bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quantitative/dynamic geomorphology at Columbia 1945-60: a retrospective
Authors: Strahler Arthur N.
Published: November 2007

In the late 1940s, a graduate programme of quantitative/dynamic geomorphology largely replaced a qualitative/descriptive programme in the Department of Geology of Columbia University. Although the new paradigm had deep roots in earlier works by G. K. Gilbert, R. A. Bagnold, and others, its modern form was defined by Horton's seminal hydrophysical paper of 1945. At Columbia, two pervasive underlying concepts of geomorphic systems were stressed: a) a reductionistic dynamic analysis emphasizing categories of stress and strain; b) a synthesizing organization into natural open systems of energy and matter. Quantitative studies of fluvial systems carried out by graduate students and staff at Columbia in the early 1950s included restatement and field testing of Horton's laws of stream networks, along with improvements in stream-segment ordering and drainage density determination and in hypsometric and slope analysis. Mathematical statistics and dimensional analysis were applied to all map and field data. Morphometric parameters were related functionally to influencing variables of climate, vegetation, soils, lithology, and rock structure. Columbia research in the late 1950s introduced correlations of morphometric elements with hydrologic factors of rainfall intensity, infiltration, and runoff intensity.
Issues in Canadian permafrost research
Authors: Burn C.R. , Smith M.W.
Published: November 2007

Recent Canadian research on permafrost is reviewed, concentrating on permafrost- climate relations, the processes of thermokarst, ice-wedge development, frost heave and soil convection, and ground ice studies. This field of geomorphology is often of direct interest to engineers and managers of northern resource development. While industrial activity in the Arctic is currently slow, concern for the effects of permafrost stability of global climate warming has stimulated research. Much of the work on the potential consequences to permafrost of climate change is by modelling: there are yet few relevant field data, although this is crucial for model evaluation. Studies of permafrost processes usually rely on geotechnical or geophysical theory too: the review concentrates on the use of field evidence in support of analytical models of landform development. Current research on ground ice is of a more geological nature: we examine approaches to the delineation and origin of massive ice.
Landscape ecology and biogeography
Authors: Kupfer John A.
Published: November 2007

The growing recognition that spatial scale and heterogeneity affect ecological processes has focused heightened attention over the last decade on principles from the field of landscape ecology. Landscape ecologists, drawing on principles from a diverse array of disciplines and fields, including physical and human geography, focus explicitly on the interrelation between landscape structure (i.e., pattern) and landscape function (i.e., processes). In this article, I discuss the application of landscape ecological principles to a specific and pressing issue: nature reserve design and functioning. To do so, I outline and review five landscape ecological themes with relevance to reserve design and management: reserve distribution, reserve shape, landscape corridor design and functioning, boundary dynamics, and reserve functioning. I particularly stress: 1) the role that landscape ecological theories may have in integrating existing principles from applied biogeography and population biology, and 2) the unique insights provided by a landscape ecological approach. Finally, I argue that biogeographers, because of our distinct skills, need to be more active in the development and advancement of landscape ecological theory.
Hypertemporal analysis of remotely sensed sea-ice data for climate change studies
Authors: Piwowar Joseph M. , LeDrew Ellsworth F.
Published: November 2007

Climatologists have speculated that a spatially coherent pattern of high-latitude temperature trends could be an early indicator of climatic change. The sensitivity of sea ice to the temperature of the overlying air suggests the possibility that trends in Arctic ice conditions may be useful proxy indicators of general climatic changes. Aspects of the north-polar ice pack which have been identified as key parameters to be monitored include ice extent, concentration, type, thickness and motion dynamics. In spite of the considerable interannual, regional and seasonal variations exhibited by these data, there may be some evidence of an emerging trend towards decreasing ice extent and concentration. Collecting data in such a remote and harsh environment to support these analyses is only possible through satellite remote sensing. Remote sensing in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is particularly relevant for polar applications because microwaves are capable of penetrating the atmosphere under virtually all conditions and are not dependent on the sun as a source of illumination. In particular, analyses of passive microwave imagery can provide us with daily information on sea-ice extent, type, concentration, dynamics and melt onset. A historical record of Arctic imagery from orbiting passive microwave sensors starting from 1973 provides us with an excellent data source for climate change studies. The development of analysis tools to support large area monitoring is integral to advancing global change research. The critical need is to create techniques which highlight the space-time relationships in the data rather than simply displaying voluminous quantities of data. In particular, hypertemporal image analysis techniques are required to help find anticipated trends and to discover unexpected or anomalous temporal relationships. Direct hypertemporal classification, principal components analysis and spatial time-series analysis are identified as three primary techniques for enhancing change in temporal image sequences. There is still a need for the development of new tools for spatial- temporal modelling.
Environmental factors affecting global atmospheric methane concentrations
Authors: Smith Amy Tetlow
Published: November 2007

