bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of epirubicin on barley seedlings
Authors: Hamat-Mecbur Halide , Yilmaz Sibel , Temel Aslihan , Sahin Kaniye , Gozukirmizi Nermin
Published: June 2012

Epirubicin (EPI) is one of the anthracycline antibiotics, which is used in cancer chemotherapy. It inhibits DNA and RNA synthesis and causes cell death by DNA cleavage and production of free radicals. In this study, phytotoxicity of EPI was investigated on root and shoot growth, antioxidant enzymes and retrotransposons’ movements in 10- and 20-day-old barley seedlings. Mature embryos of barley were germinated on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 250 and 500 μg/ml EPI. Our results showed that EPI treatment significantly inhibited shoot and root growth when compared with control group. Treatment with 250 and 500 μg/ml of EPI reduced shoot length in the 10-day-old plants by approximately 1.5- and 2-fold, respectively; the same treatments reduced total root length by 2- and 4-folds, respectively. However, the shoot and root lengths of 20-day-old plants were observed to be more affected by EPI-treatment. A 500-μg/ml concentration decreased total protein levels and peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11) activity and increased superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) activities. To investigate the effect of EPI on the movements of BARE-1, SUKKULA and BAGY2 retrotransposons, inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism technique was performed. While some polymorphic polymerase chain reaction bands were observed for BARE-1, no polymorphism was identified in SUKKULA and BAGY2 movements. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing phytotoxic effects of EPI on plant germination and retrotransposons’ movements.
Alleviation of high salt toxicity-induced oxidative damage by salicylic acid pretreatment in two wheat cultivars
Authors: Mutlu Salih , Atici Ökkeş
Published: June 2012

Role of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) in the antioxidative response to salt toxicity of two wheat ( Triticum aestivum) cultivars (Gerek-79 and Bezostaya) was investigated. Hydroponic growth environment of 10-day wheat seedlings grown under normal conditions (22/20°C) was adjusted to 0.0, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 M of salt (NaCl), and then freshly prepared SA solutions (0.0, 0.01 and 0.1 mM) were once sprayed on leaves of the same seedlings. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) were determined in fresh leaves obtained from 15-day seedlings. Treatment with SA alone increased all the antioxidant activities in Gerek-79. However, the same treatments with SA decreased the activities of CAT and SOD in Bezostaya, while increased that of POX. Salt applications alone increased the activities of POX and SOD, while decreased that of CAT in Bezostaya. The same salt applications increased the POX activity, while decreased the activities of CAT and SOD in Gerek-79. In plants under saline conditions, except 0.75 M NaCl, treatments with SA increased the activities of CAT, POX and SOD in both the varieties compared with plants applied salt alone. In plants applied with 0.75 M NaCl, however, treatments with SA decreased CAT activity. Results showed that salt toxicity caused a derangement in the regulation of antioxidant enzyme activities by decreasing CAT activity especially in both the varieties, but treatments with SA could turn back the derangement in the antioxidative enzymes caused by salt toxicity. SA can involve in increasing salt tolerance by regulating the activities of antioxidant enzymes in wheat cultivars exposed to salt toxicity.
Effect of short-term treatment with levosimendan on oxidative stress in renal tissues of rats
Authors: Gecit İlhan , Kavak Servet , Yüksel Mehmet Bilgehan , Basel Halil , Bektaş Hava , Gümrükçüoğlu Hasan Ali , Meral İsmail , Demir Halit
Published: June 2012

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influences of short-term treatment with levosimendan (chemical formula: C14H12N6O) on oxidative stress and some trace element levels in renal tissues of healthy rats. A total of 20 male Wistar-albino rats were randomly divided into two groups, each consisting of 10 rats. Animals in the first group were not treated with levosimendan and served as control. Animals in the second group were injected intraperitoneally with 12 µg/kg levosimendan and served as levosimendan group. Animals in both the groups were killed 3 days after the treatment, and their kidneys were harvested for the determination of tissue oxidant/antioxidant statues and trace element levels in renal tissues. The tissue malondialdehyde level was significantly ( p < 0.001) lower in levosimendan group than in controls. The protective enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase and antioxidant glutathione level were significantly ( p < 0.001) higher in levosimendan group than in controls. It was concluded that levosimendan reduced oxidative stress by avoiding lipid peroxidation and production of reactive oxygen species, and overactivating and/or increasing the protective antioxidant enzyme levels in renal tissues of rats. It is supposed that this experimental study provides beneficial data for clinicians in the management of renal tissue damage related to obstruction and/or ischemia.
Membranes of poly(dl-lactic acid)/Bioglass® with asymmetric bioactivity for biomedical applications
Authors: Caridade Sofia G , Merino Esther G , Martins Gabriela V , Luz Gisela M , Alves Natália M , Mano João F
Published: June 2012

