bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Novel Coupling Agent on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Unidirectional Jute—Vinyl Ester Composites
Authors: Khan Mubarak A. , Bhattacharia S.K.
Published: April 2007

The interfacial bond strength can be optimized only when the relationship between the level of fiber—matrix adhesion and the mechanical and fracture behavior of composite is clearly understood. This study established the relationship of interfacial bond strength between 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) treated jute fiber and vinyl ester (VE) in the composites. Thermodynamic properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan δ were investigated, and mechanical properties of the composites such as tensile strength (TS) and bending strength (BS) were studied in the longitudinal direction of the jute yarn. To improve these properties, the surfaces of jute yarns were modified with HEMA. Treated jute yarns were used for composite preparation. Mechanical properties were recorded, and the values of TS and BS were 130 MPa and 225 MPa, respectively, and that of bending E-modulus was 10.2 GPa. BS and bending E-modulus were increased 70% and 45% compared to the untreated jute/VE composites, respectively. The storage modulus and loss modulus of the HEMA treated jute—VE composites were increased by 72% and 65% compared to the untreated jute—VE composites at 30°C respectively. The tan δ values of composites were found to be minimal compared to VE and untreated jute-VE composites. The chemical nature of the interfacial bond between jute and VE was monitored by Fourier transform infrated spectroscopy (FTIR) which showed that HEMA might react with VE. The tensile fracture surfaces were investigated by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The results of ESEM showed an improved interfacial adhesion treated jute with VE.
Tensile Properties of Ridge Gourd/Phenolic Composites and Glass/Ridge Gourd/Phenolic Hybrid Composites
Authors: Varada Rajulu A. , Rama Devi R.
Published: April 2007

Ridge gourd/phenolic and glass/ridge gourd/phenolic hybrid composites were prepared using resol resin PF-108 as the matrix and the bilayered vegetable fabric ridge gourd as the reinforcement with and without alkali treatment and glass fabric as a co-reinforcement. The natural bilayer fabric of ridge gourd vegetable belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family was treated with 2% aqueous NaOH solution. The tensile strength, modulus and percent elongation values of untreated and alkali treated ridge gourd fabric reinforced resol type (PF-108) composites and glass, ridge gourd fabric reinforced resol type (PF-108) hybrid composites in the absence and presence of two coupling agents were also determined.
Healthy IDEAS
Authors: Quijano Louise M. , Stanley Melinda A. , Petersen Nancy J. , Casado Banghwa Lee , Steinberg Esther H. , Cully Jeffrey A. , Wilson Nancy L.
Published: April 2007

This study evaluated an evidence-based intervention for depression delivered by case managers in three community-based service agencies to high-risk, diverse older adults. Case managers were trained to provide screening and assessment, education, referral and linkage, and behavioral activation. Outcomes addressed depression, general health status, social and physical activation, and mental health services use at baseline and 6 months. Participants (n = 94) were predominantly women (79%) and Hispanic (44%), with a mean age of 72 years. Mean Geriatric Depression Scale—15 scores differed significantly between baseline and 6 months (9.0 versus 5.5). At 6 months, significantly more participants knew how to get help for depression (68% versus 93%), reported that increasing activity helped them feel better (72% versus 89%), and reported reduced pain (16% versus 45 %). The authors conclude that nonspecialty providers can be trained to successfully implement an evidence-based self-management intervention for depression with frail, high-risk, and diverse older adults.
Novel Porous Hydroxyapatite Prepared by Combining H2O2 Foaming with PU Sponge and Modified with PLGA and Bioactive Glass
Authors: Xiao Huang  , Xigeng Miao
Published: April 2007

Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds have been intensively studied and developed for bone tissue engineering, but their mechanical properties remain to be improved. The aim of this study is to prepare HA-based composite scaffolds that have a unique macroporous structure and special struts of a polymer/ceramic interpenetrating composite and a bioactive coating. A novel combination of a polyurethane (PU) foam method and a hydrogen peroxide (H2O 2) foaming method is used to fabricate the macroporous HA scaffolds. Micropores are present in the resulting porous HA ceramics after the unusual sintering of a common calcium phosphate cement and are infiltrated with the poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer. The internal surfaces of the macropores are further coated with a PLGA-bioactive glass composite coating. The porous composite scaffolds are characterized in terms of microstructure, mechanical properties, and bioactivity. It is found that the HA scaffolds fabricated by the combined method show high porosities of 61—65% and proper macropore sizes of 200—600 μm. The PLGA infiltration improved the compressive strengths of the scaffolds from 1.5—1.8 to 4.0—5.8 MPa. Furthermore, the bioactive glass-PLGA coating rendered a good bioactivity to the composites, evidenced by the formation of an apatite layer on the sample surfaces immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for 5 days. The porous HA-based composites obtained from this study have suitable porous structures, proper mechanical properties, and a high bioactivity, and thus finds potential application as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.
Probation Violations, Revocations, and Imprisonment
Authors: Rodriguez Nancy , Webb Vincent J.
Published: April 2007