Methane is a greenhouse gas of largely biological origin. Micro-organisms responsible for production of much of the atmospheric methane are directly affected by climate resulting in potential feedbacks between the atmosphere and the biosphere. Our current understanding of the role of methane in the climate system is reviewed in this article, with a brief discussion of biological, chemical, and physical processes responsible for the spatial and temporal distribution of atmos pheric methane. The magnitude of most methane sources is highly speculative, and their distributions are qualitatively understood. Most terrestrial source regions have been surveyed, but few have been studied in much detail. The strength of enteric sources is based on laboratory measurements of emissions from a few animals and estimates of global populations. Accuracy of the resulting flux size and distribution is highly suspect. Data available on either magnitude or distribution of non-biogenic methane sources are scarce. Models of the influence of climate on biological methane sources are primarily regressions dependent on measures of heat and water in the environment. Process-based models derived from biological and physical principles are called for in order to address environmental conditions unlike the present.
Quantifying landscape structure: a review of landscape indices and their application to forested landscapes
Authors: Haines-Young Roy , Chopping Mark
Published: November 2007

An important assumption of many environmental decisions is that some patterns or combinations of land cover are optimal or more preferable to others. Management plans fre quently seek to change the structure of a landscape to realise particular management goals, because it is recognized that the spatial arrangement of elements in a land cover mosaic control the ecological processes which operate within it. This study reviews some of the tools available to those who need to describe and understand the spatial structure of landscapes. In particular, it examines the way in which quantitative measures, or indices, can be used and what contri bution they might make to the management of forested landscapes in the UK. The paper dis cusses the way in which the different landscape indices can be used to assess the spatial impli cations of the various design guidelines that have been proposd to promote sustainable forms of forestry. It is concluded that while progress has been made in the development of a range of landscape pattern measures, and in our understanding of the factors constraining their use, there is a pressing need for further research into the relationship between landscape pattern and ecological process.
Cainozoic environmental change in southern Africa, with special emphasis on the last 200 000 years
Authors: Partridge Timothy C.
Published: November 2007

Since the end of the Cretaceous, Africa's latitudinal drift has been relatively small and has not significantly modified the general pattern of stepwise cooling and aridification that has characterized the Cainozoic era. Tectonic uplift has, in contrast, strongly influenced regional climates in east and southern Africa, especially during the late Neogene, and has accentuated the east-west moisture gradient which has prevailed, with minor interruptions, since the Oligocene. In common with most other midlatitude regions, southern African environments responded dramatically to the global episode of cooling and drying between 2.8 and 2.6 myr which ushered in the cyclical fluctuations of the Pleistocene. The establishment of a winter rainfall regime in the southwestern part of the subcontinent probably dates from around 2.6 myr. In the north east, new proxy data spanning the last 200 000 years indicate that summer rainfall varied in relation to receipts of solar insolation at precessional frequencies. Superimposed upon these cyclical changes were a number of less regular variations which, on the basis of the larger body of evidence available for the Holocene, elicited specific localized responses. These diachronistic changes argue for the involvement of factors other than solar insolation alone in the more recent evolution of southern African climates.
Younger Dryas research and its implications for understanding abrupt climatic change
Authors: Anderson David E.
Published: November 2007

The Younger Dryas refers to the final phase of cold, glacial conditions preceding the abrupt climatic warming at the beginning of the Holocene. The existence of the Younger Dryas in Europe has been known for most of this century, although recent research suggests that the Younger Dryas cooling may have been global. Estimates of the timing of the event have also improved in recent years, showing that both the onset and termination of the Younger Dryas were abrupt, occurring within decades. The Younger Dryas has been linked with a large-scale shift of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) to a near glacial mode with a consequent reduction in northward heat transport. This shift in the THC may have been triggered by a discharge of Laurentide ice, combined with meltwater inputs from several locations around the North Atlantic. Further study of the events leading up to the Younger Dryas is necessary for improving theoretical understanding of abrupt climatic change, and for evaluating GCM models which seek to simulate the response of the THC to freshwater forcing. With predicted increases in freshwater input to the North Atlantic resulting from increases in atmospheric CO2, a future shift in the THC is a possibility. Predicting the magnitude and climatic consequences of such an event depends upon further study of the Younger Dryas and of other abrupt palaeoclimatic changes which involved the THC.
Lupus Pernio
Authors: James D. Geraint
Published: November 2007

Thirty-five patients with lupus pernio have been observed in a series of 818 patients with clinical and histological evidence of sarcoidosis. This analysis provides the natural history of lupus pernio and its associated clinical and radiological features. It predominates in women, and particularly in West Indians. The chronic persistent violaceous skin lesions have a predilec tion for the nose, cheeks, lips, eyelids, ears and fingers, ranging from a few nodules under the tip of the nose to exuberant plaques spreading across the nose and both cheeks. There was intrathoracic involvement in 74% of patients, upper respiratory tract disease in 54%, reticulo-endothelial involvement in 54%, bone cysts in 43% and ocular lesions in 37%. It is distinguished from lupus vulgaris and lupus erythematosus by clinical features, histology and radiology.
Correlation of Serum Interleukin-8 and Cell Surface Lysosome-associated Membrane Protein with Clinical Disease Activity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Holcombe Randall F. , Baethge Bruce A. , Wolf Robert E. , Betzing Kenneth W. , Stewart Ruby M. , Hall Vicky C. , Fukuda Minoru
Published: November 2007

