of the position. This article investigates the personal and professional circumstances that lead academics to become middle managers by drawing on data from life history interviews undertaken with 17 male and female department heads from a range of disciplines, in a post-1992 UK university. The data suggests that experiencing conflict between personal and professional identities, manifested through different socialization experiences over time, can lead to a ‘turning point’ and a decision that affects a person’s career trajectory. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized, the findings may help other individuals and institutions move towards a firmer understanding of the academic who becomes head of department—in relation to theory, practice and research.
Do Beginning Teachers Receive Adequate Support from Their Headteachers?
Authors: Menon Maria Eliophotou
Published: December 2011

The article examines the problems faced by beginning teachers in Cyprus and the extent to which headteachers are considered to provide adequate guidance and support to them. Data were collected through interviews with 25 school teachers in Cyprus, who had recently entered teaching (within 1–5 years) in public primary schools. According to the findings, beginning teachers faced several problems at the workplace that include organizational and administrative issues as well as difficulties in coping with groups of students. Several respondents stated they did not receive sufficient support from their headteachers and in some cases, considered the culture at the school to be antagonistic. Respondents provided several suggestions on ways of overcoming problems faced by beginning teachers. They pointed to the need for greater support on the part of the headteachers through better and more frequent communication, and openness in the organizational climate. They also recommended the introduction of comprehensive induction programmes and effective mentoring practices.
The idea of moral panic – ten dimensions of dispute
Authors: David Matthew , Rohloff Amanda , Petley Julian , Hughes Jason
Published: December 2011

This paper explores the open and contested concept of moral panic over its 40-year history, exploring the contributions made by the concept’s key originators, as well as contemporary researchers. While most moral panic researchers are critical, humanist, interpretivist, interventionist and qualitative, this paper highlights ten areas of productive dispute within and around the meaning of moral panic theory’s ‘common sense’. Such diversity of interpretation creates multiple possibilities for convergent and divergent theorization and research within a supposedly singular conceptual framework. This lack of closure and consequent diversity of political standpoints, intellectual perspectives and fields of empirical focus, rather than representing the weakness of the concept of moral panic, reflects and contributes to its successful diffusion, escalation and innovation.
Whose side were we on? The undeclared politics of moral panic theory
Authors: Cohen Stanley
Published: December 2011

This paper deals with some hidden political dimensions of moral panic theory. It concentrates on the implications of two related claims about what this battle meant: first, that moral panics are inherently normative and can be categorized as good and bad moral panics (the ones that we study are invariably bad); second, that students of moral panics have to take sides in this normative battle. There are differences in the ways this question was originally posed in the late 1960s and today.
For a political economy of moral panics
Authors: Critcher Chas
Published: December 2011

A case is made for a political economy of moral panics and moral regulation. After a brief discussion of the political economy of alcohol regulation, the focus shifts to the culture-of-fear thesis. Four writers (Glassner, Altheide, Furedi and Bauman) are interrogated for what they have to say about the culture of fear. Examined are its definition and manifestations; its historical genesis; its key agents and their motivations; how the culture of fear is constructed and disseminated; and its implications for governmental action and public attitudes. Six propositions are identified as constituting a consensus about the political economy of the culture of fear: (1) a safer society produces paradoxically more fear; (2) this fear is different from previous types of fear; (3) fear is symbolically constructed; (4) the media and popular culture are vital to sustaining fear; (5) fear distorts and misrecognizes social realities; (6) fear generates hostility to outsiders. Such a perspective revisits the original project of radical criminology. It is argued that moral panics and moral regulation analysis should be informed by the adherence of political economy to the importance of historical change, seeing society as a totality, insisting on morality as a focus and position, and through a sustained commitment to praxis.
A social psychological approach to understanding moral panic
Authors: Pearce Julia M , Charman Elizabeth
Published: December 2011

While moral panic remains a key sociological concept, it has been criticized for its lack of explanatory force. This article reports the results of a study designed to examine whether a social psychological approach to moral panic can (a) theorize the content as well as process of moral panic, and (b) understand both the cause and the impact of this response. This approach was tested in relation to the topic of asylum seekers. The research was based on a qualitative analysis of 120 newspaper articles, 8 focus groups with members of the host community and 25 semi-structured interviews with people who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom. A theoretical framework of social representations and social identity theory was used to explore psychological processes that may underpin host receptivity to moral panic discourse about asylum seekers and the impact such a moral panic may have on those labelled as ‘folk devils’. Results indicated that social psychological processes are one of the contributory factors to host receptivity to moral panic, and strategies adopted by ‘folk devils’ to cope with stigmatized group membership were identified. Implications of the findings for future moral panic research are discussed.