The focus of previous probation studies has been on identifying the significant predictors of probation outcomes (e.g., violations and arrests) and probation processes (e.g., revocation). In this study, the authors examine how the passage of Arizona's mandatory drug treatment law affected probation violations and the revocation process. They rely on probation, prosecution, and sentencing case file data of imprisoned low-level drug offenders to analyze how the mandatory drug treatment law influenced the decision-making processes of probation officers, prosecutors, and judges. Findings indicate that the majority of revocations leading to incarceration involved technical violations and not the commission of new crimes. Furthermore, the type of violations significantly differed pre- and postimplementation of the law, as did prosecution and sentencing decisions. Policy implications for probation supervision and drug treatment laws are discussed.
A Process and Outcome Evaluation of an Agricultural Crime Prevention Initiative
Authors: Mears Daniel P. , Scott Michelle L. , Bhati Avinash S.
Published: April 2007

Agricultural crime victimization—including theft of farm crops, livestock, pesticides, and equipment—and efforts to address it remain largely ignored despite the potential of such crime to adversely affect the lives and businesses of farmers and increase the costs of food to consumers. The Agricultural Crime, Technology, Information, and Operations Network (ACTION) initiative, located in California's central valley, was recently developed to combat such crime. The authors present findings from a process and outcome evaluation of this program. The findings are limited by the design of the study but nonetheless suggest that efforts to increase guardianship measures among farmers (e.g., marking equipment and livestock and using surveillance equipment), to “harden targets” (e.g., locking tractors and storing chemicals in locked storage sheds), and to arrest and prosecute offenders may help reduce agricultural crime victimization.
Legislating Self-Risking Behaviors
Authors: Greene T. William
Published: April 2007

Helmet laws are suggestive of a societal trend toward the increased formal control of risky behaviors. Applying Tittle's integrated model, this case study sees the intersection of federal cost recovery interests, social solidarity concerns, and views of motorcyclists as “social dynamite” as setting the stage for motorcycle safety issues to become constructed as social problems. A governmental bureaucracy has led numerous helmet law campaigns. Financial burden and public safety arguments are used to justify helmet restrictions. A countermovement argues that helmet laws could lead to a slippery slope of declining freedoms. Implications of the debates between opposing positions are raised.
The Deterrent Effect of Imprisonment and Offenders' Stakes in Conformity
Authors: Spohn Cassia
Published: April 2007

Using data on felony-convicted drug and nondrug offenders, this article compares recidivism rates of offenders sentenced to prison with those of offenders placed on probation. It also replicates and extends a previous study by Dejong. Testing the hypothesis that the deterrent effect of imprisonment is conditioned by the offender's stakes in conformity, results reveal offenders who were sentenced to prison had significantly higher recidivism rates than offenders placed on probation. Moreover, the effect of imprisonment did not depend on the offender's stakes in conformity; regardless of whether they had weak or strong bonds to conventional society, drug and drug-involved offenders who were incarcerated recidivated more often and more quickly than other types of offenders. Rather than serving as a more effective deterrent for offenders with stronger bonds to conventional society, incarceration may have transformed high-stakes offenders into low-stakes offenders with little to lose as a result of a new arrest.
Foregrounding and refamiliarization: understanding readers' response to literary texts
Authors: Fialho Olívia da Costa
Published: April 2007

The present study investigates the effects of foregrounding on the process of defamiliarization of students of literature and engineering, and on the way they develop refamiliarization, that is, the reconstructive process they undergo in order to return to familiar ground. It describes which refamiliarizing strategies these readers make use of and the role of feeling in this process. Data analysis is both quantitative and qualitative. The introspective method of the pause protocol is used in the qualitative part. Here, participants respond to the reading of a short story. The purpose is to investigate how they react to its content and which of its segments trigger comments. Results demonstrate that appreciating the formal elements of a text might be an effective strategy, as readers do not try to decode the text any longer and start reflecting on it, thus building an interpretation. They also develop a new perspective on the world around them and on themselves.
Perceptions of Conscience in Relation To Stress of Conscience
Authors: Juthberg Christina , Eriksson Sture , Norberg Astrid , Sundin Karin
Published: April 2007

Every day situations arising in health care contain ethical issues influencing care providers' conscience. How and to what extent conscience is influenced may differ according to how conscience is perceived. This study aimed to explore the relationship between perceptions of conscience and stress of conscience among care providers working in municipal housing for elderly people. A total of 166 care providers were approached, of which 146 (50 registered nurses and 96 nurses' aides/enrolled nurses) completed a questionnaire containing the Perceptions of Conscience Questionnaire and the Stress of Conscience Questionnaire. A multivariate canonical correlation analysis was conducted. The first two functions emerging from the analysis themselves explained a noteworthy amount of the shared variance (25.6% and 17.8%). These two dimensions of the relationship were interpreted either as having to deaden one's conscience relating to external demands in order to be able to collaborate with coworkers, or as having to deaden one's conscience relating to internal demands in order to uphold one's identity as a `good' health care professional.
The Respectful Nurse
Authors: Gallagher Ann
Published: April 2007