Cell surface expression of lysosome-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) correlates with serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels, shorter disease duration, greater functional impairment from disease-related symptoms and soluble IL-2 receptor levels (sIL-2R) in patients with scleroderma. In this study of 46 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the relationship of serum IL-8 and cell surface LAMP to two clinical measures of disease activity, the SLEDAI and SLAM scales, was evaluated. IL-8 levels were determined on serum samples by the immunometric sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. Cell surface LAMP expression was determined by flow cytometric quantitation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with monoclonal antibodies directed against two of the major LAMP proteins, lamp1 and lamp2. The clinical disease activity scales correlated significantly with each other, with C3 levels, serum IL-8, C4, dsDNA and sIL-2R. Lamp1 and lamp2 expression correlated with the SLAM but not the SLEDAI scale. Serum IL-8 levels were elevated in 49 of 51 samples tested (44 of 46 patients) and had a stronger correlation with disease activity than C4, dsDNA and sIL-2R levels. Significantly higher levels of IL-8 were seen in patients with evidence of renal involvement. Serum IL-8 and cell surface LAMP expression may be useful indicators of disease activity in patients with SLE. The possible role of IL-8 in the pathogenesis of SLE requires further investigation.
Seronegative Antiphospholipid Syndrome Associated with Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor
Authors: Joseph Jasmine , Scopelitis Eve
Published: November 2007

Antiphospholipid syndrome is characterized by thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss, thrombocytopenia and is associated with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, especially anticardiolipin antibodies. We present a patient with the clinical features of antiphospholipid syndrome, namely recurrent venous and arterial thrombosis, recurrent abortions, thrombocytopenia and livido reticularis but with persistently negative serology for any type of antiphospholipid antibody. The possible existence of 'seronegative' antiphospholipid syndrome is proposed. Of additional interest in this patient is the presence of significantly elevated levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor. The role of this inhibitor, if any, in the antiphospholipid syndrome and/or seronegative antiphospholipid syndrome is not known and merits further study.
Long-Lasting Effects of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Promote Progression of Lupus Nephritis in NZB/W Mice
Authors: Granholm N.A. , Cavallo T.
Published: November 2007

Lupus prone NZB/W mice repeatedly exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) develop enhanced polyclonal B cell activation and exacerbated nephritis by a mechanism that results in increased deposits of immunoreactants in kidneys without measurable impairment of mononuclear phagocyte function. In this paper, we investigate whether the referenced effects of LPS are reversible after withdrawal of LPS, or whether their persistence could contribute to progression of nephritis to chronicity. In NZB/W mice previously exposed to LPS, features of enhanced polyclonal B cell activation, more severe glomerulonephritis with tubulointerstitial involvement, increased deposits of immunoreactants in glomeruli, and altered protein excretion persisted 6 weeks after LPS was discontinued. Additionally, mononuclear phagocyte function, assessed through liver uptake of radiolabeled immune complexes, was found to be impaired. The results indicate that some of the effects of prior exposure to LPS may be partially reversible; however, they last long after LPS has been discontinued, and additional impairment of immune function develops together with permanent glomerular dysfunction, thereby contributing to progression of nephritis to chronicity.
Shrinking lungs syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus: improvement with inhaled beta-agonist therapy
Authors: Muñoz-Rodríguez FJ , Font J. , Badia JR , Miret C. , Barberà JA , Cervera R. , Ingelmo M.
Published: November 2007

The pathogenesis and therapy of shrinking lungs syndrome in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus remains controversial. It has been previously reported that corticosteroid treatment can be effective. We report a patient with shrinking lungs syndrome who presented a good response to inhaled beta-agonist therapy. Therapeutic approach to this syndrome is discussed.
Review : Treatable intracranial hypertension in patients with lupus nephritis
Authors: Nampoory Mrn , Johny KV , Gupta RK , Constandi JN , Nair MP , Al-Muzeiri I.
Published: November 2007