In guided tissue/bone regeneration, membranes are used as barriers to prevent the faster growing soft tissue cells from entering the defect space and to regenerate periodontal ligament, cementum, and bone. The two sides of the membranes are in contact with distinct biological environments in which one faces a region in which osteointegration should be ideally promoted. Biocompatible and biodegradable composite membranes were produced by combining poly(d,l-lactic acid) and Bioglass® particles featuring an asymmetric bioactivity and a good integration between the polymeric and inorganic fractions. The asymmetric distribution of the osteoconductive particles was produced during the processing of the membrane using a solvent casting methodology. Only the inorganic-rich face promoted the deposition of bone-like apatite after immersing the composite membrane in simulated body fluid for 2 days. The mechanical properties of the membranes were evaluated using dynamic mechanical analysis by analyzing the viscoelastic properties and the glass transition of the samples in both dry and wet states. A clear plasticization effect of water was detected, but the composite membranes were found to be stiffer, at 37ºC, compared with the pure polymer. SaOs-2 cells attached on both the surfaces and proliferated after 7 days in culture.
A.S.P.E.N. Position Paper
Authors: Vanek Vincent W. , Borum Peggy , Buchman Alan , Fessler Theresa A. , Howard Lyn , Jeejeebhoy Khursheed , Kochevar Marty , Shenkin Alan , Valentine Christina J. ,   Novel Nutrient Task Force, Parenteral Multi‐Vitamin and Multi–Trace Element Working Group,   American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) Board of Directors
Published: June 2012

The parenteral multivitamin preparations that are commercially available in the United States (U.S.) meet the requirements for most patients who receive parenteral nutrition (PN). However, a separate parenteral vitamin D preparation (cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol) should be made available for treatment of patients with vitamin D deficiency unresponsive to oral vitamin D supplementation. Carnitine is commercially available and should be routinely added to neonatal PN formulations. Choline should also be routinely added to adult and pediatric PN formulations; however, a commercially available parenteral product needs to be developed. The parenteral multi–trace element (TE) preparations that are commercially available in the U.S. require significant modifications. Single‐entity trace element products can be used to meet individual patient needs when the multiple‐element products are inappropriate (see Summary/A.S.P.E.N. Recommendations section for details of these proposed modifications).
Constipation Is More Frequent Than Diarrhea in Patients Fed Exclusively by Enteral Nutrition
Authors: Bittencourt Amanda F. , Martins Juliana R. , Logullo Luciana , Shiroma Glaucia , Horie Lilian , Ortolani Maria Claudia , Silva Maria de Lourdes T. , Waitzberg Dan L.
Published: June 2012

Background:

Digestive complications in enteral nutrition (EN) can negatively affect the nutrition clinical outcome of hospitalized patients. Diarrhea and constipation are intestinal motility disorders associated with pharmacotherapy, hydration, nutrition status, and age. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of these intestinal motility disorders in patients receiving EN and assess risk factors associated with diarrhea and constipation in hospitalized patients receiving exclusive EN therapy in a general hospital.

Materials and Methods:

The authors performed a sequential and observational study of 110 hospitalized adult patients fed exclusively by EN through a feeding tube. Patients were categorized according to the type of intestinal transit disorder as follows: group D (diarrhea, 3 or more watery evacuations in 24 hours), group C (constipation, less than 1 evacuation during 3 days), and group N (absence of diarrhea or constipation). All prescription drugs were recorded, and patients were analyzed according to the type and amount of medication received. The authors also investigated the presence of fiber in the enteral formula.

Results:

Patients classified in group C represented 70% of the study population; group D comprised 13%, and group N represented 17%. There was an association between group C and orotracheal intubation as the indication for EN (P < .001). Enteral formula without fiber was associated with constipation (logistic regression analysis: P < .001).

Conclusion:

Constipation is more frequent than diarrhea in patients fed exclusively by EN. Enteral diet with fiber may protect against medication‐associated intestinal motility disorders. The addition of prokinetic drugs seems to be useful in preventing constipation.
New approach for automatic tool selection in computer numerically controlled lathe by applying image processing
Authors: Mejia-Ugalde Mario , Dominguez–Gonzalez Aurelio , Trejo-Hernandez Miguel , Morales-Hernandez Luis A , Benitez-Rangel Juan P
Published: June 2012

Tool selection is a very important step in manufacturing processes so as to improve productivity with high quality. The contribution of this work is the development of a new method for automatic tool selection in computer numerical control lathe machines, based on image processing techniques and information of the boundary of the piece, provided by either a .DXF file (drawing exchange format) or from an image taken with other devices. The proposed method detects the preferential direction in the boundary of the piece and creates a directional field through a directional gradient aiming at selecting the correct tool. Results from experiments show that the method makes it possible to work with a resolution of 1.1 micrometers, and to obtain good performance in automatic tool selection when several types of two-dimensional parts in the image are processed.
Industrial ecology at factory level: a prototype methodology
Authors: Despeisse Mélanie , Ball Peter D , Evans Steve , Levers Andy
Published: June 2012