Respect is much referred to in professional codes, in health policy documents and in everyday conversation. What respect means and what it requires in everyday contemporary nursing practice is less than clear. Prescriptions in professional codes are insufficient, given the complexity and ambiguity of everyday nursing practice. This article explores the meaning and requirements of respect in relation to nursing practice. Fundamentally, respect is concerned with value: where ethical value or worth is present, respect is indicated. Raz has argued that the two ways of encountering value are to respect and to engage with it. The former requires acknowledgement and preservation. Respect in nursing practice necessarily requires also engagement. Respect is an active value and can be conceptualized within the context of virtue ethics as a hybrid virtue having both intellectual and ethical components. Examples from the literature are provided to illustrate situations where the respectful nurse requires these components or capabilities.
Experiences of Self-Determination By Older Persons Living in Sheltered Housing
Authors: Hellström Ulla W. , Sarvimäki Anneli
Published: April 2007

Respect for autonomy and self-determination is a central principle in nursing ethics. Autonomy and quality of life are strongly connected, and, at the same time, autonomy is an important quality indicator on how older persons' housing functions. In this study, autonomy was conceived as self-determination. The aim of the study was to describe how older people living in sheltered housing experience self-determination and how they are valued as human beings. Eleven persons living in five different housing facilities for older people in southern Sweden were interviewed. The data were analysed by manifest and latent qualitative content analysis. The overall theme expressing the latent content in the interviews emerged as disempowerment, which implied an environment that does not strengthen individual self-determination. The results showed a negative experience of how these older people thought they were valued in the sheltered housing where they lived. In sheltered housing, more attention should be paid to residents' self-determination and sense of value.
Aikido Practices, Communication Awareness and Effective Entrepreneurship
Authors: Rudisill Kay C.A.
Published: April 2007

Founded on Eastern wisdom traditions, the martial art of Aikido focuses on moral and spiritual development through psycho-physiological harmonization of the mind, body and spirit. The purpose of this article is to explain the effects of Aikido practices on enhancing communication and mindfulness in entrepreneurial contexts. In addition, the article introduces research on Aikido aimed at enhancing cross-organizational and cross-cultural exchanges where unmediated, proxemic interpersonal interactions are supplanted by virtual (synchronous and asynchronous) communications media, such as e-mail and voice mail.
Advising on the Act: the UK Companies Act Consultative Committee and Accountancy Advisory Committee 1948—72
Authors: Noke Christopher
Published: April 2007

In 1948, the Board of Trade established two committees to advise it on administrative and accounting issues arising from the Companies Act. This study considers rivalries involved in establishing the committees. It then illustrates some of the issues put to the committees, beginning with matters relating to the recognition of auditors and showing inter alia how for 10 years the Board used unauthorized means to limit the recognition of unqualified accountants as company auditors. Other matters highlighted include shipping companies' exemptions, some aspects of “true and fair”, the valuation of films, football pools as exempt private companies and non-voting equity shares. It shows the Board's tendency to follow the committees' advice when it agreed with it, but to ignore it when it disagreed. It concludes by evaluating the success of the committees, showing also how many of the committees' discussions and recommendations anticipated issues subsequently considered by the Jenkins Committee.
Investigating the Removal of Body Piercings
Authors: Armstrong Myrna L. , Roberts Alden E. , Koch Jerome R. , Saunders Jana C. , Owen Donna C.
Published: April 2007

Although body piercing procurement continues to increase, 13% to 18% of them are removed. Reasons for piercing removal in college students were examined with three groups: (a) those who kept all their piercings, (b) those who removed some, or (c) those who removed all of their body piercings. Of the sample, 41% were still pierced; 50% in their lifetime. Their major purpose for the body piercing was “helped them feel unique.” Females obtained more (in high school) and then removed more, usually as upperclassmen. Males and females reported themselves as risk takers at procedure time and currently; however, only 10% cited deviancy as a reason for the body piercing(s). Only removal elements of “I just got tired of it” and “I just decided to remove it” were present, especially with the Some Removed Group. Further examination of body piercing building personal distinctiveness and self-identity to promote their need of uniqueness is suggested.
Modeling of the Heterogeneous Damage Evolution at the Granular Scale in Polycrystals under Complex Cyclic Loadings
Authors: Abdul-Latif A. , Chadli M.
Published: April 2007