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disorder of intracerebral pressure regulation and patients run the risk of permanent visual loss. Intracranial hypertension (IH) has been reported rarely in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We reviewed the medical records of 127 patients with lupus nephritis (LN) who were followed up from 1987 to 1996 in our unit. There were six patients with IH which gave a disease prevalence of 4.7% in those with LN. All were females giving a disease prevalence of 5.2% for that sex, a high rate of occurrence of IH in patients with LN. Their age ranged from 22 to 34 y (27.8 ± 3.6 y). Headache, vomiting and diplopia were the common presenting symptoms and had started 7.3 ± 4.4 weeks prior to the diagnosis of IH. The cerebrospinal (CSF) opening pressure (413.3 ± 77.0 mmH2O) was raised in all cases. Biochemical and cytological analyses of CSF were normal. The only abnormal radiological finding was partially empty sella in one patient on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (performed in three patients) or computed tomography (CT) (performed in all patients). All patients had serological evidences of active lupus disease at the time of diagnosis of IH. The renal histology was WHO type IV in four cases and III and V in one each indicating severe renal involvement. Laboratory evidences of procoagulant activity were found in the form of positive anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) in two patients, lupus anticoagulant (LA) in two and an otherwise unexplained isolated prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in the other two. Clinically, one or more episodes of symptomatic venous or arterial thrombosis had occurred in all subjects. In addition to symptomatic measures, all subjects were treated with prednisolone, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide and plasmapheresis according to the protocol of our unit. One patient who did not receive plasmapheresis and cyclophosphamide had a relapse while all others recovered completely. None received anticoagulant therapy. Young females with serologically active lupus, severe forms of renal lesions, past history of venous or arterial thrombosis and laboratory evidences of procoagulant activity, appear to be at increased risk for IH. Thrombotic occlusion of the cerebral arteriolar or venous vascular bed eventually affecting the arachnoid villi and impeding CSF absorption is favoured compared to cerebral venous or sinus thrombosis as the pathogenic mechanism. Combined immunosuppression and plasmapheresis appeared to be beneficial in short and long term follow-up. We propose that patients with SLE and IH have definable risk and pathogenetic factors and are no more to be considered 'idiopathic'. The condition calls for aggressive intervention which leads to an excellent outcome.
Is Moral Education of Nurses Still Possible?
Authors: Wrońska Irena , Baajer Małgorzata
Published: November 2007

A decline in work and study of nursing students in a school of nursing became increas ingly obvious. A lack of ambition, anxiety and discouragement seemed to be due to prospective unemployment. This led to a research study concerning the problems of moral education in a school of nursing. Findings show that students should be taught a certain sensibility of conscience, the ability to think independently, to choose the right career, and to take responsibility for themselves.

Le travail et les études des étudiants infirmiers/ères dans une école d'infirmiers/ères ont perdu l'importance toujours plus visiblement. Un manque d'ambition, peur et découragement semblaient être dus à la possibilité du chômage. Ceci poussait à une étude de recherches concernant les problèmes d'éducation morale dans une école d'infirmiers/ères. Les conclusions montrent que les étudiants devraient être enseignés une certaine sensibilité de conscience, la compétence de penser indépendement, choisir la bonne carrière, et prendre la responsabilité pour eux-mêmes.

Ein Rückgang in der Arbeit und der Studien der Schüler/innen einer Kranken pflegeschule wurde mehr und mehr offensichtlich. Ein Mangel an Bestrebung, Furcht und Mutlosigkeit schienen auf eine zukünftige Arbeitslosigkeit zu deuten. Dies führte zu einem Forschungsstudium über die Probleme der Moralbildung einer Krankenpflegeschule. Die Ergebnisse zeigten dass die Schüler/innen eine gewisse Sensibilität des Gewissens, die Möglichkeit, selbstständig zu denken, die gute Karriere zu wählen, und die Eigensverantwortung gelehrt sein sollten.
Cases of Conscience: Casuistic Analysis of Ethical Dilemmas in Expanded Role Settings
Authors: Dimmitt Jane H. , Artnak Kathryn E.
Published: November 2007

In the absence of a well articulated conceptual framework for nursing ethics, this article argues for a theory of applied ethics - casuistics - used within a clinical reasoning model, to analyse the complicated issues presented in three cases involving adolescents receiving treatment for abuse through a rural alternative learning centre. The clinical nurse specialist, as an independent practitioner within the community, is presented with many ethical challenges arising from cultural diversity. The inherent independent nature of such practice environments combined with the pluralism which exists in today's multicultural society demands that professional nurses working in these circumstances develop and utilize an ethical framework for the analysis of patient care in situations that involve moral conflict.
Moral Rights and the Ethics of Nursing
Authors: Sim Julius
Published: November 2007

This paper explores the nature of rights, and their implications for the ethics of nursing. A right is seen as an entitlement which is justified on moral and/or legal grounds, and which may take the form of a right of action or a right of recipience, or both; in either case, correlative duties are generally imposed on others. Some of the conflicts which can occur among two or more conflicting rights are examined through three hypothetical scenarios, and approaches to their resolution are suggested. The question of whether nurses, as nurses, possess rights is then considered, and it is suggested that they do not. In conclusion, it is argued that, if rights are to be a helpful concept, they must be carefully defined and analysed, and their relationship to one another, and to duties, must be clarified.