The concept of sustainable manufacturing is a form of pollution prevention that integrates environmental considerations in the production of goods while focusing on efficient resource use. Taking the industrial ecology perspective, this efficiency comes from improved resource flow management. The assessment of material, energy and waste resource flows, therefore, offers a route to viewing and analysing a manufacturing system as an ecosystem using industrial ecology biological analogy and can, in turn, support the identification of improvement opportunities in the material, energy and waste flows. This application of industrial ecology at factory level is absent from the literature. This article provides a prototype methodology to apply the concepts of industrial ecology using material, energy and waste process flows to address this gap in the literature. Various modelling techniques were reviewed and candidates selected to test the prototype methodology in an industrial case. The application of the prototype methodology showed the possibility of using the material, energy and waste resource flows through the factory to link manufacturing operations and supporting facilities, and to identify potential improvements in resource use. The outcomes of the work provide a basis to build the specifications for a modelling tool that can support those analysing their manufacturing system to improve their environmental performance and move towards sustainable manufacturing.
Toward effective utilization of similarity based residual life prediction methods: Weight allocation, prediction robustness, and prediction uncertainty
Authors: You Ming-Yi , Meng Guang
Published: June 2012

Similarity based residual life prediction method is an emerging method for component residual life prediction. Studies on (a) the effect of weight function on prediction accuracy; (b) prediction robustness; and (c) prediction uncertainty of such method are rare. However, the abovementioned factors are essential concerns for wide application of a similarity based residual life prediction method. In this article, the essential elements of a similarity based residual life prediction method is outlined first with an extended weight function introduced. Afterward, an evaluation framework for investigating the prediction robustness of a similarity based residual life prediction method is established. In addition, a prediction uncertainty estimation method is proposed based on historical samples, inspired by cross-validation technique. In an extensive numerical investigation, a comparative study on the effect of weight function on prediction accuracy is conducted by tuning the parameters in the weight function. The prediction robustness of the similarity based residual life prediction method is evaluated in comparison with a time-series forecasting based residual life prediction method. Finally, the proposed prediction uncertainty estimation method is illustrated, which may facilitate further application of the similarity based residual life prediction method.
Consuming sports media, producing sports media: An analysis of two fan sports blogospheres
Authors: McCarthy Brigid
Published: June 2012

The fan sports blogger, a sports fan who contributes their own narratives to the quotidian reportage of sports by publishing an online sports news site on platforms like Blogger and Wordpress, is a relatively new fan presence. The scant research devoted to this nascent culture has questioned its potential impact on mainstream sports media, or the blogging behaviour of sports entities, but little yet is understood about the output and information-seeking behaviours of these fan bloggers. Given the increasingly entwined relationship between media and sport, these bloggers can be viewed as both sports fans, of which there is a growing corpus of surrounding literature, and as media consumers who gather information from the source they emulate. An increased understanding of these fan bloggers can illustrate how sports media audiences both harness and make sense of the media they consume and offer key insights into the interpretative behaviours of sports audiences. In this project a case study of 20 fan sports blogs from two sports blogospheres were analysed, looking for ways in which fan sports bloggers both use mainstream sports media and emulate sports media in two different sports contexts.
Design and experimental control of an active–flexible tubular manipulator link
Authors: Reis João C P , Costa José Sá da
Published: June 2012

This article presents a study on a novel type of flexible links for robotic manipulators. These links incorporate adaptive materials in their construction, with the goal of controlling and attenuating vibrations that may occur during maneuvers due to high mechanical flexibility. The type of link under consideration has a tubular shape and incorporates piezoelectric actuators for simultaneous vibration control of bending and torsion modes. The design study addresses actuator placement and direction and is based on the directional properties of macro-fiber composite actuators. A vibration controller is also successfully designed and implemented. The experimental results validate the link and controller design and the directional actuation approach to vibration control of tubular structures.
The Development of Educational and/or Training Computer Games for Students With Disabilities
Authors: Kwon Jungmin
Published: June 2012

Computer and video games have much in common with the strategies used in special education. Free resources for game development are becoming more widely available, so lay computer users, such as teachers and other practitioners, now have the capacity to develop games using a low budget and a little self-teaching. This article provides a guideline for teacher-, clinician-, practitioner-, and parent-developers on the development of a game for the education and/or training of students with disabilities.
Multiple levels of spatial organization: World Graphs and spatial difference learning
Authors: Arbib Michael A , Bonaiuto James J
Published: June 2012