In this study, a new extension of a micromechanical approach proposed recently by the authors is developed to predict the damaged behavior of polycrystals under various multiaxial cyclic loading paths. The model is expressed in the time dependent plasticity for a small strain assumption. With the framework of the continuum damage mechanics (CDM), it is assumed that a scalar damage variable (d g) initiates and then evolves at the granular level where the phenomenon of the localized plastic deformation occurs. The driving force of this variable depends on the granular elastic and inelastic energies. This variable can globally describe the microcrack and/or microcavity. The developed aspects involve the development of a new mesodamage initiation criterion, which depends not only on the accumulated granular plastic strain but also on the applied loading path complexity; another new criterion related to macroscopic damage initiation is also developed through the probabilistic approach of Weibull. This gives finally a mixed approach (micromechanical-probabilistic). An experimental program is proposed with the purpose of studying the cyclic behavior of the aluminum alloy 2024. Hence, a series of cyclic uniaxial and biaxial tests is performed up to final fracture of the specimens. After the model parameters identification, the model is examined to demonstrate that it is powerful in reproducing the low-cycle fatigue behavior of the employed alloy. Moreover, an application of the model under various cyclic loading types is qualitatively conducted showing the model's ability in describing the principal phenomena observed, especially, in multiaxial plastic fatigue.
Identification of a Damage Law by Using Full-field Displacement Measurements
Authors: Claire Damien , Hild François , Roux Stéphane
Published: April 2007

The identification of damage variables and their growth with loading in two dimensions by using only full-field displacement measurements has been proposed in this study. The equilibrium gap method is used to estimate the damage field during a biaxial experiment on a sample made of a composite material. From the analysis of a sequence of measurements, a proposed form of constitutive law is tested and identified. The emphasis is put on the methodology that can be applied to a vast class of materials.
Does the 15-Minute (or Less) Family Interview Influence Family Nursing Practice?
Authors: Martinez Anne-Marie , D'Artois Diana , Rennick Janet E.
Published: April 2007

A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest study was conducted to explore nurses' perceptions of the impact of the 15-minute family interview on the pediatric hospital admission process. The intervention consisted of two in-depth teaching sessions, and hands-on coaching in the use of the 15-minute family interview. Each of the 6 nurses was interviewed twice using a semi-structured questionnaire: once before receiving the intervention and once after they had completed 6 family interviews. In addition, nurses kept field notes on their impressions of the family interviewing process. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Findings revealed that the nurses perceived the genogram, therapeutic questions, and commendations as having a positive impact on their ability to conduct family assessment and family interventions. Overall, nurses felt that the 15-minute family interview should be routinely incorporated into practice at the time of a child's admission.
Mothers' and Fathers' Views of the Interdependence of Their Relationships With Their Infant
Authors: Bell Linda , Goulet Céline , St-Cyr Tribble Denise , Paul Denise , Boisclair Annick , Tronick Edward Z.
Published: April 2007

This study examined the interrelatedness of mother-infant and father-infant relationships as they develop over the first 4 months postpartum as well as the dynamics used by the couple to balance these relationships. First-time mother-father couples ( n = 18) were interviewed separately at 1, 6, and 16 weeks postpartum using the Parent-Infant Relationship Interview. The data were analyzed using in-depth qualitative strategies. The parents' core themes of their early family relationships ranged from an undifferentiated unit at 1 week, to being a highly disorganized unit at 6 weeks, to a more integrated unit at 16 weeks. These results suggest that one should be thinking of early family relationships and parenting in terms of “messy processes” out of which new ways of being together are created. This disorganization plays a fundamental role in the establishment of early family relationships and warrants further empirical and clinical attention.
Regular Paper: Parallel Implementation of a Cellular Automaton Modeling the Growth of Three-Dimensional Tissues
Authors: Ben Youssef Belgacem , Gang Cheng  , Zygourakis Kyriacos , Markenscoff Pauline
Published: April 2007

A promising approach for treating tissue or organ failure involves the use of bioartificial tissue substitutes grown in scaffolds with appropriate structure and shape. Currently, however, the engineering of tissue substitutes is a long and costly process based exclusively on experimentation. Predictive computer models can greatly reduce the development costs of tissue-engineered therapies by enabling scientists to rapidly evaluate the effect of system parameters on the growth rates and quality of regenerated tissues.