Cet article étudie la nature des droits et leur implications pour l'éthique des soins infirmiers. Un droit reste sur des bases morales et légales et peut prendre la forme d'un droit d'action ou d'un droit de récipience ou des deux formes ensembles. En chaque instant, des devoirs corrélatifs sont normalement imposés à d'autres personnes. Quelques uns des conflits qui peuvent arriver entre deux (ou plusieurs) droits opposés sont considérés ici par trois possibilités hypothétiques et des possibilités de résoudre les problèmes sont proposées. Enfin, la question est considérée si les infirmiers/ères possèdent des droits en tels qu'infirmiers/ères, et il est proposé qu'ils/elles ne les possèdent pas. En conclusion, il est proposé que pour les droits d'être utiles, ils doivent être bien définis et analysés et les relations entre eux et envers les devoirs doivent être bien claires.

Dieser Artikel erforscht des Wesen der Rechte und deren Auswirkungen in der Krankenpflegeethik. Ein Recht hat moralische oder legale Gründe und nimmt die Form entweder eines Rechtes der Aktion oder eines Rechtes des Empfanges, oder beider Arten. In allen Fällen sind entsprechende Pflichten anderen aufgelegt. Einige Konflikte, die unter zwei (oder mehreren) Rechten entstehen können, sind hier untersucht an Hilfe von drei hypothetischen Szenarien. Möglichkeiten für die Lösung der Probleme sind vorgeschlagen. Anschliessend wird die Frage, ob das Krankenpflegepersonal Rechte hat - als Personal - betrachtet, und es ist vorgeschlagen, dass solche Rechte nicht bestehen. Zum Abschluss wird vorgeschlagen dass Rechte hilfreich sind wenn sie

sorgfältig analysiert und festgelegt sind und wenn deren Beziehung zu einander und zu Pflechten klar ist.
Best Interests: a Concept Analysis and Its Implications for Ethical Decision-Making in Nursing
Authors: Rose Pat
Published: November 2007

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept of 'best interest' in order to give nurses, who use it to justify their actions, a clear picture of what this means, and to identify the skills needed for doing so. The process for concept analysis developed by Walker and Avant was used in the analysis of data generated from the literature. Themes were identified from which the defining attributes, antecedents and consequences emerged. The congruence of the findings with current values in nursing, such as promotion of patient autonomy, and the nurse as advocate, are discussed, together with the underpinning ethics theory. The skills needed for nursing practice are identified and recommendations for nurse education are made.
Artificial Personhood: Nursing Ethics in a Medical World
Authors: Liaschenko Joan
Published: November 2007

Artificial persons are those who speak and act for others. Nurses speak and act for patients as well as for physicians and institutions, or, more aptly, institutionalized medicine. Yet, acting for institutionalized medicine can be harmful to nurses, due to the psychological experience of moral distress and the loss of integrity of their practice. This paper illustrates the harm to nurses as expressed in narratives of their practice, and suggests some initial steps we might take in resisting the artificial personhood imposed by institutionalized medicine.
Literature, Ethics and the Communication of Insight
Authors: Begley Ann-Marie
Published: November 2007

The problems of exposing students to real life situations in which they can gain an insight into the dilemmas experienced by clients and staff are highlighted. The value of the Greek notion of catharsis (katharsis: a cleansing) is discussed and the use of literature is suggested as a means of providing students with vicarious experience of the real, but often inaccessible, situations in which nurses may have to make moral decisions.
The Evolution of Caring Within Bioethics: Provision for Relationship and Context
Authors: deMoissac Donna M. , Warnock Fay F.
Published: November 2007

Given the complexity of modern health care, there exists an urgent need to discover how best to resolve complex bioethical issues. Traditionally, principle based ethics provided the benchmark for guiding ethical decision-making. More recently, however, it has become apparent that this traditional approach is often inadequate in dealing with cur rent health care dilemmas. The notion of caring was advanced initially as an alternative to, then as a complement to, principle based ethics. In this article, caring is conceptual ized as an attitude and is viewed as integral to the advancement of a coherent and inte grated moral approach to ethical decision-making. First, a brief historical description of bioethics is presented. Next, an evolutionary account of caring within bioethics is described. Four fundamental problems associated with the use of caring within bioethics are then outlined. Finally, caring as an attitude is delineated and a case study is used to illustrate the proposed conceptualization of caring. The case study demonstrates that a caring attitude provides for relationship and context, which are elements often neglected by traditional approaches.
Famine in Bengal: A Comparison of the 1770 Famine in Bengal and the 1897 Famine in Chotanagpur
Authors: Damodaran Vinita
Published: November 2007