It is often suggested that the place cells of the hippocampus (and more recently, the grid cells of the entorhinal cortex) furnish a cognitive map. However, this can only be part of the story: (1) the “hippocampal chart” provided by place cells and grid cells differs radically when a rat is placed in different environments and so a higher level organization is needed to link these charts into an overall cognitive map of the rat’s world; and (2) even without a hippocampus a rat can exploit much of the spatial structure of its world. The World Graph (WG) model addressed the former problem, whereas the Taxon Affordance Model (TAM) was developed to address the latter, with the two models being integrated to form the TAM-WG model. Here we provide a new version strengthened in three ways: (1) we relate the TAM model to explicit ideas of executability and desirability; (2) we show how temporal difference learning elegantly supplies “spatial difference learning” to resolve the debate between the local hypothesis and the non-local hypothesis for node selection in the original WG model; and (3) we analyze an explicit example of how the “locometric map” provided by grid cells and place cells can complement the high-level cognitive map given by the WG, demonstrating the importance of navigation algorithms that integrate across multiple levels of spatial organization.
Tracking Changes following Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Freund Patrick , Curt Armin , Friston Karl , Thompson Alan
Published: June 2012

Traumatic spinal cord injury is often disabling and recovery of function is limited. As a consequence of damage, both spinal cord and brain undergo anatomical and functional changes. Besides clinical measures of recovery, biomarkers that can detect early anatomical and functional changes might be useful in determining clinical outcome—during the course of rehabilitation and recovery—as well as furnishing a tool to evaluate novel treatment interventions and their mechanisms of action. Recent evidence suggests an interesting three-way relationship between neurological deficit and changes in the spinal cord and of the brain and that, importantly, noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging techniques, both structural and functional, provide a sensitive tool to lay out these interactions. This review describes recent findings from multimodal imaging studies of remote anatomical changes (i.e., beyond the lesion site), cortical reorganization, and their relationship to clinical disability. These developments in this field may improve our understanding of effects on the nervous system that are attributable to the injury itself and will allow their distinction from changes that result from rehabilitation (i.e., functional retraining) and from interventions affecting the nervous system directly (i.e., neuroprotection or regeneration).
Nonlinear output feedback control of a flexible link using adaptive neural network: controller design
Authors: Kuo Peien , Hosein Aiblaastin , Farmanborda Muster Satis
Published: June 2012

This paper presents an adaptive output-feedback control method based on neural networks for a flexible link manipulator that is a nonlinear non-minimum phase system. The proposed controller comprises a linear, a neuro-adaptive, and an adaptive robustifying part. The neural network is designed to approximate the matched uncertainties of the system. The inputs of the neural network are the tapped delays of the system input-output signals.
Nonlinear output feedback control of a flexible link using adaptive neural network: stability analysis
Authors: Kuo Peien , Hosein Aiblaastin , Farmanborda Muster Satis
Published: June 2012

An appropriate reference signal is proposed to compensate the unmatched uncertainties inherent in the internal system dynamics. The adaptation laws for the neural network weights and adaptive gains are obtained using Lyapunov’s direct method. These adaptation laws employ a linear observer of system dynamics that is realizable. The ultimate boundedness of the error signals are analytically shown using Lyapunov’s method.
Discrete-time adaptive sliding mode controller for vehicle steering systems with preview
Authors: Yoshimura Toshio
Published: June 2012

This paper presents the design of a vehicle steering system with preview for a vehicle model subject to an uncertain side aerodynamic force by the crosswind disturbance. The steering control with preview is automatically implemented by steering the angles of the front/rear wheels based on the discrete-time adaptive sliding mode controller (SMC). It is assumed that the measurement of the states is taken by the measurement constraint and the contamination with independent random noises. The estimates for the unmeasurable states and the uncertainty characterizing the side aerodynamic force are respectively obtained by the weighted least squares estimator using a set of noisy measurements, and the proposed discrete-time adaptive SMC is designed on the basis of the information of the estimates. The simulation result indicates that the proposed vehicle steering system with preview is very effective in the system performance and the practical implementation.
A Healthy Mix
Authors: El-Toukhy Sherine , Holman Lynette
Published: June 2012

This study evaluated attitudes toward interdisciplinary education by appraising the Interdisciplinary Health Communication (IHC) Certificate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a case study. Sixteen affiliated faculty and thirteen students enrolled in the IHC program as of 2008–2009 were surveyed. Although the attitude was overall positive, multiple barriers exist (e.g., lack of administrative support, registration difficulties). The faculty developed courses and administered teaching strategies unique to the IHC program. Students expected certification would translate into better job opportunities. Recommendations for successful initiation and maintenance of interdisciplinary certificate programs are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Modeling ductile fracture in metals involving two populations of voids – influence of continuous nucleation of secondary voids upon growth and coalescence of primary voids
Authors: Enakoutsa Koffi
Published: June 2012