We report here the parallel implementation of a three-dimensional model that employs cellular automata to describe the dynamic behavior of a population of mammalian cells that migrate, interact and proliferate to generate new tissues. The simulator uses MPI for interprocessor communication and is suitable for distributed memory multi-computers. Three parallel algorithms are developed to approximate the sequential algorithm describing this dynamic process of tissue growth. The parallel algorithms progressively relax the correctness requirements using different approaches to handle the cells that either move/ divide in the boundary layers of processors or cross sub-domain boundaries. Finally, a systematic study is carried out to evaluate the accuracy and performance of these algorithms.
Regular Paper: Interactive N-Body Simulations On the Grid: HLA Versus MPI
Authors: Rycerz Katarzyna , Tirado-Ramos Alfredo , Gualandris Alessia , Portegies Zwart Simon F. , Bubak Marian , Sloot Peter M. A.
Published: April 2007

The grid paradigm for distributed computation provides an interesting framework for the simulation of dense stellar systems, which remains a great challenge for astrophysicists. In this work we apply a distributed simulation model to the astrophysical N-body problem: the High Level Architecture (HLA), using distributed federations on top of grid infrastructures for the communication between simulation and visualization components. To achieve this goal, we use a grid HLA Management system (G-HLAM) for HLA-based simulations running on the grid. We compare this setup with a direct parallelization of the N-body code using MPI on the grid. Our aim is to provide scientists with an interactive environment where, in contrast to traditional MPI-based parallel processing, seamless simulation process migration and rollbacks can be invoked on the fly to improve the overall computational performance.

We found that MPI and HLA are complementary rather than competing technologies, as they can be used simultaneously to improve the performance of complex simulations on different fronts. On one hand, if the communication to computation ratio is small enough, the MPI parallelization proves to be a relatively easy and efficient method for taking advantage of grid technology. On the other hand, HLA provides advanced mechanisms to synchronize simulation and visualization components located on different grid nodes and can be used to add steering mechanisms to improve interaction. Finally, we found that HLA allows migration of running simulations to be easily managed, reducing overall communication times between simulation and the user, effectively improving the overall system performance.
A Composition Environment for MPI Programs
Authors: Desai Narayan , Lusk Ewing , Bradshaw Rick
Published: April 2007

While MPI is the most common mechanism for expressing parallelism, MPI programs are not composable by using current MPI process managers or parallel shells. We introduce MPISH2, an MPI process manager analogous to serial Unix shells. It allows the composition of MPI and serial Unix utilities with one another to perform scalable tasks across large numbers of Unix clients. This paper discusses in detail issues of process management and parallel tool composition.
Implementing MPI-IO Atomic Mode and Shared File Pointers Using MPI One-Sided Communication
Authors: Latham Robert , Ross Robert , Thakur Rajeev
Published: April 2007

The ROMIO implementation of the MPI-IO standard provides a portable infrastructure for use on top of a variety of underlying storage targets. These targets vary widely in their capabilities, and in some cases additional effort is needed within ROMIO to support all MPI-IO semantics. Two aspects of the interface that can be problematic to implement are MPI-IO atomic mode and the shared file pointer access routines. Atomic mode requires enforcing strict consistency semantics, and shared file pointer routines require communication and coordination in order to atomically update a shared resource. For some file systems, native locks may be used to implement these features, but not all file systems have lock support. In this work, we describe algorithms for implementing efficient mutex locks using MPI-1 and the one-sided capabilities from MPI-2. We then show how these algorithms may be used to implement both MPI-IO atomic mode and shared file pointer methods for ROMIO without requiring any features from the underlying file system. We show that these algorithms can outperform traditional file system lock approaches. Because of the portable nature of these algorithms, they are likely useful in a variety of situations where distributed locking or coordination is needed in the MPI-2 environment.
Armed Citizens and the Stories They Tell
Authors: O'Neill Kevin Lewis
Published: April 2007

Since 1926, the National Rifle Association's (NRA) flagship publication has without pause featured “The Armed Citizen,” a column that reports instances in which law-abiding citizens have successfully defended their property, person, and/or family with firearms. These reports are brief (100 to 200 words) and have remained remarkably untouched over the past 80 years with regard to style, diction, and narrative structure. Their rhetorical effect, however, has not. In 1977, the year the NRA became a social movement, these narratives began to contribute to the production of a terror-filled, deeply masculine (and surprisingly biblical) NRA discourse that led (and continues to lead) to the mobilization of its members to defend the right to keep and bear arms in the face of extraordinary public opposition: to perpetuate what has come to be known as the “gun-control paradox.”
Fathers of Children with a Chronic Health Condition
Authors: McNeill Ted
Published: April 2007

Parenting a child with a chronic health condition is an experience that serves as a catalyst for meaningful involvement for many fathers. In responding to their children's needs, fathers' masculine identity becomes visible in the ways that they choose to parent. This article reports on a grounded-theory study that examined fathers' gender identity and the way they interpreted their role as a father. While endorsing some essential male and female gender characteristics, results indicate that fathers transcend traditional male stereotypes and embrace the opportunity for a more intimate and involved style of parenting.
Red Flag Still Flying?
Authors: Dunphy Richard , Bale Tim
Published: April 2007