Famine research has gained ground in both Asia and Africa in recent times and it is well known that British India experienced a series of subsistence crises particularly in the latter half of the nineteenth century. However, analyses of these famines by historians have rarely included a study of environmental changes. A knowledge of the ecological basis of different peasant economies is crucial to an understanding of the capacity of certain communities to withstand drought and other famine related hazards. It is argued in this article that modernisation and commercialisation were accompanied by pauperisation and vulnerability to famine in large parts of India but the process affected regions differently as the evidence from Bengal shows. It was only by the later nineteenth century that the drastic effects of taxation, modernisation and ecological transformation caught up with outlying areas of Bengal and Bihar resulting in a permanent destabilisation of tribal society in the region. That these processes had occurred in central Bengal over a century previously emphasises the fact that the transition from pre-modern to modern was affected in India, differentially, and a regional focus reveals the uneven nature of development, local resistance to the forces of modernisation and the survival of husbandry techniques and coping strategies in times of scarcity that withstood the threats of modernisation well into the nineteenth century.
Changing River Courses in North India: Calamities, Bounties, Strategies—Sixteenth to Early Nineteenth Centuries
Authors: Bhargava Meena
Published: November 2007

Disaster is a multidimensional social phenomenon. Scholars, cutting across different disciplines, have yet to reach a common understanding or a consensus on the definition of disaster. To understand natural disaster and catastrophe, this article will study the nature of changing river courses and their impact on the environment and on human-environment relations. It will focus on the corrosive power of rivers, the destructive as well as beneficent effects of their impetuous trajectories and the social implications of this process. Our analysis is based on a case study of one of the major river systems in South Asia, i.e. river Ganga (Ganges) and its tributaries in north India.
Exact Solution of the Oscillatory Behavior Under Axial Force of a Beam with a Concentrated Mass Within its Interval
Authors: Hassanpour P.A. , Cleghorn W.L. , Mills J.K. , Esmailzadeh E.
Published: November 2007

This article addresses the exact solution of free vibration of a beam with a concentrated mass within its intervals when the beam is subjected to axial loadings. This problem is frequently encountered in the design and modeling of resonant micro-sensors, where an exact model is required to calibrate the frequency output with a physical measurand. The significance of this approach is its ability to determine the exact mode shapes of vibration, which are necessary in the study of the time-domain response of sensors and determination of stability regions. The effects of the concentrated mass ratio, its location on the beam, and the applied axial force on the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the resonant beam were studied in detail. The results of this study reveal how the mass ratio and location can change the sensitivity of the sensor to the input axial force. As an application of the presented approach, the modeling of a fabricated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) has been discussed.
Towards Smart Vibration Control for Printed Circuit Boards
Authors: Magnet Christophe , Lefeuvre Elie , Guyomar Daniel
Published: November 2007

This article is focused on the problem of vibration control for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). The proposed control is based on a semi-passive technique called Synchronized Switch Damping on Inductor (SSDI). Implementation of this technique requires PZT inserts and only a few electronic components. Since no external source provides electrical energy to the inserts, a relatively important electromechanical coupling factor is needed to get significant vibration damping. Moreover, the PCB surface that can be covered by the PZT inserts is restricted, limiting the global coupling factor. Optimal location and geometry of the active material are determined according to these constraints using Finite Element Modelling (FEM) of the structure. Experimental results exhibit 15 dB and 10 dB attenuations for the first and the third bending modes respectively. These results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Transient vibration decay is more than 4 times faster. These promising results show that the SSDI technique provides effective protection of PCBs against shocks and vibrations, while the system is lighter than active controls and more robust than passive controls.
Backstage With The Hot Flashes
Authors: Ruskai Melina Lois
Published: November 2007

This autoethnographic account of the author's experience performing rock `n' roll from the 1950s and 1960s as part of a quartet of middle-aged women reveals how performance can interrogate and contest notions of gender, age, and identity. By moving among the layers of experience—on stage, backstage, among the four singers, and between the singers and the audiences—as well as by reflecting on those experiences and interactions, the author takes the reader on her journey of understanding and transformation.
The Effect of Cooking and Drying on the Water-Soluble Vitamins Content of Bulgur
Authors: Kadakal Ç. , Ekinci R. , Yapar A.
Published: November 2007

Bulgur is a whole-wheat product cooked, dried, cracked, and sifted for sizing. This paper, evaluated the effect of cooking in beaker (90 and 100°C) and in autoclave at 121°C for 17min and drying in a hot-air oven (60, 70, and 80°C) or sun-drying in open air, on the content of several water-soluble vitamins [thiamin (vitamin B 1), niacin, panthothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), and riboflavin (vitamin B2)]. The content of water-soluble vitamins was analyzed by HPLC. Both cooking and drying had a significant effect ( p<0.05) on the content of water-soluble vitamins of bulgur. The cooking in autoclave resulted in a more significant decrease on the thiamin, niacin, panthothenic acid, pyridoxine, and riboflavin content of the samples, when compared with cooking at 90 and 100°C. As the cooking temperature increases, the concentrations of water-soluble vitamins in the samples decreased. The decrease in water-soluble vitamins was higher with open-air sun drying than with hot-air oven drying at 60, 70, and 80°C.
Isolation and Purification of an Anticoagulant from Schizymenia dubyi by Fermentation
Authors: Ekanayake P.M. , Nikapitiya C. , De Zoysa M. , Jeon Y.J. , Lee J.
Published: November 2007