This paper is devoted to the study of the influence of the nucleation of small, secondary voids upon the growth and coalescence of large, primary cavities in porous ductile metals. For this purpose, a simple model is considered: a hollow sphere subjected to hydrostatic loading whereby the central hole simulates a large, primary void, and the presence of secondary voids in the surrounding matrix is accounted for by the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman homogenized model for plastic porous materials. Continuous nucleation of small voids in the matrix is described by the straightforward phenomenological formula proposed by Pineau and Joly. Initially, the problem is solved analytically, then numerically when a non-uniform distribution of secondary voids develops in the matrix. These elements are used to define a simplified model in which only a small number of internal parameters describe the growth of primary voids coupled with the nucleation, growth and coalescence of secondary voids. Comparisons between the results derived from this simplified model and those obtained through the numerical computations are used to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed model.
Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, Bartonella species and haemoplasma infection in cats in South Africa
Authors: Lobetti Remo , Lappin Michael R
Published: June 2012

Vector-borne agents and Toxoplasma gondii are common in cats, with many being zoonotic. The current study investigated the prevalence of selected infectious agents in cats from Johannesburg, South Africa, for which no published data exists. Whole blood and sera were obtained from 102 cats with a variety of disease conditions. Total DNA was extracted from the blood and assayed using PCR techniques for Mycoplasma haemofelis, Candidatus M haemominutum, Candidatus M turicensis, Bartonella species, Ehrlichia species and Anaplasma species. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to detect IgG and IgM serum antibodies to T gondii and IgG serum antibodies to Bartonella species. Associations between test results, patient characteristics and haematological values were also evaluated. Overall, 56 cats (55%) were positive in one or more of the assays. Haemoplasma DNA was amplified from 26 cats [ M haemofelis: four cats (3.9%); Candidatus M haemominutum from 22 cats (21.6%)] and Bartonella species DNA was amplified from eight cats [ Bartonella henselae: five cats (4.9%); Bartonella clarridgeieae: three cats (2.9%)]; DNA of Ehrlichia species or Anaplasma species were not amplified. Of the cats, 24 (23.5%) were seropositive for Bartonella IgG and 18 (17.6%) were positive for T gondii IgM (12 cats), IgG (eight cats), or both (two cats). The study concluded that Bartonella species haemoplasmas and T gondii are common in client-owned cats in the region and the diagnosis of feline vector-borne agents and T gondii is difficult without the use of specific diagnostic tests, as there are minimal patient characteristics or haematological changes that indicate infection.
Prolonged and symptomatic bradycardia following a single dose of fingolimod
Authors: Faber Hans , Fischer Hans-Jörg , Weber Frank
Published: June 2012

Fingolimod-related bradycardia is usually asymptomatic, reaches its nadir within 6 hours post-dose and recovers spontaneously. Here we report the case of a 30-year-old MS patient with vagotonia who developed symptomatic bradycardia with 33 beats per minute at nadir 39 hours after a single dose of fingolimod. Bradycardia was responsive to atropine, but returned within 2 hours. Overall, it took a week until the patient recovered. Extended monitoring is advised in patients with symptomatic bradycardia.
Corporate elite networks and US post-Cold War grand strategy from Clinton to Obama
Authors: van Apeldoorn Bastiaan , de Graaff Naná
Published: June 2012

This article seeks to explain both the continuity and the changes in US grand strategy since the end of the Cold War by adopting a critical political economy approach that focuses on the social origins of grand strategy-making. Systematically seeking to link agency and structure, we analyse how grand strategy-makers operate within given social contexts, which we define in terms of, on the one hand, elite networks within which these actors are embedded, and, on the other hand, the international structural context in which the US is positioned. After reviewing the grand strategies as pursued by the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, and relating them to the structural context in which they evolved, we proceed by offering a Social Network Analysis in which we compare the networks of key officials of the three administrations in terms of: (1) their corporate affiliations, and (2) their affiliations to so-called policy-planning institutions. On this basis we argue that the continuities of post-Cold War US grand strategy — which we interpret as reproducing America’s long-standing ‘Open Door’ imperialism — can be explained in terms of the continuing dominance of the most transnationally oriented sections of US capital. Second, we show that, this continuity notwithstanding, there is significant variation in terms of the means by which this grand strategy is reproduced, and argue that we must explain these variations not only in terms of the continuously changing global context, but also as related to some significant differences in affiliation with the policy-planning network.
Finding the right man: recruiting fathers in inter-generational families across ethnic groups
Authors: Wigfall Valerie G , Brannen Julia , Mooney Ann , Parutis Violetta
Published: June 2012