Unless they have been content to remain defiantly on the oppositional fringe, or transform themselves into supporters of market economics, few of Europe's communist parties, west or east, have found it easy to adapt to the collapse of `actually existing socialism'. This is especially true of those that have not played down their past. This article looks at one exception, the Cypriot party, AKEL, which has managed to modernize policy, improve its electoral position, and play an important role in government at the same time as maintaining its communist subculture and symbols. It demonstrates, in keeping with Panebianco's `genetic' approach, how the party's origins and development, as well as leadership skill and the special circumstances of a small, divided island, have contributed to the organizational and ideological flexibility that help explain its relative success. It finishes by asking whether this success can continue in the long term.
Reacting to the Radical Right
Authors: Art David
Published: April 2007

This article seeks to explain the variation in the electoral success of far-right parties in Germany and Austria over the past several decades. It argues that the reaction of existing political parties, the tabloid press and civil society to right-wing populism has been different in the two states, and that these differences help explain the divergent development of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the German Republicans (REPs). The article explores how the strategies of mainstream political forces affect the coalition markets, party organizations, political recruitment and perceived legitimacy of right-wing populist parties. It concludes by surveying recent developments concerning the far right in Austria and eastern Germany.
Against marginality
Authors: Currie Elliott
Published: April 2007

Despite its accumulated theoretical and empirical heft, the discipline of criminology has had distressingly little impact on the course of public policy toward crime and criminal justice. This article addresses the sources of that troubling marginality, with special emphasis on the powerful disincentives to greater public impact that operate within the discipline itself and the research universities that mainly house it—including the pressure to publish ever more narrow research in peer-reviewed journals at the expense of efforts at synthesis and dissemination that could serve to educate a broader public. Achieving a greater voice in the world outside the discipline will require a concerted move toward a more explicitly public criminology, and seeing to it that the work of such a criminology is more reliably supported and rewarded within the universities and the profession as a whole.
Relating Movement Control at 9 Upper Extremity Segments to Loss of Hand Function in People with Chronic Hemiparesis
Authors: Lang Catherine E. , Beebe Justin A.
Published: April 2007

Background and Objective . Loss of hand function in people with hemiparesis is a major contributor to disability poststroke. To use the hand for functional activities, a person may need control of the more proximal upper extremity segments to position and orient the hand with respect to the environment and may need control of the fingers to manipulate objects within the environment. The purpose of this project was to investigate how movement control at proximal, middle, and distal upper extremity segments contributed to loss of hand function in people with chronic hemiparesis. Methods. 32 patients with hemiparesis (avg 21.4 months postlesion) were studied making isolated movements of shoulder flexion, elbow flexion, forearm pronation/supination, wrist flexion/extension, and individual finger flexion using 3D kinematic techniques. For each segment, 3 variables were obtained: how far a segment could move (active range of motion [AROM]), how well a segment could move by itself (individuation index), and how well a segment could remain still when it was not supposed to move (stationary index). Hand function was measured with a battery of clinical tests, and principal components analysis was used to create a single hand function score for each patient from the test battery. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between segmental movement control and hand function. Results. Movement control at all 9 segments of the upper extremity was related to hand function. Of the 9 segments, the thumb tended to have the weakest relationship with hand function. Of the 3 measures of movement control, AROM had strong relationships with and predicted the most variance in hand function (73%). Most of this variance was shared across segments, such that, for AROM, there were no unique contributions provided by proximal, middle, or distal segments. Conclusions. These data support the idea that loss of movement control covaries across segments and that loss of hand function is due to loss of movement control at all segments, not just at distal ones.
Reform Leadership in the United States and Japan: A Comparison of John McCain and Ozawa Ichirō
Authors: Gaunder Alisa
Published: April 2007

This article explores the puzzle of whether similar legislation in varying institutional contexts requires similar leaders. Specifically, it asks if it is possible to identify key characteristics of reform leadership cross-nationally. A case study of the leadership of John McCain in the United States and Ozawa Ichirō in Japan reveals that risk taking, vision and commitment, when combined with country-specific resources, proved decisive in allowing these leaders to overcome rational and structural constraints to pass campaign finance legislation in both countries. In contrast to structural or rational choice explanations of reform, this study reveals that constraints facing leaders are malleable. Moreover, quite surprisingly, the case study illustrates that the relevant personal attributes of effective leaders are similar for achieving reform while the political resources that aid leaders often differ due to the varying constraints posed by the distinct institutional contexts.
Overview and Literature Survey of Natural and Forced Convection in Attic Insulation
Authors: Wahlgren Paula
Published: April 2007

This article presents an overview and a literature survey of convection in attic insulation. The study focuses on the onset of natural convection in the insulation, but also discusses the influence of forced convection. It covers experimental studies in small-scale measurement apparatus, large-scale laboratory measurements, in situ measurements, as well as numerical and theoretical work on convection in attic insulation. Suggestions for future work are also presented.
Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 activity leads to epigenetic silencing of nuclear factor κB target genes and induction of apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells
Authors: Ougolkov Andrei V. , Bone Nancy D. , Fernandez-Zapico Martin E. , Kay Neil E. , Billadeau Daniel D.
Published: April 2007