Natural fermentation is a method of extracting anticoagulant compounds from red algae Schizymenia dubyi. Preliminary screening was carried out on the basis of the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and thrombin time (TT) assays. The optimal fermentation time period for the highest APTT, PT, and TT values was found to be 8 weeks. Purification of the fermented sample by DEAE-anion exchange chromatography followed by Sepharose-4B chromatography resulted in a single polysaccharide, which was reconfirmed by a single spot on agarose gel electrophoresis. The purified sample had >1000s APTT activity at 130 μg/mL. The molecular weight estimated by polyaccrylamide gel electrophoresis was >500,000 Da. This is the first report indicating the presence of the anticoagulant compound in S. dubyi.
Rheological Properties of Chestnuts Processed by Osmotic Dehydration and Convective Drying
Authors: Chenlo F. , Moreira R. , Torres M.D.
Published: November 2007

The effect of osmotic dehydration using sucrose solutions followed by a convective drying on the rheological properties of chestnuts (Castanea sativa M.) has been studied. Prisms of chestnuts (10 × 10 × 15mm) were immersed into sucrose solutions (60% w/w) at different times (1, 2, 8 and 24 h) at 25°C. The samples were dried with hot air at 65°C and 30 % of relative humidity during different times (0, 0.5, 1.5, 3 and 6 h). Finally, the rheological behaviour of chestnuts at different moisture and sucrose content was determined using a universal machine of mechanical tests. Osmotic dehydration kinetics was evaluated determining sucrose and moisture content. Sugar gain and water loss amounts increased with operation time. Drying kinetics analysis showed higher drying rates during first times. Rheological data (stress, strain and modulus of elasticity) changed strongly with water and sucrose content. At high moisture content samples with more sucrose content showed more ductile properties than no pre-treated osmotically samples and at low moisture content the presence of sugar led to harder samples.
Memory machines or musical instruments?
Authors: Benschop Ruth
Published: November 2007

• According to R. Murray Shafer, recording technology is both a crucial tool to preserve endangered sounds, and a threat to such sounds. This ambiguity raises the question of how the role of recording technology should be understood. In this article, I examine this role in a recent soundscape production called Alle Namen. First I discuss historical work presenting a shift in the use of recording technology from a memory machine aiming to reconstruct live performances as faithfully as possible, to a musical instrument used to create new musical experiences. Particularly in the context of artistic soundscapes, recording technology is understood to have a distinctly creative role. My analysis of Alle Namen, however, shows that recording technology is not unequivocally used as memory machine. Rather, without drawing attention to the technologically mediated nature of the performance itself, Alle Namen records a lost present rather than a lost past. •
A comparison study on algorithms of detecting long forms for short forms in biomedical text
Authors: Torii Manabu , Hu Zhang-zhi , Song Min , Wu Cathy H , Liu Hongfang
Published: November 2007

Motivation

With more and more research dedicated to literature mining in the biomedical domain, more and more systems are available for people to choose from when building literature mining applications. In this study, we focus on one specific kind of literature mining task, i.e., detecting definitions of acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols in biomedical text. We denote acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols as short forms (SFs) and their corresponding definitions as long forms (LFs). The study was designed to answer the following questions; i) how well a system performs in detecting LFs from novel text, ii) what the coverage is for various terminological knowledge bases in including SFs as synonyms of their LFs, and iii) how to combine results from various SF knowledge bases.

Method

We evaluated the following three publicly available detection systems in detecting LFs for SFs: i) a handcrafted pattern/rule based system by Ao and Takagi, ALICE, ii) a machine learning system by Chang et al., and iii) a simple alignment-based program by Schwartz and Hearst. In addition, we investigated the conceptual coverage of two terminological knowledge bases: i) the UMLS (the Unified Medical Language System), and ii) the BioThesaurus (a thesaurus of names for all UniProt protein records). We also implemented a web interface that provides a virtual integration of various SF knowledge bases.

Results

We found that detection systems agree with each other on most cases, and the existing terminological knowledge bases have a good coverage of synonymous relationship for frequently defined LFs. The web interface allows people to detect SF definitions from text and to search several SF knowledge bases.

Availability

The web site is http://gauss.dbb.georgetown.edu/liblab/SFThesaurus.
The TriTryp Phosphatome: analysis of the protein phosphatase catalytic domains
Authors: Brenchley Rachel , Tariq Humera , McElhinney Helen , Szöőr Balázs , Huxley-Jones Julie , Stevens Robert , Matthews Keith , Tabernero Lydia
Published: November 2007

Background

The genomes of the three parasitic protozoaTrypanosoma cruzi,Trypanosoma bruceiandLeishmania majorare the main subject of this study. These parasites are responsible for devastating human diseases known as Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness and cutaneous Leishmaniasis, respectively, that affect millions of people in the developing world. The prevalence of these neglected diseases results from a combination of poverty, inadequate prevention and difficult treatment. Protein phosphorylation is an important mechanism of controlling the development of these kinetoplastids. With the aim to further our knowledge of the biology of these organisms we present a characterisation of the phosphatase complement (phosphatome) of the three parasites.