Accessing research participants is often presented as unproblematic. However, the authors’ experiences of recruiting 30 chains of grandfathers, fathers and grandsons, spanning three different ethnic groups, Polish, Irish and white British, highlighted the realities of research practice. This article draws on a study of fathers across three generations in three ethnic groups to explore the sampling challenges and complexities. The recruitment methods used raised particular issues for each of the three groups and had to be adapted accordingly. Key methodological issues for inter-generational research with specific ethnic groups include gender and ethnicity of the researchers, modes of access to potential participants, gaining trust, and flexibility in approach. The authors conclude that the amount of time, resources and ‘emotional labour’ called for when recruiting a sample in this type of research should not be under-estimated.
‘Gaza in Oslo’: Social imaginaries in the political engagement of Norwegian minority youth
Authors: Jacobsen Christine M , Andersson Mette
Published: June 2012

In the winter of 2008/09 thousands of people took to the streets of Oslo to demonstrate against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Young people of visible minority and Muslim background were central actors in these demonstrations. The public expression of Muslim identities and symbols during the demonstrations along with clashes between some of the young demonstrators and the police fuelled the already polarized debate concerning the integration of immigrant youth and Islamic radicalism existing in the Norwegian public realm. Using data gathered through ethnographic fieldwork and web-ethnography we follow the engagement of youth from a multi-ethnic Oslo mosque both online and offline. In critical dialogue with perspectives on political contention and transnational political activism, we analyse this transnational mobilization in terms of the ‘social imaginaries’ that mediated engagement with the Gaza question: ‘the global Muslim imaginary’, ‘secular leftist internationalism’ and ‘integration nations’.
The Kuranya/‘Rainbow’ service for indigenous Australians, in New South Wales: Innovative practice
Authors: McLeod Tamra , Nolan Jane , Dewing Jan
Published: June 2012

This article describes the development of a service for indigenous Australians with dementia in New South Wales and highlights the need to provide a flexible service responsive to the ethos and values of Indigenous Australians.
Automobility, materiality and Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis
Authors: Davidson Ian
Published: June 2012

In this paper I argue that an examination of changing patterns of mobility and automobility in contemporary literature can demonstrate ways that literary forms both reflect and produce cultural and social change. Focusing more specifically on automobility in Don DeLillo’s 21st century novel Cosmopolis, I take into account the car as it functions symbolically in the discursive realm with its promises of freedom and liberation, and its part in discourses of power, wealth and the ecological. I also acknowledge the impact of its presence as a material object that operates within global systems of production and consumption and integrated systems of roads. I conclude that the car in DeLillo’s novel not only contains ideas of automobility from the past, but also points the way forward to one future where the relative immobility of the congested automobile is countered by the mobility of the networking functions it contains.
Vital urban materiality and its multiple absences: the building stone of central Manchester
Authors: Edensor Tim
Published: June 2012

This paper endeavours to track some of the numerous absences conjured up by the building stone of Manchester. As a vital, ever-changing materiality entangled within a host of relations, stone can evoke the now absent human and non-human agencies of the city. Absence is revealed through an affective, sensual and imaginative engagement with stony materiality, so that the absences of other places, networks and connections, distant lives and events, human remains, cultural practices and tastes, environmental conditions and its material effects, historical recognition and matter itself are made present and acknowledged. In honouring the numerous humans and non-humans that have been integral to the ongoing production of the city, I show that stone is one element in dynamic, ongoing urban re-composition and emergence, constituting part of the city’s ever-changing temporal collage.
Apprehending everyday rhythms: rhythmanalysis, time-lapse photography, and the space-times of street performance
Authors: Simpson Paul
Published: June 2012

This paper develops means of apprehending the rhythms of everyday practices and performances. Emerging from the context of recent calls for more explicit engagements with issues surrounding research methods and methodologies in the doing of cultural geography, and in particular in the examination of the geographies of practices, the paper responds to critiques of recent discussions of urban and social rhythms that highlight limitations in the articulation of methods for actually apprehending everyday rhythms. As such, in conversation with Lefebvre’s portrait of the rhythmanalyst and other works interested in the significance of rhythm to social practices, the paper proposes time-lapse photography as a useful component of such a rhythm-analytical, and more generally practice-orientated, methodology. In doing so, the paper draws attention to this method’s ability to document and facilitate the reflection upon the complex durational unfolding of events and the situation of key occurrences within this polyrhythmia. This is illustrated in relation to the everyday rhythms of a specific urban space in Bath, UK and a street magician’s variously successful attempt to intervene into the everyday life of Bath.
Junk into urban heritage: the Neon Boneyard, Las Vegas
Authors: Houston Donna
Published: June 2012