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is commonly defined as a disease of failed apoptosis of B cells and remains an incurable disease. The mechanism of resistance to apoptosis in CLL is complex and influenced by numerous factors, including nuclear factor κB (NFκB)-mediated expression of antiapoptotic molecules. Recent evidence indicates that glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) positively regulates NFκB-mediated gene transcription and cell survival. Using malignant B cells collected from patients with CLL, we find that both GSK-3β and NFκB accumulate in the nucleus of CLL B cells, and pharmacologic inhibition of GSK-3 results in decreased expression of two NFκB target genes Bcl-2 and XIAP and a subsequent increase in CLL B-cell apoptosis ex vivo. Furthermore, we observed that inhibition of GSK-3 leads to a decrease in NFκB-mediated gene transcription but does not affect the nuclear accumulation of NFκB in CLL B cells. Last, using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we show that GSK-3 inhibition abrogates NFκB binding to its target gene promoters (XIAP, Bcl-2), in part through epigenetic modification of histones. Our results establish that inhibition of GSK-3 abrogates NFκB binding to its target gene promoters through an epigenetic mechanism, enhances apoptosis in CLL B cells ex vivo and identifies GSK-3 as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of CLL.
The role of atypical respiratory pathogens in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Diederen B. M. W. , van der Valk P. D. L. P. M. , Kluytmans J. A. W. J. , Peeters M. F. , Hendrix R.
Published: April 2007

The aetiology of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is heterogeneous and still under discussion. Serological studies have suggested thatMycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniaeandLegionella pneumophilamay play a role in acute exacerbations of COPD.

The presence of these atypical pathogens in sputum samples was investigated in patients with stable COPD and with acute exacerbations of COPD using real-time PCR. The present study was part of a randomised, double-blind, single-centre study and a total of 248 sputum samples from 104 COPD patients were included. In total, 122 samples obtained during stable disease (stable-state sputa) and 126 samples obtained during acute exacerbations of COPD (exacerbation sputa) were tested.

Of the 122 stable-state sputa, all samples were negative forM. pneumoniaeandC. pneumoniaeDNA, whereas one sample was positive for Legionella non-pneumophila DNA. Of the 126 exacerbation sputa, all samples were negative forM. pneumoniaeandC. pneumoniaeDNA, whereas one sample was positive for Legionella non-pneumophila DNA.

The possible relationship between the presence of atypical pathogens and the aetiology of acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was investigated in patients with stable disease and in those with acute exacerbations using real-time PCR. No indication was found of a role for Legionella spp.,Chlamydia pneumoniaeorMycoplasma pneumoniaein stable, moderately severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in its exacerbations.
PulmonaryMycobacterium aviumcomplex infection: association withNRAMP1polymorphisms
Authors: Tanaka G. , Shojima J. , Matsushita I. , Nagai H. , Kurashima A. , Nakata K. , Toyota E. , Kobayashi N. , Kudo K. , Keicho N.
Published: April 2007

The present study aimed to elucidate risk factors for nonimmunocompromised pulmonaryMycobacterium aviumcomplex (MAC) infection.

Epidemiological data and variations of candidate genes for mycobacterial diseases were analysed in 111 patients with pulmonary MAC infection. Four polymorphisms of the human natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP)1gene, the 5′(GT)n, 469+14 G/C, D543N and the 3′untranslated region (3'TGTG) insertion/deletion, were genotyped using PCR-based methods.FokI andTaqI polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor gene and -221 X/Y and codon 54 A/B polymorphisms of the mannose binding lectin gene were also evaluated.

Females were more susceptible to MAC infection mainly affecting the right middle lobe or lingular segment of the lung. Patients' residence at the onset of the disease was distributed evenly irrespective of a waterfront or city water supply system. As compared with homozygotes for major alleles of the D543N and TGTG insertion/deletion polymorphism of theNRAMP1gene, heterozygotes containing minor alleles were less often observed in MAC cases than in controls. This genetic effect was more significant in patients without comorbidity but not in patients with comorbidity. Other polymorphisms did not show any association with the MAC infection.

The human natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 gene might be involved in susceptibility to pulmonaryMycobacterium aviumcomplex infection.
Scores of asthma and asthma severity reveal new regions of linkage in EGEA study families
Authors: Bouzigon E. , Siroux V. , Dizier M-H. , Lemainque A. , Pison C. , Lathrop M. , Kauffmann F. , Demenais F. , Pin I.
Published: April 2007

There is ongoing debate as to how asthma should be defined in order to forward understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to build quantitative scores of asthma and asthma severity and to assess whether refinement of disease phenotypes can facilitate the identification of chromosomal regions harbouring susceptibility genes.

A genome-wide linkage scan was conducted in 110 families with at least two asthmatic siblings (n = 508) from the French Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopy (EGEA). The phenotypes studied were an asthma severity score (assessed among asthmatics by combining clinical data and treatment), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and an asthma score (including both asthmatics and nonasthmatics and representing the whole disease spectrum).