Results

An ontology-based scan of the three genomes was used to identify 86 phosphatase catalytic domains inT. cruzi, 78 inT. brucei, and 88 inL. major. We found interesting differences with other eukaryotic genomes, such as the low proportion of tyrosine phosphatases and the expansion of the serine/threonine phosphatase family. Additionally, a large number of atypical protein phosphatases were identified in these species, representing more than one third of the total phosphatase complement. Most of the atypical phosphatases belong to the dual-specificity phosphatase (DSP) family and show considerable divergence from classic DSPs in both the domain organisation and sequence features.

Conclusion

The analysis of the phosphatome of the three kinetoplastids indicates that they possess orthologues to many of the phosphatases reported in other eukaryotes, including humans. However, novel domain architectures and unusual combinations of accessory domains, suggest distinct functional roles for several of the kinetoplastid phosphatases, which await further experimental exploration. These distinct traits may be exploited in the selection of suitable new targets for drug development to prevent transmission and spread of the diseases, taking advantage of the already extensive knowledge on protein phosphatase inhibitors.
Corticomuscular synchronization with small and large dynamic force output
Authors: Andrykiewicz Agnieszka , Patino Luis , Naranjo Jose Raul , Witte Matthias , Hepp-Reymond Marie-Claude , Kristeva Rumyana
Published: November 2007

Background

Over the last few years much research has been devoted to investigating the synchronization between cortical motor and muscular activity as measured by EEG/MEG-EMG coherence. The main focus so far has been on corticomuscular coherence (CMC) during static force condition, for which coherence in beta-range has been described. In contrast, we showed in a recent study [1] that dynamic force condition is accompanied by gamma-range CMC. The modulation of the CMC by various dynamic force amplitudes, however, remained uninvestigated. The present study addresses this question. We examined eight healthy human subjects. EEG and surface EMG were recorded simultaneously. The visuomotor task consisted in isometric compensation for 3 forces (static, small and large dynamic) generated by a manipulandum. The CMC, the cortical EEG spectral power (SP), the EMG SP and the errors in motor performance (as the difference between target and exerted force) were analyzed.

Results

For the static force condition we found the well-documented, significant beta-range CMC (15–30 Hz) over the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. Gamma-band CMC (30–45 Hz) occurred in both small and large dynamic force conditions without any significant difference between both conditions. Although in some subjects beta-range CMC was observed during both dynamic force conditions no significant difference between conditions could be detected. With respect to the motor performance, the lowest errors were obtained in the static force condition and the highest ones in the dynamic condition with large amplitude. However, when we normalized the magnitude of the errors to the amplitude of the applied force (relative errors) no significant difference between both dynamic conditions was observed.

Conclusion

These findings confirm that during dynamic force output the corticomuscular network oscillates at gamma frequencies. Moreover, we show that amplitude modulation of dynamic force has no effect on the gamma CMC in the low force range investigated. We suggest that gamma CMC is rather associated with the internal state of the sensorimotor system as supported by the unchanged relative error between both dynamic conditions.
Outcomes of patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure: does nesiritide make a difference?
Authors: Carroll Richard J , Mulla Zuber D , Hauck Loran D , Westbrook Audrey
Published: November 2007

Background

Nesiritide is indicated in the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. However, a recent meta-analysis reported that nesiritide may be associated with an increased risk of death. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of nesiritide treatment on four outcomes among adults hospitalized for congestive heart failure (CHF) during a three-year period.

Methods

CHF patients discharged between 1/1/2002 and 12/31/2004 from the Adventist Health System, a national, not-for-profit hospital system, were identified. 25,330 records were included in this retrospective study. Nesiritide odds ratios (OR) were adjusted for various factors including nine medications and/or an APR-DRG severity score.

Results

Initially, treatment with nesiritide was found to be associated with a 59% higher odds of hospital mortality (Unadjusted OR = 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31–1.93). Adjusting for race, low economic status, APR-DRG severity of illness score, and the receipt of nine medications yielded a nonsignificant nesiritide OR of 1.07 for hospital death (95% CI: 0.85–1.35). Nesiritide was positively associated with the odds of prolonged length of stay (all adjusted ORs = 1.66) and elevated pharmacy cost (all adjusted ORs > 5).

Conclusion

In this observational study, nesiritide therapy was associated with increased length of stay and pharmacy cost, but not hospital mortality. Randomized trials are urgently needed to better define the efficacy, if any, of nesiritide in the treatment of decompensated heart failure.