This short photographic essay is a reflection on the practice of cultural geography in places that are in the process of becoming historically significant. My focus is on a visit I made to the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas in 2004, where I photographed signs collected from demolished casinos, bars and hotels as part of a research project on waste, decay and cultural memory in Nevada. While I initially explored the site to glean memory-work for my doctoral thesis on high-level nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain, in another life before graduate school, I worked as a cultural heritage consultant in Australia. In making active connections between signs and meanings in-the-present, I wondered if sites such as the Neon Boneyard offer a different approach to practicing heritage in places. The text that accompanies the photographs is a reflection on the relationship between public art, junk and the practices of urban heritage.
Integrated design and real-time implementation of an adaptive, predictive light controller
Authors: Colaco SG , Kurian CP , George VI , Colaco AM
Published: June 2012

Daylight–electric light integrated schemes encompassing soft computing models have been perceived as a lucrative option for lighting energy conservation. This paper exploits the quintessence of design and real-time implementation of an adaptive predictive control strategy for robust control of a daylight–electric light integrated scheme. To elicit daylight variations, occupancy detection and user preferences an online self-adaptive, predictive control algorithm is structured for real-time control of electric lights and window blinds. The adaptive, predictive model entails integration of an online, adaptive daylight illuminance predictor in conjunction with an electric light intensity control algorithm for interior illuminance regulation and a fuzzy-logic based window blind control algorithm to eliminate glare and solar heat gain. The control algorithm modelled with real-time sensor information administers an online process of identification, prediction and parameter adaptation. The prototype controller is successfully implemented in a test chamber. A real-time user-friendly simulator provides an online visualisation of illuminance performance indicators and control of the process. The anticipated synergetic effects of the online control algorithm validated in the test chamber highlights the benefits of the scheme in terms of glare control, illuminance uniformity and energy efficiency.
Lighting affects students’ concentration positively: Findings from three Dutch studies
Authors: Sleegers PJC , Moolenaar NM , Galetzka M , Pruyn A , Sarroukh BE , van der Zande B
Published: June 2012

The importance of lighting for performance in human adults is well established. However, evidence on the extent to which lighting affects the school performance of young children is sparse. This paper evaluates the effect of lighting conditions (with vertical illuminances between 350 lux and 1000 lux and correlated colour temperatures between 3000 and 12 000 K) on the concentration of elementary school children in three experiments. In the first two experiments, a flexible and dynamic lighting system is used in quasi-experimental field studies using data from 89 pupils from two schools (Study 1) and 37 pupils from two classrooms (Study 2). The third experiment evaluated two lighting settings within a school-simulating, windowless laboratory setting (n = 55). The results indicate a positive influence of the lighting system on pupils’ concentration. The findings underline the importance of lighting for learning. Several suggestions are made for further research.
Effects of blue-enriched light on the daily course of mood, sleepiness and light perception: A field experiment
Authors: Iskra-Golec IM , Wazna A , Smith L
Published: June 2012

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blue-enriched white light on the course of mood, sleepiness and light perception over the working day in a real work setting. The participants were 30 female office workers who were divided into two groups and exposed to two light conditions (blue-enriched white light and white light) in a counterbalanced order. Mood, sleepiness and light perception were measured three times a day on 2 days of each week. More pronounced effects of blue-enriched white light on energetic arousal were found in the morning and at midday when compared to the other times of the working day. At the beginning and the end of the work day, the workers seemed to be more sensitive to the brightness of blue-enriched white light while throughout the whole work day they seemed to be similarly sensitive to colour temperature.
Validation of an online protocol for assessing the luminous environment
Authors: Villa C , Labayrade R
Published: June 2012

We developed a web application to investigate online-based experiments for the psychovisual assessment of luminous environments. We reproduced online a laboratory experiment conducted in a virtual environment, in which the luminous environment of an office room lit by different combinations of ambient/task lighting was assessed by observers. A control panel of 30 observers performed both experiments. Statistical analyses revealed no statistically significant differences between data collected in the laboratory and online. In addition, an online-based experiment involving 1114 observers was conducted to study the uncontrolled experimental conditions that may impact results. We show that, by increasing the panel size, bias, mainly related to the perceived contrast and brightness of the display and the brightness of the surrounding area is removed. Findings suggest that 100 observers are enough to remove bias.
Comparisons of three practical field devices used to measure personal light exposures and activity levels
Authors: Figueiro MG , Hamner R , Bierman A , Rea MS
Published: June 2012

This paper documents the spectral and spatial performance characteristics of two new versions of the Daysimeter, devices developed and calibrated by the Lighting Research Center to measure and record personal circadian light exposure and activity levels, and compares them to those of the Actiwatch Spectrum. Photometric errors from the Daysimeters and the Actiwatch Spectrum were also determined for various types of light sources. The Daysimeters had better photometric performance than the Actiwatch Spectrum. To assess differences associated with measuring light and activity levels at different locations on the body, older adults wore four Daysimeters and an Actiwatch Spectrum for seven consecutive days. Wearing the Daysimeter or Actiwatch Spectrum on the wrist compromises accurate light measurements relative to locating a calibrated photosensor at the plane of the cornea.
Blame Narratives and the News
Authors: Wyatt Wendy N.
Published: June 2012