This analysis showed genome-wide suggestive evidence of linkage of the asthma score to 18p11, a novel region undetected in a previous screen of dichotomous asthma. There was potential linkage of 2p23 to asthma severity score and of three regions (1p36, 2q36 and 6q14) to FEV1. Moreover, FEV1appeared to have no genetic determinant in common with asthma severity and asthma scores.

Asthma and asthma severity quantitative scores revealed new regions of linkage and thus provide support for considering these phenotypes in future genetic studies.
CD163-expressing monocytes constitute an endotoxin-sensitive Hb clearance compartment within the vascular system
Authors: Schaer Christian A , Vallelian Florence , Imhof Alexander , Schoedon Gabriele , Schaer Dominik J
Published: April 2007

Hemoglobin (Hb) is released into the circulation during intravascular hemolysis and exerts toxic effects through oxidative damage and NO scavenging. According to the traditional concept of Hb clearance, free Hb is bound to the plasma protein haptoglobin (Hp), and the Hb-Hp complexes are cleared by liver and spleen macrophages via the Hb scavenger receptor CD163. Using a novel whole blood assay, we demonstrate that clearance of Hb-Hp is also mediated by CD14high/CD64high peripheral blood monocytes, which express CD163. Hb-Hp uptake by these cells is Ca2+-dependent and is abrogated by the addition of CD163-blocking antibodies. Accordingly, LPS treatment reduces monocyte surface CD163 and impairs Hb-Hp uptake. Monocytes likely mediate Hp-Hb uptake in vivo, as a high expression of the heme breakdown enzyme heme oxygenase-1 was observed in CD163+ monocytes but not in other leukocyte populations obtained from healthy blood donors. We propose that CD163-mediated Hb-Hp uptake by peripheral blood monocytes constitutes an Hb-Hp clearance pathway, which acts at the site of intravascular hemolysis to reduce Hb-Hp circulation time and toxicity. Disruption of monocyte Hb-Hp clearance may increase Hb-Hp toxicity and contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic inflammatory diseases associated with reduced monocyte CD163 expression.
A Mathematical Model of Penile Vascular Dysfunction and Its Application to a New Diagnostic Technique
Authors: BARNEA OFER , HAYUN SHIMON , GILLON GABRIEL
Published: April 2007

Abstract:  A noninvasive diagnostic device was developed to assess the vascular origin and severity of penile dysfunction. It was designed and studied using both a mathematical model of penile hemodynamics and preliminary experiments on healthy young volunteers. The device is based on the application of an external pressure (or vacuum) perturbation to the penis following the induction of erection. The rate of volume change while the penis returns to its natural condition is measured using a noninvasive system that includes a volume measurement mechanism that has very low friction, thereby not affecting the measured system. The rate of volume change (net flow) is obtained and analyzed. Simulations using a mathematical model show that the device is capable of differentiating between arterial insufficiency and venous leak and indicate the severity of each. In preliminary measurements on young healthy volunteers, the feasibility of the measurement has been demonstrated. More studies are required to confirm the diagnostic value of the measurements.
Cardiovascular Developmental Insights from Embryos
Authors: KELLER BRADLEY B. , LIU LI J. , TINNEY JOSEPH P. , TOBITA KIMIMASA
Published: April 2007

Abstract:  We investigate cardiovascular (CV) developmental physiology and biomechanics in order to understand the dramatic acquisition of form and function during normal development and to identify the adaptive mechanisms that allow embryos to survive adverse genetic and epigenetic events. Cardiovascular patterning, morphogenesis, and growth occur via highly conserved genetic mechanisms. Structural and functional maturation of the embryonic heart is also conserved across a broad range of species with evidence for load dependence from onset of the heartbeat. The embryonic heart dynamically adapts to changes in biomechanical loading conditions and for reasons not yet clear, adapts better to increased than to decreased mechanical load. In mammals, maternal cardiovascular function dynamically impacts embryonic/fetal growth and hemodynamics and these interactions can now be studied longitudinally using high‐resolution noninvasive techniques. Maternal exposure to hypoxia and to bioactive chemicals, such as caffeine, can rapidly impact embryonic/fetal cardiovascular function, growth, and outcome. Finally, tissue engineering approaches can be applied to investigate basic developmental aspects of the embryonic myocardium. We use isolated embryonic and fetal chick, mouse, or rat cardiac cells to generate 3D engineered early embryonic cardiac tissues (EEECT). EEECT retains the morphologic and proliferative features of embryonic myocardium, responds to increased mechanical load with myocyte hyperplasia, and may be an excellent future material for use in cardiac repair and regeneration. These insights into cardiovascular embryogenesis are relevant to identifying mechanisms for congenital cardiovascular malformations and for developing cell‐ and tissue‐based strategies for myocardial repair.