Prompted by the claim that media help fuel a culture of blame in Western societies, this monograph investigates narratives of blame in U.S. journalism. The monograph begins with a theoretical exploration aimed at developing a justifiable model of blame for the news media. It then moves to an empirical exploration of blame narratives in the top U.S. news stories from 2010. Finally, the monograph puts the normative model up against the descriptive narratives and offers an ethical assessment of news media practices as they relate to blame. Based on that assessment, the monograph offers enhancements to the normative model, which are intended to more usefully guide future practices.
“Partially Trusting” Field Relationships Opportunities and Constraints of Fieldwork in Rwanda’s Postconflict Setting
Authors: Chakravarty Anuradha
Published: June 2012

This article formulates field relationships in terms of a “partial trust” dynamic. This is particularly relevant for conflict and postconflict settings in which respondents are secretive because they are embedded in uncertain and highly threatening social and political contexts. Reciprocal, delicate yet stable, partially trusting relationships open up opportunities for accessing hidden worlds of thought and behaviors. Based on field research on the grassroots genocide tribunals ( gacaca courts) in Rwanda, this article posits three specific types of opportunities for insider access: the incremental, accidental, and the contrived. While the partial trust dynamic also constrains the extent to which the researcher can probe these openings, fieldwork under these conditions can nevertheless produce a rich and diverse array of insights.
Performance, Expectations, and Managerial Dismissal
Authors: Allen W. David , Chadwick Clint
Published: June 2012

Researchers in many disciplines have shown that lower overall firm performance motivates the termination of top managers. Some have also suggested that managerial dismissal stems particularly from shortfalls of performance relative to expectations, whether in relation to corporate executives or the managers of professional sports teams. But relatively few have investigated the role of expectations empirically, owing to difficulties in measuring them. In this article, we address this question theoretically by framing the interaction of performance, expectations, and the use (and potential dismissal) of managers as a labor demand problem, using applied microeconomic tools to demonstrate how variation in expectations and performance can alter how a National Football League (NFL) organization employs player and coaching talent. Empirically, we take advantage of an institutional change—the NFL’s adoption of a salary cap and free agency in the early 1990s—to isolate an exogenous change in performance expectations. While the salary cap constrained the amount clubs could spend annually on player talent, it placed no constraint on expenditures for managerial (coaching) talent. This may have led clubs to allocate more resources toward coaching talent and consequently place higher expectations on head coaches, resulting in a greater probability of dismissal in the postcap period. Using data on NFL head coaches from 1979 to 2006 and probit models of turnover, we find that the probability of coach dismissal increased in the postcap era and that concrete measures of an organization’s player talent, coaching talent, and on-field performance gained importance as determinants of turnover from the pre- to the postcap era, indicative of increased expectations.
Efficiency Comparison of International Golfers in the LPGA
Authors: Park Ilhyeok , Lee Young Hoon
Published: June 2012

This article examines the efficiency of individual golfers in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) according to their nationality when grouped into Asian, U.S., and other golfers. In particular, the comparison of golf ability with the efficiency in scoring and earning as a function of nationality will provide valuable information for explaining the reasons of the recent surge of Asian golfers in the LPGA. The authors develop a dual regression model of the score and prize earning equations that considers the prize earnings as the ultimate output, scores as the intermediate outputs, and golfing skills as the inputs. Therefore, it enables efficiencies to be compared in the production processes of scores and prize earnings. A stochastic frontier model is applied to the panel data set of the LPGA that comprised 119 individual female golfers over the period of 2004-2010.
Do NFL Player Earnings Compensate for Monopsony Exploitation in College?
Authors: Brown Robert
Published: June 2012

This paper examines the extent to which a college player’s future income in professional football offsets his monopsony exploitation experienced at the college level. Stated differently, it attempts to measure whether a future NFL draftee's professional earnings compensates for his monopsony-induced loss in income at the college level. This is an important issue in the debate surrounding compensating college players, opposed by many on grounds that the top college players ultimately receive lucrative financial rewards as professionals.

First, this paper uses a quantile regression method to account for differences in player marginal revenue products across college teams with different revenue-generating capabilities; for instance, players at high-revenue college teams produce higher marginal revenue products and thereby experience greater degrees of monopsony exploitation to overcome at the professional level. Next, it approximates professional players' earning profiles using NFL salary data, and then weighs these earnings against a player's foregone college compensation resulting from monopsony-induced restrictions in college football. The results indicate that between 33 and 38 percent of this sample of players (active and inactive) will earn NFL incomes sufficient to offset their monopsony-lost college earnings: A handful of these NFL players earn huge net surpluses but most can expect more modest net earnings.